Chapter 19: Infiltration

The room was dark at first, with his senses being dampant at first before he was starting to feel his consciousness coming back to him. Once his eyes were beginning to see a small glimmer of light, he tried to get up only to see that he was chained up from both his hands and his legs.

'Hm? What's going on?'

He thought this at first before coughing a bit of blood, which reminded him of what had happened after Naofumi and his group had gone off to keep Melty safe.

'Right. I was fighting with Motoyasu and Itsuki.'

At this moment everything feels foggy as to how he was captured. All he knew was that he continued to face off against both Itsuki and Motoyasu on his own while also trying to convince them that someone was trying to kill Melty.

("Listen to me, Naofumi is not the enemy!")

("You've been brainwashed, Ren! Snap out of it!")

("I'm not!")

("Then why side with him? After everything he's done?")

("Because he's been framed!")

("Are you insane?! With what evidence are you—")

("It's no point Itsuki, Naofumi got to him.")

He recalled this dialogue but as far as he was concerned, he wasn't worried when facing the two since he knew at the time that the blessed series would help overpower them...though he almost feels like a third party had interfered with the fight. He looked around and could see that he was in a small room with the door resembling those of a jail cell.

'I'm...in prisoned? Makes sense. If they are after Naofumi and his party, I would be considered a traitor for helping him and the others escape with Princess Melty.'

Figuring this out, he attempts to pull his chains yet he seems to be unsuccessful with this. As he attempted once again, a voice spoke out from the darkness to him:

"You've finally awakened, Sword Hero."

"Hm?"

Ren looked up and noticed a figure that he couldn't recognize at this moment since he's still recovering from being knocked out for an unknown period of time. The voice continued to speak:

"I was wondering when you would awaken. Any longer and I would've thought you were dead."

"...who are you?"

"..." The person didn't say anything though he did open the door in order to reveal himself to the Sword Hero. Ren was surprised for a moment though after thinking about it, he knew that honestly it makes sense why he looked him up.

"Priest."

"You don't seem too surprised." The priest said with a calm demeanor.

"I should've expected this at first, however it all starts to make sense. You are, after all, trying to harm Naofumi."

"Ah yes, the Devil of the Shield. You have become friends with such a monster."

"Naofumi isn't a monster—"

"I understand. The Shield Demon would sway you towards his side."

"He didn't sway me, he was just honest."

"Are you certain about that?" The priest questioned with a blank tone, slightly starting to drop the kindness. He turned towards the door to see a few guards appearing into the room, making it clear to Ren that they aren't happy with his views towards Naofumin. As he noticed a couple of knights holding what seems to be chains, the Sword Hero smiled as he began to say:

"Is this what God would want you to do?"

The priest remained with his smile while giving him a response:

"Everything is in the name of God." The Priest approached Ren all the while having a menacing atmosphere around him despite looking calm. "Now, I suggest that you repent while there's still time."

Ren gave the Priest a look, not liking where this is going.

"And how do you want me to repent?"

The Priest gave a smirk look before responding:

"The first way to redeem yourself before God would be to help in stopping the Devil of the Shield before he harms any more innocent people."

"You are referring to what happened with those knights."

Ren recalls when Garfiel had gone on a rampage after seeing that those knights were trying to harm Princess Melty.

"Yes. That's an example of what the Demon Shield has done. Kidnapping the second princess is another crime along with—"

"The stuff with Mai, I know. However, she's shown to be nothing more than a liar."

"She could be, after all, everyone in this world has lied at least once in their life."

"Don't excuse her!" Ren shouted, hating that this priest is just trying to excuse Mai for lying about Naofumi all because he's the Shield Hero. "What she did is not justified by any means."

"I see." The Priest turned towards the door of the cell and started to leave. Though before leaving the guards, he tells them, "Let me know once he's cooperating."

"Understood."

The Priest walked out of the cell and just left, trusting that his guards will do the job in getting the information he needs to take out the devil of the Shield.

Naofumi and Garfiel went to wake Raphtalia, Filo, and Melty up now that they know Ren and his party are in trouble.

("Hold up, whatcha mean Sword guy's in trouble?")

("I can sense his life slowly draining.")

("Since when?" Naofumi asked with an annoyed tone.)

("I felt it just now. Wherever he's at, it's in a place where I can barely reach.")

("Then we need to get going.")

As the Shield Hero and the Shield of Sanctuary awakened the other members of the Shield Hero party, they all looked in confusion.

"Is everything alright, Naofumi-sama?"

"We need to get going."

"What's going on?" Filo asked as she was having trouble staying up.

"It's the middle of the night..." Melty complained as she was rubbing her eyes. "What could be the problem this late?"

"Sword guy's in trouble. We need t'help him out."

Hearing Garfiel's words was enough to get all three girls to instantly wake up, understanding the urgency now.

"Sword Hero's in trouble?! How?"

"We don't know, but we need to move." Motoyasu said, worried for Ren's sake.

The girls all quickly start to get their stuff packed with Naofumi watching them with Fitoria standing next to him.

"How much danger is Ren in?" Naofumi asked.

"I can't tell. The only thing I sensed was his life nearly being taken out."

"Then where is he being held? Where's Itsuki?"

"If you are referring to the Bow Hero, he's in the same direction as the Sword Hero."

Naofumi took a moment to think on this information before concluding that if Ren was captured and Itsuki is nearby where he is, then they are at the capital of Melromarc, Castle town. Though then again they could be somewhere else since he doesn't know where exactly they are at. Fitoria closed her eyes as she asked:

"Are you going to work with the other heroes now?"

"For now I'll have to work Motoyasu, but only until Ren's been rescued. After that, they are on their own."

"What about the Bow Hero?" Fitoria asked as she tilted her head, curious on why he was left out. Naofumi remained silent for a moment before responding with:

"Right now he's too stubborn to listen to me."

"The same situation like with the Spear Hero?"

"Yes."

"Hm." Fitoria was intrigued by this, which prompted her to change the subject. "Did it help?"

"What?"

"Did it help speaking with the Spear Hero? Letting it all out?"

"..." Naofumi didn't respond since he's not sure himself. In one hand he was able to finally get through to Motoyasu at the very least though on the other hand, he still distrusts him after all the crap he put him through. Fitoria looked at him for a moment before closing her eyes, having an idea on what he's thinking. She had a small smile.

"Okay."

She turned towards Garfiel's direction, noticing that him as well as Motoyasu, Melty, Raphtalia, and Filo were all approaching her and Naofumi.

"Oi, Queen, are ya able t'get us t'Sword guy? We need t'save him!"

"I can teleport you close however the rest is up to you."

"Can't you help us?" Motoyasu asked. Fitoria almost turned towards him though she stopped herself since she still doesn't want to see his face after how much of a scare he had given her upon first meeting.

"I won't get involved with issues that aren't related to the waves."

"Ren is a valuable member of the four heroes, you can't just sit by and allow him to die." Motoyasu argued, not liking Fitoria's response. She was a bit intrigued by the way the Spear Hero was acting, how it was apparent that he cares for his comrade. She took a moment before commenting on what he said:

"The best I can do is get you all close to save the Sword Hero. The rest is up to you and the Shield Hero. I must remain neutral on all your affairs."

"But can't you—"

"Enough Motoyasu. We will have to deal with saving Ren without her."

Spear Hero turned towards the Shield Hero, not happy with that comment but considering how Fitoria is not budging to help them, he just sighed and accepted this.

"Fine. But we should start moving, we don't know who's holding Ren hostage and what they might do to him."

Naofumi agreed with this. Fitoria quickly instructed Motoyasu, Naofumi, and Naofumi's party to stay together as she prepares to teleport them as close as she can towards Ren's position. Right as she was going to do this, Melty took the chance to ask:

"Will we see you again?"

"Of course."

Melty smiled as she heard this, excited for the next time they interact again. Fitoria smiled when seeing her excitement though she returned to a serious expression as she prepared to teleport them all right near where Ren's located. Once they were in the forest right close to the path leading into the castle town entrance.

"Couldn't ya get us closer?"

"No. That would only cause trouble for me." Fitoria said first which most didn't like this. After a few seconds, she turned towards the gates leading to the capital. "Any closer would also expose you all to danger."

When she said this, Naofumi, Motoyasu, Raphtalia, Melty, and Garfiel took a closer look at the gates and saw that there were a large amount of guards looking around.

"They are on the look-out for us." Raphtalia commented, knowing that it'll be extremely hard for them to enter town this time. Naofumi was pretty annoyed at this since there's only a few possible spots they can go through to try and sneak into the capital.

"Why don't I just walk in?" Motoyasu suggested. "They are only looking for you and your party, Naofumi. I can at least enter without issue."

They all turned towards Motoyasu with a bit of surprise by what he's saying, being the first time they've heard him actually speak with some common sense.

"That could work, but I don't trust you."

"Why? Aren't we on the same side already?" Motoyasu protested, annoyed by the distrust Naofumi's giving him.

"It would look suspicious if you just go and tell them that you've lost me. Not to mention we need you to be credible if we want you on the inside."

Naofumi knows that trusting Motoyasu alone with whatever plan he has will lead to all of their deaths. He would honestly rather not have Motoyasu involved though that would be wasting time and the last thing he can afford is having the Spear Hero turn on them.

"Why don't we have the Spear hero have a prisoner?" Raphtalia suggested, thinking that perhaps having him take someone with him might speed up the process of getting the others in.

"Th't's not a bad idea. I volunteer."

"No Garf, you'll be killed when they see you."

"Plus, they'll want to make an example of you since you did injure those knights."

"...fair point."

Garfiel sat down as he still had to deal with the guilt from losing control. Naofumi looked at Garfiel before turning towards the gates into the capital before thinking of a possible plan. He turned towards Melty's direction, starting to puzzle a possible plan that could in theory work.

"What are you thinking?"

"The only way to get Motoyasu inside would be using you, second princess."

"Wait, I can't just go inside, my sister—"

"Won't do anything." Naofumi cut her off. "The first thing that'll happen is you'll be taken to your father with Motoyasu being awarded as a hero."

"Could help keep Spear guy's reputation intact." Garfiel added as he got back up. "Though how would we get in? They'd probably stay guardin' th'gates."

"We won't be going through the front, though Motoyasu won't be going in with just Melty." The Shield Hero says this as he turns towards Filo's direction.

The guards all were on high alert, waiting for something to happen due to not having seen any action for a few days. While they were doing their job in making sure to not let any suspicious people into town as well as immediately alerting the rest of the knights in the castle if they spot the Devil of the Shield or any of his party members. Just as it seemed like it was going to be another day of nothing, they were all shocked when suddenly a large filolial had suddenly appeared from the forest and charged right at them.

"S-Stop right there!"

As the archers were ready to fire at Filo, Motoyasu made himself known as he moved his spear up to signal that it's him.

"Huh? Is that...?" The guard paused as he along with his companions waited until they could truly see Motoyasu Kitamura before lowering their guard.

"The Spear Here?! He's here!"

All the guards lowered their weapons since they know that the Spear Hero was allowed to pass...though they were wondering why he's on a filolial that looks similar to the one that's with the Demon Shield. Though all of those thoughts stop mattering the moment they spotted the second princess.

"Princess Melty-sama?!"

Upon noticing her, Filo stopped right near the guards with Motoyasu getting off of her back first before assisting Melty getting off. Once the two were on the ground, Motoyasu turned towards the guards and confidently said:

"I hope it isn't too much to ask but allow us to get into town."

All the guards heard what Motoyasu had said before turning their attention towards Melty. They were all checking to make sure that she's not hurt before turning towards Motoyasu, thanking him for getting the younger princess to safety. Motoyasu brushed this praising off before turning towards what seems to be the leader of the guards here to ask him,

"I need to take the second princess back home. Could you let us pass?"

"We can take her there ourselves." One of the guards said, to which Filo and Melty turned towards and immediately recognized him as one of the guards that was there when Ren and his party members had stayed behind. Motoyasu looked at Melty and noticed that she was nervous by the guard, prompting him to turn and respond to the guard's comment:

"She's under my care. I can take her to the King safely."

The guard looked at Motoyasu and just nodded before turning towards another guard that was approaching the Spear Hero.

"At least let a few of us accompany you, Spear Hero."

Motoyasu turned towards this guard and had a feeling that something was up. He wasn't sure which were guards that genuinely wanted to protect Melty and which wanted to harm her. Because of this and the plan Naofumi had laid out to him and the others, he told the guard:

"Don't worry about it. I can protect her on my own. I just need your permission to allow me to do my job as the Spear Hero."

As he made it clear to all of them that he'll be the one protecting the second princess, prompting all the guards to just allow the Spear Hero to go into town and take Princess Melty Q Melromarc to the castle to reunite her with her father and older sister. As all the guards allowed Motoyasu, Melty, and Filo to enter the capital, he pulled the second princess close to him.

"Stay close princess, I don't like this." Although Motoyasu is usually pretty relaxed, he was on high alert when he had a bad feeling as his group started to enter the Castle Town. While the three were entering the town, from a distance Naofumi and his group saw what had transpired.

"Seems like he did his job correctly." Garfiel pointed out, having been a bit concerned that the Spear Hero didn't have the intelligence to get through the gates unscathed.

"Yes. Even if something happened, Filo would make sure to get Melty out of there."

"Agreed." Naofumi said before starting to walk deeper into the forest. "Come on, we need to move."

"Aight Shield boss."

"Okay."

Both Raphtalia and Garfiel nodded as they followed Naofumi into the woods, knowing that the best chance to enter the capital would probably be through a secret passageway.

"Oi, Shield Boss, do ya know a way in?"

The Shield Hero didn't respond to Garfiel's question, if anything he just kept moving forward. This did annoy the hell out of Garfiel however he just sighed and continued to follow Naofumi, knowing that despite how he sometimes doesn't disclose things, he does have a plan in mind. The three continue walking in silence for a good while until arriving at what seems to be the entrance to the sewer system of the capital. Both Raphtalia and Garfiel weren't really entertained by the idea of heading into these sewers since it had been sometime since going in there. During the time training for the wave alongside Ren and his party members, the slave merchant had asked Naofumi and his party to take care of a few dangerous creatures previous slave owners had dropped down there. Although the task itself wasn't hard at all since they were pretty strong, none of them liked being there since the smell was unbearable.

"Eh...r' we sure th's th'only way in?"

"Unless you want to get caught, this is the best way back into town."

"I guess ya make a point.".

Naofumi entered the sewer system first before Raphtalia and Garfiel followed behind. The three were walking around for a bit before noticing a couple of monsters appearing in front of them.

"I'll handle this." Raphtalia said as she pulled out her sword. Naofumi and Garfiel stood back and watched as she was able to easily take down the five monsters swimming their way towards her. She sliced off their necks within a few seconds, managing to not waste any time in this fight. Once this was done, she put away her sword and turned towards her master with a smile. Naofumi nodded, acknowledging that Raphtalia's strength has increased since before she had some struggle with these monsters the previous time they were down here. He patted her head which made her extremely happy before they continued walking in the sewer system before finally finding the exit which is right directly underneath the slave merchant's shop. Once the three manage to get themselves out of the sewer system, the three look around to see nobody was around.

"Where'd he go?"

"Right here." As the slave merchant speaks, the three turn towards him with their guards up. This intrigued the slave merchant, prompting him to ask, "What's the situation? You all seem like you are being chased down like a pack of dogs."

"..." Naofumi remained silent as he had his guard up, alerting the slave merchant that something's going on.

"Ya don't know what's going on?"

"To a degree. I know they are after you, boy."

"..."

"Whatever you did, it's bad for business. If they find my operation, we all go under."

"That doesn't matter. What matters is if you are going to sell us out."

"Sell you out? Why? I know what would happen if I do that."

Naofumi gave him a stare for a moment before just sighing, seeing that the two are on the same page. If something happens to one, the other will suffer as well.

"Well then, what's the situation?" The Slave Merchant questioned, curious on the details.

"The Three heroes church." Naofumi said, not wanting to go into too much detail on that. Even with just saying those four words, it's enough for him to figure out that the Shield Hero and his party members are being hunted down by the three heroes church.

"That's quite the situation you've gotten yourself into."

"Blame the king and his incompetence."

"Perhaps. Now to the real question, what brings you to the most dangerous place for you and your two party members? Did you lose the filolial?"

"No, she's fine."

"Alright, then that brings me back to the previous question, what's your reason for being here?"

"We're here on—"

"On a need to know basis." Naofumi interrupted Garfiel, disliking how he's going to overstep when right now information is key for the slave merchant. "Having that information would cost you."

The slave merchant smiled at this, always enjoying how his business partner still could think of money at a time like this.

"Fair enough. I'll tell you what, I'll give you any assistance of mine for no cost other than the information on what's your business here."

Naofumi took a moment to consider this option before responding with:

"We don't need assistance, we just need information of our own. What do you know of the Sword Hero, Ren Amaki."

"Ah, I see." The Slave Merchant smiled as he puzzled it together. "From what I know, the Sword Hero is somewhere in the church. That's what most rumors had mentioned."

"The church..." Naofumi was left in silence, annoyed by this information.

'As if we need to head in there to rescue that fool Ren.'

"Naofumi-sama..." Raphtalia spoke, a bit worried by the information they received. Naofumi looked at her for a moment before turning towards the slave merchant.

"That's more than enough information to go off by." He turned towards Raphtalia and Garfiel. "Come on, let's go."

The two nodded as they followed Naofumi out of the slave merchant's place. The slave merchant looked at Naofumi and only had one thing in mind to tell his business partner:

"Try not to get yourself killed, Shield Hero."

Naofumi heard this even if it was faint though he didn't respond and just kept moving. While they were leaving the area, the three quickly noticed a few guards looking around the perimeter, which prompted them to quickly head towards a sketchy alleyway. Once there, the three walked with caution though while walking, Raphtalia turned towards Naofumi to ask:

"What's the plan, Naofumi-sama?"

"The plan will rely on...Motoyasu. He needs to be able to access the secret passage he told us about from his end in order to enter the castle."

"Wait, don't we need t'enter from th'church t'find th'Sword Hero?" Garfiel questioned.

"It's more likely that there's a link between the castle and the church." Raphtalia answered, theorizing as to why they are still relying on Motoyasu to get them in.

"Sounds like trustin' him is all we got fer now."

"Not just that, we still need to get to the castle safely."

"Agreed."

The two turned towards Naofumi and stopped the moment he abruptly stopped on his tracks. The two looked at what the Shield Hero was looking at and noticed a few guards patrolling the streets where other citizens from the kingdom were doing their shopping.

"We should get disguises." Raphtalia suggested, not liking that if they get spotted even once, it's all over. Naofumi did agree with this plan, however they would also stand out if the three of them were to try to walk around the city together with disguises on.

"We need to split up and meet by the entrance of the castle."

"Splittin' up doesn't sound like th'best 'f ideas..."

"Sticking together would only draw unneeded attention. This would ensure that we blend in with the others of the capital."

Garfiel wasn't really keen on splitting up; however, considering what Naofumi had said, he had to agree on this plan.

"Aight."

"We will not get caught, Naofumi-sama."

Naofumi nodded at Raphtalia before seeing the two split off onto different paths, knowing that the two will find their way to the front of the castle. As they headed off, he turned towards the market place with a couple of citizens moving around which gave Naofumi a chance to blend in despite being in his usual attire.

In the meantime, Motoyasu was praised all around by knights and guards that spotted him and saw that he brought back the second princess. All of this attention was...pretty distracting for the Spear Hero, as many of the knights were calling him the best hero which started to inflate his ego all the while all the women were cheering him on which was making him distracted from the task at hand. Luckily Filo shoved him hard enough to remind Motoyasu of his important part of the plan. He snapped out of it and remembered that he needed to get Melty to safety. He turned towards Filo in her filolial form and could see that she's mad at him since he's easily distracted from his task.

"...Sorry." He apologized as he doesn't want to make Filo mad. He turned towards the castle gates and with Filo behind him, the two led Melty Q Melromarc right into the castle. She was still very cautious since any of the guards in the castle could be working with her older sister or with the three heroes church to try and eliminate her. Though what's more worrying is that they haven't encountered her yet.

'What could she be up to?'

As this was alarming, Filo and Motoyasu led Melty all the way towards the throne room where the King of Melromarc was at. He had been alerted by a few guards that his second daughter had returned safely with Motoyasu and a large filolial. Right as he was given this information, the doors into the throne room opened with it revealing the Spear Hero smiling confidently with Filo right next to him with Melty being on her back.

"Melty!"

"Father." Melty smiled as she was happy to see her father. Filo assisted her in getting off onto the ground before she began to run towards her father's direction. After a moment, the two hugged with Melty happy to be with her father again and the King happy that his daughter had returned to him safely. After a wholesome moment, King Aultcray Melromarc returned his composure in order to thank the Spear Hero for being able to return his daughter to him.

"Thank you Spear Hero, for bringing back my daughter."

"Of course! Anything to be useful." He spoke in a cocky tone which made Filo tempted to slap him. King Melromarc turned towards one of the servants near him and gave him a nod which prompted said servant to grab the treasure box right near him and to take it towards the Spear Hero.

"Here's your reward for saving my daughter from that Devil of the Shield."

As the servant approached Motoyasu, he opened the chest and found a large amount of gold coins. This caused him to step back a bit, caught off guard by that amount of gold.

'With this amount, I can retire, hire so many beautiful female adventures, and buy myself a castle of my own.'

He was going nuts with all the possibilities he could do with the money though once he started to think about Mai, he remembered that he needed to meet up with Naofumi on the secret passage he had told him about.

"Right...um, thanks." Motoyasu grabs the chest and closes it before preparing to leave only to be halted when he hears the king say:

"Are you alright, Spear Hero? You seem to be in a hurry."

"Yes. Apologies. I remembered that I need to find my party members. I sorta left them to find the second princess on my own. I just need to tell them that I'm alright."

"I see. Well then, best of luck with that, Spear Hero."

Motoyasu nodded before he and Filo quickly left the throne room. While they leave, Melty watches them head off to the next phase of the plan all the while thinking back to the conversation related to this risky plan.

("Are you sure that's a wise idea, Naofumi-sama?" Raphtalia questioned, a bit worried.)

("It's not like we have any other choice. It's more than likely that they'll think Motoyasu is possessed by my 'apparent' shield that can hypnotize people thanks to that bi—.")

("Don't you dare finish that sentence, Naofumi! She's still my teammate!")

("Aight, cool yer head. He's still got a point 'bout her. She probably said th't shit, meanin' th't they'll think yer brainwashed.")

("But I'm not brainwashed!")

("We know! Pipe down!")

("Both of you be quiet." Naofumi sharply told both Motoyasu and Garfiel, annoyed at the pair for almost getting them caught. The two turned towards him for a moment before calming down.)

("Back to the plan, are you certain Melty-sama will be safe doing this?")

("It'll be okay, Raphtalia." Melty spoke in a serious tone before switching it to a confident tone, "I can handle myself here. Once I reach father, I should be safe.")

("..." Naofumi looked pretty annoyed when hearing this since he views the king as an arrogant buffoon. Melty noticed this which made her mad.)

("What's with that look?! Are you thinking bad about father?!")

("I didn't say anything..." Naofumi annoyingly responded.)

("Your look said it all!")

Being reminded of that annoyed her even more now, prompting her to pout.

'That jerk.'

As she was pouting, her facial expression change as her father turned towards her to ask her once again:

"Are you sure you are okay?"

"Don't worry father, I wasn't harmed."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Ye—"

"You should be careful father, she might be brainwashed." A voice in the shadows spoke out, catching everyone's attention. Melty was scared when she heard this since it implies that the person she and the others were on high alert for was here the whole time. She turned to see her sister, giving a fake kind smile that hides either anger that she's back safely or sinister smile that can kill her now that she's away from Naofumi and his party members. As the two sisters looked eye to eye, Melty was reminded that Naofumi wouldn't entrust her to be this close to danger if he didn't have a plan to assure her safety. She had a serious expression all the while telling her sister:

"We both know you made that up to get me killed."

"What?"

"Don't listen to her, she's just joking around." Malty said with a nervous voice, not liking that she's outed like that though she also knows that her father won't believe what Melty's saying.

"When do I joke about that?"

"I was trying to save you from the Demon Shield. You must've misread the situation, after all, you are pretty young so it makes sense for you to interpret that." She says this while patting Melty's head, trying to treat this all like a misunderstanding now.

"Misunderstanding? You tried to blow me up."

"I was aiming at the devil of the shield! He was using you to make it hard to—"

"It doesn't matter anymore, I'm just glad Melty is back home safely." King Melromarc said as he interrupted his oldest daughter, not wanting the two to fight. He turned towards his oldest daughter to let her know, "The Spear Hero went out to look for you. He should still be in the castle."

"I'll go find him." Mai said before starting to walk towards the exit of the throne room. While she's leaving, she said to her sister, "I'm glad you are safe."

"..."

Melty had no comment on this since she can instantly tell that in some way this was a threat. Her sister when she's after someone will always play the innocent girl before attacking when her target least suspects it. Though with this in mind, she turned towards her father to ask:

"Where's the other cardinal heroes?"

There was a pause in the room as the King had to think for a second before responding with:

"The Bow Hero's whereabouts are unknown for now though there are rumors that he's back in the capital."

"What about the Sword Hero?"

"..."

Melty observed the way everyone reacted to that question, seeing that nobody wants to answer said question.

"Melty, I think it's best if you go to your room."

"...If you say so, father." Not going against this, she bows in respect towards her father before following one of the servants out of the throne room to head towards her quarters. While she and the servant accompanying her had left the throne room, the king sighs as he was able to barely avoid the topic of the Sword Hero.

"Won't she find out?" One of the servants asked.

"She will but right now we should focus on finding that Devil of the Shield." As he said this, he turned towards the window as his thoughts went back into the past, reminding himself as to why he needed to stop the Shield Hero.

Motoyasu and Filo managed to make their way towards the basement level of the castle, following the exact path he was given from Mai. While the two were walking with Filo having found a chance to turn into her human form, the two were a bit concerned for Melty's sake.

"I don't know if Naofumi was right to have her be out in the open."

"Master knows what he's doing." Filo said as she didn't like that Motoyasu was doubting her master.

"I hope so—ow!"

Filo had kicked him on the leg, wanting Motoyasu to stop talking at this point. Motoyasu was caught off guard by this and would say something though looking at Filo prompted him to just drop it and continue to lead the two towards where the secret passage out of the castle is located. As it seemed like they were about to reach the secret door leading into the castle, the two heard that someone was following them.

"Who's there?"

As the Spear Hero asked this, the noise went silent for a moment before eventually revealing themselves.

"Motoyasu-sama!"

"Mai?! What are you...?"

Malty approached Motoyasu with a seductive approach, wanting to get information out of him.

"What are you doing down here?"

"I-I'm just...helping a friend..."

"A friend? Who?" She spoke in a curious tone, trying to appeal to him.

"Um...Uh...Na—"

Before Motoyasu was easily swayed and able to reveal that he's working with Naofumi, Filo quickly acted by managing to land a hit onto Mai's face. She hadn't noticed her which allowed Filo to land a surprise hit which she wasn't expecting. As she was sent flying, Filo turned towards Motoyasu with an angry expression at first before turning to disappointment. This disappointment hit Motoyasu's heart which prompted him to focus on the mission he was entrusted with.

"We should go."

As he was grabbing Filo's hand to take her with him, she moved back as she responded with:

"No. Go help Master. I got her!"

With a demanding tone of voice, she put on her gloves and prepared herself for a fight. Motoyasu didn't want to leave Filo behind or let Mai get possibly hurt...however, he knows that it would be going against Fitoria's wishes if he doesn't get Naofumi into the castle to help save Ren. Before he had left, he only had one thing to say to Filo:

"Be careful."

"...I'll be fine."

She didn't want to respond though she allowed this one comment since she could tell that Motoyasu was worried for her sake. He nodded before leaving off to the secret door leading into the castle, being close by. While he was off, Malty got up and looked at Filo with a look of hatred.

"How dare you."

Filo got her fists up, ready for a fight.

"Do you really think you can do anything to me, demi human scum?"

"I won't let you hurt master again." As Filo said this, she recalled that Malty had also harmed Raphtalia during the events of the last wave, which caused her master to lose control. This motivated her to start the fight on the offensive, wanting to give this bitch what she deserves.

Author's note:

Here is another chapter. They are a bit slow since it'll be me that will be writing alone moving forward. Since I want to give the best chapters I possibly can, it might be a bit slow on the uploading of chapters (that and well doing three other stories might also cause things to drastically slow down) however this story will be finished at some point though not anytime soon.