Story rating bumped up to 'M' because now we get detailed descriptions of the kind of damage a lightsaber can really do…
SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW
PLEASE CAMPAIGN FOR THE TROPE PAGE'S DELETION
-CHAPTER START-
Realm RSH-12
In the throne room, as Naofumi and Ren stood by, King Aultcray watched the crystal ball recording of the fight between Glass and the Cardinal Heroes & their allies, and he sighed.
"To think that a person would be a part of the Waves… This is unprecedented, and – what with how powerful she appears to be – very concerning. And I get the feeling she wasn't fighting at full strength, either."
Ren nodded. "I picked up on that, too. Even with Master Kota, Knight Marek, and Knight Tano helping us… I'm not so sure we could handle her if she fought at 100%, at least not where we are now."
"And that's not all" Naofumi added. "Judging by what she said to us, I suspect she may have other people helping her, and for all we know they're all as strong as she is. If they're part of the Waves and have decided to take a more active role, this mess just got a whole lot harder."
"Naofumi & I, and our parties, are doing what we can to grow stronger and improve our skills" Ren said. "But the Bow and Spear Heroes aren't putting as much effort into it, in comparison. I worry they'll fall behind by the time the Fourth Wave comes. And if either or both of them are killed…"
"…the Waves' monsters will increase in power & numbers" the old King sighed, too worried over the situation to be nasty to Naofumi at the moment. "I will attempt to impress upon those two the dire importance of furthering their growth."
"It's not just raw power they need" Naofumi replied. "Motoyasu is too aggressive and straightforward when he fights; he needs to learn to be more patient and tactical. And Itsuki's too focused on prestige and appearance, and doesn't seem to grasp that the flashiest solution isn't always the best one."
King Aultcray grumbled, the old warrior unable to deny the Shield Hero's points. "You've only been here as long as they have, yet you're already picking apart their flaws so accurately…"
"It's partly hard-earned experience and partly the elder Jedi's teachings."
"Of the four of us," Ren added, "Naofumi is the only one who didn't come into this with a particularly… romantic view of adventuring and heroing. He didn't have any major preconceptions to color his views & experiences here."
The old King nodded, his eyes coldly appraising the way Naofumi carried himself – like a warrior. "Well, I believe that will be all for now. Thank you for your report."
Naofumi turned and left the throne-room, and Ren prepared to follow.
"Sir Sword" King Aultcray stopped him for a moment. "I would be careful not to become too close with the Shield Demon, if I were you…"
Ren held back the urge to sneer at the deluded, hateful old King. "I'll do what I need to stop the Waves" he replied, closing the doors behind him.
Meanwhile, as Naofumi descended the stairs, a young woman stopped by him, speaking softly.
"I daresay you must be careful, Sir Shield" the woman said, pulling out an odd-looking pendant. "Dark forces cloaked in false light skulk in hidden places. They seek to make your life on our world much more difficult than it already is. Be on your guard, Sir Naofumi. Beware the Church of the Three Heroes…"
-Break-
In the aftermath, Team Jedi set out on the road again, bound for Shieldfreeden. However, the next day, when they stopped by the side of a mountainside road to have lunch, a horse-drawn wagon approached, escorted by a few knights on horseback. From out of the carriage hopped Melty, walking over to Naofumi's group as the youth in question sighed.
"What do you want with us, Second Princess?" he asked.
The little girl frowned and pouted at being addressed like that. "I tried to talk some sense into my father, but he's too stubborn and I didn't really get anywhere. Plus, my sister walked in and made things worse. But if you could accompany me back to the capital, perhaps we could-"
"Absolutely not" Naofumi interrupted. "I don't interact with that hateful trash-heap unless I absolutely have to. I have no intention of trying to 'mend ties' with someone who has treated me and my comrades with nothing but disrespect and hate."
As Melty started pleading/ranting at him in response, Naofumi tuned her out… and his gaze drifted up to the line of soldiers standing a few meters behind her. All of them were glaring at him, and one was holding a recorder crystal ball. Naofumi was struck by a sudden bad feeling, especially as one of the soldiers began to walk forward, approaching Melty from behind… and drawing his sword. Right as the knight drew close and swung, Naofumi yanked Melty toward himself with one hand while raising his shield with the other, the clang of metal on metal ringing out.
"How dare you kidnap the Princess?!" the knight yelled dramatically.
"Kidnapped?!" Naofumi snapped. "What the hell are you…" His eyes widened with realization. "It's another frame job…" he growled.
"Justice is on our side, warriors!" one of the knights yelled. "Kill the Shield Devil!"
The knights began to charge… and then one of them, identity hidden by a helmet, suddenly struck at their fellows, felling a handful before the rest realized what was happening. The remainder rallied, trying to rush at the traitor, but the helmed knight easily parried their attacks and dispatched them all; what's more, they did so without causing any fatal or crippling injuries, leaving the men groaning in pain or unconscious but alive and unmaimed. To successfully use nonlethal takedowns despite being outnumbered to such a degree spoke of a truly significant level of skill.
The mysterious knight then walked over toward the heroes; Naofumi and Raphtalia tensed, but Melty placed her hands on their arms.
"…Good job, Éclair" the girl said, still stunned at the assassination attempt.
The knight removed their helmet, revealing a young woman – only around Naofumi's age – with light pink hair and bright blue eyes.
"Just doing my job, Princess" the girl responded.
"Uh, who is this?" Naofumi asked.
"This is Éclair Seatto," Melty replied, "a friend of mine and a prodigious young knight and swordswoman… at least until my father and sister found out she was planning on joining your party to support you, and had her thrown in the castle dungeon on trumped-up charges in order to deprive you of dependable allies. After my attempt to talk sense into Father failed, I followed a hunch and found her down there, and clandestinely released her. I had her pose as one of the knights escorting me here… but, I never thought they would attack… me… Why would they do this?"
Éclair rummaged through the nearest unconscious knight's armor, pulling out a familiar rosary. "The symbol of the Three Heroes Church…" she observed.
Naofumi frowned. "So, the King's even working with a bunch of zealots against me?"
"I don't think so" Éclair replied. "For all his… shortcomings, the King genuinely loves both his daughters. He would never approve of a serious attack against Princess Melty, no matter what."
"But I bet Malty would" Knight Marek spoke up. "If Melty dies, she'll be the only one left to inherit the throne."
Melty appeared shaken by this; despite how nasty and ambitious her older sister was, she never imagined the woman would try to kill her…
"So, we've got a sociopathic princess and a racist, heretical cult conspiring to kill the heir-apparent and make Sir Naofumi's life hell" Chantez summed up. "Even more so than the old blowhard King already is, I mean."
"Pretty sure trying to kill the crown princess counts as treason" Ahsoka remarked. "I wonder how the Queen will feel about that…"
"Why don't we go tell her and find out?" Master Kota suggested. "From what I understand, Queen Mirellia is our best bet of getting an ally in a real position of power."
Naofumi pulled out a map. "If she's in Faubley, to get there from here we'd have to pass too close for comfort by the Melromarc capital, or go wide along Melromarc's outskirts and waste a lot of time. Our best bet right now is to head for Siltvelt or Shieldfreeden, and find a way to contact her from there."
"I'll radio Ren's team," Marek said, "let him know what's happened."
-Break-
Unfortunately, the fight had been broadcasted to the Church's mages, who'd edited and altered the footage to make it look like the Shield Hero and his allies had massacred Melromarc knights and kidnapped the princess. Now the entire party had prices on their heads, forcing them to skulk through the wilderness as they headed in the direction of the border. At least, however, they got the time to get to know Éclair, finding her to be serious and diligent, devoted to justice and her swordsmanship, but also a bit socially awkward, as well as mildly starstruck at meeting and fighting alongside the Shield Hero. Meanwhile, after being informed of the situation via radio, Ren promised to start his own covert investigation into the Three Heroes Church…
A couple days later, at dusk, as the team was moving along some cliffs (having abandoned and hidden their wagon for the time being so they could scale the mountains), they could sense and hear commotion up on the level above – a team of Melromarc soldiers scouring the area for them. Team Jedi did their best to sneak past, looking for a way out of the area, and it appeared as if they eventually found a path and slipped away undetected…
"I see them!"
Alerted by a soldier's shout several meters behind them, the team turned to see a sizable force of soldiers on foot or horseback approaching, along with Itsuki, Motoyasu, and Malty. Team Jedi tried to fall back, but soon found themselves backed against a cliff edge.
"Enough of this!" Melty spoke up, stepping forward. "I don't know what lies you've all been told, but I was not kidnapped. I am traveling with the Shield Hero willingly! He can be a bit of a jerk at times, but his heart is in the right place, and he works hard to protect the people, like a Cardinal Hero should! There's another group of people trying to kill me, and Sir Naofumi is protecting me from them! Now please, cease this foolish hostility! With the threat of the Waves hanging over the world, this is no time for the Cardinal Heroes to be fighting amongst each other!"
Itsuki and a few of the soldiers looked to be paying heed to Melty's words. But then…
"Don't listen to her!" Malty shouted out as she stepped out of the crowd of soldiers. "The Shield Demon's shield possesses the power to brainwash people! He already has her under his thrall!"
"That's absurd!" Naofumi snapped. "First off, if my shield had that power, the other Cardinal Weapons would too, wouldn't they?! And second, most of my shield's abilities are still sealed, since the weapon-spirit is throwing a fit over me becoming a Jedi; even if it had a brainwashing power, I wouldn't be able to use it right now!"
"Lying won't save you, Shield! Melty, sister dear, come to me! I will protect you!"
Melty, trembling in fear, hid behind Naofumi. "Y-You'll kill me… I can see it in your eyes…"
"You really have sunk to a new low, Malty" Naofumi said, loud and clear for everyone. "Trying to kill your sister so you can inherit the throne, and even allying with crazed zealots to do it?! We found the rosaries from the Three Heroes Church being carried by all of the soldiers who attacked us! To think you'd help them commit treason just to get rid of your rival for the throne! And how can you be sure they won't come for your head next?!"
Malty responded by opening fire, conjuring and launching a rapid-fire barrage of little flame-magic bolts, and several Melromarc archers (Three Heroes Church agents) followed suit. Ahsoka activated her lightsabers, stepping forward and batting away the fire bolts Malty shot at them, while Master Kota simply raised his hand and caught all of the inbound arrows, holding them in midair and then clenching his fist to telekinetically snap them all in two and then let them drop to the ground.
Motoyasu fired a Lightning Spear shot only for Naofumi to deflect it with his shield and then counter with a Force Push that knocked the blond oaf on his ass. Scrambling to his feet, Motoyasu looked back at Itsuki, who was standing back and out of the way, watching the whole debacle unsurely.
"Why aren't you attacking that bastard, Itsuki?!" Motoyasu asked.
"I… I don't know who to believe!" Itsuki replied. "I honestly don't know which side's in the right, which side's telling the truth, and if I pick a side and end up picking wrong, I'll have helped evil! So, I'm staying out of this whole fight!"
Incensed, Motoyasu almost impulsively attacked the Bow Hero, only to realize just in time that if he did that, Itsuki would almost certainly side with Naofumi, making the fight harder. Snarling, he tossed out an enchanted shackle meant to bind Filo's ability to transform into her big bird form, only for Melty to blast the incoming shackle away with a bolt of Light magic, and then lash out with a Zweite Aqua Slash, the slicing water wave blasting Motoyasu back; only his Defense magic and his armor (which was sliced through) saved him from serious injury, a part of the attack that didn't hit him continuing on to cleave a boulder in half.
Then, a light shone forth as Malty conjured a huge fireball, giving a fanged grin as she waved her arm down to make it shoot down at the heroes like a meteor. But Ahsoka stepped forward, reaching up & out with her hands, and with the Force she slowed the fireball, holding it in place a few meters over their heads. Then, as Malty stared in slack-jawed astonishment, Ahsoka hit the Flare spell with a Force Push that shot it right back at the evil princess, who barely got a high-level Shield spell up in time to keep from being burnt to a crisp. The magic barrier shattered from the force of the redirected attack, and Malty screamed briefly as she was blasted back, her skin burnt and hair & outfit smoldering; a direct hit without the Shield spell could very well have killed her.
'She threw an attack spell of such magnitude against her own sister…' Itsuki thought. 'Maybe Naofumi is right; maybe Malty is trying to kill Melty in order to take the throne for herself… And if she's doing that, what else is she capable of? Can I trust anything she says? …Was her rape accusation against Naofumi bogus, too?'
Motoyasu was about to shout an enraged challenge, but then a whirring sound began to sound out, echoing amongst the cliffs and trees. As the Melromarc/Church force looked around in confusion, a massive shape then floated up from behind & below the cliff edge that Naofumi & company were standing with their backs to, searchlights shining out and heavy blaster cannons swiveling into position. Dark gray with blue accent lines, with a roughly split-tipped arrowhead shape framed by angular 'wings' attached to the rear sides, the 65-meter Rogue Shadow hovered into position, its ventral boarding hatch sliding open.
Team Jedi began to fall back into the Rogue Shadow, and several archers opened fire at it, followed by Motoyasu starting to charge. The arrows pinged off the ship's energy shields, and then one of the heavy blaster cannons fired a few emerald bolts at the ground in Motoyasu's path, forcing him to stumble to a halt to avoid taking a hit. With everyone aboard, the Rogue Shadow closed up, hovered upwards while spinning around, and with a thrumming roar of its sublight thrusters it shot upwards and westwards, gaining altitude and leaving the capital forces in its dust.
-Break-
The Rogue Shadow leveled off around 10,000 feet up, slowing down to cruise leisurely through the dusk sky. In the briefing room, Team Jedi gathered along with the ship's pilot, Juno Eclipse; Proxy was in the cockpit, making sure everything kept running smoothly. Melty and Éclair looked around in awe, their first time being on a starship.
"Nice timing, Juno" Galen said. "I didn't think we were gonna be able to get out without killing anyone if you hadn't shown up."
"I've been monitoring the whole ugly situation as best I can" the woman replied. "So, what's our next step?"
"Have you and Proxy put together a map of the area?" Master Kota asked.
Juno nodded, keying in a few commands on the holotable, and a rather detailed aerial map of the kingdom of Melromarc appeared, zooming in to show everything within a 100km radius of their current position. Major roads, villages & settlements, forts and military bases, and other points of interest were marked. Melty came closer, eyes wide at the technology as she worked to pinpoint their position. With a little gasp, she pointed to one of the marked locations, not too far from where they were now (reasonably close to the Siltvelt border).
"That's Van Reichnott's territory!" she said, a grin coming to her face. "He's one of the lords most outspoken for equal treatment of demihumans. …Father had him and those who thought like him reassigned to the outer reaches of the kingdom, after the most politically powerful of them, the lord of Seatto province, was killed."
"Seatto?" Naofumi looked to their pink-haired new party member.
"My father…" Éclair murmured quietly, confirming his suspicion.
"In any case," Melty continued, "Reichnott's estate will be a safe place for us to set down and get our bearings."
Juno nodded. "We have stationary stealth-field projectors we can set up around the ship to hide it whenever it's 'parked' on the ground. Still, we shouldn't stay there any longer than we have to."
Raphtalia, meanwhile, had a complicated expression on her face as she looked another location marked on the map, closer to the capital than Van Reichnott's estate…
-Break-
Van Reichnott was welcoming and understanding, allowing the team to spend the night and the next day at his estate, the Rogue Shadow hidden by a cloaking field in an out-of-the-way corner of his estate garden. As the team tried to plan their next move, Raphtalia seemed oddly restless. Then, in the early morning, she shot awake, short of breath and sweating, the dream/vision she'd just had still echoing in her memory.
She knew that was no mere memory. She could feel it through the Force. Although weak and slowly weakening further, Rifana was still alive.
Before anyone else could wake up, Raphtalia wrote them a detailed note – explaining how after the first Wave of Catastrophe damaged her home village and killed many of its people, a horde of Melromarc knights raided the village, capturing her & the other survivors and selling them into slavery; how she and a few others ended up as the slaves of Idol Rabier, an exceptionally cruel and racist feudal lord even by Melromarc's standards; how she and Rifana, one of her closest and dearest friends, both fell ill shortly before she was sold to the trader Beloukas, to eventually end being purchased/recruited by Naofumi; how they were presently not far from Rabier's estate; and how she'd had a Force vision-dream of Rifana calling out for her, still alive.
By the time everyone found the note, Raphtalia was well on her way toward Rabier's estate.
-Break-
(MUSIC: Star Wars Ep. II Soundtrack – "The Tusken Camp")
Night had fallen by the time Raphtalia arrived at her destination. Only a small handful of guards (relative to the size of the estate they were guarding), and she easily snuck past them all with her training, illusion magic, and Force skills, slipping into the compound. Stealthing her way through the main courtyard, she reached the entrance to the underground cellars, sneaking her way inside.
Running down the hall, she used the Force to unlock every prison door she passed and also undo every shackle that had a hold of a captive demihuman. The slaves, surprised, started to follow her, helping each other and sure to be quiet. Finally, she reached her old cell… and there was Rifana. The catgirl looked on the verge of death, her tiny body covered in wounds, her skin pale and eyes sunken. The girl's breaths were weak and ragged, illness and injury ravaging her little body.
Forcing open the cell, Raphtalia hurried over to her old friend, kneeling down and gently scooping Rifana into her arms. She felt so cold… The catgirl moaned weakly, her dull eyes slowly opening partway.
"Rifana…" the raccoon-girl whimpered.
"Raph…talia…?" Rifana whispered weakly. "You… came back…?"
Behind them, the other freed slaves gasped and murmured as they realized who their rescuer was; Keel almost fell to 'his' knees in shock.
A weak smile formed on her face. "Look at you… You're so… beautiful now…"
"E-Everything's gonna be okay now" Raphtalia spoke softly. "I'm here. The Shield Hero was summoned; I'm part of his party! H-He saved me from the slave trader, helped me get strong… And now, we have other allies who are helping us against anything the world throws at us. We can help you; we're gonna make you all better."
A weak, trembling little hand reached up to brush Raphtalia's cheek. "I'm so… glad for you…"
Then, ragged coughs wracked Rifana's little body. Raphtalia's eyes widened, tears coming to them.
"H-Hang on, Rifana! We're-"
"I wish… I c-could've… met him…"
"You can! You're going to! Just hold on; I left the others a note, so they're definitely following in my wake, they'll be here soon! S-Stay with me, Rifana. Stay with me! You're almost out of this…"
"Raphta…lia… I… I love…"
"H-Hang on! Please!"
"I lo… I… love… y…"
And then, that little hand slowly fell away from Raphtalia's cheek. Tiny eyes fluttered shut, a last few breaths weakly wheezed out, and Rifana's small, overworked heart slowed… and stopped. Tears began to spill from Raphtalia's wide, horrified eyes as she could do nothing but mouth 'No… No…'. Slowly she curled forward on herself, clutching the slowly cooling body to her chest, shudders shaking her body. Behind her, Keel burst out in stifled sobs, being held by one of the surviving adults.
Then, something changed in the air. Within seconds, the heat seemed to be sapped from the air in the chamber, and a heavy, oppressive, frightening atmosphere pressed down, strengthening by the second. Raphtalia's body was trembling, and faint wisps of purple & black began to seethe around her. The sorrow in the rescued slaves was quickly replaced by a deep dread fear, as they all felt Killing Intent, toxic and hateful and murderous, being emitted. Then, they all heard armored footsteps approaching, and the soft banter of a few of Rabier's soldiers – three of them, by the sound of it – doing their patrol, not yet noticing in the darkness that the shadowed cells they were passing by had been emptied. As they drew close, Raphtalia slightly raised & turned her head, looking back over her shoulder at the open cell door… and her visible eye – peeking out from disheveled bangs, still crying and filled with overwhelming hate – had turned a bright, glowing sickly yellow with a red rim, the sclera black with glowing red bloodshot vessels.
The three soldiers reached the door just as a quiet, snarling growl reverberated through the bones of all who heard it. The cruel pawns of Rabier barely had time to gaze in stupefied shock at the scene before Raphtalia moved with blinding speed. There was a loud snap-hiss of a lightsaber igniting, the yellow energy blade now bearing a noticeable red tint, and the sound of hissing flesh as her first swing took a soldier's head off. The remaining two leapt back, trying to draw their weapons, but then Raphtalia – eyes black and gold with Darkness, her fangs bared and unnaturally lengthened & sharpened – reached out with the force and grabbed one of them. At her will, the man's metal armor compressed inwards, crushing his ribcage and organs in a burst of blood. As she dropped the twitching body to the floor, the third soldier began to back away in terror, and then let out a brief scream that was cut off by her lightsaber slicing him in half down the middle, the stench of flash-cooked flesh and heated metal filling the narrow hall.
There was shouting and the pounding of feet approaching, as five more guards began to run for the disturbance, drawing their blades. In response, overflowing with fury, rage, and hate, deep in the grips of the Dark Side, Raphtalia snarled like a feral beast as she leapt at them, and the sounds of screams and death filled the cavern…
-Break-
The entire rest of Team Jedi (plus Filo and Melty) abandoned their stealthy approach as the chaos began to unfold, hearing surprised and panicked soldiers and mercenaries running about. They had all sensed when Raphtalia subsumed herself in the Dark Side, grief and despair transitioning into overpowering hatred and fury, and now they could 'feel' as she began methodically making her way towards where Idol Rabier was, effortlessly and savagely butchering anyone & everyone who tried to stop her or got in her way.
Before long, they could see mangled, dismembered bodies… as well as a group of rag-clad demihumans trying to make their way through the shadows. One of Rabier's soldiers spotted them, drawing his short sword and charging… and then a bright blue thrown lightsaber pierced his chest from behind. As the demihumans stared in surprise, Knight Marek telekinetically recalled his blade from the toppling corpse, looking at the group.
"Chantez!" he said. "Get these people outta here!"
The young orange-haired girl nodded, igniting one of her orange lightsabers as a beacon. "Everyone, follow me! I'll lead you to safety! The rest of our team will catch up to Raphtalia and try to salvage this whole situation!"
Suddenly, a small wave of arrows shot down at the group from a higher ledge… only to be deflected by a large glowing green Erst Shield as Naofumi stepped forward. He and Master Kota then used the Force to grab the enemy archers and Pull them over the edge to fall to the courtyard below.
"It's really him…" Keel muttered in awe, looking at the divine shield on Naofumi's arm.
The rescued demihumans followed Chantez as she led them toward the exit, avoiding what few personnel hadn't been diverted to meet their ends at Raphtalia's hands.
Speaking of, the scene inside the manor was one of carnage. Blood and scorch marks marred the fancy carpet and walls, along with the corpses of mercs, soldiers, and servants dismembered, decapitated, bisected, or crushed. A small cadre of Idol Rabier's best troops stood guard at his door, sweat on their brows as they knew the mysterious killer was headed their way.
They weren't kept waiting for long. A 'Saber Throw' took two of their heads off as Raphtalia emerged from a nearby hallway; the combination of her overpowering Dark Side presence and Killing Intent, the glowing energy blade she had just recalled to her hand, the black & gold Darkness eyes, the blood on parts of her armor, and the blood around her mouth from when she'd actually torn a soldier's throat out with her teeth, made for an utterly terrifying specter of death that nearly broke the remaining guards' wills right then & there. In a mere second she was on them, slashing and stabbing, effortlessly dodging their panicked swings, using the Force to crush their throats or snap their necks while her red-tinted lightsaber cleaved through armor, flesh, & bone to leave people bits scattered on the floor. In less than 10 seconds they were all dead, and with the Force she blasted the ornate door to bits.
Inside, Idol Rabier beheld an unholy wraith stalking toward him, a blade of tainted light humming in her hand, her eyes glowing gold against the pitch-black sclera which seemed to suck in any other light. She briefly 'pulsed' images into his mind – a ravaged village, a group of scared children, a scapegoat hero, a little body's last breaths – and his eyes widened in shocked terror as he realized exactly who this angel of death was. His racism briefly pushed his fear aside, and he drew his electrified whip and wound up to swing, only to scream as a swing of Raphtalia's lightsaber took his hand off at the wrist, sending him stumbling back to fall to the floor, frantically trying to crawl backwards away from her now.
"W-Wait, please! I beg you! I-I'll give you anything you want, Miss… R-Raphtalia, was it? Y-Yes! I'll g-give you more gold and riches t-than you'll ever know what to do with! I'll give you a-a whole village, if that's what you want! I'll even s-speak with the king, see if I c-can convince him to pardon you and your friends! Please! Have mercy!"
After a second, Raphtalia deactivated her lightsaber, and Idol Rabier dared to hope. But then, she slowly raised both her hands up, pointing her fingers at him, and snarled:
"You never showed me mercy. You never showed Keel mercy. …You never gave Rifana mercy…"
Then, tainted blue lightning erupted from her fingertips. Rabier's screams were partially drowned out by the crackling buzz of Force-conjured electricity coursing over and through his body, setting off every pain-sensing nerve. Raphtalia kept pouring Force Lightning into her former tormentor, watching him scream and writhe in agony, his skeleton occasionally flickering visible, his flesh beginning to cook while he was still alive.
Finally, she stopped, cutting off the Force Lightning and leaving Idol Rabier wheezing and twitching pitifully, smoke curling from his clothes and body, blood leaking from his nose. Then, right when he had one last brief flicker of hope of being spared, she reactivated her lightsaber and, with one swing, split him open from neck to groin, leaving his steaming, partially cooked entrails to spill out. A look of disbelieving horror was in his eyes as he looked down at his own guts, and then the light left his eyes as he finally expired in agony.
As Raphtalia deactivated her weapon, the rest of the team finally arrived at the busted-down doorway. She turned to face them, her eyes returning to normal as the taint of Darkness left them, and Naofumi stepped forward to catch her as she fell to her knees, physical and emotional exhaustion crashing into her as tears fell from her eyes.
"She died in my arms…" she mumbled, her voice weak and filled with despair. "She held out for so long, but right when I finally reached her again…"
All Naofumi could do was hold her close as she trembled in his arms. …And then, the whole team suddenly felt a deep pulse of potent, ancient power that made their hair stand on end. Hurrying over to the window and throwing it open, they saw a large obelisk, ornate runes carved into it, in the middle of the courtyard. It was glowing now, cracks forming in the surrounding concrete as a massive rune lit up with the obelisk at the center. Master Kota extended his senses and examined the rune's magical formulae, and his eyes widened.
"There's a massive dark presence sealed in that thing!" he said. "And it's breaking free! Rabier had a death-activated ritual spell set up to free whatever was sealed there in the event of his death by unnatural causes!"
Raphtalia's eyes widened as she realized that, by taking her revenge, she'd inadvertently set up the freeing of some kind of powerful monster or demon. The concrete and tiling shattered upward, and in a burst of dark light a massive creature emerged – built like a T. rex, with dark blue scaly hide with multiple blade-like spikes sticking up along its spine, its head crowned by crystalline antler-like horns, its massive teeth shining like silver. Freed from its prison, the Tyrant Dragon Rex let out a loud, deep, bone-quaking roar.
"It, uh… It feels a lot like Gaelion" Ahsoka remarked nervously. "Except not as nice."
"Maybe we can sneak away while it's busy tearing this place up?" Naofumi suggested.
With fate thus tempted, the Tyrant Dragon Rex turned and looked directly at Naofumi, its reptilian eyes fixated squarely on the shield affixed to the youth's arm, and it let out a hateful snarl and began to stomp toward them.
"Or not!" Master Kota said. "I don't think it likes your shield, boy!"
Filo assumed her big bird form and charged, dodging a swing of the Tyrant Dragon Rex's spiked tail and leaping up for a flying kick to the monster's jaw. However, other than knocking the dragon's head to the side this didn't really do anything, and the monster quickly shrugged off the hit and snapped its massive jaws at Filo, who dodged by less than a meter. A swing of the monster's tail leveled one of the surrounding estate buildings, and then a swipe of one of its short but powerful forearms knocked Filo away when she tried to attack again.
"This place is too cramped for us to fight this thing effectively!" Knight Marek observed. "And we're too close to the town; a lot of people could get hurt if this thing is allowed to rampage around!"
"Then we need to lure it out of the city" Master Kota replied. "In what passes for the beast's mind, I sensed a flare of rage as soon as it saw Naofumi's shield. A previous generation of Cardinal Heroes must've been the ones to beat and seal it."
The team took off running toward the main exit, with the Tyrant Dragon Rex giving chase. Nearing the gates, they found Chantez and the rescued demihumans setting up a big open-topped wagon, the whole group on-edge after hearing the crashing & roaring. The sight of a team of Jedi, including the Shield Hero, fleeing from something was a worrying one.
"Everyone in!" Naofumi shouted. "We gotta move!"
Everyone quickly piled into the wagon, with Filo getting herself hitched up with Naofumi, Raphtalia, & Melty riding on her back. The ground rumbled with the Tyrant Dragon Rex's footsteps approaching, the beast obscured by buildings but drawing closer.
"Floor it, Filo!" Ahsoka screamed.
The adventurers and demihumans hung on for dear life as Filo took off, towing the wagon as fast as she safely could. Master Kota used a Force Push to knock the gates open, the massive wooden doors swinging open just enough for the carriage to slip through. As they sped down the bridge over the moat, the gates were busted down by a charging headbutt from the Tyrant Dragon Rex, which roared and resumed its pursuit, to the shock and fear of the demihumans as they saw what they were all running from.
"What the hell is that?!" one of them screamed.
"I don't know," Ahsoka replied, "but Idol Rabier's death set it free! We think it was sealed away by previous Cardinal Heroes, because it really seems to hate the Shield!"
As they sped through the city, people scattered out of the way, and then screamed and fled as they saw the giant dino-dragon hot on the wagon's heels. The monster focused its strength into its legs and started to speed up, gaining on them while reaching its massive head forward, jaws open in a roar. A concussive Force Push from Galen made it stagger and lose ground, but it quickly recovered and resumed the chase. Then, it opened its jaws again, and this time an orange glow built up inside.
"Incoming!" Master Kota shouted.
The Tyrant Dragon Rex spat out a huge fireball at the fleeing wagon. Naofumi tossed out an Erst Shield that only held the fire blast back for about a second before being shattered through, but it bought Ahsoka time to charge up a Force Push that deflected and disrupted the fireball. Soon they left the town and entered the forest, Filo expertly weaving herself and the wagon between the trees; behind them, they could hear the Tyrant Dragon Rex simply bashing through any trees in its way, the sounds of crashing timber echoing through the woods.
The wagon emerged from the trees into a massive clearing dominated by a lake, coming to a stop near the lakeshore. The combatants all piled out, putting themselves between the wagon and the approaching threat. Soon, with earth-rumbling footsteps, the Tyrant Dragon Rex emerged from the forest, snarling and stomping towards the heroes and their charges. The Jedi all ignited their lightsabers, nine energy blades of varying colors lighting up the night.
"At least it's not as big as the gorog" Knight Marek remarked. "Though, this time we don't have a several-thousand-meter drop to help us kill the monster…"
Ahsoka made the first move, charging forward with Force-enhanced speed and sending out her Blitzle to rush in alongside her. They dodged as the Tyrant Dragon Rex tried to crush them beneath its massive feet, and Blitzle hit the beast's leg with a Shock Wave attack, causing the muscles to temporarily lock up; the monster stumbled, and Ahsoka got in close and slashed with one of her lightsabers, only for the monster's thick draconic armor-like hide to take minimal damage from the blow.
Filo rushed in with her usual blinding speed, landing several blows that nonetheless didn't accomplish much. The rest of the Jedi joined the fray, concussive Force blasts from Master Kota and Knight Marek packing enough punch to knock the Tyrant Dragon Rex back a couple of steps and fracture a few of its armor-plate scales. Growling, the monster's crystalline crown of horns lit up with magical energy, and with a roar it unleashed a powerful blast of Lightning magic… and Ahsoka's Blitzle leapt into the attack's path, absorbing the electrical attack with his Ability to boost his speed and power. Melty cast Zweite Aqua Slash, a blade of Water magic lashing out and gouging a small, shallow groove in the monster's face scales but missing its eye. The beast reared back and breathed out a stream of bright flames at the little princess, but Master Kota got in the way and made a barrier of the Force that deflected the incoming flames long enough for Filo to hit the monster in the chin with a rising kick that made it stop its flame breath.
Chantez formed several Shadow Clones, spreading out to misdirect the Tyrant Dragon Rex while peppering it with mana bolts and occasional hit-&-run lightsaber strikes, keeping its focus split. Ahsoka fired off a Raiton: Raijū Tsuiga that crashed against the monster's chest, stunning voltage coursing through it for a moment, but then the beast raised a clawed foot high and then stomped down hard, releasing a pulse of Earth magic that made the ground ripple like waves on the ocean, throwing Chantez and her Shadow Clones away. Its spiked tail was then wreathed in frost as it channeled Ice magic, swinging the massive limb at Naofumi. He raised his Cardinal Shield to block, but was still sent hurtling away, ice crystals clinging to his shield and stabbing at his arms.
The Tyrant Dragon Rex made to charge at Ahsoka and Raphtalia, only for the former's Blitzle to ram into its leg with a Spark tackle, making it stagger as its leg went numb again. Raphtalia took the opportunity, dashing forward with Force speed and leaping forward. Clinging to the monster's body, she swung her yellow lightsaber, severing one of the dino-dragon's arms. The monster roared in pained fury, thrashing around to throw the demihuman warrior off, and she then barely avoided a snap of its massive jaws, scrambling to get distance again. A Force Push from Knight Marek shoved the huge beast back, and a wave of Magic Missiles from Melty hit it in the flank, marring the armor-hard scales.
Ahsoka had taken position in the back, near the demihumans (who were desperately trying to not be noticed by the giant rampaging dragon their rescuers were fighting), channeling magical power and chakra through her body… and then carefully weaving and melding the two energies together, her body becoming wreathed in an ethereal white aura as power filled her. After months of training & study, guided by Takamichi Takahata and by her fellow New Order Jedi Asuna, Ahsoka had finally managed to pull off kankahō. She then focused her merged energies to cast the new technique she'd been hard at work creating, now ready for its first field test. She held her arms & hands out, as if holding an invisible longbow, and her mana/chakra energy took semi-solid form as a bow. She pulled one hand back, and Lightning magic and Force Lightning solidified together, taking the shape of a large arrow that flickered and crackled. She gritted her teeth as the technique briefly destabilized, willing it back into cohesion, and took aim, tracking her target.
"Let's see you shrug this off! Kankahō Archer: Thunder God's Arrow!-!"
She released her fingers from their 'hold', and the arrow of energies streaked forward with a rolling thunderclap, piercing through the air itself and striking the Tyrant Dragon Rex right in the middle of its huge crystalline crown. The crown of horns shattered as it was exploded, electricity coursing through the beast's body as a wound was opened in its skull. As Ahsoka fell to her knees, panting for breath, Knight Marek gathered the Force within himself and then let loose, a blinding torrent of Force Lightning assailing the monster's entire body, leaving it roaring and thrashing.
Naofumi used his shield as a springboard to launch Marek high into the air, and as the Tyrant Dragon Rex began to recover, roaring in fury and trying to charge at the Shield Hero, Master Kota stepped in its path and thrust his hands forward one after another, firing Force Pushes of steel-crunching force that sent the beast reeling, knocking it back and stunning it. Then, above, Galen used the Force to launch himself down, igniting his twin lightsabers. With a roar, he landed on top of the monster's skull blades-first, impaling the blue lightsabers deep down into its skull. He then unleashed another wave of Force Lightning, channeling through his weapons and into the dragon's brain.
With one final groan, the Tyrant Dragon Rex's spasming body began to topple over, Knight Marek leaping off as it fell and landing with a flourish as the corpse fell to the ground with an earth-shaking thud behind him. After observing the twitching body for a few moments, everyone stood down, lightsabers deactivating and energies being dispelled. They all gathered together, checking each other over.
"{It seems my assistance was not needed after all.}"
The sudden telepathic voice caught everyone by surprise, and they all looked around, on alert. Then, with a mighty burst of smoke, a massive entity suddenly appeared standing nearby – an enormous royal-subtype Filolial, as big as the Dragon Rex at least, with white & blue plumage and pink eyes.
"At ease, warriors" the giant Filolial spoke. "I do not come as your enemy. Ah, but this form is inconvenient for discussing matters. One moment, please…"
Her entire body glowed with blue light, and then shrunk down. When it faded, she had assumed the form of a young girl in an elaborate white & pink dress, a pair of blue-tinted white wings growing from her back, with shoulder-length silver hair topped by three gold-tipped strands that poked upwards and curved forward.
"It is surprising that you all were able to kill a monster that a previous generation of Cardinal Heroes couldn't" she said. "There is much we need to discuss, but not here. I will bring us all to my sanctuary. I will also bring the dragon's body, to feed the other Filolials and so I can harvest the Dragon Essence Core that gave it such might and power, so that it cannot empower and corrupt any other creature."
"Who are you?" Naofumi asked, still wary.
The girl curtsied. "I am Fitoria, Queen of All Filolials."
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: discussions with Fitoria, and a nefarious plot kicks off…