Motoyasu grimaced at the massive pool of blood beneath the whimpering Dragon. He was on the rebuilt wooden wall that he and Itsuki had erected. They were using Malty's plants as a baseline with their Plant manipulation skills. They'd lost a lot of mana, but it had been worth it. The translucent barrier was making it increasingly harder to see as it recharged. It was still a grotesque sight.
For a moment, he felt pity.
The memory of the smell of burning flesh destroyed that notion.
That thing had killed hundreds of people. Motoyasu had gagged at the smell. Itsuki had stared at the burned homes and unrecognizable bodies with a blank expression. Both had realized how serious this was. How bad the attack would have been if it had continued.
It had taken ten minutes for the battle to kill hundreds.
How many would die before this ended?
He had been a fool.
Motoyasu had never treated Malty's anger at her parents as a serious matter. Sure, they weren't very good people, but they couldn't have been that bad, right? After all, they had managed to raise a person like Malty.
A stupid thought.
Malty was amazing to make herself as intelligent and compassionate as she was. The thought of that Queen made him sneer. Malty had set up these defences for protecting the people of the capital from the Waves.
The Queen and her fleet wanted to destroy the capital.
It made the real ruler of the Kingdom fucking obvious.
"Motoyasu," said Itsuki, using his Sniper Sight skill to study the battlefield. It was a simple, yet powerful, skill. It let him see things that were far away regardless of things like light. "The dragon is regenerating. We need to annihilate it."
Motoyasu's skills weren't suited for long-range strikes. Itsuki was a master at them. He never missed a target he could see and his skills meant that he saw everything for miles. It was why Itsuki had guided their previous attack. Motoyasu and the barrier had only provided the power.
The problem was that they had overloaded the Lightning barrier. Motoyasu didn't understand it at all. However, Commander Anderson had been clear that they couldn't activate it again.
"Cromwell said that we shouldn't go all out," said Motoyasu. He remembered the old man's tense words. Marathon, not a sprint. Sieges were dependent more on resources conservation than firepower.
Itsuki shook his head, "Cromwell also thought that this would be a siege. This isn't one," said Itsuki. "We can't risk them breaching the walls. Not again. Let's kill that thing while it's injured and then blast the airships."
Motoyasu twired his spear and nodded. The men and women around them cheered. Itsuki and Motoyasu shifted into their stances.
The weight of their expectations was painful.
Before the battle with the Dragon, their cheers as the barriers crushed the airships had been amazing. He'd found himself yelling alongside them.
Now, it was a reminder of who would die if he and Itsuki messed this up.
"Lightning Spear," he said, drawing out the power and using Malty's trick of infusing it with a lot of mana and SP to boost the attack. He could see the crackling arrow on Itsuki's Bow. His role was the same. He provided power. Itsuki directed it and powered it. Last time, they'd let the barrier do the empowering. Motoyasu had only participated for the boost his attack stat would give to the final strike.
This time they had to do it themselves.
A hush fell on the wall. Only the crackling sound of their attacks and the smell of ozone filled the area.
The Bow Hero nodded at Motoyasu. Then, he signalled the soldier who would be responsible for dropping the barrier. It would be for an instant so that the attack could go through.
Holding onto the Lightning Spear had become difficult. It was almost painful. He could feel the mana slipping below the halfway point. The attack was destabilizing.
"Now!" said Itsuki.
Motoyasu yelled and threw the spear through the hole in the barrier.
Itsuki launched his attack an instant later.
Their intent held. The attack combined.
Itsuki lowered his bow with an icy smile on his face. Grim satisfaction filled every pore.
The soldiers cheered wildly. Their commanders let them enjoy the moment. If there was one thing he'd learned, it was that morale was critical. Cromwell had begged them to stand on the frontlines for a time. Let the warriors see their Heroes.
It worked. This was one example.
Of course, Cromwell had assumed a long siege.
Motoyasu was about to smile and congratulate the Bow Hero. Their biggest problem was gone.
Itsuki's expression shifted to fury. "It's still alive," he whispered, squinting, "There's-there's a Hero with a Whip. He summoned some type of skill to block a part of the attack- No, he boosted the dragon somehow. It's healing faster."
Motoyasu grimaced. The cheers were ongoing, but Anderson and two others who were close by had heard Itsuki.
They were quick to put the soldiers back to high alert.
"Again?" asked Motoyasu pulling his second mana potion of the day and taking a sip.
Itsuki shook his head, but it was Anderson who answered. "Sir Motoyasu," he said with a tired grimace, "I'd recommend against it. Preserve your power for the Hero on their side. Leave the Dragon to us."
"You'll die if you face it," snapped Itsuki, "The Dragon and the Hero will be our enemies. You can deal with the soldiers they are fielding. They aren't as strong as you, but they outnumber you and-"
"I appreciate the concern," said Anderson with a cold, firm tone. "But those soldiers are only relevant if the Dragon manages to pierce our defences again. The Princess' defences are not something the enemy can break without the Dragon. But if the Hero empowers it and the other soldiers we will lose. You must defeat the Hero to crush the enemy."
Motoyasu understood. He hated it, but it made sense.
Itsuki looked to protest, but Captain smiled at them. "Our duty is to our people," he said looking with a melancholic gaze at the eclectic mix of Demi-human, Filolial and human that held the wall. "The Princess is counting on us."
Itsuki shook his head, "She didn't ask you to commit suicide."
"No, she didn't. The Princess commanded us to defend our home. To do whatever is necessary for that goal," he said. "Rest assured Sir Itsuki, our goal will be to distract and, if we can, kill the beast. Deal with that Hero and return to aid us. That is our best chance."
Itsuki frowned, nodded and glanced at the ruined plains outside the city walls. "They're getting ready. The Dragon isn't at one hundred per cent, but..."
"We have to draw them into the range of the barriers. Without that, we can't defeat their numbers. The airships are a larger issue. Surviving the attacks the flying devices use will be impossible without the barriers," said the Commander studying the distant enemy with a frown. "Sir Itsuki, can you-"
"Commander, Heroes," said Lord Cromwell as he walked up the makeshift stairs to this wooden part of the wall. Two guards were at his side, "We must initiate the contingencies soon. This attack was beyond our expectations. We have to inform the Princess."
Motoyasu and Itsuki glared at the old man. Cromwell didn't show any concern despite their clear annoyance.
"We can't do that," said Motoyasu, "That Dragon will kill everyone if we both don't stop it-"
"I agree," said Malty's second in command. "I'm asking you both to change your mind on using your portal skill. Teleport some of the less trained Knights and Demi-humans to Her Highness to send a report. Once she returns we will be at our best."
They both hesitated. Malty had been clear that they were to use the teleport as their emergency escape. They would need it if they faced an enemy that had Anti-Hero techniques like at the border. It was why they'd not used it before. They'd wanted to assess the threat first...and had gotten caught up in the battle.
Motoyasu nodded. She needed to know, now. It was horrible to realize that this might get some of the kids or the Knights he'd trained with killed. Hell, it might get him killed if the enemy was stronger than expected, but that didn't matter.
They had a job to do. Plus, Itsuki would have his teleport.
They'd be fine.
"Let's get this done fast," said Motoyasu after sharing a glance with Itsuki.
"We have several people wounded," said Itsuki, "And some of the demi-humans did not react well to battle. Send them with the message. Lord Cromwell, do you have the report?"
Cromwell expression showed his unhappiness with Itsuki's words. He nodded and handed the Bow Hero a couple of sheets of paper. "Please take her as well," he said pointing to one of his guards. "She's a capable illusionist and has recorded much of the battle."
"I'll teleport them," said Motoyasu, "Itsuki, hold onto your portal and keep watch."
Itsuki frowned, "I'll be at range," he pointed out, "much safer than you would be in the fight-"
"Which is why you'll have a chance to trigger a portal if we're getting wrecked."
The teenager blinked and nodded. Motoyasu smirked and ignored the irritated look Itsuki was giving him.
The Bow Hero went back to surveilling the fleet and the dragon. Motoyasu ran towards the infirmary that had been set up. The illusionist followed.
He was glad he'd managed to convince Itsuki. Pride filled the Spear Hero.
Bow Hero or not, he was a kid.
The infirmary was below the walls. Safe behind its own barriers. Malty had been paranoid, but now he wished that she'd been even more careful.
"Healer," he called out when they reached the medical hall. Motoyasu winced at the sight of a Filolial in her angel form lying unconscious. She'd been caught up in the attack that had broken down the wall. It was horrible to see a cute little girl looking dead to the world. Burns had ravaged her body. Only her high level kept her alive.
"Sir Hero," said the woman with a bow, "What is it?"
He took no offence. She must have had a ton to do. "I'm going to transport the patients who don't need immediate care-"
Her eyes narrowed.
He paused then summarized the situation. Each second that ticked by feeling like an eternity.
She only nodded after confirming that she could send one of her healers with him. He agreed but grimaced at the thought of using up another of his twenty teleportation slots.
"Good luck," he told the illusionist, "Make sure to tell Malty how important this is, okay? She needs to get here fast."
The soldier knelt and raised one hand across her chest in a salute. "I swear, Sir Motoyasu," she said, "The Princess will be told all. I will not fail you."
Motoyasu smiled and tried to look encouraging at the kneeling woman. This was awkward, but he appreciated the respect.
A roar. The rumble of a massive collision. The entire room shook. Screams rang out and delicate medical equipment and vials full of potions fell with a crash.
"You've got to go," he said, sending the party invites to the injured. It took them only 5 or 6 seconds to accept. Another three seconds for him to trigger his skill and for it to finish activation.
Relief filled him as the area seemed to waver. They were gone.
It was enough time for intense heat to reach them.
Motoyasu burst out of the room and scaled the top of the wall. He saw the devastation before he reached the top.
The makeshift wall was intact. Itsuki was perched up there shooting arrow after arrow. Every time it hit, and it always did, someone died.
Why wasn't he targeting the dragon?
Motoyasu shook it off.
He'd have to deal with that.
Some mages were casting their magic to attack. They set up powerful coordinated magics behind barriers that others set up. The remaining mages inside the walls must have been trying to get the barriers back up. The translucent shield kept flickering on and off.
That was the good news.
The bad news?
The healed dragon had torn through another part of the wall with a blast of fire.
It roared again. Another stream of fire moving along the length of the wall. Some of the people on it were fast enough to jump off it. They used the stairs, indentations and some even flew to survive it.
Itsuki was among the survivors. Relief filled Motoyasu. The Hero was even continuing to shoot his arrows at the dragon.
The joy was short-lived.
The survivors were a minority. Only those whom Malty, Motoyasu and Itsuki had trained and leveled up.
Most of the people who manned the walls were low-leveled soldiers and helpers.
They died.
The attack did more than kill dozens. The barrier in the area wavered even further. It was crumbling.
The airships, or he supposed he should say the mages on the airships, destroyed the last remnants of the wall. Motoyasu shuddered as he saw hundreds of attacks lancing towards the walls.
Elemental attacks, actual machine guns, missiles and even some strange sort of laser struck the wall. Some portions held on. The attacks had ravaged the majority.
"Sir Motoyasu!" said Anderson. The fires had charred his armour, but he seemed intact. The man's calm expression was a balm to Motoyasu. "The dragon!"
The reminder was all he needed. Motoyasu nodded, "Got it!" he said and shoved the sight of the ruined walls and burning bodies out of his head.
He had to do his part. The others would do theirs.
A spark of shame emerged. Itsuki had been directly attacked and the Bow Hero had kept going.
It was his turn now.
Motoyasu fixed his eyes on the dragon. The beast's wings were still ruined, but its breath was devastating. The city was burning around it. The dragon's movements alone had torn a dome open. It was hounding the Bow Hero, but the dragon was surprisingly slow.
Itsuki peppered it with arrows. Each one took out massive chunks of flesh. One even hit its eye. But it regenerated at incredible speeds.
The pain only made it angrier.
Itsuki was keeping his distance. The dragon was furious and unable to hit the Bow Hero, but the damage to the city was insane.
The screams of the people who'd been in the domes were getting louder.
He cursed himself for not evacuating them somehow.
"Air Strike Javelin!" he said and flung his weapon at the dragon while running towards it. The spear struck true. The dragon was too big a target for him to miss.
It hurt the monster, tore out a huge part of its side. But it's was too tough. Level too high.
The dragon turned to Motoyasu and opened his mouth to unleash a blast of fire.
Itsuki filled its open maw with a dozen arrows. They exploded. Elemental madness filled it and it could only whimper as ice and lightning danced inside it. It choked on its own flesh.
Motoyasu didn't miss his chance.
He charged his attack. The spear grew heavy as he ran through the flaming debris. Motoyasu dodged the remains of the wooden barriers that the dragon had ruined, "Double Spear. Ice Spear, Lightning Spear." he chanted.
One spear became two. One began to emit a cold mist. The second sparked with lightning.
Motoyasu flooded both with mana and SP.
He flung both with all the power he could muster.
The dragon tried to dodge. Its bulk shifted. The stubby remains of its wings flared in a failed attempt at flight.
Hope rose.
Motoyasu saw Itsuki readying his own attack. The Bow Hero was glowing. Someone must have been powering him up using ceremonial buffs. He flushed when he realized that he was glowing as well.
The dragon rider jumped off the dragon's back. "Air Strike Slash," said the figure. The voice cut through the chaos and reached Motoyasu.
"Damn it," said Motoyasu. The Hero was here. No wonder the dragon was stronger than before.
Two thin streaks of green light cut through his attacks. They detonated prematurely. Lightning and Ice burst and ruined the areas they hit.
Itsuki shot his attack at the rider. Redirecting it at the last moment.
"Worthless," said the figure. He looked tiny compared to the dragon, "First Strike Dash."
The rider blurred. He punched Ituski's arrow, tanked the massive explosion that reduced the debris around him to dust. The man - the Hero - laughed.
The sound was grating. It contained nothing but mockery.
"How do you have two weapons?" said Itsuki, his voice was loud. His words apparently for the other Hero, but he was glancing at Motoyasu.
The Spear Hero understood. Two Hero weapons. Absurd. Was that even possible?
Was this guy more ridiculous than Malty?
Two weapons. The idea was insane. Like double classing in a video game. It was broken.
"Two?" said the man as he sauntered up to them ignoring the rest of the battlefield. The dragon had stopped moving. Its flesh was knitting together. Motoyasu looked to Itsuki who was gripping his bow. "Don't insult me! I'm the true Hero! The true wielder of all the weapons. I have four right now and after today I'll have another three."
Motoyasu didn't need a translator.
This guy could steal weapons. A power thief. Those guys were either OP as fuck or nerfed to the point of being useless.
He had a feeling that this guy was the first.
"Where is the imposter?" he demanded. Motoyasu resisted the urge to attack. Itsuki was content to let him talk, and honestly so was Motoyasu.
The rest of the battle was going in their favour. The troops that had followed the dragon were being wrecked by the filolials and the Knights. The demi-humans he'd trained with Malty were doing even better.
They were refuelling the barriers. He could see the gauge in the corner of his status screen.
It hurt to see the many corpses scattered around them. There were no survivors. Their battles were too destructive.
"Who are you talking about?" asked Itsuki. He was tense and his fingers drifted around the area where the string should be.
The man scoffed, "The demon who is possessing my Malty," he said with a pointed finger and an angry scowl. Motoyasu noted that he had the Seven Star Gauntlets. Malty hadn't known much about it. Only that it was defensive. "Tell me where she is and I won't kill you after taking your weapon."
The two legendary heroes shared a glance. It took them no effort to tell each other that this guy was nuts.
Insane and powerful.
Not someone he wanted to target Malty. Hell, he didn't want to set this bastard on anyone.
"We are not certain," said Itsuki, slowly building up an attack. The glow of the buffs hiding the glow of the skill, "but-"
"My Prince, they are delaying your victory," said the dragon. "As we speak their allies are restoring the barrier and defeating our soldiers."
Motoyasu gaped at the talking dragon. Then, he thought back to the Filolials and shrugged it off.
Fantasy world. Had to remember that.
Itsuki didn't hesitate. He darted back and fired even before landing on the ground.
The arrow seemed to fall short of the Hero with the gauntlets. The man scoffed, opened his mouth to speak and exploded. Smoke expanded. They could hear the man coughing. Even the dragon was unable to breathe.
"Move!" said Itsuki as the smoke filled the area. Motoyasu fled right behind his ally. Itsuki spoke once they were close, "Motoyasu, we've got to be careful! We don't know how he can steal weapons or if his stats are boosted by having more than one of them. He's got better defence than us for sure-"
Itsuki never got to finish.
The dragon burst out of the smoke cloud with the Hero leading it. Motoyasu turned back to see it for a moment and winced at the snarl on his face. The dragon began to chant. "I, the one who commands the world-"
Itsuki tried his trick again. Shot a dozen arrows towards its mouth. Motoyasu followed his lead. He threw a lightning javelin at the dragon. The enemy Hero didn't let it connect. He punched the attacks out of the air and didn't flinch at the elemental explosions that followed.
The dragon exhaled. It's chant complete.
He felt the effects as a massive firestorm consumed him and Itsuki. They had no time to run or escape. Only a quick frost arrow from Itsuki created a small wall.
It failed to block the attack. The wall was akin to an ice cube thrown into a volcano.
Pain filled his world. His armour, stats and buffs changed it from something that should have charred him to ash to an attack that singed him. His entire body was thrown back as the attack ran its course.
He rolled on the ground, each rotation making him wince, certain that he'd broken his everything. A pained groan escaped his lips. The taste of copper filled his mouth.
Motoyasu opened his eyes. Realizing only after the fact that he'd closed them.
His eyes were unfocused. It took him a moment to stand up and realize what he was seeing.
The attack had burned a straight line halfway through the city. It had only stopped after hitting the castle's barriers. There was a straight line of annihilation and ash from the walls to the castle. Several wooden domes that had segmented the city had been torn in half. Everything it had touched was gone.
Except for the two Heroes who had been the target.
Itsuki was stumbling to his feet next to him. He looked at the ruined city in horror.
Motoyasu wanted to cry. He couldn't breathe.
A mocking clap filled his ears. Motoyasu barely heard it. Some screams were ringing through the capital. He could feel the steps of the dragon as it stomped its way into the city unopposed. The sounds of battle, of people dying, begging and fighting filled his world.
His senses zoomed onto the enemy Hero who was ambling towards them. "Your weapons aren't as pathetic as I thought," he said with a wide smile, "You're lucky they let you survive that."
Motoyasu gripped his spear. Pain lanced through his arm. His shoulder ached incessantly and it felt like he was heavier.
The ground stopped shaking.
The Dragon stood behind the Hero. Its red eyes alight with glee.
"Portal-" Itsuki started to mutter.
They heard him.
The dragon lunged forward. As did the Hero.
Motoyasu tried to get in their way.
He collided with the gauntlet using Hero. The Dragon slammed into Itsuki who was barely able to dodge.
"Fool!" said the Hero, as he slammed his fist into Motoyasu's gut. It blasted him backwards. He crashed onto some debris. Pain spiked. Like stepping on a thousand pins.
For a moment he had hope.
That moment passed. They were still here.
The skill had failed.
"Did you really think I'd let you leave?!" mocked the weapon-stealer, "Nellisen set up a barrier! You guys aren't going anywhere."
Right. Barriers could block teleportation. Malty had a bunch of them in the castle. He'd forgotten.
Shame filled him. Some hero he was. Ditching everyone the moment he got hurt.
A kick shattered his scattered thoughts. He spat out blood. The taste of it was becoming familiar.
The man lifted him by the throat. "You don't deserve this," he whispered, "Don't worry. I'll make sure to treat it properly."
It felt like an eternity as the pressure around his throat increased. He wheezed out a desperate breath.
The bastard squeezed tighter.
Motoyasu tried to struggle, but his arms felt like they weren't there. Only the pain told him that he still had them. They didn't move.
His vision blurred. The blonde seemed to waver. Motoyasu tried to grip the arm that was choking him.
The Hero shook him by the throat.
Motoyasu choked. The pain multiplied.
He hit the ground. His body was on fire. He couldn't breathe.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
Motoyasu tried to stand, but his body felt weak.
He wanted to sleep, but that was stupid, right? He'd been fighting. He tried to raise his spear. To chant a skill. To pull out a potion.
It took him a long time to realize that it wasn't there.
His head snapped to the smug bastard who was leaning over him with the Spear in hand. His gauntlet was gone. He held the same spear that had been stuck to Motoyasu since the day he'd been summoned. The spear looked so wrong in that guy's hands.
The enemy was smiling.
The blonde rushed forward. Spear at the ready.
Motoyasu screamed as he was pinned to the ground. He shifted slightly and choked on his blood. His eyes and ears weren't working. Something wet drenched his undershirt.
He saw his spear sticking out of his chest. It was so red.
No, that was blood.
Pain flared again.
The spear was gone. A huge cut was across his chest. The red was spreading everywhere. He was lying down. His head wasn't willing to move.
He could hear Itsuki shouting. The words were hard to understand. The guy should speak right. Stupid kid.
So noisy.
Motoyasu tried to speak.
He couldn't breathe.
The ground shook. It was hot and red and yellow and orange.
Motoyasu smiled when he saw a different red. It was blurry, but it was a colour he liked seeing. Not like blood. That was nasty.
He frowned when the red moved and something touched his head. He couldn't feel it. No, he could.
He knew who it was.
She was his friend.
He smiled despite the pain.
Darkness filled his mind. It was finally quiet.
********************
How was it?