Music echoed through the halls of the castle. Food lay before you, in heaping platters.

So much was lost to the wave, but so much more was saved by the heroes. Praise to the heroes.

Naofumi sat against a window, being antisocial as he looked around the party hall, you leaning against a wall nearby, with a glass of red wine. You had decided to tone it down for the occasion, watching the king address Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Ren.

"Splendidly done, brave heroes!" He started.

Bullshit

"Tonight we hold a banquet in your honor! Enjoy yourselves to the fullest!" He raised a glass to the unenthusiastic three, who weakly cheered. Motoyasu's armor was still bent up, and Ren sported several bandages, covering arcane burns. Itsuki was unscathed, but kept to himself, while his party mates, most of whom were still recovering with the exception of one, who had to be put down. In fact, the only ones in a good mood were the nobles around them, Raphtalia, and you.

"I hear casualties for this wave were in the high double digits..." one Noble spoke, sipping his wine.

"Yeah, but it was mostly knights and fighters. Civilian casualties were in the single digits." Another corrected.

"You're right. It's taking a lot out of them, but the heroes are fighting as bravely as ever!" One shouted out, almost drunk.

Bullshit

The head knight that ditched Naofumi now sported a sling, which didn't stop him from bragging.

"I held my ground against a massive beast, and fought with pride as a royal knight!"

Bullshit

You saw Motoyasu speaking with some lady, before his attention was caught by Raphtalia, walking past with a plate and cup. He tried approaching her, but was quickly stopped by Myne, to your amusement.

Let's take a moment to talk about the bitch. Myne was probably the only one to come out of the wave not only unharmed, but unscathed, both in body and mind. This meant either she had high end healers take perfect care of her, or she dipped the moment something big happened. Honestly, both options are valid.

You watched Myne whisper something in Motoyasu's ear, as a Raphtalia approached Naofumi first. They had a small chat, before Raphtalia turned to you instead, approaching with a plate of various foods.

"Hey Y/n~Sama! You should try the food! It's heavenly!" She urged you, shoving the plate in your face. You sighed, taking a small piece of lemon cake, placing it in your mouth. It did taste really good.

"It does taste quite nice." You admitted. Raphtalia nodded, smiling.

"That's the first time I've seen you eat." She stated. You nodded, sipping your wine.

"What of it? Just because I don't eat a lot doesn't mean I don't eat." You told her. She nodded, handing you a napkin with a larger slice of lemon cake on it, which you took.

"I'm going to see if Naofumi~Sama will eat anything." She told you. You nodded.

"Go on ahead. If anything happens, I'm right here." You told her. She nodded, giving you the childish you loved to see. You watched her head back to Naofumi, pulling down your hat.

To you, Raphtalia was many things. At first, she was just a poor, beaten child. As she learned to slay, she became an apprentice, learning how to hunt beasts, instead of simply killing monsters. Then, during that time in the cave, she became more like a daughter to you. Now, she was grown up, more extroverted than ever, and trying to get you two to open up.

God, you missed these emotions.

"Naofumi...." you heard Motoyasu speaking. You turned to see him throw a glove on the ground in front of him. Behind him, arms crossed with her signature bitchy smirk, was Myne.

"Duel me." He challenged. You almost laughed at his serious expression. Raphtalia visibly flinched, stepping back as Naofumi remained unsurprised.

"I hear Raphtalia's your slave." Motoyasu told Naofumi. You sighed in disappointment, shaking your head.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Naofumi answered honestly. Motoyasu seemed taken aback by the response, clenching his fist.

"First you enslave a poor girl such as her, then you deny such an evil deed?" He asked. Raphtalia shook her head.

"He's not my owner." She told him. You smirked as Motoyasu looked between them in bewilderment, before looking at Myne, who's smug smirk had quickly changed into a confused frown. You took another sip of wine before sighing, pulling up your mask as you slipped off your glove.

You walked over to them, stopping in front of Motoyasu as you tossed your glove, watching it hit the ground in front of him.

"I hear you have a thing for my slave?" You asked him cooly. He took a step back, clenching his spear as you nodded to the glove.

"In that case, your challenge is with me." You told him. Motoyasu regained his composure, stepping up.

"If I win, I get to free Raphtalia from you." He told you. You snorted, grabbing your chin as you made your offer.

"If I win, I get rights to half your rewards for fighting the wave." Motoyasu sighed, before nodding.

"I accept."

You were all escorted to a large arena, your best guess was a few hundred meters on all ends. The area itself was bare, save for you and Motoyasu, along with Myne, who stood at a side of the arena, watching intently. The open space gave you a LOT of room to duck and dodge, meaning even if you weren't a great one, you'd have an advantage.

The most notable feature of the arena, was the creature above it.

It used several limbs to grip the roofs of spectator stands, holding itself in the air while keeping a few hands free. It was hairy, bony, pale, all the wrong things. And it's head was always turned to face you.

You glanced at the Lesser Amygdala, giving it a smile as it's eyes began to pop out, meaning it was ready to shoot its Laser attack at any time.

"This duel is monitored by the King and The Pope and as such is considered legitimate in all forms." An announcer from above shouted. Motoyasu twirled his spear, generating a thumpthumpthump sound, like a helicopter, before abruptly ending it, pointing the spear head at you.

"I will liberate dear Raphtalia from your evil chains of slavery." He stated. You rolled your eyes.

"If now's the time for posing and quoting, then..." you tossed your threaded cane into the air, where it stayed for a second before it came down as a Hunters Axe instead. You caught it, revealing a torch in your other hand, pointing your axe at Motoyasu.

"To me, you're just another foe, lined up for slaughter." You spoke coldly. Motoyasu seemed shaken for a moment, before he steeled his nerves.

"Let this match... begin!" The king shouted from his spot above as Motoyasu immediately charged at you, his spearhead shifting from a basic spearhead to a three pointed one. Just before he reached you, to his shock, you dashed forward, towards him.

He barely registered this as you swung your axe at his passing body, slashing his back as he stopped, turning to face you.

You both slowly circled each other, Motoyasu waiting for you to attack. You were a bit more patient, however, as after a moment, Motoyasu started approaching you, making the admittedly wise decision to use sweeping attacks instead of stabbing.

By no means was Motoyasu a dumb man. He knew how to strategize his battles, at the very least. However, he lets his lust get the better of him, and as such, follows Myne's words like gospel.

You felt air rustle your crow feather cape as an attack got close to you, reaching your right. As it came back in, you ran forward, towards Motoyasu again. Moving swiftly, you caught the next attack with your axe, hooking it on the bottom as you thrust the torch forward, striking Motoyasu square in the chest.

It hurt more than it should've. Motoyasu dodges backwards, holding his chest. You had simply thrust the torch at him, yet, Motoyasu saw his health drain considerably from it. How a torch was that strong, he would never know himself.

He noticed you running up to him, as prepared to go on the defensive. As you ran, you dipped your axe down, scraping the ground, drawing sparks as Motoyasu put up his spear to block.

His defenses were immediately shattered by the hit, and Motoyasu hit the ground in shock, scrambling onto his feet.

How much force did he put into that strike!? Only beasts have ever knocked me down like that!

As he drew to his feet, he looked at his health, which was at half, and slowly regenerating. Seems someone was helping him out.

Alright, I've taken more hits than that massive beast already. That's gotta mean something. But... Motoyasu gripped his spear, the head shifting again.

I've gotta get serious if I want to free Raphtalia!

Red light began to shine off of Motoyasu's spear as he held it with both hands. The light gathered at the tip, and you watched as he charged at you again.

"Chaos Spear!" A flurry of jabs began flying towards you. Motoyasu audibly gasped when you dispersed into mist, flying past the jabs as you reappeared right in front of Motoyasu, axe raised to attack.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the strike, but none came. Instead, he heard a sly chuckle.

"Impressive, spear hero." You spoke. Motoyasu opened his eyes in shock to see you with a hand to your cheek. You removed your hand to show a shallow cut, along your cheekbone. It was no more than a paper cut, but it was definitely new.

"You have my respect, for being the first enemy since the start of this scourge to land a hit on me, but I won't forget your sins!" You placed a hand on the head of the axe, and Motoyasu's shock only deepened when you pulled on the head of your axe, extending the handle. You twirled the now large weapon in your hands, before taking a new battle stance.

I can already tell, his fighting style is different from before. And at the throne room, during the second day- you swung the large axe horizontally, which Motoyasu barely dodged, the attack scraping his chestplate.

He used an entirely different weapon! Motoyasu charged forward, delivering a series of short, rapid jabs different from his Chaos Spear attack.

If he does this often, that means- he narrow avoided a downward slam, trying to punish by jabbing forward towards you.

He can keep this up for hours, and I wouldn't even know how to counter his attacks!

You enjoyed watching Motoyasu suffer. He seemed confused, never aware of what you would do next. That always worked to your advantage.

"Madaras Serpent!" You reached forward, grabbing the collar of Motoyasu's armor as a red circle began glowing beneath you. You pulled him into the circle as a massive snakes head emerged, jaws open. Motoyasu screamed in pain as the jaws closed around his body, as the snake sunk back into the nightmare, leaving a battered spear hero.

"You'd best give up while you can. Or I may need to beat your ass further." You told him. He growled, standing up again. He used his spear to force himself up as you raised your axe again, preparing a charge attack.

Just as you started to swing at the vulnerable hero, a gust of wind magic struck you square in the chest, staggering you. You fell to your knee, stunned for a moment as Motoyasu raised his spear. Lightning enwreathed the head of it as he brought it down.

"Lightning spear!" He threw his spear, generating a cloud of dust that obscured everything.

Silence filled the air as Motoyasu stumbled, struggling to stand. Then, slowly, cheers filled the stadium.

Motoyasu smiled, letting out a laugh, before his shoes were nearly signed off by a bright laser scraping them. The cheers all silenced as the laser traveled around the arena, moving and turning off behind Motoyasu. He turned around to look, as explosions erupted all around him. The smoke cling to the air as the ground beneath Motoyasu detonated, throwing him to the ground. The smoke dissipated as his vision cleared to show you, standing at the opposite end of the stadium. Your hands were empty, and you were unscathed.

How.... how did he.... the image of you turning into mist to dodge his chaos spear came into mind

No.... he....

"That was a dirty trick, Kitamura Motoyasu." Your voice resonated around the arena as Motoyasu tried to stand up again.

"Still won't give up?" You facepalmed, looking at the pathetic hero.

"If I were to beat you in that sorry state, even for that cheat, I would be scorned by the people, no?" You asked. When nobody answered, you hummed, taking out a small bell. A light chiming filled the air as Motoyasu felt strength return to his body. He slowly stood back up, weakly holding his spear as the last of his wounds closed. His health was back at full. He held up his spear, accepting this as a chance to come back.

He lowered his spear as you raised your hands into the air, as it darkened around you.

"Now, feel the fury of the stars Motoyasu!" You shouted as white stars formed in it. Motoyasu raised his spear, ready to try and counter this upcoming attack.

"A Call Beyond!" The stars dislodged, flying in a glowing arc towards Motoyasu. He tried to dodge the first to come towards him, only for it to lead him into the path of another. It tore a new hole into his armor, digging into his stomach before dissipation. He tried to block the next, only for it to impact his spear, knocking it out of his hands as another star grazed his chest piece, completely ripping it apart as the last one got him dead in the shoulder, tearing a hole right into it. This one attack nearly knocked him out.

"Motoyasu~Sama!" Myne shouted out, running into the battlefield to his aid. The king stood up off of his chair, furious.

"Due to clear cheating by the use of excessive, unnecessary powers, I declare this match the Spear Hero's win!" He declared. You looked up at him, giving him a frown as Naofumi, who had spectated this whole time from the shadows, didn't react well to this.

"No! There was no cheating! That's bullshit, we all saw Myne shoot magic first!" He tried to complain, to no avail.

"I don't know.... what you're talking.... about." Motoyasu spat out a bit of blood as Myne got him to drink a healing potion. His health slowly rose as he pushed his broken armor off of him.

"Your lies will take you nowhere this time, Criminal Hero." Myne spoke at Naofumi, as Motoyasu stood up. Myne stood back, smiling contentedly.

"To think that you would slander this duel after your filthy comrade's attempt to kill Motoyasu." Myne scoffed as the king spoke up again.

"It is just as you say, oh sweet daughter of mine..." the king spoke. Naofumi took a sharp inhale on hearing the words as the king spoke again.

"Malty!"

You had been standing at the opposite end of the arena, listening to them speak. You knew of Malty's true identity this whole time, you had made a pact with her mother. But watching her constantly go on about Motoyasu's greatness after you kicked his ass and she cheated, just kinda ticked you off. Not as much as when they brought Raphtalia out.... in chains.

Struggling, thrashing, twisting her hands, Raphtalia was doing everything she could to resist movement as she was dragged onto the field. You didn't even notice Naofumi, who wasn't taking anything kindly, on the ground, as rage slowly started to build up.

Time after time, you had come back from a grinding spree to get blood vials to fight the Bloody Crow Of Cainhurst. And time after time, you came back, only to either get close to killing him, or dying on the spot by a well placed slash of his Chikage.

The Shadows Of Yharnam had you three against one, and as much as you hated to admit it, you died more than a few times. Whenever you had two on their knees, the last would get you in the back, then the others attacked.

Lady Maria, Gehrman, Flora, The Rotten and Horrible Great One, Amygdala, the Orphan of Kos, Vicar Amelia, Laurence, Ludwig. They all killed you, over and over, in burning fury or sad reluctance. You had been weak, until you managed to land your final blow. Your decisive strike as they dissolved into mist, exploded into showers of blood, or regained their sanity, pleading you to tell them everything was alright.

Raphtalia, Naofumi. They faced trial after trial, like you. The difference between you and them, however, was that they both had things so much worse. Beatings and slavery, framing and hatred. They both started out weak. They had to be strong.

The lesser amygdala's fingers began to twitch.

Her chest, and her slave crest was exposed as you took your first step towards them, and the Amygdala bent it's arm, reaching down towards the priest that was working on Raphtalia's crest. Eventually, Raphtalia stopped struggling as the crest was finally erased. She turned to face Motoyasu, who approached her with a smile.

Instead of a hug, or a smile, he received a slap to the face and a scowl. Shocked, and still wounded, he fell over, caught by Myne.

"Raphtalia..." He spoke, shocked as Myne yelled out in fury.

"YOU DEMIHUMAN TRASH! HOW DARE YOU LAY A HAND ON-" she stopped as blood dripped onto her face. The arena went silent as she looked up into the air, to notice a shivering, convulsing figure, floating in the air as blood dripped.

The priest that had broken Raphtalia's slave crest was shaking violently, as blood periodically burst from her pores in sudden spurts. Her gurgling was barely audible through the silence as in a flash, her body vanished, only to appear again in a flash of light, falling onto the floor in the center of the arena.

Motoyasu forced himself to get over his shock as he ran to the woman, who was still shuddering.

"Hey! Hey stay with me here!" He shouted, looking up.

"Get a healer!" His party members broke into chaos at the command, rushing to find someone who could help.

"g-god... is..." the priest sputtered, stuttering her words as Motoyasu leaned in, listening.

"What was that?" He asked.

"G-God... is gone..." Motoyasu's eyes widened at words as the priest continued.

"On-only he remains..." Motoyasu looked at her.

"Who? Only who remains?" He asked.

"Behold... a Paleblood Sky..." she chanted. You got closer, hearing her words.

"Let... the moon... rise...." she croaked out.

"God... is gone." Her speed and volume started to pick up, as other people's attention were drawn to her.

"Only he remains."

"Behold, a Paleblood Sky..."