Adventure Universe, Town of Tales, several days after the return from Hekseville…
"So, Kat's heading to Nazarik first then?" Mirror Match asked Ethox as the two walked through the town, greeting other adventures as they went.
"Yeah. Ainz mentioned that any new recruits to Mythos Hearts could be sent to be part of the Sorcerer Kingdom's new adventurer's guild." Ethox mentioned. "Sort of a probationary period, whatever that means."
"Ah, that makes sense." Mirror Match said. "Though, putting Kat's new position aside, we still must get back on Zenos Road's trail. With Lucifer Crowe dead, we've lost the one lead we had."
"Yeah…it's gonna be hard to find any clues with how good they are at hiding." The Nobody sighed. "If only there was some sign…"
"To arms, all you warriors!"
The two friends looked towards the source of the voice, seeing a young man, nineteen from the looks of it, with clear blue eyes and deep blue hair, a tuft of which was seen under the red, cat-like hat he was wearing on his head. His face was marked by white face paint designed like the whiskers of a cat, and was wearing clothes reminiscent of Chinese garments, with streaks of blue scattered around it, and a nodachi strapped to a belt around his waist. His face held a look of serious determination as he addressed the citizens around him, several adventurers looking interested.
"The mad king Bohan threatens my tribe, seeking the Heavenly Sword! I call upon all those who are willing to fight to aid my clan in our battle! Honor and glory on the battlefield await you!" the boy declared.
"How much you payin', kid?" one adventurer asked.
"We do not have much to give, but-" the boy started, before the group surrounding him dispersed in disappointment. "...Greedy bastards." he sighed in frustration.
"Uh…excuse me?" Ethox called out to the boy, getting his attention.
"Hm? Ah, you look like a capable warrior." the boy said. "What is your name?"
"I'm Ethox Starcrest. My brother's the leader of the adventurer's guild here." the Nobody introduced himself. "And this here's my best friend, Mirror Match."
"A pleasure to meet you." Mirror Match said. "May we have the knowledge of your name, young one?"
"I am Feng Wing, of the tribe Tiāntáng de Púrén." The boy introduced himself to the two. "Well met, warriors."
"Same to you." Ethox said. "We couldn't help but overhear what you were saying, about your tribe being threatened. Maybe we can help?"
"Any help you can give is most welcome." Feng nodded. "With the way things have been going, I fear we are doomed without assistance."
"Then you will have it." Mirror Match assured the boy. "We aren't the kind of people who will step away when people need help."
"C'mon, follow us. We have a whole team we can bring along." Ethox motioned for the boy to follow them. "They'll be happy to help!"
"No." Tanya said bluntly, the Fatebreakers having met up to hear Feng's story and request for help.
"Hey, c'mon Major, we can't just-" Ethox started.
"Don't fall into your save everyone mindset here, Ethox." Tanya interrupted. "Why should we care about a single tribe when we have other things to worry about?"
"Do you not understand?!" Feng demanded, pounding the table with his fist. "If Bohan obtains the Heavenly Sword, he could conquer the entire world! Thousands will die!"
"Look, it's not that we don't want to help, but we're kind of on a deadline to hunt down and kill a Demon Lord." Nemo said. "We don't have time to take on a whole empire. We do know a few people who are free, so we can give them a call if you-"
"It'll take too long to get them together. We need to go." Lily argued.
"No way! We just survived a battle with a former Demon Lord, and now you wanna get us into another war? Forget it!" Kazuma denied. "Besides, I've heard that Subaru is heading back to Lugnica soon, and I am not letting him go without me. He's not going to suffer if I can help it…"
"They've got a point, Ethox." Rista said. "We went to Hekseville to find leads, and that was a bust. Finding any leads on Zenos and his Four Heavenly Kings should take top priority, especially since we're almost halfway to the deadline."
The mention of the Heavenly Kings caught Feng's attention. "Heavenly Kings, you say? I've heard that title."
"You have?" the group asked in interest slash confusion.
"Yes. From what I've heard, three individuals who hold that title have joined Bohan's army as of late." Feng explained. "They have powers no one in my clan has seen before."
"That sounds like the Heavenly Kings, alright." DJ said.
"Well then…this changes things." Tanya remarked. "If Zenos has some sort of deal with this Bohan…then that makes him our enemy."
"The Heavenly Sword? Seems you all have been busy as well." A voice said as Simon was seen approaching.
"Simon? What brings you here?" Tanya asked.
"Myself and the rest of Spirit Force stopped by to say hello, after we had just finished dealing with a crisis ourselves… however, it seems you're busy at the moment." Simon said.
"You bet we are. We're neck deep in trying to find Zenos Road and take him down before the year's up and Rista loses her god mode." Kazuma said.
"Hm? Who is this?" Feng asked.
"He's Simon Neptune, A Nephilim, which is sorta a hybrid of Angel and Demon." Ethox said. "Simon, this is Feng Wing. He wants us to go to his world and help him with a problem of his."
"The Armies of Bohan are ravaging the world I come from, looking for the Heavenly Sword. Do you know of it, what it does?" Feng asked.
"The Heavenly Sword…to think it still exists." Rime said as she appeared. "An ancient weapon wielded by the Heavenly Warrior centuries ago against the Raven King who led a massive army in an attempt to conquer the known world. But when the warrior disappeared, his sword was left behind, leading many to seek it. It fed on the blood of its victims, eventually leading to draining the lifeforce of its wielders."
"Yes, that is correct." Feng confirmed. "It is said that a male born of our tribe's leader will one day wield the blade and save our people. Alas, no male has been born yet, and with the passing of our leader's wife, it is unlikely that will ever come to pass."
"Well, it's your lucky day! We happen to be experts when it comes to defying prophecy." Ultra said.
"Alright! So let's go to Feng's world, grab the sword and…." Ethox said.
"Hold it, Ethox." Tanya said. "With this mission, we can't act before thinking."
"Shortstack's right." Seiya said. "Hey, cat-face."
"Pardon me?" Feng asked.
"Seiya gives people nicknames for the first time he meets them, don't worry about it." DJ explained.
"This sword of yours… you said an entire army was looking for it? How badly does this Bohan guy want it?" Seiya asked.
"He would slaughter my tribe down to the last child." Feng answered. "We are great warriors, but against the might of his entire army, we cannot last forever. We were on the run when I sought out aid."
"And there you go. We can't jump into this gun's blazing." Seiya said. "We do that, we'd just be throwing ourselves at a whole army."
"We have to think smart, then." Goblin Slayer said. "We'll send a small party with Feng back to his world to assist him with his problem, just like what we did when we went down below Hekseville."
"A very sound idea." Rime nodded.
"A world torn by war hm? Sounds interesting." Simon said. "Think you all could use an Umbran Intoner by your side?"
"Sure, considering we're not bringing everyone. We could use the raw power." Nemo said.
"Speaking of which…who's going and who's not?" Ethox asked. "I'll go, of course. Who's with me?"
"Is throwing yourself into a war like this really a good idea?" Vicktoriya asked.
"Says the soldier?" DJ pointed out.
"Well, if this world is really that dangerous, I just can't let our leader make a suicide run against a whole army and get himself killed before we fight Zenos. It would leave a bad mark on me as second in command of the party and the one who represents the Empire's non-aggression relationship with Mythos Hearts." Tanya piped in. "So I'll be going to make sure Ethox doesn't do anything stupid."
"I'll tag along too. Numbers won't do anything against something they can't catch." Legolia said.
"Permit me to join you in Feng's world too, Ethox." Darkness spoke up.
"Are you kidding, Darkness?! Even if this Bohan guys army is huge, there's no way you'll be able to help with your terrible aim!" Kazuma protested.
"She should go." Goblin Slayer noted. "They'll need the extra protection."
"Ugh…fine." Kazuma groaned. "But be prepared to deal with freaky."
"All part of the job, my dude." DJ countered.
"Okay, so we have Ethox, Simon, Tanya, Legolia and Darkness going to Feng's world so far. Any other volunteers?" Ultra asked.
"Well, you guys aren't heading into a warzone without somebody there to patch you up." DJ said. "One thing's for sure, Lily ain't going. This might be too much for her."
"Yeah, and Rista can only heal so much damage at a time." Ethox said. "Unless of course you call an Order and authorize use of your full power, Ris."
"Yeah, about that. I can't exactly have that authorized. Don't forget, I'm only supposed to guide Seiya to defeat Zenos, it's against the rules for Gods and Goddesses to directly assist their hero only so much. If I call for my full power to be released to heal you guys… that would get me in big trouble." Ristarte said.
"Well that sucks, who else do we know that knows their way around Healing Magic?" DJ asked.
"Uh, hello? Esteemed Goddess of Water here!" Aqua waved, annoyed at being ignored.
"Aqua? Really? You know healing skills?" Ethox asked
"No way she does, she blew all her skill points on party tricks." Kazuma said.
"Hey! Healing Magic is one of my specialties, mister!" Aqua argued. "Or did you forget who resurrected you after you got killed by the Winter Shogun?!"
"...Oh yeah, you did." Kazuma remembered. "But that only works when you're on that world, right?"
"Well…yeah. But I still have healing magic!" Aqua clarified. "I'll go and show you what a water goddess can do!"
"Are you sure you can handle a mission like this? You're volunteering to throw yourself at what I imagine could be a really massive army, y;know." DJ said.
"Well, we did survive all those days battling on Tanya's world, right? I'll be fine, just watch!" Aqua assured.
"As a fellow party member, I'll ensure she's kept safe." Darkness promised.
"Alright, it looks like we've got our team." Ethox nodded. "We're ready to go, Feng. Point us the way to your world and we'll help your tribe out in any way we can."
"I cannot truly thank you all enough for accepting my request for help. Though this company is small in numbers, I have faith that they can turn the tide against Bohan and his forces." Feng said.
"Rime, could you tell the others I'll be gone for a while?" Simon asked.
"Of course." Rime said before disappearing in a blur and a flock of black feather plumes.
"After this mission is over, I hope you and the rest of Mythos Hearts finally defeat Zenos." Simon said. "I and the rest in Spirit Force may not be able to assist you that far, but nevertheless, we'll be there to help when you need us."
"Just root for us when the time comes, Simon. And we'll make sure to call you if we need help afterwards." Ethox said.
"Yeah." Simon said as he held Bayonetta's Umbra Watch.
The Land of the Far East, Warrior Universe….
"I should not have been. It was written that twenty-three years ago, in the year of the Fire-Horse, a deity would be reborn, in the body of a mortal man. A savior, destined to unite our people and show us the way to the Promised Land. Instead, I was born from my mother's dying body… and my people wept. They said I was a portent of doom… maybe they were right."
The Horizon jumped out of the Lanes Between, coming to rest above a snow-covered land, a large fort being the only building in sight.
"There, our last bastion against Bohan's forces." Feng said. "My tribe was fleeing here when I left to get aid. They must be close."
"Alright. Let's drop down and find 'em." Ethox said.
The group headed down with Feng and into the cold weather, exposing themselves to the elements.
Aqua shivered. "It's freakin' freezing out here! Couldn't your tribe have picked a better place to hide, like a tropical resort?!"
"Bohan has expanded his rule over the entire land." Feng answered. "Anywhere else is occupied. The fort in this place is all we have left."
"That'll change soon." Legolia said, before her ears twitched. "There are a lot of people running this way."
"Feng!" a woman's voice called as a slender young woman of average height with light brown skin and long, flowing red hair that almost reached to the ground approached. She wore a thin, cream-colored and purple-accented robe covered in sakura petals that concealed her midsection, left arm and part of her waist, exposing her midriff and most of her legs. She also wore her clan's traditional sandals with socks that reached up to her calves, as well as leather wraps around both of her hands and an arm band around her right arm. She also appeared to wear a headband that allowed her to maintain her exceedingly long hair in a manner that didn't interfere with her when performing actions.
With her were a company of soldiers, and a young woman with neck length black hair with some of it in braids, white paint over her eyes, a cat ear shaped hat, a sleeveless green tunic, and a strange looking weapon strapped to her back.
"Nariko, Kai, thank goodness." Feng said. "It seems I wasn't too late."
"Where on earth did you venture off to? Bohan has nearly cornered us." the woman named Nariko demanded.
"I apologize, but I felt it was necessary to get help." Feng explained. "And I succeeded. These warriors have agreed to help us."
"Hi!" Ethox waved to the newcomers. "We're the Fatebreakers! Nice to meet you!"
"Strange people…" the girl, who was more than likely Kai, said while staring at the group.
Nariko looked at the company Feng brought with him, looking them all over with little impressing her.
"These people don't look like warriors. Would the one who introduced themselves speak so casually to those he doesn't trust?" the woman asked.
"It's his nature." Tanya spoke up. "We have our own reasons for going after Bohan. Trust that, if nothing else."
"They seek the Heavenly Kings that have recently allied themselves with Bohan." Feng clarified. "These people will turn the tide, I'm sure of it."
"...In any case, we have no time to quarrel." Nariko aquiested. "We've got to get to the fort, NOW!"
The group joined up with the fleeing tribe as they made their way through the snow and soon reached the fort.
"We'll be trapped like rats in here!" Nariko said to an older man with pieces of armor on his body.
"Even rats can become tigers when trapped!" The older man retorted with a laugh.
"And tigers make great trophies when skinned." Nariko argued before the older man slammed the ground with the bottom of his spear.
"Enough! Climb the walls and keep watch!" the older man ordered. "And take those other worlders Feng brought back with you. Keep them in line."
"As you command, father!" Nariko said as she took the group with her.
"What are you waiting for? Barricade the doors!" the man called to one of the tribesmen.
"Yes, Master Shen!" the tribesman complied.
"I take it that guy is your tribe's chief, and you're his daughter." Legolia said to Nariko. "Trouble with your dad?"
"It's not important." Nariko said as she looked over the wall and saw the enemy forces massing ahead, some of them carrying ladders. "Oh, damn it all… They're scaling the walls!" she called down to the rest of her tribe.
"Here we go…" Ethox said, summoning Way to the East as the enemy soldiers began to climb up the walls. "We'd better get down to the others, they'll need help!"
"At least it won't be boring." Simon smirked before leaping down and impaling one of the soldiers with Hypnos before swiping it to the side as blood splattered the ground as he stood up and looked at the soldiers beginning to surround him as he smirked.
"Wait for us, Simon!" Ethox said as the Fatebreakers leapt down to join the fight.
"Listen up! We have business with your master, and you're getting in our way." Tanya said as she calmly drew out her knife. "So you're all going to have to die."
The soldiers looked at the little girl, then to each other, and laughed. "Did you hear that? The child said-" one of them said before Tanya leapt up and sliced his throat open mid sentence.
"Next?" Tanya asked as the offending soldier died.
"She did warn you. Now, does anyone else want to step up and die?" Simon asked, showing half of his masquerade form.
With this question, the fight began in earnest!
"That certainly riled them up!" Ethox said, guarding against a soldier's blade before he de-summoned his Keyblade, sidestepped, resummoned it, and slashed the soldier down in one fluid motion.
Legolia seemed to dance across the fort's center, dodging the sword swipes sent at her by the enemy until she saw a group of them standing together. "I've got just the arrow for them." she said, pulling out an Insect Arrow and firing it at the group, hitting the lead soldier in the forehead. The others prepared to charge, until they saw a swarm of bees emerge from the arrow's shaft and begin to sting them furiously. "Not as effective in the cold…huh, I'll have to remember that."
Simon pulled out Tartarus and formed it into a door in front of him. "Un! Deux! Trois!" he said, popping out from left to right and above before popping through the door, masqueraded with the Umbran Clock Tower. "Welcome to the happy puppet show!" he said before he began decimating the soldiers around him while laughing maniacally.
"Simon sure has gotten…. A lot stronger, huh?" Ethox asked nervously.
"Not the word I would use…" Legolia remarked.
"As long as he's holding his own, he's fine." Tanya said. "Darkness, Aqua, what's your status?"
"This! Was! A! Bad! Idea!" Aqua said as she was avoiding the soldier's attacks as best she could, clutching her Pressurized Water Sword in her shaking hands. "HELP!"
"Hit me harder, you fiends!" Darkness demanded, as she was surrounded by exhausted soldiers.
"She's not human…'' one of the enemy soldiers panted.
"...They're fine." Tanya decided.
Pretty soon, the group had cleared out the soldiers from the fort.
"We still stand. The gods be praised!" one of the tribesmen said in relief.
"The fight may be ours, but the battle has only begun. Stand strong, clansmen!" Feng motivated the others.
"He's right. There's no way they'd only send one wave." Tanya agreed. "Everyone gather their strength, we don't have very long."
Nariko panted before a hand touched her shoulder as she turned to see Shen looking at her.
"Shen… He has always been my tutor first…and my father second. My accursed birth and the death of my mother, were hard for him. I fear that part of him can never truly forgive me for that."
Child and parent said nothing to each other, Shen simply walking away.
"There, look…another wave approaching!" a clansman called out from the back wall.
"Then we shall greet them with steel!" Feng declared, drawing his nodachi. "Prepare yourselves!"
The defenders formed up as the soldiers climbed up from the wall and attacked. Feng led the charge, his sword fighting technique appearing like a dance as he made his way through the enemy, cutting down the opposition.
"Man, these guys just don't let up! How many soldiers does Bohan have?" Ethox asked, whacking soldiers with his Keyblade.
"His forces are beyond measure." Nariko said as she sliced, blocked, and countered the enemy troops coming her way.
"Impressive skills." Simon said, stabbing and slicing through enemies with Thrace. "Fall!" he called, masquerading with Diomedes and charging before flash stepping as he sliced through more troops.
It wasn't long before the second wave was defeated and the soldiers quit for the day. Night soon fell as the group was given time to rest with Nariko, Shen and the rest of his tribe, Feng feeling happy for himself.
"Haha! I told you all! It was well worth the risk for me to venture beyond our borders to find help, and I have brought back just what we need to repel Bohan's forces. There is still hope for us yet!"
"Is there?" a tribesman spoke up. "You know why this is happening, don't you Feng?"
"Now is not the time! We cannot afford to fight amongst ourselves!" another tribesman spoke up.
"Let him speak." Shen said.
"Feng, you and all among our people know as well as I do! We all know who brought this curse down upon us!" the first tribesman said as he approached Nariko who grabbed him by the neck.
"I am no curse!" Nariko said in anger.
"Enough!" Shen intervened. "This war is of one person's making. That much is true. But that person is not Nariko. This…"
"Come on Shen, how long have we known each other? Stop hiding from the truth!" the first tribesman said.
"...is King Bohan's war. Even as an arrogant young Prince he was capable of cruelty beyond measure. And now he commands an entire army! We fight together, or we die alone. And that means all of us." Shen insisted.
The moment was silent before Legolia's ears twitched as she heard the snap of a tree branch before anyone else did.
"We've got company." Legolia warned.
"Asassins approaching from the forest! You have good ears, archer." Shen said, turning to Kai. "Kai! Kai, Listen to me Kai. I want you to climb the trees alongside this otherworldly archer and shoot at any soldiers the both of you can see. Can you do that for me?"
"Twing twang?" Kai asked as Shen nodded his head. "Is it playtime? Yes!"
Kai and Legolia headed off to the treetops as everyone else prepared for battle, but Nariko seemed to have other ideas, as Shen noticed.
"Nariko. Where do you think you are going?" Shen asked as Nariko simply looked at him before she continued following after Kai and Legolia.
Kai and Legolia soon found a good spot to snipe incoming Bohanian soldiers. Legolia drew her bow, but Kai's preferred weapon of choice was an unusual crossbow at least twice her size.
"Shh! You've had your play time. It's Kai's turn now!" Kai said as she took aim.
"Uh… are you talking to me?" Legolia asked, a bit weirded out by how Kai was talking.
Kai didn't respond, merely pointing her crossbow at the approaching soldiers and, with a talent her age didn't show, sniped down the approaching soldiers.
"...Huh. Not bad." Legolia complimented the young girl.
Legolia then kept up with Kai, shooting down plenty of soldiers herself. Though they didn't say it, it was almost like they were competing with each other. Soon enough, they had cleared up the remaining soldiers.
Nariko dropped her sword to the ground as Kai ran up to her as Nariko held her up in a hug and spun themselves around as they laughed before stopping as she let go of Kai and looked out to the forest. "You may collect the bodies of your men and give them a dignified burial!" she called out.
As the two gazed out into the night, the Fatebreakers watched as the army departed. Despite this victory, they knew that things was only getting started.