AUTHOR NOTES
Hello readers, welcome back to another chapter of "Shall I show you a True Shield?". Before we dive on the chapter, a few reviews have brought up some questions, seeing as you guys seem really curious as to where I'm going with the story, but I can't spoil it all now, right? Keep on reading to find out. Now, unto the questions:
VONGOLA NINJA - I know you asked a bunch of stuff, mate, but most of them relate to the future chapters of the story, so you will have to keep on reading. Now, what I can answer is this: 1)Yes, Shadow's weapon is akin to Walter's, thanks for your input on how you enjoyed it. I also took inspiration from a bunch of other animes, such as Akame ga Kill Teigu(Imperial Arm) as even the recent Reincarnated as a Slime Anime but the core concept came from Hellsing for sure. 2) Dera will have her time for sure, but it won't come early seeing the type of creature she is (Hydra). 3) This will be the last for you. Felicia is an OOC for sure; I based her on a character from an amazing light novel I've been reading for quite some time(Kuro No Maou if you are interested).
HAKKYOU NO YAMI - 1) Eclair is a Rising of the Shield Hero character, present both in the web and light novel, also she has also appeared on the manga. The anime hasn't reached her yet, but I have faith Second Season is coming soon, and with it, Eclair will appear. 2)Yes, she will. In her due time, she barely has three heads now. 3)Shadow is based on the anime appearence from the anime itself, since the studio took an original route with appearance of the "Shadow unit".
DRAGOON109 - Really, dude? I don't mean to be rude with my reply, but consider this. Put youself in Naofumi's shoes and think for just a minute. You are summoned to another world against your will and are told to fight for them. The people who summoned you scorn you merely on the fact that your weapon is a shield and do their hardest to bring you down and cause your demise. You fight with teeth and nails to survive and reach where you are, resorting so far as to break one convention from your original world, slavery. Then, after all your hard work, someone whom you've never seen shows up, doesn't help you with an unreasonable race request and out of nowhere asks you to free your slave, who helps you to survive against this unreasonable world. It's like asking you to chop off one of your arms, because you have two and, you having two arms is somehow greedy, even when everyone else has two arms. So far, the only thing that hasn't betrayed Naofumi was money, since he only got his slaves because he had money. Do you get it? Naofumi still has deep hatred, massive distrust issues and rage inside his heart, he is merely holding it in for the sake of his slaves. Want me to show what happens when he has the mere ilusion he lost someone precious to him?
Ok ok, we are done with the answers for now. This section lasted way too long already, let's get into what you all came here for. Here is the chapter, to compensate for all the chit-chat up here. Enjoy, Ryujin maou (Draconic Demon Lord) out!
After having modified the seeds of the Bio-plant, Naofumi left Cossete village, leaving behind a crate full of modified and pacified seeds and a message. Don't blindly trust anyone, be it a hero or a king. The hero guided his wagon, Firo pulling it with happy steps as she stuffed her face full of red fruit. Raphtalia sat by his side, sharpening the blade of her sword.
"Naofumi-sama, I know we took some money as payment for the job, but shouldn't we at least say our farewells? We left so suddenly after finishing the plant extermination." The raccoon girl said, eyes focused on the serious face of the hero as he busily did some calculations. His shield had returned to the [Magic Tome Shield], using the extra skill to work without having to fully ocupy his hands. The [Magic Book] bonus skill meant that Naofumi merely to think of what he wanted written and the words would appear on the pages of his book/shield. It was a fairly useful skill for quick math, specially when he quickly needed to crunch some numbers to give proper change, considering business was non-stop while on the road. He was fairly happy with the accumulated amout he had on [Void Bank Storage].
"Raphtalia, we completed the job that they requested and received the payment. There was no more reason for us to stay behind, even more so if we consider that they saw me changing shields. Might as well cut our loses here while we are still profting." Naofumi explained to the girl, making her give him a bitter smile. Raphtalia wanted to say something else, but before she could, she started coughing.
Naofumi eyed her, wondering if she had inhaled some pollen from any plant while they were on the village. He grumbled and sighed, turning around and searching among his crates of merchandise. A few seconds later, he returned to his proper position and extended his hand to his slave, a medicine vial. Raphtalia blushed at her blunder, sheating her sword and extending her hand to grab the vial. Naofumi took it out of reach at the last second, making the girl grasp air. He offered the vial again, making Raphtalia try once more to grab the remedy. Once more the hero took it out of her grasp at the last moment.
Raphtalia flared her cheeks and pouted, crossing her arms and turning her face away from the hero. "Mouuu~ Naofumi-sama! Stop treating me like a kid."
The hero lightly laughed at the girl. "Then don't behave like one. You get sick, take your medicine right away, don't wait for me to notice. My job isn't to babysit you, got it?" He finally gave the girl the glass vial, which she quickly grabbed, suspicious he would try to take it away again. She focused her look on the medicine, the orange drink which had healed her on her most needed time. Medicine her lord had crafted specially for her. A light dusting blush painted her cheeks, the girl busy staring at the vial
*SMACK
"Hyah!" Raphtalia almost dropped her potion, the sudden headchop much unexpected. She rose her teary gaze to her hero, the man still having his hand in a knife-lke shape. He seemed ready to chop at her head again, brows raised in a questioning tone. "What are you doing, staring at the potion like that? Drink it already!" He commanded, fixing his position and focusing on the road ahead.
Raphtalia released a small, pleased sigh and drank her medicine in one go. "Thank you, Naofumi-sama!" She placed the glass vial inside another crate and looked at the nigth sky, the taste of the medicine still fresh in her mouth. Sweet... She took a sneak glance at the hero, his strong build. She would continue looking at him for a while, were it not for the presences she sensed looking at her. She turned her head back and found four pairs of eyes staring at her. Six yellow, slited eyes and other two hidden behind a white mask were fully focused on her. Dera and Shadow.
"Uuhh, h-hey girls-s." Raphtalia tried to start small talk. None of the two bothered to listen, Dera quickly slithering her way to coil Naofumi's waist, which surprised the hero due to the sudden added weight. Shadow continued her staring. "S-Shadow-san, is there a-anything on my face?" The rogue-like girl shifted her masked gaze somewhere else, mouthing a silenced "Nothing" as answer.
Naofumi started complaining to Dera. The Hydra had gained length, now just shy of 190 centimeters, and had become quite the bulky individual. It was surprising for sure, considering she hadn't lost one bit of her agility. Her three head nuzzled agressively against the hero, each demanding pets from him. He tried to settle the reptile down, left had firmly holding Firo's leash while the other tried to pacify the atention-seeking Hydra. His efforts were suddenly stopped as Raphtalia hugged that one right hand. "What are you guys doing? I can't drive like this, dammit!"
"Nothing, Naofumi-sama~!" Raphtalia said in a easy tone.
"Shaaaaa~!" Dera's three heads softly hissed.
"Master, no fair~! Everyone is getting clingy, while Firo is busy working! Firo wants to get clingy too~!" The philorial girl complained.
"Shadow, a little help over here please!" Naofumi asked, hoping that the rogue-like girl would be of help here. Even if it was night time, it was too hot to get like this.
A few days later.
Naofumi had just finished selling his products at a mid-sized village as was getting ready to continue his travels. He found it a a bit weird that there were already some people waiting for him, but he let it slide when Shadow informed him that rumors had been circulating the countryside about a famous merchant selling medicine, riding a cart pulled by a divine bird and protected by a triple-headed snake. He rose one eyebrow, considering that the rumor had somehow been enbelished. The first time he heard it, it was when he passed by a city to sell some leather armors and more medicine. It was a simple rumor about a traveling merchant and a big philorial.
The second time came when he passed a mining city, this time the rumor was that the philorial that pulled the wagon had healing powers. Miners, old people and even children had flocked to his wagon in search of medicine and word about said bird. He had Firo shut her trap to avoid any more weird rumors. There was even a small incident where some thugs tried to smooth off him by threatening his business, which was when Dera emerged from the wagon, three heads snapping and snarling at the two-bit thugs, which made the men piss their pants and pass out. Needless to say, he rushed to sell his products and go away, else the local guards could come and bother him.
Each time he found another village, town or city, it became the same thing, the rumors becoming bigger and fancier each stop on the way. He mostly left it alone, seeing as there was little he could actually do about that, and since it wasn't harming his business, he let it go. Reputation was a merchant's lifeline after all, so the hero was satisfied that he could sell so well due to the rumors.
He finished loading his wagon with another crate of empty glass vials, when someone approached him. He could stay relaxed since he had Shadow on guard duty, which meant she would take of trouble before it approached him.
"Excuse me, kind sir, but might you be the owner of this carriage?" A rather plump and gaudily dressed individual asked Naofumi, to which he nooded. The man had a properly grommed appearance and expensive, jewel-encrusted clothes. Naofumi gave the man a look-over, wondering what said man wanted with him. "Will you stop at the next town? I had plans to catch a carriage, but it seems no one is leaving for the next three days. I was wondering if you might be so kind as to take me with you? I'll pay for the ride, of course!" The plump man had a praticed smile, presenting a posture that seemed completely unthreatening as to make one lower their guard. The hero eyed the man's fingers, many rings adorning them. He looked the man in the eyes. A firm look and serious eyes combined with an easy-going expression. The hero nodded.
"Sure, hop in, we're just about to leave." Naofumi said. The man thanked him with the same fixed smile and entered the wagon. He sat on the bench installed inside and prodded his backpack at his side. Firo exited the city and soon the group was on the road again. Naofumi checked his medicine stock, trusting the philorial to no crash.
We have enough medicine to the next city, which means we will have to camp out for a while to gather more materials. We ran out of leather armors, so hunting more monsters will also be on the menu. Upping the girls' levels and getting them better equipment will have to wait until we reach Old man Erhart. Since Shadow is good enough using Metal thread wire, I guess I can work on that new weapon for her. I hope that Erhart can work with magical threads too. A better sword and armor for Raphtalia, and I guess some upgrades for my armor. The Hero finished his accounting, pulled out his tools and and some pieces of wood. The hero had been working on carving a guitar as a side-project. Firo was quite a great singer, fact he discovered last night when they were resting at an inn. The patrons inside were playing some local tunes and Firo, in her human form, ran straight at them and followed their singing. Soon enough, she was perfectly singing along, somehow having memorized all the lyrics.
He hopped the smith was ready to work, because the hero was coming with many projects for him.
Raphtalia was busy on his side, reading a book. Shadow was out of sight, as was Dera. Shadow being hidden was an usual thing, but Dera had started to follow in the steps of the Rogue, but instead of using her recently found stealth to ambush prey, she used it to sneak up on the hero and surprise-coil around him, demanding headpats to release him. With her out of sight, Naofumi was sure to receive a surprise later in the day.
"How lucky of me!" The merchant commented, a wide smile stretched on his face. Raphtalia rose her gaze from her book curiously, while Naofumi stopped his carving to stare at the plump man. "Riding the wagon of the Savior of the Heavenly Fowl and Sacred Tri-Sepent, it surely is a sign of luck, don't you think, sir?!" Naofumi had to supress a sudden urge to laugh at this ridiculous, chunnii-sounding (Chunni as in Chunnibiou or Eight-grade syndrome) nickname.
"Heavenly Fowl? Sacred Tri-Serpent?" Raphtalia asked, making the merchant stare back at the duo.
"You don't know? It is legend that quickly spread out recently. It states that the master of the cart pulled by the Heavenly Fowl is bringing miracles and blessings to many towns, and that those who try to cross him face the wrath of a three-headed snake known as the Tri-Sepent. That's the type of rumor that is going around in many of Melromark towns." The merchant stated rather happily. Naofumi merely chuckled.
"I don't know anything about that; I'm simply a merchant, selling goods and medicine for those that need it, nothing more and nothing less. Nothing holy or sacred about that." The hero stated, going back to his carving.
"Such humbleness is hard to see these days~" The man said, pointing at Naofumi. "You must be the one in charge of the medicines, right? You're always checking that book, so I guess that's where the secret recipes for your medicines are. Am I right?" He asked, rubbing his hands in a foxy manner, plastic smile in place.
Naofumi smiled just like the merchant, eyes closed and hands busily carving at the wood. The duo of men stared at each other for a few seconds, merchant smiles on their faces.
"I don't know what you might be talking about~" Naofumi said. The merchant laughed gaudily, if such a thing was possible, doing a series of "hohohoho"s.
"Raphtalia-nee-chan, Master is doing that weird smile again~" Firo exclaimed, head turned back to look inside the wagon.
The merchant widened his eyes with glee, clapping his hands together like an excited 10-years old kid. Naofumi groaned and face-palmed while Raphtalia tried to quiet down the nosy philorial.
"Firo! Naofumi-sama told you not to speak while we travel with strangers!" The raccoon girl reprimanded the bird, said bird whining at the girl.
"How amazing! To be able to talk and comprehend human-speech, it's only normal for the Heavenly Fowl. Sir master, might I also see the Sacred Tri-Serpent?" The plump man asked with pleading hands. Naofumi was about to reject his offer, but he suddenly found his legs bound. He looked down, finding scaly hide coiling around him. Nobody was able to speak as something tried to wrap around the Hero, horror rapidly coloring the merchant's face. He looked at the raccoon gilr, hoping for her to attack whatever beast was this, but the girl was merely face-palming, a tired sigh leaving her lips.
"Dera, fucki-..let go of my damn legs." Naofumi was pushed back on the bench as the Hydra tried coiling her entire body around him, her heads coming to nuzzle against his chest as her tongues flickered out. As the situation seemed safe, if weird, the merchant's eyes lit up once more as he found himself right in front of the supposed Tri-Serpent. He slowly extended one hand in hopes of patting the scale covered monster, but his attempts were stopped, a hand suddenly lashing out and grabbing his own. He quickly turned to the source, a robbed and masked woman, decked out in assassin/rogue-like armor.
She released his hand and shook her head sideways, before touching the busy hero on his left shoulder. "Master, this one found out bandits waiting half a click (half-kilometer) north of our position. What course of action should this worthless one take?" Shadow asked the hero, as he finally managed to wrestle the Hydra out from his legs.
Naofumi sat down and also placed Dera on the bench, patting the main head while the other two released pleased noises. "Bandits, huh? They wouldn't happen to have some connection with you, mister merchant, would they?" The hero asked, continuing his petting of the Hydra.
The merchant denied with a vigorous head shake. "It would be rather foolish of me to try to target the Savior of the Heavenly Fowl and Tri-Serpent and not expect him to have amazing bodyguards. Besides, my lord, my business is focused on magical acessories. I fear that a target was painted on my back due to my sucess, sir." The merchant said with a wry expression.
The hero analyzed the merchant's expression for a few seconds before he sighed. "Bodyguard services will cost you extra, you know that!" His words made the merchant look up at him with a amazed expression. The hero scoffed and sat down. Raphtalia, at his side, looked at him worried. Is Naofumi-sama charging even more money on this man? To think about money even in a situation like this, Naofumi-sama is his own sort of amazing, isn't him?
"Shadow, go ahead and prepare a little repection for our uninvited guests. We will be right behind you." Naofumi commanded. Shadow nodded and vanished quickly. "Raphtalia, get ready too." The raccoon girl also nodded and grabbed her seathed sword, strapping it on her waist. "Dera, the bandits might get rowdy, so I'm counting on you, right?" The Hydra cooed at Naofumi, nodding with vigor and holding out her head for more patting, which the hero complied with, to the burning jealousy of Firo (and secretely Raphtalia). "Firo, you heard everything! Just go ahead and stop when you see the bandits." The philorial loudly
"I was a little low on goods anyway." Naofumi said, a dark smile spreading on his face.
The wagon came to a stop as a group of men came out of the woods carrying axes, swords and the like. The leader of the group, a man with curly, light brown colored hair came to the front, leather armor and spear drapped in his hands, and shouted at Naofumi.
"Yo, Nii-chan! Pretty fancy wagon you've got here, how about letting me and the boys ride it for a while?" The bandit leader laughed, his group joining together as if some joke had been said. Naofumi just sighed. Ok, this is just pathetic. These clowns are bandits? God dammit, they are lame. I won't even need to move a muscle.
The hero simply raised one hand up. The bandits laughed louder, thinking the hero had surrended. They became rather confused when the hero lowered said hand, pointing to them as if ordering an attack-
"Dera, Firo, Raphtalia, Shadow, five minutes, round them up and tie them when you are done." His command made the bandit leader stare in confusion at the hero, until three of his men suddenly fell down, multiple tiny cuts suddenly emerging from their exposed bodies. Out of the wagon, a raccoon demi-human rushed with quick steps, sword poised and ready to fight. The bandits quickly gathered their wits, but not before two more fell unconscious, a gift of Raphtalia's sword pommel digging into their abdomen.
The spear wielding leader tried to organize his troops, but another surprise came out of the wagon. A rather loud hissing noise errupted from the wooden cart, soon followed by the slithering of a three-headed reptilian monster with darker emerald shades of green scales. The men were suddenly paralyzed under the gaze of a proper predator. Their stunned state cost them dearly, seeing as another figure rushed into the fight. Firo came down on the bandits with strong kicks, punting many on trees or across the dirt road. Needless to say, it was not pretty for the bandits.
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"Now, I'm only going to ask this once. Where is your hideout?" The hero stood in front of the tied-down bandits, many uncounscious either due to poison or blunt impact. The leader, now possessing a blackened eye and sporting many bruises, tried to smile in a suave manner.
"Come on now, saint, don't be like that. We only wanted the Acessory Dealer. Me and the boys neer planned to put our hands on your girl, or the monsters. You can't be that rough on your fellow brothers, we are only trying to survive out here." The bandit tried to appeal to the hero, seeing the shackle bracelet still attached to Raphtalia's wrists. The hero ignored the bandits words, focusing on their current equipement.
"Aghhh? I don't remember having asked you anything else, besides the location of your hideout! I guess I wasn't clear enought; oh, well, whan can you do? Firo, are you hungry?" Naofumi asked the bird. She approached him, her stomach emitting a rumbling noise.
"Firo is very, very hungry master." Her rumbling belly only added on the effect, the conscious bandits now trembling in fear.
"Oi oi, Saint-sama, you can't possibly be thinking on-" Naofumi interrupted the man by leaning close to him. He motioned for Firo and Dera to come closer, both monsters quickly following the command. Firo leaned on by Naofumi's left while Dera and her three heads leaned on by his right.
"I guess this is as good as any chance to have my monsters taste human flesh. Let's see if they will enjoy it." Naofumi finished his sentence with a dark smile, Firo clamping her beak shut a few times to add effect; Dera, on the other hand, used of her three heads to display crazy sharp fangs breaming with purple, poisonous gunk as she opened her three mouths and approached the bandits.
"STOP, STOP, PLEASE, WE WILL SHOW YOU THE HIDEOUT, JUST TELL THEM TO STOP, PLEASE!"
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"And now were are being used as forced labor. What part of this guy is saint-like?" Curly hair (bandit leader) complained as he passed along the line of men various goods that his troop had stolen. All was being loaded in the Shield Hero's wagon under the watchful eyes of Shadow and Firo.
While that happened, Naofumi was busy dealing with the merchant, whom was almost clinging onto the hero as a child does to its mother. The hero pushed the plump man away from him.
"How magnificent, Sir!" The man's eyes shone like floodlights, a inner fire displayed that would put many warriors to shame. "Such innovative and agressive business operandus; you, sir, have the true soul of a merchant!"
Raphtalia, by Naofumi's side, sounded exasperated by the merchant's declaration. "We are acting as villanous as the bandits. Naofumi-sama, wouldn't it be better to simply drop them off at the next knight garrison?"
The plump merchant seemed deeply vexed by what the raccoon girl said. "Naive! A true merchant knows to deal with any business available to him. Sir Saint has what many of today's merchants lack, resolve and conviction. He made a great bargain, for there is no greater good than life. He sold back to these bandits their lives back for the cheap price of everything they stole."
"Hey hey, don't think you are getting scotch free too! They wouldn't have attacked me, if not for you. Better start counting your coins, you'll pay up too!" Naofumi exclaimed at the merchant. The man nodded with gusto.
"Of course, sir! You truly moved me! I'll deeply compensate your, sir! I shall teach you my craft, magical acessory making, and even share some of my important business contacts with you. We all shall make a true profit! Finally, a worthy soul to inherit my position!" The merchant grabbed Naofumi's cloak and hurried the hero to sit down. There would be quite a while until the bandits finished "buying" their lives back and loading their goods on Naofumi's wagon.
"A plague?" The hero asked for confirmation. He had reached the town, said his farewells to the Acessory Merchant and delivered the bandits to the knight garrison. He then procceeded to set up his business, this time letting Raphtalia and Firo try their hands at peddling. He only gave them tips and advice, letting them deal with the bartering, while he worked on making potions on the wagon, all the while Shadow and Dera stayed at guard duty. He had just finished a batch of healing potions when a farmer adressed him.
"Yes, it's affecting my village. Up in the mountains of our neighborhood resided a dragon, and the Sword Hero said he wanted some dragon materials, so guided by local adventurers, he and his party went ahead and hunted it down. We don't really know what happened up there, but only the Sword hero and his party returned, and only a few days later people started to fall sick. Some people went up the mountain to examine the place and found that the cause was the rotting corpse of the dragon, left there by the Sword Hero. Monsters started appearing around it to eat the rotten flesh, and it is cursing and plaguing the village. Please, we have money over there, go sell your medicine there, I beg you!" The farmer fell to his knees in front of Naofumi.
"My daugther and my wife both are ill, and I heard that the Saint of the Heavenly Fowl had miraculous medicine! It doesn't matter the price, please, just help out!" The man rose his voice, making some people look over. Naofumi sighed heavily and picked the man from the ground. He examined the man, seeing him sweating profusely, and to make matters worse, the man had a dark, blotchy spot on his shirt in the abdomen area. Naofumi immediately dragged the man to his wagon and made him sit down.
"God fucking dammit, Ren, you are not a damn kid! Take some fucking responsability!" Naofumi almost roared in anger, literally shoving a potion on the man's mouth. The farmer recoiled in surprise, but the hero held him with a tight grip. "I'll feed you, drink it slowly!" His tone made the farmer only nod in response. As he drank the potion, the effects were almost immediate. His skin color returned, and his body temperature slowly started to go up. "Hop in the fucking wagon, we are departing right now. Girls, in, now! We have another mess to clean up." The shield hero ground his teeth so far one could be assured he would shatter them.
Materials that easily rotten; must be the internal organs. So Ren fucking kills a dragon and does not properly dispose of the remains. Now the rotten flesh is poisoning the land, and killing people with a plague. If we add the other monsters feasting on the rotten dragon flesh, and the small chance that they can spread the plague, we could be having a fucking magical Black Plague (bulbonic Plague) in our hands, all because Sword Wanker couldn't keep his murder boner in his pants and had to kill a dragon. I swear, it's really like I'm babysitting children. What's next, Itsuki is going to fuck something up too? The fuck do I look like? Shield Hero? More like Janitor Hero, having to keep cleaning what these idiots leave behind.
It was like this that Naofumi and his party reached Yama Village.
It was obvious for the eye to see the effects of the plague, considering that any tree close to the village was tried up and dead. From the mountain it was possible to see a thick miasma emanating down, many monsters flying their way up there. The village didn't even guards stationed on the front gate; must be sick inside their homes. The smell started to pick up, rotten flesh emanating faintly, even down here in the village.
Naofumi had Firo drive the wagon until it approached the Village chief's house, where the farmer had informed Naofumi that the sick were being treated. As fast as the carriage stopped, the farmer jumped from it and tried to rush Naofumi to follow him. The hero didn't follow the man, instead he gave his orders to his slaves, like a captain commanding a battalion of soldiers.
"Dera, Firo, hunt down the surrounding monsters and garantee that they won't invade the village. Don't follow them all the way to the mountain, just secure a perimeter around the village. Shadow, Raphtalia, you are with me. We are bringing all our potions and tonics inside there." The orders were direct and simple. Naofumi himself grabbed four crates of medicine under his arms and started making his way to the Village Lord's house. The farmer opened the door for the hero, many sick people laying in the ground visible as Naofumi's leather boots thumped on ground.
Many of the sick looked at him, dead eyes lighting up at the image of rogue face. It felt somewhat awkward, having people give him looks full of hope, but the hero proceeded inside the house. A few rooms later, he entered the area where the worst cases laid on. The farmer rushed inside the room and kneeled by the side of a bed. On it, two woman laid down, tired and pale expressions smiling lightly as both mother and daughter laid eyes upon the farmer.
"I told both of you that I would bring help. Saint-sama is here with medicine, you will be saved!" The man was already crying, not finishing his sentence due to the tears. Naofumi laid down his crates and lightly pulled the man away from the two women. "NO! I have been fa-" the hero smacked the man upside the same.
"Quiet down! You are disturbing the others!"Although the hit did virtually no damage, it still carried enough force to jostle the farmer into silence. The hero put both his hands on the man's shoulders and did his best to look softly at the man. It seemed to work, as the farmer softened. "You did a good job, enduring the pain and rushing for help. I'm here now, I'll do my best. Now you need to sit down, rest, and not disturb them." An assistant of the lord came in the room carrying a bucket of water and various towels. Naofumi rushed to her, grabbed the items and told her to tend to the farmer.
The hero opened one of his crates and immediately grabbed two of the stronger potions. He wasted little time, pulling the cork of one with his teeth and pouring the liquid inside a bowl, offered by whom he supposed to be the village leader. The man was dressed into a mix of priestly and physician clothes, all in a white tone. "Name's Aral, tell me what I can help you with, sir." Good, at least he wouldn't have to waste time explaining himself.
"Make her drink this and tell me if any postules or rashes broke out. You!" The hero pointed to the assistant, the woman yelped in surprise. "My companions are bringing in more medicine; make the other patients drink it immediately. Check everyone who entered and left this building." Naofumi exclaimed, already moving unto another sick person. This time it was an older man, a craftsman for sure. This job had gotten much more complicated than what Naofumi was hoping for. It was supposed to be a delivery of potions, simple as that. Grab the money, give the potions, inform the capital about the dragon corpse and get out.
The hero pulled up the shirt of the older man, seeing various purple blotches. He poured a quarter of the potion over the man's abdomen, a hissing sound emitting from the purple areas, together with a purple miasma, akin to the one coming from the mountain where the dragon corpse laid at. The hero fed the rest to the man, his complexion becoming more relaxed as the potion took almost immediate effect. A green aura expanded from the man, and those close to him seemed to be in less pain than before.
Naofumi chalked it up to one of his shields, maybe the [Medicine Shield] or the [Chesmistry Shield], he wasn't worried about it right now. He needed to help these ppeople. Fucking hell, Ren! Look at the shit show you have done!
It took three days for Naofumi and his party to administer the potions and help those sick with the plague. Help is a generous word. My medinice can help them, but it can only do so far. The best remedy would be to get rid of the dragon corpse, but that isn't my job. I'll report to the capital, cleaning up their messes isn't my fucking job. The hero exited the tent where he taken care of the last patient. Aral exited right beside him, a pleading look already painting his face.
"Master Naofumi, please. If you leave, we won't last!" The impromptu doctor said, some of the better villagers coming to back him up. Once again, the Shield hero found himself surrounded by pleading looks. He shook his head, making his way towards his wagon.
"I can't cure you completely, and would be lying if I said I could. I'll report to the capital and they will send one of the heroes to deal with it." Naofumi said, calling his slaves to follow him. Raphtalia looked conflicted, wainting to help out.
Aral cut off the hero, and kneeled in front of him. The villagers followed his example and all kneeled in their places. The medic pushed to the front a bag, most likely filled with money if the clinking of coins was anything to go by. "Please, sir! We will not last until the heroes reach our place. Even if they did, how could we trust them when they caused this situation in first place. Master Naofumi, what have we done to deserve this from the Sword Hero? We offer our prayers and work hard, why has the Sword done this?" Aral pleaded.
Not this shit again.
"FUCK!" Naofumi roared a curse. He scratched his hair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine, we'll fucking do this! Don't come complaining to me later, since you are the ones who offered the money first!" Naofumi exclaimed loudly. He raised his hand and called out for his girls to come closer. "Change of plans, we will clean up the mess Ren left behind." He explained and then grabbed the moneybag. A quick flick of his wrist and the bag was sucked inside the green gem of his [Magic Tome Shield]. Aral and the villagers widened their eyes as Naofumi's book changed shape, becoming the imposing [Chimeric Viper Shield].
[Chimeric Viper Shield]
-Increase in defense +50;
+Passive skills: Increased Poison Resistance (Medium); Chain Shield;
+Bonus skill: Venom Snake Hook (Medium); Detoxify (Higher)
"A Shield? Don't tell me!"
"No way! Is Master Naofumi..."
The hero hopped in his wagon, his party members ready for battle. Firo rushed to her position to carry the wagon, Dera rushed to coil around Naofumi, resembling more a vest than a belt now, Raphtalia was at his side and Shadow sat on the roof of the wagon.
"Keep the rest of the potions, don't hesitate to drink them if someone gets worse. You paid me, I'll deal with your problem. From the beginning I told you, I'm no saint, just a merchant. Don't worry," He proclaimed, and while many villagers were confused by the sudden appearance of the hero, his next words would start something that would reach the capital of Melromark and shake the core of the religion of the Three Heroes. "I am the Shield Hero, my duty is to protect!"
The group rode on the wagon up the mountain, the monsters quickly fleeing at their sight. With the exception of Firo and Dera, everyone wore a bandana cloth over their nose nad mouth, a precaution against the thick miasma.
They quickly found the corpse of the dragon, the creature left to rot in such a ugly fashion. Naofumi wasn't the most sympathetic person out there, but even he felt some pity for the creature. In any fantasy setting, dragons would be the pinacle of strenght and power, rising above most common creatures. Seeing the sight of the rotting corpse of this one made Naofumi offer a quick prayer for such a disrespect against such a creature.
"Naofumi-sama, how will we deal with the corpse?" Raphtalia asked, bringing a axe with her.
The hero eyed the body from a few angles. "I wanted to bury it, but considering the damage it has done so far, absorbing it with the shield my be the best way. Let's break it into smaller parts, otherwise I can't feed it to the shield. Firo, Dera, deal with the monsters around it; work will progress faster if we aren't disturbed by them trying to feed." The Philorial and the Hydra nodded, moving to attack the monsters. As they did so, Naofumi and the girls got closer to the corpse.
Raphtalia stopped walking, ears twitching and moving.
"Raphtalia, what's wrong?" The hero asked.
"Did the corpse just move?" The raccoon girl asked out loud, making Naofumi shake his head sideways.
"It's dead, there should be no-" The corpse twitched, interrupting the hero in his line of thought. No fucking way!
"Master, this worthless one believes she saw the dragon move!" Shadow grimmly said, one hand drawing a dagger while the other shifted, showing the glittering of Metal Thread Wire.
Indeed, they all saw it. The decaying dragon suddenly started moving, his rotten flesh returning at a rapid pace. The dragon let out a strange roar, alerting Firo and Dera of its ressurection. They rushed to Naofumi's side.
Adrenaline flooded his system with an intense rush as fight or flight instinct acted for the second time since Naofumi had arrived in this world. Fighting a zombie dragon would be hard, if the regeneration it had showed before would acompany it; fleeing also sounded unreasonable. If he, by some miracle, managed to flee, the zombiefied creature would rampage and attack the Yama Village first, before proceeding to attack whatever was on its way. Naofumi had to defeat it now.
"Firo! Distract it with quick attacks! Don't overstay, attack and retreat! Dera! Mount Firo, focus on physical attacks! Whip any weak points or something, just don't get caught. It's not regenerating its horns or fangs, but any attack from it will still hurt." He shouted, his orders and firmly held his shield in place as a tail attack came his way. "Air Strike Shield!" The magical shield didn't manage to stop the attack and broke under the strenght of the zombie dragon, but it weakened the blow enough that Naofumi managed to stop it, althought just barely, making his arms a bit numb. "Raphtalia, Shadow, look for chances to immobilize or damage it; if you feel any dangerous attack coming your way, rush back to me! We all will make it out here alive!"
"Yes, Naofumi-sama!"
"Yes, Master!"
The duo of girls rushed from behind Naofumi. Raphtalia's sword slashed at the dragon's ankles, but the flesh was too tough for her to properly cut. She quikly retreated, switching positions with Shadow, who used her Metal Thread Wire to entangle the smae leg. The rogue-like assassin pulled her metal threads, their grinding against the rotten flesh producing a low humming noise as they dug deeper then Raphtalia's sword. The rogue abandoned that lenght of thread, seeing as the dragon stomped at her, which she managed to slip by unharmed.
The dragon tried to follow up the attack, but Firo body-checked the being in the face; attack followed by Dera, who used her tail like a powerful whip to deal a devastating blow against the underside of the dragon's jaw, making the zombie flinch back. Firo took the chance and swung her feathery arms down, wind slashes coming out and slicing the dragon's abdomen.
Fuck, we can actually do this! Naofumi chanted on his mind. He tightened his fist and started a chant, magic swirling around his shield. "I, the Shield Hero, have discovered the principles of thy laws. Nature, become my strenght and protect my allies from any harm. First Minor Aura." As his chant ended, Naofumi casted a supportive spell. All his slaves were covered in a thin layer of magic, their defenses ampted up. It wouldn't protect them from a full blow from the zombie dragon, but it would give him time to heal them in case anything happened.
They were about to attack once more, but the zombie dragon acted first, breathing deeply and spatting out a thick stream of noxious fumes. Naofumi rushed to block the blow, being the one with the strongest resistances against poison. What he wasn't expecting was that the breath attack was merely a distraction, hiding the true attack behind it, a swipe from the dragon. The hero took the blow full force, being launched against the mountainside with the force of a speeding truck.
"Naofumi-sama!"
"Master!"
"Shaaaaaaa!"
"Master~!"
The girls' worried voices barely reached the hero. He was burried under stones, his right eye sight being dyed in red colors. He touched the tender area over his brow, finding blood staining his gloved hands. He tried to stand up, his body feeling like a bit sore. He focused a bit, managing to cast a First Quickheal on himself, and rose out of the pile of rocks he was under.
Firo was rushing the dragon, attacking the undead furiously. Dera was not riding the philorial anymore, the Hydra managing to coil around one of the dragon's hind legs, where she was wrapping herself rather tightly. The hero's hearing was ringing a bit, but he could swear he was hearing bones snapping under pressure. Raphtalia's sword was a blinding flash, the raccoon girl hacking and slashing at any part she could. Naofumi found himself being helped by Shadow.
The rogue girl usually hid her expressions very well, but right now he could see her right fist tightly closed, trembling as if struggling to contain a flood.
The dragon roared, the sound distorted by his rotten vocal chords, but something about the roar resonated with the hero.
Out...way...
*#!...kshfconc...Sword...
jiaautbe...Daugh...jionn*/*#
GGGYYYYAAAOOOOHhhhh!
His green gem started to shine with a red glare. Naofumi was feeling some weird kinship with this rotten being. The rage this dragon was showing Naofumi, it was familiar; like they had something in common. The hero's green eyes tried to focus on the dragon's own eyes, but the rotten orbs never focused on him. Insted, the hero could see inside the rotten abdomen of the dragon, something shining. Akin to the gem in his shield, a lustrous orb was embedded inside the dragon's chest, and Naofumi was sure that such a gem was much more. It called out to him, a form of power that was asking to be freed from such an unsightly form. Rotten flesh was not a worthy vessel of such power.
Before the hero could resonate any deeper with the power, the dragon managed to free its hind leg. The undead bucked his leg, kicking Dera away with a ferocious kick and launching the Hydra at Firo. The philorial wasn't expecting the surprise and was hit middair by the thrown serpent. The undead creature laughed in a grotesque form, before lunging to try and devour the duo of stunned monsters.
!
!
!
*SSSSWWWOOOOOOOSHHHHHHH*
"GGGGYYYAAAAOOOOHHHHHHHHH!" The dragon, so cocky and confident, was now screaming in pain, if such a concept was would ever be know by the undead. It should not be able to feel such a thing, but the flames that were now burning at its flesh hurt. They hurt much deeper than simple flesh burns. The dragon felt as if his own core was being hurt by something much more powerful than itself. Something unknown to this world. A power that had forcefully being born here, birthed not by the natural order, but by the power of a hero. The only beings capable of such Eldritch power were the heroes and their holy weapons. How did this undead dragon, whose mind should have corroded away, managed to remember this was uncertain.
Firo managed to get her bearings, flapping her wings to land on the ground. Dera hissed at the dragon, her emerald green scaled hide sporting a ugly, purple bruise in the shape of a dragon's claws. The duo of monsters looked at the dragon burning in blackened flames, and then returned their gaze at their master.
Shadow was staring at her master, whom previously was hurt, now holding a black shield with man red flames spread out. His eyes had darkened, gaining a terrifying glint of darkness as he slowly started walking towards the rotten dragon. Raphtalia, who was furiously attacking the dragon, now hid her mouth with her hands, seeing her master emit such ominous aura.
"Naofumi-sama, you can't...it's just like before...you can't!" The raccoon girl extended her hand to try and pacify her master. The flames around him repelled her, not singing her, but not allowing her approach. Shadow appeared on her side, stopping the girl from advancing more against something.
The dragon roared once more, swiping one claw to blow away the hero. The undead stared in confusion when the hero didn't budge an inch, mereley holding out his shield to block the blow.
"Burn."
The order sounded much more like a statement. Like burning should be the dragon's natural state.
Indeed, burn it did. From the red gem of the shield, an explosive force blew away the dragon's attacking limb, the rotten flesh and bones melting the offending limb into a stump as the dragon recoiled from the flames.
"[Self-Immolation Curse]!" Naofumi's twisted voice commanded the cursed flames, a gout of fire emerging on his hand like an obbedient pet. "You want to take away my precious slaves? My precious people from me? Then, you are just like the others. You can burn away, like the rest of the shitty people of this fucking kingdom." The hero continued walking towards the dragon. The undead roared at the hero and went down for a bite attack.
"Naofumi-sama! Please!" Raphtalia shouted at him, making the hero stop his crusade. He slowly turned his head at her, eyes brimming with power. "You are the noble Shield Hero, Naofumi-sama! Please, don't lose to your hatred!" He blinked, the red haze on his mind not fully lifting, but easing up. He had released his cursed flames around him, but his orders were for the cursed fire to not touch his comrades. He was sure of it. Yet, there they were.
Raphtalia and Shadow. Both had dark patches covering a few spots of their bodies, the same burn marks that addorned the undead dragon rushing his way. The hero felt self-hatred raise once more, for he had hurt his precious girls. Firo and Dera seemed to be out of range from the cursed flames burning a few patches of the mountainous ground, the Philorial and Hydra right behind the girls to help them escape in case anything bad happened. Naofumi refocused on the charging dragon, the creature a few meters away from him.
Whose fault is this? They are hurt! Raphtalia, Shadow, Dera, Firo. Is it my fault? Ren's, for not taking proper care of his business? The dragon, for being weak and dying to that idiot? Why is this happenning?
The hero stared at the dragon, the undead opening its fang-less jaws to swallow him whole. Naofumi prepared his cursed shield. The cursed fire is too risky. I let the girls get hurt because I couldn't control it properly. The dragon reached him and the jaws closed around the hero.
*GRAB*
Yet they couldn't finish the job. The undead dragon tried putting more strenght in its jaws, but the undead muscles weren't capable to fully closing around the hero. He had a hold of the lower jaws of the zombie, and with a show of raw, brute strenght, he started pushing the dragon. The girls, on the verge of tears, widened their eyes as the cursed flames didn't active like before, instead the hero was pushing the dragon away from them.
"You girls!" He shouted. "Stay there and sit tight. I'll take care of this thing far enough and come back. Firo, Dera, protect them." Naofumi finished, shouting in effort as he started to push the dragon more and more far away from the girls. The undead flailed and trashed about, but he hero never released his grip on the rotten flesh. Inch by inch, demonstrating the physical strenght buff granted to him by the [Shield of Anger (Shield of Wrath I)], the hero hauled the fighting undead away from the girl's sight. He had a weapon to fight the regenerating monster, but if he stayed close to the girls, he would end up hurting them. He wouldn't allow them to see his ugly side. Just this once, the Shield Hero would fight by himself.
Raphtalia tried to stand up, but the small burns around her body sapped her of any strenght. She couldn't understand why her master was willing to use such a dark power. She had asked him to share his burdens with her, yet here he was, carrying his weight by himself. Tears ran down her face as she embraced the hooded and cloaked individual by her side. "Why must Naofumi-sama do this? We could all have work together and defeated it."
Shadow merely embraced the raccoon girl, running a soothing hand on her hand in circling motions. She wouldn comfort her companion, but wouldn't speak about the incident. She knew why her master was doing such a thing. Nothing they could do would kill the undead, the monster would simply regenerate again and again, it was a dragon after all. She understood why he had called for the fight. If they didn't stop the monster here, it would kill innocent civilians for sure. But then they found out how weak they truly were. That her master had to use such a ominous and cursed power, it spoke lenghts of her incompetence.
*SWWWWOOOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHHHH*
An enourmous flame explosion was heard, the dying screams of the undead dragon resonated throughout the mountain. A one hour later, their master came back. Like a veteran coming from an exhausting mission, the hero slowly walked their way, dragging behind him a great deal of monster materials, especially a shiny, purple orb he carried in his right hand. He dropped the materials close to their wagon and approached the girls, his face sour and wry.
He chanted healing magic, using it again and again on the girls until he ran out of MP, but even then he continued chanting, even when nothing else happened. The tired and still burnt girls approached him, making the shield hero flinch. Instead of a slap or berating words, Raphtalia hugged him, throwing all the weight of her body against the hero. Shadow contended herself with hugging his back.
"Naofumi-sama." Raphtalia called his attention. "Good job on taking care of the zombie dragon." The raccoon girl weakly rose her hand to pat Naofumi's messy mop of black hair.
He felt Shadow's hold on him tighten as she followed in the example of the raccoon demi-human. "Master, this worthless one compliments your ability to kill the undead dragon."
The hero bit his lips to avoid releasing a pathetic sound, even as his eyes moistened. He hugged the girls back, lifting their frames from the ground and carrying them to the wagon. "Firo, Dera, look alive. We will sweep up the area and return to Yama Village."
A hissing sound and a foul smoke were released from Raphtalia's bandaged arm, which Aral (Yama Village's lord and doctor) was wrapping up.
"I have never seen such a strong curse, sir. Was it from the dragon's rotten flesh?" The doctor asked the hero, dipping another set of bandages in some holy water. Naofumi was about to speak up, but Raphtalia cut him off.
"Yes, I mistakenly touched its rotten flesh and was cursed." She declared firmly, to which Naofumi had no choice but accept.
"I see. We owe you our deepest gratitude, Sir Shield-sama. I'm sorry to say, but out holy water is not strong enough to lift the power of this curse. I can administer first aid, but if you want to lift this curse, Holy water of the highest quality is needed." Aral explained, finished with bandaging Raphtalia. "The treatment is quite simple sir, simply let the affected areas soak in holy water and it will slowly lift the curse. Your shield yields great power, so if you treat your comrades, the effects will be even stronger." Aral pointed to Shadow,laid down on th bed next to Raphtalia, and who was only sporting her mask and civilian clothes. He left another basin filled with whatever holy water he had and another set of bandages. "I'll leave you and your party to rest, sir."
As the man left the room, Naofumi immediately collected the items and repeated the process, soaking bandages in holy water and wrapping them on the visible cursed areas.
The silence was awkward, specially since Firo, in her human form, looked at the smoking bandages with a fearful face.
"I'm sorry." Naofumi said, wrapping Shadow's right arm. "I lost control and got your girls hurt as a result. I simply-" Shadow grabbed his hand and pointed to Raphtalia.
"Master, this worthless one is not great with comforting or kind words, I believe such expertise lies within Raphtalia-san. Please, listen to her words and calm thy heart. Take her words as this one's too." The brunette said, her hand holding her master's.
The hero looked at Raphtalia, waiting for the raccoon girl to speak her mind.
"Naofumi-sama, just as you care for us, we care for you. Please, don't let such a dark power consume you. I got scared that you would go and wouldn't come back. Train us, let us be your strenght; let's all work hard, for you!" The raccoon demi-human said with a amorous expression.
The hero softened his brow, a small smile coming to his lips. "Yeah."
"AHHH! Master smiled!" Firo shouted, rushing to hug him. Dera, on a corner of the room, began slithering her way towards him, letting her three heads sit on his lap.
It took more three days for Naofumi and his group to leave Yama Village. Time they took to recover as best as they could, patrol the village and help fend off any remaining monster from the mountain. The hero took his time to sort throught the zombie dragon materials he acquired, making sure to properly desinfect the bones and leather he managed to salve from his onlaught of cursed flames.
The group descended the mountainous village and were making their way back to the capital. They camped by the roadside and were making a few rounds in search of monsters. So far nothing had come their way, so the group was merely walking leisurely.
"Master~! Firo is sensing some tasty snacks up front." The philorial cheerfully said, licking her beak. The hero rose one eyebrow, looking at the direction the bird pointed out. He could just make out the shape of some bird-like creatures and someone within the beasts.
They walked towards them, Shadow already her vanishing to scout and likely trap whatever it was. They walked a few minutes and found out that the "tasty snacks" Firo was mentioning were in fact, wild philorials. Amidst them a girl with blue hair and a blue, decorated dress was feeding the glutton birds. Naofumi felt like smacking Firo upside the head.
"They are wild philorials, your kin! That's canibalism, Firo!" Naofumi complained as they approached the group.
"I can defeat them real quick, if master wants~!" Her easy-going tone added with the saliva dripping from her mouth made Naofumi certain that, if he gave ther order, Firo would truly hunt those philorial.
He face-palmed, rubbing his forehead a bit to alleviate the small headache he felt was about to approach when the girl in the middle of the wild philorials glanced his way, her eyes settling over Firo's bird form. Her orbs shone with stars. As she distracted herself with Firo, the other philorials left in a rush, leaving the girl looking a bit desolate.
She looked at the dust cloud left by the philorials and waved at them, before she turned back to Firo and began approaching her. Eyes wide and sparkling, she spoke out.
"What is your name?" She asked Firo, one hand reaching out to pat the big bird. Firo happily responded.
"Firo is Firo~!" The answer almost made the girl dressed in blue to squeal like a fangirl. She searched her dress' pockets and pulled out some dried beef.
"Firo-chan! Do you want some jerky?!" The dried meat was gulped down in one bite, and the blue haired girl couldn't look happier. "Ahh! How cute! I'm Meru!" As the girl, Meru, and Firo talked, Naofumi took a few seconds to stare at the kid. He rubbed his chin, noticing that he had began growing some facial hair, and wondered why her face seemed so familiar. He shrugged and called out to Firo.
"Hey Firo, why don't you play with her for a while?" The idea was appreciated by both the girl and Philorial, which began singing and playing about. "Yeah, go have some fun. Just be back before nightfall!" The duo left him at a impressive speed.
"Naofumi-sama, why did you let Firo go?" Raphtalia curiously asked. It was hard for her master to be kind to someone, specially to unknown people.
"Her dress. She is rather fancily dressed, which tells me she must be a daughter of some merchant or some rich folks. We let her play a bit and we might just pocket some cash." He explained, signaling his hand up and calling for Shadow. A few seconds later, the masked girl was by his side.
"Shadow, I remember you said you have worked for Melromark before, is she the daughter of some big shot?" He asked.
Shadow seemed stiff, but nodded her head.
"See, we can expect some nice payment if we let her have some fun, besides, Firo is the best bodyguard right now." Naofumi said.
He was about to find himself some trouble, but that's for the next chapter.