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Chapter Text

Tulina paused amid her stroll around Siltvelt's royal palace, looking at the statue being carved by enthralled workers next to her.

"The breasts are too small. Make them bigger." She commanded. "And do make sure the face looks good. Otherwise, you all will be punished."

There were no words from the glassy-eyed beastmen. All she got were nods in response as they continued about their work.

Tulina smiled in satisfaction as she continued down the ornate hallway. Appreciating the other statues of herself that'd been put up recently.

The newly erected statues depicted her in the most flattering ways possible. The enthralled palace staff and the city's populace had long thrown out the old ones. And it was a major improvement, in her not-so-humble opinion.

As if any normal, insane person would want to view statues of past Shield Heroes over her superior form. No, only the best would be ready for her Master when he could finally visit her here.

Things were going well for the fox woman. Her control over the Council had led her to control almost the entirety of Siltvelt by this point, whether through them and the clan heads under them, or through her expansive use of illusion magic.

She herself had no real opposition from anyone. Sure, there were still some pockets of resistance here and there on the outskirts of the nation. But she was sure they'd be crushed and that the survivors would be enthralled to her side in no time once her soldiers brought them before her as prisoners.

The truly best part Tulina enjoyed right now was that, thanks to this, she no longer had to lift a finger to do anything.

Her initial hard work of subduing and enthralling the majority of Siltvelt's ruling elite was done, meaning she could rest easy on the fruits of her labors while patiently waiting for the rest of the pieces to fall into place.

The servants who would have waited on the Claw and Shield Hero hand and foot, had they been in the palace, waited on Tulina instead. If she wanted anything from the city, it was given without question.

The old council and clan heads still handled boring meetings for bureaucracy and the like under Jaralis, her ever-useful and equally clueless pawn. Unlike most everyone else, she didn't have that lion man under her direct control.

Primarily because it was just funnier that way, here, he thought he was serving the great Shield Hero, when in reality, he was helping a fox monster to keep things running whilst unknowingly securing her more power.

It was downright hilarious to her.

Changes were made at her leisure. Siltvelt was able to run itself for the moment without her input.

Even when she was feeling hungry in a way that even her master would find distasteful, she could easily sate it. All thanks to the numerous enthralled individuals supplying her with what she needed from the country's numerous orphanages that were currently overfilled in the wake of the waves and the Spirit Tortoise's rampage.

Ever since she arrived, it had been a veritable feast every day. There are so many options and new, wondrous tastes to sample.

She would eventually cut back, lest she get too plump for her master's liking. But for now, she permitted herself to partake at her own leisure, getting drunk on her victims' despair and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness.

Obedient thralls willingly offering themselves just could not compare.

Indeed, besides her master not being there to love her, things felt blissful for the kitsune woman.

The rest of those resisting her control would soon fall to her new armies. Last she'd checked, the rebels returning from the Spirit Tortoise had already been forced to retreat from the initial forts they'd taken refuge in to hide deeper in the mountains.

Her enthralled soldiers were having problems going further after them. Supply issues and monsters and other things she couldn't be bothered to learn about were hampering their efforts. But the rest of Siltvelt's armies would soon be hers, regardless of how much they struggled.

…

"Oh?"

But then, as Tulina continued on her stroll around the palace, she was startled when her body was suddenly cast in shadow.

The very next second, she turned her head to look out the balcony towards the bright sun, and was just as suddenly blinded at its drastic reappearance.

By the time her vision readjusted, she couldn't spot whatever it'd been that'd moved in front of it.

Tulina hissed in agitation. Had it been one of those damn Shuzaku?! She had yet to sample one of them. This would be as good an excuse as any!

The fox woman focused on her connection with the Shuzaku Council member under her control (she hadn't bothered to learn any of their names, only their species). The main nodes her magic ran through to help control the outlying population were the Council Members themselves. A countrywide, enthralling illusion spell could only be as good as its wielder, after all. And even if the strain shortened the man's lifespan by a few years, it made it much easier to track and control her illusions from so far away, and even learn a thing or two by connecting to them.

But no, neither he nor his people were near the palace. Instead, he and his comrades were patrolling the eastern desert, searching for the remnants of the army that'd fractured after its return from the Spirit Tortoise, just as he'd been instructed to do.

If that was the case, then who'd blocked out the sun momentarily?

She continued to stare up at the cloudless sky, not seeing anything. Had it gone above the palace then?

She adjusted from the Shuzaku Council Member to one of Siltvelt's shadows she'd set on the palace roof, whom she'd kept alive for fun, even if their illusion skills were nowhere near what she held.

…

…

Tulina's eyes widened, and then a wide, toothy smile plastered itself onto her face as she spotted what the Shadow had seen from their perch. Her prior annoyance and murderous aura had vanished within the blink of an eye!

"My Lord is here!"

Just a second later, the Kitsune woman vanished entirely in a speed trail from the halls of the palace.

Moments later, Tulina stood outside the city in the grasslands, watching as a large and familiar metal-plated airship came down for its landing sequence outside the city.

The thing was so massive that it couldn't land anywhere inside the city proper. A marvel of technology and sophistication that only her beloved master could manage to make!

The fox woman was brimming with excitement! How many weeks had it been since she'd seen her Lord and made love with him?!

That had to be why he was out here! He was finally tired of all those other harlots to whom he was generous enough to show his love. And now he would give his love to her, the destined first wife of his harem, to whom he'd shown great compassion when he unsealed her from her eternal prison all those years ago!

Not that she wouldn't support him in his love of women in general. All great men have great desires to quench, after all. And her master was the greatest man of them all.

She was already preparing to send even more women from this nation his way. The cream of the crop, so to speak, after she'd fully completed her brainwashing of them so they'd serve him without question.

A little gift to further show her appreciation!

So long as he remembered who his number one was, that is!

…

…

A little while later, the massive airship covered in metal finally settled its landing gear down on the ground before her. And a ramp extended out from the cabin onto the grass.

Tulina stood eagerly waiting for her beloved to walk down to embrace her. At the same time, the dirtier part of her mind couldn't wait for what they'd likely be doing in mere minutes if she could have her way!

Illusion magic could let her do it anywhere! And all the people here were enthralled too!

The possibilities for where they could do it and how much they could go at it were endless!

…

Imagine her disappointment, confusion, and displeasure when a trio of girls was the only ones walking down the ramp.

The disappointment was in realizing that Tact wasn't amongst them.

The confusion was from not recognizing the two girls in the back of the trio, who were carrying a large ornate chest between them.

The displeasure was from the third girl of the group, whom she did recognize. And that displeasure quickly grew into fury when she noticed what weapon that said girl had on her back! A large, simple-looking hammer with a mystical gemstone embedded into its head. There was also a simple chain accessory attached to the bottom of it.

"N… Nelshen… I'm surprised to see you here." Tulina said, her tone barely holding back her hatred and malice, to greet the fellow harem member with a neutral tone of voice.

"I am equally as surprised as you to be here, Tulina. Especially because my continued presence is still very much needed at home." Nelshen leveled a look at the other two enforcers with her, and the duo gave a pair of ominous smiles in return.

"But Nelshie, we needed someone Tact trusts to deliver his weapons to his best girls." The blonde gyaru standing to the left of the aotatsu dragon lady spoke like an excited high schooler.

"And we already have weapons. So we couldn't take the Hammer ourselves." The other girl, standing on Nelshen's right, cocked her head slightly; hiding one of her eyes underneath her hood. "Also, in talking to you during this trip, we've gained an even better… understanding of Shieldfreeden's needs.

"More work orders will be put in. And your factories will see even more improvements soon. I can promise you that."

"It is much appreciated." Nelshen tried to hide a visible, fearful swallow before going back to glaring at her fellow harem member.

She sensed great power in the fox monster. More so than in most of the others in Tact's harem. Her being picked to wield one of the seven-star weapons was a logical choice, unlike some of the others she'd heard of whilst discussing things with the two girls during the flight over.

How they'd even managed to convince Tact to let them 'borrow' his prized airship was something that the dragon woman would rather not know. She didn't care to know such details since the enforcers' visit to her country had finally seen that some of the much-needed improvements and upgrades to the conditions inside her factories would finally happen.

Either way, even if they had explained the reason to her, she couldn't help but feel jealous that of all the women in Lord Tact's harem, he'd choose to entrust a seven-star weapon to this fox vixen over her.

Not like said fox woman knew what was happening, as she was still fighting to hold back her scowl. She hadn't paid any attention to what was said between the girls, nor did she pay much notice to the hooded one who was staring at her with a growing smile. Instead, she chose to do what she always did best.

"So, 'Nelshie'. Did you come here to see how much I've improved your home during these last few weeks, after you failed to do much of anything in the last few decades?" Tulina asked with a poisonous smile.

"You and I both know I'm not that old. Nor do I expect you to understand the pain bureaucracy can cause." Nelshen responded coldly. "But I can understand why one as ancient as yourself could lose grasp of time."

Tulina smiled a bit pridefully in response to the insult. "It is an honor for someone like me to live as long as I have."

"I don't see the honor in living the life of a coward for millennia." Nelshen rebutted, baring the fangs in her mouth. "The only true honor for a long life is one that's well fought and full of risks and dangers.

"But I guess it'd be hard for one whose species now spends their time hiding behind illusions and fleeing like cowards from any sort of conflict to survive to understand."

"... weren't you the one who fled from your responsibilities here?" Tulina pressed on, her polite voice dripping with venom.

"I didn't flee. I went where my Lord commanded me to go. Same as you." Nelshen responded with equal politeness and passive aggressiveness. "I have happily accepted my new position, and all the responsibilities that come with it, even if I have had some problems to overcome without much outside help.

"And what are you accomplishing, by the way? Because from what I saw from the airship, the only real changes besides the lack of life from those I spotted in the city and on my way here are those perverse naked statues of you now dotting the corridors of the palace, in plain view of everyone.

"Tell me, is that actually a necessary and efficient use of your resources here?" Nelshen shook her head, not bothering to disguise her scowl anymore. "Is that what you define as 'accomplishing' something?"

…

"I am getting results." Tulina looked like she was about to murder her fellow harem member. But then, like putting on a mask, a sweet and playful smile covered her face. "Or is the manpower I'm sending to help out in your factories not appreciated?

"They've already lost, oh, how many slaves in the last month due to 'work-related' accidents? A few hundred? A thousand? More?

"How are you replacing those free laborers now that Zeltoble's market has crashed? Are you telling me that your own people are stepping in to fill those vacancies?

"I have more than enough people enthralled here to send to those death camps of yours to keep them running until those 'upgrades' you mentioned are implemented. Unless you're saying such a use of resources would be unappreciated?

"If that's the case, they could be better used elsewhere.

"Those mercenaries you sent me recently could use a few more levels.

"Sure, they might protest being ordered to kill so many 'innocents', but a charm or two from me and I'd-"

"Enough."

As the two were about to lunge forward to rip the other's throats out, the quiet hooded girl suddenly appeared between them.

…

Tulina looked down at the hooded girl who'd spoken. Her voice had been so soft, yet it also held authority. More concerningly, despite the Kitsune's heightened senses, Tulina had not felt the girl's movement beforehand.

The girl looked up, her gaze moving back and forth between the two powerful women. The same 'innocent' smile stayed as her gaze settled on the aotatsu woman.

"We brought you along for a couple of reasons, Nelshie.

"And I don't believe one of those was to start a fight with one of your 'friends'.

"You're not going to waste mine and Ikuyo's time… are you?"

…

…

Much to Tulina's surprise and then delight, Nelshen looked fearful as she backed down, looking at her feet and gripping the Hammer weapon in her hands tightly. "No, I came because I was grateful for all you did to make my job easier and wanted to repay that debt."

"Hahaha! Go easy on her, Momiji!" The blonde girl said at that moment while making a peace sign. "We're all friends here, right?"

She slung an arm over Nelshen's shoulder in an overly familiar manner, making the dragon woman visibly flinch. "Nelshie's a good girl. She's already ordered a bunch of her mercs to come here and help Tulina-chan with rounding up the remaining rabble, yayaya?"

At first, Nelshen did not dare move even a muscle, but as Ikuyo's grip on her shoulder tightened, she gave a shaky nod.

"Yas, Queen! Slay! See, we're good y'all." Ikuyo laughed in an obnoxious manner before pulling her arm off Nelshen, which made the woman visibly deflate in relief.

Tulina hadn't paid either of the girls much mind at first. But now, seeing how the usually annoyingly powerful dragon woman reacted to them and realizing they were the ones in charge of the airship, not Nelshen, her interest began to peak.

"My apologies, I don't believe we've been acquainted yet. You are…?" Tulina said, carefully gauging the girl's reaction immediately before her.

"Ah, yes, you always were busy whenever we were in the manor, weren't you? You can think of us as Tact's new… 'advisors' of sorts.

"I am Momiji, and this here is Ikuyo." Momiji's smile widened a little bit while Ikuyo waved in an overly enthusiastic manner. "It is thanks to our wise counsel that your 'master' was finally convinced to share his weapons with others."

"And after looking over his choices and studying your backgrounds, I thought it'd be especially good for you, in particular, to have the Seven-Star Hammer.

"Something tells me you'd be 'very' appreciative to have it."

…

…

There was a long pause from the fox woman as, this time, her focus lapsed, and the mask of illusion magic she'd covered her face with to hide her rage earlier peeled away, revealing a truly surprised expression.

Nelshen was able to smile a bit at the sight. Some small, petty part of her took satisfaction in her expression, even if she only had a moment to enjoy it.

"Here, Tulina. This is your gift from Lord Tact.

"I believe you'll find this… more than a little fitting, considering your past." The horned woman bowed her head mockingly as she got on one knee before the fox woman and presented the Seven-Star Hammer to her.

…

"Ah… aha… ahahaha!"

It took a moment, but then Tulina began laughing crazily.

It seemed so ludicrous. Her beloved held the power to hold many Seven-Star weapons against their will, but that power couldn't be shared with her, could it?

Yet Nelshen was holding that very same weapon, and offering it to her. If even that bitch could do so, why couldn't she?

"The same weapon that bitch used to seal me! And you're saying my Beloved Master has allowed me to wield it?!" Tulina nearly screamed with joy.

"I thought you'd appreciate it." Momiji winked her sole visible eye cutely while maintaining her small, disturbing smile.

Still disbelieving, Tulina grasped the weapon's haft from her fellow harem member. And she pulled it from her grip.

She instantly felt a rush of power surge through her. And it was made manifest as a burst of illusion magic came off the fox monster's body, warping the very air around her with images from the past.

A younger, smaller version of Tulina laughed gleefully as she terrorized clans of ancient demis and beastmen. She was sewing chaos everywhere she went, taking joy in making others fight to the death for her entertainment.

Then there was an image of a brown-haired tanuki woman in a Miko Outfit wielding a giant hammer that appeared, talented enough to pierce through her illusions.

Images of a battle between them took place, the end of which had Tulina sealed away inside a dark black obelisk.

Most of the other images were of that darkness, of Tulina wailing and screaming as her desire for vengeance and chaos grew into a burning insanity that finally gave way to light the day Tact appeared and freed her from her eternal hellhole.

All this and more was seen by the individuals present when the level 250 fox monster grasped the weapon's haft and took on the title of Hammer Hero for the first time.

A cry from the weapon echoed in Tulina's mind. It was surprisingly easy to silence, as the chain accessory on the bottom of the haft glowed a light, sickly green, suppressing the weapon spirit inside.

"Yes, YES, I can feel my master's love flowing through me all over again!" Tulina laughed in delight. "As well as my undying rage towards the past wielder of this weapon, who sealed me away so long ago!" She then screamed in rage.

Indeed, while she'd gotten better at hiding it since being unsealed, Tulina was certifiably insane from her long imprisonment. And Nelshen got to see that for herself in that moment.

Momiji and Ikuyo both grinned. Tulina's look of joy had quickly morphed into a visage of triumphant fury only befitting a monster as her nine tails appeared and waved erratically through the air behind her.

Yes, pairing her with this weapon had clearly been a good choice. Momiji's studious nature had paid off once again. Now they might have a suitable threat that could kill the Shield Hero and his fiancée.

"I must say, Ikuyo and I are truly looking forward to working with you here, Tulina." Momiji smiled softly.

"Yeah, feel free to send the airship back to Faubley after you return to Shieldfreeden, Nelshie." Ikuyo grinned. "The two of us won't be needing rides around anymore.

"Karn-sempai will drop by in a few days and deliver what you requested. So look forward to it, kaaay?~"

"... Sure… I've been gone for too long as it is." Nelshen immediately turned away from the three women, an uncomfortable feeling traveling down her spine as she felt the need to get out of there as soon as possible.

A part of her honestly feared for the mercenaries who'd volunteered to help here on her behalf.

But they'd heard what would be going down here. They'd been all too eager to volunteer themselves for this.

It could only be left to the great Shield God now.

…

It didn't take long for the airship's ramp to retract and for the vessel to take to the sky after that. Leaving the two crazy yanderes with the crazy fox monster in control of a major nation.

"Oh… weren't you two carrying an ornate chest earlier?" Tulina asked, now coming down from her cloud nine moment enough to notice what the two girls had been carrying between them earlier was missing.

Also, now that she thought about it, that chest felt familiar to her.

"Oh yes, we had to briefly put it away to break up your fight with Nelshie. Ikuyo?" Momiji's smile remained as she looked around her shoulder at her fellow enforcer.

"Right here, bestie!"

Ikuyo walked up, grinning widely as the ornate chest from before reappeared in her arms. "Pretty nifty that we can store stuff away, amirite?

"I hope you're ready for a crash course on the benefits of Hero Weapons, Tulina-Chan. Because that will be our next task for the next while." The gyaru enforcer said as her insane grin widened.

Tulina looked down at the chest, now recognizing what it was as Momiji continued to speak. "I have to say, some of the tools you had in here…

"You clearly have great taste when it comes to torture." The hooded enforcer narrowed her eyes with an approving look. "I'm especially a big fan of some of the knives in your collection."

"You… is that…?"

"Everything you had stored in that torture room of yours. All the way down to the handcuffs." Ikuyo said happily. "This should make your time here even more enjoyable."

…

That did it.

Tulina did not care who these two girls were, where they came from, or even what they had done in the past.

She'd finally met someone besides her master who seemed to genuinely share her enthusiasm for her hobbies!

"I think we'll get along splendidly, Ikuyo, Momiji." The fox woman let out a pleased purr before storing the chest into her weapon like her master always did before. "Why don't I show you around the palace? And then we can put these toys to work together, maybe?!"

"I have the perfect specimen in mind! Did you know those turtleshell guys have some important organs in their shells?! I want to break them apart and figure out which of those organs are needed to keep them alive and all that! This Hammer will be totally perfect for cracking them open!"

The two yanderes smiled at each other again as the monster babbled on and on about the things they'd be able to do together. And they'd certainly be glad to spend some of their free time entertaining Tact's cute pet fox. She seemed to be much better trained than her master already.

"I can already tell that we're going to have a lot of fun here," Momiji whispered to her friend.

"Especially since M'yne's intel said that 'Moto' should be coming to Siltvelt pretty soon," Ikuyo responded with a grin.

"Ahhhhhh…!" The two yanderes sighed blissfully together.

It was truly going to be a blast!

"W-Wait! I told you why Mirellia's knights were gathering at the border, didn't I?!" A well-dressed man stumbled backwards in his bedchambers, trying to distance himself from the orange-haired man in front of him.

"Indeed, you have!" Karn clapped his hands and gave the nobleman an easy, reassuring smile. "And if I appreciate anything in life, it's honesty.

"Your intel aligns nicely with what I learned while spying on said knights myself. Everything checks out."

"S-So we're good, right?" The nobleman swallowed hard.

"Hmmm? Oh, no no no no no." Karn leaned forward, wagging his finger, and started to speak softly.

"You sold your kingdom and Queen out without any hesitation whatsoever. And that's after she spared you and even let you keep your title, despite your involvement in the coup a few months ago.

"I may appreciate honesty, and, objectively speaking, your actions are definitely rational, but…

"I just really despise traitors. Nothing personal."

The nobleman let out a loud gasp as, before he could react, a crimson blade stabbed him in the back and came out of his front, piercing his heart.

He looked down at the blade, dyed further crimson by his blood, before his head slowly turned back to see which of his servants had aided this intruder that'd broken into his home and threatened him in the middle of the night.

...

But there was no one. Just a disembodied hand sticking out of a swirling black mass of shadow.

…

The man's life slowly drained from his eyes, confusion and regrets being his final thoughts before his body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Karn pulled his blade out of the corpse, staring down at his latest victim for a moment as blood slowly seeped into the carpeted floor around him.

The man looked to be in his fifties. From what Karn had learned about him before this, he'd been a supporter of Aultcray after the war, but had eventually fallen in line with Mirellia after the Vixen of Melromarc placed him at Siltvelt's border specifically to act as a defense against future attacks. Even then, the old bastard continued to support the remainders of the Three Heroes Church, Mauld's faction, and Malty in any way he could without revealing himself.

A real snake that one.

He'd kept slaves too, and still had them despite Mirellia's policies, but compared to other nobles, he'd treated them more fairly. He didn't torture or rape them. He didn't beat them unless they did something deserving of it.

He wasn't a kind slave master, but he wasn't a horrible one either. He would have never appeared on Itsuki's radar, especially since his role in Melromarc's security was vital.

But Karn hadn't been here to free those slaves anyway. He wouldn't bother with them either, especially since he'd already verified that none of those kept here were important to anyone he knew.

He'd come here to gather info and had gotten it. His job here was done.

Killing a traitor would be the cherry on top of this whole trip.

…

He briefly contemplated activating the fire aspect of his Synthetic Hundun Talon Sword to burn away the evidence, but then decided against it.

He could always use it later to ensure maximum psychological damage.

Without another word, after breathing out a sigh of satisfaction from a job well done, and after wiping his blade clean with the dead corpse's fancy clothes instead of using its fire aspect to burn the blood off, Karn opened another black portal, and he stepped into it.

Leaving behind the body of the nobleman to eventually be discovered by his servants when they opened his study the next morning.

"I see. Is that the end of your report then?" M'yne asked.

"Yes, that should be everything, Chief Enforcer," Karn responded curtly with a small nod.

The rogue man was now standing at the foot of a dining table in a room with dirty orange-colored walls. Once upon a time, you could have seen through the room's windows onto the balcony, but Karn had since put boards over said windows. Only allowing for a bit of light to filter into the room.

What little that could get through the eternal sandstorm surrounding these ruins, at least. But he'd also boarded over several of the doors leading out of the once ornate dining room. Leaving only two that could still be opened, since they led to rooms that neither the guardians of these blasted ruins, nor the annoying piece of tech A.I. could enter.

The latter even claimed to serve GODWORLD's interests, but all it did was kill everything in its reach. The reincarnator who'd designed it in the past must have been a true idiot.

"Very good. Continue to update me regularly in case of any new developments, Enforcer Karn. I shall see to it that Enforcers Momiji and Ikuyo are updated with the information you gathered the next time they report in as well." The blonde woman responded in a dry tone. "I'm sure they'd love to hear about the Heroes accelerating their plans to enter Siltvelt."

"I bet they are. Thanks for keeping my contacts with those two nutcases limited, by the way." Karn smirked playfully as he sat back in his chair. "The less I have to see them, the better."

"Of course. Now, regarding your new orders... I must ask you to be more gentle with the newest batch of contractors you requested. I will be sending them your way soon. Don't break them too quickly." M'yne responded. "Make sure to get that work order delivered to the country of Shieldfreeden in a timely manner, too. That should do for now."

"Why that moronic playboy prince made the factories producing his armies so deathly inefficient, I'll never understand." Karn shook his head in exasperation before looking at the hologram again with a sly smile. "As for the… contractors. Well, I can't make any promises, chief. It'll depend on how smart they are and how quickly they'll be able to adapt to my new training regimen."

Karn grinned almost a little too widely. "Though I am happy to report that my latest disciplining process has proven to be quite effective."

"HEEEEEEEEEELP!" Ksch! Ksch! Ksch! Ksch!

At that moment, a loud scream echoed from somewhere outside the room, followed by the sound of spinning blades.

"Extremely so, I might add." Karn's smile widened further. "It is probably the most effective program the company has produced to date. And I don't even have to lift a finger."

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Thud!

There was another loud scream, followed by the sound of something heavy slamming down. This scream sounded like it belonged to somebody else.

"But rest assured, those who manage to survive will be a hell of a lot more useful than usual. So keep sending all the contractors you can, M'yne. I'm always down for disciplining the truly inane and stupid to see if they can be shaped into something better.

"And if not, their perpetual dying screams are at least entertainment for my ears."

"AIEEEEEEEEEE! I CAN'T SEEEEEEEEEE!"

There was no audible sound to identify what had happened. A smoke screen trap, Karn guessed.

Which was too bad, since the trap that normally followed its activation was-

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!..."

Yep, a very deep pitfall trap. He wouldn't hear the impact of the body hitting the spikes at the bottom.

But it was still entertaining for the enforcer to picture in his mind.

"..." The corner of M'yne's mouth almost curled up. "I shall note your disciplinary process in my next report to the officers of the Third Army. Just know I might get another complaint from H.R. about it."

"Pbth, like their opinions ever mattered." Karn laughed.

"Quite true. And I must say, your… methods might even convince some of them to take their jobs more seriously. Or else risk being put through the experience themselves."

"Please do. I haven't had this much fun in years." Karn smiled as he bowed his head politely to his superior.

And while her facial expression didn't change, her eyes certainly looked pleased.

"Just remember, Karn. There is a limit to Kaiser's resources. And his patience.

"But so long as you produce results, you should be fine with what you're doing.

"I shall look forward to your next report, Enforcer Karn.

"Dismissed."

And like that, the hologram projection of the businesswoman sitting at her desk vanished from above the table.

…

With a satisfied sigh, the traitor sat back in his chair.

"You hear that, Rogue?" Karn asked the figure sitting further down the table on his right. "Looks like you and the others will be getting some more help soon. M'yne must be drowning in idiots lately to agree to my request so easily.

"I'll be looking forward to putting them to good use here! Ehehehehe!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" BOOM!

Before the reincarnator could respond, there was another loud scream and the sound of a distant explosion that wasn't as distant as one would want it to be.

"Are you kidding me? That Frish bozo or whatever his name was set off the explosion trap again?!" Karn let out a long sigh of anger.

"That idiot should know by now that setting off that trap kills everyone in the room, not just him!

"Now I won't get to hear any of their screams for a while!"

…

Sure enough, there were no more sounds of death coming from below.

"Crap, aren't these idiots being a little too slow in learning to navigate the traps and guardians in that vault!? Even Taka and Maki have had more success getting things out of there! And they're missing half their limbs!" Karn pointed out two of the three other figures sitting around the table with him and Rogue.

The two younger brothers of the Heat Vision Cheat trio shuddered in their seats at being addressed by name. One was missing his right arm and right leg, while the other was missing his left arm and left leg.

The limbs were not just missing from their physical bodies. Those parts of their souls had also been removed. Even if they respawned, their missing limbs would never grow back. All they had to fall back on were some crudely constructed crutches.

They had been forced to respawn quite a lot in the last month.

The third and oldest brother of the trio, Saza, said and did nothing in response to his boss's point. Unlike his younger brothers, he wasn't missing any limbs.

"Then again, your guys' teamwork has drastically improved since I've forced you to rely on one another to get around anywhere. Maybe I'll have to do something similar if the new contractors' performance doesn't improve in the near future." Karn spoke in a contemplative tone, before looking at the figure sitting on his right again. "What do you think, Rogue? Would Chief Enforcer M'yne allow me to get away with that?"

"I… don't know, sir." The short-cropped brown-haired rogue managed to say, without his voice shivering from too much fear. "I'd say go with whatever you think is best."

"Nice. I'm glad to have someone who agrees with me finally." The blonde-haired swordsman smiled widely as he got up from his chair again.

He gave Rogue a pat on the back. And the reincarnator did his best to keep his trembling limited to his legs under the table.

"You know, now that I think about it, it could also be that this Fish guy or whatever just doesn't have the brainpower necessary to learn the traps or attack patterns of the guardians in the vault. Or maybe he's been trying to go for bags of gold coins, not realizing that only one coin is allowed to be taken out of the vault at a time, otherwise, you're guaranteed to die even if you do manage to escape the vault, since the demons wandering the ruins outside will be attracted to the abundance of wealth and be ready and waiting to kill you.

"Say, maybe you'd like to volunteer to go into the vault and show them the ropes-"

"NO!" Rogue suddenly screamed, making two of the other three figures sitting at the table with them tense.

"N-No, please not.

"Anything but that, s-sir.

"If he's such a waste, it might be better t-to consider down…" Rogue audibly gulped. "Downsizing him."

…

Taking a closer look at the reincarnator, his body was thinner than it'd been a month ago, and there was a look of trauma imprinted into the bags under his eyes. He likely hadn't had a good night's sleep even once since the night Karn had discovered them in that cave.

…

Karn slowly let out another long and dreary sigh.

"As much as I'd like to, he does have a useful cheat…

"... alright, I know.

"Saza, after this meeting, when that useless Frisk guy or whatever respawns, you'll be showing them the proper way to get past all the traps and guardians in the vault.

"I can only handle so much stupidity from a group. If he's the weakest link and can't produce any results, I'll have no choice but to terminate his and some of the others' contracts.

"Is that clear?"

…

The oldest of the heat laser trio didn't verbally respond. He instead nodded his head with a dead look in his eyes.

"I said, is that clear?" Karn narrowed his eyes while struggling to hold back a laugh. "We value verbal consent in the company, Saza."

…

Again, the oldest of the blue-haired brothers said nothing. He didn't even open his mouth to speak.

Karn glared at him for a moment more. "Fine, we'll talk about this later."

"Sure thing, sir." Saza's voice sounded familiar, though strangely, it didn't come from the man in question.

All three brothers, as well as Rogue, shuddered at the same time.

"Man, if only it didn't take so bloody long for you contractors to respawn." Karn sat back in his seat, rolling his eyes as he did so. "The bosses should really look into shortening the time it takes for your souls to inhabit new bodies. Or just have a mechanism ready so your new bodies will be ready the moment their contractors die since,

"Let's face it, you guys die way more often compared to enforcers such as myself, anyway."

"..."

"..."

"..."

None of the reincarnators around the table said anything, as they instead looked down with as blank of an expression on their faces as they could manage.

…

…

"Still, besides the hiccups of breaking in the newbies, we've been doing pretty well lately, don't you think?" Karn finally spoke again. Continuing the meeting that nobody wanted to be a part of.

"We have a new base relatively close to our problem child, Melromarc, and its neighbors. We discovered an ancient trove of weapons and treasure hoarded by a past Hero's Nation to make up for the ones I can no longer have my personal army of extras make for reasons you all are well aware of by now.

"We're finally getting tabs on the other Heroes and their movements. I've gotten to off some nobles in and around Melromarc.

"It finally feels like we're starting to make some headway."

…

…

Again, there were no responses from anyone there.

Karn frowned. "I don't like talking just to hear myself speak, you know.

"If there's nothing on any of your minds right now, I can end this meeting here. Since it'll be a while before those other contractors respawn, you'll likely be filling in for them since there are some pretty good items deep in that vault.

"Now, let's try this again. Do you have any questions for me?

"I'm still doubting the intelligence of three of the individuals here, and I barely place the last individual higher above them in that regard."

…

None of them said anything this time either. But then, Saza's nasal voice was heard again, just like before. "But great and handsome enforcer, why must we and others go into that vault to loot it of its ancient and powerful weapons when you have that nifty and smartly picked portal cheat of yours that'd make the job super easy and less dangerous for all of us?"

"Great question, Saza!" Karn turned to the oldest brother of the heat vision reincarnators. "I'd love to say that it's only because I can't get them myself, thanks to the walls of that room being made from a material that prevents my portal function from working properly while inside.

"I could also say it's because I want your teamwork to improve or some other corporate bull &%$… but in all honesty, I just love listening to the sounds of deserving idiots suffering from the consequences of their stupidity." Karn chuckled before the look on his face died.

…

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" There was another scream from the vault room below.

"Oh? So that Fitch fellow or whatever has already respawned?" Karn tilted his head curiously, a smile slowly spreading across his face again. "It's only been what? Five minutes.

"His cheat [Quick Respawn] really is handy.

"The fact that he has the determination to respawn so quickly, even in the face of death, is also a commendable form of stupidity in its own way.

"It might have allowed him to get the jump on foes in the past. But it won't be very useful when he keeps respawning 'exactly' where he died, unlike the rest of you.

"Man, I seriously hope he doesn't respawn at the bottom of that pitfall trap again.

"Not sure why he ever chose something that'd actually have him come back to life so quickly. But kudos to Fisk or whatever, either way. He might get broken in well before the other newbies at this rate.

"You are focusing on leveling them, by the way, right, Rogue? I seem to recall that gathering levels in new worlds was a hobby of yours."

"Y-Yes, sir. I try to do that whenever you open a portal for us outside."

"Sigh… so none of the contractors are strong enough yet to get to the Prad Desert outside the sandstorm on their own?" Karn asked in a disinterested tone. "That's a lot of work for me, you know."

"O-Of course we're not strong enough!" The middle of the Trio sat up as straight as he could with his lopsided body. "Have you fought any of the demons here?!

"I doubt even the Cardinal Heroes of this world could handle them… how the hell are we supposed to even scratch one?" The youngest of the trio added as well.

"... hmmm, fair." Karn shrugged. "I've even heard the 'great' Fitoria has a hard time fighting them. So I guess there's no way you simpletons could ever hope to compare."

The figures all grimaced.

"... … … alright, for now, I'll only put the most rowdy of your new comrades on runner duty, to make sure they understand what's going on and who's in charge quickly." Karn shrugged, pointing out the three brothers before turning to his 'right-hand' man. "And I'll expect you to report any of them for any selfish thoughts or actions against the company while leveling the rest up, Rogue."

"I… of course." The man again nodded his head, eyes vacant, and distantly wondering when this hellish nightmare he'd landed himself into would end.

"Now, are there any other things I have to address?" Karn asked.

…

…

…

Three of the figures looked between themselves hesitantly.

Rogue slowly shook his head. And the trio member missing his right limbs also slowly shook his head. The one missing his left limbs gulped heavily.

The boss would likely keep dragging things on if they didn't say anything. They had to come up with something and be brave enough to voice it so this meeting would come to an end… but they also had to talk about something that wouldn't result in them getting punished for giving voice to yet another stupid thought of theirs that wasted their boss's 'valuable' time.

It was like being back in corporate Japan all over again. Did Karn do this on purpose to further traumatize them?

…

"S… Sir…" Taka gulped audibly. "I… we understand that our goal is supposed… supposed to be tracking the Heroes and their movements…

"But… why are we just… tracking them? Wouldn't… wouldn't it be better, if… if someone as strong and capable… as yourself just…

"Stole one of their weapons?"

…

…

Karn raised an eyebrow, but smiled as he gestured for the brother to go on.

"I mean, cause like… there's that Sword Hero or whatever… and we might finally have an idea… where he's at… according to intel from above… s-so maybe we could steal his weapon… or, or see if we could get the Vassal Gauntlets from that Phoenix country, or… or whatever, really." The guy mumbled, the rest of his thought dying on his shaking lips.

…

…

…

"You know, those are interesting points." Karn slowly smiled. "I'm glad you took the time with your limited brainpower to think those out. This is excellent progress!"

Taka slowly smiled nervously. But he was already preparing to be shut down and called an idiot for his line of thinking.

And that was what Karn did.

"But, tell me, and this is a test of your listening skills from prior conversations where these things were brought up; how much of a Hero Weapon's stats do we get after successfully stealing one?" Karn asked.

"Um… using just our abilities… 30%," Rogue answered. "But with the new accessories delivered by Chief Enforcer Myne, that goes up to 50%!" He quickly added.

"Yes, that is a notable improvement. It'll surely benefit our contractors on other worlds where the Heroes aren't as united.

"But, again, tell me, is 50% anywhere close to 100?" Karn pressed.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"No." Saza's disembodied voice responded.

"Indeed! Congrats on passing grade school math class, Saza! Even if you're still refusing to speak when I'm focused on you for some stupid reason I can't comprehend!" Karn rolled his eyes at the oldest brother playfully before looking over the others there.

"In all honesty, the only value we can get from stealing a Hero weapon is bypassing the level 100 threshold. But by that point, it takes so much EXP to level up, and the monsters become so strong at that level, that having the increased, but reduced stats from stealing a Hero Weapon is negligible at best.

"Also hurts us even more since that stupid A.I. out there in the middle of the courtyard is the sole reason the land monsters in this world are worth much less EXP than other worlds."

"Not to mention the cons of having the weapons, like constantly suppressing the Weapon Spirit, which can get really loud and annoying after a while. Or being limited in the use of power-up methods since we also can't draw out their full power. Or being surrounded by selfish individuals who also want the weapon for themselves and resort to petty backstabbing to obtain them from their fellow cohorts.

"Sure, there are benefits like an unlimited inventory or a portal function. But again, we can't forget the fact that there aren't enough hero weapons to go around for all of us. And that said benefits won't mean much to individuals like myself, who can portal any amount of stuff and people around easily."

As Karn made his point, he tossed a pebble into the air. Said pebble vanished into a black swirling portal, before plopping back into his other hand through the other end of the portal.

"Maybe if the lot of you actually had a selfless bone in your bodies, I'd believe you if you promised to share with each other, but nah, that'd never work, knowing how selfish you all are." Karn shook his head.

The four reincarnators all lowered their heads, shaking with fury and indignation… because the words spoken were completely and utterly true.

And it only pissed them off even more because as much as they'd succumbed to Karn as their boss, their inner natures still hadn't changed.

"As for the Gauntlets, that's already a no-go. Their physical form has been entrapped in stone ever since their last wielder died. Bitch Boy already visited the nation a few months ago and couldn't break them out of the stone to steal them for himself. It's treated as an invincible object while stone, so no luck there.

"And as for why we're not targeting the Sword Hero… I could have sworn you were there during my past meetings with M'yne about it. But fine, I'll give you a break and give another recap for everyone so it's fresh on our minds.

"He is admittedly the weakest of the Heroes right now. And I could teleport us over there now that the anti-portal field surrounding Cal Mira is finally gone, from what I've checked…

"But we won't be doing that, for multiple reasons. One of them is because his Blessed Series can harm souls, meaning he could kill any of us permanently… and another is because if we did nothing, he's likely to fall off the deep end anyway, meaning one less Hero for us to worry about.

"Whereas, if we did try to target him, we'd have to deal with his friends/girlfriend first, and then if they were placed in harm's way, we could inadvertently reawaken the Sword Hero and put him back on the board; even more pissed off at us, and even more likely to grow in strength and become a real pain in the %$# to our bosses down the road than if we just stood aside and let things play out as is.

"I could have sworn we at least mentioned these things once before. But if your listening skills are so subpar, then please go ahead and volunteer.

"I will sit back and eat some popcorn as you fools likely have to target the dog girl or that dragon pet keeping him alive first, putting the Sword Hero through his own personal John Wick arc and slaughtering the lot of you while making my and the other enforcers' jobs that much harder.

"So again. Please. Could you make that mistake?

"Make my day and give me a reason to slaughter you all so I can start over again right now."

…

…

…

…

…

This time, there was a long silence, and Taka slowly shook in his seat.

"Oh," Karn's voice returned to normal, his pent-up anger and frustration disappearing like they'd never existed. "You all didn't know that's why we weren't targeting the Sword Hero? And here I thought it'd been brought up in a past meeting already.

"Whoops, guess that must have been classified information and not underling knowledge to be handed out.

"But if you really want to risk it, you can try. I'm just not going to be surprised if I never see you again." Karn smiled coldly.

"And if you somehow survive the ordeal, you won't have to worry.

"Because if that emo teenager comes after my %$ thanks to your little &^%$ up,

"You can bet I'll be hunting you lot down first before he does me in."

…

"If it's all hopeless… why stand against the Heroes in this world then?!" Rogue shouted angrily, unable to keep his growing annoyance and aggravation from his tone in this meeting.

"If stealing the weapons is a no-go, then how the hell are we supposed to deal with these stupid Heroes?! Are you expecting them all to turn on each other or something?!"

"Precisely," Karn answered.

…

…

The brown-haired reincarnator stared at his superior, who had a smug smirk on his face. "You guys should pay more attention to what M'yne and I tell each other in our meetings.

"Don't you get it? Even our bosses have put their weight behind this plan.

"Most of the Heroes and their allies know how to kill us permanently. So, rather than risk our lives in a pointless battle where we'd be slaughtered, we will turn those very strong OP heroes against each other.

"It comes with the least risk to us. And best of all, it could actually work whilst providing our bosses with a new form of entertainment to present to their people.

"That's why Enforcers Momiji and Ikuyo have been placed in Siltvelt. And that's why I've been ordered to leave the Sword Hero alone, so I can focus my efforts on destabilizing the Bow Hero instead.

"It's simple math, you see. Us stealing a Hero weapon would only give us 50% of its power. But Heroes themselves? They have access to all of their power. And believe me when I say that 50% difference is huge, especially when they're already pretty broken at this point on the power scale."

Rogue continued to open and close his mouth in uncertainty. "B-But how? I thought all the Heroes were united in this world."

"They are. But you see… There is this… 'funny' little thing called the Cursed Series.

"You may have heard of it. That's the reason why the two crazies are going after the Spear Hero. They have some history together, you see.

"Whereas I've been tasked with targeting the Bow Hero, who is currently isolating himself from the others right now, making him a far easier target for my own plan of attack."

Karn opened another portal, and an item fell into his hands, which he set on the table.

It was an accessory that looked like a pair of angel wings.

"The Shield Hero is pretty much untouchable, thanks to his Blessed Series, his wife, and his mangy pet, so there are no plans to mess with him. Meanwhile, the Sword Hero is doomed to wither and decay if he remains in isolation without any purpose to drive him.

"So our bosses see a big chance of us stomping out the current Heroes by making sure the Spear and Bow Heroes also fall so deep into despair that there'll be no choice but for the others to kill them since it'll be impossible to free them from their Curse Series, even if that stupid giant bird world guardian or whatever tries to intervene from whatever task she's been working on lately."

"Even she can't be everywhere at once. So if the three other Heroes lose control in their parts of the world and get killed, we'll have succeeded in more ways than one, since no matter how great he is, not even the Shield Hero could stand against the powerful Waves that'll follow soon after."

"Oh, and as for this, well…" Karn gestured to the accessory before giggling. "Let's just say that even if that bitch bird girl does somehow end up appearing from out of no where and saves the other two Heroes with that cheat ability of hers, it won't work on the Bow Hero so long as this gets attached to his weapon.

"It'll at least guarantee that part of the job gets done."

...

Karn grinned, staring down at the table through a small portal he made for a moment. "All it'll take is me pushing the Bow Hero past his breaking point and attaching this to his Cursed Bow, and then not even his friends will be able to pull him out of it.

"It almost happened once before I was going at it seriously. So with more prep time, it should work out fine.

"Itsuki will fall into Despair, unlock an even more powerful cursed Bow representing his true self, and go on a rampage in Melromarc. And at the same time, the Spear Hero will rampage in Siltvelt. Meanwhile, the Sword Hero will torch those closest to him and destroy an activation event area in the world.

"The Shield Hero and Fitoria and all their allies at that point will either have to kill their Hero comrades, or be killed trying to pull them from their cursed states. And when it comes to that, well,

"We can still be there on the sidelines to assist. Especially if we make sure to keep up our hit and run tactics on that stupid bird's flock to keep her distracted and off guard."

…

…

…

The others sat around the table in silence. Processing the scope of their boss's plan.

"Simply brilliant, sir." Saza's voice rose again despite the man not even opening his mouth.

"Indeed, it truly is. M'yne and I came up with it after sitting down with one of the directors.

"Now, if only you'd speak when I ask you to, Saza." Karn glared across the table at the oldest of the Heat Laser Trio.

The reincarnator had briefly come to life during the earlier talk, but now he looked paralyzed with fear once again.

"Please tell me, why do you never speak when I ask you to?! Are you asking me to kill you?!" Karn yelled, spittle dripping from his mouth.

Everyone else's life slowly drained from them, too. And the enforcer was left steaming where he stood for a moment…

…

…

"Oh, wait, now I remember!" Karn suddenly straightened. "You can't speak anymore!

"I forgot I cut out your tongue and vocal cords from your soul since you were the most annoying of the bunch!

"Ahahahaha! Silly me!" Karn fell back in his chair while cackling.

Saza looked completely dead inside at this point. He could not respond in any way because he would never be able to speak again. He could not moan or groan or make any sounds with his ruined throat. Nor would he ever taste anything or wet his lips or anything else that required a tongue.

"It's alright, boss." Saza's voice sounded from the air again. "It's not your fault the others and I are such idiots."

Karn cackled to himself again. "Man, with this voice changer and my portal abilities, I could have made a killing as a ventriloquist in my old world!

"Hell, I'm so good, I even forgot for a moment what I did to you! Ehehehehehe!"

"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-" BOOM!

There was the sound of another explosion from the vault room down below.

"Alright, fools, I'm tired of that Bisque guy repeatedly setting off that explosion trap. Please handle that before I feel tempted to do it myself.

"Unless you were serious about wanting to see me downsize someone else."

His words sparked the other four reincarnators to action as they jumped out of their seats and rushed for the door.

This was especially surprising for the two younger brothers of the Cheat Heat Vision trio, as they had to work with their rudimentary crutches to rush out without falling flat on their faces.

Karn stayed leaning back in his seat, chuckling lightly as he opened a portal to observe his 'Hero' again.

Itsuki was all alone, the rider dragon he'd been using before as an animal companion long gone. Exhaustion was written on his face.

The loss of his mount had slowed him down considerably, but he was finally entering the area of the world where the first stage of Karn's plan would begin.

Perfect.

…

But then Karn opened another portal, and his smile turned into a frown. "Seriously? How the hell are they already getting this close?"

He'd been following the group ever since learning they'd portaled to Talon to begin tracking down the Bow Hero, but they were making surprising progress.

It was like they knew exactly which direction the Bow Hero was traveling.

...

He frowned as he stared at some of the 'teenagers' in said group. And that frown deepened as a thought dawned on him.

Hadn't they registered themselves to the Bow Hero's party through the renamed Slave Crests? Had that idiot kicked his other members out of his party and terminated Maya's slave crest, whilst entirely forgetting about the others?!

Or maybe it'd been something he'd done in the moment while in the other world. And he'd never pulled up his Party HUD since getting back.

That could explain how they knew the precise direction to go in trailing Itsuki…

…

...

Karn's frown then turned into a laid-back smile. If that was the case, he could just make sure the Bow Hero subtly became aware of this form of tracking and took action himself to cut it off.

But until then. "You know what, maybe I won't have to downsize after all.

"I'll just throw the most incompetent of those M'yne sends my way to block their path.

"After all, it won't be a waste of company resources so long as my plan succeeds. And if I play my cards right, I might even get that brat to portal somewhere else before she can get to him!"

And if he got him to terminate the slave crests right after…

Karn continued to cackle to himself as the room gradually sank into darkness, the only sign that the sun was setting on yet another day in this part of the world.

Jaralis should have felt pleased with himself.

The last few months had seen great change for him, the nation he loved, and the Hero he worshipped.

The lion man and former Council Member was no longer treated like a servant and a scapegoat for all the problems afflicting Siltvelt in the past. In fact, his Lord had revealed the truth to him.

He and the Council had done things the way they did as a test of Jaralis's faith, his resolve, and his loyalty to Siltvelt, and its great God, who would become the bane of humanity.

And since Jaralis had borne his trials with patience and utmost zeal, his Lord had promised to lift him up.

And lift him, he had.

He was now a person of importance! A trusted advisor to Naofumi Iwatani, who'd thrown away his attachment to his former companions to finally help make Siltvelt great again!

The lionman who'd taken Jaralis's seat on the Council was sacked upon his return, and the seat was returned to its rightful owner.

Not only that, the other members of the Council, even the elite races, now listened to the war lion's speeches and calls to action with rapt attention.

He got to meet with all the clan heads and get things done. Resources unfairly allocated to the elites and weak clan heads who were only being carried by the graces of their forebears were being distributed to those who truly needed them.

The Council's unfair voting power was no longer an obstacle that required political intrigue to navigate, as just about everything Jaralis wanted done was voted on and signed by everyone without issue.

The judges and their system were being restructured at Jaralis's request to treat and judge elite demis criminals the same way they'd treat and judge a normal demi-human species, like the lions, dogs, or even some of the other 'lesser' species in Siltvelt, like the Raccoons.

Their 'elite' status would no longer protect them from the consequences of their crimes, as it had in the past!

Even the citizenry and soldiers showed more religious fervor, as the great Shield Lord gathered everyone in the streets in front of the palace to address them and/or parade with Jaralis and the Council following in his and the Claw Hero's wake.

…

And yet…

…

Jaralis reached into his pocket, touching something he held before pulling his hand back out.

Some human mercenaries from Shieldfreeden had arrived recently and were now training and leveling up their greatest warriors here in the Capital on the palace grounds. The Shield Lord had apparently convinced the traitorous Aotatsu clan to bend their knee and assist him.

But why were they not here in person? Why send these humans as their representatives to train the knights instead of coming to do it themselves?

And there was also the issue of his great Lord approving the use of Amalgama on soldiers to further boost their combat prowess in their therianthrope forms.

…

Jaralis put his hand in his pocket and gripped the object therein, this time, before forcing a smile back onto his face.

This was the only time Jaralis dared to argue back against his God.

He tried to explain its dangers, the immense collective misery that it brought to demihumans over the years. He also talked about his attempts and campaigns to stamp out its illegal production, even adding that he'd considered how it could be helpful in the past if used properly and had considered keeping some for himself in case push came to shove.

Still, he had since realized on a personal level, after reading the things published by Zeltoble about the Death Ring Arenas, how bad the drug could actually be when misused—all these things and more.

His God heard him out patiently till he'd finished.

...

And then he dismissed everything Jaralis said out of hand.

"The sacrifices of today are necessary to build tomorrow's future."

…

"Ten… nine… eight…" Jaralis slowly counted down.

If his great God commanded it to be so… then so be it! It was for a greater cause. Jaralis was simply too narrow-minded to see the big picture that his God must have been able to see clearly!

So long as those human mercenaries didn't turn against his God, they'd be spared the wrath of the Shield Hero's great judgment!

Yes! He could see it every time he walked the palace halls and admired the dazzling likeness of the great Naofumi Iwatani's face on all the fresh statues gracing them. And in front of the great Temple, his office faced an ancient structure dedicated to their Shield God!

Siltvelt was becoming a great Nation once again! And with the Shield Hero's help, even when the Waves resumed, they'd be ready and waiting to beat them back to whence they came! And then, they'd be ready to handle Melromarc and finish them, once and for all!

All of this made Jaralis feel like everything was going great!

Yes… Everything was great…

Everything…

…

"Six… five… four…"

"Ah, it certainly is more spacious than I imagined."

Jaralis was hardly paying attention to what was happening around him as he and three other figures entered a large ornate room in the center of the ancient Temple.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were pure white. The furniture was also white, from the wood of tables and nightstands to the white comforters on couches and chairs. A giant pure chandelier hung from the center of the room. Light refracted from windows at the top down onto it, casting the room in a brilliant glow. And white curtains hung from the rafters, like veils concealing paradise.

There wasn't even a speck of dust here. Whether because of magic, or because of the work of the servants of the Temple. It was entirely pristine and free of any blemish.

In the center of the room, underneath the chandelier, lay a holy book bound in faded white silk. The pages were said to contain the words and knowledge of the ancient Shield Hero and founder of Siltvelt, Mamoru, though this could never be proven since it was written in the language of Heroes.

One of the figures with Jaralis was his great God, of course. Only because he was here was the lion man permitted to enter this sacred temple area.

What he couldn't understand or fathom was why two humans, a long-haired blonde girl dressed in fancy armor, as well as a hooded, dark-haired girl, were with them.

Today had been his first time meeting either of them. And they looked nothing like the other mercenaries in black and blue armor from Shieldfreeden.

"Jaralis, do tell me, what is this place again?" Naofumi asked in a soft, pleasant voice, gesturing to the room they were standing in.

"This is the Holy Sanctuary, my Lord." Jaralis knelt to the ground as he answered. "It is the most sacred area of the Church of the Shield.

"Only the Shield Hero, the chosen prophet of the Shield Hero, or a High Priest descended from a past Shield Hero's chosen prophet is supposed to be allowed to enter this place. And besides them, the only others allowed are couples well past their child-rearing years, who choose to volunteer their lives together to maintain the sanctity and sacredness of the Temple.

"So, please, I must question why we had to come here?"

"... is that so?" Naofumi turned his head to look at the lion man.

There was such a blank look of indifference on his God's face that the lion man couldn't help but gulp. "I… I only question because of how sacred this place is, My Lord.

"I don't feel worthy to stand in this room." The lion man bowed deeply again.

One of the girls walked up to the book, humming curiously as she picked it up and examined it. The other girl vanished into thin air, not that Jaralis noticed it, due to directing all of his attention to his god..

…

…

"Oh? You still haven't figured it out, my 'friend'?" Naofumi smiled after a moment of contemplation. "Oh, Jaralis. So humble and loyal. We are here today because I wish to reward you further. I have contemplated this long and hard,

"And I see no better person suited to be my prophet than you!

"I hope you're ready for the responsibility! I will count on you to ensure everyone is ready and willing to worship me for the rest of their path—meaningful lives!"

To say the Shield Hero's sudden words floored Jaralis was an understatement.

"M-ME?! YOUR PROPHET?! B-BUT I-"

"Hush now." Naofumi suddenly covered the lion's mouth with his hand, stopping him in his tracks. "I must reward you somehow for all your hard work. Consider this place to be my gift to you.

"You've done a fantastic job getting my nation back on the right path. I shall continue to entrust the duty of safeguarding the hearts and souls of my people to you, " He said, a righteous smile spreading across his face.

…

Jaralis was in such awe that he simply collapsed on his knees.

He didn't even pay attention to the two other girls as they reappeared at Naofumi's side.

He was so happy that he didn't even pay attention to their conversation… it most likely didn't matter.

Tears of joy began to leak from his eyes.

To be raised up with such praise…

All his past sins had been forgiven! Every tragedy he'd gone through, every scheme he'd concocted to restore the nation he loved to its former glory, it'd all been rewarded in this moment!

It made everything he'd gone through in the past 'almost' feel worth it!

…

But that 'almost' sparked the thought of a lovely lioness woman in his mind, a hand rubbing her rounded belly while looking at him with eyes full of love.

...

Almost immediately, Jaralis's happiness withered and died. Grounding him back to reality, his hand gripped the object in his pocket more tightly.

"Ten… nine… eight… seven… six…"

"-checked all the walls, floor, and ceiling. Couldn't find any secret rooms or anything." The hooded girl finished saying. "Ikuyo?"

"Meh, the book is just like the others we find. Just accounts of Mamoru and Filolia going at it like bitches in heat." The gyaru enforcer rolled her eyes. "It was a rather dull read, to be honest. There wasn't even any valuable past info in it to destroy. And it hasn't been tampered with by others either.

"Guess the founder of Siltvelt really was a manwhore or something. Too bad neither he nor his girl were into blood play."

Naofumi 'giggled', a sound which Jaralis definitely found odd for a moment as he finished counting, and started recounting while still saying nothing…

But then, as he was about to count down for a third time, he noticed an odd blue light shining from the center of the room. It came from the pedestal on which the holy book lay.

Did his God and these two humans not notice it, or was it just him? Was it because he'd been named the Shield Hero's chosen prophet?

"Well, Jaralis, my friends have gotten what they came for." Naofumi smiled happily at the lion man. "You may enjoy your new office at your leisure."

"Th-Thank you, great Shield Lord!" Jaralis knelt and bowed once again, his earlier feelings melting away like dew under the morning sun. "I promise that I'll keep doing my best to make every aspect of Siltvelt great again on your behalf!"

"Yes, please do… this place is so dull and bland anyway. Why all the white?

"Couldn't they at least add some red?"

Jaralis looked up, but his God was still smiling softly and benevolently. So he smiled back, guessing he must have been hearing things.

"Welp, now that all the important things are out of the way, let's go back to the palace and chat some more about ourselves," Momiji suggested happily.

"Ooh! I can't wait to learn more about your past! I'm becoming a real big fan of your work!" Ikuyo said, smiling widely and daggers swinging at her sides.

"Yes, I feel there is much I can learn from you both, too. " Naofumi smiled, leading the two enforcers back towards the palace's entrance.

Jaralis stood up, almost turning around to follow. He was certain there was more he could do for his great God anyway! And some part of him wanted to learn more about the great Naofumi's past too just like these two human girls!

Perhaps they really were true followers of his God after all!

…

…

But then, there was that blue light still shining from the pedestal of the room…

Oddly enough, it felt like it was calling out to Jaralis. Practically begging for his attention so he could examine what it was…

…

His hand gripped the object in his pocket again and shook his head.

Well, whatever. It wasn't that important anyway!

Not as important as his duties to his Great God and Siltvelt right now! And now, having the additional duties of watching over his people's spirituality would dominate his attention for the time to come!

Jaralis hummed pleasantly as he got up and closed the doors to the Holy Sanctuary, making sure they were sealed tight to prevent dust from getting in. Then, he followed his great God and his human friends back to the palace.

There he'd continue with his duties in running the country and gradually become accustomed to his new duties as the new religious leader of the people, as appointed by the great Naofumi.

All for the peace and benefit of the great society he and the Shield Hero wanted to make!

…

"So that's the current situation we're in." Naofumi finished his explanation and crossed his hands on his lap.

"... understood." Ren nodded solemnly.

Hero Clips!

Wait, those are Weapons? So does that mean…?

"I hope you're ready for a crash course on the benefits of Hero Weapons, Tulina-Chan. Because that will be our next task for the next while." The gyaru enforcer said as her insane grin widened.

Tulina was beyond excited. She had all sorts of ideas about how she could use her new hero weapon alongside her torture tools.

Her rusty, dull knives. Her bloody saws and mini hammers to deliver precise pain and bone breaking.

She even had some items disguised as everyday items, like a gun that looked like a parasol, so that she could have some 'hope play' with those she played with.

Making them think she was going to let them go, only to end their lives suddenly without any warning.

Ah, how she looked forward to using these various weapons on her future victims and…

…

Wait.

"Just to check… would I still be capable of using my weapons in this chest to torture my victims?" Tulina asked.

"..."

"..."

Momiji and Ikuyo both looked at one another.

"Ohhhhh… right." Ikuyo grimaced. "Sorry, Queen, we're so used to torturing others with our weapons that we kind of…"

"Forgot that was a limitation." Momiji finished, a chastised smile on her innocent face.

...

Tulina breathed in deeply, trying to look the picture of calm...

But it didn't help as she rapidly opened her ornate chest and grabbed various weapons and devices with her hands.

Handcuffs and other things used to bind or immobilize her victims were able to be held just fine. But she was repeatedly zapped by her weapon when she grabbed knives, daggers, guns, and everything in between.

Even when she grabbed one of her saws…

Zap!

Yep, her weapon even zapped her for that.

"No way! It isn't possible!" The fox monster screamed in despair.

The only thing she was able to grab was her mini hammers. And that was accompanied by her weapon copying them.

Zap!

But if she still held the minihammers after copying them with the intent to use them, she was zapped and forced to drop them.

Level 250, she might have been, and an illegitimate wielder she was, but she was still subject to the same rules normal weapon wielders fell under.

"YOU SUCK!" Tulina shouted at her weapon. And while the spirit was being actively repressed…

"Git Gud." The words echoed in the fox woman's mind with deep smugness and sass.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Tulina began pounding the large hammer into the ground next to her, causing mini earthquakes in the area as she demonstrated her strength.

Unfortunately, this didn't damage its physical form because the Hero Weapons were 'invincible objects' that could only be damaged or destroyed by ending the world.

"Git Gud. Git Gud. Git Gud." In fact, the Hammer Spirit seemed to be taking joy in pissing the fox woman off. It clearly remembered her well after all these years, and if it were going to be forced to serve the crazy monster, then it would make that servitude a living hell for it.

"You mother &^%$&^!"

...

Momiji and Ikuyo grimaced as Tulina's display of ferocity cratered the ground around them—the two were unaware of the exchange between weapon and wielder.

"Maybe she'd feel better if we assisted in torturing her victims," Ikuyo suggested.

"Or we could help her develop new and enjoyable methods of torture relying on her weapon." Momiji rubbed her chin.

It was still a little strange to the enforcer that Status Magic considered what were essentially torture/assassination tools weapons…

But then again, she remembered reading a report about an Assassination Tools Hero in another world. He'd had access to all the things in Tulina's torture kit, as well as a few extra items that fit the title for assassination.

What'd made that report so memorable was that he'd been actively helping GODWORLD out thanks to his edgy antics with his allies and the like…

No, she was dead serious. It wasn't even on purpose.

Such a weapon existed in another world. And the wielder it'd summoned had needlessly and actively distrusted everyone so much that he used his abilities to murder those he labeled dangerous to himself.

He even took out a Vassal Hero and nearly killed one of the other Cardinal Heroes he was summoned with, simply because he was too good-looking for the edgy Chunnibyo to get along with.

As a legit Cardinal Hero, this piece of work had accomplished more than any operatives placed in that world for the last few centuries by GODWORLD. He was so impressive that the head honcho had even considered the possibility of hiring him to deal with problems on other worlds…

Unfortunately, according to the end of that report, the Fan Hero had visited the Assassination Tools Hero's world via the Waves. And that visit had ended with her killing the bastard in one-on-one combat, in which nobody stepped up to help the edgy teenager whatsoever.

The Fan Hero then returned to her world, and ever since, that world had brought itself together and successfully fought back the Waves, even though it was missing one of its Cardinal Heroes.

So while it might have been unfair for the fox woman to not use her torture tools now that she was The Hammer Hero… there was at least a world out there that had a Hero Weapon that could make use of them…

Huh, what a weird line of thought for Momiji to have.

Especially because it hadn't involved her precious Moto in any way.

"Shall we go back to thinking about how we'll greet Moto when we see him?" Momiji asked.

"Yes! Please!" Ikuyo grinned widely in response.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! "Ahhhhhhh!~"

The two enforcers sighed blissfully, even as Tulina continued to throw an angry tantrum over not being allowed to torture her victims in various ways anymore.

But oh well, Momiji and Ikuyo couldn't wait to see Motoyasu again.

Especially since their weapons would allow them to 'lovingly' torture him for all the time they'd spent apart :).

Till Next Time

Allen

Chapter Text

"Do you have any questions?" The Shield Hero asked.

…

There was a long pause as the couple sitting across from him looked at each other with uncertainty.

"Are… are we going to be able to see our other friends like before?" Wyndia eventually asked.

"… No. I'm sorry. We'll need to keep your location a secret from now on." Naofumi frowned and shook his head at the Sword Couple. "Meaning today's the last time you're going to see me or anyone else for a long while."

"... and to think my curse debuff ended yesterday." Ren hung his head low.

Wyndia gripped the Sword Hero's hand and squeezed it tightly.

The teenage duo sat opposite the Shield Hero in the living room of the suite they'd been staying in for the past month. The only other person in the room was Elhart, who stood in front of the door, gripping his trusty warhammer in both hands as he kept an eye out for threats.

It'd been several days since the attack. A great deal had happened during that time. And yes, Naofumi would note first and foremost that Elhart was still sticking around as his bodyguard.

Call it overcautious or what have you, but come hell or high water, the older blacksmith was determined to stick to the Shield Hero's side wherever he went to ensure his beloved Bro and best customer wasn't done in by some weird rando with cheat gear.

Raphtalia and Motoyasu were currently at the Capital with everyone else. The majority of the Hero's Nation residents had gathered there over the last few days. However, this time, they weren't there seeking shelter from a Guardian Beast or its minions. Instead, they were there to join up with Mirellia's army at Siltvelt's border for the military intervention that'd soon commence.

A lot of Raphtalia and Motoyasu's time since the attack had been spent portaling everyone from there to the border with Siltvelt, after the Spear Hero had been taken close to the general spot by Fitoria.

As it turned out, Naofumi never had a soft time limit of three weeks. Mirellia had already moved a large part of her forces to the Siltvelt border under the guise of exterminating monsters in the area, as their populations had grown too big for the local adventurers to handle.

The Queen had also been readying to contact Naofumi to see if he'd be willing to take a trip to Siltvelt and do some 'scouting' to figure out what was going on, so that she could see if her knights were needed there long-term or not.

Thanks to Chen, that was no longer necessary. They knew what was going on. And because of Q'Ten Lo's actions in the Hero's Nation, the Queen had chosen to advance her plans.

Which worked out in this case. The majority of people who needed to be transported to the area were their citizens, and not Mirellia's knights. It would have taken far longer to get ready otherwise.

After Naofumi got back, they'd be sitting down for a strategy meeting with Mirellia and Aultcray, as well as their Knight Commander, to finalize the details and logistics quirks before they finished teleporting everyone else.

Meeting up with Ren and explaining what was going on was one of the last things Naofumi personally had to do. He'd been delaying it to help with everything else that needed to get done, but it couldn't be put off any longer.

And delaying it until now was proving to be one of his more troubling mistakes, solely because of Ren's depressed reaction to being told he would be staying out of the action yet again. And Naofumi realized how much worse his younger brother looked after several days of not hearing anything from anyone.

"Can't we at least return home?" Before he could think about it more, Wyndia suddenly spoke with a determined look on her face. "I can admit that Ren still isn't at one hundred percent. But now that his curse debuff is gone, he'll be able to gather EXP and levels again.

"Me and him could both help level those staying behind, or provide defense if an attack happens-"

"It's because an attack could happen at any time that I want him here." Naofumi deeply frowned as he cut the dog girl off. "Fitoria and her flock will be keeping an eye on our territory, but not even she can see past whatever stealth these bastards use. On top of that, the gear our enemies use negates our powers as Heroes.

"Of all of us, Ren would be the most vulnerable since he's still level 75.

"I was level 90, yet I almost died several times trying to protect myself and everyone else. If not for Motoyasu, I would be dead right now.

"I'm sorry, but I can't risk my younger brother's life like that."

"And yet you'd risk Farrie and Tersia and Blue and Rikka's lives?!" Wyndia stood up as she bared her fangs in anger.

"They aren't Heroes. They're less vulnerable to what we'll be up against." Naofumi continued to frown.

"And besides, I didn't choose for them to come along.

"They volunteered themselves." Naofumi looked down with a sour expression.

…

"No one joining us for Siltvelt and Q'Ten Lo is doing so against their will." The Shield Hero eventually continued when the Sword Couple remained silent.

"That was one of the conditions that Motoyasu and I settled on during our talk. We'd only accept volunteers for the battles ahead. And based on Melty's initial estimates, around eighty percent of the Hero's Nation's combat-ready people signed up to come with us.

"And that included your friends."

…

Wyndia slowly sat back down. Her anger slowly morphed into confusion as the Shield Hero continued once more.

"Your friends chose to volunteer so that you and Ren wouldn't have to go.

"They don't want anything bad to happen to either of you. And I promise, I'm going to do my damn best to make sure nothing happens to them either." As Naofumi said this, he pulled a vial out of his weapon. Something he now had his weapon auto-crafting in case the worst happened, and healing magic wouldn't be enough to save the life of somebody important to him or his comrades.

Yggdrasil's Elixir

"I wasn't prepared for the fight that happened before.

"That won't be the case going forward anymore.

"I promise. They will be in good hands."

…

Wyndia opened her mouth again, still looking confused and angry, but she at least stayed silent as she saw the miracle medicine with her own eyes.

"The fact of the matter is: I can't guarantee Ren's life if he returns right now. I can't guarantee that he won't be targeted…

"But if I can keep him here, with somebody I can trust to watch over him, I can at least guarantee your safety."

…

"H… How can you be sure they won't attack us here?" Wyndia asked in a small voice, finally expressing in part her fear at such a thing happening.

Included in that fear was her self-doubt. About not being enough to help Ren on her own without her friends supporting her… especially since even she had noticed how her boyfriend had stopped getting better, and was instead slowly deteriorating the longer they spent in Cal Mira.

"Because those Shadows didn't know we were coming here before," Naofumi answered.

"They followed us everywhere, but they can't follow us when we portal unless they 'know' where we went.

"S'yne has a good memory and has been keeping an eye on our territory. She and Sadeena uncovered where the Shadows had concealed a base of operations near Lurolona after the attack, and she recalled being in that area the day before Sadeena returned to clear out a den of monsters.

"She'd found the area strangely cleaned up back then. They were keeping an eye on us before, but they were gone while we'd disappeared off to the Otherworld.

"Meaning they weren't back in time to see us bringing you both here. Meaning they had to wait around at our save spots in Lurolona whenever we visited here to keep an eye on us.

"And based on what Motoyasu heard from his enemies when they fought, they still haven't learned that we were visiting here, which I consider a damn miracle. But since none of us has a clue about where Itsuki is in the world, the least I can do is make sure they continue to remain ignorant about you and Ren." Naofumi told the brown-haired dog girl.

"Especially since… if in the worst case scenario where me and Moto do somehow bite the dust…

"At least Ren would still be alive to try and salvage things with your help…"

…

…

…

Naofumi shook his head as the girl went back to staring at him furiously for his blunt words. "So until we deal with these damn ninjas, or until we find a way to counter their anti-hero gear, I'm not bringing you or Ren back with me." The Shield Hero then looked up.

There was regret in Naofumi's green eyes. But also care and sincerity that made the Sword Hero lower his head in acceptance, even as Wyndia continued to seethe at the unfairness of their situation.

"... I don't want anything to happen to either of you, which is why I'm going to ask both of you to gather levels and continue stat training while you're still here.

"Talk to Count Hadenburg and see if there are any monster exterminations that need to be done on the islands, or grind levels from the monsters on the seabed.

"I already talked to him about this before coming here, and he's agreed to house you a while longer, whether you do these monster extermination quests for him, hunt monsters on your own, or simply stay in here and focus on your recovery."

…

Wyndia closed and opened her mouth. She wanted to argue with the Shield Hero, but she could see the point he was making.

She didn't want something bad to happen to her beloved, not after all the progress they'd made in his health in the recent weeks.

Even if nightmares were still plaguing him, even if he still wasn't eating as much as he should, even if his condition wasn't improving anymore… she'd been trying her best to help him with those things as well as with training and blacksmithing and socializing and smiling and all those other little things that made his life and her time with him enjoyable.

Those times, while few and far between, were like precious pearls to her. And they still happened even though it felt like things were falling apart around them right now.

She didn't want something to happen that'd ruin things for them now, though.

…

But if their friends weren't going to be able to visit anymore, would she be capable of helping Ren out with just their daughter assisting them?

Gaelion wasn't even here right now, since she was out on the nearby islands hunting for food. The local chefs could no longer cook enough to satisfy her. And she was only going to get bigger, and Wyndia wasn't sure if the two of them alone would be able to assist Ren with everything he needed help with, and-

"Wyndia, I already said I'd stay…" Ren suddenly spoke, interrupting her train of thought.

"But… You don't have to stay with me."

"Ren?" The dog girl looked at her Hero boyfriend in surprise.

The young man trembled, his arms wrapped tightly around himself. "If I end up getting targeted for being the Sword Hero… that'll also put a target on you and our daughter.

"At least Farrie and the others will have Naofumi and his friends protecting them… but then if you both stayed here with me, and they did end up attacking us… I wouldn't be able to protect either of you…

"So if you can go with Gaelion, and make sure our friends stay okay… I'll be ok by myself… harder to find and all that…

"And… if they do find me… I'd-"

Wyndia placed her hands on his cheeks, cutting the boy off mid-talk.

…

She didn't speak for a moment as her small body trembled.

"You… you…"

…

"You absolute dummy!" She finally shouted.

"There's no way! I refuse to leave you here on your own!" Wyndia continued to shout at Ren's face, tears appearing in her amber eyes as he looked surprised, then downcast at her outburst.

"B-But, Wyndia-"

"No buts! If you're staying, then I'll stay with you!

"Even if I have to take care of you all by myself until this crisis is over, even if I have to protect you with no one else, I'll do it!" Wyndia's hands went from holding his face to gripping his shirt collar.

She was still trembling, but she kept her gaze on him as her voice fell to a whisper. "Don't ever think I'd want to abandon you after everything we've been through together, Ren. Please don't ever think that."

There was care and love in her voice, but also anger and, beneath all that, hurt. "I love you. And I don't want to abandon you.

"Especially right now when I need you."

"Please… please don't break my heart like this, Ren… please don't send me away…"

…

The Sword Hero breathed out as he placed his forehead against hers. He had nothing to say in response to his demi-girlfriend's sincere words, and tears began to well up in his blue eyes.

Even his futile attempt to shield her from tragedy had resulted in her pain. Could he not do anything right anymore?

Naofumi had to force down a pained look again. Wyndia continued to tremble as she tried to convey as much confidence as possible in her words.

"I love you… I love you dearly… so don't you dare try to tell me to abandon you!" Her amber eyes looked into his, as piercing and fierce as a dragon. "If you have to stay here, then I'm staying too!"

Whether she was convincing herself or him right now, neither knew. "Don't you dare tell me to leave Ren! I won't! Not ever!"

Ren could only choke down his voice as he nodded in response. As confidently as she'd spoken, there were still tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She was scared of what the future held in store for them.

Yet what else could she possibly do right now when her boyfriend was unraveling before her eyes except try to act strong for his sake?

…

"If something changes," Naofumi finally said, his voice softer and more caring than earlier. "I'll come back here to take you both back home… or bring you both along so you can help out, Ren, Wyndia..."

"Until then, just make sure you're both doing ok.

"Ren, especially you. Don't think I'm doing this because you're useless or weak or any of that crap because you're not.

"I've done enough of that thinking since my summoning, and especially these last few days..

"So please, don't let those thoughts dominate your mind, and remember that this is a strictly pragmatic decision on my part.

"I hope you can understand."

Ren nodded. He already looked far more tired than before Naofumi's arrival, though. His tears were threatening to release like his girlfriend's. And the Shield Hero then noted the bags under his younger bro's eyes.

Wyndia had mentioned he was still suffering from nightmares.

He wondered how bad they were, thinking over some of the ones he'd had recently thanks to the attack.

"..."

"..." Neither of them said anything further. And Naofumi finally got up.

He gave his younger brother a parting hug, and again got no words in response.

Elhart followed the Shield Hero out the door, but the pair stayed next to the door a moment more after closing it, listening to what was going on inside.

…

Wyndia was trying to coax her boyfriend and herself out into their personal Hot Spring, saying something like how a nice soak could improve both their moods.

But Ren didn't utter a word in response.

Even through the door, the pair could hear what sounded like tears hitting against the carpeted floor, thanks to their high stats. Whether it was Ren's tears, his girlfriend's, or both, neither of them knew.

And neither of them wanted to learn.

…

Elhart frowned deeply. "You sure that was the right thing to do, Bro?

"I can understand the saying that time heals all wounds. But I can't say that's working out here."

"... No, it's not." Naofumi shook his head with a scowl. "But I don't know what the right thing to do here is, Elhart.

"This is just the least &$# option I can think of, save for tossing Ren on Fitoria's back and having her carry him around 24/7. But she isn't available for that, so this was the next best thing.

"Either way, he sure as hell ain't coming along with us to Siltvelt and being forced to fight against other people in his current state.

"I could never do that to him."

…

Naofumi took a deep breath before his shoulders fell in exhaustion. "... My little bro deserves better than this…

"I wish I could do more. But my hands are tied.

"The best I can hope for is that Wyndia and Gaelion can find a way to help him heal on their own... And if not, that they're able to keep him together long enough for us to sit down for some damn group therapy sessions after we resolve the current crisis.

"Because my God, I think we could all use that right now."

…

…

"... I'm really sorry for making fun of you for that in the past, Bro," Elhart said simply as he rested a hand on Naofumi's shoulder. "These last few days have shown me how you young ones are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.

"In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have given you so much crap about what you've accomplished, because it's a hell of a lot more impressive compared to when I was your guys' age."

"Eh, it's fine. I honestly appreciate the banter, Old Man." Naofumi shook his head while rolling his eyes. "And seriously, I'll appreciate it if you continue doing that going forward.

"If things were doom and gloom all the time, none of us would be able to do anything."

…

"You sure?" Elhart asked.

"Positive." Naofumi nodded.

…

Elhart thought on it for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "... well, it'll be your funeral then, Shield Brat." The man grinned.

"We're closer to your funeral than mine, or did you forget how you admitted how much younger I was just now?" Naofumi quipped back. It was more of an automatic response, but his face improved immediately.

"Oh please, at the rate your ugly face makes enemies, I'm surprised you're not already six feet under." Elhart's grin widened.

"At least I have a girl who likes my ugly face, Old Fart. What's your excuse for still being single?" Naofumi asked, his lips almost curving upward.

"My excuse is eat &%$ and mind your own damn business, Shield Brat!" Elhart finally chuckled.

Naofumi raised his head while closing his eyes in satisfaction.

Now that felt like a more normal exchange of banter for the two of them.

…

But even with that, Naofumi still couldn't fully distract his mind from the fact that he felt bad for temporarily benching Ren and his girlfriend like this.

But until they settled on a counter that wasn't just surrounding the Heroes at all times with highly leveled and highly trained individuals like Elhart, Sadeena, or Granny, this would be far better for the Sword Hero.

With this, he'd at least have the chance to gather levels and use his strengthening methods safely again while Naofumi and Motoyasu fought abroad.

And who knew, maybe this trial would help to grow Ren's relationship with his dog girl so they'd become closer to each other... Or perhaps it'd show that the two weren't all that compatible in the end and that they should end their current relationship and go back to being friends and party members before something bad happened to estrange themselves from each other entirely.

…

Naofumi hated to think about it, but he'd gone through a lot of &%$ with Raphtalia.

And a lot of it was his fault.

Yet, morbidly, that &%$ had helped them to grow closer as individuals and to rely on each other so their relationship could deepen and evolve to the point that they'd come to see each other as equal partners in a two-way relationship.

The two teenagers might have looked like they were unraveling at the seams, trying to keep things going, and that'd been before Naofumi dropped his surprise arrival and announcement for why Ren's friends hadn't been by the last few days.

However, if they overcame this hurdle, their relationship would deepen and evolve, much like Naofumi and Raphtalia's had. And that'd leave his younger brother all the happier down the road.

Naofumi had to have hope that'd be the case. He was only an otaku who'd had one successful relationship in his life. And he was damn lucky that his relationship was with Raphtalia. A girl capable of forgiving him for even his worst mistakes, ones that deeply hurt her and those they cared about. And she not only forgave him, but also motivated him to change for the better.

He wanted to believe the same thing would happen for Ren. He didn't want his younger bro's happiness to fall apart again completely…

But then, maybe Naofumi was just overthinking things?

Ren wasn't as stupid as Naofumi had been in the past. He might not have always had the best luck with girls. But he had a deep sense of responsibility, and when he loved somebody, he loved them.

And besides, his curse debuff had ended just yesterday. So with it gone, surely, life would finally become better for the youngest of the Cardinal Heroes?

…

"Portal Shield." Ignoring the ominous feeling he had about leaving Ren and his girlfriend behind, Naofumi shoved those thoughts out of his mind as he finally portaled himself and Elhart back to the Capital.

The Shield Hero and the high-level Blacksmith appeared in a flash of light at Mirellia's castle.

It was the same room he'd been summoned to months ago.

"Damn, bro, I should have asked before, but do you ever get used to the dizziness that accompanies teleporting around?" Elhart complained as he put a hand to his head.

"No. I've never been dizzy from it, and neither has anyone I've known." Naofumi responded in a flat tone.

If someone else had complained about it in the past, then he'd conveniently forgotten all about it in his mind to pick on his first friend in this world.

"Maybe it's just because you're old."

"I'm not that close to the grave, brat." Elhart crossed his arms and pouted.

"Could have fooled me," Naofumi smirked in response. Ha, just two exchanges, and he was already feeling closer to normal.

"Shield Hero, Elhart," Shadow appeared, kneeling on one knee before them to interrupt their banter session. "I daresay, My Lady is waiting for your arrival in the throne room."

"I'd suggest not keeping her waiting."

"Of course. We'll head over right now." Naofumi told her.

Shadow bowed her head, and then she disappeared immediately after.

For some reason, it was as if her vanishing act was more fluid this time. Was Sadeena's training already paying off?

Granted, it still wasn't nearly as good as what the enemy Shadows had done, but with that kind of improvement, it'd only be a month or so before Shadow and her cohorts were the ones ambushing their opponents instead of the other way around.

…

The pair walked silently through the halls of the castle. Naofumi had long since become familiar with the layout of the massive structure thanks to his past visits. It wouldn't take them long to reach it.

He also felt a note of pride in his chest when, upon climbing a stairway and looking out from the ramparts, he could see an extension to the castle, as well as sections of the wall around it being made using Hero Block.

It was unfortunate that they wouldn't be able to produce at full capacity for a long time. It'd turned out to be a very lucrative business since you could build so quickly with it. However, without Naofumi or the other Heroes being able to assist with transporting large amounts of materials, and with most of the Hero's Nation helping them out, it would have been impossible to maintain that kind of workflow.

They'd just have to hit the ground running when they got back home.

…

It was only a couple of minutes later when he and Elhart walked through the open doors to the throne room. Mirellia was already seated in the back, at the head of a large square table that'd been placed in front of her throne.

"Ah, Naofumi. I'm glad you've finally joined us." The Queen greeted him with a smile.

"Just had to take care of some business," Naofumi answered evasively, his eyes darting around the corners of the room.

"I see... Shadow, contact the other leaders now. Let them know we're about ready to start." Mirellia directed her gaze to the left.

"At once, Your Grace." A Shadow materialized, bowing politely to the monarch before disappearing again.

Naofumi sat down at his spot at the table while Elhart moved to stand behind the Shield Hero. Still holding his warhammer in both hands in case of an attack.

Motoyasu and Raphtalia were already seated on either side of Naofumi. Motoyasu gave him a fist bump after he sat down, while Raphtalia gave him a warm smile, before her gaze fell on her lap again.

The Katana heroine was covered in a layer of fresh sweat. She'd likely just finished an intense training regimen with Eclair or Granny before coming here. It was either that or improving her illusion magic with their daughter Raph-Chan.

Speaking of her, their youngest daughter had also been training a lot, now that she wasn't stuck in the town anymore. Naofumi hadn't gotten to pet their daughter as much as he'd want to because of that, which was probably why he was having more nightmares at night.

Naofumi then noticed Aultcray sitting beside his wife, and opposite him was Knight Commander Mayor. Both had deep frowns on their faces.

…

"So, how are the other leaders joining the meeting?" Naofumi asked after a moment of quiet. "I didn't see anybody else with their retinues on my way here."

"We shall be utilizing the guild system for this," Mirellia answered, holding up a crystal ball that'd been resting on the table in front of her. "It is going to be expensive, given how much magic power is needed to allow leaders from other nations to participate across vast distances, but I think that given our purposes, it'll be a worthwhile investment for Melromarc to make."

Naofumi nodded and proceeded to glance at his fiancée next to him while having to hold back the pleased grin on his face.

"What's with that face?" Raphtalia asked quizzically.

"Oh, I'm just admiring how beautiful you are right now." Naofumi rested a hand on his cheek while sighing softly.

"... thank you…" Raphtalia looked down at her lap again bashfully, a pleased smile pulling on the corners of her lips.

The half-tanuki woman may have been covered in sweat, but Naofumi still found her appearance to be absolutely stunning.

Especially since she was still dressed in the Miko Outfit he'd gotten for her.

Her old armor set still hadn't been repaired since the battle. But that was because Raphtalia had chosen to forgo it entirely.

After discussing the matter with her older sister and learning about the outfit's significant importance in Q'Ten Lo, the half-tanuki woman changed her mind about repairing her old armor set. Instead, she decided to wear a Miko Outfit from now on.

It wasn't because she liked it or because it was practical. It wasn't because she planned on taking over as the Heavenly Empress once it was all said and done, either. And no, it wasn't because Naofumi had begged her to wear it, especially at night.

She was doing it entirely to spite those who'd tried to kill her and her fiancé.

The day after the attack, while waiting for her portal cooldown to finish between sending groups of people to Siltvelt's border, Raphtalia had visited Elhart's tailor friend in the Capital and commissioned her and a group of seamstresses Mirellia had connections with to develop better versions of the Miko Priestess garbs, not just for herself, but for Sadeena, Filo, Raph-Chan, S'yne, and others in the Hero's Nation.

She'd dropped a bunch of Gold Coins and good materials she'd saved up for herself on the project, purely so she could rub salt into the wound of this being an 'oh so important distinction that only the Heavenly Emperor was allowed to wear' on those bastards.

Oh, and she was ensuring these tailors and seamstresses would be able to develop these outfits further with more common materials and various sewing techniques so that they could become a viable alternative to armor for up-and-coming female adventurers and knights in the future. Being both comfortable and modest, while still providing the wearer with decent stat benefits that make their fighting lives easier.

And even if it didn't become popular enough, she was going to push for it to become the official female uniform for the fighters of the Hero's Nation once the process for making it cheaper was completed. Which would, in theory, then lead to their demand skyrocketing worldwide should the Hero's trendsetting plans succeed.

Yes, Raphtalia was going full scorched earth over this out of spite. And Naofumi was all for it! To think there'd come a day when his fiancée would go from lecturing him about budgeting his money and not spending it so lavishly to nearly blowing her entire life savings on a project that wouldn't pay back immediately just to spite a nation!

The Shield Hero couldn't have been more proud of his future wife! Those were tears of joy going down the sides of his face, I say!

"If you want me to keep wearing this at night, you'll stop making that face right now." Raphtalia deadpanned to her widely grinning fiancé.

"But if you're not wearing it at night, won't that mean you'd be wearing nothing?" Naofumi asked with a tilt of his head and a curious, mischievous look in his eyes.

"... just so you know, we're visiting that tailor after this." Raphtalia then said, smiling diabolically as she pointedly ignored Naofumi's question. "I was told she already had another outfit ready for me. So I'm dropping off some more materials and money with her, just in case we're not able to visit for a while."

"... Have I told you how much I love you?" Naofumi asked with a dreamy expression on his face.

Raphtalia giggled into her hand.

Meanwhile, Motoyasu shuddered in realization. "Oh Gods, there are two of them now."

In their spare time between teleports and training, Raphtalia had been hounding the blonde man for possible outfits that closely resembled the Miko Outfit from his world, so a male uniform variant could also be made for their fighters. And don't get him wrong, Motoyasu would have loved to make hakamas popular in this world!

But he was so intimidated by the half-tanuki's murderous aura that came off her during those moments that he didn't want to be around her!

It was just like those times Naofumi got to planning something crazy that'd inevitably drag him and everyone else into his mess!

"Tell me about it, Spear Brat." Elhart rolled his eyes in response to Motoyasu's openly fearful expression.

"Oi, go find yourself a wife already." Naofumi flipped the blacksmith off. "And you, don't mouth off about us being similar when you've got three girlfriends to pick from that are becoming more like you with every passing day."

"I- who's even the third girlfriend you're accusing me of having?!" Motoyasu asked incredulously.

"That panda woman in Zeltoble. Larsa, right?" Naofumi replied with a smug look. "I've only seen her a few times during my visits. But she seems to be head over heels for you from what I've observed.

"And besides, haven't you been calling her at night with S'yne's needles?"

"I mean, yeah, I have! But get real! Harems only work in anime!" Motoyasu whined. "And besides, S'yne's enough for me as it is!"

"Oh, no… That's going to break Big Sis's heart." Raphtalia said dryly. "And here I was thinking you'd be a good person to pair her with after you stood up to me and my fury on her behalf.

"Maybe I should correct that assumption of mine right now." Raphtalia unsheathed her katana an inch as a wave of malicious aura came off her body.

…

Motoyasu's face drained of blood, and he almost got out of his seat to run. Or bow down and plead for forgiveness or to argue that he didn't want multiple girlfriends because of past experiences… or to clarify that he did want to make sure Raphtalia's Precious Big Sis, whom she'd amended her relationship with after the events of that night, was the happiest woman in the whole world but that it was complicated when he wanted to try only being faithful to one woman and didn't want to make his friends jealous of one another and-

"Oh my. Please lay off Moto, Lil' Raphtalia." Sadeena suddenly strode into the room, alongside S'yne.

"Big Sis is a humble and patient woman."

The orca woman was no longer dressed in just a loincloth and a cloth sash across her chest. She had also donned Miko priestess robes over her body that were shaded blue, like pure water. There were openings in the outfit along her shoulders that showed skin, but the rest of her body was covered.

It was far more modest than her old appearance. However, it somehow made her appear even sexier compared to before.

It was as if her new outfit only enhanced the natural Ara Ara energy that came off her.

"So long as I can eventually become the Spear Hero's mistress and have one or two of his children, I'll be delighted." Sadeena finished with a wide smile.

The Otherworld Hero gave a look of annoyance to the orca woman, but Sadeena held her hands behind her back as she whistled to herself innocently.

Motoyasu had initially been about to sigh in relief and thank Sadeena for what she'd said. But her last sentence had him back to stammering and blushing like a tomato.

Seriously, S'yne was there too! Did Sadeena have to put him through this when he was trying so hard just to be her best friend and not have feelings for three insanely hot girls that were open and honest with him and so cool and wanted his children and-

Wait, three? Did that mean Larsa had a shot at joining his harem?!

…

…

AHHHHHHHHH!

"Has the sweep on the castle been finished, Miss Sadeena?" Mirellia cut in before the situation could spiral further out of hand, alongside Motoyasu's sanity.

…

And just like that, the two women of the Spear Hero's party straightened their postures as they became serious.

"It was as you feared, Your Grace," Sadeena spoke in a very courteous tone, recalling her time as the Heavenly Emperor's servant. "I found an operational listening post established in one of the upper ramparts of your home by Q'Ten Lo's agents.

"It will not be a worry anymore, however. S'yne and I have already dealt with it."

"Was there anyone there?" Mirellia asked with a raised eyebrow, surprised at the woman's efficiency.

"There was only one person. I killed him before he realized what was happening." S'yne spoke through her Atla doll.

"If we'd tried taking him in alive, he could have used some straightforward voice-activated failsafes to destroy everything with him, which would have made us unable to go through the copies of his reports he kept stashed nearby." Sadeena then added. "It would have also caused unnecessary damage to your home."

"I see. I thank you for that. I do have to ask, though, would it have been possible to torture the info out of him if safely capturing this agent had been an alternative?" Mirellia asked curiously.

"I must commend your Shadows for the loyalty they have towards you, Your Majesty. But Q'Ten Lo's Shadows are a step above them, trained almost from birth to give up their lives in service to the Heavenly Emperor.

"Even if I had been the one assigned to do the torture, I doubt I could get anything from a captured agent," Sadeena said in an ominous tone.

…

Motoyasu gulped, and Mirellia nodded, looking pleased as she gestured for the two women to continue.

"I disposed of his body while Sadeena went through the reports he sent back." S'yne then spoke again through her doll.

"His most recent report included the Heroes' plans for entering Siltvelt…" Sadeena frowned as she decided to give the most troubling news first.

"So, about what we were expecting. Not like it would have been possible to keep that hidden for long." Motoyasu shrugged in response.

"Did they send any information on Itsuki or Ren?" Naofumi asked, wanting to make sure what he told Ren before hadn't been a lie.

"There was a single mention of the Projectiles Hero going to Talon and traveling westwards to locate the Bow Hero. However, all other reports I found listed the Bow and Sword Hero's whereabouts as unknown or unimportant.

"The most recent reports from the past few days had the Shadow listing assumptions for where he thought the other Heroes could be, based on what he overheard in the castle, but he never did learn Ren or Itsuki's actual location. It seems that before the attack, there were no plans to target either of them.

"Moto was simply targeted due to his affiliation with me."

…

Naofumi heaved a sigh of relief. He didn't know if they'd just done a good job of not mentioning Ren's location outside of Lurolona, or if the ninjas back then hadn't placed enough importance on the Sword Hero to try and learn or remember his specific location. Still, either way, this was a godsend.

"But are they planning to target them now?" The Shield Hero then asked seriously.

"Yes. It was recommended to do so to draw you and Moto into a trap… But given that the device they used to send information back to the mainland was still operating, and since it would have been harder to lie about our upcoming trip into Siltvelt, I took the liberty of sending in a report that the Sword and Bow Heroes were both discovered to be busy training against the monsters that have settled in what remains of the former Spirit Tortoise country,

"All according to fresh intel gathered from spying on the Queen of Melromarc, of course.

"We'll have to see if they end up following up on that tip or not." Sadeena grinned widely.

"And you're sure they'll believe it?" Mirellia asked.

"Yes. These devices are similar to the ones used by the guild for long-range communication, except that, unlike theirs, Q'Ten Lo's devices can transmit through Q'Ten Lo's barrier from anywhere in the world.

"Also, unlike the guild devices, they are extremely hard to use, as it'll only accept MP from one individual instead of multiple, they can't be charged overtime with MP thus requiring the user to have a high MP capacity, and beyond just that, it requires months of training to use them.

"All of which goes to say that if someone entrusted with one of these devices says that they have fresh intel that supersedes any previous intel, they should eat it up without suspecting anything since it'd 'normally' be impossible for anyone to use it to fool them."

"Good thing you're far from normal," Naofumi commented.

"Oh, and I may have also tacked onto the end of that report about how the exiled princess had been spotted again, and that she and the oathbreaker priestess had both decided to don the robes of the Heavenly Emperor after surviving the attack." Sadeena grinned madly at her little sis.

Raphtalia's grin widened. "Thanks, Big Sis. You're the best."

"Ehehehe. I try." Sadeena smiled widely, happy at the praise she'd been given.

"I agree. You've both done well." Mirellia raised her fan again. "However, it still leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth knowing that there was another nation's Shadows hiding in my castle without my knowledge.

"I'm used to knowing when I'm being spied on."

"No need to worry there either right now, Your Majesty." Sadeena shook her head. "I finished off that falsified report with a warning that the listening outpost would likely be compromised soon, since the former oathbreaker priestess was busy combing through the castle hunting down those from Q'Ten Lo.

"If the worst came to pass, they would destroy all evidence of their stay and off themselves as part of standard procedure, before she caught them and tried to extract any info from their cold, dead corpse.

"I ended it, of course, with the phrase: 'Glory to the Heavenly Emperor'. And proceeded to tear that blasted device of theirs apart.

"The best lies contain a bit of truth to them, after all." Sadeena finished coldly.

…

"... Damn. You've really become vicious these last few days." Motoyasu shook his head.

"I prefer 'vindictive', Moto." Sadeena smiled relaxedly again. "Now that my dirty laundry is out in the air, it only feels right that I should take care of it.

"It's been a long time since I ever felt this good… It feels as though I'm liberating myself from that damned past of mine." She admitted with a sigh.

"Hey, I didn't say that to discourage you; in fact, I'm thrilled to see you genuinely upbeat." Motoyasu smiled, holding a hand out to the orca woman. "It suits you, Sadeena."

Sadeena clasped her hands in his, and the orca woman openly swooned from the kind words.

"Not your girlfriend… rightttttt." Naofumi drawled to the Spear Hero sarcastically after witnessing the display.

Motoyasu flipped Naofumi the bird under the table with his other hand. Not that the Shield Hero noticed.

Naofumi crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he sat back in his chair. "Well, so long as them knowing that we'll be in Siltvelt is the worst thing they've learned, I'm fine with how this turned out." And if some of them got sidetracked going after a false lead, even better. "Thanks, Sadeena, S'yne."

"Of course," S'yne spoke with her real voice, and Naofumi almost frowned at the grating static he heard accompanying it. How Motoyasu had learned to withstand that was beyond him.

"Always a pleasure to help my future brother-in-law," Sadeena spoke happily. "Ask me again anytime!"

Heh. It was almost enough to make Naofumi grin again.

"Hey, sorry to butt in, but were there any more of those weapons or armor where you found the guy?" Elhart asked.

The man had been so quiet since Sadeena had started speaking in a serious manner that Naofumi had forgotten he'd been there till that moment.

"No. He didn't carry any pacifier gear on his person. None were stored in the hideout either." S'yne shook her head as her doll spoke.

"Hmph. I'll just have to make sure the next one we find doesn't explode then." Elhart grumbled.

"Is there any reason why you're so interested in their gear?" Naofumi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not because I want a way to hurt you, if that's what you think, Shield Bro," Elhart said in a low voice. "I might like to poke fun at ya. But I'll be damned before I break the hand of someone who's blessed me with as much business as you have again.

"I just want to get a closer look at one of them. See if my hunch about their maker is correct." He said, not providing a full answer in front of everyone, but offering enough to satisfy Naofumi for the moment.

…

"Understood, we'll see what we can do." Naofumi rolled his eyes.

"Thanks." Elhart then looked at Naofumi's weapon. "Say, Shield Brat, maybe next time, you could-"

"Nope." Naofumi immediately shot down his idea before he could voice it. "Storing weapons in my inventory doesn't prevent them from exploding. And last time I did that, it hurt quite a lot."

"Wait, what!?" Elhart asked incredulously. "That's happened to you before?!"

"Yeah. Let me say, horrible experience, felt like my insides were being ripped apart.

"0/10. Would not recommend." Naofumi shook his head with a frown.

…

"..." Elhart put a hand to his chin again in thought. He'd thought of the Hero Inventories as infinite spaces that could hold anything nonliving without any issues. But if the weapons their enemies wielded could still be made to self-destruct after being stored in them…

Mirellia, the ever biggest lover of learning more about the Cardinal Weapons, looked about ready to throw away all previous topics to focus on what Naofumi had just revealed.

"Sadeena. Will we have to worry about another listening outpost being established in the castle?" Motoyasu asked, and Mirellia had to hold her fan to her face to hide her disappointed pout.

"Possibly," Sadeena said to Motoyasu, before turning back to the Queen. "Even if Q'Ten Lo knows the Heroes will be in Siltvelt for now, they also know how closely you're tied to the Heroes. I could see them easily coming back to spy on you and your husband for more information.

"Which is why I'll continue to sharpen up my skills so that when Moto and I visit to report on progress, I can sweep the castle and surrounding area again to eliminate any further nests that pop up." The orca woman added.

"I would be most grateful." Mirellia nodded. "In the meantime, I'll make sure my highest-level Shadows continue to follow the new training regimens you set for them so that they'll eventually be able to handle that duty for you."

Sadeena and S'yne both curtsied respectfully.

Unfortunately, Sadeena didn't have much else to share from the reports she'd discovered. There had been requests for reinforcements and particular items from Q'Ten Lo's arsenal that they'd need to be wary of. But there'd been no confirmation of whether or not they'd have to worry about them in Siltvelt.

Or if there were forces set aside to attack Lurolona or Seaetto while the Heroes were away.

Fitoria had placed the most potent and high-level members of her flock in the area, alongside those she'd already stationed there. And Fitoria was going to be working double time to ensure that Naofumi's secret task for her was completed as soon as possible, so she could defend the land of the Heroes personally if need be.

She still didn't want to involve herself in the affairs of human nations. But that was fine. The Heroes had already decided that they'd settle this themselves and entrust the safety of their land to the Bird Queen.

However, it didn't help that, unless something important came up, Naofumi and Motoyasu would only take turns being back in Lurolona at night to ensure that the few projects they still had running at reduced rates ran smoothly. Motoyasu also planned to continue contacting Zeltoble whenever possible.

The Spear Hero looked up, catching Naofumi's gaze. "Well, now that we know nobody is listening in, was Ren doing ok?" He asked.

"As good as he can be," Naofumi disclosed. His tone of voice conveyed the subtle message.

The Spear Hero grunted, frowning as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's find a counter to that pacifier gear as soon as possible. So he and his girlfriend will be able to go home. Little bro's been cooped up long enough on those islands."

"Agreed." Naofumi agreed.

S'yne finally sat next to the Spear Hero and took one of his hands in hers, while Sadeena took position behind the Spear Hero like Elhart was doing behind Naofumi.

…

The Heroes remained silent after that, as did the Royals.

They waited for the other leaders so the meeting could start.

…

…

"Your Grace, the guild is ready." Shadow finally reappeared at her mistress's side.

"Alright. Activate the connection. We can't afford to dawdle." Mirellia held her fan over the bottom half of her face as she turned her royal expression on.

Shadow nodded, gesturing to a nearby cohort before she vanished. And within seconds, as Naofumi finally realized that crystal balls were sitting in the other empty chairs around the table, the projections of various people appeared seated around them.

The projections transformed the seats, depicting these individuals seated on chairs, thrones, or similar structures. Naofumi didn't know most of their names, but he recognized quite a few from the coalition against the Spirit Tortoise.

Another addition whom he did know was Cassius. He was sitting on a simple stool in his projection.

"Vixen of Melromarc," One of the figures, dressed in dragonsteel samurai armor, spoke with a polite bow of his head. He did not say her nickname with a mocking tone or contempt, but rather respect and warmth, as if he were teasing an old friend. "It is a pleasure to see you doing well, Mirellia."

"The pleasure is all mine, General Antipus." Mirellia bowed her head, her fan lowering just enough to reveal a pleased smile. "Melromarc awaits your next batch of rider dragons with eagerness."

The man genuinely laughed. "And we happily await the goods we'll receive in turn. I'm especially curious about this 'Hero Block' I've been hearing about from Talon."

"Can we cut the pleasantries?" Cassius asked with a frown. "The guild is charging Melromarc excessive fees to maintain this multi-nation connection. I'd rather not be charged for it if we spend too much time catching up."

"I will not be shouldering extra costs on anyone here. But thank you, King Cassius." Mirellia raised her fan again, bowing her head politely to the sole royal of the smaller nation. "Melromarc looks forward to allying with you through the Hero's Nation in the future."

Cassius said nothing in response, but nodded his head in respect for his fellow royal.

…

Mirellia took a deep breath and then set her fan aside, revealing a serious expression.

The other figures straightened up immediately as she spoke with gravitas in her tone.

"The Cardinal Heroes have come across dire information regarding Siltvelt. It is important enough that I felt it prudent to organize this call between the leaders of our nations as soon as possible.

"I thank everyone here for taking time out of their busy schedules for this."

"... Your Grace, you've learned what's going on with our neighbor?" A figure, one whom Naofumi recognized to be one of Mirellia's biggest doubters in the coalition before, spoke in a soft voice.

"Yes. The information comes from the Captain of Siltvelt's Royal Guard. Who is an eyewitness to what transpired, as well as a victim of its aftermath.

"She is not here right now, as she is busy scouting her country with some of my men in preparation for our advance. However, I, along with the Spear and Shield Heroes, will be sharing what she told us on her behalf.

"I do hope the value of this information makes you forgive her for not being here to explain things herself. But what she is doing on behalf of her nation is of tremendous value."

…

Mirellia, seeing that she had the others' attention, went into what she'd learned personally by listening to the tiger woman, with the Spear and Shield Heroes also taking turns to disclose information when it was their turn to speak.

Naofumi detailed how a Kitsune monster had taken over the nation. Motoyasu explained what Chen knew of the ancient Kitsune legends. And Mirellia said what she and her scholars had been able to dredge up over the past few days.

They were concise, direct, and to the point.

Ultimately, Mirellia stated that it was her goal to lend the Heroes her army to eradicate this monster.

"I see… what assistance would the Heroes like to ask from us then?" Cassius asked.

"The thing is, we don't want to ask for your direct assistance," Naofumi said. "We organized this meeting so that you'd be able to remain out of what'll happen as much as possible, since what we're going to do is going to generate a lot of noise in the world."

"Excuse me?" The dragonsteel general, whom Mirellia had namedropped as Antipus earlier, narrowed his eyes as he scowled. "Are you saying we're not strong enough to help out this time?"

"As my brother was saying," Motoyasu spoke up before Naofumi could reprimand the hot-blooded warrior leader. "We don't want all of you to assist us directly.

"One reason is that it'd take too long to bring what remains of your armies together to help us in time. We're moving into Siltvelt tomorrow to begin our campaign.

"Also, unlike the Hero's Nation, and Melromarc to a lesser degree, many of your nations suffered direct and immense losses to both your militaries and your civilians while fighting the Spirit Tortoise or its familiars. And part of the reason for that was because we Heroes hadn't been strong enough back then to stop it when it first woke up.

"We've become stronger now. But to ask you to lend your strength and leave your homelands vulnerable would be amongst the worst and most selfish things we could ask of you right now."

…

…

There was a pause as the various leaders and representatives around the table digested the Spear Hero's words.

"... lastly, in trying to help us, you could inadvertently lend this Kitsune monster more reinforcements to throw at us on our march through Siltvelt." Naofumi, having calmed down again, ended the Spear Hero's point for him.

…

Many of the people there grimaced, but they thought things over carefully.

"... What would you ask of us then, great Heroes?" A large, burly man with rabbit ears on his head asked. Also, strangely enough, he was holding an apple in his hands.

"I concur, Guildmaster Hans. What do the Heroes want us to do?" Cassius asked.

"What we want you to do is position scouts at your borders or a few miles within Siltvelt," Naofumi said. "Keep an eye out for refugees or for signs that Siltvelt is preparing an army to invade other countries or the like. We especially need eyes on the eastern sea.

"It's already going to be a big risk for us to go in with Mirellia's knights, but they've agreed to the risks and are already amassed and ready to march. The tasks we need you to do require flexibility and mobility without endangering your people or our mission."

The other leaders grimaced again. Some rubbed their chins in thought while others seemed to agree reluctantly.

"Wise King…" Another man, older in nature, spoke up to Aultcray. He'd been silent up till that point. "I hate to ask this, but I trust in your reputation to answer honestly.

"This isn't a ploy by the Cardinal Heroes to gather their forces in Siltvelt and restart another great war while we wait for the Phoenix to awaken, is it?"

…

Damn, to think Mirellia had been right. Naofumi and Motoyasu had both wondered if she was being overly cautious in planning for that outcome. Still, she'd guessed this concern would arise before the meeting and thus discussed it with her husband and the Heroes beforehand.

"..." Which was why Aultcray let out a slow sigh before he answered. "No… it is not.

"I have verified the information… myself… Kitsune monsters did many… terrible things in… the distant past… according to our legends…

"So one appearing now, and at such a frightening level… would be a catastrophic threat… for any of us to face… alone.

"Only the Heroes… would be capable of taking her down…

"This is not a ploy… by the Shield Hero or the Spear Hero… or our neighbor, or even Melromarc… for power…

"None of us is interested in… such mundane things."

"I see…" The official's projection responded somberly, seeing the state his old friend was in. "I apologize for casting doubt."

"Thank you for doing so," Naofumi said in the King's stead. "We don't want fools for allies who'll blindly agree with everything we say.

"We instead want intelligent leaders who'll value their people's lives and set aside old grudges so they can be helpful in our cause of saving our world."

There were some frowns and some uncomfortable looks. But also a sense of growing respect and understanding. Unlike Kizuna's world, even the worst leaders here showed far more promise in working together, and had even done so successfully with the Spirit Tortoise just recently.

Even if they or their nobility had or still supported slavery, or were motivated by greed or pride or whatever, they were at least willing to work with others for the betterment of their world. It probably didn't help that the Heroes had made them see the writing on the wall, after the Spirit Tortoise with Zeltoble's fall, the collapse of the slavery market, Fitoria's open support of the new Heroes, and the Hero's Nation rising power and influence through its Hero Block industry and Academy and other various interests.

Whatever happened next, their world would change forever following this set of Waves. And the Hero's Nation, whatever name it ended up taking on, was going to play a pivotal role in the future.

Their choices were to either change and adapt to the circumstances, or step down before their people rose up to topple them and place more competent leaders that the Heroes approved of in their place.

"I will add this:" Naofumi then commented. "The main reason why I want you all to scout the borders instead of helping us directly is because Siltvelt might still have areas that aren't under the Kitsune's control."

…

"What do you mean, Shield Hero?" Cassius asked.

"One thing mentioned in the report we received from Chen is that the Kitsune planned on attacking the surrounding nations as soon as the populace was under her grasp.

"Another thing mentioned is that several of her comrades went to meet up with Siltvelt's returning army from the Spirit Tortoise to warn them about what was happening. And others were sent to evacuate parts of the country.

"If any of them were successful, and I'd bet they were since Siltvelt hasn't struck anywhere yet, that means this Kitsune is still dealing with a resistance movement and isn't willing to send her armies out while one of Siltvelt's strongest land armies remains out of her grasp."

Giving out that information piqued everyone's interest again, as well as alleviating the worries of an imminent attack on any of them, which had been the cause of the frowns and looks of displeasure and worry earlier.

Mirellia nodded. "If everyone understands the current situation now, then let us summarize what the Heroes need of us.

"The leaders of the coalition present here today, as well as other allies the Heroes have made whose countries are bordering Siltvelt, will henceforth place scouts along and inside of Siltvelt's border.

"They will need to gather intel and warn us about a refugee crisis or potential military incursions from the demi-nation. And the information of such an event will immediately be delivered to me, so that I can dispatch it to the Heroes so they can thwart these attempts to start up wars accordingly.

"Also, those lands bordering Siltvelt, whose leaders weren't present for this call due to other matters, will need to have messengers dispatched to them at once to fill them in so that we cover as large a portion of Siltvelt's borders as possible.

"If word is found of Siltvelt's resistance movement, that will also be passed on.

"As for the Heroes, in the case that such a scenario is avoided and they manage to link up with Siltvelt's remaining forces, their objectives will be threefold:

"Combine with those that remain free of the Kitsune's control. Free the people under her control. And slay her before she tries to make an attack elsewhere in the world."

"Sounds like a monster extermination order with extra steps." Cassius shrugged. "Talon agrees to this plan."

"Skell also agrees to this." General Antipus nodded.

"On behalf of my superiors in Horne, I shall see to it that scouts are sent out as soon as we're able," Hans said, before taking a big bite out of his apple.

The others around the table quickly followed suit. It was the least risk to their people, while playing a key role in gathering information that would benefit the Heroes in their mission.

Although everyone had agreed before, one of the last leaders asked a final question: "Will the Heroes be open to accepting reinforcements from the other major nations?"

"I'm already looking into whether or not Zeltoble could lend a hand." Motoyasu shared. "As for Faubley, well, I'm sure everyone here already knows about the instability happening there."

…

Judging by the grimaces that appeared on everyone's faces, they'd also been informed about events going on in the strongest and most prosperous nation in their world. And how unlikely it would be to receive aid from it or the smaller countries to its west.

"But things are finally starting to settle down in Zeltoble. The only issue is that their current leader, Larsa, hasn't expressed much interest in returning to her homeland.

"If we need the help, though. I am convinced that her mercenaries will come to our aid."

Naofumi noted what Motoyasu said down in his mind to write in his journal later.

The man who'd asked the question nodded, looking satisfied that the Heroes had another major nation available to offer reinforcements if necessary. However, most of the other leaders saw something else in this.

A chance for the Heroes to show that they had stayed true to their word at the Spirit Tortoise, and that they'd been preparing their people to become strong enough to fight alongside their armies and save their world.

Which may have been why Naofumi and the others had chosen to go this route and shoulder the risks.

Doing this would further prove their strength and build trust in the alliances the Hero's Nation and Melromarc would form going forward, while sparing the others' manpower, which had already been devastated by the Spirit Tortoise and would take a considerable amount of time to recover.

Some final farewells were said, and then, the projections cut off.

"Shadow?" Mirellia asked.

"We didn't go over the time the guild allotted to us. What we paid beforehand will cover the costs of today's meeting."

"Good." Mirellia set her fan down on the table. "Commander Mayor, see to it that the final squads are ready to teleport to the border with the Heroes."

"At once, Your Majesty." The man bowed before walking to the great double doors of the room.

…

She then looked at her table with a frown. "Naofumi, shall we go over Siltvelt's territory one more time before you depart? I'd like to make sure we have all our known options available."

Naofumi nodded.

After a moment, a map was spread over the table by another of Mirellia's Shadows.

They'd studied it separately and together over several meetings, with Aultcray in particular providing some valuable input from his wartime experiences. But they went over it one more time regardless.

Siltvelt's border with Melromarc was primarily composed of grasslands and plains. The weaker, more peaceful demi-human clans, such as the rabbit, cat, and sheep demis lived in farming villages in this area of Siltvelt. They were generally from the poorer class and were mainly used by the other clans as a buffer against invasions, allowing the more warlike clans to bring their forces together without losing any valuable personnel.

It was akin to the logic of using serfs to absorb casualties and slow down the enemy, while bringing your cavalry together for a rapid counterattack. Cruel, but as shown by past wars not started by Siltvelt, it was also effective.

The plains continued in the direction of Siltvelt's capital city, only being interrupted by rivers and the back of a mountain range. The closer you got, the higher in elevation you went. And as the grasslands thinned and became more rocky, you'd find deep valleys dug into the ground, where you'd be dealing with forts and defensible positions meant to serve as bottlenecks or breakers for invaders who'd managed to break Siltvelt's counteroffensive and get a decent way inside Siltvelt's territory.

And even once you got past those valleys, it was still quite a distance before you reached the Capital. A straight shot, but with lots of room for open combat or additional fortifications to be built along the way. All of which Aultcray had to deal with while warring with the great Claw King in the past. And the many farm villages in the area meant that if the enemy had to hold out in a siege, they'd have plenty of food so long as they weren't cut off from the countryside.

This would be the fastest and most direct path to the Capital, where the Heroes could deal with the Kitsune monster immediately. While the upside was that they'd get there the quickest, and likely be able to gather the most supplies for the army of individuals following them, they'd also have the fewest options for grinding monsters, gathering strength, and preparing to counter the monster's illusions when they arrived.

If they even figured out how to do so by then.

…

Another option was heading to the landlocked sea on the east side of the country. Mountains surrounded it on the west, but its east side, which bordered Talon, Skell, Horne, and several other smaller countries, was an open desert. If they traveled through the south of Siltvelt, they could avoid the mountains on its west side and travel up the coastline, grinding monsters that way until they arrived at the land of the Capital and attacked it from behind.

The only issue was that the demiraces living there were going to be on the stronger side. Even worse, there had been many warriors from the water-dwelling species left behind to protect Siltvelt while the Council was abroad. Meaning if they were already under the Kitsune's control, then the peacekeeping force of the Heroes would be forced to deal with a sizable army that could come out of the water, ambush them, and vanish before they could do much to retaliate.

And according to Aultcray, this risk wasn't just with the sea. The aqua demi-humans could appear anywhere amongst Siltvelt's waterways and rivers. And had even shown up as reinforcements in forts in the southern and central parts of Siltvelt during times when Aultcray had places completely surrounded and under siege. And they even tended to appear in the middle of forts he captured in the middle of the night to attempt to cause chaos.

He'd beaten the odds back then, but he'd never managed to learn how they were able to appear almost anywhere in Siltvelt's territory.

Either way, they'd have to do battle with these soldiers if the Heroes and their armies wanted to farm the monsters of the sea for EXP. It just felt like it had too many cons to be viable, unless they figured out a way to free those under the Kitsune's control quickly, or found a way to force the aqua demis onto land to do combat on an even playing field.

Another option was going northwest after entering Siltvelt. The plains quickly turned to desert there, but unlike the desert next to the sea, this one was almost entirely barren and had numerous dangerous wildlife in the uninhabited sections, which were home to the clans residing there.

But unlike central and southern Siltvelt, the aqua species of demi-humans never appeared here for ambushes or the like. It was as if the northern desert acted as a sort of barrier on the map.

The desert eventually met another mountain range that was taller than the others inside the nation. Here, there were many forts Siltvelt had established to defend against the powerful monsters inhabiting the mountain range.

According to Chen, this mountain range also housed a place known as the Silent Monastery. It was where some of her comrades had gone with a sacred relic of the Shield Hero. A Shield that the country's founder supposedly forged.

Copying that alone could be a potential game changer due to its importance to past Shield Heroes, though that'd depend on the abilities unlocked by this Shield.

Beyond that, the mountains would provide a great spot to grind monsters for levels, and while it'd be a pain to go through them, it'd also be a pain for the Kitsune's forces.

Chen had also pointed out that since Siltvelt's army had been returning from the northwest after the defeat of the Spirit Tortoise. It was likely that if said army had managed to evade Tulina's control, they'd have set themselves up in the forts and monastery. While the desert and mountains mainly were barren, the forts and Monastery had means that made them self-sufficient in many regards, which would allow a decently sized force to hold them for an extended time before they ran out of supplies.

As tantalizing as it all sounded, though, there were three big cons with this route as well. The first being that it was the most out of the way. The landlocked sea and plains at least led up to the land around the Capital. This mountain range was located in one of the farthest parts of Siltvelt, and it extended north into several other small countries that bordered Faubley. They'd have to leave the range and travel across open desert and other rough terrain to get to the Capital.

The second con was that while the mountain range served a significant defensive role against powerful monsters and was a powerful deterrent from invasions from the north, the areas around it were impoverished. There wouldn't be much in the way of supplies besides the local monsters and whatever the people living there could grow in the harsh desert to feed the Hero's armies, unlike the plains and sea routes.

The third and most significant con was that the majority of pros relied heavily on several favorable factors, like Chen's comrades heading off Siltvelt's army. Or the ancient relic safely arriving at the Silent Monastery. Or the forts managing to hold against Siltvelt's compromised armies. Or the Kitsune not going to the area herself to deal with things personally. And so on.

In a perfect world, they would have sent scouts weeks in advance to explore these three routes and determine which one was best, or identify if there was another viable route they could take.

Unfortunately, this was the hand they'd been dealt since Q'Ten Lo had forced them to advance all their plans.

"We still don't know of any other options?" Naofumi asked.

The Queen shook her head. "You could always separate from our armies and sneak through the land as Captain Chen did. But as my husband pointed out before, that would leave you vulnerable to attacks from Q'Ten Lo."

Naofumi grimaced. Yes, there was really no simple way to go about this. Not while they were vulnerable to that nation's anti-hero gear.

"If we ever find a way to counter their equipment… I'm going to laugh as Raphtalia cuts them apart." Naofumi promised.

"And in the meantime, I'll see if my scholars and I can find any information about their weapons and armor. Just don't expect much in that regard.

"Q'Ten Lo has long been a secretive nation. I wasn't even aware before all this that they had the power to nullify the Hero's powers.

"Don't waste your time searching if you're unable to find anything," Naofumi told her. "While we're gone doing this, you're still going to have to spare some resources to keep an eye on Faubley, right?"

"... indeed." Mirellia frowned before continuing.

"The situation in that country has destabilized further since the last time we spoke. I won't be able to provide any accurate or meaningful information for a while." For some reason, the Queen directed her gaze to Motoyasu as she said that.

"How bad are we talking?" Motoyasu asked, a serious frown on his face.

"Bad enough that my Shadows have had to pull out of the nation entirely, for their safety." Mirellia shook her head. "None of our allies have been harmed, as far as I know. But that is the only bit of good news I have."

Mirellia clasped her fan in her hand, bringing it in front of her face before sharing what she'd learned from her Shadows. "As I mentioned before, the collapse of the slave trade has helped to benefit Melromarc in many ways, since I was already slowly pivoting our primary industries away from that practice over the last two decades of my rule.

"Besides a few grumpy nobles, we suffered little to no market impact, and in fact, with no slave raiders and fewer bandits to worry about, the land routes I've steadily developed out of my nation are undergoing a trading boom that is boosting my economy.

"However, the same can't be said for Faubley or the other countries around it.

"For all their wealth, they have always relied on Zeltoble's slaves as a cheap source of labor to power their primary industries like mining and forestry and shipbuilding and so many others. With that being cut off suddenly, the resource-abundant nation and those around it have experienced a series of economic recessions. At the same time, the markets in their respective parts of the world have taken sharp downturns for their future projections.

"This has made the current ruling Emperor unpopular with many people. And one of his sons has been making moves, taking advantage of the chaos.

"Several branch families have been wiped out entirely, and several key figures in the Emperor's government have also been killed in targeted assassinations.

"In turn, I've heard rumors of some of the Crown Prince's harem being killed through the use of poison for openly defying the Emperor, who remains elusive to any attempts to track him down.

"I feel that some of what's happening is speculation or heresy. But I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out Faubley is going through its own civil war right now."

"... that almost sounds worse than not hearing anything," Naofumi muttered.

"It does." The Queen shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she spared a glance at Aultcray. "I shall inform you if something does transpire that'd affect the Heroes and the Hero's Nation." She promised. "My husband and I will keep an eye on things in the meantime."

Naofumi nodded and didn't press the matter further.

…

They went over the map again, making no further headway. Dou-Lon and the other residents from Siltvelt had already shared as much as they could before all this.

"Motoyasu, what do you think?" Naofumi finally asked. "Take a straight shot, rush in, and hope for the best? Go on a suicide mission by sea and try to free one of Siltvelt's strongest armies? Or track through the mountains and take a gamble on Siltvelt's land army from the Spirit Tortoise being alive and well?"

…

Motoyasu crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "I think that third option would be the best to start. But I don't know."

"To start?" Naofumi asked.

"Yeah, I don't think we should immediately plan on heading to the Capital from a single direction." Motoyasu gestured at the map. "As you and the others have pointed out, it wouldn't be the best place to approach with an army. We'd be traveling through the desert, then the jungle, and then another mountain range on top of everything else that's in the way if we came in from that side.

"Not to say it wouldn't be the best place to grind for levels. I'm sure we'd find a lot of rare monsters we've never encountered here or in Zeltoble, knowing what the area was like in Emerald Online. But it's also a great place for ambushes by monsters or those under the Kitsune's control if they end up not caring about losses in the mountains, or in the worst case scenario, Q'Ten Lo's assassins could use it to trap us Heroes in a Sakura Stone of Destiny field if we overstay our welcome."

…

Naofumi thought it over, recalling Sadeena's warnings about it, and nodded. He paid the Spear Hero's words serious attention. And Motoyasu appreciated that.

"Also… this is only because I remember learning it from Larsa, but we have no idea what we might be dealing with. We could be facing normal demi-human soldiers or aquatic or land therianthropes on any of these routes, or we could end up fighting against members of the Council, we might even end up facing the Kitsune monster herself if she decides that she wants to come out and deal with us in which case, all this planning would be useless. We still don't know if we'd be able to free those under her control without killing her first or not…

"But another thing I'm worried about is if we end up facing individuals under the effects of death ring drugs."

…

Naofumi tilted his head in confusion, but Sadeena sucked in a sharp breath. "Moto's right. I didn't think about it before, but those drugs are grown in Siltvelt.

"If that monster is the one in control, I see no reason for her not to make use of it on her soldiers."

"Death ring drugs?" Naofumi asked.

"Yes, it's made from one particular plant native to Siltvelt's deserts. It's called Amalgama." Sadeena explained.

"When ingested by demihumans or beastmen, the drug enhances them tremendously in various ways. It enables one to transform into their therianthrope form or beyond that into a legendary Beast Transformation form without training. Those forms can double, or in some cases, even triple their stats, depending on the dosage and the quality of the drug.

"It can heighten their natural senses and reaction speeds. It even provides a powerful regenerative effect for its duration.

"But that surge of power comes with a cost. Not only is it known to shorten the lifespan of the user, but an overdose runs the risk of permanently locking them in their therianthrope or beast form while losing all sense of self, making them no different from a monster." The orca woman shuddered. "It's horrible stuff. Only the death rings deep beneath Zeltoble ever used it. And that's why it has that nickname.

"Past a certain point, there is no known way to reverse the effects. And the withdrawal from it is so intense that the majority of those who try to push through and stop taking it still end up dying from the complications.

"I seriously pray that we won't encounter it." Sadeena shook her head.

"... And who even knows if that'll be the worst thing we'll see used on Siltvelt's armies." Motoyasu shook his head as he looked at Naofumi again.

The Shield Hero frowned deeply. "And you're only telling us this now because…?"

"Because I just remembered it," Motoyasu shrugged again. "And it ties into the point I was making earlier. As much as you might want us to hurry this along so we can get to smashing Q'Ten Lo, we should be prepared for many things to go wrong.

"Even the shortest path to the enemy could wind up taking the longest if they're ready for us. And if things do happen, I don't want us to take unnecessary risks that could end up harming those who are helping us.

"So whatever we do, let's do something that'll immediately reward us short-term, give us some time to probe our enemies' resources and defenses without much risk on our parts, and then figure out how we'll tackle those challenges after the enemy has shown some of their hand to us.

"That's what I think."

…

Naofumi considered it, and everyone discussed this amongst themselves for a moment more.

Honestly, Motoyasu was right to point out the Shield Hero's impatience. Raphtalia was scowling too, but she agreed to the logic as well. And so did Sadeena and everyone else. Even Aultcray was nodding in relief at the Spear Hero's poignant words.

It made Naofumi consider the things he'd have to do. He had to remember he wasn't just protecting his party. He'd be protecting an army. He'd be rescuing a nation under a monster's control.

And that was the important thing. He wanted to raze Q'Ten Lo to the ground. But he didn't want innocents to die. And there were, unfortunately, a lot of innocents between them and that port.

He'd need to do whatever he had to do to ensure there were as few deaths on their side as possible.

…

Eventually, it was decided that they'd start by marching straight into the plains instead of heading for the mountains or the sea.

There were multiple reasons for this. The main reason, however, was the numerous unknowns they were dealing with going into this.

Motoyasu was right. For all their preparations, they still didn't know what the Kitsune was going to throw at them. They didn't know when and where aquatic demi-humans could ambush them. They didn't know if they'd have to deal with death ring drugs or traps from Q'Ten Lo or more.

Therefore, the most reasonable route was to head to what'd be the most heavily defended area. That way, they could force the Kitsune to reveal what she had at her disposal to combat them and figure out more information about Siltvelt's current situation.

Then they could either make a fighting retreat if the Kitsune or those under her proved too strong. Or, if their worries proved to be nothing but a paper tiger with false teeth, they could capture the forts at the mouths of these valleys, and they could then choose whether to go to the mountains or the sea, or even split their Heroes and forces to tackle both sides at once.

They couldn't go straight ahead anyway. Not until Naofumi and his fiancée were strong enough to face a level 250 monster while under threat of Q'Ten Lo's assassins ambushing them at any time.

"Alright… this will have to do… for now." Aultcray looked up with a tired but serious expression. "Please make sure your reports… are as detailed as… possible, Sir Naofumi, Sir Motoyasu.

"I will try my best to ensure that… your strategies going forward… are sound with that… information." The King slowly nodded while gasping for breath. It had been a while since he had spoken so much for so long, and he was growing weary. "That… is all… I can do… for you both…"

Naofumi smiled at the shadow of the wise King of Melromarc. "Thank you, Aultcray. We would appreciate any assistance and advice you can provide as a strategist.

"I hope we'll be able to rely on Melty primarily for our battle strategies. But it'll be good knowing we have someone of your caliber backing us up."

…

A clouded look entered Aultcray's eyes as the older man looked down at the table again.

To receive such praise from the Shield Hero… the God figure of his most hated foes…

"Heroes… good luck on your endeavor," Mirellia said, sparing her husband a glance again as Naofumi and his allies got up and started to walk towards the double doors of the throne room.

"Melromarc shall be praying for your success," Mirellia added, before they left.

"Not to worry, Mirellia. Come hell or high water, I'll see this through to the end." Naofumi paused and smiled back warmly. "I will return with word of Siltvelt not only being freed, but Q'Ten Lo being burned to the ground. You have my word."

"I… pray you're joking about that second part." Mirellia sweatdropped. "You are free to eliminate that country's leadership if you must, but at least spare the common people who play no part in their ploys."

"Not to worry, Your Majesty." Raphtalia also paused and smiled warmly next to her fiancé. There was, however, a very chilly air about her.

"I won't be cutting down anyone who doesn't get in our way once we set foot on their land."

…

It appeared that Mirellia could not rely on the heroine to hold the Shield Hero back in this scenario. "Please ensure no innocents are harmed after the situation in Siltvelt is resolved, Motoyasu." She told the Spear Hero.

"I'll try." Motoyasu sighed reluctantly.

Sadeena was behind him, her bloodlust mirroring Raphtalia's own at the moment. The two women, combined with the Shield Her,o were going to be hard to rein in.

S'yne already had a hand to her chin, thinking over whom she could enlist for help in the event they'd need to stop or at least get the Shield Hero, Katana Hero, and Sadeena to spare some mercy on their foes. Hopefully, she had a plan ready by then.

With that, the meeting came to an end.

"Only a few more teleports, yeah?" Naofumi asked.

"And then everyone should be ready to march by tomorrow morning." Commander Mayor informed him. "I'm expecting the scouts to arrive before that."

"Alright, get to it, Motoyasu. Raphtalia and I will be joining you and your girlfriends in a moment." Naofumi clasped his hands together.

"I only have- ugh, whatever, man." Motoyasu shook his head in exasperation. "That joke's going to get old quick."

"Not as old as some people I know." Naofumi grinned up at Elhart, who pointedly stared in another direction.

"See you later, Lil' Raphtalia." Sadeena waved cheerily, directing a grateful smile at the Shield Hero as she grabbed one of the Spear Hero's hands.

"Careful, Sadeena. Moto is mine." S'yne's Atla doll said beside her head.

"I know." Sadeena winked playfully at the young seamstress heroine. "That's why I'm volunteering to keep watch while you sleep in the bed with him at night."

"... gross." Raphtalia deadpanned.

"Ever hear of something called TMI?" Naofumi blandly asked.

"Look who's talking." Elhart shook his head.

"Whatever. I'll see you soon, Big Sis." Raphtalia rolled her eyes before waving at her big sister with a playful smile.

Ah, to think murder and revenge had helped the two women to reforge their bond with each other so quickly.

Motoyasu and S'yne raised their weapons together, and upon activating their portal skills, they, along with two squads of knights, as well as Knight Commander Mayor and Sadeena, went to the border of Melromarc.

Elhart clasped his hands together as soon as the light show had ended. "So. Are we going to check on the Miss's project now?"

"Ohhhhhh yeah." Naofumi nodded with a small laugh.

It was late evening by that point, which meant the streets were far less crowded.

Thanks to this, the group of three arrived at their destination in record time.

"Ah, Sir Shield Hero, Katana Hero, Elhart, welcome." A white-haired woman greeted them as they entered the tailor's shop. There would have usually been outfits on display, but the place was temporarily closed to most people. So what had been stocked there was now stored in the back to make room for everyone working inside.

Mirellia's seamstresses were spread around the establishment. They looked like they hadn't seen the sun in days. All of them had heavy bags under their eyes.

"Hey, Tanya. Glad to see you back in town again. Is your daughter-" Elhart began to ask, only to get cut off by a high-pitched squeal of the person overseeing this entire project.

"MISS RAPHTALIA! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE!"

A light-haired girl with brown hair ran up to the power couple. Her appearance made some of the seamstresses pause in their work, their trembling hands covering their heads in terror.

Tailor Lady's entire body trembled in excitement. (Naofumi and Raphtalia had never learned her name, so the term stuck.) She was the youngest one there and had huge bags under her eyes. She looked as though she hadn't been outside in… ever.

But unlike the seamstresses there, she was acting as if she'd had ten cups of coffee all at once before their arrival. She was brimming with so much energy that she put even Count Hadenburg's gaunt, yet energetic appearance to shame.

The power couple was unbothered by her antics, even if Naofumi felt as though she gave off that female otaku type of vibe.

In an ironic twist of fate, the tailor Elhart had befriended in the city was the same person who had made the outfit for Filo on such short notice while they were on the run. And her mother, whom they'd met that fateful day as well, and who'd arranged for her daughter that day to make it on their behalf, was there to assist her overexcited daughter as well as all of Her Majesty's seamstresses on this project.

…

Though it was also likely that she was there to ensure her daughter didn't work the other seamstresses to death.

"I'll take it you already have the latest outfit done?" Raphtalia asked. Her tone was nice and crisp, like that of a businesswoman.

"OF COURSE! THE MATERIALS YOU PROVIDED WERE SO GOOD! THERE WAS NO WAY I COULD FAIL WHEN I KNEW IT'D LOOK FANTASTIC ON YOU!"

And that might have been why Naofumi was completely unbothered by Tailor Lady's antics.

Anyone who thought Raphtalia looked godly in a Miko Outfit was deserving of his respect.

…

However, it was at this point that Naofumi's attention began to drift away as his fiancée and the tailor began to discuss new designs and the state of Raphtalia's first business venture in an animated manner.

He really wanted to be supportive, and he could offer some input on the business side of things, but dressmaking was seriously not his forte.

Damn, he probably should have asked Moto and S'yne to come along for this. Well, next time. It couldn't be helped. His thoughts were focused on his upcoming mission.

So instead of trying to feign mild interest, he subtly stepped out of the conversation and began to make some small talk with Elhart.

He didn't recall what they talked about. Knowing them, it was probably a conversation of jabs and teasing, mixed with a regular topic or two.

…

They discussed things quietly between themselves until Naofumi noticed Raphtalia stepping out of the fitting room, arrayed in her new Miko Outfit.

It looked the same as her previous one, but the colors were more vibrant. And the fabric looked even softer and more pristine.

Naofumi pulled it up on his HUD, and it didn't disappoint.

Miko Outfit: Level Requirement: 70

Quality: Great

Equip Effects: Defense Up (Medium), Agility Up (Medium), Dexterity Up (Medium), Slash Resistance (Medium), Blunt Resistance (Small), Autonomous Self-Repair

"That's almost on par with your old armor set," Naofumi commented in surprise. And to think Tailor Lady had made this much progress in only a few days!

"It's only thanks to the great materials Miss Raphtalia gave me to work with! I couldn't fail using them!" Tailor Lady yelled cheerfully.

"Yes. But I'm still not quite satisfied." Raphtalia shook her head.

"Oh, I'm truly sorry!" Tailor Lady bowed her head quickly. "I've been working so hard and-"

Raphtalia cut her off as she set a small bag that made a loud Clinking sound as it settled on a wooden table.

"That's another fifty gold coins to pay for everyone's time as well as any materials and supplies they might need." She then pulled more quality materials from her weapon. Materials she'd gathered from leveling the townspeople, as well as what she'd collected from the ocean while grinding with Naofumi up till the recent incident. "And here's some more materials so you can improve your sewing and crafting skills further.

"Next time, I want an outfit that has a level requirement of 100."

The seamstresses all looked at the wealth Raphtalia had set on the table with wide eyes.

"I'm expecting great things out of this. Keep up the good work, everyone." Raphtalia nodded with a smile.

And like that, the seamstresses turned back to their projects, eyes blazing with life as they began working again with even more fervor compared to before their arrival.

Quadruple pay rate was fine. However, with this, they'd be getting at least twice that!

Raphtalia was dropping enough money on this project that even nobility would have jumped at the chance to participate. However, Mirellia's most trusted seamstresses were all commoners.

This money would encourage them to keep going well beyond their breaking points for the foreseeable future.

"Seriously, bro, pay me this much after this is all over," Elhart demanded as they headed towards the doors.

"Let's see how much wealth I have left after Raphtalia's done spending it all." Naofumi winked at his future wife.

"Please, as if a miser like you would let me spend so much if you weren't so sure that it was a safe investment." Raphtalia huffed. "You're just using my feeling spiteful as an excuse so I can set up a location and train the staff here on your behalf for when we inevitably introduce S'yne's method of making advanced magic clothes and promptly corner the market on it."

Naofumi laughed.

"Dear, did I say how much I love you today?" The Shield Hero asked again with an elated smile.

"You have." The Katana Heroine blushed slightly before scowling. "And just so we're clear, I still don't like this style. I'm only wearing these clothes to spite our enemies and for no other reason, so don't get any ideas!"

"Fine by me. I just love that you're wearing them now." Naofumi grinned at her. "It makes the night even more fun."

"Gross." Elhart deadpanned.

Naofumi flipped him the bird in response while Raphtalia sighed exasperatedly.

And so, they went back to the front of the castle.

There, the two met up with the last of the townspeople coming along. They spent a little time making sure that everyone was ready before the power couple teleported themselves, Elhart, and the remaining fighters with them to Melromarc's border.

When the bright light faded, Naofumi found himself surrounded by an array of tents that stretched out in every direction.

They housed at least five thousand knights, as well as another thousand individuals fighting on behalf of the Hero's Nation. Each side was marked by its flags, as well as by the individuals walking amongst the tent city. From the shining armor of Mirellia's forces with their purple banners, to the mismatched, yet high-quality armor worn by the fighters of the Hero's Nation.

The light of all the campfires lit up the coming night…

And made the darkness visible on the other side of Melromarc's border all the more apparent.

…

Naofumi paused to stare at it for a moment. Taking in a deep breath and letting his mind settle on the gargantuan, serious undertaking he was about to perform.

And next to him, Raphtalia did much the same.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

...

...

...

...

"Alright." Naofumi clutched Raphtalia's hand in his. "Let's rest up. We have a lot to do starting tomorrow."

"Right." The half-tanuki woman nodded her head.

"We're so gonna kick some &$#." Elhart smiled in anticipation behind them.

Naofumi smiled in appreciation.

The couple were guided to their tent, where they lay down to rest for the night as guards and Shadows stood watch for the Heroes. Elhart stayed too, and took turns sleeping while standing up with those posted alongside him.

It was a blessedly uneventful night, besides a nightmare or two on the Shield Hero's part. Raphtalia had one too. Neither detailed what their nightmares contained in their journals.

What the power couple did note was that Raph-Chan joined them sometime during the night, and Filo did too, as they woke up from their restless sleep to find both daughters sleeping peacefully in their arms, which helped calm them down. It wasn't just them who'd joined them inside the spacious tent the Heroes had either.

Melty sat at the table nearby. Still wide awake and sipping what looked like tea, she and Eclair, who also sat with her, looked over her father's notes from his past war with Siltvelt.

Dou-Lon was sitting in the corner on his meditation mat. The candles around him had gone out as he fell asleep mid-meditation.

Sebastian, the most recent addition to their party, and whom Naofumi had gotten to learn more about in the last few days, was also at the table. However, unlike the two women, he was dead asleep.

Eclair looked at him in annoyance, but then she looked at Dou-Lon and her face softened.

Naofumi almost wanted to show he was awake at that point to have some rare time with his party. However, a gentle tug on his sleeve from Raphtalia and a cute snore from the most adorable creature in all of existence on his chest convinced Naofumi to lie back down next to his future wife and breathe in the scent of her hair once more.

Raphtalia let out a happy sigh, and soon enough, the pair fell back to sleep. Where they didn't have to deal with any dreams or nightmares for the rest of the night.

On the morrow, after helping the army to pack all the premade tents into the Hero's weapon inventories, they'd begin their long march through the open gate into Siltvelt's empty lands while the sun was low in the early morning sky.

The Siltvelt Conflict had begun.

Bong… … Bong… … Bong… … Bong… …

Bong…

The pang of a heavy church bell ripped through the gloomy air.

Crowds of people dressed in black slowly approached the edge of the main street.

And following behind them was a cloaked figure in battered armor, looking down at the ground with a haunted expression on his face.

Itsuki Kawasumi had seen better days.

Till Next Time

Allen

Chapter Text

"Tis a shame."

"Tis a damn shame indeed."

Two old men, dressed entirely in black, spoke to each other as the hidden Bow Hero walked behind them and other folks.

The location was a sizable town outside Melromarc. A small territory known as Horne.

It had a smaller population, thanks to the area only being settled in the last few decades due to the discovery of a Dragon Hourglass in the area. The town, also the Capital, was the only settlement in the entire nation.

The people who lived there, a mix of demis, humans, and hybrids, had a much higher level than their other neighbors. This was due to their proximity to the powerful monsters that inhabited the nearby wilderness. Even the farmers had class-ups and were trained in the use of weapons to defend themselves and their fields and orchards.

And every citizen in the small nation was currently joining the crowd of people who watched, then followed as a small group walk down the center of the street, carrying a closed coffin over their shoulders.

As the Bow Hero slowly followed alongside the crowd, he overheard others that spoke to each other like the two old men.

"It was too soon."

"He still had a lot of life ahead of him."

"Too think some coward would lay him low…"

Despite the people's strength, the town had suffered a lot thanks to the Spirit Tortoise. Their small population had saved them a personal visit from the great beast. But their close proximity to populous countries like Talon had led to them having to fight off hoards of bats, yetis, and other creatures serving as minions to the great Guardian Beast that came through the area searching for souls.

Even as they'd fought off the initial waves, the people of Horne had to face even more powerful variants of minions that arose from the wilderness around them, due to the Minions of the Guardian Beast using the powerful monsters as breeding grounds for larger and more powerful minions that the Heroes never had to deal with.

Actually, to amend that earlier statement, it'd been because of the people's strength that they'd survived the catastrophe at all. As well as the individual who'd led them all bravely against the hordes of monsters.

"He deserved better than this."

"I'll never forgive whoever killed him."

"May the bastard that murdered him rot in the nine circles of hell for this."

The stone fortifications surrounding Horne had been patched. The gates had been repaired. Many of the homes and buildings knocked down during the fight to survive had been rebuilt, with the rest being in the process of construction.

But the citadel, which stood at the center of the big town, still remained as damaged as ever. A testament to the fierce battle that'd taken place only a few short months ago.

It'd suffered the most damage out of any structure there because the Lord who ruled the small nation had fought alongside his men and housed all the citizens that couldn't fight, the elderly, the children, or the women nursing newborns, in his home. This was solely because the Lord, their leader, had chosen to prioritize the lives of his people over his own personal wellbeing.

And it was because he'd neglected to prioritize the repair of his own house first that the people were now gathered along the main street, watching as the coffin containing his body made its way to the graveyard.

It was not raining, but thick dark clouds blocked out the sun. The kids, normally bright and playful, shuffled quietly with their families.

The women of this place had tears running down their faces. And the men of various professions, farmers, soldiers, merchants, and more; watched the casket move along with hard expressions.

"Do you think?"

"It's certainly possible."

"Our neighbors have envied our Hourglass."

The death of their benevolent Lord felt like a blow to them all. The men of all professions especially felt responsible, as the assassin would have had to get past their fields and posts unnoticed to get to their Lord in the middle of the night.

The same people looked at each other with looks of doubt, anger, or regret.

Was it some political ploy by one of the Lord's sons wanting to rule sooner?

Was it some other nearby territory like Talon or Skell paying one of them off to betray their master so they could absorb their territory and the Dragon Hourglass?

Had it been one of their own, frustrated by a personal remark about their race or whatever from a night of drinking with his friends?

…

"... save it."

"Now isn't the time for this."

"He wouldn't want us to do this."

They had enough sense, however, to quiet these divisive thoughts.

This was not the time or place for gossip. And unlike Melromarc or Siltvelt, the people here had no problems of racism affecting their view of others.

"Oh, great Sword God…"

"Oh, great Shield God…"

"Oh, great Spear God…"

"Oh, great Bow God…"

And so, the people collectively bowed their heads and began to mutter prayers to all four of the Gods of this world.

Some asked for help and forgiveness for their thoughts. Others pleaded for guidance and revelation. A few prayed for the safety of their nation. Many prayed for the family the Lord had left behind.

Almost everyone prayed for the hidden murderer to be brought to justice as the pallbearers walked past with their deceased Lord.

"..."

Only Itsuki, who walked silently past these people, didn't join in their prayers.

Unlike the others, he didn't bow his head or offer a prayer or a voice for the respected nobleman.

For one, he was a stranger to this town.

For another, he'd never been a religious person.

For yet another, he didn't personally know the man, though he'd heard many things about him.

And lastly, no one there minded his presence.

That was mostly because no one saw or noticed him.

Between Itsuki's stealth skills, very high level, and small size, the Bow Hero walked past practically unseen.

He didn't run into anybody or do things to announce his presence. He merely followed in pace with the pallbearers, looking like the grim reaper as he gazed at the closed casket from amongst the growing crowd.

That statement was not an exaggeration either. Itsuki looked like %$#%.

He'd become more gaunt and frail looking since his return from the Otherworld. He was neither eating or sleeping enough. He was wearing a long cloak with a hood over his head that was cut and torn in several places. The armor covering his shoulder was beat up and battered.

The fact that he'd sold his dragon mount and been traveling on foot without any companions aiding him didn't help matters either. His stealth skills must have truly been impressive, as nobody nearby smelled the stench coming off him.

Itsuki was well and truly alone even in the midst of this crowd.

…

"Hello again, faker."

Well, not quite.

Itsuki paused underneath an awning and looked around with a frown on his face.

The people of the town were now ten feet away. In his musings, he'd gotten ahead of the pallbearers.

No one had noticed him yet. But it hadn't been any of them that'd spoken.

"Trying to ignore me again, are you? It won't work. I am always with you." The voice spoke with visible sarcasm.

Itsuki stayed frowning as he gazed upward. He even activated one of his remote vision skills in a vain hope to find the source of the voice from above.

But there was no one else. Only him.

"Shut up." Itsuki whispered and shook his head while gritting his teeth. As if being tormented by his conscience at night wasn't bad enough, it now spoke during the day as well.

"I don't think so... Now then, have you figured it out yet?

"Have you learned the 'truth' about who that guy was?" The voice asked snidely.

"That's not what I came here for. I am here to catch the killer." Itsuki denied.

"Really? Playing detective now?" The voice replied with contempt. "Well, 'Holmes', if you are looking for a killer, then why don't you just take a peek inside that casket? Or did you already forget the unsavory rumors we heard from that caravan we passed on the way here?"

…
Itsuki remained silent for a moment as the frown on his face grew.

He noticed the pallbearers pass him again, and the crowd of people following behind them filling the street.

He moved from his spot before it was overwhelmed by the crowd of people following in their deceased Lord's wake.

"I don't care what those people said. Everyone else here swears that their ruler was a saint."

"Picking and choosing your own 'truth' and 'justice' again, huh? How very... convenient."

"I am not choosing anything, he was a good person." Itsuki repeated and closed his eyes shut. "Everything I've learned since coming here points to that."

…

The voice said nothing, and Itsuki continued moving along. Keeping to the backdrop so he wouldn't disturb any of the people.

He overheard more bits of conversation. Citizens listing all that the Lord had done for them. Soldiers who now worried about having to protect their families without the Lord's influence holding other greedy nation states at bay.

There wasn't a single damning thing being said about him. And Itsuki had found nothing that'd damn him after searching his mansion earlier either.

The things he'd overheard from that caravan had been completely untrue. Every single thing…

…

And yet, he was still here, making sure…

…

Itsuki came to a pause again. He was outside the cemetery, but instead of going in with everyone else, he climbed on top of a nearby rooftop to observe everyone.

He positioned himself under a stone gargoyle so its shadow could ensure he remained unseen.

"Come now. How long are you going to deny the 'truth'?

"I know that you know it deep down. I am you after all, hahaha." And, for some reason, as he did this, the voice began to speak again.

"What is there to know?" Itsuki almost snapped.

"Nobody goes through their whole life without doing at least one bad thing.

"His record's too squeaky clean for that to be the case. I know you found 'something' while searching around, faker." The voice chided.

Itsuki grit his teeth.

"There, was, nothing." Itsuki repeated.

"Oh, but there was, wasn't there?" The voice pressed.

"Or are you as blind as you are daft, false Hero of Justice?"

Itsuki's face turned a shade of red. His fists tightened at his sides.

…

…

…

Itsuki's face became downcast, and he put his hands over his ears.

There was well and truly nothing… wasn't there?

Why did his voice, this 'conscious' or what have you, keep insisting otherwise?

There wasn't anything he was hiding from himself… … … right?

…

…

The casket was now next to a burial plot.

Several other individuals had spoken, but Itsuki had tuned it out. He was too conflicted with himself to pay any attention.

It was only when one of the Lord's sons was delivering the eulogy of his Father that Itsuki finally began to take note of what was going on again.

The guy had blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore robes, but they hung on his body, as if he hadn't grown into them yet.

He couldn't have been older than Itsuki. A boy just on the verge of manhood. Yet now, he'd have to carry the weight of his Father's nation on his shoulders.

Itsuki, even if he had his ears uncovered, was too far away to hear what he was saying.

…

…

But his sharp eyesight allowed him to lipread what the young man was saying.

"Lord Drake was a great man. One of the greatest leaders to stand in Horne's short history.

"A man of great passion, a man of many talents. There are few in attendance who never personally interacted with him…"

It was, once again, more words of how great the Lord had been for the territory. How he'd done all he could to protect his people.

Itsuki continued to watch, almost expecting for the same things he'd heard in the crowd to be repeated again here.

…

"You all knew him as a Lord who ruled with kindness, fairness, and mercy…

"But as his son, me and my siblings remember him as Father."

Itsuki perked up.

Was this young man about to reveal some deep seeded secrets on his Father's own graveside? Was he about to validate why Itsuki had come here and give him the smoking gun he needed to find satisfaction in the justice dispensed in this scenario and-

"How he ruled his territory was how he ruled his house." The young Lord Drake continued. "With kindness, fairness, mercy… and more than a bit of forgiveness on our parts."

…

No. It was an even more damning story that made Itsuki regret his secrecy and suspicions even more.

"If my brothers and I ever had an argument, Father would step in as a mediator and help us resolve things peacefully.

"When my sisters asked for help, he'd listen and do everything in his power to meet their needs.

"He raised us to have high expectations for ourselves, but to have room to forgive our shortcomings since perfection is impossible.

"He taught us much, and raised us well. When…"

The young man choked up for a moment, having to take a deep breath and recover his composure before he continued. Others in the crowd showed no reaction, other than bowed heads and sniffles of sorrow.

"When… as you all know, when our mom, The Lady Drake, died giving birth to my last brother, we were all hurting so much… it felt like everyone in Horne had joined in our suffering… but no one, nay, no soul besides my siblings and I mourned more for her loss than my Father did…"

…

"And yet, even though he was hurting so deeply, and even though he had more than just us to look after, he gave of his time and his life to take care of us. To help us past the pain we felt. To keep on living, even whilst giving up food and sleep so he'd have enough time to make sure everyone he loved was taken care of.

"He… often spoke of how he couldn't wait to be reunited with my mother… but that he'd never forgive himself, and that she'd never forgive him, if he rushed that reunion and left life with regrets weighing him down…

"He wasn't always able to be there. He… he wasn't the perfect father… b… But I…

"Fa… dad, there isn't one person here who isn't going to miss you. Including me.

"I know there was so much you still wanted to do. So many things to accomplish before you died…

"I… I can only hope that I'll become half the man you were… and that you'll be able to rest peacefully… b-beside our mom now."

…

Itsuki continued to observe, his face downcast as the young man stepped back, choking back tears and trying to look strong as others walked up to the casket, giving their final farewells.

Just more words of sincerity of the great man he'd been. Personal stories of how he'd touched their lives.

And during all this, a tall, bald, and buff rabbitman standing behind the young Lord placed a hand on his shoulder. Nodding his head and giving him a look of approval.

…

Eventually, Itsuki's hands fell from his ears. Overwhelmed by guilt for even being there.

"Pbth. Can you believe this?"

And of course, the moment that happened, the voice returned.

"Disgusting. I bet this kid is in on the joke too. Must have really hated his pop's guts but is too cowardly to speak out in front of all the people who loved him."

Itsuki shook his head. "No, it looked genuine."

"Please, what would you know about being genuine, faker? You're just as fake as the people here."

"Praying to their Gods for guidance but not even giving a &%$ about you being in their midst. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they turned on you and started thinking that 'you' were the one who killed their noble if they knew who you are."

…

Itsuki's shoulders sagged lower, and he turned away from the rest of the funeral.

He'd originally been traveling towards this town because even he had reached his breaking point roughing it in the wild and had just wanted a warm meal that wasn't bland foodstuff autocrafted by his weapon and a warm bed that wasn't housed in a cave filled with monsters for one night. But it was clear that he wouldn't find peace here.

He'd never feel at peace in a place like this where his conscious would torment him and-

"We need to kill him."

…

Itsuki paused midstep and midthought. He looked around, an incredulous look of shock on his face. "W-What?"

"Oh, don't be coy. You know exactly what I'm talking about.

"If the son is speaking so highly of his Father, then clearly, he must have been in cahoots with him.

"Actually, you should kill everyone who was in the crowd too. If no one is confronting the truth, then they all must be playing a part in the scheme as well.

"It would be the right thing to do. The heroic thing to do."

"N-No. T-That's wrong." Itsuki stammered. "T-That'd be everyone that lives here!"

"Was Motoyasu wrong too then, when he killed all those scumbags in Zeltoble?

"To think even that clown managed to get ahead of us while we were busy being a dead-weight in another world.

"Come on, we've killed bad people before. Or have you already forgotten all about those bastards we killed during our 'crusade' in Melromarc?"

"But they were clearly bad! Their crimes were visible to everyone!" Itsuki snapped.

"The only bad things I'd heard about the Lord here was from a stupid caravan out in the wild!"

It'd been in the middle of the night too while camping out near the road. Yet he couldn't find where the caravan of traders had gone when the sun rose again. It was like there'd never been a caravan in the first place!

"Ah, falling back on the good old 'majority vote' copout again, instead of fighting for what's right?

"It's so much easier, isn't it? Just nod your head and obey. Whether it's to permit slavery right in front of you or to let our enemies get away to kill more people and empower themselves.

"Yes, this is the sort of thinking that's appropriate for a fake hero like us. Especially since we still have more of those Slave Seals we still haven't-"

At the statement, Itsuki clamped his hands over his ears again. Just wanting for this damn voice in his head to leave him the hell alone.

But looking in the direction of the funeral again, he saw the casket being lowered into the ground.

The Lord's son now stood at the foot of the grave, holding out his hand in front of him with some dirt in it.

…

Itsuki then had the thought of how he had the perfect vantage point.

How simple it'd be to fire an arrow high into the air, to have it come down from the sky and pierce the young man through the heart.

No, not just him. Everyone down there could be killed at the same time with a simple arrow swarm skill.

Actually, why stop at just that? He could erase the entire graveyard and all the people in and around it with a few well-placed Explosion Shots.

He wouldn't have to hide from anyone then. And if the rumors he'd heard about the noble's shady business turned out to be true, then he could end another secret crime organization being built up in this shady place before it ever cropped up and…

…

Itsuki's eyes widened again. 'What the hell is wrong with me?!'

He brought his hands down. He had to get out of there before he did something he'd regret!

"ASSASSIN! ASSASSIN ON THE ROOF!"

But a shout from below had Itsuki look down.

A man in the crowd was pointing up at him. Spittle flew from his mouth as he pointed out the hooded, shadowy figure holding a bow in his hands. "HE'S COME TO FINISH OFF THE REST OF OUR LORD'S FAMILY! PROTECT THEM! PROTECT THEM NOW!"

The cry caused others to look and either narrow their eyes in confusion, or gasp in shock as they too saw the armed mystery figure hiding beneath the gargoyle's shadow. Those who noticed only did so because they had higher levels than the others.

This was also because Itsuki had failed to reapply his stealth skills again after their duration had ended. He was now visible to some of the more powerful people down there.

And those individuals were the ones who had either soldier or guard professions as their class-ups.

"Stop! In the name of the Lord, you will throw down your weapon this instant!" The bald rabbitman standing behind the young Lord Drake unsheathed his blade as he placed his body between his new charge and the mystery assailant. Those with bows began reaching for the quivers on their backs.

Itsuki gasped as he stepped back, before looking down at his trembling hands.

To his shock, he found that while he'd been stuck in thought earlier, he'd pulled back on the string, creating an arrow of light. He had his Arrow Squall skill selected on his HUD.

To everyone there, it looked like he'd been a simple mercenary ready to assassinate the nobleman's son.

But in reality, he'd been preparing to kill them all.

A deep sense of inner betrayal filled his core. A pain so deep he almost wanted to vomit.

"I said, throw down your weapon at once!" The large burly rabbitman repeated, and by then, his archers all had their strings pulled back and ready to fire their arrows.

Before they could, however, the cloaked figure turned around and faded into the darkness of the statue. That was what it appeared to them, at least.

"FIRE!"

The archers unleashed a volley on the area. All the arrows hitting the wall, the statue, or landing on the rooftop.

Not one found its mark, however.

This was because Itsuki was currently jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

His stealth skills had been reapplied. His weapon was hidden under his cloak and attached to his back in one of its smallest weapon forms. Yet despite all that, a look of anguish covered the Bow Hero's features at what he'd almost done.

He would not find a warm meal or a warm bed here. He never would.

The people would eventually figure out his identity. They'd pass on what he'd almost done.

They'd never learn why he'd been there. Never hear what he'd overheard in the wild.

He was in the process of being exiled all over again.

All because others had misunderstood.

All because he'd wanted to keep himself hidden.

"You should have taken the shot while you had the chance.

"Now he'll not only get away with his criminal actions, but his brat of a son will also have an excuse to gather more power around himself for 'protection'." Itsuki's own voice spat out mockingly in his ear.

"SHUT UP!" Itsuki screamed in fury. "JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"

"Ahahaha...no. No, I don't think so.

"Not until you finally understand the 'truth'.

"Of who you are.

"Of the state of this rotten world.

"And the hearts of the rotten 'people' who inhabit it."

"DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU TO HELL!"

"Ahahahaha… you're too late for that, my friend."

…

The archers of the town would unleash several more volleys of arrows on the area before those with swords and spears and shields and other weapons besides those had the buildings in the area surrounded.

It'd be a few more minutes before they found that whomever the assassin was had already escaped.

And by the time word got back to the gates, Itsuki had long since vanished. Having cleared the wall in a single leap before running full tilt in the direction of the mountains to the west.

Still, it wouldn't take long before they found his tracks outside the wall. And a search party would be organized to follow and bring down the would-be assailant.

But as they were readying up, the storm that'd been threatening to burst for most of the day finally did.

And it did so in a huge, blinding torrent of rain.

The people found themselves stuck indoors. Guards and soldiers were restricted to their posts. The Lord's family were forced to return to their fortress home, which had many leaks thanks to the unrepaired damage. Damage they were forced to address in order to keep important family items from being destroyed or damaged by the water.

By the time the storm finally let up somewhat, after a few hours, the guards found the earlier tracks washed away in a torrent of mud that threatened to destabilize the walls of the town. And thus the magicians among them that knew fire, earth, or water magic spent the night saving the town's fortifications from collapse.

All the while, Itsuki continued to run, even as the rain caught up and passed him, until he was far beyond the land of Horne.

He eventually collapsed in a cave in the mountains, too tired to even clear out the monsters living there before he fell unconscious from the day's events.

Not that they'd attack him, as the powerful aura coming off the Bow Hero discouraged the far weaker predators from approaching him.

"Ahahahahaha…"

The quiet sound of Itsuki's laughter echoed around him throughout the night, intimidating the monsters further.

What a terrible night to have a curse…

"Rishia-san, are you sure about this?" A familiar catgirl asked her friend as they crested over a hill and saw the gates to a large town.

Anya was dressed comfortably in her makeshift witch outfit. The sleeves on her arms and legs loosened enough to allow her to fight comfortably. She'd also forgone her witch hat since it got in the way.

"I'll only be a moment, Anya. I'm just going to check if anyone here has seen Itsuki." The green-haired Projectiles Heroine answered. "In the meantime, I want you and the others to see what monsters you can hunt here.

"There's been some pretty powerful ones we've come across the last couple days. The people could always use the safety, and we could use the levels."

Anya slowly nodded. Rishia was still at level 68, but her EXP bar was almost filled on the corner of her HUD, after several months of watching it slowly progress after hitting that level at Cal Mira.

It wouldn't be long before she finally overcame the EXP wall blocking her from higher levels right now. Anya and the rest of her new allies were already in their 70's level-wise.

"Alright, but call as soon as you hear anything." The cat girl said with a stiff nod. "My crest is still pointing in this direction, but I feel like Itsuki is moving further away. And last night's storm could have made it very easy for him to bypass the area without anyone seeing him."

Those standing behind the catgirl nodded in agreement.

In order, there was a goat beastman mage dressed in a set of black-colored robes with a mage hat on top of his blonde hair. Even after reaching the biological age of sixteen via leveling, he was the second shortest of the group, just below Rishia. His irises were green with sparks of red dancing around his pupils.

The young goatman's name was Asriel.

Next was a short-haired rabbit demihuman girl who was a spellsword fencer. Her hair was a dark black like her irises. She also wore a black outfit that hugged her body tightly, showing off the lean muscles on her arms and legs. She was the second tallest of the group and had a tendency to show off.

The rabbit girl's name was Shara.

The next person beside her was the tallest of everyone there, a tall cow demihuman girl. She was a sweet person with light amber eyes, silver hair, and the softest pair of cow ears sticking out the sides of her head.

Despite that, she also wore the heaviest armor of the group, had a sizable buckler attached to her arm, wielded a giant warhammer with her right hand, and had a pair of sharp horns sticking out the top of her head that she used to impale monsters in fights.

Her name was Betsy.

The last person making up the party was a mouse beastman who was also the shortest of them all, barely clearing four feet. He was fine around the others, but whenever there was someone else nearby, his beady eyes always looked wide with nervousness or anxiety.

Likely because of this, he wore a cloaked hood that covered his furry body so nobody would see what he looked like. Even with all that though, he looked up to Itsuki the most. And was training hard with the bow on his back to be just as good as his favorite Hero.

His name was Leo.

None of them were from Lurolona originally, but they had been a part of the Hero's Nation from early on and shared a harrowing experience with Anya, which brought their group together.

All five of them were inside that single cage along with Keel and a few others that fateful night when Itsuki had lost control over his Cursed Series after a slaver raid on their town.

All of that was water under the bridge at this point. No one among them had any hard feelings about what transpired back then. They were just glad that someone had been willing to go to such extreme lengths just to rescue them, even if it didn't go as planned. And even after that, several amongst them had further positive interactions with the Bow Hero that cemented their faith and trust in him as their personal Hero.

They would return that favor now.

Rishia gave them a final nod before continuing to approach the large walls surrounding the large town. Those behind her ran back in the direction of the forest where the more powerful monsters would be lurking.

Should things not take long, Rishia and them would leave and hit the mountains by nightfall. Giving them monsters worth a lot more EXP to hunt during the night before they went to sleep.

…

"Halt! State your business here!" As Rishia approached, a large bald man with bulging muscles and an eyepatch over his left eye shouted from the top of the wall at her, grabbing her attention.

Beside the man were soldiers who rose up on his sides with their bowstrings pulled back, ready to unleash a volley at her.

Rishia immediately paused in her tracks. What was this?!

"The nation of Horne is not accepting any visitors or merchants at this time!" The burly large man continued to shout in a booming voice. "Unless you're somebody important, you will depart from here at once!"

…

Rishia breathed in deeply. It was a surprise to be sure, but she was not the same anxious girl she'd been months ago.

She held out the ethereal weapons in her hands, showcasing the gemstones to the men of Horne. "My name is Rishia Ivyred! I am the newly called Projectiles Hero of the Hero's Nation!

"I've come here to search for the Bow Hero!"

"I have reason to believe he came this way! If you or anyone here has any information, I would greatly appreciate hearing it!"

…

…

For a moment, both sides stared at each other. The man in charge of the gate looked to be sizing her up while thinking over her words.

Some of the men around him shifted uncomfortably.

"The Bow Hero is missing?" He asked after a pause.

"Yes, he's forced himself into a self-exile, due to a misunderstanding." Rishia answered readily. "My friends and I are trying to locate and bring him back home."

"Please, do you know anything?" Rishia asked again, sincerity filling her voice.

…

The man's face softened, and he gestured to his archers, who lowered their weapons. "Come forth, Miss Ivyred. I shall meet you down below." He spoke, his voice still booming, but not in a threatening manner anymore.

"Thank you." Rishia smiled gratefully as the man and the soldiers around him turned around and vanished into the ramparts.

…

A moment later, he reappeared from a door in front of the gate. Closer up, Rishia was able to see he was not a human, as he had a pair of bunny ears sticking up from the sides of his head.

Also, it wasn't just him who appeared.

There was a young man with him almost half his size. He wasn't short, but even dressed in full plate armor, he didn't look near as bulky as the muscly man next to him.

He took off his helmet, revealing a youthful face underneath a head of blonde hair. His helmet seemed a bit too big for him, and Rishia hazarded a guess that the rest of his armor was too big as well.

"Guildmaster Hans has already filled me in. Miss Ivyred, correct?" The young man asked politely. Despite the armor being too big, he seemed to try and fill it as best he could. Rishia felt an almost kindred spirit that was familiar.

"Yes." Rishia nodded. "Though I prefer being called Rishia. May I ask who you are?"

The young man frowned, his face becoming taut. "My apologies, Miss… Rishia. But before I share anything, I need an honest answer from you, if you could, since my trusted Guildmaster filled me in on this as well."

Rishia's relaxed smile slowly fell as the young man tightened his fist in front of him again. "Was it the Bow Hero who murdered my father?"

…

…

…

Rishia stared for a moment. First, she was confused. Then, she was troubled.

But then, before she spoke to defend Itsuki, she thought some more, and then, after that, she spoke.

"How long ago was your father killed? And why do you believe it was the Bow Hero who killed him?"

"It was five nights ago." The young man immediately answered. "As for why I ask… nobody saw the assailant that killed him.

"Not one person.

"We didn't suspect it being the Bow Hero at first since nobody knew he was in the area. But then yesterday, at my father's funeral, a retired adventurer in the crowd spotted him on a rooftop.

"Others reported seeing him in the procession, or somebody that matched the description that man provided after the funeral…

"He disappeared right after. And his tracks were barely found outside the city before the storm hit and washed it all away." The young man shook his head. "I didn't want to believe it was one of the Cardinal Heroes, but if he really was in the area, then-"

"It couldn't have been him." Rishia immediately refuted.

…

"I… what do you mean? There've even been rumors spreading amongst the townsfolk that-" The young man asked, looking confused.

"Lord Drake," Hans spoke up then. "I mean no offense, but some of my adventurers have been looking into the matter.

"Nobody knows where those rumors originated from. Not even the old women who love to gossip while their husbands are at work in the barracks have a source for where they started.

"I personally interviewed the man who spotted the Bow Hero as well. He didn't even know if it was him or not.

"He said he only spotted him because he heard somebody else pointing him out and calling him the Bow Hero. He didn't recognize the person's voice. And he still hasn't been able to put a name to it since, despite knowing most everyone here thanks to doing so many guild requests for others before he retired.

"And besides, I believe the Projectiles Hero was about to prove the Bow Hero's innocence." Hans smiled to the young green-haired girl.

"Yes." Rishia started to smile again, before she quickly explained.

Basically, her friends had crests registered to the Bow Hero that allowed them to track him. And it hadn't been until three days ago that they'd found him heading in this direction.

Or, in other words, Itsuki hadn't even gotten here before the previous Lord had been killed.

"And… you're certain about this?" The young man, the new Lord Drake, asked.

"Yes. And Lord Drake, was it? You may properly know me as Rishia Ivyred of the nobility of Melromarc.

"I might not have ever met you or your Father before, but I learned of the countries outside my home while learning in the castle, including Horne's short history.

"Your family is well respected by my parents and her Majesty for all you've sacrificed to establish a nation. I'm so sorry for your loss." She said sincerely.

"..." The young man, now ruler of his father's territory, looked down at the ground. His fists were clenched at his sides, and tears slowly fell down his undeveloped face.

Rishia saw it then. This wasn't just any young man who hadn't finished becoming an adult. It was a son suddenly put in charge of a territory of people. A person struggling to shoulder what his father had shouldered for many years.

He did not know what to do. But he was not asking for help or guidance.

In a way, it was familiar… almost too familiar.

How different the circumstances could have been if Itsuki and him had met before all this.

Fortunately, it didn't seem like Rishia would have to worry about the young ruler much. There were others here to support him. Including the frowning buff rabbitman who didn't look happy seeing how the young man he'd spent the past few years sparring and leveling in his free time was looking.

"Lord Drake, if I may, I'd recommend calling off the search for the Bow Hero and figuring out the cause of these unsavory rumors about him instead." Hans suddenly suggested, a more serious air appearing around him.

"W-What do you mean?" The young man asked.

"Personally, Miss Ivyred's word isn't exactly much to go on," The rabbitman crossed his muscled arms over his chest. "But our own sources can hardly be considered credible either. I also don't like the idea of a Cardinal Hero being the cause of Lord Drake's death."

"I-I realize how absurd it is. B-But-"

"But nothing." Hans continued to frown. "That same Cardinal Hero helped put the brakes on the Spirit Tortoise. And good thing too. Otherwise, we'd still be fighting for our lives against waves of its endless minions, if we were still alive by then.

"I understand you're still in mourning, and I will give you as much time to grieve as necessary,

"But to pick a fight with the Hero's Nation, especially with no real evidence to back up our claims,

"That is suicide.

"This is not the person your Father raised you to be."

…

"I… I know." The young man admitted. "I'm sorry… I have no excuse…"

"You have the best damn excuse in the world." Hans put a hand on his pauldron, and as Rishia suspected, the armor really was too big on him. The young Lord Drake almost fell over, and the buff rabbitman smiled. "Just remember to ask me and the others for help, ok? We're trying to keep things running, you know."

"I… okay." The young man stood up tall before speaking again, albeit shakily. "Guildmaster Hans, please, c-can you continue to h-help me a-and my siblings?"

"Of course! Like you ever had to ask! Ahahaha!" Hans slapped a hand on his back this time, and the poor blonde guy nearly did fall over this time. Which would have been a nightmare, as he would have needed to ask for help getting back up.

Rishia smiled a little as the new young ruler turned around to yell in embarrassment at the taller buff man. But then…

Boom!

His words were cut off as an explosion came from the forest.

"What the- did somebody step in the Wyrm Drake's territory?!" The young Lord Drake sharply turned his head in the direction of the sound.

"That wasn't from a Wyrm Drake, my Lord." Hans breathed in sharply, his ears now standing up on his head. "I'm hearing the sounds of fighting in the forest!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

More explosions rang out one after the other. The guildmaster's eyes widened further! There was nobody under him who was that proficient in fire magic!

The local adventurer's guild master looked down to the Projectiles Heroine to request for her help, however, he instead saw Rishia dashing in the direction of the explosions.

Unbeknownst to them, the HP bars of some of her friends had dropped in the corner of her HUD.

"Ehehehehe! This is so much fun! I'm glad I finally get to let loose, I say! Fireball!"

Boom!

"Betsy!" Anya called.

"I-I'm ok! It only grazed me!" The cow girl responded, though the burns covering her face and neck said otherwise.

"Take this! Moon's Slash!" Shara dashed in front of her barbarian friend, her blade emitting a dim light as she swung at her foe, who wore a gas mask.

"Nuh uh uh! That ain't how this works here! Eat dirt!" Boom!

Their second opponent wearing a set of goggles on top of his head stepped forward, throwing a rock at the rabbit girl to interrupt her attack.

Betsy quickly stepped in between Shara and the projectile. However, neither had expected for the rock to suddenly explode like a bomb upon impact.

This almost knocked Betsy off her feet, which was saying something with how built she was. These enemies were powerful.

At least the buckler was made from strong materials, so it remained unscratched. Much to the guy's irritation.

"Tch! So annoying! Wood's meant to burn, you know!" The goggles wearing guy picked up another pair of small pebbles from the ground.

These pebbles then began to glow red and hum ominously.

"Why the hell are you bastards attacking us?!" Anya angrily demanded. Behind her, groaning in pain from the burns covering his side from the first unexpected attack, was her friend, Asriel.

They hadn't even come across any fun monsters to hunt yet! These two pyschos had ambushed them out of the blue and the goatboy had suffered the most for it!

She didn't know their names. She looked at gas mask as Rando #1 and goggles as Rando #2.

"Why not? Do we need a reason to do what we love?" The goggles guy smirked, and before Anya could retort, he had already thrown the two pebbles in his hands at the group.

Boom!

Unfortunately, for Rando #2, a pair of arrows intercepted them in midair. A loud explosion followed the impact.

"Ha, nice shot Leo! I told ya your aim's been improving!" Shara yelled to the trees above.

"T-Thanks!" A nervous, yet excited voice yelled back from the mouseman hidden in the leaves.

"What nonsense, I say! You dare to stand between us and the glory of the greatest element ever invented!?" The masked man stepped in again.

"You idiots deserve to be consumed by a fire everlasting! A fire eternal! The greatest fire that I can conjure! A fire so hot that the SUN would writhe in jealousy at its brilliance!

"Now, face your end with open arms! May you repent in hell! Fireba-" Rando #1 began to summon another, even larger ball of fire in his hands that was a deep crimson red. It's appearance was so hot and foreboding that the light of the sun overhead dimmed at its appearance.

Pow!

Unfortunately for Rando #1, he'd spent so much time talking and building up to his ultimate fireball instead of using his cheat skill to instantly summon it and spam multiple fireballs on the group just like it to keep them further pinned down and unable to counter that Anya had enough time to not only apply her wind and shadow reinforcement magic to her limbs, but also close the distance and drive her fist deep into Rando #1's gut.

It didn't kill Rando #1, but it did make him collapse onto his knees and almost vomit into his mask as the fireball was thrown from his hands. "ACK!"

"How about you go to hell first, #$%&*." Anya, tired of this, had already moved on after delivering the brutal strike. And with her fists covered in shadow and wind, she closed in on Rando #2.

"Y-You bitch!" Rando #2 picked up a stick this time, and it turned into another bomb in his hands, which he threw at her.

Anya easily ducked it, but Rando #2 was ready with another rock at close range.

"Hup! Not this time!" Boom!

Betsy got in front of her friend, batting the second rock away with her buckler, exploding it against a tree and destroying said tree in a shower of fiery splinters.

Anya dashed past her friend, her shadow claws extending from her hands to impale Rando #2. "Eek!" The guy grasped another stick from the ground, changing it as well to throw at her.

Kth!

Too bad, as Anya's claws raked across his eyes before he could throw it.

Turns out, he should have been wearing his goggles properly. "Ah! My eyes! I can't see! I CAN'T SEE!" Rando #2 screamed in pain as his hands clutched at his destroyed eyes.

"Twilight Vacuum Fist! Breakthrough!"

Pow! Boom! Kck!

Anya's shadow-covered, wind-enhanced, life-force covered fist then slammed into Rando #1's chest. Knocking him back into another tree with enough force to produce a shockwave from the impact.

And that last sound might have possibly been the sound of bones breaking.

Which ones? It'd be simpler to say 'a lot of them'.

The fact that Rando #2 didn't die from the shock alone spoke of his resiliency. Anya was almost impressed. But it was no wonder why these bastards had ambushed them.

That was the only real way they could have possibly won. Too bad it'd only pissed the group off even more. It made the fact that they'd badly hurt one of them because of it exceptionally worthy of suffering in her eyes.

And not just hers.

"F-Fi-Fire-Fireba-" Despite having already lost and finding it hard to speak through the pain, Rando #1 seemed to think he could turn things around with his stupid fire spell as he began to summon another, albeit weaker and less foreboding fireball in the air before him.

To his credit, he was in a lot of pain, and that earlier blow had really upset his stomach. It was taking everything he had not to give in and just vomit the contents of his lunch inside the stupid gas mask he wore all the time.

Kch! "Ahhhhhhh!" Whatever the case, said fireball instantly vanished into thin air as Shara drove her thin blade into the masked Rando's shoulder, pinning his body to the ground.

"Huh, they weren't so tough." The rabbit girl commented, her shoulders sinking in relief.

Leo jumped down from his perch, landing beside her. He had another arrow strung on his bow though, and had it pointed at Rando #1's head. "I-I wouldn't say that. L-Look what they did to Asriel and Betsy…"

Anya looked back at her friend to see Asriel had at least managed to sit himself up against a tree trunk. But he was still groaning in pain, and for some reason, the burns covering his side looked worse.

Betsy also hadn't relaxed her guard. Although she was trying to hide it, she was wincing from the light burns on her arms and face. Burns that also appeared to be worsening the more seconds passed by.

Shara, upon seeing them, glared down at the masked man, before twisting her blade in his shoulder. Causing him to scream out in even more pain.

"Leo. Help him. I'll prepare some of my water magic while making sure this guy doesn't go anywhere." Shara said, before her foot stomped down on the back of Rando #1's head, grinding it and his stupid looking gas mask into the dirt. "Betsy, you also help. I'll try to heal you as well."

"Okay. Thank you." The two moved to help their friend. And Anya observed for another moment.

…

The magic surrounding one of Anya's hands then dissipated as she turned back around and grabbed Rando #2 by his neck before lifting him up. The movement made the bastard cry out in pain from all the broken bones shifting around.

"Who sent you here, and why did you attack us?" Anya simply demanded in a flat voice.

He might have been blind and in a lot of pain, but Rando #2 wasn't that dumb. "H-Ha! Like I have a reason to answer the likes of you, backwater brat!"

He also wasn't that smart.

POW!

Anya grabbed the guy by the back of his neck and turned him away before driving her other still magic enhanced fist into his gut.

"Blech!"

Unlike his comrade, Rando #2 did vomit all over the tree he'd smashed into before after taking the powerful blow. The pain in his gut and the burning in his throat was just more pain for the idiot to have to endure.

"What are you doing here? And why did you attack us?" Anya pressed again, even though she'd already realized what group these bastards belonged to. Her tone was cold, but the pupils of her eyes had narrowed into slits. "You and your comrade hurt my friends.

"Now answer me, before I make you regret it."

"P-POUND SAND, BACKWATER WHORE!" Rando #2 shouted in response, and before Anya could respond, his hand blindly clasped out and caught hold of her arm.

It was surprisingly hot. And Rando #2 cackled crazily despite being broken and in so much pain. "Ahahahaha! You're done for now! Face the wrath of [Contact Explosion] and die like the backwater brat you are, idiot!

"Aha! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

"Hahahahahahahaha…

…

"Ha… Ha… Ah…?"

…

…

Anya just stood there, eyes furrowed in confusion as Rando #2's laughter slowly died off. He looked confused, wondering why the demi girl hadn't exploded.

"Don't tell me, does this backwater brat of a cat have higher stats than me?!

"HOW?! JUST HOW THE &%$ IS THAT-"

Slash! Slash!

Having had enough of the theatrics, and seeing that the idiot wasn't going to answer her questions at this rate, Anya extended her shadow claws on her other hand and slashed down on both of Rando #2's shoulders near simultaneously.

…

Rando #2 went silent for the space of a second. No way, had she just…

He tried to move his hands, but they, along with the rest of his arms, were no longer attached to his body.

Pshhhh!

Blood sprayed from the two stumps, and he fell back against the tree trunk again.

"MY ARMS! MY ARMS! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO MY BEAUTIFUL ARMS?!" Rando #2 screamed.

On the bright side, he no longer felt the pain from the broken bones in his arms, hands, or wrists…

"Oh would you just shut up. It's not like its the first time this has happened to you." Anya rolled her eyes while continuing to look down at Rando #2 with a disgusted look.

"YOU'RE DEAD! THE NEXT TIME WE MEET YOU'RE DEAD!

"YOU HEAR ME YOU STUPID CAT BITCH?! YOU AND YOUR STUPID DEMI MUTT FRIENDS HERE ARE DEAD!"

None of the others said a word, however. Betsy and Leo had already helped Asriel to stand next to Shara. And the rabbit girl, while still keeping one hand holding the blade pinning Rando #1 down, was using her other hand to channel a water healing spell on the burned parts of Asriel's body whilst Betsy helped him drink one of the Healing Potions they had on hand.

The combo seemed to work as the burns finally stopped worsening and began to fade from the exposed parts of his skin. And then it was Betsy's turn to be treated.

But they'd all figured out at this point who their opponents were. And not even the anxiety-ridden Leo asked Anya to stop what she was doing.

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Rando #2 roared. "I'LL COME BACK EVEN STRONGER AND WIPE THE FLOOR WITH YOU!

"YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Nah. That's not gonna happen." Anya rolled her eyes again, before leaning down to whisper in Rando #2's ear.

"After all, you bastards need a soul in order to come back to life.

"Right?"

…

…

…

…

…

The blood slowly drained from Rando #2's face in fear. Or maybe that was the blood loss from his stumpless arms.

Anya pulled back from Rando #2. Her ears had already heard someone approaching, and she turned to face Rishia with a pleased smirk.

"Rishia, these two are reincarnators. They tried to ambush us but we fought them off.

"Let's finish them."

Rishia nodded to the cat girl, before staring down at the blinded, armless foe bleeding out before them.

Rando #2 couldn't see her, but he started screaming regardless.

"NO, NO! DON'T KILL ME!

"ME AND YAKITA WERE ORDERED TO MASQUERADE AS A CARAVAN TO FOOL THE BOW HERO INTO THINKING THE LOCAL NOBLE HERE WAS EVIL! AFTER THAT WE WERE TOLD TO DO WHATEVER WE WANTED!

"THAT'S WHY WE WERE HERE!

"PLEASE! HAVE MERCY!"

…

Had this been a normal scenario, Rishia might have acted with compassion. Even now, after all of her growth, Rishia did not believe that murder was the right answer for every and any scenario.

She'd learned a lot on the path of justice with Itsuki. She'd learned a lot about her own personal justice. That some people could change with a little kindness or mercy that pushed them in the right direction while others needed more than a slap on the wrist to motivate them to change their ways. That others, who did terrible wrongs, would deserve their judgment from the hands of others besides hers.

She'd even met one individual from this group who had the chance to become someone half-decent…

…

However, even then, she still remembered the words he'd said to her and the others.

"Because  'They'  would have never allowed me to become someone good."

And that left only one route in dealing with those considered the enemies of all worlds.

"There is no mercy to be had for you and those like you." Rishia stated coldly.

Slash!

Without even giving Rando #2 a chance to respond, Rishia slashed through his neck with her Soul Eater Throwing Knife.

His screaming was cut off, and his body fell to the ground lifelessly, before transforming into dust.

The only thing left behind was the pair of tacky goggles he'd been wearing over his hair.

…

…

"K-Katsu... you… you just… what did you…?!" Rando #1 sputtered in shock.

Rishia slowly turned and stalked towards the remaining reincarnator.

As she approached, Shara pulled her blade out from his shoulder and she and the others stepped back to give the heroine space.

Rando #1 began to crawl backwards away from the heroine. The face underneath his gas mask was filled with pure terror. Yet in mere seconds, his back was against another tree trunk, and Rishia towered over his small form.

It was only then that she spoke in a soft, monotone voice.

"Do you have anything to add that your compatriot left out?"

…

After a moment of silence, he finally began to speak. Terrified, he might have been, but he still had some pride as a reincarnator!

"B… Burn in the greatest element ever created, I say! Fire-"

Slash!

And like that, Rando #1 dissolved into dust as well after Rishia's weapon slashed through his neck.

It'd been so quick, Rando #1 never even had the time to process that he'd just died.

Within moments, all that was left was his dumb and useless gas mask, lying on the ground amidst the disappearing ashes of his soul.

Neither of the cardboard cutout villains would be bothering their group, or anyone else for that matter, again.

…

…

"I think that's all of them?" Anya looked around cautiously.

"I… don't see anything else." Shara looked around unsurely. "Leo?"

"I-" The mouse beastman opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when Rishia suddenly jerked her hand out to the side.

"Air Strike Throw!"

The knife in her hand separated in two as the second one was launched away at a seemingly random spot in the branches above. Instead of impacting against them though, it vanished into thin air, revealing a tiny barely perceptible swirling black dot behind one of the leaves.

"Whoa!" A yelp sounded from it followed by the audible sound of Rishia's weapon stabbing into a wall that wasn't there.

The others quickly put hands on their weapons, taking on offensive stances to deal with the unknown threat they hadn't noticed, and still couldn't perceive yet.

Rishia glared coldly at the tiny vortex above them, not saying anything while her hand gripped her weapon tightly.

…

After a tense moment, the voice on the other end of the portal spoke again in a jovial tone.

"Rishia! If you knew that I was here all along, you should have said something!"

"Sure." The green-haired girl nodded stiffly as her ethereal weapon glowed again. "Actually, I've got two things to say to you right now, Karn."

"And what might that be?" The traitor asked in an amused voice.

"The first one is: [Change Projectile]."

"H-huh? Wait a second-" Karn stuttered.

"And the second is this: [Fracture Dart]." Rishia gripped the handle of her Vassal Projectile Weapon and held it in front of herself as she activated one of the new skills she'd gotten recently.

In essence, it was like a frag grenade. Just one that had a lot of oomph to it.

"Oh, f-" KABOOM!

The sound of an earsplitting explosion reverberated throughout the woods, before its source was abruptly cut off as the portal dispersed, leaving only its echo to roll across the sea of green for a few seconds like thunder.

"... Holy #$%." Anya couldn't help but mutter out in awe while the rest of the team shared equally surprised looks. "D-did you just kill-"

"No." Rishia shook her head sharply, her eyes still narrowed and looking at the spot where the portal had been. "Only soul rending attacks can kill them permanently. And with how high his level was, he probably isn't even dead in a conventional sense either.

"But he definitely felt that one. And Karn will feel a hell of a lot more when I get my hands on him." She muttered darkly.

…

"How did you know though? I thought I got pretty good at scouting, but I didn't even notice him! Not even his smell!" Leo spoke after a short pause.

"I sensed his life force signature." Rishia told him. "He's been watching us the last few days, but cautiously from a distance.

"Hopefully, he'll think twice about doing that again now."

…

Everyone swallowed hard at Rishia's tone. It was almost… no, it was definitely frightening. This was not the same girl who'd gone to the Otherworld all those months ago. She'd grown a frightening amount as a person in a short time.

She would not take any bull crap from anyone now.

Not even from the man she loved.

…

But after another moment of tensely looking around, the shoulders of everyone there sank as their adrenaline turned into exhaustion.

"Do we still have to hunt monsters after that?" Asriel spoke first.

"No. I'd rather eat before anything else." Shara shook her head.

"We had lunch earlier though?" Betsy asked curiously.

"Yes, but I get hungry after rough fights." The rabbit girl looked away with slight embarrassment.

"That's like the only kind of fights we've been having ever since coming here." The cow girl shook her head before looking at their party's wizard. "Azzie, you still good?"

"I'll live." The goat boy rubbed the bandaged side of his head carefully.

"I-I think we need to continue after S-Sir Itsuki." Leo interrupted softly, a nervous look visible beneath his hood. "If that guy was spying on us, he is probably spying on him too, r-right?"

…

The mood darkened at the mouse-boy's words, and the last vestiges of reinforcement magic vanished from around Anya's limbs. "Yeah. Food can come later. We need to find Itsuki.

"We can't afford any more delays."

The others' expressions quickly morphed back into serious frowns or crestfallen looks. "Yeah." "Right." "Of course." "S-Sure."

Anya looked at Rishia. "Before we head out, did you find any info on Itsuki in the city?

"I know we weren't separated long, but-"

"I hadn't even entered yet." Rishia quickly interjected. "I met the new young Lord outside the gates. He… he was under the assumption that Itsuki had killed his father."

The others recoiled. "What?!" "Why?!" "H-How?!" Asriel, Shara, and Leo asked simultaneously.

"I… yeah, why would anyone believe that crap?" Anya asked confusedly.

"Because whoever did it had gone unnoticed by all the guards, and somebody claimed to have seen Itsuki during the late Lord's funeral.

"But after what happened here, I'm starting to think-"

…

Rishia suddenly stopped speaking.

There was smoke rising from the direction of Horne.

"... that we're not done just yet." The heroine murmured darkly.

The others were about to ask, when they turned around and saw the rising smoke too.

…

Without another word being said, the group rushed away from the charred clearing in the direction of Horne.

It didn't take long for them to reach the settlement. Behind its high, glimmering walls, multiple fires were raging throughout the city.

Nobody stopped them as they ran through the gates. That was because nobody was there to guard them.

Everyone was working together to try and contain the blazes.

"We need more water!" Hans bellowed.

"We're trying! The mages are exhausted after so many events happening in a row!" An adventurer informed him.

"Kch! Make a fire lane then and give some a break! Bring down some houses if you must! We can't let the entire city burn while they're recovering their MP!" Hans rebutted.

The group came across the guildmaster as they ran towards one of the larger blazes in the city. His adventurers rushed around him to fulfill his demands or to update him with the status of the fires they were fighting.

At around the same time, Rishia and her friends approached, one of the adventurers was relaying bad news.

"Sir, another fire's popped up in the southern district!"

"How?! Didn't Group C just inform me a few minutes ago that they almost had it out?!"

"W-We don't know! It just popped up randomly across the street!" The adventurer said, looking afraid of the Guildmaster's growing temper. The others around him were growing more afraid too. If his mood kept deteriorating at this rate, then-

"Guildmaster Hans!" Rishia quickly interjected. "We're here to help!"

"Miss Ivyred." The rabbit guildmaster's face relaxed as he quickly turned to face the heroine. "I take it you already dealt with the foes I heard earlier in the forest?"

The other adventurers looked to Rishia in awe as her appearance calmed the large buff demiman down before his growing temper could be unleashed and destroy the world…

Well, maybe not the world, but it was never a pretty sight when he got pissed off.

Another adventurer appeared, offering an apple to further appease their boss, and Hans relaxed slightly more as he took it from her and took a massive bite out of it.

"I did." Rishia said with a frown as her friends rushed to help where they could. Betsy would be using her size to help make fire lanes whilst Asriel, Shara, and Anya used their magic to absorb, put out, or contain the fire to an area. Leo moved to a high vantage point to keep an eye on all the blazes in the city so he could direct them as needed.

Their strength would help, but…

"What happened here?"

…

Hans face darkened. "I will explain. But I do not have a water or earth affinity. So I'd ask you to please help us out while I tell you what has transpired."

Rishia agreed. And she got to casting water magic and infusing it with her life force while the buff rabbitman told her what happened whilst pausing to direct his adventurers when needed.

In basic terms, shortly after Rishia had run off, Hans and Lord Drake had been debating whether or not they should follow after her when explosions began to happen in the city. Resulting in some casualties and fire outbreaks.

The fires then began to spread rapidly. And they were struggling just to keep them contained since water from the wells didn't work on the blazes.

Worse yet, because of how strong the fires were, and because those burned by these fires hurt worse overtime, only the higher tier mages could handle them. These same mages were already stretched to the limit from helping to maintain the wall around the city after last night's storm.

The fact that the fires kept multiplying across the city for no reason didn't help matters either.

All this, along with their mysterious appearance in the first place, had led to more of the citizenry and even some of the adventurers blaming the Bow Hero for the catastrophe.

The initial rumors hadn't helped, but this event had tanked his credibility even more.

It honestly pissed Rishia off so much. She was already under the assumption that Karn had killed the former Lord Drake to frame Itsuki. She'd come to that conclusion after that one rando had admitted he and his partner were assigned to fool Itsuki into coming here to dispense justice on the man.

But after this…

…

If she got her hands on Karn, he was dead.

It didn't take long for Rishia's friends to realize that Karn had most likely portaled some of the rando's attacks away midfight and used them on the city. And this led to them correcting the misinfo about it being the Bow Hero who did this everywhere they went. Even going as far as to share the fight they had with the randos in the forest and how they were enemies of the world and how they had abilities beyond a normal person, etc.

It honestly didn't do a lot of help in the people's minds. Fighting off the Waves were one thing they all knew from legend (and by this point, experience). A group of kids, under one of the Heroes yes, but a group of kids claiming that these 'agents of the Waves' were responsible was almost ludicrous since it seemingly went against everything they'd learned!

One of the Heroes turning on them also seemingly went against everything they'd learned, as the now teens tried to argue, but that was at least something the people 'knew' about. Unlike the Three Heroes Church and its censoring in Melromarc, the people of Horne had access to all the stories on past Heroes… including the story of how Slugalante forgoed his duty to save the world to focus on building a harem of yandere cat girls that inevitably killed him instead.

They still worshipped the four Gods, don't get them wrong. But past Bow Heroes had disappointed the world before. Wasn't it alright to accept that this one was no exception?

Just look at all the nobles and leaders he'd killed in Melromarc in the past. Was it really that much of a stretch that he had come here to kill their Lord since he was a nobleman too? Maybe he just had a thing against nobles in general?

Anya, Asriel, Betsy, and Shara tried to argue every point, but to no avail. Rishia was able to reasonably counter those she talked to since she'd been there for those past experiences. And she was also able to detail, sometimes graphically depending on the stubbornness of the individual arguing about the Bow Hero's supposed guilt, what those Lords and nobleman in the past had done to warrant their 'unfair' deaths at the hands of Itsuki.

These stories would leave some of these battle-hardened individuals with nightmares for the nights to come, and a new sense of gratitude to be governed by such fair individuals as the Drake Family.

But even with all their efforts, even though Guildmaster Hans and the young Lord Drake believed the heroine as well as some of their adventurers and retainers, the majority of the hardened people of Horne did not.

The fires randomly multiplied a couple more times as they fought them, but after Rishia launched another projectile skill attack at a miniature black portal from a quarter mile away, the fires stopped mysteriously spreading inside the city.

Instead, after spending hours fighting all the super fires inside the walls and successfully getting rid of them all, they then had to deal with a forest fire that had begun to encroach on the city. A fire made from the same supernatural flames they'd just finished fighting.

On top of that, a pack of powerful, yet burned beasts rushed at the city walls after being attacked or burned out of their dens earlier.

It was one disaster after another. And the whole endeavor kept Rishia and the others stuck in Horne for two days dealing with the entire mess. The teens took turns eating and sleeping so they could keep up, but Rishia used life force to keep herself going that entire time.

She ate food autocrafted from her weapon while drinking Magic Healing Waters and Life Force Waters to keep her magic bar and life force capacity topped up so she could effectively fight every single disaster by herself if need be. But that was never the case, as her grit inspired even some of the adventurers and soldiers to go the extra mile in saving their city alongside her.

She and her friends received many thank yous and were even offered awards for all their efforts to save them.

But despite everything, even as they left after all their efforts and the people's gratitude for saving their lives, the Bow Hero's reputation was still in tatters.

…

Rishia fell asleep as Betsy carried her on her back, vowing once more to make Karn pay for his actions.

Little did she know how he was already paying for them right now.

"Arrrghh! Motherfffff- damn, this hurts like a BITCH!" Karn cursed as he collapsed into a dining room chair at the head of the table he usually used to hold meetings with his new staff.

He was currently alone and with the lights off, the outline of his figure could barely be seen in the dark.

"Curse that stupid hag and her stupid voodoo life sensing nonsense. First that stupid trash panda and now Rishia too?! &%$!

"If I knew that this 'life force' was so dangerous earlier, I would have found and put Elrasla in the grave myself, before she could teach that %$# to anyone! Especially Rishia! %$&!" The traitor yelled and groaned in frustration, once again questioning the lack of intel given to him in regards to this stupid backwater world.

He hissed in pain again as his right hand instinctively reached into the nonexistent side pocket of his nonexistent coat before his fingers uselessly scraped against his new armor.

"Argh… no, I'll be fine, I'll be fine,

"I'm fine. I'm absolutely fine. I'm positively certain that… ow, I don't… … …"

"Screw it, just one shouldn't hurt after all these years." The enforcer sighed.

He held out his right hand as he opened a small portal in the air above him. A single item fell from it. A small, slightly crumpled pack of smokes that used to be produced in Zeltoble until recently.

That thought soured the enforcer's mood even further. No where else in the world produced these things. And he'd stolen them on a whim before not expecting that he'd ever use them. Just holding them helped to make the desire go away.

But holding it wasn't helping now. Not when he was like this.

He lit up one of the cigarettes by pressing it to the tip of his glowing red sword laying against the table before he brought it up to his lips and took a long drag from it.

He coughed after the smoke filled his lungs initially. The blasted filters on these weren't as good as his original world! And the taste was even more atrocious!

He didn't even sense the familiar taste of nicotine to calm his mind!

Still, the familiar action helped to calm him down, and after a few more seconds, his pain started to dull as the herbs making up this world's version of a cigarette kicked in, allowing him to think for a moment.

'All that effort and hard work on my end… and all I managed to do was stall the search party out for two days.' The enforcer thought to himself ruefully as he chewed on the cigarette, its small light outlining the right side of his face which was twisted in a grimace. 'Two, measly days.

'Guess it was too much to expect her to give up that easily, huh...'

…

Karn took another drag from the cigarette, before breathing out a small cloud of smoke and letting out a chuckle. 'Well, whatever. I got the extra time I needed in the end, so it's a win. They won't catch up to Itsuki in time now.

'Those two weaklings were easily culled. And in a fun way too. Can't believe that cat girl literally disarmed one of them.

'That was hilarious.'

…

…

…

Karn took another drag, letting out a cough as he adjusted his position on the chair to cross his legs and lift his head up to look at the ceiling.

'Jokes aside though, it's now certain that they know who we are and how to permanently kill us. Those two bozos did something useful by dying.

'Seriously, you get to pick any superpower you want and you pick the ability to make fireballs? Makes the three heat vision stooges look downright creative in comparison.'

'But does it mean that Itsuki knows too...? Damn it, I shouldn't have gotten so close. I could have kept on eavesdropping. Although, I technically still can, I suppose. Maybe if I keep my distance...?

'No, too dangerous. Even when I thought I was far enough away, Rishia still managed to nearly kill me with that attack of hers.

'And on that note, what the %$# happened in world 1325 to turn that meek doormat into... whatever the hell that was?! That was way too intimidating to have been her!'

…

'Great, just great. Stumbling in the dark once again just because the intel M'yne gave me is more censored than a professional AV.'

'Itsuki wasn't present at the supposed mass asset destruction event that transpired, however. So there's a chance that he's not aware of the weakness of the conditional immortality that me and the regular contractors possess.

'If that's the case… but if he does know…

'Damn it. I guess I'll just have to take a gamble again. Great.'

…

Karn took one last drag from the burned out cigarette before he flicked the butt through the darkness, making it sail gracefully through the air and perfectly land into one of the little cracks between the boards on the windows leading outside.

'Ha, still got it.' Karn thought in satisfaction.

So much for quitting. And he'd been so close to hitting his fifteen year streak too. Or was it twenty-five?

It'd been so long since he left his old life behind, he'd stopped keeping track of the years…

Either way, the pain his body was in had dulled, and his mind felt clearer too. No wonder the gladiators in Zeltoble had liked using these before fights. Whatever herbs had gone into it dulled their senses to the point that they could continue fighting even while suffering from grievious injuries.

Too bad he didn't feel any nicotine from it. Had they seriously made these things to be nonaddictive after all the other shady &%$# they were pulling there? The one thing they'd gotten right, and he'd spent all these years avoiding it…

Still, even if it wasn't the same… he was still left with a clear sense of disappointment at relapsing back to the habit again.

Hadn't he promised to forsake everything from his old life after…

…

Karn threw the troublesome thought away and sat still for another minute to think some more, while his mind was still clear of the pain.

'Things are definitely spiraling out of control. Heroes are one thing, they're an expected problem... But for two contractors to be put down so easily by a group of greenhorns who were still children a month ago?

'Those two contractors were hardly the cream of the crop, but it's still concerning.

'And it isn't the first incident either. Kanemoto was beaten by that yippy dog girl and some random tiger brat while both of them were still kids too.'

…

'Wow. It's no wonder the higher ups are sweating. The Shield Hero's plan to raise an army to combat the waves was no bluff and it's unfolding before my eyes in the worst way possible.'

…

…

…

"Ahahahaha…"

There was another short pause, but then, Karn began to darkly chuckle before he finally spoke out loud.

"That being said, I also know that cat girl and her friends' phenomenal strength is thanks to those pesky Hero Service Crests. And that those same crests are currently tied to the Bow Hero.

"If things do work out the way I'm planning…

"Well, I hope they'll learn to rely more on their natural strength going into the future.

"After all... Who knows how much longer those brats will have those stupid marks on their bodies." Karn said in a dark, foreboding voice, before he began to chuckle evilly to himself again.

Ahhh, the looks in their eyes! The complete and utter confusion before the sinking realization and despair.

He could only imagine it since Rishia had 'personally' taught him how big of a mistake it was to spy on her and her friends! Grrrrr! If only it'd also work on her! But nooooooo, Heroes couldn't have these dumb slave crests on them thanks to their weapons!

Stupid!

…

"Alright, that's enough venting." Karn stood up from his seat and staggered forward next to one of the boarded windows.

As the little bit of pale moonlight breaking through the eternal sandstorm finally cast itself on him through the cracks between the boards, it was revealed that the left side of Karn's face was missing and covered with horrific burns.

His left arm beneath the elbow was gone too. Only a charred stump was left behind.

The rest of his body was fine. The armor he wore had held against the surprise attack from the Projectiles Heroine surprisingly well. Maybe those bastards in the Third Army did know what they were doing.

Too bad the exposed parts of his skin hadn't been so resilient.

The enforcer had sat down and gritted through it this long to ensure he caused as much trouble as possible for Rishia and her group. It also helped that Rogue and the Heat Vision Trio were still out there powerleveling the rest of the contractors that'd arrived.

But he couldn't delay it any longer. They'd need to be back soon, and he couldn't appear weak before others.

Not like before.

Not ever again.

"The explosion trap should do the trick. So quick. So painless."

Karn darkly chuckled as he took his armor off and walked into a portal, disappearing from the dining room.

…

…

…

BOOM!

There was the sound of an explosion from down below.

It'd be some time before the enforcer respawned with a fresh new body again to continue antagonizing both parties with his presence.

Hero Clips!

We Need Cool Codenames

"Wowee! Is this the space Rishia-san and the oher Heroes calls 'omake'?!" Betsy the cow girl looked around with wide-eyed wonder.

"What are you talking about?" Shara frowned. "Aren't we still in the clearing getting ready to be ambushed by a couple randos?"

"The fact that you already know what's going to happen in the next few minutes is very telling that we're in an omake." Rishia shook her head, a chill going down her spine from all her past bad experiences of being here.

"Whoaaaaaaaa." "So cool!" Asriel and Leo looked around with wide-eyed wonder. It looked so normal! Was this where the events known as 'crack' occurred?!

It was their first chapter actually appearing with names and physical appearances (and hopefully images on AO3 if Lyron worked his A.I. magic by then)! Now it felt like they'd become a part of the story!

"Ehhem." Anya coughed into her hand. "Narrator, is there a reason why we're all here?"

"OH! Is narrator-san also here?!" Betsy asked excitedly.

Er… yes.

As for why you're all here, the title of the omake?

Don't know, just felt weird for you all not to be using secret codenames and all since you're 'supposed' to be on a secret mission.

"Codenames?" Shara asked. "What are those?"

"Weird, so I'm not the only one who's hearing the voice in my head?" Betsy asked, her head tilted innocently again.

…

It was clear the tall and buff cow girl was going to be the innocent cinnamon roll of the group.

"Aww, thank you!" The tall and armored cow girl clasped her hands together while smiling happily.

"A-Anyway." Leo stuttered. "Codenames are secret words we can go by so that we don't blow each other's cover on secret missions or especially when I'm stealthed in battle or when you all are calling out attacks on enemies and so on.

"And y-you know, I honestly wouldn't mind if we had some cool codenames to go by ourselves? W-Would you?" He asked the goat boy mage next to him.

"Of course. It sounds like fun." Asriel smiled excitedly. "In fact, I already have the perfect one in mind!"

"It's not 'God of Hyperdeath', is it?" Shara asked blandly.

"N-No! Of course not!" He responded a little 'too' quickly.

"Huh, and here I thought his name would be 'Walking Undertale Reference' or something." Anya shrugged.

"... What's an Undertale?" Asriel asked.

"Don't know." Anya shrugged again. "Just be glad that you'll stay alive in your current body unlike that one."

…

"I'm… not sure how to respond to that statement." The goat boy muttered unsurely.

"Let's write down our suggestions and then show them to each other. Sound good?" Rishia asked.

There were some mutterings of agreement. And they quickly separated to write down suggestions for codenames going forward. For themselves, and for their enemies.

—

Meanwhile, while marching through Siltvelt

"What is it, dear?" Raphtalia asked, seeing the strange look on her fiance's face.

"I feel a disturbance in the force." Naofumi muttered to himself.

"It's as if another with my horrible naming sense has been born… or something." The Shield Hero narrowed his eyes.

Odd how specific that sounded.

"Rafu!"

Fortunately, the Shield Hero was distracted by his absolute favorite (cue Filo pouting while pulling the wagon) daughter jumping into his arms and begging for pets. Of which he was all too happy to oblige.

And like that, all was forgotten… for now.

—

Meanwhile, back with the group

After a moment, the group of teens and Rishia came back together with their suggestions for each other, and Rishia began to read them off.

"Let's see, for Asriel… Prince." She said.

"Alright! Good enough!" The goat boy pumped his fists.

Anya pouted nearby, but tried to hide the fact that she was disappointed that her 'Flowey' suggestion wasn't chosen.

"For Shara… Red." Rishia looked to the rabbit girl.

"Sweet. Look out world, Red's gonna come for you!" The rabbit girl also pumped her fists.

"You don't even know fire magic though." Anya pouted some more, and it was harder to hide it this time.

"For Betsy… Hammer." Rishia continued.

… the others in the group all shrugged. Honestly, nobody would expect the cinnamon roll of the group to go by such a name.

"Leo… … …" Rishia looked closely at one of the two suggestions for him. "Does this say xXxC0LDST33LxXx?"

"I-I didn't write that one." Leo quickly spoke up. "Mine was Sniper."

"Alright." Rishia crossed out the weird codename suggestion from the list. "Sniper it is."

Anya pouted even more deeply. Why were all her suggestions for codenames for the others being thrown out?! They were so cool and spot on!

"And lastly, for Anya… Chat Noire?" Rishia tilted her head in confusion. She was the only one to come up with a name for herself.

"Hmph! Now that's a cool codename!" Anya stood up tall and proud.

"Isn't that just Faubleyian for 'black cat'?" Asriel asked with a deadpan stare. It sounded like someone really was trying to be a bit too on the nose… despite her being a tabby cat.

"Shut up." Anya replied.

"I guess last up is me… … …" Rishia thought about it long and hard since the others all made suggestions for her.

Anya's in particular… almost made her blood want to boil. There was no way she'd ever told her about that dreaded nickname in the past, hadn't she?

But eventually, she just shrugged her shoulders and chose what she wrote down for herself. "Super Rishia."

"Wha- you can't just add 'super' in front of your name! That's so uncreative and boring!" Anya shouted.

"Didn't you just call yourself a black cat though?" Shara asked.

"I said shut up!" Anya yelled at her friend.

"Psstt!" Kizuna's voice suddenly came from a nearby bush. "Her codename is actually Squishy! Trust me, she REALLY loves it-"

"FRACTURE DART!" Rishia turned, throwing a projectile dart at the bushes.

KABOOM! "Wheeeee!" The Hunting Tools Hero's grapple fish line saved her life as she flew out of the bushes before the explosion could kill her, and she waved happily at the group as she flew by overhead. "Nice seeing you too Squishy!"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, MY NAME IS NOT SQUISHY!" Rishia screamed as she took off after the Otherworld Hero. "IT'S RISHIA! RISHIA IVYRED!"

"Squishy Squishy La la la la la la!" Kizuna sang back in response.

"... isn't she supposed to be stuck in her world since she doesn't have permission to leave it from her weapon?" Shara asked.

"I believe this was the 'crack' the others warned us about." Asriel said. Which also likely meant that the omake was on the verge of ending.

Anya, however, was looking at the heroine with awe in her eyes. "Yes, someone else agrees that Rishia should be called Squishy! I knew that'd be a perfect codename for her!"

It wasn't long before she was pouting though. "If only the others liked my 'cool' nicknames for them."

Not to worry Anya, there was always next time for you to come up with codenames for the others outside your group.

"Wait, there's going to be a part two to this?!" Leo asked.

"Yayyyy! I can't wait to listen to Narrator-san again!" Betsy clapped cheerfully again.

BOOM! "I'm so happy Squishy missed me so much!"

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

The group of teenagers looked forward to the next time they appeared in an omake whilst Rishia tried (and failed) to free herself of the most dreaded codename in her life.

Mmmmm, yes. Crack at its finest.

Till Next Time

Allen

Chapter Text

"Hey, Larsa. Are things still going well back home?" Motoyasu asked with a strained smile while leaning back in his seat.

"As well as they can be, 'Bubba'." Larsa was currently in her human form, wearing a dress instead of her usual armor behind her desk. "Just more of the same, really. The recovery process is going steady."

"That's good." Motoyasu nodded stiffly.

Despite the casual conversation the two 'friends' were having, they weren't actually sitting across from each other right now.

Motoyasu was in his tent at the center of the Hero's Volunteer Peace Corps. And Larsa was in her private quarters back in Zeltoble. The two were communicating via a portal made by S'yne's pins, which allowed them to see and talk to each other as if they were in the same room.

Kind of like a video call, but without the lag or moments of bad connection.

They'd started doing this once a night, starting after the attack on the Hero's Nation, since the blonde couldn't spend his time portaling to and from Zeltoble anymore.

The Sewing Kit Hero herself was seated next to Moto, holding one of his hands in her lap while a doll hovered over their heads, constantly looking around the room.

Sadeena sat on the opposite side of the table next to where Larsa's image hung in the air, the orca's harpoon resting on her thighs.

Amber stood guard by the exit with an easy smile, her own red-tinted spear held in her hands as well.

Atla laid awake in a cot hugging cute little Freon as the girl slept after a long day of flying and marching.

Elena sat in a chair next to the two, keeping an eye on Freon especially. All of the Spear Hero's party members were staying alert of their surroundings to some capacity.

Motoyasu kept his focus on the panda woman though. And her eyes stayed on him as well while they spoke to one another.

"Is the new branch making Hero Block still having struggles with transporting materials to it?" Motoyasu asked next.

"Not nearly as much. Elmelo and Khan came up with a solution for moving large amounts of what's needed using a larger variation of the hakuko's airboats." The panda woman shrugged, looking relieved. "The report I was given said it was particularly taxing on Hou-Lon's mages, but it's within acceptable parameters for now. Nobody's dying, and production speed is ramping up already thanks to it."

"That's good." Motoyasu sighed. "I'm really hoping it'll help your people out."

Larsa shrugged again in response. "It has been a major help with rebuilding, yeah. Khan's projections have gone from a few years or a decade for restoring all the outlying settlements to a few months or a year depending on how quickly we're able to produce Hero Block and get it to these locations. It's also allowing us to build fortifications around the new settlements so monsters have a harder time attacking.

"The news came at the perfect time. The people have been getting real rowdy lately being all cooped up down here. And to be frank, I don't blame them.

"The Undercity might be one of the most secure and safest places in the world right now, but let me tell you, forcing the entire population to stay in this fortress for so long while we dealt with all the problems outside was beginning to make some of us feel real antsy and claustrophobic."

"Anything bad happen because of that?" Motoyasu asked seriously.

"Nah, nothing major. I've got the stick to whip troublemakers into shape and Khan has the carrot to dangle in front of them in the form of lucrative job opportunities in construction and repairs.

"It also helps that all the old roads around the capital are in better condition now. Maybe not as good as they were before, but eh, they're good enough to get goods and people moved around. We'll be focusing on that next once we have the earth mages to spare.

"Honestly, most people are just happy to have the chance to live under the sun again. We still can't build out too far because of monster activity, but I'm surprised we're getting used to all of this so quickly.

"Kind of %$#ed up, isn't it?

"So many people died just a little over a month ago, and yet life just seems to go on. Even the tourist inflow is coming back now that the river port is somewhat repaired.

"I figured it'd be years at least before anyone would dare to visit. And I know that Zeltoble is really benefiting from such a careless disregard for life but…

"It's still pissing me off, you know?"

"... I'm very sorry." Motoyasu hung his head.

"Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault, Moto." Larsa shook her head, still scowling while letting her arms fall limply at her side. "What's done is done. And you share no blame for it."

"I'd say I share a little blame since I visited Zeltoble shortly after I was summoned. But I didn't say I'm sorry because I blame myself." Motoyasu quickly corrected.

"I'm saying that because you and a lot of others you care about had to go through all this. And I don't want you to feel alone because of it."

…

There was a pause as the panda woman digested the Spear Hero's words.

Larsa looked down at her lap, fighting the blush that wanted to travel up her cheeks as her hands gripped the hem of her dress.

"Ehhem!" She suddenly coughed. "As I said, what's done is done. Hou-Lon has been working hard to keep all the mercenaries in tip top shape so they can handle all the dangerous monsters left. And besides that, I've been told by Elmelo that her officers are keeping all the Bio-Plants in and out of the city maintained without her input.

"Oh, and get this! I learned after our call last night that some of Auburr's subordinates are overseeing the reopening of mines in the mountains." The panda woman grinned widely.

"Ooh! Any rare minerals we're talking about here?" Motoyasu asked, some visible excitement finally appearing on his face.

"A little bit of everything supposedly." Larsa made a vague wavy motion with her hand. "The old council didn't care much for managing them since it was cheaper and faster to import ore from poorer countries. So it was a pretty undeveloped industry. And after the Waves started, they straight up ordered all of them to be closed.

"Most of the sales and production records were kept topside when the meteor fell, so we only have the word of some former workers to go on. But even if it doesn't turn out to be particularly lucrative, it'd help to make sure we're not completely tied to foreign imports like in the past."

"Oh… yeah, I get what you mean." Motoyasu frowned again.

Larsa nodded while crossing her arms on her chest. Both were silent for a moment.

…

"What about the Merchant's Guild? Is it still trying to reestablish itself?" The Spear Hero eventually asked. "I learned about that while talking to Hickwaal last night. He'd only heard of some of his subordinates heading there though. He didn't know too much since he's been busy working on a project Naofumi left him with."

The panda woman shrugged again. "Not really much to say there either. Some of his associates have been peddling their wares since they heard we had money here again. And I've told them to let Hickwaal know I'll be open to letting the Merchant's Guild host a branch here in the city again so they'll have an easier time setting up shop.

"It's just…" She trailed off.

"It was because of rampant unrestrained capitalism that Zeltoble became a horrible place to live?" Motoyasu guessed.

"Yea." Larsa sighed. "I'd rather the same thing not happen again, at least not while I'm alive and kicking.

"We'll just have to wait and see how that develops."

…

"Honestly, I'm just surprised some of Hickwaal's associates returned here at all since, had I been in his shoes, I would have burned every bridge I had to this place." Larsa chuckled.

"Awww, would you have even burned bridges with lil' ol' me?" Sadeena asked with a relaxed smile.

"Ha! Never. Who else am I going to trust to be by my side while I'm getting plastered?" The panda woman laughed. "Well, who else besides Moto." Whilst slightly blushing, she gave a flirtatious look to the Spear Hero.

Motoyasu did his best to just grin and bear it, even as he felt S'yne gripping his hand more tightly under the table. Seriously, how had he ended up in the middle of this threeway with three insanely hot girls?! Didn't they realize he didn't want to live that kind of life anymore after falling in love with S'yne?! Yet why did his heart also reach out to these two at the same time?!

…

But then, even the absurdity of this stupid harem situation wasn't able to distract his mind for long.

"So, um…" Larsa looked down as she saw the look on the Spear Hero's face. "I guess…"

"So long as nothing else happens, I believe we'll be fine."

"That's good." Motoyasu said sincerely. "I still wish I had time to go and help out.

"Even if there's no big problems that need my attention, I'd rather be helping out individuals than leading an army here.

"We've done a lot of talking and planning. And I've tried to get to know those who'll be under my command. But I just don't feel ready for this, you know?" Motoyasu's gaze moved off to the side.

"..." Larsa's blush vanished as her lips changed into a frown. "I do know, Moto.

"More than you realize."

…

Motoyasu swallowed hard.

He already knew from their private chats that Larsa never wanted to return to her homeland. He didn't know the reason why, nor would he pester Sadeena who knew the reasons. He'd hear it from the panda woman when she was ready to share it.

All he could guess was that it'd involved burning all her bridges with those she was close to here.

…

…

…

"I've been thinking about doing some work in the Undercity too." Larsa continued after the lull in the conversation. "And while I want to change layouts to make room for more housing and warehouses underground, Auburr and the others have recommended we keep the fortress as is, without building anything on top of it like before, so it will remain secure against the rest of the Waves.

"We can think about changing things up after we're done restoring the rest of the country, and I agree with that.

"Some of the mercenaries have been scouting out everything, and we've got a lot of work ahead of us. Besides the surrounding areas that we've been focusing on, most of the other smaller outlying settlements around Zeltoble have deteriorated to near unlivable standards thanks to the former Council's years of neglect. We're…"

…

Larsa grimaced, then sighed. "Actually, I lied earlier… There is one major problem that came up recently. I've been wondering if I should tell you about it or not."

…

Motoyasu's forced smile slowly fell as the panda woman continued.

"We've been receiving a large influx of refugees from a small neighboring country to the northwest.

"Almost a month ago, shortly after the last Wave of Catastrophe, a tsunami struck them and since most of their towns were coastal in nature, they've been left destitute.

"That tsunami also awakened some real nasty sea monsters. Upwards of level 200. Meaning no ships are able to sail there…

"The old Council also did a lot of shady things in the area. The country was one of their transit lines for drug trade. Slavery. Smuggling. And so on. But Elmelo and I were hoping we'd be able to get them back on their feet, or that those sea monsters would go back to the deep ocean and sleep so they'd have a chance to rebuild…

"But those monsters haven't gone anywhere. They're eating up all the fish. And the soil there that didn't get washed away is too saturated with salt now, so not even the Bio-Plants that you gave us are growing well there. Add on top of that, we might have discovered that those in charge weren't the best people…

"Well, that doesn't matter, since matters recently came to a head, and the people ousted their leaders from power. The new leadership requested permission to become annexed from me and made the choice to abandon their lands and move all the residents here till things settle down." Larsa finished.

…

Motoyasu's face slowly fell. "Was it because we didn't deal with that Wave near the border fast enough?" He said this while remembering the fallout from previous Waves on the natural environment in the days afterward.

"Like hell it was! That's the fastest we'd ever closed any Wave!" Larsa angrily countered while throwing her hands up in the air. "Maybe the area was due for a tsunami anyway! Who cares?!

"But &%$# happens! We'll deal with it one way or another! And you better not carry this on your conscience since I trusted you enough to tell you about it!"

"Due for a tsunami?" Motoyasu frowned. "I don't think that's how it works."

"Well, then me and Elmelo can just use our earth magic to cause another earthquake and send those giant fish bastards back to the deep where they belong." Larsa replied.

"Wai-, Wha-, are you serious?!" Motoyasu reeled in surprise.

Larsa laughed though, catching him off guard. "Of course not, I'm not that stupid Bubba!"

"Why would you joke about that then?!" Motoyasu asked indignantly.

"Obviously, to keep you from going into one of your self-imposed guilt trips, again!" Larsa stuck her tongue out at the Spear Hero. "You have a really bad habit of that! And don't tell me that wasn't happening! Even S'yne is staring holes through the side of your head right now, Bubba!"

…

The Spear Hero turned his head, finding his girlfriend was staring hard at him.

She didn't say anything. She merely nodded her head in agreement, not breaking eye contact with the Spear Hero.

"F-Fine. Whatever." Motoyasu rolled his eyes. "Still, you could have at least told me about the powerful monsters so I could kill them for you!"

"No offense Moto," Sadeena chimed in. "But the people there likely had a crystal ball used to determine the level of 'one' of the monsters, since it would have broken afterward."

The orca woman looked to her best friend, who nodded in agreement.

"She probably kept this info from us because of the likelihood of some of the other sea monsters being even stronger than level 200. And it's not as if you're capable of soloing powerful sea life just yet."

"... I almost drown one freaking time." The Spear Hero grumbled under his breath whilst crossing his arms and pouting.

Sadeena giggled into her hand again.

"But enough about me, how are things going over on your side, Moto?" Larsa spoke again.

"Hmmm?" Motoyasu asked, caught off guard by the sudden change of topic. "Wasn't there anything else to talk about in Zeltoble?"

"Fool," Larsa rolled her eyes. "I've told you how things are going here as far as I know. It's only fair that you tell me what's happening with you as well.

"So what's going on? Is it taking a long time to march with so many people? You still haven't told me about any major battles or anything of the sort going on. I don't remember there being 'that' much distance between the villages and towns there."

Motoyasu grimaced. "We're not. And we're actually going to arrive at the mouth of the Valley of the Kings tomorrow."

...

…

Larsa took a moment to ponder those words. "That's… wow, I didn't realize you'd made it that far talking to you these last few days.

"But… if you're arriving there tomorrow, then why haven't you…?"

…

"No way, are you saying that every settlement you've come across in western Siltvelt has been abandoned?!" Larsa cried out as she connected the dots from previous conversations.

The Spear Hero crossed his arms and turned his head away. The source of his earlier unease had been revealed.

"We passed by a major town today." Sadeena answered in Motoyasu's place. Unlike earlier, her tone was somber. "It wasn't quite a city, but it was bigger than anything else we'd come across. Likely a checkpoint for people wanting to go further inland."

The orca woman then let out a loud sigh. "Despite it being a sizable town, it was completely abandoned, just like all the other villages we've passed through."

"There were fields of crops waiting to be harvested. Monster cattle grazing in their pastures. Goods sitting in stalls. Weapons resting in guard posts.

"For all intents and purposes, it looked like everything was normal.

"Except for the fact that there was not a single soul residing in the area anymore.

"We even checked all the buildings. There was a town hall with records stored inside. Naofumi had lil' Fohl go through the recent records stored there.

"Everything was normal until it suddenly cut off around the time we were amassing our forces to enter Siltvelt." Sadeena finished.

…

Larsa crossed her arms like Motoyasu was doing right now. "That's… where did all those people go?"

"To the Valley, and down south, judging by the tracks they left behind." Motoyasu Scowled. "And according to our scouts there is a sizable force waiting for us at the Valley itself. Whether the missing people joined them or passed further inland, we don't know."

"To be frank, I don't like this. I really don't like what's going on here." The blonde shook his head. "I don't like it at all.

"But all we can do is march ahead to see if the valley tomorrow will be an ambush or if we'll be able to free the people from the Kitsune's control. Either way, I'm really not looking forward to this fight."

…

…

"I'm sorry." Larsa muttered.

"Are you apologizing for something that isn't your fault now?" Motoyasu's lip curved a bit upward as he teased her.

"I'm practicing this thing you call 'empathy', Spear Hero." Larsa said in a deadpan. "Or would you rather I break my promise to never walk on Siltvelt soil 'again' to come over there and beat your sorry little %$ right now?"

"I'm fine!" Motoyasu raised his hands in surrender. "You sound like you'll have your hands full as it is."

"... I suppose. Right now, at least." Larsa said, a far off look appearing in her eyes.

"But you know what's been the most surprising thing about being the leader here, Bubba? It's not that I have more to do… in fact, it's slowly been becoming the opposite.

"I had all these responsibilities as the Captain of the mercenary corps under the old Council… but now that I'm on the top, Treasury Keeper Khan, my subordinates, my friends, even that fatso Ziro, they've all been steadily taking on all the old work I used to do as well as the new responsibilities that were thrust on me when I first took over.

"I no longer have to balance expense reports or figure out where to house individuals or families or any of that.

"Whenever I find something to do, someone else ends up taking over for me after a day or two and keeping track of it for me. I'm able to do stuff again now that we have all these refugees coming in, but…

"These days, it feels like all I have to do is show up and say a few words or shake a few hands and people are happy… my input is still needed on things from time to time, and I'm able to step in when a major problem arises, but it's just, you know,

"I'm just keeping us on the right course at this point. Spending my time here reading and approving reports and… talking to you."

…

The panda woman shook her head and smiled genuinely at the Spear Hero. "Well, it's getting late over there. I shouldn't take up more of your time, Moto."

"Alright… but in case I don't call tomorrow-" Motoyasu began to say.

"You're going off to battle. I understand." Larsa cut him off immediately. "Focus on those around you right now, Bubba. They should be your concern at the moment.

"We'll handle this refugee crisis without you. Hell, my friends are handling it for me as we speak. I can't imagine it'll take long to get these new folks settled in and put to work."

"... ok. Still, I'll contact you after the battle to let you know how it went." Motoyasu said. "I doubt I'll die. I just don't want you to worry,

"Because I know you will."

…

The panda woman's face softened, and her hand reached forward through the portal. "Take care, Bubba. And watch over him, S'yne, Sadeena."

"We will." The orca woman smiled as Motoyasu briefly clasped the panda woman's hand with his free one. And she reached over, giving her friend a firm grasp as well.

"Take care." S'yne said. And as the panda woman pulled her hand back to her side and saluted, the seamstress ended the connection with her pin in Zeltoble.

The small portal closed.

…

A few seconds later, after Sadeena had taken a deep breath, she looked to S'yne as the Siberian Husky doll representing Keel's therianthrope form landed on the smaller girl's shoulder.

"Well, that was a good chat. I'm glad Larsa isn't having too much fun without us." Sadeena chuckled.

"Reconstruction, political upheaval, and another refugee crisis on top of that." S'yne crossed her arms as her doll spoke. "If that can all be labeled as just a little bit of fun to her, then that country is in good hands."

"Honestly, she had it far worse when she had to work under the old bastards. The things they wasted her talents on…" Sadeena chuckled awkwardly this time. "But that's for her to tell. Not me."

"Is there anything else going on tonight?" Elena asked as she looked at Moto. The normally slothful girl did look tired, but her hand was also rubbing one of Freon's wings as she spoke. "If tomorrow is the first battle, we'll need to be well-rested for it."

Motoyasu shook his head. "No. There shouldn't be anything else.

"Thank you for keeping watch with Amber. Go grab some food from the field kitchen before you go to bed."

"It's fine, I'm not really hungry…" The orange-haired girl slowly stood with a yawn. "But I will take you up on the bed offer."

"You sure you want to go to bed on an empty stomach?" Motoyasu asked.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Never question a girl on getting her beauty sleep, Moto. I can just eat whatever's available in the morning before we leave." She then looked down at Freon again, and her face softened.

"She's really cute, huh." Motoyasu couldn't help but smirk, realizing why the woman was reluctant to leave.

"The cutest." And to his surprise, Elena happily admitted it.

He hadn't known it then, but it'd been because of the little girl that Elena had volunteered to come along instead of staying behind to manage the Hero Nation's assets alongside Hickwaal. She just enjoyed her company that much.

It also helped that neither of them would be participating in the fighting itself. But they'd still play a pivotal role in the future.

The girl then settled into the cot on the opposite side of Atla, pulling both the tiger and angel girls close to her chest so they'd be able to rest comfortably together.

"Wait, um, can I say good night to Sir Motoyasu first?" Atla asked meekly before Elena had finished settling in.

The orange-haired girl looked down at her, and then shrugged. "Sure. Like there's anything I could do to stop you.

"Just be quick, or I'll be the only one cuddling Freon tonight."

Atla nodded, being sure to not disturb her angel sister as she escaped her grip and stood up next to the cot.

Despite her blindness, she walked confidently around the furniture towards Moto. In addition to her senses being attuned to life force, something she got better at with every passing day, the Spear Hero always stored the tent as is into his weapon, so the furniture inside wasn't changed when he placed it from his inventory again. She didn't need to use life force to see since she could picture the inside of the large tent in her mind.

When she got closer though, her head fell as she meekly bowed to her father figure. "G-Good night, Sir Motoyasu.

"Thank you again for everything. I… I really appreciate all you do for me.

"I hope I can repay you for all the kindness you've shown me in the future."

"Thank you for everything as well." Motoyasu smiled a little as he put a hand on her head, rubbing her hair between her ears. His other hand moved to feel the embroidery from her that he'd sewn under one of his pauldrons. "Just keep doing what you're doing, Atla.

"You're getting better every day." His voice fell to a whisper with the next words. But he meant them all the same.

"I'm proud of you."

Those final words in particular made the blind girl lower her head even more. Atla almost looked like she wanted to cry, but she looked so happy and fulfilled at the same time.

…

Her head looked up at S'yne, who smiled as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl in a hug. "Sleep well. We're going to work together to defend Moto tomorrow."

"G-Got it!" Atla hugged the girl back, then raised her fists up in determination after the hug ended. The action was so adorable, that Motoyasu couldn't help but chuckle as he gave the little girl a head pat again. An action that elicited another excited and happy giggle from her.

Headpatting demis was so good, I say!

Sadeena watched the interaction with a blank expression. And Amber's smile shifted uncomfortably at the sight, but afterward, Atla went back to the cot without complaints. Retaking her position to cuddle against Freon and smiling in contentment.

Elena rolled her eyes as she had to adjust to having the smaller tiger girl back, but her face softened again when Atla's body stilled and she settled down for a quiet sleep with the angel sister that adored her.

Elena gave one last wave to the Spear Hero, before closing her eyes and settling in to sleep as well.

…

"Hard to believe how much has changed these last few weeks." Motoyasu murmured to himself.

"And there's a lot more ahead, Blondie." Amber walked up beside him. "So for now, Blondie and his friends should rest for tonight."

"What about you?" The Spear Hero asked curiously.

"Amber will keep watch alongside Nice Orca Lady." Amber smiled as she looked at Sadeena. "Nice Orca Lady and Amber will be ready to fight tomorrow whether we sleep or not."

Motoyasu frowned. He wanted to say how they might not end up fighting at all but realized that not even he believed that.

"Alright then. Moto and I will get some sleep then." S'yne spoke before the blonde man could respond, standing up from her chair and pulling the Spear Hero by the hand from his seat towards the corner of the tent holding their cot.

Motoyasu wanted to protest more, but decided against it and quickly relented.

He just had to trust that they'd be ok… that all those with them right now would still be alive by the end of tomorrow… hopefully.

They'd planned as much as they could for every eventuality as well as for how they'd try to free Siltvelt's people from the illusion magic entrapping them, but that didn't mean things still wouldn't go wrong in one way or another.

Even as Motoyasu laid back on the soft mattress, worries about the next day filled his mind. And added on top of that were worries for how things would go in Zeltoble with the latest problem Larsa had shared with him.

Had this been the right idea? Was everything going to be ok with all that was going on in the world?

…

"Ahhh…" Despite these worries filling the Spear Hero's mind, S'yne pulled a blanket up over the two of them. She then sighed contentedly as she rested her head on his shoulder and hugged her body against his.

…

Motoyasu's frown slowly turned into a smile. He'd gotten to learn lately that S'yne liked to cuddle at night. It looked like her favorite love language was physical touch.

Fine, he'd try to set his worries aside for now. If only to avoid receiving another glare from the cute girls around him.

His arms wrapped around S'yne, making her let out a soft coo of contentment. "Sweet dreams, Moto." She murmured softly, her voice staticing in and out again.

"Sweet dreams to you, S'yne…" Motoyasu murmured back quietly.

Odd, he suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion crash into him. He must have tired himself out from overstressing, or maybe it was thanks to having the beautiful hot girl cuddled up against him.

Either way, it didn't take long for Motoyasu to pass out himself.

He was so happy that S'yne slept with him at night now. And the Otherworldly Hero enjoyed it just as much.

…

"So, is tonight the night I get to join-" Sadeena started to ask.

"No." S'yne's doll resting on top of the blanket answered immediately. The girl's eyes stayed closed, but her grip on her boyfriend tightened.

"Boo." The orca woman pouted. "You're no fun."

"It ain't happening anytime soon, so stop asking." The doll said next.

"But that means it'll be a possibility in the future, right?" Sadeena giggled.

…

S'yne opened an eye to glare at the orca woman. She looked more than displeased right now.

But before she could say a word, Sadeena's expression tightened. "I'm sorry. I like teasing others a little too much."

"Is it only teasing though?" S'yne's doll asked. "From what I've seen, you seem to genuinely love Moto too."

"... I do." Sadeena admitted, putting a hand over her chest while the other held her harpoon at her side. "But I know better than to wreck other's relationships. Especially when it's someone I really care about.

"And I care about both of you… so I don't want to…"

…

The orca woman trailed off, looking off to the side at something only she could see. And S'yne frowned as her single open eye lost its glare and observed her fellow party member.

"Nice Orca Lady, are you sure you want to keep watch with Amber tonight?" The younger Filolial girl rested a hand on Sadeena's wrist, dragging her away from what she was seeing.

"Of course." Sadeena forced herself to smile again. "I'm not going to leave you alone to protect us, Amber-san."

Amber pouted. "If Amber senses danger incoming, Amber will wake up Blondie and his friends. Amber just remembered that Nice Orca Lady has been keeping watch every night while napping in the back of Amber's wagon during the day.

"Amber will handle keeping watch for stupid enemies looking to ambush Blondie while he's asleep. Nice Orca Lady should get some actual sleep in the meantime."

…

Sadeena slumped her shoulders and sighed tiredly. "I'll just nap before the battle tomorrow. I'll be fine."

S'yne's frown deepened at Sadeena's stubbornness. She then looked down at Motoyasu, and then up at her again.

"Sadeena, Amber's right. You need to rest just like the rest of us." S'yne's doll said in a reprimanding tone, as if she was lecturing a child.

Which was funny, since she was at least several years younger than Sadeena.

"I said I'm fine." Sadeena turned grouchily. "I won't mind-"

"Oh fine." S'yne, in annoyance, extracted herself from the Spear Hero's arms and got up, holding the blanket open invitingly. Her careful movements ensured that Moto wasn't disturbed.

…

Sadeena looked down from the bed and Moto up to S'yne repeatedly. Her face turned from tired and grumpy to confused but hopeful. "You… are you sure?"

"Don't try anything. I'm just covering the first half of your watch.

"I'm used to not getting a lot of sleep at night. But as soon as I wake you up, you're taking over the rest of the watch with Amber. Got it?" S'yne narrowed her eyes.

…

It was still another moment before Sadeena responded. But when she did, her smile was almost dazzling. "I promise, I'll just sleep."

"You better." S'yne's doll mumbled.

Sadeena set her harpoon next to the cot, and almost too willingly, the orca woman dove under the blanket, hugging her body against Moto's while giggling happily like a little schoolgirl. "Oooh, now this is nice. Moto's so warm."

"This is only for tonight. Don't expect this to be a daily occurrence." S'yne's doll snapped as the girl took her pair of needles from her side, leaned against the stake at the entrance of the tent next to Amber, and began knitting with her weapon while staring at Sadeena. "You know how much it could traumatize Moto if you made a move on him right now."

"I won't…" Sadeena pondered her next words for a moment, adjusting herself so Motoyasu and her would be comfortable, before speaking again. "Thank you, S'yne.

"I promise I'll continue to work hard for you and Moto's sakes." The orca woman cuddled her head under the Spear Hero's sleeping face, smiling happily in contentment. "You're both precious to me."

"... … …" S'yne didn't say a word in response.

But deep down, she knew the orca woman meant it. And it touched her heart in a way.

It wasn't long after when Sadeena drifted off to a peaceful, contented sleep.

…

"That was really nice of Sewing Lady to do." Amber commented opposite S'yne.

"... I'm just trying to keep Moto happy." The girl continued to knit while her doll spoke. "And while he wouldn't admit it to me, he wouldn't be happy if he knew those he cared about were unhappy.

"And that includes Sadeena…"

…

"But damn it, I wish I could have him all to myself!" S'yne eventually admitted, her hands gripping her needles tight. "Is love ever this hard with Filolials?!"

"Eh, um…" Amber thought to herself for a moment. "It depends. Amber knows of a few Filolials that become mates for life like most humans. But there are also Filolials that prefer living alone, or who take on multiple mates to pass on their offspring as much as possible. Or to have competitions about who'll have kids with them.

"It just depends on the personality and temperament of the Filolial Amber guesses. A lot of them tend to fall in the categories Amber mentioned though." The knightly Royal shrugged. "But Amber usually preferred playing matchmaker for the other Filolials in Fitoria's flock before joining Blondie's flock. So Amber doesn't really know what Amber would prefer.

"Amber had been trying to read as many books on human romances as possible before to better understand human relationships though."

…

"And what have you learned from those books?" S'yne raised an eyebrow as she got back to knitting, surprised to learn this detail about the Filolial girl. She wasn't aware of there being any books on the subject in the Hero's Nation. Where had she found them?

"That human males tend to really focus on the act of mating a lot." Amber said in the same tone as earlier. "Whether with one girl or multiple."

…

…

S'yne's needles stopped abruptly.

Oh… now S'yne realized that Amber had likely been learning from the stash of hero texts Tersia and Farrie had kept in their home. The texts that had nothing of worth in them and thus weren't sent back to Mirellia.

Not that S'yne had read any of them or anything… she certainly hadn't wanted ideas for when Moto was comfortable enough to open up to her in that regard.

"... Amber." S'yne kept herself calm and composed. "Did these texts involve past Heroes in any way?"

"Now that Sewing Lady mentions it, yeah, they did." Amber smiled happily. "Amber found that she really enjoyed reading the ones on past Spear Heroes especially since Amber felt they'd be helpful for Blondie."

…

Ok, this was fine. S'yne resumed her knitting as if everything was normal. It wasn't like there'd be a big misunderstanding or anything worse from this.

And, perhaps, there was a thing or two S'yne could learn from asking Amber for her observations on past Spear Heroes that she hadn't garnered- obviously, because she'd never read those texts herself thanks to the language barrier, but she could have possibly asked Tersia or Farrie to read it for her and-

"Though Amber admits, she did not think past Spear Heroes would love saying "where there's a hole, there's a way" so much. Why does Blondie never say that?" Amber suddenly asked innocently. "Does he not have any interest in mating with Sewing Lady or Nice Orca Lady or Nice Panda Woman or-"

It was a good thing S'yne was knitting with her weapons, otherwise, the needles in her hands would have snapped from how tightly she gripped them at that moment. But S'yne did put a hand on Amber's shoulder, stopping her midsentence.

For her part, she didn't scream or lash out in anger or embarrassment or overreact as others would have in this situation.

Still, when her doll spoke again, its monotonous tone might not have been close to what S'yne was bottling up at that moment.

"Amber, I think you need to find some better reading material."

"Ehhhhh?~ Why?!" Amber's eyes widened in genuine surprise.

"Because 'where there's a hole, there's a way' is something no sane person should ever say." The quiet girl shuddered.

Oh, how she suddenly wished to bleach her mind right now.

Sadeena better not ever say such nonsense in the future, or else bad things were going to happen!

"... did Amber do something bad again?" The campfire hair girl's head drooped.

S'yne would spend the rest of her shift cheering up the Filolial Royal and knitting while talking about random subjects. And Sadeena got to enjoy a deep, restful sleep with the Spear Hero.

Atla and Freon would rest well alongside Elena. And S'yne would eventually get to enjoy her rest with Moto after she swapped places with Sadeena again in the middle of the night.

It would generally turn out to be a good night for most of the Spear Hero's party. With Amber having some time to rest during Sadeena's shift in the morning while the army readied itself to move. Even Elena, who wasn't a morning person, would wake up with a not so bright, but more cheerful than usual morning attitude than what she normally portrayed.

…

The only one who didn't sleep well was, unfortunately, the Spear Hero himself.

It was not because of Sadeena taking S'yne's place. Nor was it thanks to S'yne taking her spot back in the middle of the night. Both girls, because of their genuine love and care for the man, respected the Spear Hero's boundaries during the night and did nothing that'd trigger his trauma.

No, what'd happened was that as soon as he'd fallen asleep, Motoyasu fell into a nightmare.

One he'd been experiencing often since returning from Zeltoble, and every night since the attack by Q'Ten Lo.

"One second." A familiar soft voice echoed all around the room in a sensual whisper.

"You were late by one second, Moto-kun."

"Huh, what are you-" The Spear Hero looked around frantically.

"B-blond-" The angel girl in his arms tried to speak out weakly with tears in her eyes, but her voice got cut off as a long visible vertical gash sprung across the length of her face.

The breath that Motoyasu tried to take became stuck in his throat.

Splat.

The right half of Amber's head detached and landed on the floor.

...

S'yne and Atla watched in equally muted horror, not believing the sight before their eyes.

Up ahead, Sadeena was already laying in a pool of her own blood.

Her harpoon laid in shattered pieces before her. And her glassy eyes stared off at nothing as a shocked expression remained frozen on her face.

"A-A-Amber, S-S-Sadeena…

"I… I'm so…" Motoyasu's voice choked in his throat.

"Two down." One hooded girl whispered sensually.

"Two to go." Her companion dressed in plate armor smiled maliciously.

Both shadowed individuals charged past the kneeling Hero on the floor at their next opponents. One holding a kitchen knife while the other dual wielded a pair of blood red daggers.

Motoyasu remained trapped in his nightmare for the rest of the night.

He spoke to no one of it upon waking up the next morning.

It'd been around a week since the attack on the Hero's Nation. And several days since the Heroes had begun their march into Siltvelt.

There were eighty-three days left until the Phoenix was supposed to awaken.

Naofumi was positioned at the front of the army, sitting on a driver's bench of a wagon being pulled by Filo. Inside the wagon behind him were Dou-Lon, Eclair, Keel, Fohl, Melty, Chen, Sebastian, and Elhart.

Dou-Lon had a whetstone out, and was polishing the blade of his Byakko Katana with it. Eclair was doing the same with the katana she held, which was the same weapon she'd been using since her previous longsword broke while facing Q'Ten Lo's Shadows.

She occasionally looked up at the tiger man opposite her, who was chatting idly with Chen, before returning her focus to her new weapon. It was, admittedly, not her first choice when it came to swords. She preferred longswords for their reach and dual sided sharpness. She'd even had debates in private with Wyndia in the past about her choice of blade and the disadvantages it held.

Yet the way Dou-Lon fought with his had made her reconsider… at least, that's what she said when Naofumi pressed the rose-haired knight about it.

As for the tiger girl, the Shield Hero was finally able to note that Chen's appearance had returned to what it'd been when he first met her during the events of the Spirit Tortoise's awakening. She was no longer in a maid outfit, as her old captain's uniform had been repaired since the attack by Q'Ten Lo's Shadows.

Her hair was also dyed brown again. The fur that'd covered her limbs was gone as well.

Naofumi couldn't help but feel curious again about her maintaining such a deliberate and distinct appearance compared to the other hakuko. But considering everything else both on his and everyone else's plates right now, he kept silent and just bumped the topic a bit higher on his seemingly endless mental list of priorities.

As for the others in the wagon, Keel and Fohl were talking to each other in soft whispers. Melty was frowning while going over battle strategies with Sebastian, whom she was going to entrust to carry out some of her orders during this first pivotal battle. And Elhart was examining the length of his warhammer for any imperfections before they arrived.

Raphtalia sat beside her fiance on the driver's bench, and Raph-Chan sat between them, keeping a paw on both their sides.

Despite having his companion next to him, the Shield Hero had a deep frown etched on his face. Perhaps it was because he was in Siltvelt for the first time. He was uncomfortable being in the land that treated him as a God.

But no, the real source of his concern was the silence of the last few days.

They had not encountered even a single person from the region during their quick march.

They had come across multiple ruins of towns and villages. Settlements that were damaged or completely destroyed by past Waves, from what he could guess. But they'd also come across entirely intact settlements. Caravans of goods sitting behind stalls bursting with persian rugs, cheeses, pots, fruits, and more.

According to Chen, as well as all the scouts that'd returned from exploring the other areas around Melromarc's border, the entirety of the fertile plains, or the savannahs of western Siltvelt as Naofumi wanted to call them after seeing the landscape with his own eyes, were empty.

The other surprising thing to note here, however, was that there'd hardly been any monsters either. The ones they had come across quickly turned tail and fled at the sight of the Heroes and the army following them.

Chen reported this as very unusual monster behavior for the area since the beasts here were usually close to level fifty on average. The ones they came across, however, were level fifteen to twenty at best.

For there to be so few, and for them to be so low level likely meant that they'd been massively culled in the past few weeks or so.

If that was the case, it'd be even harder for the Heroes to gather levels than they'd thought.

The only sounds Naofumi heard were of the army moving across the deserted land. It felt like stepping into one of those apocalypse themed video games from back home. Only, unlike those protagonists who spent the entire game never learning what caused society to collapse, Naofumi already knew the cause here.

Which was all the more concerning.

'How the hell are we supposed to deal with somebody who has this much of a grip over others through her illusion magic? And how the hell did she attain this much control over them in the first place?!'

The only hint they had of the former inhabitants' whereabouts were two sets of tracks leading out of the land. It seemed that all the people had been gathered to one main settlement, the town Naofumi and the others had reached the day before, and then they split off in two directions.

The first direction was towards the Valley of the Kings, where the liberation corps were marching right now. Based on the size of the footprints and the scent, it was believed that the group headed there mainly consisted of women and children, likely girls.

That was because the other set of tracks heading south towards the sea consisted of men and children as well. But it was Melty's theory being that the children were separated by gender based on that info, though that did not explain why.

…

Naofumi's hands gripped Filo's reins more tightly. And the Shield Hero began to draw in deep breaths to calm his nerves.

It was dawning on him that, perhaps, his rising anxiety wasn't from being in Siltvelt or from the quiet. But rather, from the thought that he now had the lives of thousands under his responsibility. Not just those following him, but those they'd be fighting today.

Because whether he liked it or not, the people of this world were his responsibility. And there was a monster out there playing puppet master with them against their wills.

He and Motoyasu were going to have to face off against those people in all out battle time and time again, however many times it took, until they figured out how to break the Kitsune's control over the people of Siltvelt.

…

It didn't help that part of him said he should be patient, whilst the other part wanted to get to Q'Ten Lo already and make the bastards there burn. This was, after all, only the first step of a journey where that'd be their end goal.

But while he might have joked with Mirellia about it before they left… he didn't want innocents on either side getting caught up in his need for revenge against the foreign nation. He wanted this mess to conclude as quickly and as amicably as possible.

Which was likely the other thing contributing to his growing anxiety right now: That this would be a long, bloody, and complicated mess he'd have to lead everyone through until it was done…

Or until they'd all perished.

…

Pushing the bothersome thought from his psyche, Naofumi kept looking around, as if expecting to be ambushed at any time. And while she was silent next to him, Raphtalia was just as observant as the Shield Hero. Practicing what she'd learned from her daughter to discern any potential illusions ahead of them.

"Rafu." Raph-Chan remained seated between the two Heroes. Her deep tea red eyes stared intently ahead at the rolling savannah, glowing softly.

Time passed as the sun slowly moved across the sky…

…

…

The sun reached midmorning, and the ground steadily transitioned from fertile grasslands with rocky outcroppings here and there to rocky crags.

With the change in landscape, the ride became a tad more bumpy. Though it didn't bother the Shield Hero one bit.

To try and distract himself from the growing pit of anxiety in his stomach, he focused on what was going on behind him.

"Urk! I hate bumpy rides." Elhart complained while making gagging sounds.

"Is it truly that bad?" Eclair asked confusedly. "I'd say the ride feels far smoother than I expected."

"It's all thanks to Sir Motoyasu adding that suspension invention of his to the undercarriages of the Filolials' wagons, I say." Melty smiled widely.

"I say? Why you speaking like Bubba Spear now Lady Governor?" Keel asked confusedly.

"What? It's catchy." Melty pouted.

"Anyway. The old man's just crying out for attention at this point. Don't mind him." Naofumi commented on the driver's seat.

"%$& you, man!" He could almost feel the bald blacksmith flipping him off behind his back. "Just cause you never get motion sickness doesn't mean you get to make fun of me for it!"

"Is that, um, is that a proper way to address Shield Lord?" Chen asked Dou-Lon nervously.

"Best not to delve into the particulars too much. As I've told you before, our Shield Hero is a person just like you and me." Dou-Lon commented offhandedly, smiling a little as he examined his sharpened katana with a surge of pride. "How you address him is up to you. Just don't be over the top and fanatical about it. That's a guaranteed way to piss him off."

"I…" Chen frowned, and sat back down on the bench.

"Sir Naofumi. Based on the scouts' reports, we shouldn't be that far from the staging grounds." Sebastian commented as he noticed the Shield Hero looking back at them. "I'd say we're a half hour away from making contact at our current pace."

"Got it. Thank you Sebastian." Naofumi nodded his head as he looked forward again. He did, however, keep his awareness of what was going on behind him. Little as it'd been, his anxiety had dropped when focusing on them instead of his thoughts.

…

Sebastian frowned as he leaned back against the wall of the wagon. He'd become better acquainted with the Shield Hero ever since the attack on Lurolona. After he'd spent Gods know how long managing to go under his radar whilst living in the Hero's Nation.

The former Church Knight still felt a part of himself conflicted about having to fight under the Shield Hero and his party. The Shield was supposed to be the devil, leading the hordes of demis against the rest of humanity in a crusade of extinction.

That'd been what his father died fighting against in the previous Great War. And it was what he'd dedicated his life to avenging.

Yet here he was, helping that devil go through his nation. Seeking to save his demon spawn from a monster that would drive the world into destruction if given the chance.

If Balamus, the Archbishop, and the others were still alive to see him now, they'd be calling him a heretic for siding with the devil himself. Not caring about anything else since the devil was evil and needed to be eradicated for the sake of the world.

Idiots. The whole lot of them. If only their faith hadn't blinded them so much. Even a devil can be made to save the world with proper motivation and guidance. And Sir Naofumi had both of these in spades.

As for what would happen after…

…

Seeing the frown on the knight's face, Eclair couldn't help but poke his buttons a little. "Still bothered about us marching into Siltvelt to liberate it instead of destroying it?"

"... how many times have you asked that question thus far? Ten?" The man snarked while glaring back at her.

"A few times." Eclair smirked in satisfaction. "But I figured I might ask again, since you still haven't given a direct answer and just keep turning surlier the deeper into Siltvelt we travel.

"And it's also kind of funny, since you hate demi-humans so much, and yet you could end up dying today helping them regain their lost lands and freedom."

…

Sebastian continued to silently glare back, and Eclair's smirk remained as whether Sebastian answered or not, she'd been sufficiently entertained by pushing his buttons with her words for today.

"I'm not so much bothered by it as I find it ironic."

Which was why when he did answer her question, she was surprised and caught flatfooted.

Eclair's smirk changed to a frown. "Ironic? In what way?"

Sebastian's face hardened further. "It's ironic for both of us to be here, Miss Seaetto, because both of our Fathers also came to Siltvelt and fought in the Great War together many years ago under the Staff Hero Aultcray."

"Your father returned from that war unscathed, a decorated war hero, second only to the King. Whereas my father never returned at all, butchered by these savages and his body eaten by them before it could be returned home.

"His contributions as a commander fell into obscurity with every year that passed, until the time came that nobody except his own family remembered him or why he'd fought to begin with. While yours was memorialized and remembered by everyone across the land.

"So yes. It's ironic then that we're both here now." Sebastian made his point as hard and barbed as steel. His gaze was like poison as he stared his former rival down. "The daughter of the biggest coward and proponent for demihumans besides Mirellia, and the son of an unknown man who gave everything, including his life, for the sake of the whole world so that demihumans wouldn't be able to enslave his family.

"And yet here we are, fighting for the exact opposite cause that our fathers fought for.

"Then again, maybe yours was always a beastkin bootlicker?"

…

Eclair's nose flared in anger, and Sebastian's face finally began to transform into a smirk at having successfully pushed her buttons instead.

"My Dad was not a traitor." The rose-haired knight whispered through gritted teeth.

"Then why did he come back when mine didn't?" Sebastian scowled.

The two looked ready to butt heads, or draw swords. Which would have, admittedly, not worked out in Sebastian's favor. He didn't care, he finally felt validated for all the crap the rose-haired woman had put him through since joining the Hero's Nation. What was a few more smacks with the blade compared to that?

However, before either side could lay a hand on the other…

"Enough." Dou-Lon's calm, yet powerful voice washed over the pair.

The two turned their heads at the same time to see the hakuko man now standing between them, his arms crossed, and his face looking down at them with disapproval in his gaze.

Naofumi, who'd been about to step in to break up the rising tension, remained seated and watched.

"Dredging up the past or using one's standing here is meaningless. Nothing has changed. We are here to free people from being suppressed and manipulated by a monster that hungers for power and control. Just like back in the last great war against Siltvelt when the Wise King of Melromarc rose to end the Claw King's insane ambitions."

Dou-Lon turned his head to frown at the rose-haired knight. "Eclair, you disappoint me. I know you and Sebastian share a history, but that's no excuse to deliberately antagonize him while we are allies fighting for the same common cause. Especially not so close before a major battle when everyone's tensions and emotions are running high.

"We need to work together to succeed. So stop treating him like an enemy when he's already given up so many concessions and his life-long principles to be here today."

…

The swordswoman slowly hung her head. And as he saw her deflate, Dou-Lon turned his head to armored knight. "Sebastian, I am sorry for what happened to your father. War is never fair to either side of a conflict.

"But instead of insinuating that Lord Seaetto was a demihuman sympathizer during that time, have you ever considered that he changed his position after the war's conclusion?"

The former church knight recoiled. "What do you mean?! Lord Seaetto has always loved demihumans!"

"Yet he fought against them, did he not?" Dou-Lon countered. "He could have chosen to sit things out. Not all of Melromarc's nobility participated, certainly not personally.

"Instead, he fought at the front lines along with everyone else under the Wise King's banners. His name and presence struck fear into the hearts of demihumans back then.

"So why did he choose to embrace them after his return?"

The tiger man looked away from Sebastian to Eclair as he said those words.

…

…

The rose-haired knight looked uncomfortable, but at her companion and only rival's encouragement, she did speak. "My Father… he was forced to do a lot of ugly things Aultcray proposed to help Melromarc win the war.

"He didn't like talking about it, I only learned from other knights of his exploits while at the Capital. I only personally learned of his skills in swordsmanship from personal spars with him… and I still don't know if I ever got to experience the full extent of them.

"Unlike most of the other high nobility in the war, he did not have anything like hatred or revenge to motivate him. Our family never had bad encounters with the other demi races. Helping out in the war wouldn't have given him any higher standing or additional lands, because he was already at the highest title the Queen could bestow, short of making him her Prince Consort. And he had all the wealth he could have ever wanted…

"He only served in that war because he wanted to fulfill his duty, and he desired to be an asset in protecting his country and defending his people…

"But when it was over, while others reveled in their satisfaction of revenge, all he had left was guilt.

"He saw the innocents harmed on both sides of the conflict. He saw the relatives of those he'd gutted on the battlefield mourning over their loss.

"And so, after he returned, he swore to become a better ruler to all that'd be placed under him. Be they human, or demi."

Eclair took a deep breath. She then looked up at Sebastian again. There was still anger in her gaze, but also a rare note of vulnerability. "I recall the Desmodus family also had no negative interactions with demihumans before the war… that while they didn't mingle with commoners as much as my parents did, they still treated those under them with respect as living beings…

"Now that I think about it, I don't recall your family being a part of the Three Heroes Church either. At least, it was never brought up in the past when you and I were forced to be made acquainted by our heads of house.

"I can't help but wonder what your Father would say were he here."

"Hmph." Sebastian grunted as he crossed his arms. "What's it matter when he's dead?"

"My father is dead too." Eclair stated in response, looking to Dou-Lon as she did so. "Only, it wasn't demihumans that killed him, but other humans.

"Does that mean I should fight against you, Melty, the other Heroes, or humans in general since it was humans that murdered my Father?"

…

Sebastian remained silent, and the conversation looked like it was going to peter off.

…

"No... that would be a horrible excuse." Sebastian admitted with a frown.

"You'd be nothing short of a murderer with that kind of logic."

"And so you're validated by the fact that those who killed your father weren't humans?" Eclair asked. And unlike before, her question did sound genuine.

"I..."

…

Sebastian trailed off again, and his frown turned into a scowl. "I need to prepare for the coming battle."

Having had enough, the former Church Knight began discussing strategy in a quiet voice with Melty. The young bluette sighed internally, but didn't bring up the earlier convo and made sure to go over the details of their strategy one more time to get the man in the right mindset to lead.

…

Eclair looked disappointed for a moment, thinking over her actions. But then, Dou-Lon grabbed her by the hand and shook his head, giving her a smile that expressed pride and warmth for how she'd treaded the latter half of her conversation with the former Church Knight.

At the wordless action, she responded with a genuine smile and gripped his hand in return. An action that made the tiger man quickly look down to realize what he'd done, before he turned his head to the side to hide the look on his face.

Fohl stared at his uncle and mentor with stars in his eyes. Keel also looked satisfied while Elhart was smirking in delight.

Dou-Lon glared at Elhart, as if questioning why he wasn't complaining about something now. And the old blacksmith put his hands behind his back while whistling innocently to himself.

Naofumi had to look back to see all this happen, but it helped his growing anxiety melt away somewhat, and he even felt a bit of tension ease from his shoulders.

Raphtalia must have been paying attention too, since as he faced forward again, she spoke softly so only he and Raph-Chan would hear.

"We're lucky to have someone like Dou-Lon as our bloodkin. He's very good when it comes to handling conflicts between our friends."

"... yeah, he is." Naofumi nodded while thinking about it. "He's come a long way from the 'unworthy hakuko' who first showed up on our doorstep."

Honestly, if there was anyone he could trust to speak on his behalf besides Raphtalia and Melty, it'd definitely be Dou-Lon. He was going to have to heavily consider that should he choose to accept responsibility for Siltvelt going forward.

"Weren't you in the castle recovering from the battle with the Pope at that time?" Raphtalia teased. "I don't think Mirellia's castle is our home, dear."

"Not yet." Naofumi grinned savagely. Being the foster father of Melty, and having an in with Mirellia's weakness for Filolials and information on the Hero Weapons in general, it wouldn't take long to barter the matriarch out of house and home if he really wanted to!

"Huh?! What are Mommy and Daddy talking about?! Filo's sensing a really bad energy coming from Daddy right now!" Filo yelled in front of them.

"Oi, stop reading Daddy's mind! Only Mommy is allowed to do that!" Naofumi responded.

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan raised a paw energetically.

"Mommy and Raph-Chan!" Naofumi quickly corrected.

"Boo! That's totally not fair! Filo should be treated the same as Little Sister!" The Royal girl whined.

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan raised her paw enthusiastically again.

"She does have a point. Or are you trying to not love our first daughter as much as our second, dear." Raphtalia asked, a dangerous edge to her tone as her hand hovered over her hilt.

"I-I- well of course I love Filo!" Naofumi said nervously. "In fact, there's a new cool secret personal recipe of mine that I'm going to teach her later today!"

"Really?! Yayyyyy~! Filo can't wait to cook a lot of good food with Daddy!" The girl cried out happily.

"Rafu!" And Raph-Chan couldn't wait to eat a lot of good food prepared by Dad and Big Sis!

Welp, guess he was going to have to think of a really cool awesome recipe to teach his first daughter. At least it was better than dwelling on the things currently giving him anxiety.

Raphtalia continued to smile as Naofumi focused ahead again.

More time passed, and the distraction quickly came to an end.

More quiet convos and interactions occurred in the wagon. Melty and Sebastian finished going over what they needed to do. Fohl and Keel both got advice from Eclair and Dou-Lon about what to watch out for in the coming battle. Elhart got his mind off the shaking of the wagon (which really wasn't all that bad, since Motoyasu was an excellent mechanic due to his obsession with race cars in his past life) by examining the sakura stone weapon fragments from Q'Ten Lo again.

Only Chen looked crestfallen, seeing the interaction and level of depth her childhood friend shared with the foreign knight while having a conversation with his pupil and the maid dog girl brawler.

…

She did her best to hide her disappointment as he sat beside her again and began to chat with her about something. But she never noted what that something was, since she was too depressed to recall it when writing about the scene in her journal that night.

…

Eventually, as they were about to arrive, Naofumi spoke again.

"So Chen, you said your former comrades had done some work on the valley?"

"Um, yes, my Lo… I mean, um," Flustered, Chen quickly began to bow her head in apology, remembering that Naofumi didn't like being addressed in such a manner. But then she whipped her head back up and tried not to die of shame from her misstep.

Fortunately, Naofumi stayed looking ahead, so he never had to witness the mini panic attack the tiger woman had while recomposing herself. "As I was trying to say," Chen managed to continue, getting a semblance of her Captain persona to work. "There were changes made to the area in order to make fighting the Waves here a little easier in the last few months."

"Why do that though when the Waves could appear anywhere in Siltvelt?" Naofumi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That is true. And that is why different areas have different fortifications in place based on the terrain to deal with the monster hordes." Chen answered, this time more confidently. "Be it wild or Wave, monsters in general will target those with EXP in order to get stronger.

"We never know where a Wave will hit, only when. Because of that, Siltvelt expended a bunch of effort fortifying key areas of the country so that, in case a wave opened nearby, the people could evacuate to the strongholds as fast as possible, so our armies could meet the Wave Monsters chasing them down in an area where they'd hold the advantage."

"But how would all of them make it out of that alive if the Wave opened on top of them?" Naofumi asked.

…

"They… they wouldn't, my lo-sir." The tiger woman grimaced and paused, before speaking again. "The Council's bragging was greatly exaggerated.

"It was very hard for Siltvelt to fight the Waves without your assistance."

…

Naofumi said nothing, but his face tightened as he pulled back on the reins. Filo began to obediently slow down.

The army following behind the Shield Hero slowed down in turn. The reason was because they were approaching the area.

…

It was another few minutes before they crested over the rocky slope. But when they did, Filo came to an abrupt halt on a ledge overlooking the rocky valley before them.

"Whoa…" Naofumi's eyes widened.

A little land change was an understatement.

Raphtalia gripped the seat, and her tail rose behind her as she almost snapped at the unexpected stop, only for her eyes to widen at the sight before her as well.

"Urgh," "Ugh," "What the…" Others in the wagon stirred behind the pair, having been thrown from their seats from the sudden deceleration. Elhart in particular stood to complain again, only to go silent at the sight before them.

"They've done some work, you said?" Naofumi asked Chen.

"I… they've done even more in the time since I scouted the place out." She looked shocked, but upon seeing the look on his face, she quickly and meekly bowed her head in apology. "I'm so sorry, forgive this unworthy hakuko for not doing a better job and-"

Smack!

Dou-Lon slapped the back of her head, making her cry out in pain before rubbing the latest sore spot. "Lon-Lon…" She whined.

"Stop with the unworthy stuff. Naofumi definitely gets irritated by that." He reprimanded her in the tone of a parent chastising their child. "I shouldn't have to keep repeating this to you Chen."

"Boo!" Chen proceeded to puff out her cheeks and pout at her childhood friend… which only earned her another chop on top of her head, and a betrayed expression mixed with more tears.

Naofumi merely continued to stare ahead, however, ignoring the drama unfolding behind him as Raphtalia bared her fangs beside him.

It was the Valley of the Kings. As big and imposing as Aultcray had made them out to be.

And that was quite the sizable army standing amongst a sea of fortifications, waiting to receive them.

Hero Clips!

When the Animation is Low-Budget

Naofumi merely continued to stare ahead, however, ignoring the drama unfolding behind him as a blurry figure bared… something, beside him.

Huh?

Naofumi turned his head in confusion. "Raphtalia? Is that you?"

"Yeah?" Raphtalia, the blur representing her at least, replied confusedly as she turned(?) to face her fiance. "Is something wrong?"

"Is Daddy doing ok?" Filo's voice asked from the front.

"Y… Yeah. Daddy's fine." Naofumi shook his head. Maybe this was the 'motion sickness' Elhart loved to complain to him about? Strange old man.

"Oi! It affects way more people than you realize!" Elhart yelled from behind.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Honestly could have sworn you were used to carriage rides at the start of Hope, but anyway…" Naofumi turned to face forward again, and his eyes narrowed in confusion.

One, because Filo, who should have been in front of him gripping the wagon, wasn't there. But hadn't he heard her voice just a few seconds ago?

And two, he was staring at the Valley of the Kings. As… big(?) and imposing(?) as Aultcray had made them out to be(?) (he couldn't exactly tell since the Valley looked like someone had MSPainted it onto a boring brown background representing rocks I guess?).

Well anyway, the weirdly visually displeasing landscape aside… that was that an army waiting for them down there, right?

"What the &%$?" Naofumi's eyes narrowed in confusion. Was that an army? They looked so small and miniscular and bundled up together that-

"Oi, those are DAMN STICK FIGURES in the back of their formation!" Naofumi yelled in realization. There was no way they weren't stick figures either! Their bodies were drawn so thin with their heads so comically large it was like stepping into the Henry Stickman franchise! Except it didn't look nearly so pretty or high-budget!

Breeze-kun blew by, dragging Naofumi's cape into his vision, and the Shield Hero got to realize something else looking down at himself. "AW HELL NAH!"

His cape had lost all shading. Instead of sharp lines for the plate armor he was wearing, it was as if a toddler had doodled using his body as a canvas…

And looking behind him, he found that, yes, his 'wagon' was also MSPainted onto the background. He tried to reach out, but his hand kept pausing in stillframes that it almost felt like he was coming apart at the seams.

When he finally did reach the 'wagon', It was like it wasn't actually there… despite him sitting on… something?

What was he sitting on?! Was it just a line?!

"Rafu!"

"..." Naofumi, almost in fear, looked down to his side at his favorite daughter in the world.

"Rafu?" Raph-Chan, thankfully, was still in 4k. And upon the Shield Hero's gaze falling onto her, she waved a paw up at her poorly drawn daddy while giving a cute wink. "Rafu!"

Oh thank the Gods, they'd at least put most of the animation budget in the right place! Had his daughter not been properly animated, Naofumi would have been even more pissed off than he was right now.

"Still! How the hell are we supposed to do battle like this?!" Naofumi asked the sky.

Just a sec Naofumi, Author-Kun and Proofreader-Kun both went to grab more funds from Hickwaal. He promised to fund this war arc for them.

"Huh?" Naofumi 'tried' to tilt his head in confusion. But then he was caught in a stillframe, and he nearly screamed as it felt like he was getting beheaded.

…

After a moment of waiting and agony, the scenery all around suddenly came to life. No longer did everything feel choppy and low-budget.

It was as if Naofumi could finally breath again after being on death's door!

Simultaneously, at the same time, Siltvelt's army came into stark contrast. And war cries came from the enthralled army as they charged forward.

Had they waited till the battle proper for the animation to suddenly kick in? Oh well. Naofumi wouldn't complain.

"Charrrrrrge!" And so the Shield Hero, with Filo clearly visible in front of him, and his fiance no longer a blur next to him, had the no longer MSPainted wagon, as well as the army of figures behind him, charge into the coming melee.

It was awesome.

It was epic.

Naofumi felt more alive than he ever did.

There were hyper detailed hand drawn explosions happening all around the Shield Hero. Clearcut figures on both sides pushed and fought against the other in allout brawls with overblown sfx, realistic death cries and blood spatters, physics engine going hard, the whole nine yards.

Yessss! YESSSSS! He was moving so fluidly and epically through the battle! Even his various skills came to life in ways he could have never imagined!

Naofumi kept charging forward at the forefront of his party, enjoying the beauty of it all…

"Lord Shield!"

But just like that, it was ruined.

Naofumi's eyes bulged from their sockets as a group of women came into view amongst the enemy. A group of highly detailed, swimsuit clad demis of various races.

Elephant, bat, cat, lioness, turtle, even a horse girl that looked like a centaur.

All had big boobs. All had big butts.

And all of them looked horny.

"WHAT THE &%$?!" Naofumi screamed.

"Shield Lord, please give me your babies!" One of the girls rushed forward, suddenly determined to interrupt what should have been a life or death battle with a 'naughty' beach Episode.

"NO! SCREW OFF!" Naofumi (and why the hell weren't the rest of his party here to save him from this mess?!) punched the demi girl in the face before she could latch onto him.

Surprisingly, she was sent flying back into the air by the hit, even though it shouldn't have hurt.

However, while that fact was conveniently glossed over by the animators, the rest weren't.

"Oooohhhhhhhh!" A feminine, pleasure filled Japanese scream came from the launched demigirl. The physics engine of the earlier fight was taken out back and shot with a shotgun as the 'infamous' jiggle physics took over.

In painstaking detail.

Not a single yen was spared in making sure her boobs were jiggling up and down, back and forth, left and right as air resistance and velocity made them move about in 4k.

And just for added measure, the panties part of her swimsuit were brought in stark contrast as the hot endowed demigirl hit the ground, legs spread wide, and her larger than life chest still jiggling in all directions from the force of Naofumi's punch.

It was such a blatant display of fan service that Naofumi nearly vomited. "WHAT THE ACTUAL &%$?!" He looked up at the sky.

What was truly unfortunate was that, as the Shield Hero, his hits were more likely to cause pleasure than pain. So what had just happened was 'kind of' possible, in a way.

"LIKE &%$ IT IS NARRATOR-KUN!" Naofumi yelled at the sky.

"We want your babies too, Shield Lord!" And then, of course, the rest of the hot spring crazy harem that were supposed to appear later in the season rushed their Hero. Each one drawn to painstaking perfection and making full use of panty shots and jiggle physics to somehow top the fanservice of the previous girl, who was now orgasming on the ground after experiencing the 'walking vibrator' that Naofumi.

"Ack! Meteor Shield!" Naofumi summoned the shield skill around him.

Unfortunately, all the current budget was going towards making him look hot, and increasing the jiggle physics and panty descriptions on the approaching girls.

The animators barely left a blue line that appeared around the Shield Hero. One that was poorly shaded in, and obviously unfilled in places.

So it didn't hamper the girls getting to him in the slightest.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Moments later, after the battle had concluded, Raphtalia was confused when she finally came across Naofumi, who was equipped with a poorly drawn Shield of Wrath.

She at least assumed that's what it was, since it was dripping green stuff onto the MSPainted ground beneath him. Though dripping might have been too much of a compliment for the poor animation right now.

"Honey… are you ok?" The half-tanuki asked worriedly.

…

Naofumi's eyes were glazed over.

He'd only barely avoided being dragged off for a naughty beach Episode. The directors tried so hard to push for it even though it went completely against his character… and even though they'd been in the middle of a battle.

Because sex sells. And they'd even threatened those under them with job termination if they didn't 'try' to include it.

Fortunately, Naofumi hadn't gone through anything traumatic, and he'd been able to break out of the fanservice moment and finish the battle proper in the next Episode.

Unfortunately, looking around, Naofumi could see no traces of those hand-drawn explosions or blood spatters or anything of the sort. That was because the funding for the previous Episodes had run out thanks to the focus on swimwear and jiggle physics.

It was as if they'd reset to MSPaint and poor shading… oh wait, they had. And what had they gained from it?

"No, Raphtalia. I'm not." Naofumi finally answered. "Hickwaal's funding only covered the previous war Episodes… and the random beach episode smushed in between."

"Beach episode?" Raphtalia asked in confusion, but Naofumi refused to elaborate.

Other 'blurry' figures appeared behind the half-tanuki. Likely Moto and the others, judging by the colors. Some that were in more detail looked to be stuck in stillframes like Melty and Filo.

"What happened to you?" Raphtalia asked in concern as she stepped forward.

"What happened, you ask?" Naofumi darkly chuckled. "I became the victim of low budget animation, that's what."

"Low-budget?- Oh no." Motoyasu briefly came into focus. "Whatever you do Naofumi, don't turn this way and suddenly stop! If you do-"

"Actually, that sounds like a great idea, Motoyasu!" Naofumi suddenly perked up, looking a bit too energetic (or at least, as much as his MSPainted figure could be allowed).

And then, he turned towards everyone, and paused midtransition.

It was the most horrifying low-budget animation of all, a trick that animators pulled out to cut corners for character transitions.

The anime smear. Paused for all its beauty and horror.

"My pain is far greater than yours!" Anime smear Naofumi screamed at the group.

All of them ran away screaming in terror.

"Rafu…" Besides the still 4k Raph-Chan, who waved happily at her Daddy.

And that turned out to be the actual reason why there was so little budget for everything else, because Naofumi wanted to ensure that Raph-Chan was always drawn to perfection.

A worthy sacrifice indeed.

Till Next Time

Allen

Chapter Text

The Liberation Army gathered on either side of Naofumi as he and those who'd be leading everybody else stared down at what was about to become their battleground.

There was a single wide valley set immediately into the rocky terrain before them, with a series of gradually elevating rolling hills set in the surrounding landscape that made the terrain harder to traverse in large groups.

Immediately on either side of the entrance into the valley were the outer walls of a pair of fortresses. They were so tall that they easily rivaled what currently surrounded Lurolona, and then there were the keeps behind them.

Hundreds or thousands could have been held inside the defensive fortifications alone. And Naofumi figured there was at least that many, based on what his eyes were taking in.

There were lots of catapults and ballista, already armed and waiting for the enemy to approach on top of walls and domed towers. Groups of robed mages, standing with staves in one hand and a book in the other, stood between the massive siege weapons. Archers that the Shield Hero could discern stood behind several lines of fire holes near the tops of the walls, bows notched and ready to fire at a moment's notice.

Those were just the forts. In the valley itself, an army of thousands upon thousands of various demi-soldiers in full plate armor with tiny steel horns on their helmets stood guarding the way further into Siltvelt's interior.

The Liberation Army had approximately six thousand individuals. But Naofumi guessed based on what he was seeing that they were easily outnumbered three to one.

Naofumi could find what would be normal foot soldiers of various races. As well as battalions of archers and mages and cavalrymen-

Wait, those weren't… oh, so there were horsepeople in this world, too? This was the first time Naofumi had seen that particular therianthrope in this world. But instead of having a horse's head on a humanoid body, they had a human torso standing atop the front of a horse's body.

The Shield Hero briefly wondered if they were called horsepeople or centaurs…

Well, regardless, there were A LOT of Siltveltians facing them.

Lastly, there was the terrain to consider.

The overpass the Liberation Army was on looked down a steep incline, laden with wooden spikes, bear traps, and other numerous ways to kill, maim, or slow down monsters, or in this case, an enemy army.

There were similar stake barricades on the ground at the bottom of the slope, meant to deter any cavalry charges on their side. They were set up haphazardly, but indicated chokeholds at key points to the entrance into the valley or forts themselves. In front of the forts, deep moats had been dug into the ground that extended around to their backs. The gates to these places were large drawbridges.

This covered all the apparent issues. But there was almost certainly a large number of unknown variables and traps that were simply hidden out of sight.

…

The feeling of dread settling in the Shield Hero's gut only seemed to grow as he took stock of the opposing force. And that was because there hadn't been even a single sliver of movement at the Liberation Army's appearance.

Not one person moved out of formation inside the valley. They stood perfectly still with their blank, lifeless eyes staring ahead.

Watching.

Waiting for the Heroes to make the first move.

On the bright side, this allowed everyone to disembark, dress in their armor, prepare items and potions, and get in their squads and formations so they'd be ready for the coming battle.

But on the other hand, it just made what was about to happen next feel all the more unnerving… because the enemy seemed utterly confident that they were going to win.

…

No, not confident. There was no emotion or any form of conscious awareness at all. The opposition was akin to mindless drones.

Even the golems in Lapis looked more alive than this.

…

Naofumi finally turned from the battlefield to view those waiting with him.

Immediately in front of him were those who'd been in his wagon.

To the Shield Hero's left was Blue, who was wearing his latest blue-tinted model of his Filolial Battle Armor, just like the rest of his brethren, save for little Freon and Filo. Tersia, Farrie, Rikka, and several villagers, as well as Knight Commander Mayor and some of his Captains, were present as well.

On the Shield Hero's right was Amber in her human form. Her deep orange Filolial Battle Armor fit her figure like a glove, and her red spear glistened on her back as she looked up at the others with her. Motoyasu, Sadeena, S'yne, Atla, Granny, and Sebas.

Without going into detail, they were either discussing some final things between one another, checking their gear to make sure it fit, or staring down the opposing force like Naofumi had.

Knight Commander Mayor would be leading a part of the army mostly consisting of knights along with the Sword Hero's party against the right force. Sebastian would be taking command of a smaller portion mostly consisting of fighters from the Hero's Nation and the Spear Hero's party against the left fort. And Melty would be in command of the remainder of the Liberation Army that'd be fighting down in the valley against the biggest portion of Siltvelt's forces.

Naofumi could have gone into more detail about how the battle plans would work... but honestly, once crap hit the fan, he was expecting all of them to just wing it as they went along.

The final individuals of the group standing behind Motoyasu were Elena and Freon. But after she'd transformed into her Royal form and got low to the ground, Elena fit a saddle on the girl's back before climbing onto it.

"Remember, you're only to observe and report anything you notice through S'yne's pin," Motoyasu told them both. "Don't get caught up in the battle."

"Ok, Daddy." "Of course." They responded simultaneously.

Elena finished tying a rope from the saddle around her waist, and with a nod from the Spear Hero, his daughter took to the sky.

It was Naofumi's first time personally witnessing it for himself. And while he thought it looked cool, Filo had a deep pout on her face.

"Boo! Filo wishes that Filo could fly!"

Raphtalia rubbed the top of their daughter's head with a soft smile. "One of these days, we'll revisit Kizuna, and you'll be able to fly to your heart's content."

"Yayyyy~! Okay!" And just like that, Filo was in a good mood again. "As long as Filo gets to fly Mommy around, Filo will be ok waiting for now!"

"... eheheh…" The half-tanuki's shoulders fell, as if she were still traumatized by the last time she'd flown on their daughter's back.

…

As Naofumi smiled a little at the sight, he noticed the Spear Hero taking a deep breath, before the blonde man turned to face him.

Naofumi was immediately able to tell that, like him, the blonde man hadn't slept well the previous night. The battle hadn't started yet, but he already looked exhausted.

"So, is this more or less what it was like before that one Wave?" Motoyasu asked lightly to try to alleviate some tension.

"Yeah, except we're the ones on the offensive here…" Naofumi stared in the direction of the enthralled army again.

"And by the looks of it, they will be just as reasonable as last time." He added in a flat tone.

"That's good, right?" Motoyasu asked lightheartedly.

…

When Naofumi didn't immediately answer, the blonde's face fell again. "Oh. Right."

At least it didn't look like there was any sign of the Kitsune monster they had to deal with anywhere.

"At least try," Melty said behind the Shield Hero, gripping one of his hands in hers. "Even if it doesn't work, we need to know if you acting as their God is enough to break through the monster's control or not.

"I know it'll make you uncomfortable, but if it avoids bloodshed…"

…

"You don't have to tell me twice, Melty." Naofumi eventually responded.

"I hate roleplaying as Siltvelt's God… but if it saves the lives of everyone here, I'll give it my best shot..." Naofumi frowned sharply, but patted the bluette on the head. "Just be ready in case it doesn't work out, ok? Because I'm not that confident about it working."

The young ruler smiled brightly. "Got it! Thanks, Naofumi!"

"Don't worry about a thing, Shield Brat." Elhart hefted his large weapon and rested it against his shoulder as he gave the young man a big thumbs-up. "If things go wrong, I'll be right there to bail ya out."

"Oi, you could at least act a little more confident, old man." Naofumi chuckled as he returned the thumbs-up.

"Sure, whatever." Elhart rolled his eyes. And before Naofumi could retort, his other friends and family grabbed his attention.

"Good luck, Daddy!" Filo cheered.

"Stay safe, Sir Naofumi." Eclair nodded.

"I believe in you, Naofumi!" Dou-Lon said resolutely.

"G-Go get them, Shield Lo- um, Sir- ahhhhhh!" Chen began to have a mini panic attack at messing up again. Why did she always mess up around her God?! She was genuinely going to get punished for her disrespect at this rate!

"You know, we could just use this free opening to blast those dirty degenerates with our biggest spells and-" Sebastian began to speak, only to cut himself off as Eclair then turned her head to glare harshly at him.

"Must I repeat that they're under a monster's control?" She snapped. "We're here to liberate them, not slaughter them like animals."

The armored man grumbled, but remained silent.

While this was going on…

"Atla…" Fohl walked up to his sister and hugged her tight. "Keep yourself and Sir Moto safe out there."

"... got it." Atla, briefly hesitating, smiled as she hugged her older brother back. "And, I guess I can forgive you this once for not calling Sir Motoyasu by his full title, Onii-sama."

"Pbth! Whatever!" Fohl let go of his younger sister and laughed. Atla then playfully pushed him back to where he'd been standing.

"Whoa!" Of course, in true fashion, or maybe because Atla had done so on purpose, her shove ended up tripping her older brother, and he faceplanted.

Right into Keel's chest.

Judging by the sounds of the tiger teen's muffled screams immediately after, it probably wasn't what he'd wanted to happen. Keel just cocked her head and looked down at her best friend and crush in confusion, feeling an odd warmth fill her cheeks since Fohl wasn't immediately pulling away. Did he enjoy them that much or something?

If he did, then he should just ask. But not out here in front of everyone…

"Good luck, Naofumi." Raphtalia pecked her fiancé on the cheek. "Whatever happens, I'm here for you."

"And I'll be there for you," Naofumi responded with complete seriousness.

Raphtalia briefly smiled and then stepped back, placing her hand on her sheathed katana again as she readied herself to move at a moment's notice.

The others began moving to their positions as well, with Fohl finally managing to disentangle himself from his dog girl crush as they got themselves ready.

Naofumi turned to the enthralled enemy army again.

Siltvelt had been standing there that whole time. There'd still been no movement, even though their side of Heroes, party members, and thousands of extra individuals were almost ready for combat.

Naofumi took a deep breath.

…

…

…

Alright. Time to be a Big Damn Hero again.

Naofumi took a running start towards the ledge and leaped high into the air.

"Air Strike Shield!"

Naofumi landed on the floating platform he summoned, but continued running as he leaped off it, launching himself even further than his initial jump.

"Second Shield!"

"Dritte Shield!"

The process repeated twice. With Naofumi getting further and further with each humongous leap, until…

"And E Float Shield!"

The Shield Hero, as he reached the peak of his last jump, summoned his float skill vertically in front of him.

Instead of landing on it, he grabbed the top of his movable skill shield, which continued moving forward as he held onto it.

He would have summoned the damn thing horizontally, but it wouldn't have acted like a moving platform then. It had to be vertical for some weird reason.

Oh well, at least he had plenty of arm strength. Even covered in his full plate armor, he didn't feel any strain holding onto his skill shield whatsoever.

"Rafu!"

It helped that Raph-Chan, who'd been standing on his shoulder that whole time, had managed to keep hold of her daddy to cheer him on personally.

The Shield Hero raised his free hand and patted the little familiar on the head, causing her to coo happily. And he smiled just a little as he then changed the shield on that same arm into its Voice Gengar Shield form.

He really had the perfect daughter, I say! He was ecstatic that he wouldn't be going into this by himself.

…

Naofumi's smile then fell as his skill slowed to a stop, and he turned his head to Siltvelt's enthralled army again.

His float skill had carried him the rest of the distance, stopping over the front of Siltvelt's army in the valley, with the walls of the fortresses on either side of him.

It was only then that he tilted the skill shield sideways and climbed onto it, before bringing his weapon form to his lips to activate Microphone.

"Brave soldiers of Siltvelt!

"It is I, your Shield Hero and God, Naofumi Iwatani!"

…

At his words, there was finally movement from below. Hundreds of helmeted and hooded faces of all kinds slowly looked up towards the Shield Hero at the same time.

There was a stirring in their pupils.

Ok, if they did recognize him, then maybe this could work!

"Brave soldiers-" Naofumi tried to continue, but…

"FIRE!"

All the siege weapons, archers, and mages on Siltvelt's side simultaneously launched a barrage of rocks, arrows, fiery javelins, and large fireballs at his spot in the sky.

"Rafu?!"

"Meteor Shield!" Naofumi quickly summoned the skill around him and switched to his Black Tortoise Shield, and not a moment too soon.

Boom! Boom! Kch! Boom! Kch!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Naofumi was blanketed in sounds and smoke for a moment as all the attacks converged on him.

Those watching on the plateau ledge widened their eyes.

A few stray spells continued through the air, smashing into the ground and exploding.

Chen almost took a step forward to assist, but Dou-Lon grabbed her by the shoulder and shook his head. "He's fine. Look."

It'd been a huge attack, but the white tiger man had been able to make out the familiar series of annoying gong-like sounds that signified the Shield Hero not taking any damage whatsoever.

…

Sure enough, when the cloud of smoke and debris finally dissipated, Naofumi was revealed to be completely unharmed while still balancing on top of his float skill.

The Shield Hero, his vision now clear, glared over at the man who'd issued the previous order.

The figure stood on a wall of the left fort facing the Shield Hero and was encased in black armor with a blue cloak clasped on his back. He wore no helmet, revealing a scarred face, light green eyes, blonde hair, and human ears on the sides of his head.

That was the most shocking thing. This person, whoever he was, was human. And the enthralled had listened to him.

"Who the hell are you?!" Naofumi asked after quickly switching to his Voice Gengar Shield again.

"Raf! Rafu!" His familiar bristled on his shoulder next to him.

The man slowly shook his head and muttered something to himself that Naofumi couldn't catch, before he then spoke into some kind of magical tool he held, which also amplified his voice. "I am no one important, 'Shield Hero'.

"Listen here. I'll only say this 'once', because you saved my life 'once'.

"Turn around and leave.

"If you do, then we won't pursue or seek retribution. Siltvelt will not tolerate any further meddling in its internal affairs, even by you."

Naofumi narrowed his eyes. The man did not look enthralled like everybody else there. "You're asking me to leave?... And you'd just let us go?"

"Yes." The soldier nodded. "I freely admit it, my comrades and I owe you. Out of all the Heroes, you were the only one who chose to protect us directly from the Wave of Catastrophe when it hit our lands. Because of that, we are still alive today.

"In that sense, my comrades and I do owe you a debt of gratitude, Shield Hero." The man put a hand over his heart.

Naofumi opened his mouth to speak more, wanting to question what he was talking about since he couldn't recall sharing any history with the man, but the stranger continued.

"Unfortunately, we of the 'Order of the Spear Breakers' have vowed to guard Siltvelt from outside forces since our Lady asked us to. She is the only one we shall answer to, thanks to the boundless kindness she has shown in taking our group and making me and my surviving comrades strong.

"But regardless, to fulfill my debt, I shall give you the option to heed my words and begin your retreat, Shield Hero. Otherwise, you shall be annihilated alongside that Spear Fool and all those waiting behind you.

"Nothing will be held back." The officer delivered his ultimatum. His voice, which had been calm throughout, revealed a deep-rooted anger at the end of his speech.

Yet he stared at the Shield Hero as if waiting to see how he'd react.

…

"... I can't do that." Naofumi finally responded, one of his hands forming into a fist. "Siltvelt is under the control of a monster. And even if it wasn't, Q'Ten Lo has declared war on me and those I protect, and the only way to get to those bastards is the port on the other side of Siltvelt!

"I won't be able to rest peacefully until those I care about can sleep at night, not having to worry about another sneak attack from that cowardly nation!

"So please," Naofumi emphasized. "We need not be enemies here!"

…

"..." The man slowly shook his head as he looked at the individual standing beside him, a large wolfman covered in black armor with bits of red, as well as a skull embedded on his right shoulder. "Councilman Jacob, begin readying the second volley." He spoke, his voice calm and monotone again.

The wolfman representative of Siltvelt's Council nodded. "At once, Sir Grimal."

Naofumi's eyes widened slightly.

Like the human officer next to him, Councilman Jacob also looked different from the enthralled crowd surrounding him. Unlike the other guy, however, there was something… sinister about him.

Naofumi couldn't tell what it was. He simply felt a chill go down his spine as he took in the sight of the brainwashed Council Member. And next to his head, Raph-Chan was reacting similarly.

She had no idea why, but the familiar felt that this person was super dangerous.

But they didn't have much time to think about it since, like that, Siltvelt's army was ready to strike again.

"Wait, I really don't want to do this! I don't even know what you're talking about?! When did I protect you and-" Naofumi started to ask.

But Councilman Jacob raised his fist again, and the human officer shook his head as his gaze towards the Shield Hero hardened. "You've made your choice, Shield Hero. And I've made mine.

"Consider our debt repaid. Prepare to be destroyed."

"... Ok, fine," Naofumi scowled as he equipped the Black Tortoiseshell Shield on his arm again.

"I knew this wasn't going to work anyway." He mumbled to himself.

The man's voice sounded familiar, and he found the title of the group he belonged to ominous, but for once, Naofumi couldn't care less.

If diplomacy wasn't going to work, then he wasn't going to wait for them to make the first move!

"One Hundred Shields!"

Naofumi stretched out his hand as the weaker skill shields fell all around him. They landed specifically on the firing mechanisms of the ballistae and catapults surrounding him.

The mages and archers unleashed another volley of arrows and fireballs at their Shield Hero, but as the siege weapons tried to fire again…

KCHH! KCHH! KCHH! KCHH! KCHH!

The sound of string breaking, ropes snapping, metal bending, and wood tearing filled the air. Pieces of these weapons flew everywhere, knocking soldiers off the wall or onto the ground all over.

The phenomenon occurring was just like when regular foot soldiers brought their weapons down on the Shield Hero's body, when the difference in their stats would be so high that the soldiers' weapons shattered into pieces.

It was the same when it came to Naofumi's shield skills. The ballistas and catapults, as they attempted to launch their projectiles, met the shield skills impeding their launch mechanisms and shattered all at once.

They were weaker shields individually, yes, but Naofumi's defensive stats vastly outclassed the operator's attack stats, especially with his current weapon form equipped.

'Great. None of them were Sakura Stone Siege Weapons.' Naofumi heaved a sigh of relief. He'd worried if any of the missed projectiles from before had secretly been Sakura Stone Weaponry, but it didn't appear as if that tech or those damn ninjas were amongst those here. So he wasn't going to be threatened by anyone there for now.

And with this opening move, many of the visible siege weapons Siltvelt had on hand had been destroyed before they could hurt anyone on his side.

Avian demihumans suddenly took to the air from Siltvelt's army, screeching as they brandished spears and lances towards Naofumi.

They didn't speak or anything. Their voices were screeches like those of bird monsters.

"Air Strike Shield! Second Shield!" With the two earlier skills off cooldown, Naofumi sent the two skills towards the flying avians of Siltvelt's soldiers, who made no move to dodge the two large projectiles coming their way.

Clang! Clang!

They did no damage upon impact, but all those caught beneath the two skills were pushed back to the ground, where the two skill shields remained for fifteen seconds to keep the avians and archers underneath them pinned before they vanished.

"Dritte Shield!" Naofumi then sent his third shield skill as it came off cooldown towards a group of mages that began casting another series of Ritual Class Fireball magic at the back of the army.

"Earth Slope!" Meanwhile, Melty and several other earth mages from the knights and the Hero's Nation, Mahoya being included amongst them, finished casting their Ritual-level magic and brought their hands forward.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of wide and varying earth pillars rose from the ground in three different directions. Tripwires, stakes, pitfalls, and other hidden traps were destroyed or activated by the terraforming spell, releasing poison darts or explosions into the air that harmed nobody.

After a short while, and after the hundreds of traps and obstacles in the way had been dealt with by the powerful magic, there was an uneven, but much less daunting slope of earth that led down from the plateau the Hero's army was based on down to the ground in front of the two forts and the valley that were almost entirely devoid of traps and barricades.

"The time has come! FORWARD!" Sitting on horseback, Knight Commander Mayor pointed his sword towards the right fort, as he and his cavalry charged down the slope in that direction.

"To battle!" Sebastian roared. He, the Spear Hero, and all those with him ran down their slope towards the left fort on foot.

"People of the Liberation Army!" Melty shouted into a voice amplifier device as she led the central charge from Filo's back to the valley itself. It was her speech to boost their morale before the battle.

"Remember why we have taken up that name for ourselves! We are not here to conquer Siltvelt and its people! We are here to free them from a monster's reign!

"The soldiers of Siltvelt are all under her control! They have had their agency stripped away from them! They have no choice in the matter! We are here to give it back! We are here to set them free!

"So set old grudges aside! Throw away your hate! Stand your ground and fight for their sakes!

"We are here to liberate!

"LIBERATE, I SAY!

Those of the Hero's Nation sounded with a resounding "YES, LADY GOVERNOR!" while there was a weaker, but equally resounding "Yes, Your Grace!" from Melromarc's knights. Still, everyone's faces looked determined as they approached the coming conflict.

"Hmph. She should have been the one to lead discussions instead of me." Naofumi slowly shook his head. "Melty always did have a way with words. She must have gotten that from her mother."

"Rafu! Rafu!" Raph-Chan rubbed her head against Naofumi's cheek, and he smiled as he began scratching the side of her head.

"Yeah, yeah, I know I'm pretty great too. She's just had wayyyyy more practice than me."

Clang! Clang! Clang! Kch! Kch! Kch!

Whilst having this small conversation with his familiar, more bird therianthropes continued to impact uselessly against his Meteor Shield barrier.

Not only did his barrier take no damage, but the weapons his enemies held shattered against it.

They then threw their bodies against the skill, but to no avail.

No normal person had the stats to touch Naofumi anymore. And if they hadn't brought Sakura Stone Weaponry with them…

Still, looking down, Naofumi saw the forces below begin to come to life. They were starting to move forward in tandem to meet the young Princess's charge in front of the valley itself. And some of the fireballs and arrows that'd been aimed solely at him moments before began to be aimed at the approaching sections of the Liberation Army instead.

His distraction was coming to an end. No normal person was capable of harming him. But the same wasn't true for Melty and those she was leading. He'd have to take up a more active role soon enough.

But before he stepped down to deal with the army in the valley, the Shield Hero first looked to where the human officer had been. Judging by the fact that he hadn't been enthralled, it was possible he could pose a greater threat than any other individual here…

Naofumi's gaze hardened when he found the man's spot on the wall vacant.

"Rafu?"

Instead, Councilman Jacob gave Naofumi a hungry smirk, as well as a cheerful wave.

…

Naofumi again felt a strange chill go down his back.

Screw the man he'd been concerned with. That wolfman looked like a huge boatload of trouble all on his own…

Clang! Clang! Clang! Kch! Kch! Kch!

Naofumi shook his head. No, he was sure Motoyasu would be able to handle him and the man just fine. There was no way with how powerful Motoyasu had become that the Council Member or his human compatriot would pose any sort of threat to the blonde man or his allies!

The Heroes were going to win here flat-out!

With that surge of confidence, Naofumi stepped off his skill shield and began to plummet toward the ground below. The bird soldiers on Siltvelt's side slid off his barrier to no avail.

More arrows and fireballs crashed into his skill barrier, doing absolutely nothing to the Shield Hero.

Naofumi's former anxiety and fear finally melted away as adrenaline, that sweet rush of battle, flooded into his system.

He wouldn't be killing anybody. But there was undoubtedly a thrill to fighting that was hard to find anywhere else.

Boom!

Within seconds, the Shield Hero landed with a thunderous thud as the ground around him cracked and the various beastman soldiers around him were pushed back. He didn't feel so much as a sting from the landing impact.

He'd come a long way since he first started in this world, taking fall damage escaping a second-story building.

His float skill settled next to him, and his Meteor Shield remained active around him. Without wasting another second, he activated another skill he hadn't used in a while.

"Hate Reaction!" A field of red energy burst from the Shield Hero, and the eyes of those all around focused on him, finally going from blank looks to glowing red with hatred as they aggroed onto their Shield Hero, just like how monsters normally would.

"Come at me, &%$ers!" Naofumi taunted to enrage his enemies further.

"Rafu! Raf! Rafu!" Raph-Chan began crafting illusions and placing them onto the field, slowly guiding the rest of Siltvelt's valley soldiers towards the Shield Hero instead of letting them charge ahead to meet Melty and the army she was heading.

It wasn't long after that the middle section of the Liberation Army crashed into the front of Siltvelt's enthralled forces as they were focused on Naofumi, and the first battle for Siltvelt's freedom truly began.

Hero Clips!

What if Allen Was Summoned as a Hero? Round Two: Electric Boogaloo

Okay, wow.

Allen walked away from the Capital the day after the Sacred Duel between Naofumi and Motoyasu.

He had no idea how many times the timeline had reset over the last month. In fact, he was only vaguely aware that resets had been happening.

He might have gone crazy for a while for some reason he could hardly remember (it probably involved a Cursed Weapon because he couldn't handle not having modern appliances any longer). Still, somehow, he'd finally done it!

He'd finally figured out how to get through the first arc of the story without messing up Raphumi!

Yeah, it'd required the narrative resetting itself and needing to shut his freaking mouth up for him at one point or another. And he'd probably died to Fitoria more than a few times by now for getting the other Heroes killed off. But at last, he was past all of that, and now Raphumi was definitely on its way to cementing itself just like it did in his fic!

Raphtalia had even confessed her love to Naofumi after the Sacred Duel. Meaning he wouldn't have to wait twenty freaking light novels for Naofumi to floof her tail! They'd be together by the time the church performed their coup and…

That probably wasn't going to happen, right? Especially since Allen was going to be doing some other things besides freeing slaves for the next forty-five days.

He didn't know if he should play things close in the timeline he'd created or not. But then, it didn't matter what he did as long as the other Heroes did what they were supposed to do, so yeah, he was totally going to ignore that slave issue to focus on different goals for now!

Sorry, Raphtalia. But now that your love life with Naofumi was assured, it was time for Allen to tackle the other ships he knew and loved.

Curse him for having a brain 100% set on shipping and Raph-Chan after these last few years (had it been that long?) of hell. But Allen was going to see them all through, no matter what!

"Um, Sir Allen, should we not be grinding monsters by now?" Rachel asked from behind the Bow Hero.

"Nonsense! I have a dragon to visit, I say! Onwards to Mirso Village, which I mistakenly named Dragon Village before the rewrite of my first arc!" Allen pointed in a random direction and began marching.

"Uh… WHAT?!" Aksel yelled behind him.

"Why is our leader so weird?" Crystal asked in a deadpan.

"I have no idea." Rachel sighed sadly. "Sir Allen! Mirso is that direction!" Rachel pointed towards some distant mountains.

"Damn this world and its lack of any actual maps!" Allen screeched back as he began marching in the direction Rachel had pointed.

"... he does know he could just get a map from a shop, right?" Aksel asked.

Allen probably wasn't smart enough to realize he could ask the King for a map himself, and as a Hero (weird as he was), it'd be assured that he got one of the best maps ever made.

Then again, since he opened his mouth to talk about his niece and nephew every time he was around the man, it was better for him to avoid the Old King.

At least, maybe till after the Church made their move and Aultcray became a walking vegetable for a while.

And so, Allen marched on to meet a dragon.

There was one problem Allen hadn't considered in meeting with Gaelion.

Well, there were multiple problems with this scenario! But there was one in particular that Allen focused on because it impacted what he wanted and not what his party wanted.

He'd marched to Gaelion for two reasons. One, to obtain a Dragon Blessing from him. Doing so would give him access to Earth Vein Magic. Which, when combined with Standard Magic, would allow him to cast the highest tier of magic called Liberation magic.

Was he anywhere near skilled enough to cast it this early? AW HELL NO!

He still had to learn how Standard Magic worked (since he was still struggling to learn how to read Melromarcian on top of magic text), which would be stacked on top of learning the Calculus behind Earth Vein Magic! Then, after he learned both branches of magic, he'd have to learn how to get oil and water to mix since that was basically how Naofumi described combining SP and MP via life force!

Oh yeah, he was also going to have to learn how to tap into life force or ki. Despite having one of Naofumi's strengthening methods that was supposed to give him easier access to it via the new EP bar, he still had no clue how to use it whatsoever.

He'd need a teacher like Granny if he wanted to tap into that. This would also involve some pretty hellish training and make him hate his life even more than he does right now and…

Anyway, that was his first reason for going to Gaelion.

The second, and by far the most important reason for him visiting like this…

"So… you not only want a blessing from me, but you also want to bring my daughter Wyndia along with you?" The large dragon asked telepathically in a confused voice.

"Yes, you see, there's this very nice and strong anxious boy who I know she'd be perfect mates with! And I want to introduce them to each other early on without him coming here to kill you since he thinks this is all still a game right now, and she'd be able to kick his butt into gear so they'd fall in love and have lots of children and help each other to live happily ever!

"Oh, and I mentioned how they'd give you plenty of grandbabies to play around with, right?!"

"So what do you say?"

…

Gaelion: …

Allen: …

…

Gaelion: "I'm going to give you till the count of three to get the hell out of my territory."

Allen: "Um… is that a maybe, Mr. Gaelion?"

Gaelion: "Three."

The large dragon proceeded to chase the Bow Hero out of his territory with breaths of fire and poison.

Oh well. Allen would just have to get his Earth Vein Blessing from Ost later on instead. At least then, he might be in a position to try to learn Earth Vein Magic since that was way later on in the story.

He'd be able to tackle Standard Magic by that point, right?

…

Right?!

Allen sighed in his seat.

"Welp, that was a pain and a half."

"Fueeee…"

"Um, Sir Allen, is there any reason you were looking for this girl specifically?" Crystal asked.

"Let's just say she won't be essential till the Otherworld Arc." Allen waved his party member off.

"Otherworld Arc?" Aksel asked confusedly.

"Why is our leader so weird?" Crystal asked the sky again.

Hey, no need to worry, Allen was making sure to do plenty of other things that Itsuki hadn't done in the meantime! This was just one of the few canon stops he had a particular reason for doing, which'd become evident later on!

Trust him on this!

"Anyway, we're going to so-and-so place next. I forgot the name since I came up with it, but we'll be meeting Naofumi as well as Aksel's child love interest there." Allen continued. "As for whatever we end up doing on the way, be it beat up bandits or rescue people in the name of Justice, have at it."

"WAIT, WHAT?! WHO!? WHAAAAA!?" Aksel screeched.

"FUEEEEEEEE!" Rishia whimpered loudly at Aksel's screeching.

"Careful, Rishia's very sensitive right now. I don't want you scaring her off or anything, especially since she's a powerful Hengen Muso prodigy." Allen told his OC of himself.

"Fueeeeeh! What do you even mean?! And how do you even know my name?! You just rescued me a few minutes ago! Can I at least say bye to my parents?!" Rishia asked with tears streaming down her face.

"Details, details, Rishia! Just write them a letter! I promise I'll have it delivered for you in no time! Now, onwards to so and so place in the eastern or western mountains! Whichever place I put that town with Maya in!"

"Fueeeeee!"

Allen really hoped that sound wouldn't become too annoying over time.

Maybe he should try finding Granny first after Maya, since he wasn't planning on doing anything to activate the Church's trap.

Hopefully, Naofumi still helped Granny to get Yggdrasil's Elixir… it'd be pretty awkward if the old lady died before Rishia could meet her.

The world would be utterly screwed if that happened since he and the others would be incapable of learning Liberation tiers of magic, on top of the other benefits that life force provided for the Heroes and their party members.

Allen stared down at the burning Capital of Melromarc.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh fetch."

Naofumi had clearly gone on a rampage after the Church's coup had resulted in Raphtalia's death. This happened since he hadn't met up with Ren and convinced him to come to the Capital to save Naofumi.

Come to think of it, he hadn't heard anything from Ren since the Sacred Duel. Hadn't Itsuki mentioned he kept in regular contact with him in the timeline he created?

…

Man, he was really an idiot, huh? He was forgetting the background moving parts, even in his own story.

Fitoria walked up. "It happened again?"

"Yep." Allen agreed.

…

"Same as before?" Fitoria asked.

"Yep." Allen nodded his head.

"... okay."

Fitoria proceeded to atomize Allen where he stood.

"Ah, there we go, much better."

Allen sighed happily. Somehow, time had reset itself, and he had fixed his mistake of not contacting Ren before and managed to meet up with the Sword Hero to convince him to save Naofumi.

Now, they were at Van's house. And though things would go downhill again from here, Allen wasn't concerned… too much.

He noticed that Ren didn't have Wyndia in his party. Actually, he hadn't seen the dog girl around at all.

But Ren had dragon weapons and had handed out dragon materials, meaning he'd killed Gaelion.

Had there been something he missed there? Had Wyndia not ended up leaving her cave this time around because of him trying to meddle around with Gaelion and-

"You know, she's hot."

Allen turned his head rapidly in surprise at the Sword Hero. "Who?!" Was he wrong?! Was Wyndia around after all and-

…

…

Oh no.

Allen's eyes traveled to where Ren was staring dreamily.

It was the rose-haired knight Eclair. She was in the middle of training Bakta and Welt.

"I don't know why, but she's just really nice. What do you think? Do you think a guy like me stands a chance with her?" Ren asked, his voice nearly breaking from nervousness at the boyish confession.

At least he was comfortable enough around the American Hero to be this vulnerable with him… that was a good thing, right?

Right…?

…

…

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

ALLEN FORGOT THAT REN COULD ALSO FALL IN LOVE WITH ECLAIR! HE WAS SO STUPID TO HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT DETAIL! WHY WAS THIS CHUUNI BOY SO STUPID TO FALL IN LOVE WITH AN OLDER GIRL WHO WAS BASICALLY MARRIED TO HER SWORDSMANSHIP AND HAD NO INTEREST IN ROMANCE WHATSOEVER UNLESS NAOFUMI GOT REALLY LUCKY IN REPRISE?!

HE WAS JUST GOING TO GET HIS HEART BROKEN BY HER WHEN NAOFUMI ASKED FOR HER THOUGHTS ON ROMANCE IN GENERAL AND HER ANSWER CRUSHED HIS BALLS LIKE IN THE LN AND THEN IT'D BE MONTHS BEFORE HE MET WYNDIA AND OVERCAME THE GUILT OF KILLING HER FATHER AND MOVING ON FROM ECLAIR AND FALLING IN LOVE WITH WYNDIA AND-

WAIT, WOULD NAOFUMI EVEN END UP BUYING WYNDIA AS A SLAVE IN THIS SCREWED UP TIMELINE?! WHAT'D HAPPENED TO REN'S PRECIOUS DOG GIRL WAIFU!?

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!"

Okay!

It'd probably required resetting the timeline again, and maybe Allen had another stint where he'd lost control of his Cursed Series! But now everything was as it should be!

Allen had snuck up to Gaelion's cave with a stealth skill during Ren's fight with Gaelion. Making a considerable enough commotion that Wyndia had gone out to see what was happening, and events went down just as they had in his fic!

Allen had also managed to rescue Rishia successfully, make sure Granny was alive (she'd died in previous loops for some reason), had gone with Ren to the Capital, twice, and not only saved Naofumi but also helped the other Heroes face down Balamus and dethrone the Church, putting himself in Mirellia's good graces!

He still sucked at magic, despite his best attempts to learn the local language (was now a good time for Allen to admit that he sucked at learning other languages btw? Sorry, but English was hard enough to understand as it was), events had gone down as normal from there since he had no chance to fudge anything up to the Ghost Ship Wave.

Naofumi handled Siltvelt trying to go to war with Melromarc pretty well. And they managed to hold the Ghost Ship Soul Eater Boss all on their own.

However, because Allen's brain was so deadset on shipping, there was one unexpected hurdle thrown his way during that encounter that needed to be addressed.

"Now, shall we begin…" Glass lowered her fans at the Heroes. She looked at them with a look that clearly showed how confident she was in winning. "... the true battle of this Wave?"

Allen took a deep breath, holding his arms out in front of Motoyasu before he could try to make a move. "Don't worry, bro, I got this."

"Wait, seriously?" Ren asked.

Allen winked. "Just trust me on this, I know what I'm doing."

…

The others looked at each other unsurely but allowed Allen to approach. After all, despite his strange moments (emphasis on the word 'STRANGE'), he had a penchant for coming through where it counted.

He did. Most of these were played off as jokes, but he still contributed a little here or there.

Glass looked at the opposing Hero with a bored expression. "And what servant are you supposed to be-?"

"I know where Kizuna is," Allen said immediately.

…

…

This was not one of those times where he'd miraculously come through for them.

Glass's face twisted in anger. "How do you know that name?!"

"Well, unlike all the other horny authors back in my world that ship you with Naofumi over there or with your friend L'Arc for some strange reason that I can't fathom, I know that you're actually into girls instead of guys."

…

Glass's face went from anger to horror as Allen spilled her innermost secrets to everyone there.

"Anyway, I'm deadset on shipping you with Kizuna too since I think she likes you in that way as well. And I want to see that bastard Albert burn down to the ground early and maybe give a chance at redeeming this version of Kyo before he commits any of his atrocities and-"

"̴̲̉̎̽Ḛ̵̛͒͐m̸̡͌̍p̷͑ͅt̴̫̅ỳ̴̦͔̓̓ ̷̘̺͝S̸̟̲͇̄̾͋ṱ̷͔͈́̇a̵͎͋̌ň̵̰̥̠͛͂ć̵̡̨͕e̸̡͍̖̊̏ ̸̺̇̑̎Ȓ̶̝́ͅơ̴̘̝͙͂̉n̴̘̣͐ḍ̸̣̽̈́͒o̶̺͐̓:̵͕̀͛ ̶̪̋̂M̵͍̝̔͒͝ǫ̵͍͍̓ǫ̴̛̊n̸͈̟̬̈́ ̶̛̲̐͝B̸̜̋́͘͜r̸͕̤͍͛̂̽e̵̲̝͐̐a̸̙̤͋̐k̶̩̇̈́͜͠!̴̰̫̈"̶̤̆̕

Yeah, Allen should have just kept his trap shut.

There was no way in hell that Glass would just trust a random hero, especially since her depression, combined with her Cursed Series, made her very volatile this early on when she was deadset on trying to kill the Heroes of other worlds to save her own.

It would have been better to wait, but alas.

Allen died under the volley of the cursed skill.

Thus, the narrative rewound itself and kept Allen's trap shut so Motoyasu could embarrass himself with his spell and lead to the climactic battle between the other three Heroes on the ship against Glass… with Allen being knocked off just like Itsuki, and suffering significant injuries since he didn't have Wind Magic as one of his affinities to cushion his fall.

Not that it mattered, since, as he noted earlier, he still sucked when it came to magic.

Wow.

Just… wow.

It'd really been a long road reaching this point.

Allen had to sit through the formation of Lurolona Village under Naofumi and the Heroes (after his broken bones had been healed). The trip to Cal Mira (and no, he hadn't learned the Bow Hero specific spell Down from the stone tablet. Even if he had somehow learned Melromarcian by that point, there was no way in hell he'd ever know or understand Japanese since he wasn't that much of a weeb in his previous life).

He'd gone through the events of the Spirit Tortoise from beginning to end (a pain in and of itself, mind you, no thanks to Angyfumi being one volatile prick to be around during that mess). All while trying not to interfere in a way that'd make him change the story for anyone.

Which was, to be expected, INSANELY HARD.

It was just so damn hard. He was tempted to use his meta knowledge over and over again just to try and speed things along! To prevent some characters from going through pain or drama.

But doing that always broke some aspect of the story in some way!

Eclair wouldn't push Dou-Lon to become her sparring buddy! Naofumi and Raphtalia would take a break with their relationship at Cal Mira. Ren and Wyndia wouldn't reconcile and share a love confession before the Spirit Tortoise, resulting in the Sword Hero being unable to hold himself back as he killed his future girlfriend and mentor figure before Fitoria could arrive to help.

It just wasn't fair!

Oh well! They'd gotten through all that, Raphumi was going strong, they'd somehow beaten Kyo's butt, gotten the Rendia love confession out of the way, and gotten separated in the Otherworld!

And now, Allen was back at Sickle with Rishia and Aksel and Maya, who'd also, thankfully, gotten together, without him needing to interfere or do anything!

Maybe they'd bonded together a little quicker, having to deal with their leader's weirdness. But that was a significant benefit in this scenario!

Now Allen and Ethnobalt were going to meet Naofumi and Kizuna after they came through the doors! And then Naofumi was going to make Raph-Chan so Allen could rub and pet her until he- ehhem, so that they'd be able to track Raphtalia and L'Arc and the others down, after which he'd THEN do as much petting and rubbing as Naofumi allowed him to do, and then everything was going to be…

Be…

…

…

"Why the &%$ is Raphtalia with you?" Allen asked in a deadpan after Naofumi walked in.

"Oh? She was with me after we were all separated. Why?" Naofumi asked.

Allen: …

Naofumi: …

Allen: …

Naofumi: …

Allen: …

Naofumi: …

Allen: …

Naofumi: …

Allen: …

Naofumi: …?

The Shield Hero cocked his head in confusion.

The Bow Hero was just standing there, unblinking, unbreathing, processing what the Shield Hero had just said.

Allen: …

Naofumi: …

Allen: …

Naofumi: …

Allen: …!

But finally.

"THAT'S IT!" Allen exploded.

"&%#! THIS! I'M OUT OF HERE! THIS IS OFFICIALLY THE WORST TIMELINE EVER!"

Allen raged towards the double doors. He was already unlocking the Bow of Wrath alongside the Bow of Pride he had on his HUD without even realizing it!

"Wait, where are you going, and what do you mean by worst timeline-" Naofumi called after him.

"ANY TIMELINE WITHOUT RAPH-CHAN IS THE WORST TIMELINE EVER BY DEFAULT! THAT'S WHAT!" Allen screamed back at the Shield Hero as he flipped him the bird. "OF ALL THE DAMN THINGS, RAPHTALIA HAD TO BE WITH YOU WHEN WE CROSSED OVER?!

"WHO THE HELL DOES SOMETHING THIS STUPID?! YOU KNOW, BESIDES THE ANIME!?"

"OI! WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Raphtalia asked angrily.

But Allen ignored her.

"WHERE'S FITORIA?! I NEED TO GO THROUGH THE ATOMIZING TREATMENT AGAIN!"

"Is your friend always this weird?" Kizuna asked.

"Yeah, he does seem rather odd." A third, familiar, short, blonde-haired figure said as he walked from behind Naofumi and Kizuna.

He was familiar, alright, because he was the current Musical Instruments Hero of this world.

Itsuki Kawasumi.

Sound familiar?

"Oh, right, I almost forgot, since I'm here already!" Allen suddenly reappeared, throwing Rishia at Itsuki like he would a baseball.

"Fuehhhhhhhhh!" Rishia screamed in confusion as the blonde kid caught his future girlfriend confusedly.

"Here's your girlfriend, prick! You're welcome, by the way, not!"

Because yes, Allen was so deadset on shipping that he knew that Itsuki would appear as the Musical Instruments Hero in Glass's world if the Bow didn't summon him in Raphtalia's world. Meaning Allen had grabbed onto her solely to make sure those two could still end up together.

Because he refused to be that cringe SI that SI'ed into a story so that he could bang the Hero's girl.

That was just disgusting, screwed up, and cringe, and a million other synonyms.

Anyone who did that deserved to be shot, in Allen's most 'humble' opinion.

If anything, he'd rather date one of the girls who was single, like Sadeena. Or maybe S'yne's Sister, since she was pretty hot too.

Seriously, he couldn't wait for this SI to meet her in a future part three of this omake and try to flirt with her and-

"Alright! Now, where are you, you damn chicken loli!" Allen marched out of the room, determined to find Fitoria or somebody who was strong enough and willing enough to erase him from this timeline right then and there. He wanted to find out what went wrong and fix it, so a perfect being could be created and worshipped by everyone.

…

"Your friend is strange, you know that, Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.

"I'm reminded of that every time I meet him." Naofumi sighed.

Thus, Allen went and drowned himself in the ocean, where guppy monsters ate him in a very torturous and painful way, as Fitoria refused to come to this world since A. She'd lose her powers and be unable to kill him, and B. All the Heroes were still alive and happy (besides him), so there was literally no reason for him to die this time around.

…

If only she'd known of the glory of Raph-Chan.

She'd agree that any timeline would need to be purged with fire if it didn't contain her ball of adorable poofiness within it.

Till Next Time

Allen

Chapter Text

With Naofumi no longer in the sky, arrows and massive fireballs rained down from the fort on Sebastian and those with him as they ran down the magic-made slope.

"Vanguard! Shields up! Move!" Sebastian roared from his spot near the center of the charge.

The line shifted as bulky knights wielding tower shields with both hands moved to the forefront of the charge alongside massive armored therianthropes from the Hero's Nation. The knights relied on their equipment, whilst the Hero's followers relied on their armor and their stats to block the incoming attacks.

At the same time, mages staying on the plateau overlooking the advancing forces on all sides cast a ritual class spell that placed a strong and thick barrier made of wind over their allies. This helped protect the central and back units while the front units pushed forward alongside the Spear Hero and his party, deflecting attacks off their shields, batting spells or arrows away with their weapons, or otherwise just brute-forcing through with their high defensive stats.

"Judgment!" A group of ritual class mages on Siltvelt's side finished their preparations, and a thick beam of light came down on the advancing force.

"Anti-Judgment," Fortunately, standing alongside some of her apprentices on the ridge who assisted her, Mahoya canceled out the powerful ritual magic before it could land. And they continued to protect everyone they could in this manner.

"Gather!" "Bead!" Atla and S'yne both moved ahead of the charge alongside the other members of the Spear Hero's party to gather many of the attacks in a ten-meter radius in front of them. S'yne then let these attacks fall harmlessly to the ground whilst Atla sent the arrows and fireballs flying back at those who sent them on the battlements.

Most didn't hit anyone, but a few found their marks here or there.

"Drifa Chain Lightning!" Sadeena shot a bolt of lightning from her charged body up into the sky, making her miko outfit shine brightly.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of lightning bolts then fell across the land before them and the fort. Barricades and traps carefully erected by Siltvelt's troops that hadn't been triggered since they were at the furthest reach of the earlier ritual class spell were destroyed by the orca woman before the army passed over them. And several archers and mages on the wall keeled over, shocked into unconsciousness by the lightning coursing through their bodies.

Sebastian had to note that having the help of the Spear Hero and his party made their advance far simpler. Charging across an open field typically resulted in the most casualties in a battle. Still, thanks to them and the efforts of the mages tasked with widespread protection, they were sustaining very few injuries, even amongst Mirellia's weaker knights.

Having noted that, Sebastian also felt weird considering the Melromarc knights weak. Despite being a Church Knight, he'd had a lot of respect for those who endured the harsh training and requirements Mirellia set on those who joined Melromarc's military. It was only because his stats were so much higher, and thanks to the even harsher training Eclair and Dou-Lon had put him through over the last month, that he thought of them like this.

Still, they were pulling their own weight, and the large man felt more comfortable giving them orders than the demi-fighters of the Hero's Nation. How they followed his commands to the letter despite his hatred of them, he'd never know. But that wasn't as uncomfortable as the respect some of them showed him since the ambush in Lurolona, where he personally saved many of their lives.

…

Boom!

Amidst the barrage of attacks they were blocking or reflecting away, one massive fireball broke through their defenses, impacting against the Spear Hero's body before he managed to knock it aside with his Spear.

"Sir Motoyasu!" Atla turned her head in surprise, as did several of the others, who almost paused in their tracks.

But as the smoke cleared, it revealed the still-running blonde man's handsome features to be completely untouched. Maybe his hair was a little singed, but beyond that, he was fine. "S-Sorry! I meant to block that one, but didn't move quickly enough!

"At least I know I can tank powerful spells like that now, ahahaha!" The Spear Hero laughed nervously.

The others sighed in relief and refocused on their tasks.

Motoyasu really was tired. Last night's nightmare had a rougher effect on him than he'd realized. He'd never let such a simple attack hit him, I say. Was it a good idea for him to be fighting right now?

"Drifa Fireball!" His Filolial companion, however, drew the Spear Hero back to the present as she retaliated with a massive fireball of her own.

And this one was far, far more powerful than what was coming their way.

BOOM!

It flew above her target, a dog demi who'd cast the fire magic originally. Still, the explosion of power hit the tower behind him and his comrades, knocking out much of its support whilst launching her target and several other archers and mages away from the area of impact.

"M-Make sure you hold back! We don't want to kill anyone unnecessarily, Amber!" Motoyasu quickly reminded her.

"But Amber was holding back Blondie." The girl tilted her head to the side curiously as an arrow bounced harmlessly off her armored chest, not even leaving a scratch on the material.

Sebastian made an annoyed sound. It was a nice spell. If only she could have aimed a little lower…

The archers and mages on that part of the wall weren't moving away, though, despite what just happened. Those knocked away got back up and continued to mindlessly launch volleys of arrows and spells in their direction despite the danger of the tower's collapse.

In any standard scenario, they should have moved to a more secure position on the wall to secure their safety before retaliating. Or realized how outmatched they were and ordered a tactical retreat since their ranged volleys were wasting ammunition and MP against their mighty warriors and barriers.

The thought had Sebastian frowning even more…

…

Whatever. At least it could guarantee him killing some demis today if they were going to be this stupid about it.

The walls of the fort were beginning to loom before their eyes when a doll appeared next to Sebastian's head.

"Elena and Freon report that the enemy is bringing more ballista from inside the fort up to the ramparts. What Naofumi destroyed wasn't everything they had." S'yne communicated through the doll.

"Which spots?!" Sebastian quickly asked. "Are they sakura stone weaponry?"

"Unsure. According to them, they look no different from the earlier siege weapons." The doll pointed out three sections that Elena and Freon could see flying high above the battlefield.

As Sebastian was about to give out more orders, a well-dressed dragonnewt man appeared next to him.

"Allow me to handle this annoyance." Sebas tugged on his gloves as wings stretched out from his suit.

"Ohoho! Eager, aren't we?!" Granny laughed as she made her presence known nearby. "But aren't we supposed to stay back and help Spear-Dono, in case those naughty oriental assassins show up?"

"But I am helping him, Elra." The butler smirked. "If Sir Motoyasu is to be leading this charge, should I not be at the forefront, ready to assist him as well, instead of scurrying in the backline like a rat?"

He didn't wait for her answer as he then immediately took to the sky, and seconds later, as more reinforcement ballista began to appear on the ramparts, he streaked down over the wall.

"Vorpal Vacuum Fist: Exploding Barrage!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

He punched repeatedly as he passed over Siltvelt's defenses. Soldiers of various types were thrown into the air as multiple siege weapons were taken out near simultaneously.

Sebas caught those falling from the air, though he didn't give them soft landings as he threw the enthralled individuals at their compatriots, disrupting their lines further as various bird-type demis finally flew up to intercept the warrior butler.

They hardly slowed him down in his path of chaos, though.

Granny laughed while still moving in a way that looked like a leisurely jog behind Sebastian. "That impatient old goat. We're supposed to be the secret backup for the Heroes! He's going to wear himself out before the enemy reveals their trump cards at this rate."

Despite her tone, she sounded quite pleased as she melted back into the background of the force. And all the while, the strongest former Church Knight was having to hide his anxiety from seeing the half-dragon man unleashed once more.

Seriously, some demihumans were outright terrifying! It was a good thing that one was on their side, but still!

"Mages, begin targeting the central right, middle left, and far left parts of the battlements! Keep the enemy off their feet!" Sebastian relayed orders to the battle mages at the back of their force. Might as well give them some work to do, now that they were closer.

Balls of fire, water, earth, and various other elements rained down on those parts of Siltvelt's defenses. S'yne, through her doll, was able to act as a spotter and inform Sebastian if the strikes were successful or needed elsewhere.

Because of this, and thanks to Sebas streaking by for two more bombardments while dealing with aerial opponents, very few ballistae were able to be rolled out, much less fire a single bolt before they were destroyed.

One ballista that did reach its destination fired a large bolt down at the Spear Hero before it was destroyed by a group of fireballs from Mirellia's knights.

Kch!

Unlike the earlier fireball, however, the Spear Hero knocked this attack aside with his Spear, impaling the bolt into the ground before him. And right after, the tip of his weapon began to glow.

They were several hundred feet away from the walls at this point. But Siltvelt's forces hadn't lowered the drawbridge to lead a countercharge. It appeared they were going to try to hole up and keep the Liberation Army outside.

"Burst Lance!" So Motoyasu pointed his spear at the drawbridge gates as an angry ball of red energy appeared at the end of it.

He'd made sure to change to a weaker weapon form before unleashing the skill. But still, without being at the bottom of the ocean this time, the skill's appearance looked far more terrifying and powerful than any ball of fire had the right to be.

And then it launched and slammed into the gates of the fort before most of the others there could blink.

KABOOM!

The result was immediate. The gates, as well as the section of wall directly above them, blew outwards or were consumed entirely in the initial explosion.

The shockwave afterward shook the remaining walls on the entire fort. Soldiers near the blast were thrown into the air. The damaged tower from earlier began to collapse, and Sebas flew directly into the rising cloud of dust and smoke that consumed the area in the aftermath of the explosion.

…

…

By the time the dust settled and the smoke cleared, Motoyasu and his party were found leading the charge across a series of earth pillars that'd been raised across the moat in front of the fort through the portion of wall Motoyasu's attack had just deleted.

They rushed into the interior yard of the leftmost fort, where an army of enthralled and injured individuals were still trying to collect themselves off the ground to defend against the breach. Which was made more chaotic by the fact that Sebas had used the earlier smoke cloud to save the soldiers on the falling tower and throw them down into their comrades, breaking bones and bruising foes, but holding back just enough to not kill needlessly.

"Chaos Thrust!" Motoyasu charged into their midst, thrusting forward repeatedly with the blunt haft of his weapon to launch soldiers into their comrades.

"Spider Net!" Threads lashed out from S'yne's ball of yarn, entangling and bringing down those that tried to rush forward to attack.

"Fire Steps!" Amber took her red-tinted spear off her back, swiftly piercing the hands of those holding weapons while using her haft to knock out beastmen that were more akin to brawlers while leaving a trail of fire in her wake.

And then there was Sadeena, who finally unleashed her therianthrope form. Her new Miko Outfit opened up, becoming a flowing cape behind her as she crashed shoulder-first into Siltvelt's soldiers. She still wore her old clothes underneath, thankfully, but electricity arced across her body, and her harpoon remained on her back as she knocked the lesser foes around with her bare fists.

Atla remained back, forming barriers and knocking away ranged strikes as Sebastian and the others followed in behind the Spear Hero. And in the sky above, Sebas continued to laugh in delight while dealing with more enthralled airborne units around him.

It wouldn't be long before the inner courtyard of the fort was theirs, and then they'd begin charging through the keep and clearing the walls to deal with the Council Member in charge here.

"All Drifa Aqua Shot!"

In the center of the battle, Melty aimed her water magic at Siltvelt's bird demis flying overhead with her staff.

They were busy fighting against the avian members of the Hero's Nation that'd come along for the fight, so many of the young governor's shots landed.

There were distinctions to both sides, since the bird demis of Siltvelt looked like a variation of harpies, whilst the avians of the Hero's Nation were a mismatch of many different bird species—some demihumans with just wings, and beastmen with beaks and feathers or taloned legs.

It was unknown to her what level Siltvelt's fighting forces averaged. But the still average sixty-level people of the Hero's Nation were doing a good job pushing them back. Mainly thanks to Naofumi's shield skills destroying the majority of their weapons before falling to deal with the ground forces. And Melty's spell did decent damage to those hit by it.

Despite having no weapons though, some of the Siltvelt avians grappled with their counterparts in the air, whilst others launched magic spells or other projectiles at each other in daring dogfights.

That was only the aerial combat in this scenario. Melty was able to observe the fighting on the ground from atop Filo.

"Shield Prison! Change Shield! Bee Needle Paralysis Shield!"

The Shield Hero and his family and friends were at the forefront of the Liberation Army's main force, blunting Siltvelt's soldiers before him as those caught in his infamous ball of chains and plates fell to the ground, unable to move thanks to the status effect inflicted on them by the Shield Hero.

Elhart stepped into this gap in Siltvelt's line alongside Eclair, Dou-Lon, and several knights. Elhart's weapon slammed into the gut of a centaur with enough force to send the armored horseman flying back and squishing several demisoldiers beneath his bulk, whilst the blunt end of Dou-Lon's katana broke the shoulder of a demiman who had a horn sticking out of the forehead of his helmet. Eclair's followup strike knocked the enthralled down to the ground afterward.

The knights with them quickly dragged the injured and paralyzed soldiers back so the three could continue fighting unabated.

"Hate Reaction!" To help them out, a burst of red energy came off the Shield Hero in waves, and more of Siltvelt's soldiers who were trying to move to surround the three as well as elsewhere on the line instead charged the Shield Hero's barrier.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Their ineffective attacks rang through the air. Weapons, claws, and fangs were blunted, bent, or destroyed against the barrier surrounding the Shield Hero. And Melty couldn't help but smile a little at the sight.

However, Naofumi didn't stop there. He had gone full battle mode, and he was testing out every combination of his powers that he could to protect the Liberation Army around him.

"Air Strike Shield! Second Shield! Dritte Shield! Chain Shield!"

The three summoned skills appeared around another large group of Siltvelt's soldiers that Naofumi hadn't managed to attract to himself. And with the last skill added at the end, chains burst out from the three skills, tying them together and trapping Siltvelt's soldiers inside like a pack of sardines.

Pow! Whack! Kapow! Pow!

Keel and Fohl began to fight forward, working their way to the group Naofumi had isolated. The two teenagers were having a heyday, wracking up a KO count higher than the others.

The two brawlers left a trail of passed-out soldiers in their wake. "I bet I've knocked out more guys than you, Fohl-kun!" Keel said brightly.

"Not a chance Keel, watch this!" The tiger teen moved partially into his therianthrope form, bulking up his fur-covered arms as his fists began to glow with the energy of his ki.

"Tiger Rush!"

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

Fohl raced forward, his fists a blur as they connected with the pressure points of one demihuman after another.

Melty didn't see the attack very well since she wasn't well suited to life force, but Naofumi was able to discern how the energy of each strike the tiger teen unleashed went through his opponents, before exiting out their backs in the shape of a white tiger. Then, as Fohl passed, he reabsorbed some of this energy, recycling it back into his body.

It was honestly impressive. It had to have been at least twenty- no, thirty soldiers he'd targeted in one go!

After several seconds, Naofumi's skill shields vanished, and every single soldier that'd been trapped inside fell to the ground unconscious. Then, while downing a Soul Healing Water, he rushed forward with his barrier to fill in the spot Fohl had just cleared while the tiger teen stepped back to catch his breath.

"Be careful. You don't want to tire yourself so quickly at the start." Dou-Lon stepped back briefly to advise his protege and take a short break himself.

"We're not going to run out of foes anytime soon, and they're all not as strong as us. Make sure to hold yourself back so you'll be ready for when the strong foes show themselves." Though the tiger man was expressing caution, he still smiled, simultaneously expressing immense pride to his protege for how far he'd progressed.

Fohl's eyes shone with stars. Fayon-dono was so amazing, I say! All the effort he'd been putting into his training with Fayon and Granny-dono's encouragement alongside his desire to really push Atla defensively so she'd feel better about herself had all been worth it!

"Ha! Take all the breaks you need, Dou-Lon! I'll make sure I bring down more foes than you while you're back napping!" Eclair taunted as her katana, covered in light, slammed into several Siltveltians at the same time.

"Wha- since when were we treating this battle as a contest?!" Dou-Lon yelled back at her.

"Since I said so! That makes eighty for me! You're only at twenty! Stop slacking!" Eclair smirked triumphantly as another swing of her blade knocked out another foe before her.

Wait- WAS THAT WHY SHE'D BEEN FINISHING OFF HIS FOES FOR HIM?! THE NERVE! SHE WAS STEALING HIS KO'S!

"Zero Stance Rondo Inspiration: White Tiger's Blow!" Without hesitation, the hakuko man transformed into his therianthrope form, dancing back into the front lines of battle. Wind cascaded from his blade in the form of a giant paw and slammed at least a dozen of his former countrymen back into their squadmates before he personally crashed into them with his bulk.

"Now that's more like it! Let us show these greenhorns real skill in battle!" Eclair moved alongside the hakuko man.

Keel and Fohl continued to stare at their mentors in admiration. How were they able to make fighting together look so cool?!

…

"Come on, Fohl! We can't lose to them!" Keel steeled her fists with resolve.

"Yeah!" Fohl straightened his pose as his eyes gleamed.

Unfortunately for him though, a competitive gleam appeared in the dog girl's eyes just then, and she transformed to her tiny puppy form. "And let's also see who can take down more of these guys while we're at it!"

"W-Wait- wha-"

Keel then raced ahead with the blinding speed of her smaller, cuter, and deadlier beast form to deal with Siltvelt's soldiers.

H-Hey! Wait up Keel!" Fohl was slow to follow since his best friend was surprisingly strong in this smaller, cute form of hers, which she could change in and out of at will. Something he wasn't quite as capable of as of yet.

They didn't know if they could compare to the two master swordsman after that, as Eclair's desire to suddenly push herself and her rival in this battle made them take the lead over most others there.

But it wasn't long before Keel had evened out her score with Fohl again after his burst of KO's earlier.

And then, to the tiger teen's utter dismay, the maid dog girl took a significant lead over him going forward. No matter how much he improved, he always seemed to be one step behind his new best friend and crush.

Seeing that their left flank was surging forward, thanks to the efforts of these four powerful individuals, Melty directed more of the knights being held in reserve to tie up the Siltveltians left in their wake and to begin the process of dragging or carrying them back towards the plateau.

The knights bound their wrists using zip ties made from another version of Bio-Plant Sap being grown from the soil in Zeltoble. It made a great pseudo-plastic, and the idea for the makeshift cuffs was originally Naofumi's, since he found the material to be as strong as rope, and the end product, which was easy to make, was smaller and lighter. This allowed those in the middle of the Liberation Army's formation to bind their foes before checking them for substances like Amalgama and other things before pulling them back from the fighting.

Despite Siltvelt having more numbers, they were gradually being pushed down the slope deeper and deeper into the valley. The Heroes and their comrades were easily pushing them back.

"All Zweite Aqua Blast!" As Melty unleashed another area of effect water spell with her staff, hardly any of her dozens of water projectiles missed their targets in the air or on the ground.

More harpies crashed down from the sky and were subsequently bound by knights whilst soldiers knocked over by her water bursts were pinned down and restrained by the fighters they'd been facing off against.

"Zweite Tornado!"

A group of harpies resisting being captured were subsequently blown off their feet and slammed into the ground again by one of Filo's signature wind spells.

The action brought a small smile to the governor's face. She took her focus off the battle to look down at her best friend. "Good work, Filo! I'm glad we're able to fight together here!"

"Thanks Mel! Filo is happy to be fighting alongside Mel too!" The large royal bird smiled big and wide.

"EEEEEEEEEE! SO ADORABLE, I SAY!" Stars appeared in the bluette's eyes, and she wrapped her arms around the large neck in front of her.

Melty suddenly had the urge to finish the battle as fast as possible so she could spend some time destressing in her best friend and younger sister's warm and comfy feathers! It'd been so long and she'd been so busy lately!

"Whoa! Filo's happy Mel's happy, but right now, Mel and Filo have to focus on- WHOA!" Boom!

Melty was suddenly jerked to the side as Filo moved to the side, avoiding a massive, hairy arm that slammed into the ground where she'd been.

"H-Huh?!" Melty suddenly came down from her Filolial high. She'd only taken her eyes off the front lines for a few seconds, but something this big had gotten past it?!

"RAWRRRRR!" The large, muscular, and hairy werewolf that'd just attacked them let out a vicious roar at close range.

"Lady Governor!" A nearby fighter yelled in terror.

Melty's eyes widened further! The beast was huge!

It was easily four meters tall despite being on all fours, and it was twice as long! Its massive body was covered in fur. Its two eyes glowed a bright red as drool dripped from its fanged mouth!

"Your Grace!" A knight swung his sword, but the wolf beast didn't turn to look at the new shallow gash along itsflank.

Instead, showcasing an intelligence no beast should have had, the creature swiped down with the claws of its former left hand towards the Princess's body again since it'd determined she was the commander in charge.

The attack was so swift that Melty could barely discern it and move her head back enough to avoid it. But it was only because she was on Filo that the claws never landed, as the Filolial Royal lithely slid back, avoiding the strike that cratered the ground where she'd been standing.

"BOO! Go pick on somebody your own size, you big meanie!" The angel girl shouted, suddenly looking enraged.

"Awhooo!" The wolfman let out a howl of rage, and a red glow appeared over its body as it scrunched up its body as if to jump forward.

"Oh no, you don't!" Too bad Filo was faster.

Crack!

No, her taloned foot didn't strike her opponent in the groin. The massive beast was far too big for her to hit that far back with Mel still on her back.

Instead, her kick impacted right under its chin. And the sound that reverberated through the air was possibly that of the wolfman's jawbone being broken in several places.

Looked like it hurt quite a bit, too. Even as out of it as it was, the enormous beast reared back, swinging its head side to side while yipping in pain.

"Air Strike Shield!"

One of Naofumi's skill shields appeared, pressing down on its back and pinning it to the ground. Despite the barrier, it continued to whine while throwing its paws all around it, keeping the nearby knights and fighters from getting close.

"You two alright?!" The Shield Hero called out to them.

"I'm fine!" Melty yelled back.

"It's not defeated yet, Daddy! Mel, get off Filo!" The angel girl yelled up to her best friend.

Melty was about to ask what Filo meant, but then she noticed that the werewolf, while still clawing around in pain, was beginning to recover. Its broken jaw was shifting back into place.

That was when the young Princess realized what she was witnessing was the effects of Amalgama on an individual.

Melty quickly hopped off the Filolial Royal, who pressed one foot forward before smashing it into the ground and jumping high, high into the air.

At the apex of her leap, she transformed in a poof of feathers into her human form, and brought her fists down in front of her as she concentrated.

Naofumi dismissed his shield skill, and by that point, the wolfman's jaw had recovered. Growling, it stood up and bared its fangs at Melty again… only to be confused when it noticed the monster she'd been riding before was gone.

"Huahhh!" By the time the wolfman realized where the threat was, it looked up just in time to notice the little blonde angel coming down at him, her fists coated with thick green ethereal claws.

Filo's attack landed in the center of its back.

BOOM!

A shockwave emanated from the strike as dust enveloped the area of the attack. The nearby knights and fighters stepped back and coughed into their undershirts while waiting to see if the threat had been neutralized.

…

By the time the dust cleared, the wolf beast was revealed to be foaming at the mouth, buried up to its chest in the rocky ground.

Its head lulled forward as blood slowly leaked out from its mouth. Thankfully, Filo's second strike had been powerful enough to knock the massive beastman out this time. Even if it regenerated from the damage it'd taken, they had more than enough time to bind it so it wouldn't be able to move again anytime soon.

"Th-Thanks, Filo." Melty breathed out a sigh of relief as her heartbeat came down from its earlier high.

"Did Filo do a good job?" Filo asked happily as she approached.

"Yes, Filo did an outstanding job." Melty couldn't help but smile as she patted her best friend on the head, eliciting another cheerful "Yayyy~!" from the angel girl.

But as much as Melty would have liked to calm down from the near-death experience and enjoy another high being around such a cute and adorable Filolial, she quickly directed her attention to the Liberation Army's right flank again.

Naofumi hadn't just summoned the one skill shield. The knights there had been reinforced by a further layer of Naofumi's One Hundred Shields skill, but unlike earlier with the siege weapons, these shields were being destroyed by more massive beastmen that appeared randomly from the ranks of soldiers amongst Siltvelt's forces.

No, they weren't random. All of them were clearly from the wolfman race.

Melty's gaze hardened when she saw one that hadn't transformed yet, popping open some glass vial and swallowing its crimson, blood-like contents.

It was only seconds before he too underwent the process of beast transformation, letting out an earth-shattering roar as he stomped on his comrades in his mad pursuit to face the enemy.

She relayed orders to those around her, instructing them to check the captured wolfman prisoners for any similar vials or suspicious goods they might be hiding. Then she put a hand to the pin on her dress armor.

"S'yne. Are Elena and Freon only seeing wolfmen on one side of the valley?"

…

"No." It was a few seconds before S'yne's voice sounded from it. "According to them, there are also a few stationed in both forts."

"Pass the warning on then just in case. The wolfmen are the ones that have Amalgama on them."

…

Melty didn't get a response from the seamstress, but she figured it was because S'yne was doing exactly as told.

"Alright then. Filo-" Melty turned to ask her best friend to help out. But the little blonde angel girl had already rushed ahead to assist.

"Boo! That stuff's bad! Get it away from Filo's family!" Crack!

Her fist uppercutted another wolf beast away before the last layer of Naofumi's skill shield line could fall. But that wasn't stopping other juiced-up wolf beastmen from leaping over the barrier of shields to inflict damage on their front lines like the first one had managed to do.

At the front, after Naofumi said something to them, Elhart and Dou-Lon moved to assist Filo. Keel, Fohl, and Eclair were left to take on the main brunt of the left flank.

But then Raphtalia, who'd stood in reserve with her tail raised behind her, absorbing magic energy from the air, stepped forward. Naofumi changed to his Voice Gengar Shield so Raphtalia could yell into the microphone on it before quickly switching back to his current shield form.

"EVERYONE! AVERT YOUR EYES!"

Those in the Liberation Army not fighting in the ground or the air quickly turned their heads aside while those fighting prepared to turn their gazes away at the last possible second.

The heroine, as well as her daughter, who'd also charged her tail up with magic while on Naofumi's shoulder, chanted loudly together. And after several seconds…

"All Drifa Cascading Lights!"

A series of bright balls of light sprang into existence, with almost everyone in the Liberation Army who'd been fighting at that moment managing to avert their gazes at the right time.

"Ahhhhh!" "Awhooooo!"

The enthralled and transformed massive beasts on Siltvelt's side, on the other hand, screamed or howled in pain while clawing at their eyes. Having mindlessly thrown themselves into battle against their enemies, not a single one had looked away before the spell's appearance and were blinded.

The balls of light then disappeared in pops of power, acting like a series of flashbangs.

Most of the remaining harpies in the sky crashlanded into the ground immediately afterward. The pops of light were accompanied by illusions that inflicted a sense of vertigo on their opponents.

Not only were they too blinded to properly fly, but they couldn't tell what direction to fly in.

Only a few were lucky enough to remain airborne, but the light and illusion magic made sure they were all overwhelmed within seconds by the Hero's Nation air units. And despite the surprise of the wolf beasts, the Liberation Army surged forward once again.

Without any aerial opponents to worry about anymore, the Hero's Nations fighters began streaking down to deal with archers and mages that'd been targeting them in fly by attacks. Archers and mages who had also been struck by a sense of vertigo, and were, for the moment, unable to properly aim as before. With them shooting arrows and fireballs at the ground, behind them, straight up into the sky, or into each other or the people in front of them.

"Field of Illusions!"

Raphtalia and Raph-Chan then, as if what they'd done hadn't been enough already, finished casting another spell that made copies of the two of them appear around many of the transformed wolfmen on the battlefield. This turned out to be beneficial as they were the ones that recovered from the first spell the fastest, but ended up distracting themselves further with copies of enemies that didn't exist.

"Alright, let them have it!" Melty yelled back to an individual who'd been waiting in reserve for orders to strike.

"Yes, Lady Governor!" The birdman raced back towards his comrades based near the plateau, and after another moment of fighting, they took to the air.

Each one had a series of clay jars attached to their belts. The birdmen flew slower than their compatriots, due to the weight of their loads. But with the enemy's aerial units dealt with, and the archers and mages otherwise being preoccupied with themselves, many of them flew towards the back of Siltvelt's formation while a few veered off to assist with the Amalgama wolfmen there.

On a signal from the squad leaders, the birdmen lowered themselves till they were mere feet above their enemies, and then they knocked the lids off their jars, raining down a thick, but familiar substance on the soldiers, archers, and mages below.

Lurolona Bio-Tree Sap. The kind that quickly hardened when exposed to the sun, becoming as hard as concrete within moments.

It'd been used in the initial construction of Lurolona's walls. And now, thanks to Motoyasu's suggestion, it was being used here against Siltvelt's army as a makeshift bomb.

The bombing run was very effective. Several of the beast wolfmen found their movements entirely hampered thanks to the substance hardening around their limbs or torsos. And portions of Siltvelt's archers and mages were taken out of the fight as they lost the ability to string their bows or cast their magic.

Without Sakura Stone Weapons to blunt their stats, the Heroes and their allies mercilessly pushed forward against everything thrown at them. Nothing their foes did stopped the advance of the Liberation Army.

…

Soon, the walls of both forts were parallel to their main force. Siltvelt's army had almost entirely been pushed behind the massive structures into the valley proper. But the sounds of fighting could still be heard going on within each fort despite almost an hour having passed since the battle had started.

Melty wasn't participating as close to the battle lines right now. She'd taken a break from the fighting since they'd run out of zip ties to bind the many prisoners they had, so she and several other mages were using earth spells to bind Siltvelt's captured soldiers as they were brought to them from the front lines.

Those who weren't already trapped in concrete, that is.

They'd run several more bombing runs on Siltvelt's soldiers over the course of the battle. Coinciding with Raphtalia and Raph-Chan using several area-of-effect illusion spells to ensure fewer casualties on their aerial fighters.

The young governor of the Hero's Nation hadn't heard any news about the capture of the forts yet. But down here in the valley, it'd been the perfect battle for them.

The majority of injuries on their side could be treated with elemental healing magic. She wasn't aware of any deaths amongst the townspeople or the knights. Only a few on Siltvelt's side had died, with the majority of those having been crushed under the Beast Transformations of the Amalgama users.

The Amalgama soldiers had been a surprise at first. Melty hadn't planned on 'all' of them changing into the massive Beast Transformation forms Sadeena had warned about. She'd expected a mix of enhanced therianthrope forms and Beast Transformations. The drug was more effective than they'd believed.

But at least none of them had taken enough to overdose. It would have been a whole lot worse then. They still had to wait for the effects of the drug to wear off and for those who'd taken it to come out of their beast transformations, though, before they could be moved back with the other prisoners.

Melty put a hand on the pin S'yne had given her again. "S'yne, how are things going up there?"

…

S'yne didn't reply to relay any information.

Either the fighting was busy at the left fort, or Elena and Freon had nothing significant to report about the fighting in the valley.

From her position traveling down into the valley itself, it was hard to see what was going on at the two forts above them. Given that neither side was sending reinforcements down to curb their advance, however, Melty could assume that the other parts of the Hero's Army had things taken care of above.

It felt… odd.

It shouldn't have been that easy. Had they overprepared for their first battle?

…

But again, seeing nothing going wrong, Melty shrugged and, after another moment of helping out, moved back to the center of the charge so she could continue to direct the rest of the Hero's offensive.

One that'd continue to go perfectly without any complications whatsoever.

"Drifa Gust!"

On the outside wall of the right fort, Farrie's wind spell blew the front squad of demisoldiers charging towards her and her sister back into their comrades.

"Urgh! There's no end to them!" The former nun yelled out in frustration.

Tersia stayed silent as wind spells from the knights following behind the pair came next, gathering the enthralled squads together into one spot before the blonde woman finally reached out her hand and chanted her spell.

"Earth Hole!"

A portion of the wall opened up beneath the group of enthralled. They fell in a clump into a defensive hallway, knocking down several of the remaining archers who'd either been firing arrows through slits down into the courtyard, or combating against the knights and fighters of the Hero's Nation who'd managed to penetrate the inner defenses of the fortress.

As quickly as the hole appeared, however, it filled in. The mage nun frowned as she sensed magical energy coming from the main keep being responsible for the action.

"It's like we're fighting the hordes of undead from that one Wave." Farrie said, her body shuddering as she caught wind of the same magical energy her older sister had sensed. She'd been in the middle of downing a Magic Healing Water before making that comment. "This is just downright creepy at this point."

"I'm inclined to agree. But regardless, we have more enemies coming our way." Tersia pointed ahead.

Up the stairs from a wall connected to the central keep, more squads of demisoldiers, archers, and mages came out into the sunlight. Launching arrows, spears, fireballs, and more at the two sisters.

"Wind Barrier!" Farrie, after a quick chant, cast an elemental shield spell to block the barrage. More wind spells came from those assisting them as the young mage began chanting more powerful wind magic to retaliate with, whilst Tersia took the moment to drink a Magic Healing Water of her own.

Down in the central courtyard, protected by another magic barrier overhead, Knight Commander Mayor directed the rest of his men on their offensive into the main fortress.

Like the Spear Hero, it hadn't taken them long to breach the outer walls of the fortress, despite the enemy leading an initial countercharge against his calvary instead of staying holed up inside the fort.

"We have another enemy group coming from the stables, sir!" One of his captains ran up to inform him.

"The enemy is making another push from the well area!" A second captain quickly gave his report.

But unlike the Spear Hero, who was busy going through the enemy's keep with the help of his party right now, they still had as of yet to breach the main structure at the end of the courtyard. The other two parts of the battle were going great for the Liberation Army! But here, they were still struggling to make any significant progress.

And the reason for it?

"Part of our knights are being cut off by reinforcements inside the southern wall!" A messenger, who ran on behalf of his captain, arrived next. "They appeared from out of nowhere!"

The seemingly endless volume of soldiers that Siltvelt was fielding for this battle. And the fact that they were appearing all over the fort.

The Knight Commander took in each bit of info and responded calmly. "Pull our squads back to the fortifications we've erected in secured areas. Have them move in tortoiseshell formation." He said to the two captains, before turning to two other captains who'd been with him helping to direct the assault. "Alois. Jeralt. Go with your knights and assist those sent to secure the wall. Then check in to make sure the calvary have the outskirts secure."

"Of course." "You can count on us Commander!" The two men saluted, before dashing off with the messenger from before to grab their squads of knights and save their comrades. Several townspeople, who'd been taking a brief reprieve in the reserves, ran off after them.

Mayor then glanced at some other fighters from the Hero's Nation nearby. Their eyes were narrowed in concentration as they maintained the barrier protecting everyone overhead.

"Honestly, if we didn't have their help, this whole assault wouldn't have been possible." The Knight Commander muttered to himself.

"You say something, Commander?" One of his subordinates, a woman with blue hair, asked.

"Nothing important, Byleth." The man shook his head as he focused on the battle before them again in the courtyard.

"Huah! Taste the power of Rikka's Tyrant Eye! Dark Shadow Strike!" On the other side of the courtyard in front of the gates of the keep, a fresh group of enthralled were launched into the air by one of Rikka's kicks. They were then surrounded by knights and taken down before they could recover.

However, the brief victory over the squad was shortlived, as several more squads of fresh enthralled came out from the walls next to the gates to do battle.

"Boo! Why are so many of them targeting Rikka?!" The birdgirl complained.

"Speak for yourself! Huah!" Nearby, Blue curled in on himself as several squads of demis dogpiled him, before he stood up and swung his wings out, launching all of them off his back and into the walls and shields surrounding him.

Mayor took further notes of the situation. There were very few fighters from the Hero's Nation in this part of the Liberation Army, compared to the other two groups. And without any Heroes, they were only able to rely on the Sword Hero's party members.

Thanks to Cal Mira, the Spirit Tortoise, and the increase of monsters with the Waves, the levels of these knights easily averaged in the eighties. However, despite their higher levels and more years of training compared to the fighters of the Hero's Nation, their stats were far lower. And especially lower than the party members of the Heroes.

The knights were strong enough to go toe to toe with Siltvelt's soldiers here. More than that, their years of combat experience gave them numerous advantages over their enthralled opponents, whose movements with their weapons were basic at best.

The issue was that there were so many of them! It was starting to become clear what happened to all the able-bodied civilians that had abandoned every settlement on the way here.

They were enlisted to fight here today. But where the hell did they get all their weapons and armor from?! Did Siltvelt really have such a large surplus left even after several months of Waves, the short-lived war in Melromarc, and the Spirit Tortoise's rampage?! And they must have been level 80 too, since they were able to stand against the knights! Had they also been the ones that culled all the monsters in the plains?!

There were too many unknowns here. Mayor didn't like it one bit. But he held massive respect for his Queen as well as her second daughter, and he especially didn't want to disappoint the Heroes by failing here.

Thank goodness the majority of those they were fighting were of the weaker species like rabbits and dogs and the other former inhabitants of the plains. There were a few wolfman they had to deal with as well, but the earlier warning from the younger princess passed along by S'yne had allowed them to target them before they ever became a problem.

That was at least one thing going their way. They only had the weaker demi species to deal with. As endless as their numbers were rn.

"Mercedes. How are we doing on Healing Potions and Magic Healing Waters?" Mayor asked another one of his subordinates as she approached from the backlines.

"We still have plenty of Healing Potions, sir, but we're running low on Magic Healing Waters. We're also running out of zipties to bind prisoners with.

"I asked for more supplies. But the other battlefields are in the same position. We severely underestimated the size of the force Siltvelt would field against us." She said with a sad smile.

"Hmmm…" Mayor looked at the central keep while pondering to himself.

…

He wanted to accomplish this assault with as few casualties as possible. Especially as the number of prisoners they captured rose higher and higher.

If they won this battle as is, then they'd have to dedicate a large percentage of their current forces to watching over the prisoners after the battle to keep them from rebelling. And with how much of Siltvelt there was left to free, that wouldn't be a winning strategy long term with the number they had now.

"Any progress on freeing those we captured in the initial assault then?" Mayor asked.

"... I'm sorry Knight Commander, but the few mages we set aside to do that have been unsuccessful." The white-haired young woman replied in the same soft tone as earlier. "None of their attempts have worked to free the minds of those trapped."

"..." Mayor looked up ahead again.

The captains he'd sent out earlier had relayed his orders by the time he finished going through his thoughts. The knights were gathering behind makeshift barricades and battling against the enthralled that'd followed them from the outer buildings they'd been trying to secure.

"Boo! Get away from me!" Blue threw himself into one of these squads of enthralled. He took many of the enthralled's strikes on his armored wings, protecting the knights behind him and buying them more time to ready themselves.

"Huahhhhhhh!" Screaming like an anime protagonist, Rikka swiped and kicked around herself viciously. It did not visibly power her up, but the enthralled surrounding her were pretty much decimated by her strikes.

The two Filolials of the Sword Hero were still going strong even after all this fighting. Maybe…

"... … … alright then." Mayor nodded to himself, before looking around at his remaining captains.

"Judging by the look on your face, I'd say you have a plan now." Mercedes smile grew a little.

"Standing out here bleeding the enemy of troops isn't working." Mayor nodded. "The commander of this keep appears to have plenty of soldiers on hand.

"So I think we should dedicate our strongest forces to a frontal assault and storm the keep directly."

…

Byleth put a hand to her face as she frowned. "Are… you sure that'd be wise?

"I can see how it'd be effective. But it'd also leave our central forces here vulnerable."

Mayor nodded. "I agree. It could result in more casualties for us. But going as is could result in even more deaths and injuries before we finally get the commander to reveal themselves.

"If we take him out though, then hopefully, his soldiers will stop appearing all over the fort to outflank us, meaning we can get through the rest of this battle with far less bloodshed."

"I see… I shall follow your lead then," The blue-haired woman nodded her head.

"I'll get the mages ready." Mercedes said with a sparkle in her eyes.

They and the other captains with Mayor quickly relayed their plans. On the walls, Farrie and Tersia fell back and were replaced by another group of knights and mages to hold the point so they could take a rest and direct the main force, whilst Blue and Rikka were directed by a messenger from Mayor to begin attacking the gates protecting the keep whilst others took on the brunt of the demi soldiers on their behalf.

"Ha! It's going to take something less pathetic than Earth Magic to stop Rikka from getting in!" The armored black-feathered girl yelled confidently as she changed to her human form and gathered more MP in her fists.

"Yeah, I'm tired of how this coward's been using his magic to annoy Blue and Blue's flock!" The preteen boy glared at the sides of the gates as he and Rikka struck the thick doors together. "Let's beat him up so we can move on and reunite with Noodle as soon as possible!"

"Awwww! Now that Blue says it, Rikka really hopes that Cool Hero's been having an awesome time with Cool Hero's Awesome Mate!" The Royal became starry eyed while thinking about what the two teenage lovers could be doing right now.

"Blech! Did Rikka have to remind Blue about that?!" The brat pouted angrily at his best friend.

With the other knights and fighters in the areas taking on Siltvelt's forces, the two were able to attack without pause.

The earth magic that'd been allowing soldiers to effortlessly appear from the sides before was now being used to try and hold the large doors together against the weight of the Royals' onslaught. However, the two Filolials with their immense strength and magic armor were smashing them bit by bit. Denting them in further and further, until...

"Take this, the full power behind Rikka's Tyrant Eye! Shadow Blowwww!" With her armored fist covered in one of Rachel's favorite spells, Rikka thrust forward into the bulging gates.

BOOM! Kchhh!

The doors were blown completely off their hinges. They and the stone that'd formed behind it as an additional support were blasted back into those who'd been waiting on the other side.

They should have immediately charged forward right after, however…

"Will Rikka stop mentioning her stupid eye already!" Blue stomped his foot into the ground while pouting deeply. "It looks the same as Rikka's other one! And wearing that eyepatch isn't going to change that no matter how much Rikka wants it to happen!"

"Boo! Rikka's other eye is different! That's why Rikka must always wear Rikka's eyepatch, so that Rikka's untold draconic heritage doesn't escape to destroy the world!" The teenage-looking Filolial glared down at her smaller friend.

"Draconic heritage-? What nonsense is Rikka spouting now?!" Blue yelled angrily.

The argument would have continued, however…

"Well done you two. Now we can proceed with our assault." Mayor entered behind the pair, having gathered several of his elite squads of knights under him, as well as a few townspeople from the Hero's Nation. He was going to personally make sure they succeeded here.

"You're welcome Cool Mustached Man!" Rikka waved an arm happily. Blue, on the other hand, just crossed his arms and continued to pout.

Mayor saw that some of the demisoldiers behind them had died from the explosion of power Rikka had unleashed to take down the barricaded doors. Unfortunately, it really was impossible for no one to die in this battle.

The two Filolial Royals turned and began to down those that remained. And Mayor and his squads followed behind the pair.

The clashes in these close quarters were, unfortunately, going to lead to more casualties and deaths on both sides. But it'd be far less than if they just dragged things out the way they had been.

That was Mayor's hope, at least.

After all, they still didn't know who was in charge of the soldiers here in this fort.

But with the Filolial Royals of the Sword Hero helping them out, it was looking like they finally had a chance to prevail.

"Rafu!"

Raph-Chan leaped through the air, landing on the shoulders of another demihuman in Siltvelt's army. A dog demi-human dressed in full plate armor, who had the head of a doberman instead of a generic looking human with ears and a tail.

Some time had passed. And the Liberation Army was cleaning up the remnants of Siltvelt's Army in the center of the valley.

Thanks to Melty's leadership, as well as the efforts of Naofumi and the other high-powered individuals there, the army that'd been guarding this place had been all but neutralized.

Only a few hundred remained. Broken up and divided, it wasn't going to be long before the rest were captured.

A normal army would have surrendered long before this point. It was only because they were enthralled that the remnants still fought on. But they were no threat anymore, thanks to having far less numbers to worry about, and with their weapons either in rough shape or destroyed thanks to Naofumi's actions.

Hence, why Raph-Chan was outside Naofumi's barrier.

The familiar avoided what remained of the dog soldier's blade, grabbing the soldier's helmet and throwing it off before placing both her paws on the sides of his head.

She focused intently as the dog man began to violently whimper and shake his head in an attempt to throw her off, but Raph-Chan would not be deterred! Her Daddy and Mommy hadn't sacrificed so many items to ensure she'd be as powerful and cute as possible! (You could pretty much guess which attribute either parent had focused on for her development)

Raph-Chan's grip on the dogman remained firm, and her magic began to pour into the soldier as she found the source of the magic hiding within his mind.

It was her eighth time doing this. And it got easier with every try as she understood just how the illusion had been placed in each person.

Without needing to worry about the battle around her, Rifana could dedicate her entire attention to figuring out this complex task. Taking apart the energy of the spell bit by bit, extracting it from the man's mind without it lashing back together.

And at last, after a few seconds…

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan yelled out successfully as the man went slack.

Finally! Victory! She'd managed to destroy the spell controlling the soldier! Booyah!

Nothing could escape the grasp of her awesome gaze nor her floofy and soft paws! SUCK IT!

"Great job, Raph-Chan. Did it work?" Naofumi asked as he ran up.

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan nodded her head, eagerly pointing a paw at the man while still standing on his shoulder.

…

Slowly, the dog soldier's eyes became focused. But as he took in the sight of the Shield Hero, they began to fill with tears.

"Sh-Shield Hero-sama…"

Naofumi smiled in relief and prepared to drop his barrier so he could help the freed man up.

But no sooner was he reaching out his hand when the dog man prostrated himself to the ground, the motion almost throwing Raph-Chan, whom he didn't even notice, off of him. "Shield Hero-sama!

"You must strike me down, hurry!

"Please, before it's too late!"

Naofumi frowned. "Are you &%$ing kidding me? Get back up already! I don't have time for this nonsense!"

"No! Shield Hero-sama, you must understand, this is all a- ARRRGHHH!"

Raph-Chan's fur suddenly started to bristle, and Naofumi felt a cold chill going down his spine as the man began to scream.

"SHIELD HERO-SAMA! SHIELD HERO-SAMAHHHHHHH!" And then the man's screaming intensified, with his hands clutching the sides of his head as his body began to spasm uncontrollably.

"No!" Naofumi yelled.

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan went rigid as her paws gripped the sides of his head once more above his hands.

This wasn't possible! Rifana knew that she'd destroyed the illusion spell trapping the man in his mind earlier!

Yet the same spell, even stronger than before, was appearing forcefully! Bashing through all of Raph-Chan's efforts to stop it!

"Rafu! Rafu!" Raph-Chan poured more of her energy into her paws, trying to reverse or even stop the spell from taking hold of his mind entirely again as they glowed brightly with power.

…

But despite her best efforts, it didn't work.

A burst of red energy came out of the dogman, sending the familiar flying into the air. "Rafu!?"

"I got you!" The Shield Hero quickly caught his daughter and landed.

He held her close and rubbed the top of her head while staring at the dog demi she'd just tried to free.

…

The enthralled man got back up, all conflicting emotions on his face washing off like water in an instant.

His hand stiffly reached toward his neck and then pulled out a strange-looking, black, brick-shaped object from underneath his armor. It was attached to a single string wrapped around his neck.

With a single tug from the enthralled, the brick was torn free from the string and began to sizzle and let out an inky black smoke with a hiss.

The man charged, his hollow eyes staring ahead into Naofumi's own with no fear or any other discernible emotions.

To the Shield Hero's credit, this was neither his first nor even his second encounter with suicide bombers. All the battles he had been forced to endure since being summoned had numbed his fear and indecisiveness, sharpening his mind in turn.

So he dropped his Meteor Shield barrier and wordlessly charged ahead to meet the enthralled man head-on before the fuse on whatever this explosive was could burn out, and he tackled him to the ground.

One successful grapple later, the smoking brick was wrestled out of the man's grasp and then stomped into the dirt by Naofumi's armored boot.

BOOM! CLANG!

A muffled explosion rang out underneath as the force of the blast was mostly absorbed by the ground, causing only a large cloud of sand to be kicked up.

Naofumi stepped off the remains of the explosive a moment later, hauling the now paralyzed doberman demihuman onto his shoulder while switching out from his Chimera Viper Shield, one of the two snake heads hastily pulling away after disabling the enthralled who almost became a suicide bomber.

The Shield Hero's prior frown turned into a scowl. What the hell had just happened here?! It looked like his daughter had been successful! But it'd turned out that there was some failsafe the kitsune monster had put in place in case those under her were freed?!

That was what Naofumi assumed in the moment, at least, but as he was having the thought, some sort of red energy began to intensify around the paralyzed man and he began to stir.

The chill running down the Shield Hero's spine deepened.

Bam! CLANG!

The dog man's bloodied fist struck Naofumi's head, his body somehow overcoming the paralysis poison.

And then, his blank expression actually twisted into a vicious smirk as Naofumi's scowl changed to a look of fear.

No way! What the he-

Bam! Bam!

His fists struck twice more, and this time, there was no CLANG! and Naofumi felt a small but sharp sting on his cheeks.

"Raphtalia!" Naofumi shouted as he threw the dog man off of him.

"Heheheh. What's wrong, Shield Hero-sama?" The soldier began to chuckle. And Naofumi could have sworn he saw a faint outline of something in the red energy emanating off the dogman as he stood to his full height.

"Dog got your tongue?"

It was like looking into a never-ending abyss. In which a set of slanted, piercing eyes glared back with full malice.

Naofumi actually felt his limbs locking up. Somehow, he was terrified of whatever this creature was.

The dogman rushed forward, fangs bared and his throat twisting with a guttural scream. "Aha! AHAHAHA-"

"Instant Blade: Mist!" The half-tanuki heroine appeared from behind. Her katana struck swiftly as she stopped in front of the enemy.

A line of blood sprayed into the air, and the dogman collapsed to one knee, his other having been cut by the half-tanuki's strike. "Who dares?!"

The sight of the heroine, however, pissed the soldier off even more. "YOU! YOUUUU!" Despite having only one good leg, he still tried to jump and bite her.

Slash!

Raphtalia's blade sliced again, cutting the tendon on his other leg. Before slashing two more times in succession, making the possessed man's arms go immobile.

It was nice, quick, and efficient. The possessed dog man howled and threw his head back and forth. However, the spirit could no longer move its body.

"Urgh! Curse you! Curse you and your pathetic lineage, tanuki bitch!"

Raphtalia frowned. The man could no longer hurt anyone.

And yet, they all still felt a deep sense of fear and dread in their beings. The man's struggles didn't cease as his torso began to twist around.

"Aha! Ahaha! Oh well! Guess I'll have to enjoy watching you idiots get destroyed from a distance instead!

"How I wish I could personally be there to dine on your despair when you realize just how screwed you weaklings are!"

Raphtalia, despite her fear, steeled her resolve as she pointed the tip of her blade at 'her' head. "We will stop you."

…

Her words caused the dog man to pause and look at her, before 'she' let out an even more vicious laugh. The monster, for they knew that was who it was, didn't bother with a response.

Instead, it sharply twisted the man's neck.

Snap!

The soldier collapsed to the ground at their feet.

The red energy that'd gathered around him dissipated.

…

"..." Naofumi, after putting a hand to the soldier's neck and confirming he had no pulse, unintentionally let out a breath of relief. "Thanks."

"Of course." Raphtalia frowned as she walked up and knelt next to the deceased soldier. To their dismay, they did not feel more than a slight twinge of guilt at being unable to save the man in the moment. Nor did they feel any revulsion in the way he'd died, as they'd witnessed far worse in the past.

It would only be yet another face the couple would see later on in their nightmares.

…

It took a moment before they looked at each other again, and the heroine noticed the small bleeding scratches on his cheek. "Did she...?!"

"Yeah. SHe did it." Naofumi ran his thumb across his cheek.

He studied the blood on his finger for a moment before speaking again. "Meteor Shield." The blue translucent barrier reappeared around him.

The cold feeling he'd gotten earlier from the man was gone. Whatever that energy had been had vanished. But he still raised his defenses again regardless, since he had been hurt.

And that was always a bad sign.

"She wasn't even here fully, yet she was still that strong." Naofumi muttered. "Has this happened anywhere else?"

"No. Not that I know." Raphtalia shook her head as her face filled with worry.

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan, looking down at their foe, stared with concern.

Would this happen to every soldier she tried to free? This man's death was her direct failure.

It was the first time Rifana's confidence in herself had been shaken so much. This monster… its skills in illusion were beyond what she'd imagined.

And that raw, feral power…

As if sensing her inner turmoil, both her parents began to pet their daughter's head at the same time.

"Hey, you were at least able to least free him temporarily." Naofumi told her.

"Yeah… it's more than I've managed to do at this point." Raphtalia looked down, gripping the hilt of her katana tightly.

"Rafu." Raph-Chan didn't perk up despite the attention. She would need some time to wrap her paws around what'd happened.

It was clear, they weren't strong enough to handle this yet. And despite all she'd learned from the battle, there was clearly more to the spell controlling Siltvelt's populace than she'd initially realized.

…

Naofumi was frowning even more deeply now. "Gods damn it…"

Their battle was a huge success. But it didn't feel like a victory now.

He saw many of those who'd fought on his side. Raphtalia, Elhart, Melty, Filo, and the others were alright. But many of the fighters, particularly the knights, were sporting wounds of various kinds.

He was going to have to help with healing them, and the bound prisoners of Siltvelt. Who couldn't be freed from this damn monster at this time without seriously bad repercussions!

Naofumi's frown just deepened more and more as he thought about it.

They'd pretty much wiped out all the forces Siltvelt had set up here. They'd proven themselves to be more than a match for Siltvelt's Army. They'd been so successful that they'd even managed to hold back enough to avoid killing many of their opponents.

But what good was it going to do if they couldn't free them from the Kitsune's control without incidents like this happening?! It'd been a stroke of luck that Naofumi had been here to take the hits! If it'd been anyone else besides maybe Motoyasu, they'd likely be dead!

Beyond that, if the two forts had a lot of prisoners they captured as well, then it'd require most of their current forces just to take care of the prisoners, much less, themselves. They'd be forced to either bring them along, or take them to Melromarc where more of Mirellia's knights could hold them in prison till they dealt with the Kitsune.

But either route would slow their pace down considerably, and if one of these individuals mysteriously powered up like this dogman had during that time without being freed, then…

Would it be better to just kill them all here and now and move on? Be done with the threat before it had a chance to rear its ugly head again?

But that'd be horrible! There had to be another way to go about it!

…

As worrying as that was though, Naofumi also thought about how he'd felt just being in the presence of that monster.

It'd felt more intimidating than the Spirit Tortoise. Than Kyo in his dragon form even.

Were… were they ever going to grow strong enough to face 'that'?

…

Urgh. Naofumi was getting a headache just going through the random scenarios in his mind. He clutched a hand to his head.

"Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked worriedly.

"Rafu. Rafu." Raph-Chan poked his cheek in concern.

"I'm just overthinking things again." Naofumi angrily shook himself. He didn't realize it in the moment, but his headache was the result of Tulina having attempted to enthrall him in an illusion by using his fear in the brief time she'd been there.

It was only because he'd been holding onto Raph-Chan that he'd avoided such a fate. Something he'd only learn about later after the battle was over.

"Come on. Let's deal with the rest of this &%$ show."

…

Raphtalia's concern didn't dissipate, however. And looking at the dead dog man, then elsewhere on the battlefield, before looking at him again, she was able to somewhat piece together why he was so on edge.

"Maybe we should leave the clean up here to Melty, and check in to see how Sebastian and Mayor's groups are handling their battles?" She suggested. "They could have found a different way to free the people that didn't result in this."

…

It… honestly wasn't a bad idea. And Naofumi was curious if Motoyasu's group in particular had experienced better luck freeing the enthralled they were facing. Sure, they didn't have a master illusionist on hand, but perhaps the 'shock therapy' idea Motoyasu had suggested had worked better than this had.

There was also that strange man and the menacing Council Member, but…

"S'yne, what's the situation on your side?" Naofumi asked the pin held in the shoulder of his armor.

…

…

There was no response.

"S'yne? Are you and Moto ok?! Respond!" Naofumi asked, looking back at the fort Moto and her would be fighting at this time. And he could hear the sounds of battle still going on up on both sides of the valley, in and around the fortresses.

…

Again, there was no response.

"Maybe they're too busy fight…" Raphtalia trailed off.

"Rafu?" Raph-Chan looked at her.

"Something wrong, Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked, noticing how she'd trailed off while looking at the sky.

"Freon and Elena." Raphtalia pointed. "Elena's waving her arms around frantically, but I can't tell what she's saying."

"What- why isn't she communicating something through S'yne-" As Naofumi was asking, he stopped.

No, what if it wasn't that S'yne was in the middle of a battle, but…

"Portal Shield!" Naofumi held his weapon above his head and tried to activate the skill.

Only, sparks came off his weapon as it failed to activate.

Interference! Can't portal at this time!

…

Naofumi suddenly recalled what the dog man had tried to tell him earlier.

Had they just-

&%$!

Raphtalia was already scowling as he turned to face her. "Looks like they were here after all!"

"Rafu! Rafu!" Raph-Chan instantly became alert and began scanning their surroundings again.

"Melty!" The power couple began running towards the bluette as Naofumi shouted. "We've lost contact with S'yne and the others! It's the same interference field as the one that was around Lurolona!"

The young girl straightened. "Q'Ten Lo!"

"Yes, we need to pull back and make sure the other groups aren't being-" Naofumi was saying, when…

Kckckckckck!

The ground began to rumble beneath their feet.

"Huh?" "Hmmmm." Nearby, Eclair and Dou-Lon, who'd been taking a short water break after pushing through the entire battle, looked down at the ground as it began to tremble.

"Eh?" Filo also cocked her head to the side while looking down in confusion.

"Heh. Hoo. Heh. Hoo." Near them, Fohl had his hands on his knees and was breathing deeply in exhaustion. Keel, who'd been about to ask if he needed to rest since she was just fine, instead looked down with an uneasy expression.

Elhart, who stood in the center, looked down at his feet.

The shaking wasn't across the entire battlefield. It seemed to be centered in this part of the valley.

The blacksmith was the only one who realized what the shaking was from.

"SINKHOLE!" He screamed.

Filo recognized it at the last second and quickly chanted.

"Fast Gust!"

And that's when the ground fell out from beneath their feet.

"... heh. It really was that simple." A prominent, hulking figure dressed in nice robes and holding a dark black staff in one paw let out a low laugh. "I never thought such puny molemen could be used like this.

"And to think those in charge were heartless enough to sacrifice their lesser forces before hitting them with their actual army. I might grow to respect the commanders outside of Q'Ten Lo."

The raccoon man standing next to him frowned, but remained silent.

One of the Captains of Q'Ten Lo's forces, a bearman named Bearga, continued to darkly chuckle as the disgusting princess and her allies fell into his trap. And the soldiers blessed by the Emperor with him began to stir. "Come, Justus of the Nightblade.

"Let's see you and your comrades redeem your honor and fulfill the mandate of the Heavenly Emperor to rid our world of this exiled brat."

"O… Of course, Lord Bearga," Justus answered with a strained scowl.

Till Next Time

Allen

Chapter Text

"Multi-Pronged Thrust!"

On top of the central keep in the left fort, Motoyasu was locked in battle with the wolfman Council Member of Siltvelt, Jacob.

Three bursts of energy came out of the Cardinal Spear's tip, closing in on the large wolfman from the left, right, and front.

"Ha! Huah!" Jacob leaned back, avoiding the left one, then flipped over the right one, before landing on his feet and crossing his arms.

"Aha!" Boom!

He blocked the third strike on his armored wrists. And besides sliding back a few feet, he was left unharmed by the attack.

"Scissor Blaze!"

"Drifa Thunder Burst!"

S'yne rushed forward, her scissor blades hacking and slashing in a blaze of speed. Sadeena, in the meantime, raised her harpoon to the sky to cast a spell.

A massive storm cloud formed in the span of seconds, before unleashing a bolt of lightning nearly as wide as Judgment down on their enemy, who'd been sufficiently distracted defending against the seamstress's series of attacks.

CRACK! BOOM! "AWHOOOOOOO!"

S'yne jumped back onto a shield of energy that Atla made for her as the lightning bolt struck. Jacob howled as the powerful magic attack coursed through his body and armor, finally dealing considerable damage to the powerful wolfman therianthrope.

"Lightning Spear!" Motoyasu immediately followed up on Sadeena's magic strike. And instead of using it at range as he usually would, the Spear Hero rushed in and struck the wolfman in the chest with his weapon as he unleashed the skill.

Boom! BOOM!

Lightning coursed out from the weapon directly into the wolfman, going up into the sky where Sadeena's storm clouds hadn't dispersed yet, and came back down again, now combined with the remnants of the orca woman's powerful spell for a second follow-up attack.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Instead of howling, the councilman screamed in pain. His entire body seized up and spasmed repeatedly from the repeated bursts of electricity coursing through his veins. Sections of his fur began to catch fire as bits of armor were ripped from his body.

"Meteor Thrust!" Motoyasu finished things up by using one of his favorite skills at point blank range.

KABOOM!

Jacob was launched off his feet, slamming into a barrier of energy Atla formed to prevent him from flying out of the fortress. The sudden deceleration further damaged the wolfman's body, which then collapsed down on the rooftop.

…

Motoyasu breathed in and out heavily. Scratch marks on his arms and face revealed just how tough the fight had started out.

It was a nasty wakeup call. To be allowed to join Siltvelt's Council required a certain, above-average degree of strength to be sure. And Motoyasu and his allies were holding back to not accidentally kill the wolfman, but this was still absurd! Sadeena had a gash on her face as well, and part of Atla's skirt had been torn from where she'd barely managed to dodge an attack.

It was only because Moto and his party had switched to going all out at the end that they'd so decisively defeated the wolfman.

And he was beat. Jacob was slouched against the wall surrounding the roof of the keep now. His hairy body was covered in burns, and he had many broken bones.

Yet he was still smirking confidently at the Spear Hero, unlike any of the other enthralled ones they had encountered. And more than that, he was still emitting a faint trace of red energy that made Motoyasu's skin crawl.

"This battle's over!" Motoyasu stepped forward, brandishing his spear at the leader. "Surrender now!"

"Fufufu." Jacob chuckled. "I don't think so."

Despite his injuries, Jacob threw his body with surprising speed at the Spear Hero again. Claws flashed through the air as they aimed at his throat.

"Wall!" Atla's energy shield appeared between them, and Jacob's claws bounced off it.

"You worthless little-" Jacob's head turned, his eyes filled with rage at the half-hakuko.

"Huah!" Sadeena's harpoon impacted against the side of the wolfman's head.

"Take this!" The blunt end of Amber's spear then smashed into Jacob's stomach.

"Spider Net." S'yne's gaze was fierce as her weapon turned into a ball of yarn, which unleashed a bundle of threads that wrapped the wolfman up from head to toe. Completely removing his ability to move.

Scowling, Motoyasu moved forward, gripping the trapped wolfman by the hair to lift his face. "Surrender now, or else!"

"Or else what?" Jacob smirked. "You'll hurt me even more? Kill me?

"Do go ahead, if you dare. Not like it'll make a difference regardless."

"ENOUGH!" Motoyasu yelled. The tip of his spear appeared under the wolfman's chin.

He was exhausted. He was tired. And the longer this charade went on, the more lives would be lost.

Lives that he was now responsible for.

He didn't even want to be here fighting in a war. He was here only because there was no other option. Many good people would die without his help. But he was tired.

He was so tired.

"Blondie?" Amber tilted her head at his behavior. The others, however, nodded in approval while glaring at the Councilman, who didn't appear to be enthralled like the soldiers below him.

Even if Motoyasu didn't kill him, they wouldn't hesitate to do so on his behalf. If the man turned out to be a traitor who sold out his nation, he'd deserve the death they gave him.

…

"Fufufu. Go on then." Jacob continued to grin regardless.

"Kill me, Spear Hero.

"Do it."

…

Motoyasu's scowl lessened the tiniest bit. Confusion and maybe a bit of surprise entered his eyes as well. "Why… why would you…"

…

…

"Oh. You can't, huh?" Jacob spoke as the Spear Hero's tongue seized up.

The others looked at Moto again, waiting to step in. Only to notice something.

"I can see why," Jacob began to chuckle even deeper than before. "You are looking a bit stiff. Fufufu."

Motoyasu's hand tried to move to his neck, where something had pierced it. But then, the rest of his body began to seize up too.

He only barely managed to pull out the item that'd pierced him.

A dart as black as night.

Motoyasu could barely grasp what he was seeing as he fell to one knee.

"Deal with the rest of this, merc. I need to focus on the other fort now." Jacob's body slouched to the ground as S'yne's bonds on him went slack.

The seamstress herself fell over, her body seizing as a similar black dart was revealed to be protruding from her neck.

"Sir Motoyasu! S'yne!" Atla looked at both in a panic, shocked since she hadn't sensed anything moving through life force.

"Blondie!" Amber reacted instinctively as she dashed to the Spear Hero's side.

Sadeena next to her managed to restrain herself, however, and instead quickly thrust her harpoon into an empty space that wasn't occupied by anyone visible.

Whoosh!

A shockwave of energy rang out as her weapon struck against something hard.

…

"Tch." And just like that, the illusion covering Grimal, the commanding officer of the spear-breakers here, dissipated, revealing that he'd blocked Sadeena's strike using a black and blue lance.

Atla took a step back and raised her fists defensively. Her face scrunched up in concentration. "Sadeena! I didn't sense him before!" She warned.

"Yes, I would have been surprised if you had. It was a very powerful illusion spell that was masking him." Sadeena readied her weapon again. "I wasn't even fully sure if he was there before I struck."

Motoyasu felt his vision growing blurry on the ground. What… what was…

He was rapidly losing focus and control of his body for the second time this month. But recalling how he'd broken out when Atla had paralyzed him, he made a last desperate effort to bring out his Cursed Series so he wouldn't fall unconscious.

…

But at that last second, Motoyasu's eyes met S'yne's, who was also lying on the floor, and he hesitated.

And then it was too late as the darkness claimed him.

"I don't sense any shadows nearby. Did Q'Ten Lo really trust you with Sakura Stone Darts?" Sadeena continued to speak as the Spear Hero lost consciousness, together with his lover.

Sadeena spoke in her usual, calm, laidback tone. Her subtle way of probing for information from opponents based on their words or facial expressions, whilst sizing them up. "Did they forget to tell you that this sedative is only effective on the Heroes? This stuff isn't going to work on lil' ol' me." Sadeena raised a hand to her neck, taking out the dart that'd pierced it before crushing it in her fist.

Grimal showed no reaction to her words, nor did he verbally respond.

Sadeena narrowed her eyes. "It was too bad you threw it at me, too. That was the only reason I was able to guess where you were hiding.

"The dart itself was the only real danger since it would bypass any hero bonuses I have. But its contents are harmless. You shall be facing me at my full strength, merc." Sadeena raised her harpoon at him as it fizzled with electricity.

Again, he didn't react or speak. But by this point, Sadeena was done sizing him up. And she wasn't impressed.

Besides the darts, she didn't sense anything else that worried her about this mercenary. He'd never made an appearance in Zeltoble, meaning he wasn't connected to any known strong groups. And given that he'd wasted a dart on her, revealing his position, she assumed he didn't have much battle smarts either.

In other words, she was confident that she'd be able to handle this on her own.

"Amber, get Motoyasu and S'yne away. I shall deal with him."

"Ok. Amber shall-"

"WALL!" Atla suddenly shouted.

Sadeena hadn't even blinked, but the man before her was suddenly up close, thrusting his lance towards her chest.

Kck!

The barrier Atla summoned to shield the orca woman shattered almost instantly. Sadeena barely moved her weapon to defend herself in time.

BOOM!

A greater shockwave of power burst out as a crack appeared on the haft of the harpoon. The electricity running along it burst out as Sadeena herself was pushed back several feet, only managing to stay upright thanks to the extra size and weight of her therianthrope form.

"The time for talk has passed." Grimal spoke calmly before readying his lance again.

Sadeena scowled. "Amber, run!" She ordered as she rushed forward.

Amber didn't bother saying a word this time as Atla raced to assist the orca woman. The orange Filolial transformed and began to gather both Heroes onto her back.

Boom! Kck! Kck! Boom!

Sadeena exchanged a series of powerful blows with the spearbreaker officer while Atla weaved in, attempting to assist with barriers to protect the larger killer whale from devastating counterattacks.

Grimal blocked and deflected the larger woman's strikes with surprising ease though. No matter how quick Sadeena was, the smaller, armored man was faster.

Sadeena revised her opinion of the merc. Despite clearly lacking in practical combat experience, he was not an amateur.

He seemed to be roughly on par with Motoyasu's skill with his weapon, making up for time with effort like he had. But more worrying was the fact that he hit almost as hard too.

Sadeena was already near the level cap. And in her therianthrope form with Hero bonuses, she would have been a terror to face for any normal human even if they were level 100!

So how the hell was this man outclassing her in terms of stats?! It was impossible!

Pow!

Grimal ducked under a powerful blow, landing a kick on Sadeena's stomach that broke through another of the annoying tiger girl's barriers, launching the orca woman back into said girl.

The spearbreaker then dashed forward in another blaze of speed, and Sadeena's eyes widened as he swung his lance at her like a bat.

He did not go for the kill, it would only slow him down.

Amber was racing away with the Spear and Sewing Kit Heroes on her back at that point, so he directed his blow, and…

Crack!

Amber barely looked back in time before Sadeena's body crashed into hers, and she, Atla, Sadeena, Motoyasu, and S'yne tumbled off the edge towards the courtyard below together.

Sebastian sighed in frustration as he sat on a piece of collapsed wall.

The fighting was over already.

The Hero Nation's soldiers under his command had managed to capture the entirety of the fortress, taking everyone stationed inside prisoner. They had also extracted the vast majority of prisoners back to the main camp by this point.

There'd been very few deaths amongst their enemies. And nobody on their side had died at all, which was a miracle. The damage the fortress itself had sustained meant that it'd take days or weeks of repairs to make it serviceable again. But it was a complete victory for the Liberation Army on this particular front.

All that was well and good, except that Sebastian was feeling severely unsatisfied.

Damn it! He never even got the chance to fight one-on-one with any of these savages! It was ridiculous! After his forces breached the fortress, he was forced to spend all his time giving out orders and making sure the assault remained well coordinated while the Spear Hero's group breached past the enemy's defenses.

And now the fighters of the Hero's Nation looked at him with even more admiration for helping to lead such a successful offensive without anyone dying on their side!

Ugh!

…

Sebastian let out another sigh.

No. No. He was acting like a fool. He knew that.

He had to look at the positives here.

For all intents and purposes, this was a flawless victory. And the fact that he was the commanding officer coordinating it would certainly earn him even more credibility with the young governor and the Heroes. Meaning he would likely be given even more forces to command and an even greater degree of autonomy in the future.

Except that said 'forces' were something he really wished he was fighting against instead of with.

The armored man scowled at a pair of rabbitmen looking at him from a distance, their eyes full of admiration for his precise and effective orders on the field. And despite the apparent hostility Sebastian was projecting, their gazes didn't lessen, only seeming to grow even more as he noticed them.

And they weren't the only ones either. Everyone around him kept stealing glances at him with anticipation, genuinely eager to hear his next command.

And all of them were either demihumans or beastmen who, only a couple of weeks ago, would laugh and jeer at him every day as he got kicked all over the place by Eclair and Dou-Lon.

Some of them weren't even adults or teenagers yet back then!

At first he thought they all got scared of him after the brutal display of violence he inflicted on the invading Q'Ten Lo shadows. This was because the citizens stopped mocking him openly and started whispering behind his back instead.

But soon after they had entered Siltvelt together and he started to run their drills every morning in place of the crazy hag and Eclair, under the governor's orders, things just turned...weird.

Sebastian was used to hate, disdain and fear. Even during the height of the Three Heroes Church's reign, he was never popular and was just tolerated for his abilities both martial and tactical. The only ones who actually openly admired him were his family and he was perfectly content with that.

Seeing complete strangers doing it and filthy savage demis at that?

It just felt wrong and awkward.

…

Could Sir Motoyasu just appear already with confirmation of the Wolfman Council Member being defeated and captured so they could call it a day and return to camp!? At least there he'd be able to gloat about how useful he'd been to Eclair and Dou-Lon when they returned from their battle and-

Well, then he'd likely be accosted by Farrie, who'd want to hear everything about how his side of the battle went… if she…

No, now this was absurd! He wasn't worried for that free-spirited annoying woman now, was he!? There was no way that buffoon of a woman would get overwhelmed by a bunch of weaklings like this!

Urgh, maybe he'd just retire to his tent after he got back to camp and stay out of everyone's sights until they picked up to march to their next destination and then-

Boom!

Sebastian instantly jumped onto his feet. And as he did so, every soldier in his vicinity focused and got into formation, as if following some silent command.

CRASH!

The source of the violent explosion landed on the ground right in front of the former church knight in a cluster of bodies and tangled limbs.

…

"What…? What the hell?!" Sebastian exclaimed in shock at the sight of the overpowered Spear Hero and his party lying broken before him.

Shakily, Sadeena got up, one hand gripping her cracked harpoon. Her other arm dangled uselessly at her side, clearly broken in several places.

"Owww…" Amber cried out softly. Her armor had cushioned the impact and fall somewhat, but one of her taloned legs was bent at an awkward angle.

Atla was out like a light, just like Motoyasu and S'yne.

"Medics! Now!" Sebastian shouted as he raced forward. Several others raced ahead at his command, but then…

"No! Everyone! Fall back!" Sadeena screamed, making Sebastian and the others pause. "This foe requires the Shield Hero to face! We need his assistance now!"

Before Sebastian could ask, a deathly cold voice sounded from above. "I'm afraid the 'Shield Hero' is currently occupied and won't be helping anyone anytime soon."

Grimal landed in front of the orca woman and thrust forward with his lance.

Ksch!

Sadeena managed to raise her weapon to block in time again, but the already cracked harpoon shattered from the strike, and the lance went right past it to embed itself in the orca woman's side.

A white searing pain flashed through the woman's body, but a rush of adrenaline followed it. And with it, Sadeena managed to jerk her head forward with her jaws opened wide to snap down on the spearbreaker's neck.

POW!

Grimal let go of his lance with one hand and uppercutted the orca woman's jaw. As her head reeled back, he then cocked his fist back and punched her in the chest.

Crack!

His weapon dislodged from her side as she flew back. The sound of several of her ribs caving in and breaking was heard loud and clear before she then slammed into a wall and collapsed to the ground.

"You were given the chance to turn around and leave before this happened." Grimal looked up at everyone there. He then swung his lance to the side quickly to get rid of the blood on it. "Now your lives shall be forfeit alongside the false Spear Hero's."

Almost everyone there, knights and fighters, began to shake and tremble in terror. Not holding back his presence anymore, everyone felt the deathly chill coming off Grimal's form.

It was impossible… no normal man could have ever achieved this level of strength without help from the Heroes.

So, how was this…?

Grimal's eyes scanned his surroundings before finally stopping at the unconscious Motoyasu laying amidst his defeated party. The calm determined expression on the spearbreaker's face briefly cracked as he openly scowled in anger and began to trod forward to end the blonde man's pathetic existence. "Finally… all shall be made right."

The Shieldfreeden mercenary who'd bodied the Spear Hero's entire party marched unopposed. No one present was a match for his power. Nobody was brave enough, bold enough, or foolish enough to make a move.

Except for one.

Whoosh!

After only a few steps, something flew through the air at the spear breaker, forcing him to stop and raise his lance to block whatever the projectile was. He'd deal with the fool who was stupid enough to face him afterward.

Clang!

Something small and round bounced off the weapon before rolling to a stop in the dirt. It was…

"... a… pommel?" Grimal muttered in confusion. It was so ridiculous the overpowered merc froze for a moment.

ThudThudThudThud!

A loud stomping noise snapped him out of it, but by the time Grimal turned to face its source, he was suddenly left staring down the soles of a pair of armored boots as Sebastian drop-kicked him right in the face.

CLANG!

The hit dealt zero damage but still knocked the spearbreaker off his feet and down into the dirt.

"GET THE SPEAR HERO AND HIS PARTY OUT OF HERE! NOW!" Sebastian roared as he rolled back to his feet and grabbed his sword by the blade. Since he didn't have much time, he drove one of the hand guards down like the end of a pickaxe into his stunned opponent's face.

Unfortunately...

CLANG!

No damage again. And his window of opportunity was gone now as Grimal jumped back up to his feet with a snarl.

Sebastian barely saw the path Grimal's next strike would take, but he could see it coming, unlike what Eclair and Dou-Lon would usually put him through. The large man twisted his body just enough to avoid the lance as his weapon's handle fell into his hand, and he caught the rest of the strike on the side of his broadsword, allowing him to push away from the merc and give himself space to breathe and strategize.

The force behind the strike still made him feel a spike of pain in his arms, but he refocused in time to avoid a follow-up thrust and stepped back completely out of the merc's range.

"What the hell was that just now?! Are you some kind of madman?" Grimal growled in frustration.

"Right back at you. Why is a human helping out a bunch of demihuman degenerates?" Sebastian taunted, hoping to buy a few seconds as his mind ran a million miles an hour, trying to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do now.

"To win," Grimal answered curtly, not falling for it, and he stepped forward, his weapon surging ahead and forcing Sebastian to defend himself.

But Sebastian knew better than to try to push back or underestimate his opponent, so instead of fighting, he repeatedly retreated, dodging and weaving while putting more distance between himself and Grimal.

The newly appointed commander saw in the corner of his eye that his men had finally gotten out of their shock and had begun to follow his orders, using the opening he gave them to quickly rush towards the Spear Hero and his party and pull them away from the middle of the courtyard.

Good, that was one step done with. He just had to figure out his next move to get them out of this mess.

"Archers! Fire!" He barked out next as he rolled forward this time, past the spearbreaker's next thrust and past the effective range of his lance.

The air was filled with sharp twangs and whistles as projectiles rained down on Grimal with pinpoint accuracy. The man grimaced as he curled his body in on itself, leaving only his armor showing.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The series of sounds signaled that none of the arrows were strong enough to pierce his armor. However, one lucky arrow had managed to strike his cheek before he could cover his head fully with his arms.

Unfortunately, the arrow tip left nothing more than a small papercut that barely bled.

Well, that was a bust, too. At least it bought Sebastian a few more seconds to think, though it didn't help that he was back at square one.

Grimal rapidly closed the distance again, his frustration blinding him to the fact that his real target was now off the battlefield.

How ironic. Sebastian had wished for a one-on-one with a powerful demibeast, so he'd have an excuse to kill them. But instead, his opponent was an anomalously powerful human who could apparently wipe out a whole hero party on his own, meaning Sebastian stood no chance.

At least he was not too skilled or experienced from the looks of things, but that just made it more confusing. How had he gotten so powerful so quickly? Did the other side also have one of the other lesser Heroes helping their underlings out? But even that wouldn't have been enough to explain the anomalous amount of strength this man held. Or why it was a human in Siltvelt that'd be entrusted with this level of power.

The former Church knight quickly accumulated more bruises and gashes over the span of the next dozen seconds. His blade did manage to land a strike on his opponent's outstretched arm when one of his thrusts overreached, knocking him off-balance and giving Sebastian an opening, but the hit didn't even dent the armor the enemy commander was wearing.

Glows from various spells, healing and buffing, surrounded Sebastian. That was possibly the main reason he was still standing whereas Sadeena and the others had fallen. He hoped those same spells were being used on Sir Motoyasu and his party members though. He was not going to be able to defeat Grimal on his own.

He was already on his last legs and not even a minute had passed. Grimal wasn't giving him a chance to fall back and gain any more distance anymore.

"Huah!" Grimal went for another thrust, and Sebastian moved to deflect it away like the previous strikes even though it felt like his arms were about to fall off.

"Vorpal Vacuum Fist! Multi-Strike Cascade!"

Suddenly, Sebas rushed in from the sky above, and Sebastian was afforded a small break as Grimal pivoted from his thrust to defend against the dragonnewt's barrage of wind enhanced defense-piercing strikes.

"Alright, mages-!" Sebastian turned his head, now having the time to relay his next orders in a new plan to attack Grimal differently.

Only, the orders died in his throat.

While he'd been fighting for his life, the Liberation Army had gotten flanked.

Sadeena was back on her feet despite still being injured and was locked in combat with a pair of orca therianthropes with her one good arm.

Amber, who'd changed back into her human form and had a noticeable limp in her right leg, was defending a cart holding an unconscious Motoyasu, S'yne, and Atla near the breach in the wall alongside several other fighters from the Hero's Nation. They were defending against other killer whale therianthropes, as well as Genmus, shark beastmen, and several other aquatic species.

And beyond that, the forces of the Liberation Army were interlocked in battles all over the courtyard and on the walls.

More aquatic enemies were coming out not from the central keep, but from over the walls.

Wait, no! They were coming from the damn moat surrounding the damn fortress!

But then, how had they not noticed any of them hiding in it earlier!?

Sebastian noted that the eyes of their foes were glassy, proving they were enthralled like the previous forces they'd dealt with. But their movements were more refined, and they were a lot stronger than the force that'd been stationed here.

The Melromarc knights under his command, despite being more than a match for the previous demis, were being trodden underfoot by their new and superior opponents. The fighters of the Hero's Nation, while refusing to bend, were breathing heavily and noticeably lagging compared to before. And the Spear Hero's party, already on its last legs, was not going to be enough to turn the tide.

The Liberation Army had been worn down defeating the previous occupiers, whilst the enemy reinforcements coming in were fresh and noticeably stronger and more skilled.

Sebastian, upon realizing the enemy's strategy, felt a wave of dread travel down his body.

The previous force had been nothing but bait to drag them into a trap. This was likely happening on every battlefront right now…!

"Ah!" Sebas yelled out as he stepped back next to Sebastian, snapping him back to the moment. The older man had a hole in one of his wings.

Several of the dragonnewt's strikes must have landed and actually done damage, since Grimal was visibly grimacing in pain. But he still held a tight grip on his weapon.

"No matter what you do, the outcome here was decided long ago." The mercenary raised his lance again. "Those of the Order of the Spear Breakers will have their revenge, even if I must throw away my life for it!"

"Where the hell is the second geriatric?" Sebastian growled, deliberately withholding a response from Grimal as another way to taunt him.

"Elra went to aid Sir Shield Hero and Governor Melty. They've run into a spot of trouble of their own." The butler replied quickly without taking his eyes off his opponent. "And sorry it took me so long to get back. The wolfmen we captured suddenly transformed while I was transporting them, and I had to put them down."

"Things just never go smoothly, do they?" Sebastian shook his head. He'd question how the wolfmen had overdosed on Amalgama while being bound later. He couldn't even feel frustrated that he didn't get to kill them personally. There was something far more important going on right now.

"Are you ignoring me? Can you afford to do such a thing?" Grimal asked firmly.

Sebastian raised his voice again, though, ignoring the enemy commander again. "FIGHTERS! GATHER TO THE BREACH! PREPARE TO RETREAT!"

"No! No one will escape!" Grimal shouted, clearly having lost some confidence after the prior exchange with the butler.

"Wanna make it a bet, traitor?" Sebastian's grip on his weapon tightened as Sebas took a combat stance next to him, wind bursting off his whole body as he prepared his serious mode.

There was a load of different emotions going through the new commander's mind right now. Worry for the rest of their forces. Doubts about being able to survive long enough for everyone else to escape. But most prominent, surprisingly, was confusion about a human being the one in charge of Siltvelt's defense instead of the Council Member.

How could this person have turned his back on Melromarc to do this? Grimal was speaking Melromarcian, after all, and even the accent of his voice sounded familiar, though Sebastian couldn't place why. But he could at least tell that they were from the same nation. So why…?

The last part of Sebastian's sentence, yelled out of frustration, actually caused Grimal's posture to break for a second. A look of genuine shock and hurt flashed through the man's eyes.

But it quickly disappeared, as he then scowled and raced forward to attack just as ferociously as before.

Sebastian and Sebas became locked in battle with the merc again, fighting for their lives whilst the Church Knight's orders saw the Liberation Army slowly, but steadily, beginning their withdrawal from the left fortress.

"Lady Governor!" Keel appeared from the dust cloud.

"Cough Cough I'm fine! Don't worry about me!" Melty responded as she got up.

The dust cloud kicked up from the sinkhole was obscuring their vision. They couldn't see more than a few feet in front of them to see how deep the sinkhole was, or even where it was. Behind them, the sounds of knights and fighters helping each other up and checking in with each other could be heard.

The bluette thought she'd fall in alongside the rest of her family. But Filo, at the last moment, had used a wind spell that blasted her and Keel to safety.

But that meant that the little blonde girl, Fohl, Dou-Lon, Eclair, Elhart, Raphtalia, and Naofumi had fallen into whatever trap Q'Ten Lo had set up for them.

They were still alive. Melty could still see their statuses on her HUD. Naofumi, Dou-Lon, and Eclair had taken some considerable fall damage, however. And they were likely going to have to fight their way out of whatever trap was down there. But they were alive for the moment.

Melty cursed to herself internally. She should have realized the battle up to this point had felt too easy for them! She, like Naofumi, had assumed that since no Sakura Stone weapons had been used at the start of the combat, that Q'Ten Lo hadn't readied anything for them yet.

That'd turned out to be a massive mistake on their part. And now they were going to have to deal with whatever reinforcements were coming in to counterattack now that the Liberation Army's strongest fighters were at the bottom of a massive sinkhole!

That's what Melty assumed was going to happen, at least. Luckily, she'd also made backup plans in case Naofumi and his allies were put out of action. So long as she properly reorganized her remaining forces fast enough to defend against the coming counterattack she was predicting, they'd be-

"AWHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A loud howl from behind made the bluette and the dog girl beside her turn around in shock.

"What…?" Keel murmured, a chill going down her spine. "Fohl and I knocked all of them out! I'm sure we did!"

"Princess Melty! The wolfmen are transforming again!" One of the knights yelled from outside the thinning cloud of dust.

"I thought we checked them all for Amalgama!" Melty and Keel rushed in the direction the voice had come from.

"We did! None of them had anything else on them!" Another knight yelled.

"Oh, Gods! OH GODS!" Somebody screamed.

And as Melty and Keel escaped the cloud of dust onto their side of the valley…

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH-" CHOMP!

The two froze up again.

"AWHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"AWHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"AWHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"AWHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The previously bound and trapped wolfmen burst from their concrete prisons across the battlegrounds. One of them swallowed a knight whole as it got up.

Their eyes were still glowing a dark red. Their faces still looked wolflike.

But… they'd become something else entirely.

"Back! Get back!" A fighter pushed the knights with him away from the monstrosity before them as it rose on four legs. They'd still been in the middle of carrying bound demis up to the plateau where everyone else was already being held, so dozens of them still lay bound and enthralled at the feet of the wolfbeasts.

Only to become their prey.

The Liberation Army watched in horror as the demihumans started to cannibalize each other. And as their unnatural feeding frenzy continued, their forms began to twist and morph into something truly horrific and grotesque.

Their flesh became rendered open, as wriggling, dripping monstrous tentacles burst out from within their backs in explosive gushes of blood. And these new appendages were then used to grab more of their comrades and drag them inside their maws and the new openings in their bodies to consume them.

With every passing second, the wolfmen's bodies were losing any semblance of their old canine forms. Their skin and flesh began to sag and then slough off their bodies in places, as it melted, exposing the skeletons beneath with far too many bones arranged in ways that could not possibly be right.

Horns grew out the top and sides of their heads while eyes appeared randomly on the undulating tentacles on their backs. Some sprouted a small set of wings from absorbing harpy demihumans inside them. And the black color of their fur began to change to other colors on their body, forming a mismatched set of colors like a sewn together quilt.

Some of those in the army stepped back in either shock or disgust. The rest trembled in their gear as new words flashed across the HUD's of everyone there.

Chimera: LV: ?

Melty's face paled further.

The point of no return for Amalgama overdose users.

Sadeena's description of them hadn't done any justice. It reminded Melty of that day… that horrible day when she'd lost her own brother to Ouroboros poison.

She could not help but start to tremble in her spot.

"AWHOOOOOO!" All too quickly, those that'd been lying on the ground around the newly formed chimeras were gone. And the monstrosities began to turn to face the Liberation Army's forces and the rest of their former comrades who were still bound or unconscious across the battlefield.

"M-Men! Form into your squads!" Melty worked hard to steel her voice. "Swordsmen at the front! Mages and Archers in the back!

"Swordsmen, slash away any tentacles that get close and avoid their mouths at any cost! Brawlers, tanks, get any remaining Siltvelt soldiers out of the area, do not engage the beasts directly!"

Keel frowned deeply, but ran off to do as Melty had asked.

"Archers, aim for the eyes and keep the beasts off balance! Mages with the affinity, pelt them with fire attacks until they crumble, that is their main weakness! The rest of you use magic to slow them down in any way possible! We are no longer taking prisoners!

"As for the aerial units, if we have any more Bio-Concrete Bombs left, gather them and use them! The rest of you, keep those monsters from getting close to anyone else!"

The men and women under the princess quickly began to reorganize themselves to deal with the new threat, even if they didn't have Naofumi or the rest of his companions there to help them out.

Melty at least knew enough about these monsters to understand how to handle them. The biggest thing was that these things couldn't be allowed to absorb anyone else.

It'd be a death sentence that'd only make these monsters stronger and heal any damage they took. They were already going to have insane regeneration as it was.

It was sad that they'd had to resort to killing them in the end. And even if they remained well organized, they were definitely going to lose some of their own people, taking them out.

Still, Melty wondered how they'd managed to overdose now when what they'd taken earlier hadn't been enough to push them over the edge into the realm of monsters.

But either way, if they didn't take them down now, then they were going to kill all their remaining compatriots who hadn't been taken off the battlefield yet, as well as her own men, growing more powerful until only Naofumi and his party would be capable of handling them, if they weren't already at that point, and…

"RAHHHHHHHH!"

Melty turned back towards the direction of the sinkhole she'd run away from.

… oh, no.

The reinforcements she'd been worried about earlier were now a concern.

Through the thinning clouds of dust, a massive and deep sinkhole in the valley's center came into view, shrouded in an ominous pink dome. A giant horde of warclan therianthrope and beastmen was charging towards the Liberation Army from the other side.

And they were moving fast.

Melty couldn't reorganize her forces to face them and the chimeras. At least not at the same time!

Melty looked across the grounds again, seeing all the bound and the wounded they still had to deal with. Then, at the chimeras her forces had begun to engage as well as the rapidly advancing attack force from Siltvelt's side. Did that mean she should order a retreat?

No. She saw on her HUD the stat bars of her family fluctuating, meaning they were in the middle of a battle. If she had everyone retreat now, then the Shield Hero and his allies were as good as dead, even if they did manage to make it out of this trap.

The young ruler was in a lose-lose situation. Yet she gritted her teeth as she gripped her magic staff.

Come on, she had to think! What could she do while being outnumbered and outpowered in this situation?! What could she do to give Naofumi and the others as much time as possible to figure a way out of this mess?!

…

Urgh, nothing was coming to mind! Was there any strategy!?

What would her father do here?!

…

As Melty struggled, the army charging for them began to split down the center. Veering towards the sides of the valley. And it was only then that Melty's eyes fell from them to the massive sinkhole in the center of the battle again.

The pink lines covering it were certainly foreboding, but it also took up the entire center of the battlefield. Except for aerial units, the approaching reinforcements would have to go on either side of the hole to get to them.

An idea finally formed in her mind. It'd still be a lose-lose scenario, but at least it'd buy time!

"Tanks, brawlers, forget the remaining prisoners!" Melty yelled, and Keel and the others paused in grabbing prisoners of war to face Melty again. "You will be holding the enemy back at the sides of the sinkhole until the Shield Hero escapes! Then we will fall back to the plateau!"

The men and women perked up, and crashed their fists together. "Yes, Lady Governor!" "Yes, Your Grace!"

They then let out a battle cry as they moved to their new positions to face off against the approaching army.

Casualties were going to be a lot higher without Naofumi there to help. And casualties would only mount as the opposing army hit back harder than the original forces placed here.

"Drifa Earth Hole!" Yet Melty focused on widening the outer edges of the hole further, giving less space for Siltvelt's Army to cross.

The idea came not from Aultcray, but a story he told her of a commander he rescued.

Despite being outnumbered and outclassed, the man managed to hold out with his small force for several days against Tai-Lon's army by forcing them to fight at a narrow pass within the mountains. This prevented the larger army from overwhelming his forces for long enough that Aultcray was able to arrive in time to rescue them.

"Drifa Earth Hole!" Melty would have to hope that they could hold out on both sides long enough for Naofumi and his compatriots to escape.

Because she was going to need his help getting all of them out of here alive.

"Oof! Urgh…"

The Shield Hero landed on one knee while carrying Raphtalia and Raph-Chan in his arms.

Unlike his earlier superhero fall, this one had hurt quite a bit. He hadn't fallen a greater distance than before, but he felt heavier, slower, weaker… and sparks were coming from the gemstone of his shield.

Interference Field in Effect!

Ksch!

The Meteor Shield barrier around him shattered into pieces.

"Naofumi." "Rafu." Raphtalia and Raph-Chan looked above them.

"Yeah?" Naofumi looked up as he set his fiancée down. The gemstone of her weapon was sparking, too.

The exit to this great pit was over a hundred feet above them. And through the cloud of dust above them, he could make out a series of bright pink lines that formed a dome over the entirety of the sinkhole.

The color brought back memories of the sakura trees from Naofumi's world. But that, combined with how weak the Shield Hero felt, as well as how his skill shield had just been destroyed…

"This must be the field from a Sakura Stone of Destiny that Sadeena warned us about," Naofumi scowled.

"Die, wielder of the evil spirit implement and false empress!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than an individual in a familiar dark garb appeared before them, swinging his blade down at Naofumi.

Kch!

"Did you hear that, dear?" Naofumi asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he blocked the first strike with his shield. "They added 'evil' to my title. That really takes me back to simpler times."

"Die, I said!" The individual, a frogman beastmen, yelled angrily.

Kch! Kch!

Naofumi deflected the assassin's next two strikes off his Shield. He then quickly switched to his Small Shield form as two more ninjas appeared to strike at him.

His weapon forms were entirely useless now. This was thanks to not only the ninjas' weapons being made from Sakura Stone, but the Sakura Field surrounding them. So he switched to a more comfortable weapon form that he was more at ease wielding against multiple enemies.

The field surpassed the capabilities of standard Sakura Stone weapons and armor. It stripped away ALL Hero benefits from individuals inside it. So not just defense and attack, but dexterity, agility, hero magic, and growth bonuses; Naofumi was nerfed in all aspects. He couldn't even summon skills to aid him like before.

Not only that, there was a darker side to this field for the unprepared. It buffed those inside who had the Heavenly Emperor's blessing.

Meaning, their enemies.

Still, unlike before, Naofumi was donned in his full armor. He'd also prepared by equipping himself with accessories that boosted his defense, dexterity, and agility. And he'd prepared other accessories for his party members that helped to boost their various stats.

He still felt slower and weaker, and the accessories wouldn't provide as big of a buff as what their enemies had, but at least they wouldn't be helpless in this scenario.

Kch!

He even managed to block a strike using the chestplate of his armor before grabbing the ninja that struck him and shoving him towards Raphtalia, who'd finished putting on a series of bangles hidden under the sleeves of her outfit as her blade glowed with life force.

"Ki Breaker!" Kch!

"Gah!" The frogman fell back, blood trailing from his mouth as the defense-piercing attack tore through his chest, and Raph-Chan followed up with a touch of her tail.

She was far weaker here, reduced to just her base stats as a familiar. But the illusion she thrust her opponent's mind into was potent enough to make him start screaming in terror as his two comrades were forced to drag him back. Great job Raph-Chan!

Raphtalia readied her blade again as three more ninjas appeared in front of them to attack. But before they could strike…

"Zero Stance Rondo Inspiration: White Tiger's Blow!" A familiar blast of compressed wind slammed into the group of enemies, launching them onto their backs a dozen meters away.

"Dou-Lon!" Naofumi quickly turned to find the white tiger, who'd slipped the cuffs he made for him on, had fallen into the pit with them.

And not just him.

Eclair was at his side, finishing clasping a necklace under her chin. The pair were struggling to stand thanks to the damage they'd taken from the fall, but the increased stats from Naofumi's accessories was helping them out, and Dou-Lon had a battle-ready grin on his face. "Quite the spot of trouble we've fallen into this time, right blood-kin?"

"You got that right. Glad to have you both watching our backs though." Naofumi threw them a pair of Healing Potions.

As they uncorked them, another pair of ninjas rushed out from the darkness to attack their backs.

"Boo! Stay away from Tiger Brother and Strawberry Lady!" Slash!

Unfortunately for them, Filo's clawed feet smashed into their chests, knocking them away from the group.

"Filo!" Naofumi yelled.

"Daddy!" Filo finally came out of her glide as she landed next to the pair of sword masters, who turned to look at her with surprise then smiles. On her back was Fohl and Elhart, who she'd managed to grab out of the air when the ground fell out from beneath them. And shining on her head was a new pair of hairpins he'd made for her, ones that boosted her agility and slashing power.

"Filo managed to blow Mel and Maid Dog Girl out of the way before it was too late!"

"I can't believe none of us saw this coming." Fohl whined quietly.

"Good job, Filo. You did great." Naofumi breathed a sigh of relief and gave her a thumbs-up. The small Royal cheered happily at receiving her Daddy's praise.

"At least Keel is still up there to keep things from going to &%$." Fohl then muttered to himself. His hand dipped into a pocket in his outfit, pulling out a ring the Shield Hero had made for him in this scenario.

"Oi, brat! In case you forgot, my duty's to defend your puny little #$$ from these jerks!" Elhart yelled as he got off Filo's back and gripped his warhammer tightly. The blacksmith already had the cuffs Naofumi had gifted to him on. Now his attack power would be even higher than before.

"I didn't forget. Thank you." Naofumi nodded sincerely.

"Eyes forward, Sir Naofumi." Eclair spoke calmly after draining her vial. She still looked a bit pained, but her condition was looking better as she threw the empty potion bottle to the side and unsheathed her blade again. "There are still more foes to deal with."

At her words, the Shield Hero faced ahead again.

Raphtalia and Raph-Chan had remained silent during the interaction, with the familiar jumping onto Raphtalia's shoulder, but they were glaring at the initial ninjas that'd attacked them, as well as the other foes surrounding them.

The two ninjas Filo had knocked away were on their feet again. But after the initial strikes failed, they were more wary. Filo had used her strengthened claws to leave gash marks on the garments covering their chests, making the armor set useless.

"What are you spineless worms doing?! Don't just stand there! Attack!"

The men and women didn't immediately listen to the orders given, however. Waves of murderous aura were coming off the half-raccoon woman, as well as everyone else Naofumi had brought along with him, sans Fohl, who was still exhausted from the previous battle.

Honestly, Naofumi was just as pissed to see another group of these damn annoying oriental shadow warriors, but not to the point that he didn't realize that there weren't 'just' ninjas surrounding them.

There were also heavily garbed soldiers who looked more akin to samurai from his world. They looked to be of crow Tengu origin, judging by the small black raven wings coming out of their backs. They shook even more than those dressed in assassin's garbs.

At their head stood a raccoon samurai with an unreadable stoic expression on his face. Sheathed at his side was a katana whose hilt was decorated with a sakura blossom.

"Are you all deaf!? Or are you cowards who dare to call yourselves proud warriors of Q'Ten Lo?!"

The clear leader of this group, however, was the bearman standing in the middle of their formation, who was yelling at his men. He had shiny black fur and was dressed in black robes with the fringes decked in red and white lines. He held a thick, winged spear in one hand, and near the tip of it, glowing an eerie pink, was the source of the cage surrounding them—a Sakura Stone of Destiny.

It was admittedly smaller than Naofumi had expected it to be. Though the beastman wielding it was anything but.

"Hmph! Imbeciles, the lot of you! You especially will never redeem your honor standing still like that!" The bearman directed his glare at the raccoon man and the Tengu with him.

"I'm readying my magic, Lord Bearga. It takes a while." The raccoon samurai calmly responded without looking back at his superior. Instead, his eyes seemed to focus on Raphtalia in particular.

Naofumi had no time to ponder this, however. He was too focused on the bearman. The Shield Hero didn't like how arrogant he sounded. Not one bit.

"Preparing your magic!? Useless! You will never regain your honor and title in the court at this rate, Justus! Lady Makina has given you a chance to prove yourself worthy, and this is the best you can do?!"

"Dunno about pride, but they sure are smarter than you." Naofumi interrupted the bearman sarcastically, finally dragging the beastman's attention back onto him. "After all, they can at least tell when certain death is staring them in the face. Unlike the last group we faced."

Raphtalia's scowl of fury deepened, and her tail raised behind her, signifying how she was channeling a large amount of magical energy from the air into herself. Eclair and Dou-Lon's blades also glowed as they channeled MP into their weapons.

Filo breathed in, sucking in life force from the air around her. Elhart's muscles bulged as a wave of power burst off his form. Raph-Chan's tail puffed up as she began to growl at their enemies.

And Fohl… continued to pant in the middle of the group while trying to look threatening. The poor lad was not quite there yet in his training.

The fangs of one of the ninjas flashed as he took a step forward, but the bearman held out a hand, stopping him.

Oh, maybe he was more intelligent than Naofumi thought. Perhaps their threat/bluff was going to work here and they'd be able to go on their merry way-

"Hmhmhm, your words amuse me, God of Siltvelt." Bearga lifted his heavy spear while smirking. "It doesn't matter, though. I shall join this fight personally. And I will show you and the evil exiled princess the true power of one who is blessed by the Heavenly Emperor."

Or maybe he was stupid and they'd have to fight their way out after all.

"You really think you can beat us?" Naofumi threatened.

"Die." Bearga snarled.

"Alright, let's get serious then." Naofumi raised a familiar green vial in his hands.

Kch!

The Green Buff Potion shattered in his grip, and a wave of green fog surrounded the Shield Hero and his party, buffing their stats by 50%. He then unleashed their primary weapon in this scenario.

"Elhart!"

"Kill the big guy! Got it!" The blacksmith roared as he leaped out of the green fog. The muscles in his arms and legs tensed as he swung his giant warhammer like it weighed no more than a toothpick. "Take some of THIS!"

Boom!

Elhart's attack exploded the ground where his opponent had been standing. His might would have immediately smushed any lesser foe.

"Hohoho! Not bad for a dissolute mainlander! However..."

Elhart looked up in surprise. Bearga had not only dodged the strike, but the haft of his spear was swinging towards the blacksmith's face.

Whack! Boom!

The blacksmith shot through the air, slamming into one of the rock walls. A cloud of dust obscured him.

"#$%&! ELHART!" Naofumi screamed.

"Hmhmhm." Bearga chuckled as the threatening auras and postures from the Hero's group tailed off. "If this is you being serious, then you're in for a rude awakening!

"Men, enough standing around! Kill them!"

The oriental assassins, now feeling more confident after seeing their leader's display of power, stepped forward simultaneously as did the group of samurai. The bearman readied to attack as well, and Naofumi instinctively knew that he did not want to try and block his strikes unless he had to.

&%%$ though! This bear bastard was bad news! If even Elhart wasn't strong enough to handle him, then they were completely screwed!

"THERE'S MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM YOU BIG TEDDY!" Clang!

Fortunately, and much to Naofumi's relief, Elhart reappeared beside the bearman as his weapon slammed into him.

Bearga had narrowly caught the strike on his winged spear, but the force from the blow pushed him back several feet, surprising him.

"What?!" This time, it was Bearga stumbling back in surprise. Any lesser man would have been absolutely destroyed by his strike!

Boom!

Elhart's next strike struck the side of Bearga's face. The enemy commander stumbled back again, yet he still remained on his feet and began to growl menacingly.

"Shield Brat, deal with the others and find a way out of this mess! I'll buy you as much time as I can against this guy!" The kind and powerful blacksmith yelled. Blood dribbled down from a cut on his forehead.

"Got it! Thanks Elhart!" Naofumi's relief was immediate as he faced their enemies again. And his party finally decided it was time to go on the attack. They wouldn't have much time.

"Zero Stance Rondo Inspiration: Roaring Gale Thrust!" "Light Force Thrust!"

Eclair and Dou-Lon opened with their powerful charged attacks at the closest ninjas.

"Wind Cutter!"

Filo unleashed the glowing power she'd gathered and concentrated in her claws at the pair of ninjas closest to her.

"Yin Yang Thrust!" Raphtalia was next, firing her charged up magic attack at the enemies before them.

"Rahhhhh!" And Fohl… he charged forward and punched a ninja in the face with a glowing fist.

At least he had enough energy to use life force right now. But it did look a bit out of place next to all the other powerhouses.

They hit hard and fast. The attacks were weakened a lot by the field, and their enemies were buffed, but just like that, six ninjas were down and out of the fight.

That just left the dozens more now rushing to attack them on all sides.

"Attack!"

"Kill the evil false empress!"

"Glory to the Heavenly Emperor!"

Naofumi positioned himself to tank their attacks on his shield and armor. He would not fall this time!

"Illusia's Field."

But as Naofumi and everyone else prepared to charge toward their enemies, a blanket of darkness washed over everyone.

And unknown to the Shield Hero, he and the rest continued to fight by the whims of one individual there.

Raphtalia looked around herself in confusion.

Where had all her opponents gone?

"Rafu." Raph-Chan perked up on her shoulder, staring around at the shifting surroundings.

Those were definitely the others fighting. But it was hard to determine how close or far away they were.

"Dawn's Thrust!" Eclair's sword glowed bright with light, and it looked as if she'd successfully struck her opponent. But it was hard to tell how much damage it'd done.

But then, after turning her head slightly, Raphtalia saw another version of Eclair. It looked like another foe was swinging at her as she blocked another's strike, but then Dou-Lon tackled her out of the way.

But then, wasn't that Dou-Lon nearby, throwing a Tengu off Naofumi's shield before rushing off after him with his glowing blade?

It felt so confusing.

The battles going on around her just felt so… fake to her. But also so real.

Raphtalia scowled. "It's like when I was fighting against Victoria. That samurai from before must have used an illusion field spell of some sort."

"Rafu!"

The familiar looked around again. Rifana's soul had been there during Raphtalia's fight with the raccoon woman. But she hadn't been personally affected by her illusions like Raphtalia had.

The fights around the mini tanuki seemed real. Being nerfed to adorableness didn't help her, though.

But then she spotted Naofumi striking one of the Tengu in the face with his shield and the demiman stumbling back while clutching his face. Rifana knew then that part of the fighting was fake. And other minor discrepancies appeared as they continued to spin and look around.

Fohl struck a ninja across the face with a glowing tiger fist. That part was real. But then Filo flew in with her massive wings and dropped onto the frog ninja from the start of the fight.

Filo could glide, but she couldn't fly. That was fake. And so was the appearance of one of Naofumi's skill shields to block an attack against her.

Raphtalia herself was also fighting in this sea of illusions. Her weapon glowed with light as it cut down anyone who opposed her.

The woman depicted was strong, powerful, and regal, despite the field weakening her. The faces of her enemies were contorted in terror. The faces of her allies lit up with hope every time she appeared, as if her blade was cutting the way for their future.

The real Raphtalia tried to pierce through the illusion covering the area, trying to see through it and make sense of it. But every time she felt like she was about to grip it, it slipped out of her reach.

Whatever this magic spell was, it was far more complex than the one Victoria had used against Raphtalia.

The truly odd thing, though, was how no one tried to target her. Despite being their primary target, not a single soul was coming after her.

Why?

…

As Raphtalia and Raph-Chan continued to spin around, trying to find where the next attack would be coming from, a voice suddenly spoke out, seemingly from everywhere.

"Why?" It asked simply, tone impossible to discern.

Raphtalia did a one-eighty and thrust forward. "Ki Breaker!"

Clang!

It was my thinnest, most barely perceptible threads, but Raphtalia was finally able to pinpoint the source of the illusion around her. She thrust her sword at the shimmering black silhouette in the air, but the attack simply dissolved before it could reach her target, as if it'd never existed to begin with.

It wasn't just her eyes. It felt like all of her senses were being messed with. Even the life force from her blade seemed to disperse into the air without any effect. Were they even standing on solid ground right now?

No, she was sure she was. Yet the black silhouette in front of her turned till it was upside down before her. Or was she the one upside down?

"Why are you challenging the authority of the Heavenly Emperor?" As it spoke, the silhouette thrust forward with a blade as black as he was.

Clang! Clang!

Raphtalia blocked the strikes to her head. Stepping back into a defensive stance, she quickly chanted a spell under her breath. And after several more seconds of being on the defensive…

"Drifa Light!"

A bright star tried to blaze into existence between them. But while her MP bar dropped, signifying the spell had worked, her light was swallowed up by the darkness surrounding the figure, who slashed forward again.

"Answer me. Why did you decide to do it? Why now?"

"Who are you? Where are you?!" Raphtalia snarled in response, her tail bristling as she spread her magic power out in an attempt to thin out the magic's influence. But the black silhouette's offensive remained undaunted as her attempts to weaken the illusion field failed to do anything.

Clang! Clang!

Their blades met several more times in the middle, with her opponent's silhouette twisting back and forth, left and right, up and down, and even diagonally. It was such a confusing offense to follow that Raphtalia, out of frustration, attempted to swing forward in a wide arc, determined to hit some part of her opponent at least.

Whack!

Instead, an elbow, or a fist, something slammed into her face, making her stumble back.

"Do you seek power? Wealth?"

Clang! Clong!

Their blades met in the middle again. Raphtalia felt like she was going insane from vertigo and a million other things. What even was this? Why was her captor subjecting her to this?!

"I repeat. Why did you decide to challenge the authority of the heavenly Emperor?"

"I DIDN'T!" Raphtalia screamed. "I NEVER CHOSE TO CHALLENGE ANYONE FOR SOME STUPID POSITION OF POWER!"

The black silhouette paused before her. Raphtalia, still angry though, swung for it again.

Whoosh!

Yet her blade slammed into nothing.

And then as she raised her arm to swing again, she found it was unable to move. Was it being restrained?

"Rafu!" No, Raph-Chan had a glowing paw pressed to it. What little power she had, she was using to try and calm her parent down.

"Raph-Chan?" Raphtalia looked at her daughter in confusion.

But then, the figure before her spoke again.

"If you didn't want to challenge the emperor's authority, then why did you accept the engagement with the Shield Hero?"

…

Raphtalia looked up again. She thought she could vaguely see the outline of somebody hiding in the darkness. But in this world of sifting illusions, it was hard to tell. But by now she could at least tell that the person in front of her was a man.

"Because I love Naofumi. There was no other reason."

"None?" The figure pressed.

"None. I never had another reason beyond that." Raphtalia spoke, and as she did, everything she'd bottled up inside herself about the unfairness of her situation came to the forefront of her tongue.

"I didn't even know about my family lineage until a week ago. I never cared about governing anyone before that, and I still don't want to handle that kind of responsibility.

"I don't want to be a ruler or an empress for a country I've never been to. Who in their right mind could possibly want that thrust upon them?!

"All I want is to be by my beloved's side for the rest of my life! Fighting the battles that he can't and to raise our kids with love and care in a world freed from the Waves…"

Raphtalia's eyes briefly fell. Tears appeared running down her cheeks with how desperately she wished for that future to happen. Despite every time a setback occurred, despite every time the world threw another punch in the gut her way…

She still wished and fought for that future with all her heart and with all her soul…

But then, as she saw an illusion of her beloved yelling to her left, his shield raised to block attacks from three ninjas surrounding him, Raphtalia's tears stopped as her gaze hardened again.

"None of you bastards ever asked me what I wanted though and tried to kill me and my fiance for no reason!

"Even now, all you are trying to do is get a confession out of me by wording your question as if I was the one who first picked a fight with your stupid emperor and that I did so deliberately!

"You all assumed the worst and didn't even try to negotiate! So now I'm here to repay the favor for almost killing the man I love and nearly destroying my home again after we just finally put it back together!

"That is why I'm here! TO DESTROY THE CORRUPT PEOPLE IN CHARGE OF Q'TEN LO!"

…

A short silence followed, with Raphtalia staring the silhouette in front of her down. The man's disguise kept her from seeing what he felt about her words.

"... and the emperor's garb, you are wearing?" The man asked next.

...

A pregnant pause hung in the air for a moment before Raphtalia answered with a smirk.

"My fiance thinks it's hot."

…

…

There was a longer silence afterward. And Raphtalia briefly wondered if her response had stumped the man or not.

"... … … pbthththth!" But then the black silhouette before her finally dissolved. This revealed the raccoon samurai from before, bent over while trying to contain a deep, bellyaching laugh.

"Rafu?" Raph-Chan tilted her head to the side in confusion. The man's reaction also threw off Raphtalia.

"You… doing whatever the hell you want, without any regard for the consequences…

"That proves it. You're Raul's girl, alright. I could see him donning the holy garbs because Natalia found them hot too.

"Like father, like daughter. You're both a pair of lovestruck idiots! Hahahaha!"

Raphtalia froze up briefly, her anger still simmering, but it began to fade somewhat from the man's words. "Y-You knew my mom and dad?!"

"Yes, a long time ago." Justus smiled, a lot of the tenseness in his face disappearing for the briefest time thanks to the laughter he'd just unleashed.

"Ah… well, if you're not here to defy your father's wishes, then I have no reason to fight you. Though the same cannot be said for Bearga and the others under him..."

There was a bright flash in the background. And the illusory barrier around Raphtalia began to crack.

"Ah, one of your friends has finally come down here and- is she- how the hell is she suddenly getting younger-

Another bright flash lit up the background, and Justus almost stumbled back as part of the field of figures fighting around them vanished. A brief expression of shock or outright horror crossed his face before he quickly got control of himself again and focused on making those battles reappear, even as the world around them fractured even more.

"Alright, yeah, that's going to make it hard for me to maintain this field without Bearga suspecting anything," A drop of sweat appeared on the raccoon man's head as he spoke. "Seriously, this is the first time I'm seeing another opponent this powerful in a Sakura Field. Is she just naturally that strong?"

Before Raphtalia spoke, there was another bright flash of power, and Justus grimaced. "Oh, great. Now Bearga's forcing the remaining magistrates to use Astral Enchant on him. Guess I have to end this farce of mine soon before he suspects anything."

"W-What?! What's that? How are you controlling all this? And-" Raphtalia asked.

"You can't tell?" Raultalia's face became taut once more as he frowned deeply and tried to maintain his concentration. "Did Raul seriously not teach you anything?"

Raphtalia's tail bristled again. But Justus shook his head. "No, of course he didn't. That too would have made the target on your back bigger. But perhaps...

"There are others here like me here who don't want to fight you, and it's taking all my power to make sure your friends land no killing blows on them while keeping Bearga's fight with your friend from destroying my field entirely. So let's go over some things quickly before I run out of MP or willpower, shall we?"

Raphtalia, despite wanting to ask questions about what was going on, kept her mouth shut. More flashes of power occurred all around as Justus spoke.

"First things first, don't retreat with your army back to Melromarc. Siltvelt has another army placed a day's journey back the way you came. They're planning to hit what remains of your forces with it to eradicate them.

"After that, it won't be long before the Kitsune here in Siltvelt marches on the world.

"For now, go to the mountains to the northwest. There are only a few scouting parties in that direction to be wary of, and beyond that, there are also rebel forces that are holed up around the area of the Silent Monastery.

"Q'Ten Lo will still follow after you. But you won't have the majority of Siltvelt's forces breathing down your necks during your retreat there. You'll only have to worry about Councilman Werner.

"I learned after arriving on the mainland that he was tasked with searching the area for the rebels, and out of the entire Council, he has the fewest number of enthralled with him—only a couple hundred of his fellow shuzaku.

"Which means there might be a chance to take not only Bearga down when we follow after you, but an important individual on the Council of Siltvelt." Justus gestured to the series of bright lights flashing across the outskirts of the illusion. "I don't know what spell that monster cast. It is unlike anything I've studied, but I know that the members of Siltvelt's Council are key parts of why it works across the entire country.

"If you were to capture and study him, you could have a greater chance of freeing the people here. I'm sure of it."

"... What if we went south towards the sea?" Raphtalia asked.

"You could do that." Justus closed his eyes in thought. "But then you'd have to deal with Q'Ten Lo and the Genmu Elder, as well as the entirety of the aquatic battle clans of Siltvelt at the same time. So unless you are that confident in your strength..."

"Now what was the other thing…? Oh, yeah." His face hardened again. "Before we are forced to meet and battle again next time, practice fighting illusions with your own illusions.

"That's the most efficient way to determine what's real and what's fake in an illusion field, instead of just wasting a bunch of MP like you did trying to see through it. The more realistic we make the fight, the greater the chance we'll have of separating Bearga from his weapon and taking him down."

Raphtalia was again taken aback by the practical advice. "Thanks, but I have to know, who are you? How do you know my Father? And why are you helping us? Doesn't everyone in Q'Ten Lo hate me?" She finally lost her nerve and let the questions spill out of her lips.

Justus shook his head. "That could be further from the truth. Only the ones in power don't like you. And my comrades and I are not one of those people.

"I am just a servant of your father. I owe him a great deal.

"That's all there is to it."

…

Raphtalia's eyes slowly widened, and then she finally remembered what Sadeena had told her about her dad's past. And the name of his best friend and vassal who'd helped them all to escape.

"Justus…" The Katana Hero whispered.

"Ah, so you do know who I am." The man chuckled to himself ruefully. "Tell Sadeena I said hi, would you?" The man's expression then turned serious again.

"Don't take my advice lightly. Refine your illusions to make them as real and authentic as you can. You will really need that skill honed for the future if you want to face not just me, but the monster in control of Siltvelt right now.

"Even as good as I am, I wouldn't stand a chance against her in a battle of illusions."

"... Is the Kitsune really that powerful?" Raphtalia asked.

"She is. Legends are still passed down in Q'Ten Lo about how powerful and potent her illusion magic was. I'm afraid from what I saw of her that she has only become stronger and more unhinged since her unsealing.

"But you're Raul's girl, so… I'd bet my money on you in a heartbeat, Raphtalia." Justus smiled again as he said her name, completely devoid of malice.

In a way, it reminded her of her Father. And Raphtalia felt a surge of emotion from within her chest.

"Assuming you're not too stubborn to learn from others like he was, that is." He then laughed.

Raphtalia laughed a little too. "Aren't you supposed to be trying to cheer me up?!" Strangely, the burden she carried felt lighter now even as she said that.

"Hahaha, maybe… we'll see what happens in the future." Justus shook his head.

But before she could say anything else, there was a final blast of light, and with it, the illusion surrounding them shattered.

"Oof!"

Kch! Kch!

Raphtalia appeared, stopping midswing as Naofumi blocked a pair of katanas on his shield and arm.

"Raphtalia!" Naofumi pushed the pair of Tengus back, giving her an opening. Had they been fighting together in whatever illusion he'd been seeing?

"Ha!" Raphtalia swung forward, and the blunt end of her weapon hit both her opponents in the chest, knocking them away from the pair.

Their fall to the ground and the pained looks on their face seemed almost too overdramatic, thanks to what Raphtalia had learned, but it did the trick as Naofumi turned to her. "Good job."

"Thanks." Raphtalia quickly looked around.

Eclair was on Filo's back. Elhart was sagging in exhaustion as Filo lifted him in her beak before jumping up the wall of the sinkhole, digging in with her claws to reach the edge up above.

"W-Where's everyone else?" Raphtalia asked in surprise.

"Weren't you paying attention?" The Shield Hero asked confusedly. "One moment, we were busy fighting, and then the next, most of the ninjas sagged and our enemy received a huge buff. But at the same time, well…"

"Ahahahaha! God's Blow!" BOOM!

An explosion of power shook the ground, and Raphtalia's eyes were dragged to where Bearga was currently fighting.

Granny, or young Granny as she looked now, slammed her golden fist into the bearman's side. Another explosion of power came out from the strike as Bearga stepped back, before swinging down with his spear in a blinding display of speed and ferocity.

The attack tore up the ground under and around Granny. Naofumi and Raphtalia had at least been able to track his early attacks despite the raw strength he exuded. But now he was too fast for their eyes to follow.

Yet instead of trying to block, Granny flowed through the area of the strike while avoiding major damage. She then launched upwards to kick the bearman in the face, only to kick back off his chest as she narrowly avoided being skewered by the claws on one of his hands.

"Tsk tsk. You're gonna have to be faster than that if you want to catch me, you overgrown cub." Granny smirked.

"Well, regardless," Naofumi said with a sweatdropped expression. "The old hag's buying us time. Filo took Fohl and Dou-Lon up first. We were still dealing with the remainder, so we'll be up last. And then Granny said she'd follow right behind us."

Naofumi's lips curled downward. "Apparently, it's really bad up there."

"Is she able to…?" Raphtalia trailed off, and Naofumi shook his head.

"No. She's still fresh despite what she did on her way here, but she said things are really going to &%$. We'll need all the energy we can get to get us out of this mess alive."

…

The pair watched the fight for a moment longer. Bearga and Granny continued to exchange blows with one another.

Raphtalia gulped. And Raph-Chan looked between her parents with a look of concern. Could they possibly stand against this opponent a second time in a future encounter? Justus's words to her seemed too optimistic for the future if this was what was in store for them.

But thankfully, Filo landed next to her parents as Raphtalia was shaking the thought out of her head. "Righteo! Let's get up there and help Mel and the others!"

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Naofumi hopped onto his daughter's back. And Raphtalia and Raph-Chan followed behind the Shield Hero.

Raphtalia's gaze fell on the raccoon samurai, faceplanted into the ground and limbs strewn haphazardly in an exaggerated way, pretending to be knocked out.

It looked so ridiculous that she almost wanted to laugh. Perhaps she could allow a small bit of herself to hope that the subsequent encounter would go well with the extra help… and as long as she took what he'd said to heart when she trained with Raph-Chan after this.

"NO!" Bearga, upon finally noticing how badly his remaining subordinates had done, tried to charge toward them.

"Eheheh! Granny hasn't had her fill yet!" Pow!

Granny appeared beside him, her glowing fists slamming into his face and gut simultaneously. It was truly bizarre how he took both strikes without visible damage… though some of the ninjas who'd fainted earlier when buffing him had blood coming out of their mouths or had deformed limbs or other injuries that didn't look natural.

Whatever the case, the power couple and their two daughters quickly climbed up the wall.

With no one else to stop them down below, they easily managed to climb back up to the surface in record time.

"All Drifa Aqua Blast!"

Melty's spell impacted dozens of demisoldiers on the ground and monsters flying in the air.

Unlike earlier, it hardly left a dent in the enemy's ranks. And a series of spells and arrows rained down on her men in turn. Shielders and tanky Hero fighters weathered the onslaught, but at a cost.

Around twenty minutes had passed, but things were looking bleaker by the minute.

"Ha!" Pow!

Keel's fist bled as she punched with all her might, managing to take down a glassy-eyed rhinoman in front of her. But beside her, a fellow brawler took a hit from a mace to the abdomen from another enemy, and she collapsed to the ground.

"TAKE THIS!" The dog girl bellowed, battle fury raging in her eyes as her next punch avenged her friend, who was pulled back from the frontline by a knight who was favoring his right leg. At the same time, the line took another step back.

The bottleneck strategy had worked at first. They'd managed to hold Siltvelt's forces to a standstill for the first few minutes or so. But as fresh enthralled crashed into their front lines again and again, they were forced to take one step back and then another.

Unlike usual armies fighting one another, their opponents continued to throw themselves at their lines in a series of meat wave tactics.

And unfortunately for the Liberation Army, it was working really well against them.

At this point, they were almost pushed halfway back from the outermost edges of the sinkhole. And the more they were forced to retreat, the more ground the Liberation Army's thinly spread forces had to cover.

Melty breathed in and out heavily. Checking her MP gauge, she frowned deeply at how low it'd become. She'd initially attempted to make up for the pushback by widening the edges of the sinkhole further, but it required too much MP, especially since she was now concerned about the aerial fighters as well.

"There's no end to them!" A birdman yelled in desperation, his lance going through another bat-like monster as two more flew past and were intercepted by his comrades.

Plains Bat.

LV: 43

Plains Bat.

LV: 45

These were among the monsters they should have encountered while moving across the plains of Siltvelt. But judging by how their red glowing eyes were now lifeless and glassy like the demisoldiers they were fighting against, it appeared that the Kitsune could control both people and monsters with her illusion magic.

Like other bat monsters, they were on the weaker side of monsters, only being dangerous originally in that they traveled in swarms. But these monsters…?

Boom!

One managed to get past the Hero's Nations' aerial fighters, crashing into their ranks and exploding.

Yes, hanging from each bat monster's neck was an explosive charge, like the one Naofumi found around the neck of the doberman warrior earlier. Melty and the others had already seen similar charges on other prisoners while checking for Amalgama.

Boom!

Another one exploded in the air. The Hero fighter grimaced a bit, but flew on to his next target with barely a burn on his arm.

The normal explosives from these kamikaze monsters didn't do much damage to the fighters of the Hero's Nation. However, they did manage to inflict some damage on Melromarc's Knights.

But if that'd been the only danger, they wouldn't have focused so hard on taking them out.

Boom! "Ahhhh!"

Another bomb bat exploded, and the shrapnel from it tore through the Hero Fighter's arms and wings. Unlike his compatriot, he took lots of damage because the bomb this bat had held was a Sakura Bomb.

It looked exactly like the other bombs carried by the other bats, making it impossible to identify which bomb was which.

And with that fighter falling from the air, a dozen more bats came down and kamikazed into the Hero Nation's ranks where he'd been defending.

"All Zweite Aqua Shot!" Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Melty's spell took out seven before they could impact her forces. But the remaining five still struck their marks.

And unfortunately, one of those bombs also turned out to be a Sakura Bomb, as Keel took heavy damage trying to defend her comrades from the explosion.

"Keel, pull back!" Melty shouted to the dog girl.

"Grrr, this is nothing!" Scowling, and with blood dripping down her face, her now limp left arm, and her back, Keel punched out the lights of another lion man.

But the earlier explosions caused the right flank to shift back more. And at this point, they were in danger of being pierced through by Siltvelt's remaining forces and being overwhelmed entirely.

"Lady Governor! They're too strong!" Turning away from the collapsing frontline, Melty grimaced as she saw the chimeras still battling against the forces she'd set aside to deal with them.

Or rather, what was left of them.

To their credit, they'd managed to bring down half the chimera beasts despite how overpowered they were. This was thanks to their teamwork and coordination, as well as the plateau mages assisting with ritual class magic. Granny, when she'd passed through to reinforce the Shield Hero, had also lent a helping hand against a couple while charging past.

However, the other half of the monsters, instead of battling at the start, had instead focused on devouring more of their former companions strewn across the battlefield. Avoiding battles with the squads trying to hunt them down.

This led to them growing even stronger. And now her soldiers were struggling to fight without being devoured.

Ksch!

What didn't help matters was how the ground randomly sank amongst the squads as they fought, breaking up their coordination or otherwise trapping them and making them an easy meal for the chimeras.

These were not hidden traps either. The molemen who'd been used to dig the massive hole under their noses were now being used to disrupt their forces battling the chimeras wherever possible.

"STAND YOUR GROUND! HOLD OUT FOR A LITTLE LONGER!" Melty ordered, even as lines were in danger of collapsing on all sides. "THE HEROES SHALL JOIN US AGAIN SOON! I'M SURE OF IT!"

There was a battle cry from the survivors, but it was weaker than earlier.

It wasn't fumes, they were running on empty. They couldn't keep up with these numbers. There was no end!

Keel paused to cough up blood. At that same moment, an axe from a minotaur man came down towards her head.

She looked up in surprise, raising her limp arm to defend herself.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" POW!

And then, to everyone's surprise, Fohl was right there. All traces of his prior exhaustion were gone, and his eyes were instead filled with fury as his fist drove itself into the bullman's face.

The force from the hit was so great that one of the man's horns on his head shattered into pieces, embedding themselves into the demisoldiers trying to reach the front lines behind them and slowing them down.

"Fohl-kun!" Keel's eyes shone with stars.

"Get back, I say! I'll handle these bastards from here!" Fohl's arms stayed in their therianthrope forms as he rushed forward.

"Tiger Rush!" Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

Melty blinked in surprise as the tiger teen raced across the frontline. He was at the end of the battle, and thus he went all out with everything he had, using his super fast series of attacks to knock Siltvelt's frontline back into those behind them, stalling out the human wave tactic and buying the Liberation Army a moment to breath and regroup.

Melty continued to blink in shock.

Hadn't Fohl fallen into the pit earlier?

But if he was up here again, did that mean-?!

"Zero Stance Rondo Inspiration: Roaring Gale Thrust!" "AWHOOOOOO!"

Melty turned to the side again. Dou-Lon was topside too, but unlike his protege, he'd rushed to attack the Chimera beasts instead.

His strike slashed off over half the writhing tentacles on its back and impacted against the side of another chimera close to it. Their heads, as well as the heads of the other Chimeras nearby, turned to face the tiger man while glaring with rage.

"Come and get me, uglies!" Dou-Lon then turned around, waggling his tail behind him tauntingly before he ran towards the Liberation Army's currently collapsing left flank.

"AWHOOOOOO!" "AWHOOOOOO!" "AWHOOOOOO!"

Surprisingly enough, the remaining chimeras took off after Dou-Lon, leaving the remainder of the Liberation Army's forces in the rear to collapse in exhaustion and relief.

They might have wanted to feast on as many individuals as possible, but they could still identify major threats to their existence. And they currently viewed Dou-Lon as their greatest threat.

"Left flank, fall back!" Melty ordered when she realized Dou-Lon had purposefully aggroed the powerful monsters to pit them against Siltvelt's army.

Battered and broken, those who could began to retreat from the left side of the hole. The enthralled tried to follow, but Melty and a few other mages who still had some MP left hit them with several large spells that held them back for a moment.

It wasn't long enough for everyone along the line to pull back. But then Dou-Lon crashed headfirst into the enemy ranks. And following behind him were the Chimeras he'd lured.

"AWHOOOOOO!" The beasts lost track of Dou-Lon in the crowd of enthralled, but as shown by their willingness to feast on their former comrades, they began to tear into Siltvelt's powerful rank and file instead.

This, in turn, caused the enthralled to change their focus from destroying what remained of the Liberation Army to putting down or getting away from the monstrous beasts decimating their frontline comrades.

The two tiger men's quick actions helped to save a large portion of Melty's remaining forces and allowed them to step back. Melty was still left to wonder how they'd appeared when she couldn't spot the others in her family.

But then, Eclair and Elhart showed up next. Melty was able to see as Filo dropped the pair off at the edge of the sinkhole before diving back down, presumably to grab Naofumi and Raphtalia last, and the swordswoman, upon seeing her princess in the distance, began helping the blacksmith to walk in her direction.

"Princess Melty." Eclair bowed her head as they got close. "Sir Naofumi, Miss Raphtalia, and Miss Filo shall be joining us in a moment, as well as Granny-dono. But before that happens, I suggest we get everyone here ready for a retreat."

"What happened down there? Are Q'Ten Lo's forces beaten?" Melty asked.

"No, in fact, Granny is holding off their commander right now." Eclair responded.

"The bastard proved to be tougher than we expected." Elhart grimaced. "Climbing out of that sinkhole will take him a bit. But if he were to escape with how strong he is right now, then none of us would be able to take him down." Elhart scowled.

"He was manageable at first." Elhart clarified when he noticed Melty staring at him in horror. "But then the bastard cheated with some sort of power-up even more broken than anything I've seen from Shield Bro and it became nearly impossible to fight him."

Eclair looked across the battlefield, seeing the mess it was in.

There was surprise when she spotted Dou-Lon rushing his way along the edge of the hole back towards the right flank, away from the rampaging Chimeras that'd lost track of him amidst Siltvelt's rank and file. But that surprise then morphed to respect as the tiger man rushed into the fray to assist a rapidly tiring Fohl who was still singlehandedly keeping Siltvelt back before that.

Hundreds of feet of ground to cover, yet the tiger teen was doing it. The enthralled, in a rage, began to try and converge on him instead. Yet he fought his way out of being encircled again and again, and now with Dou-Lon to back him up, there was no way that Fohl could fail!

Eclair rushed off to assist the pair as Melty laid a hand on the blacksmith's broken arm. "Can you move on your own?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Elhart used his warhammer like a crutch. At the very least, he still had that potion buff assisting his stats. "Save your MP for getting us out of this mess, princess." Elhart smiled wide. "You can worry about healing me later."

…

It wasn't long after that Naofumi and his wife surfaced on top of Filo.

Naofumi took one look around him and raised a hand. "One Hundred Shields!"

The skill shields fell on the right flank. Eclair, Fohl, Dou-Lon, and everyone else there was finally able to step back completely as the skill shields resisted the enthralled's onslaught.

"Alright everyone, the Shield Hero is out! Fall back!" Fohl yelled out tiredly. But he was still smiling wide as he saw the awed look Keel was giving him, even as she was carried by a knight who hadn't been harmed as much as her.

"Rafu!" Finally freed from the Sakura Field, Raph-Chan quickly made illusions of fighters in the ground and air to confuse the enemies further. Especially the bombbats, as the aerial fighters were still trying their best to hold them back.

"Mel!" Filo raced towards the bluette, and Naofumi and Raphtalia got off her back when they were close.

"What happened?" The Shield Hero asked.

"After you fell, the wolfmen overdosed and became chimeras. Siltvelt countered with an even larger force. Molemen are digging under our positions. Kamikaze bats are bombarding us every chance they get. And I still have no idea what's going on in the fortresses with Motoyasu and S'yne as well as Mayor, but I doubt it's anything good." The bluette quickly answered.

Naofumi looked up at either fort, then back to the sinkhole with a scowl. "We're pulling back now, then. Granny will be joining us in a minute.

"Filo, help Melty with evacuating the wounded. Me, Raphtalia, and the rest will slowly retreat while making sure our enemies are slowed down enough to get all our allies back to safety."

"Be careful of the bats especially," Melty warned. "Some of them are armed with Sakura Bombs."

"Of bloody course they are." Naofumi's frown turned into a scowl. "Meteor Shield!"

With Naofumi and Raphtalia topside again, along with the rest of the Shield Hero's companions, the remainder of the Liberation Army's forces were able to pull out of the battle—even the aerial fighters.

Naofumi summoned shield after shield. Raphtalia hacked and slashed, destroying the land with some of her strongest skills to prevent the enthralled from having an easy time reaching them. Dou-Lon and Eclair, along with Fohl, retreated to assist the Heroes with the bat problem.

Many bats still kamikazed against the Shield Hero's barriers. Naofumi had to resummon his skills multiple times, as Sakura Bombs one-shot them every time.

They fought to hold out, giving the others as much time as possible to retreat before the enthralled and bats could follow.

But the moment Granny came out of that sinkhole, running like a bat out of hell, Naofumi and his allies turned around and booked it too.

Bearga and his Sakura Stone of Destiny would not be far behind.

And they were not ready for another battle against him or his men with the rest of Siltvelt's forces hot on their tails.

"Vorpal Vacuum Fist: Iron Skin!" Kch!

Sebas knocked Grimal's lance away with one of his arms. And his other, still covered in wind and hardened by his ki, then delivered a devastating haymaker into the spearbreaker's face.

The merc grunted as he stepped back. Scowling, he thrust forward again and again repeatedly, his lance moving too fast for the eye to follow. Yet the older butler kept avoiding each strike by the narrowest of margins, dodging each hit with the most perfect of body movements honed by many years of accumulated combat experience.

"Rah!" Grimal swung his lance out sharply in the middle of a thrust, and yet Sebas managed to avoid that too!

Clang!

Not only that, Sebastian came in from the side, swinging his giant broadsword under Grimal's ribcage. The blade bounced off the armor, doing very little damage to it, but it still knocked the spearbreaker officer off kilter thanks to the weight behind the blow.

"Annoying insects!" Grimal turned to kill Sebastian, but the large man had quickly hopped back. And as Grimal stepped in his direction, Sebas took the opportunity to land another blow to the merc officer's back.

The fight was taking place outside the walls of the fortress now. The Liberation Army was slowly pulling back thanks to the orders Sebastian had given.

They weren't surrounded on all sides anymore, but more aquatic opponents were climbing out from the moat and charging what remained of Sebastian's forces.

Sadeena, who'd tried to fight despite her grievous injuries, had finally collapsed and was pulled back from the frontline entirely. Atla had woken up, but was running her glowing hands over S'yne's body instead of fighting.

Amber was the only one from the Spear Hero's party still standing. Both her legs were limping now, with blood dribbling down one of them beneath her armor. She also had several cuts on her pretty face, but was otherwise giving it her all to incinerate all the enemies before her with her spells or her spear.

That was because of one additional order Sebastian had given, though it was for the sake of everyone's survival.

Don't hold back anymore.

It was not because of his hatred for demis, not this time. It was a matter of survival for the forces under him. They couldn't afford to hold back with how worn out they were.

The new commander could not, in good conscience, return to Melromarc and confront the families of those who perished because he decided to restrain those under him from fighting for their lives. And if the young governor or the Heroes blasted him for this, then so be it.

"Hah!" Sebastian gritted his teeth as pain flared up his arm. He refocused on the fight, managing to avoid Grimal's next thrust by a hair even as blood dripped from his latest wound.

"It's only a matter of time till one of you falters. And then you shall die alongside everyone else here." The merc scowled. "All your efforts will have been meaningless!"

"You sure got chatty, now that you're cornered!" Sebastian scowled in return, and they continued their song and dance.

He and Sebas were bleeding from various injuries. Both the butler's wings were full of holes, limiting his mobility. He also had bruises forming on his fists because Grimal's body felt so hard whenever he punched it.

It didn't help that Sebastian didn't know any defense-piercing or defense-rating attacks, so he could only serve as a distraction at best unless he landed a clean hit on an unarmored area.

It really was a miracle that they were still standing. However, it helped that the enthralled were ignoring them to focus on the Liberation Army.

"This makes no sense!" Grimal yelled in frustration as his blows failed to land and do decent damage again. "I'm over level 200 and blessed with My Lady's strength! How are you still alive?!"

"Level 200? Don't lie. That's impossible." Sebastian answered with a snarl. Though honestly, he didn't doubt it. It'd certainly explain why their opponent was so unbelievably strong.

But then there was no known way to break the level 100 cap unless you were a Hero… supposedly. Had that been another lie taught by Balamus?

"Just die!" Grimal thrust forward again. It really went to show why they were still alive as well.

Despite being overleveled, they were able to fight toe to toe because of his simple, overaggressive style of combat. If he actually took a more strategic approach than overwhelming force, they would have died long ago.

'I can't bloody believe that crazy woman and that tiger man of hers actually helped to prepare me for this!' Sebastian thought as he avoided the next strike once again.

Sebas moved in for another punch, and Grimal raised his arms to defend against the half-dragonewt man, but that allowed Sebastian's blade to strike an unarmored spot finally—the back of Grimal's neck.

Kch! Slash!

This time, Sebastian left a small, but bleeding gash to the side of his spine.

"Ah! JUST DIE!" Grimal exploded in anger, flailing his lance wildly around him in panic as he tried to hit something!

But his overreaction tore up the ground around him, making the two retreat further to avoid being caught in the raw power he was unleashing.

"That's better than a papercut at least." Sebastian spat some blood out to the side and grinned with battle mania. "At this rate, we're never going to kill him without a Hero's help."

"We just have to hold him off a little bit longer." Sebas nodded, glancing nearby at their retreating allies. "I'm certain Sir Motoyasu or Miss S'yne will soon be awake."

Sebastian grunted, unsure about it. But Sebas could see what the young tiger girl was doing with her ki.

'I don't think Elra taught any of her students how to heal with life force. Very interesting. Is she so talented that she figured it out on her own?' The old man chuckled internally in amusement despite the life or death scenario they were in.

Grimal surged forward with his lance again, a murderous expression on his face. "DIE!"

"You say that an awful lot." Sebastian ducked the strike and used the weight of his sword to pivot behind Grimal. He punched the gash he'd made earlier with his fist, damaging it further. And as Grimal turned back to face him, Sebas used what remained of his wings to lash onto Grimal's arms and pull him back.

Pow! Clang!

Sebastian then delivered a clean uppercut to Grimal's unarmored chin. It did no damage, but it knocked him further off balance, and as he fell backward, Sebastian delivered another volley of attacks into his chest.

"Vorpal Vacuum Fist: Seven-Palm Thrust!" The defense piercing attacks went through the mercenary's chestplate and tore into his insides mercilessly.

"Gack!" Grimal coughed out blood.

Sebastian brightened. Oh, they were dealing some decent damage! Maybe they might actually-

Grimal suddenly grabbed one of Seba's wings while he was in the middle of the attack.

Boom!

He then, instead of ripping it off, used it to throw the old butler into the ground next to him, cratering it.

"Damn, that hurt." The spearbreaker officer scowled as he got back to his feet, still gripping the half-dragonnewt's wing.

Or maybe they'd gotten too cocky.

The wind faded from around Sebas' limbs. The old man struggled to get back up.

Pow! Whoosh! Boom!

Grimal, who still hadn't picked up his weapon, then punched the old man in the gut. Launching him away from the duel, with his body only stopping because it slammed into a distant hill, cratering it.

"... &%$." Sebastian panted. And just when he'd thought they might stand a chance!

"Now, to finish you." Grimal turned to the Liberation Army Commander with a deep, pained scowl.

Sebastian stepped back, but Grimal ran forward as he picked up his weapon. Thrusting at his opponent over and over and over and over again.

Without someone to help, Sebastian kept retreating and avoiding hit after hit after hit. He wouldn't be able to keep this up forever, though. Not with all the fighting going on around him.

Sebastian tried to curve away to avoid adding others to his fight, only for Grimal to strike out with his lance in that direction. He was grinning maliciously now. "Who's trying to protect demiscum now?"

Sebastian scowled heavily. Was he actually throwing his life away for a bunch of demis?!

"Me." Sebastian charged forward, surprising the spear officer with his response and a shoulder check.

"I might not like them." Sebastian dug his hand into the spear breaker's wound, tearing it open further and making Grimal cry out in pain. "I might wish to have any other fighting force in the world right now." His gauntleted fist hammered into the wound next, causing more pain for the spear breaker officer.

"But I'd rather die with honor than as a traitor who turned his back on his nation!"

Just like before, Grimal froze up again briefly. Sebastian seized the opportunity to grab him by the back of his armor and throw him into a nearby orca therianthrope.

"YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT WHAT I'VE GONE THROUGH!" The merc threw the underling away, before chucking his lance at Sebastian.

The tall platinum blonde man managed to dodge it mostly, but it still cut into the side of his leg before impaling the ground behind him. Sebastian grunted as he gripped the bleeding wound with one hand. But at least he'd created some distance, small as it was. He even managed to get his opponent to lose his weapon, though that wouldn't make him any less dangerous with his stats.

"I know that you're from Melromarc." Sebastian gritted his teeth. "You haven't said one word in Siltveltish or any other tongue during our entire fight."

Grimal paused again, and Sebastian continued in his booming voice.

"To fight against not just your nation, but the Heroes of Legend, you aren't just a traitor to Melromarc! You're a traitor to the whole world, just like Balamus was!

"You're no better than even the former first princess!" Sebastian stood to his full height.

"RAHHHHHHHHHH!" Grimal, completely enraged by the statement, charged the former church knight.

Sebastian readied his blade, determined to buy at least a few more seconds on his own for the sake of those behind him.

It might not have been a mangy powerful demihuman… those he was protecting might have been nothing but mangy demihumans… but he could at least find peace knowing his sacrifice would contribute something to the world. That it'd bring great honor to his family, and give his siblings something to aspire to someday.

He might not get to see the families of the deceased… but at least he'd get to meet those who perished fighting with him in the afterlife, knowing full well he'd done his best to lead and protect them…

"Die-!"

"Critical Wire." A static-filled voice spoke.

Threads appeared out of the air around Grimal's body, halting him midcharge before his fist could come close to Sebastian's face.

The spearbreaker's eyes widened as the threads dug through his armor into his limbs, causing blood to leak out.

S'yne landed behind him. Her ball of yarn transformed into a pair of scissors in her hands as the wires kept her opponent trapped.

"N-No!" Grimal screamed, trying to free himself from the attack as Sebastian opened his eyes to find he had been saved. "I must avenge them! I must avenge my family!

"I must avenge everyone lost because of the Spear Hero and that redhead's actions in my village!"

Sebastian froze briefly before he could reply. It'd been yet another offhanded comment of his in the heat of the moment… but had the former first princess also had a hand in this?

But when, and how? And how was it connected to the Spear Hero?!

"I must-"

"Scissor Blaze." KCH!

S'yne's two scissor blades stabbed through Grimal's back and out his front, unleashing a spray of blood into the air.

The spearbreaker officer's body jerked, his eyes widening. He didn't immediately realise what happened at first, but the moment he looked down to see the blades protruding from his chest, comprehension hit Grimal like a punch to the ribs.

"No! NO!" His hands reached forward. Grasping for the Spear Hero, who was still unconscious on the back of the cart he was being carried in. At the moment, all he could think was that Motoyasu was slipping away across a distance he could not close.

He had to get him. He… had to… to…

But Motoyasu just kept getting further away. With each second, the Liberation Army retreated further. The fields beneath their feet were painted red with blood. Theirs, and their enemies.

The red rage in Grimal's vision slowly began to fade. His eyes filled with sorrow and grief for those he'd lost and for those he'd been unable to repay.

S'yne retracted her blades, and Grimal fell to his knees.

What had it all been for anyway? What had all his struggles to survive gotten him?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"No..." He weakly reached forward, blood splattered onto the soil as he coughed. "N-not here…"

"Not like th-this…" Grimal's arm slumped down.

In the end, he hadn't gotten his revenge. He hadn't gotten to reunite with his family.

He'd turned out to be as disposable as those under him.

…

Grimal's eyes dulled. And then, his body fell lifelessly on his side, where his blood continued to leak out onto the field beneath his corpse, intermingling with everyone else's.

His strength had meant nothing in the end.

…

"... … …" Sebastian opened his HUD to make sure the enemy commander was dead. And, to his dismay, he had an EXP notification on his HUD confirming it. And not just that.

LV 81 86

He'd gained five levels all at once. It was a higher experience reward than anything he'd received from slaying other monsters.

He had never received experience back in Lurolona when killing those assassins, since two Cardinal Heroes had been nearby, eliminating all experience gains.

But gaining so much for helping to kill a human was somewhat sickening… and something he'd have to think more about later.

"Took you long enough," Sebastian commented in his normal gruff tone of voice to the seamstress.

"I'm sorry."

The former church knight immediately felt a prick of guilt. It was only because of her stepping in that he was alive.

He turned to say he hadn't meant it like that, only to find she hadn't said it to him.

"It's ok." The tiger girl of Motoyasu's party had approached them, and she had gripped one of the seamstress's hands in hers.

"If you hadn't done so, then Sir Motoyasu would have had to.

"At least like this, we protected him from personally having to take another's life."

"... yes." S'yne nodded.

Atla smiled, before facing Sebastian again. "Thank you for what you did, mister Desmodus.

"Without you, Sir Motoyasu and everyone else would have surely perished.

"You have our gratitude."

…

"S-Sure. Whatever." Sebastian scowled while looking to the side.

Great, were all tiger demis this annoying?!

The enthralled aquatic beasts were, unfortunately, still locked in combat around them. Sebastian and those with him had been given a wide berth to allow the merc free reign in his fight. But now that he was dead, they began to fill the space and move forward to finish the job.

Sebas reappeared then though, blasting two away with his fists before limping up to the group and looking down at the dead merc.

"I received the EXP notification, but I still felt like checking… is that all then?"

"Indeed." S'yne put a hand to her pins, and frowned when she realized she couldn't reach anyone through them for some reason. Her doll floated up next to her head.

"Q'Ten Lo's influence is here. I can't figure out what's happening on the other battlefronts."

"Already figured that'd be the case." Sebastian breathed in deep. "I hate to ask this, but could you help to slow down the enemy one last time so we can pull back our forces?"

S'yne nodded as her weapon changed back to a ball of yarn at her side. "You can count on me!" She then dashed towards the frontlines where the fighters were still engaged with the aquatic therianthropes.

Sebastian took a step forward to follow, only to almost collapse. The wound to his leg was worse than he realized. The spear breaker's lance had cut not just skin but part of his calf muscle.

The only reason he didn't fall over completely was because of Atla catching him. She might have looked small, but the tiger girl was stronger than she appeared. "Allow me to help." Without being asked to, one of her glowing hands moved down over the wound. She was using life force to treat it with emergency first aid.

Sebastian almost told her to get her grubby hands off him. But he ended up biting his tongue and sucking it up this time. "All forces! Disengage!" His voice boomed over the battlefield. "Return to camp!"

The Liberation Army did as Sebastian commanded. S'yne, with all the threads at her command, worked to slow down and ensnare as many of the aquatic opponents that tried to follow after their opponents as possible.

As they began to move back, Sebastian used his free hand to pull Grimal's lance out of the ground and use it as a makeshift crutch so he wouldn't have to rely on the tiger girl as much… and because the weapon definitely wasn't of Siltvelt make.

Call it suspicious, but his senses were telling him that it was essential to figure out where it'd come from. If anything, it could tell them more about where this mysterious commander had come from.

The forces under Sebastian steadily pulled back with him. And once enough of the close-range fighters were out of the way, mages and archers began to use the last of their MP and arrows to pelt those stubbornly resisting S'yne's efforts, allowing for the rest of their comrades to pull back and begin a swift retreat back up towards the plateau without the orcas, sharks, or anyone else able to catch up to them.

By the time Sebastian and his forces returned to the plateau, the other proponents of the Hero's Army had nearly completed their retreat from their battlefronts as well. However, there were shockingly few coming from the battle at the right fort.

Whilst the aquatic forces from Sebastian's battlefield hadn't pursued them very far before turning back, the bat kamikaze monsters from the valley still kept throwing themselves down at the Shield Hero and his companions as they retreated with Melty and the others.

Naofumi and Raphtalia were able to block most of their attempts with his shield skills and Hate Reaction, as well as her long-range skill attacks, till they ran out of SP. And Dou-Lon and Eclair assisted till they ran out of MP and were thus forced to fall back.

Boom! "Ack!" Naofumi personally tanked a couple of bats. But one of them had a Sakura Bomb, which did a surprising amount of damage to his arm despite the armor and accessories he wore.

"Naofumi!" Raphtalia looked to him.

"I'm fine!" The young man guided her attention back to the bats at hand. The explosion, to his dismay, had destroyed one of the bangles he'd been wearing over his wrists.

'That's another gold coin down the drain.' He thought regrettably. And it'd had such a good secondary effect with one of his skills that he'd never gotten to try out, too.

"Ha!" At least they had Granny still fighting alongside them. But whether for practical reasons or maybe the battle with Bearga had been rougher than she let on, she was no longer maintaining her young form with Hengen Muso and was fighting as an old lady.

Which was still honestly terrifying to say the least. But she was visibly slower than usual, and her attacks didn't have quite the oomph they'd had earlier.

"I've… I've still got more in the tank, boy! Don't you dare be worrying about me right now!" Granny snapped at the Shield Hero.

"Rafu!" Their daughter cheered them on. She had run out of MP too, and Naofumi refused to allow her to fight the exploding creatures.

If she was hit with even one Sakura Bomb, she'd die with only her base stats to rely on. This infuriated Rifana further, but there was nothing she could do about it at the moment.

Despite one of his arms almost being made useless by the explosion, Naofumi kept blocking the monsters away with his shield. Using Hate Reaction every time his SP recharged enough to allow it to keep the bats focused on him, Raphtalia, and Granny.

It felt like an eternity, and Naofumi's eyes kept darting left and right to see if any other survivors from the three battlegrounds were coming to them or not… but the only ones approaching the magic made slope at this point were Siltvelt's forces from the valley.

Amongst them was Bearga, who was at the center of a pink cage of energy moving towards them. He had a diabolical smirk on his face that Naofumi could see even from this distance through the moving Sakura Field.

As they took one last step back, with the last of the current wave of bat monsters being taken care of, Melty and Mahoya stepped forward. The two had finished chugging the last of the Magic Healing Waters the Liberation Army had and raised their arms.

"As the governor of the Hero's Nation, the source of all power commands thee…"

"As a teacher of the magical arts in the Hero's Nation, the source of thy power commands you…"

Melty and Mahoya led another ritual class spell that had them chanting for twenty seconds. Like with most spells, Naofumi didn't note what was said for the chant. Though he did finally note how Melty's way of starting her chants had changed. And Mahoya too.

It was such a random thing to note in the heat of the moment. But Naofumi kept his eyes on their foes as the two magic practitioners worked together to cast another ritual class spell, until finally…

"Dispel Earth!" The two women finished.

Naofumi thought what they'd do was get rid of the earthen slope they'd created at the start of the battle, preventing Siltvelt's land forces from having an easy path up to them.

And he was right… in part.

The magically made slope vanished in an instant, revealing molemen that'd still been underground towards the Hero's Army to harass them further. Which was too bad for them, as the majority of them fell all the way from near the Heroes down to their deaths.

Thwoom!

But Melty and Mahoya hadn't only dispelled the earthen slope leading up to them. No, they'd also dispelled the few meters of earth between the moats of both fortresses and the valley cliffs.

Naofumi watched with satisfaction as Bearga's smug look turned to a look of horror, and then the torrent of floodwater crashed into him and Siltvelt's forces.

This pushed all their foes, including Bearga, back into the valley. And, funnily enough, in Bearga's case specifically, back into the sinkhole he'd climbed out of.

"You think we'll be lucky enough for him to drown in that?" Naofumi asked.

"As if we'd ever be that lucky." Raphtalia sighed.

She at least hoped that Justus and the others with him had retreated in time. However, she couldn't deny how satisfying it'd felt to see the bearman struggling to keep his head above water before he vanished underground.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Then, all of a sudden, an extensive series of explosions occurred at the back of the valley where Siltvelt's forces had come from.

"I guess Chen managed to find where they were keeping their stockpiles of explosives." Naofumi finally smiled a little in relief. "Glad to know she and her men managed to survive the fighting and committed some sabotage on their backlines… I just hope they're able to get themselves out of that mess."

"... without needing to die for it," Melty whispered with a heavy heart beside him.

…

Naofumi didn't say anything, but he rested his good hand on the young governor's head. His brief smile fell.

How many had died today on both sides?

Naofumi didn't know. Nor did he want to know.

… but he would soon learn anyway as the Liberation Army limped back to its base camp, which took several hours.

Instead of stopping to rest, Naofumi and Motoyasu, who'd woken up by that point but remained silent, gathered several dozen enthralled prisoners from the various soldiers Sebastian had secured and brought back from the left fortress, and took them away. Leaving the rest of them behind as the Liberation Army began limping its way northwest, hoping to avoid being sandwiched between the two armies of Siltvelt as Raphtalia had warned.

That was all they could do at this point.

…

They'd planned. They'd prepared. They'd committed.

But in the end, the Heroes hadn't been ready for this battle.

The Kitsune monster and her forces, as well as the Pacifier Nation… they'd won this first round against the Heroes.

"..." A beautiful woman with flowing black hair looked over what remained of the Valley of Kings from the other side. She was dressed in an orange and white miko outfit that covered most of her body. A bit of extra fabric even stretched up around her neck, making her look smaller than she actually was.

Besides her outfit, she also wore a strange accessory with an orange gem on the right front of her outfit. And attached to her flowing hair was a larger gem of the same color.

It'd been several hours since the battle had concluded. The sun was lowering in the evening sky.

"Miko Priestess." A familiar bearman limped up to the woman. He treated his winged spear like a crutch and got on one knee before her. "I'm sorry,

"The exiled princess and the spirit implement wielders got away.

"I failed."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "You failed Bearga? Even though you were entrusted with a precious Sakura Stone of Destiny.

"Were the wielders of the spirit implements truly that strong?"

"No… but a couple of the allies they brought along with them were." Bearga snarled.

"... report what happened."

Bearga spent the next few minutes explaining to the commander of Q'Ten Lo's forces what had occurred. The lack of spine from his men. Justus's use of magic to try to keep Raphtalia and the others trapped in an illusion field.

His fight against Elhart. Then the arrival of Granny and him pulling out his last resort, Astral Enchant, only for the Heroes to escape regardless.

…

"I see." The woman closed her eyes and bowed her head as Bearga concluded.

"I wish to execute Justus and his men for not fulfilling their duties," Bearga demanded. "That imbecile failed in his duty to Q'Ten Lo! I must have his head for it!"

"Would you want the same thing to happen to you?"

…

…

At her question, Bearga tilted his head in confusion. "What?"

"You failed too, Bearga. You admitted as much."

"I-I did. But only because Justus failed to-" Bearga started to argue.

The woman raised a hand, and he fell silent.

…

"If I were to punish him for failing, would I not have to levy the same judgment upon you and your men as well?" The orca woman asked simply, giving enough of a pause beforehand that there could be no misunderstanding her words.

…

The bearman grimaced as he paused, before replying as well. "I apologize, Miko Priestess.

"I meant to say that I also believed Justus and his men were, in part, responsible for the exiled princess escaping our grasp."

"Oh my… Do you have proof of this treason?" The woman asked, an eyebrow rising up again as Bearga gave what would be an actual excuse to execute the raccoon man and the Tengu he commanded immediately.

"... no." Bearga bowed himself to the ground. He'd been too busy fighting Elhart, and then Granny to pay attention to what was going on in Justus's magic field. "I do not."

"... I see. I'm afraid that I cannot pass judgment at this time based only on your words." The woman said.

"M-Miko Priestess, you can't just-"

The woman raised a hand, and like before, Bearga fell silent again.

"You are a trusted officer of Q'Ten Lo, Lord Bearga. Do not get that wrong.

"But the Heavenly Emperor entrusted me with his will over his soldiers. All of them are as precious as fine gold in his eyes. Dishonored or not."

"Y… Yes, Miko Priestess." Bearga nervously growled as he prostrated himself lower.

The woman smiled softly before she turned away. "Have your men tend to their wounds. Then leave on the morrow to trail the Spirit Implement wielders to their next location.

"I will withhold this information from reaching Makina's ears for now. She is far less forgiving than the Heavenly Emperor, I'm afraid. But so long as she stays on the island, then she shouldn't hear about any of this by the time you do succeed.

"After all, I have faith that you and the others will fulfill the will of our glorious Emperor." Her head turned back around, and Bearga got to see the smile she graced him with this time.

"Of… of course. We won't fail you, Lady Shildeena!" Bearga bowed his head to the ground, a look of genuine gratitude on his face.

Despite his rough and crude exterior, his respect for the woman in front of him was immense.

Unlike that fox woman who always hovered over the Heavenly Emperor, she did care about those under her command. And she seemed to at least be aware of what happened to those that displeased the Heavenly Emperor's advisor.

"That is all. Dismissed."

The woman looked at the evening sun in the sky as Bearga stood up and moved to fulfill the commands she'd given him… though he still harbored distrust towards the dishonored who'd been assigned to his unit.

Oh well, perhaps next time would go a little better. He'd just have to try a different plan. One that'd ensure the Spirit Implement Wielders couldn't run away like before.

…

After a moment, when he was gone, Shildeena let out a soft sigh.

Not being in Q'Ten Lo, she felt… odd.

It wasn't just the fact that the water dragon wasn't around for her to speak to, but…

It was just weird…

…

"Lil' ol' me could really go for a drink." Shildeena suddenly sighed heavily.

Just like that, the dignified air of an upright, mature woman was gone.

She turned around to walk back to camp, but her eyes widened in confusion. "Oh my, which way was it again?"

Her head turned to the left, and then the right.

It hadn't been that long since she'd left to observe the battlefield, right? Ooooh, if only Siltvelt had more signs indicating what was where! This was so embarrassing!

"Camp is this way, Miko Priestess." A Ninja shadow materialized next to her. "And might I suggest laying off the sake tonight? There's always a chance the evil exiled princess could have something else up her sleeve."

"Awwww." Shildeena pouted at her personal Shadow/guide. "Can't I please have some sake though? I don't see why we brought the stuff all the way from Q'Ten Lo if we're not gonna drink it."

"Miko Priestess, I could have sworn you were twelve." The ninja responded in a flat, uncomfortable voice.

"Boo! I'm old enough!"

'And yet you sometimes forget how to act like an adult.' The ninja sighed internally, closing his eyes briefly.

Out of everyone there, HE had the hardest job of them all. Making sure the Miko Priestess didn't get lost, or, Gods forbid, get herself drunk in front of their forces.

"Camp was this way, right?"

"Wha- Lady Shildeena! That's where the battle was fought!" The ninja yelled whilst running after his lady.

"Oopsies!"

The commander of Q'Ten Lo was guided back to her camp. The ninja begging the Gods for strength as he did so.

…

Time slowly passed as the enthralled continued work repairing the area. They would be working night and day against their wills until everything was fixed and made stronger than before.

Though the Chimeras were left alone.

Tulina thought they'd make a perfect addition to the valley.

…

…

Eventually though, when the night was dark and the stars glowed bright in the night sky.

"Moto…"

"Moto was here…!"

Two women appeared on the rooftop of the left fortress. One of them licked some blood off the roof and began to shake uncontrollably.

"We were so close to having it fresh!"

"But it won't be long now!"

"Moto!"

"Moto!"

"MOTO!"

The two insane women continued off into the night.

Off their leash and unchained, they pursue their prey.

Hero Clips!

What if They Actually Negotiated?

"Lady Makina, we've received another report from the mainland!"

"Yeah yeah, tell me, is the brat dead yet or not?" The fox woman cackled to herself.

"No, she is not." The ninja answered.

"Boo! I said I didn't want any reports until the kill was confirmed!" The older redhaired woman pouted.

Couldn't these idiots just let her cackle and daydream about that tanuki brat being killed a thousand different ways so her hold on power could at last be assured?!

"Lady Makina… is what we're doing a good idea?!" The ninja, however, through some miracle, actually grew a spine in that moment and spoke back to the adviser.

"Eh- of course it is! Why would a peon like you claim otherwise! Or do you think there's some flaw in the great plan which I conjured and brought before the great Emperor for his approval, which he gave!"

The ninja took a deep breath, before fixing a glare on the fox woman. "Well, to start-"

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Three figures sat in awkward silence around a lone coffee table that was on the verge of collapsing under the weight of a colossal stack of paper that was carelessly dumped in the middle of it.

The shadowy figure on the right inhaled sharply and finally leaned forward into the light of a singular, faintly flickering and droning light bulb hanging from above. This revealed his peculiar appearance at last, as a tall man wearing a thick, dark-green wool coat and a Ushanka, though a balaclava still hid his face.

Norin stared at the mountain of paper with weary eyes visible through the eyeslits of his ski mask and took a single slip from the top to look at it again before slowly putting it back, making the coffee table groan in protest.

"We can't put this into the script. There are over two million words in it." Norin stated the obvious with an air of finality.

"Two million? Brother's planning to keep this up until he's fifty," Lyron shook his head as he prevented another large stack from falling on top of him. "At the rate we're going, his kids are gonna have kids who are gonna be reading this fic by the time we reach the second Otherworld Arc."

"Honestly, this chapter was long enough as is." Allen sighed in dejected agreement. "I don't want to waste more time compiling all of this into a multi-chapter-long rant right now."

The three figures nodded to themselves, and so they began the long and uncomfortable journey of digging through the pile to reach the last page under the constant oppressive sound of the ticking clock on the wall. And before long...

The scene cut back to the ninja finishing his rant.

"And lastly, your fashion sense sucks!"

Boy, what a rant it was. It was a miracle Makina allowed him to talk for so long as he did, insulting her more than a few times throughout. How many days had passed in real time? The ninja had been going on for quite a long while.

Makina nodded to herself with closed eyes. "I see I see… well now that you've said your piece."

Pop!

She unceremoniously one-shot the ninja with her soul magic, destroying his head like she would a grape.

"How dare you talk back to your superior like that! Hopefully you learn some manners in your next life! Not! Guards, remove this traitor's body from the room!" The fox woman spat on his corpse as the other shadows in the room who'd also had to stand for weeks on end moved to dispose of the ninja's remains.

As soon as her hidden guards left, however, Makina began biting her thumb. "Oh #$%, oh #$%, that servant was completely right!

"If I don't act soon, they'll, they'll…!

"I need to fix this now or else I'm finished!"

And thus, Makina had the epiphany that instead of fixing this issue through further bloodshed, which was almost guaranteed to get her killed in a horrible and gruesome way since the main characters were wrapped in the walking plot armor that was Naofumi, and because all the characters also had a thing against redheads thanks to a certain SOMEONE…

Because of all this, Makina would instead… negotiate.

"Wow." Naofumi said.

He and Raphtalia, as well as Raph-Chan sat across the table from Shildeena, Bearga, and Justus. Who were busy drafting up the compromise between Q'Ten Lo and the Hero's Nation at the docks that separated Q'Ten Lo from the outside world.

Where were Motoyasu, Ren, and the others, you may ask? And also, how had the Shield Hero and his companion and daughter ended up here?

The other Heroes were elsewhere.

As for how they were there… since when did crack ever need to be fully explained anyway?

"So in return for leaving you and your descendants in the Hero's Nation alone, you'll agree that the Hero's Nation and its allies will never set foot in Q'Ten Lo to lay claim to the throne?" Bearga asked. Without acting like a warrior, it was revealed he was actually a very fluent diplomat.

"Of course. I never wanted the throne anyway." Raphtalia said in a flat voice while rolling her eyes.

"We'll also receive funds from you to pay for all the damage caused to our home, correct?" Naofumi asked.

"Yes." Shildeena nodded her head. "Justus…?"

"Yeah yeah, Me and my friends will deliver the final payment to them on Q'Ten Lo's behalf. You don't have to worry about that." The raccoon man shrugged.

His group would also be using it as an opportunity to leave Q'Ten Lo behind for good with all those that wanted to join them. But it wasn't like the people in power needed to know about that right now.

"Alright." Naofumi nodded his head. "We'll agree to those terms then."

Raphtalia sighed in relief. "Finally…"

Being so angry and hotheaded for a long time just wasn't her style. She preferred being sweet and loving… with a little dash of threatening here and there.

Only a little though. Enough to make sure her fiance/future husband would remember which of them wore the pants in their house.

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan cheered happily.

And like that, the conflict between the Hero's Nation and Q'Ten Lo would come to a peaceful resolution, and nobody else would have to die on either side because one side had been too stupid for their own good, and…

"Actually, there's one last condition." Bearga quickly interjected.

Naofumi frowned. "Son of a… well, as long as it's not too big of an ask, fine. What is it? And this better be the last thing."

"I promise, it is. It's also one that's very important to us, and one we won't compromise with." Bearga wrote down one last clause onto the contract between them, which read…

"Raphtalia will not wear the garb of the empress under any circumstances in the future."

…

…

…

…

There was a long silence between both groups as they looked from one to the other.

The half-tanuki frowned. "Does… does that mean I'll have to close down my side hustle too?"

That'd be such a waste of money… but if it meant keeping the peace-

"Well, Raphtalia."

As the Katana Heroine turned to her fiance, Naofumi's weapon form changed to the Shield of Wrath X on his arm. "Looks to me like negotiations have broken down with these ungrateful pricks."

"RAFU!" Raph-Chan's eyes blazed with agreement.

Raphtalia's eyes widened, but it was already too late.

The Shield Hero and his fiance sailed away from the burning island nation of Q'Ten Lo.

The stupid fools should have never let them set foot inside. Because the ninja had taken so long talking Makina's ear off, the pair actually had learned the secret failsafe that allowed their weapons to resist the Sakura Stones, making it a cakewalk for Naofumi to destroy the enemy nation in its entirety.

Raphtalia facepalmed on the deck next to him. "Was that really necessary?" She asked.

And Naofumi, looking like an absolute chad while gazing in the distance, answered:

And that's how the Pacifier Nation met its end at the hands of the Shield Hero… all because they'd tried to negotiate for too much.

Raphtalia would wear her Miko Outfit for the rest of her life.

Till Next Time

Allen

Chapter Text

It was raining on the day of Jaylee's funeral. Itsuki could do nothing but stare ahead as the casket was lowered into the ground. He hardly paid attention to anything that was happening around him.

Besides himself and the priest, the only other two people in attendance were his and Jaylee's mothers. His dad was too busy with work to come, and Jaylee's father... probably didn't care.

The boy's rigid hand moved forward mechanically to toss in a handful of dirt into the grave along with everyone else. The priest said something else and then closed his book before walking off.

Jaylee's mother left shortly after as well.

…

Itsuki vaguely sensed his mother's hand on his shoulder, and she was saying something, but he just kept staring down into the hole in the ground as rain droplets turned the dirt on top of the coffin into mud.

…

There was more movement behind them as someone else approached. It was a man with orange eyes in a tan trench coat. He seemed to want something, but Itsuki's mother harshly scolded him.

"Leave him alone!"

"Please, ma'am, it will only take a minute-"

"I said, no! He already told you everything he saw! Stop forcing him to relive that awful day!"

"...My apologies. I'll leave. But if by some chance he remembers anything important-"

The man bowed to Itsuki's mother and tried to pull out a card from a pocket of his trench coat, but the woman angrily slapped it out of his hand, making it land in the mud.

"I SAID LEAVE!"

…

"Itsuki, dear, let's go."

The boy felt his mother's hand grab his and tug him away from the grave, and as his body was forcibly turned around, his golden eyes briefly met the man's orange ones.

The man was standing there. He looked... vaguely familiar…

But Itsuki had no energy to care or think about where they may have met before.

As the boy was led back to his mother's car, the man continued to stand by the grave in the rain.

After a short pause that felt like an eternity, he lit a cigarette before crouching down to pick his card back up.

Most of it was still readable, despite being dropped in the mud.

[█ █ █ Masayoshi

Tokyo Police Detective: Sanya Precinct. Drug Law Enforcement Unit.]

"He's got to be around here!" "Find him!"

The Bow Hero awoke with a start. He'd fallen off his branch high in the tree while asleep, and hadn't plummeted to the ground only because he'd tied his body to the branch with some rope beforehand.

But somewhere down below, he could already hear the voices of those who'd pursued him out here.

"Find him!" "Find the Bow Hero!" The voices of the men leading the group called out.

'Damn it! Them again?!' The Bow Hero took a small knife from its sheath on his side and slashed the rope binding him to the tree.

He lithely landed on the ground below, now fully awake thanks to the fresh rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins. He quickly sheathed the knife as he booked it away from the area.

"I heard something this way!"

"It must be him!"

"After him!"

The Bow Hero closed his eyes tightly. This group wouldn't be able to catch up to him on foot. Not with how much higher his stats were compared to theirs. But it was frustrating regardless!

Itsuki didn't even understand how he'd landed himself in this current mess!

After leaving Skell behind, he'd had several more instances of having to flee an area after learning the nobleman in charge had been killed!

Earlier that day, he'd arrived in yet another region in a nation or a city-state or whatever, the Bow Hero had no idea where he was in the world at this point. All he knew was that he'd been on the verge of exhaustion, again, and had traveled to a town to gather supplies for himself and, hopefully, find an inn where he could finally get a decent night's sleep and a warm meal.

But not ONLY had the nobleman in charge of this area been killed as well, but for some strange and stupid reason, the townspeople already thought that HE had been the one responsible for his death!

It'd already been several hours since he'd run from that territory. And he'd used a stealth skill to get away before finding SOMEWHERE to at least close his eyes. Yet the people he'd run from were still tracking him?! What breed of idiots were they?!

"You and I both know there's an easier solution to this that you're not taking."

"SHUT UP!" Itsuki screamed.

"Yeah, that's definitely him!"

"After him!"

"After the Bow Hero!"

The voices, though more distant behind him, still rang out through the trees. There was also the neighing of a horse. They weren't on foot, but horseback!

Itsuki began to run even harder as he finally activated a stealth skill. Cursing at himself internally, all the while for losing his cool.

"Come on, it'd be so quick. We easily outclass those meager peasants a hundred times over with our stats.

"You wouldn't even need to use a skill. Just a regular arrow aimed correctly could kill all three of those bumbling fools in one shot.

"You don't need anybody else. So get off your soap box already and just-"

Itsuki clamped his hands over his ears as he continued to run. The voice in his mind stopped at the same time, just like every other time.

The short blonde's face slammed into low-hanging branches. His body bounced off tree trunks. And his feet slammed into boulders every few steps.

"Capture him!"

"Capture the false Bow Hero!"

Itsuki gritted his teeth as he plowed on through the forest. The sound of his pursuers slowly started to get more distant as he escaped deeper into the mountains.

Yet whenever he slowed down even a bit, it always sounded like they were close behind him. And so he continued to run away.

He just had to get away.

Get away from it all before he finally gave in to the voice inside him.

…

…

Almost a day later, a familiar group of individuals came across the path of destruction that Itsuki had left through the forest.

Having gone to the town before this, they'd found out once again about how the Count of this area had been killed. Some blamed the Bow Hero for it, of course, despite the lack of evidence. And there were those confused about why these rumors had sprung up in the first place, since the Count had died while leading his men in defeating a group of bandits that'd settled in the nearby woods.

This led the group to track down yet another reincarnator who'd been responsible for the mess. He never got a chance to reveal his cheat power, as the group killed him too quickly for the harbinger to retaliate. And instead of staying back to end those rumors, which would only serve as a distraction, Rishia led her party after the Bow Hero in the direction he'd supposedly fled.

Even if there'd been rumors, nobody had actually gone after the Bow Hero. And this was now the third time this pattern had repeated in the last week and a half. They were done wasting their time with obvious distractions that only placed more distance between themselves and the Bow Hero.

The only thing they could note was that they were about to enter Melromarc.

"Let's go!" Rishia ordered.

"Right!" Anya and the others followed behind the Projectiles Heroine.

If Karn wanted to stop them, he was going to have to do something big.

"Alright, how bad were our losses?"

Two days had passed since the battle at the Valley of Kings. The Liberation Army traveled northwest during that time, and was currently camping on the outskirts of what'd formerly been the regional capital of this area.

A lot had happened. One of the things Naofumi personally did beyond just healing all the injuries he could was learning how the different battles had gone.

Of the three groups, Sebastian's group had the most success and the fewest casualties by far, despite the Spear Hero and his party getting nearly wiped out by the fort's Spear Breaker Commander. An enigma of a man that they, unfortunately, knew nothing about besides the fact that he may have grown up in Melromarc. And that there'd likely be more of those from this group that they'd have to face in the future.

The former Church Knight who'd joined Naofumi's party only slightly over a week ago had been officially recognized and rewarded by Melty for his exploits. His position as a field commander, which Naofumi had doubted at first despite his performance at Lurolona, was now assured for any future battles.

Melty and Naofumi's group had the next most survivors, but it also had the most wounded. The majority of those injuries had been suffered shortly after Siltvelt started their counterattack.

Objectively speaking, their group would have been completely wiped out under normal circumstances. It was only thanks to Melty's leadership, combined with the fighters' grit and the Heroes and their party members taking the bulk of the enemy on themselves at the end, that they managed to achieve the best-case scenario.

As for the last group, led by Knight Commander Mayor and the members of Ren's party…

"..." The young governor looked down at the table as she thought over her response. "Thanks to your and Naofumi's Healing Magic, everybody who managed to retreat with us survived their injuries and-"

"Melty." Motoyasu let out a long sigh as he spoke again. The blonde man did not raise his voice, but the princess quieted regardless.

"How many did we lose?" He asked again.

Currently, the Spear and Shield Heroes stood around a war table in the command tent with Melty. Neither Knight Commander Mayor nor Sebastian was there.

Melty had already held a meeting with them before this. This was a talk between only her and the Heroes. And she was glad she'd saved them for last.

After the last couple of days, her fraying control over her emotions was finally beginning to come undone.

Naofumi kept his arms crossed as he waited to hear the number from Melty herself…

"... of those led by me and Sebastian, around a thousand are confirmed to be either dead or missing in action," Melty answered hesitantly. "A hundred of those were Hero Fighters. And the rest were knights from Melromarc."

...

If you thought about it, after a horrible battle like that, a twenty-five percent loss in the fighting forces of both groups was a miracle. The fighters had outperformed even the best of expectations when the unexpected happened. However, this didn't seem like a success.

"What about the right fort? How many did we lose there?" Naofumi decided to stop beating around the bush and ripped the band-aid off.

…

…

…

"Only twenty individuals made it out." Melty quietly admitted.

…

…

…

Naofumi managed to maintain a stoic expression. But Motoyasu nearly fell over as his knees buckled under him and he was forced to grip the edge of the table to stay upright.

"Th… That many…?" The Spear Hero whispered in abject horror.

Naofumi continued to remain impassive. He'd already known the most significant source of casualties for the Liberation Army was Mayor's group.

Of the right fort's attack force, only Blue, Rikka, Tersia, Farrie, Knight Commander Mayor, three of his captains, and a few knights and Hero Fighters managed to escape.

A small group of fighters escaped only because they were powerful enough to fight their way out together with Tersia and Farrie, and the few knights who made it out with them did so because they were lucky enough to be near the group when things went to &%#$.

Naofumi had personally learned what happened because he'd checked on the Sword Hero's party the first night after their retreat, after hearing how injured some of them were from the nearly catatonic Commander Mayor.

Ren's party had tried to tough it out and let those with more grievous injuries get healed first while Farrie healed others with her elemental healing magic, as weak as it still was… but because Naofumi had made a promise to Ren that his friends would be kept safe, Naofumi used the MP he'd recharged since the battle to heal all of them to full health.

He'd tried to offer some of them Yggdrasil's Elixir to ensure they were okay, but it was rejected entirely. Ren's party insisted that it was better to save the medicine for those who actually needed it. And there had been more than a few who needed it because of lost limbs or nearly fatal wounds that needed immediate treatment.

…

As for the reason why things had turned out so disastrously for their group...

The Genmu Elder had been in charge of the fort's defenses. He was a master at earth magic, and so was able to send his forces wherever he wished. He'd purposefully dragged the battle on and on in this manner, bleeding the Liberation Army until Mayor committed to a high-risk counterassault against him with the strongest individuals he had under his command before they tired out.

It would have been a solid strategy under any other scenario and against any other foe. Unfortunately, the moment Mayor committed to it was when the Genmu's counter truly began.

First, some stealthy individuals, likely ninjas from Q'Ten Lo, though Naofumi hadn't confirmed it, had targeted the officers that Mayor had left in charge, killing the majority of them before fleeing thanks to Farrie and Tersia stepping in. But then, as the fighters and knights were reeling from the loss of leadership, the more powerful aquatic soldiers of Siltvelt began to emerge from the moat surrounding the fortress, boxing Mayor's forces in and slaughtering anyone who didn't surrender.

The final nail in the coffin was the werewolf therianthropes they'd captured in the first part of the battle and brought out by the breach in the fort with the other prisoners of war. Like the ones in the valley, and like the ones Sebas had been escorting back to camp before having to put them down, they too had transformed into Chimeras. They'd raged through the Liberation Army's backlines after consuming their former comrades.

Without proper leadership to face them and with so few high-powered individuals who could put them down for good, things quickly turned from bad to worse.

Tersia and Farrie had to fight their way through the chaos with the few survivors they could gather. Blue and Rikka were forced to evacuate with Mayor and the remaining survivors of the keep assault after the Genmu Elder utterly crushed them in the battle inside the main keep.

Almost all the elite knights of Melromarc had been killed or incapacitated. And while they did manage to escape in the end, Blue's set of magic armor was entirely gone, having been ripped off his body during the fight.

Needless to say, the pair of Filolials had received some grievous injuries in their retreat and would take some time to recover from them, even with healing magic.

…

The group continued to stand around the table in silence.

The Spear Hero felt the pain of that day, when all those knights died defending the village from the Spirit Tortoise's minions, all over again. The majority of these casualties were neither his nor Naofumi's fault. However, while they expressed it in different ways, both of them took the news hard.

Almost three thousand souls still inhabited the camp, yet it felt emptier than ever. No wonder they hadn't needed to take out so many tents from their weapons.

Melty looked down at the table again. "A… According to Chen's scouting report, when she and my two shadows joined up with us yesterday, not all the knights and fighters we were forced to leave behind were killed.

"Some… some of them were enthralled, and are now part of the Kitsune's forces."

Naofumi slowly shook his head. "So not only did we fail to free those soldiers with our attack. We also gave that monster more bodies to throw at us.

"And not just anybody, but our allies and friends…" The Spear Hero murmured. He was able to stand again, but he still gripped the table below him.

"Now I'm glad we told all our allies outside Siltvelt to keep out of things." Naofumi raised his head and sighed. He then looked toward the exit of the tent. "What about the prisoners we took, Melty? Anything noteworthy there?"

"... no," Melty said, her hands trembling under her. "They eat whatever is put in front of them, but beyond that, they refuse to say anything. And nothing our remaining mages have tried has had an effect.

"I… I honestly have no idea what to do with them." Melty admitted, her voice trembling a bit as she said so.

"Hmmm," Naofumi began to speak as Motoyasu gripped his weapon tightly. "I did ask Raphtalia if she and Raph-Chan had come up with any other ideas since the battle. And Raphtalia said they're working on something, but she isn't ready to share it with anyone else yet. I'll let you know when that changes."

"Alright…" Melty nodded sadly.

What Naofumi had said wasn't a total lie. However, the Shield Hero was still a bit iffy on what his fiancée had told him in private.

He still found it bizarre that he never realized she and that raccoon samurai were having a conversation while everyone else was fighting. He'd thought he and she had been fighting side by side that entire time, but apparently not.

There were some things she had learned from Justus that she couldn't share with the others yet. And Naofumi was still a bit iffy on trusting anybody from Q'Ten Lo… but he'd try it out this time since Raphtalia seemed to trust what he had to say.

One of Melty's shadows, after they got back with Chen, had also gone and verified that there was an army placed by Siltvelt to cut off their retreat to Melromarc, so there was a chance the Q'Ten Lo turncoat's information was solid.

It also helped that Raphtalia seemed even more inspired, as she took the opportunity between breaks in their travels to do some 'special illusion training' with their daughter to fill in the gaps in her skillset. Raph-Chan was also as fired up as her mother to improve.

…

Still, to think, they'd lost over half of their army… and gained a few dozen prisoners of war they could do nothing with in exchange, as well as a bit of information for how they should proceed.

They'd probably killed thousands of enthralled, too, which would typically be a good statistic in a war.

But not here.

Not like this.

Naofumi stared down yet another failure with a stern expression, and he let out a long breath through his nose.

So much for this campaign being simple and easy.

…

"... I'm sorry." Melty bowed her head. Tears finally fell from her eyes and impacted the table below her. And Naofumi's face finally showed concern. "It was my ineptitude as a strategist that led to this. I shouldn't have-"

"No." The Shield Hero didn't hesitate to interrupt as he reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder before Motoyasu could make a move to do the same.

Naofumi then pulled her into a hug. And his other hand rested on top of her head. Despite being great and acting grown-up, especially when the situation called for it, the Shield Hero had to remember that their governor was still a kid at heart. And he comforted her as much as she allowed him to. "It wasn't your fault. It was ours.

"This wasn't like battling a Wave or your usual monster or idiot reincarnator. I thought we had a well-thought-out assault plan that would have succeeded under normal circumstances…

"But it didn't work. We were too overconfident. We're still not at a point where we, the Heroes, can single-handedly take on entire armies." Naofumi admitted.

Melty didn't say a word. She closed her eyes tightly, letting more of her tears fall as she hugged the Shield Hero back.

"Things happened that we couldn't prepare for, but we'll be better prepared for them next time." Naofumi breathed out softly. And he continued to hold the young girl for another moment while rubbing her head in a comforting manner, the way she'd taught him, since that's how her Father had done it.

…

…

…

Eventually, Melty tapped his side, and Naofumi released her.

One of her Shadows, the female one, appeared briefly and silently to hand the young ruler a blue handkerchief. And as Melty dabbed at her tears with it, the Shadow melted back into the backdrop with an ease that went beyond unnatural.

"Better?" Naofumi asked.

"A bit… thank you," Melty murmured the last part quietly. There was more than a bit of vulnerability in those words, as well as a deep gratitude that extended beyond that.

Naofumi took another deep breath before stepping back to look at Motoyasu again. "When will Larsa be able to send her reinforcements from Zeltoble?"

"Huh?" The Spear Hero briefly snapped out of his depression. "Um, I don't know. I… haven't told her about what happened yet."

…

Naofumi glared at the blonde man, who looked down at the table again. "I-I'm sorry. I… just haven't… the last two days…"

…

"Motoyasu, I'm saying this as seriously as I can, but call Larsa today and get her people ready to help."

"They don't have to arrive right now." The Shield Hero clarified as Motoyasu opened his mouth to protest. "But once we get to the Silent Monastery, we're going to begin the process of moving her mercenaries via portal to replenish our ranks."

Motoyasu blinked his eyes in surprise, but Naofumi hardened his expression. "We can't afford to sit around and mope about our losses. We need to lick our wounds and get ready to swing back harder. To achieve this, we'll need more experienced soldiers fighting alongside us besides those we're hoping to find holed up at the place.

"We can't stop now because of a single $#%& up, no matter how monumental it was."

"Otherwise, the sacrifices of everyone who already died were pointless."

…

Motoyasu slowly blinked, but nodded his head in response. "Ok…"

"Does that work for you, Melty?" The Shield Hero looked in the direction of the younger princess as he softened his expression. "If you have a better suggestion, I'm all ears."

"I don't have any good ideas right now." Melty shook her head. "I'll take it that The Silent Monastery is our next destination?"

Naofumi nodded. "It is. I know we've discussed the pros and cons before, but our best chance at success lies there.

"Besides, it's not as if we have anywhere else we could go right now. At least, not without abandoning everyone left here with our portal skills."

Naofumi stood up from the table. "Speaking of portaling, I'm going to check with your mom to see if she's found any more information on that monster. I'll also update her on the condition of her forces… After that, I'll check on the town and grab some herbs from our stockpiles before coming back.

"I'm going to need to spend most of my time compounding more Healing Potions and Magic Healing Waters for the battles ahead."

"Please, take Elhart with you just to be safe," Melty said.

"I will." Naofumi rolled his eyes. "Damn old man is waiting for me outside the tent right now anyway."

"I heard that Shield brat!" Elhart yelled from outside.

"You were supposed to!" The Shield Hero smiled before he turned to his older brother figure again. "Oh, and one more thing, Motoyasu. I need you to ask Larsa if she has any Amalgama that she hasn't destroyed yet and see if it can be brought here as well."

"W-Why would you want more of that stuff? Didn't we recover plenty of it from the battle already?" The Spear Hero asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, but it'd help quite a bit if I had more to study," Naofumi replied with an eyeroll, before he frowned. "And maybe it's just a hunch, but I think this stuff the wolfmen were using was different from what Sadeena described."

"What do you mean?" Melty asked.

"Some things just don't add up, like how they transformed with a delay and had degraded so quickly. It was almost like..." Naofumi paused, recalling the effects of Kyo's guardian beast drug on Trash's harem members. "Either way, I want more samples from different sources to study, just to be safe."

"... what are you planning to do?" Motoyasu asked.

"I was wondering about it before, after you brought it up at the castle… but since the enemy's shown that they have and will likely continue to use that awful drug on the innocents of Siltvelt to counter us, then I need to develop a cure that'll nullify the effects of the drug entirely.

"We wouldn't have lost so many if the knights and fighters hadn't been forced to fight creatures thrice as strong as a normal human.

"It's an awful thing to be sure, but if Amalgama is classified as a drug, then there should be something out there that can act as a counter for it."

And if his hunch was correct, then the textbook Kyo had left for him would prove to be extremely useful in making one. The former Book Hero might have believed such a thing to be impossible, but Naofumi was always up for proving others wrong when it benefited himself.

"Is that even possible?" Melty asked. She again thought back to her brother and what happened to him, thanks to the Ouroboros poison he ingested. "From my understanding, Amalgama has affected the underworld for demihumans for centuries. The only known treatment plan is effective only if the individual hasn't already transformed into a monster. And even then, it isn't always effective because it requires the individual to take smaller amounts of Amalgama while being weaned off of it."

"Well, then it's about damn time somebody worked on a different way to fix it." Naofumi smiled confidently. "I think that mad scientist we have back at Lurolona would be a great help for that, too. I'll see about bringing her along to help me out."

"Oh, Gods…" Motoyasu groaned as he felt a headache coming on. "As long as I don't have to interact with her again."

"Rat isn't that bad." Naofumi patted the Spear Hero on the shoulder.

"You haven't tried talking to her in the middle of the night." Motoyasu cringed but finally gave the Shield Hero a chuckle.

"I'll see you guys again soon. Take care." Naofumi bowed his head to both individuals before he exited the tent.

A moment later, a bright flash illuminated the outside, indicating that the Shield Hero and his blacksmith bodyguard had portaled away.

"... heh, good to know that at least one of us has their act together." Motoyasu chuckled ruefully while looking down at the table again.

"I can't say I disagree with that." Melty smiled a little. "Even before, he seemed to throw himself into his work whenever things were going wrong."

"Yeah… he does, doesn't he?" Motoyasu replied quietly.

…

"Sir Motoyasu. Are you doing well?" Melty suddenly asked, now that Naofumi's efforts had cheered her up somewhat.

"I'm fine," The blonde spearman answered readily.

"You don't sound fine," Melty pursed her lips.

"..." Motoyasu had no response to that.

"If you need a break, you should go back to Lurolona and get some rest after Naofumi gets back." The bluette continued. "We're not going to be leaving till tomorrow, and you might sleep better if you spend the night in your own bed. We can have Granny go with you to provide security."

…

Motoyasu did sit and ponder the young girl's offer for a moment. It wasn't a terrible idea in all honesty. However…

"Nah. I'll be fine." Motoyasu shook his head as he straightened up to his full height. "If Naofumi can work through his failures and shortcomings like a proper adult, then so can I!" He gave a grin and a thumbs-up to the younger girl.

"Are… are you certain?" Melty asked with an uncertain look.

"Of course I'm sure! My name's Kitamura Motoyasu! And nothing's going to stop me from doing my duty as a Hero, I say!"

…

…

…

Melty stood in silence for a long moment, staring at the shining pillar that was Motoyasu.

Eventually, a small smile graced her lips. "Well, if you're that confident, then I guess I have no choice!"

Melty's smile then only grew as she continued to speak. "I'll start by going out and improving morale! It won't do for everyone to be brooding and gloomy when the Heroes of Legend are working so hard for their sakes!"

"That's the spirit!" Motoyasu patted her on the shoulder while still maintaining his charismatic grin.

Still smiling happily, Melty raced out of the tent to find Filo and Mr. Ramseed. She was already formulating a plan in her mind, and if there was anything that could cheer up the forces of the Liberation Army and its commanders right now, it'd be a nice hot meal that was cooked to perfection by her best friend!

The bestest idea ever, in her most humble opinion!

…

…

Once Motoyasu knew he was alone, he let his grin fall. A look of utter exhaustion took over his features.

He'd wanted to yell so badly how he knew it was a bad idea to go to war. He tried to get himself to scream and argue that they should have never been entrusted with so many lives and fallen into such a huge trap and a bunch of other things.

He didn't even like the idea of asking Larsa to drag the men and women under her command into this mess!

But the blonde man was just so damn tired of arguing. Deep down, he knew what Naofumi was suggesting was right. He knew that they had to do this if he wanted to prevent the lives of so many others from being affected by events down the road.

But he just felt so… inferior in this scenario. And more than that, he was feeling more envious of Naofumi as of late, with every night of interrupted sleep he had since returning from Zeltoble.

…

Part of him wondered if it was because of the horrors he saw there that his nightmares at night had been getting worse. Another part of him wondered if it was because he was in a romantic relationship with S'yne now that he was seeing more of those crazy girls from his past life in his dreams again.

And yet another, smaller part of him was beating him over the head because it recognized that he was repeating history.

That he was actively trying to be friends with everyone around him when his heart thought of some of those individuals as more than just 'friends.'

Motoyasu clenched his hands into tight fists. 'Why can't I just love a single girl like Naofumi does?!'

…

Not that it was only his fault. Sadeena's teasing wasn't making things any easier for the blonde man.

Even after almost dying AGAIN after that last battle and being treated for her worst injuries, the orca woman had still found the time to try and scoot up next to the Spear Hero and begged him to fondle her chest while he used his healing magic on her since, in her words, his magic would be 'far more effective' while she was being groped directly by his big, strong, masculine hands!

…

Needless to say, the murderous look S'yne had given her still haunted the Spear Hero in his mind.

…

The Spear Hero released a deep sigh, breaking the silence. "Once Naofumi gets back, I'm going to portal to Zeltoble." He decided.

He'd talk to Larsa personally instead of through S'yne's pins. It was the only way he could make up for not contacting her immediately… he'd also check with Hou-Lon about the remaining supply of Amalgama kept from the death rings.

He had something else to check there, too. Another problem he believed the tiger man to be hiding after all the time he'd spent with him. Perhaps if he assisted him with that, he'd finally be able to feel better about himself?

…

…

"I just don't want anyone else to needlessly suffer because of me." The Spear Hero said out loud.

Even though no one else was in the room, it was almost as if he could hear someone replying to him out loud.

"No one's blaming you for what's happening, dude."

"I'm still going to blame myself till I make something right," Motoyasu responded automatically. Maybe then, he'd finally sleep peacefully at night.

With that, the Spear Hero exited from the command tent.

"So this is where the Hakuko lived?" Keel asked the tiger man sitting next to her.

"Not all of them, and there were some other lesser clans that settled down in this area with us… but yes." Dou-Lon nodded his head. "This city was once the capital of our clan."

"Geez." Keel frowned. "I can't imagine anyone wanting to live here."

"This place wasn't always like this," Fohl spoke up beside her. "I… I have memories of this area being a lot greener when I was a kid.

"It was also more… lively."

"Lively?" Keel asked curiously.

"I mean… urgh…" Fohl held his hands behind his back subconsciously. "That's the word I'd use at least…"

The three individuals, as well as Atla, Chen, and Eclair, were sitting around a campfire in the hills where the rest of the Liberation Army's camp was sprawled out. The sun had set in the distance, its rays still lighting up the sky. Yet the heat of the arid brush desert that surrounded them was slowly being displaced by the chill of night, making everyone gather for warmth.

The few nearby farms close to the Liberation Army's encampment were filled with dried-out weeds and dead crops, as the land had been abandoned just like everywhere else on the way here.

And now, spread out below them was the capital city of the hakuko, which they'd arrived at a few hours earlier.

Chen had led a group to scout it out earlier. They'd checked various buildings and gone deep into the city to see if anyone remained.

Besides a few monsters, there'd been nobody.

"Honestly, I never thought I'd be so relieved to have high-level monsters to hunt again," Chen said to Eclair, who she was trying to become more comfortable with being around since they had to work together for the foreseeable future.

"Agreed. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to have to watch out for them when traveling." The sword master politely replied to the tiger woman before focusing on the other side's conversation again.

Chen did her best not to pout or grit her teeth visibly. Why Lon-Lon had become so infatuated with this human, she could not understand. Was she always so passive and emotionless around others besides Lon-Lon?!

The Captain of the royal guard could at least take comfort in the fact that Eclair didn't seem to be interested in her childhood friend romantically… so there was still a chance. Yet she still stewed silently in jealousy while trying to keep a lid on her feelings.

To add some further notes from Chen's scouting of the city earlier before going back to the conversation, the majority of buildings she and Melty's two Shadows had checked in the outer quarters were made from rough-hewn brown brick and topped with a material resembling straw. The condition of these structures had revealed how poorly maintained the area had been, even before its former inhabitants had abandoned it. The vast majority of homes they'd checked had also appeared ransacked or abandoned, not weeks, not months, but years ago.

The poorer section of the city was separated from the rest by a canal. Back in the day, at the height of the hakuko's influence, water from the southern rivers in the plains traveled through it, providing life and nourishment to the city and farms alike. When Chen found it, however, it'd been as dry as bone. And the lake it'd fed into behind the city was a dry wasteland too.

The more prosperous portions of the city hadn't fared much better either. The majority of structures were still made from brown brick, but at least they had proper slanted roofs on them. And the further she and the Shadows walked, the bigger and newer some of them were.

The tiger woman even came across abandoned merchant stalls and other such things in the streets. Meaning there'd been 'some' activity here fairly recently.

However, as Chen had checked the homes there, she found that most of them were empty. Empty not in the sense that there was no furniture. They were empty in that it looked as if nobody had ever lived in them.

Nothing besides the monsters that Chen had mentioned to Eclair. But those were ironically found in the few homes that had been lived in, but had been abandoned by their former inhabitants, leaving the food that'd been in their pantries behind for the monsters to feast on.

Chen found it so confusing. But Naofumi would later explain to her, after listening to her account, that what she and the Shadows had come across was likely an attempt at something that was called 'gentrification' back in his world.

Some wealthy individuals had likely purchased sections of the inner city, demolishing the old buildings to construct new and more modern ones that would attract affluent residents, thereby displacing the former residents to the outer section they'd previously traversed with the idea of rebuilding a city that'd be a playground for the rich.

Their idea had clearly failed, though. The hakuko's reputation had fallen too low, and not enough people had wanted to move in to make the gentrification process succeed. Many of the former residents who moved to Zeltoble and made the city emptier probably hadn't helped either, even if it meant that most of the would-be criminals wouldn't be plaguing the streets.

Because that also meant that those who could work the jobs necessary to keep the city clean and functional weren't living nearby.

She would learn about this later from Naofumi when she reported to him and Melty, though. And Naofumi would even laugh about how much money those wealthy investors had probably lost. But that was what Chen had to note about her scouting report of the ancient capital of the hakuko.

As for the former inhabitants… from what Chen had been able to gather, the people who'd lived here had gone north towards the mountains instead of to the east or the south like the peaceful clans in the plains.

Perhaps they'd realized what was happening and fled… or been enthralled and sent in after the rebels holed up at the Silent Monastery. They would learn the truth of that later.

For now…

"I grew up in a small village by the sea, Fohl, and our place looked far more lively than this," Keel spoke. "This area doesn't look much better than some of the ruins we passed by on the plains."

"It's not that bad!" The tiger teen bristled.

"It kind of is, though, isn't it?" Dou-Lon said, looking the area over thoughtfully.

…

"I think what Onii-sama was trying to say is that the city has been in decline for a while," Atla spoke after thinking for a moment. "But it used to look a lot better.

"That's what I'm assuming, at least, since, well…" Atla waved her hand in front of her eyes.

"Oh," Keel laughed at the tiger girl's self-deprecating joke.

"Yeah. It really wasn't this bad when we lived here." Fohl grimaced.

Why did his tomboy best friend have to look so darn cute when she was laughing? It only made him want to hear it more.

…

Fohl's frown grew as his mood sank. "I still can't believe that the lake behind our house is gone…"

"I remember how much that place reminded you of mom," Atla said gently. "But at least we were able to visit their graves. Those hadn't been touched."

The tiger teen didn't verbally respond. He instead looked down at the ground, finding the view of his former hometown depressing.

"Wait, that place behind your former house used to be a lake?!" Keel asked excitedly.

"Yeah, what about it?" Fohl turned his head to glare at his best friend in annoyance.

"COOL! That means you grew up next to water just like me!" Keel's eyes glimmered as she invaded Fohl's personal space, much to his surprise. "Does that mean you also learned how to ride boats as a child?! Was that where you learned how to swim!?

"Did you ever go diving for seashells or meet any monsters in the water?! Did your parents instill in you the doctrine of the man of the sea!? Or-"

Keel bombarded the tiger teen with question after question. So interested was she in her crush and getting to learn more about him that Fohl couldn't keep up and respond to any of them, and finally as her face got too close for his liking, he tried to push her body away.

"Gah! Back off, you crazy tomboy maid!" He yelled out.

"BUT I NEED TO KNOWWWWW!" Keel whined.

The sight caused those watching to chuckle or giggle. Atla's face gleamed as her plans to improve Onii-sama's mood while improving his relationship with the dog girl were a resounding success.

And yes, she considered Fohl being angry/embarrassed a massive improvement over him being depressed.

Dou-Lon smiled as he observed his pupil failing to get Keel off of him, and eventually succumbed to her relentless assault by answering some of her questions to placate her… but then the older hakuko's gaze fell on Eclair, who was also watching the pair's interaction with amusement.

It lasted for a few seconds, and then, when Eclair turned her head since she noticed she was being watched, Dou-Lon quickly moved his gaze to the side, noting that some of Keel's friends at a nearby fire had snapped out of their melancholy to smile at the maid dog girl's antics.

…

Eventually, Eclair looked from the tiger man back to the two teenagers, looking none the wiser. When Dou-Lon noticed this, he released a sigh of relief.

The kimono-clad tiger man had been making more of an effort to be around his fellow swordsmaster again as of late, after the battle at Lurolona forced them back together. He no longer tried to avoid her outright like he had during the past month.

They ate their meals together with the rest of Naofumi's family and the others. They fought together on the front lines and scouted together with Chen. He'd even engaged in light spars with her, demonstrating fighting styles to the other fighters, since they didn't spend much time beating up on Sebastian these days.

Actually, on that note, Dou-Lon felt more respect for the former church knight... though he'd have to see how things continued.

But with Eclair… it still felt weird for Dou-Lon to be around her and to try to be her friend when his heart wanted so much more!

Even sitting across the fire from the rose-haired swordswoman, her scent washed through his nostrils through the smoke, lighting another fire in his chest! His thoughts wanted to run around in every direction a million miles an hour! His hands wanted to hold her close and protect her from everything coming their way! He… he…

Dou-Lon loved Eclair. He did not doubt that anymore. Despite his efforts to distance himself from the swordswoman following his return, and despite all the time he'd spent in meditation, his feelings for her had only grown.

She pushed him to become better and stronger. He'd changed his fighting style for her. Both of his current magic techniques with his blade had been created thanks to her. And he had the feeling that he'd only learn more the longer they spent together.

Yet Dou-Lon didn't want to ruin their friendship since she hadn't shown any interest in him in that manner; at least, as far as he was aware.

He knew enough about himself to see that he could be a bit dense regarding how others felt. But he never got that vibe from Eclair from their interactions. Did she respect him? Yes. Did she look up to him as a rival, comrade, and friend? Also yes.

But did she feel anything for him romantically? No, or at least he assumed she didn't, since she never discussed things like that.

She was a strong, independent person. She had gotten angry at him when, during their battle with Q'Ten Lo, he'd tackled her out of the way of a Tengu using a pretty unorthodox fighting style that reminded the tiger man of Raphtalia's Powder Snow skill attack. She honestly could have handled the man herself, and he realized he'd been overprotective in the moment…

Yet hadn't she also rushed to his aid when he and Fohl were holding back the entirety of Siltvelt's main army by themselves?!

Urgh, he should man up and ask his blood-kin for advice! Surely the great Shield Hero could be helpful in the romance department!

…

Actually, on second thought, he should keep it to himself. Knowing Naofumi, he might try too hard to engineer scenarios to get the two together instead of giving him practical advice or letting his relationship form naturally.

If it were to occur at this rate.

"What are you thinking so deeply about now, Lon-Lon?" Chen suddenly poked his side, bringing the tiger man back to reality.

"Ack! Nothing!" The tiger man snapped. "And for the last time, stop calling me by that accursed nickname!"

"Boo! You love that nickname and you know it." The brown-haired tiger girl pouted as she crossed her arms.

"I do not!" Dou-Lon completely and outright rejected her statement. And the two childhood friends proceeded to argue and bicker about that instead of allowing Dou-Lon to retreat further into his mind to ponder on the strawberry-smelling swordswoman sitting nearby.

"Hmmm…" Eclair wondered to herself.

…

Eventually, both sides of the campfire settled down. Fohl answered enough of Keel's questions to placate her for the immediate future. And Dou-Lon and Chen fell into a comfortable silence that had him trying not to pout about being unable to change her mind about the ridiculous nickname.

Seriously, why did she always have to call him by that pet name?! He didn't have anything creative to call her by, unless he wanted to start calling her White Tiger #2!

…

Actually, wait, that was more likely something Naofumi would do… or would it be White Tiger #4- nah, Chen had been introduced to Naofumi long before Fohl and Atla.

The fact that even his nicknaming senses and logic were becoming more and more like his blood-kin's was all the more concerning for the hakuko man. But thankfully, before he could linger on that thought any further, Atla broke the silence.

"Fayon-dono, did you also live here at one point?" The girl asked curiously.

"Yes, long ago, I did live here," Dou-Lon answered readily with a smile, welcoming the distraction.

Fohl looked to Dou-Lon then, a look of realization crossing his face. "Wait a sec- did I grow up close to you without knowing it?!" His look of realization then turned to one of confusion. "But then, why did we never see you? Why didn't I know I had another family member as a kid?"

"It's... a complicated matter." Dou-Lon's face became serious. "You understand how the hakuko used to be considered as the most influential of the elite races, correct?"

"Indeed," Eclair spoke before Atla or Fohl could answer. "But after the Great War and Tai-Lon's death, they lost most of their influence inside Siltvelt and the rest of the world."

"That is correct." Dou-Lon smiled softly at her before his gaze fell upon the hakuko siblings again. "Is it all right if I go on a short tangent about our race's heritage? I need to explain some context before I answer your question."

Fohl quickly nodded his head with excitement. And Atla rested her chin in her hands, her face looking at Dou-Lon with anticipation.

And so, Dou-Lon started.

"As you know, most hakuko seek out lives of challenge. We are natural-born warriors and adventurers.

"Our ancestors sought to overcome obstacles no one else would dare to take on unless they were absolutely insane, and that same passion was passed down to the current Hakuko.

"Some of us can be hot-headed. And some of us can make rash decisions in the heat of the moment. But no matter the impossibility or the challenge, we will tackle it head-on with all our hearts, might, mind, and strength.

"In fact, according to the history passed down by our ancestors, the region we're standing in now used to be the center of a giant scorpion nest that caused Siltvelt no small amount of trouble in the past.

"Adventurers fought the monsters to no avail. Entire caravans were lost trying to find shorter trade routes to the north and west.

"And then, the Hakuko clan chief at the time decided that enough was enough. He announced that he would lead a force to wipe the nest out once and for all, and settle the area so such a large concentration of monsters could never build up in the region ever again.

"And so the great chief led his people on an expedition that resulted in the eradication of the Scorpion Queen. And at last, the area was able to be tamed for Siltvelt's use."

"Whoa!" Keel's face brightened with excitement. "Was the guy a Hero at the time?"

"No." Dou-Lon's smile grew a little more, seeing Keel's excitement. "But our race's high stat builds and higher level caps allowed our ancestors to go toe to toe with the monsters that the other clans would never be able to.

"The only other ones capable of such a feat would be the Shuzaku, the Aototsu, and the Genmu. However, the Genmu race has remained in lakes and seas for centuries, as water is their natural habitat. The Aototsu saw little value in this place outside the monsters that inhabited it. And the Shuzaku of that era didn't want to dirty their talons with work they considered to be beneath them when they could be furthering their arts and crafts instead.

"So naturally, it fell upon the Hakuko to clear the nest out. And they did so, quite successfully too, as you can witness."

Keel and Fohl both looked up at the tiger man in awe. But Chen was frowning.

"Our ancestors clearing those past monsters put us in control of new and shorter trade routes to the north and west. The rarer and tougher monsters we left alone outside of cullings, so the next generation would be able to learn how to hunt them down and grow strong as they came of age.

"Because of this, and because of the amount of respect and influence we garnered for taking out what could have grown to be a considerable threat to the other clans, the hakuko rose in status. Our clan was able to exchange for food and other goods from the other clans in exchange for the tough monster materials we collected, as well as for the mercenary/adventurer work the hakuko of the past began to take upon themselves.

"And as the clans grew in population to evolve from the country of Siltran to the nation of Siltvelt, it was the hakuko who came to be trusted with positions of leadership in the military and were entrusted with the deciding vote in deciding the future of our nation.

Keel, Fohl, and now, even Atla had leaned in to hear Dou-Lon's tale. Even Eclair was subtly leaning in to listen.

But before he could continue…

"Is that actually what happened, though?" Chen asked sardonically. "Because from what I remember of our history, it was an empty wasteland that no one wanted or cared about. And the actual reason why the Hakuko came here was not so much about doing a noble deed, as it was about sating the clan chief's stupid pride at the time, because the Aotatsu leader dared him to do it.

"I believe the actual quote was: 'This land is worthless and will never amount to anything, just like you, Hakuko.'"

The older hakuko grimaced. "Chen, that interpretation is-"

"The officially recognized one." The girl cut him off. "The one that's taught in schools across Siltvelt and written in our current history books instead of this nonsense old Tai-Lon wartime propaganda you keep spewing."

"But it was thanks to that the hakuko settled into their role as a warrior race!" Dou-Lon yelled in exasperation. "I learned these stories not from a book or propaganda, but from my father, the oldest son of the Chief Tai-Lon. Who had the story passed down from his father. And his father. And his fathers before him…"

Dou-Lon trailed off at the end, before his face fell. "Before the war, and before my father…"

"Sorry, Lon-Lon." Chen inhaled sharply. "Go on, don't mind me. I'm still moody after the battle."

Dou-Lon quickly brightened at that again. "Of course, Chen! No harm done.

"Anyway, regardless of which interpretation you believe, you could say that 'hardship builds character' is a cultural mantra passed down among our kindred for generations because that chief decided to tame this land.

"After all, the hakuko tried to make this place livable not just for ourselves, but for the members of other clans who came over to settle here.

"Gradually, under their influence, they built the area up to what it used to be a couple of decades ago. And that was the era I was born in.

"A time when this place was a thriving city where the hakuko were well respected."

"...and feared." Chen silently mouthed under her breath while looking away.

…

While those around him pictured it in their minds, Dou-Lon thought back on the few memories he had as a young cub, back when the war seemed so distant.

The buildings down below were more alive and vibrant than they were now. Sure, they were made from the same colored brick and didn't look like the houses of nobility. But the hakuko made their presence known by the banners of the hakuko clan that hung from every window, and not by opulent displays of wealth.

The streets were orderly and pristine. Bearing the weight of the proud warriors who did their marches and parades on their way to war to build up excitement and morale for the people.

Dou-Lon had one particular memory of being hefted on his dad's shoulder so he could see his grandfather as he marched past at the head of a mighty army, ready to do battle with the Wise King of Melromarc.

…

"Did you have to move after the War ended?" Fohl realized.

"... Yes," Dou-Lon answered. "Your Father replaced mine as the head of the clan, after grandfather died… and after my Father fled from the final battle.

"It was well before either you or your sister was born.

"And… likely because your mother was a human, neither I, nor anybody else I knew ever learned of your existence."

…

"Fayon-dono?" Atla spoke up. "What happened to your father?"

…

With this, everyone leaned forward to listen intently for what Dou-Lon had to say next. Eclair perked up once again. "You said before that he disappeared in the Zeltoble arenas, correct?"

Dou-Lon internally flinched. Had he ever told her that? He thought he'd said it only to Raphtalia in the past when they were in the Otherworld...

…

"Yes, he did," Dou-Lon answered after a pause. "And that is all I know of what happened to him."

"Well, now that the Heroes have an in with Zeltoble… aren't you at least curious to learn about what happened to him?" Fohl asked.

"..."

"..."

Dou-Lon turned his head away. "As far as I'm concerned, the man who was my father died after he stopped sending letters to me and my mother.

"Because my father fled the final battle instead of dying alongside our grandfather, he, my mom, and I were disgraced and forced to move to an outlying village to the south.

"Because of our fall in status, we were poor. The village was far away from the canal that supplied water to the capital, so we couldn't grow our own crops even if we wanted to.

"My Father, despite his disgrace and failure, decided to find his lost glory in the Zeltoble Arenas. He told my mother and me that he'd support us with his winnings.

"I cannot imagine how many other fathers and mothers told that same lie to their spouses or children.

"I have long since lost interest in ever learning what became of my father's fate."

"He couldn't stand the shame of fleeing from a battle on top of being shamed for being part of the race that was blamed for the Great War. So the man I knew fled from his responsibility to his son and his wife and went to the Zeltoble Arenas to find a glorious death, just like many of my fellow hakuko.

"And I vowed I'd never give in like he had because of it."

…

…

Fohl looked down at the ground. "Maybe… maybe he is still alive. And one day he'll come back." He said hopefully.

"Whether he does or not," Chen spoke up then. "All we can do for now is rely on our own strength.

"That's what Lon-Lon taught me after my dad left me behind for the Arenas, too. And unlike Lon-Lon, I never got a single letter from him.

"The jerk." Chen puffed.

"You did." Dou-Lon countered. "You just never wanted to read any of them."

"He abandoned me as an eight-year-old! Of course I wouldn't want to read what the idiot had to say to his so-called 'precious little girl'." Chen pouted.

Dou-Lon looked away and sighed. "True…" He'd also stopped by their former home and 'noticed' that the stack of letters from the man was gone. But he wouldn't ask her about it for now.

"The point is, the shame our race was made to bear following the Great War has had a profound effect on our clan. And as you saw, there are still many hakuko staying in Zeltoble right now.

"I can only thank Sir Motoyasu for the fact that they can no longer throw away their lives in those accursed Arenas. That they are now able to fight and hunt for the benefit of others once again…

"But hakuko, like you and I, who can walk the world freely without feeling the shame of the great sin we committed before our great Shield God, is the exception and not the norm. I do not know if our race can or will ever recover from it.

"Not without an intervention from the Heroes or the Gods themselves."

…

Fohl frowned as he thought his mentor's words over. In all honesty, it did make sense. Even as self-absorbed as he was with keeping his sister alive, he'd picked up on many of those behaviors and mindsets Dou-Lon had described from the other hakuko mercenaries fighting in Zeltoble's arenas.

Still… "Fayon-dono. My dad never participated in the Great War. Yet he became the head of the Hakuko clan.

"Why?"

Dou-Lon smiled a little. "I never got to meet your father. But my father was a warrior meant for the frontlines… even before his shaming, he never had any desire for that kind of responsibility.

"All he enjoyed was the thrill of the hunt… and the blood of his enemies flowing through his claws.

"In that sense, even though Tyran disagreed with our grandfather and refused to join his side when he was conquering, he still handled his responsibilities as a leader over the clans. And when Siltvelt's smaller neighbors saw the nation as weak after we lost the war and wanted to expand their own borders, he didn't shy away from his duty and stepped up to defend Siltvelt from its enemies.

"He did so admirably. Even his death was said to have inspired his remaining allies to fight them all off."

Dou-Lon spotted a faded purple banner fluttering in the distance at that moment. Emblazoned on that banner was the symbol of the hakuko.

"He answered the call and saved many lives. Unlike my father, he lived and died a patriot to his homeland, despite the hakuko race being blamed for the Great War.

"During my training, I came to look up to him as an individual to emulate.

"Unlike most hakuko, he didn't seem to bear the mark of our great shame. And it makes me happy to see that he didn't pass that along to his own children."

"Whoaaaaa." Fohl's eyes showed with stars.

"So cool!" Keel squealed. "Fohl-kun's family is just the coolest, I say!"

"So, to get back to your original question," Dou-Lon quickly spoke. "I was never aware that Tyran had children till I learned of your lineage, Fohl, Atla. And it makes me happy to know I have more family in my life."

"We… didn't get to go out a lot, since we were half-hakuko," Fohl admitted, before his face fell. "Only the servants knew. But after they passed from old age, I thought it'd be best for us to leave, before the wrong people found us, and…"

"That… might be something else we'll need to change in Siltvelt. Our standards on pureblood relationships amongst the races feel old and outdated in my eyes now." Dou-Lon agreed, though his gaze briefly fell on Eclair as he said it, before averting his eyes elsewhere.

…

Chen pouted in the back of the group while Eclair looked to the tiger man in confusion. It seemed as if she'd seen his look, but he didn't clarify or suggest what he'd meant.

…

The prior conversation finally died out. And the group huddled around the fire turned silent.

Fohl had a lot more to think about from his mentor. Things to ponder about himself, about the state of the Liberation Army, about today, and more.

During the silence, the young teenager thought about his own 'scouting' mission with Atla into the city. Unlike Chen and Melty's Shadows, the two siblings had visited their former childhood home, as it was located at the top of a hill at the back of the city.

It had looked as he remembered it. A multi-story mansion that Naofumi and Motoyasu would have described as looking Chinese in design.

The walls of the building were made from red brick. The doors were of fine wood, a rarity in this arid climate. And green slanted roofs jutted out from each tier.

However, despite its outward appearance, their former home had deteriorated. The brick walls were revealed to be cracked and unkempt up close. Weeds had grown up along the sides of the walls.

One of the 'fine' wood doors was slightly ajar, allowing easy access inside.

There'd been nothing in the house. Nothing except thick layers of dust and broken and forgotten dreams.

His parents' bedroom.

His bedroom.

Atla's bedroom.

The kitchen and pantry.

Several guest bedrooms and bathrooms, along with the servants' quarters.

Every room was empty and barren. All the furniture and clothes that hadn't been sold before Fohl had left were gone. Even the kitchen where his mother had lovingly prepared meals for him as a kid had been stripped bare of all its essentials. From the metal stove and kitchen table to the majority of the cabinets.

"I don't understand…" Fohl frowned as he finally spoke, surprising those around the campfire.

"You don't understand what Onii-sama?" Atla asked.

"I don't understand any of this!" Fohl growled in frustration. "So what if our grandfather made a big mistake trying to conquer the world?! So what if the two of us are hybrids and not pure-blooded demis?!

"That shouldn't mean our entire clan should have to go through so much hardship! That we had to sell everything and leave it behind, hoping… hoping that we'd be able to return one day to something…"

"Onii-sama…!" Atla was quick to realize what was really troubling her older brother, and her hand reached out and settled on his arm. "It's ok. We ended up someplace even better than our old home. We gained a new family and mentors that we would have never had before had we stayed or not gone through the things we did."

"No, Atla, it's not ok!" Fohl turned to Atla with surprising passion in his eyes. "It's not that I don't like where we're at now!

"But this place was our home at one point! It was home to our clan! All our memories of mother and father are here! All my memories of watching you take your first steps and bumping into furniture and being cute and surviving with our servants and trying to protect you…"

Fohl clenched his fists so tight that they turned white. "This was our home… this was the hakuko's pride and joy… but now it feels as empty as the rest of this city.

"I wanted to go through here and relive those memories from our childhood, but…"

"It doesn't feel like home anymore… There is nothing that remains."

…

Atla took in a deep breath and firmed her brow. "Onii-sama, if you truly believe that, then you need to have your head checked."

"Eh- why would you say that-" The teenager began to complain.

But Atla placed her hands on his shoulders. He may have been taller, and she might have needed to lift her head to look up at him, but he shut up immediately. "You might be too stupid to remember, Onii-sama," Fohl opened his mouth to complain, but Atla cut him off. "But I have been blind my entire life.

"I never got to 'see' the house we grew up in. I never got to 'see' the lake or 'see' the city or 'see' the people or 'see' anything!

"I do not have 'visual' memories of home. I can't seem to understand you about that.

"But even if I can't visualize it… I can still remember what it felt like.

"I can remember you waking me up in the morning and feeding me breakfast.

"I can remember you taking me out in a wheelchair to the city and finding medicine or food to get us through the week from the kind merchants that took pity on us.

"I can remember hearing you play around in the water while I sat on a sandy shore, giggling whenever you splashed a bit of water my way unintentionally.

"I can remember you bringing me to our parents' graves and telling me what you knew about them. Trying to tell me everything you could so I could visualize what they might have looked like when they were alive.

"Onii-sama, I don't need a stupid building to remind me what home was like. I don't need a city to remember our heritage. I need you and everyone else I care about in my life."

The tiger girl smiled a little. "Isn't that enough?"

…

"A… Atla…" The tiger boy teared up. However, her attempt to cheer up her older brother, as genuine as it'd been, was misunderstood.

"I can understand in part where you're coming from intellectually, Atla," Eclair spoke. And the two tiger siblings turned to face the rose-haired knight. "But there's more to it than that."

"What do you mean?" Atla asked confusedly.

"It's not just about the city or the memories." Eclair looked off into the distance, thinking of her own mansion that lay in ruins.

"It's about who you are. About what you're a part of.

"This place wasn't just your home or the homeland of the hakuko.

"It was your territory. Your land. Your heritage. Your family lineage…

"Your responsibility.

"The customs and titles between Siltvelt and Melromarc might be different, but your Father, as the clanhead of the hakuko, was the equivalent of my Father as the Lord of Seaetto.

"Your past runs deep here. No matter where you go in the world, it will remain a part of you forever. And to see that place in such disrepair and to realize what had been built was gone is one of the most heart-wrenching things one can ever experience.

"And I can only imagine, based on the hakuko I've met and gotten to know, that the fall of this place was amongst the greatest of travesties for our world."

…

Dou-Lon and Chen both said nothing, absorbing the knight's words. And Fohl and Atla remained silent as well for a moment.

"... yeah." Fohl eventually nodded. "At the end of it all, I think what Fayon-dono and Eclair-dono said is correct.

"More than just our home, more than just our parents… I can't stand for the state our clan has fallen into... especially when it has affected more than just mine and Atla's lives.

"It just doesn't feel right. I don't like that things are like this!"

…

Fohl slowly hung his head, and Atla sat beside him again. "What do you want to do, Onii-sama?

"Whatever you choose to do, I'll support you.

"You've spent most of your life supporting me, even when I didn't deserve it.

"If I can return the favor in any way, I will."

"..." Fohl shook his head. "I don't know. I'll need some time to think about it Atla.

"It's not like there's much I can do personally," Fohl shrugged. "I'm just one man."

"One man backed by his little sister, as well as me and our mentors and two of the freaking Cardinal Heroes of our world." Keel grinned. "And have we forgotten that one of them is viewed as the literal God of Siltvelt? I think the correct way to say it is what 'can't' you do as one man?"

At her words, a surprised expression crossed not only his face, but Dou-Lon's too.

The older hakuko put a hand to his chin, pondering what Keel had just said.

"Eh, fair enough." Fohl shook his head and smiled a little. He wasn't going to think too much about it now, outside the fact that her words helped him to feel better.

The sun had long since set by that point, and the group continued chattering amongst one another about small things while letting the more serious parts of the conversation fade into the backdrop.

…

They'd eventually notice everyone gathering in a particular part of camp, check what was going on, and discover that Filo and Mr. Ramseed had prepared a monumental feast to cheer up the army and fill everyone's bellies.

As they sat and dined on the surprise food dished out to them, Melty stepped onto a podium and revealed some of what the Heroes and her had discussed earlier.

About the enthralled left behind who were still alive. About the reinforcements they'd be receiving from Zeltoble. About the plans for the restructuring of their army for future battles.

The young girl didn't mention Naofumi's plans to cure the Chimeras yet. That'd come later once the Shield Hero was certain it could be done.

The things she said to the people as they were eating one of the most incredible meals of their lives were filled with hope. They would find a way to save their comrades. They would be receiving more help.

There were some mixed reactions from those present. Sebastian didn't look up to say anything, still feeling troubled from the former battle. Blue and Rikka focused on eating so they could recover.

But Tersia had an advanced spell book in her hands and was studying it intently so she could learn new spells. Farrie shoveled all her food down before going over to pester the newly appointed commander about his promotion.

Elena helped to feed Freon, who was ecstatically talking to Auntie Orca Lady about the things she'd seen in the sky that day. Atla and Fohl sat and listened to the cute little angel girl ramble on, whilst Keel chatted with Chen about some of the things she found cool about the Hakuko. Much to the latter's amazement and disbelief.

Eclair paid attention to Melty's speech and hung onto every word the young girl said attentively. At the same time, Dou-Lon continued stealing glances at the swordswoman while listening before looking down at his plate and feeling more and more conflicted on the inside.

Granny smiled widely where she stood beside the Spear Hero, taking sips from a nice hot cup of tea Sebas had prepared. Motoyasu was nursing his own cup while watching the bluette speak.

At the end of it all, Melty ended her speech with this. "I know that we suffered a great defeat. Ultimately, that will never change.

"But… I refuse to give up here. Not when it'd make the sacrifices of those who died be in vain.

"Tonight, we will remember the comrades we lost… and tomorrow, we shall begin our march to the Silent Monastery.

"Are there any objections?"

…

A figure at the front of the crowd slowly stood.

"My princess…"

Knight Commander Mayor still looked pale from battle shock. From the guilt of leading so many of his men to their deaths… and because of his meeting with her and Sebastian earlier that day.

The former Church Knight had been surprisingly empathetic about what the commander went through. He had agreed with Melty that he'd done the best he could with the cards he was dealt.

However, in that same meeting, Sebastian had cut to the chase about how their forces needed to be restructured if they wished to avoid such high casualties in future battles. The way they'd fight with said forces would also have to change.

"I know that you are now the governor of the Hero's Nation, and I may not understand the intricacies of what you do now, My Grace, but I shall call you princess for the respect I have for not just you, but the Royal family in general." Mayor bowed his head.

Melty nodded in return. She did her best to hold back her tears again, seeing how pained the loyal man was at that moment.

"I cannot in good conscience return to kneel before Her Majesty, to tell her of how I failed, when I'd know the Heroes of Legend still need our help.

"When I knew that the lives of many of our comrades are now in the hands of the enemy."

His three remaining captains, all women, stood to their feet around him.

Byleth. Mercedes. Annette. The only knights who managed to escape the keep with him, thanks to Blue and Rikka... and the rest of their comrades giving up their lives to buy them the chance to escape.

He'd talked with them beforehand, and they agreed.

Mayor looked back over the crowd gathered. Filo and Mr. Ramseed's efforts had dragged in the entirety of the camp thanks to their hungry stomachs and their desire to reconnect with everyone who'd survived.

"Knights of Melromarc!" Mayor raised his voice, and the men and women under him stood at attention. Even Eclair moved involuntarily, moved by the strength he projected.

"We have fought well up to this point! We were able to help Her Majesty and the Heroes retake our Capital from the former Church of the Three Heroes!

"Many of us assisted at various Waves inside Melromarc and took down the remnants of that blasted religion before the awakening of the Spirit Tortoise! And yet even in the face of that great danger, all of us were there to fight off the beast's familiars so the Heroes could take on the great beast itself! And the enemy of our world contained within!"

Mayor's face slowly lit up from the passion of his words. At this moment, he was taking a good, hard look at what'd happened. At where they were all at. And where the future would most likely be taking them.

"You have all done well up till now. And I will continue to do my best with the trust I was given to lead you…" Mayor clenched a fist before him. "When we return to Melromarc, I will still be your superior.

"But for now, out here, we shall listen to the orders from our Heroes! As well as those they have appointed to lead us!"

He and his captains then turned around and knelt before Melty.

"We promise that we shall fight on, that we shall do as we're asked, and that we'll make ourselves stronger for the sake of our nation, as well as our world." Commander Mayor spoke.

…

Slowly, but surely, the remaining knights of Melromarc also knelt. They then, as well as their surviving officers, repeated those exact words.

"Of course we'll fight on!" Keel yelled proudly on behalf of the fighters. "We aren't giving up after one battle! Especially when I have faith that Bubbas Spear and Shield will be prepared to lead us to victory next time!"

The other fighters there began to raise their voices and become more boisterous. Melty had to suppress a giggle from how energetic they were.

The mood still wasn't as enthusiastic or as optimistic as it had been when they'd first set out into Siltvelt… but at least the majority of the fighters and knights held hope again that the path to a better future was yet possible.

"Mayor." Sebastian rose. "Have you given any thought to my proposal?"

"I have." Mayor nodded his head. "And I believe it to be the right one.

"I shall look forward to taking orders from you in the future, Sebastian Desmodus."

Mayor looked to Melty with conviction.

"I humbly request on behalf of all my men and women, that we be given the right to bear a Hero Service Crest till Siltvelt is freed.

"If that can add to our fighting strength and improve our chances of survival, then I shall gladly go through with it myself."

…

Melty looked from him to the other knights there. She had not expected those words to fall from his lips. And she expected some of the knights to be against it.

But no. They'd already pledged their services to free Siltvelt, a nation they were taught to view as their sworn enemy growing up. They were well beyond the constructs of what they'd been taught to believe.

And more than that, they weren't stupid. They saw how much more effective the Fighters of the Hero's Nation were compared to them, despite being higher leveled and having years more of training.

If they could become stronger just by getting a temporary overglorified tattoo imprinted on their chests, then the vast majority of those there would take it.

They would not have as much of a benefit from it since they didn't have the time to start over from level 1… and against Q'Ten Lo, it would be utterly pointless as it was for the Hero Fighters…

But the immediate increase they'd gain to their stats, as well as the growth they'd get from future level-ups, however few they had left, would help save many of their lives in future battles since a normal person could not face some of these opponents.

"Alright. I shall see to it that arrangements are made immediately." Melty bowed her head in respect. "Thank you. All of you."

They would finish their meal and retire for the night, preparing to march the next day.

Naofumi, after his return with Rat, would be blindsided by the knights demanding the Hero Service Crest from him and Melty. And so he'd have to go back to Melromarc after Motoyasu returned from Zeltoble to grab the short masochistic dwarf so he could do it.

The Crests would be painted on the chests of the knights in the early hours of the morning by an eager Beloukas, whilst Naofumi compounded potions and crafted accessories with the remaining time he had. But due to time constraints, because of how creepy Beloukas was, and because it'd be handy for one of his allies to know how to do it, Naofumi ended up paying Beloukas through the nose to teach Rat how to draw the crest for humans since she already knew the process for monster crests.

Beloukas, who'd wanted to be the Hero's sole provider in the past, seemed all too happy to do so now (Perhaps because Naofumi also signed a contract that promised they'd continue requesting his help applying the crest in the future, or maybe because Naofumi had threatened his life while drafting the agreement. You never could tell with Beloukas).

The Middle Eastern-looking woman was then able to finish the rest of the crests herself before the Liberation Army began its march. Getting better at the process with each person added to Naofumi's HUD. Not every knight took on the crest. But everyone who did got a crest that assigned them to Melty and Naofumi.

Despite the loss at the Valley and the further changes they'd undergo… the Liberation Army had licked its wounds.

And as it left the homeland of the Hakuko behind, it was ready for blood.

Motoyasu then took a deep breath, before he spoke.

"Hou-Lon-san- no. Fayon-san."

"You have a son, don't you?"

…

Hou-Lon narrowed his eyes slightly in response before answering.

"Why do you ask?"

Hero Clips!

Illusions

"Hmmm."

After blocking the initial strikes from Q'Ten Lo's assassins, Naofumi found himself standing alone in a field of fog.

"That's strange, where did everyone…" Naofumi stared around himself in confusion.

"Rafu!"

Naofumi turned to his side. "Raph-Chan?! Is that you!"

"Rafuuuuu!" His and Raphtalia's familiar came bounding out of the fog. Except…

"OH MY GODS!" Naofumi's eyes filled with stars.

"Rafu!" The most perfect being in all of existence posed perfectly in royal garbs. A cute light blue dress covered her body, with a diamond tiara resting on her hair, along with a pair of beautiful glass shoes on her paws.

It was the perfect outfit for any daddy's little princess.

"So adorable! So pettable I say!" Naofumi reached for the familiar, but as he did so…

"Rafu!" Another Raph-Chan hopped out from the fog.

Naofumi's eyes widened further. The creature not only looked and sounded 'exactly' like his daughter, but was dressed in an entirely different yet completely adorable outfit!

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan winked cutely while showing off the set of ninja garbs she was wearing. Torn off the body of one of the enemies she'd eviscerated with her paws, most likely.

"Rafu!" "Rafu!" "Rafu!" "Rafu!"

More and more Raph-Chans appeared from the fog around the Shield Hero. Each dressed in various outfits.

One wore a priest outfit like Balamus's old drip, except she looked SO MUCH BETTER in it than the old man ever had.

One wore a variation of Naofumi's old Barbarian Armor set. Sized down for her perfect little size.

One wore a smaller version of Filo's dress. And it was just SO ADORABLE I SAY!

But the one that drew Naofumi's eye above them all was her! The absolute pinnacle of perfection!

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan posed cutely while holding a small stick in her paws like it was a katana. She was also dressed in a red and white miko outfit like her mom.

Like mother, like daughter. It was perfection combined with perfection, and this resulted in…

"OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The battle quickly ended as Raphtalia came out of Justus's illusion field.

"Naofumi?! Raph-Chan?!" The half-tanuki called. Sometime during their conversation, the familiar had ran off to who knows where inside the illusion field.

"Who's the most perfect being in existence? That's right, you are! You are!"

"Rafu! Raf Rafu!"

The heroine turned her head, and her jaw dropped to the ground.

The illusion field might have ended, but Naofumi was sitting on his butt, coddling his miko-dressed daughter while worshipping the very paws she walked on with both hands.

Raph-Chan was ABSOLUTELY drinking in the attention! More, more of it I say!

"Justus! What is this?!" Raphtalia yelled at the raccoon man.

"What? I have to make sure the Wielder of the Shield Implement trusts me too, don't I?" The samurai didn't lift his face from the ground, so his voice came out muffled but discernable. "Plus, I must say, your daughter does look quite cute in the garbs of the emperor."

"Who's the cutest! Who's the most perfect being in all of existence! That's right, you are! You are!" Naofumi continued to coddle his FAVORITE daughter.

"WHY!? JUST WHY!? DAMN IT! I JUST WANT TO BE RID OF NAOFUMI'S CRAZY WORSHIP SHENANIGANS!" Raphtalia screamed at the sky.

"Oh boy! Maybe if we built a temple for Shield Lord's daughter, he'd praise us even more!" Chen and her group of friends randomly appeared in the background.

"Yeah!"

They began to speak to one another excitedly while pulling tools and blocks of stone randomly from their pockets.

And that was why Naofumi actually decided to trust that Justus's information to Raphtalia was valid… and how a temple worshipping the Miko Raph-Chan was built in less than a day in the middle of the Valley of Kings. A most excellent spot for the King of Kings indeed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

It was also, ironically enough, the reason why Raphtalia was driven insane yet again. But we couldn't care about that. ;)

All hail our Goddess, Miko Raph-Chan.

Long may we worship her greatness. :)

Till Next Time

Allen