Just a little announcement. I'm going through the beginning of the story to do some much-needed editing. This includes cleaning up dialogue, fixing grammar, fleshing out characters, and possibly even adding/removing scenes. I'm not sure how bad the damage is, but with the exception of the first chapter, you'll know what has or hasn't been worked on because I'm removing all the Author's Notes to signify that the chapter is done. It will be a literal final polishing that'll allow me to focus on moving forward.

Now, on to the story!

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Updated: October 5th, 2020 11:00 A.M. (MST)

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Inevitable War

That Night

It was a long night for Naofumi after Victoria's death. After she'd calmed down somewhat, Raphtalia requested to sleep with Naofumi, which he agreed to. While he stroked his sleeping girlfriend's hair, his thoughts raced through his mind like Filolials vying for his cooking, keeping him awake. Between thinking over what had happened, Raphtalia's constant movements in her sleep, and what he had to do next, he barely rested at all.

It sucked, in so many different ways. He was angry, but he had no way to vent it. He would have snuck out of the Capital to beat up a few balloons, but he didn't dare leave Raphtalia alone, in case her nightmares would return after learning about what Victoria had to go through.

He couldn't even be embarrassed about sleeping in the same bed as Raphtalia. His mind was that preoccupied.

Maybe it was because of how tragic it was. Maybe it was because a part of him still wanted to hold on to his hate for the nun. Or maybe it was because he wanted to let it go, as unbelievable as that sounded.

Yet no matter what he thought about it, it didn't matter anymore. Victoria was dead. He had no way to bring the dead to life to make them pay. He could only strive to fulfill the promise he made and move on with his life.

That was what he eventually decided on. As he finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, with his nose filled with the scent of Raphtalia's auburn hair, he knew that he had to make things right...

The Day of the Wave

Standing on a rocky platform, overlooking the valley in front of them, Naofumi thought about the moments leading up to now.

After taking some time to bathe and cook breakfast for his party after that night, he met up with Ren, Itsuki, and their parties; minus Rachel, Farrie, and Tersia who were still neck-deep in the Church Archives. They'd be summoned with their Heroes to the sight of the Wave when it occurred.

They then met Mirellia, Trash, and their large army of knights in the courtyard of the castle. The Queen hid her face behind her fan as they discussed some details. Her tone was as fine and polished as ever. But listening carefully, one would realize that the Queen was still grieving.

Finally, after making sure that everyone was stocked up, and that the Capital would be well protected in their absence, they took off to the east.

He didn't remember much of the ride there. Only that most of it was spent staring solemnly out of a carriage window. He held Raphtalia's hand in his while her head rested on his shoulder.

She wasn't crying, but her limp tail spoke of how she was struggling to come to terms with what had happened. She hated Altara, possibly even more than Naofumi had. She hated her for leading the Church's attack on her village. For trying to kill her and Naofumi time and time again. But her death… had been too cruel. It brought her no satisfaction either. She didn't feel any closure, at least no more than what Naofumi had already given her. And now, she had her own promise to fulfill.

Filo was outside pulling the carriage, otherwise, she'd try to cheer them up. Eclair and Melty mainly talked to Dou-Lon, getting to know their newest party member better. They hardly said a thing to Naofumi and Raphtalia, sensing that the couple wanted their space. Naofumi himself hardly said a word for the duration of their journey.

Itsuki spent his carriage ride teaching his party members a game from his world to bond with them. Whenever they had to stop to wait for a part of the army to catch up, he'd take his party out on quick monster hunts in the area to help strengthen them and sharpen their skills. He seemed oddly intent on helping Rishia specifically. Yelling encouragements to her whenever she became too afraid of facing a monster, or when she hyped herself up to cast a spell, amongst other things.

As for Ren, besides trying to duel Eclair when they had to stop, he didn't interact with anybody. And his duels with Eclair only showed how lacking he was in skill. Which made him further withdraw in shame from his party and everyone else. Naofumi would have talked to the raven-haired swordsman, but he had his own issues to deal with.

Sadly, while Welt or Bakta made attempts to talk to Sir Ren, all of which were met with only a few words through a closed carriage door, Wyndia didn't even try to see him. The poor girl traveled in a different carriage. Hardly anyone in any of the Hero's parties knew what she was doing.

Ren was sure the brown-haired dog-girl hated him now.

All in all, it took the army with the Hero's escort till the second evening of their march to get from the Capital to a village in a valley surrounded by mountains. Where the initial battle against Siltvelt's army was planned to take place.

Surprisingly, Naofumi recognized it as the one where he'd helped the old lady. Said old lady actually greeted them when they arrived. Mirellia probably said her name, but Naofumi was too shocked by how healthy and active she looked to catch it. Last time he'd seen her, she'd been on the verge of death. And at the present moment, she was marching down one of the lines of knights below him. Yelling at them in a tone that wouldn't have looked out of place for a drill sergeant.

"Stand up straight! Show some respect for your country! Don't you dare think about running from the enemy! If you show even a hint of fear, this granny will teach you what real fear is..."

She was scary. Had he done this to her by healing her?! What conditions were his other patients in?!

…

Anyway, when they'd arrived, Siltvelt's army had been only a few miles away from the village. However, they'd paused in their march.

At first, they thought it was because of the presence of Mirellia and her armies. Either that or because they were exhausted. Siltvelt had turned what was normally a one month's journey into a couple of weeks.

And then, Mirellia's Shadows reported what they'd overheard from the main army camp. They had stopped because they chose to wait until the day of Melromarc's Wave before marching to meet them in battle.

It didn't take a genius for Naofumi to figure out why.

Naofumi wasn't just angry and conflicted over Victoria's death now. He was even more furious with Siltvelt than before! He'd honestly hoped they'd be able to deal with them before the Wave. But they'd refused all of Mirellia's messengers to meet and discuss peace. Naofumi and Mirelia had even asked Dou-Lon if he could perhaps try to deliver a message directly to the council since he was a member of their Royal Guard.

Unfortunately, the Hakuko couldn't do that. He explained that he was likely considered to either be missing in action or at worst, a deserter. And that meant he would be killed on sight if he tried to get to them.

The poor Hakuko looked very depressed at failing the very first important task given to him.

Initially, Raphtalia took this opportunity to point out how useless Dou-Lon ended up being. But upon hearing that, the Hakuko suddenly announced that he would try anyway, as dying in action was seen as a preferable alternative to him than not trying at all. In the end, the Tanuki had to begrudgingly apologize and admit that if their newest party member got himself killed, just to deliver a message, it would not be worth it.

00:30:12

But now with his timer counting down from thirty minutes, stopping Siltvelt's religious war seemed damn near impossible. Naofumi sighed. "Do you see anything yet, Itsuki?" He asked.

"No sign of them yet," Itsuki responded. He was using his scout skill to watch from a vantage point high above them.

"Alright…" They continued to wait.

He was ready to use his vantage to defend or speak depending on Siltvelt's reaction to seeing him at the forefront of everything else. The only other Hero up with him was Itsuki. Who stood prepared to defend against the coming army. Along with Melty, Crystal, Dou-Lon, and the Queen.

Down below, Mirellia had her knights arranged as such. Shields/pikemen near the front. Swordbearers directly behind them. Archers and mages behind those. And then the village itself, which would act as a base for treating the wounded. Ren stood in front of the knights. Behind him stood Raphtalia, Filo, Wyndia, Eclair, Welt, Bakta, and all the other close up combatants of their parties. With the layout of the land, they had the high ground.

Mirellia wanted peace. But the Queen arranged the battlefield so she'd be prepared for war if necessary. She wasn't as good a strategist as her husband in his glory days. But she was by no means stupid.

Naofumi felt conflicted, not having Filo or Raphtalia close to him. But if worse really came to worst, he figured he could jump down and join them before they got hurt.

…

00:27:38

"Are you ready, Sir Naofumi?" Mirellia asked. She stood tall and proud beside him, outfitted for war. Only her helm was missing, which was instead replaced with a fan held in front of her face. Aultcray sat dejectedly in a chair beside her, also donned in armor. He was there more for show than to actually lead. Should the peace talks fail, and should the demi-humans actually overcome their fear of the Wise Staff King and do battle, Mirellia would be the one to lead her forces.

Naofumi nodded. "I hope I am." He dryly commented.

"Remember, you're their God, Sir Naofumi," Mirellia said. "If they'd be willing to listen to anyone. It would be you."

"Or they might get inspired to attack with greater ferocity," Naofumi muttered.

"That's why I said when you grab their attention. You'll have to speak quickly before they make the wrong assumption." Mirellia reminded him.

"... you know, I never asked to be their God." Naofumi finally said. "Hell, I don't want to be anybody's God. Religion has already caused enough problems as it is in this world, and I'm far from being anything perfect like that." Raphtalia, Filo, and everyone else that knew him could easily vouch for that fact.

"Regardless of how true that is," Oof. Even the Queen agreed. "You hold more influence over them than anybody else here. You are our only chance of resolving things peacefully before more unnecessary violence breaks out." Mirellia responded.

Naofumi frowned. He knew he, Mirellia, her advisors, the other heroes, and their parties had already discussed it last night and this morning before choosing this option. Using his authority as their God was their only chance to avoid a massacre. Still, he hated having to think of himself as something he wasn't.

00:25:20

"You know, Shield Hero, these people worship you as their God," Mirellia said.

"Yeah, I already know that. As I said, it sucks." Naofumi muttered.

"Yes. And Melromarc has done nothing up to this point but treat you like a devil. Which wouldn't be very pleasant either." Mirellia continued. They turned and looked at each other. "I know you agreed to help me stop this war. But I personally need to know, Sir Naofumi. Would you really rather stay in Melromarc and face the chance of continual mistreatment and spite from my people, or would you rather join Siltvelt? Rally them. Have them raze Melromarc and its hypocrisy to the ground as they almost have in the past."

…

Naofumi sighed. "Yeah, your countrymen have done many things to me, your Majesty. Most of them were quite bad… awful, really. If they were the only ones here, I'd join Siltvelt in a heartbeat..." He stood up, tall, firm, and determined, like her. "However, not all of them were bad. There were good people who helped me along my way."

Naofumi smiled in reminiscence. He remembered the Vice-Captain who helped him in Lute. The Lord who gave him a merchant's pass. Elhart, and his friend with the weird accent. Another Lord who cared greatly for his hybrid daughter. The merchant who had taught him how to make accessories. Countless patients who had expressed their gratitude for being healed by the Nocturnal Doctor. Even the creepy midget man who'd led him to Raphtalia, and eventually Filo. And finally, the nobleman who cared greatly for his people, human or demi-human.

"Your country is filled with scum. But not completely. I'd rather not let the few good people die even if it would allow me to punish the rest."

"Even if they continue to mistreat you?" Mirellia asked with a strained voice, her face almost completely hidden from view by her fan.

Naofumi shrugged. "Well… I've been thinking a lot lately. And after a lot of contemplation and self-reflection on everything that's happened to me after coming to your world, your Majesty, I've come to the conclusion that good has to start somewhere. If your people say that I'm the devil, then I'll just have to prove them wrong." The young man turned his head to face the Queen, looking in her eyes and, in an unbelievable display of kindness, coming from him, gave her a reassuring smile. "I am the Shield Hero, after all…"

Queen Mirellia, hid her face behind her fan once more and turned away, her shoulders trembling slightly. Naofumi gave her a minute to collect herself and then let out a chuckle before continuing. "Besides, even if I joined them, I'm teleporting to the site of the wave soon. What good would it do changing sides at the last moment?"

The Queen slowly turned around, her fan now neatly folded in the palm of her hand. She looked a little younger at that moment, with a small, playful smile held on her lips. "Well, for starters, you and the other heroes wouldn't be around to face my icy wrath." She said back, allowing some mirth to return to her voice.

"That's your problem, not mine," Naofumi smirked and for a moment, the two of them exchanged a look of what felt like understanding. It was hard to believe this woman ever gave birth to someone like Bitch. Unfortunately, it would not be able to last.

"I see them!"

Naofumi jumped at Itsuki's shout. The army down below started to nestle around nervously. Trying to look for what they could not see yet. The Queen and him went silent after that.

Naofumi focused on the area in front of them. It was a wide curved valley in the middle of the mountains. Tall cliffs rested on both of its sides, creating a canyon-like formation. Above those walls, the mountain range continued on...

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the army of Siltvelt began to appear.

Naofumi gulped. That was a lot of enemies coming towards them. Thousands of them. They ranged in size from smaller than a human, to the size of a bear. His resolve to break Siltvelt flinched behind his growing fear. What if they wouldn't listen to him? What if the sight of him only encouraged them to fight? What if he couldn't stop this war? What if he couldn't protect his friends and comrades?-

Naofumi shook his head. No. He had a duty and a promise to fulfill. He couldn't afford to let doubt stop him now. He focused on the enemy army again.

He guessed the infamous Siltvelt Council to be the folks near the center. They stood on an earth platform above the rest of their soldiers like Mirellia, being moved forward by earth magic. They were donned in shiny ornate armor that glistened in the morning sun, and some had chosen to cover their faces with war paint. They had tall, dangerous-looking bodyguards accompanying them too.

00:20:00

When he felt the Siltvelt army was finally close enough, about a mile away, he walked up to the edge of the platform and put himself on display. Raising the legendary shield attached to his arm up high.

It took a moment, but he saw the army begin to slow down. He couldn't hear what the various demi-humans, beastmen, and the therianthropes had begun muttering to each other. But based on the many fingers/claws/clawed fingers that were being pointed in his direction, he assumed that he had successfully grabbed their attention. But just when he was prepared to speak, a mighty roar came from the center of Siltvelt's army.

"Keep moving! It is but another fake! Press on! Prepare for battle!" One of the Council Members on the stone platform roared down to the soldiers. It looked like he had a mane of red hair poking out from under his helmet. It was loud enough that Naofumi could hear it even with how far away he was.

Parts of the army hesitated, but many roared in response and began marching anew. Naofumi frowned. He could already tell where the majority of the trouble would come from.

"That was Jaralis," Mirellia muttered. "Be careful, Naofumi. Between the far too numerous interactions I've had with him and what my shadows have reported to me, he would be among the biggest if not the biggest warmonger of the Council."

"Is he responsible for what happened to Victoria?" Naofumi quietly asked while narrowing his eyes.

"No, that would be his predecessor, his commander during the war, Malak," Mirellia said.

Naofumi took a moment to think to himself. "... Alright, if he wants to play hardball, then how about this?" He took a deep breath. "AIR STRIKE SHIELD!"

He yelled out the skill as loud as he could. The glowing green shield skill appeared above and in front of him. It's ornate design sketched on the front of it. He also changed his Shield to another shield. A familiar bright green flash of light accompanied the change from the Chimera Viper Shield to the easily recognizable Small Shield.

This time, the entire army stopped in its tracks. They now stood about seven-eighths of a mile away. Every demi-human stared in awe at what they saw. Including members of the Council.

It was one thing to have the legendary shield. It was another to use one of its skills and to change its appearance. The fakes they'd encountered in the Church's attempts to slow them down had nothing on par with this.

Seeing how he now had their attention, Naofumi quickly switched shields again. This time to one he hadn't used in a long while. "I, the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani, request a meeting of leaders!" His voice blared out loud and clear over the battlefield through the Megaphone of the Voice Gengar Shield. So silent were the demi-humans as they listened in awe. "You will not ignore my calls to speak any longer! Accept the meeting, or face the Wrath of your God!"

On the opposite platform, Jaralis scowled. "How dare he! Does our God not know that we are here to rescue him?!"

"Wait, so he isn't a fake?" One of the Council members asked in amazement.

"Of course he's not! Don't be stupid! I was merely motivating our troops to remain steadfast!" The lion, Jaralis, quickly corrected himself. Even though he was the one who spoke out, Jaralis was no longer certain that this was a fake Shield Hero, who stood forth to oppose them.

"Then perhaps, we should at least hear him out," Werner suggested. The other members of the Council exchanged uncertain looks for a moment before nodding in agreement. If this really was their God and he wanted to speak before the battle, it would be most unwise to instill his wrath before they even met him. Especially so, if it could be easily avoided.

Jaralis let out a low growl. But fortunately, without the majority rule, Werner was able to decide what they should do for now. The Shuzaku representative sent his winged advisors out, giving orders for the rest of the army to halt. This confused the army, as the sight of their God made them want to rush Melromarc's forces to free him, but thankfully, they listened to the orders of their leaders, for now.

Jaralis took his helmet off. "We will meet under a flag of truce!" Jaralis roared back in response. A white flag was erected amongst the center of the council. The army made no move to attack.

Naofumi breathed a sigh of relief. Alright, the first step was done. Now they only had like twenty or so minutes to end this war, and then they could go deal with the Wave.

It was just another day in the life of a Cardinal Hero.

"Let us end this." Mirellia gave orders to mages down below, and the knights in front parted. After a few seconds, the stone platform itself began moving forward past the army. Naofumi stared down at his party as they moved past. Raphtalia and Filo both nodded and gave him smiles to encourage him along.

On the opposite end, the Council's platform did the same. Both side's mages moved the platforms towards each other.

"Anything I should watch for, your Majesty?" Itsuki asked. He kept a tight grip on his bow.

"Only make sure you do nothing to provoke them," Mirellia answered. "If the Shield is considered a demon in our country, the other Cardinal Heroes won't amount to much more in Siltvelt."

Itsuki nodded and remained silent.

It felt like an eternity. But in reality, it wasn't long at all. But finally, the two stone platforms met in the center of the battlefield, merging together to allow those on both sides to approach one another. Naofumi was brought face to face with the leaders of Siltvelt.

He wouldn't bother going into details about all of them. Especially after they all got down on one knee in reverence. "Our Lord. It is a great honor to finally meet you." The one who spoke looked like a mixture of a bird and a human to Naofumi. The demi-human had large red wings coming out of his back, and legs that looked like bird feet. Besides that, he looked for all intents and purposes, human. Could he fly with those wings?

Naofumi had to do his best not to start yelling at them. After all, his goal was to not provoke them into continuing the war... "What the hell are you idiots doing?!" His best was not enough, unfortunately. "This is no time for a war!"

Members of the Council paled. "Our Lord. We'd heard you were being mistreated, and we thought-"

"Yeah, I was being mistreated! But that isn't a reason to start a damn war!" Naofumi interrupted the Shuzaku. "Do any of you have a clue how stupid this all is?! Damn you all!"

"If you were being mistreated, my Lord, we are perfectly justified in warring with Melromarc!" Jaralis growled. "No one that treats the Shield Hero with such disdain is worthy of life!"

"Jaralis. Think before you speak." Mirellia finally spoke up. The Council focused from Naofumi to her.

"I already told your delegates about how I allowed the Shield's current treatment to draw out the dark forces that were hiding in the shadows of my kingdom." Her stare became an icy glare. "I warned you not to interfere. Yet you still snuck scouts into my kingdom. Even worse, you declared war when those enemies of ours killed them, further emboldening them and making them far more dangerous than they would have been otherwise. The Shield Hero has had to suffer much hardship and tribulation because of YOUR actions." She emphasized where the blame lied.

Naofumi looked at the Queen. He wondered if this was one of her bluffs, or if that really was the truth. The Queen would have only known what he was going through based on what her Shadows told her since she was so busy trying to prevent wars with the other nations.

Some of the Council Members shuddered under the Vixen of Melromarc's stare. Aultcray looked up at them, and they backed away even further. It seemed even broken, the King still had his uses. Mirellia definitely knew where to hit to make it hurt.

Jaralis, however, now standing in front of everyone, laughed. "I see you're the same as always, Vixen. Blaming others for your nation's problems. I knew we should have declared war on Melromarc as soon as we learned that you had summoned our Great God!"

Mirellia glared harshly at Jaralis. "I assign blame where it belongs. And I have no doubt in my mind that your motivation for going to war with us isn't just over Sir Naofumi, is it, Jaralis?"

The two leaders glared at each other.

"Now, let's calm down a moment." Werner intervened. "I'm sure our great God didn't call this meeting because he wanted a war… that is why you called this meeting, correct?" Werner asked.

Naofumi was about to answer when Jaralis interrupted once again. "Of course that isn't why he did it! He wants Melromarc exterminated just like we do! He brought their leaders here for us so we could execute them-"

"Would you just shut up already!" Naofumi yelled at the lion therianthrope. "I don't want a bloody war or any fighting here! I have bigger fish to worry about than this ****!"

"But, my Lord!" Jaralis exclaimed. "This war is to avenge you of every misdeed done to you, and to return you to your rightful home-"

"I don't want to go to Siltvelt! I want to fight the Waves and save your damn world, you big furry idiot!" Naofumi yelled again.

…

This time, the members of the Council stared at him in shock. Their great God… didn't want to come back with them?

They were beginning to realize he was actually supporting Melromarc in this meeting. Not them.

Jaralis growled at the Queen. "What manner of brainwashing have you put our Great God through, Bitch?!"

"I have done nothing," Mirellia said, lowering her fan to show a serious face. "Believe me. Sir Naofumi's choice surprised me too."

Jaralis growled. "You lie!"

"No, she speaks the truth." Naofumi glared harshly. "You can say all you want. After what you did to the former raccoon representative, Victoria, I will never support your country the way it is."

The reaction he got was immediate. Werner, several of the younger members of the Council, and even a couple of the older members looked confused. However, the others who had been on the Council at that time paled considerably. Jaralis himself even appeared briefly stunned.

"You scapegoated an entire race to hide a lie. You murdered a family and broke a woman responsible for most of my problems since my summoning. You think I can just FORGIVE YOU FOR ALL THAT?!" Naofumi yelled, rage boiling in his tone. "IF SO, YOU ALL ARE EVEN MORE STUPID THAN I THOUGHT!"

"Jaralis, what is our God talking about-" Werner started to ask.

"This, it's because of that Tanuki companion of yours, isn't it?!" Jaralis accused.

Naofumi was shocked speechless for a few seconds that Raphtalia was being brought up now. She was still back with the rest of the army, waiting for them to return. "What are you- how is that relevant right now?!-"

"I always knew that the Tanukis and the Raccoons were going to plot together to fool our Great God into following our enemies! We shouldn't have just exiled the Raccoons! We shouldn't have just broken off our trade ties with Q'Ten Lo! We should have executed them and wiped out that nation of traitors!"

"YOU KEEP HER OUT OF THIS!" Naofumi yelled at Jaralis. He was barely holding onto his Rage at the moment. He forced himself to try and calm down. "She has nothing to do with your mistakes!-"

Jaralis smirked. "Ah, yes." He interrupted Naofumi again. "Now we have more than enough reason to purge Melromarc once and for all. Not only have those inferior races mistreated our great God, but they also tricked him into believing that they care about him to brainwash him!"

Naofumi's breath caught in his throat as he felt something inside him snap. His right eyebrow twitched as Jaralis spoke again. "Do not worry my Lord!" He leaned close, growling between bared teeth as he stared with his orange, bloodshot eyes into Naofumi's own green orbs." "I promise we will do everything in our power to free you from that filthy, manipulating, lying bi-"

Naofumi had no idea how it happened. It was most likely because the therianthrope had just tried to compare Raphtalia, the girl he loved the most in this world, to that of Bitch. But one moment, he'd been standing there. Staring at the proud demi-human in front of him.

The next moment, he was seeing red, and Itsuki and Dou-Lon were holding him back. The Cursed Shield of Rage II burned on his arm, and Jaralis was screaming on the ground. Burn marks covered his prideful face. Naofumi snarled like a wild animal.

"Naofumi, get a hold of yourself!" Itsuki yelled in his ear in fear.

"HOW DARE YOU! HOW ****ING DARE YOU!" Naofumi roared in a deep guttural voice. More cursed flames flew off his Shield, hitting his Hakuko party member.

"NAOFUMI!"

"Naofumi..." A distant voice filled the dark depths of his mind, clearing his vision for a moment. He growled, wanting to block it out and unleash his growing rage on the howling lion below him.

…

Through sheer force of will, Naofumi forced himself to change out of the Shield. Still, he felt plenty of anger. And he pointed down at the Council who cowered in fear at the indignation of their God. His transformation had briefly shown menacing black armor covering his right side, but that faded when he switched shields. "YOU WILL CALL OFF THIS WAR RIGHT NOW! OR I WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU HOLD DEAR! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Even without that armor, he didn't look any less menacing as he yelled it. He didn't give a **** anymore. He'd only met Jaralis, and the lion therianthrope PISSED him off. "DO IT! OR ELSE!"

Werner and a few of the others lost their color at his words. Jaralis, however, stood back up, growling menacingly. If it wasn't for the others being there, he likely would have attacked Naofumi. He held a pawed hand over the right side of his face where the burns were more severe. "You have clearly been brainwashed." He spoke slowly, his voice now carrying a chilling tone of certainty in it. "You fraternize not only with the inferior but with the true devils of this world." He pointed a clawed finger at Itsuki.

"Is he, talking about me?" Itsuki asked in surprise.

"The only way to free our God now is to scourge Melromarc and its heathens until nothing remains. The Council has spoken." Jaralis bared his teeth again and glanced back, letting the dark burns on his face speak for him.

Werner was horrified. But most of the other council members nodded in agreement. Among those were the ones who had been there at Victoria's trial. Jaralis, unfortunately, held the majority once more.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Jaralis?" Mirellia asked, her face hidden behind her fan again.

"Oh yes! I will enjoy it when we wipe out your army and pin your heads on pikes for the whole world to see." Jaralis growled out the threat. "And I will personally enjoy tearing your Vixen vocal cords out with my own fangs. They shall make an excellent trophy on my wall."

It was barely noticeable. But Aultcray twitched in his seat and looked up once more. A spark of life briefly returned to his eyes, glaring at the therianthrope. It startled Jaralis, but just as quickly, it disappeared, and the broken King knelt his head once more.

…

"Very well. I see talking will truly get us nowhere." Mirellia backed up onto her platform. Itsuki, Naofumi, and Dou-Lon followed her.

Jaralis growled. How he hated Melromarc! How he hated the Wise King and his Vixen! "And you, Hakuko!" He pointed an accusing clawed finger at Dou-Lon's retreating figure. "For deserting over to their side, I'll make sure that you will have the worst death of all!" Jaralis was held back by his bodyguards as the platforms separated. "Your kind will never be welcome in Siltvelt ever again! I swear it!"

Dou-Lon's fists clenched, but he didn't respond. He had several cursed burns that had burned the fur away from his arms when he held Naofumi back. He gripped around those areas, trying to hide the pain he was suffering from.

It wasn't until they were almost back with their army that Naofumi finally calmed down enough to realize the sheer magnitude of his **** up. His head drooped in regret. "I'm sorry. I let my anger get the best of me back there." He looked sadly at the Hakuko's burned arms.

"It is alright, my lord… if you hadn't gotten to him first, then I would have struck him myself." His voice held barely restrained anger as well. Jaralis rubbed them both the wrong way.

"Apologies will do nothing for us now, Shield Hero." Mirellia's voice was icy. She was likely mad at him. But she also sounded resigned. "It is not entirely your fault. I should have known Jaralis's hatred of humans would drive him to do anything to keep this war on track. But mentioning Victoria was not wise. It's only made them more desperate to hide their sins from the people."

"I know, he just... urgh..." Naofumi clenched his fists.

00:05:00

Naofumi looked at the wave counter. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter, since there's nothing we can do to stop this war now."

"Indeed, there is not." Mirellia breathed out and closed her fan before putting it away. There was no longer any need to partake in negotiations. One of her Shadows appeared, offering her her war helm. She accepted it and put it on, turning to face the Siltvelt Army. "War is unavoidable now."

…

"Well, look on the bright side," Itsuki said. Both looked at him. "Did you see the look on that lion's face after you slammed him with your Cursed Shield?"

"No…"

"... Well, I thought it was pretty funny," Itsuki said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Maybe Ren wasn't the only one who was bad at cheering people up.

When they reached the army, several mages began treating Dou-Lon's burns. As they were cursed, he would have to deal with them for a while. Naofumi would have used the effect from his shield, but a 10% defense debuff right before a Wave didn't sound very wise. He'd just have to keep an eye on Dou-Lon and pull him out before he got himself hurt too badly.

Naofumi and Itsuki jumped off the platform. Raphtalia immediately raced up to them. "Are you hurt? I felt like something terrible happened while you were over there."

"Filo felt it too." Filo was right behind her mother. "What happened daddy?"

"I… I may have lost control and used the Shield of Rage on one of the Council Members." Naofumi said.

"... you WHAT?!"

Naofumi flinched under Raphtalia's gaze. He felt more guilty, seeing the burns on her arms from when he'd lost control before. "I'm sorry. I swear I was trying to hold back."

"Don't be too hard on him. If they said that kind of stuff about my own party, I would have lost it too." Itsuki came to his friend's defense.

Raphtalia wasn't mad at Naofumi. She wasn't disappointed either. She was only sad that she hadn't been there to calm him down. So she hugged him close and rubbed the back of his head to comfort him.

He was grateful for it. It was always a scary experience coming out from that… that thing. "I'll take it the war isn't off then." Ren who had arrived to greet them earlier asked sadly.

"Yeah. The lion I punched was adamant about it." Naofumi said. "Still, it was worth a shot. And… I kind of feel better getting some of that off my chest."

...

"It's better you tried and failed instead of not trying at all." Raphtalia gently caressed Naofumi's face as she whispered the reassuring words into his ear.

Ren looked away at the display while Itsuki solemnly nodded in agreement. Naofumi, feeling better, let the Tanuki girl go and gently rubbed Filo's hair. Mirellia began to shout orders to her army. Organizing it for battle.

"There's nothing else we can do now," Naofumi said.

Ren and Itsuki both looked sad. They'd managed to solve all the other issues in Melromarc. But they'd failed with this last one. They saved the location to their weapons. Hopefully, if they dealt with the Wave quickly enough, they'd be able to teleport everyone back and help Mirellia's army.

On the opposite side, the demi-humans roared, preparing themselves for battle. Jaralis led them by yelling encouragements to them. To fight for their country and for their great God.

The hypocrite. Naofumi wanted to punch him all over again.

"Are you thinking rude thoughts again, Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked beside him.

"Trust me. They are well-deserved for once." Naofumi bitterly replied.

…

She squeezed his hand. "If they're well deserved, then I'll support you."

He looked at her in surprise, and she smiled at him. "What?"

"I'm just shocked that you'd support my rude side for once..."

She pouted. "I don't always not support your rude side Naofumi."

"Um, yeah you do," Naofumi retorted.

"I do not."

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do-"

"Guys, I'm up for all forms of stress relief, but save it for later, we have more important things to worry about." Itsuki interrupted.

00:00:15

Naofumi and Raphtalia both sighed, but stayed hand in hand. "Fine. Let's deal with that Wave, and then get back here as quickly as possible." He said.

Itsuki and Ren both nodded. Changing to their strongest weapons. Naofumi switched to his Awakened Chimera Viper Shield once more. Their party members readied themselves, both here at the Wave, and back in the Capital.

00:00:05

Jaralis raised an arm on the platform across the battlefield. The new scars on his face were plain to see. "ARE YOU READY TO FREE OUR GOD?!" He roared in triumph. He was met with a deafening roar.

"DEFEND YOUR HOMELAND WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT!" Mirellia's voice carried over her entire army. Many of the knights grimaced, but stood firm, determined to defend their homeland.

A glowing light surrounded Ren, Itsuki, Naofumi, and their parties, both on the ground, and on the Queen's stone platform.

00:00:02

'This is it. This is where Melromarc finally ends.' Jaralis thought in glee. If they took out both the Queen and the Staff Hero, the rest of Melromarc would easily fall. And to think their invasion lined right up with the Wave too. It couldn't have been better planned if they'd tried.

00:00:01

00:00:00

A loud sound like a gong rang out over the landscape. Jaralis lowered his arm to give the order to charge. Mirellia did the same.

The light brightened around the Heroes and their parties, and then…

A bright light appeared in the center of no man's land. As soon as it appeared, it faded, revealing the Hero's and their parties.

Jaralis and Mirellia's arms both froze in place. 'WHAT?!'

The three Heroes looked around in confusion. "What the-"

A sound like a tear sounded far up above. Looking up, the sky turned a dark red. Purple vortexes moved across the sky. From them, monsters began to pour out. Mirellia, Jaralis, and the other leaders looked up in stunned horror.

Naofumi paled.

****.

"Oh no," Ren said fearfully. His full party now surrounding him. Farrie and Tersia included.

They weren't being teleported somewhere else. They were already at the sight of the wave.

"Hey guys, so how did the peace talks gooooo... oh." Beside them, a very sheepish Motoyasu and his two girl party looked at both armies opposite each other as well as the sky up above. "This looks bad."

"... You think?" Naofumi responded sarcastically.

A monster from the rift, a Shadow Lizardman, landed on top of a Wolf demi-human. Killing him instantly. At the same time, a Shadow Goblin fell in front of a line of knights, cackling maniacally as it jumped for them.

Screams and chaos spread all across the battlefield as more monsters fell from the sky.

Melromarc's Third Wave of Destruction had begun.

Author's Notes:

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YES! GO MY PLOT BUNNIES! SOW DESTRUCTION AND CHAOS AMONGST THEIR RANKS! BWUHAHAHAHAHAHA *ack, ack* damn it. There goes the perfect evil laugh.

I hope I provided enough foreshadowing at the beginning of the chapter to show what was about to happen. I kind of based the geography from the Rising of the Shield Hero: Relive the Animation to line this up. Know that game's version of the map is false, and that it normally takes a month instead of several weeks to make a journey from Siltvelt to Shieldfreeden to this part of Melromarc, as there are several other minor countries in between them, but oh well.

Siltvelt barely had to deal with the border defense. But as punishment for that, they are now at the center of a Wave with their enemies. Oh, how I love plot. I'll look forward to seeing you all two weeks from now.

Hero Clips!

I Hate Politics

"Sir Naofumi, please reconsider-"

"No! I already said no, so drop it!"

Mirellia pouted, putting her hands on her hips. Naofumi wondered where Melty had gotten her pout from. Guess he knew the answer now. "I do believe this is a reasonable request."

"What's a reasonable request?" Itsuki walked in on the scene.

"Her Majesty wants to make me an Arch-Duke to lower tensions with Siltvelt!" Naofumi yelled at the blonde kid.

"Oh, really? Congratulations Naofumi!" Itsuki said excitedly.

"No, that's horrible! That'd mean I'd have to become even more intertwined in politics! And I HATE that stuff!" Naofumi complained.

"Really, that's the only thing holding you back?" Ren appeared, asking his question curiously.

"Man, you should be celebrating! Arch-Duke is like, one of the highest ranks you can get in the kingdom!" Motoyasu appeared as well.

Naofumi growled at them. "Please reconsider, Sir Naofumi. I'm only trying to put you in a position that pleases Siltvelt and puts you above those that want to hurt you." Mirellia said.

...

"I know there's a catch there somewhere, so what the hell is it," Naofumi uttered, more calmly.

Mirellia moved her fan in front of her face. "Well, as Archduke... you would be considered a marriage candidate for my daughter-"

"THEN HELL NO!"

She was surprised by how quickly his fierce response came. "I only said you'd be a candidate, Sir Naofumi! I wouldn't dream of tearing you away from Miss Raphtalia! And when the time came, Melty will have a list of candidates to choose from-"

"You better not choose me, Second Princess, you hear me!?" Naofumi yelled.

"Why would I choose to marry someone as rude as you!?" Melty screeched indignantly somewhere in the castle. "Hell would have to freeze over first before that happened!"

"See, Sir Naofumi, you have nothing to worry about-" Mirellia was saying again.

"Screw this, I'm not staying to play politics!"

"Wait, come back Naofumi!" The Heroes all yelled.

"Raphtalia, Filo, where the hell are you two!?"

Wow, the guy must have really hated his politics.

Though he might have finally noticed as well that it'd been some time since Raphtalia or Filo appeared alongside him in an extra.

I should probably fix that soon.

Till Next Time

Allen