Hero Recruitment

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero! What a way to end the month with two chapter postings in two days. Now, real quick, got a small announcement. I've had to make a slight change to my Pat reon address due to an email issue, so if you're looking to be a patron head to : / / www. pat reon MaskedSpider581. And that's about it, so with no guest review questions this week, let's dive on in!

Shortly After Returning from Glass's World: Ruins of the Heroes

"So, in total there are supposed to be four of those sacred beasts," Darius sighed while leaning back against a stone wall and looking up at the stars. "That's a pretty nasty last-ditch effort."

"It is precisely because it is nasty that it's the world's last resort," Fitoria responded from her spot nestled underneath Darius's left arm. She was enjoying one of the promised hugs she'd requested for aiding them against the Spirit Tortoise. "Since the first was awoken, the others are compelled to follow and nothing, not even I, can halt the process. The only solution is for all of the heroes to band together with the rest of the world and fight for your survival."

"I really had hoped there'd be an alternative," the Armory Hero rubbed the bridge of his nose, "but there were way too many close calls with the Spirit Tortoise and even I have to admit a whole lot of trouble could've been avoided if the five of us had been working as a cohesive unit."

"I understand it's difficult for you and the Shield Hero to get along with the other three," the Filolial Queen cuddled even closer to him, "and I understand there's not much about this world you or I consider worth saving. But for the ones we care about, isn't it worth putting up with a few annoyances if it means they'll continue to live and be happy?"

"I'm willing to tolerate their presence," Darius defended, "the problem is getting them to work with us. They're overly prideful glory hounds that think we're in this for fame and fortune. In their minds we're a threat to their success even if that couldn't be further from the truth."

"You've figured out how to deal with stubborn people before," Fitoria reminded, "if it helps, I don't mind if you have to rough them up and drag them to the front lines. So long as all the heroes are standing and fighting together, the world has a chance at surviving."

"I was more or less expecting we'd have to kick one of their asses," the cardinal hero quipped while patting the Filolial girl's head, "but I'm happy to hear I have your approval to do so."

"I might not be able to intervene when the world is protecting itself," Fitoria hummed contentedly, "but I don't want you and Naofumi to die. So please, do what you can."

"We're men of our word," Darius assured, "we promised you we'd reconcile with them, so that's what we're gonna do."

The Present: Rurorona Village

'That hasn't changed, even now,' Darius mused as he walked along the perimeter fence, 'we'll convince them all to work with us somehow. Still, why did it have to be the most annoying one to be found first?' They'd learned from the queen that Motoyasu had been sighted in a large town not too far away from them looking for his party members. It wasn't going to be easy explaining to the hormonal blond that his team had intentionally ditched him. "Sir Darius," Natsui called from the entrance of the fence, breaking him from his thoughts, "we have a matter which requires your attention!"

"What sort of matter," he asked, approaching the trio of Melromarc soldiers who were also serving as entrance guards. They all had a hand on their weapons and were watching something, or rather someone, like a hawk: a short, white-haired girl. "Who's this?"

"She says she wishes to speak with you and Sir Shield Hero," the Yama Clan guard explained.

"I'm S'yne," she introduced, though the last part of her words sounded…staticky, for some reason. The Armory Hero took a moment to look her over. Her outfit consisted of a sort of black and purple long-sleeved jacket which reached down to her knees and was covered with a white, hooded shoulder cape. She had white leggings with strategically placed holes in them and boots made of the same material as her jacket. Her short hair was also held back by a yellow and purple hairband.

In a strange sort of way her face and hair reminded him slightly of Fitoria. "I'm Darius," he responded, "Darius Saxon, the Armory Hero."

"I know," S'yne spoke simply, "we've met…..before." Again, her voice sounded staticky and this time it jogged the cardinal hero's memory.

"We have, haven't we," Darius suddenly produced a crimson-bladed rapier which he held to her throat, "tell me, are you Murder Pierrot?" Instead of being intimidated, or really reacting much at all, she held up one hand while the other pulled out the familiar mask of the dark coliseum contestant.

"I am," she confirmed, "but I'm no longer…. under contract."

"Not under contract," the Armory Hero raised an eyebrow, unconvinced, "then what in the world are you doing-*GROOOOOOWL*." He looked down at the source of the noise, quite familiar with it thanks to always hearing it from Johann and Filo. "I see. You got money because Naofumi only gives out free food to the villagers here."

S'yne's answer to this was to put her mask away and pull out a coin bag full of gold pieces. "Alright, I got two other conditions. One, I know you can't actually let go of your weapon so keep it out where I can see it and in its most unthreatening form. Condition two, explain everything you were talking about back at the coliseum."

"Okay," she nodded before pulling out a regular-sized pair of scissors with a jewel on them: the Vassal Sewing Set. In a quick flash of light, they changed into scissors with leaves for blades. A quick scan told Darius this was a form meant to enhance healing abilities, meaning the blades weren't sharp in the slightest. S'yne stuck them on her left shoulder like they were a clothespin ribbon.

"Alright," the cardinal hero rested the rapier on his shoulder, "stay in my line of sight and follow me. Naofumi's the jumpy type so let me mention the part about who you are. Natsui, you and the other guards get back on regular patrol, I'll take over from here."

"Is that safe?" The Yama Clan member was understandably apprehensive about allowing someone who came close to killing their hero in close proximity of him.

"There's plenty of open area between here and Naofumi's house," Darius assured, "if she tries anything someone will see it and alert the village. And I've come up with a few tricks to deal with her abilities, so don't worry."

"Thank…...you," was S'yne's static reply.

"Don't thank me yet," the Armory Hero responded as they started walking, "I might be able to get you a meal but don't expect much more than that. My friend isn't the most trusting of individuals." His guest simply nodded before the two fell into silence. It didn't take long for them to get to their destination which was already full of hungry children waiting anxiously to be served the Shield Hero's cooking.

"Who's this," Naofumi asked once they got to the front of the line.

"An acquaintance of ours," Darius answered, "one willing to pay for a good meal." S'yne pulled out her money pouch for emphasis.

"Alright, two silvers," the Shield Hero named his price. It was honestly a little high considering how much food one could get for a few copper pieces but S'yne must've been hungrier than he thought because she paid without complaint, got a bowl full of food and went right to eating once she sat down at one of the tables. "What's going on, Darius? I don't recall either of us having met that girl."

"That's because her identity was concealed the first time we met her," he explained, "I don't know what all happened after the coliseum, but she just waltzed up to the gate entrance and asked for some food and to have a word with us."

"I feel like I'd remember us taking on someone that sma-," Rifana started to say before realization dawned on her, "Darius, tell me that isn't who I think it is?"

"I think it's best we approach this situation calmly and-," the Armory Hero's request was cut off by the rather loud voice of a certain Filolial.

"Pierrot Lady, what are you doing here?" Filo asked, having sniffed the newcomer out of curiosity. For a brief instant, everyone froze. A flurry of movement happened next as Rishia drug Filo away from the now revealed Murder Pierrot and nearly everyone else had their weapons out.

"Damn it," Darius sighed while rubbing his head, "so much for avoiding a headache."

"Darius," Naofumi glanced at him while keeping an eye on the girl who hadn't moved from her spot. Despite the situation she still wore the same neutral look on her face. "You knew who this was, and you still brought her into the village?"

"She walked right up to the entrance and asked for us specifically," he explained, "apparently her real name is S'yne and she wants to talk. Also, she was hungry."

"I know you haven't forgotten what her purpose is," the shield hero growled, "you're the one who noticed she had a vassal weapon, you even told me she wasn't from this world."

"She's not from Glass's world, either," Darius responded while conjuring a replica of the vassal sewing set in its yarn form, "now that I'm getting a little more time to look at her weapon I can definitely say S'yne here is from a third world. One of the conditions I gave her is that she tells us what she was talking about at the coliseum."

"What is there to say," the shield hero narrowed his eyes while turning his gaze back to the vassal hero, "she's here to kill us on behalf of her world, we already know that much."

"I…...have no world," S'yne revealed, "it's gone…along with…. everyone else."

"Your world's gone," Rifana repeated, "as in, it's been destroyed?"

"By invaders," she confirmed with a nod, "I am…the only…survivor."

"And why should we believe you," Naofumi put his hands on his hips, "you tried to kill us at the coliseum. How do we know this isn't some ploy to earn our trust so you can slit our throats in our sleep?"

"I'll cooperate with…...whatever you ask," S'yne held her hands up like she expected to be cuffed, "I'm also no longer under…. contract. If it will convince you…I'll stay in a cell."

"A cell you can probably teleport right out of," the shield hero pointed out.

"We could ask the shadows to keep an eye on her," Darius whispered to Naofumi, "give them something to do besides watching us all the time. Even if they can't stop her, they can at least provide advanced warning." His friend sighed when he realized this was a feasible idea.

"Darius said you also came here to talk," Naofumi recalled, "start by telling us why exactly you're here?"

"I want," she began in a staticky voice, "to help. You…...struggled…against someone…as weak as me. I want…to fight with you…. against the invaders…...who destroyed….my world. Please…until the next Wave…let me live here. If necessary…. I can pay."

"That's even more suspicious," the Shield Hero crossed his arms, "someone so eager to-."

"Wait," Atla called, stepping forward, "she's not a bad person. I believe she is merely desperate. The power she holds now is fragile and will soon disappear."

"What are you talking about," Naofumi asked. They'd spoken to Grilaroc upon their return and had discovered that Atla did indeed possess the ability to utilize Hengen Musou. Naturally her body needed to be in actual shape first before she could even attempt to fight with it, but her ability to read Ki was nothing short of impressive. Whatever she saw while looking at S'yne, it was worth taking into consideration.

"Let me take a look," Darius offered, stepping forward and peering at their guest, "go ahead and set your weapon on the table." S'yne complied, transforming it into its large scissor form so that he could see it more clearly. "So that's the weird anomaly I've been detecting. Your weapon, it's damaged."

"Vassal and…. cardinal weapons are made….by the world," she explained, "without the world's power…...to sustain it…the weapon will eventually…. disappear."

"Yep," the Armory Hero confirmed, "it's slow but this vassal weapon is degrading." He rubbed his hands together then. "Let's try something." He reached out and touched the weapon.

"Darius wait!" Naofumi warned, making to move forward before a flash of purple electricity erupted from the weapon. The next thing anyone knew the Armory Hero was flying back and it was only thanks to Rifana and Izumi catching him that he didn't hit the ground. Everyone was back to having their weapons raised then.

"What did you," S'yne's eyes widened as she put a hand to her throat, "my voice, the interference is gone."

"Whew," Darius stood back up, rubbing his hair which was currently standing on end due to the electrical discharge, "I might've tried fixing a few too many things at once. It discharged the excess energy because it's still unstable. Good news, I managed to get one feature working at least."

"You idiot," Naofumi rubbed his head in annoyance, "what if that had been a trap?"

"How would she have known I'd try repairing her weapon," the Armory Hero countered, "she didn't bring up that it was damaged herself. I imagine she wouldn't have mentioned it at all if not for Atla."

"No," S'yne confirmed, "I would have preferred to keep it a secret for the time being. Who would want a vassal hero with a broken weapon?"

"Just so you know," Darius figured it'd be best to tell her this now, "I didn't straight up repair the weapon, only fixed a bit of the degradation. Its power is still fading, and it'll be back where it was before long, so I'll need to repair it again. Truth be told I'm probably only delaying the inevitable in the long run."

"Still, thank you," she bowed her head, "it's been some time since I was able to speak properly. I owe you a debt now and have even more reason to help you. Will you accept this as reason enough?"

"I mean," the Shield Hero rubbed the back of his neck, "I have fewer reasons not to trust you."

"It's actually an ideal situation," Raphtalia chimed in, "S'yne can't kill Darius if she wants to maintain her weapon and by extension, she can't harm anyone he cares about or he'll refuse further maintenance. S'yne has also proven capable of bringing in money which we need for the rebuilding and supplying of the village. And her strength has already spoken for itself."

"Is this how everyone else feels," Naofumi turned to the others, "do you really want to risk letting in a stranger who tried to kill us?"

"I tried to kill my darling when we first met," Izumi reminded while hugging Darius to emphasize her point, "and now I'm his wife-to-be."

"And I have already voiced my thoughts," Atla added, "she is not a bad person, she doesn't wish to harm Sir Shield Hero."

"The evidence and situation all point to her being sincere," Sadeena agreed, "and more help against the phoenix can't hurt."

"Fine, fine," the cardinal hero threw his hands up in exasperation, "she can stay so long as she pays but the moment something suspicious happens, she's gone."

"That is acceptable, thank you," S'yne nodded before holding up her bowl, "can I have more?"

"Sure thing," Darius agreed before holding up the replica of her weapon, "and after that I got your first job. Show me everything you've got."

A Few Hours Later

"WAGON!" Filo cheered at the sight of one of her favorite things in the world, "wagon, wagon, wagon, wagon!" She transformed into her Filolial form and hopped around happily. It had been some time since she'd actually pulled a wagon that wasn't full of rubble or other supplies.

"Listen up everyone," Naofumi announced, "we're going to be heading out to get the Spear Hero. While we're gone continue to raise your levels, train, and work on rebuilding the village. And don't let anyone suspicious in while we're gone."

"Are you sure I shouldn't go with you," Rishia asked, "all of you except Izumi are still under a curse."

"I still don't trust our newest ally," the Shield Hero whispered to her, "so I want as many capable fighters here as possible. Since Sadeena just reset her level, she'll need help and Éclair and Grilaroc might not be enough to take her down."

"I can fight too, ya know," Melty pouted with her arms crossed, having managed to overhear anyway.

"No one's saying you can't," Darius assured while using the vassal sewing kit's threads to load up some supplies on the wagon, "but you saw what all S'yne was capable of. You'll be a bit hard-pressed to take on someone of her level." The princess simply sighed, knowing he was right. Atla was also pouting, but mostly because she wasn't getting to go along with Naofumi.

"We should be back within a few days," the Shield Hero informed once they got the wagon and the mounts ready for travel, "take care until then."

"Goodbye! Safe journey! See you soon!" The handful of village inhabitants waved to them as the wagon began rolling and Johann took to the skies.

"It's been a while since we've traveled like this," Rifana smiled while holding on to Darius, "I remember when Johann first became strong enough to carry us both."

"I'm much stronger now," the dragon mount gave his own toothy smile, "carrying three of you isn't a big deal at all!"

"It's so fascinating to think this all started with just the two of you," Izumi mused aloud, "it's almost strange imagining you using a cart temporarily at one point."

"It was very temporary," the weasel girl nodded, "maybe close to two weeks we used that wagon Reichnott gave us before turning it in. Most of that time was us learning not to get lost. After the second Wave we got Johann and travels never been the same since. Though there was a short while I had to get over being airsick."

"You used to get airsick," the horned girl was understandably surprised, "I once heard such an ailment prevented some knights from becoming dragon knights."

"Raphtalia also used to get motion sick," Darius added, "fortunately it turned out that a period of adjustment was all that was needed. We would've had to get creative if the problem had persisted."

"Considering our luck is all over the place I'm glad it was just a temporary problem," Rifana shrugged, "speaking of problems, do we have any sort of a plan for when we find the moron with the spear?"

"More than likely, we'll have to restrain him," the Armory Hero mused, "you two and Raphtalia will need to have your mana weapons at the ready in case we need to drain Motoyasu's mana. As for me, I'll be making use of some of the new tricks I learned today."

Town of Spear Hero Party Member

They landed just outside the town and headed in with Naofumi's group. Darius took this moment to gift Izumi a mana weapon he'd gotten from the armory of the Gold Tyrant: a mana spear. Like Raphtalia's mana sword and Rifana's mana mace it could generate a blade made of the user's mana. It looked fairly simplistic being a black spear with a blue jewel on one end and a round silver ring at the other end where the blade was produced.

He lamented that he didn't have one that was a naginata, but Izumi didn't seem to mind, saying she could try to adjust the blade if necessary. After that they checked in with the city guard and one of the queen's shadows who'd reported the information. It was there they discovered a potential stroke of good luck. "There's someone who looks like a hero in one of the taverns," Naofumi raised an eyebrow at the news.

"I learned this information right before you arrived, so I haven't had a chance to verify it," the shadow informed, "but the description matches that of the sword hero, Ren Amaki."

"It could just be a coincidence," the Armory Hero suggested, "but either way we probably shouldn't ignore it."

"Not when there's a chance it could be genuine," Naofumi agreed, "we'll have to split up."

"I really don't want too but I guess we'll handle Motoyasu," Darius rubbed his head in annoyance, "between the two of us he probably hates my guts less."

"I'll go scout the taverns then," the Shield Hero agreed, "once I'm sure whether or not it's Ren I'll contact you." With that settled, the two parties split up and headed into the town. It was a little crowded but that wasn't unusual thanks to refugees pouring in after the Spirit Tortoise's rampage. Naturally Darius's party regretted that there was little they could do for the refugees but quickly focused back on their objective.

After all, if they didn't get the heroes together again, the destruction from the next sacred beast could prove to be even worse. With that thought in mind they continued through the streets and past the marketplace until they reached their destination: a bakery. Why would the Spear Hero be at a bakery, one might ask, because of who was currently running it: his former party member, Elena Haven. Darius and Rifana hadn't spoken with her much for obvious reasons and Izumi never had a chance to interact with her but neither of them expected it would be a very pleasant reunion.

Those worries were put to the side, however, when they arrived to find they might not have to talk to her at all. "Elena!" The familiar voice of Motoyasu reached their ears, "you're alive! Thank goodness, I thought I'd never see you again!" Unsurprisingly, the short-haired woman didn't look all that pleased to see the Spear Hero, but no one cared to listen to the conversation anyway.

"In position everyone," Darius instructed while summoning a replica of large scissors that were half the length of S'yne's usual pair with snowflake decorations. He hung the weapon on his back and proceeded up the side of the building while Rifana, Izumi and Johann moved around to where they wouldn't be easily seen.

"I don't want other party members I want you," Motoyasu pleaded, "it can be like it was back then!"

"Even if I hadn't been made to take over the family business," Elena sighed, "I wouldn't be able to stand traveling with you again."

"What, but why," the confused spear hero asked.

"Because your cooking is terrible, you were always sexually harassing us, and you're a complete moron," the orange-haired girl listed, "your only good qualities were that you weren't ugly and that you had fame and fortune. But now you're just a broke vagrant. If you want to be with me, try to get somewhere in life."

"You say that like you're an actual catch," Darius commented while hanging upside down next to her. Of course, he couldn't resist using some threads to do the classic Spiderman hang, especially when it caused a former pain in the ass to leap back in surprise. "But I've seen lower class women worth ten of you."

"DARIUS!" Motoyasu exclaimed, backing up a bit.

"Hey Motoyasu," he greeted while flipping over and dropping down to his feet, "looks like you're having a rough time." Instead of answering, the blond spearman turned and ran, causing Darius to roll his eyes. "Plan B." That was the signal for Johann to come streaking out from his hiding spot and kick Motoyasu's feet out from under him.

Darius quickly fired a bind wire from his hand, the sticky thread hitting him in midair before he landed on the ground. Rifana and Izumi came next, leaping from their own hiding spots with their mana weapons ignited which they plunged into the cardinal hero. He let out a surprised yell before his movement more or less ceased, save for some pained groans. Darius didn't take any chances and quickly wrapped him up in thick thread until his upper body was covered with numerous strands connected to his left hand.

"Armory Hero," Elena finally recovered enough to speak, "so you came here looking for him." Instead of answering right away Darius held up his right hand and fired another bind wire, sticking the woman to the wall. "Hey, what in the world are you doing?!"

"That should be obvious," the cardinal hero answered, "making sure you can't get away before the guards show up. I imagine the queen left you where you were as bait to draw out the spear hero, but now that that's taken care of, I recall you still have a number of crimes you need to answer for."

"I already made a deal with the authorities!" Elena exclaimed, "I told them everything I knew, and I vowed not to go adventuring anymore unless given strict permission!"

"Oh yeah," Darius did recall being told something to that effect, "guess I just expected you to be up to something else. Good news is you don't look too busy right now, so as apology I'll take a few pastries and this stuff will dissolve in just a little while."

"What a gentleman, leaving a lady stuck to a wall," the orange-haired woman deadpanned.

"Those are ladies," the Armory Hero indicated Rifana and Izumi, "you, well, it's best I don't get started." With that said, they grabbed a few pastries, most of which were for feeding Johann, and started towards the outskirts of town.

"What is this stuff," Motoyasu asked, trying and failing to struggle out of the thread wrapped around his upper body and weapon, "why can't I teleport?"

"It's an ability I picked up recently called 'Skill Seal'," Darius explained, "the weapon I'm using allows me to generate a special type of mystic thread which can negate the skills of things they ensnare."

"We also took the precaution of draining you of your mana," Izumi informed, "naturally it will recover in time but so long as you don't try to use it, we won't use mana draining weapons on you again."

"I'm sorry, who's this supposed to be," the spear hero asked, naturally not missing how attractive the horned girl was.

"I am Izumi Yama of the Yama clan," she introduced, "I am also the fiancé of my darling, Darius."

"Darling, fiancé?!" Motoyasu repeated with his head moving back and forth between the two.

"It's complicated," Rifana sighed, "we can tell you later once we get back to the kingdom."

"Don't think a prison cell is going to hold me," the spear hero growled, "I might be down on my luck but-."

"We didn't track you down to arrest you," Darius corrected, "the order for your arrest was given because you weren't coming back willingly. The worst thing that awaits you back in Melromarc is a training regimen. It'll be hard work, but you won't be going to prison."

"A training regimen, for what," Motoyasu asked in mild confusion.

"For fighting the Waves," Rifana rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I guess you might've forgotten since you've been wasting your time chasing skirts but the world's still in danger and unfortunately there's no way to transfer a cardinal weapon to someone else, so we have to settle for you."

"I was working on that," the spear hero assured, "I've just been trying to find my party members. Elena's admittedly a bust but the others should be willing to work with me again."

"Tell ya what," Darius really didn't want to argue about this right now, "the queen's put out word to be on the lookout for your party members already. You come back with us and help fight the Waves and I'll put in a word with her majesty to double the effort in the search. When they're found, you'll be the first to know."

"You'd do that," Motoyasu asked in surprise, "you'd even be willing to let Myne into my party again?"

"The worlds at stake, remember," the Armory Hero reminded, "if we've still got a beef when it's all over, we can kick each other's asses then. For now, we're willing to make some concessions, including letting Bitch back into your party."

"That's…I don't know what to say," the spear hero had a dumbfounded look on his face, "thanks."

"Don't mention it, seriously don't mention it," Darius sighed. 'Now to think of a clever way to off a bitch and make it look like an accident.' He shared a look with Rifana and Izumi, both catching on pretty quickly as to what he was thinking. Johann wasn't paying attention, instead whistling a random tune while walking along with his hands behind his head.

"Yo, Naofumi," he pulled up his communication window on his HUD, "good news, we found Motoyasu. How are things going on your end?"

"Ren's right here with me at the Dozing Badger tavern on ninth street," the Shield Hero informed, "he's agreed to help us and we're about to go over-." The sound of something hitting a table interrupted him.

"You mustn't believe the shield demon!" A female voice sounded that Darius could've gone the rest of his life without hearing again.

"Shit, I'm on my way!" Darius kept the window open and started pulling a confused and yelling Motoyasu along at as fast a pace as he could muster.

"What's going on," Rifana asked while she and his other two-party members ran alongside him.

"The bitch is back, and I don't mean the song," he responded while turning a corner.

"Guess that was the last of our good luck for the day," the weasel girl could already feel a headache forming. The group continued on until they found the bar which happened to have Raphtalia and Filo waiting outside of it.

"Oh, Darius, Rifana," she greeted, "you found-."

"No time to talk get inside!" Darius exclaimed while kicking in the door. And with that his day was definitely ruined because there she was, in all her bitchy glory; Malty Melromarc, in a black cloak and currently hugging Ren from behind.

"What the," a dumbfounded Motoyasu was naturally confused at this sight. 'Maybe we can make this work for us,' the Armory Hero surmised, deciding to undo the thread holding the spear hero. No sooner did he do that than the blond spearman started questioning things. "What are you doing with Ren? I've been looking for you this whole time My-I mean Whore!"

"Did you hear that Ren," the redhead asked in mock offense, "he claims he's been trying to find me but calls me a whore!"

"Everyone is bound by law to call her either whore or bitch, Ren, that was the decree at the trial," Darius pointed out, "I know you remember that."

"What he doesn't know is how Motoyasu forced himself on me every ni-GUH," the one known as Whore was, thankfully, silenced by a blast of bind wire that sealed her mouth shut.

"What is she talking about," Ren asked, standing up and moving in front of her protectively.

"She's lying," the Spear Hero tried to explain, "I never did anything like that."

"Then why is Darius trying to keep her from talking," the sword hero barked, "let me hear her side of the story."

"You've heard it all before," Naofumi stood up and pointed to himself, "remember she accused me of forcing myself on her too and that turned out to be a lie. Think Ren, who's more trustworthy here?"

"But she told me you guys were responsible for the Spirit Tortoise," Ren recalled, "all of this happening right now, my party being killed, me being wanted for arrest."

"All lies," Darius countered, "Naofumi and I knew the least about the Spirit Tortoise in comparison to all three of you. The reason we even had an inkling about it was because of a woman named Ost."

"Then explain something to me," the sword hero pointed at the former princess, "why isn't her slave crest activating? It's supposed to activate when she lies, right?"

"I'm pretty sure that new piece of jewelry has something to do with it," the shield hero called everyone's attention to a new necklace Myne was wearing with a red stone. "Why don't we take it off and see what happens." Expectedly the bitch put a hand over the necklace while looking pleadingly at Ren.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Darius raised his hand, ready to use a thread, "this is about to get unpleasant."

"BACK OFF!" Ren yelled, drawing his sword from his back, "don't…touch her."

"Oh, I see what's going on here now," Naofumi sighed, "this isn't just about whether or not Bitch is telling the truth. You want to believe her because you want to believe that what happened to your party wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't," the sword hero growled, "I told you they were wea-."

"Sure, blame it on someone else," the shield hero interrupted, "it's a lot easier that way, especially when it keeps you from acknowledging the truth."

"What," Ren grit his teeth.

"The truth is you treated this whole thing like a game," Naofumi berated, "you didn't think of your party members as anything other than NPCs. It never occurred to you until they were all dead that your party members were actual people who followed and believed in you. They're gone now because you failed as both a hero and a human being!"

"No, it wasn't my fault, it wasn't," the sword wielder's face started twisting into a grimace as he shook his head. Malty tried getting his attention, imploring Ren to pull the sticky thread off of her mouth.

"You stay out of this," Darius warned while drawing his replica weapon from his back, "it's already taking everything I have not to kill you right now!" This got the redhead to back off.

"Myne please, just tell the truth," Motoyasu implored.

"Ren already knows the truth," Naofumi stepped forward, "he knows what he should be doing right now. The reason he's refusing is because it means he'll have to admit he screwed up."

"Shut up," a nervous expression crossed Ren's features as he held up his sword shakily.

"Tell me Ren, what should you be doing right now," the shield hero narrowed his eyes, "what should you be doing besides listening to that whore?"

"I said," his sword began to charge with blue light, "SHUT UP!"

"Are you seriously about to use a skill in a crowded building?!" Naofumi asked in disbelief.

"I'm going to fight for the one who believes in me," Ren readied his sword, "the only one who believes in me, and that's Myne!" He wound up to swing his sword, "Meteor-huh?" He was stopped mid swing by a mass of thread enveloping his weapon, stopping both its movement and the attack. "What, why isn't my skill working?"

"Rifana, remind me to treat S'yne to a meal because this has worked twice now," Darius commented while pulling the threads coming from his left hand taught, "and to answer your question, Ren, the thread currently holding your sword is employing an effect known as 'Skill Seal'. It should be pretty self-explanatory."

"I-Impossible," Ren exclaimed with wide eyes, "this is impossible, you have to be cheating somehow!"

"We had to fight against that ability not long ago," Naofumi informed, "but even without it you wouldn't be able to beat us as you are, that's the reality of the situation. We can show you how to get stronger, how to fight against abilities like these, just come with us." The sword hero's answer to that was to glare at them, grappling with his own inner turmoil. Unfortunately, he was broken from his thoughts when flames suddenly engulfed the threads on his weapon.

"Ren, we need to flee!" Malty yelled, having used her fire magic to also burn the thread off her mouth.

"No you don't!" Darius exclaimed, producing and throwing some sewing needles at Bitch. But in a surprising show of speed, Ren moved in front of the former princess and deflected the projectiles.

"METEOR SLASH!" The misguided hero swung with his now free sword, unleashing a blue slash of energy accompanied by a starburst-like aura. Naofumi moved forward and deflected the attack upward, blasting a hole through the ceiling. Darius reacted quickly and used more threads to catch the falling rubble and prevent it from hitting on any members of the crowd, all of whom were thankfully fleeing now with some encouragement from Rifana and the others.

"Now," Malty grabbed ahold of Ren who quickly activated his portal sword.

"Myne wait!" Motoyasu called, reaching out a hand towards her.

"You abandoned me," Bitch sneered before spitting out her tongue. That was the last thing the spear hero saw before she and Ren disappeared.

"Are you alright, Naofumi," Raphtalia asked, having finished evacuating everyone.

"I'm fine," he assured, "what about you Darius?"

"Pissed at myself more than anything," the Armory Hero sighed while using the threads to set the rubble down gently before dismissing the replica weapon, "I didn't think Bitch would be smart enough to use her fire magic on the threads. What about Motoyasu? He's not looking so good over there." That was an understatement. The Spear Hero was clutching his head, looking as if his entire world was falling apart.

"Why, why are Myne and Elena treating me like this," he mumbled, "why are the townspeople so cold? Why do I keep meeting bad women, why do I…..," his voice trailed off as his eyes wandered over to Filo who was standing next to Naofumi. "Why can't I have what I love."

A sudden surge of pain erupted in his body then as red markings appeared on his face. Purple energy began to pour from his spear as he yelled in agony. Before long, his eyes turned red, and his weapon changed into a form none of them had seen before. "Give me what I love," He drew his spear from his back, "give me the one I love!"

"Outstanding," Darius summoned a monk's spade while everyone else readied their weapons, "our luck really has gone south." An accurate statement, considering what they were now facing, was a curse series weapon.

Always amazing how fast things can go South. Our hero's success has turned into a fight and it's gonna be one of the more uncomfortable ones they've had to deal with. But we'll get into that in the next chapter, so in the meantime feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Also, don't forget to check out my new Pat reon address a : / / www. pat reon MaskedSpider581. Last thing, stop in next time as our heroes must overcome the curse series of another cardinal hero! 'Til then.