You both stood in silence for a moment, before you raised your blade for an attack. And just as you predicted, that's when Glass first went for the attack. She was fast, but so were you.

You twisted your blade in time to catch a sidelong swipe aimed at your side, forcing it into an upwards swing. Glass didn't have the chance to dodge the resulting wave of green energy, getting pushed back a few feet by the projectile.

"Not many are so capable of blocking my attacks." Glass stated before she flew off her feet, dashing forward in a frontal attack. You simply smirked, blocking all of her options immediately with a long sweep, sending the Moonlight Greatsword's energy beam at her. Faced with no other choice, she had to leap upwards, before diving down, trying to strike you from above.

All parties spectating gasped in shock when you raised your hand, catching her by the throat.

"Wha-" Glass didn't have time to react before you turned a circle, using your momentum to throw her headfirst into a mast of this ship, splintering the wooden pillar.

"Not many survive getting on my nerves, either. You're lucky I simply see you as someone to test." You told her. You whipped your sword to the side, wielding it with one hand. It's glow started to intensify as you swung it thrice. Once in both diagonal directions, and a third time in a horizontal sweep. Glass seemed to pick up on the pattern you were granting her, and began to swiftly dodge. You smirked at that.

"Naofumi, grant those around here cover. I want to go... well, I want to destroy something." You told the hero.

"Hmph...." begrudgingly, Naofumi raised his shield towards you two.

"Now, Glass, I suppose you can attack." You told your combatant. Her face grew into an ugly sneer as she realized how much you were looking down on her.

"You will regret giving me this chance." She raised her fans, which began to glow with a faint light.

"Zero-Stance Rondo: Reverse Four Seasons..." as she named her attack, you lifted the moonlight great sword upwards, as green energy swirled around you, using the sword as a focal point. Your clothes were whipped around by the force and air currents generated by this, as Glass swung her fans, releasing a wave of violet projectiles, which hurtled towards you.

You felt a few graze your body, and one of them go straight through your shoulder. It didn't even stagger you.

"That's all? A pity..." you sighed in disappointment. Energy stopped swirling around you as you lifted the brightly glowing sword, rotating your body to face the woman.

"Now, here's some advice: dodge." You didn't give Glass the time to react before you slammed the blade against the ships deck, setting off what was essentially a nuclear explosion. Massive waves of green light erupted all around you, in a devastating wave in front of you, splintering handrails and decimating the mast. Anything not nailed down was blown off the ship within a second.

Of everything that was previously in front of you, the only thing left was Glass herself, with singed clothes and heavy breath.

"What's with the heavy breath? Surely we're not done warming up." You teased. Glass growled at you, lifting her fans as she fixed her stance. With a dash, she began to charge at you at an impossible speed.

You lifted the great sword to meet her next flurry of attacks, blocking them with swift rotations of the blade. Eventually, more force was added to her strikes when her fans began to glow, until you had to use the swords energy to let out a quick burst of energy, knocking her back. It wouldn't hurt, sadly.

You raised the sword high above your head as Glass flipped to her feet, just in time to get hit by a vertical slash of green energy. She fell back a few feet, as you began approaching her once more. She staggered to keep her balance as the moonlight greatsword's glow grew again, signaling a new flurry of attacks.

Glass didn't have time to raise her fans to block the first slash, which lead the way to a second upward slash, which knocked her to her feet. Using your momentum, you turned a full circle, before slashing downwards at her, sending her sprawling outwards, boosted by the accompanied slash of energy. Wasting no time, you held the blade skyward, focusing on it. The glow grew brighter and brighter as the shadows around you grew darker and darker.

"The sun burns bright and scorches the land, while the moon graces the land with gentle light and the cool air. But the all powerful Paleblood will not take kindly to those who challenge it." You spoke in a loud volume, for all to hear as the blade stopped getting brighter and brighter.

"Now, shatter." With the one word, everything else in and on the ship blew up in a fountain of green light, as you drew the sword to your side, swinging it with a mighty heave.

From that swing, you released what was probably the largest blade of energy you could muster. It easily spanned larger than the ship, and may have even scratched the cliffs to your side. When you lowered the blade and the green light faded, you couldn't help but smirk at the sight in front of you.

Glass was on her knee, coughing. She was certainly more than roughed up, both physically with several bleeding cuts and ash covering her robes and skin, and mentally, with the unexpected defeat at your hand. Glass drew herself to her feet, struggling to stand. She weakly raised her fans at you, stepping forward.

"Hm? You're gonna keep going?" You asked. Glass stumbled forward another step, toward you.

"I admire your determination, but this battle is over." You insisted. Glass made a noise reminiscent of a gurgling growl, before taking another weak step towards you. You sighed in disappointment, drawing your hand back. Glass took one more step.

You backhanded her with all your might, sending her rolling, before she slowed to a stop at the stump of what was once the ship's mast.

"What... the hell are you?" She croaked, her voice weak.

"What am I? Now you're asking the real questions, my dear punching bag." You twirled the sword in your hands, crushing destroyed pieces of wood and ship under your boot as you walked towards Glass. You stopped twirling the sword as you got to her, planting it into the ship's deck. When Glass tried to crawl away from you, you stepped on her shoulder, stopping her movements. You bent down to grab her by the neck, lifting her body up. Her fans fell from her weak fingers as you carried her body to the bow of the ship.

You and Glass seemed to darken in color, as you held her over the edge, above the spires of rock below.

Glass hung limp, and to your slight surprise, her body began to glow with a yellow light.

"The time limit..." she muttered.

"Hmm?" You leaned in closer to hear her words.

"Heh, so I'll see you at the next wave..." she coughed out. You smirked at her.

"Do your worst, then. Farewell... for now." You drew your hand back, before throwing her off the ship, watching her plummet a few hundred feet, before the yellow light engulfed her body, vanishing with a sparkle.

"Well..." You turned your back to her as the ship started to slow down, shifting until it began a downward course. You walked up the tilting deck, taking the Moonlight Greatsword out of the ground, stowing it on your back. You threw a glance to where Glass had dropped her fans, only to find them missing, as if they vanished completely.

"Interesting..." You looked up at the four Cardinal heroes, who had joined together for the first time to stare at you in utter shock.

"What the actual hell was that!?" Motoyasu yelled out, hefting his spear so that the head was between you two.

"Something I could've used in our little duel, if I wanted to win for sure." You remarked, snark coating your words. Motoyasu's hands trembled as he remembered the beating you gave him then. You stepped towards the edge of the ship, looking down at the ground.

"Anyways, the wave is over." As if on cue, the reddened sky above you began to glow, before flashing out. When your vision came back, the skies were a bright blue once again, bringing another wave of shock through the group.

"Naofumi, I recommend we make haste. The wave was centered around a village, after all." You reminded him.

"Fine. Filo, come on." Naofumi hopped on the bird, helping Raphtalia get on.

The descending ship began to scrape the cliff sides as you reached out, grabbing Filo's foot while she flew past you. You twisted your body to ride the same way you did when getting to the ship, letting Filo fly back to the village while the other heroes had to find their own way.

You let go as she landed near the village, stepping forward to slow the momentum, before stopping short. In front of you, cheering erupted from the village. The people seemed more than happy to see Filo approach with the shield hero. Good for them.

You exchanged the moonlight greatsword for Ludwig's Holy Blade, planting the tip in the ground and leaning on the handle as you observed the sights in front of you. People talking, reconstruction for what little damage was done, burials for those that succumbed to the plague, and so on.

You took your blade out of the ground, putting it on your back as you turned around, facing a knight. He seemed startled by your sudden movement.

"Let me guess, the king?" You asked. The mustached knight was evidently taken aback by your foresight, before he cleared his throat, regaining his composure.

"Indeed. You and the Shield are to come with me."

By the time you arrived back at the capital, and got escorted back to the throne room, it was nearing noon, closer to evening. The king had just finished looking into a crystal ball, before he turned his gaze onto you and Naofumi, who walked in behind you.

"I saw what happened through the crystal ball." He stated simply.

"You did well to quell the wave, as much as I hate to admit it." He remarked. He kept eye contact with Naofumi the whole time, despite the piercing glare the hero was sending to the king.

"However, I have a question for you two. How did you obtain such power?" The king asked. You scoffed at the question, shaking your head.

"You leave us on our own, constantly plague us over our journey, and then wonder how Naofumi grows strong despite it." You recounted.

"You truly do have guts to be asking such questions." You continued.

"Excuse me?" The king leaned forward to look at you.

"Me, I've had this kind of power the whole time. I trained from childhood to learn how to use these weapons to slay beasts and monsters alike. It's nothing you or your soldiers can learn. Hell, without my direction, the heroes couldn't even dream of it." You remarked, tilting your head as you spoke.

"However, I am the Shield Hero's faithful companion, and will fight in his stead while helping those in need. Now as much as I would love to see the good hero spite you with his words... well..." you cracked a smirk, holding your chin in your hand.

"I shouldn't be so close to garbage getting burnt." You remarked slyly. Without waiting for the king to react, you turned with a flourish, walking out of the throne room. The guards around you shuffled nervously as you passed them, walking out of the door. At the left side, the blue-clad Melty Melromarc waited. You stopped with a sigh, shaking your head.

"I apologize, Melty. As much as I dislike the king, the divide between him and Naofumi is something I should stray from, and let them decide at their own pace, no?" You asked. Melty swallowed nervously as the kings angered shouting grew audible through the doorway.

"I can forgive you, Y/n. I know the king has no interest in you yourself, but even if he did, no qualms against you can end well." She lamented.

"Now now, good princess, please don't imply I would simply smite my foes. It is up to them to repent before their demise, which I wouldn't dare bring unless ordered by contract, or directly provoked. If they fail to do so, then they will forever labor in my fields." You told her. Melty nodded, her gaze cast aside.

"Y/n, what will you do with my sister, if she dies?" Melty asked you. You clenched your teeth at the question, before opening your mouth to answer.

"She will receive her due punishment, before I let her soul go to wherever it deserves to be, which is looking likely to be the fields." You answered honestly.

"I see... thank you for your truthfulness." Melty bowed her head to you, a gesture you returned as the door slammed open.

"Accursed Shield!" Was the last shout you heard from the king as Naofumi walked off, not even sparing you a glance.

"I suppose I should go see to my companion. I wish you good health, Crown Princess." You told Melty.

"And I wish you the best of fortune, Great One." Melty responded. You both bowed, and with that, you were off.

Given the recent falling out Naofumi clearly had, it was no surprise that his next plan was to leave the country. The neighboring areas of Siltvelt or Shieldfreeden were the most desirable locations, all things given. With you keeping guard outside buildings he entered, Naofumi was able to collect what he needed, most namely a map and a loaded wagon, courtesy of the boss.

This, of course, came with a few gifts towards the party. Naofumi received an accessory for his shield, which covered the gem and served quite a few purposes. Raphtalia received a spare sword, just in case, as well as a blade less sword which tore away at the mana, or soul of those it struck. Filo got a pair of gloves which reportedly gave her "the strength of a hundred men," and you, well... you were hard to shop for, to say the least. The boss had decided to give you a leg brace, designed and enchanted to help you with balance and legwork. You wouldn't need it, but the gesture was very much appreciated. That man would surely be spared from the scourge, and be granted access to the hunters banquet, when his time came.

After a day of traveling, following the defeat of the second wave, you were standing by the road as Naofumi, Filo, and Raphtalia ate their food, getting ready to settle down for the night. Over the hilltop, you caught the sound of horses moving, as a small caravan made its way into view.

"Found you!" Melty shouted from the one cart. You couldn't help but smile as both Raphtalia and Filo started to attempt to reason with Naofumi, who had a very annoyed expression. Both silenced themselves as Naofumi stood up, and the caravan came to a stop. From the cart, Melty emerged fully, stepping forward to speak with Naofumi. If you were honest, it reminded you of that pirate truce thing... a parlay.

"Sir Shield Hero, I would like you to return to the capital and meet with King Aultcray once more." Melty requested.

"I refuse." Naofumi's answer was blunt.

"Sir Naofumi, I do believe some kind of peace can be made if both parties decide to apologize for their conduct." You murmured.

"I refuse!" Naofumi snapped at you. This didn't settle well with Melty, who almost looked like she was going to cry. You resisted the temptation to try and soothe her as the inevitable argument started. Instead of listening to that, you turned your attention to the caravan behind her.

All the knights were in a line, with one holding a crystal ball, as if recording your actions. Eyes narrowed, you cautiously, yet discreetly drew the saw spear, keeping it at the ready.

"Listen to me when I'm talking to you!" Melty demanded. Naofumi scoffed. From the line of knights, one drew his sword, rushing forward, towards the crown Princess....

The wind around Melty and Naofumi rushed as the knight drew closer, sword raised. A dark shape rushed past the two, and...

A loud, metallic clang echoed through the valley as you blocked the swing of the sword.

"Melty, behind me." You ordered. Too shocked to respond, Melty swiftly followed your command as you pushed the knight back, wielding both of your weapons.

"Y/n..." Naofumi muttered.

"You have just made an attempt on the life of Melty Melromarc, Crown Princess of the kingdom." You announced.

"Melty, are we at agreement when I say that is grounds for death by my hand?" You asked. After a moment of shocked silence, Melty nodded.

"Do it."

"...is... that a cannon?" Naofumi asked.