Thanks again to those who update the TVTropes page. I'm expecting a bit of upheaval on some stuff after this chapter. I also want to give thanks to the nice people who PM'ed and reviewed since the last chapter. It's been a while since I've said that. You guys are the real MVP's for keeping motivation going.

Also, to the people who ask me to stop censoring words, do know I censor them because I don't say them in real life. And trying to say them causes me physical pain. I don't care if it interrupts the story flow or not. I'd rather not cause myself pain trying to write out the F-word or S-word or whatever. If I say it myself, I won't censor it. Stop reviewing about that please.

Since Last Time: 74 more favorites, 60 more Followers (Total: 1764 Favorites, 1955 Followers)

Updated: July 27th, 2020 5:00 P.M.

Chapter Fifty-Two: Liberation of Melromarc, Part Two: Illusion Broken

"Hah!"

"Ahhhhhh!" A random knight was sent flying down a random hallway by Ren's kick.

'They just never end, do they?' Itsuki formed a normal energy attack arrow on his bow and launched it at a knight that ran past the fallen knight. The arrow struck his chest and disappeared. The knight collapsed to the ground. His HP was dangerously low from the simple attack.

Itsuki and Ren were making good progress through the dungeon labyrinth. The knights they were encountering weren't faring well. Ren and Itsuki were having to hold back to keep from slaughtering all the knights they came across.

However, what those two were accomplishing was nothing like the living nightmare ahead of them.

"Gah!"

Eclair cut a gash into the knight's hand, causing him to yell out and drop his sword in pain. Then immediately after, she deflected another knight's sword into a wall sconce and trapped it into the metal framework that was holding the torch. Continuing to push forward with her advantage, Eclair grabbed the first knight's head with her free hand and bashed it against the second, making both knights collapse on the floor. Without even stopping to catch her breath, she jumped over their bodies to bring her sword down upon the last unlucky knight, who had been backing away in fear from the display.

Eclair was a machine. Blazing ahead of them. Taking out knights, avoiding magic attacks, and other various things as her mind was set to battle mode. Her level wasn't as high as theirs. But her swordsmanship, abilities, and combat experience more than made up the difference.

It was scary to watch.

"You're planning on taking lessons from her, right?" Itsuki asked.

"No… maybe?"

Her training regiment might be a little too much for Ren's liking. But she'd already beaten him once despite the large difference in their levels. And she'd made a comment to him about his swordplay being on the level of an untrained peasant.

That was a low blow. Even for him. He so needed to improve after this mess was over. Would he have time to improve? He really hoped he would.

The three continued on. They finally had a short reprieve from the knights. But they could still hear their footsteps and yelling echoing in the dungeons around them.

Finally, they turned a corner. Standing down the hall was a knight larger than the others they'd seen. He was tall, sturdy, and bulky, covered in a custom armor similar to Eclair's. His level also looked fairly decent. He obviously wasn't a lowly knight like the rest. He planted his feet and pulled out two great swords from sheaths on his back.

"Ah, Sebastian. Finally, I'll have a challenge." Eclair held out her hands, popping them as a battle crazy smile appeared on her face. "Sir Heroes, take the hallway on the right here, and then two after that, make a left. That should give you a straight shot into the castle. I'm sure you know your way to the throne room from there."

"Wait." "What?" Both of them said at the same time.

"Sebastian and I go way back. I'd prefer it if you let me have a one on one chat with him." Eclair looked back at the two heroes. Her eyes looked a little crazier than they remembered. Was it because of all the fighting she'd done today? Was it because she was finally going to fight someone that could challenge her abilities? Or was it because she'd finally lost it?

"Why are you just standing there?! Go!"

It would be so much simpler for the two powered-up heroes to attack the knight with the Legendary Weapons and bring him down. But they got the feeling they'd earn Eclair's eternal wrath if they did so. So they shakily nodded and ran down the hallway Eclair had indicated to them.

Oddly enough, Sebastian made no move to follow. Eclair looked at the large swordsman. One she'd sparred with plenty of times before in training. "All that time in the dungeon, and you never once visited me," Eclair said lowly.

"My loyalty to the Church comes first." He muttered gruffly.

"Yet you allowed two false heroes to run right past you just now. Does that mean you also hold loyalty to our Queen? Or is it something else?"

"..."

She brandished her sword in a fighting stance. "Either way, I'll consider this my lucky day. None of the others I've fought so far have answered me. Maybe you'll have an idea as to what happened to my Father."

The large knight took up a defensive stance. "If you want answers. You'll have to beat them out of me first."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Eclair charged forward, and sword met against sword.

Boom!

A section of the floor blew up. Motoyasu had fortunately moved quickly enough behind Naofumi to avoid being deep-fried. Naofumi braced, tanking the large attack again. He used Fast Heal on himself as Motoyasu charged forward. Black mist trailing off his spear.

"Chaos Spear!"

The series of powerful attacks slammed into the Pope's barrier once more. No matter how much speed and force he put behind it though, the barrier refused to crack.

"Come on! Spiral Thrust!" His spear glowed as he launched forward into the barrier surrounding the Pope once more. The barrier still didn't crack, and he jumped away.

'Motoyasu's attacks aren't doing anything to that barrier... Then again, Raphtalia's attack hardly did anything to the Pope's attack either.' Naofumi remembered Raphtalia's spell hitting the Pope's skill, hardly doing anything to it. There was also Motoyasu's Lightning Spear attack. When it collided with the Pope's Lightning Spear, it wasn't strong enough and got overwhelmed.

It stood to reason they needed more firepower than they had if they wanted to break the barrier surrounding him. Which, everything they'd tried so far hadn't worked.

"Damn it! Why is his spear so much more powerful than mine!" Motoyasu said, jumping back behind Naofumi as the Pope's Spear flashed brightly. It was a brighter flare than anything else they'd seen yet.

"It's probably because that Replica he's holding is supposed to have a fourth of the power that our weapons are capable of," Naofumi answered. And, to be frank, Motoyasu was nowhere close to that potential where he stood now.

"You pitiful fools. You fight against the might of God himself. You have always been doomed to fail! Now be purified!" The Spear Replica glowed brightly with mana.

"Brionac!"

"WHAT?!"

"Air Strike Shield! Shield Prison!" Naofumi quickly used both skills. The powerful spear skill slammed into the Air Strike Shield first, and then the Shield Prison. Both of which shattered before he took the rest of the attack on his Shield. Naofumi quickly switched to the Shield of Hope II. The transforming glow surrounded him. However, despite the extra cushioning from the large boost in defense, he still took a significant chunk of damage!

He gasped from the exertion of blocking it. The Shield glowed brightly in his hands, fueling his emotions with more positivity. But a timer also appeared in the corner of his vision.

5:00, 4:59, 4:58...

"Fast Heal!" Naofumi's healing spell washed over himself. Thanks to Hope Springs Eternal, it received a boost in its efficacy, healing him completely. He then switched back to his Awakened Chimera Viper Shield.

Just the short stint in the Hopeful Series left his emotions reeling.

"No fair! I still haven't found the Spear that unlocks that skill for me!" Motoyasu yelled. Maybe it was because of the Spear he had equipped, but he sounded very envious of the Pope for accessing one of the most powerful Spear skills he knew of.

"Less talking, and more barrier smashing," Naofumi muttered.

"Crimson Thrust!" Flames covered Motoyasu's spear as he charged in again. The attack slammed into the barrier. "Zweite Fireball!" The spell also slammed into the Pope's barrier. The Pope smiled, as if in amusement.

"Oh. If only that skill didn't cost so much to charge up." Pope Balamus murmured. He swiped his Spear, Motoyasu dodged and struck at the barrier again with his spear. It did nothing.

"Damn it! Break already!"

The False Hero and Devil had survived longer than he had anticipated. He'd expected Brionac to be enough to finish them. But it hadn't been. The Devil's tricks had protected them once again.

The streams of mana around him were still thick. But who knew how long that would be the case. These two had to be dealt with, now.

"Bishop. Prepare the ritual spell." Balamus amplified his voice outside down below to the Bishop. Who led the efforts around the castle with the thousands of robed followers from the Three Heroes Church, who'd gathered from all over the Kingdom.

"Of course, your Excellency." The Bishop started making the preparations amongst the Followers.

Balamus knocked Motoyasu away with a wave of the spear again. He focused his attention on the false hero and the Shield Devil. The Devil was the one blocking his strikes. But Motoyasu's weapon was especially worrisome. With the cursed mist emitting from its gem. As well as the fact that the wounds his simple strike had inflicted on the Spear Hero were already healing thanks to that cursed spear. He was fortunate to have a holy buff from his followers protecting him from the mist's status effect. Stat down.

It was evil. The irredeemable Devil of the Shield had fully corrupted the Spear Hero and twisted him into being his servant. He'd thought that Naofumi wouldn't be much of a threat if everything was torn from him in the beginning. But Naofumi not only escaped, but he grew in power and corrupted those around him. Including the other Holy Heroes.

He had no choice. It was his duty to purify them both!

"Try this on for size! Meteor Thrust!" Once again, with his cooldown timer finished, Motoyasu tried the skill on the Pope once more.

"That has long since been a feeble effort on your part, false Spear Hero." The barrier flashed brightly as the ball of energy appeared from the side. And it exploded against it. The barrier still didn't crack.

'His level's still as high as ever… so how is Motoyasu not strong enough to break that barrier?' Naofumi thought. Was he weak despite his high level?

"You think to lay a scratch on God himself? That is an irredeemable mistake. One of many that merit God's holy Judgment to fall upon you." The Pope released a shockwave of power at the two, which Naofumi tanked once more. Motoyasu growled in frustration behind Naofumi. And though the Pope hid it behind a calm smile, he was also growing frustrated with this Devil blocking his every attack.

"Do you have anything stronger than that spear?" Naofumi asked.

"If I did I'd be using it! Why don't you try something?!" Motoyasu angrily asked.

...

Naofumi literally deadpanned as he pointed at the Shield. "... Oh, right." Motoyasu had the nerve to look sheepish.

He would be using Hope Asunder like crazy if he could. But earlier, he'd used Air Strike Shield on the Pope in an attempt to set up the combo chain skill for the Shield of Hope II. However, the barrier broke the shield. And he couldn't summon the Shield inside the barrier while it was active. It had to be broken first.

Unless Motoyasu got a boost in strength, he'd be tanking attacks until Ren and Itsuki arrived. If they arrived.

"Unless you destroy that barrier. The best I'll be able to do is protect your *** from being blown up." Naofumi said dryly.

"Hey, don't judge me!" Motoyasu said enviously.

'Actually, now that I think about it, what if he had the others' power-up methods? Some of the passive ones could strengthen him, right?' It wouldn't hurt to try at least. "Actually, I know how you can get stronger-" He tried to say.

"Stop judging me! I'm strong enough! I can break through that damn barrier without your help!" Motoyasu's spear flared with more cursed black mist, and he gave a war cry as he charged and jumped, aiming his spear down at the Pope. "Chaos Spear!" The attack slammed into the Pope's barrier again and again. It seemed like he was putting his all into it. But the Pope merely smirked as the Cursed Mist brushed off the auto-barrier. Motoyasu jumped back off the barrier, snarling frustratedly as Naofumi used Air Strike Shield to help cushion the retaliatory attack.

"I'm not judging you Motoyasu."

"Yes you are! You all are!"

"I'm just saying anything to judge you! Would you just listen-"

"Screw you!" Motoyasu snarled.

Naofumi groaned. Was Motoyasu's Spear starting to affect him more severely now! "I just want to help-" Naofumi stopped. Realizing something.

"What?! What is it?!" Motoyasu demanded. The Pope charged up for his next attack.

"Get jealous."

"WHAT?!"

The Pope calmly smiled as he launched another attack from the platform he stood on. Naofumi braced once more, blocking with his Shield. Motoyasu had the Spear of Jealousy equipped right now. The gem was a swampy green color. The rest of the spear was black, with a tinge of grey along the tip of the spear.

Naofumi didn't have the time to talk and explain the methods. And in Motoyasu's deteriorating state, he likely wouldn't believe him if he tried (one of the requirements for using the power-up methods). But that wasn't the only way to power up. And Motoyasu was already getting more jealous the longer the fight dragged on.

"The Cursed Series grows stronger the more you feed its emotion into it. That spear comes from jealousy, right? So get jealous!" Of course, it also ran the risk of Motoyasu being consumed by the Curse Series. But how did the saying go? Desperate times called for desperate measures. And somehow, Motoyasu was handling the first tier of the Cursed Series just fine. Albeit, with some side effects. He could probably handle Tier Two.

Hopefully. They were screwed otherwise.

"That makes no sense!"

"Arguing while facing your demise. You two are truly in need of purification. Be purged from this world!" The Pope said with the authority of God, before unleashing another skill at Naofumi and Motoyasu.

"Fast Heal!" Naofumi tanked the attack again with the Shield of Hope II, healed himself, and changed to a different shield. He was starting to feel the effects of blocking so many attacks as well as the effects of changing in and out of the Hopeful Blessed Series. 'If this keeps up, I doubt even the potions will help me stay on my feet.' And he needed to save the Shield of Hope II for if Motoyasu broke through the barrier. If he used that Shield only when necessary, he ran the least risk of running into issues, as well as finding out if he would fall into the Cursed Series or not when the timer reaches zero.

"Do you really want to help me, or not?!" He demanded Motoyasu. "If you want to help me, then just get jealous, damn it!"

"Be purified!" The Pope continued to smile. He charged up another attack and fired.

"Sir Ren and Itsuki were right."

"Nobody's here at all."

"There weren't even any guards protecting this place."

"Fuehhh…"

Both groups walked down the stairs leading down into the Archives. Farrie walked in the front, holding a flame over her hands to light the way down. None of the sconces on the sides of the wall were lit. Wyndia walked in the back of the group, also holding a flame. She appeared calm. However, if one were to look, they would have seen her clenched frustrated fists at her sides. Rishia stood in the middle of the group, holding a flame that looked weak compared to the other two.

"Bakta, you'll guard our way back up."

"Why do I have to do guard duty?!"

"Because you can't read."

"..." Bakta grumbled, not even trying to argue it. When they finally arrived at the bottom, he stood guard near the exit to the Archives as the others walked in.

Ren's party members recognized the secret library from their last visit. Though Itsuki's party members, and more specifically Rachel, took a little time to stare around in surprise. There were a lot of books… and a lot of damage all around.

"What happened over there?" Aksel asked, pointing at an area in the corner that was destroyed. There was also a large hole in the wall in the process of being repaired.

"That was from when we escaped from the Church," Tersia said. "Wyndia blew a hole through that wall so we could escape."

"Whoa…" Aksel looked at the dog-girl in awe. She ignored him and walked over to a bookshelf to start looking through the books that were intact.

"This… this is a disaster! This is a catastrophe! How could they do this to all these books?!" Itsuki's party was surprised. Rachel was kneeling in front of a destroyed bookshelf. The normally calm mage was openly crying over a destroyed grimoire. "Why are they so evillllllll!?"

"Uhhhh… did anyone else know she was a fan of books?" Aksel asked.

"I think she stayed in Van's library a lot when we weren't training or visiting nobles," Karn said. He hadn't realized how much of a fan of books she was. As commoners, they didn't have much access to no more than a few books.

"I think he was too busy watching over me to notice." Maya teased.

Aksel sputtered and hustled to a more intact bookshelf to search. Maya giggled as she followed along right behind the knight. "Search somewhere else!" He complained to the party Gadfly.

"But I want to search with you."

"Fuehhh…" It was good to note Rishia also cried alongside Rachel. To see such a large library ruined was truly a catastrophe beyond proportions.

The groups separated, looking through the Archives. However, between all the damage and destroyed texts, some of which they realized had been destroyed recently, they weren't finding anything.

"This was the bookshelf Wyndia found that one book on, right?" Welt asked.

"Yeah. I remember this one. This bookshelf held many different versions of history books on it when I trained as a nun." Tersia said with a frown. The bookshelf was still intact. But many of the books had been destroyed. Many of which she hadn't been allowed to read since she wasn't an official nun at the time.

What remained she opened and flipped through. They were mostly books written by past Cardinal Heroes. Some summoned during the Waves. Others when they were summoned to deal with one crisis or another. A lot of them were weird, with the Heroes boastfully detailing their deeds, their harems, their grudges against certain Heroes, it was like reading their own personal fanfic diary.

Although, for some reason, one that she picked up read more like smutty third-person fanfic than actual history books. It was about one of the past Bow Heroes, Slugalante, who was addicted to adding catgirls to his harem. There was a note written in at the end. "He decided to forsake his duty as a hero in favor of gathering a harem of cat-women. He met his untimely end at the hand of yanderes, and his soul still burns in hell to this day."

… yeah, she put it back on the shelf.

However, in all these history books, pages were missing.

"I guess the Church decided to destroy evidence that would incriminate them after we managed to infiltrate this place last time," Welt said sadly.

"... I guess." Tersia calmly put the books back. If they had time later, she'd give the books a more thorough look over to see what exactly was missing.

Though reading about some past horny edgy Hero's sexual adventures in great, overexaggerated detail was not something she'd look forward to.

Farrie looked around at one of the desks that had survived before. The others gathered from different parts of the Archive. "Did anyone find anything?" Karn asked.

"Fuehhh… not really." Rishia said sadly.

The others shook their heads. "This whole venture was a waste of time," Wyndia muttered lowly. "Our time would have been better spent with Sirs Ren and Itsuki."

"Maybe. But it was worth checking anyway." Aksel said.

"Since we finally got some alone time." Maya teased.

"Just stop. Please." Aksel groaned. This girl was going to make him go insane.

Wyndia scowled. She wanted to say what was likely on everyone's minds. That it was nothing but an excuse to put them out of danger. But then, Farrie gave a triumphant shout. "Aha!"

She'd opened a compartment to the desk she'd studied at before. And from the back underneath a tray of papers, she pulled out a worn book. "I knew keeping this here would be a good idea!"

"Keep what where?" Rachel asked. She looked calm again, but she was also pissed about the destruction of so many books.

"Back when I was in my rebellious phase training here, I searched through the Archives at night for books that looked important and hid them to frustrate the nuns. My other hiding spots were destroyed. But this one was still intact." She said happily, prancing towards them before handing the completely intact book to Tersia.

Tersia quickly skimmed the contents. It wasn't a perfect history like the one Wyndia found before.

But it was enough. "Good job, Farrie." The mage gave her fellow mage a smile.

"I knew my rebellious days would come in handy," Farrie said happily.

"Let's get going then."

The groups ran back out the exit.

"Quick! Stop them!"

"Fast Aqua Shot!"

The Church Knight was launched screaming off the wall and into the filled moat by Melty's spell. She clung to Filo's back as the large bird ran along the outer wall.

"Fast Tornado!" Filo summoned a tornado. Another ballistae set on the wall was sent flying, as well as the few Church Knights who had been charging at them from it.

"Wow, they're incredibly weak," Filo commented. "Are all knights this weak?"

"Don't underestimate them. We're almost done clearing the southern wall's defenses, but they might have a surprise or two waiting for us." She and Filo had finished their task with scouting the area around the castle. As she'd thought, the majority of the defenses were positioned in the north, east, and west. She hoped her Mother's Shadows, scouts, or whoever she had observing the city would realize she was trying to open a path for them. If it was actually them marching close to the city.

Up a flight of stairs, more knights came charging out. Behind them, ballistae manned by other knights took aim at them.

"Watch out Filo!" Melty exclaimed.

The ballistae fired a large bolt over the charging knights at them.

"Don't worry Mel!" Poof!

"Whoaaa!" Melty fell in a poof of feathers. The bolt flew well over and on into a guard tower behind them.

"Haikuiku!" Filo in her little girl form sped forward into the midst of the knights.

"Huh-" Filo jumped up quickly past one. Her fist slammed into the knight's face, launching him away.

"What is that-" "Stand and-" Two more knights were launched off the wall. Filo curved herself midair, dodging a slash from a sword. And her foot slammed into the offending knight's chest. Launching him through the air past Melty as she continued on.

"It's a demon child!"

"Run for your lives!"

"AHHHHHHHH!" The knight's charge disintegrated into chaos and fear.

"No way… did she learn to fight like this because of that fight with Fitoria?" Melty said in awe. Filo was being awesome!

A weak, high pitched squeak came from a knight who fell to the ground. Filo's fist had just slammed into his crotch with enough force to end his family lineage.

Melty's face blanched at that. That was most definitely not from Fitoria. Who would be cruel enough to teach Filo to strike someone there?

She pouted. Naofumi immediately came to mind. She didn't know why, but she could easily picture the rude Hero teaching Filo to do something like that. How dare he ruin innocent Filo like that?!

A knight crashed into the side of the ballistae. "What are you waiting for?! Fire that damn thing already!" He yelled up to the knights in fear.

"We're trying!" They had the drawstring cranked back. They were trying to set the next bolt in place-

In a poof of feathers, Filo reappeared towering over the contraption. "You're finished!" She cocked her large foot back.

They didn't even have time to say: "Mommy."

Her foot slammed upwards into the ballistae. The knights and the contraption were all sent screaming off the wall and into the moat.

"Filo! That was amazing!" Melty yelled, stars in her eyes.

Overall, Filo was the coolest!

Filo set her foot down, looking curiously around her. These knights were pathetically weak. They should really reconsider their life choices before doing something that would get them killed- "Mel! Behind you!"

Melty turned around in surprise. One of the Church Knights Filo had knocked behind her had gotten back up. "Ahhhhhhh!" He charged to slash her with his sword. Melty instinctively raised her hands to protect herself. The weak pathetic knight suddenly didn't look so weak and pathetic-

An icicle impaled his chest from behind. The knight gurgled blood as he flew to the side of Melty. Not hitting her.

Never mind. They were still weak and pathetic.

"Wha-" Melty lowered her hands in surprise, and then her eyes widened in happiness. "Mother!"

"Melty." Her mother stood on the wall behind her. She was adorned in her royal armor. Complete with robes matching the color of her hair, and the crown of Queen on her head. "Thank the Gods you're safe." She also looked down at her youngest daughter in relief.

Filo disappeared in a poof of feathers, reappearing beside Melty as a little girl. "Who's that Mel?" She asked curiously.

"It's, it's my Mother. The Queen!" Melty said. Tears of happiness coming down her face.

She was right! Her mother had been close by! Looking out over the plains now, she saw an army coming out of the forest. They bore the purple banners of the Crown of Melromarc. She had been right! SHE HAD BEEN RIGHT!

TAKE THAT NAOFUMI!

"Melty, dear. This next part may get a little messy. Would you mind waiting up there where it's safe to direct our forces?" Mirellia asked her nicely. Pointing to the top of a guard tower.

"Um… sure?" Was there no happy 'glad you're alive dealeo' or at least a hug? But then Mirellia dropped the smile as she turned to face her army.

Oh crap. Melty realized it. Her mother was pissed! But fortunately, it wasn't at her.

"You have your orders! We will clear our fair streets of this parasite once and for all!"

"Yahhhhhhhhh!" The army let out a loud roar of approval. A roar that echoed throughout the city. Almost as if like clockwork, the South Gates opened wide. Mirellia's army raced across the plains. On foot, on horseback, on Filolial, or whatever it was they were riding on. Melty sighed, it looked like her private reunion with Mother would have to come later.

For now, it was time for them to retake the Capital from the Pope.

Naofumi blocked another shockwave of power from the Pope. Pope Balamus frowned. "Stop resisting. You must be purified from our world!"

"Never!" Naofumi took another hit on his shield and pushed it to the side where it exploded against a wall.

'Get jealous…' Motoyasu stood. Thinking over what Naofumi had said.

He first unlocked the Curse Series after the fiasco at Lute. He'd felt so guilty about what had happened. But that wasn't the only thing, was it? Something had sparked his jealousy there in that village, culminating into the Spear of Jealousy.

What was he jealous about? Was he jealous of Naofumi? The other two Heroes? The fact that he had the rotten luck of trusting a red-headed yandere Bitch? But that was a recent event.

Naofumi used Shield Prison, encasing them both and protecting them from another attack. He then switched to the Shield of Hope II, tanking the rest of it before using a healing spell and switching to a different shield. His jealousy flared, looking at Naofumi. Was he jealous of him then? But hadn't Naofumi been on the short end of the stick since coming to this world…

Motoyasu sent an Air Strike Javelin at the Pope. And Naofumi tanked another attack. And seeing the look of strain on his face, Motoyasu finally realized it.

Even though he was tired, Naofumi tanked the attack with determination. Even though he was sore, he pushed on. He didn't care how badly he got hurt. He'd go the extra step if it meant stopping this bad guy. If it meant protecting innocent people he didn't even know. Or maybe didn't even like. Hell, he was working with him, the guy who had helped Myne to ruin his life.

Naofumi was a true hero, unlike him, who'd allowed his loyalty to his friends to blind him into hurting others. Who allowed the words of those who worshipped him to make him do horrible things. To hurt innocent fair maidens. To attack Naofumi time and time again. That was why he was jealous of Naofumi. Despite all his trials, Naofumi still chose to be a Hero. Motoyasu's trials had shown just how far he was from being a Hero.

Along with that realization, came one other thing.

IF HE WAS BEING HONEST, HE WAS JEALOUS THAT NAOFUMI HAD RAPHTALIA AS HIS CONFIDENT INSTEAD OF THAT RED HAIRED YANDERE HE'D LEFT TIED UP IN THAT PRISON CELL! STUPID MYNE! WHY DID HE HAVE TO SUFFER UNDER HER INSTEAD OF THE OTHER HEROES! WHY COULDN'T SHE HAVE STAYED WITH NAOFUMI IN THE BEGINNING!? WHY DID SHE HAVE TO WORK WITH THE CHURCH TO MAKE SURE SHE GOT IN GOOD WITH HIM?!

"I'm going to make you pay for making me a False Hero, Pope Balamus!" Motoyasu yelled in envy.

...

...

C̶̡̢̛̬͈̝̪͈̼̪̜͓̝̥̓̒̆̀͒́͂͋͋̏͜ͅȕ̴͔̤̤̔̍̔͝͝r̴̡̤̔ͅs̸̭̭͙̎͛̅̎́̇͂̏̋͘͠ͅę̷̺̰͎͈̪̻̬̻̟̟̬̟̙̓̇̿̉̎ ̵̧͔̫͈̮̰̝̪͎̙̝͜͜͠S̴̡̹̲̣̹͉̪̍̓͐e̶͖̦̮͙̞̋͆̃̚͜ȓ̴̫̺̺̮͚̲̙̬͈͎̰̓̅̃̂̎̎͑̕͜͜͝i̸̜͈͔̹͍͚̺͔̯̯͛͌̆͛͌̇̕͘ě̷̹̰̍̂̈̅̊̂̔ş̷̡̡̬͕̩̲̠͓̲͋̒̐̀̆̈̽̓:̵̨̖͌͋̇̓̀͗̾̒̇́͛́̐͝ ̷̨̪̫̺̬͚̟̮̻͉̥̌Š̵̨̢̡͉̲̺͚̼̋̈́̂̽̍̃̉̈́̚̚͘p̸̢͖̱̻͇̘͚͓̙̳̠̈́̿͑̀̕̚e̷̢̗͙͈͇̟̫̖̺̳̱̞͔͔̅̾̓̌̽͘͜ą̵̡̢̹͈̠̼̲̣͔̟̿̔̋̍̽̏̀͛́̚͠r̶̳̤̲̦̝̠͙̠̖͔̼͚̎̊͊̀̏̐̐̏̋̐̋͛̿͠ͅ ̵̧͚̭̗̣̖̠̪̮̖͙̏́̆̐̉̔͊̏͆̇̀̾̋͠o̵̢̯̣̘̱̼̪̺͊̾̄̄̽̈́̈́̽̊̀̀̿͐͜f̴̧̛̝̟̼̳̪̭̙͚̜̭̘̑͗̽̅̀́̅̀̇̅͆͘͝ͅͅͅ ̶̬͍̬̣͓̻̺̠́͆̑̐̂̃̅̈̚J̵̧͇̰̖͉̬͕̜̝̞̮̻̲͛͛͒̄̂ẻ̴̟͖̩̤̠͔̼̠͔̯͍̐͒̇̀͘͜͝͠ä̵͍̙̹́͌͗̏l̷̨̰̼̖̥̻̜̠̝̱̈́̀ͅo̴͍̗̤͎͑̓̑̄͋̔̎̿̓̍̈́̃̕ų̷̻̰̱̥̯͇͂͗͂̄̌̄͌̌̓̈́̽́͂ş̶̫͌y̴̛̥̐͋͌̌̈̾ ̸̨͉͈̲̖͖̙̲̦́̄̉͊͊̃̀̂́͌̕͘̕͝͠A̷̛̼̺̜̦̠͔̼̖͙̹͈̎͆͑̋͑͊̿̓͠b̴̡̢̧̫̮̖̤̻̳̯͈̻̠̗̈́̀̿̃̾̒̂̈̓̽͊̕i̴͙̜̙͖̖̺͖̮͖̥̫̹̓̽̍̀̌͐͂͠ļ̶̛̫͙͙̘̠̥̩̲̲̻̬͊ͅi̵̼͛͂̊͗̏̈́̈́̈́͘͜t̴̛̞́͂̀͋̋̄͊̈́̈́̊͠į̴͕̣̟̯͈̣͇̙̟̮̰̯͉̆͐̿̓̎͋̄͜ȩ̷̧̨̢̻͔̬̹̣̠̰͉̈́͌̾̾̇̆̂̅͋̏͘͝s̸̢̧̢̛̫̩̠͖̜͖̻̝̙͉̞̿͗̎̌̏̀̿̀̀̈́̿͝͝ ̸̧͆͐̈̉̀́̃̎̓̎̾͊̀̚i̶̧̨̢̧̦̣͔̖̗͙̹͕͙̫̿̇͊̏̉̐̄̍̀̚͝͠ͅn̴̨̺̼̘͎̗̟̖̘͓̮̻̍̾̒̊̐̐ͅͅc̵̡̩̖̭̗̞͖̠̫̯̮̦̳̽̑̓̕͝ͅͅr̴̺͖̟͖̯̹̔͗͑̿̓̉̾̄̑͆̇̅͜͝ë̶̛͖͙͔̓͑̀͌̓̓ạ̶̲̪͍̾̆͑̓̈́̽̉̆͘̚͜͝ͅs̷̹̦̘̜͚̫̹̪̣̀̐̆̑̾͋͐̕͝ͅe̴͇̤̠͓͙̿̊̇͗̾ͅd̸̹̤̪̮̳̻͈̠̹̙̐̉̾̾̊̌̒!̶̧̨̘͎̪̳͙̝̙̼̀͆̿̓͗̅̓̆͐̏̋̄͜͝͝

...

Ś̴͇̆̋̉̈́̎̈̕p̵̨̬͍̫̓͌̃̆͋͆̌̓̐͂̏͋̾͘è̶̪̠̥̺̮̝̣͉̰̲̪̜ͅâ̴̢͕̠͍̺̗͇̞͕͔̟̭̤̿̏͒͜͝r̶̢̦͇͕̳̟͉̳̯̩͆͝ ̵̛̭͔̳͓̪̹̪͉͍̗̞͒̐ͅǫ̴̯̻͉̙̦̰̠͕̺̲̹̜̰͑́͛̐̀̒͋̀́͜͠f̸̲̮͂̾́͆̀̽͠ ̶͙͓̼̻̩̊̌̋͑̚͝J̶̢̻̰͇̝̞̘̊͑̋̿̋̄e̷̝̤̯̕a̶̧̻̰͔̱̯͚͂͋̌͑͆͒͝l̷̡̥͔̜̩̝̩̹͖̺̘͒̅̈́̀͂͋̔͒͌͆̚ő̸͔̲̫̖̼̼̩̞̺͕̲̂̔͌ů̷̯̪͔̬̰̭́̾͌̅͋̈́̑̓̄͘s̷̛̛̠͒͐̐̂̓͆͗̕ͅy̶̦̳̯͖̮̘̖̺͙̟̏̀͑̂̃̂̀͌̋̓͌̌͘͜͝͝ ̸̛̼̖͚̦̖̰͇̻̥̹̠̥̈́̌̋͗̆̅̋͌̒̑̒̌̆͝I̴̡̛̻͔͎̝͎̝̐͑̃͛̓̚͝Ì̵̡̘͈͚̭̥̺̤̃͗̄͋͆̚ ̸̟̼͚̒̋͌̾̓͘̕͝͝ŭ̸͎̻͌͊̍͝͝n̷̦̂́̈́̃̏͐͐̾̔̓͆͌̄̀l̵̠̤̣̦͙̫̦̳͕̪̋̇͜õ̶̺͇͓̳͇̰̠̟̙̼̠͈̺c̸̡̨͉͍̣̺͎̆̏̎͛k̶̼̭̹͈̺͔̠͓͈̘̱̪͎̼̊̿̾̒́͘͝͝e̴̯̓̾͊̈̈́̃̍̄̈́̽̚͘͠͝ͅd̷͈̹̘̹̼͚̳͕͖͓̳̗͐̒͆̋̋̕͘͜!̶̪̌̈́̒̆́͆͗̎͠

.̶̨̰͉̱̖͔̠̜̈́͐̾̔̿̉̀̆̓͆͗͛̍͘͜..

Wow, it was almost sad how it was actually because of Bitch that he unlocked the next tier.

The spear transformed. The black spear tip became longer, the front of it straighter. The green Jewel became slightly murkier than before. A small coil coiled slightly down from the jewel onto the long striped hilt of the spear. The bottom part had two small prongs extending from it. And the spear itself dripped more black mist of jealousy. With his transformation, the light black mist covered the floor around Motoyasu.

"Motoyasu. You still in control?" Naofumi asked. The Pope paused, observing Motoyasu's sudden transformation.

"... Of course… of course, I am! I'm no weakling like you!" Motoyasu yelled, tone more filled with jealousy. Fortunately, he didn't charge for Naofumi. Instead, he charged for the Pope. The black mist spread out from him at every step.

"Chaos Spear!"

He tried the attack once more. And it slammed into the barrier the Pope created again and again. "Please, that hasn't worked before, why would it-" He paused, cracks were appearing on the barrier itself. But how-

Motoyasu jumped back. Balamus twirled the spear in preparation for another attack. But it felt slower, weaker than before. 'What?' He then saw that some of Motoyasu's cursed mist had gotten through the cracks of the barrier. And it rested around him. 'No! Don't tell me!' He opened his HUD, and sure enough, Motoyasu's cursed mist was more powerful than the holy buff he was under. His stats had all dropped.

"Lightning, Spear!" Motoyasu's spear charged up with lightning, before unleashing the attack on the Pope. Unlike the blue it was before though, it was now dark murky green.

"Lightn-" The Pope tried to retaliate, but then the barrier around him shattered. He raised the Spear, using it to take the brunt of the attack.

"Crimson Thrust!" Flames covering his Spear once more, Motoyasu charged in. His spear slammed into the Pope's gut, who coughed up blood. Surprised at the force of the attack. And then flames surged up around him. Burning him.

"Quickly! The Pope is in need of our aid!" The Bishop yelled to the Followers. "We must cast the ritual magic now!"

The followers all around the castle began to murmur in hushed voices.

"Now!" Motoyasu jerked back. It was taking everything he had not to give in. His attacks had only shattered the barrier and wounded the Pope.

The flames disappeared. But the coughing Balamus only saw Motoyasu in front of him. Where was the Shield-

"Air Strike Shield!"

He turned to the side in surprise. Naofumi had used Motoyasu's attacks as a cover, allowing him to sneak close to Balamus. Balamus backed away and hit the Shield that formed behind him.

"Change Shield! Lasso!" Rope burst out from the shield, tying Balamus to it.

"You fools!" The old man struggled to free himself. He formed the barrier again, but having the shield already inside, it didn't destroy it. Naofumi finally switched to the Shield of Hope II to use its skill instead of to defend.

"FOOLISH MORTAL! YOU STAND CONDEMNED FOR YOUR UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENTS HERE TODAY! I DISPENSE MY JUSTICE ON YOU, AND STRIP YOU OF THAT WHICH PROTECTS YOU MOST! I CAST MY WORDS TO THE HEAVENS! NOW SUFFER!"

Light shone brightly outside the windows. At the same time, Naofumi finished choosing the effects of the skill.

"Hope Asunder!"

At the same time, Motoyasu attacked. "Meteor Thrust!"

The shield inside the barrier shattered in a burst of blue mist. Then, the burst of blue energy, covered in Motoyasu's black mist, exploded against the barrier, shattering it before slamming into the Pope. Both Heroes raised their arms, protecting their eyes as they jumped back from the mega explosion and shockwave that occurred.

...

Motoyasu switched out from the Cursed Weapon. He groaned tiredly as he rested a knee on the ground. His head was pounding. And, oddly enough, he felt strands of jealousy lingering on his consciousness. "Did… did that work?" Motoyasu asked weakly.

"Not sure." Naofumi had set Hope Asunder to lower Balamus's defense by a fair amount. But not enough so that he'd go into the negatives in SP again. He also grimaced, seeing his stats had gone down a little bit. Some of Motoyasu's cursed mist had gotten onto him. The same thing had happened to Motoyasu's stats.

2:39, 2:38, 2:37...

…

"Haha… hahahahahaha!" The blue cursed mist thinned, and Balamus reappeared. Still standing in his spot. Completely unscathed. "I must admit. To see the Shield using a blessed attack while the Spear used a Cursed attack. My forefathers must be rolling in their graves right now!"

Looking at their HUD's, both Heroes saw that Balamus hadn't been debuffed. The barrier had broke from Motoyasu's attack, but his Cursed Mist hadn't harmed his Excellency like before. In fact, what damage he'd caused had already been healed over by his Followers.

"What, but how?!" Naofumi said in shock.

"We are standing on holy ground, blessed by God himself. Do you even realize that you are in the midst of one of the greatest spells of all? Look out the windows! Behold, his might! His Majesty which surrounds us!" He indicated to the broken windows behind him. "Sanctuary!"

Outside, the bright light that had appeared became more apparent. It was a bright green, like his Air Strike Shield. Had he been given an outside perspective, he would have seen the whole castle was surrounded by a large Cathedral like structure. Many around the Capital stared, from Mirellia's army to the people cowering in their homes.

"But… how?" Naofumi said in shock.

The Pope leveled his Spear and a shockwave of power came from it. Motoyasu, who was stunned at seeing Naofumi's skill not work, almost got hit. Naofumi raced in front just in time, taking the blast head-on. The force of it launched him back into Motoyasu, and they both went flying back away from the stone platform.

The Pope laughed. "Foolish Devil. No curse can ever be allowed to stain God's holy domain. It is forbidden. The tricks of the devil hold no power here! We are in God's divine house! Your struggles are that of an ant against God!" The Pope said, a happy smirk on his face.

Indeed, looking at his stats again now, Naofumi saw Motoyasu's cursed touch had already disappeared, and his stats were back to normal. Same as Motoyasu. "But Hope Asunder isn't a cursed attack-" Naofumi started to yell.

"Indeed, it is not!" Balamus said with a laugh. "To think, the Devil of the Shield would ever be allowed to wield a Blessed Weapon! But alas, your trick is in vain! As God protects his Followers from being Cursed, so too does he protect them from the 'blessings' of others!" He spread his hands wide in absolute glory. "Behold! This is the power of God! This is the power that shall purge you from this world now and forever! You will never be allowed to defile it with your vile presence again!"

"Damn it…" His ace up his sleeve. His Chekhov's Skill. It was useless. He couldn't do a damn thing.

1:59, 1:42, 1:25.

The Shield on his arm dimmed in brightness. The robes that came with the transformation also began to dim. His SP, which had been regenerating more quickly than normal, began to slow in regeneration.

"Urgh, you think we'll just take this sitting down!" Motoyasu yelled angrily as he forced himself to stand back up. "Air Strike Javelin!"

The ethereal javelin slammed into the Pope's Barrier. But it didn't do a thing to it. Motoyasu grimaced tiredly, and almost fell over from the weight of that simple attack.

"I believe the time of purification has come." The Pope raised his spear high above his head. It glowed brightly again. He smiled widely.

"Come on, Naofumi! There has to be something else we can try!" Motoyasu exclaimed, shaking Naofumi by the shoulder. Naofumi didn't stir.

0:43, 0:32, 0:25.

"Naofumi!" Motoyasu shook the Shield Hero again. His eyes were faint though.

'We failed… we never even stood a chance.' He'd thought this would go like every other encounter. If the enemy was too strong, Hope Asunder had always been able to pull them through. But not this time. The Pope had been ready for him to use the Blessed Skill. The shock of seeing it not work had sent his fragile emotional state reeling.

Why have Hope? It was too easily extinguished. It was better like this. They were doomed. His Shield's glow was but a glimmer. His robes had already disappeared. It was better to give up. Wouldn't it be better to just give up?

0:15, 0:13.

"At last, you shall be cleansed by the Power of God's Divine Judgement. Completely, and thoroughly." He raised his spear up, charging it with more mana from his followers outside. His glasses glowed from the light of all the mana surrounding him. "Farewell, Devil of the-"

"Meteor Arrow!" "Meteor Slash!"

The Pope's eyes widened. "No!" The two skills slammed into the barrier. The first one destroyed it. The second one slammed into the weapon. But it was still with enough force that it sent him flying back into a wall.

It was Motoyasu's turn to turn in surprise. He recognized those skills! "Ren, Itsuki!" He exclaimed tiredly.

The two Heroes ran into the room. They didn't look too worse for wear. They'd encountered a few more knights in the Castle.

Seriously, being an offensive Hero with power-ups was like, the best. Ever. "Seriously, Naofumi. You started without us?" Ren asked calmly. The Throne Room was an absolute mess. Holes cratered the walls. The windows were broken. The thrones were debris. One of the Church flags was on fire.

Naofumi looked at them in surprise. Then the timer froze at 0:05. It was like it had been locked, and his mind was cleared of the turmoil it had been going through at the end of the timer. 'Holy hell!' He quickly switched out from the Shield of Hope II.

'Thank you Fitoria! Damn!' Fitoria's gift had come in handy there. It had just saved his life. What the hell had he been thinking?! He should have switched out after seeing Hope Asunder fail! Damn him! "Glad you two could finally make it. Do you know the hell we've been going through facing him by ourselves?" Naofumi dryly joked.

"Probably, but still. This act of coming in and saving you at the last second is getting old." Itsuki said. The blonde kid looked happy though. Naofumi was okay. "Didn't we learn from Ren not to charge into a situation recklessly?"

"Hey, that was different!" Ren complained.

"Yo! You guys are okay!" Motoyasu said happily.

"Also. What's Motoyasu doing here?" Itsuki asked.

"I'm helping Naofumi take down the Pope!"

The two raised their eyebrows at him. "You mean he's actually being helpful for once?"

"Hey!"

"HOW DARE YOU! YOU THINK YOU CAN STRIKE A GOD AND GET AWAY WITH IT?!"

The Pope reappeared standing from the crater in the wall. He held a glowing Sword in his hands.

"Does he think he's a God now?" Itsuki asked.

"That's pretty heretical if you asked me," Ren said dryly.

"Phoenix Blade!"

A large, fiery Phoenix erupted from his Blade. Ren's eyes widened in surprise. That wasn't a skill he could unlock for a LONG while!

"Shield Prison!" Naofumi formed the ball of chains in front of them. Blocking the skill for long enough that he got in position at point before the ball shattered, allowing him to block the rest with his Shield.

"Alright. Down to business. Cursed Skills won't work on the Bastard while this ritual spell is in effect." Naofumi dryly explained, pointing at the Cathedral outside. "Hope Asunder didn't work either since this ritual spell also keeps my Blessed skills from working somehow." Total bull **** in his opinion.

"So we'll have to take him down the hard way." Ren said, his sword flashing as he changed swords.

"Seems like it." Itsuki's bow flashed as he changed to a stronger Bow.

"Hey," Motoyasu grimaced as he forced himself to stand upright. "Don't think you can just hog all the glory!"

"Think you can keep up with us?" Itsuki teased.

Naofumi frowned, looking over the Shield of Hope II in his HUD. There was still the second Blessed skill he had as of yet to use. Hope Asunder had been unlocked with the first Tier. But Pandora's Box had been unlocked with the second Tier…

"We'll all work together to stop him. No arguing. No apologies. No questions." Naofumi said, looking back over the three Heroes. "Can we do that?"

…

All three nodded. "Then let's take him down."

The three took up positions around Naofumi. The Pope frowned, seeing the Three Cardinal Heroes of legend standing with the Devil. "I have no choice then…" If there had been a chance at redemption before, it was gone for all the Heroes. "You all shall be purified in the name of God." His weapon glowed bright, and he sent a blast at Naofumi.

"Air Strike Shield!"

The green shield appeared, but it was diagonally curved to the side. Pope Balamus chuckled, seeing the skill again. That trick was about as useless as- his eyes widened.

The attack hit the shield, but instead of breaking through it, it deflected to the side by Ren! Naofumi had finally wised up a little more. He shouldn't try blocking all the attacks head-on. Why do that when you could simply change the angle enough to reflect the attack sideways in a different direction?

Ren's skill finished charging, and he prepped it like he was holding a bat."Reflect, Sword!" He hit the blast with the flat of a mirror-like blade. It didn't get the whole thing, but a fair majority of the attack was hit right back at the Pope.

The Pope's barrier reappeared, but it shattered from the force of the attack. The Pope raised his robes, protecting himself from the smoke of the attack.

Itsuki appeared running from the side. "Air Strike Spread!" A series of red arrows rained from his Bow all around the Pope. He moved and dodged most of them, but doing so finally forced him off the platform. He scowled as a Meteor Thrust from Motoyasu came from above, slamming down by him. He then blocked a strike from Ren before sending the swordsman flying back. Naofumi jumped in front of Ren though, blocking the next shockwave of power from the Pope.

The fight continued in earnest.

"Huah!"

Raphtalia's blade clashed with Altara's. The two separated for a sec, and then rushed each other again. Their blades a frenzy that was hard to keep track of.

"Why won't you die?!" Altara yelled.

Raphtalia blocked four various strikes, shuffling from position to position. Then she ducked under one of Altara's slashes, her leg reaching out to trip the nun.

Her foot went through nothing but air. But Raphtalia's movement didn't stop. Her leg raised up, slamming into the nun's side beside her.

Altara flew back, landing on her feet. Raphtalia finished spinning and settled herself in a defensive stance. The nun breathed in and out, gripping tightly to her light blades. 'How is she seeing through my illusions?! How many illusions can she see!?' "How did you know I used illusion magic?!" She demanded.

Did she know her secret?!

Raphtalia breathed in and out heavily herself. She shuffled forward, still holding a defensive stance Eclair had taught her. "During the fight. You kept on blurring in and out with your attacks. I thought it was because you were moving quickly. But I've seen what that looks like." Filo's Haikuiku made her incredibly fast. "And that wasn't what you were doing."

Altara growled, but for the moment, she wasn't attacking. "I tried to figure it out. But it wasn't until I was lying on the ground that I realized it. Seeing the way the light refracted around you... You fight with a layer of illusion magic surrounding you. Just like some monsters I fought in a dungeon." She was referring to the Voice Gengars, who'd fought her, Filo, and Naofumi while encasing them in illusion magic. "In that kind of illusion, you weave whatever it is you want your opponent to see. But you can't fool those that truly see."

Raphtalia blocked sideways, stopping Altara's blades. The nun in front of her disappeared, Altara reappeared once more. "Your tricks won't work on me."

"Urgh!" Altara jumped back in frustration. Raphtalia followed with a flurry of her own attacks down the hallway. Forcing the nun on the defensive.

"You underestimate me girl!"

"Zweite Light!" Raphtalia summoned a bright ball of light. Altara instinctively turned her head and turned away from it. "Huah!" Her punch struck home at last. Altara was sent flying through the air down the hallway.

Raphtalia rushed in to slash and finish the nun while she was down, but her sword caught on something, much to her surprise. "What?!"

Altara shakily got up, laughing to herself. "I told you not to underestimate me. In fact, I have you right where I want you!"

Around Raphtalia, various illusions vanished. The nun herself disappeared into another illusion. The illusion she'd been surrounded by finally disappeared.

Raphtalia was surprised to find their fighting had taken them into a dead-end intersection. Raphtalia thought she'd been fighting Altara in a long hallway. But in reality, she had just cornered herself. 'She tricked me?!' Maybe she wasn't as great at seeing through illusions as she'd thought.

"Zweite Light's Ray!" Altara raised a hand above her and brought it down. A strong ray of light burst from the ceiling above her.

Raphtalia jumped back behind a statue, avoiding the majority of the blast. The Light Spell blew up a fair portion of the hallway.

"Zweite Shadow Ball!" Balls of shadow appeared around Altara. She thrust them forward, one after the other.

Raphtalia weaved and dodged. She sliced one with her sword, but another left a small gash on her leg. Altara with her blades was deadly. With her magic, even more so.

"I will destroy you! I will destroy all the demi-humans!" Altara yelled triumphantly. "I will-"

"Hurghhh!"

She looked to the side, but then a large statue slammed into her. She flew surprised down the intersection to the left, her hood and robe launching off of her.

"What?" Raphtalia looked in the direction the statue had come from confusedly. "Who's there?" She got in an offensive stance.

"... Relax, Tanuki girl."

From down the hallway, a tall figure appeared. Broad-shouldered, still in his therianthrope form. The white tiger Dou-Lon approached Raphtalia. As he approached, his form changed, until he was the familiar Hakuko Raphtalia remembered from the village she and Naofumi had fled from.

His instincts had led him here.

"You're the one that was going to take Naofumi away from me!" She said angrily.

"That is a misunderstanding. One I will rectify later. For now, should we not worry about the nun that killed my friends over there?" He asked.

Raphtalia growled. Why was he there?! Had he come to try and take Naofumi away again?!

However, Altara stood up, facing both of them. She squeaked in surprise, reaching back for her hood, only to find it was gone.

Without her robe on, she still wore the official clothes of a nun. White, pure, and clean, besides the grime sustained from the heat of battle. Her long, light brown hair fell to her back.

And, much to their surprise, she had animal ears on her head. Raccoon (There is a difference between Raccoons and Tanukis) ears to be exact.

"... wait, that nun." Dou-Lon said in shock.

Altara snarled. She had no tail behind her. But her fangs, while not as pronounced, were now noticeable. Her ears flicked irritably on her head.

There was no mistaking it.

Altara the nun was, in fact, a demi-human like them.

Author's Notes:

Here are the stats on the Spear of Jealousy II:

Spear of Jealousy II:

Equip Bonus/Skill: "Change Spear (attack)" and "Sky Burial"

Special Effect: Self Curse stat drain, HP Regeneration Up, Jealousy's Surge, Emerald Lightning (Lightning Spear upgrade), Bitterness

So crap is hitting the fan harder than the Author predicted. Writing this all put somewhat coherently is taking a lot of effort. My original outline for all this lacks a lot of details I'm covering. And after a full year updating every week, I'm sad to say to now expect an update for Hope and Shield Kid every two weeks for the foreseeable future.

Still, I'm glad to finally have certain events happen. Including this one at the end. Yes, Altara is a Raccoon demi-human. As to her back story, well, you'll be getting it soon enough. I've been dropping various hints for a while.

Also, I almost didn't have an idea for an omake. And then I found a reviewer provided one for me. Thank you EvanderAdvent :)

Hero Clips!

One Shot

"Yes! The Four Heroes are together at last!" Motoyasu said excitedly.

"Yippee," Naofumi said dryly.

"It only took what, fifty-two chapters?" Ren asked.

"Are you metaing again Ren?" Itsuki asked.

"When aren't we metaing Itsuki?" Ren asked back.

"... fair point."

The Pope stood on the platform, staring down with religious hatred at the four of them. He adjusted his pope hat- The Pope glared at the ceiling.

Okay, mitre on his head. Sorry.

"Definitely metaing."

"How should we go about it this time?" Ren asked.

"I mean, I'm really good at pissing people off. Maybe I could call him a heretic or insult his religion and get him to overreact next round." Naofumi suggested.

"Do you really think that would work? I doubt the old geezer actually believes his own religion." Motoyasu asked.

"Maybe. I don't know. I haven't exactly talked with the Bastard before." Naofumi dryly answered.

"How about we all combine our skills for one mega attack," Itsuki suggested.

"That could work. But Naofumi can't attack." Ren pointed out.

"And we risk the Pope using a skill to reflect it back on us too," Naofumi said.

"Then the three of us could attack and give Naofumi an opening for using his other skill on him."

"Why should Naofumi get all the glory?!" Motoyasu complained. "Come on, give the rest of us a chance! I finally redeemed myself for this moment!"

"You're not realistically strong enough to take him down. You're weak without the power-up methods." Ren said. "Also, it still sounds like you have some faults to overcome."

"Oh don't give me that crap about sharing power-up methods actually working again!" Motoyasu said angrily. "If I were to guess, you all got strong because you cheated like-"

"Eh-hem."

They looked over. Fitoria yawned into her hand. The Pope was nothing but a bloody smear on the wall. "Is this really what you've been struggling to beat the last two chapters?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

All four Heroes stared in shock at the bird girl. Who sighed to herself. "A fourth the power of the Cardinal Heroes is still not enough to avoid being one-shotted by me. Call me again when an actual world-ending event is occuring." She said boredly, before leaving the room.

...

The four heroes looked between each other. "Why can't we just have these anti-climactic endings?" Ren asked.

"Why can't we just have her help for everything going forward?" Naofumi grumbled.

"Why can't she just save the world in our place?" Motoyasu asked.

"Because she'd one-shot us all if she had to do all our work for us," Itsuki answered with a sigh. All of them sighed sadly with the boy.

Why did being a Hero have to be so hard? It'd be so much more simple if the actual power figures could help.

Till Next Time

Allen