Chapter 54: Cal Mira Wave
We had considered sending someone back to bring reinforcements from Melromarc, but we had no idea how long it would take for a boat to get far enough from the islands to access our teleport skills or for them to get ships prepared for the wave. Do things wrong and they might get teleported while making preparations and half the people could end up falling in the water. As it turned out, the Earl had a way to send messages to the castle from the islands and just needed a hero to travel there and bring the reinforcements when the wave hit. So in the interest of time, I cast Aura on myself and ran across the ocean in the direction of Melromarc. I have no doubt that the spray of water I created as I ran resembled that of a certain blue hedgehog.
21:39
I eventually reached a point where I could use my shield to teleport to the castle. I then almost tripped from having to suddenly stop running. I made my way to the throne room where the queen was waiting for my arrival. The plan was for everyone that was coming with me to get on a small boat that was docked in a nearby river, then to move onto the ships already at Cal Mira after the teleport. I also learned that the queen would be leading the troops personally. She had fought against one of the waves while she was dealing with the political firestorm Fool caused and knew generally what to expect.
I also told her about L'Arc and Therese and how L'Arc's scythe acted like a hero weapon. She was rather concerned about it, particularly when I brought up my theory of there being another group or even an entire other world involved in the waves and that he was likely connected to Glass. She wasn't fond of the idea, but she agreed to allow me to handle them as long as they didn't involve anyone outside of the heroes.
I was later shown to a large warehouse full of rare materials and ores for me to gain and upgrade shields. It was mostly to make up for the lack of funding from the kingdom prior to the queen's return as well as part of her attempt to get on my good side.
00:30
The next morning we were prepared and waiting on the boat. I only had to add the queen to my battle formation and she was able to add the soldiers and boat. Considering all that was happening, I couldn't help but notice the lack of someone who I had expected to see.
"Is Eclair not able to join us?"
"She is currently hunting down the knights who raided the Seaetto territory and enslaved its citizens. While I'm sure she would have liked to assist in the upcoming battle, she is currently too far from the capitol to have made it back in time." (Queen)
"Of course, it only makes sense that she would be working to punish the treacherous knights that hurt so many."
00:10
The queen gave a speech to inspire the troops.
00:01
Everyone braced for the teleport, there was the slim chance that the wave would be on land, in which case the boat would likely fall on its side.
00:00
The usual sound of shattering glass came and we were teleported to the ocean off the coast of Cal Mira. There were several ships nearby that looked ready for battle. It seems we were right about it being a battle at sea. I would have felt bad if it teleported us on land and the ships were stuck there.
"Hurry! We have to get to the larger ships!" (Queen)
The soldiers started rowing towards the closest ship so they could board. I just jumped. When I landed on deck I saw Itsuki's party, one of which was wearing a squirrel kigurumi. Due to process of elimination it had to be Rishia.
"Itsuki, what's the situation?"
"It just started so we don't really know yet, but I've seen monsters start to come out of the rift."
There were plenty of some sort of fish-man monsters coming from the rift and it seemed a number of adventurers had gone into the water to fight them. The other heroes and my party were spread out among the ships fighting off any of the monsters that tried boarding.
"We're dropping a rucolu explosive barrel into the sea! Warn the adventurers!" (Queen)
"Rucolu?"
"They effectively turn the water into alcohol. It should eliminate many of the smaller monsters and leave the larger ones disoriented." (Queen)
As she said, many of the monsters near where the barrel bombs went off floated to the surface and the water turned red. It started to smell more like a tavern than the ocean, and many more monsters continued to float to the surface as the color spread.
Then something big came up through on of the other ships. It had the size and rough shape of a whale, but it also had a giant horn sticking out of its head as well as large jewels embedded along its body. I guess that's the wave boss. As the whale lost the momentum of its ascent, I saw it's was called an Inter-dimensional Whale. Why is it that almost every wave monster prefaced with Inter-dimensional?
I could see that the other heroes were looking at it from their respective ships, it was lucky that they weren't on that one. And unlucky for the whale that Seb was. I'm not sure why he was wearing a rabbit kigurumi but he was, and he created a huge spear of ice that then stabbed into one of its eyes while his sword cut into the top of its head to help him stay in place. A rabbit-man, in a rabbit-suit, wielding a rabbit-sword, and he's probably wearing the rabbit-pendant… there is only so much rabbit that someone can handle.
At the same time a ballista on one of the ships near it was fired at the whale by someone wearing a dog kigurumi. I'm guessing that was Talia, but I don't know why she's wearing that. There was also a series of monsters being knocked into the air by something coming towards our ship. Looking closer I saw it was Blake swimming at full speed. The whale fell back into the water and Seb jumped towards us, with far more force than I thought him capable of. Blake altered her path to catch him before continuing to reach our ship.
"Those were some nice moves Seb, but I thought you hated wearing a kigurumi."
"I'm never drinking again." So the reason Seb is wearing it has to do with him drinking?
"Sir Endou, do you think you could protect our ships from further attacks from that monster?" (Queen)
"Can do."
Realizing I would have to do it from the water, I slipped into a penguin kigurumi and dove in, followed by Blake. The whale was being slowed down by the ice, but that ice was breaking apart fast. I used [Hate Reaction] to get its attention and it started charging at me. The moment its horn made contact with my shield the whale was stopped dead in its tracks, quite contrary to how the laws of energy and momentum would have things play out. Blake then swam under the whale and kicked it hard enough to send it to the surface, where it was bombarded by ranged attacks from the other heroes and adventurers. Motoyasu then jumped in and sank his spear into the whale's side, which was now a place to stand on. He started firing off skills and the whale screamed and thrashed in agony with each one. Blake clawed at it however she could.
L'Arc and Therese also joined in as I saw the ring of energy his skill created slice into the monster and sever its flipper.
"Time to finish it! I'm going in!" (L'Arc)
"Yes! [Shining stone, Thunder rain]!" (Therese)
"Combo skill. [Thunder rain flying circle]!"
Therese's magic energized L'Arc's scythe the same way as when Motoyasu's party charged his spear when he used a combo skill. The result was that the whale was cut in two and died. L'Arc and Therese were strong, but that seemed far stronger than anything they showed when we were fighting a few days ago. I didn't think they were holding back either. I stored the kigurumi in my treasure trove after getting out of the water that was probably strong alcohol now. Fortunately the kigurumi kept me from being covered in it. Unfortunately, Blake was soaked, but she seemed to be doing fine.
"Wow, that was some attack." Motoyasu commended L'Arc.
"Yeah, yours too. Any chance that you're the spear hero?" (L'Arc)
"Guilty as charged." Motoyasu smiled.
L'Arc grinned suspiciously. "That's good. Just so you know, I don't have anything against you personally. You seem like a fun guy, but for the sake of our world, you've got to die." In less than a second his scythe was speeding towards Motoyasu's neck.
"[Air Strike Shield]!" I managed to put up a shield to block L'Arc's attack just before it made contact. Motoyasu was so surprised that he stumbled backwards and fell down.
"What?!" L'Arc looked at me with my arm still outstretched from creating the shield. "Endou? Don't tell me you really are the shield hero?"
"I never said I wasn't, you just assumed that I wasn't because I didn't match the way the rumors described. You probably shouldn't believe everything you hear, especially when it is coming from people that are religiously against the person they're talking about."
"Guess you're right, and I'm sorry, but- OW!" Therese hit L'Arc upside the head.
"Don't you dare L'Arc."
"What are you doing, Therese?!"
"I will not allow anyone to hurt God."
Everyone within earshot was confused by this turn of events and were too intent on finding out what was going on to attack the rift.
"Therese be reasonable. If we don't take out a hero, our world won't survive."
"Care to explain that statement?" That more or less confirmed that they were from another world, but this part about it not surviving had me curious.
"Of course my god." Therese went back into worship mode. "L'Arc is talking about how some ancient texts talked about how the way to ensure that a world survives the waves is to make sure that the other world loses by killing its heroes."
"So there is another world on the other side of the waves?"
"Yes. That's where we came from. We had originally come to find a hero and train so we could kill them during the waves, but if my god is one of those heroes then there is no way that I could allow it to happen. For God to perish would be a travesty equivalent to the death of hundreds of worlds."
Motoyasu started backing away from Therese as soon as he stood back up. I don't blame him, especially with how he said he died in his old world. During this time Seb and Talia also joined us, still wearing the kigurumi.
"Therese, there's another hero right there. What about just killing him and letting Endou live?" L'Arc tried to reason with her.
"No. If the world God protects dies then so would he. I won't let that happen."
"Kiddo… No, Endou! How dare you take Therese away from me?!" As if I wanted to.
"[Shield Prison] [Change Shield]" I used my Bee Needle Shield to deal with L'Arc so I could asked Therese a few more questions. "So, from what I've seen that scythe of his acts like the weapons heroes have, is it?"
"Yes my god, L'Arc wields the vassal scythe." There were sounds of L'Arc trying to break out of the prison.
"And do you know someone named Glass who uses fans?"
"Oh yes, Glass is the wielder of the vassal fans. She came though previously to look for a hero and is the one who told us about the sword hero."
The prison expired and L'Arc looked like he was barely affected by the paralysis. Either it wasn't strengthened as much as I thought, or he is just that powerful. I suppose he could also have unlocked scythes with resistances to it.
"That was a dirty move Endou." L'Arc looked mad.
"Dirty is a matter of perspective, but it doesn't really matter since I can beat you without even having to take things seriously."
"Don't be so sure about that, there's a reason we planned on waiting until the wave hit to kill a hero."
"Is that reason why you seem significantly stronger than when we were leveling?"
"Good guess. The waves add the levels we gained in both worlds."
"Interesting, but you may recall that you never actually saw how I fight. Then there's Therese's apparent change in allegiance. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I don't have to take you, and I saw enough of how the Spear Hero over there fights to know I can take him. Therese, you know that I can't hold back when the fate of our world is at stake. If you go to war with me, do not expect mercy."
"If you think you can beat me, then try. I will protect God at the cost of my life!"
"Well, then let's fight a fair battle!"
L'Arc and Therese started fighting and it was pretty intense. After about a minute I could tell that L'Arc had a slight advantage, but despite his worlds was holding back a little.
"So, Talia, how did you end up wearing that, and where did it even come from?"
"I lost a bet, I don't want to talk about it. And it came from Ren as part of the bet."
"Blake, since neither of them are talking about their reasons for wearing them, can you tell me what happened?"
"L'Arc got them drunk last night. Talia made a bet with Ren and lost. Then she got Seb to agree to wear the bunny one which the spear guy owed you."
Seb and Talia both hung their heads in shame, which looked cute since they were both in kigurumi.
Therese, who at some point had discarded her headband revealing a large gem imbedded in her forehead, launched a massive fireball from the bangle I made and L'Arc was sent into the water from the explosive impact. Less than a minute later he was climbing back onto the whale. "Damn it Therese. Are you really willing to let our world die just because one of this world's heroes made a nice accessory?"
"I will do whatever I have to do to protect God. If that means our world is lost then so be it."
"Think about what you are saying. Our friends would die. Glass, Ethanobalt, Kizuna, all of them. Are you really ok with that?"
Therese seemed conflicted. "If they come to this world they can live."
"Some might, but Kizuna is a Holy Hero, she can never leave our world." What? Assuming holy is the same as cardinal, does that mean I can't leave this world even if I manage to find a way back?
"She's been missing for years, for all we know she might never return." I felt a strange yet familiar presence approaching. "Just go L'Arc. I don't want to have to hurt you, but if you continue to-"
There was a massive spray of water as Glass appeared. The ghostly woman landed near L'Arc and Therese before addressing them. "How long are you going to take?"
"Hey Glassy, we have a bit of a situation here." (L'Arc)
"Something the two of you can't handle alone?" (Glass)
"Actually…"
"I won't let you hurt my god." (Therese)
"What?" Glass was confused.
"So Therese had someone make her an accessory and it turned out to be so good that she now worships the guy as a god, and to make matters worse he's one of this world's Holy Heroes, the Shield Hero. And now Therese is fighting me to keep me from hurting him or any other heroes from this world."
"Fine, then you hold her off while I deal with him, where is he?"
"He's… Damn, I lost track of him… but that one there is the Spear Hero." L'Arc pointed at Motoyasu, who was standing five feet away from me.
"Don't you dare!" Therese started casting another spell.
"I've got you covered, Glassy." L'Arc moved to intercept her.
Glass charged at Motoyasu, ready to strike with her fans.
"Huh?" Motoyasu was still confused about the situation.
Sigh. I moved in front of Motoyasu and caught Glass by the wrists.
"WHAT?!" Glass started to struggle before recognizing me. "So we meet again, Abyssgate."
""What?!"" L'Arc, Therese, and Motoyasu, along with most of the spectators, all looked at me.
"Actually, I prefer to just go by Endou." I spun and threw Glass back towards L'Arc. She righted herself and landed flawlessly.
"I don't get it Glassy. You said Abyssgate fought with swords, but we've only ever seen Endou here use a shield, and all the rumors say that Endou's the name of the Shield Hero." (L'Arc)
"I find that curious as well. He seems to be far stronger than the last time we met and acting differently as well."
"There is an explanation for all of that, but as you refused to answer most of my questions last time I think I'll only tell you a bit of why I appear to be so much stronger now. There are several reasons that add onto each other. One is that I never actually attacked you last time, so you could only make guesses based on watching the fight against the Soul Eater, another is that my level has almost doubled since then, and I have also learned some new tricks. To be honest though, this is only a fraction of the full power I could bring to bear."
"Trying to scare me with such an obvious bluff? That does seem a bit more like the way you were before." (Glass)
"Would you like a demonstration then?"
"Yes, please fight me with everything you have."
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." First I became the Lord, then I cast Aura. "The Abyss is the source of true power, as its lord Kousuke E. Abyssgate commands, let my will be understood without question and my desires be fulfilled. Grant unto us all that the world has to offer. [All Drifa Aura X]!" My targets include my party, Motoyasu, and of course, myself. "Motoyasu, take care of the rift. I don't plan on losing this source of information for the second time."
The spear wielder had been caught up in how high his stats had been raised by my spell that I took him a moment to realize what I was telling him to do. "Right, I'm on it."
"Not happening. [Flying Circle]!" L'Arc sent an attack at Motoyasu, but he was able to bat it away with his spear, apparently surprising even himself. "No way. He wasn't that powerful a few minutes ago." L'Arc then looked at me horrified by his witnessing a taste of how strong a single spell from the abyss was capable of making people.
"I know you wished to face my full power, but I do need you alive, so I won't be using weapons."
"You stil-" I appear in front of Glass and, before she was capable of reacting, delivered a kick to her stomach that not only created an impact sound as loud as a gunshot, but sent her flying into L'Arc, after which the two of them continued until colliding with one of the protruding ridges of the whale. The only sounds the two of them were capable of making after that were groans and pained breathing.
"As I told you last time, in a true fight against the abyss, you would be sure to die."
Motoyasu reached the rift and destroyed it with one attack, after which the cracks in the sky started to close. Intriguingly it felt as though L'Arc, Therese, and Glass all lost a significantly amount of strength as the wave ended. L'Arc had said that the waves add the levels from their world to the ones they gained here, so now that it is over that means they only have their levels from this world. That would suggest that you have to start at level one each time you enter a new world, which would explain my level being reset when I was summoned, but leaves questions about it not happening during my previous travels between worlds and my artifacts not working here.
I turned towards Therese who was now bowing at my feet. "L'Arc said that the waves added your levels from both worlds. Now that it's over, what are your levels?"
"L'Arc and I are both in our upper 70s. I don't believe Glass has gained any levels in this world, but as a spirit levels don't have meaning for her."
"What do you mean by 'spirit'?"
"That's what her race is called. Their stats are based on how much spirit energy they possess. It is expended through combat which mean they tend to be weak after a fight."
That explained why Glass currently felt weaker than the average adventurer. I returned to normal and was thankful that I didn't do anything embarrassing other than the overly chunni chant for Aura.
After the battle was over, the queen had L'Arc and Glass taken into custody while Therese was to be under my supervision. The good news is that meant I could ask as many questions as I could think of and she was more than willing to answer, the bad news was that she was still worshiping me as the god of accessories.
AN: First time having the Lord cast a SH spell and the second time that I thought I would have Endou use a particular move before writing only to find that the things go in a way where he wouldn't need to.
Damage from Endou kicking Glass: Negligible. Damage from Glass colliding with L'Arc at high speed: High.
Oh how things will change now that Glass, L'Arc, and Therese are a source of information about the waves. Probably not as much as you'd think, but still significant in some areas.
