Chapter Eighteen: Fireballs Solve Everything, Including Waves
Naofumi found that the next three weeks passed both slowly and remarkably quickly, somehow.
Moto, Ren, and Itsujerk (who he had to admit was slightly less of a jerk now than before) left to go help out Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden. Because they were all past level 50, they were able to easily teleport back and forth from wherever they were during their journeys to Melromarc's castle for dinner and rest, before resuming where they'd left off the next day. It seemed every time they came back they had more cool stories, gear, as well as some monster materials for him. Giving him even more awesome shields than before!
Meanwhile, Naofumi and his party got to have lots of fun!... Or at least as much fun as they could under Momellia's strict guidelines. The purple-haired woman watched them like a hawk at nearly all times of the day, either in person or by using one of her Shadows.
After his attempts at shaking his observer failed miserably, Naofumi was convinced that she had assigned at least five Shadows to watch him personally. He wasn't that much of a problem...right?
Surely the Queen's restrictions were just too much, and he was the victim.
On their own trips outside the Capital. Uncle Bald Guy killed more innocent(?) monsters than ever before with Amber's help. Melty had officially joined their party against her will, and even she was appalled at the sheer amount of EXP the two raked in during a single hunting trip.
Naofumi laughed hysterically the first time her vision was flooded with EXP messages. The poor girl had been so distracted that she walked right into a tree.
The few times that the trio joined Uncle Bald Guy and Amber proved more beneficial for Melty than anyone else. Without the overly strict guidance of her tutors, and with the safety of several very high-level people to protect her should things go wrong, Melty was able to practice her own magic and level up relatively quickly. And, having a fellow mage along, Raphtalia was able to advance rapidly in her magical abilities too, as Melty was able to personally help her with higher tier magic.
It sucked. He still couldn't do anything cool with his magic! So uncool!
Naofumi finally reached level 50 during that time as well unlocked his portal skill, Portal Shield. At first, he was confident that he could use it to teleport away from the Queen's Shadows to have fun elsewhere without supervision whenever he wanted. But then he learned he had to save a location to the weapon before he could use it. Which meant he had to walk to the place where he'd cause trouble first.
Knowing the Queen and her Shadows, they would probably memorize every single place he went for the rest of his life. His chances of escape were very thin, so unless he found a way to upgrade his Portal Shield skill somehow, he would have to settle for using it...ugh...pragmatically.
He hated that word. Ever since they'd begun their lessons as nobles, Naofumi and Raphtalia were practically buried underneath piles of books and assignments that put his previous world's education system to shame. It almost made him want to go back to school so he'd have an easier time. He thought he'd escaped from that torture when he got here, but the King and Queen had proven him wrong.
If the King was a strict teacher for magic, the Queen was a final boss-esque Demon Lord of education.
Yeah. She was that bad.
If she caught him slacking off during a lecture, she not only forced him to run around the castle once without rest, but also made him carry and read the book for the lesson at the same time. He still hadn't fully grasped the reason for it, but she said that "learning to work one's mind and body simultaneously..."
He forgot the rest, but it was probably something stupid that an adult would make up just to make you do what they want. It was probably "build character" or something else equally stupid and lame.
The most difficult thing for Naofumi personally was learning royal manners from Momellia, who seemed all too excited about helping them act and behave like royalty. And to be honest, she had taken to teaching all their lessons with that same excitement. She seemed way happier than usual for some reason. Naofumi didn't know why. He had more things to worry about than that.
Like table manners. And learning what each fork and spoon, of which there were eleven… of each, went to during the dinner. Shudders. Gone were the days of messily shoving food into his mouth with his hands.
Raphtalia had less trouble grasping most of the etiquette than Naofumi did. He was starting to think being a Princess was in her blood...or something. Unless she was just naturally well-mannered in the first place, Naofumi wasn't sure being naturally talented at being courteous was even possible.
He'd take being talented at having fun over being nice any day. People always like to have fun.
Lastly, Raphtalia and Amber received their class-ups near the end of the second week. The filolial woman now had an unusual cowlick sprouting from the crown of her head, but she didn't seem concerned. Naofumi figured it had something to do with being a girl and caring about her appearance for a boy...or some other weird thing girls do.
Raphtalia never did it to that extent, though. So maybe Amber was just weird because she hung out with Big Bro Moto all the time. He was pretty weird, so maybe it was contagious...
Oh yeah, the Queen, along with the delegates from Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden, created a coalition of combined forces to help tackle the Waves. It was filled with humans and demi-humans alike, with skill levels varying from inexperienced all the way up to the level of a military General. Thanks to Status Magic, everyone was tied in some way to one of the four Cardinal Heroes. Thus, when they were teleported to a Wave, they appeared with them. They'd helped the other Heroes at the sight of the other waves in Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden.
The agreement they'd come to was that they would go where the Waves appeared and would assist however and wherever they could. Some amount of discrimination between the two races was expected, but they were united in the common goal of protecting all of their loved ones. The Queen and delegates hoped that, in time, any sort of racial tension would be seen as a minor thing compared to protecting the world.
…
Naofumi realized his Tsundere Shield was about to shock him for going overboard with the backlog summary again. So his mind jumped back to the present...
A bright light surrounded Naofumi and his party. After a few seconds, they found themselves teleported into the middle of the mountains. A bright red sky with purple tears in it spewed monsters down below.
"Hey Shield bro, how's it been?!" Moto greeted Naofumi excitedly, bumping fists with him.
"It's been super boring, Moto!" Naofumi said with a pout. "Yesterday, I had to read all these boring documents about trade agreements and laws! You already know how much I hate rules and laws!"
"Yeah, but rules and laws are what's needed for Justice to function in society." Itsujerk was there too. He was missing that big mean armored guy from his party. Naofumi didn't remember what his name was, but apparently, the armored guy had some kind of heart problem.
In his pursuit of justice, the armored guy's poor heart had arrested itself.
"Yeah, without them, we'd just have more bandits and criminals to deal with," Ren said, keeping himself calm and aloof.
Naofumi would argue with Itsujerk all day and any day. But at Ren's words, he stared up at the black swordsman in awe. He was just so smart and cool! There was no way he could be wrong!
"Ah, Heroes, it's wonderful to see you again!" Aultcray was there too, holding his Vassal Staff proudly. Behind him was the coalition army. The only person missing was Melty. And that was because she hadn't had her class-up yet, so until then, she had to stay home during the Waves. "We know how we're defeating this Wave, correct?"
"Yeah. To end this wave, we're supposed to kill the Soul Eater that's hiding on a ghost ship!" Motoyasu exclaimed confidently.
Looking up above, none of the Heroes could see any sign of said Ghost Ship at the moment.
"I don't see it, so it's probably somewhere else," Ren said before pointing toward a nearby village. "For now, we should get those people to safety."
"Yes! We should help them while we look for this ghost ship!" They turned in shock as Raphtalia spoke out. When all eyes were on her, she blushed a bit. "Wh-what? D-did I say something wrong?"
Elhart chuckled, patting her head between her ears. "Ya just seem a little more into it than usual, that's all. Maybe being holed up in that castle for too long has you a bit stir-crazy."
"Yeah, you're normally quieter." Naofumi agreed. To which Raphtalia blushed even more heavily.
"I-I just think we should protect people if we can..."
"Well, enough standing around." Moto held his spear determinedly. "Let's kick some monster butt and save some fair maidens!" He roared, charging all by himself towards a village.
He was, with all his power-ups, a one-man army. The monsters in his way never stood a chance.
"We'll follow your lead, Sir Ren," Wyndia said, nodding her head to the dark-haired swordsman. She and the rest of the party followed Ren towards a different village, hacking away at any stray monsters that wandered too close.
"I suppose splitting up is our best option. If I see the ghost ship, I'll send a signal into the air." Itsuki said.
"That plan is a sound one. Go then, and be careful." Aultcray said. Itsuki nodded before taking his party and sprinting off. The King took a deep breath before looking down at the two kids. "Don't take any big risks. I'm trusting you to help defend your people."
"... Our people?" Raphtalia asked.
"You are the future heirs of Melromarc, are you not?" Aultcray smiled. "Go, and let the people see who their future rulers will be."
Weirdly enough, Naofumi felt a surge of pride arise in him at his Father's words. He quickly nodded his head. "Don't worry! We'll make sure to protect everyone!" Amber lifted both him and Raphtalia onto her back. "Let's gooooooooo!"
"Okie Dokie!"
As Amber ran off with the kids on her back, Elhart sighed. "I am not running to catch up with them." Aultcray chuckled, slapping him on the back.
"What, bones getting too old?"
"You're one to talk, grandpa. At least the hair I have left isn't white as snow."
The King grit his teeth at the remark. "Let's just go before we lose sight of them." he quipped. Elhart laughed at his small victory as the two readied themselves.
"Your Majesty, the army is in formation and ready to move on your command." One of the coalition commanders yelled to Aultcray.
Aultcray nodded to him and raised his staff. "To battle!"
The chorus of a thousand roars sounded behind him. And they charged directly into the center of the whole conflict to distract/deal with the main body of monsters.
An hour or so later, Naofumi was still having the time of his life.
"I am the source of power! Decipher the laws of nature and slash my target with a blade of darkness! Zweite Shadow Slash!" From the safety of Amber's back, Raphtalia fired a Shadow spell at a large Shadow Lizardman. Despite being hit with an attack of its own attribute, the creature screeched in agony and fell to the ground in pieces. The spell was that stronk!
When had her magic gotten so powerful? Did it have something to do with that weird glowing light that happened during her class-up ritual?
"Huah!" Amber kicked another large Lizardman high into the air with her clawed talons. It's momentum caused it to slam into at least five other monsters. All of whom disintegrated into shadowy scraps. Amber too. She was way stronker than before. He wished he could get class-ups like them too. Maybe then his punches would be able to do something.
"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi summoned the skill in front of them, stopping a horde of monsters in their tracks. They screeched and battered at it, but it wasn't breaking at all. That was all it was good for though. Setting it up so the others could look cool.
"Now little Sis!" Raphtalia stood up on Amber's back at her words.
"As the source of power, we order thee!"
"Decipher the laws of nature, bring about a sea of flame!"
"Bring about a bright light, clear as day!"
"Burn our enemies away! Go! Sunny Day!" Both finished the incantation together.
A raging ball of fire came to life in front of the group. The heat was so intense that Naofumi felt uncomfortable, yet Amber and Raphtalia barely felt it. It flew toward their enemies before erupting into a blinding column of golden flames that forced Naofumi to cover his eyes.
The monsters screamed as they baked under the light and heat of the combo spell. Within seconds, all the monsters in the area around them had been completely disintegrated. Not even their usual shadowy remains were left.
Okay, that was FREAKING EPIC! He wanted one of those!
"Thank you so much!" A villager shouted as he ran past them to safety.
"Gods bless you!"
"Be careful, young ones!" Villagers who had been trapped in their homes or under carts ran back down the way Naofumi and his party had cleared.
They continued clearing out the monsters within the village until there were only stragglers remaining. By this point, most if not all of the surviving villagers had escaped and were likely safe behind reinforcements for the coalition army. After checking one last time for any survivors, the group saw a bright flash in the sky.
"Look at that!" Raphtalia exclaimed, pointing at it. Within a short distance of the flare-like spell's light was what appeared to be a pirate ship floating in midair. "Do you think that's the ship that everyone was talking about?"
"It has to be!" Naofumi responded.
"The Bow Hero did say he'd send a signal if he saw the ship, so I think that all adds up," Amber said. "Come on, you two. Let's grab Uncle and head in that direction."
They hopped on her back and ran back a short distance. As she ran, Naofumi saw the ship release a salvo of large cannonballs just short of a valley wall. Looking up, Naofumi saw Ren right as he used a Wind skill from his sword to launch himself and the members of his party through the air before the next salvo exploded where they'd been standing. They all landed safely on the ground below as he used whatever skill he was using again to cushion their fall.
Okay, that was a little cooler than the ball of fire Naofumi saw before. How did Ren always manage to look so cool?!
Elhart and Aultcray were fighting alongside the coalition army, slowly making their way toward the main village in the area. The King barely had any time to see Amber coming before she whisked away from his comrade and took off running.
"AHHHHHHH!" The Blacksmith Elhart screamed in surprise.
"We've got no time to lose, Uncle!"
"WARN ME NEXT TIME AMBER!"
Aultcray chuckled and remained with the army to protect the civilians and guide the army around the battlefield. He unleashed another magical lightning bolt down into the thickest rank of monsters, disintegrating them in an instant.
With Amber's speed, it only took about five minutes to reach the flying pirate ship. All of the other heroes and their parties were already there, planning their next move. The biggest dilemma was how to reach the ship, as Ren's attempt to try and use the high ground to jump onto the ship had failed. But as soon as Amber showed up they had their answer.
"Oh, Amber, love! You could get us up to that ship, couldn't you?" Motoyasu said, prancing over to her like a love-drunk idiot. After the two children and Elhart hopped off her back, she met him with a love-drunk dance of her own.
"Why of course I could, Motoyasu dear! Such a jump would be easy, but I could only take a few at a time!" She responded with a smile on her beak. "Perhaps...four at a time at most?"
"Alright cut it out with the couple talk, you two." Elhart groaned. "Save it for after we deal with all of this."
Motoyasu and Amber both saluted. "Roger that, Uncle!"
"Don't call me Uncle, Spear Brat!" He notably didn't say anything about Amber calling him Uncle.
"Okay, we'll head up first and clear out as many monsters as we can. Amber, do you think you can make a jump back down?" Ren asked.
"I sure can!"
Wyndia scowled. "You mean I have to ride that thing?"
Motoyasu looked offended. "How dare you call my dear Amber a thing!"
"Filolials just...smell really bad."
"Dragons are pretty stinky too, you know!" The filolial snapped back.
As the two girls glared each other down, Elhart broke them apart. "Cool it. Now up you go, little miss Dragon Fanatic."
"I'm not a- HEY WOAH WOAH! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GRABBING, OLD MAN!" Wyndia screeched as Elhart lifted her by the waist and plopped her down onto Amber's back. Ren quickly hopped up along with two of his companions.
"We'll see you guys up there. Let's go!" He said.
"Be right back!" Amber saluted again before bending her knees and blasting into the air.
"I DIDN'T AGREE TO THISSSSSS-" Wyndia's scream quickly faded into the air as they rocketed toward the pirate ship. Naofumi and Raphtalia looked in awe at how fast they moved, while Motoyasu looked like he had fallen in love all over again.
Gross. He had cooties for sure.
It took Amber several trips, but finally, she brought up Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Uncle Bald Guy. She landed on a tentacle from the ship, crushing it instantly.
"Crimson Blade!"
Ren's fiery sword slashed the Skeleton Captain in two. Both pieces fell to the ground, the glowing eye sockets dimming. But then they regained their red glow, and the separate pieces reassembled themselves. Within seconds the Skeleton Captain stood again, ready for another round.
"Huah!" Wyndia blocked its next strike, while Welt and Bakta both slashed at it. Two spells from Ren's party mages brought it down once again.
"Even his party is so cool!" Naofumi said, eyes wide in awe.
"If you think that's cool, watch this!" Almost casually, with tentacles wrapped around him, too weak to do anything, Motoyasu planted his spear into the deck of the ship. "Meteor Thrust!"
The wood underneath was lit up by a giant blue explosion. A loud, dying screech sounded from the Kraken planted into the bottom of the ship. All the tentacles instantly shriveled up. "Whoaaaaaa…" Naofumi and Raphtalia both said in awe.
However, seconds later, the tentacles reappeared in even greater numbers. Amber slashed at them before they had a chance to wrap around her precious Moto again. Motoyasu frowned. "Dang, that still didn't get the Wave Boss to come out?" He asked skeptically.
"Eagle Piercing Shot!" Near the helm, Itsuki sent the skill through the ship itself. It tore through the wood like butter, much to his surprise. "Why didn't I get your guy's strengthening methods sooner?!" He yelled back in shock.
"Because you were too busy playing vigilante!" Ren replied. Itsuki scowled and sent arrow after arrow into the ship's helm. Which slowly started to look like melted spaghetti. Even his normal arrows were far more powerful than before. Holy heck!
While he was momentarily distracted, the Skeleton Captain's sword struck Ren's arm. However, it barely even left a paper cut. It was far too weak. Yet killing it, the Kraken, and the ship repeatedly wasn't doing anything.
"Why isn't anything happening?" Raphtalia asked, running between the legs of a nearby skeleton and cutting through its bones like butter. "Are we doing something wrong!?"
"No idea, little miss." Elhart smashed his warhammer through a row of skeletons, cleaving their heads off.
Naofumi stood amongst the chaos with a hand on his chin in thought. Skeletons and shadowy creatures assaulted him from all angles, but his defense was far too strong for him to even be bothered. 'So they're beating up all the monsters, but whatever is supposed to happen isn't happening?... Hmm...'
He idly summoned an Air Strike Shield, protecting Raphtalia from some sneaky tentacles that tried to squish her. 'If I was a boss monster, how much trouble would I stand before coming out?... ...!'
"Ooo I have an idea!" He exclaimed.
"What!? What are you talking about, brat?" Elhart yelled in response.
As everyone looked in his direction, Naofumi smirked. "All we have to do is make a big explosion and blow up the whole ship! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!"
…
"Really?" Wyndia's dry voice spoke on behalf of everyone.
"What?! It could work!" Naofumi pouted.
"Yeah," Elhart said sarcastically. "That idea would be a lot better if we weren't on the freaking ship!" He slapped the back of Naofumi's head, attempting to knock some sense into him. "Any other bright ideas in that rock you call a head!?"
"Ow, you're so mean!" Naofumi whined. Why did Uncle Bald Guy never like any of his ideas!?
"Wait...that might not be such a bad idea," Raphtalia said.
Yay! Raphtalia saw the sense in his plan! He knew it'd been smart to make her his best friend!
"What!? Not you too!"
"Amber, want to try the same thing as earlier?"
"Hmm? You mean the fireball?" She asked with a smirk. "I thought you'd never ask! Anything to impress my darling!"
"First off, eww. Second, yes that's what I meant." Raphtalia gagged a little for emphasis. Elhart slapped a hand onto his face.
"Just wait until you start feeling the same way about-" Amber was responding.
Raphtalia immediately cut her off by starting the chant. Still smirking, Amber followed along with her chant. "Everyone, to the other side of the ship!" Ren yelled in terror. Realizing what was about to happen.
"What do you-" Itsuki was saying.
"Sunny Day!" They finished the incantation and a gargantuan ball of flames came out from them.
"HOLY-" The flames struck the bow of the ship. It exploded into a blaze of fire and wooden splinters, causing the ship to lurch dangerously forward.
The blazing inferno also took out the Skeleton Captain, engulfing it entirely in flames. The Kraken screeched as the fire burned it away. By the time the spell was over, the entire front half of the ship was on fire.
"Now you've done it! This ship is going to crash into the mountains!" Itsuki yelled, holding onto the remnants of the mast for dear life. He'd barely gotten behind it in time.
"FUEHHHHH!" One of his party members gripped to his legs, screaming pathetically as the ship continued to lurch. The others quickly grabbed anything that was nailed down.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH HELP MEEEEEEE!" Naofumi screeched, rolling across the deck toward the new hole in the ship. His defense stat may be high, but a fall from this height would still hurt a lot! He might break a leg or something!
Fortunately, the ship stabilized. However, that was because the front end was regenerating itself. The skeleton captain walked out of the flames, and the tentacles of the Kraken appeared.
"Awww, it didn't work," Raphtalia said sadly.
"Yeah, but you definitely gave it your best shot." Elhart patted her on the head, looking in amazement at the damage she and Amber had caused. He'd have to take his training more seriously, otherwise, the little miss would soon be outpacing him in terms of sheer raw power.
And yes, he could still cause way more damage than that if he didn't hold back.
"Wait, look at the shadows! I think they're moving!" Ren said, pointing to a shadow that darted across the deck of the ship. It passed by the light of one of the fires, and a pair of evil blood-red eyes like those on the skeleton captain appeared.
Motoyasu thrust his spear into one that wandered too close, but it merely molded itself around his spear and continued onward as if it was little more than an annoyance. However, when it passed by light from another fire, it was revealed to have red eyes as well.
"That must be where the boss is hiding! In the shadows!" Tersia yelled.
"Shadow monsters are weak to light magic! Does anyone have light magic!?" Farrie yelled, dodging a swipe from a skeleton's ax. Despite the destruction, the ship's skeleton crew was still alive and active.
"Oh, I-I do!" Raphtalia said. "What kind of spell should I use?"
"The biggest one you can!" Naofumi yelled jokingly.
"Okay!" With a bright smile, she began chanting, and everyone around immediately took cover in terror of another Sunny Day being unleashed.
Fortunately, it wasn't a Sunny Day.
"Drifa Light!" She finished.
Unfortunately, the ball of light that appeared over the ship may as well have been from how blinding it was!
"AHHH! I CAN'T SEE! I CAN'T SEE!" It wasn't only Naofumi yelling. Almost everyone besides Amber and Raphtalia was suddenly blinded by the intense light. It was like a second sun had appeared directly overhead.
"I think you might have overdone it, little sis," Amber said to Raphtalia.
"Oops, sorry." She looked down sadly.
"! ! ! ! !" It took a moment, but they realized there was more than just the Heroes screeching in pain. It was like the screeches were coming from everywhere. As Raphtalia's light spell began to die down, they saw many ghostly fish flying around everywhere. There wasn't a single shadow anywhere on the ship for them to hide in any longer.
"That's the Soul Eater, but why are there so many?" Motoyasu asked as he finally recovered from his blindness. He easily sliced one in half as it passed overhead. "And why are they so weak?"
"I don't know." Ren slashed through another one as well. "It'll probably be stronger when it combines itself."
"I'm not complaining. At this point, it's like shooting fish in a barrel." Itsuki said as he nailed several between the eyes.
"! ! ! ! !"
After a few seconds of swarming, the Soul Eaters all screeched in unison. They swirled around each other until they squished together, their forms molding together until they made one massive giant ghost fish with glowing red eyes, and a sort of crown on its head. Status magic labeled it as the Interdimensional Soul Eater.
"! ! ! ! !" It opened its giant maw wide and began charging some sort of energy attack in it.
"That's more like I was expecting," Ren said, taking an offensive stance. "Get ready guys." He'd take the first move for everyone. When his sword was charged up, he slashed in front of him. "Meteor Slash!"
The skill flew through the air. The Interdimensional Soul Eater released it's charged up attack.
The multi-colored blade of light not only cut right through the attack, it also cut right through the giant ghost fish.
"... ! ! !-" The Wave Boss itself epically exploded. A rain of ghostly phlegm rained down onto everyone like a disgusting shower.
"Ewwwww, my clothes are ruined," Farrie complained.
"Right? And these robes were brand new…" Tersia said sadly.
The others just stood there, stunned at what had just happened.
...
Ren turned around, covered in otherworldly goo. "Was that... really it?" He asked, actually sounding bored and meaning it.
Wyndia quickly turned around. Covering her burning red face with her arms. That was… that was… 'Wow... that was actually impressive.' She'd have to let him hold her hand later for this.
Elhart rested the head of his warhammer on the deck with a sigh of relief. "I wouldn't complain if I were you, kid. You might be heroes, but something like that could have destroyed villages on its own."
Ren looked down with guilty eyes. "I... I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it." The blacksmith turned to the rest of the group, whose skeletal opponents were defeated one by one. This time, they didn't reassemble themselves. That was good news, but...
"The wave...isn't over?" Raphtalia asked, looking up into the red sky. "But didn't we beat the boss?"
"Yeah, why is the Wave still open?" Amber curiously asked. This was her first Wave.
Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu all stood in a small huddle together. "Did this happen for you guys?" The tall Blonde asked.
"No," Itsuki said.
"Same here. What's going on?" Ren asked, peeking at Naofumi out of the corner of his eye. The boy was busy picking up scraps of the boss monster and feeding it to his shield. The Sword Hero nodded.
Smart boy. He's learning.
"Well, what should we-"
"Look out, brats!" Elhart screamed, leaping in front of them protectively.
"Zero-Stance Rondo: Reverse MoonFlower!"
While everyone was caught off-guard, a flurry of energy-filled swipes slammed into the blacksmith's crossed arms. They bit into his skin and the wounds were deep. "Ugh!"
"Uncle!" Motoyasu cried out.
"Hmmm." Their new opponent leaped down from the mast of the ship, thrusting a small bladed weapon at Elhart. However, a few quick arrows from Itsuki forced her to flip to the side and evade. She landed on the deck of the ship in front of them.
It was a woman, dressed in a kimono and holding a pair of folding fans. She glared at all of them with eyes of an otherworldly red color.
"Healing Warmth." Motoyasu used a healing spell on Elhart, healing some of his more serious wounds.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks brat," Elhart muttered as he took up his warhammer again. However, Motoyasu pulled the old man back. He stood in front of him, pointing his spear at the mysterious fair maiden.
"Who are you, and why did you attack Uncle?!" Motoyasu yelled angrily.
"Yeah, what he said?!" Naofumi yelled, out of sight of the new villain. Why was everyone in the way?! Who had hurt Uncle Bald Guy!?
"Who I am is of no concern. I see how strong you are, so there are no introductions needed. Think of me as your enemy." She spread her arms wide, and a golden glow surrounded her.
"I think that's the same attack she used before!" Itsuki yelled.
"Zero-Stance Rondo: Reverse MoonFlower!" Indeed, it was.
She slashed forward, again and again, sending countless energy-filled swipes towards all of them. At least they knew how it worked now. And fortunately, Elhart had bought them the time they needed to charge up their own skills.
"Meteor Thrust!"
"Meteor Arrow!"
"Meteor Slash!"
The attacks clashed in midair, canceling each other out in a series of explosions. Her eyes widened in shock, however, as Ren's attack burst through the smoke, slamming into her fans. She was knocked backward but appeared to suffer no damage.
"You're right. We are this world's heroes." Ren said, he and the others stepping forward through the smoke. The smoke disappeared as the other two heroes came into view. "And if you're the cause for this wave not closing, then we'll just have to beat you too."
She scanned the group of three, then the various people on the ship until her eyes landed on Naofumi and Raphtalia, who finally got into view. Her eyes widened in shock. "You brought children onto a battlefield? What kind of heroes would do such a thing? Despicable!"
"Hey! I'm a hero too, you know!" Naofumi shouted indignantly, puffing his chest out with pride. "I'm the Shield Hero! See? Here's my temperamental shield as proof!"
Elhart managed a chuckle. "Look at him, using big people's words. I'm proud of him." He grimaced as the pain in his arms flared up once again. Dang, it'd been a while since someone had been able to hurt him like this. Whoever this lady was, she was strong.
She didn't listen, as she put her fans together. A blade of glowing energy sprouted from the tip pointed at Ren. "Rupture-Stance Rondo: Tortoise Shell Breaker!"
"No way I'm letting that happen! Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi shouted, creating an ephemeral shield that was shattered in an instant. Seeing that the attack was far stronger than he expected, the boy ran in front to block the rest of it himself. Ren knelt as the others charged up skills.
"One Hundred Swords!"
"Chaos Thrust!"
"Lightning Arrow!"
Out of the corner of her eye, the kimono-clad lady spotted the child running straight into the path of her attack and her eyes widened like saucers. 'No...!'
They assumed Naofumi would be fine since he'd blocked many other stronger attacks before. However... "AAAGHHHHH!" Naofumi cried out in pain as the woman's skill hit his shield. Unlike previous attacks, this one went through his shield and slammed into his shoulder, launching him back over everyone.
Her eyes snapped back to the fight as the three skills flew toward her at high speed. She dodged the arrow, but between the flurry of magical swords and the Blonde's very fast thrusts with his spear, she was left with many various scratches on her body.
"I've got you!" Amber cried, speeding into Naofumi's path and catching him before he could fall overboard. The armor around his shoulder was destroyed, and blood slowly leaked out from the wound. IT HURT! LIKE, A LOT!
The kimono-clad woman fell to her knees, looking mortified. Had she just attacked a child?!
"How dare you hurt my brother!" Motoyasu almost impaled her on his spear. She quickly rose to her feet and jumped out of the way.
"No, I didn't mean to-"
"Hah!" Her fans barely blocked a slash from Ren. The guy looked pissed! And then she was struck in the gut by an arrow from Itsuki. She was launched back into the Skeleton Captain's cabin, almost bursting through the wall of wood.
"This is for Naofumi! Flaming Thrust!"
"Crimson Blade!"
"Fiery Arrow!"
The three converged different fire skills where she stood, and her eyes widened as the area around her was blown up. Her area was covered in smoke for several seconds...
"You…" She stumbled out of the smoke. She looked pretty burned from the last attack, but she raised her fans wide again. "Zero-Stance Rondo: Reverse MoonFlower!"
She sent the powerful skill at the three Heroes, but Motoyasu and Ren easily hacked and slashed through the various energy swipes. Itsuki hit other swipes midair with well-timed arrows. Her eyes widened. Just how strong were these Heroes?! Or was it because they were depleting her energy reserves with all these attacks.
"Air Strike Javelin!"
"Air Strike Bash!"
"Air Strike Spread!"
She weaved the javelin and the burst of wind sent at her, but it was slower than before. The rain of red arrows hit her several times. Further injuring her.
"This is the end for you!" Motoyasu yelled.
Her initial observations were right. These Heroes were far more powerful than they let on in the Wave Boss fight. If she wanted to win this fight, she had to go all or nothing.
"Stance of Emptiness…" She brought her fans close.
"Wait, guys-" Ren's eyes widened. It was like he could see the energy gathering around their enemy.
"Moon Break!"
Above her, many glowing fans appeared. The eyes of the other Heroes widened. The number that appeared was far more than even Ren's One Hundred Swords skill. "What the-" Motoyasu slapped a hand over his mouth. This wasn't a time to cuss, I say!
"You're right, this is the end. But it'll be the end of you Heroes!" The woman unleashed the rain of nearly innumerable blades down on the Three Heroes.
"No...! I won't let you hurt my friends!" Naofumi weakly held a hand forward and shouted. Surprising the woman. How was he still moving after that skill-
"Shield Prison...!"
A ball of chains and shields appeared around the group of three. "Air Strike Shield… Second Shield…!" The two large shields appeared in front of the cage of shields. "And now...Change Shield! Soul Eater Shield!"
The spectral, green shields vanished and two new shields replaced them. They looked just like the face of the Interdimensional Soul Eater that they had just defeated, with white skin and a ghastly smile that would fit perfectly on the box of a horror movie. Its red eyes rivaled those of the woman herself.
She took a noticeable step backward as soon as the shields appeared. And as the blades of her skill slammed into those shields, the sharp teeth of the shields opened and ate them up. They opened their mouths further, sucking in most of the innumerable blades. Those that got past them, shattered harmlessly against the Shield Prison.
She watched, stunned. Her best attack…
A bead of sweat dripped down her neck. "You... you really are one of this world's Heroes..."
"That's...ugh...that's right! And don't you forget it!" Naofumi said, slumping forward in exhaustion on Amber's wing.
"Oh no! Use your healing magic on yourself Naofumi!" Amber cried.
"Urgh... but it's so uncool..." He complained. Those around him sighed.
The Prison disappeared from around the Heroes. All three of them got ready to continue fighting. "Thanks, Naofumi, that was a smart call there." Itsuki praised the boy. It was rare to get such a compliment from him.
However, before they could continue fighting, the woman closed her fans. "Tell me, Heroes of this world. Is this... child... really destined to help save this world from destruction? Would the Holy Weapons of this world truly stoop so low to choose a kid...?"
"What are you talking about?" Itsuki asked. "It's only because of him that we've gotten as strong as we have." He admitted.
"Yeah, don't go dissing our little bro like that!" Motoyasu yelled angrily. "He may be smol, but he's just as much of a hero as we are!"
"Maybe even more of a Hero than us," Ren admitted quietly.
...
"..." The woman went into a contemplative silence. Were they truly serious?...
She turned around and jumped up in the sky towards a wave rift.
"Stop! Where do you think you're going!?" Motoyasu yelled, running to the edge of the ship.
She turned her head. Still flying towards the Wave rift.
"I'm leaving. You've won this battle, Heroes." She said, eyes darkening with...sadness? "I'm sorry about before. My name is Glass. And if my cause involves the murder of children, then I must seek out other means of protecting my loved ones. There is a limit to what I'm willing to do, even for the sake of saving my world."
Stunned, the Heroes and their parties watched as Glass entered the rift. And soon after, a bright glow came from it and all the other rifts. When it disappeared, a blue sky reappeared above them. The rifts were gone. And so was Glass.
The Wave was over.
"... So, how are we getting off this ship?" Tersia asked.
"Huh? We jump. But I can only carry a few at a time, so it might take a bit." Amber answered matter-of-factly.
The ship lurched and began falling out of the sky.
"I don't think we have that kinda time!" Elhart said, backing up and grabbing both Raphtalia and Naofumi's collars to keep them from sliding down the deck. Again.
"Ahhhh! What do we do?!" Welt yelled fearfully.
"Wait, I've got it!" Naofumi shouted excitedly. "Everyone get close!"
Seeing no time for a different plan, they bit the bullet and decided to trust the smol boy with their lives. Literally. It was risky, stupid, and probably a terrible idea, but it was the only idea they could think of in such a short time.
"Shield Prison!" Naofumi created a ball of shields around everyone as the ship plummeted toward the ground. "Change Shield! Pillow Shield!"
On the inside of the ball, the shields change into giant, fluffy pillows.
"Ohhh! Nice thinking, bro!" Motoyasu leaned up against the inner walls of the prison and sighed in relief. "It's almost as nice as Amber's feathers..." He idly wondered if Naofumi could absorb Amber's feathers to unlock an even fluffier Pillow Shield. Thoughts for later, he supposed.
"Ewwwww!" Naofumi and Raphtalia both said it at the same time. And, for once, the others agreed with them.
That was definitely too much information Moto. Wayyyyyyy too much.
The ship crashed into the ground, shattering into pieces. However, the ball of shields rolled out from the wreckage unharmed. On the inside, the Heroes and their parties were busy enjoying the fluffy heaven of the Pillow Shields.
After they rolled a short distance away to safety, the ball vanished and everyone let out an "awww" of disappointment. They wanted more pillows. They were nice and fluffy and comfortable.
"You know, short stack? I hate to admit it, but that was a pretty dang smart idea you had there." Elhart said, rustling the boy's hair. "Comfortable too." It was about damn time he got to enjoy the comfort of those pillows. Even if it was only for like, fifteen seconds.
"Is everyone alright?" Ren asked, taking stock of any remaining injuries. The ones they had were few and far between, so he sighed in relief. "Thank goodness we made it out of that. That..."Glass" woman was far stronger than I expected."
"But she was no match for the adorableness that is Naofumiiiiiiii!" Motoyasu lifted the boy into the air and plopped him on his shoulders. "You saved us again, bro! You're our Hero for sure!"
Naofumi laughed gleefully. "Hehe, I couldn't have done it without you guys and Raphtalia and everyone else, though!" He then grimaced, remembering his hurt shoulder.
"Come on kid, just use your magic already and heal yourself!" Uncle Bald Guy bellowed.
"But my magic's so laaaaaame," Naofumi whined.
"I don't care if it's lame! Just fix yourself already, brat!" Uncle Bald Guy yelled.
Wyndia observed the Heroes interact with a barely concealed smile. And, behind everyone's backs, she lightly gripped Ren's hand in hers. 'Hmph. Maybe they aren't such failures after all. You chose well, Father.'
Ren had to hold his breath to keep from gasping out in surprise. WAS THAT WYNDIA?! WAS SHE HOLDING HIS HAND AGAIN?! THAT MEANT HE DID GREAT! NOW DON'T SAY ANYTHING TO RUIN IT! JUST ENJOY THE HAND HOLDING WHILE SHE'S ALLOWING IT, YOU AWESOME CHUUNI BOY STUD!
Author's Notes:
Allen Blaster: Sorry this was a long time in the making. Life got busy. And we both got busy with other writing projects. Hopefully, this ball of sunshine helps to brighten your day!
Also, just so you know, this is literally the only way the Heroes stand a chance of defeating Glass at the Ghost Ship Wave. All four, with power-up methods shared, working together. She is that strong. Seriously, I'm not joking. For those reading Hope, you'll learn why she's so strong this coming Monday.
RLTygurr: For those of you who read Shielded Savior, you already know that a super-powered Naofumi and Raphtalia would still struggle against Glass at this point. The butterflies of Naofumi being a child really start coming into play here, and I'm enjoying the chance to write it out.
Plus, it helps stave off a bit of writer's block from my other stories. Shielded Savior is the one I'm focusing on for now, but eventually I'll jump back into Snowblind. I'm not sorry to say Potatofumi is one of those "I'll write it if I'm drunk" type of stories. If it gets updated, cool. But don't be shocked if it never does.
Hero Clips!
Sunny Day
"Hey Amber, do you think you and Raphtalia could do that fire thingy again? The really big fireball?" Naofumi asked.
"Why of course! It was very effective in that last battle, so it can't hurt to practice!" The filolial turned and called out. "Oh, Sis! Naofumi wants us to use Sunny Day again!"
The smol girl bounded over with a curious expression. "Why?"
"Because it was super cool, and I wanted to know how you did it!" The boy practically bounced with excitement. "Dadcray never mentioned anything about magic with two people!"
Raphtalia deadpanned. "Yes, he did. You were asleep, and he was nice enough to let you sleep through the lesson because he figured you'd never learn it."
"Hey! I'm smart enough to learn super fireballs too! My shield just won't let me use them because it's-"
ZAP!
"Oww! See!? It doesn't want me to do cool things!" Naofumi glared down at his shield with annoyance.
The two girls sighed. He may be a hero, but it seemed he'd never let that go.
"Alright, let's do it then. Uhh...What should we cast it on?" Raphtalia asked, tail flicking back and forth in interest. She wouldn't admit it, but casting such a big fireball was exciting.
And dangerous. Those were practically the same thing, right?
Naofumi hummed in thought. "Um...How about that building over there? I bet that would blow up pretty nicely." He pointed toward an abandoned building. It was away from the rest of the village. And the whole village was in ruins and deserted anyway, so it wasn't like anyone would miss it if it were gone.
They shrugged in unison before beginning their spell.
"As the source of power, we order thee! Decipher the laws of nature, bring about a sea of flame! Bring about a bright light, clear as day! Burn our enemies away!"
The two chanted, and just like before the fireball began to appear before them. Amber leaned down and nudged the raccoon with her leg. "Psst, hey Raphtalia. We should make this one reeeeeaaaaaaaaally big to impress Naofumi, what do you think?" She whispered.
"Wh-why!? Wasn't it big enough last time!?"
"No no no! It was big, but let's make this one REAL big!"
Raphtalia sweatdropped. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Who cares! It'll be fun!"
She couldn't argue with that. Focusing their magic, Amber and Raphtalia pumped more and more power into the fireball. It quickly grew from the size of a beach ball to the size of a car.
The blinding light was even more intense, and Naofumi shielded his eyes with his hand. "Woooaaaaaaahhh! This is gonna be good!" He exclaimed.
"Hey, what the heck is going on over here!?" Uncle Bald Guy arrived in time to see the two girls making the fireball even larger. "Are you two insane!? Why in the world do you need a fireball that big!? We're not even fighting anything!"
"Because I thought it would be fun, Uncle!" Amber said with an innocent smile. "We're just throwing it at that building. What's the worst that could happen?"
"A lot of things! Get rid of that stupid spell right now before you kill yourselves!"
Amber and Raphtalia shared a smirk. "Welllllllllllll since you asked..." Raphtalia said before turning to her partner. "Go! Sunny Day!" The fireball swelled in size once again, reaching the size of a small building. Its light was so bright that nobody could see anything anymore.
Unfortunately, that included the two girls casting the spell.
"AHHH, Amber! We made it too big!" Raphtalia panicked.
"It's too late now! Let's just throw it way over- Hey! Why are you still putting more magic into it!?" The filolial cried in shock as their fireball continued to increase in size.
"What!? I'm not doing anything! That was you!" The raccoon shouted back.
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
"Was not!"
"Was too!"
The fireball was now the size of a house. Elhart turned around and covered his eyes. "I can't watch, both literally and figuratively. Goodbye, cruel world."
"Was to-oooooowoah! I think we should throw it now before it gets any bigger!" Amber said.
"Good idea! On three: One, two-"
"THREE!" They heaved the ball of flames forward. It soared over the abandoned building, and over the village, incinerating anything unfortunate enough to be caught in its path, and setting the ground beneath it aflame.
With their vision suddenly restored, Naofumi squinted to see the miniature sun as it flew toward a mountain.
"Woooaaaaahhhh..." He said in awe.
"Why does nobody listen to me...?" Elhart sulked, still looking away. The abandoned village hadn't even been hit, and it was on fire.
But that wasn't even the best part.
The ball struck the mountain. For a moment, there was nothing more than a bright flash that lit up the entire sky. A moment later, a deafening BOOM! and a shockwave that nearly launched Naofumi off his feet followed. Elhart turned, and what he saw made his jaw hanging open.
"Oh no..." Elhart mumbled. "No no no no no... This is bad, really bad."
"THAT, WAS SO, FRIGGIN' COOOOOOOOL!" Naofumi screamed in happiness. "It was like brrrrrrr, then it was like WHOOSH! Then BOOOOOOOOOM! Hahahahahahaha!" He emphasized his descriptions with large arm motions as he fell back laughing.
"I… I guess it was…" Raphtalia said in surprise.
"Wow… we really made… that one… big…" Amber looked ready to faint.
Meanwhile, the other three Heroes just sweatdropped. "So, uh... Do you guys think Naofumi will find a way out of this one?" Ren asked.
"I have no idea," Itsuki responded, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He's gotten out of some serious problems, but he's never caused one quite this...extreme."
"Aww, he'll be fine! You guys know the king and queen can't get mad at our little bro!" Literally, the King was sitting nearby, looking at Raphtalia with the proudest look on his face. It was a look that said, "I taught that girl everything she knows."
Motoyasu tried to throw an arm around Ren's neck, but the boy evaded and the Spear Hero nearly fell to the ground. "Besides, it's just a mountain in the middle of nowhere."
Itsuki gave him a skeptical look. "Do you have mountain insurance?"
"... That's a thing?"
"I'll take that as a no. Come on, let's get them and get out of here before anyone sees what they did." Ren said with a groan.
It was too late. A dozen Shadows Momellia had keeping tabs on the little kid were already on their way back to report to Her Majesty what had just occurred.
Not even the big news Momellia had learned would be enough to stay her wrath.
Till Next Time
Allen and RLT