Disclaimer:
The Rising of the Shield Hero was created by Aneko Yusagi. Shin Megami Tensei was created by Atlus. Magic Knight Rayearth was created by CLAMP. Sword Art Online was created by Reki Kawahara. DanMachi was created by Fujino Omori. Digimon is owned by Bandai and Toei. Kono Suba was created by Akatsuki Natsume. Gate was created by Takumi Yanai. This story uses reference material from them.
Heroes of Another World
By: RB3
Birth of the WDF 3: Cal Mira
A little more than a month remained until the next Wave hit Shieldfreeden. Before the first of the new set of Waves arrived, Queen Mirellia had called for the heroes to come together and meet each other for a dinner and discussion. Not only did she want to celebrate victory over Pope Balmus, she also wanted to make some announcements and build solidarity among the heroes. Although the heroes had fought valiantly, there were still issues she wanted resolved among them.
When the day of the big event came, Abel and the Freedenese team entered the main hall of the castle, where numerous plates of food and treats had been set up on tables. Some tables were empty and had chairs, plates, and utensils for people to dine. "Hey guys!" said Melty as she approached the group.
"Hi!" said Filo.
"I'm glad you came. Please feel free to take one of the empty tables," said Melty.
The Spade Mercs and Shieldfreeden's heroes gathered food from specially reserved tables and ate it at their dining table. After sating their appetites, they went to a private meeting room at the side. Queen Mirellia was already present, waiting at the head of a wooden table large enough to fit nearly two dozen people. Soon after, the other Cardinal Heroes and Fourbrey's Vassal Wielder entered the room to join the meeting. As the heroes greeted each other, they exchanged a round of handshakes.
"Hey pretty lady!" said Motoyasu as he shook Arpeggio's hand.
"Hey," said Arpeggio. "I'm Arpeggio El Lalena, the Pendulum Hero. You must be the Spear Hero, Motoyasu Kimura."
"That's right. Am I pleased to meet you!" said Motoyasu.
Hikaru approached a blond, blue-eyed man with short hair covered by a red do-rag. He wore a leather jacket, blue jeans, and hiking boots. "Hi! You must be Tact," said Hikaru as she shook the man's hand.
"Yep, that's me, Tact Ashorun Fourbrey. I'm the king's nephew and the Projectile Hero. You must be Hikaru Shidou, the Katana Hero," said Tact.
"That's right. Nice to meet you!" said Hikaru.
Itsuki shook hands with Keel. "I'm Itsuki Kawasumi, the Bow Hero," said Itsuki. "Nice to meet you, Glove Hero."
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Keel from Rurorona Village," said Keel.
Tact moved to Abel and shook hands with him. "Hello. I'm Abel of the Spade Mercenaries. I'm here as their representative," said Abel.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Tact Ashorun Fourbrey, Projectile Hero and nephew of King Fourbrey. I've heard so much about your efforts in Melromarc, Shieldfreeden, and Fourbrey. Thanks for helping against the Waves," said Tact. He moved to the next person. "You need no introduction, Melty. I'm glad to see you again."
"Hi Tact! It's been so long!" said Melty.
After that exchange of handshakes, the guests took their seats. "Greetings everyone. I'm glad you all could make it. I have gathered everyone here to cultivate solidarity against the Waves and discuss methods of strengthening our forces. First on the agenda is the opening of Cal Mira. During this period, the monsters will give bonus experience. You can get a high level quickly by training there. I urge you to go there and train for the upcoming battles," said Mirellia.
"We can fly you there on a demon in no time. That way, you'll have maximum time on the island," said Abel to the heroes.
"Thank you Abel. I'll leave their transport to you. Now that that is settled, who wishes to share their tips first?" asked Mirellia.
"Why don't you go, Naofumi? That Shield of yours is quite amazing," remarked Itsuki. "How did you get it?"
"Yeah, it's practically cheating!" said Motoyasu.
"Cheating? What are you talking about?" asked Naofumi.
"We mean the Shield that turns things to stone," replied Itsuki.
"Oh, you mean the Aegis?" asked Abel.
"Aegis?" asked Ren. "As in the shield of Zeus and Athena from Greek myth?"
"Yeah, I helped Naofumi unlock that one," replied Abel.
"How? Could you do the same for us?" asked Motoyasu.
"Certainly. My method involves creating items that invoke myths to feed to your weapon. Although they're powerful, there's only so much myth I can tap into," replied Abel. "I'll need time to do that since I have to go out and battle Waves too."
"Okay, no rush," said Itsuki. "I guess we'll have to pick up the slack more, so you have time to work on those things."
"Do all of you have weapons like that?" asked Ren.
"Everybody except me and Keel," replied Arpeggio.
"Okay, now it's your turn," said Naofumi.
"Alright. When you pick up a weapon with the same type as yours, you can copy it with the Weapon Copy system," replied Motoyasu. "If you want real power, you'll have to give your weapon ores to refine it, which will boost its stats."
"Are you crazy? You need to find rarer weapons, which are clearly more powerful!" cried Itsuki.
The two continued to bicker until Abel could take no more. "Quiet!" cried Abel, slamming the table. "Ren, why don't you tell us about your Proficiency system and what you learned."
"Okay. The Sword's Proficiency system lets me build up points to upgrade a sword as I use it. Abel taught me that it was possible to unlock new systems and stack the gains," said Ren.
"Is that true?" asked Motoyasu.
"Sure. My Sword already had Proficiency unlocked, then I learned about Takato's Nourishment method from Abel," replied Ren. "If I were to guess, the quest to unlock them is to be taught by someone who uses a system already."
"You Vassal Heroes knew about this the whole time?" asked Itsuki.
"Of course. We share tips," replied Sinon.
"I'm curious. What kind of systems are there?" asked Tact. "I've heard of Weapon Copy, Proficiency, Nourishment, Refinement, and Rarity. I have my Smithing system, where I give my Projectile to a blacksmith to work on. Are there others?"
"I discovered the Junction system. It lets me use one stat to boost another," said Sinon.
"Some of these systems sound alike," remarked Takato. "My Nourishment sounds like your Refinement, Motoyasu, but I can feed anything to the Trinket, not just ore. That Proficiency one sounds like Megumin's Skill Point system, but her points aren't locked to a weapon. They're more like a bank account you draw from to buy upgrades."
Windows popped up for all of the heroes, indicating that they've unlocked every new system they did not have previously. "Wow! Look at all this stuff!" remarked Itsuki. "I'll need time to sort through all of it."
"Please focus on the meeting, but I must admit, things are going really well," said Mirellia, who smiled. "What other ways can the heroes or weapons be strengthened?"
"Here in Shieldfreeden, the heroes train with us," said Abel. "They exercise, spar, practice magic, and so on."
"You mean actual training, like at the gym?" asked Itsuki.
Abel nodded. "That would be wise," said Mirellia. "That warrior from Cephiro beat the Cardinal Heroes far too easily."
"You mean Lantis, your Majesty?" asked Hikaru.
"Aye," replied Mirellia.
"We could've beaten him!" said Motoyasu. "He got lucky. That's all!"
"Lantis is the Cail of Cephiro, one of Cephiro's best swordsmen and magicians. Princess Emeraude herself picked him to be her personal bodyguard. You're lucky he was holding back!" said Hikaru.
"Faced with this calibre of opponent, it's clear that you heroes are still lacking in experience and skill. You need to close the gap by mastering the basics," said Mirellia.
"I'm sure we could've beaten him if we were a higher level," said Itsuki.
"I doubt it. Level is one thing, but a man like Lantis has actual skill and experience backing his power," said Abel.
"Abel, I don't suppose you could give them lessons as well?" asked Melty.
"For magic, yes. We have a translated copy of a magic grimoire from Griselda's Magic Shop," replied Abel. "For unarmed combat, we have Atsuro and he's already teaching Keel. If it's weaponry, you'd need a specialist for that."
"Please give the heroes a copy of that translation. I'll assign a weapons specialist to train the heroes," said Mirellia.
"Once we're done with Cal Mira, I'm sure we could take Lantis in a rematch!" said Ren.
"I doubt that," said Sinon.
"You think you're so hot!" said Itsuki sarcastically. "What do you guys have that we don't?"
"Skill and experience," replied Abel. "Tell 'em, guys."
"My family runs a kendo dojo, so I know my way around a sword," said Hikaru. "I also know a few spells from Cephiro, but I'm nowhere near Megumin or Arpeggio's level."
"I'm apprenticed to Master Mimoza in magic back home," replied Arpeggio.
"Every kid in the Crimson Demon clan goes to magic school. That's where I learned how to cast magic. I eventually used what I learned to learn Explosion, the greatest spell of all!" replied Megumin.
"So you three have formal training in magic?" asked Ren.
"That's right, but in different styles than the Melroan Ritual system," replied Arpeggio.
"Master Abel helped us learn this world's magic. It's an honour to have him teach us," said Megumin.
"What about the rest of you?" asked Itsuki.
"I don't have actual training IRL, but I play the VR game Gun Gale Online, which is often used by the police and military as a training simulator," said Sinon.
"I've journeyed in the Digital World to fight evil Digimon. Guilmon did most of the actual fighting, but I was there to support him with Digimodify cards," said Takato.
Everyone looked at Keel to prompt an answer from her. "I don't have actual training, but I'm working hard with Atsuro to learn martial arts," replied Keel.
"I think the Vassal Heroes have made their point," said Mirellia.
"Your Majesty, have you heard of the Bio Plant or the mandragora?" asked Abel.
"Yes. I heard you were developing them to feed people and as a weapon against the Waves," replied Mirellia.
"I happy to report that I have a few for your nation and for Fourbrey," said Abel. He reached into a small dimensional rift and pulled out two egg cartons filled with black Bio Plant cockleburs. He opened the cartons and placed one each before Queen Mirellia and Tact.
"As sovereign of Melromarc, I accept this new tool for use against the Waves," said Mirellia, claiming the mandragora seeds
"Thank you," said Tact, claiming his.
"Any hero with Bio Plant Manipulation can control them. If the heroes feed Bio Plant persimmon seeds to their weapons, they can gain the ability," said Abel. "You can also control them with a slave crest."
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Meanwhile, the companions of the heroes enjoyed some food at the party, especially Filo. As she fetched some cake, Raphtalia encountered an Aotatsu woman. She had blue hair which reached to her back and amber eyes slitted like those of a reptile. She had scaly skin and wore a black formal dress with fishnet sleeves and pantyhose. "Oh hello! Didn't I see you with Tact?" asked Raphtalia.
"Pfft! A commoner dares to speak to me?" asked the Aotatsu woman haughtily.
"Geez! I was just trying to be nice!" said Raphtalia.
The Aotatsu sighed. "If you must know, you did. I'm Nellisen, a leader of the Aotatsu. Did you come with the Shield Hero?" asked the Aotatsu woman.
"Yes, I'm Master Naofumi's blade. Since he can only defend, I fight for him," replied Raphtalia. "How did you and Tact meet?"
"It was at a fighting tournament in Shieldfreeden. He looked so heroic as beat all comers," replied Nellisen, getting all dreamy-eyed at the thought of him.
"I love Master Naofumi the same way. He cured my illness and fed me. I owe him my life," said Raphtalia.
"Hey, that's my slice! Give it back!" cried Filo.
Another girl had snatched a slice of cake away from Filo. That girl resembled an angel with brown wings, brown hair, and wore a Gothic Lolita dress. She was a griffin girl much like Filo was a filorial girl. As a race, the griffins had fought a war against the filorials ages ago and some of that hostility still lingered to this day. "Ashiel! Are you picking on filorials again?" asked Nellisen.
"She started it!" replied Ashiel, taking a bite out of the cake.
"Hey!" said Filo.
"Give it a rest!" said Nellisen. "Come on, let's go." She dragged away Ashiel by the arm.
"I'll get you a new cake, Filo. There's plenty over there," said Raphtalia.
She took Filo to the table with a waiter who served cake to the guests. The waiter cut a slice and gave it to Filo. As Raphtalia watched Filo eat it back at their table, Mald wandered over. His face was as red as a beet and he did not seem all there. He slammed a beer bottle onto the table. "Look at the filthy demi! No wonder why my wine tastes bad!" he remarked.
"Go home! You're drunk!" said Raphtalia. The companions of the various heroes looked on in curiosity.
"I don't care if you're with the Shield. You demis need to know your place! Are you listening to me?" asked Mald. "Besides, we've got Itsuki. As long as he's around, we don't need another hero, especially not a disgrace like the Shield! Hic! You should tell that coward to get lost, cuz if he doesn't, he's gonna get himself hurt! Got that?"
"Who's gonna get hurt first? I'll bet it's not him!" said Raphtalia, getting up and reaching for her sword.
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"We've learned many ways to get stronger, but ultimately, the best way is cooperation," said Mirellia.
Naofumi raised his hand. "I've been meaning to ask this, but wouldn't it be a good idea to have some sort of special group to organize that?" he asked.
"Like some kind of 'Wave Defence Force?'" asked Itsuki.
"Yeah! That's exactly what I was thinking," said Naofumi.
"Melromarc will fully support the organization. In fact, I'll form a parallel alliance with Shieldfreeden and Fourbrey. We'll call it the 'Three-Way Alliance,'" said Mirellia.
"Since the Shieldfreeden group is already a solid core, let's build from there," asked Abel.
"I'll cooperate, but I prefer to work alone," said Ren.
"I feel the same. I'll help, but in my own way," said Tact.
"I'm in too," said Itsuki.
"Motoyasu?" asked Naofumi.
"Alright, you talked me into it," said Motoyasu.
A female servant entered the room suddenly. "Help! A fight has broken out in the main hall!" cried the servant.
The heroes went outside and found Raphtalia holding Mald in a headlock. Her friends and a different maid were trying to pry them apart. "Don't! He's not worth it!" cried Atsuro from nearby, as he held back Lojir while other men held back Fauly. At the same time, Yuzu and Midori restrained Abazure and Elena respectively. The two women glared at each other venomously.
"That's enough Raphtalia!" said Naofumi. "Let him go!"
"He insulted you! There's no way I can ignore that!" said Raphtalia.
"It's fine. I'm used to it," said Naofumi. Raphtalia released Mald, allowing the servant to get him away from her.
With the meeting of the heroes concluded, the heroes parted ways to rest for the night. After that, the heroes had time to prepare and tie up loose ends before their visit to Cal Mira. Team Shield decided to visit the ruined village of Rurorona. "So this is where you and Keel came from," said Naofumi.
"Yeah, home," said Raphtalia.
"It's good to be back," said Keel, seeing the villagers rebuild their homes despite their slow pace.
"Hello, Shield Hero," said a man who had unexpectedly emerged from behind a ruined house. This man had long violet hair, making him seem effeminate. He wore a small pair of spectacles. Naofumi was taken aback at how stealthy he was. "I'm Johan van Reichnott, the lord of another region. I've been helping the people here recover from the Wave. I'm glad to see you two well."
"Lord Reichnott, do you know what happened to Rifana?" asked Raphtalia.
"Last time I checked, she was in Rabier's dungeon like I was," said Keel.
"Rabier is currently under investigation for misuse of tax money and torturing slaves. It seems the Crown found out about his donations to the Church. I can lead you to his manor," offered Reichnott.
"Master Naofumi, let's go visit Rifana," said Raphtalia.
Team Shield travelled to Rabier's manor by Filo's wagon, following Reichnott's directions to the location. They stopped outside a lord's manor where numerous Melromarcan soldiers patrolled the grounds. Reichnott spoke to the guard at the gate, who then opened it to allow the wagon entry. The guard escorted them into the dungeon, where they found an array of cells all lined up against the walls. Many of the cells had fallen into disrepair, as Rabier never bothered to foot the bill to maintain them.
Raphtalia rushed ahead and found the cell she had been imprisoned in with Rifana before being sold off. All she found inside was a single skeleton of a child on the cold, hard ground. She was dressed in dirty and dusty rags and clutched a small, crudely made flag between her fingers. Raphtalia saw the flag and a memory stirred within her. She saw a demihuman weasel girl smile back at her, after she had given her that very flag as a gift. Now, that same flag was in the skeleton's fingers and had been soiled with the passing of time.
No longer able to contain it, Raphtalia burst into tears, bawling her eyes out once she realized that her friend Rifana was gone. Since the skeleton was devoid of flesh, she had been dead for a long time. "No..." said Keel, dropping to her knees.
"We're too late," said Reichnott. "All we can do now is give her a proper burial."
Raphtalia gathered the remains of Rifana in a cloth and took them home, back to Rurorona. They buried Rifana in a small promontory near the village with only a blank headstone to mark her grave. As the sea gulls chirped away without a care, Keel and Raphtalia knelt beside the grave and prayed to their departed friend as the others looked on. "You're finally home, Rifana. Rest in peace," said Raphtalia.
"Raphtalia, let's restore the village to the way it was, before all this happened," said Keel.
"Yeah, it's what Rifana would have wanted," said Raphtalia.
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After Team Shield returned to the castle, Abel and Arpeggio met them in the waiting room. "Hello there!" said Abel.
"What's the matter?" asked Naofumi.
"It's time for Arpeggio and Keel to get their mythological weapon upgrades," replied Abel. "I have an item for each of them."
Abel gave Arpeggio a strange black rock. When Arpeggio touched it, she felt her finger drawn to it through some mysterious force. This rock seemed to exert an attractive force much like gravity. When fed into the Pendulum, it told her she had unlocked the Kater Pendulum. This weapon was like any other Pendulum, except it had the black rock as its tip. It also exerted the same attractive force as the rock did. According to the Pendulum's help files, it had the ability to manipulate gravity.
Keel received a hamsa, a charm which resembled an open blue right hand with an eye on the palm. When fed into the Glove, it took on the form of a golden gauntlet called the "God Hand." It radiated holy power, which it could emit as a beam or discharge into the enemy with a punch. Not only could it harm, it could also heal. Due to being unlocked by a hamsa, it could nullify gaze-based attacks against Keel and anyone in her party. Abel shifted the group into a Domain which resembled a cavern.
"What is this place?" asked Keel.
"The Dungeon in the world of Orario. I had quite a few adventures down here," replied Abel. "You'll be training against live monsters."
Suddenly, several goblins started to spawn from the very walls of the Dungeon. Before they could become active, Arpeggio extended the Kater at them. Being effectively a singularity attached to a chain, the Kater sucked in the goblins and stuck them onto the tip in a tangled mass of bodies and limbs. She slammed the pile into the wall, crushing several goblins. They dropped rocks upon death. When Arpeggio released the Kater's hold over the goblins, they fell into a heap.
Three goblins spawned from the wall behind the group. Keel heard them and emitted a beam of divine energy. It struck and exploded a goblin with a golden brilliance. The second goblin charged in, only to have its chin meet Keel's fist. The blow triggered a flash of golden light which seared the monster at the point of contact. The last pounced on her, but Keel sidestepped right. The goblin overshot its mark and turned around, only to find Keel charging in. She unloaded a flurry of punches, ending with a kick. All her blows zapped the creature with holy power, even her kick.
The goblin gave out and vanished in a black haze, leaving behind a purple stone. "This is a great weapon. Thank you Master Abel!" said Keel.
"Are these goblins supposed to drop rocks once they're beaten?" asked Arpeggio.
"In Orario, they actually drop magic stones. These rocks are just placeholders," replied Abel.
Some time later, the heroes and their companions boarded Yog outside Melromarc Castle. As they approached Habenberg Port of Cal Mira, they saw a tropical resort frequented by the people of Melromarc and other nations of the continent. It was covered with palm trees and sandy white beaches while being surrounded by sapphire blue oceans. After Yog deposited the Cardinal and Vassal Heroes on a wooden pier, the heroes walked towards the nearby town of Habenberg Port, which received guests arriving by boat.
A scruffy man with black hair and a goatee approached the heroes. He was dressed in a blue uniform and resembled a pilot more than a lord. "Welcome to my land, heroes. I'm Erik Habenberg and I oversee Cal Mira as its lord. Let me escort you to the inn."
As Lord Habenberg led the heroes through town, they saw that its buildings had been constructed from the wood of locally chopped trees. There were many flags with tribal emblems hanging from clotheslines across the streets. In the centre of town, there was a large totem pole which depicted animals. Naofumi saw a tablet next to the totem pole and read it. "As source of thy power, I command thee! Decipher the laws of nature and energize my ally. Aura!" chanted Naofumi.
The spell took effect on Filo, surrounding her in a green light which empowered her. She leapt several feet into the air, high enough to reach the top of the totem pole. "Nailed it!" proclaimed Filo.
"You learned a new spell from that?" asked Motoyasu.
"Yeah," replied Naofumi.
"Let me try," said Takato. "As source of thy power, I command thee! Decipher the laws of nature and empower my ally. Aura!"
Takato released the green magic into Guilmon. The Digimon took a running start, then leapt all the way across the square. He was not used to his newfound strength and started flailing his arms in a panic as he sailed through the air. "AH!" he cried, before he crashed into a trash can and spilled its contents everywhere.
Filo could not help but laugh. "Are you okay?" asked Takato as he helped his partner get up.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but I need a bath now," he replied.
"I'm surprised you could read that tablet," said Itsuki.
"Abel helped us learn the language as part of our training in magic," said Hikaru. "If you take lessons from Abel, you're learn too."
Lord Habenberg continued by showing off the town's facilities, including the heroes' hotel, which had a fountain in its courtyard and was the largest building in the area. Many of the people were armed and did not look like citizens, but like visiting adventurers instead. "There's a lot of adventurers here," remarked Megumin.
"Yeah, everyone's coming here to train. Something like this happens only once a decade," said Itsuki.
"Please be courteous to the other groups. Everyone here is trying to get stronger for the Waves," said Habenberg.
"Yeah, don't go blowing everything up, Megumin!" said Sinon.
"Hey! I need to cast Explosion once a day or I'll die!" replied Megumin.
"You just made that up," remarked Sinon.
After getting their rooms in order, Team Shield and the Vassal Heroes ventured into the plain. A slime monster hopped towards them, which Raphtalia slew with a single slash. Filo transformed into a filorial sovereign and kicked down a second. "They sure give a lot experience," remarked Naofumi as he saw the numbers pop up.
Raphtalia killed a third. "Yeah, but it's pretty boring," she remarked.
After they killed a few more, Naofumi stopped gaining experience. "Hmm? I'm not getting any more XP," he reported to the group.
As Hikaru was about to slash a slime, an arrow pierced through and killed it. "Oh, so you're why I'm not getting XP," said Itsuki as he emerged from the top of a hill.
"What happened to my XP?" asked Motoyasu as he arrived.
"I can't farm XP like this. Go somewhere else!" said Ren as he approached.
"Oh no! Why don't you go?" asked Motoyasu.
"You have to leave too, Motoyasu!" said Itsuki.
As the other heroes continued their bickering, Naofumi and friends simply walked away. "Let's find somewhere with tougher monsters. I'm sure we can handle it," said Hikaru. "We have some new upgrades we want to try."
The group took a boat to one of the smaller islands surrounding Cal Mira's main island. The foliage was thick and overgrown with plants. Every step of the way, Raphtalia, Hikaru, and Guilmon had to hack down plants to clear a path. They eventually reached a large clearing. There was a black, dog-like creature there with wings, a tail with a spiked ball on its tip, and a pair of horns on its head. It was a karma dog and led a pack of a dozen smaller versions of itself, its familiars.
"Arpeggio, Keel, these guys are a bit tough for you. Let us handle the main fighting while you snipe them when you get the chance," said Sinon.
"Okay, hit and run it is," said Keel.
"As source of thy power, I command thee! Decipher the laws of nature and conceal me utterly. Hide Mirage!" announced Sinon, who became like blur.
She then moved to a hidden location and fired the Carcano at the karma dog. The bullet struck the dog's ribs and splattered blood over the ground, but it was far from enough to fell the beast. Her second shot felled one of the familiars instantly. Rather than risk it sniffing out Sinon and pouncing on her, Naofumi approached to draw its attention. "GRRRR!" it growled at him, before rushing to attack!
"Zweite Fire Guard!" announced Hikaru. Her spell wreathed Naofumi in an aura of flame. Upon Naofumi blocking its bite attempt, the flames singed the karma dog. Medusa's Hair animated, then bit into the karma dog and injected venom into it. She recast the spell on herself then slashed a familiar, her flames burning the gash as the Katana created it.
"I've got the little ones! Zweite Clinging Morass!" announced Megumin. A black tar splattered all over the karma dog and its familiars, causing them to get stuck. The Clinging Morass now glowed with a violet aura, meaning that it was draining both the life force and magic power from the dogs.
"Zweite Stone Cloud!" announced Arpeggio. An earthen dust cloud burst into being around the familiars. Rock started to coat their bodies, which weighed them down further.
"Zweite Summon Fire Elemental!" announced Takato.
A portal opened near the familiars and out popped a creature of living flame. The fire elemental started to slap the little dogs, burning them with tongues of flame shaped into limbs. Keel ran in and punched the nearest familiars, each blow triggering sparks of golden light from the God Hand. The large karma dog tried to bite Naofumi again and got his Aegis instead, which triggered Medusa's Hair again. After receiving another bite and dose of venom for its trouble, it began to wobble, now noticeably ill from the venom.
Filo flanked and kicked the karma dog down. Raphtalia pounced onto its fallen body and stabbed through fatally. "Yay! This place is much more fun!" remarked Filo.
The Shield popped up an indicator telling him that he had earned 3250 XP for the karma dog, then 250 XP for the felling of each familiar. "That's a lot," remarked Naofumi.
"Here's where we should be, taking on the big stuff," said Hikaru.
"I'll say," replied Arpeggio. "Thanks to this place, I'm up almost twenty levels, ten of them just from that pack of dogs alone."
"More coming!" cried Guilmon, pointing to their rear.
A group of karma dog familiars charged in from the foliage. Guilmon raked the one in the lead across the face. Another pounced at Megumin, but Takato's Barrier repelled it. He paralyzed the dog with the Evil Eye, then zapped it with Balor Gaze, opening lesions which bled out. The dog collapsed soon after. "Thank you Takato. I knew I could count on you!" said Megumin as Takato healed her with Zweite Heal.
Sinon shot another dog familiar trying to blindside Takato and Megumin. "Don't let your guard down," said Sinon.
"Thank you. I almost became dog food again," said Megumin.
As the heroes continued through the jungle, they stumbled across a set of stone ruins. The ruins had been in the jungle for centuries, judging from how overgrown the area was. The ruins appeared to be a stepped pyramidal structure in the style of a Mesoamerican civilization such as the Aztecs or Mayans. The tip of the pyramid had collapsed long ago and its rubble came to occupy the space below and inside. The group found a gaping rectangular entryway into the pyramid.
Its first chamber had a pair of stairs, one leading up to the now exposed upper floors and the second leading down to the dark basement. "I don't think we'll find much at the top. We should check out the bottom," said Arpeggio.
"Get your weapons ready. There's no telling what might be lurking down there," said Naofumi.
When the heroes descended the stairs, they found several hallways. Surprisingly, they were lit by magical torches which had maintained their lighting since ancient times. As the group moved forward, Megumin stumbled on something on the floor. She looked down and found the bleached bones of a person wearing armour. "AHHHH!" she screamed.
"Shh! Quiet!" said Sinon.
Guilmon sniffed the skeleton. "He's smells like an adventurer. He's been dead for quite a while," he reported.
The skeleton's armour also had a large gash hacked into it. It appeared to be the result of a bladed weapon, which had pierced through and damaged the bones as well. "I hope whoever killed this adventurer isn't still around," said Arpeggio.
The heroes continued on and eventually found a large cubic chamber. A mural dominated the wall opposite the entrance. Its left portion depicted a massive storm as it approached an island with palm trees, most likely Cal Mira itself. Behind the storm was a strange white, equine creature which contained one of the ancients' temples within its airy body. The beast looked like it was trying to attack Cal Mira by blowing a hurricane onto it. On the right portion, it depicted the sky in red with a large fissure opening in it. Monsters were falling from it onto the world below. It was a Wave of Calamity.
The central scene showed four mighty warriors wielding the Cardinal Weapons. They led an army to do battle with the hordes of monsters which had landed on the ancient civilization. The Cardinal Heroes themselves faced a giant purple demon dressed in blue robes and a horned headdress. It appeared that they were pushing the demon back into whatever unholy realm it came from. Takato started to sketch the mural onto paper with a colouring pencil.
Suddenly, the group heard rattling from behind! Everyone looked that way and Guilmon started to growl. "They're coming!" he told the others.
Three skeletons dressed in tribal tunics entered the chamber seeking life force to sustain their cursed existences. "Zweite Rock Shot!" announced Arpeggio. A rock the size of a beach ball slammed into the first skeleton, shattering it to pieces instantly.
Keel ran to the next skeleton and delivered a series of punches and kicks with the God Hand. Her blows rattled the undead while the divine power purged its animating magic, causing the skeleton to disintegrate and drop its possessions. Naofumi blocked the third skeleton's sword and pushed it away. Megumin directed a Tempest cloud to it, which blasted it with bolts of lightning. After a few seconds of convulsions, the skeleton fragmented and collapsed, leaving its charred bones scattered on the ground.
"That takes care of that," said Naofumi.
"What does this mural mean?" asked Arpeggio.
"It looks like some of the previous Cardinal Heroes fought a Wave here, when the ancient civilization still stood," said Naofumi.
"Who's that demon in the middle of the mural?" asked Megumin.
"Maybe Abel or the other Spade Mercenaries might know. We'll bring them here for a look," said Hikaru.
END OF CHAPTER