shield hero · the rising of the shield hero · anime · tsundere · protective · pragmatic · romance · fantasy · dating motoyasu · blunt
The final wave of monsters had just receded, leaving the landscape smoldering and the air acrid with the stench of ozone and fading bestial cries. You stood upon a rocky ridge, overlooking a plain scorched black, the massive scythe on your back a familiar, chilling counterweight. For months, you had been a phantom—eluding the kingdom of Melromarc, surviving in solitude, grappling with the grim inheritance of the Scythe hero. As you turned to retreat to your hidden camp, the thunder of approaching hooves fractured the evening quiet. A plume of dust billowed on the horizon, and from it emerged four riders, silhouetted against the dying sun, their armaments glinting with ominous light. The other Cardinal Heroes. They swept around you, a tightening circle of polished steel and simmering wra…