Chapter 10

- Ten Minutes before -

„Heroes! I appreciate the efforts of your Journey! We received nearly any damage. Even I cannot hide my surprise about it! Tonight, we feast! Enjoy yourselves to the fullest!" (Trash)

Most of my teammates enjoyed the feast. I even had a few good conversations with Ren, his teammates, the members of our support corps and who would believe it with Itsuki. But the best was the rumors about what I had said after the battle, they actually found quite a bit support under the members of the noble houses. Well, at least a few. One or two even asked me for more information. Kiel, Raphtalia, and Lifana enjoyed the food. Raphtalia even brought me some and different to the first time it was actually quite good.

„If you're that curious about everything, then eat to your heart's content." (Naofumi)

„But if I eat that much, ..." (Raphtalia)

„You work more than enough, don't worry about that." (Naofumi)

„L-Lord Naofumi ... Do you prefer your women on the stouter side?" (Raphtalia)

Raphtalia was really cute when she was embarrassed.

„Haha, I don't have any preferences, well as long as the woman is a grown up. No, what I mean is that we won't have such good and exotic food again until perhaps the next wave. Because of that, you should eat when you have the chance. If you take on weight that you want to reduce again, you will have many chances in the near future." (Naofumi)

„Ah, there he is! Don't move one step from there, Naofumi!" (Motoyasu)

I sighed.

„What do you want Motoyasu?" (Naofumi)

„I heard about it! I heard about how the girls who are with you are your slaves!" (Motoyasu)

The nobles where shocked hearing that accusation. They were quite hypocritical, as most of them had slaves. And quite a number of them would torture their slaves.

„Why do you bring that up, again? Yeah, that's right she's my slave. I thought I explained that already and it is rude to touch a girl without her consent." (Naofumi)

„A Slave?" (Nobel 1)

„A Hero has a slave?" (Nobel 2)

„Why you... People don't belong to anyone else! Let's not forget that we are people from a different world. We won't be forgiven for such behavior!" (Motoyasu)

„So you say we have to follow the ethics of our old worlds? Then I question you, what about the principle of innocent until proven guilty. Were was that each time you accused me of something. In this world slavery is legal, it is an accepted practice.

Nothing we will say can change something about this. The last heroes didn't manage it, and it is unlikely to change until the society as a whole change. I don't know about your world, but in my slavery was only abolished in recent history. I have at least a good reason why I use it. Think about what I said that first night. All my fears came true. The Three Hero Church, the Conflict between Melromarc and the demi-human countries and the resulting hatred towards me. All true, where do you think I could have found loyal and trustworthy companions.

The only two humans in my group were a woman that was thrown into prison, because she could have been a good companion for me. The other was sold as a slave, because the local lord suppressed and plundered the whole region.

Do you know why I think that the king allowed that for such a long time? He was a strong supporter of the anti-demi-human fraction of this country. He was Kiel's, Raphtalia's, and Lifana's former master. It is a wonder that none of them died in his prison cells. Ask them how they were treated and how I treat them. I will order them to speak the full truth of how I treat them if I have to.

If you don't believe me, go into the villas and palaces of the nobles here in this room, most of them will have slaves, look how they treat their demi-humans. I can promise you that a good number are not what we would call good people. Especially now that all pro and neutral demi-human nobles have been demoted and sent to the outer regions of this country.

While we're at it, your noble Mein and her father. What do you think would have happened, if a slave crest actually would work against heroes. We would have been slaves the minute that we came to this world. Do you actually think they respect the heroes?

Their treatment does speak a different language. How quick do you think you could receive the same treatment that I receive. Don't understand me wrong, I don't say that there aren't good people here. Most of the normal population is innocent and just wants to live in peace.

For them, I fight this war. And don't think that the nobles in Shieldfrieden and Silt Welt are inherently better. Don't think that the politicians in our worlds are better. We all use what is available to us to solve a problem. They can summon people from different world, so they did it. We are at best soldiers for them, kidnapped from our homeworlds to fight.

Lastly, did you see Rens companions? Did you see how much stronger they are then yours? Did you see how they compare to my companions? Who did you think showed him that? Do you think I use slaves, because I find it funny? I will use every power I can get to fight this war. I will use every power I can get to win this war. I will use every power I can get to survive this war. And I will hold as strong to my convictions as I can. If I have to use slaves than I will do so, but I will treat them as people, not objects." (Naofumi)

My outbreak had made many of the people here thoughtful. The number of enemies I had made was probably bigger than the number of friends, but I would take the few friends over the hidden enemies anytime. Even if I had to kill a few more because of it. I had lost most of my scruples a long time ago.

„Whaa ... Let's have a duel! If I win, you'll release her!" (Motoyasu)

„You don't listen do you?" (Naofumi)

„Please, wait a moment! I'm ... Mguh!" (Raphtalia)

A guard had caught Raphtalia, the difference was that Raphtalia was quite a bit stronger than last time.

„Release her right now!" (Naofumi)

„I heard all about it. A hero who would dare to use a slave..." (Trash)

I saw the hate-filled look on Trash and Bitch's faces.

„Raphtalia you may free yourself." (Naofumi)

Raphtalia had finally overcome her surprise and grabbed the hand of the guard that held her. With a jolt, she had freed herself and went into a shoulder throw. The guard flew through the air and landed on a table a few meters away. The table gave in under his body, crashing down on the floor.

„You want a duel? You want to see what I am capable of? Good, that you can have, but I won't tolerate that my companions are put to harm. If she wants to be free, she will be, if not than not, and nothing you can do will change something about that." (Naofumi)

„I am the king of this country, I command here. You slave is guilty of violence against the crown. She will be punished crim..." (Trash)

„I have given your daughter a warning once, that her action will have consequences. This warning will go to you now as well." (Naofumi)

With this, I stepped in front of Raphtalia and the guards. Away was the aura that surrounded me since I came to this planet again. I had learned much, and even if I was no god anymore, I was no normal human either. I had surrounded myself with an aura of ..., not exactly benevolence, it was more like mediocrity. It let me look no ... normal. It made place for something much potent and darker as well. Something that the king could see and recognize. Something dangerous. Something indeterminable. The aura of a seasoned warrior, of a man that would do what was necessary, whatever it took or however stood in his way.

„The duel will take place in the palace gardens!" (Trash)

When we went towards the gardens, there were two types of people. Some that had felt the shift in my aura, like Ren, Eclair, Raphtalia and those that didn't felt or ignored it, like Bitch, Motoyasu or a few of the nobles.

„The Shield Hero against the Hero of the Lance?" (Noble 3)

„Who does he thinks he is?" (Noble 4)

„Who's going to win?" (Noble 5)

„Henceforth, the duel between the hero of the lance and the hero of the shield will begin! A loss will occur should a competitor either be driven into a corner or concede to a loss, himself!" (Trash)

„So, it's a matter of contradiction which will triumph over the other. The sword or the shield?" (Naofumi)

„This won't be much of a challenge though. You're in the wrong. I'll bring you to your knees for Raphtalias's and my angel's sake, tout de suite!" (Motoyasu)

I wasn't sure how Firo came into this whole mess, I had seen the commotion that her change back into her bird form had caused and how she had kicked Motoyasu through the room. It was probably similar to what he had done the first time. That was simply not worth any reply. At least she didn't look like a child this time, I had changed the food given to her soon enough to make her appear around seventeen.

„You may now begin." (Trash)

I let loose the spell that I had cast silently the whole time, and spoke the trigger words in such a tone that no one could understand them.

[Revelation Aura X] (Naofumi)

Motoyasu made a mad dash towards me, planning to run me through with his spear. I changed my shield to my starting shield. It was my weakest shield, it was still more than enough. I focused my magic and chi into it to temporarily strengthen its defenses and took the spear thrust without taking a single point of damage.

„Hmph! I suppose that's to be expected of the shield hero!" (Motoyasu)

„Contradiction, a word that means inconsistency, or something that's illogical. It's as if this duel was like that from the start, right? The sword or lance, is a weapon meant for attacking. The shield is protective gear meant to protect oneself. Their purposes were different from the very start." (Naofumi)

„What are you trying to say?" (Motoyasu)

„If this really is a battle between the strongest weapon and the strongest shield, then you lost the moment you couldn't pierce through my shield! I even made it easy for you and changed to my weakest shield." (Naofumi)

„Not a single person here will accept an outcome like that!" (Motoyasu)

I dodged Motoyasus attack playfully.

„Then let me show you what I can do." (Naofumi)

[Turbulent Thrust]

I changed my shield to the Chimera Four Head Shield and blocked the attack.

[Four-Head Counter]

The four heads detached them self from the shield and flew surrounding the spear into Motoyasu. He was hit by three bites and one headbutt. This triggered the Double Counter Effect of my shield, producing one shadowy image from each head and slamming into Motoyasu again. The biggest advantage of this counter ability compared to others, was that it also worked against range attacks. When the heads flew back to me I activated the second skill of the shield.

[Four Guardians] (Naofumi)

Instead of returning to the shield, the heads began to circle around my body. Motoyasu was damaged slightly, but attacked again. As I didn't made any tries to block or dodge one of the heads went in front of me and blocked the attack, at the same time countering again. Seeing that and hoping to prevent an counter Motoyasu used the skill of his new Chimera Four Head Spear.

[Quadruple Head Strike] (Motoyasu)

As his level wasn't high enough he couldn't use the Chimera Four Head Spear II yet, so his attack wasn't able to develop into a range attack, instead it were four fast thrusts each surrounded by the illusionary head of one of the four heads. I let the dragon and lion head be blocked by the two heads and then went forward when the next thrust came and grabbed the spear.

I couldn't use Hengen Musou when fighting yet. At least not normally, but thanks to Aura X, it was possible for me. Therefore I used Hengen Musou to negate the effect of the piercing attack and took the rest without gaining much damage. Then I used the spear as a lever and slammed the spear hero into the ground on my other side.

Before he could stand up again I was next to him and slammed my right hand in the area between neck and armor. Afterwards, I stood back and waited for the spear hero to stop crying from pain.

Neither of my attacks had done much damage to him, but I had used an attack that had the goal to make the enemy incapable of action. I had inserted magic and chi to disrupt his magic and chi system. The result was a violent reaction as his systems tried to open the disrupted pathways. This was extremely painful, even if it was not actually dangerous. At least if his networks weren't flooded with magic at that moment. For example through a heal or support spell. Based on the strength of said magic it could rupture the magic pathways, inflicting massive damage. Motoyasu needed ten seconds to stop screaming and then laid on the ground.

„Come on, you didn't actually take any real damage, it is just pain. Stand up Spear Hero or do you think the wave monsters wouldn't take the chance if given? This is a real world, with real combat and real dangers. Wake up from your dream." (Naofumi)

As Motoyasu came back to his feet, he looked wearily towards me. As he didn't take action, I did that for him. I slammed my air strike shield into him and bound him into a shield prison. I then used change shield to change the shields of the prison to the needle shield. Of course, I only used my weakest attack shield.

„Come on, I thought you would be stronger than this." (Naofumi)

„Damn it! That hurts" (Motoyasu)

„What is this? The shield hero absolutely dominates this." (Motoyasus companion)

„The Shield hero is overwhelming him?" (Guard 1)

„Something about this isn't making sense..." (Guard 2)

„He's just got a shield! How can he possibly hold his own against the spear hero?" (Guard 3)

I waited relaxed until the shield prison vanished, out came a bruised Motoyasu. At this moment a wind magic was fired into my back. And accordingly intercepted from the fourth and final head. I had cast an illusion over it with a quiet dragon pulse, when I changed from the Chimera Four-Head Shield to the Pipe Shield.

„So we don't do one-on-one anymore now? Did you really need support from your companions against me?" (Naofumi)

While saying that the last head shot in a counter to the attacker to retaliate and this head had a few nasty spells on it. Bitch would survive, she wouldn't even take much damage, but I wouldn't want to be her in the next two days.

„You know, the more heroes there are in this world, the safer it is against the waves. But there is one difference, star heroes are expandable, they can be reelected while the wave is rolling. The legendary heroes are not. They are the linchpins that hold this world above the abyss. So don't worry I won't kill you." (Naofumi)

„You want to kill me, how do you think you can do that?" (Motoyasu)

„Do you think I don't have a way to defeat you? Shield of True Wrath." (Naofumi)

Shield of True Wrath

True Power sealed ...

Equipment bonus: Change Shield (Attack), Iron Maiden (Reduced Penalty), Blutopfer(Reduced Penalty)

Special Effect: Strength Up, Dark Burning Curse L, Fire Immunity, Curse Immunity, Flame Control, Magic Sharing, Clothes of Anger (Max), Defense Offense Equalization, Hellfire

[Defense Offense Equalization] (Naofumi)

[Hellfire] (Naofumi)

An inferno of flames surrounded Motoyasu for a brief second. The heat alone produced screams of pain. Even the offshoots of the cursed flames were enough to inflict heavy curses. When the flames vanished, Motoyasu lay on the ground breathing heavily, but still conscious.

Defense Offense Equalization allowed me to either increase or decrease my defense or attack stat and subject my opponent with the same boost or debuff. In this case, I had halved my defensive value and by that reduced Motoyasus defense value to zero. Without defense, my meager attack value was enough to defeat Motoyasu.

I went in front of him and put down a flask of holy water before him. I had created it myself, it was much more potent than anything else that was in this world.

„You will need this, treat your wounds every morning and evening. That should remove the curse within one week. If you don't use this special holy water, you will need a month to cure your wounds, so think about it whether you heed my worlds or not." (Naofumi)

I looked to the king, he was an equal mixture of fear and rage.

„He is finished, the duel is over." (Naofumi)

„The shield hero has won the duel." (Trash)

I addressed the gathered crowd.

„This lecture was only given once. I am not your punching bag, I am not your Sacrifice. If you act friendly, professional or even only neutral to me, I will treat you the same. But if you have to become my enemy, if you harm my friends and allies. No matter if you are king or peasant, churchmen or sinner, hero or villain. I will search for you, I will find you and I will annihilate you. King, I am not your enemy, I am not the murderer of your sister. You do better to remember that. I am the shield hero, I am a protector of this world. Remember it was your choice to summon me to this world. So don't stand in my way." (Naofumi)

Over the next three days, rumors spread far and wide. They spoke of a dark hero, a protector of the innocent and peaceful and an Angel of Vengeance for all that stood against him. The emissaries of Silt Welt and Shieldfrieden were there this time as well. When they spoke with me, I had made my intentions clear.

I had no intentions to become their enemies, but I would stay in Melromarc to fight the waves. I stayed in friendly contact with them, and I used their network of spies to my advantage. They made my actions for the people of the land known in the whole country. Then I made sure that the rumors that would spread, after the night of the second wave, would be positive ones. With their help, I became a symbol of hope for the normal population, perhaps one that they saw with wariness, but still of hope. And my enemies were made to think.