The pope let out a breath.
It was a high-tier group defensive spell. Group magic was nothing like single-target magic—its power simply wasn't comparable to an individual's chant. And this was a high-tier group defense on top of that. Even a Demon King wouldn't be able to break it so eas—
Clang!
Crack-crack!
The first strike was stopped by the magic circle, and Kiriko didn't even pause before she brought down a second.
Anyone who's played games knows the type—those flashy "hit a million times" ultimate moves. Each individual hit doesn't look like much on its own, but if you eat the whole combo, the damage is horrifying.
The second strike landed, followed immediately by a third…
In fact, the moment the second blow hit, the circle started making an ugly crackling sound, like it was bearing too much load. Even though it was made of light, fissures crawled across it like a real, solid object—dense, spiderwebbed fractures.
Even a mastermind like the pope froze.
He couldn't understand what was happening.
And then—
Shatter!
The magic circle broke apart like glass. The fragments scattered through the air and dissolved into pinpricks of starlight.
With nothing left to block her, Kiriko's icy blade came down on the pope—who wore an expression of sheer disbelief.
The sword's force didn't end with the cut. The shockwave rolled out as a violent blast.
Priests and believers clustered around the pope were blown clean off their feet.
The ground split with countless cracks.
The pope was gone.
All that remained was a mess of minced flesh.
"..."
None of the remaining Three Hero Church followers so much as spoke of avenging him. The pope had been the gods' agent on earth—if even he was dead, what hope did they have?
Most of them fled. Some didn't run at all, sitting there blankly like walking corpses.
Everyone else was left stunned by Kiriko's unreasonable, absurd strength.
Ren Amaki stared at her in shock.
"How do you even get that strong?"
"Oh, that? It's actually simple." Kiriko held up one finger.
"Do a hundred push-ups a day, a hundred sit-ups, a hundred squats, plus a ten-kilometer run. Don't slack on three meals a day. And to train your willpower, no air conditioning—summer or winter. Stick to that plan for three years."
Ren's eyes went wide.
"And I'll get stronger?"
"Whether you get stronger, I don't know," Kiriko said. "You'll probably go bald first."
"Huh?"
Ignoring Ren's utterly blank face, Kiriko turned toward Naofumi as he walked over.
"Thank you, Kiriko-san. Really."
Without her, he wouldn't have gotten past Ren and Itsuki—never mind the pope waiting to strike from behind.
"It's fine. Someday when you've got time, take me to Raccoon City for fun."
Even though he'd gotten used to Kiriko's habit of talking utter nonsense, Naofumi still blinked.
"Raccoon City?"
"Raccoon City! A place you can't leave once you arrive—world-famous tourist spot. Founded in 1998, then massively renovated again in 2019. Plenty of people who went to Raccoon City never came back…"
Kiriko made a finger-gun at him.
"See? If it weren't that fun, why would they refuse to come back?"
"Okay. When we return to our world, I'll definitely treat you—"
Naofumi's expression suddenly went rigid.
Like he'd just seen something impossible.
"What's wrong?" Kiriko frowned at his ghost-seeing face.
"Y-Your body…"
It wasn't just Naofumi. Everyone stared at Kiriko, shocked—and worried.
Confused, Kiriko looked down, then froze.
Her hands were turning faint.
Not just her hands—her chest, her stomach, her thighs, her knees… any part of her body she could see was becoming translucent, fading as if she were losing substance.
W-What… was this?
That question still hanging in her mind, Kiriko slowly vanished into the air—as though she'd never been there at all.
...
A week later, Melromarc's queen finally returned from overseas.
After she came back, the queen did three things:
Cleared the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani, of the charge of "kidnapping the princess";
Abolished Melromarc's state religion, the Three Hero Church, and re-established the Four Hero Church, which would treat the Four Cardinal Heroes equally;
Stripped the king of his status and reduced him to a commoner.
The queen dispatched people to spread these three decrees across all of Melromarc as quickly as possible, and she expressed her willingness to do everything she could to make amends for the harm Naofumi had suffered at the hands of the Trash King and the "sold-out princess."
Naofumi Iwatani had only one request—and it was far beyond what the queen expected…
...
Inside one of the grand halls of the royal castle.
The hall was empty. From the entrance, two rows of blazing braziers lined the way, their flames kept alight by magic and never meant to go out.
And at the far end stood a white statue.
It had been carved by several of Melromarc's most renowned sculptors, working together.
A woman stood with a sword planted before her, gazing into the distance. In the depths of her eyes, it seemed as though something unspoken still lingered.
"Naofumi-sama," the queen said, half her face hidden behind a fan, "is this truly all you want?"
"Yes," Naofumi replied. "This is enough."
He stared at the statue of Kiriko, dazed—almost seeing again that moment in the Audience Hall, when he'd been condemned on false charges and only Kiriko had been willing to speak up for him…
And later, when no adventurer would follow him because he was the Shield Hero—Kiriko had grabbed him and hauled him off to a crooked merchant, buying him an entire class of combat-type slaves, even fronting the money for him…
Even now, after she was gone, he still hadn't finished paying her back.
They stood in silence for a long while before Naofumi finally came back to himself.
"Your Majesty… there's something I want to ask."
"Naofumi-sama, please. Go ahead."
So Naofumi told her about how Kiriko had suddenly disappeared that day.
"What do you think it was?"
The queen frowned, thinking carefully for quite some time.
"I'm sorry, Naofumi-sama. Even I have never heard of magic that can make a person vanish into thin air."
Naofumi's shoulders sank.
"So that's it…?"
"However…" The queen's gaze softened. "If there truly are gods watching over us, then perhaps they sent Kiriko-sama to help—so the Four Cardinal Heroes wouldn't tear each other apart. And when Kiriko-sama's mission was complete, she was naturally summoned back to her original world."
"I suppose that makes sense."
The hall fell quiet again.
...
After that—
The Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani, chose to remain in Melromarc with his companions.
The Spear Hero, Motoyasu Kitamura, after clearly realizing just how cruelly he'd treated Naofumi, also chose to stay with him.
The Bow Hero, Itsuki Kawasumi, vanished after that. He didn't bring a single one of his former adventurer companions. Instead, he had a palace maid deliver a note to Naofumi Iwatani with only two words written on it:
"Sorry."
As for the Sword Hero, Ren Amaki, rumor had it he left for another country to hone his swordsmanship.
And as for the companions of the hero sung of across Melromarc—the Zero Hero—
Lute chose to return to his own nation. Although Kiriko had bought him, she had never truly treated him as a slave—she treated him as a companion. She'd even told him that if he felt his service to her was enough to offset his ransom, he was free to leave.
Before he went, Lute entrusted Raphtalia with a message: the moment there was any news of their master, he would cross any distance to reunite.
Raphtalia, Gabriel, Kanna, and Tohru set out on the road to search for Kiriko.
---
T/N: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THE SHIELD HERO ARC ENDS LIKE THAT?? WHATS THE NEW WORLD???
T/N2: heres ur updates :3 meeting the 4 chaps a week quota :3 posting earlier so bonus chaps will be a longer waitttt >:)
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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