by Aneko Yusagi
“Not so easy!”
L’Arc jumped straight up into the air, and both Raphtalia and Filo’s attacks slipped into the space between the shields where he had been standing.
“Therese? Still not ready?!”
“It’s ready!”
Therese raised her hands and began chanting a spell.
“All-encompassing power of the jewel, hear my plea and show yourself. My name is Therese Alexanderite. I am your friend. Destroy their unshakable protection!”
“Shining stones! Protection shatter!”
A flickering light flew at me. I wouldn’t let it hit me!
I jumped to the side to avoid the spell. It flew past me, then it turned and kept coming like a guided missile.
“Mr. Naofumi!”
“I’m fine! Focus on your attack! You don’t have the time to worry about me!”
“He’s right. But Naofumi, you really need to pay attention too!”
“ . . . .”
He blocked Raphtalia and Filo’s attacks.
But I felt like they were getting closer to breaking through. If they were close, then there was one last thing I could try.
I kept dodging Therese’s persistent spell as I chanted a spell of my own.
“That won’t be easy! L’Arc!”
The light from her spell grew stronger, then expanded to completely engulf me. I felt it seeping into me.
I couldn’t get away from it.
I felt like it was draining away my energy.
I quickly opened a menu to check my stats. Sure enough, my defense stat was blinking as the number dropped.
They’d noticed how high my defense rating was, and they were trying to deplete it with support magic
“Source of all power, I am the Shield Hero! Hear my words and heed them! Support them!”
“Zweite Aura!”
I had to respond with support magic of my own. I cast aura on Filo and Raphtalia, raising all of their stats!
It was affecting me too, raising my defense as it fell, effectively rendering their magic ineffective. Not only that, but it was raising all my other stats at the same time.
“Sorry to tell you, but that spell of yours won’t really work on me.”
“Guess you’re right, kiddo. Therese!”
“Raphtalia, you focus your attacks on Therese. Filo, stick with me! We’re taking out L’Arc!”
“Okay!”
“Understood!”
This time I would hold him down directly and get Filo to use her best attack on him.
He’d only be able to target me, and I wouldn’t have to try and dodge his attacks.
“This is good. That’s starting to hurt a little!”
L’Arc let out a sincere laugh, like he was actually enjoying himself. He swung his scythe at me.
Therese was dodging Raphtalia’s attacks and casting a spell. When she couldn't dodge, her bracelet flashed and a magic barrier appeared to block Raphtalia’s sword.
“Naofumi, aren’t you enjoying this too?
“I don’t have the time to enjoy myself!”
But he was right in the way. I was getting so worked up by the battle that I didn’t really have the time to remember why we were fighting in the first place.
That’s what a direct battle was like. It wasn’t about standing back and thinking and planning a strategy—it was about being there in the thick of it, reacting.
L’Arc. The guy was mysterious.
I knew he was my enemy, but I couldn’t bring myself to hate him.
Did it mean that I was still holding back?
Was this the way a coward thought?
I couldn’t laugh at the others who still treated this world like it was a game. We weren’t supposed to enjoy battle and yet . . . .
I wanted to know. I wanted to know who would win.
He kept coming at me with the scythe. Sometimes I dodged and sometimes I blocked it and was showered with sparks. It was all very mesmerizing.
I didn’t have any way to attack him. So I did what I could—I grabbed his wrist and held him back.
“Filo!”
“Yup!”
Filo crossed her arms and her claws filled with wind. She sent them flying at L’Arc.
“Wind claw!”
“Oh!”
There was a tearing sound, and two red lines appeared on L’Arc cheek and arms.
The cuts were not deep. But I still had a grip on him!
“Not bad! Let me repay you! Spirit scythe! Protection break!”
His scythe flashed brightly, and the tip touched my shoulder.
That was all.
And yet a searing spike of pain ran through my body, and my hand let go of his wrist almost on its own.
“Damn . . . .”
What?!”
L’Arc jumped away, dodging Filo’s second attack.
“Well, looks like we found what works against the Shield Hero.”
“Mr. Naofumi!”
Raphtalia shouted my name, though she was still locked in battle with Therese.
I was holding my shoulder to keep myself from bleeding out. I needed to get a healing spell cast, and fast.
“You’re looking at me like you don’t understand what just happened.”
“Not quite.”
I could think of a few explanations.
It could have been a defense ignoring attack.
Glass had done something similar when we’d fought during the last wave. It was one of the only ways to hurt someone with a high defense rating.
Those types of attacks dealt damage irrespective of your defense rating.
If I was dealing with something like that, then I’d have to give up the option of blocking the attack. The only way to avoid injury was to dodge.
The other possibility was not good at all.
“A defense rating attack.”
“Bingo, kiddo. That defense rating of yours is a liability now, eh?”
When Glass had attacked us, I’d been using the Shield of Rage, which had a high defense rating anyway, so it was hard to figure out what was going on.
I’d only been touched by the tip of his scythe, but he’d dealt some serious damage. If he’d hit me with the full attack, I wasn’t going to make it out of this with just a scratch.
Should I switch to a shield with a lower defense rating?
If I did that, I wouldn't be able to block his regular attacks though. This wasn’t a good choice to be forced into.
Still, there was a weakness to defense ignoring attacks.
I didn’t really know what kind of weapon he was using, but it seemed to be a lot like the hero’s legendary weapons—and the legendary weapons had attack skills.
If that attack was one of those, then it would have a cool down time or it would use up his SP.
But I’d just hit him with soul eat, so he shouldn’t have much SP left.
I assumed he wouldn’t be able to use his new attack very many times.
“You might just decide not to block my next attack though.”
“Yeah, there’s no rule that says I can’t just dodge.”
Being the Shield Hero didn’t mean that I had to use my shield all the time.
If he was only attacking me, it made since to prioritize avoiding his attacks.
“But I might not need to. I think that defense ignoring attack of yours has a major weakness.”
I was half bluffing to see how he reacted.
I didn’t know if he was going to answer me honestly, but I tried to think of a way around the attack regardless.
“It won’t be effective against my indirect defense skills, like air strike shield and second shield.”
It would probably break through the skill though.
But that was fine, as long as it didn’t hit me directly. So I still had a way to block that attack.
If he was able to use the skill quickly, time after time, then I’d have to defend against it with a shield that had a lower defense rating.
>
The Chimera Viper Shield had a counter attack that would poison the enemy—that might work out well.
“Correct. It only works if I can hit you directly.”
“You don’t have to tell me the rest.”
He didn’t have to give away his plan. That was suicidal.
I didn’t need him to do anything like that. I just needed to take the initiative and see what happened.
Besides, I still needed to keep an eye on Raphtalia and Filo. Filo continued attacking L’Arc, but he was quick on his feet, dodging all of her attacks with relative ease. If he used a ranged attack then I would have to jump in to defend the others.
“Let’s get back to it!”
L’Arc swung his scythe. The blade was glowing.
That meant that he was using a defense-ignoring attack!
I turned on my feet and dodged it.
“Yikes!”
“Now!”
Filo ducked low and swung around behind him; her claws flashed.
“Hya!”
“Argh! Damn. That was a good one. I didn’t think you were going to dodge that.”
“Of course I would, right? Why should I try to block all the attacks? There’s only one real job for a shielder; you know that I’m talking about?”
I only had to do one thing—protect. If the shield was the problem, then I just needed to dodge the attack.
I wasn’t some sort of mindless wall for the party. You didn’t need a person to do a job like that.
“This is getting better and better! Naofumi, I feel like I’m getting stronger the longer I fight you.”
“Ha! Leveling up in the middle of a fight are you? Cut the jokes. You’re no hero.”
Perhaps thinking I’d found away around his best attack, L’Arc switched gears and started using another skill.
“First form, wind blade! Second form, sky blade!”
Two swirling tornadoes appeared, then they titled downwards like tunnels of violent wind.
The wind was so powerful I thought it might blow me away, but I was able to stand my ground.
Did he think he was going to defeat me with a normal attack like that?
I switched to the Chimera Viper Shield and blocked the attack.
“Huh? You changed your shield?”
“Yeah, now deal with the counter attack!”
The awakened version of the Chimera Viper Shield had a counter effect called snake fang (large).
The sculpted snake design of the shield came to life and bit L’Arc.
“Huh! It’s . . . poison!”
L’Arc jumped back from the attack and held his head in his hands, reeling from the poison’s effect.
While he was stumbling, Filo got in a few good attacks, though none of them were strong enough to knock him down.
“Master! I’m going to try a powerful attack, so you better stand back!”
“Got it!”
“Damn. That was tricky.”
A bottle of medicine shot out of his scythe. He caught it and drank it. It was probably an antidote.
But there was something else. Another bottle! Soul-healing water! He’d figured out my plan.
But it was enough to confirm one thing: L’Arc had SP to deal with.
Traveling with Raphtalia, I’d realized that normal people didn’t have any idea what SP was.
For most people, soul-healing water didn’t do anything more than help them concentrate—but for heroes, it was something else all together.
That meant that L’Arc was a hero or something else roughly equivalent.
“Master!”
Filo had finished charging her attack. All I had to do was give her an opportunity.
“Raphtalia!”
“Yes!”
She immediately knew what I meant. She started casting a spell. I’d needed her to keep Therese from interfering in our battle, but the time for concerns like that was over.
Therese noticed that Raphtalia had backed off her attacks, and she used the opportunity to immediately start casting a support spell.
But Raphtalia could swing her sword even as she chanted.
“Ah! You’re very good!”
“I don’t have another option, I have to attack and cast my spells at the same time against someone like you!”
“I am the source of all power. Hear my words and heed them. Hide!”
“First hiding!”
“Hiding Shield!”
Our combo skill could make an invisible shield. I set it to where I needed it.
“Change shield! Second shield!”
“Watch it!”
L’Arc, unable to see where the shield was, swung his scythe in a wide arc.
He was coming at us!
“What?!”
L’Arc’s kneecap slammed into the invisible shield.
And I had changed it to the Two-Headed Black Dog Shield—with the special effect dog bite!
The shield warped into the shape of a dog and bit down on L’Arc—hard. He couldn’t move.
“Spiral strike!”
Filo used the move she’d defeated the inter-dimensional whale with. She was flying straight for the immobilized L’Arc.
“Damn! That doesn't look good!”
L’Arc switched his scythe to his free hand and started to spin it. He was able to stop Filo’s attack.
He must have been using some kind of defensive skill, because Filo’s attack didn’t seem to do any damage.
“ . . . .”
But Filo kept spinning and spinning, delivering attack after attack. Slowly, she seemed to be breaking through.
“That’s not enough!”
The dog bite effect ran out. The shield vanished, and L’Arc jumped out of Filo’s attack range.
But I wouldn’t let him get away that easily.
“Shield prison!”
The third strongest shield skill I had, after air strike shield, was shield prison.
You could use it to hold an enemy in place or to protect yourself. It was perfect for restraining someone that tried to dodge all the time.
“Ugh! Dammit, Naofumi!”
With the shield prison in place, he couldn't avoid Filo’s attack any longer. It connected.
“ARGH!”
What? He blocked her attack with his bare hand!?
Not even L’Arc was strong enough to pull that off. The attack broke through. He was bleeding, but not defeated.
“Damn. Not bad.”
His arm was covered in gashes. He pressed his free hand against the wounds and held out his scythe.
“Guess that wasn’t enough!” said Filo.
“Filo-chan. That was one impressive attack. I never thought you all would get this far.”
“L’Arc!”
Therese shouted for him. Raphtalia had kept the pressure on her so consistently that she wasn’t able to cast any sort of support magic on him at all. Raphtalia was really impressive. Therese kept flinging spells at her, but whenever she wasn’t able to dodge them she bat them away with the blade of her sword.
And Therese must have been very powerful too—she was holding her own against all of Raphtalia’s attacks, and she only had her magic to rely on.
If I had to fight them both at the same time, I don’t think I could win.
“You know I really thought I could win. But it looks like I just don’t have what it takes to beat you, Naofumi.”
He was still acting like my superior.
I was amazed he could set aside the battle for a minute to talk.
I looked out at the ocean where an unconscious Motoyasu was floating. Ren and Itsuki were unable to fight. The fools. What would they have done in my situation?
This isn’t how my game went! You’re supposed to lose this fight! I was sure they would say something stupid like that.
If L’Arc or Therese were able to use a curative spell or medicine, then we’d have to start this all over again.
Then what?
I was about to think of how t
o end the battle when a great spray of water erupted before us, and a shadow appeared.
“How long are you going to take?”
“You?!”
An unexpected visitor landed right between us. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
It made sense. I’d started to wonder about it myself. I’d felt there must have been a connection.
The person before me was so powerful. I hadn’t stood a chance the last time we fought.
She had a refined face, long black hair, and pale skin. She wore a somber kimono, held a folding fan, and her fighting looked like dancing, like art. She had disappeared into a rift during the last wave.
She looked just as she had the last time I saw her. She exuded an oppressive sense of power over the whole area. She was staring straight at me.
It was Glass.
Chapter Thirteen: Soul-Healing Water
“Oh, if it isn’t Glass? What are you up to?”
“Clearly I’ve defeated the enemy and come looking for you.”
L’Arc was talking to Glass as if they knew each other.
Could it be? I’d considered the possibility before, but were they really connected?
From the look of it, they seemed to be friends. Damn! Filo and I had been about to win! With Glass in the mix, I didn’t see that as a possibility anymore.
“Now then. Naofumi, was it? We’ve met before.”
She regarded me quietly and spoke politely.
“I wasn’t hoping to see you again.”
“I’m impressed you made this much headway against L’Arc. And from the look of that shield, you hadn’t even gotten serious yet.”
“What?! He wasn’t trying?”
L’Arc was shocked.
“Correct. When he fights for real, he uses a shield that’s very different from the one he has equipped now.”
“Oh, then I guess I really never stood a chance.”
It’s not that I wasn’t fighting for real. It’s that the Wrath Shield asks too much from me.
“Heh. This guy was using a defense rating attack—I couldn't use my best shield because of that.”
“I see.”
Glass opened a folding fan and pointed it at me.
“Then I suppose I will have to join this fight myself.”
“I’d really rather not fight you, but I guess I don’t have a choice.”
I took a step forward and readied my shield.
“Counting the wave boss, this makes round three.”
