Chapter Text
World Aftermath
Recap
The Second Wave drew to a complete close, but not without two unwanted Kaiju surprises. Naofumi mobilized Gipsy and defeated Salamandrake and Mantigore. But even if the Wave was over, the Three Heroes Church could still cause problems. Queen Mirellia is dashing back to Melromarc as fast as she can, but will she get there before more troubles arise? And will Naofumi be able to ready Melromarc before the next Wave hits? Stay tuned for more!
(Eastern plains between Melromarc and Faubrey, close to country borders)
A giant dust cloud was heading to the wall. That’s what the guards on the border wall see coming from the direction of Faubrey. Taking a telescope, a man on a lookout tower took a bird’s eye view of the cloud and saw the knight escort bearing Melromarc’s flag with the Queen’s crest. He soon saw the carriage in the center of the guard and understood with certainty that the Queen was returning sooner than expected.
The border guards rushed to open the gates and welcome the queen; with the speed at which their group was traveling, it must be urgent for her to return.
Several guards came to the entryway just as the carriage and escort arrived. The head of the group went to the carriage door as part of the screening procedure.
“Your Majesty! Forgive us for not greeting you sooner, but what’re you doing back so soon?!”
“We have urgent meetings in my home to attend,” Mirellia replied. “Delegates from every neighboring country across the continent will attend my husband’s victory party to converse with the heroes, so I need to change the venue to me being a host and not a guest.”
“Of course! We’ll send you all on your way immediately!” And with that said, the stationed commander scrambled everyone to move and a path for their lady. The Queen and her escort went through that checkpoint without any problems.
“I still can’t believe it, Mother,” Melty said after they entered Melromarc. “I still couldn’t believe all the leaders would change locations of the council meeting so easily and that you would agree to the idea of it being at home for the next debate.”
“Main reasons are most likely to get some of their best smiths, inventors, and metalworkers to examine that mechanical wonder,” Takt replied to Melty’s question with a grin. “Two colossal monsters came out of the Wave rift and bested the summoned Heroes through their sheer size and weight alone. Then out of nowhere, a metal titan, easily matching their height, came into the fray and defeated them in about half an hour. I’m not surprised everyone wants to find out what kind of weapon it is and, if possible, make one of their own.” Takt then leaned back in his seat. “Heck, that’s the main reason I’m going too. That machine is unlike anything this world has ever seen. I got called a genius all my life, and I never could imagine inventing something like that. I know when I’ve lost in a technology race, so I want to learn all I can.” Takt’s grin grew giddy, like a child out for fun. “I mean, I haven’t been this excited about learning in ages! The opportunities! The technology implemented in the Titan! It all has endless possibilities!”
“Possibilities that could lead to conflicts even worse than the war between our country and Siltvelt.” Mirellia closed her fan with a snap. “I must be there for damage control and, most probably, cleaning up. I need to prevent my husband, daughter, and other fools from doing more outlandish acts as they did when summoning all the Cardinal Heroes in the same spot.”
“That caper they pulled off was gutsy. I’ll give them that,” Takt commented. “But that stunt could pit the entire world against them, so I don’t think they planned that far enough ahead.”
“Nonetheless, we must hurry,” Mirellia drew to a close. “Who knows what other absurd schemes they’ve cooked up for the Shield Hero.”
(In the Royal Castle, Two days later)
Talented musicians played calming, beautiful tunes upon their wind and stringed instruments, enveloping the ballroom with a pleasant atmosphere. Servers went about bringing dishes and drinks to all the various guests. High-class nobles of diverse ranks talked amongst themselves or tried to speak to the Cardinal Heroes or their parties.
The celebration was in full swing. King Aultcray had chosen a multi-floored room for it, with him, his advisors, and some of the highest nobles in the kingdom on the top side. Down below, the Cardinal Heroes hung around at their various tables amongst the nobles.
As for Naofumi Iwatani, he got dressed in his PPDC military uniform again for the occasion. He stood by a window overlooking Lute village, looking over the new information provided by the Shield. “Hey, Shield, why wasn’t I told I could bring military regiments with my Party when the Waves hit? That would’ve been useful a few days back.”
Answer. This time I didn’t forget because I didn’t know. When the Wave closed, the Dragon Hourglass reset itself, and I obtained new information about my capabilities that very moment. I do not understand the meaning of this, but I know this knowledge will still be invaluable.
Soon enough, more guests started appearing one after another. Royalty, nobles, and merchants, all from across the continent, came to the party. Shieldfreeden, Siltvelt, Zeltoble, and even Faubrey are all in the same room, astonishing Aultcray and the rest of Melromarc’s nobility.
"It's unbelievable how the addition of the Cardinal Heroes turned back the Wave so easily." A nobleman said graciously.
“I find it more unbelievable how all the highest forms of royalty and nobility from across several countries are here in Melromarc.” A sweet-looking old noble lady replied.
“Humans and Demihumans under the same roof,” Naofumi thought. “This is surely a powder keg waiting to blow when the sparks fly.”
“Master Naofumi!” “Lieutenant Naofumi.” Raphtalia and Jun walked over to the Shield Hero’s spot by the window with plates of food. Both have clothed in beautiful dresses that made heads turn. Raphtalia wore a dark blue dress with a white sash and matching scarf and corsage, and Jun wore a dark purple dress with a navy blue sash and a red rose corsage.
“Hello, girls, enjoying yourselves, I see.” Naofumi eyed their plates, each full of food.
“Yes, you should join in the festivities. You need to relax.” Raphtalia handed him a bite of food on a fork.
“Indeed. You’d be more productive in your tasks and research if you calmed your nerves and had something to eat,” Jun agreed with Raphtalia.
Naofumi looked out the window, “I’d calm down more if there were no Kaiju attacks during this party. We don’t know if they can or can’t attack us outside the Wave events.”
“Maybe not,” Jun added her two cents. “But we can prepare for that, right?”
“Let’s hope so,” said Naofumi. “By the way, did you get to contact the PPDC back home, Jun?”
“As a matter of fact, yes,” Jun replied. “When the skies during the Wave were clear enough of enemies, I went high enough to the dimensional rift and patched a signal through.”
(Flashback / Two Days and several hours ago / During Lute’s Defense against the Wave)
Jun remembered when she was gunning down the flying insect monsters from the Wave Rift. She finished up in her vicinity and saw her commander having no trouble holding his own. Seeing no present danger, Jun put out a contact line to try and communicate with PPDC Headquarters.
“PPDC Headquarters, do you read me? This message is from Unit #4340-IRNMDN, callsign ‘Jun,’ broadcasting on all available channels. My commanding officer, First Lieutenant Naofumi Iwatani, and I are sending a distress signal. Our circumstances, at present, can only be explained through connected communication relays. Please respond.``
Jun heard only static from her communicator device, worried about this being for naught. She tried again but still received hauntingly stagnant and empty replies. On the third try, static started becoming words. She got through!
( Jun! ) A female voice replied. ( Jun! Is that you?! )
“Marshal Yuki Onna?!” Jun was surprised to hear her voice coming through.
( Yes! ) The female on the other side responded. ( Oh! Thank goodness! I’ve been trying to contact you and Naofumi for weeks. Where are you? )
“We’re not sure. I assume someone saw what happened to us in Naofumi’s laboratory?”
( Yes. You two vanished without a trace. Naofumi was reading at his workstation one minute, and the next, he was gone, disappearing in a flash of bright light. We assumed the worst that the precursors got to him somehow. )
“From our analysis, Naofumi and I were transferred to another world alright, but the world we ended up in was a fantasy world of swords and magic, with Naofumi summoned as one of the heroes.”
( Wait, by ‘summoned’ and ‘heroes,’ you mean a world depicted through the Isekai genre on Earth? )
“Yes, ma’am.”
( Oh boy, Naofumi sure gets into the weirdest kind of trouble. Listen, after Naofumi’s disappearance, tech heads at headquarters were going over Naofumi’s research notes about the Breaches in hopes of rescuing you both. After several weeks, we developed a portal of our own, but sadly it can only transport unliving matter or tissue, basically, anything that doesn’t have living brainwave activity. )
“But it can still transport machinery, including Jaegers?”
( Yes, we should be capable of getting at least one Jaeger through at a time. )
“Sounds doable. Kaiju are coming into this world and threatening the population. We need Jaegers transported here, if possible.”
(Flashback End)
“And what did she say on that?” Naofumi asked Jun.
“Marshal Yuki Onna said it’s doable, but because this world's natural barrier to keep Wave monsters out might hinder the process, we agreed to send Aegis Machina through during Melromarc’s Third Wave.”
“Which is approximately 58 days from now,” Naofumi concluded.
After the Second Wave ended, the Dragon Hourglass reset itself for the next Wave of Calamity coming, timed for about 60 days or two months.
Naofumi then spotted a black turtle beast man treading towards their party, walking with who appeared to be a blue dragon-like demihuman.
The two human-animal hybrids introduced themselves, “We give greetings to the Shield Hero. I am a representative of Siltvelt. My name is Tortuga. Beside me is a representative of Shieldfreeden, Tagnik’zur.”
“Please, if it’s too hard, call me Tag,” The dragon-man spoke.
“I give greetings to you both,” Naofumi replied with a business smile. “To what do I owe the pleasure?’’
“Forgive us for not introducing ourselves earlier,” Tortuga began. “We were unable to welcome you into this world with open arms because of Melromarc’s spite for us, or more for a clan of our country, the Hakukos.”
“Hakukos?” Naofumi questioned. “I know little of this place nor why this all happened to this point. Would you care to explain?”
“Ah, yes. During Siltvelt’s golden years before the war, four clans were prominent in our borders; Hakuko, the white tiger clan. Aotatsu, the dragon clan, Tag’s clan. Shusaku, the Phoenix clan. And Genmu, the black turtle, my lineage.” The old turtle explained to the three. “We fought competitively for the right to rule Siltvelt until the war came. The Hakuko patriarch killed his parents of him, who is Melromarc’s king now, and the same man joined in the war with Melromarc out of revenge. He killed the leader of the Hakuko clan and drove the family to the ground. I know of only a few survivors who were indirectly involved in the ordeal but had no part in that war. And now, the Hakuko’s status is almost gone, and the other three clans agreed to be of joint rule after such brutality.”
“I see. But why does Aultcray hold hatred for me? I haven’t gone to Siltvelt yet, nor met any Hakukos.” Naofumi couldn’t help but feel disgruntled at the fact Melromarc’s king still held hatred for him for having lost precious people, yet couldn’t escape his past, trapped by anger and guilt.
“I suspect he holds hatred for the ideal of the Shield Hero being our savior since he hates demihumans with a vengeance. As for being our messiah, it’s because one of your predecessors in the distant past protected Siltvelt from human tyranny centuries ago.”
“I understand.” “Makes sense Aultcray would hate the hero that his sworn enemy worships, yet seems utterly pointless in the long run if he wants to protect his family.”
“And you, Tag?” Naofumi turned to the dragon-man. “What about your story?”
“While we too hold high regard for the Shield Hero who stood up for Demihumans in general, we maintain more in the worship of the dragons themselves, as we, the Aotatsu, are descendants of them.”
“Fair enough. Now, why are you both here?” Naofumi decided to cut to the chase.
“We saw the metal titan fight off the two beasts in Melromarc’s Second Wave during a public broadcast on a crystal,” Tortuga explained. “And defeat monsters that none of the Heroes could. Our main objective was to check on the status of the Shield Hero in the hopes of relocating him away to Siltvelt or Shieldfreeden, away from Melromarc. But our plans were interrupted by some, er, “unwanted variables.” So, we used the idea of the world wanting to study the titan as an excuse to make contact with you.”
“I see,” the Shield Hero replied.
Motoyasu, away from their eyesight, grew agitated and yanked off his glove.
“Hey, Naofumi.” “Huh?” As Naofumi turned to a voice, Motoyasu tossed a glove to his chest plate.
“Duel me, here and now,” Motoyasu said in a deadly calm voice, with Myne smirking behind him.
All chatter around them stopped, and everyone stared at the two of them.
“Duel you? Why?” Naofumi questioned. “Because if this is a ploy merely for the nobility’s entertainment, count me out.”
“Do you not see the wrong you did?!” Motoyasu almost shouted. “I heard you’ve enslaved Raphtalia and Jun!”
“Your point?” Naofumi’s reply left Motoyasu stuttering. “In Melromarc, slavery is legal. Any citizen who isn’t a human here is usually a slave under the laws of this country. Every nobleman of Melromarc’s origin has at least one slave, so why are you singling me out when I’m following their laws?”
Ren looked at the crowd around him, seeing at least half the human nobles in the room awkwardly looking away, all effortlessly confirming the Shield Hero's claim.
“Lord Naofumi is not wrong,” Tortuga intervened. “Even Siltvelt sadly has a slave system as well. Although we only enslave human criminals who slaughtered innocent humans and demihumans during and after the war we had with Melromarc.”
“But here, it doesn’t matter if you’re a criminal. If you’re a demihuman of no nobility to your name, you’re marked as a slave automatically, it seems.” Tortuga’s comment struck hard to the audience. Ren’s face twisted in disgust from this, as did Itsuki. Even though slavery doesn’t exist in their worlds, they can’t complain about Naofumi’s words. Melromarc isn’t Japan; this is a different country with its customs and rules. And the turtle demihuman’s words didn’t ease things either as Motoyasu gritted his teeth and started up again.
“You’re supposed to be the Hero of the Shield, dammit!” Motoyasu was certainly shouting now. “Don’t you have any shame?! We’re Heroes from Japan! We’re not supposed to have slaves!”
“In case you didn’t get the memo, you’re not the one in charge or making the laws here,” Naofumi’s glare made any who saw him flinch. “This country is not Japan. We cannot simply do what we want to the governments by morals or desires. This place is their world, which means we follow their rules, whether we are heroes or not.”
Motoyasu clenched his teeth harder from frustration. Even though he wants to set Raphtalia and Jun free from slavery, he can’t do so if it means he has to break the law.
“Besides, it’s not like humans in our alternate worlds didn’t commit acts of slave trading in the past. The only reason it doesn’t exist where we came from is that people fought for their freedom. If you want these two free, you’d have to pass a declaration to abolish the laws of slavery here,” Naofumi continued lecturing Motoyasu. “Which I doubt you’ll do if they’re not pretty women. Until then, they stay with me.”
“Malty said she would make them honorary citizens if they were my companions. They don’t have to be your slaves anymore!” Behind Motoyasu, Malty gave Naofumi the smile of a schemer, saying what he needed to know, none of which was good.
“I see.” Naofumi’s attention turned to the door as the final arrivals came in.
“Announcing the arrival of her Majesty, Queen Mirellia Q. Melromarc! Her daughter and crown princess, Melty Q. Melromarc! And finally, their guest, the new King of Faubrey, Takt Alsaholn Faubrey!”
Everyone turned their eyes to the three new members stepping inside. Aultcray and Malty went into a minor panic and rushed over to their family members.
“Mirellia! Dear wife, how was your trip? I hope you weren’t-” Aultcray began. ‘ SLAP!! ’ Right in the face.
“Spare me your pitiful excuses and empty pleasantries, Aultcray.” Mirellia looked at the two with an icy cold glare, making every person who saw her have chills flowing down their spines. “You and our eldest daughter will have much to answer for soon enough, so be ready for your imminent punishment.”
“But dear-” The old man tried reasoning.
“I recommend doing what she says, old timer,” Takt interrupted. “When a woman gets this mad at you, you’d better be ready to face the consequences. Trust me, I speak from personal experience.”
“Truer words as never spoken,” Naofumi added as he came up and joined the group, with all the other heroes and all four of their parties behind him. In salute, Naofumi introduced himself, “First Lieutenant Naofumi Iwatani of the PAN Pacific Defense Corps., reporting. Honor and privilege to meet you, Your Majesty.” And the other Heroes followed suit.
“I’m Ren Amaki.”
“Itsuki Kawasumi, at your service.”
“Motoyasu Kitamura, greetings to the lovely lady.”
“Greetings, Cardinal Heroes. I am the Queen of Melromarc, Mirellia Q. Melromarc. I would have introduced myself through more pleasant terms if these two imbeciles I call family didn’t pull this scheme, putting a rift between you to prevent you four from working together.” Mirellia glared at her husband and their eldest daughter, causing them to flinch.
“Yes, well, sadly, in any world, there’ll always be a problem child in every family, it seems.” Naofumi couldn’t put his finger on it, but Mirellia seemed familiar. “Anyway, you were a few moments too late trying to stop Motoyasu from challenging me to a duel.”
“Mister Motoyasu.” “Yes, Ma’am?” Motoyasu replied to Mirellia’s call as he reflexively stood straight.
“Why are you challenging the Shield Hero to combat when you’re supposed to be on the same side?” She questioned. “Did my daughter put you up to this? Because if she did, you’re more foolish than I thought.”
“Malty said that Naofumi-” Motoyasu tried making an excuse.
“Silence. Wait till I finish,” Mirellia snapped, which shut him up.
“Now. From what I understand, you’re challenging Sir Naofumi to a duel to free the two slaves under his ownership, correct?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he responded.
“Tell me this straight out. Did Naofumi accept?” Mirellia stared as she questioned him.
“U-Um, n-no. Well, not yet, hopefully.” Motoyasu stuttered out from nervousness.
Mirellia turned to the Shield Hero, “Lord Naofumi, do you intend to accept this challenge?”
“Not really, Your Majesty. There’s no reason for me to do so,” Naofumi replied.
“May I ask why?” Mirellia asked with a raised brow.
“If Raphtalia gets freed from slavery while she’s within this country, Melromarc will try to sell her into slavery again to another, and probably, a more horrible master than the one before me. Her previous owner had no qualms about abusing and torturing a ten-year-old girl.”
Faces of revelation were on every complexion of the crowd, save a handful of noblemen, from this knowledge. Motoyasu’s face was shocked at what he heard. Raphtalia’s a ten-year-old? This beautiful woman? And the one who abused her wasn’t Naofumi? But that wasn’t what Malty said to him.
“So, what will you do, Lord Shield Hero?” The queen asked the soldier.
Naofumi pondered on his thoughts and his answer, “I’ll do it. Just to shut them up.” All were amazed by his response. Malty was grinning like mad, and the Pope, also in attendance, smiled. “But,” Naofumi continued. “I will only do so if there’s fairness involved.”
Queen Mirellia raised a brow, curious about what he was planning. “Fairness, you say?”
“Motoyasu cannot be unreasonable regarding victory, duration, and aftermath of this contest,” Naofumi proclaimed. “If he cannot make this competition fair for both sides, there will be no duel.”
“Fair, how?” Motoyasu asked.
“Mainly three things,” Naofumi pointed out. “Firstly, when there’s a victor, what do you get when I lose, and what’s in it for me if I win?”
“If I win, Raphtalia and Jun go free, no questions asked,” said Motoyasu. “If you win, well, there’s not much point since I’m going to win anyway.”
“Then we’re right back where we started, and there will be no duel,” Naofumi dismissed.
“Well, what do you want? I can’t make this fair if I don’t know what you want from this.”
Naofumi used some time to think and said, “No complaints.” Eyebrows raised all around. “I’m going to put the three of you, other heroes, in studying and Cadet training. Once I put you through the wringer in Basics and build your Jaegers, neither you, your companions, nor anyone else will have any say in how the training goes nor how your Jaeger looks. If the training is too hard or the Jaeger is ugly, you will have no say in how either turns out. We still need the four heroes to fight the Waves, so we may need to use you three to pilot some of the robots.”
Everyone in the room was dumbfounded. Why would the Shield hero ask for such a simple thing?
“Secondly,” Naofumi continued. “During this duel and any other contest to solve certain debates in the future, no one is allowed to cheat. If any outside party interferes in any proclaimed match, that fight is a draw, and the victory/defeat conditions are null and void.”
Everyone in the room pondered on that. It was a fitting piece of common sense, so it shouldn’t be unreasonable.
“And lastly, no killing or fatally injuring your opponent.” This condition confused all those present till Naofumi continued. “No matter if we all hate each other and do not see eye to eye, this world needs all the heroes to fight for the same goal; saving this world. We cannot afford to lose any heroes since it could spell imminent catastrophes. If one hero has a necessary power that the others can’t obtain, for example, and that hero is dead, it may, no, it will,” Naofumi corrected himself. “Spell death for us all.”
Again the Shield Hero spoke with sound reason, reasoning that even Pope Biscus couldn’t refute.
“Sounds doable. But answer me this, why are you accepting this duel?” Mirellia asks.
“Because it’s apparent that for Motoyasu to get anything in that thick skull of his, it needs to be beaten into him the hard way,” Naofumi answers.
“Understood. Lord Motoyasu?” The Queen of Melromarc turned to the Spear Hero.
“It’s fair and agreeable,” Motoyasu said as he turned to the shield bearer. “I guess you have some sense of honor, after all.”
“Let’s get this over with. I have better things to do than satisfy egos.” Every person in the ballroom then filed out to the arena.
(Location Change / Castle Arena)
Naofumi changed out of his uniform and into his Barbarian Armor inside a waiting room. Wooden and metal weapons made for training were in nearby crates and racks. Every weapon imaginable was there and was within arm’s reach.
Naofumi looked at the weapons out of curiosity. He reached out to touch one but received an electric shock instead, with the all too familiar notification popping up.
Warning! Heroes cannot wield weapons from this world aside from their Legendary weapons! No Hero can hold such tools other than their own with the intent to fight!
“Shield, is it possible for me to hold other weapons of this world? Even for training purposes?” The Holy Shield was silent for a moment, then replied.
Answer. It is possible. You can hold and use training weapons through a Commander’s skill set, but it only applies while equipped with the Basic Shield. And while doing so, you cannot use any other skills or magic, even if they’re passive.
“Including the Jaeger skills?”
Answer. Yes, including those skills.
“Hmm… Nah. For now, let’s focus on keeping Motyasu alive while achieving victory.”
(A few minutes later)
Nobles and royals were sitting in the audience stands, looking down on the stage below. Raphtalia and Jun were seated in between Ren and Itsuki upon Naofumi’s request, with all other members of the heroes’ parties present. The Queen, Mirellia, and the king, Aultcray, are seated in their royal thrones, waiting for the duel to begin.
“The duel between the Spear Hero and the Shield Hero will momentarily begin!” The announcer declared. “Being witnesses are Queen Mirellia and King Aultcray! And I shall be the judge upon this match! The challenger, Motoyasu Kitamura, the Spear Hero!”
Motoyasu stepped out into the ring, waving his hand to the crowd. His female party members cheered for him as he turned to them.
“Lord Motoyasu! Good luck!” Malty called out.
As the crowd was about to quiet down, the judge continued, “And the challenged, Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero!”
Naofumi strode onto the arena’s ring, armor-clad and shield attached.
“So, you showed up after all. I thought you’d lost your nerve and run away,” Motoyasu exclaimed tauntingly.
“Run from you? Ha!” Naofumi barked a laugh. “If you fight as well as you tell your jokes, this duel won’t take long.”
Motoyasu ground his teeth in anger. “You won’t be so smug when I wipe the floor with you and free the two girls from your slave crests!” He spun his spear and pointed the blade at his opponent. “Get ready to get shredded and pounded into hamburger, Naofumi!”
“I’d like to see you try.” Naofumi stood in a stance, shield propped up.
“The duel will now begin!” The announcer declared. “ The winner will be declared when one is pinned, incapacitated, or admits defeat!”
“Fighters!! Ready?!” The announcer shouted. Silence ensued throughout the arena, in both the bleachers and the ring, waiting for the signal. “ FIGHT!! ”
As the Spear Hero thrust his weapon forward, Naofumi blocked the blade effortlessly with his shield in its rudimentary form. Both weapons collided with a loud ‘CLANG!’ , and both were at a standstill.
“I see your defense as the shield hero is no joke,” Motoyasu commented. “But is that all you got?”
“Better watch your mouth, bub.” Naofumi fired back. “Sooner or later, this arrogance you have will kill you.”
Naofumi batted away the weapon and spun his body around in a pivoted circle. Amid his spin,
He brought his up into a kick and landed a blow to the face with his foot. The blonde spear holder tried bringing his arms up to block but underestimated Naofumi's speed and strength and got sent flying off his feet, spinning in the air until he landed face-first into the ground.
“Get up, Motoyasu,” Naofumi spoke in an authoritative tone. “If you intend to fight like this during the Waves, admit defeat. If you plan to win, start by standing upright, if you can.”
The Spear Hero slowly got his feet under him ‘till he stood to face Naofumi again. “Lucky shot! I still got more in the tank!”
The two heroes continue exchanging blows via shield and spear; despite Motoyasu's clear advantage in attack power, Naofumi kept pushing him back by exploiting the weak spots in his defense. Motoyasu didn't do the necessary weapons training with his Spear, and now he's paying the price.
“Dammit! Enough of this! Chaos Spear! ” Motoyasu charged in with a skill, irritated with losing ground. A series of seven phantom spears was created parallel to the original, and he shot his weapon and its apparitions toward his opponent.
“ Requip! ” As the Shield Hero activated his skill, Motoyasu’s attack landed on his target: Naofumi’s body. Even with armor, that should have hurt the shieldbearer, even damaging his armor, but- ‘ CRACK! ’ -things didn’t go as everyone assumed.
Motoyasu’s vambraces were both shattered, high-end crafted armor appropriate to his Level and were in pieces like glass; not only were they broken, but his arms, from his fingers to his elbows, sustained mediocre injuries.
“What the hell?!” Motoyasu indignantly shouted. “My gloves- ?! What did you- ?!!” Motoyasu turned his head to face his opponent, only-
Naofumi stood in the same spot as before, no longer wearing his Barbarian Armor. The armor had color schemes similar to his previous suit, but the design was completely different overall.
Plates of metal, silver in color, incorporate the metal parts in the helmet, the chest plate, his back, the vambraces, and his boots. Underneath was some form of green cloth. No longer did he wear a cloak, but instead wore a jacket. Connected to his backpack was a series of chains, three precisely, all thin yet interconnected as if woven together. Said chains were attached to a new Shield made of three plates, each chain connecting to a separate metal plate, and together, the platings formed the shield in the shape of a hexagon. And finally, the panels seem to be moving, like the chains acted as the necks of a living creature, and the plates were the heads.
“ Titan’s Armor! ” Naofumi declared its name as everyone saw this marvel. “Considering you’ve no intention of going easy on me, I should be courteous and do the same.”
“What the?!” Malty shouted indignantly.
“Where did he get armor like that?!” Itsuki exclaimed from the stands as Naofumi recollected several days ago when he finished his secret weapon.
(Flashback / 3 Days before the Second Wave of Calamity)
“I got to hand it to you, Erhard.” Naofumi examined the Titan’s Armor for any misaligned and uncomfortable places. He checked the status to be sure it worked right. “You sure know how to deliver on request.”
Vector Plates Shield (Titan’s Armor Weapon): Base Defense: 50, Base Magic Defense: 200, Base Attack: 15, Base Magic Attack: 75, Base Agility: 105, Base Luck: 30
Equip Bonus: [Plazma Vector] - Skill can enhance all plasma-based skills depending on use. [ Cooldown for each power in skill: 15 minutes ]
{ Sword Mode: +50% damage increase by plasma weapons in a party of 3+ members. Time duration: 3 minutes. }
{ Shield Mode: +200% Defense increase and +75% damage reduction in a party of 3+ members. Time duration: 3 minutes. }
Item: Titan’s Armor Type: Clothing / Armor
ATK: (0) M.ATK: (0)
DEF: (+85) M.DEF: (+75)
AGI: (+40) LUCK: (+40)
Effects: (Agility Boost, Defense Up)
Skill Slots: (3 / 6) (*)(*)(*)(@)(@)(@)
Skills List: (Conjunction, Plazma Fuel, Titan mode=locked)
Restrictions: (1) Can only be used when the entire Titan’s Armor set is equipped, including the weapon.
(2) Only designated Weapon Heroes can wear the Armor.
(3) If the user is fighting 1-on-1 fights: the user has all stats reduced by 5% for every 10+ levels. If the user fights multiple opponents: restrictions are removed and replaced with- “The lowest status value becomes 1.”
(4) Titan Mode is locked until the user is Level 80+—requires materials needed for skill activation.
Description: Armor crafted in cooperation with a Shield Hero’s otherworld scientific knowledge and a Blacksmith’s magic crafting skills. This suit will give the wearer untapped potential and a giant’s might.
“And our best work, too,” Erhard said proudly. “If the Barbarian Armor is the best custom-made for you, then this Titan’s armor is the best in general use for all the Heroes.”
“Primarily through the “ Conjunction ” Skill,” the blacksmith began explaining. “This specific Skill, capable of linking with the Holy Weapons and combining several weapon skills, is something I never considered possible.”
Naofumi looked at the Skill Erhard talked about.
Armor Skill: (Conjunction) - This will allow the user to utilize skills from multiple weapon forms alongside personal skills without needing to transform their weapon. The skills added will have specific drawback skills to compensate for the balance. The wearer can only use a certain number of skills equivalent to their mastery level of the armor. [ Mastery - Level: (1/10) ] = Number of Skills that can be utilized: 2
“Not to mention, this skill will get more powerful; the more you utilize it in combat, whether in training or on battlefields, the more capabilities you’ll have.”
“I see,” Naofumi nodded at Erhard’s explanation.
“Just remember, if you want to use other skills while the mastery is low-level, you’ll have to switch out with any of the skills registered. And try not to forget the armor’s restrictions; it’ll be hard to do so during combat, so be careful.”
(Flashback End)
“Okay, thanks to my low level, my stats didn’t take that much of a hit. Although, I can’t leave this fight to chance anymore.” Naofumi thought furiously. “While I wouldn’t put it past Malty or her father to do something stupid, I’m unsure they’re willing to with Mirellia watching.” He glanced at the Queen, then turned back to fight. “Looks like I’m ready as I’ll ever be,” Naofumi thought of his finishing touches. “Okay, time to teach this punk a proper lesson.”
(Audience Stands)
What the hell?! What kind of armor is that?! Malty thought furiously with anger. She never saw anything like this; she had stolen plenty of high-quality armor from high-ranked adventurers she had spent nights with before, and the Shield Hero’s armor was unlike others in pure quality alone.
This armor is new. Ren thought to himself with shock on his face. He’d seen armor with unique designs in the games he’d played before, but Naofumi’s armor was more futuristic than any other.
“What IS that armor?” Itsuki’s question snapped Ren out of his thoughts. “I’ve never heard of this kind of armor before, and I’ve seen the best armor Erhard provided before the previous Wave hit.”
“Master Naofumi had this armor manufactured before the Waves hit Lute,” Raptalia answered. Since Tra- er, Aultcray couldn’t seize Raphtalia nor Jun to make Naofumi fight, the two were seated between the two heroes watching. “He designed this model specifically for the Heroes to use but didn’t have a chance to use it.”
“No chance to use it?” Ren asked the obvious question.
“He made it in case the Wave Boss was coming towards the village or if the job needed to be done fast in case of emergency,” Jun answered. “Or worse, if small Kaiju were to appear and Jaegers weren’t available.”
“That makes sense,” said Ren. “Those creatures were an unpredictable curveball. It did well that he prepared for the worst, at least.”
“It never had a chance to see battle yet,” said Itsuki. “And now we get to see what it can do.”
(Meanwhile, in the Arena)
Motoyasu gritted his teeth out of anger. He was about to win the victory, only for Naofumi to bust out a new armor, backlashing his damage onto himself from the sheer stat difference, breaking his gauntlets. “I don’t care what armor you’ll wear,” he growled. “You’re still going down!”
“Go ahead and try,” Naofumi responds as two plates of his shield detached from his back, then moved to reattach onto his gauntlets.
Motoyasu charged, spear raised. Then Naofumi’s shield plates started glowing blue, and blades of blue light manifested, mimicking Gipsy’s Shield Blades. Naofumi stood his ground and positioned himself. “Just a few steps closer…”
With Motoyasu taking that step, the Shield Hero pounced into a counterattack. The Spear Hero stabbed but missed as Naofumi dodged. One sword swiped from his right, another from the left, his blades attacking in a chain of blows, one after the other as if he danced. Motoyasu tried blocking the swords but with little success. The blond spear-wielder was blasted back again and was trying to stay on his feet. The black-haired shield-bearer stepped forward, and the sword dissolved into blue particles. Those identical particles swirled into a vortex of light as if reassembling into a new form. Then the whirl solidified into something Motoyasu had seen only once, Gipsy’s PlasmaCaster. With a surge of power, Naofumi charged the cannon with Plazma energy for ammunition. He didn’t know what Naofumi intended to do with that weapon, but Motoyasu refused to stand still and take more punishment. The Spear charged again, hoping the gun had a slow charge time, but he didn’t realize Naofumi could still move while loading a gun. With a dodge, a blade spin, and a kick, Motoyasu got blown off his feet again, lined up for the shot of Naofumi’s gun. ‘BTOOMPH!’ The bolt of Plazma energy collided with the Spear Hero’s chest plate, shattering the metal armor and ripping the clothing underneath to shreds.
The blonde hero landed on his back as he fell, chest and shoulders exposed by the tattered remains of his armor.
The audience was shocked. Some became mortified, and others were surprised. The Shield Hero, by logic, was supposed to be unable to fight back alone. His stats and build concentrated on defense and support capabilities, yet he’s fighting the Spear Hero as an equal.
‘What the hell is going on?!’ Malty thought fast and furiously. ‘ How could he do that?! And I thought he said no killing!’
‘My goodness!’ Queen Mirelia gasped in thought, careful not to show surprise on her face, yet brandished a slight smirk hidden by her fan. ‘I suppose he’s more than anyone thought.’
‘How is this possible?!’ Pope Biscus stared aghast. ‘The Spear Hero, one of our Three Saints, is losing against that Demon?! Where did he get any of this power?! How?!?’
‘Damn Him!’ Aultcray boiled with rage in his seat. ‘Damn that Shield Demon!’
“Well damn,” Itsuki cussed with an impression. “Motoyasu’s behavior needed discipline beaten into him, but not to a near-death experience.”
“He’s not about to die.” Everyone turned to Jun. “I’ve been keeping track of the fight, and Motoyasu’s Health didn’t drop below eighty percent.”
“Wait, what?” said Itsuki, perplexed.
“But Lord Motoyasu’s armor got ripped to pieces!” Malty exclaimed. “How did he not take more damage than that?!”
“Maybe because of the armor,” heads turned to Ren. “Naofumi’s armor must have some sort of special power or gimmick that does damage to equipment instead of the wearer.”
“That would make sense,” Itsuki agreed. “Even though his armor got wrecked, Motoyasu didn’t. At least in HP.”
“And unfortunately for him, his stats will get reduced significantly with that equipment gone.”
Back in the arena, Naofumi stood tall over the Spear Hero on his back. Motoyasu regained his balance and climbed back up onto his feet. “You’re so going to pay for that,” the blonde groaned.
“So I’ve been told,” the Shield Hero responds.
“This isn’t over,” the Spear said as he stumbled. “I will win. I will defeat you and free Raphtalia and Jun, and you’ll pay for your crimes!” Then Motoyasu fell to his knees, propping himself with his spear.
“I hate to break it to you,” the shield bearer said as he dissolved his weapons of light and retracted the plates. “But this is over.”
“What, you giving up?” Motoyasu panted.
“Why would I give up when I’ve already won?” Naofumi crossed his arms. “You’ve lost because you can no longer fight.”
“I can still take you on!” the Spear Hero shouted.
“Why don’t you check your status and say that again?” said Naofumi.
Motoyasu took that moment given and looked. His eyes became bug-eyed when he looked at his status menu. “What- my stats! They’re- they’re ZERO?!”
“Not all of them,” Naofumi clarified. “Your Health should be mostly unaffected.”
Motoyasu looked back, baffled. “Wha- What did you do?!”
“You didn’t think that those attacks I did do nothing when you lost no HP, did you?” The Shield Hero started explaining. “My Titan’s Armor can equip other skills onto it without transforming my weapon. However, in exchange for using the fitted skills, drawbacks are applied to balance the power for the wearer’s Level. And some of those drawbacks are particularly useful.”
“Drawbacks?” Motoyasu questioned.
“For example, this.” Naofumi brought up a display window, then showed his opponent the following:
Armor Skills: (Conjunction) - Registered skills= [(1) <Solid Holographic> - Drawback: Any weapons created through this skill cannot inflict HP Damage but reduce random stats by the same value instead]
[(2) < Anti-Magic skin > - Drawback: If the user’s ATK is lower than the opponent's DEF, half the difference is inflicted back to the user as HP Damage, and reduces ATK by 5%].
“Because of the drawback of that skill, I took away everything else of your status; you get to keep your Health and Levels; sadly, your other stats got stolen from you.”
The blonde was shocked, realizing he was now as weak as when he was Level One. “This- this can’t be…”
“There’s no point in continuing the fight anymore,” Naofumi remarked. ”With no Defense whatsoever and your current Attack stat is just as low, it’s clear who the victor is. And it’s-”
As Naofumi lectured Motoyasu, something struck the Shield Hero’s back. Unfortunately for the attacker, the strike was blocked by the Vector Shield on his back and dispersed. “What the- wind magic?” Naofumi then turned to the origin of the blast- “Oh. Of course, it was her.” -Malty. “Why am I not surprised?”
All heads turned to the stands, staring at Malty, her face contorted with rage and frustration. Her hands raised after using wind magic to try and knock the shield-bearer off his feet, ultimately failing because of his Anti-Magic Skin .
“Guards! Seize Malty at once!” The Queen commanded the troops, and they moved instantly.
“Wait, Dear-!” Aultcray starts before Mirelia’s interruption. “No, Aultcray. She will not get off scot-free from this.” Her Majesty turned to the Arena as the knights grabbed her bitchy eldest daughter. “Judge, Your verdict?”
“Uh, right!” The Judge flustered a little, then straightened himself out. “Motoyasu, the Spear Hero, is unable to continue. And on top of that, he has cheated through the use of outside forces by magic. Therefore, by both defeat in battle and disqualification of the rules, the Shield Hero, Naofumi, is the winner!”
Naofumi reverted to his Barbarian Armor as the judge declared the announcement. Most of the nobility didn't applaud him, except for a handful of people. “Master, you did it! You’ve won!”
Raphtalia raced back to the Shield Hero with Jun walking behind her. “Congratulations, Lieutenant.”
“Thanks,” Naofumi said with a smile. On the other side of the Arena, opposite Naofumi, Motoyasu had his teeth grinding from frustration. “Dammit! I should have won!”
“Should’ve, would’ve, could’ve.” Motoyasu turned to see Ren and Itsuki with their parties. “The point is, Motoyasu, is that you lost, and that’s that,” said Itsuki. “Accept that with any dignity you’ve got left.”
“He is correct.” The Queen and her entourage arrived, with Malty in tow. “You lost the duel. An honorable man should accept that.”
“Well, now that we’re all done here,” Takt expressed. “What’s next?”
“Since all of the country leaders and the Four Heroes are present now,” Queen Mirelia began. “We should hold a conference to strategize for the upcoming Waves.”
“Wait, what about me? My stats are nonexistent now, so how-” Motoyasu started ranting.
“Don’t worry,” Naofumi assured. “The afflictions you’ve received will wear off within the hour. You’ll be back to full strength, Motoyasu, but you’ll need new armor and clothes.”
“I suggest we hold the meeting tomorrow,” Tortuga offered. “After today’s events, we could use some air to breathe.”
“Tomorrow morning it is.” The audience dispersed for the day, hoping all other complications rest for tomorrow.
Later, Naofumi and his party headed to their quarters for a night's stay. Naofumi was tweaking and cleaning his trusty pistol into working order. Jun was using small canisters to fill up with excess Plazma Fuel made from her skill that she didn’t need. And Raphtalia made sure to sharpen her sword after getting food for everyone to eat. “Master Naofumi, this conference… Do you think it'll go okay?”
“What makes you say that Raphtalia?” the Shield Hero asked.
“Well, from your memories, politicians of the PPDC weren’t that useful, were they?”
“It’s true that in matters on battlefields, politicians are out of their element but are necessary,” Naofumi answered. “They help manage the country’s money and order, moving the people to rise in times of war and helping build the future for all the people they’re working for. Of course, that only applies to those who’ve earned their place.”
“Then Melromarc is far from such a good place if their nobles are that greedy,” Raptalia frowned.
“True,” Jun replied. “But humans are naturally greedy because they were born into their worlds with nothing. They try hard to grab hold of everything around them to make a legacy, all to try and not be forgotten by future generations.”
“Though for some, like Malty, they do it for pleasure, not worrying about consequences.”
“Will they put their differences aside for the greater good, Master Naofumi? I have my doubts.”
“If the leaders don’t realize that Kaiju will destroy their world, all is lost. My only hope is that by tomorrow, with the help of the heroes, they will listen.”
(Three Heroes Church, Pope’s Quarters)
“Curses! All our work for nothing!” Pope Biscus shouted as he pounded his fist on the table. Since the beginning of the Church’s founding, the followers of the Three Heroes Faith tried multiple times to undermine the Shield Hero’s power. During this generation, however, Naofumi has thwarted their plans one after another. The Princess’ rape accusation was useless when he tricked the country into thinking he ran for the border. The followers among the civilians couldn’t find him for weeks until the Second Wave began, during which rumors spread that the other Heroes could be demons no different from the Shield. The final nail in the coffin was when those two monstrous beasts emerged from the Wave Rift. Those creatures not only killed several knights of their doctrine, but they also bested the Three Saints of their religion. And to top it off, the Shield Hero’s Titan killed the beasts and saved them all, further abolishing the blight they had painted of him to be the Devil. While several devout believers stayed in their halls, dozens of the younger generation started having doubts and decided to leave.
“Your Holiness…” A nun from the lobby of their sanctum entered the room. “What should we do? If we do anything at this meeting…”
The Pope sighs. “For now, we do nothing. We keep quiet through this conference. If we try anything during that meeting while all the world leaders are there, everyone, especially the Queen, will have every legal reason to purge us all.”
“But if this meeting were to happen…”
“It WILL happen, on schedule,” Biscus said sternly. “Whether we fancy it or not. We must be patient and wait for the golden opportunity God will provide us. Which will involve us seizing the Metal Titan for our holy crusade for the sake of our country’s- our religion’s future.”
“But my Lord-”
“I understand your frustration, my Faithful, but compared to his predecessors, this Demon is more ruthless and cunning. Being a firm believer in our Faith isn’t going to cut it this time. If our beliefs are to survive, we must be smarter.”
“Understood.”
(Tomorrow Morning, 0900 Hours)
Standing inside the large council room, Naofumi watched as every leader was sitting in their seats, one by one. Several knights and adventurers followed inside as hired escorts, and everyone assembled for the meeting as planned. That worried Naofumi. He thought someone would cause an incident or a scene with every one of the leaders here, yet nothing for the past sixteen hours. Why was it so quiet?
“Lord Naofumi,” Mirellia conjured him from his thoughts. “Everyone has assembled.”
“Alright then,” Naofumi faced the ensemble of the room. “Let’s get started.”
End of Chapter 6- To be continued