Author's Note: Okay so Family's on vacation right now, I have to go work on Stellar Effect now. Read, Review Favourite and Enjoy!
Chapter 108: The Dragon of Wallachia
Ethanobolt had mixed opinions about the past several days. On the one hand, the entire home of his tribe had been destroyed utterly, the waves had peaked to the point that there was no longer any down time between them and instead just raining down one after another all over the world. On the other hand...
"There really isn't any good news is there?" The Librarian Rabbit in question had dark circles under his eyes, a by-product of the great deal of stress that he had been under for several days.
On the deck of his weapon, the Vassal Boat, was one of the Vassal Heroes of the other world, Rishia the Projectile Hero to be precise, her weapon was releasing a constant stream of lightning as she fried wave bosses out of the sky one after another all over the world. Her weapons had already gone through various upgrades, combining together weapons to bypass magic, space and time so that she could hit targets across the entire world as well as upgrading sensory skills such as 'Hawk Eye' that allowed her to see all over the world. Rishia's intention was to use the upgraded Hawk-eye to find all of the other heroes in the world, but every time she decided on one group they moved, met up with the others, and arrived at another place. Frustrated she instead changed targets to track down one of their non-heroic companions instead. It took them a little while to realise that they had been going around in circles, hence Rishia and Ethanobolt were arriving at this ominous location instead.
"Looks like you missed one." Ethanobolt stated as he swallowed his spit, his eyes nearly popping out of his head at what he saw. It looked like a battle field, or a hunter's trophy hall, hundreds of bodies had been mounted on the end of spikes and drained of blood which was used to spew curses around the area, and that wasn't even the worst part. "I was wondering why no one was following us." Ethanobolt stated looking at one of the dried out corpses that had been mounted on the end of the stakes, one that was still moving and struggling to break free. "Looks like he intercepted them." That was the conclusion he had reached, the other possibility, that this was the work of an enemy, was much more terrifying.
"Is this the work of a Hero from Kuro's world?" Rishia asked looking confused at the ominous scenery.
Kuro was a hybrid of a Heroic Spirit, a figure taken from her world's history and given a new body, and a person of the modern era who acted as the template of that person's body, until the battle with the Phoenix Kuro was the only one that was like this, but now there's three. "What in weapon's name did Kuro do to Kyurie?" Rishia asked looking like she was on the verge of screaming. The two naturally started to go through the territory but they couldn't get very far, the sheer amount of Miasma on the air was like trying to inhale the fumes from Maple's poison combo. Rishia had Maple's shields turned into Frisbee's so she had pretty strong poison resistance, but this was nothing like this. Hence the two of them were forced back out of the Stake field.
"Are they even going to be able to use this area after this?" Rishia asked looking at the cursed territory like it was a field of death, which it was.
"Well, there's already protocols in place for cleaning up after Heroes who go on a rampage with the cursed series." Ethanobolt stated as he looked at the field before him. "But what do we do? Those take place after the Hero in question has calmed down."
"Question. Are flying ships common in this world?" Rishia asked while she was looking up in the air.
"Obviously. What do you think we've been flying around on all this time?" Ethanobolt asked looking at Rishia like she was stupid.
"Next question: Is that friendly?" Rishia pointed her finger into the sky where she saw another ship flying towards them, with the picture of a club on its sail.
"It might not be." The look on Ethanobolt's face said that they weren't going to like this.
While chasing around Kyurie the two heroes passed through blunt instrument territory several times, thus it was only natural that they would come to investigate what they were doing. Rishia was put back to work on her world wide anti-monster lightning grid thus resuming insta-killing every wave before it could appear.
"Heroic Spirits?" Jade had arrived at the same sight as the others and was just shaking her head.
"What do you make of this?" While Jade was out hunting reincarnated she had picked up an extra passenger in the form of a mad doctor turned hero.
"I did the medical checkups for all the Heroes." Rat explained crossing her arms. "Kuro is built differently than the others but that has nothing to do with her being made out of magic and vastly more to do with how many times she's reinforced her body. She's as flesh and blood as you or I but that apparently has something to do with the hero summoning and recreating her body." Rat explained as she shrugged her shoulders. "If Kuro's managed to take the same steps and did the same thing with Atla and Kyurie then sure."
"Atla and Kyurie?" Jade asked while she looked at the spikes coming out of the ground, where writhing Reincarnated were mounted like common trophy animals.
"For one thing none of us are getting anything done until we get through that field." Rat explained looking at the field of curses, and then looking up at Rishia who was busy frying the wave monsters out of existence. "I have an idea, but that little girl up there is probably the only one who can do it. We'll also need the help of the other Heroes to pull it off too."
A few short moments later everyone was on the ship again and used the Return Dragon vein to travel to Scythe country where the other Heroes had been gathered together. As a start Jade had been informed about how the weapons can copy other weapons, Rat turned her whip into a flail for her copy, after that was Fohl's gauntlets, a Seal Hunting club from Gol, a bejeweled knuckle duster from Myne, a shikai training sword from Kuro, a Gutentag club from Katarina, and a sling shot firing steel balls from Tanya. Needless to say Jade received quite the harvest, and so did the other Heroes, which was a good thing as now it was time to implement phase two.
"I just know that stupid knife is going to blame me again." Kuro stated as she was already making her way to the Dragon's hourglass.
"The rest of us need to be in position when that 'stupid knife' crashes again." Tanya stated as she followed after Kuro. "Right now Rishia is the proverbial little boy sticking his fingers in the crack of the dam. When she leaves we're going to have a flood of monsters to deal with."
"Okay then we better go where we can tackle the most monsters as possible." Katarina stated as she looked at a map. Soon the three Heroes of the other world left, and Rat called down to Rishia. "So what's your plan to cut through that field of curses that Kyurie set up?" Rishia asked looking at Rat suspiciously.
"Quite simple: we need a weapon equipped with defensive skills and upgrade it to the point where it can protect us from that miasma. This is the easiest way to do so."
"What exactly is 'this?'" Suddenly Rishia reflexively caught four weapons that had been thrown at her.
'Weapon Copy Activated: Hunting Javlin Unlocked'
'Weapon Copy Activated: Iron Throwing Ball Unlocked'
'Weapon Copy Activated: Throwing Ofuda Unlocked'
'Weapon Copy Activated: Bejewelled Bomb Unlocked'
Like that, four bombs of Weapon unlocks were set off in Rishia's Vision.
"Fuu..." Already Rishia's H.U.D. was crashing. If it was just the mere thousands of weapons that the Heroes of this world had been limited to a few days ago it wouldn't nearly be so bad but as it stands, each of them have multiple unlocks of the other Heroes weapons cross pollination. And now it was spreading out to massive, biblical proportions. "I am so dead."
Finally the lightning stopped. Miagi would have preferred that it stopped before almost all of his subordinates had been staked but he'd take what he could get. This field was full of cursed power but he had nothing to fear from that thanks to Medea's blessings. For now he had to go track down the bastard that was responsible for this abattoir of a situation and emphasise to them the gravity of what they've done. It was growing darker the further into the field of curses he traveled, the melody of organ music reaching his ears as he zeroed in on the one who was responsible, sitting in front of an organ piano.
"You needn't worry about the piano music." The creature spoke with a thick European accent as if he was playing into every vampire stereotype he could find. Sadly his blonde hair and child like stature meant that he failed to match the monster of legend. "I don't know this world's magic system but even if I did I needn't rely on something so cheap and pathetic to defeat the likes of you." This was just the Vampire setting the right mood for the show, nothing more.
"You wound me, you cheap Dracula rip off." The organ player paused in his music, as if what Miagi had said struck a chord, but only for a moment before he returned to his music. "Music is my weapon after all. Shall I give you a crash course in how it functions cretin?"
"So. I find that my legend once again exceeds me even in another world." The creature at the Organ stated looking up at the sky, darkened by magic as black as the sky itself. "Vexing beyond belief."
Miagi burst out laughing at that.
"You... actually think... that you're Dracula!?" Miagi wiped a tear from his eyes. The Music paused again, longer, the self professed Dracula looked at the Horizon, where he could see the final few rays of dusk.
"I am Vlad Tepes III, The Little Dragon of Wallachia." The self professed Dragon of Wallachia stated as he watched the last of the sun disappear.
Then Miagi burst out laughing again.
"Oh I have dealt with some truly delusional people in my time here but you absolutely take the cake!" Saying that the self professed hero armed himself with his weapon, a violin. "But you've caused me a great deal of trouble you delusional punk!" The music stopped, and this time the one playing it did not restart. "But now I have to-"
"Call me a fake, one. More. Time." The self professed Vlad Tepes instructed, steel in his voice.
"Sorry I have no time to wait for the sun to come-" A sonic boom was let out as Miagi was sent flying, it took him a few moments to process the fact that he had been punched in his face, and fewer to process the back of his head coming into contact with a hand again, this time his head trapped in a iron grip. "You are right about one thing, in life I was not a vampire." The man threw off his cloak, revealing a thin body full of wiry muscle, and two large bat like wings. "I can only assume that this form is a product of your wild and rampant imagination!"
Vlad Tepes should be remembered as a great hero who defended his home from overwhelming odds and wiped out corruption from all ranks of his country. He should be spoken about in the same honour and reverie as Heracles is in Greece and King Arthur is in England. Instead he spent the last decade of his life in a cage, forever remembered as a blood crazed monster, humiliated beyond compare. But the humiliation went even further than that, every single iteration of the legend of 'Dracula' has him take the role of the bloody monster, even the noblest iterations he has experienced still has him as a mere animal that drinks the blood of the innocent to sustain his youth, immortality and sanity, or a complete joke. Given the choice he would personally waltz into the nursery of the accursed Bram Stoker and put a stake through his heart before he ever had the chance to write down a single syllable. Horror compounded upon horror he now learned that the Legend of Dracula even extended into other worlds, and he still wasn't sure of how he got here. Even worst than that, this was possibly the most severe he's ever been afflicted with Bram Stokers curse, it seems that he had been equipped with knowledge of how every spell ever cast by Dracula in his every media appearance had been shoved into his head. As soon as he found whoever it was that summoned him this time around he would be giving them a piece of his mind. He preferred the Lancer incarnation of himself, not to sink even deeper into the Dracula Mythos that blighted his very existence. For now though there was this matter to deal with.
"You're familiar with the effects of a field of curses correct?" Miagi had a look of 'oh shit' on his features. "It might've been a different matter when my powers were still weakened by the sun." The clouds above cleared up revealing the moon and the numerous shining stars up in the sky. "But you are in my domain now!" The muscles of the monster swelled as he used a wing that would normally be used to support his weight in mid-air and tossed Miagi around like a rag-doll, repeatedly slamming him face first into the ground before tossing him away. "Don't worry, seeing where Theatrics got me made me learn my lesson well. I'll simply mount you on the end of one of my stakes where you won't be able to heal and your soul won't be able to get away to create anymore trouble for me." Miagi healed quickly, shaking his head as he got up to his feet.
"Don't underestimate a Hero you monster!" Miagi snapped as he started to play his instrument. Harsh notes, poor tempo, too many shots fired off at once, he gives it a C.
"You are no more a Hero than I am little creature." As much as it pained him to admit it, there was nothing heroic about this situation at all. "We're simply two monsters here killing each other." As he explained that the sky opened up, monsters of the wave dropped down, and landed on the spikes below. "The waves have restarted then?" A pause. "Why do I know what's going on here?" Dracula looked at Miyagi, glared really. "It would appear that theatrics are necessary after all." Miagi released a song like the Choir at a church. Holy light came down from the sky cutting through the various curses, and then died and sputtered out, and then Miagi started to scream. "Anti-curse power?" He walked forward and glared down at struggling musician. "That might work better if the one casting it wasn't a cursed abomination like myself." He explained as he picked Miagi up by his head. "If it's of any comfort: this wounds me far more than it hurts you." He pulled Miagi in close and sunk his fangs where into Miagi's neck connected to his shoulder. The wound was torn open, Miagi screamed, and the contents of his heart and mind flooded Dracula's senses, filling him with knowledge. A goddess who meant to absorb this world's power, her 'updates' with the waves, and the primary target of destruction. So that's what it was eh? A spike grew out of the ground beneath them and went through Miagi, he looked down at the vassal weapon with contempt and took a pink jewel between his fingers and shattered it. The weapon flew out of the fool's hands and into his. And then he was greeted by the sound of clapping. "Another 'Hero.'" The creature turned around to face Raccoon, the Hero of the Katana as she clapped at him, congratulating him for his new promotion. "Why am I not surprised?"
"You'd have more, but the layer of Cursed Miasma you've built up around you is so thick that not even Katarina can get to you safely, and she's supposed to be immune." Just because the Curse doesn't Affect Katarina doesn't change it from affecting everything around her instead.
"Katarina?" Why does that name sound so familiar?
"She's been worried about you Kyurie. Some of her skeletons found this place before but you staked them like everything else."
"Kyurie?" Another name that he recognises but he can't remember why?
"If you want answers then you're going to have to come with me." Raccoon stated as she turned around to leave. "Oh and lose the cheap Chunibou fashion would you?" Kyurie shrugged of his mantle and at once the field of stakes and curses left, the souls within the writhing bodies of his victims yanked out and stored inside of the Musical instrument.
He was two beings as one, Vlad Tepes the III the Human and Dracula the Vampire. By switching between both identities he could use the powers of one or the other at will but sealing the other in the process. Raccoon took the vampire to Kuro before she took over dispatching the wave monsters. The two watched as Raccon was transformed into a creature with the build of a bear composed of shadows, blades of curses scattered through out the field appearing from every shadow to skewer whatever monster was standing on it.
"Balance Breaker." Kuro muttered as she looked at what was going on, and then shook her head. For now she had bigger fish to fry. "Kyurie, are you in there?"
"I do not know." The Vampire stated as he shook his head. "Am I given to understand this is not my body?" It took a few moments for Kuro to explain everything that happened up until their arrival in this world. "I see. Perhaps since there are so many stories about me already I got to skip the stage about spending some time unconscious like your friend?"
"I am going to have to ask you to give up that body." Kuro stated in no uncertain terms.
"It's cursed." Vlad seemed to have no attachment to it. "If you want to inflict this existence on your friend in my place that is for the two of you to discuss. I do however have one condition."
A few short minutes later Kuro finished tracing a manuscript into existence using ink and paper that she had been keeping inside of her sword, the title 'The Entirely True and Factual History of Vlad Tepes the Third Who Was Not A F*cking Vampire!' A little wordy, wasn't any worse than some of the light novels she's seen spat out in the past few years.
"Is this really all that you want?" Kuro asked looking at Vlad like he had gone insane, the truth is he just might've. "That and to see it publicised across every world that you visit." The Pseudo Heroic spirit crossed his wing arms and nodded satisfied by this result. "It will be a rather pleasant read the next time I get summoned." Kuro just shook her head and sighed.
"Oi hero!" Kuro shouted as she thumbed the vampire behind her. "You finish dealing with this lunatic!" Kuro would take the Waves any day of the week over dealing with this. Kuro and Raccoon traded places, the thousands of blades being replaced by thousands of Heroic Spirits who wasted no time in spreading out and dispatching multiple waves at the same time.
"I drank Miagi's blood before I came here." Vlad stated as he looked up at Raphtalia. "I know what he knew, what his master told him." A pause. "You're insane. There's no way that you're not."
"Oh boo hoo. I got locked inside of a cage for twelve years! Pity me!" Raccoon knelt down as she looked at the vampire directly in the eyes. "I've spent a thousand making sure that reality wouldn't come crashing down on our heads, dying over and over, living over and over, losing everything that I care about, over and over again and again!" Raccoon chanted the words like they were a curse.
"That's why I think you're insane. I've lost my marbles after a mere decade, and after that a mere six hundred years of suffering through having my name dragged through the mud." Vlad felt the need to correct Raccoon in the area that she was wrong. "I went insane merely of something on that level. I don't ask for your pity, nor do I pity you. How can I pity someone who has already stopped caring about the safety of the soil underneath their feet?"
"I don't need your pity either." Raccoon stated her blade passing through Kyurie's body. "The plan is already completed, now we just need to round up the Shield Hero and everything'll be done."
"Ugh." Kyurie groaned into consciousness and slapped himself in his face. "Where am I?" Kyurie looked around. "Where's the Phoneixes?" A pause as if he was only just now noticing something. "And why does my voice sound so funny?"
Raccoon took over dealing with the waves, in the mean time the others had returned to Scythe country, with Kyurie. Rishia, whose weapon was still processing transformations looked at him, and started weeping.
"He's already been rescued? Why did we even go through all that trouble earlier?" Rishia looked down at the latest notification to pop up.
'Pr0)ect1le of \/en9eance XXII'
"Why does it feel like I'm unlocking a cursed weapon?" Rishia asked as she looked down at the sheer mass of weapons that had yet to be processed.
"Imagine how I feel?" L'Arc asked as he looked down at the 'Scythe of the Beast King' he got from weapon copying Katarina, another pile of gold growing out of the ground next to him, which he then absorbed into his scythe, processed into coins, then waved his scythe over to Rishia to dump another pile of gold coins into her weapon. "I hope you got a ranged sickle on that thing somewhere, cause I would really like to get some benefit out of doing all of this work."
As if hearing L'Arc the weapon sent another notification to Rishia.
'o!o' Rishia wasn't sure but she was quite certain her weapon just said something rude.
"It appreciates all of the help that you're giving us and we'll make sure that you get to copy the weapons that it's making very soon." Rishia had wisely opted not to participate in the rudeness. Rishia was more concerned about the fact that aside from reaching 22 the Projectile of Vengeance had used the weapons that it got from the other heroes as materials to upgrade it's lightning spewing capabilities again. From Sakura there was both a 'Thunder Card', a 'Magni Berserker Class Card' and a 'Nikola Tesla Caster Class Card', from Myne there was a 'Thunder Jewel', from Jade a 'Club of Lightning' and from Gol there was a 'Lightning Fishing Rod' Combine that with the 'Thunder Frissbee', 'Thunder Dagger', 'Thunder Javelin', 'Thunder Sling' and 'Thunder Atlatl' together with the 'Bolt of Zeus' that was already in her weapon to begin with and her Sacred Gear was now at 'V.' The two weapons had formed a symbiotic relationship that strengthened one another to their limit, which in turn made her all the more concerned that the Projectile of Vengeance kept upgrading by itself, as if the Projectile was turning it's frustration into power. Well not just it's frustration either, she could feel the collective history of thousands of warriors crying out for vengeance against those that wronged them. With the latest infusion of Gold Rishia watched as another group of weapons collapsed in on itself, and was immediately replaced by identical weapons, and she could feel her weapon screaming in frustration. Course L'Arc had taken her to the stockpile of materials his country had already put together which did help to reduce the strain that was on her weapon by a significant amount. But it was still breaking down transformation after transformation, weapon after weapon, odds were that the projectile would have more weapons inside of it by the time that it's finished than what it had started with and it was only getting started.
Review Section:
coolkid0806: It's precisely why she doesn't know what will happen to him when he dies that she didn't try to kill him. He could be immediately replaced by an identical version of himself, he could go off to join a giant chimeric pile of himself somewhere, restart the time loop, or it could simply not work. Why take a risk with a giant pile of unknown factors like him if he's not being immediately hostile? Naofumi's argument is the equivalent of a lawyer asking for leniency for his client. 'Yes your honour what he did was wrong, and he had no intention of helping anyone, but the end result was a net positive for everyone involved so I ask you to cut them some slack.'
RonaldM40196867: True. I only have plans for a few at the moment. A giant massive library where Ethanobolt's tribe the Library rabbits were living, it acted as one of the dungeons of that world specifically metamorphosis the manipulation of organic material.
codywhite162: Thank you for saying so!
Nightshadegirl: The fact that he just used a guy as a sledge hammer to break into her palace probably helped some.
Jokong: I don't know. Enjoy the Read.
Galeon82: In Naofumi's defence, he's been left with nothing but bad options and insane people to work with, himself being one of them, and so is trying to go with the least horrible options.