Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (LN) - Volume 16 - Chapter 5

Chapter Five: The Spirits 

My body felt so light and floaty. Flowing through me were all sorts of images of various people in various places that I thought I couldn’t possibly be. 
The queen and I, with our serious injuries, had been carried by portals created by Ren and the others to the largest medical facility in Melromarc. 
Both of us were badly hurt. So bad that even I thought it looked like we were done for. 
“This is serious. They have suffered a powerful curse. We must prepare ritual magic at once!” the head doctor declared, placing a summons for users of ritual magic from the Church of the Four Holy Heroes. We were clearly going to get the full treatment. 
“Hang in there,” someone shouted. 
“That’s right! Brother!” Fohl said. 
“Master!” Filo said. 
“Raph,” Raph-chan added. Ren, the other heroes, and Sadeena were taken to different rooms to have their own injuries treated. Luckily their wounds weren’t as bad as mine and the queen’s. It wouldn’t take long for them to be moving around again normally. 
“It’s time to start the treatment. Everyone else in the room, you can also be healed if you need it,” the doctor stated. Filo and Fohl continued to repeatedly call my name. Then I blacked out. 
The next thing I saw was the queen and Trash. 
The queen had been seriously injured. Enough for anyone to start thinking the worst. She gave a spluttering cough. Trash was at her side, holding her fingers in his own trembling hands, praying. 
“Concurrent with the application of the Elixir of Yggdrasil, the application of Drifa Heal and the use of high-concentration holy water, we also need to trigger the ritual magic—” The head doctor applied healing magic to the wounds while giving instructions to the other doctors. Being the queen of the nation, she was receiving the highest level of care—and yet none of the healing was working at all. 
“This curse is so powerful. Almost as bad as the one the Shield Hero suffered from,” one doctor said. 
“The Shield Hero had such vitality,” said another. “The queen, however . . .” 
“Mirellia,” said Trash. As though responding to his words, the queen opened her eyes and looked at him. 
“I heard . . . what you said . . .” she managed. 
“Your majesty, please! You must not talk!” said the head doctor while continuing to apply healing. But the queen slowly shook her head. 
“I understand what’s happening. I can’t be saved,” she stated. 
“I-I’m sorry, your majesty . . .” the doctor started. Trash immediately glared at the stuttering healer and stood up. 
“What are you talking about? You are currently healing the queen of this nation! If you are truly the head doctor here, then you should give your very life to save her!” Trash roared. 
 
“You can’t . . . give such orders,” the queen admonished, her voice frail. It felt strange to understand how Trash was feeling, but in that moment, I did. It felt the same as when I lost Atla. The sadness at losing someone important. The despair at your own helplessness. Anger at the cause of it all. All of these things mixed together, pushing rational thought completely aside. 
“B-but . . .” Trash stuttered. 
“I think . . . this may be divine retribution. Punishment . . . for trying to save our country, save the world, no matter the cost . . .” the queen went on. 
“That’s not it! That can’t be it!” Trash said, vehemently denying the queen’s words. 
“Are you so sure? I can’t help feeling that this is all my fault. That my own failings led to our daughter—to Malty—growing up into that monster. I failed to make the hard decisions . . . and that led to all of this,” she said. 
“No . . . that was me. That is on me . . .” Trash managed, his voice trembling. Maybe he thought losing the queen was his fault. Then the queen continued. 
“I fear the Whip Hero—no, invaders—are going to attack our nation.” Trash made no reply. “Melromarc currently stands in such a precarious position. The only ray of light is Hero Iwatani, the other heroes, and their companions.” 
“But the Shield Hero—!” Trash started. 
“You understand the situation, don’t you? You need to cast aside your past grievances and proceed into the future,” the queen said. Tears tumbled from Trash’s eyes. This was the same as when I made my own ardent wishes, and Fohl made his prayers. I knew without question what Trash was thinking. 
 
“Mirellia . . . Lucia . . .” Trash said, then continued and softly said Atla’s name too. 
“You were known as the Wisest King of Wisdom . . . You can surely find some hope in this situation,” the queen said. 
“But the staff won’t even answer me!” Trash replied. 
“That’s not right. The staff lent you its power because you had such wonderful wisdom, far greater than anyone else.” Trash remained silent. “I believe in you. Believe in your strategy, being able to bring us back from such disadvantage . . . to save Melromarc from the precipice to which it hurtles.” 
“I . . . I’m not sure . . .” Trash stammered. The queen gave a gentle laugh. 
“With all the powerful pieces now at your control, how will the Wisest King of Wisdom surprise the world this time?” the queen said. 
“Mirellia,” Trash breathed. 
“I leave the future of our nation with you. Please, alongside Hero Iwatani . . . save the world. Staff Hero . . .” The queen smiled at Trash, even as she coughed up blood. “My beloved . . . show the world once more . . . that towering intellect against which all foes . . . feared to fight . . .” In that same moment, the queen’s strength finally, fatally, gave out. 
“Your majesty!” With a crash, another one of the nation’s leaders came into the treatment room. “Faubrey has declared war on the entire world! They state that we should be unified under Faubrey!” The situation seemed to demand a decision far more quickly than even the queen had considered. 
 
It was two more days before I experienced anything else. 
“Faubrey declaring war on the entire world? Ridiculous!” Ren and the others, having completed their healing, were conversing with the coalition army that had been resting in the castle, and I could hear fragments of them talking. 
Everyone gathered had subdued looks on their faces. That was how massive the power of Faubrey was. Ren and the others knew their strength firsthand—strength close to three times their own levels. They wanted to stop Faubrey, of course, but also understood how difficult that was going to be. 
“The nerve of them. That cowardly hero . . . We still have the waves to face, and he thinks he has the time to conquer the world?” Ren seethed. 
“I think he probably does,” Itsuki intoned. 
“Hurting my father-in-law, Filo, and everyone else so badly! He’ll find no forgiveness from me!” Motoyasu raged. There were sounds of general agreement from the coalition army. They had been told of everything that had happened in Faubrey. Members from Siltvelt were also in attendance. Even the old genmu guy and Werner. 
“Naofumi is still in treatment, and we face a war with Faubrey?” 

“That’s right. Faubrey is marching its entire force in this direction, coming directly to attack Melromarc first. Those nations along the way who will not obey the glory of Faubrey and resist . . . face troop drops and bombardments from their new airplane weapons. Any attacked in such a way will quickly raise the white flag.” 

“There’s a reason they’re being defeated so easily?” 
“Yes. Aerial battles using flying monsters have been attempted, but they have no way to deal with attacks from these airplanes.” 
“Their pilots must have high levels.” 
“Fehhh . . .” Rishia gave her normal exclamation, and Itsuki stroked her head to calm her down. Ren hammered his fist down on the table. 
“It’s so bad that Naofumi’s been injured! How is he doing?” he asked. 
“It isn’t good. He’s been close to death numerous times.” 
“Oh, Naofumi . . .” 
“Just who is this Takt, anyway? How does he have the power to steal heroes’ weapons?” Even as Ren complained, a soldier burst into the conference room. 
“A new report! Shieldfreeden has announced they have formed an alliance with Faubrey!” the man said. 
“What?!” 
“Furthermore, the Seven Star Hero Takt Alsaholn Faubrey has declared in front of the people that he is a child of the gods, making public his possession of multiple seven star weapons!” the soldier continued. Everyone in attendance stood, their chairs rattling, surprise on their faces. 
A solid move. Being able to use multiple hero weapons meant he was either feared by the gods, loved by the gods, or both. With the faith in legendary weapons so deeply rooted in this world, he would be seen as special indeed. Even if he had killed heroes. 
 
“He has also been spreading lies in each nation that he is the true one to save this world, that those summoned as the four holy heroes are evil, and that the four heroes must be wiped out. He has also declared that he has already purified four of the evil seven star heroes!” the report continued. 
“He thinks it’s okay to say such things?!” 
“The Faubrey Church of the Seven Star Heroes seems to have accepted it. But other churches both inside and outside Faubrey are disputing his claims, with revolts breaking out. And those blessed by the hero are gradually using that strength to put down the uprisings,” the soldier explained. In the same moment, a shadow whispered to the old genmu man. That couldn’t be good news either. 
“There’s no question . . . of which side we are on,” the man said. The situation was still heading in a terrible direction. “What are your thoughts on the matter, Gauntlets Hero?” 
“Are you asking me as a single hakuko? Or as the Gauntlets Hero?” Fohl asked. 
“As the Gauntlets Hero, subordinate to the Shield God himself. Or do you wish to make your declaration to our nation as the successor to the bloodline of Tyran Ga Fayon?” The old man’s tone was challenging, as though he was taunting Fohl. “Our people’s anger is already at boiling point due to the death of Atla. A representative of Siltvelt, killed by the cowardly actions of this Faubrey hero? That is unforgivable.” 

At these words, Fohl shook his head. Then he gave a clear and confident statement: “I am the Gauntlets Hero, defender of the village restored by the Shield Hero. My bloodline comes a distant second to that.” The old genmu codger looked at Fohl with fire in his eyes. 

“You seem to understand, Gauntlets Hero, that it is upon your own resolve that we all stand,” the old man said. 
Werner followed up those words with his own: “Indeed! The Shield Hero shed tears at the loss of our people and raged in anger against the perpetrators. To bend the knee to the very ones who created this terrible situation will besmirch not only our honor, but also our very faith!” All of the demi-humans participating in the coalition nodded at the words from these two. There was no forgiveness for what had happened. No forgiveness for the evil that had killed their comrades. 
Revenge against them—against him—didn’t belong solely to me. 
For the sake of all who died during the battle with the Phoenix, those responsible had to pay. The room throbbed with that single intent. 
Fohl just quietly watched the proceedings. The old genmu had boasted later that Fohl’s quiet, composed appearance had looked just like Fohl’s grandfather. 
“What approach should we take, Wisest King of Wisdom? We already know the route they will take to reach us. How will you answer to the final words of your wise wife?” Ren said, keeping the meeting moving along. 
“That begs another question. From that guy’s personal history . . . something just feels off. Is it just me? Just what level of genius are we talking about here? Airplanes and bombs? Those are more like weapons from our world.” 
 
“There is technology that heroes have left behind in this world, so maybe a genius could realize it . . . but still . . .” Itsuki trailed off for a moment. “One possibility is that he’s using his ‘stealing’ ability to take other abilities, like in my world. There are lots of novels in my world about people awakening to such powers. Also, there are stories fantasizing about becoming stronger by stealing other people’s powers. Maybe he was born with exactly that kind of power?” 
“I see. That does sound possible, coming from you, Itsuki,” Ren said. 
“The reason he hasn’t really made himself known before now is because, just like in the stories I know about, for some reason he was recently forced to use his powers in front of other people, even though he didn’t really want to stand out. Just like what happened to me,” Itsuki struggled to explain to Ren. 
That sounded possible to me. I knew of stories myself in which a main character who obtained too much power decided to live in secret. Generally some kind of incident forced them to reveal themselves, and that was what Itsuki was talking about. 
“He probably avoided going after the heroes’ weapons because that would surely get him exposed. Now the die has been cast, however. He has to go full throttle in unifying the world. But I’m only guessing,” Itsuki continued. 
“Knowing all of his companions to be women, I also think he has a little of the old Motoyasu in him. Very well. That seems to make sense. I understand now.” Ren nodded, at least some of his questions seemingly resolved. 
 
“So it sounds like his history is a bit similar to Kyo, that man from another world who controlled the Spirit Tortoise. Definitely sounds dangerous. But still, how should we handle the fighting with Faubrey?” 
“The Q’ten Lo technique . . . Without Raphtalia here, how about we have Ruft place blessings and use Astral Enchant?” came the suggestion. There was a Q’ten Lo technique that allowed all the levels to be gathered in a single person. It also had the effect of weakening the holy weapons and seven star weapons. That sounded like a solid plan. 
“That wouldn’t be easy. My master said it can be triggered by using the sakura stone of destiny, but it has a level cap too. We might be able to put up a good fight, but we’d fall short due to the pure difference in levels, eventually. I attacked them with the sakura stone of destiny sword and it had hardly any effect,” Ren replied. 
“I don’t know why that would be. Maybe they have some tactic in place already,” someone else said. The meeting between Ren, the heroes, and the coalition army continued. 
My floating feeling flew me off to the next location. This time I was in a flickering, empty space that didn’t look like anywhere at all. 
“Where was I now?” I wondered. 
Even as I wondered why I was able to experience these events away from my body, I felt the arrival of two who might be able to tell me. When I saw them though, I was at a loss for words. 
 
“Atla . . . and Ost?” I finally managed. 
“That’s right.” There was Atla and Ost in front of me, floating in the air, both of whom should be dead. First things first, I gave Atla a hug to confirm she was the real deal. 
“Ah! This is exactly what I want, Master Naofumi!” Her reaction was just as I had expected—exactly the same, even in death, although this could just be a hallucination produced from my memories. Ost gave a grin. 
“This is Ost. She has a complete understanding of how wonderful you are, Master Naofumi. Now can you please hug me again?” she asked. 
“Atla, calm down! Where am I? The world beyond?” I asked. Was this some kind of out-of-body experience? From what I’d seen and heard, it did seem like I was still alive, but I thought maybe I was just braindead. 
I’d taken quite a beating, but I didn’t want to die like this. I’d also thought I’d be going to hell when I died, but I couldn’t believe this was the afterlife. It couldn’t be heaven, surely. 
“If you’re asking if this is the world of the dead, then the answer is no. If I had to explain it, then this is the world of the shield . . . or rather, the world of the legendary weapons,” Ost said with a smile. 
“I see. Atla, are you in pain?” I asked. 
“No. No pain at all,” she replied. Hearing that put me at ease. Thinking back to what I’d seen, every scene had included the other heroes: Ren, Motoyasu, Itsuki, Fohl, Rishia, and Trash—all people selected as heroes. 
“Can I see the whip seven star hero too?” I wondered. “He stole my shield, but he has it.” 
 
“Yes, you can. But your shield hasn’t been stolen,” Ost explained. 
“What? He took it, that’s for sure,” I replied. There was no doubt about that. 
“He doesn’t have the power to completely make the four holy weapons his own. It’s all just appearances, on the surface only. He won’t be able to use their full power,” Atla said. 
“Indeed,” Ost chimed in. “His power can’t steal one of the officially selected four holy weapons.” Events from the past played out in front of me, via Takt’s weapon. 
On the march, Takt had captured the royal families and representatives from nations opposing him and was holding a public execution. 
“Raaagh!” An older man, who looked like a general of some sort, was rolling on a hot steel plate. His entire body was getting burned. “You arrogant scum! The four holy heroes will rain punishment on you!” he proclaimed, finding his feet by sheer force of will and pointing an accusing finger at his laughing audience—Takt and his gaggle of women. It looked like that man, a general, had a daughter . . . but there was something odd about her. She was gazing at Takt with a vacant look in her eyes. 
“Daddy . . . thank you for approving my marriage. You’ve finally agreed to let me marry Ollie,” she said dreamily. 

“I’ll make you forget this ‘Ollie’ soon enough, although his keeping you a virgin for so long is something to be thankful for!” Takt cackled. It was clear that he was using some kind of illusion to make her think he was her beloved. “Those who don’t give proper thought to their daughters’ happiness have no right to live!” 

“You scum!” The general’s shout turned into another roar of pain. 
“Master Takt is right! Your girl will be happy, so just rest assured in that fact and pay for your crimes!” one of the women in Takt’s retinue crowed. 
“Pay with your life,” offered Witch. All of Takt’s women seemed to be enjoying the scene immensely. Executing a parent in front of their daughter . . . while telling the parent that the child was going to betray everything they stood for . . . These animals were disgusting, pure and simple! 
“The crime of standing against a child of the gods is severe! Worthy of punishment!” another of the women cackled, to laughter from the others. 
“There’s no value in these fools stubbornly clinging to those trashy heroes! The times desire something new, not these dusty old legends!” another woman spit out. Seriously! What were they ranting about? 
“What about Raphtalia?” I asked. 
“This is a little further in the past,” Atla said. The execution scene faded, to show Raphtalia being held in a cell. Takt and his women came along. He seemed to be whispering all sorts of sweet words to her for a while, but there was no sign of Raphtalia falling for his charms. Takt left, looking pretty pissed off. For a brief while, Raphtalia was left alone in the room. Just as I was starting to get worried, Raphtalia’s body—no, her katana—started to shine out, and then she vanished. 
She teleported. But I didn’t know where. 
I saw Raph-chan II looking in this direction and waving her paw. After Raph-chan II hid herself in the corner of the cell, Witch and the others came back. Huh? Raph-chan II’s tail swelled up. She had cast some kind of magic. 
 
Then . . . for some reason Witch and the others tied up one of their allies, one of the other women, and started to torture her. It seemed Raph-chan II had used illusion magic to make them think their victim was Raphtalia. 
“I don’t think you need to see this,” Ost said. 
“Hold on. I’m worried about Raphtalia,” I said. 
“Raphtalia is safe, of course,” Atla said. “If this was going to take her down, you would have been mine long ago, Master Naofumi,” Ost said. I mean . . . good point. It still made me wonder about the nature of the trust between them. 
“So where’s Raphtalia gone?” I asked. 
“Probably to the world that her weapon came from,” Atla said. She’d been summoned away to Kizuna’s world then. I wanted to know if she was okay. I really wanted to go and find her at once. 
“So? What am I doing here?” I asked. 
“You were called here by the Shield Spirit, the spirit who lends his powers to you,” Ost explained. 
“I see . . . That cursed shield?” I inquired further. 
“That’s right. That cursed shield,” Atla confirmed. 
“I feel a little sympathy for the Shield Spirit, I must admit,” Ost said. A ball of light was moving up and down between Ost and Atla. This was the Shield Spirit. The ball didn’t look especially dependable. Perhaps my feelings were imparted to it, because the spirit started to make larger movements. 
 
“He says that this was all very unexpected,” Atla said. 
“I see. How about we start with a punch in his shiny face?” I sneered. Time to get some payback for being summoned here. 
“I understand your feelings. But apart from the first hero, you are the only one to have ever reached this region,” Atla revealed. 
“Okay. Whatever. And what does the Shield Spirit want with me?” I asked, keeping things moving along. 
“He wishes for you to make a decision, Iwatani,” Ost revealed. Other balls of light started to gather around the Shield Spirit. These were likely the Weapon Spirits. I counted them . . . Why were there fourteen? There were four differently colored ones, including the Shield Spirit. Then there were eight that were all the same color, just shining at different degrees. If those were the seven star weapons, there was one more than expected. Five of them were also shining very weakly. Then there were two other balls of light, both different colors again. So I wondered what those were. 
“They want me to make a decision?” I asked. 
“Yes. To put it plainly, in regard to the ultimate destination of this world, the Shield Spirit is proposing that abandoning your duty is also a possible choice,” Ost said. 
“Abandon my duty?” I asked. 
“Correct. So you have been invited here to be asked whether you wish to receive your reward in advance,” Ost continued. 
“Reward?” That was the first I’d heard about this. 
 
“A reward from the legendary weapons, for safely saving the world or overcoming the waves,” Atla reported to me after listening to the voice from the floating light. 
A reward for saving the world, huh? Perhaps they could have opened with all this. 
“The first step is to return to your own world. In this case, your reward includes three wishes there, for almost anything you could want,” Atla continued. 
“Anything?” I questioned. 
“Apparently the spirits can exert some influence over the ‘causality’ that your world operates under, Master Naofumi. They can make you rich or give you a good job to ensure you’ll never want for anything in your life,” Atla explained. “No living forever though.” 
“Interesting,” I murmured. 
“As this would constitute leaving early, however, they wouldn’t be able to do quite that much for you. Maybe you could take a few people back with you, something like that?” she said. 
“Atla. How would you feel about that?” I asked her. 
“I am always at your side, Master Naofumi. I would go with you to your world,” she replied without hesitation. I mean . . . that wasn’t a bad reward. 
I looked at Ost and she gave a wry smile. 
“Don’t worry about me. I know we don’t have that kind of relationship.” She chuckled. 
“I should just be happy we met again at all, right?” I said. 
 
“I live on inside your shield. I am the Spirit Tortoise, after all,” she reminded me. Very humble of her . . . She did seem like a nice person. 
“Is there no way I could bring you out of the shield somehow? As a familiar or something?” I wondered. For some reason, Ost looked at the image of Raph-chan II. There was definitely something going on with that cutie. 
“That might be possible . . . but I’m happy where I am,” she said. 
“Okay . . .” I got my thinking back on track. I did want to return to my own world and couldn’t really ask for more than that. 
“The Shield Spirit proposes that you return to your own world, forget all conflict, and live in peace. Of course, he promises to make things work smoothly even if Raphtalia goes with you. However, he is also saying that the negotiations with Raphtalia’s spirit may be a bit troublesome.” 
“Raphtalia?” I asked. 
“The Shield Spirit is asking if he got the wrong idea about the two of you,” Atla said. 
“I mean . . .” It wouldn’t be a bad choice to have Raphtalia come to my world and for us to stay together forever. Raphtalia’s feelings mattered too, of course. She had said that she liked me. There was a bit of an age gap, but she looked like an adult and the Shield Spirit was saying he could make it work. 
Yeah. That seemed like a pretty good reward for all the effort I had put in. 

“Let me tell you the other choices,” Ost continued. “The second is to remain in this world and live out your days here, worshipped as a hero. This is the one that many heroes from the past have chosen.” I mean, I couldn’t understand it myself, but I could see it working for those lucky enough to just have been normal heroes. If you never learned the shitty truth about this messed-up world, it would probably be pretty awesome. 

“That doesn’t sound like much of a reward to me,” I sniped. 
“Isn’t fighting for others, forging a place for yourself, and saving an entire world the most brilliant possible reward?” Ost responded in the words of the spirit. 
“I feel like I’m being pumped by a salesman!” For being a ball of light, this shield had a silver tongue. Seriously. I wasn’t naive enough to fall for that kind of “reward.” 
“The third option is to return once to your own world but retain the right to come back here again,” Ost continued. 
“Any point to that?” I asked. 
“Don’t ask me . . .” she said. I gave it some more thought. I guess being able to go and then come back made some sense—completing unfinished business in the other world before coming here to live out your days. I could understand it. This world was rotten to the core though, so I wouldn’t be choosing that one. 
Then the faces, the smiles, of everyone from the village appeared in my mind. I wanted to go back, and yet . . . 
“I’ve got lots of questions,” I said. 
“Go ahead,” Ost said. 
 
“Do I have to decide this right now?” I asked. 
“Yes. It seems so. Timing this at any other point would be difficult, and your next chance would likely be when the world is finally at peace,” Ost explained. That meant I could go home right now. I might even be able to take Raphtalia with me, who was currently off in Kizuna’s world. 
“Why am I being offered this now? After all this time?” I’d been tricked, suffered, almost died, and been through so much already, and this option had never come up. So I wanted to know why I was being presented with this choice now. 
“To put it plainly . . . the Shield Spirit is saying that you have suffered the cruelest fate of any of the past Shield Heroes, Master Naofumi,” Atla said. The spirits the same color as the shield were rotating around close to me. 
That was one honor I could have done without. 
“The spirits are saying that, now that the end draws near, the legendary weapons have been worn down too much by the hand of the enemy. The coming fight might already be beyond them. In that case, at least saving the heroes who were summoned against their will to this world is one possible move,” Atla explained. 
“Now, though? After everything I’ve been through?” I couldn’t let that point go yet. 
“Your being close to death is also part of the reason. They intend to give the Sword, Bow, and Spear Heroes the same opportunity, if they fall close to death themselves,” Atla continued. 
 
“If I choose to return . . . what happens to this world? To everyone in the village? To this nation?” I asked, with some trepidation. 
“Most likely . . . they will be wiped out,” Atla replied. I couldn’t take them all along. I could only take Raphtalia and Atla with me to my world. I wondered what kind of face Raphtalia would make if I told her to cast this world aside and say goodbye to everyone. 
I also remembered what Atla had told me before she died. 
“I can’t leave yet. I’ll go back once I’ve saved this world . . . once I can accept the outcome,” I decided. I did want to go back. But I had people I needed to protect too. People I could never forgive, and people I needed to defeat. So I had to stay here until I was satisfied with everything. 
Not to mention, this whole deal was pretty suspicious. If I chose to return right away, it felt like they might tell me I wasn’t a hero after all—the bad ending. 
Okay, so I’d played too many video games. 
As I pondered such pointless things, the place on my arm where the shield had been started to softly glow. I thought this must be the Shield Spirit acting happy for some reason. 
“Are you sure about this?” Ost confirmed. “Recklessness will only get you killed. Are you sure you have no regrets?” 
“I may have some. But rather than go home and regret things there, I’d rather stay and regret them here. I’ve got too much baggage to carry back . . . I’d need a car to make the trip,” I said. You could make a trip even with the heaviest baggage, if you had a car. Rather than walk home now, just dropping out, I wanted to drive off into the best possible ending. 
 
If I was going to take Raphtalia, I wanted her to choose that for herself. I only wanted to return after seeing everyone happy in the village. I’d taken on a lot of burdens, that was true . . . but it felt good. 
“The other spirits are saying the Shield Spirit made a good choice,” Atla reported. 
“Whatever. Just give me more info,” I replied. I still had a bunch of questions I wanted to hit this Shield Spirit with. There were still so many mysteries here that at times it was like this world was purposefully keeping things from me. 
“First . . . back to the beginning. Why did you summon me?” I asked. 
“Because, apparently, you were qualified to become a hero, Master Naofumi,” Atla relayed. “He seems happy with his choice too, citing your determination to carry on even as you spew up blood.” All of the four holy spirits were moving around rapidly, trying to tell me something. In the middle of them, it looked like the Shield Spirit was almost puffing up his chest proudly. 
“Spewing up blood! Whose fault do you think that is?!” I fumed. Still, qualified to become a hero! It did feel nice to hear, but here I was, casting doubts on how legitimate this offer was; that alone seemed to put any “qualifications” I had into doubt. 
“The Sword, Spear, and Bow Spirits are upset with the Shield Spirit right now. They are taking exception with him always managing to skillfully summon his first choice for hero,” Atla reported. 
 
“What does that make the others?” I inquired. First choice? It made it sound like some kind of entrance examination. 
“Hold on . . . yes . . . it sounds like they were generally around the third choices,” Atla finally relayed. Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki were . . . the backups. I couldn’t very well share this information with them. 
Even worse, I was his spirit’s first choice—the one of the four of us who probably had the most issues. I wondered if this spirit was quite right in his glowing spherical head. Maybe he just hadn’t shot too high, just compromised with me from the start. I wouldn’t be happy with that either. 
“It seems that even if they do manage to summon their first choices, they often just get killed really quickly. So sometimes the first choice doesn’t work out the best,” Atla explained. A trip to Siltvelt was likely to get you killed by some plot or another. I could attest to that. 
There could also be heroes whom they didn’t expect much from but who really grew into the role. In other words, the order of candidates probably didn’t matter that much. From that perspective, Ren and the others had survived for this long, so they might not have been bad picks after all. 
“Third candidates generally have high potential as a hero, but also have some serious problems they need to work through,” Atla said, providing more details. 
“Okay. And?” I said. 
“When they receive their rewards, their deaths are of course corrected,” Atla went on. Those three had died before they were summoned, after all, so that seemed like an absolute condition for their reward. Suffering long and hard to save this world just to go home and die again instantly didn’t seem very fair. 
 
“By that logic, it makes it sound like I’ve got a serious problem too,” I said. At my response, the Shield Spirit started to bob up and down. What was he doing? It almost felt mocking in intent. 
“He said that, it being his duty to protect others, the Shield Spirit would never make a mistake in choosing his hero. Indeed, there is no way you would ever bend before the obstruction we face,” Atla relayed. Obstruction, he said. That sounded like the spirit knew something about the cause of all this. That was something I should definitely be asking about. “You don’t seem to understand. The Shield Spirit chose you, Master Naofumi, summoned you specifically for this task. You should be proud of that fact.” 
“I do understand. I just have other things I want to ask,” I said. “So tell me.” 
“They don’t seem to know much about anything other than the role of the legendary weapons. Would you like to hear about that?” Atla asked. 
“Yes, that sounds good. What was this ‘obstruction’ he just talked about?” I replied. 
“That would be the original enemy against which the legendary weapons are intended to fight,” Atla revealed. 
“Which is what? Who?” Any more information would be fantastic at this point. 
“That . . . they don’t know. This isn’t an entity against which they can hope to win in a direct fight, an entity that eats worlds. It is the role of the heroes to stop that foe from getting into this world,” Atla said. 
 
“So they are hunkering down and fending this foe off?” I asked. 
“In the least, they tell me, it is an entity with more power than the four holy spirits that control this world,” Atla relayed. Hah! Mysteries on top of mysteries. 
“In any case, it sounds like this foe is the one pulling the strings, seeking to destroy the worlds by fusing them using the waves,” I pondered. Sounded like “World Eater” might be a good name for now. In game terminology, this sounded like one of those awful unwinnable story battles, which meant we had to protect this world and stop the World Eater from having their way. 
“Yes. That is the case . . . most likely,” Ost confirmed. 
“The enemies this time are also the vanguard of this foe. There was some interference with the gauntlets, and they also jammed the part meant to tell you about the shield power-up method . . . The same goes for the user of the book vassal weapon,” Atla continued the explanation. So this is what I understood: we didn’t get help with the power-up method because of this enemy interfering. And that meant Kyo was also the vanguard of this foe. That really made sense. The personalities of the two of them were far too similar! 
The Shield Spirit started floating around again, making his presence known. 
“If you wish it, Master Naofumi, the Shield Spirit will respond to your brave resolve. You won’t fall to that pathetic attack again. Scum like him is no enemy of yours,” Atla said. 
 
“Big words, but still . . .” I couldn’t be so sure. Then the other spirits swooshed around in front of the Shield Spirit and started to appeal to me as well. As though cutting off the two different colored ones, one of the eight was also trying to get my attention. 
“Do you wish to fight that imposter directly, Master Naofumi? By your own hand?” Atla asked. 
“Yes. If at all possible,” I responded. 
“These spirits are saying that they wish to temporarily lend you their powers. If you accept, then until you summon the Shield Spirit again the restrictions on having to use a shield can be stopped,” Atla revealed. 
“In other words . . . I’ll be able to fight with a weapon other than a shield?” I confirmed. 
“Yes. You can call the shield anytime you like. Until that time, and with the permission of the other seven star heroes, you will be able to fight using their weapons,” Atla said. “However, in order to fully revive it, you will need to take your stolen weapon back from that scum.” As the spirit flew around me, lending me his power, I understood which weapon it was. The way to defeat that Whip Hero—no, that infiltrator from another world—was also imparted to me. 
Interesting. So that was the proper way to defeat him. With that, yes, I should be able to win. 
I’d lost before because losing Atla had narrowed my vision. Next time I could take him. 

“The spirit asks that you correct the holder of his weapon,” Atla reported. 

“I can only do my best. You’ve seen what that looks like. Don’t expect too much from me,” I cautioned. 
“He isn’t one of the four heroes, and he isn’t one of the seven star heroes either. Free the five trapped vassals from him, please,” Atla responded. 
“I will. I know how to do it now too. One last thing . . . Right before being summoned, I was reading The Records of the Four Holy Weapons. Just what was that?” I asked. 
“A text that predicted a sliver of the future and the door to another world. It seems it greatly missed the mark,” Atla responded. Then both Atla and Ost, accompanied by the spirits, floated up into the air. 
“I am with you always, Master Naofumi,” Atla said. 
“Atla . . . I failed to protect you,” I managed to finally say. 
“Master Naofumi,” she replied. 
“What?” I almost couldn’t look at her—but then she smiled at me. 
“I don’t want the things I said upon my deathbed to chain you down in life. I want you to live as you are, Master Naofumi,” she explained. 
“You mean you’ve been watching me since your death?” I asked. 
“Yes. It is difficult for me to see you pushing yourself so hard,” she replied. 
“That’s another difficult request . . .” Live as I am. I was a pretty arrogant and distrusting human being, even if I did say so myself. Accepting the feelings of those who cared for me while not changing how I lived would be almost impossible. This was Atla herself telling me this though, so it seemed okay to disregard her previous comments. 
 
She was dead, and she was still lecturing me. 
“Very well. You gave your life to protect me, Atla, so I’ll do my best to take your request onboard,” I replied. 
“That’s the Master Naofumi I remember! If you meet someone who displays the same kind of love for you as Raphtalia or I, you should just accept it,” she said. 
“I can’t imagine anyone else meeting those conditions anytime soon,” I commented. I couldn’t really imagine anyone giving Atla or Raphtalia a run for their money in loving me. Atla just had to laugh. 
“There are more rivals than you think,” she said. 
“You don’t seem that bothered by them,” I replied. 
 
 
“That’s right. I’ve already become your shield, Master Naofumi.” I’d expect no less from Atla. It brought a smile to my face. 
“Indeed,” I replied. I reached out toward her . . . and we held hands. Touching her again, I wasn’t even sad, and yet tears came to my eyes. 
“Will I see you again?” I asked. 
“I’m always with you,” came the reply. Then I held Ost’s hand as well. 
“As you fight to save this world, we are always at your side. If you call out to us, we will respond. May mercy and the heart of the Spirit Tortoise be with you, Shield Hero,” Ost said. 
“Very well,” I managed around the lump in my throat. 
“One final message from the Shield Spirit,” Ost said. 
“What now?” I wasn’t one for long goodbyes. The Shield Spirit was bobbing about close to Ost, trying to draw attention back to himself. 
“The woman called S’yne who currently stands by you, the Shield Spirit is also going to lend her some of his power. She should be a little more potent going forward,” Ost relayed. So the spirits saw S’yne as an ally. 
“Okay . . . sounds good,” I replied. 
“I pray that happiness lies at the end of your path, Shield Hero,” Ost finished, smiling down at me. 
“I will always be watching over you,” Atla added. Then both of them turned into pure light and slipped away. After watching them go, my awareness started to wake back up to reality.