Chapter 15: The Holy Day
"Wakey wakey." Ake jolted awake as a bucket of cold water was dumped over him. He had lost the fight with the church's shadows pretty badly and was dragged into its depths. What happened after that, he couldn't tell.
Right now, there were a lot of people in the room with him. One stood at the top of the holy regiment that kept him captive. Biscus T. Balmus. Pope of the church of the three heroes. The second man there was expected; the shadows claimed he was there. Yet actually seeing his captain here in person hurt him a bit. He knew he was a fanatic, but not to this degree.
So this is what happens when you cross the church. Ake though. Before rudely getting interrupted by a punch to the face. Not only did it hurt physically. He could feel his heartbreak as he recognized the third person. A sister. Second only to the pope himself. Cardinal Angela and her team of dastardly deacons.
"You are now in the presence of the pope. I thought I taught you to show him respect." Angela reprimanded.
"Thank you, Angela. At ease for now."
"As you command, my lord." Angela bowed.
The captain stepped forward, lifting Ake's chin.
"Oh Ake, you were one of the best under my team. How could you betray us like this? How can you betray Angela like this." The captain sulked.
"The Shield Hero protected the people of Ryute. You're the one who decided to burn the place." Ake argued, earning a slap from Angela.
"You are not permitted to speak."
"Angela, please. I know you're emotional, but allow me to speak to our little malcontent here." The captain sighed.
"Do not refer to me in such a casual manner." Angela spat. But the captain brushed her off.
"Anyway. You're young, impressionable. Did Heath have something to do with this? I'm pretty sure he did."
"The vice-captain? You didn't."
Angela lit a lamp, and across the room hung his vice-captain, bruised, beaten, and looking worse for wear. Seeing him like that almost made him want to vomit. But he couldn't help but feel relieved. That he was alive.
"Vice Captain!" He struggled to escape his chains, but they wouldn't budge.
"Don't even try. Your level was reset long before we brought you here."
"My… level?" Looking up in the corner of his vision, he saw it. Level 1, no wonder he felt so weak. Granted, he wasn't at a very high level before. Not even close to getting a class up. But the difference was still staggering.
"I don't like insubordination. But you both have been corrupted by the shield hero. Just like the sword hero. We tried to… re-educate our wayward Heath, but he refused to learn. A shame; he was a great fighter too." The captain took out his blade and placed it on Heath's neck.
"Wait! Don't do it!" Ake cried out, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. The captain wasted no time and cut open his neck. But he didn't stop there. Like a madman, he continuously stabbed the vice-captain, mutilating his already dead body, until it was unrecognizable to the human eye.
"Hated him anyway." The captain grumbled, tossing the sword onto Heath's corpse.
"Where were we? Oh right." The captain snapped his fingers, and deacons moved quickly, bringing him all sorts of torturous devices.
"You were in contact with him for a while. But with enough time, we can break you free from the Shield Demons' control." The captain laughed.
"Sir, this is insanity. You can't truly think—! Ake was interrupted once again, a syringe being injected into his arm. A drug that heightened one's senses, making even the slightest flick feel like a stinging slap. Whatever this re-education was. They wanted him to experience everything in excruciating detail.
"No need to speak. We'll save you from yourself or kill you trying."
"NO! GET AWAY! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Ake screamed. His voice echoed through the halls. But no matter how much he called. Nobody came.
/~/
"Oi, wake up!" Sakura yelled.
Jolting awake, Naofumi readied himself for a fight, only to remember he was in the "safety" of his room.
Or… at least somewhat safe. For whatever reason, it was a mess. As if a tornado had come through and wrecked the place. Though not an impossible scenario with Sakura in the room. Through the process of elimination, he could guess who was the culprit. And it was held in Sakura's grasp right now.
"Finally you're awake. Sakura was getting worried." Sakura sighed as she held Keel by his shirt. The dog boy continuously tried to claw at her face and arms but was unable to deal any real damage.
"Sakura showing concern, a rare sight. Now what the hell happened here?"
"Oh, Keel seemed to think that we were slavers, so Sakura had to catch him," Raphtalia explained.
"The kid caused this much damage?"
"He did. He even pulled out some of Sakura's feathers… it kind of hurt."
"They'll grow back, as for you." Naofumi walked over and pulled off the rope previously binding Keel's mouth. Once he did, however, the dog immediately tried to bite Naofumi.
"Back away from me, or you'll feel my wrath!" The boy shouted with a growl.
"Alright, I'm putting the muzzle back on."
"Doesn't matter; I'll—" Naofumi used his rope shield and tied up Keel's mouth again. He also went a step further and bound his arms and legs as well.
"Isn't that a bit too harsh?"
"If you have an issue with it, you try calming him down."
"Harsh as ever." Raphtalia sighed as she undid Keel's bindings.
"Okay, Keel, calm down."
"Fat chance!" Keel exclaimed.
"Look, this is all a misunderstanding."
"I was sold from master to master. I know the deal, so don't try to sugarcoat it!"
"I mean, he's not wrong."
"Not helping," Raphtalia grumbled.
"I think you need to be more assertive." Naofumi cleared his throat. "Shut it, kid. Don't you even recognize your own friend?"
"Rifana and Raphtalia were taken away with me. I'm not falling for your tricks again!"
"But I am Raphtalia. We used to play with each other. I kept the whole mushroom incident secret for years, remember!?"
"Mushroom!?"
"Yeah? Mushroom incident?" Sakura asked.
"Keel once ate a poisonous mushroom and asked me not to tell anyone so he doesn't get scolded." Raphtalia confused.
"Wha- How do you know that? Were you spying on us!?"
"It's because I'm Raphtalia, you dummy," Raphtalia yelled, hitting Keel over the head.
"Ow," Keel whined.
"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Naofumi teased.
"Shut up." Raphtalia sighed. "Yes. I am Raphtalia."
"But how? You're… big now. That many years haven't passed by, right?"
"No! It's… it's a bit complicated."
"It doesn't matter. Now I have no idea what to do with you, so you can decide."
"I'm staying here, with Raphtalia." Keel immediately answered.
"Then stop trying to fight us and sit down for a minute!" Naofumi groaned. "If you want to stay with us, you're getting a seal, no objections. Understand?"
"B-"
"I said no objections. It's a yes or no question."
"Naofumi. You can at least give him some time to process things. He just got out of slavery after all, and you're threatening to put him back."
"I mean. I did it with you, and you were fine with it."
"Technically she never left," Sakura added.
"In any case. Keel, you don't have to. We can bring you somewhere safe an-"
"No. I'll take the seal. But only for you, Raphtalia. To protect you from him." Keel grumbled.
"I can assure you. Naofumi won't… well, he won't hurt a fly without reason."
"Mostly because he can't." Sakura chuckled, only for Raphtalia to push her aside and continue.
"Anyway, no harm will come to you or me under him. I promise."
"It's better, or else," Keel growled.
"Yeah, yeah. Sakura." At his command, Sakura cut Keel out of his ropes. Naofumi then tossed a bag of coins over to Raphtalia before leaving out the door.
"I have to go get our payment and hopefully, Motoyasu's methods. While I'm out, get Keel some magic clothes, along with a crest. Maybe even a meal while you're at it. There should be enough for everything."
"You mean. You want us to go to the d-demon tailor." Sakura shuddered, horrified at the mere mention of her.
"Just go!"
"Spear guy was right; you're cruel!"
/~/
"Naofumi, wait up!" Ren called out. He walked over to Naofumi, his dragon still by his side. She was glued to his side at all times, almost like Sakura to him. The only difference is that Sakura is a little more independent, compared to the clingy dragon in front of him.
"I don't know why. But I feel like punching that pink filolial." Draco growled.
She couldn't have read my thoughts right? Naofumi thought as Ren calmed down his dragon.
"What do you need?" Naofumi asked.
"I just wanted to confirm the plan, since Itsuki and Motoyasu aren't doing much assistance-wise," Ren explained.
As expected, the ceremony didn't go well. At first, the king tried to pay him for less, since he supposedly "showed up late to the fight." But the others were quick to his defense. Itsuki is the first to explain the report of the knights to be wrong and how Naofumi and his party helped to pin down and defeat the boss. Ren also chimed in, telling the king about his defense of Ryute.
Before long, the king had no way to refute the two heroes and relented his desire to not pay the shield hero. Now that they were all here, only two things were on the table now. The first of which is Naofumi's victory.
Ren and Itsuki listened intently; even the king was quite curious about the topic, and they watched as Motoyasu begrudgingly explained his methods, with Naofumi nodding his head, his menu supposedly open.
To Motoyasu, the stats of the weapon were everything. Even if the weapon was bad before, with the proper enchants and buffs, it could easily become a reliable tool. And this mindset translated pretty well into his methods.
The first method of his was called Smelting. And it was pretty much Itsuki's Reinforcement and Item Enchant combined.
Like Reinforcement, it required ore to use. And like Item Enchant. He could upgrade his weapon using said ore. And of course, like all the gambling methods that came before. If he fails to upgrade, then it resets back to zero.
These things sure love resetting us back to zero. Quite surprised they aren't charging money for this shit. Naofumi grumbled as he swapped to his chimera viper shield.
He finally unlocked it, so he could now begin upgrading it. And as expected, the method worked and showed up on the screen.
Chimera Viper Shield (Awakened), (0/30), R, 1
Mastery Level: 5
Item Enchant: 0
Excellent. Naofumi grinned as Motoyasu began reading off the next method.
It was called Spirit Enchant. Naofumi frowned, however, as he saw he couldn't use this one yet.
The basics are simple. Killing a monster drops a fragment of its soul. And you can use this fragment to gain an enchant, such as resistances, increases, and more.
Chimera Viper Shield (Awakened), (0/30), R, 1
Mastery Level: 5
Item Enchant: 0
Spirit Enchant:
The last one was similar to Item Enchant again. At the added benefit of no resets this time. This one was also simple. By sacrificing materials, it increases the stats of the weapon. Granted, it was at random, so it took a bit (and most of his remaining wave monsters) to get a decent boost.
Chimera Viper Shield (Awakened), (0/30), R, 1
Mastery Level: 5
Item Enchant: 0
Spirit Enchant: N/A
Status Enchant: 28 Defense
"There you have it. Are we finished now?" Motoyasu grumbled. He was certainly out of it and most likely wouldn't listen to him, to begin with. The king also seemed to be losing patience with him, with Itsuki and Ren looking lost in thought.
No one wanted to be here any longer, so Naofumi decided to leave first and catch the other two on the way out. However, after a few minutes, it seemed that both Itsuki and Motoyasu had teleported away, throwing a wrench into those plans immediately.
"I planned on going to Siltvelt. They also have knowledge of the previous shield heroes, so I could find my methods there."
"Alright then. I'll go to Zeltoble then. I do have a quest to do first, though."
"I couldn't care less; you have a good three weeks to prepare anyway."
"Better to know than to be left guessing… also, about those methods."
/~/
"Sword hero. As you are the last to leave, might I ask? Why does the shield hero desire the power-up methods? From what I'm aware, each hero should have their own set." The king asked.
"I was under that assumption as well. But it seemed that Naofumi found a way to share them. Though, it could be possible that he's using his own method without realizing it."
"Sharing methods, you say?" The king grasped his beard, his fingers sliding down, only to return to the top. "It is a possibility. I never thought about it myself, so I never had a chance to test it out. But if this theory you believe is true, then it's imperative that you set off with another method."
"Another method?"
"I am one of the wielders of the Seven Star staff. At least I was until the staff deemed me unworthy of its power. I am still unsure as to why, but I still hold knowledge of its ability and would like to impart it to thee. If you're willing."
/~/
Ironically. The king gave this method to Ren, so the other heroes could be ahead of Naofumi in terms of power. In reality, Ren immediately gave it to him, no questions asked.
It was called Magic Rank, easily being the method with the most potential to be the strongest. It would allow him to allocate points into spells and level them up. Though the cooldown was pretty long, being a day. So it would take him a while to get all the spells he knows up to max level. That's not even accounting for other spells he might learn.
"This is certainly going to help. How many points did it take to reach level one for you?" Naofumi asked. But he got no answer, only a disappointing sigh from Ren.
"I never used it. I didn't even unlock it yet."
"Really? Your loss then." Naofumi scoffed.
"This is serious, Naofumi. This goes against everything I know; how can you just accept it like this!?"
"Simple. I didn't know this shit. I'm learning as I go. I suggest you do the same."
"Yeah, but…" Ren looked down, pondering his thoughts.
"If you aren't going to power up yourself. Then start working on your allies. You're going to need it." Naofumi suggested as he began walking away.
"What does that mean?"
"Companion series, human series, and the dragon series. If you also want to be bold enough. The slave users series too."
"Naofumi, I'm not putting a slave crest on my team. It's not just."
"You do you! Later Ren." Naofumi walked off with a sigh.
"... Maybe he's... no. Stick to what you know. Stick to what you know." Ren chanted to himself. "Let's go, Draco. We have a dragon to defeat."
"Woo. Territory invasion!" Draco cheered. Transforming into her true form. Climbing on. Ren took one last look at his weapon. But with a shake of his head, he ignored all his thoughts and flew off.
/~/
Naofumi reached the inn after some time and immediately stopped himself outside the door. From the sound of things, the party was back from shopping and was talking to each other. His gut, however, told him that whatever the topic was would cause them a lot of trouble. And by "them," he specifically meant himself.
"Alright. What are you planning? Naofumi demanded as he entered the room.
When he opened the door, he saw Keel in his new outfit, just a simple pair of black shorts and a cream-colored shirt. He could assume the tailor was depressed while making it. However it seemed she got the last laugh, as she gave Keel a blue cloak, making him look like a pirate in the clothes he chose himself.
"Ahh, Naofumi. Quickly, we gotta raid the church!" Sakura exclaimed.
Naofumi looked dumbfounded by the order, but he was even more concerned about Sakura, as she looked very distressed.
"Sakura. What the hell are you talking about?"
"Ake seemingly has gone missing. We were on our way back from the diner when we finally noticed his helmet on the cart." Raphtalia explained.
"Okay. If the church is involved, however, I'm pretty sure he would have been assassinated already." Naofumi stated bluntly.
"That was a thought. But Sakura mobilized her flock-"
"Wait, wait, wait, you have a flock?"
Who the hell did she fuck? Naofumi thought, his brain scrambling for answers.
"Yeah, Sakura took over a wild filolial group. And she used that to ask around. We found out that two knights were dragged into the church late into the night. Though it took a bit. Had to tear his ass a new one. Fucking Black Thunder." Sakura swore.
"We're not sure why. But he is alive and in the captivity of the church."
"And that's our issue why?"
"Um. He's in this position for helping us! That's why!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Which is a fate he decided for himself." Naofumi sighed. "Do you even understand what you're asking for? You want us to invade the cathedral? Who knows how fortified they are in there, and I'm not going to be the person to figure it out." He hated to say it. But he did enjoy Ake being around. It's only been two days, and he was infinitely more helpful than the royalty here. This wasn't an easy situation, though. And Naofumi wasn't willing to risk his party for one person.
"Not at all. But Sakura still wants to try. He's… no special is too strong. Precious, yeah, he's precious to Sakura." Sakura blushed.
"I also quite enjoyed his presence. He was kind and very helpful to us during the wave and one of the main reasons we won the duel. We can't just leave him like this; directly our fault or not, it doesn't feel right." Raphtalia sighed.
"I may not know him. But if Raphtalia says we save him, I'm all for it." Keel added.
Naofumi looked at the scene in the room and let out a sigh. With his help or not, they'd most likely go anyway. Sakura has always been a stubborn bird. And even with Raphtalia keeping her in check. She too was susceptible to the bird's schemes every now and then.
So if this was the path they were going to take, then it's best to do it together and then go at it as a unit. It could also be a chance for him to test out his new methods and maybe swipe a few things on the way out. Committing a sin in the house of the lord is a great way to piss off God.
"Fine. But all responsibility is falling upon you." Naofumi threatened.
"Sakura accepts those terms."
"Then let's get going. We have a new recruit to save after all."