Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading the chapter and providing feed backs.
As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.
Cross posted on AO3, for anyone who prefer that site.
Riser Phenex looks entirely different from before he broke through Bed-Chan's amber prison around him. His previously flamboyant looking red suit has been completely hidden underneath the thick layer of white cold ice armor with sharp edges that's clearly not only meant to look intimidating, but would serve as a weapon in close combat. The armor feels like it's sucking up all the heat in the world around him. As a well learned mage, Malty knows that's simply a misconception. If Phenex' armor is sucking in all this heat, it would have melted into water and completely drenched the fire devil. But that understanding only increased her concern, no, fear from this agent of The Burning Legion. Being a devil of fire affinity, his control of his innate power is so great that he could use it to manipulate what would be considered the opposite of his power.
Yet at the same time, Phenex' action confuses her. Aside from Bed-Chan surprising him and catches him off guard with a dose of her resin downpour, the fire devil had all the advantage in their fight. His fire nova attack was unstoppable until Balafon's former shepherd boy stepped in and used his strange magic. Perhaps it's not accurate to say that one attack is enough to push the Cardinal Heroes and all of their companions to the point of no return, but it would certainly leave them at a major disadvantage. And even with Bed-Chan's sneak attack, he should be able to easily free himself using his default fire magic. There certainly wasn't any need for Phenex to reveal he can use ice by controlling the heat around him. It would have certainly served him better if he saved this ability and used it to surprise the Cardinal Heroes.
In other words, the fire devil is still toying with all of them in spite of showing off more of his power. Possibly even more so than previously considering how nonchalant he is at showing everyone what would have served him better as a secret trump attack if he is pushed to a corner. Which means he's either fully confident that there's no one present who could truly put him on the back foot... or he has even more tricks hidden up his sleeves. Neither possibility bode well for them.
"We can't let him set up his attacks! Follow me!" Unlike before when Naofumi held back his bodyguard, the Shield Hero is the first one to lead the charge. All the fighters with melee range weapons follow behind him as they run up to the ice armor covered fire devil. Malty casts a quick glance at Phenex' companion. The passive face on the darkly dressed devil didn't change. He certainly doesn't look worried for his fire devil companion.
Sound of weapons clashing... and shattering can be heard from the fierce battle. Malty quickly looks back at the battle, and finds most of the fighters who charged at devil Phenex are lying, or kneeling on the ground. The shattered remains of their weapons near them. The fire devil's armor might be made of ice, but they are certainly not fragile if they destroy weapons made of the finest castle forged steel. Besides the three Cardinal Heroes, Yatsuhashi is the only one who is still in the fight. Malty doesn't recognize the material used to create his crimson colored blade, but it's likely as hardy as titanite. As for the fire devil himself, he looks skilled enough to actually utilize the many spikes and claws on his ice armor, as he parries away the strikes of Ren, Motoyasu and Yatsuhashi with the ease of swatting away flies, yet not leaving himself open for counter by the Shield Hero, or anyone else.
"[Unstoppable Force]! Hold the devil down, everyone! I'm going to try something!" Malty immediately casts her enhanced spell on Ren, Motoyasu, Yatsuhashi, but not Naofumi. With his very unbalanced DEF rating, he could still only make a few swings on a target before completely exhausting himself due to the spell's negative effect on his stamina. And right now, they can't place all of their bets on Naofumi's damage potential while under [Unstoppable Force] could take down the fire devil. That being said, she does have a plan that could hurt, or at least weaken their opponent. The princess puts her hands above her head, left hand open up and facing the tip of the star wand as a fireball begins to gather on top. Her water magic is useless due to Phenex' ability to control heat, it's time to go back to her basics.
Chapter 27: Threat of the Legion
Cromwell scowls as his hand leaves the orb set on the counter. He bites back his urge to let out a string of violent curses. Curses! CURSES! Setback after setback! He is beset on all sides by self-serving idiots and arrogant fools! The lord confessor of the greatly diminished Church of Three Heroes cursed that vainglorious liar Balmus. For all his bluster about being the chosen one of the Chief God, he went and got himself killed by those four young upstart 'heroes'. And he had the audacity to name his own killer as his successor, as if that naive young boy is anything but a tool in the grand scheme of The Game.
He cursed the little pets Balmus kept around, his so-called 'children'. Rather than avenging their father (not that the old fool needed any avenging, he got what's going to him), most of them groveled and begged the Shield 'Hero' to take them in like some lost wild dogs. Once a tool, always a tool.
He also cursed his so-called allies, the useless fools who can't even capture a pair of children and repeatedly let them get away. He would have reigned as the next supreme leader of the Three Heroes' Church as he was meant to be, if any of his incompetent subordinates had done their jobs. Be them Monroe, Amelia, or that insane, arrogant little shit sired by Consevatie. He is surrounded by idiots!
And the worst thing about his strings of setbacks... he can't even enjoy the fruit of his admittedly limited victories. This damn orb under his thumb for example... that's the so-called 'Seatto Heirloom' that made young Consevatie unearthed from House Seaetto's ancestral home before the Shield 'Hero', with the stupidly naive son of Arc somehow managed to collapse the entire castle. It's fabled to give whoever held it great power, even unlocking their full potential like one of the Cardinal Heroes. Yet for some reason, it refuses to lend its strength to him, the rightful messenger of the Chief God!
Cromwell takes a deep breath to calm himself. Yes, that's all he is currently encountering: setbacks. Not losses. Those pesky children could enjoy their current victories, but they will not have the last laugh. The so-called 'queen' of Melromarc is already aware of the damages a bunch of arrogant, clueless children could cause to their world, and especially to the nation she is desperately trying to keep safe. And her attitude towards the Shield 'Hero' in particular is very telling. Cautiously holding back his demand and power every step, even with the risk of being accused for 'unfairly penalizing the honored heroes' by the rest of these self-serving aristocrats from both the other nations, and her own nation. BAH! As if those nobles wouldn't do more if they were the ones dealing with, and butting heads with these meddlesome kids.
The queen may have gutted and neutered the Three Heroes' Church, but that'll only come to his advantage later on! The church will have nowhere to go with that pretentious, apathetic Logarius appointed as their head by the queen. Meanwhile... She still needs someone to further curb the influence and power of these so-called summoned 'heroes' to make sure her own position as the unquestioned leader of the nation still persists. The kind of expertise Cromwell he himself happens to have, and is ready to lend to the queen. It's also fortuitous that the majority of the true faithfuls of the Chief God are those the queen kept together, and induced into her direct command. It might take a while longer than his original plan, but given the path both the summoned 'heroes' and the queen of Melromarc are going, he still has the chance to become a gray eminence within the center of the nation...
Malty doesn't dare to use another forbidden spell like the one she used against the newborn Life Root. Her heart most definitely can NOT handle it, especially without another mage of the ancient bloodlines, or have a dozen apprentices to share the burden of casting the magic. But seeing Phenex' own fire manipulation did give her ideas. Mainly, to condense the fire under her control to focus its destructive power, rather than having it wild dance around everywhere. With the star wand's ability giving her extra control of fire, she is able to do so even if her own control of the most volatile prime element isn't up to the task.
Short of actually invading outer god, the fire devil Riser Phenex is definitely one of the most powerful, and skilled enemies the heroes, and Malty herself has faced. But like all their previous fallen opponents, his pride, be it mad arrogance such as Fuckboy, or stubbornness to maintain their integrity such as Pope Balmus, shall be his undoing. In his gloat, Phenex has revealed the secret to his own power. A fire devil who is able to freely control ice without melting it would no doubt be a terrifying thought. But during his gloating, he explained the principle of his power follows the same law as any mage practicing Founder Brimir's wizardry laws, only with much finer control than what most fire mages are capable of. Not some infernal secret only denizens of whatever hell he came from is aware of. And in doing so, Phenex also unintentionally revealed that he most likely has whatever weakness a wizardry school mage would suffer from.
The princess feels immense heat radiating down. She looks up at her head, and instantly squints her eyes to shield herself from the light. The ball of fire she gathered has become white hot, like a small sun pulled down from heaven. Malty looks down at the sight of battle once again, the fire devil like before, is still not treating the battle seriously. Yes, this is the opportunity she's been waiting for. She screams at the heroes and Yatsuhashi as she tosses her super condensed fireball at their enemy. "Everyone, dodge!"
Malty's fire spell shoots at Phenex like a searing comet, the heroes, and Yatsuhashi jumps away from the fire devil just in time to leave Phenex no chance to dodge away like them. The Burning Legion agent puts both of his hands in front of him like a crossguard as Malty's spell clashes against his body. A loud boom, and a massive wave of explosion engulfs the fire devil, and his darkly dressed companion standing about a dozen paces away. The concussive force of the blast itself was enough to throw the heroes and Naofumi's bodyguard flying away.
"Not bad. Not bad at all." Malty hears Phenex' voice as she wonders if this attack caused any lasting damage. The fact that he's keeping his completely aloof tone without any audible shake, or even sign of annoyance in his voice is already boding ill for her gambit. As the smoke clears, Phenex is standing at the center of a newly created scorch crater. Yet, neither his body nor his clothes show any visible damage. The only result Malty's attack did manage to get is clearing the fire devil's ice armor off his body. Phenex' eyes slowly moved towards Malty, his smirk didn't leave his face. In spite of the aloof expression on the fire devil's face, she feels like a rabbit pill being stared down by a hungry bone dog. Probably because anyone who could protect her against the fire devil are all lying on the ground. Of the four Cardinal Heroes, only Itsuki is still standing besides her, and to his credit, he is firing his arrows at Phenex. Yet the fire devil isn't even sparing the effort to swat them away. He simply let topaz colored arrows hit, and harmlessly shatter on his body.
She vaguely becomes aware that her cousin Emily suddenly steps in front of her, and Emily's protector Corvo steps in front of them both. But it didn't bring her too much comfort. Both Emily and Corvo's strength are to sneak attack someone, not fighting face to face with a much stronger opponent.
"Well done, little princess. I see you are also a learned professional mage. You realized how quickly separating water would create hydrogen and oxygen, both fuels for fire and that's what you were aiming for with your condensed fireball attack, isn't it? Turning my own armor into the source of your explosion? Sadly, you forgot to account for the difference between the constitution of a pure breed devil, and mortals. So your attack ends up hurting your allies more than me. That's something you should be more mindful of going onward." The fact that the fire devil is ignoring the Bow Hero's last desperate effort to hurt him is a very clear indication of the validity of his words.
"I believe you are causing too much of a ruckus, Lord Phenex." The darkly dressed companion of the fire devil is also unharmed in the explosion. He slightly turns his body to the side and holds his hand up towards his back. A dozen arrows, as well as magical fireballs, ice spikes, and lightning bolts freeze in the air behind him. Malty dares to pry her eyes off devil Phenex to look. In the distance, she sees Gaston, Irelith, Farengar and a bunch of House Whiterun guards and apprentice mages running at them. "The Master will not be happy if you get too many natives involved."
"Tisk, of course. I can't have too much fun on my own." Phenex rolls his eyes, but he does seem to take the dark devil's warning to heart. He puts hand up besides head and waves at the heroes. "Guess this will be our time together this time. Until we meet again, heroes."
Burning wings of fire spread out behind Lord Phenex' back. His companion on the other hand sprouted more appropriate looking black, bat-like wings. Both of them take to the sky in the blink of eyes, disappearing into the clouds. Besides Malty, Itsuki landed on his knees, the young hero letting out labored breath as sweat rains down from his hair. He wasn't only shooting at the fire devil with regular shots (assuming there is anything 'normal' with his energy arrows in the first place). Most of them are different kinds of bow weapon arts, some of them supposedly able to negate a target's defense value. Yet, the fire devil simply ignored them all. Either the denizens of the inferno planes play by entirely different rules, or his power and control of it is so great that he could simply ignore a hero's best effort to attack him.
Still, the way of both Lord Phenex and his ally (possibly his servant?) simply departed without killing, or even permanently hurting one of the heroes come off as strange to Malty. Yes, Gaston, and the House Whiterun members have come to their aid, but they are clearly not doing anything against Lord Phenex and his unnamed devil associate. And surely, whoever is their unnamed 'master' within the Burning Legion wouldn't care about hurting some natives of the world they are trying to invade?
The sound, and shock of something falling down from the sky knocked Malty off her feet before her eyes even registered this sudden development. As she desperately scrambles to get herself up, she briefly fears that maybe the two devils of the Burning Legion have come back to finish the job they started. But as the dust cleared, she only saw the figure of Gaelion, and the three Siltvelt princes in their bird form. A few dozen of warriors and mages from the heroes' retinue jumping off their back, thankfully not including the Throwing Weapon Hero and his insane lackeys. It appears the reason Lord Phenex and his unnamed companion give before their departure is merely an excuse for their exit. They likely sensed the approaching reinforcements for the heroes, and decided to leave before the tide truly turned against them.
"Master Malty~!" Flare is among one of the first to leap off Gaelion, she runs straight at Malty, and nearly tackles her into the ground. "I was so worried for you! The divination of one of those Siltvelt a- allies of the Shield Hero were all bad for you. And one of the former church pet- priestess said she could sense the evil power of demons. You aren't hurt, are you?"
"I am well, Lady Flare. The demons left right before all of your arrival. I think they sensed you all, and retreated to be cautious." Well, it sounds like Lady Flare still has a hard time overcoming the hate towards demi-humans in their nation, and likely her family instilled in her. Something Malty herself understands too well. At least the sister of Fuckboy is putting in an effort to get them under control, unlike her insane and completely incompetent brother. She looks around the members that came to the heroes' rescue. Unsurprisingly, all of them are noble in origin since they tend to be the one that's affluent enough to practice fighting from a young age and has advantage over the members of humbler origin. Although she does find one curious absence. "Lady Eclair is still with Princess Melty's retinue?"
"Yes, Lady Eclair stayed with Princess Melty. She clearly doesn't care about you as much as the crown princess." Malty nearly snorted at Lady Flare's amateurish attempt at playing The Game. Well, she is still an aristocrat lady, of House Consevatie, no less. So long as her parents weren't completely incompetent, she would be aware of certain things she's expected to do for the benefit of her family, even if she's clearly not well prepared for it. Her attempt at slinging mud at Eclair is too obvious, and it would have made even someone who already has a sour opinion towards Eclair cautious, so long as they have rudimentary competence at playing The Game. For Malty, it once again reminded herself that she needs to be more mindful of the relationships shared by the people from Naofumi's retinue. They may be allies to each other, but they certainly aren't friendly toward each other.
Yes... that is what she could, and should focus on for now as the Shield Hero's slave. While Naofumi is focused on accruing more power and support to keep himself safe from any other Player of The Game. Keeping his newly acquired allies, companions, and subordinates more or less united against their common enemies rather than at each other's throat. Even the most fortified castle would easily crumble if the defenders are wasting time and effort fighting each other. So she opens her mouth and placates Lady Flare. "I appreciate you taking the initiative to look out for me, Lady Flare. I really do. But Lady Eclair did the right thing staying with Master Naofumi's retinue rather than coming to our aid here. Master Naofumi's retinue is still new, and there are members from different walks of lives in it. It needs someone he can trust, and someone who can properly command them at the helm. She is needed at the head of Master Naofumi's retinue more than she is needed here with us. Just like you are better suited to follow closely after me, so I can pass what knowledge I have onto you."
Lady Flare's face instantly lightens up, clearly happy with Malty's implication that she likes Flare closer to her than Eclair. At least that's the conclusion Malty wanted her to come to, hopefully she will feel less catty towards Eclair from now on. Oh, Malty is sure there will always be friction between the two very different noble ladies, but hopefully their competitiveness would be something that's more beneficial and pushes them to achieve greater heights, than destructive as they focus on tearing each other down. At any rate, that's something Malty will have to have a more hands on approach in the short term. Regardless, the younger sister of Fuckboy is hardly the only person who is causing a fuss around them.
"My king! Are you alright?" Kael'thas, and his two fellow Vermili prince all look exhausted as they transformed out of their great bird form. All of their clothes are drenched, as beads of sweat run down their faces. Kael'thas himself nearly tripped on his feet as he stands back up, and the other two are also shaken on his feet. Clearly, their stamina can't match up to that of a Dragon Lord like Gaelion even if they arrived at the same time. If Lord Phenex and his unnamed companions have stayed, they might not be as out matched as Malty initially thought. Regardless, all three of them are more concerned about Naofumi's well being than their own as they run over to the slowly getting up Shield Hero. "When we noticed the bad omen around you, we came as fast as we could. But I see we are already too late."
"Relax, Kael. I look worse than I feel." Naofumi slowly rolls around on the ground. His face twisted, teeth clenched in pain, and body covered in dust. He tries to push himself off the ground, but his arms give way as he falls back again. The three exhausted Siltvelt princes quickly crouch down beside him, helping him in spite of their own exhaustion. "Okay... I probably feel worse than I'm actually hurt too. I don't think anything's actually broken... but my bones feel like they turned into noodles. What about my friends? Are they okay? What of Malty?"
"I'm here, Master Naofumi. I wasn't hurt by that Lord Phenex guy. He was too busy gloating than actually trying to hurt me." Malty runs over to the Shield Hero, with Flare trailing behind her. "His companion mentioned them having some master, and whoever their master is, they supposedly aren't happy if too many natives get involved. Whatever that means."
"Out of the frying pan and into the fire, just like our usual luck, huh? Always going up against someone stronger, only to learn they are only a midboss and there is someone even stronger." Naofumi slowly rises his head and gives Malty a pained looking smile.
"Yeah. And we'll find ways to beat them, like we always do. At least now we know for sure that the inferno plane is behind The Burning Legion, and we can work with experts to develop ways to counter them." Malty nods at Naofumi's attempt at making light of their terrible situation. She turns her head to look at the members who have come to the hero's aid. Thankfully, the Throwing Weapon Hero and his psychotic followers aren't among them. But Janne of the Sons of Biscas is one of them. The former princess waves at the swan demi-human, beckoning her over. "We have faced two very strong demons, no, devils, Lady Janne. One of them barely did anything, but the other is a fire devil with such fine control of his power he has complete command of heat. And could use ice in such finesse, he creates nearly indestructible armor around his body. As someone raised by the church, what are your suggestions?"
Janne didn't immediately answer Malty's question. Her eye becomes slightly unfocused as she looks to the side for a brief moment, clearly thinking over what she knows about devils before her eyes regain their focus. She looks between Malty and Naofumi. "Did the inferno creature you encountered revealed their name? Devils are creatures of the inferno plane associated with the sphere of law and order, so they are usually more skilled at wielding their own power than Demons who rely on their innate instinct. But to have such great control of their power they could have it manifest like the opposite power suggests he is no mere common devil. Probably some kind of lord, or legion commander. The name he gave you is likely false, some kind of alia as having a mortal learn their true name would give mortal control over them. But even an alias should help me and my fellow battle brothers narrow down our knowledge of this creature and identify it."
"His name is Riser Phenex." Janne, the former battle saint of the Three Heroes' Church didn't show any sign of recognition on her face. But Malty noticed the three Siltvelt princes around Naofumi suddenly exchange brief looks at each other. In fact, Kael'thas in particular had his eyes grow large as saucer when Naofumi mentioned the fire devil's (presumably false) name. It's almost as if the red Phoenix Prince is on the verge of panicking. He quickly hid his fear by resorting back to his neutral looking court mask. But Malty didn't miss a single beat with how close they stood to the Shield Hero.
"Is there something you would like to tell us, Prince Sunstrider, Prince Fallenscion, and Prince Avdol?" Malty's question successfully pulled Naofumi and Janne's attention on each other to the three Siltvelt princes. All of their faces show signs of grimace, but Cleose and Mohammed are both looking at Kael'thas.
"Phenex is the family name of one of my vassals, my king." After a pause that's probably longer than Malty (and especially Kael'thas) felt, the red Phoenix Prince finally speaks through the seams between his clenched teeth. "Rest assured, my king. I will conduct a thorough interrogation on House Phenex, and they will be swiftly dealt with if I find any sign of them consorting with demons not of our world."
Malty wonders how truthful Kael'thas' promise is. Would he try to hide any of his own vassal's involvement even if they have consorted with the Burning Legion previously? While consorting with demon is considered a taboo long before the King of Rape invented Imperius Seal, Malty is pretty sure a number of powerful great houses have done so in the past. Either for the thrill of doing something forbidden, or for some misguided attempt at further the interest of their families. On the other hand... Kael'thas could do the exact opposite: Making a very loud, and very VERY cruel example out of House Phenex simply for show to hopefully gain Naofumi's trust. The Shield Hero hasn't exactly been hiding his distaste towards Kael'thas' prejudiced worldview in spite of the loyalty the Phoenix Prince displayed. So Kael'thas could be resorting to extreme means in an attempt to win Naofumi's favor. And ironically, Malty finds that she isn't fine with that, as it would weaken the support Naofumi gets in the long run. When he and his fellow heroes will need as much support as they can get to hold back the meddling of Malty's queen mother, and the attempt to control them by the other self-serving 'world leaders'. Naofumi was even aware of the problem enough to go against his usual principle and actively using slavery to force criminals into joining him.
Thankfully, Naofumi is once again wise enough to recognize it. "I want to look through any evidence you find myself before you do anything with it. I don't want anyone's guilt to slip through the crack, but I don't want anyone innocent to get falsely accused either."
"The likelihood that the devil in question gave a random name, and it happens to match the family name of Prince Sunstrider's vassal great house is close to nothing. In that sense, I believe we are dealing with a devil that uses falsehood and misdirection to cause confusion, possible infighting among his enemies." Malty nods her head along with Janne's explanation. It does make a lot of sense that this 'Lord Riser Phenex' intentionally gave a name that would have Naofumi question the loyalty of his ally. Divide and conquer had always been a simple, yet elegantly effective strategy in both art of war, and playing The Game. Perhaps, even Lord Phenex' show of his power and his skill in front of the heroes is an intentional misdirection. To have them focus on what he can achieve in battle, while ignoring the potentially more devastating weapon he wields at sowing chaos among his enemies with mental game. Yes... in retrospect, that explanation makes all of the devil's otherwise nonsensical actions since his flamboyant appearance make much more sense. "I believe with this information, we have a lead on. We have a high ranking devil with fire affinity whose control of his natural power is skilled enough to mimic the opposite affinity. But also someone who uses a lot of mind games in an attempt to confuse his victims and possibly have them second guess and fight with each other."
"It might not be this complicated. That devil could honestly have the same name as Kael's vassal family out of coincidence." Malty, Janne... and even Kael'thas all look at Naofumi with sympathy in their eyes. The Shield Hero might have some knowledge about creatures of the inferno plane from his world, but he clearly doesn't truly understand how malicious they are due to the lack of first hand experience.
"I shall take your concern into consideration, my king." Kael'thas bow down to the Shield Hero. His demeanor is polite, but Malty gets the sense that he doesn't exactly treat Naofumi's words with the same seriousness as usual. Not hard to imagine why. She herself is of the mind that this is the few times where the Shield Hero is clearly in the wrong.
"Just came back to Balafon, and already encountered a devil? It seems like trouble always finds you, Shield Hero." Gaston's tone towards Naofumi is relaxed rather than tense. Showing that he doesn't hold any grudge against the Shield Hero in spite of him attracting an enemy that could have easily destroyed his newly acquired fiefdom.
"Story of my life since I was summoned." Naofumi lets out a sign as he straightens his back. His face tenses up in grimace as if he is in pain. He circles his left arm behind his back, and begins to gently hammer his own lower back right above his hip. "How are you, Gaston? Need any help from me rebuilding this village? I don't want to leave you, or anyone with a mess on your hand before I leave again."
"You have done enough for everyone, kid. Don't be too hard on yourself. All of us have a responsibility to build, and protect our own homes." Gaston reaches over and gives the Shield Hero a hard pat on his shoulder. The former hunter's voice was sincere, clearly not meant to use his words sarcastically.
"Regardless, I suggest we send a message to my fellow battle brothers among the Sons of Biscas for reinforcements. It's clear that this Burning Legion has decided to target the revered heroes, and we need to be cautious for that." Janne turns her head to look at Gaston. "Thane Gaston. Can you dispatch a messenger to my order? They are currently trying to build our fort north of the capital, near the village of Lute. I believe my fellow battle brothers are best to keep Master Shield Hero, and his fellow revered heroes safe thanks to our experience of fighting back previous demonic incursions."
So the Church has encountered demons before. Malty honestly thought they made those feats up to gain more influence and donation from their faithful. But seeing how she herself almost became a victim of demons... perhaps she should feel a bit more generous next time when she donated to the church. Or maybe not... since as a slave she doesn't exactly own other properties. Still, she feels impudent to add something more. "We should send messages to both the Four Heroes' Church... and the Three Heroes' Church as well. Not that I don't trust your battle brothers, or I forgive what the Three Heroes' Church did. But we need to prepare for more than this one agent of The Burning Legion. They might have more knowledge your newly founded order doesn't have access to. Not to mention everyone in the world is at risk, not only the heroes. The more people spread the word on these invading demons, the more people will beware of them."
"Lefou. Take three of our guards and ride to their order. We could use some of their expertise too, considering two demons appeared near our village. Like the little princess said. Still, if they are all the same, I'd sooner trust those who side with the Shield Hero than those who started a rebellion." Malty notices that Gaston's wording is more formal than how he usually talks. He's apparently taking being a (admittedly minor) noble seriously. Or maybe it's simply the situation he found himself in. He pauses for a brief second, seemingly remembering something as he grabs his much shorter companion before he turns to leave. "If you notice something unusual on your way, ride back. The heroes have teleportation ability if the situation calls for it. I don't want you to get hurt if the agents of this Burning Legion try to target you."
Malty has to admit that the former hunter is much smarter than his usual demeanor makes him out to be. While the agents of The Burning Legion certainly haven't made enough appearance to make their existence a public knowledge, there is certainly a chance that they would be targeting smaller message parties to disrupt the communication between the heroes and their allies. The shorter man looks at Gaston for a brief moment. "Don't worry about me, Gaston. I'm no ranger, but I was in the guardsmen. I'll make sure Master Shield Hero gets his needed help."
"Father! Musabi wants him!" Malty turns her head around to look at the direction of the loud voice. She sees the filorial monarch in question dragging the poor, hapless shepherd boy Minato behind her as she skids to a stop right in front of Motoyasu. The golden haired filorial queen with dark dress trailing behind them, she is glaring daggers at Musabi for some reason. "Minato feed Musabi, and he saved Musabi from the mean devil guy. So Minato has saved Musabi twice! Musabi wants him!"
She isn't asking for the raccoon boy as her slave, is she? That's the thought Malty has in her mind. The Spear Hero walks closer towards his 'daughter' and the shepherd boy. His strides aren't shaky, it seems like the Spear Hero recovered better than the Shield Hero in spite of his lower DEF rating. Motoyasu squints his eyes, and leans his face close to the raccoon boy of Q'ten Lo descent. Minato is clearly more than a little intimidated by this gesture. His body leans to the back, eyes not daring to meet the Spear Hero's. "You are... 'Just Minato', who led us to that abandoned dungeon with the magical seed. Right?"
The Spear Hero's memory is apparently better than Malty gives him credit for... and better than hers, for that matter. She completely forgot about this part of their interaction till Motoyasu mentioned it. With her memory refreshed, the recent reveal of his strange magic ability, and the reminder of a certain devil's recent treachery, Malty begins to notice the strangeness of Minato's words from before. Why did the shepherd boy have to emphasize that his name is 'just Minato' when he was introduced? Most people of common birth only have a single, given name for themselves, and the same custom also applies to the (very small island) empire of Q'ten Lo before it was destroyed by the last Shield Hero. Of course... unless the truth Minato has been hiding was that he did come from some important, recognizable family which he doesn't want to reveal through his family name.
Motoyasu on the other hand clearly didn't pick up on the details. He finally pulls his own face away from Minato's personal space. The Spear Hero gives the mysterious young shepherd a pat on the shoulder. "I entrust you with the hand of my daughter and give you her future, 'Just Minato'. Please, protect her with all your strength. I'm not smart like Naofumi or Ren, so I don't know if Musabi is right about you being a good guy for her, although you look nice enough. BUT! If you let my daughter come to harm or make her unhappy... I will kill you so hard you'll die to death. Am I clear?"
"Yes. Perfectly clear, Master Spear Hero." The poor raccoon boy swallows hard. Motoyasu's speeches are always comical, borderline nonsensical. It's certainly not intimidating by the words itself. But coupled with the way his narrowed eyes seem to burst out flame and the knowledge that he recently fought (and won) against an invading outer goddess, only the most foolhardy would not take his threat seriously. Minato clearly isn't dumb, or delirious like Fuckboy or his fellow accomplice, so he looks sufficiently cowered.
"You want to explain the nature of your power, Mr. Minato? That fire devil did say something about you using some kind of 'spirit magic'?" Malty's question draws everyone's attention onto the shepherd boy.
"Spirit magic... that's what the devil attacked our king said? Animancy is technically also a school of spirit magic. But the way you said it, I'm going to assume you meant those dirty tricks used by those Kyutenrou rats." Kael'thas looks Minato up and down, his eyes narrowed. The red phoenix prince is completely unaware of the dirty looks Naofumi is shooting at him again as he explains farther. "Animancy asks the spirit to affect natural elements. But the specific type of spirit magic used by those Kyutenrou sorcerer's directly use, control, and in term hurt spirit themselves. What have you been hiding from my king, boy? Are you someone who is connected to the fifty seventh tribe, or our king's enemies? I know there are still remnants of Kyutenrou who wish vengeance on future Shield Heroes for what Mikage the Great Conqueror did."
"I hold no ill will towards Master Shield Hero. He only ever tried to help us, and I have nothing against him. I know nothing about the nation the last Shield Hero supposedly destroyed. And I don't want to hurt the Master Shield Hero for a country I have never been to. I could use this spirit magic thanks to this pin my mother left me. The 'Shun Shun Rika'." Once again, Malty feels a wave of headache assaulting her at the unfamiliar foreign name. Of all the mechanics that her hero weapon had been broken, the translation matrix is definitely the worst. For the others, she simply lacks the ability to utilize them. But the broken translation matrix actually hurt her when it activated.
"Your mother... huh?" Naofumi's eyes are focused on the young, raccoon man of Q'ten Lo descent. The gesture is a bit rude, but maybe he is intentionally doing it to intimidate the young man similar to Motoyasu from earlier. It's not usually the way Naofumi acts. But then again, he was also vehemently against the use of slavery before, which he is not relying on. Even if he is only trying to enslave criminals who deserve the punishment. "She isn't, by any chance, Orihime Inoue, is she? Or if she has Inoue as her family name?"
"If that's my mother's name, she never told me. She only gave me this hairpin, and told me it'll protect me and my little sister Yukari when we need it. Guess the time is now." Minato is looking down at his hand. Malty finally noticed a small, snow petal shaped hairpin in the middle of his palm which she didn't notice earlier due to her headache. The princess does wonder if the shepherd boy truly has no understanding of his power, or if he is feigning ignorance for fear of prosecution like the remnant from Okami Clan they encountered at Graile. More things she needs to discuss with Naofumi in private. It seems there's countless issues to consider and discuss now that Naofumi has officially introduced himself as another player in The Game, not just another piece for all the players to maneuver around.
"Come on, let's stop interrogating the guy who tried to help me." Naofumi seems to have finally recovered from fighting the fire devil. He steps between Minato and Kael'thas, freezing the red Phoenix Prince with a single glare. "You weren't here, Kael. None of us could do anything against Riser's attack until Minato stopped it with his Shun Shun Rika. We could have all died if not for Minato, so he's obviously only trying to help me. If he honestly doesn't know much about his mother's side, that's fine. If he wants to keep some secret, I'm sure that's fine too. He's probably afraid someone might come to hunt him, and his sister. Just like Raphtalia didn't tell me she's a lost princess of a dead empire."
"Very well, my king. I shall show some leniency to this boy. But I will watch him closely from now on. The fifty seventh great clan, or other remnant of Kyutenrou aren't the most trustworthy type." Kael'thas steps back after a brief moment of staring at Naofumi. Once again, Malty notices the edge of his eyes twitch at the red Phoenix Prince. Especially when he mentioned the term 'fifty seventh great clan'. She wonders if the number is something specific that grated on Naofumi. She should probably ask for some clarification in privacy.
"In that case, maybe we should wait till we get all the reinforcements here before going to recruit your bandit 'friends'." Ren turns his head slightly to the side as he slowly stands up from the ground. He looks at Naofumi from the corner of his eyes. "We know The Burning Legion has agents in this world, and they are stronger than us put together. Not too hard to imagine... since we wouldn't have been able to beat Kumoko without the help from some of the other heroes, and they beat her down and enslaved her. If we are being watched by their agents, it's probably better we wait for the stronger fighters in our retinue before we go anywhere."
Naofumi looks at Ren without immediately answering him. Malty knows what the Shield Hero's trepidation is. They won't wait too long till their retinue arrives at balafon. Probably three to four days depends on how well Iris prepares their transportation. But they would also be accompanied by both the crown princess... and the high queen of Melromarc. The Shield Hero doesn't care about the presence of Melty, but he probably wanted to hide his involvement with Porter's group from Malty and Melty's mother till he recruited them all. He had the right to pardon them thanks to a few well executed political maneuvering against her mother... something he obviously doesn't want to expose right in front of her face. Not to mention the queen might attempt to overrule his pardon if she is right there. But with the threat of agents from the Burning Legion... they no longer have the luxury to take the risk.
"Very well. We shall wait here for our retinue."
End Note:
In case anyone already forgot about that glass ball Naofumi's party dug up from Eclair's family crypt, which has since been taken by 3HC. It's in Cromwell's hand as shown here. The reason he didn't use it against the heroes is shown in this chapter, he supposedly can't figure out how to unlock the power. I'll let you think why that's the case.
As already implied with the existence of , there are beastman families based of Rias Gremory. Of course, the existence of an actual devil Riser Phenex is going to cause some (completely coincidential) confusion due to their names. And in case the hint in the prequel story where Minato said his is 'just Minato' was too cryptic. Yes, he is most definitely, NOT just Minato.