Disclaimer:
The Rising of the Shield Hero was created by Aneko Yusagi. Shin Megami Tensei was created by Atlus. Magic Knight Rayearth was created by CLAMP. Sword Art Online was created by Reki Kawahara. Digimon is owned by Bandai and Toei. Kono Suba was created by Akatsuki Natsume. Gate was created by Takumi Yanai. This story uses reference material from them.
Heroes of Another World
By: RB3
Friends, Romans, Countrymen 1: The Gate
On the east shores of Shieldfreeden was a great ocean which stretched far miles beyond the land. This area was the Hummerfalle Region, which dominated the entire East Coast of the nation. It was the heart of Shieldfreeden's fishing industry and known for its lobsters. Every day, fishermen from the city would go out to ocean and set traps for lobsters at the bottom of the ocean. On the next, they would collect the traps and return home with a hold full of delicious lobsters.
Suddenly, the sky turned red and fissures opened. Dozens of monsters fell from the sky, landing on the ground where they fanned out in search of prey. As soon as the Wave arrived, a pillar of golden light appeared, bringing a WDF team consisting of Team Shield, the Vassal Wielders, the Spade Mercenaries, and auxiliary troops to the area. "Look, there's Hummerfalle!" said Raphtalia.
"We're going to set up a Domain by the entrance," said Yuzu. "Work on getting the people there."
"Right!" said Naofumi.
The group made haste to Hummerfalle City. A Wave lizardman dropped in front of the gate and blocked their path. Abel froze it in a block of ice instantly. It toppled over and shattered upon striking the ground. The Spade Mercs found the Fisherman's Stein tavern, where they burst in through the door. The people looked at the Spade Mercs in curiosity. "A Wave's coming! We need to evacuate you into our base. Hold still," Midori warned the patrons.
A Legion appeared and sucked everyone in the tavern into a field in the otherworldly realm of the Jacob farm Domain. "This way," said the Legion, directing the people towards the colosseum along with Midori.
When the people arrived, they took seats in the bleachers to await the ending of the Wave. Demonic concessions distributors passed through the crowd, donating free food and drink such as hot dogs and cola to feed the refugees. Midori and a squad of demons returned to the physical world and set up a defensive perimeter around the tavern, waiting for more refugees to come. A swarm of Wave wasps descended upon the tavern. Yuzu created a tornado which sucked in the bugs, keeping them from reaching their target.
Tulzcha and Midori directed streams of flame into it, causing the fire to twist with the wind and incinerate everything caught inside. One of the wasps descended upon Yuzu. Viola came in from the side, chopping it in half with a single slash. Another came at Midori, but Frosty breathed ice at it. The wasp became encased in a crystalline shell and plummeted from the sky. Orochi snapped at another, but it quickly evaded. He changed tactics and breathed fire, searing off its wings and knocking it out of the sky.
Outside of Hummerfalle City, the Vassal Heroes saw several several strange new creatures flying out of the rifts in the sky. Instead of attacking the city, they were attacking each other. Two of them resembled blue serpentine creatures with a dragon-like head wearing a bony helmet. They had tattered red bat wings. "Those are Airdramon!" said Takato.
One of the Airdramon hurled blades of wind, prompting the other to evade retaliate in kind. "Why are they fighting each other?" asked Hikaru.
"Maybe some of them aren't bad?" asked Guilmon in return.
Suddenly, several quadruped, potato-like Digimon crashed to the ground. "Look! Some Jagamon fell over there!" cried Takato, pointing those Digimon out. "Let's check if they're okay."
The Vassal Heroes ran over, but a rogue Airdramon got to them first and started performing its Wing Cutter on them. The Jagamon scattered to evade it. Sinon aimed the Carcano and let loose a bullet. It struck the rogue Airdramon in the head, bursting it away in a cloud of black motes. The rest of its body disintegrated into motes and vanished. The Jagamon, seeing that the Airdramon was gone, regrouped into a single herd in their previous location.
"Jagamon!" cried Takato as he approached.
"Oh hey! It's you again!" said one of them.
"Yeah. Are you guys okay?" asked Takato.
"Yeah, we're fine. That Airdramon didn't hurt any of us thanks to you," replied the Jagamon.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Guilmon.
"We were running down the desert when this big hole in the sky sucked us in and brought us here," replied Jagamon.
"We'll talk to them later. Let's herd them into the bar for now," said Sinon.
"Right!" replied Takato. "Jagamon, this is a very dangerous place. Please follow us. We'll get you to safety."
"Okay, we're right behind you," said the Jagamon.
The Vassal Heroes escorted the Jagamon towards the city when suddenly, a loud roar filled the fields. A great red dragon flew by overhead, casting a large overhead. "A Flame Dragon?" asked Arpeggio.
"Don't worry. Keep going and head for the Fisherman's Stein bar," said Takato.
The Jagamon herd and its Vassal Hero escort passed the front gate of Hummerfalle and entered single file into the Fisherman's Stein. Abel appeared near Takato. "What's going on? Why are there Digimon here?" Abel asked.
"They were brought here by the Wave. I think there are more of them outside the city, but I can't tell which are friendly and which are enemies. Plus, there's a dragon flying around there looking to attack," replied Takato.
"Don't worry about it. I'm going out to take care of it," said Abel.
Abel reached out with his other senses and detected the dragon coming towards Hummerfalle on an attack run. He teleported to the top of the outer wall and saw it strafing the ground with fiery breath. Abel promptly sprayed it with ice, forcing it to break its attack and hover still momentarily. It fixed its gaze onto Abel and scowled. It breathed a torrent of flame at him, one that Abel blocked by raising a magical barrier. With a gesture from Abel, ice had encased the dragon completely. The dragon crashed to the grassy ground with a thud.
Soon after, the Freedenese army had joined the battle and purged the city of monsters with the help of the WDF. The Wave had ended and the wounded streamed into the Domain, some propped by able-bodied allies while others arrived in stretchers. Medics and healing demons worked to restore the wounded. Even the Spade Mercenaries and the heroes joined in on the recovery effort. "Whew!" remarked Naofumi, whipping the sweat from his brow after tending to so many people.
"That was rough," remarked Takato. "A Wave breaking out in a city is already enough of a mess without random Digimon fighting each other."
"Yeah, but we did it," said Yuzu. "Good work!"
"Yeah, good work!" said Midori.
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After the Wave had calmed down, the Vassal Heroes and Team Shield had travelled out of the city to investigate the Digimon which had fallen during the battles outside. Among the surviving Digimon was an Airdramon. "Are you okay?" asked Takato as he healed the creature with magic.
"Yes. Would you happen to be a Digimon Tamer?" asked the Airdramon, noticing Guilmon near him and how this seemed normal for Guilmon.
"Yeah, that's my partner, Guilmon. Did you need something?" asked Takato.
"I'm a soldier fighting to protect the Digital World under the Sovereigns. Foreign invaders have attacked the Metal Empire and occupied it. They're using a factory to create Digimon clones as troops to fight their war. I was fighting an army of these fake Digimon before I got sucked in and dumped here," replied Airdramon.
"Tell me about these clones," said Sinon.
"They're like normal Digimon, but don't respond to anyone except orders from the invaders," said Airdramon.
"Like mindless drones," remarked Sinon.
The Vassal Heroes provided aid to the Digimon who had been wounded while fighting the clones during the Wave. Airdramon were the most common type found among the Digimon and they were all allowed to stay at the Jacob farm Domain until they could be returned home. The Vassal Wielders met with the Spade Mercs and Team Shield near the field where the Digimon stayed. "Wow, there are so many Digimon! I never knew there were so many types," remarked Raphtalia.
"Pee-yew! Some of them are dragons!" remarked Filo.
"Filo, don't be rude to our guests. It's not their fault they were stranded here," said Raphtalia.
"How are we going to get them back home? Are we going to have the Vassal Heroes take them all back?" asked Yuzu.
"Eventually. They'll need time to recover before we can send them back," replied Atsuro.
"This looks like it will be an issue going forward for the next Waves. If Digimon are popping up, we'll need accommodations for them," said Naofumi. "I'm paying the slave trader a visit. He must have some slaves with knowledge on medical care and handling monsters."
Naofumi gathered his team at the Jacob farm, then teleported them to Melromarc City, where they visited the tent of Beloukas the slave merchant. "Yes, I happen to have a few slaves that fit that description. I'll show them to you," replied Beloukas when inquired about slaves with such knowledge.
He led Naofumi to a girl with brown hair and dog ears on her head. She was a nui, a demihuman with dog-like traits. "Her?" asked Naofumi.
"That's right. This girl once lived with a dragon over at Mirso Village before she was captured and sold to me," replied Beloukas.
When Beloukas mentioned the dragon at Mirso Village, he remembered something Abel had mentioned in passing. It was before the training trip to Cal Mira, before everyone united under the banner of the WDF to confront the Waves. The Spade Mercs had found Ren after he had killed a dragon in the mountains near the village. The Spade Mercs taught Ren about accessing alternate empowerment systems, which he applied to the Sword to consume a dragon's corpse for a power boost.
"Is that true? Did this girl really live with a dragon?" asked Naofumi.
"Yep, that's what she told me. The people who sold her were adventurers who found her among the dragon's treasure hoard. Since they didn't need the girl, they sold her to me for quick cash," replied Beloukas.
"Hey, tell me your name," Naofumi requested of the nui girl.
"I'm... I'm Wyndia," replied the dirty girl.
"You lived with a dragon right? Does that mean you know how to handle monsters?" asked Naofumi.
"Y... Yes if they're dragons," replied the girl meekly.
"Okay. That's just what I need. How much is she?" asked Naofumi.
"A slave like her isn't in high demand, so I'll take only a silver for her," replied Beloukas.
"That's a good price. I want a few more slaves like her to be safe," said Naofumi.
He continued to browse through his menagerie of slaves and picked out another five, the only ones in Beloukas' inventory who had relevant skills. After Beloukas applied fresh new slave crests to them, Naofumi loaded the slaves into his wagon and teleported them back to Rurorona Village. When he got back, he was greeted with a town that had largely recovered, at least for the few people who lived there. The town's population was still smaller than it originally was, as most of its inhabitants did not survive the Wave and subsequent enslavement.
Naofumi brought his six slaves to the Digimon field where the Jagamon, Airdramon, and other assorted Digimon stayed as guests of the Spade Mercs. "From now on, you'll be working to take care of these monsters. With the Waves coming, more of them will be stranded on this world. Keep them well fed and happy until we can bring them home."
"Yes master," said Wyndia and the other slaves.
Naofumi showed the slaves what to do with help from the Spade Mercs. The slaves learned what to feed the stranded Digimon and how to prepare straw beds for them to sleep on. After work, Naofumi showed the slaves to some spare homes made from Bio Plants where they could stay on as handlers for Digimon and other monsters like mandragora. Wyndia was the last to be shown her home. "This is where you'll be staying, Wyndia. This home has everything you need to live," said Naofumi. "Any questions?"
"Master, excuse me for asking, but would you happen to be the Shield Hero?" asked Wyndia.
"That's right. I'm Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero," replied Naofumi.
At that moment, Abel came upon them to see how the new workers were doing. "Hello everyone. Is everything okay here?" asked Abel.
"Yes. I was just showing Wyndia here her new home," replied Naofumi.
"Good. Work hard to help those Digimon stranded in your world," said Abel.
"Who's this man?" asked Wyndia.
"This is Abel. He's kind of like my boss. He's one of the big shots in charge here," replied Naofumi.
"Wow! You must be pretty big to boss around the Shield Hero!" remarked Wyndia.
"Abel, Wyndia told me that her caretaker was a dragon who lived near Mirso Village. Could he be the same one that Ren killed?" asked Naofumi.
"Wait, are you saying papa is dead?" asked Wyndia.
"I'm sorry Wyndia, but if your caretaker is the same dragon I'm thinking of, then your father is gone," replied Abel.
"No! It can't be true! Please take me to see him right now!" said Wyndia.
"Naofumi, I'm going to borrow Wyndia for a moment," said Abel.
"Okay," said Naofumi.
Abel left the Domain with Wyndia in a flicker of blue light. Several minutes later, they came back and Wyndia was sobbing with tears streaming from her eyes. Abel picked her up in his arms and hugged her like she was his own daughter. "I'm sorry for your loss, Wyndia. Your home and old life are gone, but don't fret. From now on, please live here among us in Rurorona Village. We'll take care of you," said Abel.
"Okay," said Wyndia, beginning to calm down some more.
Abel placed Wyndia on the ground. "There's one more thing. The one who killed your father is the Sword Hero. He's an ally in our fight against the Waves. The people of Mirso hired him to eliminate your father, who they saw as a trouble maker," said Abel.
"Father knew this day would come. He told me not to seek revenge for him when it did," replied Wyndia. "I want to be strong, strong enough that I can keep those things precious to me."
"In that case, why not apprentice under one of the heroes? Since you have a slave crest linked to Naofumi already, why not train under his banner? Ren is no good and I doubt you'll want to be around Motoyasu, since he loves filorials, the mortal enemy of dragons," said Abel.
"Okay, I'll train under Naofumi," said Wyndia.
"Just to let you know, Naofumi also has a filorial companion in Filo. I know it will be difficult, but try to get along with her," said Abel.
"Okay. To be honest, I don't like filorials very much, but I'll try to be nice," said Wyndia.
"Perfect!" said Abel.
Abel led her to the Digimon field in the Jacob Domain, where Team Shield and the Vassal Heroes were busy providing support to them. Naofumi saw them and came over to talk. "How did it go?" asked Naofumi.
"Not well. From how the villagers described him, that dragon really was her father," said Abel.
"I want to train under you, Shield Hero, to become stronger," said Wyndia. "Please accept me."
"Well, I could use someone to manage our mandragora so sure, I'll take you in," said Naofumi.
"Thank you!" said Wyndia.
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Meanwhile at Melromarc, scouts and lookouts monitored the northern border. Across it was the nation of Fourbrey, the most powerful in the world. They noticed a military force of 10,000 troops moving into the town of Goldrock, the town nearest to the border, in the Fouropolis Mountains. The Fourbreyan troops consisted of 7000 redcoats, all armed with muskets. The next largest block was the 2000 mandragora cultivated from Bio Plant seeds. The last block was 1000 units in size and consisted of monsters bred to be beasts of war.
An agent of the Queen of Melromarc entered the throne and knelt before her mistress. She then gave a report of this large movement of troops into Goldrock and other towns along the border. "Ministers, it appears Fourbrey is amassing for war. Send another 30,000 troops to reinforce our border," commanded Mirellia.
"Yes your Majesty," replied Mirellia's minister.
After this warning, more troops marched towards Melromarc's towns near the border with Fourbrey to reinforce defences. North Town had been placed under martial law in the face of a possible enemy attack with frequent patrols passing through the town. Patrols along the border wall had been doubled to keep watch on Fourbrey's activities. Numerous guards began patrols of the grounds of Lord North's former manor and even the three Cardinal Heroes, the Sword, Spear, and Bow, had been stationed there.
The three heroes met in the lobby of the mansion. "So, you were here before, Itsuki?" asked Ren, now fully recovered from the battle with the Spirit Turtle along with his party.
"Yep. I came here to arrest the former Lord North. He had been overtaxing his subjects and misusing the funds, so the Crown had him removed," replied Itsuki. "I was also tasked with rescuing Rishia, my team porter, by her father."
"Okay, so you know this area. That's good," said Motoyasu.
"How many troops did Melromarc see across the border?" asked Abazure.
"Adding the 10,000 moved there, about 50,000," replied Ren. "We can handle regular troops and mandragora easily, but I'm more concerned about those monsters reported in the enemy army."
"I heard that some looked like birds. That means they can fly over our walls," said Kou.
As though responding to his words, an explosion rang out from outside the mansion. An alarm bell started ringing, signalling the coming attack of Fourbrey's forces. The Cardinal Heroes rushed out and found a group of those bird-like monsters soaring past above. One of them broke formation and rained down fire upon the mansion. A magical barrier came into existence, shielding the abode in a dome of blue light. The monster itself had orange plumage suggestive of flames. Its mouth was not a beak, but closer to a dragon's snout in form, a maw filled with jagged teeth.
The Cardinal Weapons identified this phoenix-like creature as Birdramon, a species of Digimon much like the Diabolomon were. "Another Digimon?" asked Motoyasu.
Birdramon continued to bombard the mansion with Meteor Wing, but its barrier held out. Another Birdramon came to assist, performing its own Meteor Wing to wear down the barrier further. Motoyasu mounted Yuki the filorial and fled from the mansion to lure the Birdramon away. As he fled, Motoyasu fired Ein Soph Aur at the Birdramon. It connected and sent the Digimon hurtling back further into the sky. The shock of being hit so suddenly had dazed the Birdramon. It tumbled out of the sky once the beam dissipated.
Itsuki and his team ran some distance from the mansion, but the other Birdramon followed. "Crap! It's seen us!" he called to the others.
Birdramon used Meteor Wing to rain fireballs upon them, forcing them to scatter. Itsuki ran behind a tree and fired arrows from his Ice Bow. When they hit Birdramon, they burst in an icy white haze. Birdramon's wings got frozen, forcing it to land on the ground. Itsuki unloaded more ice arrows to keep it off guard and unable to recover. Lojir ran in, but the Birdramon spotted him. It snapped at him, but he hopped right. He swung for the Digimon's face, his axe opening a cut which leaked motes of black data.
Abazure came in from its exposed left and thrust her spear into its body. More data leaked from Birdramon. It thrashed around, knocking Abazure back and forcing Lojir to back away to safety. Abazure hit the ground a short distance away, then hopped back onto her feet. Itsuki stuck two more ice arrows into Birdramon's body, causing it to freeze. Birdramon's movements started to slow, a sure sign that fatigue was setting in. Lojir and Abazure rushed in and Lojir chopped Birdramon's face while Abazure slipped in from its side and impaled it.
Birdramon crumbled into motes of data and vanished. "Phew! We got that one down," said Itsuki.
While Itsuki had fought that second Birdramon, a third went to attack North Manor. "Hundred Sword!" announced Ren.
A hundred spectral blue swords flew at Birdramon, forcing it to break off its attack to evade them. During a lull between attacks, it searched for its attacker and found Ren standing in the shadow of a tree. Birdramon flew into range and bombarded the area with Meteor Wing. Ren fled into the forest. Welt hurled daggers at the Digimon, who simply blew them away with the gust produced by a flap of its wings. Birdramon lobbed another volley of Meteor Wing, peppering the area with small explosions. Welt was forced to flee for his safety.
Bakter created a haze of darkness around Birdramon, sapping its life force. An ensuing Hundred Sword perforated the Digimon, forcing it to the ground. Terishia and Fauly closed with Fauly arriving first to slash Birdramon's head, staggering it and keeping it dazed. Terishia started kicking and karate chopping the left wing in the hope of damaging it and keeping Birdramon grounded more permanently. Birdramon thrashed around in a rage, knocking Terishia away, but she righted herself and landed on her feet.
"Shooting Star Sword!" announced Ren as a beam of blue energy erupted from the Sword's tip. The Digimon got blasted into motes of data by the explosion, a sure sign that it was dead.
The heroes reunited back at North Manor, now safe from the bombing attempt by Fourbrey. "The Bow told me those things were Digimon," said Itsuki. "So Fourbrey has some in their army now."
"Man, those things were tough! They took a beating to bring down," remarked Motoyasu.
"Takato did warn us," said Ren. "These ones probably weren't Megas, but seeing how strong Guilmon is should have told us what to expect."
"Well, at least we won and drove them away for now," said Itsuki.
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To the east of Fourbrey was the nation of Prado. It occupied the entire expanse of a savanna between the nations of Reiki, Fourbrey, and Siltvelt. This made it a buffer between the human lands of the west and the demihuman lands in the east. As such, it had a history of being invaded and occupied by one side or the other during their wars. Many ruined villages dotted its landscape as stark reminders of how destructive the hatred between the two races was.
On the east side of Prado was the Applewood Region, which earned its name from the abundance of apples grown in the region. In one such orchard, a group of farmers picked apples from the trees and put them into baskets on their draft filorials. The apples themselves were bright red and felt firm to the touch. They were sure to be crunchy, sweet, and juicy to whichever lucky consumer took a bite out of them. As the farmers toiled, the sun shined brightly and gave generously of its warmth to Applewood.
Further to the east of Applewood were the Filorial Hills, so named for being a filorial habitat. Currently, Fitoria ruled over the area as the Filorial Queen, watching it for the sake of her lost master. At its heart was the crumbling city of an ancient civilization, its name lost with the passage of time. On the plain at the base of the westernmost hills, a golden light descended to the ground. From it appeared a granite doorway with a Greco-Roman style to its design, a triangular roof supported by columns.
A twisting warp in space opened inside and connected the world of Melro to a second, unknown one. An army of soldiers emerged from this structure, known as the "Gate." Their army bore a standard of purple with the picture of a dragon in a lighter shade of purple. Superimposed over this dragon was a golden cross with dragon wings at the intercardinal directions. This was the flag of the great Saderan Empire, which stretched across its home continent of Falmart in their homeland beyond the Gate.
The Saderan soldiers resembled the Roman legions, but dressed in armour of steel instead of bronze. Their officers wore more ornate armour than their underlings and had plumed crests on their helmets. They also brought with them non-humanoid troops including wyverns, which acted as aerial mounts. Also in their army were ogre and goblin-like demihumans. The Saderan army fanned out and pitched tents around the area to create their camp.
Their quickest members split up and travelled in separate directions to scout the area and determine the lay of the land. Eventually, they returned to the army commander. "There is a farming town to the west. Only about 1000 people live there and their security is only fifty local sheriffs," reported the scout.
"We must be far from the major cities of this country," remarked the commander. "I'm sure we'll encounter more resistance as we move inward."
The Saderan legions formed up and marched its way westward and soon encountered the orchards around Applewood Town. A crier on horse ran through the orchards and farms, warning of the advance of the hostile army. Farmers fled their fields, but the Saderan cavalry was soon upon them and cut them down. Soon, the Saderan legionaries arrived on the scene to capture their farms and eventually the town hall of Applewood itself. The town of Applewood soon came under Saderan occupation.
A few days after the occupation of Applewood, the WDF held a meeting as a debriefing for the last Wave and the attack of Fourbrey against Melromarc. "We'll begin this meeting by discussing the Wave in Shieldfreeden," said Melty.
"The WDF arrived promptly and moved to create an exit for fleeing refugees at Hummerfalle City in the Fisherman's Stein tavern. Casualties were low, only amounting to 200 injured and 3 deaths. Damage to the city has been estimated to be 4000 gold," reported Hiru. "We were fortunate that it was not any worse. I wish to thank the WDF for its aid in the Wave."
"Okay, next on the list is Fourbrey's border skirmish with Melromarc," said Melty. "Tell us about it, mother."
"Fourbrey sent an aerial force to attack our assets in the Northern Territories. Fortunately, the three Cardinal Heroes of Melromarc were on hand to help our troops repel the attack," said Mirellia. "This is an act of war and Melromarc will not accept this. We've declared a state of war against the nation of Fourbrey. Heroes, please tell the assembly what you've seen."
"When Fourbrey attacked the Northern Territories, they sent Birdramon to attack the North Manor," said Itsuki.
"Birdramon?" asked Takato.
"You must know them, being a fan of Digimon," said Itsuki. "I heard that Fourbrey had nearly 1000 Digimon in their forces at the border."
"Those ones have to be clones. I learned that from the Digimon we rescued," said Takato.
"They probably got access to the Digital World through a portal generator, like the one we captured at the Fantasy World," replied Abel.
"So Malty and Fourbrey really are on the same side then," said Melty.
"My husband is planning a counter-attack against Fourbrey as we speak," said Mirellia. "I'm also negotiating support from other countries which I won't divulge yet."
"As part of our treaty, Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden are mobilizing their armies on a march through Prado to expose Fourbrey's eastern front, but there's a snag. Fitoria, please tell them what you saw," said Valnar.
"A Gate has appeared at the western base of the Filorial Hills and an army came through. They're occupying Applewood in Prado while a group of extremely powerful Digimon stay back to defend their Gate. My flock could see more Digimon lurking on the other side of the Gate, but couldn't tell how many," said Fitoria.
"A new army? From what nation?" asked Mirellia.
"The Saderan Empire. My flock also tells me they're allied with both Fourbrey and the demons," replied Fitoria.
"The Saderan Empire is from my world, just like that dragon which had attacked Hummerfalle during the Wave. We call it a Flame Dragon back home," said Arpeggio.
"Just as the demihumans gather to make a march to the east, this army shows up out of nowhere to block them. What a coincidence... Not!" remarked Sinon sarcastically.
"Valnar, Hiru, I'm sure your armies can handle the Saderans, but the Digimon at the Gate are another matter," said Abel. "Fitoria, how many Digimon did your flock see there? What species were they?"
"Six. They are Seraphimon, Magna Dramon, Imperial Dramon, Grand Kuwagamon, Valkyriemon, and Vikemon," replied Fitoria.
"All Megas, and not just any Megas... They're the Mega forms of the second generation of Digidestined from the TV show," said Takato.
"Assuming at least six more guarding the other side, that's twelve in total. Attacking it would be far too risky, even with Fitoria assisting us," said Abel. "Not only that, having that Gate around is bound to be destabilizing and trigger more Waves. We'll need to defend against those too."
"It's a stalemate, at least for us demihumans," said Valnar.
"Don't worry. After this meeting, we'll head to Arpeggio's world and get the Saderans to back off," said Hikaru.
"Well Vassal Heroes, you already know what to do," said Abel.
Several minutes after the meeting, a pillar of golden light descended onto the continent of Falmart, the home of the Saderan Empire. The Vassal Heroes emerged from this light and found themselves standing at the outskirts of a taiga somewhere on the continent. The trees were mostly conifers and several of their cones lay strewn on the ground. To the north, they could see a mountain range rising over the treetops. "Brr! It's cold!" said Hikaru, shaking from the cold air.
"Where are we?" asked Sinon.
"We might be near the Mountain Range of Ice and Snow. Takato, can you use Scry to look around?" asked Arpeggio.
"Okay, let's see," said Takato.
The illusory, emerald eye appeared in the sky and gazed down upon the land. To north, there was only more coniferous forest and beyond that, even more mountains. If they went this direction, it would only become colder and no major settlements were present there. Takato changed direction and looked to the south. He only saw a few mountains until he spotted a small rural village on the road.
Further to the south and a bit to the west, there was a large city on the east side of a river which travelled northward. This same river also passed by the western edge of the forest the Vassal Heroes were near. "There's a farming town to our southwest. If we continue further that way, we can reach a big city near a river," reported Takato.
"I'll get out Rayearth," said Hikaru.
She summoned the Rune God out of dimensional storage and everyone boarded him. Rayearth soared through the sky, passing miles of verdant countryside. "Oh, I know where we are now! We're near Telta. It's the second biggest city of the Saderan Empire," said Arpeggio. "We should go to Rondel, my home town, which is west of it."
"Okay, to Rondel it is," said Hikaru.
Rayearth accelerated across the skies of Falmart and soon, the city was within eyesight on the ground below. To avoid causing a commotion, Hikaru landed Rayearth a few kilometres outside of the city, where the Vassal Wielders continued the rest of the way on foot. Rondel was the city of scholars and stood north of the Romalia Mountains, on the north shore of the Rho River. Most of Rondel's homes were stone buildings painted in white with blue and green roofs. The streets of the city formed a confusing labyrinth as little care went into planning its layout despite it being a town of the learned.
"So this is Rondel," remarked Sinon.
"Yep! This my home town," said Arpeggio. "I live here and study under Master Mimoza. Our home is this way."
END OF CHAPTER