The Rising of the Shield Hero Volume 04

by Aneko Yusagi

  If we kept fighting as we were, this wasn’t going to end well.

  But what other choice did we have?

  After I got the Dragon Zombie Core, my Shield of Rage grew stronger. Because of which, and because Filo had also eaten from the Dragon Zombie Core, whenever I used the Shield of Rage, Filo went crazy.

  Was it worth the risk?

  “Naofumi.”

  “What?”

  Melty was yelling for me from the back line.

  Was she able to see something from her vantage point at the back?

  “Something strange is happening!”

  “Huh?”

  I looked around to see what she was talking about.

  Off in the distance I heard some kind of animal call.

  What was it?

  The area started to fill with small floating lights, like fireflies.

  “Huh?”

  Filo held her wings against her head, like she was trying to concentrate.

  “What is it?”

  “I can hear someone talking. They’re saying that they will be here soon, so we should wait.”

  “Who said that?”

  “I dunno!”

  What was happening? We were right in the middle of a battle here!

  The Tyrant Dragon Rex seemed to sense that something was happening also. It raised its head and was looking around.

  “Naofumi.”

  “What?”

  “There’s some kind of force field.”

  “Force field?”

  “Yes. Can’t you see it? It’s like a mist hanging over us.”

  I tried to look far into the distance, but the air grew thick, and I couldn’t see very far.

  “That looks like a very powerful force field.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’ve heard of a mysterious forest. There are legends about it. I heard that the old weapons of the Heroes from long ago are sleeping there, and that it’s protected by a force field to keep people away.”

  “Sounds like you know all about it.”

  “My mother likes legends, and she took me to see the mysterious forest. The force field looked just like this.”

  What was that supposed to mean? Did it mean that we weren’t going to be able to escape even if we tried?

  “When you try to cross over it, it brings you back to where you started. I think someone has cast a force field over us.”

  Someone was trapping us? That didn’t sound good at all.

  I imagined that Bitch or Trash had hired an assassin to do this to us. I imagined them reclining back and watching us to make sure we died at the hands of the Tyrant Dragon Rex.

  What it meant was this: there was no way out.

  I looked around. The grass and trees were filled with strange lights.

  What the hell was going on?

  Suddenly an enormous herd of Filolials appeared and came running straight for us.

  The whole field was covered in Filolials. This was turning into a traumatic experience.

  “Wow… Filolials!”

  Melty’s eyes were shining. She looked so happy.

  Why did she like Filolials so much?! Whatever—this was not the time to entertain her hobbies.

  “GYAOOOOOOOOO!”

  The dinosaur howled in anger at the new developments. Then he lowered his head to attack.

  Dammit… We had no choice.

  I prepared to switch to the Shield of Rage.

  “Don’t.”

  My shield arm flew back, struck with a sharp pain.

  I looked down to find the shield itself glowing.

  I was still able to change shields if I wanted though.

  I tried, again, to switch to the Shield of Rage.

  But…

  —Due to interference, you may not change weapons.

  A flashing icon appeared in my field of vision, and I was no longer able to switch shields.

  There was also a small clock displaying the remaining time before I could make a switch. I could probably switch shields again when the timer ran out.

  “Who’s there?!”

  A voice I’d never heard before had interjected and kept me from changing shields.

  Why would they stop me? What were they after?

  “You will be all right. Just wait. You do no need to turn to that power.”

  “Damn...”

  “Hiya!”

  Filo flipped through the air and delivered a solid kick to the dinosaur’s jaw before landing deftly in the grass and dashing back, picking me and Raphtalia up, and taking us back to Melty.

  “What’s happening?”

  “They said to stand back.”

  I didn’t hear that. Or did she mean that strange voice?

  We were completely surrounded by Filolials. There were too many to count.

  Their eyes were shining in the dark. The sheer number of them was unbelievable.

  What was happening?

  My only idea was that they were somehow trying to trap the monster there. Could it be that they formed giant herds to hunt giant monsters?

  Or maybe they were trying to get Filo to join their group?

  The herd of Filolials split around the monster. It was just like the parting of the Red Sea.

  “Gah!”

  One of the Filolials stepped out of the group and started to walk in our direction.

  It looked a lot like Filo when she was in her “normal” Filolial form, but this one was light blue.

  It stood about two meters tall, and looked a lot like a large ostrich.

  But it looked… fluffier than other Filolials. Like its feathers were softer. It also had a single feather that stuck vertically up from the crown of its head.

  Most Filolials were pink, but this one was a light blue color. There were still white patches, but most of it was blue.

  It was pulling a gorgeous carriage, and a large gemstone was set in the center of it.

  The jewel reminded me of a gemstone I’d seen before… but I couldn’t remember where.

  I looked at my shield. Then I realized… It was the same shape as the jewel in the center of my shield.

  “Hey! It’s that Filolial from before!”

  “You know this thing?”

  “Yes. I met her before I ran into you guys.”

  “Really?”

  She had a sense of authority about her. She was clearly the leader of the herd.

  And she didn’t seem as dull-witted as a typical Filolial.

  The Tyrant Dragon Rex appeared to recognize these qualities in her as well. The beast seemed to be on guard.

  It seemed ready to attack at any moment, but was holding back to see what the blue Filolial would do.

  “Wow! What a cool carriage! I’m jealous…”

  Filo’s eyes sparkled when she caught sight of the carriage.

  I didn’t like it. The last thing I wanted was to parade around like new money.

  Besides, I could imagine what the public would say if they saw me in that thing.

  “Gah!”

  The blue Filolial removed the reins herself and stepped forward.

  Another Filolial swooped in behind her and removed the carriage.

  “What’s happening?”

  “Gweeeeeeeeeeeh!”

  The blue Filolial let out a sustained call. All the leaves on the trees and bushes began to shine a bright green, and a powerful wind blew through the area.

  What was going on?

  The blue Filolial began to grow. She expanded into a large, black silhouette.

  She was huge…

  The silhouette was big and puffy. She was transforming, but she was able to grow much larger than Filo could.

  When she’d first stepped forward she stood about two meters tall, but she’d grown to at least six now.

  She kept growing until she was the same size as the Tyrant Dragon Rex. Then she stopped growing.

  “Wow! She’s so big!”

  Melty was unable to hide her joy. She whispered t
o herself like a giddy child.

  Compared to the pink and white Filolials below, this Filolial Queen was clearly light blue.

  The major difference was the vertical feather that stood from the crown of her head.

  “I’ve kept you waiting, Shield Hero. And you too, little girl who likes Filolials.”

  The huge Filolial Queen finished greeting us and then directed her gaze to the Tyrant Dragon Rex. Her voice sounded a lot like Filo’s but was perhaps a bit deeper.

  “She spoke!”

  “Filo talks too.”

  “I know that!”

  “Woooow! She’s so big!”

  “Uh… Uh…”

  I stood there, mouth agape, as the huge Filolial Queen took a step towards the Tyrant Dragon Rex.

  “Looks like the Dragon King Fragment has puffed you up a little. I think the Dragon King Fragment doesn’t suit you. That’s why you’re so big. You might be big, but you’re just an everyday monster. ”

  The enormous Filolial Queen spoke to the dinosaur.

  “If you give me the fragment now, I will let you live. Hand it over and go.”

  The Tyrant Dragon Rex lowered his head and roared in response.

  Attempting to scoop her into his jaws right then and there, he ran forward.

  “No avoiding it then…”

  The enormous Filolial Queen raised her foot and kicked the dinosaur.

  But she seemed to have been holding back, as she didn’t put much of her weight into it.

  Regardless, when the kick connected, the Tyrant Dragon Rex went flying like a kickball.

  The Tyrant Dragon Rex came crashing down in the dirt and then rose shakily to its feet.

  Then it quickly turned and attempted to swing its powerful tail at the Filolial.

  “Weak.”

  The Filolial raised a wing to block the tail easily. The Tyrant Dragon Rex roared in anger, bared its fangs and rushed at the Filolial Queen.

  “Hiya!”

  The Filolial Queen reared back and kicked the dinosaur’s jaw hard.

  Flipping backwards like a rag doll, the dinosaur crashed to the ground.

  In a flash, the Filolial was beside it, kicking at its torso. The dinosaur flew into the air.

  The huge beast was suspended in the air!

  “Hiya! Hiya! Hiya!”

  Without touching down, the Filolial delivered a series of kicks that kept them suspended. She was blindingly fast.

  What the hell?! I considered myself an experienced gamer, but I’d never seen a combo like that.

  It was like a fighting game. It was like an aerial combo. A counter indicating the number of successive hits appeared before my eyes. At the end it read 35 HITS!

  The difference in strength was apparent—overwhelming.

  With a final slam, the dinosaur came crashing down. The combo was over. The beast rose on unsteady legs.

  Immediately afterwards, a large magical seal appeared in the air.

  “Is it going to cast a spell?”

  The Filolial Queen readied herself.

  Then the beast leaned forward. I thought it was going to cast a spell, but instead it opened its mouth—and a massive pillar of flame came roaring out of it.

  Whoa. I could feel the heat on my skin from across the field.

  Had I been hit with an attack like that, I don’t think even the Shield of Rage could have withstood it.

  The Tyrant Dragon Rex was running at the Filolial and breathing fire. No matter how large she might have been, if the pillar of flame hit her she’d be roasted alive.

  “Lukewarm.”

  The Filolial raised a wing, or I thought she did, and stopped the pillar of flame without blinking.

  What was this? Some kind of monster battle? We were standing in the field and watching but didn’t have anything to contribute.

  “Let’s end this.”

  The Filolial raised her wings and crossed them before her.

  I’ve seen something like that before.

  The second I thought that, the massive Filolial Queen appeared to blur before immediately reappearing behind the Dinosaur.

  Yup, that was Filo’s trump card, a magic attack called Haikuikku.

  “GYAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

  Her claws tore through the monster time and time again until, finally, the dinosaur fell to pieces and died.

  Chapter Four: The Legendary Bird God

  The felled Tyrant Dragon Rex lay in bloody strips, and there was something shining among them. It appeared to be some kind of glowing ore. The Filolial Queen picked it up and then turned to us.

  “Sorry I kept you waiting.”

  “…”

  We were all speechless.

  Not even Filo had been able to deal damage to the massive monster, and this huge Filolial Queen had defeated it so easily!

  “You’re so big…”

  Melty’s eyes were shining as she looked up at the huge bird. She sure did switch moods quickly.

  Whenever she spoke to me she bordered on hysterics, but she was polite when she spoke to others, and obsessively fawning when she spoke to Filo or other Filolials.

  “You must be the Shield Hero.”

  “Oh… Yeah.”

  When something the size of a building speaks to you, you answer the best you can.

  Had we been enemies, well, I don’t think I could beat her in a fight… I couldn’t see how that would be possible.

  And if Melty had been right—if we really were enclosed in a force field—then we wouldn’t be able to run either.

  I even thought about trying to escape on Filo, but if this was a Filolial Queen, she’d be at least as fast as Filo. There was no escape.

  “Do you need something from me?”

  “I have many things I wish to discuss with you. But it’s not polite to speak to you like this. Wait a moment please.”

  The huge Filolial Queen closed her eyes and seemed to be concentrating. As she did she began to shrink. Finally her large wings closed around her body completely.

  When she opened them again, there was a young girl standing there, about the same height as Filo, with wings on her back.

  Her hair was silver with thin streaks of light blue, and it was cut in a short bob.

  But there were three tufts of hair standing up vertically from the crown of her head, like cowlicks.

  Her eyes were red, and her gaze carried an air of authority about it.

  Her face was small and well-composed. Quite beautiful, really.

  She was dressed in a red and white gothic-style dress.

  “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Fitoria, the Queen of the Filolials.”

  She flicked her head and smirked, a rather child-like movement that stood in opposition to the air of power and authority that hung about her.

  It’s hard to describe, but because she was in human form, I sort of got the impression that she was a small child trying to act like an adult.

  “Fitoria?! But that’s the name of the Filolial in the legends!”

  Melty was shocked.

  “Really?”

  “Yes. There is a legend saying that Fitoria was raised by four Legendary Heroes in the past… when they were summoned during a wave of destruction.”

  “The past… Well, I don’t know how long ago you are referencing, but she might be the successor?”

  I think I remembered that, back when Motoyasu and I were being summoned, they had said something about waves in the ancient past.

  If we were talking about something that far back, then she couldn’t be the Filolial of the legends, could she?

  It must have been a name that the current leader of the Filolials inherited or something.

  If not… just how old was this girl?

  “My name has always been Fitoria, and there has only ever been one.”

  Fitoria turned her head to the side in confusion while she spoke.

  She was very serious and powerful, but occasionally she displayed those very Filolial-like moment
s of animal stupidity.

  “Are you saying that you’ve been alive since ancient times?”

  “Yup.”

  She said it very matter-of-factly. I looked at Filo, then back at Fitoria. I guess I could believe it.

  Just think how fast Filo had grown.

  If Filo had gotten that big, I don’t think we’d have been able to feed her though.

  We had enough trouble feeding her as it was. I didn’t want her getting any bigger. If she got too big to feed than we’d probably have to part ways.

  But then I remembered how much money I’d invested in Filo. I couldn’t let that go to waste.

  “Master, you’re thinking of weird stuff.”

  “You’re right. That face he’s making—it means he’s thinking of something unrelated.”

  “You can read him so well. I have no idea.”

  “You’ll figure it out.”

  Annoying brats. I wished they would stop trying to figure out what I was thinking.

  “You were thinking that if Filo got that big, you’d have to abandon her.”

  “Boo!”

  “Abandon her? How could you think such things?! To think, only minutes ago you’d asked her to try and get bigger!”

  “Oh relax. How would we feed something that big?!”

  “Mr. Naofumi… I don’t think she would get so large overnight…”

  “Sure, but think about how fast she grew to this size. If she had another growth spurt, she might end up like that!”

  “…”

  “Ms. Raphtalia! Why aren’t you saying anything?”

  Melty grabbed onto Raphtalia’s hands and shouted.

  The scary part was that it could really happen. Maybe.

  “It would take a long time to grow to that size, so don’t worry about it.”

  Fitoria seemed hesitant to intrude, but she raised her hand and answered my concerns.

  “Normal Filolials have fixed life spans of a few decades.”

  Well, that was a relief. I didn’t want her to have a growth spurt and turn into a mountain or something.

  But then I realized that Fitoria’s phrasing implied that she had been alive for much longer.

  “Now then, Shield Hero and friends, may I ask you to introduce yourselves?”

  Well… she was right. If she had given us her name then I guess it was our turn.

  “I’m Naofumi Iwatani. Iwatani is my last name, and Naofumi is my first name. It sounds like you already know I’m the Shield Hero.”