Melromarc Castle (Night)

Kitamura Motoyasu may not have been the brightest, but even he could tell that there was something wrong with the Shield Hero.

When he was first summoned along with the other three, he was both relived and startled. After all, waking up in a dimly lit cellar with a bunch of people you've never met after being stabbed to death was hardly normal. After the explanation of the situation, however, his attitude changed. He was the Spear Hero, destined to save this world from disaster. Whatever this game was, he loved it. The Sword and Bow Heroes were cool enough. Learning that they were all from different worlds made the whole thing that much more awesome.

But the Shield Hero was different.

A blonde guy with long hair that covered his right eye, maybe around 17 or 18, with a dirty red hoodie and torn pants, was supposedly the one chosen as the Shield Hero. On the surface, he seemed normal enough. But the second he started walking up the stairs to meet the king, everything shifted for Motoyasu.

For starters, the boy shambled from place to place, as though he had just learned how to use his legs. There was also the fact that since he was summoned, the Shield Hero hadn't stopped sweating. Liquid was dripping down his face, audibly splashing against the stone floor.

When they made it to the throne room, the King explained everything about the Waves and the legend of the Four Weapons. After that, he asked for the names of the Heroes that were summoned. For some reason, he forgot about the Shield Hero, but Motoyasu was sure it was a mistake.

"Please introduce yourself, Shield Hero." the King said, sounding displeased.

The boy opened his mouth to say his name but fell forward onto the carpeted floor. As the other three Heroes winced at the sound of the impact, the boy pushed himself back onto his feet. "I...am...Falso Russo." he said, his voice accompanied by a warbling sound coming from his throat.

While the whole interaction had been...an experience, to say the least, Motoyasu was glad to finally put a name to the overly moist face. It sounded foreign to him, which was probably the reason the Shield Hero was so strange. At least he had some answers now.

But nightfall brought another set of questions entirely.

Falso Russo did not sleep that night. He simply stood in front of the balcony, looking at the sky. "Captain..." he said to himself.

Motoyasu fell asleep before he could hear anything else, but he thought he heard the sound of something dripping onto the floor.

Castle Town (Morning)

Myne Sophia, or Malty Melromarc, didn't know what to think when she first laid eyes on the Shield Hero. The empty look on his face made her think this would be her easiest mark yet, but as the day progressed, things just got weirder.

First off, Falso Russo seemed completely oblivious to her advances. He was either gay or just plain stupid to not even GLANCE in her direction when she tried one of her tried and true methods to lure men to her. In fact, he didn't seem to look at anything in particular when she spoke to him.

Her second plan was to swindle him. She brought the Shield Hero to a local blacksmith, hoping to get him to buy weapons and armor she could then take as hers. What she didn't expect was for her target to already possess a weapon, despite the Legendary Shield's restrictions.

Falso Russo held out a hand, causing flames to erupt from his palm. The flames condensed into the shape of a simple straight sword, fascinating both Myne and the blacksmith.

"Now that's a sword!" the man said, putting on his Appraisal Glass. "If you sold it, I bet you could get at least 500 silvers."

"Can't sell..." Falso Russo said, willing the flames to vanish. "Captain's strength...My strength...Can't part with..."

"So that sword is important to someone close to you?" the blacksmith said, to which the Shield Hero nodded. "I can understand that. Is there anything else here you'd like to buy, then?"

"Armor too heavy...Slows down attacks...Haki is enough..." Falso Russo said, walking out of the shop. Neither Myne or the blacksmith knew what Haki was, but it looked like they wouldn't get an answer.

Knowing that Plan B wasn't going to work, Myne decided to use her trump card. She followed the Shield Hero out of the store and started a conversation. "So, that sword looked pretty strong. Do you know how to fight with it?"

"Made...to fight..." Falso Russo said, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Then why don't we see what you can do?" Myne asked, bringing the Shield Hero to a spot outside the town's walls. "There's a lot of low-level monsters that spawn there. You can use them to show me your skill with that sword."

That was the biggest mistake of her life.

Once he was brought to a horde of Balloons, Falso Russo blitzed forward and slashed in a wide arc, his arm distending as he did so. Myne watched in horror as the Shield Hero's arm was whipped around the area like a flail. When the attack finished, his arm splattered against the ground like melted cheese. However, it was dragged back to Falso Russo's body and regained most of its original shape.

'What in the hell?' Myne thought to herself. There was no way this boy was human. Did they summon an ACTUAL Shield Devil during the ritual?

After his arm was fully reattached, Falso Russo turned back to face Myne. His eyes widened, and he quickly raised and arm in her direction. It rocketed forward, never severing itself from his body. As it increased in speed, his hand started to ooze a skin-colored substance that coiled around his fingers, elongating them into claws.

Myne screamed as the claw approached her face, but the screaming stopped once she realized she wasn't the target. Behind her was a Goblin, which was now completely eviscerated as a result of Falso Russo's attack. Trembling, she looked to face the Shield Hero.

His mouth was stretched into an uncanny grin, and his one visible eye had sunken deep into its socket. He also lumbered forward, as the added weight created by his claw meant that he was off-balance. His remaining arm was pushed out to try and halt his descent, causing his hand to splatter on the ground with a sound that made Myne want to vomit.

"What are you?" she asked, sick to her stomach. She just realized that he wasn't sweating. He was melting.

"Falso...Russo..." the Shield Hero answered, his voice sounding more guttural than usual. All while having that smile on his face.

What had Melromarc done?

AN: Falso Russo is an OC from one of my other stories. The idea of his melting flesh was inspired by Fake Peppino from Pizza Tower, as well as other parts of his backstory.

He's a member of the Tyrant Pirates, and was recruited during the Thriller Bark arc. Despite his off-putting demeanor and terrifying battle style, he is totally harmless to anyone he doesn't see as a threat. I'd compare him to a neurodivergent kid, someone who thinks slightly differently from everyone else.

The reason behind his skin melting off is a very odd Devil Fruit. The Logia-type Flesh-Flesh Fruit. It allows its user to create an endless amount of anything that naturally occurs within their body, as well as providing intangibility for any non-Haki-based attack.

Please tell me what you think of this spooky character! I'd love to hear your thoughts.