Sword and Shield

Clean Up 3

Ren was pensive.

Currently, the Sword Hero was in Melromarc's castle. More specifically, he was on the balcony that was attached to his personal room. He had first used this room shortly after the feast after the first Wave in Melromarc he had participated in. The room was equally as ostentatious and luxurious it was back then, but Ren couldn't bring himself to enjoy the lavish surroundings. His mind was a swirl with questions and doubts.

Ren rested his head on his arms, which in turn rested on the stone handrailing of the balcony, face hidden in the folds of his sleeves. His eyes were closed and he was mentally and physically exhausted. He led out an explosive sigh as he let his mind wander aimlessly over what was bothering him.

Some of those doubts he was mulling over were from the resolutions he had reached after the fight with the Zombie Dragon, but most of said doubts were born from the conversation he had earlier with the King and the pope of the Church of the Three Heroes. And, more accurately, how said resolutions and said conversation totally contradicted each other.

He had sworn that he would bare the consequences of his actions with no complaint. That he would accept whatever punishment would be levied upon him. But where did that leave him when both the King and the pope decided that he wasn't to be punished at all?

Ren couldn't wrap his mind around it. Even if it was just a mistake, his actions had led to the death of random innocent people. Back in his own world that would be called manslaughter, right? Most certainly a punishable offence, but the King and the pope had said that, as he had already dealt with the issue, that there was no reason to punish him any further. The only punishment he would have to bare was his own guilty conscience. As a matter of fact, the King and the pope had been discussing what reward they would have to prepare for him for felling the Zombie Dragon.

Right now, he felt a deep wave of exhaustion of exasperation thinking about it, but back then, back in the throne room where the meeting had taken place, he'd felt in irrational upswelling of anger and irritation. So much so in fact that he had spoken up out of turn, and told them that Naofumi and his party were at least equally as responsible for taking out the Zombie Dragon, and if they were going to reward him, they would also have to reward Naofumi.

On some level, Ren had known that idea would have gotten some pushback. Naofumi was very much a controversial figure, after all. He just hadn't realized how ardent that pushback would be, however. The King and the pope had immediately overwritten his spur of the moment idea, and though they'd maintained their regale composure, their clear, cold words had carried with them a hidden edge of heated anger. So much so in fact that Ren could not find the words to respond to their reasoning and wild assertions.

It was a meandering tale that Ren really didn't want to dwell on. In short, the King and the pope had openly theorized that it was Naofumi who had caused the reanimation of the Zombie Dragon, that it was all some plot by the Shield Hero to undercut the other Heroes. The pope had pointed to the fact that Naofumi and his party had likewise dealt with an invasive monster/plant/forest in the Selva region that Motoyasu had reportedly unleashed. According to the pope, combined with the Zombie Dragon situation, it represented a pattern of behavior that indicated foul play from the Shield Hero.

Ren could sort of follow the logic. Cause a situation that looked like it was caused by your opposition, and then solve it while they failed to do so, simultaneously making yourself look good and making said opposition look incompetent.

The Sword Hero didn't buy it, however. Not only were the King and the pope basing this all on nothing more than wild speculation and Naofumi's previous actions, from what he had seen earlier today – even if he did not want to admit it – Naofumi and his party were far stronger then him. They wouldn't need to cause such a wild, unpredictable situation that was just as likely to blow up in their own faces in order to show him up. No matter how Ren looked at it, it just didn't make any sense.

In the end, however, his objections and reasoning were overruled and the King and the pope decided that they would investigate the 'true cause' of the misfortunes following around the Heroes lately. Moreover, they'd categorically decided that Naofumi and his party would get no reward nor any kind of recognition for their help with the Zombie Dragon.

By that point, said decision hadn't been a surprise.

Honestly, the entire conversation with the King and the pope had left a foul taste in his mouth. Not only because of baseless accusations being thrown around, but also because they, ironically enough, had decided that he was not to receive any punishment.

And he damn well knew why. Ren was the Sword Hero. A title that could be considered synonymous with the word 'special' in this world, or 'above the rules' in other terms…It was the only explanation that made sense. They were going to let him off with not even a slap on the wrist, because he was 'special', because he was 'above the rules', even after he had earnestly and wholeheartedly resolved himself to face the consequences of his actions…

His heart throbbed with an emotion that he could not describe. It made him feel sick.

Nails digging into his own arms Ren tried to make sense of his jumbled up emotions and thoughts. He only succeeded in making himself more confused and upset.

He just didn't understand. Or rather, he couldn't make sense of any of it.

"A piece of bronze for your thoughts, Ren?" a voice spoke up from behind him.

Ren jolted up and twisted around, hand reaching for the hilt of the Legendary Sword that jutted over his shoulder. He froze in surprise. Behind him, standing in the doorframe that led to his room, stood Naofumi. The Shield Hero locked eyes with Sword Hero.

"Naofumi," Ren breathed, not quite sure what to feel or how to react to this sudden situation.

"Yo, Ren. Everything alright? You seem to have a lot on your mind," Naofumi asked, sounding rather genial, surprisingly enough.

"I'm fine," Ren said slowly and took his hand away from the hilt of his sword. "Naofumi, what are you doing here? I don't think I need to remined you, but if the King finds out that you are in the castle…"

The King wasn't what you would call a fan of Naofumi and considering what they had been discussing back in the throne room, chances were that, if the King knew that Naofumi was here, that he might try and do something about his presence.

"Back when we faced the Zombie Dragon, I promised I would answer all your questions, didn't I?" the Shield Hero responded with a careless shrug, completely ignoring the viable danger he was under and Ren had pointed out. "Speaking of which, do you want to have a talk now? Or would you rather I come back later?"

"…No," Ren decided. "I want to hear what you have to say now," he had so many questions plaguing him that it literally was hurting his head. He wanted some clear answers and he wanted them now, damn it.

Naofumi stepped aside and beckoned him into the room. Ren left the balcony and stepped inside. He was not surprised to see that the rest of the Shield Hero's party was there waiting for him, having taken up various positions in the room.

Ren sat down on a couch that wouldn't have looked out of place in a high end hotel. Naofumi sat opposite him on an equally luxurious couch, a crystalline table in between them. A meeting of Heroes was about to take place, the first real one since they had come to this world.

There was a moment of silence, as the Heroes just stared at each other.

"…Okay, I don't know where to begin," Ren mumbled to himself and scratched the back of his head. Normally, he would try and act cool and collected, but he couldn't muster the energy to do so at the moment. Instead, he decided to be blunt. "Why did you come to my aid?"

"Because I was hired to take out the Zombie Dragon."

Ren blinked at the frank response. Whatever he'd been expecting, that wasn't it. "Hired?" the Hero of the Sword repeated.

"By the Queen," Naofumi confirmed.

"The Queen," Ren mused slowly. "The Queen from another nation..?"

"No, the Queen of Melromarc," Naofumi corrected.

Ren blinked, appearing nonplussed at the existence of the Queen. Honestly, because he'd never seen or heard anything about the Queen, he had just sort of assumed that the King was a widower.

"Sword Hero-sama, might I ask how much you know of Melromarc and its ruling body?"

Ren turned his head as a new voice made itself known. A small girl with blue hair in pigtails stepped out of the shadow of his fourposter bed. She was dressed in an exquisite blew dress, and said dress, combined with her austere appearance, just screamed noble.

"Ah, and you would be, miss?" Ren asked, managing to dredge up some courtesy at the end.

"My apologies," Melty curtsied. "My name is Melty Q Melromarc, the Crown Princess of Melromarc."

"Myne isn't next in line for the throne?" Ren let slip in surprise.

"She isn't," Melty confirmed with a nod. "The reason why I'll elaborate on later. My sister and her actions is part of the reason why I am here now. But first, as to my earlier question..?"

"Melromarc is a monarchy," Ren said. That was blatantly obvious. "The King leads the nation."

"Would it surprise you, Sword Hero-sama, if I were to tell you that that Melromarc is a matriarchal country where the Queen has more power then the King, and that the line of succession always goes through the daughters and not sons?" Melty refuted his assertion.

This elicited another rapid series of blinks from the Sword Hero.

"If you have any doubts about my claims, you can just ask your companions after our discussion," Melty said. "All that I am telling you right now is basic knowledge here in Melromarc."

"No, I believe you," Ren said after a moment, recentering himself. "I can't think of a reason why you would lie about something like this, at least."

Melty nodded, pleased. Instead of further saying anything else, she took out a crystal ball from a bag near her feet and placed it on the crystalline table in between Naofumi and Ren. With a tap of her finger, the crystal ball came a light with a swirl of colors that slowly come into focus to show the face of Mirellia.

"Greetings, Hero of the Sword," Mirellia said, mouth hidden behind her customary fan. "I am Mirellia Q Melromarc, the ruler of Melromarc. My apologies that it took so long for us to meet. Unfortunately, I currently find myself far away from Melromarc's borders on a diplomatic mission. Again, I would like to apologize for how we are meeting right now and the situation we find ourselves in at the present moment."

"That's a-alright," Ren said with a small stutter once again thrown off balance by the rapidly changing situation. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"Oh, but I do, Sword Hero. I have much more to apologize for than you can possibly know."

Ren paused as the Queen said those unexpected words. His eyes narrowed. Ren looked at the Queen for a long moment, then at Melty, then at Naofumi, then at all of Naofumi's party members. They were all looking back at him, silently keeping his gaze.

"Okay, I'll bite. What's going on?" Ren asked the question with a certain measure of demand.

After all, after those words, he would be an utter fool at this point not to realize that there was more going on than just a question and answer session. The disgraced Shield Hero had come for him, with the apparent ruler of the country he was fighting for and the heir to the throne in his corner. People, that by all accounts, shouldn't have anything to do with Naofumi.

"I will be blunt, Hero of the Sword. Up until now, nothing has gone as it should," Mirellia said.

"Meaning?"

"Did you not find it odd that all four Heroes were summoned to Melromarc?" Mirellia said leadingly.

"Uhm, but the Waves are occurring here…" Ren said, getting a bad feeling.

"That they are, just like they are occurring everywhere else in the world. There is no country in the world that is not currently under the threat of the Waves of Calamity," Mirellia informed him.

Ren looked at her wide eyed. His lips moved but no sound came out.

"Going by your expression, I can only surmise that you weren't aware of that fact," Mirellia frowned from behind her fan. "I suspect the same holds true for both the Spear Hero and Bow Hero."

Ren took a long moment to take in this piece of news. It came as a complete shock to him. No one had told him that the Waves were occurring all over the world, and in the game he had played before being summoned, Brave Star Online, the Waves only occurred in Melromarc.

"Why wasn't I told?"

"The answer is simple, Sword Hero: treachery and greed," Mirellia's eyes were cold. "I shall explain in a moment. Please be quiet and listen. It's quite a sordid tale."

Ren nodded dumbly. He listened intently as the Queen began to explain.

"In order to prevent conflict and to keep the balance of power intact, it was decided that every major country would only summon one Hero each," Mirellia began. "Melromarc was the last in line of those major countries to summon a Hero. Or, at least, that's the way it should have been."

Ren considered that. If what the Queen was saying was indeed true, it was most likely that, if things had gone to plan, he probably wouldn't have been the Hero summoned to Melromarc and he would have met the other Heroes at a much later date. Everything would have been different.

"Unfortunately, my husband, the King, took unilateral action and collaborated with the Church of the Three Heroes in order to summon all four Heroes simultaneously," Mirellia added. "As you might be able to imagine, this angered every other nation, to the point that war was only barely avoided."

Ren pursed his lips. That made sense, he guessed. It was the duty of the Heroes to beat back the Waves of Calamity. If true that the Waves were occurring all over the world, Melromarc had hoarded much of the safeguards against the Waves to itself and left the other countries high and dry.

"I have been travelling all over the world to prevent just such an outcome. Luckily, my work in that regard is almost done. It won't be long now before I will be able to return and deal with my husband and the church personally," Mirellia's voice dropped into a low hiss, her eyes going from cold to subzero.

Ren shivered. He was at the mere periphery of her cold anger, but it still chilled him to the bone. No matter if what she had said so far was true or not, her outrage was definitely the real deal.

"Now, you might be wondering why did they would do such a thing. Besides the obvious, the leaders of the Church of the Three Heroes are zealots, while my husband had grudge to settle. Those motivations aligned to create the current situation."

Ren almost spoke up, but held his tongue at the last moment. The questions were piling up…

"The Church of Three Heroes wanted to have all the Heroes it worshipped under its influence…while my husband had no greater wish than to ruin the Shield Hero," Mirellia dropped the bomb.

"What?" Ren finally let slip in numb surprise.

Mirellia closed her eyes. "I won't go into details, but my husband hates demi-humans. Not because of some human supremacy nonsense like the rest of Melromarc, but because of the fact that it was demi-humans that killed his closest relatives and loved ones twice over."

The Queen had been right. This was one hell of a sordid tale.

"You might have noticed that the Church of Three Heroes worships all the Heroes except the Shield Hero? Do you know why?"

"Uhm, no," Ren answered. Honestly, he had assumed it was because the Shield Hero was considered the lame duck of the Heroes. It's what he had thought of the Shield Hero when first summoned.

"It is quite simple, really," Mirellia gave an elegant shrug. "Melromarc is a human supremacist nation with a distaste for demi-humans, a distaste that is preached by the Church of the Three Heroes as righteous. The demi-humans worship the Shield Hero to the exclusion of the other Heroes. To the Church of the Three Heroes, the Shield Hero is the deity of humankind's sworn enemies. The patron saint of a wretched, evil race. In other words, a devil."

Ren could do little but take in what he had been told. If what the Queen had said was true, then…

"Naofumi had been summoned into enemy territory?"

"Yes," the Shield Hero spat with such angered disgust that Ren almost recoiled. If the Queen's anger was as cold as ice, Naofumi's rage burned as bright as a newly born star.

"My husband desired to ruin the figure of worship of the people he hates so much," Mirellia repeated and elaborated at the same time, made more clear with her earlier explanation. "I suspect that the Church of the Three Heroes came to him with the idea of summoning all four Holy Heroes. The King saw his chance to settle his grudge, and took it. And now here we are."

Ren pondered on what he had been told for a short moment. "Then, Mein's rape accusation against Naofumi..?"

"Just another lie to further the goals of church and my husband, I assure you," Mirellia said.

"That would make sense," Ren said slowly, as his eyes narrowed. "…If what you've been telling me so far is true. I don't suppose you have any prove of your claims?"

The corners of Naofumi's eyes tightening was the only sign of his irritation at Ren doubting their word. But honestly, the Shield Hero could not blame the Sword Hero for his skepticism. The tale they had just told was rather outlandish and absurd, after all.

Luckily, they had consulted with the Queen before seeking out Ren, and had formulated several plans of attack in order to make their point and convince him.

"Lets work backwards, shall we, and begin with Mein's accusation of rape. Shield Hero, would you do the honors?" Mirellia directed.

Naofumi nodded towards the Queen and leaned forwards in his seat. "Ren, the day after we were summoned and we first headed out to the fields to kill monsters. At one point, you ran past me with your party. Do you remember seeing me that day, fighting with a bunch of Balloons?"

"Yes…" Ren responded in the affirmative, wondering where this was going.

"It took me over ten minutes to kill a single Balloon. As the Shield Hero, my Attack Stat is basically non-existent. Harming anything for me is an uphill struggle," Naofumi began.

"I am aware," Ren nodded, as he had seen Naofumi struggling out in the fields that day and because the Shield class in Brave Star Online had functioned the same, but still not seeing what this had to do with anything.

Naofumi gave an exasperated huff. "Tell me, Ren, how am I supposed to assault anyone, much less rape them, if I can't as so much as hurt them to begin with?"

The Sword Hero's thoughts abruptly fizzled out. His mouth moved, but no answers for the conundrum Naofumi had suddenly placed before him came to his mind.

"Think about it. I was a Level 1 Shield Hero with no ability to do harm and lacked any Skills or spells, while Mein was several Levels over me and could use both a sword and magic to defend herself. Even if I tried to force myself on her, she could have burned me to a crisp in an instant," Naofumi hammered the point home.

"…Fuck," Ren swore as he realized that something wasn't adding up. What Naofumi was saying made sense. How would have been able to force himself on someone when the Shield Hero had, for all intents and purposes, been helpless at the time?

Ren tried to think up a scenario where Naofumi could plausibly have sexually assaulted Mein, but nothing came to mind. The accusation that Mein had lied about her own accusation suddenly looked a lot more credible. Which, in turn, made the rest of their tale also more credible by association.

"There's more, Hero of the Sword," Mirellia jumped back in. "If you want us to prove that there are Waves occurring all over the world, doing so would be fairly simple."

Ren raised a brow.

Naofumi shrugged at his questioning look. "There are Dragon Hourglasses all over the world, in every nation. Besides the one here in Melromarc, I am also registered to Dragon Hourglass in Zeltoble. A Wave will occur there in about a week. After this discussion, I can teleport us over there. Just register to that Dragon Hourglass, and you'll see that we have been telling the truth."

"I see," Ren mused, a thoughtful look on his face. "That makes sense. However, I'm still wondering why my party members didn't inform me of the Waves occurring in other parts of the world…"

There was a moment silence, until it was broken with the clear sound of Queen's fang snapping shut. "The answer to that question is fairly simple as well, Sword Hero. I'm not quite sure how this played out with the companions of the other Heroes, but in the case of your party members, the King had to threaten them."

"…What?" Ren looked at her wide eyed.

"My husband threatened them with the safety of their loved ones. He asked only two things of them. Do not aid the Shield Hero and keep certain information from the Heroes," the Queen closed her eyes in apparent shame. "What a foul being he has become. Sword Hero, once you realize we have told you nothing but the truth here today, I implore you to please do not hold this against your party members. I happen to know them personally, and they are good, honest souls. Once we have dealt with this situation, I'm sure that they will be nothing but open and cooperative with you."

Ren looked long and hard at the Queen. Even Naofumi and his party members looked surprised at the impassioned defense of his party members. There was a story there…unfortunately, now was not the time to ask for that story. They had more important things to discuss.

"How do you even know about this apparent threat?" Ren asked instead.

"My Shadows informed me."

"Shadows?"

"Covert personnel. Spying and espionage is one of their main duties."

That would make sense, Ren mused. Again, however he had nothing but the Queen's word if she was telling the truth. On the other hand, their tale was starting to win him over…

"Let's change the topic of the conversation for a moment," Naofumi suddenly announced.

"To what?" Ren wondered.

"To why I want the other Heroes to be capable, and why I am stronger than you guys," Naofumi said those fighting words and shrugged nonchalantly.

Ren's expression soured. He had realized the fact that Naofumi and his party were stronger then him during their battle with the Zombie Dragon, but did he have to be so blunt about it?

"Besides Leveling up, we Heroes have higher Stats than other people at a similar Level because our weapons grow stronger alongside us," Naofumi said, getting a nod out of Ren. "Besides that, the Legendary Weapons also give us access to Strengthening Methods that can make us even stronger."

Ren gave another nod. He was aware of these facts.

"I, myself, am currently using 16 Strengthening Methods."

Ren's brain short circuited.

"While, when I first arrived in this world, I had no Strengthening Methods at all."

Naofumi gave a Ren a significant look. "I'm not stronger because I work harder or anything," though I am fairly certain I am. The Shield Hero kept that thought to himself, and continued, "I just have more methods with which I can grow stronger, and a better understanding of the Legendary Weapons."

Ren looked at him for a long moment.

"I have no reason to lie, you know," Naofumi shrugged, immediately understanding the meaning that was behind Ren's piercing look. "Remember what I said just now. I want the other Heroes to be just as capable, maybe even more so, than me."

"Besides the obvious, might I ask why?" Ren didn't take his eyes away from Naofumi.

"It's because of how the Hero system works," was the frank answer of the Shield Hero. "I'll fill you in later on how I found out, but if a Hero dies, the magnitude and frequency of the Waves will increase. Besides that, the Strengthening Methods we Heroes use work better if they are shared and understood. By making the other Heroes stronger and more capable I make the path ahead easier on myself and also grow stronger. Given that, why wouldn't I do my best to make you guys stronger?"

"…You realize that we might be able to use that increased strength against you, right?"

Naofumi eyes hardened. "I'm aware, but as you are now, none of the other Heroes are a threat to me or mine. And by the time you guys have caught up, I'm sure that this situation to have been dealt with in one way or another, simultaneously taking away any reason for violence between us."

Ren gave a little, disbelieving laugh. "That's still a rather large gamble, Naofumi."

"Again, I'm fully aware of that," Naofumi gave a helpless shrug. "But the situation is what it is, and I can't have you guys dying on me. The Waves are most definitely trying to kill me. If the other Heroes will try and kill or hurt me is up in the air given the situation."

In other words, Naofumi was hitching his bets that a maybe threat won't become reality, against a threat that has already materialized. How pragmatic. Ren was starting understand Naofumi's thought process, even if he wasn't sure if he would have acted the same if their positions had been reversed.

"Ren, do you remember the spell that I used during the battle with the Zombie Dragon?"

"I do," Ren nodded, suppressing his irritation at the constantly switching topic of the conversation. "Zweite Power X," he mused the name of said spell out loud. "It was crazy effective, a variation of the Power Buff spell that I had never heard off before…"

Ren trailed off when he realized what that could possibly mean.

"I see you have figured it out," Naofumi noted. "Magic Rank, a Strengthening Method that allows a Hero to upgrade spells by spending points they gain when Leveling up. I learned of this Strengthening Method shortly before the battle, and really, so far, it's one of my favorites."

Ding!

A notification appeared in Ren's Status. His eyes flickered as he quickly looked it over, then widened as he realized what he was looking at.

The Strengthening Method, Magic Rank, had just appeared in his Menu, available for use.

"…Did it work?" Naofumi looked at him intently.

"Why did you think it wouldn't?" Ren asked back, feeling numb in surprise, as he confirmed that he indeed now had access to a wholly new Strengthening Method.

"Because Strengthening Methods only become available if you know and, more importantly, believe that they exist," Naofumi answered, grinning. "I was afraid that you would be too suspicious of me, no matter what kind of proof or reasoning I used, to believe me enough to the point that transferring Strengthening Methods to be possible. It seems I had been worrying over nothing."

Ren leaned back into his seat, closing his eyes. He…believed Naofumi? Did he really? Granted, their story so far seemed to fit, and poked holes into what the King and the church had been telling him all this time, but was that really enough for him to trust the Shield Hero? No, most definitely not, not completely at least, but together with the aid Naofumi had rendered against the Zombie Dragon, Ren had come clearly come to trust him to a certain point.

And start to disbelief other things.

It was that realization that made Ren come to a decision, and opened his eyes. "What you are saying makes sense. Lets see if you can provide even more prove. Shall we go to Zeltoble immediately?"

Ren opened his mind, and gave them a chance to win him over.

Immediately, the atmosphere in the room changed. Going from tense to hopeful and warm. Naofumi grinned back as the Legendary Shield changed into the Dragon Hourglass Sand Shield.

"Let's go."


Just like in Melromarc, in Zeltoble it was the dead of night. As such, no one could see the Sword Hero standing in the shadow of the church in the capital city of Zeltoble. Ren looked at his Status. In his Menu, two timers were counting down slowly. One in Melromarc, and the other for Zeltoble. A Wave of Calamity was set to hammer this country shortly.

Again, Naofumi had been telling the truth.

The Waves of Calamity. The Strengthening Methods. The logical fallacies he'd been presented with. All of it added up. All of it was true. All of it made sense in a way that didn't hurt his sensibilities, the one thing he had been craving since the King and the pope had decided he wasn't to be punished.

Ren smiled to himself, even if it carried an edge of worry.

After all, this also meant that the situation he was in was far more dangerous and convoluted than he had been led to believe.

"Now what?" he asked, more to himself than anyone else.

Said question briefly got pushed to the back of his mind as a book was shoved in front of his nose. The book in question was opened to its first page and on said page all known Strengthening Methods were displayed in neat, succinct lines.

A rapid series notifications went off in Ren's Status as he read the lines. In the span of a minute, the number of available methods to get stronger he had access to suddenly tripled.

"Now," Naofumi said, as he pressed the book into the Sword Hero's hands. "We need to plan ahead."

After all, he had often bemoaned the other Heroes lack of planning ahead their actions and the consequences of such. It would be the height of foolishness to not discuss their next steps and make an unnecessary mistake.

"…I do find myself at a bit of loss what to do now," Ren admitted.

"First thing you will need to do is power up properly," Naofumi nodded towards the book he'd given the Sword Hero. "That book contains every little mechanism and trick I know concerning the Legendary Weapons. I am sure that, with a night of tinkering with those systems, that you will be far more powerful than you are now."

Ren immediately placed said book in his Item Box. It was clear from the expression on his face that he was itching to dive into it, and that he would probably have a sleepless night ahead of him.

"We have two overarching goals," Melty announced. Everyone else, her included, were listening in intently. "One, undermine the Church of the Three Heroes. Two, make all the Heroes as powerful as possible. With the Sword Hero's cooperation, we have achieved much progress in both goals."

"Indeed," Mirellia agreed, her voice echoing from the crystal ball her daughter was carrying. "So that we are all on the same page, I'd like to remind everyone that the objective behind these goals is to calm down the political situation, and ensure that we can beat back the Waves. In other words, we're acting to ensure that all the Heroes and the nations of this world work together to that end."

There was a collective series of nods of understanding.

"Shield Hero, I have been informed you also had a run it with the Spear Hero not long ago," Mirellia stated. "I take it from the report I received that meeting didn't go well?"

Naofumi snorted at the understatement. "Your eldest has him wrapped around her little finger," he said derisively. "The moment she opens her mouth, Motoyasu stops listening to reason. Just like Ren, I gave him a book with all that I know concerning the Legendary Weapons, but if he can use it…I have my doubts."

"What about Itsuki?" Ren jumped in. "Can't we get him to cooperate with us?"

The Shield Hero's expression did not inspire much hope in Ren.

"Yeah, we met him in Zeltoble before the last Wave," Naofumi said drily. "It was a disaster. I am sure that, if he thought it was justified, he would attack me in the back without hesitation."

Ren grimaced. "Maybe if I am the one to talk to him..?"

"That's the hope," Naofumi confirmed. Now that another Hero was on their side, they might be able to use Ren as a trojan horse to get Motoyasu and Itsuki to work with them.

"That might be difficult, I'm afraid to say," Mirellia cut in.

"And why is that?" Naofumi asked, already dreading the answer.

"The location of the Bow Hero and Spear Hero are currently unknown."

A series of incredulous looks were shared amongst the group.

"Though it might not be obvious to you, my own Shadows are constantly in conflict with the Shadows of the Church of the Three Heroes," Mirellia explained. "Loses recently have been severe, and as a consequence, the Shadows monitoring the Spear Hero and Bow Hero have lost track of them. Getting into contact with them at this time…might be problematic."

"…At least this can be considered two steps forward and one step back," Naofumi huffed.

"Wait," Ren blinked. "Does this mean that these…Shadows…have been keeping track of us Heroes all this time?"

"Of course," the Queen confirmed without shame. "Considering how important the Heroes are, it's only natural that we'd keep tabs on all of you."

Ren pinched the bridge of his nose and stamped down on the outraged feeling bubbling up from his lower stomach. No one liked to be spied on, after all, but the question this revelation called up in him took precedence.

"If the Shadows of the Church of the Three Heroes are, among others, constantly keeping track of us, doesn't that mean that they are already aware of…all of this?" Ren wondered aloud, clearly worried.

Their meeting. The topics of their discussion. The fact that the Sword Hero had turned against them. If the King and the Church of the Three Heroes knew all of this, or even suspected any of it…things could escalate and turn ugly real quick.

"There's no need to worry, Hero of the Sword," Mirellia smiled from behind her fan. "My Shadows have been hard at work in the background to ensure that none of this will get back to the King or the church. Moreover, the task was made far simpler than it had any right to be, with the aid of some of the Shield Hero's companions."

Ren blinked. His eyes wandered over Naofumi's party members, wondering who could have done what. Eventually, his eyes came to rest on Raphtalia and Shirou, who had been dead silent all this time. Both demi-humans seemed somewhat exhausted. In answer, Raphtalia snapped her fingers. Without warning, her arm became invisible. Ren's eyes widened.

Illusions.

Raphtalia had been using her illusions to make sure no one would notice them. The Queen's Shadows had been running interference constantly. And Shirou, with the use of Combo Magic, had been supporting Raphtalia all the while. He himself could not yet use illusions, but he could help by sharing in the mental burden and supplying magical energy to the complex series of illusions Raphtalia had set up.

Shirou and Raphtalia had not been silent because they had nothing to add to the conversation. They simply had more important things to tend to.

"Now, let's discuss our next steps," Mirellia's words cut through Ren's thoughts.

The Sword Hero turned to look at the Queen, who had a devious glint in her hard, cold eyes.

"Now that we have the Sword Hero on our side, we can begin to really work towards the dissolution of the Church of the Three Heroes…" Mirellia mused out loud, and she seemed to be savoring every word that was coming out of her mouth. "Shield Hero, how goes your work at the northern border?"

"Almost finished," Naofumi grunted in answer. "Just two more camps to go. With the travel distances involved, it won't take any longer than two days."

Mirellia nodded. "Perfect. Once you are finished there, I know just the place for you to lay low. The people there will also greatly appreciate your help in the meantime. While you're doing that, so long as he agrees, the Sword Hero will begin to lay the groundwork for the Church of the Three Heroes' downfall."

"Me?" Ren blinked. After a moment, he hardened his eyes. "What do I have to do?"

Whatever it was, he would play his part.

"I'm going to have you repent for your mistakes," the Queen smiled deviously.

For some reason, those words both relieved and alarmed Ren.


Van Reichnott was a noble of Melromarc, one of many who'd been rather down on his luck in recent days. One would assume it was because of the Waves of Calamity, and while the crisis facing the world was certainly connected to it, the reason for his recent misfortunes was something much more inherent to the very foundations of Melromarc.

While outside appearances might deceive the ill-informed, no nation was always and completely a unified whole. Nations were made up out of people, and people inherently had differing opinions on how things should be and how things should be managed. In Melromarc, many people, noble or otherwise, believed demi-humans to be inferior creatures. Conversely, there was also a considerable faction in Melromarc who believed otherwise and wanted demi-humans to be treated equally to humans.

Van Reichnott was of this faction, a minority of nobles who fought for the rights of the demi-humans. In his lands, all were treated equally and fairly. This showed in the high percentage of demi-humans that considered his lands home, and who thought the world of him. However, much to the misfortune of this pro demi-human faction, their cause of promoting equality between the races had, in recent days, met setback after setback, to the point that they were back to square one.

It all began with the sudden and unprecedented disaster of the first Wave of Calamity to hit Melromarc. As fate would have it, the first Wave in Melromarc predominantly struck the lands of the nobles of the pro demi-human faction. Moreover, the leader of this faction, the right hand man of the Queen, Lord Seaetto, died protecting the people. Suddenly, the leaders protecting the demi-humans had been kneecapped figuratively and literally, and the man responsible for leading them all and coordinating their actions was dead.

With the Queen gone on a diplomatic mission, and their lands ravaged, the pro demi-human faction had all of a sudden lost a majority of their power and influence. And the anti demi-human faction, led by the King and the Church of the Three Heroes, were sure to take full advantage.

Laws were pushed. Policies were enacted. Problems were exasperated. All in an effort to further weaken the pro demi-human faction and make the lives of the demi-humans that called Melromarc home even more difficult.

Reichnott's lands and people were no exception. It wasn't long before they began feeling the pinch, both in the sense of money and recourses. Thankfully, even though the Queen was absent she hadn't forgotten about them, and had sent help.

For the demi-humans, having the Shield Hero ride to the rescue was like getting a gift from god. Food. Medicine. Recourses. The Shield Hero provided all of that and more. Even now the Shield Hero, Naofumi, and his party were out in the fields, planting even more of those miraculous Miracle trees and otherwise providing aid wherever it was needed.

They wouldn't have to fear going hungry any time soon.

As such, it was but a little trouble for Reichnott to greet the Shield Hero's party just outside the gates of his estate whenever they came back after a day's long work. They had only been staying in his home for about a week now, but it fast become a tradition.

"Hello, everyone. I see you're tired. I hope your day was productive," Reichnott smiled.

It was a gentle smile, the smile of an attentive and concerned guardian looking over their willful charges. Reichnott was a tall young man but with a slim and wiry build. He wore a dark blue overcoat and brown pants, kept mostly hidden underneath a long white cape. His features were framed by the bangs of his raven, blue tinted hair and a pair of small yellow glasses.

In other words, his gentle smile matched his gentle features perfectly. To the point that, combined with his considerate and kind demeanor, his people almost exclusively referred to him with the moniker 'Nice Guy' instead of using his actual name.

"Definitely," Shirou answered for the group, smiling widely.

After all, helping people was his thing. Shirou in particular has had some satisfying days lately.

Of course, their several days long…honestly, even though they had been working and training constantly, their honest to god vacation was about to come to an end. Everyone knew this and the master of the estate could see said in awareness in their eyes.

Van Reichnott's smiled dimmed and he nodded solemnly. "Your guest has arrived, right on schedule. He's waiting in the dining room."

The Shield Hero's party shared a look, before wordlessly heading inside. Reichnott led them to the dining room, and the man opened up the heavy oaken double doors with an ominous creaking sound that would have been right at home in a horror movie. Inside said room, which was cozily decorated, was a long dining table. Said table was bereft of any food, but a man decked out in a full body covering cloak and mask sat at one end. A Shadow of the Queen, out in the open and quite obviously waiting for them.

"Greetings," the Shadow greeted them, and as usual, their voice was so distorted that it was impossible to tell which gender they were. Without another word the Shadow produced a thick stack of papers that he placed on the table.

On the front page of said stack, in thick, bold lettering, was a single name.

Raphtalia growled low in her throat and her tail was puffed up in unrepentant fury.

Idol Rabier

"It's time to go on the offensive," the Shadow announced.


Meanwhile, on the other side of Melromarc, Ren Amaki lowered his head in apology.

"I'm sorry."

The person in front of him had frozen. It was an older woman, whose house had been destroyed in the rampage of the Zombie Dragon. Moreover, their entire village had been ravaged by the Zombie Dragon. There had not been any deaths, thankfully, but their homes and the produce of their fields had been devastated.

So, when the Sword Hero had ridden into town, the one who had unleashed the Zombie Dragon, the reception he had received was less than warm. As a matter of fact, the older woman had been the first to approach of the crowd that had gathered.

What the older woman had been intending to do, even she wasn't quite sure, but it got derailed from the get-go when the Sword Hero lowered his head to her.

"I know that nothing that I say or do could possibly make up for what I have caused," Ren began, not raising his eyes from the ground. "I know that I can never truly give back what has been taken, and that I have no right to hope that you, all of you, to accept my apology, but in spite of that I still want to you to know how much I regret the result of my actions, and that I will do my best to make up for it."

The Sword Hero was apologizing to her, honestly and whole heartedly. The Sword Hero was bowing to her, a mere country bumpkin living in the middle of nowhere. The sight was so surreal and out of context that the older woman just…froze, her thoughts having similarly come to a halt.

The crowd watching their exchange was in a similar predicament. They just watched, unsure what to say or do.

Ren straightened his back and wordlessly accessed his Item Box. A moment later a bevy of resources, from building materials, food, medicine and more were deposited on the ground.

"Here, a small gift, to hopefully get all of you up on your feet as fast possible," Ren said, then rolled up his sleeves.

Immediately understanding Ren's intentions, the older woman stuttered as she replied, "S-Sword Hero, you d-don't have t-to help personally. All of t-this…" the older woman swallowed thickly as she looked over the Sword Hero's gift. Even without the surviving produce of their fields, it would more then enough to feed all of them for the coming winter.

Hell, even if the building materials the Sword Hero had provided wouldn't be enough to fix everything that the Zombie Dragon had destroyed, they could simply sell some of the medicine and procure more. Tally everything together, and Sword Hero's gift was stupendously generous. Once everything was fixed, their village would be even better off than it had been before.

"I insist. Just say where I can be of the most use, and I will gladly help," Ren ignored the older woman's assurance and resolutely started to cajole her for a job that he could help with, even as the older woman in question tried to dissuade him.

Unknown to Ren, his party members gave him looks of approval.

It was a scene that would be repeated many times over as Ren and his party traced the path of destruction the Zombie Dragon had left in its wake.


It was the dead of night. The full moon hung overhead, setting shadows dancing. A set of such shadows, with no one noticing, stole into a city that bordered on the lands of Van Reichnott. As the shadows dashed from back alley to back alley, the light of the moon would briefly reveal the faces of the Shield Hero's party, but they moved so swiftly and silently that, if anyone had noticed them, that they would have considered the sight a mere flight of fancy of an overly active imagination.

The lord of this city and surrounding lands had been the one making things difficult for Van Reichnott and his people recently. The one directed by the Church of the Three Heroes to do so. Their goal, amongst other things, was to put a permanent stop to this.

Without anyone but themselves being the wiser, they managed to reach a hidden alcove close by the largest and ostentatious mansion in the city. The home of their mark: Idol Rabier.

"Raphtalia," Naofumi directed.

Raphtalia didn't acknowledge Naofumi's order. With a somber expression on her face, but with a dead serious and hostile look in her eyes, her Circuits spun up. With a few words of power, she cast a spell.

"All Zweite Hiding," she announced, and the entire party became invisible. Without another word, they headed towards the mansion of their mark. It spoke of all their practice that all of them nary made a sound as they scaled the wall of the mansion and entered its ground.

The mansion in question was crawling with guards, but none of them were anything special. Not a single one of them noticed the Shield Hero's party and those that came even a little bit close to doing so were distracted and befuddled by another layer of illusions, curtesy of Raphtalia.

It wasn't long before they saw their mark, Idol Rabier. He was an overweight, middle-aged man with a plump face and an unkempt mop of blond hair. A minimal mustache in the same color over his upper lip, underscoring his ever present cynical smile. He was dressed in elegant clothing that came in black, golden, and purple hues. A dark purple cape, yellow pants and black riding boots finished the ensemble.

They had spotted Idol the moment they had made it to the central grounds of the courtyard. He was flanked by a pair of guards as he descended down a set of stone stairs, leading underneath the mansion that was his home.

Raphtalia's face had gone stark white. If it was from fear, rage or a combination of both was anyone's guess.

She only snapped out of it when Naofumi placed a hand on her shoulder. The Shield Hero and one of his swords made eye contact.

Then they nodded to each other, resolute.

"Let's do this."

Idol was a hostile man. If not by nature, then certainly because of circumstance.

He was a noble that had grown up in Melromarc. A devout believer of the Church of the Three Heroes, he had always been taught to despise demi-humans. Said belief had become set in stone in his very psyche after he had participated in a war with Siltvelt, a demi-human nation that, in many ways, was the exact opposite of Melromarc. What he had seen and experienced in that war…He could no longer look at demi-humans and see people. He only saw rabid animals. Inferior creatures that needed to either be stamped out or be shown their proper place beneath humanities boot.

It would have been sad, if Idol hadn't become such a vile creature. Idol felt no more guilt torturing a demi-human than he would stepping on a bug. The dungeon he was descending in attested to that fact. Several of the cages that lined the walls of his dungeon was occupied by one or more demi-humans. Each and every single one of them wore the marks of torture: lashes from whips. Bruises from hits. Stab wounds from knives. And so, so much more.

It was nothing less than a testament to the twisted mind of Idol Rabier, and a reflection of the hatred and rot that was eating away at the very foundation of Melromarc. A hatred and rot promoted by the Church of the Three Heroes.

Idol could be considered nothing less then a herald of the church.

And now that herald was planning to blow of a little steam.

"Devil of the Shield," Idol spat the name with such venom that it would have made any sane person's skin crawl. He was fairly high up in the church. One of its main financiers, bankrolling the Church of the Three Heroes to a significant extent. He, after all, came from one of the richest families in Melromarc that was slavishly devoted to the church. This did not give him any kind of real leadership position, but it did allow him access to much of the information that the church was privy to.

When the Heroes had been summoned, the way things went down was just like the Church of the Three Heroes intended it to. The three Heroes were now under the influence of the church, while the enemy apostle, the Devil of the Shield, was vilified and disgraced. It confirmed the teachings of the Church of the Three Heroes and cemented its grasp on power.

However, things didn't stay that way. The Devil of the Shield did not have the good grace to simply accept its designated role and remain in the proverbial and literal gutter. Somehow, it was managing to drag itself out of the hole it had been put into, and turn public opinion around.

And how was it doing this? By doing good deeds, helping the people, and generally outshining all the other Heroes.

Idol gritted his teeth so hard he almost chipped them.

It was clearly some kind of ploy, a ruse of the Devil of the Shield to win public support and undermine the Church of the Three Heroes and its teachings. Whatever foul ends it had to be conducting in order to accomplish its deeds, the Devil of the Shield had, by its actions, made clear that it sought the very dissolution of the Church of the Three Heroes.

Unfortunately, it was a ploy that was working. Church attendance and support in the Tageero Region, the Selva Region and the northern Emantla Region was at an all time low. A large majority of the people in those parts of Melromarc had clearly been taken in by the Devil of the Shield's so called helpful deeds and overly kind words, making them turn their backs on the church.

Idol, if given the chance, would gladly chock the life out of those heretics.

Unfortunately, none of those heretics were currently available for him to take his frustrations out on. Instead, he'd have to make do with his toys.

Not that he really minded some demi-human torture.

Still flanked by his guards, Idol bypassed all the cages and made his way towards the cage in the farthest corner. There, chained to the wall, was his latest, favorite toy. Idol had not made the effort to learn the demi-human's name, but it was young dog subtype demi-human, a pretty boy. Its beauty was wasted on such a vile creature, and Idol took immense pleasure in marring that beauty. He had yet to manage to make the demi-human cry out in pain, however. The stubborn little shit resolutely kept its mouth shut, no matter what he did or said.

It reminded him starkly of that racoon demi-human girl he had owned a while back, and it infuriated him to no end. No matter. He would break that brat eventually, just like the raccoon demi-human did at the end.

"Well, brat, I hope you missed me," Idol cackled as he opened the cage doors. They creaked loudly as they announced Idol's entrance.

The dog demi-human growled back, but otherwise didn't respond.

"Don't be like that, brat," Idol positively cooed as he stalked forwards. "Didn't we have a lot of fun times together? The time I whipped you. The time I beat you. The time I made you watch when I was having fun with my other toys. Shouldn't you treat me with a bit more kindness?"

Another growl, much louder this time. Again, however, there was no further response.

"Hah, demi-humans truly are an uncouth lot. Words seem to be wasted on you," Idol sighed in faux sadness. He reached towards his belt and grasped the handle of his whip. The whip was his weapon of choice. It had been ever since he first stepped onto the battlefield and fought countless demi-humans. Not because he was innately talented in its use, but he thought it only fitting to use a whip while fighting and making demi-humans bow down. His trusty whip was always on his person, ready to be used whenever a demi-human entered his line of sight.

Again, the response from the dog demi-human was minimal. A heated glare, and nothing else.

Idol growled, his ire thoroughly stooked by this demi-human that refused to be cowed.

The whip unfurled and, with a well-practiced motion of Idol's arm, arched up into the air, ready to be brought down full force.

A grin broke out on Idol's red tinted face.

"Know your place. You filthy demi-human scum! In the name of god!"

The demi-human, a young child of a mere ten years old, closed his eyes and braced for the pain. He refused to shout out in alarm, however. He wouldn't give the fat noble satisfaction. He categorically refused to.

SQUELCH-SPLURT!

Blood erupted and covered the dungeon floor.

The child slowly opened his eyes, and was completely astounded at the lack of pain he felt.

The whip fell to the ground. It had gone unused.

Idol's mouth gaped open as blood welled up and dripped down the corners of his lips, in a combination of shock and horror. The reason was obvious as he looked down his body. A purple longsword was sticking out of his expansive gut, having pierced him from behind and punched completely through him.

Blood dripped down the Amethyst Longsword's edge in a grizzly display.

From behind Idol, his unseen assailant leaned in.

"You won't hurt anyone ever again. And certainly not my friends, you monster," Raphtalia hissed into the horrified noble's ear.

She then brutally twisted her blade and ripped it out in a single savage motion. Idol collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, blood continuing to drip out in copious amounts from both his mouth and gut. Moreover, Raphtalia's attack hadn't been a blind attack performed out of rage. She had deliberately targeted Idol's spine, a fact that further increased Idol's almost blinding horror when he found he could longer move or even feel his lower body.

After that, however, Raphtalia completely ignored Idol's collapsed form. Instead, she made a beeline for the chained up demi-human child.

"Keel-kun!" she cried.

"EH?! Who are you?!" the now named Keel erupted in complete amazement.

"You don't recognize me?" Raphtalia was near tears. "It's me, your friend Raphtalia."

Keel let out another exclamation of surprise. "That's not possible. Raphtalia was a girl shorter then even me, and not some tall beautiful woman. It's impossible. Impossible for you to be Raphtalia!"

"Then I'll prove it to you," Raphtalia kneeled down besides Keel. Unnoticed by either of them, the fat noble's guards laid out cold in the corner, having been incapacitated by Elrasla and Filo respectively. Shirou, meanwhile, had used Shadow Bind Blade to make sure that Idol would not get a chance to try anything, while Naofumi stood guard at the door of the cage.

Finding a friend of Raphtalia and former fellow villager here was a complete surprise. They were now acting to give Raphtalia and Keel a moment to reconnect.

"Do you remember eating that poisonous mushroom out in the fields?" Raphtalia asked, almost breathless. "You had hidden yourself away even though you were sick, because you were afraid how your parents might react. And I managed to find you after half a day of searching. Everyone was worried sick. And when I said that we should rebuild our village after the Wave, you were the first to agree. That made me really happy…"

Keel made chocking sound as he recalled the memories. "Raphtalia, it's really you..?"

Without another word, Raphtalia reached out and with brute force tore out the manacles and chains holding Keel to the wall. Keel did not even get a chance to process how ridiculously strong Raphtalia had to be now in order to accomplish that. Raphtalia swept him up in a tight hug.

"OWH! Raphtalia!" Keel gasped. "Too tight!"

Raphtalia loosened her grip, but refused to let Keel go completely, just assuring herself that Keel was actually here. After a moment, she sat him down. She was relieved to see that Keel could stand under his own power.

"Raphtalia," Naofumi called. Though he was loath to interrupt, they didn't really have the time to be wasting on an impromptu reunion.

The Shield Hero took a moment to study Keel. He clearly wasn't in the best of health, and while he could stand, the trembling in Keel's legs and how his short, dog-like tail was curled between his legs betrayed the strain he was under.

"Zweite Heal X," Naofumi fired off the quick spell, which had been upgraded to the max with the use of the Magic Rank Strengthening Method. Keel let out a sound of surprise as the pain and strain he was under seemed to completely disappear in one blink to the next.

"Keel-kun, this is Naofumi-sama," Raphtalia said as Naofumi wordlessly handed Keel one of his home made Healing Potions. "He is the one who saved me, and he's also the Shield Hero."

Keel had raised the Healing Potion to his lips, but froze when he realized who he was in the presence of. Shirou stepped in, having left the guarding of Idol to Elrasla – also having knocked the fat noble out cold with a rather vicious kick empowered with Life Force to the back of the head – and gently pushed the Healing Potion to Keel's lips, instructing him to drink.

The ten year old did, completely stunned by everything that had happened in the last ten minutes.

Then Shirou took the opportunity to fasten an armband to Keel's wrist.

Rose Quartz Armband – Enchantment: Health Regeneration (extra high) [Blessing: high - extra high]

It was Shirou's latest and greatest product in the development of a healing based accessories.

Now, Keel was chocking up. The care and kindness he was being shown so suddenly after everything he had endured…It was too much for him. The pain he'd been enduring just a minute ago now seemed like nothing more than a badly remembered nightmare.

"Shh," Raphtalia cooed at him, took Keel by the hand and led him out of the cage.

Keel's snivels were joined by several others as they went down every single cage in the dungeon and freed the captive demi-humans, simultaneously treating their injuries as best as they were able. All of the slaves Idol owned were young demi-human children. Apparently, the fat noble also had a hard-on for torturing children.

At the end of it all, they had saved five demi-human children. All of them showed varying signs of being tortured. They had been bought as slaves for just that purpose.

As he saw the sheer brutality Idol had committed against these innocent children, the more and more difficult it became for Shirou not to further lash out at Idol. At the moment he was dragging the fat noble with him, while Elrasla was carrying the guards they had knocked out could over her shoulders. Their goal in coming here was not to kill Idol, but to capture him. As such they had treated Idol's wounds just enough that he wouldn't die from them, but only that.

Shirou was sorely tempted to ram Idol skull first into the stone of the dungeon floor and scramble his brains, but he held the urge back with a force of will. It pained him to admit it, but Idol was worth more to them alive then dead.

It was when he was thinking this, however, when they came upon a cage that did not have any occupants. Or at least, no life occupants. A single small skeleton, obviously the remains of a child, laid in the corner of the cage, barely visible in the dim light of the dungeon.

"Rifana-chan…" Raphtalia chocked back a sob.

Keel, recognizing the name, and his head snapped towards the skeleton. "No, it can't be…"

"Both I and Rifana were held here. I survived, but Rifana fell ill, and…" Raphtalia's words failed her. She let go of Keel's hand and wrenched the cage door open. She kneeled in front of Rifana's skeleton, and seemed to fall into a stupor as she gazed blankly at the remains of her childhood friend.

In that moment, Raphtalia's eyes looked just like before she had met Shirou and Naofumi, back in the Slave Trader's tent. When she had given up on life.

A hand fell on her shoulder. Raphtalia started and she turned to look helplessly over her shoulder. Naofumi stood beside her. He did not ask her who had died here or their story. She had already done so when her nightmares began. It was what had prompted Naofumi to make contact with the Queen and demand the right to see justice done on Raphtalia's behalf, threatening that she'd lose his support if she didn't acquiesce. The Queen had agreed, and now, because of circumstances that lined up with that desire, they were here.

That wasn't important right now, however. At the moment, only Raphtalia mattered.

"If only I had been stronger…" Raphtalia murmured listlessly.

"You were child. The fact that you held out as long as you did meant that you were more than strong enough, even back then," Naofumi refuted.

"That's a lie," Raphtalia had a mad, grief ridden look in her eyes. "Before I met you, Naofumi-sama, I was weak and helpless. Without you bringing me this far, I would have died, useless and weak, without having ever truly helped anyone."

"You're the one who's lying, Raphtalia!" Keel suddenly burst out.

"Keel-kun..?"

"Back when our village was destroyed, it was your earnest actions and smile that motivated everyone to try and rebuild our village," were Keel's impassioned words. He himself seemed to be barely holding it together, but he met Raphtalia's eyes as firmly as he could. "If it was not for you, I probably would have died down here! If you had not given me hope after the disaster, I would have been dead a long time ago!"

Thump. Shirou dropped Idol like useless trash. He had something far more important to do.

"Did you know, Raphtalia, that it was because of you that I learned to trust Naofumi?" Shirou said.

"Wah..?"

"I…am not the best judge of character," Shirou admitted. "I could not see past his harsh exterior when we first met. I only began to reconsider my first impression of him when you took so quickly to him. You decided that Naofumi could be trusted before I did, and he kept that trust, and he gained my trust in turn. If it wasn't because of that, I probably would not have been able to see past my first impression of him."

"Raphtalia," Naofumi kneeled beside her and grasped both her shoulders, turning her to face him. "Don't you get it? What Shirou means? If it wasn't for your strength, if you didn't hang on as long as you did…none of this would have been possible. Chances are that I could not have moved past what had been done to me. It was because you believed in me before anyone else did, that all of us are even here right now. That these children were saved. That we are set to turn this rotten country into a place worth saving."

Raphtalia started tearing up again. There was one difference, however.

"All of it that we accomplished since I came here…it's all because of you, Raphtalia."

They were happy tears.

"Naofumi-sama!" Raphtalia cried and hugged the Shield Hero close. Even if this wasn't the ideal time or place to do this, none of them even thought about breaking up the moment.

Raphtalia needed this. So, they gave it to her. Simple as. And if anyone tried to interrupt, well, they'd come to regret it. They would make sure of it.

After a long heartfelt moment, Raphtalia dried her tears and stood up. Without any further words, she accepted the bag Naofumi gave her. The reason was obvious. Rifana would not be able to rest in peace in a place like this. So, she gathered Rifana's remains and placed them in the bag, which Naofumi then placed in his Item Box for safe keeping.

"And now..?" Naofumi mused to himself.

"Shield Hero-sama," one of the Queen's Shadows dropped from the ceiling, making nary a sound as they landed. The demi-human children tensed up as the unknown figure appeared, but relaxed again when they noticed that the Shield Hero's party wasn't alarmed.

"Good, you're here," Naofumi let out a breath. He had just been thinking about how to best proceed. They still had an objective to complete in the mansion before they could leave, but that raised the question of what they should do with the people they had rescued and their captives. Luckily, they'd discussed this situation in advance. Now that the Shadow had revealed themselves, they could continue.

The Legendary Shield transformed into the Dragon Hourglass Sand Shield.

"Okay, listen up!" Naofumi turned towards the children they had rescued. "I'll be using one of my abilities to send you lot to safe place where one of my allies will be waiting. He will take you in for the mean time. This Shadow will accompany you and make sure that Idol doesn't escape."

After all, Naofumi had recorded Van Reichnott's home as a possible location to teleport to for exactly this reason.

"What about you, Raphtalia and the rest of your party?" Keel asked, shivering.

"We will be joining you shortly. We still have something to do here before we can leave," Naofumi said. It took a few moments of cajoling before all the children, Keel included, agreed to momentarily part with their saviors, but they eventually did agree.

Naofumi raised the Dragon Hourglass Sand Shield and activated its ability. Keel, the other children, the Shadow and the incapacitated forms of Idol and his two guards disappeared, having obviously been teleported away.

"Let's go," Shirou said. They had wasted enough time as it is.

The party nodded towards each other and headed to the stairs leading back above ground. Raphtalia was about to cloak them in her illusions again, but she froze when they noticed a figure standing at the top of the stairs, framed by the full moon in the dark sky behind them.

Everyone else similarly froze.

"Fitoria," Naofumi led slip in incredulousness. "What..?"

Indeed. Fitoria, in her human form was standing in their path. She smiled faintly at them.

"Hello, everyone. It's good to see you all again. I hope you have a moment. There's something I want to discuss," Fitoria, ever blunt, said without preamble.

"I, uh, this isn't really the place…" Shirou stumbled over his words, completely flummoxed by this sudden situation. "Wait, that doesn't matter. Get down here before someone sees you!"

"Don't worry," Fitoria said almost offhandedly. "I've made sure that no one on the premises is in any condition to notice anything. We won't be interrupted. As a matter of fact, why don't you get up here? That place down there looks…unpleasant."

Fitoria's expression said a lot that was left unspoken.

After a moment of indecision, they did as Fitoria requested. Even though they weren't hidden under an illusion anymore, no one seemed to notice them, just like Fitoria had said. They saw quite a few guards laying unconscious in the courtyard. All of them wondered what she had done to all the guards, but they pushed the question to the back of their minds.

Another question took its place. It was more a statement of fact, however.

"Your were watching, weren't you?" the hitherto silent Filo spoke up.

"I was," Fitoria confirmed. After all, Filo and Fitoria were connected through the ahoge Fitoria had bestowed upon Filo. Fitoria had, in fact been watching from almost the very second the Shield Hero's party had stolen into Idol's mansion, her attention snagged by something monumentally important. She had held off on heading over immediately, first because the Shield Hero's party were clearly busy with something important, and then because of the moment they'd had with Raphtalia.

"So, what did you want to discuss?" Naofumi asked uneasily. Even though Fitoria had assured them that no one would or even could notice them, the Shield Hero felt uneasy at standing out in the open in what amounted to enemy territory. He'd rather finish this up as quickly as possible.

"Because of that," Fitoria said. She raised her arm and pointed towards the obelisk in the center of the courtyard. It was massive rectangular block of stone that reached towards the sky. Odd lettering covered its surface. Though it was hard to describe, the feeling the obelisk gave off was…ominous.

"What of it?" Shirou asked. They had of course noted the obelisk when they stole into the mansion, but beside the fact that it was off putting for some unknown reason, they had not given the obelisk much thought.

"That is a seal," Fitoria revealed.

"A seal," Raphtalia mused. "A seal of what?"

"A monster, quite a powerful one. Most ordinary people wouldn't last ten seconds in a fight against it," Fitoria expounded. "A monster that carries a Dragon Emperor Core Fragment. When I noticed its presence through Filo, I headed over immediately."

"You mean like..?" Naofumi placed his hand on the Legendary Shield.

Naturally, he had let the Legendary Shield absorb the Dragon Emperor Core Fragment they had taken from the Zombie Dragon. Even now, remembering that it hadn't unlocked any shield for him incensed him. He was probably too low Level at the moment.

"Yes, just like that," Fitoria said, completely aware of what he had done with the Dragon Emperor Core Fragment he had come into possession of. For some reason, she did not look pleased at what he had done with it.

Shirou stared at the obelisk for a long moment. Then, he turned towards Fitoria. "What do you want from us?"

"For you to kill the beast," Fitoria announced. "Retrieve the Dragon Emperor Core Fragment for me."

"…And might I ask why?" Naofumi asked, tilting his head quizzically, scowling out of habit. "I presume you are able to release the seal whenever you please? If so, and if you think we're capable of killing this monster, shouldn't you be capable of doing so as well and much more easily at that?"

"You would be right, Shield Hero," Fitoria confirmed. "There are, however, several reasons I'd rather see you and yours take on this beast."

Fitoria headed over towards the obelisk. They followed behind her. When Fitoria reached the base of it, she turned back towards them.

"Consider it…a test," she announced.

"Another one?" Shirou sighed, a little annoyed. "You do like your tests, don't you?"

"I do, and I have my reasons," Fitoria shrugged a little.

"And those reasons are?" Naofumi prodded.

"I will be blunt," Fitoria straightened. "All of you have been doing a commendable job lately."

As one, the Shield Hero's party was startled. Whatever they'd imagined Fitoria was about to say, that wasn't it.

Fitoria smiled at them. It was a small smile, but a genuine one. "Your power and skill has continued to grow in leaps and bounds. You have managed to bring the Sword Hero over to your side. While the list of allies you can depend on continues to grow. I must thank you all for putting forward such diligent work all this time, and for you, Shield Hero, to keep your promise like you have."

"…However," Naofumi continued to prod directly.

Fitoria gave a small giggle. "However nothing, Shield Hero. Through my connection with Filo, I have been keeping progress of you and yours. All of you have gone far above and beyond my expectations. It's because of this that I'm having a bit of trouble accurately gauging how strong you all are now."

Shirou blinked as he puzzled out what Fitoria's words were leading up to.

"So this test is to…"

"See how far you have come," Fitoria confirmed with a nod.

"And what do we get out of this test?" Naofumi deadpanned. It was not lost on him how similar this conversation was going compared to the conversation they'd had when first meeting Fitoria.

"Besides truly testing yourself since quite a long time?" Fitoria raised a brow. "I would be willing to share a bit more information of the dangers you'll be facing, and of a choice you'll be forced to make in the near future…"

Naofumi did not appear convinced.

"Also, I'll share another Strengthening Method I know with you."

"Okay, now we're talking," Naofumi changed his tune. He turned towards his party members. "I say yes. Are you guys okay with this?"

"I'm with you every step of the way, Naofumi-sama," Raphtalia almost saluted him.

"I'd enjoy caving in the face of another dragon, Master," Filo giggled.

"I hope this beast poses a true challenge. I've been getting bored lately," Elrasla cackled madly.

Shirou didn't bother verbally responding. He drew his sword and nodded his agreement.

Naofumi huffed good naturedly at his dependable party members. His head turned back towards Fitoria. "Just to be clear, you'll only share your information with us if we succeed in killing this monster?"

"No," Fitoria surprisingly enough denied. "I only want you to try. If you can't, I will slay the beast myself. The purpose of this tests is to see how far you have come. You can use and try everything and anything to kill this beast. The only restriction I'd impose is for you to not use the Curse Series."

"Easy enough," Naofumu acquiesced. As he'd never had a need to use the Curse Series before he was not about to draw on its cursed strength now.

"Good," Fitoria smiled. "If you all are ready, I'll take us to a place where you can fight without endangering anyone else…"

"Hold on, Fitoria," Shirou cut in before she could do whatever she was about to do. "Before we leave, there's still something we have to do here."

Naofumi's eyes widened. "That's right. We still need to rob Idol blind."

One of the main reasons why they'd targeted Idol was because he was one of the main bankrollers of the Church of the Three Heroes. Among other things, this raid was a strike at the coffers of the church. As there was no such thing as an equivalent to the modern day banking system in this world, the vast majority of Idol's wealth was housed in several vaults across his mansion, the locations of which their Shadow friends had long since shared with them. By taking out Idol, and repurposing his wealth, they'd really hit the Church of the Three Heroes where it hurt.

Fitoria raised a brow. "Is that really so important..?"

"Yes," Shirou nodded resolutely. "This is connected with taking out the Church of the Three Heroes, which in turn is connected with getting all the Heroes and the all countries of this world to work together to meet the Waves. We can't go now and leave the job half finished."

"I see. Fair enough," Fitoria agreed and turned back towards the obelisk. "Go do what you need to do. I will wait here until you return. Don't worry about anyone trying to waylay you. No one but us are conscious on the premises anymore. I made sure of that."

Not looking the gift horse in the mouth, nor asking how Fitoria had done that, the party of the Shield Hero set out to, ahem, repurpose Idol's wealth for their own ends. Unseen by anyone, Naofumi gleefully rubbed his hands together. Quick and easy riches, here they come!


The flash of teleportation was bright like always, even if it wasn't done at Naofumi's command. This time, it was Fitoria that took them to their destination. As their vision cleared, the Shield Hero's party found themselves in a large clearing, with Fitoria ahead of them and the still intact obelisk/seal behind her. How she managed to bring the obelisk along with her was a question that they would not get the chance to ask.

"Prepare yourselves," Fitoria commanded.

They took on their usual formation, with Naofumi at the front and the rest of the part arrayed behind him. Naofumi raised his shield, equipping the Soul Eater Shield. Raphtalia's sword hissed as she pulled it free from its sheath. The bowstring of the Elite Power Bow released an almost musical note as Shirou notched an arrow to it. Filo's wings fluttered as she loosened up her muscles. And Elrasla punched her fist into her palm, a devil may cry grin on her face.

There was no more need for any more words. The purpose of this battle had already been explained, and the reward for doing battle had been laid out. Now, it was only a matter of seeing it through, and they would come out stronger at the other end.

Fitoria placed her hand on the obelisk and muttered a few words underneath her breath.

In response, cracks sprung up into existence on the obelisk's ominous surface.

The Queen of the Filolials turned back towards them. "Good luck. Though I do not think this needs to be said, even though I am powerful, I am not omnipotent. Anyone of you may very well die if you mess up enough. Be careful, and fight to the best of your ability. It would be rather…inconvenient for the world if anyone of you died."

With those rather ominous words, Fitoria suddenly seemed to flex her power. In response, the world around her rippled like the surface of a pond that had been disturbed by a thrown rock. The surrounding trees of the forest became difficult to see as fog suddenly rolled in. Luckily, the clearing itself remained perfectly visible, but the surrounding forest had become indistinct and difficult to make out. Clearly, whatever the monster they were about to face, Fitoria did not want to risk giving it a chance to escape.

Now, they were locked up together with it, and it with them.

Fitoria stared at them for a long moment, an indescribable expression on her face.

Then she disappeared, leaving them to face the coming challenge alone.

Naofumi…just hmphed at all the theatrics and heavy words.

"I feel stupid for even asking this and repeating myself, but…everyone ready for this?"

His party members didn't bother verbally responding. They just fell into combat ready stances.

If this had been a mere month or two ago, Naofumi, had he been faced with an unknown threat out to kill him, would have been shaking in his boots right about now. The Shield Hero had been an ordinary guy that had to change on a fundamental level in order to survive. Unreasonable events and constant battles had changed him utterly. Unless there were extraordinary circumstances, Naofumi no longer hesitated in battle. He still felt fear, but he didn't allow that fear to rule him.

Now? With his shield held at the ready, and his party members at his back? The Shield Hero gave an almost menacing, fearless grin.

Whatever you are, bring it on!

Unknown to the Shield Hero, he and his party members shared that thought at the exact same time.

"All Zweite Guard X," Naofumi cast the spell. He'd reached the point that he could manage a few second tier spells without the need of an aria. Seconds before the battle begun, the Shield Hero used the little remaining time to massively raise his own and his party's Defense Stat.

The cracks of the obelisk's surface widened rapidly. Light poured out of those cracks, while bright green and coruscating energy arced and snapped around its disintegrating material. With the sound of skyscraper collapsing and a flash of bright light, the obelisk disintegrated into nothingness.

When the light cleared, their opponent was revealed.

It was huge, far larger than any other monster they'd ever fought, even outdoing the Zombie Dragon in sheer size. To Naofumi and Shirou, it looked remarkably like a T Rex, if it could have grown over three times the size it had any right to be and it was covered in monstrous looking spikes. The scales that armored its body looked like they could repel machinegun fire, and were colored a deep grey. Its jaws and teeth could bite a tank in half, while its flexing tri-clawed hands could, by the looks of them, quite easily slice and topple castle walls. An outsized two pointed crest crowned its skull.

[Tyrant Dragon Rex Lv: 66]

The Tyrant Dragon Rex eyes slowly opened, as if it was just awakening from sleep. The beast looked around, its burning red eyes surveying the world, until said eyes alighted on them.

There was a heartbeat of silence, then…

CRASH!

The Tyrant Dragon Rex didn't roar. It took a single, heavy step forward. Even just taking a single step made the earth buckle and warp underneath its gargantuan frame, and it snarled so deep they could feel their bones vibrate. A clearer statement of intent, there never was.

Then the Tyrant Dragon Rex opened its colossal jaws wide and they could see a very faint light travel up its long neck towards its mouth. Energy pooled in its open gullet.

"Air Strike Shield! Change Shield!"

Naofumi deployed the Skill, mixing in a meaty chunk of Life Force. A bare second after the ethereal shield appeared, it morphed into the Light Metal Shield, the Shield Hero seeking to make use of said shield's anti-magic properties.

The Tyrant Dragon Rex's jaws stretched wide, and a veritable tsunami of fire came roaring out of its gullet. The flames roared over the earth like a flash flood, so wide and tall that it completely filled the vision of anyone in the vicinity.

The flood of flames washed over the Light Metal Shield. It succeeded protecting the relatively small area the party of the Shield Hero was standing on, while everything around said small area was awash with flames. However, it could not do so forever. Even with the added Life Force and the anti-magic properties of the Light Metal Shield, the shield started showing signs of buckling almost immediately.

"Crap!" Naofumi hissed. He had wanted to keep a few defensive Skills in reserve, but it was apparent that the Tyrant Dragon Rex was too strong to afford him that luxury.

The Light metal Shield broke with a sound similar to shattering glass, but the pillar of flame then ran up against the Second Shield that had been deployed behind it, and when it broke that shield, it was again waylaid by the Third Shield. By the time the pillar of flame reached the party proper, the force field of the Meteor Shield took it with only the barest hint of stress.

After a long moment, the sea of flames died away. The Tyrant Dragon Rex's eyes focused on the maelstrom of dying flames, searching for its prey.

An arrow spearing out of said dying flames answered the unspoken question if its prey was still alive or not. It shot forwards so fast that a visible slipstream of wind surrounded it, looking like it had been fired by a railgun.

Quick reflexes saved the Tyrant Dragon Rex from losing an eye. It turned its head, and the Amethyst arrow instead buried itself in its monstrous jaw.

BOOM!

The Tyrant Dragon Rex roared in fury as the arrow detonated, the Explosion Enchantment triggering on contact. Flames and smoke covered its face, hiding the monster's expression, even as it staggered back in surprise and pain, its ponderous steps making the ground tremble.

"YAAH! Lets do this, Onee-chan!"

"Lets!"

Filo, in her Queen form, bounded forwards with a battle cry, Raphtalia astride on her back. Raphtalia drew her sword, light magic gathering around the blade in swirls of power.

The Tyrant Dragon Rex recovered its footing, and lurched forwards. Seeing the approaching threat, it stomped the ground with all of its not inconsiderable strength. Stones the size of automobiles and buildings were sent flying, the ground rippled, and a thick cloud of obscuring dust was kicked up in a show of pure might.

Filo was not deterred. She ran forward, not letting the rippling and trembling ground ruin her footing. Without looking, she dodged the flying rubble that came down with the force of artillery shells, zigzagging between the pieces of rock with no loss of speed to speak of. As soon as Filo had reached the optimal range, she jumped, dodging the breath of flame the Tyrant Dragon Rex had spat towards her out of instinct with but a hairsbreadth to spare.

She moved so quickly that the Tyrant Dragon Rex completely lost track of her the moment she jumped. Filo arced over the Tyrant Dragons Rex's head, completely out of the monster's sight, and at the optimal moment, Raphtalia let go.

Filo soared ahead. Raphtalia hung suspended in mid-air, for a brief moment utterly motionless. Then Raphtalia spun, swinging her sword in a wide arc at the Tyrant Dragon Rex down below her. The swirls of light magic around the blade coalesced into physical form, her sword leaving afterimages as she swung, said afterimages becoming corporeal as a dozen blades made of pure light were left in the wake of her sword swing.

"Light Swords!"

The swords of light speared downwards, piercing the top of the Tyrant Dragon Rex's skull.

ROAR!

Raphtalia spun again and again, using the Applied Sword Magic technique again and again. Swords of pure light rained down without mercy.

The Tyrant Dragon Rex's long and spiked tail arced upwards and swung towards her like the whip of a certain slaver she hated so much, aiming to swat her out of the sky like an overly annoying bug.

"Shield Prison! Faust Agility V!"

The prison of Shields formed in front of Raphtalia. She used it as a springboard to dodge, fer feet flexing against it as she jumped off of it, as she knew that the Shield Prison would not hold. If it would have, Naofumi would have closed the prison of shields around her. Her instincts were on the mark. The whip-like tail shattered the prison of shields with a thunderous noise, and her dodge only succeeded because of the speed buff that had been applied to her at the last second.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

ROAR!

In the moment it had been distracted by Raphtalia, a trio of arrows impacted the Tyrant Dragon Rex's flank and front. They detonated into conflagrations of explosive force, making the monster stagger back.

The Tyrant Dragon Rex swung around on the spot, using the momentum of its stumble. Its ginormous tail swung wide and low, aiming for the one bombarding it unto its literal backfoot.

Naofumi stepped into the path of the tail swinging for Shirou, who hadn't even bothered to glance at it as he notched another arrow to his bow. The Shield Hero braced himself, digging his feet into ground and hunkering down even as Elrasla placed her hands on his back and further helped to brace him for the coming impact.

The Soul Eater Shield was raised up high, and it rang like a temple bell as the Tyrant Dragon Rex's tail struck home. Naofumi roared in unison with the monstrous beast as he tried to bleed off the impact and not be sent flying. Even with his Defense focused Stats and all the modifiers he had as a Hero, he felt that he only succeeded because Elrasla was bracing him.

TWANG-BOOM-CRASH!

Its attack thwarted, the Tyrant Dragon Rex also failed to prevent the bombardment coming from the bow wielding demi-human. This time, the exploding arrow struck the back of its knee, its movements having exposed the marginal weak spot.

The Tyrant Dragon Rex fell, its balance broken, and it crashed to the earth with a thunderous sound.

Having circled back around, Filo then came down on the Tyrant Dragon Rex's skull.

"Spiral Strike!"

The Tyrant Dragon Rex roared in unrestrained fury as the crest that crowned its skull cracked visibly from Filo's kick. It lurched back to its feet and tried to crunch Filo into oblivion, but the Filolial Queen was far too quick for its ponderous movements to hit home. She dodged with room to spare.

"Air Strike Shield!" And she made the Tyrant Dragon Rex regret the attempt as she used the suddenly appeared Air Strike Shield as a springboard, launching herself upwards and impacting the bottom of its jaws, closing them with an eye watering clacking sound.

And then Filo noticed what was about to happen, and she, in turn, used the Tyrant Dragon Rex's jaw as a springboard to quickly make some distance.

"Light Swords!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

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

The Tyrant Dragon Rex stumbled and roared in blind fury as the attacks struck home. Explosions from Shirou's arrows harrowed its side, while Raphtalia's swords of light pierced its thick sheet of protective scales. Still, even as they piled on attack after attack it didn't look like they were doing any definitive damage.

Naofumi grimaced. They were hurting it, but not nearly enough to have any chance of quickly and cleanly ending the battle any time soon. From what he had seen so far, the Tyrant Dragon Rex's Stats were focused on Attack, Defense, and Health, while its Speed was below average.

All of his attackers were capable of using Life Force, so the Tyrant Dragon Rex's Defense Stat was a none issue. However, that did not negate its Health. Its endurance must be insane to be able to tank all these Defense ignoring attacks. That, combined with its reflexes that saved it time and again from receiving to what amounted to a critical hit, made for one very annoying battle.

If the Tyrant Dragon Rex's Attack Stat wasn't particularly high either, he wouldn't be so worried. They had no suck luck, however. It's Attack Stat was significant to the point that a single direct hit from the beast could have dire consequences for anyone that wasn't himself.

Unexpectedly, in spite of his thoughts, the Shield Hero's grimace transformed into a smile.

Elrasla's Large Caliber Piercing Bullet, a large and bright sphere of tightly focused Life Force, had went utterly ignored as it continued to struggle to respond effectively to the explosions and swords of light that hounded it constantly. The Tyrant Dragon Rex, if it could have, would have cursed its own inattention as the Defense Rating attack impacted against its jaw.

ROA-GURGLE!

The Tyrant Dragon Rex's roar cut off into a pained gurgle as its head snaped back. The flesh and bone of its jaw seemed to distort and warp in a sickening fashion as the Defense Rating attack worked off of its strongest attribute, its Defense Stat, to cause it even further harm. With a god awful sound, the jaw and the front teeth of the Tyrant Dragon Rex shattered and broke.

Naofumi's smile turned into a malicious grin as the Tyrant Dragon Rex showed true pain for the very first time. After all, for an opponent like this, who in the Defense and Health department resembled the Shield Hero, they had the picture perfect counter.

"Elrasla!" Naofumi exclaimed as soon as he realized that.

"I can fell this beast no problem, Holy Saint! You just need to get me close!" Elrasla enthused.

"Everyone, you know what to do! Filo, get back here!" Naofumi thundered.

Filo did as instructed, circling widely around the Tyrant Dragon Rex as she rushed back as quickly as she could to Naofumi and Elrasla.

Raphtalia and Shirou similarly understood what their role had to be: distractions.

And Raphtalia was unusually suited to that role.

"Shirou!" Raphtalia directed as she made some distance, her Circuits spinning up for a non-combat role.

TWANG-BOOM-ROAR!

Said male demi-human targeted the Tyrant Dragon Rex's mangled jaw. The explosive arrow piled on even more damage to the savaged body part, and the Tyrant Dragon Rex's enraged attention turned towards the now standing by his lonesome Shirou.

CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!

The Tyrant Dragon Rex charged towards Shirou, head lowered and eyes enraged like a bull mad with pain and anger. It wasn't all that fast, but every step that it took made the ground tremble and ripple like water, and at this distance, the Tyrant Dragon Rex would be on Shirou in less than a minute.

Shirou ran sideways, losing explosive arrow after explosive arrow. He targeted the mangled jaw and face of the Tyrant Dragon Rex, enraging it even further as explosion rocked its front. Having adjusted its charge to intersect with Shirou, the Tyrant Dragon Rex lowered its head even further and, in spite of how mangled it was, opened its monstrous jaw wide with the aim of scoping the demi-human up and crunching him into a meaty paste.

"Zweite Mirage!"

However, the Tyrant Dragon Rex became confused on just who to target. After all, its target had just multiplied and became over two dozen people! Its charge slowed, and-

All the copies of Shirou put away their bows and pulled out their swords. With a war cry all the copies of Shirou lunged at the Tyrant Dragon Rex. The massive monster picked at random and snapped at one of the copies with its jaws. However, it was by far too slow and missed entirely, the copy dodging with room to spare.

Even if it had hit, however, chances are that it would have mattered little. Even now, as all the copies were literally in its face, it could not make out which was the real Shirou.

"Piercing Light Thrust!"

SQUELCH-ROAR!

And by now, Shirou had too much experience to not take the opportunity for what it was.

The Tyrant Dragon Rex roared and stumbled back, for the second time this fight in genuine pain. The beast had closed its eyelid at the last second, but that had not saved its eye from being pierced, the Amethyst Longsword, wielded by Shirou, empowered by light magic and Life Force punching in deep and rendering the beast permanently half blind.

Shirou then twisted the blade and brutally pulled it downwards, further ruining the eye and eliciting another pained roar from the Tyrant Dragon Rex.

The Tyrant Dragon Rex tossed its head in an effort to dislodge Shirou. Unexpectedly, the demi-human didn't fight this and allowed himself to be dislodged. In midair, Shirou spun around like Raphtalia had done earlier and swung his sword in the direction of the Tyrant Dragon Rex.

"Hidden Light Slash!"

Unlike Raphtalia, however, his free hand dipped into the ever present satchel at his side.

The crescent of cutting light missed its mark: the other eye of the Tyrant Dragon Rex, who as quickly as it could, turned its head. The Hidden Light Slash instead gouged a large cut into its cheek. Because of this, it missed the thrown bottle that had been hidden in the wake of the Hidden Light Slash.

A bottle filled with pale blue powder.

It shattered on the other eye of the Tyrant Dragon Rex and ice crystalized over it. Now, the beast was well and truly blind to the world. And as it stumbled in pained confusion, it, of course, complete missed Filo, just as they'd intended, who was high in the air above it. Astride her back were Naofumi and Elrasla.

The Shield Hero placed his free hand on the martial artist's back.

"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 my ally!"

Even as he chanted, Elrasla had closed her eyes. Slowly, energy began to ripple around her body, and her silvery hair was swirling independent from the whipping wind. Life Force surged up and out of her every pore. Normally, Life Force was usually only used in techniques, but now Elrasla was utilizing it all throughout her body continuously.

"Peerless Activity," she whispered underneath her breath, her Stats jumping massively.

"Zweite Power X!" Naofumi pushed those Stats even further as his magical energy surged into Elrasla and further empowered her.

Blind though it was, the Tyrant Dragon Rex stopped stumbling around. Somehow, its instincts were on point. It turned to 'look' at them with its blind gaze, and snarled viciously. The Tyrant Dragon Rex opened its savaged jaw as wide as it could manage. Faint light traveled up its neck and collected in its gullet, a veritable fire storm ready to be unleashed and ward away the coming premonition of death it could feel baring down on it.

"Filo!"

"Time to die, you stupid dragon!" Filo singsonged. With a flap of her wings and a faint manipulation of wind magic, they speared downwards toward their mark.

Fire roared out of the Tyrant Dragon Rex's jaw and-

"Air Strike Shield! Second Shield! Dritte Shield!"

-Was summarily deflected. Naofumi had cast the ethereal shields mere inches from the Tyrant Dragon Rex's jaw, angled in such away that the storm of fire surged back into the beast's surprised face and outwards and away from Naofumi, Filo and Elrasla. The barriers could not hold long against the sheer force behind the fire storm, but it didn't need to.

With assistance from Filo, Elrasla was launched forwards like an arrow. She flipped in midair, her left leg fully extending as Life Force was compressed to form a silvery orb in front of her foot. At that very moment, Elrasla looked like divine spear sent down from the heavens.

The fire started to break the barriers, and-

"Hengen Musou, Secret Technique: Full Moon!"

Having angled her rapid descent perfectly, Elrasla slammed down between the Tyrant Dragon Rex's ruined eyes. As she did so, she pushed the silvery orb of her technique into the skull of the beast, just as flesh ruptured and bone broke underneath the force of her kick. The compressed Life Force she just had injected into the Tyrant Dragon Rex worked off of its own Defense Stat, her own ridiculously Buffed Attack Stat, and the sheer amount of Life Force she had forced into the beast. The result of all of that combined?

The entire skull of the Tyrant Dragon Rex flexed and warped like Play-Doh in a toddler's hands. Then detonated in a shower of gore. The massive now headless monster came crashing down with a sound that was difficult to describe other than loud. Blood and gore came down like rain.

A moment of absolute silence followed.

Shirou looked at this scene, and noted with relief that all his allies had come out just fine out of this encounter. That said it was difficult for him to tear away his gaze from the sickening scene of the now headless Tyrant Dragon Rex, which continued to fountain copious amounts of blood from its neck.

All from a single kick.

If that had been done to a person, the result would be even more gruesome, he imagined.

"Elrasla is scary," Shirou mused under his breath.


Hey, guys. You know, I kind had trouble getting this chapter started, but I ended up having an absolute blast at the end. Also, this time I somehow managed to keep my promise of not taking any longer than a month to post a new chapter. Only just, but, whatever, HELL YEAH!

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed.