Sword and Shield
Clean Up 2
"Naofumi-sama, I don't think this is a good idea."
"I agree with the lass, Holy Saint. I can't imagine the townspeople would be all that eager to use this 'gift' of yours either."
"Naofumi does have a point, though. We might have stopped the infestation, but if we just leave as is, the famine from before will return."
Shirou offered a counter point to Raphtalia's and Elrasla's concerns. They currently found themselves out in the fields, a good distance away from the village they had liberated from the parasitic plant monstrosities the Spear Hero had unwittingly unleashed. No one else but the Shield Hero's party was present, which was good. If the townspeople were to witness what Naofumi was experimenting with, it might have led to a panic.
After defeating the Bioplant and collecting a ton of useful materials they had returned to the camp of the knights, adventurers and displaced people. After receiving profuse thanks and a rather substantial reward for their efforts, the party had offered to aid the people with clearing out all the dead plant and tree remains. It was another extra measure to shore up their support and to place the people of the Selva region of Melromarc further in their debt.
At least, that was Naofumi's reasoning. The others genuinely wanted to help for the sake of doing so.
The Elderly Man and his people had been uncertain on accepting the offer of further help. The Shield Hero and his party had already done so much for them. Receiving even more help would feel like taking advantage of the party's kindness, but they had insisted, and after seeing the help they would be, especially with the use of Naofumi's Earth magic and the Legendary Shield's ability to absorb materials, the Elderly Man and his people had relented.
That's what they had been doing the last two days, and with the clean up almost finished, the town that had been displaced was once again liveable. However, the fields were once again also barren and empty of produce. This sight had inspired Naofumi to experiment with some new abilities of his.
The Bioplant Shield had given Naofumi a Skill named [Plant Reform]. The Mandragora Shield had given him the [Plant Analysis] Skill. Combined, these Skills allowed him to modify both seeds and plants to such an extent that he could create a true miracle seed.
Naofumi had not stopped smirking after realizing how much of a potential money maker he had the good fortune to stumble upon.
The Bioplant had dropped a ton of seeds after it had been killed, which weirdly enough didn't die like everything else that it had spawned. Considering the potential threat such seeds represented, they had of course collected all of them and let the Legendary Shield absorb them. And Naofumi was glad they had done so. The Bioplant seeds were perfect for his experiments.
"Even if they don't want to make use of this, I'm pretty sure these seeds will prove useful," Naofumi said with a nonchalant shrug. "There will definitely be other people who'll gladly pay top gold for something like this."
In front of them were a trio of trees. They hadn't been there a moment before, having sprouted and grown to maturity in a few short moments after Naofumi had dropped the modified seeds into the ground. Dozens of large red fruits grew from their branches, looking almost like tomatoes with some minor differences.
"Delicious!"
Filo had already climbed into the canopy of the central tree, stuffing here face with the fruits she was pulling directly from the branches.
"So sweet and yummy!" Filo exclaimed.
"It's got Filo's seal of approvement, at least," Shirou snorted.
"…Let's go see if the people here would be willing to use these," Elrasla relented. "I do think that they will be more receptive to accepting this gift if we offered to come back every once in a while to check if nothing has gone wrong," she added.
"Good idea," Naofumi agreed.
"YAH!" Shirou wound back and threw a punch, his knuckles stopping a mere inch from the bark of the tree he was facing. Even though he hadn't made contact, the Life Force he had released surged in and through the tree, blowing out its back like a rotten overly ripe fruit.
"Very good, Shirou!" Elrasla praised as the tree came down with a resounding, thunderous crash. "At the rate you're improving, it won't take long before you'll be capable of using the Bullet technique in combat. Though you are by no means a natural, you do have quite a bit of promise."
To the side, another tree came down with a crash. Raphtalia stood beside its splintered remains, her arm still outstretched from her punch. Similarly to Shirou, she hadn't directly struck the tree.
"The same holds true for you as well, Raphtalia," Elrasla said with an substantial amount of satisfaction. As a teacher, even though her current students were not innately talented in the use of the Hengen Musou, when it came to dedication, she couldn't have asked for better.
"Thank you, Elrasla!" Raphtalia returned, sounding jubilant. She had finally managed to get a grasp on her Life Force a mere three days ago, and she had thrown her all into mastering its use ever since. Now that she could ignore Defence with her attacks, she was a much more deadly fighter.
"Here comes another, Master! Spiral Strike!"
Off in the distance, Filo, who was in her human form, came down on Naofumi with the energy blades of Spiral Strike. Naofumi raised his shield over his head and stopped the attack cold in its tracks, even as the ground underneath him cratered a little bit. The Life Force the attacked pumped into him, however, was another story. He gritted his teeth as he tried to guide and expel it with his own Life Force, but he ended up groaning when he only partially succeeded and pangs of pain erupted all over his body.
Of course, he did not let that slow him down. With a cry of exertion, he forced Filo up and away, who flipped up in the air and landed daintily on her naked feet, before launching another attack at Naofumi without pause.
And like that, the party of the Shield Hero, like they were wont to do, trained the afternoon away. It would be several hours later, when it was almost completely dark, that they finally stopped.
"Excellent! We have made much progress today!" Elrasla clapped her hands, looking delighted.
"…How the hell does she still have so much energy?" Naofumi muttered to himself. Elrasla had been right there with them, training and teaching them in the use of Life Force, but she wasn't tired at all, nor was she covered in sweat like the rest of them. How this old lady, no matter how strong she was, could be so chipper after such a long training session was beyond him.
Elrasla seemed even more energetic these days then she had been before. Naofumi chackled it up to having received a Class Up and Fitoria's Blessing shortly after their tussle with the Bioplant, as she had reached the Level cap a few scant days after that battle. She was now Level 44, and her current Stats were getting close to rivalling what they had been before her Level reset.
The old martial artist had been unquestionably strong before having her Level reset, to a somewhat ridiculous degree. But now Naofumi wondered how strong she would be when her Level once again reached into the nineties. The prospect made him deadly curious and somewhat frightened.
As if Elrasla wasn't crazy enough already.
"Holy Saint, it won't be long now before you'll be able to negate Defence ignoring and Defence rating attacks. Just keep it up."
Naofumi nodded at her words, relieved at his progress.
"Shirou, Raphtalia. Both of you have almost mastered the Bullet technique. As far as Hengen Musou is concerned, it's a rather basic attack, but still highly useful and will function as a springboard to learning more complicated techniques. It won't be long now before we move on to the next step of both your training."
Shirou and Raphtalia shared a smile.
"Filo, your skill at channelling Life Force has increased markedly. It won't be long now before you'll be joining Shirou and Raphtalia at learning techniques."
"Sounds good, Old Lady!" Filo chirped.
Paradoxically, even though Filo, as a monster, had an innate sense of her Life Force, she was the one with the most trouble at learning how to wield it effectively. Using it in physical attacks and spells was no problem at all, but she had difficulty with using Life Force without another medium to load it into. Still, with diligent practice, she was in the process of overcoming that hurdle.
It was just a matter of time.
"Now, who is in the mood for a bath and a late night snack?"
"Me, me, me!" Filo took that offer in a heartbeat.
The others looked equally as receptive.
Naofumi chuckled. "I'll cook us up something, then. You lot go take a quick bath. I will go and wash myself after you lot are done."
They did just that, using a convenient nearby stream to wash up. Naofumi stayed behind and laid out the materials for the snack he had in mind while his party members cleaned themselves. When said party members returned, they traded places and he went to wash up while Shirou took over the preparations for their late night dinner. After Naofumi himself came back, looking much refreshed, he and Shirou put the finishing touches on their meal together.
"What do you call this, Naofumi-sama?"
"Hamburgers, Raphtalia. It's a rather popular and easy to make dish in my own world."
The ingredients used were a bit different, having used monster meat and self-made sauces that were not quite the same as mayonnaise or ketchup, but on the face of it, what Shirou and Naofumi had cooked up looked just like an ordinary, but well made hamburgers. They handed out the hamburgers to the others.
"Thanks for the meal!" they chorused and dug in.
"HMM! Yum!" Filo voiced her immedate approval, rapidly devouring her meal.
"Very good, Holy Saint. You should make this more often," Elrasla cackled.
Raphtalia emphatically nodded her approval, eating along with gusto.
Shirou and Naofumi shared a look, smiling behind their own burgers. Honestly, the only reason they had made this dish was because they hadn't enjoyed a quality hamburger since coming to this world. Shirou wasn't much for fast food, but even he had occasionally enjoyed a good burger, so he went along with Naofumi's suggestion, to the apparent approval of everyone else.
"What will we doing tomorrow, Master?" Filo asked as she finished off her first burger, licking clean her fingers that had gotten covered in sauce. Her free hand reached for the next hamburger.
"We'll continue our journey towards Melromarc's northern border," Naofumi answer took a brief moment to materialize, chewing and swallowing first. "With a little luck we'll arrive there a little late in the afternoon tomorrow."
"We will be helping out the refugees," Shirou added. Everyone knew what he was talking about. Their destination were the many camps along the northern border of Melromarc that were housing the refugees from the country that Itsuki had helped mess up.
After dealing with the Bioplant, the topic of their next goal had come up. Would they first deal with the refugee crisis or the Zombie Dragon? The fact that the Zombie Dragon's location was (literally) up in the air made it an easy choice. First, they would go help with the refugee crisis. Meanwhile, the Queen's Shadows would scour the country for the Zombie Dragon's location. As soon as a promising lead were to be discovered, the Shield Hero's party would called on to deal with the menace.
"Luckily, we have just the recourses necessary to help the refugees," Naofumi said smugly, thinking about how handy the latest 'acquisition' to his toolbox was.
The northern camps awaited them.
The next morning, the very moment light started to peek out over the treetops, Shirou rolled out of his makeshift bed beside the carriage. He yawned and stretched, groaning in relief as he felt several satisfying pops from his back. If there was one amenity he missed from his old world, it would be his futon. Sleep simply wasn't the same in this world, or as pleasant.
"No…Don't…Rifana…"
Shirou's morning routine came to an abrupt halt as he noticed Raphtalia tossing and turning in her sleep, having yet to wake up herself. She was muttering to herself, face white and taut, tail puffed up in distress.
"Again, huh?" Shirou mused to himself, his own discomfort forgotten as he made a beeline towards Raphtalia.
"Rifana…You bastard…How dare you…"
Instead of coming to a stop right beside Raphtalia's sleeping spot, Shirou maintained some distance and raised his hands. He mentally apologized to everyone.
CLAP!
The sound of Shirou's hands clapping together rang like a temple bell in the early morning air.
There was an immediate shuffle of noise as the clear sound woke all of them up, eyes snapping open and going from asleep to full wakefulness in the blink of an eye. As they had to usually sleep on monster infested roads and forests, sleeping lightly and being capable of quickly shaking of sleep was something they had all long since learned.
The most extreme reaction, however, came from Raphtalia.
Raphtalia shot up from where she had laid down, her hand snapping out to strike something that wasn't really there. Her other hand had dropped toward her waist, where her currently absent sword usually was.
"Rifana!" Raphtalia cried out, only to blink as her eyes came into focus. She looked around, for a brief moment utterly confused.
When she realized where she was, her hand dropped back in her lap as a remorseful look came over her face. "Damn, I did it again, didn't I?" she asked, sounding both annoyed and sheepish at the same time.
"Relax," Shirou waved off her self-recrimination. "It's perfectly natural, all things considered."
"Look at the bright side, Onee-chan," Filo chirped. "At least you didn't hit Onii-chan in the face this time!"
Raphtalia flushed.
Shirou rubbed the spot where Raphtalia had smacked him across the face the last time she'd had a nightmare and he had made the mistake of getting to close when he went to wake her up. Ironically, and extra painfully, it was that very moment of nightmare born stress that Raphtalia had learned how to sense, and wield, Life Force.
That had sucked, to put it mildly.
"Shirou, I'm really sorry about that time…" Raphtalia's flush didn't abate.
"As I said, Raphtalia, it's fine," Shirou said and lowered his hand from the phantom memory of a rather substantial bruise. "You've already told us the story, and I don't blame you. We don't blame you. We…all got our demons."
The nightmares had begun shortly after the last Wave they had participated in. It was something born from Raphtalia's time as a slave. Honestly, after learning about the story, they'd just universally been surprised that it hadn't become an issue before that point. All of them chalked it up to her (and their) constantly changing situation and exhausting schedule. It had just taken some time for Raphtalia's mind to settle and for the trauma of that time to exert itself.
Naofumi got up and ran a hand through his hair. Even though he acted natural not one of them could miss the dark look in his eyes. "It's alright, Raphtalia. I have already brought it up with the Queen. We will deal with it when the time comes."
"Yes, we will, Naofumi-sama," Raphtalia said coldly, an equally dark look in her eyes.
Shirou shifted on the balls of his feet, looking uncomfortable, but he kept his peace. What they were going to do with the blessing of the Queen didn't exactly sit right with him. But, honestly, if this world had taught him anything, it was that sometimes it was better to deal with the root of a problem post haste.
Personally. With a certain measure of appropriately applied violence.
It was the next day that they arrived at the first camp on the northern border of Melromarc.
What a sorry sight it was.
The camp wasn't all that big. It was made up out of several tents, large and small, set up next to what appeared to be an abandoned border town. The buildings were also in use by the refugees, but said buildings had clearly seen better days, and likely didn't offer any better protection against the elements then the tents did. Refugees, looking gaunt and listless, milled about. By Shirou's reckoning, there were about 300 to 500 refugees in this camp alone.
Again, Shirou felt a measure of anger at Itsuki, the Bow Hero. If he hadn't gone in half cocked and done something stupid, these people wouldn't be in the dire straights they were in now. If there was anything that expounded on the virtue of thinking ahead, it was this very sight before them now.
Just doing as one pleased, even if one thinks they are doing the right thing…was liable to lead to tragedy.
Beside refugees, there were also quite a few knights, keeping watch on the refugees. The harsh truth of the situation was that Melromarc couldn't just let the refugees stream into the country unopposed. As such, the refugees were being kept in camps at the border as officials tried to figure out what to do with them. They were also being provided with food and certain amenities, but by the looks of it, said supplies weren't anywhere near enough for the refugees to life on comfortably.
The Waves were upon the world, after all. Most extra supplies were being squirrelled away until they were needed.
A look was shared amongst the Shield Hero's party. This was not something they could really fix, but they could alleviate the burden of the people here, at least.
"Halt!" a squad of knights apprehended them as they approached the camp.
Said knights gave Filo, who was pulling the carriage, a considering look. There attention was quickly drawn to Naofumi as he clambered down the driver's seat to greet them.
"Hello, gentlemen. I'm here on business," Naofumi said without preamble, as he took out a length of parchment out of his pocket and unceremoniously shoved it in the knight's faces.
A length of parchment that bore the Queen's official seal.
Eyes widening, the leader of the knights took the parchment and scanned over the document. After a brief moment, he nodded to himself. "Everything seems to be in order. Before we let you into the camp, sir, might I be so bold as to enquire why the Queen send you here? Though the conditions aren't exactly ideal here, neither are they so bad that they deserve, in my view, the Queen's personal attention."
Heh, Naofumi held back a look of amusement. This knight certainly was a polite one. Compared to some of the knights he had met, it was a welcome change of pace. The fact that Naofumi came here on the Queen's personal request probably helped in the politeness apartment.
To say nothing of the fact that he had once more transformed the Legendary Shield into a book.
"It's a bit of an odd tale," Naofumi shrugged nonchalantly. "One I'm not really at liberty to get into at the moment. Due to peculiar circumstances, the Queen became aware of my abilities and decided to hire me to help out with the refugee crisis."
A bit of a lie, but essentially correct.
"I see. Well then, your help is much appreciated," there was some suspicion in that response, but the knight clearly wasn't willing to push the matter any further.
The knights allowed them to pass, and they rode into the camp. They immediately drew the eye of anyone that was out and about. The party clambered out of the carriage and immediately set to work as they more or less ignored the curious and somewhat apprehensive looks they were getting.
Filo had cut herself lose from the carriage, but remained in her Filolial Queen form.
Working quickly, they spread several large sheets on the ground in the centre of the camp. A hundred people would be able to stand on it with room to spare. Naofumi then kneeled down on the central spot of the laid out sheets, muttering to himself as he gave the Legendary Shield some discrete commands to execute. Then, to astonishment of everyone watching, many different kinds of food, from simple unprocessed fruits to cooked and seasoned meat appeared on trays and plates on the laid out sheets.
For a long moment, the refugees (and the knights) just stared at the sudden appearance of the mass of food in befuddlement. The food in question was simply stuff that had been stored inside of and then cooked by the Legendary Shield, so it wasn't in anyway special or anything, but for the refugees who'd had to subsist on literal scraps up till now, the food laid out before them now was a veritable feast.
Couple that with the sudden appearance of said food, it made all of them start to wonder if they had started to hallucinate from the hunger.
The delicious smell wafting from the food and spreading out over the camp attested otherwise. Still, their feet appeared to be nailed to the ground as they continued to watch, uncomprehending.
"Well," Naofumi spoke up, not bothering to hold back his amusement. Honestly, feeling any kind of amusement in a situation like this was kind of morbid, but dealing with the sorry sight of the refugees simply staring at the food with a good natured laugh was probably better for his mental health.
Honestly, just like Shirou earlier, Naofumi felt a touch of anger as he thought of Itsuki. The stubborn, little idiot…
"Aren't you lot going to dig in? I brought all this food here just for you guys, you know? It would be a rather rude thing to do to reject my kindness…"
Naofumi's words rolled over the gathered crowd. Still, they refused to move, apparently stuck in their stupor.
"Oh, well," the Shield Hero gave a loud, theatrical sigh. "If you lot aren't going to accept this, I might as well pack up the food again and leave-"
"Like hell!"
Finally, a single gaunt looking young man snapped out of it and rushed towards the food. His singular action broke the spell over the other refugees as well, and a stampede erupted as they rushed towards the feast laid out for them. Word quickly spread of the food that had been brought into the camp, and it didn't take long before every single refugee had joined the impromptu eating frenzy.
It was good that the Legendary Shield held more processed and cooked food than they knew what to do with. By the looks of it, they were going to need it.
"Next!"
"Thank you, Holy Saint!" the woman thanked him profusely, hugging her child to her bosom. Her husband squeezed her shoulder, looking equally relieved and grateful.
Said child had been suffering from a lack of food and a fever. A hearty meal and Naofumi's care with the use of Healing Spells made him…well, not right as rain, but close enough. Malnutrition, even mild cases, could not simply be healed by a single meal and a few spells.
That said, the boy in question was now well on the way to recovery.
Naofumi shared a nod with the family as they left. Immediately, the next person in the line stepped up to request his aid. There had been plenty of sick and suffering among the refugees, mostly caused by a lack of food and stress. Nothing really life threatening at the moment, but dangerous if not dealt with post haste. Naofumi had seen the signs for what they were and had offered his services as both a healer and apothecary.
The refugees were all too happy to accept.
The feast had transformed into an impromptu party, their suffering and circumstances momentarily forgotten as they enjoyed the food and the sudden festive atmosphere. Of to the side, Naofumi had continued to supply food and healing, while his party members helped distribute and coordinate.
Said party had begun to wind down, with the refugees having eaten their fill. They had arrived late in the afternoon when they first rode into camp. Now, it was close to midnight, the surroundings lit up by many torches. Many of the refugees came up to personally thank them for both the food and the medical aid before retiring for the night. Clearly, they were determined to show their gratitude before sleep claimed them.
"I'd say today was a success, Holy Saint," Elrasla said as they also retired to their carriage.
"The people certainly were happy," Shirou smiled widely.
"Yes," Raphtalia let out a deep, relieved breath. "It felt good, seeing their eyes light up like that."
"Of course!" Filo chirped. "Who's eyes wouldn't light up at being given so much food!"
Naofumi snorted at Filo's characteristic one-track mind. "There is more to it than that, Filo…but it is close enough, so I won't bother explaining it."
Filo tilted her head, blinking and nonplussed.
"I'm just relieved that there was not really much of a reaction when I showed them who I really was," Naofumi said as he placed his hand on the Legendary Shield, once more in the form of an actual shield. After all, part of the reason they were helping here was to shore up their support. It would be useless if they didn't let it be known that he was the Shield Hero.
They needed to be aware of who they owed a favor to if he ever wanted to cash in on that debt.
"Most of the people here aren't from Melromarc," Shirou reminded him. "The knights here were more worrisome, but they also didn't show much of a reaction. Or, at least, not a negative reaction."
"Maybe Naofumi-sama's reputation is already changing for the better?" Raphtalia offered the hopeful thought.
Now wouldn't that be nice, but Naofumi was too jaded to simply assume it would be that easy. "We'll see," he said noncommittedly. "Just one last thing to do tomorrow morning and then we will set out for the next camp. Better get some shut eye, everyone."
Nods were shared as they prepared to go to bed.
"We're going to need all the little bits of sleep we are going to get the coming days…"
The very next day, the refugees and the knights keeping an eye on them, were quite surprised to see that the Shield Hero's party had already left before anyone else had woken up. They were more surprised to see the sudden appearance of a veritable small forest near the side of the camp, from which a strange, but tasty, fruit continuously and rapidly grew with the bare minimum of care. Though their diet couldn't be called diverse, they would no longer have to fear going hungry anymore.
Just like they had done at the first refugee camp, the Shield Hero's party travelled the length of Melromarc's northern border, paying a visit to every camp along the road. They offered the refugees food, medical care, some miscellaneous goods and a stable source of food in the form of fruits that were now being called Miracle Fruit by the people who had received said gift.
Miracle Fruit, which grew from the Miracle Trees. Naofumi had complained about the unoriginal naming sense of the people of this world, though Shirou had simply given him a look and pointed at Filo. The Shield Hero had kept his mouth shut after that, and just rolled with the name.
It happened during the seventh such refugee camp they had come to visit. After being left alone in a small room at an Inn that had seen better days, a Shadow dropped from the ceiling. They all turned to look at the Shadow, showing no sense of surprise. They had all since grown numb to constant and sudden appearances of the Queen's Shadows.
"We have located the Zombie Dragon," the Shadow announced with preamble.
"Where is it?"
"Somewhere in central Melromarc. Some of our scouts reported that the Zombie Dragon might be heading in the direction of Castle Town," was the blunt response.
Everyone's eyes widened at the news. "That might be a problem," Shirou said slowly.
"That's…shit," Naofumi rubbed his temple. He had imagined facing the Zombie Dragon somewhere in the middle of nowhere, or, in the worst case scenario, in a town that the Zombie Dragon had attacked. Having to potentially face the Zombie Dragon in the vicinity of or inside of Castle Town, a mere stone's throw away from the Trash king…he could not quite grasp the possible implications that might bring, but it increased the chances that something might go wrong.
Naofumi would not put it past that piece of shit to use the opportunity to hurt and/or slander him, even if he protected both the king and the capital from which he governed.
"Our operatives are still tracking down the precise location of the Zombie Dragon and where it's headed," the Shadow continued. "Once we can verify that with certainty, we will come and collect you. Please be ready at all times. You might have to move quickly."
"Has a warning been sent out?" Shirou suddenly cut in.
"Yes," the Shadow answered. "The relevant officials in all nearby towns have been notified, and the populous have been informed of the potential threat heading their way. Preparations for battle are already underway in every settlement that might be in the Zombie Dragon's path."
Shirou nodded, satisfied.
"I'll keep you informed. Be ready," the Shadow reiterated before vanishing.
The party shared a look. They went back to their tasks, but there was now an unspoken and palpable tension that could not be denied.
It would be but three hours later before the Shadow returned. The Zombie Dragon's definite location and direction had been verified: Castle Town.
In a flash of light, the Shield Hero's party appeared in the shadow of Erhard's weapon shop in an alleyway. Even without looking, they could hear the frantic movement of people and knights through the streets as they prepared to meet the incoming threat. Filo, in human form, chanced a look out of the alleyway, and she reported that the street was positively swarming with knights.
The familiar jangle of Erhard's shop front door opening was heard. Said old blacksmith turned around from behind his counter, surprised. He had been in the middle of locking everything down, and considering the situation, he'd rightly been under the impression that no one would be coming to his shop.
"Shield Boy? What are you doing here?" Erhard let slip in surprise.
Naofumi stepped into the shop. "Old Man, it's good to see you again. How are things?" he asked as his party filed in behind him.
"Could be better. But since you are here, I guess you know all about it," Erhard commented dryly. "But back to my previous question…Are you actually here to help? No offence, but considering all the rotten things the King and the people here have done to you…"
"I'm here to help," Naofumi confirmed, not looking insulted.
"There's more going on, something we can't really talk about," Shirou added. "But we will be helping to protect Castle Town."
"I see. I won't bother asking, then. Thanks anyway. I'd rather not that my home gets burned down by the already dead remains of a dragon," Erhard said. "Speaking of which, I guess there is a reason why you have come to visit me?"
"We wanted to make sure you were alright, and find out what you will be doing," Raphtalia spoke up.
"I've volunteered for the civilian militia," Erhard answered.
Elrasla chuckled. "Seems like I win that bet. I told you this man has got guts!"
Filo stuck her tongue out at Elrasla.
Erhard directed a raised eyebrow at Naofumi, Shirou, and Raphtalia. They simply shook their heads, a little bit embarrassed.
"Anyway," Erhard visibly decided to just ignore the byplay. "Last I heard, the Zombie Dragon will arrive at the plains outside Castle Town in about two hours. I wasn't given specifics, but the plan was to meet the Zombie Dragon there."
"I see…" Naofumi mused, obviously thinking.
And then Erhard dropped a bomb on them. "I was also told that the Sword Hero and his party would be leading us into battle."
"…We probably should have been expecting that," Shirou sighed. They had been running into the other Heroes a lot lately. "What about the Bow Hero and Spear Hero? Will they be taking part in the battle as well?"
"No. At least, I haven't heard anything about to that effect," Erhard answered.
"Why wouldn't the Bow Hero and Spear Hero be helping out?" Elrasla asked, perplexed.
"Maybe they couldn't be contacted in time?" Raphtalia suggested. The Heroes were always traveling all over the place, after all.
"If we could be contacted in time, then so could they," Shirou rebuffed. The Shadows of the Church of Three Heroes could have done so, and with the teleportation abilities of the Heroes, there was no good reason for why not all the Heroes would be present for a battle like this.
Unless something else was going on…
"It doesn't matter," Naofumi cut in, sighing. "We will deal with this mess with or without the other Heroes' help."
"That might be a plus, considering what we have seen of them so far," Elrasla snorted.
It was telling that no even tried to refute her statement.
"That's all I can tell you," Erhard said after a moment of silence. He reached beneath the counter and pulled out a massive, polished great sword. "I'm going out to the field. To be honest, Shield Boy, I've been looking what you and yours are capable of on the field of battle. I'll see you there."
"Same," was the response.
Erhard put his fist out. After a moment's surprise, Naofumi bumped fists with the Old Man, grinning.
They would show all of them what they could do.
In the Shadow of the city walls, the Shield Hero's party waited.
Allowing the Zombie Dragon into Castle Town would be disaster. Not only in the sense of the potential loss of life, but also the sheer chaos that would come with fighting an out of control dragon in an urban environment. If it didn't deign to fly, the Zombie Dragon could use the buildings themselves as shields. No, facing it out in the open would at least give them a clear line of fire. It was not like the buildings would protect them against a dragon's fury.
Out on the rolling fields beyond Castle Town walls, knights, adventurers and militia were swarming like ants over a picknick.
No fortifications were being set up. Whoever had command of the knights, adventurers and the militia, they clearly thought that mobility would be more important in facing it. As such, they were all divided in small, highly manoeuvrable squads. Most of them were on horseback/Filolialback and armed with bows and spears. A much smaller group, comprised entirely of knights, were mounted on Flying Dragons, medium sized dragons that could carry a man into aerial combat.
All of them were standing at the ready, their squads scattered over the rolling fields in some pattern that provided enough room for everyone to manoeuvre and, if necessary, close enough to each other to render aid if necessary.
The person in command here clearly knew what they were doing. Maybe Melromarc wasn't entirely governed by fools. Had the Queen returned without informing them?
Maybe their aid wouldn't be needed? They would have to wait and see.
"How's the illusion holding up, Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked.
"Don't worry, Naofumi-sama. An illusion of this level is not difficult to maintain. I could keep this up all day," Raphtalia assured them.
The city walls were filled to the brim with bow wielding knights. If it were not for Raphtalia's illusion rendering them invisible, they would have been noticed long ago.
"What's the plan?" Sadeena asked, looking out curiously over the battlefield to be.
Naturally, considering how important/hazardous this battle might be, they had collected Sadeena and enlisted her aid. Not only was she powerful, but she also knew a lot about dragons. It only made logical sense to get her to pitch in on this.
"We'll watch. If they can handle it without us, we will stay back. If they can't, we'll step in," Naofumi answered with a grunt.
"Okay!" Filo chirped.
Shirou wore a look of disapproval. Honestly, he would much rather be out there in the thick of it from the get-go. That way, there would be much less risk of other people being injured, or worse. He understood the logic, though. This was Castle Town. The belly of the beast for them. If they simply stepped out to face the Zombie Dragon head on, there was a good chance that someone might just use the opportunity to harm or waylay them in some manner, and if that happened, it would become even more difficult to help deal with the Dragon Zombie.
God, how he hated the circumstances of this country. As if being a hero wasn't hard enough at the best of times.
Then again, who needed a hero at the best of times?
Suddenly, a Shadow appeared by their side. Raphtalia's cheek twitched. She didn't know how they did it, but a select few of the Queen's Shadows could see through her illusions. Raphtalia couldn't lie and claim that it didn't bother her.
"Shield Hero. Everyone," the Shadow greeted shortly. "The Zombie Dragon has been spotted several miles out. It will arrive in a little less than half an hour."
"Understood," Naofumi nodded. "Anything else?"
"Yes. Her highness Melty wishes to talk to you," the Shadow said, and a breath later another Shadow dropped to the ground besides the first, carrying along a familiar person.
"Mel-chan!" Filo shouted and ran to hug her friend. It hadn't been all that long since they had parted, but Filo had clearly missed her friend.
Melty hugged Filo back, looking a little embarrassed, but being happy all the same. After a moment, she disentangled herself from Filo and turned towards Naofumi and the others. She curtsied towards them.
"Everyone. It's good to see you again. I trust everything has been going well since we parted ways?"
"Second Princess," Naofumi greeted back, getting an irritated twitch from the princess' brow. "The things we discussed with the Queen are more or less going as planned. Well, until this whole snafu," he answered with a shrug, but refrained from further elaboration.
"That's good. The current situation and mother's tasks is actually why I wanted to talk to you on such short notice," Melty said, repressing her irritation at Naofumi's attitude and his refusal to use her name, and pulled out a slip of paper from her dress which she handed to Naofumi.
Raising a brow in a questioning manner, Naofumi unfolded the piece of paper and read its contents.
Seven Star Staff Weapon Strengthening Method
[Magic Rank] – As a Hero Levels up, they gain points to upgrade magic spells, boosting their efficacy. The upgraded spells have numerals applied to them, from I to X, depending on how many points are added. An un-upgraded spell has no numeral. Once applied, there is a cooldown of 24 hours, after which the option to remove the points becomes available, where they can be reallocated to other spells, reverted the spells they were taken from back to their normal power. The point cost to upgrade a spell varies depending on the spell's power, and different tiers of the same spell are considered different spells and thus would be upgraded separately.
Naofumi read it, then read it again to be sure he understood what he was reading. He opened up his Menu and the new Strengthening Method had appeared in the help section. He looked up at Melty with incredulity.
Melty grinned back. "Here is my gift to you for the coming battle. I hope you appreciate it."
Naofumi was too gobsmacked to respond.
Shirou looked over Naofumi's shoulder and read what had shocked the Shield Hero so. He'd raised an appreciative eyebrow. "How did you come by this information? I thought that the Seven Star Heroes are scattered all over the world and that getting into contact with them would be difficult."
"That's correct," Melty nodded, still looking smug in a way only aristocracy could. "But luckily for us, the Staff Hero resides right here in Melromarc. That was one of the tasks mother set for me. Learn of the Seven Star Staff Weapon Strengthening Method and pass it onto you."
"Well, uh, thanks," Naofumi said, not quite believing his luck. But then a question suddenly popped up in his mind. "Wait, if the Staff Hero resides here in Melromarc, why didn't they participate in the earlier Waves in Melromarc?"
"Ah, that's because he's become incapable of using the Staff," Melty said, grin dropping away. "He is still the Staff Hero, but he can longer draw on his power as a Seven Star Hero."
Raphtalia blinked. "Is that possible?"
"Apparently, yes," Melty, for some reason, looked annoyed. "I will tell you more about the Staff Hero after the battle. For now, I think it better if you continue to prepare for what's coming."
There was collective sense of agreement at that statement.
"Melty-sama, we must head for the safe house," one of the Shadows said.
Melty nodded. "Yes, you're right," she said shortly. She inclined her head towards them. "Everyone, good hunting and stay safe."
"We will, Mel-chan!" Filo giggled. "We're going to kick some dragon butt!"
Melty smiled in spite of her clear worry. In the very next breath, one of the Shadows picked her up and disappeared with nary any movement, the other Shadow disappearing along with them.
Naofumi immediately dove into his Menu and accessed the new Strengthening Method. As he'd gone up quite a few Levels since coming to this world, he had more than enough points to spend. Now, which spells should he upgrade? It would probably be best to pick a couple spells and upgrade them all the way to get the maximum effect out of it, and to pick spells with different purposes…
Shortly before the Dragon Zombie was to arrive, the King had appeared at the head of the small army and gave some speech Shirou didn't have the patience to listen to. He was more focused on the fact that the Sword Hero, Amaki Ren, and his party had accompanied the King out on the field. The King waxed poetic about the coming battle and how they were 'going to overcome this menace', but gave no mention of the fact that it was the Sword Hero's mistakes that had led to this situation.
Granted, that wasn't all that important right now. At the moment it was vital that everyone was ready and motivated enough to face an out of control dragon in open combat, and informing them of the blame that could be laid at the Sword Hero's feet would not be helpful in the pursuit of that goal.
To their credit, though they hid it very well, Ren and his party looked uncomfortable. Uncomfortable was the only word Shirou could use to describe it, as there were so many emotions hidden underneath their countenance that it would be impossible to describe it adequately with but a single word. He just hoped that Ren had learned something from this whole situation, and that he was not as hopeless as the Spear Hero and Bow Hero.
Beside him, Naofumi hadn't even reacted at the king's presence. He was still deep in his Menu, as he was busy with the much more important task of using the newest Strengthening Method that he had learned. The others were equally silent, just waiting for the coming battle.
After a long while, the King finished his speech and departed. Shirou wondered if he would be commanding the army from the rear, or, like Melty, he would be taken to a safe location. Not that it mattered.
As soon as the King left the field plunged into an uncomfortable silence, with everyone standing at the ready, but not saying a word. The horses, Filolials and the Flying Dragons shifted and vocalised in a restless manner. To say that one could cut the tension with a knife would be the understatement of the century.
The army was facing the northern treeline. Scouts had confirmed that the Zombie Dragon would be coming from that direction.
This state of affairs didn't change for a good ten minutes.
Beat! Beat! Beat!
Until the unmistakable sound of wingbeats could be heard in the distance, growing progressively louder, followed by a loud, inhuman roar.
The tension suddenly ratcheted up several notches.
The knights on the Flying Dragons, around a hundred all told, took flight.
Ren and his party mounted their horses. It seems they would be facing the dragon from the ground. Shirou wondered what their strategy entailed.
The knights in the air shouted something, but-
BEAT! BEAT! BEAT!
From where Shirou was standing, he couldn't make out what the airborne knights were shouting. The drone of the dragon's wingbeats were almost deafening now.
But they still couldn't see it. From their position by the town wall, the Zombie Dragon was still hidden behind the tall trees.
Overhead, the circling Flying Dragons formed up to face north, and-
ROAR!
A plume of noxious looking purple something raced from over the treeline, and the Flying Dragons immediately scattered again. Behind said plume of purple emerged the desiccated husk of the Zombie Dragon, its maddened, rotten through eyes fixing on the army assembled to meet it.
The squads of knights started to move. Arrows were notched. Palms glowed with preprepared spells. Shouted commands echoed over the rolling fields.
And the Zombie Dragon-
ROAR!
-Descended on the army like a starving man on a lavish buffet.
The Zombie Dragon was a massive hulk of rotten meat and bones. It flew on gigantic, shredded wings that by all logic shouldn't have been able to carry its immense bulk. Whatever colouration it had first been, its flesh and scales were now the black and purple of a deep rot, with said flesh looking like it could slouch of the bones that peeked through the butchered remains. Its fangs and claws looked even larger than they had while it was alive and its monstrous ribcage looked almost like it had been wrenched open, exposing its un-beating, still red heart.
Ren had to hold back a grimace at the result of his actions.
If only he had gotten rid of remains properly, and not just butchered it for materials, none of this would have happened. He had tried to deny it at first, tried to lie to himself that he wasn't to blame, that someone else should be punished…but he couldn't hold that lie up for long, not to himself in anyway. Not as he was confronted by all the destroyed homes and the people that had died in the Zombie Dragon's rampage. Luckily, the deaths had not broken the double digits, but it was very much a cold comfort to Ren, who had to some extent, come to terms with his culpability for said deaths.
But now was not the time for that. Now, he had to right his mistake, and put the Zombie Dragon out of its misery.
Ren drew his Legendary Sword and held it up towards the sky. "Now! To battle!" he shouted, just like he had been coached to do.
The army that the king had assembled bellowed back in response, and sprang into action. Said army was made up out of three separate parts: the militia, the adventurers and the knights. The militia and the adventurers role was supplemental, while the knights were the main combatants.
Exactly what everyone's task would be had been explained to him before the battle, but he would be lying if he said he understood everything. What he did know for certain, however, was that it was the army's task to ground the Zombie Dragon, and that it would be his and his party's task to slay it.
As for how to ground it, exactly…
That was put on the backburner when the Zombie Dragon suddenly lunged for him and his party, just like planned. He and his party's position at the head of the army wasn't just to look heroic.
Using their horses to full effect, the party of the Sword Hero scattered in all directions, avoiding the Zombie Dragon's lunge. Said Zombie Dragon slammed into the ground, undeterred, and immediately gave chase as the Sword Hero's party reformed and backed off.
It certainly was handy that the Zombie Dragon was just a mad beast with no reason. It made luring it into a trap much easier.
Their horses ran full tilt back towards the centre of the army. The squads of knights parted like water for them, using their own horses and Filolials to keep an adequate amount of distance. This way, the party of the Sword Hero remained the closest possible target for the Zombie Dragon.
Luckily, the Zombie Dragon seemed completely focussed on Ren. There were plans in place to deal with the chance that the Zombie Dragon might prioritize someone else and not give chase like they desired, but it would have been an extra hassle they could do without.
The Zombie Dragon roared behind them, and once again took flight, still giving chase. That was fine. It didn't matter if it was in flight or not. They just needed to get it to the correct location.
And that location was-there!
The squads of knights on horseback and Filolialback were circling the Sword Hero's party and the Zombie Dragon. The knights mounted on the Flying Dragons did the same in the air. In the distance, the knights on the wall of Castle Town notched arrows to their bows and prepped their spells for launch. The militia and the adventurers, most of which were recruited for the skills with either the bow or magic, prepped their own arrows and spells as well.
A massive magic circle lit up the soil where they were headed. It looked impressive, but in actuality, it was little more than a marker for where they were heading and a homing beacon for the mass attack they were about to launch. There were a few Debuff spells loaded into the magic circle, that were set to go of soon as they were triggered, but that was not the main purpose of the magic circle.
After all, they needed the perfect opportunity to kill the Zombie Dragon. With this magic circle, they were going to create that opportunity.
Ren and his party ran their horses over the magic circle without slowing down, the magic inscription remaining inert. Heedless of the danger, the Zombie Dragon roared and continued to give chase, lunging like a mad dog towards Ren, passing over the magic circle.
BRRRR-KRAKOWWWWW
With a sound reminiscent of thunder, the massive and intricately designed magic lettering lit up with a blinding light. A beam of light shot skyward with the magic circle as its focal point just as the Zombie Dragon passed over it, and the beast just…froze, as if it had been encased in solid ice from head to toe in an instant.
Its wings didn't flap. Its jaw didn't move. Its grasping claws were suspended in mid-air. It just hung there like a puppet without a puppeteer. The magic circle had done its duty of immobilizing the Zombie Dragon.
It would not hold the mad beast for long, but then again, it didn't need to. In the very next breath, the army unleashed a massive coordinated assault on the Zombie Dragon.
Over a thousand arrows, fired from every direction, rained down on it like droplets in a downpour. Spells of every element and kind bombarded its rotten remains. Some of the militia even went so far as to simply throw their weapons as improvised projectiles.
The Zombie Dragon took all of it head on, disappearing beneath the mass of attacks.
But that was only the beginning. From the Heavens, three pillars of light came crashing down, distorting the clouds as the pillars passed through them and slamming down on the Zombie Dragon's location like oversized artillery shells. Searing light and shockwaves that would have sent anyone standing too close flying like a leaf in a hurricane blasted out in every direction.
This was the Ceremonial Magic spell: Judgement. A type of spell that required a group of magic casters to perform. Usually, such spells were only reserved for wartime use, but employing such spells to face off with an out of control dragon was certainly an appropriate use as well.
Select groups of mages had been embedded amongst the knights for just that purpose.
Ren's feet slammed down on the ground, having abandoned his horse as he faced the direction of the Zombie Dragon. He raised his Legendary Sword.
"Overload Cutting Wind Meteor Sword!"
The magic casters of both his party and the army piled Buff spells onto him as he unleashed the Combo Skill with the aid of another party member of his. His Attack Stat was raised as far as it could go, while the standard beam of Meteor Sword turned into three separate crescents of cutting energy that surged forward like enraged bulls, their cutting power enhanced by applied wind magic.
As if by divine circumstance, the Zombie Dragon became briefly visible again just as Ren unleashed his attack. Ren had the satisfaction of seeing his attack slice deeply into the Zombie Dragon, with one of the cutting crescents bifurcating its exposed heart.
Even then, the attacks didn't stop. The army continued to shoot arrow after arrow, spell after spell, with the Sword Hero and his party leading the way. Their combined assault continued for well over a solid five minutes before they let up.
It took a long a minute for the dust the settle. The Zombie Dragon had fallen from the sky, hidden in the dust cloud. The glow of the magic circle had subsided, having served its purpose.
There was a long moment of silence.
When the dust fell away, a raucous cheer of victory broke said silence.
The Zombie Dragon laid on the pockmarked earth, silent and unmoving. Both its wings had been blown clean off. Two of its trunk like legs had been severed cleanly. Its back was all bone now, both its flesh and scales having been ripped away, and said bones of its spine appeared misshapen and broken, clearly shattered.
Now, the Zombie Dragon appeared well and truly dead.
Ren allowed himself to relax and lower his sword, just savouring the cheers around him, which were more than loud enough to deafen.
That, as it happened, was a mistake.
It was because of this that he missed the sound coming from the supposed corpse of the Zombie Dragon: a low groaning mixed with a deep, slowly building snarl.
It started slowly, so slowly that no one noticed at first, but the desiccated flesh of the Zombie Dragon started to regenerate, and its broken bones started snapping back into place. Everyone noticed, however, when the process suddenly accelerated and the severed forelegs suddenly came back into existence with a truly disgusting squelching and squishing sound of rushing, rotten meat.
"Oh shit…" someone whispered, Ren didn't know who. It might have been himself.
ROAR!
Regeneration. The Zombie Dragon had the power of regeneration. That wasn't an ability it had possessed when Ren had fought it before and it was still alive. In games, zombie versions of monsters were usually stronger than their base-line counterparts, but the development of such a radical new ability took him, and he reckoned everyone else, by complete surprise.
Moreover, how in the hell had it survived to regenerate in the first place? Its alive version would have been killed a dozen times over by such a series of savage attacks in rapid succession. Was it just because of its zombification? With his Status Magic, Ren could see that the Zombie Dragon's Level had drastically increased since their last encounter. Probably because it had been killing everything in its path indiscriminately in its several week long rampage…
But could that really explain this drastic increase in toughness and endurance!?
Ren didn't get a chance to ponder that. With another disgusting series of sounds, the Zombie Dragon's wings regenerated, and against all logic of aerodynamics it once again took flight with but a single beat of said wings.
"Attack!"
By that time it had done so, however, the army and the Sword Hero's party had recentred themselves. Once more they unleashed all their might on the Zombie Dragon in a coordinated assault that threatened to bury it beneath its sheer volume.
This time, however, things were different. The magic circle was single use only, and now inoperable, a trade off they had to make in order to maximize its effectiveness. On top of that, even with multiple people working together on casting it, it still required at least a minute or two to unleash Ceremonial Magic. As such, Judgement could not be cast again on short notice. And while the Zombie Dragon was but a maddened beast, it did have the required instinct to realize that it did not want to get hit again by such a series of attacks.
With another beat of its wings, the Zombie Dragon shot upward. The gale of wind that simple action released knocked away every single arrow fired at it, and its sudden, rapid change in position made most spells outright miss. Only those spells with homing properties managed to hit it, and even then, the little damage those spells did disappeared in one blink to the next.
The Zombie Dragon's regeneration could not be underestimated.
"One Hundred Swords!" Ren unleashed another Skill, one with a wide spread that would hopefully hit the rapidly moving Zombie Dragon. With a little luck it might even down the Zombie Dragon again and give everyone else another clean shot at the creature.
A hundred ghostly blue-lined see through swords appeared over Ren's, their tips swivelling around to aim at the undead Dragon. With a gesture, they rocketed towards the Zombie Dragon.
However, as it had already shown, the Zombie Dragon wasn't only tough, but also deceptively fast. With a roar, it banked left with but a flap of its wings and dodged Ren attack outright, and then spat a plume of noxious poison gas at them.
"Faust Earthen Wall!"
A golden haired young man from Ren's party quickly cast the protective spell. The stone wall that emerged was quite thin, but it was sturdy enough to more or less block the gas from overtaking them in an instant. More or less because the volume of the poison gas was such that it took but a second to wash over the wall like a rampant avalanche.
It did buy the Sword Hero's party enough time to back away and dodge the attack, but only just. They had plenty of Antidotes on hand. If those Antidotes would work on this poison was a question they'd rather leave unanswered, however.
From there the battle deteriorated into an annoying game of cat and mouse.
Ren and his party members were skilled enough at dodging that they could usually outright avoid the Zombie Dragon's attacks. When they couldn't the magic casters in his party would conjure barriers that would buy them just the time needed to make a narrow escape. However, they could not hit the flying undead dragon reliably either, and those few attacks that did hit would be regenerated in the blink of an eye. The same held true for the contributions of the army. Those precious few attacks that they managed to land did no lasting damage.
The Judgement spell would be capable of doing some serious harm. That is, if they could actually hit the Zombie Dragon with it. As things were now Ren seriously doubted that was feasible.
It was indeed a game of cat and mouse, and Ren had a sneaking suspicion that they were the mouses to the Zombie Dragon's cat-like, rotten gaze.
He had the horrible premonition that the Zombie Dragon would be able to outlast them like this. If it didn't get lucky it would win by sheer attrition. They were already insanely lucky that the army aiding him hadn't yet suffered any casualties. The fact that the Zombie Dragon was obsessively focused on Ren and his party and ignored everything else was to thank for that.
They needed to pin down the Zombie Dragon long enough that a series of spells could be deployed in order to freeze its movements again. Its durability and its regeneration were mayor obstacles, but it's speed combined with its ability to fly were the main hurdle they were facing at the moment. If they wanted to overcome its ability to survive, they first had the overcome its ability to dodge so that they even had a chance at killing it in the first place.
It was while Ren was thinking about this that Zombie Dragon finally got lucky. Or, if one looked at it in another way, for the first time it showed a modicum of strategic thinking.
The Zombie Dragon spat another plume of noxious purple poison, one far wider than normal. It literally looked like a pyroclastic flow in miniature. Instead of fast moving hot gases, volcanic ash, and solidified lava pieces, it was instead a fast moving stream of poison.
"All Zweite Agility!"
"Faust Earthen Wall!"
The Buff spell was applied party wide and Ren and his party were forced to scatter as the plume of poison immediately swallowed up the earthen rampart that had sprung up in front of them. If they had dodged in one direction as one unit, one or more of them would have been overtaken by the poison.
With speed yet unseen, the Zombie Dragon dove into the smoke screen of poison gas its attack had left behind.
CRASH!
Ren felt his blood run cold as he heard the distinct sound of rock shattering. He had jumped straight back to dodge, and the earthen wall that one of his party members had conjured had been hidden in the poison gas right in front of him. If the Zombie Dragon had just shattered it…
A blink of an eye later, his horrible premonition proofed true. The Zombie Dragon's horrible and desiccated maw emerged from the poison gas cloud, opened impossibly wide to reveal a pitch black gullet. The undead dragon bore down on the Sword Hero, clearly aiming to swallow him whole.
"Ack!" releasing a cry of surprise, Ren tried to desperately jump away as quickly as he could.
If it would have been enough to save him would never be found it. In the end, Ren didn't need to act to save himself.
CLANG!
Because an ethereal, see through shield emerged in front of the Sword Hero. The fangs of the Zombie Dragon clamped down on it with bone splintering force, but the shield took it without any apparent trouble.
The Zombie Dragon gave a screech of surprise and pain as, seconds before impact, the Air Strike Shield changed into the Dread Wolf Lightning Crystal Shield. Its counterattack triggered, pumping it full of electricity. And, more importantly, kept it from moving for a crucial moment.
Something whooshed by the Sword Hero's head, disturbing his hair with displaced air. That something was expertly aimed, apparently, as it struck one of the Zombie Dragon's wings and blew it clean off.
The Zombie Dragon fell to the ground with a thunderous crash, once again confined to the earth.
Ren could do little but stare in completely overwhelmed surprise. Everything that had just happened was happening far too quickly for him to process properly.
Said feeling doubled when Naofumi suddenly appeared beside him with his cape aflutter, apparently dropping down from above.
"Having some trouble?" the Shield Hero asked.
What the hell was going on!?
Things were going badly. That was abundantly clear. The battleplan that Ren and the army had been relying on had fallen apart, and now a single mistake could mean death. Naofumi could tell.
It was because of that realization that the Shield Hero acted without thinking when he noticed that Ren might well die in the very next second.
"Filo!"
"Get on everyone!"
Filo transformed into her Filolial Queen form, immediately understanding what Naofumi wanted, and the others quickly jumped atop her back. Though they weighed quite a lot together, Filo didn't seem to notice as she blitzed forward, activating High Quick without a word, becoming little more than washed out, indistinct blur as they rushed towards the imperilled Sword Hero.
"Air Strike Shield! Change Shield!" Naofumi deployed the Skills the second they got into range, mixing in a hefty dose of his Life Force to ensure it would be able to take the Zombie Dragon's gnashing jaws. Luckily, they'd made it just in time to save Ren's life and, more importantly, he had managed to briefly halt the Zombie Dragon in its tracks.
"Keep the Zombie Dragon busy! I'm going to check on Ren!"
"Leave it to us, Naofumi-sama!" Raphtalia acknowledged as both she and Shirou drew their swords with audible hisses.
Naofumi leaped from Filo's back as she flew over the Sword Hero's shoulder. The Air Strike Shield dissipated a mere moment before they closed the distance, and Filo took the opportunity for what it was and kicked the Zombie Dragon's left wing with the full weight of her charge behind her, blowing it clean off in a shower of gore.
"Having some trouble?" for a want of anything better to say, Naofumi asked that question.
"I-Naofumi! Wh-" Ren appeared to be completely bamboozled.
"We're here to help!" Naofumi overwrote Ren. "Forget whatever you were going to ask and get your act together! You can ask me whatever you want after this thing is well and truly dead!"
"R-Right!" Ren acknowledged, visibly stamping down on his confusion and the questions he was harbouring. Now was not the time for questions, and whatever his feelings concerning Naofumi, at the moment, he would take any help he would get.
The Sword Hero turned back towards Zombie Dragon. He blinked in surprise.
The Zombie Dragon was being boxed in Naofumi's party members, keeping it grounded and unable to effectively use its immense speed. That's what they were doing. But it was how they were doing it that didn't quite compute with him.
In the brief moment Ren had taken his eyes off the Zombie Dragon, its other wing had been cleanly sliced off, leaving it wingless. Said wings tried to regenerate, but the female raccoon demi-human, Raphtalia, severed one of the growing limbs with a crescent of cutting light before it could reform entirely. The old martial artist punched the other, which swelled grotesquely and exploded.
The strange, ostrich-like Filolial – Filo, he believed her name was – was focusing on the Zombie Dragon's head, kicking it so hard that the bone of its skull broke and its eyes popped under the immense force of the kicks. More importantly, the Filolial's constant relentless assault kept the Zombie Dragon disoriented and unable to effectively respond.
If it wasn't for the Zombie Dragon's undead nature and its regeneration ability, Naofumi's party would obviously ended this battle in a heartbeat. The Shield Hero's party was by far and away stronger then the creature. Meaning that there could be no doubt that they were also much stronger then Ren and his own party
Ren didn't really get a chance to ponder that revelation. Suddenly, a scantily clad female demi-human that he had never seen before came down from the above and jabbed her trident deep into the Zombie Dragon's back.
"Dritte Paralyzing Thunder!" she announced triumphantly.
An immense surge of electricity crackled both around her and the Zombie Dragon. It was clear that the spell, going by its name, was more for paralyzing a target then directly hurting said target. Also, by the fact that the Zombie Dragon froze completely, it was evidently rather effective.
The fact that the female demi-human had performed a third tier spell without a chant was also rather impressive. Ren wasn't all that knowledgeable on magic, but even he knew that a spell of the third tier was incredibly difficult to perform even with the use of a preparatory chant.
Ren was so shocked by all this that he barely even noticed that Naofumi had been chanting a spell of his own right beside him.
"I am the Hero of the Shield that commands the origin of power. I have read, deciphered and augmented a law of nature! May the power of nature empower me and mine!"
"All Zweite Power X!"
Power X? What kind of spell was that? Ren didn't get the chance to question that either. The spell washed over him as it did everyone else, and he chocked on his own spit as he felt an overwhelming amount of energy surge into him. Checking his Stats, Ren's eyes widened as he saw that his Attack Stat had more then doubled and holy shit, was it still growing!?
No, really. What the hell kind of spell was that!?
ROAR!
The sudden enraged roar from the Zombie Dragon knocked Ren's head back into the battle unfolding right in front of him. The spell locking up its muscles had ended, and it had somehow managed to dislodge the female demi-human from its back. However, that still did not help it much in getting out from its current rather hazardous predicament. Not only were Naofumi's party members continuing their relentless assault, now even further empowered, his own party members had joined in, lobbing spell after spell at the Zombie Dragon. They were doing a respectable amount of damage too. They clearly had benefited from Naofumi's overpowered Buff spell as well.
Ren then realized something. If they could do it, then certainly he could as well!
"Meteor Sword!"
The Legendary Sword rose and fell. A beam of coruscating silvery energy blasted forward. Ren's aim was a tiny bit off, meaning that it didn't hit the Zombie Dragon head on. Instead, it complete incinerated one of its forelegs and reduced its side into what amounted to molten slag. The Zombie Dragon collapsed onto its wounded side with a howl.
It still didn't die, however. Its undead state combined with its frankly insane regeneration kept it from falling into eternal slumber. Even as they continued to attack it with a ferocity that would have been shocking to look at from an outsider's perspective, the Zombie Dragon just wouldn't die.
"Shirou, now!" Naofumi bellowed.
"One Hundred Swords!" Ren unleashed the Skill, the hundred ethereal swords summoned by it bombarding the Zombie Dragon and stabbing in deep. Ren didn't have the presence of mind to look at the results of his attack. At Naofumi's command, he turned to look at the male demi-human, Shirou.
Said male demi-human had been hanging back, clearly ready to jump in if required and preparing for something. Shirou was kneeling on the ground, both hands on the hilt of his sheathed sword. Even from where he stood quite a ways away, Ren could feel the immense amount of energy gathering around Shirou. Or, more accurately, around and inside of the sheath of his sword, which was glowing a bright, iridescent white.
On the cusp of finishing his preparations, Shirou growled deep and low into his throat. Sweat beaded down his brow, and his skin was starting to flush as he forced more and more of his power into his sword. The focus required for this technique was immense, to the point that it more or less gave him tunnel vision whenever he used it, his world shrinking down to himself and his opponent.
The strain was also immense, but this technique was the best method they had to end this in a single overwhelming strike. The Zombie Dragon's undead nature and insane regeneration gave them no other choice. So, he would use it, and hopefully not leave himself exhausted and collapsed, like the first time he'd managed to use it.
Rising from his crouch, Shirou leapt up high. At the apex of his jump, right over the collapsed Zombie Dragon's head, his Amethyst Longsword slid smoothly out of its sheath.
"Ack-!" Ren had to look away. A light so bright that it was blinding suddenly filled the battlefield.
Said light dimmed after a brief moment, and Ren chanced a look back. Shirou held his blade over his head with both hands, and light so thick and concentrated that appeared almost physical swelled up. It built and built, grew and grew, as it surged up and moulded itself into shape Shirou desired, until it appeared Shirou was holding the sword of a titan, composed of pure surging light.
And Shirou brought that titan's sword down on the Zombie Dragon.
"May divine light scour all impurities before me – HEAVENREND!"
ROAR!
The Zombie Dragon howled, rearing up as if to rage against the heavens for its fate.
But the heavens didn't care as divine judgement was brought down on it. Heavenrend split its head in two without slowing down a single iota. The attack continued to smash downwards, severing flesh, muscles, bone and organs on its path, before eventually slicing into the packed earth.
The entire front end of the Zombie Dragon had been seperated in two wholly seperate parts.
Everyone watched in awe.
But even with such catastrophic damage, the Zombie Dragon desiccated flesh continued to twitch and writhe. As the overwhelming light of Heavenrend began to dissipate, the Zombie Dragon began the arduous progress of regenerating itself.
Ren cursed as he noticed this, and he raised his Legendary Sword to-.
Shirou twisted in mid-air and corkscrewed downward, performing a classic plunging attack one might see in fighting games. He dove into the dissipating light of his attack and the remains of the Zombie Dragon's chest cavity. And, more importantly, towards the Zombie Dragon's ruined heart, with his sword leading the way. The sound of tearing flesh was heard once more, far more loud then one would have expected, and the observant would have noticed that the Zombie Dragon's twitching and writhing flesh suddenly freeze.
There was moment of dead silence.
Shirou bounded back out of the gore, jumping back as quickly as he could. On the way back, however, his legs gave out from under him, and he fell back in an uncontrolled tumble. Said tumble came to an end when Naofumi caught him, arresting his momentum.
"Shirou, you alright?" Naofumi asked. It was a valid question. Though there was no injury on him, Shirou's clothes was soaked in sweat and he was breathing heavily, as if he'd just ran a marathon in a fraction of a second.
Shirou declined to answer. Instead, in a shaking hand he held up something, retrieved from the Zombie Dragon's heart. "I got it," he managed to say through his laboured breathing. The male demi-human was clearly out of it.
"…That you did," Naofumi relented and helped Shirou up. As he did so, he covertly accepted the object that Shirou pressed into his hands.
A Dragon Emperor Core Fragment. Retrieved from the Zombie Dragon's heart.
All the others on the battlefield didn't notice, their entire focus being on the remains of the Zombie Dragon. They waited with trepidation for it to show any signs if 'life', for its desiccated flesh to start moving and knitting itself back together. For the battle to start anew.
One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes.
It was only after five whole minutes had past that the first cheer went up from amongst the army's ranks. Then another. And another. And another. Until the entire army was cheering with such gusto that the rolling hills outside of Castle Town seemed to tremble from the vibrations.
Castle Town was little different as the news that the Zombie Dragon had been slain spread with the speed of lightning amongst the populace.
Ren, for his part, just felt an immense amount of relief. Finally, the menace he had unwittingly unleashed was dead.
Still, in spite of that relief, a dark emotion that Ren couldn't quite describe still clawed at his heart. He would call it guilt, but it felt far heavier than that. He had been dealing with that indescribable emotion, ever since he had been made aware of the consequences of his mistake. He had hoped that killing the Zombie Dragon would have gotten rid of that dark emotion, but no such luck.
However, at that moment of rumination on the battlefield, Ren realized it only made sense. Bringing an end to the Zombie Dragon would not bring back the people it had already killed. Even though he had not caused those deaths deliberately, the fault and guilt for those deaths would be something he would have to carry with him for the rest of his days. That would be his punishment for the catastrophe he had caused. Well, the one that he would inflict on himself. Ren was sure that the King and the other higherups of Melromarc would have a few more things to say to him about punishment, probably the more tangible kind of punishments.
Whatever those punishments were to be, Ren would bear them stoically. He deserved nothing less.
Having come to those resolutions, Ren placed the Legendary Sword on his back. "Naofumi, everyone, I know this isn't much, but please accept my thanks-" the Sword Hero started to say, but as he turned towards where he had last seen the Shield Hero's party, he realized one very important fact.
Naofumi and his party members were no where to be seen. In the brief moment Ren had been lost in thought, the Shield Hero's party had disappeared.
Hey, guys. Sorry that it took so long to update. Real life and all that. I don't really have a legitimate excuse. I just hope that the chapter was worth the wait, and that the next chapter will be posted in a more reasonable timeframe.
