The Raven Invader

The Raven Invader (漆黒の異邦者) is the twelfth episode of The Rising of the Shield Hero anime.

Synopsis
The three Heroes fight the mysterious new enemy and were easily defeated. Naofumi and his party take up the fight and begin to face the downhill battle. Even Filo and Raphtalia in their top game weren't able to make a scratch on the enemy. With no other option, Naofumi uses every trump card up his sleeve but was easily overwhelmed.

Is this the true battle of the Wave? Can Naofumi and his party survive it?

Plot
The episode starts were the previous one left off. The Third Wave is still underway, with the cardinal heroes and the parties aboard the ghost ship. With the Waves Bosses (two Soul-Eater ghost fish) now dead, the Shield Hero and his comrades are confronted by a mysterious red-eyed woman in a black kimono. She introduces herself as Glass, stating that she is their enemy. Whilst the other heroes marvel at Glass' strength (considering her an overpowered character), Raphtalia stares at Glass in fear. At Glass' insistence, Naofumi introduces himself, whereupon Glass primes a pair of metal fans and declares that they shall now begin "the true battle of the Wave."

Naofumi studies Glass with his information hub but is unable to obtain any information on her relating to her or her level. Puzzled by his lack of initiative, Glass (who witnessed the fight with the first Soul Eater) asks the Shield Hero why he is not moving to attack her. She then suggests that Naofumi send his "servants" to attack her first, referring to the other three Heroes. Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki all take offense to this, as do their party members who immediately surround Glass. Enraged the Three Heroes unleash their ultimate attacks on her (Meteor Slash, Thrust, and Shot respectively). A gloating Glass not only tanks the attacks she responds with an energy strike of her own (Zero Stance Rondo: Reverse Four Seasons), which incapacitates everyone except Naofumi and his companions, knocking them out of the battle.

Whilst the other heroes attacks failed, a potion Motoyasu was carrying flies out of his pocket and lands at Naofumi's feet. He picks it up discovering it to be a Soul Soothing Potion; an SP recovery potion. As Glass taunts the other heroes for being weak, Naofumi uses this brief respite to consume the potion and gets ready to fight.

He uses his Shield Prison on Glass but she immediately breaks out. This was revealed to simply be a distraction, as Raphtalia moves in and attempts to strike Glass with her sword. Glass, however, parries Raphtalia and pushes Filo's incoming kick attack back effortlessly. She then launches a wind attack at the Demi-Human, forcing Naofumi to jump in the way. Barely able to hold off the attack, The Shield Hero uses the poison effect of his Chimera Viper Shield. Despite being attacked by three massive serpents, Glass is unphased telling Naofumi that this will not work on her, rendering the snake bites useless.

Naofumi calls Filo in once again. Despite using High Quick to deliver eight strikes in a single second, Glass parries each of the philolials kicks, unaffected. When Raphtalia attempts to slash her from behind, the raven-haired woman not only intercepts the incoming attack but responds with a strike of her own breaking Raphtalia's sword. Seeing his enemy adopt a familiar stance, Naofumi orders his companions to get behind him. He conjures up a Shield Prison just in time to protect all three of them from Glass' incoming Reverse Four Seasons.

As the shield barrier breaks, Raphtalia and Filo collapse onto the deck clearly exhausted. Smirking Glass steps forward. She expresses admiration that Naofumi is still standing after all this fighting, but demands to know when Naofumi intends to use his true weapon: i.e. the Wrath Shield. Recognizing the full severity of their situation, and with Raphtalia's approval, the Shield Hero activates his curse weapon. Filo's resulting power up still doesn't even phase the raven-haired woman, who sends the giant bird flying across the deck.

Angered, Naofumi charges forward! Fire magic lashes against wind magic, but in the end, Glass is consumed in a pillar of fire. Despite being temporarily covered from head to toe, the flames do not hurt her. Worse still, after breaking free, Glass uses a new skill (Rupture Stance Rondo; Tortoise Shell Cracker) an armor-piercing attack, which cuts through Naofumi's defense and breaks his dragon gauntlet.

Glass notes that Naofumi's defense lives up to his title of Hero. Stating she knows that his Wrath Shield only works at close range, she orders Naofumi to use his ultimate attack on her. Bowing to her wish, The Shield Hero imprisons her in another Shield Prison, then activates Iron Maiden. This is not enough to stop their fan wielding adversary, who effortlessly breaks free. As she lands, The Shield Hero and his companions look on in despair, with Naofumi wondering if there is anything that they can do?

Suddenly a loud ticking noise can be heard, as with a massive shudder, the ship starts to descend. The clock in the top right-hand corner of Naofumi's hub is going down, not up. as even her attacks didn't hurt him. A comment from Glass causes Naofumi to realize that their enemy is on a time limit. Glass then readies for another strike, gloats that this fight will end with her victory whilst stating that she has nothing personal against the Shield Hero.

Naofumi has Raphtalia blind Glass with Fast Light allowing him to cast healing magic on Filo. Jumping onto Filo's back they run away. Recovering fast Glass runs to the stern of the ship, utilizing a long-range attack in a bid to finish off her adversary. Thanks to a warning from Raphtalia, plus a combination of Filo's speed, Air Strike Shield and Naofumi's sheer resilience, the group manages to escape.

Seeing no point in finishing Naofumi off at long range, Glass decides to leave for the time being. Jumping into the air, the raven-haired warrior confidently proclaims that her side will be triumphant in the waves and that if Naofumi (and the others) want to survive, they are going to need to get a lot stronger. With that Glass vanishes in a flash of golden light.

Seconds later, the sky final clear and the Ghost-Ship crashes, Motoyasu, Ren, Itsuki, and their party members still aboard. The Third Wave is finally over! Despite this Naofumi and Raphtalia are clearly rattled by their encounter with Glass!

The nearby villages have all been saved without any casualties, with the villagers extremely happy about this. Naofumi, however, sits alone, in deep thought, now very concerned. Glass' appearance has left more questions than answers. Why did the countdown appear? What is the true purpose of the Waves? More importantly, why was Glass so set on trying to kill him, a hero trying to stop the Wave?

Even after absorbing the Soul Eater and producing the Soul Eater Shield, Naofumi notes that any dramatic improvement in their overall fighting power is going to demand class upgrades for Filo and Raphtalia. As he is contemplating this, the villagers tend to the rest of the Heroes and their parties, helping them as best they can. Ake then leads his commanding officer over to Naofumi, the later demanding that the Shield Hero report to the King immediately.

A recording of Naofumi defeating the Soul Eater is presented to the King via a magical crystal ball. At the end of the recording, which skips the encounter with Glass, King Aultcray reluctantly "congratulates" Naofumi for his victory during the Wave in a very offhanded manner. This does not go unnoticed by Naofumi, who reflects that he did not wish to return to the castle anyway, and only did so at Ake's insistence. Onto business, the King demands to know how Naofumi obtained such ludicrous offensive power. He states that such power shouldn't be possible for the defensive Shield Hero, and wants to know the secret behind Naofumi's, threatening Naofumi not to lie to him.

Naofumi, in turn, responds with a jab of his own. Pointing to the ground in front of him, the Shield Hero demands that the King kneel before him and beg for the answer. His declaration shocks everyone present, whilst making Aultcray angry.

Naturally, the King responds to Naofumi's insolence by having his guards surround him, swords drawn. However, the Shield Hero is not intimidated. Instead, Naofumi declares that if he wanted to, he could kill the King and walk out the front door unharmed. Aultcray insists this is a bluff, but Naofumi summons his Chimera Viper Shield showing it is anything but. Turning to the guards, Naofumi challenges the soldiers, reminding them that he was the one that defeated the previous Wave's boss, not any of the other heroes. they regard so highly Aultcray's soldier's eye one another nervously but make no move to strike, further irritating the King.

Disgusted, Naofumi makes his position clear: he will co-operate with Aultcray and Melromarc until the Waves are over and he can return home. He is finished with the King, however, and never wants to see him again. With that Naofumi rudely turns his back on the court, and walks past the shocked guards, unafraid.

The King, however, demands to be shown more respect. When that doesn't work, Aultcray then states that if they're unable to bring Naofumi in for his "crimes," then they'll just make his slaves pay in his place!

This proves to be a big mistake, however, as Naofumi freezes and turns to face the King. Aultcray quails at the unhinged death glare Naofumi sends his way. His patience now exhausted, The Shield Hero proceeds to threaten the man that set out to make his life a misery, simply because he was chosen as the Shield Hero.

With the soldiers and ministers watching on, Naofumi tells King Aultcray: -

"Use all the dirty, underhanded tricks you want. I will protect my party through it all. You'll never take anything from me again. I dare you to lay a finger on them. I'll chase you to ends of the earth and make you regret ever being born."

This makes Aultcray shiver. With that Naofumi carries out his promise and leaves the throne-room unopposed, the King reduced to simply cursing him all the way out.

As Naofumi is leaving the palace, a mysterious noblewoman with a very outdated speech manner approaches. The woman congratulates Naofumi for his accomplishments, stating that everyone in Melromarc shall now be aware of them. Amongst them, however, are forces that do not take kindly to the Shield Heroes presence., She then holds up a mysterious rosary, which fuses the Spear, Sword, and Bow emblems into one; a symbol The Shield Hero has seen before. Stating what may appear virtuous on the surface is, in fact, plotting behind the scenes, the woman advises Naofumi to be cautious from now on. She then departs, concluding her sentence by saying "I daresay", leaving Naofumi confused.

Meanwhile, Melty enters the throne-room, much to her father's delight. Unfortunately, the mood is soured by Melty's revelation about Aultcray's failed conversation with Naofumi. Melty knows full well that Naofumi is necessary to defend against the Waves, so she asks her father to reconcile with him before anything else. The King shows a brief moment of anger at this suggestion, before quickly apologizing.

Melty then tries a different approach and asks her father about his reason for his hatred towards the Shield Hero. Aultcray hesitates then silently hints that something happened in the past between himself, the (previous) Shield Hero and Demi-Human's, which had an impact on his family. Now he fears that if he lets the new Shield Hero run free the same sort of thing may happen again. This leaves Melty confused.

At that moment a completely healed Malty comes in. The older princess reminds her younger sister that in the absence of their mother their father holds absolute authority and that even princess have no authority over it. Though they may not understand his intentions, they have to trust that he has their best interests at heart. She also sarcastically reminds Melty that she is too young to understand and should hold back.

Melty, however, counters that her conversation with the King has nothing to do with Malty and reminds her that the one who shoulders the responsibility of Crown Princess is herself, not Malty. Melty also adds that she too intended to act in the best interests of the country. This angers Malty, with Aultcray looking nervously back and forth between the two girls.

With that Melty excuses herself, Aultcray tries to reach out to her but is stopped by Malty. As her sister leaves, Malty glares at the crown princess with a peculiar intensity. Outside, Melty meets with the same noblewoman that Naofumi encountered. The pair have a quick conversation, then leave together leave, unaware that a Melromarc guard was spying on them from behind a pillar.

Meanwhile, in the city, Naofumi has just finished talking with Erhard. The weapons shop owner does not think highly of Naofumi's interaction with the King but reaffirms that he will provide him with as much help as he can. Aware that he will never be able to get a class upgrade in Melromarc, Naofumi informs the older man that he was thinking about either visiting Shieldfreeden or Siltvelt. Erhard recommends that they travel to Shieldfreeden for Filo's and Raphtalia's class upgrades. Although both are Demi-Human countries, Siltvelt is a lot more extreme in regards to Demi-Human supremacy though this should not affect Naofumi who is the Shield Hero. The prospect of a long trip delights Filo, who literally starts jumping for joy.

The group departs later that same day, with Erhard also providing some gifts for the group to help them on their journey. For Naofumi, a Shield accessory which scans for new powers. For Raphtalia, a brand-new sword and a magic sword to use against non-corporeal enemies. Last but not least, a set of power gloves that greatly enhance a human's strength. After a bit of consideration, Naofumi gives these to Filo, who can use them in her human form.

That evening after making camp at the side of the road, the group enjoys a light supper. Whilst Filo accidentally burns her tongue on a hot drink, Naofumi reflects on how much he enjoys traveling. It allows him to forget about his troubles, whilst keeping him away from the machinations of the royal family or the consequences of the other foolish Heroes actions.

No sooner does he think this, than a voice calls and he is forced to confront reality again. A carriage approaches flanked by several guards. Sitting at the back of the carriage is Princess Melty. Filo is overjoyed to see her friend again, whilst Naofumi is noticeably less than thrilled. Raphtalia, however, argues with Naofumi that whilst it may have only been temporary Melty was a decent traveling companion and that he should talk to her. Filo agrees with this and as Melty approaches, ahead of her guards, Naofumi begrudgingly decides to hear her out.

Melty addresses Naofumi very formally before asking him to return to the castle and have another talk with her father. The Shield Hero, however, instantly refuses. Although initially taken aback, The Princess (who is unaware about the full extent of Malty and Aultcray's actions) insists that Naofumi should apologize for his conduct and reconcile with her father, to which he again refuses. Melty then tries to appeal to Naofumi's sense of duty, stating that he is needed to fight the Waves and that he will be lost without her father's financial support. Naofumi scoffs at this, her words baring no fruit since Naofumi received no help or financial support from the King (though Melty seems unaware of this). Naofumi adds that he was one graciously helping the Kingdom until the Waves end, prompting a scolding from Raphtalia.

Frustrated, Melty finally loses her temper and throws a tantrum, irritated at how everyone is behaving. She demands to know why Naofumi and her father are so hostile with each other, stating that a hero and the King shouldn't be fighting like this in a time of crisis. She turns to both Filo and Raphtalia for support, leaving them both flustered. When this does not sway Naofumi to talk to her father, Melty insist that he do so, otherwise, her father will be yelled at by her mother. Unmoved Naofumi reflects on how much she is behaving like her father, before noting Melty's mention of her mother.

As Melty continues glaring at him, ready to continue their argument, The Shield Hero glances behind the Princess in the direction of her guards. Strangely they are still standing some distance away. Something about them catches Naofumi's attention. The soldiers are all staring at him, unblinkingly, intense glares on their faces. Even more strangely the guard in the center of the formation is holding a crystal ball, identical to the one Aultcray used back in the throne-room.

An uneasy feeling creeps over Naofumi, and The Shield Hero realizes that something is very wrong here. He has seen that type of expression before, it's the same one he received from Aultcray and the other heroes on that fateful day when he was framed for "raping" Malty. Having been in this type of situation, Naofumi senses that something sinister is about to happen!

Suddenly, one of the soldiers breaks out of the formation and charges straight towards them. Naofumi's eyes widen in horror as the man rushes forward, weapon at the ready, his eyes fixed on an oblivious Melty. Realizing what is about to happen, Naofumi manages to overcome his initial shock just in time and reacts instinctively!

Unaware about what is happening Melty is still trying to convince Naofumi to return to the Capital. She is therefore caught off guard when Naofumi suddenly seizes her by the arm and pulls her protectively towards him, whilst throwing out his shield arm. With a loud clang that shocks all three girls and a noticeable grunt of pain from Naofumi, the Shield Hero intercepts a blow, which would have cleaved straight through Melty's skull had it landed.

Now held protectively by the Shield Hero, a completely horrified Princess Melty stares at the attacking soldier, one of her own bodyguards in complete shock, whilst an enraged Naofumi does his best to hold the treasonous soldier's weapon at bay!

Trivia

 * Time limit for the Wave is shown, indicating that the Waves end within a specified time and not by taking down the Wave boss alone.
 * Intelligent human-like beings, Glass also comes from the Waves and not just monsters. It adds more mystery to the Waves.
 * Unlike the previous Wave, no villagers were mourning. In fact, some of them were even smiling, indicating zero casualties.
 * Crystal balls are used to see and even edit recorded events (similar to real-life video cameras).
 * Weapon Shop Owner's name is revealed to be Erhard.
 * Siltvelt and Shieldfrieden are revealed to be 2 demi-human nations: the former praises demi-human supremacy and worship to the Shield Hero, while the latter is liberal and receptive to both humans and demi-humans.
 * The distance of Shieldfreeden from the Castle Town of Melromarc is approximately 4 weeks by carriage.
 * Aultcray's reasons for antagonizing the Shield Hero and Demi-Humans are hinted.
 * Naofumi came to know of the existence of Melty's mother, the Queen of Melromarc.

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