AUTHOR NOTES.
Hey people, Ryujin Maou (Draconic Demon Lord) here! Welcome back to another chapter!
ALERT!
This will be a warning for the usual readers as well as any newcomers. We are about to enter the [Shield Demon]-arc, which will depict many +18 scenes with heavy and disturbing themes such as extreme violence, torture, deep psychologicall issues, sex and possibly rape. Some of these are not appropriate for the site, but I'll risk my neck out and put them in here anyway. If you are squemish about such things, my recommendation is for you to either stop reading or skip the arc. Don't spoil the fun of those that are mature to read and understand that this is a work of fiction (Fan-FICTION, who'd fucking guessed?) and that none of this is real. I'll work with human betrayel and how shitty humans can be, but also sprinkle in some hope. My intention with this story is to present a grey narrative. Naofumi isn't some good guy, neither are Motoyasu, Ren and Itsuki pure evil but mere convenient fools and all that jazz, such things are subjetive and all that bla bla bla from phylosophy that you don't want me to blabber on about here in AU. I aspire to better my writing with every project I work on, and your opinions are important!
With all of that out of the way, let's rock and roll!
The Wrathful Demon Shield Awakens. (cue first 23 seconds of the Pillar men theme)
Melromark Castletown, Throne Room.
The silence that followed Naofumi's shout echoed inside the throne room. The royal guards stared at the hero as if he had grown a second head, the bold statement being too far from normal comprehension.
"Wh-wha..ahh..d-d-did..." Jumbled and nonsensical noises exited the king's mouth, his expression shocked to his very core. Never in his entire life had Aultocray been directed in such manner.
Naofumi chuckled in a manner not unlike a mafia boss, his imposing posture exuding extreme confidence in his abilities. "Is your head filled with trash too, that you can't understand a simple request?" The Shield Hero asked with a smug expression. "I guess that's to be expected from such garbage like you, trash!"
Aultocray rose from his seat in a sudden movement, his face scarlet in tone as he howled in obvious anger. "HOW DARE YOU?! I'm the curreng ruling king, you impertinent shield! I'll not take such disrespect from a villanous scondrel like you! GUARDS!" The king rose his hand in a sweeping motion, the royal guards all raising their spears and pointing them to the Japanese hero. The Shield looked at the spears unimpressed "What is keeping you from beheading this swine?!" He asked in a curdling tone.
Naofumi laughed again, focusing the attention of all people present in the room back at him.
"Man, you really are a fucking idiot! You think your pathetic knights can do anything against me? I am the hero who defeated the last wave, trash!" Naofumi's smirk was beffiting of a crime boss. He started walking directly towards the Melromark king, the guards still poiting their spears at him. One of the braver knights shoved the weapon towards Naofumi, expecting the same result from Two and a half months ago, when Naofumi and the other heroes had just been summoned. To the surprise of all those present, excluding the Shield Hero, the weapon bounced off before it even came close to touching the hero's armor, a thin layer of green magic showing itself surrounding Naofumi.
The Shielder continued his unhurried steps towards the throne, brushing aside the weak attempts of the royal guards at repelling him from their sovereign. As he came face to face with the cause of his many troubles in the human nation, Naofumi felt a flame lit in his heart, his hatred for the literal human garbage in front of him stiring up, begging for a release. His pupils slitted and the intimidating gaze forced the "king" in front of him to sit back on the throne.
"As soon as the waves finish, the heroes are free to go back to their worlds, right? Until them, I'll cooperate with you, if only because I have no other choice in this regard; however, don't get things mixed up. I have absolutely no qualms about killing you right now! The only thing holding me back is the troublesome fallout that would follow. So listen here, you fucking waste of human skin! You better fucking stop bothering me, or I might begin considering regicide a rather interesting hobby." Each word Naofumi said was followed by a miasma surrounding him, the illusion of a draconic beast appearing over the hero as the dressed down Aultocray, the king too stunned and intimidated to shot any remark back against the hero.
Finishing his piece, Naofumi cocked a fist back and let lose a rather blinding punch beside the king's head. The fist struck the carved wooden throne with a loud bang as wood splintered under the physical strenght of the Shield Hero. As he retracted his fist, Naofumi also palmed the head of the king, relieving him of a familiar weight on his head.
"I'll be taking this as interest for all the bullshit you have put me through until now, you tosser! Next time you think you can play the mighty god, remember to not marry into royalty like a fucking gold-digging whore!" Grasped on Naofumi's right hand was the king's crown. This would be one of the rare instances in the world where silence was loud. Aultocray opened his mouth like a fish out of water as Naofumi fed his crown to his shield, the green gem of the shield eating the metal piece with gusto.
[Royal Shield unlocked] [King Shield unlocked] [Amethist Shield unlocked]
His stunt done, Naofumi turned around, his cape smothering the king momentarily, and marched down the doors of the throne room.
"YOU SHAMELESS SHIELD! NEVER SHOW YOUR FACE AGAIN IN THIS SACRED PLACE! DEVIOUS DEMON!" As Aultocray shouted his lung out, Naofumi continued his march unimpeded by the stunned guards. The hero waved his hand in the air without turning, but just before he exited the wooden doors of the room, his middle finger rose to give the monarch in command a last compliment.
"SSSSHHHHHIIIIIIEEEEEELLLLLLDDDDDDD!"
"As if I'd ever want to come here again!" Naofumi commented to himself, descending one of the many sets of stairs that would lead him outside the castle. As he reached the bottom of the staircase, a woman waited there. Fancy dress and perfect form, the woman wore a golden crown and hid behind a silk handfan. The sight of the acessory unnerved Naofumi, the hero remembering Glass and her destructive attacks.
He passed by the woman without saying a word. However, the woman called out to him.
"Shield Hero Naofumi-sama, my sincerest gratitudes for your most excelent job in repelling the waves. Your work was most impressive, gozaru." Naofumi mostly ignored the woman's words, but her final add-on made him stop his steps. He turned on his heels, eyes focusing over the frame of the woman.
"Finally decided doing something more than spy on other people's business?" His rough and acusing tone made the woman tilt her head sideways. Playing the ignorant card, huh? Naofumi narrowed his brows as his still slitted eyes focused directly on the woman's form. Something made it hard for him to focus on her face, and realization downed on his face as he recognized the magic said woman was using. "A shadow playing the main role is just smoke and mirrors." He said to her, turning to leave. With his back turned, he couldn't see the shocked expression of the double-body.
Shadow had been telling him all about the Queen's secret spy order and how she supposedly used them to better control her country. He could hate the country with all his being, but he could admit that the idea was a good one. Information was a precious thing for those in powerful positions, and as such, it needed to be delivered with urgency and precision. What better than to have a secret unit of stealth-focused assassins at your beck and call? He had truly lucked out when he acquired Shadow with the Slave Dealer. All his slaves so far had proved to be most excelent, which only rose complicated feelings inside his heart about the slavery system. The hero released a sigh and continued his way to exit the castle. Hopefully he would be out of this shitty country in a week.
"Wait right there!" Someone shouted at him and blocked his way. Naofumi focused on the tiny frame of Second Princess Melty. The girl was right in the middle of the hall, extending her arms in a vain hope of blocking his passage. "Go back inside and speak properly with father!" She demmanded to him.
Not that Naofumi really paid it any mind, easily stepping aside and circling over the blue haired girl to continue making his way out of this place.
Not even bothering to turn his head, Naofumi spoke out. "Your father doesn't want to talk, and believe me, the feeling is mutual. I don't have time to waste." He knew it was a bad idea coming here, but both Raphtalia and Shadow somehow had managed to convince him that maybe the monarch had something useful to say. He should have known better than to waste time in the trip to the capital. At least he could talk with Old Man Erhart and the other people he knew.
Melty turned to him and shouted once more.
"How could you say that?! How could discussing the waves with father be a waste of time?" The girl's voice was beginning to grate at the hero's nerves. She was going to blabber on and on if he allowed it.
"Stop bothering me and go do something useful. At least your fucking bitch of a sister is out there fighting with that wanker Motoyasu. Of what use are you, Second Princess?" His words were laced with potent venom, stunning the kid princess still in place. "Keep pestering me and see if I won't kill you." He finished his piece on Melty by turning his head slightly back, right eye glancing over the princess, whom had wet eyes now. His slitted eye looked her from the bottom of her shoes to her head and he scoffed, finding her unworthy of something only he could see.
Princess Melty would not allow anyone to look at her like that! She wiped her wet eyes with the sleeve of her expensive dress and firmed her almost wavering voice before speaking out once more.
"Why would you say something so harsh?"
The hero once more stopped his boots, this time not even dignifying the princess with a side glance. "Harsh? I'm being the harsh one? Don't fucking make me laugh. You really belong with the garbage in this place." He left, stunning Melty in place once more.
The girl tried to say anything else of substance, but she was not accustomed to such treatment and thus, was slow on the uptake. Why would the Saint (Savior) of the Heavenly Fowl and Tri-Serpent say that to her? How could someone so foul-mouthed, rude and crass raise such gentle people as Firo-chan and Raphtalia-san?
Melty took pride in her mental endurance. Being trained under her mother meant long and difficult hours of dealing with head-strong nobles fully focused on their own interests, the ever-expanding and powerful Church of Three Heroes and the constant threat of a Silvelt attack. The waves had being a harsh blow her country had been forced to face not too long after their defeat under Silvelt forces, ten years being too short for a nation to fully stabilize itself with their present conditions.
How could one man take such a toil on her mental capabilities? How and why was the Shield Hero so hostile towards them? Why did he have to be so rude when dealing with her, when just a few days prior to his discovery of her royal status he had been a mostly neutral, if closed-off, individual.
Magic Shop, Melromark comercial district.
The owner of the shop, the plump witch whom had helped Naofumi before, now sat on her favorite chair, eyes examining the young woman in front of her.
Much like herself, the young woman wore traditional, black witch robes and a wide brim hat. Black locks cascaded behind her back, adding a charm to the girl. She was propping herself up with a well crafted, silver colored staff. The ravenette released a sigh, rolling her shoulders and making her rather bountiful chest bounce up slightly.
"Aunt, are you sure about this?" The young woman spoke in a rather laid back tone, eyes lazily looking up to the plump witch. "The librarian wasn't bothered by my presence there, and I earned enough to pay for my stay there."
The plump witch shook her head with a soft movement, dissaproving the lazy response from her niece. "Felicia, books are not the only important thing for a magician. Field experience is necessary if one wants to truly master the arcane arts. You have an amazing gift, it would be wasted if you stuff yourself inside a library all day."
Felicia grabbed her hat and took it off from her head, one hand still holding her staff as the other went deeper inside the wide-brim hat than it was supposed to. Dark arts magic, Pocket Dimension, an advanced spell that could allow one to warp the fabric of space and effectively carry anything one wished for, so long as they had the mana to. Felicia pulled her hand out from her hat and placed it back atop her black hair, a decorated smoking pipe and a bag of leaves on her hand.
"Aunt, I'm pretty content with simply studing magic. Faubley is not so bad, and the adventurer's guild pays me enough for the jobs I do. I fail to see how traveling with one of the Four Heroes could be of benefit for me. Fast Ignitum." Felicia easily lit her pipe with a simple snap of her fingers, flame sparks hovering over one end of her pipe as she pulled in calming smoke in her lungs. Another proof of her talent was how she simply shortened her magic chant to two words. Normally, anyone wishing for the full effects of any spell had to chant the entirety of the magic formula, otherwise the effect would fall by 50% or more. The only people who could shorten their chants without suffering the effect on their magic were either the Four Heroes or Grand Master-level magicians.
For Felicia to do such a thing when she was still Lv40, without a class up, was unheard off. The secret of her power was her skill was in her ability to read the flow of mana and her perfect memory when it came to magical spell structure. Were it not for her obvious laziness, Felicia would probably be leading a magical revolution on Faubley as a Grandmaster Archmage. The only reason Felicia had not upped her class was the girl's own lazy behavior.
She puffed smoke up in the air as she searched for a chair to sit down. Lazily strolling to it, the ravenette practically crumbled on the chair as she pulled in more smoke.
"Felicia, traveling is fun. All kinds of adventures await you out there, many trials that will test your excelency over magic and help you truly improve. There will be none of those pesky nobles trying to force you into marriage or acquire will as a mistress. The Shield Hero is a rather decent fellow, he shall protect you. Please, at least try and see if you have fun." The witch pleaded with her niece.
The duo of witches began a back-and-forth argument as Felicia present a myriad of lazy arguments to try and dodge the proposition, with her aunt pushing many better and flawless counterpoints against the young spell caster.
Over twenty minutes later, Felicia gave up trying to win over her aunt. Blowing a rather thick cloud of smoke in the air, the black haired witch tiredly caved in.
"This Shield Hero fellow must be a interesting person, if the Polymorph Witch keeps on banging about him." Felicia fixed her glasses in place before looking up at the ceiling and taking another puff of her pipe. "I'll try to acompany him, but if I decide to leave him, I will leave him." The young witch informed her aunt, finishing her smoke and putting away her pipe inside his hat.
The plump witch giggled softly, pleased. "The years pass and yet you still are that rebelious brat I taught. Let's keep the silly titles aside, Spacial Rend Witch, please?" At the metion of the name, Felicia cringed and pulled her hat over her face in shame.
"It was only one time!"
As the ravenette tried to bury herself in the wooden chair, the bell over the entry door of the shop jingled, announcing a possible customer. The plump witch happily skipped to atend the person.
"Right on time, Shield Hero-sama!" Felicia slightly peeked one eye from the brim of her hat, finally seeing the figure of the famous (or rather infamous) Shield Hero. Her peeking eye widened a bit as she took in the features of the foreign hero. Rogue-faced in appearance and black hair like hers, the man was covered in armor befitting a bandit leader or some other fiendish-archtype. Strapped to one of his arms was one thick book, which emitted a rather powerful wave of magic. The hero seemed to be built like a brick wall, and his presence gave off a rather heavy aura, dark magic enlaced within a thick layer of magical defense. Felicia doubted she could pierce his defenses unless she brought some heavy firepower to the table.
"I got your letter." His every word and breath seemed to exhale dark magic, but only Felicia was able to "see" the dark flames that encased him like thick armor. Over him, looming like an apex predator, a purple miasma-like aura floated. Red eyes emerged on the aura and looked at the young witch, the auditory illusion of a roar filled her ears as the being suddenly dissapeared.
"Felicia, come meet Shield Hero-sama!"
The young witch came closer, eyes fixed on Naofumi.
"Shield Hero-sama, this young girl is my niece, Felicia Zauberer*. As I have commented with you before, her family and I were worried she'd end up spending the rest of her days inside Faubley's Magic Academy Library. She is a rather special spell-caster, so I believe she will prove herself to be a wonderful addition to your party. Please, treat her with care!" The plump witch motioned for Felicia to present herself.
Naofumi waited for an introduction, but instead of that, the witch with black locks of hair grabbed his hands in a quick movement, bringing him close to her.
"Please, Shield Hero, let me study your magic!" Felicia stared the hero directly in his eyes, her own black orbs shining with stars.
I swear, it's one thing after the other! Naofumi grumbled to himself. After the sudden addition of a new party member in Fecilia, the hero returned to Erhart's weapon shop, the witch following right behind his back, noting a great deal while staring at his back. It was somewhat creepy, having a woman mumble behind your back as she followed you. Presenting the girl to his party had gone rather well.
Raphtalia, remembering the deal he had struck with the plump owner of the magic shop, received the new party member with her usual enthusiasm. Felicia looked up from her notepad for a few instances and said some quick introduction to the raccoon girl before she returned to her notes. It made the raccoon girl give a wry smile, seeing her welcoming introduction be brushed aside like that.
Shadow was no different. The rogue-assassin made an effort to talk with the witch, seeing as it as the first person her master introduced to the party that wasn't a slave. The ravenette lightly acknowledge the presence of the hooded girl and continued following the Shield Hero's back like a lost puppy.
Firo had more luck, as she turned into her Philorial form to give the witch a welcoming hug. To the previous girls' surprise, the witch paid attention to Firo, engaging in conversation with the bird. Firo was happy to have one more friend to talk, but soon the blonde girl discovered that Felicia spoke words too hard for her to understand and soon Firo was looking at the witch with a doopey smile. "Onee-chan, you know lots of difficult words!"
Dera tried to avoid the witch like she carried the plague. Since Felicia approached the Hydra, she began machine-gun talking about magic theories and questioning the four-headed reptilian about one billion things. Dera was now tightly coiled around Naofumi, making his job of loading his wagon about ten times harder, her four heads hissing menacingly at the witch.
When she wasn't hounding the members of his party about magic, Felicia was content with quietly reading some of her's grimores or smoking. Outside of her magic, the young witch mostly kept to herself, paying for all her expenses, which pleased the hero. She was also extremely lazy. A fact that Naofumi was quick to identify, seeing as she would lean on anything as if extremely tired or simply fall asleep at random moments. One of those moments happened as Naofumi was buying a few spare swords for Raphtalia to use, Felicia leaned on the counter of the shop. Five minutes later, she was asleep.
Currently the group was on the road, Naofumi taking stock of his products, Raphtalia checking her equipment together with Shadow and ironically, Dera and Felicia were sleeping the afternoon away, the witch leaning on the four-headed Hydra as if she was a dakimakura (full sized body pillow). Firo chirped one random song she heard at the inn they stayed while on the capital, while the hero took in the scene of the orange glow of the setting sun over the horizon.
He had instructed Firo on which roads to take as they began making their way to Silvelt. Taking in the fact that Aultocray had banned his party from class up, Naofumi had little choice on the matter. Not that he would miss this piece of shit of a country.
Place is full of asshats and cunts. However, there are a few people worth here. Naofumi let his thoughts wander as he looked at the girls inside the wagon. Much as he hated Melromark, the place had been where he had found his party. Would Raphtalia be alive had he not been forced to result to slavery? Of course his mind calculated an immediate response that she would not have been a slave if not for Melromark's soldiers looting her village. In the end, thinking about "if" would not result in much, so the hero left that particular train of thought behind.
He finished taking stock of his stuff, so he focused his mind on another activity. He took his carving tools and the project he had recently beein working on. The body of the guitar had been carefully carved, and Naofumi took the extra effort to add details on the body of the guitar such as half moons and crashing waves. A few extra coins to Erhart and he had thin metal chords, and leftover material to guild certain parts of his guitar with thin layers of gold and silver.
Naofumi was no musician and to be honest, the idea of him being one was rather laughable. However, the trying days in this world made him wish to experiment and try other things. He would regret if he made mistakes in his choices, but he would regret much more if he didn't even try.
With that as his inspiration and many hours of trial and error, he had now a product of his work, something that he was proud to say he had created. Naofumi slowly and carefully strung the taut chords of his guitar, carefully listening to the sounds each chord released as he strung the chords. When he decided that all the chords were rightly taut, he tried hitting a tune.
It wasn't exactly a pleasant sound.
He looked over the girls, each doing their own thing. Raphtalia now was busy reading a book, Shadow was out of sight, Dera still asleep as Felicia was looking outside the wagon with her pipe on hands. Naofumi was pleased with this moment.
As they camped outside that night, the hero went deep in the night, trying different tunes and ways to improve his skills with his newly made guitar.
One week later.
*BANG!*
The sound of two hands slamming atop his table was something that Naofumi certainly didn't appreciate, especially this early in the morning. Leave it to monarchy to become such a bother! He munched on his food, staring flatly at the perpetrator of such indecent sin (disturbing someone's breakfast).
"I've finally found you!" Melty Q. Melromark, also known as the Second Princess. She'd be the one bothering Naofumi this far from the capital and this early in the morning.
Did he mention the time already? Because it was fucking early!
"Shield Hero! Go back to the capital and apologize to my father immediately!" Melty's shouting voice disturbed many of the present patrons, but the owner of the inn couldn't exactly kick her out, that with the many guards she had behind her.
Naofumi continued munching on his breakfast.
Raphtalia had a wry expression as she tried to finish her food, only to be interrupted by Melty's sudden bang on the table.
Firo had already finished her meal, being the glutton she was. She wanted to go and play with Melty, but her master's annoyed expression was enough to dissuade her.
Shadow was already gone from sight.
Dera was under the table, a low hissing leaving her due to the approach of these bothersome people. Many tried to identify the source of the hissing, missing that it came from under the table of the Shield Hero.
Felicia was lazily leaning on her chair, tired eyes taking in the sight of this early eyesore as she slowly puffed out smoke, a steaming mug of coffee laid on the table in front of her.
...
...
...
"Shield hero! Have you heard me? Go back and apologize to father!" The princess shouted again at the group.
Munch munch~
Stareeee~
*BANG*
"SHIELD HERO!" Another loud smack on the table as Melty almost shrieked this time. Naofumi slowly rose from his chair, dragging it as slow as possible. Hitting his full height, the hero directed his gaze not at the princess, but at the owner of the inn.
"Here you go." Paying for everyone in his table, the hero motioned for his party to follow him as he exited the inn, ignoring the fumming princess in blue.
He took his group and left, searching the nearest alley to give himself a shortcut to reach his wagon. Melty followed, hot on his heels.
"Why are you ignoring me?! Stop right now!" She bellowed at him.
Almost at the exit of the alley, Naofumi felt a tug on his cloak. He turned around to find Raphtalia looking at him with pleading eyes.
"Shouldn't we at least listen to her, Naofumi-sama? Melty-san is not a bad person." The pleading look the raccoon girl gave him made him sigh in defeat. Goddammint, she looks like a tanuki! Arhhg, fucking hell! Why does it look so cute?
"You are so noisy! What do you want?" He stopped and turned to meet the second princess. She took a few seconds to recompose herself, her face flushed due to her previous shouting.
"A-apologize to my father. You two need to make up, or mother might..."Melty stopped talking, her voice gaining a weak tone as she tried her best to not sob.
Naofumi huffed, already regretting listening to Raphtalia in this matter. "Really? Using tears now, does the fake act come as a family skill or something?" The hero berated the princess. He would keep going, but he caught sight of the row of guards behind the girl, the men a bit too close for comfort. One of the knights unsheated a dagger while the other brought a orb from under his cloak. And then he tried to stab the princess.
Melty was left confused as the hero suddenly rushed her way, pulled her backwards as he made a movement to parry aside someone. A well decorated dagger fell on the ground as the leader of the guards was pushed away.
One of the knights clicked his tongue as all of them began unsheating their swords. The captain drew his weapon and made to attack the hero, his sword stopped still due to Naofumi and his shield. As the weapons collided and released sparks, Melty couldn't help but release a scream.
"KYAAAAHHHHHH!"
Naofumi's fist clocked the knight captain with a certain jab, breaking the nose of the man and repelling him once more. The man grunted as his nose began bleeding, yet he merely retreated, his men also not moving in to attack. Are they being over cautious or...
"What the hell are you thinking?" Naofumi tried to question the knight's actions, but the entire group began shouting over him, acusing tones.
"How dare you try kidnapping the Second Princess, scum?!"
"Vile Shield, have you finally shown your true colors!?"
"Demon! You shall be exorcised by God!"
As the knights shouted insults and curses, they began retreating from the group. Why are they running away? What the fuck! Kidnapping? As if I would be retarded to kidnapp a fucking princess...wait, are those bastards trying to pin something on me?
"Get them!" Naofumi barked his orders, the girls springing into action. Raphtalia and Firo were the first to jump and attack, pinning three knights on the ground. Dera quickly slithered her way on the rooftops and then sprayed a cloud of very, very diluted poison over. Five more went to the ground, clutching at their throats and bawling their eyes out due to irritation caused by the Hydra's poison.
Felicia yawned, not needing to do a thing. Shadow had done more than enough, cutting the exit route of the remaining knights, who suddenly found themselves entangled into very thin and very sharp wire.
A few meters of rope and a few wacks over the heads, courtesy of one angry Raphtalia, all the twelve guards were rounded up.
Some were passed out, others had swollen faces that disabled them from immediate intel gathering. Naofumi chose one of the less scuffed knights, who so happened to be the captain and the one who tried to stab the princess on the back. Naofumi found the man pretending to be asleep, so he gifted the man a few smacks on the face. Each slap echoed in the alley, Felicia wincing at the sound. She knew Naofumi was physically strong, but his attacking status was quite low when compared to his absurd defense. That didn't mean that his blows didn't carry force, which now that the witch stopped to ponder, made absolute sense. She smilled maliciously, taking her notepad and waiting eagerly for the next actions of the hero.
For once, Shadow relented and appeared behind the witch, whom seemed to not be perturbed by the sudden presence behind her.
"Mind if this one accompanies your annotations?"
The witch shrugged her shoulders and stared at Naofumi. "Knock yourself out!"
"How about that, sir? Are you awake?" Sarcasm dripped from the hero's voice as he rose his right hand, ready to deliver more if the knight misbehaved. "Now, mind explaining the reasons as to why you all are trying to pin the blame of this kidnapping of yours on my back?"
Not one of the knights opened their mouths with a response for the hero. Naofumi huffed, not realizing the tiny sparks of black flames that exited his nostrils. He ignored the excited noise that Felicia made.
The Shield Hero began looking over the knights, trying to find a reason as to why they had tried to kill a princess. Not that Naofumi was any better, threatening to commit regicide against Aultocray, but he had his reasons. A few minutes inspecting the knights and voila! He found a rosario hung around the neck of the knight captain. Bow, sword and a spear. Devolts of the state religion of Melromark, the Church of Three Heroes. Naofumi burst out laughing as he snapped the chain that held the rosario around the neck of the knight and showed his discovery to the girls .
Raphtalia, Shadow and Melty seemed to be the ones most affected as they eyed the symbol of faith.
"In a religion where there are only three holy weapons, all of them offensive, a shield seems to be evil incarnate!" With each word that left his mouth, Naofumi's tone became darker and darker. Melty avoided his gaze, worry painting her face.
"Melromark still worships those crazies? Aunt was telling me how their faith was dwindling, and I can see why." Felicia's lazy tone echoed in the alley, together with a puff of smoke.
The knight captain suddenly began laughing, gathering the attention of the group towards him.
"Get ready for your end, Shield Demon! Even if you captured us here, the news of your devious actions have already reached the capital. The bounty over your head will be the highest possible for your crimes!" The knight laughed smuggly at Naofumi, even with his busted lip and cherry-red cheeks.
"What crimes? As far as I know, you were the assholes trying for the princess's life." Naofumi crossed his arms and furrowed his browns, closing in on the knight. "Are you trying to pin your assassination attempt on me?"
"Hahahaha! Scum like you, who has killed royalty, will be persued no matter where you go! There is no escape, Shield Demon! Our God will subdue you!"
Melty was beyond shocked at this instance. Naofumi clenched his fist, anger simmering inside his heart.
*!LAST WARNING!*
Scenes ahead will depict clear acts of torture and bodily harm. Don't attempt to do this at home, and if anyone asks, you know nothing, John Snow!
"Raphtalia, take Firo and Felicia to the wagon and wait for me! Shadow, I believe you know how to extract information from people." It wasn't a suggestion. Naofumi ordered and he was expecting his orders to be completed.
Raphtalia displayed a clearly worried face. "Naofumi-sama, I don't believe there is need for us to-..." Naofumi extended his hand to Raphtalia, making the raccoon girl quiet down.
"Raphtalia." It was only her name, but the girl felt a shiver run down her spine. Naofumi was trusting her to do his command. He was about to dive once more into the abyss of his hatred and was hoping to spare her of the ugly side he was about to unleash. His eyes slitted into those of a predator.
"Master, this one is at your beckoning call." Shadow gave her response, already whirling a great deal of Metal Thread Wire. The knight captain was beginning to sweat under the dangerous atmosphere. The mission was simple, but now that he was captured by the Shield... No, he is just trying to scare me. Scum like him isn't courageous enough.
The only thing the knight captain forgot to factor in was the girl Naofumi was calling Shadow. He was under the impression that the hero was faking being able to communicate with the elites of Melromark's spy network for both the Queen and the Church. Too bad for him, this hooded girl was the real deal.
"Naofumi-sama, I refuse! I can't abandon you here and pretend that this isn't happening!" Raphtalia said, moving closer to the Shielder. She grabbed one of his hands. "I promised that I'd be your sword for now and forever. I need to be by your side, otherwise how can you fight?" Her tear-filled eyes hed conviction. They almost made Naofumi back out and give up on this interrogation. Yet, this hate of his had nowhere to go, it wanted to be unleashed and it screamed for retribution.
"Naofumi!" Felicia made her way closer to the Hero. "My aunt asked for me to support the Shield Hero, saying that he was a great man. I have yet to find fault on her arguments. Now, go ahead already. The sooner we deal with this, the sooner we will understand how deep the dragon's nest is." The ravenette used a weird methaphor, but her intentions were clear nonetheless. "Besides, this type of people remind me of the nobles back in Faubley." The witch's eyes turned into something different for a few seconds.
"W-wait wait, w-what are you planning on doing?" Melty, whom Naofumi had honestly forgotten about, asked with a trembling voice. The hero rose one of his brows. Have you been sheltered from this kind of thing? You might have salvation yet. Heh, as if.
"I think I have been rather forward with my statement." Naofumi declared. A quick flicker of his wrist and his shield shifted for the [Medicine Shield]. Shadow hurried and swapped the knight captain from his rope bindings to a more metalic one. "I don't have time to deal with you, Second Princess. Firo, hold her and both of you are to face that way!" Naofumi commanded, pointing to the other end of the alley. "No matter what happens, until you hear my voice, you are forbidden from turning this way!".
"Okay~" With a rather childish response, Firo turned into her philorial form and hugged Melty, keeping the girl from looking the way Naofumi instructed.
"Firo-chan, unhand me! Shield Hero, you! What do you thin-" Melty was interrupted by the very loud sound of Naofumi's fist once more strucking the face of the knight captain, this time making the helmet of the man fly off.
*SMACK*
"They called me [Shield Demon]; I can't let their expectations of me down, right?!" The hero's voice sounded cold and harsh, the noise of another haymaker striking the captain, who grunted in pain.
"I am the source of thy power. I command thee, o void, grant me the everlasting silence that only thy embrace is capable of. All Dritte Fall, Null Zone." It was the first time Naofumi had heard Felicia chant. He know understood why she could afford to be so lazy, yet so succesful. The entire alley was washed away in magical power, the two exits of the alley covered in a thin layer of something. "We should have plenty of time now. Two hours at the very least. No noise will leave this space, knight-san, so you can be as loud as possible. I want to study what magic techniques the Shield Hero knows to employ tortur-...er, ahem, forceful information gathering."
Shadow used her wires to prop the captain up, like a puppetter uses the strings of their puppets. Another haymaker flew on the man's face, this time the blow hit with a wet sound as it broke the skin above the knight's left brow.
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Thud*
A rather mean sequence of twenty punches from the hero made the face of the knight captain, so smug before, unto a bloody pulp. It was rather crude and simple, as far as Shadow knew.
"Fast Heal" Naofumi's chanted magic healed the captain's face, who looked at the hero as if he was crazy. Had he given up and decided to apologize for his horrible transgressi-...
The knight's line of thought was literally shaken off as another blow struck his face. The pain became rather profound, the recently healed skin much tender to sustain another sudden beatdown like that. The man closed his eyes, waiting for another blow to rain in his face. It never came.
Instead, Naofumi forcefully took off the leather gloves and gauntlet that protected both hands of the knight. Holding one imobile hand, courtesy of Dera and her new paralisys poison, Naofumi held no qualms about grasping the, weirdly soft for a knight, indicator finger of the captain and using of his physical strenght, Naofumi broke the finger by pulling 180 degrees and then spinning the metacarpal bone out of the socket.
*Crack*
"AHHHHHHHH!" The captain screemed in pain, making Melty flinch from her hold within Firo's wings. She tried to move and stop this madness before anyone could get into bigger problems, but her hands began trembling. Naofumi had saved her from being shanked by her own royal guards. He was being acused of a crime he never commited, with her name being smeared in such phalony.
Yet there was nothing the Second Princess could do, besides hear the result of Naofumi's judgement over the men who had wronged him. He seemed certain about giving a real reason for the Church of Three Heroes to hate him. No! No! NO! This is not right! A hero shouldn't behave like that! A hero should be kind and strong to protect those weaker than himself-
*Crack*
*Crack*
"HYYYYAAAAGAGAGAGGAGAGAGAGA!" The knight captain screemed ever louder as the sound of bones snapping echoed inside the alley.
"It was only three fingers. You still have seven on your hands and another ten with your feet. The pain will stop as soon as you tell me what I want!" Phrases that befitted a criminal boss or a bandit leader left the mouth of the Shield Hero. "You are a big man and the leader. You have to set an example to your subordinates. Why are you already shouting this loud when I only broke three of your fingers? Fast Heal! Tell me the plans of the church!" Naofumi accentuated his point with another haymaker, this time the dull sound of flesh smacking flesh was acompanied with a soft clanging on the ground. Naofumi had punched out one mollar tooth out of the captain. "Shadow, switch with me. Do whatever is necessary, I'll focus on healing!"
The hooded girl didn't say anything, simply taking the place of her master. This kind of work was right up her alley (pun included). She quickly took off the armor protecting the torso of the captain, her wires making short work of the chainmail and underclothes protecting the abdomen. She snapped three kicks focused on the ribs, the blows immediately bruising and taking air away from the man, who hacked and coughed incessantly, trying to fill his lungs of the forcefully expelled air they needed to work in order to live.
No mercy came as green light surrounded him, making the purple bruising dissapear in seconds, only for Shadow to snap in another sequence of kicks, all focused into one spot.
*CRACK*
The knight captain fell face first into the ground, painfully wheezing as the sound of his ribs cracking was heard by all present here.
The temperature rose rather quickly around him, and the man found new strenght to scream louder as a black flame burned at the other side. The burn was excruciating, but the feeling that followed was worse. A pain that hurt nowhere and at the same time everywhere. The kind of thing that could gnawl at your very mind and soul.
He had little time to dwell in his tortuous pain, more was soon added on top. Naofumi's boot made contact with the burn, the kick lifting the man from the ground for a few seconds. His sides flared in pain as kicks rained in from both Naofumi and Shadow, the hero's hurting more due to hitting a burnt, cursed area. The two kept their kicks for 30 seconds, after which Naofumi once more released more will-o-wisp sized flares of cursed fire. [Self-Immolation Curse] did the job, inflicting agonizing pain.
"D-d-demon..." The man muttered under wimpers of pain. Naofumi scoffed and let loose another kick into the cursed side of the man before he switched shields. [Holy Shield] equipped, Naofumi uttered the name of one of the skills this shield granted to him.
"[Dispel Curse]!" Soft light emanated from the white and cross-shaped shield, the burnt areas of the captain releasing a purple smog as the curse faded away. "Fast Heal. I'm losing my pacience here! Dera!" The Hydra slithered close to her master. "Get some poison ready."
The hero kicked the captain down with a kick to the side of his head. He then grabbed one foot of the still knight and began to slowly turn it aside until the man began to feel pain. "Listen, I'll give you the chance to speak now. As soon as I break your ankle, my Hydra will pour her strongest poison directly into your wound. Not even my healing will fix it in time." Naofumi bluffed. Everytime Dera developed some new concoction, he fed it to his shield; which while didn't unlock new shields, improved the shields he had unlocked due to her. He had anti-venom alright. It didn't meant that he was going to share with this bastard.
"I-I will tell you..." As the weak words left the knigth's mouth, Naofumi released the man's ankle.
"Shadow." The girl was already on it, getting any useful intel from the knight.
While the girl was busy with that, Naofumi turned to the other bound knights. Raphtalia entered his sight, eyes pleading and asking if he hadn't had enough of this. No. Not yet, anyways. These bastards would pay.
"[Wrath Shield II]!" His armor shifted and transformed, scaring the knights, whom only saw a demon marching towards them. A demon with a demonic shield of cursed flames.
...
...
...
[Shield Devil] Series unlocked.
[Curse Series (Sin of Wrath)] updated.
[End Bringer] Series has been created.
[D&W*# L0rd Shield] Series unlocked.
[Shield Demon (Demon of the Shield) unlocked] [Knight Shield unlocked] [Brute Shield unlocked] [Punisher Shield unlocked] [Vision Crystal Shield unlocked] [Perpetrator Shield unlocked] [Spy Master Shield unlocked]
+Special conditions and requirements have been met successfully. Synchronizing monster...
-Error! Class up required for named monster evolution. Named monster [Dera] is influenced under [Iwatani Naofumi Shield Hero] and is mutating. [Hydra] is waiting class up to become [*****].
Unknown Location.
Fitoria looked up towards the sky. Her eyes narrowed as something in the world's order changed. One of the Heroes had seemingly choosen which path he had decided for the fate of this world.
The dilemma was one that many had had to face. Many heroes chose to save the people.
She had choosen to save the world.
Fitoria continued staring at the stars of the sky, the hobby something she had picked up from her master. His name a phantom on her memory.
Why is this so difficult?
The philorial Queen continued staring at the sky.
Naofumi's armor returned to its normal form as he walked away from the mess in the alley. Leaning on the wall of one of the buildings, about 15 knights were there. Strangely enough, none were dead, neither missing limbs. The thing that seemed to have left these man, however, was their souls. If one were to stare at the group's eyes, they would find glazed, unfocused glances that would barely acknowledge human presence.
While these knights were alive, death would have been a much better option. Yet, the man dared not try to take action. Their minds brought to the brink of the abyss due to the many tortures they had to go throught. Their knight captain had failed, but they'd prevail against the devious Shield Hero. Sour mistake.
Naofumi dug into every technique his mind could imagine, some extra details popping out on his mind as per bonus of one of his unlocked shields. Shadow also had a vast array of methods, which she spared none against these fiends who dared to blame her master for their machinations. She knew the Church of Three Heroes was losing their steam, the many failures of the recent heroes, added with her master's actions, was a cold wind on the fires of their fanatic devoltion. For them to result to such madness against Master Naofumi, the assassin/spy would never allow such things to go unpunished.
Daggers digging under fingernails.
Cutting off ears and reattaching them with healing magic.
Smashing fingers into bloody pulps, fixing them and healing them, only to repeat the process with gruesome calm and precision.
Cursed fire heating armor until it started to make the undercloth stick to skin.
Poisoning them and letting it run through their veins until the very last second, then detoxifying then and feeding highly nutricious potions to then repeat the poisoning.
Powerful kicks caving in armor, making breathing a nightmare.
Putting hemp sacks over their heads and drenching it in water.
Shadow's master looked like a dashing dark knight as his cursed flames followed his will. It seemed he had gotten a better control over his fire.
The bruenette once feared that the more "obscure" part of her job as a assassin would scare off her master. It warmed her chest that he knew about such things and, yet kept her by his side. If she hadn't done already, Shadow would vow herself to him this instant.
Raphtalia felt sick to her stomach at the brutal display of savagery that Naofumi-sama had displayed. He held nothing back as he gave his form of retribution over the knights, not sparing one in his path of bloodlust and rage. Even as her stomach twisted and turned, Raphtalia continued looking at the scene. It was her job as her lord's sword, she would cut down the enemies that dared threaten him. Such had been the promise she made for him on the city plaza while it was only the two of them. The party had grown considerably in such a short while, but Raphtalia was happy that there were more people to help support her lord.
Even with his crass and harsh mouth, his hardened eyes and dark armor. Even then, to Raphtalia, Naofumi was a bastion of strenght. He was kind when necessary, harsh when necessary. Although the raccoon girl hoped for a future when her lord wouldn't scowl or be this brutal, she accepted it. She accepted him, for he was her savior.
Felicia looked at the scene with lazy eyes. The blood spilled on the ground seemed to not bother the witch, who busied herself taking notes of the Shield Hero's methodical use of healing magic. The man, who was supposedly the weakest among the four heroes, displayed something much too different from the nonsense gossip that run on the streets of Melromark. His defensive magic was what you would expect from someone called Shield Hero, but the dark flames also intrigued the Witch. How had he acquired such curse? It seemed to respond to his fury, so there was one clue.
The witch lightly smiled, releasing a puff of smoke. There would be much worth in staying with the man known as Iwatani Naofumi. Felicia Zauberer, the Spacial Rend Witch could feel it. Ever so different threads of mana gathered at the man's shield, some coming from the world around, others coming from inside the hero. The more ominous ones in particular.
Felicia exhaled another puff of smoke. It was worth leaving the library.
Melty had not caught a glimpse of the scenes, yet she couldn't help the tears running down her face. The wet sounds were sickening. The shouts of the men seemed to repeat on her mind countless times. She tried to make the hero stop, she begged for him to do so. Yet he disreguarded her, continuing in his fury. A tiny part of her mind marked it as righteous fury. A bigger part of her screamed that his actions were madness. How could a hero be like this? Why was Shield Hero Naofumi so...dark? The princess searched her mind for any possible answer, but she came short.
His harsh words rang on her mind.
Melty's mind only caught up when she was finally put down by an apologizing Firo-chan, who turned into her human form to give the princess a farewell hug. It was a quick affair, seeing as the hero barked at the blonde for socializing with the royal princess.
"W-w-where a-are you going?" Melty managed to ask the retreating hero.
He turned back and focused his eyes on her. The retribution he seeked was no longer in his gaze, his eyes returning to their passive green tone on the sharp look of the hero. "I got what I wanted, so I'm getting out of this shit country. I suggest you do the same. The church won't stop until either they kill me or I kill them; whichever happens first. Whoever gets caught up in the crossfire will be "martyrs" for the cause." Naofumi said. He was about to leave, but a rather familiar tug on his cloak held him in place. He groaned and turned his head to look the source, finding Raphtalia giving him the puppy eyes. Raccoon eyes? Either way, she was efficient in making him give second chances.
He looked back at Melty. The blue-clad princess sure was mentally strong, to be able to listen to all what happened and still maintain most of her composure, he had to admit that she was no ordinary kid. Then again, she was Malty's sister. He huffed. He would probably regret this, but he gave in to Raphtalia's silent request.
"You can come with us if you want. Not like you have many options, but you are free to choose." Naofumi declared, waiting for an answer from the princess.
Melty bit the her lower lip and seemed to be in deep thought. Naofumi wished for her to hurry up, considering he had go quickly get away from this place.
"W-where are you going from here?" She asked.
"Siltvelt." His answer made the girl crease her brow, but he ignored her reaction. "From what I have gathered, the country is full of demi-humans and worships the shield." The hero glanced at his weapon. "I was hoping to avoid the religious bullshit, but if I can't escape from it, it's better to ally myself with people who are on my side. Worse case scenario, I can flee again." His words made sense for the Second Princess, even if she wanted to refute them.
"T-they enslave humans there!" Naofumi scoffed. He was somewhat impressed by her drive in trying to make him stay sided with Melromark. A failed attempt at diplomacy, but an admirable attempt.
"You enslave demi-humans here, they enslave humans there, what's the difference? It's not like the chains or the slave crest cares about who thy are placed on. Don't be hypocritical now Second Princess, you are starting to lose me here." Naofumi said in a disaproving tone, making the princess lower her head. "Let's go to my wagon."
The group exited the alley in silence. They made their way towards Naofumi's wagon, but as the group turned the corner, Naofumi made everyone retreat back. The hero leaned, taking a peek over the corner, finding a great deal of soldiers surrounding his wagon. He tightened his hand in anger. He felt someone touch his shoulder, Shadow's masked face leaning close to whisper something in his ear.
"Master, this one recommends a most urgent retreat. This one has neutralized a great deal of enemy shadows on the rooftops with the held of Dera-dono, but more are bound to come. The forest is currently the safest path for us to take." The hooded assassin seemed somewhat out of breath and her gloves were stained with fresh blood, some still dripping from the lenghts of Metal Wire Thread on her hands.
"The church is sending shadow units in large scale to track our movemments, master. They are specialized in stealth and spy work, but the queen's forces are currently also trying to neutralize them." Shadow completed her sentence by showing Naofumi some blood-stained masks. The masks were decorated with a simbol of the church, the three offensive weapons of the heroes.
"Fucking hell. It's almost like it's a fucking civil war. Let's get out of here before they spot us."
"Lightning arrow!"
"Air Strike Shield!"
A rain of electricity flew towards Naofumi, the lead of his party, from the forest. The Shield used one of his skills, letting the attack splash uselessly against his defensive magic as his group got ready for another fight. They had been having some small scale skirmishes against the shadows from the church, just like Shadow had informed him.
The assassin girl was constantly moving about, trying to intercept and kill off any other enemy shadow she found, but with only her and Dera ambushing the enemies, their location was bound to be spotted. It was merely a matter of time. The church had really planned his demise, Naofumi thought, as they easily mobilized soldiers to try and force him into certain paths, where he would be easily found.
He had managed to escape using his [Cartographer's Shield] and his [World Map] skill, but they were found out earlier than what he hoped for.
All the three heroes and their parties were there, their eyes gleaming in anticipation. Itsuki lowered his bow, a serious frown in his face.
"Release Princess Melty, Naofumi!"
Well, isn't this a doozy?! The Shielder sarcastically laughed in his head, hands moving stealthly to give orders to his party. The newest members, Felicia and Melty, were not up to par in his tactics so they didn't know to pay attention to his hands, and thus did not get his commands. He would have to make due with what he had.
Dera took advantage of her natural scales and easily blended in with the enviroment, setting an ambush without being detected.
Shadow slowly moved behind his back, taking advantage of the fact that all were focused on her master's frame. Thee whirling sound of her equipment dispersing Metal Thread Wire was silenced by the sounds of armor shifting as the heroes' parties tried to fan out to surround Naofumi's party.
Raphtalia was quick to draw her weapon and stand beside the Shielder, her stance ready to lash out and strike whoever tried getting closer.
Firo menacingly pouted at the group, her angry eyes focused specially in Motoyasu and the creepy face he was making, hands obscenely wrigling in her direction.
Felicia lazily grabbed her hat, took her smoking pipe and lit it, taking a long puff of it, slowly and calmly kneading some magic into it.
Melty was the slowest of the group, standing somewhat behind Naofumi's frame as he stared down at the heroes and their parties.
"Not a very nice way to greet someone you haven't met in a while, Itsuki!" Naofumi exclaimed, shifting his stance to a wider, more battle focused stance.
AUTHOR NOTES.
Well, wasn't that a nice chapter?
Extra bits:
-Felicia is inspired in the mage character in Kuro No Maou(Fiona from The Black Demon King), but instead of glutonny and lust, she is more like Shikamaru, laziness incarnate, unless magic research is involved. I'll flesh her out more in the following chapters.
-Her family name, Zauberer, is a simple translation. It just means "Sorcerer" in German, or so I hope. I noticed that the novel borrows some names from German, such as Blutfer (Blood Sacrifice), Erst Shield (Air strike/First) and others, so I followed the trend.
-Some are afraid that Raphtalia is having her place taken over by Shadow. That's not what's happening. Since you know (or so I hope) who and what Raphtalia does for Naofumi, I reckoned that I could focus on developing the other characters, since you know our favorite Raccoon girl. To be honest, every girl is special in their own rights, so it's not so simple as to say one is taking the place of the other. Each girl has their strenghts and weaknesses, and each will take a place inside Naofumi's (currently locked) heart.
-Get ready for some brutal and dark happenings, [Shield Demon]-arc is upon us, boys!
Get Hype!
+Ending theme for the chapter: "VORACITY" by MYTH and ROID. (Overlord's third opening).