Chapter 16: Reunion
Some time before Garfiel escaped
Naofumi, Raphtalia, Filo and Melty managed to reach near the Idol's mansion.
As they were close, Melty turned towards the Shield Hero to ask him:
"We are right here, now what?"
"Give me a moment." Naofumi said, trying to take this chance to analyze the area.
He can see that there's a bunch of demi humans distracting many knights nearby.
Raphtalia also noticed this which prompted her to say:
"Those look like the ones from Reichnott's domain."
"They are here because their precious master was captured." Naofumi commented on what Raphtalia had said.
He turned towards the younger princess's direction, noticing her current expression to the situation.
"...Reichnott..."
Naofumi looked at her with a blank expression before turning towards the mansion once again, seeing that the front door is guarded by only two knights.
He thought about doing a front assault though that would be under the assumption that both Garfiel or Reichnott aren't in mortal danger when the assault starts.
He then thought about sneaking around but the problem with that would be finding a backway into the mansion.
There's also the fact that the longer they take to rescue the two, the higher the chance of ending up finding either of them dead.
The third option would be a mix of the two.
'Hm, the best way to get in would be to knock these two guards first without being alerted while the others are distracted by the demi humans.'
As he thought this, he noticed the second princess throw a robe at him.
"What's this?"
"Put it on." Melty spoke in a serious tone.
"Why should I?" He questioned, annoyed by her demanding tone, reminding him too much of her.
Melty looked at Naofumi before pointing at the two knights guarding the front door while answering his question:
"We are going to speak with them."
"What kind of plan is that?" The Shield Hero questioned.
"They won't recognize you with that robe on. Besides, they'll be more focused on me."
'She's right...' He thought to himself, knowing just how much attention Melty's going to get when she reveals herself to the two knights.
Though a thought popped up:
"Wait, where's the robe for Raphtalia and Filo?"
"...um, I only had one." Melty knew that Naofumi was giving a strong gaze towards her.
She remained silent as she didn't want to argue with him about it.
The Shield Hero looked at her before turning towards the mansion, knowing that arguing with the younger princess won't get them anywhere.
"Then Raphtalia, you go with the second princess."
"B-But what about you, Naofumi-sama?"
"And what about me?" Filo added.
"Me and Filo will be close by."
As he said this, Raphtalia quickly put on the robe in order to follow Melty towards the front doors to greet the guards.
While half way there, she turned towards a a pathway leading underground.
This caused her to slightly panic since it was reminding her of those horrible times before meeting Naofumi.
"Are you okay?" Melty asked, suspecting that something was wrong when Raphtalia looked pale.
"Y-Yes." She snapped out of her fear, not wanting to jeopardize the mission as well as not wanting anyone to worry about her right now.
Melty was concerned yet she knew that this wasn't the time to press on Raphtalia about it.
The two continued to walk towards the knights, finally getting their attention.
The two pulled out their swords as one of them asks:
"Halt! Who are you?!"
Neither Raphtalia or Melty said since once the two guard knights were able to see Melty fully, their attitude had shifted.
"P-Princess Melty?!"
"You're okay!"
The two knights approached Melty, surprised that she's here.
"How did you get here?"
"What happened to the Devil of the Shield?"
"Those questions can be answered later. I wish to speak with Idol Rabier." Melty spoke with a stern voice.
The two knights paused for a moment.
"Apologies Princess Melty, at the moment he's busy."
"Doing what?" Raphtalia said, slightly losing her cool.
This caused the two knights to be on guard when hearing this.
"And who are you supposed to be?!"
"She's my bodyguard." Melty spoke out, trying to calm the situation. "Now, what is he busy doing?"
"He's currently taking care of a traitor."
"Is that so? Take me to him."
"But—"
"That's an order."
Melty's confidence and stern attitude was enough to cause both knights to be taken aback for a moment before nodding.
"Understood, Princess."
As one of the two opened the door, the other knight looked at Raphtalia with a serious expression before telling the princess:
"Your guard will have to stay here."
"Why?" Raphtalia questioned as she prepared to pull out her sword.
Melty moved her hand to signal her to not do anything rash before also asking the same question.
"Why?"
"Lord Idol Rabier doesn't like others entering his mansion. You are an exception since you are a princess."
Melty and Raphtalia didn't trust this but considering the Reichnott needs their help, this will have to do.
Melty nods before following one of the knights into the mansion while the other remains outside to keep an eye on Raphtalia.
After a minute of waiting, she takes the opportunity to knock the knight out.
This allowed Naofumi and Filo to get out of hiding in order to meet up with her.
As the two caught up with her, Naofumi prepared to kick the door down only to notice that Raphtalia was distracted.
"Raphtalia, what's wrong?"
"...I think I know where Garf's being held."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Naofumi paused himself for a moment. He could go with Raphtalia to get Garfiel though that would leave Melty in the hands of Idol Rabier.
"Then we will do this. Filo will join me in making sure the second princess doesn't get hurt while you get that idiot out of the mess he got himself in."
"Understood."
Raphtalia bowed at her master before quickly making her way towards the underground area, knowing that Idol would place Garfiel there.
Before she headed off to go save him, Naofumi told her:
"Be careful."
She turned towards her master and nodded before making her way towards the underground path.
Present time:
Garfiel opened his eyes as he felt some of his strength come back to him.
'Eh?! Where am I?'
He questioned this since the last thing he remembers was walking in the prison he was in, trying to find the bastard Idol Rabier.
As he was sitting down, he noticed that Raphtalia was by his side.
"Talia? What're ya doin' here? Actually, where we at?"
The Raccoon girl tilted her head when she heard this.
"Garf, what was the last thing you remember?"
As she asked this, Garfiel took a moment to take a step back and think on what had happened previously.
He recalls the torture the fat bastard did to him though after that it was a bit hazy for him.
He can remember seeing those from the mansion there but also not there...?
He definitely remembers seeing a girl but not fully since by that time, his mind was barely able to hold information even though he had a feeling that he was able to have some conversation with her.
'What did we even talk 'bout?'
He had small vivid memories of the conversation though this would be ignored when he recalled that he had managed to encounter Raphtalia after trying to attack thinking that she was Idol.
"Hey...sorry fer trynna hurt ya. Thought ya were th'fat bastard."
"No need to apologize, Garf. I thought you were an enemy."
Garfiel looked at her for a moment before slowly getting back up.
"Wait, you need to rest."
"It's aight, Talia. My amazin' self's got th'divine protection 'f Earth Spirits."
"Divine protection...of the earth spirits?" Raphtalia tilted her head once again, a bit confused by this. "Is it some kind of ability of yours?"
"Yes, sorta. Basically, when I'm touchin' th'ground, my amazin' self's not only healin' but also I can manipulate th'ground however I want."
"How exactly?"
"I can slam my foot t'th'ground and th't'll cause wherever I want t'explode."
"Interesting."
"Yea, though right now I need it t'heal up a bit."
"How long do you need?"
"Just a bit more and I should be able t'fight."
"Understood. I just hope we don't take too long. I want to be by Naofumi-sama's side."
"I know, I know." As Garfiel said this, the two heard something break from a distance. "Think Shield boss got into a scuffle?"
"I'll go check. Just wait here until you are at full strength."
"I probably can—"
"No. I don't want you to push yourself. You already did enough for us by letting yourself be captured. Now it's our turn to stop him."
As she said this with a stern voice, Garfiel noticed Raphtalia's tail suddenly point straight up, giving an indication that she's pissed off.
"R' ya okay?"
"...yes."
As she responded in a harsh tone, she went towards Idol's mansion to assist her master.
While she made her way into the mansion, Garfiel stood standing for a moment on his own, pondering on the events that had transpired.
'Guess Shield Boss's tryna save th'nobleman. Gotta help them.'
He waited for a moment to heal up the majority of his wounds before following behind Raphtalia's trail, not really listening to what she said.
While he was chasing right after her, Naofumi and Filo both burst into the mansion grounds and began beating up knights left and right.
As they were causing a ruckus, more guards started to appear out of nowhere.
"Th-The devil of the shield! Warn the governor!"
"Filo!"
"On it!"
Filo quickly charged at the guards at full speed, completely ramming into them and sending them flying all over the place.
As she took care of the majority of the guards, a few decided to try and fight Naofumi.
He took note of this and quickly changed his shield into the Chimera Viper Shield variation.
Once he did this, he blocked a couple of their attacks which allowed him to trigger the counterattack effect this shield had.
The snakes from the shield animate once an enemy's attack is successfully blocked, allowing Naofumi to attack the few guards with these snakes.
"Augh! What the?!"
"I suggest you get the hell out of here and find an antidote if you wish to live."
As he said this, the few guards all hesitated for a moment, afraid of the way he was speaking to them before they decided to run.
With those guards running away and the guards Filo was fighting being knocked down, the two continued forward to catch up with Melty.
As they were making their way deeper into the mansion, they made their way into the second floor.
Once there, Naofumi got onto Filo's back in order to move around faster as she had a sense of where her friend's located.
She moved around the second floor rapidly before barging into a room.
This wasn't the room Melty was residing in but instead it was where Reichnott's located.
"...Ah, Shield Hero. Quite the timing you have."
"Reichnott."
Naofumi knew that this was in a way his fault, mainly Garfiel but also his fault in how the nobleman was being tortured.
He took a second before creating a green shield projectile to send towards the three knights that were beating on Reichnott.
All three were caught by this and were knocked onto the wall, knocking them out.
He got off of Filo and quickly freed the nobleman before asking him,
"Are you alright?"
"...a little bruised but still alive."
"Good. Now, where did that other nobleman go?" The Shield Hero spoke sternly, catching Reichnott's attention.
"I'm not too sure...I did hear he was going to see Princess Melty somewhere close by."
"Okay. Follow us then."
Reichnott nodded at what Naofumi said before the two along with Filo left the room and continued to search for Melty.
While they were quickly searching around, Raphtalia had arrived on the second floor.
"Raphtalia. Where's Garfiel?"
"He's okay, he's resting right now."
"Understood."
Raphtlia quickly approached her master to join him. Once with her master, she turned her attention to Reichnott.
"Are you okay?" She spoke with a concerned tone, worried for the nobleman's sake. Reichnott looked at Raphtalia before giving a heartwarming smile.
"I'll be alright. We should prioritize in finding Melty-sama."
Raphtalia was still concerned when hearing this since Reichnott was badly wounded from whatever Idol Rabier had done to him.
She nodded before turning towards a door across the hall, having fury in her eyes.
She started to walk towards the door with Naofumi being the first to notice her sudden rage.
"Raphtalia."
"..." She remained silent though she did look towards him. Seeing her eyes immediately raised red flags for him.
"What's wrong?"
"...I know where Melty-sama's located."
As she said this, she pointed towards the room she was aiming for, having remembered all too well Idol's quarters.
Naofumi trusted Raphtalia's words though he can immediately tell that something was causing her to have this intense hatred.
It didn't take him long to puzzle the pieces together, figuring that Idol Rabier is related to how Raphtalia was a slave.
This made him eager to get to Melty.
The four of them entered the room to see that Idol was indeed there though he was holding the second princess captive, having a knife on her neck.
"Not one step. Unless you want the princess here to die."
Naofumi and Raphtalia both gave him a glare before noticing a dead knight on the ground.
The nobleman noticed this, prompting him to say:
"Those who don't obey my word end up dead on the ground."
"You have no care for those who work under you...no, you have no care for anybody." Raphtalia said as she pulled out her sword.
"Hold it right there. Any move, a single twitch and I will slip this knife into the princess's neck."
Right before anything else can be done, a sudden knight was sent flying into the window, causing said knight to crash in.
This surprise caught Idol's attention, allowing Naofumi to quickly use Air Strike Shield to separate both him and the second princess.
Once this was successful, Filo swiftly ran towards the nobleman and landed a kick in his groin.
This sent the fat nobleman flying backwards before crashing into the wall.
As Raphtalia and Naofumi prepared to go towards Melty to keep her safe, another random knight was sent flying into another window leading into the room they were in.
'What the hell is going on outside?!'
As he asked himself this, suddenly Garfiel jumped into the room through a window that hadn't been broken.
This surprised all those in the room.
Garfiel turned towards the knight he had just thrown, approached him and grabbed his neck while saying:
"I'll ask one more time, where's th'fat bastard?"
"..."
As he was preparing to punch this knight, he felt everyone looking at him.
Right before exploring around, he thought that perhaps he had landed himself in another room filled with knights only to see that he found Naofumi, Raphtalia, Filo, Melty, Reichnott, and the fat man himself.
"Oh. Well, guess I found them."
He set the knight down on his feet, whipped away the dust on his armor, and patted his arm before turning his attention towards Idol Rabier.
Right as he turned his back on the knight, he collapsed to the ground.
"Garf! What are you doing here?!" Raphtalia shouted, mad that he's here instead of healing.
Garfiel just smiled before responding with:
"Just here t'help out."
Once his sentence finished, he approached Melty first to keep her safe before looking at Idol with a confident expression.
"Seems like yer flat on yer ass. How th'tables have turned."
"Bite your tongue, disgusting demi human!"
"Nah, don't think so."
Garfiel swiftly moved towards Idol's position to land a punch on the fat man's face.
This surprised everyone with Raphtalia quickly wanting Garfiel to stop though to her surprise, he started to walk away.
"Th't felt nice. All yours now, Talia."
After saying this, he picked up Melty to take her away from Idol Rabier and right by Reichnott's side.
Once he did this, Raphtalia slowly approached the fat nobleman with her sword out.
"Tsk. How dare you...all of you do this to me? Torture is not a suitable punishment for your like. I'll see to it that all of you pay with your very lives!"
"All the demi-humans who have died at your hands could say the very same thing." She said coldly.
"Could they? The disgusting creatures, they aren't even human! They sneak into my town...it's like they are begging for death."
"Yes. That's how it was. That's the sort of man you were."
"Huh? Do you...do you know me? That's right! I remember you. You're the slave I disposed of."
Naofumi and Garfiel had a shared expression when they heard this, both wanting to kick the ever living shit out of this fat nobleman.
Raphtalia remained calm while responding to Idol Rabier's comment:
"Yes. We spend a lot of time together."
"Heh, heh...And look at you now. You've teamed up with the Shield Demon. I can still remember your crying face, your shouts of pain. They brought me so much satisfaction. Now I see...You've come back to me. You wish to taste desperation again!"
"Tsk." Garfiel spoke first before Raphtalia could say something to the fat nobleman while cracking his knuckles, "Th's sick bastard r'th'types I hated before cap'n had arrived t'th'sanctuary. I ain't gonna take yer revenge Talia, but I'd like a chance t'kick his ass."
"No, Garf. This is my issue and mine alone." As she said this, she pointed her sword right towards Idol's direction. "I'm not a strong enough person to help you, Naofumi-sama. That's why I...I never rid myself of this need for revenge."
Garfiel was puzzled by this, prompting him to turn towards the Shield Hero.
"What's she talkin' 'bout? She's super strong."
"That's not what she means, Garfiel."
As he said this, he thought back on his early days with Raphtalia, recalling that he knew something wasn't quite right with her despite how she was always very kind.
'That's right, I'd completely forgotten. Raphtalia had wanted to get revenge on someone. If she wants revenge, I want to help her. I want to help her. Even if it isn't right, even if it isn't the ethical thing to do, I want to stand on Raphtalia's side.'
Naofumi as well as Garfiel saw that Raphtalia was going to kill the nobleman with neither not going to stop it.
Naofumi saw Raphtalia as someone he values despite everything that's happened and Garfiel understands that she needs this.
As the two stand idle by, Raphtalia continued to speak:
"I...I'm not like you, Naofumi-sama, I can't protect anybody. I know that nothing I do will bring back my village. But I..." She paused for a moment before moving her sword, preparing to strike Idol Rabier down. "If I don't stop you, right now, then what happened to me and Rifana will happen to other children. I cannot let that happen!"
Just as she was about to strike Idol, he got his whip out and was prepared to use it on Raphtalia.
Both Naofumi and Garfiel took note of the whip, noticing that something's up with it.
"Master! I don't like that whip he's got!" Filo said as she and Melty ran by Naofumi's side.
"Hahaha! This whip has been absorbing the blood of demi-humans for years. I doubt that even the Devil of the Shield can stand up to it!" Idol boasted.
"Ya may be right, but yer forgetting somethin'." Garfiel said as he suddenly appeared to the side of the fat nobleman, grabbing his hand holding the whip.
"What?!"
"It's all useless 'f ya can't do jackshit." Garfiel spoke a bit cocky when saying these words before turning towards Raphtalia. "Ya can take him out now, Talia."
"...Thanks, Garf!"
With Garfiel preventing Idol from even doing anything, Raphtalia took this chance to slice Idol's chest, leaving a large scar.
"AH...D-Do you really think this will kill me?! I've handled worse!"
Suddenly he managed to break free from Garfiel's grip, surprising the demi human boy.
"What th'?!"
"Now you can all suffer my wrath!"
Idol swung his ship around, causing everyone to avoid his attack.
Garfiel and Raphtalia's instincts were on the mark, allowing the two to avoid its hit.
Naofumi avoided the attack just barely, noticing that the whip had some cursed ability should it hit them thanks to the poor knight receiving one small slash which resulted in him coughing up blood and losing all of his strength.
'That's annoying. This room's too small, he'll hit all of us.!'
Garfiel and Raphtalia were in sync when they saw Idol Rabier preparing for another swing of his whip.
Garfiel took this opportunity to prepare to throw Raphtalia by having her jump onto his hands so he can thrust her towards Idol's direction.
As Raphtalia jumped onto Garfiel's hands, she had switched her usual sword to the magic sword, wanting to test out its nullifying effects onto her target.
"Aight, here ya go! Make th's fatass suffer!"
He sent her flying directly towards Idol while managing to have her avoid the whip attack.
As he did this, he quickly managed to avoid the attack himself as well.
'Too close!'
Naofumi, Reichnott, Melty, and Filo all four managed to also avoid Idol's attack just barely as well, noticing that this nobleman is oddly fast for a fat man.
While his attacks didn't hit anybody in the room, Raphtalia managed to land the hit with her magic sword right into the fat nobleman's hilt in his shoulder.
"Noooo! Damn you! You think it's all right for a demi human to hurt me?! I survived the demi-human war!"
"Shut th'fuck up! Who gives a fuck 'bout th't!"
Garfiel shouted as he also closed the distance to land one hell of a punch onto the fat man's gut, causing him to cough up some blood.
"Augh! H-How dare you! I'll never forgive either of you! I'll kill you all!"
"You're a coward! You only attack people weaker than yourself! What were the demi humans you fought like? The ones I know were all women and children. Disadvantaged people! Don't talk to me about how you fought them!"
"Get yer sword out, Talia! Let's try th't combo I told ya 'bout!"
Raphtalia nodded and quickly jumped back to not only allow Garfiel to do his thing but also to switch swords again.
Garfiel grabbed the fat nobleman by the hair while saying:
"Yer in luck, yer gonna be th'first t'experience th's combo! Don't have a name fer it yet but fer now, it's Talia and Garfiel's duo attack!"
As he shouted this, he used his strength to throw the fat man directly towards the raccoon girl's direction before running to join her.
While he was speeding towards her left side, Raphtalia did her part to slash Idol's back, managing to stop him from flying right past her.
He coughed up some more blood before suffering another blow from Garfiel.
When he managed to get to Raphtalia's left side, he jumped up and quickly landed a kick onto the top of his head.
This caused him to hit the floor with force though what wasn't expected was for him to bounce from the ground.
"Ha! Guess we got a chance t'finish th's. Ya ready?"
Raphtaia nodded before the two landed the strongest attacks onto him, Garfiel Tinsel being one of his strongest punches in his human form while Raphtalia went for one of the strongest swings from her blade.
Their combined attacks were enough to not only inflict more pain onto the fat man but also sent him flying out of his mansion through one of the broken windows courtesy of Garfiel Tinsel.
"NOOOO!" Idol screamed before crashing to the ground, being left a mess.
"T-The governor...h-he lost to the Shield Demon!" One of the guards nearby shouted, left in complete shock.
"Run!"
The remaining guards and knights began to run away, viewing this battle as lost due to their leader being defeated.
Raphtalia stood in the window, whispering to the sky:
"I'll get that flag back...the flag from that day..."
As she whispered this, she recovered herself before turning towards Garfiel, noticing that something's up with him.
"Garf, what's wrong?!"
"Oh nothin'...just a lil bad luck on my part." He said this with a smile while holding the urge to cough up blood as well as barely holding himself together.
Naofumi, Raphtalia, and the others took note of a small cut he had on his left arm, indicating that during the attack he was caught by one of Idol's attacks.
Before Garfiel could try to move, he collapsed onto the ground.
"Garfiel!"
"Garf!"
Everyone approached Garfiel, seeing that he's nearly unconscious.
"You damn idiot." Naofumi approached Garfiel before pulling out a bottle.
During the travel towards the mansion they are currently in, he suspected that he needed to make a strong healing potion just for Garfiel.
Plus he still had an extra bottle of holy water which is coming in handy when mixing both bottles together to get both effects. "Here, take this."
As he assisted him in drinking up the motion, Garfiel felt his body getting better with the curse beginning to go away.
He coughed up a bit of blood before managing to gain some strength again.
Once back on his feet, Raphtalia approached him to ask:
"Are you okay?"
"Fer now...though ya gotta admit, th't was pretty cool." He smiled, thinking their duo attack was amazing.
This comment only resulted in him getting hit in the head by the raccoon girl.
"I told you to rest up!"
"I know...I know but I wanted t'help."
"Well, you surely did help." Reichnott said, trying to calm any tension. "You took on Idol and survived."
"Yea, yer not wrong...though I could do without bein' cursed."
"True but one must see the bright side."
"Fair enough...shall we get outta here?"
As Garfiel asked this, Naofumi agreed and quickly commanded Filo to carry Garfiel out of there while the others go on foot.
They start making their way down to the first floor of the mansion to escape though there was something Raphtalia wanted to do first.
"We need to free the others."
Naofumi was a bit hesitant on this since they are on a run, they can't really provide any shelter once freed.
They could ask Reichnott to shelter the demi human slaves but he knows that would be putting Reichnott in even more danger.
"I know it's asking for a lot but..."
"I understand your situation. I will do anything I can to help you." Reichnott said with a smile.
"Then let's go save 'em." Garfiel said as he was eager to rescue the prisoners. Naofumi pointed at Garfiel's direction.
"You stay on Filo. You need to regain your strength."
"Aight Aight, I get it. I'll stay put."
Garfiel knows that if he disobeys again, he will end up pissing off both Naofumi and Raphtalia.
As they were making their way to the underground floor where all the demi human prisoners were located, Naofumi and Garfiel turned towards Raphtalia's direction.
Both were uncertain if she's holding herself.
"Are you okay?"
"...Yes, I'll be okay, Naofumi-sama."
As she said this, she led them down the stairs and into the basement level though once there, Melty hesitated for a second.
"Are you okay, Mel-chan?" Filo asked, worried for her friend.
"Yes."
Raphtalia continued to walk forward with all the bad memories of this place coming back to her.
While they were walking, Garfiel couldn't help but think back to when he was held captive a while ago.
"What's got your mind?" Reichnott said, having caught on to Garfiel's deep thinking.
"There's th's girl here th't helped me escape. I wonder 'f we'll bump into her."
"I'm sure we will. If she was free and got you out, I can guarantee that she's somewhere close by."
"Hopefully so. Wanna thank her fer helpin' my amazin' self out."
As he said this, he looked around before noticing a few demi human children in the prison cells nearby.
"Oy! There's someone over there!"
As Garfiel pointed towards one of the cells, Melty and Filo spotted a few other demi human children in another cell.
Naofumi and Raphtalia also spotted more demi human slaves nearby, prompting everyone to quickly open their cells to free them.
While freeing many of the demi humans, Melty felt guilt in her heart.
She couldn't believe that someone, a nobleman that fought alongside her father, would be capable of such torment to innocent people.
"How could I let this happen...?"
"It's not your fault." Naofumi said, being familiar with the guilt the younger princess was showing. "There's just people in this world that are nothing more than devils."
As he says this, he can't help but think of one person, Malty the bitch.
He turned towards Raphtalia and saw that she had spotted someone she was familiar with.
"Keel-kun?" She spoke with a shocked expression.
"..." The demi human child didn't respond which prompted Filo and Garfiel to nod in sync before breaking the door down.
Although a bit overkill, Raphtalia appreciated their help before entering the cell to check on her friend.
"Keel-kun! Why are you here?"
The one Raphtalia called Keel slowly looked up at her, looking extremely weak.
As Keel and Raphtalia locked eyes, the demi human child with little energy asked:
"Who...are you?"
"You were brought here, too? I'm so glad you're alive!"
Raphtalia pulled out her sword and sliced the chain that was holding onto Keel's hand.
Once freed, the demi human child looked at her and once again asked:
"Who are you, lady?"
"Did you forget? It's me, Raphtalia."
"Raphtalia-chan?" Keel took a closer look at her before finally seeing the resemblance of the Raphtalia he remembered. "No way. You can't be her. S-Stay away!"
Keel was in denial since the last time he saw her was being dragged away to somewhere unknown.
She closed her eyes for a moment, understanding Keel's hesitation to believe that she's telling the truth.
"Do you remember? That one time, you went diving and nearly drowned, and Sadeena-oneechan had to save you. You ate poisonous mushrooms and ended up with an upset stomach another time. You were in pain and begged me to not tell anyone. And when I said we should rebuild the village after the Wave, you were the one to agree. That made me so happy."
"Raphtalia-chan...It's really you!"
"Thank you!" Raphtalia said before hugging Keel, happy to see someone from her village having survived all this time. "I'm so grateful that you're still alive."
Naofumi, Garfiel, Filo, Melty, and Reichnott watched this reunion with a smile, happy for Raphtalia.
After hugging for a bit, Keel noticed them behind her.
"Who are they?"
"I'm with the Shield Hero right now."
"What? The...Shield Hero?"
"Yeah. The Shield Hero is here to save you."
As Raphtalia said this, Naofumi was approaching them along with Filo and Garfiel.
"Let me see your wounds." The Shield Hero said.
Keel looked at him before allowing Naofumi to grab his hand.
The Shield hero checked on him before his shield glowed a green light which eventually caused Keel's body to begin to glow as well.
After a few seconds, the wounds on Keel would start healing up.
This surprised him enough to prompt him to say:
"He's real...The Shield Hero really exists!"
As Keel said this, he started to cough which caused Raphtalia to worry.
"Are you okay?"
Keel coughed a bit more before having the chance to respond to a concerned Raphtalia.
"Yeah...I see. Rifana-chan would've been so happy to see him."
Raphtalia was caught off guard by what Keel had said.
"Keel-kun...Where is Rifana-chan? Is she also..."
There was a slight hesitation when asking this though what's more troublesome was Keel's response...that being nothing.
He turned towards the side which was alarming to both Garfiel and Naofumi but even more alarming to Raphtalia.
'Shit.'
Garfiel wanted to help Raphtalia get through this pain, having experienced something like this long ago but Naofumi stopped him.
He placed his hand in the demi human boy's arm, indicating that he shouldn't.
Right as Garfiel acknowledged this, they saw her run out of the cage and begin her search for Rifana.
Garfiel chased right after her, knowing from Keel's expression that she's likely not here anymore.
As he chases her down, she eventually stops on a cell that's been already open.
Raphtalia entered the cell slowly before collapsing onto her knees, finally finding her friend.
Garfiel slowly entered the cell as he began to walk by Raphtalia's side while she began to cry in pain, having failed to save her friend.
Garfiel set his hand onto her arm to show his support before looking at the corpse of Raphtalia's friend.
He had a feeling that the girl he encountered when he was captured was the one in front of them.
'Haven't found her yet...it only makes sense.'
If that was the case, then Rifana's spirit had manifested and assisted him...but why would she?
("Tell her that I'm happy for her.")
Garfiel crossed his arms, a bit confused by all of this. While in deep thinking, his mind shifted to what Raphtalia was beginning to say:
"Rifana...she was a friend from my village..." She paused herself as tears were falling down her cheeks. "Rifana was a bright, happy girl. She liked to talk about legends. She was more girly than me...She was so nice..."
"I'm sorry." Garfiel said as he once again placed his arm right onto Raphtalia's shoulder, showing his support.
Raphtalia continued to look at her dead friend Rifana, feeling guilt that she couldn't come sooner.
"She always said that she wanted to marry someone like the Shield Hero."
"..." As Garfiel didn't respond to this comment from the raccoon girl, he did sense Naofumi and the others arrived.
They managed to hear everything, which allowed them to understand the situation.
Melty looked at the corpse of Rifana which only further increased the guilt she had in her soul.
"I can't believe such monstrous deeds were being done in Melromarc."
"Melty-sama..." Reichnott spoke, "As much as I hate to say it, similar things happen all across this country."
"What?!"
"That's why we needed Seyaette. But now..."
As the room went silent, Naofumi approached Raphtalia.
"I hate myself." Raphtalia saying this caused everyone to worry. "I couldn't do anything. If only I was stronger, I could've kept everyone safe! They could've..." Raphtalia thought back to her encounter with Idol, sending him flying out of the window and towards his grave with Garfiel's assistance.
She should feel something, feeling that she had avenged everyone he had killed unjustly and yet...she felt nothing but guilt.
The fact that she couldn't reach this place alone says everything to her, that she wasn't enough to save her dear friend.
"You did protect us!" Keel said, "If you hadn't come to help, I probably would've died here."
Keel nearly lost his strength which would've caused him to collapse to the ground if it wasn't for Filo, who managed to grab him before that happened. He continued:
"And the only reason everyone hung in there without losing hope was your smile! We decided to keep smiling no matter how bad things got!"
Raphtalia remained silent for a moment, feeling guilt that she can't smile like before.
Just as she was about to tell this to Keel with an apology, Garfiel comes to back up the young boy:
"He's right. Ya came here and saved those th't were still alive. Yer friend may be gone, but 'f we get her and th'others outta here and bury them properly, they can rest peacefully."
"..."
She was once again silent, not really sure how to respond to Garfiel's comment...though it doesn't change her feelings.
"Sorry. I'm sorry, Keel-kun. I can't smile like I used to. I mean...I ended up killing someone."
Tears continue to flow through her eyes.
Her quest to get payback on Idol for all the harm he did not only to her but Rifana, Keel, and the other villagers of her village doesn't matter if she wasn't able to save all of them.
Garfiel understood this guilt, however he felt that she did the right thing in killing the fat man.
Although his death can't bring back those who perished, it can prevent anyone else from suffering the same fate.
Right before he had the chance to speak, Naofumi placed his hand onto his arm, alerting him that he'll be the one to speak with Raphtalia.
"You're wrong." The Shield Hero confidently said.
"It was all wrong. Everything I've done so far...It was all a mistake!"
"That's not it!" Naofumi, worried for her sake, placed his left hand onto her right shoulder. "Raphtalia."
"I don't have the right to walk beside you!"
Naofumi pulls Raphtalia towards him and looks at her face with a calm expression.
"You did nothing wrong! If I hadn't met you, I would've run from this world without ever trusting anyone." As these words were said, Naofumi reflected back to the very moment he met her all the way until now. Despite how the world saw him, she believed in him and trusted her life unto him. "It's because you believed in me back then that I'm here right now, that I got to meet Garfiel, Filo, and Melty."
"Yeah. it can't have been a mistake. I mean, you were so tiny and now you've met the Shield Hero, become such a cool lady, and come back to save us!"
Raphtalia was silent for a moment, caught off guard by Keel's words before turning back towards Naofumi. He pointed towards Reichnott's direction while saying:
"Look. You were the one who kept those kids alive."
"...Naofumi-sama..."
"Stop crying." He says as he goes to headpat her.
"I'm sure Rifana-chan's happy she got to meet the Shield Hero, too."
Naofumi, Raphtalia, and the others turn towards Rifana's direction.
"From now on, we have to protect them. Make sure nobody goes through what you and she did."
"Agreed." Garfiel said, wanting to add his own comments into the conversation. "Anybody who tries th's won't get away with it. We will give th's people a place, a Sanctuary 'f sorts."
"Yes." Filo said with a smile, agreeing with Garfiel's words. Naofumi turned back towards Raphtalia and continued speaking,
"Isn't that why you fought with me for all this time? Together with me, the Shield Hero?"
Raphtalia remained silent for a moment, feeling warmth by Naofumi's words.
She turned towards Rifana's direction and couldn't help but wish to tell her everything that had happened to the hero she wanted to marry.
"She's happy, ya know."
"Huh?" Raphtalia turned, a bit confused by Garfiel's words.
He noticed the confusion on her face, prompting him to think back to the demi human girl's words:
("Tell her that I'm happy for her.")
He now knows that it was Rifana, asking him to deliver a message to Raphtalia.
"Yer here, alive. She may be gone but I know fer sure th't she would be happy t'know th't you made it here to rescue her. Th't her hero, Shield Boss, made it with ya. She's happy fer ya."
"..."
Raphtalia looked around and couldn't help but smile again since she's with people that she cares for as well as them caring for her.
After a few seconds of calm and peaceful silence, Garfiel had a sudden bad feeling.
"We should probably get outta here."
"Right."
Naofumi, Raphtalia, Garfiel, Filo, Melty, Reichbott, Keel, and the demi human survivors make their way up with many of the survivors carrying those that didn't make it in order to give them a proper burial.
As they made it up to the main floor, Reichnott noticed that there was fighting going on between some of his people and the knights protecting Idol's home.
"You should let them know that you're alright before they get themselves killed."
"Right."
As the nobleman was going to calm his people down, he stopped when he along with the others noticed Idol moving towards a large stone monument.
"Tsk. Th's bastard's still alive?!"
Garfiel was preparing to stomp on the fat man's head to finish him off, having no problems killing him.
Before he made a move however, he first turned towards Raphtalia to see how she's holding up.
He analyzed her expression and can see that there was a strong determination within her.
As she prepared to approach Idol Rabier to finish him off, they all noticed him lift something that resembled a small crest of the three heroes church.
He lifted it up towards the stone monument before what it seems to be praying.
"O Supreme God, grant me the power to rend the Devil asunder!"
As he asked for this, the stone monument started to glow before a symbol suddenly appeared to the ground.
"No...Don't tell me..."
"What's goin' on?"
"Yes, what's going on?" Naofumi turned towards Reichnott with a serious expression when asking this.
"The heroes of the past built that stone monument to seal a monster away."
"What?!"
"Is he trying to release the seal?!"
As he asked this, the ground began to shake violently while Idol Rabier began to laugh maniacally.
"Hahaha Yes! Go on and destroy everythi—!"
Right before the madman could finish speaking, Garfiel didn't hesitate to land one last hit onto the fat man, finally ending him.
"Th's should shut ya up!"
As he smashed his face, he sent him flying right into the monster's direction which also happened to cause the monster to smash the nobleman into pieces with one of its large feet.
"Th't's th'end 'f him...sorry Talia, didn't mean t'take yer kill."
"It's fine Garf...we have bigger problems." As she said this, she along with Naofumi and Filo got themselves ready for a fight.
Before any of them could act, they heard a shouting that distracted them from the threat in front of them.
"Naofumi! I found you!"
"Hm?"
They all turned towards the voice before giving a surprised expression.
"Motoyasu?!"