Chapter Eighteen: Persuasion
We’d made some progress when we saw them.
Motoyasu and Itsuki were there with their parties, watching the carriages on the road. The soldier had been right.
I peeked out from my hiding place. There were wizards around. They were chanting spells.
“There he is! He’s in that cart!”
I had a suspicion, a fear—and apparently I’d been right.
Motoyasu and Itsuki took off running in our direction.
Damn! How did they know?!
It must have been those wizards. I don’t know what they did, but it must have been them.
I threw off the cloth I’d been hiding under and jumped out of the cart. Filo knew something was happening, and she quickly transformed into her Filolial Queen form.
“I knew it! There he is!”
He must have been nearby, because Ren was running for us too.
Dammit. It was the worst situation I could think of.
“We found you! Release princess Melty!”
Itsuki was shoving a sanctimonious finger in my direction and calling out in a self-satisfied voice.
“I can’t release her because she’s not my prisoner! She’s not tied up, is she?!”
“Say what you want, we have proof! Justice is not on your side.”
“Justice? Ha!”
This was from the guy who left the lives of innocent villagers up to the knights during the wave? Telling me about justice.
These guys really only thought about fulfilling their own ideas of justice.
Wait a second. There was one option. I could try telling them about all that had happened. I remember that Ren felt bad about the village he abandoned to sickness, and there were certainly holes in Itsuki’s theory of justice. Maybe I could use that?
Still, they had obviously made up their minds not to believe anything I said.
But I had to try. I had to make them understand. I needed to get them to focus their justice on something else. They needed an evil conspiracy to fight against. It was a situation that any gamer would love. I’d need them to believe me, though, or at the very least I’d need them to start doubting the Crown.
“Are you all so sure that you are right? Are you so sure that you are on the side of justice?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?
“The princess, as you can see, is perfectly unharmed.”
I readied my shield and showed off the princess. An attack could come from any direction at any time.
She looked worried, but she looked up at me and nodded.
“Sword Hero, Bow Hero, Spear Hero—The Shield Hero is innocent. He actually saved my life.”
She wasn’t speaking like a child anymore. She spoke with a regal tone.
They listened to her, and I could see a shadow of doubt creep over their faces.
Could there be a shred of evil on their side of things? If there were, their inflated egos and sense of justice certainly wouldn’t be able to tolerate that.
“Please believe me. There is a great conspiracy behind all of this.”
“But Princess Melty, isn’t that man taking you all around the country in secret?”
“Yes, but he is doing it to save my life. I asked him to do so.”
Mel explained the situation, and Itsuki flinched, confused.
“Does it not seem odd? What would the Shield Hero stand to gain by my abduction?”
“Well… That’s…”
Was he trying to think of an answer? He looked lost.
“But… But this guy…”
“Did you ever think that Melromarc has been treating the Shield Hero, and ONLY the Shield Hero, poorly?”
“It’s true, but…”
“My mother told me that it was time for us all to join hands and fight back the coming disaster. This country simply does not have the time or resources to allow its Heroes to dally about with such things. Please, put away your weapons.”
The three heroes might have been listening. They loosened their grip on their weapons.
They were starting to come around. After all, they had lost the last battle during the wave.
And the young princess was right. We really did need to spend our time on leveling and strengthening our weapons. If they were serious about following through on the purpose of being a hero, they would realize that any time not spent on leveling or strengthening their weapons was a waste.
“Do you get it? This is a conspiracy. Now I’m going to tell you everything I know. Can you decide to fight me after you hear me out?”
The Bitch stepped forward from the crowd.
“Why should we listen to the words of a demon?”
What did she want? Was she trying to get points for pretending to be concerned about her sister?
“Didn’t his actions speak loud enough? He must be using the Brain Washing Shield!”
“Sister?!”
Mel was absolutely shocked. She glared at the Bitch.
Really, there was only so much I could stand to listen to.
What the hell was a Brain Washing Shield? If I had something like that, none of this would have ever started to begin with. It was so easy to ignore the fruits of someone’s labor if you just threw out a phrase like “brain washing!” Besides, brain washing and religion tend to go hand-in-hand. Ha!
Brain washing, give me a break.
“The Brain Washing Shield is a shield imbued with very powerful magic. Of course your story sounded fishy.”
“I don’t know when you found the Shield, but the church thinks it must have been around a month ago.”
That was around the time I started my peddling business. It was back when I had to prioritize making medicine for that village over my business. That was when people started calling me a Holy Saint of the bird-god.
I get it now. It fit, time-wise. From the church’s perspective it was a perfect explanation—a perfect lie.
“I feel like the situation explains itself perfectly. You’ve traveled a long way and gotten all mixed up. And here you are, practically working with Naofumi! Every normal citizen knows that he is a criminal, and yet here you are, helping him? Why would you do that?”
“Everyone is crazy. I’m saying that the Shield Hero wouldn’t do the things he’s accused of—and I’ve met old ladies that practically worship him.”
“That old lady…” I had a pretty good idea who she was referring to.
Even still, what the hell were they talking about?
It was just a fact that I had helped and saved a lot of people. But most of what I’d done was clean up the messes that THEY had left.
Did they really think that anything they didn’t know meant some kind of enemy strategy? Seriously, what was in their heads?
“It very well may be that simply standing near him and talking to him will allow him to brainwash you. At this very moment the church members among us are pooling their resources to break his spell over you.”
“You freaking idiot! Who has that kind of power?!”
No one responded to my outburst.
Actually Raphtalia, then Filo and Mel were stunned.
What they meant was that they had travelled around looking for me, and instead of listening to what people said, and actually processing the good things people had to say, they just invented this idea of the Brain Washing Shield, and the Bitch used that to convince the other heroes.
It was an amazing lie. She really outdid herself.
“Does the Shield Hero really have that kind of power?”
The young princess looked up at me, worried.
“Does it look like I do?”
“Um… no.”
“You didn’t have to hesitate.”
If I had a shield with powers like that, my life would be a lot easier. If I had a shield like that, I could have brainwashed soldiers, knights, and wizards. I could have taken over the whole kingdom. Basically, if I had that kind of power, I wouldn’t be in this position.
In other words, the very fact that people were chasing after me was a good reason to doubt the efficacy of any supposed Brain Washing Shield.
Couldn’t the stupid heroes understand something so simple?
“So that means that Raphtalia and Filo are brainwashed by him!”
“That’s not true! We are not brainwashed!”
“Don’t worry, we’re going to save you two.”
“I’m with Master because I want to be!”
Motoyasu still hadn’t given up on chasing after Raphtalia and Filo?! How obsessed can a guy be?
“Okay, enough of your stupid theories. Listen up. Depending on your reaction, I’ll give you the princess.”
“What?!”
The young princess let out a surprised yelp.
“We’re listening.”
Ren took the initiative. I had to answer quickly and concisely. I couldn’t afford to misspeak.
“Okay, first of all there is no such thing as brainwashing. Next…”
“I don’t believe you!”
“Shut up! I’m not talking to YOU, General Commander.”
Before I could finish speaking Itsuki butt in and I had to shut him up.
I didn’t have any use for the sort of hypocrite that would decide the veracity of a claim only one sentence in.
“Anyway… This is a conspiracy. Whether it was the king, that woman, or the church—I don’t know. But someone wanted this princess dead, and they wanted to pin it on me.”
“Understood. Now then, we will tie you up and you will come with us. In exchange for your acceptance, we promise that no harm will come to you. We need time to investigate your claims.”
“You would believe him?! This evil cretin?! He brainwashed Filo!”
“Yeah! I don’t believe him!”
“Sword Hero! You must not listen to what the demon says!”
Ren was just on the verge of listening and believing me when the Bitch and the others jumped in.
“If we can end this without a fight, it’s worth it, no? We can investigate his claims later.”
Ren was acting as cool as you’d expect—but at least he was trying to calmly assess the situation.
Was it safe to assume he understood?
“No.”
The princess reached up and squeezed my hand. She was shaking, and her face was pale.
“I think… I think they will kill us.”
She might be right. I took a second to think it through. There was a good chance that she would be treated differently than the rest of us.
To keep their theory looking plausible, they’d probably hand the princess to some wizards so that they could cast spells to clear her of the brainwashing. But then what would happen? They would probably have to pretend that, just when they cleared her from my influence, a powerful curse activated and killed her—but of course they would just assassinate her in secret.
It seemed like a likely scenario.
If that was the plan, then Ren, who appeared to believe what I said, was
absolutely lying. He must have truly believed I was a criminal.
If the plan was to try and pin another crime on me, then it followed that the Bitch most definitely had a hand in it. But to think that she would act against her own sister…
“Help…”
Her plea was nearly silent. Her voice was hoarse. And to think, I was so close to gaining their sympathies.
Oh well…
“You promised, remember?”
“What?”
Back then. Back on the day they framed me for rape. Back when there wasn’t a single person that believed in me.
And now, the young princess was standing on the verge of life and death.
Brainwashing. They’d use a simple, convenient word to tie it all up. Then they’d have her killed.
Seriously, the plan was so transparent. Even I could see through it.
If the princess died, that would be the end of us. Who would stand up for me—no one even believed me.
“Sorry, I just can’t believe you. If I gave you the princess, I don’t think you’d be able to protect her. And that’s what I promised her: protection.”
I put Mel onto Filo’s back, and then called to Raphtalia to climb on too.
“Filo, I know you don’t want to hear this, but we’re abandoning the cart. Let’s leave these guys in the dust!”
“Okaaaay!”
“Later.”
Filo was ready and waiting. The second she realized that we were all on her back she took off running.
“Wait!”
“Haikuikku!”
“We won’t let you!”
“Wh…”
Motoyasu produced a hoop of some kind and tossed it at Filo’s legs.
It spun around her, tripping her up. We crashed into the ground.
“Ugh!”
“Ahhh!”
Raphtalia, Mel, and I were all launched forward with Filo’s momentum.
“Ouch…”
There were already two soldiers flying at us. I jumped to my feet just in time to block their attack.
Motoyasu had been expecting Filo’s “Haikuikku,” and he interfered just before she could finish it. I really couldn’t stand him.
“Ugh… Hrm…. I can’t get it off, Master! I can’t get it off!”
Filo was feverishly tugging at the hoop her legs were entangled in, but it showed no signs of loosening its grip on her.
The hoop itself looked like it was made from black iron, but it must have had some kind of special effect. If it had been normal iron, Filo should have been more than powerful enough to remove it.
“You’re not getting away, so don’t bother. Now then, give us the princess.”
“Why would I?!”
It was as clear as day. The smiling Bitch standing next to him was behind all of this.
If they killed the princess, I’d never be able to prove my innocence!
“Filo!”
“Y…Yes! Ah…”
Filo struggled to her feet, but then all her strength gave out and she fell to the ground again, her legs just as entangled as before.
“I don’t… I can’t… I can’t get up! I have no energy!”
Filo started glowing, and turned into her human form.
“What are you doing?!”
“I’m not doing it! I transformed automatically!”
What? How could that be? The only idea I had involved Motoyasu’s hoop…
“Check it out. I had an alchemist make it. It will make it so that Filo will be a little angel forever. As long as she’s in that hoop, I don’t think she’ll be able to attack me anymore.”
“Ugh! Let me go!”
Motoyasu walked over to Filo, where she was struggling to stand. He pulled her to her feet and showed her to us.
“That alchemist did a good job. He was even able to seal away her magical powers.”
Damn, I’d thought that Filo could get us out of there with her speed.
That wasn’t looking likely anymore.
How was I supposed to know that they had the power to transform Filo and then suppress all her power?
And what was with that stupid hoop?! Did he really want Filo that badly? But yeah, I guess he was going on and on about “little angels” back in town. He must have had that hoop made specifically so that he could catch Filo. And to think he’d get a chance to use it so quickly and in a situation like this? What the hell was going on?
Regardless, Filo’s legs were out of commission, so we weren’t going to be escaping on them.
“Filo!”
“Mel!”
The two girls were yelling and reaching for each other. But their fingers were not able to touch,
“I kind of like rambunctious little princesses. Don’t worry, if you come with us, you can be with Filo.”
“Ugh!”
He really thought he was on top of things, didn’t he? What an idiot! Why didn’t he understand that he was basically sentencing both of them to death?
“Hey…”
“Um…”
“What are you doing? Sword and Bow Heroes! Hurry and arrest the
Shield Hero!”
“But…”
Ren and Itsuki hadn’t responded to what was happening yet. They were frozen in place. If they jumped in and attacked now, it would all be over.
The whole lot of them were obsessed with their own ideas of justice. They’d just seen us try to flee, only to be stopped by Motoyasu. On top of that, Motoyasu had taken a hostage to control our actions. That wasn’t the sort of situation they would throw themselves into. But what would they do? I couldn’t begin to venture a guess.
What should we do? They had Filo, so I couldn’t try running.
The Bitch was standing just behind Motoyasu. Who knew what she was capable of?
“Wait! I’m going to save you Filo!”
“You idiot!”
“I am the source of all power. Hear my words and heed them! Slice the enemy with a blade of water!”
“Zweite Aqua Shot!”
Mel ran straight for Motoyasu and cast the spell as she ran.
“Ha!”
Motoyasu jumped to the side just in time to dodge the blade of water.
“Ugh! Let me go!”
When Motoyasu jumped to dodge Mel’s attach, Filo managed to wiggle free from his grip.
Yes! I was thrilled when Filo wiggled free, but just then, as if to make up for his loss, Motoyasu’s hand shot out and closed around Mel’s neck, taking her hostage instead. He passed her over to the Bitch.
“Myne! That’s your precious sister. You better protect her!”
“Mel!”
“Filo! Let me go! Sister!”
Filo reached for Mel, but before she could reach her Motoyasu made to grab Filo’s hand again. I pulled Filo back just in time.
“I can’t let you go, Melty. The Shield Demon is manipulating you. I’ll clear you of that brainwashing influence.”
Now!
“Shield Prison!”
I immediately switched to the Shield of Rage II and used the skill on Motoyasu.
“Wh…”
Not yet… I had to control my anger…
“Change Shield (attack)!”
I changed the Shield Prison into my best attacking shield, the Bee Needle Shield.
“That’s as far as this is going! Take this! Iron Maiden!”
I used all my SP in a last attempt to turn the tide and take Motoyasu down. Honestly, I would have preferred to use it against the Bitch, but I couldn’t. If I could stop Motoyasu with the skill, it would be worth it. It might be strong enough.
“It won’t be that easy! Shooting Star Sword!”
“I knew you were evil! Shooting Star Bow!”
Whoa! Ren and Itsuki both turned and used their strongest skills against the Iron maiden.
There was a loud crack, and a fissure appeared in the Iron Maiden. The closing door slowed down.
“Everyone! Now! Break it now!”
“Yes! Ren!”
“Understood, Itsuki!”
“Motoyasu, we’ll save you!”
Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu’s party members all sent their strongest attacks and spells flying at the iron maiden. There was a loud, dull clang. And then the iron maiden crumbled to dust.
Damn. I was out of SP from my last attack.
“Th… Thank you, everyone!”
Motoyasu had taken some damage from the Bee Needle Shield attack, but he smiled now, discovering himself free from the Iron Maiden.
“Can’t have you forgetting about us.”
“Yes. We’ve saved the princess. The citizens of our country will want her brainwashing removed as soon as possible.”
Ren and Itsuki had jumped to Motoyasu’s aid. On top of that, the Bitch had taken Mel hostage. If we didn’t free her immediately, they would have her killed.
I’d forgotten. Whenever I switched to the Shield of Rage II, Filo went crazy.
But with Filo in human form, nothing had happened.
Why? I suddenly noticed my shield emitting a red… something. It flew at Filo, but bounced off of her.I wonder if that hoop was somehow deflecting any assist spells or stat boosts?
Her movement was probably restricted by protective magic, which had the side effect of blocking my spell.
If Filo went wild, we wouldn’t be able to control her, and that would make fighting with the Shield of Rage II difficult.
“Raphtalia! Can you get rid of that hoop around Filo?”
If we were able to get it off, I planned to switch to another shield as soon as possible.
“I’m working on it now! It’s tough!”
Raphtalia was striking the hoop with her sword, and it filled the area with sparks and clanging. She didn’t seem to be making much progress.
How strong did they really need to make that hoop? She was hitting it really hard.
What to do? I was out of SP, so I couldn’t use any skills. Filo was stuck in human form.
All that was left was Raphtalia, but with her sword and magic alone, she wouldn’t be able to turn the tide of battle.
“Master!”
“What?!”
“They won’t catch me again!”
“That’s easy to say—they already caught you once!”
“I’m fine!”
Filo reached under one of her little wings and pulled out the present that the weapon shop owner had intended for me, the power gloves.
That’s right, they were convenient tools for harnessing superhuman strength.
Filo pulled both of the gloves onto her hands, and then crossed her arms. I could tell that she was concentrating.
“It’s MY turn to save YOU, Mel!”
“What are those gloves? You think you can overpower me with gloves? Oh Filo, you’re so cute! Better just put them away.”
“I’m not losing!”
“Ah, Filo!
I threw out an arm to stop her, but she had already swung a solid punch at Motoyasu.
“Ugh…”
Motoyasu had his arms out, reaching to grab Filo again, but that left his stomach wide open, and she slammed her fist into it.
He doubled over and fell to his knees.
“This… This isn’t… nothing.”
“Hiya! Let Mel go! Hiya!”
“I… I won’t…”
He stumbled to his feet and backed away.
“Filo! Calm down and get back here!”
“Okay!”
Filo came back over to us after she pummeled Motoyasu.
“Do you think you can take those guys out?”
“Watch me!”
“Great. You take Motoyasu, Raphtalia and I will take care of the other two. If anyone has a chance to free the princess—take it.”
At the end of the day, Motoyasu was a feminist—so he wouldn’t raise a hand against Filo, even if she was crazy.
“Mr. Naofumi.”
“What is it?”
“I have an idea. Do you think you can draw the attention of the enemy?”
“You have a plan?”
“Yes…”
Hm… So Raphtalia wanted to try something, but what?
Got it. She wanted to hide and then sneak around behind them. She was good at that.
That must be what she was after.
“Okay. I’ll do what I can. Let’s go!”
“Let’s do it.”
“Okaaay!”
“Here we go!”
Even still, there was no way we could win against the three heroes. But that wasn’t my plan anyway. There was still a way for us to escape.
“Raphtalia, keep your distance.”
“Okay.”
“Let’s go!”
“HIYAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Filo led the charge. Just like I’d told her, she ran straight for Motoyasu. But this time he knew she was coming, and he readied his spear. I was sure he wouldn’t stab her with it.
“Now then Melty, I’m going to ask you to take a little nap.”
The Bitch pulled out a small package of medicine and made the younger princess smell it.
Anyone from another world who had experience with Japanese anime or dramas would recognize it as a medicine that knocks you out.
But I had been here for a while. I knew what the Bitch was like, so that medicine was more likely to just kill Mel.
“Filo! Help!”
“Mel!”
I could feel, physically feel, Filo gathering her magical power into the gloves.
“Haikuikku!”
She looked like she blurred for a second, and then, in a flash, she was right in front of Motoyasu, and she was swinging her fist. The gloves looked different. She’d filled them with so much magic that they were glowing pale, and had magical claws growing from them.
How did that happen? Did the magic somehow crystalize and harden?
“Ugh! What was that?!Her attack is so high! Stop it! Filo, stop it!”
Motoyasu was forced to defend. The claws on the power gloves were hitting their mark each time she swung a fist.
If she could beat Motoyasu back like that, her attack power must have been through the roof.
“Hiya! Take that! Hya!”
Filo was strongest in her Filolial Queen form, but with the way she was fighting now, in those gloves, she must have had nearly the same attack power or more?
Because she had someone to fight for she would fight with all her magical power. Her legs were constrained by the hoop, but she could still harness her magic.
I was concentrating on Ren and Itsuki, but stealing glances at Motoyasu.
Even though I was their target, they knew their attacks wouldn’t be really effective against me, and it looked like they weren’t making much of an effort.
Ren, actually, had his head cocked to the side as he considered the situation. He was just watching.
Itsuki was convinced that I was his enemy, but he wasn’t rushing over to attack me. I thought for sure he would fire some volleys to protect Motoyasu —but thinking over it now, both of them had a strong sense of justice.
They won’t want to intrude on one-on-one combat. That wouldn’t feel just to them.
They must have decided to jump in and stop my Iron Maiden because of the risk that it might have killed Motoyasu or something like that.
There must have been a way to use the situation to our advantage.
I had to keep them focused on me, not Raphtalia. I made sure not to look in her direction and slowly backed away to keep them following me.
The time for escape was still a ways off.
But if I could get them to focus on me…
“I figured out how to use these!”
Filo held the claws out and crossed them.
“Torna…”
“Sorry! You left me no choice, Filo. This will hurt a little.”
Motoyasu readied his spear, pointed it at Filo, and prepared to use a skill.
“Chaos Spear!”
“Ugh!”
Filo kept her claws out and flew at the enemy. When she had almost reached him, she started to spin, and ran right into him.
“Wh…”
Filo had spun right through his rain of spears, connected with her claws, and sent him flying. Now she was heading for the Bitch.
“Yaaaaaaahh!”
The Bitch was desperately trying to make Mel sniff the medicine before Filo could get to them. But she was too slow. As Filo approached she let go of Mel in an effort to protect herself.
“Mel!”
Filo stopped spinning and scooped up Mel’s hand in one motion, and then the two of them took off running.
“Ugh…”
Motoyasu had fallen heavily to the ground. Now he struggled to his feet and looked over at Filo and Mel.
“Back away, Mel. I’m going to take out this spear guy, then you and me are running.”
“Okay.”
Filo turned back to Motoyasu and readied her claws.
This was the start of a new fight. Where it had been a one-on-one between Filo and Motoyasu, now the Bitch helped Motoyasu and Mel helped Filo.
The rest of us were watching, and suddenly the fight was on.
“You can do it, Filo! All Zweite Aqua Shot!”
“We don’t need a baby who thinks she is better than her older sister! Zweite Hellfire!”
The Bitch and Mel were flinging spells at each other.
Stupid Bitch. What was she talking about? She was last in line for the throne but messing with her sister?
Fine then, if this was a fight for succession, I knew who I was backing. That Bitch wasn’t fit to sit on a throne.
“Zweite Earth Hammer!”
“Zweite Fire Arrow!”
But the other party members of the heroes were worse than we could have expected. Instead of aiming their attacks at Filo, they were heading for Mel.
“What are you doing?!”
Ren jumped in and beat back the magic that was flying at Mel.
“Are you trying to kill the princess we’ve been charged to protect?! Even if she is brainwashed, we still need to protect her! Think about her level!”
That’s right. The younger princess was who Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu were supposed to protect.
The Bitch might have wanted to murder her little sister, but the heroes wouldn’t want that to happen.
This was our chance. I could win them over to our side.
“But the princess has already been brainwashed by the Shield Hero. She won’t be able to control herself.”
“Even still, if you don’t hold back you’ll kill her! She’s obviously not trying to attack us!”
The princess’s magic was clearly a threat and nothing more, as every spell slipped right between Filo and Motoyasu. There was plenty of room for them to avoid it.
It actually looked like the Bitch and her friends were using their magic directly against the princess—like they were trying to kill her. It was so obvious that even Ren had seen through it.
“You know that her level isn’t very high! If you hit her with that magic she will die!”
I feel like the Bitch was probably well aware of Mel’s level. Didn’t they understand that she was TRYING to kill her?
“That… That’s true…”
The Bitch turned away in frustration. She sighed, then nodded.
“Ren, Itsuki. She wants the princess dead. Can’t you see that?”
“What?!”
“Myne is second in line for the throne, the younger princess is the current heiress. I’m sure you can figure the rest out.”
“Don’t listen to his lies! Bow Hero! Sword Hero!”
“What are you rushing for? You know it’s true. Just ask your party members.”
Ren and Itsuki were visibly shaken. The Bitch was acting so crazy it should have been apparent to anyone. Maybe they were swayed by my confidence? Whatever. It actually was TRUE—if they looked into it they’d figure it out soon enough.
“That’s how he brainwashes people! Don’t listen to him!”
What an annoying excuse.
“She’s right! Die! Shield Hero!”
One of Itsuki’s party members was clad in gaudy armor. He swung an axe at me.
That’s just what I was waiting for!
“Hiyaaaaaa!”
“Take that! Die! Shield Demon!”
I used my shield to stop his attack.
“Now! Attack while his guard is down!”
“Okay!”
“Don’t attack!”
“Yes, don’t! You must be careful, they are dangerous!”
Ren and Itsuki’s party members ignored their order to stop, and they all rushed us at once.
They formed a large group and came at us all at once—but they weren’t used to fighting together.
This was our chance! The lot of them thought that I had no way to counterattack—but they were wrong.
I used self curse burning, centered on myself, and burned the whole area.
“ARGH!!!!”
“Hiyaaaa!”
“Wh…What?!”
Itsuki was stunned to silence. He was staring at us.
Ren jumped in and bat away a magical attack that had been aimed at the princess. He tried to counterattack, but he was too slow, and ended up missing.
“Ugh… My body…”
Everyone, including the guy in the armor, had fallen to the ground. They couldn’t get to their feet.
“Don’t think I can’t fight back. This shield has plenty of power.”
“Ugh…”
Ren sheathed his sword and groaned. Itsuki did the same.
They turned to their party members and starting casting healing magic on them. Too bad. The self curse burning had cursed them—that would make it hard to heal them.
But watching their parties suffer hadn’t won me Ren or Itsuki’s sympathies. Further negotiations would be difficult.
“Hand Red Sword!”
“Arrow Rain!”
Ren and Itsuki both turned and sent attacks flying at me.
When Ren called Hand Red Sword, a number of swords appeared in the sky, then they began to fall on me. At the same time Itsuki drew the string on his bow and aimed it high into the sky. When he released the string, arrows of light began to fall all around us.
Both were ranged attacks.
“Ugh…”
I quickly covered my head with the shield and blocked the falling swords and arrows.
Damn. It really hurt. I could feel my nerves tense with pain.
“That must be it.”
“Yeah, I think so too. That power of his wasn’t in the game, but it only make sense that it would work that way.”
“Melee attack counter”
They were right. Self curse burning looked like the perfect attack, but it only activated in response to melee attacks. Once they figured that out, the Shield of Rage II was only half as useful.
Just knowing that I had an automatic counter attack that would hurt them was enough to prevent them from attacking us. But if they had figured out how to get around it, then they could just attack me from a distance until I fell.
If they’d figured it out, then the battle had just gotten even worse.
I couldn’t just keep the Shield of Rage II equipped and hope to win.
If the situation was going to continue worsening then I would have to switch to another shield.
Which meant that they should just wait for the time to… No. I didn’t know how long I could keep the Shield of Rage II equipped, so there was no need to follow that train of thought.
I didn’t have to lay my cards out on the table—tricking them was a good strategy.
“What’s wrong? You guys realize that I can handle any attacks you throw at me, right?”
“I bet you’re lying.”
“Yeah, if we all attack at once I’m sure it will be effective. Not to mention all the knights gathering just down the road.”
Damn! It wasn’t looking like they would fall for it.
But that’s not what I was really after.
“He can’t counter any of my attacks! Eagle Piercing Shot!”
Itsuki fired an arrow at me, and as it flew it changed shape to resemble an eagle.
I focused on the eagle-shaped energy shot, and was able to see the arrows inside of it. It was flying straight and fast—very fast.
Based on the name of the attack, it seemed safe to assume it was a piercing attack. I’d played my share of online RPGs, so I was pretty familiar with bow attacks. Piercing meant that it would shoot straight through, leaving a hole. If his skill was an arrow that was capable of a piercing attack, it probably meant that I wasn’t going to be able to stop it with my shield. Which meant that if I was going to respond, I’d have to either run out of it’s range, or find some way to snatch it out of the air before it hit me. Could I do it? It would be dangerous.
I concentrated.
I focused on the flying eagle of energy, reached out and brushed its head. Then my fingers found its neck. I closed my fist around the neck and stopped it.
“What?! He just grabbed my Eagle Piercing Shot?!”
Itsuki shouted. He was clearly surprised by my response.
The energy eagle, surprisingly enough, wasn’t very strong. I squeezed it and it crumbled.
“There, I stopped it. Ren, think about it. You know this fight isn’t right.”
“How so?”
“All these people are overly antagonistic towards me. And they are using an imaginary brainwashing shield to justify their actions. If the Shield Hero had a weapon like that, then you should all have one too, no?”
“…”
Yes. I’d talk them down, and then have them leave.
As for the Bitch—if the heroes weren’t backing her up, she’d have no choice but to retreat.
Or so I thought. The Bitch quickly summoned a ball of light and sent it rocketing skyward.
“I’ve called for reinforcements! The country’s soldiers will be here any minute!”
Damn. They were really closing in now.
“Hiya! Take that!” Boom!
“Ugh…”
Filo threw a flurry of punches at Motoyasu. She almost looked like she was dancing.
She was spinning in tight circles and hitting him with her spinning claws. He was completely at her mercy.
I was surprised at how well she could fight in her human form.
I had been hoping to win Ren and Itsuki over to our side, but was that even possible anymore?
I didn’t have time to worry about it. The soldiers had arrived.
“Finally! Here is the Shield Hero that abducted the princess! Kill him!”
“Yes!”
The soldiers readied their bows and attacked from a distance.
“Wait! I’m not done explaining.”
Before I could finish, the arrows began to rain down around us. There were magical fire arrows among them.
I was standing off on my own. I don’t know if they manipulated the arrows with wind magic or something, but they were all flying straight for me.
The soldiers were not as powerful as the heroes, but they were still plenty dangerous.
“Myne! We’re still talking!”
“No, Mr. Ren. You should not listen to the Shield! He’ll use the Brain Washing Shield to control you!”
That Bitch, she never gave up!
She could say whatever she wanted, she wasn’t fooling me. Even now she was trying to shoot spells at Mel. It was all clear as day.
The party members were acting strange. It was like they were being held in place by magic.
What was going on? I could feel a powerful, oppressive force nearby. Something much more powerful than everyday magic.
“Take this! This will end it!”
The Bitch, and the soldiers around her, finished chanting a spell, but she didn’t send it flying at me. She attacked the princess.
“Group Magic.”
A huge ball of fire appeared in the sky. If it fell on the princess, she’d die for sure!
But then…
“I’m sorry. I cannot allow that.”
From behind, and right through the Bitch’s shoulder, the blade of a sword appeared.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login