CHAPTER 5:

THE NEW THREAT

Harry groaned as he glared at the spaces where the parties of Itsuki and Motoyasu used to be. "Goddammit," he muttered. "I get that this training is slow-going, but still…I thought Itsuki knew better."

"He did," Raphtalia said. "But his party pressured him into leaving. And just when he was showing progress, too."

Elrasa harrumphed. "I can't say I'm surprised. Disappointed, yes, but between the Spear Hero, his overpampered harem, and the Bow Hero's…well, I'd say lackies, but they seem to have too much influence on him for my liking. Anyway, I feared this would happen. That Motoyasu brat is still too reliant on his Cardinal Weapon's power, as well as focused on this…'Gamer' mindset. At least the Itsuki kid began to grasp the basics a little, and he also asked for training exercises he could do himself. But his party…I think they were jealous of your party's progress, especially Rishia's."

Harry nodded. While he'd grasped the ability to sense ki after a couple of days, it took him far longer to be able to learn to control it. Raphtalia, Keel and Hedy were far quicker on the uptake. Ren was a little quicker than Harry, though he too was struggling somewhat with control issues.

And Rishia? Thanks to Erhard's help, along with the local apothecary's, they'd tracked down a means to create a potion that manipulated life-force, and used it on her, which seemed to kickstart her ability to use it. Itsuki had actually cheered her on as she and Harry duelled to help bleed off her excessive energy, much to the disgust and anger of Mald and Itsuki's other party members.

Unfortunately, this also increased the discontent Itsuki's party felt. They'd had something of an argument, before Itsuki spoke to Elrasa quietly. The older lady had reluctantly agreed, but Motoyasu had decided to bow out too. Instead, Itsuki was going to work with Youji Itami, while Motoyasu had actually accepted (or pretended to) a request from Éclair to seek lessons from a spearfighter of her acquaintance. Time would tell if he actually learned anything from them.

The clock was ticking, though. A new Wave was on its way to hit Melromarc. And Mirelia seemed anxious about something the last few times they had visited Melromarc, having received reports.

In fact, speak of the Devil…a cloaked and masked figure appeared nearby, clearing her throat. Harry recognised her as being a Shadow, what was basically this world's medieval fantasy equivalent of a ninja. In fact, if Harry didn't know any better, he reckoned this Shadow was one he had encountered before, disguised as a noblewoman. Her words bore this out. "Pardon me, but I have important news, I daresay."

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"Her Majesty wishes for the Cardinal Heroes to be briefed by her, their training deferred for now. A crisis may be unfolding, I daresay," the Shadow said.

Harry, Raphtalia, Ren, Elrasa and Rishia all exchanged looks. "We'd better head back," Elrasa decided. "If it's serious enough for the Queen to send her Shadows, then it's very serious indeed…"

Harry and Ren ended up joining Itsuki and Motoyasu in the conference room, Mirelia entering soon after. The younger of those two looked pensive, even depressed, while Motoyasu looked irritated, even bored. Mirelia waited until Harry and Ren were seated. Harry was surprised at how frazzled the normally-composed queen was. Something had to be seriously wrong.

"Thank you for responding to my summons promptly. We have a potential crisis unfolding. A number of settlements in various countries have been attacked by strange monsters, chimaeras of some sort. I have my suspicions as to the source of these monsters, but for now, we don't know for certain where they are coming from. With the next Wave soon to hit Melromarc, we can ill-afford any distractions." Mirelia looked to Motoyasu and favoured him with a hard look. "Especially as some of us have made enquiries about leaving the country, despite the fact that they are meant to concentrate on training."

As Motoyasu spluttered and blustered, Ren leaned forward. "Your Majesty, what details do you have about these monsters?"

"Eyewitness accounts are patchy at best, only that they are at least on a par with the Wave monsters, if not more powerful," Mirelia said. "Winged beings not unlike bats are mentioned, along with ape-like monsters. I need you to go and examine these monsters after you exterminate them, and bring back any information you have." She then looked to Harry. "Harry…may I request that you leave Rishia here for now?"

"Why is that, Your Majesty?" Harry asked.

"Leaving aside Lady Elrasa's interest in her, I'm having Rishia and Melty go through the library and compile the records and bestiaries that may be relevant to the situation," Mirelia said. "Both girls, as you know, have keen minds and are well-read. In any case, I have here the locations for you to go to. Once you have gathered enough information, report back to me…"

The Heroes were given places that they had been to or close to, to facilitate swift transport to and from their investigation areas. Harry had the easiest location, so to speak: Lerno Village, not far from Melromarc Castle Town. He had been there once before, to clean up one of Motoyasu's messes. The sad thing was, despite the consequences, that was one of the times Harry knew that Motoyasu was acting with almost entirely the best intentions in mind, aside from wanting to be seen as a great hero, anyway.

He'd delivered an alchemy-enhanced plant to that village, which was suffering from food shortages. However, the plant turned into a monster. Later on, Harry investigated the source, a cave, and Raphtalia noted that there was a warning in the local language. Archaic, and more than a little hard to read given its age, but either Malty or her comrades didn't bother to read the warning, or else dismissed it. Hell, knowing Malty, she probably delighted in the chaos she almost literally sowed. Even Lüge (aka the King Formerly Known as Aultcray), for all his faults, had just enough competence to govern well, even if he let his policies be influenced by sycophantic lords and the Three Heroes Church. Most of his problems, aside from his prejudice against demi-humans and the Shield Hero, was letting Malty get away with what she did.

The plant had been a pain to deal with, even with the help of Melty, who had been travelling with Harry at the time. True, Harry and Hedy did most of the work, with Hedy's speed allowing Harry to get in close to give the monster plant a lethal dose of herbicide potion. But Melty and Raphtalia dealt with many of the plant monster's offspring and shoots.

Harry had taken Raphtalia, Hedy, and Keel with him. They'd stopped by Erhard, and picked up some new gear, including a kigurumi or onesie in Hedy's image. It boosted stats, but Harry felt it looked ridiculous. Rishia had taken a liking to the similar clothing that dropped from monsters at Cal Mira, so he had it sent to her before they left.

As they approached, Harry remarked, "It's almost like memory lane."

"True," Raphtalia said, before bringing Omnioculars to her eyes. Hermione had them brought over by Winky to the world she helped, and sent a couple of pairs over. She frowned. "There are other Adventurers present. The Queen didn't send them, did she?"

"No," Harry said. "She was going to recruit Adventurers to fight in the next Wave, just in case, given how badly the last one went, so maybe they're here to level up by killing those monsters. Though is it me, or does the village still look overgrown or something?"

"Not as badly as before. If anything, it looks better tended, and there's people harvesting the fruits," Raphtalia said. "We should consider planting some modified fruits at Lurolona, maybe it could kickstart our agricultural industry again."

"It doesn't look like they're dead, though," Keel mused. "They must've beaten back those monsters."

"We'll find out soon," Harry said.

And so they did. One of the villagers brought out what looked like a one-eyed bat…but with a strange shell-like carapace. They brought out another corpse that Harry dismembered and added to the Shield, unlocking new Shields, calling themselves '****** ******** Familiar Shields', part of the name redacted. "Raphtalia, Keel, have you seen anything like this before?"

The two demi-humans shook their heads. "I mean, it could be a Wave monster, and I heard once that some nobles keep some pretty weird monsters as pets…or attack animals," Keel said.

"Something about that shell, though…it's nagging at me, and I don't know why," Raphtalia said.

"I think I know why…but you're not going to like the answer."

The voice was familiar, and Harry stood, whirling to face a trio of what looked like Adventurers. Their faces were not familiar, and yet…that voice…before Harry could react, the man, a redhead, put a finger to his lips, and indicated that they should follow them, indicating an alley between two houses. Harry agreed, reluctantly.

Once they had done so, and Raphtalia erected Privacy Charms, the three of them changed their appearance. Harry and Raphtalia's eyes widened when they recognised L'Arc Berg and Therese. It took a moment for them to recognise the third member of their party. The last times they had seen her, the pale beauty with dark hair and crimson, almost reptilian eyes was dressed in a kimono. But Glass was dressed in what looked like something like an Adventurer's outfit of light armour, and she didn't look comfortable in it, especially with her hair done up with short twin pigtails, and another longer braid down her back.

After a moment of surprised gawping, Raphtalia said, "…What's wrong? Why are you in disguise?"

"Trying to avoid attention from Kyo," L'Arc said. "Hence the illusion spells. Normally, we'd go straight to Mirelia, but we've started our own investigation. You see, Hermione, clever little thing that she is, managed to work out a ritual to trace transdimensional travel, with help from Ethnobalt. She worked out a way to use the Dragon Hourglass' sand to do so. She couldn't pinpoint where exactly on this world Kyo ended up, so when we arrived and heard about the monsters, we decided to investigate, discreetly."

"Is Hermione staying there?" Harry asked.

Therese nodded. "Along with Naofumi, they are protecting Kizuna and Ethnobalt, just in case."

Glass then said, "In any case, we only arrived in this village shortly before you did. We did some quiet investigation, but we have come to the conclusion that Kyo may have made his move. We suspect these creatures to be the familiars of the Spirit Tortoise."

Harry, Raphtalia, Keel and even Hedy exchanged looks of shock. "…Then is Ost all right?" Harry asked. "If she is, we need to contact her!"

"…Daddy, I think that will have to wait," the Filolial Queen said, peering out the alley. "Those villagers are panicking. And I sense…things coming this way! Lots of things!"

Harry looked to the trio from the other world, who all shrugged. The disguises were probably a moot point now. So Raphtalia removed the Privacy Charm, and they were instantly assailed by the sound of screaming. They ran out, and saw a small but dark cloud of flying monsters in the sky.

"Oh, why do I get the feeling someone, possibly Kyo, is playing Ride of the Valkyries while this is happening?" Harry groaned in exasperation. He looked to the trio from the other world. "You're willing to fight?"

"Need you say it, Harry?" L'Arc said, readying the Vassal Scythe, with Glass readying her Vassal Fans. Therese brought out glowing jewels.

Harry smiled at them, even if it was a bit grimly. Then, he readied himself. This was going to be a tricky battle, if he wanted to help the villagers here…

Meanwhile, at another village, a hooded and cloaked figure overlooked the devastated village. Heh. A good first start, he thought to himself. Those retarded noobs were running around like headless chickens, easy prey to these familiars. Still, to think I would be given trouble by those Shadows, thanks to those fools in Sickle ratting me out. Oh, Naofumi, you could have been part of something greater. If only you decided not to reject my offer. And Glass, L'Arc, Therese, Ethnobalt…you considered going down the same path that I did to save your world, and yet, you all balk at it, despite the stakes. Hypocrites. You can occupy your time eating Kizuna out, Glass, you damn lolihag lover, while I rise to the very heights of godhood, thanks to my genius!

He looked down at the village, where the Spear Hero was poking at the various corpses of the familiars. Still, this is serendipitous. One of the Cardinal Heroes of this pathetic world has just wandered into town, and it's the derpy manwhore would-be chad, given what I got from the sheeple of this world. Looks like they were right. And he has a harem, how cute. Hmm…this has potential. Maybe he can be a useful catspaw. I need at least one of the Cardinal Heroes to unseal the Spirit Tortoise properly. I may be able to control its familiars, but to get the best results, I need the beast itself to wipe out every last mook in this world! And wouldn't that be such a slap in the face to you, Harry Potter, you overpampered brat? To know that in the end, you are no hero, just a stupid little orphan who got lucky? You got everything I deserved, and more. I'm going to enjoy watching you suffer and die. Maybe I'll record it and show it to that No-Maj-born bitch before I take her for my own. It'll certainly be fap material for me for some time.

It took a considerable amount of effort not to begin cackling out loud. He didn't want to out himself. Instead, he needed to present himself as a concerned citizen, a helpful one. He called upon every ounce of acting skill, making him seem like a survivor of the attack. He began staggering forward. His face looked naturally haggard lately, for some reason, but he needed to look like he had just run a mile.

As he staggered over to them, that Spear Manwhore looked to him. "Hey, dude, are you okay?"

"Do I look okay? I just ran like hell from those things," he said, allowing a note of panic to enter his tone, panting. "I'm a scholar, not a fighter! Anyway, you're the Spear Hero, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Perfect! I know how to get these monsters stopped for once and for all, but the ritual needs a Cardinal Hero to unseal a certain location. Please, I need your help!"

"…Okay, okay, I get the picture! Look, I'm Motoyasu Kitamura, the Spear Hero, and these are my lovely ladies," Motoyasu said. "So, what about you? What's your name?"

"My name is Outis," he said, gambling that Motoyasu wasn't savvy enough to know enough about The Odyssey. After all, Outis was the name Odysseus gave to the cyclops Polyphemus…which, in Greek, meant 'Nobody'. Nemo might be a bit too obvious, even for a moron like him.

"Right Outis, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Motoyasu said with a welcoming smile and an outstretched hand.

Kyo Ethnina took it with a smile of his own. "Believe me, Sir Motoyasu…the pleasure's all mine…"

CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:

A timeskip to the emergence of the Spirit Tortoise Familiars, and now Kyo is on the scene. I'm trying to smooth over some questionable logic here from the novels. For this story, at least, while Motoyasu is aware of the Spirit Tortoise (or an equivalent superboss or raid boss), it takes Kyo nudging him to unseal it. True, Kyo has taken control of the familiars, but not the Spirit Tortoise proper.

Now, before you ask, NO, Kyo is NOT a canon Potterverse character isekai'd via reincarnation. Long story short, his past life was basically a Japanese Squib who turned into a shut-in. I thought the anime's take on his prior incarnation, that of an incel shut-in and griefer who committed suicide when his heavily-modded account was hacked, suits Kyo's character very well, and was one of the best changes in the anime's second season. I've also wanted to put an extra dimension to him, and to make his fight against Harry extremely personal, for both of them. Kyo is very Snape-like even in canon, if Snape was a more melodramatic supervillain-like character. He is jealous, envious, petty, and extremely self-centred.

It also means that they mirror each other well. Kyo wanted nothing more than magic, and the power that came with it, and also envied Harry's celebrity and money. Harry, on the other hand, would give it up in a heartbeat if he could bring back his loved ones who died, and he despises those who view mass murder as an acceptable means to gain power. Plus, Harry would be seeing Snape in Kyo, a coincidental similarity.

Kyo is also, as you can see, an incel, or at least what the definition of the term has become. As in he is intensely and viciously misogynistic, even if he hides it well from Yomogi and his other haremettes. Ironic, considering that at least one reviewer called The Rising of the Shield Hero an 'incel fantasy'. You could apply that to the book/manga Naofumi, at least until he starts trusting Raphtalia, but the anime version, which was what was being reviewed, to my knowledge? Yeah, right.

Now, are Kizuna and Glass actually lovers like Kyo dubs them in his internal rant? Unlike Allen Blaster, I wanted to leave it ambiguous just how strong Kizuna and Glass' friendship was, not because I am against lesbian or gay relationships in fiction or real life, but because it was ambiguous in canon. Besides, Kizuna looks like a loli, so I feel a bit squicked out by Glass' tastes if that's the case…

Anyway, TL;DR? Kyo is an appalling excuse for a human being. 'Nuff said…

No numbered annotations this time.