Shield Overlord: Rising of the Fallen Hero

Chapter 5: Terror in Lute Mines

Church of the Three Heroes

Inside the vast hallowed halls of the Church of the Three Heroes, monks chant holy mantras as they sway burners full of burning incense, worshippers, priests and nuns kneel on pews while a sermon is being preformed by the Church's pontiff.

His Holiness, Pope Biscas T Balmus stands behind the podium with his arms high while reading a verse from the Holy Book to the gathered masses. His silver and white robes gleem from the colourful lights beaming from the church's huge stained glass windows each comprised with the image 3 warriors wielding a blue sword, a red spear and yellow bow.

The kneeling villagers, priests and nuns continued their entranced prayers, muttering the same verse again and again, all clutching with their medallions of the holy symbol of their church.

"Praise the 3 Heroes, Praise the 3 Heroes..."

Suddenly the church doors open wide, allowing the sun's light to beam out and shine upon the altar and the church's pope. When there's light, there is also shadows as 3 tall silohouettes sliver on the illuminated floor, following the shadows from top to bottom to show the owners.

Sword Hero Ren, Bow Hero Itsuki and Spear Hero Motoyasu walks into the church with their own parties. This caught the attention of everyone as they break from their praying to see with awe at the 3 Heroes, the ones which their religion is based on.

"Praise us all, the Heroes of Legend has blessed us with their presence!" the Pope calls out before he bows to the Heroes. "Lo and behold, our saviours!"

"Praise the 3 Heroes!"

Ren and Itsuki found this awkward, to be worshipped like saints or massiahs is very uncomfortable. Motoyasu however is enjoying the praise, for it fills his already bloated ego after making his own harem/party members, even though he didn't make a move on his female party members because of Naofumi's crime.

"Thank you, your Holiness" said Motoyasu as he bows to the Pope, his all female party bows respectfully also.

"your Holiness" said Ren and Itsuki calmly, they just learned about the religion based on their position, strange as it sounds to them but decided to keep it to themselves so not to disrespect them, Naofumi did it with his "crime" and the result was not pretty. "You called for us?"

"Yes, I have" said the Pope as he steps away from the podium and walks out of the main hall. "Please, join me. We'll discuss this in privacy."

"Hai...I think it's best" said Ren as he's still uncomfortable with the praying masses and their repeating mantras.

Dragon Hourglass Chamber

The Pope lead the 3 Heroes to the upper floor where a giant hourglass stands, pouring the sands of time to the bottom. Motoyasu and Itsuki gazed in awe at the hourglass, Ren simply looks at it with mild amazement only to maintain his generic "cool loner" persona.

"I wanted to apologies for interrupting on any of the quests you were on" said the Pope as he appoaches the hourglass and put his hand on the gold dragon themed frame of the hourglass. "But I just wanted to meet you all in person so that my spirit can be at ease. It has been many years and many waves costing many poor souls who perish by the looming darkness."

"The quests we are on are at the utmost importance, we needed to get strong for the incoming wave, whenever that'll happen." said Ren with some annoyance in his tone.

"And I apologise for that, Lord Ren" said the Pope bowing to the Sword Hero. "But I assure you, you will be informed of the incoming wave thanks to the fabled Dragon Hourglass."

"SO this will tell us when the next wave will appear." said Itsuki as he appoaches the hourglass and reaches out for it. As he touch the lower glass bulb, a golden glow shines in front of him and suddenly a new update of his HUD appears on the upper side. A countdown in months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds slowly counts down with and spinning hourglass icon on the side. "Whoa."

"This is partly the reason I summoned you all here, so that you can know when the next wave will come" said the Pope. "The King must've told you about the dragon hourglass"

"No, he didn't" said Ren crossing.

"Ah, I see" said Pope as nods in understanding. "It must've slipped his mind, oh well."

"Is there another reason of your summons?" said Itsuki while Motoyasu and Ren place their hand on the hourglass to get their timer update.

"Yes, as much as I wanted the summons to be a social one, we all know time is limited for all of us so I'll make this brief as possible." said the Pope "It does pain be that your comrade, the Shield Hero as committed a grave sin against the Kingdom."

Motoyasu scoffs in disgust, the mention of Naofumi is like a foul taste on his his mouth and fear for Myne that hearing his name would frighten her.

"He is NO comrade of ours, he is dispicable and should be locked up in the dungeon" said Motoyasu

"But the King has no choice but to let him off because he needs all our help to fight the waves" said Itsuki.

Motoyasu scoffs again

"Help? What can he do against the waves with only nothing but a shield?" said Motoyasu "All his shield can do is being target practice in the barracks. And I'd be a pleasure to skwer the bastard for even fouling the kingdom with his footsteps."

"Speaking of Naofumi, how come he isn't here?" said Itsuki "Wasn't he summoned?"

"I was not able to find him, unfortunately" said the Pope with a disappointing sigh while reajusting his round glasses. "I tried to sent a summons to him but no reply"

"It's for the best" said Motoyasu crossing his arms. "Last thing I wanted is to fight in a church."

"Since when are you religious?" said Itsuki as he look at Motoyasu, a young Japanese adult who is being careful in a church parallel to a Christian one.

"I am a guest in this kingdom and I should be respectful to our hosts, unlike that ungrateful bastard Naofumi." said Motoyasu with his arms crossed.

"Forgive for being rude, but I am getting a little impatient" said Ren "Why have you summoned us?"

"Right, of course" said the Pope as he pulls out a few scrolls and gives them one each. "I thought you might be interested in doing a quest for me. You'll be compensated of course."

"Of course" said Motoyasu as he accepts his quest scroll

"Sure" said Itsuki

"Depends on what it is" said Ren as he opens his scroll and reads it, after skimming it he then gives his answer. "It's adequate, but I'll accept."

"Splendid, then I won't keep you" said Pope as he bows to the Heroes and allows them to leave. "Safe journey, Heroes. I will bless your travels and pray for your return."

"Thank you, your Holiness" said Motoyasu as he and Itsuki bows to the pope while Ren just leaves the room without saying a word.

"Happy to help the Heroes of Legend" said the Pope "Oh, there is one thing I can do for you, Sir Motoyasu. If you want, I can offer to console the poor girl after what the Shield Hero did to her. It may help heal her soul and overcome her fear should she encounters him again."

"If Naofumi ever showed his face near Myne again, I would personally kick him in the balls until he'll never commit the same act EVER again!" said Motoyasu when he frowns as the thought of Naofumi showing his face infuriates him. "But for Myne's sake, I think I'll take the kind offer your Holiness."

"Splendid, I'll await your next visit." said the Pope

Motoyasu bows again to the Pope and leaves the chamber. The Pope watches the Heroes leave and waits for a few moments, he looks over the window to see if they left, suddenly he sees them leaving the church and went their separate ways.

"That will keep them busy" said the Pope moving away from the window and turns to stare at empty space. "You may approach"

Emerging from the shadows, a hooded man wearing a silver mask approaches the pope and kneels before him.

"Have you found him?"

"Yes, Your Holiness. He has left the village and walking across the forest." said the hooded masked stranger. He is a Shadow, a covert spy who serves to their master. You may compare them to ninjas in the real world's history.

"He's heading for Lute" said the Pope "Wasn't there an incident in the mines near Lute?"

"Yes your holiness" said the Pope's Shadow. "Miners fled and refused to work in the mines as they believed that there are monsters lurking inside."

"Possibly stragglers from the previous wave, making a home with the mines." said the Popes as he's now in deep thought. "This could be used to our advantage, inform the other Shadows stationed in Lute that the False Hero is coming, and have him to the mines."

"Yes, Your Holiness" said the Shadow before merging into the darkness and exits the church.

The Pope turns to face the Hourglass, watching the sands our down, emptying and filling its multiple glass bulbs.

"Once the Shield Hero is dealt with, all of Melromarc will be an ease and the waves will cease by the 3 Heroes." said the Pope as he raise his arms in praise. "Praise the 3 Heroes."

Lute Village

Naofumi and his Slave Raphtalia ventured through the forest and reached the village know as Lute, during their trek they encountered more Usapil which Raphtalia reluctantly slew with her sword, but now she is getting use to the kills because it was necessary for her master (and herself) to gain Exp to level up. No more does she hesitate and show no mercy to the monsters they encounter, for its kill or be killed just as Naofumi said before.

The killing of Usapil did help with another reason, the pelts the dropped when slain did catch a pretty penny to the merchant in his trading caravan, right now the Shield Hero is waiting for said merchant broker a price for the pelts while examing the quality.

"Not bad, no notches or wear on them...I can offer you 2 silvers each" said the merchant.

A fair price, though it is low but its better than mere coppers to skimp over for, he nods at the price and took the money.

"It may take a while to get even more from slaying these creatures, is there a quicker way to earn more money?" said Naofumi for he needs the money, the equipment on him and Raphtalia is starting to show some wear and tear after their battling with monsters, and getting it repaired will require money to do so.

The question however made the merchant flinch as the answer for it is terrifying to say, hesitant to say it but he gulps as be doesn't want to anger Naofumi. Oh yes, his false reputation even reached the village of Lute as the village is scares of anyone outside, shops closed so that he cannot enter in, which is the reason why he has to consult business with a trading merchant who cannot to anything.

"There...is a way, but I wouldn't recommend it" said the merchant as he points up at the foot of the mountains near Lute. "The mines have quality ore that will earn you a good fortune since the smiths are desperate for."

"Why are the smiths desperate for ore?" said Naofumi

"It's because it's that mine" said the merchant "Few days ago, miners refuse to enter it as there's been many casualties, rumours of dangerous beasts from the past waves, and also the mine's foreman hasn't returned when entered the mine to investigate. After that, the mine's been abandoned, but no one closed it out of fear of whatever lurks in the mines."

"Why hasn't the King done anything about it?" said Naofumi frowning as he believed that te King would sort out the Ore shortage. "Hasn't any Heroes come here and tried to sort it out?"

"They did came by, but they don't see any reason of entering the mines as they, and I'm quoting this, not worth out time as he need to get stronger." said the merchant.

Naofumi scoffs in disgust at the selfishness of his fellow Heroes, he looked over ahead at the mountain mines and ponders about going there.

"It may be worth it" said Naofumi before he turns to see his slave staring at a basket full of orange rubber balls. Naofumi watched his slave for a moment before turning to the merchant, "How much for a ball?"

Hearing that caused Raphtalia to look at her master in shock, even more shock when Naofumi then gives the ball to her.

"Huh?" said Raphtalia

"You were looking at them and I assumed you wanted one" said Naofumi "But you can only play it after you're done with the work, got it?"

"Y-Yes, master" said Raphtalia

"And cut the "master", just call me Naofumi" said Naofumi as he then walks away from the merchant's caravan and heads for the Mines.

Grumble

Naofumi stops and turns to his slave because the grumbling is coming from her stomach, she blushes with embarrassment as she is very hungry despite having breakfast this morning.

"Hungry again?" said Naofumi as he sighs with annoyance. "Are you kidding me?"

"S-Sorry, master" said Raphtalia as she lower her head with shame because she had angered her master because she's hungry.

Naofumi sighs at this, but he cannot blame her since her metabolism was fucked up from the prolonged malnourishment by her previous master. He ruffles her hair to reassure her and looks at her with a passive expression, but his it was his eyes that gave it away with the faint shine.

"Come on then, we'll eat before we head there" said Naofumi "We'll need the energy we need to start mining"

"Yes, Ma...Mr. Naofumi" said Raphtalia with a smile as she is happy that Naofumi didn't scold her for something out of her control.

Naofumi then leaves the caravan with Raphtalia, moments later 2 cloaked figures come out from behind and leers at the Shield Hero, their features are fell hidden as their heads are draped with their hoods and their faces covered with unique silver masks, the only thing that's shown out of their shrouds is a silver rosary consisting a cross-like shape with a ruby in the centre.

One of the hooded figures look at the merchant who flinched when they stare at him, only to be paid with a generous bundle.

"You did well to lead the devil to the mines, we'll take care of the rest."

The merchant nods at the hooded figures before they vanish into the shadows, but the merchant knows that they are in fact stealthily stalking the Shield Hero until the right moment to strike.

Meanwhile

Naofumi and Raphtalia reached the mine shaft at the foot of the mountains, but before he could enter it he searches though the sheds for any essential items that will assist him. The sheds are almost bare with very well things left to use. Fortunately be managed to find the nessecary tools he'll need for mining.

Pick Axe Obtained

Oil Lantern: Obtained

Rope Obtained

"Here, you'll need it also" said Naofumi as he gives his slave another pickaxe while he starts placing the spare pick axe and rope on his shield to absorb them and unlock more skills.

Pick Axe Shield: Unlocked

Equip bonus: Mining 1

Rope Shield: Unlocked

Equip Bonus: Rope

SHIELD SKILL UNLOCKED!

Air Strike Shield: Unlocked

Naofumi is intrigued at is new skill he gained and decided to try it out, he shouts out the skills name, "Air Strike Shield!" and suddenly the jewel on his shield glows and projects a big green glowing shield in front of him. The sudden usage of the skill caught raphtalia be surprise that she fell back with a yelp of fright. Naofumi is amazed and smiled for one as this skill will provide him potential assistance.

"Come one, let's go" said Naofumi as he leaves the shed and makes his way into the mines, Raphtalia nods at her master and follows him with pick axe in hand.

As they enter the mines, the 2 mysterious hooded and masked figures watch then enter up from the roof of the sheds, leering through the masks' eye lids as their target enter through the shaft. The both look at each other and nods.

Mines

Naofumi and Raphtalia are now in the mines, they follow the mine cart tracks which dwell deep between the support beams that held the shaft in place. Raphtalia is getting nervous as the mines are dark, cramped and gloomy, but she remembered that she is safe with her master and has to be brave for their own sake. If some is lurking in the mines, they can leave the mines safely depending on how dangerous the threat is.

Naofumi noticed his slave's nervousness and decides to reassure her slightly.

"We'll be here for a short while, mine some ore enough for us to carry and then leave" said Naofumi "I wouldn't want to dwell deep in the mines so that we could get lost or get trapped, so stay close with me and we'll be alright."

Hearing the words did put some ease in the girl's heart and she did feel a bit better after hearing it. Suddenly she noticed something on the boards of the tracks and stops, crouching to get a better look.

"Mr. Naofumi, over here" Raphtalia calls out to her master.

Naofumi stops and turns to see what his slave found, he crouches to look at the one of the track's boards and noticed a shapened grove on it...no, a paw print of some large animal.

"It looks like it comes from a dog, but it's too big for it...maybe a wolf?" said Naofumi as he examines the shape of the print.

While the paw print puzzles Naofumi, it made Raphtalia even nervous which Naofumi noticed.

"Just stick with me and it'll be alright" said Naofumi as he stood up and ventures on through the shaft.

The shaft leads toward a cavern with a waterfall and lake, but the walls are decorated with various ore veins and a cluster of gems that glow brightly to light up the entire area. The sight is breath taken, even Raphtalia gaped in awe at the beauty of these caverns, a truly magical sight.

"Alright, lets get to work" said Naofumi as he equips his Pick Axe Shield and pulls out his pick axe. He heads to the nearest vein and starts mining, Raphtalia looks around while still nervous and a little paranoid after seeing the paw prints on the track. Naofumi chipped off an ore piece which glows a cyan hue.

Light Ore

"Hmm, I'm sure this will catch a good price" said Naofumi until suddenly he hear padding of paws echoing in the caverns, followed with a low grown as 2 pair of glowing red eyes recently appear in the shadows until they are shown each on a pair of heads.

The glow reveals the beast that lurks in the mines and appears to be a large two headed dog with long necks, cropped ears and a sleek and agile body with a dark coat which pars with a Doberman or a Greyhound. It stands a 7 feet high as the two heads look down at Naofumi and Raphtalia, it growls and gnashes with its terrifying teeth.

Orthrus

Siblings of the 3 Headed beast Cerberus, the Orthrus are born and bred to be Alphas to a pack of Hellhounds that dwell in the dark depths of Hades.

"Shit, I knew this wouldn't be easy" said Naofumi as he raise his shield and ready for battle. "Raphtalia, we may have to fight this beast so we can escape, so get ready"

But silence is all Naofumi got, no response from his slave.

"Raphtalia, did you hear me?" said Naofumi as he turn his head to look at his slave, only to see her frozen in fear, her skin gone pale, nerves rattling and her eyes wide open and drenched in tears. "Rapthtalia? Rapthtalia, are you ok?"

"No…not again" Raphtalia in whispers when the sight of the beast suddenly brought back the horrid memory. In her eyes, she is not in the mines but a burning village and the beast Orthrus is replaced with its larger, savage, 3 headed brother: The Cerberus.

"NOOOO!" Raphtalia as she screams in pure terror, causing her to freeze in the spot, her scream cought the beast's attention and charges to kill her.

"Look out!" Naofumi rushes in and pulled Raphtalia away from the beast and jumps over the cliff and dives into the lake.

SPLASH!

The dove into the water and swam up to the surface and towards a stalagmite to hold while Raphtalia catches her breath after the water knocked some sense out of her. The fear still lingers on the girl and she tries to look away from the beast look over the cliff edge so that memory of her parent's death wouldn't replay in her poor mind. Naofumi looks at the monster and then at Raphtalia, he frowns sadly as he starts to understand why she froze in fear.

"Raphtalia, did some like this happen to you before?" said Naofumi "The reason of your nightmares?"

Raphtalia nods while averting her eyes from the beast.

"Is it the same monster who killed your parents?" said Naofumi

"No, it's b…bigger and h…has an extra head" said Raphtalia, still shuddering from the lingering fear caused by that familiar beast. "I'm sorry, Mr. Naofumi"

"It's ok, I understand" said Naofumi as his equips his Rope Shield to grapple on the stalagmite and climbs back on land. "Let's just get out of here."

Raphtalia, though ashamed of her own fears, reluctantly nods in agreement while they left the water and runs for their lives. AS they reached the top of the cliff, the two headed hound gives chase to them and pounces for the Kill.

"Air Strike Shield!"

Naofumi blocked the Orthrus with his Air Strike Shield which gave him and Raphtalia a head start to leave the mines. They reached the shaft and runs for the exit, the light from the outside beams out to light the path for the fleeting Hero and his Demi-human slave.

"Come on, we're almost out" said Naofumi runs toward the mine shaft, but suddenly a loud boom was heard from inside the shaft, and the entrance and exit caves in. "No, damn it!"

"W-We're trapped" said Raphtalia

"Damn it we don't have a choice!" said Naofumi as he prop his shield up and confronts the 2-headed dog. "Raphtalia, I know you're afraid but you must fight if you want to live."

But Raphtalia is still frozen in fear by the sight of the beast, still reflecting the horrid memory of her parent's death by the Cerberus.

"I...I can't!" said poor Raphtalia, her unintended defiance cause the brand to shock and punish her. "AGH!"

Naofumi curses himself as the brand punishes the poor frightened girl for being scared. But as Naofumi is distracted by his own self hate, the Orthrus charges at him and pounces for the kill, Naofumi tries to block the beast but he couldn't withhold the size and weight of it and can only stop one head while the other moves around the Shield and bites him. He grits his teeth in pain at this, his defence may took some damage for bite not be lethal, but the bite managed to do some physical harm as fangs and strong jaws cause some bleeding.

"Damn this monster!" said Naofumi as he calls out his Air Strike Shield to repel the monster away. As the Orthrus is repelled, Naofumi grabs Raphtalia with his shielded arm and runs for his life before the beast could get back on its feet. Raphtalia was shook out from her fears when she noticed Naofumi's arm is bleeding badly, she widen her eyes at this and tears starts to seep out.

"Mr. Naofumi, your arm..."

"Don't worry about it, I've got some herbs left to concot a potion later" said Naofumi as he runs deep into the caverns while resisting the pain pulsing in his wound. The bite may be shallow thanks to his high defense but its enough for the blood to flow out at a slow pace. "We'll find a way out of here, caves like this always have an exit that no one knows. I'm sure of if."

But as they flee, the sound of the howling is hear, following with multiple howls responding simutainously, causing Raphtalia to freeze and turn pale with fear.

"Oh great, its got a pack" said Naofumi when suddenly the sound of padding is head, behind them is a hunting pack of black hounds with one head and a pair of glowing red eyes.

Hell Hounds

Description: Predators found in the cold plains of Hell, they hunt the lost and feast on the doomed souls that has no faith and hope within their souls. Spawned by their Alpha: the Cerberus/Orthrus, their numbers will not stop unless either the hunt is done or their Alpha is killed.

The Hell Hounds are persistent in their chase as leap at them to snap their jaws at their running prey, Raphtlia screams as one tried to get her but Naofumi sway away to protect her. Next, a few got close and lunges to pin Naofumi down and end their hunt, but Naofumi used Air Strike Shield from behind and repels the pouncing hounds.

But Naofumi could not keep up, the blood exiting his wound is starting make him weak and on the verge of collapse, but his mind is focused on protecting Raphtalia. He welcomes death, but first he need to get Raphtalia to safety so that she can live a free girl. It may be the lack of blood but the guilt of forcing her to fight for him is now flowing in his mind, especially when she is orphaned by the evils that plagued the kingdom. The nightmares, the fear of killing, even the beast's presense is too much for her, and for him he's going too far.

The dark thoughts of guilt and self loathing continues to plague him that he failed to defend himself by the suddenly lunge by the Hounds that sunk its teeth on his left shoulder, slowing him him down by the Hound's body weight. Raphtalila widened her eyes at this as she sees her master get hurt, she trembles at this, not in fear but in shame and anger of herself. Then instinct took over as she pulls out her sword and stabs the hound in the eye.

The hound yelps in pain and releases Naofumi from its maw, falling off and rolling on the dark ground which caused a few Hounds to trip over. Naofumi was caught by surprise at this, she overcame her fear to help him. Though thoughtful for Raphtalia's asssitance, the more reason why he should decide to release Raphtalia from his services...especially when he's about to die from blood loss.

Suddenly, due to the darkness of the caves, Naofumi losses his footing when he tumbles into a hidden hole and falls inside with Raphtalia. The Hounds halt their chase as they sensed the hidden wall and poke their noise inside it. They flinched and retreated in fear as they smelled something thaey didn't like, a sense which frightened them as she back away.

Suddenly a low grown of the Orthrus causes the pack to stop and turns to see their Alpha, the Orthrus snarls and snaps at their cowardly pack, even killed a couple who are unfortunate to be near it. The pack whimpers to submission after their Alpha's cruel deed while they watch it approach the hidden hold. The Orthrus lowered both heads at the hold and starts to smell it, it flinches slightly but it then it snarls as decides to enter through the hole and continues its hunt for Naofumi and Raphtalia.

Down Below: With Raphtalia

Raphtalia slowly regains consciousness after falling down the hole, she painfully gets up and looks around. Still dark, but faint glows from bioluminescent moss does help the poor girl see her way, she looks around and noticed that she couldn't find Naofumi anyway.

"Mr. Naofumi?" said Raphtalia, her calls echoes in the dark unknown as she slowly walks across. She shook away her fear and persists on finding her master, he is in trouble and will die if he isn't found. The bites from the Orthrus and the Hellhound has done serious damage on the Shield Hero and its all to protect the poor scared Slave girl. "He was hurt because it me, he'll die because I was afraid. This is all my fault!"

Whispers flow like the wind, hitting Raphtalia's raccoon ears, she stops when she hear the whispers speak in a faint tone.

"Mr. Naofumi?" said Raphtalia as the whispers continue, fear lingers on but desperation kept her hoping that her master is alive.

She follows where the strange whispering is coming from, the cold chill run downs her spine as she continues on the dark path in the deep as she searches for her master.

"Mr. Naofumi, Mr. Naofumi" Raphtalia calls for the Shield Hero.

"R-Raphtalia"

Hearing her name, Raphtalia's ears prop up by the sound of her master's voice and runs toward it. The faint ominous glow of the moss helps her reveal the walls that blend into the shadows, so that she wouldn't bump into them and hurt herself. She didn't notice the texture of the walls aren't rough and bumpy as rock should be, instead the walls are smooth, flat and patterned with groves which you find in a dungeon or a hidden temple, but all what concerns the slave girl more is the whereabouts of her master.

After navigating the dull corridors and cutting through many turns just so that she can hear the voice of her master, she finally reaches the end of her destination as the end of the trail contains a more stronger light source with a cyan hue.

Raphtalia now reaches a huge room with huge patches of glowing moss and algae infested pools, but in the middle of the room is a mummified corpse in rusted ancient armour impaled by a huge thick stalagmite. She scene causes goosebumps to cover her skin and a long chill running down her spine, especially when the corpse's head is keeled back with a permenant gape full of torment, rage and anguish.

"Raphtalia"

Raphtalia suddenly turns to see where the voice is and sees Naofumi, he is on the floor with his back leaning on the wall. His complexing is pale as he is dangerously losing blood quick, the bite marks have ruptured by the fall and blood seeps from above his left brow as he gained another injury from said fall. He looks weary at Raphtalia with his glazing eyes as he struggles to look at the now crying girl as she rushes to hug him. He grunts painfully as his slave embraces her, but he welcomes it and slowly returns the embrace.

"Thank goodness that your alright" said Naofumi with concern, his tone is quiet as he has bearly any strength to speak in a normal tone. "Listen to me, you must get out of here. You are now free. Leave me and live a life you wanted."

"No, I can't. I don't want to leave you." Raphtalia protests as she remained by Naofumi's chest, her raccoon ear is pressed on where his heart is and noticed that it's beating very slow.

"It's no use, I'm about to die...which I'm alright with" said Naofumi "The Kingdom has been cruel, they accuse me to a crime I didn't commit. I hated my new life as a Hero...I never wanted to be a Hero."

Raphtalia sobs as she continues to deny the fact that Naofumi is about to die, and it breaks her heart to hear that he welcomes death as it slowly approaches him. The short days as his slave, Raphtalia never met someone who treated her like she normally is: a human being. But now, the man who cares for her is dying, all because he was protecting her.

"This is all my fault, you're dying because of me" said Raphtalia "I killed you, just like I killed my parents."

"Now don't say that, thinks like that happen" said Naofumi "Everyone is willing to sacrifice their own life for the ones they love."

"Huh?" said Raphtalia "I don't understand, why would you risk your own life for me."

Naofumi chuckles painfully while he ruffles her hair.

"Thought it's obvious, Raphtalia" said Naofumi "You're my comrade, at first I only see you as an opportunity to make me stronger, but over the days I am starting to care for you...rebuild the trust of others with you in this treacherous world..."

Hearing this deepens the sorrow in Raphtalia's heart, she didn't want to leave her master and tries to think of a way to save him, just as he saved her from the beast that torment her emotionally.

"But now, this is were we part ways, and the one thing I don't want to see is you dying too." said Naofumi "Now go, that's my final order"

Raphtalia wanted to refuse, but the brand shocks her for her defiance and it pains her dearly. Tears stain her cheeks as her eyes weep constantly, her mind didn't want to act the fact but her body which is being tortured by the brand compels the command and lets go of Naofumi and steps back.

She gazes at the dying Hero with teary eyes, she wipes them with her sleeve and sniffs deeply before she hesitantly leaves him. But as she was about to take her leave, she froze in terror as the familiar twin heads of the Orthrus emerges out of the darkness and snarls at everything in its sight.

The beast enters the room with difficulty as its size cannot get through the doorway, Raphtalia steps back until she bumps by the impaled mummy, causing it to shake and fall apart and crumble into dust. As the remains turn to dust which covers the entire room, all that remains is the armour and weapon which falls onto the stalagmite and rolls away. The sword is by Raphtalia's feet, the armour scatters all over the floor but one which rolled towards Naofumi: a single gauntlet with a jewel on the back. Fingers touch slightly with the gauntlet's, causing the jewel to glow as it reacts to Naofumi's contact.

The Orthrus snarls as it tries to get inside, snapping its twin maws at Raphtalia as it tries to reach her. The poor girl is terrified, but being afraid will not help her in a situation like this, it's kill or be killed just as Naofumi said. She pulled out her Copper sword and starts swinging it.

"Get back!" exclaimed Raphtalia as she swings her sword at trapped Orthrus, only to stab it in the eye.

The beast yelps in pain, but it retaliates by grabbing the sword's blade with its teeth and yanks it off the girl's hand. It crunches it with its strong teeth until the sword is nothing but shards. Raphtalia widen her eyes in shock and terror as she lowered down to curls into a ball as she prostate herself in fear and for the inevitable.

"We're all gonna die, we're all gonna die and its all my fault"

Suddenly a low horn-like sound is heard, followed with footsteps coming from behind. Raphtaia looks around to see someone standing by the Stalagmite, a tall figure radiating in a malevolent aura, dressed in a dark suit of armour with a glowing jewelled gauntlet in his left hand and a small shield on his right arm.

The aura emits a faint red glow which reveals the figures pale complexion of Naofumi, eyes are now glowing orange and his face covered with faint just dark veins.

"Get away from her, you bitch!" said Naofumi as he raise his gauntlet clad hand and suddenly small hands spout from the ground around him.

End of Chapter

Naofumi Iwatani

Shield Hero Lv4

Equip: Small Shield (Legendary Weapon)

Ranger Gear

Strange Old Gauntlet

Items Medicinal Leaves: 4

Normal Medicine: 5

Alchemy Tools

Light Ore: 1

Pick Axe

Rope

Magic

Skills

Air Strike Shield

Shield Skills

Orange Shield: 2+ Defence

Leaf Shield: Gathering 1

White Mush Shield: Plant Appraisal

Egg Shield: Cooking 1

Blue Mush Shield: Compounding Recipes 1

Pick Axe Shield: Mining 1

Rope Shield: Use Rope

Attack: 4

Defence: 39

Agility: 2

Health 25

Mana: 25

Agility: 14

Luck:14

Party:

Raphtalia

Slave Lv4

Equip: Adventure Garb

Leather Armour

Items

Magic

Skills

Attack: 16

Defence: 19

Agility: 13

Health 102

Mana: 36

Agility: 14

Luck:14