A Summoner's Journey
Tempest Trial: Resonating Fangs
Team for this chapter: Celica, Sharena, Lucina and Lucius (Alm, Tobin, Gray, Kliff, Faye and Clair as NPC units)
"Lucian. Do you have a moment?" Celica stopped me at the library's entrance today, her expression tight with discomfort. Her hands were wrung together "I'd like to ask you something"
"What is it Celica?"
"Lately, I've been having these terrible headaches. I can barely focus enough to spark a single flame" To demonstrate, Celica snapped her fingers and a small smark emitted, but no fireball formed in her gloved palm "I tried seeing Lucius and Priscilla for healing, but they stated that it had nothing to do with my body"
"I see. Are you perhaps drawn towards something?" I asked "The Robin twins, Tharja and Lissa all experienced similar headaches when the Tempest was raging through the World of Awakening. Maybe we should go investigate the World of Shadows"
"I was going to do that myself, but I didn't think I was allowed without you or the commander's permission" Celica nodded "Lead the way"
Along the way, we passed by the infirmary, where Sharena looked to be talking with Lucius and Priscilla while holding her head in pain.
"What's going on with Sharena?" I asked Priscilla, poking my head into the room. A couple heroes were resting on beds along with some Askran soldiers, wounded from their latest expeditions or missions. We really needed more healers here.
"She reported having horrible headaches for a whole day now. None of the usual teas and medicines seem to work" Priscilla replied "Apparently, she's feeling drawn to the World of Shadows's portal and wants to go investigate"
"Princess Sharena, I'm sure it's just the stress of fighting that's causing this. Perhaps you accidentally hit your head hard sometime ago" Lucius frowned, thinking hard "But none of the usual medicines or herbal teas work. What is the problem here…?"
"Me and Lucian are going to go investigate the World of Shadows to check if the Tempest is there. Princess Sharena, you should come along too" Celica offered "I'm not sure what connection you have to my world, but me and you experiencing headaches isn't a coincidence"
"Okay. I'm eager to get this stupid banging out of my head" Sharena punched the side of her head lightly "Anything to have it go away. I'll come along"
Sharena picked up her specially forged lance, the Fensalir that was lying on the wall and we bid farewell to our two healers. They waved with weary eyes before returning to treating their other patients.
"I should summon more healers. Lucius and Priscilla are clearly being overworked here" I said as we made our way to the portal courtyard "If there really is a Tempest in the World of Shadows, we'll need one of them at our side though"
"So you sensed the Tempest too, Lucian?" Lucina was suddenly by our side, observing the World of Shadow's portal with discomfort and interest "I can feel it. The chaotic energy within the World of Shadows… that can only be from the Tempest"
"So there really is a Tempest raging inside the World of Shadows" I bit my lip "Celica, you're the fastest one here. Go and fetch Lucius from the infirmary for us. Priscilla deserves a break"
"Right away" Celica nodded and ran off, dashing towards the infirmary and bringing back the blond priest, on my orders. Lucius looked a bit weary and tired from his infirmary work, but stated he was well enough to fight and heal, given he stayed away from the action. With all four of our heroes ready, we leaped into the World of Shadows, prepared for the Tempest to come.
"All Askran border guards, ensure all the civilians of the World of Shadows is safe before returning to Askr. Leave the Tempest to us!" I shouted in command as the swirling vortex of light ravaged through everything in sight. I was about to nod to my heroes to run into the Tempest, but Lucina mysteriously disappeared. Lucius said he spotted her running towards a nearby village.
"We have to quell the Tempest before it gets worse! What's she doing?!" I cried over the roaring wind caused by the vortex.
"I don't know, but we should wait until she gets back. Maybe she's trying to find heroes to reinforce us" Lucius replied, clutching his staff tightly while his long blond hair whipped wildly in the wind. Through gritted teeth, Celica glanced over and gasped.
"Over there is Ram Village! Lucina went there to find Alm and his friends!" Celica explained "They're coming to help us out"
On cue, Lucina dashed out of Ram Village's gate with Alm, Faye and three other villager boys. Clair swooped down towards them on her pegasus.
"Alm! What's going on here?" Clair looked back at the Tempest in the distance "First there was an earthquake and now the earth looks to be splitting in two. It's like the end of the world!"
"I know. According to this masked man, the source of the chaos is that white vortex up ahead. The Tempest" Alm pointed towards the pool of light "We have to jump in there and cut the Tempest down by its source to destroy it"
"Are you really sure it's safe Alm?" A brown haired villager holding an Armorslayer asked "We've never fought anything like this before!"
"Look, you guys can question and binker here all day. We're going into the Tempest first" I interrupted "Celica, Lucina, Lucius and Sharena, let's go!"
"Wait… Celica?!" Alm's eyes widened in shock as Celica flashed him a smile while we were running "Tobin, Kliff, Faye, Gray and Clair, we're going in after them!"
"What's Celica doing here?!" Gray asked as he ran alongside Alm, a new sword called the Zanbato in hand "Last time I remember, she mysteriously disappeared after the earthquakes started"
"I think it's related to the Tempest. Maybe she's in there" Alm replied "I don't know how, but I'm sure the Celica this person has isn't our Celica. She's somewhere else"
"That doesn't make any sense. Who even are these people?!" Kliff cried "And why are we even trusting them?"
"Because we're helping you save your world. Now stop complaining and jump in!" I called and leaped into the blinding white vortex, followed by Celica, Lucina, Sharena and Lucius. The Ram villagers were slightly reluctant at first, but as soon as Alm jumped in, the rest followed. We ended up in the graveyard on the island of Novis. Four zombie-like heroes: Ike, Karel, Jagen and Mist were among a frightening group of actual zombies and skeletons.
"How did this many Terrors get onto Novis?!" Celica gasped.
"Be at ease Celica. This isn't the real island of Novis" Lucina reassured the princess, drawing her Falchion in the process "The stages of the Tempest mingle with the world around it, creating battlefields out of the world's geography. The enemies we'll face are the world's most feared monsters. In this case, the Terrors"
"We'll handle the Terrors. You guys combat the hero zombies" Alm drew his own sword out his scabbard: a Falchion that gleamed in response to Lucina's own. Gray and Tobin readied their own swords while Faye nocked an arrow into her Firesweep Bow. Clair flew into the air, preparing to swoop down when ready. The Terrors growled and the enemy heroes glared, but none of them made a move.
"They… aren't coming towards us" I noted. The silence between us and them was eerie "Celica, bomb them with your Ragnarok"
"Allow me to assist" Kliff thrust his hand towards the group of monsters and a permafrost of ice appeared under their feet, freezing all of them in place. Celica weaved a firestorm in her hands before shouting "Ragnarok!", bring forth several wisps of flame that collided into a massive explosion. Though many of the Terrors were slain, the heroes weren't and they went on the offensive, charging towards us at full speed. Alm, Gray and Tobin took the front while Celica, Faye and Kliff fired spells and arrows from behind.
"Lucina and Sharena, hold the front line with the others. Lucius, stay with the mages to heal when necessary!" I looked up to the sky at Clair "And Clair, swoop down and catch the enemy by surprise when you can!"
"Sagittae!" Kliff's voice brought my attention to him as he thrust out his hand again, firing a bullet storm of deadly light arrows, vaporizing and stunning dozens of Terrors, letting the swordsmen and Sharena rush in to finish them off. Curious, I swiped my hand through the empty air to open up Kliff's stat page, my eyes widening at the array of skills I've never seen before.
"What even are these…? Fortress Def/Res, the Sagittae tome and Chill Speed?" I tapped on the magic stat screen to view the skills in further detail "Holy dragon of Askr… these skills are ridiculous…"
"Lucian. You mind paying attention to the battle?" Lucius tapped my shoulder with his staff and I shut off Kliff's stat screen "The Terrors and heroes were dispatched, but there's one Terror everyone's having trouble with"
I looked ahead to see Alm and Lucina's blades doing little to harm a skeleton covered head to toe in dark red armor with a giant skull-branded shield. The monster's spear was tall enough to rival small trees and that kept many of our heroes at bay. Faye's arrows bounced harmlessly off it.
"Tobin! That Armorslayer's probably really handy now!" Alm dodged the Fiend's lance and slammed his Falchion into it alongside Lucina and Sharena to hold it back "Bring it down! We got you covered!"
"Right!" Tobin rushed it and slashed his Armorslayer over the Terror's chest, cleaving through the rusted armor like butter and cutting the rotten flesh within. Roaring, the Fiend bashed its shield into Tobin, knocking him to the ground as well as the three holding back its lance. The Terror followed up with a downward stab into Alm's chest, but he rolled away in time, cutting the Fiend's lance arm by the elbow.
"Finish it off Celica and Kliff!" I commanded and the two mages rained their spells upon the monster, burying it under a storm of fire and light. The Fiend crumbled to ash and the world around us changed, transitioning into the next stage.
"Why didn't you guys kill it with magic sooner?" I asked Celica and Kliff as the next set of enemies began appearing.
"If you weren't looking at that magic screen for so long, you would of known what was going on" Kliff replied sharply "The Fiend threw his spear at us and it returns to his hand at will. We couldn't focus for long enough to cast spells"
"Nevertheless, we got through it and the next tide of enemies are here" Celica noticed shadows moving on the ground and looked up. I followed her gaze and saw a swarm of gargoyles, wyvern riders and pegasus knights in the sky. Unless they came down to attack us, our infantry heroes were at a severe disadvantage. Only Faye, Clair and maybe Celica and Kliff can reasonably deal with them.
"Alright everyone! Celica, Kliff and Faye will attempt to snipe the fliers out of the sky. Infantry units, guard them in case one of those beasts decide to swoop down. Huddle together!" I commanded "Clair, fly up and try to thin out their numbers. Avoid being swarmed by the fliers wielding axes"
"Very well" Clair shot into the sky, taking on the gargoyles and deathgoyles with ease. Every strike of her Silver Lance seemed to explode in angelic feathers, smiting the monsters to ash. The same effect didn't seem to apply to the undead wyvern riders and pegasus knights, so it must be a Terror-specific skill. From the ground, Celica, Kliff and Faye hurled magic and arrows at the flying beasts. Faye's arrows were a bit inaccurate and the Ragnarok wasn't designed for use in the air, so Celica switched spells.
"Seraphim!" The scarlet-haired mage shot orbs of blazing light that vaporized the Terrors on impact and even dented the enemy fliers fairly hard, letting Kliff finish them off with his wide spread wave of magic arrows. Some of the fliers decided to swoop down towards our ground force, but Alm rapidly slew the gargoyles while Lucina's Falchion cut through the wyvern riders like paper. Sharena held her own just fine against the pegasus knights.
"Our bonds give me strength!" Lucina called and slammed her Falchion against an enemy wyvern's Silver Axe, shattering it into pieces thanks to Luna. She quickly slain both rider and wyvern in two swipes of her blade "There's so many of them!"
"Kliff should be able to clear out a majority of them. Just hold the-" I noticed a gargoyle flying away from Kliff and Celica's carnage, aiming to sneak attack Lucina from behind "Lucina, behind you!"
"Wha-" Lucina jerked behind her as the gargoyle rocketed down towards her at surprising speed, Brave Lance flashing. The princess raised her Falchion to counter, but Faye's burning arrow clipped the Terror by the wings, sending it carrening to the ground and breaking to dust. A wyvern rider wielding a Hammer soared down towards Faye, but Gray and Tobin together brought it down. One by one, the swarm began to thin and more Terrors and fliers began flanking us to try and break our formation.
"Celica, Kliff and Faye, the sky's clear now! Assist our ground forces with cleaning up the remaining foes!" I ordered "Clair, you do the same. Assist our ground units!"
"Grant me strength!" Celica switched back to her Ragnarok and fired a storm of fiery wisps towards my right, bombarding a wave of Terrors and wyvern riders in an inferno of flame. She and Kliff both were practically drenched in blood from their magic, but Lucius healed their wounds. Still, that blood wouldn't be easy to get out of their clothes. As Celica covered our right, Kliff assisted the left.
"You watching?" Kliff's hand glowed with astral blue light as a tunnel of light arrows swarmed the leftmost force, burning them all to ash or significantly weakening them. The magic seemed to strain Kliff harder than Celica though, as longer cuts and gashes appeared on his body than Celica. It was giving Lucius constant work to do.
"Darkness begone…" Lucius whispered as his Rehabilitate staff briefly shined with Heavenly Light, bathing all of us in angelic light that not only healed Kliff, but the rest of our allies that were mopping up the remaining enemy. Gray played with a gargoyle like it was a child, darting around it with surprising speed while slashing his large Zanbato sword. A mini vortex of green wind blew underneath him, which reminded me a lot of Lyn's Galeforce.
"This is how it's done!" Alm finished off the last Terror with a decisive Draconic Aura, shifting the battlefield in the Tempest once again. This time, we appeared on a ship with several planks connecting us with another vessel. Alongside the four enemy heroes of Titania, Ryoma, Sully and Barst, a legion of Terrors were aboard the enemy ship as well. Creepy cultist-like dark mages roamed among the crowd of monsters as well. The infamous priests of the Duma Faithful.
"Even though I know this isn't real, it still brings chills down my spine every time I see those Cantors" Celica sparked a bright flame with her fingers "Everyone, those Cantors can summon masses of Terrors at will. Their only limit is their remaining lifeforce, so focus on them first!"
"Celica, Kliff and Faye, stay on the boat and shower the enemy vessel with arrows and magic" I ordered "The rest of us will use these planks as a chokepoint to take on the enemy one by one"
"Clair, watch the skies for enemy fliers. Those Cantors could summon gargoyles" Alm told the pegasus knight "Try to take them out when they least expect it. It'll get the endless tide of Terrors out of our hair"
"Here they come. Melee fighters, get to the bridges! Lucina and Sharena, take the left and Alm and Gray, take the right. Tobin, be prepared to swap places if they get injured" I commanded "Go!"
My heroes moved into action as the mages and Faye began to open fire with their spells and arrows. The enemy Sully galloped ahead and stabbed Lucina in the torso with her Sapphire Lance, temporarily breaking Falchion in the process thanks to Swordbreaker. Lucina called for Sharena's help and retreated, shoulder bashing Revenants and Bonewalkers off the bridge and into the sea. Sharena and Sully dueled lance to lance for a short while before Sharena struck hard enough to knock the Sapphire Lance out of Sully's hand, surprising the cavalier.
"Found your weak spot!" Sharena piked Sully off her horse and into the raging sea below before sweeping several more Terrors off the bridge. Her lance was made for the job. Titania trampled several Terrors in her way in an attempt to attack Sharena, but Lucina's Falchion recovered from Swordbreaker's curse and she pulled Sharena back to easily cut down Titania with a single strike.
"Hope will never die!" Lucina's Falchion was bathed in the twilight light of Luna and she cut down waves after waves of Revenents and Bonewalkers with ease, but the Cantors just continued summoning more and more. Alm's own Falchion sliced through Terrors like butter, but even he couldn't push through the legion. We needed Clair.
"Clair! Now would be a good time!" I shouted and the pegasus knight vaulted down over the three Cantors, spearing two of them in the neck before the third could react. He paused his summoning to summon a giant ethereal skull that breathed poisonous fog towards Clair, but the pegasus knight was fast. She moved like lightning and dodged the attack, thrusting her lance through the cultist's eyes. The endless waves of Terrors ended and Clair flew back into the sky as Celica and Kliff blasted the remaining force to shreds with their magic. As the last Bonewalker broke to dust, the ships and sea faded around us.
"Ah, I was waiting for these" I bent down to pick up 10 orbs, a large bundle of Hero Feathers and a sack full of promotional badges. As I stored them in my orb bag, the landscape changed itself to the entrance of the arcanist's mansion on Fear Mountain. The one we visited a few months ago to try and contact Zacharias. Only four heroes were on the outskirts of the mansion: Raven, Young Tiki, Nowi and Boey. No Terrors or Cantors in sight.
"Thank goodness for an easy fight. Lucina, Sharena, Alm and Gray, handle the enemy heroes while the rest of us catch a breather and heal. Alm and Lucina, target Nowi and Tiki first, but avoid Nowi's Lightning Breath" I ordered and the four left after being healed by Lucius. The priest went around and healed the rest of our group, sweat beading down from his head from the effort. Celica and Kliff sat down, covered head to toe in blood from their magic. Kliff grumbled that he never had to use this much magic in his life and that it'll take forever to wash the blood out of his outfit. Celica simply smiled in agreement and tried picking the dry blood out of her fiery red hair. Faye didn't feel comfortable sitting out, so she picked up her bow and arrows and marched out to support our heroes on the front line, finishing off Raven with an arrow through the head.
"Faye, you're going too far. Come back!" Clair swooped down in front of Faye to shield her from Nowi's incoming Lightning Breath, buying Alm time to cut down the dragon to ribbons. Alm smiled at the two girls and thanked them for opening Nowi to attack, but also scolded Faye for going a little too far, causing the archer to quickly apologize.
"And that should do it. May Saint Elimine keep you safe" Lucius finished healing Gray and Tobin and walked off, leaving the two boys awestruck.
"Holy Mila, what a woman…" Gray said to Tobin "She's got gorgeous blond hair and the gentle heart of Silque. Incredible"
"Guys, Lucius is a man. Not a woman" I interrupted sharply "Don't go fawning over him. Ask him yourself if you think I'm lying"
"Wha…? How can that angel be a man?" Gray looked flabbergasted "I… I have no words"
"Well, I knew that voice was a bit suspicious. Good thing we didn't jump too quickly, huh?" Tobin smiled with relief, then looked ahead "Hey, looks like they finished up"
"Yes they did. Lucius, heal them up before we transition to the fifth stage" I called and the priest moved to action, healing the burn marks on Lucina and Alm given by Tiki and the gash Boey gave to Sharena after using Gronnowl to blow her into a mountain. The fifth stage turned into the valley where we first fought Alm, Clair, Lukas and Faye. The four enemy heroes present were Felicia, Gaius, Ogma and Cordelia. No Terrors nor Cantors were present, but a handful of human-like Terrors wielding swords were scattered across the valley. A few even held shields of leather or iron.
"I remember these guys. Gray likes to call him the invincible mercenary" Alm winced beside me "Early in our adventure, there was this swordsman with a leather shield. If it wasn't for Kliff, none of us would be able to defeat him"
"And now there's six of these mercenaries" I said "Luckily, we've got Kliff and Celica, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Let's use this point in between the mountains as a choke point" Kliff suggested "Someone bulky should go plug that point"
"I'll do it!" Sharena ran ahead to hold the point while I ordered Celica, Kliff and Faye to support her from behind like usual. Clair would fly over the mountains and pick off the Terror swordsmen while Alm, Gray, Tobin and Lucina would swap with Sharena in case she got injured. Two of the mercenaries crashed against Sharena's shield, but the lancer took down swordsmen like them easily. Sharena impaled them through like shish kabobs and kicked their bodies off her lance just as they began to dissolve. Another pair rushed in to pressure Sharena, but Clair stabbed them in the back.
"Clair, watch out for the pegasus knight!" Faye nocked an arrow into her Firesweep Bow and fired, severely injuring the enemy Cordelia. Her pegasus shrieked in pain and went spiraling out of control, letting Clair get an easy hit on Cordelia herself. Meanwhile, Sharena held the point extremely well, with Ogma barely able to get past her while Felicia and Gaius's daggers bounced uselessly off.
"Sharena, dodge Felicia's next dagger! Her Glacies is charg-" I stopped as Felicia's blue ice shard of a dagger flew through the air and collided with Sharena's shield, busting a sizeable hole through and embedding itself in her leg "Sharena, pull back! Lucina, Gray, Tobin and Alm, rush through and slaughter the remaining enemies!"
As the four swordsmen went to work, Sharena staggered back to Lucius, holding her busted shield. Lucius muttered words of encouragement and soothingness before grasping the hilt of Felicia's Silver Dagger.
"Take a deep breath and bite your tongue" Lucius advised before pulling the dagger out of Sharena's leg as gently as he could. Sharena bloodied her lip out of pain and a couple tears fell, but she didn't scream. Lucius breathed a sigh of relief and picked up his staff, muttering the incantation to heal Sharena's wound on her leg.
"Whew. Thanks Lucius" Sharena took a deep breath and sat down to rest "How many stages are left Lucian? It feels like we've been fighting for hours now"
"We're on the fifth stage, so only two more to go. Once the others clean up the remaining enemies, we'll transition to the next one" I reassured, then looked ahead "Ah, looks like Tobin finished off the last Terror. Second last stage everyone. Keep it together!"
The next stage brought us back to Fear Mountain, where we first faced off against a large Emblian legion and Celica donning the Embla's Ward sacred seal. Fortunately, it looked like only four enemy heroes were present, along with a small wall of Fiends led by a red armored Terror, known as the Guardian.
"Celica and Kliff, tear through the Fiends and Guardian with your magic. Our front line units will shield you if they decide to throw their spears, so try to remain focused" I instructed "Everyone else, the enemy heroes should advance after the Terrors are killed, so be prepared to take them on. There looks to be an enemy Palla, Gunter, Effie and Cecilia"
"Kliff, I think it'll be a good idea to switch to less… taxing spells. We're wearing Lucius down to his bones" Celica snapped her fingers, creating a sparkling ball of light "And you know what spell to use when against Terrors"
Kliff frowned, holding up his hand "Uhh, I never learned Seraphim, Celica. I couldn't get the hang of it"
"Then use whatever else you have. Just not Sagittae" The princess replied, firing a giant mass of light at a Fiend, sending it staggering backwards "Maybe Excalibur or Thunder?"
"I'll go with Excalibur. Always the most reliable spell" Kliff swiped his hand downwards, summoning a gale of sharp winds "Excalibur!"
Before the Fiends and Guardian could retaliate, Celica's second Seraphim and Kliff's Excalibur collided with the Terrors, dissolving them into heaps of rusted and ancient armor. The enemy Palla flew over the mountains, Ruby Sword raised to strike at Kliff, but the blade miraculously barely scratched the mage. Palla retreated back in disbelief before Faye shot her down with a single arrow. The cavalier duo of Gunter and Cecilia rode towards our front liners, but were easily slain by our cohort of sword wielders. Cecilia managed a hit on Alm, but that was quickly patched by Lucius.
"Celica and Kliff, move ahead to kill Effie!" I called and the two mages advanced, bombarding the Nohrian knight with Seraphim and Excalibur, quickly taking her down. With her defeated, Fear Mountain dissolved around us and the final stage manifested itself: an underground catacomb with a large sacrificial bonfire in front of us. Four pillars held up the high ceiling above us and four defensive tiles were laid in the middle. Among the mass of elite Terrors such as the silver-clad Titans, Draco Zombies and Guardians, two Cantors were present. No enemy heroes were within the crowd strangely
"W-what is that? Is that me?" Celica gasped and pointed to what looked to be the source of the Tempest: a Celica with hair as bright as fire and was marred in blood, holding a regal looking sword. The jewel in the hilt of her blade burned like crystallized magma "That sword… that's the Beloved Zofia!"
"I remember her… she's the Celica who got possessed by Duma!" Alm clutched his Falchion tightly, like the event stirred up bad memories "I defeated her on my own before, but that was when she was holding back. Is she more powerful now…?"
"Servants of Duma, you know what you need to do!" Fallen Celica shouted in a strained voice "Kill these invaders of the Tempest!"
The two Cantors pointed their fingers at us, sending their wave of Terrors towards us. Alm's Falchion cut through the elite Terrors easily, but Lucina could only slay the Draco Zombies with ease. Gray slammed his Zanbato into a Titan's rib cage, but it barely cracked it's metal bones, forcing Gray back with it's counterattack. Tobin had an easier time against the Titans and Guardians thanks to his Armorslayer, but a Draco Zombie heavily injured him with a body slam from above.
"May belief be enough!" Lucius's staff shined with a bright radiance, healing all of us with Heavenly Light. However, a Cantor snuck behind from the pillars and impaled Lucius through with a spear of darkness, dissolving our priest into a cloud of feathers. Faye and Clair tried taking on a Guardian, but were defeated when a pair of Titans struck from behind. We were rapidly losing all our fighters.
"Alm, Sharena and Lucina! Target the Cantors and cut the Terror wave by the source. Celica and Kliff, help Tobin and Gray kill the Guardians and Titans. Snipe any Draco Zombie out of the air too!" I commanded, quickly changing my battle strategy. The three moved towards the Cantors, but disaster struck when Fallen Celica thrust out her hand, calling a curse.
"Chill Speed!"
Suddenly, a permafrost of ice appeared under the trio's feet, freezing them completely in place. They were helpless to combat the wave of Terrors surrounding them until Celica yelled, her eyes blazing with fire.
"By Mila's grace!" Celica thrust her flaming hands towards the group of Terrors, summoning an absolute inferno with Ragnarok to torch every last Terrors to ashes. The inferno exploded into a column of flames thanks to Blazing Flame, burning the Cantors as well. Celica's fire melted her counterpart's Chill Speed curse, letting Alm, Lucina and Sharena move again and slaughter the cultists. Meanwhile, Tobin was holding back a storm of Guardians and Titans with Kliff providing support behind him, trying in vain to cut down as many Terrors as he could with Sagittae. Without Lucius's healing, both mages were practically doused in their own blood.
"Have some of this!" Tobin slashed a Titan clean in half with his blade before striking a Guardian, making it stagger backwards. However, there were too much to handle and Tobin was swiftly brought down by a Guardian's lance and a Titan's sword. Gray's vortex of wind died down as he took more hits and he eventually went down under a hail of Terrors as well.
"No! Alm, Sharena and Lucina! Pull back and take down the Terrors before attacking Fallen Celica!" I shouted in desperation. Alm and Lucina pulled away from the fight, leaving Sharena to duel with Fallen Celica and rushed towards the Terrors, but Celica had other plans. She took a deep breath, balled her hands into fists and closed her eyes.
"If it'll save my world, I'll be willing to do anything for it" Celica chanted before opening her eyes, her pupils pure, radiant flame "RAGNAROK OMEGA!"
The princess brought both of her arms up to her face as a cross-shaped brand burned on her right hand. She summoned two spheres of flame in her palms and smashed them together, opening a pool of lava below the Terrors that erupted in a column of blue fire that shot all the way to the ceiling. Alm and Lucina backed away in fear as the Terrors screamed under the intense blaze, charring them to the point of no return. After Celica's apocalyptic fire died down, nothing of the Terrors were left. Not even ash.
"Hah… hah… Alm… I…" And Celica's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fainted, her blood pooling around herself from the effort of the magic. Alm quickly ran to her side and tried to shake her awake while I quickly commanded Lucina and Kliff to assist Sharena.
"Perish!" The battle between Sharena and Fallen Celica was rapidly falling into Celica's favor, with Sharena stuck in the permafrost of Chill Speed and the fallen princess's Renewal slowly patching up her wounds. Leaving Sharena to struggle in the ice, Fallen Celica smugly turned her back on the Askrian princess, raising her sword as the gleam of Renewal pulsed again, healing the last cut on her body. The hilt on Celica's Beloved Zofia flared with molten light.
"By Duma's power!" Fallen Celica suddenly pivoted on her foot and brought her sword down onto Sharena's head with Luna. Sharena quickly raised the Fensalir to block, but Luna cut cleanly through it, the blade crashing onto Sharena's head and running down her face, leaving a bloody scar. With Sharena stunned, Fallen Celica was prepared to land the final blow before Alm crept on behind her with the Falchion raised.
"Take this!" And Alm impaled the Falchion through Celica's waist, the fallen princess growling like a feral beast as blood trickled through her teeth. Alm removed his blade and Celica promptly fell, blood gushing like a fountain. She began dissolving into feathers and so did the rest of the catacombs around us. The ice covering Sharena's feet cracked apart and broke as we resurfaced in front of Ram Village, the world returned to usual. Gray, Tobin, Clair, Faye and Lucius all had looks of relief.
"The gods have shined brightly today. Thank goodness all of you are safe" Lucius smiled and raised his staff, healing the dozens of cuts and gashes on Kliff and Celica's bodies. Magic always had a price, which was why I decided not to learn it. Alm continued holding the unconscious Celica as Lucius's healing light washed over her. The princess began to stir, opening her eyes to see Alm's worried expression before smiling warmly at him, falling asleep in a tired slumber.
"Well, we defeated the Tempest and claimed it's rewards" I bent down to pick up another batch of orbs, feathers and badges, along with two new sacred seals. I'll have to ask Robinne about them later "Looks like the chaos has been settled"
"Just one thing though. Lucina told me that this Celica is from another timeline and will return to Askr with you. That means our Celica is still missing" Alm pointed out "The version of Celica we fought in the Tempest dissolved into feathers, so that couldn't be the real her"
Suddenly, Celica groaned in her sleep, clutching her head like she was having a headache. Similarly, Lucina looked troubled.
"... No, it's not over yet. The Tempest isn't truly gone from your world" The princess turned towards her right "After battling the Tempest for so long, I can sense where it is. It feels like it's… in the desert region northeast of Castle Zofia"
"That pirate fortress Celica mentioned before? There's another Tempest there?" Alm stood up, intrigued "Maybe Celica's over there?"
"It's worth a shot" Lucina paused, looking over the Ram villagers and Clair "I understand all of you are tired from the battle in the Tempest, so us four will go quell the Tempest ourselves. Lucian, send Sharena, Lucius and Celica home to get some rest. Grab another three heroes to take their place"
"... No. I'm going to stay" Celica stood up, despite her shaky legs "It is my duty to cleanse my home of any evil and chaos. I can't get this infernal headache out unless I destroy the Tempest"
"Celica, you can't go. You're too tired to fight" Alm pleaded, but Celica adamantly shook her head.
"I'm sorry Alm, but I have to fight. I want you to be reunited with your Celica" The princess stroked Alm's cheek lightly, causing him to blush "Nothing is going to stop me. I can't sit idly while my home is in danger"
Alm sighed "There's no stopping you, huh? Alright then. I'm coming along with you"
"Thank you Alm. I know your Celica would be delighted to have a husband like you" Celica kissed Alm on the cheek and took his hand "Alright, let's sit and rest while Lucian swaps out Princess Sharena and Lucius"
"I'm sorry, but I'm too tired to trek across the continent. Good luck out there" Tobin nodded towards us and took off back into the village.
"I've never fought that many enemies before, but it was a good experience and taught me the limits of my magic. Thank you" Kliff grinned briefly before following Tobin back home. Gray slapped Alm on the back.
"I'm sorry I can't be there with you, but I've got my limits too. Take down the Tempest for us, alright?" Gray said and Alm nodded "That's what I like to see. Good luck!"
"Stay safe and come back home to us Alm. Bring back Celica for us" Faye pleaded and Alm nodded in promise. The archer smiled and hugged Alm before returning back to Ram. Clair simply mouthed a good luck and thank you towards us before her and Gray soared off on her pegasus, flying to who knows where.
"Alright, you three sit tight. I'll be back in a sec" I unhooked the Breidablik from my belt and fired it into thin air, creating a portal back to Askr that me, Lucius and Sharena jumped through to come back. I sent the two off to rest and decided to grab my two old reliables: Robin and Priscilla.
"Lucian, are you sure you should be going back into the Tempest? You look like you're about to collapse from exhaustion" Priscilla pointed out and Robin nodded in agreement, but I shook my head in refusal. Back in my world, I always had a desire to make a difference in the environment around me. The life I had in Askr gave me that chance and I wanted to make use of it as much as possible. If I had a silver of energy within me, I could still keep going and save more people.
"I'm alright. I can keep going" I assured "I can't rest easy knowing people's lives are in danger at the moment"
"You're just like Chrom and Emmeryn" Robin smiled "A pacifistic savior of lives. But don't wear yourself too thin. It's bad for your health"
"I won't stop you now, but after this expedition, PLEASE get a long night of rest. Constant fighting and commanding isn't good for your body" Priscilla warned and I nodded.
"I promise. But first, the Tempest has to be quelled" And we leaped through the World of Shadow's portal. To stop people's suffering and give people a life free of hardship was my goal. A naive one, but one that I won't stop to achieve.
Sniper of Many Talents: Robinne and Jeorge's C support
"Hmm… so these are the new Sacred Seals Lucian gave me. Let's see what the book has to say about them…" Robinne murmured to herself and patted the deep pockets on her coat, searching for the guidebook "Let's see… Wind tome? Don't need that. Chronicles of the Three Paths of Fate? Boring and full of plot holes. Ah, here it is"
Robinne laid down a book the size of a binder, titled "Items and Artifacts of Askr" and flipped to the section about sacred seals. The tactician examined the images drawn on the pages, searching for the ones that matched the seals when she felt a presence behind her, looking over her shoulder.
"Sorry, I should of-"
"GAH!"
"Oh, sorry about that Robinne. I should of announced myself before coming towards you" Jeorge apologized, stepping away to examine the book from the side "What are you doing?"
"Lucian recently defeated a Tempest and returned with these new seals. He told me to examine them and figure out what they do" Robinne managed to get her heart under control "And it's fine Jeorge. I was so entranced by the seals that I didn't even notice you come in"
"Regardless, I should still apologize. I came a little too close into your personal space" Jeorge smiled lightly "Anyways, have you figured out what the seals do yet?"
"I'm was still looking until you came in" Robinne chewed her lip and picked up the book "Let's take a look. Armored Boots, Hardy Bearing… Oh! Found it!"
The tactician laid down the book on the table to show Jeorge an image of a yellow coloured man seemingly running with a magenta background. The book named the seal "Phantom Speed"
"Phantom Speed. Sounds interesting" Jeorge picked up the other seal "This one looked to be a magical resistance boosting seal. Quite useful in light of all the dangerous mages roaming around"
"Yes, but this Phantom Speed seal is really what intrigues me" Robinne looked to her book again "Okay, the description is a little jumbled, but here's what it does. When using a skill that compares to the speed of it's target, the user's speed gets boosted for the purpose of that skill"
"And what kind of skills compare your speed to your foe, might I ask?"
"Hmm… for now it only applies to sweep skills like Alm's Windsweep or Soren's Watersweep" Robinne frowned "Well, it was interesting, but certainly not useful. Lucian hasn't summoned either of them"
"I believe it will find a use eventually" Jeorge nodded "Anyways, it looks like you finished your seal analysis. What do you plan to do next?"
"Well, let me ask you. What did you come here originally for?"
"I just finished archery practice, so I felt like sitting down and having a good cup of tea while reading strategy books" Jeorge replied, picking at his archery glove "I pride myself on being multi-talented. I want to be adept in both archery and tactics"
"I see. That's a worthy goal to strive for" Robinne nodded earnestly "I was planning on sitting down and finishing this history book I was reading. The Memoirs of Valentia"
"Then would you like to come sit by me? It's always a pleasure to be with more people than yourself" Jeorge offered and the tactician smiled deviously.
"Are you perhaps flirting with me Jeorge?" Robinne asked and the sniper smiled back, his ruse uncovered "Sure, I'll sit with you. After all, you are quite the charming archer"
"And you're the wonderfully bubbly tactician" Jeorge added sarcastically and Robinne laughed "Our little circle of strategists are getting close, aren't we? I heard your brother and Katarina are already… intimately close"
"My brother attracts women like a magnet. It's ridiculous" Robinne scoffed "And he can be so oblivious sometimes"
"Perhaps he ignores them so he won't accidentally break their hearts with his rejection" Jeorge replied "That sounds like something he'll do"
"That's reasonable" Robinne headed over to the mini kitchen in the corner of the library and made herself a cup of hot chocolate and Jeorge a cup of tea "What kind of tea brew do you like?"
"Earl grey tea, thank you" Jeorge searched the bookshelves briefly before pulling down a strategy book written by the ancient tactician Saias. Robinne arrived back with their drinks just as Jeorge found a place for the two of them to sit. The two of them read deep into the afternoon, eventually drifting away from their books to small talk with each other. Then it escalated to a stroll through the nighttime gardens.
"Well, that definitely didn't take long" Robinne giggled.
"Indeed it didn't" Jeorge kissed Robinne on the cheek and the sniper and tactician continued through the tranquil and twilight garden.
Phew, that was a lot to write. I felt that including the Ram Villagers Clair would be a more dynamic and interactive approach to the Tempest than just simply four heroes fighting four enemy heroes, so I hope you enjoyed the spin on this chapter. I changed the boss Celica at the end into Fallen Celica since the final map suggests it's the battleground with Fallen Berkut, so I thought it was fitting to fight Fallen Celica instead. Meanwhile, Jeorge and Robinne's relationship is building almost as fast as Katarina and Robin's. I hope it doesn't sound too cheesy. Coming up next is the Together to the End TT, since it's a direct sequel to the Resonating Fangs. If you want to be notified of when a new chapter comes out, favorite and follow. If you want to give constructive criticism or praise, leave a review. Until next time, fellow summoners!