Sword and Shield

by Emblem of Water

When a 12 year old Shirou finds himself in another world with no explanation how he got there, he knew he was in trouble. The fact that he woke up in a cage, a Slave Crest on his chest and odd new additions to his body underscored this fact. Naofumi, the disgraced Shield Hero, did not care about any of that. He just needed these two raccoon demi-humans to be able to fight. AU.

35. Build Up 3

Sword and Shield

Build Up 3

Shirou's eyelids slid open, his crimson orbs settling on the ceiling of his room.

As usual, it didn't take long for awareness to fully return to him. And neither did it take long for him to throw off the covers of his bed and sit up, in spite of how hard the silky softness of the luxurious blanket and mattress tried to keep him under with its bewitchingly warm alure.

He stood and stretched, his gaze automatically scanning his surroundings: the surroundings of the hotel room he shared with Naofumi. Said Shield Hero was still in bed and turned away from him, fast asleep.

"…Huh?" Shirou blinked and cocked his head.

Last night, the parties of both the Shield Hero and Sword Hero had gone out drinking. It had been a long, but enjoyable outing. A night brought to an end when the sober ones (Shirou, Naofumi, Filo, Rishia and Mia) and the drunk but still functional people (Raphtalia, Elrasla, Atla, Fohl, Ren, Isaac and Ivan) had to drag back the stone cold wasted and/or out cold (Sadeena and Garett) back to their hotel.

Not quite the capstone of the night Shirou had originally been expecting. But with Filo there, it hadn't turned into too much of a bother.

And now he'd had a good night's rest, for once without the disturbance of Atla trying to sneak into his bed while he slept. Which, honestly, was a relief. However, it was also a bit off putting, because the act of Atla trying to join him as he slept had been going on long enough on such a regular schedule that the breaking of that routine just felt odd.

After a moment, Shirou shrugged and started to gather his things. Remaining quiet enough so that he wouldn't wake up Naofumi, Shirou quickly put on his clothes and armor, donned his blades – the Monohoshi-zao, the Magic Amethyst Longsword and the belt containing his twelve Dirks – and placed the Eliter Power Bow on his back. Finally, after slinging the Magical Quiver filled with Amethyst Arrows over his shoulder and making sure he had his satchel secured to his side, Shirou quietly left the room.

Some might question why he would fully arm himself in the safety of the hotel. The answer: he just felt naked without his weapons on his person, even if he could Project (most of) said weapons into existence whenever he needed to.

Once outside, Shirou made a beeline down the hallway. He passed the room shared by Raphtalia, Filo, Elrasla and Sadeena and went straight for the next room over: the room shared by Rishia, Atla and Fohl.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

He politely rapped his knuckles on the door.

A moment later, the door creaked open a tad and Rishia's face poked out of the room.

"Ah, good morning, Shirou-sama. What can I do for you?"

"I'm just checking up on everyone here. Well, to be precise, I'm checking up on Atla. I find it a little odd that she didn't try and sneak into my bed last night…"

At the reminder of Atla's rather vexing habit, there was a momentary twitch in Rishia's brow, though she managed to maintain her smile, "…That's no great mystery, Shirou-sama. She's just…" she said, but she then stalled out, sighing. "It'd be better if I just showed you."

At that point, Rishia threw open the door all the way, allowing Shirou to look into the room. It revealed that Rishia had also made an early start to the day, as she was already fully dressed.

But of those in the room, she was the only one.

"I don't feel too good…"

"Me neither, Onii-sama…"

Atla and Fohl were still in bed, curled up. Both siblings naturally had pale skin, but now they were positively ashen white. Moreover, grimaces crossed their faces while their cat-like ears were folded down on their heads.

"…Hangover?"

"Hangover," Rishia nodded. "Their first one ever."

"After last night, I probably should have expected this," Shirou ran his hand through his bone white hair in exasperation. Even his own raccoon ears had folded down on his head at the pitiful sight of Fohl and Atla.

"Should you?" Rishia cocked her head. "I'm kind of surprised that everyone, except for Naofumi-sama and you for some reason, that really tried managed to get drunk yesterday. I mean, I'm not an expert on accessories or Enchantments or anything, but I would have expected that your [Health Regeneration (High)] Enchantment would have kept everyone from getting drunk…or, for that matter, suffering from a hangover."

"Me too," Shirou pondered the situation. "Maybe health regeneration doesn't do much against toxins themselves except for, you know, the loss of health?" If so, that would mean that poison and any secondary effects from said poison, including alcohol and hangovers, would probably still affect them, but wouldn't bring their health bar down. Well, unless the damage from the poison was greater than their health regeneration, that is.

"That that still doesn't explain why Naofumi-sama or you yourself didn't get drunk. You did have quite a lot yourself, didn't you?" Rishia asked.

"Well, yeah, but Naofumi did say that, no matter how much he drinks, he never gets drunk. And my health regeneration does not come from an Enchantment, now does it?" Shirou countered. "I think my regeneration might be a bit different."

All the same, the fact that poisons could still affect his party members was unacceptable. Maybe he could work in an [anti-toxin] Enchantment into everyone's accessories? That might be a little more difficult than one would assume, considering the fact that, even with all the expertise he had gained from the craftsmen of Melromarc, he had no knowledge of the existence of an [anti-toxin] Enchantment or anything of its like…

Shirou shook his head in order to get rid of his ponderings. "Anyway, that's not important right now. Do you think Atla and Fohl will be able to get up any time soon?"

"Let's check," Rishia said and turned her head over her shoulder. "Atla! Shirou-sama is here to see you!"

The reaction was as immediate as it was predictable.

"Shirou-sama!" Atla cried and threw off the covers of her bed, moving to stand, but…

""Too loud!/Urp!"" Fohl howled and covered his feline ears with his hands, pulling his head underneath his blanket while the color of Atla's face became even more sickly. She mewled and curled back up on her bed, the sudden burst of energy she got at the mere mention of Shirou having vanished as soon as it had appeared.

"Shirou-sama…" Atla whined, but didn't try to get out of bed again.

"I don't think so, Shirou-sama," Rishia concluded with a smile.

"…I didn't realize you had such a…mean side to you, Rishia," Shirou sweat dropped.

Rishia placed her fists on her hips. "After that whole fiasco with Itsuki-sama, I have come to realize that being 'mean' every once in a while is good for the soul, Shirou-sama. It just took a little while for me to start acting on that realization."

"I...guess that makes…sense?" Shirou blinked hard at that nonsensical answer.

Rishia graced him with another smile, not saying anything else.

After a moment, Shirou opened his mouth again. "How do you think everyone else is doing after last night?"

"A mixed bag, I guess?" Rishia pondered. "Naofumi-sama is fine, that's for sure. Filo too, since she didn't drink anything. Raphtalia, Sadeena and Elrasla on the other hand…well, Sadeena and Elrasla might be experienced drinkers, but they drank by far the most, so I'm sure that they must be feeling some kind of blowback right now. Raphtalia, as a first time drinker? Well, even if she doesn't have a full-blown hangover, she's probably exhausted. As for the Sword Hero and his party…" at this, she cracked a small grin. "Except for Mia, I'm sure that all of them are faring no better than Atla or Fohl right now."

"In other words, most if not all of them are out of commission," Shirou shook his head in bemusement.
"…How did things turn out this way?"

"Sadeena egging us on?" Rishia offered.

"Good point. That's the line I am going with whenever last night gets brought up again," Shirou snorted.

Both of them shared a quiet, but companiable moment of shared amusement.

"I think our standard routine is out of the question for today," Rishia eventually said.

"The routine of the Heroes and their parties of training together? With more than half of us nursing a hangover, most definitely not," Shirou agreed.

"…Would you mind if I joined you and H'aanit with training the new recruits?" Rishia asked. "If everyone else is out of it, I'd rather help out on your end."

After all, unlike most of the Shield Hero's party and the Sword Hero's party, Shirou's routine every day began with teaching weapon related skills to the demi-humans, like Keel and Wyndia, who had volunteered to learn how to fight. Only after he had done that and those 'new recruits' – as Rishia had called them – had set out to Level in the Activation Event would Shirou rejoin the training of the Heroes and their parties.

"Sure. I appreciate it," Shirou inclined his head. "However, just so you know, I would like to forego my own training afterwards in order to work on a project…"

At that, Rishia raised a brow, but then agreed with a shrug.

---

A couple hours later, Shirou and Rishia entered a modest, but well to-do Inn on the other side of the town they were staying at.

"This is the place?"

"Yes. I recognized the sign out in front. This is definitely the place."

As expected, except for themselves, only Naofumi had been completely fine after their all night binging fest. The Shield Hero, after voicing his annoyance at the situation, had decided to focus his time on further improving his compounding skills concerning potion/medicine and concoctions.

And while all the others were busy recuperating or otherwise occupied, Shirou and Rishia, joined by H'aanit and her animal companion Linde, had with the aid of the Gladiator Slaves conducted the weapon training of the demi-humans. After which said demi-humans and Gladiator Slaves had once again set out to Level on the Cal Mira archipelago.

With that said and done, Shirou had taken the opportunity to make quick work of a commission he had gotten the night before. And it was indeed quick: it had only taken a solid two hours of work to finish his little project, which he was now going to deliver to the person who had hired his services.

And as luck would have it, it didn't take long for them to find the commissioner in question.

"Master craftsman Shirou-sama?" Therese jolted in surprise. She was sat in a cushy chair in the lobby of the Inn, in the midst of raising a cup of tea to her mouth. Said cup of tea never made it to her lips, as she froze the moment he an Rishia came into her line of view.

"Miss," Shirou inclined his head in greeting and made a beeline for Therese. He sat down in front of her, a small wooden table in between them. Rishia followed and sat down beside him.

Therese smiled at them and placed down her tea.

"Shirou-sama, I didn't expect to see you so soon again," Therese began.

"Me neither," was Shirou's response.

"Is something wrong with the jewel I gave you yesterday?" Therese ventured with a hint of worry, but then her eyes suddenly darted to Rishia. "Ah! Sorry, I should introduce myself first to your friend here. I'm Therese Alexandrite, an adventurer."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss Alexandrite. I'm Rishia Ivyred, a party member of Shirou-sama," Rishia responded, falling back on the manners instilled in her throughout her (impoverished) noble upbringing.

The two women nodded at each other.

"…There's nothing wrong with the jewel you gave me yesterday, miss," Shirou broke in as soon as introductions were out of the way.

When Therese had commissioned his services as an accessory crafter yesterday night, she had given him free pick of a bevy of as of yet uncut jewels she had on her person to use as the base for an accessory. She hadn't even asked for an accessory with a specific effect or associated value. Al she had asked for, was to make whatever jewel he picked as 'happy' as he possibly could.

Though he was still not sure what she meant with 'happy', he still went ahead an accepted the commission after using his experience – and, admittedly, his magecraft as well – to pick out the best jewel Therese had on hand for the accessory that he was going to make.

Shirou might not be all that prideful as a person, but he did believe in trying to deliver the best product that he could at all times.

"I have finished your commission. I'm here to give it to you," he said.

"Already?" Therese's mouth opened in surprise.

"Ah, yeah. I, too, had expected it would have taken at least a day or two to find the time to make your accessory, but I ended up having more free time today than I had initially thought," Shirou said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Most of our party members are…still recovering from last night's outing," Rishia added.

"That sounds familiar," in spite of herself, Therese had to hold back a snort. "Usually, I'd be out Leveling by now, but my own companion hit the bottle a little harder than he should have yesterday night, too. He is still curled up in bed, trying not to throw up. Thank god that I managed to prevent him from accidentally eating that Rucolu fruit yesterday at the bar, or things could have been much, much worse. Honestly, after knowing him for so long, I should have long since come to expect these kind of situations in advance, but somehow I always end up being surprised anyway," she sighed. "I guess that is just a mark of my naivete."

Both Shirou and Rishia smiled at Therese's short-lived rant. It sounded like she had an interesting relationship with this companion of hers.

"But that doesn't matter right now," the light blue haired woman suddenly changed track and leaned forwards in her chair, a glimmer of excitement in her eyes. Needing no further prompting, Shirou's hand dipped into his satchel and pulled out the accessory he had been commissioned to make.

Oreikul Bracelet of Enlightened Starfire – Enchantment: Magic Power Up (Max) / Fire Magic Up (Max) / Light Magic Up (High) / Health Regeneration (High) / Sacrificial Protection (ingrained spell) [Blessing: High - Max / Medium - High]

The Starfire jewel provided by Therese herself, a ruby red jewel that had an odd internal glow, formed the core of the accessory. Oreikul ore had been made into a bracelet, the Starfire jewel set into it. Both materials had been Blessed by Shirou, raising the inherent quality of the materials and adding on the always useful [Health Regeneration (High)] and [Sacrificial Protection (ingrained spell)] Enchantments. He had even succeeded in adding on the [Light Magic Up (High)] Enchantment after the accessory had been finished, something that he had feared might have been a reach too far for him, even with all his downright unfair advantages when it came to accessory crafting.

"…!" Therese choked on air the moment she laid eyes on the accessory.

Rishia started in alarm when tears became visible on the corners of Therese's eyes, but Shirou remained calm. He had seen much the same spectacle yesterday at the bar when Therese had been watching him work on his previous accessory.

Wordlessly, he held out the Oreikul Bracelet of Enlightened Starfire for Therese to take. She took it in her hands in a slow, downright reverent motion.

It was,by all accounts, a truly beautiful piece. A deep crimson jewel cut into perfection, inlaid on a bright gold bracelet that Shirou had taken the time to forge into a simple, but elegant design. Said bracelet had been decorated with subtle lines that, under the right angle, glowed with latent magical power that seemed to feed into the Starfire jewel, making its internal glow all the brighter.

To Shirou's satisfaction, the Oreikul Bracelet of Enlightened Starfire represented a clear improvement in his crafting and Enchantment skills.

"This…" Therese was almost at a loss for words. "It's so beautiful! And the jewel is practically glowing with happiness! I've said it before and I'll say it again. You have a true gift, Shirou-sama! A gift!"

More then a few faces around the lobby turned towards the sudden outcry. Rishia reared back in surprise at the fervor in Therese's face and voice. Shirou managed to restrain his reaction to a blink, the cocking of his head and a small, uncomfortable cough.

"I'm glad you like it," he said genuinely. "Now, let's discuss payment."

"Naturally," Therese concurred with a bright smile, as she slipped the Starfire bracelet unto her right wrist. "How does all my money sound?"

Shirou and Rishia blinked in unison.

"I know it's not nearly enough to pay for such an otherworldly accessory, but please, take this," Therese placed half a dozen small bags on the table with the heavy sound of coins clinking inside. She loosened the strings holding the bags closed, revealing them to be filled to the brim with gold coins.

"Whoa! Hold on a moment! That's far too much!" Shirou raised a hand to forestall this lopsided transaction. Even Naofumi, die hard capitalist that he was, would not have accepted so much money for the commission. Though the Starfire bracelet was an excellent piece of work, Shirou didn't deny that, it was by no means worth what looked like several hundred – maybe even more than a thousand – gold pieces that Therese had casually placed on the table.

"What are you saying, Shirou-sama? This beautiful piece," as she said this, Therese reverently caressed the Starfire gem, "is worth every piece of gold that I own, if not more!"

What followed was the oddest negotiation any one of them had ever participated in, with the seller frantically trying to lower the price while the buyer earnestly attempted to raise it as high as possible. Moreover, both Therese and Shirou were insistent and stubborn in their stance, to the point that the haggling continued on for far longer than it should have.

And all the while, a flummoxed looking Rishia sat quietly, just watching the odd proceedings unfold.

"150 gold pieces and I'll owe you my aid whenever you may need me! That's my final offer!" Therese laid down her ultimatum.

"Deal!" Shirou agreed, looking exhausted. That was the lowest Therese had gone so far and he believed her when she said she wasn't going any lower. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, he accepted the buy price of 150 gold pieces. In that moment, the fact that Therese had offered continues use of her 'aid' almost didn't register with him.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Shirou-sama," Therese looked downright ecstatic.

"I…Thank you," Shirou finally settled, choosing to keep his incredulity of what had just happened to himself.

At that point, Rishia suddenly cut in.

"Miss Therese, you just offered us your aid, right?" Therese nodded emphatically, and Rishia plowed on in response. "But, what can you do for us?"

Therese cocked her head and seemed to give the question some thought. After a moment, she started smiling. "I did call myself and adventurer earlier, so…" she said leadingly.

---

Not even an hour later, Shirou and Rishia could be seen making their way through the thick jungle of the western island. However, there was also the surprise inclusion of Therese in their party, who was walking side by side with Rishia, while Shirou took point.

It had been their intention all along to go out hunting after delivering the accessory, but the chain of events that had followed had resulted in Therese tagging along.

Some would question why they would go and hunt right now, since the Activation Event was no longer useful to them in the Leveling department, as they had already reached Level 80. However, the slaying of monsters had one more dividend except for EXP: loot. And one could never have enough materials and/or riches on hand when required.

"Miss Therese, what do you specialize in?" Shirou asked as he pushed some shrubbery out of the way.

They had discussed this in advance, of course. But a quick and dirty reminder right before battle could not hurt, right?

"Magic. Mostly in high power and long range area of effect spells, though I am pretty decent in barrier magic and enhancement magic as well," Therese said. Even as she said that, she was still idly running her fingers over the Oreikul Bracelet of Enlightened Starfire around her wrist.

"And you are Level 68," Rishia shook her head. "You must be quite accomplished as an adventurer, no?"

"Too be honest, I haven't been working as an adventurer for all that long, but yes. I have had my fair share of difficult scraps along the way," Therese said with a smile.

Before anything more could be said, the tall grass in front of them rustled. A monster jumped out of said grass to waylay their path.

[Karma Penguin Familiar Lv: 48]

As the name implied, the monster in question looked like a penguin. Though it was considerably larger than it had any right to be, reaching up to about Shirou's waist. It's feathers were a sickly looking gray, except for the feathers on its belly which were stark white. It's webbed feet scratched at the ground in show of impatience and aggression while its short, stubby arms were tipped with long and wicked looking claws. Its beady red eyes glinted maliciously as it beheld them.

The Karma Penguin Familiar opened its mouth and released a battle cry-

SCHING!

-only for that battle cry to die before it could be fully uttered. A paper thin cutting crescent of energy, a Hidden Light Slash, bifurcated the beast. Its lower half fell one way. It's top half in another. Crimson blood quickly grew in a large puddle around the slain monster.

"…!" Therese's eyes widened. That attack had been launched so quickly she had barely been able to keep track of it, a feat that the penguin-like monster hadn't been able to replicate. A fact that had resulted in its sudden, gruesome end.

"Rishia, do you sense any other monsters nearby?" Shirou asked, the Magic Amethyst Longsword held at the ready at his side.

Eyes narrowing as she focused, Rishia extended her senses. After a moment she shook her head. "No, there are no other monsters in the area," was her answer.

Though she wasn't anywhere near as sensitive as Atla nor as skilled as Elrasla, Rishia still had the ability to detect the Life Force of the beings around her. Her range was simply quite a bit more limited compared to her master and fellow pupil in the art of Hengen Musou.

Therese raised a brow at that, but didn't question it. Instead, she said, "You two certainly are capable, but then again, I probably should have expected that."

After all, both Shirou and Rishia had passed Level 80 during the Activation Event. Though it was definitely possible to reach such a high Level without a matching level of skill, the higher your Level became the increasingly unlikely that you didn't have some kind of relevant combat experience. If you didn't, there was an increasing likelihood that you would die facing the monsters required in order to reach such a Level in the first place.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, miss Therese," Rishia nodded at her.

"That said," Therese continued. "I'd like to show you what I'm capable of as well. So, please leave the next monster to me."

Shirou and Rishia shared a look, but they saw no reason to refuse the request. Shirou used his Item Box gem to dematerialize and store away the slain Karma Penguin Familiar, a spectacle that – much to their surprise – didn't draw any notable reaction from Therese. After that, they moved on.

And not long after they had the good fortune to find a clearing. A clearing chockfull with an entire flock of Karma Penguin Familiars.

"Perfect," Therese breathed. They were crouched low and behind a fallen tree trunk still quite a ways away from the clearing proper, the two dozen or so monsters not having noticed them yet. "Now, let's found out what this beauty can do!"

Both Shirou and Rishia quirked an eyebrow as Therese raised her right arm. More precisely, she raised the Oreikul Bracelet of Enlightened Starfire until it was directly in front of her face.

"I beseech thee, power of jewels far and wide. Heed my call and support me! My name is Therese Alexandrite! My friends, be the force that destroys my targets!"

As Therese chanted, the constant muted glow of the Starfire jewel suddenly flared up in intensity, a strong red light throwing shadows over Therese's face and their surroundings.

"Shining Stone: Ball of Flame!"

Blue flame erupted from the Starfire jewel, coating her wrist and hand in crackling fire. Moreover, her light blue hair suddenly changed color, going from light blue to a deep red.

Not showing an ounce of alarm or discomfort, Therese stood up straight and aimed her flaming hand at the clearing. As if it was alive, the blue flames leaped from hand seemingly of its own accord. Not in a straight shot, mind you. Instead, the concentrated ball of flames arched upwards before coming down in the center of the clearing like an overpowered artillery shell.

And overpowered was indeed the correct word. The ball of blue flame had been about the size of a basketball as it came down. However, the moment it struck the ground-

BOOM! FWOOOSH! CRACKLE!

With the combined sound of an explosion, a shockwave and crackling flames, azure fire enveloped the entire clearing. Carried along by the explosion, the flames covered every surface in the clearing, before swelling up and flaring all the brighter in intensity. The penguin-like monsters were unceremoniously turned to ashes before they could even feel the heat of the flames.

Both Shirou and Rishia stared at the spectacle, an errant few blue embers drifting past their faces. They had seen quite a few demonstrations of power and/or wanton destruction, but such a display of destructive might from Therese still took them by surprise.

Therese, for her part, was equally as surprised, if the stunned gaze she was directing at the raging conflagration was anything to go by.

Thank you.

Shirou's eyes widened as a soft, almost otherworldly voice seemed to speak directly into his ear. Said eyes darted around, but saw no one or nothing from who that voice could have come from. All that was out of place – except for the still raging inferno in the middle distance, of course – were the errant blue embers swirling about his person.

"Whoa," Therese breathed. "What power…"

"You yourself weren't expecting that?" Shirou put the otherworldly voice out of his mind, instead turning a skeptical eyebrow towards their temporary party member.

"I can't say that I was," Therese said, still staring at the roaring flames. "You no doubt noticed, but my magic is a little different compared to most. I use jewels both as a source of power and as catalysts for spells. The more refined a given jewel, the more powerful my spells become," she slowly let out a deep breath. "I knew that the accessory you made me, Shirou-sama, would make my spells an order of magnitude more powerful, but this is far beyond my expectations. Shirou-sama, I know that I sound like a broken record, but I feel compelled to say this again: you have a true gift. Treasure it. And more importantly, hone it."

"…I have never even heard of such magic," Rishia muttered to herself. All of a sudden, it made a lot more sense why Therese had insisted on paying such a high price for Shirou's accessory.

Therese shook away her own shock and straightened up. "Anyway, I need to douse these flames before they spread too far," she said, pulling down the sleeve on her left arm, revealing another accessory with a deep blue jewel.

"I beseech thee, power of jewels far and wide. Heed my call and support me! My name is Therese Alexandrite! My friends, let cleansing rain wipe away the calamity before me!"

The accessory glowed in response and crisp blue energy bathed Therese's face as her hair once again changed color, back into the light blue it had been previously.

"Shining Stone: Silver lining!"

Up high, clouds rapidly coalesced and deepened in color, becoming miniature storm clouds in short order. A moment later, a fairly intense rainfall began, the magic imbued water quickly quelling the flames. With a long drawn-out hiss, the fire died down and disappeared.

"There," Therese said, turning back towards them with a smile. "Shall we continue?"

"…Hey, Shirou-sama," Rishia began.

"Yes?"

"We discussed earlier that, because of the fact that we weren't with a full party, that we weren't going to challenge the Boss Monster on this island, right?" Rishia said. "Considering what we just saw, I don't think that the Boss Monster will pose much of a problem…"

At that, Shirou turned his head towards Therese and raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner. The blue haired adventurer merely gave him a nod and a confident smile.

If that was the case…

"Well, then," Shirou stood up and stretched his back.

"Let's go and catch us a penguin, shall we?"

---

"Shirou. Rishia. Welcome back."

Later that day, just as the sun was going down and casting deep orange hues over every surface, Shirou and Rishia returned to the hotel. They found Naofumi sitting at a table in a large common area, a bevy of compounding materials and tools spread out over the surface of said table.

Conspicuously, he was all alone in the large room. Which meant…

"The others aren't back yet?" Shirou asked as he and Rishia took a seat across from the Shield Hero.

"I expect that the first few people will be returning any time moment now," Naofumi said, referring to the demi-humans and Gladiator Slaves out on their daily hunt. He placed down his compounding tools and turned his full focus on them. "As for our party members and Ren and his party members…well, they have all mostly recovered by now. Sadeena took them out to the beach not that long ago. Said something in the vein of 'a nice soak in the salt of the ocean is a tried and true method of recuperating from an excessive bender.'"

"Is it, Naofumi-sama?" Rishia ventured.

"Hell if I know," was the Shield Hero's blunt response. "I didn't question it because Filo really wanted to go to the beach and it got her out of my hair for a little while."

Ah, yeah. Both Shirou and Rishia remembered. They had asked earlier if Filo had wanted to join them on their expedition, as she was the only one besides themselves and Naofumi who wasn't dealing with a hangover. Unexpectedly, she had declined, instead electing to stay with the Shield Hero for the day. Even as they left, Filo had already begun badgering Naofumi to go to the beach together with her. The fact that the Shield Hero was still here clearly meant that she hadn't managed to convince him.

"I had told Filo that if she wanted to go to the beach, she was free to do so, but she didn't want to go alone," Naofumi shook his head. "The moment Sadeena came to ask if we wanted to come along, Filo jumped at the chance, though not without one final attempt to drag me along," he grumbled.

"That sounds about right," Shirou chuckled.

"And? How was your hunt today?" Naofumi asked.

"Pretty good. We hit the western island's Boss Monster again and managed to get quite a few materials," was the answer.

The Boss Monsters of Cal Mira were an odd bunch. No matter how many times you killed them, the Stonehenge like structures at the center of the islands would be capable of spawning a new one the very next day. At this point, the party members of both the Shield Hero and Sword Hero had killed each and every Boss Monster in the archipelago at least two or three times.

The Spear Hero and his party had also been making several rounds on the islands, but they hadn't been keeping track of his group's progress, admittedly.

Naofumi raised a brow. "I'd have thought that you wouldn't have gone for the Boss Monster again, with not having a complete party today…"

"That had originally been the plan, Naofumi-sama," Rishia said.

At that point, they explained their trip to deliver the Oreikul Bracelet of Enlightened Starfire to Therese, which had resulted in her teaming up with them on their hunt. They also told him about her unique and extremely powerful magic and the considerable combat skills she had displayed throughout the day.

"Huh, interesting," Naofumi muttered underneath his breath. "She sounds really capable. Any chance that she…"

"If miss Therese might be willing to join us? We did discuss that possibility on the way back, Naofumi-sama," Rishia nodded. "She also mentioned a companion of her a couple times. One that she says is every bit as strong as her, maybe even stronger."

"You can never go wrong with a two-for-one deal," Naofumi said with a smirk.

"I'll broach the topic with her and her companion as soon as possible," Shirou said with a serious expression. "Therese did mention that she would be staying in the archipelago in the same Inn until the Activation Event came to an end, so there is no rush, but still…"

"Sounds like a plan. Do you want me to come along when you do?" the Shield Hero asked.

"Naturally. If it's a Holy Hero asking, Therese and her companion might be more quick to agree-"

BANG!

All three of them started and were quick to stand as the door leading into the room slammed open with not an inconsiderable amount of force.

"Litte Naofumi! Come quick!"

Sadeena stood in the entrance, her eyes immediately locking onto them.

"Good. Shirou and Rishia are back. Quick, you have got to see this!"

Naofumi, Shirou and Rishia shared a look of alarm. They had never seen Sadeena speak with such an urgency.

"Sadeena, what the hell is going on?" Naofumi spoke for all three of them.

"We found a Dragon Hourglass underneath the ocean, and it looks like the timer for the next Wave has almost run out."

It took a moment for that bombshell of a statement to compute in their brains. And when it did-

"You have got to be shitting me…"

Naofumi gave voice to his ever present frustrations with this world.

---

Beneath the ocean, in a long submerged structure, a Dragon Hourglass could be seen, its red sand rapidly dwindling away. A ball of light hung in the air, providing illumination in the otherwise dark and barren room.

"I can't believe it…" Ren muttered.

"It's still more believable than the fact that you apparently can't swim," Naofumi grouched.

Ren got a tick mark. "I got down here, didn't I?"

That was true. The Sword Hero did have to be carried along by his party members and he had to wear special gear that let him breath underwater, but he did manage to reach the underwater structure in spite of his inability to swim. And, not to mention, in spite of his deadly fear of swimming and water in general.

"Guys, now isn't really the time to be joking around," Shirou's face became pinched, an expression mirrored by most of the others present: the entirety of the Shield Hero's and Sword Hero's parties.

At that, both Heroes grew serious and stepped forwards. The central jewels of the Legendary Shield and the Legendary Sword flashed as they synchronized with the Dragon Hourglass. With that done, a timer appeared in the edge of their vision.

"…How long do we have, Ren-sama?" Ivan ventured.

[00:52:26]

"Just a little over two days," Ren said with an agitated, rueful shake of his head.

"Look at the bright side, that is still a lot more time to prepare than we had last time this happened," Elrasla snorted.

Ah, yes. When they had hunted down the bandits that had mugged Hickwaal, an influential merchant of Zeltoble, they had also come across a Dragon Hourglass that was nearing the end of its countdown. However, that one's timer had only been half an hour away from reaching its end. Compared to that, a little over 2 days to prepare was downright generous.

"…What's the plan?" Mia pursed her lips as she voiced the question.

"Before coming up with a plan, we need to consult with the queen," Shirou stated. "We will need her support in order to organize the defense of the archipelago."

"Makes sense," Naofumi ran hand through his raven locks. "Ren, can you and your party head back to the archipelago proper and inform the Earl of Habenburg about the situation? I and my party will go to the queen immediately."

The Sword Hero shared a quick look with his party members, then nodded. "We will, see you soon."

With that said, both Heroes raised their Legendary Weapons and teleported away, taking their parties with them. Not long after that, both Heroes got to witness the grim faces of the Earl of Habenburg and Mirellia as they were brought up to speed. Unknown to the other, in that moment, both leaders uttered the exact same words.

""Preparations will commence immediately! No matter what, we will carry the day!""

For all that their stay on Cal Mira had been purely about getting stronger and more capable, it had still been a time of relative relaxation. Now, that time of relaxation had come to an abrupt end, and yet another trial by fire was slated to test if their efforts up till would allow them to triumph yet again.

---

Before the impending Wave had even been known about, the Cal Mira archipelago had already been a hive of activity, bursting at the seams with adventurers, soldiers and any other person who had flocked to the island group in order to take advantage of the Activation Event.

"Move it! Move it! Move it!"

"Hurry it up, you louts! Those ships need to be sea worthy on schedule, or so help me, I'll ensure all of you will be sleeping with the fishes!"

"You fools! Don't place those Rucolu fruit barrel bombs near the water! Do you want to get us all killed!?

"No, no, no! Those provisions don't belong here! Take them down to the docks!"

However, once the news of the impending Wave became widely known, the state of the archipelago devolved into pandemonium.

The Earl of Habenburg marshaled all the troops Cal Mira could spare, employing them to prepare to evacuate the people of the archipelago. All the available sailors and every vessel capable of combat out on open sea were similarly conscripted, a necessary preparation because of the very real possibility that the Wave would be fought in the middle of the ocean. Handsom rewards were offered to adventurers willing to join in on the effort to suppress the Wave, the earl taking full advantage of the surplus of them that had been drawn to the archipelago because of the Activation Event.

Back on the mainland frantic efforts were similarly underway. Soldiers were called to arms, ships were prepared, sailors were conscripted and supplies were stockpiled en masse.

It was impossible for the queen and her forces on the mainland to reach the archipelago before the Wave was due. However, they luckily didn't need to. With the use of the Battle Formations ability that all Heroes could employ, the forces on the mainland were registered to participate, just like the forces already present on the archipelago. Now, when the timer ran out, all of them would be transported to the sight of the battle to come.

And as for the Shield Hero, Sword Hero and their parties? For them it was no different.

"Where can I put this latest batch of weapons?"

"Right there, next to the potions."

"Sadeena, how go the crash course lessons on open ocean and underwater combat?"

"Better than expected, little Naofumi!"

"That's a nice piece of equipment! I know just who can use it best. Take it to-"

The hotel they had been staying at on Cal Mira very much resembled a disturbed ants nest. Demi-humans and Gladiator Slaves were rushing around, their daily and hunts and training on hold in order to dedicate all their time on preparations for the oncoming Wave.

It wouldn't be wrong to refer the frantic activity at the hotel a microcosm of all the preparations going on in the wider archipelago and the mainland.

[00:32:17]

The Wave was still well over a day away, but the anticipation/dread for its arrival was already starting to build.

And on that note, the preparations continued throughout the day. Even as night started to approach, the work didn't slow down any as they took full advantage of the time they still had left.

However, that didn't mean all of them stayed at the hotel.

"Naofumi, I'm going out to the market!"

"Thanks for the heads-up, Shirou! Don't stay away too long, you hear!"

"Shirou-sama! I'm coming along!"

"No you're not, Atla!"

"Onii-sama, let go of me!"

Shirou left the premises of the hotel, heading into town at a steady jog even as the Hakuko siblings tussled in his wake. He made a beeline for the large open air market at the center of town. Though it was rapidly getting darker and in spite of the oncoming Wave, merchants of every stripe were still haggling their wares in full force. Admittedly, since the news of the impending Wave, merchants who specialized in weapons and equipment had more or less taken majority control of the market.

And that's exactly why Shirou was heading out to visit said market.

But not to buy anything. Just to look. After all, with his talent, any weapon, armor, accessory, tool or any other equipment that he laid his eyes on might reveal to him a new technique and/or secret concerning forging or Enchantments. Hell, if a weapon he saw had once been used, he might even learn a whole new combat technique, just like the time he learned the Blade Breaker technique from a random knight in their quest to rescue Melty.

Though it was unlikely that anything he might learn tonight would be in any way influence the coming battle in a major way, the possibility was still there, so he went anyway. That, and he had more or less already done all that he could do to prepare for today back at the hotel.

And just as he was about to enter said open air market-

"Shirou-sama! I finally caught up!"

-Atla screeched to a halt beside him, turning her head up at him and smiling brightly.

Shirou raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Fohl hold you back earlier?"

"I managed to lose him, Shirou-sama."

"And by 'lose him' I'm assuming you mean that you left him gasping on the ground like usual?"

"…Maybe?" Atla affected an innocent face.

Shirou rolled his eyes and said no more. He stepped into the marketplace, his lips twitching as Atla quietly slipped her hand into his and walked alongside him.

Quietly, they explored the marketplace. By the time they got started, the sun had properly gone down and night had set in. The marketplace at night, with an abundance of flickering torches providing illumination, chockfull with bombastic, haggling merchants and adventurers was a decidedly unique atmosphere that neither demi-human was familiar with.

As they walked, Atla remained quiet, just enjoying walking hand in hand with him. Together, they let their feet guide them into the masses as they took it in the nightlife sights.

And of course, that wasn't all that they took in. Shirou's eyes were darting around, looking at each and every stall and ware he could. A bevy of items of every stripe were seen and recorded. As expected, though he did gain a few tidbits of useful forging techniques/knowledge and interesting applications concerning Enchantments – unfortunately nothing about an anti-toxin Enchantment he had secretly been hoping for – he did not spot anything game breaking.

That was, until his eyes landed on a stall manned by a seedy looking merchant tucked away in a dark corner of the marketplace.

"…Huh," slipped from Shirou's lips as he blinked.

"Shirou-sama? Did you find something?" though Atla hadn't raised her voice, Shirou still heard her clearly in the rowdy clamor they were in thanks to his sharp hearing. Atop his head, his raccoon ears were twitching.

"Nothing directly useful in combat, but…" Shirou shook his head. "Once I get the chance, I will definitely try and add that Enchantment to everyone's accessories," he muttered to himself.

Atla's interests were peaked. Just as she was about to ask what Enchantment he was talking about, she felt Shirou's focus snap towards a person who had just walked past them in the middle distance: a tall woman with light blue hair.

"Therese," Shirou blinked again. "Ah, perfect."

Atla mouthed the name. "…Isn't that the woman who you partnered up with the other day? The one that commissioned you for an accessory?"

"Exactly. Her magic and combat skills are considerable," Shirou said. "That's why we discussed the possibility of recruiting her, but the discovery of the Dragon Hourglass and the impending Wave put that on hold."

"You have a good eye for capable people, Shirou-sama," Atla muttered. To her almost otherworldly sharp senses, this Therese stood out to her rather acutely. Atla could tell someone's rough level of raw power through said senses. She could feel that Therese, though not as monstrously strong as, for example, someone like Sadeena, one could be compare the two women and Therese would not be found wanting at all. For someone that wasn't the companion of a Hero and had the associated bonuses, that truly spoke volumes.

Without another word, they made a beeline towards Therese. Said woman had stopped in front of a stall loaded to the brim with jewels and accessories, looking over each and every ware with a critical, but adoring eye.

"Miss Therese, it's good to see you again," Shirou greeted as they got close.

"Ah!" with a small noise of surprise, Therese swung around. Her eyes widened a tad as she realized who had approached her. "Shirou-sama! What a pleasant surprise. What brings you to the market at this time of night?"

"I reckon for much the same reason you are here, miss Therese," he said with a shrug. Not completely true, but trying to explain to her his unique abilities would be a hassle and a half, so he didn't bother going into detail.

"Of course. As a master craftsman, a market filled to the brim with excellent materials would certainly draw your eye," Therese nodded, which inadvertently led to her noticing the much shorter Atla at Shirou's side. "Oh, who is this girl holding your hand?"

"This is Atla, one of my party members."

"A child? And wait, is she blind?" Therese led slip in her surprise.

"Don't let that, or her looks for that matter, fool you," Shirou responded. "She is more than capable of going head to head with me in combat, especially after having Leveled up during the Activation Event."

"Thanks for the praise, Shirou-sama," Atla said, visibly preening with a light dusting of red on her pale cheeks.

"Truly?" Therese raised an eyebrow. She studied Atla for a moment and she smiled brightly as she spotted the exquisite hairpin accessory in Atla's hair. "Ah, I see what you mean. She is most definitely not an ordinary child meant to be coddled."

"Again, thank you for the praise," atop her head, Atla's feline ears were twitching happily, something that got a smile out of both Shirou and Therese.

"Anyway, Shirou-sama. What can I do for you?" Therese asked.

"We would like to recruit you, miss Therese," Shirou decided to be blunt, no beating around the bush.

It was a sentence that caused Therese's eyes to widen. "…I take it you will be participating in the suppression of the Wave, then?"

"Correct, though to be clear, we would like to recruit you for something a bit more long term than a single Wave."

"I see," Therese nodded. "We had already decided to help in suppressing the coming Wave, so teaming up with you for that would be no problem. In fact, though I have seen how capable and strong you are the other day, now knowing that you will be heading out to battle, I would much prefer if we did indeed team up. A once in a lifetime talent like yourself dying or even just getting injured in a Wave…it does not bare thinking about!"

Therese's impassioned words made Shirou a tad uncomfortable. Atla, for her part, was coming to like Therese more and more. Any person who truly understood the value/importance of Shirou was someone she could get along with…so long as they weren't trying to get together with him, that is.

"However, for anything more long term…" Therese hesitated.

Shirou frowned. "Is it not possible?"

"Probably not. In fact, I can almost guarantee that it's not in the cards," as she said this, Therese looked truly distressed. In fact, for a brief moment, she looked sick to her stomach.

Shirou's frown deepened. Atla, who could sense emotions, became alarmed at the sheer depth of black feelings Therese was exuding.

Much to her surprise, Therese suppressed those raging emotions in the same time that it took for her to take a deep breath. That spoke of an incredible self-control and/or practice in doing so. To be sure, those dark feelings were still there, but bound tightly and shoved down as far as they would go.

"Everything alright?"

"I'm fine, Shirou-sama. It's just…circumstance, you know?" Therese sighed.

"…I know the feeling," Shirou inclined his head.

"Anyway," Therese visibly perked up before them. "At the very least I can almost guarantee that teaming up for the coming Wave shouldn't be an issue. However, I still need to discuss it with my companion. Would you mind coming along to the Inn where we are staying? We can discuss some more specifics there."

"Sure," was Shirou's immediate answer, an answered underscored by Atla's following nod.

---

Idle conversation drifted between the three of them as they walked in the dark of night to the Inn Therese and her companion were staying at, the stars twinkling away merrily above them. A full moon looked down on them.

"Here we are," Therese said as they arrived at the Inn where Shirou and Rishia had delivered the Oreikul Bracelet of Enlightened Starfire the day before. The Inn in question was right on the edge of town, beyond which laid a thick forest that led deeper into island's interior.

They entered the Inn in question and bypassed the lobby. Up a flight of stairs they went until they reached the third floor, after which they headed down a corridor on the right. The one guiding them, Therese, didn't halt until they reached the second to last room in the corridor.

And with that, Therese rapped her knuckles on the door. "L'arc? Are you decent?"

"Therese? I have told you this before, you don't need to knock! We have seen much worse of each other before!"

A deep, but easygoing voice drifted from the other side of the door.

"Don't remind me," Therese muttered underneath her breath. "We have guests, L'arc! They want to discus teaming up for the coming Wave!"

"Huh?" an exclamation of surprise. "Ah, I see. Sure. Give me moment, then!"

The sound of movement and rummaging could be heard.

"That L'arc," Therese shook her head. She turned back towards Shirou and Atla with an apologetic smile.

"Relax. We are on a schedule, but we have a little time to spare," Shirou waved off her concern.

"…You specialize in magic, right, miss Therese?" Atla asked in an attempt to fill in the time they had to wait. "What is your companion good at in combat?"

That, and the well of power that she could feel on the other side of the door had taken her by surprise. It almost felt as if another (competent) Hero was getting ready to greet them…

"L'arc specializes in close-quarters combat, though you could call him in all-rounder that can fight at almost every range. He is simply best at close range," Therese answered easily. "If I had to say anything that he were to lack, it would be magic capabilities."

"A deficiency that you yourself fill," Shirou finished with a nod.

"Exactly."

Before their conversation could go any further-

"I'm ready! Come on in!"

-L'arc called them. With a smile at them, Therese turned the nob of the door and they entered the hotel room.

The inside of the room was a little small, but cozy all the same. Moreover, it was about as stereotypical as a hotel room could be. In other words, the room in question was utterly unremarkable.

The man standing ready to greet them just in front of the large bed in the room, however, was anything but unremarkable. He was tall, a little taller than Naofumi even. Unkempt but somehow still stylish red hair made him stand out. Worn, but well kept leather and steel armor with a prominent right shoulder guard fit him like a glove. And except for his striking red hair, the easy going and friendly grin on the man's tanned face was the thing that drew one's eyes the most.

"Come in! Come in! I'm L'arc Berg! Nice to meet you!" L'arc greeted, beckoning Therese, Shirou and Atla over. Even as he said that, L'arc started forwards with his left hand outstretched for a handshake.

"This is Atla, and I'm Shirou. It's nice to meet you as well," Shirou responded, moving to reciprocate the gesture of kindness. "Like miss Therese said, we are here to discuss teaming up for the coming Wave in our capacity as party members of the Shi-"

In that moment, Shirou's eyes spotted the small curved blade peeking out from behind L'arc's back.

A scythe, capable of changing form.

Usually kept in a small Weapon Form for convenience's sake.

Memories. Of fighting monsters. Of fighting men. Of fighting monsters and men at the same time.

Of practice fights: sparing. Hundreds of them.

Spars against ordinary weapons. Spars against high quality weapons. Spars against weapons that were of the same grade as itself.

Striking the Fan Vassal Weapon again and again, in one of the uncountable spars with the Fan Hero.

Vassal Weapon against Vassal Weapon.

The Scythe Vassal Weapon. Of an enemy world.

Inertia carried Shirou's feet forwards. As he processed the information, his hand closed around L'arc's own, even as his eyes suddenly grew cold and he finished his sentence.

"-eld Hero."

"Shirou and Atla, huh. Those are nice names! I can already tell that we are going to be great frie-" all of a sudden, L'arc winced and blinked. "Ouch! Hey, your squeezing my hand rather hard there…and did you just say that you are a party member of the Shield Hero?"

Shirou didn't respond. Unconsciously, he put a not an inconsiderable amount of strength in the hand clasping L'arc's own as his cold gaze bored into the man in front of him, the Scythe Hero. L'arc stared back, his welcoming smile melting away, understanding of what was happening dawning rapidly in his eyes. In response, his grip strength increased to match Shirou.

The warmth of a new meeting disappeared, replaced by the cold of barely repressed hostility.

"…"

"Shirou…sama…" Therese let slip, horror in her voice and eyes.

At Shirou's side, Atla's ears perked up, her tail grew taut and she bared her fangs. Her entire small frame was suddenly rippling with barely repressed energy.

"…"

Shirou and L'arc matched stares. Both knew that the other was an enemy. More importantly, they both knew that the other was perfectly aware that they were, in fact, enemies.

"…"

CHING!
CHING!
CLANG!

In that split second on which fate might have tipped one way or the other, none of the combatants knew for a fact who was first to act. Shirou's sword left its sheath and the Scythe Vassal Weapon was all of sudden in L'arc's hand. Both weapon's crashed into each other with a deafening noise.

As a matter of fact, the force of their meeting was enough to produce a shockwave of terrible force. Both Shirou and L'arc were ripped away from each other, free of the other, their feet sliding backwards on the carpeted floor of the hotel room.

The both of them nearly went tumbling, but they managed to remain upright. They did not hesitate to step forwards and bring their weapons to bear yet again.

"Hidden Light Slash!"

"Flying Circle!"

A crescent of light and a circle of blue energy crashed into each other.

BOOM!

The walls of the hotel room were blown outwards and away, wood, glass and what have you scattering everywhere. The damage was substantial, enough to expose all of them to the crisp night air.

"Therese!"

"Y-yes!"

Two figures darted out from the smoke and the wreckage on the third floor of the hotel, landing with two consecutive thumps in the garden of the hotel. Said garden had no actual boundary separating it from the forest leading into the interior of the islands. L'arc and Therese made a beeline for said forest.

"You aren't getting away! Light Swords!"

Burning light in the shape of swords started raining down around them. Without turning to look back, Therese threw her left hand behind her, palm held outwards, and yelled, "Barrier!"

A rippling blue barrier appeared, shining brightly as it repelled the burning light bearing down on them.

L'arc and Therese disappeared into the forest just as the barrier gave up the ghost, shattering and disappearing. Neither of them was gullible enough to believe that just reaching the forest was enough to ensure their escape, however.

So, even as branches and shrubbery tore at their clothes and skin as they ran, they merely increased their pace. Dodging and weaving in between the trees in a display that would have made most people dizzy, both of them made damn sure to not lose sight of the other as they ran away with all they had.

"L'arc!"

"I know! As soon as we have moment to breath, I'll tele-"

"I won't let you!"

Atla, having somehow overtaken them, landed on a branch up high just ahead of them. Reversing both her direction and momentum, she plunged down on them, a fist cocked back and glowing with compacted Life Force in the shape of a roaring tiger.

"Therese!"

L'arc tackled Therese out of the way.

BOOM!

The patch of soil they had been standing on detonated in their wake, both of them tumbling over the forest floor. Showing their experience, both L'arc and Therese were back on their feet merely a blink later as they continued to run.

However, in the aftermath of that brief scuffle and in the darkness of the forest, neither of them noticed that they were no longer running in the same direction they'd had been. In other words, no longer in the direction of the island's interior. They just continued to run as light and shadow techniques and weaponized Life Force continuously nipped at their heels without letting up for even a solitary moment.

"Hidden Light Slash!"

Both of them had to duck their heads, or risk leaving said body part behind. The horizontally launched crescent of cutting light cut through trees like they were little more than kindling, causing several dozen of them to come collapsing down like knocked over dominoes.

L'arc and Therese forged a path forwards in spite of the chaos enfolding all around them.

All of a sudden, the darkness of the forest fell away and clear moonlight washed over them both.

"Oh, shi-" L'arc started to curse.

In their rush to get away they had inadvertently left the forest. They were on the edge of a cliff that overlooked a pristine white beach. Beyond that, the sea calmly lapped at the shore, a clear contrast to the calamity that was unfolding in their mad dash/attempt to get away from their pursuers.

They were now exposed.

However, going back into the forest was not an option. A fact underscored by the fact that a deluge of attacks were coming down on them from exactly that direction.

"Therese! Tuck yourself in and roll!"

"I know!"

Both of them jumped off the cliff. Like L'arc had advised, they tucked themselves in just before coming down on the white sand of the beach and rolled on it to bleed off the momentum of their fall.

"Barrier!" Therese, clearly disoriented, nonetheless was quick to turn around, to raise her hand above herself and to cast yet another barrier.

SCREECH!

And not a moment too soon. A hidden Light Slash and a Large Caliber Piercing Bullet struck the hastily conjured barrier, sending the wind whipping and making Therese grimace at the effort it took to ward away the attacks.

"Flying Circle!"

L'arc swung the Scythe Vassal Weapon at the two figures standing at the apex of the cliff. Both of said figures jumped down, landing in the sand in much the same way that L'arc and Therese had done just moments before. In their wake, top of the cliff exploded and partially collapsed as a spinning circle of blue energy, released by the Vassal Weapon at the apex of L'arc's swing, tore into it.

In that moment, and with considerable effort, Therese managed to move her barrier just enough so that both the Hidden Light Slash and the Large Caliber Piercing Bullet were deflected. The attacks flew over both her and L'arc's head, disappearing into the ocean before detonating and sending a gout of frothing water skyward.

"Therese! Everything alright!?"

"A little winded, but I'm fine!" Therese breathed harshly, lowering her trembling hand.

"Same here!"

Even as he took stock of his companion's condition, L'arc didn't take his eyes away from their opponents for even a solitary moment.

Just then, everything fell still for just a second.

The moon was full tonight with nary a cloud in the sky, letting the stars twinkle away merrily above, unheeding of the tumult unfolding below them. And except for the explosion disturbing the water earlier, the sea was equally as placid as its tepid waves continued to lap at the shore.

Shirou an Atla. L'arc and Therese. These enemies were now facing each other properly for the first time, the sea at their side and the beach underneath their feet.

For now, there was no more running away. As things stood, both the fugitives as well as the pursuers knew that trying to run away was a fool's errand.

"…What a farce," L'arc sighed as he straightened up, shouldering his scythe. "How in the ever loving hell did things turn out this way?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Shirou responded.

"Heh," a chuckle. "So, I take it this wasn't some ambush of yours?"

"If it was, I wouldn't have shown up with just Atla, but with my entire party and whoever else I could have wrangled on short notice," Shirou's eyes bored into L'arc and Therese. "I could ask you two the same question, you know? Are you sure you two weren't trying to set us up in order to get to Naofumi?"

"…What makes you think we are after the Shield Hero?" Therese ventured.

"The same way I figured out that Glass, your other companion, is from another world: your Vassal Weapon gave you away," Shirou said, intentionally remaining somewhat cryptic with his answer. "The last time we fought Glass, she all but spelled it out that she was here to kill the Heroes of this world. And I know for a fact that you two are her allies. What else am I supposed to think? But, if I'm wrong, then both of you wouldn't mind surrendering, right? We'll just hold you in custody until this entire misunderstanding is cleared up."

"Hehe. Not happening," L'arc gave them a sharp, crooked grin.

"I thought as much," Shirou sounded unsurprised.

"…Miss Therese," Atla suddenly cut in. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you promise Shirou-sama that he'd be able to call on your aid whenever he needed it? If so, would you mind stabbing your party member in the back right about now? I'm sure Shirou-sama would much appreciate that."

"No can do, I'm afraid," Therese said.

"That's a shame," Atla said, equally as unsurprised as Shirou at that answer.

With that, their impromptu conversation came to an end. The already high tension on the beach and soon to be field of battle rapidly ratcheted up a couple notches.

"Well, then," L'arc leaned forwards, his feet bracing against the sand of the beach. From the relative safety of the Scythe Hero's back, Therese raised her hand, palm held out towards them. The accessory on her wrist glowed harshly as she tapped into its innate power.

Shirou matched L'arc, his sword held at the ready. Atla clenched her fists, wisps of Life Force beginning to emanate between her fingers.

"Let this fight-" the Scythe Hero exploded forwards. "-properly begin!"

Shirou rushed to meet him.

CLANG!-SCHREECH!

The Magic Amethyst Longsword caught the curved blade of the Scythe Vassal Weapon, their meeting kicking up sparks and sending the wind whipping. The rushing wind made the hair of the combatants rustle, and the sparks outlined the expression on their faces: a competitive grin on L'arc's lips, while Shirou's eyes glared into the Scythe Hero's own.

"Shining Stone: Ba-

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Large Caliber Piercing Bullet!"

Therese's head snapped upwards, catching sight of Atla, having jumped up high into the air. The demi-human girl, the full moon behind her, swung her glowing fist down at Therese, releasing a massive 'bullet' of compacted Life Force down at her opponent. In response, Therese brought her blue flame covered palm up to aim at Atla and her incoming attack.

"-ll of Flame!"

Life Force and magical fire met in midair.

BOOM!

And detonated right above where Shirou and L'arc were clashing. Both combatants showed how sturdy they were as the resulting shockwave slammed down on top of them, but their legs didn't even show an iota of buckling under the pressure. They merely continued to trade a rapid series of blows, so quick and smooth that the exchange almost look choreographed in advance.

However-

"TCH!" Shirou gritted his teeth.

-it didn't take long before it became clear who was the more powerful fighter.

CLANG!

CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!

CLANG!-CLANG!

CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!

Scythe met longsword again and again, the feet of the fighters sliding across the sand as they sought an opening in the other's guard. The observant would have noted that Shirou's hands shook whenever his weapon met the enemy's scythe, as L'arc merely continued to grin and redoubled his assault.

It was to be expected, really. Not only was Shirou facing a Hero, but unlike Motoyasu, L'arc was a proper warrior with consummate fighting skills and incredible combat experience to match. No matter his own advantages, there was no way that Shirou could match L'arc blow for blow.

"You really are something, brat!" L'arc laughed wildly as they continued to exchange blows. "I can't remember the last time someone who wasn't a Hero managed to hold their own! What's your secret?"

As the companion of a Hero, Shirou's Stats were far greater than an ordinary person. On top of that, his Divinity modified his Stats to be even higher. In spite of that, he was still an order of magnitude weaker than L'arc. The reason why he was keeping up with L'arc, no matter how difficult it was? His unique talent: he intimately knew the history of the Scythe Vassal Weapon, and how its current wielder fought.

Moments before L'arc would begin to swing, Shirou would already be moving to block the soon to be incoming attack. It was only because he was anticipating the Hero's attacks and would act in advance that Shirou was managing to keep up at all.

But that didn't change the facts of the matter: Shirou wasn't equal to an actual Hero. Though he could last far longer than most, in a head-on clash of power, he would still lose.

"Oh! What's this!? Slowing down already!?" L'arc deflected Shirou's longsword. "And here I thought I might get to have a little mor-"

L'arc's eyes widened. In the blink of an eye, the joviality on his face disappeared.

SCHING!

Above him, a Wandering Cross Guard Gladius manifested. It promptly swung down, seeking the split the head of Scythe Hero in twain.

CLANG!

L'arc didn't let that happen. He raised the Scythe Vassal Weapon above his head with both hands, blocking the Wandering Cross Guard Gladius with the shaft.

"Piercing Light Thrust!"

Straight as an arrow, Shirou's light magic covered blade stabbed towards L'arc's chest.

Showing his skill, the Scythe Hero spun his weapon in a familiar, well-practiced movement. Said movement knocked away the gladius baring down on him from above and deflected the longsword seeking to pierce his heart.

The power of said deflection was enough to make Shirou falter and break his sudden counterattack. And for a moment, L'arc thought his quick actions had gotten him out of trouble before said trouble could properly manifest.

That hopeful thought died as quickly as it appeared.

Seven more Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses manifested all around L'arc. The first that he had deflected came flying back with unnatural speed and grace, seeming to ignore the laws of inertia. On top of that, Shirou himself had already recovered, the Magic Amethyst Longsword swinging for L'arc's neck.

Suddenly, the Scythe Hero was subject to an attack from nine different directions.

"First Form: Wind Slice!"

Not fool enough to face such a monstrous assault head on, L'arc swung his scythe harshly and released a Skill. A tornado of cutting wind erupted around himself, deflecting all eight gladiuses and forcing Shirou to back off, lest risk being cut to ribbons.

Feet sliding back on the sand from a rapid jump backwards, Shirou took stock of the situation.

"Shirou-sama," Atla landed beside him.

"Damn, brat. You really, really are something, aren't you? If I hadn't acted quickly enough, I might be a pincushion right now," L'arc chuckled.

"I can say the same about Atla," Therese said, breathing deeply.

Behind L'arc, the beach was pockmarked with small craters and patches of fire. Therese and Atla had clearly been having their own heated exchange. The fact that neither of them showed any injury in spite of the substantial damage to the surroundings made it clear what the result of said bout had been.

"Atla?"

"Elemental magic and barriers, Shirou-sama," was Atla's prompt response.

In other words, the exact same abilities that Therese had displayed the day before.

"…We fight together. Leave L'arc to me. Try and take out Therese, but if you see any opening, take it."

"Yes!" Atla bared her fangs.

Shirou leaned forward, feet digging into the sand. The Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses formed up around him, four behind each shoulder, looking almost like metallic wings.

"Therese!" L'arc barked and swung his scythe back.

"Shining Stone: Resolute Resolve! Shining Stone: Hardened Protection! Shining Stone: Fleet foot!"

Magical energy of several colors settled over both L'arc and Therese. The enhancement magic, for that's obviously wat it was, increased their Attack, Defense and Speed Stats.

"Flying Circle!" like an executioner, L'arc brought the Scythe Vassal Weapon down.

"Hidden Light Slash!"

For the second time that day, a cutting crescent of light and a circle of blue energy met head on.

BOOM!

And the resulting explosion kicked up a massive smoke cloud and made the beach tremble underneath their collective feet. A blink of an eye later, said smoke cloud was dispersed as eight gladiuses came spearing through it. In their wake came a mass off hard to perceive ripples, the 'bullets' nearly all practitioners of Hengen Musou were fond of using.

"Deadly Dance!"

One. Two. Three times the Scythe Vassal Weapon was swung in a rapid, but also rhythmic pattern. Every swing released dozens upon dozens of small sickles of blue cutting energy. Therese doubled down on this by spreading her arms wide, a wall of blue flame erupting and racing forwards.

The two forces met and annihilated each other in a cacophony of noise and mayhem, a rippling line of explosions expanding and separating the opponents from each other. Another even larger smoke cloud now obscured everyone's line of sight.

A high pitched whistle-

"The same floating sword trick again!?" L'arc mocked. "That's not going-"

The smoke cloud visibly twisted, then exploded outwards. The Scythe Hero's eyes widened as what emerged was not a sword, but an arrow with a visible slipstream around it. And said arrow was much, much faster than what he had been expecting. As such, there was no time to think. No time to dodge. No time to use a Skill.

Instinctually, L'arc swung the Scythe Vassal Weapon full force at the incoming projectile.

CLANG-BOOM!

The arrow exploded in his face.

"Ack!" L'arc cried, the sheer force of the explosion taking him off his feet. He tumbled backwards, away from Therese.

"L'arc!"

Therese didn't get the chance to take stock of the condition of her party member. All of a sudden, Atla had closed the distance. Her fist was pulled back, Life Force coalescing around it.

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Tiger Bite!"

An ethereal, roaring tiger's head lunged straight towards Therese's stomach. Only for said attack to be waylaid as a barrier manifested in between Atla and Therese with just a twitch of the blue haired woman's fingers. The Tiger Bite struck the barrier with an audible gong, making it visibly ripple, but the barrier nonetheless held firm.

However, Atla had already traded blows with Therese before. She was perfectly aware how strong her barriers were and how quick she could conjure said barriers. That's why Atla didn't falter in the slightest as she brought her other arm up, this time not leading with her fist, but merely with her pointer finger.

"…!"

Therese let out a gasp as her barrier shattered. From her perspective, it looked absurd: Atla had poked her barrier rapidly, and each time her finger speared the barrier a crack would appear, webbing progressively outward as Atla drove Life Force into the minute weak spots in the barrier only she could see because of her unique 'sight.' A few pokes in less than a second and the barrier gave up the ghost.

Her path no longer obstructed, Atla choose the attack that would reach Therese the fastest at this close range. She punched the air, a single ungodly fast ripple, a 'bullet,' being launched point blank.

However, Therese demonstrated her unmatched skill in response. Another barrier manifested, much smaller and thinner than the first, just large enough cover her chest area. The 'bullet' struck it and failed to punch through, though the comparatively weak attack still caused the thin barrier to visibly crack.

As this happened, Atla was already in the midst of launching another 'bullet.'

The jewel embedded in the accessory on Therese's left wrist glowed, preparing a quick magic spell to blast the area around her indiscriminately in an attempt to force Atla to back off.

SCHING!

Only to realize that it hadn't been Atla who she should have been focusing on all along.

With no warning whatsoever, a single Wandering Cross Guard Gladius that came from behind Atla and attacked in Therese's blind spot, punched through the already cracked barrier. The tip of the blade was literally but an inch away from her skin, with nothing more that could waylay it.

In a thought as quick as quicksilver, Therese realized: she had lost.

…A though that would have been proven true if she had been fighting all alone.

The Scythe Vassal Weapon swung itself over her shoulder, its curved blade coming to rest just in front of her chest.

CLANG!

And the Wandering Cross Guard Gladius bounced off of said Vassal Weapon.

Behind her, with a few minor burns on his skin and armor, L'arc panted, having rushed back as quickly as he could.

But his return and quick save didn't mean that Therese was out of the woods yet. The other seven Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses were spearing down on them from every direction. Atla had launched multiple 'bullets' at close range, which were already in their face. Moreover, Shirou had rushed to the side in order to get a clean shot on them, a Hidden Light Slash already leaping from his blade towards them.

Using his scythe, L'arc yanked Therese back, taking care to hook the weapon under her arm and making sure that its cutting edge didn't slice into her. He stepped in front of the backwards stumbling Therese – who managed to right herself before falling into sand – and raised the Scythe Vassal Weapon back for a mighty swing.

"First Form: Wind Slice! Second Form: Sky Blade!"

The first Skill caused a tornado of cutting wind to erupt into existence around him. The second caused said tornado to swell in size and lurch forwards to meet the incoming deluge of attacks.

The whipping winds sent the Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses flying. The 'bullets' of concentrated Life Force were dispersed. The Hidden Light Slash crashed into the whipping winds, finding itself incapable of punching through it. The technique petered out in impotence.

Cutting winds were now bearing down on Shirou and Atla-

"Deadly Dance!"

-and L'arc doubled down on it by firing dozens upon dozens of energy sickles at them.

"Atla! Get behind me! You know what to do!"

Without hesitation, Atla did as ordered. She jumped backwards, faulting over Shirou's head to land behind him. She placed her palms on his back, Life Force emanating down her arms.

Said Life Force was pumped into Shirou, directed and controlled by the unnaturally gifted Atla. Life Force began surging around Shirou, giving him a dull white glow that made his hair whip around. As magical energy and Life Force coated his blade in equal measure, a blade that he reared back, Shirou felt his Stats jump massively across the board.

An artificial recreation of Peerless Activity: a tactic they had perfected during their training on Cal Mira.

"Trace, on!"

Even as he did that, several dozen blades appeared in the air around him, more than a hundred, as his Magical Circuits became distinct on his skin. He didn't take control of said swords with Living Sword Poltergeist, either.

"Hidden Light Slash!"

A cutting crescent of light left his blade, as it had many times before. However, this time he had pumped far more magical energy than usual into the technique. Moreover, his Stats were temporarily an order of magnitude higher. The Hidden Light Slash swelled in size as it rocketed forwards, obscuring the incoming attacks from their field of vision.

"And, fire!"

Over a hundred blades were launched, leaving a trail of hard to perceive magical energy in their wake, slicing through the air in formation around the grotesquely overpowered Hidden Light Slash.

The two opposing forces met-

BOOOOOM!-BOOM!-BOOM!-BOOM!-BOOOOOM!

-and annihilated each other, as had happened multiple times before this night. The only difference compared to before was how big the explosion was, the fact that it set of multiple smaller explosions in quick succession, and that the sound of it was even more deafening than usual.

It honestly felt as if the beach was collapsing in on itself, as the sand quaked and the sea grew agitated.

L'arc shielded his face from the whipping wind, smoke and sand. "Damn, these guys are nuts! Therese! Are you all righ-"

A shadow-lined blade erupted out of his own shadow, seeking to run him through. Instinct saving him, L'arc jumped back, the sneak attack rushing by his face but not into his flesh.

"L'arc!"

Behind him, Therese had managed to similarly evade a shadow-lined blade that had erupted out of her own shadow, though in her case it had proven to be far more of a close call. A long, thin cut ran up her leg that wept a considerable amount of blood.

Even as he was still moving backwards, L'arc's eyes narrowed. As a matter of pure happenstance, the smoke of the explosions parted for just a fraction of a second, allowing him to see Shirou in the distance.

And as the warrior that he was, the Scythe Hero didn't fail to take the opportunity for what it was.

"Reap!"

The Scythe Vassal Weapon was swung, just a single time. And just a single sickle of cutting energy was launched. The difference? Instead of the blue energy sickles seen earlier, this single energy sickle was a vivid crimson. It was also an order of magnitude faster, so fast that even L'arc himself couldn't properly perceive the attack.

This was an attack meant to execute. To not give his opponent a chance to react to the upcoming specter of death. The reason why the Scythe Hero was, in their world, also known as the grim reaper.

Said specter of death disappeared into the smoke-

"Shirou-sama!"

SCHING!-SPLURT!

"ARGH!"

A cry of alarm. The slicing of the wind. The sound of splattering blood. A gut curdling scream of pain.

"Therese! We're making a break for it!" L'arc shouted.

"Yes!"

With one of their opponents hopefully out of the way or incapacitated, the Scythe Hero and Therese turned and ran away as fast as they could. These two weren't their intended targets. Moreover, this was an enemy world and they had been found out. With all the cacophony of their struggle, the longer they staid, the more likely it became that enemy reinforcements were to arrive.

The only reason why they had elected to face Shirou and Atla directly after trying to escape the first time, was because the two them weren't about to let L'arc and Therese get away. Now that the opportunity to do so anyway had presented itself…!

Behind them, the smoke got a golden tint. A sudden breeze blew away said smoke, revealing the scene that lay beyond.

Atla, looking scared/concerned, her full focus on Shirou. Shirou himself, who had clearly taken a knee, was in the process of standing back up again. Blood cacked his head and streamed down his face. The source: his left raccoon ear, the top half of which had been sliced clean off.

A subdued golden glow highlighted this scene. And where did this golden glow come from?

The Magic Amethyst Longsword laid discarded in the sand. The hilt of a new blade now rested in Shirou's hand, the blade of which was glowing while its central red jewel glinted. Standing up fully, Shirou reared back the Legendary Weapon Replica up above his head. And when he brought said weapon down, it changed shape into its spear-form.

"Brionac!"

A golden beam, as wide and tall as a school bus. It flew over the sand, giving chase to the fleeing Hero and his companion.

"Barrier!" Therese gasped.

A blue glowing barrier manifested in the path of Brionac. Said barrier was smashed into smithereens on contact, not even slowing down the golden beam's rampage.

Without looking back, L'arc took a hold of Therese's arm as he yanked both her and himself out of the way of the attack. Brionac screamed past them, the sound of its passage deafening.

"Phoenix Blade! Phoenix Blade! Phoenix Blade!"

Three fiery phoenixes took flight and soared to catch the fleeing pair.

"I beseech thee, power of jewels far and wide," Therese managed to get out through gasps for breath. On her right arm, the Oreikul Bracelet of Enlightened Starfire began to glow. "Heed my call and support me! My name is Therese Alexandrite! My friends, bring down a rain of fire on my enemies!"

From up high, small blue lights became visible. These blue lights rapidly fell, the sound they made reminiscent of jetliners firing up their engines, showing themselves to be small rocks covered in burning blue flame. In other words, small meteorites.

It was an indiscriminate attack over a wide area. The meteorites came down and struck two of the fiery phoenixes, causing them to explode prematurely.

Atla took her focus away from Shirou, who was rearing the Legendary Weapon Replica back yet again. She turned her face up to 'look' at the small meteorites coming down on them. Life Force began to swell around her hands, readying herself to shoot down the meteorites in order to protect both Shirou and herself.

POP-POP-POP.

But just as she was about to do that, the meteorites that would have come down on them disintegrated on their own, much to her confusion. All that was left of said meteorites were but small blue embers, that harmlessly fell down all around them.

I'm sorry.

Only Shirou heard those words. It was that same ethereally soft voice he had heard the first time he had teamed up with Therese. Normally, he would have questioned where the voice came from, but for now, all his focus was on L'arc and Therese who were getting further and further away.

"Brionac!"

In the distance, the last remaining fiery phoenix had closed the distance and plunged down on L'arc and Therese both.

"First Form: Wind Slice! Second Form: Sky Blade!"

Only for a massive tornado of cutting wind to sprout in the path of the fiery phoenix. The phoenix contested the power of the tornado with its own not inconsiderable might, but it failed to force its way through as the cutting winds deterred the beast.

However, neither L'arc nor Therese had a chance to celebrate this fact. Another Brionac was bearing down on them, the beam's golden glow already outlined on their own bodies.

They dodged said attack without fanfare. Though Brionac was extremely powerful and fast, it was still a linear attack that couldn't change direction. If you knew it was coming, had a bit of distance and was somewhat light on your feet, dodging Brionac wasn't all that difficult. The sound of it was still deafening, though.

"Hah! We're almost home free!" L'arc exclaimed. "Just a little further and we'll be far enough away that they won't be able to stop us from tele-"

WHISTLE!

L'arc's words died on his lips as the sound of blades slicing through the air – at first concealed by the sound of Brionac's passage – reached his ears.

Still running down the length of the beach, their opponents far behind them, both L'arc's and Therese's faces showed alarm. All around them – behind them, to their sides, and a little ahead of them – flew the eight Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses.

Though Shirou had switched to using a Projected copy of the Legendary Weapon Replica as his main weapon for this fight, that didn't mean he had shelved the use of Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses. He had simply kept them in reserve, ensuring that those weapons remained close to L'arc and Therese, and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

And that that time-

Both L'arc and Therese moved to knock away the Wandering Cross Guard Gladiuses.

-was now!

"Exploding Sword!"

All eight gladiuses exploded, the roaring flames and shrapnel consuming both the Scythe Hero and his erstwhile companion.

---

…Yeah, I know, it has been more than half a year since I posted a chapter. My apologies.

This was mostly because of health related reasons. Nothing to do with the hospital or medication, though. I have been mostly been busy with improving my general health. COUGH-weight-COUGH.

And I can say with pleasure that I am now the healthiest that I have been in years. Now that I have (more or less) achieved my goal, I intend to get back into the swing of writing. The fact that penning this entire chapter took about a week is a good sign, though I give no promises on how long it will take to finish the next one. I have learned my lesson on that…

Anyway, I'm dying to hear what you people think about this chapter. I, personally, adored writing the fight scene between Shirou and Atla VS L'arc and Therese. I hope that it was as much fun for you guys to read as it was for me to write.

Stay tuned till the next chapter!