Author's Note:
This is going to be in Sadeena's perspective, as unfortunately, poor Naofumi is out of things for the moment and it would be good for the rest of the party to convince Sadeena not to fry Naofumi into the next life. I promise that there will be as minimal of a flashback in the beginning and solely to address where Sadeena was during the Wave and after and why she is here at this particular time now. I'll be switching back to Naofumi in the next chapter and the group will be preparing for the Lute Wave which will be here in the chapter after next. We're getting close to the end of the first Arc (and coincidentally, LN 1 for that matter)
On a side note, I have a poll up, as I have forever disliked the fact that after Queen Mirellia comes back and puts Malty/Bitch and Aultcray/Trash on trial that even though she sentences them to execution, which considering all both have done, more than warrants it decides to commute those sentences because Naofumi wanted to be petty and change their names to something insulting. The poll is, how many of my readers at the end of the Three Heroes Church arc which is many chapters away, want to see Malty/Bitch and Aultcray/Trash actually executed or how many wish to spare one or the other or both to have one/both of them thrown into the dungeons in chains to live out the rest of their lives?
I want to once again thank Allen Blaster of Virtue of the Shield Hero fame for his comments, suggestions and encouragement and I urge you to read his fanfic as in my view, it is excellent. I also again want to thank Robotech275 of Crafting and Cooking Hero fame for all his help with timelines, Weapon Forms and other comments on this story. He too is a great author and I also urge people to read his and other stories in the Multi World Project like Kampfpanzer. His work Locked and Loaded in Another World is very good and the best example of a Gun Hero that isn't either far too overpowered and a Matrix/John Wick clone or else a try hard and edgelordy type loser. I would also like to let people know that MeTal from my Discord server is now my new beta reader and editor that I rely on for help in crafting this story of mine.
Review Responses:
To Ranger2287 and Omni Fate Lover:
I have never watched that YouTube channel so I can only take your word for it. All I can say about Sadeena is "ARA ARA BOINGY BOINGY POWER!"
To MaxPrime: Oh yes, I love my Ara Ara DoA physics breaking power, expect to see plenty of her being the "Big Sister Lush Tease" that she is. As for the Filolial question, he will not be getting Filo. Filo would only happen if he were Canonfumi and not Adultfumi, nor will he be getting any of the canon birds he got in Reprise/New Reprise. I am working on a concept for a completely new OC Filolial that I hope people will enjoy.
To Gorbad Ironclaw:
Yeah, considering I disagree totally with what Qinlongfei writes about her in his fanfic (that I do like to read because of how he makes Malty into a three dimensional character with believable motivations and actions) I am not planning on him being adversarial with Queen Mirellia, mostly for Melty's sake, but mostly because like in canon, he recognizes that without her support and willingness to give him free reign that he'd be at the mercy of other countries and their politicians who would have the incentive to take control of him and do whatever is necessary to bring him under their control. Also, thanks, like I said before, I do love my "Ara ara bouncy bouncy" girl.
To Guest: Thanks, I'm glad you are, hope that you continue to read.
55 Reviews, 43 Favorites, 68 Follows and over 5200 views and counting. Again, thanks to everyone who is supporting me, you are one of the main reasons that I write and will continue to write. As always, I will try to release a chapter bi-weekly, but it will depend on work and life. Let's dive into the story.
"Speaking"
"Thinking…"
"Monster or Therianthrope Speaking"
[Status Magic]
The Struggle of the Shield Hero
Chapter 7
Sadeena's Solitude and Sadness
"The loneliest moment in someone's life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly."
― F. Scott Fitzgerald
My name is Sadeena, and I was once the Miko of the Water Dragon and Executioner of the Heavenly Emperor of Q'ten Lo. It is a job that my parents raised and trained me for and though I was doing it well, I wasn't enjoying it. I didn't revel in the pain, suffering and death I caused, and only a large amount of alcohol was able to bring me even a modicum of peace from the nightmares and faces of the people, whose lives I took in the name of the Heavenly Emperor.
If it wasn't for Raphtalia's parents deciding to elope and leave Q'Ten Lo to find a new life outside the island and asking me to come with them to help protect and raise their newly born daughter, I probably would have stayed where I was, until my heart and sanity died.
I was blessed to follow them from Q'Ten Lo, to Siltvelt until finally they decided to settle in a special protected demi-human village on the coast of Melromarc called Lurolona. I watched little Raphtalia grow from a newborn to a cute and curious little child that enjoyed fishing, swimming and playing in and around the ocean that gave the village its livelihood.
I helped her parents teach little Raphtalia things that her friends didn't learn, because she was special, she was the blood of the Heavenly Emperor of Q'Ten Lo and perhaps one day she may need to return to that blasted island and reclaim her heritage. She would need to know at least the lessons about etiquette, history, leadership and other things that I slowly gave her in words that her undeveloped mind could understand. She was brilliant however, and I spent nights drinking with her parents as we all boasted about her prowess.
That's not to say that I didn't teach her friends. Her best friends Rifana and Keel were always present and when they were together, you could expect some sort of trouble to come out of it. That was mostly little Keel-chan's fault, she was a real tomboy, even if she didn't realize what she was… I blame her father, who wasn't very good with girls and when his wife passed away with illness was ill prepared to raise Keel. But despite that the village was always lively and we thought our idyllic way of life would continue forever.
I had heard that the Wave would be coming, but seeing as it was unlikely that the Wave would hit Lurolona, I felt it safe enough to leave and go fishing far out in the ocean and figure that if something should happen, I could easily and quickly return.
Sadly though, the wave happened directly over Lurolona and by the time I understood what happened it was too late. The village was destroyed, there were bodies lying everywhere and there was no one left. I found the remains of little Raphtalia's parents on the cliffside along with the body of Cerberus that had been killed by adventurers long before I got there.
I had checked, but I didn't find the bodies of little Raphtalia, little Rifana or little Keel anywhere so I at least had hope that maybe they survived. It was one of the reasons I didn't completely give into despair. Even if little Raphtalia's parents were gone, they entrusted me with the safety of their daughter. I gave her parents a proper burial where they fell and sat next to their graves, drinking and crying in sorrow.
My memories are blurred from that point on, even when I had drinking contests with men to see who could outdrink me and therefore be my husband, I could never forget everything that happened. All It did was remind me, that my grief made me that much more susceptible to the alcohol and its effects.
I came back to myself and heard voices and sounds of someone walking towards me. I got up, grabbed my harpoon and glared, the only people that would have any reason to come to these ruins were either slavers, looking for any survivors, or looters, who wanted to pick the bones of the dead to relieve them of their valuables, two kinds of people I was not going to stand for.
He looked about the same age as me, with messy black hair, armor that looked like it came from someone he probably killed and the cherry on top was a green cloak that strangely suited him. He had no obvious weapons save for a weird looking shield on his arm that had a gem in the middle of it that was glowing strangely.
I transformed into my therianthrope form and pointed my harpoon at him, I started to gather mana in between the prongs of it and then released a huge thunderbolt at the man, holding back just enough that it wouldn't kill him immediately, it might be useful to use the skills I learned back in Q'Ten Lo to see if this person might know what happened to the survivors of the village. I yelled,
Driefa Lightning Bolt
I smirked as it flew towards him while his irises became smaller until I blinked and stared as he shouted quickly and a glowing, semitransparent shield appeared in front of him, in his place stood a ball made out of multitude of shields, chains and pipe and, to top it all off, a glowing transparent bubble surrounding the shield cage.
Air Strike Shield
Shield Prison
Shooting Star Shield
Unfortunately for him, he was far too underleveled compared to me, so my lightning bolt destroyed all his skills and slammed into him, sending him flying back to smash through the wall of a damaged house, burying him a bit into the rubble. I could see that he was tough, and it didn't damage him as much as I wanted it to. I was hoping to put him at the death's door, but I only got him down to about ten percent of his health. His defense must be insane at level 25 to be able to take that much damage and not be at a sliver of health. That said, I started to walk slowly towards him, readying another bolt of lightning as I snarled,
"Ara Ara, I have some questions for you, and I will get my answers… before I kill you… Now… where are the sur…"
But before I could even finish my question, I heard a familiar voice that made me freeze and let the mana I was gathering vanish into the ether,
"BIG SIS SADEENA! Noooooo! Stop!"
Only one person in the entire village ever called me "Big Sis Sadeena". I whipped my head over as I saw three girls rushing quickly over to the rubble pile where the man was as the 'girl', that I once knew, but had clearly leveled up and grown until she was nearly an adult, ran over to me and say while upset,
"Leave him alone! Master Naofumi is the Shield Hero! He saved Keel, Rifana and I! What do you think you're doing?!"
Wait, what? That bandit was the Shield Hero? I saw the two girls who could only be Little Rifana and Little Keel, and I had to admit I was pleased with just how much they had grown, especially Little Keel who wasn't trying to hide what she was anymore even if she was still a tomboy. They dug him out of the rubble and tried to give him a potion to heal his wounds.
What have I done? Have I been so far gone that I could have killed a Legendary Hero without even thinking about it? Come to think of it, if it wasn't the Shield Hero and he didn't have all his defenses, I really could have killed him without even thinking about it. An average adventurer, slaver or looter wouldn't be able to take it without dying.
Had my grief at losing Little Raphtalia's parents and Little Raphtalia herself been enough to make me a monster? One worse than I was before back in Q'ten Lo? I promised myself when I left there that I'd never be that person again. I failed, I failed Little Raphtalia's parents who took me with them, I failed her and I failed her friends.
I transformed back and turned, finally, to Little Raphtalia with tears in my eyes as I sunk to my knees, dropping my harpoon on the ground, and wept as regret seized up my heart,
"Little Raphtalia, I'm so sorry, I should have been here… I'd understand if you hate me for not being able to save your parents and the village."
I heard Little Raphtalia take a shaky breath and looked down, prepared for her to hate me, to tell me how much I failed and berate me for it. I was even prepared for her to draw the sword that she had on her and stab me over and over with it. I was not prepared for what happened next, she grabbed me in a hug and I heard her whisper,
"It's ok Big Sis Sadeena… it wasn't your fault, you didn't know… I know if you were here the Wave wouldn't be able to even touch us. It was just bad misfortune, don't cry. We're safe and you're with us again…"
I couldn't contain my emotions and I sobbed into Little Raphtalia as I apologized over and over again. She shushed me and eventually I managed to regain control over myself and settle down. As long as she is alive and well, then I didn't fail her parents and I could rise again. I sniffed and finally stood up. It was time for me to be the "Big Sister" again.
I walked over with her to where Rifana and Keel were digging the Shield Hero out of the rubble of the house I had slammed him into and partially buried. He was much worse for wear and his muscles were still spasming from the lightning as I said guiltily,
"Ara ara, I'm very sorry, Sir Shield Hero. I thought you might have been a looter or slaver here to look for survivors to enslave or valuables to steal. That said…"
I narrowed my eyes and rose myself up to be as menacing as I could be while I glared at him malevolently and to his credit, the young man was shaking in his boots. Although, to be fair, that could just be the effect of the lightning as I continued,
"Why do Little Raphtalia, Little Rifana and Little Keel have slave crests and travel with you…?"
He was about to answer, sputtering, before Raphtalia got in front and between us with her hands on her hips and glared and said sharply,
"Big Sis Sadeena! He saved us! We were enslaved by Knights that came the day after the Wave and sold to a man who very nearly tortured us to death and then sold us to a man in the capital. We were dying in the cages when Master Naofumi found us and bought us. He took us in! He bought us medicine and made us all! He even taught us to fight and to be strong! He helped us not be three scared little girls, but warriors just like you! So don't you dare threaten our Master Naofumi."
I raised my eyebrow at this, and looked at Little Raphtalia, then at her friends who were all glaring at me… then my lips slowly curled up into a smile and I suddenly had the desire to tease my charge as I recognized that she and her friends CLEARLY had gotten close to "Master Naofumi" in a short time, and looking at the man I could see the headache it was presenting him as he was not quite sure how to handle the situation. I put my finger to my lips and said,
"Ara ara, "Master Naofumi" is it? I'm sorry… I forgot about how you, Little Rifana and Little Keel all once fantasized about falling in love with the Shield Hero someday… I suppose your dreams did come true, did they not… girls? I wonder… do you think he could outdrink me maybe?"
I could barely contain my laughter as the girls' jaws dropped and looked away, turning as red as tomatoes, sputtering weak denials as they glanced at Little Naofumi who grimaced and looked away, clearly uncomfortable with this conversation. The girls knew exactly what I meant when I asked if he could outdrink me, it was a legend in the village at this point, but he had no idea as he said to me,
"Even if I were interested, and I'm not too sure about that, I won't even consider it until at least after the Waves are over with."
He looked at the girls and then they frowned at him, not happy with that response and I almost giggled at how unsatisfied they were with it. I reached out and latched my arms around his arm that didn't have his shield on it and pressed my breasts up against it as I said seductively,
"Ara ara, is that so? Maybe we should go to my special place, Little Naofumi, and have a drink?"
That immediately made the girls mad and they quickly separated and admonished me to leave their Master Naofumi alone, again, I nearly laughed in their faces, enjoying being able to tease them like this like I always hoped I would someday. I looked at Little Naofumi and wondered perhaps, if he could be the one to outdrink me and be my husband Sunday for real.
A little while later, we moved into a house with the least damage and after we had some lunch that Little Naofumi made, which nearly made me sing for joy, the girls settled down and told me what had happened in detail.
They told me about the Wave, about where each of them had spent it. I was aware of at least Little Raphtalia's parents' fate, which I told Little Raphtalia about and who then went to visit their resting place afterwards. They told me about the cleanup and what had happened the next day, how they raised the flag once more, only to have it torn down and stomped on by the knights of the kingdom that was supposed to protect them, but instead enslaved them.
The story got much worse when they told me about their imprisonment: how they were tortured, and almost killed in the dungeons of the man that I had heard about in my travels, that PIG that goes by the name Idol Rabier, and my electrical powers spiked without my knowledge at the thought of killing him. He may still be alive right now, but he wouldn't be for much longer.
Nobody should have suffered like my charges did, and the slaves he still had needed to be freed. I was about to leave when Little Naofumi put his hand on my shoulder and had me turn to look at the girls who were trying to hide how traumatized they were at my anger.
I calmed down and comforted then and, after some time, they continued, finishing their tale by describing being sold to Beloukas, the Slave Trader in Castle Town and how Little Naofumi bought them, healed them, trained them and about their adventurers together that led them to this moment.
I clearly had a lot to think about and needed some time to digest all the new information. The girls excused themselves to go visit Little Raphtalia's parents and their own parents' graves while I sat with Little Naofumi to have a chat, turning serious as I said,
"Ara ara, well, I wanted to apologize to you for attacking you Little Naofumi. I wasn't quite myself then and I thought you might be someone who wanted to pick at the bones of the village."
He waved it off and said,
"It's fine, I can't imagine what you must have gone through, thinking everything was normal, only to come back and find almost everyone dead and the few, who survived - gone and enslaved. I don't blame you for thinking anyone that showed up here might be someone with bad intentions."
His magnanimity floored me, and made me realize that he understood far more than I expected him to. He intrigued me more and I almost asked him then and there to have a drinking contest with me. But I held back as I said,
"Ara ara, I'm quite humbled at your graciousness, Little Naofumi… but down to business. I am planning on heading over to that man that hurt my Little Raphtalia and her friends to have a little "chat" with him about releasing the slaves he still has, some of which might be former villagers of Lurolona. What were your plans?"
He scratched the back of his head and seemed quite conflicted by what I asked him. He looked me into my eyes and said quietly,
"You know, the girls will never forgive you if you go and get hurt facing the one that caused them so much pain and trauma…"
It seemed a hard decision for him as he looked away and finally said,
"But I can't deny that I too would like to make sure, that the man who hurt my…"
He struggled with how to describe what my charges meant to him, and it made me smile to see that he clearly must care for them, even if right now he had no romantic interest in them. It left him open for me to maybe see if being the Shield Hero gave him the resistances necessary to outdrink me. I was shaken out of my daydream as he finally said,
"Adopted family, and that they too deserve the opportunity to prove to themselves that no one can hurt them ever again."
He nodded to himself then looked at me with a serious face, and after a few seconds, I saw a window pop up in my view, which said,
Party Invitation:
Naofumi Iwatani (Shield Hero) has invited you to join the party: Y/N
I focused on the "yes" button and noted that all 4 of the party members were within a level or 2 of each other and in the early to mid-twenties. I smiled as I saw that their stats were close to that of people who were about to class up. No wonder he could take my lightning bolt and not die immediately. For reference, my level was,
Sadeena LVL 75
He then said firmly,
"Let's go make Idol Rabier rue the day he took our children and took away their innocence, Sadeena!"
I nodded and finally, I felt like I could live again, have purpose and be the guardian that Little Raphtalia's parents wanted me to be despite the fact, that I failed them once. I could redeem myself and repay their faith, their trust and generosity to me once more.
I nodded and finally, I felt like maybe I could live again, have purpose again and be the guardian that Little Raphtalia's parents wanted me to be even though I failed them once. I could redeem myself and repay their faith and trust and their generosity to me once more.
Shorter chapter this time, I plan on having the fight with Idol Rabier next chapter while we're back to being in Naofumi's perspective. I also will have a pretty good and decent training montage where the girls learn how to better use their weapons by Sadeena and she takes them out into the ocean to hunt for better EXP. I also may (or may not) include a drinking contest between Sadeena and Naofumi with him winning (as in canon) and her declaring boldly her love, spurring the girls on to fight with her openly while trying to steal Naofumi for themselves while he fights them all off while trying to somehow keep them all focused and on task.
Since I have now posted Chapter 5, as promised, I have removed the Interlude chapters and put them in their own separate side story called The Struggle of the Shield Hero: Interludes and all non-essential character moments and points of view will be placed in there.
Also, I have a question of my readers, who would like to see me do another spin-off that deals with Kizuna and what takes place in her world with meeting Glass, L'Arc, Therese, Ethnobolt and the rest and defeating the Dark Dragon Emperor before she is imprisoned in the Infinite Labyrinth and then meeting Naofumi and Rishia there? I might start it once we get past the Lafan Wave and stalemating with Glass. It wouldn't be updated NEARLY as much as the main story as that will be my primary focus, but I'm curious as to what sort of appetite for it might be.
I have created a Discord for those who want to follow along with my story. I will have a channel for discussions of my fanfic with myself and others as well as a channel where I will post my W.I.P. documents so that people can be spoiled if they like future storylines and events. Invite link is discord . gg / Rx8UkJQwM7 (without the spaces)
