"Thank you for taking it into account; let's hope we don't have to use it." Bruce walked out of the village's leader office as Raphtalia waited for him outside by throwing an apple up and down.
"So... no evacuation, right?" She asked although she could tell that it was the case, the walls here were not that thick.
"He doesn't have any reason to believe a wave will hit here; statistically speaking, the chances are too low for something that might not happen. He agreed to use the signal flare if it does happen." It made sense, the village didn't need the excess panic that would cause and they had trust on the crown's protection considering how close they were to the capital, by all means everyone was already stressed about the wave so to suddenly announce them to leave towards a bunker felt like too much for the village leader, still he was willing to follow Bruce's plan if it did happen and didn't dismiss the flare given to him
"Just means more work for us; I stocked the items like you asked, so you just need to throw them inside that magic vortex of yours. They'll be safe there, right? Because you're gonna put an egg inside." Raphtalia understood that he couldn't carry the egg around everywhere but throwing a fragile container with a unborn baby chick into what she only saw as a black vortex... It might do something to the egg, she wasn't sure if that would happen but the possibility was there, that legendary shield was still a mystery to her.
"The shield's storage system is completely safe." The status magic was vague about the way the storage system worked, it had a limited carry capacity based on weight. But other than that, it was odd and it was vague on what exactly happens to stored items when a hero dies and unless he's fatally wounded, they would not find out. Would the shield destroy the matter within or just keep it inside forever until the next hero is summoned?
"How much do we have? I don't imagine your new armor is going to be ready when it comes." The finishing touches of the armor had to be made, according to the blacksmith the process of enchanting a armor couldn't be rush or it risked making the magic worst, it had to be the final process of making the armor as to maximize the efficiency of the enchantment through the whole body. Weapons were easier apparently, but required maintenance much more often.
"We can make one last check in the store before gearing up; we have only two hours." Bruce was sure they could keep the wave at bay depending on where it happened, but they were on the disavantage when it came to coordination as the other three heroes would also be there, they were the biggest liability so far in his plan. They closed the store and packed everything necessary, Bruce took out a box from his inventory as he approached Raphtalia
"Huh? what's this?" She asked as they were supposed to gather things and not take them out, she hadn't seen this box in the store before this point either
"Your new uniform; we might not have a chance later, so I thought you would need your own armor." Revealed to her the content of the box as it had a red tunic along with black leggings, green gloves and boots. It also came with a hooded black and yellow cape and a green domino mask. With a "R" symbol appearing across the left side of the chest.
This was the Robin outfit, it was similar to Damian's version of the suit as it was not difficult finding the materials, he had used some other materials in the making of the suit but he focused on it being less restraining than armor. He had made sure this got done before his own armor, it had already it's own enchantments to help Raphtalia with what would come next, he still didn't know if this route was the best one for her... But she had shown committed to it, and the world he was in would be too much for her to take alone as the young demi human had still much to learn, maybe once the threat of the Waves is done she can be something better to this world, maybe be like what Dick is to Bludhaven... This world needed more people like him, and Raphtalia had the potential to do this in her own way.
"Woah! You even put my initial in it, although the color is very eye-catching... but when you can make yourself invisible, I guess it doesn't matter." She was pleasantly surprised, this was like they had finally officially their partnership as a crime fighting duo! The suit was really well maid, she was convinced he either did this himself or got the best tailor of the country on it. The suit seemed to resonate to her touch, it meant magic silk was used and she could assume it was her's considering when they got the silk... That had to be almost a month from now, probably when she was still starting training under him.
"The sun is setting; prepare yourself mentally for whatever will come. We have no idea of what's coming through it, so we need to be ready for everything." Batman said as he began leaving the store, it was best to go into an advantage point before it all started, plus he would leave raphtalia alone so she can wear the suit if she so desires
"That's a lot of things to be ready for, especially since anything coming from the waves is instinctively trying to kill us." Raphtalia knew very well how the Waves were going to play out, she lived through one after all. But this time she was ready, her mind was as calm as she could be and the memories of that day were nothing anymore, they didn't hold her back further.
She puts on the suit, it fit like a glove thanks to the properties of the magic silk, the cape was a nice touch and she appreciated the built-in hood for when the domino mask failed, but with illusion magic that would rarely be the case. She didn't quite understand the need of a secret identity for herself, but after seeing what the shield hero does as both Batman and Bruce Wayne she could get why he would want to have another face to present himself with, the entire country was after the man wearing a bat cowl so the best disguise was to just take it off.
They met back at the roof, watching the sun set as the timer went down.
"Do you think they're going to forgive you? After the wave, will they see that you're actually the good guy and not the criminal?" These people assumed the worst of him already, but maybe once he showed them his skills by taking down the Wave the king and the others would realize he was always on their sides, maybe they would see that he isn't this horrible demon of the night that brutalizes people and other heinous things, compared to the other summoned heroes Bruce was the only one that knew what it took to be a real hero. The people of the country were so quick to believe in Malty's lies, maybe they would be quicker to believe the truth?
"Doesn't matter; what matters is keeping the people safe at all costs." Batman didn't care how the country would perceive him, it was as much of a handicap as it was an advantage for him to use, what he truly cared for was making sure the innocent people were safe from this interdimesional invasion, he knew that time would show the flaws in Malty's lies and that he could expose all of it once he got into a more favorable position.
The shield's gem began to glow and grew in intensity, blinding Raphtalia as she shielded her eyes briefly. At the next moment, they were somewhere else... Somewhere familiar, Bruce looked up as he saw twisted cracks in the sky, filling it with unnatural colors from possibly every spectrum. They were seeing in real time the land being overrun by all manner of fiends. Like zombies in various armors and several large insects poured over the land. Batman proceeded to analyze what was the focus of it
"Onward to the boss!" Motoyasu shouted as he and his team charged forward; it seemed that the spear hero had been summoned ahead of them by a few feet.
"You're not showing me up!" Itsuki soon followed, seemingly more determined than Motoyasu but also more arrogant.
"A head start won't help either of you," Ren ran after. He was by far the fastest and was quickly passing Itsuki, but his party was left in the dust; they did their best to keep pace at the rear. Seeing the other heroes all ahead of them, Raphtalia knew that they needed to perform well and show the others their worth.
"Let's go after them," Raphtalia was ready to show those other heroes what she and Batman could do, but he stopped her with a motion of his hand to catch her attention
"Don't you recognize the fields?" He asked the young demi human to try and see if the place rang any bells in her mind, Raphtalia was slightly confused but did so.
"It looks like where we are—Oh my god, we are close to Lute Village!" Despite the tiniest of odds, the village did end up getting caught in by the wave's invasion. He considered the fact that they might have evacuated thanks to his warning, as Bruce had also advised them to use the mine he cleared out for them in this situation. When a flare shot up, he knew what that meant, and he was glad for giving the village leader that item.
"We have to hope that the three can handle the boss responsible for the wave for now. We have to help the village first; after an evacuation of the non-combatants, we'll rendezvous with them." Raphtalia was pleased by this, as she would get a chance to save those who were in a position similar to her own just 2 or so months ago, it would be the ultimate test to show she had grown from that crucial moment once and for all. And Batman gave up the chance to receive glory for a thankless job that needed to be done, even if helping fight the Wave boss might change his criminal reputation in the slightest. Instead, he was going to run in the other direction from the heroes to focus on saying the people they didn't even bother to see were there, it was the most Batman thing to do and she was happy for that.
This is what she had gathered on Bruce over all their time together. A truly good person who doesn't value others opinions of him in the slightest, even if they used his dark demeanor to label him a devil and second-guess his intentions, he wanted to prove them wrong with his own actions. To only be a symbol of fear for those who deserved justice, but a symbol of hope for those who needed help no matter what.
A cornered man raised his rake in desperation before a zombie with a sword in one hand and an axe in the other; the top part of his head was just the skeleton as the flesh on his jaw was exposed. The zombie cut right through the tool with the axe and took a step in to follow through with his sword.
"[Air Strike Shield]" A shield-shaped force field manifested just before the kill could be made. The formation of the wall pushed the weapon out of that space, resulting in disarming its sword. Batman came down on top of the zombie from the roof above, landing a kick in the zombie's head before jumping back and landing on his feet; this more than got the zombie's attention, as while turning around, an explosive detonated on its head, sending the head flying off. Two more zombies ran at Bruce in response to his appearance.
The zombies raised their arms to strike but were cut in half in the next moment. Batman didn't need to pay those enemies any mind, knowing Raphtalia would handle it, as she was trained to do so. The bodies fell to the ground as the girl swiped their blood from her sword.
[Interdimensional Zombie Shield LV 1]
[equip bonus 1 def, 3 to rot resistance]
"The mine is secure; wait for the wave's end inside of it. Tell everyone you find the same!" The man simply stood there momentarily before he fled in the direction of the mine, obviously too scared to do much else but getting the message.
"Let's hope he was like that because of the zombies and not you." Raphtalia made a small comment as they entered the town proper. Bruce saw a screaming mother running with her two kids in the wrong direction. Three bees the size of his arm came at them, but he knew what to use was in order to protect them.
"[Shield Prison]" The ball cage of shields and chains formed around the 3 villagers as Batman ran directly into the bees. He was not being reckless, though. He needed to know if these bees that seemed like possibly the weakest enemies here could beat his defense or would take less damage to kill as his attack was still his weakest stat. Using the [Bat-knuckle duster] skill, he could multiply the damage output of his punches, but he wanted to preserve as much resources as he could, even the tiny 2 SP that it would cost him, and some of his gadget shields cost too much for them to be used frequently.
They tried to sting him but dealt no damage, and thanks to his many poisonous mushroom shields, all their possible venom was being negated; dispatching them was easy as a punch was enough to break their exoskeleton with enough force.
[Interdimensional Bee Shield LV1]
[equip bonus 1 agi, 1 poison resistance]
[Ability Poison Needle Shield: (requires 'Change Shield' and 'Shield Prison') Poison captured targets from all sides.]
"Good, but some seem to be alive, meaning I don't beat them by much with my strength alone." Bruce took that into account as he saw another insect; it was close to a grasshopper in build but seemed more like a locust; they seemed weaker than the bees, but for how much was still to be identified.
He saw there were too many bugs gathering around suddenly... But this was good, their attention was focused on him instead of Raphtalia or any civilians so he would use this
"Ignore the bugs; I have a solution for them, I just need them to be close." Wordlessly, she complied, never questioning him because he was always prepared. Batman readies himself for the next attack, equipping the [EMP Grenade Shield] as it began charging up which causes a lot of noise to be made, the bugs swarmed towards him immediately. As they struck, he used the ability to cause a EMP boom to happen around him, this caused all the small bugs to be fried but also paralyzed as Raphtalia could now strike them all down in a swift, uninterrupted moment.
"Once the ball fades away, head towards the mine." The dark knight spoke to the frightened family of three as they were freed from the [shield prison] just in time to see the bugs scatter from Batman. It looked impressive and served to give them hope, despite what they had been told of the shield. They ran as instructed to the best of their capabilities.
[Interdimensional Locust Shield]
[equip bonus 1 def]
[Ability Swarm Stomach: Consumable goods used by you gain an area of effect of 5 feet plus 2 inches per level you possess. effects only affect desired targets within the area.]
Bruce moved out of the way as an axe came crashing down next to him, but he barely had to give it his mind as the zombies were not good at hiding their presence at all. He immediately grabbed the axe using his grapple hook ability and pushed it down against the zombie to stop it from moving it for a second.
"Now!" As the huge zombie started to lift his axe with more force, Raphtalia swooped in and took off his head in one clean motion; thankfully, all of the undead army seemed to need it to move their bodies. Batman could see he was going to be overrun soon, which would cause Raphtalia to dive into the enemies too deeply as she was still reckless; he had to avoid that.
He used [grappling hook] as a way to get atop a roof and see the larger situation. It was pretty bad. A few buildings were on fire. Some guards and adventurers were here, putting up a decent fight. His best bet was to prioritize saving the guards and adventurers first. Doing so he could rally them and begin to cut a path through; if he didn't have such a bad reputation, maybe they'd have listened, but no one would follow him into battle or follow his orders without motivation, so he would give them... For now, he would need to change their approach.
"Raphtalia. We need to find a faster way to stop the wave. I need you to help the other heroes deal with the boss commanding it. Clear a safe path to the mine while you're at it; I will keep in contact with you using my shield." He switched to his only shield that allowed communication from long distance, but it would be best to use it in short bursts as it cost 1 SP to keep it going every second.
Raphtalia hated the idea of leaving him alone during a wave, especially after what happened to her family during one of these, but he was right. She turned towards the mine and ran, killing anything that came within striking distance, as she would do once alongside the other heroes. Bruce started using the [tele-communication] ability with Raphtalia.
"Can you hear me?" Raphtalia was a bit surprised. He'd given her a rundown of what each of his shields did, which was tedious at first. He did his best to keep her in the loop, and she knew which shield ability this was, but being told what it does and actually experiencing it were two different things. It felt like her consciousness had developed a new voice with a form of filter, weird but she was going to roll with it.
"Yes Batman. Can you hear me?" She asked as Raphtalia wondered if this was only a one-way thing.
"Affirmative. Tell me when you're done; try to secure a part of the boss monster for later absorption." He gave her simple commands, as he couldn't know what she would face alone but had to hope she would be able to handle it by herself. Bruce himself just had to stay moving, helping who he could find along the way.
Bruce had a great deal of stamina, which was coming in handy with this wave, a lot of attacking opposition, and a split second decision to help, however, most of the civilians were hiding or running for their life. All out combat will do, and that would affect him too eventually, but he kept at it though; he'd saved quite a few people at this point, and he would not stop until all of the villagers were saved and counted for.
He saw a danger notification on the [Minimap] as it seemed to be a form of [Alertness] exclusive to when the [Minimap] was activated as he saw the enemy, but the fatigue left him a second too slow. As Bruce turned to put up his shield, he was caught in the stomach by the axe of yet another giant zombie. It barely cut him at all thanks to the great armor, but the force was tremendous. It launched him into a wall, and now he was struggling to catch his breath.
"Are you okay?" Raphtalia asked as she heard it thanks to [tele communications] and she was ready to run back to help him; maybe with his teleporting shield he could bring her there in an instant.
"I'm fine; keep doing your objective." He told her while getting up that his well-being was not the problem at the moment and he wouldn't let an attack like that slip again, he cut the tele communication for now as he needed the SP. Bruce stared at the giant zombie that approached him. Even with dozens of them gathering, he wasn't worried anymore. He had been preparing for something like this for weeks, and it was finally time to use a new shield.
Equipping the [Explosive Batarang Shield] made his normal batarangs turn into a different form, as it had a more aggressive design, a red glow coming from the round circle inside the body of the bat that was more shaped like a bomb than the normal. It seems as though the shield took some creative liberties when absorbing the gadget. He threw five of them at the zombie, one on the head, two at the shoulders, and two at the legs. The explosion took care of it in one loud flash show as a bigger group began to come and he deduced why.
"Me crashing into that wall, and the explosion was what brought them... The villagers being pursued were very vocal. They seem to simply travel towards the largest noise, so they focus on villagers that scream and yell; they ignore me when I don't attack; an earlier noise brought that huge crowd of them to me." He switched to his [Voice Gengar Shield] unlocked by a 'gift' from Belouska and he used [Record] as it played back an recording of himself that Bruce used to scare criminals by projecting his voice elsewhere, which was even louder thanks to the sound amplifier of his currently equipped shield. As planned, the monsters gathered, and he prepared a trap, a sonic batarang, to bring them all together, where three charges of his concussive gel were placed. They fell like flies to a flytrap.
The area was cleared, and he could rest for a brief second, but he first needed to make sure everyone was safe as there were still a few people uncounted for, but he should be able to
Suddenly he felt an immense heat from above and a bright light before covering his head with his cape as he put the shield above himself while using shield defense up to lessen the incoming flame, along with an [Air Strike Shield].
Fire rained down around them, striking every remaining foe but also destroying multiple houses. After about 30 seconds of hellfire, it stopped abruptly as Batman took in what had happened to his surroundings. Looking at the destruction of the buildings and the devastation caused by this... He saw a human hand under one of the houses, one of a child, and as he approached the now-destroyed building, there was a charcoaled male and female on top... A couple and their child, the two seemed to have tried shielding their kid from the attack as their bodies had the most damage and the child was... He had a pulse.
Bruce lifted out the remaining debris to help the kid; it was bad as around 80% of his body was burned by a mixture of third and second degree burns. His lungs were collapsing from the shock, and due to the debris that had fallen, he was also likely to have a few broken bones. The kid tried to breathe and was spilling out blood. Bruce began administering healing magic to the kid of the highest grade he knew; it had a medium effect on the lesser burns as they healed some scars, but still he would need more to survive all the damage.
"Don't worry, I can help you. Just stay conscious; this should stabilize your heart an-" The kid wasn't focusing on him; it was looking at what remained of his parents as it reached out a hand and let a tear drip down his burned face... before it fell to the ground and the light faded from his eyes... He was dead, and Bruce wasn't sure if he gave up due to the physical pain of the burns or the emotional pain of seeing his own parents dead, but it was sure to be a mixture of both... of living as the sole survivor and likely having the ever-present marks of the incident in his body.
The shield itself was starting to react to these feelings Bruce felt, as the shield almost wanted him to fall into this guilt that could harness anger before subduing as Batman recomposed himself and regained his focus. He did all he could and couldn't undo what had transpired now; all he could do was avenge the sacrifice of the couple that gave their lives for this child and save their remains within the shield, not for absorption but to give the family a proper funeral. Bruce looked up at the source of this destruction; what he saw was maddening from how despicable of an act this was for these people.
It was the knights from the capital. They'd just arrived, and the first thing they did was destroy several houses and kill the parents of this innocent baby, with one of them seeming to be... Laughing as he approached, the leader of them in fact.
"Haha, they all burned simple enough. Oh, is that? Yes, the shield hero. Your durability lives up to that title; if nothing else, stand down for your arrest criminal." The captain ordered smugly to the dark knight, who was angry, and unlike normally, it showed. Before anyone knew what was happening, Bruce shot off and made a straight shot at the Knight captain, talking so convinced of himself, a person of below-average build with a small mustache and a fancy feather in his helmet. The arm spikes of Bruce's glove were intercepted by a direct subordinate of the captain, a man with a large scar across his face. The man crossing a sword with him was somewhat struggling to keep Bruce at bay, which seemed to surprise him as the captain himself looked a little scared.
"Did you know I was here? Did you do it deliberately? ... Answer me." His face was in fury, and Batman's words were said very calmly in contrast, which made for a threatening sight. The knights could tell he was mad at the bombing, but why exactly was he unsure as he survived it, so why does he care?
"Because of you, a child and his parents died in that carpet bomb. They didn't even have a chance to escape much less to live another day; there could even be more dead uncounted for." This revelation made some of the knights shocked momentarily, they thought everyone had already died when the wave hit, now they find that some were still hidden when the attack was on its way? They didn't know how to feel about this...
"And I'm supposed to care? They are unfortunately a loss of battle, but I would rather sacrifice a poor family of nobodies if it meant protecting my country of Monsters of the Waves, or rapist scum like you!" The captain was referencing his false charges along with a thinly veiled threat; he was doing his best to get Bruce angry. But it was the disregard for human life, the way he threw away the fact that a family died for his impulsive actions, that was really doing it, and the fact he was supposedly in command of protecting these people was also making him lose his cool.
"They died protecting their child from your fireball; even then he died, and you don't care," he walked back, the shield's gem glowing in color again as it wanted him to break loose and apply pure, unrestrained justice.
'Go at em chum, show them how to really keep the people safe' a slight echo in the back of his mind spoke. As a smile forms in the shield's gem that seemingly goes unnoticed, there was someone trying to take things a step further... someone from within.
"You may find their deaths tragic, but I see it for what it is; besides, this 'kid' was probably happy to see his old folks dead, better than being poor in life." An uppercut straight to the jaw is thrown by Batman into the Captain, knocking him out with a single punch. He had really done it; this piece of scum had pissed Bruce off, and all it took was a simple comment about how the kid was better off without his parents; the shield's gem briefly turned crimson red before it was completely washed away by the relief of focus; Batman couldn't let a conflict to break loose in this situation, and the threat required him to be levelheaded... It felt good throwing that punch; a part of him certainly thought so.
He looked at the group of knights remaining, most confused and the other pointing their weapons at him.
"Don't follow in your leader's footsteps, we can either fight each other while the Wave rages on or deal with this in a coordinated form, make sure that we have a solid ground to defend and rescue any possible survivors from your captain's bombing." Bruce took control of the situation and gave the knights a proposal, they could either fight amongst each other due to his status as a criminal or they could do what the knights were sent to do; protect the citizens of the country from the Wave
The right hand man of the captain looked at his boos before gazing at the shield hero, with a sigh he puts his sword away and the other knights are shocked by this as he took a step forward towards the shield hero
"For now, your arrest is suspended due to the looming threat of the Wave. Lead the way, my forces are yours to use for now." He made the logical choice and Bruce was glad that at least one of the high ranking knights could set his orders aside for the greater good, the other knights followed in line as they picked up the unconscious captain. Now with his own reinforcements, this Wave was as good as gone.
"Pretty easy for a boss". Ren commented as he and the others looked at the dead chimera laying on the group full of cuts to it's body, but Ren wasn't satisfied with how the battle turned out as it took too long
"I know, right? If the wave didn't stop I wouldn't believe it." Motoyasu said with a laugh, he knew they were strong enough to beat the wave but this was child's play compared to the boss fights in Emerald online, if Ren and Itsuki weren't getting in the way he could have finished way sooner
"It's probably that we're too strong, not that it's too weak". Itsuki smugly added, after all they did over prepare for the wave so at least they didn't have too much trouble fighting it.
The three were silent for a moment.
"So how do we decide the loot?" Ren eyed the other two. He needed the best part for himself, after all he had a dragon to fight in about a week so strength was all that matters, he needed to get that quest done as soon as possible
"What do you mean? One head of each seems appropriate, right?" Motoyasu saw with no problem, there were four heads and there were four legendary heroes. It was pretty basic math to him
"True, but who gets what?" Itsuki cut to the heart of the matter. It was a fact that one head would be stronger and another would be weaker, they had to pick wisely as this was probably a one time only deal so the head they choose would be with them permanently
"I want the dragons head, I focused the whole fight" Ren made his claim first. He wanted the dragon head because it was most likely the strongest and he would need that advantage
"Why do you get to have the first pick? I finished the fight. I'm MVP" Motoyasu said in that perfect combination of ignorance and matter-o-factly that was unique on his own, call it his style if you will, Ren rolled his eyes at this.
"What!? You're not MVP, I dealt the most damage!" Itsuki protested, Motoyasu was annoyed at this since Itsuki was just camping the whole fight, in his mind that wasn't really being an MVP.
They argued for quite some time about this while their party just watched in silence.
"Maybe I should take all the heads since you three can't decide," a new voice spoke as the heroes and their parties looked on top of the boss to see Batman standing above it, cape flowing with the wind despite none being present.
"Look who finally decided to show up! Right when we-" Motoyasu was interrupted by an Arrow thrown by Itsuki, followed by a few other projectiles from other members of his party and Motoyasu's, with only Ren's group not taking action due to being caught off guard, but the attacks don't hit as a large smoke screen covers the Batman as after the projectiles go through without hitting anything.
"He used the same smoke bomb trick again? Is that a skill or- Crap! He got one of the heads!" Itsuki shouted in frustration as once again the Batman was able to escape his justice, and now he even took part of the monster they fought so hard to beat
"Thankfully it was just the snakehead; it was the worst one, so he still doesn't have that much advantage," Ren said. If that shield bat had managed to grab all of the heads, he would have been pissed off really badly, as he needed the dragonhead's bonus against dragons for a quest in the guild he was going to do, away from them. Raphtalia is walking back to the village with the snakehead for Bruce, but she also had to make sure to clean up any monster the heroes missed on the way back.
With Batman leading the way, the knights did great work as they swept through the main street of the village first, focusing on controlling the crowd of monsters coming and to find any possible survivors, Bruce searched for survivors and began handing out medicine if it was needed, thankfully they weren't all ashes by the Captain's attack but most would now have to live without one or two limbs as those that got caught by the fire had been vaporized, the heat did stop any further bleeding however which was good.
The knights were sent off to finish the foes that remained. They had been told to prioritize the giant zombies, then the normal ones, then the bees, and lastly the locusts. Batman ran into a few fights of course, but nothing he couldn't handle on his own.
After they swept through the village, they treated the villagers and made sure that they were safe, they would focus on controlling the space where the boss was. But a piercing sound of closing and the skies return to normal indicated that the other heroes had done their job, ended the Wave even if Bruce felt like he could have stopped it much sooner and possibly save more people... That was hindsight talking, for the first wave he fought it was more than admirable what he did.
"You better get going, or I'll have to arrest you." The Captain's right hand man said as he gave Bruce a look of respect, it was best for the shield to leave as his captain was no longer in life-or-death danger, and so when he was to wake up his priority would be to reach the other heroes or to arrest the shield hero.
He gave the man a nod as the dark knight began moving towards the south of the village, hoping to check on the mine to check on the survivors and as he got there, he could see the mine was being emptied as the villagers were celebrating the Wave's end. He watched from a top the hill not far from the mine, taking a deep breath as he relaxed for a moment. His arms were a bit hurt and his chest had sustained quite a bit of damage, he was ready to retire this uniform and put on the armor he had been helping make.
"Um, excuse me, shield hero?" It was the woman that Bruce saved along with her two children from the interdimensional bees; they seemed in relief as they approached, which would be expected as the wave had ended. She bowed deeply before him.
"Thank you so very much! We live by your mercy." She said it with sincerity as her two children did a bow as well, while everyone hates him now for what rumors of his vigilant work and the fake trial, doing his part as a hero would actually change how they perceived him.
"Don't worry about it. I just-" Batman noticed more people were gathering. The first man he saved, the holdouts he rescued, some healed individuals he helped, the village lord who he gave the flare to, and even those saved by Raphtalia's or the knights actions. They all had the same thankful look on their faces. They all bowed deeply before him, thanking him for saving their lives and coming to their aid.
Bruce stayed quiet as he didn't know how to respond... As there were those he couldn't save from the Wave, they are the ones that deserved something better, as he didn't care for his reputation, but he cares about those who needed help the same way he did back then... He turned away from them.
"You don't have to thank me. You need to rebuild your home and grow stronger from this... I'll do everything I can to compensate for those lost today; I promise that... you will have support." He walked away not wanting to face them as he had much more to worry about, but he would do what he could as both Bruce Wayne and Batman to help them in the coming days. The people watching him leave have different thoughts on the shield, but they could tell that he was... kind, something they could be more of in their lives after what had transpired here.
"You also don't have to beat yourself so much, you saved as many as you could" Raphtalia spoke as she came by his side; having seen that moment and being touched by it, she just wished Bruce could see that he did all he could and that it was okay for not being able to save everyone. Even the demi human girl knew it was almost certain that a few would have died, but Batman made so that number was much lesser than it could have been.
"I got this for you, I would have brought the other heads but they just started shooting me before I could cut them." She handed him the Quimera snake head for the shield to absorb, the other heads would have been very useful for sure but even Raphtalia didn't expect the heroes to attack her the moment they saw her Batman illusion, she expected them to talk over themselves for a solid five minutes about how they did it all by themselves
[Chimera Viper Shield LV 1 unlocked]
[equip bonus 3 defense, 3 magic tolerance, 10 poison resistance]
[Ability Antidote Compounding Up: Increase the effectiveness of anti-poison medicines you make by 25%.]
[Ability Change Shield: Switches shields instantly. Can be used on your shield or on another skill itself.]
[Unique Ability Hook: Grab onto something within 8 meters]
[Unique Ability Snake Venom Fang: After an enemy attacks this shield, poison them with snake bites. The power and effect of the venom is based on your poison resistance and some other resistances.]
[Chimera Meat Shield]
[equip bonus 3 poison resistance, 2 rot resistance]
[Ability: Cooking ll: Moderately increases the taste and nutritional benefit of food you cook.]
This was a good shield, it would make his medicine better and more poison resistance was always welcome. Bruce looked at the castle far away from where they stood
"The king is going to throw a party to commemorate the victory against the Wave" it would be obvious that Aultcray would make a big party for the heroes, it was to boost their egos and make them more willing to help the kingdom if their glory was praised, the three must already be in route for the castle as they speak
"So? Do you plan on going, because they would kill you on sight if not arrest you. Besides a party full of the kingdom's highest elite nobels is not really your style" It didn't sound like a good idea for the number one criminal of the country to go into a party that was sure to have high security, besides it wasn't like the king would pay him for the help during the wave anyway so what motive would the dark knight have to attend
"But it is very much that of Bruce Wayne" Batman responds as he begins walking towards the castle, Raphtalia following behind as she was curious about what he was planning to do next, and if she would play a part in it.
"We are an hour of our destination, great holiness." A Knight told the pope as they rode amidst a dirty road within a dark wood forest, the whole place had a ominous ambient to itself
"Good, let's hope we won't regret doing business with this man." Balmus spoke as he focused on a book he was writing, it seemed to detail something about the holy replica and the shield hero, but it wasn't yet finished so that a full picture of it's content could be revealed
"If you forgive my curiosity, what exactly do we search with this individual?" The knight driving their carriage asked as he was mighty interested to know, just who was the man they were to meet as from what he had been told, not even the Queen knew of his existence within her own country.
"He has... Odd talents, but has proven to be a valuable collaborator for our church. I want to ask him for something to deal with the shield demon" this individual had a relationship with the church, they supply him with a few resources and obscure his existence from unwanted eyes, and in turn he helps the church gain more influence than they normally do, in fact he was the one that helped secure the holy replica for the church of the Three heroes.
"A weapon forger?" If they wanted to kill the shield demon, they would likely need a powerful weapon, maybe he would make modifications for the holy replica so she could be better used?
"No, I would say he is better at... Breaking things apart and putting them back together with his own... Twisted methods" Balmus said in a unsettling tone, as if his actions were something even the Pope considered too much but is forced to tolerate, the night was raining heavy and yet even the thunderstorm felt light when compared to the mansion they were making their way...
[Author's notes]
Leave a review to support the fanfic; feedback is always welcome as long as it's about the contents of the chapter or fanfic as a whole. I can't express enough how your reviews help not only this fanfic, but all of my other works, so please leave a review with as much detail as possible to help.
I am kind of finding my footing when it comes to this version of Raphtalia, Aiming for some World's Finest Dick Grayson with her as I absolutely love the run we are getting, I recommend you check it out.
So... Zur-En-Arr anyone? I am not going to make him a very reoccurring thing, but I feel it could help in the formation of inner conflict, as the backup personality is trying to take hold by leeching off the shield's cursed series by making them develop. Bruce has enough control over his emotions to stop this from being the case now, but it is only a matter of time before Zur En Arr finds another way to mess with Bruce's mind... But this will wait until later; we still have other events to go through, and I have added him as a test to see what you guys think. I personally don't mind writing a bit about him, but I won't try forcing it. But if I add Zur En Arr, then I don't have to worry about writing a Joker equivalent; we can't have both here as it would be much more of a writing hassle for myself. Wait until the next chapter; there is a bunch of Easter eggs sprinkled throughout.
Alright, regarding the filolian vote, we got the winner as option E, which is the silent and overall more envious one. She has a unique transformation unlike an angel form, which could range from a permanent mutation to its very body or an alternative form it can take. I came up with a few options that once again will be up for you to vote which one would be best suited for this story. I want to make this story more unique, so that's why I am coming up with this stuff, and I gave each form unique 'flaws' along with their concept; personality may be slightly altered depending on the choice:
Option 1) Berserk: a Hulk-like transformation is obtained by the filolian who becomes more anthropomorphic while in this form, extremely strong but comes at a cost for his base/resting form being malnourished and weak so it can do very little manual work. This Berserk state cannot be held for long periods of time and makes the filolian be almost uncontrollable. (Hulk is easily in my top five superheroes of all time, I like his power set and he has fought Batman before in the comics so there is a connection there if you look, but the main problem is that a raging monster with an envious personality might be too much of a liability for the team.)
Option 2) Polycephaly- possessing Two heads individually from each other and a second set of wings, this Filolian is uncanny to most but can multitask, even being able to cast more spells. It can process information much better than most individuals; two heads are better than one in combat, but outside of it, it may lead to problems as both think differently from each other and therefore not always agree with what is the best plan or decision to make. It cannot turn into an angel form due to this genetic mutation. (One head could be more extroverted while the other is an introvert, but both would have their envious nature towards people that aren't stuck together in the same body. I mostly like the idea because it allows me to write two characters for the price of one and is visually interesting)
Option 3) Swarm: a Filolian that has been grown in an environment surrounded by parasitic bugs that latch on the filolian chick's development stage; it has a more insectoid look along with a mental connection to bugs and can command them; it has extra durability from its exoskeleton and paralyzes poison in its claws; however, it has dietary limitations related to only consuming nectar or plants. It creates its own swarm within its own body, acting like a living colony, and as such, the authority of its master can become second to the colony's needs. (weird idea but we need those for the sake of variety, besides it allows for something quite unique compared to other fanfics I seen for shield hero.)
Option 4) Fly high: a Harpy-like transformation is obtained as the filolian becomes more humanoid in it's physical build without losing its bird features, a vulture build that is sleek and fast, able to gracefully move through the air at high speeds; however, it's very fragile since its bones are hollow and have a low muscle density, so it is a glass cannon that unfortunately cannot move a carriage due to its physical weakness. Has a cannibalistic diet as it eats other filolians as a main source of protein and finds dragons oddly fascinating creatures in a not-mocking way. (I can see this one being the most voted simply for being more humanoid and being able to fly, but to me it's the least interesting from a visual standard because we already have demi human birds so this form wouldn't feel all that unique, plus you're trading the bat wagon for a flying teammate so how the team will move around the country would have to be reworked... I would have to introduce another monster companion just so the team can travel around, whether or not it would be intelligent is up to debate.)
Option 5) Xenomorph—a Filolian that somehow developed characteristics from the perfect organism—a once nasty bite turned into a death sentence for prey. Capable of traveling across all terrain with ease, thicker skin than normal allows it to tank more hits but displays predatory behaviour towards any living life forms, usually using stealth tactics to ambush its prey. Loyal mostly due to physical reminders of who is in charge as it has only a semi sapient mind but uses smell to determine certain individuals. (added this option mostly because I recently watched the new Alien Romulus movie and it reminded me of how cool the Xenomorph looks, if it does win I'll change it to be more shark like rather than Xenomorph in appearance.)
6) Under crawler- Filolian with mole like characteristics like that is incredible at excavating and using earth magic, having a strong body capable of moving through dirty but is very sensitive to light and has hydrophobia. It sees raphtalia as a older sibling to look up to (to finish things off, I was going to add a 7 option named Boom box but I decided it wasn't that unique. there were 21 ideas for Filolian mutations in total but I settled for the 6 best ones)
I think these would be interesting to see in the shield hero setting. Instead of doing Filo every single time, spice things up a bit with how the filolian is born or if the hero that is raising it can affect its growth. I want everyone reading to review the chapter and tell me which one would be your personal best option to add into the fanfic. I want you to interact as much as possible and help the creative process of the story whenever I find it necessary, so leave your thoughts on everything within this chapter. This fanfic is quite beloved, and I want to make sure I can bring it to the best it can be.
now to respond to some reviews:
Blockyblob: She is going to be the Robin of the fanfic, but I don't intend on her turning into Nightwing and I gave her a sword to keep her fighting style mostly the same as in the original series... Just now realized that Beware the Batman had Katana as Batman's sidekick, I guess you can count that as my inspiration?
Guest: my English is mostly self taught, I am very good at it when compared to other people I know who don't even comprehend how to form a long sentence in the language, mostly learned it by brute forcing my way through PS2 games and picking up what certain words meant when a copy had the subtitles in my language but the audio was still the same, so watching English dubs of something like Dragon Ball on YouTube with subtitles also helped a ton. But I still don't have the grammar fully understood, when you grow up speaking mostly one language it becomes a tad bit difficult to change the way you phrase your words to fit another dialect. I have been using Duolingo for almost a year to help learn more, I tried using Grammarly when I first started writing but the app seemed too limiting, certain words like Aultcray would be replaced by things that made the story more confusing so I stopped using the app altogether.
VincentFS: sorry if not all of us can speak/write another language perfectly, this site is dominated primarily by fanfics written in English and I know very well that this fanfic wouldn't even been given a chance by most readers if I wrote it in my home language. That came off as aggressive but I literally wrote in my profile that my English is not that great, and grammar checkers will some times cut out words that need to be there for the text to make sense
zanzara: Balmus knows a guy who can supply the Pope with... Well that will be revealed later, but to do this I had to change the shield hero world for this to be possible (not like we even knew that much about the world to begin with, we only learn something important as it is happening to our characters or if it affects them in some way, forget making the world more alive and independent of our characters. But that's the cost of a story written in the perspective of someone)
JavaBird: I don't mind someone doing a read through of my fanfics on YouTube, I just wish he would credit me in the description or at least put a link to it.
Bananary bob: I am not going into that direction, I don't even know how that would even happen or if Ren would agree to this.
It will be a while before chapter 6 is done as I have other projects to work on, but I also want to give as much time as possible to gather votes