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The Nightstalker's Bow by LoganMidnight
 Destiny & Rising of the Shield Hero/盾の勇者の成り上がり XoverRated: T, English, Adventure & Fantasy, Ghost, Guardian, Naofumi I., Raphtalia, Words: 86k+, Favs: 589, Follows: 752, Published: Dec 31, 2019 Updated: Jul 8 223Chapter 4
Disclaimer - I do not own the Destiny franchise or The Rising of the Shield Hero
I've had some comments about what armor and shader Lance has and I'm here to tell you. The armor he is wearing is the Phenotype Plasticity armor(ornaments) from Destiny 2 with a Superblack shader(except its darker).
Chapter 4 - False Accusations
"... so that's why there was animal blood mixed in." Shade said, breaking the silence.
"We should move them," Lance responded, "Give them a better place to rest. This is no way for the dead to lie."
The ghost floated nervously, "While I agree with you, I don't think we can do that." The hunter looked at Shade, making him continue, "If we move the bodies, people will notice. It's too risky."
"Yeah, but we can't just…"
The hunter started to retort before a voice was heard down the hall outside the door, "... have to be the ones to take out this trash? Can't we have the rookies do it?"
Another voice responded, "Apparently the rookies aren't allowed to know. It's the general's orders, so we have to follow them."
Shade disappeared when the voices were heard and Lance flattened himself against the wall, watching the tracker. The edge lit up.
"Fine." The first voice grumbled, "Let's get this over with." The voice was silent for a second before asking, "Hey, do you know why these demis were killed in the first place?"
The second voice waited for a second before responding, "I don't know. You don't see many around here, and most are slaves. Maybe they use to be the slaves of a noble who lost interest in them."
The tracker lit up a brighter red closer to the center, "Maybe, but I heard a rumor that they wanted to party with the Shield Hero."
"Then good riddance." The other voice scoffed, "I can't wait for tomorrow, the Shield Hero will get what he deserves."
'"Get what he deserves"?' Shade repeated questionly, 'Naofumi hasn't even done anything in this world yet.'
'Are you recording this?' Lance asked his ghost.
'Of course.' The ghost responded, sounding insulted, 'I record everything that happens around you.'
The center of the hunter's radar turned red, making Lance take a smoke bomb and throw it at the ground. His body turned translucent in the smoke. Said smoke disappear completely a second later, just as the door opened.
Two knights walked in, neither of them had unique marks on their armor or visible person. The hunter didn't stay to check them any further though. He slipped out, invisible to the world, and made his escape.
(The Streets of Melromarc - A Few Minutes Later)
Lance and his ghost were walking the streets, his exterior showing no signs of what had happened a few minutes earlier. On the inside though…
'They're after Naofumi, I'm sure of it.' The hunter stated to his ghost.
'And I'm not disagreeing with you.' His ghost returned, 'The question is why? And what are they planning for tomorrow.'
'Whatever it is, I need to at least warn Naofumi.' He paused for a second before asking his ghost, 'Do you have a way to track him by chance?'
Shade thought for a second before saying, 'No, but if I could get close to him I can scan and mark the energy signature of his shield. We would be able to find him then.'
'Sounds good.' The Guardian replied, 'For now though we need to track him down, preferably before tomorrow.'
'We need to learn more about our surroundings.' The ghost started, 'See if you can get information about places in the city that may prove useful.'
Lance looked at his surroundings. He was in a semi-busy street, most likely residential looking at the nearby buildings. A few guards could be seen on patrol, though one was leaning on a building. He looked uninterested, bored with his placement.
The perfect person to answer his questions.
The hunter walked up to the guard, the guard not noticing him until he was ten feet away. The guard stood off the wall and eyed the hunter suspiciously, that was until he noticed the weapon on the hunter's back.
The guard stood a little straighter, looking nervous at being caught slacking on the job. By one of the heroes no less.
Lance stopped in front of him, arms crossed behind his back, "Are you free to talk by any chance?" He asked the guard in a polite tone.
The guard replied shakely, "Of course, Sir Hero. What do you need?"
The hunter smiled and unseen smile, "Good, that's what I was hoping to hear. I wanted to ask you a few things…"
(A Few Minutes Later)
The guard had been useful in giving him and, unknowingly, his ghost some information. He now had the locations of some key places he wanted to see, though sadly he didn't know where Naofumi might be. At least, that's what the guard said.
Either way, Lance was at his first destination and the most important one, according to Shade.
A magic shop.
It certainly stood out, at least to Lance and his ghost. It stood out because of the way it looked, that being it looked different to the buildings surrounding it.
It was a greenish blue wooden building, not all of it greenish blue. There was a single window on the upper floor with a small flower box hanging from it. The roof formed four points and had a jagged lightning rod sticking out of it along with a brick chimney. Above the front door there was a sign, but what it said was a mystery for both Lance and his ghost. Next to the sign was a red flag.
Even without the look of the building, the hunter would have still stopped. The area in front of the shop felt… different. Like it was filled with a type of energy.
'This is definitely the place.' Shade stated, 'Exotic energies are just spilling out of this place.'
'Well then,' Lance responded, 'Let's not waste any time.'
The hunter moved forward to open the door only for someone else to open it, coming out of the building.
It was a girl, no older than ten and stood to his waist. She had unnaturally bright orange hair and, from what he could see, orange-red eyes. Almost the color of fire. A simple dark orange dress adorned her body and simple leather shoes were on her feet. The interesting part about her though was the orange fox ears with black tips that rested on top of her head. That along with the matching orange and black tipped fox tail.
If she noticed the hunter, she didn't show it and instead skipped past him and down the street. Not letting the door close, Lance stepped through and into the shop.
It looked simple enough. The walls were colored the same greenish-blue as the walls outside but the floor remained the color of the wood it was made of and there was a staircase leading up to the second floor. Thin ropes with small herbs hung from the ceiling. Cabinets covered in odd trinkets ranging from scales to a cauldron filled the room. In the center of the room was a desk with a few papers, a book, a small display stand, and a weird looking globe. There was also what looked like a crystal ball on the table.
Behind the table however, there was a woman. She appeared old, though not terribly old, only around 40-45. Her brown hair was cut short, just reaching her shoulders. Her purple eyes seemed to match the earrings she wore, those having a ring of gold on them. Simple looking purple robes are what she wore, even if the cuffs of her sleeves were gold in color. Over this, mainly around her neck, was a small purple cape. On her head was a purple witch's hat that reminded Lance of something he once saw in a children's book.
She spoke up when she saw Lance, "Welcome, Sir Hero. Take a look around and tell me if you need anything."
The hunter eyed her warily, "How do you know I'm one of the heroes? News doesn't travel that fast, does it?"
The witch chuckled, "No, no. News about who the heroes are haven't quite traveled this far yet. I just guessed based on your armor and the bow. They are quite unique."
He looked himself over, "I guess I do stand out." He mumbled before going up to her and got straight to the point, "I did actually want to ask you something. Is there a way for you to detect if I can use magic?"
She smiled, "Yes, there is in fact a way. Just stand still and I'll tell you your magic affinities." Lance did as asked and the witch put her hand on her crystal ball.
The ball glowed faintly, not quite casting a light but still noticeable.
'The ball is doing an energy scan of you.' The ghost alerted.
'Can you tell if it's doing anything else?' The hunter replied.
The ghost was silent for a second before saying, 'Nothing I can detect, but it seems safe enough.'
"Hmm," The witch started, "It seems like you have two affinites. Not terribly uncommon, but… oh my…"
Lance found himself leaning forward, "What is it? Is something wrong?"
She shook her head, "Oh no, nothing like that. It's your affinites. You have affinities for Holy and Null magic."
'Holy and Null magics huh,' Shade restated, 'I have an idea about what they are, but you might as well ask.'
"What's special about Holy and Null magic?" The hunter stated for his ghost.
"Well," the witch started, "Holy magic itself isn't bad, it's one of the rarest magic types and it's considered, well, holy. In fact, it is required to become the Pope. All it really is though is a stronger type of light magic."
Lance nodded at that, "So what you're saying is that Holy magic is glorified light magic?"
The woman chuckled, "Yeah, I guess it is."
"What about Null magic though?" The hunter asked, causing the witch to frown.
"Null magic is… well it's frankly useless." She stated bluntly, this time causing the hunter to frown.
"Why would it be useless? What does it do?" He asked.
"Null magic isn't so much as useless as it is unknown." The witch answered, "It is extremely rare, rarer than Holy magic, but no one has found or created a spell that works for it." She then smiled at Lance, changing the conversation, "I'll go ahead and grab you a magical grimoire so you can train your Holy magic." With that, she went to a nearby shelf to look for said book.
Only to stop and go back to the desk, picking up the book that was on it, "I had almost forgotten. Another person who came in today also had an affinity to holy magic, so I pulled out a grimoire for them. They couldn't afford it though."
That interested the hunter, but he didn't go into it as the witch slid the old book over to him.
"How much do I owe you for it then?" Lance asked, not wanting to use all of his money for something that might or might not help.
"It will cost 250 silvers, or 2 gold and 50 silver." The witch said, inadvertently giving the hunter new and important information on how the money system worked.
'So it's 100 silvers to 1 gold and I assume 1 silver makes 100 of something else.' The ghost summarized, 'Copper maybe?'
Either way, the ghost put 250 silvers exactly into Lance's largest belt pouch. He pulled out the money, handing it to the woman and picking up the book.
"Thank you." The hunter said, nodding his head before exiting the shop and stepping back on to the street.
'You know,' Shade started, 'I don't actually think Null magic is useless. They might just be doing it wrong.'
Lance raised an eyebrow, 'What do you mean by that?'
'Well, think about it. Null means equal to zero, or nothing. If you apply that in this sense, that would mean Null magic is the magic of nothing.'
'Are you saying that there would be no spells period for Null magic?' The hunter asked his ghost.
'No, well technically, but no.' The ghost answered, 'What I'm saying is that they may be trying to add something to the magic, making it something. It might be words or… mana? I don't know, but why would you try to make the essence of nothing something.'
'It would make it invalid.' The hunter finished.
'Exactly. I think that you can already use Null magic, or what this world considers Null magic is just Void Light.'
Lance hummed in agreement, 'I get what your saying. With my Void Light, I can create the Shadowshot, which makes all of the enemies affected by it have nothing. No abilities, no movement, no senses, and sometimes they turn into nothing. Disintegrate into the void.'
The hunter could feel Shade nod, 'That's what I was thinking. Your not trying to give the Null something, your just pushing it into the right direction.'
With that, they continued on into the city, and to find Naofumi.
(The Next Day)
'Don't feel too bad about it.' Shade told the hunter, 'This city is huge after all, it was unlikely that you would have found Naofumi anyway.'
They had searched the city for the rest of the day and all of the night but for some reason, Lance couldn't find the shield wielder.
'Still, it shouldn't matter that the city is huge. I'm a hunter. I'm always suppose to find my target, not get outplayed by a civilian with no stealth training.' The hunter replied, 'I find it strange that we didn't see the other heroes either though.'
'What do you mean by that?' The ghost asked at the statement.
'I mean that after leaving the castle the other day, the other Heroes seemed to be kept away from each other.' Lance answered, 'It's like something was keeping us from talking or getting to know each other better.'
Shade sighed, 'Ok, now your just being paranoid.'
'I'm a hunter, I'm always parano-'
"Sir Hero!" A voice called out to him, making him turn to a guard running in his direction.
'What does he want?' The ghost asked warily.
The guard stopped in front of the hunter, "Sir Hero, the king has called for you, the Spear Hero, and the Sword Hero to the castle. He expressed it as urgent."
Lance noticed the exclusion of the Shield hero in that statement and became wary, "What does he need us there for?"
"I do not know, Sir Hero." The guard replied.
The hunter sighed after a second before saying, "Fine, take me up there."
(The Castle - A Few Minutes Later)
The throne room door was open when Lance got there, allowing him to enter unhindered. As he entered the hunter saw the king sitting on his throne, Ren off to the side, Motoyasu in front of the king's throne, and Myne standing behind Motoyasu.
There was something off about her though. He could see that she wore a different set of armor, this set being made of steel and purple cloth shaped in the style of a skirt.
That's not what stood out the most though, that would be her body language. Her legs seemed to tremble, knees hitting one another, and her hands were kept clutched together. The stance she held made it seem like she was terrified or afraid, but to the trained eye of a hunter it was obviously fake. Her eyes tried to display what could be fear, but it didn't really look like it to Lance.
Just what was she trying to pull.
"Sir Nightshade," the king boomed, "It is good that you have arrived, we are in dire situation."
The hunter raised an eyebrow, "What would that be your majesty?" The name tasted sour on his tongue.
The other two heroes suddenly looked troubled and Myne hid her head in her hands in a way of acting fearful.
It didn't work on Lance.
The king was about to speak before the sound of marching boots filled the halls outside the door. The hunter turned into that direction, only to see Naofumi being dragged into the throne room by a group of six guards.
The shield wielder was thrown to the floor, "Ow! That hurts!" He stated as he hit the floor. The guards surrounded him and pointed their spears at him.
"What's the meaning of this!?" Lance yelled/asked the guards.
He went ignored.
Naofumi's head snapped up to look at the hunter before looking around the room and spotting Myne, "Myne! Are you okay?" A genuine look of worry appeared on his face.
That look was replaced with confusion as Myne hid her face and ducked behind Motoyasu, "Myne?" The shield hero looked around the room to see a stoic Ren and a disgusted Motoyasu.
"I asked you a question king," Lance continued, his voice impatient, "What's the meaning of this treatment?"
It still went unanswered.
"Yo king," Naofumi said with worry in his voice, "All my money and gear, other than my shield, were stolen while I was asleep!" He took half a step forward, "Please help find the thei-"
"Quiet scumbag!" The king's voice roared.
Naofumi stepped back in shock at the king's tone, "What's that about?" he asked surprised, hurt even.
The king just sighed and put his head into his hand, "Myne, you poor girl. Can you tell us what happened one more time please?"
She nodded quietly before speaking in a meek, fake the hunter could tell, voice, "Th-the shield hero barged into my room, drunk and stumbling, and pinned me down…"
'... Is she saying what I think she's saying?' Shade asked.
"Huh!" naofumi exclaimed in disbelief as he stood up, the guards around him aiming their weapons straighter.
That didn't stop Myne from continuing, "He said, "The night is still too young"… and tore all of my clothes off!" She finished loud, crying fake tears, "I don't know how I managed to escape, but I ran into Sir Motoyasu, who was staying at the same inn, and got his help!"
"What the hell is going on!?" The hunter asked again, only to be ignored again.
That made him angry.
Motoyasu continued the conversation with a scowl on his face, "If she didn't ask me to wait until morning and call the knights, I would've cut you down myself!"
The shield hero stood up, "What are you talking about?!" He shouted, angry at the accusation being thrown at him, "I went straight to bed after dinner last night!"
Suddenly a look of realization covered his face, "Wait, that chainmail…" Naofumi said this while looking at the armor that covered Motoyasu, "You were the robber?!"
'I think your missing the point Naofumi.' the ghost stated.
Motoyasu simply laughed though, "What are you talking about robber? Myne gave this to me when we met at the pub yesterday." He brought Myne a little closer into his arms, somrthing the supposed rape victim had no problems with.
This made Lance angrier.
The noble who came into the room started to murmur in quiet shock, "To think that the Shield Hero would commit the gravest sin in this country." The king stated, all to calm.
One of his advisers followed, "In Melromarc, even attempting to sexuallt assult a woman is punishable by death!"
The king, in a move that looked slightly practiced, pointed at Naofumi, "If you weren't a hero you would already be executed!"
"E-executed." Naofumi stammered, before adapting an angry look, "You've got the wrong Idea! If I really did that then where's the proof!?"
As if rehearsed, a guard came up and knelt, "When we search the Shield Hero's room we, um, we found this on his bed." He said this before holding up what looked to be a torn purple lingerie.
Myne gasped and shrieked, running behind the Spear Hero.
"You animal!" Motoyasu spat angrily.
"There you have it, undeniable proof." The king stated with a smug look.
"How?" Naofumi yelled in confusion, "That wasn't there when I woke up!"
"He thinks a hero can do whatever the hell he wants and get away with it." Ren muttered in the background.
"That's nowhere near true." The shield wielder fought back.
"Your not the be all and end all of this world!" Motoyasu spoke, flourishing his spear and pointed it forward, "Know your place!"
Naofumi fell to his knees defeat written on his face. He looked at Myne.
She was smirking.
That made Lance furious.
(Naofumi)
He fell to his knees, 'Was is all of this?' He questioned inside of his head, 'What the hell is going on?'
He looked over to Myne who was covering her face, 'Myne… Myne!' He thought in a desperate tone, 'Why would you lie like that? Weren't we supposed to be in a party?'
She took her hands off her face when she thought only Naofumi was looking, and smirked.
Shock recoiled through him as he finally realized, 'I see. Joining me was just a ruse to destroy me right here. It was all a lie.' His thoughts were cold, 'The smiles she showed me, and her acts of kindness, were all fake!'
His fist clenched as he stood up in anger, "You tricked me!" The guards blocked him from moving.
Myne hid back behind Motoyasu, "I'm so scared Sir Motoyasu!"
A look of rage appeared on the spear wielder's face, "Shut up you crim-"
"ENOUGH!" Lancer roared loud enough to quiet the room, everyone looking at him in surprise.
His figure was covered in soft but noticeable purple flames. The flames didn't spread, nor did they provide heat. They were just there. Intimidating.
"Now then," After seeing that everyone was quiet, the hunter continued in a calm voice. Cold and sharp, but calm all the same, "You all keep saying, or I should say accusing, Naofumi sexualy assulted Myne. Am I correct in saying that?"
The king had a look of confusion at the question mixed with rage at the situation, "Of course, that dev-"
"Alright," The hunter interrupted, "Tell me what evidence you have for believing that."
That statement gave mixed reactions. For most it was a shock.
For Naofumi it was hope. Hope that someone was defending him.
For the king, it was anger, "Do you not believe Myne? She was attacked by that monster! Her statement is enough to send him to death!"
"Yet," The hunter followed, "It is not where I come from. That statement is enough to start an investigation, which it seems like you didn't do. Tell me, have you talked to any witnesses?"
The king scoffed and answered, "Of course we did and they all support her testimony."
'What?!' Naofumi shouted in his head.
Lance continued though, "I assume that they all gave their own statements then? Not ones provided for them?"
The king narrowed his eyes in a scowl, "What are you implying Sir Nightshade?"
The hunter stared him down, "You know exactly what I'm implying, and I have proof."
Naofumi had no idea what Lance was talking about, but the king seemed to. If the look of surprise on his face meant anything. The scowl quickly returned though, "Don't do anything you will regret Nightshade."
"Trust me," The Guardian said, "I wouldn't regret it one bit."
Tension filled the room, everyone waiting to see who will crack first.
Naofumi grit his teeth, 'They're willing to go against him for defending me? All because he's defending the Shield Hero, because I'm weak they're trying to knock me down to make themselves look better.'
He looked at the hunter who looked like he was ready to draw his bow, 'All of these people are disgusting. This country's people don't believe in me one bit either, not even from the word of another hero.'
'Why should I have to fight for them.'
Lance brought his hand up to his arm, a holographic screen started to form. Naofumi interrupted him, "Fine, I don't care anymore."
Lance spun around to face him, the screen going down, "Naofumi! What are you saying?"
"Send me back to my world." The Shield Hero demanded in a cold voice, "Summon a new Shield Hero or whatever the hell you want! Another world, huh. Why should I have to go through this in another world?!"
Ren spoke with a disgusted voice, "Your going to run as soon as things don't go your way, huh? Could you stoop any lower."
Motoyasu laughed, "Yeah, go ahead and go. Who wants to fight next to a rap-"
"Shut up!" Naofumi yelled, "Just send me back to my world already!"
The king put a hind on his face, "As much as I would love to send you out, I'm afraid I can't do that. The legend says that the only way for new heroes to be summoned is for all of the current heroes to die."
"What!" Ren exclaimed.
"No way…" Motoyasu said in a quiet voice.
Lance clicked his tongue, "I expected as much."
The Shield Hero clenched his fist, "So there's no way for me to go back home."
"Well," The king started, looking over his hand, "After you defeat all of the waves, you will certainly be sent back home."
"Are you saying we have to fight the waves alongside a guy like him?" Motoyasu asked in disbelief.
"Fine!" Naofumi yelled, "I'll fight the waves my own way then!" He pushed out his arms, throwing the guards away from him only for them to try to hold him down again, "Get away from me!"
His shield glowed green and the guards went flying again, "What are you going to do? Throw me in prison until the next wave?"
"Not on my watch." Lance stated, stepping closer to Naofumi with his bow in his hand.
The king sighed, "I won't imprison you. There is not enough time before the next wave and, as much as I hate to say it, you are still one of the heroes. On of the only people able to fight off the waves. News of your crime is already spreading across the kingdom. That is your punishment. Don't think you'll ever be able to live a normal life in this country ever again."
Lance growled as the purple flames on his body increased.
"I know that already!" Naofumi yelled as he turned and walked to the door, pulling something out of his shield, "This is what you wanted right?" He said as he through a handful of silver coins across the floor, "You can shove it up your ass!"
"Naofumi wait!" Lance said, running up to the Shield Hero, only for said hero to look at him.
"I'm weak, remember. I don't have a second to waste." He looked back at the door, "Thank you for trying at least, I'll remember that."
He exited the room.
(Lance)
'Naofumi…' Shade said in a worried voice.
"What was that Lance!" Motoyasu yelled, "Why did you defend that rapist!?"
The hunter turned to him, his eyes cold and unseen, void flames mow dead, "He's not a rapist. I've seen rapists before. He is not a rapist."
He left the throne room, not caring for the voices of the king and the other heroes calling to him.
Neither did he notice the shadow that followed him.
(Outside The City - Nearby Forests)
'Those idiots, all of them.' Lance thought angrily, 'They had no real evidence and yet they convicted Naofumi. Throwing him out like trash.'
Lance and his ghost left the city in frustration, their first time out of that city. The forest was thick, but not overly so. Other than the easily popped balloon monster, there was nothing to bother them.
'Why did you think he left like that?' Shade asked the hunter.
'We were going to face the king's ire, I think he wanted to protect us from that.' Lance answered with what he believed.
'... the idiot.'
They wanted to find the shielder, to help him, but they both knew that wasn't what needed to happen. He needed to be left alone to grow into a fighter, it was the only way he was going to be able to fight in the next wave.
No matter how much Lance hated it.
Snap
Lance looked to the motion radar. His left, close by.
He crouched with bow in hand and snuck in close, moving to the detected movement and snapped twig. It led him to a tree, the radar saying something was behind it.
He spun around the tree and drew back an arrow made of yellow light from the Legendary Bow, only to stop at what he saw.
It was a girl, small and frail. Her hair was a very light brown, cropped short at the shoulders and her eyes were a shade of light gold. They were dull and lifeless as she cowered in front of the hero. All she wore were rags, not even close to what would be considered clothes. On here head were a set of animal ears. Weasel if the hunter was right.
There was something on her chest though, an intriget purple rune painted on with ink.
(End)
Chapter 5 - The Slave Girl - February 24
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