Sword and Shield

Clean Up 5

It was the dead of night, and the lands behind Lord Ciaran's mansion and the attached stately garden were silent.

This would be considered normal. Said lands were but long stretches of unbroken grasslands that ran all the way towards a large lake in the distance. However, if one had been here but an hour before, they would have been witness to an massive amount of noisy work and construction being done.

The grasslands had been transformed in record time. Tents were scattered all over the plain. As were carriages. These were arrayed in concentric circles that radiated outwards from a singular carriage in the center that just so happened to belong to the Shield Hero and his party. Cables were strung between all the tents and carriages on which lanterns were hung in their dozens. Soft light shone out of all these lanterns, illuminating the dark night.

After the Wave in Zeltoble had come to an end, the Shield Hero, for reasons known to only him and his companions, had been moved to buy up every Gladiator Slave that had been part of the battle to ward off the Wave. The Gladiator Slaves had been supplied by the main cardinal colosseums of Zeltoble. All these colosseums had been visited, and with an offer of overwhelming amounts of gold, the colosseums found their supply of Gladiator Slaves suddenly a lot smaller than it had been.

The Zeltoble Slave Trader, who also happened to be part of the leadership of the Southern Colosseum, also found his own personal stock of slaves dwindling as Naofumi bought them all up in a single mass purchase. All in all, about 300 people found themselves under the care of the Shield Hero. 200 Gladiator Slaves and 100 regular slaves.

After all that they had bought a buttload of carriages to transport all the slaves, a bunch of full grown Filolials to pull said carriages, as well as a bevy of supplies to take care of said slaves. The plan was to transport everyone to Melromarc, but that was at least a journey of two weeks that would take them back through the Dark Woods.

As such, they'd asked Lord Ciaran the use of his lands as momentary rest stop. Something which the wealthy merchant Lord happily agreed to. After having set up this impromptu camp, an equally impromptu celebration had been had as the Gladiator Slaves reveled in the fact that they'd survived the Wave.

Naofumi had supplied the food and drink, prepared and stored by the Legendary Shield, without being prompted. He saw no harm in rewarding them personally for their help during the Wave. At this point, there was so much preprepared food and such stored in the Legendary Shield that it hardly made a dent in his stock anyway. The Gladiator Slaves took it all happily and made merry well into the night, until even those hardened warriors and gone to sleep in an exhausted stupor.

Precious few were still awake, but of those still awake, the Shield Hero's party members were among their number. Filo, Elrasla and Sadeena had participated in the celebration, but they showed their monstrous stamina by still being up and about after dealing with a Wave, helping to set up this camp and partying the night away.

Naofumi had busied himself by tending to all the other slaves they'd bought that were not part of the retinue of Gladiator Slaves. Said slaves were all in varying states of health, so he used his healing magic, potions and a few healing based accessories Shirou had made to treat their various conditions and ills. Raphtalia, as she was won't to do, had stayed by Naofumi's side to help him during this task, as had Shirou.

However, now that all of that was done, a much more important task was at hand.

In a tent besides the Shield Hero's carriage a gathering was taking place.

Atla was laid out on a bed. It was a simple thing, but compared to the cot and paper thin blanket she had to make do with since coming into the care of the Zeltoble Slave Trader, it was a luxury she had done without for a very long time. Fohl, as always, was by her side, looking tense with a hint of disbelief.

Naofumi, Raphtalia, Filo, Elrasla and Sadeena were scattered in varying positions across the tent. All of them were looking at the individual in the center of this little get together: Shirou. Said demi-human was sitting cross-legged in with a tarp on his lap, on which laid a bevy of materials and tools as he slaved away at something with a single minded devotion usually found only in craftsman that were truly dedicated to their craft.

When it came to accessory crafting and Enchantments, Shirou had not yet reached that stage. But if it came to doing something to help someone who was truly in need? Well, no one would or could be more devoted then Shirou.

However, as they watched Shirou toil away with a single minded devotion, Fohl was becoming more and more agitated. But before he could give voice to said frustrations…

"Onii-chan," Atla's light, reproachful words entered his ears. She had picked up on what her brother was feeling and she had acted quickly to head him off.

Usually, that would be enough to completely take the winds out of Fohl's sails. However, this time things were different. This time, they had been promised something that Fohl had long since thought to be impossible.

"…Do you truly believe he can do it?" Fohl asked after a long moment, a note of challenge in his words. The male Hakuko was fairly confrontational by nature, but this was beyond the norm. "Do you truly believe he can keep his promise, with nothing to back that promise up but his word?"

"Yes," Atla answered without a hint of doubt, and didn't deign to further elaborate.

Fohl bit his lip at that, and fell into a sullen silent.

Naofumi sighed. "Don't worry, kid-"

"Don't call me a kid," Fohl mumbled, looking annoyed.

Naofumi continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "If Shirou is one thing, it would be that he is honest to a fault. A more earnest guy you will never meet. If he thought that he could not make good on his promises, he would not have brought it up in the first place. Have a little faith in him, would you?"

Noises and words of agreement were shared by all the people that knew Shirou. Even as those words of praise for him filled the air, Shirou, in his iron clad focus on his work, didn't hear any of it. His mind was going over the knowledge that Fitoria had shared with him after they had defeated the Tyrant Dragon Rex again and again. Knowledge regarding their shared Divinity born ability to apply Blessings. Knowledge that combined with his admittedly still infant skill with Enchantments would be the key to what he was attempting to do.

Blessing something could be defined as such: something promoting or contributing to happiness, well-being, or prosperity; a boon. Some kind of divine or supernatural aid, or reward. The transfer of a divine gift to another. The true power of Blessings, besides raising the quality of something, was the ability to transfer such a gift from one to another. In other words as Fitoria had told him, Blessing also allowed him to transfer traits, even other Enchantments, between objects.

It represented another method with which he could apply Enchantments. Compared to the standard method of Enchanting something through bringing out inherent traits with the application of magical energy, as Shirou usually did when Enchanting jewels, applying Blessings in such a way represented a much more flexible method of Enchanting. One that allowed him to pile on extra Enchantments onto a single object.

There were limits, naturally. He could not continue to pile Enchantments onto a single thing indefinitely. These limits were dictated by an objects size, intricacy, mass, etc. Too many variables to name, really. Most jewels, for instance, would be only be capable of accepting one or two extra Enchantments using this method.

That said, this method meant that he already had to have access to the required traits and/or Enchantment in order to transfer it to something else. He could not make a power or ability out of nothing. Luckily, he already had the required trait for what he had in mind. As a matter of fact, he was never without it. Even if he wanted to, due to circumstance, Avalon could never be separated from himself, and he would carry it and its power with him for the rest of his life.

And it was Avalon's power that he needed right now. As well as something else. Good fortune had smiled at him, however, as a grouchy old man had already given them the required ingredient a long time ago, after they had saved his grandchildren.

But first, he needed to create the base for what he intended: the accessory.

"Almost there," Shirou murmured underneath his breath, his hands continuing to toil away.

In his hands was a deep blue jewel that had streaks of white running through it at irregular intervals, one that he was painstakingly carving into the required shape. As he did so, he was constantly feeding his magical energy and Life Force into said jewel. This was another useful nugget of information that Fitoria had shared with him. When creating something, applying Life Force during the process would refine the results, raising the quality of the final product much like the basic use of Blessings would.

The jewel in his hands was a so called Sodalite gem, the same gem the Magic Shop Owner had used to make Filo's Transforming Clothing. It was a jewel that, if properly Enchanted by a true professional, could extract magical energy from someone, transform that magical energy and inscribe complex spells unto that magical energy itself.

All of this pointed to one blatantly obvious fact about this jewel: it was highly receptive to receiving Enchantments, highly intricate ones at that, and could easily accept a ton of magical energy.

All those traits combined, for what he intended to do, was just what he needed.

As those thoughts finished cycling through his head for the umpteenth time, Shirou let out a deep sigh. He'd just finished cutting the Sodalite gem into shape, into a so called radiant cut, with plenty of facets, a sharp point at its base, while its top was wide and shaved into a rectangle shape. It was a simple, but time tested design that would be perfect for his purposes.

Laying his tools aside, Shirou placed a plain bowl into his lap. "Naofumi," he called, as he placed the freshly cut Sodalite gem into the bowl.

The Shield Hero approached, summoning a potion from the Legendary Shield. Shirou took it, sharing a nod with Naofumi as he did so. He stared hard at the almost fluorescent gold liquid of the potion contained in the simple glass bottle. It was a potion they'd received from the Old Apothecary back in Castle Town, as thanks for saving Zeph and Nina.

The Elixir of Yggdrasil, it was called. Also known as the Medicine of Miracles.

The name was an apt one. The Elixir of Yggdrasil could cure or heal any illness or injury, no matter the severity of the affliction. Or, at least, that was what people claimed. In order to make the elixir it was required to mix together ointment, Magic Water, Soul Healing Water and a few others ingredients into a supernatant fluid with the toxic parts being filtered by exquisite distribution. It was a fiendishly difficult potion to make, which only a handful of Apothecaries could. Even Naofumi, with the Legendary Shield aiding him at all times, had no hope of making this potion any time soon.

Shirou removed the stopper with a pop and poured the Elixir of Yggdrasil into the bowl, completely submerging the freshly cut Sodalite Gem. Then, he Projected a simple knife. The others in the tent winced as he, without hesitation, cut into the palm of his hand. He let his blood drop into the bowl, mixing the essence of his life with the Elixir of Yggdrasil.

He let out a deep breath. That took care of the easy part. Now came the hard part.

For the briefest of instances Shirou felt a moment of doubt. They could have just given Atla the elixir, and it would probably have healed her of her affliction no problem. But Elixir of Yggdrasil, like all potions, was one time use only. Once someone drank it, it could not be used again. If it failed to heal Atla in a single go, they would have to resort to different means to cure her completely.

That's why he had argued to use the Elixir of Yggdrasil to make an extremely powerful accessory. Even if the resulting accessory's healing powers weren't as potent as the elixir itself it would continue to provide healing indefinitely. Add the power of Avalon on top of that…

In truth, he had no reason to hesitate. Even if he failed to create the healing based accessory that he desired, it would still be possible to administer the Elixir of Yggdrasil to Atla directly. With the powers of the Legendary Shield, it would be quite easy to remove his blood from the mixture. All that he was attempting right now was nothing more then using the available resources to create a better solution then the one they already had on hand, one that didn't invalidate the previous solution.

Get your head out of the clouds, Shirou, he berated himself. Now, concentrate…

Shirou swirled the contents of the bowl with his finger, further mixing the mixture of the Elixir of Yggdrasil and his own blood. His blood that, just like everything else that made up Emiya Shirou, had the very essence of Avalon bound to it.

"Trace, on," Shirou chanted his personal aria, and his Circuits spun up in response. Magical energy seeped into the mixture of Elixir of Yggdrasil and his blood, making the liquid glow even brighter. Just like he'd practiced and following the instructions Fitoria had provided, Shirou sought to bind the traits of the Elixir of Yggdrasil and Avalon to the Sodalite gem.

Brows furrowed in concentration, he pored more and more magical energy into mixture, using it as a catalyst for the creation of an accessory only Emiya Shirou would be capable of making. His Life Force was naturally also added into the mix. As he did so, the glow grew brighter and brighter, to the point that all the others had to look away lest they be left blind.

Shirou noticed none of it. His eyes were squeezed shut tight, and his concentration was solely on the accessory and Enchantment he was seeking to make.

After a long moment, the light started to dim, then slowly died off.

"…Did it work?" Fohl asked.

Shirou did not immediately respond. His hand scooped out the Sodalite gem and held it up in front of his eyes. The changes were readily apparent. The shape hadn't changed, but the deep blue of the gem had changed into a light gold, while the previous white streaks that crisscrossed its surfaces had turned a deep aquamarine and had rearranged themselves, forming a uniform pattern identical to the one found on Avalon itself. His brow rose, just like it did on everyone else, when he appraised the accessory.

Shadow of Avalon – Enchantment: High Speed Health Regeneration (maximum), Protection of the Fairies (High), Holy Magic Up (maximum) Auto Conceptualization (ingrained spell) [Blessing: high → maximum / medium → high]

"Holy hell…" someone muttered. In the stunned silenced, no one had the presence of mind to figure out who exactly said that.

Shirou got up and handed off the bowl containing the mixture of his blood and the Elixir of Yggdrasil to Naofumi. He had assumed that he would have to fashion some kind of chain or some such for Atla to carry the accessory, but a lucky coincidence meant it wasn't necessary. Considering what he knew of Avalon, it wasn't hard to figure out what 'Auto Conceptualization' meant.

He approached Atla. Normally, Fohl would have more apprehensive of someone getting close to Atla, but the feeling that was radiating out from the Shadow of Avalon staid his feet.

"This warmth…" Atla said, saying what all of them were thinking.

Shirou smiled as he came to a stop beside her bed. He slung his arm across her back and propped her up. "This might feel a little weird," he cautioned as he gently placed the Shadow of Avalon on Atla's chest. The Auto Conceptualization spell activated, and the Shadow of Avalon of seemed to dematerialize into golden dust that flowed into Atla. As soon as the golden dust had completely disappeared into her, the young Hakuko girl let out a gasp.

"Atla?" Fohl queried with a hint of worry.

Atla didn't respond. She mewled as a muted glow enveloped her entire body. Fohl swallowed thickly as he noticed that the burn-like blisters that covered nearly every inch of Atla's body started to slowly shrink, looking almost as if they were growing in reverse. In a few short moments, the burn-like blisters had disappeared beneath her bandages, and considering that Atla was still glowing, those blisters underneath said bandages weren't likely to last long either.

"I can't," Atla almost whimpered. "I can't feel the pain anymore…"

As a matter of fact, the moment the Shadow of Avalon had made contact with her body, all she could feel was an all-encompassing warmth.

Her hand closed around Shirou's forearm with a strength she had never been able to muster before.

"Thank you."

"It was my pleasure, really," Shirou assured, and Atla knew that he meant it.

This is what Emiya Shirou lived for.


One would think that one's night would come to an end after that. And for most, it did. Naofumi and the others had already retreated back to their carriage and bed. Not for Shirou, however. He still had one task that he intended to work on.

"What are you doing, Shirou-sama?" Atla asked. She was laid out in bed on her side, turned in his direction. Her entire focus was on Shirou as he worked on yet another accessory.

Fohl was sat off to the side, looking sour. He'd been like that ever since Atla had requested for Shirou to stay behind, though Shirou didn't seem to understand why that was. Shirou had agreed because he had no real reason to refuse and he assumed that Atla wanted to continue their conversation from last time. Besides, he could not go to bed just yet, so he saw no harm in continuing to keep Atla and Fohl company while he worked.

"I'm working on a solution for the slave problem," Shirou answered somewhat cryptically.

"The slave problem?" Atla asked with a confused tilt to her voice.

"You and your brother aren't exactly typical as far as slaves go," Shirou began, but then he stalled out as he struggled to think up the best way to explain it.

Fohl's already sharp eyes sharpened even more as he suddenly came upon a very solid guess on what Shirou was trying to do. "…You're trying to make an accessory that can counteract the effects of a Curse Seal?"

A Curse Seal is something similar to a Slave Crest, a curse in the form of a brand. Both were a type of curse and were commonly applied to slaves. Slave Crests were used to ensure absolute obedience. Curse Seals, on the other hand, were used to apply very specific commands. Commands like: do this, don't do that, attack here, protect this location. Etc. A Curse Seal would force its wearer to obey one specific command. That was the extent of a Curse Seal's power.

One would think that a Slave Crest would utterly trump a Curse Seal. And in most respects, it without question did. However, there were two ways in which a Curse Seal was superior to a Slave Crest. One, unless someone was already aware of a Curse Seal's presence on a person, finding it would nigh impossible, as the mark of the Curse Seal was hidden underneath someone's skin and had inbuilt functions to keep itself from being found.

That was not the worst part, though. No the true horror of a Curse Seal laid in its second trait that set it apart from a Slave Crest: once applied to a person, it could never be removed. Whoever had the Curse Seal applied to them wouldn't and couldn't ever be rid of it, and they would not ever be free of whatever command they'd been given. It would bind a person forevermore.

Considering this, one had to thank the grace of god that only one Curse Seal could be applied to a person at a time.

The use of a Curse Seal in the slave trade, and more specifically the illegal slave trade, was obvious. Prevent a slave from telling anyone that they were illegally 'acquired', even if they were sold and the control of the Slave Crest changed hands.

After all, the illegal slave trade operated by using the legal slave trade as a guise. Once abducted, the recipient would be branded with a Curse Seal and given a single command to never reveal the fact that that they are an illegal slave, to always and without hesitation 'admit' that the crimes and debts that would be fabricated after the fact and they would be saddled with were true. This way, illegal slaves could be mixed in with the legal slave trade and be bought and sold on the open slave market. And all of it hinged on the existence of the Curse Seal.

If the Curse Seal didn't exist, one could simply say that they were an illegal slave, and everyone would know that they were speaking the truth, as the Slave Crest ensured that anyone branded with it couldn't lie. The only exception were those branded with a Curse Seal, as a Curse Seal's singular command trumped the general control of a Slave Crest. It wouldn't be wrong to say that without the existence of the Curse Seal, the illegal slave trade would become utterly unworkable.

Well, maybe that was putting it a little bit strong. It would be more accurate to say that a substantial portion of the illegal slave trade would become unworkable. In the human supremacist nation of Melromarc, for example, large scale illegal slave trade of demi-humans was practiced out in the open in clear defiance of international law. In Melromarc demi-humans could and did get subjected to slavery with the buyers being totally aware that they were not legitimate slaves. And Melromarc was not the only nation in this world that flagrantly ignored international law.

In Melromarc, the Queen and nobles of similar persuasion had been trying to clamp down on this practice for decades, but progress had been slow to near nonexistent as forces within Melromarc itself, opposing nobles and the Church of the Three Heroes, were waylaying them at every step. Not to mention that whatever progress that had been made had been wiped away by the onset of the Waves of Calamity and other unfortunate circumstances.

It was because of this that Raphtalia and Shirou himself had escaped being branded with a Curse Seal, as the use of such a thing within the borders of Melromarc was unnecessary so long as the slave was a demi-human. In such a case, a Curse Seal would only be applied if the demi-human was taken out of Melromarc to be sold in another country that did, in fact, adhere to international law.

Atla and Fohl had similarly been lucky enough to have escaped being branded by a Curse Seal, as they were not illegally acquired, with Fohl having sold himself, and Atla by proxy, into slavery in order to be able to afford the medicine that Atla needed to remain alive. There had been no need to brand them.

"I don't mean to burst your bubble," Fohl began. "But you do realize that people have been trying to figure out how to detect and get rid of Curse Seals for, you know, forever? All with no progress whatsoever? I don't think its realistic to expect that you'll find or create a solution any time soon."

"I'm well aware," Shirou admitted. "But I have to try, and even if it takes a long time, the sooner that I start working on it the bigger the chance that I find a solution quicker."

"…Shirou-sama," Atla said, making Shirou raise an eyebrow as he just now realized for the first time that Atla was referring to him in an highly respectful manner. "When you said a 'solution for the slave problem', did you mean slavery in general or our own slavery problem?"

Shirou grimaced, as said conundrum's existence reared its ugly head again in his thoughts. The fact of the matter was that they hadn't truly freed any of the slaves they had bought from the Zeltoble Slave Trader and the various colosseums of Zeltoble. They hadn't really bought the slaves either. It would be more accurate to say that they'd bought their contracts and debts, which gave them the 'rights' to employ said slaves until said debts and contracts were satisfied in full.

Every single slave they'd bought had been accompanied by a stack of papers detailing their situation and the conditions they had to fulfill before they could be set free. This was the contract all slaves were saddled with and had to abide. These conditions could range from paying off debts with money earned through service as a slave to working a set amount of years as a slave for criminals.

The Merchant Guild was an organization that, while its headquarters was in Zeltoble, had enclaves all over the world in every country, and was charged with the duty of ensuring that these contracts were honored, as was enshrined into international law. All merchants were a part of or had connections with said extranational organization, which meant that the Merchant Guild had a lot of methods with which it could ensure that said contracts were followed to the letter.

The reason the legal slave trade was set up this way was to ensure that the practice worked as intended. After all, the legal slave trade had one other purpose besides letting debtors and criminals work off their debts to others and society in general.

Like all other forms of punishment, it was also meant to serve as a deterrence for other would be criminals and debtors. The knowledge that you could end up as an indentured servant if you messed up enough was a highly effective deterrent that was enshrined into the laws of almost all the countries of this world. Even countries that also practiced illegal slave trade.

This, in turn, meant that they could not just waive the contracts/debts and set all of the slaves they'd bought free. Because all these slaves were all ostensibly legal slaves, they had to first deliver a certain amount of service before earning their freedom. And if they did set all the slaves free anyway, ending their contracts prematurely, it would undermine the legal slave trade's purpose as a deterrence.

This naturally also meant that countries in general also went out of their way to ensure that contracts in the legal slave trade wouldn't be ended prematurely. It was in a country's best interests, after all, that a potential punishment for breaking their laws had actual teeth otherwise any would be criminal would feel much more comfortable becoming an actual criminal.

All in all, this long winded spiel meant that simply setting all the slaves they had bought free was not an option. Not that Shirou desired to do such a thing. To be perfectly honest, there was something about the thought of having someone provide a service in order to make up for their sins and pay off their debts that felt only natural and wholesome to him.

Shirou didn't really have a problem with legal slave trade…if it was not for the existence of the illegal slave trade. Innocent people were being added into the mix, saddled with fake debts and crimes, to be worked until they'd 'earned' their freedom. And this abhorrent practice was only possible because of the existence of the Curse Seal.

So, if he created a method to could detect and get rid of a Curse Seal…

"Both," Shirou answered Atla's question after a long moment. "I intend to undercut the illegal slave trade as much as I can."

"…I see," Atla responded, smiling a small smile. That had been exactly the response she had been expecting. She knew that Shirou enjoyed bringing joy to others, and what would bring more joy then being set free from unfair bondage? There weren't a lot of other things that could compare to such a thing, attaining true freedom after having been denied it out of greed and callousness.

"How selfishly kind of you, Shirou-sama," Atla giggled, which made Fohl raised an eyebrow in surprise and confusion. How were Shirou's goals in any way selfish?

"I know," Shirou acknowledged and admitted at the same time, sounding faintly embarrassed.

"I have no clue what you two are talking about," Fohl muttered, completely lost now. The underlying conversation and its nuances weren't registering with him at all.

Atla ignored her brother. She only had eyes, figuratively speaking, for Shirou. Her smile widened just a little more. "Then I guess you won't mind if I did my best to aid you, Shirou-sama?"

Fohl recoiled as if slapped. Shirou paused in his work and turned to look at her.

"You won't mind, do you, Shirou-sama?" Atla repeated. "After all, me helping you is just my own selfishness," Atla said airily, in complete contrast to the weight of what she was saying and implying.

Shirou stared at her for a long, heavy moment. Then, his lips quirked up just enough to be seen. "Just do whatever you feel like. At least, that's what I will be doing."

"I will!" Atla chirped, the largest smile she had ever smiled blooming on her face. She giggled and hid her face in her blanket, trying to hide the blush that had suddenly spawned on her cheeks.

"Huh?!" Fohl spluttered. "No really, what the hell are you two talking about?!" Fohl was no closer to figuring out what Shirou and Atla's discussion actually meant, but something deep in his gut, his instincts as an older brother perhaps, was more than enough to inform him that he didn't like one bit whatever it was that they were discussing.

As Fohl and tried and failed to needle Atla for answers, Shirou turned his attention back to his work. The observant would have noticed the faintest hint of a barely there blush on his own cheeks as well.


"Shirou-sama? Wake up, Shirou-sama. It's morning."

Shirou groggily woke up as the light voice reached his ears, making them twitch. He groaned as he shifted in his sleep, noting in some corner of his mind that his sleeping arrangements were unusually uncomfortable and that he ached all over.

When he opened his eyes and took stock of his surroundings, he realized why that was: he had fallen asleep in Atla's and Fohl's tent, having continued to work until sleep claimed him. He was lying and had slept on the floor. He closed his eyes and groaned, feeling the wariness of far too little sleep, and bad sleep at that, immediately making itself known to him.

"You must be exhausted, Shirou-sama. What were you thinking, working so long and sleeping on the floor?" a voice that his sleep addled mind couldn't place sighed with a note of fondness. "Here, sit up. I'll make you feel better."

A hand grabbed him by the elbow and helped pull him up into a sitting position. The presence that he could idly feel through circled around him and placed their hands on his shoulders. Shirou groaned as said hands began to massage said shoulders, working out the accumulated soreness and stiffness at a record pace. In a few short moments, whatever ache that he'd felt in his shoulders had disappeared, and the hands moved down his back and towards his midsection. Said hands worked out all the nots in his back, only leaving relaxed muscles and warmth behind.

"That better, Shirou-sama?" the soft voice asked him.

Shirou murmured something unintelligible that carried a note of agreement.

"That is good to hear. I'll continue until you are completely relaxed and happy. Just tell me when you want me to stop, Shirou-sama."

This continued on this vein for a while, but it wasn't until-

"Wh-what the hell!?"

-That incredulous shout that Shirou truly jolted out of his half-awake state.

His head snapped around towards Fohl, who was sitting up in his bed. Said demi-human was staring at him, giving him a look that couldn't quite place. If he had to guess, it was an odd mix of incredulity and burgeoning anger.

"What?" Shirou titled his head, a confused look on his face.

Fohl didn't answer. Instead, his gaze shifted to behind Shirou. It was then that Shirou became aware of the warm hands resting on the small of his back.

"Onii-sama, you shouldn't shout so loud in the morning," a voice coming from behind Shirou scolded Fohl. "You startled Shirou-sama."

Shirou blinked, then turned to look over his shoulder.

Atla's smiling face greeted him. Her eyes were closed like always, but even those closed eyelids were smiling.

"Atla…you…" Fohl seemed to be at a loss for words.

The reasons for that were blatantly obvious. The bandages that had been wrapped around Atla had been removed, showing porcelain skin. Now that her disease was no longer ravaging her appearance, Atla had attained a doll-like beauty. But even that revelation took a backseat to the fact that Atla was standing on her own two feet. This wouldn't be considered such an amazing feat by most…if they did not take into account that Atla had been incapable of standing, much less walking, from the day she was born.

Whatever the disease was that been afflicting her, it had rendered her muscles too weak to bear her own weight.

Atla's answering giggle sounding like tinkling bells. She took a few halting steps and moved in front of him. "I saw Shirou-sama passed out on the floor when I woke up and without thinking tried to go to him. I was most surprised that I didn't fall flat on my face. Standing and walking like this feels weird…I admit, but I'm sure that I will grow used to it."

The Hakuko girl rocked on the balls of her feet, just delighted that she could actually do so.

"I can actually go and do things on my own now."

"I..that's great, Atla…" Fohl breathed, genuinely happy for his sister.

"Speaking of which, did my massage help make you feel better, Shirou-sama?"

With those words, Fohl's happy expression melted away as quickly as it had appeared.

Atla looked expectantly at Shirou. "I have given Onii-sama an occasional massage too. He always says that it feels amazing, but Onii-sama coddles me without fail, so I can't be certain if he is telling the truth or not. What about you, Shirou-sama? How are you feeling?"

"I feel…well rested and loose. Amazing even," Shirou answered after rolling his muscles and thinking about the question seriously.

But that feeling of contentment took a sudden backseat when he realized an very important fact. He could feel a foreign Life Force in his body, mixed in with his own Life Force.

Atla's face glowed with happiness at his admission.

"More importantly, Atla. You can use Life Force?" Shirou questioned.

Atla cocked her head, her cat-like ears twitching and her striped tail swaying behind her. "Life Force? Is that what you call it, Shirou-sama? You have heard me talk about aura, before right? How I can see it and sense it? I can also manipulate my own aura, or Life Force. I always use it during a massage. Even with very little pressure, with Life Force I can reach all the knots and sore spots in the body with no trouble. Life Force is perfect for reaching all the trouble spots and working them out."

"…You must be one of those naturals Elrasla spoke about once or twice," Shirou snorted. "We'll have to discuss this with her later. I'm certain it will be a good first step."

"A first step of what?" Fohl broke in.

"For learning how to fight!" Atla chirped.

Fohl chocked on air. "What!? Why would you want to do that!?"

"To help Shirou-sama, of course," Atla said as if the answer was self-evident.

Fohl turned towards Shirou, outrage in his eyes.

"I don't want her to fight," before Fohl could lay into him, Shirou headed Fohl off. "Honestly, I would prefer if Atla didn't get anywhere near a battlefield any time soon."

"Then just tell her that!"

"I would, but," Shirou rubbed the back off his head. "That would be the height of hypocrisy coming from me."

He perfectly understood the need the help the one that saved you. Atla had implied having just those intentions last night, as well as something more profound. While he would prefer if she didn't put herself in undue risk for his sake, he was fairly certain he would not be capable of keeping a straight face if he'd tried to tell her that. Again, the hypocrisy on his end would be too great to stomach.

And something was telling him that Atla would ignore him entirely if he did try and dissuade her. Call it a gut feeling, but if Atla was anything like himself…

"But-"

"No, Onii-sama," Atla shook her head and cut her brother off. She turned to 'look' at Fohl. "I just said so, didn't I? I can do things on my own now. And helping Shirou-sama is something that I decided I want to do. You aren't stopping me."

Fohl's expression cycled through so many emotions so quickly that Shirou couldn't quite make out what he was thinking. But then Fohl's expression abruptly hardened. "Fine. But I'll be with you every step of the way. I won't let you do this alone."

"Thank you, Onii-sama," Atla bowed her head and smiled


Before most others in the camp had woken up, a discussion was being had in the shadow of the Shield Hero's carriage.

"Hohoho! Shirou has good eyes indeed! Now that I have a good look at you, I can confidently say that you are once in a lifetime natural," Elrasla cackled as she looked Atla up and down. "I have half a mind to make you my successor as the master of the Hengen Musou!"

"That won't be necessary," Atla smiled. "I just want to learn how to fight and make myself useful."

"And I'll gladly do so," Elrasla chortled. "Though I dare say you won't need all that much instruction in the first place. That said, some physical conditioning will definitely be required."

Atla nodded in agreement. Though her illness and the damage it had caused her had been cured, her muscles and stamina, after a lifetime of disuse, weren't anything to write home about. Said muscles and stamina were better than they had any right to be, but not anything exceptional.

Elrasla turned her head towards Fohl.

"Now you, lad. You might not be a natural talent when it comes to the Hengen Musou like your sister is, but you do have quite a bit of promise," the martial artist offered.

"I don't know," Fohl hesitated, not quite sure on the value of Hengen Musou.

Elrasla smirked at him in a disconcerting manner. "Ah, so you have some doubts on the usefulness of what I am offering? You are much like the Holy Saint was in that regard, until I showed him the error of his ways," she clapped her hands. "Atla, here's your first bit of instruction from yours truly. Use some Life Force and poke your brother around this spot," Elrasla said, indicating the area underneath her breastbone.

"Okay, teacher," Atla made her way towards Fohl.

"Uhh," Fohl looked between the approaching Atla and the grinning Elrasla. "Hey, hold up a mo-"

Poke.

"GAH?!"

Without hesitating, Atla's pointer finger jabbed Fohl hard underneath his breastbone. The older brother, 2 years older and thirty Levels over her, doubled over heaving, with but the use of a single Life Force infused poke to the chest area.

Atla cocked her head at her brother's hunched over form. "Is there a pressure point in that area?"

"Correct!" Elrasla cackled again. "Just using Life Force allows you to ignore the Defence of a target, but if you use that technique on a pressure point..." she shrugged, and her grin widened. "You can do even more damage, and if you hit a couple pressure points just right, you'll Paralyze your target as well."

"Hitting them during combat is difficult, though," Shirou remarked idly from the side, where he was busy packing his stuff. Elrasla had told him about that nugget of information of the get go, but he had never tried to make use of pressure points during combat. Said points on the body were small and, as monsters had radically different compositions and body types, memorizing the locations of pressure points wasn't an option. You could do that for human opponents, sure, but even then the difficulty of hitting the teeny tiny pressure points during battle made it more trouble than it was worth.

Only the true masters of the Hengen Musou were able to make use of pressure points during active combat.

Atla 'looked' closely at her brother as he gradually got his breathing back under control. "There are…361 of such points on the body, aren't there?"

Shirou raised a brow and Elrasla whistled, impressed. "You can see them?"

"Yes, I can, though only very faintly. Like little dots on the skin," Atla confirmed.

"I'm more surprised at how quickly she counted them," Shirou mused idly underneath his breath.

"That's one mighty fine ability you have there, Atla," Elrasla stroked her chin. "I knew that Life Force gathers in one's pressure points, but that your 'sight' is acute enough to see even that is rather a surprise for me. Though to be fair, I have never met anyone who can 'see' Life Force Like Atla can…"

Shirou's swords clinked in their sheaths as he walked closer. "She'll still require more before I'd rely on her in combat. As does Fohl."

"True," Elrasla acceded with a nod. "Getting their Levels up would be a good first step. Some combat experience wouldn't hurt either. And we'd need to get them some equipment…"

"Training and life battle, huh..?" Fohl grunted.

"We should be able to buy some armor for them over in the capital," Shirou said, looking the siblings over. What they were wearing right now were normal, if what exotic, clothes. "I'll also make them some accessories, with a focus on Defence and Agility Stat ups. Compared to the rest of us, they are a little bit fragile as they are now," he mused out loud, already thinking up the designs and the materials he needed for what he had in mind.

"I'd wait buying them armor. They'll outgrow them in short order. It'd be a waste of money," Elrasla cautioned. "Hakuko have a higher max Level of 120."

Shirou raised an eyebrow at this piece of information.

"And the tradeoff for that higher max Level is that they don't mature as quickly as other demi-humans do through Leveling. But considering the bonuses they'll receive by being the companion of a Hero, it still won't be long before they'll start to grow," Elrasla said.

"That's true," Shirou admitted.

"I'd like another accessory made by you, Shirou-sama," Atla smiled and giggled.

As she did so, she affectionally traced the Jade Ring secured to her ring finger. Now, with her bandages removed, it was out in the open for everyone to see. Fohl's jaw dropped when he saw it. His eyes darted between the blushing Atla and blinking Shirou. It didn't take a lot of imagination to be able to figure out what he was thinking.

Elrasla raised a brow. Then gave Shirou a teasing wink and smirk. "Hoho, you certainly work quick, lad. I would wait, though, before putting any further moves on her until she's Leveled up and grown a little."

Shirou blinked, taking a moment to puzzle out what Elrasla was insinuating. But when he did…

"I-I, wait, it isn't like that!" he started spluttering denials.

"You…you…" Fohl wasn't even mad. He was simply incredulous to the nth degree, to the point that he just felt numb.

Shirou palmed his face. "It isn't like that," he repeated in a long suffering tone.

"Of course, lad," Elrasla giggled, obviously not believing him.

"Shirou-sama is just being shy!" Atla chirped and latched onto his arm with a vice like grip.

Shirou had gone beet red, plainly visible between the gaps of the fingers cradling his face. No words of objection left his lips, though. Anything he said would just dig the hole deeper. In this case, silence was golden.

"You…" Fohl growled and came stomping over. His numbing incredulousness had given way to a smoldering anger of an overly protective brotherly instinct. As he drew close, ready and willing to do his brotherly duty, Atla put an immediate end to his intentions.

Poke.

"GAH?!"

Without turning around, Atla's finger speared Fohl in the chest. Said brother doubled over once again and heaved for breath.

"Atla…Why..?" Fohl positively whined.

"Don't ruin the moment, Onii-sama. I'm enjoying myself here," Atla reproached.

"Guys," Naofumi clambered out of the carriage and came towards them. "What's going on? Why are all of you being so loud..?"

The Shield Hero paused as he took in the scene: Fohl doubled over, Elrasla barely restraining herself from laughing, Atla clinging to Shirou while Shirou was blushing like mad and was cradling his face in a show of embarrassment he had never seen from the demi-human before.

"Never mind. I don't think I want to know," Naofumi deadpanned and visibly decided to not question the sight before him. "You lot are going to have to cut your fun little side story short. While the slaves break down the camp and get ready to set out we'll head to the capital to buy some supplies. We will also visit the church and have Fohl's Level reset."

"Why?" Fohl managed to get out between his gasps for air.

"Because if we don't, you won't be as strong in future as you could be," Naofumi grunted. "I'll explain on the way to the capital. We'll set out in half an hour."

Later that day they would set out for the Dark Woods. Sadeena said her goodbyes and had returned to her duties in Zeltoble.


Poke.

The Forest Wolf shrieked as Atla jabbed the monster in the middle of its forehead. It had no hope of dodging, as it had been immobilized by a paralyzing mist, curtesy of a powder filled bottle chucked by Raphtalia just moments before. Said head swelled and contorted, before rupturing in a gruesome display, and mercifully killing the beast swiftly.

"Is that the last of them?" Raphtalia asked, still holding her blood slicked sword at the ready.

"I sense no more monsters in the area," Atla reported, taking a deep breath.

"Same here," Elrasla agreed.

It was two days later, and now they found themselves in the Dark Woods. The path through the Dark Woods was chock full with a long line of carriages, being pulled by Filolials and filled with the newly bought slaves of the Shield Hero, forming a long caravan. Gladiator Slaves marched alongside the carriages, protecting the more vulnerable slaves riding in the carriages. The Shield Hero's party were at the very tip of the caravan, locking down and protecting that general area.

With such a large group traversing a monster infested forest it was only natural that there would be a stream of curious monsters coming to investigate and trying their luck. There had been a constant series of battles since they had entered the forest. Not that they minded. True, the EXP didn't amount to much for most of them, but it did allow the Level 1 Atla and Fohl to gain a few easy Levels and for Atla to have her first taste of combat.

"How are you holding up, Atla?" Fohl asked, wiping monster blood from his knuckles.

"I'm fine," Atla steadied her breathing.

"If you say so, but don't push it. If you get too exhausted during battle, you'll only place yourself and the rest of us in danger," Naofumi said sternly. He came marching up to her and placed his hand on top of her head.

"Zweite Grow Heal."

A very brief flash of green energy enveloped the demi-human girl. Atla straightened up and seemed refreshed as the spell did its work and replenished her stamina.

"Thank you, Naofumi-sama," Atla inclined her head at him.

Naofumi grunted in response. They piled back into the carriage being pulled by Filo. The entire time they had been fighting the caravan hadn't halted. As a matter of fact, the caravan was setting a rather demanding pace. This was because of necessity. The next Wave to hit Melromarc would be in two weeks. It would be rather inconvenient if they hadn't yet reached their destination before the next Wave hit.

Luckily, a carriage pulled by a Filolial could make said journey in a little less than two weeks, but that also meant that any delay would mean that they wouldn't make it in two weeks. That's why they had to keep up the pace.

None of them remarked on the fact that in the short time they had left the carriage to fight the latest group of monsters, a Shadow of the Queen had snuck aboard. Said Shadow was sitting in the back cross-legged and made no effort to hide their presence.

"…I suppose something major must be going on?" Naofumi ventured.

Usually, unless called on, the Shadows guarding them didn't show themselves unless required.

"You would be correct, Shield Hero-sama. Degojaru," the Shadow said, for some reason adding on some kind of nonsense word. "Recent movements of the Church of the Three Heroes have proven to be…concerning. We've come to suspect that they might try something radical in the near future."

"What made you come to this conclusion?" Shirou asked.

"Our intelligence gathering has been spotty at best, but," the Shadow seemed to sigh. "The Shadows that are keeping tabs on the leaders of the church have reported that said leaders have been meeting frequently lately. Around the same time, we lost track of quite a few of the church's fighting forces. And conflict between us and the Shadows of the church has been ramping up exponentially in recent days, always initiated by the opposing Shadows. All of this points to the church preparing to do something in the background."

"And since we're one of their primary targets…" Raphtalia added.

The Shadow simply nodded.

"What kind of fighting forces are we talking about here?" Fohl asked curiously.

"A little over a hundred magic casters of various skill levels," was the Shadow's prompt answer.

There was a pause as looks of incredulity were shared amongst the group.

"How did you lose track of over a hundred people?" Naofumi asked with a note of incredulousness.

"Enemy action and subterfuge," the Shadow said flatly, indicating that lot was being left unsaid.

Shirou rubbed his face, showing his agitation. "A hundred magic casters…could do a lot of damage in short period of time. Especially if they ambush us."

Ceremonial Magic was a thing, after all.

"And the Dark Woods are an excellent place for such an ambush. Lots of shadows and cover," Elrasla said and sighed.

"If the caravan was in the line of fire…" Atla mused out loud, a dark look on her face.

"And if we don't manage to react in time…" Fohl continued the thought, grimacing.

"That'd be very bad, wouldn't it?" Filo mused from where she was pulling the carriage.

Bad was an understatement. To say nothing of the Shield Hero's party, if Ceremonial Magic was used and struck the moving caravan dozens of slaves might well die in an instant. Perhaps even more if the ambush was well-executed.

"We are well aware of the potential for casualties, to say nothing about the potential threat to yourselves," the Shadow said as he/she noted the darkening looks on those present. "We have called on more Shadows to keep an eye out. Several squads of my men are shadowing and patrolling the caravan as we speak. We also have a few men scouting out the path you'll be taking through the Dark Woods, searching for traps or anything suspicious. Degojaru."

"…Be honest with me here, Shadow," Naofumi said flatly. "Do these measures guarantee that we are not in any danger?"

The Shadow was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Nothing is ever guaranteed, Shield Hero-sama. You of all people should know that. Degojaru."

"I was afraid you would say that," Naofumi pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Guess we don't have any choice, then," Shirou nodded to himself.

The others nodded along in agreement with him.

"Time to strategize…"


It was with mixed feelings that the caravan rode into S'warkii, the village hunters and Beast Tamers in the center of the Dark Woods. There had been no attack, but the fact that nothing had happened after an entire afternoon of tension and vigilance was its own kind of nerve wracking and off-putting. It made ones imagination of what might be afoot go to even darker places.

Naturally, so many people riding into town drew a crowd. One particular woman in said crowd, joined by a large but graceful looking Slow Leopard Tyrant, was quick to notice them. As the party of the Shield Hero clambered out of the carriage, said woman and her companion were equally as quick to approach them.

"Olden Friends. Though I finden myself surprised at thee swift return to these lands, it is a suprisen of the pleasant sort. What bringen thee back to S'warkii? And with so many people?" H'aanit greeted them with an inclined head and a small smile. Linde joined the greeting with a bark of her own, while her tail wagged behind her in a lazy rhythm.

"It's good to see to you too, Lady of the Forest!" Filo saluted the huntress with her wing.

"H'aanit," Naofumi acknowledged from the driver's seat.

"It's good to see you again, lass," Elrasla nodded from where she was sat beside Naofumi.

The rest of the party followed suit. H'aanit, ever the perceptive woman, noticed some tension from them. Her eyes narrowed and her sharp green eyes looked them all over and immediately noted that all of them seemed to be on edge.

"…Doesen something ailen thee and thine? Ill tidings, mayhaps," H'aanit asked lowly.

"Yes, it does, lass," Elrasla confirmed, her lips thinning. "It would probably be better if we discussed it in private."

"We coulden maken use of Master's house…" H'aanit offered.

"No," from the back of the carriage, Shirou shook his head. "With our current situation parting with our charges would not be ideal."

H'aanit raised a brow. "I see'en. Then, shall we conversen in thine carriage?"

Said idea was agreed to in short order. After H'aanit and Linde had clambered aboard the carriage, the caravan was directed towards a large plot of open land besides the town's Inn. As Naofumi, Raphtalia and Elrasla busied themselves with getting all the carriages set up in an orderly fashion and handing out a couple of instructions to the slaves, Shirou introduced their newest companions to H'aanit.

"Atla and Fohl," H'aanit nodded. "From the fabled Hakuko bloodline. It is an honor to meet thee."

Some pleasantries were exchanged, but nothing of substance was discussed. H'aanit again noted that the tension in the air was palpable and realized that it was clearly because of the tension that Shirou, Atla and Fohl were being rather reticent. H'aanit felt her lips curl down and Linde's eyes were darting around their sockets in a show of agitation. Something was up, that was clear.

After a short while, Naofumi, Raphtalia and Elrasla rejoined them. Filo, having taken on her human form, joined the group sitting in a circle in the carriage. The moment everyone had sat down, H'aanit immediately opened her mouth.

"I asken thee, what is going on?" she asked with a measure of demand.

"Something dangerous," Naofumi stated flatly, then began to explain in expansive detail.

H'aanit kept her silence as they explained their current situation. The bought slaves/charges. The one hundred missing magic casters of the Church of the Three Heroes. The likely possibility for an ambush in the Dark Woods. The potential of mass casualties if said ambush were to materialize and were to be successful. They held nothing back.

"I'm assuming that thee haven counter measures in place?" H'aanit asked as soon as they were done explaining.

"Of course," Naofumi said and crossed his arms. "If they will be enough, however…"

"…I wishen Master weren present," H'aanit brooded. "Incorrigible though he is, he woulden laughen at the danger and sweepen it aside with a joke on his lips."

"Z'aanta would indeed do such a thing," Elrasla snorted. "He still hasn't returned from his hunt in distant lands?"

"Aye," H'aanit confirmed with a nod of the head. "Which meanet that thee needen to make due with mine aid instead."

H'aanit raised her hand, forestalling any reaction they might have had.

"I willen hearen no words of not accepting mine offered aid," H'aanit said with finality. "Thee aided me in dealing with the Ghisarma. Letten me repayen mine debt to thee at least. Shoulden thee reject mine offer of aid, I willen taken that as the gravest of insults."

"…And there is the mark of Z'aanta in you. You could have stolen those words straight out of his mouth," Elrasla snickered.

"Wow," Filo blinked. "The Lady of the Forest sure is intense today!"

"What are you bringing to the table?" Shirou spoke for the group, lips twitching upwards in spite of himself.

H'aanit smiled back. But that smile did little to hide the note of vindictiveness in her eyes.

"Shoulden this threat maken itself known in the Dark Woods that aren mine home, I willen bringen down the wrath of these forests down upon them. I willen showen them why one shoulden never mess with a Beast Tamer. Certainly not on their own lands."

The caravan was on the move again bright and early the next morning. On the winding trail leading through the Dark Woods and towards Melromarc, Filolial drawn carriage after Filolial drawn carriage with over 300 slaves all told aboard thundered down the winding path at a steady clip. It was a substantial procession, one that would not have been out of place in the centers of commerce in this world.

As usual, the Shield Hero's carriage was at the head of said procession.

"Any news?" Naofumi asked the Shadow hidden in the gloom in the very back of the carriage.

"Nothing yet. Degojaru," the Shadow answered.

The rest of the carriage, however, was conspicuously empty. The Shield Hero's party was nowhere to be seen. Only Filo, as she was pulling the carriage as natural, was present.

"No news is good news, isn't it?" H'aanit asked. She was seated beside him on the driver's seat. Linde growled in agreement from her spot beside H'aanit.

"I guess," Naofumi grumbled a little. "But I'd almost wish something would happen. Just to get it over and done with."

H'aanit raised a brow. "Going by those words, you aren convinced that an attack willen definitely comen. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it willen comen eventually. You haven no doubts at all?"

"…" Naofumi sighed, looking to the side. "If this world has taught me anything, is that when something can go wrong it will most likely go wrong. Especially if it involves people who actively want to harm me and mine," he said, scowling. "This world is unkind."

"It can be," H'aanit admitted. "Was your world any different?"

"It was for me," Naofumi answered.

As they talked the caravan continued on its track. Their talk and journey continued for well over two hours before anything of note happened.

A bird-like monster suddenly dove down from above the canopy. However, it did not do so in a steep drop meant for attack. More importantly, said monster was also fairly small. It was no bigger than your average size for a bird. As a matter of fact if it wasn't for the fact that said monster bird had four blazing red eyes instead of two, it would have been indistinguishable from an ordinary raven

[Four-Eyed Raven Lv: 23]

The Four-Eyed Raven alighted on H'aanit's outstretched palm. She held the little monster by her head and ear, listening to the chirps of the beast as if she was taking in a message.

H'aanit's expression tightened.

"And there's the bad news we've been expecting," Naofumi groaned.

"Indeed," H'aanit nodded as she gently stroked the Four-Eyed Raven's head. "People are scattered in the forest ahead. Three groups. All approximately 20 people. These groups are deep in the forest, far off the trail, and too far apart to be communicating with each other verbally."

"That still at least leaves 40 of them unaccounted for," Naofumi mused and grimaced.

"Locations?" the Shadow asked, placing the palm of their hand over their left ear.

The Four-Eyed Raven chirped some more and H'aanit relayed the information. The Shadow nodded and started muttering underneath their breath, further relaying the information to their hidden men. Naofumi had asked how the Shadows could communicate as if they had walkie-talkies in their heads, but the Shadow had been tight lipped and refused to elaborate. This annoyed Naofumi, but he'd let it go. So long as it worked and it enabled their countermeasures, than he could deal with not knowing how it worked.

Hidden by the thick canopy of the Dark Woods, a large flock of Four-Eyed Ravens was flying overhead like a silent shadow. A second layer of reconnaissance and security. Six other such flocks were, for a lack of a better term, patrolling the Dark Woods, still searching for the yet unaccounted for forces of the Church of the Three Heroes. The Four-Eyed Raven flocks now coming to their aid were but one of the factions of monsters that H'aanit had solicited for help.

At the moment, the Beast Lore of the hunters of S'warkii was truly showing its worth. And before the day was up said worth would be proven several times over again.

H'aanit was sure of it.

Unseen by the people in the caravan monsters and Shadows moved in unison in the underbrush.


Bella L. Noitra was a nun of the Church of the Three Heroes. She was also a magic caster of not insignificant skill. Moreover, she was utterly devoted to the church and as such bore and appropriate level of disdain for demi-humans and the Devil of the Shield that they worshipped.

It was because of these combinations of factors that she was chosen for this current task.

Truth be told, the higher ups of the Church of the Three Heroes were a few steps short of panicking. The situation had already been deteriorating significantly in recent days, with church attendance and donations down across the whole of Melromarc. Though Bella was not personally aware of the scale of the problem, the Devil of the Shield's actions had weakened the church's hold on power and, more importantly, its hold on the hearts and minds of the people. If things continued on this vein for much longer…

That thought didn't bear thinking about.

Then the Shadows of the Church of the Three Heroes had reported that the Devil of the Shield had bought what amounted to a small army of slaves, a significant portion of which were combat capable Gladiator Slaves. And that he was transporting said slaves towards Melromarc.

Some would question what exactly the problem was. The more astute would see it for what it was: a hostile foreign apostle returning to their shores with an army at their back and call. The situation had already deteriorated enough with the Devil of the Shield operating with only a small cadre of foolish followers. How much worse would it get when the enemy had a literal army to pursue its devilish aims? The moment this news had been reported, some of those already paranoid/fearful leaders had easily imagined the coming calamity. So, they decided to act.

Considering how quickly they had rushed to act, however, some would say that their actions were ill conceived. It could not be understated how bad the feathers of the upper echelons of the Church of the Three Heroes had been ruffled. And paranoia rarely leads to coherent decision making.

None of this mattered to Bella, however. As a matter of fact, she wasn't aware of any of it. The state of mind of the people that had given her orders and directives didn't concern her. She was simply a woman of the faith that had been given a task. One that she would see through to the bitter end.

Currently, Bella found herself in a small clearing in the Dark Woods. She was joined by 22 more of the faithful. They were all priests and nuns, and every single one of them were capable magic casters. In their daily lives, they worked together on daily mundane tasks. And occasion they also work together on special tasks that required their combined magical might.

Like today.

"The caravan of the Devil of the Shield is about 2000 meters out," a voice echoed from somewhere. Bella didn't even try to sus out its origin. She had long since learned that detecting Shadows was beyond her. Instead, she just listened to their rapport. "At their current pace the enemy will arrive in optimal firing range in approximately ten minutes."

Bella didn't need to hear anything any further. She turned to her compatriots and spoke only one word, "Prepare."

None of them said anything back. At her command, they took up their positions and clasped their hands together as if prayer. No, not as if. They were praying, as for people of the cloth like them, the act of praying focused their minds the most and allowed them to unleash their magic at maximum efficiency. They would bring down the Devil of the Shield and its companions with the weight of their prayers.

"For all that is sacrosanct and holy, we'll bring down the devil and all that follow it," one of the priest murmured as he clasped his hands together with a clap.

"Yes, we shall," Bella responded as she copied his actions.

As one, they all closed their eyes and focused inward. A low hymn started up as they prepared to cast the Ceremonial level magic spell, Judgement. They would prepare the spell all the way up to completion, but not release it immediately. They would wait until the Shadows told them to strike. Judgement was perfect for their purposes, as it had both extreme destructive capabilities and extreme range. The area they were to bombard was already marked through magical means, a certain stretch of the trail that led through the Dark Woods.

The awareness of that stretch of insignificant dirt flickered in their collective minds, as did its exact direction and distance in respect to themselves. With that, everything was ready. Everything was set up. They would bring holy fury down on the unclean. And even if they couldn't bring down the Devil of the Shield itself, they would at least kill as many as possible of the unclean masses that found themselves under that abomination's leadership.

"In the name of god," Bella murmured as her magic ebbed and flowed. A magic circle had formed underneath the feet of the men and women of the cloth. It's golden and holy glow intensified as the spell of Judgement reached completion and-

SQUELCH-SPLAT!

They had made a mistake.

They shouldn't have closed their eyes.

That solitary thought was the first thing that went through Bella's mind as soon as the sound of ripping meat and spilling blood reached her ears. The second thing that went through her mind was crippling pain. An arrow had punched clean through her knee. Bella collapsed on the dirt as a bellow of blinding pain escaped her lips.

Underneath their feet the magic circle that would have been the catalyst to bring down divine fury on the wicked shattered like so much fragile glass. Ceremonial Magic like Judgement required perfect synergy between the magic casters. If but a single caster was out of lock step it would cause the Ceremonial Magic to fail miserably. Should this happen because of a mistake or, like in this particular case, outside interference made very little difference.

Startled shouts from her compatriots barely penetrated the haze of pain that had settled over her mind. As such, when those shouts transitioned into screams of panic and fear, Bella could not immediately note the difference. As a matter of fact, the sudden hellish pain had made her all but blind to her surroundings, or to the chaos unfolding around her.

If one froze time and zoomed out to get an accurate picture of the situation, they would see this:

Ratkin up high in the trees, hidden in the thickest foliage. They all bore crude bows and arrows, with a more than few arrows midflight as they plunged downwards like droplets in a rainstorm.

Forest Wolfs had surged into the clearing. The lead few of which were in midleap towards the closest men and women of the cloth, who all without fail looked panic stricken and where in the midst of desperately trying to dodge or tripping over their own feet to try and do so. To say that they'd been caught utterly off guard would be an understatement.

Human remains were falling from the sky in meaty chunks, ripped to bloody shreds. The very astute would recognize the full body covering typically worn by Shadows amongst the gore. The people relaying orders and keeping a watchful eye on the nuns and priests and keep them save as they went about their divine task had been the first to die for exactly that reason.

Mere moments before, the Shadows of the church had been set upon by triple the number of Shadows in employ of the Queen. Victim as they were of a perfectly executed surprise attack, they'd had no chance to react, much less counterattack. They had been caught flatfooted and paid the price with their lives. A not all that uncommon a fate for Shadows.

The scene would have made for a thrilling freeze frame of a movie or tv series. But this was real life, and in real life, time does not stand still for just anyone. Time resumed its inexorable march forwards and screams continued to follow in its wake.

By the time Bella regained enough of her focus to become aware of her surroundings again, the scene she was presented with was horrifying.

Bodies laid strewn around her. Arrows had punched through bodies in their dozens. Fangs and claws had ripped off bloody chunks whole from the then living but now dead carcasses. A select few of them had Dirks sticking out of their eyes or throat, wounds that would kill instantly or quickly. These had been the few that might have had the acuity and reflexes to react to the sudden monster attack, and as such, the Shadows of the Queen had prioritized them for elimination.

As far as Bella could tell, she was the only one left alive in the clearing. Well, the only human left alive in the clearing. She was surrounded by Ratkin and Forest Wolfs.

The terror of the situation almost made her throw up. Before the full weight of the situation dawned on her, however, a heavy blow struck her on the back of the head. Mercifully, the blow had rendered her unconscious on impact.

In that moment, the darkness of oblivion was far more comforting then bleak reality.

This was a scene that would play out multiple times today in the depths of the Dark Woods that day.


"Enemy team 1, 2, and 3 have been neutralized," Shadow reported. "No casualties on our end."

"Good," Naofumi said. He gave H'aanit a side long look. "None of those little monster birds of yours have come down in a while..."

"They must not haven found any more of the enemy forces," H'aanit looked tense. "Or, if they haven, they haven't had the time to relay it yet."

The ones relaying the information were just birds, after all. Monster birds, yes, that were significantly faster than ordinary birds, but they still had to physically close the distance in order to relay information. The Shadows could do it instantly with their mysterious ways, but even if their numbers had been beefed up, said numbers were still far too small to scour the entirety of the Dark Woods. In order to find the forces of the church quick enough, they had to rely on the monsters H'aanit had, ahem, employed to aid them.

Even now Four-Eyed Ravens, Forest Wolfs and Ratkin were continuing to scour the Dark Woods together with the Shadows, looking for presumably two more teams of enemies. Naofumi had borne witness to H'aanit's ability before to communicate and get the aid of monsters the first time they had passed through the Dark Woods, but the sheer scale of what the ability could accomplish had thrown him.

Having three disparate monster groups work together? With each other and even humans at that? Just because H'aanit more or less asked and worked her vaunted Beast Tamer lore? That sounded so utterly fantastical that Naofumi would have believed it to be nothing more than a tall tale if he had not seen it all play out for himself.

And on top all that, considering what had happened last time, Naofumi still had trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that even the Ratkin were playing ball. When questioned, H'aanit had smiled mysteriously with such a glint in her eyes that had made even the Shield Hero recoil a little. After that, he had suddenly lost any desire to question just how H'aanit had accomplished the feat.

"We should stop the caravan. Degojaru," Shadow stated like it was obvious.

"Agreed," Naofumi responded with a grunt. "Filo?"

"Will do, Master!" Filo saluted with one wing over her shoulder. Filo's run started to slow down, and in a minute she had come to halt, forcing the rest of the caravan behind her to stop as well. Confused voices echoed from behind them at their sudden halt, but it was inconsequential for the moment.

The reason why they'd halted was obvious. With a part of the missing church forces unaccounted for, continuing to go on ahead would be dangerous, as it risked the caravan getting into optimal firing range of their magic. Stopping now would give the monsters and the Shadows more time to find said missing church forces and deal with them.

Honestly, Naofumi would have preferred staying put in S'warkii until the monsters and Shadows had dealt with the forces of the church, if they were indeed present in the forest. But that might have put the people of S'warkii in harm's way if the forces of the church decided to forego subtlety entirely and attacked the town in order to get to Shield Hero. And Naofumi wasn't such a callous man that he would run the risk that an innocent third party might befall harm because of him.

So, they had set out as intended and placed themselves and their charges in potential harm instead. The decision had weighed heavily on him, but so far, it had proven to be the right decision. With just a little bit more luck the situation might be resolved with their resources out in the field.

…Naofumi felt a lead weight settle into his gut as soon as he had that thought. He might not have said it out loud, but merely having the thought was inviting disaster as far as he was concerned. Luck was such a nebulous concept, after all.

"Let's go, Master! The people are getting kinda loud!"

Naofumi blinked and looked down to see that Filo had unhooked herself from the carriage and had taken on her human form. She looked up at him and smiled widely, not looking tense at all. Naofumi found the lead weight in his stomach lighten just seeing how at ease Filo was.

Moreover, Filo had a point. The caravan behind them was clamoring, obviously wanting to know why they had stopped. Better think up some bullshit excuse and get them to calm down.

"Let's go entertain everyone, huh?" Naofumi said as he patted Filo on the top of her head.

"Hmm, hmm," Filo hummed in agreement as she leaned into his touch. "I'll sing a song for them!"

Naofumi raised an eyebrow at the exclamation, but after a brief moment he simply just shrugged his shoulders in agreement.

H'aanit and Linde joined them as they rounded the carriage and made their way towards the confused slaves. None of them mentioned the fact that the Shadow had joined them as well, and they had taken on a completely new appearance: a rough and tumble looking woman with dark hair, pale complexion, dark green eyes and decked out in armor not to dissimilar to what the average Gladiator Slave would wear.

How Shadows could change their appearance on a dime was yet another mystery Naofumi wasn't quite certain he would ever know the answer to. Not like it was important. First they'd get their new 'friends' to calm down, and then-

"!"

The newly disguised Shadow jerked to a stop. In the distance, a faint explosion could be heard.

Suddenly, the situation had changed.

Naofumi, Filo, H'aanit and Linde turned to look at the Shadow in alarm.

"Enemy forces encountered. Approximately 40 regulars and a 9 enemy Shadows acting as guards. 900 meters to the north," the Shadow whispered underneath their breath.

"That's twice the size of the other groups," Naofumi's spat. "And a lot of Shadows to protect them on top of that."

"Reason for this formation is unknown. Degojaru," the Shadow said. "My men found them, but partly thanks to greater numbers of enemy Shadows my men were spotted. None of the auxiliary forces provided by H'aanit are present in the area as of yet," the monsters, in other terms. "Enemy forces are making a break for it in our direction, presumably to get into optimal range for Ceremonial Magic."

"Aren thine men capable of holding the enemy back?" H'aanit asked immediately.

"Negative," was the unfortunate response. "They are too outnumbered, and my other men won't make it in time. Auxiliary forces are not in the immediate area. My men are falling back and doing all that they can to slow the enemy down, but that will only buy us some time. Degojaru."

The Shadow led out a deep breath.

"Enemy assault imminent."

"Time?" Naofumi enquired with a fierce look on his face.

"For long range Ceremonial Magic? Approximately 3 minutes," the Shadow said.

"I will make sure they don't harm anyone," Naofumi hissed. "You coordinate your men and cut down the enemy as quickly as possible."

The Shadow nodded and closed their eyes to do exactly that.

Naofumi turned towards H'aanit to see her release a Four-Eyed Raven to the sky. "The flock above us willen go'en and intercepten our enemy as soon as possible," she said promptly.

"Good," Naofumi said, clenching his fist tightly.

In the distance, another explosion resounded, sounding considerably closer this time.

"Listen up!" the Shield Hero thundered, raising his voice as high as it could go. The caravan had also heard the explosions, and had fallen silent. As such, Naofumi's voice echoed hauntingly over the very sudden tense atmosphere. "An enemy attack is incoming! We will try and out run them! But if that doesn't work I'll make sure none of you come to any harm! Get moving and get ready to dodge when and if that becomes necessary!"

At those words, the tense atmosphere had transitioned into abject alarm. Said alarm ratcheted up several notches when yet another explosion was heard, even closer than before.

"Filo!"

"Ready, Master!" Filo had already taken her Filolial Queen form again and hooked herself back to the carriage.

"Let's go!"

A moment later, the carriage was thundering down the trail once again, but much faster than they'd been going before. And the rest of the caravan followed in their wake at an equally frantic pace.

In reversal to their earlier thoughts, the more distance they made now, the longer it would take for enemy to get into optimal firing range. They might even outrun the enemy entirely, slowed down as they were by the Shadows and the soon to arrive literal monstrous reinforcements.

However, Naofumi had already dared Murphy not too long ago, and they wouldn't be so lucky.

"Enemy forces have begun preparations for Ceremonial Magic. Degojaru," the Shadow stated.

"Quick bastards," Naofumi hissed underneath his breath.

"Can thine men interrupt them?" H'aanit said with a tense look on her face.

"They will try, but their chances are not good. Degojaru. There are too few of them on site. More are en route, but it will take time we don't have," was the flat response.

Through the thick canopy of the Dark Woods, a sudden harsh light shone through the leaves, a portend of what was to come.

"Enemy has launched Ceremonial Magic! My men have identified it as the Judgement spell!"

"H'aanit, take the reins!"

"I willen! Good luck, Shield Hero!"

Handing over the reins of the carriage, Naofumi got up and clambered up on top of the roof of the carriage. He watched grimly as the light up above intensified. The fact that the canopy was in the way was unfortunate, as he wouldn't be able to see where the spell would strike until the very last second. Naofumi's already sharp eyes sharpened to the point they were almost hawk-like. If he didn't react quickly enough…

The Shield Hero didn't get the chance to fully appreciate the potential consequences if he failed. Just as the thought crossed his mind, the enemy attack breached the canopy.

ROAR!-ROAR!-ROAR!

With a sound reminiscent of a raging wildfire, three pillars of coruscating light incinerated leaves and wood on their path towards the caravan down below.

"For fuck's sake!" Naofumi raged at the sight. "Cover Move!"

The world seemed to blink, and suddenly Naofumi was in the center of the caravan, right beside Raphtalia, who herself was on top of one of the rapidly moving carriages. That's where his party had been all this time: scattered around the entire length of the caravan. With Cover Move, no matter how long the caravan was, he could protect the entire length of it so long as he knew that an attack was imminent.

That had been his believe, but that believe was being sorely tested at the moment. They had clearly underestimated the skill of the church's magic casters. To be able to launch three simultaneous Ceremonial Magic level spells in the middle of active combat? Perfectly aimed at that?

Insane.

As usual, this world was being unfair. It was par for the course.

On the other side of the coin, the pillars of light coming down from above were not anywhere near as wide as the ones he had seen in the battle with the Zombie Dragon. In active combat as they were, the church's magic casters had been rushed to launch the Judgement spells, making them considerably smaller than normal, even if the attack power in pure numerical terms remained unchanged. Most anything that these pillars of light struck would be vaporized by even a glancing hit.

But Naofumi didn't really have the presence of mind or the time to take note of that detail. All that was on his mind were the three pillars of light coming down from above, all perfectly aimed to strike the rapidly moving caravan at different points.

His charges were seconds away from death, and he was the only thing standing in between them and that cold embrace.

Anger, familiar and almost comforting, surged in his breast at that thought.

He used it as fuel for his resolve.

"Naofumi-sama!"

"I'm on it!"

Raphtalia was in the center of the caravan, right underneath the central pillar of light. From her position he could counter all three of said pillars.

"Air Strike Shield! Second Shield! Thi-

"May divine light scour all impurities before me – HEAVENREND!"

Before Naofumi could deploy the third ethereal shield, a pillar of light surged up from down below to counter the light coming from up above and to his left. The pillars of light crashed into each other and detonated in a brilliant conflagration of fire, deafening noise and scattering light that would have awed any pyrotechnician back on Earth.

"-rd Shield!"

Seamlessly, Naofumi instead deployed the Third Shield underneath the Second Shield and underneath the pillar of light he himself was not under, the one to his right. Nice one, Shirou!

"Change Shield!"

All three ethereal shields twisted and took on the form of the Light Metal Shield, that shield's anti-magic properties being perfect for this critical moment.

The two remaining pillars of light crashed down against the Light Metal Shields and struggled with all their might to overcome the anti-magic bulwarks. The pillar of light on the right smashed through the first Light Metal Shield, but petered out against the second, the light very slowly thinning and then dissipating as the anti-magic properties of the Light Metal Shield did its work.

The other pillar of light, however, smashed through the Light Metal Shield waylaying it and continued on its path unobstructed.

Except for the Shield Hero himself.

"Raphtalia, give me boost!"

"Yes! I'm ready, Naofumi-sama!"

The Shield Hero jumped, and the height of three feet that he gained with that jump attested to how high his Stats had gotten. Raphtalia held her sword above her head with the broadside to the sky. Naofumi landed on it. As requested, Raphtalia helped Naofumi gain even more air as he jumped to meet the descending pillar of light.

The Legendary Shield changed into the always darkly grinning face of the Soul Eater Shield. The shield with the highest Defence rating in his arsenal.

"Meteor Shield! Shield Prison!"

A bare second before the pillar of light would have struck down on the Legendary Shield, he deployed his last remaining barrier Skills. The bubble of the Meteor Shield closed its protective embrace around him. The Shield Prison formed not ahead, but underneath him. As the spherical prison of shields formed it allowed him to plant his feet on it.

The pillar of light struck the Meteor Shield with an afwul sound, and Naofumi watched up grimly at the blinding spectacle of burning light just outside of the protective barrier. Meteor Shield was strong, without a doubt, but he had little faith that it could block a Ceremonial Magic spell of this calibre on its own.

Meteor Shield held strong, for about two minutes before shattering with the noise of breaking glass.

With the Soul Eater Shield held above his head with both hands, Naofumi braced himself against the Shield Prison. Moments before impact, he admitted to himself that he could not deny or repress the adrenaline laced fear in the back of his mouth.

SCREEEEECH!

"GRAAAAAAGH!"

Naofumi's roar of exertion was lost in the much louder screeching sound produced by the pillar of light raining down on the Soul Eater Shield. Said shield rattled in his hands and Naofumi was sweating profusely from the intense heat. But even as he took a knee, he held fast and refused to be beaten by the light, continuing to hold the Soul Eater Shield over his head.

For Naofumi, that moment seemed to stretch out into eternity. But even eternity has to come to an end, and when it ended the pillar of light started to gradually weaken. The pressure on the Soul Eater Shield lessened, the heat diminished, and after a long struggle, Judgement was averted.

"Naofumi-sama!"

Raphtalia called for him, obviously wanting to know if he was okay. Naofumi barely heard it through the ringing in his ears and the distance between them. The carriage she's on was speeding down the trail, after all.

"C-Cover Move!" Naofumi managed just as the Shield Prison came undone.

He reappeared besides Raphtalia a moment later, panting for breath and hunching over in exertion.

Naofumi might have taken a knee again if Raphtalia hadn't moved to support him.

"I've got you, Naofumi-sama," Raphtalia soothed as she held him tight, almost as if hugging him. "Are you alright?"

"I'll manage," Naofumi took several deep breaths, slowly but surely steadying his breathing.

"Good," Raphtalia let out a sigh of relieve, secretly enjoying their close contact in that moment. "The danger should have pa-"

Harsh light shone beyond the canopy once more.

Raphtalia's words died ignominiously in her mouth as she paled. Naofumi damn near chipped a tooth as he gritted his teeth.

"Shield Hero!" all of a sudden, the still disguised Shadow landed beside them on the carriage's roof. "My men and the auxiliary forces have eliminated the last group of hostiles, but not before they managed to cast one last Ceremonial Magic spell! Degojaru!"

"Fuck!" Naofumi spat and glared up at the heavens.

"Now what?! Naofumi-sama's Skills are still in cooldown! And without that…" Raphtalia trailed off, desperately trying to think of a way out if this situation.

Naofumi's mind was similarly racing. Like Raphtalia had said, his defensive Skills were still in cooldown and would remain so for a little while longer. And considering the sheer force of what he had just experienced, the Legendary Shield and he himself would not be enough to waylay yet another Judgement spell on their own.

…At least, not if he relied on the Soul Eater Shield.

That treacherous thought suddenly wormed itself into his mind. Naofumi debated it for a short moment, but the situation was such that he didn't have the luxury to think it through. He came to a snap decision. It might have been at Shirou's behest that he had taken all these people under his wing, but now that he had done so, he bore a responsibility to them. Now that they all were in this situation, it was his duty to ensure that they all made it out alive.

"Raphtalia."

Raphtalia involuntarily straightened up at the tone of his voice.

"If I lose it, please pull me back. I don't know what will happen when I do this."

It took a moment, but when it dawned on Raphtalia what Naofumi intended to do, her eyes widened.

She grasped his free hand with two of her own.

"I believe in you, Naofumi-sama," was all that she said. Nothing more was needed.

"What is your intent? Dogojaru," the Shadow asked.

Naofumi did not respond. There was no time to explain, something underscored by the intense light overhead growing even harsher. He let out an explosive breath, and willed the Legendary Shield to change into a shield he had hoped he would never have to use.

As his mind thickened with burgeoning anger, a rapid series of notifications appeared in his Menu.

Shield of Rage equipped!

Dragon Core Fragment has caused the Shield of Rage to evolve!

Curse Series: Shield of Rage II attained!

[Shield of Rage II (Awakened) A – Base Defence: 520 – Equip Bonus: Change Shield (attack) / Iron Maiden

[Level Link] (Lv: 63): + 31,5 Defence

[Weapon Familiarity] (0/30): + 0 Defence

[Item Enchantment] Lv 0: -

[Weapon Enchantment] Lv 13: +26% Damage-Increase-Against-Humanlike

[Status Enchantment] Lv 17: +34 Fire/Curse Damage

[Weapon Tempering] LV 0: + 0 Defence

[Rarity Power] S: + 60 Defence

[Reinforce Weapon] (0/35) + 0 Defence

[Weapon Proficiency]: 0

Special Ability: Self Curse Burning, Strength Up, Howl, Frenzy of Companions, Robe of Rage (medium)]

…What?

That was the singular, plaintive thought that crossed Naofumi's mind before a raging inferno of rage and hatred consumed his thoughts utterly.

YOU WILL PAY!

A dragon's roar resounded in the back of his mind.

Naofumi howled his hatred to the world in unison with it.


Hey, guys. Next chapter and all that. Not a lot else to say. I hope you guys enjoyed.