Sword and Shield

Clean up 7

"Fire!"

TWANG!

The battle with the Bow Hero began, appropriately so, with the clear sound of a hundred bowstrings being released at once. An equal number of arrows closed in on Shirou and Filo from all directions, creating an impossible to dodge cage of death. From every side and from up above, the sharp steel of the arrowheads glinted in the light, seeking blood.

"Filo!" Shirou directed.

"Filo commands the origin of power! Filo has read, deciphered and augmented a law of nature! Blow them all away with a raging tornado!"

"Dritte Tornado!"

A gargantuan tornado sprang into existence, reaching high into the sky. Instead of being launched ahead like usual, the whipping winds were centered around Shirou and Filo, the tornado forming a protective barrier around them both.

It sent the arrows flying in all directions like errant drops of rain in a thunderstorm.

"Don't let up!"

A wave of magical attacks followed closely in the wake of the barrage of arrows, however…

"Filo, charge!"

"Here we go, Onii-chan! Hold on tight!"

Filo came thundering out of the tornado, Shirou astride her back.

"Hidden Light Slash! Hidden Light Slash!"

A trio of small fireballs were coming from the front, but the two crossing Hidden Light Slashes launched by Shirou in quick succession ripped them to shreds and rendered the fireballs naught but harmless embers in the wind.

"Gah?!"

The priest behind the fireballs shared the same fate, being reduced to bloody chunks.

TWANG!

The deafening noise of a hundred bowstrings being released in unison was heard once again, and a second volley of arrows were launched.

Filo stomped her claw covered foot on the ground, hard enough that the forward momentum of her charge came to a halt on a dime and the soil cratered a little. She twisted her ankle around, her body following along in the movement, and then-

"High Quick!"

She disappeared.

CRASH!

And the very top of the wall on the opposite end of the courtyard she had been charging towards exploded, with both men and rubble being sent skyward.

Filo had cannonballed into it, out speeding the arrows in the process and dodging them all by the virtue of going in a completely different direction than she had been.

"Damn, that bird is much too quick!" Itsuki cursed. Filo was moving so quickly that the Bow Hero, like everyone else, was having trouble following Filo with his eyes. The Filolial Queen had sped up, reversed course and jumped so quickly that she had seemed to disappear from his sight.

It went without saying that, if you wanted to hit a target with a bow and arrow, being able to see said target was kind of vital.

The concussive force of Filo's sudden assault of the castle wall had knocked all of the men in the area on their asses. Those were the lucky ones. The few that had been sent airborne were destined to fall to their ignominious deaths.

"What the-cough-hell-cough-just happened…"

One of the knights picked himself up from the ground, aching all over. With a start, he realized that he had lost his bow in whatever had just happened. Dust was thick in the air and occluded his sight to the point that he could barely see anything. Without thinking about it, he started crawling along the broken rampart, his fingers searching blindly along the ground to find his lost weapon.

"Shadow Sneak Blade Rush!"

The knight's back arched and his mouth opened wide in a silent scream. A shadow-lined blade had erupted from underneath him from his own shadow, punching up and through his torse with contemptuous ease. It was a fate shared by many of his unfortunate allies who were scrambling to try and regain their bearings in the rubble and dust.

Another knight was slowly backing away in the dust cloud, having dropped his bow and drawn his sword. His guard was raised, his senses primed, his eyes were opened wide and unblinking in wait for the attack that he knew was coming and-

"GAH?!"

Blood erupted into the air.

A thrown Dirk slipped through the knight's cranium with surgical precision. In spite of his alertness, the Dirk had been thrown with such speed and precision that the knight had never stood a chance.

Bloodcurdling screams started to reverberate from the wrecked rampart occluded by the thick dust cloud. It didn't take a lot of imagination to figure out what was happening in there.

"Dammit! Arrow Rain!"

Growing frustrated at being unable to act without proper sight on his targets and at how his allies were being slaughtered, Itsuki finally loosed his energy based arrow. In accordance with his Skill, it split into over three dozen separate arrows that rained down and into the dust cloud.

TWANG!

The remaining bow wielding knights did the same and rained down yet another volley into the thick dust cloud.

"Meteor Arrow!"

Further doubling down, Itsuki used a much stronger Skill. A coruscating sphere of silvery energy surged into existence in front of the Legendary Bow, before it lanced forwards like a laser beam of raging energy.

BOOM!

The already wrecked rampart shook under a massive explosion as the Meteor Arrow struck home, sending large pieces of the wall flying as smoke billowed, short lived flames surging along with the smoke as it rose skyward.

Except for the sound of wreckage falling to the ground, everything very briefly fell still.

Itsuki held his breath. Had he beaten his enemy? Was the battle over?

"Light Swords!"

"Zweite Wind Cutter!"

The answer to his question came in the form of a deluge of energy swords followed by sickles of cutting air carried by a harsh blast of wind.

Itsuki's eyes widened and he moved to dodge, but…

"High level Ceremonial Magic: Castle Wall!"

Behind the Bow Hero stood over two dozen priests and nuns of the church. All of them had clasped their hands together in prayer. Golden spheres of mana were drifting up and out of their bodies, feeding into something in front of the Bow Hero that wasn't readily visible.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! BOOM!

The energy swords and sickles of wind impacted Itsuki's general location with a staccato of noise followed by an explosion. However, when the smoke cleared, it revealed a hexagonal barrier with a lot of complex geometrical patterns on its surface, almost evocative of a fortress.

The smoke occluding Shirou's and Filo's exact location was blown away by a sudden harsh wind, allowing them both to see the result of their attack.

Shirou's eyes sharpened as he realized what this was. A barrier, a type of Support magic he had heard of but never seen before, exceptionally strong as it had stopped Shirou's and Filo's combined attack cold, in spite of the Life Force they both had incorporated into their attacks.

"No fair!" Filo complained as their attack was rendered ineffective.

Itsuki, for his part, smiled in relieve. That was right. He wasn't fighting alone here. He was fighting on the side of justice, and many people were walking that path alongside him.

"With justice and the righteous on my side I cannot lose!" Itsuki crowed.

The bowstring of the Legendary Bow was pulled back with a clear noise, and another arrow of pure energy manifested. The precursor of another Skill yet to be unleashed.

Eyes darting around, Shirou took stock of the situation.

The wall Shirou and Filo were on had been cleared of enemies. The other walls were still filled with bow wielding knights. The few remaining enemy combatants in the courtyard, half a dozen or so, had regrouped behind Itsuki's party member, the one Naofumi referred to as Flashy Armor, and were waiting for an opportune moment to act. The mage, Itsuki's other party member on the field, was standing at the ready with red magical energy gathering in his palms. And Itsuki himself was protected by an exceptionally strong barrier that was going to be a pain to get through.

"Onii-chan!"

"Clear the field, Filo! Then we will focus on the Bow Hero!" Shirou instructed.

"Okay!" the Filolial Queen spread her wings wide.

"I'd like to see you try! Eagle Piercing Shot!" Itsuki loosed his arrow.

"Zweite Fire Squall!" the Mage raised his hands over his head. High in the air, a sphere of fire was swelling into existence.

TWANG!

The small army of bowmen followed his example and unleashed another deluge of arrows towards their enemies.

The ball of concentrated fire broke up in a very odd, liquid-like way, and fire came raining down in small spheres, like raindrops in a downpour.

The moment Itsuki's energy arrow left his bow, it transformed into the shape of a golden eagle. It spread its wings wide and soared headlong at Shirou and Filo with terrific speed.

"Zweite Gust!"

"Hidden Light Slash! Hidden Light Slash! Hidden Light Slash!"

Filo's spread wide wings were swung forward with a loud clap, unleashing an exceptionally harsh and magic laden forwards gale. It would have sent a fully grown and armored man flying with very little trouble.

It scattered the arrows and rain of fire with the same ease that a man would wipe sweat from his brow.

Three Hidden Light Slashes were launched in rapid succession. In a single file, they soared forward.

BOOM!

The first Hidden Light Slash obliterated Itsuki's Eagle Piercing Shot.

"What!?"

Most would assume the two attacks would destroy each other, as had Itsuki, but they'd be wrong. The Bow Hero could scarcely believe his eyes as the first Hidden Light Slash bisected his Eagle Piercing Shot and continued on ahead, barely even slowed.

With an awful screeching sound, the three Hidden Light Slashes struck the Castle Wall barrier one after the other. Said barrier glowed brightly, the nuns and priests behind the Bow Hero feeding more and more power into the barrier to hold back the awesome cutting force of three Hidden Light Slashes.

It succeeded, the Hidden Light Slashes dying off before they could penetrate the barrier, however…

THUMP. THUMP.

Two nuns collapsed, having spent all their magical energy.

Looking over his shoulder, Itsuki was wide eyed at the out cold nuns.

"Filo commands the origin of power! Filo has read, deciphered and augmented a law of nature! Blow them all away with a harsh gale of wind!"

"Dritte Gust!"

Snapping back around, Itsuki was just in time to see Filo bring her wings back down yet again with a thunderclap of noise.

With a roar, wind surged and blew with the force of a hurricane.

If the previous Gust spell could sent full grown men flying, this one could uproot entire houses.

Itsuki and the nuns and priests were save behind the Castle Wall barrier, as were Flashy Armor and the few remaining church forces in the courtyard. But the knights up on the walls took the full force of the spell head on.

And even if Itsuki was protected by the Castle Wall barrier, the third tier Gust spell subjected it to an awesome force that required an equally enormous amount of magical energy to repel. Four more of the nuns and priests collapsed, their magical energy utterly spent.

The Bow Hero was stunned. Strength. Speed. Magic. Their enemy's power was far greater then he could have imagined. What the hell are their Stats like?!

Shirou and Filo's Levels were in the high fifties, but still lower than Itsuki's own. It made no sense for them to be this absurdly strong.

He had seen Shirou and Filo fight before during the second Wave against the Soul Eater Boss Monster. However, as he had not been the one who had faced that strength and power, he had not quite appreciated how strong Shirou and Filo truly were. Even when he had fought them in the tournament back in Zeltoble, he'd never faced Shirou directly and Filo had taken him out when he'd been distracted.

Itsuki's stunned state didn't last long, however. No, horror overtook his emotions as almost all the remaining men on the castle walls were picked up and sent flying by the hurricane force winds that Filo had unleashed, his magic inclined party member among them.

"Welst! No!"

Along with dozens upon dozens of bow wielding knights, Welst disappeared into the distance. And even though his hood hid his expression, there was no way to miss the man's terrified scream.

"High Quick! Spiral Strike!"

Itsuki cried out in shock, stumbled back and almost fell on his ass as Filo seemed to teleport. Her claw covered foot came down on the Castle Wall barrier directly in front of him with such force that said barrier visibly bent inward.

Another five nuns and priests collapsed, out of the fight.

Caught off guard, the Bow Hero completely missed the fact that Shirou was astride Filo's back.

Shirou flipped over Filo and landed directly in front of the Castle Wall barrier.

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique!"

For once, even though he was on the attack, Shirou's sword was tucked away in its sheath.

"Bullet!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Shirou started hammering the Castle Wall barrier with his fists. The astute would have noticed that Shirou's fists weren't making direct contact with the barrier, but that his knuckles would halt a mere millimeter before it and would unleash a ripple of Life Force. These were the 'bullets' Elrasla was ever so fond of using, the first pure Hengen Musou technique Shirou himself had mastered.

And as Hengen Musou techniques were highly useful against things with high Defence, it only made sense for said techniques to be equally as effective against barriers. Behind the Bow Hero, the remaining nuns and priests were starting to rapidly drop with every hammer blow to the Castle Wall barrier that Shirou delivered.

Panicked, Itsuki brought up his Legendary Bow to take aim at Shirou, but…

"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique!" Shirou's right foot slid backwards as he reared back his right fist. Clenching his fist tight, Life Force swirled around it and became visible. "Large Caliber Piercing Bullet!"

BANG!-CRUNCH!

Bringing his fist down yet again on the spot he had been hammering, Shirou unleashed a massive and blindingly bright 'bullet'. Energy flashed and strobed between the two meeting forces, blinding in its intensity as Shirou sought to overcome the Castle Wall barrier with pure force.

Behind Itsuki, the last followers of the church collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. Both their stamina and magical energy were utterly spent.

With an awful crunch, the Castle Wall barrier bent inward, then cracked, and finally broke. Golden pieces of magical energy arced through the air before fading away, the barrier beaten.

And Shirou surged forwards through the dissipating particles of the barrier.

Itsuki fell back in a panic, almost stumbling over his own two feet as he tried to make distance.

"Stay away!"

TWANG!

The Bow Hero unleashed his arrow, aimed right between Shirou's eyes. This was no technique, it was but a purely normal attack unleashed in desperation. Shirou shifted his head to the side, dodging the arrow of pure energy by but a hairsbreadth. The demi-human continued to surge on ahead, barely slowed.

Now, there was but five paces between them.

Itsuki could no longer get away from Shirou, and he knew it. Panic transforming into unadulterated fear at that realization, the Bow Hero, in desperation and terror, did something reckless.

Pulling back the bowstring of the Legendary Bow, the energy arrow manifested and changed color from white to a deep green. A telltale sign of a Skill. But despite how close they were, Shirou was sure that he could dodge whatever Itsuki was about to do and then finish closing the distance to the Bow Hero.

However, Shirou wasn't the target.

The Legendary Bow was lowered, the Skill aimed at the castle tower itself.

Shirou's eyes widened.

"Bunker Buster!" Itsuki cried.

It was a simple Skill, all things considered. The closer the arrow of this Skill was unleashed to its target, the more damage it would do. And as said Skill had been aimed at the top of the tower but a scant few centimeters from the Legendary Bow itself…

Well, let's just say that even Itsuki was caught off guard by what happened next.

The Bunker Buster arrow punched through the top of the castle tower with ease. It continued to punch through stone floor after stone floor, doing more and more damage on the way down, before hitting the very foundations and destroying something structurally vital.

The castle tower shuddered, than started to collapse like tower of unstable Jenga blocks.

Itsuki didn't get to see what happened to Shirou, or Filo for that matter. His footing disappeared underneath him and he plummeted. With a roar of noise, indescribable in its intensity, the Hero of the Bow was buried in the resulting rubble.

And his world went dark.


Itsuki was stuck in a small, dark place for an indeterminate amount of time, a time where he could not move at all, before a sudden crunching sound reached his ears. A moment later, light pierced the confined space he was stuck in, making the Bow Hero wince and blink his eyes against the harsh light.

More crunching and the weight on top of him lessened. A blurry face came into his view.

"Mald..?" Itsuki questioned and hoped at the same time.

A hand grabbed him by the front of his armor and roughly hoisted him out of the rubble. Itsuki let out a chocked sound of surprise as he was held up in the air, his feet dangling above the ground.

His vision cleared, and no sooner had it done so, and Itsuki's face had paled.

It was Shirou who was holding him up.

"Thank god he is still alive. It would be...inconvenient if he were to die."

"Blowhard has more guts than Filo gave him credit for, Onii-chan! Filo never would have thought that he would bring down the entire tower!"

The Bow Hero weakly looked around. The courtyard of the small castle was wrecked. Rubble was piled all over, and bodies were scattered everywhere, some out on the ground, while others were stuck partially or completely under rubble. Blood was smeared over many surfaces, and oozed out from underneath large pieces of stone where unfortunate people had been crushed.

As far as the Bow Hero could tell, only he himself, Shirou and Filo were left alive.

This had been slaughter.

"You…monsters," Itsuki gasped.

Shirou's eyes swiveled to meet the Bow Hero's.

"One man's villain is another's Hero, and vice versa," Shirou said, voice flat. "From our perspective and the people we are fighting for, you and yours are the villains, the monsters."

"Heroes are…loved by all," Itsuki managed to get out. His hand came up, its digits wrapping around Shirou's wrist. But no matter how hard he tried, he could barely put any pressure on Shirou's wrist.

"You…really don't know what it means to be a Hero, do you?" Shirou sighed.

Itsuki gritted his teeth. He hated how weak he felt. He hated that he had been defeated. But most of all, he hated how Shirou was looking at him with pity and was speaking down to him. A mere member of a Hero's party had defeated the Bow Hero and was now lecturing said Hero.

His justice had been defeated, and his pride groaned underneath the strain of it all.

"Let go of Itsuki-sama, you damnable demi-human scum!"

That was Mald! He was alive! He was coming to save him and allow them to continue the battle!

From Itsuki's perspective, a shadow suddenly seemed to fall over Shirou. Mald's large bulk was just behind the demi-human with no warning whatsoever, sword raised high over his head. Itsuki's eyes sparked with hope.

If the Bow Hero had the presence of mind to realize it, he might have wondered why Shirou did not look surprised, or why Filo didn't act to intervene.

Without turning to look back, Shirou shifted to the side, allowing Mald's sword to pass him by. Then he took a step back and rammed his elbow into Mald's armored torso. The man spat blood as the Life Force infused into the blow surged through him and out his back. With a crunch, the armor on his back shattered and was literally blown off his body.

Mouth agape and eyes lifeless, Mald fell to the rubble covered ground with nary a sound. He didn't move to get back up.

Itsuki's hope was extinguished.

Step. Step. Step.

The Bow Hero's eyes drifted to the side over Shirou's shoulder as he heard hurried footsteps. What he saw made despair set in.

"Master! Everyone! You're back!" Filo cried, and then spotted something equally important.

"Mel-chan!"

Emerging from the castle, the Shield Hero walked into the light. Behind him were Raphtalia, Elrasla and Shadow. All four of them looked fine, with no mark of battle on them.

Most importantly, Naofumi was carrying Melty in his arms in the ever so appropriate princess style.

"Filo!" Melty looked like she could cry.

Filo immediately took on her human form and rushed over.

Shirou took this all in while keeping an eye on Itsuki. Though he did not show it, he felt an immeasurable amount of relieve at the sight of all his companions, with Melty included, returning in good health.

For his part, after having handed Melty over to Filo, Naofumi was looking around the wrecked courtyard. He whistled. "Damn, you two really cleaned house up here, didn't you? This might be a little overkill…"

"We kind of had to, Master!" Filo giggled. She had wrapped herself around Melty in the tightest hug any of them had ever seen, something that Melty returned with just as much gusto. "Blowhard and his helpers made things more difficult then they had to be."

As Itsuki was mentioned, the Shield Hero turned to look at the Bow Hero. Said Bow Hero was still dangling above the ground, held up by Shirou's hand. Naofumi's satisfied expression fell away at seeing Itsuki, becoming decidedly neutral.

And then very, very angry.

"Itsuki, I thought Motoyasu was an idiot, but you take the cake," Naofumi spat with such derision that Shirou was caught off guard by it. It was as Shirou's eyes darted towards Naofumi in that moment that he saw something he'd missed before.

Elrasla was standing to the side and a little behind the Shield Hero. She was carrying someone on her back. A petite girl with green hair.

Rishia.

She was evidently unconscious, and the fact that she was being carried by Elrasla implied many different things. None of them could be called good.

"Naofumi," Shirou's eyes narrowed dangerously at Itsuki. "What happened?"

The Shield Hero and the rest of his party approached.

"Raphtalia, Elrasla and Shadow managed to get to Melty without being detected," Naofumi said as he came to a halt beside Shirou. "And they managed to knock out all the guards keeping an eye on her. However, when they cut her loose from her bonds, they triggered some kind of trap, an explosive. That's why they signaled us. I managed to shield us all from the explosion in the nick of time, but it was a very near thing."

As Shirou had heard and felt said explosion up top, it must have been quite the blast.

Naofumi wasn't done yet, however. "But as it turns out, Melty wasn't the only one being held captive down there."

There was a brief moment of silence as Shirou digested that.

"What," Shirou's eyes bored into Itsuki's. "Did you do?"

"What…did I…do?" Itsuki managed, before apparently rallying. "Nothing! Saving my party member from Naofumi's perverse brainwashing! That's what!"

"Brainwashing?" Raphtalia repeated, looking and sounding perplexed.

"Rishia objected to the fact that Naofumi has the power to brainwash people! She said that there was no prove and only wild conjecture!" Itsuki trashed in Shirou's grasp, both hands now wrapped tight around Shirou's wrist. "She said that the Church of the Three Heroes was tricking me! That the rest of my party was wrong! To not trust the people who believe in me! Naofumi brainwashed her! I do not know how, why or when he got to her, but Rishia has been brainwashed and turned her back on me! She-"

In a flash, the Legendary Shield transformed into the Ghisarma Heart Shield. Itsuki's eyes bugged out as Naofumi rammed the Ghisarma Heart Shield into his gut.

"Ack!" the counter attack activated and Itsuki was ripped from Shirou's grasp, knocked away with an awesome force.

CRACK!

Back first, the Bow Hero smashed into the far wall. The back of his head made an awful noise as it snapped back on impact and struck the hard surface. Itsuki fell to the ground and started writhing, clutching his head in agony.

"You low-life, good for nothing, pretend Hero piece of trash!"

Naofumi's curse laden diatribe was thick was such disgust and derision that everyone took a step back from the enraged Shield Hero.

"No matter what fanciful ravings you've deluded yourself with, there is no excuse for what you did and let do to Rishia! You are no Hero, but just an idiotic monster!"

Naofumi took a step forwards, fully intend to continue laying into Itsuki.

It wasn't to be.

"Everyone, get back!" Elrasla suddenly screamed.

TACK!

With a sharp noise, a knife buried itself in the ground between the party and the Bow Hero. There was something hanging from the handle, something small, round and with a lit fuse attached.

"Bomb!" Shirou recognized immediately, and jumped back as instructed.

"Meteor Shield!" even as everyone rapidly made distance, Naofumi was quick to deploy the Meteor Shield.

BOOM!

The bomb detonated, creating an explosion far larger than one would have expected from such a small device. Fire, smoke and force rippled outwards, but in spite of its surprising explosive force it did little more than wash harmlessly over the Meteor Shield.

The explosion did, however, conceal their view of Itsuki, which was exactly the point.

In human form, Filo spread her wings wide. She flapped them forwards with a laud clap, releasing a Faust Gust without chant or pronounced name. The mild, magic laden forwards gale she released blew away the smoke.

As their vision was cleared, they saw Itsuki being picked up by a church Shadow. Two more church shadows flanked them. And three more Shadows were lunging towards them.

"You aren't getting away! Light Swords!" Shirou acted immediately.

"Light Swords!" Raphtalia mirrored.

A wide spread of light element energy swords blasted forwards, seeking to skewer them all in place and keep Itsuki and the church Shadows from fleeing.

Shirou could see it in the body language of the three church Shadows lunging towards them. They had been relying on the smoke from the explosion to mask their assault and give them a clean shot at attacking them. The quick, resolute actions from the Shield Hero's party caught them flatfooted.

All of a sudden, they were faced with a wall of Light Swords coming from the front. The question was if they could block said attack, if they had the time to do so. But dodging meant leaving Itsuki and the other Shadows in the line of fire, and considering that their purpose here was clearly to save the Bow Hero…

In the end, they chose to do nothing.

SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH!

And they paid for it with their lives. They paid with their lives in order to block an attack with their own bodies that they wouldn't have been able to block in any other way. In order to buy their compatriots precious time they would not have been able to provide otherwise.

"Stupid zealots!" Naofumi cursed at the sight.

With Itsuki slung across their back, the church Shadow pressed themself back against the castle wall. The shadow said something underneath their breath…

…And sunk into their own shadow, disappearing and taking the Bow Hero with.

In spite of all the fantastical things he had seen since coming to this world, Shirou felt his jaw go a little slack at the shocking spectacle.

The other two remaining Shadows did the same. They said some words underneath their breath, clearly a spell of some kind, and sank down into their own shadows with surprising suddenness, as if their shadows had suddenly transformed into a liquid.

"…Shadow walkers," Elrasla groaned. "Of course they had to be shadow walkers. What the hell are the odds? And three of them at that."

"What just happened?" Naofumi said, perplexed, as they stared at the empty spot where the three remaining church Shadows and Itsuki had just been.

"Now isn't the time to explain. Degojaru," Shadow cut across all of them. "Even if all our opponents have been beaten or have fled, this is still enemy territory. Now that we have rescued Melty-sama we should make ourselves scarce. Degojaru."

Naofumi made a frustrated noise. "Fine, let's get the hell out of here."

As they made to leave, Shadow hauled up Flashy Armor's unmoving form, and in spite of the man's large bulk, slung the man over their shoulder with a motion as easy as breathing. "He might have useful information. Degojaru," Shadow answered their questioning looks.

"Serves him right," Raphtalia muttered underneath her breath. The mercies of the Queen's Shadows would not be tender, but what she had seen down in the castle's dungeon…she could not find it in herself to feel any kind of sympathy for the man.

Flashy Armor was scum, plain and simple.


It was dark. It was still the same day, but the sun had gone down not long ago, but it was not only the world that that had gone dark. In spite of having been rescued, Melty's mood was actually dark as could be. Not because she wasn't grateful at having been rescued or anything. No, the cause for her dark mood was what she was looking at.

Rishia laid in front of her on a cot in the middle of the carriage, silent and unmoving.

"Has there been any change?"

"There hasn't, Shirou," Melty answered.

"I see," Shirou sighed and settled down beside her, mood evidently just as dark as her own.

The entirety of the party of the Shield Hero, Melty and Rishia included, had rejoined the caravan not long ago. At the moment, they were back in their own and soothingly familiar carriage at the head of said caravan. They were still on the move even now, and were set to arrive at a nearby village not long from now.

In the time they had been away, H'aanit had reported that there had been a few attempted attacks on the caravan, but Shadow's men and the monsters she had conscripted had headed off all such assaults before they could even properly begin.

Said hunter was somewhere in the very back in the carriage fast asleep, with Linde curled up beside her. Those two had been visibly exhausted by the time they'd come back. The moment they had settled down, both of them had been out like a light.

"…I heard her screaming," Melty eventually said. "They'd already been torturing her by the time I was hauled into that dungeon."

But by the time her own torture had begun in earnest, however, Rishia had fallen silent.

From the other side of Rishia, Raphtalia looked subdued. "It was her own party members who had been torturing her," she said darkly. "Even if they believed that nonsense of Rishia having been brainwashed, and they thought that what they were doing would 'save' her, they had continued to torture her even when she was unconscious."

"They didn't believe that farcical theory," Melty spat, and then spelled out what all of them already knew. "If they did, they would have stopped the moment Rishia had fallen unconscious. They went on ahead because they wanted to, not because they had to."

When they had first met Rishia and the rest of the Bow Hero's party back at the tournament in Zeltoble, more than one of them had noted that Rishia did not fit in with the rest of the party. That impression had been more on the money than any one of them could have expected.

But to go this far…

"What happened to them?" Shirou asked quietly.

"They are dead," Raphtalia said flatly.

After Naofumi had shielded them from the explosion they'd inadvertently triggered when they had released Melty from her bonds, circumstances had lead them extremely rapidly to the room where Rishia was being held captive. In there, they'd found Rishia tied down to a plank of wood and the other members of the Bow Hero's party, the ones who hadn't been tangling with Shirou and Filo up top.

Rishia was in a terrible state, and torture implements covered in blood had been scattered around the room.

Raphtalia's expression tightened. They had quickly subdued that filth and cut Rishia loose from her bonds. While Naofumi healed Rishia with his Healing magic and a few potions, just like he'd done with Melty, Raphtalia had used what little time they'd had to ascertain exactly what had been going on in that room. With Shadow aiding her, Raphtalia soon had an accurate picture of what they had stumbled into.

And once she had, Raphtalia had, without hesitation, killed those party members of the Bow Hero. There had been two of them, and with a single slice of her sword, both their heads had rolled by her feet.

Back when they had dealt with Idol, his life had been momentarily spared because he was more worth alive than dead. However, those two did not, as far as Raphtalia had been concerned in that moment, have that distinction.

As such, she killed them. As simple as that.

"Good riddance," Shirou said, careful not to mention that Raphtalia's nails were digging into the skin of her thighs as she clenched them. As far as he was concerned Raphtalia's actions were no doubt justified, and he knew that Raphtalia knew this too. Instead of patronizing her by trying to console her or feeding her some long winded rationalization, he instead offered her his silent support.

It was the best that he could do, and it seemed to work.

Raphtalia's expression lightened a little and she relaxed marginally, enough so that her fingernails were no longer digging into her flesh.

"Why hasn't she woken up yet?" Melty asked the room in general suddenly.

It had been a few hours since they had rescued Melty and Rishia, after all. The fact that Rishia had yet to wake up was odd.

"I can hazard a guess," Shirou sighed. "Naofumi healed all her wounds. Physically, she is fine, and if the problem isn't physical…"

"Then it has to be mental," Raphtalia finished the thought, grimacing.

"Having the Bow Hero and his other party members turn on her like this would be traumatic, to put it mildly," Shirou shook his head, a thunderous scowl on his face.

Melty and Raphtalia shared his scowl, all three falling silent. There was nothing they could do. They would have to wait until Rishia woke up before they could ascertain her state of mind. And until her state of mind was clear, they couldn't do anything further.

Raphtalia shook her head and pushed her dark thoughts to the back of her mind. "We'll just have to hope Rishia wakes up soon," she said. "Anyway, let's talk about something else. Melty, what did the Queen have to say over the crystal ball?"

Naturally, after they had rescued Melty, they had contacted the Queen to tell her the good news. It had been a no nonsense report more than anything else, though. After they had finished delivering said report, the Queen had asked for a one on one conversation with Melty.

Mirellia might be a Queen, but she was also a mother. It made perfect sense that she wanted to be sure that Melty was alright. Of course, they'd given her chance to do so.

"Mother obviously wanted to know if I was alright, and if I wanted to return to her side," Melty said.

"I see. That makes sense," Shirou nodded. Melty had just been kidnapped, after all, and with the current situation in Melromarc, she would continue being in danger while she was inside Melromarc's borders. It made sense to recall her.

"However, I turned her down," Melty said.

Shirou and Raphtalia blinked at that statement.

"Why?" Raphtalia asked with a raised brow.

"You know why. All of you do," Melty shook her head. "With the situation as it is, me leaving might be the best for my own safety, but it won't be the best course of action for Melromarc or you guys. I can't leave. Not after everything that has happened."

The truth was that Shirou, Raphtalia and everyone else did know. However, even if it would be more advantageous for themselves and the strategic situation to have Melty along for the ride from now on, putting her into harm's way was the last thing they wanted.

Neither of them objected to her assertion to stick by them, however. They could see it in her eyes. Whatever they said, Melty would not be dissuaded.

"Shirou-sama. Everyone," Atla suddenly stuck her head into the carriage, heading off any further conversation. "We are about the reach the village. Naofumi-sama told me to tell you we all have to get ready, for whatever might happen."

They all shared a look, and nodded. With one last look at the unconscious Rishia, they started both physically and mentally preparing for what was ahead.


"God, how could this happen!?"

Biscas T. Balmus raged. Pope of the Church of the Three Heroes and man of the cloth he might be, in that moment, his anger made him look like an enraged demon.

"Though it is not known how, the Devil of the Shield and his followers managed to find the base where princess Melty was being held in record time," the Shadow kneeling at the base of the stairs that led up to an alter repeated. "After a short battle with the Bow Hero, our forces were subdued and the enemies that had already infiltrated our base retrieved princess Melty."

"I heard you the first time!"

Normally, Biscas could appreciate the no nonsense manner of his Shadow operatives and their reports. It made acting on what they told him much quicker and smoother, but right now, all it did was make him even angrier.

Trying to calm down, the pope allowed his eyes to wander the room they were in.

It was, in a word, ostentatious. Situated somewhere underneath the catacombs of the central church in Castle Town, the capital city of Melromarc, the chamber they were in was a domed affair. The walls and ceiling were made out of a deep purple chiseled marble, gleaming in the light of many lit torches. Tapestries, statues and carvings of swords, spears and bows covered the room. At the back of the room, a massive alter sat at the very top of a steep set of stairs, a place where many a religious functions had taken place.

At a base of said stairs were the trio of church Shadows, the shadow walkers, that had managed to get Itsuki away from the Shield Hero's party. Said Bow Hero himself was sitting out cold in a chair to the side. Biscas was standing at the very top of the stairs with the altar and an intricate painting forming the backdrop behind him.

Taking a deep breath, Biscas calmed his rage with a force of will. His arms clasped behind his back and with sure, deliberate steps he descended down the grand set of stairs. The pope came to a halt directly in front of the three Shadows, who remained kneeling on the ground with their faces aimed at the ground.

"Explain the battle again, in detail this time," Biscas commanded.

The Shadows did just that, giving the pope a play by play analysis of Shirou's and Filo's battle with Itsuki and his party members. It gave the pope a lot of information to mull over later, but there was one particular detail that stole almost all of Biscas' attention.

"Really, are you sure about that?"

"There can be no doubt," the lead Shadow answered.

"The Bow Hero, half of his party and all the forces we provided, defeated by a mere two members of the Devil of the Shield's party, not even the Devil of the Shield himself," Biscas said, not able to quite wrap his mind around the notion. Said reality was so fantastical and beyond Biscas' expectations that it just did not compute in his mind. Slowly, the pope's eyes drifted over towards the still out cold Itsuki, whose head was lolling to the side as he sat in his chair.

Scowling thunderously, Biscas stalked over towards the unconscious Bow Hero.

"Wake up. Wake up, you brat. We need to have a little chat."

Biscas grabbed Itsuki by the hair and pulled, hard, lifting the Bow Hero almost completely out of his seat. None of the reverence one would have expected to see for one of the Three Heroes was present. As the pope manhandled Itsuki in trying to wake him up, all one could see was abject disdain.

Slowly, Itsuki's eyes slid open.

"H-huh?"

"Good, you are awake," Biscas roughly let go of Itsuki's hair, and then…

SMACK!

Itsuki's head snapped to the side as Biscas smacked across the face with an open palm. The smack resounded across the deadly silent room.

"You…are a disappointment," Biscas said gravely.

"W-wha?" though he was awake, Itsuki was not quite yet with it and the stinging pain on his cheek momentarily distracted him. Biscas took no note of this. He just continued to rant at the Bow Hero, almost completely ignoring Itsuki's reaction.

"I can see your whole history in your eyes," Biscas said darkly, lying without compunction. It went without saying that his Shadows had kept a close eye on the Heroes. Their intel and his own deductive reasoning had allowed him to form an educated guess on the Bow Hero's motives and personality. "Before you were summoned, you were but an unfortunate peasant with little hope of moving up in the world, weren't you?"

Itsuki's breadth hitched. Suddenly, all of his focus was on Biscas.

"You were looked down on, stepped on, discarded and ignored. In other words, you were bullied," Biscas intentionally used a childish word. "And that led you to develop a sense of justice, a sense of right and wrong."

Step. Step. Step. Biscas' words rang throughout the room as he circled around the sitting Itsuki, his steps echoing off the walls.

"You were too weak to act on your sense of justice, but then you were summoned to be a Hero. All of a sudden, you had all the opportunity to enact justice as much as you wanted. However…"

Step. Biscas came to a halt in front of Itsuki. He glared down at the Bow Hero.

"Even as a Hero, you are still too weak!" he suddenly thundered. "What's the use of having a sense of what is right or wrong, of having justice on your side, of being a Hero, if you are not strong enough to see that justice through to the end! If you don't have the strength to protect the country and the people, the faithful! What have you accomplished since coming to this world?!"

"I…have fought off…two Waves…saved a country…protected my party members," Itsuki mumbled, clearly talking more to himself than anyone else.

"The first Wave you participated in you had some notable contributions, I'll admit," Biscas sneered down at Itsuki. "The second Wave, however, you were little more than a liability. And you saved no country. All you did was change its leadership and kick off a refugee crisis in the process! As for protecting your party members…" the pope made a disgusted noise. "Two of them are confirmed to be dead, one is in critical condition, and the last two are missing, either dead or captured."

Biscas roughly grabbed the Bow Hero by the front of his armor.

"You have protected nothing. Not anything material, nor even your own vaunted justice!"

SMACK!

Lost to his anger, the pope once again struck Itsuki across the face, but the Bow Hero barely felt it. His mind was in a spiral, a downward one as all his failings were shoved into his face, and his perception of the outside world faded more and more with every word the pope spoke. When he was told that his party members were either in critical condition, dead, or captured...

Snap.

With a noise only Itsuki could hear, something broke inside of the Bow Hero.

It was his pride.

Since being summoned to this world, his sense of justice and the pride that came with it had grown and grown. As the pope had been right about Itsuki's circumstances, it was only natural.

Back in his own world, Itsuki had routinely been looked down on and mocked. It led him develop to a sense of a justice. A sense of justice that, once he was summoned as the Bow Hero, could finally enact. Unfortunately, the more he enacted said justice on the world, the more his pride as a Hero of Justice grew and the more his initially good intentions got mixed up with his own self-importance.

For the Bow Hero, on an unconscious level, justice and pride were interlinked. If one was shattered the other would follow suit. Justice was all that was good, and as such, the people who acted in the name of justice were always good. However, this time, the people who had been acting in the name of justice had been defeated, killed and captured. They had lost. Itsuki's justice had lost, and his pride broken along with that devastating loss.

For most this series of events would have led towards deep introspection and possibly a change for the better. Perhaps to developing a more nuanced perspective on things.

"…Hehehe…" a hollow chuckle escaped Itsuki's lips.

Unfortunately, the Bow Hero had drunk too deep for too long from his own brand of justice and the pride that came along with it. Even as his justice and pride laid shattered at his feet in a million pieces, Itsuki desperately clung to those shattered pieces. In the recesses of his psyche, his mind was going a mile a minute, tying itself into nots to try and rationalize, to not let his sense of justice and pride slip away.

"…Hehehe…" Itsuki's hollow chuckle progressively grew louder.

Biscas had taken a cautious step back from Itsuki. All of a sudden, something about the Bow Hero was frightening the pope.

Arduously, Itsuki's mind raced to reforge his justice and his pride along with it. But it was by every metric an impossible task. In the end all Itsuki could do to regain what he had lost was to break his own mind, double down on his warped sense of justice, and reforge his previous pride in a manner not dissimilar to how Frankenstein had created his ever so infamous monster.

The result...

Requirement met: [Curse Series: Bow of Pride unlocked]

…Was catastrophic.

"HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"

Itsuki's deranged laughter echoed off the walls in a hideous cacophony. He surged from his seat to once again stand on his own two feet, making Biscas stumble back a little in fright.

A foul looking aura enveloped the Legendary Bow. It gathered and surged, and fell away as quickly as it had come. Once it did, it revealed a much larger bow, shaped in the form of an angel's wings, but with decorative elements that looked distinctly demonic, with effigies of howling demons on the surface of the bow and what appeared to be sharp spikes jutting out of it in an irregular pattern.

"Justice…will prevail! HAHAHAHAHA!"

All that could be heard was Itsuki's misbegotten laughter.


"Where is everyone?" Fohl asked the question.

"Lad's got a point. It might be late, but it's odd that absolutely no one is out and about," Elrasla agreed with Fohl.

The caravan had just ridden into the very first village inside of Melromarc's borders, the closest village to the border with Zeltoble in the Tageero region. Though it was dark out, it was still pretty early in the evening. There should still be a few people walking streets. Just the racket of an entire caravan riding into town should have a drawn a small crowd at least. But even with all the noise they were making, no one popped up to see what was going on.

"There seems to be a meeting going on in the center of the village. Degojaru," it was as they were directing the caravan to a halt next to the town's Inn that a voice spoke up. It came from Shadow, sans disguise and hidden away somewhere in the carriage, relaying the intel their scouts had gathered.

"A meeting?" Shirou raised a brow. "A meeting about what?"

"About the Devil of the Shield and the kidnapping of Melty-sama," was the prim response. "The meeting is headed by the local head priest of the Church of the Three Heroes. Degojaru."

A look was shared amongst the group.

"…Tell your men to guard the caravan and H'aanit and Linde," Naofumi instructed, his lips set in a determined line. "We will go and…deal with this meeting."

In the back of the carriage, H'aanit snored a little as she was curled up with Linde, still fast asleep.

"I will do so, Shield Hero-sama. Degojaru," Shadow nodded unseen by anyone else. As their men guarded the caravan, however, they'd shadow – pardon the pun – the Shield Hero and his party with an elite cadre. Ensuring the safety of Melty-sama, the Shield Hero and their companions was paramount, after all.

After leaving some instructions for the slaves to set up shop and then get some well-deserved rest, the Shield Hero and his party left for the center of the village. Out of sight but close by, Shadow and half a dozen of their best men followed in their wake.

Their walk did not take long. The village they were in was not all that big, with maybe about five hundred people in total calling it home.

"There are a lot of auras present here," Atla mused out loud.

Indeed. It appeared that all the villagers were present in the town square. It was a simple, stone-lined square with equally simple stone houses surrounding it. Placed smackdab in front of the very center of the town square was the largest building in the entire village, a fairly big church.

A church dedicated to the Three Heroes.

A wooden podium was set up in front of said church. A lectern was placed atop said podium, from which a man in a fairly elaborate robe and hat was holding a speech, obviously the head priest that Shadow had mentioned. Several nuns and priests lined the podium behind said head priest.

On the podium and ringing the town square were lit torches, providing just enough light that everyone could see with no trouble in the dark of early evening. The flickering light danced over all the people gathered in the town square, which had to close to the entire population of the town crowded in it.

"…My people, fair citizens of Melromarc and faithful adherents to the church!" the Head Priest thundered from the stage. "As has been foretold, the Devil of the Shield has shown his true colors yet again! An attack in the capital, at the castle itself! Melty-sama, our crown princess, assaulted and kidnapped! All of it enabled by the Shield Devil's hideous power to brainwash innocents! All of it means one thing!"

The people were silent, apparently listening with rapt attention.

"Renew your faith in the church and our glories teachings!" the Head Priest followed up. "Use your faith to harden both you heart and your mind! Do that and I promise you, no spell will ever beguile your mind or befoul your heart!"

With that said, a hush fell over the town square. It was silent for a long moment.

"What a bunch of grade a bullshit," a voice, loud and clear, was heard by everyone present.

Heads snapped around towards the one who had spoken: Naofumi. The entire population plus the Head Priest and priests and nuns of lesser station got a full view of the Shield Hero's party standing at the very edge of the town square.

The Head Priest's jaw dropped open at the Devil of the Shield's sudden appearance.

With sure, measured steps, the party of the Shield Hero approached. Without a word, the crowd parted before them and allowed them to pass in their path towards stage in front of the church. All the people in the crowd watched them silently, and nearly all of their eyes sparked in recognition.

"The D-devil of the Shield!?" the Head Priest stuttered at the sudden appearance of his faith's literal Satan, but he quickly rallied. "Everyone! The devil is right in our midst! The greatest evil in all the world has come to ruin all that we have built! But this also represents a chance unequalled! Kill him! Kill the Devil of the Shield! Direct all your righteous fury and religious zeal towards him and his filthy companions right now! And god will surely smile on all of us for all eternity!"

The Head Priest raised his hand and pointed with a long finger at the approaching Shield Hero, and commanded thus: "In the name of god, the Devil of the Shield must die, and on this hallowed night, we will be his instruments!"

However, no matter how strident his words or the zeal in his mannerisms, the people of the village made no move to heed his command.

"H-huh!" it took a long moment before he noticed, but when he did, the Head Priest and his fellow priests and nuns were left dumfounded as no one moved.

The crowd was murmuring.

"It's the Holy Saint."

"The Legendary Bird…"

"Melty-sama is with him, too."

"Then the Holy Saint and the Devil of the Shield…"

"…Are the same person."

"I can't believe it."

"Me neither…"

"Hah! I told you so, didn't I? The Devil of the Shield is the Holy Saint."

Step, click. With a resounding noise, the Shield Hero's party came to a halt in front of the stage and the lectern on top of it. Naofumi, Shirou, Raphtalia, Filo, Elrasla, Fohl and Atla looked up at the Head Priest, who's mouth was flapping soundlessly.

"…Not what you were expecting, isn't it?" Shirou said, his lips tugging upwards.

That snapped the Head Priest out of his funk.

"Devil of the Shield! Have you already beguiled the people of this town?! You dare-"

"Naofumi does not have the power to brainwash people!"

Melty's strident words overwrote whatever the Head Priest was about to say. She stepped forwards and pointed an accusing finger at the Head Priest.

"It wasn't the Shield Hero that kidnapped me!" she thundered. "It was you! The Church of the Three Heroes were to ones who slaughtered my guards and stole me from my room! The church is what started all this! Not the Shield Hero or anyone else!"

"Oh, my poor princess!" the Head Priest immediately countered. "It's blindingly obvious! You have also been brainwashed! But fear not, for when we-"

"If I really had the power to brainwash people, do you think we would be having this discussion in the first place?"

Finally, Naofumi stopped holding his peace and spoke up.

"Shut your mouth, Devil of the Shield! Don't you dear spread your poison any further!"

"If I truly had the power to brainwash people," Naofumi leered at the Head Priest. "I would have used it to brainwash the King and the pope! If it was within my power to subvert others, I would've brought the enemy leadership over to my side!"

"You filthy degenerate!"

"Not target civilians and people that were not against me on principle!" Naofumi continued to speak over the Head Priest. "If I had the power to brainwash people, this entire mess would never have come about in the first place! The lies of the Church of the Three Heroes are bullshit and you know it!"

"Sacrilegious scum! You dare to utter the name of our glorious church in vain-ACK!"

A rock smashed into the Head Priest's temple. The man led out a cry of pain as his head snapped to the side and an ugly gash on his face wept blood, trailing down said face in a gruesome display. The man nearly tottered off his lectern, and his fancy hat toppled from his head.

Several stunned onlookers turned to look towards the person who had thrown the rock, an elderly gentleman who looked furious.

"Don't you dare talk to the Holy Saint like that!" the gentleman shouted. "Without him, I would've lost my wife when she fell ill during the pandemic!"

Some people would be surprised at this turn of events, but they shouldn't be. After all…

"That's right! That's right! The Shield Hero cured my daughter!"

"And my son!"

"My parents made a full recovery because of him!"

"I'm an old man! I could very well have died without his aid!"

"My entire family owes the Holy Saint! No, the Shield Hero!"

…This was one of many villages in the Tageero region of Melromarc that Naofumi and his companions had visited on their way to Zeltoble. And when they'd been here, Naofumi had busied himself with curing the people afflicted by a local pandemic that had been doing the rounds at the time.

It was fair to say that nearly every person in this village had received aid from the Shield Hero and his companions. If they themselves hadn't been cured by him, at the very least a family member or a friend had been treated by Naofumi.

As one, the crowd grew agitated and rowdy.

"Don't be misled! Don't be brainwashed!" the Head Priest tried to counter. "The Devil of the Shield is no ones friend! No ones ally! He is the personification of evil! The source of all that is wrong in the world and-"

SPLAT!

A tomato struck the Head Priest in the chest, painting his robes just as red at his blood-soaked face. Where one of the villagers found a tomato lying around at this time of night in the middle of the town square was anyone's guess.

"The Shield hero has the power to brainwash people!? HAH!"

"Like the Shield Hero said, if he did have that power, we wouldn't be having this discussion!"

"And even if he could brainwash people, he wouldn't need to!"

"Melty-sama is on the Shield Hero's side! The church must be lying!"

"Yes! Yes! The Church of the Three Heroes are the bad guys! Not the Shield Hero!"

As the crowd was yelling down the Head Priest, they started throwing various objects at him and his fellow priests and nuns. Rocks, fruits, vegetables and whatever they could get their hands on the people were using as projectiles.

"You insufferable louts!" as the Head Priest did his best to dodge the barrage, he started to chant a spell, an action copied by his allies.

"I won't let you."

Shirou's eyes had gone hard.

A purple tinted longsword was stabbed into one of the many shadows that the lit torches threw across the small town square. Shadow-lined blades erupted out of the shadows of the priests and nuns with blinding speed, punching up and then through limbs and torsos.

"""A-Ack!""" though not all of them had been fatally injured, every single nun and priest had been successfully halted from casting any magic.

What just happened was not lost on the crowd.

"They just tried to attack us!"

"The Shield Hero's companion stopped them!"

"Quick! While they are defenseless!"

"Charge!"

With a roar of noise, stampeding feet and enraged people, the crowd turned violent and rushed at the stricken nuns and priests. The crowd stormed the stage and said adherents of the Church of the Three Heroes were swallowed up by the crowd.

They would not emerge alive.

"Naofumi-sama," Raphtalia murmured quietly.

"I see it," the Shield Hero acknowledged. "Let it happen."

The fact that the nuns and priests of the Church of the Three Heroes were being slaughtered in front of their eyes was not what either of them were alluding to. Said adherents of the church were in every sense of the word their enemies. None of the Shield Hero's party would move to aid them.

No, what stole their attention instead were the dozen or so villagers approaching the church itself that laid behind the stage the Head Priest had been speaking from. In their hands were the lit torches that were used to provide illumination in the early evening, which the villagers had now ripped free from the ground for another purpose.

"For the Shield Hero! For the Holy Saint! For the future of Melromarc!"

With that unanimous war cry, the villagers beat down the doors of the church and surged in with a flame both in their hearts and in their literal hands.

The church in that village would not survive the night. Come morning, all that would be left of it were but ashes and cinders.

It was a scene that would play out again and again. Both on that very night and in the days to follow. Predominantly in the Tageero region, Selva region, and Emantla region, areas of Melromarc where the Shield Hero's party had provided aid in the past. But neither would it be a rare sight in other areas of Melromarc. The tales of the Shield Hero's good deeds had spread far and wide in spite of everything.

All over the country, people were told the story of the Shield Hero kidnapping crown princess Melty and be shown the video that the church mages had doctored. Some would believe it, some would scoff at it, and violence naturally resulted from said clash.

Violence in the name of the Church of the Three Heroes. Violence in the name of the Shield Hero.

For the first time since the country's founding, Melromarc was in the grips of a civil war.


Hey, guys. Next chapter and all that. A little shorter than normal, but only because I managed to cram in all that I wanted to tell with less wordcount than normal. I hope nobody minds.

Anyway, the second season of the Shield Hero anime has finally begun. HELL YEAH!