The Fall and Rise of Koteraan

Castle Town: Erhard's Shop

Filo was, uncomfortable to say the least. Why is she uncomfortable you might ask? The reason was quite simple really. For the past several minutes, her fellow mount and occasional rival, Johann, had been staring intently at her and wasn't showing any signs of letting up.

"What is it Johann, you're being creepy," said the little Filolial, deciding she couldn't take it anymore.

"Well I got this feeling, but there's no way it could be right," said the dragon mount as he crossed his arms and scratched his chin in thought.

"Well I feel like you're being rude," Filo replied, "So what is it? Why are you being creepy?!"

"Because I sense a fragment of the Dragon Emperor coming from you," answered Johann, "But that can't be right because not only are you not a dragon, there's no way you could beat one with a fragment of the Dragon Emperor within them."

"Heh, goes to show what you know," said Filo as she put her hands on her hips, "I actually tore up a dragon from the inside out. Sure it may have swallowed me first, but Filo bit and clawed her way out 'and' I ate a fragment of that dragon emper-whatever. Master tried not to show it but he was worried I wouldn't come back at one point."

"You ate a fragment of the Dragon Emperor?!" Questioned Johann with a mixture of surprise and disgust on his face. In the next instant, he reached out and attempted to put his hand down the Filolial's throat.

"Hey what gives-MMPHF," Filo attempted to answer back but couldn't talk so well with the boy's hand in her mouth. In response, she bit down on his fingers and got a pretty good yelp from the dragon in response. This quickly devolved into the two of them wrestling on the floor as Johann continually tried to shove his hand down her throat.

"Spit it out! Spit that fragment out right now!" yelled Johann as the two began rolling around and bumping into armor, weapon racks, and anything else within close proximity.

"I can't just cough it up you dumb meanie dragon!" Filo yelled back as she pushed against his face.

"Fine then I'll make you barf it up!" declared Johann as he attempted to remove Filo's outfit, which only made the Filolial punch, kick and bite harder.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" yelled Darius as he conjured a number of clawed chains from the wall which quickly pulled the fighting children apart and restrained them. "I turn my back for one minute, Johann, and not only are you fighting with Filo you're borderline sexually assaulting her!"

"I was not," Johann cried, "She's got a piece of the Dragon Emperor in her stomach and she won't cough it up! Those fragments are really important to a dragon like me."

Darius sighed before turning to his fellow hero. "What's he talking about Naofumi?"

"He might be referring to that large shard Filo swallowed while digging her way out of the zombie dragon," explained the Shield Hero, "I actually got a couple pieces on me that I was gonna have Erhard implant into my armor along with the repairs."

"See, I know what I'm talking about," commented Johann as he struggled against the chains.

"That doesn't make it okay for you to try making Filo puke," Chastised Darius, "Especially not when you're trying to disrobe her to do it!"

"Hold on," said Naofumi as he pulled a small purple crystal out of one of his pouches, "I might know how to solve this little dilemma. Could you let them down for a moment?" The Armory Hero looked uncertain for a moment but did as requested and released the mounts from their restraints. Naofumi then held out the crystal for Johann to look at. "This is also a piece of the crystal we got from the zombie dragon. If I give you some of this, will you agree to not trying to force the other part out of Filo, I do still need someone to pull a cart and she can't do that with a ton of stomach pain?"

Johann gave it a moment of thought before replying. "Well I guess it's better to have one that isn't covered in filthy Filolial stomach juices. But, to make sure it's fair, I'll give you this." The dragon boy reached and pulled a scale off of his back where his wings were protruding from and handed it to Naofumi. "Consider it a token of appreciation for bringing back a fragment of the great Dragon Emperor."

"Yeah sure thing," said Naofumi as they traded the items with the Shield Hero adding the scale to his cardinal weapon while Johann quickly swallowed the crystal. As Darius watched his Stats screen, he saw Johann jump up a whole level, causing him to hit the level cap of forty.

"And that's one step closer to being a full dragon," said Johann as he rubbed his stomach.

"Just don't try making trouble like that the next time he shows up with a fragment," said Darius as he turned back to the counter to take a look at a new set of armor and some weapons.

"You know I can't say impersonating another hero is the greatest idea out there," said Erhard as he indicated some armor plating which looked very similar to Itsuki's, "but if it's helping you solve the problem of a whole country, then I'd recommend this. It's the same type the Bow Hero actually wears and the magic iron in it has been enhanced to resist stuff like blight damage."

"So there's not much you can do with the old set then," noted Darius.

"To be honest, I'm amazed you even still had armor with as much blight as it was exposed too," replied Erhard, "not to mention, it seemed to have some kind of curse on it that reduced its value with degradation. I don't have the means to treat both the blight and that, so this was a better option. I also got you some new armor for that weasel friend of yours along with a mace and those daggers you requested. I'll give you a slight discount on some of it since I couldn't complete the initial job you asked me to do."

"You're still asking a pretty penny for it, though, aren't you," said Darius as he pulled out some gold pieces, "Luckily, it turns out you can make a profit raiding mercenary camps so I'll take it."

"And that kind of attitude is why you and the Shield Hero are some of my favorite customers," said Erhard with a grin as he accepted the money. Darius proceeded to open a portal and transport all the new items to his inventory before turning around and heading for the door.

"I'm gonna stop by the church real fast," said the cardinal hero to Naofumi as he paused at the door, "I still need some answers."

"Don't expect a straight response from them," warned the Shield Hero, "I met the Pope while I was there a couple hours ago. He's a patronizing old prick that seems to enjoy the sound of his own voice."

"Any info at all is better than nothing," replied Darius as he opened the door, "I'll keep you updated the usual way, but I doubt I'll be back until right before the next wave hits."

"Be careful," Raphtalia called from the changing room, "And take care of Rifana too!"

"Only so long as you keep these two out of trouble while we're gone," the Armory Hero called back before exiting the shop with Johann. The dragon boy was obviously in a good mood now, as he walked along humming happily to himself. It made for a more pleasant journey with him not asking for anything to eat or stopping him from charging a Filolial for looking at him wrong. Though another source of concern made itself known as a voice called from a darkened alley.

"Sir Armory Hero, a moment," said a female voice so softly that the two of them nearly missed it. Darius was quick to conjure a dagger in his right hand, which he hid slightly behind his back before turning to the source of the voice. It was another one of the women who'd shown up in Lute village with the royal decree that forced Malty to challenge them to a race.

"And you are?" Questioned Darius cautiously as he glanced around for any other possible threats.

"I am known as a shadow," replied the masked woman, "I serve her highness, the Queen of Melromarc. I was recently informed by Princess Melty that you would be willing to hear her out on some certain issues."

"Only if she's actually able to help us and not, ya know, trying to frame us for another crime or anything," said Johann, "I mean I think she's alright but I can't speak for the Boss." The shadow seemed to understand as she withdrew a letter with the royal seal from her pouch and presented it to Darius.

"This is a copy of a letter sent by the queen herself," explained the hooded woman, "it contains an explanation for the current state of affairs here in Melromarc as well as a small document containing some information on the Three Heroes Chruch, more than you are likely to find if you are heading where I suspect you're heading."

"And what's the catch if I accept this letter?" Questioned Darius with a raised eyebrow.

"All your acceptance means is that you're willing to listen to Princess Melty the next time you meet," replied the Shadow, "You do not need to agree with her or even pretend that you like what she has to say."

"Fair enough," said Darius as he accepted the letter, "But now that I think of it, I do have a condition for accepting this."

"And what might that be Sir Hero?" Inquired the Shadow with a tilt of her head.

"I need relief supplies sent into the country of Koteraan up North," informed Darius, "It doesn't have to be today but within the next couple of days. You see if all goes well, a new monarch will soon be sitting on the throne who isn't interested in taxing their citizens well beyond the legal limit. If Princess Melty can accomplish that, then not only will I listen but I may be able to convince other less willing parties to listen. Do those terms sound agreeable?"

"I cannot personally say," replied the shadow, "But I've known Princess Melty and her mother for many years now, and I've learned that if it's for the good of the kingdom they'll move both mountain and sky to accomplish the task set before them."

"Then hopefully we're both right about her," said the Armory Hero. The shadow nodded one last time before fading back into the darkness.

"How long do you think those people have been keeping an eye on us?" Questioned Johann with his arms crossed.

"Likely since before you were hatched," surmised Darius, "either way they only appear to be equipped for scouting and delivering messages, which is why we didn't get any help against that Leshen. But it's a problem for another day. Right now we need to get to the border, Rino's party will be there before we know it."

"You got it Boss," replied Johann as he shifted into his dragon form. The last sight either of them had of the kingdom was the capital shrinking into the distance.

Some Time Later: Koteraan, Camp of the 'Bow Hero'

The journey back took a bit more time with the Armory Hero and his mount having to stop and wait on the wagons, so it was practically sunset by the time they arrived at the camp. Darius had taken the liberty of switching back to his disguise shortly after crossing the border and had been quick to order Rino and the others to refer to him as the Bow Hero or just Sir Hero. When they arrived, the group found something of a surprise waiting for them. "What is that," asked the lead guard as he and the rest of the group gazed at a prison wagon which was currently being used to carry the corpse of an antlered beast.

"That, was a monster known as the Cursed Leshen of the Dark Swamp," explained Darius as he noted the marred skull which still had some of the decayed gold on it from his curse series. "A prick from the Three Heroes Church unsealed it in an attempt to expose me as a false hero. We managed to bring it down but only just barely."

"We all would've died if not for you Sir Hero," said Figneria as she and Rifana came walking out of the camp towards them.

"Rifana!" Cheered Rino as she ran and hugged the weasel girl, "I'm so glad to see that you're okay."

"And it's good to see you're okay as well, and you brought friends," noted Rifana as she looked at the group lead by the guard.

"I assume you already made sure they were all trustworthy," questioned Figneria as she eyed each member of Rino's party.

"We came here to help mam," said the lead guard as he stepped forward, "We owe the Shield Hero's party and Rifana for saving our friends and relatives in Lute Village, so we wish to help him and his allies as much as we can."

"And this here is Rino," explained Rifana, "she's the one we freed from slavery several days ago. I didn't know you'd get back into adventuring so soon."

"Well I wanted to quit, especially when I saw how worried my family and friends were after you dropped me off at my village," said Rino, "but then I saw some of the damage to my home from some creatures left over by the last wave and I realized that being an adventurer was the best way to fight back. Not to mention, I finally know which heroes actually have the good of the people in mind."

"Then I hope you're well-prepared," said Figneria as she indicated the Leshen corpse, "because we shall be fighting monsters in human-shape, and to do that, we'll be spreading fear throughout the land." Everyone nodded nervously at that as the gathered party gazed upon the dead creature. The time had come, for the final march on the rulers of the land.

Mansion of A Corrupt Noble: Two Days Later

'How is this happening,' thought the Noble as he paced throughout his large home. It was a relatively large estate with a red roof and an elegant lawn enclosed by a high wall. But those walls may as well have been a prison on this misty morning as he looked out from the top floor. 'Our forces might not have had time to properly organize since the country was taken over by the revolutionaries, but even then what kind of terrifying force could capture or kill the soldiers at every noble's mansion in such a short time?'

What was worse, no actual messengers had been able to escape, and the ones who did escape were in a terrified state, yelling that the Bow Hero had returned riding the corpse of a dreaded beast. Despite his best efforts, the wild stories had spread throughout his mansion as they had through the country, causing fear to run rampant. Some of his guards had already fled when it was discovered the next nearest mansion had fallen and there's would likely be next. 'I have to think of something, anything!' He was on the verge of panic as scenario after scenario ran through his head.

That was when he saw it out in the mist, the movement of a large shadow. At first he thought it was his eyes playing tricks on him because of the fog and his panic, but the shape became clearer over time and refused to disappear. Other shapes also became prevalent around the wall of the mansion, and they were moving to surround it. 'No, he can't be, not this soon!' As the largest shadow emerged, his greatest fears were confirmed.

A prison wagon was rolling forward on the road leading up to his mansion gate with the remains of a great beast, no, a legendary beast draped across it. The skull was unmistakable to those familiar with the old stories of Koteraan, the antlered visage of the Cursed Leshen. He'd been afraid when he'd heard rumor that it'd been freed, but looking upon it now, he was even more afraid of the one standing atop it with a bow in his left hand. 'I have to think of something quickly,' he realized as he rushed to a particular room where another prize of his was currently being held.

Outside the mansion, several of the guards had exited the gate and stood ready, but also shakily, in the path of the approaching threat as it stopped a couple hundred feet from the gate. "I am the Bow Hero!" declared the figure as he held his weapon above his head, "For those of you who once doubted, you need only look upon the corpse of this beast. It was declared that only a cardinal hero could slay it and so I have! Therefore I speak with the authority of a hero when I say, disperse!"

The 'Bow Hero' readied an arrow and fired it at the gate behind the guards, knocking them both off their hinges with a powerful blast of wind. "Let those who still doubt, step forward and challenge me!" The terrifying display proved to be relatively effective as at least half of the twenty assembled guards began to flee, with only the bravest or at least the most foolish, remaining. "I see you've all made your choice."

The guards began their attack then, charging at the wagon as the cardinal hero leapt off and fired another wind arrow, scattering the gathered soldiers as he landed. The few who remained standing attempted to charge him, only for a couple to receive some direct arrows to their hearts while the one who managed to get close enough was rewarded with a powerful blow to the back of his head with the bow. 'Even faster than the last one,' thought Darius as he approached the gate. Figneria, Rifana, Rino and the others joined him from either side of the wall, some with fresh blood on their weapons.

"We took out most of the ones who were fleeing and captured the ones who surrendered," said Rifana as she cleaned her weapon. "like last time we let enough go to spread a little more fear."

"I'm just glad we didn't have to use the village militia like we did on the first couple," said Darius as he glanced at the ones surrounding the mansion. Many of them had acquired basic armor from the mercenary camps as well as basic weapons. Figneria had used some of her spare time to train them a little in combat as well as surrounding tactics. It made for an intimidating front, especially with the help of the two mages in Rino's party creating excess fog, but none of them were quite ready yet for a full scale battle.

"I guess all that's left now is to storm the mansion like we did the last few," said Rino as they started to head inside the gate. But as they entered, the lord of the manor came rushing out. He wasn't overly large but he was clearly well fed, with a head of short red hair wrapped in a silk cloth and red side burns. Accompanying him, or rather being pulled along by him, was a green-haired girl with two long braids which went down her back. She was also wearing a green tunic with yellow lines and knee-length boots.

"Wait Sir Hero, please hear me out for a moment!" exclaimed the noble as he neared them. 'This should be good,' was the overwhelming thought on everyone's mind. "I would like to offer a deal to you, a repentance for my crimes!" He pulled the girl forward, causing her to stumble and fall to her knees as Darius and the rest of his group stopped a few feet from him. "This girl is the daughter of another noble who was given to me in payment until he clears his debt with me!"

Even with the mask on, it was obvious the cardinal hero was quirking his eyebrow at this statement. "I'm willing to forgive his debt and all the other debts owed to me and you may take this girl to do with as you like in exchange for sparing me and my mansion." Darius glanced at the girl on the ground for a moment before turning his attention back to the noble, proceeding to whip him across the face with his replica bow. The blow was strong enough to cause blood to seep from his nose as he fell to the ground.

"I don't think you quite understand why we're here," said the disguised hero, "you've already taken far too much from the people that even cancelling their debts now wouldn't do any good. No, we're here to take back the money you gained by setting the tax on those in your domain well beyond the limit set by the crown. Which is why I'm invoking my authority as a cardinal hero to take it all back. As for you, the people will decide your fate, take him." Two of the guards from Rino's group nodded before grabbing and dragging the noble away, who kicked and screamed the entire time as Darius signaled everyone else to head into the mansion.

The locals they'd brought with them would ransack much of the mansion and use the money and other items of value to revitalize their own towns and villages. The noble, assuming the people didn't decide to simply kill him off, would get whatever was left, much like the people he'd so readily taken from. Though this time there was one other matter to take care of. "Are you alright?" Questioned Darius as he helped the green-haired girl to her feet.

"I'm, uh, better now," said the girl sheepishly as she looked around, "w-who are you?"

"Just a cardinal hero," replied Darius, "in the process of trying to clean up a messy country, and you are?"

"My name is Rishia, Rishia Ivyred," said the girl, "tell me, do you know if my family is doing okay?"

"Ivyred, as in the nobles in the farm house," Questioned Figneria with a hand on her chin.

"Yes that's them," affirmed Rishia, "We were drowning in debt and being sabotaged by bandits who later disguised themselves as adventurers from the guild. The noble of this household forged a request from us and then kidnapped me as collateral until they were able to pay the fine."

"I don't think that'll be a problem much longer," said Figneria as she happened to glance behind them and waved a couple of people over who'd just entered. "It so happens that we've been looking for a noble's daughter, among other stolen items in the hands of corrupt lords."

"Then you really-FATHER, MOTHER!" cheered the now freed girl as she rushed to the pair that had been approaching them. One was a wizened old man with grey temples mixed in with his brown hair, while the other was the spitting image of her daughter if she were a few years older. They dressed with enough flair to mark them as different from common folk, but at the same time they weren't overly extravagant. But nobles or not, it was a warming sight to see a daughter reunited with her parents.

"Thank you, thank you all so much!" exclaimed the father, "I promise you you'll be rewarded as soon as we're able to scrape something together."

"Now just hold up there," said Darius as he raised his hand, "We'll get a bit from this mansion like we have the others before it. Right now the ones who need something are all of you, especially if you're financial situation is as bad as I hear."

"But it's only right that we thank you for your help in rescuing Rishia," said the father.

"If it's not money, then is there something else we can do for you?" Questioned the Mother. The group seemed to ponder for a moment before Figneria finally spoke up.

"We need a ruler," said the Mercenary Woman, "Or at the very least someone to help maintain order until the country can be fully stabilized again. The problems of this land won't simply go away once we remove the Revolutionary leaders. We also need as much information about the King's castle as you can give us." Rishia's father seemed to ponder this for a moment before nodding.

"I can call a special session of the remaining nobles who've managed to remain honest during these times," said the man, "there are only a handful of us, but it should be enough to at least form a council to elect a successor. As for the castle, I'm afraid it's been some time since my last visit."

"But I remember the castle father!" exclaimed Rishia, "I can recall every nook and cranny I used to play in before the king began taking away our authority and stopped inviting us. I even remember an escape tunnel I discovered on accident playing hide and seek!"

"So that's why we couldn't find you that evening," commented her Mother.

"Any detail you can give us will help," said Rifana, "Because the castle, is our next stop." Everyone nodded in agreement. The time had come to end this little campaign.

Late that Evening: Castle of the Revolutionary King of Koteraan

The throne room was quiet for the moment with the only person speaking being the messenger, or rather the terrified soldier who'd come knocking on the castle gates. It took a solid half hour to finally calm him down enough before he could speak a coherent sentence, but once they heard what he had to say, his terror became all too understandable. "So you're telling me that not only was the Leshen, a spawn of death on this land from generations ago, freed by this outsider from Melromarc but that it was actually defeated?" Said the current King, a man with a mane of brown hair and a goatee.

His red robes and crown made it obvious of his position and those who didn't know any better would've assumed he was always royalty and not some freedom fighter who'd risen through the ranks. Now it seemed that their enjoyment of success was already coming to an end, all by the one who'd made it possible in the first place. "I'm afraid so sire," said the soldier, "the one who stood atop his corpse also wielded a powerful bow. If what we've heard is correct, a cardinal weapon is able to change shape, which means that this person must be the Bow Hero. How else could he command a dragon and a small army of villagers and adventurers?"

"But the biggest question has yet to be answered," said the King as he leaned forward with his hands on his knees, "Why is the Bow Hero assaulting this country and why is he coming here?"

"It's very possible he does not approve of our conduct," said a man standing on the King's right. He wore glasses and a purple turban-like hat on his head. "When we enlisted his help to overthrow the last king, it was because he was overtaxing us. Given that we've all taken to enjoying the luxuries of the crown and have allowed the nobles to do as they please, it's created a similar situation."

"Which was why we were hiring the mercenaries in the first place," remarked the King, "to silent their dissent before it could spread throughout the country like ours did."

"It appears discontent was far more widespread than we feared," said the Adviser, "it's very possible some of the refugees got word to Melromarc and the Bow Hero caught wind of it."

"But that doesn't explain why his approach is so different this time," said the King as he stroked his bearded face, "before, the Bow Hero wanted to be discrete. It took me days to finally convince him to reveal that he was a cardinal hero. Now he's shown no interest in discretion and has been slaughtering our mercenaries left and right. Fear is the most rampant emotion running through this country at the moment, even more so than dissent."

"Indeed the story has already spread through the ranks of the guards," said the Adviser, "a number of them have not reported to their posts and what's worse, the rumors of the Bow Hero's conquest has made it impossible to convince a single mercenary to work for us."

"Do we have any defenses at all at this point?" Questioned the King as he tried to keep his voice steady.

"We're running on less than half the guard," informed the Adviser, "those who haven't been imprisoned or killed for desertion have fled to the far reaches of the country or even out of it. Only the most loyal remain now."

"Then we'll have to try throwing together a bribe or offer a deal," Said the King, "but whatever we do it needs to be quick before-." The sound of the throne room doors crashing open interrupted him as another guard came rushing in.

"My lords, I've received a report from the front gate," said the guard, "He's here?"

"Who's here?" Questioned the Adviser, fearing he already knew the answer.

"The Bow Hero sir," said the head guard, "and he's brought help." Both the King and Adviser needed no encouragement as they rushed out of the throne room. There had to be a way to salvage this situation, there had too.

Outside the castle, Darius was again standing atop the body of the Leshen with his replica bow in hand. Figneria, Rifana, Johann and Rino's group were all present as well as a large group of brave villagers with assorted weapons and shields. Rishia was also there, having offered to help out in any way she could, even donning some armor over her outfit. The weasel girl was now wearing some additions of silver armor to her usual attire and wielded a more menacing looking mace with curved edges and pointed spikes. Figneria was sporting two new curved daggers with gold designs etched into the blades, one of which had a red gem while the other had a blue gem to increase her magic.

It wasn't an army by any means, but it still gave off an intimidating aura as the King appeared at the top of the wall to look upon the sight. "Ah Sir Hero!" called the Revolutionary Ruler, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I doubt you'll call it a pleasure when you hear what I've got to say," Darius called back, his voice a little muffled by the covering on his face, "You see I've come to express my severe, disappointment, with your revolutionary buddies and most of all with you. I was under the impression that when I handed this country over to the Revolutionary forces, the state of it would change for the better. But you've not only continued the practices of the ones you hated but also made the situation worse by hiring mercenaries to hunt down and kill your own people. Not to mention, one of your allies foolishly unleashed a creature of darkness upon the land who'd been sealed for decades."

"My men were not responsible for freeing the abomination upon which you stand now," said the King.

"Not directly," said Darius, "But they colluded with the man named Aulder from the Three Heroes Church in an attempt to disprove my status as a cardinal hero. Fortunately for everyone in this country I was able to put a stop to it. Tell me, did your men even consider the consequences if we hadn't succeeded?"

"I assure you I wouldn't have approved of it if I'd been there," said the Former Revolutionary Leader, "But I am here now and I'm willing to offer a deal. You may have anything in my Kingdom in exchange for leaving here and allowing us to handle our own affairs."

"This isn't about what 'I' want, per se," Darius replied as he shifted the bow around in his hand, "This is about what the people want or rather need, and that's for you to return the excess taxes you've put on them and to step down as ruler."

"But you know what it took to overthrow the last ruler!" exclaimed the King, "It was only with your help that justice was served and evil was removed! Do you not remember our time fighting side by side for a better tomorrow, we can still do that now!"

"I remember fighting alongside a man I believed was honorable," said Darius, "A mistake I don't intend to make a second time. You have my terms: step down without resistance and put yourself at the mercy of the people and I'll see to it that your life is spared. Otherwise, we'll remove you like the last one was removed." The King didn't know what to do.

On the one hand, he could surrender and accept his punishment, which the Bow Hero had promised would not include death. But it would mean giving up everything including his freedom to do so. If he decided to fight, however, he would likely die at the hands of the cardinal hero. What stopped him from outright surrendering, though, was an odd detail he noted. The Bow Hero seemed different somehow.

The last time he'd met the Bow Hero, he'd been concealing his identity as well, but the former Rebel Leader had managed to take note of a few important details such as the way he talked and how he carried himself. This person did indeed possess a bow much like his, but he was too tall and the way he held himself was less prideful, as if he was simply doing a job. His speech was also a bit less dramatic and more to the point. Whoever this was, he was not the Bow Hero he'd met before, and with that realization a plan began to form within the mind of the King. "You've made a convincing argument," he said, "and you've put on an even more convincing act. But I think I see now what has happened! You wish to deceive us and claim that you possess authority that you do not. I see through the lie, however, so my answer is this, DIE!"

The archers along the wall readied their bows then as Darius leapt off the wagon and onto Johann. "Shields up," ordered Darius as he fired a wind arrow into the onslaught of projectiles, scattering a fair number, "begin the siege!" A chorus of yells answered his call as Rifana jumped onto the dragon's back while Rino and Figneria followed Rishia around the wall, dodging arrows and other projectiles along the way. In the meantime, Johann quickly took flight and circled the castle.

"Man the ballistas, shoot them out of the sky!" commanded the King before turning and retreating from the wall.

"Well he's a brave one," commented Rifana sarcastically as they turned around in the air for an attack. Arrows clanged off of Johann's scales as he veered out of the way of the larger ballista bolts before unleashing a wave of fire on one section of the wall, effectively destroying two of the large weapons at the front gate.

"Arrow Storm!" yelled the Armory Hero as he opened up a portal in front of his bow and released a shower of projectiles on some of the soldiers within the wall. Several soldiers fell as the defenders scrambled to regroup and focus their aim on the airborne threat. Then, with little warning, a fireball shot up in the air from a central tower in the castle before bursting above them, raining several smaller fireballs at them.

"Hang on!" Yelled Johann as he twisted and spiraled in the air, deflecting most of the fireballs with his wings. The ones that did get through managed to scorch both Rifana's armor and Darius's green cape.

"They have a mage, how about that," said the cardinal hero as he quickly patted out a smoldering spot on his shoulder.

"We need to split their defenses more," said Rifana, "I'll get the gate open if you can handle that mage."

"Johann, you land and fight in the courtyard with her," said Darius, "And try not to slam me into the wall on this drop."

"You got it boss," said Johann as he dove to avoid another fireball before pulling up sharply and turning by the tower, allowing his rider to leap off and roll before coming up to one knee with his bow ready. He then proceeded to drop Rifana off, who created a shower of rock using earth magic to soften her landing.

"You made a grave mistake coming here," said the mage as he charged a wind spell in his hand, "I can sense your power and it is not that of the Bow Hero!" He fired a blast of swirling air then, which Darius countered with his own wind arrow, canceling the two attacks out.

"But I am a cardinal hero," said Darius as he fired another arrow which the mage halted with a barrier of fire, "Which means this is still my job." He continued firing wind arrow after wind arrow into the flaming barrier, eventually scattering the flames. Unfortunately, that's when he noticed a small whirlwind forming above him.

"Now become nothing but debris, false hero!" yelled the mage as he commanded the attack to descend upon Darius. A large amount of dust was kicked up with the impact, but for some reason, there was no blood. The answer as to why came as the dust cleared to reveal a boulder made out of shields and other assorted weapons.

"Phalanx Series: Rolling Armory Shell!" shouted Darius from within the weapons boulder as it rolled forward and slammed into the surprised mage before falling apart and returning to his inventory. "As said, I'm not the Bow Hero. I'm the Armory Hero, not that it really means much to a dead man." Indeed all that was left of the mage was a skewered corpse as Darius turned his attention to the front gate, which Johann was currently thrashing around at while Rifana slammed her mace on the turning wheel, breaking the chain which held the door closed.

The large drawbridge descended with a large amount of force and slammed on the ground with a resounding boom as the gathered guards backed away from it. "The gate's down! Everyone inside!" Yelled the lead guard from Rino's group as they charged in with covering lightning strikes from the mages in their party. The Armory Hero also took that moment to leap off the tower and descend with the help of one of his clawed chains, landing a short distance away from Rifana as he conjured the replica legendary weapon again.

"I knew the guard would be lower," said Rifana, "But these guys are terrified. Now that the gate's open they're on the run." In fact any guard that was still brave enough to try fighting was being quickly dealt with by Rino's party, the mob of villagers or, the most unlucky, by Johann.

"I guess all that's left is to find the king," said Darius, "I just hope we're not too late to stop him from escaping."

Tunnel beneath the Castle

"My liege," said the Adviser as he, the King and a couple of guards hurried along the secret escape route. It had been built into the castle years before even the last king had taken the throne. "Are you certain that is not the Bow Hero out there?"

"His voice and mannerisms are different," said the Revolutionary King, "I did not know him well, but I caught on to what kind of man the real Bow Hero was while working with him. He would've snuck in the castle instead of bringing a whole fighting force and then used his authority as a cardinal hero to either demand our agreement to his terms or, failing that, simply kill us. The approach of this faux hero is very different from that, meant to spread fear and panic while insuring all know who they're dealing with. He may be too powerful for us to handle here but he does not have the authority of a cardinal hero. If we can escape the country and enlist the help of some of our allies, we may retake the kingdom yet."

"I see," said the Adviser, "We could possibly even enlist the help of the other cardinal heroes. I imagine they'd love to hear the story of the Leshen Lord who overthrew our kingdom disguised as one of them."

"And ideas like those are why I named you my Adviser," remarked the King before he was forced to stop by the guards in front of him. "What's wrong? Why aren't we fleeing?" The answer to his question came when both guards suddenly fell backwards, the cause of which being a pair of throwing knives in their throats. "What, this cannot be!"

"I'm afraid it is, your majesty," said Figneria as she came walking out of the shadows cast by the torches the guards were carrying, "As a revolutionary, you know how to create a movement from nothing. So letting you escape is out of the question."

"You'll never take me alive!" yelled the King as he reached for his sword.

"As source of thy power I order thee," said Rishia as the man charged at them, "decipher the laws of nature and repel my enemy with a jet of water!" The spell created a blast of water from her hands which knocked the charging ruler back and into his Adviser, drenching them both.

"You've taken enough from the people," said the green-haired girl, "Now please surrender."

"I'd listen to her," said a voice from behind them as the so-called faux hero and the mace-wielding weasel girl stepped into the light, "Because there's nowhere left for you to run."

"W-who are you," coughed the King as he struggled to his feet with his Adviser, "You're not the Bow Hero, yet you and your party wield so much power."

"True enough," replied Darius as he dissolved his replica bow and pulled his mask and hood down, "I'm not Itsuki, but I am a cardinal hero. So consider this you're day of retirement your highness, because your country now belongs to the party of the Armory Hero."

At long last, the country of Koteraan has been freed! And Rino's party now has more than enough silver for that little accessory. In the meantime, Hello everyone, I hoped you enjoyed this latest chapter. Though it comes with a bit of bad news as well, the next chapter likely will take more than a week to get out because dad gum did I cut it close with this one and lose a little sleep too. But that's my little issue, for now just let me know what you liked/disliked about this chapter and if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as we finally reach the arrival of the next wave! 'Til then.