Surgence of The Armored Hero
Chapter 1: Gazing Upon A New World
WARNING: I own none of these characters sides from my OC(s). All rights go to their respective owners and properties.
This is nothing more than, well a fanfic, a story made up by a fan for entertainment and knowledge.
Everything in this fic is not canon and is only meant to give the audience a new idea of the works of each of the franchises in this story.
So please support me, my work and have some fun. Now enjoy the story. ^w^
In a simple house, a young man looked out the window with a forlorn expression before turning his attention towards the calendar.
"Day 10… Year 2..." he lamented, "Man I wish I could just go outside…"
As he walked out of his bed, the new still playing on for him the young man heard it all and was still depressed. It had been 2, nearly 3 years since the dreaded pandemic hit. At first, many were worried but thought it'd be nothing.
Boy were they wrong as it quickly spread throughout the world, quarantining many people and lives into their homes. The only ones out other than doctors, scientists and the other jobs that allowed people to keep living, were the idiots who thought it was nothing more than a joke.
Many, MANY lives were lost from that as it became nearly impossible for anyone to go out even with protective masks on and more. And for this young man, it was no different.
As he got dressed he began to ponder on what today brought. While tv shows, internet media, movies and games occupied him easily, he started to get bored just as fast. He wanted some real fresh air for once. Even with him at the start of it all, was fine. No work, no annoying people to bump into and more.
It almost was perfect but then as the loss of actual physical contact with people, it started to begin a toll on him as he wanted it again. Wanted to be outside and enjoying this life! But with how easily anyone could get the virus, even with vaccination? It could become a death sentence.
As of now, he was just pondering what to do at this point? With many games he's played, replayed and beaten? He wanted something more to do to take his time away. He even thought that wishing for something could help but it proved futile.
"Might as well look at what my grandfather sent me…" he noted as he turned towards the package that laid on his bed.
He remembered that his grandfather sent him something, but oddly enough it just arrived. A few years after his death, so it was kinda hard to imagine this was a real package his grandfather gave him. But upon looking closer at the written note and more, it indeed was. And inside it was several antiques from his grandfather.
From pictures, to notes, and trinkets alike. Honestly he was happy to have them to remind him of the better days, but still felt like some of this could be given to someone else who does like this stuff. But as he went through with it, he noticed a book, one that oddly drew him in.
"The Cardinal Weapons of the Four Legendary Heroes?" He questioned the title but shrugged as he figured this could do something for a little bit.
As he opened it, he was immediately met with a language he did not understand. He figured that it could've just been some doodled words that some kids do, but the ink that was on the pages was much older, and felt like it was more of a lost language but he started to somehow begin to tell what was written on it.
"Okay, so there used to be four heroes." He interpreted as he looked at the images.
There were four 'Cardinal Weapons', each with their own section. The first was that of a sword, the second was a spear, and the third was a bow.
However it was the last section that intrigued him. Rather than telling about the fourth weapon, it instead had an old image of two warriors, one black and one white, fighting each other to the death. But when he attempted to turn the page to know more… it was only blank?
"What the? Okay this has to be fake. Who leaves a book unfinished?" The boy complained out.
However, after turning one more page, he found one word that seemingly began to reconfigure itself until the boy could read it. The boy then read aloud…
"Kuuga…"
In moments the book began to glow as the pages began to flip past his hands, faster and faster before the glow began to brighten more and more until only a white light was left. But as it faded… so did the boy as the blank page soon began to gain ink and more, showing an armored hero.
(Insert Op Song - Heroes - Ryota Fujimaki - Zero and Geed Chronicles)
The song starts with an instrumental, as a book is laid in the center. It has the text "Records Of The Cardinal Heroes" on it, before a gust of wind forces it open, as it begins to flip through the pages before it came upon a new tale that has yet to be written.
[Hikari no naka de, Yami ga umarete, Ookiku hakari wo, Kuzushiteshimau toki]
The screen moves towards the book before it soon enters this new realm, showing off the kingdom of Malromac, as it soon shows off the 4 heroes of this world. Showing off the Sword Hero with his party, the Bow Hero as he seems to be scouting, the Spear Hero with his lady party, and the new hero as it shows him in the shadows before he opens his eyes, revealing the title card.
[Yamiyo ni sakebi, Chi wo hau monotachi, Machi wa kirisakare, Kizuna wa tatareru]
As it soon shifts, we see Cody with the Arcle, as he walked along the countryside. Stopping due to a faint breeze as he turns his head, seeing the image of his false crimes and resentment of the people of this world, only for a shadow of a dragon appears behind him, creating a new entity from within the hero.
[Zero ni naru kakugo wa aru ka, Shimei wo eranda senshitachi]
It shifts once more to reveal Raphtalia as she sits in a cage, scared and lonely as the images of the First Wave show off, killing her parents and people before she was soon brought into slavery. She hugs her legs for a moment before a bright light appears in front of her. The 3 other Heroes soon begin to the masses of the Waves, as from afar stood Myne, grinning deviously as she watches them before she holds up strings as she toys with a replica of Cody, only for her to snip the threads and cast him aside.
[Sakete wa toorenu tatakai e, Hikari wo obite, Mae e mae e mae e..]
Cody lands on the ground, panting as he glares at Myne and King Aultcray as they glance at him with disgust, spite, and hate only for them to fade, as more images of the people start to insult, harass, and make the young man into a criminal, as he covers his ears, as the spirit of the dragon slowly begins to consume him. But as he does, the experienced Raphtalia appears in front of him, showing her younger self to the hero, before they grasp hands, making a new light as Raphtalia is now fully grown, and Cody stands there with a smile for once, only to hold his hands to his waist, forming the Arcle before light shines brightly.
[Susume bokura no hero... Asahi ni inori akatsuki ni chikau. Heiwa no kane wo... Narase hero...]
Cody, now donning on the Kuuga Mighty Form charges into battle, punching and kicking any monster in his way, as Raphtalia runs in behind, cutting down more enemies before the two stop, looking at their true enemies, before the two turn to one another, holding hands before they charge ahead, ready to take them on. As they charge in, their other allies of Filo, Melty, and those who follow him join their lead.
[Bokura wa anata kara, Hontou no yuki o shiru]
As they fight the Waves and new enemies, images of new forms shown behind Cody. Dragon, Pegasus, Titan, and even their Rising forms. Though past it showed Amazing Mighty form, only for it to be consumed into the Wrath Dragon form, only for that to soo fade as from the twilight horizon shows Ultimate Form.
[Tataeyo our hero, Tataeyo our hero~]
Light shines only for it to fade as Cody stood there within his domain, as Raphtalia held his hand while Filo hugged his other side, all of them showing happy expressions as Cody turns to see his younger self from Earth, looking in awe at the hero before it soon fades into a painting of the him and his followers, only for a book to close on top of it, revealing the book from the beginning that started this whole thing.
"I can't believe it! The ritual worked!"
Several mages stood there with glee, as they applauded one another or gave praise on the spell. As in front of the mages stood four young men, each one from various countries and more.
"What.. just happened?" The boy asked, looking at himself for a moment to find white armor on him. He mostly had some on his chest, forearms, and legs as he even felt a small stag beetle-based crown on him as finally he noticed an odd belt buckle around his waist with the same odd language he saw before with a white gem in the center.
'The hell?! Did I get partially turned into a bug man?!' he thought.
"What the?! What the hell is that thing?!" An unfamiliar voice shouted.
"Is that an alien?" Another added.
"He looks like someone with a transformation power." A third voice observed.
As he turned his head, he finally noticed the other people and their weapons. Each one felt out of place as one looked from the European medieval times, the other seemed from Japan from the 60's to the 90's, and finally the last one from the Philippines from the late 2000's.
"Heroes… Welcome! We have summoned you four here in a very dire need!" One of the mages spoke up to earn their attention. "We hope you can please listen to us and hear what we have to say?"
"Why have you summoned us to your kingdom?" The one holding the sword questioned.
"The king can inform you all about it all later, but we are facing against a Calamity." The mage added on as the group soon followed the mages.
"Well if it means getting home, then I'm all in for it." The one with the spear sighed.
"Home? We were kidnapped…" The bow user said, glaring at the mages, "You better have a reason for this."
"Maybe we could try and ask if we could be sent back?" the armored boy asked.
"Unfortunately… we cannot… Until the Waves are defeated, you cannot return home." The mage stated.
"WHAT?!" the four gasped.
"Great…" the armored boy noted before going ahead, doing his best to remain at least a good distance away from them.
"What's wrong with you?" the Japanese spearman asked.
"Erm… I mean, you all could be contaminated…. I don't wanna risk it." The armored boy pointed out.
"What happened to you? Some kind of disease?" The Pinoy bow user asked.
"Global Pandemic…." He responded as this brought all of the others to be silent until they reached the throne room.
"Welcome, this is the king consort of our country, The Melromarc Kingdom. King Aultcray Melromarc XXXII." The mage introduced.
"Welcome Cardinal Heroes. I apologize for calling you to this world unexpectedly…" he spoke.
"More like forcefully…." the armored boy huffed out with some annoyance.
"As stated, I'm the King Consort. My wife, the Queen is on a diplomatic mission. Thus, I am the one in charge until her return." Aultcray said to the group. "Now, before we inform you on your duties, please. Introduce yourselves."
The knight bowed first, "My name is Wren Fairbourne, knight of the house of Zenith. I am honored to be in your presence."
"Ibarra Gomez, it's nice to meet you manong Aultcray." The bowman said next respectfully.
"I'm Motoyasu Kitamara. Nice to see such lively folks!" The spear user said with glee and charisma.
"And I'm Cody Aldrich, It's a pleasure to meet you sir." The armored boy introduced himself.
"Wren, Ibarra, Motoyasu. It is truly an honor to meet the ones chosen as our Cardinal Heroes." Aultcray said, as it seemed he ignored Cody's introduction.
Wren was confused, "Your majesty, why did you exclude Sir Aldrich in our group?" He asked the king.
"Oh, I didn't even notice… Sorry, in my age I do tend to forget things easily." The king said, but with a soft roll of his eyes.
While Wren and Motoyasu bought it, Ibarra looked confused as he noticed the king's smile tremble for a moment, but waved it off as his mind playing tricks on them.
"Now, you all have been brought here because of what our mages told you thus far. We are on a verge of a global calamity known as 'The Waves'." Aultcray informed. "These devastating waves are part of a legend, one that if not stopped will mean the end of our world."
"And if we stop these waves, then we can go home. Right?" Cody inquired.
"Yes. But it seems they forgot to inform you one other thing… The moment one of you dies? The stronger the waves become." The king informed the group.
"Okay, that is total bullshit!" Motoyasu growled, "Why is it that if one of us kicks the dust, then this place suffers?!"
"That is what the legends speak, we do not know the reason why it appears nor why heroes must be made or summoned." Aultcray shook his head, "We only know that four Cardinal Heroes must rise up, or everything is lost."
Wren sighed as he shook his head, "Even if this is not my home, I will do my best to fight this demon."
"Heh, this gives me something fun to do. I was bored with my games back home." Ibarra chuckled, "Just, please don't let one be near the sea…" he hoped.
"For me? Just give me some fun!" Motoyasu said with a smile.
"I guess… we're all in, your majesty." Cody nodded, as it seemed all four of them decided to go along with this.
"Excellent! Thank you four for your cooperation!" The mage said with glee.
"For now, rest. My servants will give you a place to stay as I round up the best we can find in our kingdoms to accompany you all." Aultcray said, as the said servants walked over to bring them to their rooms.
XXX
In the room, all four newly tinted heroes sat across one another as they stared each other down.
"So, what exactly is your story, kuya Aldrich?" Ibarra asked, "You mentioned a global pandemic, but I don't remember one going on where I live."
"Yeah. Well… its still hard to truly say how it started, only that it first started to spread in the far east. The next thing we know? It went globally because some people either had late reactions or didn't want to deal with it. We're nearly on year 3 of the pandemic with almost everyone homestead other than important workers and more." Cody informed the group.
"Yikes… that has to suck man." Motoyasu observed. "Speaking of… Is that really a knight uniform or is that some sort of costume?" He turned to Wren.
"Costume? This is a regular steel armor set." the knight said with some confusion.
Ibarra remained silent as he chuckled out, "I think I know what happened…. We're all from Earth, but from different timelines or even realities." He spoke up. "How else could any of this really happen?"
"Alright, if that's the case. Then when did you guys get taken from?" Cody asked the group, "From what I can remember, it was 2021."
"Wow, I'm from 2009." Ibarra said, "That's like 13 years in the future for me."
"1986. Man, you guys must have loads of flying cars where you're from?" Motoyasu got out with glee.
"More like the impossible… I'm from the year 620…" Wren said with awe, "From my perspective, all three of you are nearly one or two millenium after my time."
"Middle Ages. Didn't think we'd meet an actual real life knight." Cody complimented.
"Oh! Oh! King Arther! Is he real?" Motoyasu asked with glee in his eyes.
"Why do you ask? Camelot is our close neighbor in the west?"
"Yes! So he did exist! HA! Suck that Tora-sensei!" Motoyasu cackled out.
"Still, I'm kind of surprised that you guys also had a strange book pop up for you." Cody noted.
"Strange… book?" Wren questioned.
"Yeah… I mean.. Last I remember I was reading some odd book before coming here." Cody pointed out, "That must have happened to you guys too… right?"
The other three remained silent.
"I… I remember getting caught in a typhoon. My mom and dad was able to get to safety while my tita was helping my younger cousins get free…" Ibarra shivered, "I still feel cold and wet even after the summon."
"I was cornered… dealing with many other knights who were invading the kingdom." Wren got out, "My group and I were outnumbered and after thar, a blur."
"I was on my way to meet with some girls before I blacked out." Motoyasu noted.
Cody and the rest of them stayed silent for a bit. Seemed everyone else was in a situation or a pickle before coming here.
"W-Well… hey! Think of it this way! We're all safe and sound right now, and going to be heroes here! Think of the bright side!" Cody got out, trying to cheer everyone up, "Maybe you guys might get placed to before your deaths and you can change your fates?"
Motoyasu chuckled, "That sounded way too anime for me. 'Sides, I'm sure I just got plucked before my dates could appear."
"If this can change my fate before those knights got me? I'll take it…" Wren spoke up.
"I want to go back to my family, they're likely still trying to find me in the water." Ibarra said, "If this works, maybe I could get to them?"
"Then we all should work together and beat these Waves!" Cody said, as it seemed he was wanting to help them think of a brighter outlook.
"Well, I want to head to bed early." Ibarra said, "I want to warm myself up and get ready for tomorrow."
"Right, it is best to sleep now. Who knows what we have to do tomorrow." Wren nodded in agreement.
The rest nodded as they each went to the beds they were given to rest for the night, unaware they were being watched…
XXX
"My lord, we felt the energies surge across the land. Kuuga and the other heroes have been summoned." A strange bat creature reported.
Sitting on a throne of bones made from many humans corpses sat a shrouded figure. A chuckle escaping from its lips.
"Finally… Soon, we'll wipe out Kuuga and this world that he made…"
"Shall we begin the Gegeru for these Linto, master?" The bat creature asked.
"Yes. Let us begin… Our Blood Hunt."
With a laugh, the bat monster took to the skies while the shrouded figure smiled.
"Let us see who can destroy this world first… Medea…"
XXX
The next day, the four heroes entered the halls where the king was waiting for them as nearby stood rows of many warriors, mages and adventurers as they stood at attention.
"Heroes, welcome. I hope your rest was well and deserving?" The king asked the group.
"We did so, sire." Wren nodded softly.
"Good. These are the best warriors, mages and adventurers we could find in the kingdom. Today your teams will be decided as they will choose who they will join in." Aultcray said.
Motoyasu soon smiled pervertedly at a group of women adventurers, something his much younger fellow heroes rolled their eyes at.
"Definitely strikes me as the red light district kind of lurker…" Cody grumbled.
"Agreed…" Ibarra nodded with annoyance, "Ay naku.."
"Now then, which of the four heroes do you wish to go with?"
As the adventurers started at the four, nearly all of them looked frightened by Cody as they made their way towards the quartet.
Motoyasu soon asked, "So, how exactly do we make a party?"
"Come on now, you surely jest?" Wren pointed out. "You three didn't notice what we were given when we woke up today?"
This confused the others as they first looked at themselves before Wren pointed to his eye, "Just look. Look to the bottom corner of your eye." He explained.
Cody soon looked where the knight said and spotted something odd.
"Hold on, did they just add some kind of HUD in here?" Cody asked as he took off his crown, but the strange object still remained.
"If thats what you call this magic? Yes." Wren nodded.
"So it's like one of those VR headsets then." Cody observed.
"VR?" Motoyasu questioned.
"Like on TV or something?" Ibarra added, "VR isn't real, dude.".
"Er… right… forgot. Timelines. Well, on my earth? They are. Still fresh and new, but we can indeed us VR. But not like the fantasy style ones, still a headset." Cody informed, "We can use to to do… almost anything."
"If that's the case, then how exactly did something like that end up on our eyes? Cyborg enhancements?" Ibarra asked.
"It as the Sword Hero, Wren said. You heroes are given special vision magic. It can give you, status updates, visual additions, and more." the king said.
"Man, this really feels like a video game." Motoyasu said, "It's like Dragon Quest but in real life."
"Or that upcoming anime Sword A-"
Cody quickly butted in on the bowman's words, "We don't talk about SAO, Gomez. Never…"
Soon, the trio tapped the icon and saw a whole menu popped up for them, displaying things as stats, inventory, and party status.
"Sweet! I got some great stats!" Motoyasu observed.
"Hmph, as I expected. Very good for me." Wren smiled.
"Ohh, this was just like my build on WoW." Ibarra said with delight.
Cody soon stood there, in utter shock and disappointment.
"Hey Cody, what's wrong?" Ibarra asked.
"Z-Zero… Every… stat… is Zero…" Cody said, slowly turning to the others with a frown.
"Eh?!" the other heroes gasped.
"That can't be right. You'd have to at least have some kind of stat, right?" Ibarra asked out of confusion.
Cody seemed to have scrolled over and over before groaning out. "Only with some defense and maybe slight resistance to anything physical… But everything else is zero…." He said with defeat.
The spearman shook his head. "Yikes, you're gonna get eaten alive out there."
'It's all I can do… someone is going to have to carry me for awhile and help me do something.' Cody said in his thoughts before finally the group of people that the king brought over began to walk over, knowing who to choose for their party alongside giving everyone a bag of money for them to use for now.
And in moments the young armored boy saw that… literally everyone but him was chosen.
"My, isn't this a twist…" Aultcray said, yet didn't sound shocked or surprised.
'Okay, he sounds fishy.' Cody noted.
"If this is what you all wish, then so be it. I do not want to force my subjects with a Grongi user…." Aulcray said with a huff.
"Grongi?" Cody asked, "What's a… Grongi?"
"They are forces of the Waves. Like Generals. They come and go, killing as many people as they want in a 'Blood Hunt'. We do not know why, but its never a pretty sight. And with the language on that belt of yours, resembling that of the Grongi, its obvious you, Armored Hero, uses the same power as they do." Aultcray informed Cody about what he has.
"But this isn't fair! I'm going to literally die if I step out of this place!" Cody said, as he was doomed, "I got no stats to help me. Outside of defense, I'm a sitting duck!"
"Your majesty, there has to be a way for Sir Aldrich to gain some kind of help?" Wren asked the king.
"Hmm.. will anyone like to step up for the Grongi- er, I mean Armored Hero?" The King asked, as it seemed nobody was ready to respond in kind, out of fear for the boy and his power.
Cody felt fear grip him, 'Welp, this is the end for me… Sorry guys, but I might not be able to help you get home…'
"I'll join him." A voice spoke up.
This brought everyone to turn to the voice as it was one of the ladies from Motoyasu's party. She had red hair with a slight ponytail style to it, as she seemed to be a spellsword as she had a blade on her hip, but additions to her outfit that showed magical expertise.
"Ah, Myne, correct? Are you sure?" Aultcray asked, "You might have to do a lot of the heavy hitting until Cody can gain some stats."
"I do. Sides, they're all heroes in the end. It doesn't matter as long as the Waves are beaten, right?" the girl, Myne said with a smile as she then walked over to Cody's side.
'I-I… She chose me? This has to be some dream now… This is like every other isekai or fantasy manga out there! A girl changing things for the good of the world? Could… Could this really be true to me?' Cody got out in his thoughts as he was surprised by her words.
"Well, shall we get going, Armored Hero?" Myne asked, a smile on her face as this brought the boy to smile as well.
He nodded excitedly as the pair left. However Wren noticed the look of confusion Ibarra had on his face.
"Excuse me, Sir Gomez. What seems to be the problem?" the knight asked.
"I don't know, something about that girl rubbed me the wrong way…" the bowman said, "Plus there was the fact that the king didn't look all too surprised that Cody didn't have a party with him."
"Hey, he did say that the gaijin has a power to those Wave Generals. Gr… Ger… Gronk, right?" Motoyasu said, as he mispronounced the name.
"Grongi." Ibarra corrected him.
"Yeah, that. Many probably were shocked when they heard it and don't wanna deal with him. But I'm sure they didn't mean anything by it." Motoyasu said with a shrug, "Come on, girls! Let's get started!" He said cheerfully before his party followed him.
Wren and Ibarra looked at each other before they too left the halls and hit the town.
XXX
Cody was following Myne through the kingdom as firs thing in order was appropriate gear. Having just his regular clothing would not work out well, and he didn't want them ripped or destroyed in battle as the redhead lead him to what appeared to be a shop for weapons and armor.
"Hey there! Welcome to my shop!" the store owner greeted the pair.
"Thanks! Um, we're just here for some gear. Gotta start somewhere, huh?" Cody smiled softly as he looked around in interest.
"Well that's what this shop is for!" The owner said, only to glance a bit at Myne, "Why do you look so familiar, miss?"
"I've had that question asked about me a lot." She quicky dismissed.
"Eh, matters not. Let me get your measurements, kid and I'll find something for ya." The owner waved off as he gestured the young man over before taking his measurements first as he began to look through what to give to the boy.
Curious, he decided to look over the selection of weapons and armor. He stared at an old broken sword that was inside a barrel.
"A rude customer or did someone just leave this here?" Cody questioned as it did seem odd that the broken sword would be out here instead of the back.
"Someone pawned it off here since they knew I could fix it. Haven't been able to work on it since I got it." The owner explained.
Cody nodded as that made sense, he soon reached out for it but upon grasping it he felt a shock before he let go from the pain.
[WARNING: YOU DO NOT HAVE THE PROPER FORM UNLOCKED TO USE THIS WEAPON.]
"Huh? Wait… I can't use it?" Cody gawked in confusion, "How am I going to fight if I can't use a weapon!?"
"That should be impossible, the Armored Hero is meant to have his own arsenal." Myne recalled.
"Hmm, lemme see that belt for a sec." The owner said, as he got closer and used some odd monocle to examine it.
"Wish I could, but I can't get it off." the armored boy said with a shrug.
"It's fine, I can just use this appraisal monocle to figure it out." The owner said as he put it away, "Well, the bad news is, I can't even tell what it is other than some old belt. But the gem is definitely the power source. Even if I tried to fiddle with it, who knows what could happen? Good news is that I think you can bypass that restriction in time. For now, I'll lend you some of my best armor additions that have a few extra things on it to help you out, kid. BUT! Only giving you a 25% discount."
"25%?! No way! 40%!" Cody said, shaking his head at the deal as he wanted to gamble a better price as this made the shop owner smirk.
"Ho~? Looks like we got a jokester here!" The shop owner smirked at the challenge, "But no deal. 30%."
"That still feel like a ripoff! 80%!" Cody said, increasing the price.
"At that range, it's basically free, kid!"
But their argument soon dropped to a halt when Myne coughed to earn their attention to hurry it up. After a bit better negotiations, they worked on a good price for the armor additions, as well as a few things for Myne to wear and use before they headed out to the fields to train.
XXX
Outside in the fields not too far off from the kingdom, Cody was dealing with some pesky enemies. But thanks to the HUD Magic, he was able to know the names. Heck, it even was showing it in his native language as 'Balloons'. They were small, roundish orange creatures with cartoonish teeth and glowing eyes.
"Balloons, huh? What… odd names." Cody said with a shrug as he got into a stance. He never had ever been in much of a fight nor took any lessons. All of this will have to be learned on his own as he gulped down is tension and threw a punch.
Predictably, it did nothing as the Balloon he punched jumped up and lunged right for his head.
*CHOMP!*
One muffled cry and panicked run later, Myne stabbed the monster and popped it, allowing Cody to breathe.
"Well, Armored Hero. Here's your first lesson on monsters. Each one has some type of weak point or weakness. Something like a Balloon here? Is easily bested by piercing weapons or attacks." Myne pointed out with a wink.
"Ugh, no way to make this easier for me, huh?" Cody groaned out.
He soon looked towards several Balloons that were eyeing him hungrily, one of them even licking their chops.
"Grr…. So I'm just a meal to you freaks?! FINE! COME AND GET IT!" Cody shouted out, ready to deal with them from the annoyance they gave him.
XXX
SEVERAL AGONIZING HOURS LATER…
XXX
"F-Finally… And… only one level up?" Cody panted out, groaning in exhaustion as the ripped pieces of the Balloon monsters laid around him, "Man, would I give to have an actual attack stat, or any stat for that matter!"
"Well, practice makes perfect, Armored Hero." Myne smiled, "I know you'll get something soon!"
Cody gave a weak smile but groaned out as he leaned forward, looking at the piles of popped balloons around him. Confused, he picked up a piece as he placed it against the white gem. It glowed before literally absorbing the material.
"Whoa…" He got out as on his HUD, it showed a weapon tree as it showed taking in the material unlocked him something.
[UNLOCKED: BALLOON SHIELD TECHNIQUE]
Create a bubble shield to protect yourself and your party
"Huh? Shield?" Cody questioned with disappointment, "I unlocked not a weapon, but a technique!? UGH!" He cried out before dropping his head back onto the grass.
The young boy's thought raced through his head. Knowing that while he could unlock more things by beating monsters. If they only give more armor pieces, he can't do much else. Not a single stat was raised, only an addition to his useless repertoire.
"I think we can head back for now, Myne." Cody said, looking over as the sun was starting to set. "I'm getting hungry anyways…"
"I believe that would be a good idea, Sir Hero." Myne said with a smile.
"Thanks, I'm starving!" the armored boy said with a smile.
XXX
Within one of the inns, Cody was having a very hefty meal due to his little training montage earlier. It wasn't too bad for him as he mostly had to order frozen or premade meals as too many people either bought the fresh food or restaurants that delivered, but it was still nice that for once he had some fresh air and a meal to go with this day, maybe coming here was something better for him than he thought?
"Alright, time to get another meal." He said, already on his 4th order.
"Geez, is that all that you need?" Myne giggled at his antics, "You know… maybe this could be a change as well?" She said as she poured a glass of wine for herself.
"Nah, I don't really drink." Cody said before instead going for another bite to eat.
"Oh don't be like that Sir Hero." Myne said, sipping some wine as she sighed, "I mean… you have a lovely lady here asking to wine and dine with you… Are you really going to deny her that?"
"Most fermented stuff gives me indigestion. One time I had wine, I was stuck in the loo for several hours." Cody said, laughing half-heartedly as he recalled the rather embarrassing situation, "You can still drink some of the wine though, it's just. Wine and me don't exactly mix."
Though as the young armored hero continued to eat his filling for once in a long time, he didn't seem to notice the heavy glare from his partner. The biting of her inner cheek with a look of annoyance and hate.
"Welp, I've had my fill." he noted as he got up, "That was honestly the best meal I've had in months."
"Oh, well, I'm glad you had a good meal, Armored Hero." Myne said, swiftly changing into a smile, "What will you do now? You know… I do wanna learn more about you. Maybe we can talk in my room?"
"Maybe another time, but man do I feel tired." Cody said with a stretch. "I'll head in now. See you in the morning, Myne!" He waved before making his way to his room.
Myne waved softly but the moment he was out of sight, her facade dropped with a scowl.
'Dammit, I was hoping for him to get drunk, but the fact that wine is like a laxative to him? What kind of streetrat world did he live in?' she thought to herself.
As the night continued onward, Cody tossed and turned in his bed. Hours felt like passing him by as he just couldn't sleep for some reason. It didn't help that his armor couldn't be removed as it swiftly would come back onto his person.
"Ugh, this feels so uncomfortable…" he groaned. The young blonde was unable to sleep any longer as he stood up with a groan. "Guess I'll have some midnight walk to cool me off…"
And with that, he hopped out of bed as he walked out and started to head outside. The cool air filling his sense and skin as it felt very nice and clean to him as he took in a deep breath before sighing.
"Wonder how everyone is? I mean… I could only be gone for a few seconds, or this place is faster than Earth and I could be gone for years? Ugh, this is going to bug the hell outta me…" Cody monologue himself out loud.
As he got up, he looked out towards the window in his room, the view of the town at night reminding him that he wasn't in his old world anymore, and it made him miss the time he could go outside.
'Maybe this truly was the best thing to happen to me….' Cody pondered in thought, as this gave him something he did desire, freedom without fear of a virus.
But before he could do much, the gem on his belt began to glow and hum. This shook the young man as he was confused as to what was going on? His HUD soon gave a simple message.
[WARNING: BLOOD HUNT COMMENCING]
'H-Huh? Wait… "Blood Hunt"? Isn't that… what the king said about these Grongi?' Cody questioned in thought as he began to look around for any sign of a fight or something attacking but with the moon's light being shrouded by the clouds, he couldn't make a thing in this darkness of night.
At first, he was going to just sleep it off, but before he walked away, something grabbed him by the neck.
"Found you, traitor…" he chuckled, letting out a small laugh before Cody tried to get him off.
As he began to struggle, the two began to scuffle across his room, starting with the armored boy tossing the creature into the bed, breaking it in half. Once Cody was able to breathe, he was shocked to see the bat creature was standing before him.
'So this is one of the Grongi monsters that my powers are based on.' the Armored Hero observed, 'Kind of funny my powers are supposedly akin to these monsters.'
"Tsk, I see that your power still burns brightly in you…" the Bat Grongi observed before punching the boy through the wall, "But not bright enough."
"GAH!" He cried out as he slowly got back up, "Look buddy, I don't know you're beef with me, but I won't let this cause anyone harm!"
As he did so, Cody grabbed him by the leg and tossed him out of the inn. He followed suit by jumping out as he chased after the monster, realizing he tossed him a bit farther than needed which was odd as he recalled his stats being at 0.
Once the Bat Grongi regained its composure, it inhaled loudly before it threw its head back only let out a super sonic screech at the armored hero, causing him to hold his ears in pain.
"Dick move!" Cody groaned out before he dodged and oncoming swipe.
"I will rip out your intestines and feast on your heart!" The Bat Grongi declared with vile intent.
"I can't wait to end this and get some good sleep." Cody responded as he threw another punch at the Grongi, only to see it respond with a swipe at his shoulder, as it cut through the fabric making the boy cry out from the pain.
As the two fought, the Armored Hero could feel himself getting stronger and stronger as they battled, but Cody knew that the longer they fought in the inn, the potential danger the civilians inside were in.
'I just hope Myne can keep them safe while I deal with this monster…' he thought to himself.
Cody soon threw another punch, but upon doing so, he felt a surge before his torn clothing on his body was covered now in a black bodysuit underneath the white armor he had on. His eyes widen as this was a new change, and even the Grongi flinched in response to seeing the change.
"What?! NO! You can't be evolving further already!" the Grongi said in denial before it flapped its wings to tackle the boy further into the fields. "I'll have to end this before you become complete!"
The Grongi then began to claw and slash at the armored warrior, attempting to do as much damage as it could as cries of pain could be heard as Cody felt each swipe as his skin was cut and blood splashing out from the hit.
He then performed a dropkick that knocked him out of the way, before he held his head and felt something odd. He could feel a helmet on his face.
'He said I was evolving… does this mean that the more I fight, the more armor is gonna appear on me?' The young hero questioned as while more armor additions were on him, it wasn't completed just yet. 'Well, I guess I have to keep fighting until I can fully complete this form.'
Feeling the adrenaline through his system, Cody chased after the Grongi, knowing that if he left it alone, more lives could be in danger. Even if his own life could be lost, he rather make sure other lives can be saved.
Once he made it further into the forest, he stopped to listen around, knowing the darkness of the forest would keep the Grongi hidden from him. He had to resort to his hearing instead if he wanted to fight, even if this was going to be tougher on him.
'Come on you overgrown flying rat…. Slip up…' Cody said in his thoughts, as he waited for a sign for him to act on.
Then, he spotted the bat monster losing altitude, likely because of the damage he took from his battle. Cody took this chance as he looked around before he started to run ahead only to jump up as he gripped a branch and began to climb from branch to branch and from tree to tree to get higher.
He'll use this to bring the bat monster down and find some way to flip its wings. Once that happened he'd be on somewhat equal terms to fight the monster and end this fight before his adrenaline gave out on him.
Cody kept climbing and climbing before he took his leap, and luckily he grabbed the Grongi's foot, causing it to realize he was caught. The bat stomped and screeched to get the boy to drop but he wasn't letting go. Instead he rocked back and forth to use what he could to leap up further before he grappled onto the chest this time as he reeled his fist back and struck the Grongi in the head, causing the pair to plummet.
After punching the Grongi straight into the ground, the Armored Hero quickly performed a falling side kick that went straight through the monster. As he slid across the ground and created a minor crater, the Bat Grongi stumbled for a moment.
"Damn… you… You'll… pay for this… KUUUUGGAAAAA!"
And with that, the Bat Grongi exploded, leaving behind a large ball of fire where he used to stand, his guts flying across the area while Cody got back to his feet.
Cody panted heavily, dropping onto his rear before he plopped against the ground. The adrenaline swiftly running out as he felt all of the pain and stress his body went through. Everything felt like it was on fire, from his aching muscles to his wounds.
"Shit, I should have kept up with my exercise during quarantine…" he snarled, "At least then, I wouldn't be this out of practice…" He said before his HUD screen showed something new.
[UNLOCKED: GROWING FORM]
[The start of a growing power deep within…]
Cody wanted to question what that was but his vision was getting blurry. It wasn't long enough before the boy passed out as his body needed some real rest after all of this. Unfortunately for him… this would just be the start of his worries.
XXX
When he woke up, he was in a bed in some kind of prison, with various guards around him and a couple of healers trying their best to mend his wounds.
"Ugh… where am I this time…?" Cody questioned.
"You fought quite the nasty beast there." one of the guards noted, "For a potential rapist, you sure now how to slay a monster."
"Well, I was just doi-wait… HUH!?" Cody said, now quickly snapping up with confusion. "What did you just say?!"
"Calm down! You'll aggravate your injuries!" the healer watching over the boy scolded him.
"Ngh… how long before I'll move?" Cody sighed out, as he laid back down.
"I'd say a couple of hours, that Grongi did quite the number on you."
"No kidding… Wait, how did you get me out of the armor?" Cody questioned, realizing now that he was only in those clothes he gained.
"We didn't. The armor must have dissipated to help conserve HP." the second guard explained.
"Well isn't that convenient?" Cody sighed out, "Now if I knew how to do that, I can easily just put it on when needed…"
"Oi, kuya Aldrich!" a familiar voice shouted as Wren and Ibarra arrived to his cell.
"Wren, Ibarra! Finally some familiar faces." Cody sighed in relief.
"Are you alright, sir Aldrich?" the knight asked.
"Still in pain, but alive as you see." He gestured to the healers. "Though, thank you guys for helping me." He thanked the healers and guards for their help as without them he might've died from blood loss.
"It is only our job to assist the Legendary Heroes, after all." One guard spoke up, as he was trying to hide his smile of praise.
"Yeah, I didn't expect one of my party members to spot the ball of flame last night during a grinding session." Ibarra confessed, "I gotta thank Tak for letting us know."
"At least Sasha was able to heal your immediate wounds before we got you to a dedicated healer." Wren agreed.
"I agree, I'll thank them later." Cody sighed out, "Hm? Motoyasu not here or is he sleeping?" He asked before the three heroes grew silent, "Hey, where's Motoyasu?"
The two heroes looked at each other with worry, "You might want to come with us…" Ibarra said with a guilty expression.
Cody was confused even further after that, something was up and he wasn't liking it.
XXX
"There he is, there's the bastard that raped our princess!"
"Are you high?! He's the guy who actually killed a Grongi! No hero has ever done that before!"
"For all we know, he summoned the beast! He has the same power as they do!"
"Says the generations of Cardinal Heroes killed by the Grongi! I'm shocked that we even have a hero who can defeat them!"
"Hey! Why don't we just kill him and get another hero to replace the bastard?"
Cody was shocked as the various villagers, royals and guards were arguing amongst themselves about the boy's fate.
"My word, I haven't seen something this terrible since the witch hunts." Wren feared as he and Ibarra led Cody to the king.
Once he stood there, the king raised his hand for everyone to remain silent. Once everything did calm down, the king stood up with a scowl on his face.
"You know, I have half a mind to have you executed here and now." he noted, "But after what the Sword and Bow Hero have told me, you actually killed a Grongi. Tell me, what did this Grongi look like?" he questioned the man.
"It was obviously a bat. It had the stench of fresh blood on it, as I think it was in the middle of this 'Blood Hunt' before attacking me." Cody informed.
The left side was shocked, "Xu·Goma·Gu's dead?!" one villager gasped.
"That has to be false. He's one of the High-Grongi Warriors!" Another added.
"Your majesty, we saw there were pieces of a corpse spread across the battlefield." One guard reported, "We can confirm that yes, it was Xu·Goma·Gu that the Armored Hero had killed." Aultcray let out a heavy sigh, knowing at least that troublesome monster was finally bested.
"Then, at least we know they truly can be killed." Aultcray said only to frown, "But despite this, even as a Legendary Cardinal Hero, I cannot condone what you did to my daughter, Malty, or by her adventurer name, Myne." He said as this shocked the armored hero.
"HUH?! Myne is your daughter!?"
The three young heroes were shocked as they turned towards Myne, each shocked by this revelation as Myne, or rather Malty, was still processing the idea that Cody had somehow killed one of the unkillable Grongi.
"Now Myne… please tell us what truly happened?" Aultcray asked of her.
Myne nodded, "I-It was late at night. Not too long after the Armored Hero and I had some food and wine. He almost was completely drunk, if I didn't held him back. But he walked out not too long and thats when the Grongi appeared…."
Now this was news to Cody, "Wait a minute, I thought I told you that wine gives me indigestion? Also, how did you know that the Grongi showed up?"
"I suggest you stay silent, whelp!" Aultcray hissed before turning to Myne to let her continue.
"I followed you, of course. Thinking it was strange that you would walk out instead of heading to bed. But that changed when the Grongi appeared… I couldn't make out what they were saying, as they were using that odd language…. But I noticed the rest of the money we had. He… he paid the Grongi to attack so many innocent lives!" Myne said, choking up at her statement.
"But that's odd, the healer told us that he was too exausted from the battle, plus I heard a couple of inngoers see the Grongi attack him." Ibarra said, which led to several people cheering im Cody's defense.
"They all must've seen it wrong.. Because it seemed whatever deal they were having backfired and they fought… It was hard to chase after them but the Armored Hero came back…"
"Alright then, if that was the case… why did the Grongi call me a traitor?" Cody asked.
"Because you were trying to have him kill my father! Not before you raped me!" Myne declared as that made many people gasp.
"Myne, you saw that I barely had any stats!"
"Then explain the full armor you now possess?" She pointed out as everyone this time turned to Cody, even the other heroes.
"Armored Hero…. Will you show us this armor you now possess?" Aultcray questioned.
"I… I don't know. It said I unlocked the Growing Form after I beat the Grongi."
"So… you deny me proof? Then I have ever right to discredit you from this case." Aultcray frowned.
"It's the truth! I don't know how to use the form! It just grew on me!"
"SILENCE!" The King shouted, standing up tall. "Guard? Will you show the proof that you have with you?"
One of the guards nodded as he walked in with what looked to be a crystal ball. It glowed before showing not only the fight but Cody supposedly coming back to assault Myne.
"The fuck?!" Cody gasped.
"That's complete bullshit!" Ibarra roared, "We saw the ball of fire last night and Cody was right there, barely alive!"
The magic showed Myne fighting back and using her magic before Cody fled the scene only to drop unconsciously in the forest, ending the supposed footage.
"I see… so an imposter must have tried to pin the blame on Sir Aldrich." Wren noted.
"That is the proof we have, heroes. This cannot be altered as only mages from the Church of the Three Heroes can even try that." Aultcray stated.
"Oh really? And you're sure that the church didn't just magically alter the vision?" Wren said, now completely skeptical of the king's claims.
"The Church of The Three Heroes also want to end the Waves. They have no reason to lie or frame anyone." Aultcray shook his head.
"Well then…" Ibarra notes before he aimed his bow… at himself, "Let's see you handle this without all three of us."
"You're willing to kill yourself just to prove this man's innocence? You wish to endanger everyone on this planet to death for such selfishness!?" The King hissed out.
"I'm not willing to fight for a world that seemingly wants to frame someone to prove a point. Especially since you kept brushing kuya Aldrich off during our first meeting."
"Guys, its true! Myne wouldn't lie!" Motoyasu said, approaching the others now.
"I cannot agree with you, Sir Motoyasu." Wren said, "I actually witnessed the end of the fight and saw Sir Aldrich drop to the ground.
"But it is true…. I also saw it all with my own eyes." The Spear Hero said, turning to Cody with a glare.
"Then where were you to help us get Cody to a healer?" Ibarra snarled.
"I was dealing with comforting Myne after what happened. I trust in her when I found her in her room, clothes torn away." Motoyasu stated.
"Oh blow it out your asshole, you simp!" One villager roared.
Cody watched as the people and the heroes argued. Many looking ready to attack one another for this. Regardless of the truth or lies, the young boy knows that if anyone wants to continue to survive here and beat the Waves, all of the heroes have to be alive and present…. Which means if they want to win this… he'll have to take the bullet.
"STOP IT!" Cody shouted, earning everyone's attention.
"Look, we don't have to fight!" he pleaded, "This is probably what the Grongi would want! To divide us and kill us all! Regardless of whether or not I did rape Myne doesn't matter anymore. I just don't want people to fight because of me. So, while I do plead innocent, I am willing to take whatever punishment you have because I could not protect your daughter. So… I'll accept imprisonment."
Aultcray looked to the young hero, as much disgust he has for the Armored Hero and it's prior legacy as the Shield Hero, he was surprised to see Cody accept his punishment to prevent the people from fighting.
"Then, I shall banish you from ever setting foot in this capital. You will never return here again for your crimes against my daughter. I shall leave it at that… Otherwise I'd have you executed for such a crime as well as dealings with the Grongi. But… I'll just leave it to the assault you did instead. Be grateful, Armored Hero…" Aultcray said, giving his judgment with a look of annoyance.
Wren and Ibarra looked remorseful to Cody. The young boy was taking the hit to stop the fighting and keep everyone alive even if that meant his own reputation would forever be tarnished.
"Then neither shall we…" Ibarra grumbled under his breath.
"Then I'll leave before the guards can act…. Wren? Ibarra? You two take care, alright? Try not to die." Cody said to the two.
"…We won't, Cody."
"Motoyasu? Maybe… learn to see through others, okay?" Cody said to the Spear Hero who only huffed and looked away. Cody only sighed as he made his way out.
While this wasn't the ideal situation anyone wanted, it was better than fighting amongst themselves and possibly making the Waves and the Grongi worse. Even upon exiting the castle, the eyes of the people are either glaring with disgust or with worry. Seems word traveled all over the place as the kingdom was now split over the Cardinal Hero.
Cody continued on his way, as he noticed the shop owner from before. At first he looked ready to fight the boy but upon looking at his eyes, the owner's expression changed before he sighed. He made a wave to the boy before pointing to a small barrel nearby as it was filled with a few supplies and a new set of clothing for him. Looks like while it wasn't trash, it would've been thrown out.
Cody nodded as he took the supplies in the barrel, knowing it'll help him for now since he has no money as he walked out of the kingdom. The gates closed in behind him as he continued his way forward. Without a right way to know where to go, he had to just let his instincts and the wind guide him, knowing that he will be alone for awhile.
This is how it all started for this world. The change that would finally put an end to the Calamity Waves and the deadly Grongi's. A young set of heroes brought into a new world, but with one now ousted as a criminal, he now will be wanderin the lands, fighting for what he believes is right.
This is the story of, The Surgance of The Armored Hero.
XXX
A/N:
Striberx: PHEW! Finally done! And finally have a Shield Hero story out! Thanks once again, dude.
HackerEX: What can I say except, well you know the rest.
Striberx: Indeed. Now! For starters, yes I chose Kuuga for this cause 1: There's no real way to have a Shield Rider that only has a Shield. Zangetsu has a Musou Saber, and that wouldn't work. And 2: Kuuga fits well with the theming of how the Cardinal Weapons evolve and get stronger. Hence the choice for him!
HackerEX: Yep, as for why Motoyasu is the only Cardinal Hero returning… there's a slight reason for that.
Striberx: Mhm. And its because instead of just every one being from an AU Earth, I felt like it'd be very interesting if each of the Cardinal Heroes are not only from other timelines/Eras, but countries too.
HackerEX: Hence why Ren is now British and Itsuki is a Pinoy
Striberx: Alongside that, we are slightly changing things. Hence why Wren and Ibarra were more inclined to help instead of how it was in the show. We wanted to give them something more than just being the incompitent stuff that the original heroes were. Though, Motoyasu is def gonna be the same, as it is part of the fun.
HackerEX: You can also thank Hope/Diligence of the Shield Hero for that too. As for what happened to the Shield we all know? Well that would be spoilers…
Striberx: Now don't think that they're just being replaced. I do have a legit reason as to how this has happened, alongside as to why this version of the Shield Hero world does also remember the Shield Hero and more. Its not really being fully replaced, just altered.
HackerEX: Plus with the idea of alt worlds, there's no rules to say that the Shield Hero would show up at one point.
Striberx: Now for the powers? It will also be like that how it is in the Shield Hero series. Gaining materials, items and more to give certain powers, armor additions and techniques to allow our Kuuga here to get more power. Of course the main forms and such will all be here, but it will be awhile before we even unlock Mighty Form.
HackerEX: It also explains why rather than having no attack stats, but almost no stats in general
Striberx: Yup, we will try our best to make him growing and getting this power as much as we can. Some time skips will indeed happen, but it won't be all over the place as it is in the anime. We will take notes and ideas from how the manga and light novel is, but work it for this story. And don't worry, no Rising Ultimate. We actually have a few new forms that fits with this story and how the Cardinal Weapons work.
HackerEX: At least we'll try and give the other Cardinal Heroes an arc, ain't that right Shield Hero anime?
Striberx: Mhm, we are aware of the many skipped arcs and such within the anime. And we will address it and do our best to give the heroes and such some proper attention and work. And tbh, even tho I agree the anime isn't the best, I still like it. :P
HackerEX: Anyways, look forward to next time where raccoon girl and our favorite smithy join the party
Until then, later minna!
