Jeanne D'Arc Alter vs Naofumi Iwatani

Jeanne D'Arc Alter vs Naofumi Iwatani (by AzureWriter83, aka me)

Description

Though these two were supposed to be heroes of the world, they wield the power of dragons and the incarnation of wrath. But will the Dragon Witch extend her vengeance to Naofumi, or will the Shield Hero protect the world?

Interlude

Bryant: In our world, one of the most important things known to mankind is our trust. Few things are more precious, and few things are easier to break.

Thea: And when someone's trust is broken, chances are, they'll be willing to do bad things to their betrayers. The question, how will they go from there?

Bryant: Jeanne D'Arc Alter, the Witch of Vengeance.

Thea: And Naofumi Iwatani, the Cardinal Shield.

Bryant: I'm Bryant Reese.

Thea: And I'm Thea Price.

Bryant: And we're here from Fanfiction.net to find out which hero of wrath would win, a Death Battle!

Jalter Rules Death Battle!

Bryant: In the 'future' of 2015, a powerful organization known as Chaldea was formed, with the express purpose to prevent the end of the world and ensure the future of humanity, observing the time stream with various objects known as Chaldeas, named after the organization. However, one day, Olga Marie Amusphere, the director of the organization, noticed that the Chaldeas were suddenly bright orange, as opposed the brilliant blue they were supposed to be. Mankind has been eradicated.

Thea: And when the team assembled to save mankind, a traitor named Lev Lainur set off a bomb to fatally injure most of them and threw Olga into an exposed Chaldea, which was basically a black hole, and disassembled her on a molecular level to endure an eternal death! Man, this guy sucks! Especially since he and his allies were the ones responsible for the end of mankind! Cause turns out, Lev was actually the Demon God Flauros, a deity created to incinerate a portion of human history, specifically the part after 2016, alongside many other deities doing similar things with other parts of history, creating paradoxes that would rip apart reality!

Bryant: Fortunately, there was still one member of the organization available to help fight Lev. Known officially as Ritsuka Fujiwara but nicknamed Gudao or Gudako-

Thea: Depending on if you want to be a waifu or a husbando.

Bryant: -this final member would Rayshift to different Singularities and solve the paradoxes there, all while working alongside their friend, Mash Kyrielight.

Thea: All while spinning the Gacha wheel and trying to get that rare 5-star drop but only getting that 2-star drop and just wasting all the money that you should be saving for actual life. By the way, Bryant...

Bryant: No, you can't have my credit card.

Thea: Aw, man!

Bryant: It would be a tough task, and a dangerous introduction to gambling, but Ritsuka and Mash were fully dedicated to undoing the Singularities, save humanity, and stop Lev Lainur and those who he worked with.

Thea: And for their first official mission, they went to 1421 Orleans, during the Hundred Years' War, a time in medieval France where war was a common occurrence. What wasn't supposed to be common was the rising of the skeleton knights, wyverns, and dragons!

Bryant: And the one who was behind it all, was the one who could've, and perhaps should've, been seen as Orleans' mightiest warrior, and greatest blessing. The Maid of Orleans, Jeanne d'Arc. Except this wasn't the kind hearted saint that people knew. This, was an Alter. This, was Jeanne Alter.

• Jeanne D'Arc Alter:
  • Aliases: Jeanne, Alter, Jalter, Dragon Witch
  • Height: 159 cm
  • Weight: 44 kg
  • Class: Ruler/Avenger/Lancer/Berserker
  • Likes: Bickering, burning, being angry, defying God
  • Dislikes: Believing in God

Thea: This might be a little complicated for non-Fate fans, so hold on to your butts.

Bryant: The way a Holy Grail War in Fate works, is that there's usually a Mage who summons a being from another time. The Mage would become known as a Master, and the summoned being would be known as a Servant. A Servant is usually a historical or mythological person, though there are some that are simply extremely iconic beings in fiction and folklore. If their name had a big impact on history one way or another, their spirits are stored in the Throne of Heroes. Though admittedly they only need to have a strong enough legend. They don't necessarily need to be heroes, which is why some Servants could be the likes of Hercules, King Arthur, or Leonardo da Vinci, and others could be Medusa, Morgan le Fay, or Hassan-i Sabbah.

Thea: Eh, don't be surprised if TYPE-Moon writers decided to change some things. These guys love their anime waifus. So King Arthur Pendragon ends up being King Artoria Pendragon, one of the best anime waifus in anime.

Bryant: The Master and their Servant would then fight against six other Masters and Servants, generating large amounts of magic which would fill the Holy Grail, and both the Master and Servant would go on to use the Holy Grail to grant their wish. However, Lev Lainur brought a Holy Grail and gifting it to someone before an official war even started, which defied the very rules of the Holy Grail War. As such, while one side summoned various Servants to battle, the real Grail generated other Servants to help combat the unnatural state of the war.

Thea: And one of the first Servants encountered by Ritsuka and Mash was Jeanne D'Arc, the Maid of Orleans!

Bryant: Jeanne d'Arc was once the daughter of an ordinary farmer. But as the war raged and the world charged to hell, Jeanne heard what she perceived to be the Lord's lament. It wasn't a call to battle, or a ceremony declaring her to be the chosen one. What she heard was the sorrowful mumbles that everyone else failed to hear. And so Jeanne joined the French Army, fighting alongside Gilles de Rais to stop the Lord's tears, even despite knowing that should the truth of her identity be discovered, she would be persecuted by the church and its belief in what women should behave like.

Thea: Ha ha! Misogyny!

Bryant: Despite only being 16 years old when she joined, Jeanne proved herself a savior to the people of France, and her devotion to God and his teachings, as well as her humbleness, earned her the title of Saint. Unfortunately, Jeanne's prediction about the church proved true. When her secret was discovered, she was burned at the stake, still offering her prayers and lamenting the potentially kinder and happier life she gave up to pursue this righteous journey, yet never surrendering to regret due to knowing that she did good, and that she saved people.

Thea: Yeah, Jeanne is great. Unfortunately, Gilles thought that she was too great. Gilles ended up going insane, and practiced heresy, doing unspeakable sins and practicing black magic until he was hung and executed! Man, that's a bummer. A maiden burned, a knight turned. A saint betrayed, her friend a shade.

Bryant: Have you been going to that poetry club I recommended?

Thea: Yeah, they loved my poem about living outdoors in a cave. Some of them even asked for tips!

Bryant: Huh. I forgot that you lived in a cave.

Thea: No electric bill, no gas bill, no water bill, living in a cave is great if you know how to do it right. And it's better than living in Bryant's van.

Bryant: But while Jeanne would eventually be looked back on as a lady too good for this world in real life, Lev's actions would change that. The Orleans Singularity came about from Lev starting a Holy Grail War, and summoning the version of Gilles before his execution. A Caster-Class Servant who was nothing like the honorable knight he was once upon a time. This version was twisted by his rage, sorrow, and love for Jeanne, and agreed to burn France down to avenge the Maid of Orleans. And to do this, he used the power of the Holy Grail to summon Jeanne to his side, so that she could extract her vengeance on the world that she had once protected. And so, Jeanne Alter was born, and her wrath was clear to see.

• Abilities/Arsenal:
  • Noble Phantasm: La Grondement Du Haine
  • Avenger Class
  • Class Skills:
    • Avenger, Oblivion Correction, Self-Replenishment (Mana)
  • Append Skills:
    • Extra Attack Boost, Mana Loading, Anti-Avenger
  • Personal Skills:
    • Self-Modification, Dragon Witch, Ephemeral Dream
  • Swordsmanship
  • Spirit Form
  • Magic
    • Pyrokinesis, Curses, Summoning, Absorption, Summoned Blades
  • Stats:
    • Strength: A
    • Agility: A
    • Endurance: C
    • Mana: A+
    • Luck: E
    • NP: A+

Thea: An Alter Servant can basically be seen as a Heroic Spirit who was 'corrupted' or mutated to be a different version of the original version in a lot of ways. Jeanne was kind, loving, and forgiving, but Jalter was cruel, merciless, and vengeful. She wanted to do nothing more than to burn the entirety of France to the ground, believing that her inability to hear God's voice meant that he had forsaken France, and deemed it unable to be saved.

Bryant: And she certainly had the ability to do so due to now being a Servant. Specifically, a Ruler, and later, an Avenger.

Thea: Here's how the whole Servant thing works. Servants are well-known figures, right? When their legends are made, they're stored in the Throne of Heroes, and depending their legends, they'd get summoned in different classes, usually revolving around something special to them. Take Artoria for example. Like the legend of King Arthur, she wields Excalibur, a magic sword. So when she's summoned, it's a pretty big chance for her to be summoned as a Saber Class Servant, a swordfighter. But King Arthur was also known for having a spear called Rhongomyniad, so that means that she can be summoned as a Lancer Class Servant, a spear-user.

Bryant: They even have type effectiveness. Sabers are good against Lancers, Lancers are good against Archers, and Archers are good against Sabers.

Thea: And Casters are good against Assassins, who are good against Riders, who are good against Casters.

Bryant: As a mirror to Jeanne, who was also summoned as a Servant during this time, Jeanne Alter actually had a special class tp wield. Like Jeanne, Jalter was summoned as a Ruler Class Servant. A Ruler isn't like the other Servants. Instead of actively participating in a Grail War, the Ruler instead oversees the War as someone who preserves the laws of the Heroic Spirits. Despite this role, Jalter was anything but neutral. She's more befitting the second Class she was eventually switched to.

Thea: Yeah, you know how her whole thing is being vengeful and stuff? It makes sense that she stopped being the supposed-to-be-neutral Ruler, and eventually became the resentful Avenger Class Servant. Basically an Avenger Class Servant is a Servant who died with a lot of hate in their hearts. Considering that Jalter is an Alter thanks to hate, it makes sense.

Bryant: Avengers are actually the polar opposite to a Ruler. While a Ruler is neutral, an Avenger is anything but. It's one of the two classes that can deal extra damage to a Ruler, serving as their weakness. Fitting, considering that the real Jeanne is a Ruler, and Jalter is her polar opposite.

Thea: And as a Servant, Jalter has superhuman strength, speed, durability, and endurance. Even when compared to other Servants, her strength, agility, Mana, and NP is pretty damn high. And most Servants are able to move faster than the eye can see, easily overpower regular humans, and can fight for days if they have enough magic. Thankfully, Jalter tends to have enough magic.

Bryant: As a Servant, Jalter has access to various skills that she can rely on in battle. These skills revolve around the Class she was summoned as, as well as her own personal history. As an Avenger, Jalter is able to passively regenerate her mana pool as long as her grudge holds firm. As an Alter Servant literally created from hatred, this means her mana is essentially unlimited.

Thea: Servants can also gather magic when they attack, but with the Avenger B skill, her mana regeneration is increased by 18% by gathering other people's hatred and resentment to increase their mana gathering. Sure it makes her more vulnerable to debuffs, but having more magic to fight with is always a win.

Bryant: She can also deal more critical damage thanks to the Oblivion Correction skill, increase her power and turn invincible with the Ephemeral Dream, summon and enhance dragons with Dragon Witch, and further increase her critical hit chance with the Self-Modification Skill.

Thea: She definitely has the power to burn down France, especially with her trump card, her Noble Phantasm!

Bryant: Every Servant has a special artifact, skill, or weapon mostly unique to them, determined by both their class and their history. Take for example, Cu Chulainn, a famous Irish demi-god. During his myth, he wielded an incredibly powerful spear called Gae Bulg. Should he be summoned as a Lancer, his Noble Phantasm would be this very weapon.

Thea: Or go back to Artoria. When she's a Saber, she wields Excalibur as her Noble Phantasm. And when she's a Lancer, her Noble Phantasm would be her spear, Rhongomyniad.

Bryant: Noble Phantasms are powerful, and Jalter is no different, but it is very different from Jeanne's Noble Phantasm. When Jeanne uses her Noble Phantasm, she increases defense, grants invincibility, and heals. It's a kind Noble Phantasm, one meant to protect and help, and befitting of Jeanne's nature of a Saint. But Jalter's Noble Phantasm is her vengeance given form.

Thea: Her Noble Phantasm is a corrupted version of the flag that Jeanne once carried. It's capable of catching just about any attack, be it a physical attack, a magic attack, or a cursed attack, and fire it back to just about anyone with increased power, in the form of dragon fire! And then it impales them for good measure!

Bryant: Retribution for how Jeanne was burned at the stake. But Jalter's power exists beyond simply her skills and her Noble Phantasm. She can cast curses, drive Servants mad and turn them into pseudo Beserkers, use dragon fire on her own to burn people to death, summon ghostly swords to impale opponents, raise zombie armies, eat others to absorb their memories and intellect, and even enter a Spirit Form, which makes her both invisible and intangible. She's also a highly skilled swordfighter due to being created from Jeanne, who was a crucial member of the French army during their war. Jeanne herself can fight with both a sword and her flag while dual-wielding, and Jalter is capable of the same when wielding both her Noble Phantasm and her Sword of Saint Catherine.

Thea: Jalter raised a zombie army and an army of dragons to terrorize the land of Orleans, and used the Holy Grail to summon and corrupt Servants, turning them into her Berserker Class slaves and making them leagues stronger than usual. Even other Servants were summoned to fight her, she tore through most of them!

Bryant: With all this terror and death, the real Jeanne struggled to find her footing in this world, and only managed thanks to Ritsuka and Mash, who helped her face off against the Witch's threat. But even with all of the additional friends they made like Marie Antoinette, Saint George, Siegfried, and Mozart, it was not an easy feat.

• Achievements:
  • Defeated Siegfried and Marie Antoinette
  • Conquered much of France
  • Summoned herself by inverting Jeanne's wish
  • Helped rescue William Shakespeare
  • Should be as strong, if not stronger, than Jeanne D'Arc

Thea: Jalter didn't do a lot during her time in France in terms of calculable feats, but as an Alter, it's likely she's as strong as the original Jeanne D'Arc. Jeanne was actually a Ruler both this Singularity and in another Grail War!

Bryant: In Fate Apocrypha, Jeanne could defeat Jack the Ripper, who in this world was a tiny girl made of the spirits of countless abandoned kids because it's Fate, with a single hit. Jack the Ripper was capable of matching Mordred Pendragon, the homunculus child of Artoria. Mordred was actually capable of defeating Artoria herself, albeit being slightly weaker than her.

Thea: That's not too big of a surprise, since Mordred was stated to be capable of destroying entire mountains! Artoria actually fought Hercules in Fate Stay/Night, and he was physically strong enough to destroy mountains, so since Mordred could match Artoria, that means her claim of being able to obliterate mountains could actually be legit.

Bryant: When looking at the mountain on the map and applying the force needed for pulverization due to her statement of being able to obliterate it, this would require an energy of around 1.9 gigatons of TNT.

Thea: But Jalter is probably way stronger than just 2 gigatons. After all, Jalter controls the dragon Fafnir, and defeated Siegfried, who Fafnir is on par with. Dragons weaker than Fafnir can wipe away entire countries with their breath attacks, and Fafnir was stated to be able to wipe out the entirety of Orleans. Which seems crazy, but Jeanne also fought Spartacus, who could destroy meteors five kilometers wide!

Bryant: A feat which would require over 3 teratons of TNT, over a thousand times stronger than Mordred's mountain feat. But more importantly, Jeanne is a Top Servant, aka Servants who were chosen by the Moon Cell for their incredible power, and are considered to be some of the best in the world. Other Top Servants include the likes of Artoria and Iskandar. So it should be reasonable to scale Jeanne to these two, and Jalter to her.

Thea: That's important since Artoria and the other Top Servants were summoned as a counter to Altera, a Divine Servant who is so powerful, she could be compared to Amaterasu- dammit, can we not do these chain scalings?!

Bryant: Amaterasu's Divinity was so potent, it made her unbound by time, making her a being of a high plane of existence than our own. Someone who transcends the universe.

Thea: So yeah, Jalter being even comparable to Altera means that she is someone who has the power to alter an entire universe, if not a multiverse!

Bryant: And Jeanne has proven herself to be incredibly fast, as she's capable of keeping pace with Amaterasu. Amaterasu's weaker form could fly across 1500 light years with little issue, a feat which would make her over 26 million times faster than light. And at full power, she transcended the universe, making her unbound by time. As time is a measurement of speed, this means that our reality has no method of tracking her speed. Yet Jeanne is comparable, and Jalter is comparable to her.

Thea: So it's no wonder that all of Orleans ended up being victim to her rampage. She summoned various Servants and zombie armies and dragons, and ordered them to tear down the entire world! Until she came across the Last Master of Chaldea, his loyal Servant, and Jeanne.

Bryant: Jeanne and Jalter obviously didn't get along, with Jalter referring Jeanne to be the leftovers, and proclaiming herself as the true Jeanne. Throughout the mission in this Singularity, Jeanne was filled with doubt and hesitance before the threat Jalter posed, both physically and mentally, as Jalter's existence proved that Jeanne's attempt to stay pure failed. Yet even with all the power she could wield, she still lost the war between herself and the Last Master of Chaldea. For even the most powerful Servant has their limit.

• Weaknesses:
  • Can exhaust her magic when fighting
  • Is only super-effective against Berserkers and Rulers
  • Spirit form makes her unable to attack
  • Personality makes her unstable when emotional
  • Avengers are more vulnerable to debuffs

Bryant: It's true that Jalter's ability to regain her magic means that she can prolong how long she can fight, but it is possible for her to use more magic than she can regain, and she can be exhausted in battle. This is how she lost to Jeanne and her friends, where the truth of her summoning was revealed.

Thea: Turns out, Jalter is technically not an Alter by the usual definition. When Gilles tried to summon Jeanne to help him burn down France, he couldn't because she was a Saint.

Bryant: The way Alter Servants usually worked was that they were the byproduct of a Servant being corrupted by Holy Grail Mud, a substance which contaminates all life that it touches, turning them into a version that was a parallel of what they once were. For example, Artoria was someone who died as she lived, someone who dedicated her entire life to ensuring the future of Camelot. As Artoria Alter, she became a ruthless tyrant. Two sides, of one coin. Two versions of the same thing.

Thea: But Jalter was almost completely different from Jeanne, almost a different person altogether, with only the knowledge that Gilles had, and none of what Jeanne did, like the memory of Jeanne's family. Artoria and Artoria Alter were definitely different, but they ultimately wanted to be the heroes that the world needed, and just had different ways of going about that. Artoria Alter was built off of Artoria's desire and regret due to her goal being unfulfilled. But Jeanne didn't have any regrets! Sure she wished she got to live a better life, but she thought that as long as she managed to save people, it was completely worth giving up that life. She had no regrets, no last desires! Not even a grudge for the French that betrayed her, or God for not saving her.

Bryant: As such, there was nothing for an Alter to be born from. By the regular definition of what an Alter is, Jalter should never have existed. But the Holy Grail was a wish granting artifact, and Gilles de Rais had a wish to make.

Thea: Gilles wished for a Jeanne who would fulfill his wish on burning down all of France, so the Grail created a completely different Jeanne from scratch, and that was Jalter. Jalter was literally made to hate the world, and to kill everyone she saw. And at her core was the Holy Grail, acting as the source of her power! Gilles created Jalter to reunite with the woman he saw as the greatest in the world, but he instead got a pawn to execute his biased anger and judgment on the innocent people that Jeanne dedicated and gave her life protecting. Even when Jalter was defeated and Jeanne told Gilles off, Gilles just wanted to keep going, forcing Jeanne and her friends to fight him and end his threat once and for all.

Bryant: But fitting of her future class of Avenger, Jalter's hatred existed even beyond dimensions and her defeat. Even though the collection of her Holy Grail and the defeat of Jeanne meant that she likely wouldn't have been summoned by anyone else, the fact that she existed and had as big of an impact as she did meant that she existed within the Throne of Heroes. And by taking the magic of Jeanne's wish of there being no altered version of herself, Jalter summoned herself into the world, once again defying the rules of reality.

Thea: She would've gone back on her rampage, but she had a different goal. Now she knew the truth of her existence, and she wasn't really happy with being a counterfeit. So she dedicated her life to being better than Jeanne, summoning a bunch of counterfeit Servants to achieve her goals. But without the manipulation of Gilles, something else happened.

Bryant: The Servants Jalter summoned, actually ended up being her friends. They genuinely cared for her, and even when they were defeated on her behalf, they viewed her as their friend. Now finally having people who cared for Jalter rather than viewing them as their tool, Jalter's heart began to change. Now becoming her own person, Jalter realized that her greatest desire was to be accepted. To be wanted. As such, Jalter decided to join Ritsuka and their team of Servants. And they would go on to fight alongside Jeanne, rather than against her, becoming less of a ruthless opposite, and more of a little tsundere sister to Jeanne.

Thea: Yeah, Jalter was kind of a bitch to Jeanne, but hey! Jeanne's a literal saint. And Jalter ended up lightening up a lot, like when she competed with Jeanne over who can make the better manga! Or when a version of her appeared that was both tiny and trying to become Santa Claus! D'aw, that's cute. Now if only it didn't cost me hundreds of dollars trying to get the trio. Wait! There's a swimsuit version?! I need it! More Saint Quartz, dammit!

Bryant: Jalter would find all the things she was looking for. A group of friends who wanted her to be around, and who she could rely on. She would go on to help Chaldea fight against the Demon God Pillars, the group that Lev Lainur worked with, and would help save the universe from the wrath of Goetia, the Demon King originally meant to look after mankind, but soon became obsessed with conquering the "imperfectness of humans", hence his desire to destroy all of mankind through the various Singularities in order remake it altogether.

Thea: Even after all of that, Jalter and the other Servants still stuck around had a lot of adventures together. Adventures like taking James Moriarty, where Jalter ended up choosing to sacrifice herself in order to hold off Hessian Lobo so that her friends could get away. A complete contrast to the Dragon Witch who would sacrifice her Servants to die for her and force them to become monsters. But even after all of this, her hate will never die. Her anger is always there. Jalter is still an Avenger. And should the time come, it's likely that she will show the whole world the power of the Dragon Witch. And everything, will burn.

(Jeanne Alter) All evil is here. The time for revenge has come! This is the roar of my soul that was polished by hatred... La Grondement Du Haine!

Naofumi Rises in Death Battle!

Bryant: The world was in peril. The Waves of Catastrophe were tearing apart reality and summoning waves of monsters to terrorize the people, and all hope seemed lost.

Thea: The world needed heroes! Four of them, to be exact.

Bryant: Enter the Four Cardinal Heroes. Legendary warriors who were summoned from other worlds and brought to this world to fight and protect the people, eventually being revered as gods. They fought back the Waves and eventually overcame them, and their legends were sealed in the stone of time. And when the Waves returned, four new heroes would be called to wield the artifacts of the previous heroes to once more push them back.

Thea: It was only natural that the King of Melromarc, Aultcray Melromarc XXXII, would summon the four heroes to defend his people against the new surge of Waves. But... these, weren't, the best.

Bryant: The biggest problem with three of the Cardinal Heroes is that they had knowledge of this world because they played games that took place in these kingdoms. As such, they viewed this world as a video game, and didn't give a damn about consequences or its people. The Cardinal Heroes meant well, but their ignorance and arrogance led to them being incompetent, which would have resulted in the kingdom falling apart. But the final Cardinal Hero was different. He could've made the kingdom burn to ash, not from his incompetence or ignorance, but through his wrath at the unfair world he was summoned to. This was the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani.

• Naofumi Iwatani:
  • Aliases: Shield Hero, Shield Devil, Savior of the Heavenly Fowl, Master, etc
  • Height: 183 cm
  • Weight: Unknown kg
  • Class: Shielder
  • Likes: Rucolu Fruit, Cooking, Crafting, Raphtalia, his friends
  • Dislikes: A lot of things

Thea: Naofumi was your regular 20 year old guy in Japanese college. He grew up taking care of his little brother, grumbling about his parents, and learning to cook delicious meals. One day, he went down to the library to check out some light novels. But instead of picking up a regular light novel, he found a really old book that ended up sucking him up and spitting him out in the Kingdom of Melromarc with a shield on his arm. It's a classic isekai story where a guy is taken from our world and placed in a world that revolves around video game power systems.

Bryant: That shield was the Cardinal Shield, a magic artifact that symbolized his status as a Legendary Hero. Naofumi learned of the dangers the world was facing, and agreed to help out in any way he could.

Thea: But a lot of people said that it wasn't gonna be much. According to the other heroes, a Shielder like Naofumi was only good for taking damage and using support skills. Naofumi's attack was almost nothing, and he couldn't even hold a weapon! He couldn't even pick up something to use as a weapon. The only thing he could use in a fight was his own brawn, and the Shield.

Bryant: But Naofumi's troubles wouldn't end there. See, the Kingdom of Melromarc was of the Three Heroes Faith, a religion that worshiped the Spear, Sword, and Bow hero. But they despised the Shield Hero, believing any who wore the Cardinal Shield was a devil, due to the actions of a previous Shield Hero. That old Shield Hero protected demihumans, beings who were part human and part animal, and who had the ability to mature faster depending on how many levels they obtained. As this is a trait shared with monsters, demihumans were viewed as such, and were made slaves of Melromarc, but treated worse than slaves. The church believed that demihumans were abominations of nature, and as the Shield Heroes usually were the one who defended them, they thus viewed them as devils.

Thea: So they struck a deal with the Second Princess, Malty. Aka the biggest bitch you'll ever see in an anime. Malty was a spoiled brat who was denied the throne by her mother, Queen Mirellia Q Melromarc, who was actually in charge of the kingdom since it was a matriarchy. The queen knew that if Malty was queen, she would just ruin Melromarc and the entire world just to get what she wanted, so she appointed her younger daughter, Melty, to be the queen. But the church promised that if Malty helped them ruin and eventually kill Naofumi, they would kill Melty and secure her position as queen.

Bryant: Under the alias of Myne, Malty manipulated Naofumi. When he fell asleep, she stole most of what remained of his money, his chainmail, and went to Motoyasu to give both to him while claiming that Naofumi had attempted to rape her. Naofumi was bound in chains and brought before the king, where he realized that Malty had done all of this to get in the favor of the Spear Hero, her favorite hero. His reputation was ruined in the eyes of the people and his fellow heroes, and he was completely abandoned and robbed of everything. A bitterness festered in his heart, and Naofumi viewed the entire world as worthless trash.

Thea: The only reason he even trained to fight the Waves was because it was the only way that he could go home. But he knew that since his Attack stat was trash, he would have to get someone to help. The problem was, he couldn't trust anyone! Everyone either viewed him as a monster or an easy target, and he knew that if he blindly trusted someone again, they would probably just kill him in his sleep. He had only one solution: Buy a slave.

Bryant: Slaves in Melromarc were bound to their masters by a Slave Crest, which kept them in check and prevented them from defying their masters. Naofumi ended up buying Raphtalia, a small demihuman child who was on the verge of death due to an illness, making her quite cheap. And as his slave, any EXP Raphtalia obtained is shared with Naofumi. Video game party rules.

Thea: And so, Naofumi finally could get stronger without spending literal days beating up monsters just to get one level.

• Abilities/Arsenal:
  • Legendary Shield
    • Increased defense, Automatic Translation, Weapon Copy, Resurrection
    • Shields:
      • Small Shield, Leaf Shield, Blue Mush Shield, Rope Shield, Two-Headed Black Dog Shield, Light Metal Shield, Pipe Shield, Bee Needle Shield, Chimera Viper Shield, Book Shield, Anti-Poison Shield, Soul Eater Shield, Iron Shield, Iron Meteorite Shield, Nue Shield, Spirit Tortoise Carapace Shield, Spirit Tortoise Heart Shield, Spirit Tortoise Sacred Tree Shield, Dragon’s Era Sand Shield, Spirit Tortoise Armor, etc
    • Skills:
      • Air Strike Shield, Second Shield, Dritte Shield, Night Terror, Shield Bash, Energy Blast, Shield Prison, Shooting Star Shield, Shooting Star Wall, E Float Shield, S Float Shield, Change Shield, Chain Shield, Modify Bioplant, Plant Analysis, Alert Shield, Hate Reaction, Portal Shield, Bubble Shield, Beast Transformation Assist, Attack Support, Sakura Sphere of Influence, Territory Reform, Poison Sensing, Reflect Shield, Shine Shield, Needle Shield, Dog Bite, Poison Snake Fang, Soul Eat, Heat Beam Shield, C Soul Recovery, C Magic Snatch, C Gravity Shot, Lightning Shield, Demon Elephant Shield, C Demon Bullet, Fullmoon Shield, Dispel Parry, Di Dispel Parry
  • Poison Immunity
  • Animal Affinity
  • Negotiating
  • Potion Making
  • Accessory Crafting
  • Hengen Musou
  • Spells:
    • Zweite Guard, Liberation Shield, Heal X, Liberation Aura, All Sacrifice Aura, Anti Drifa Firestorm, Aqua Seal, All Liberation Aura, Emptiness is Form, Jewel High Speed, Anti-Weapon Steal, Ball, Wall, Fast Grow Heal, Anti-Durability Circumvention

Thea: As the Shield Hero, Naofumi's best stats are his defense and endurance. His defense tends to be so high, that he's basically invulnerable to normal level attacks. If an enemy doesn't have a high enough Attack stat, they can't do any damage to him at all. He ended up carrying a bunch of smaller monsters to throw at people by keeping them under his cloak where they just bite him without hurting him at all. Useful for annoying assholes and intimidating bitches.

Bryant: You're quite vulgar today.

Thea: Because they're assholes and bitches.

Bryant: Fair enough. And Naofumi soon discovered that the Cardinal Shield had more things to offer. The gem on the Shield can absorb different materials and store them inside, and with certain items and resources, he can unlock various different shields to use both in and out of combat. These Shields all tend to come with at least two attributes which Naofumi finds useful in adventures and battles. The first are Equip Effects, which are boosts to different stats. These can range from increasing his defense, physical strength, agility, resistances, and even cooking skill. An Equip Bonus is a special ability unique to the Shield, and is activated when the Shield is summoned.

Thea: Which is why one of his most useful shields is the Leaf Shield! Its Equip Effect boosts any plant that he picks up, and enhances the quality of anything it absorbs. So he can pick up a small worthless herb, and it'd turn into a herb of decent quality. Then he can absorb it, and make it an herb of higher quality with the Equip Bonus, which he can use to make better potions and food, or just sell outright.

Bryant: While Naofumi didn't have any money due to the rape scandal, he soon made a good business by making excellent medicine, which can heal health, cure illnesses, kill overgrown plants, and even restore MP and SP. MP, or Mana Points, are what powers Naofumi's different spells, which are different techniques that a person can learn. Spells such as healing, boosting defense, or canceling out fire magic. Skill Points power his Skills, which are additional abilities and moves that certain weapons grant their user. And upon mastering his Skills, Naofumi is able to use them regardless of which Shield he has equipped.

Thea: His signature Skill is the Air Strike Shield, a shield construct which can be summoned anywhere within 15 meters of Naofumi. He can use this construct as defense, footholds, or obstacles, making it a good skill to trip his opponents up. He can create up to three of these Shields in any position he wants, making it pretty useful.

Bryant: Naofumi has a Shield for just about any situation. The Pipe Shield let Naofumi trap foes with Shield Prison, and the Light Metal Shield was Naofumi's go-to for magic protection. He has Shields which increase his SP Count, decreases his stamina usage, help him resist paralysis, increase his attack, allow his Slaves to grow stronger, avoid decay, increase the power of his magic, increase fire resistance, reduce demonic damage, analyze plants, create mobile shields, teleport, control gravity, fire actual attacks in the form of an energy beam, and even increase his swimming and diving abilities.

Thea: He even got Shields that could help him fight back, like the Two-Headed Black Dog Shield. Not only does this help him detect enemies within 20 meters of himself, but it has a pair of dog heads which will chomp on anyone who hits the shield. But he also got a better version called the Chimera Viper Shield, which has a pair of snakes on it. This shield gives a huge boost to his poison resistance, increases his potion-making skills, and can make the snakes either hook targets and restrict their movements, or bite them with venomous fangs. Fangs which have highly lethal poison inside.

Bryant: The Soul Eater Shield increases his SP recovery and count, increases his resistance to soul attacks, protects him from mental attacks, can drain the MP and SP from others, controls the undead, and turns him intangible. The Bee Needle Shield has needles that inflict paralysis, the Iron Shield's Skill, Shield Bash, stuns enemies, and the Karma Squirrel Shield allows him to direct enemies to him or reveal invisible enemies. Naofumi soon became a master of adapting to different situations, and can easily adapt to any one fighting alongside him.

Thea: So all things considered, Naofumi ended up being pretty stacked. On top of that, the duo of Naofumi and Raphtalia ended up being a pretty good pair. Raphtalia's demihuman biology meant that within a month, she went from a little girl you just want to give all the headpats, to a fine woman who can fend for herself and kill just about any monster in her way! That you just want to give all the headpats.

Bryant: The funny thing is, despite Naofumi purchasing Raphtalia as his slave, it was a situation that ended up being the best thing that happened to them. Raphtalia was a victim of the first Wave, where she lost her village and witnessed her parents' death. When she tried to hold on to hope and rebuild, the Kingdom of Melromarc came and enslaved all of the survivors, selling Raphtalia and her friend Rifana to a noble named Idol Rabier, who tortured the two until Rifana died from her injuries and despair, finally breaking Raphtalia, who was still trying to hold on to hope. Bored, Rabier sold Raphtalia to the slave trader who would eventually sell her to Naofumi. Raphtalia fully expected Naofumi to be her final master, for in his eyes she saw anger, far more than she thought possible, and feared that he would kill her.

Thea: But Naofumi ended up being less of a slave owner and more of a surrogate dad to Raphtalia, buying her delicious food and treats, letting her play with a new ball after they finished working, giving her haircuts, comforting her after her nightmares, and curing her illness until she was a healthy young woman. On top of that, he was the Shield Hero! And as we mentioned before, demihumans throughout history tended to be protected by the Shield Hero, so Naofumi was basically a guardian deity to Raphtalia's people. Raphtalia went from being afraid of Naofumi to being his most loyal companion for all of their adventures, loving him like no one had or will.

Bryant: And Raphtalia would extend that kindness back to Naofumi. Even when her Slave Crest was broken, giving her free will over her own life, she chose to return to Naofumi, and even reapplied the Slave Crest as a sign of her devotion to the man she called her master. An oath to forever be his sword. And Naofumi finally learned how to trust again, learning that it is possible for him to find companionship and happiness in this worthless world. They would continue fighting the Waves, and eventually expand their party with members like Firo, a Filolial bird that can pull carriages, run faster than the wind, and turn into a little girl. Because, this is an isekai. Other, temporary, members include the likes of Melty, the First Princess and heir to the throne. Unlike her sister, Melty was a surprisingly wise and mature little girl, and she restored Naofumi's faith in the throne.

Thea: And Naofumi and his party just continued to get even stronger! He went from a weakass loner to a badass party leader with a bunch of powers and shields. Things were starting to look up for Naofumi, so it's time for someone to kick him in the throat!

Bryant: The Three Heroes Church decided to make their move, and kill not only Naofumi, but the king, the princesses, and the other Cardinal Heroes. The greedy and arrogant Pope declared them unfit to live, be it as the people's king or their gods. They lured the Cardinal Heroes together, and attacked with the full force of their armies. Fortunately, Naofumi proved to be far more powerful than anyone could've predicted, even surpassing the other heroes.

Thea: It helped that he didn't view this world as a game and took it seriously. He took the power system of the world, figured out how it worked, and used them to his advantage, actually training himself in how to fight and how to use his abilities in a fight and how to unlock different abilities to use in a fight. The other heroes only spammed their skills over and over, relying purely on the cheats, power boosts, levels, and the power of their weapons to carry them through a fight. The heroes knew how to play a game, Naofumi knew how to win a battle. He even learned Hengen Musou, a fighting style that can ignore defense, create invisible walls, and collect magic attacks to be concentrated and hurled at enemies.

Bryant: And Naofumi would obtain even more power with the Cursed Shield series.

• Special Shields/Abilities:
  • Cursed Shield Series
    • Shields:
      • Shield of Rage - Shield of Wrath VI
    • Skills:
      • Iron Maiden, Blood Sacrifice, Megiddo Burst
  • Bless Shield Series
  • 0 Series
  • Vassal Mirror
    • Mirrors:
      • Beginner's Mirror, Spirit Tortoise Carapace Mirror, Siderite Mirror, Rope Mirror, Soul Eater Mirror, Whale Mirror, White Tiger Clone Mirror, Pipe Mirror, Chimera Viper Mirror, Mirror Demon's Book, Humming Fary Mirrors, True Demon Dragon Mirror, Okitsu Kagami: Hetsu Kagami, Mirror of Compassion, Mirror of Wrath, Mirror 0
    • Skills:
      • Moon Verse, Stardust Mirror, Formation One to Three: Glass Shield, Formation One to Two: Float Mirror, Chain Binding Mirror, Mirror Cage, Teleport Mirror, Scroll of Return, Return Dragon Vein, Transport Mirror, Mirror Bash, Multiplying Mirror Fragment, Release Rebound, Relay Mirror, Changing Mirror, Mirror 0
  • God Slayer
    • Defense Link, Immortal Mind, Infinity Zero, All Revelation Aura Zenith, Positive Feedback Reflection

Bryant: Naofumi's happiness was a double-edged sword. Should anyone try to take it from him-

Thea: Cough, bitch princess and trash king, cough.

Bryant: -his rage and hatred would surge back. And sure enough, it did. And it manifested. The Cursed Shield series weren't some random hax shield like the other Cardinal Heroes insisted on believing. It was his hatred and anger given physical form, the Cursed Shield of Rage, and later, the Cursed Shield of Wrath. The Cursed series are versions of the Cardinal Weapons based on the Seven Deadly Sins, and manifest based on the wielder's most dominant negative emotion. In Naofumi's case, his wrath.

Thea: The Cursed Shield of Wrath is probably one of the most powerful weapon in Naofumi's arsenal. If it makes contact with anything, whether by Naofumi guarding or slamming the shield against something, it unleashes cursed flames which can kill most enemies. These cursed flames can only be guarded against by people stronger than Naofumi, or people with holy type healing.

Bryant: The Cursed Shield of Wrath also grants Naofumi greatly enhanced strength and durability, grants him powerful armor called the Robe of Rage, and grants him three powerful abilities. The first is Iron Maiden. First, Naofumi traps his target into Shield Prison, then creates spikes that impale the target and holds them in place. Then he summons a coffin filled with spikes, then crushes them inside, skewering them and ripping them apart. This is actually based on a torture device made to display the brutality and barbaric nature of the Middle Ages.

Thea: This Skill is ridiculously powerful. He first used it against a Soul Eater, a phantom boss that the other Cardinal Heroes couldn't even hurt when ganging up on it! But the Iron Maiden took it down with one hit! But it's not even as strong as the Blood Sacrifice Skill. Naofumi sacrifices his blood and 30% of all of his stats except for defense, and uses his blood to summon a massive monster made of chains and jaws, which devours his opponents and rips them apart! He used this move to kill the corrupt Pope, who at the time was powerful enough to take on all four Cardinal Heroes and their parties! He even stopped the theme song when it was playing!

Bryant: He possesses one more skill, that being Megiddo Burst. However, it's worth noting that the Megiddo Burst was stated by Naofumi to be too dangerous to use. In fact, using the Cursed series is dangerous in general, as using them could corrupt Naofumi's mind, turning him into the devil the Church claimed to be. This is what made Naofumi afraid of using the Shield at first, as it caused him to accidentally burn and curse Raphtalita, preventing her from being healed, decreasing her stats, and causing serious pain until he was able to purchase strong enough Holy Water.

Thea: But Naofumi still used it several times, cause you can't just have an overpowered ability and not use it when you're in a world where everyone wants to screw you over. Unless you go to Siltvelt, in which case, they just want to screw you. It's weird. But hey, Naofumi is one hell of a guy.

• Achievements:
  • Defeated Motoyasu, Pope Balmus, Glass, Kyo, Medea, etc
  • Blocked Judgment singlehandedly
  • Can eat Rucolu Fruit without any issue
  • Stopped the Waves of Catastrophe
  • Matched the Spirit Tortoise
  • Reacted to Photon Attacks
  • Became a god slayer

Thea: Naofumi made Pope Balmus into his bitch, but it wasn't an easy fight. Balmus was taking on all three Cardinal Heroes at once, and he was powered by the mana of a literal army!

Bryant: During the battle, Balmus attacked with various beams made of photons, meaning that they were literally lightspeed. And not only did Naofumi block these beams, the other members of his team, including the temporary allies he had in the form of the Cardinal Heroes, were able to block these as well. Meaning that, at the bare minimum, they're capable of reacting to relativistic speeds as well. And the entire group had become leagues more powerful since then.

Thea: Naofumi even was able to match the Spirit Tortoise, a giant monster that could destroy mountains just by walking through it. And he also obviously has a lot of resistances. His most famous is his alcohol resistance. In this world, there's a fruit called the Rucolu Fruit. Just one berry is enough to create an entire barrel of wine, and Naofumi could scarf down several without even caring. Motoyasu tried one, and he almost died right then and there!

Bryant: A typical barrel of wine can hold up to 59 gallons of wine, or 7552 ounces. It's recommended that the max amount of wine a man drinks shouldn't exceed four 5 oz glasses in one day. And yet Naofumi could eat three in one sitting, and acted like it was nothing more than a cranberry. As such, his resistance is, at bare minimum, 1,133 times greater than an average man.

Thea: Naofumi and his friends went through a lot together, through both bad things and good. Sure, Malty did frame Naofumi of kidnapping Melty in order to defame Naofumi more and have a chance at killing her sister, but Naofumi was able to use that opportunity to help Raphtalia get some closure. By killing Idol Rabier! Sweet, sweet payback. And as a bonus, they found some of Raphtalia's old village friends, like Keel. Finally, a male member of an isekai protagonist's team- and he's a girl now.

Bryant: And they eventually fought the treacherous church and ended the Three Heroes Faith with the help of Queen Mireillia, who cleared Naofumi's name in a public trial, and allowed Naofumi to choose their punishment.

Thea: Naofumi was too nice to just kill them, especially since he got pretty close to Melty, and she didn't want to see her big sister and dad die. So instead, he took away their rank, and renamed Aultcray and Malty to Trash and Bitch, with Malty's adventurer name being Slut! Ah, such a small thing somehow manages to be so satisfying.

Bryant: Naofumi continued to work with Melromarc, but this time, under the much more mature and level headed Mirellia. And his work under her eventually lead to many more adventures, including one where he and his party traveled to another world, where he gained access to the Vassal Mirror, a mystical artifact that worked in many ways similar to his Cardinal Shield, with the added bonus of letting Naofumi travel through mirrors, creating shards to attack, reflect magic, and see through mirrors like windows.

Thea: As if he needed more fucking powers!

Bryant: Naofumi even battled the other Cardinal Heroes on several occasions, and proved himself to be their superior time and time again, even as they wielded their own Cursed Series. And Naofumi would eventually unlock the Blessed Series, a counterpart to his Cursed Series. The Shield of Compassion was just as powerful as his Shield of Wrath, but it could cancel out the curses of the Cursed Shield and use its skills without affecting Naofumi like how it originally did.

Thea: But while Naofumi is pretty damn powerful, he's not the perfect hero.

• Weaknesses:
  • Can be sadistic at times
  • Skills that can attack need long cooldowns
  • Attack is still the minimum
  • Limited amount of MP and SP

Bryant: Naofumi may be a hero who helps others, but his grudge against the people who wronged him still holds firm in his heart and mind. As such, he has many sadistic and cruel urges, which are normally held back by Raphtalia. These urges can lead Naofumi to make mistakes, and potentially lose battles.

Thea: Even when he's not fulfilling his sadistic desires, Naofumi's only methods of attacking are still Raphtalia, Firo, and only a few Skills. And when he uses the Skills that lets him attack first, they tend to have a long cooldown. So Naofumi more often than not is playing the long game in one-on-one fights, relying on his brain. Especially since his god form literally has no Attack, making him weaker than a baby- Wait, he's a god now?! As if he needed more fucking power!

Bryant: Yes, we were analyzing Web Novel Naofumi, as opposed to the Light Novel. Naofumi in the Web Novel would continue fighting and adventuring until he eventually discovered the source of the Waves of Catastrophe.

Thea: The bitch. Turns out, Malty is actually the reincarnation of a soul fragment of the goddess of bitchiness!

Bryant: Medea Pideth Machina is, well, quite similar to Malty, but worse as she actually has the power to back it up. Rotten, selfish, and arrogant, Medea viewed entire universes to only exist for her sake. The Waves of Catastrophe were actually her merging universes in order to create one massive universe, since her mere existence was too much for a single universe to withstand. Her goal was to devour the fused universe for its energy before moving on to the next set.

Thea: And this bitch hates Naofumi! Which makes sense, considering how these two are at their core.

Bryant: Naofumi is very much a different person from other Shield Heroes, but that doesn't change the fact that he was chosen by the Cardinal Shield. Every Cardinal Weapon actually possesses a spirit within, one that can manipulate time and space, and uses this power to summon their ideal host. While the other heroes were one of the alternatives, Naofumi was the first choice, meaning that his core ideals and greatest desire mirror that of the Shield: to protect all life, and value it as precious.

Thea: Meanwhile, Medea was a bitch who would destroy all life just for her own amusement. These two were polar opposites from the start, and even Trash, the father of her Malty incarnation that spoiled her rotten, only saw her as a monster. Especially when she used her dead mother as a puppet to lead her army! And you can bet that she was pissed when she tried to kill Naofumi, only for him to come back!

Bryant: It's more impressive than you'd think. The Cardinal Shield's spirit resurrected Naofumi, restoring him to life despite the fact that the attack Medea used wiped him completely from existence. As in, every parallel universe, every alternate timeline. Naofumi was erased, yet the Shield brought him back. And by traveling the multiverse with Raphtalia, the two ascended into godhood, with Naofumi being the ultimate defense and Raphtalia being the ultimate sword.

Thea: And Raphtalia was one hell of a goddess, being able to attack 1,000 times in 0 seconds! Both her and Naofumi could keep up with Medea's attacks, which can hit targets before they're even performed! That's right. Her punches can land before she even uses them!

Bryant: And Naofumi's godly status came with everything he needed to face Medea, including the ability to negate immortality with Infinity Zero, regenerate body parts, travel the multiverse as light, ignore paradoxes, negate conceptual attacks, and reflect attacks with extra power thanks to Positive Feedback Reflection. It's with this last power that Naofumi was able to finally kill Medea once and for all, by reflecting her own attack towards her, erasing her on both a temporal and conceptual level. Meaning that the very concept of Medea's existence disappeared, only remembered because Naofumi used her energy to restore the fused universes to their natural states.

Thea: And after all of that was done, Naofumi and Raphtalia traveled the multiverse, still saving, still protecting, and still being a hero. After leaving a version of themselves to live regular lives in both Naofumi's original world of Japan and Raphtalia's own world in Rock Valley, Naofumi's very own village! Not bad for a college student dealt a bad hand.

Bryant: At the end of the day, few heroes were as impressive as the Cardinal Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani.

(Naofumi) Within the dragon's jaws born from my flesh, becoming an offering to the gods as you howl in pain! Blood Sacrifice!

Pre-Death Battle

Bryant: Alright, the stage is set, time to start this dance.

Thea: It's time for a DEATH BATTLLLLLLLLLLLLE!!!

Death Battle

"Hmph." Jeanne Alter grunted as she looked over the land before her. Behind her was a massive dragon growling as he waited for his master's command. And behind Fafnir was an army of skeleton warriors and smaller wyverns groaning and snarling as they could sense the living in the town up ahead of them.

"Such a pretty land, with such an ugly history. It's ashes and burning will be a pleasant melody," Jalter said as she raised her flag. The army began to march forwards, with the Alter in front. They approached the town, but there was a smaller group waiting for them. Naofumi stood at the front before walking forwards himself.

"Hey!" Jalter stopped, prompting the army to stop as well. The two leaders sized each other up.

"That's a pretty big army you got there. What do you want with Melromarc?" Naofumi called.

"What I want? I want its ashes," Jalter grinned sadistically. "I heard a lot about this land. Its bitch princess, the worthless king, the corrupt church, and the incompetent heroes. Such a rotten land makes me want to do nothing more than to burn it to the ground!" Behind her, the skeletons rattled as the wyverns roared. Firo growled behind Naofumi, but Raphtalia calmed her with a hand to her shoulder.

"I don't like this place either, but there's some good people here. If you want to get to them, you gotta get through me." Naofumi growled as he held up his shield. Jalter scoffed.

"Fine then. You will all burn!"

Fight!

Jalter raised her hand and pointed it forwards. The army of wyverns and undead soldiers charged, baring their weapons and their teeth. Naofumi gestured in a similar way, prompting Raphtalia and Firo to charge past him, followed by various knights and soldiers. The two armies clashed with Raphtalia and Firo quickly demolishing many of the smaller skeletons. Swords sang as they collided with each other and various shields as the yells of war were heard. Soon, the field was filled with fire, creating an orange light that surrounded the combatants.

Jalter grinned as she brandished her flag and shot forwards like a rocket. Several soldiers cried out as she barreled through them, rocketing towards Naofumi. The Shield Hero narrowed his eyes as he prepared his shield. Shield met flag with an impact that blasted nearby soldiers and skeletons away. Jalter kicked Naofumi back before swinging her flag again. Naofumi and Jalter both yelled and grunted as they clashed, with Jalter constantly spinning and swinging with Naofumi managing to parry her flag before trying to punch her, only to be blocked by Jalter's arm.

"Not bad, hero. But you're just a mortal. I, am the Dragon Witch!" Jalter exclaimed before knocking Naofumi back. She created a fireball and shot it towards Naofumi. The Shield changed into the Light Metal Shield and formed a barrier of light around Naofumi, blocking the attack.

"You, are not the first crazy bitch I had to deal with." Naofumi growled. He charged forwards as his Shield became the Two-Headed Black Dog Shield. Jalter spun her flag and did a thrust that Naofumi blocked. The dogs on the shield surged forwards with fangs bared and tried to sink their fangs into Jalter's neck, but were blocked by her gauntlets. Jalter grinned back at Naofumi.

"Hah! If that's all you can do, then you're not even worth my time!" Jalter swung her flag heavily, knocking Naofumi back and forcing him to dig his heels into the ground to stop moving. Jalter drew her sword and charged forwards, swinging both weapons with high speed and power. Naofumi grunted as he blocked the dual assault before jumping back. Jalter jumped and brought both weapons down, only for Naofumi to block with the THBD Shield again. The dogs again lunged for Jalter's throat, but she jumped back.

"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi yelled as his shield changed forms again. Jalter grunted as she suddenly slammed into a green shield that appeared behind her, knocking the breath out of her. The Rope Shield's rope flew through the air and wrapped around Jalter, forcing her arms to her side. Naofumi brandished a torch he picked up and held it towards her.

"If you're a witch, then burn!" he said as he threw it towards her. The torch landed on Jalter, setting her ablaze. The Avenger roared as the flames covered her before a powerful force ripped the rope and blasted the flames away from her. Naofumi grunted as he skidded back some more.

"Your flames..." Jalter growled, no longer grinning. "Are too cold. Fafnir!"

The giant dragon roared as it dropped behind Jalter. Its pitch black eyes glared down at Naofumi, who looked up to it with a stone cold face.

"Naofumi-sama!" Raphtalia and Firo appeared next to him as Naofumi took his stance. The two sides glared at each other.

The trio charged as Jalter jumped to the top of Fafnir and perched on his back. Fafnir roared and spat a stream of fire towards them. Naofumi summoned an Air Strike Shield to block the flames as Firo transformed into a giant bird and ran around it. She spun and launched a tornado that slammed into Fafnir's head. He roared and lunged towards the bird as Firo raced around the arena. Naofumi and Raphtalia surrounded Jalter and attacked her with their usual pattern. Naofumi parried Jalter's swings and attacks, leaving her open for Raphtalia to attack. When Jalter parried her sword, Naofumi came in to slam his shield into Jalter's line of sight, leaving her open again. Despite this, Jalter was slowly adapting to their attacks and managed to knock Naofumi away. Raphtalia attacked fiercely, but was overwhelmed and stabbed, causing her to cry out.

"FUCK OFF!" Naofumi roared as he rocketed forwards with the Iron Shield. Jalter turned to be rammed into by the Shield Bash Skill, knocking her back and stunning her. Naofumi quickly healed Raphtalia as Firo came up to them.

"Raphtalia, Firo! You two get back to helping the rest of the soldiers. I'll handle these two."

"Are you sure, Naofumi-sama?"

"I'm sure. I'll be fine." Raphtalia and Firo went back to the fray as Naofumi turned back to Jalter and Fafnir. He narrowed his eyes and glared as Jalter stood up with Fafnir behind him.

"You're gonna regret hurting her." he threatened.

"I doubt it, buddy." Jalter grinned as she raised her hand. Fafnir reared back and launched a massive wave of dragon fire at Naofumi, who stood his ground as the flames washed over her. Jalter stared suspiciously until she saw a darker flame manifest inside the firestorm.

"Your flames..." Naofumi growled from within. The darker flames suddenly flared and devoured the dragon fire that was pouring from Fafnir's maw. The dragon roared as the cursed flames scorched his head and upper body, reducing it to an ashen corpse. Jalter dodged the falling body as it collapsed in front of Naofumi, who slammed a foot onto the burnt skull.

"... are too cold!" Naofumi growled. The Robe of Rage decorated his body as cursed flames emanated from the Shield of Wrath.

"Hm... Now that's interesting." Jalter said.

"Shield Prison!" Naofumi roared. The green sphere suddenly manifested around Jalter, trapping her inside. The Avenger looked around her with a raised brow.

"Change Shield!" Spikes suddenly shot towards Jalter from inside the prison. The Avenger immediately avoided most of the spikes and grunted as she felt one pierce her shoulder. She felt the Shield Prison begin to rise, prompting her to raise her flag and close her eyes.

"Within this virgin of cold ore, who shall swallow even your screams with her embrace..."

"All evil is here, the time for revenge has come!"

"Suffer in anguish as your entire body is stabbed and skewered!"

"This is the roar of my soul that was polished by hatred..."

"IRON MAIDEN!!" Naofumi roared. From the sky, the cruel metal coffin dropped down, opening up with the Shield Prison rising up to fit inside. The coffin slammed the spikes down and crushed the Servant and prison within it. But from the coffin, flames were leaking out, making Naofumi gape in surprise.

"LA GRONDEMENT DU HAINE!!" Jalter's voice could be heard echoing over the land. Her Noble Phantasm flared as dragon fire exploded out of the Iron Maiden, shattering it and rocketing towards Naofumi. The Shield Hero growled as he held up his Shield, blocking the attack. The ground rumble under him, making him look down before hurling himself backwards. Large crude spears erupted where he was standing just a second before.

"What the hell?" Naofumi said.

"HAAAH!" Naofumi whirled around as Jalter landed and lunged. The two weapons clashed as Naofumi's Shield returned to normal. Naofumi was sent flying backwards while taking out a couple of potions and quickly downing them. Jalter raised her Flag as she activated Ephermeral Dream, increasing her power. Naofumi stood as Jalter launched serveral black swords and shot them towards him.

"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi summoned the Shield in front of him as the swords bounced off.

"Is defending all you can do?!" Jalter demanded as she appeared in front of him and swung her sword. Naofumi blocked it with the Chimera Viper Shield, which created a trio of snakes to lunge at her. Jalter ignored the snakes since her Skill made her invincible before knocking him away. Naofumi managed to stop himself and stand tall.

"Is running your mouth all you can do?" he shot back.

"Scathing." Jalter said as she summoned more flames under Naofumi, forcing him to dodge. The Shield Hero jumped around, dodging the pillars of flames as they appeared, but couldn't dodge them all. He yelled as the flames burned around him, placing their curses on him.

"You will burn like all of your pathetic minions!" Jalter said as she created more swords and launched them at Naofumi. The Shield shined before transforming into the Light Metal Shield to disperse the flames. Naofumi growled as he felt the curses in his flesh before changing to the Spirit Tortoise Shield and firing back a massive beam of energy that swallowed the swords and rocketed towards Jalter. The Avenger grinned as she held her flag and sword at the ready. She swung them forwards, cutting through the beam and dispersing it.

"You're not as strong as me!" Jalter said as she charged forwards. Naofumi changed the shield into the Shield of Wrath and held it at the ready. Jalter hurled a flurry of magic swords into an arc through the air and trying to impale Naofumi, only for him to summon another Air Strike Shield to block them.

"Die!" Jalter said as she slammed the end of her spear into Naofumi's Shield, trying to break it. He grinned before curse flames suddenly flared from the shield. Jalter grunted as she jumped back, but was still burned. She scowled as she felt her power decrease significantly.

"You bastard!" Jalter roared as she swung her sword. Naofumi blocked with the Chimera Viper Shield, and the snakes lunged again. Jalter tried to dodge, only for their fangs to sink into her flesh and poison her.

"Gah!" She sliced the snakes away before jumping back and launching another fire attack. Naofumi grinned as he blocked them with the Light Metal Shield before switching to the Spirit Tortoise Shield again.

"Gravity Field!" Jalter grunted as she was suddenly slammed into the ground by increased gravity. She growled as she forced herself to stand.

"You bitch!" she yelled as she summoned swords around Naofumi. The Shield Hero looked around him before summoning the Shield Prison around him, blocking the swords. When the Skill fell, Jalter was lunging towards him. Naofumi tried to block, only for Jalter to suddenly roll past him and rise up with a spin slash that knocked Naofumi off his feet. She thrusted with her flag, and struck Naofumi in the chest, knocking him back. She yelled as she slammed the end of the flag and her sword into Naofumi and slammed him into the ground. The ground rumbled before exploding with dragon fire as though an atomic bomb went off, shaking the entire country. The Shield Hero gritted his teeth as he felt the flames scorch his flesh, beginning to cook him.

"RAAAHHH!!!" Naofumi yelled as he grabbed Jalter. The two shone blue before disappearing and reappearing at the side of a large mountain. Jalter looked around before facing Naofumi again. The two had lost their cloaks, leaving them in just their armor.

"No matter what happens, one of us dies here!" Jalter yelled as she ripped off a ruined piece of armor.

"Sounds good to me. Time to die!" Naofumi said as he did the same. Jalter roared before charging with her sword and flag in hand. Naofumi parried the flag, but the sword knocked him off balance. Jalter did a quick combo before knocking Naofumi away and blasting him with fire. Naofumi grunted as the fireball knocked him further back and created an Air Strike Shield, letting Jalter ram into it. She yelled as she slammed her weapons into it and shattered it before spinning and swinging her weapons. Naofumi jumped back and held out his hand.

"Soul Eater Shield!" he yelled. A monstrous face appeared in front of Jalter, surprising her as its jaws closed around her and chewed her before being blasted off. It did its job as it transferred some magic back to Naofumi.

"Dragon Witch!" Jalter yelled. A pair of wyverns appeared and roared before charging towards Naofumi. Naofumi quickly summoned the Soul Eater Shield and turned intangible, letting them pass through him. He whirled around to face them.

"Gravity Field!" Naofumi yelled, crushing the Wyverns under increased gravity.

"Forget about me?" Jalter yelled as she launched a wave of flames. Naofumi whirled around but was blasted by the flames, which incinerated the Wyverns as well. He grunted before yelling, creating a pulse of magic that dispersed the flames. Jalter jumped up and brought the end of her sword down, trying to stab Naofumi. The blade bounced off the Shield, but the flag slammed into Naofumi and disoriented him. He shook his head, trying to clear it. Jalter appeared behind him and swung the flag like a baseball bat, slamming it into the side of his head and sending him flying into the mountain, creating a large explosion of dust. Naofumi groaned as he looked up and blocked another thrust which buried him inside of the mountain. Jalter jumped back, narrowing her eyes as flames shone inside of the mountain.

"I'm ending this, now!" Naofumi roared with the Shield of Wrath burning once again.

"Foolish sinner, I sentence you to cast your screams unto the heavens! Within the dragon's jaws born from my flesh, become an offering to the gods as you howl in pain!" Naofumi roared.

"We want to do this again? Fine!" Jalter said as she held her flag up. "Your power pales in comparison to mine! All evil is here, the time for revenge has come! This is the roar of my soul that was polished by hatred..."

"BLOOD SACRIFICE!!!"

"LA GRONDEMENT DU HAINE!!!"

Naofumi's body exploded with blood, creating a beast made of chains, teeth and bear traps that roared before charging towards Jalter. She activated her Noble Phantasm, and the magic artifact clashed with the monster. The entire mountain shook, creating massive crevices and an earthquake that shook the planet. Jalter gritted her teeth and roared as she began pushing the beast back.

"BUURRNNNNN!!!!" she roared as dragon fire flared and devoured the Blood Sacrifice in an explosion of flaming pillars. Naofumi's eyes widened as the flames surged towards him and swallowed him. Inside the firestorm, he screamed as spears erupted from the ground and impaled him repeatedly, before the area around him exploded into flames, creating a pillar of fire that shot into the sky.

Jalter fell to her knees, panting as she watched her Noble Phantasm burn Naofumi to a crisp and heard his screams. A grin appeared on her face.

"rrrAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Naofumi suddenly roared. The spears in him shattered as a green light shined on him. Jalter's smile disappeared as her flames suddenly began to condense, until it was all absorbed into Naofumi's Shield of Compassion. He glared at her, no longer affected by the curses.

"HOW?!"

"Simple. You're facing the Cardinal Shield! And you lost upon failing to pierce my shield!" he said.

"Grr! I won't lose!" Jalter roared as she charged forwards.

"Yes. You will!" Naofumi said as he pointed the shield towards her.

"Positive Feedback Reflection!" he yelled. His Shield shone before unleashing the absorbed flames with twice the power, completely incasing Jalter and rocketing over the horizon. The blast could be seen from space as it shot into the cosmos. Jalter gritted her teeth inside of the flames and roared as she attempted to power through the flames, raising her sword and flag even as her body began to disappear into golden light. She brought them both down, but dispersed into light particles before she even reached Naofumi. The flames finally died down, ending the battle.

"F-fuck..." Naofumi groaned as he collapsed to his knees. He panted heavily before propping himself up one one knee. His shield shone.

"I'd better get back. P-Portal Shield!" he grunted before disappearing.

KO!

Results

Thea: Damn, that was awesome! But I thought for sure that Jalter would've won.

Bryant: There were certainly several instances where Jalter could've won. Both combatants have proven their might, and were certainly some of the most powerful characters we've covered, making it a very tricky match to figure out. Both could actually match each other in various ways, and had their own advantages over the other, making this a fight between an unstoppable force and an immovable object.

Thea: Jalter definitely had the edge in physical attack potency. She could match the power of Spartacus, who destroyed meteors with his own physical strength, a feat which would need over 3 teratons of TNT. Meanwhile, Naofumi's own physical attack strength was either that of a regular human, or weaker than literal babies due to the Cardinal Shield. So if they just fought by punching each other, Naofumi would have to punch Jalter 84 quintillion times just to match one of Jalter's punch.

Bryant: Except physical strength didn't even matter as both are capable of power that far exceeded Spartacus's physical strength feat. Both have shown themselves to be powerful enough to scale to characters who can manipulate entire universes, possibly multiverses, and are comparable to those who can move beyond the limits of time. Both of which are incomprehensible by the rules of our own reality. So in terms of stats, both were so incredibly powerful, neither really had an advantage over the other.

Thea: Which meant that it came down to their abilities! Both could use cursed flames, increase their power, control the undead, enhance their allies, and return attacks back to sender, letting them continue matching each other. Jalter still has some advantages here, though, right?

Bryant: Right. Jalter's ability to regain magic through her own hatred and the hatred of others meant that, should this become a war of endurance, she likely would've won, as not only was she an Alter Servant born from hatred, but Naofumi's Shield of Wrath was also powered by his hatred. So on paper, Jalter couldn't exactly run out of magic, at least not right away, letting her fight until Naofumi ran out of magic and SP. Not to mention that she had the skill advantage, being comparable to Jeanne, a legendary soldier, while Naofumi was a hero who was mostly self-taught. With all this in mind, if we ran this fight through a 100 different scenarios, Jalter likely would've won a large portion of those fights. But Naofumi ultimately ended up having the edge.

Thea: Naofumi's huge arsenal of Skills, Equip Bonuses, and Equip Effects ended up putting him ahead, giving him everything he needed to counter Jalter's abilities. Like how he could cancel out her fire attacks with his own magic, or how the Shield of Compassion could counter Jalter's curses in a way that Jalter couldn't do with Naofumi's own curses. Jeanne could dispel curses, but that's because she was a Saint who could call on the power of God, while Jalter was an Alter born to hate and reject God.

Bryant: And while Jalter's magic could regenerate for an endless amount of time, it is possible for her to run out of magic faster than she can regain it, especially with Naofumi's ability to steal mana and SP. Jalter's constantly regenerating mana was essentially a battery that Naofumi could constantly recharge himself with.

Thea: Would mean that Naofumi could use other abilities like increasing Jalter's gravity, stunning her with Shield Bash, inflicting fear paralysis, or just injecting her with poison. Not to mention that while they can curse each other with their respective flames, Naofumi could cure the curse with his Shield of Compassion while Jalter's Avenger Class meant that Naofumi's debuffing curses would affect her even more than it would anyone else.

Bryant: And while Jalter is undoubtedly powerful enough to harm Naofumi, it's unlikely to be permanent thanks to Naofumi's various methods of healing himself and increasing his defense. After all, while Jalter has no real method of repairing damage, Naofumi could regenerate entire body parts thanks to his God Slayer powers.

Thea: Wait a minute, Bryant, there's one more thing! When Servants die, they just return to the Throne of Heroes. Since Jalter is able to summon herself from the Throne, doesn't that mean she can just keep coming back until she eventually beats Naofumi?

Bryant: It's certainly a possibility, but Jalter was only able to do so by inverting Jeanne's wish. Without something to use in order to resummon herself, it's highly unlikely that Jalter could just come back whenever she wanted. Not to mention that not only did Naofumi have a generally better option on resurrecting himself through the Cardinal Shield, but he had the Infinity Zero Skill. A Skill that worked by forcing the people within the Skill's range to follow the rules of Naofumi's world, where a person's death is determined by whether or not their health bar is completely depleted. So even immortal deities who could come back in a way similar to Jalter's theoretical resurrection could be killed, as their immortality was negated due to needing to follow the rules of Naofumi's world.

Thea: But how would Naofumi be able to hurt Jalter if his Attack is literally 0? Couldn't Jalter just avoid his counter-attacks and fight at a range?

Bryant: It is likely that Jalter would recognize that Naofumi was reliant on counter-attacks and defense, and not attack. But this would simply result in a stalemate, where neither would win. If she attempted to curse him so that he'd eventually die, he could simply undo the curse, while Jalter didn't have the means to negate poison or Naofumi's own curses. And while Jalter could fight at a range, it's a single win condition against Naofumi's numerous more likely options, as Jalter is more likely to fight in either mid or close-ranged combat.

Thea: Damn. So in this fight of unstoppable force vs immovable object, the immovable object ended up winning. Jalter definitely had a lot to offer, but Naofumi just had the things he needed to put a stop to them. You could say that he Cardi-nullified her chances, and sealed her Fate.

Bryant: The winner is Naofumi Iwatani.

• Jeanne D'Arc Alter:
  • +Physically stronger
  • +More skill
  • +Could use Cursed Shields to regain magic
  • +Could summon minions
  • =Equal in important stats
  • -Avenger Class made her more vulnerable to Naofumi's curses
• Naofumi Iwatani:
  • +Better defense
  • +More abilities
  • +Is generally smarter
  • +Shield of Compassion canceled curses
  • +Healing
  • +Could counter more frequently
  • =Equal in important stats
  • -Worse offensive measures

Trivia

• Connections:
  • Heroes who were meant to save the world, but are instead viewed as heretical beings
    • Jeanne was viewed as a witch
    • Naofumi was viewed as a devil
  • This was due to the actions of a church, who ignored their goodwill
  • As such, they developed a deep hatred for the world
  • Both would obtain a power that revolves around dragons
    • Jalter's control over dragons
    • Naofumi's Shield of Wrath
  • Both are thematically connected to fire
    • Jeanne died to fire and now wants to burn the world down
    • Naofumi's hatred and anger manifested as cursed flames
  • Both their stories were heavily involved with a man who was obsessed with destroying an entire nation because of the death of someone they viewed as family
    • Gilles because of the death of Jeanne
    • Trash because of the death of his sister
  • These very men were actually the ones who summon them to their worlds, and view them as previous versions of themselves despite being different to them
    • Gilles summoned Jalter, viewing her as the real Jeanne
    • Trash summoned Naofumi, viewing him as the Shield Hero who led Siltvelt who killed his sister
    • The contrast is that Jalter viewed herself as the actual Jeanne d'Arc, but had completely different morals compared to actual Jeanne, and had to accept the fact that she wasn't Jeanne like she thought. While Naofumi didn't really accept his role as the Shield Hero, despite the fact that at his core, he is the most alike the original Shield Hero in terms of his morals and greatest desires.
  • Both are empowered by a special artifact which is responsible for bringing them to this world
    • The Holy Grail
    • The Cardinal Shield
  • Both initially die, but are able to come back as stronger versions of themselves
    • Jalter came back as an Avenger Class Servant
    • Naofumi came back as a God Slayer
  • Both have a more positive and heroic version of themselves, who serve as a sign of what they could, or should, have been
    • Jeanne d'Arc
    • Spin-off Naofumi
  • Both eventually obtain a group of people who follow them into battle as they play both offense and support, and would lead them to being able to live better lives
    • Ritsuka Fujiwara and Jalter's fellow Servants
    • Raphtalia and Naofumi's party members