Chapter 66: Search for the Heart

We moved towards the Spirit Tortoise as part of a large group with the rest of the army. As we went we talked.

"Abyssgate, do you truly not care for this world?" Glass asked with concern in her voice.

"Please just call me Endou. And I don't have any reason to care for it. As I said before, there are people that I care about back in my world and currently the only way back I know of is to fulfil the shield's purpose and make sure the world is saved. And to be completely honest, after some of the things the people here put me through, they are extremely lucky I'm not the type of guy to seek revenge."

"What did they do to you? I know there were wanted posters with a long list of crimes that you don't seem likely to have committed." (L'Arc)

"On the morning of my third day in this world the now former king falsely convicted me of raping the first princess, also now former. Later said king tried to have Seb and Talia taken from me and said princess had me framed for kidnapping the second princess and heir to the throne while trying to kill her off. Then the church, now abolished, tried to kill me with the magic equivalent of a space laser. Those posters, as well as the fakes you encountered, were just a bit of a smear campaign to make sure everyone hated me. Apparently it was all due to preconceive notions and religious doctrine, so they would have done it to whoever was summoned as the shield hero. The queen did rectify things when she returned, but this world still holds no value to me."

"What the hell is wrong with these people? That princess especially sounds like a nasty piece of work."

"She's the redhead with Motoyasu if you want to do anything to her."

"He knows what she did and is still letting her stay with him?"

"As I understand it, being in a hero's party is the only thing standing between her and a particularly cruel execution. Though, it might just be his love of women keeping him from rejecting any."

"It seems that all types of people can be summoned as heroes. I can understand disliking this country for what happened, but would you really abandon the rest of this world over the actions of a few?" (Glass)

"This is the fourth time I've been forcibly summoned to another world. If I was the type of person to care about everyone I would have gone insane long ago."

"Four times…"

"You've been summoned as a hero four times, kiddo? Shouldn't you be an expert at this then?"

"No, this is the first world I have been to with hero weapons, waves, guardian beasts or even status magic. It is also the first I have been to that was outside of those connected by the world tree."

"World tree?" (Glass)

"I guess that's not very important right now. My point is that I will prioritize the people I know and care about over strangers, even if it's a world full of them."

"And what of the people of this world that you care for?"

"If the shield lets them come back with me then great, if not… I'll have to ask the demon king for assistance."

"Demon King?" (L'Arc)

"He created a way of crossing worlds and locating people across them. It shouldn't be impossible for him."

"You did say 'Demon King' right? Would someone like that actually help just because you asked?"

"I don't like to rely on him, but he can be rather doting on his family."

"You're saying that you are part of this guy's family now?" L'Arc was really starting to freak out. Was something I said really so strange?

"One of his wives is the daughter of the current chief of the Haulia tribe. I am the next chief and betrothed to one of its original members. So, while indirectly, we can be considered family. It also means I'm the one he usually gives tasks he doesn't want to do himself."

"You know what? I'm not even going to try understanding anymore. There is just way to much strange stuff about you, kiddo."

"That's probably for the best. I gave up trying to understand a few days into training." (Keel)

"Agreed, he is very strange." I don't know why Eclair decided to put her two cents in.

"I assume that the world Sir Endou comes from has a different idea of what is considered normal. That or it is due to his many experiences numbing him to it all," Seb interjected. Well… He's not wrong.

After that I asked Motoyasu for an explanation of what I saw during his fight against the Spirt Tortoise. Apparently it's naturally able to utilize gravity magic. When it used it during the fight Freon was only able to move by controlling her energy and even then she was slowed significantly. It also turned out that Motoyasu's last attack was actually a combo skill she did with him. He also asked if it was soul soothing water that allowed them to escape before and L'Arc confirmed it, much to Glass's annoyance. L'Arc even went on to talk about how they were gathering ingredients for it and materials to strengthen their weapons when they spotted Kyo.

"Before I forget, is Kyo's weapon really a book?"

"Yes, he wields the book of the vassal weapons." (Glass)

"Seriously, a book? That's weird. Then again, you guys have fans and a scythe, and Therese uses gemstones for magic… I guess everything about the way fighting works in your world is weird." Motoyasu started to laugh.

"What's so strange about it?" Glass looked confused and a little insulted.

"What he means is that they aren't the kind of things we would expect people to use to fight with. In comparison the holy and vassal weapons of this world are similar to those known in the worlds we were summoned from. One of my classmates has fan which help her create barriers, but I can honestly say I have only ever met one person who used a book to fight and he used it as a blunt instrument."

"Seriously? What kind of guy was this?" (Motoyasu)

"An old man that was part of the Vatican's Spec Ops division."

"That's a thing?"

"Yes. It's a thing."

"I don't know what a Vatican is, but there is a holy hero of the blunt instrument in our world. And I really don't see why our other weapons would be seen as abnormal."

"They existed in Earth's history; it's just that not many people used them as weapons. Trying to learn how to fight with a scythe or fans isn't as easy as learning to use a sword, spear, or bow."

"I suppose you have a point, but why bring this up?"

"Actually I was wondering how the book is meant to be used. As I mentioned before, my only experience with them as weapons wasn't exactly normal."

"Books as weapons are usually for enhancing magic, but they aren't as common as gem magic or ofuda users. However, we've never fought Kyo directly, so we don't know exactly what the book allows him to do."

"So he has a book and probably uses magic." (Motoyasu)

"Yup." (L'Arc)

The army soldiers were able to deal with the remaining bat familiars, but the Yetis required someone either high level veterans a hero or someone from my party to eliminate, though I think some shadows managed to take a few out. Actually getting onto the Spirit Tortoise's back was easier than expected. I'm no veterinarian, but I think the underside of its shell must have collapsed when it fell, otherwise there would have been a sizable gap between the ground and anything we could climb onto. Instead we found that we could walk right onto it, albeit at a rather steep incline.

The first place we came across was a town full of dead bodies. It seemed they hadn't even been able to put up a fight against the familiars. There was a temple there with an incredibly worn message from a past hero. It was in Japanese, which seems strange all things considered. I realize that most summoned heroes seem to be Japanese, but do all versions of Japan use the same writing system? Anyways, there was so little of it left that nothing useful could be gleamed from it. Unfortunately that didn't stop Motoyasu from spending five minutes trying to figure out what the unreadable parts might say.

After that, we split up. Motoyasu would check any other temples they found in case there were more messages in Japanese. Meanwhile my team, which included L'Arc and Glass since no one wanted them to be too far from the guy they know can take them down, would search for a way to the heart. It was right after deciding this that Eclair noticed a large number of soldiers heading for a castle. Of course she wouldn't stand for looting and went off to stop them. Motoyasu followed her since she was with him recently and he is all about helping women. I have to wonder how the way he is about girls in combat hasn't driven her off yet.

One of the Queen's scouts found a cave entrance and we decided to investigate it. There didn't seem to be anything special about the cave as we explored it, until we hit a dead end that felt alive.

"That wall… is a monster?" (Blake)

"It smells strange." Keel's sense of smell was being enhanced by his dog kigurumi, but I didn't expect him to be able to use it to tell a monster apart from a wall. Especially when considering we are on a giant monster's back.

"Why don't you attack it and see what happens?"

Keel managed to get the first hit. As his claws cut through the wall it started to morph and a name appeared. It was a Spirit Tortoise Familiar (mimic type). It seemed that Keel's attack hadn't been enough to kill it but Blake's finished it off. Then is shriveled up and vanished in a puff of smoke. This world's videogame qualities never cease to annoy me.

"Given that there was a familiar hiding the way, I think it's safe to say that they don't want us going in."

"Yeah, I think you're right, kiddo."

"I suppose you will tell that queen so she can have her men follow?" I guess Glass didn't like the queen.

"I already did. It'll probably be a bit before they are done dealing with things at the castle though." To be more accurate, the clone that was still with the queen told her. But, she was already reprimanding the soldiers who were trying to loot the castle's treasury. She also had to inform Motoyasu that Harlot could not use the treasure there to pay off her debt.

"Does the shield come with some sort of long range communication ability?" (L'Arc)

I chose not to answer. Knowing we were on the right track I became the Lord to prepare for when we would face the mastermind who dared to twist a guardian beast for their own ends. As we went the tunnel twisted and turned quite a bit, but it never went deep enough to convince this lord that we had actually entered the Spirit Tortoise itself. There was also the fact that the walls were still made of earth, not that there weren't monsters that were made of inorganic materials, but the Spirit Tortoise did not seem to be such a creature.

We eventually came to a sizable room with three fair sized familiars, these ones being guardians and looked closer to anthropomorphized turtles than anything else. L'Arc's was cut in half with a single swing of his scythe and Sebastian froze another for Raphtalia to decapitate. Glass landed a series of blows on the third when one of Blake's throwing knives went into its neck. Then Keel rushed up its back to widen the wound. Glass seemed to be taken aback by their ferocity as Keel ripped out its throat while avoiding its hands. Keel jumped off and it fell several seconds later. Rishia had fumbled to get ready to fight, but it was over before she could prepare. Therese and Elder Sensei had simply kept an eye on things in case they were needed. This Lord had no doubt that those he trained would achieve victory and was able to simply enjoyed the sight.

Looking around the room, now cleared of enemies, there were over a dozen different tunnels leading from here. Whether they lead deeper, were other entrances, or even dead ends was anyone's guess. As things stood, it would take the queen, Motoyasu, and the coalition soldiers half an hour to arrive.

"I don't suppose your weapons will tell us which path to take, will they?" (Seb)

"No, they give directives but don't tell us how to accomplish them." (Glass)

"So do we just pick a tunnel and start looking?" (L'Arc)

"While that is an option, this Lord is capable of searching all paths at once."

""What?"" (Glass and L'Arc)

"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 me all that the world has to offer. [Drifa Aura X]!"

"That spell…" Glass recognized it from when showed my strength previously.

"So much energy…" (Elder Sensei)

"Now, witness the Army of the Abyss." For each tunnel a clone was generated and they all went to work searching.

"S-So many Abyssgates. It can't be real, it can't." Glass was on the ground shaking. It seems she is incapable of handling the stress of seeing such a demonstration.

"Wow, kiddo, I knew you had some tricks up your sleeve, but that… that was something else."

"My name is Abyssgate, not kiddo. I don't care if you are a king, don't forget it."

"R-Right. Abyssgate. Got it." L'Arc acknowledged his mistake in how he referred to this Lord.

Hmmm… It feels as if there should have been another exclamation. Ah, it seems Rishia was in too much aw to even feh.

The soldiers of the abyss moved swiftly and many reached the ends of the tunnels within minutes. However, shortly before those ends were Mimics hiding paths further in. It is quite possible that they all lead to the same place, but it would be better to check them all to be certain. Shortly after passing the mimics, the tunnels change to resemble muscle tissue rather than earth and stone. Some of the other tunnels branched off, in which case another clone was generated to search and several did lead outside. In the tunnels that went deeper, there were a number of odd monsters that may serve various functions for the Spirit Tortoise similar to blood cells or bacteria, but that would bring into question what the tunnels were in terms of functionality which was something not worth thinking about.

The paths into the depths of the Spirit Tortoise began to be blocked by what appeared to be strands of muscles, alternating between the colors red and blue. They may be meant to slow or separate large groups as while retracting when cut, they regrew upon cutting the next set. They also caused monsters to attack from within the walls, likely acting as part of the Spirit Tortoise's immune system.

"So… how long do we just stand around here?" (L'Arc)

"The majority of the passages lead deeper, but none have yet reached the heart. Have a little patience."

"Then how about you tell us why you're wearing sunglasses in a dark cave?"

"Do not doubt the power of this Heavenly Eye." I turned and posed with a finger pushing them up.

"L'Arc, don't give him any reason to dislike us more than he already does." Interesting, it seems Glass has changed her opinion of this Lord from contempt to fear. Perhaps she has realized that she was unable to defeat even a single clone from someone capable of creating an infinite amount.

Eventually all of the tunnels started to merge so seamlessly that even this Lord would not have noticed had the clones not met up with each other. Most of the clones were then dismissed and the one designated to continue came to a wider area containing a dragon hourglass with the number 7 written on in and containing blue sand. Though, it would be more accurate to say a projection of a dragon hourglass as it was incorporeal. The sand only filled up about 10% of the glass. That could be an indication of how many souls it had collected for the barrier, in which case it would need another nine times the number of people and monsters it already killed. It isn't a pretty prospect, but it is doable and there should be a sufficient population of most species remaining to repopulate. Unfortunately those limited to single areas may still go extinct. The best case scenario would be that it isn't counting the energy that was stolen by Kyo and it already has enough to create the barrier once we defeat him. Too bad that isn't very likely as more grains slowly fell in, indicating that the familiars were still sending the souls to the Spirit Tortoise rather than someone else.

The clone continued down the tunnel until it reached the room containing the heart. It was connected to the floor and ceiling and had red and blue halves each with an oversized eyeball which could probably fire heat beams similar to the bats. As a test the clone cut the connection to the ceiling, followed by the connection to the floor. Finally the entire thing was kicked away from the connections to prevent healing. Monsters then flooded into the room, but were unable to detect my clone and were easily dealt with. The pulsing though the walls of the tunnels stopped, which would indicate that there was only one heart, but there wasn't any change in the hourglass in the status screen. Over the course of several minutes the severed heart dissolved and a new one started to grow from the points where it had been connected. So even headless and heartless, it still has regenerative abilities. The test was repeated and the only difference was that less monsters came in. They likely need time to be created or are coming from other areas.

"Most of the paths lead to the heart. This one seems to be the fastest. Also it seems that removing the heart isn't enough to kill it. Unfortunately there is no sign of Kyo."

"So what do we do?" (L'Arc)

"It would seem that our best option is currently to wait for the queen so that the army mages can perform the sealing ritual on the heart. Afterwards, Kyo will pay."


AN: Why spend time searching each path individually when you can search them all at once? And it is pretty hard to fight against someone when you can't even tell he's there.