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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 9
Disclaimer - I do not own the Destiny franchise or The Rising of the Shield Hero
Chapter 9 - Afterparty
Lance had to admit, the king knew how to throw a party.
Well, not a party per say. It was more of a banquet, held in one of the castle's many courtyards. This one was bigger though, allowing for the many guests to mingle freely.
Everyone there wore formal attire and dresses, everyone besides the four heroes and their companions that is. All of them, including Lance, were still in their battle attire.
Soft music played by violins and harps filled the air in a relaxing sort of way. The music was played by a band of pink dressed women lining the stairs that lead up to the second layer of the courtyard.
'Well, this is relaxing. Don't you agree?' Shade stated to Lance soon after arriving at the celebration.
Said hunter stood at the side of the room, watching the party in little interest, 'I guess. Still don't know why I came.' He said the second part with a sigh, 'This all seems redundant anyway, there are still more Waves to come. Why stop to celebrate the completion of one?'
The ghost laughed nervously, 'I don't think that's the point. Besides,' He added, 'We mostly came so Rifana could catch up with her friend.'
He had a point. Lance turned away from most of the party and looked at the conversing Rifana and Raphtalia. They seemed to be having fun with their conversation, laughing and giggling every once and awhile.
'I wonder what they're talking about.' The hunter though curiously.
'That is none of your business.' Shade replied to the rhetorical statement.
'I know, I know.' Lance replied with a roll of his eyes before speaking in a more serious tone, 'What the progress report on finding someone with Holy Light?'
Shade sighed sadly, 'Same as always, nothing new.'
The hunter hummed in response. They had concluded early on that Holy Light, or magic, was the same as the Traveler's Light. Well, not the same, but it was the closest lead they had to finding a host for their deactivated ghost. They could activate the ghost and let it run free in this world, but that seemed unwise to do in a world filled with unknowns.
Shade, in an effort to find someone who could wield the ghost, scanned every person they came across for a matching energy signature. To no avail though, they have found nothing in all of the traveling they have done.
'If only we asked about who the witch was talking about when we met her.' Lance told himself, remembering their trip to the magic shop, 'She did say someone else with the Holy affinity was in the shop the same day.'
'We could always try asking her,' Shade suggested, 'She might remember.'
The hunter merely hummed, filing that away for later.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the king, who was standing on the balcony atop the stairs the band was playing on, "Splendidly done, brave heroes. Tonight, we celebrate!"
Lance raised an eyebrow at the statement, 'Isn't that something you say at the beginning of a celebration, not the middle of it?'
The king continued, "Enjoy yourselves to the fullest!" He raised his wine glass with the statement.
The shouts of "Hooray!" were heard around the hall as everyone with a cup raised theirs.
As if the king's words were some kind of cue, for all Lance knew it could have been, nobles and knights flocked to him. Most of the nobles were women wearing long , intricate dresses. Maybe they wanted to seduce him.
Who was he kidding. This is a corrupt government, of course they're going to try something.
"Sir Hero," One of the women said as she stepped up to him, "I heard how valiantly you fought in the wave. You must be very brave to have fought all of those monsters."
Flattery then. Frankly, it was something Lance was never a fan of.
"It's not like I did it alone." Lance responded, thinking of Rifana, Naofumi, and Raphtalia.
One of the knights chuckled in response, one that the hunter recognized from the Wave, "Yes, your companion did an incredible job. Her skill with lightning magic is amazing."
"Well yeah, but that's not what I me-" Lance was interrupted mid-retort.
"In fact," It was the same knight that spoke, "You performed some magic as well, didn't you? Rather strange magic as well. It was in the shape of a bow and everything."
"That's right, I heard about that from the captain." The knight next to him responded matter of factly before speaking to the hero directly, "What was that magic, if you don't mind me asking?"
I do mind, is what Lance wanted to say, but it would look weird if he didn't answer. So, he did, "It was nothing special, just my Shadowshot."
They gave him weird looks at the unfamiliar term, "Um… what is a 'Shadowshot', Sir Hero?" The first knight spoke.
"A Null magic spell that I came up with." Lance lied nonchalantly. He didn't come up with it after all.
He caught a sharp movement in the corner of his eye. Someone looking at him to be specific. The hunter didn't move his head, but he did look over to the movement and was surprised by what he saw.
It was Ren, that much was obvious. He was surrounded by more noble men and women, a drink in his hand. Had a new set of armor though. It was a mix of colors including black, white, and blue. His boots were a light blue with black armored ankle guards that covered some of his blue pants as well. He wore what looked like a trench coat that was primarily white but turned black when it reached his sides and arms. His right shoulder was covered in a spiked, black pauldron. Under his trench coat was a black plate of armor. He also wore gloves that were black. Around his neck was a navy blue scarf. His sword was placed on his back in a sheath.
The Sword Hero also happened to be looking at him.
Was it something he said?
A hearty laugh brought him back to the conversation at hand. It was the knight again, "As expected of one of the heroes. Here I thought Null magic was a useless affinity."
"Yeah," One of the noble women spoke, stepping closer to the hunter, "You must be super talented to be able to use magic like that."
"You know," Another noble woman started while also stepping closer, maybe too close, "I also have the Null affinity. Maybe you can teach me a thing or two?" She said the last part with a smile and a flutter of her eyebrows.
'Nope.' Lance thought, feeling uncomfortable at the attention, before asking Shade, 'Any ideas to get out of this would be helpful.'
'While I would like to see this go on just a little longer,' The ghost said while chuckling, 'I think Ren might want to speak with you.'
The hunter allowed his eyes to drift away from the woman trying to get close to him and saw that Ren was indeed heading his way.
Thank the Traveler for that.
He allowed Ren to be the one to interrupt the conversation, "Lance," The Sword Hero spoke, drawing the attention of the group, "Can I have a word with you?"
'Rather straightforward, isn't he.' Shade observed.
'As long as I get out of here, I don't care.' The hunter retorted.
"Sure Ren, what about?" Lance responded to the sword wielder.
Before he answered, the Sword Hero sent a look to the others in the group. They seemed to get the message and, grugendly, left to talk to others. Most of the women flocked to Motoyasu who was across the room with the red-headed Myne.
"Did I hear you right when you mentioned Null magic?" Ren spoke, straight to the point, "You can use it?"
"Still rather blunt, huh." The hunter responded, "But yeah, I can use Null magic. Why do you ask?" He stated the last part in a more questioning tone, curious to the reasoning.
The Sword Hero was silent for a second before answering, "It's about something I found. A quest item." He clarified.
'A quest item?' Shade asked, 'What is that supposed to be?'
Lance voiced the question he was also curious about, "What do you mean quest item?"
Ren looked at him in clight confusion before understanding crossed his face, "That's right, you didn't play the game. Let me explain it to you then." He said before explaining, "A quest item is needed to continue or, in cases like this, start a Quest. Quests on the other hand are missions that progress the story or unlock rewards like a weapon. They follow preset steps that you have to accomplish."
The hunter nodded along, "So your saying a Quest is a mission that has all of its steps provided, all you have to do is follow them?"
"Basically." The Sword Hero responded.
'I find that improbable.' Shade stated, 'You shouldn't have knowledge of the future like that. You should have to find the necessary steps and requirements to get to your goal. Have it told to you sounds wrong.'
Lance agreed with that, but at the same time, it did sound useful.
As if the apparent 'system' could read his mind, a pop up appeared in front of the hunter. It simply read:
[Quest Tab Unlocked]
'...huh.' Was all the ghost had to say about it.
"I see it now," Lance said to the Sword Hero, "The Quest tab I mean."
Ren nodded and continued, pulling an item from his belt, "I got this a week ago, found it in a cave after I defeated the monsters inside. My sword won't copy it like normal, but it did give me a Quest."
Lance looked at the mentioned item. It was a sword hilt, that much was obvious. It was fairly large, big enough in fact that two hands were required to hold it effectively. It was grey and kind of blocky. There was just one problem. It was only a hilt.
"The quest step for this is vague." Ren continued, "All it tells me is that I need to find an expert on the matter. I showed it to a blacksmith, but the only help he could give was that it's apparently magical. So, I had the magic shop owner examine it. She was equally as helpful, but she did tell me it felt like Null magic."
"And so you want me to look at it." Lance concluded, Ren nodding.
Another pop up appeared in his vision.
[New Quest Received - Null Remnants]
[Null Remnants: Step 1 - Examine 'Useless Sword Hilt']
'... I can scan it if you have it in your hand.' Shade helpfully chimed.
The hunter extended his hand, "Can I have a look at it then?" Hesitantly, Ren handed the sword hilt to the Bow Hero, who turned it over in his grasp.
'It's got Null energy alright.' The ghost confirmed, 'Even now, it's weird to me how similar it is to Void light.'
'What do you recomend needs to happen with it?' Lance asked.
'I don't know.' Shade answered honestly, 'But maybe it just needs a purpose. It does seem a little unfinished after all.'
'You're right about that,' The hunter replied, 'There isn't even a remnant of a blade. The creator must have stopped at the hilt for some reason.'
He then spoke to Ren, "It definitely has Null magic, a good amount actually. Right now though, that's no use to you as you don't have the Null affinity." He paused for a second, "At least I assume." When the Sword Hero nodded, Lance continued, "The actual blade on the other hand can be made to channel the inert Null energy without the affinity."
"So you suggest I make a blade for it?" Ren asked for clarification.
"Yeah," Lance confirmed, "But before that, you need to give it a purpose. From what I see here, the sword was never completed and as such never had a purpose."
"How would I give it a… purpose?" The Sword Hero asked a little confused about the statement.
The hunter shrugged, "Kill some stuff, that normally works."
Just as the sword wielder was about to interject, his eyes caught something. Before Lance could ask what, Ren tapped the air in front of him.
'Must be his own hud then.' The hunter realized.
"The quest actually updated." Ren spoke, a little surprise in his voice, "Thanks."
"Sure, no problem." Lance responded while handing back the hilt.
The Sword Hero didn't wait long before leaving, and as he did another popup appeared in his hud.
[Null Remnants - Step 1 - Complete]
[Null Remnants: Step 2 - Wait]
'... I feel like that's going to be more interesting later on.' Shade stated matter of factly.
'You and me both.' The hunter responded before looking around, 'You know where Rifana went? I think it's about time we left for now.'
'I agree, it's gotten pretty boring.' The ghost stated before continuing, 'She's at the far side of the room, next to the windows. Looks like she's with Naofumi and Raphtalia.'
Lance looked over and found her, but as he started his way over, he noticed Motoyasu doing the same.
His steps weren't as nice though.
"Naofumi…" Even though it wasn't shouted, everyone in the room heard it as said room had gone quiet when the Spear Hero's black glove hit the ground, "Duel me."
The room seemed to gasp while the demi-human girls next to Naofumi stepped back in confused shock.
'Duel him?' Lance thought in confusion as he made his way closer, 'Why would he want to do that?'
Motoyasu provided the answer, "I heard that Raphtalia-chan's your slave."
That made the hunter stop in his tracks, 'A slave? You're kidding me, right?'
"And what if she is?" Naofumi responded, Rifana and Raphtalia starting to look nervous.
The spear in Motoyasu's grip was held tighter, "You…"
Funnily enough, Lance's hand was doing the same. Before he could move again though, Shade spoke up.
'Now wait a second. I know this looks bad and all, but think of the circumstances.' The ghost said, 'Naofumi was framed for a crime that made no one else want to work with him. This could be the only way for him to have a partner.'
'That may be,' The hunter responded a little coldly, 'But she's still a slave. That slave crest is dangerous.'
'I highly doubt Naofumi would have a volatile enough slave crest to kill her.' Shade continued, 'The one I removed from Rifana was unstable, that's why it almost killed her. I'm not picking up the same kind of magic, so it should be safe for her.'
The hunter may not have liked it, but he found Shade's statement agreeable. He wasn't going to let the matter drop though.
"Raphtalia is my slave." Naofumi continued, not helping matters, "So what?"
Motoyasu's teeth gritted in fury, "Listen! It's not right to enslave others!"
"Listen to yourself." The Shield Hero spoke in a calm voice, "Slavery is legal in this country anyway."
'He is not helping matters.' Shade spoke in Lance's mind.
"But we are heroes from another world!" The Spear Hero exclaimed, "We can't behave that way here!"
"That's just your opinion." Naofumi retorted, "I disagree."
The Shield Hero stood up from his seat at the window, only for Motoyasu to point his spear in Naofumi's face, "Fight me!" The Spear Hero exclaimed, "If I win, free Raphtalia-chan."
"And if I win?" Naofumi asked after a moment of silence.
"Then…" The Spear Hero paused, unsure, "You can keep things as they are."
The Shield Hero just stared at him before walking away, "Ridiculous."
"Naofumi-sama?" Raphtalia asked as he walked away.
As Naofumi made his way to the stairs leading to the lower level, Ren spoke up next to the hunter, "I thought he couldn't stoop any lower, but he has."
Lance didn't respond, choosing to follow the Shield Hero instead. He idly noticed Rifana stuck by Raphtalia's side as she followed.
Good.
The shielder only got halfway down the steps before a guard blocked his way with his spear.
"I overheard your conversation." The king spoke aloud suddenly, "A hero, using a demi-human as his slave? It seems that you are rotten to the core."
Lance didn't miss the smug look on Myne's face as the king spoke. She was probably involved then, huh.
"I order you to accept his challenge!" The king demanded in a commanding voice, causing the occupants in the room to gasp.
'He seems a little egar, don't you agree?' Shade spoke to the hunter.
'Yeah,' Lance replied, 'He's up to something again.'
"That won't be necessary!" Raphtalia exclaimed, "I'm with Naofumi-sama of my own free will."
'Hearing her say is enough for me.' The hunter spoke as he started down the stairs, only to see a knight try to grab Raphtalia.
Rifana made sure that didn't happen though.
While not attacking, the wesal girl pushed the knight out of the way where he, and another knight beside him, pointed their spears at her.
"Now this is just getting ridiculous." Lance announced to the room causing gasps to be heard around the room.
The king, however, looked at him with narrowed eyes, "What do you mean by that Sir Nightshade?"
The hunter pushed past the knights holding spears at the demi-human girls, lowering the spears as he moved, "There's no need for a duel to 'free' Raphtalia. She is with Naofumi of her own free will, she said it herself. Isn't that enough?"
The king smiled, ill intent seemed to be hidden behind it, "She has a slave crest Sir Nightshade, so it is likely that she was ordered to say that." He then gained a smug look, "The only way we can be certain that it was the truth is if we take her slave crest off."
'Is that true?' Lance asked his ghost, curious.
'I don't know,' Shade answered, 'But it sounds like something I should look into.'
The hunter cursed his lack of information on the magic of this world. For now he would have to trust his gut.
Fortunately, as a hunter, his gut was usually spot on.
"Well, I'm going to say that she is telling the truth." The king's expression turned from smug to shocked at the Bow Hero's statement. Gasps followed as well. Raphtalia and Naofumi however, smiled at him.
Even if Naofumi's was a smug one.
The king quickly regained his composure though, "That may be Sir Nightshade, but my command still stands. Sir Motoyasu and the Shield Hero will fight. If he does not fight, I will have to take the girl by force."
At his words, more knights stepped up with their hands on their swords.
Naofumi gritted his teeth at the action, "Fine." He said after a moment, "But none of you will lay a hand on her."
Lance turned to Naofumi a bit surprised, but didn't say anything. It was his choice after all.
The king didn't stop there though, "Be as it may, I can't allow that girl to run free with that curse. God knows what she might do…" He said this with a small smirk. The knights around them moved to take Raphtalia, causing Rifana to form a ready stance and Naofumi to try and step forward with clenched fists.
They didn't need to worry though.
Lance grabbed Raphtalia's wrist lightly before saying, "Then I will take full responsibility for her until this matter is resolved."
The king frowned slightly, but only for a second, "Very well, if that is your wish then so be it."
(The Arena - A Few Minutes Later)
The arena itself was large, not mentioning the two levels of stands surrounding it. Lance, Rifana, and Raphtalia were on the lowest level of these stands. The stands also had two balconies on either side. On one, the king sat with two of his advisers and several guards behind him. On the other though, was a man he had never met.
He was older, probably around the same age as the king. Only a little bit of his grey hair could be seen as his head was covered by a tall, white hat with a golden bottom and golden accents. He wore elegant white and gold robes, the chest portion of the robes being mainly gold with a lighter gold cross on it. The lower portion of the robes were a deep red. The red matched the cloth that was draped over his shoulders, covering most of his arms. A white scarf was draped around his neck, but it wasn't wrapped. A beaded necklace was on his neck as well, the symbol of the church made of gold was placed on it. The symbol being the Legendary Bow, Sword, and Spear.
'Do you know who he is?' The hunter asked Shade, only to receive a negative answer.
'No, I don't.' The ghost answered, before he continued in a surprised voice, 'But I'm picking up a trace of Holy magic from him.' That got the hunter immensely more interested.
Before he could say anything about it though, a loud voice spoke out, "The duel between the Spear Hero and the Shield Hero will now begin!" Lance and the demi-human girls focused their attention to the arena. The announcement continued, "This duel will end when one of the combatants is pinned or admits defeat."
The two mentioned heroes walked into the arena from either side of it, facing each other.
The announcer continued, "This duel will take place in the presence of King Melromarc and the Pope, and it is thus legitimate and official."
The hunter hummed, 'That makes sense, the magic shop owner did say you needed Holy magic to become the Pope.'
'Maybe we should talk to him after the battle.' Shade stated.
As Lance was about to agree, something told him no. A gut feeling in fact.
Something was off about him.
'Maybe we shouldn't.' The hunter stated, 'He's already pretty old for this world, he probably wouldn't accept that kind of role.'
'Maybe.' Was the ghost's reply. He knew something was off, but he didn't pry.
As Lance looked down at the arena, he saw the two opponents face each other with ready stances. Their weapons had changed form. Naofumi's shield was in the shape of a diamond and Motoyasu's spear was more brutish in shape.
"Ready…" The announcer spoke one final time, "Begin!"
With that, the Spear Hero charged.
"The unstoppable spear vs the immovable shield." Lance muttered to himself. Though, with their advanced hearing, Rifana and Raphtalia heard and turned to him questionably.
With a straight and predictable run, Motoyasu charged Naofumi. The result was an easy block. Two more quick strikes followed, but those were also blocked by the shielder. The Spear Hero was trying to force his spear through Naofumi's shield, but to no avail.
He elaborated, "It's a tale from the world the heroes come from." That sparked their interest, "A couple thousand years old in fact."
"Why did you mention it?" Rifana was the one to ask.
Lance shrugged, "It tells of the same scenario, kind of." He paused for a second before he said the last part, "A spear that could pierce any shield vs a shield that could resist any spear. When the spear failed to pierce the shield, the spear lost."
Raphtalia perked up at that, "Does that mean Naofumi has an advantage?"
"Sure, as long as he can block Motoyasu's shots." The hunter replied.
A sudden shout from the arena grabbed his attention, "Chaos Spear!"
Looking down at the cause, Lance saw Motoyasu charge Naofumi again, but his spear was glowing.
He didn't have to wait long to see why.
To most people, it looked like Motoyasu was thrusting his weapon so fast that all you could see were flashes of light created by it. To Lance, who could keep up with the speed, Motoyasu was thrusting his glowing spear. Every time he did so, a projectile was fired from it.
Naofumi put up a good effort by blocking most of them, but a lucky shot managed to hit his shoulder, forcing him back.
"Master Naofumi!" The hunter glaced to the side where Raphtalia had shouted in worry, before looking back at the fight. Specifically Naofumi.
He seemed alright. Better than alright actually, like he just shrugged off the damage of the strike.
Guess being the Shield Hero had its perks. Like an obscenely high defence.
The Shield Hero was so fine in fact, that he charged Motoyasu. Rifana and Raphtalia shot worriedly and looked down at him, but Lance expected it at some point.
He has seen shielders fight after all.
At the last second, Naofumi side stepped Motoyasu's spear and slammed his own shield into the Spear Hero's gut. The strike hit him with enough force to bring him up. A good hit to be fair.
It was what Naofumi left behind that mattered.
Using the punch, the Shield Hero planted an orange balloon monster onto Motoyasu's side. The monster latched on and actually started to do some damage if the look on the Spear Hero's face was anything to go off of.
The demi-human girls gasped in surprise as the Shield Hero revealed the monsters that clung to his body. It was a better reaction than most of the nobles, who happened to scream. Lance however…
A chuckle escaped the hunter, causing Rifana and Raphtalia to snap their heads into his direction. He didn't clarify.
'He would make a great hunter with those tactics.' Lance thought.
Shade seemed to nod, 'If only he had Holy magic as an affinity.'
The balloon unhooked itself from the Spear Hero and bounced back to took another one into hand before speaking, "If I can't win anyway, I might as well make you as miserable as I can." He threw the balloon at Motoyasu, who sliced it in half.
"Screw you!" The Spear Hero said before charging again, "Fight me fair and square!" The hero didn't notice Naofumi's shield glow slightly, but he did notice its new form.
After it bit his arm of course.
The new shield was made of grey steel in the shape of a knight's shield. The interesting part about it though were the two dog heads sprouting from it.
An interesting shield. Lance would have to ask how he got it later.
When Motoyasu's spear struck the shield, the dog heads extended and bit the Spear Hero. Said hero jumped back to get them off, but Naofumi wasn't done yet.
His shield shifted again, this time turning into a coil of ropes. He thrusted his arm forward and shouted, "Air Strike Shield!"
An ethereal green shield appeared in front of him, only to speed towards Motoyasu and hit him in his stomach, making him double over.
As a final bit, Naofumi's shield changed again. This time it was a bunch of pipes. He threw the last of the balloons he had at the Spear Hero before shouting, "Shield Prison!" At his command, several shields and chains burst from the floor and encased Motoyasu with the balloon monsters.
The crowd murmured nervously at the change of pace, but Lance merely smiled at the trap the Shield Hero had made. It was quite good after all.
Said hero ignored the shouts from the crowd and walked up to the prison he had made, "Hurry up and admit defeat," Stated to the trapped hero, "Do you want to be embarrassed even more, Mr Hot Stuff?"
The ball of shields and chains glowed before disappearing, leaving Motoyasu on the floor.
'Lance,' Shade drew his attention, 'There's an energy build up nearby.'
The hunter raised an eyebrow, 'Where?'
'Far side of the arena.' The ghost answered.
Looking in the direction, Lance immediately saw the problem and gritted his teeth.
It was Myne.
She had her hand out in front of her and was muttering something. Silently cursing, the hunter stood up and was about to jump the ledge of the arena.
It was too late though. Myne casted her spell.
Her hand glowed pink as a turrent of wind rushed forward and hit Naofumi, sending him flying. He landed roughly on the ground across the arena as dust was kicked into the air.
After the Shield Hero landed, he looked at the cause of the magic in anger before standing and shouting, "You bitch!"
A loud pop resonated as Motoyasu cut the last balloon monster in half, before charging.
Only to quickly plant his feet on the ground to stop himself from crossing path with the purple flames separating the two heroes.
"What the hell?!" The Spear Hero exclaimed after he stopped.
"The match is over!" Lance exclaimed from his new position in the arena, "Naofumi Iwatani has won the duel due to outside interference."
The crowd gasped at the statement, not believing their ears as they heard his words.
"What is the meaning of this!" The king shouted in anger.
The hunter tilted his head, "I just said why, didn't I? An interference was made to sabotage Naofumi, so he wins by default."
The king and Myne both scoffed at his words, Myne speaking up, "I didn't see anyone do such a thing, Sir Nightshade. It must have been your imagination."
"That's right," The king stated happily, "The stress of the Wave must still be plaguing you. No one else saw anything after all."
The crowd was silent, nobody stating if his claim was true or not. It was easy to understand why. They all feared the king.
Lance didn't need them to talk though.
"I don't need anyone else to have seen it," The hunter stated, "I have it recorded after all."
Several faces turned confused, including Myne and the king. Motoyasu and Naofumi, however, had shocked looks on their faces. The Shield Hero smiled after a second though, his grin borderline evil.
"What do you mean by that Sir Hero?" Myne asked, confused.
"Yeah man, I mean, how could you record anything?" Motoyasu questioned while stepping up to Lance, the purple flames of the Voidwall grenade gone, "You don't have a camera."
The hunter merely tapped the red eyes on his helmet, "My third eye isn't just for show, Motoyasu."
The Spear Hero's eyes widened in realization, "Oooh, that's actually pretty cool. So you just record everything you see with that?"
"Exactly." Lance answered, "I use it for mission debriefings. Anyway, we're getting off topic."
The hunter tapped his left bracer as he brought it up, making it project a holographic screen. On that screen was an image of the arena from the view of the stands. Lance's point of view to be exact. On top of the image was a generic play button inside of a circle.
Motoyasu was next to Lance at this point, a curious and slightly worried Myne behind him.
She hid the worry well, but not well enough for the hunter.
"This is the recording of the moment Myne used what seems to be wind magic on Naofumi to bring him down." The hunter stated as he pressed the play button on the hologram.
Myne's slight worry turned to easily visible panic at the replay of events. The king, who quickly made it down to the field, also looked on in panic. They quickly recomposed themselves though before trying to regain control of the situation.
"That's obviously just illusion magic, Sir Motoyasu." Myne spoke to said hero as she held his arm into her chest, "Those with the Holy affinity can cast it after all."
'How does she know your affinities?' Shade spoke confused, 'The should be private information.'
'It doesn't matter at this point.' Lance stated simply.
She was right. Well, partially right. It was true that those with the Holy magic affinity could learn and therefore cast illusion magic. In fact, that was a spell Lance had taught himself in the past few weeks using the magic grimoire he had. He didn't mess with the footage though.
But, he should probably give more evidence.
"Fine, have it your way." The hunter said, putting his arm and recording down before turning to Motoyasu, "Myne is in your party, right?"
"Yeah, why?" The Spear Hero asked confused.
"What is her Mana level at?" Lance asked, causing Motoyasu to look at his party list.
After a second, he turned to a slightly nervous Myne, "Myne, why did you cast magic during our fight? It was supposed to be a one on one duel."
"W-well, I just didn't want to see you get hurt." Myne spoke, pushing the Spear Hero's arm further into her chest, "I didn't mean to interfere, I just wanted to stop the Shield Hero from hitting you with that monster."
'Like that will work on him.' Shade scoffed at the sight of Myne.
"O-oh, well I guess that makes sense." The Spear Hero spoke, "I can't exactly fault you for theat can I?"
'... Unbelievable.' The ghost stated, astounded.
'That kind of behaviour is going to get him killed some day.' Lance thought.
"I still won." Naofumi suddenly stated, "So me and Raphtalia will be going now. Don't try to stop us."
"Not quite, Shield Hero." The king said with disdain, "You used monsters to fight in this holy fight. Neither I, nor anyone else here can recognize such a victory."
The crowd seemed to murmur in agreement at the king's words.
"What the hell are you talking about!?" The Shield Hero started in outrage, "I fought using what I had at my disposal! How is that cheating?!"
Even with those words, Lance knew the king would have his way. The nobles in the crowd were already murmuring against him, commenting on his less than honorable tactics.
It seems that the only person who would accept those tactics was a hunter who would do the same.
"There is no need to listen anymore." The king spoke, ignoring Naofumi, "The Spear Hero is victorious!" The crowd roared with cheers at the announcement.
Despair appeared on the Shield Hero's face. He thought it was over, that everyone was working against him.
Lance needed to do something, or Naofumi was going to lose the only way for him to survive.
The hunter looked around the arena, at Rifana and Raphtalia in the stands, at Naofumi as he stood in his state of despair, and he viewed the king with Myne and Motoyasu.
He had an idea.
Lance walked in the direction of the stands, in the direction of Naofumi to be more specific. As he brushed past the Shield Hero, the hunter spoke two words, "Play along."
The shielder looked confused at his words, but nodded anyway.
"Play along." Lance silently stated in his mic, prompting Rifana to send a questioning look at him. She stiffly nodded anyway, whispering the same to Raphtalia.
"I need you to stop the priests from getting here with… whatever they use to get rid of the crest." The hunter gave his order to Rifana.
She seemed to whisper what she was doing to Raphtalia before moving out of sight.
No one paid her any mind.
"Now then, since Sir Motoyasu was the winner, the girl goes free." The king stated happily, "Malty, would you be a dear and bring her here please."
'Malty?' Shade asked, 'Who's Malty?'
"Yes father." Myne, or Malty, stated happily before making her way to the stands.
That made the hunter pause for a second, but he didn't have time to think about it now.
"You, you people have no right t-" She was cut off when a rag was put into her mouth and her hands were held behind her back.
"Is that really necessary?" Lance asked no one in particular, getting no answer in response.
Typical.
Raphtalia was brought down to the arena and forced to her knees. Several guards around her along with Myne(Malty), the king, Motoyasu, and lastly Lance. Naofumi was on the ground, looking furious and crestfallen.
After a minute or two, the king began to become impatient, "Where are those damn priests?" He grumbled a little angrily.
"Is there anything wrong, your majesty?" Lance asked innocently, causing the king to turn to him.
"The priest with the holy water needed hasn't arrived yet." The king grumbled in response.
"Maybe I can help then." The hunter stated, making the heads of everyone close by, including Raphtalia and Naofumi turn to him, "I mean, I have used my Holy magic to remove a slave crest before."
The looks on him turned into shocked ones. Not even a second later the king smiled a little devilishly, no doubt thinking that having Lance remove the slave crest would crush Naofumi even more.
For a king, it was quite easy for the hunter to trick him with his own desires.
"By all means, Sir Nightshade, go ahead." The king stated a little too happily, "It would be an honor to see Holy magic at work."
Lance simply nodded before stepping in front of Raphtalia. Worry, confusion, and a slight bit of anger flashed through her eyes. Again, the hunter didn't have time to think about it.
This was going to be the most difficult part after all.
No matter how much he hated the slave crest on her chest, his gut and her words from earlier told Lance that she didn't want it taken off.
So he had to make it look like it was off.
He raised his right hand in front of him, palm out. In front of his hand, he used the magic they thought he used earlier, illusion magic, to create an invisible sphere the size of his ghost. He then summoned his ghost inside of the sphere, making him invisible to the outside world.
'I want you to scan the crest.' Lance thought to his ghost, 'Make it visible.'
'Roger that.' The ghost answered simply, projecting the familiar beam of light he used to scan things. Only this time, it looked like Lance was casting it.
He heard several people show excitement at the light, thinking he was removing the slave crest.
'That is a way better scan.' Shade stated, 'I even managed to isolate the part that causes pain.'
'Get rid of that part if you can without destroying the whole thing.' Lance said, 'I need to concentrate on this next piece.'
Very carefully, Lance extended his reach of magic and started to cover the slave crest, rendering it invisible.
'Done.' Shade stated, shutting off the beam of light and retreating back into Lance's head.
'Same here.' Lance followed, lowering his hand and dismissing the illusion on his hand.
The slave crest was seen no more, but it was still there. The confusion in Raphtalia's eyes confirmed it.
A light clapping was heard behind him, "Good job, Sir Nightshade, excellent performance." It was the king who said this, that much was obvious.
Lance took a few steps back as the knights holding Raphtalia let her go, expecting a show of anger.
There was one, just not directed at him.
"Be grateful to Motoyasu-sama, it's thanks to him that you are free from that horrible curse." Myne proclaimed with a sly smile. That smile vanished quickly, because the moment Raphtalia was free, she took three steps forward and slapped Motoyasu across the face.
"You cheat!" The demi-human girl shouted at the Spear Hero.
"Wh-what are you doing to Motoyasu-sama?" Myne asked in a confused state.
Raphtalia shot back, "When did I ask you to free me?!"
"B-but he was abusing you, right?" Motoyasu asked, terribly confused at the turn of events.
"What the hell do you know about Naofumi-sama?!" The angry Raphtalia shouted, "He never made me do anything I couldn't do! He only activated the curse when I was too scared to fight!"
Seeing an opening, Motoyasu jumped in by slamming the butt of his spear onto the ground, "And that's the problem! Nobody should be forced to fight!"
"Naofumi-sama can't use any weapons!" Raphtalia continued, "Someone else has to fight for him!"
"It doesn't have to be you." The Spear Hero tried to reason, "He'll just abuse you until you break."
"Naofumi-sama defends me!" She stated, "He lets me rest when I'm tired!"
"No," Motoyasu tried to reason with himself, "He's not that kind of guy."
"Are you capable of extending a hand to a diseased slave on the verge of death?" Raphtalia asked in a deadly serious tone, "Naofumi-sama fed me everything I wanted to eat! He gave me valuable medicine to treat my illness! Are you capable of that?!"
Motoyasu flinched at her words, "O-of course I could…"
"If that were true," Raphtalia stated, "You would have a slave by your side too!"
'That reminds me.' The hunter thought before speaking silently through comms, "Rifana, it's done. Come back to the arena."
"Roger that." Was her response.
He was quickly brought back to the conversation at hand by Myne, "Knock it off!" She exclaimed, clenching her fist, "How dare you, damned demi-human? Is that how you repay Sir Motoyasu's kindness?"
Raphtalia responded in kind, "I never asked for his intervention, nor did I need it! If he has so much kindness to give, maybe he should focus his efforts on those who truly need it!" She ended it by turning around, making her way to Naofumi.
She ignored the steaming redhead and the Spear Hero, who looked like he had been slapped in the face again.
"Naofumi-sama…" Raptalia addressed the said hero after stopping about a meter away from him.
"Why are you here? You're free now thanks to Motoyasu, so just leave already…" he stated softly with a slight bit of fake pain in his voice.
Good, he was playing along as well.
"Listen, please, I already know about the rumors-" She began but was interrupted by Naofumi.
"I didn't do it!" He shouted with real fear in his voice this time, repeating himself in an almost pleading like whisper.
Raphtalia crouched in front of the despairing hero, encircling her arms around him and not letting go when Naofumi tried to shake her off.
"I believe you. Even if the entire world says that you did it, I will deny it every time!" She proclaimed, shaking Naofumi out of his despair, "Even if you won't believe in yourself, I will believe in you Naofumi-sama! You didn't do it, I knew that from the start!"
The Shield Hero leaned back slightly, looking towards the demi-human girl.
"Raphtalia?" He questioned, not sounding completely sure.
She shot an exasperated smile at him, "Who else would it be? Honestly, you're still seeing me as a child, aren't you? This may be bad timing on my part, but demi-humans grow up as we level."
Lance figured as much.
"If you still cannot believe me, then put another seal on me and allow me to stay by your side as your sword." Raphtalia finished.
The statement seemed to have hit the Shield Hero as he wrapped his arms around the girl like a life line and didn't let go.
The crowd by that point had dispersed, not wanting to stay for such a moment for the Shield Hero. Only Myne, the king, and the three remaining heroes were there. Ren having come down a few minutes earlier during the commotion.
The king and Myne scoffed as they were the first to leave.
Motoyasu gripped his spear, "I didn't do anything wrong." He told himself as he watched the scene, "What's wrong is a hero having a slave. Raphtalia-chan might still be doing all this because she's brainwashed."
"I don't know about that." Ren stated calmly, causing the Spear Hero's head to turn.
"It's incredible that you can say that after seeing this." Lance followed.
After a second had gone by, Motoyasu fled the field quickly. He was followed by Ren who nodded at Lance as he went by.
Rifana entered a second later, but stopped next to Lance as she spotted Naofumi and Raphtalia.
"Come on." The hunter softly said to his companion, "Lets go."
(End)
Chapter 10 - A Friendly Chat - May 4
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