Author's Note: Okay so another chapter down, soon to be moving onto the Spirit Turtle Arc. Read, Review, Favourite and Enjoy!
Chapter 48: The Curse of the Heroes
You could see the sheer terror in the eyes of Mirelia, Oroko and the Representative as they looked down at the dossier they had been given, slowly the three of them closed the document and put it back down on the table, the same thoughts simultaneously crossing their minds.
"So just at a peak of curiosity, exactly what kind of world did the Bow Hero come from again?" Oroko asked as he looked down at the contents of the report.
"My shadows mentioned that she made claims of her country being at war with multiple other nations." The Queen stated for emphasis.
First there was the method of training the ground forces which bordered on the edge of torture, and flat out went into torture in the section that describes 'anti-interrogation training.' Not only that but she outlined the proper training methods for dog fighting, what she oddly enough called combat between areal vehicles, and tank crews, and how to dismantle those using the existing forces that they already had such as Dragon Knights and Calvary.
"The people will review this information and make a informed decision." The Representative, the little bugger, would luckily not have to think about any of this, being the well trained embodiment of 'the people's' will that they was he only had to hold this up to his camera and wait until the screaming monkey's finish arguing and tell them what they decided on so that they could relay the summation of their madness.
It made her wonder what Tanya was planning on doing with all of this.
Tanya had taken a break from the grinding for the time being, hung out on a tree while she waited on Rishia's report. Eli looked at Tanya expectantly, having read the same documents Tanya had given to Melty, having helped her write them in fact.
"If I may Warrant Officer?" Eli asked brow in the air.
"You may." Tanya stated smirking up at the air for the little scheme she had just pulled off.
"I would understand you giving the documents outlining what I can only assume to be the future of war to the country that you intend to favour. But giving it to all of them?" Eli asked and paused as if asking Tanya to explain herself.
"You are aware I am a reincarnated correct?" Tanya asked brow in the air amused.
"That you are." Eli replied as if he was reciting a fact.
"Then you understand that this is the third world I have knowledge of. To my surprise from a cultural and technological stand point I appear to be slipping back in time as things get more and more magical." Tanya smiled up in the air maliciously. "Which also means that to a degree I can predict the future. The first world that I come from is in a state of, I'm going to say relative peace. At least relative to this one."
"There are no wars?" Eli asked brow raised in the air.
"There are no wars between the major nations." Tanya corrected bluntly. "There are other countries out there rich in important resources but with a low technological and cultural standard. They have the misfortune as serving as the unfortunate butcher's yard." And yet Tanya showed not one hint of sympathy for them. "Do you understand why the major nations do not war with one another?" Eli shook his head in the negative, as he should, for not being aware of the first world Tanya came from he held no idea of those nations reasons for acting in a manner he was only barely aware of. "It's because to do so is costly, they have roughly equal technological development and hold similar standards of training for their forces. If they did seriously fight one another the end result would be neither victory or defeat, merely mutual annihilation."
"And so the peace of swords raised at one another's throats has been achieved." Eli suggested admitting to himself a touch of anger. "You are being rather reckless Warrant officer. You underestimate the old grudges." And to this point, Tanya gave a nod of her head.
"Maple and the others will not tolerate the concept of pointless war being waged between nations, so for their stay here they will not tolerate this pointless conflicts." And in the mean time they should be accepting of the notion of laying ground work for lasting peace in this world. For all Tanya cared they can all butcher each other the day that she does finally die, but until then she will not have her life shaved by one second through pointless battles.
"Understood officer." Eli gave a polite bow as he noticed the familiar form of a girl in a penguin suit approaching them from down the mountain path. "It seems that report on how the Shield Bearer is doing is in now." Eli stated, and the news Rishia had was... troubling. To put it mildly.
The bar looked like the scene of a battle field at risk of putting it mildly. Dozens of grown men had been laid out on the floor, holding bloated and sore stomachs as proof of their scars while yet more ammunition was being delivered by frightened bar wenches.
"Oi oi oi. You guys are together right?" The bar keep asked looking deeply unsettled by the pitched battle that he was seeing.
"Yes?" Maple replied as she laid aside the bare bones of her latest victim. "Is there a problem?"
"So you do realise that means you already won the prize right?" The bar keep asked as a vein throbbed in his fore head.
"There's a prize!?" Filo asked excitedly wiggling her wings around.
"I'm just getting sick just by looking at them." Rifana stated face pale.
Keel didn't say anything, merely turning around and vomiting which said everything.
"Those two are going to put him out of business at this rate." Eclair stated looking at the angry bar keep.
Eating Contest was the sign which was so carelessly hung outside of the bar, the only natural response to all of the raw material that was being brought in from the islands, the oceans and carried back to the islands through the ships that fought against the wave. Naturally there was a risk of all the food going bad, and so with no other options left a food eating contest was held for the purpose of drawing in more customers to the bar. Eventually Filo's face hit the table which she had cleaned off three times over, not able to eat anymore.
"The Shield Hero is the winner!" And she could still go, could still out eat Filo who would inhale three times a grown man's serving of food and still ask for seconds. Even after inhaling most of the wave monsters when she was in the form of a giant mutant otter the day before she was still this hungry for some reason.
Rishia did not like what she saw at all and so brought her concerns up with Tanya.
"The girl who unlocked the Shield of Gluttony can suddenly out eat a army." Once, happenstance. "And the girl with the Sword of Lust is spending every moment she can spare plowing her lover." Twice is coincidence. "If Katarina was acting unusually greedy or lazy I would have cause to be concerned. Eli have you observed any particularly wrathful or Prideful behavior from me?"
"Unusually?" Eli shook his head.
The fact that the two people who had their souls tampered with didn't seem to be negatively affected by their cursed weapons was was alarming, very alarming. Tanya looked at the bow eyes narrowed in a glare.
"You four treat me and Katarina differently then Maple and Kuro. Why?"
'The Legendary Bow does not understand the Hero.'
"Why did you pick reincarnated to be your wielders?" Tanya knew for a fact that she wasn't the best pick, the tampering done to her soul by Being X and driven half mad by the entity already.
'The Hero's were not the Legendary Weapons first choice, but were chosen because of recommendation.'
"Whose recommendation?" Tanya asked eyes narrowed.
'The First Choice.'
Oh Damn it!
"Who is the first choice?" Tanya asked glaring at her weapon.
'Information not available.'
Even if it did do something like spit out a random name or description, how would any of that help her if she doesn't know who or what to look for, or even if he was on this world in the first place.
"The man who recruited Kuro?" The one who planted books for Tanya, Kuro and Maple to find in places that he knew they would end up tripping over in situations that he knew they would pick them up and start reading?
'Yes.'
"Where is he?"
'...Everywhere and Nowhere.'
Oh it was one of those days wasn't it. And Here she was hoping that she wouldn't be subjected to the whims of mad gods in this world to wit she had been summoned.
"Huu." Tanya would have to run another meeting when they got back together with the others.
For now she had to go do something to confirm a earlier theory that the Curse Series was affecting their emotional states. She felt angry and so wanted to go on a rampage.
Katarina pored the third bottle of Holy water the army had given her into her spear as she had the weapon process the holy energy and use it to forcibly enchant her cursed spear. The Spear had reacted negatively to the notion, when she tried to use the water to give the holy attribute to another weapon she discovered that it had no reaction, it was just the Curse spear that it was reacting negatively to.
"Still nothing?" Elena asked as Katarina replied with a nod, and so added a fourth bottle of Holy water to the mix. "That stuff isn't cheap you know."
"I know." And there was probably a lot more good they could do with it other than trying to force her spear to do something it didn't want to do, or worst yet that it couldn't do.
"Why did you choose someone as... useless as me to wield you?" Katarina had a affinity for dark magic, at the cost of bits of her soul, with no way of checking on it's condition aside from the unpleasant process of getting Kuro to yank her soul out, which also in all likelihood damages her soul in the process.
'Because he believes in you.'
"Who is he?" Katarina asked looking at the spear confused.
'Unknown.'
Katarina could only let out a frustrated moan, and then jumped a little bit when she saw something slam/cut into one of islands with a loud thunderous crash.
"What was that?"
Kuro probably shouldn't have been surprised when Atla said she wanted to have a spar with her, one of the other girl's desires was beating people bloody and raw and getting beaten in return, tasting the fear of death and the thrill of beating it. Kuro could only smile in response, the other girl was technically stronger than her with the Vivian and the Morgan, blades of such quality and make Kuro couldn't even turn the sword into them. On top of that there was also Atla's innate affinity for Ki, the Hakuko body, naturally stronger than most human bodies, which Kuro has been subjecting to reinforcement magic, Growth bonuses, and legendary weapon reinforcement. She was having a good time.
"It's good to see that they're so enthusiastic." The old lady had been watching the battle between them, watching the landscape getting brutally torn apart in the wake of their attacks.
"Should we ask them to tone it down a little bit?" Welt asked looking at the escalating situation and was coming to the realisation that the island was going to be destroyed shortly.
"Would they listen to you if you did?" The Old lady gave a light hearted chuckle.
Atla seemed to grasp the basic techniques for absorbing and using Ki that she had showed her with great ease, and Kuro was able to simply copy what Atla was doing just by looking at her swords. As much as it pained the old lady to admit there was nothing that she could teach the two of them, which was the opposite problem when dealing with the other heroes. At the most optimistic, it would take a month to teach them Ki manipulation, Luckily Tanya had Rishia, a once in a generation talent, and Maple and Katarina had the two Filolials, who for some reason are unusually good at manipulating Ki so training them won't be a issue provided that they're intelligent. The Old Lady's biggest concern though was Maple with her high defences she'd be the one getting the most damage from Point though that should also mean her grasp of the technique should be the fastest as well. Still the two pint sized terrors that had been tearing the island apart eventually reached a point of being battered enough that they were satisfied. And they only had to destroy about a eighth of the island in the process.
"Well that's enough for one day." Kuro stated between tired breath's while she looked up into the air and Atla nodded in agreement. "So, music next?"
While the girls were debating what act of hedonism they were going to get into next Chem arrived with a message for them.
"Lady Atla, Lady Kuro, the Bow Hero has called another meeting on the ship."
The girls knew that Tanya would be having a meeting to discuss what they have been figuring out over the past couple of days so the fact that it was called was of no surprise. The contents of the meeting though...
"I will start by making a statement of genuine concern. The four of us have been cursed." Gluttony for Maple, Lust and Envy for Kuro, Greed and Sloth for Katarina, and Wrath and Pride for Tanya. "And some of us are starting to display symptoms even outside of the use of the use of the weapons." Tanya's eyes turned to face Kuro and Maple.
"What are you looking at us like that for?" Maple asked a look of genuine confusion on her face.
"How have you been eating since the Castle Town?" Tanya asked brow in the air.
"Since the last time I was in the Castle Town? I mean fine I guess I-"
"I see I didn't make myself clear." Tanya stated as she let out a sigh. "How have you been eating since you unlocked Gluttony?" Tanya asked steering the contents of the conversation on track.
"...Little more than I did when I was on earth. I mean it only makes sense with all the extra exercise I do nowadays." Maple stated and Tanya had her first detail notched.
"Really, because the first time I saw you after the castle town you looked like you hadn't eaten in three days." Tanya stated before she used her bow to lift Maple's shirt up. "Between that food contest and you wiping out the wave you must have consumed over a hundred times your weight." Something that you would never believe looking at Maple's frame that was so skinny her ribs were starting to show. It made sense, the curse of Gluttony was making Maple insatiably hungry in the same way that Kuro was uncontrollably horny. Which led to the next situation that needed addressing... "I understand that you've been having a lot of fun with Atla lately." Tanya stated looking at the sword hero next.
"I fail to see how who I sleep with is of any concern to you." Kuro stated bluntly crossing her arms in displeasure.
"Ignoring the fact that both of you is underage? It suggests the genuine possibility that 'Lust' is affecting your mind. Not to mention that you both might have become addicted to sex." And junkies were not reliable allies, Tanya knew, historically several countries have tried and the end result has been madness and collapsing in the middle of battle.
"Firstly. I was already uncontrollably horny before I came here." Kuro stated looking like she had been insulted. "I was an approximation of a Heroic Spirit, a being whose physical being is composed entirely of magical energy, a fact that without a connection to a master to provide a steady stream of energy forced me to seek it out anyway I could. Part of my being, my mind specifically and my body more generally, was based on a humunculus who had all of the knowledge of all of the magic in the world shoved into her head as part of a elaborate ritual to eventually turn her into a magical wish granting artefact. I can't use literally 99.999% of that magic, but it does make mention of a excessive number of rituals for producing and absorbing that power through sex." The others blinked stupidly at Kuro for a moment. "I'm completely serious."
"There's a magic ritual for generating magical power using Sex?" Tanya's tone of voice was severely doubtful.
"You use to be a man Tanya. Are you seriously going to tell me that is not something that people would come up with a way to do?" Kuro shot back leaving Tanya the distinct feeling of having been insulted to her face.
"I think you both need to calm down before this conversation gets any worst." Katarina stated as she made both girls sit down.
"Yes we've gotten off track." Tanya breathed in and then out. "As you can see my temper is starting to flare more than usual, Wrath is affecting my judgement if not pride." Then as if to emphasise the point she was about to make she turned her head to Katarina. "The only one able to keep a level head right now is Katarina."
"Excuse me?" Katarina asked this situation sounding like the beginning of a downward spiral.
"Elena if you would?" Tanya asked and Katarina's loyal teacher slash attendant stepped forward. "Has Katarina been showing any symptoms of Greed or Sloth?"
"If you mean has Katarina been showing a insatiable desire for shiny objects or has been overly lazy lately then the answer is no." That wasn't to say that Katarina wasn't lazy, just that she couldn't see any changes in her behaviour after she calmed down. Even then the change in her behaviour had very little to do with Greed or Sloth to Elena and vastly more to do with Kyurie missing and possibly dead. After that was resolved Katarina went right back to being a stupid but harmless idiot as opposed to a unstable and dangerous idiot. If Katarina was to unlock any kind of curse then Elena would've banked on Gluttony.
"So for some reason Katarina is immune to the effects of the curse series?" Maple asked and Tanya nodded her head.
"I have a theory but it is only that without enough evidence. But that said..." Tanya turned to face Katarina. "You said that you awoke to your memories of your past life not too much longer before coming to this world right?" Tanya asked and Katarina nodded her head slowly.
"After I hit my head." Katarina confirmed pointing to the scar on her forehead. "I went straight from the spoiled brat who would likely grow up to be a complete psychopath into the well adjusted child you see before you." Elena coughed into her fist in disagreement.
"It's possible that you received brain damage in just the right place that the programming who ever put you into that body planted crashed, which you then rationalised as a video game." Tanya opted to ignore Elena's earlier not remark as she continued to hypothesise. "It might have rendered your mind tamper proof. If a god can't do it I can't imagine that these weapons would be able to pull it off." Which brought her back to the original point. "Katarina is the only one we can trust not to have her judgement compromised by the effects of cursed weapons." Katarina just slammed her head into the table in response to this unreasonable statement.
"You say that but..." Kuro started but paused as she tried to think of a way to say that 'her judgement isn't that reliable to begin with.'
"No no you're not wrong." Katarina stated in a pathetic tone while waving Kuro off, fully aware of what she was going to say.
"Right then." Maple mercifully decided to force a change in the subject. "The two dungeons in Shieldfreeden and Siltvelt?"
"If Shieldfreeden's easier then we'll just hit that one first." Tanya stated and the others nodded.
"I'm more concerned about Faubrey." Kuro stated and the others were forced to concede the point. "That self appointed Queen is going to be a pain in the ass to deal with, assuming that she gets any real power."
"The Queen sent her husband over to retrieve their errant daughter." Tanya stated and the others gulped audibly.
Malty had more intelligence then most people gave her credit for, she had every mirror in the city smashed less her father come in through them to find her. Trash ended up having to use the reflection of the courtyard's fountain, so he was already in a foul mood when he looked at the front gates leading into the palace proper. If his memory serves him one of his cousins attempted to take the palace through force, and in the process demolished most of the front gate in the process. Most couldn't tell that looking at it now, Marble, Shieldfreedian if he had to guess, had been shipped in and shaped into walls using earth magic, making it one solid mass instead of a work of stone layering and thus much harder to break. The wood looked like it had been carved from fine ancient oak, the windows painted in fine stain-glass made to resemble Faubrian Heroes of the past, and other decorations dotted the stone. Overall it must have all cost a fortune to put together, especially in so little time.
"Judgement X."
Malty felt the entire palace shake from the front gates being smashed down and part of the palace being destroyed.
"Who the Hell is-"
"Your Majesty!" One of the Soldiers of the 'Malty' faction ran up to the person in question and gave salute. "The Cane Hero has attacked the Palace!" Again it should be noted, but Malty was too horrified to care. She's barely gotten into her official regalia before her parents decided to come and get her, all golds and reds and crafted by the finest hands in the kingdom.
"He's on his way to the throne room!" Another soldier shouted running up to the young lady in question.
Malty had been led to a secret passage way and was soon put on her knees to crawl through while her two attendants bravely stayed behind to hold her father off.
"Thank Heroes that worked!" One of the Soldiers stated after sealing the entrance and making sure that Malty was out of ear shot. The past king might have been a psychopath but at least he was a intelligent psychopath, this lady has been here for less than two weeks as she's manage to spend half of the remaining treasury, sleep with most of the guards, and inhale three quarters of the winery and little else other than be led around by the nose by the old King's old Guard. That same old Guard was all too happy to trade in the spoiled brat in exchange for not having to rebuild the entire castle again. Her father specified that they were to send her to him using the least pleasant secret escape passageway that he had known of, if the stupid bitch had even a tenth the brains of her father or uncle she would have realised the old King wouldn't have even been able to fit into that crawl space.
When Malty did finally emerge it took some effort, the damned thing hadn't been used in such a long time that someone had piled barrels in front of the door hidden in the shed just outside of the palace. Malty would just hide here until her father gave up looking for her, which he did as soon as he slammed the door of Malty's escape tunnel shut.
"Hello Daughter." Trash stated as Malty slowly turned a horrified gaze to face him. The Would Be Queen of Faubrey left the nation being dragged along by her hair into a fountain by her father.
Review Section:
RonaldM40196867: True. She probably should, and considering what Filo's going to be doing for the next two weeks will be. I don't have and plans to off anyone at the moment. I like a sort of meta cannon behind the cursed series I've thought up, during the summoning process Medea can implant defects into the personalities of the heroes, with the exception of the shield hero whose weapon is able to protect them, that the weapon then tries to expunge resulting in the curse series, and is just as effective against the reincarnated as well.
Captain Imaginat: So long as you understand how I feel about the matter.
Nightshadegirl: She didn't seem to have a problem in the anime.