I am not the shield hero

To give Sadeena a nice reward, Dante went ahead and unlocked his Brewing Shield last night. It had nothing to do with the fact that she kept asking him about it until they went to sleep. Honestly, he was a little curious about the shield's equip effect. Since his shield could make anything he had a recipe for, he wanted to know what the difference would be.

That, however, was a problem for later. His current problem stood before him, reaching a little below his chin. The clothes she got from one of the female mercenaries was more filled out now, actually seeming a little tight. Her blond hair now reached just below her shoulders, much like his own. Her golden eyes shone as she stared into his.

And, of course, she had a huge smile on her face.

"Mister Dante!" Rifana said, her voice excessively chipper. "Look! I've grown!"

"I…can see that." Dante looked at the girl…woman in front of him. At least, he thought she was a woman now. It was a little hard to tell. He wasn't exactly familiar with demi-human height averages and builds. "I think you might have a little growing left to do."

"Nope!" She smiled, showing her teeth. "Now we can talk about getting married, right?"

"Uh…" Dante looked over at Sadeena. Damn it! I can see you laughing behind your hand! She was obviously going to be no help to him. "Maybe we should talk about this later?"

"Right now seems good." She said. "Actually, we can talk while we prepare breakfast!"

"Good idea~." Sadeena came over and wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders. "Doesn't that sound good to you, Dante?"

He sent a glare Sadeena's way. She returned it with her signature smile. Rifana clasped Dante's hand between hers, regaining his attention.

"Listen," he spoke before her, "I'm not really prepared to have this talk yet. I wasn't expecting your growth to happen so quickly." Or at all. I thought most demi-humans grew to around 15 or so with levels, with some exceptions. Rifana might have been one, but I see Keel over there.

The boy-turned-man stood about the same height as Rifana. Perhaps he was a tad younger physically, but Dante couldn't tell for certain. His hair did grow out a little, but still looked much like it was before. Raphtalia grew as well, reaching about the same height as both of them. Keel looked at Dante with a smirk on his face, while Raphtalia had an expectant look, like she was waiting for him to have this talk.

Seriously, what the hell? I mean, overall, this is a better situation. With these three all adults, they can more easily function in combat, but it was wholly unexpected. I relied on my book knowledge again to my detriment. And—Sadeena, stop smiling at me like you know I messed up!

Rifana brought Dante's hand up and held it to her face, as if he was cupping it. "I can wait until you're ready to talk. But, until then, I still want to stay close to you. So, when we sleep, I want to be next to you. I've finished learning a spell, so I can stand behind you while I cast."

"You learned a spell?" Dante asked. "Really? That fast? I'm impressed."

"Thanks!" She let go of his arm and stepped forward, embracing him. "I meant what I said. I want to be close to you."

"Y-Yeah." Dante looked to Sadeena, who had taken a step back after Rifana moved in. Her smile hadn't faltered for even a moment.

"Oh, one thing." Rifana said, looking up at Dante. "You should think about which of us you want as your first wife."

"What?" Dante let his jaw hang open after saying that. He looked at Sadeena again and would swear he saw her eyes sparkle.

"If I remember right, there's something about which wife is first for a hero." She held her head against the top of his chest. "I know you like Sadeena, but I'd really like it to be me, if she doesn't mind. I know it's something we all need to discuss together."

"Sadeena!" Dante shouted. "Support!"

"Oh my~." She joined the hug, her arms around their midsections. "It's okay, little Rifana, I wouldn't mind being the second wife."

"I meant support me!"

"Isn't that what a wife does~?" Sadeena winked at him.

"Keel!" He looked over at the dog man, only to see him dealing with his own thing now. JoJo was looking up at him, stars in his eyes, marveling at the height of his 'big bro'. His adoptive son likely wouldn't be any help either.

"Raphtalia!" The woman gave him a bright smile.

"I think it's great!" She said, clapping her hands. "I hope you all are happy together."

"Eclair!" He turned to the swordswoman.

"I don't quite understand the problem." She had watched the whole display from the moment she came in to wake them.

"…Dio?" He turned to his last hope.

The girl in question looked up at the three of them. Her gaze shifted between all three before settling on Dante. "Does that mean Riffy will be Mama? I still wanna call her Riffy."

"…" Dante simply accepted his fate. At least for the short term. A proper talk could happen later.

After that, their morning preparations went quickly. Dante used some drained deer-like meat the mercenaries had and cooked it for breakfast. With everyone's heights finished changing, they were able to use more of the armor from the knights and mercenaries they killed. Keel and Raphtalia wore the chainmail from the knights' armor at Idol's mansion. It was lucky he didn't equip them all with full plate, though that may be out of the norm. Few knights Dante saw wore full plate armor, mostly using a chainmail-breastplate combo with a few extra pieces here and there. Rifana wore the robes with a leather half-chest armor piece from the mage mercenary. She also had the wand he used, as well as her dagger, and now the magic brooch. Dante, Sadeena, Dio, and JoJo kept their own clothes.

Finally, Eclair. With her appearance as a knight too memorable, she wore the plate armor from one of the mercenaries. It was a little big, but it had a property on it known as "air wake", so it would feel lighter by using her MP. A little padding made up for the size difference. The helmet had some room in it, so she was able to tie up her hair. For a weapon, another mercenary had a sword that was similar to Raphtalia's, so she took that. She didn't see the point of it, until they went into town.

Near the center, the party met with the blacksmith.

"Rokkar." Dante greeted the man. He had a cart loaded up with his son sitting in it. Others from his group had the same idea in a number of other carts. They had gathered up the horses still alive, and those at the mansion, and had prepared to leave this morning. As Dante had said, they took the weapons and armor from the mercenaries, but left him the bodies. He'd devoured them when no one was around.

"Ah, Sir Shield Hero." Rokkar shook his hand. "I was waiting for you. Is this the one?" He gestured to Eclair.

"She is." Dante nodded. Rokkar went to the cart and started rummaging through it.

"What's this about?" Eclair asked, watching the man warily.

"I had him make something for you. Got the idea from when you tried to stab me."

Eclair stared at him with a flat look.

"It's a good idea, I swear!" Dante held up his hand. Rokkar came back over, carrying a gauntlet with him. "And here is my idea."

Eclair looked at the piece of armor presented to her. "Dante, I already have gauntlets on." She pointed out.

"Yeah, and the fingers on them move, don't they?" He asked rhetorically.

Rokkar turned the gauntlet over, letting the palm face up. The fingers were curled in, as if a hilt sat in them. There was an additional plate of metal around the fingers, reinforcing them, plus a few other attachments.

"I was able to whip this up last night from Sir Shield Hero's suggestions." He explained. "With this, you'll be able to wield a blade, though not as you have before. You won't have the same dexterity. Your wrist will be pretty locked in, so you'll need to get used to that."

He held the gauntlet out to Eclair. She looked it over appraisingly. She picked it up with both hands and moved it around her right hand, having Sadeena help her fit it on.

"If you release that mechanism there, the fingers will relax a little. Then, when you have the sword in, move it in again to secure it." Rokkar instructed. Eclair and Sadeena did as they were told, placing Eclair's new sword into position. Once set, she moved her arm about and gave it a few practice swings.

"How is it?" Dante asked.

The lady knight turned to him, her eyes shimmering. "I can fight?"

"Well…yes." Dante replied. "That was always the plan. Eventually, anyway. This is just temporary. Once we get access to better healing, better potions, or an alchemist, we can fix you up completely." The apothecary they found in town had told them as much. The church in the capital should have the resources and ability to heal Eclair, but that wasn't going to happen. "I'm going to have my arm restored, I wasn't about to leave you with slashed tendons in your hands."

Eclair gave him a bow, keeping her blade at her hip to not have it stick out. "I thank you again for your kindness."

"Of course." He gave her a smile. "I'm just glad you liked this. I had an idea for a sword-gauntlet, but it would've taken too much time to make."

"This is plenty, Sir MacRory." Eclair stood tall, inspecting her new battle attire. "I will make use of this armament until I am healed."

"I look forward to seeing you in action." Dante turned to face the blacksmith. "Where will your group go now?"

Rokkar scratched the back of his head. "We're not too sure. Not too many places around here that would accept a group like ours. Many of us are thinking of breaking away."

"Well, if you're one of the breakaways, you may be able to try Lord Reichnott's territory. He has demi-humans living there peacefully. You do speak Melromarc, right?"

"A little. You think he would take us in?"

"Maybe." Dante shrugged. "I still don't fully understand your reasoning for picking Ronota, but I may as well point you in a similar direction. Just go in peace there. Lord Reichnott helped me out, and I'd hate to hear I caused him any trouble."

"Of course!" Rokkar nodded, clearly understanding the hidden threat."

"One more thing." Dante added. "Make sure not to tell anyone—"

"—That the Shield Hero was involved here. No worries." The man knew what kind of situation they were in. As far as everyone who was held there was concerned, the mercenaries left with a few knights as prisoners, heading north. With no chance of bodies being found, the knights would have to believe that. Especially since the group of various Melromarc citizens had traveled north first to indicate as much.

"Good." Dante held out his hand and Rokkar shook it again. "Safe travels, then. Oh, and in case Reichnott doesn't believe you, tell his rabbit demi-human bodyguard that you're there to give her a two-armed hug from me as a proxy." He shot the blacksmith a smile. "Don't actually do it, she might knock your teeth out."

"Hah! I'll keep that in mind!"

With that, the caravan made its way out of town. Dante's party left as well, determined to improve themselves more.

~The Wrong Hero~

One of the first stops in their travels was to be a small mining complex about an hour from Ronota. From what they gathered, it was still in operation, but there was less traffic there now. They could get some good ore there, plus kill any monsters on the way. Eclair provided them with a pass to mine from it, as it was part of Ronota's holdings. She was also able to find a merchant pass for them. It didn't need Dante's name, only her father's seal, which she found as well. It was a good thing to have, should they require it. She also showed them another hooded carriage from the manor, like the one they had. Using only a single carriage was doable, but a bit cramped. What's more, due to the filolials' strength, they could hook both carriages together to one of them while the other went hunting. Needless to say, both kids were all for that idea.

Dante needed to visit a few places before Melromarc's next wave, but he needed to go at the right time. With Sadeena and Eclair's help, he was able to remember the names of the villages on the map. The first would be Mirso village. He would warn Gaelion about the kill quest on him. Of course, they needed confirm the quest was made, and they had to gain some more levels first.

Dante: LV 31

Sadeena: LV 15

Keel: LV 26

Rifana: LV 26

Raphtalia: LV 26

Dio: LV 32

JoJo: LV 32

Eclair: LV 12

Even with the XP penalty, they were able to make significant gains. Quickly moving between areas on filolials really sped things up, though it still would have been better at sea. Before they went hunting yesterday, Sadeena had Dante lower her level down to one so she could more greatly benefit from his shields. Given the bonuses they provided slaves, as well as her riding out with Dio to land the finishing blows on monsters, she was able to climb up fairly well. Eclair was quite impressed with Sadeena's progress, no doubt more greatly considering taking the slave seal.

While traveling, Rifana was helping Dante with the fire tome. She learned Faust Fire Shot yesterday evening, and was helping him learn it now. It wouldn't really do him any good to cast, if he even could, but learning it should help him learn higher level fire spells, like that Zweite fire-healing spell. And, if he could cast it, he may be able to light fires with it on his own, instead of waiting for someone else.

They would arrive near the mines in a few more minutes, so they decided to stop studying. Dante stretched as he looked out the back of the carriage, watching the changing scenery beyond the attached carriage. Many trees filled his vision. The mining complex was deep in the forest. Apparently, someone had found a really rare ore near the surface once upon a time, so the mining complex was set up.

Still, with little to do, Dante recalled something of a favorite pastime. Something he wished he still had two hands to do.

"I wish I had my bagpipes here." He let slip out.

"Bagpipes?" Eclair looked over at him. She and Rifana went in the front carriage while Raphtalia and Keel were in the back carriage. Sadeena was out with JoJo today while Dio pulled the carriages.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Dante looked her way. "It's an instrument from my world. Pretty fun, and has a nice sound to it, though I'm sure many would disagree."

"I don't believe I've ever heard of it." Eclair rubbed her chin in thought.

"What's it like?" Rifana asked from her spot on the floor. She'd lied down after they finished their studying.

"Well, as the name suggests, it's a bag with pipes attached to it. There's one to blow air into the bag, one to play notes like any wind instrument, and one or more pipes that give off a constant noise. Squeezing the bag produces the sound, so it can play constantly while you take a breath."

It wasn't a perfect explanation, but Dante thought it got the point across.

"Interesting." Eclair nodded along. "Is it an instrument that's part of your country?"

"Eh, more my heritage." Dante shrugged. "My father is Irish. While the Scots are more known for playing them, the Irish are their neighbors across the pond, and they enjoy a good bagpipe song." That, of course, was what he told anyone who asked. It wasn't entirely wrong, since his father was Irish, but he didn't learn the bagpipes to show off his cultural heritage. Of course, he wasn't going around telling people he learned to play the bagpipes as a kid because of a certain futuristic samurai cartoon.

"When you get your arm back, will you play a song for us?" Rifana asked.

"If we can find someone to make one for me, sure." Dante agreed. Rifana beamed up at him.

Aside from being able to do a lot of things by himself again, playing the bagpipes was definitely something to look forward to. Of course, he was confident most of the people in his party wouldn't care for his musical talents. He was no master, by any means, but he knew a few songs. The bagpipes were just a bit of an acquired taste.

"Hey, Papa?" Dio called from the front of the carriage. "There's something weird in the sky."

"Hm?" Dante got up and shuffled up to the front. He peaked out and looked up. There was something round and red floating in the sky. "Is that a balloon? A big one? Maybe a king?" He somewhat remembered them. More specifically, that they were a thing, no other details.

"Mmm…I don't think so." Dio tilted her head from side to side. "I see horns on it."

Eclair stepped into the front with them. "We're close to the mines. It looks like it's floating above it."

The forest around them had been getting sparser, eventually opening into a small field before the mines. The strange balloon thing continued to hover almost 200 feet in the air. Whatever it was, it looked to be about the same size as Dio and JoJo.

As they continued to approach, the red ball turned around. A loud hiss filled the air, causing Dante to instinctively bring up his shield. He got another look at the ball. There was a single green eye near its center. Its wide maw went from one end to the other, and it almost looked like it was grinning as it stared down at them.

"I've never seen something like that." Eclair placed her hand on her sword.

"Is that…" Dante continued to look up at the strange creature.

The red sphere opened its mouth, its eye turning a shade of yellow. In an instant, a ball of fire shot out from its gaping maw at them.

"Dio, stop! Air Strike Shield V!" Dante summoned his barrier above the carriages. The flaming ball impacted the shield and dispersed, leaving them undamaged.

The three of them quickly exited the carriage, with Raphtalia and Keel coming out of the second. "What's going on?" Keel yelled, looking up at Dante's barrier. "What is that thing?"

"Something that shouldn't be here." Dante replied as he watched another fireball impact the Air Strike Shield V. It held strong, but it wouldn't last forever. Unfortunately, that thing didn't want to stay in one spot. It lazily floated around in the air, firing down at them often. "Rifana, start casting. I'll cover for you."

"Yes, Mister Dante!" She held her hands up and began her chant. "As the source of your power, I command you! Let the true way be revealed once more! Ignite my foe with deadly flames! Faust Fire Shot!"

Rifana leaned outside the protective area of Dante's skill as she finished her spell. The ball of fire raced up towards the flying monster and exploded upon impact. It shuddered from the hit, but it kept on floating. It fired several more balls down at the party, all impacting against the barrier. It began to crack under the assault. Of course, that didn't matter. The skill finally timed out.

"Damn it. Behind me, everyone! Faust Guard VI!" Dante called out. His Reinforced Iron Shield was out and ready, and he was protected with his spell. He was pretty sure the fireballs this thing was shooting out were magic. His magic resistance wasn't particularly high with this shield, but it still gave him the most thanks to all the strengthening he did previously. He'd never been hit with a magic attack until now, so he was curious how defense and magic resistance interacted.

The monster seemed to accept the premise that, since Dante was the closest, he was the target. It launched another volley of fireballs down at him. Dante took them all on his shield, the flames spreading around him. He saw his HP go down, but not substantially.

"Faust Fire Shot!" Rifana cast her spell again and sent it up. The monster swayed in the air after getting hit again. Dante couldn't tell how injured it was. Its insides very well could be the same color as its skin.

"It seems to be resistant to magic." Eclair noted. "This may take some time."

"Yeah, I had a feeling." Dante grit his teeth as another fireball struck his shield. "This isn't going to kill me, but it is kind of annoying. Do any of you besides Rifana know how to use a bow?"

"I do." Dante looked back at the speaker. He saw Eclair give him a straight look. The beginning of a smile was present on her face.

"Heh. Glad to see you're making jokes." Dante turned back. A larger fireball came down at him. He tried to bat it away by infusing his shield with EP, but it only seemed to blow a little fire away from him. He swung his arm back, throwing out a pair of bows and quivers to the party, curtesy of the dead mercenaries. "Mini training arc. Raphtalia and Keel, start shooting. Eclair, instruct them. Rifana, keep casting. Dio…" He looked back at his daughter. She stood in her filolial queen form, waiting for something she could do. "…Can you create wind with your wings?"

The bird girl shook her head. "Sorry, Papa."

"It's fine. I'm sure it'll come later." Another barrage of fireballs landed on Dante's shield as Rifana shot the floating annoyance again. "Just keep watch and make sure nothing tries to sneak up on us."

"Okay, Papa!" She trotted to the other side of the carriages, shifting her head around as she looked about.

Raphtalia and Keel seemed to grasp how to load a bow and fire, thanks to Eclair's quick direction, but their aim was way off. Dante didn't expect them to become master marksmen anytime soon, but he figured shooting arrows that missed often was better than nothing.

Once his skill came off cooldown, het erected another Air Strike Shield V. It couldn't have come at a better time. The fireballs were starting to hurt more. He wasn't sure if it was some sort of stacked damage from the fireballs or what.

"Zweite Thunderbolt!" The electric spell slammed into the floating monster, dealing noticeable damage. Blue blood leaked from the side of impact. Sadeena rode in on JoJo from the forest to the right of where they came from. The monster turned to them and let out a volley of fireballs, but JoJo was easily able to avoid them.

"Perfect timing!" Dante called out to her. JoJo came over to the shield barrier and let her off. She began casting again.

With even more magic being pumped onto it, as well as a few of Raphtalia and Keel's arrows hitting their mark, the monster dropped from the sky. It made it easy, as the monster kept coming closer as it attacked. It made a satisfying blubbering noise as it fell. Dante held his head in his hand.

Even dead, it looks just like it. I swear, if that's what I think it is, someone is going to die a painful death.

He turned to the rest of his party.

"Good work, everyone." He said. His party, however, had varying expressions. Raphtalia and Keel had their eyes averted. Rifana held her hands over her mouth, her cheeks bright red. Eclair was completely facing the opposite direction, pushing into Dio's feathers. His daughter…just stood there normally, though she did have a wing over Eclair.

"Uh, what's—"

"Oh, Dante~!" He felt himself be picked up and spun. Sadeena had transformed, her rubber-like skin cool to the touch. "This isn't the time or place for that! But, if you really want to…"

"What are you—" Dante realized what was wrong. He felt her skin not just on his arm, but his front, back, and legs. He looked down and confirmed what he thought. "Ah. I'm naked."

"You are~." Sadeena set him down, keeping his body from view of the others with hers. It seemed his shield's power protected his whole body, but not what he was wearing.

"Why does that matter?" JoJo asked, tilting his head to the side. "I'm mostly naked right now."

"That's…" How to explain that to a kid, Dante wondered. "It's impolite to be naked in human form."

"Oh." JoJo looked at Sadeena. Now that Dante got a look at them side by side, they really were the same height transformed. "Does that mean Sadeena can walk around naked when she looks like this?"

"Oh my~." The orca held a hand to her cheek. "I don't think I could do that."

"I could, but I'm sure I'd get a lot of drama for it." Dante said, dropping some clothes and armor from his shield. Even his boots had been destroyed.

It's not like Mia was the only one to do a job while nude. I just don't fuck the guy before I kill them. Killing someone at a nudist beach was the weirdest job I accepted.

"They'd have a lot more to say about you in the capital." Keel said, his eyes still turned away.

"They have lot to say about a lot of things." Dante countered. He and Sadeena had explained to everyone what he was accused of when they took them there from Idol's. Well, they explained it to Keel during the first day Dante bought him. "What are you acting all embarrassed for, anyway?" Dante called out to the dog boy, as he was currently acting like one. "As I recall, at our first meeting, you lifted up your shirt and showed me—"

"S-Shut up!" He yelled.

Dante let out a small laugh and looked up at Sadeena. "Mind helping out?"

"Of course, cute Dante~." She gave him a wink and grabbed the pants.

"Funny."

Within a couple minutes, Dante had this spare set of clothes and armor on. The chainmail was the same as Raphtalia and Keel's, taken from Idol's knights. His clothes were basically the same as before, just a simple pair of pants and tunic with leather boots. He was lucky he used the Savage Shield on those mercenaries before, otherwise he wouldn't have any useable underwear. Once they finished, Sadeena transformed back.

"Well, that's done." Dante looked over his party again. They seemed good, and his status said they took no damage. Eclair, however, was still turned away. "You okay, Eclair?" He called to her.

"I…yes." She turned her head slightly. "Seeing you like that was…difficult."

"I see. Was burying yourself in Dio's feathers helpful?" Eclair shot him a glare, but he merely held up his hand. "I'm not making fun of you."

She hesitated, then gave him a short nod. "It was comforting. Soothing."

"Good. Dio!" He called out to the filolial girl, gaining her full attention. "If you would, give Eclair a hug whenever she needs one."

"Okay, Papa!" She gave a salute and pulled Eclair back in with her wing. "Don't worry, Berry. I'll help you feel better!"

"I-wha-Berry?!" Eclair called out, her body being consumed by Dio's feathers.

"Ah, yeah." Dante chuckled. "I may have called you 'the strawberry knight' in front of everyone."

"Why?!" Eclair's voice became muffled. "And what's a strawberry?!"

"Yeah, they asked that too. It's a fruit. Your hair color is what I'd call 'strawberry blonde'. Fitting, yeah?" He didn't get a proper response. Eclair was too engulfed to respond, or likely even hear him.

While Dio was helping Eclair, JoJo got to the carriages and started to pull them. Everyone else walked over to where the monster landed. Since it had slowly floated closer to them as they fought, it didn't land in the mining complex.

Dante looked down at the felled monster. He really didn't want to verify what he thought it was, but it was better to know for sure. Lowering his shield, he absorbed a large chunk of its flesh and guts. A popup proved him right.

D. Cacodemon Shield

(abilities locked) equip bonus: fire resistance (small)

equip effect: levitate (minor)

"Hah…" Dante let his head hang down.

"Didn't get what you thought?" Sadeena asked.

"No, I got exactly what I thought I would." Part of him thought it was funny that something like this was here. It behaved a lot like he remembered, down to the sounds it made. Even the name was the same. It wasn't hard to figure out what the 'D' stood for.

"What is it?" Keel asked, pushing a bit of its insides with his foot.

"Still something that shouldn't be here." Dante looked to Sadeena. "I'm guessing you've never seen something like this either?"

"Nope." She shook her head.

"Damn." He was hoping that another creative person had found a muse from the apparent multiverse, but that was wishful thinking. "This is most likely a created or modified monster."

"Modified?" Rifana perked up. "Like, from an alchemist?"

"Yeah." Dante scratched the back of his head. "An alchemist…who shouldn't know what this thing is."

"What do you mean?" She continued.

"This is a cacodemon. It's something from an old game, er, interactive story from my world." He still hadn't explained his source of knowledge about their world. The most he said to any of them, aside from Sadeena, was that he had 'certain knowledge'. With the Q'ten Lo shadows nearby, he didn't want to say any more about that.

"Does that mean this alchemist is from your world?" Raphtalia asked. "As in, another summoned hero?"

"Possible, but unlikely." Dante shook his head. "Most likely…they are reincarnated from my world."

"What's that?" Dio asked, still holding onto Eclair, though the knight could see now.

"It means they died and were reborn here with their memories intact." Dante explained. "And, from what I know, most of them cause problems."

Eclair nodded. "This alchemist seems to be no exception."

It was really unfortunate, but also really strange. From what he knew, the reincarnated, or vanguards of the waves, were powerful and dangerous. Sure, the flying tomato here would have killed most people coming through, but it wasn't difficult for a hero's party. Dante was sure any of the other heroes could have dealt with this, even at lower levels. They each would likely have had a dedicated archer and had hero skills to use, doubly so for Itsuki. Maybe they would have lost a member, but they probably had healing magic to prevent that.

The problem was, how many more of these were there? And, what other ones were created?

"It seems like whenever one problem gets miraculously solved, another one pops up." Dante complained. "I'd like to postpone dealing with this one."

"What?" Eclair gaped at him. "Sir MacRory, if an alchemist is creating these things, they must be dealt with."

"I agree, just not right now. The one creating them may be more powerful than us, and have more tricks up their sleeves."

"Many people could be killed before they are stopped." Eclair held up her hand, barely forming a fist. "The honorable thing to do would be stopping them."

"Tsk. Honor." Dante was about to tell her exactly what he thought about honor in this queendom, but he saw the looks everyone was giving him. Raphtalia and Rifana clearly wanted to do something about this. Keel held his axe against his shoulder, probably wanting to fight something not 200 feet in the air. Sadeena, at least, looked somewhat indifferent to it. Dante supposed it was a miracle that Raphtalia and Rifana still wanted to help people, given what they went through. Eclair too. Then again, it wasn't farmers and fishermen that were to blame, but knights and slavers. Knights with honor.

"Yeah, alright, fine." Dante relented. "We came here for ore, and now we'll be gaining XP too." That cacodemon did provide a nice amount of XP. It was a larger amount than its difficulty would suggest. Whatever this alchemist was doing, it was avoiding the XP loss for land monsters, if that was indeed a thing here. Sea monsters still provided more than land ones, and Dante's party was in no position to go off and fight what may or may not be a living computer in the desert that suppressed land monster XP, if it was even there. The Spear web novel got weird later on.

The point was, if this cacodemon was any indication, they would be gaining a lot of XP from this little adventure. Hopefully, whoever made them wasn't too strong.

Whatever happens, I better not unlock some sort of Romero Shield from all these demons.