The Unstoppable Mover of Mountains
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero! Now first off, I realize I'm a little late with a shorter chapter than usual but I have a good explanation. As of 2/26/2022, I am a published author! That's right, I got a little story out on Amazon Kindle which is set to be available on 3/1/2022 called Plains Riders. It's a pretty straightforward Sci Fi action adventure, more of a short story really given that it's less than a hundred pages, but still something I'd like to think you'll all find entertaining. So if you've got $4.99 to spare and an hour or three you need to kill, check it out. Naturally be aware that it's my first published story, so if you've got any feedback I'll gladly hear it. Now, I've rambled on long enough, so for the last bit DCDGojira: They ain't got fully developed brains by the looks of it. On to the story now!
Mountain Range of Reiki
One of the many great sites of the East, according to the locals, were the large mountains which stretched on for miles. Countless myths and legends abounded from this area of the world, and more than a few small countries had been able to settle in the lands on or around the mountains. One of the main reasons being, of course, that mountains were typically quite stable and only ever shifted during tectonic events. At least that's how it was supposed to be.
Now, however, one mountain was doing more than just shifting. It was marching forward, propelled atop a shell so large and wide that it could hold a whole city and then some. At one point it actually had. And what moved this enormous, mountain-range-sized shell were four gargantuan legs easily large enough to trample the largest of castles underfoot with hardly more than a single, earthshaking step. And at the front of this mobile monstrosity was the head of a terrapin.
Though its head was only two thirds the size of one of its four legs it was still more than enough to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who saw it. For this was one of the four sacred beasts, the Spirit Tortoise, a creature so powerful that it could be classified as more dangerous than even the Waves. And despite what one might interpret as a neutral expression on its face, the beast still lumbered forward with its eyes set on anything and everything that stood in its way, trampling it underfoot while its familiars went out and attacked any who were lucky enough to survive its passing. And its first victims, a large Eastern city which shared the name of Reiki.
Somewhere Along a Trail to the East
"You're absolutely sure," said Naofumi as he and the rest of the two parties stood listening to one of the Queen's Shadows, "the Spirit Tortoise has awoken?" Both Cardinal Heroes already felt like they knew the answer, but personally hoped the feeling they'd had earlier was wrong.
"Positive," replied the Shadow, dashing their hopes, "even from a distance I was able to confirm that the mountains of Reiki are moving. According to my other sources, it has already crushed three fortresses and cities and appears to be heading West towards our neighboring countries, trampling over any densely populated area it can find. As you can imagine, there's little those small countries can do against such an enormous beast. And as for Reiki itself, I'm unable to get into contact with any of my fellow Shadows to confirm it but more than likely it has been destroyed."
"Destroyed….?" Repeated Raphtalia, voicing the varying degrees of shock that was being felt by the whole group at the moment.
"And what of the other three heroes?" Questioned Figneria, just managing to keep her expression neutral.
"The last information we received says that the three heroes went to challenge the Tortoise when it began moving," replied the Shadow.
"Likely after screwing up whatever seal that was keeping it dormant," said Darius, "too bad there are no phones in the Middle Ages because I fucking called it."
"But there's a bigger issue here," said Naofumi impatiently, "what happened to the other three heroes after that?!"
"We have no confirmation whether they are alive or dead," replied the Shadow.
"Do you know when you might be able to obtain said confirmation?" Questioned Izumi, surprisingly calmly.
"We have a technique that can tell us the status of the Cardinal Heroes," explained the Shadow, "though currently, we're still waiting on word from the Fourbure church."
"If that's the case then it might just be faster for us to go check ourselves," said Rifana, "unless there's something else we can do right now?"
"There actually is," replied the Shadow, "please accompany us to see the Queen. She's at a war camp right now with several leaders of the other countries. They've agreed to join together in order to battle the Spirit Tortoise and have dubbed the current alliance: 'The Allied Force'."
"Guess that settles any other doubts about how big of a problem the Spirit Tortoise really is," said Darius, "alright, let's go to a war conference."
Later: War Camp of the Allied Force
As expected, the current base of operations for the Allied Force was very much a war camp with numerous large, hexagon-like tents erected all over the mountainous area they currently resided in. Soldiers hurried from one location to another making preparations, delivering messages, and running patrols. They even had a fully erected watchtower sitting on the edge of the camp. Not that Darius and Naofumi had a lot of time to take all of this in as the moment they'd entered the camp they were quickly directed to the largest of the tents.
Expectedly, the inside was a bit more furnished than some of the other tents with stools, two long tables and pots all covered with books and scrolls detailing information on the area, the monsters roaming the nearby forests and of course, what they'd gathered on the Spirit Tortoise. A large banner hung in the back with the symbol of Melromarc and in the center of the room was a large rectangular table with a square hole in the middle, set on top of an immaculate rug. Seated all around the table were twelve individuals, with the first three sitting at the head of the table being the Queen who was flanked on either side by the Armory and Shield Heroes. The other nine men were all leaders or representatives of the countries which had already been attacked by the Spirit Tortoise or were in its path of destruction and they wore outfits ranging from Arabian garb to adventurer's clothing to even the trappings of what Darius and Naofumi would refer to as Russian garb.
And speaking of which, the burly man in Russian-like clothing was the first to speak as he slammed his fist down on the table. "What are the four, no, five heroes doing?!" He questioned angrily before pointing at Naofumi and Darius, "the only ones present are the Shield Hero and the so-called Armory Hero! From what I've heard, you actually don't know the whereabouts of the other three heroes!"
Some of the other leaders decided that was their cue to voice their own irritations with things like, "Did they run away fearing for their lives! It is the hero's responsibility to save the world! Melromarc will take responsibility for this, right?!" It took a little self-control for Darius not to immediately say 'it ain't the Queen's fault they're assholes,' instead choosing to turn his attention to Mirellia along with everyone else.
As ever, the Queen kept her composure well while answering. "Firstly," she said, "let me apologize for the misunderstanding. The other three heroes actually went ahead of all of us to stop the Spirit Tortoise. They apparently possessed information that predicted the Spirit Tortoise's awakening before we did and then left Melromarc to confront it without leaving a proper explanation. With all of the confusion this has caused I once again apologize for the lateness of this information."
'Well she's not lying,' the Armory Hero mused as the assembled leaders replied. "But the Spirit Tortoise is still moving. The other three heroes haven't already-?"
"The Three Heroes are still alive," assured Mirellia, "more than likely, they're still fighting near the Tortoise this very moment."
"Is that true?!" Exclaimed Naofumi, surprising Darius. 'Weren't you the one always saying to keep our cool?' Mused the Armory Hero who'd managed to reel in his own reaction at the last second, choosing instead to look at the Queen with a very questioning glance.
"Yes, we just received word from the Fourbrue Church," explained Mirellia to Naofumi and the others, "you two would've been informed immediately if an incident had occurred."
"While that is good news," said one of the leaders, a man wearing a steel helmet with an upraised metal fin, "we still haven't answered what we're going to do about the Spirit Tortoise. Is there anything we can do other than watching our own countries get trampled?"
"There is, it's our turn to strike back now," replied the Queen, "since the Three Heroes have failed to subdue the Tortoise so far, we must instead rely on the method used by the ancients. Our first step as the Allied Force is to establish a magic unit and then attempt to seal the Spirit Tortoise's heart." This suggestion seemed to surprise more than a couple of the leaders, but Mirellia continued her explanation undeterred as one of the guards came and held up a large book which denoted the tales of past cardinal heroes. "We have fortunately found the book which details how the ancient heroes sealed the sacred beast before. But the method will require a large number of people since the current heroes have yet to study sealing magic."
"We do have capable people in our armies," said one of the leaders, a bald man wearing a basic chest plate over a black shortsleeved shirt, "but in order to perform a sealing ritual on that monster's heart we'd need to get on it somehow. But since it's not only massive but moving-."
"We have a plan," assured Mirellia, "but for it to work, I implore all of you to lend us your strength." In truth, there really was little choice. At this point, they either fought or they died.
Some Time Later: Overlooking A Valley Town
Darius had to admit, he was impressed with the engineering of the large town they were currently at. From where they stood on a nearby cliff, they could see most of the town, if it could really be called that given the presence of several multi-story buildings, including it's most stand out feature: a massive, decorated, dam-like wall that rose more than a couple hundred feet from the bottom of the valley all the way to the top, giving it the appearance that it was holding up a whole section of the town. Which, in a manner of speaking, it was. Though any wonder they might've had for the sight of this spectacular bridge was tempered by the currently ongoing evacuation.
"I'm surprised such a plan was approved," noted Raphtalia with a somewhat sad expression.
"It was only approved because the Queen promised to provide sympathy and reconstruction funds," said Naofumi, "in exchange, the leader of this country is allowing us to use the town as a decoy. Since we can't really control where the Spirit Tortoise goes, our only option was to lay a trap for it."
"Perhaps one of the largest traps in this world's history," noted Grilaroc, "dropping an entire town along with the Spirit Tortoise into the valley below. It really must be quite a vexing task to even consider."
"I'm mostly concerned with whether or not the evacuation will be complete in time," said Éclair, "if we don't then-."
"If we can't make it then that's that," said Naofumi, "they'll need to make it out another way." Naturally this didn't sit exactly well with everyone, but they also knew there was little that could be done about it. Or so they thought until the Shield Hero remembered something. "Of course, everyone, this way." He began leading them down one of the winding paths just above the town that put them in clear view of the evacuating citizens. Which appeared to be the point.
"Look, it's the heroes!" Cheered one of the civilians as others began to call out. "It's them, the Shield and Armory Heroes!" Naofumi's reaction to this was to actually smile and wave, which Darius quickly imitated as they walked on down the path. Even more people saw them as they went, and the mood of the evacuees seemed to improve more and more as they continued on along the path. Funnily enough, even Raphtalia was getting caught up in the moment, seeming entirely enamored with Naofumi now, and Izumi was mirroring her with the same look directed towards the Armory Hero.
"W-What," said Naofumi, apparently surprised by it, "if you're about to ask me out on another date-."
"Pretty sure she wants to go one up from a date," whispered Darius, "I know that's what Izumi wants."
"Apologies," said Izumi as she tried to compose herself, "it just warms my heart to see so many praising the Armory and Shield Heroes."
"I'm just doing this to improve the situation," said Naofumi, "everyone believes we'll be able to protect them right now so naturally they're gonna be in a better mood if they see us."
"And they are right to believe so," said Izumi, "we have a plan, and we have the resources. Powerful as it may be, the Spirit Tortoise is still just another beast."
"Nice to know you don't scare easy," commented Rifana, "we haven't even gotten a good look at the thing yet."
"It wouldn't matter," said Izumi, "the Armory Hero, my hero, intends to stand against this threat and as such I cannot cower either. I would be unworthy of calling myself his fiancée if I ran now."
"Izumi maybe we shouldn't mention-," Darius started to say before Figneria spoke up.
"It's alright," said the Weapons Instructor with a reassuring glance towards her lover, "Rifana and I have talked the matter over."
"You've already talked about it," said the Armory Hero with a raised eyebrow, "don't you think you should've-CRAAAAAAAASH!" Everyone turned as the sound of something collapsing could be heard. The group quickly determined that it was the sound of crumbling rock and pieces of upraised land being smashed apart with the noise echoing for quite a distance. And the reason for this disturbance was clear as well as a new 'mountain' in the distance was slowly moving towards them.
A quick squinting of everyone's eyes removed any doubt as they saw the massive head and front legs of a terrapin monster lumbering forward, the Spirit Tortoise. "I think we'd better get back to the camp," suggested Rifana, receiving little argument in return.
War Camp of the Allied Force
The tension in the air had grown palpable by this point with several soldiers trying not to glance in the direction of the uncoming engine of destruction too often. Rifana, Figneria and the rest of the two parties were busying themselves helping with what they could around the camp or assisting with the evacuation. Meanwhile, Darius and Naofumi once again found themselves in the main tent, this time standing around one of the smaller tables as they looked over a map with the Queen. "If we can drop the bridge at this precise moment," said Mirellia while pointing to a spot on the map with her fan, "it should disrupt its movement, even if only temporarily."
"I'm still wondering if it's a good idea to try riding on its back," said Naofumi, "even if its moving me and Darius's parties can jump on it. But it's still got all of those familiars around it."
"You can leave a good number of those to me and Johann," assured the Armory Hero, "with luck we should be able to lead away a good bit of the swarm. Worst case scenario, you and I can swap places on Johann and you can lead the monsters away with your Hate Reaction ability. Though it'll be up to Johann to do most of the fighting if we go that route."
"But you still need to stop the Spirit Tortoise's movement," the Queen pointed out, "you'll need the magic unit in order to seal its heart."
"Guess that means we'll be sticking with leading the monster swarm away or taking it head on," admitted Naofumi. He would've said more but Raphtalia entered the tent then with some news.
"Master Naofumi," she said, "I just got word that the evacuation is running behind schedule. Could I go help them?"
"Not right now," said the Shield Hero, "we need you and the others here if we're going too-." The group turned their heads then as the sound of a ringing bell could be heard.
"It's the bats!" Exclaimed the guard on the watchtower, "a swarm of bats is headed this way!"
"Shit," exclaimed the Armory Hero as he, Naofumi and Raphtalia rushed out of the tent and joined their parties. But they quickly noticed that the camp was not the target of the swarm of batwinged familiars.
"They're heading for the evacuees!" Exclaimed Naofumi as he transformed his shield into what looked like a large circular mirror with a green jewel on the top. It was Isana's magic core shield that he got from the whale boss of the fourth wave and its effect was to increase the power of all equipment with a water attribute. It was also great for another ability. "HATE REACTION!"
The effect was almost immediate as a red glow emanated from the Shield Hero's body, drawing all the nearby bat familiars towards them and the rest of the camp. "This is gonna get messy," said Darius as he summoned his flame staff and opened a large portal above his head, "Arrow Firestorm!" The mass formation of bats scattered as the flaming projectiles slammed into them.
"Leave some for me to eat this time!" Exclaimed Johann as he took to the sky in his dragon form, shooting off both flames and lightning while performing aerial acrobatics to keep one step ahead of the winged familiars. Filo morphed into her bird form and violently kicked several of the bats away before launching some of her wind magic to clear the area around her. Rifana and Figneria went back-to-back, smashing and slicing up bats with both magic and mystic weapons alike.
Éclair and Grilaroc mirrored them as they too fought back-to-back to stave off the bat swarm with their respective fighting styles. Finally, Izumi had taken up position by Rishia who was alternating between different types of wind and fire magic while the Horned Girl guarded her blind spots, the twirling of her weapon succeeding in decimating numerous bats. Every available soldier and adventurer at the camp also joined in on the fighting, doing their best to hold formation as they chopped up familiar after familiar. But even with their numbers the bats were still becoming overwhelming.
It became a bite here, a scratch there, little by little they chipped away at the Heroes, their parties and the gathered soldiers. "We can't keep this up," said Naofumi as he swatted away another bunch of the flying enemies, "our formation is gonna break if we don't do something."
"I've got an idea," said Darius as he summoned a replica of Kizuna's sword, the weapon of the Hunting Hero, "but you're not gonna like it."
"If it takes out these bats I won't complain too much," said Naofumi, "just tell me the plan!"
"First off, remember you said you won't complain," replied Darius as he found a spare moment to stab the replica weapon into the ground, "Form 1: Pitfall!" A hole opened up underneath Naofumi then as he fell a few feet while uttering the words 'Oh shit!'. "Now activate your Meteor Shield and don't let it down for a second! Everyone else, move out of the way!" The gathered parties did as instructed, some more reluctantly than others, as the bat familiars assaulted the hole that Naofumi had fallen in, still attracted by his Hate Reaction.
Naturally he didn't waste any time in raising his Meteor shield which easily held off the bat's attacks, at least long enough for the Armory Hero to execute the next part of his plan. "Now here goes," he said as he dissolved the replica and raised his hands to the air, "as source of they power the Armory Hero orders thee, decipher the laws of nature and slow my targets!" A white glow appeared around several of the bats then, slowing the movement of their wings enough that they could no longer stay airborne. "And the final part, Phantom Circle," he said as he summoned five portals with flame staffs in a circular formation above the hole along with one in his right hand, "Fire Circle Strike!"
A massive blast of flame erupted from the center of the five staffs, torching the hole first before Darius angled the portal more and more upward to fry quite a few of the oncoming bats. It hardly lasted a minute, but the result was a smoldering scorch mark that led all the way out of the camp. The downside, though, was that more than a few of the tents were catching fire now, either from the heat or the flaming debris that were bat familiar corpses. A problem that the Armory Hero was currently working out as he collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily.
"Darius! Master Naofumi!" Exclaimed Raphtalia and Rifana as they rushed to the aid of their respective heroes, followed shortly by their parties.
"Give me a moment," said Izumi as she readied to cast healing magic on the Armory Hero.
"No," he said, stopping her with an upraised hand, "you and Rishia put out the fires first. I'll be up in a minute." The Mountain Girl was clearly a little conflicted by this but nodded anyway as she and Rishia rushed over to the flames and raised their arms in the air, chanting a spell. A swirling misty dew formed above them and began to slowly but surely sprinkle down onto the flames, quenching them little by little. Meanwhile, Raphtalia was helping Naofumi out of the hole he'd been dropped in.
"What in the fuck kind of a plan was that," grunted the Shield Hero as soon as he was out, "You know I could've been buried by bats if that had gone south, right?"
"I told ya you wouldn't like it," replied Darius as he drank a potion to help restore his magic points a little, "but it was the best approach I could think up that got those flying rats more or less in one place. And even going all out I'd have been hardpressed to shatter that meteor shield of yours."
"And the reason we couldn't have led them away from the camp before you went wild?" Questioned Naofumi as he noted the numerous scorch marks and slowly dying fires. Darius raised his finger and was about to speak until he suddenly realized that there really wasn't a reason they couldn't have led the bats away first. So, after standing there for a moment with his mouth agape like an idiot, he went with the first thing that came to mind.
"We, uh, should definitely do that next time," he said, "I guess I just really wanted those things gone." Naofumi shook his head at this and was thinking really hard on whether or not he should go over team communication again before Johann grabbed everyone's attention.
"Hey guys," said the Dragon Boy who was still flying in the air, "did they already spring that trap that was supposed to catch the big tortoise?"
"What," said Darius, "there's no way, the town and the bridge are both still here."
"You sure," asked Johann, "because it looks to me like the mountain and everything has stopped moving." The two parties looked at one another, already knowing what they needed to do.
"Filo," said Naofumi, "get me and Raphtalia to where the Spirit Tortoise is. Darius, you, Rifana and Johann back us up."
"What about everyone else?" Questioned Rishia whose Filo costume appeared to have suffered very little damage during the fight. "Shouldn't we come too?"
"We need to go as fast as we can but still pack a punch," explained Naofumi, "you and the others will also need to take care of the injured while we're gone. And hope we come back with good news." The Magic Caster nodded in understanding as the two Cardinal Heroes climbed onto their respective mounts with Raphtalia and Rifana holding onto the backs of their party leaders. The two raced out of the camp then with Johann getting enough altitude for a good view without losing track of Filo.
The landscape went by in a blur as they cut through the air and the treeline until finally reaching a dropoff. It was no concern for Filo, though, who nimbly leapt off it, almost seeming to glide down to the ground below. What was of concern, though, was the sight of the Spirit Tortoise. Darius knew they'd be small in comparison to a beast that could carry mountains, but this was the first time he realized how small.
The two approaching mounts seemed like little more than flies buzzing towards it as the mountain on its back slowly but surely blocked off the view of the land behind the Tortoise. Yet even that realization became secondary upon their next discovery. The sacred beast had indeed stopped, but the reason was far from what they'd expected. The Spirit Tortoise had actually collapsed to the ground, due to its entire head being severed from the rest of its body.
"Darius," said Rifana as the three of them stared on in shock, "do you think?"
"You know how I like to be optimistic," said the Armory Hero while still processing what he was seeing, "but this is still nuts. How in the world, is the Spirit Tortoise dead?"
Dead? How can the Spirit Tortoise be Dead? That's a bit anti-climatic, unless they run into the ones responsible for this decapitation. And they just might in the next chapter, but until then, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as our heroes explore the ruins on the Spirit Tortoise's back in order to unravel some of its mysteries. And don't forget to check out my new book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle when it comes out on 3/1/2022! 'Til then.