I don't own Rising of the the Shield Hero or any Square enix association characters
"This isn't good". Aultcray thought. Things started off fine. That's was until the Sword Hero, a knight named Oersted of Lucrece, proved to be difficult to deal with, when Aultcray disregarded the accursed Shield, it caused the knight to throw an outburst, making clear that the knight was protective towards the Shield Hero, which might pose a problem to his plans.
That he also nearly got into a fight with the Spear Hero. Both problems were prevented by all people, but that damned Shield.
Now, his General decides to pick a fight with the heroes, clearly wanting to "test them". He just dreads what is going to happen next.
Two Knights stared down at each other. Naofumi and Motoyasu exchanged terrified glances and were trying to warn their fellow. "Yo Oersted, don't fight him! Please!" Naofumi was pleading.
"Abort! Eject!" Motoyasu said in packed. "Ah f# k, why is he here? This doesn't make sense!" He yelled.
Itsuki was beginning to get worried while he wasn't intimidated by this "General," but the other two clearly knew from somewhere. "Is he some secret Super Boss or something like that?" He thought, before turning to others and asking.
"Ok, can someone please tell me who the guy is?" They turn to the bow hero. "That's Garland, you know..." Naofumi said with Motoyasu finishing, "From FF."
"Final Fantasy?" Bowman replied, puzzled. Initially, the young hero didn't get it until he suddenly realized. "Wait, you mean that GARLAND? The OG Big Bad?" he exclaimed, to which both heroes answered. "YES!" In unison.
Oersted was hearing their conversation
"So this Garland is a Fictional character? He thought now with more questions. But he recalled what the Sword Spirit said before he accepted her offer.
Look, I can't just pick anyone, it doesn't work like that. A Being needs an anchor to be brought to my world safely.
Basely, the chosen before can be summoned, they need information about my world
Simply, in most universes, my world is nothing but fiction that existed as a story, a game, or even a dream. And you read a book about my world, an inaccurate version, but a version nonetheless.
Anchor
information
Fiction
"So that's an anchor." he thought, finally managing to connect all the dots. The reason why they were brought here is because each of them engages with media that reflects this world. This also sheds light on Motoyasu's 'This is way different from the game' remark. It seems that the knowledge from the anchor helps them comprehend any foes they might face, especially the types of enemies that arise from the Waves.
Still, he still can't recall what his anchor was, only that it was a book.
Before he could dwell on that, he heard a yell coming from the king. "Garland! I order you to shop this nonsense," Aultcray insisted as he rose from his seat. The General merely turned his gaze towards the King.
"Really Aultcray? Are we putting our fate in the hands of..." He points at Naofumi, Motoyasu and Itsuki. "Children?" He shot a sideways glance at Oersted. "And a failed knight..." He derided, stepping until he was next to the king, and then addressed the court.
"Are you putting our trust in them?" he inquired. The court exchanged looks, accompanied by a murmur of whispers.
It was evident that not everyone was aboard on summoning what amounted to four strangers from other worlds to assist them. And Honestly, he can't blame them. If Lucrece were called upon a bunch of random teenagers to deal with their problems, they would certainly have reservations.
"While my knights fought tooth and nail to protect your lands and families, instead of finding a way to control the weapons, the church decided to..." The man's words were soon interrupted.
"How Dare you speak of heresy..." The Priest tried to raise his voice but fell silent as the man shot him a menacing side glare.
"Did someone ask for your opinion, Priest?" the man retorted, contempt in his voice, this caused the shaken Priest, stumbled backward and landed on the ground in a panic. "Speaking of 'Priests', where is Biscas?" the General asked him.
"The Pope is currently at a sermon," the terrified Priest said, causing a grumble from the General "Of course"
It is evident that the General didn't hold a high opinion of the four heroes nor this church. Nevertheless, Oersted stepped forward and addressed the General. "If you had so little faith in us heroes that I am surprised you permitted them to do ritual," He asked.
Garland cast a sidelong glance at the knight, before chuckling. "Oh, don't get the wrong idea, boy. I'm not foolish enough to underestimate the power of heroes nor the danger of the waves..." He stepped closer towards the knight, towering over him as he continued."...It's just that if I had known the Cardinal weapons would choose you four as their wielders, I would have prevented the King from bringing you brats here." He concluded.
This remark angered both the Spearman and the Bowman, with the former stepping forward to confront the large man. "Hey, asshole! Just because you're dressed as a—" he started but abruptly halted as Garland turned and approached him.
"Tell me, boy, do you know how to wield a spear?" Garland asked his gaze on the Spear Hero, who fumbled for a response. "Well, I—" he began but was abruptly grabbed by the collar.
"Not in your little games!" Garland clarified. Motoyasu caught off guard, remained silent until Garland finally released him, much to the blonde's relief.
Garland then turned his attention to Itsuki. "Have you practiced archery before?" The young man didn't show any sign of fear, stood his ground, and glared defiantly at the larger man. "Yeah, and I'm capable of more than just that." he retorted, which impressed Garland. The young hero wouldn't let himself be bullied... not this time.
Garland walked over to Naofumi, who was caught off guard. "Tell me, boy, do you have experience handling a shield?" he asked the Shield Hero, who hesitated before answering. "Well, not with a shield, but I did practice Kendo," he explained. This surprised the other heroes.
"Wait, really?" Motoyasu inquired, to which Naofumi replied, "Yeah, I even got second place in my local tournament." This impressed the three heroes. "Man, that sucks. You truly got robbed..." Motoyasu said, before turning to Oersted. "No offense."
"Mmmh," the General pondered for a moment before addressing the crowd, "As you can see, out of these three, only one has real experience, while the other with any skill with a weapon, was cast as the shield. And as for the sword hero..." He turned towards him. "He is a failure of a knight." He finished
The Knight in question just stares at the General. "You know in Lucrece, before a knight can be accepted to serve the army, they need to duel a senior as a test. He said, clearly challenging the General.
"hehehehe really? If that is a fact?." He asked with excitement in his tone.
Music: Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin - "Battle: The Warrior"
Both men began stepping toward the center of the room, without breaking eye contact as they unsheathed their swords. A palpable tension filled the air and the dread of what was about to unfold.
The other three tried to stop Oersted. Then suddenly, the two men dashed toward each other, before clashing their swords, their blades locked together, This allow the knight get good looked at that his opponent's weapon. It was nothing special, just a regular curved sword.
This gave Oersted a good look. The blade was nothing special, just a regular curvedsword."Ah, I see you in those eyes. Guilt, fury, grief, and self-loathing. The General remarked, bewildering the knight, then he was pushed back by his opponent's sheer strength, then Garland charged forward, swinging his blade at him.
But Oersted managed to block the strike, but it caused him to lose his balance.
"In the heat of battle, it revealed the truth in one's soul." The General said, before lifting his sword upwards, clearly planning to slam the blade down toward him.
Fortunately, the knight doges as the blade is slammed onto the floor.
After that, suddenly, a list of names in his vision. Before has time to process it, Garland swung at him, forcing the knight to block, this proceeding a fierce clash of blades, with the two combatants exchanging blows in a display. Which leaves everyone in awe of the unfolding clash.
As they fight, the list materializes before him once more. He quickly scanned the first words and, to his astonishment, these were his sword skills and magic spells. Giving himself some distance, he presses the first skill on the list.
This caused a dim glow to envelop his sword, and to his amazement, his body moved of its own accord, racing toward the General before saying.
|Bold Cut|
The knight executed a swift horizontal slash, hitting the General, much to the shock of Spearman and Bowman.
"Seriously? How the f# %! That he alrighty has a skill?!" Motoyasu exclaimed. He was annoyed that his guy had somehow cheated to gain skill, alrighty... but at the same time, he was rooting for him to beat the living hell out of Garland.
In response, the larger man attempted to counterattack, but the knight skillfully parried the blow, leaping back to create some distance once again.
Instead of pressing the icons, he thought about the move, performing motions, and speaking the name aloud.
|Wave Slash|
He swung his blade, unleashing a spiraling blade of air that struck Garland and momentarily broke his balance.
A notification flashed before him: CRI Hit
Three heroes were shocked, especially Itsuki who suspects that Oersted might not be some player after all. "There's no way that he could know any spells right away, especially for the Sword, which was a closed-range class." He thought.
Oersted took a moment to see his HUD and saw: MP - 110/120
"It seems Wave Slash doesn't spend too much Magic." He thought. Then Garland dashed toward the Knight, who quickly switched his [Gnome Sword] to the [Wooden Training Sword] and managed to parry Garland's attack while landing a few hits on the General.
The General was surprised when none of the hero's strikes weren't hurting him, checking his Heath, to his shock, he wasn't receiving any damage.
Seizing the opportunity, the Knight steadied himself and declared: "|Stund Strike|" and swung at the General, inflicting no damage.
The General was perplexed and attempted to launch an attack, only to realize that he was unable to move. His eyes widened in disbelief, the knight dashed past him, swiftly reverting his blade back to the [Gnome Sword, and began to spin.
"|Flourish!|"
He declared, spinning in place with his sword before sheathing his blade, In that instant, a small green aura enveloped them, and a powerful gale of wind erupted from beneath Garland was thrust away, eventually crashing down near the feet of the king, much to everyone's shock and astonishment.
Three Heroes were speechless
Motoyasu didn't know if he wanted to either punch the knight for having cheats… or high-five him
Itsuki is convinced Oersted is the real deal... The Fantasy Knight... A Real Hero...
However, Naofumi was... worried. "Lucrece, it's ruined, The Lord of Dark and those skills... Can't be..." He thought, finally realizing who Oersted really was...
Oersted breathing heavily, thinking he had won... Then he heard a low chuckle
"eh eh eh he he" Garland slowly got up and started to laugh. "Hahahahaha! YES! THIS IS WHAT I BEEN WAITING FOR!" He exclaimed excitedly in his voice.
The Four were uneasy with man's... outburst, and several court members immediately retreated to the wall, preparing for what was going to happen. Aultcray's eyes widened in horror, he attempted to stop Garland, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. "You know I haven't had this much fun IN YEARS! He exclaimed before turning to the priest. "Hold this." Before tossing his sword in a reckless gesture. The blade flew past the priest's head, narrowly missing him.
Then Garland raised his other hand, and suddenly, a large... what Oersted can only describe as a dragon tooth blade materializes in his hand.
Some of the guards and nobles began to panic. "Oh No! Garland is removing his LIMITER" Some said, which shocks and horrifies the Four Heroes
"Wait WHAT?!" Naofumi, Motoyasu, and Itsuki exclaimed, while Oersted just watched the Garland manifesting a maroon aura.
One of the guards explains. "Lord Garland's armor acts like a limiter for his power." He said that caused the three to pale. "Wait, wait, are you saying that Garland is in his 1st Phase?" Motoyasu exclaimed before the guard would ask that he be met by that.
"GET REALLY BOY, YOUR FIRST PERSON TO GET EXPERIENCE MY TRUE POWER!" Garland roared, charging toward the knight who was preparing another skill.
Before anything could happen, Aultcray raised his clenched fist, which emitted a light glow, revealing a symbol etched upon it. In an instant, it electrocuted Garland, stopping him in his tracks, and collapsing him to his knees. Must to the shock of the Four and the relief of the court.
A concerned Oersted hurried over to Garland. "Are you alright?" he asked, checking on his man's well-being, much to the man's surprise.
"Hehe, I am quite surprised to see you show concern for an enemy," Garland chuckled, to which the knight responded. "You're my opponent, not an enemy," he replied, extending a hand to help the larger man to his feet. "And I must say, I've never faced anyone with just skills quite like yours."
Garland nodded appreciatively. "I could say the same about you, but I can also tell you're holding back," he remarked, confusing Oersted. "Huh? What you..." He asked but was interrupted by the General who had some words of advice. "
"If you truly wish to atone, you must stop fixating on your failures," he advised as he began to walk before turning towards the knight. "Otherwise, you will become like me," he concluded, before moving to stand beside Aultcray, turning to face him.
"Sorry about that; it seems I may have overstepped my bounds", he said sheepishly, prompting the king to facepalm. "Yes, Jack, yes you did," Aultcray replied, irritation clear in his voice. "Please, never do that... Again! We're still finding burn marks from your last 'Testing session'," he added, his annoyance in his tone.
After that, some of the nobles leave to all stress, and Three Heroes complement Oersted, praising him. Then the King cleared his throat.
" I apologize for my General; he can be a little... paranoid." He explained, only to be met with silence. "In any case, what were we discussing?" he inquired, prompting Naofumi to respond, "Your advisor said that we wouldn't form a party."
"Ah, right! We had already gathered the best of the best to form your parties." Aultcray said, which Oersted then interjected, "Very well, please bring them here." This request seemed to catch the King off guard, widening his eyes in surprise.
"Surely you want to rest first; the sun is already setting; why don't you four fest and rest here for the night? You can begin your quests tomorrow." He said.
The Four all exchanged glances before responding.
"Fine"
"Ok"
"All right"
However, Oersted gave a different response: "Not Yet." The room fell silent as everyone turned their attention to the knight. "I still haven't agreed to help you," he stated dryly, which shocked everyone before he raised his hand and clarified.
"Calm down. I am not refusing. I will agree to help you..." He held up three fingers. "But you must agree to three conditions," he concluded.
Aultcray was losing his patience with the knight, but if he wanted his loyalty. "Fine, what are your conditions?" the King asked, irritation in his tone of voice.
Oersted laid out his terms. "First: You will treat the four of us as equals."
... No one said. The Knight continued.
"Second: I do not serve you, meaning you do not give orders… At least not for a quest." Aultcray glared at the knight's demands. He wanted to refuse outright, but the potential, not just losing of the Sword, but the other heroes, weighed heavily on his mind. He gestured for Oersted to continue.
"And lastly, I am allowed access to the royal library and the church's records to research anything related to my predecessor," he finished.
...This last condition seemed reasonable. Aultcray thought. It might give the knight incentive to listen to him. A smirk crept across his face.
After a few moments of thinking, the King gave his response. "Of course, the great hall is completely open to you, and I have no doubt that the clergy will gladly assist in your endeavors." The Man said, smiling.
The knight met the ruler's gaze before responding, "Good... And since you agree to treat us as equals, that means the same applies to the others as well."
Aultcray fell silent, realization dawning upon him that the knight tricked him. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he muttered, "Why you little..." Before calming himself. "Of... Course... Now, anything else." He asked, with Knight simply responding.
"No," Oersted responded, with the other three nodding in agreement.
"Good... Good..." Aultcray gestured to his General, who nodded in response.
"Guards, take them to the dining hall," he ordered. The guards escorted the four heroes out of the throne room, and soon the remaining crowd followed suit.
Leaving the King, the General, the advisors, and a few guards remaining, Aultcray let out a groan while rubbing his temples, prompting a chuckle from his General. "Hehe." Aultcray turned to him, "What's so funny?" he asked, irritated
"Oh, nothing, just the Sword Hero reminded me of when you and I were first brought before the late Queen Melanie," Garland said with a chuckle. Aultcray remained silent for a moment before joining in the laughter. "Ah yes... you demanded Mirelia's hand in marriage in exchange for your services," he recalled, and Garland added, "And you called me a 'dishonorable savage', before I punched you in the face..."
"And we ended up fighting, forcing her Majesty to restrain us," Aultcray continued, laughter bubbling between them.
"Yeah, then she put us in the same unit during the war, and that still didn't stop us." Garland chuckled.
"Right, Mirelia has disciplined us, once we get into another fight," Aultcray said.
The two men laughed reminiscing their times during the Melromarc-Siltvelt War
"Good times... It's just a shame you and Balmus put her and Melty in danger," Garland remarked, his tone shifting slightly.
Aultcray's expression hardened at his General's words. "Trust me, if we play our cards right, we will have the heroes on our side while they do have none." he asserted confidently.
Garland, however, was unconvinced. "Really, Aultcray? You know that Snake hates Mirelia with a burning passion. What you two did was basically a declaration..."
Aultcray interrupted, "They wouldn't! They're too busy dealing with the Wave on their end. And I am not stupid enough to trust Balmus completely (Garland doubts that...). He paused, then added, "I ask my daughter to gain their trust to spy on them, so we can stay informed..."
Garland interjected, "That's what worries me. You have good intentions, but you're playing a game beyond your control, and your daughter, who we both know..."
Aultcray's glare intensified. "Don't you dare! I know she can be... greedy. But she is my daughter."
The Two glare at each other. Before the doors swung open, revealing a beautiful young woman. Without even looking at her, Garland said to the King, "Speaking of the devil. We leave you two to your business." He and the advisors exited, passing the young woman, while they greeted her, he just stared at her, who glared at him, before continuing on her way.
The men left the room, the doors closing behind them, leaving father and daughter to discuss the plan…
Hope you all enjoy
Anthor Notes
- It seems Aultcray sees Oersted as a threat to his plans…. Little does he know how right.
- Also Oersted has his abilities from the game
- Itsuki now is convinced it is actually a Fantasy Knight…
- While Naofumi now knows who he really is…