Chapter 7: The Aftermath and the Duel
The aftermath was as expected. People cleaned up the corpses, and the heroes (mainly spear and sword) squabble over the drops. I already absorbed the other corpses, as well as a Chimera's head. The bow only reacted to the goat head, absorbing it. How ironic.
Still, absorbing monsters from the Waves of Calamity gives quite the large amount of stats, both levels and upgrades, the Wave Boss gives even more. It even granted me a special skill.
===============================
Bow of the Hunter (Legendary Armament)
Attack: 88(+49)=> 157
Special Skill: Portal Bow
===============================
Special Skill unlocked: Piercing Horn Arrow
===============================
Piercing Horn Arrow:
Cost: 20 MP
The user's arrow pierces through its targets, negating defense, dealing true damage.
===============================
My first actual skill I can use in battle.
An attack that pierces through the targets defense, doing true damage. It will be useful against those with high defense ratings, for example the Spirit Tortoise. It would be a while till it awakens, but we will wait patiently. Just like we always have.
As we were about to leave, I saw Naofumi coming over, followed by Raphtalia He nodded to me and then knelt down next to the Chimera, absorbing the Viper head. The lion and dragon head was already taken by Ren and Motoyasu. He also started absorbing its organs, fur, and claws. He's probaly unlocking the Chimera series. I tried to unlock a series before, and it didn't really work for me. Guess I can only unlock important series, such as the Cursed Series.
The Cursed Series are created from the intense feelings of heroes. They embody the seven deadly sins:
Sloth.
Envy.
Lust.
Pride.
Gluttony.
Greed.
...and Wrath.
After checking to see if I missed anything, we were prepared to part ways with Naofumi, only to be stopped by the knights.
The knights came over, asking us to attend a ball this night.
As they were talking to us, my mind flashed. A memory.
'Ah, I remember.'
This night during the ball, Motoyasu will challenge Naofumi to a duel.
Why?
Because he wants to free Raphtalia from being a slave. It's too bad he doesn't care about the feelings of those he thinks he saves. He will incorrigible for a long while until a life-changing situation happens, but until then he's still in his echo chamber.
I also remembered Naofumi losing that duel due to interference from Malty, who denied using wind magic. The king freed Raphtalia, making Naofumi go through such a rage, the Cursed Series awakens inside of him.
Wrath awakens.
Then comes the question...should I let Naofumi awaken the Cursed Series? He'll need it for the future events that'll happen.
In any case, my musings were interrupted when Naofumi spoke up next to us.
"Those damn knights," Naofumi gritted his teeth, glaring at them as they walked away.
We looked at him, asking a silent question.
"Those knights were ordered by an idiot to bombard the village with magic, even when the monsters were already gone. The villagers were not even finished evacuating yet.
I also remember that happening to in the novel. That one knight captain ordered it. I guess I can...𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 him. We'll strike once he's alone...probably.
We parted ways with Naofumi and Raphtalia, and moved to the capital slowly.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Time flies by quickly.
It was night. Laughter and chatter filled the air in a large ballroom. Hanging gold chandeliers glistened with light, shining upon the many people in the room. Food was placed on several tables, the heroes and their parties either stayed in one place, or moved around..
As for us? We're at the party of course.
Next to a table of food.
People stayed away from our area in particular, some glaring at us in fear and disdain. They mostly likely assume that we're barbarian demihumans, looking at Wolf, my horns, and my hooves.
Trash of society. We can always kill those who stand in our way.
But tonight, there won't be any killing.
Probably.
Several people did come trying to chat with us, but we mostly ignore them. If they get too...touchy, Wolf snarls at them. That always does the trick.
Still, there was one slight problem.
"...Hmmm...delicious..."
I stared at the food in longing. Wolf was gourging on them with exuberance.
It looks so delicious...but...
I touched my mask with my left hand, the other holding my bow, and rubbed it.
Ever since we arrived in this workd, I never took off my mask.
Never.
Even before we arrived, I only took off my mask rarely, and most of the time it's to eat.
'Is it worth it...?'
I stared at the food sadly. It's definitley not worth it. I'll only show my face to those trustworthy...which is only Wolf.
Trying to shake my head off the thought, I distracted myself, looking around the ballroom.
Apart from the nobles chatting around, I saw Ren and his party standing off to the side. Naofumi was leaning on a wall staring at everybody, and Raphtalia is just...eating.
As for Motoyasu and Myne...they're gone. His party members are still around though.
As expected, they're most likely planning on freeing Raphtalia from Naofumi right now, making him fall deeper into despair. I'll try to stop the situation from getting worse, but if we already know Motoyasu, it's not going to work. He is a true piece of art indeed.
Ren will just stand by, only observe. He'll jump in right after Raphtalia hugs Naofumi, who was crying.
I'll let Naofumi lose in order to gain the Cursed Series, and we'll jump right in after Raphtalia comforts Naofumi.
That's the plan.
"Naofumi!"
Ah, here come's Motoyasu and Myne, all righteous looking. Wolf looked up at them, food dangling from his mouth.
I began walking over to them, trying to listen to the conversation
"-why is she a slave! You're a hero for gods sake!"
"I needed someone to fight for me, so I got someone."
I don't accept that answer! I, the Spear Hero, challenge you to a duel!"
He took off his glove, and tossed it onto Naofumi. Was he always wearing gloves? I never noticed.
Of course, Naofumi declined, but the king unfortunately stepped in.
"By royal decree, the Shield Hero must duel the Spear Hero! If the Spear Hero wins, the demihuman shall be freed!"
Raphtalia tried to get to Naofumi, only to be held down by knights.
I sighed. It seems the duel was meant to happen after all.
-------------------------------------------------------------
We were on a balcony with Ren, overseeing the duel. The king and the other nobles were on the other balconies, who were also spectating the duel. The hero parties were watching the duel from the same level as where the heroes are having their duel. Myne was with them, the knights holding down Raphtalia.
The duel had just begun, and Naofumi is thorougly overpowering Motoyasu.
"Shield Prison!"
"Hey, the hell is this! Let me out!"
Banging noises were heard in the green prison of shields.
If Motoyasu can't damage Naofumi at all, then he'll eventually lose.
The fight got more hectic. As soon as Motoyasu broke the prison, Naofumi jumped on him, managing to hold down him down long enough to place balloon monsters onto his body. I also remembered that from the light novel.
Apparently, since Naofumi can't do damage, he thought he can at least use the monsters that can't damage him to do the damage for him. He hides them in his cloak.
"The Shield Hero is winning?"
"It's actually happening..."
"This must be a mistake!"
"He's cheating somehow!"
The nobles were chattering and talking to each other, confused. They must've thought the Spear Hero can cleanly end the duel easily.
They needed a reality check.
As the fight was seemingly about to end, I saw Malty preparing a wind spell.
I sighed, not bothering to interfere.
She fired it, knocking Naofumi over.
I heard a sigh, and looked at the source. It came from Ren, shaking his head.
I looked away from him, and back at the fallen Naofumi.
'In order for Naofumi to get even stronger, he must endure this unfairness,' I thought sadly. Looking at him in person, it makes me feel depressed inside. There's a difference in watching the anime, and watching it in reality.
'What a tragic fate for the Shield Hero.'
Wolf growled beside me.
"She must die, Lamb! Let me maul her to bits!"
I closed my eyes.
"Her time will end, and hopefully at our actions. We must be patient. Although now is not the time, after all, every life..."
"...ends with us."
He sighed, looking back at the just finished duel with pity. A lot of people were sighing today, I wonder why? Guess we had that effect.
We focused back on the duel. It was already over.
Motoyasu just defeated Naofumi, and the king stood up.
"The Spear Hero has won! As in accordance with the agreement, the demihuman slave shall now be freed.
Naofumi yelled at the king.
"What! Didn't you see? Someone shot wind magic at me!"
He was ignored by the king, who ordered the knights to bring Raphtalia out.
The knights brought Raphtalia, who tried to struggle out of their grip, into the arena. Her mouth was covered by a cloth, her voice muffled. Myne walked up to her, bowl in hand, and dripped the liquid in the bowl over the slave crest that was just below Raphtalia's neck.
As the liquid poured onto the crest, it started glowing, and it slowly disappeared. After a few seconds it was gone entirely. With that done, the knights released their grip on her. She dropped onto her knees, crying.
Motyoasy walked over to her, offering her a hand once he stood over.
"You're free now, so you can-"
*Slap!*
He was interrupted by a slap on the face from Raphtalia, who glared at him with tears in her eyes.
Malty glared at her hatefully.
"Damn demihuman, you should thank Lord Motoyasu for freeing you!"
Raphtalia shouted at them.
"Who told you that I wanted to be free! I never said I didn't want to be a slave!"
Motoyasu was sorely confused, that bastard. He tried to complain.
"But you're a slave-"
"And so what?! Mr. Naofumi never treated me like a slave. He cared for me when I was sick, trained me, and feed me. He was kind to me, and I owe him so much...yet now, you took away his only method to trust me!"
"That doesn't matter! It still doesn't make it right for him to have you as a slave!"
"So what you're saying that slavery is a terrible thing, right?"
Motoyasu nodded with confidence.
"Then that means you should free all the slaves!" Raphtalia said with finality.
Motoyasu's eyes widened.
Raphtalia took that chance to hurry over to Naofumi, who was still kneeling on the ground.
Naofumi was still glaring at the king and Malty with such hatred...even we were surprised. This is bound to release Wrath of the Cursed Series.
Raphtalia placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Mr. Naofumi, are you alright-"
He shook her hand off, his eyes so full of rage. He looked away, gritting his teeth, shuddering.
"Get away from me! You're free now, right? So leave me! You heard those bastards. I'm a criminal! I'm not a good person at all! I'm not trust-!"
Raphtalia hugged him from behind, to his surprise.
"Mr. Naofumi, I know those rumors are wrong. You're a kind person, you helped heal me. You stayed by my side when I was sick and crying. You always-"
Naofumi tried to push her off. Too bad he has a low strength stat.
"You're wrong! I'm-"
"Please Mr. Naofumi, trust me! I'll do whatever it takes to be by your side! I'll be your sword! I'll become a slave for you again, if that's what it takes to trust me!"
"Naofumi is also the true winner of the duel."
Naofumi, being surprised, became even more astonished when we jumped down from the balcony. Ren followed close behind us.
"You guys..."
"We saw intereference from wind magic. It came from someone."
We looked at Malty pointedly, who was still next to Motoyasu. She just shrugged.
Wolf growled at her.
"Yes, that little wretch interfered with the duel. How disgusting!"
Ren walked from behind us.
"I saw it too, the duel was rigged from the start. Setting the Spear Hero against the Shield Hero who can't attack? Unbelievable!"
He shook his head in disappointment.
"If you want further proof, ask the nobles, but even if you do, they're too scared to testify since you're the king."
The king looked at the nobles, who looked away from him.
Naofumi cried, and Raphtalia, who was still hugging him, patted him on the back gently.
"It's alright, Mr. Naofumi. I'm here..."
Ren shook head once more.
"Look at them, can you truly say that they're liars after seeing that?"
The nobles began muttering to each other with hushed voices, the king and Malty looked away. Motoyasu was still stunned.
As the scene continued, Wolf and I moved back into the shadows, watching them.
I smiled underneath my mask, looking up at the moon. It was so full and bright.
With this, the night has finally ended, and on a joyful note.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone