Chapter 21: Another Day, Another Fight

It is morning in the Filolial Sanctuary as Arthur cooks breakfast. Last night, Arthur told Fitoria the truth about the world they live in and some of the things about everything being fictional. He did try to calm her down to make sure she doesn't go nuts and explaining the multiverse...which is WAY over her head, but she did calm down.

Arthur sighs, "It was a good experiment, but should I tell the others about it? Judging by her face and demeanor-"

"Arthur?" Raphtalia approach with small box full of bowls. "Is something wrong?"

Arthur glances away, "Nothing. I'm fine."

Then everyone gets served a bowl of his stew made from the dragon.

Raphtalia speaks to the princess, "The Filolials really seem to like you, huh?"

"Do you think so?" Melty replies with a smile.

Yet Fitoria approaches at the table. The four stopped eating and wonder what is gonna happen. Filo is too busy stuffing her face. Gwen and Arthur have a good idea what is gonna happen.

Fitoria raises her hand close to Melty, "Liberation. Wind prison."

Her hand glows blue right before the table and food get blown away and Melty becomes trap in a magical prison made of glowing blue air.

"Here we go." Arthur says as he expects this would happen.

Melty gets scared, "W-what's happening to me?!" She tries to touch it but ended-up getting a small cut on her finger.

Filo gets mad at Fitoria, "She's my friend! What are you doing to her!?"

"I'm sorry." she speaks as she looks at Melty, "But I'm gonna have to claim you as my hostage."

"Crap" Gwen feigns worrying.

"Hostage!?" Raphtalia speaks and is actually worried, "But why!?"

"She wants to fight against Filo in her human form." Arthur replies. Everyone looks at him as Fitoria and Melty are on top of some platform, "Fine. I'll agree to work alongside with the others. Yet you want to test Filo to see if she would be a worthy successor. Correct?"

Fitoria let out a small smile, "Guess everything you told me is true then."

"Huh?!" Melty is confused as she looks at both Arthur and Fitoria, "What is true!?"

"Raphtalia?" Arthur says to the raccoon girl. "Don't interfere with this fight. This is just between Filo and Fitoria, got it?" Arthur is giving Raphtalia a serious look in his eyes.

Raphtalia gulps a little out of nervousness. Seeing Arthur being serious like he is means that she has to trust him.

"Okay." she replies, "I'll stay out."

Gwen walks away, "Welp, I'm gonna find out where out food blew away to. Let me know how it goes."

Filo points at herself, "But why me?!"

Fitoria replies, "You have been chosen to be a candidate. In order to do so, you must prove that you are stronger."

"Are you serious?!" Melty looks at Fitoria, "But you cannot just-"

"MELTY!" Arthur shouts.

Melty looks at at Arthur and Arthur shakes his head as if to signal her not to interject.

Filo pulls out her gloves as she smiles, "So if I bet you in this form, you will let Melty go?"

Fitoria nods before jumping down.

"Then you got yourself a duel." Filo seems pretty confident, or worse arrogant.

"You need to only land three strikes in order to win. Let's begin."

Fitoria sets up a dome-shaped barrier around them as Arthur, Raphtalia and Gwen are on the platform next to Melty. Gwen only recovered a single loaf of bread and some of the fruit that scattered. Raphtalia is holding an apple and looks worried along with Melty.

"Don't worry." Arthur says to Raphtalia and Melty as he holds a pear, "With the martial arts I've been training Filo with, this will be easy."

Gwen swallows a grape, "Yeah. But she needs to learn the difference between confidence and arrogance."

Melty looks at Gwen and Arthur, "Martial arts?"

We flashback many weeks ago before the Wave of Calamity with the Souleater monster and ship to a meadow where Filo and Arthur were at. Arthur and Filo look at each other while in the grassy meadow.

"Alright, Filo, time to teach you about martial arts."

Filo looks confuse, "Martial...arts?"

Arthur smiles, "Right. You see, there will be a situation where you cannot use your bird form and have to fight in your humanoid form. So I'm gonna have to teach you hand-to-hand combat. You're already strong, yet practice makes perfect. You got it?"

"Uuuuuhhhh..."

Arthur gives a disappointed sigh, "Just follow my instructions."

Back in present time, Filo uses her wind magic to make herself faster with the spell High Quick. She speeds straight towards Fitoria yet Fitoria manages to dodge out of the way. Filo tries to hit her with her elbow yet Fitoria dodges again and flew a few feet away.

"Too slow."

Then she grabs Filo and tosses her into the air. Filo stopped by flying yet Fitoria disappeared.

Raphtalia shouts, "Filo, behind you!"

Fitoria appeared from behind and tries to hit Filo with a blow, but Filo kicks Fitoria's arm, much to her surprise. Then Filo throws a punch at Fitoria's face. She dodges out of the way, but the punch to the face was a ruse as Filo punches her in the gut. That's strike one.

Fitoria floats down with one hand on her belly, "What type of move was that?"

Filo then tries to do an air kick yet Fitoria dodges.

Arthur laughs, "That's my girl! I taught her some of those moves!"

Filo then casts a spell, "As source of my power I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature, and use a giant whirlwind to blow my target away!" A magic circle that is glowing green appears under her as she unleashes her spell, "Go zweit tornado!"

Filo unleashes a tornado at Fitoria, yet Fitoria looks disappointed.

"I'm afraid that won't be enough to win this fight." Fitoria raises her hand at the incoming tornado, "Anti-zweit tornado!"

The spell she uses did cancel out the spell, but Filo launched herself and headbutts right into Fitoria's chest. Filo is using some unorthodox fighting skills to take down Fitoria. By the way, strike two.

"What kind of martial arts have you been teaching her?" Gwen asks.

"Oh just some of my own styles that I got from various animes." Arthur replies, "Mostly some stuff from that old Kenichi anime. Stuff like ancient jujutsu, muay thai, ninjutsu, karate and Chinese kenpo."

Gwen looks at Arthur with a dirty look, "Seriously? You get all your martial arts move from an anime?"

"Plus some games. It works...to some extent. It looks like Filo is gonna win in no time."

Raphtalia cheers, "You can do it, Filo!"

Filo unleashes a flurry of barrages as she shouts, "Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken!"

Fitoria dodges all the attacks as quickly as she can, but Filo seems to be moving faster and faster.

Gwen goes, "Oh yeah! I forgot about that particular anime." She is referring to Ranma 1/2. "But that is like an old 1990's anime. Hard to believe we got something like that."

'How could this be!?' Fitoria thinks to herself while dodging, 'I thought she would be weak, but it seems she is stronger in her humanoid form than her Filolial form. The more we fight, the stronger and faster she becomes. Wait. What did Arthur say about training?'

Filo stops unexpectedly as she casts a spell on the ground, "Zweit tornado!"

A tornado hits the ground and stirs up all the dust and dirt. Fitoria looks up, but Filo isn't up there. Filo is behind her. When she turns around, Filo tries to land a kick to the head, but Fitoria manages to dodge it. Yet Filo manages to slap Fitoria on the face. Strike three, Filo wins!

Melty cheers, "She won!"

Raphtalia jumps up, "Way to go, Filo!"

Gwen claps her hands in applause.

Arthur claps as well, "Excellent work, Filo!"

Filo gives a thumbs-up and smiles at her victory.

The barrier disappears as Fitoria rubs the right side of her cheek. She was taken by surprise at what Filo can do despite her not being able to take on the Tyrant Dragon Rex. Yet she is happy that she has found a worthy successor.

Fitoria speaks to Filo, "You are stronger than I thought. You have earn Melty's freedom. To be honest, you caught me off guard more than once and I rarely get caught off guard."

Melty runs up to Filo and hugs her while crying, "You did it!"

Arthur and the others approach with Filo looking at Arthur, "Did you see me, Big Bro? I won. Did you see?"

"Sure did. And that deserves an A minus."

"Huh?! What does that mean?"

Gwen and Arthur laugh.

Soon after, Fitoria healed up all of Filo's wounds and repaired her clothes with magic.

"I'm quite glad you pass the trial."

"And I do apologize for spoiling what it is." Arthur rubs the back of his head.

"You should be ashamed." Fitoria says, "But she has earn it."

A tiara appears from her right hand via magic. It is silvery with rubies, sapphires and white diamonds with one big ruby in a form of a drop.

"Ooo, what's that?" Filo asks while looking at the pretty tiara.

"Your reward. To honor you for overcoming my trial and being my successor. Please lower your head."

Filo kneels down to accept the tiara. Once Fitoria puts it on, the Filolials cheer for Filo.

"Filo, I am delighted to about appointing you as my successor."

"Successor?"

"As in the next Queen of the Filolials." Gwen tells.

"Congratulations, Filo!" Melty congratulates the newly appointed queen.

"Huuuuuhhhh?" Filo is a bit more confused.

In a moment, the tiara started to glow in a white light before disappearing. However, Filo ended-up with a cowlick on her head.

"Uh, what?" Filo looks at her head.

"I guess that's the symbol of Filolial royalty." Raphtalia states while looking at the cowlick.

Gwen rolls on the ground laughing. She knew it was coming, but couldn't help it.

"It's adorable!" Melty finds it cute.

When Filo touches it, she doesn't like it. "Get this weird thing off my head!" She pulls it off, but another one grew in its place.

"Look, it grew back!"

Gwen continues to laugh.

"Whyy-hy-hyyy!?" Filo cries.

"And it always will." Fitoria speaks, "So you have to get used to it if I were you. As you get older and gain strength, you will grow more of them."

"Does that mean I'm gonna look like you?" Filo asks before pouting.

Arthur looks away and snickers.

When Filo sees Arthur snickering, she yells out, "STOOOOOOOP!"

Not long after, Melty rides on top of Fitoria's head as a way to apologize for holding her hostage. Fitoria takes Melty on a stroll in her Filolial form as Melty is amazed.

"This is amazing!" Melty is having the time of her life, "It's all I ever wanted!"

"Just be careful up there!" Arthur says from the ground.

Filo gets jealous as she scoffs, "I hope I'll get to be gigantic like that."

Gwen chuckles at Filo, "I wonder how many cowlicks you'll get when that happens."

Filo covers her head and cries, "Nooo-haa-haa-ooo!"

"Gwen, stop teasing her." Raphtalia says to Gwen, "She may never let you ride her when she does."

Then Melty's joyride is done and she enjoyed it and everyone is having lunch as they sit at the picnic table.

Melty takes a breath of satisfaction, "That was so much fun!"

"I realized that your day has only just begun," Fitoria speaks, "but why don't you rest a while longer before you leave?"

"Huh?" Melty looks at Fitoria, "Shouldn't we...?" She looks at Arthur to see if he approves.

Arthur just shrugs and smiles, "Sure. Why not? It would be rude not to accept."

Melty's eyes are gleaming, "Really?!"

"Besides, it's a time for celebrating. Allow us to show you a little hospitality."

Many of the Filolials cheer and seem happy.

"Huh?" Filo looks at Fitoria, "Wait a second! Are you trying to throw a new queen party for me on top of everything?" A yellow Filolial approaches Filo yet she seems to be uncomfortable, "Stop making decisions for me!"

"Congratulations, Filo." Melty then gets taken by a blue Filolial.

Raphtalia laughs, but is taken by one of the yellow Filolials.

Gwen waves, "Have fun!" but a dark pinkish colored Filolial takes her, "What the-?!"

All four of them are on the Filolials' backs as they are about to go on a ride.

"Do I have to do this too?!" Raphtalia asks.

The blue Filolial Melty is on started to make some loud screeching noise right before running off...along with everyone else as they start screaming.

Arthur chuckles as he watches.

Later that night, a celebration is held over a bonfire and Filo is sitting on a stone throne. There was dancing, feasting, and Arthur getting snuggled by the Filolials as an appreciation for cooking for them. The celebration is full of laughter and merriment...and feathers. Arthur gets covered in a lot of feathers but he laughs because it is a good time. Yet Arthur started to remember the merriment he had with his family when they were alive. They celebrated almost every holiday they did with what little they have such as stale candy for Halloween and reused costumes, nitrogen-frozen turkey dinners for Thanksgiving, homemade peppermint candy canes and hand-me-down gifts for Christmas, reused confetti and failed recipes for New Year's and much more. He enjoyed those moments and is enjoying the new one now.

When the half-moon is high in the sky, everyone is asleep after so much celebrating. Yet Arthur is sitting on a stone staircase as he looks up at the sky. He looks at the stars and the moon and how it reminds him of the starlight sky back home. Even though they are positioned differently, it feels like home.

"Feeling home sick?" Nephalem asks.

"A little." Arthur replies.

"Even though your homeworld is an apocalyptic dump, there is still beauty to admire. Like the night sky above."

Arthur smirks, "You can say that again."

"You know, I used to enjoy skies like this back when I had a body. No matter what world and no matter how many moons it has, the night sky is always beautiful. Like an ocean of stars and the moons are the islands."

"Desolate islands."

They both chuckle at that.

"Say, Nephalem?"

"Yeah?"

"Do ever wonder if there is an afterlife for gods?"

"What brought this up?"

"I mean, think about it. There are times when gods have to meet their end, like mortals. And like mortals, there is an afterlife they go to. Do you ever wonder there is an afterlife for gods? Plus like you said." He looks at his shield, "Your body was destroyed, but not your soul. So, there has to be one."

"Huh. I never thought of something like that. That is an interesting philosophical question."

"Then there must be a hell for gods too. Which I hope that Medea gets tortured for all of eternity."

"I'm not entirely sure that works. I mean, if there is a god that controls hell, then would that god be sent to whatever domain the god of the underworld is at?"

"Possibly. Or is there an actual hell for gods and there are gods of gods?"

"You are one interesting and philosophical individual."

Arthur does a meh shrug a little, "Yeah, but I'm just curious. Is it okay for all sentient life to be curious about how metaphysics work?"

"Hmm... You know what, just go to bed. All this deep philosophy stuff is making my head hurt and I no longer have one."

"Fine. Goodnight."

"Goodnight ya philosophical mutant."

Arthur gets up and heads to bed, 'Although, I wonder why Medea is gathering all the magic in all the worlds to reach a new level of godhood.'

"I can still hear your thoughts, you know? Just go to bed."

Meanwhile, at some point, Itsuki and Ren and their parties head over towards some sort of mountain or gigantic stone out in the wilderness with Itsuki looking at a piece of paper.

"This is the place." Itsuki says.

Ahead of them is a cave. A cave that is supposed to be hiding the Three Heroes Church's secret.

Ren says to the two parties, "Itsuki and I are gonna head in. If Arthur is right about it being a trap, then we need to get out of the area. Got it?"

They all nod in agreement.

Both Itsuki and Ren head in with Ren holding the lantern that lights the way until they came across a chamber with a skylight and some sort of tomb.

"Here's where the Four Cardinal Weapons." Ren states.

"Yeah, there's no doubt about it."

The two look over at the stone coffin after approaching it.

Ren opens it up and find it empty. With that realization, he gasps, "WE NEED TO MOVE!"

Both Ren and Itsuki ran out of the cave and just in time. Because it is a trap.

Itsuki says to the parties, "EVERYONE TAKE COVER!"

As everyone got out of the way, a huge flash of light hits the mountain that went off like an atomic bomb as a large mushroom cloud appeared over the crater.

AN: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Before I forget anything while working at my new job: Happy Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year since holidays are the busiest for office work. I got a new job at America First and planning to leave my old job soon. Anyway, stay safe and healthy. Later!