The Rising of the Shield Hero

The Shadow of the Shield


Chapter 3

The Plan

A few days passed since the mysterious shield user became a party member. Everyone was still trying to figure out what had happened, herself included. But one thing was certain, no matter how they ended up in this situation, Naofumi could not remove her from the party.

Naofumi kept beating himself up for putting her in this situation, even more so after the injury she had sustained because of him. Because of this, he kept trying to remove her from the party, but every time he tried, the same error showed up.

RULE VIOLATION!

THIS PARTY MEMBER CAN NOT BE REMOVED FROM THE PARTY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!

She had brought up several times that she was fine with being a member of his party, seeing as it was obvious to everyone that she could fight.

She looked at him as he sat on the edge of the bed, rebandaging her wound, "Honestly, if it wasn't for you, I don't know where I would be right now... This way I can make it up to you for saving my life and my arm."

He stopped for a moment, "But if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have gotten injured in the first place."

She put her hand over the part of the wound which was not covered by the bandage, which was almost completely healed now apart from a nasty scar where the strap of her shield would sit, "I wouldn't change a thing, the scars we wear make us who we are. Besides, we don't know anything about me yet, so at least I have this."

He sighed, continuing to bandage her arm. He knew he couldn't argue that, but he vowed to himself that he would somehow make it up to her. He also wanted to find answers to why she wasn't able to be removed from the party.

...

Naofumi opened his eyes, seeing fire all around him. He could feel the extreme heat that came off it as if it would swallow him whole. He clenched his eyes shut.

The heat disappeared and he opened his eyes to find himself himself surrounded by darkness. He looked down to see that he was the clothes from his world, like the last time he had a dream like this, but this time he carried no shield on his arm. He looked ahead to see the Silhouetted Hero who was standing before him, carrying the shield. He narrowed his eyes, "I have a question."

We may have an answer for you.

Naofumi gasped, "Wow, that was easier than I thought..." He cleared his throat, "Last time you said, 'Will you also follow in her footsteps?' You wouldn't say that it that way if you weren't talking about someone important. Who is she?"

We are impressed that you have picked up on that as quickly as you have. The others we tried to warn realised it far too late. We were right to choose you.

Naofumi narrowed his eyes again, "Too late? What does that mean?"

There is a certain line that all Shield Heroes who have walked down this path should not cross. Most who found out who She was, had already crossed that line of no return. However, you have already noticed that She is important and you are only at the beginning of this path. Should you find out who She is before reaching that line, then redemption is closer than we thought.

"Redemption? What are you talking about?"

We have said too much already, but here is something to think about; 'Seeing what is reflected is almost impossible when the Mirror becomes fogged. Should the Mirror become clear again, then all will make sense.'

Naofumi frowned, "What?"

The Silhouetted Hero turned and began to walk away.

All will become clear soon, Naofumi Iwatani...

Naofumi's eyes widened and he broke out into a run, he now wore his armour and shield, "No, don't go! Explain what you mean!" Once again, no matter how fast he ran, he was unable to catch up with the Hero.

In time, Naofumi.

The Hero disappeared.

"No!"

Her eyes shot open, finding herself surrounded by darkness. It was unnerving how comfortable she felt in this darkness. She took a step forward and the floor ignited in flames under her boot, spreading across the surrounding area until the fire was all around her. She held her hand out to the flames, something deep within her drew her closer to them.

As her fingertips touched the flames, they engulfed her arm, wrapping tightly around her bandaged arm. Her eyes widened in agony, falling to kneeling as she cradled her arm.

The moment she landed on her knees, the flames disappeared. She panted as the pain slowly eased off.

You are here?

Her eyes widened, looking up at a silhouetted figure walking towards her, "Who-"

What are you doing back here?

The silhouette knelt and placed their hand on her shoulder. Their head tilted down as if examining her arm.

Does it hurt?

She shook her head, looking down at her arm, "No, it did for a moment, but now..." She moved her arm, "It aches, but does not hurt."

Good, we need you to stay strong, Kioka.

Her eyes widened, "Kioka? Wait-"

The figure stood up and walked past her, a cape flowed behind them.

Kioka jumped to standing, "At least tell me your name!"

The figure stopped, turning its head.

You may call us Shadow. Let us give you some advice. Let him in. He can be trusted. It would be best if you protect him from the wrath within. Also, try not to come back, next time you may find yourself trapped again like us.

The figure continued walking as a bright green light shone into her eyes. Kioka closed her eyes, shielding her eyes with her hand. When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying in bed. "What was that about... Naofumi?" She looked over at the other bed and saw Naofumi sitting up in his bed, looking at his hand.

He looked over at her, "Hey, sorry. Did I wake you up?"

She shook her head as she slowly sat up, "No, I had a weird dream." She watched him for a moment, he was looking at his hand again, "I am guessing you had a weird dream as well. Raphtalia mentioned that you had a weird dream the day I became a member of your party."

He nodded slowly, "Yeah, I can't make any sense of it." He shook his head, "Did you want to talk about your dream?"

She cradled her arm, "I was surrounded by darkness."

Naofumi's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself.

"The darkness felt like I was greeting an old friend. This fire spread all around and there was intense pain in my arm. I fell to kneeling and the flames disappeared. The pain disappeared as well. There was a shadowy figure, they checked how I was doing. They also called me by a name."

Naofumi frowned, "A name? What name? What did this say?"

"We need you to stay strong, Kioka." She looked at him.

He gasped, "Kioka? Is that-"

She nodded slowly, "Yeah, I think it is. I think my name is Kioka."

Naofumi watched her for a moment and a small smile appeared on his lips, "Well, it is good to finally meet you properly, Kioka. It's a nice name." He looked at his HUD.

Shield User? - Kioka - Lv.25

"The pleasure is all mine, Naofumi." She smiled slightly, "And thank you."

He gasped, "It's nice to see you smile."

She gasped and smiled again, "I guess I didn't even realise that I was smiling."

He smiled.

"So, did you want to talk about your dream?"

He shook his head, "Nah, it's all good. I will figure it out at some point."

...

After everyone had breakfast the next morning, Naofumi started to load bags into the wagon, he turned to watch Kioka and Raphtalia exit the house. While they all ate their breakfast, Kioka told both Raphtalia and Filo her name, they both seemed over the moon by this development, having not known what to call her the past few days.

Kioka was wearing the outfit she had been wearing when they all first met at the wave, she carried her dented shield on her right arm and her burnt cloak flowed behind her as she stopped in front of Naofumi, "Where are we going again?"

"We are heading to Castle Town. It is time to start stocking up on supplies again so we can head out to prepare for the next wave. It would also be a good starting place to try and find some answers for where you could have come from." He looked past her momentarily, "Where is Filo?"

Filo ran out of the house, "Sorry, Master! I am ready now!" She stopped in front next to Kioka, looking up at Naofumi, "Master, will we be going straight to the City?"

Naofumi nodded, "That's the plan." He turned his back on them, lifting bags that Raphtalia had in her hands in the wagon.

Raphtalia looked over at Kioka and Filo, watching them walk to the front of the wagon. She turned to Naofumi with a concerned expression, "Are you sure Kioka is up to travelling?"

He nodded, "Her wound has healed better than I had expected. While she is far from being one hundred per cent, I think she will be fine."

Filo looked up at Kioka, smiling, "Are you ready?"

Kioka nodded, "Yeah, but..." She looked at the wagon, "How are we supposed to travel with the wagon? I see no horses or-" Her eyes widened as Filo changed into a large Filolial in front of her very eyes.

Raphtalia looked over at Kioka, smiling, "Master Naofumi, look."

Naofumi turned to see the shocked expression on her face, causing him to smile. He took a step forward as he watched her.

Kioka reached out towards Filo, lightly touching her feathers. She tore her eyes from the feathers and looked up at Filo with a smile, "You're beautiful." She gasped when she realised that Naofumi and Raphtalia were watching her, she let go of the feathers and blushed slightly in embarrassment, "S-sorry... We were getting ready to head out, right?"

...

After a few hours of travelling, the party of now four arrived in Castle Town, the capital city of Melromarc. Naofumi watched as Kioka's wide eyes looked all around the city, with a similar expression that he could have only expected he had on his first day walking around the city. He bowed his head slightly.

If only I had known what that Bitch was up to then...

"Are you okay, Naofumi?"

Naofumi turned to look at Kioka, seeing the concern in her expression, he let out a gasp and nodded, "Yeah, I was just thinking about something. Nothing to worry about." He looked at Filo, "Stop just here, Filo."

Filo nodded and slowed down to a stop, changing back into her human form once she stopped completely. She turned and looked at Naofumi, stretching her arms, "Master, when we are done here, can we go eat?"

Naofumi nodded as he climbed off the wagon, "Of course, we can."

Filo cheered and ran into the shop.

Naofumi looked up at Kioka, "You coming?"

She gasped, having been looking at the dented shield on her arm, she nodded slowly, "Yeah." She began to climb off the wagon, she gripped the side of the wagon with her right arm, but as she put weight on it, she flinched and stumbled forward.

Naofumi stepped forward and steadied her, "Easy. The wound may have healed, but it will still take some time to fully recover."

She looked up at him, nodding slowly, "Yeah, I guess you're right... Thanks."

Naofumi nodded, then looked at Raphtalia, who walked into the shop after Filo. "Let's not keep them waiting."

She nodded and walked into the store.

Naofumi followed close behind.

"Ah, I was wondering when you would all come back. Oh? Got another party member now? Another girl, eh?"

Naofumi scowled slightly, "Knock it off." He looked at Kioka, "But yeah, another party member. The last wave wrecked her shield, I was wondering if you could take a look at it."

Erhard raised his eyebrow, "Another shield user, eh? Very interesting, let's have a look at it then."

Kioka nodded and approached the counter, undoing the strap which held the shield on her arm and handing over the dented shield.

Erhard pulled out his appraisal glass to have a look at it, "That's a very pretty shield you have there, seems to be filled with magic. But that is a very nasty dent, what type of monster could have done such damage to such a nicely crafted shield?"

Naofumi thought about how to answer that, but before he could say anything, Kioka looked at him, "A wave boss."

He looked up from the shield at her, half expecting her to be joking, but when he saw she was serious, he looked back at the shield, "Well, it definitely did the job it was intended to do. I will do my best to fix this. Although this style of shield looks ancient, where did you get a thing like this?"

Kioka smiled apologetically, "I have had it with me for as long as I can remember. It's quite precious to me."

He nodded, "I may have to add some materials and change it slightly so it's strong again, but it shouldn't change it too much. Leave this with me and I should have it done in about four days. In the meantime, let's see now..." He walked into the back room.

Kioka frowned slightly, looking at Naofumi for an answer, but he simply shrugged, turning to look at Raphtalia who was checking out the swords.

Erhard came back with a shield, round in shape, it had a slight feather design around the edge, "You can use this one, for now. Four days is a long time to go without a weapon, so use this one until I fix your shield up. Despite its appearance, it is ever so slightly heavier than your shield, so it may take a bit of time to get used to it, so be careful with it."

She reached out and took hold shield, getting a feel for the weight. Once she was satisfied, she held her right arm out and attached the shield to her arm. She smiled, "It feels good, thank you."

As they started leaving the shop, Erhard stopped Naofumi, "A moment? What happened to her arm?"

Naofumi sighed, "It's a long story."

"Just don't let her get another injury like that, you hear? She seems to know her way around a shield, especially if she can block a wave boss."

He nodded, "I wasn't planning on her getting hurt again." And with that, Naofumi walked out of the shop.

Once outside, Naofumi watched as Filo and Raphtalia walked into the tavern. He then narrowed his eyes when he saw a guard stop Kioka, he walked over to them, "Something the matter?" His face grew dark.

Kioka looked up at Naofumi, "Naofumi?"

The guard looked at him, "Shield Hero, Sir. The King requests your presence at the Castle."

Naofumi scowled, "If you want me to go with you, then why did you stop her?"

The guard looked at Kioka and then back at Naofumi, "The King requested her presence as well."

Naofumi gasped and protectively moved in front of Kioka, "And why would that be!?" His face grew darker.

The guard put his hands up, "Look, I am only following orders."

Kioka moved to Naofumi's side, "It's okay, I will come as well."

He looked at her, frowning slightly, "Are you sure?"

She nodded, "Yeah, this man is only following orders. Might as well hear what the King has to say." A note of nervousness could be heard in her voice.

Naofumi looked at her and sighed, "Alright." He looked at the guard, "Fine, we will go with you."

As they walked up the hill towards the Castle, Naofumi kept a close eye on Kioka, seeing her face grow a shade of pale he hadn't seen from her yet. He had watched her face a Wave Boss and not get nervous, but now, the mere thought of going up to the Castle seemed to scare her. He deliberately bumped into her gently, "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."

She looked up at him, her eyes wide for a moment. She bowed her head, a small smile on her face, "Thank you."

...

Once they were in the throne room, Kioka looked around, her right hand twitching slightly.

Naofumi stayed close to her in a protective manner as he looked up at the King.

The King watched them both, his advisor whispering in his ear. He nodded at his advisor as he backed away. He sat up and looked at Kioka. "Brave adventurer, on behalf of Melromarc, I would like to thank you for your assistance in the last wave. Your bravery was noted by the Heroes and Royal Soldiers. We would like to reward you and ask you for your continued assistance in the future waves. May I ask for your name?"

Kioka turned her attention to the King, her eyes widened as a memory ripped through her skull and she flinched, putting her hand to her head.

Naofumi gasped, stepping forward, "Kioka?"

The King narrowed his gaze, "Kioka, you say? Where have I heard that name before..."

Kioka exhaled and looked up at Naofumi, "I am okay..." She looked back at the King, lowering her hand, "I am not sure where you heard my name before, but I am indeed Kioka."

The King nodded, "Very well. I would like to assign you to a party of one of the Heroes-"

"I am already a member of the Shield Hero's Party. I was injured in the last wave and he nursed me back to health. I owe him a debt. I hope that arrangement is not a problem for you." She narrowed her eyes, "Is it?"

The King gasped, scowling at Naofumi, "I guess the Cursed Shield has taken hold once again..."

Naofumi scowled.

Kioka stepped forward as if about to say something, but Naofumi put his hand on her shoulder. When she looked at him, he shook his head.

Naofumi looked at the King, "So, what was the real reason you called us here?"

One of the guards brought out a crystal ball, it lit up, showing images of the last wave.

It showed the dragon being put in Naofumi's Shield Prison, Naofumi called out Change Shield and all you could hear was the screams of the beast. Naofumi began to speak in a demonic tone and the dragon was dragged into the Iron Maiden and killed.

Kioka gasped, looking at Naofumi.

The King cleared his throat, "I saw what happened through the crystal ball. You did well to quell the wave. As much as I hate to admit it."

Naofumi looked away.

Wow... Don't be grateful or anything...

"I have a question for you, Hero. I want to know exactly how you obtained such incredible strength."

Naofumi looked up at the King, "Huh?"

"You possess powers unbecoming of the Shield Hero. It is your duty to reveal the secrets behind it."

Naofumi sighed.

"It's time to spit it out! And don't you even think about lying to me!"

Naofumi flicked his wrist slightly and pointed to the ground.

The King looked confused at his gesture.

Naofumi smiled, "If you wanna know so badly, come kneel."

The guards who circled the room gasped.

"You see, where I come from. When someone asks for something they usually grovel before the one who has what they need."

The angry expression was clear as day.

"Oh yeah! And they usually say 'I beg you! Please deign to enlighten my ignorant self!'"

The King got on his feet, "Insolent cur!"

The Guards surrounded Naofumi and Kioka. Kioka raised her shield, whereas Naofumi just stood there.

"As things stand now if I wanted, I could kill you right here and walk straight out of the door."

Kioka looked up at him.

"You're bluffing and you know it!"

Naofumi's shield changed to the Chimera Viper Shield, he looked at the guards, "If any of you want to fight me, go right ahead. But I killed the Waves' number one monster. And Kioka here was able to block direct attacks from that same monster, so she isn't exactly a pushover either."

Kioka's eyes darkened from behind her shield.

The guards, looked at each other, very hesitant to even stand their ground, let alone fight the both of them.

Naofumi looked at the King once more, "I'm willing the cooperate with you only until the waves die down and then I am going back home. Don't even think about calling me again." He turned and started walking out of the room as if nothing had happened.

Kioka glared at the King and turned away, walking alongside Naofumi.

The guards moved out of the way.

"I'm the King! I forbid you to disrespect me this way, Shield!"

Naofumi stopped for a moment, before continuing to walk.

The King gasped, "I know what I will do." His expression turned to a smile as he pointed to him, "Those Slaves of yours will pay for your crimes! Don't think you will get out of this that easy!"

Naofumi stopped and scowled darkly at the King. Kioka did the same, but somehow she looked even angrier than Naofumi.

The King gasped and slumped in his chair in fear.

"You can use all the dirty underhanded tricks you can think of. I will protect my team no matter what you do. You'll never take anything from me again." His voice trembled in anger. "I dare you to lay a finger on them. I'll chase you to the ends of the Earth and make you regret ever being born!"

The King clenched his teeth.

Kioka stared up at him, her eyes were red now, "Don't you ever call for me either."

The King gasped as he watched them both walk out. "The Cursed Shield!" He yelled out as the door closed.

The King's Advisor came running to the King's side, holding a book, "I found out who she is!"

The King flicked through the book and his eyes widened, "How is that even possible..." His whole body trembled in fear, there in the book, was a list of names written in black ink, however, there was one name that stood out in red lettering.

Kioka

...

As Naofumi and Kioka walked down the steps, a lady of the court walked past them. The lady stopped just behind them, "You did well this time, I dare say, Shield Hero, I dare say."

Naofumi frowned and looked at her.

"Your efforts have become, shall we say, somewhat impossible for anyone to reasonably ignore any longer. Including certain powers who, to put it mildly, aren't taking too kindly to your interference, Sir Hero." She lifted a rosary of the Three Heroes Church. "Virtuous on the surface, conniving and conspiring behind the scenes. You should exercise the utmost caution going forward, I dare say. Understood?" She turned and walked away.

Naofumi and Kioka both looked at her as she walked away.

Naofumi frowned, "Dare say?"He looked at Kioka.

She shrugged and lowered her gaze to the floor. Her hand went to her head, her eyes closed. Pain ripped through her head again.

Naofumi put his hand on her shoulder, "Let's go and meet up with Raphtalia and Filo. We will finish gathering our supplies and then head out, I don't want to be here any longer than we have to."

"Y-yeah..."

...

Melty Melromarc walked into the throne room, the King looked up from the book and smiled, "Ah, Melty! What can I do for you?"

Melty looked up at her father, "I was told that you and the Shield Hero had a conversation just now, is that right, Father?"

The King gasped and looked concerned.

Melty's big purple eyes looked serious, "And I was also told that the conversation ended in a very hostile manner."

The King slumped in his chair in defeat.

"Father, if you remain at odds with the Shield Hero, we may lose our only means of fighting the waves, which could threaten the safety of our entire country! Please try to reconcile with him!"

The King hit his fist on the arm of the throne he was sitting in, "Reconcile with that swine!"

Melty flinched and gasped in shock.

The King gasped and put his hands up, "Oh, don't worry my dear, I'm not angry at you."

Melty looked up at him, "I just don't understand, Father. Why do you hate the Shield Hero so much?"

He sighed and turned his head to divert his gaze from his daughter, "It's just... If he and his Demi-humans do as they please... I'll lose my family again."

Melty's eyes widened, "Father, I-"

The doors opened behind her, "Your defiance is an affront."

Melty turned towards the door.

"With the Queen away, the King's word is final." Malty walked up, "And not even we Princesses can go against it." Malty walked past Melty and stood next to the King.

"Sister, I-"

"Our Father is the King. Whether you understand his decisions or not, they all have the betterment of our Country at heart." She smiled at her sister, tilting her head slightly, "I realise that you are still at an age where you want him to baby you of course, I was once small like you too." She closed her eyes, "But you really should learn to hold back a little, dear Melty." She opened her eyes and lifted her head, "Just a word of advice from your big sis."

Melty smiled, "I appreciate your concern and I am grateful. But you see, big sister, this is really none of your business. Just like our Mother and Father, I only want what is best for our subjects and our country, you understand." She put her hand to her chest, "So you see, it is my job as Crowned Princess to see that everything is put right."

Malty's face twitched, "Oh, Melty... You little..."

The King looked between both his daughters unsure what to say or do.

Melty bowed slightly, "I'll take my leave now, Father." She turned and walked out of the throne room.

The King gasped and held his hands out, "Melty, please-"

Malty put her hand out, "Papa." She scowled as she watched Melty walk out of the room.

...

"I can't believe you went spoiling for a fight with the King!"

Naofumi leaned his right arm against his leg as sat on a stool in the weapon shop, his eyes closed, "Well, you better get your facts straight. He picked the fight."

Kioka was resting on a stool near the door, her eyes closed.

Raphtalia giggled quietly.

Erhard smiled at him, "Well, you can do all your shopping here since I've got everything." He held his hands out, "But wait a sec, what about the Class Upgrades?"

Raphtalia gasped and looked at them.

"Based on everything you've said, it's unlikely they let you use the Dragon Hourglass here."

Naofumi looked up at him, "I was thinking of going to either Silvelt or Shieldfreedon."

Erhard brought out a map, "I always figured you would go to those places someday." He unrolled the map and pointed at a part of the map, "I recommend Shieldfreedon."

Naofumi stood up and looked at the map, "Interesting, that's the same place the Slave Merchant told me to go. He said for a county of Demi-humans, it's quite welcoming to humans."

Erhard looked up at him, "Yeah, over in Siltvelt, they can get pretty extreme about Demi-human supremacy. But, as the Shield Hero-"

"Master, are we really going on another trip?" Filo looked up at him.

Naofumi nodded.

Filo jumped happily, "We're going on a trip!"

Erhard smiled, putting his hands on his hips, "Normally it would take about four weeks, but I'm pretty sure she'll get you there in less time. I'll get everything you need loaded up on your wagon. You'll have to get going pretty quickly. Also, her shield will be waiting for you when you return." He nodded over at Kioka, who was sleeping now. He started walking away.

Naofumi looked at Erhard, "Oh and I'd like a new sword for Raphtalia."

"Master Naofumi, I already have a spare." Raphtalia looked at him worriedly.

Naofumi put his hand up, "Wait a sec."

Raphtalia scowled, "This is going to be a long journey, we should try to save money!"

Naofumi sighed, scratching his head.

Erhard just smiled and walked into the back room.