Chapter 11: Catastrophe Returns
(Somewhere, ?)
A familiar purple haired woman was currently meeting with a cloaked figure, who once again was kneeling outside of the window of the former's room.
"Melty appears to have made contact with the Shield Hero's party, Your Majesty." The cloaked spy reported.
"If the Shield Hero is the kind of man he is, then reconciliation will take quite some time." The purple haired woman commented. "I feel bad for putting Melty through this. But this too is her duty as the future ruler." Her mind immediately flashed back on how she ordered Melty to return to the capital to not only confront the king but also made contact with Naofumi
"Your Majesty?"
"Continue to keep an eye on him." She ordered the cloaked figure.
"As you wish." After that, the cloaked figure immediately took her leave.
It was then that the purple haired woman heard the sound of thunder, roaring in the distance.
"The Wave is nearly here. Will the Heroes be able to overcome it?" She wondered before she observed the dark cloudy skies through the window.
(Back in Castle Town, Melromarc)
Thanks to Merleo delivering some high-grade Holy Water, they were able to begin treatment towards Raphtalia and Tyler. Naofumi shared a room with Raphtalia as well as Filo, who had fallen asleep, while the others were in separate rooms.
Naofumi dipped the bandage in Holy Water before wrapping it up around one of Raphtalia's arms. The latter had to endure the pain as the Holy Water made contact with the curse. The former was not obviously to the reaction. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It's actually not as bad as I expected." Raphtalia replied as her master continued the treatment.
"The next Wave is going to hit tomorrow. I hope you'll recover by then." Naofumi stated. "Since we don't know when or where the next Wave will be coming from, we have to be prepared for anything and everything." He then noticed the sadness in Raphtalia's face. "What's wrong? Does it hurt?"
"Once all the Wave has been repelled, you'll probably go back… Back to your home world and I'll never see you again." Raphtalia replied, much to the surprise of her master as he didn't put much thought into it.
In Raphtalia's defense, this topic stemmed from yesterday, during their trip to the church. Back then, Naofumi asked her which path she would take during the Class Upgrade procedure, to which the latter replied she wanted what the former chose for her. However, Naofumi replied that she needed to decide her own path because he won't be there with her once the Waves are dealt with, because he will be sent back to his home world. Hearing it caused some distress to Raphtalia as her attachment to Naofumi was too strong to ever think that she would be parting ways with her master.
"May I… May I go back with you when you leave?" Raphtalia inquired as both her and Naofumi were staring at each other. "Master Naofumi… I hope that—"
"Hey. How come you're being all lovey-dovey with Master?" The two turned to see Filo, who suddenly woke up. "No fair!"
"What!? I wasn't being lovey-dovey with anyone!" Raphtalia denied.
"You were! Mwah! You were trying to kiss him!" Filo said while making a kissing gesture.
"I was not!"
"You were too! I saw you doing it!"
"Hrah! Will you shut up!?" Naofumi snapped. "Now go to bed! We'll start early tomorrow!"
Raphtalia glared towards Filo while the latter turned away with a huff, which Naofumi simply sighed at the sight.
(The next day)
The party as well as Ake and his team managed to rendezvous in front of Elhart's shop as they have less than five minutes to do a strategy meeting about the upcoming Wave. While there was a sense of dread in the air, everyone was fully determined to fight with everything they had.
"So, listen up! The Wave will be coming soon and we'll get transported to the nearest location to it! While defeating the enemies that came out from the Wave is important, we also need to protect the civilians and have them evacuate the area." Naofumi said. "I can't guarantee your survival, but if you remember who you are and do as you're told, I'm sure you'll be able to hold your own just fine. So, fight like you mean it, got it?"
"Of course, Shield Hero! We will do our best!" Ake and his squad shouted in unison as they were very eager to contribute to the Shield Hero's cause.
Said Hero then turned towards his party. "Are you guys ready?"
"Of course, Master Naofumi." Raphtalia nodded. "I'm ready to fight with you as your Sword!"
"I'm all set, Master!" Filo said confidently.
"Ready any time, dude." Tyler grinned.
"Me too." Kurisu nodded.
"Do you seriously need to ask? Of course, I'm ready." Chelsea stated.
"As am I, Sir Naofumi." Merleo added.
"Good." Naofumi replied as he felt the two Poké Balls he had shaking left and right, which he took as confirmation that they are also ready. "All right then, let's go."
As he said that, the timer in his HUD finally reached zero, causing the skies to immediately turn red along with the appearance of many blue portals above. And like last time, Naofumi and his party were teleported to the location of the Wave along with Ake and his team.
Everyone found themselves in a forested area that was close to the head of the Wave.
"All right. You know what to do. So let's go!" Naofumi told everyone.
"Of course!" Everyone stated as they headed towards a village. But suddenly, a familiar blue energy came out of Kurisu, revealing Riolu.
"Wait!" Riolu shouted, prompting everyone to stop
What's wrong, Riolu?" Kurisu asked.
"Whatever you have to say, make it quick. We don't have much time until the monsters attack the village!" Naofumi told him.
"Except that's the problem!" Riolu shouted, pointing in another direction. "I sense people... Lots of them. Not just from that village, but also from that side!"
The news shocked the group.
"Wait... Are you saying there are two villages!?" Raphtalia asked.
"What do we do? We need about this many people to protect one village from the Wave!" Ake stated.
"Then we'll just have to split up," Tyler suggested. "You guys go on ahead to the village before us. Let me, Chelsea, Kurisu, and Merleo protect the other village."
"Good call. We have more experience in dealing with multiple foes at once back home, as well as commanding multiple Pokemon at once." Chelsea agreed.
"Not only that, but if I recall, Tyler and Chelsea both have a whole arsenal of Pokémon in their hands. Our combined numbers should be enough to assist them," Kurisu added.
"Okay, then it's decided. I leave that other village to you four." Naofumi said, much to Ake and his group's surprise.
"Huh?! Wait a second, Shield Hero, are you sure?!" the young knight asked. "Even if you include Riolu, it's only four people!"
"Didn't Kurisu just say it? It's not just us four." Tyler said, as he and Chelsea pulled out one Poké Ball each from their person and called out Rapidash and Sawsbuck from them, respectively. "We have a bunch of allies on our side."
"Once the Wave is over, meet back with us in our area!" Naofumi told the mounting trainers, who each has a passenger at the back of their riding Pokémon.
"Right!" Four of his party members said in unison as they immediately departed.
Naofumi's group arrived at one of the local villages as it was just in time for the monsters that came from the portals in the sky to attack. Unlike the previous Wave, which had bees and zombies, the horde of monsters that appeared were lizardmen, goblins, and werewolves. The group proceeded to deal with the legions of monsters while also protecting the villagers as they evacuated the premises. Seeing how many monsters there are, Naofumi and Raphtalia sent out their Pokémon to help them in the fight.
"Aron, use Rock Slide! And you use Pin Missile, Quilladin!" Naofumi ordered his Pokemon.
"Zigzagoon! Use Headbutt! And Honedge, you use Fury Cutter!" Raphtalia commanded.
"Got it/On it, Shield Bro!" Both Aron and Quilladin complied in unison as the former jumped skyward before multiple gray rocks appeared above Aron's head in the shape of a ring. Then, the rocks flew towards the horde of monsters, inflicting serious damage on a group of goblins. The latter, on the other hand, shot several green energy missiles from the spikes of his body and managed to kill said group.
"In the name of Lady Raphtalia, you all shall perish!" Honedge proclaimed before his sword glowed green before he slashed at a pair of lizardmen, which was then followed by his Trainer delivering the final blow. Zigzaggoon then finished one of the survivors with the commanded move.
Thanks to the Wyvern's Talons, Filo managed to cut through several goblins and werewolves and then used Fast Tornado to incapacitate the stragglers. Ake and his group were able to hold their own just fine as they fend off the monsters and also saved some villagers who were left behind and managed to have them evacuate the village.
Three hours had passed and the monsters kept swarming into the village endlessly. Even so, the group managed to stand their ground and fight. Though a few started to feel annoyed by the constant appearance of monsters.
"These freaks just kept coming. There's no end to them!" Aron complained before he dodged a swipe from a lizardman before Naofumi ordered him to use Iron Head to retaliate. "Hey, Naofumi! How long can we keep doing this? We've been at this for a while and don't see this Wave thing letting up."
"As long as possible." Naofumi replied before he evaded a strike from a goblin before Raphtalia swooped in and slew said goblin. 'But Aron has a point. It's already been three hours now. What are those idiots doing? The Wave should have ended by now.'
"Hyah!" Naofumi heard a familiar shout as he turned to see the source. It was none other than the same elderly woman that he cured a few days ago. He was surprised by the old woman effortlessly defeating a group of goblins effortlessly.
"Whoa. That old lady is strong!" Quilladin commented as he and the others watched the sight.
"I'll say." Aron agreed with his teammates.
"Hm?" The old woman turned towards Naofumi and immediately recognized him. "Well, if it isn't the Savior of the Heavenly Fowl! Or is it the Shield Hero? Either way, I thank you for your aid from the other day. I'm certainly in your debt." She then proceeded to kick down a werewolf when it tried to sneak up on her without skipping a beat.
'What the hell did I give to that old lady?' Naofumi wondered in his thoughts.
"Naofumi!" The aforementioned Hero turned towards Aron, who was calling for him, "Why don't we check up on those three yahoos and see what's holding them up? This has gone way too long!"
"If you want to go, Sir Hero, then do it." Naofumi then turned to Ake and his group. "We'll protect the village until you defeat this Wave's boss."
"Indeed. Just leave the protection to me and the whippersnappers!" The old woman added.
"So then, what's your call, Shield Bro?" Quilladin asked.
Again, the messy haired young man was curious on why his three colleagues haven't defeated the boss and decided that he shall take the matter into his own hands.
"All right. Don't push yourself too hard, got it? Especially you, grandma." Naofumi told his temporary party members before looking at the others. "Everyone, let's go!"
"Right!" They said in unison as Naofumi and Raphtalia returned their Pokémon before leaving towards another area with the boss on Filo's back.
After following the sounds of explosions, they came across an unusual sight. Floating in the sky was a giant ship with what appeared to be a bunch of tentacles belonging to a monster that was attached to its hull. After deducing to be the boss of the Wave, Naofumi and the others then head towards said ship. There, they saw Itsuki and his party attacking the tentacle monsters, albeit with zero results.
"Hey, Itsuki!" Naofumi called out to his fellow Hero, who stopped and looked at him.
"Oh, it's you. What do you want? Don't you have a village to protect or something?" Itsuki inquired.
"Apparently, I've been doing just that for three hours straight. What took you and the others so long?" He retorted.
"Tell that to Ren and Motoyasu, who was on the ghost ship wasting time." The Bow Hero replied as before he shot an arrow at the ship's figurehead. "I told them that we need to kill the Figurehead to spawn the Soul Eater, but did they listen to me? No."
"Soul Eater, huh?" Naofumi muttered before he turned towards it. "Filo! Jump into the ghost ship!"
"Okay!" The Filolial Queen complied as she jumped high and onto the deck.
There, he saw the rest of his fellow Heroes fighting two different opponents. Motoyasu and his party were fighting the tentacle monsters while Ren and his party were fighting against a skeleton that was dressed like a pirate captain.
"Take this!" Motoyasu shouted as he thrusted his spear towards the monster that he and his party was facing. But the latter managed to parry it.
"Hrah!" A green haired young woman shouted as she did a roundhouse kick at the skeletal pirate captain, causing it to stumble backwards.
The young woman has her long green hair tied into a long ponytail via a red band, that had a braided end and matching eyes. Her attire consisted of a red sleeveless qipao with orange lining and a small triangle shaped hole that exposed her midriff, a pair of black arm sleeves that matched well with the black fingerless glove on her right hand and a regular glove on her left hand, white kung fu trousers, and a pair of black kung fu slippers. She belonged to the Sword Hero's party.
It was then followed by her leader, Ren, who slashed through said skeleton, finishing it off. Unfortunately, the victory was short-lived as it immediately resurrected itself and got back up.
"Sir Ren, watch out!" The green haired girl warned him the skeletal pirate swung its sword at her leader, who managed to block the strike. He ended up bumping into Motoyasu, who was pushed back by his opponent.
"Hey, watch it!" Motoyasu snapped at him.
"Same can be said to you." Ren retorted as they glared towards each other. "I told you we need to fight the skeleton!"
"Yeah, right! It's the Kraken that we need to defeat! Otherwise, the Soul Eater won't spawn." The Spear Hero snapped back as tension between them became high as the two Heroes started fighting amongst themselves.
"Is this really the time for bickering?" The two Heroes and their parties looked and saw Naofumi, who was standing around and watched the scene unfold with Raphtalia and Filo in tow.
"Naofumi." Ren stated as he looked towards the newcomer.
"Why don't you go and defend some village?" The Spear Hero told his archenemy.
"I agree! An incompetent Hero who can't fight should just—"
"You're the incompetent ones!" Naofumi interrupted Malty's rant, causing her to be flabbergasted by the response. "Stop wasting time! If we don't put an end to the Wave, more monsters will come! And I can't do my job. But you—"
The Shield Hero was interrupted by the snarl of the skeleton, who proceeded to try swinging its sword at him. Fortunately, the former managed to deflect it with his shield. It was then followed by a lunge from the kraken, which Naofumi managed to protect himself.
"Instead of working together, you three are doing whatever you want!" He reprimanded his fellow Heroes. "If you lose, all the villagers will die along with all of you! Quit thinking this like some sort of a game 'cause it's not!"
"Don't you think I know that by now!?" Ren shouted as the others were looking at him. "That's why I'm hitting the skeleton to spawn the Soul Eater!"
"Ha! You killed it earlier, but nothing spawned." Motoyasu retorted.
"We have to kill it more than once to make it work!"
"Right, like that's going to be that simple."
"What's that supposed to mean!?"
Naofumi could only sighed at how deluded and shortsighted his fellow Heroes are. "Unbelievable…" He proceeded to analyze the skeleton monster, who was dubbed "Skull Captain". The Shield Hero was able to spot some differences from other monsters that he fought. 'Strange. It doesn't have any special perimeter or resistances. But there has to be a way to spawn the Soul Eater other than killing it…' It was then that he noticed its shadow, who briefly behaved differently. And with that, he knew what must be done. "Raphtalia! Can you cast the light magic? The one that you used on Honedge the other day."
"Of course." Raphtalia stated before she was ready to say the incantation. "As source of thy power, I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature and illuminate my surroundings! Fast Light now!" As she said that, a white light shot from her body and began to illuminate the surroundings, causing the shadows of the monsters to reveal what it really was.
"Now, attack the shadows at its feet!" Naofumi issued an order as Raphtalia jumped towards behind the Skull Captain and stabbed its shadow, causing a stream of pale purple energy to erupt from the shadow.
Motoyasu was flabbergasted as he didn't account for something like that. Ren, however, immediately caught on what Naofumi pulled and proceeded to stab the shadow of the kraken with his sword, causing several pale purple energies to erupt from the ship.
"Now what?" The Spear Hero muttered in confusion.
"Look! The Soul Eaters are spawning everywhere!" Everyone turned to see Itsuki, who had climbed aboard the ship along with his party.
The stream of energies eventually fused with one another until it manifested into a monster. The monster was a white fish-like monster with three red eyes, a pair of long arms and claws, and fiery purple fins.
The monster, dubbed as the "Soul Eater", lunged forward at the Heroes with its maw opening. The Heroes other than Naofumi decided to fight back immediately.
"Thunderbolt Slash!" Ren shouted as he did a downward slash, shooting a blue crescent shaped electric energy at the monster.
"Thunder Arrow!" Itsuki then shot an arrow that split apart and was coated in blue electricity.
"Lightning Spear!" Motoyasu thrusted his spear forward, causing a bolt of blue electricity to be shot towards the Soul Eater.
When the attacks made contact, however, it didn't do any damage and only served to agitate the monster in question.
"It's stronger than I thought." Ren pointed it out.
"Are our attacks even affecting it?" Motoyasu wondered as he had no idea what to do next.
'We'll get nowhere with lightning element attacks…' Naofumi pondered before he had an epiphany. "Filo! Cast wind magic!"
"'Kay! Fast Tornado!" Filo complied before she cast her wind spell that blew towards the Soul Eater, taking out a fraction of its health.
'Now, let's see if Pokémon are effective against it…' Naofumi then pulled out a Poké Ball. "Aron, use Rock Slide!" He threw the Poké Ball skyward as Aron emerged from it.
"Got it, Naofumi." The Iron Armor Pokémon complied as multiple gray rocks were thrown towards the Soul Eater, which took another fraction of the latter's HP.
"Wait a minute! Since when did Naofumi have a monster like that?" Itsuki exclaimed.
"Hmph! Classic Shield Hero. First it was having that demihuman slave, and now monsters as well. He really is the devil." Malty scoffed with a haughty tone.
"Tch! So, he had more than one, huh?" Motoyasu grunted, something that piqued Ren's interest.
"Wait, what do you mean "more than one"?" Ren asked him.
"Yeah, that bastard got those special monsters on him like that thug that was in his party. When I picked a fight with him two days ago, he had a green, fat chipmunk." The Spear Hero explained.
The Soul Eater roared in anger as a green and black energy sphere started forming on its mouth.
"Come on! We have to take it out before it unleashes that thing!" Ren told the others as he rushed towards the Soul Eater.
"Right with ya!" Motoyasu complied as he went after his colleague.
Naofumi, on the other hand, sensed an enormous attack that was about to strike them soon.
"Raphtalia! Filo! Get behind me!" Naofumi stated as they did what he said. "Aron, you use Protect!"
"Just what I was thinking!" With no hesitation, a light blue energy dome covered him, his Trainer, and his slaves to safety akin to how Tyler's Rapidash used the move.
The green haired young woman immediately caught on what the Shield Hero was trying to do and proceeded to warn her leader. "Sir Ren, don't—"
Unfortunately, her warning fell on deaf ears as the Soul Eater shot the energy sphere forward, which caused smoke and dust to fly around the deck when it made contact. The other three Heroes and their parties were lying on the floor as they felt the devastation of the attack. Naofumi and his party, on the other hand, were able to survive.
"I think we're safe… for now." Aron stated as the Protect dissipated, allowing them to come out from the cover.
The other three Heroes stood up but they were looking no worse for wear after barely surviving the attack. Their party then followed suit.
The Soul Eater roared once more as it readied itself for another attack.
"Filo!" Naofumi called out to one of his slaves.
"Okay! High Quick it is!" Filo shouted as she understood what her master ordered before creating two afterimages of herself before vanishing swiftly. With lightning speed, Filo proceeded to attack the Soul Eater while it was charging for the attack as well as evading the latter's attempt to shake her off. "Can't touch me~!" She taunted before she avoided the energy sphere attack, which hit the deck once more.
After coming out from behind her master, Raphtalia pulled out a Poké Ball.
"Help us out, Zigzagoon!" She threw the Poké Ball into the air as the aforementioned Pokémon emerged from it.
"Okay, Raphtalia!" The Tiny Raccoon Pokémon complied as she accompanied her Trainer as well as Filo to attack the Soul Eater.
"Zigzagoon, use Pin Missile!" The demihuman swordswoman commanded as she readied her sword.
"On it!" Zigzagoon stated as she shot several green energy missiles from her zigzag patterned fur at the Soul Eater, successfully damaging it albeit a little.
It was then followed by Raphtalia, who did a downward slash at the monster. Filo proceeded to continue her assault through her hit-and-run tactics via High Quick. The Soul Monster tried to take a bite of her, but she always dodged every single attempt.
"Aron! Join in and use Rock Slide and then Iron Head!" Naofumi ordered his Pokémon.
"Don't tell me twice about joining the fray." Aron stated before he summoned more gray rocks to throw at the Soul Monster before slamming himself into the latter.
Naofumi observed his two slaves and Aron battling against the Soul Eater. 'This strategy will kill it eventually. But…' He then began to remember how Ake chose to stay behind to protect the village along with the old lady and how the other half of the party went to protect the other village. He was afraid that at this point, they would start to become exhausted and wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer. 'If we take too long, the villages will be destroyed…'
It was then after doing a couple of attempted assaults on the Soul Eater that Aron, Raphtalia, Zigzagoon, and Filo backed off in order to catch their breath.
"Does this thing have a high Defense stat or does it have a high HP? Either way, we don't seem to get through it." Aron commented.
"Yeah, we're not hurting it at all!" Filo added.
"Stop complaining, you two! Let's find its weakness!" Raphtalia reprimanded them.
"I don't know. It doesn't seem to have one though…" Zigzagoon chimed in as she doesn't like the chances.
"Raphtalia… Aron…" Raphtalia and Aron turned towards Naofumi as he was determined to do something extreme. "I'm going to use Rage Shield. Forgive me…" He took off the Chimera Viper Shield briefly.
Raphtalia then proceeded to hold his right hand. "Just remember: You can always count on me as your sword. I will follow you through fire and brimstone. Never forget it!"
"Well… You already dragged me and Quilladin along this far…" Aron began. "I think it's a little bit late to back down now. Your enemies are our enemies now, Naofumi. I'll crush anyone who gets in your way. Count on it." The Iron Armor Pokémon continued. "Though you owe me some iron when this is all over…"
"Whatever…" Naofumi stated before he turned towards Filo. "Take care of Raphtalia and my Pokémon if anything goes wrong."
"Mhm!" Filo nodded.
"We'll be here by your side. Until the very end. I'm sure if Tyler was here, he would say the same words I have." Raphtalia stated as Naofumi put on the shield on his right arm.
"Come forth, Rage Shield!" Naofumi shouted as the shield's gemstone began to glow red. It was then that he was covered by the familiar red pattern once again before shouting with all his might. However, the unexpected happened.
"You will pay…"
Naofumi snapped out and found himself in a dark room with no one within sight. It reminded him of when he was consumed with hatred and rage, but only this time… it's different.
"YOU WILL PAY!" All of a sudden, the face of a familiar Dragon suddenly appeared which was then followed by an image of Ren, who stabbed his sword forward. Despite the sword not real, he felt the mental pain from the attack.
"I don't get it…" Naofumi said as he was clutching his head.
"For humiliating me… Defeating me as a puny human!" He was then shown a flashback where Ren was raising his sword triumphantly after slaying the Dragon. Naofumi was then shown a flashback of his fight against the Dragon Zombie as well as showing a familiar purple crystal. "And for humiliating me by taking my bones and turning me into a tool…"
"Is that… the Dragon Zombie that I absorbed before?" Naofumi wondered.
"You will pay… YOU WILL PAY!"
All of a sudden, something appeared in his HUD and was written as "Grow up".
"What does "Growup" mean?" Naofumi wondered as his shield transformed into a familiar black shield. But it didn't stop there as his gauntlets and chest plate suddenly transformed into a pair of black armored gauntlets and a black U-shaped chest plate respectively. It was then that Naofumi was engulfed in flames as he endured the pain. "A seething rage…" He continued. "It's not the flame from before… it's his hatred."
Itsuki shot out an arrow in an attempt to deal damage towards the Soul Eater. But then he, as well as the others, turned around to see Naofumi, who had a flaming shield and was covered in some strange armor.
"Okay… That's something." Aron muttered as he focused his gaze on the new gauntlets, chest plate, and the flaming shield. 'While they look delicious…. Something's off about them. I sensed some fury and hatred coming off of them. I think… Naofumi is not in his usual self again. This… is going to suck.' The feeling he got was like a Salamence that was about go on rampage after using Outrage.
"HRAAAAAAH!" Naofumi bellowed as his eyes began to glow red.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" Itsuki wondered aloud.
"Hey, wait!" Motoyasu turned towards Filo, who seemed to be in a similar state to Naofumi, though she had a purple glow on her stomach.
Raphtalia managed to put the two together. "The Dragon Zombie's crystal… It's affecting Master Naofumi and Filo." She wondered with worry as Filo jumped high before sending a kick so powerful that it sent the Soul Eater to the ground, where Naofumi rammed his shield before immolating the Soul Eater with extreme fury.
The others, especially the other three Heroes, were flabbergasted at the sight that Naofumi displayed.
"He's basically turned into a wild beast. And that's certainly not how a Hero was supposed to fight." Malty shrugged heartlessly.
"Like you're any better in that department, you pathetic excuse for a princess." Aron remarked, earning the ire.
"You dare take that tone with me, you little freak of nature?" Malty growled at him.
"I agree! You're no princess! You're just a big bully!" Zigzagoon chimed in, having gathered enough courage to stand up to her. "All you ever did is to cause Naofumi some grief! Not to mention using that idiotic man to attack him the other day!"
"It makes you wonder who's the real monster here." Aron continued. "I guess your mom made the right choice of not making you the heir to the throne. It's ironic that your little sister was more mature than you."
"How dare you! I'm the princess of this kingdom! You will show me some respect!" Malty snapped. "Feeble-minded bottom dwellers like you could never hope to understand how this kingdom functions."
"Like we care about that." Aron stated as his gaze shifted to the other three Heroes. "That also goes for you three! Maybe if you weren't so weak, Naofumi would've never resorted to using something like this!"
"You have a lot of nerve for something that's only at Level 32." Motoyasu remarked. "I bet Naofumi has been feeding some nonsense when you're with him. If anyone's weak, it's—"
"The three of you." Aron interrupted, much to the ire of the other three Heroes. "If anyone's a deadweight, that'll be you three. Why? All you ever do is compare everything in this world to whatever games you played. While I don't know much about these types of games you humans played, I, at least, could tell the difference between what's real and what's not. If my other friend, Quilladin, was here, he'd probably say how terrible you are at this Hero gig compared to Naofumi. Especially since he had to clean up after the mess that was caused by your stupidity!"
'I see now. So that's what makes the Shield Hero different compared to Sir Ren and the others…' The green haired martial artist contemplated, who started to have a realization. In the past, she believed that she should follow her leader, the king, and the princess regardless of their motives. But after seeing how the kingdom was willing to sabotage the Shield Hero how hard the Shield Hero fought the Waves, it was clear to her that she shouldn't stay obedient any longer. It was the time for her to break her silence.
"Zip it, pipsqueak! Side characters like you shouldn't say stuff like that to me!" Itsuki retorted.
"Indeed! Especially if those words came from runts such as you two." An armored man, who belonged to Itsuki's party, added.
"Come now, why don't we all just calm down?" The same green haired young woman tried to calm the situation.
"Stay out of this, peasant! These two lowlifes have the audacity to talk back to me!" Malty snapped at it.
"Myne. Don't talk to one of my party members like that." Ren reprimanded before turning to said party member. "While I appreciate you stepping in, I don't think this is a good time for you to do that, Xulan."
"I'm sorry, Sir Ren. I may have not involved myself in several scuffles in the past, but not anymore." The one that was called Xulan retorted. "Didn't the Shield Hero tell us to stop the infighting? As he said, this isn't the time and place for that."
"I agree. This is no time to bicker amongst ourselves." Raphtalia added, which is working… somewhat. She then turned towards Aron. "I think they understand, Aron. So please, don't provoke them any further."
"Not my problem if they can't handle reality." The Iron Armor Pokémon shrugged off before he turned his attention to the still-berserk Naofumi. "Now then, I may have to knock some sense into him. At this rate, he'll burn everything on the ship along with us too."
"That could work." Raphtalia agreed. "Try not to hit him too hard, okay?"
"I can't promise that, but we'll see." Aron replied before he faced his Trainer. "Iron Head!" He then charged towards Naofumi with a glowing forehead before slamming into him. By doing so, he also felt the flames which he managed to power through. The move was able to send him sprawling on the wooden floor.
"Gah!" Naofumi grunted as his back landed on the wooden floor. "Ugh… That was some attack." He groaned as he slowly stood up, having regained snapped out from another blind rampage.
"A "Thank you" would be nice right about now." He turned towards Aron. "You've lost control again. Only this time, it was much worse since you got Filo involved."
"I see. I'm sorry." Naofumi stated. "I'd never imagined that the Dragon Zombie would come back and haunt me from beyond the grave."
"It was obvious." Aron stated. "Get your head back into the fight, Naofumi! Did you think you'd win by going on a rampage like that!?"
"Huh?"
"Don't "Huh" me! Those flames you summoned with that strange shield would pretty much burn you too as well as everyone else on the ship!" The Iron Armor Pokémon said. "Whatever hatred or rage you felt during that time, don't let it get to you! Instead of going on a blind rampage, try channeling them or whatever in order to master that power. If you really are a Hero, then do your job right!"
"Channeling them, huh?" Naofumi muttered before he remembered one of the words that were uttered by the mysterious figure.
"For better or worse, the power that is enriched by the heart is perhaps your greatest strength."
'So that's what it means, huh? It's a bit cheesy, I'll admit.' Naofumi pondered as he realized what those words meant. 'But it can't hurt to try…'
"I take it you've made up your mind?" Aron inquired.
"Yeah. No thanks to you though." Naofumi replied. "I didn't think I would get a talk from a Pokémon, of all things. I must be that pathetic, huh?"
"Well, you just lost your way a little bit. It happens to everybody."
"Now then…" Naofumi turned towards the Soul Eater while holding his Rage Shield. "Let's try this again, shall we?"
"Of course, Master Naofumi. Together." Raphtalia stated as she readied her sword.
"Now we're talking." Aron stated, raring to go.
"I'll fight with everything I got! For Raphtalia and those villagers!" Zigzagoon added with a determined look.
'They are very well-coordinated…' The green haired fighter observed in her thoughts. 'I wish Sir Ren could do that with us. And those little monsters… they're quite capable looking despite their stature.'
Naofumi then took the time to glance at Aron. "Thanks for knocking some sense into me. Now I know what needs to be done."
"Save the thanks when we kick that thing to the curb." Aron retorted. "You know what to owe me after the trouble I did for you, right?"
"Something's never changed, huh?"
"I am who I am. That's all you need to know."
Meanwhile, Raphtalia looked towards Zigzagoon. "Are you ready for more, Zigzagoon? If you feel uneasy, I'll swap you out with Honedge."
"Thank you for the suggestion, but no." Zigzagoon replied, much to the mild surprise of her Trainer. "This is something I have to do. I don't want to stay like my old self. I want to grow stronger like you."
"Okay. Then let's fight together." Both Naofumi and Raphtalia spoke in unison towards their Pokémon.
"Of course." After that confirmation, both Pokémon were engulfed in a familiar blue energy.
"Okay, what's happening to them now?" Motoyasu wondered as he was oblivious to the sight.
"Another trick by the cowardly Shield Hero, perhaps?" Malty stated, though she was unsure as the others who were not familiar with this concept.
"Master Naofumi, is this what I think it is?" Raphtalia asked her master.
"Yeah. Aron and Zigzagoon are evolving." Naofumi replied, which caught the attention of Ren.
"Evolving…?" Ren wondered aloud as he and the others witnessed the evolution.
The two Pokémon began to change shape while still being enveloped in the blue energy. Aron has grown bigger and bulkier while Zigzagoon grew longer and slightly bigger. It was when the blue energy dissipated that everyone on the ship was able to get a good look at the two recently evolved Pokémon.
Aron was now stockier than before. Other than retaining his quadruple stance, dark gray colored body and blue eyes, his back has more segments of silver armor, each with a high ridge and round dark holes on the sides. As for the upper section of his face, he has three holes, a crest, and it's connected with his eyes. The side of his lower jaw has several flat protrusions. And he has two-pronged metal bands on his legs, with the upper bands colored like the majority of his body and the lower bands were silver.
Zigzagoon, on the other hand, has gone through some significant changes. Her body was now slenderer and had white fur with brown stripes. One long stripe stretched the length of her body before ending in an arrowhead shape on her forehead. There are additional stripes on each of her bushy tails and on her cheeks. Her claws were now sharp and elongated. She has small, tuft-like ears, long cheek fur, and now sported a pair of piercing, blue eyes.
"What the—!? They're completely different now!" Itsuki pointed out with disbelief.
"Are you serious!? This has to be some joke!" Motoyasu stated. "Naofumi is seriously cheating right now!"
"Whoa…" Naofumi was in awe of his Pokémon's evolution. Sure, he had seen Chespin's evolution into Quilladin from the other day, but it was never a dull moment for something like this.
"Surprised? Our determination is what led us to evolve." Aron stated. "Oh, and call me Lairon, starting today."
"Lairon…"
"So then, what should I call you now?" Raphtalia asked her newly evolved Pokémon.
"I'm now Linoone." Linoone replied, whose voice now has an air of confidence. "I'll be sure to meet your expectations, Raphtalia."
"Of course."
It was then that they were interrupted by a roar as they turned to see the Soul Eater, who managed to fly high after getting up and was charging into another green energy sphere.
"All right, let's do this." Naofumi stated. "Lairon, use Rock Slide! And Filo, help Lairon with High Quick!"
"Got it!" Lairon then summoned multiple gray rocks before he threw it at the Soul Eater, taking quite a fraction of its health.
Filo, who was still under the influence of the Dragon Zombie, proceeded to use High Quick once more to land more hits. Then, the Skull Captain and the Kraken rose once more as it faced towards them.
"It looks like we'll have to deal with them too." Raphtalia said. "Linoone! Use Headbutt!"
"Actually, I have a better idea!" Linoone jumped forward towards the Skull Captain.
"Whoa. Such speed!" Raphtalia muttered as she was impressed by the swiftness that her Pokémon showed. What shocked her was that, rather than using Headbutt, Linoone swiped one of her claws at the Skull Captain instead. The former immediately recognized the move that she just used. "Linoone, was that Slash? Did you learn a new move?"
"More or less." The Rushing Pokémon replied before noticing the skeletal pirate, who was about to attack her Trainer. "Watch out, Raphtalia!"
"Right!" Raphtalia proceeded to slash through the Skull Captain, who she successfully defeated. It was then followed by the Kraken lunged forward to attack the two. Thanks to their teamwork, the monster was easily dispatched after the combined efforts of Linoone's Slash and Raphtalia's swordsmanship.
Back with others, Naofumi commanded Lairon for another Rock Slide while being helped by Filo. It was when he was about to take action that something unordinary happened. His weapon tree was then colored red before something popped in his HUD. It was a different weapon tree which featured the Rage Shield and some other unknown forms of the shield. He was then shown new information in his HUD, regarding a combo that starts with Shield Prison and ends with a brand new that is called the "Iron Maiden".
"I know that look. Did you figure something out?" Lairon asked his Trainer.
"Something like that." Naofumi stated before he put his plan in motion. "Now, Shield Prison!" As he shouted that, the Soul Eater was trapped in a sphere of chains and shields. "And now Change Shield!" When the Soul Eater started ramming the Shield Prison to escape its confinement, multiple black spikes appeared and impaled the monster in so many areas of its body. But the worst was not over.
"I don't see it but I could tell that it did quite the number on that thing." The Iron Armor Pokemon stated.
"Within this virgin of cold orb, who shall swallow even your screams with her embrace, suffer in anguish as your entire body is stabbed and skewered!" Naofumi proclaimed with a booming voice. "I cast the Iron Maiden!"
The gem of the Rage Shield glowed brightly before the clouds above the Shield Prison swirled into a vortex that allowed a giant version of the aforementioned torture device to appear from it. The eyes of its statue head glowed red as it opened itself like a cabinet to reveal the many black spikes on the inside.
Everyone was awestruck as the Shield Prison orb flew towards the Iron Maiden. Once the orb was within it, it began to close its door on it where it began to be impaled by the spikes. As Naofumi curled his hand into a fist, the doors were successfully closed. What followed after that it glowed in a blue light briefly before it dissipated in green sparkles, revealing the defeated Soul Eater, which fell to the cliffs where it disappeared into the darkness.
"Finally, it's all over…" Naofumi muttered as he slumped slightly due to the exhaustion he felt after using the Rage Shield. Speaking of which, the Rage Shield has returned to what Naofumi was using earlier, which was the Chimera Viper Shield.
The purple glow on Filo's stomach vanished as she fell down to the floor. "Ugh… What happened to me?" Filo groaned, having returned to her senses.
"Master Naofumi! Filo!" Raphtalia rushed to her master and her fellow party member with Linoone in tow. "Are you all right?"
"Why? Don't I look all right?" Naofumi smiled as he showed his "sword" that he was fine.
Raphtalia shedded a tear as she was fortunate that her master managed to pull through. She returned the smile with her own.
"Still, that was pretty close don't you think, don't you think?" The Shield Hero turned towards Lairon, who was talking to the former. "If I just stood there and didn't do anything, you wouldn't snap out of it and may become an even bigger threat than this Wave thing."
"Yeah."
Xulan looked at the interactions between them. 'I wish Sir Ren would be open to us like that.' She contemplated before smiling. 'But you know, maybe I can be like that demihuman. She's very loyal to the Shield Hero despite being a slave.' She then turned towards Lairon and Linooe. 'Those little ones were also very faithful. Despite the odds, they still willingly fight. That is something I can admire.'
As Naofumi and his party were conversing with each other, the three other Heroes looked on as they were in complete bafflement of how Naofumi, who wields the Legendary Shield, managed to defeat the Soul Eater.
"I'll be damned. So, that's the power of the shield, huh?" Itsuki remarked. "He's totally cheating if you ask me. Having those unique party members and those monsters who can evolve on a whim."
"I don't know. I think he earned this victory." Ren stated. 'But still though, how did he become stronger with only a shield? The Legendary Shield's only use is just defending.'
"You can bet things will be different next time!" Motoyasu stated.
"Now, now, don't be such sore losers." The other three Heroes glanced towards Lairon, who approached them. "That wasn't personal, all right? Maybe if you just take this gig seriously, maybe we wouldn't swoop in and bail you out of this."
"Oh yeah? That's coming from a monster who suddenly transformed mid-battle." Motoyasu retorted. "Your master was just lucky, that's all."
"First off, I'm not someone's pet. And second, that was just pure skill back there." Lairon replied. "Remind me again but how long does it take for you three to figure out how to fish that monster out of hiding? Three hours, right?"
"Don't get smart with me, you." Motoyasu stated. "We would've figured it out eventually if Naofumi hadn't stepped in."
"I seriously doubt that." The Spear Hero glanced towards Naofumi and his party. "Three hours is too long, if you ask me." It was then he felt the heavy atmosphere that suddenly appeared. "Did you all feel that?"
Everyone brought their guard up to face the incoming threat. Just then, another Soul Eater poked its head out from the floor, snarling at them.
"Another one!?" Itsuki exclaimed.
"I've never seen something like that in a game before." Ren commented.
Naofumi held his shield up as he was ready to fight. But before the Soul Eater could do anything, multiple knives coated in light brown energy suddenly rained down on the newcomer, killing it instantly.
"The hell!?" Naofumi exclaimed as he and the others were flabbergasted at what they had just witnessed.
"Seriously!? One blow!?" Lairon added.
"How very disappointing." An unfamiliar voice could be heard as they saw someone jumped down out of nowhere and landed on the Soul Eater, causing the monster to dissolve and scatter through the wind.
Everyone on deck was able to get a good look at the mysterious stranger. It was a woman with purple eyes and long, raven black hair. Her attire consisted of a dark purple kimono tied with a white obi around her waist, a red armband on her left arm, and a pair of sandals. Holding in each hand was a black dagger-like weapon that had a gemstone .
"You actually have trouble with weaklings like these?" The raven-haired woman remarked. "Are you all really Heroes, solving the world's fate?"
Everyone was on edge about this mysterious woman, who seemed to be knowledgeable about the Legendary Heroes.
"There is only one of you here worthy of being called a Hero." The woman approached them before glancing at Naofumi. "And what is your name?"
"How about you introduce yourself before asking someone's name?" Naofumi retorted.
"Oh, pardon me. Whatever happens to my manners?" The woman apologized. " I am called Glass. And that's all you need to know for now. Feel free to consider me your enemy."
"Enemy?" Itsuki muttered.
"She's just a show-off." Ren dismissed the threat that this mysterious intruder posed.
'This woman… I have an ominous feeling about her.' Xulan pondered as she put her guard up.
"I'm Naofumi." Naofumi introduced himself to the woman called Glass.
"Naofumi… Well, well…"Glass said before she unfurled one of her daggers, who revealed to be a steel fan before she raised it upward. "Then may I suggest that we begin…" She continued before aiming said fan at the one Hero that caught her interest. "The only battle of this Wave worthy of the name."
Naofumi simply stood there and glared at her as the former tried to get some information on Glass. Unfortunately, she was only listed as "Enemy" and her level was two question marks, which was then followed by the HP gauge, the name above it, and the level indicator glitching out. In response, his party came to his side and Lairon was also ready to defend him.
"Why are you waiting to attack, Hero Naofumi?" Glass inquired. "Why not try to send those servants of yours at me first?"
This comment struck a nerve on the other three Heroes.
"Servants!? What the hell!?" Ren exclaimed.
"You just called us…!" Itsuki added.
"Naofumi's servants!?" Motoyasu finished one of his colleague's sentences.
"Screw you!" The three Heroes shouted in unison as they had Glass surrounded with their respective parties.
'To think even Sir Ren fell for that woman's taunt.' Xulan contemplated as she braced herself for combat. 'I do not think she is someone that Sir Ren and the other Heroes can defeat.' She shook away her doubts as she regained her focus. 'Concentrate, Xulan! Showing hesitation in battle is the quickest way for a warrior to be defeated.'
Ren proceeded to stroke his sword as he prepared for an attack. The gemstone on Motoyasu's spear glowed red before drawing a circle with it, causing a blue barrier-like energy to manifest in front of him as the blade on the tip enveloped in white and yellow energy. Itsuki loaded up his arrow as the same blue flat energy appeared in front of him. His arrow was also coated just like Motoyasu.
"Meteor Slash!"
"Meteor Thrust!"
"Meteor Shot!"
The other three Heroes shouted in unison as they unleashed their greatest attacks. Ren did a downward slash that created a light blue crescent energy, Motoyasu thrusters his spear forward, which caused a blue bolt of electricity to appear and launch forward, and Itsuki let go of his hold as the arrow was coated in a white and blue energy. These attacks were heading straight forward Glass and managed to hit her. To the shock of everyone, however, the attacks failed to damage Glass as she came out unscathed.
"Is that all you've got?" Glass remarked before preparing her counterattack. "Zero Stance Rondo: Reverse Four Seasons!" After Glass opened her fans, she proceeded to swing them forward several times, creating multiple white and yellow crescent energy that was accompanied by a strong gust of wind. Everyone except Naofumi and his party were blown away by the attack. Some, including Xulan, were blown to the railing of the ship before losing consciousness, while others were sent sprawling to the floor of the deck. The three other Heroes were sent sprawling in front of Naofumi, with Motoyasu dropping a potion and fell in front of the Shield Hero.
"This girl's dangerous…" Lairon muttered as he and the others were shocked to see how this newcomer managed to take out the other three Heroes in one blow.
"As I was saying before, mere servants." Glass stated as Ren and Itsuki, who managed to keep themselves from getting knocked out, glared at her.
"How did she do that!?" Itsuki inquired but his question was ignored.
Naofumi picked up the potion and analyzed it, revealing it to be a "Soul-Soothing Potion", an item that restores SP.
"I hope you, at least, entertain me a little." Glass told Naofumi, who opened the cork and drank its content.
"Sorry, lady. But I was never much of an entertaining guy." Naofumi scoffed as his body glowed orange briefly before tossing the potion away. "That said… Shield Prison!" Before Glass knew it, she was encased in a familiar orb. However, the orb was immediately destroyed, freeing the newcomer.
"Raphtalia!"
On her master's signal, Raphtalia swung her sword at Glass, but she was able to deflect it effortlessly. Filo then swooped in with a kick, but the raven-haired newcomer managed to dodge it. Glass proceeded to whip up another gust that was heading towards Raphtalia by using one of her fans, but Naofumi managed to get between just in time to his shield to endure the wind. He pushed his shield forward, which caused three giant cobras to emerge from the Chimera Viper Shield and bite her. However, she was unaffected by the snakebites.
"You didn't really think that would work, did you?" Glass remarked.
"Filo!" Naofumi called him out.
"High Quick!" Filo shouted before she zipped around and swiftly appeared before Glass, with the former starting a series of lightning speed kicks at the latter. Unfortunately, she was able to block every single blow before parrying the last one away from her.
"Eight kicks in a second? How admirable. I'm afraid it was not enough." Glass said before Raphtalia managed to sneak up on her. Unfortunately, the former managed to block the latter's sword with one of her fans without turning around. "Not even worthy of mention." And without missing a beat, she cut through Raphtalia's sword in half. Flabbergasted didn't begin to cover what Raphtalia is feeling right now as she ended up losing the sword that she recently purchased.
"Lairon, use Rock Slide!" Naofumi ordered his Pokémon.
"Sure thing!" Lairon complied before he summoned multiple gray rocks before flung them towards Glass.
"So, now you resort to using that iron monster to attack me? Very interesting." Glass stated before preparing her next attack. "Zero Stance Rondo: Reverse Four Seasons!" She used the same attack to counter Rock Slide, which resulted in the gray rocks being sliced into pebbles in an instant.
"Not gonna lie, that's actually pretty sick." Lairon commented with widened eyes as his Rock Slide was nullified and was also impressed by Glass's feat.
"No way. She cut through those rocks as if they were ribbons!?" Ren exclaimed in shock.
"Ugh…" Ren turned to see Xulan, who managed to regain consciousness and stood up with her left hand clutching her head. "That attack was too strong…"
"Xulan! Are you okay?" Ren asked the fighter of his party.
"I am fine, Sir Ren. While that attack has caused me to lose consciousness, it was not quite fatal." Xulan replied before she looked forward to the battle that was currently undergoing. "It seems the Shield Hero and his party managed to keep standing.
"Yeah. As it pains me to admit, Naofumi seems to be the only one who can take that lady on." Ren commented.
"Damnit! I don't want to agree with you, but you're right on this one, Ren. With that shield of his, he should be able to stall her." Itsuki stated as the three kept watching the battle.
"Linoone, help Master Naofumi by using Slash!" Raphtalia shouted.
"Of course!" Linoone then lunged towards Glass with her foreclaw ready. But when she swung said claw at her opponent, it immediately phased through her.
"What the!?" Naofumi exclaimed.
"It phased through her!?" Raphtalia exclaimed as she couldn't believe what she and the others were seeing right now.
"Well, this is a surprise." Glass stated, feeling just as surprised as the others, but she regained her composure quickly. "Sadly, it was futile." What came after that was that she swung her fan at Linoone, causing her to be sent flying past through Naofumi and fell on her back.
"Linoone!" Raphtalia rushed over to her Pokémon. When she managed to get close to her, Linoone had swirls in her eyes and seemed to have been knocked out. She proceeded to hold the unconscious Pokémon in her arms. "Thank you for your efforts, Linoone. You may have lost, but you did your best out there." She pulled out the Poké Ball for Linoone. "Now go and take some rest. We'll take it from here." She said as Linoone was returned to her Poké Ball.
"I commend you for surviving this long, Hero Naofumi." Glass complimented her opponent. "Now then, when exactly do you intend to use the flaming shield that you've been wielding?"
Naofumi knew that the woman was trying to bait him into using the Rage Shield. That said, he had run out of options. He realized that Glass was on a different level compared to the other enemies he had faced in the past.
"Master Naofumi." The messy haired young man turned to Raphtalia, who had come back to his side. He saw that she motioned her approval of using the dangerous shield.
"Do what you have to do, Naofumi." He turned to Lairon, who also nodded in approval.
The Shield Hero then reverted his Chimera Viper Shield back to its original state, which was the Small Shield. "Come forth! Rage Shield, now!" The shield's gemstone flashed red before it glowed in a bright red light. Familiar patterns began appearing all over him as his eyes glowed red, his shield successfully transformed into the Rage Shield, and the same black armor started appearing on him as well.
It was around that same time that Filo went berserk once again and lunged towards Glass. She proceeded to put one of her talons forward in order to attack. However, it was fruitless as the latter managed to block the attack with one of her fans.
"I thought I was clear." Glass proceeded to parry her kick, causing her to stumble and fall. "You can't touch me." She immediately pushed Filo with a gentle touch of her fan, which resulted in Filo zooming past Naofumi and the others and fell at the back of the ship.
"Seriously, this lady is in a different league entirely." Lairon commented.
"Filo!" Raphtalia shouted in worry.
"Raphtalia! Take care of Filo!" He turned towards Lairon. "Let's go, Lairon!"
"Right behind you, pal!" The Iron Armor Pokémon complied as he and his Trainer rushed towards Glass.
Naofumi slammed the Rage Shield at Glass, causing her to be engulfed in flames. He then took a step back. "Okay, Lairon. Now use Iron Head!"
"Take this!" Lairon shouted as he slammed his head through the flames and hit Glass. To him and his Trainer's surprise, not only did the flames do nothing on their opponent but she also managed to block Iron Head the same way she did with Filo and Raphtalia.
"I suppose you need to experience the "hard way", as one would say." Glass proceeded to parry Lairon and sent him flying before landing in front of Naofumi. "And by the way, your flames are a bit colder." With a swipe of her fans, she extinguished the fire that engulfed her body.
"Lairon! Are you okay?" Naofumi asked his Pokémon.
"More or less. You can thank Sturdy for that." Lairon stated. "Still, I don't know how much I can take this. She's just too powerful."
"You got that right." Naofumi then pulled out Lairon's Poké Ball. "With the way things are now, you'll end up in the same position as Linoone. So, you need to get some rest."
"That's probably a good idea. Take care of yourself out there." Lairon stated before he let himself be returned to his Poké Ball.
Naofumi put the Poké Ball away before he noticed that Glass was preparing for another attack. He immediately stood behind Raphtalia and the unconscious Filo as he was ready to defend.
The gemstone on Glass's fans glowed purple before thirteen purple needle-shaped energy came out from her left fan before she folded it, merging them into a single blade-shaped energy. She proceeded to aim the fan at Naofumi before placing her other fan at the glowing one. "Rupture Stance Rondo: Tortoise Shell Cracker!" She shouted before launching the attack like an arrow.
Naofumi blocked the incoming attack with his shield. However, the attack eventually pierced through the shield and destroyed the armor of his left arm. Other than that, he managed to endure the attack.
"Unreal. That attack actually pierced the Legendary Shield!?" Itsuki exclaimed.
"That lady is something different." Ren added.
'So, I was right. This woman is stronger than the Four Cardinal Heroes.' Xulan contemplated. 'I wonder… What will the Shield Hero do next?'
"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia called out her master's name.
"Interesting. Even that wasn't enough to bring you down." Glass commented as she was impressed by Naofumi's Defense stat. "If nothing else, your Defense lives up to your title, Hero."
"Flattery will get you nowhere." Naofumi shot down her compliment.
"It seems; however, your dark flames are only activated in close quarter attacks. But the story is very different when it comes to ranged attacks." Glass remarked. "You must have an ace in your sleeve. Stop holding out on me and show me what you can do."
"All right then, if you insist. But don't say I didn't warn ya!" Naofumi then held up his shield. "Shield Prison!" Another orb encased Glass once again before it rose skyward. "Change Shield! Change to Iron Maiden!"
In a blue flash, another Iron Maiden appeared in the sky before opening its doors. The orb flew into the Iron Maiden before closing on it once Naofumi clenched his hand into a fist. Naofumi nervously smiled, thinking that the ordeal was over. However,…
"Pity. It's even less potent than I imagined." Glass's voice could be heard before the Iron Maiden covered in cracks before it was destroyed, freeing Glass.
"So even that wasn't enough." Ren muttered as he didn't like the chances. 'If Naofumi couldn't defeat her, then that means we can't even win.'
"How disappointing." Glass stated as she landed on the deck gracefully.
'Is there anything we can do?' Naofumi pondered his options. 'The Iron Maiden didn't do a thing against her, Raphtalia got her sword broken in half, Filo and Raphtalia's Linoone was knocked out, and Lairon's low on HP. It's safe to say that Quilladin and Raphtalia's Honedge won't fare much against her. If only Tyler and the others were here…'
"Nothing else up your sleeves?" Glass asked before preparing her fans for the finishing blow. "In any case, let us end this farce. Cutting Stance Rondo: Instant!" As she shouted those words, she suddenly disappeared, much to Naofumi and the others' surprise.
"The hell!? Where did she go!?" The Shield Hero gasped.
Raphtalia's ears twitched upon hearing what sounded like quick movements. The demihuman swordswoman realized what this could mean. 'Master Naofumi! Behind you!"
"Too late! This is the end!"
It was then that Naofumi felt the time had slowed down around him as he turned to see Glass reappear behind him, as his "sword" had warned. However, with how close the enemy was and how confident she sounded, he knew he couldn't block the attack in time, much less avoid it.
"Not on my watch! Quick Guard!" Instead of taking hits, something else took not one but a series of strikes from Glass's attack. It was none other than Riolu. "Good. Looks like I just made it." He panted, managing to parry away the attack with quick strikes as he landed between the two combatants.
Glass widened her eyes at the sudden appearance of the Emanation Pokémon. Especially since the former's attack was easily blocked by the latter. "What!?"
To be continued...
Party Data
Tyler Bryant - Level 40
- Hydreigon (Male) - Level 70
Ability: Levitate
Moves: Hyper Voice, Dragon Pulse, Draco Meteor, Dark Pulse
- Vivillon (Elegant Pattern) (Female) - Level 67
Ability: ?
Moves: Hurricane, Signal Beam
- Scrafty (Male) - Level 68
Ability: ?
Moves: High Jump Kick, Stone Edge, Iron Head
- Rapidash (Female) - Level 65
Ability: ?
Moves: Megahorn, Flamethrower, Protect, Extreme Speed
- Dunsparce (Male) - Level 67
Ability: Serene Grace
Moves: Thunderbolt, Drill Run, Coil, Last Resort
Naofumi Iwatani - Level 38
- Lairon (Male) - Level 32
Ability: Sturdy
Moves: Headbutt, Protect, Iron Head, Rock Slide
- Quilladin (Male) - Level 24
Ability: ?
Moves: Vine Whip, Bite, Needle Arm, Pin Missile
Raphtalia - Level 40*
- Linoone (Female) - Level 22
Ability: Pickup
Moves: Headbutt, Pin Missile, Slash
- Honedge (Male) - Level 34
Ability: No Guard
Moves: Slash, Swords Dance, Fury Cutter
Filo - Level 40*
Kurisu Hanatabi - Level 40
- Riolu (Male) - Level 33
Ability: ?
Moves: Force Palm, Quick Attack, Metal Claw, Quick Guard
- Floette (Red Flower) (Female) - Level 46
Ability: ?
Moves: Vine Whip, Moonblast, Aromatherapy
Chelsea Arel - Level 38
- Vanilluxe (Female) - Level 65
Ability: ?
Moves: Water Pulse
- Delphox (Female) - Level 68
Ability: ?
Moves: ?
- Rhyperior (Male) Level 66
Ability: Solid Rock
Moves: Dig, Megahorn, Rock Wrecker, Thunder Punch
- Sawsbuck (Spring Form) (Male) - Level 63
Ability: ?
Moves: Double Edge, Horn Leech, Jump Kick
- Arbok (Female) - Level 67
Ability: Intimidation
Moves: Toxic, Venoshock, Sucker Punch
- Altaria (Female) - Level 66
Ability: ?
Moves: ?
Merleo Goneri - Level 40
- Abra (Male) - Level 12
Ability: ?
Moves: Teleport
That's a wrap for today's chapter. I hope you enjoy reading this!
For those who were wondering who Xulan is, she is that green haired girl who did a kung fu pose in the first opening of the anime's Season 1 (She was shown along with Ren and the rest of the party). In the anime, she was a nameless member of Ren's party. Because I took a liking to her, I decided to give her a name and more role in this story. So, yeah, she was not an OC but a nameless side character from the anime with some minor roles. What role will that be in this story? You'll know soon enough.
And speaking of that, yes I will try redeem Ren. As we all know, he's more reasonable compared to Itsuki and Motoyasu, He basically another version of Kirito from Sword Art Online (His Japanese VA happened to be the one who voiced Ren in the anime), and most importantly, he's colored blue (My favorite color and hence the "Blue" in my pen name). Overall, Ren's a good character when he was not under the influence of his two toxic friends.
Also, RIP Billy Kametz. I have first known him from this anime, that being his role as Naofumi. And then Takuto Maruki for Persona 5 Royal, Ferdinand Von Aegir in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Yukimura in Science Types Fell in Love, and some roles that I haven't describe yet. May he live in a better place.
A hint for the next chapter is there will be another fight against Glass and the time limit will go off much later than usual.
Leave a review as always and have a nice day!