Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading the chapter, and providing feed backs.

As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.

Cross posted on AO3, for anyone who prefer that site.

Yatsuhashi doesn't have a good feeling about the young priest standing before him, offering 'help'. He tries to be open minded, and not too judgemental on other people but this simple act isn't always easy. Especially so when he meets someone that reminded him of the man who massacred almost his entire clan. His father did say that it wasn't entirely that man's fault. Since the sword his clan sealed away was a fragment made of their ancestor's wrath sword, and it can take away someone's mind. But it still didn't change the fact that man who now calls himself Zellus chose to take the sword from the vault it was sealed in out of his own. People like him, at the end of the day, are self-centered, if not selfish. They were willing to sacrifice everyone and everything for their own goal, and that's not the life he wants to live.

The young man standing in front of him reminds him of Zellus. He is carrying the same flippant smirk as his clan's killer. Someone who doesn't seem to care about anything in the world, other than themselves. Even though one is a ronin (a rogue fighter) who pretends to be a knight, and this one calls himself a priest but gives off the vibe of something far sinister. And perhaps that's the reason why he reminds Yatsuhashi so much of Zellus. Both of them are pretending to be something more virtuous than they really are.

Lady Flare seems to be startled by the young man too, as she makes a squeaky noise, and runs behind him. Rial snaps her beaks, flaps her wings and stomps her clawed talons on the ground. Her sister Lori doesn't act as aggressive, but she does also take a few steps forward to stand on Yatsuhashi's opposite side from Rial. It seems like he wasn't alone in feeling something malicious from this self-proclaimed healer. He was worried that perhaps he let his negative feelings towards Zellus get the better of him. Regardless, it seems like they have come to the same conclusion, so Yatsuhashi takes a step at the raccoon healer. "I appreciate your offer to help, but it doesn't seem like my companions or I have any need. I think you should go help others who fall behind."

The demi-human healer doesn't respond to Yatsuhashi. In fact, it's more fitting to say he doesn't seem to even notice Yatsuhashi standing right in front and talking to him. The self-proclaimed healer cocks his head to the side, seemingly trying to get a better angle to look at Lady Flare. Yatsuhashi can feel Lady Flare shuffling behind him, probably trying to hide away from the raccoon healer's gaze. "I can see you are not feeling well, Lady Flare. There's no need to be afraid. I am a very experienced healer. I will make everything feel good for you again."

"Your help is not appreciated by Lady Flare, young healer. I suggest you leave." Yatsuhashi takes another step towards the self-proclaimed healer in front of him. This time, he makes sure his foot touches the ground with stronger force. This seems to finally get the raccoon demi-human's attention. The corner of his mouth split apart larger, giving Yatsuhashi a look between a smirk and a scoff. The gesture makes Yatsuhashi reach back for the hilt of his sword on reflex, and this act saved his life when what seems to be a mirror suddenly appear behind the raccoon man's back, with dozens of riders on top of giant wolves charging at them like the Siltvelt raiders who pledged them to Thane Naofumi. In the brief second when Yatsuhashi wonders if the creepy healer has something to do with what he's seeing, the wolf raiders have already charged out of the mirror, trampled over his body and swung their weapons at him. He immediately brandishes his own weapon forward, blocking the enemy's swing while screaming out a warning for the enslaved pirates on their carts. "ASSAULT! Defend yourselves!"

Chapter 42: Underhanded

Melromarc Castle, the capital and pride of glorious Melromarc is currently in complete chaos. The sudden awakening of the Spirit Tortoise wasn't only witnessed by those north of Whiterun County. Everyone in the capital also noticed a mountain moving in the distance. But compared to the panicking of unenlightened, uninformed commoners, the royal family of Melromarc has more reason to be afraid. Lord Baldesion brought news that the Guardian Beast was controlled by the false hero invading from another world not too soon after the heroes and their retinue have departed. A catastrophe that's even worse than the Wave itself if the rumor was true. Which is why the last remaining forces loyal to the queen were quickly rallied afterwards.

But in the middle of their rally, Captain Lotheringain of the royal guards suddenly dropped on the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. This already raised some major concern, but disasters like to follow one another. Some kind of mirror-like portal suddenly opened in the busy street of Melromarc Castle, with hordes of giant wolf riding fighters pouring out, killing anyone they find before anyone even realizes what's going on.

The guards of the capital try to stop them once they are shaken out of their stupor by their screaming captains. They walk up to these wolf riders in tight formations, shields overlapping and spears point outward to turn themselves into tightly packed porcupines. But don't fare much better compared to civilians against these sudden attackers, as their weapons are snapped, shields smashed to pieces and their own bodies fall like waves of wheat against the invader's blades, claws and teeth.

"Count Winchester! Take them on with your demigryph knights!" Aultcray narrows his eyes as he looks down at the chaos that's overtaken his city. These new invaders remind him of the Siltvelt raiders, who also ride large wolves and are expert at sowing mayhem among the population and pillage cities and towns. The wolves lack the strength and impact of a knight's raptor so they aren't chargers on an open battlefield like how one expects mounted troops to function. But their maw and clawed paws are additional weapons at close combat, making each of them a small moving fortress literally armed to the teeth. Normally, this would make them weak against archery barrages. But he can't give the command to shoot them down when these wolf riders are chasing down and mixed in groups of his own people. That means, only Count Winchester's men are a match against them.

But he's not content enough with their situation by only giving an order to Lord Winchester. The unknowing enemy clearly doesn't play fair, or by the rules after all. He could cast some enhancement magic on the demigryph knights, but a mass enhancement spell at this size would take most of his concentration away from the ongoing battle. And he wants to observe every detail of his enemy for later analysis. So instead, he turns to look at a certain raccoon girl standing beside him. "You know what to do to support Count Winchester, Yomi."

"No need to tell me and the boys twice! Run them down, boys!" Valentine rises his steel war hammer high above his own head, and his steed screeches with him. The demigryph knights of House Winchester weren't affected by the previous disarray of the royal knights, as they poured out of the inner gate surrounding the Palace onto the street below, charging ahead towards the incoming wolf riders. Yomi by comparison is much quieter. She nods her head, and quickly disappears into the shadow.

Among the wolf riders, there is a young looking boy barely old enough to be considered a teen. He sees the incoming demigryph knights, and actually lets out a smirk. The boy makes a whistle with his mouth, and the wolf riders let out a roar together. It doesn't seem to have any immediate effect, other than whipping the civilians running for their lives into a great fear induced frenzy, that they run straight at Count Winchester and his demigryph knights without looking. The count lets out a string of curses, but is forced to order his knights to part ways and let the civilians run through them, giving the wolf knights time to charge them while they are out of position. So, they are facing an enemy who has no sense of honor, and would use the most extreme underhanded tactics to press any advantage. That's something Aultcray expected when their enemy arrived in the middle of the city, and started killing non-combatants. Good thing he isn't a pure army commander as well.

A single figure wrapped in thick cloak walks out of a sideway alley and into the now mostly empty street between Count Winchester's demigryph knights, and the invading wolf riders. He is easily two men wide and would stand over a crowd, and he's pulling a giant cleaver made of some kind of bone behind him. As the wolf riders get closer, he lets out an angry roar, and swings his bone cleaver at them. With a loud boom that sounds more like two powerful attack spells clashing than bodies colliding, half a dozen wolves, and their armored riders fly into the air in multiple pieces. And the man didn't stop right there, as his cloak unraveled around his body, he began to swing at the wolf riders with the most basic slashes even a child playing pretend would be able to do. Yet, every attack of his sends more of his shattered foes flying and then splatter all over Melromarc Castle's now emptied street.

While Devilman Jun acts as the anvil, dozens upon dozens of fighters have climbed up the buildings over the wolf rider's head. There are the queen's shadows, but more numerous are his free fighters who he forcefully recruited from bandits, thieves, and other undesirables who use their service to the crown to serve out their sentences. The moment the wolf riders decide to use civilians to charge Count Winchester's position, their own group is no longer mixed with the innocent civilians who Aultcray doesn't want to hurt. And this gives Yomi the chance to set up a trap against them. Without warning, arrows, explosives, throwing knives, nets... even poisoned sands fall upon the invading wolf riders, making them scream and fall over the street. And even besides the damage Yomi's group dealt them, they brought enough time for Count Winchester's demigryph knights to pass over the escaping civilians, and regroup into a charging formation. They pass over where Jun is standing, and tear into the wolf riders in disarray. Both groups are riders who give up speed for melee combat prowess. Count Winchester's demigryph knights are more heavily armored with metal plates, and long warhammer compared to his enemy's leather armor and blades that's clearly more efficient at running down lightly armored enemies (or unprotected civilians), so they already have an advantage. Now that his enemies are in chaos after Yomi's surprise attack on them, the result begs no guesses. The invaders fall by the group, just like when they were tearing into Melromarc Castle's guards moments earlier.

The young looking boy riding on the wolf didn't charge at the front, and he somehow got lucky enough not to catch an arrow, a throwing knife, or get caught in an explosion or by the bladed nets. Although the dark shade he acquired on his face suggests he is affected by the poisoned sands spread out by Yomi and the queen's shadows. He makes a ring with his fingers to his mouth, and blows a loud whistle. The wolf riders who are still alive and mobile quickly surround him, and they turn around and run away from Count Winchester's demigryph knights. Leaving behind their wounded companions on the ground, or those who are fighting for their lives to cover behind their retreat. A cold-hearted commander who doesn't mind leaving behind his own subordinates to die to cover for his own retreat? Heartless, but a decisive man especially considering his age. If he is allowed to grow and mature, he would make as many of his enemies as his allies short. But if he thinks he can escape this easily, he has truly underestimated Valentine Winchester.

The young wolf commander barely made it to another intersection when two streams of demigryph riders suddenly poured out of the narrow alleys, cutting off his escape route while hitting his remaining men head on. Out of the knight captains who lead these interceptors, one wields a claymore, and the other a battle axe. Sir Hawk Bronzewing and Sir Cosmo Lark, the Winchester's most trusted lieutenants. The young boy is thrown off the wolf he was riding on when Sir Bronzewing runs his position over, and his back collides hard into a building on the side. He immediately rolls as he lands on the ground to avoid the fatal claw swipe from Sir Bronzewing's steed, reaches something into his cloth, smashes it on the ground and a mirror appears right underneath his body. Letting him pass right through before it turns into solid ground again. Leaving behind all of his former subordinates to be slaughtered like cattle by the free fighters, the queen's shadows, and the demigryph knights.

Aultcray narrows his eyes at the display. Some kind of dimensional displacement ability, similar to a hero's teleportation skill? Even the teleport ability of the heroes lack a way to pull someone away from their current location when they are nowhere near. It seems like they are dealing with a false hero who is good at manipulating space itself. What a fearsome and troublesome foe indeed. He turns around, and has to immediately catch himself. His long time friend, and second in command Aldrecht is no longer with him. And Captain Lotheringain had lost consciousness too long ago. She he looks over to the vice captain of the royal guards, Zellus instead. "Immediately send out messages with our carrier raven to all the major lords, and have them send messages out to their own bannermen. Our enemy has the ability to open portals and bring larger armies through than even the heroes' normal teleportation abilities. Have them hold their forces in their keeps and cities, prepare for raids. Unless we find a way to counter this strategy, we'll have to make do with what army we already consolidated in the north to fight the Spirit Tortoise."

"Aye, Your Not So Royal Highness. I'll do it right away." The rogue swordsman gives a mock salute with his hand. He steps off the wall like he's leisurely taking a stroll out on the patio as his body disappears from Aultcray's view.

Raphtalia tries to make herself look smaller without using her shapeshifting and brings more attention onto herself. She feels uncomfortable riding alongside the Whip Hero's group for two reasons. One, Prince Tact reminds her more than a bit of Fuckboy, especially with his army made entirely of good looking female companions who use every chance to shower him praises. While technically that's not what Fuckboy did before he was turned into a slave, the arrogance where he seems to expect good looking women to only sing nice words to him hit too close to the short time she was in Fuckboy's dubious care with Firo. Thankfully, he's too busy fussing over his younger sister right now to notice Raphtalia's presence.

Sadly, it doesn't solve the second problem she is facing. Right now, every single female companion of the Whip Hero is either openly glaring at her, or shooting her dirty looks when they think Prince Tact isn't looking at them (which is most of the time, since he's trying to sooth his sister). And the scornful reception reminds her a lot of how Sister Amelia treated Firo and herself. She takes a glimpse at the long, serpent-like dragon flying in front of them all. It would have been better if she was riding with Itsuki. But she knew it was not practical for her to change ride while they are in the middle of flight.

"Shield Hero's little companion." Prince Tact suddenly opens his mouth, making all of his female followers avert their gaze on Raphtalia to look at him, and Raphtalia herself lets out a shudder. She looks up at the Whip Hero, and realizes he is still facing his own sister. But he is looking at her from the corner of his eyes. "You saved the life of my sister, and my own as well. I knew fuckers like that false hero well. His little bitch tried to play it off like him taking Aisha hostage for my own good. But I know he's only trying to use me, and then likely take me out. I don't like owing someone a favor, especially not a life's debt. So I'm going to reward you. What is your wish? Tell me, and I'll make it happen."

"Oh, it's nothing. Sir- Your Highness. I can't let a young child be used as a hostage by someone who is invading our world. I just did what everyone would do in my situation." Raphtalia didn't even realize she had adopted a very formal, kneeling position like she's taught by the Kagura family when she was young. The kind of sitting posture one would use in a formal meeting. The other women around her don't dare to stare while their master is looking, but she can feel their heated attention focusing on her even without their eyes trained on her.

"'Everyone would do in my situation', she says. As if anyone else who tries to rescue Aisha in the middle of the fortress of an underhanded scum like that fucker wouldn't just get themselves killed." Raphtalia tries to say something else, but the Whip Hero waves her off. "Fine, fine! I know you are taught to be humble, and not ask for reward from your parents. You are a good kid they should be proud of. I'll just have to pay off my debt to the Shield Hero. You don't have a problem with that, do you? And don't get me wrong. I really don't like owing favors to someone, especially if they think they can hold it over my head. You really won't be happy if you want me to get even with you in the other way."

Raphtalia immediately closes her mouth shut. She can hear an unnamed threat from Prince Tact, and he's right. She doesn't have a problem if he's going to help Naofumi and Malty in some way. She simply hopes when he is talking about repaying them, and isn't being sarcastic with thoughts to hurt them. And she suddenly wonders if she unknowingly made herself a hostage of the Whip Hero, who he can use against Naofumi and Malty. Something neither herself, nor they can do anything about it. She tries to ignore her own anxiety by looking around. It's hard to see where they are hovering when she's sitting nearly at the center of a great dragon's back. But she does see the tip of the mountain range that separates Melromarc from the rest of the world far behind them. Which means they should be very close to their destination of Balafon village, if they haven't arrived already.

Not too far in front of her, the great serpent dragon and wyvern are already descending, which tells Raphtalia that she was correct in her estimation. The black scaled dragon she's riding on slowly falls after her guide, and Raphtalia can feel her heart jumping to her throat as Whip Hero and his retinue all stand up to begin walking off the back of his dragon. She has no choice but to follow them, but she looks to the ground around her first.

They have picked a wide area not too far from the main road to land. It was probably a farm field, but is currently left empty to let the ground recover after a major harvest. At the moment, the road is filled with people with exhausted looks on them as they travel south. Some of them have carts, either pushed by people or pulled by a beast of burden that are filled with crates and bags. And all of them are also carrying bags on their back. People of the north, who are escaping south from the looming threat of the Spirit Tortoise.

On the other side of the road, Raphtalia could see a red glow. It reminds her of the fire spell used by Malty... until a red line of fire shoots into the sky like a cloud piercing arrow. At that moment, Raphtalia knew that Malty wasn't hurt by the Spirit Tortoise or its master, she's on the other side of the road, separated from her by this endless stream of refugees. Without saying any words, Raphtalia instantly changes herself into her animal form, runs towards the slowly moving wall of bodies and dodges through them with a few jumps and flips. As she lands on the other side of the empty field, her body instantly freezes at the sight in front of her. She was right, Malty is sitting on the other side, but she's not using her fire magic.

The red glow was caused by the fire using the female pirate who Naofumi forced into her retinue. She is currently fighting against the Spear Hero Motoyasu, fire streams shooting out each of her ten fingers like bolts, blade of flame cut across the ground any time she kicks her feet. Motoyasu on the other hand swings his spear around himself, causing a storm of silver flash around his body to keep himself safe.

Raphtalia looks at Malty again, and realizes that she was wrong in a way. She has her legs crossed on the ground, and both of her hands opened up on top of her legs. Small ember of fire appears and disappears on top of her palm, or over the tip of her fingers. They dance and shake, almost as if they are trying to imitate the shapes used by the fire pirate used against Motoyasu. Naofumi is standing a short distance from Malty, also looking at the battle between his fellow hero and his slave- his retinue member. But his hand is also busy swinging around a rope that's tied to a piece of rock. Raphtalia instantly changes back into her child form again, as she runs towards her surrogate parents. "Naofumi! Malty! I'm so happy to see you both! I was worried about you!"

"Raphtalia! You are safe!" Malty and Naofumi both look at her. Malty waves the ember off her own hands, stands up from the ground and nearly falls over at first. Naofumi quickly grabs her shoulder to make sure she doesn't hurt herself, and the two of them run towards Raphtalia until the three of them pull each other into tight embrace. "We heard from Keel, that you left behind an illusion and disappeared just as Gaelion left to fight the Spirit Tortoise! We were worried that you got hurt by that Mirror Devil! Keel and Raki are both worried sick about you!"

"I'm okay! I... I saw what they did to Ren and Gaelion. And they kidnapped Whip Hero's little sister, forcing him to work for them!" Raphtalia's body shakes as she remembers the sight when Gaelion's body was torn apart. Out of everyone in the heroes group, she wasn't very close to Gaelion. Because she gets easily intimidated by his dragon's presence. And to see him destroyed so easily makes her fear for everyone around her. It's easy for her to ignore this fear when she was focused on staying alive and rescuing the Whip Hero's sister. But now she's free... all those worrying concerns bounces back with much greater force than before.

"Naofumi! It's good to see at least you and Motoyasu are okay!" The Bow Hero's relieved cry makes the three of them separate from each other. Raphtalia turns to look, and sees the line of people that continues moving south like an endless river is now parted by Whip Hero's retinue members, letting Itsuki and Prince Tact move through. The Bow Hero has a look on his face that makes Raphtalia feel like he's going run up and pulls Naofumi into an embrace like she did. And she realizes that he must feel even greater stress than she did before when he wonders if his other friends were also killed like Ren was.

"Itsuki! Don't lose hope yet! We got help from the Avatar of Alaya. She told us Ren is still alive!" Naofumi takes a few quick steps up to his friend and grabs his hand, like he's trying to pass some of his strength over. "Apparently he's been transported to another world. Not killed! We don't know how, or if we can get him back yet. But he's alive! And there's hope we'll see him again!"

"There wouldn't be much hope if all of you got killed. You! Shield user!" Whip Hero stomps his way over and pokes his finger at Naofumi, making him stumble back with a simple push. "What do you think you were doing smashing rocks together? Are you a child? Or are you a caveman?"

"I was training how to use a chained flail. I have a form with my shield that can-" Naofumi tries to explain how his super shield he unlocked when fighting the pope of Three Heroes' Church could be used. But once again, the assertive prince of Faubley didn't let him finish.

"Wasting time was what you were doing! You call that training?! Here, let me show you how it's done. [Whip Change, [Vampire Slayer]!" The Whip Hero waves his arm, letting the Star Whip which he wrapped around his arm shake free. With a purple flash, it changes into a long metal chain with a spiked metal ball attached to the end. He smirks into Naofumi's dumbfounded looking face and snorts. "What? You think only your weapon could take unorthodox forms? Whip and any weapon form that has a chain as its main body, I can use them all! That smug little shit who was controlling the Spirit Tortoise. He dares to kidnap and torture my little sister to blackmail me into helping him. For that little stunt, I'll kill all of his subordinates before I finish him nice and slow. And everyone of you will help me do that. I'm not going to have you fight less than your absolute best!"

"You are right. The Mirror Devil needs to be stopped. Apparently our world is the second one he invaded, and we know someone from the first world he went into." Naofumi's reply makes the Whip Hero narrow his eyes. He looks over at Motoyasu and the fire attack using a woman fighting him. "Let's take a break from training, Motoyasu. I think we better go meet the royalty of this country and let them know what's happening. If Itsuki thought we were all dead, who knows what rumor other people have. And we need to let everyone know Ren isn't really dead. Or else I'm afraid these nobles, especially that queen, will do something dumb."

The woman fighting Motoyasu waves her fire away and steps back, letting the Spear Hero to hold onto his weapon like it's a very long cane to take a few deep breaths. Once he recovers, he puts his spear on his back, stomps his way over, and lets out a whine. "Auntie Haruka won't be happy, but I don't want to go meet that woman again."

"Okay, we know you aren't happy to go see the queen again. I'm not happy about it either. But right now we have an enemy who has an army from another world at his back. Not to mention he controls a literal kaiju that can bulldoze a city like it's made of Lego. We need to fight him with armies of our own." Naofumi reaches his hand over to ruffle Motoyasu's hair. He actually makes some grumbling sound like he's a grumpy pet filorial.

Fohl can hear the sound of fighting coming out from the forest in front of him. He had already seen multiple groups of heroes' retinue who couldn't keep up with the forced march of Duchess Seaetto, and got left behind. At first, he wonders if someone got unlucky enough to get hit by a group of monsters. Bone dog horde, or maybe even gutter beaks if they are particularly unlucky. But then he hears the clanking of metal against metal, and realizes it's a fight between two groups of people with armors and weapons. Fohl immediately looks at the group who forcefully inserted themselves. One of them being the famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) 'Beast Slayer'. His record of clearing up bandit groups is pretty well known, although they are only limited to famous demi-human bandits groups. Some bandits he unintentionally (or intentionally if they are made of human) left out, or an army who has somehow gone through the border defense? Regardless, the young white tiger's first instinct was to immediately turn to the side, and go around the forest if not to turn back and retreat. But Atla has already given a good kick to the side of the filorial she's riding and charged head first into the forest. "Someone is having a good fight, without me?! Finally! I'm bored out of my mind with riding, riding, and more riding! Here I come!"

"Don't get too excited, Atla! You don't know how many enemies there are! Wait for us all!" The Throwing Weapon Hero immediately gives chase after her. And it makes Fohl realize he should have done exactly what the Throwing Weapon Hero is doing instead of thinking all these pointless thoughts in his head. It's his little sister who is heading straight into unknown danger. He's about to do just that when his attention is one again, taken by something around him.

"What are you all looking at me for! I'm not some bumbling buffoon charging into danger without a thought!" The indignant scream comes from the sword wielding young man from Lord Baldesion's group. And just as he is saying, he is currently being stared at by the three female members. And the sight is most definitely, not admiration. After a brief moment. He finally relent and mumbles in a much quieter voice. "...not anymore..."

"Less talking, our companions need our help!" The other young man of their group, who has a more calm look on his face, pulls out his sword, and charges after Throwing Weapon and Atla. This finally reminds Fohl that he should be beside his little sister and protecting them. So without any more words, he throws caution into the wind and charges ahead like both young swordsmen, and everyone among their group. Not too long after, he sees a group of wolf riders surrounding, and spinning around a group in the middle. At first, Fohl mistaken them for the Shield Hero's Siltvelt raiders because of their mounts and weapons. But then he realizes the fighters riding on top aren't beastman, they aren't even demi-humans. At the moment, Atla had already leaped off her mount, and crashed into their group like a falling star. Knocking half a dozen riders off their great wolves, and completely disrupting their attack.

"Get away from ATLA! [DEATH SPIN]!" Like Atla, Throwing Weapon Hero also jumps out of his own ride. But instead of jumping straight into the sky and then falling down into the unknowing wolf riders, he leaps straight at them almost like a straight line. The tomahawk in his hand begins to split, turning from one into two, and then three, four... until there are nine throwing axes in his hand, which he tosses out one after another at the unknowing enemy. Each one of them spins around in an arc like a boomerang, cutting off limbs, heads, even knocking the unknown riders off their wolf steeds before they return to the Throwing Weapon Hero's hand. But this is only the first part of his weapon art. As his tomahawk returns to his hands, the force each of them carries passes back to his own body. Seemingly amplified rather than reduced as his body itself begins to turn into a giant spinning tomahawk even as he continues to crash into the wolf riders, splitting both the bodies of the rider and their great wolves apart. Fohl doubts the Throwing Weapon Hero could learn and use this high level axe weapon art on his own after one month of practicing granny's body fortification technique, but he could still use it thanks to his hero weapon.

The unknown wolf riders were clearly caught off guard by both Atla, and Throwing Weapon Hero's sudden attack. Aside from the casualty they already suffered, their previously well organized attack on their target was also disrupted. A large field of space was cleared out by Fohl's sister and his master, as he manages to catch a quick look at the people they were attacking. The first thing that caught Fohl's attention was two large carts which could easily fill a few dozen people each, making him wonder if this is a group of raiders (probably not from Siltvelt, since they look human) trying to rob a decent sized trader. The escorts who are fighting around the cart seem to confirm his first suspicion at first, although Fohl does find it strange how they all seem to fight with sabers, not the most popular weapon among sellswords who act as hired guards for merchants, at least not in Zeltoble. But then Fohl recognized a very tall, well-built, and tan-skinned young man in green colored armor wielding an equally large, red cleaver with a slight curve in its blade. He realizes this was the personal bodyguard of the Shield Hero. "That's Shield Hero's group! Master Sato!"

"Yes! I noticed! These scums dare to hurt Naofumi-sama's subordinates?! They deserve DEATH!" At the moment, the Throwing Weapon Hero has already finished using his most powerful weapon arts, but he is still fighting the wolf riders side by side with Atla. Fohl can't see his face, yet he feels a sense of coldness from his words and the tone of his voice alone. He is being deathly serious with his words.

Fohl also leaps out of his own bird, and charges at the unknown enemy on foot. One of the wolf riders smirk at him, and swings his great blade down from atop of his great wolf steed. The monster under him also snaps at Fohl with its dagger-like teeth, and sharp claws. But Fohl has no sense of fear in his heart. His enemy might look ferocious, but he had been sparring with granny since the Throwing Weapon Hero revived her with another vial of Yggdrasil potion. Compared to the old martial master, his current enemies feel like they are made of papers. With a single flip of his body, he rolls through the blade, teeth and claws under the great wolf's stomach. And as a former Zeltoble gladiator, he knew the underside of any beast is their most vulnerable spot. His legs close together, and kick upwards like they are fully winded up springs. And he hears a loud whine as the shadow around him gives way to light when the great wolf is sent skyward by his kick, flinging its own rider onto the ground.

Fohl wonders if he should snap the fighter's neck, or maybe knock him out for further interrogation. But then a throwing axe flashes by, and cuts the unknown man's head clean off his shoulder. He looks up at the Throwing Weapon Hero expecting to see anger or hatred, but only sees an emotionless face. Like he merely cut off a piece of branch off a tree. With a loud bang, a large cloud of blood explodes out of Throwing Weapon Hero's shoulder and he falls backwards on the ground. Atla spins around, and throws herself right on his prone body as a pair of blades fall toward them. Fohl lets out a roar, leaps at the wolf riders and knocks them off their wolf steeds.

Yatsuhashi didn't expect the sudden assault. He's trained to be a housecarl, a bodyguard of his lord, not a master-at-arms. While he can take over very basic command duty of a small squad of warriors to protect, he wasn't trained for more complicated warfare like marching to a target, and the logistics involved with such action. But he's pretty sure that the army isn't supposed to suddenly pour out of nowhere and land almost on top of his head. Would this even count as them being under ambush? The strange (and creepy) demi-human healer was immediately trampled over by their sudden enemy, and they are coming at them like the raging monster horde from the Wave battle. They had no time to organize into a defensive formation, and he isn't sure if the enslaved former pirates were even capable of such organized action. So all he had the time for was to pull out his own blade, and protect Lady Flare who is hiding behind his back. His mind is taken over by very basic movements afterwards, block the enemy's attack with his blade or his armor, and then swing back at his enemy to thin out their numbers, and repeat.

The battle is fierce and dangerous, yet Yatsuhashi feels like he's been submerged into a very strange, almost... peaceful state of mind. As one of the few last survivors of his clan, he had been training his body, and his sword to inherit his clan's art. To make sure that the Miyamoto Clan does not simply become a memory that would eventually disappear from people's minds. He has been in many practice matches as soon as he was old enough to serve his last master before the Shield Hero, Lord Balgruuf the Greater. He was even in a real, life and death battle against that man with Lady Eclair and Sir Pyrrha in the catacomb of Silver Fort. Yet in this current battle, his mind feels surprisingly peaceful, more so than the meditation exercise he's been doing since youth. Everything, including Lady Flare behind him, disappears, and all he can feel is his own body, the armor he wears, his sword, and the incoming attack from his enemy's blades, teeth and claws. And all of his movements become faster, costing less of his stamina. All to serve the simple purpose of stopping his enemy's attack, and then deal out his own.

And then the trance he finds himself in suddenly disappears, when he realizes the enemy in front of him suddenly disappears. The world comes back into his view, the trees on the side of the road, the light piercing the leaves above... and the scent of blood permeating the air. Previously, the enemy he's facing feels like a tornado, a force of nature that's been spinning tirelessly around him despite his best effort to cut through them. But at this exact moment, an empty space suddenly appeared in this spinning force. Yatsuhashi narrows his eyes, and sees both the young white tiger girl, and her master. The Throwing Weapon Hero. They managed to hold off till reinforcements found them.

The housecarl of Shield Hero quickly looks around, and besides him. Of the enslaved pirates, half a dozen of them are lying on the ground in the middle of others who are standing in a circle around them with brandished weapons, all of them covered in blood. He can't tell if they are already dead, or badly wounded. But they haven't suffered as many casualties as he feared. He almost expected these pirates would act like common bandits, immediately caving under the stress to run, get run over by the wolf riders, and then leave his own back unprotected. But for now, he doesn't need to worry about his allies routing. "Rial, come with me! Lori, protect Lady Flare!"

Rial lets out a loud screech as she runs forward. Yatsuhashi immediately leaps onto her back, and the two of them charge head first into the opening created by Throwing Weapon Hero and his followers. If Yatsuhashi wished to be more careful, he would have chosen to chase after the back of the wolf riders who were spinning around them. He doesn't recognize the great wolves they ride on, but he's still willing to bet their back side would be much more vulnerable compared to the side of their heads. But he holds his blade in both hands, pulls Rial's reign, and charges at the wolf rider's head. If he chases after their tail, he and Rial would be safe, but his enemy would still have enough time to hurt, maybe even kill everyone they have already surrounded. But if he manages to stop their head, he would instantly stop their charge and have their group collide into each other.

Yatsuhashi lets out a roar as he swings his family blade down with all of his strength. He can fight while riding a steed, but he's not a knight. He doesn't know how to combine his own power with Rial underneath him. So at this moment, he chooses to trust in his own force and the most core teaching from his clan: keeping any thoughts away, leaving only the blade in his hand, and eyes on his enemy. One single cut - If he can't kill his opponent, he would lose his own life.

Fulcrum collided into the blade of the wolf rider in front of him. The other cleaver begins to crack from the point where both blades clashed together, and then split apart. The body of the rider and the wolf underneath also separates into two behind the broken metal weapon as blood splashes like rain. The next enemy's muscle bulks up, seemingly ready to face Yatsuhashi next. But then the housecarl of the Shield Hero realizes something is wrong. In front of him, the unknown wolf riders, and their great wolf steed all begin to bulk up unnaturally. To the point they can't even move anymore. It looks less like they are trying to gather their strength and more like they are about to literally explode.

That's exactly what they did next. In front of Yatsuhashi's eyes. The unknown enemies who have become giant flesh tumors start to burst one after another, into specs of red colored dust and beads of blood. The gruesome display reminded Yatsuhashi of the blood magic [Corpse Explosion, except every target is a living being. He immediately, and pointlessly crosses his own blade in front of him, trying to block the power of such evil magic. Even if he knew it would be an act of futility. Yet to his surprise, he realizes that he is unharmed. Unlike the profaned [Corpse Explosion] spell, it seems to lack any harm against those around it. Although it did already kill all their attackers, perhaps causing additional damage with their death was entirely unneeded.

But the clouds of bloody mist around everyone suddenly collect into multiple streams, and surge towards a single direction like a river flowing towards the ocean. Yatsuhashi turns his head to look, and he finds the creepy raccoon priest who got run over by the wolf riders is standing at his full height as if nothing has happened. And at the moment, he is sucking up and consuming the stream of blood mist with his mouth. As the bloody mist all disappears into his throat, he licks his lips clean, looks around at everyone who is staring at him and smirks. "Oh. Don't look so surprised. I did say I am a hero of healing. And I simply 'healed' all of your problems."

End Note:

Eclair makes a mistake and the Mirror Demon immediately capitalized on it.

I have to confess, this is not something I planned out in advance. When I was writing this chapter, I feel like Eclair's mistake should actually lead to a consequence. Plus this kind of strategy where Astaroth hit his enemies where they are weak is the exactly thing he likes to do in his story. So yeah... he has the ability to send a small army of his through a mirror now. And as later chapter (which I already written) will show, this won't be his first attack.

Hopefully, I shown that Whipping Boy in this story isn't just some iredeemable evil incarnate. He is highly selfish, but he does has his own sense of honor.