Naofumi was preparing to fight his opponent in this duel he was forced to by the king in order to keep his slave Raphtalia, with his opponent being one of the other heroes who were outraged at him using and somewhat endorsing slavery, he thought back at what he said and regretted how much it sounded like he enjoyed the business, he shouldn't have made that arrogant smirk. Because that pissed off the wrong person, he was initially challenged by Motoyasu the spear hero but after what he said, the sword hero got angry and challenged him instead, forcing Motoyasu to back down after telling him he wasn't doing that because he cared about the girl's freedom but because he wanted Raphtalia all for himself due to her looks, making him the same scum as Naofumi, Motoyasu tried to argue back but was quite literally knocked out by the sword hero in one punch,
And that worried Naofumi as he was against the sword hero Ryu Terui. He was worried a bit, different from Itsuki, Motoyasu and even himself, the sword hero was someone who was somewhat used to fighting before getting summoned as he was a detective from a special police force and he more than could back that up since not only did he have a badge but his attitude and mannerisms indicated he was hard-boiled as Naofumi would put it.
And while Motoyasu and Itsuki saw this as a game, Ryu took this place seriously from the moment he got summoned, even Naofumi had taken this place lightly considering it to be the same as the light novels he read before got a reality check with that trial. Naofumi knew he was about to fight someone who took things seriously and probably was the strongest among them, but he couldn't falter now or he would lose his only companion and method of dealing damage
He walked through a large corridor leading to the arena, stepping into the light as he saw the crowd here to watch him lose, he growled at them ready to prove them wrong by beating the sword hero. As Ryu stepped out from his side of the arena, looking at him like he was nothing more than a vile criminal
"I'll warn you, I'm not going to hold back!" Naofumi said as he lifted his shield and equipped it on a form that gave him resistance against slashes, he was ready to use any dirty tactics he could to defeat Ryu, he had a few strategies in mind already
"I'll make you know pain, all that awaits you in the finish line..." Ryu said as he pulled out a strange device that resembled the handle of a bike and placed on his waist as he then pulled out a red UBS drive with a large letter A written on it "... Is despair!"
ACCEL!
"Hen... Shin!" He said as he inserted the USB drive into the device and activated it as revving of an fierce engine started and scraps of red metal began to surround him and fly into his body, covering him while as it then he seemingly began to glow and sizzle as if he was overheating as the engine sound intensified, as in a explosion of steam Ryu had transformed
His body was covered in a metallic body armor in a vibrant red color with some silver details, having a blue visor on his face. He had additional details and add-ons in his armor that were reminiscent of a motorbike, he equipped a sword form that seemed to fit his vehicle motif
"An Kamen rider?!" Itsuki screamed from the audience both amazed and envious, Naofumi shared that sentiment as a question came to his head
"Where did you get whatever that is?!" The shield hero asked as this had to be some form of cheating, granted he also was going to cheat as he brought living monsters into the ring but that wasn't close to whatever the sword hero had just pulled out
"Don't ask me questions!" Ryu said as he ran up to Naofumi and lifted up his sword, Naofumi made a [Air Strike Shield] between them as it blocked Accel's strike, only for the translucent energy shield to start cracking and disappear when it shattered
"... Huh?" Naofumi let the sound of his confusion escape, his [Air Strike Shield] skill never broke before, the wave monsters didn't even make a dent in them, he hadn't encountered someone strong enough to do this before but Ryu did so in one strike
"Fuck, plan two!" He said as he revealed the balloons he had brought into the arena, throwing them at Ryu, hoping those would hurt him or at least distract him. Ryu stopped dead in his track as he tilted his head confused, the balloons went and bit him but he wasn't reacting in pain, instead he seemed annoyed
"You thought these things would hurt me?" Accel said as he looked at Naofumi, revving the handle of his Driver gear to cause his body to heat up, making the balloons pop as the air inside of them expanded rapidly and suddenly. Naofumi mentally face palmed, of course that wouldn't work, First, he was covered in metal. Second, his defense stat should be higher than in the first day they were out, did he really expect level one to five monsters to hurt a level 30 or 40 hero?
"Fine, I have other options!" Naofumi screamed as he equipped the [rope shield] and threw a balloon at Ryu, he blocked it by cutting it but Naofumi smiled as that left the sword hero wide open for him to use the ability of the shield to shoot out a rope at Accel, hitting his target, the neck
"[Rooted]! [Air Strike Shield]!" Naofumi screamed as his feet glowed, symbolizing he was rooted to the ground and he manifested a shield between him and Ryu that shot upwards and the rope was pulled up. Since he was attached to the ground, the one to be pulled upwards was Ryu, the rope starting to strangle him as the audience gasped at the shield hero literally trying to hang the sword hero, Accel began to flail his sword trying to cut the rope while trying to pull the rope so it didn't tighten further
"Don't try it! That may look like a rope but it is still my shield, meaning it is as indestructible as it is!" Naofumi said confidently, he didn't know if he was saying the truth, but he needed to sound sure if it was indeed a bluff "Give up! Unless you want a broken neck"
"Grrh!" Ryu replied as he used his hand to insert something into his sword as it made a sound announcing Engine! Electric! As he pointed his sword at Naofumi as electricity came off the sword and towards him, Naofumi screamed as the lightning attack hit him, making him lose focus as the air strike Shield dematerialized and his rope shield retreated back, as Ryu fell to the ground before quickly getting up
"Bastard... I'm really mad now!" Ryu said as he hit the ground with his sword before he pointed at Naofumi "Can't believe I thought you could have been innocent, when you make for such a natural thug!"
"You... Thought I was innocent?" Naofumi said as he and the audience were surprised by the sword hero's declaration
"Of course! I'm from modern Japan just like you, and a police officer! I know that rape accusations can be faked!" Ryu said as the three other heroes mentally face palmed at how obvious it was that a cop, especially a detective, would question the accusation if the evidence and testimonies didn't fit right in the big picture
"I felt that there was something wrong with that trial so I did my own investigation and when the evidence didn't come, I went after the people. I observed both you and miss Sophia or Malty as she's called for a week" Ryu said as that earns a shocked look from both Naofumi and Malty at the revelation that they were spied on
"You did what?!" Both the shield hero and princess screamed out as they think back to the first week, realizing as they went through their memories that Ryu's distinct red jacket sometimes appeared in the corner of their vision on those memories
"Yes, and Malty had quite the suspicious recovery for a rape victim, someone who was sexually assaulted having sex with a man they only knew for five days after the fact? At that point is more believable that it was faked" Accel said as he turned and pointed at Malty, everyone there looked at her incredulous at what the sword hero had said, and by the way Motoyasu looked down in shame with a blush it just served as confirmation they had done it, and that sure made people's mind think about that accusation in a different light, especially Itsuki and to a lesser extent Motoyasu. Naofumi couldn't help but smile in wonder, was he finally the justice he wished for? Did this guy just prove his innocence? Then why was he so mad-
"But you Naofumi, that trial just made you into nothing but a thug! Threatening shopkeepers who refused you service with monsters and enacting those threats, stealing and pocketing items from shops" Ryu then pointed at Naofumi as he laid down the criminal actions he saw Naofumi commit, as the shield hero bit his lips, just when things seemed to be turning up for him. He could just wonder if this was karma for taking his path of revenge at any cost, he thought back on those actions and he didn't regret them a single bit which he found a bit concerning as he considered if Accel was making a valid point
"I did that to survive!" Naofumi argued in his defense, surely Ryu understood that he needed to do such acts in order to still keep living in a cruel world that wanted to end him
"True, I know how tough it was for you after observing, I could have excused all of that... But then you did what you did..." Ryu's voice deepened as his visor's light turned off, with him lowering his sword.
"The slave... You brought a slave, you stumped to the lowest level and partook in one of, if not the worst action someone can commit!" Ryu said as his visor turned on again and this time it
glowed more intensely, as he pointed his sword at Naofumi while he made sounds of a roaring engine.
"And I know the dirty little secret of your purchase... I did my research on demi-humans, I know that the children age up to adulthood if they reach a certain level" Ryu said as that grabbed the attention of Itsuki and Motoyasu while Naofumi sweater bullets, realizing that the one thing he didn't want people to know about Raphtalia would be revealed
"Now here comes you, last time I saw you with a raccoon girl barely ten years old and then you appeared with an adult raccoon woman! You brought a child slave and stole her childhood just to turn her into a weapon!" Accel shouted as the engine sound was deafening, Naofumi looked at Itsuki and Motoyasu for their reaction and it was what he expected. Horror, disgust and anger at the fact an ten year old slave girl was the possession of one of them, as their vision of Naofumi was to be forever marked with the words "child slaver" though this also did change how they saw Melromarc as a whole
"She's ten?!" Motoyasu screamed from the audience at that revelation, as he looked at Raphtalia before looking away shamefully. He could get behind Loli's but reverse Loli's was where he dawned the line
"... So? It's legal, and her aging up was because of the nature of her species. I needed to do that to get stronger, you would have done the same" Naofumi replied even though he realized that he shouldn't as even he thought of that as a weak excuse, considering that perhaps he was chosen to be the shield hero because he kept defending stuff, even things that he shouldn't
"Are you for real?! No! I wouldn't have done any of that!" Ryu shouted in indignation at Naofumi for even implying that he would do such thing
"I know you went through hell and want nothing but revenge, but you can't use that as an excuse when we can always do better!" Accel said as he reminisced
"Letting revenge blind you..." The engine started revving up, he saw a bit of his past self on Naofumi, how dark he was becoming by his own pursuit of revenge that he almost killed an innocent person. If Shotaro, Philip and Akiko didn't help him, he might have done things he would have regretted and not feel remorse for it
"Following through every dark thought you have... Using cheap excuses like that to continue when you know it's wrong..." The sound became louder, he saw Naofumi's path as self destructive. He seemed so innocent on their first day, but now all he sees in the shield hero's current state is a boiling rage that is consuming him like fire, just like a dopant...
"Scum like you, who think their actions are justified just because tragedy struck them, committing crime after crime without atonement, turning into monsters by their own will, really grid my engines!" He says after charging up to a point when he is engulfed in orange flames, he executes a jump going into the air as he begins to rapidly approach Naofumi while doing a spinning heel kick. Naofumi lifts his shield and blocks the blow, but the force was too much as the difference in their power was fat too great, as Naofumi's shoulder was forced out of place from blocking a Rider kick
"AAAAAAAHHHH! My shoulder! My frickin shoulder!" Naofumi screamed as he placed a hand to the area that was hurting, this was real pain nothing in this world so far had hurt like this, was that what other people felt like? Did he get too used to the defense of the shield? Gritting his teeth to look at the one who did this, only to find a fist coming in his direction, sending him to the ground
"Allow me to fix it then" Ryu said as he placed his foot on Naofumi's shoulder before pressing it down with force, putting it in the right place but extremely painfully as Naofumi let out one last gut wrenching scream before he passed out in pain. Accel lifted his sword, seemingly about to finish him off, before he placed it on his waist and transformed back to normal
"I hope you can still be saved..." He said as he walked away from Naofumi's unconscious body, the crowd didn't cheer or boo as the sword hero was leaving, having too much on their minds to think over, especially the heroes
[Author's Notes]
Accel's/Ryu's anger towards Naofumi is because of his choice of buying Raphtalia as a slave. As not only could he have bought any other slaves, including adults that were in the same price range as Raphtalia but he could have also gotten a monster companion or hired mercenaries to some extent, to simply put, Ryu saw that Naofumi had different options and yet he chose an sickly slave girl that he forced to fight for him even though she was in no condition to do so while also making her become more and more compliance with killing other living beings, possibly taking Raphtalia's growth as she levels up as her innocence slowly being erased and replaced with this sense of servitude to the man that owns her. That's what infuriates him, seeing the story through Naofumi hides how sick and twisted his actions look from the others perspective
People don't really realize how messed up that looks even with some context. On one hand we see that Raphtalia is treated moderately well by Naofumi, but on the other we see him sort of unintentionally groom her into wanting to be a useful tool for him so he wouldn't abandon her, developing a type of Stockholm syndrome in the process
And her accelerated growth as well, though it is framed as a good thing that she can now fight better and interact through the world in ways only an adult can, on the other it basically is her having the last bits of her innocence and childhood stripped away from her in benefit of a man that barely saw her as a equal, and once she becomes a adult woman all she thinks and does is because of Naofumi, most of her personality starts to revolve around him and the little moments that deal with stuff from her past like Rifana and her village are few and far between, being usually brushed aside afterwards or in the case of the village, become something for Naofumi to have and use. She truly becomes an object, devoid of much individuality because the story was made to be read in Naofumi's POV and while the anime is better, it still has to follow some of the light novel stuff
I know some will try to defend Naofumi and say that Ryu is in the wrong, but you know what? both characters can be in the wrong, people aren't perfect and if we can excuse Naofumi for his bad actions then Accel should be allowed the same for his own mistakes. Naofumi is much nicer in the anime than in the Light novel, Web novel and Manga as he does a lot of bad things in those even after his name is cleared, like asking Itsuki to kill himself with a rope while the bow hero is in a state where he will do anything ordered to him or saying he wanted to buy a army of slave children in the manga, not to mention of his creation of three new cursed series shields.
