Phoenix of The Shield Hero

Blaze Phantom

(A/N: Sorry I took so long. I originally wanted this to be the first wave, but I seem to have a hard time writing fight scenes. Figured this would be a good warmup.)

          It was currently two days before the first wave was scheduled to hit. Since I was gonna be teleported to the site of the waves regardless, I decided to head to a certain village I'd grown fond of visiting. It was a demi-human village that you instantly recognized the second you read "demi" if not sooner.

          As it turns out, there were actually a few high level demi-humans here, including a level 120 woman named Sadeena. She and I had actually become friends over the years, much to my mother's delight. We'd even taken to becoming sparring partners and occasional adventuring buddies due to both of us being high level. Don't get me wrong. This wasn't a romantic relationship. She made it very clear that "I'll only fall for someone who can drink more than me." and I respected her wishes. We were just very close friends

          She also introduced me to Raphtalia along with her friends Rifana and Keel. Those three basically Idolized her. I myself had also grown close to them, which made my decision to protect them that much easier.

          I'd actually shown up three weeks before the wave was scheduled to hit. And as I found out a few days ago, it was a good thing I did.

Flashback: 5 days before the wave

          "You're going on a fishing trip!?" I said as I threw a punch.

          She deflected it with her harpoon before jabbing the blunt end at me. "Yeah," I dodged left, grabbing the harpoon with both hands, "The fish stocks here are getting low, and it's about that time anyway."

          She twisted her harpoon left and right before managing to break my grip, pushing me away. "Are you crazy?!" I said as I deflected a thrust from her spear. I instantly countered by connecting a right punch to her gut, sending her back a bit. "The first wave will hit Melromarc in five days. We can't afford to have someone as strong as you gone when it hits."

          She swings her harpoon at me, forcing me to block. "You're being paranoid." She said before kicking my legs out from under me. Before she could position her harpoon, I rolled to the side and righted myself. "What are the odds of the first wave hitting here while I'm gone?"

          I charged and threw a few punches. She managed to block, but the force of my punches sent her back a bit. She ran at me to counter attack. "That's not-" I ducked under a swing of her spear. "the point." I said, as I jumped up, headbutting her in the chin.

          While she was stunned, I grabbed her harpoon and swung her around, forcing her to let go. Throwing the spear to the side, I ran at her, throwing several punches which she struggled to block. I then swept her legs out from under her before attempting to pin her to the ground. She dodged the same way I did and got back to her feet.

          "If it does happen in the village, you won't be here to help fight it." She charged at me and we each exchanged blows.

          "And besides," I said catching one of her strikes. Forcing a lock, I continued "As cliche as it sounds, I'd feel much more comfortable with you by my side."

          I broke away and threw a punch, which got me flipped over and pinned. "Aww, don't tell me the hero prince is afraid of the big bad waves." she remarked.

          She released me, ending our spar. "As a matter of fact, yes. I am very afraid." I said. "Whis isn't just a small increase in the monster population. This is the great catastrophe told in legend we're talking about here. And with the four heroes being summoned too the other countries, I'm left to defend Melromarc myself."

          "He's still gonna summon all four heroes, you know." Said Phi.

          I knew that. There's no way I managed to change Father's mind just by showing up. I just said that because, realistically, I had no way of knowing.

          Sadeena sighed. "What am I gonna do with you? Fine, I'll stay here and party with you. Does that make you happy."

          "Yes it does." I said. "In more ways than one." Phi added in my head. I just ignored him.

Present Day

          Right now, I was training by myself. Sadeena and the kids were watching. I was well aware of the eventuality that I might end up facing the sword, spear, and bow heroes in the future. So I would occasionally train to fight those three weapons. Positioning my palms forward in the shape of a triangle, I prepared my spell.

          "As source of thy power, and as the gauntlet hero, I order thee. Decipher the Laws of creation and ignite my avatars in front of me. Dritte Blaze Phantom!" As I said this, three plumes of fire erupted from my back and descended in front of me. They disappeared to reveal three faceless beings made of fire. Each one held a weapon made of fire.

           I developed this spell with Phi for the purpose of being a sparring partner. The more I make, the weaker my own magic becomes, at three clones, I can't use any magic while they're out. But, while I can't use magic, my phantoms can cast fire magic. They can interact with the world without much difficulty, and can create their own weapons out of fire. Just don't get them near water.

          The kids watched in awe as I defeated the last clone. While I couldn't use regular magic while fighting them, I could use the skills from my weapon. They put up a decent fight, working together pretty well. But their one weakness, their lack of durability, meant I only had to land one good hit to eliminate them.

          "That was awesome, Kai-sama!" Keel complimented. "You took them out like it was nothing!"

          "'Nothing' my foot." I retorted playfully. "If my phantoms had the durability of an actual person, I probably would've lost."

          "Don't be so hard on yourself." Rifana encouraged.

          "You and Sadeena Onee-san are the strongest people I've ever seen." Raphtalia nodded in agreement.

          "You can't put the two of us on the same level, Raphtalia." I said. "Sadeena's better than me at hand to hand and I'm only as strong as I am because of my gauntlets." "Don't forget me."

          "The gauntlets that chose you to wield them." Sadeena replied. "It wouldn't kill you to take some pride in your skill once in a while. You won't automatically become your sister just by accepting praise."

          "That's a low blow and you know it." I said.

          The rest of the day was spent with the kids watching us bicker like children. In two days time, the wave would finally hit. And the main plot would get started.