The Dark Knight of the Shield

by Pezil the Brazilian Writer

The world of Shield hero is full of individuals with evil intent of many kinds with corruption and abuse of political power being the norm. But what would happen when the world's greatest detective is choosen to be the shield hero? The criminals will soon regret choosing a life of crime (don't expect frequent uploads, these take a long time to write)

3. The Abandoned Girl

Melromarc was stable for the most part, nothing major happened after the trial of the Shield hero aside from guard patrols becoming bigger in scale as an attempt to find the shield, but things had changed drastically in the underworld of crime in the capital as they faced a great threat. Ever since that day it seemed like criminals were being preyed upon by some sort of vigilant, while most reports matched the shield hero's appearance even the guards weren't sure if that was the case as they didn't think a criminal like the shield hero would be fighting crime, the scum of Melromarc was getting scared little by little as they had to worry about the Bat hunting them and beating them all for their crimes. Breaking in, robbery, sexual assault and other crimes that thugs usually got away with were no longer safe as the Bat would hunt them down and stop their attempts at doing such, the beating those criminals received were some of the most painful they have ever felt, luckily for the thugs is that due to the Shield hero's reputation as a criminal and the fact some of their crimes were stopped before they could be executed, it meant they wouldn't be taken to jail or be executed for these crimes despite the fact most of them wouldn't be able to do much for a long while

Even still, there would always be criminals trying their luck and hoping to not get caught by Batman and that's why patrolling was important. Bruce moved swiftly through the rooftops until stopping at a corner street shop, that was currently having crates loaded into a wagon and through a previous lead from a thug, Batman knew that this was a shipment of weapons that was going to be transported out of the city and into a far away bandit camp that had a attack planned in the next three days, as such he would bust the operation by cutting their weapon supply and then railing up the remaining criminals once they came in to the capital in search of the weapon cargo, but he had also prepared a plan to deliver the cargo himself and arrest the rest of the criminals during the delivery, a risky play to do alone and without a recall of their base before hand but Batman was more than accustomed to this.

"I hope we don't get caught by the guards" a bald crook says as explaining why would they were moving cargo at this time would be hard, thankfully they could buy the silence of the guard for a good some of money that would be pocket change compared to the score they would pull

"I'm not worried about the guards, what I'm really worried about is that bat freak going around town" one of the thugs wearing a bandana says as he looks over his shoulder with anxiety, normally a job like this would be easy, but night patrol has gone more intense since the Shield hero started stalking the night and speaking of the devil itself was another problem. The criminal was more scared of coming face to face with the terror of the night who stalks the streets as of late, from everything he heard from other criminals that survived encounters with the bat along with the teachings of the church about the shield devil, he was fearing for both his soul and of his companions

"Don't worry, he has only been spotted on the left side of town so we should be-" a flying knee to the head stopped the bald criminal before he could even finish reassuring his companion, the thug falls to the ground unconscious which terrorize his companion while alerting the rest of the group. Batman briefly gives a glare to them before one of them shouted

"Is the Bat! Kill h-" a kick to the stomach followed by a grapple to the neck and then using the criminal's own body against his group knocked out too in a single streak of motion, three charge from the front while one rushed down with his cleaver blade to the height of the stomach was moving from behind. A spinning low kick knocked the three in the front into their backs which was then followed by the [Cuffed] ability from the [Bat-cuffs shield] stopped then from moving as he used enough SP to cuff the hands and legs of the three criminals, leaving on the fourth one coming from behind and with a swift movement Batman knock on blocks the blade with his hands but is able to break the blade by applying enough pressure and resistance in the weakest part of the weapon, the criminal was stunned momentarily by this as he looked at the weapon but he isn't able to dodge a straight punch to the jaw by Batman

He's tying up the hooligans together and moves in to inspect the cargo, replacing the weapons for worthless scrap of balloons enough to trick the bandit camp until his time to strike. But before he can lift the top of the first crate, he is able to barely dodge an incoming multitude of light beams that destroyed the carriage and killed the criminals he had put in a lamp post, Bruce looks to see the direction they came from only to find Itsuki slowly walking in his direction

"Stop right there Shield Scum. I'm going to bring you to justice, now put your hands where I can see them" the bow hero warned and ordered him as he pointed at the dark knight

"You were hunting me?" Batman asked although he knew for sure Itsuki found him by coincidence as he never felt the bow's hero gaze on his person nor was Itsuki skilled enough to do so as from their first meeting he could tell his skills were likely average, but his ESPER powers... Could they be the reason as to why he was able to hunt him without being noticed? It wasn't very likely but the dark knight has yet to see Itsuki use such power, so he would be cautious, letting Itsuki talk while he armed a trap

"I was following this petty thieves when I saw you show up to beat them and grab all the glory" the bow hero said as he puts his bow's direction in Batman's chest to intimidate him and show that he could pierce his heart if he wanted to do so

"You think this is about popularity?" Bruce began moving slowly to Itsuki's left and the bow hero began moving to the right as they started to circle around each other, with both eyes locked into each other

"Of course, you want to do good deeds so people will see you as a hero. But a rapist like you will never be able to deserve such a title or respect, only paladins of justice like me can receive such a reward" Itsuki proclaimed the reason for Batman to do all of this, with delusional thinking that Bruce was only doing this to get the public to see him as a hero despite 'his' disgusting crime, but really he was more so angry that 'The Batman' was becoming a symbol of fear for criminals and he desired to be that symbol, he couldn't or wouldn't accept anyone else being in the spotlight for heroic vigilant work.

"So you're only doing it for the fame? For the people phrasing your name?" It was a vain motive for sure but Itsuki had proven to be such a person, he was the first to demand a form of reward or compensation for saving the people of the country, he put out a shy but determined personality and that he cares for others but it could all be an act, more information would be needed to fully understand his endgame or why he does this, but for now no better way to get this information than from the font itself.

"Don't distort my words criminal!... I can't let you go around passing yourself as a vigilante fighting for justice, that is my duty to fulfill while you rot in a jailhouse" Itsuki shot a arrow that Batman dodges easily with a simple side step, but he keeps moving on the same circular motion and even when he dodged, he never broke eye contact with the bow hero which made Itsuki flinch and grind his teeth in anger but he too keep the circular motion like before

"You think this is some form of competition? You killed those men, they deserved to be judged by a jury and tribunal" Batman points at the remains of the criminals, it wasn't correct to be the judge, jury and the executioner in his eyes. He believes that people could change, and that killing them is forever stripping their chance to redeem themselves but also to live a life they have a right to

"I'm a hero, my actions are above the failure of the law and criminals like those will just lie their way out of jail, the true justice punishes those who break the laws as soon as possible. I'm just speeding up the process, the death sentence is not very hard to be given here you know?" The smugness of which he finished that sentence, the way he didn't even see his action as wrong and the fact he seemingly tossed a joke around the very concept of the death sentence in this country was all Batman needed to know how Itsuki Kawasumi really was.

"You're twisted. Actions have consequences, but not for you... because you're above simple human decency or the very act of sympathy when it doesn't seem fit to your needs or wants. You think of yourself better than the rest of us" A slight clinching of his fist shows that Bruce was getting mad at Itsuki, every time the bow hero opened his mouth it was like he was trying to elevate himself above everyone else while simultaneously lowering people down, he seemed to have a almost black and white sense of justice or more likely a very biased look that hide all his imperfections in favor of shining those same imperfections onto other criminals or 'lower' people in his eyes, a person that considers itself better than all the rest shouldn't be given such position of power like that of a legendary hero, much less someone that clearly had a form of narcissist complex of superiority to them

"And you don't? Unlike you I don't hide my identity like a coward, but once I'm done with you... I'll make good use of that armor and cowl of yours, they'll serve very well on a wall" Itsuki smugly says as he takes aims to hit a head shot right in the middle of Bruce's eyes, not noticing he had ended up in the same spot as Batman was before and thus had his back to the broken down carriage

Click

Explosions are set behind Itsuki as a bat shaped blue gel detonates from inside one of the broken crates, knocking the bow hero forward while making him dizzy, He is able to stabilize himself as to not fail to the ground and tries aiming at the incoming Batman but the intense ringing in his ear makes so he isn't able to focus much less aim as his vision becomes blurred. With a single punch to the stomach, Itsuki falls unconscious and Batman holds his body in his left arm, seeing how the cargo was destroyed and the criminals were brutally killed by the image of the carbonized holes in their bodies, Bruce handcuffs Itsuki to a pole in the opposite side of the street. He knew that the cuffs wouldn't hold him for long but he left a message for the bow hero to read once he woke up, a single note saying 'next time it will be much worse than a punch to the stomach, this is your first and last warning.'

---

In a dirty alleyway of castle town, where many threw away their garbage or just passed by not wanting to smell the scent of thrash, tuckered away in a wall laid a small girl with raccoon ears and a tail. This girl was raphtalia and her life was utterly horrible, she was orphaned by the first wave and her entire village was forced into slavery by the knights of the castle, the young raphtalia was tortured by a sadistic noble with her later being sold off back to the slave shop once he was done with her and the state she had to live in there was inhuman, the girl slept in her own filthy while barely receiving food of any kind. The only reason she was in this alleyway was because they threw her away, Raphtalia played dead one day and the slave trader just disposed of her without even caring to see if she was alive, probably because he was used to slaves dying all of the sudden which considering the state those slaves were kept wouldn't be a shock

She had been able to escape the shop but it didn't mean she would live, she had enough strength to get into this alleyway but other than that she couldn't do much more as if she tried to move out of the city, she would risk a guard killing her or sending her back to the slave shop. So she just stayed there, waiting for death to come and put an end to her suffering as her body growls for food and her sickness makes the girl feel like her head is going to explode, her throat hurting badly and her body full of bruises from people that kicked her thinking she was a dead body, raphtalia could only play dead and endure this sort of thing or else she would be killed on the spot. The last thing she saw before passing out was a tall dark figure looking at her, the silhouette had white eyes and horns of sorts which only made raphtalia assume that her time had come, she was about to be taken away to the after life by this demonic figure

Raphtalia woke up, she felt... healthy for once, it had been over a week or two since she felt like this and her illness had seemingly disappeared along with her mild bruises not to mention she was clean, the young raccoon girl was perplexed by this but then she realizes the warmth coming from her left as a campfire burned and gave her comfort from the cold night, she wasn't in the alleyway anymore and instead seemed to be in a small camp on the forest? This was all so confusing to her, but she feels her hunger scream loud and hurtfully however Raphtalia is able to smell the scent of food in a close by bag, she immediately walks over to it and opens to see it's contents with a couple of bread and apples inside and a water bucket by the side. She immediately begins to shove the food down her mouth without caring about chewing it properly, she hadn't eaten a full meal in... she actually didn't remember very well but raphtalia wouldn't be dumb to waste the opportunity right in front of her, she was eating so fast that the young girl actually choked on a bit of bread and had to drink water straight from the bucket to wash it down, even after that she resume to eat the food as fast as she could. She was gonna eat as much as she could and leave this place before the owner of these things came back

"You're awake" a voice said and Raphtalia felt shivers down her spine as she turned to face the person who said that and possible owner of all this food she was eating, but she saw no one. The young raccoon girl was thinking that her head was playing tricks on her and that would make sense considering the state she was previously in but that wasn't the case, when she looks around for a little longer it's then that Raphtalia sees the sinister figure from the alleyway again and this was likely his camp

"Aaahhh!" She screamed in panic as her body fell to the ground, desperation and fear overtaking her mind as Raphtalia didn't know what to do in this situation aside from running away, but in her current state it would be impossible for her to go far before the sinister figure caught up to her small legs. She could try to fight it but that possibility was not liking to go in her favor in the slightest for many reasons, she was weak, she was small, she didn't know how to fight and the figure above her was the complete opposite

"Please I'm sorry! I didn't know this was your food! don't eat me!" Raphtalia begged for her life as she squealed in fear, putting her arms above her head and closing her eyes expecting the worst

"That food was meant for you, you're completely malnourished" Batman he responded calmly and in a gentle tone, not indicating any sign of malice or anger towards her as in the end that food was meant for her, the state she was in when he found her was a day or two off dying from starvation and lack of clean water. The shield's cooking and plant collecting bonuses made so that a normal piece of bread along with a apple not only were far tastier than normally made, but also increased their nutritional value along with their vitamins which were already proving to be working if the girl's new found strength to stand up was a indicator, already she seemed to have recovered some of her original weight instead of the dreadful sight she was before

"Huh?" Raphtalia let out a grunt of confusion as she didn't understand what he just said, thinking it was a sort of trick or something like that

"The medicine I gave you has done it's job in helping fight off your sickness but your immune system still needs to recover, you're lucky to not have caught any stronger disease in that alleyway" Bruce talked as the condition she was in now was far better than before in every way, but considering her living conditions amongst that alley, it would be best to regain more of her health before going anywhere near places like that and there was the possibility of the girl still having a type of sickness that wasn't healed by the medicine, but considering the shield's bonuses to the medicine he made, it wasn't a very likely chance of any disease still be strong enough to survive inside her body but if need additional Medicine would be given once any symptom developed

"What?" All he was saying didn't make sense, he willingly gave her that food and treated her with medicine, but why? She couldn't understand why he would do this and why he would even care enough to give it the time of day, was it... Compassion? Could there be anyone in Melromarc who had compassion for demi humans? He didn't look human considering his intimidating nature and strange silhouette but it only gave the young girl more questions, she couldn't understand any of this and trying to make sense of it wasn't helping, it felt unnatural to be shown kindness after all this time and everything she went through as a slave, did he had a motive for it? But what could he want with something so useless as her? Why was she still alive? What did this all mean?

"You were living in the streets, either you have ran away from your home or you don't have a home to return to" The dark knight wanted to understand how she had gotten in that situation and help her recover from it, if she ran away from home than it could mean she came from a abusive household and thus finding a orphanage would be the best option but there was a possibility that whatever drove her from running away had been gone by now, maybe her parents or siblings had realized the gravity of what had happened and now felt guilty over driving their family apart, if that was the case then bringing her back to them would be a good option but observation would be needed to see if it was genuine or if it was just an act from their part. Now if she had lost her home, then a orphanage is still the best option as taking her under his wing wasn't necessary, there was no reason to put her in mortal risk if there was a safer option for her and the girl needed more rest in order for her condition to become better, the only problem was finding a orphanage as for how big the capital city was it didn't seem to have any place for the homeless, nowhere for them to rest and improve themselves as the only similar place was the church of the Three Heroes which was already not a option due to their suspicious nature and possible scheme to overthrow the government, right now there wasn't anywhere or anyone he knew that could take the girl in, so the least he could do is ask if she had someone or somewhere to go

"I... I don't understand..." Raphtalia muttered as she looked at the ground, her hands and feet shaking a bit at everything that was happening in the moment, this strange was acting nice to her? What was going on?

"Do you have a family?" he asked and the demi human girl falls silent and almost expressionless as she processes this, remembering with pain the last time she saw her parents

"...No" Raphtalia said as she looked away, her eyes were distant as she was taken to somewhere else in her mind, her gaze and tone of voice told Batman everything he needed to know, he had that same look on his face when he was younger, he still had it from time to time when he reflected

"They all died... and it was all my fault..." Raphtalia's body visibly was being weighted down by the sheer guilt she believed herself to have as her legs were close to giving up as she trembled nervously

"They tried to p-protect me... t-they wanted to make me s-safe but..." She bursts into tears as the vivid memory of that event came back to her as Raphtalia remembered the gruesome visage of her two parents throwing her in the water for safety seconds before being mauled alive by a large three headed dog twice their size. She curls up and sits on the ground sobbing, as if to try and shelter herself from her environment, with the dark knight looking on before walking towards her and sitting by her side, giving her a moment to continue crying before he spoke

"I know. you keep thinking, what I could have done differently? what if I could've warned them? But there was nothing you could have done about it" as Bruce talked his words resonate with the girl as they were similar to what her mind was thinking and beating herself over, a few moments later her tears and sobbing stopped momentarily as she lifted her head up.

"You... You lost your mom and dad?" Raphtalia asked as she turned to look at him, eyes still dripping with tears. His response is a simple nod of the headband nothing more, it was enough for Raphtalia and she felt it was the most honest response she could have heard as for her, it didn't matter how it happened as losing the family you love should always feel the same, no matter how they are lost, it would always feel devastating.

"...Does the pain ever go away? Is it going to stop hurting when I remember them?..." She asked the dark knight, wanting to know how to move past such a terrible memory, how to live on after suffering so much and losing all of those that gave you a real to smile, to look forward to and to feel loved

"I wish I could say yes, but it will get better overtime. I promise you that" Batman responds while putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort, it was enough to give Raphtalia a brief smile that faded away but it showed that she felt better, and while the sadness wasn't gone, it at least gave her a sense of comfort to stop crying.

"Come, it is far too dangerous for you to stay in this part of the forest unprotected. I have made a safe-house not too far from here" Batman said as he lifted up, monsters were common in the forest at night as their behavior became more aggressive, a simple campfire wouldn't keep them away and the girl was still in need of recovery time. Raphtalia was reluctant to follow him anywhere as she still didn't feel like she could fully trust such a mysterious individual, but her other options weren't great in comparison and so far he showed a level of compassion she didn't expect for quite some time, so for now she would follow him to this safehouse and rest there, but Raphtalia was ready to leave as soon as she felt something was off, if she learned anything from her enslavement is to prepare for the worst

After walking for a few minutes they arrived at a cave that had been modified, it had a wooden wall and door in the place of the cave entrance. Inside wasn't much, but it seemed clean and spacious as a table and a sleeping bag made of old cloth was giving it the bare minimum of the appearance of a actual room, to Raphtalia's surprise she was allowed to sleep in the only bed in the place, Batman said he would be gone the whole night so he wouldn't need it which the young Raphtalia associated to him being nocturnal, after all he did look like a bat and he called himself Bat-man, she gets comfortable in the bed as she only goes to sleep once the dark knight leaves, she also checked the door to see if he had locked which he did but the raccoon found a a key on the table that seemed to be able to unlock it, so she went to bed ready to have her first comfortable sleep in a long while. The next morning, Raphtalia wakes up to see that she was still in the cave and that the events of the last night wasn't some sort of bizarre but comforting dream, she sees Batman working on something in the cave's table

"Hey..." Raphtalia decided to start a conversation with him by herself, there was still so much she didn't know about him and it was something she just had to understand, she just needed to know why he would care so much about a useless child like her but something else was in her mind

"Are you... A Demi human?" She asked as curiosity was nagging on her ever since meeting the caped crusader, the question was born of pure curiosity and she didn't mean or have any ill intent when making that, it was just weird to see a man dressed that way and how he had little horns or sorts coming out of his head, she couldn't help but be curious about the man how saved her from starvation and that alleyway

"Why do you ask?" Batman turned his attention to her, letting a small wooden tool rest on the table as he looked at Raphtalia

"You have those two small horns, like those of a Calf" Raphtalia was reminded of a baby cow when she looked at those thin long spikes coming out of his head, of course he was much more intimidating than any cow she had ever seen but it still looked weird to her

"They are just a part of my cowl, see?" Bruce takes off the cowl, with a soft smile. Raphtalia was surprised by this, his appearance wasn't like what she was expecting as the young raccoon thought his cowl was a part of his face

"Oh!... Why does it have those then?" Raphtalia asked again, her question of him being a demi human was solved but now a new one popped up, wanting to know why he would choose such a thing for the cowl as it didn't seem useful if they weren't real horns or even ears

"It is to be reminiscent of a bat, to strike fear into the hearts of criminals" Bruce replied with sincerity and a straight face that were completely different from his usual look, Raphtalia had to admit he looked like a completely different person when he didn't wear it

"Why not a dragon then? Dragons are way scarier than bats" Raphtalia said as to her it sound a bit silly, sure bats were scary but there was so many more monsters out there that she thought were much scarier, granted Raphtalia never saw them in person but most of the deep sea monsters she saw back at her village's market place we're certainly terrifying

"That's because a dragon didn't fly through the window of my house when I was thinking about what my costume would be" Bruce said as he gave her a pat in the head before putting back his cowl, assuming a more serious expression again and lifting himself from the wood chair he was sitting

"I'm going on patrol, remember to lock the cave" Batman went out, ready to resume his plans and operations that were a complete mystery to the little raccoon girl

"Right... Mister Bat" Raphtalia responded, the Batman seemed like a blessing from above as he saved her right when her hope was about to disappear and maybe her own life as well, even though he seemed like the most dreadful and scary man alive, the young girl had saw much worst people that didn't seem to try hiding their ugliness or hate. Compared to them, the Batman was a holy angel as he seemed to genuinely want to help treat her wounds, Raphtalia finally felt safe from the terrible people that lived in this place and she wanted to repay the Bat in some way.

---

"This situation is getting worse... Should I make a request to the guild? But our village isn't registered in it, so we would need to pay the entry fees... But we can't afford them with our... I'm getting a headache..." A elderly man with a gray, curly mustache said as he placed a hand to his forehead, just the thought of all the paperwork and necessary money to get assistance from the adventurers guild or the kingdom's knights was causing him to get a minor migraine, he leaned back further in his leather chair, wondering for a way to solve the situation his village was in. A set of three gentle knocks on the door of his office pulled the elderly man out of his thoughts

"Come in" the village lord responded thinking it was just his assistant, the door slowly opened as a man walked inside the office. The man was around 30 or 40 by the village lord's guess, he had dark colored hair and blue eyes, his face was that of an experienced and educated man, clear by his honest expression and innocent looking eyes in his face that seemed to carry on the burden of maturity, his posture was clearly refined like that of nobility by how he moved, gentle and contained as if he walked with a set of books stacked on top his head. His clothes were nothing too note worthy, a dark blue jacket covering a white under tunic and a dark grey pant, that wasn't anywhere as astonishing compared to his physique, this fine man was tall, around 6'2 feet tall and although his clothes didn't show it, it was clear that the man worked his muscles by the size of his pecks which were very well defined even if his clothes did a good job in hiding his musculature

"Hello sir. I was told to talk with the village chief" the fine gentleman said as he reached out a hand and offered a handshake to the village, which the elderly man responded by politely shaking it before he motioned for the fine gentleman to sit down on the chair in front of his desk, which the fine gentleman did

"Bruce Wayne, pharmaceutical doctor. I'm selling medicine around the country and was wondering if this town needs any. I am starting a business and want to start with the people that need it the most" he introduced himself, as the batman put into motion his plans on building a public personal, he wanted to infiltrate the social circle of the Melromarc nobility and for that he would need a personal, he would have to build up a name for his new identity but that was not a challenge for him, he could use this Nobel persona to help out in way the batman couldn't , like distributing medical supplies and remedies for the people in need, a dark knight by the moonlight and a bright knight in the sunshine

"Are you a noble? I'm not familiar with that family name" the elderly village lord asked as he eyed the man that had all the characteristics of someone raised in nobility, he was familiar with most of the more notable nobility of Melromarc but he never heard of any Wayne's, he chalk it up for them recently receiving the title and thus not having any notability in the grand political scene

"My parents were, but my estate exists outside of Melromarc and thus I wish to expand my family name across other lands, so I came to the land of Melromarc as my first destination." Bruce explained to the man, his motives weren't too far off from what he had told the village lord, his plan was to create a name here in Melromarc and for that he would start small and this village seemed like a ideal place due to being a close route to the capital city that merchants took every so often to cut down two or three days of travel

"Well... If you want to sell it to someone you're going to need a shop, we do have the old house of our old herb cleric but I am not sure if a noble like you would find it "adequate" enough for your standards, although we might need medicine if this situation at the mines gets worse..." The village lord mumbled that last part to himself, too tired and stressed out from the issue to care if this noble wanted to establish himself here, as the manner in the mines was all his head was occupied with since that could very well determine the fate of his town

"Could you explain it, maybe it is something I can help" Bruce offered as that was not only a way to get the village lord in his favor to build up a shop and temporary settlement, but also because if this problem was severe enough, it needed to be dealt with for the sake of the inhabitants that lived here

"There's nothing complicated about it, a monster moved into the mine and has been killing off anyone who enters it. The problem is that we are a mining village, most of our income comes from the mine and there isn't much to talk about or to go by. With the mines blocked we can't use our main income and... You can see the problem" the village lord said as he was sure Bruce understood what the problem was, with no income the village was doomed to ruin since they wouldn't be able to pay the fees and for their supplies, even if they were a community with a strong sense of bond, that couldn't save them from such a thing

"The knight guards of the capital should be able to assist with that, shouldn't they?" Bruce asked innocently in the outside but in his mind he could already deduct all the reasons the knights of the capital city that was not even a day away from the village would come here, it was clear by his observations when inspecting the village to see if it was a suitable location for a temporary base that it wasn't a note worthy city with a economy that mattered in the grand scheme of things, which meant that the higher ups responsible for the guards, no doubt corrupt to the core considering what Bruce had seen from the guards enlisted, wouldn't care if this place died

"Maybe from where you're from, but here in Melromarc unless you're a big merchant village that brings in great income or the capital, they don't bother with giving you much if any attention without a hefty fee" the village lord responded finishing with sigh, he found ironic that with the current ruling of the king, seemed like the royal guards meant to protect the country and people were more focused on find one singular man no matter what instead of attending to the people, that is of course, if they didn't have the money or influence to attract their attention. The village lord was considering to spread a rumor that the monster inside the cave was the shield hero, that would get the knights attention-

"If I clear this mine of the beast, would you give me permission to sell my products here? I may not look like it but I was trained in swordsmanship" Bruce said to the village lord, pulling the elder away from his thoughts as he looked at Bruce, he gave some thought on the matter, he didn't doubt that the man in front of him was trained as many nobles would have their sons taught how to wield weapons for them to pursue careers in the military so it made sense that this Wayne fella would know how to use a blade

"Sure... It's your funeral anyway..." The village lord said that last part in a whisper, if even the local hunters and small time adventurers couldn't stand a chance against the creature, he highly doubted that a man from a noble family he never heard of would do much better

Bruce exited the village lord's house and went towards the mine, maneuvering through the caves as he finally reached a more open area that seemed to be illuminated by the magical minerals that were embedded in the rock walls of the mountain, where he could see some mine carts and tracks, as a singular living thing stood in the center surrounded by bloody bones that were craved in with teeth marks, the creature was a massive dog with two long necks bearing heads on each end, the eyes of the monster seemed to glow with violence and blood lust

"A two headed dog, interesting but you don't look like a natural animal from this part of the country, this energy is coming from you..." Bruce said as he noted the strange red energy that seemed to emanate from the dogs eyes, it wasn't much on glance but for the more acutely attuned, that energy wasn't normal, it was like toxic residue coming out of the dog as a side effect of something happening in its body or more correctly its mind, as that may be the cause of its rampage. Using [inspect] revealed little, but the creature was classified as interdimensional which meant it was most likely a creature from a wave, no doubt left behind from the first one that hit the country, but it seemed to have a status condition on itself called [Enraged] which seemed to boost its offensive stats. If that was a characteristic trait of all wave monsters or if it was exclusive to this particular mob had to be studied for later.

The ears of the dog twitched as it turned their two heads to the direction Bruce was and growled madly as it started to run towards him, Bruce barely moved as he threw a sonar batarang at a close distance of the dashing canine, as the bat shaped projectile began to ring the two headed dog began to whimper and snarl as it was disoriented by the low frequency sound, Bruce approached it in astonishing speed as he struck both of the necks of the creature with open palm strikes, stunning it both as he delivered a sequence of punches to where its heart would be, before launching it back with a roundhouse kick. Normally would be enough to incapacitate or even kill a large dog depending on the strength but the monster got up rather quickly, growling madly with both heads as one salivated strongly while the other grinned it's teeth, closing his fist in anticipation Bruce prepares for whatever the two headed dog would try to pull next. It began charging him again, teeth glowing with the same aura as it's eyes, but Bruce is too skilled for the primal dog to do anything and while it had a possible advantage at attack than Bruce, it didn't matter if the dog could touch the Batman. He was basically toying with it, waiting for the right moment to strike, as Bruce with not very much effort blocked the attack attempt with his shield while equipped to a [Poison Needle Shield] as a counter attack begins, spikes come out of theshield's face to stab into the dog. Some piercing through the flesh while most just scratched it, the dog falls to the ground as it bleeds but tries to get up, however the shield's skill not only worked as a low damage counter but also injected enemies that were pierced by it to be poisoned with a venom not lethal to humans unless in very high doses. Despite its best efforts the two headed dog dies on the ground without even laying a scratch on the dark knight who observed the creature before absorbing it to his shield

[Two-Headed Black Dog Shield LV 1 Unlocked]

[equip bonus 2 ATK]

[Ability Alertness: keeps you aware of enemies within 30 feet plus 1 foot for each level you possess, will not however give their exact location depending on how far they are and only give their general direction]

[Unique Ability Dog Bite Counter: Any enemy that comes within 5 feet of you is attacked by the 2 black dog heads in the shield's front if the shield is hit or if you spend mana to be active immediately]

"Useful ability, I should inform the lord that the problem is solved" Bruce said as he began walking into the mine, not towards the exit but to see what else it had as the minerals inside could be useful. But he was more interested in analyzing if the cave structure would be suitable for a bat cave, he still didn't have a main point of operation, but the structure was deemed by him to be too narrow and close to the surface to be of use, but the main factor was the fact it was the income of the village and hogging the entire place for him would be no different than if the dog keep occupying the place, so he would be content in using the house offered in his deal for the time being

---

There wasn't much to do inside the cave but it was safe, and after everything she went through it just felt nice to sit on a pillow even if it was made of grass. Raphtalia tried to past the time by playing with her imagination, but it was hard to not have of the many bad memories of her enslavement or the first wave, she was tempting to go outside just so she could pick up flowers and take her mind out of things, so the young raccoon girl decided to clean up the cave and make it look nice

Next time the Batman came he brought a small crate, it had supplies like food and miscellaneous objects that could be used for experiments or in the building of traps along with hand made gadgets, one of the contents of this batch of items however was a dress that wasn't anything to write home about nor did it look brand new but it was leagues better than the rags she was still using. Raphtalia thought it was a nice gesture even if he was too occupied with his work to notice Raphtalia's gratitude, the only problem of the dress was that it didn't cover the slave mark for completely and the top part was exposed, but the raccoon girl was sure he wouldn't notice no matter-

"A mark like that is not something a child should have, the symbol represents something doesn't it, a form of branding?" Batman asked in a serious tone, he was always serious but Raphtalia could tell he was even more serious. More so she was surprised he noticed it, she was certain he couldn't see the mark when she put on the dress and in fact he was polite enough to give her privacy when changing, but he still noticed the mark. Could he tell she was hiding something? Did she unintentionally bring attention to it while trying to hide it? Or did he see it the first time he moved her out of the alley way?

"... Yes, it's called a slave mark. It shows that I'm someone's property, the sad reality of being a demi human in Melromarc. Here this sort of thing is... Legal" the young raccoon girl explained the awfulness of such a thing, it immediately brought her mood down and she wanted to give a short answer as to end the conversation about it before it could-

"Whoever brands children as property shouldn't be allowed to walk free, nor can they be protected of doing so" Batman replied, anger could certainly be felt inside the place as the disdain of such practice was very noticeable in his voice, after all he was no stranger to such disgusting methods, having dealt with human traffickers before in his world. But there was an even less noticeable tone in his voice, likely disappointment over such practice existing in this world but also an understanding that it would be inevitable with human and demi human races existing, he even suspected that humans were the ones that started discrimination between the two as his recent research on demi humans showed that they had biological advantages over common humans, likely causing humans to see them as a threat to their superiority as a race. Of course the possibility of demi humans being the originators of this world's racism wasn't out of the question, they would always have someone who feels entitled to claim themselves superior over physical or ideological reasons, but what extent it had on this world was still uncertain, and the that fact child enslavement was common... It didn't sit well.

"There's nothing I can do, as long as I have this on my chest I'm bound to the slave trader from the creepy shop by magic but he must have so many that he didn't even notice I'm still alive..." Raphtalia's tone was melancholic, all this talk was only bringing back more memories of her suffering under her previous slave owner, raphtalia knew one day she would have to face them, but all she wanted was to run away from them

"It's binding you through magic?" He asked, it would make sense for magic to be used this way in such world, but it was still a disgusting thing to even allow. Aultcray didn't start this, but he didn't try to abolish it, likely due to his own biased interests and personal grudges, but neither did the Queen who he had been told was his 'allie' and that she wanted to help the relationship between demi humans and humans, unless it was a essential part of the economy of the kingdom, abolishing it would help such quest. But those were questions he would ask personally to her, to guarantee a straight answer

"...Yes, a slave master can put any restrictions for their slaves to obey otherwise they die, the only way of getting rid of a slave mark is with a magic ink but I don't even know where or how to get it... Can we stop talking about this, it's making me uncomfortable." Raphtalia looked away, eyes dreadfully recounting her nightmares and a twitch in her eyebrows. Bruce looks at the girl and understands that she didn't have the will nor did she want the subject to continue any further

"You can go to sleep, I need to head out for the night" Batman began to leave, Raphtalia didn't know where but she could tell he had gotten angry, not at her but still... He seemed to be ready to do something that she couldn't even begin to picture it, he didn't seem like the type to kill... But he seemed capable of doing worse.

---

"I'm afraid that tonight will be a slow one, my dear slaves. It appears that my assured sale and commission will be for naught" a man in an elegant albeit strange tuxedo suit said with an unsettling smile as he twisted his small mustache while looking at a cage with two children and a mother that had ears and tails of bobcats. The creepy man walked away from the cage before sighing at the unproductive day since no clients had come to buy his merchandise, when he suddenly heard the sound of something, he didn't quite understand what it was as it was similar to the sound of a strong gale but it had some... Weight to it if that made any sense

"Huh? Is someone there?... Would you happen to be a client?" The creepy salesman asked, assuming the sound had been just someone entering his tent to buy up some servants for their needs, but as he came to the front of his shop where he usually attended clients and performed businesses, there was no one there to speak of, the salesman scratched his head confused as he began to believe that it must have truly been the wind that made that sound. But when he turned around to continue his night routine, he was faced with a dark wall that towered over him, the creepy salesman looked to see what it was that was in front of him but he only found a dark shadow which seemed to be staring at his soul with eyes as white as snow bearing no pupils to humanize them

"W-Wh...!?" The trader was at a loss for words as he fell on his butt, gazing at the creature that approached him slowly every time he tried to back away quivering in the ground as the seller tried to get himself some distance to recover from the initial shock

"What do you think you're doing to these people" the dark figure said as it didn't seem to be asking the man but rather judging him, something that seemed to have finally got the creepy salesman to snap out from at least half of his panicked state

"I-I... This is a legitimate business!" The man was babbling as he pointed at the shadowy creature. "Y-You have no right to judge me!"

"... I see. You're one of those people. Can't see others as anything but walking sacks of money that flow directly into your pocket, or as merchandise you can do whatever you want with." A chill ran through the entire body of the slave trader as he felt the intensity of the air around him become stronger, likely due to the stare of the dark knight being enough for the short man to see he was not taken by a blood-lust but instead a desire to punish the slave trader in the worst ways possible

"Let's fix that" Batman begins moving towards the slave trader while cracking his knuckles which obviously intimidates the short man who began getting on a nervous defensive stance

"I call upon thunder to-Aaaaah!" The slave trader isn't able to finish his chant as a batarang is flung directly into his hand and pierce the palm, the man falls to the ground on his own butt and groans in pain as he looks up to his aggressor

"You can never escape" Batman grabs the man by the collar of his suit and drags his body across the bars of the cages in a fast motion, throwing him a good five meters afterwards, with struggle the slave trader tries to hit him with his cane

"I can't be harmed, but I know pain..." The dark knight simply blocks the attempted attack with his left arm, shield transformed into the shape of a thick black metal bat with sharp edges in every part along with a gem in the center, some of the demi humans that still had their minds sound and well couldn't believe what that meant, but despite not being completely able to show any emotion, they still have a glee of hope in their eyes while dread is filled within the slaver

"Sometimes I share it... With people like you" he approached the slaver slowly but when he showed resistance, Batman moved in a swift motion that seemed to make him disappear in a blur of shadows, grabbing the neck of the slaver and applying force that wasn't for the purpose of breaking the neck or suffocating him, but it was to simulate the feeling. Applying force in such a way that pressure points of the slaver's neck would be triggered, causing him to feel a stinging pain that he was paralyzed to do anything against, a benefit from a recently mastered poison shield. His vision was being twisted by his fears and the pain in such way that the fire of the torches seemed to dance as the Batman becomes more obscure to the eyes, and yet he can't break contact with his eyes as they seemed to never change, his body becoming a blurring shadow and yet his eyes seemed to be glowing as moonlight, if this was his mind playing tricks or some sort of poisoning from his attacker was unclear to the slaver

"Please! Stop this! I'll pay for anything you want" the slave trader begged desperately, not wanting to be subjected by more of the Bat's torture. He was a coward, trying to offer something like monetary reward in exchange of his release, Batman could feel the hypocrisy of this display and with a single finger positioned to the lower left of the neck, a worst pain comes to the slaver that goes from his neck down in disorienting fashion

"I have no use for your dirty slavery money, but they could be used for a far greater thing than to stuff your pockets. These people are the ones that deserve to be compensated" Batman spoke as his eyes lock to those in the cages, his empathy being hard to see, but could be felt by some of the incarcerated folk

"...What?" The slaver's voice was cracking and confused at this statement

"All the innocent people you have put in cages and stripped of their freedom, selling them off like they weren't nothing and putting them in these conditions. They deserve to live free to do what they want, to have a choice of their own and not be unwilling servants of someone else. I should break you in half and let them all be free." He threatened and the slaver shivered like a scared cat, looking away and trying to protect himself with his shaking hands

"But this country... This country has far too many laws that support the enslaving of demi humans and makes so that a freed demi human isn't safe from enslavement in any way. It is impossible to free them, give them safety and improve their quality of life as long as the current head of government doesn't change the laws of the country, and with people such as you and your buyers around, I doubt they would let that happen." While still intimidating, Batman's tone was less enraged and more cynical by the slaver's perception. He wanted to break free but the grip was far too strong and far too painful, he didn't know what the shield hero was capable of or if any of the demon propaganda from the three heroes church was real, but what he was experiencing was only reaffirming that and then some.

"So instead I have made a list of changes to your way of treating slaves with human or above intelligence inside your establishment that can be found in your office, every single basic necessity that is listed will have to be followed. From now on, they shall be treated like people and not objects" Batman's words carried the weight of a strong leader's command behind them, he wasn't joking about this in any way nor did he have doubts about what he wanted, all there was in his voice was certainty.

"But that would be too expensive and you can't-" before he can try to voice his complaint, the slave trader is thrown into the ground again and has his face stepped on while Bruce holds one of his arms up in and begins twisting it with force to cause even more pain to the small man, not enough to make him loudly grunt in pain but enough for him to understand the message that the dark knight was trying to pass across

"Do I look like I'm just suggesting this? It would be easy to do this without your involvement, alter documents to give me ownership over all of this and get rid of you entirely, for good... but I'm giving you a chance for once in your pitiful life to do the right thing. Do you want to waste that opportunity?" Batman's tone was chilling the entire place on the perspective of the slave trader who could feel his chin was about to be dislocated from his jaw if the dark knight applied more force, as much as his family was a proud lineage of slave sellers, one thing they valued more than selling... was living, and right now the slave trader was convinced that if he denied or tried to pass the leg under the shield hero, his life was as good as gone.

"Okay! Okay! I'll do it! I promise all do it!" The slave trader begged as best as he could, a once cold hearted slaver reduced to a weakling maggot that will do anything under the fear of being punished which was quite the ironic twist.

"Good, I suggest treating the sick and wounded first which I already provided the supplies, a crate of medicine is located in your office. Don't try to alert the guards, I will know if you do and it will be much worse for you if even a squeal comes out of this. If not even a single one of the items in the list are met by tomorrow, I'll break the other one" Batman finished with a quote that left the slave trader confused due to the vagueness of the last part

"The other what?-Aaaaaahhhh!" The slave trader screamed out as his left arm is snapped and broken by the dark knight leaving it broken in three places, a deliberated choice made by the caped crusader since he knew that the man he had assaulted was wealthy enough to pay for treatment and healing potions of higher quality, so leaving him with a broken limb wouldn't amount much thanks to this world's medicine being so much more better suited for recovering from physical injuries, but Batman could tell something about the salesman, he never had experienced pain in his life, the man who dealt with people's lives and suffering was accustomed with the concept of pain and how to inflict it to others in physical and to some extension psychological forms but he had never experienced it himself due to a life of sheltered luxury, and thus it was important to make his first experience of even a fraction of what he caused on others to be as excruciating as possible

He moves through the shop and the demi humans in cages are celebrating him and thanking Bruce for what he had just put into motion, extending their hands out towards him in an attempt to touch the man who gave them hope of a better life, but unlike Itsuki he didn't do it for the glory or the praise, he did this to set this people free so he didn't bask or even react to any of it. Even if they would still be confined in such place, he would make sure they were well treated until he could find a way to secure their safety away from this city and the slavery it opposed upon others, but as Bruce walked to the slave trader's office he picked up a small bottle containing a transparent white liquid, opening up and dropping a little of it into his shield

[Slave Mark Ink Remover Shield LV 1 unlocked]

[Equip Bonus 5 binding resistance]

[Unique Ability Freedom: any person that has a slave mark on them and desires freedom from their curse can have the mark removed by the touch of your hand]

He equips the shield reminiscing of a slim but fancy ink bottle containing a glittering white ink inside, Bruce begins to leave the establishment, prioritizing to master this shield form during the rest of the night

---

Raphtalia walked through the woods happily but with caution, it seems things had been turning up every since her encounter with the caped crusader, never had she thought that a human would be so kind to her after every she had went through in the last couple of weeks but it seems fate was smiling at her, maybe one day she will be able to get out and find the rest of her friends, build their village back or just move somewhere they won't be mistreated and enslaved, life seemed so much more full of positive possibilities now. All thanks to a man she thought was a demon upon their first encounter, but he soon revealed himself as a kind soul, a man trying to make the world a better and safer place. Raphtalia wished he would have shown up sooner, maybe if someone like him was there when... The first wave hit, maybe all that pain would never had happen and she could had spent her childhood with her parents along with her friends, but right now she was just wanted to see more of the forest as staying on a cave no matter how good the renovation on it was it still was a closed space that didn't amount for a great view, the smell of wet grass was refreshing and the breeze on her face was nice. Even the monsters around the place were not even trying to attack her, thanks to a sort of charm that the shield hero made that ward off the creatures, a simple wooden whistle that if blown through would let out a sound that seemed to be incredibly annoying to the majority of monsters in the forest

"Why does lord Itsuki send us to do this fetch quest by ourselves? Couldn't he do it himself?" A ruff voice called out from a few meters away, raphtalia tensed up as she quickly went to hide behind a tree, she leaned her head to the side to look at the person that said that, she saw a group of three people, a larger man in a fancy armor and mustache, a woman wielding a spear and a stereotypical wizard with pink hair

"He is still pretty mad from the humiliation by that damn Shield freak, should have seen how angry he was this morning. Shot a hole through a wall out of anger" the woman wielding a spear commented as they recalled how angry their leader was, he had practically destroyed the room he was staying in the inn they took residence for the night while screaming and cursing the shield hero, it was a terrifying tantrum

"I guess he doesn't like that his thunder is being stolen by that son of a-" just then Raphtalia is spotted by the pink haired wizard, they exchange looks briefly as raphtalia had one of complete fear while he had unimaginable disgust.

"Hey! There's a stinking demi human there! Why isn't it in its cage?" The pink haired wizard shouted as his companions took notice of the girl as Raphtalia started to back away in terror, sweating as she dreaded what these people were going to react or do

"Did it escape a slave cargo? She looks young and healthy...How much do you think we can get for her?" As soon as she hears those words coming out of the malicious smile of the spear girl, Raphtalia runs as fast as she can even if she was almost tripping on herself at the start of the run, she couldn't let them get her and sell it back to that horrible place, she would do all in her power even if it only gave her the slimmest chance of getting away. She had to go back to the safety of the cave or find the shield hero before they got to her

"Where do you think you're going?" The largest of the group went after her while the others followed him in a slower pace, not really taking this seriously despite Raphtalia seeing this as a life or death situation

"Help! Somebody! Please!" She screamed out in the forest in hopes of someone coming, but her voice isn't even enough to let a faint echo travel through.

"Aww she is crying for help, the stupid girl thinks someone is gonna save her, that's priceless" the mage of the group comments as he takes enjoyment of her desperate attempt of running to safety, his spear wielding companion just rolls her eyes as the largest of them keeps running after the girl. Raphtalia was trying to survive and her emotions were going overboard, she scared beyond her mind and without noticing, her foot trips over a uproot that causes her to fall down a small hill over a river, her fall scared the Usapil that were close and as she tried to get up while crawling away from the water, she heard the footsteps of her chasers stopping

"I wonder if she is still a virgin, those sell at better prices. Just hope she isn't too battered when we make the sale" the spear girl said with a almost uninterested tone, only caring about what type of monetary gain they would have for taking the girl, Raphtalia's eyes were wide in despair at the simple thought as she sees a small rock and with desperation she reached her hand to grab it, struggling to face the three as she holds the small rock with all her strength while her arm shock in weakness and fear.

"Stay back or I'll-"

"Or what? I don't care how you abomination escaped the slave trade you were in, you should be dead for even trying to threaten me" the man in fancy armor said as he unsettled his sword and raised it to strike down on the Demi Human girl, but before he could even do as much as move his shoulders, he felt a sharp pain in his arm as he let outs a scream, he looked at his left arm to see it bleeding, a thin projectile shaped like a bat having somehow pierced the gauntlets of his armor as blood poured out of the wound

"Ack! What the fuck was that?" He said before a shadow stood over them, on top the river's hill stood the tall and menacing figure of Batman as the rattle of the tree's leaves were accompanied by the dark knight's cape moving swiftly in the air, the three adventurers were startled and confused by his sudden appearance as in their eyes he had come out of nowhere, while Raphtalia could only muster a tear as she let go of the rock she was holding.

"You three shouldn't have come here. Leave or else..." Batman threatened as his gaze was piercing the three, while terrified momentarily, arrogance and anger easily turns their expression the other way as a opportunity appeared in front of them, to kill the most wanted criminal in the country and get rid of the shield demon once and for all

"Is the Shield fuck! Get this bastard and we can get a big reward from the crown, it doesn't matter if he's breathing or not!" The large armored man exclaimed as he pointed at the dark knight who in response jumped up towards the three to fight while Raphtalia tried to move away from their incoming brawl as best as she could now that her dizziness from the fall had subdued. A clean kick to the face sends the largest of the ground backwards as he falls and the spear girl moves to stab him in the upper left of his chest, but a swift dodge spin allows Batman to deliver a backhand punch to her face and stagger the woman momentarily as he locked eyes with the mage that was about to cast a fire spell, using the [grapple hook shield] to shot out a grapple line that attached to his chest and rapidly brought him closer to Batman, causing him to lose footing while also stopping the spell as Batman gut punches him so hard he falls to the ground unconscious.

Spear girl and the armored man tried to attack him with a thrust with the spear and a tackle from the large one, a direct smoke bomb to the face makes the armored man fall in both unconsciousness and pain while a movement with the right amount of force is enough to break the wooden part of it, helping unbalance the girl before grabbing her and throwing her directly down onto her companion. Before she can get up she sees Batman with his thumb up before pressing it down like he had a detonator, in the center of the batarang on the arm of the armored man, a electrical current goes off as the three adventurers are hit by it due to being wet and within the river, Batman is not affect due to having a small amount of lightning resistance along with his boots being isolated in case of such occasion. After moving them out of the river and laying them on the dry ground, he turns around to see Raphtalia who is in the side of a tree with a blank expression

"Are you alright?" He asked while approaching the girl, she didn't have any major wound from the chase and she had gotten away from the water when the adventurers were electrocuted to unconscious, but the event had a impact on her despite her best effort to not show it

"I'm Fine... No, that's not true... I was so scared and they c-came after t-to try selling me, I couldn't run a-away and much less defend m-myself" Raphtalia was breaking down crying while shaking as her doubts and fears were taking hold of her mind, fear trying to conquer her and fully engulf her in despair once more

"I'm useless, I can't run, I can't fight and I can't hide. Somebody in this place is going to try and catch me, demi humans are just... Not allowed to be happy in their eyes" she began cuddling herself up in fear, trying to hide herself from the world once again, trying to hide herself from the danger she felt around her and most of all the fear that was crawling within, her sobbing slowing down but not stopping

"Then I'll train you, make sure you can defend yourself from them" Bruce said in a solidary tone that was both determined but also understanding, it didn't have the force of a command but an offering. This only makes Raphtalia wide eyed in confusion

"Huh? You'll... Train me? But... Why? I'm just a weak and worthless child, it's impossible for-"

"I know you want to hide, but nothing can stay hidden forever and trying to hide from adversity, from fear... It just doesn't work, we can either adapt to it or let it consume us in a sea of fear and darkness of our own making." Bruce began talking to her in a stern but comforting voice, despite the savage and calculated coldness he had displayed moments ago, he was being sincere with her. There was no reason to lie or put up a bravado to her, it wouldn't do anything, instead he treated her with respect and understanding while also telling her things he learned from his own experience, the girl had seen some of the worst things a child could have been exposed to and he couldn't offer her that same happiness from before her life started to crumble around her, but he could offer another way

"Even if we don't want to suffer this pain... It will come to us one day and all we can do is prepare for it, so we can surpass it by becoming something beyond what we ever thought we could be. Your pain can weigh on your shoulders, no one blames you for that, but you must learn how to overcome that weight and move as if it never weighed you down, I can teach you how to do that and more by becoming stronger, by becoming smarter, but most important of all is by becoming more than yourself. The path I'm offering is not easy, it requires dedication beyond normal dedication and no space for excuses, some would say it is impossible... But only you can decide if something is possible or not" Bruce's speech was layered at least to the young Raphtalia, he seemed to know so much about this and he had experienced what he was saying. She had stopped walloping on her own misery and was listening to him carefully, he was offering something that didn't feel true, because Raphtalia couldn't see herself stepping up in such way... But what if she could? Did she actually have the potential for such thing? As much as she wanted to say he was exaggerating, it didn't feel like that but more so he knew she had potential. Maybe she shouldn't say anything, but the more she heard, more she reflected on her choices up to now and the events that led her here, to be able to overcome those things would be like... Being a bird, freely flying through the skies without a fear in the heart or mind.

"I want you to understand that if you don't want this, I'll accept your decision and I'll make sure you don't have to join this crusade, if I could I would let you somewhere, but currently there is no such place I can confidently say is safe. In a world like this, that is filled by those who seek to cause pain to those who can't protect themselves for enjoyment or benefit, you need to learn how to fight back so you can protect not only yourself, but those in need of protection" Bruce made sure to make his intentions and expectations clear, right now there was nowhere he could turn to let the girl enjoy her childhood and recover from what had happened, she wasn't safe with him due to Batman being the most wanted criminal in the country by order of the King, but neither was she safe being a demi human without a place to protect her from any ill intent individual that would kill, rape or sell her simply due to Raphtalia's appearance and race. It was not fair to her, but it was the only way right now and it could help her more than anything this country could offer for someone like her.

"Are you willing to go down this path? once you take it, there is no going back." He kneels down to her level, and looks her in the eyes with a stone face, but one that was sympathetic in a way. He didn't want her to do this unless it was necessary and also asked her permission for such a thing, he wasn't trying to force an ideal onto her but Bruce needed to be sure she wanted this way of living, to be alongside him on his crusade but also carve out her own path. The mantle he was offering... It carries a freedom to it but alongside a weight of responsibility that is different from one another, it all depends on what sort of person Raphtalia wants to be and if she had the conviction to become that person

"I am, I will be... honored to have someone like you, Shield hero or would you like me to call you Mr Bat-man?" She asked him, Raphtalia was still doubting herself but after what he said, what she saw him fight and how he helped her when no one else would... She felt like she could trust him, training was something she never did in her life, but if he could help her overcome her fear and actually stand her own ground against someone or something trying to harm her, then she would dedicate herself to be his sword and be sharpened by him into not only a warrior... But someone to help when another person like her needs it

"You can call me Bruce." He gave a reassuring smile as he got back up and opened the status screen as Raphtalia was now registered as his first real party member, Raphtalia herself also got up with a excited but determined face

"Prepare the cave, we will be moving to somewhere else, this location has been compromised. Tomorrow we start your training" Batman said as he began walking towards the cave to gather supplies before moving into Lute village, selling medicine and potions to build up Bruce Wayne's reputation while also serving as a temporary spot for his Batman operations. Plus, Raphtalia was going to appreciate an actual roof and bed to sleep in for now

"Right!" The young Tanuki girl said as she began moving behind him, despite everything she had gone through in the emotional roller-coaster that her life was for the last month, these first few days with the Batman had given her hope in not only herself but to the wider world, as the legendary shield hero was far beyond what the romanticized tales of him told. If the shield hero needed help to save people like her, then Raphtalia was willing to become more than herself to ensure that.

[Author's notes]

Comments are always appreciated as long as they are related to the fanfic and the content within it, I really like to see what people think of my fanfics and I hope that I have given a lot for you people to enjoy

After a thousand years I have returned with a new chapter of this fanfic! And I have a lot to talk and explain about my decision making regarding this

Big one first, Raphtalia. I decided to not go with the "buying a child slave to fight for me" route, Batman doesn't need a slave to fight for him nor would I want to write that, but a good Batman adaptation needs a Robin to balance things out. Since Raphtalia is an important character for the shield hero narrative I decided to make her Bruce's protege in this world, I sincerely hope I was able to make it a good chapter as more emotionally packed chapters are not my biggest strength as a writer, a problem I faced with writing this chapter is the moments between Raphtalia and Batman as the shield hero's original development for raphtalia felt to me as a form of Stockholm syndrome, Raphtalia is forced to kill against her will by Naofumi but because he treats her nicer than her previous slave master she begins to become devoted to him and being his sword, it works for the original narrative I guess but I didn't want that sort of thing in my fanfic but the problem then arises as to why would Raphtalia stick around with Batman. I really hope I did a good job here in both batman's characterization towards the whole thing and how their dynamic developed over the chapter, I have rewritten this chapter 6 times now and this is the best version out of them, I don't think I can write a better version as of now and I hope everyone can understand that, Raphtalia is such a complex character but her initial development is so weird and situational, I don't know a single fanfic that was able to make it not be related to her being enslaved or some form of obsession, maybe shield kid?... Please let me know what I could do to improve this in the next chapter as it will focus on Raphtalia going on her first patrol with Batman through the city after a few weeks of her initial training (most of my problems with raphtalia could be solved by making Rishia the first party member, but writing her this early on would be much more convoluted than Raphtalia.)

So slavery in shield hero is pretty bad and Bruce would obviously not side with it in any way, but due to the laws of the country literally forcing slavery to be a thing and making so freeing slaves doesn't make them safe, I opted for a different approach. So instead of freeing the slaves from Belouska's shop since the likely large amount of people within it would be impossible to set free without alarming the entire guard and it would be almost impossible for Bruce to give them resources along with protection in his current state in the story, I opted for having him force Belouska to treat them as best as possible under the threat of violence bordering on torture. Again I wouldn't be needing to do this if the shield hero world building didn't quite literally make it impossible to free slaves without help from the crown in any way as it takes a lot of resources to free that many people, at least I have something for the future as when Bruce gains ownership of any piece of land, it could become a safe haven for demi humans in the future (this is way later on obviously but I think it would be something that Bruce would do, create a city that would be a safe place for ex slaves to begin again their lives, but to do that I have to setup the Bruce Wayne persona in the world of shield hero. I think Batman would leave humanitarian and charity work to Bruce Wayne as it would be a identity that isn't restrained by rape allegations and would be a more trusting individual for the little guy to see as a helping hand)

Don't expect a lot from the other heroes, Itsuki is gonna serve the same purpose as Motoyasu did in the original but changed to fit more in a Batman focused fanfic. Also some characters that have appeared in my other fanfics, like Sardina and Eclair will not show up in this. It takes a lot of effort for me to write just Batman and thus I decided to limit the number of important characters that will appear in this. It will more or less follow the original shield hero story in terms of revealing important characters, but due to how 'situational' everything is on the original story, compromises will have to be made

I hope the dialogue and action were enjoyable, and for those who read until here I'll say thank you. I plan to have more involvement of the comments in the chapters, starting on chapter 4 I'll have a vote prepared and the most popular option will be implemented in the fanfic (note that not every chapter will be that way, I just feel like a bit of input from more people could be helpful in this story, however the involvement will be limited to the votes)

To Perseus12: I wouldn't call them nemesis, more like selfishly ignorant people with way too much power than they should. While Merillia could be a great ally to Batman she isn't without her own flaws and agendas, while she wants the best for her country it doesn't necessarily mean that she wants it for the world at large. She is a bit of a control freak after all and more of a reactionary leader, in short she might be a good ally but it doesn't mean she is perfect for Batman.

To SombraZorro70: when Batman is in the court room, everyone looks like a fool because he has studied criminology like no one else, and he only lost the trial due to a biased judge.

To TheRealD3lph0xL0v3r: I tried writing a wonder woman in shield hero but it ended up proving itself much harder than the others, I just don't know enough of wonder woman to write her in a way I feel good about. P.S. I want to give Batman a filolian (since the original story requires it) but haven't fully decided on it or not, it wouldn't be female nor would it be Filo though.

To AnimeFan13579: I hope this chapter has shown you my viewing on the subject, do you honestly see Batman enslaving children? Even if he doesn't have malicious intent, do you see him branding a child as his property? Just because it's logical in a purely status based view doesn't mean Batman would do it, I hope you can understand that Batman is not determined by his intelligence and arsenal but his emotional drive. He wouldn't want to take away the freedom of a child just so he could get a better soldier despite what certain comics try to indicate, the way you're describing Batman... It's just Zur En Arrh, I hope you can understand what I went with my decision and please respect it as that will be the way things move forward with the fanfic, I don't want to disrespect you but as a Batman fan... It just doesn't sit right to say he would use slavery (if you're worried about the shield bonuses of the slave series, I can just make a mentorship series and give him the companion series which would end in the same result but without the slavery angle)

To ceroxon: it's hard writing Batman but it's also rewarding, I do plan on reaching the end of season 1 but that requires writing all of it along with changing the way events of the narrative happen considering the new circumstances of the story (Batman is a bit too smart for the verse of shield hero, everyone else is just too dumb in comparison)

To LEGOBRICK13: I didn't plan on the filolian resembling any of the Batman family members, but you put the thought of dick Grayson with black feathered wings coming out of his back in my head now. Not sure I'll go that route though

To Guest1: It would be really weird and a bit forced, but that's what fanfiction is for I suppose. Not gonna go that route however, the Joker would just make the story more complicated

To zanzara: I certainly thought of that too, but would that be the only option to go around naming a filolian? I thought it's appearance and maybe even personality would determine the name.

To Guest2: I admit I'm not the smartest writer around, but I try my best and give my all. At the end of the day that's what matters most, plus intelligence isn't the only defining feature of Batman as this chapter shows. I focus more on the characterization of Batman rather than if I'm writing him as the big brain guy (plus Batman has had plenty of versions that show conflicting amounts of intelligence, sometimes in the same continuity)

To shadowoni: I did just that, think you can spot them?

To Jujugol: disguises are certainly a great tool for Raphtalia to use, but with Batman's training it wouldn't be hard to evade people without using magic to make her invisible, but the filolian would literally be able to radically change it's physical appearance in a puff of smoke so why even use a disguise?

To TheRizz: you're certainly right, the more I write to shield hero the more cracks appear simply do to how different characters mentality would have them act, the story was tailor made for a generic to slightly above average person to shine, but once you put in extraordinary characters like Superman or Batman, it shows how the world building doesn't accommodate for such characters due to either their powers or level of intelligence, makes for a fun challenge but proves itself to be somewhat exhausting when you have to scrap the entire narrative flow of the first season due to the simple fact that "he wouldn't do this" or "he wouldn't go this way"

To ZukahaniMultiColor: originally I was going to have Batman's confrontation and eventual death at the hands of Darksied be the beginning of the story before the summoning, but it would limit myself to that version of Batman and as I learned from the superman fanfic, that could be a problem (honestly all comic book characters from DC and Marvel are like that which makes them incredibly hard to write for me personally)

Also this story won't feature Medea, just the army of the Waves since it will follow more of the anime than the web novel.

To AstolfoBrHue: Oi! Sempre é bom ver mais escritores Brasileiros comentando aqui nas minhas fanfics, sabe eu tentei escrever uma história com o Flash e uma da Mulher Maravilha. Porém eles se provaram ser mais difícil de escrever que o Batman ou o Superman, talvez no futuro eu consiga, mas no momento não tenho planos de escrever histórias deles

To megalogo15: I don't think Batman would approve and certainly there is a reason why she couldn't do that in the original series, because if she could then why would send Melty to marry the shield hero instead of doing it herself?

To WN-Bruh: completely understand your criticism, looking back at chapter 1 it had quite a large amount of shield descriptions, I promise to tone it down going forward. Thank you for your support

To Guest3: I can't blame you for that, I just can't stop myself from writing an idea when it comes to my head but to keep on developing her becomes harder, is that common? Because I have a bunch of One shots that never got finished because I moved on to another the next day, but I'm trying my best to focus solely on one project at a time (not helped by work and college draining me of the will to write when I get home)

To Marshman101: thank you, I really outdid myself with this one.