Armory of the Forgotten Hero

by Masked Spider

The legend goes that there are four cardinal heroes. But fact and fable are often twisted in the land of Melromarc, while others are left out completely. One such fact is that there is actually another hero, the Armory hero, who doesn't wield a primary weapon. But the world will soon remember as Darius Saxon is called to remind the people that there aren't four heroes, but five.

7. Duel at the Banquet

Duel at the Banquet

Forest Outside of Lute Village

Darius's entrance did indeed have quite the effect on the other heroes, or at the very least it managed to get a few surprised statements. "Armory Hero," said the Bow Hero, who Darius learned yesterday was named Itsuki, "there's no hero like that, otherwise you'd have been summoned with the rest of us."

"And what are you trying to pull with a flashy entrance like that anyway," said Motoyasu. 'Truthfully,' thought Darius, 'I'm just buying a bit of time for my head to stop spinning.' Though the Armory Hero didn't say this out loud, instead pointing to the boss of the wave.

"I think we'd best discuss this after we put down ugly over there," said Darius as everyone noticed the boss had gotten back on its feet.

"I quite agree," said Ren as he changed his sword to a curved blade, "Airstrike Slash!" A miniature tornado swirled around the Sword Hero's blade as he let loose a slicing attack which rammed into the side of the boss, causing it to roar in pain. 'Time to get back in this,' though Darius as he leapt off the outcropping, willing the remaining weapons that made up his throne to fire at the boss while his shields retreated. The small assault landed on the monster's right wing, causing it to roar again as it turned its attention back to the Armory Hero, who donned his Imitator mask and slid in underneath and slashed the front left leg with his daggers.

The three-headed beast attempted to swat at its underside, but Motoyasu rushed in with an attack of his own. "Chaos Spear!" His weapon shifted into a more jagged form as a barrage of yellow bolts assaulted his target, which just so happened to be where Darius was as well.

"Hey watch where you're aiming that," said the Armory Hero as he just managed to roll out of the way of the attack in time.

"It's not like I was aiming for you," commented Motoyasu as Itsuki stepped forward with the next attack.

"Airstrike shot!" called the Bow Hero as he let loose a wind-infused arrow. But like Motoyasu, he misjudged the blast radius of the attack and Darius was thrown to the ground by the resulting impact. 'Have these morons never heard of the phrase 'friendly fire' before,' he wondered as he rolled back over. Ren was about to step up with an attack of his own but the chimera charged forward with a roar into the middle of the whole group, forcing them all to scatter as it swiped, lunged and breathed fire at whoever was in the vicinity.

"Phantom Chain Binding!" Called Darius as he summoned a number of chains with both clawed hands and spikes to wrap around the boss, holding it in place. "I can't hold this thing for long, so hit it all at once while it can't move!"

"That just goes without saying," commented Ren as he shifted his sword back to its original state before summoning a large flame around the blade, "Crimson Blade!"

"Wind Arrow!" Called Itsuki as he hit it with a very quick follow up attack.

"I'll finish this now!" Declared Motoyasu as his spear changed into a lighting style head, "Lightning spear!" The three attacks impacted with a good deal of force as the chimera gave one last defiant roar before collapsing to the ground in a bloody heap. Shortly after that, the wave floating above their heads disappeared, signaling the end of the attack. Everyone gathered around the corpse of the monster while Darius picked himself up off the ground and brushed the dust off of his armor. "Well that wasn't so bad, real walk in the park."

"It was relatively easy," commented Ren as he sheathed his sword on his back.

"And very likely the next one will be easy as well," added Itsuki as he hung his bow on his back.

"Yeah, hate to rain on everyone's parade," said Darius, "But this was technically only round two as far as the waves go. Each one is supposed to be worse than the last, which means the next one's gonna be tougher. So please try to improve your aim and your bad penchant for friendly fire before then."

"Ah come on dude, lighten up," said Motoyasu as put his spear on his shoulder, "we won and none of our attacks actually hit you."

"Well next time you charge in first and I'll rain a barrage on you, how's that sound," said Darius as he took note of Ren picking up a piece of the chimera. "Hey, what are you up to over there?"

"I'm adding the material of the chimera to my weapon," explained Ren as he picked up a piece of its fur and dropped it into the jewel on his sword, "If you really are who you claim to be, you should already know that adding materials to your weapon makes it stronger."

"Well I'm still figuring a lot of this stuff out," said Darius as he picked up a piece of fur and attempted to add it to the jewel on his band. Surprisingly, it did indeed absorb the material as a notification popped up on his HUD: Fire Chain ability unlocked. "Now that might come in handy." He also noted that another notification informing him that his Auto-Store ability had increased to the next level. It was now picking up weapons from fallen enemies, which meant he'd obtained a large compliment of weapons from the undead he managed to kill. "Not bad, I'd best take some of this stuff to Naofumi."

"Yeah where is that guy anyway," questioned Motoyasu.

"Oh who cares," said Myne as she grabbed onto the Spear Hero, "He would've been dead weight anyway and this whole fight wouldn't have been near as much fun."

"Fun?" Questioned Darius, "Naofumi, Raphtalia and Rifana aren't here right now because the village of Lute back there failed to evacuate its people in time. They've been risking their lives fighting off a continuous stream of undead monsters that keep spawning so long as the boss remains. Are you telling me you were jacking around instead of finishing this thing off before I got here?"

"Hey man, chill out," said Motoyasu as he raised his hands up defensively, "It's not like the boss was able to hang around for that long, so no harm no foul." The Armory Hero could feel his frustration building until a group of knights suddenly came running into the area.

"Heroes," said the captain of the guards, a man with a small mustache and a red plume on his helmet, as he stopped to catch his breath, "I see you managed to slay the beast, that's fine work."

"So it seems the knights have finally shown up," commented Ren as he glanced at the chimera's corpse, "thanks for all the 'help.'"

"Now there's no need to be like that," said the captain as he motioned to follow him, "his majesty has prepared rewards for all of you. So, shall we be on our way?"

"Question," said Darius as he stepped forward, "a flare was sent up from the village of Lute. Please tell me the reason you were late was because you were holding off the undead horde."

"We did happen to pass through a village getting attacked," said the captain, "no need to worry, we wiped all of them out."

"And the Shield Hero and his companions, what about them," questioned the cardinal hero further.

"Oh him," said the captain, "Yeah he was there I suppose but he wasn't much help."

"I'm sure," said Darius as he walked past the Captain. Though Ren spoke up before he got too far.

"Darius," said Ren, "this isn't over. I expect you to explain to us in detail if you really are a cardinal hero."

"Sure thing, but later," said the Armory Hero as he waved back, "I need to go make sure my partner and friends are safe right now, so see ya." He broke into a jog then as he headed back in the direction from which he came. It took a few minutes, but eventually he managed to make it to Lute, or at least what was left of it.

None of the buildings appeared to have escaped being damaged, with broken windows being the least amount of damage to houses that had been completely demolished. The college student also noticed numerous scorch marks from what were probably fires and the smell of receding smoke in the air. A number of the villagers were also injured and currently having their wounds looked at. Though the most sobering sight of all was seeing some people praying over the graves of their recently buried loved ones. But there appeared to be one bright spot as he turned a corner, passing another complement of guards as he did so.

Standing near the edge of the village was Naofumi, Raphtalia and Rifana, all thankfully alive and no worse for wear by the looks of it. But what made the sight surprising was the large collection of villagers all bowing to them in thanks, though Naofumi was doing his whole 'I'm not a nice guy' routine again as he turned away from the village elder commenting 'whatever.' The cardinal hero waited until they'd all dispersed to approach them. "Darius!" said an excited Rifana as she came bounding over upon noticing her party member, "You're alright."

"Yeah somehow," replied the Armory Hero, "though I'm not sure who I was more in danger from, the monster or the other heroes. What about you?"

"The Shield Hero might not be able to fight conventionally," said Rifana, "But he's figured all kinds of ways around that, and between me and Raphtalia even the stronger monsters didn't stand a chance, especially when we rallied the villagers."

"So no problems to speak of, that's good," said Darius as he rubbed his partner lovingly on the head.

"Well there was that gaggle of knights led by that useless captain," commented the weasel girl, "Sure his knights cleared out a good section of the monsters, but if not for Naofumi we would've been caught in the attack too. We're just lucky some of his men have more honor than he did, because he cut and run the moment he realized we were doing a better job."

"Ah I knew that guy was a prick," said Darius as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "that's it, from this point on I'm just gonna assume anyone with a little mustache is likely a pain in the ass. Makes me glad I didn't take the invitation to the castle."

"We have to go," said Naofumi suddenly as he and Raphtalia finished another conversation they were having.

"What," said Darius and Rifana at the same time, "why would we go there? Not only do I not have anything decent to wear, but the other three heroes will also be there and we know how well all of you get along."

"The king promised a reward to each of us for fighting the waves," explained Naofumi, "trust me the last place I want to go right now is there. But we'll need the money if we're gonna get better gear, not to mention food and lodging."

"I don't think you realize just how much I managed to steal from Rabier," said Darius, "I think we'll at least make it through the month if we don't buy anything outrageous."

"I do appreciate it," said Naofumi, "But you can't be blowing everything feeding and arming four people, especially given that we'll likely have to split up every now and then. So the more money we get now, the better." Darius simply sighed, seeing that the Shield Hero wouldn't be dissuaded from this.

"Alright, fine," said the Armory Hero as he crossed his arms, "I guess I'll go along for the food. But for the record, I still think this is a bad idea."

"No kidding," said Naofumi as they began the trek back into the capital.

Castle of the Queen and King of Melromarc: That Night

The castle of the rulers of Melromarc sat on top of a rocky plateau which allowed it to look out over the rest of the capital. As expected it was a massive, ornate structure made out of fine stone with several towers reaching towards the sky. It also had a large number of windows, each of which had a light on as guests from all over the capital came to celebrate the hero's victory over the wave. The celebration itself was held in a massive banquet hall with two floors, both of which were set up with tables holding just about any kind of medieval, and some fantasy, food that one could imagine.

Despite getting themselves cleaned up, the group of four still felt rather out of place among the other nobles, chiefs, adventurers and guards currently crowding the hall and gossiping away at recent events. The mood was set by a number of ladies in simple pink dresses, all of whom were strumming lutes with either a bow or their fingers. They stood in a formation leading up both sides of the main staircase which went up to the main table. It was there that Darius got his first good look at King Aultcray Melromarc XXXII, who was sitting at the head of the table looking out over all of his guests.

He was an old man with a mane of grey hair spilling down the back of his neck and a trimmed grey beard on his face. His purple robes were clearly quite expensive with some kind of animal fur hanging off the shoulders. If any doubts as to his station were left, they were quickly put to rest by the gold crown with a purple jewel in the center which rested on top of his head. "Thanks to the hero's splendid performance, the battle against this latest wave has been won!" declared the king as he held up his goblet for a toast, "So tonight we shall celebrate and may you all enjoy yourselves to the fullest!"

The gathered crowd all raised their glasses as they cheered in agreement. Well everyone except for Naofumi, who'd found himself a little corner on the upper floor by the window. 'He wasn't kidding when he said he didn't want to be here,' thought Darius as he ate some of the food off a plate, 'but the least he could do is partake in the free cuisine.' Rifana and Raphtalia were standing and eating with him while making the occasional bit of conversation. The two of them seemed to be enjoying themselves the most out of the four of them, which was understandable given the circumstances they'd come from.

"So do ya think they'll throw a party like this after every wave?" Questioned Rifana as she chomped on what appeared to be a large bit of chicken, "Because I could get used to this."

"If you don't mind a bunch of boasting adventurers and guards," said Darius when a thought occurred to him. "By the way Raphtalia, are you really sure you need that crest anymore?"

"Oh this," said the raccoon girl as she indicated her slave crest, "I hardly notice I even have it now. Master Naofumi used it a few times when I was too scared to fight, but now that I can it's basically just a marking."

"Even so," said Darius, "I know he's been treating you well, that much is obvious and it's the only reason I didn't press the issue yesterday. But if it's not really useful anymore, I could probably buy a couple drops of the potion for dissolving it."

"I appreciate the offer Darius," said Raphtalia with a friendly smile, "But it's really no problem. I'm honestly happier than I've been in a long time."

"And you're not just saying that because of the crest?" Questioned the Armory Hero with a raised eyebrow, only to get quickly thumped on the back of his head by Rifana.

"You know that's not how they work," said Rifana, "I know her better than anyone and she's being one hundred percent sincere. Come to think of it, is it really her crest you're staring at?"

"I wasn't staring at anything," said Darius, "she just showed it to me of her own volition."

"Are you sure," said Rifana as she quirked her an eyebrow.

"Even if I was, so what," defended the Armory Hero, "you're not jealous are you?"

"What, why would you say that," said the weasel girl as her face turned a bit red, "I'm just looking out for her."

"I'm sure he wasn't doing anything of the sort Rifana," said Raphtalia as she picked up a plate with apple pie, "I'll be back in a bit. Naofumi needs to eat too after all." The raccoon girl disappeared into the crowd then with her two friends watching her leave.

"You think Naofumi ever stares at her?" Questioned Darius in a whisper.

"Let's just talk about something else for a while," sighed Rifana. Unfortunately, the next topic wasn't quite as fun as Ren and Itsuki suddenly walked up to them.

"So is it true," said Ren, "are you a real cardinal hero, or some pretender?"

"Well I got transported here from another world," explained Darius, "I was living in America when I ducked into a library to avoid some drones one night. Picked up a book and boom, the next thing I know I'm in a weapons-filled tomb in the middle of some ancient ruins."

"But why does everyone else say there are only four cardinal heroes," Itsuki pointed out, "none of the legends we've heard mention an Armory Hero."

"Well the role of Armory Hero isn't filled quite as often as the other four heroes," said Darius, "the last one appeared over two centuries ago from what I've heard and there originally wasn't even an Armory Hero to begin with. The position, I suppose we can call it, was created when the other four heroes gave a mystical traveler some of their power in order to thank him for getting them out of a sticky situation and to save his life."

"I suppose that makes sense to a degree," said Ren with a hand on his chin, "the king did mention the summoning ritual used ancient magic. By the sound of it, they weren't entirely sure how it all worked."

"There ya go," said the Armory Hero, "For all we know there could be even more heroes that no one knows about. Not only that, it's possible some secrets are being kept from us. When you guys arrived, did you notice any-what in the world?" His attention had been caught by a crowd that had suddenly gathered near the window where Naofumi had been camping out. For whatever reason, Motoyasu was standing over there and it didn't look like they were having a pleasant conversation. "Excuse me for a bit."

The cardinal hero moved over and pushed his way through the crowd. Rifana came along with him, likely noticing that Raphtalia was in the middle of the mess as well. "What in the world's going on over here," he asked as he managed to get to the front of the crowd and saw that Motoyasu was pointing his spear at Naofumi.

"Nothing we need to worry about," said Naofumi with a dismissive tone.

"Quit acting like this isn't a big deal," said the Spear Hero as he turned his attention on Darius, "And you, did you know Raphtalia was a slave?"

"That's what this is about," said Darius, "I already talked this over with her and the answer basically was 'no it's not a big deal'."

"And how do you know she isn't being forced to lie about her circumstances," said Motoyasu, "I heard about the slave crests and how they work."

"Because I'd know if she was lying," said Rifana as she stepped up next to Darius, "I've known Raphtalia my whole life, so I can tell just by the look in her eyes that she isn't suffering like you seem to think she is."

"But you can't honestly think it's okay to keep her as a slave," said Motoyasu, "We're heroes, we're supposed to be better than that."

"And maybe it wouldn't be this way if those bullshit rumors hadn't been spread," said Darius, "What choice did he have in the end when no one else wanted to fight with him. You'd be singing a different tune if you knew what sort of condition she was in before Naofumi found her."

"But still," Motoyasu started to say before he was cut off by Naofumi.

"Just stop being an idiot," said the Shield Hero as he stood up, "I'm not fighting you and that's the end of it." He got up to take his leave with Raphtalia right behind him. Darius simply shrugged as he and Rifana followed along, mostly because they didn't want any further trouble. Truthfully, at least one of them should've suspected it wasn't going to be that easy. Naofumi had only made it about halfway down the stairs when one of the guards blocked his way.

"It has been brought to my attention that you've been using a slave to fight for you," said the king as he stood up from his table, "It is reprehensible for a hero to do such a thing." 'Didn't we just finish having this conversation, twice now,' thought Darius as he felt his opinion of the king, which wasn't enormously high in the first place, sink like a stone. "Therefore, I hereby order you to accept Master Motoyasu's challenge!"

"Wait," said Raphtalia, "there's no need to fight, I'm with Master Naofumi of my own fr-." But she was stopped from speaking by a guard that slipped past Rifana and Darius who grabbed her and covered her mouth. A rather bad move on his part.

"GET OFF HER!" raged Rifana, slamming a fist into the side of the guard's face. The blow was more than enough to force him to let go of his captive as the weasel girl followed up with a quick uppercut that sent him over the side of the stairs.

"Draw swords!" Ordered one of the guards as they all reached for their weapons.

"ENOUGH!" yelled Darius as he used Phantom Army to summon four portals with spears aimed just inches from the king's midsection. "You'd all better back off right now or his royal highness gets royally skewered. If you think I'm bluffing, ask Rifana what happened to the last noble that pissed me off."

"You would dare threaten the king of Melroma-AH!" The King's outburst was cut short by Darius quickly moving the spears even closer to him.

"Look your highness, this isn't the way I wanted the evening to go down," said Darius, "And this isn't the way I'd hoped to introduce myself either. But I think we're all ignoring the fact that there's a simple way to resolve all of this that doesn't involve feeding a guy's ego. Oh and I can't help but notice those swords are still drawn and don't think I don't see you two in the corner over there, Ren and Itsuki." Indeed the Bow Hero and the Sword Hero had drawn their own weapons and had them pointed at him from the other section of the stairs. But a stern look from Darius finally got most of them to put their weapons up.

"The Shield Hero has committed a violation against our customs," said the King, "for that, a punishment must be issued."

"Which part?" Questioned the Armory Hero, "Last I checked, you are one of the main lawmakers in this country and have made no move to declare slavery illegal despite the obvious abuses that happen every day! And don't pretend like you give a damn about demi-humans all of a sudden, I spent a week with a noble you banished to the far reaches of the country just for having good relations with them. So if you really want to appear like a reasonable king, why don't you listen to an alternative solution."

"And what sort of 'alternative' solution could you have that would insure all parties are dealt with fairly?" Questioned the King.

"Simply put," explained the cardinal hero, "we just remove Raphtalia's slave crest and ask her what she wants to do. Surely a king who cares so much would have the salve on hand for dissolving it and everyone here can act as a witness. It'll solve this little problem quick and without the need for two heroes fighting or us turning this place into a bloodbath."

"But that means Naofumi is just walking out of here with a slap on the wrist," complained Motoyasu, "You said this solution would be fair."

"Isn't it though," said Darius as he crossed his arms, "the choice of what to do is left up to Raphtalia, the supposed 'victim' in this ridiculous mess. If she's really being treated as poorly as you so idiotically believe then she'll leave and Naofumi will have lost his one and only official party member, which seems like more than enough for a punishment. But, if she chooses to stay with Naofumi after having the crest removed then it just proves that this whole farce was a waste of everyone's time. The only unfair thing about it is you don't get to play hero like you want to."

"Why you," seethed the Spear Hero until the Shield Hero himself spoke up about the idea.

"Forget it Darius," said Naofumi, "Even if the trash king agrees to the proposal, that bitch Myne will tamper with it in some way. If he wants a fight so bad, I'll take him on and I'm going to win."

"Seriously," said the Armory Hero as he retracted the weapons back into the portals, "You were the one who didn't want to fight in the first place, but okay, have it your way."

"Then it is decided," declared the king, "The Spear Hero and the Shield Hero shall duel this very night!"

Royal Arena: A Short Time Later

"So explain to me again why this is a better idea than what I was suggesting," said Darius as he and Naofumi waited in a small passageway lined with various weapons, mostly swords.

"I never said this was a better idea," replied the Shield Hero as he touched one of the swords experimentally, only to receive a shock and likely a warning on his HUD about weapon restrictions, "But this kingdom has had it out for me from day one. This is just another attempt to get at me, so we just have to deal with it."

"If we got the other two heroes to agree with the plan, it could've gone through whether the king liked it or not," said Darius, "He seems pretty eager to please the other three. But I got to ask, is that the only reason you didn't want to go through with my suggestion or is there something else you're not-."

"Like I said it doesn't matter," Naofumi insisted, "but I'm not letting them take Raphtalia away."

"Your show I suppose," said Darius as he grabbed some of the swords and stored them in his inventory, "but I'm taking a few of these. I doubt anyone will notice in all the excitement and if they do, well we'll call it payment for putting up with this nonsense in the first place."

"Just remember to keep an eye out," said Naofumi. Darius responded with a quick 'you got it' as the doors opened to reveal the stadium. It was also the signal for them to begin walking out into the arena. It was a large stone structure with two floors of covered seating, all supported by numerous columns. Obviously the King's was among the most spacious as he sat and watched with his advisors, and with Raphtalia and Rifana seated behind him.

It had been an absolute pain negotiating, but Rifana had agreed to stay under guard with Raphtalia as assurance that Darius wouldn't try anything funny. In exchange, he'd been allowed to stay on the ringside. The King didn't like it but Darius was able to convince Ren and Itsuki that if Myne was allowed to watch so close then so should he in order to insure no funny business was happening from either party. And he was watching the conniving redhead like a hawk as the announcer carried on. "This duel is being witnessed by his highness King Melromarc and his holiness the Pope and is thus official and legitimate."

'Pope huh,' the Armory Hero thought, sparing a glance at another box where a man dressed in white robes with a large hat and spectacles sat. 'That must be the leader of the Three Heroes church. So he's probably got that pleasant smile on his face because he's about to watch the Shield Hero get beat.' A slight smirk formed on Darius's face as the duel began, and Naofumi quickly repelled all of Motoyasu's initial attacks with some quick movements of his shield. 'He's going to be disappointed.'

The Spear Hero quickly changed tactics and managed to land a blow with his flurry attack, Chaos Spear, but it didn't keep Naofumi down long as he charged in around his weapon and delivered a gut punch with his shield. It didn't seem overly effective at first until Motoyasu realized he was being bitten by an orange balloon. As it turned out, Naofumi had found a use for the little critters by allowing them to attach to his body before leaping off and munching on the closest victim. It wasn't his only trick either as he switched his shield to a two-headed black dog style with two extending heads to ward off the Spear Hero's next attack.

He continued his counterattack with a combination of Air Strike Shield and Shield Prison, knocking Motoyasu back with one large green shield before imprisoning him in a sphere of shields and chains. The coup de grace, however, was not only had he trapped his opponent, but he'd also tossed a couple of his little orange friends in as well. Judging by the sound of pained shouting coming from the sphere, the little monsters were having quite a time chewing on his opponent. Darius was having such a hard time restraining himself from laughing that he hardly noticed the mocking from the crowd, who apparently thought a few insulting comments were gonna make a difference to anyone at this point.

"Alright then," said the Shield Hero as he released his prison on Motoyasu, "If you don't want to suffer more embarrassment, you'll surrender."

"What makes you think I'd surrender now," said The Spear Hero in a weakened voice. He'd been reduced to a weak looking kneeling position by the assault. It was obvious who would be the victor if things continued the way they were, except to Motoyasu it seemed. But this was more than acceptable for Naofumi as he held up a couple more of the orange monster balloons with a wicked smile on his face, planning to latch the next couple onto his opponents face or even more sensitive areas. But he didn't quite make it that far as Darius noticed a flash of red light at the other end of the arena.

'No you don't,' thought the Armory Hero as he cast his currently strongest defensive skill. "Phalanx Wall!" A collection of ten large shields of varying types appeared in front of Naofumi just in time as a massive blast of wind impacted against it, surprising both heroes as they glanced at Darius. "Finish this Naofumi, now!" The Shield Hero turned his attention back to his opponent just in time to block a barrage of strikes from his spear, managing to hold his ground if just barely. Motoyasu jumped back then as he held his weapon up high in preparation to use one of his skills.

"Lightning-," he started to say before Naofumi quickly shifted his shield to what appeared to be the face of a ram with horns sticking out.

"Ram shield!" shouted the cardinal hero as a massive ram's head shot forth and interrupted Motoyasu's attack by slamming straight into his face and sending him flying several feet away. He hit the ground pretty hard, groaning at what was likely the start of a rather mean headache. 'Whew, glad I managed to get that Chimera material to him,' thought the Armory Hero as he dispelled his Phalanx wall and let out a sigh. A murmuring broke out through the crowd as everyone waited to see if the Spear Hero would rise again.

He did indeed start moving again, but he couldn't stand properly at the moment as his head was clearly spinning. "You'd best call if ref," said Darius, "I don't think he'll be in any shape to fight for now."

"This is an outrage!" declared the King suddenly as he stood up from his throne and pointed at the Armory Hero. "The Shield Hero's lackey clearly interfered with the duel by use of his strange magic. The match must be forfeited."

"That's a load of garbage!" Yelled Naofumi, "He raised a wall next to us. How is that interfering in any way! I was more distracted by it than Motoyasu."

"Besides," said Darius as he pointed to Myne, "I know that more than a few people saw the bitch over there use wind magic. I prevented interference in what was supposed to be a fair duel. Naofumi won this fair and square!"

"I'll have no more lies in this arena from you or that criminal," declared the king, "This duel belongs to the Spear Hero!" A loud cheer erupted from the stands at this statement. It was at that moment when Darius realized just how against the Shield Hero the King was, and it made him angry.

"You insufferable, filthy, shit-stain!" Yelled Darius as he formed Itsuki's legendary bow with his replica ability. Needless to say a number of gasps followed as he pointed the darkened version of the weapon with a white jewel at the box where the king sat, energy flowing around the arrow as he pulled back the bowstring. It was a tense moment as everything seemed to become suddenly still, waiting for what would happen next. But then the Armory Hero's gaze drifted to right behind the King, where Rifana and Raphtalia were seated. It was their presence that made the decision for Darius as he lowered the weapon, but it was also the reason a small smirk had returned to his face.

"Darius," said Naofumi suddenly, "take care of Raphtalia for me. Because this kingdom won't."

"I think you should have a little more faith in her," said The Armory Hero as he watched the guards bring out the raccoon girl, "You might be surprised."

"Don't you get it!" yelled Naofumi, "the only reason she was with me in the first place was because I was her master! After seeing and hearing what the kingdom thinks of me, do you honestly believe she's just gonna stick around! I didn't come here by choice and yet these people want to see me fail and suffer all because of this blasted shield!"

Darius was about to argue that point until he noticed something strange about the stats on the legendary shield. It seemed to be reacting to his anger and frustration, almost as if it was feeding off of it. 'What the heck,' thought the Armory Hero as he tried and failed to get a read on the Stats. He only managed make out one phrase: 'Curse Series.' 'That can't be good.'

But the process, or whatever was happening, suddenly halted upon the sound of a very loud slap. The two heroes looked over to find that the moment Raphtalia had had her slave crest removed, she'd slapped Motoyasu across the face. "Are you so self-centered that you can't even fight fairly," said the raccoon girl to a clearly surprised Spear Hero.

"What's sort of thanks is that to give the man that just freed you," spat Myne.

"Don't you understand, I never asked to be freed," said Raphtalia, "Naofumi may have purchased me as a slave but I've remained with him by choice!"

"But wait a second," said Motoyasu, "Hasn't he been abusing you and treating you poorly?"

"Who told you that, the two-faced princess," said Rifana with her arms-crossed, "Like we said earlier, all you have to do is look to tell she isn't being abused. But you used what was between your legs instead of your eyes, never once bothering to ask her what she wanted."

"But Naofumi's not the kind of guy who'd-," the Spear Hero started to say, only for Raphtalia to pick up where she'd left off.

"He rescued me when I was sick and on the verge of death!" She exclaimed, "He fed me, gave me new clothes and medicines. He only ever used the crest when I was too scared to fight, in order to save both of our lives! He never asked me to do something I couldn't do, and I know he wouldn't make me fight if he could. But his Shield doesn't work that way, which is why we work as a team and fight together!"

"But that's the problem," said Motoyasu, basically grasping at straws now for an argument, "No one should be forced into a fight."

"Then what do you call all of this," said Rifana with her arms thrown up in the air, "Here we all are in an arena at a fight that Naofumi didn't want to be a part of, but had to anyway because the King made him do it after you challenged him. Darius offered a completely viable solution to the problem but you had to whine and moan because you thought he was getting off too easily. The real truth is you had it in your head that she'd come running into your arms and call you her hero for freeing her from the nasty villain. But the truth is, the only wrongs Naofumi has committed were the ones he was forced to commit because of all of you!"

"But I-," Motoyasu was truthfully at a loss for words. Likely because both girls had hit the nail on the head.

"I choose to stay and fight with Master Naofumi," said Raphtalia as she clenched a fist in front of her chest, "I don't care what anyone else says or thinks, or how dangerous it is. I swore to be his sword and I will follow him whether I have a crest or not. That is what I really want." This should've been the end of it, but as always Myne had something to say.

"Now hold on-," the red-headed harlot started to say before a commotion caught everyone's attention. Ren and Itsuki had walked out into the arena where the others were gathered.

"Sorry to say Myne, or rather Malty Melromarc," said Itsuki, "But we need to ask you about your illegal use of magic during the duel."

"Illegal use of magic," repeated Motoyasu, clearly confused at what he was hearing.

"Figures you wouldn't notice," said Rifana with her hands behind her head, "Did you seriously not hear why Darius raised that wall of shields earlier?"

"A powerful wind spell was fired at Naofumi during the duel," said Ren, "Darius wasn't lying when he said he prevented interference with that wall. Sorry to say Motoyasu, but you lost that duel."

"What, did you really Myne?" Questioned the Spear Hero. His obliviousness was becoming comical at this point.

"I'm certain they imagined it," said Myne, or rather Malty, smugly, "No one else seems to have seen anything."

"Because the King ordered them to look the other way," said Ren, "The nobles do, however, agree that foul play was used."

"That's just sad," said Rifana, "What's the point of declaring a duel sacred if even the Royals don't uphold the rules. Oh well, guess we'll just have to settle for this." The weasel girl slammed a fist into Myne's midsection, causing the princess to collapse onto the floor holding her stomach. "Let's go Raphtalia."

"How dare you strike my daughter you-," the King started to yell at the women's backsides before he was interrupted.

"Ahem," said Darius as he raised his weapon back up, "It'd be best if we not embarrass ourselves further, don't you think. A royal should be setting an example for their people after all and willing to accept punishment for breaking the laws they themselves enforce, wouldn't you agree Ren, Itsuki?" The two heroes nodded in agreement, causing the king to seethe even more.

"Besides," said Rifana without looking back, "I was hit harder than that when I was locked up. She'll be fine in a minute. Now let's get out of here." Darius dissolved his weapon and started walking along with Rifana. Naofumi was a little slower on the uptake as Raphtalia began leading him out of the arena.

"You, came back," he said with a stunned look on his face, "why, did you come back?"

"I'll always come back," said Raphtalia with a gentle smile, "I swore to be your sword forever. So I'll support you when no one else will, I'll fight with you even if the rest of the world turns on us, and I'll believe you when no one else will. I know the kind, gentle person you really are and it's all thanks to you that I have a purpose again." Her touch caused the remainder of the ominous presence on his shield to disappear, something Darius breathed a sigh of relief about.

"So," said Rifana, "this turned out alright after all. Should we show up to the next one?"

"Abso- fucking-lutely not," said Darius and Naofumi at the same time.

I personally like this ending, until I remember they got to go back and collect the reward. But enough of that, I hope everyone enjoyed this latest chapter and didn't think it was too long, I got to writing and just couldn't find a better place than here to end it, in my opinion anyway. As always, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as a a couple of new party members join our merry little group. 'Til then.