Chapter Ten: The Sacred Duel
Talented musicians played a calming, beautiful tune on their stringed instruments. Servers went about bringing dishes and drinks to all the various guests. All sorts of high-class nobles talked amongst themselves or tried to speak to the Cardinal Heroes or their parties.
The celebration was in full swing. The King had chosen a multi-floored room for it. He, his advisors, and some of the highest nobles in the kingdom were up top. Down below, the Cardinal Heroes sat at their various tables amongst the nobles.
And Naofumi. He sat with only Raphtalia at a side table. No noble wanted to be seen near him.
"It's unbelievable how the addition of the Cardinal Heroes turned back the wave of Catastrophe so easily." A nobleman said graciously.
"We owe everything to our heroes." A sweet-looking old noble lady agreed.
"It wasn't just them. I did my part as a royal knight, and stood my ground against a giant monster." The mustached Royal Knight Commander boasted in his group.
'Wow, this is one boring party.' Naofumi looked towards the King where he sat on a throne up above. The King was staring pointedly in a different direction so as not to look at the stain on his kingdom's celebration.
Naofumi smirked. 'There, much better.'
Naofumi smiled to himself at the memory of what had happened when he walked into the party and sat at his current table like he owned it. The king had gone from shocked, to outraged, to downright furious. The first being because the Shield Hero had come to his celebration. The second being because the SHIELD Hero had come to HIS celebration. The third being because the Shield Hero had come to his celebration, and because of his idiotic Royal Commander he couldn't do anything about it except sulk… and possibly take the head of his Commander later.
Naofumi honestly hoped he would. The bastard deserved it.
Annoying the King was his main reason for being there and enjoying the celebration. Much to Raphtalia's ire. He didn't want to converse with anyone or eat any of the food. He just wanted to sit at his table, smiling like a kid at a pinata party while his one night of diplomatic immunity infuriated the Trash King to no end.
It was pleasing in a way Naofumi had never thought possible. It was almost a crime how much pleasure he took in it.
He hadn't seen much of the other heroes and their parties so far despite being on the same floor. Although, he did catch Ren glancing at him every now and then. Some of Ren and Itsuki's party members were sitting one table over from Naofumi. Itsuki was talking to many other different nobles. And Motoyasu, well if that wasn't a scowl Naofumi kept on looking at, he didn't know what it was. Maybe part of his face had been hurt during the fight with the Wave Boss, and now it was to forever look like he was scowling at everyone.
'Probably still thinking that I raped that bitch or whatever.' He didn't really care as he looked away.
"Yeah right, we were the ones that did all the fighting while you cowered behind a barrel shaking in fear."
Naofumi looked at the source of the disturbance. The young Knight, Ake it looked like, had approached the boastful Commander and his group of nobles with a few of his fellow knights. "Don't listen to this man." Ake continued. "We were the ones who fought all the monsters while he cowered behind us."
"What, I don't know what you're talking about-" The commander started to say indignantly.
Ake gasped. "Sir, there's a Zombie Warrior behind you!" He said, pointing behind the Commander.
A large hand grabbed the Commander from behind, and a high-pitched girlish scream escaped the Commander's lips. Ake, his fellow knights, and the one knight that had grabbed the Commander from behind started laughing.
"Ake!" The mustached Commander bellowed.
Naofumi felt his sides aching. It took him a moment to realize he'd been silently laughing at what he'd witnessed. 'Okay. So I guess some knights aren't so bad.' Naofumi watched the now disinterested nobles move away from the distraught Royal Knight Commander, still chuckling with mirth.
One of them passed by a familiar-looking face resting against a pillar. He tried to remember where he had last seen it when he finally made the connection. 'That's the nun that talked to Bitch.' It'd been a while since he'd overheard the two scheming together in the dining room of the inn. But he could still remember that face.
At that moment, their eyes met, only for her to scowl and walk away. Naofumi's smirk grew larger as he leaned back in his chair. 'Heh, I guess she's still mad that I'm alive.' It was weird to take joy in having such thoughts. But he couldn't help it.
He'd learned shortly after arriving at the party that, apparently, Altara and the rest of her Church had never received confirmation if he and Raphtalia had survived the mines or not. They'd suspected the two had lived since they eventually found their dead agents and pinned their murders on him. But it hadn't been until he'd broken into the Church earlier that day that they'd finally known for sure that he was very much alive. The ritual spell that had damaged a lot of Lute Village had been a desperate attempt meant to kill him and Raphtalia off since they were surviving the monsters. But after seeing his shield withstand the attack and after seeing how angry the monsters had become towards them, the Church Agents who had been hiding amongst the knights fled back to the Capital to report their failure and blame it on the Commander.
Oh, and the reason Naofumi had learned about all of this was because he overheard two drunk knights with rosaries on their chest plates complaining about it out in some hallway when he went to the bathroom. He'd almost wanted to jump out and scare them as the Devil of the Shield… he'd really been sorely tempted to do so. But the more they ranted, the more valuable info they dropped. So he listened in and learned some interesting stuff.
Back on hand, he noticed the nun glance back at him. She looked almost rabid with how angry she was. 'Seriously, I wonder what her problem is. She already hated me after I was summoned. Did I not bow properly or something?'
Then again, he could have easily accepted Itsuki's party invite and avoided the damage he'd caused to the Church on his way to the dragon hourglass.
But where was the fun in that?
There was one issue, however, he also learned from the ranting knights. The Church was aware that Raphtalia had grown up now since she'd fought by his side during the Wave. He figured they couldn't hide that fact from them forever. However, now that it was known, he realized that it was going to be much harder for them to sell their wares in whatever village they went to. He and Raphtalia would be instantly recognized by the Church's agents unless he could come up with another way to hide their identities.
But this was future Naofumi's problem since right now, present Naofumi knew that nobody could lay a finger on them. No one wanted to deal with him since they were afraid of the rumors circulating about him and his demon-like tendencies.
Who knew that'd again work to his advantage?
"Mmmm, master you should try this. It tastes delicious," Raphtalia said happily next to him as she dug into some dessert. It looked like a rich creamy chocolate cake. No doubt it was made from the finest ingredients.
He smiled at her. "Sorry, Raphtalia. I still can't taste anything." Naofumi pointed out.
Raphtalia rolled her eyes. "Come on, you haven't even tried it." She said. She put some on a fork and moved it towards Naofumi's mouth. "Eat." She ordered.
"I already said I don't want to," Naofumi said, rolling his eyes at her as he crossed his arms and looked away.
Raphtalia pouted. "Master Naofumi. You're acting like such a kid." She scolded him.
"Okay, I am not acting like a-" Naofumi said, facing her again. "Umf!"
Raphtalia smiled in victory. "I can't believe the same trick you used on me when I didn't want to eat something also works on you." She said happily.
Naofumi gritted his teeth, forcing himself to feel the food Raphtalia had put in his mouth. Besides the different texture to it, it tasted the same as everything else he'd ever eaten. Like nothing was there. He swallowed it. "There, I still couldn't taste anything, happy now?" He asked her grumpily.
She smiled widely for him. "Of course." She said happily.
Naofumi groaned. 'Yeah, right? And to think Raphatlia wanted to explode earlier when I said we were going to the palace to annoy the Kin- I mean, to celebrate.' Which was understandable. She didn't trust the knights or their promises. She also didn't want to see her master get thrown into a dungeon because he wanted his unarrestable presence to infuriate the King.
However, as soon as she'd seen the food they were offering here, it was like she had completely forgotten why she hadn't wanted to come. And now she was eating like she had been before she grew from a child into a young adult.
"Careful, you'll get fat if you continue eating like that," Naofumi said dryly, with a hint of humor in his voice.
"After how much I leveled up today I don't care, I'm starving!" She said, not even trying to defend herself.
Naofumi's stomach grumbled unhappily in response. He grimaced as he looked down at it. 'She has a good point. I think we both increased 4 or 5 levels because of the wave today.' It had been the most they'd ever gone up in a day before. Just to make sure, he quickly checked their levels. His had gone up to 29, and hers had gone up to 33. 'Hell, we did go up a ton today! No wonder why she's so hungry!'
"And I'm sure it'll make up for us not getting any reward money Master Naofumi," Raphtalia reasoned happily, continuing to eat.
...
Naofumi realized that Raphtalia made a very good point. So instead of teasing her more, he accepted her logic, steeled himself, and grabbed some food off a passing server's tray. "Then continue eating till you can't eat anymore. If that piece of Trash won't pay us for defending his kindgom, then we're going to eat him out of house and home."
"Mmkay!" Raphtalia shouted happily through a mouthful of food.
Naofumi looked down at what appeared to be a slab of steak with some vegetables on the side. It looked like it had been cooked to perfection, but one bite confirmed that it still held no taste despite receiving the best cooking. 'Damn… just... damn…' When would he regain his taste buds?!
He forced himself to continue eating. 'Someday, I'm going to figure out why I can't taste food anymore. Then I'm going to learn how to taste food again. Because I'm getting sick of this bland taste in my mouth.' Not even the nasty glares he received from the king every now and then were enough to improve his mood while eating.
"And the latest reports say that there were very few casualties. Less than ten in the whole village." He heard a nobleman say nearby in a different conversation.
"But in the last wave, there were hundreds of casualties in the region of Seaetto." A noble lady said in surprise.
'I'll ask Raphtalia about that later. She did say her village was destroyed in a wave. I wonder if that was the area it was in.'
"We can thank our heroes and knights for keeping the numbers so low." The nobleman replied.
"Are we sure we can thank all the heroes though?" The noble lady asked skeptically.
He could have sworn the two nobles were glaring at the back of his head at that moment. "To believe the nerve of that Commander. Letting that useless thug into our midst." The lady snorted indignantly.
"There's nothing we can do about it, Lady Diana." The nobleman said to her calmly.
"Then why don't our heroes try to do something to deal with this filth?" Lady Diana asked the nobleman.
Naofumi stopped listening to their conversation. 'Because they're too busy with the party to want to bother with me. And unlike you, they realize that Raphtalia and I were defending that village.' Honestly, this was also why he and Raphtalia got a table for themselves. He could have never survived having to talk to the puffed-up idiots in tuxedos and gowns around him since it looked like all of them hated him for one reason or another. For the shallowest and most ignorant of reasons.
Smh. Typical of nobles.
"Wait, one of them is going to him now." The noble lady behind him said excitedly.
Naofumi looked up and saw Itsuki. Only, the lady had been mistaken. He was walking by, not going to him. "Hey, Itsuki, do you still think it was a good idea for me to come here?" He asked loud enough that he knew the Bow Hero would hear him.
A small frown appeared on Itsuki's face, other than that he ignored the Shield Hero and went to converse with some other nobles that wanted to talk to him. 'Yeah, that's right. Eat your words from earlier you spoiled Robin Hood brat. They wouldn't believe me even if the evidence was right in front of their faces. Surely you can see that now.'
"So Master Naofumi, how much longer are we planning to stay here?" Raphtalia asked.
"Well, since you reminded me that the King decided to take the reward money he had set aside for me and used it to finance this party... We'll leave after I feel like you've eaten back all our reward money." Naofumi responded, smirking up towards the king. He received another glare in response. 'Hell, I might receive my reward just by watching the faces the King is making right now. Why are there no cameras in this world?'
"... why do you keep making those weird faces?" Raphtalia asked.
"What do you mean?" Naofumi asked.
"I can't help but think that you're thinking rude thoughts whenever you make that face of yours, Master Naofumi."
…
"Just eat before your food gets cold." Naofumi dryly said.
"Got it." She responded happily before getting back to eating.
Could she tell his thoughts just by reading his face? Crap, he hoped that didn't come back to bite him in the future.
'Anyway, if I'm seriously getting no reward for defending a whole village, then I might as well get my money's worth out of this.' And based on how much Raphtalia had already eaten, and the rate that she was eating, he was very sure he'd reach it within the hour. 'Though that also means that we might not be able to afford everything we'll need before leaving the Capital…' Naofumi then realized. 'Damn. Would I even be able to afford Raphtalia'a armor from Elhart? That King just keeps on wanting to screw me over, doesn't he?'
...
He had taken another bite of his food and noticed that Myne had managed to detach herself from Motoyasu to go up above to speak to the King. But before he could think much of it, somebody sat down in the chair next to the Shield Hero. He turned his head and saw that it was Ren, the hero of the Sword. He had his legs crossed and his face held a distant, almost aloof expression on it. "You do realize that it was a mistake to come to this party, right Naofumi?" Ren asked without turning to face him.
Naofumi shrugged. "I helped with the Wave. I was promised that I wouldn't be harassed by the knights while I was here. I deserve at least something for doing that." He responded.
"That's not what I'm talking about," Ren said, he turned his face away as if to make talk with one of his party members sitting across from him at the other table. The other table's seats were full, as all of Ren and Itsuki's party members were now sitting, eating, and chatting with each other. It looked perfectly reasonable for Ren to sit at Naofumi's table so he could talk to his party members. Only, one of his party members, Welt, a swordsman, already knowing Ren's plan, started to pretend to talk back to Ren while Ren actually spoke to Naofumi.
"The Knights are all sworn to not attack you tonight because of the Commander's Promise. But the Knights of the Church of the Three Heroes made no such promise."
Naofumi froze mid-bite. "What do you mean?" Naofumi asked, his curiosity hooked.
Ren didn't face Naofumi and continued as if he was talking to Welt. "Some of the knights here aren't Aultcray's.." Ren nodded his head, and Welt talked back meaningless chatter to fulfill the ruse. They didn't want it to be shown that one of the four heroes was talking to the Shield Hero, lest Ren was suspected by Myne too. Fortunately, Myne and her Father were busy talking with each other in hushed tones.
Naofumi glanced in the direction where Ren had nodded his head, and saw a knight in full armor glaring at him from a side hallway. He did not look like Ake or any of his fellow knights. And when looked at closely, the Knight had a rosary etched on his chest plate.
Realization lit in Naofumi's mind while Ren continued to speak. "The Church of the Three Heroes has some of their own knights planted here, and I doubt the King realizes it. They're not as strong as his Knights, but I overheard that as soon as you and your slave friend leave this party, they're going to ambush you out in the courtyard and make it look like you were attacking a squad of Knights. When that happens, the Commander's promise will become void since everyone will be convinced that you initiated the attack and they'll be able to imprison both you and your friend." Ren said seriously.
Naofumi's eyes narrowed down at his plate. 'What the hell. Couldn't I just have one night of $%^&$#! peace since I helped with the WAVE?!' He'd figured the Three Heroes Church would be angry with him for breaking into their Church and registering himself to the Dragon Hourglass without their consent, but this was ridiculous! He freaking fought off the wave and likely protected some of their followers!
"Any idea why they're going that far to bone me?" Naofumi asked.
Ren shook his head. He'd only overheard some drunk knights in a random hallway. And having his party members listen around had confirmed his suspicions.
"Raphtalia, I want you to finish up," Naofumi said to the still eating demi-human.
"Hrmm?" She asked through a mouthful of food.
"Finish up. We're leaving." Naofumi said to her. 'And I was really hoping to stop by Elhart's shop. I guess we won't have a choice now. Not like we had much money to spare anyway.'
After eating through three cakes, enough parts to make a whole pig, and goodness knows what else the servers had passed by with on their trays; she was starting to get... somewhat full. She could have eaten another pig if she wanted to though. Increasing five levels really gave the Tanuki girl a serious appetite. If they were in trouble though, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make.
"Even if you try to leave now, it sounds like they'd be ready and waiting for you with speed reduction magic on hand for your exit," Ren warned. "You won't be able to avoid them."
"Then why are you telling me about this?" Naofumi asked Ren, doing his best to keep down his frustration.
Ren still pretended to talk to Welt. "Because I found it suspicious that night when the King's daughter claimed that you raped her, only for her to quickly end up in bed with Motoyasu." Ren turned his head to glance at Naofumi. "I had a good friend back in my world who almost got raped in a VRMMO. Even though I managed to save her in time, she was conscious of other people outside that game we played for years. I know what rape victims look like. And Myne hasn't acted like a rape victim at all since you left." His eyes narrowed. "I don't fully trust you, since you did run away back then, Naofumi, but I trust that Princess even less. And I get the feeling you stumbled upon a plot hook none of us were meant to activate."
'... Well, he still comes off as a jerk. But if he's really willing to help me out...' Besides, Ren was supposed to be worshipped by the Church. It was likely that he knew more about them because of that… But despite the Sword Hero's seemingly reasonable explanation for his actions, Naofumi found it hard to trust him. Or anyone else. The fact that he called what he was going through a plot hook did not help, at all. Did he still think this was all just a game?!
Still, he had nothing to lose so he humored the guy. "Alright, let's pretend for a moment that you're not part of the Church's elaborate plan to lead me somewhere out of sight into an ambush. How do you propose for me and Raphtalia to get out of here without the Church Knights attacking us?" He asked in a mocking tone.
"You don't." He looked towards Motoyasu at that moment. Naofumi followed his eyes and saw that the Spear Hero had Myne at his side again, and she was whispering something into his ear. "Through my party's eavesdropping, I also figured out that Myne is looking for the perfect idea to hurt you since you can't be formally arrested tonight. I had a squadmate leak some information to Myne. If she's really the type of person I suspect she is, and if she goes through with it, I'll be convinced that she's working to ruin you."
Naofumi saw an angry look move over Motoyasu's face. He then glanced and saw the King observing the lower floor without any hint of glaring, looking more thoughtful instead. As if he was thinking about how to intervene in something at a moment's notice. The Spear Hero stood up, calmly looking in Naofumi's direction. "What did you leak to her?" Naofumi asked, having a feeling of dread settle in his gut.
"Something that will keep the Church Knights from being able to openly interfere now. Just don't ruin your chance, and expose Myne. Otherwise, Itsuki and I won't be able to help." Ren said as he got up. He went to where Itsuki was standing to talk to him.
Naofumi looked back down at his plate and took the last bite of his meal. Ren had given Naofumi all the puzzle pieces, he just had to figure out how to put them together. Though the approaching Motoyasu had him unsure if he should just bolt right now instead of figuring out Ren's end goal.
"Master Naofumi, I'm ready," Raphtalia said around a bite of cake as she stood up.
For some reason, Naofumi didn't get up. Internally, he decided to see where this would go. It might have been the last bit, Ren telling him to expose Myne, that made him sit down long enough for Motoyasu to approach.
He'd do anything to ruin her.
"Naofumi."
A glove hit the ground in front of Naofumi. Naofumi looked down at the glove, and then up at Motoyasu's face.
"Time to fight," Motoyasu said in a deadly calm voice.
All chatter in the dining room stopped, and everyone stared at the two of them.
...
"It's about time somebody stood up to that piece of garbage." A noblewoman said.
...
"What are you talking about-" Naofumi started to ask in a confused voice.
"I've heard that you made this poor girl here your slave." Motoyasu continued in that deadly calm voice, interrupting Naofumi. "And that she obeys your every command." He stated it as a fact, not a rumor.
'... ... Damn you, Ren!' How had he learned about that!?
Still, he had to admit, it was a pretty good out Ren had given him. If he was forced to fight Motoyasu then he couldn't be attacked by the Church's knights and imprisoned unfairly.
The problem was, he had to fight Motoyasu, instead of a group of Church Knights. And he somehow had to expose Myne while doing that.
The Sword Hero must have been really bad at creating these on the fly plans.
"So what if Raphtalia's my slave? Why do you care?" Naofumi asked, his voice bland.
"Watch your tone," Motoyasu said. "You can't seriously be saying that it's alright to enslave others!" He said a little more angrily.
"Really?" Naofumi asked while standing up. "Cause I'm pretty sure that more than half the nobles in here also have slaves back at their own manors!" Naofumi yelled, making sure he was heard by everyone. Including the King.
"In case you didn't notice, slavery isn't illegal here Motoyasu."
Raphtalia set her plate down. "Um, Spear Hero, this really isn't necessary. Master Naofumi has been good to me-" She tried to say.
Motoyasu's face twisted into a scowl. "As if. You can spout your lies all you want Naofumi, but I'm here right now to free this fair maiden from your clutches!" He yelled at Naofumi.
"Did you not just listen to a word she said? Raphtalia said I've been good to her!"
"Myne told me how slave crests work! She's not allowed to say anything that'll go against what you want her to say right now!"
Raphtalia got up angrily, her tail bushing out in agitation behind her. Naofumi glanced from Motoyasu to Myne to the King. He also saw Knights beginning to assemble near the exit.
The puzzle pieces Ren gave him came together. Though Motoyasu didn't see it, Naofumi could already see through the plot Myne had made with her Father.
'So, that's how they want to play it, huh?' He thought. 'They want us to resist and try to leave so they can separate me and Raphtalia and set up a duel on their terms. And if I attack them, the Commander's Promise will become void and I'll be thrown into the dungeons… and Motoyasu is trusting enough of Myne that he'll follow whatever it is she tells him... Thank goodness Ren gave me advance notice.' He still wanted to punch the guy. This was stupid! Couldn't he have come up with some OTHER grand idea to get his %$# out of this mess?!
Regardless, he had to play with the hand he'd been dealt.
"Alright then. If you won't take Raphtalia's word for it, then you're on," Naofumi said. Much to Raphtalia's, Myne's, and most everyone else's surprise.
"I accept the duel!"
There was a moment of shocked silence. Allowing Naofumi to think things through his head.
'Even if I try to refuse and manage to get me and Raphtalia into the hallway by intimidating the Royal Knights, we're going to be ambushed by Church Knights after we leave. And if Myne really wants me dead, she'll take it as an opportunity to have Raphtalia killed for supporting me. Blaming her slave crest as an excuse for having to take such a drastic measure. I have to do this willingly now on my terms if I want to keep Raphtalia and me from having to suffer at their hands!'
Since it was still silent, Naofumi began speaking again. "If I win, then I get to keep Raphtalia, and we'll both be allowed to leave the Capital without further harassment from anyone!" Naofumi yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. Including the King and Bitch.
"But, but that's not fair." Motoyasu tried to complain. Myne also opened her mouth to speak.
"And if I lose." Naofumi cut off the red-haired bitch. "You can set Raphtalia free and only throw me into a dungeon!"
Raphtalia stared at him in surprise. "But, but Master Naofumi-" She tried to say to him.
He looked at her, and she saw the look of sadness in his eyes, but also the look of determination. He shook his head at her, telling her to be quiet. She remained silent. 'That's what Myne had plotted to do to me, and that's exactly what I've heard the King planned to have done to me.' He looked back at Motoyasu. "Those are my terms. I have more to lose than you Motoyasu. And you'll never have to see my face again. Do you accept?" Naofumi asked, his voice containing a challenge to it.
Motoyasu growled. "Fine, you're on." He said before Myne could come forward to intervene. To try and convince him to go for a different deal. He almost wished Myne had spoken before Motoyasu. Maybe that would have been enough to convince Ren and Itsuki.
But now the duel was set. On his own terms.
That was what Naofumi had been counting on. Motoyasu accepting before his bitch princess could interfere. 'Take that, bitch.'
Naofumi looked around at the assembled nobility. "While I'm at it, I want to make it clear that no one wanted to help me from the beginning! Everyone who signed up to support me was either executed or imprisoned, though I doubt that you'll believe me on that! I also doubt that you'd believe I learned of people plotting to have me killed! But from my point of view, I had no other choice but to run away and purchase a slave if I wanted to survive!" Raphtalia looked surprised next to him after learning what had happened to Naofumi's original support group. "Raphtalia may be my slave, but at least I've done my best to treat her as a person instead of an item to be tortured and abused, unlike some of you!" He paused to glare harshly at some of them. "... yet if you worthless idiots are so determined to think of me as a heartless criminal that's siding with the devil, then you can burn in hell for all I care! Mark my words, one day you'll get what's coming your way for everything that you've done!"
Having made his point, and with some of the nobility either feeling ashamed or enraged at his words; Naofumi looked directly at the king. "Well, Trash King?! Do you want us to duel here amongst your guests, or did you have someplace else in mind!?" Naofumi asked the King with a challenge in his tone. "After all, I'd hate to tear up this giant garbage dump that you call your castle!"
The King growled down at him. He'd been hoping that the Shield Hero would try to resist so he could make it more unfair on Naofumi. But to do that now would make him look like the bad guy instead of the Shield Hero. And some of the nobles appeared troubled by the words that Naofumi had said. He couldn't have this… fiend turning his own nobility against him! No, he'd rather die.
"There will be no fighting in my palace." King Aultcray said calmly, before looking to the Knights. "Prepare the arena!" He ordered them.
"Yes, your Majesty!"
Everyone began clearing out of the room, heading towards the arena in the middle of the Castle Gardens.
Naofumi stood in an almost pitch dark cellar. To the side of him was a stockpile of various weapons. He tried to grab for a sword, only for his hand to get shocked away. The familiar notification that he couldn't use a weapon other than the legendary weapon appeared in front of his face. 'Damn, so I'm still stuck at level 29, with low attack power to deal with Motoyasu.'
He pulled up his shield menu to look at the shields he could possibly use for this fight. Because of some of the monster drops Raphtalia had brought to him, he'd gotten even more passive defense stats. A stinger from a dimensional bee had increased his attack stat!… by 1...
It was something.
Oh, and there was also the- oh, wait. That shield increased his agility, not his attack. Damn it.
However, the real game-changer for him was that she'd managed to bring him a few pieces of the chimera monster that the heroes had fought in the forest that drastically raised his defensive stats. He looked over one shield in particular. 'This… should I use it?'
He was surprised to have gotten such a shield with a powerful counter on it, but it wouldn't look good if he used it. It might just make people think he really was evil if he used it on someone else.
He dropped the shield menu and looked down at his hands. On his right wrist right above the shield was one of the slave cuffs that Raphtalia normally wore.
...
The two of them stood in the dark unlit room together. Raphtalia was helping to make sure that his armor and cloak were on properly. "Master Naofumi, forgive me if I'm being rude, but I just noticed and I can't help but wonder: what are these squirming bulges that you're trying to hide under your cloak?" She asked.
"Oh, it's just a surprise for Motoyasu. I picked them up on the way to the Capital. Just in case I needed to threaten someone." Naofumi said lightheartedly to try and cheer her up. She'd looked so sullen ever since he'd accepted the duel with Motoyasu.
…
After a moment, Naofumi sighed. "Look, I know you don't approve of this Raphtalia." He said seriously to her. "However, I didn't have a choice. It was either try and get out of the King and Princess's scheme or walk head-on into another one that had a higher chance of killing us. Of killing you."
...
"You're regretting going to the party now, aren't you?" She asked sadly.
He shrugged. "Maybe a little bit… but it was fun while it lasted… …"
Raphtalia looked up into his eyes. "Would the other way have allowed me to protect you, Master Naofumi?" She asked sadly. "Here, all I can do is watch from the sidelines."
"Hey, you can still keep watch in case they try to do something to interfere with the duel." He said. When that didn't make her feel better, he gripped her shoulder. "Raphtalia. I know you would fight for me if you could. But this is my fight." He smirked. "And I have no intention of losing it. Or you."
Raphtalia blinked up at him, even as tears filled the corners of her eyes. She quickly unclasped one of her slave bands off her wrists and handed it over to Naofumi. "Here, take it." She said quietly. She didn't need them really since Naofumi never chained her. Rather she used them to keep her sleeves from moving during a fight. They had become as much a part of her as anything else.
"Why are you giving me this?" Naofumi asked her curiously.
Raphtalia clasped her hands nervously in front of her. "Because I don't want you thinking you're going into this battle alone Master Naofumi." She said quietly. "And I know that I'm not worth much just like this slave band... but if it helps you to remember that you have someone there who supports you, then-" She tried to continue.
"Raphtalia." Naofumi cut her off. "At this point, I could care less about what you think you're worth." Her eyes became sad at what he said.
"... because a bag of gold coins would be worth nothing compared to you."
Raphtalia looked up at Naofumi in surprise. "Don't undervalue yourself Raphtalia. You've been keeping me sane ever since I bought you. I've trusted you and told you things I never told anyone else before. And you haven't stabbed me in the back." He clasped what Raphtalia termed as her 'worthless' slave cuff to his right wrist, just above his shield. He handled it as if it were a priceless heirloom. "It's going to take more than a stubborn idiot hero and a foolish trash king to change that." He said seriously.
For a moment, Raphtalia was shocked. Then, her eyes softened, and a tear fell down the right side of her face. Her tail wagged happily behind her. "Thank you, Master Naofumi." Before Naofumi knew what was happening, Raphtalia hugged him and laid a quick kiss on his cheek. She then backed away, her face flushed a bright red in the darkness of the room.
"Be careful out there. Sir Shield Hero. I'll be rooting for you."
…
Naofumi's thoughts returned to the present. 'Damn it! I'm not a lolicon! I'm so not a freaking lolicon!' He shouldn't be having these thoughts about Raphtalia! She looked like a freaking high schooler for crying out loud! And more than that, she was only ten years old! He was literally twice her age-
He wanted to groan, why did he keep automatically judging her by his human standards? The fact that she matured much more quickly than a human was more than enough evidence to suggest doing that was a very bad idea.
That'd be like saying a toddler could be legal just because he was fifty years old. That's beyond stupid! At what point does age get thrown out so a fantasy race can be judged by ACTUAL factors pertaining to them?! He really needed to get his common sense adjusted to this fantasy world, otherwise, he was really going to offend a lot of different people!
"The duel between the Spear Hero and the Shield Hero will now begin!" A voice announced outside to the crowd, dragging Naofumi out of his thoughts. He slapped himself to try and focus. His very low attack power, glaringly obvious now, kept him from feeling the slap. 'I guess there's not much else I can do now.' Though one of his hands ghosted the side of his face where Raphtalia had kissed his cheek.
Odd, even with his high defense, he could still feel the warmth that the brief kiss had left behind on that area. '... ...'
"The duel will end only when one of the combatants is either pinned or admits that he has been defeated."
After a moment, the doors in front of him opened, revealing an empty hallway. He walked out through them towards the field of the duel arena. He breathed in and out calmly. 'Alright. All you have to do is expose Myne. That's all you have to do, and then you're out of here.' He thought encouragingly to himself. 'It'll be easy. You just have to not distract yourself with thoughts of Raphtalia.'
He walked out into the large arena.
Up above, the nobles cheered for Motoyasu, who came out of the wall opposite of him at the same time. Naofumi saw that on his left was King Aultcray with several of his knights around him. On his right was an older man on a similar throne. He was dressed like those Church people, except his robes looked more elegant, and he had what looked like a Pope hat on his head. Several nuns and priests, including Altara, sat around him.
All around them in the stands were the various nobles and even a few citizens of the Capital who'd come to watch the Sacred Duel. Down below by the left wall was Malty, and by the right wall was Raphtalia.
"This duel will take place in the presence of King Melromarc, and the Pope. And it is thus legitimate, and official." The announcer for the duel yelled over the din of the people.
'Scratch that. This won't be easy. It's going to be difficult as hell.' Naofumi thought realistically. How the hell was he supposed to get Myne to expose herself? Did Ren think that she'd interfere with the duel?!
"Sir Motoyasu! Best of luck!" Malty said happily to her favorite hero. Motoyasu gave her a smile and a wave while approaching Naofumi.
Hmmm, now that Naofumi thought about it, it didn't seem farfetched. Maybe he didn't have to win. Maybe he just had to gain the advantage.
Raphtalia said nothing, but she gave him an encouraging smile. He felt grateful that she had chosen to be down on the battlefield as well, even if she wasn't participating. He circled the slave cuff on his wrist. 'Raphtalia… I'll win. Somehow. I promise.' He thought while touching the spot on his cheek where she had kissed it. He tried his best not to imagine it in a romantic sense. But the thought helped to bring him determination.
Up above, Itsuki and Ren sat next to each other in one of the back rows. Both of them calmly watching the two heroes down below. "You were right," Itsuki said to Ren. "Myne did exactly what you said she would..." He leaned forward in his seat. "So there really is a chance that Naofumi was telling the truth."
Ren's eyes narrowed at Naofumi down below. Myne really did want Naofumi out of the picture. Yet he didn't know why she had a personal vendetta against him. Or maybe it was for a different goal altogether. One that Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu hadn't been told about yet.
Why didn't he know anything about this storyline from his game? It was infuriating how this was the best he could come up with to expose the princess.
"Let's just hope that Naofumi doesn't lose this duel outright and that he provokes Myne into interfering. Otherwise, there'll be nothing we can do to help him." He'd be able to investigate Myne and the Church, but by the time he'd expose them, it might be too late for Naofumi if he was imprisoned after the duel.
Motoyasu and Naofumi stopped in front of each other. Both giants in their own right. One which represented the people of the Kingdom, and the other which represented the outcast they'd branded as a devil.
Naofumi found it ironic since it was obvious now that the real devils were supporting Motoyasu.
"Hey Naofumi, in your world, did you ever hear the folktale about the unstoppable spear and the immovable shield?" Motoyasu suddenly asked.
Naofumi said nothing. Motoyasu shook his head in response to the silence. "Well, never mind that then." The Spear Hero spun his spear around and then held it in an attack stance. "Naofumi, be a man and admit defeat!"
Naofumi continued to calmly stare him down. "And spend the rest of my life in a dungeon?" He asked. "Not happening." He opened the menu on his shield and changed the shield on his arm to the Light Metal Shield. He held it up in a defensive pose in front of him.
Motoyasu didn't reply, and instead did the same thing Naofumi had done. Changing the tip of his spear into a different spearhead that looked reminiscent of a thick three-pronged trident.
The two stood in their stances. Waiting for the start of the duel...
...
"Ready, begin!" The announcer yelled.
"Hahhhhhgh!" Motoyasu yelled as he charged forward, and jumped high up into the air to attack Naofumi from above.
It was Naofumi's first real fight against another person in his life, yet he quickly blocked one strike to the front, a second from the side, and a third in front again. His armor didn't impede his movements in the slightest. 'Thanks, old man. Your armor idea actually does work.' He appreciated the extra agility.
Motoyasu was in the air above Naofumi, his spear still trying to pierce the shield on his third strike. "Not too bad! I guess the Shield Hero has a few moves!"
"You got that right," Naofumi spoke in a calm voice. "So in this folktale battle between a spear and a Shield." Motoyasu was caught off guard by the calm look on Naofumi's face. "Did you know that the spear actually lost, when it couldn't pierce the shield!" He yelled before he finally pushed Motoyasu back with the shield.
Motoyasu landed on the ground over a dozen feet away. "Face it Motoyasu, you lost the moment your spear couldn't pierce through my shield!" Naofumi yelled tauntingly back.
"Urgh! Nobody here would ever accept a defeat like that!" Motoyasu yelled, pointing his spear at Naofumi as he activated a skill on his HUD. "Chaos Spear!"
He dashed forward quickly thrusting at Naofumi again, but at over four times the speed he had before. Naofumi moved his shield as quickly as he could left and right, trying to block all the strikes, but one of them near the end knocked his shield out of the way. He jumped back gasping in pain as he felt blood surge out from two new wounds in his shoulder and side.
"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled worriedly.
"Keep going sir Motoyasu!" Malty yelled from her side. "Show the Shield Hero how worthless he is in a fight!"
Motoyasu grimaced, however, when he saw that the skill had actually done little to no damage to Naofumi's HP bar. The wounds were very shallow. Barely little more than papercuts under Naofumi's armor. 'Damn it. Naofumi's higher than average defense stat might actually make this a little more tiring than I imagined.' Naofumi couldn't deal any damage by himself but it'd take a lot more than that to bring him down.
He grit his teeth as he stood back up. 'I won't win by standing still.' He charged forward.
Motoyasu was caught off guard by how quickly Naofumi ran due to the way his Barbarian Armor was designed. He tried to charge forward to impale Naofumi with his spear, but Naofumi moved the spear out of the way and punched Motoyasu in the gut with his shield, lifting the Spear Hero up into the air.
Clang!
Malty started laughing into her hand. "He's trying to strike using the shield? That'll never-" She stopped speaking though, and her smirk was replaced with a look of surprise.
"Ow! What?!" Motoyasu yelled in pain as he stepped back to look down at himself. How had Naofumi's punch hurt?! He'd heard the ineffectual clang that accompanied it too!
A single orange balloon was now chewing on Motoyasu's side. It hadn't been just a punch. "Ow! Get it off!"
"A balloon?!" Malty yelled incredulously. "Used as a battle weapon?!"
Raphtalia smiled widely on the side, finally realizing what the bulges beneath his armor had been. 'That's Master Naofumi for you. Fighting dirty like always.'
Naofumi backed away and finally opened his cloak. A smirk came onto his face as he showed the half dozen or so balloons munching on his body underneath. Shocked gasps and outcries came from the crowd up above. 'Ha, even if he takes no damage, he still feels pain when he's attacked by monsters.' Maybe that was another perk of his shield.
"Tell me, what the hell are you up to?!" Motoyasu said angrily.
"It's true that I don't have any attack power, but I have no intention of losing against you. So if you want to fight me, then I'm going to use whatever I have to hurt you as much as I can to win!" Naofumi yelled, hurling another balloon from off his body at Motoyasu.
"To hell, you will!" Motoyasu yelled, swinging his spear through the balloon and popping it. He then charged for Naofumi to impale him with a different spearhead, while Naofumi's shield glowed as it changed to a different shield. "Come on Shield Hero! You're going to fight fair-"
His spear came in contact with a different shield. Unlike the others, this one had two dog heads on it. Naofumi smirked as the dog's eyes glowed red, before extending to bite at Motoyasu. "Ow, hey, get off of me!" Motoyasu yelled as he tried to jump back. But the dog heads elongated further off the shield and kept following him to bite at his arms.
'Counter skill of the Two-Headed Dog Shield. They bite at the target for up to thirty seconds after being attacked directly. While their damage output is low, they hurt almost as much as the real thing!' Naofumi noted. He didn't need 30 seconds for what he did next.
"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi yelled. A green shield appeared in front of him, and it thrust forward into Motoyasu's gut similarly to how he'd used it on the monsters in the wave. Spittle came flying out of Motoyasu's mouth from the force of the hit.
"Shield Prison!" Naofumi yelled, throwing several balloons at Motoyasu at the same time.
The Air Strike Shield dissipated just as a familiar green-plated chain ball appeared around Motoyasu, trapping him inside. Motoyasu shook his head and gasped, trying to recover the air he had lost from the last hit. However, his eyes widened in fear when he saw several pairs of glowing red eyes appear in the darkness around him. Eyes that lit up the teeth of some hungry-looking balloons.
"Ow! Hey! Stop that! No! Hey, that hurts!" Motoyasu yelled inside the death trap that moved around with his struggling. With how small the ball was, he couldn't maneuver his spear around to hit the balloons. So, like Naofumi, he was having to resort to using his fists to try and deal with them.
And, unlike Naofumi, he didn't have fists of steel to punch balloons with.
"Ow! My fingers!" Chomp! "Aughhhh!"
Naofumi smirked in his spot. 'Wow, at the rate I'm going, I might not even have to use that shield.'
Malty growled in her spot. "There's no way." "The Shield Hero is actually overpowering the Spear Hero." Some of the nobles started to mutter to each other in the crowd up above.
"The Shield Hero is really overwhelming the Spear Hero."
"How is he doing that?"
"There's no way. He has no attack power."
Altara looked at the Pope worriedly as the nobles whispered amongst each other. He couldn't just be allowed to break into and desecrate their Church with his presence! Yet the Pope was softly smiling. "Patience Altara. The Spear Hero won't go down that easily. Have a little faith." He said to her in a calm voice.
"Does the lowly Shield Hero really think he can best the Spear Hero?" Lady Diana said loudly in the crowd.
"Have you no honor for a sacred duel?!" A nobleman said angrily.
Naofumi approached the Shield Prison, glancing at Raphtalia as he did so. She was smiling really widely for him at that moment, letting him know how proud of him she was. For some reason, he smiled back. Even though he could hear the nobles up above trying to yell discouraging things to him. The fact that Raphtalia was smiling at him made him not care about what was being hurled at him from up above.
They didn't matter.
"Is it time for you to admit defeat, or do you want to get embarrassed even further, tough guy?!" Naofumi yelled confidently.
At that moment, the Shield Prison disappeared. Motoyasu was leaning on his spear, with several balloons still munching on him. "And why would I ever surrender now?" He tiredly asked.
Naofumi looked down at him with a blank face, seeing determination still shining in Motoyasu's eyes. "Alright I see," Naofumi said. He grabbed two more balloons from under his cloak. "I guess I'll have to take aim at that handsome face and precious manhood of yours if you don't want to give up!" He said, his face taking on the same crazed look he'd found effective on the thieves long ago.
"Uh!" Motoyasu suddenly didn't look so sure about continuing now.
Naofumi raised his arms above him. "Might as well since you think of me as a cowardly cheat!"
A look of fear went over Motoyasu's face. "Aughhhh! No-" He yelled while he curled in on himself.
Raphtalia's eyes widened. "Master Naofumi! Behind you!" She yelled.
Naofumi gasped in surprise and turned in time to see what looked like a physical gust of wind heading right for him. His shield quickly changed from the Pipe Shield to the Light Metal Shield, and the dome of magic energy encompassed him right as the spell hit against it. Just like it had when the magic skill Burning Arrows had been falling down all around him in the Village of Lute. This time, he strained to keep his footing as the wind surged around him.
'What the hell?' He was confused. The balloons he'd been holding were carried off by the wind.
Naofumi looked past the barrier he'd made, and saw a smirking Malty standing in her spot. Her hand was outstretched, still glowing pink from the spell she'd just cast.
"There." Itsuki pointed out the magic spell Myne had cast.
Ren's eyes narrowed. "Alright, let's go and stop this duel now." The two of them stood up from their seats.
"That's cheating!" Raphtalia yelled.
'You mean, she can use magic too!' Naofumi realized. He hadn't thought this was how she'd interfere. He deeply scowled. 'That bitch!' The warm feeling in his chest was displaced by the more familiar rage and hatred he had bottled up for this bitch ever since the night he'd learned that she was going to betray him. "Aughhhh!" Naofumi screamed in rage. Up above, Ren and Itsuki stopped moving and looked back down below at the screaming Naofumi.
"Yaghhhh!" Motoyasu got back up, clearing the last balloon off his body before flying forward, his spear raised to strike at Naofumi.
Naofumi quickly turned, his eyes widening as he barely avoided the attack that went sideways past his head. 'The fight!' He had to stop this fight so he could slug Myne! Why expose her when she was, she was-
"Doesn't Motoyasu realize that Myne interfered?" Itsuki said incredulously.
"Didn't you see that?!" Naofumi asked in disbelief as he blocked the next few strikes that came at him. "Myne just tried to cast magic on me! That's illegal interference! I've won!" Naofumi yelled at Motoyasu as he blocked another direct strike to his chest area, pushing him back away from Motoyasu.
"Myne would never do something like that, you coward!" He yelled, bringing his spear back. "Now, Lightning, Spear!" Motoyasu yelled. Motoyasu's spear glowed a bright blue as electricity coursed through it, and then Motoyasu launched the beam of energy at Naofumi.
"Crap. Why is that idiot still fighting?" Ren asked.
Naofumi quickly brought his shield up in front of him, but he hadn't realized how grateful he'd be to still have the Light Metal Shield equipped. Because even with its extra defense, the elemental skill attack managed to burst through and pierce into his gut. "Argh!" Naofumi gritted his teeth, feeling the jolt of electricity go through his body and bring him to one knee. His HP bar dropped sharply from the attack.
"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia cried worriedly.
"Give up Naofumi! I won't let you win no matter what you try!" Motoyasu yelled.
"What can we do?" Itsuki asked Ren.
The nobles were whispering to each other near them. They'd obviously seen the wind magic coming from Myne. But most of them looked at the King, and then shut their mouths to continue watching the duel. Ren observed their behavior and then grimaced.
"Even the King is in on Myne's scheme," Ren realized.
Naofumi growled and stood back up. He set one foot back and leaned forward slightly. 'I might not wield a sword... but Raphtalia still helped me learn how to move fast!'
His heel dug back into the ground, and then he burst forward through the air. Almost as quickly as Raphtalia had when she nearly lopped off the Knight Commander's head at Lute. Motoyasu's eyes barely had time to widen before Naofumi slammed his shield into Motoyasu's face, his other arm wrapping around Motoyasu to bring them both down to the ground.
"Augh!" Motoyasu gripped at the shield covering his face.
"How about you try escaping from this Motoyasu!" Naofumi yelled as he moved to bind the Spear Hero with his body.
However, right as he was about to complete the hold to allow an effect called grapple to work, Motoyasu's armor glowed brightly, and an unseen force sent Naofumi flying off him several dozen feet away.
"What the hell?!" Naofumi yelled as he got back up. 'Was that more magic or something!?'
Motoyasu, however, was smirking knowingly this time as he got up. He rubbed at his nose. "I guess you wouldn't know about it, Naofumi, but you can have armor and other equipment enchanted in this world. My current armor not only gives me resistance to fire and wind attacks, but it also has an enchantment that gives me full immunity to being immobilized by my enemies!" Motoyasu yelled.
Naofumi blinked in surprise. What kind of bullcrap enchantment was that?! His face twisted into a look of horror. 'No. If I can't grapple him, then even with that shield I won't win-'
"Meteor Thrust!" Motoyasu continued the assault, no longer satisfied with going soft on Naofumi. He twirled his spear, forming a blue portal. Then he thrust his spear up, moving the portal so it was above Naofumi.
"Shield Prison!" Naofumi yelled, surrounding himself with his own green-plated chain ball skill in an effort to buy himself time to think of a way to take down Motoyasu. He was out of balloons thanks to Bitch's spell.
A blue ball of energy like a meteor came out from the portal, slamming into the top of the Shield Prison. In one second, the ball shattered around Naofumi, launching him back into the air. He had a stunned look on his face. 'You mean he has a skill powerful enough to break that!?'
He slammed into the ground, and groaned as he worked on getting back up. "Air Strike Javelin!"
The red gem tip of Motoyasu's spear started spinning, and then he threw a red ethereal javelin at Naofumi.
"Air Strike Shield!"
The green shield appeared in front of Naofumi. But right before the Air Strike Javelin struck it, it curved and traveled around the shield, striking Naofumi in the side. The force of the impact was so strong that Naofumi was launched back into the back wall of the arena, leaving an impact crater where he hit. He crumpled to the ground at the foot of the wall.
"Owww…" Naofumi groaned in pain. 'Why… why is this happening?'
"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled worriedly.
"Yes! Keep it up Sir Motoyasu!" Myne yelled with new vigor filling her tone. The nobles up above cheered the Spear Hero for turning the battle around seemingly on his own.
"Crimson Thrust!"
The tip of Motoyasu's spear burned with fire, and as he thrust forward, the burst of fire exploded forward. Covering the Shield Hero in flames.
Naofumi let out a pained groan, but even though it hurt, he still tried to get back up. He still had half a bar of HP left. He still had a chance. Somehow, he had a chance. He couldn't let it all end here…
"Still want to fight, Naofumi?! If you aren't going to give up, then you leave me with no choice," Motoyasu said as Naofumi turned to face him. He lifted his hands into the air. "I, Motoyasu the Spear Hero, have deciphered the laws of creation." He started to chant.
Naofumi's eyes widened. 'You mean he can cast magic too?!'
"I command the elements to heed my call. To gather themselves, and to strike my target with a fiery vengeance!" He raised a fist to the air. "I call forth, Hundred Fiery Javelins!" Motoyasu finished.
In the air above Motoyasu, many hot, fire covered javelins appeared one after the other. Like row upon row of burning soldiers. Their red, crackling, blazing tips all pointed at one shocked Naofumi. A Naofumi who moved back against the wall, fear plastered on his face. 'What the hell is that?!' He cowered in the face of such a powerful fire magic spell.
Again, the nobles cheered at the sight of such a powerful spell in a sacred duel. Even Altara and some of the nuns with her cheered for the Spear Hero. 'Yes! Finally! It'll finally be the end of the Shield Hero!'
Aultcray smirked happily.
"This is the end for you Naofumi! I will free Raphtalia from your evil clutches once and for all!" Motoyasu yelled. This attack was going to cost the last of his SP and all of his MP, but it was his strongest magic-based attack. There was no way even Naofumi's Magic Resistance would stand up against something like this.
"Yes, do it Sir Motoyasu!" Malty said excitedly. "Beat him so we can save that girl!"
Naofumi growled like a cornered animal. Their words bothered him for some reason, but he couldn't tell why. 'I'm going to die because of her! And no one's going to care that the king's daughter interfered!' He despaired.
He found his thoughts heading towards that same dark place from before. He had honestly never felt so much hate and hopelessness coursing through him before in his life. 'What's the point… this whole duel was obviously rigged. No one would believe me, not with the King and the head of the State Religion here…'
It had all likely been staged so that Myne could interfere without anyone caring. Because everyone here wanted to see the Devil of the Shield fail… something Ren probably hadn't accounted for.
Why did he even set this all up? Ren should have realized there was no way Naofumi could have won on his own. Not when he was the most worthless hero in terms of attack power.
Or was he right. Ren had been in on this too.
He'd been a fool to think the Sword Hero actually wanted to help him.
'There's no way I can win. I never had a chance...' He hung his head, accepting what was about to happen.
...
"Master Naofumi!"
He gasped, being pulled out of his thoughts. He looked to the side. Raphtalia was standing close by, holding her hand over her heart. She no longer looked worried and was smiling for him. Everything else was pushed aside, even the current duel as the scene focused on her.
"I know you can do this Master Naofumi... I believe in you!"
…
The darkness disappeared from Naofumi's mind. 'Raphtalia.' He glanced down at the slave cuff on his right wrist. He had almost forgotten the whole reason he'd been fighting so hard this whole time. Could he really give up now...
Ren stared from up in the stands at Naofumi. Myne had already exposed herself like he thought she would. Itsuki was still asking what they should do. But he stood there, indecisive.
Naofumi stared down Motoyasu and breathed in calmly. 'No. I can't lose here. I won't!' He thought determinedly. Not here, not now. Not when everything was on the line. He'd find a way to win! He would win this duel! 'I won't lose Raphtalia and everything else I care about here! I won't let it happen!'
Stupidly enough, he started to walk slowly towards Motoyasu. His eyes burning with determination even though everything was literally pointing to his end.
Motoyasu shrugged. "Suit yourself." Motoyasu brought his hand down. "HAH!" The rain of fiery javelins passed over his head and flew towards Naofumi. Sounding like an incoming gust of much deadlier wind than what Myne had conjured earlier.
Malty laughed into her hand again, after seeing Naofumi staring down the incoming javelins. "Really, is he that desperate to lose? He's walking right toward his defeat." She asked out loud as Naofumi made no move to dodge.
Up above, Ren and Itsuki watched with wide eyes. "What is he thinking? There's no way he could dodge that many javelins!" Itsuki shouted.
Ren began to move. He realized that Naofumi wasn't going to dodge. He was walking headlong into them. "Come on, we both saw what Myne did, we can still stop this before Naofumi gets killed and-" However, he noticed something that made him stop. "Wait, is his shield, glowing?" He asked.
Naofumi's gem had switched over from its natural green glow to a light blue. This time, the glow extended out from his Light Metal shield, forming a glowing blue wall of energy that pulsed with power in front of Naofumi as he walked forward. Hope burned brightly beside his determination in his green eyes. Brighter than all the javelins flying right at him.
"What is that-" Itsuki started to ask.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!...
The fiery spears slammed into Naofumi's figure, exploding against the barrier one after the other. The nobles, the nuns, the King, the Pope, Ren, and Itsuki all had to look away as the dust cloud enveloped them. Down below, Myne covered her face with her hands, while Raphtalia covered hers with her cloak. 'Master Naofumi…'
The whole arena became covered in dust and smoke. The booms that came from the still hitting Javelins were deafening, causing some in the crowd to have to cover their ears. Until finally, after a few seconds that felt like an eternity, it stopped.
It took a moment, but then the dust settled enough to reveal Motoyasu smirking. The smoke and dust were thick in front of him. There was no way Naofumi was going to get back up after that attack. Up above, everyone slowly turned to look back down below. "Did he…" "Is it…"
Ren and Itsuki watched with critical eyes. "Do you think he..." Itsuki trailed off, looking down below.
"Come on Naofumi," Ren whispered. "Prove us wrong and show us what that shield is really capable of."
Thinking his victory was assured, Motoyasu sunk the tip of his spear tiredly into the ground. "And that is that-" He was saying.
However, he was stunned into silence when Naofumi came charging out of the smoke. His cloak trailed dramatically behind him, and his shield glowed a bright blue in its Light Metal Shield Form. In fact, the Light Metal Shield almost looked like glass with how translucent it was. His health bar had dropped to almost 25%, but he didn't seem to have a single new scratch on him from the last attack. His face still held the same calm determined glare. The one that said he'd refuse to lose now.
"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled happily. Her tail wagged furiously behind her with glee.
"What?!" Myne yelled with shock. Similar gasps of surprise came from up above in the nobles section.
"Just how tough is Naofumi," Itsuki said in shock. Honestly looking impressed that Naofumi was still standing after that spell.
"I knew it," Ren said with a smirk. His defense was tougher than Motoyasu's spell. Maybe being a tank had more advantages than he'd thought.
He wouldn't be so quick to discount the shielder class in the future.
"What the hell-" Motoyasu tried to yell.
"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi yelled.
Naofumi didn't waste time as he decided right then and there to take over the duel. Another large green shield thrust from Naofumi's shield, slamming into Motoyasu's chest again. Motoyasu was knocked back at least a dozen feet from the force of the hit. He quickly worked on getting back up, the Legendary Spear reappeared in his grip. "How are you still standing!? That spell's supposed to have enough power to bring down a boss monster-" He was yelling in shock.
"Shield Prison!" Naofumi yelled, pointing at the ground below Motoyasu's feet this time.
Motoyasu was thrust up into the air by the green chain-plated ball that formed beneath him. "Wahhhh!" He yelled in surprise and shook his arms at being launched.
"Rope Shield! Lasso!" Naofumi yelled. His shield changed and unraveled to form a fifteen-foot long rope with a lasso tied at the end. Spinning it around, and with an accuracy that could have only come from the effects of the shield, Naofumi thrust the lasso through the air and caught Motoyasu. Securing the lasso around his chest before Motoyasu peaked in the air.
"Hey, what are you- wahhh!" Motoyasu was suddenly screaming again as he was spun around again and again and again high up in the air.
Up above the nobles were staring in shock at what was happening down below.
"No way."
"How is the Shield Hero still standing?"
"For him to take that spell head-on…"
"No, it can't be," Altara said in shock.
Ren sat back, a satisfied smirk on his face. "I'll be damned," Itsuki said next to him. "That is impressive."
Ren didn't reply. He only continued to smirk. 'Come on Naofumi. You're almost there.'
"Keep it up Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled encouragingly. "You're going to win!"
"Sir Motoyasu! Stop playing around and break that rope already!" Myne yelled, agitation filling her voice.
"I'm, I'm trying!" He yelled back in worry. The multiple revolutions Naofumi was putting him through were beginning to make him nauseous. And he couldn't get a good grip on the rope wrapped around him with one hand still clutching the Spear. He moved it to his back, but it was still hard to try and grip the rope through the dizziness. 'Did I use too much energy using that one spell!?'
He'd never looked closely at the spell's description before. Had he looked a little more closely, he would have noticed it had a cooldown timer for when he could cast magic again.
A timer of about... two hours at his current level.
From the outside, it looked like Naofumi was spinning Motoyasu faster and faster. Despite the continuous revolutions, he wasn't feeling dizzy at all. In fact, he'd never felt more energized in his life!
'I can do this! I will do this! I won't allow this world to beat me down! I will win! I WILL WIN!'
At that moment, an option for a combo skill appeared in front of his eyes on his HUD. He didn't question what he had to do. He had never used a combo skill before, but somehow he knew it would work. So with one final twirl, Naofumi released the rope and pointed at the air.
"One more time! Air Strike Shield!"
Boom!
The rope disappeared from around Motoyasu, and he flew out of his arc back into another green translucent shield. A pained gasp of air escaped the Spear Hero as he slammed into the shield that now looked the same color as his face.
"Add Shield! Form, Compression Shield Prison!"
"Ack!" Motoyasu was suddenly encased in the very familiar ball of chains and plates. On the inside, the Air Strike Shield jutted out instead of disappearing, pressing him fully against the Shield Prison's surface. "N-Naofumi-" He gasped.
Naofumi held an open palm in front of him. "One more!" As his mouth opened again, his eyes glowed a bright blue as his shield changed to the translucent Light Metal Shield. The nobles gaped in shock at the display.
They'd all called him a devil. They'd all claimed that he was evil.
Yet, at that moment, he had the eyes of a towering angel, glaring judgment on his trapped victim as he glowed with power.
"FOOLISH MORTAL!" Naofumi's voice sounded different. "YOU STAND CONDEMNED FOR YOUR UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENTS HERE TODAY! I DISPENSE MY JUSTICE ON YOU, AND STRIP YOU OF THAT WHICH PROTECTS YOU MOST! I CAST MY WORDS TO THE HEAVENS!" The ball of chains and plates started to glow bright green in response to his words. Motoyasu's screams came from inside.
Naofumi closed his fists.
"NOW SUFFER! HOPE! ASUNDERRRRRRR!" The Shield Hero roared with every ounce of his hope and determination to win backing his words.
Kch!
This time, the thing that had happened that day in the Capital long ago happened again. The Air Strike Shield and Shield Prison's glow changed from green to blue. Then the two skills both shattered, dropping Motoyasu out into the open air.
In slow motion, the blue energy covered Motoyasu. And then one by one, bits of his armor shattered just like the two skills had, dissipating into blue energy. His gauntlets, his chest plate, his leggings, his arm guards, all of it shattered into a blue mist.
"*Gasp*" With a gasp of shock, Motoyasu fell back down to the ground, dressed in only his under briefs.
Naofumi breathed in and out heavily, his SP bar drained on his screen until it was close to 0. His shield stopped glowing blue at last and turned back to the Rope Shield. 'That skill…' It had been just like the day he'd run from the Capital.
The looks of shock on the crowd up above were priceless. Ren and Itsuki leaned forward in their seats, both looking speechless. Both the Pope and the King were wide-eyed at what they'd just witnessed. Even Malty and Raphtalia were shocked down below.
"There's no way," Malty said in disbelief. "The Shield Hero... just shattered... Sir Motoyasu's expensive armor..."
It was impossible. Yet it had happened.
Raphtalia grinned widely. "I knew Master Naofumi could do it."
Motoyasu groaned as he slowly tried to get back up. His armor might have been gone. He might have had no more SP or MP. His HP bar might have taken a beating from the skill... But if he could crawl, he could still win. He could still free Raphtalia. He could save that fair maiden from…
"Lasso!"
Rope wrapped around Motoyasu's body, pinning him to the ground. The effect grapple finally appeared on Naofumi's status screen. It had been something Naofumi had read in the help guide after reading on the waves. Apparently the higher his defense was, the easier a time he had keeping opponents still, especially unarmored ones that didn't have bull crap enchantments helping them out.
So unless his opponent had an attack stat that could beat his defense stat he could hold onto them for as long as he had to with the rope.
"No, ack!" Motoyasu yelled in pain as Naofumi forced the rope to tighten.
"Face it, you've lost Motoyasu!" Naofumi yelled.
"Never, I'll never give up to the likes of you!" The armorless Motoyasu, who despite his nausea, yelled as he struggled to free himself from the rope.
"You have nothing left Motoyasu! I still have one last shield up my sleeve you haven't even seen yet! Just give up now and admit defeat!" Naofumi yelled down angrily. He just wanted it to end. He wanted Motoyasu to admit that he'd won!
The nobles up above watched in stunned silence at what was unfolding down below. Motoyasu continued to struggle through. Naofumi grimaced as Motoyasu began to fray a section of rope with his struggling. 'Damn, just how high is his attack stat?!'
"I'll never give up! Not until that girl is freed from the likes of scum like you!" Motoyasu yelled angrily up at Naofumi.
...
He'd thought it'd only been his form of trash talk this whole fight. But Motoyasu was saying it as if he really believed he was nothing but scum. But why? What had he done? What were they accusing him of this time… unless…
"Do you… no, you think I'm raping Raphtalia." Naofumi said in a quiet voice.
"Of course I do! That's why I'm trying to free her from you, bastard!" Motoyasu yelled back at him as he intensified his struggles.
...
'IS THAT THE WHOLE REASON WHY HE CHALLENGED ME!? IT WASN'T TO FREE MY SLAVE! IT WASN'T TO GET BACK AT ME FOR MYNE! IT WAS BECAUSE THIS PIECE OF CRAP ACTUALLY THINKS THAT I'D RAPE RAPHTALIA!' His mind quickly became consumed with rage. It was nothing like what he'd felt towards Myne.
This... this went beyond that. For him to suggest that he'd even do something like that... to Raphtalia of all people! All on the word of a lowly bitch!
"That does it! Chimera Viper Shield!" Naofumi yelled, fury completely filling his words.
The shield on his arm changed at his voice command. Motoyasu looked up as he was freed from the rope, but his eyes widened at the new menacing shield that appeared over his face. It was bigger than Naofumi's default Small Shield and was mostly green with two gold vipers intertwined on it in the middle of the ornate gold design. One of them released itself from the shield to hiss down at him.
"What the hell?!" Motoyasu yelled.
"Normally this shield would help give me a certain amount of poison resistance!" Naofumi explained the shield's properties. "But one of its other useful abilities, Snake Venom Fang, makes the vipers come alive at my bidding. They then bite whatever target is foolish enough to get close to me!" Naofumi said, his face taking on a crazed angry look. "The snakes hold the same venom as the chimera it came from! And that means they're just as capable of fatally poisoning monsters as they are of poisoning you! I hope you have a strong antidote handy Motoyasu. Because the normal ones won't work on stuff like this! And even if they did, this should be enough to leave ONE HELL of a massive scar on that handsome face of yours! Much more than what a balloon would have done!"
The head started to slither down towards Motoyasu's face. "Wait, PLEASE, have mercy!" Motoyasu yelled in a begging tone as he backed away.
"Give up the duel and leave me and Raphtalia alone! I won't ask so nicely again!" Naofumi yelled angrily. His face was red with fury. "What'll it be Motoyasu!?"
Motoyasu looked up at him, his eyes wide with fear. Naofumi continued to glare down at him. Part of him was pleased with the fear Motoyasu held for him now. Another part was hoping that Motoyasu would say no just so he could poison the stupid jerk. After everything, he'd had to go through because of that bitch…
Said bitch was watching in shock. Even she hadn't expected Naofumi to have a shield like this unlocked already. And if she were to try and cast wind magic now, it wouldn't be quick enough to stop the snake from biting her favorite 'hero'. Naofumi, realizing this, laughed evilly in his mind. 'Finally, they fear me! Now no one will step down on me! No one will stop me! I'll show them their place in the natural order! I'll show them! I'LL-'
A hand gripped Naofumi's shoulder, and he looked up in surprise. Raphtalia was standing over him. Tears were in her eyes. "Please… please stop this, Master Naofumi." She said quietly.
'Ra… Raphtalia?' He thought confusedly. What was she doing? Why was he interrupting the moment of his greatest triumph?
"I know this isn't you. I know you don't want to hurt anyone. Please, stop this."
Naofumi gasped and looked down at the terrified Motoyasu. All of a sudden, all the rage, all the dark thoughts that had been coursing through his mind vanished.
'What the hell am I doing?!' He'd only wanted to win. He hadn't… he hadn't wanted...
He immediately backed away from Motoyasu, the viper retracted back onto the shield and the shield changed into the Small Shield. "Ra, Raphtalia?" Naofumi said to himself, tears filling his eyes. He didn't like Motoyasu all that much, the guy was a naive idiot who went to bed with BITCH!
But he didn't want to kill the guy...
Raphtalia quickly hugged Naofumi. "It's okay. You did it Naofumi. You won." She said, crying into his shoulder. 'For a moment, it felt like he was going somewhere far away. Somewhere where I felt he'd never be able to return from.' She looked up into his face. 'Thank goodness he managed to pull back in time.' Relieved, she rested her head on his shoulder again.
Naofumi sighed, and rested his head on top of hers, releasing a few of his tears. He almost felt like a little child, because he wanted to break down in her embrace after what had just happened. And while he didn't visibly break down, the tears came falling from his eyes as he tightly embraced the Tanuki girl.
Motoyasu quickly backed away, grabbing his spear from his back to point between him and Naofumi. 'That damn-' His thoughts stopped. "... what?" He whispered.
Naofumi was gripping this girl in a way that he recognized. He'd seen it enough times in his life being the womanizer he was. It was like she was the most precious thing in the world. Naofumi didn't care what was happening around him at that moment. All he was thinking now was that he didn't want to leave that moment… And how he never wanted to let her go.
Seeing what was happening, Motoyasu let his speartip drop back to the ground. The heartfelt moment being shared between them was enough. The exhaustion and faint nausea might have also played a part.
There was no way their feelings could be faked.
"Alright, Naofumi. You win." He said defeatedly.
Up in the stands, Itsuki and Ren sighed with relief. Naofumi had won. Even without that, they'd seen what Myne had done. They knew who was in the right now. And it looked like they didn't have to interfere after all. They began to walk away.
Naofumi and Raphtalia both looked at him. The two realized that the duel wasn't over. But the tired look on Motoyasu's face filled them with hope. "What?" Naofumi asked, not sure if he'd heard him right.
"I, the Spear Hero, admit defeat," Motoyasu said.
…
Naofumi almost felt like cheering. It was over. It was finally-
"That's illegal interference!"
Naofumi looked to the side in surprise as did Motoyasu. Malty was approaching with the King and several knights. "That demi-human of his interfered by walking onto the battlefield! The Shield Hero has lost this duel!" Malty yelled victoriously.
Gasps of surprise came up from the crowd up above. Ren and Itsuki stopped in their tracks.
'... what?' Ren thought.
'... what?' Itsuki thought.
'... what?' Naofumi thought in shock, as he and Raphtalia looked at each other.
The audacity of this bitch...
'There's no way anybody would seriously buy that BS… right?'
Till Next Time
Allen