Chapter Fifty-One: Liberation of Melromarc, Part One
"Where is he?!"
"That Devil's here somewhere!"
"Find him!"
A group of knights ran down one of the hallways of the castle. Adorned in their metal armor, with rosaries gleaming on their chests. They were one of many groups searching the castle.
Soon after they had passed, Naofumi and Raphtalia reappeared from her illusion spell, stepping away from the wall where she'd hidden them. "I hate Church Knights. So much." He muttered.
Raphtalia didn't respond, as she was instead pulling out another Magic Healing Water and drinking it down. The two then continued running.
Their first foray after exiting the Dungeons had been as expected. A large group of knights had been waiting for them. They'd all yelled and charged, yelling to take down the Devil of the Shield.
You know.
Classic stuff.
Instead of staying and wasting time dealing with all of them, Naofumi used two of his Shield Skills to block off the main hallway so Raphtalia could dispose of the few knights guarding a secondary hallway, allowing them to flee deeper into the castle before the Shield skills disappeared.
The knights had been after them ever since.
"I think the Throne room is this way." Naofumi and Raphtalia turned down a hallway.
They ended up surprising a group of knights. Maybe it hadn't been the right way.
"Hah!" Raphtalia plowed one with her shoulder, launching him into a wall.
"Air Strike Shield!"
Naofumi's summoned shield slammed into the guts of several different knights. They stooped over from the hit, which gave Raphtalia plenty of time to knock them away into various walls and statues with the flat of her blade. Knocking them out.
"It's the Shield Demon!" "Get him!" More knights ran down the hallway. Screaming with determination to take down the pathetic devil.
"Royal Shield!"
The knights slammed into the gold-colored barrier. He was guessing that thanks to his higher defense stat, that was the reason why the skill didn't crack from the force of at least a dozen knights slamming into it all at once.
It left them dazed long enough that Raphtalia was able to jump in the middle of them all. She slashed, kicked, and even headbutted one knight away.
Within seconds, she was surrounded by dazed, wounded, groaning knights.
It was really sad. Royal Shield was his weakest skill. If they couldn't even crack that, then they were really wasting their time trying to fight these small fries.
Though Naofumi did quickly stop and used a healing spell on Raphtalia. One of the knights had gotten lucky, and left a small gash on her arm.
While they were nowhere close to being able to hurt him, they could still hurt Raphtalia. "Thank you."
The pair continued on. "Do you think Filo and Melty will be alright?" Raphtalia asked worriedly.
"I tasked them to be near the Castle Walls for a reason," Naofumi replied sagely.
During their conversation before, Filo had perked up. Somehow, Fitoria had been talking to her? He didn't understand how or why since Fitoria was nowhere close to them by then. But apparently, Fitoria told Filo that she and her flock had passed a large column of people deeper in the forest, marching in the direction of the Capital. She'd told Filo as a warning in case it was more bad people. But when she'd mentioned they were marching under a purple emblem.
Melty had brightened at the news.
Melty argued it was her mother, and that she'd be at the Capital soon with her army escort. So on the off chance that she was right and Fitoria had somehow talked to Filo, Naofumi assigned her and Filo to scout the city and study the Church's defenses after they snuck the Hero's parties in. If the Queen really did come, she'd have Filo and Melty to give her a tactical advantage.
And if she didn't, well, at least they'd both be safe and out of harm's way.
He heavily doubted that she was coming. After what the royalty of this country had shown thus far. The woman better take after Melty and not her husband or first daughter. Otherwise, they were going to have some issues.
Besides, the dad in him wanted to keep his daughter out of the most danger possible. And the two kids were basically inseparable by this point. He might as well give them a task that kept them both together.
Raphtalia didn't speak for a moment. Then, when they'd passed a statue of the Pope, holding a rosary of Three Heroes Church in both palms, she spoke about what happened earlier. "Do you think the Spear Hero will help us?"
"... I don't know. But I doubt he'll try to fight us now." He muttered.
"... I feel bad about what we did to him," Raphtalia admitted.
"... I do too," Naofumi said sadly.
It had been necessary, but he didn't feel better about having done it. Especially since he understood intimately what Motoyasu was going through right now. It was the same thing he'd gone through the night he found out Bitch was going to betray him. He'd had help from Erhard and Raphtalia to get through it. And it still took him the better part of a month to mostly get over it.
He wouldn't wish for anyone to go through the hell he personally went through.
They turned another corner and hid together behind a desecrated statue of Aultcray as a squad of knights marched past into another hallway. After a few seconds, they continued forward.
Naofumi felt that they were almost to the throne room. It had been so long since he'd seen this part of the castle. But he still remembered that first day, looking out at the view of Castle Town for the first time. He was seeing that exact same view right now on his left as they ran up some stairs.
"I think we're almost there," Naofumi warned her.
Her ears flicked on top of her head. "Odd… I'm hearing fewer knights this way?"
She had a good point. He wasn't hearing any other knights nearby. And that squad had been smaller than the last few they'd seen. "Maybe they didn't expect us to get this far…"
They were silent a little while after that. Naofumi heard the knights' footfalls and shouts. But it was getting fainter and fainter. They then turned another corner and ahead of them stood the closed great doors of the Throne Room.
There were no knights in front guarding it.
"Or maybe, this is a trap. And they want us to reach his Excellency." Naofumi said dryly.
…
Raphtalia looked worried. Her tail was starting to stand on end. "Naofumi." They stopped and looked at each other.
"Yes?"
She looked down at the floor nervously. She was wondering if they should wait. See if the other Heroes would arrive soon or not.
But Eclair had a long way to run and meet them... and the longer this went on, the more innocent people would suffer.
"I… I… … … no. We're going to get through this." She said, determination filling her voice. "Trap or not, I will help you put a stop to this madness."
She was beyond tired of letting these idiot people hurt them and ruin their lives. They were the ones that destroyed her village. That enslaved her and all her friends. That killed Rifana, beat little Maya, twisted the Spear Hero, and did so many other unspeakable horrible things.
She was done with them. She wasn't going to let something like fear or anxiety stop her now.
If it was a trap. She would make them regret thinking they could ever trap them both.
Naofumi nodded and gave her a small smile. "Through hellfire and brimstone."
"Through hellfire and brimstone." She agreed.
The two marched determinedly up to the doors. And with a great kick, Raphtalia crashed them open.
"Ah... It's been a while. You're looking well."
The Throne Room looked almost exactly like Naofumi remembered it. The long, wide hallway of stone was decorated with fancy carpet. Two thrones rested on top of a stone platform at the end. Balconies lined the sides of the room.
However, a few things were different. Flags with the rosary of the Three Heroes Church hung from the walls. The same symbol hung over the two thrones. And sitting in one of them, holding a weapon that looked oddly similar to Ren's sword, was the Pope himself.
The older-looking man stood up as Raphtalia and Naofumi approached. The light refracted off his glasses as he smiled.
"Devil of the Shield."
Itsuki peaked over a rooftop. He was currently hiding himself using a stealth skill. And he was scouting out the area around the Church.
"You see anything unusual yet?" Ren quietly asked. He was pressed against the roof tiles. He didn't have stealth skills like Itsuki.
After a moment, Itsuki slid down next to the Hero. "It's odd. There's... no one there." Itsuki said.
"What do you mean?"
The stealth skill turned off, revealing Itsuki again. "I mean I've been examining it from different angles with my skills. And I'm not seeing anyone or anything powerful in there." Itsuki said. "It's like it's been abandoned."
"Do you think the Pope is concealing himself?"
"If he can use my Bow, then maybe he'd be able to use that stealth skill on himself too. But he'd need a lot of mana to do that. There aren't enough people around here to supply it."
"Damn," Ren grumbled. On the bright side, the absence of followers definitely meant the Pope wasn't here. On the downside, it meant they'd have to sneak through the more defended parts of town. "Hopefully, Naofumi figures it out from Motoyasu." He made to slide off the roof towards the ground.
"Ren, I was thinking."
Ren stopped. "Thinking what?"
Itsuki twiddled his fingers nervously. "I know we need to take down the Pope… but I think we need something to help convince the people that the Church has been lying to them." He said. "I think if we want to have a chance at winning, we need the people to know the Truth."
...
Ren thought about it. "Maybe… but I can't think of anything… unless we find something like that history book Wyndia read," Ren said. "Maybe we could have our parties search the Church while we continue scouting the city." He suggested.
The parties were currently hiding in the back of Filo's wagon in the supply crates. Filo had disguised herself as a normal Filolial, and Melty was dressed in long robes and a hood. "Wouldn't it be easier if we helped them search the Church?" Itsuki asked.
"I… well…"
An explosion sounded from the next street over. Itsuki and Ren immediately stood up and ran.
"You insidious, little-" Eclair stabbed her sword through the Church Shadow's gut. The Shadow gurgled, and the next fire spell he'd been building up dissipated from his hands. "Go to the hellhole you belong in!" She threw the Shadow's body away from her into a stand.
Nearby, Filo's wagon was tipped over. And on fire.
"Nooooooooooo!" Filo was in her girl form, crying over the remains of her first and favorite wagon.
It had been a miracle. It had still been in the bushes where she'd hidden it with everything inside!
Now, it was destroyed and on fire!
Nearby, the bodies of other Church Shadows littered the ground. Some of the party were outside the wagon, holding their weapons and looking around frantically. The rest were still pulling themselves from the wrecked remains of crates that had been launched out of the wagon when the ambush started.
Ren and Itsuki jumped down from a rooftop. "What happened here?" Ren asked.
"Filo was pulling the cart along when Eclair charged out from the wall!" Melty quickly started to explain as the party members pulled themselves from the wreckage. "Before we could ask why she was there, we got ambushed by these Shadows!" She pointed to the bodies. "Her quick warning gave Filo enough time to blast us out of the wagon with her wind magic before the wagon, well..." She didn't need to finish.
"But not enough time for Filo to save Filo's wagon!" Filo cried.
The wagon covering collapsed in a heap of sparks. Melty started rubbing the girl's head in sympathy as she cried.
"Damn, I guess Naofumi didn't grab everyone's attention with his little stunt," Ren grunted.
Filo pouted angrily at Sword Guy. Why couldn't he be sadder about her favorite possession that she'd finally been reunited with going up in flames?!
Sure, they'd only been parted for a week, but it'd been the longest week of Filo's entire existence!
HE WAS SO MEAN!
"Speaking of which, why are you here Eclair? I thought you were with Naofumi and Raphtalia?" Ren asked.
Eclair cleaned her sword off on one of the Shadow's bodies. "I came to inform you that the Pope is in the throne room of the Castle." She said. "Naofumi got the information out of the Spear Hero."
"That's great. Let's go get the bastard then!" Bakta yelled. Lifting his greatsword up high.
"Not so fast. Me and Itsuki have something for you all to do." Ren said calmly.
"We did?" Itsuki quietly asked.
"Yeah, we did," Ren whispered back to him.
The parties looked at the two confusedly. "What do you mean? Isn't our whole goal to take the Pope out?" Aksel asked.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ren could see Wyndia glaring at him. Did she, by chance, already know what he was going to say?
Ren took another deep breath. He could hear the sounds of knights marching in the distance. Coming to check and see what the disturbance was. "Me and Itsuki are going to help Naofumi defeat the Pope. But we're going to need something to convince the people that they've been lied to so they don't try to help the Pope or his Followers out."
He quickly explained to the two parties the idea of going down into the Church Archives again. To find evidence of the Church's wrongdoing and to publish it to the people during the fighting.
When he'd finished, he could already see how some of them were in disagreement.
"No way. After what happened the last time we went down there." Bakta said.
"We're stronger now than we were before… but I'm not sure if this is what we should be doing," Welt said.
"It could work though. If the people knew they were lied to, they might stand up to the Church." Tersia said.
"We still don't know if Her Majesty is arriving today or not though. If she doesn't, that will be one short-lived rebellion." Farrie said.
"My Mother will arrive! She wouldn't stay in Faubley with everything going on in Melromarc!" Melty said furiously.
"How would your Mother even know what's going on in Melromarc?" Aksel asked.
"She has Shadows here to watch what's happening! They must have told her what's going on!"
"Wow, they must be really useful if we haven't even seen them yet."
Melty pouted. It looked very similar to Filo's pout. These people were so mean! How could they ever be partied with a Hero?!
Then again, Naofumi himself was pretty mean. So why weren't the mean ones also in his party?! Why did he have to have cute adorable little Filo and not-
"Enough!" Ren quickly interrupted before an argument could take place. "Either way, the people are supporting the Pope because they think he's a holy pure figure with their best interests at heart! I want you all to find those documents so when we beat the Pope into the ground, the people will realize how corrupt he was and won't want to throw away their lives for a lie!"
The two parties stared at Ren, who seethed after his small speech. "This isn't some stupid game! Stop whining about it and wasting time, and get it done!"
"Yes, Sir Ren!" Ren's party immediately bowed in respect, with the exception of Wyndia, who was still glaring at him while her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides.
Itsuki's party was more hesitant, but Itsuki sighed and nodded to them. So they also nodded and rushed off down an alleyway towards the Church to do as Ren had asked. Wyndia included.
"Come on, Filo. We have to get going too." Melty said worriedly to the little girl.
"But Filo don't want to leave Filo's wagon behind!"
Her wagon. All her precious shinies and memories stored inside were going up in flames!
"We have to. There are too many people counting on us. Let's go." Her mother would be arriving from the South soon. She must have marched all night so her army could go the long way around the Capital and attack from a direction they weren't expecting. They had to gather more info for her. And soon, she managed to drag Filo away from the wreckage and they ran off down the street.
Eclair was the only one remaining. She went to the hidden section of the wall and uttered the spell that revealed the door there.
"Are you sure you want to come with us?" Ren asked.
"Are you sure you know your way through these dungeons?" Eclair calmly rebuked the younger Sword Hero.
"..." Ren didn't have a comeback to that. So the three ran off together into the dungeons.
Sooner or later, he'd have to accept that his party wanted to help him.
"I never thought I'd see the day where the Devil of the Shield would kneel before me. Begging to be purified from the sins which he's committed against our world."
The Pope stood on the edge of the stone platform now. His hands were raised as if to praise the Gods he worshipped. "That is why you're here, is it not?"
"I'm not kneeling for anyone, including you," Naofumi said dryly.
"Oh, but what other reason would you have to be here?" The Pope asked curiously. He was dressed in his high priest robes like before. But the pope hat on his head had the insignia of a crown on it now. The rosary of the Three Heroes Church gleamed brightly on his chest.
Unlike Aultcray, this old man actually radiated power and authority.
"One, I'm going to stop you." Naofumi listed off. "Two, I'm going to clear my name. Three, I'm going to keep you from wiping out any more innocents. And four, I'm going to protect the rest of the world from your evil ambitions."
…
The Pope chuckled. And then he laughed. "Oh, the Devil of the Shield thinks himself holy? Oh my, I never thought I'd see the day."
Naofumi growled. Raphtalia poised herself for an attack. The Pope stopped laughing and smiled like a happy old man. "I'm surprised you would list such accusations against me? I don't seek to harm the world. I humbly seek to fulfill God's will in protecting humanity."
"By wiping out everyone living in it!? What did those innocents do to you!?"
"The demis are no innocents." The Pope continued to smile. "They are a threat to humanity on every level. They are a parasite to our world. A flea infecting us with their unholy creations. They are nothing short of an abomination that deserves nothing but eradication." He held his sword to the side. "You should already know all this. After all, you're the Devil that's allied himself with them. After I'm done purifying you, I shall go forth and purify all those that stand against God!"
Naofumi didn't have to give an order. Raphtalia had already finished her incantation. "Light Slash!" Raphtalia's sword glowed brightly, and the spell flew out towards the Pope.
Right before it could impact against him though, a robed figure appeared as if from out of nowhere beside Balamus. She slashed her sword of light down through Raphtalia's spell, and it dissipated.
"What?" Naofumi looked shocked.
"Come now. Do you really think I'd leave myself defenseless?" The robed figure stood up. "I mean, my barriers would have done just fine blocking your pathetic spell there. But my lead disciple is very… faithful, towards God."
She held two swords of light in her hands. She still wore her hood over her head. But Naofumi recognized the nun Altara, looking at him and Raphtalia with nothing short of hate in her eyes. "You must be more sinister than I thought, Devil of the Shield. Thinking you could attack the Pope, the holy saint wishing only to protect his people. I was right. Such a sinister devil must be expunged from our world. By the holy power of the Gods purifying light!"
The Pope's booming voice echoed throughout the castle. "My Followers! The time has come! Join your mana to mine as we begin our holy crusade against the Devil of the Shield! We shall purify him, and the rest of this world from the abominations that seek to overthrow it!"
Naofumi's eyes widened at the words. And then, yelling, zealous yelling seemed to spring forth from all around. From the windows, the walls, the floor, and just about everywhere in the room.
Raphtalia put her hands over her ears on her head. It was that loud.
And then, when the yelling faded out, a pool of bright lights floated into the room. From the walls, the floor, and the windows. It was the mana streams of thousands of followers, concentrating on the Replica the Pope wielded.
After a few seconds, the sword glowed brightly. "Get behind me, Raphtalia!" Naofumi raised his shield.
"Be purified, Devil! Crimson Blade!"
An arc of flame exited the sword and slammed into Naofumi's Chimera Viper Shield. The force of which was so great that he almost lost his footing.
His HP bar dropped from the hit. It was a significant chunk.
Was that seriously what Ren's weapon would be like at a fourth of its power?!
If the Replica had been made at full power, Naofumi was sure he would have been annihilated from that first strike. As it was, he'd lost a good chunk of health from just that one hit alone.
The flames dissipated, and Naofumi's eyes widened when Altara the nun followed right behind them with her swords. "Die!"
Naofumi moved quickly, blocking her strikes with his shield. They did no damage, but the strikes had a lot of power behind them.
Raphtalia tried slashing at her, but she jumped back, easily avoiding the strike. Before closing in again, slashing with a fury.
A few seconds later, Balamus waved his sword again. Altara jumped back, and Naofumi barely blocked the shockwave of power that slammed into his shield. It damaged him again and pushed him back.
"My, you seem to need more power to be purified than I thought. But how long do you think you can stand against the power of God?"
"Fast Heal!" Naofumi cast the spell over himself before Altara came in again and forced him on the defensive. He was also grateful for the armor's slight self-healing aspect.
He was quick to realize that her strikes weren't powerful enough to damage him. But he was forced to defend against her since she would be more than capable of hurting Raphtalia, his only form of offense besides the Cursed Series.
Raphtalia jumped in front of Naofumi after he blocked a series of strikes, and gave a series of her own strikes against Altara.
"Fast Guard!" Naofumi used the spell on her to help boost her overall defense.
Eclair had been teaching her well. Naofumi was amazed at how fluid her movements were.
She was going fast. Really fast. Yet Altara was more than holding her own. Blocking each strike deftly, or moving parts of her body to dodge specific strikes.
Raphtalia went for a side slash, but her eyes widened as Altara's swords suddenly moved. Instead of blocking they were about to thrust through the half-tanuki girl.
"Air Strike Shield!"
The light swords bounced off the skill, and Altara growled as she jumped back again. Raphtalia still looked surprised as Naofumi took point again. Right as the Pope finished charging up his next skill.
"Eagle Blade."
A slash in the form of a large bird flew through the air at Naofumi. It plowed into his Shield with great force. His HP bar dropped again from the hit. And he was pushed back by the force of the skill.
'Alright, we need to restrain that nun long enough for us to hit the smug bastard!' The Pope was obviously strong enough to hurt Naofumi, unlike Altara. He still had a large array of mana coming from all around, traveling into the weapon he was holding. But it looked like it took awhile for him to charge up each attack. So if he could stop Altara.
After the skill dissipated, Altara charged in for another attack.
"Shield Prison!"
Altara yelped as the green ball of plates and chains surrounded her. Naofumi and Raphtalia immediately dashed around it, charging for the Pope.
Yes, there was nothing that could stop them now! They were so going to kick his-
Raphtalia's sword slammed into a barrier, bouncing off. The barrier glowed a light yellow, just like the weapon.
"How predictable." The Pope said, smiling the same smile as ever.
Crap! He'd forgotten that the Pope had mentioned having barriers! Stupid stupid!
Raphtalia moved to slash again, but Naofumi saw something blurry beside her. His eyes widened drastically as he quickly faced her. "Royal Shield!"
Raphtalia turned as Altara's blades slammed into the barrier.
It cracked and broke under the power of her twin strikes, but it somehow slowed the nun down just enough that Raphtalia was able to move her sword and deflect the strike.
Naofumi looked over at the Shield Prison. It was still active and everything. How had Altara tricked him into thinking she'd been captured?!
"Eyes on the prize, Devil of the Shield."
Naofumi turned as the Pope released a charged-up shockwave of power. Yet it slammed into him with the force of a semi, and without being braced, he was sent flying into one of the columns of the throne room by the attack.
"Naofumi!" Raphtalia jumped far back from Altara to try and separate. But Altara immediately closed the distance again.
The nun was going in for the kill. Now that the Shield Devil was down.
"Hmmph! Urgh! Ack!" Raphtalia grunted as she blocked and sidestepped strike after strike. It was taking everything she had not to receive a fatal blow. Yet she was still receiving small cuts and gashes all over her arms and legs.
It was almost like fighting Eclair. Except this nun actually wanted to kill her!
'Remember Eclair's advice. Look for patterns in your opponent's form. Find a weakness to exploit.'
Altara fought with twin blades made of light magic. Her form was solid. She wasn't experienced enough to find a weakness there. Yet her raised hood made her blind to attacks from the side. If she could just daze her for long enough-
"First Light!" Raphtalia instinctively closed her eyes as she summoned a ball of light right between them.
"Gah!" Altara backed away, putting a hand over her eyes.
Raphtalia moved in from the side. Swinging her sword in a wide slash. 'Yes! I have her now! I-'
"Raphtalia! On your left!"
Raphtalia saw Altara's figure blur. And eyes widening, she pivoted and blocked the first strike from the nun. The illusion she'd been about to strike disappeared.
'But how-' The second strike was traveling under her sword. It was going to slice her-
"NOOOOO!" Naofumi slammed into the nun, using his shoulder as a battering ram. It didn't do any damage, but it surprised her. Long enough that she didn't react in time to Raphtalia striking her blades with enough power to send her flying back.
"Are you okay?" Naofumi quickly checked Raphtalia over. His companion still looked shell-shocked. There was a slight gash under her chest where the second strike had cut through her armor.
She'd come so close to dying. Her breathing was quick, almost panicked.
After using Fast Heal, Naofumi turned, anger burning in his eyes. "Just who the hell do you think you are?!"
Altara got back up. Her hood was still over her head. Her robes still hugged her tight. She looked surprised though that she still hadn't managed to land a decisive blow against the Devil of the Shield or his companion.
"Altara. Your strikes are doing nothing to the Devil of the Shield. Is this how much your service is worth to our great Gods?" Balamus asked.
Was that condescension in his voice?
Altara growled in frustration. For some reason, Naofumi almost pictured her teeth having sharp canines. "No, I will prove my worth! As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature! Pierce my target with a ray of light and illuminate the soul hiding within! Shine brightly as the light of day!"
Naofumi prepared his Shield. The Pope watched, his weapon charging its next attack.
Finally, Altara had her spell ready. "Drifa, Light's Piercing Ray!"
Naofumi was prepared to block a strike. He could have sworn he was ready.
But the ray of light that came from Altara's palms went right through his Shield. Piercing into his shoulder. "Ahhhh!" He screamed as he collapsed to one knee.
It felt like the flesh there was burning. It hurt, way more than when the Two-Headed Dog Monster had bit into his shoulder.
How had it hurt?! His defense stat was supposed to be too high for Altara's other attacks?! So why had this one hurt?!
The Pope waved his sword again, unleashing another shockwave of power while he was down. Crap, he could barely raise his arm. It hurt too much. He just needed to use a Healing Spell, but there was no time. He-
Raphtalia jumped in front of him. Her incantation finished. "Zweite Light Slash!" Her spell slammed into the Pope's attack. But the Pope's attack overtook it.
Yet she stood in front of Naofumi, determined to protect him from the blast.
"Air Strike Shield!" He summoned the Shield to try and block the attack, but it shattered.
The rest of the Pope's attack slammed into Raphtalia.
"No."
Raphtalia was sent flying over him, as if in slow motion.
"No."
Her body rolled across the ground.
Her head rested against the floor.
He got on his hands and knees. "Raphtalia…"
Why had she... why had she done that?
"Raphtalia… no..."
She didn't react to the sound of his voice.
Just like before...
...
…
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Somewhere mid-scream, Naofumi switched Shield Series. A burning, raging fire erupted from his Shield's gemstone. The Shield itself changed until he was holding the Shield of Rage II in both hands.
"At last. The Devil of the Shield is showing his true colors." The Pope said, his smile shifting to a smirk.
Altara stood back next to him, watching Naofumi's transformation unfold.
The armor on Naofumi's right side started to transform. Turning into black scales, and having spikes form on the shoulders. Cursed Fire was only coming from the gemstone, but the rest of the Shield would soon be covered as Naofumi glared fiercely at them with angry red eyes.
Naofumi was angry. No, he was beyond angry. Nothing they had was good enough. They were too weak to face the Pope. They were too low in levels! Raphtalia never had her Class Upgrade! And Naofumi just felt so USELESS trying to protect her and keeping Balamus stuck to the Throne Room!
He couldn't attack! He couldn't help! All he could do was stand there and take hit after hit! And even then, he couldn't defend it all!
The Pope's attacks hurt! The nun's light magic had also hurt him! He was incapable of doing anything except watch his Sword get beaten down in front of him!
They were all vermin! They were all scum! They-
He shook his head. No, he couldn't let this anger consume him. If he started going free fire, Raphtalia could be harmed. Others could be harmed. Innocents-
What innocents? He was in the middle of a town of vermin. A whole city of thieves and the lowest of the low. They were all vile scum that didn't give a damn about him or his companions.
Nobody here liked him. They hated him. Was it fair for them to walk all over him? To hurt him and all those he loved?
But Raphtalia was right behind him! She'd just taken a lot of damage! He needed to heal her injuries, or-
Or the Pope and nun would attack while he was weak! If he didn't use this power, she was already as good as dead! He had to deal with them! He had to make them pay! He had to make them all pay!
Naofumi growled again. The fire started to spread from the gemstone to the rest of the shield. And the Pope just stood there. Smirking widely in victory.
It was true. Naofumi was nothing but a lowly devil. He'd been right. He'd been right all along. He laughed in glorious delight.
'That smirk. That laugh. I'll wipe it out. I'll wipe them all out if it's the last thing I-!'
'Don't. Shield Hero.'
'Don't hurt my best friend by doing this.'
...
*Gasp*
Like rising from the surface of an ocean, Naofumi came to his senses.
What the hell was he doing?
The fire over his Shield disappeared entirely. The Pope's laughing paused. "Hmmm?"
Naofumi was able to see now. That same dark world surrounded him every time he entered this state. Yet he could see through it.
"No, this isn't right," Naofumi spoke.
Screens with memories on them played around him. He could almost imagine the background music playing in the background.
'... This anger… didn't I promise not to use it?'
He saw that day. Looking down at Raphtalia's burned body with tears in his eyes. He'd hurt her. He couldn't control his anger, and he'd hurt so many because of it.
'Didn't I promise not to let it define me… didn't I promise not to let it control my life?'
He saw Raphtalia smiling gently at him. He remembered it being days before Motoyasu captured him. When he'd made the accessory for her. That same smile rested on her face in that bed. And on the morning after he'd healed her. As well as the night before he'd met Fitoria.
'Not just for her sake. But for the sake of all those I care about?'
Images of others appeared on different screens. He saw Filo, the cute little angel girl, smiling up at him after bringing him an Amber with the proudest look on her face. He saw Melty, the annoying second princess, risking her life to confront her sister in the Capital so she could convince the Knights who was really in the wrong. Eclair, sad and broken, looked down at the floor of a cell. Thinking she'd been all but forgotten by the world.
Ren and Itsuki. Their parties. Van Reichnott. Erhard. Fitoria. And every other nice person he'd ever met.
On a cliffside far away, Fitoria was preparing to use her Transport skill again to move her flock within the distance of the coming Wave. But then, she looked in the direction of the Castle sadly. She put a hand over her chest.
"Please… Shield Hero…" She couldn't do it all. At the end of the day, she was only one person.
Wasn't he fighting so he could protect them all?! If so, why was he pulling out this Shield when he couldn't control it!? Why was he willing to risk harming Raphtalia and everyone else!? Was this what it meant to be a Hero?!
A figure appeared in front of him. Surrounded by a hazy outline.
"No, what are you doing?! You have to make them pay! They all have to pay-"
Naofumi took a deep, shuddering breath. Almost with reluctance, he pushed his anger back into his mind and switched out of the Shield of Rage II to the Chimera Viper Shield.
The voice, that angry, spiteful, vengeful voice… his voice was silenced.
It seemed he still had more work to do before he'd be ready to wield that particular Shield.
"Hmmm?" The Pope looked curious at that.
Naofumi's transformation disappeared. His armor went back to normal. His right shoulder still bled from where Altara's spell had struck it. But the look of anger and hate had left his features. "I've said it before." He spoke dryly. "And I'll say it again."
The Shield Hero looked up at the Pope with indifference in his eyes. "I'm no Devil. And I'm not going to allow your prejudice to turn me into one. Not today. Not ever."
Raphtalia smiled weakly where she lay. 'Naofumi…'
She felt so proud of him. He'd confronted his own inner darkness by himself, and he'd managed to overcome it this time around without her help. Whether he could do it again in the future or not...
She felt happy...
…
"Ha… haha… hahahahahahahahaha!" Pope Balamus chuckled, and then he laughed, and then he laughed some more.
"To think, the Shield thinks to make God look like the villain of this world!" It was ironic. Now, more than ever, the Pope looked like the villain.
Naofumi had access to a dark power but turned it down so he wouldn't hurt innocents. Yet the Pope wielded all that power, and he planned to hurt how many people with it?
It became all the clearer who the real Hero was here. The Pope had the same level of insanity as the person who'd originally made the Replica, it seemed.
Naofumi muttered a quick Fast Heal under his breath. Healing the wound in his shoulder. He then glanced back worriedly at Raphtalia. She struggled to move, but she was still moving.
He heaved a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness he'd gotten ahold of himself in time. Who knew what stupidity he would have unleashed by using that Shield now?
The Pope was still chuckling as his Sword glowed bright again. "You've put on quite the amusing farce. But I believe this has gone on for long enough." Instead of releasing a skill, his Replica Sword changed forms.
One moment, he'd been holding a sword. The next, he was wielding a spear that looked like Motoyasu's. The Pope's smile was wide, wider than it should have been.
Naofumi had forgotten Melty mentioning that the Replica was capable of changing forms. '... meep.'
It was sad how his mind also brought up a trope for the situation. He couldn't remember its name exactly, but it was something along the lines of the boss becoming more powerful mid-fight all of a sudden.
Yeah, that's what he was thinking now. The Pope had just taken a step up in terms of power.
"Your presence has been a scourge upon our world long enough. The very Gods are offended by your presence in their holy domain. You are a Devil, an infection that needs to be scourged by the merciful cleansing of God's holy fire." The Pope's spear glowed brightly with more power as he charged up the next skill. Altara watched, eyes wide with glee.
Naofumi braced himself. Preparing to switch to the Shield of Hope II if he had to. Even if it meant cutting into the limited amount of time he'd be able to wield the shield. He'd do it if it meant being able to protect Raphtalia long enough for the others to arrive, and so he could protect everyone else he cared about, he'd do anything.
Odd, why did that seem to ring with him?
"I'll provide that cleansing right now. Be glad, Devil of the Shield, for God himself shall grant this mercy upon you. The mercy of being able to be received into his holy embrace after your whole soul is cleansed by-"
A shout interrupted his villain speech. "Meteor Thrust!"
"Wha-" A blue portal formed over the Pope. His eyes widened in shock. "No!" A blue shot of energy came down from it directly over him. He quickly formed a barrier over himself.
"Your Holi-" BOOM! The explosion of energy sent Altara flying into a wall. The barrier hadn't protected her.
Naofumi lowered his Shield in surprise. "Wait… that skill!" He turned around.
"Motoyasu!"
The Spear Hero ran through the doorway. Naofumi was beyond surprised. And also beyond amazed.
Motoyasu had just had the most soul-crushing thing happen to him in his life, and yet he'd not only chosen to stay, but fight too!?
He almost couldn't believe it, and then Motoyasu chucked an elixir to Naofumi. He recognized it as the same one Bitch drank during their duel. "Give that to Raphtalia! I'll buy you both some time to recover!" Motoyasu yelled before charging past Naofumi towards his Excellency.
Naofumi smiled widely as he caught it.
He'd come. He'd actually come! And he wanted to help!
Who was this guy, and what the hell had he done to Motoyasu!?
Pope Balamus reemerged from the cloud of smoke that had surrounded him. The Pope barely spared his most faithful nun a glance, before looking at Motoyasu with a grimace on his face.
"What's this? Is the last Cardinal Hero also a false savior of the people?" He condescendingly asked. Thrusting the Replica Spear forward.
Motoyasu's spear locked with the Pope's. "No, you're wrong! I wasn't a Hero before!
"But I'm choosing to be a Hero now!"
"Then you choose your own grave!"
Motoyasu jumped back, dodging the small shockwave of power that came out of the spear. "Chaos Thrust!" His spear glowed black, and he thrust repeatedly at the Pope. Each strike was so quick that the eye could hardly follow.
Balamus raised a hand, and the skill slammed into a glowing yellow barrier. The two both charged up their next skills.
"Lightning Spear!"
The Pope's own skill finished charging up. "Lightning Spear!"
The two skills, one formed of SP, and the other of MP from countless followers, charged up and then slammed into each other in the center. A large electrical explosion filled the room, blowing out the various windows. Raining glass down below.
Motoyasu yipped in fright, jumping out of the way of the Pope's skill, which far exceeded the power of his own. The area he had been standing in was blasted to kingdom come.
"You fight against God! You will be purified!" The Pope yelled, charging up another skill.
In the middle of the chaos, Naofumi helped Raphtalia drink the elixir. A glow surrounded her body, and the burns and cuts she'd received over the course of the fight healed over. She coughed. It tasted more bitter than she'd imagined. But it worked. Her HP and MP bars were back to full. All her wounds were healed over.
"Thank goodness!" Naofumi hugged her tight. "Don't you dare do something that stupid again, you hear me?" He said, worry and relief filling his voice.
The Pope's weapon was insanely powerful. If it hadn't been for her magic, his Fast Guard spell, and the Air Strike Shield taking the brunt of the attack, the skill would have easily killed her!
Raphtalia smiled, hugging him back. "I only did what you'd do for me."
He helped her back up. Naofumi looked at the fight. Motoyasu's surprise attack was quickly losing its effectiveness. The blonde guy yelped as he jumped behind a statue to avoid the Pope's next Lightning Spear attack. Which he luckily had enough time to do so, since he needed a few seconds to charge it up.
"Air Strike Javelin!" A green, translucent spear of energy flew out from Motoyasu's spear, slamming into another barrier. He ran into the smoke to avoid the Pope's next attack when it charged up.
While it looked like they had the disadvantage of a cooldown on their skills, the Replica did not. Meaning the Pope only had to worry about charging the skill up to attack.
"That damn bastard…" The smoke cleared from the side. Altara had gotten back up. For once, her hood had fallen back.
She had long, light brown hair. It spilled out over her back. As he was following it towards her head though, she gasped and pulled her hood back over her head. She got up, stuffing her hair back in as she looked at Naofumi with the most hateful expression anyone had ever given him.
Besides Bitch.
"Devil! I'll kill you!" She rushed Naofumi. Her two light swords appeared in her hands.
Before Naofumi could stop her, Raphtalia met her attack. Blocking both strikes with her sword. "I'll kill you! I'll kill both of you!" Once again, the nun blurred.
Raphtalia swiftly turned, roundhouse kicking what looked like thin air to Naofumi. But instead, her foot connected solidly with Altara's face.
Surprised, the nun was launched out of the illusion she'd hid in between two columns and out into a different hallway.
"Don't worry. I can fight her now." Raphtalia said determinedly.
Naofumi's mouth hung open from the awesome display! Raphtalia had never looked so bad^%$ before in her life!
It was honestly kind of hot.
She'd finally figured out why Altara's movements were so bizarre and hard to track. The nun wasn't just fighting with her light swords.
She was using illusion magic. Advanced illusion magic.
Which meant she also had an affinity for Shadow Magic.
Naofumi recovered from his slackjawedness. "Are you sure?" He worriedly asked.
She bore her fangs. "I'll make sure she doesn't interfere with your fight again." Now that she knew that the nun was fighting dirty, she knew what to watch out for. She wouldn't allow herself to be fooled by Altara's magic again.
He wanted to stop her. But he sighed, sensing that she wouldn't listen. "How can you be so hopeful when you almost died just now?"
She looked at him and gave him a smile. "Because I'm with you. You give me hope, Naofumi."
With that, she took off running down the hallway she'd launched Altara into. Seconds later, the sounds of more clashing echoed down from the hallway.
Naofumi looked at the hallway in disbelief, and then pride. A small part of him wanted to make sure his Companion would stay okay.
But somehow, he knew she'd be alright without him this time.
Besides, someone else needed his protection wayyyyyyy more than she did right now.
Motoyasu jumped back, landing next to Naofumi. The poor guy was already breathing heavily. His blue-hued armor was damaged in several different places thanks to some very close calls with some of the Pope's skills.
"Damn, this old man's tough." He took out a Soul Healing Water and started drinking from it. The elixir he'd given Naofumi had been the last one he had.
"Yeah. Not only can he use all of your skills. But his attacks exceed my defense. He can change weapons too, and he's protected by barriers. Who knows what else he has up his sleeve?" Naofumi said dryly.
The Pope stood in front of where the thrones had been. Hopefully, her Majesty would forgive them for destroying them. Not that she ever used them in his opinion.
Again, he'd never met her. He had no idea what she was like. Only that one out of three members of her family seemed reasonably competent. "We're going to need to work together if we want to get through those barriers. We won't be able to scratch him otherwise."
"I'll try my best… Naofumi." At Motoyasu's tone of voice, he turned and faced the Spear Hero.
Motoyasu grimaced. "Look, I'm sorry... For everything, I did in the past. I, I should have listened to you." He said sadly, looking down at the floor.
He felt ashamed. To think he'd called himself a Hero, and yet he'd allowed such terrible things to happen. He'd trusted that Bitch was his friend. He'd trusted her with everything. Well, almost everything.
But regardless, he'd trusted her. But she'd used that trust against him. Using him only to accomplish her own ends.
"Motoyasu… now isn't the time to apologize." Naofumi faced the Pope. "I'd appreciate it of course, after all the bull &^%$ you put me through. But save it for after we beat his Excellency's ^%$! Not before!"
Motoyasu was surprised. But then he held his spear more firmly as he smirked. "Yeah, let's take down this old geezer."
Why had he hated Naofumi before? He actually seemed like a pretty chill guy.
The Pope was scowling now. "So all Three Heroes are abandoning the light to side with the Devil?!" His weapon glowed a brighter yellow. "All my followers are around this castle now! Praying for my success! Praying for God's success! You are doomed! My indignation, God's indignation shall fall upon you! You both shall be as dust before his glorious might! Prepare to be purified in the name of God-!"
"Yeah, just shut up already, old-timer!" Feeling motivated, Motoyasu switched to the Spear of Jealousy I. "Meteor Thrust!" Cooldown over, Motoyasu launched another powerful ball of energy at the Pope. Powered up with his Cursed Weapon.
Motoyasu and Naofumi faced down the Pope together.
Hero Clips!
Lessons on the Replica
"As you can see here, the Replica is a weapon of ancient origin."
The Pope was dressed in a teacher's outfit. His students were the four Heroes. Oddly enough, he was still wearing his pope hat- "It's a mitre, fool!" The Pope shouted at the ceiling.
"Ummmm… okay?" The other Heroes said confusedly.
"Anyway, the Replica is a weapon that can change into the four holy…" Pope Balamus frowned and then crossed the word out in his notes. "Three, holy weapons. And one devilish weapon." He corrected. "And is capable of using most of their strongest skills."
"By strong, do you mean the ones we've unlocked, or-"
"I mean your strongest skills. Mr. Naofumi." The Pope said, giving his troubled student a look of contempt.
"Yippee," Naofumi muttered dryly.
This was boring.
"The Replica holds the base power equivalent of a level 216 person (not a hero) without strengthening methods. Plus my levels and any buffs I'm under." The Pope added.
"Wait, what!?" The Heroes yelled.
"There also isn't equipment bonuses or anything like that added in. So be glad about that. Now to power it, well… that varies between the light novel and anime."
Three of the Heroes were still blinking from that shocking piece of information. He had a base power level of WHAT?!
Even if it wasn't based on Hero stats, 216 WAS A BIG NUMBER! BIG PP POWER THERE!
"Um, Mr. Balamus, Isn't that a little too meta-" Itsuki tried to ask.
"Hush now Bow Hero." The Pope silenced Itsuki. "There are differences between them both, my child. Allow me to explain."
Itsuki grumbled but didn't speak up. "You see, in the Light Novels, it was shown that the weapon was actually powered by the mana of ancient followers who'd stored their mana inside over centuries. Not by the mana of Followers already present. Of course, they did that in the anime to make the battle more climatic and probably as a way of explaining why so many followers were needed there, but that isn't how it works at all."
...
"Isn't that how the fight went down this chapter though?" Motoyasu asked curiously. There were literally thousands of mana streams going into the weapon!
THOUSANDS OF FOLLOWERS DONATING THEIR PP POWER FOR HIS ROYAL RELIGIOUS PP EXCELLENCY!?
"Indeed. It appears the Replica in this story here might borrow qualities from both the Light Novel and the anime!" The Pope said happily.
"... What do you mean by that Mr. Balamus?" Ren asked worriedly.
"It means my weapon might be powered by the mana of all followers present! Or it might mean I'm using the mana of centuries of followers! Maybe if I'm lucky, I'm using BOTH!" The Pope spun happily in his chair.
"Ohhhhhhh... joy…" Naofumi muttered.
"Oh, and normally, it's supposed to take me a lot longer to charge up the Replica's skills. But the author saw that and decided to say fetch it and increased the charge rate a little more quickly by having an overabundance of mana, which isn't how it actually works, but he's doing it anyway so God can have a chance at victory!"
So basically, they were facing the equivalent of a level 200+ person (luckily, without strengthening methods, equipment bonuses, or hero bonuses) who had enough mana to annihilate them several times over. He also had an increased charge rate for using skills, no cooldown timer on using them, and he could use skills they hadn't unlocked yet which were far more powerful… oh, and they had no idea if knocking out all the Followers would stop the Pope's attacks or not. Along with possible usage of the "Rule of Cool" trope.
"Well, the replicated skills are supposed to be weaker than the originals… but with all that power, you can't really tell at your low levels," Balamus said with a smile.
What fun.
"Now, for the next part, this isn't even a fourth of the power of what the weapons can achieve. Your weapons are capable of being far, FAR stronger than just that, but you won't live long enough to reach that point and-" He was adjusting his Pope hat on his head, and immediately yelled up at the ceiling again. "YOU DAMN HERETIC! IT IS A MITRE I'M WEARING! IT IS NOT A POPE HAT!"
His Pope hat fell off his head from the yelling. "OKAY! GET THAT WRONG ONE MORE TIME AND I'LL POP OUT OF THIS STORY AND USE MY GOD POWERS TO BEAT YOUR *Beep* *Beep* *Beepity bleep bleep beeeeeeeeeeeeeee*!"
The other Heroes groaned and rested their heads against their desks.
How the hell were they supposed to beat this?
Till Next Time
Allen