SkyChaser17: Thank you so much for the kind words. Yeah, IRL really has been a pain, but I managed to scrounge up a chapter that I hope is to your liking.

The Disquieting One: I appreciate your suggestions for the Bow and Spear spirits, but I'll have to decline since I'm not a fan for those anime. So I lack the knowledge to make that work.

Raidentensho: I'm not 100% sure, but chances are high that yes, Éclair will stay with Naofumi party instead of transferring to Eugeo's party.

AnimeFan13579: As fascinating as it could be for that to be a side-story, I wouldn't have the time and knowledg to pull something that good off.

Pharamine: Thank you so much for your patience. I actually already have some help in preparing these chapters, the problem is that we're both very busy with our own jobs IRL, leaving us less free time for our Fanfic writing.

Guest: Yeah, that was a reference from Oliver Queen of the Green Arrow. Happy to see that you noticed the reference.

T.V. 2000: As always, thank you so much for the kind words and constructive suggestions. While I can't promise that I'll be able to use all of them, I'll definitely put them into consideration for future chapters.I'm still not sure if any of Eugeo's party members will become a Vassal Hero, but I'm definitely going to put some serious thought to it once we reach that point.

As for how Mash is going to make her grand entrance, it's still uncertain, but her lashing at the Pope for all his crimes does sound like a great idea.

1365 Reviews, 1728 Favorites, 1927 Follows

ANNOUNCEMENT! ! !

Once again, I deeply apologize for the long wait. Both me and ArementiRevnant have been really busy with our respective jobs and responsibilities IRL. All I ask is for your patience and know that I will never abandon this story.

As always, this chapter is a combined effort between me and ArementiRevnant, who adds his own touch to make these chapters better as well as sharing great ideas and storylines. I hope you look forward to the well deserved punishment that ArementiRevnant cooked up for Malty once we reach her Trial episode in this fanfic.

HIGHLIGHT! ! !

I was hit by a truckload of inspiration one day due to the conclusion of the "Oshi no Ko" manga, so I decided to write a Crossover Fanfic for it on a whim. I humbly ask all of you dear readers to give it a chance and try taking a quick read. Please send me your feedbacks and your vote for the poll in its Author's Note at the end.

The journey for the next town took a bit more time for the Shield Hero and his party. By the time they could finally see the settlement in the distance, it was already sunset of their 4th day northern trek. In hindsight, they were technically entering a different country, so it was expected that the distance between towns become greater when crossing borders.

'Do you think we should give Eugeo an Orb call?' Mash asked out of the blue, 'We've made quite a good distance away from Melromarc and I'm not sensing any presence following us...'

Naofumi contemplated the suggestion. As useful and convenient the {Communication} skill could've been, he always restricted himself in its usage. His biggest reason was because of the risk of them being detected by the Three Heroes Church. Call him paranoid, but he wouldn't put it past those zealots to have some kind of device or artifact that would allow them to detect long range communications like that.

It also doesn't help that they hadn't been able to do some thorough testing with this skill. He and Eugeo were still playing up the "distant co-worker" act so the Church would stay off their backs for a little while longer.

Eugeo might be in battle this very moment and he didn't want to put his fellow hero into a pinch by suddenly distracting him over something mundane.

'As nice as it might be to hear from Eugeo again, we have no way of knowing if it's safe for him to receive a call from us. So let's just use that as a last resort if we spend too much time trying to find him and his party.'

'That is a possible scenario… Well then, as you wish, Kouhai.'

With that conversation concluded, the two Shielders set their sights to their next destination.

Unfortunately, their moment of peaceful traveling got cut short when the settlement in the distance entered Mash-senpai's more detailed Navigation radius. The senior Shielder was quick to notice that the town is currently being attacked by bandits. Whether the bandits were under the Revolutionary's employ or not, the citizens there were still in dire need of help.

So after telling everyone about the village's plight, it really didn't take any convincing for the girls to prepare for battle. Their adorable mount putting the pedal to the metal so that they could reach the village as soon as possible.

It was, much to the Shield party's relief, not as bad as it could've been as the bandit raid was still in progress when they arrived.

"I guess we could try interrogating one of these guys," Mash remarked as she instinctively morphed the shield into the [Chimera Viper Shield], knowing it as her kouhai's current go-to shield, "They might know something useful."

"We can only hope. Air Strike Shield Cannon!"

And with his favored Shield Skill activated, Naofumi fired a spinning translucent shield straight at the nearest group of enemies …

(CLANG!) (CLANG!) (CLANG!) (CLANG!)

"AAAGGH!"

hitting several bandits at once as it bounced around the battlefield before dematerializing. And with many of the bandits distracted due to the surprise attack, the girls were able to take advantage with their own series of attacks.

"Rage Spike!" (Raphtalia)

"Sonic Charge!" (Rino)

"High Quick!" (Guinevere)

Multiple grunts and howls of pain were heard as a good chunk of the barbarians were taken down by their combined might.

But as they plowed through the numerous enemies one after the other, they soon noticed something peculiar.

"Wait, who is that?" Raphtalia pointed out as her sharp eyes and ears picked up the dark cloaked figure that was fighting right in the thick of it and a short distance away.

"Wing Burst Tempest!"

And it seems the figure wasn't alone, as a similarly dressed woman is also fighting alongside him. Dispatching scores of the barbarians with a single 360° rotational slash, creating a wind pressure powerful enough to send them all flying.

"I don't know who that is, but they look like they're doing just fine. Let's just focus on checking if there's anyone in actual danger before trying to talk with them," suggested Naofumi before adding, "and Ginny, so long as you don't accidentally destroy any of the town's buildings, feel free to go wild."

"Okay!" "Understood!" "Alright!"

Exclaimed the girls as they leapt off and began the one-sided beat down in earnest, Guinevere even going so far as to barrel through a whole line of bandits like a bowling ball.

The Shielder was also quick to join the fray, juggling between casting a {Shield Prison} over innocent civilians while also launching an {Air Strike Shield Cannon} on attacking bandits whenever given the chance. He was really glad that he used the [Skill Enhancement] on his {Shield Prison} prior to this battle, because now he could use it on multiple targets at once without wasting cast time. While it did come with a drawback of having a higher SP cost, it's a price that he was willing to pay.

Raphtalia and Rino meanwhile were dodging, weaving and sometimes breaking a few of the barbarians inferior weapons as they went before taking them out.

A group of three tried to attack Raphtalia at once with a pair of swords and an ax, but she was able to counter them with a well timed 4-hit Sword Skill…

(*CLINK!*)

(*CLANG!*)

(*CLINK!*)

"Horizontal Square!" cried Raphtalia as the blue light from her sword blasted the bandits away with the final hit. The ones that were miraculously still standing wisely turned tail and ran.

As for Rino, she was facing a number of spear and sword wielders who she'd intentionally allowed to surround her. As the first bandits struck with their spears, Rino's form seemed to blur as she spun her now shining crimson spear with a…

"Wild Twister!"

Spinning the spear with reckless abandon above her head, Rino dished out multiple attacks in nearly all directions before finishing it all with a full circle diagonal slash. Deflecting any strikes that came her way before sending the bandits flying with numerous flesh wounds at her final hit.

With the crowds thinning even more, the two dark cladded Hakukos were able to plow through their own adversaries much faster. This sudden shift in the battlefield was just too much for the now terrified bandits, prompting the few leading figures amongst their ranks to make the call of retreat. And to add insult to injury, Guinevere became a bit too enthusiastic and decided to give them a parting gift, a full powered {Fast Tornado} spell.

"Are we all clear?" Naofumi asked as he reverted his shield back to its default form while giving his party hud a look.

"I believe so, Master Naofumi," Rino answered.

"All the remaining ones are either out cold or too injured to move," Raphalia reported as her ears and nose twitched for anything suspicious on the floor bound bandits.

'I'm also not sensing any stragglers, so everything should be fine for now,' Mash-senpai reported her own findings as well, but she soon noticed something peculiar about the two Hakukos once she aimed her scan on them, 'What's going on here?'

Sensing her concern, Naofumi also used the {Appraisal Skill} and discovered what Mash was so concerned about.

[! #$%^& - Level 69]

[(*&^%$#! - Level 58]

'What the heck?!'

Not only were their Levels incredibly high, but for some strange reason, their Stacia Windows were glitching. Normally, when meeting a person for the very first time, strangers would have Question Marks [?] displayed in their name slots but would soon be replaced by a label afterwards. Labels like Kid, Soldier, Store Keeper or Seamstress to name a few.

But this time, it looked as if there was something actively blocking him and his senpai from fully seeing their Stat Sheets other than the bare minimum. Naturally, this caused the two Shielders to become suspicious, not letting their guard down even though the two already re-sheathed their weapons. Or at least the female Hakuko did, as the male one looked to be empty handed.

"So you must be the famous Phantom Swordsman the refugees were talking about," Naofumi attempted to do some small talk while subtly placing himself between them and his party, "Though I don't see any sign of a sword on you…"

"Oh, that's because my sword is invisible, so it's no wonder you can't see it," the male Hakuko spoke in a serious yet gentle voice, answering the implied question by tapping his seemingly empty scabbard to show that it's actually not so empty.

" " "Whoah!" " " the girls couldn't help but gawk in awe at such an exotic weapon.

"Having an invisible weapon like that must be challenging," Naofumi jibed at the obvious impracticality of such a weapon. Rapthalia and Rino grew stiff, nervous on how the male Hakuko would react to the thinly veiled insult. But to their surprise, the jibe was met with good humor instead of offense.

"You have no idea…" the female Hakuko giggled too in good humor, seemingly recalling fond memories involving the woes of wielding a weapon that you can't see.

"Anyways, yes, I am the Phantom Swordsman. At least, that's what the northerners have been calling me," the male Hakuko sighed as he scratched his head in embarrassment over the title

Upon seeing this unguarded and surprisingly laid back behavior between these two Hakukos, Naofumi and Mash were able to relax a little, but still on the alert.

"So… should I just call you Phantom, or do you have a name?" Naofumi finally asked after a moment of silence.

"Please no," the male Hakuko groaned at the Shielder's suggestion, prompting the two to introduce themselves.

"My name is Kirito."

"And I'm Yuuki!"

[Kirito - Level 69]

[Yuuki - Level 58]

Learning their names seemed to have updated their Appraisal Sheets, but the Shielders still couldn't see anything deeper other than their levels.

"What about you four? May we also know your names?" Yuuki asked.

Deciding to grant the duo at least the basic courtesy, Naofumi led the introductions...

"My name's Naofumi. This young lady here is Raphtalia. The spear woman over there is Rino. And this fluffy fella is Guinevere," gesturing to each of his party members as he did so.

"Nice to meet you all!" Yuuki greeted brightly while Kirito simply smiled with a nod.

"Anyways, how bad is it?" Naofumi finally asked as he gestured over the damages, doing his best to conceal his thoughts.

"Well, we noticed the mercenary's movements about half an hour before they actually attacked," the Hakuko now named Kirito explained as he too looked around at the state of the village, "Sadly, even though we traveled as fast as we could, we still weren't able to evacuate everyone in time."

"But thanks to you guys, not only did we drove those barbarians off, we were also able to avoid any casualties!" Yuuki cheered at the bloodless raid.

"I can't say the same for a few of the buildings, but I can call this a win," Kirito commented after giving the nearby structures a once over.

"Then we better start rounding up the village leaders," Naofumi suggested, "We'll need them to get this place back in working order."

Naofumi was about to do just that when he was blocked by the Hakuko.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Kirito stated, confusing the Shield party greatly.

"Oh, and why is that?" Naofumi asked, voicing out what everyone else was wondering.

"You see, my party and I, along with the rest of the people who joined the rebels, plan to throw a siege at the Northern Castle to overthrow the False King," Kirito explained, leaving everyone shocked, "We're confident that we can do it, but once the fighting begins, there will be no way of knowing which village could be caught in the crossfire. So it was agreed by everyone that all nearby villages must be evacuated first before everything else. And as you could already guess, it's easier said than done."

"Oh? Ohhhh, I see," Naofumi was confused for only a second before realization quickly sets in, "Let me guess, some people are just too stubborn or stupid to evacuate, even though it's for their own good and safety."

This was one of those rare cases where human stupidity overrides basic self-preservation.

'The wealthier ones are usually the most troublesome,' Mash was also able to understand after a moment of thought.

Both Shielders were familiar with this, (though Mash's knowledge was a bit different compared to her junior's) how there exist some people who are just too stubborn to leave their material possessions behind. Even when they're facing impending doom!

"Well, at least you've got some backup now," reminded Rino as they watched some of the villagers slowly approaching them, "Let's just hope they'll listen to reason."

"I don't know who you three are," said a man with a grey goatee and a black wrap on his head, "but thank you so much for protecting our village."

"No need for thanks, we were just passing through," said Naofumi as he deflected the praise, "Though according to Kirito here, he and his party have been trying to evacuate your village... along with all the other nearby villages.. in preparation for their attack on the North castle."

"Uh, well..."

"Which is why I must insist once again, please hurry along the evacuation as quickly as possible like I asked you too. And I do mean EVERYONE!" Kirito emphasized with a little more bite in his words, "We may have chased those bandits away without suffering much damage, no small thanks to Naofumi and his party, but there's no telling if we'll be lucky again. We can't protect you and deal with the False King at the same time!"

"But..! Our entire lives are here?!" the Village Chief adamantly resisted, "Even with the False King in power, we still managed to get by. It was only now that some of his hired hands decided to attack us. Besides, if you and your so-called Rebellion plans to overthrow the False King anyways, then there should be no reason for us to leave!"

Seemingly losing what little patience that he has left, Kirito's hand shot up and grabbed the chubby man by the collar of his neck...

"I've been trying to be nice with you and your misplaced priorities since I know far too well what it's like to leave a home behind. But if you still refuse to leave, then fine."

then lifting him up and dangling him in the air...

"But I will not allow you to drag anyone else for your greed!"

the once defiant village chief is now reduced to a blubbering mess.

"I'll be rounding up every single one of your servants, maids and guards alike, and move them out along with the others. If the bandits do come back... then go ask your money to save you!"

Having said his piece, Kirito drops the pitiful man to the ground and gruffly walks away, looking to supervise the more reasonable evacuees.

The Village Chief, now scared beyond belief, finally agreed to give the order of a full evacuation of his household.

The Shielder and his party were left stunned by the male Hakuko's display of anger, though none of them could really blame him. The chief really was pushing his luck, both on them and on the bandits.

"Don't you think your partner went a little too far back there?" Raphtalia spoke out in concern as they moved to follow the fuming Hakuko.

"Maybe a little..." Yuuki chuckled in mild embarrassment, "But I don't really see any other way for that issue to be resolved peacefully. That guy has been dragging his feet to the ground ever since we announced the mass evacuation. So it was either that, or we leave his household at the mercy of chance."

"If that's true, then it's no wonder Kirito flared up like that," Rino concluded with a deadpan expression.

Seeking to help however they could before they move on, Naofumi and his party helped in rounding up the unconscious bodies before leaving them restrained to be arrested later.

It was already late evening by the time everyone was successfully evacuated and the two parties left the now empty village.

'Do you think Eugeo and his party are hiding amongst the rebel force?' Mash pondered her thoughts, 'That's something my Senpai and I have done before in one of our previous adventures.'

'I was actually thinking the same thing. Eugeo isn't the type of guy to flaunt his status to others, so he probably did just that to avoid all the attention,' Naofumi conversed discretely before speaking out loud.

"I wasn't able to ask since we got sidetracked earlier, but are you interested in conducting some business with me? I'm pretty sure I have some merchandise that can help you and your rebels against this False King you keep talking about earlier."

This question caught Raphtalia and Rino by surprise. After all, they were supposed to reunite with the Sword Hero and his party, they didn't have time for any detours.

Thankfully, a single wink from Naofumi was enough for them to understand that this was all part of his plan, so they stayed silent.

"That would be very helpful, thanks!" Yuuki cheered in gratitude.

"I was actually planning to ask you about that. If you're willing, then we have no reason to refuse," Kirito affirmed with a nod before adding, "Though we do have to travel a bit off-road to reach the campsite."

"We don't mind. We're used to traveling off the beaten path anyways."

It didn't take much time for the two parties to reach the rebel camp, though they did have to make a few detours to give Guinevere room to avoid getting snagged by the forest trees.

And much to the Shield party's delight, Guinevere especially, they were met with the welcome sight of Arthur standing guard at the entrance in his full Filolial form.

"Ohhh! Hey Arthur!" Guinevere couldn't contain her excitement as she loudly waved her wing towards him in delight, much to Naofumi's chagrin.

But before anything could be done, Arthur dashed up to her face and covered her beak with both of his wings.

"Shhhh!" Arthur hissed softly, stopping Guinevere from blowing his father's cover…

"Mmmmpphh!"

"Father wants to keep his Hero identity secret, so please refrain from speaking Ginny!" Arthur whispered urgently, causing Guinevere to pout for being cut-off but obeyed nonetheless.

The Filolial King's presence was all the Shield party needed to confirm that the Eugeo's party was here, hiding amongst the crowd while concealing their true identities. This also eased their worries concerning the Hakuko duo as they didn't seem to be surprised by the two audible Filolials. So it was safe to assume that Eugeo at least trusted them enough to reveal Arthur's status as a Royal Filolial.

"So... where should I set up shop?" Naofumi asked, trying to play it cool as he and his party entered camp. Correctly predicting that he and his party would catch the attention of all the other rebels.

"You can leave your carriage over there," Kirito pointed at the tent where he and the others normally conduct their strategy meetings, "I'll smooth things over with the other rebels while Yuuki fetches the rest of my party. We'll discuss more about your business later."

"Sounds good," Naofumi replied with a nod.

With permission received, the Shielder and his party were able to park their carriage beside the strategy tent without any issue. This also gave them the chance to see just how much sway the Hakuko pair (Kirito especially) has over the Rebel force despite being Demi-Humans.

"Wow..." Raphalia's voice hitched in awe, "I can hardly believe this."

"Y-you're telling me! I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see for myself," Rino stuttered out at the surreal sight before them.

Even Guinevere was amazed by how differently the two tiger Demi-Humans were being treated here. Thankfully, she was able to keep her promise in staying silent.

Naofumi and Mash could only mentally nod in agreement. After all, they had seen first hand how low in the totem pole Demi-Humans were in Melromarc. While it was true that some places gave them better treatment than others, for them to be revered and respected like this was unheard of.

Fortunately, the bewildered Shield party didn't have to wait long for their questions to be answered as Kirito finished his talks with the rebels fairly quickly. The people having complete faith in his judgment concerning outsiders.

"The others agreed to let you stay and do your business, though the full payment will have to wait until the battle is over," Kirito conveyed the decision made by the rebels before following up with a question, "Although, do you want to talk about the prices now?"

"I would appreciate that. It would make organizing my stock much easier," Naofumi agreed.

"Then let's talk inside," Kirito offered as he waved Naofumi and his party to follow him inside the strategy tent.

With that invitation, they all (with the exception of Guinevere) joined the male Hakuko inside.

'Y-you're getting some measure of enjoyment out of this aren't you, Eugeo?!' Alice laughed incredulously at the hilarious situation her beloved has found himself in.

'I would be lying if I said I didn't find this a little bit funny. And I have a feeling the Real Kirito would be laughing his head off if he ever saw me doing this,' Eugeo disguised in his Hakuko-Kirito persona said in-between chuckles before adding, 'But my main reason is to make sure my identity stays secret, and I do plan to reveal myself as soon as we put the Sound Muffler up.'

'I assumed as much. Pranks like these are Kirito's thing after all,' Alice giggled some more, reminiscing a few fond memories of their raven haired friend.

'Yeah, it definitely is,' Eugeo chuckled at the memories before quickly centering himself.

It was time to get serious.

"We're here!"

"Glad to see all of you made it quickly."

Rifana and Anna happily greeted the Shield party with great gusto as they joined them inside the strategy tent. Yuuki also entered after taking a moment to apply a Sound Muffler Sacred Art around the perimeter.

In a rare display of childish mischief, Kirito and Yuuki grinned at the Shield Party's confusion as they deactivated their Mirage Belts. The disguise faded away to reveal Eugeo and Kirin underneath.

" "Greetings, everyone. Surprised?" "

' " " "E-E-EEEEHHHHH!" " " '

It goes without saying that everyone in the Shield Party, even Mash, were left stunned by what Eugeo and Kirin were able to do.

'B-B-But, how did you change your status names?'

"More importantly, how were you able to keep this charade up for all this time? It can't be a spell, you two have been in disguise for far too long."

Mash and Naofumi asked simultaneously. Raphtalia and Rino didn't say anything, but it was plain to see that they're also very curious.

Seeing no harm in sharing, both swordsmen removed their Mirage Belts to show Naofumi and his party.

"These are Mirage Belts. They're equipment normally used by Shadows to disguise themselves for their everyday missions," Eugeo explained about their shared accessories.

"Though possessing one takes a lot of effort since their creation is a closely guarded secret by the nations' ruling families," Kirin added to Eugeo's words before extending, "And no, King Aultcray doesn't know about this since he's just a consort ruler and not a true blooded one."

This definitely brought the Shielders and company no small amount of relief. If that Trash King and his overzealous compatriots had something like this in their back pocket, things would've been much more difficult for him than they already were!

"And you didn't think to share one of those with me, why?" Naofumi asked, annoyed at his fellow Hero, feeling somewhat betrayed.

"Well... there are three reasons why," Kirin stepped forward while nodding at Eugeo, volunteering herself to do the explaining. Something the Sword Hero was more than happy to entrust to Kirin since she was more accustomed to how Shadows (or spies in general) operate.

"The first reason is the most obvious one," Kirin said as she raised her pointy finger, "Procuring even just one Mirage Belt, let alone three of them for your party, would take both time and rare materials. Both things you and the Queen simply don't have at the moment since you two have far more pressing issues to worry about. You are preparing for the next Wave, while the Queen is acting as peacemaker with the other countries. Countries who are more than upset with the King's summoning of all four of you in Melromarc."

Kirin raised her next finger as she continued...

"The second reason is... too many people are focused on you, and by that, I mean the Shield Hero specifically. So even though we want to, you can't just vanish off the map and walk around with an unfamiliar face just like that. If you do, the King and the Church might do something even more drastic the next time the Wave compels you to appear."

As much as it irritated him, Naofumi couldn't refute that statement...

"And finally third, as the old saying goes, your actions speak louder than words. The more your good deeds are passed along throughout the land, the more you prove the King's false allegations wrong. Even more so now thanks to what Alice did in the aftermath of your duel with the Spear Hero."

That last point was the final nail on the metaphorical coffin as Naofumi couldn't deny that changing his face would just make that goal much more difficult.

"Alright, fine, I get it!" Naofumi groaned as he finally relented at the reasonable explanations that he was given, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Now... with that out of the way, let's begin our battle plans for taking back the North."

With a flick of the Legendary Sword, the others were quick to understand what Kirin was insinuating. As Naofumi approached with the Legendary Captain America Shield bared, everyone else held on to each other with their respective Heroes as they approached each other. With a soft clunk together of the two Legendary Weapons, the two parties were whisked away into the shared mindscape.

They had a lot of planning to do.

The Next Evening: Castle of the Revolutionary King

"Why?!" shouted the Revolutionary turned False King, as he slammed his fists at the War Table, "How is this possible?!

The man with a mane of brown hair and a goatee wearing red robes and a crown made it obvious of his stolen position. The table before him had a detailed map of the Northern Territories on it, and if one looked closer, they would notice how multiple areas were angrily crossed out. Some of his comrades turned lieutenants that surrounded him flinched at his outburst, but they all understood his frustration.

"I knew running this country will be rough, and it's inevitable that some form of resistance will rise up to oppose us. But how can two measly Demi-Humans manage to push us this far so easily?!"

And to make matters worse, news of their considerable losses against these two adversaries caused the once despondent civilians and slaves to be emboldened. Despite his best efforts to suppress the spread of this information, news of the Hakuko pair's exploits had run rampant throughout the North!

'If we don't think of something soon, I might have to resort to extreme measures,' And by that, he meant letting the beast that he purchased loose along with sacrificing his favorite toys.

Any more discussions were interrupted when a large commotion was heard from outside the War Room. A guard came charging in gasping for breath in a panic.

"My King, we're under attack!"

(*KRACKADOOOM!*)

A lightning strike was heard in the background as a tremor is felt beneath their feet. This wasn't just a small skirmish like before; this was a full scale attack!

This time, the rebels were not playing around!

Outside the Northern castle, its front gates were reduced to smoldering splinters as it was blown away by a powerful lightning spell, courtesy of Anna.

"I know Master said that we don't have to hold back as much as before, but don't you think that spell was too over the top?" Rifana sweatdropped at the excessive damage her big sister figure caused.

"Well, that's too bad!" Anna scoffed at the notion of restraint, especially now, "I'm feeling quite frustrated right now, in more ways than one! So at least allow me to vent!"

"Hah… it's a good thing I volunteered to watch over you…" Rifana sighed. Nevertheless, she guided the rebel forces to go through the gate and begin their role.

On the other side of the wall, a small number of the enemy soldiers were paralyzed by Anna's lightning blast, giving the rebel force even more leg room to charge inside. And to make it even worse for them, the archers up top who were supposed to act as their support got taken out by the last things they could've imagined.

" "Double Fast Tornado!" "

Leaping up high, (with a provided platform boost from Naofumi's {Air Strike Shield}) both Arthur and Guinevere threw a collaborated Wind Spell while in mid-air. The enhanced gale slammed at the front wall, disrupting the archers while also breaking most of their bows and arrows in the process. There were even a few very unlucky ones that got pushed off the ledge all together!

"I can't believe that actually worked," Naofumi commented as he dispersed his skill as quickly as he could while peeking out from his carriage.

This was one of their contingency plans for their frontal assault. By deploying the {Air Strike Shield} from the back line while also hiding inside the carriage, almost no one could see the Weapon Skill being deployed. As for those who did see it, they wouldn't be able to tell it apart from a normal spell due to how fleeting the skill was, thus protecting Naofumi's identity.

And finally, the two airborne Filolials were already pretty high up by the time they cast their spells, so it was very unlikely that anyone from the ground heard them speak.

"I guess it's my turn now," Rifana said as she took on her stance for her favorite Sword Skill.

"Serration Wave!"

With a swing of the young woman's sword, a powerful vacuum wave was unleashed, finding its mark on the second group of incoming soldiers who tried to overwhelm their comrades. The wind not only impeded them, but out-right blew them away despite the supposed low power level of the {Serration Wave} Sword Skill. The best explanation that Master Eugeo could give was her Wind Affinity boosting its effectiveness.

Anyway, with the castle corridors much more manageable to fight through, the rest of the frontal attackers roared as they charged forward.

The loudest one is unsurprisingly Kaguya, being the most motivated out of everyone else as seen through her display of violence, fueled by her single-minded pursuit of saving her twin sister.

Making their way within the Northern Castle under the cover of darkness, Kirito and Yuuki with Raphalia and Rino in tow, traversed through the castle corridors as discreetly as possible. Fortunately, their plan of keeping a large bulk of the castle guards occupied worked like a charm, so they didn't have to worry about random sentries finding them unawares. Add in the fact that they had Raphtalia's Illusion Magic to fall back on, and they pretty much covered their bases in case of an emergency.

The four of them had to jump for the rafters for a moment when a small group of hired bandits ran past them, but they got through without a hitch. They only had to have short conversations when they eventually reached the split-up point where they had to go their separate ways.

Yuuki and Rino were to reunite with Princess Henrietta and convey to her the overall plan that they needed to follow so everyone's on the same page. And if possible, maybe improve upon it as the disguised princess had been stuck in this castle for quite a while, so she might have ideas that she could add to their plan.

Kirito and Raphalia on the other hand, were tasked to steal the enemy supplies and weapons by using the Legendary Sword's [Item Storage]. Once that was done, they would then place them near the soon-to-be-freed slaves while reminding them not to get too excited. Telling them to wait for the signal before they break free from their weakened bonds and arm themselves with the weapons they stole.

"The Princess should be in here," Yuuki whispered softly as they approached a closed door that Alice told them about before they split up, "I'm pretty sure she isn't alone in there, so try to be as innocuous as you can."

"I resent that! What part of me looks intimidating to you?!" Rino huffed a little at what Yuuki was implying, but her voice still lowered to a whisper.

Yuuki gave Rino's body a once over with a deadpan expression before replying, "Other than causing severe emotional damage to other females whenever they see your chest, you're pretty scary when angered, especially when scum like that Fake King is involved. So please, can I at least trust you to stay calm when among those untrained civilians once we enter?"

"(*Fwooom!*) Fine… I understand," Rino replied with a pout before sticking her tongue out at Yuuki, feeling both flattered and insulted.

"Good."

With that done, Yuuki gave the door a specific sequence of knocks. One that they'd agreed upon ahead of time as a means of identification.

Recognizing the sound pattern on the door, Princess Henrietta quickly opened the door and pulled the two inside her quarters. It didn't matter if she didn't recognize the blue-haired spear woman, she trusted the two Hakuko's enough to know who they should trust in the Rebels.

Inside, Yuuki and Rino were met with the disguised princess alongside her most trusted maids and servants.

"Judging by the rumblings and the lightning strikes, I assume that this is it?" Henrietta asked with an amused yet eager look on her face.

"Yes, it is," Yuuki mirrored the Princess' smile with her own before firming herself, "Please listen carefully with the plan that we came up with. We couldn't polish it more since we didn't want the Revolutionaries to notice our preparations like the slaves' weakened chains, so feel free to add your own ideas. After all, you know the workings of this castle better than we do."

Princess Henrietta confirmed with a nod before a venomous gleam shimmered in her eyes.

"Time for some well-deserved retribution."

Everyone, even the Princess' own subjects, shivered at her resolve for some sweet revenge.

"And you thought my angry face was scary?" Rino whispered to Yuuki as a small tease for her earlier comment.

As Henrietta discussed her own additions to the Heroes' overarching plan, one of said Heroes was currently making his way to their designated objective.

Thankfully, all those lightning strikes from Anna, coupled with the many brave souls who took part in the frontal assault, did their jobs well. So much so that they only had to hide from a pair of passing panicking soldiers on the way to the castle's armory.

The armory was also devoid of life aside from a few birds that managed to get in through its high small window. Once inside, Kirito and Raphalia set to work, quietly storing the many weapons into the Legendary Sword's [Item Storage]. Raphtalia even went out of her way to select a few exotic shields that might prove useful to her Master Naofumi, though Kirito and Alice didn't mind.

"This should be more than enough," Kirito said as he stored all the weapons that he could within their agreed time limit. As much as they would've wanted to take them all, delivering the weapons here to the un-armed slaves was much more important.

Taking a moment to grab one last shield that she found, Raphtalia nodded as they went for the door. "Time to go-"

'A group of soldiers are coming this way!' Alice warned the two as she detected the divergence of the enemy's movements.

"Leave it to me!" Raphtalia stepped forward, eager to show her stuff to the other Hero.

"As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and conceal us utterly in a magic haze. Hide Mirage."

As the doorknob turned and the door slammed open, the ugly faces of the enemy soldiers charged in but were met with a nearly empty room.

"What the hell!"

"Where are all the weapons?!"

"There should be more!"

As the hired hands began to argue before devolving into a chaotic scrambling of who gets what, Kirito and Raphalia tiptoed away and out of the room for their next objective.

"As my best friend from my home world would say, you'd make one heck of a ninja," Kirito complemented softly.

"Thank you. Though I wouldn't mind receiving some real Shadow lessons from you or Ms. Kirin if given the chance." Raphtalia replied in kind.

Despite the seriousness of this entire battle, the Filolial pair that were left atop the outer walls were having an absolute blast.

With Arthur taking the lead with his {Bounded Wing} skill, swatting away a few arrows and the remaining attackers who dared to take them on, and Guinevere doing most of the offensive with her {High Quick} powered kicks. And now equipped with her new [Wyvern Talons], her kicks now had a bit more punch into them, allowing her to break through enemy armor before beating them up for good.

Thanks to their combined might and impressive teamwork, they tore through any kind of reinforcement that ever came their way. It's just too bad that it wasn't advisable for them to enter the castle itself like they wanted to, as Eugeo said in their discussions, it would be too cramped for them to fight effectively in most of the castle's interiors unless they transform, in which they all agreed they wouldn't.

But that's okay; the two Royal Filolials made the most of their time alone whenever they got a few moments of respite. The Filolial pair would sit next to each other and begin grooming one another's feathers for no apparent reason.

Nope!

No reason at all!

And no one will tell them otherwise!

"Zweit Lightning Shot!" yelled Anna as she fired another blast of condensed electricity at the approaching enemy soldiers a short distance away. Several of them were quickly knocked out while some were left paralyzed on the floor where they were easily dispatched by the rebels.

When the rebel force entered the castle's ballroom, a series of fireballs were shot towards them seemingly out of nowhere.

"Everyone, get back!" Yelled Kaguya as she leaped up-front and spun into the air while activating a Spear Skill…

"Gale Surge!"

deflecting most of the fireballs with her spear. The ones that did get past her were swiftly extinguished by Rifana with another {Serration Wave}.

"Well how about that, they actually did a pretty good sneak attack back there," said the Serpentine woman as she swatted away a few stray embers that landed on her shoulder, "But too bad for them, they're up against us."

Anna then leaned down on her sensual sprinting stance, "I'll take care of the mages up top. You got my back?"

"Always big sis," replied Rifana with a grin before swatting away another fireball.

Anna then dashed forward with incredible speed, enough so that it evolved into a wall run, allowing her to reach the upper chambers where the mages were hiding.

"Imposib-!" the mage wasn't even able to finish his sentence as his face was soon met with the not so gentle impact of Anna's foot, "AUUGGH!"

Before the other flustered mages could return to their senses and utter another spell, they were quickly subdued by Anna's signature [Twin-Chained Dragon Fangs].

"I knew normal guards wouldn't be much of a challenge for us thanks to the enhancements we received from Master Eugeo," said Rifana with a thoughtful pause before adding, "But this feels a little too easy."

Anna was able to hear the tail end of Rifana's thoughts when she returned to her side, and she had to agree with her; but she still remained cautious.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that False King has some kind of secret weapon hidden somewhere in this castle. We just have to stay alert and fight smart," Anna said before patting Rifana's head in-between her ears, just like old times, "I'm sure our Master would take care of surprises these scumbags might throw at us."

"Yeah… I think so too."

"My King," the self-entitled Advisor spoke as he, the False King and a group of their strongest guards hurried along the castle's ancient secret tunnels.

These chambers were originally used solely as an escape route by the Royal Family in case of emergencies, but after taking control, he found another use for these underground chambers. One that he decided to employ now that he was literally being pushed into a corner.

"Are you sure you want to let that beast out?" the Advisor finally asked, genuine concern laced in his voice, "Even with that higher-grade Slave crest applied on it, it's still very difficult to control. So much so that it's very likely it will attack us as soon as we let it out of its cage."

"I'm well aware. But desperate times call for desperate measures," the False King answered as he made a right turn, to the room where he stashed away some of his more risky products, "And if we give him the right kind of motivation, we just might be able to control him more effectively so we could fight back."

Upon seeing the room's contents along with the smell that came from within, the Advisor was quick to understand what his liege was getting at.

"I see… Yes, this just might work. Though we might need live bait to kick start its effects."

"Ha! Now that's an idea! It's thinking like that is why I chose you to be my right-hand man!" remarked with a dark laugh as he gave the orders to his remaining men.

It was time to enact his last gamble.

A fragile stalemate.

The state of this battle wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either.

Considering how the fewer & lightly trained rebel force (with Anna & Rifana in the mix) are up against the more numerous & battle-hardened soldiers/bandits, it was actually a very impressive feat.

The constant battles may be a cakewalk for Anna and Rifana, but for the rest of their fighters (even Kaguya), they are slowly but surely being worn down. And sadly, despite the duo's best efforts, they couldn't avoid suffering a few deaths among their ranks. It was nothing when compared to their enemy's losses, but still…

Fortunately, the tides shifted in their favor once the rest of the party returned from their respective missions.

"Raging Air Spike!" Kirito lunged forward with an Air empowered {Rage Spike}.

"Brutal Squall!" Raphalia made a big leap upward before slamming down her blade first.

"Twisting Whirlpool!" Yuuki spun several times to build momentum before ending it with a powerful diagonal slash.

"Vent Forth!" Rino stabbed 3 times before spinning her spear for added momentum for a more powerful 4th thrust.

"Shield Cannon!" Naofumi fired the newly enhanced shield form with surprising force.

Needless to say, the usage of multiple Area-of-Effect Weapon Skills by the new arrivals sent countless enemies flying; many knocked out or in the midst of doing so as they sailed through the air before crashing to the ground. They were unsure how many were fatally injured by the happenstance of simultaneous attacks, but things were just too chaotic for anyone to worry about that now.

Though some of them couldn't help but feel both nauseous and guilty over some of the dead bodies, both friend and foe alike, that lay on the stone floor.

"Behind you," Kirito heard a voice from above, warning him as one of the surviving enemy mages tried to take advantage of his inattentiveness.

(*Crack!*) (*Clink!*) (*Chime!*)

The mage's scepter was then instantly destroyed by a pair of sharp nails piercing through its catalyst crystal, immediately followed by its wielder Anna introducing her high-heeled boots to the enemy's fearful face at incredible speed. Her Chains wriggling in the air, Kirito and company watched as Anna made short work of the nearby enemies before regrouping with them.

Once everyone had recovered a bit, only then were they able to manage some tangible conversation while in the midst of constant battle awareness.

"Where's the Princess?" Naofumi asked as a familiar bong resounded in the air as he fired another, "Shield Cannon!"

"She's doing her own additions to our original plan," Rino replied to her master as she defended herself from a stray water spell.

"She had a hunch on what the Fake King would do once he realizes that he's completely cornered," Yuuki added as she performed another…

"Wing Burst Rotation!"

before resuming her sentence, "She said that she'll do what she can to counteract whatever crazy plan he has in store. Her only request is for Kirito to be prepared to free the slaves from their crest at a moment's notice."

"That shouldn't be a problem!" Kirito replied as he powered up a "Horizontal Arc!"

"So, how did your stealth mission go?" Rifana asked as she went back-to-back with her Demi-Racoon childhood friend while they defended each other's blind spots.

"It went fine. Though I did have to use my Hide Mirage spell when we almost ran into some of those thugs," Raphalia replied.

The familiar chimes of chains were heard as the modified needles shot up to their chosen targets, wrapping around two distant archers that were taking pot shots at them from the upper staircase. With a forceful yank, the pair were ripped off from their perches and got slammed to the ground with such force that they were knocked out instantly!

Anna was about to say something, maybe something witty or sexual, just to get a reaction out of Kirito when suddenly…

"▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

Time seemed to have stopped as the bellow of a monster that might even eclipse the might of a Wave Boss reverberated throughout the castle walls. Even the enemy soldiers and hired hands were frozen by fear upon hearing that roar, seeing it as a much greater threat than what the rebels were posing.

Before any movements or decisions from either side could be made, an outlier appeared out of nowhere (later learned to be from a secret passageway behind a giant family portrait) and released a massive water spell that was already at the finishing words of its incantation.

"Zweith Water Squall!"

The now fully revealed Princess Henrrietta propelled a large deluge of water spears at the enemy fighters before frantically coming over to Kirito and his party.

"Sir Kirito! Break the Slave seals, now!" the Princess screamed with great urgency before adding, "And have everyone gather up with me and my servants quickly!"

Despite the confusion with her second order, the two Hero parties were quick to comply. Even Naofumi trusted that the young royal would have a good reason for the unexpected instructions. And upon seeing their leaders obeying the Princess' order, the other rebels followed suit.

"Crest Jamming Wave!" Kirito stabbed his invisible sword to the ground as a bluish white shockwave burst out. The energy wave sweeping throughout the castle and fizzling out every single Slave Crest that it came in contact with.

But before anyone could celebrate their newfound freedom, Princess Henrietta and her magically inclined followers casted in unison. They may all have differing affinities, but thanks to years of practice, they managed to complement the spells with one another.

"As source of thy power we order thee, decipher the laws of nature and defend us from all psychic assaults. Anti-Psychic Bind!"

And not a moment too soon…

(*KABFOOOM!*)

as a muffled explosion was heard in the distance.

And pretty soon, some sort of pink-colored gas began permeating all over and different parts of the castle towards them and the former slaves. But thanks to the efforts of Princess Henrietta and her servants, the gaseous chemical was successfully repelled.

"Goodness… That was close!" Princess Henrietta couldn't help but laugh as she and all her followers throughout the castle let out a collective sigh of relief, "Thank goodness we made it in time!"

As the Princess and her servants paused to catch their breath, the Heroes and everyone else were still left confused as to what that pink gas was.

"Umm… I don't mean to be rude, but what was that just now?" Yuuki raised her hand as she asked, becoming everyone's unofficial spokesperson, "You didn't mention anything about that when you made additions to the plan."

"It was a surprise for me too," Princess Henrietta replied before explaining, "We just found out a few minutes ago after we split up that the Fake King planned to use this pink Aphrodisiac gas. Not only to drive their pet monster into a frenzy, but to also disrupt our ability to fight properly."

This piece of information left everyone stunned, even Naofumi was shocked by the ludicrousy of the Fake King's crazy plan. Though there were 3 individuals in the crowd (Eugeo, Alice & Raphtalia) who were more confused instead of shocked by this info simply because they didn't know what an Aphrodisiac even is.

Raphtalia was just about to ask, especially when she noticed the disturbing looks the remaining enemy soldiers were giving her and her comrades, when suddenly…

"▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

"KYAAAAAAHHH!"

another roar, and this time accompanied by a woman's terrified scream, resounded throughout the castle.

With time being of the essence, Princess Herietta fired a plethora of commands for everyone to follow:

"Sir Kirito, please lead your comrades to the throne room's secret passage behind the King's seat. You have my full permission to break the door down if you must!"

"I assume you're Miss Kaguya. Please take some of your men and join me in supporting the now freed slaves, I'm sure you would like to reunite with your twin sister as soon as possible."

"As for the rest of you, I know I'm already asking for too much. Especially after everything you all have been through, but please bear it with me for a little while longer!"

"Let's go, everyone! Let's take back our home! For the North!"

Her voice was so strong yet full of sincere authority that everyone happily obeyed her commands while cheering as they did so.

"For the North!" (chorus)

"▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

"KYAAAAAAHHH!"

It went without saying that a certain servant girl, who just happened to be the live bait that the Fake King chose for his pet monster, was having a really bad day.

The maid's name was Arya, a budding lady in her early teens and one of Princess Henrietta's most trusted aides of her household. She was slender and slightly taller for her age, her body toned and firm, sharp purple eyes and long blonde hair tied in a long braid.

She was just on her way to her designated area for her lady's counterplan when she unfortunately bumped into one of the Fake King's hired hands. She then got dragged into the room where they kept their pet monster and where they planned to detonate the makeshift Aphrodisiac bomb. And the rest is history.

(*Ffffp! Slam! Ting! Crunch! WHAM!*)

"Gah!"

Arya just narrowly evaded one of the beast's overreaching arms as she ran as quickly as her long maid skirt would allow. Knowing fully well that if this drug-induced monster managed to get its filthy hands on her, she'd be done for! With a monster's aroused genitals of that size, there will be nothing left of her once it's done!

"I can't believe I'm wishing that these skirts are shorter!" she gasped as she ran with all she's got despite slowly getting tired. It was only thanks to her years of training and the monster's own clumsiness that she was able to stay ahead from its reach.

Fortunately for her, she didn't have to fear for her chastity any longer, as the cavalry had finally arrived to meet her.

"Air Strike Shield!"

Just before the beast could make any more attempts in pursuing the fleeing maid, a greenish and slightly translucent shield suddenly spawned in front of it, halting it in its tracks.

(*BONG!*)

"Augh! It's stronger than I thought!" Naofumi grunted under the weight of the monster's charge before ordering, "Raphtalia, get that maid out of here! Rino, go support Kirito while I keep it distracted!"

"Understood! / Roger that!" the two women replied in unison.

Raphtalia promptly used her {Hide Mirage} spell to make the maid and herself invisible to make evacuating her easier while Rino charged alongside Kirito and his party as they all powered up their respective Combat Skills.

"Snake Bite!" The once invisible sword glowed purple as Kirito performed a 2-hit high speed horizontal slash from opposing directions that parried the powerful punch that the beast threw at them.

(*CLAAANG!*)

However, the instant the Hakuko's attack collided with the monster's metal plated fist, the corridor shook from the impact alone! So much so that the shockwave caused both combatants to be flung back by the force, though Kirito didn't leave that exchange empty handed…

(*CRACK!*)

as he successfully broke the metal knuckles that the beast was wearing on that fist that it punched with, this also left the beast completely off balanced.

Seeing the golden opportunity for a counterattack, the girls were quick to capitalize on the opening that Kirito provided for them.

"Sonic Leap!" Rifana leaps forward with a single powerful strike from above.

"Cherry Blossom Blitz!" Yuuki lets out a barrage of powerful sword stabs.

"Fatal Thrust!" Rino dashed forward with added force followed by a single, strong spear thrust.

"Cross Edge!" Anna carved out a large, cross-shaped dual slash across her target's hide.

In a combined flurry of flashing sword/dagger slashes, thrust and spear stabs, the girls struck the monster's unguarded chest dead on, knocking it off its feet and tumbling down flat on its back.

Taking advantage of the brief lull in battle, the two Heroes quickly analyzed the monster with their {Appraisal Skill} , receiving some very troubling news.

[Dire Silverback - Level 54]

As the beast recovered its wits and stood back up to its full height, the two Hero parties were met with a gigantic 20 meters tall gorilla monster that was covered in white fur with silver fur down the middle. It was incredibly muscular and very well built. It also seemed to have very tough skin as the combined strikes of the girls only inflicted shallow flesh wounds, not helped by the Level discrepancy that they had with it. But what made this opponent even more concerning was when the two heroes noticed the Silverback's Buff status; escalated even further by their respective Spirit Partners.

'It has Madness Enhancement!' Alice informed everyone in alarm, distressed by how much it raised the monster's stats.

'Not only that, it's the sexual kind of madness to boot!' Mash added with great worry as this is the worst kind of enhancement of all!

It was one thing for someone like Brynhildr to be a Berserker, at least her genuine love for Sigurd allowed her to have some semblance of clarity when it counts. But it's another thing entirely if the one who has Love Madness is a creature driven almost entirely by their instincts!

"Wait… THAT's what Aphrodisiac does to you?!" Kirito couldn't help but blurt out after hearing about this mortifying revelation.

"Well… yes and no," Rifana answered with a slight blush on her face.

"This is more of an extreme case of drug overdose because of how much this monster has been exposed to the stuff," Anna explained in the Demi-Weasel's place.

"And with this beast being obviously a male, it doesn't bode well for any girl to be anywhere near it!" Yuuki concluded with a tinge of fear in her voice, "No matter what race she belongs to!"

Unsurprisingly, this disturbing piece of information just made the situation even more distressing, especially when you stop to think and realize that almost all of the Heroes' companions (even their Spirit partners) were members of the fairer sex.

Even Eugeo and Naofumi shuddered at the disturbing implications of what the monster would want to do to their female party members should it get its hands on them.

"▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

With another rage-filled roar, the Dire Silverback charged at his targets once again, starting with the one that he sees as the slowest.

"EEEP!" Rino yelped as she made a desperate leap away from the monster's grubby hands.

With a clink and flick of her chains, Anna restrained one of the monster's arms, preventing it from pursuing the spearwoman any further. This also had the added effect of turning its attention solely on her, though Anna wasn't all that concerned as she simply took advantage of her situation and slingshot herself towards the creature's face for a full powered double kick…

(*THWACK!*) "GGhhh!▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

before untangling her chains to prevent herself from being reeled in.

'It's too dangerous for us to fight it here. This passage is too narrow.' (Alice)

'Agreed. Let's return to the Throne room and regroup with Raphalia.' (Mash)

Agreeing with their respective Spirit Partners, Kirito and Naofumi were quick to obey and change tactics.

"Everyone! Fall back and regroup with Raphtalia!"

"Naofumi and I will slow it down, everyone else, prepare for battle back in the Throne room!"

" " " "Right!" " " "

"So, my suspicions were correct," the False King's irritated and strained voice growled as he is now face to face with the thorn on his side that turned out to be something worse. Especially now that their escape route is now being blocked by Princess Henrietta and her entourage of maids and a few tag-alongs.

Princess Henrietta was determined to face the False King herself along with what remained of his most trusted men. The Princess couldn't help but smirk as the man seemed to be quite winded given the way he clutched his chest for breath and the sweat coming down his face.

The young heiress didn't bother saying anything as she and her maids slowly took on their fighting stance (some with spears while others with swords), not once taking their eyes off their opponents. Both sides could hear the distant sounds of chaos, explosions, and metal clashes that were coming from various parts of the castle.

"I commend you little girl," the man growled in anger, "Not only were you able to push me this far with the aid of your rebels, but you also have the cleverness to exploit our lacking knowledge of these underground catacombs. To think someone as pretty and delicate as you could pull off such a daring and headstrong feat is quite astonishing!"

By this point, Henrietta was beginning to wonder where this brute was going with complimenting her like this, that is until the man finished his monologue.

"But that makes me want to see your broken face even more!"

The Princess shivered and instinctively took a step back as she felt his dirty gaze lingering on her body. Just one of the shortcomings of having an alluring figure, she supposed.

"CHARGE!" the despicable man bellowed, his frontline fighters came charging forward while he and his more magically inclined followers stayed behind to start chanting their spells.

"Let's go ladies!" Princess Henrietta declared as she ordered her own frontline maids to defend them as she and most of her fellow mages started their incantations. But this maneuver was merely a ruse, as one of the maids (the maid who was standing right behind the Princess) had been chanting her spell softly during the entire Fake Kings monologue and already had her ice spell ready to be fired.

"Zweith Icicle Frozen!"

The maid casted the freeze spell straight into the floor ahead and towards the incoming enemy soldiers. And as expected, the spell quickly covered the floor with a thin layer of ice... causing the first three idiots who charged at them to slip and slide towards the combat maids, caught completely off balance.

The newly freed Kaguya, hungry for some payback, proceeded to pepper them with bundles and bundles of arrows. The three dummies were soon dispatched by Yuzuru as they stupidly slid to their side. A few of the smarter hired hands managed to prevent themselves from falling victim to the ice trap, but that didn't do them much good as their battle options have now been severely limited.

Two maids moved to either side of the ice patch as the swordswomen divided to reinforce them: the ice patch forcing the bandits to attack from smaller paths on the sides. Sure, they could try and brave the middle, slide over and attack, but doing so would only make them easier targets. A couple of fighters would stay near the middle just in case, while Princess Henrietta and the other magic users moved to the center.

The bandits, of course, moved to attack and tried to push through, but the maids were there to greet them with shields and spears.

Mostly spears.

An unconventional use of the spell for sure, yet an effective one, as a sizable chunk of the False King's men were taken out thanks to their effective execution. Though sadly, it wouldn't last.

"Idiots! We can't fight them like this!" the 2nd in command said, turning to the iced floors. "This way!"

He called out as he lifted the large battle axe that he carried with one hand and swung it down on the frozen floor, shattering it like it was glass.

'Damn it…' Henrietta clicked her lips upon seeing this but maintained her composure, 'It's ok, the ice at least brought us time to finish our spells while also reducing their numbers.'

Due to the ice breaking the surviving bandits were able to pull themselves from their forced combat to regroup. This was also when both sides' mages finished with their chants.

" " "Zweith Fire Arrow!" " "

" " " "Zweith Aqua Blast!" " " "

Both sides unleashed their respective elemental spells, a large barrage of fire arrows on the Fake King's side while a combined blast of pressurized water on the Princess' side, thus causing a large steam bomb to erupt between the two sides.

But unlike the typical straight forward and man-to-man combat that the Fake King was expecting, Princess Henrietta wasn't planning to fight on his terms but instead lure them in to fight on hers. The Princess and her maids didn't wait for the fog to clear up, instead, they took advantage of the moisture it provided in the air.

While she was aware that she didn't really need to win this battle, just stalling for time is enough as more and more of her allies around the castle are eagerly joining the fight. Not to mention Kirito and his crew once they eventually put down the monster and regroup with her.

But for her and the girls, this fight was more than just buying time, it was personal!

Gripping her wand tighter and with both hands, Henrietta held it in front of her before pointing upwards…

"Hey Chloe, do you remember the time when you practiced your Lightning Magic just when it finished raining?"

This inquiry confused the maid in question only for a moment, but the message was quickly received, as they both soon began chanting for a combo spell.

" "As source of thy power we order thee, decipher the laws of nature…" "

"And bring forth a raging storm!"

"And bring forth a torrential rain, a downpour like no other!"

" "create a thunderous hurricane to strike all our targets!" "

" "Lightning Shower!" "

The Fake King and his remaining men both literally and figuratively did not see what came next, as they were all hit by that miniature thunderstorm.

(*BZZZZZT!*)

" " " " "AAAGGH!" " " " "

Seizing to the ground as their bodies stiffened in shock, all enemy fighters were now left paralyzed and completely at the Princess' mercy.

The False King and his 2nd in command could only glare in a mixture of anger and agony as Princess Henrietta along with the Yamai twins took great pleasure in kicking both men in the groin…

(*CRUNK!*) (*CRUNK!*) (*CRUNK!*) (*CRUNK!*) (*CRUNK!*) (*CRUNK!*)

" "AAAGGH!" " " "AAAAAGGGGH!" "

" "AAAAAAAGGGGH" "

before unconsciousness eventually claimed them.

As the battle between Heroes and beast raged on, the reverberating sound of metal against metal became the norm in the now trashed Throne room.

The Silverback continuously pursued the girls with reckless abandon, as demanded by its sexually enhanced body, but was repeatedly hindered by the surprisingly superb teamwork of Kirito and Naofumi.

Naofumi's incredible durability granted by the Legendary Shield allows him to endure and deflect direct blows from the monster before Switching Out and being replaced by Kirito. With a charged Sword Skill ready to strike either from the side or behind, Kirito was able to sneak in some solid blows that dealt more significant damage.

Anna was also quite adept in taking advantage of the openings created by Naofumi, which would then make more openings as her mere presence would trigger its beastly arousal. Allowing Kirito and the other girls to charge in with their own bombardment of Sword Skills. It doesn't matter if the attacks from the girls didn't do much, all that small damage adds up little by little.

Whenever the Silverback turned its attention to Anna, the Serpentine would instantly leap back outside of its reach before luring it into position where the others could attack it unimpeded.

And when the Silverback tried focusing on the other girls, Raphtalia and Rino, being the close childhood friends that they are, took turns in defending and exchanging blows with their attacks. Rino would then use this to her advantage to attack the distracted monster alongside Kirito and Naofumi.

Naofumi also acted as the girls' safety net, as each time the Silverback gets remotely close to getting one of them, he'd quickly deploy an {Air Strike Shield} to defend the targeted girl and give her time to get away.

This entire battle seemed to rotate between these four scenarios every few seconds, and was slowly but surely whittling down the Silverback's HP. Though its drug-induced enhancement made defeating it much more difficult than it should be as it also boosted its defenses almost as much as it did in its attack power.

Though for all intents and purposes, they had already won, they all just had to keep this battle rotation going and the monster would eventually succumb to its injuries. The only problem was that the longer this battle dragged on, the more damage was being done to the castle as well. They were also unaware of how the Princess and the rest of their allies were doing against the remaining foes throughout the castle, so it's imperative that they finish this battle as quickly as they are able.

(*WHAM!*) "AAUUGGH!"

(*CRUMBLE!*)

But that's easier said than done as the Silverback once again tried to ignore Kirito by sending the Hero flying back with a powerful swat, causing him to crash into the stone wall hard, as it favored going after Anna.

The Serpentine rewarded the attention with a lightning powered kick at its chin, the force of the impact caused a small shockwave that aided her a bit in leaping out of the way of a retaliatory punch, though it was noticeable to everyone that she wouldn't be able to get away unscathed. Her lithe figure seemed to coil like the snake that she is, but the punch still managed to clip her slightly in the right thigh…

"HSSSS!" Anna hissed in pain as the exchange cost her much of her speed.

Noticing her weakness, the monster made way to pursue the now easiest target of its desire but was immediately impeded by that annoying floaty shield.

"Hey, monkey brain! I know she's a bombshell, but I'm not that far behind aren't I!" Rino grinned with false bravado as she lashed out with her spear aimed at its knees.

"Sonic Charge!"

The Silverback roared loudly, both in pain and anger, as it turned its focus on the attacker who was also a female. However, the retaliatory swing meant to bash at the spearwoman was once again halted by Anna and her chains. This allowed the now recovered Kirito to aim one of his strongest Sword Skills…

"Savage Fulcrum!"

using a series of slashes to create an A-shaped symbol before ending it with a powerful stab…

"AAARRGGHH!"

directly at its Achilles' heel, bringing the Silverback down to its knees.

"Now's our chance!"

"Let's go!"

Not letting the chance for another bombardment pass them by, Naofumi and the girls wasted no time at charging up another barrage of attacks.

"Horizontal Square!" Rifana traced four consecutive slashes simultaneously that creates a square shaped vacuum wave.

"Sharp Nail!" Raphalia executed three vertical slashes with increasing force, one on top of the other, in left, right and center direction.

"Dancing Spear!" Rino spun while going for a horizontal slash, a leg sweep, another horizontal slash, an arm swipe, before finishing it off with a strong thrust.

"Citrus Bloom!" Yuuki dished out two short burst slashes before finishing it with a full circular rotation.

"Air Strike Shield Cannon!" Naofumi fired his favorite skill.

Rifana's attack was met by the Silverback's lightly protected forearm. Its other hand shot up and used the remaining giant chains that were still dangling on its manacles by swinging to mitigate some of the damage from Raphtalia and Rino's joint assault.

Only Yuuki and Naofumi's attacks were able to get through unimpeded before all of them were inevitably blown back with even great force by the Silverback's more monstrous roars.

"▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

Rifana got slammed into a glass window, cracking it in the process.

Raphalia and Rino were sent crashing into different family portraits that were miraculously still hanging on the wall, breaking them completely as they got embedded into their respective pictures.

Yuuki, being the closest one and who also caused the most damage, got the special treatment of being hit with the brunt of the shockwave. Yuuki screamed as she was launched with even greater force than the others, bracing herself for the pain that would follow…

"Yuuki!"

but was thankfully caught by Kirito a few meters before she crashed into one of the Throne room's support beams, thus redistributing the damage between the both of them when they smacked into it.

After that disastrous simultaneous assault of Swords, Spear and Shield Skills, Naofumi frustratedly checked their progress and was left even more flabbergasted to see that they'd only reached the halfway point of the Silverback's HP!

"Is there any way for us to get rid of that Madness Enhancement buff?! Cause this is just ridiculous!" Naofumi yelled out in frustration. Understandably upset over how much more difficult this battle turned out, no thanks to that Aphrodisiac.

'Not unless we have some kind of counter drug that could neutralize the Aphrodisiac in its system,' Mash answered hopelessly at the thought. They simply lacked the knowledge and ingredients to even attempt to procure an antidote for Aphrodisiac overdose.

'I know, an- Wait a second… we DO have something like that!' Alice voiced out when a certain skill came to mind.

"We do?" asked a baffled Kirito.

" " " " ' "Wait… WHAAAAT?!" ' " " " "

Everyone couldn't help but feel peeved over a possible solution that could've aided them sooner.

'It's a skill from that sword you unlocked when we had our first …! our first… You know what I'm talking about!' Alice's voice froze and then burst out as the once invisible Legendary Sword glowed bright pink despite no Sword Skill being activated. Signifying to everyone just how embarrassed Alice was over the matter of its origin.

Upon realizing what Alice was implying, Kirito felt heat beginning to rush towards his face.

"N- never mind where we got it! It's not an Anti-Drug skill, per se, but it should get the job done just as well. All I ask is for Naofumi and Anna to hold that monster still for a few seconds while everyone else closes their eyes when I use the skill."

"Huh… but why?" Raphtalia asked, voicing out everyone else's confusion.

" 'Just do it!' "

Spooked over the couple's fierce insistence, everyone decided to simply comply with their wishes.

Naofumi uses his {Air Strike Shield} to keep the Silverback in place as Anna used her chains to entangle its arms and the rest of its body.

With the beast now immobilized, Naofumi and the girls reluctantly closed their eyes, entrusting their safety to the Sword Hero's hands.

Deeming it safe for them to do the deed, Alice shifted the sword into the [Sword of Procreation] and used its attached skill (also making sure that only Eugeo heard the activation chant…)

"Hormonal Manipulation!"

before quickly reverting to its [Illusionary Sword] form.

The pink energy slash that they released collided with the Silverback… and the effect was immediate. The beast noticeably calmed down and the buff for Madness Enhancement in Kirito's Appraisal flickered for a moment before finally vanishing.

" 'It worked!' "

Everyone cheered upon hearing this good news and opened their eyes to a less agitated but still dangerous beast as it was slowly breaking through Anna's chains.

"Alright… now we can fight him straight on without as much worry," Naofumi stepped forward in preparation for the final stretch, "Are all of you ready to finish him?!"

" " " " " "YEAH! / RIGHT!" " " " " "

Now reinvigorated by Kirito's monumental success, everyone charged forward.

Being the fastest, the freshly healed Anna took point as she ricocheted across the Throne room walls in full sprint, before dive-bombing from the ceiling blade-first towards its back with a powerful…

"Armor Piercing Dive!" (Anna)

"▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

The beast attempted to reorient himself, but the Heroes and the girls hammered away at him from virtually every side.

"Air Strike Shield Cannon!" (Naofumi)

"Vorpal Strike!" (Raphalia)

A sickening crack was heard as the knee that the Silverback had put his weight on was impacted from behind by the once defensive translucent shield before being hammered harder into the limb by the Demi-Racoon, causing it to bend at an awkward angle.

"▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

With its mobility now crippled, the others did not let up and continued the assault…

"Piercing Javelin!" (Rino)

The lightning-fast spear was thrown, seemingly puncturing a little through the monster's side before being stabbed deeper by…

"Rage Spike!" (Rifana)

If the Silverback still had Madness Enhancement, this maneuver would've been impossible due to the increased durability that the buff provided. But now that it was gone, Rino's underleveled spear was now able to dig deeper into the monster's hide.

"▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

And to top this metaphorical cake of bodily harm, the False Hakuko duo charged forward with mirroring Sword Skills aimed for the Silverback's snarling face.

Not even needing a word, Naofumi called out another…

"Air Strike Shield!"

that acted as a springboard for the two charging swordsmen.

"Howling Octave!" Kirito released five high-speed continuous thrusts, followed by a cut downward and then a cut upward, before finally performing a final full force overhead swing.

"Red Sea Flowing Wave!" Yuuki sword blurs into a rising uppercut slash, followed by an overhead strike, then another uppercut, before ending it with a twisting thrust.

A blinding flash shone as the two separate barrages of Sword Skills, Kirito's blue light to Yuuki's red, seemingly melded together to become a bright purple as they landed their final hits at the monster's forehead.

" "AAAAHHHH!" "

"▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅!"

The combined impact caused another shockwave as the two swords drove into the skull of the beast, driving the metal right into its brain and blasting his top-heavy body with enough force to topple it flat on its back.

(*THUD!*)

The world seemed to grow still as everyone waited with bated breaths to see if it was finally over

"Did we, do it?"

Both Alice and Mash immediately gave the monster a quick check before confirming...

'Yes...'

'It is done.'

Everyone gave a delighted cheer at this, some even collapsed from relief.

After a brief rest, they all headed out to suppress the remaining soldiers and regroup with the rest of their allies.

It wouldn't be much longer before the North was freed.

Omake 1 - Embarrassing Secret:

Unbeknownst to the Sword Hero and Spirit, someone did indeed see what the [Sword of Procreation] looked like and now understood why the couple were so adamant about keeping it hidden.

As the blade was shaped like a man's penis piercing through the cross-guard that's shaped like a woman's vagina.

'No wonder they didn't want anyone else to see that… THAT THING! Now I wish I never took a peek!' Mash internally screamed in self-lament. The only reason why no one noticed how pinkish the Legendary Shield was, is because everyone was too busy either celebrating or getting some rest after a hard-earned victory.

Did she even WANT to know how those two had unlocked that bizarre sword? Nope! Definitely not! Something told her that it was better that she doesn't know!

And this was a secret that Mash would either take to the grave or keep it from the Throne of Heroes.

Omake 2 - No Eggs Yet:

The conclusion of what the locals would call "The Siege of the North" was met with much enthusiasm as the newly freed citizens wanted to celebrate their hard-earned freedom. But before any celebration could commence, a thorough clean-up had to be done to make sure that the previous occupants didn't leave any more unpleasant surprises.

And it was through one of these inspections that the maids found something incredibly adorable, but at the same, possibly apocalyptic if the situation wasn't handled delicately.

"Sir Kirito and Sir Naofumi," Princess Henrrieta called out to the two Heroes upon receiving the information from one of her maids.

"Yes?" "Is there something wrong?"

The two men of the hour responded as they finished distributing their available healing potions to those who were in need of healing.

"One of my girls just reported to me something quite… concerning… in one of the castle's upper levels," Princess Henrietta noticeably blushed as she shared what they found, "Do you happen to be familiar with a pair of blondes, a boy and a girl, with pure white angel wings?"

"Uh, yes. The boy is part of my party while the girl is part of Naofumi's," Kirito answered.

"Why? Is there a problem?" Naofumi asked.

The two heroes were feeling slightly annoyed as their respective mounts seemed to have disobeyed their orders to keep their transformations a secret. Moreover, why was the Princess sweating profusely and looking to be very nervous.

"Well… the maid that you rescued earlier, the one that was used as live bait, was supposed to defend the upper floor from the Aphrodisiac attack. But since she wasn't there… well…"

No more words needed to be said as the two father figures (as well as their extended family with their respective parties) quickly realized what concern the Princess was referring to!

" "OUT OF OUR WAY!" " Kirito and Naofumi hollered as they and their parties all but stampeded away.

They arrived at their destination quite quickly, as both Alice and Mash directed them to the quickest routes possible, and what they saw made their hearts both melt and rage!

"Arthur… we mustn't..!" Guinevere gasped in pleasure as her beloved gave her a hug from behind while lovingly caressing her wings, "I'm not ready to have chicks yet!"

"I know… but that doesn't mean we can't cuddle…" Arthur crooned seductively as he kissed one of Guinevere's wing tips, causing the girl to moan in pleasure. Her already disheveled dress was getting looser than before!

"Meanie...!" Not wanting to lose, Guinevere had her revenge by grabbing Arthur's limp wing and gave it a firm yet gentle nibble, causing Arthur to moan in equal pleasure. Another one of his suite's buttons popping open due to all their cuddling.

So lost were the two in their own little world, that they hadn't even noticed that their respective families were watching all of this!

The only one who had the guts to approach was Anna, as she's much more experienced with this kind of thing despite being untouched herself, though what she did next only pissed Naofumi off even more.

"Good, they didn't go all the way," Anna said as she casually raised little Ginny's skirt to take a peek at her clean undies.

Earning her a conk on the head from the infuriated Naofumi before ordering everyone to vacate the room so Kirito could quell the Aphrodisiac's influence in peace.

Needless to say, both blondes couldn't even look at each other, much less speak to one another, as they were far too embarrassed and flustered. Having their young and innocent minds flooded with not so innocent thoughts about their intense cuddling and borderline make-out session was just too much for them to internalize.

Kirito and Alice could only sigh in relief that Naofumi had the presence of mind not to lash out at the now guilt-ridden Arthur, as everyone recognized that this whole thing was nobody's fault.

After all, they were nowhere near ready to become grandparents!

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

1. I know I've asked this before, but I wish to ask again, do you readers want me to start the "Black Lotus Blade Works" now too?

Black Lotus Blade Works (Fate Stay Night x Danmachi Crossover):

- Shirou rejects Alaya's offer of becoming a Counter Guardian and got sent to the void between worlds as punishment. Zelretch saves him and decided to help Shirou in his quest to reunite with his beloved Arturia in Avalon. But of course, this is Zelretch we are talking about here. Of course he's going to make some adjustments on Shirou so he can milk as much entertainment from his love story as he could possibly can. So Shirou gets turned into a little girl (basically Chloe "Kuro" von Einzbern from Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya) and must prove herself worthy to be a true hero of Orario before he can reunite with Arturia.

Some readers have been asking me about it, and by the rate that I've been going, It's going to take me ages before I finish "Blue Rose Sword Hero". So humbly ask all of you again, do you wish for me to start this Crossover Fanfic too?

-Yes

-No

2. Do you wish for Gaelion and Wyndia to have their reappearance sooner than when they showed up in Canon?

-Yes

-No

3. I'm not 100% sure what I should focus on for the next chapter, so I decided to ask all of you dear readers what you think is best.

- The next chapter would be an Aftermath chapter. Where I focus mostly on our Heroes getting some much needed rest and making some unexpected discoveries from Princess Henrietta.

- Half of the chapter would be the aftermath with a few shared information and the other half would be the confrontation between the Heroes as they prepared for the coming Wave.

As always, thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows. I'm open for compatible suggestions and any advice that you readers could give. As for any nasty Reviewers who just loves to insult us authors for no real reason, please just leave us alone.