Far away in a country best described as a ever advancing industrialist empire that is a society as toxic as the gases that flow from out their factories, in a thick tower of marble by the edge of a large land of coast that had already dead grass and vegetation long gone, at the top of the luxurious structure that house's a variety of rooms, in a bedroom laid a woman. She had a beautiful purple hair tied up behind her into gorgeous nods, she had a dress of different shades of purple that were complemented by jewelry and a white collar on her neck, she was calmed and wrote down on a piece of paper a text that was very well structured
"Report" she said as a shadow came into the room kneeling down towards your highness
"King Aultcray has summoned the four legendary heroes to Melromarc" the shadow responded and the Queen's reaction was a disappointed sigh
"The fool, he wants to start a war with every other nation that bad?... How are the summoned heroes? Are they like the text described?" Asked the queen as it would be good to know if the heroes match the text so she could better predict how they would behave and if they would be more of an annoyance than help, like she expected the summoning being handled by her husband to have butcher the ritual somehow ending with bad heroes
"Yes, they are as described with the exception of one... The shield hero" the Shadow's tone was distinctly different from what it usually spoke and this was something Mirellia picked up
"He... Isn't what I would call a human my Queen, he is beyond what a human should be in all ways I can see. At least according to the records of the heroes of past" hesitant was how the shadow felt about talking of the shield due to the impression he left on them, like he was something that wasn't supposed to be here or at least for the shadow it felt like he was a consequence of something, maybe the ritual was really disturbed or the shield chose him deliberately to carry out something in their world. These were only theories but the shadow was raised to believe in a higher purpose of one self to serve someone or something higher, it would only make sense for them to wonder what was the reason the shield was made the way he is.
"What makes you believe that?" Mirellia was curious for what caused such reaction coming from a shadow no less, they were said to be the very thing it had described the shield to be so he must truly be phenomenal to achieve that.
"He knew my queen... From the first day, he knew about my presence as I observed him. He seems to be on an intellectual level above even yourself or the highest trained shadow, the way he spoke and acted was very... Strategic if anything, almost like he was analyzing the situation he was in, more than the other heroes anyway." the way Batman was calculated, like he knew that this place had him in a disavantage before the trial even happened, he was either incredibly paranoid or could understand the atmosphere around him and feel the hatred towards the shield, and by extension himself.
"Really?... How has my husband treated him?" This was concerning to hear, if a hero was this exceptional it would be great and a reason to commemorate. But the problem is that he was the shield and he had been summoned to a country that not only hates him because of religious propaganda, but the king also despised the shielder because of a war he wasn't even a part of.
"Badly, but the shield hero wasn't distraught by it nor was he angry, we believe he knew Aultcray had it for him since their first interaction. To be able to know such thing with a glance... His observation skills and ability to determine a person's character is scarily good" such skill was great for politicians to have such as the queen herself, but a hero having this might complicate things. On one hand he won't fall for trickery easily by malicious people, but that also made it hard for them to hide anything from him as not all secrets should be uncovered in the shadow's opinions
"That's not good, what else has happened? Did my husband do something stupid?" This was a worrisome thing, if the shield knew Aultcray was out to get him since the first day then his view of the country might be tainted, negatively affecting any chances for them to form an alliance in the benefit of Melromarc
"Yes... Your oldest daughter Malty accused the shield hero of raping her and despite the shield hero disproving every point she made in her accusation with logical thinking and perfect arguments, he still deemed him a criminal and went on to order his arrest when he refused to giveaway his equipment" as the shadow said this, it could see the sheer frustration forming in the queen's face as it braces for the incoming cold
"Damnit!" Mirellia slammed her fist to the desk, freezing it upon contact as her ice magic had slipped out of her control momentarily, this situation was worse than she thought and it would get worst the longer it keeps going.
"My queen... He is not someone you want to have as a enemy, he was able to lose my sight and caught me off guard. His skills are superior to mine or those of the church's shadows and the way he preys on criminals, the shield hero seems to be the absolute predator of the night, I may even say he is 'the Night' if so to speak." The information on him wasn't much but maybe that meant they were hyping him up over what he was actually capable of, but the fact he evaded the eye of the best trained spies and information collectors in the country was enough to prove he truly was as his reputation would suggest.
"So he possesses a possible danger to Melromarc... How much of a threat would he be if Siltvelt was able to get to him and make him their king?" The Queen was already assuming the worst from everything she heard so far, this man could very well be their end if he decided to ally with Siltvelt and attacked them in a war effort, Melromarc wouldn't have the support of the neighboring countries thanks to Aultcray selfishly summoning the other heroes, and the king himself wasn't the same tactical genius as before.
"I can't know for sure, but I don't think we would win in any strategical sense. I felt like he was playing advanced chess while I played the most basic of checkers during my brief interaction with him" there was a possibility that he only got lucky that first interaction, but luck is something that can be made by a person if they take the right opportunities and choices, so he could very well be that monstrously good at stalking his prey. Or he possibly has fought and been targeted by his world's counterpart to the shadows
"He is a truly good individual if his actions are anything to go by, so a war is most unlikely as he wouldn't risk innocent lives. But I don't think you'll be able to gain his trust easily" the shadow knew from her interaction and rumors of criminals that the shield wasn't a killer, he could easily kill those he arrested, but he seemed to believe that the justice system would be of work and that might come from his own world. But to have a vigilant act with more forgiveness than their justice system might be a tad depressing to think, he puts criminals and gives them a chance to carry out their sentences in the hopes of reforming any that doesn't get the death penalty, Aultcray was more merciful to these criminals because they were brutalized by the shield so none were getting sent to the guillotine for their crimes.
"From how you speak I'm afraid of even having to talk to him face to face, if he can read people so easily like a book then he will certainly know my intentions if we talked, after what my family has done towards him I would be surprised if he could even trust a word I said" Mirellia was at a crossroad here, after everything he must have went through with her family, having the Shield hero be in positive terms would be a incredibly small probability
"But you don't have any malicious intentions my Queen, not when compared to your first daughter" the shadow argued as unlike her first daughter, Mirellia wasn't selfish and was always thinking about her country before taking a impulsive action, so the shield shouldn't assume she has malicious intentions as long as she is honest to him in their meeting.
"I am not so sure he would agree with that, by everything you say he is too valuable to let go and to stop him from leaving the country I have to obstruct some truth from him. Maybe I can form a deal, what would a man such as he want besides his name being clearly of course" bargaining with the hero was her best bet to get on his grace, as long as his demands aren't so big they would plummet her country into ruin, financial or otherwise.
"From what little I was able to gather after my encounter with him, the shield hero does not appreciate the practice of slavery, demi human or not." From the strange behavior of Belouska recently in how well he has been treating his merchandise, along with the few wounds he had on occasion, the conclusion was that the slave trader had been visited by the dark knight to be reeducated on how to do his business, only plausible reason the whole shop wasn't gone is because the shield knew that it wouldn't end the slavery problem, so ending it for him could be a major win for the queen
"Of course one of the economic pillars of my country is a turn off for the best hero, this day just keeps getting better..." Melromarc was the third most slave dependent country of the surrounding regions, Zeltobe was in second due to originating the practice and Faubley was in first because of the sex market here, the king himself was 10% of the whole business which was a scary thing to think about. So many nobles used slavery in one way or the other that banning it suddenly would receive major backlash, especially with the church's racist teachings encouraging the practice.
"What shall we do my Queen?" The shadow asked as it was her majesty's intelligence that was the head of this whole operation, so no matter what she planned it was for the shadow to carry out.
"... Follow our original plan, but make some adjustments with the little we have of him. Find any associates that he may have, the more we can gather about him, the better we will be prepared for a formal meeting and possible deal" nothing could really be done but go with what they had planned already for the shield, they would just need to fit it better to the shield hero and hope for the best results to come.
"So... We are still going to try to marry princess Melty with the shield?" It didn't seem like it would work, considering he had between up pretty people that abused of children worst than normal thugs, so marrying him with a child just wouldn't fly if his morality was any indication
"I would marry him myself if Aultcray wasn't in the picture, despite how he is nowadays that fool is still our best ticket to push back Faubley if necessary, either by his family line or hero power." Not to mention how the Batman might see that move as an obvious way to force him into being on their side, so Melty was the best way to make a bridge between their future negotiations, it was a gamble but one she was unfortunately forced to do. Mirellia looks at the night sky through the window and wishes that any further problem could just... Not happen, it was all she could do at this point.
"I know you're always ready with a plan and they are great, but this one sounds awful" Raphtalia comments as she and Bruce were in the inside of the castle, security was sloppy here for what is supposed to be the best stronghold of the kingdom, the knights barely looked up and weren't taking their job as night watch seriously, probably due to the Wave's defeat and party being thrown in the castle. Still it had allowed both the dark knight and his companion to enter without sounding a single bell
"Going inside the biggest party of influential and powerful people in the country? Sounds good on paper, but you're actually going to attend it instead of sneaking around? Aren't you leaving yourself a little too exposed" this didn't feel like the safe move, they just finished beating the Wave and by all means they should be helping the rebuilding of Lute village as it was heavily damaged by the wave monsters and the 'help' from the knights, it would take time for the place to be rebuilt but Bruce seemed very sure that coming here was necessary despite Raphtalia not seeing any advantages
"I can assure you my guard won't be down no matter what in the course of the event" Bruce responds as he adjusted his tie, the suit he was using could be best described as a brown modern business suit with a black tie and yellow shirt underneath, grey pants and a black coat hanging over both shoulders. The shield was now transformed into a ring thanks to the [ring shield] ability, so while extremely limited in what skills and abilities he could use, Bruce wouldn't be mistaken for the shield hero even if they tried to form a connection by searching for his shield.
"Sure, but all those people hate your guts, especially the king. And you want to have a chat with them?" What if his disguise wasn't good enough, Raphtalia didn't even get the chance to cast a illusion spell on him because Bruce wouldn't allow it, as he expected some form of anti illusion magic curtain to be cast around the party in case he tried to sneak in. For her it sounded a bit too paranoid but made some form of sense, but it was even more reason not to go, she didn't care how good he was at doing this back in his world, at least put a fake beard or something to hide his chin as that was the only exposed part of the cowl
"I want to confirm the suspicions I had about the other summoned wielders, along with building connections with the higher society of the country for the future. You know what your own mission is" Bruce only had assumptions about the three so far, it was little to work on a personality profile for each but he knew a lot of their flaws already, but maybe there was some genuine good hidden within them; even Itsuki for how rotten he has been shown to be could still have a redeeming quality that showed he wasn't a lost cause.
"Sneak around the king's place and find anything useful, sure that's easy but I don't know if you'll be able to hold a conversation with any of those guys, they seemed ready to kill on the spot last time I saw" considering how they started to attack her illusion as soon as it was done talking, only served as confirmation that the heroes and their parties shouldn't be given a second chance so early, the results of that stupid trial was still too strong on their minds for them to give him the benefit of doubt.
"We can't be prepared for everything, only for what we expect. And trust me, those three can't surprise me" he concluded to Raphtalia before walking away to the room where the gathering was happening and the demi human raccoon had to accept he would do it no matter what she said, frustrating but only meant that Raphtalia had to do her best with the objective she had, after all there has gotta be a secret hidden in this castle.
Walking through the corridors of the castle, he takes a deep breath as he stands in front of the door that leads to the celebration before putting on a smile, a smug and entitled smile like that of other nobles that were to be here. As he went through the door, Bruce could see that the party had already begun as the music was playing loudly but in a pleasing tune that filled the large room, a large table with various foods of high quality was displayed by the left side of the room, decorations weren't anything more than what the castle already had and the charter amongst the nobles was civilized but he could tell they had that distinct mocking tone from time to time
The heroes were spread out, Ren at his own corner trying to avoid any social interaction, Itsuki being showered by nobles with requests to see their daughters as they likely wanted the benefits of having a hero in their bloodline but the bow refused these requests. Motoyasu was mostly in his own bubble of interactions that seemed to be regulated by Malty herself, certainly because she didn't want anyone to get a hold on her personal pawn, that must be all he is to her.
"You're a new face, are you from around here Mister?" A woman said as she noticed Bruce, he made sure to be able to blend in with the guests of the party but having enough distinction to be noticejust enough for something to try and have a conversation with him as the new face of the place, he needed to build a reputation with both the people but also the nobles of the country, this party could serve as a opportunity for him
"Bruce Wayne, I came to Melromarc to expand my family business outwards into new horizons" he presented himself, extending a hand for a handshake. Bruce kept observing the few nobles around to see any thing of useful to bring up in a conversation if needed, subtle details and mannerisms they had. As some seemed interested on him for the fact he was from outside the country, depending on which their thoughts could vary greatly
"Quite the look you have Mister Wayne, your family must be very wealthy. Only the rich can be this handsome, I know from personal experience" an nobleman said as he approached Bruce, he was unremarkable in appearance as he was neither ugly or beautiful and had a average physical build, with any indication of his nobility being his clothes and jeweled rings on six of his fingers
"What sort of business does your family exceed at? Are you importing or exporting?" The noble asked, Bruce saw that this was not a simple friendly question, obviously this guy wanted information from him to use, perhaps seeing him as a threat to his family business or as a rival to his owl developing career
"Medical supplies and healing potions, my father was a gifted medic." Bruce responded and that seemed to have gotten the nobleman by surprise, clearly he expected him to be someone who achieved his riches through the exploration of natural resources instead of specialized products like medical supplies
"Curious, I assume you sell your lowest grade potions at a high cost to the peasants, not like they would know the difference" one of the noblewoman came in with her opinion, if she was in his position that would certainly be how it would be handled as the best should always be reserved for those like them to buy, Bruce doesn't show his discontent with the comment but instead decides to express his business model
"I actually give my highest grade items to anybody by a fair price, quality is what my business stands for so I want to make sure everything is as impeccable as we advertise. Besides the fact that honesty with the customer leads to them coming back out of their free will, if I didn't follow my word, I would just be a snake oil charlatan" Bruce explains and the nobles around are... Split, on one hand it sounds like a quick way to go broke if he is always using his best quality items for everything and especially if he is selling them for less than what their worth, on the other hand having a salesman being truthful about what he does meant he wouldn't be scamming people like them of their money.
"...Interesting business choice, it doesn't seem to be such a great tactic to sell your best things to the poor that can't afford it, just sounds like bad business. Charitable, but not great long term profit" the noble spoke the potential failure of that practice as it was too much charity and less business, if he had the money to simply throw that thing around his family must be incredibly rich, or he was just that confident on the product.
"If they need help but can't afford it, we should try to help them anyway. Not everything is about making the most profit at the end of the day, helping can be it's own reward. That's what my parents taught me, and that is what I live by" his words were touching and while most of the nobles didn't really see the benefit to this type of business model, they wouldn't want to dismiss it entirely as while they would not dare trying it, at least someone else would do this 'man of the people' business instead. Maybe he wanted to build good word of mouth before raising his prices, but either way the man had the charisma to pull it off, they could all agree on that.
Walking out of that conversation, Bruce decides to interact with one of the heroes in order to form a better profile of them. Seeing as Ren was by himself now that his party were on another table eating, he decided to start with him
"What do you want?" Ren asked when Bruce began to approach, clearly disengaged from even having this conversation before it even started.
"I was interested in having a conversation with one of the heroes that saved this great country, is that too much to ask?" Playing on his ego was the best option, Motoyasu and Itsuki had shown to be pretty prideful which despite Ren's more reserved personality he had shown a bit of attention seeking as well in the first day, not to mention his tendency to show off in the guild the results of his latest quest to rub it in for the other members.
"I'm just here waiting until tomorrow, when the king gives us our payment for the Wave" the sword hero didn't saw much reason to attend the party other than the promised reward from beating the wave, he wanted to go back out preparing for his hunting quest to kill a dragon boss, not be stuck with a bunch of nobles that didn't do anything like this guy
"Doesn't mean we can't have a chat" A friendly chat didn't seem like it would work for Ren as he seemed determined to avoid a social interaction, because he deemed Bruce as not important enough for his time? Probably the case, Ren seemed just focused with getting this done with it before moving to his next monster slaying mission to get another sword and reward
"Look, I didn't start any dialogue interaction with you, so if you'll be a nice NPC, please leave." The way he spoke immediately threw something to Bruce to catalogue, he called him a NPC and thought this was a form of interaction he didn't want to participate in, the way he used these game terms... Did Ren think that they were inside a game? Granted the status magic would be similar to how RPG mechanics work in video games but if he has spent even a single day here, then it would have been proven to him already that this is all just as real as he is.
"Oh! Npc is a hero lingo isn't it? Stands for..." He faked confusion, after all a citizen from this world wouldn't know what that meant unless it had been told by previous heroes which didn't seem likely, keeping up the appearance of a 'NPC' would probably be the only way to interact with the sword hero
"Non playable character, a non important background person. An extra" annoyed, Ren explained the meaning of the other along with other things just to emphasize how irrelevant he was in comparison to the hero.
"Isn't that a bit hurtful to say towards other people? Calling them the same as a space filler?" Bruce could understand if this was a way for Ren to distance himself from the others of this world, he had an ego for sure but not to the same extent as Motoyasu or Itsuki, so maybe the sword hero wanted to shut others away so he wouldn't feel guilty or regret for them in the event of something tragic
"It's how games work, don't blame me" Ren didn't want to say much to this random person in his eyes, nor did he care that much about him to sugar coat his words
"... Do you think this is a game? Just because this isn't your world?" Bruce asked the other hero, wanting to see if Ren was really diluting this world into simply being a game he's in, that was a mindset that could lead to careless acts and disregard for safety, both his and those around him.
"I am not having this conversation with you, okay? Just leave me alone, I have better things to worry about than your existential crisis over if you're real or not." Ren's response is followed by him crossing his arms and simply looking away, completely intending on avoiding any further discussion with the dark knight, so Bruce begins leaving in silence as to his request, seeing as it gave him all he needed to conclude what Ren really thought about this world and its people.
Moving around inside the castle shouldn't be this easy, sure Raphtalia had the advantage of casting herself invisible and she had been trained by Batman to be able to sneak around almost anywhere, but the castle was a joke. Maybe it was the fact that being the capital castle gave them the confidence to not invest so much on security, but going in and out seemed easy with so many of the guards being stationed were the party was happening, made her job easier but now Raphtalia was wondering how do they keep their Monarch's safe
In any case she moved into the castle's library, if anywhere was going to have some dirty on the king it would probably be their own records, even if raphtalia doesn't find what she was looking for it would at least give her a excuse to read stuff she wouldn't have been able to before, place was extensive but that was about it, most of the books were about how to become a better ruler along with material for higher education.
"This place isn't really useful, kind of boring actually" she said before making her way towards the exit, as this place didn't have what they needed from the king. Aultcray got mentioned once or twice but it was only in books that covered Melromarc's most recent war, which Raphtalia wasn't even sure her parents were born when it happened, best she could guess was that her father was six by the time Aultcray started to kill so many demi humans and she was thankful he didn't suffer the same fate.
Motoyasu seemed to be the second best option to talk with, he had shown to be an idiot, but there was hope he could be a ally given proper guidance. Although he would personally rather have Plastic Man by his side than Motoyasu, as Eel O'Brien had a much more tolerable personality in comparison from Motoyasu, Bruce did his research of the spear hero and found he had the tendency of being clueless to how the deeper things of the world worked, not to mention how much of a skirt chaser rumors made him out to be but they were few.
"Could I have a word with the spear hero?" Bruce asked politely although he could already see that Malty wouldn't let him in, she seemed to be making her best to prevent the spear hero from interacting with others in the party, maybe even outside of it too
"And who are you? The spear hero isn't interested in chit chat with more nobles" Malty was disinterest in whatever request or discussion Bruce wanted to start with the Motoyasu, in fact he wanted him gone before anything else could be said
"Isn't that for him to decide?" He argued as Malty seemed to be acting a little too extra protective of the hero, like she didn't want to share him with anyone, or have him gravitate towards someone else that could be a better influence on him.
"As his official spokesperson, I don't think so. Motoyasu is very tired from the Wave he so courageously fought, so he shouldn't be disturbed" Malty spoke now annoyed and Batman could tell this was all from a feeling of owning the clueless hero but also not wanting anyone to get their own grasp of Motoyasu, she wanted full control of his decisions.
"You speak in part for the spear hero? All I want to discuss is-"
"He doesn't need you nagging by his side to talk about your business or whatever. Leave now or I'll call the guards" that was a light threat as she insert her authority as the first princess, Bruce couldn't careless for how much she thought of herself, but from the corner of his eyes he could see Aultcray walking around talking to some people.
"... Very well" It would be better for him to interact with the king as the spear hero was in hearing distance of the entire thing but Bruce notes how he was more interested in looking at some nearby women, so he didn't care about having a conversation unless he was a attractive woman.
"King Aultcray, may I have the honor of speaking with you?" Batman approached, caution needed as Aultcray was said to be the strongest hero currently alive so he must have the levels to back that claim, the amount of shield abilities or skills he could use while in the ring form was vastly more limited than usual and only two could be used in any form of defensive efficiency.
"I don't believe I know you, but your looks... Are you of hero descent?" Aultcray asked, to his eyes Bruce had all the makings of a healthy descendant of a hero, the great physical build and his handsome looks are said to be a genetic inheritance from heroes, although sometimes it only translates to better stats. Coming from the royal family of Faubley, Aultcray was one of these descendants even before receiving his own hero status so that made him curious about this man
"As far as I am aware, no. My name is Bruce Wayne and I have something to discuss with you" he extended a hand to the king who replied by taking it, he didn't seem to suspect of Bruce but he also seemed to be hiding something, a detail of sorts that the dark knight isn't sure if can trace back his real identity
'Wayne?... I thought their bloodline ended years ago, killed by a petty thief.' Aultcray remembered hearing about the death of the Waynes when he was young, they were the only semblance of normalcy and good back in Faubley, once they were gone Faubley quickly spiraled into a industrialist revolution that the Wayne had hold back with their efforts to help the country's ecology over more factory territories
"What do you wish to say?" The king asked, highly curious about the plans and thoughts of someone coming from a dead noble family, maybe it was something to expand their once great name back or he wanted to propose to his daughter Malty, he seemed like a good man she could be married with if the relationship with their spear hero doesn't go well.
"I recently made a new business in your country selling medicine, the Village I had built my first location has been attacked by the Wave" Batman began talking about what had happened in Lute, first going in the business angle as to keep the nobleman class appearance for the king and any one easy dropping on the conversation, just to be sure.
"Sorry to hear that, but you don't expect me to repay you for the destruction caused by the mindless monsters, do you?" Aultcray responds as he didn't believe that his country should compensate those affected by the waves monsters unless it was a truly big case, a simple store being destroyed seemed excessive to call upon his financial support, especially coming from another noble.
"I actually want some form of financial support of the crown to restore the destruction caused by the knights of the capital, they bombed the village with fire before checking for civilians." Bruce explains the main reason why he wanted this talk, seeing as the royal knights from the capital were responsible for most of the damage caused to the village and it's people, it was more than fair for the king to take some responsibility and aid in the reconstruction of the small town.
"Shame, but I'm sure it was crucial in ending the Wave and defeating the boss behind it" the king knew that things like that happened during wars and big conflicts, but he was assured that it had great strategical value by the captain of the guard, so it would justify the damages caused.
"The heroes were fighting the boss somewhere else far away, all it did was cause multiple innocents still inside their houses hiding to be severely wounded beyond healing, one family was even killed because of the captain's reckless plan." The level of arrogance needed to do that was high, Bruce could have seen 5 better options that wouldn't require more brain power than what the captain of the guards is supposed to have, because bombing the village didn't have any strategic value nor was it useful in a maneuver, it was simple brute strength at the most obvious target. A man like that shouldn't be leading those that are responsible for saving the people, specially when he doesn't even check for those same individuals he swore to protect.
"A sad part of war, if it will make you rest easy I'll have the man responsible demoted for the time being." Aultcray could understand his frustration if that was the case, the royal knights are supposed to inspire a sense of safety to the citizens, even if the waves are a stressful situation the knight leading the charges should be more ingenious than that and know how to improvise, a reduction in his position for the coming months should do it. But the help for the village was... A different story.
"But as for the financial support you seek for them, I must disappoint but I won't be able to provide it to you. This village you are referring to is Lute, correct? It would be easier for the villagers to relocate to the capital than wasting resources on building all back up." That village was always a small stop before the capital, Aultcray barely knew of it existence if the location was further away, spending the kingdom's resources on a place that could barely make 1 silver a day? He saw that as a great waste of their valuable resources, it was better to forget about it entirely
"But as the king, shouldn't you offer those struck by the Waves with help?" Bruce argued as he was in charge of the entire country and it's people, as the royal in charge of them he should show compassion and help in the aftermath of a Wave, not throwing a massive party to pander the heroes egos and make the high class feel some form gratification for their 'collaboration'
"I will, seeing as Lute now lays in ruin and their leader may as well be responsible for it. I'll be assigning the land to someone more worthy of it, maybe they could make it stand out from the mud." And Aultcray already had someone in mind, as his mind went to the spear hero since gifting him a piece of land that once was a village would be a great way of getting into his good side, plus Malty could learn how to lead by helping him in Aultcray's eyes.
"Enjoy the party Mr Wayne, all paid by the shield's now denied payment, since he is a fugitive criminal now I don't believe he'll need it." He concluded while lifting a cup of wine in a toasting motion, Bruce didn't respond and just decided that if the king of the country wouldn't help his people, then he would.
"I thought he would have a personal diary or something, to write his racist thoughts and what not" the demi human girl said as she was now in the king's living quarters, looking over his drawers and bed for anything he may be hiding, like the type of thing you wouldn't want your wife finding or a old war journal the kids shouldn't read.
"I am king Aultcray, I hate the shield hero because he is nicer and smarter than me, I don't believe even the most obvious things because I am a bigot and..." Raphtalia stopped her imitation of the king as she opened the closet of the king, behind his cloaks and shirts was barely hidden a metal staff. One with a red gem in the middle and the exact same color palette as the legendary weapons, she knew this was one of the seven star weapons from her childhood stories back at her home village, she took a hold of it and stared at the object said to be wielded by her world's most extraordinary individuals that were actually born here.
"I think this is what he wanted me to find" Raphtalia said before looking around before making the weapon invisible just like her, to make it easy to leave the room.
So far he only got confirmation of the worst qualities of the heroes and the king himself, Bruce expected better from them but he should have also be prepared for some disappointment. Why did they get summoned by the weapons in specific? He could think of over 100 better individuals on his Earth that could fill the roles of the weapons, even if it was only one hero per earth, how come an alternative version of Clark or Diana didn't get picked?
Last person to talk with was the bow hero, Bruce hoped that approaching in a civilian identity would cause any animosity of their previous encounter to not factor in, allowing the dark knight to find out the depths of his character and his meaning of 'justice' in particular. Itsuki had just finished dismissing the last of the nobles that wanted him to meet his daughter
"You're the bow hero, I am surprised you refused the offer from them considering someone your age would be interested in girls" he started a small talk with the bow hero, ready for the worst of him to come out as Itsuki was volatile but not in a public place with soo many bystanders watching, Itsuki cares too much about the way he is preserved to lash out in a big party like this. So Bruce could poke at him to truly see the depths of his moral system and to find any form of regret from what he does while fighting crime.
"I am in a committed relationship already, with justice." Itsuki responds as he lays his back to the way relaxed, watching the party going on with a serious expression, but a soft and smug smile forming as well.
"That seems a bit far fetched, considering the criminals you stopped never saw court as far as I heard" first of the hard hitting evidences against Itsuki, he prouds himself on working with and for justice but killing the perpetrators was not a truly neutral stance on justice, as it would require a trial to be held for them to truly be found guilty.
"Justices comes for those who break the law, and they don't deserve the chance to lie on trial" his response was too cynical, he didn't believe they could feel genuine regret from their actions, believing instead that criminals no matter what would lie to get away from any situation they found themselves in, while not entirely false this belief shouldn't encompass all of them.
"That seems extreme, don't you think?" Bruce asked to try see if Itsuki shows some remorse for at least one of those he ended, even the bow hero must know at least once he may have done a wrong call, that he made a mistake with this method of crime fighting
"I apply punishment equal to their crimes, if they are dead it is because their crime would be punishable by death if given the verdict" the bow hero's face didn't even flinch as he responds, frustrating but expected from what Batman had seen from the bow
"I suppose... But have you ever considered their side? Life isn't as black and white as we want." Keeping this questioning had a risk, Itsuki didn't seem to have a great deal of patience when he was the target of a negative opinion, likely due to his own pride in himself, but it was important for the hero to remember that even legendary summoned ones could fail and that he wasn't immune from it.
"It's various shades of grey? I don't think so, if they are a criminal it is because they are evil from the core" Itsuki was so sure of it like that was a well known fact, but Bruce knew how wrong that sentiment was and he decided to give the 'virtuous' bow hero a few questions to see how he would handle them
"If a man that because of a medical condition has slowly transformed him into a crocodile and he was robbing banks, would you arrest him or kill him?" Waylon Jones also known as Killer Croc was a incredibly strong thug that acted as muscle for hire sometimes and that had cannibalistic tendencies, but he wasn't born like that. His condition progressively made him more reptile like and he was made into a freak show attraction, constant bullying since childhood and abuse from his aunt, on top of people seeing him more like a aberration than individual were certainly what lead him to be this creature, when you call someone a monster for long enough... They turn into that same monster they were lead to believe, because that's all they can see themselves as.
"Of course I would kill him, that's not even a-"
"But do you know why he does this? What led him to commit a crime, what if he didn't have a choice? What if he can't get a job due to his condition? Shouldn't he be given help?" Itsuki seemed so read to jump into that conclusion, maybe it was because he didn't see Waylon as human therefore he shouldn't be given that same amount of thought as for when the case was a average human, but that would mean he didn't care for the slaves of the country as well.
"It doesn't matter, justice will come for him no matter if he's man or lizard." The bow hero didn't show empathy for the example nor did he seem bothered by it, so Bruce decided to continue with a example that would likely be more within Itsuki's parameters for heroics, a sympathetic one.
"Then what about a broken man who is desperate to save his sick wife, he is robbing diamonds for a machine and has plans to freeze his wife, to give himself more time to find a cure for her. Part of the city may be affected as well by the machine, Would you give him a chance to serve a sentence? To redeem himself?" Victor Freeze was a truly tragic man, he loved someone deeply and truthfully to his heart, so he would do anything to make his Nora healthy no matter the cost. He was obsessed with control, because he couldn't accept death and it scares him how little he can do to stop it. Bruce always say a part of himself in Victor, he understood what it was like to lose someone you love and be unable to let go of their memories, all he needs is to find the cure for his wife and medical help as despite how frozen Victor says his heart is, Bruce knew that there was still a part of his humanity left to be warmed back into hi-
"Dead, if he plans on freezing everyone then he should be killed for as tragic as his wife may be one life doesn't justify the harm of the larger population, he is still committing a crime and I am not going to give him an easy time just because he is sad" Itsuki didn't hesitate to respond and it was just... Cynical, once again he didn't want to give someone like Freeze the benefit of doubt nor some form of sympathy, he just saw another villain to take down so he can get the glory, even his acknowledgement of his motivation behind this was like he didn't care for the life of Nora who was completely innocent.
"But have you even considered what changed their life to turn into this? No one is born evil, nor are we born good either. We become what we are because of choices within and outside of our control, no one knows what our lives would be if we did something as simple as taking a different walk from home" the dark knight argues with the bow hero, the way he spoke was like everyone was destined to take a role in a story, like they were just there to be a obstacle for him to overcome instead of their own people. This certainty he had about the goods and bads of the world wasn't flexible, from what he had seen of Itsuki before Batman could also tell it was biased on his favor.
"I had a friend who was torn between the two, lawyer who wanted to end crime and take down the biggest crime bosses in order to clean the city of corruption. But even him had his inner demons, anger and doubt that split him... Until he was so divided by the duality within himself, that he could only decide what to do with a coin flip." A memory of Harvey comes to mind, of their friendship, of the incident that turned him into Two Face, his spiral into crime and internal conflict with the duality of life. Bruce picks out a silver coin from his pocket, tossing it up with his thumb and as it spins on the air, he and Itsuki look as the coin fall, with Batman catching it with his fist.
"Is that how you want to decide who lives or dies? Heads they die, Tails they live. When does the result become null, when does the coin start to be weighted on one side, until it always comes out heads?" Asked Bruce as he stares to Itsuki, his expression much more serious than Itsuki had seen from him from the start of this interaction and his gaze actually makes the bow hero uncomfortable, now it truly felt like a personal attack.
"What's your point here? Making me feel bad for criminals? For human scum? Sorry for what happened to your friend, but I don't see how this is relevant here." Itsuki got into the defensive, he wasn't really liking what this noble guy was trying to insinuate about him, but the bow hero didn't like it at all. Criminals are the scum of society, why should their feelings matter so much, they shouldn't be giving them unlimited chances just because of their sad reasons for doing so.
"I just want to understand how you decide good or wrong, where you draw the line. The king has killed many people during the war, guilty and innocent, shouldn't you go after him as well by that same logic?" The flaws with Itsuki's right or wrong mentality are plenty the more it was thought about, it assumed that people couldn't change after they commit a crime but how big did the crime had to be for that to be the case, if the Itsuki excuses a person for stealing bread to survive he would be going against his all criminals are no good for nothing people, how does he determine what is punishable or not?
"That was years ago, before I even got summoned, and he's the king so the whole country needs him alive. Besides the fact he is the one that gives us our rewards for the waves." Itsuki explains that he only judges those that commit crimes after his summoning, but Bruce was sure that would change if he found out about a big crime that person did months or years ago, because the only crime he truly fought against was to fill his ego or help his pocket.
"Have you ever thought about the criminals you killed? If they had families, loved ones? How can you tell if you went too far, we have laws to protect us and tell us what we shouldn't do to become criminals. People have the right to live, who are you to take that from them?" The bow hero wasn't liking this, how his views on justice were being thrown on the table for some guy to try dissecting it, like this man could understand the complexity of Justice like he did.
"Look I see what you're trying to say here but, that isn't the point. I am the cardinal bow hero of justice, I have the right to determine if those who broke the law deserve to be spared or not." Itsuki tried to dodge the whole thing, to stop this conversation as it was not only getting him uncomfortable but it was also making him angry, who was this guy to judge him? He was chosen to save this world by the legendary cardinal weapon of the bow, so why is this nobody trying to-
"What about the shield? He is a legendary hero like you and he was trialled, deemed a criminal." Bruce spoke and his tone was chilling yet subtle as he raised the question for the bow hero
"If he can be a criminal despite being chosen by the legendary weapon of the shield, what guarantees that you or any of the others aren't capable of becoming a criminal?" The atmosphere seemed to change around Bruce in the eyes of Itsuki, like the lights of the entire room had gone out except for the spot light above them, as the gaze of this man seemed so piercing that it was practically laser eyes towards him. He clinched his bow and gritted his teeth from the anger he was feeling for this guy
"At the end of the day we are all people, and people have flaws. If you kill a person you take away their potential to redeem themselves, life is a right that we are all born with and taking one is just something we should never go out of our way to do" Bruce concluded as he puts his hands on his pockets, and unlike the bow hero he didn't seem a tad bit bothered but his expression was so serious it could be mistaken for such. Itsuki finally decided to speak up what he thought
"... Listen, I didn't get summoned in a wacko bat suit, he was a red flag from day one. And I don't appreciate you trying to judge my moral compass, if you're so righteous then why aren't you the hero of something? I was chosen to be a legendary hero, you aren't even important enough to leave an impact on the country or its people. Stay in your lane, Mister." Itsuki's tone was clearly that if a threat, but he left to go where his party was and likely retire for the night, as Bruce watched him with a profile on how much of a hypocrite the bow hero truly was. He begins moving towards the exit as there wasn't much left to do in this party and he had far better things to do, walking off to meet raphtalia at the combined spot where they entered into the castle
"So are the heroes more than jerks or are they double the jerk I thought?" Raphtalia asked, in her mind they couldn't have had this secret soft side because how much they showed to be dicks, and she could already they the three were hypocrites in their own little way. Maybe one was better than the other, or one was worse than the rest, but they still felt like a bunch of jerks like the other nobles around the damn court
"Ren thinks everything here is a game, whether or not that is a coping mechanism or a lack of compassion is yet to be seen. Motoyasu is too trusting of his companions, from rumors I heard of him, it is more than likely that he doesn't believe a woman could ever lie to him which makes him a clueless pawn for someone like Malty to abuse. Itsuki is still a narcissist with a self-righteous sense of justice, he seems to have a completely black and white view on morality except when it involves himself." Ren and Motoyasu may be more redeemable than their actions lead to belief, but Itsuki certainly was worse than both cases if everything Bruce had seen of him was to be the only truth to the Bow hero.
Ren needed a wake up call to reality in a healthy way as something too drastic as to not get a traumatic experience that may do him more harm than good. Motoyasu had bad company and needed to see things in a less delusional way as by having a manipulative person such as Malty by his side for too long will lead him to a dark path, the spear hero didn't have a healthy support system because of his attitude and of those around him, this might develop into a abandonment problem, or worst a obsession that could become his only drive, he needed someone to help him and that one was not Malty.
Itsuki, Bruce was not ready to label him a lost cause because he still had hope that some good was inside the bow hero, but Itsuki's views on how justice should be distributed were incredibly flawed, from everything he said it didn't matter the reason or motivation behind any crime, he would punish it with death unless it brought some form of glory. He did everything for his ego, his pride and used his own sense of justice to get that attention he craves, not only that but he believed himself above others more than anything and saw his actions as totally justified. He didn't fear going too far because he doesn't believe he can go there, Itsuki was a powder barrel ready to explode as his behavior would lead to the death of many in the future, should this happen, Bruce would give him far more than just a few words of advice.
"So they are still jerks" that was basically what she got from it, clearly the bow was the worst if his tone was indicative, raphtalia figured as much considering how tight the king and that church had their hands on them
"Did you find the item?" Batman asked, it would be fine if she didn't but having the weapon in their possession would make things safer for them, even if Aultcray hasn't used it in this long especially with the return of the waves
"When you said it was an important part of his past, I thought it was a book of photos or a diary, but this certainly is a big thing for him to be hiding in his closet" she takes the staff from her back and hands it to Bruce, as she does however a light begins coming from the weapon's gem before the whole body glowed with a pure white color, the shield's gem also began glowing afterwards but it seemed to put a stop to whatever the staff was trying to do
"Uh... Why did it glow like that? It didn't do that when I was holding the weapon" raphtalia didn't know much about the star weapons or how they interact with the legendary weapons, but that felt big. Did they warn the king of their presence, or maybe the staff was transferring some important information to the shield and-
"It tried to form a connection, making me it's new wielder instead of Aultcray. But the shield stopped the attempt as I am already connected to a legendary weapon" Batman explained to her as his status screen confirmed that to be the case, apparently Bruce would make for such a good staff hero that the weapon wanted to leave Aultcray and move over to him. Apparently his intelligence and strategic mind were the biggest requirements to wield the staff, he couldn't see for too long before the shield stopped the staff's status magic, but Aultcray had lost the requirements to wield his own weapon and that made Bruce an even more appealing option.
"Can you, like convince the shield to allow you to use it? Maybe it would make you even stronger, and you could be even better at fighting with a star weapon by your side, you seemed great with a staff from the training matches" Raphtalia was sure that this could be the reason why he asked her to recover the weapon, using both a staff and a shield would make Batman a even stronger and more formidable hero than anyone else, it sounds impossible but he seemed capable to crack how the weapons work and maybe change it, after she heard so much about his friends from the Justice League and they all seemed so amazing that for him to stand alongside them it required Batman to be more than exceptional, which he certainly was in her eyes.
"Maybe with the right magic, but I believe it's best to leave it be. Aultcray would notice his status magic changing and that would bring unnecessary attention, for now I'll store it in the inventory." The seven star staff wouldn't be of use for now or the foreseeable future, only if Aultcray was dead would it go looking for a new wielder as that is how the star weapons are said to operate, despite how much trouble the king was, Bruce wouldn't let him die if it was avoidable and Aultcray's reputation as a strong star hero must be what has protected him from assassination so far, removing his connection with the staff would lock or even permanently take his levels and stats, making the king of a entire nation incredibly vulnerable right in the time where interdimesional invasions and a coupe was taking place
"So... Now do you want to get your new armor from the blacksmith? We still have a lot of night time left, maybe a bit of crime fighting action?" He was really needing the clothes change, his main costume had taken great amount of damage and the wave only made it worst. Or he could want to punch the shit out of some crooks to relieve from that nobleman class party that she bet was full of annoyance.
"We have a reconstruction effort to help first, our funds may be limited but should be enough to finance most of it." Bruce would be focusing on the infrastructure of Lute for the time period, it would delay his schedule for leaving the capital but he couldn't let those people rebuild by themselves, because the king wouldn't even bother helping in the reconstruction despite the damage made by his own knights. Batman leaps out of the castle and Raphtalia jumps after him, smile on her face from the excitement of the fall but also of the prospect of helping, the young demi human thought all her days would be filled with crime fight, but more often than not she would be aiding people in need and that felt good for both her soul and mind.
The Pope walks towards the large crimson door of the mansion they were at, followed by his bodyguard that was one of the many loyal knights of the church. He taps at the door three times, they waited for a few 10 minutes before the door began creaking slowly.
"What businesses do you have here?" A distorted voice asked as the door was open to reveal a floating pile of thousands upon thousands of insects and rats, with rags covering its body as it used a straw hat along with a stitch up mask to simulate a face as it smiled upon the two with glowing eyes. The follower has shivers around his entire body as he grabs his sword startled to try striking the abomination, but Pope Balmus stops him as he looks at the creature.
"I have a favor to ask your Master, and next time don't try to over sell your illusion for more than it's worth" he was calm the entire time as he said this and the monster visually molds his face into an even more terrifying face in anger, but even that doesn't get a reaction from the Pope. So defeated the monster begins to fade into smoke as a scrawny tall man stands in its place, far from the intimidating appearance of before.
"Follow me" he said as Balmus and his follower trail behind him, as they are met with a flight of stairs that leads to an underground dungeon for individuals that seemed, disturbed perhaps? but the church's knight only saw it as one thing... A show of horrors beyond his nightmares, as amongst the normal inmates there were also freaks unlike any he ever saw before.
"The truth of the Flame... it burns... It burns!" some man who was completely on fire yet wasn't dead screamed, his cell was completely lit up and yet he wasn't burned or that hurt from any of it. His entire body seems to be perfectly fine, but his mind was probably melted into a puddle that had already evaporated.
"My face, I can't remember my face... What is my face!?" A man screamed in his padded room as he moved his hands to cover his face, the knight went to look closer and the figure turned to face him, as there was nothing but a spiral of flesh that seemed to be shifting in a circular motion. The knight took a step back horrified, this individual wasn't even a demi human and yet he was an abomination against god, how many more were like him in this place?
"Tomorrow's chicken pot pie day, are you excited for it Mr P? What about you Bubbles?" A blonde woman with glasses and a pale tone of skin asked a patient in what seemed to be a therapy room, this patient was a unnaturally large demi human elephant with a human sitting on his lap, the church knight then realized that the human was stitched in the place of the elephant's right hand like a form of hand puppet, that flops his arms around and spoke some gibberish to the elephant as it tried formulating words, was that a dead body being used as puppet or an actual living person? No matter what it was disturbing beyond belief
"I am the lord of death taken form! I cannot die!" A man with no skin or flesh in his head screamed against the window as they approached, Balmus wasn't even so much as startled by this as he continues to follow their guide but the follower of the church was petrified but was following behind his leader in fear of what would happen if he lacked behind
One of the rooms they passed by seemed to be an operation room, where a crying woman was strapped as a large doctor observed her. This was a tall and robust man, wearing a apron over his suit and bowtie, what really threw the knight off was the mask he used as it wasn't a medical mask, no it was a ceramic pig mask that covered his face but not his mouth. Was this also part of the insanity this place called patient or could he actually be staff of the building?
"Don't cry, I promise that once the operation is done you'll be the most beautiful version of yourself, you won't have to compare yourself to others anymore... You won't attack those you envy... You'll be just the most perfect... Doll" the doctor wheezed like a pig briefly before going to pick his tools for the operation, the knight moved to intervene in this scene but was pushed back by... A demi human frog in a gentleman's clothes? He didn't know such a type of demi human could even exist but he prepared to take his sword out, but the Pope told him to leave them be as they had more urgent matters to see done, the knight was conflicted but followed his leader
After this they finally arrived at what seemed to be a door to the final room, it felt ominous considering everything they have seen so far. But maybe it was just a normal office room? A bit over the top but certainly containing a figment of normalcy
"He's currently in session, trying to cure one of our newest patients. I'll tell him of your arrival" the scrawny man said before entering the door with Balmus and his guard left to wait.
"This is a bad idea, great holiness. This place is a house of pure horror!" The knight warned as the amount of red flags in the establishment were through the roof! Whatever they needed from this man was not worth dealing with this type of madness
"I know, but we need something unconventional to deal with the shield demon and I only know one place that can give us the monsters we need, here. Once we have our power assured, this is going to be the first place to be cleansed by us." The Pope Balmus responded, he had tolerate this behavior within their holy land due to the support he was given by the man running this place, but once the church have solidified their power in the country, they would not hold back to erase their connections to this madhouse by burning it all until nothing but ash remains
"The Doctor is ready to receive you" the scrawny man opened the door to them, inviting the Pope to enter but not his knight. Despite the warning of his bodyguard, Balmus entered anyway as he is met with a large machine that seemed to be connected to a form of creature within a large tube full of an transparent yellow liquid, strapped to the machine seemed to be a man with his mouth muffled as a head piece connected to the machine emitting a glow just like that of the creatures eye.
By the side watching all of this was a bald man with a large beard that had it only cover the bottom of his chin and the sides, as he used a very fancy suit under his white coat and to compliment he also had with him red tinted glasses that just like the Pope covered his eyes and seemed to expose the lack of humanity he had within them, all that the Pope could describe of this individual in only one word was... Strange.
[Author's notes]
Leave a review as it really helps the fanfic to know what you think of the story, the characters and more. Your support is really important to continuing writing these types of stories
I wish this chapter got done in time for Batman day but I had a lot of things to work and help with so it didn't quite happen.
So the party, without the duel with Motoyasu there isn't much that happens so I decided to spice things up by having Bruce Wayne interact with the other heroes in his civilian identity while trying to build rep for himself, meanwhile Raphtalia was tasked with finding Aultcray's staff he once used as a star hero, if Naofumi could wield the star staff thanks to meeting the requirements for the weapon then so would Batman (also it's not like Aultcray was using it in the original series that much, it takes until the Takt arc for him to use the damn thing and he gave it to Naofumi to use while his shield was stolen)
What I wrote of the heroes is trying to show their flaws, based on what lead them to unlock their cursed series but also my personal opinion on their characters, Ren is the least worst of the three and Itsuki is the most unredeemable hero from everything shown and said about him.
The filolian unique transformation vote winner is... A tie! the two headed one and the harpy are neck to neck, maybe I'll use the colony concept in another fanfic in the future but for now, how should I address these two filolians? Do you want both to get in the fanfic or only one? Leave your thoughts on which and why, Bruce has a egg Belouska 'gifted' him to better their business relationship so the Bat would be less aggressive when they meet, the second egg could be obtained in Lute as a thank you gift.
the last vote regarding the filolian... The name, give me names for each of the filolians as we have the haepy and a two headed one so it would be two different minds to be addressed.
This chapter has a lot of references to Batman villains amongst other parts of his mythos, the last part in particular was something I was debating how to handle as I didn't know what would be too much or not, but I decided to put some character references because this is a fanfic after all and thus not as restricted by canon as official media trying to make a crossover. I would like to know what you all thought of this little bit of world building change, it is a major but the shield hero world is really boring sometimes.
I have already expressed my problems with it in multiple other fanfics but I find it lacking information outside of things Naofumi is told about, we never met some important government figures because they were killed off screen, the magic system is hardly explored as the blessed series are not fleshed out in depth while the curse series is all over the place once we get to the fallen heroes arc, Naofumi's wrath shield can be controlled through the power of friendship and has no psychological effects on him? Seems like the other heroes got it worst when it came to their cursed series for some reason, maybe because they aren't the main character.
To answer reviews now:
To giovannicampbell079 and Guest1: I only realize that after posting the chapter, so many Wade memes must have gotten to my head.
To TheRealD3lph0xL0v3r, Guest2 and Guest3: I understand Zur en Arr might not be a popular character amongst the fan base but I found him interested when used sparingly, he is going to have a few appearances in the story when Batman's mind is attack or when a cursed series surfacing, I like the possibility of using him for the interaction with Bruce's companions because it would feel like a completely different person.
But I don't want to over use him like DC did to the Batman who laughs, so unless the chapter messes with Bruce's mind like someone trying to invade it or a possessing that's when he will be on display, additionally he could get introduced as a copycat in the world but that would depend on your guys personal opinion on how the subject would be handled. Do you prefer a voice inside his mind wanting to break free or a copycat running around the country trying to mimic Bruce in a more brutal way?
To George Wester: not really going with that for the filolian, the whole point of the chapter 5 vote is to decide the unique form of the filolian that wouldn't be human in appearance or anything, that's why the options are the way they are. So ethnicity won't really play a part
To TheRealOne19: it is, isn't it? That was a reason for me to want to write it but I found it too outlandish to implement a Xenomorph out of nowhere because they are a world ending invasive species, still could have been fun.
To Kenedy Bender: I could fuse both options in a way, the two headed filolian having its Queen form and in place of the angel form it having the hulked out form could be interesting to implement, but would that make it the party's damage dealer? but with the Harpy filolian it might be unnecessary
To red55king: I think the chapter ending sets enough stuff up for you to come to your own conclusion
To zanzara: I will certainly keep the race between him and Motoyasu since I removed the duel, and your PS about Lute might be used for the second filolian if you all are interested in seeing that. Just to clarify with these two filolians the party would be locked, so no new additions would be added with the exception of Melty for when her arc comes and she is forced to stay on the run with the group.
