Chapter 8: Shadow
Mirellia Q. Melromarc was known to the world as The Ice Queen. Not only because she was the High Queen of Melromarc, with extreme competence as a ruler and a shrew and cold diplomatic sense, but also because she was one of the most powerful mages in the world, specializing in ice magic, with power and proficiency rivaling even some of the mighty Seven Star Heroes, even without being chosen by any legendary relic. Melromarc had never fallen in a war before during her reign, mostly because no country dared to attack the country when she was still there as its ruler.
But right now, the mighty woman was suffering from a massive headache. Mostly because of the news she received a few days ago.
"Say that again. Slowly and clearly."
It's not like she hadn't heard what the Shadow at her feet had just said. She wasn't deaf. Rather, it was because she couldn't believe that something like that could even happen.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Ten days ago, the King followed the words of the Church and summoned the Four Cardinal Heroes to Melromarc. And a day later, the Shield Hero was framed by Princess Malty for raping her, and has since then become an outcast of the country."
The glass of wine in her hand exploded into millions of tiny bits. At the same time, the temperature in the room suddenly dropped at least thirty degrees, and bits of ice could be seen forming on the walls.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT IDIOT THINKING?! I ALREADY TOLD HIM NOT TO DO ANYTHING UNTIL I RETURN, AND THEN HE WENT AGAINST MY WORDS AND THREW THE WHOLE COUNTRY INTO ANOTHER DIPLOMATIC MESS?!"
The voice of the Queen was so terrifying it was a surprise how the Shadow could still keep his calm face. It's incredibly rare to hear her swear, too. The most powerful person of Melromarc wasn't just angry anymore; she was livid.
"Who was the one behind the framing of the Shield Hero?" she barked angrily. The Shadow answered, still in his normal tone.
"It was the idea of Princess Malty, Your Majesty. Apparently she thought that it would cause no harm to break the Shield Hero because everyone in the country would hate him anyway. Right now she's under the Spear Hero. Figuratively and literally."
The Queen dropped herself on the couch behind her tiredly. She had known for long her first daughter was a nasty, horny whore, but to do that to someone who she had just known for less than a day was just too much. Framing someone for something they didn't do is a criminal offense. Still, she was her daughter, and she would like to avoid putting a mark on her profile as long as she could.
"Actually, things could have been worse, Your Majesty."
The statement took Mirellia aback. "What do you mean?"
"The Sword Hero didn't seem to be among the people who blindly bought Princess Malty's claim," the Shadow said. "Apparently, he had realized Princess Malty's identity before entering the trial, and pointed out that she had no proof to claim what she said was true. He's one of the rare people who are seemingly on the Shield Hero's side now."
Mirellia was surprised, but her rage subsided a little bit with that information. So not all of the four Heroes were naïve fools. "So what do you think about the Heroes?"
The Shadow nodded. "There isn't much to say about the Spear and the Bow Heroes, Your Majesty. The Spear Hero is not that bad in personality, it's just that he's too naïve. He's a skirt chaser and would take everything at its face value if it were a pretty woman who mentions it to him. The Bow Hero hasn't shown anything that noticeable, but from what we saw, he wants to be treated as a hero, so he tends to show off doing things he considers heroic. But the Sword Hero is a mysterious one. He seems to be a very experienced fighter, and obviously has been through wars. He is the only one among the four Heroes that doesn't think of what they have to do as a game. The first thing he did after he met his companions was beating reality into their heads by stomping them to the ground, alone, without anyone's help. If anything, his party right now is more of an army platoon than a group of adventurers."
Mirellia frowned. The Spear and Bow Heroes sounded unreliable, but the Sword Hero might be a very potential asset if he was anything like the Shadow had just described. Although… someone that powerful and cynical at the same time would be incredibly dangerous if fallen into the wrong hand.
"What about the Shield Hero?"
The Shadow shook his head. "I'm afraid he's in a… pretty bad state. After that farce of a trial he received, I fear he has lost all of his faith to the kingdom. Right now he's all alone, desperately fighting to survive. We're still having people keeping track of him, but I'm afraid he's not going to last long if no one gives him any help soon."
And there it was. She had dreaded hearing this since the Shadow started telling her about the summoning and the Heroes. The worst thing that could happen was the Heroes considering the world they were summoned into as evil. If the Heroes turned on them, and the other countries used that as an excuse to invade, it would be the end of Melromarc.
"Did the news of the summoning reach any other countries?" Finally, she asked the Shadow, still in her cold voice.
"The news has just reached the royal council of Siltvelt yesterday, Your Majesty," the Shadow answered. "They… really didn't take the news about how the Shield Hero was treated very well. From what we think, if nothing is going to be done soon, it's not that farfetched to say that they're going to start a war with us."
The Queen bit her lip. Things were getting worse every second they stayed there. If she didn't make a move right now…
She suddenly stood up from her couch.
"Your order, Your Majesty?" the Shadow looked at her. She nodded.
"Keep our man close to the Shield Hero and the Sword Hero, and provide them with help if necessary, but do not approach them directly yet. Only intervene if something is going to harm their lives. Keep track of what is happening in Melromarc for me, and update me once every 2 weeks. And…"
She went to the desk at the corner of the room and wrote something on a sheet of paper. Folding it up into an envelope, she sealed it up with the royal stamp she always carried with her and gave it to the Shadow.
"Give this to my husband," she said in an ominous tone.
And now, she's standing on the balcony of the guest room of Siltvelt's royal castle. The representatives of the country weren't happy at all when they welcomed her. But she knew that even if she had to offer her own life, she still needed to prevent this war from happening as long as she could.
"Is things going to be all right, Mother?"
The voice of a blue-haired girl rose worriedly behind her. She didn't need to turn back to know who it belonged to. She sighed deeply.
"I really don't know, Melty. The only thing I know is that we need to hope that it would be, or we're all doomed."
EMIYA was on his way to Erhard's workshop.
It's been a week and a half since the last time he was there. Not only did his team need maintenance for their weapons and armor, he also needed to ask the old man about something.
The other day, after slaying a monster with the Twin Siderite Swords, his proficiency with the twin swords reached 100%. And a popup screen appeared when the bar was finally filled.
Weapon reached 100% proficiency. Do you want to upgrade its quality?
Naturally, he chose YES. And a list appeared in front of his eyes.
Provide the following materials to attempt upgrading:
50x Wood
100x Iron Ore
50x Meteorite Ore
4x Ruby
He winced upon seeing the list. He already had some wood available in his storage, but the other materials he couldn't find anywhere nearby. And the numbers were kinda… absurd for such small weapons.
He's pretty sure Rin, and by proxy Ishtar, would throw a fit if she were somehow able to see this.
Well, when it comes to forging material, who could be the best one to ask other than the blacksmith?
He pushed open the door leading into the shop. Walking into the workshop, he was surprised to see Naofumi, as well as a small girl he hadn't met before.
"Ah, Sword Bro!" Seeing EMIYA entering the shop, the blacksmith exclaimed brightly. "Right on time! I was just talking about you!"
The red swordsman stared at the little girl, who was gripping tightly the hilt of a knife strapped to her belt while eyeing him warily. "Who is this? Your daughter?" he looked at Erhard questioningly. The blacksmith laughed.
"Hell no! You might not believe it, but she's actually Shield Boy's companion!"
EMIYA blinked. Now that the blacksmith had mentioned it, he could see that the girl was not a normal human, with the round ears on top of her head. They looked like the ears of a raccoon.
"Oh my god she's so CUTE!" Tersia let out a deafening squeal and pulled the raccoon girl into such a tight hug breath was nearly choked out of her lungs. She struggled wildly, but the broadsword wielder was just too strong. The two other members of the team could only look at the poor girl apologetically.
EMIYA looked at Naofumi. "So your first attempt to show the world that you're not a bad guy is to adopt a stray girl? Not bad at all, if I have to say."
The Shield Hero glared at him. "I have no plan to make her my daughter," he answered coldly. "She's a cheap slave I bought to fight for me, that's all."
"You obviously didn't think that when you sang that lullaby to her the other night," Erhard chipped in. Naofumi snapped his head towards the blacksmith in rage.
"You listened in?! How dare you…!"
"Hey, no matter how you look at it, this is still my house," deadpanned Erhard. "And the night was so quiet anyway, so…"
EMIYA frowned at what he had just heard. "A slave, huh? I know desperate times need desperate methods, but you know that this would only make your reputation even worse in this country, don't you?"
"Actually, I don't think he has to worry about that," Erhard cut in. "In this country, at least until now, slavery is legal as long as the slave isn't a human. Little Raphtalia here is a demi-human, and a raccoon-type to boot; I doubt anyone would have a problem with that even if it were Shield Boy who owns her."
Naofumi didn't look surprised, since he had heard Beloukas about that before, but EMIYA looked disgusted by that information.
"So it means in this world anything that is not fully human isn't considered worthy of being called a person?"
The blacksmith shook his head. "Not everywhere, no. Siltvelt and Schildfrieden are countries of demi-humans, and I heard that Zeltoble doesn't discriminate against them, either. I think among all countries in the world, only Melromarc shows explicitly that kind of prejudice against demi-humans."
"Maybe I should think of moving to those countries soon, since no one wants me in here after all," said Naofumi sarcastically.
"You know, that might not be a bad idea at all," Erhard pondered. "Even though I would lose such a potential customer, I think it might be better for you if you can stay somewhere with people who cherish you and have no prejudice against you."
"But that should be left until later, shouldn't it?" EMIYA looked at him. "The Wave will happen in a week, and if you spend all your time moving you will not have any time left to prepare at all."
Naofumi's face went white. "Wait, what do you mean the Wave will happen in a week?"
Now it's EMIYA's turn to be surprised. "What, you don't know? It means you haven't registered yourself to the Hourglass at the church yet?"
Naofumi's face went even paler. "Those bastards! They didn't even tell me anything about that! How should I know that I need to do that?!"
"I don't think they're to blame for it this time, though." EMIYA guessed. "No one told me about that, either; I just figured it out by accident when I went to the church to ask about things. So I guess you're supposed to figure it out by yourself?"
"Or maybe they thought you're in cahoots with me, so they didn't tell you about that as well," Naofumi chuckled darkly. Then he looked at Raphtalia, who had just managed to escape from Tersia's grip. "Raphtalia, let's go! We don't have much time to joke around!"
After Naofumi's back disappeared behind the door, Erhard shook his head.
"That's hell he's walking into."
EMIYA nodded. "Yeah. But what matters is whether he has it in him to walk out of that hell with his head high or not."
Then he remembered. "Oh, there's something I want your help about today. Do you know where I can find these materials?"
He gave Erhard the list of materials. The blacksmith's eyebrows creased when he read the list.
"Hmm… that is a lot of material, indeed. Why do you need this much? This is more than enough to make four or five swords."
The Sword Hero winced. If upgrading one sword needs that many materials, imagine what he would need if he wanted to upgrade all the swords he has recorded. Not to mention the more famous ones in his arsenal. With what he knew about the system, it wouldn't be surprising if each of them costs an arm and a leg each to upgrade.
"I actually have some iron ores here if you need, but meteorite ore is something I haven't had a chance to acquire for quite some time," the blacksmith continued. "If you want to get them, your best choice would be mining them yourself. A mine twenty kilometers away from Castle Town is a meteor shower site; you can find a lot of meteorite ores there as well as other kinds of ores."
EMIYA pondered. Knowing where to get those materials by himself should be a very good thing to do, considering he would need more of them for other swords he had and would need to upgrade in the future.
"Right," he asked after a few seconds of thinking. "Do you have any mining equipment for sale, old man?"
"Well of course," Erhard nodded. "So, planning to go mining there, huh? Then be careful not to go too deep into that cave. Even though the deeper you go in, the more valuable the ores would be, there are also monsters in there; some of them are pretty dangerous for newbie adventurers."
"We don't have to fear anything as long as Shirou-sensei is still here for us!" Tersia boasted, and immediately got slapped over the head.
"Thinking like that would get you killed one day, brat," the red Hero scolded her. "I'm not omnipotent; there's no way I can protect all of you from any enemies that we meet. That's why I'm training you like this now; there will be a day when I cannot be there for you. You would need to know how to protect yourself."
Erhard shook his head while putting four pickaxes and a roll of rope on the counter. "You really are a paranoid nutjob, aren't you Sword Bro? Here, this is everything you need. Just take them; I'm not going to take money from you this time," he shook his head when EMIYA pulled out his money pouch to pay for the tools. "The other day, the Bow and Spear Heroes also came here, trying to copy the weapons from my store. Thanks to you telling me about it in advance, they didn't have a chance to steal anything. They looked pretty pissed after that, I have to say. I managed to make quite a lot of money from them already."
EMIYA was amused hearing this little piece of information. That would teach them what acting like little brats who thought everything was just something from their stupid games would bring them. He reached for the tools on the counter and started storing them into the Legendary Sword. "Thanks a lot, then, old ma…"
Then he was taken aback when the rope, as well as one of the pickaxes, were absorbed into the legendary weapon. "What the…?!"
[Pickaxe acquired. Pickaxe Sword: unlocking condition met]
[Name: Pickaxe Sword – Quality: Poor – Base Power: 10]
[Strength +1, Endurance +1]
[Skill unlocked: Mining (0/100)]
[Proficiency: 0%]
[Unlocked at Level 5 - UNLOCKED]
[Rope acquired. Rope Sword: unlocking condition met]
[Name: Rope Sword – Quality: Poor – Base Power: 5]
[Agility +1. Endurance +1]
[Skill unlocked: Air Strike Bash (0/100), Chain Skill: Zweite Bash (0/200) (Prerequisite: Air Strike Bash), Chain Skill: Dritte Bash (0/500) (Prerequisite: Zweite Bash)]
[Proficiency: 0%]
[Unlocked at Level 5 – UNLOCKED]
So not only can the Legendary Sword copy other weapons and absorb materials to unlock new sword forms, but it can also absorb tools and other things too. And these two new swords didn't give him battle status points, but gave additional points straight to his body parameters. And those bonuses seemed to be permanent, unlike other weapons which only gave him bonuses when he used them in battle. The growing methods of this weapon are getting more and more complicated.
Although…
What the hell is an Air Strike Bash? Am I supposed to throw the sword at the enemies from above or something? And since the two other skills are Zweite and Dritte, isn't it supposed to be Erste Bash or something similar?
[…Skill name changed from Air Strike Bash into Erste Bash. Erste Bash (0/100).]
The Legendary Sword actually sounded a little bit sheepish there.
"Can you guys go and buy these things for me? The shops should still be open. I have something I need to do now. See you back at the inn, okay?"
After sending his disciples away for some chores he made up, EMIYA was now walking alone on the streets of Castle Town.
He had gotten the feeling that someone had been following them since two days ago. Even though this couldn't get past the eye of a veteran Counter Guardian, it would be very dangerous if the three youngsters were also pulled into the fight. That person tailing him was also very skilled and experienced. If he weren't careful, everything would collapse into a bloody murder.
There's only one person tailing him. If that's the case…
He suddenly turned and disappeared into an alley. Not going to let him get away, the assailant immediately followed him, but the moment they entered the alley, the Sword Hero had already disappeared at the opposite corner.
The cat and mouse game continued for nearly two hours. Whenever the Shadow thought they had caught up with EMIYA, the Sword Hero once again extended their distance. And before they could know it, the chase had already led them to the forest outside the town.
The Shadow couldn't understand what's going on anymore. It's obvious that the Sword Hero had already noticed that he had been tailed. But if he wanted to escape, why didn't he just run deeper into the streets? Running to a clearing like this was just like exposing himself to an assailant.
Unless… the Hero of the Sword had intended to lead them here.
The Shadow's eyes widened under their mask; they had been tricked.
"Realizing it now is already too late," the voice of the Sword Hero came from behind them when the cold blade of a sword nicked the side of their neck. "Now you'd better start saying what you want from me, or else…"
The Shadow reacted in an instance. They tossed their body sideward and rolled away quickly before the blade could cut their neck off, and kicking the ground, they launched themselves backward while throwing a handful of knives at the Sword Hero. The knives tore apart the air, flying at the ex-Counter Guardian with the speed of bullets.
But if they thought that alone could cause any difficulty to EMIYA, they would be badly mistaken. He had fought people with skills like this more than enough before, some of which were legendary assassins worthy of the name Hassan-i-Sabbah, or famous ninjas in the long history of Japan. How could something like this even hope to slow him down?
He leaned aside, and the knives flew harmlessly past his right shoulder. Then he kicked the ground, launching himself forward at the Shadow who was taken aback from how easily their attack was dodged. One of the Twin Siderite Swords drew a horizontal arc in the air, aiming for the Shadow's waist. Desperately, they jumped up, narrowly avoiding the slash which nearly split their body in half.
But the ex-Guardian only waited for that moment. The slash at the waist was just a feint; right when the Shadow's feet left the ground, the slash suddenly stopped in midair, and the red Hero also leaped up and delivered a brutal downward kick on his assailant's back. The Shadow was slammed hard on the ground; breath was choked out of their lungs.
If there's anything to say about EMIYA, it would be that he never holds back in a real fight, no matter who or what his opponent is. And this time was not an exception; the battle was over so quickly it could hardly be called a fight at all.
The ex-Guardian landed on top of the Shadow. Spinning his sword into a reverse grip, he held it above the defeated assailant. "Now, let's see who you really are."
His left hand snatched the mask off the Shadow's face. And saying that he was surprised was a big understatement.
Under the mask was the face of a girl. A rather pretty girl, to be exact. She didn't have the regal aura of Artoria Pendragon, or the ladylike impression of Tohsaka Rin, but she was still beautiful in a plain and warrior-like way. The dark hair covered half of her face, hiding her left eye away. At the corner of her visible eye, tears were starting to roll out.
The two pairs of eyes met each other for a moment.
Then EMIYA heard an air-piercing scream from behind. It sounded very familiar...
That sudden scream distracted the Sword Hero for a single second. And that second was a very big mistake he had made. The Shadow immediately took that opportunity. A small ball-shaped thing rolled out of her sleeve, and she tossed it upward at the Sword Hero's face.
Shit! He screamed mentally, and immediately threw his body backward, away from the Shadow's body right before the grenade detonated with a deafening "BANG" and drowned both of them in a cloud of smoke.
When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of the Shadow anymore.
EMIYA was baffled for a few seconds. After checking out everywhere around him to make sure that there's no other assailant ready to jump him, he felt it safe enough to release the Reinforcement he had applied all over his body before the confrontation. But he still found everything confusing as hell.
"What the hell…?"
Naofumi walked out of the Church, holding Raphtalia's hand.
He had expected his trip to the holy place to be very rowdy, considering the name of the place, but it turned out to be easier for him than he thought. Even though the sisters in the Church actually gave him looks of disdain when they saw him coming, at least they didn't do anything that made life difficult for him.
Although… the time limit of a week was pretty worrying. Raphtalia had proven to be very effective in bursting balloons so far, but that alone wasn't enough. She needed to learn how to kill if he wanted her to be useful in the Wave battle.
The forest at the outskirts of the town was always a good place to find lower-level monsters for leveling up. Naturally, it would be the place where Naofumi led Raphtalia to.
Balloons after balloons, mushrooms after mushrooms perished under the blade of the girl's knife, and their levels continuously went up and up. Soon, Naofumi's level reached 9, and Raphtalia's got to 7. That was pretty quick, considering the fact that Naofumi himself had spent more than a week fighting balloons and other weak monsters and only got to level 4 from that. It's not like he managed to kill a lot of them anyway, though.
Raphtalia's face was bright with pride and happiness. It seemed she was glad that she could do something to help her master. Well, it's understandable; even though he acted cold and impassive all the time, he was the only person who treated her nicely since that fateful day. The day when the First Wave hit her village, and her parents…
"Ah, there it is."
Naofumi's voice made the raccoon girl blink. She followed his eyes, and saw something that looked like a rabbit jumping towards them. An usapil.
The rabbit-like monster bared its teeth and leaped at Raphtalia. The girl's eyes widened; she wasn't prepared for this…
Brandishing his shield, her master immediately jumped in front of her, blocking the attack. The long teeth of the usapil sunk into the flesh of his arm, and he screamed.
"Now, Raphtalia! Kill it!"
But the girl was frozen in place. Her eyes quivered, and her hands holding the knife were trembling like crazy. And for the first time, she shook her head.
"No… I can't… I can't do it… Blood is scary…"
Naofumi couldn't believe it. Any time, and she chose this time to defy him?
She shook her head even more wildly. "No! I'm scared… Urgh!"
She couldn't finish her sentence, because the slave seal had just given her a violent shock for her defiance. She dropped her knife in pain; the bladed weapon stabbed into the soft ground below them.
Naofumi grabbed the usapil and yanked it off his arm. He held the creature up by its ears and glared at Raphtalia, but his eyes weren't angry. In fact, they were filled with something more like… disappointment.
"Listen up, Raphtalia," he said in a tone full of dismay. "A wave of something that will destroy this world is coming, and I need to get stronger before that happens."
The girl listened in silence, but her hands were shaking in fear. She realized what he was talking about, and hearing about it reminded her of the terrible memories when the First Wave hit her village and…
"That's right," Naofumi continued, closing his eyes. "I am the Shield Hero, and my duty is to fight in that Wave, to stop it from destroying this world. But I don't have a weapon to fight with. So I need someone to fight for me; if you can't do it… then I can't take care of you anymore."
Raphtalia's eyes widened in shock. She's scared of blood, because she'd had to watch her parents being murdered right in front of her. But for a moment… the life being a slave under that man flashed across her eyes. She knew… she would be even more scared if she were once again abandoned and had to go back to that slave shop again.
"I understand…"
She crouched down and grabbed the hilt of the knife on the ground.
"I'm going to fight…" she pulled the knife out of the ground and raised it up. The fear had disappeared from her eyes, replaced by a firm determination. "I'm going to do my best… for your sake, master!"
Then she thrust the knife forward. The blade sunk deep into the body of the usapil, and it let out a terrifying screech, then went limp. Blood burst out from the wound, painting both master and slave red.
[10 EXP acquired.]
[You gain a level.]
[Raphtalia gains a level.]
Naofumi looked at the girl, who was still seemingly shocked from what she just did. He smiled and rubbed her head.
"See? It was easy, wasn't it?"
Raphtalia looked completely exhausted from the effort she had just spent on her first kill. However, a bright smile was blooming on her face.
"You… you're not going to abandon me, aren't you master?"
Naofumi chuckled. "If you're not a good girl, I might have to consider it for real."
Raphtalia smiled. Even though her master kept saying that, she knew he wouldn't do something so heartless to her. No matter what other people said, she knew that her master, the Shield Hero, could never be a bad person.
Then her smile froze on her face.
It wasn't just Raphtalia. Naofumi himself could feel the temperature in the air suddenly dropping. He spun on his heels, and saw himself facing a terrifying monster he hadn't seen before. It was a two-headed black dog even taller than he was. Naofumi had read Classical Mythology; Orthrus, the guard dog of the monster giant Geryon's red cattle and the brother of Cerberus, the hound of Hades, guardian of the Underworld, is a monster similar to this one. While this monster couldn't be the Orthrus, its huge body, as well as the sharp claws and the dripping fangs in its mouths couldn't be anything good for them. It let out a howl, and the air around it rippled.
Sweat started dampening Naofumi's hands and forehead. Both of them were definitely not ready for this kind of enemy. The best he could do was to take Raphtalia and run away back to the town while trying his best to prevent it from killing both of them.
He glanced at the little girl. "All right Raphtalia, we can't deal with this kind of monster yet. We're going to run away and wait for another chance to… Raphtalia?"
The girl's face had lost all of its colors. Her body was shuddering like crazy, and her eyes were dashing wildly from left to right. She was hyperventilating; her breath was heavy and erratic. And Naofumi understood immediately what was going to happen.
"Damn it, Raphtalia, snap out of it!" he yelled desperately. "This is not the time for you to have a nervous breakdown!"
But his words fell on deaf ears. Raphtalia didn't seem to be able to hear anything at the moment. In her head, the memories about that terrible day were rushing back, playing the scene when her parents pushed her down the cliff, and were murdered under the three heads of that Cerberus again and again. She opened her mouth and let out a terrified scream.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Damn it!" Naofumi cursed, and ran into the way of the dog when it leaped at Raphtalia with its fangs bared. Switching to a shield he got from Erhard's store the other day, he screamed out. "Shield Bash!"
The shield glowed in a bright light, and Naofumi slammed it at the dog's body, which was flying in the air and couldn't move to avoid the sudden hit. The skill wasn't a damaging one, but it had the ability to stun the enemy being hit with it for a few seconds. The dog flew back from the sudden collision, and crashed on the ground with a loud "THUD". Immediately, he switched to the shield he got from absorbing a pipe.
"Shield Prison!"
A ball made of many shields and chains appeared from thin air and locked the stunned dog on the ground inside it. He couldn't let this opportunity go away…
"Let's run!"
He grabbed Raphtalia by the waist, and leaped into the river.
The stream swept them about a kilometer away, far from where the monster had ambushed them. They might be able to be safe here for a while…
The first thing Naofumi did after they reached the shore was grabbing Raphtalia's shoulders.
"Raphtalia, what happened?" he asked her, a little bit harsher than he should have. "Why did you act like that?"
The poor girl stuttered; she was still trembling like crazy. "It… that thing… it… killed… my… parents… so much… blood… I'm… scared…"
Naofumi blinked. "Tell me everything. From the beginning," he demanded. Raphtalia's lips trembled, but then she nodded weakly and started talking...
Apparently, in the past, she lived with her parents in a little village near the sea of Melromarc. Even though life wasn't easy, that village was still a place where demi-humans were able to live freely without fear of discrimination and prejudice.
But then one day, a Wave of Calamity opened up right above the village. Skeleton warriors quickly flooded the place, but the villagers, backed up by adventurers, were able to hold them at bay. Until… a giant three-headed dog, the boss of the Wave, appeared. The people weren't able to stand up to it at all, and they were trampled. The village couldn't fight back anymore, so they did the only thing they could and ran away.
But those monsters didn't let them. They hunted down the remaining people, one by one, and tore them apart as if it were a sport. Raphtalia's family ran away, but that giant dog chased after them. It could have torn them into shreds anytime it wanted, but it just continuously toyed with them, pushing them further and further away, making them run in despair… until they reached the cliff. There was nowhere else to run. There was no way to escape.
There was nothing else they could do. Raphtalia's parents looked into each other's eyes and then turned to the girl herself with a smile. She was shaking in fear, but they patted her head and comforted her. Then…
"Be safe, darling."
There was no way she could know that those words would be the last words she would ever hear from her parents before she was pushed from the lip of the cliff.
Naofumi immediately regretted pressing her about her story. He should have known it; the way she acted definitely got something with what happened in her past. He just didn't expect it would be something that… harsh.
But this wasn't the time to be emotional. Right now, their lives were in danger, and if she continued letting the past get into her head, they wouldn't be able to stay alive before the Wave started.
"Listen to me, Raphtalia," he looked into her eyes. "That is not the dog that killed your parents. That dog had 3 heads, and this one only has 2, didn't you see?"
Raphtalia stared at him with fearful eyes. "Um…"
"Besides," he continued, "I am the Shield Hero. My role is to protect people. So I'm going to protect you. Even though I cannot attack, I shall use all my strength to protect you as long as I can still breathe. So you don't need to worry about that thing."
That was a lie. And not just any lie; it was the biggest lie he had ever said. He wasn't even sure if he could survive fighting that monster. But for now, keeping Raphtalia calm was the priority. And it seemed his effort was rewarded; the girl seemed to calm down a bit, and at least she's not trembling anymore.
He rechecked his status. He still had full health, but his SP had dropped to about two-third of the maximum due to using two skills consecutively. He still had some potions he had made the other day before he bought Raphtalia, but he didn't know how long he could last even with them.
"All right, now let's get out of here; that monster might catch up to us s—"
He froze. That feeling he had felt before when the monster dog appeared for the first time suddenly returned in full force. He turned, and surely, that monster was standing there, snarling at the two of them with its fangs dripping saliva.
Naofumi immediately leaped back to his feet. He switched to a shield in his possession that looked similar to a roll of rope, and glanced at Raphtalia, who was staring at his back in fear.
"Raphtalia, listen here. When I tell you to, you have to run as fast as you can, do you understand me?"
The girl's eyes widened. "But…!"
"Don't say anything!" the Shield Hero barked. "When I give you the word, just run as fast as you can back to the town, back to Erhard's workshop and tell him what happened. I will try to hold it back as much as I can… but I don't know how long I can do it, so you need to be fast, understand?"
Raphtalia's eyes were full of horror. She knew exactly what her master was planning to do here. His eyes were filled with the exact light she had seen when… when her parents sacrificed themselves to get her to safety.
"No… I…"
Before she could finish the sentence, the monster hound had started its attack. It charged at the pair, with both of its jaws gaping wide, aiming to chomp off the Shield Hero's arms. But Naofumi already had a plan.
Fifty… thirty… ten… NOW!
"Air Strike Shield!"
A shield made of energy appeared in midair right in the running path of the hound. Not expecting that sudden move, the monster couldn't stop its charge; it slammed head first into the energy shield and was thrown backward by the recoil of its own attack. And Naofumi was waiting for this chance; this range was enough for him to repeat the tactic he had used before.
"Shield Prison!"
The cage of shields and chain appeared once again, locking the monster inside. He glanced back at the slave girl behind him and yelled.
"Raphtalia, now! Run!"
But the girl didn't move. She just stood there, gripping the hilt of her knife tightly with a pained look on her face. Naofumi stared at her in horror; if she didn't run now…
And his fear became reality in just two seconds. It seemed the hound had gotten used to his strategy, because it started doing… something inside the shield cage. The cage rattled dangerously with each blow; it wouldn't last long at this rate. And sure enough…
After the seventh blow, the shield cage shattered into pieces. The hound leaped out from inside the cage; its right maw bit deeply into Naofumi's left arm.
A piercing pain shot through his body and wracked his brain. For the first time since he was summoned here, this was the first time he felt pain, ever. His sleeve almost immediately turned red from the blood. Even his enhanced defensive ability couldn't help him…
He glanced back at Raphtalia, and yelled at her desperately. "Raphtalia, run away, now! I can't hold it any longer!"
But she didn't run. And Naofumi's eyes widened when she lifted her face up. The pretty face was full of tears, but there was a light of determination in her red eyes. Gripping the hilt of her knife, she jumped on the back of the hound, and with a scream of fury, she drove the blade into the point between the two heads at the base of their necks.
The creature howled in pain. The strike was critical, but not enough to kill it. It swerved around wildly, throwing Raphtalia off its back and broke the blade of the knife buried in its neck. Releasing Naofumi's arm, it turned around, switching its target to the little girl who had just dared to hurt it…
"Oh no you don't!" roared Naofumi. He leaped up from the ground, and even with his injured arm, he grabbed the necks of the monster and wrestled it down. The creature roared furiously and tried to bite his body to get him off it. The fangs sunk into his side, but he didn't care; he needed to prevent it from getting to Raphtalia, even if he had to die…!
Raphtalia had stood up. She looked at the broken weapon in her hand with horror. Without a weapon, there's no way she could save her master now…
"Use this!"
Her head snapped toward the direction of the voice. She saw something flying in the air in her direction and stabbed itself on the ground right in front of her. It was a beautiful falchion with a pure white blade and the hilt wrapped in black cloth. She grabbed the hilt and pulled it out of the ground without even spending a second on thinking; the sword felt so natural in her hand. And with an ear-piercing scream, she thrust the blade straight into the side of the monster.
Different from before, the sword went through the body of the creature so easily it was just like it was made from butter. The monster stopped struggling immediately; its eyes bulged out, and with a final whine, it collapsed on the ground, dead. And at the same time, the sword on Raphtalia's hand shattered into glittering dust.
[1500 EXP acquired.]
[You gained 5 levels.]
[Raphtalia gained 7 levels.]
"It's… dead," whispered Raphtalia. She still couldn't believe what had just happened.
"Yeah, it's done," mumbled Naofumi. He looked at the girl with the biggest smile he had shown since that fateful day. "I'm proud of you, Raphtalia."
Then he fell to the ground, unconscious.
The Shadow of the Church cursed in his breath.
This wasn't supposed to happen. The companion of the Shield Demon was supposed to be afraid of dog monsters. And he had prepared a monster with the level above 40, to ensure that they would not be able to fight back. They were supposed to be killed. And yet, they somehow managed to defeat it, and got even stronger from that.
There's no other choice; he had to return to report to his superior…
Then he suddenly found out he couldn't move. He glanced down, and was terrified when he saw his shadow being bound under knives pinning corners of the head, the arms and the legs.
This… this is the Shadow Binding Technique of the Queen's Shadows…!
"The play's over. Now you're coming with us."
If he was captured, it would be the end of His Grace's brilliant plan to get rid of the Demon for the world. There's only one thing to do…
He bit on something in his mouth. Immediately, his eyes bugged out; his mouth started foaming, and with a gasp, he fell over, dead.
The person who had just made the capture towered above the corpse and clicked his tongue. "Tch. The bastard committed suicide. There goes the evidence…"
He shot a glance at the Shield Hero, who had just fallen unconscious, and his companion, the slave girl who was panicking over his body. A smile appeared under his mask. Then, grabbing the corpse of the enemy Shadow on the ground, he melted into the darkness.
Naofumi's eyes slowly opened.
The first thing he realized was that he was lying on a bed. Strange. He could remember clearly that he had been fighting a very dangerous monster in the forest with Raphtalia, and he had never been as close to death as that. And sure, it was real, because he could still feel the pain on his left arm and at his side.
Wait, if he was unconscious, then what about…?
"Raph… talia…?"
"Ah, he's awake."
Another familiar voice. Who could that be…?
"MASTER!"
The next thing he knew was that his vision was completely obscured by a mop of messy brown hair. The pain at his side shot through his body again, and he let out a groan mixed with a slight choke.
"Now, now, young lady, he's injured, you know," This time, the voice was an unfamiliar one. "If you act like that, his wounds are going to open up again."
Naofumi groaned and pushed himself up from where he was lying. "Where… am I…?"
"My apothecary, of course," the unfamiliar voice answered him, and turning his head, he saw a middle-aged man wearing a pair of round glasses, who was carrying a bowl of water with a roll of bandage on his hand. "You should lie down; with that injury of yours you would need some care before you can do anything rough again."
Naofumi's senses immediately went into vigilant mode. He grabbed the Legendary Shield on his shoulder and asked warily. "Why am I here?"
"That would be my fault, then," the familiar voice from before rose again. Naofumi turned, and realized immediately who had just raised his voice. The Sword Hero was sitting at a table at the far corner, looking at him with eyes half amused, half annoyed.
"Seriously, I just left you for half a day and you already turned out half-dead. What would happen if I came just one minute late?"
Naofumi blinked. "Then…"
"You should thank your slave," the ex-Guardian pointed his thumb at the person who had nearly crushed Naofumi's rib cage. "If she hadn't been there you would have been killed. Most of the work was done by her; I only provided her the weapon to finish it off."
Naofumi's eyes followed the direction. And his mind went blank.
The person who had just hugged him was… a complete stranger. Sure, she had brown hair, red eyes and a pair of raccoon ears just like Raphtalia, but… Raphtalia was a ten-year-old girl. This girl was at least fifteen; there's no way she's his sick, little slave… right?
"Who… who are you?"
The girl's voice trembled. "You… don't you recognize me, master?"
Naofumi was even more confused. Her voice… it sounded just like Raphtalia's. But she couldn't… she couldn't be Raphtalia. No way. This didn't make any sense at all.
"It isn't surprising you don't know about this," the physician placed the water bowl on a stool next to his bed and started dampening a towel in it. "Demi-humans do not grow like normal people. When they are young, their bodies grow with their level. The more they level up, the faster they grow until they reach the equivalent of a human's 18-year-old. She must have experienced a very big leap in level recently; that's why she's like this. As her master, you should have known about this, Sir Shield Hero."
Naofumi's eyes darted back to the good doctor's face. "You know me?"
"Who doesn't?" the doctor answered. "Your reputation has preceded you. I don't think there is any person in this town who doesn't know your face."
The Shield Hero was even more wary now. "Then why…?"
The doctor only answered him with a shrug. "I don't believe there is any rapist who would sacrifice his own life to protect a little girl in danger."
Naofumi was stunned by the simple answer of the physician.
After the farce at the royal palace the other day, he had thought that there was no decent human being left in this wretched world. Even after Shirou-san told him that his way of thinking was wrong, he still didn't believe it. He had been sure that the Sword Hero only said those sweet words to trick him into not venting his wrath on the trash King and the other bastards in this country.
But now, after meeting old man Erhard, being helped heartily by the blacksmith, and getting Raphtalia as a companion, he realized that he was wrong. Turned out there were more good people in this world than he had thought.
And at that moment, Naofumi found a reason for him to fight. King Trash, the Bitch and the other bastards under them might not be worth his protection, but there were still other people, the actual good people who were in need of his help. And he would fight to protect them, those people who believed in him.
Raphtalia looked at him in worry. "Are you all right, master?"
Naofumi looked at her and smiled. "You don't have to call me master all the time like that. Just Naofumi is fine."
Then he turned to the Sword Hero. "Shirou-san, thank y…"
The words stopped dead in his mouth. There was no sign of the red Hero in the shop anymore.