Chapter 72 – End of an Era
It was unanimously agreed that nothing they just learned would be told to anyone outside the party. JoJo was a bit confused by it, but agreed nonetheless. While her words couldn't be taken as indisputable truth, they were food for thought.
If the Axe was meant to be his, he could understand why nearly everyone else went crazy when they touched it. Shildina seemed to be the exception, though she was a very special case. The whole thing also made Dante think about what those behind the Waves were doing, what their roles were, and how many there actually were. Unless this woman liked to do voices, there were at least two people he's had to deal with in some way or another, possibly three.
The first was Pahadron, the one who recruited Reiko. As far as Dante could tell, that move was strictly for entertainment, given Reiko was 10 and the wave happened at her home. It wasn't that farfetched of an idea, if his memory of the Past Arc was any indication. That being, the Waves were a source of entertainment, amongst other possible things. He'd forgotten that part for a while.
The second was the one who was giving visions to people, like Idol and the knight who led the attack on Korokan, not to mention Conrad learning where Elvira was. There were others as well, including the raccoon emperor. That god-pretender was clearly antagonistic to Dante.
Then there was this woman. Dante thought she and the last one might be the same person, but something felt off. Iaoth and Duke Chance worked for her, presumably, but both of them only came for Dante. In Iaoth's case, there were four heroes and their parties, so single combat wasn't an option. Besides, Iaoth nearly killed Conrad, so they weren't exactly on the same side.
Unless, of course, this was some big 4D chess move Dante couldn't understand. Since Conrad was working with Takt, he doubted that. There was also the voice Dante heard when he first used Liberation Firestorm, and again when confronting Malty for the first time. If this woman was capable of speaking to him like that, she probably would have done so earlier.
Takt was another unknown that Dante had about the same amount of information on. What's worse, he had no real way of gaining more information about any of it outside of doing what this woman said. Reiko knew next to nothing about Pahadron, and everyone else who got visions were either dead or unknown to them.
There were only two people who might have some information. The first was Fitoria, and she had a pretty bad memory. Dante also didn't have a means of communicating with her. The second was Ost, the human familiar of the Spirit Tortoise. Dante didn't know if he could find her to talk, or if she even existed at all. He told the other heroes she might approach them about defeating the Spirit Tortoise. Dante already exhausted Gaelion's knowledge on the subject, so the dragon was out.
I'm pretty tired of not knowing what the hell's going on.
With Shildina now recovered from the ordeal, the party plus the two set out. The first stop was Siltvelt castle with Rifana's skill to inform Werner of what was going on. Aultcray was to have messages sent out once Motoyasu brought him back to Melromarc, but it was better to have Dante give the shusaku a heads up. With the army having disbanded not that long ago, it'd be easier to get things prepared here. Despite not wanting to participate in Cal Mira, Rhubaldt would be called in as well.
Next, the group went back to the village with Raphtalia's skill.
"Lord Dante!" Fiadia spotted them immediately and rushed over.
"Fiadia." Dante greeted her as he looked around. "Is something going on here?"
"No, no, everything's fine!" She said quickly. "Just some visitors."
That was an understatement. There were a number of unfamiliar carriages parked off to the side. One of the camping plants blocked his view, so he knew there were more than what he was seeing.
"I was told you were at Cal Mira to help prepare for future Waves. Is it fine to come back here? Don't you need to get back there?" Fiadia spoke at a fast rate.
Dante gave her a flat look. "Alright, something's up. I've only seen you this flustered when the Projectile Hero attacked and when I got turned into child. What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Lord Dante!" She vigorously shook her head.
Dante didn't buy that for a second. He turned back to where the carriages were and started walking over there. They most likely had something to do with Fiadia's demeanor.
"W-Wait, Lord Dante!" Fiadia followed after him, along with the rest of his party.
As he walked, Dante could make out a group of people in front of one of the houses. It was the one Ann lived in, and she stood in front of her door. He picked up his pace as the sound of elevated voices reached his ears.
"Lord Dante, please, there's nothing to be concerned about!" Fiadia said in a hushed tone.
Dante was about to rebuke that, but he realized the voices weren't angry. They were…excited. In fact, most of the people in Ann's immediate area weren't armed, though armored guards stood off to the side. The people were actually fairly well-dressed. And, they appeared to be mostly women.
"Lord Shield is here!" One of the women called out as she looked over.
The others followed her gaze and started rushing over. Excited squeals echoed all around as the women approached. From their clothing, Dante figured most were either nobles or merchants, or daughters of either. Demi-humans and therianthropes, they looked to be in their late teens or early twenties all the way up to early forties.
"Lord Shield, it's so good to meet you!"
"And young Keel is here as well!"
"I'm your biggest fan!"
Many voices mixed together as they were surrounded, Dante and Keel quickly getting separated from the enthusiastic crowd.
"Dante, what's happening!?" Keel clung to Dante's leg as several women bent over to try shaking his paw.
"I have no idea." Dante raised his hand, keeping a few from his backside. "Don't touch the Axe, ladies."
"Kyaa! Such a strong voice!" They called out. "Look at him protecting Keel!"
"I'm so sorry, Lord Dante." Fiadia held one of her hands over her eyes.
Did I have an aneurism or something? 'The hell is going on here?
To answer his questions, Ann made her way through the crowd to stand in front of the pair.
"Dante! Keel!" She cried out with stars in her eyes. "You wouldn't believe what happened!"
"I'm seeing this and you're right. I don't believe it." Dante looked around at the women. "What is all this?"
"All these ladies want to make commissions from me! Both for my dressmaking and for my art!" She answered.
"Your art?" Dante asked.
In response, Ann held up a sketchbook Dante didn't notice she was carrying. The moment she opened it, he understood.
"Aaaaahhh!" Keel did as well, since he huddled on the ground behind Dante and covered his eyes.
"Rumors about my drawings got spread around somehow, and now people want my art." Ann explained. "It started out as just a couple, but groups started showing up. I can barely keep up with it all!"
"I see…" Dante nodded, unsure how exactly to respond.
If I had to guess, there are spies in or around the village. I'm not really surprised by that, but I have to wonder about their competency if this is what they reported on.
"She's a divine artist!"
"A gift from Lord Shield!"
Dante wouldn't necessarily call her either, though he knew she did good work. Raphtalia's outfit was a prime example, not to mention the clothes she made for his kids. As for the drawing itself, Dante didn't recall doing such a pose with Keel, so it was from her imagination. It wasn't any more risqué than the positions she had them do, though that wasn't really saying much.
"These are some of my current works." She slowly flipped through her book, the sounds of ecstatic women all around them. Each sheet had Dante and Keel in a different position with varying degrees of intimacy. The mildest was the two holding hands while the sauciest was…well, somewhat contextual for demi-humans, since it was Dante biting Keel's ear while pulling on his tail.
"The past couple of weeks haven't been good, with today being especially bad." Dante said, though he had a small smile on his face. "This helps."
Ann grinned in response.
Now that I think about it, there were more tomboy-ish maids on the way to Werner's office. Actually, I think some of them might have been feminine men. I'm surprised Werner didn't say anything, and I'm even more surprised this art isn't considered blasphemy.
"This is the worst day ever!" Keel proclaimed. Dante picked him up and practically cradled him under one arm, trying to comfort the poor dog boy. The action mostly elicited more happy cries from the women. That was one of the drawings, after all.
"Why did you do this!?" Keel cried out to Ann. It didn't seem to register to him that he was being carried.
"These aren't even my biggest sellers!" Ann gave a quick wink to the crowd before she flipped to the back of her sketchbook. She only opened it slightly for the pair to see, but from what they could, the image was rather…explicit.
"That looks…very anatomically correct." Dante's eyes shifted from the drawing up to the artist. "Ann, I have questions."
A renewed outcry of excitement followed.
Keel simply mewled in agony and pressed his face into Dante's chest.
"Oh, and before I forget!" Ann tucked the sketchbook under her arm and fiddled with the pouch at her hip, ignoring him. She pulled it off and handed it over to Dante. "That's 10 gold for each of you. Your cut for being the inspiration for my work."
Dante lightly shook the bag, coins clanging against one another. With 20 gold being their cut, Dante could only wonder how much the art itself was selling for.
"That doesn't really answer my question, Ann." Dante told the tailor-turned-artist.
~The Wrong Hero~
Dante never did get an answer to his question, spoken or otherwise. His portal skill had come off cooldown, so they returned to the site of the Wave. Most of the ships had departed back to either Melromarc or Cal Mira. One stayed behind for Dante and his party to catch a ride back. They joined up with the others and went on their way after absorbing the rest of the Wave boss.
With a party much too large to gain XP in any meaningful way, they split into a few groups. Dante, Sadeena, Raphtalia, Shildina, Ruft, and Malty made up one group. That was to provide Shildina and Ruft with quick levels and help grow. The others were split between grinding and relaxing, depending on who already had the max number of levels sacrificed. Some went with Glass's group to help her gain energy from monsters.
Once the end of the day came around, Dante went out of range of the islands with Sadeena, JoJo, and the two kids for a class up. The XP bonus from the islands had started to diminish since yesterday, but it was still more than enough to level up to 40.
When they returned to the hotel, another suite was prepared for the rest of the oversized party. Again, they divided themselves how they wished, though Dante and Malty had to share a room for a bit. However, they weren't alone.
"Aw, you'd rather sleep with someone else than me~?" Sadeena gave a very fake pout. "I wanted to make up for lost time!"
"As I explained earlier, it's part of the queen's plan." Dante told her. "Besides…Malty is still a bit uncomfortable around demi-humans."
He didn't want to tell Sadeena the real reason, since it was only known to Dante and Malty, plus the shadows she had around and, by extension upon their return, Mirellia.
"But wouldn't having a fun night with both of us help~?" She gave Malty a wink.
"Maybe, but still…" He knew she had a few things to work out, but didn't want to push it.
"That's alright, Dante." Malty gave a nervous nod to the pair.
"You sure?" He asked. "I'm not using that shield with her here." Was the unsaid statement he gave with his eyes.
Malty nodded again.
"Great!" Sadeena wrapped her arms around both of their shoulders, Dante having already set aside the Axe. "We're in for a fun night~!"
Leave it to Sadeena to help people through their issues. God knows she's done that for me plenty.
Sadeena stuck out her tongue and gave Malty a wink. "Though I'm sure you've had plenty of fun with little Dante already, little Malty."
Malty gave a nervous laugh while Dante sighed. While it was convenient for more than one reason that Sadeena was so open, part of him wished she'd rein it in just a little.
"And if you're feeling a bit adventurous…" Sadeena waggled her eyebrows as she reached under her vest and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "Maybe little Dante and I could do something like this for you~."
She unfolded the sheet with one hand for the three of them to look at. Malty turned as red as her hair while Dante gave Sadeena a blank stare. Clearly, she had gotten one of Ann's drawing while he wasn't paying attention. It depicted two of himself with Keel sandwiched between them, and it was very much one of Ann's more explicit drawings.
"Why are you the way that you are?" Dante asked in a monotone voice. "Are you going to do this with the others when they want to be intimate with me?"
Sadeena beamed at him. "That reminds me! When we're helping with your curse tonight, Little Rifana is going to join little Atla and me."
Dante let out another long sigh. "Of course." At the very least, he didn't really think Sadeena would be this bad with Rifana.
They spent their time in bed with Sadeena being just a tad friendlier with Malty than the first princess probably liked. After that, Dante went to the hot springs with his three followers. Sadeena and Atla had no problem showing skin, but Rifana kept herself hidden while in her demi-human form. For her sake, Dante kept a towel around his waist.
"You get to be with Mister Dante in a way I can't, so I get to be closest with him here!" Atla argued.
"Hm~? But you've been with little Dante ever since you came here. Don't I get a turn~?" Sadeena gave her a smile.
"The logistics of being with multiple woman at once are starting to really dawn on me." Dante let out. It was different with the Siltvelt women, who were more focused on one thing rather than having a good experience. Relatively, since they likely found being with their god like that a good experience by itself.
"I have an idea~." Sadeena said as she transformed and entered the bath. She leaned her back against the edge and weaved her hand through the water in front of her. "Little Dante will sit right here, and each of you get an arm~."
"Brilliant, Sadeena!" Atla was instantly on board and entered as well.
"Wait, Sadeena, I'm not going to sit on you." Dante protested.
"Why not?" Sadeena tilted her head to the side.
"I mean…you're pregnant." Dante softly argued, eliciting a laugh from the orca woman.
"I'm not even showing yet, little Dante!" She said before a smirk formed on her face. "Besides, it's not like that's stopped us from having fun~."
"Alright, alright." Dante gave up, not wanting Rifana to turn any more red than she already was before even entering the bath with them.
Unlike the times with Atla before, this was tamer. They simply sat in the bath and relaxed, letting the warm water of the spring melt away at their worries. Aside from informing the rest of the party in a zone of silence, no one brought up the topic the possessed Shildina talked about. There really wasn't anything to discuss. They'd know more for sure—or at least possibly—when they defeated the Spirit Tortoise and whoever was inside it.
Perhaps Sadeena's antics could be explained as her trying to lighten the mood. That, or she's trying not to think about not drinking. Dante could accept either one.
The remaining days of grinding passed quickly. Shildina and Ruft were on their way to looking like adults again. By the end of the second day after the Wave, the XP bonus had nearly disappeared. The option to portal out became available, so the following day would likely be there last one there.
That was when the incident happened.
~The Wrong Hero~
Dante woke up being crushed by four bodies in the bed. Three of them were a given, since Sadeena, Atla, and Rifana had been doing this before Cal Mira. The newest addition was Malty, who decided to join in last night. She actually took Sadeena's advice to heart, working on her discomfort of both demi-humans and men at once. It was a tighter squeeze, but Atla and a therianthrope-form Rifana on his chest helped with the room.
Since the sun was just barely starting to light the room, Dante opted not to wake them just yet. Instead, he went through his status to look over his shields and inventory. He reset the Mastery bonus for a few he hadn't used in a while and looked over what he could apply his current Energy amount to. Once that was done, he check on his stats and was pleasantly surprised.
"Oh!" He unintentionally voiced, alerting Atla.
"What is it, Mister Dante?" She asked, looking up at him.
Dante smiled. "My attack…is crap."
Before, it was lowering at a slow rate. Since the Wave, it went down much more quickly. Aside from the initial message, he couldn't tell how much each curse currently affected him outside of his heightened stats.
"I think my curses might be gone now." Dante told her.
"That's wonderful!" Atla enthused.
Their conversation woke up the others, allowing Dante to update them as they started preparing for the day.
"Oh my~." Sadeena gave him a smile as she finished dressing. "That's great, little Dante! But how can we be sure?"
"Hm." Dante looked to the harpoon leaning up against the wall. "Well, there's a quick way."
Seeing his intent, Sadeena picked up her weapon. Dante switched to one of his weak shields to lower his defense. Sadeena positioned her harpoon over his arm and gave it a quick jab.
"Ow." Dante murmured, looking at the wound and his displayed HP. He waited.
…
…
"It's slow." He said with a smile. Some shield forms still provided HP regeneration bonuses, even if they were hampered by his stubborn festered curses.
"You're cured!" Sadeena hugged him while Rifana cast a quick healing spell on him. "How do you feel?"
"I feel…" He wanted to say 'good'. He wanted to say 'great'. With the loss of his curses, his emotions functioned better than before, but that let his more repressed ones surface.
Dio.
He thought of the daughter he lost, and he realized just how much his curses helped him cope with it. The pain of it started to come back to him before it receded once more. Perhaps that wasn't quite accurate. It was more like…he was numb to it. When he first lost her, he felt unimaginable rage. More than two weeks later, it hurt far less than when is old family was killed.
"Better." He gave Sadeena his answer. The only real conciliation to his numbness was that the curses weren't what was keeping him from falling apart.
"I'm so glad, Mister Dante." Rifana hopped up to his chest and gave him a hug.
"Me too." Dante patted her back.
With his curses suppressed, Dante would need to get some armor. The kigurumis in his inventory were the best he had, outside of everyone else's armor. If he couldn't get a good set, he'd just wear one of those. He'd have to check in with Erhard, or rather see if the queen was able to locate him. His shop was still abandoned during the incident with Malty and Dante hadn't checked when he informed Mirellia about the Wave's timer.
While he pondered that, he came across another issue that stood in the corner of the room. The Vassal Axe.
While new information suggested he wouldn't be affected by it, he still wasn't sure. Instead, he had the others there prepare, just in case. Of course, he wasn't going to grab it right away.
Dante focused. He had everything he needed, he just needed to concentrate. It was slow-going since before he couldn't parse out where his skill stopped and the curse took over, but he should be able to cast it.
Slowly, he recited the words. The puzzles appeared in his head, just like when he helped Sadeena in cooperative magic. One by one, he solved them. Then, it was just a matter of finishing the chant.
"All Liberation Aura X!"
Dante cast his spell on everyone in the room. Everyone but him. With the amount of power he just gave them, even a cursed-weapon hero would have great difficulty.
"Ready, Mister Dante?" Atla asked as she took her stance.
"I suppose." He nodded, reaching for the cursed weapon.
His hand touched the covered axe head. There was no immediate change. He ran his fingers down the shaft, still feeling nothing. Slowly, he wrapped his hand around it.
Crackling filled the air. The cloth the Axe was wrapped in caught fire, the red-black flames quickly burning it to ash. The harness the Axe was attached to remained intact, being made more durable. Still, the flames continued to burn until Dante removed his hand from it. They disappeared in an instant.
"That's new." Dante commented, looking over his hand.
"Did you feel anything?" Sadeena asked, lowering her harpoon.
Dante shook his head. "No. But…my status was flickering while I held it."
While it wasn't really proof, since he didn't have any testimony from anyone else who held it, it felt likely that the Axe was indeed intended for him. That was mostly because it was his stats and title that flickered and nothing else. But for all he knew, that happened to everyone who tried to hold it.
"Something to work out later." Dante decided, taking the harness and fastening it to his back like usual. If touching it didn't drive him crazy, he was still the best one suited to hold onto it.
Tentatively agreeing, the five left the room to begin their last day on the island. With how low the XP bonus was yesterday, there likely wouldn't be much grinding. Maybe enough for any heroes to use their preferred weapons that had a level requirement, but that'd be it. They'd go back to Melromarc, taking a few trips since not everyone had that place set as a portal location. Then it was just a matter of waiting for Itsuki to return with a portal location near the Spirit Tortoise's path.
"Hey, Dante?" Reiko asked as she stared out the window of the room. "Have you ever seen 'Saving Private Ryan'?"
"You mean arguably the most famous movie about World War II in Europe? Yes, I've seen it." Dante answered as he approached. "Why?"
Reiko looked at him, pointing out the window.
Dante followed her direction and saw it. Coming from the ocean, there were a large number of shapes. Even from here, he could tell they were filolials. It helped that one in particular was taller than the hotel they stayed in.
"Fitoria!" Dante shouted. "Perfect! Maybe we can get some answers."
While her sudden appearance might not be a good thing, he'd take what he could get. Hopefully, she wouldn't tell them not to fight the Spirit Tortoise. Dante didn't want to reveal everything, just in case the Queen of all Filolials wasn't pleased by what she heard.
Dante quickly went around knocking on the other rooms to wake up the other heroes and their parties. It would be good to introduce them. Some members of his own party were still waking up, so he'd meet them at the beach whenever they arrived. JoJo was quick to wake up and so went with the six of them.
"Hey, Kiddo." L'arc greeted them with his friends as Dante's group exited the hotel. "There's something going on off the coast. We were just about to check it out."
"Good, come with us then." Dante said, waving them forward. "It's one of the Vassal Heroes from this world. She might be able to help out."
They hurried off to the beach. Given the situation, Dante had Lilith stay behind. No need to add any fuel to any potential fire.
In a few minutes, they arrived. The fleet of filolials were still about 1,000 feet out, but they attracted the attention of the islanders and adventurers. Dante shooed them off, telling them it was hero business and not a fight. Really, he didn't want Fitoria any more uncomfortable than she might be approaching a human settlement.
Dread started to creep in at what Fitoria might want. Still, Dante needed answers as quickly as possible, and she was one of two people who might be able to give them.
As the filolials got closer, Dante's emotion changed again.
"Dad…" JoJo let out, the large filolial turning down to his father.
"Oh god…" Dread began to turn to terror in Dante. It wasn't of Fitoria, but whatever happened to her.
As she came even closer to the beach, Dante could see it. Burns covered her feathers, leaving entire patches devoid of them with only blackened flesh. One of her wings was cut in half with seared flesh at the end. One eye was closed due to her blindness from the past, but the other seemed to be missing. Part of her face was covered in a deep, burned scar.
Fitoria began to shrink in size to remain afloat, going down to slightly larger than JoJo. Her wounds looked no better at that size, nor when she transformed into her human form. The dress she wore no longer held the same pristine, her magic possibly not functioning properly if it couldn't restore it.
Dante watched as she staggered forward. He took a step. Then another. He burst into a sprint as Fitoria swayed to the side, barely catching her before she hit the ground.
"Fitoria!" Dante yelled, holding her close. "Fitoria, what happened?! Rifana! Heal her, quickly!"
"It's pointless…" Fitoria breathed out as Rifana ran over and began her chant. "The curse…is too strong…"
"She's the Staff Hero." Dante assured her.
"Liberation Heal X!" Rifana finished her spell, letting it wash over Fitoria. However, nothing changed. "How…"
Fitoria placed her only hand atop one of Dante's, her flesh blackened with a curse. While it wasn't useful in purifying cursed weapons like the Axe, the spell was shown to be effective against normal curses, even ones bestowed by cursed heroes. That was part of what helped Shildina quickly heal.
"Who did this?" Dante asked gravely. "However long it takes, I will kill them."
"Already dead…" Fitoria said. "Invader…from another world. A cursed weapon…"
Dante stilled. Mordigan. That was the name the pretender goddess gave him, the one whose death he was supposedly responsible for. They were the most likely reason for Fitoria's state.
"…What can I do to help?" Dante asked, unable to think of anything else.
"Are Dio and…JoJo nearby? She slowly asked.
"My daughter is dead." Dante sadly said. With a look from him, JoJo came running over. "My son is here. Can't you…"
Fitoria shook her head. "Too weak…to sense. Knew Cal Mira…hoped you were here…"
With nothing else he could do, Dante gently stroked Fitoria's hair. The action caused the ancient filolial girl to smile slightly. The others approached slowly, though there was no sign of the other two Holy Heroes or the rest of Dante's party yet.
"Fitoria…I'm sorry." Dante said softly. "I don't know how long you have, but I have so many questions. Please answer any that you can."
She gave him a slow nod.
"The people behind the waves. Do you know anything about them?" He asked.
Fitoria shook her head. "Too long ago…"
Dante wasn't surprised, nor was he upset. "What about a Vassal Weapon that…remains in its cursed form without a wielder?"
Again, Fitoria shook her head.
"Then, the Spirit Tortoise. Do you know who took it over?"
"I'm sorry, Shield Hero…" She whispered.
"No, it's fine. Don't worry." He soothed. If she couldn't tell him anything, that wasn't a problem. He could just sit there. He could wait…for her to die in his arms.
"Do you…have anything you want to say to me?" Dante asked, trying not to think about the inevitable.
"There are…other invaders…" Fitoria's voice was getting weaker. "I don't know where…"
"Yeah." Dante glanced over his shoulder. "Three are here, and two of them have Vassal Weapons. They agreed to help fight whoever took over the Spirit Tortoise before they leave. But…one of them isn't nearly as strong."
Glass looked down. Dante wasn't trying to be insulting, and she seemed to understand that. Something she reminded him was that her people gained energy from monsters rather slowly. Some soul healing medicine could be used to give her a temporary boost, but it was partially dependent on her maximum energy level. Most of it would disappear before she had a chance to use it.
"They shouldn't…be here." Fitoria said.
"I know. They can't leave with the Spirit Tortoise awake." Dante told her.
"I can…send them back…" Fitoria said.
"You can?" Dante asked.
She gave him a brief nod. "Carriage broken…but enough power…before…"
"Alright." Dante looked over at the otherworlders.
L'arc was the first to speak as they came closer. "You sure about this, Kiddo? Therese and I can go back after we help with your Guardian Beast."
Dante nodded to him. "We have all four Holy Heroes and four…five Vassal Heroes. Besides, your world has enough problems without you all helping us with ours."
"Thank you, Fitoria." Glass gave her a bow. "When next our paths meet, Dante, I hope things will be better."
"Me too." Dante said.
Fitoria placed her hand on her necklace, the Vassal Carriage. Just like she said, there were cracks all along it, even the gem.
"Transfer." With as much force as she could, Fitoria activated her skill. The three otherworlders were engulfed in light before disappearing. "Done…"
"Yeah…" Dante continued to stroke Fitoria's hair, causing her to hum lightly. "What happens now?"
Fitoria paused. "New wielder…" As she said this, the light in the weapon's gem went out. "I'm going…soon…"
There was nothing else for Dante to say. Nothing he could say. Someone who likely came to kill him ran into Fitoria first. He wouldn't say it was his fault, but that didn't change the feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Fitoria reached up and lightly gripped Dante's tunic. "When I…see Dio…I'll tell her…you…love…"
She didn't get to finish. Her neckless fell to the ground. Seamlessly, it turned to light and floated in the air. Then, it drifted over to JoJo, transforming into a simple looking chariot with a bronze base and wooden wheels. The gem of the weapon sat at its front, behind JoJo.
Fitoria got her wish. The prophecy she told him so long ago came true. She was able to pass her carriage onto a successor.
Dante sat there, still holding Fitoria's lifeless body in his arms. Cries of anguish sounded from the filolial-filled sea over the death of their queen.
Author's Notes:
I'm well aware this story had become a series of shits and fans and their described meetings. This particular meeting resulted in the death of another bird girl.
It might feel this way, but it wasn't a spur of the moment thing to kill her off. I had this plan for the last dozen-plus chapters, maybe up to 20. Originally, she was only going to have enough strength to send one person back. Glass would have been chosen, since she was the weakest in this world and would take too long to power up.
On an unrelated note, I did have a scene thought up that I ended up cutting from the story, so I'll share it here. Basically, Khana's mage, Martin, shows up to the village with a group of griffins and red ursas that were raised by Lloyd. He attacks Dante on sight, blaming him for Khana's death. Dante would let him vent at him with spells before trying with a knife, only for it to break against Dante's chest. Dante would comfort him afterwards. He survived Conrad by being thrown from a cliff by Khana, resonating with Raphtalia since her parents did the same. I thought about adding it in this chapter, but it wouldn't really go anywhere. Really, it felt like I missed my chance before, since a month has passed by this point.