Hey everyone, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope those of you that did read it enjoyed my Christmas one-shot for this year! I put a lot of work and effort into it, and I'm glad that it's been well received!
I'm pleased to announce that I've used much of my time this Christmas Break to write another story from beginning to end for the fandom. Once I'm done proofreading and editing more of the chapters for it, I'll begin posting them to this site and Archiveofourown. I also have the next chapter of Shield Kid about done. I just need to figure out the last scene for it as well as the omake and I should be able to upload it.
Just so you all have something to look forward to this New Year.
Chapter Forty-Three: Infiltrating a Guardian Beast
The majority of the coalition was now moving out of the mountain pass down towards the plains. Aultcray and several of the other leaders of various nations went with them.
Naofumi and Itsuki came back a few minutes later with new gear for their party members that needed it. Then, the heroes, their parties, the Queen, Werner, and the forces they brought along with them took the dragon mounts into the mountains. Keeping low and out of sight of the Spirit Tortoise who was breaking its way through the landscape.
Fitoria stood at the foot of a nearby mountain in her human form. Her face was the picture of calm, her eyes looking forward with determination at the oncoming beast's large figure.
She raised a hand to the necklace hanging from her neck. Feeling the warmth coming off the gemstone.
It'd been such a long time since she'd last used it in combat. She was already extremely strong. What this weapon could provide her in terms of stats was like adding a drop of water into an ocean.
Still, it had its uses. Without it, she couldn't cast Liberation magic. She couldn't portal around the world to help out her flock. She couldn't use hero skills or other such attacks. She couldn't increase the stats of her flock by sacrificing their levels to give a growth modifier to their stats.
There were honestly lots of things she couldn't do if she didn't have this weapon.
But… it'd been a long time since she'd ever considered using it for combat. Her magic was in a tier of its own. Her agility was unrivaled… but for a battle like this, she needed more than just magic and speed. She also needed the attacks, mobility, and protection provided by her vassal weapon.
Boom… … Boom… … Boom… ...
Fitoria took a deep breath. The Tortoise hadn't seen her yet.
"Gwah?"
"I'm sorry, it'd be too dangerous for you all to help." Fitoria apologized to her flock.
"Gwah Gwah! Gwah Gwa! (If the big turtle is so dangerous, then Fitoria definitely needs our help to face it!)"
Fitoria sighed at the persistence of the Filolials in front of her. "Please. Fitoria wouldn't be asking you all to stay out of this if Fitoria didn't care about all of you.
"Some of you I saved from the humans. Others are the descendants of those who came to me seeking refuge long ago.
"I'm sorry if I never showed it before. But you are Fitoria's flock. And Fitoria doesn't want anything bad to happen to her flock."
"Gwah! (But Fitoria trained us to become strong!)"
"(Fitoria put us through the worst of the worst to prepare us to fight for our lives!)"
"I did, and I'm sorry-" Fitoria began to say.
"(Fitoria doesn't understand!)"
"(We're grateful that Fitoria has been so hard on us!)"
…
Fitoria stared, surprised as the Filolials in front of her proudly raised their heads and started speaking all at once.
"(Fitoria helped us to grow strong because Fitoria wanted to make sure we could protect ourselves when Fitoria wasn't around to do so!)"
"(The training was brutal, but we finally have a chance to pay you back for all the help and kindness you've given us!)"
"(We're going to make the big turtle and its monsters pay for hurting Fitoria and the Heroes she cares about!)"
"Gwah! Gwah! Gwah! Gwah! Gwah!"
Fitoria looked on. The Filolials in front of her continued to excitedly talk and offer her their support. Some of them she'd known for their whole lives. Who hadn't always agreed, who'd tried to laze around at times, who'd been weird a time or two, but had still stayed with her and the flock. She'd given them food, shelter, a community of their own, and a path to strength few others could offer.
"You know… I can't have any of you near me when I fight it… I don't want to hurt any of you." Fitoria said, slowly looking down at the ground, as if in thought.
The Filolials went silent, staring at their queen. Then, one of them walked forward. "(Who said we had to be close to fight the big turtle and its familiars?)"
Fitoria looked up again. The Filolial ruffled its wings. "(Fitoria didn't just help us learn to fight with our claws and our beaks! Fitoria helped us to learn magic! Fitoria helped us to learn really cool magic!)"
"(If we stay out of its range, we could not only attract the little monsters, but we could also help Fitoria whenever Fitoria needs it with powerful magic!)" The Filolial gwahed happily.
The Filolials began gwahing again in excitement. Fitoria stared, pondering the words of her subordinate for a moment.
"You're aware of the Guardian Beast's drain effect, correct? If any of you stay within the area around it for too long, you will die." Fitoria warned.
The Filolials looked at each other, then back at her and nodded. "(Don't worry, Fitoria. If any of us get in danger, we'll help each other get out of the way and recover.)"
"(Yeah! It's time to show you just what we're made of!)" A younger Filolial cried out boldly.
Fitoria actually started to chuckle. Filolials really were an annoying, stubborn bunch. Here she was, planning on fighting the Tortoise by herself, for hours, days if need be, and her flock was planning on helping her, no matter what.
"Is it too late for Fitoria to portal her flock back to the Sanctuary?" Fitoria asked out loud.
There were immediate gwahs of protest and anger from the Filolials. They immediately stopped though upon seeing Fitoria's smile. "Alright, you have convinced me. Just know, if you're careless, I shall remember it after the battle is over. If you survive, I will make you wish you hadn't."
"Gwah!" The Filolials puffed themselves up with pride. "(Come on! It's time to show the world what we're made of!)"
Fitoria looked at the mountains around her. Though they weren't visible, her flock was out there. Ready to support Fitoria should she need it.
The Heroes were out there too. Weren't they?
Odd, Fitoria hadn't realized just how much she had to lose before. After living through so many lifetimes, she'd forgotten what it was like to feel attached to something. These Heroes…
It was official. If this had been a gacha game, they would have been her five-star drops. She didn't care what their faults were. What they'd accomplished for her was the equivalent of a miracle. And she was going to make sure to pay them back for it as long as they lived.
No Hero would suffer again as long as she was around.
"█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █!"
The Guardian Beast in the distance finally saw her.
Inside the core room, Kyo glared at the lone small girl with suspicion. "Wasn't she the bird brat that took down the useless Sword Hero?"
She was so small though. Really, why did that snarky douchebag even bother to warn him about her back when he helped him to kidnap the lanky loser? Like, seriously, what threat could she actually pose to a monster of this size on her own-
Poof!
Kyo's eyes widened in shock.
Where a small, petite, not even five-foot girl had stood before, now stood the towering three hundred-plus foot form of the Queen of the Filolials.
But somehow, the shock and awe of that wasn't the coolest detail of the transformation.
The Vassal Carriage which Fitoria had worn around her neck for centuries had finally changed forms. Now, Fitoria was on the back of a large vehicle. A chariot with a train's breaker mounted upfront. A series of lances adorned both sides, facing forward. Heavy wheels equipped with spikes were on both sides. At chest level above the train breaker, the gemstone of the Vassal Carriage flashed brilliantly.
To the ones from this world. It was the biggest, meanest chariot one could have ever created.
For those from Japan though. They knew what they were looking at.
An honest to god, hill-sized tank.
And the world's most powerful individual was at its helm.
"Is that a &%$#ing t-" Kyo began to speak in disbelief.
"Cannon Blast, V." Fitoria calmly spoke out.
The lances on the sides turned out to be more than just lances. Only the bottom two were actual lances.
The other six were cannons.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █!"
The blasts impacted against the front of the Spirit Tortoise. Bits of flesh were blown off its head and legs as it roared in pain. But the shots that hit its shell bounced off without doing any damage.
The Tortoise began to glow as it prepared to retaliate.
However, by the time the dust around its face had disappeared, Fitoria was already in front of it.
Slash!
The Tortoise's head was cut clean off. Its body collapsed to the ground.
Inside the core room, Kyo started to breathe in and out deeply.
What... what... WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT $%^&!?
"How can this be?! That stupid bird was near death when I last saw her! How is a little bird capable of turning into a kaiju?! How is she already up and kicking again!? And WHERE did she get a &^%$ing tank from!?" Kyo screamed in anger.
"Ha! You definitely underestimated her idiot! There's no way Fitoria could be taken down when she's as tough as- GRRRK!" Motoyasu was cut off again as his prison electrified him.
"Shut up shut up shut up! This is just a minor inconvenience! As long as I have you and that idiot Sword Hero, no one can kill this thing! NO ONE!"
Motoyasu coughed and spat out some bile but continued to smirk. "You keep telling yourself that, idiot. The bell is already tolling. And it sure as hell ain't for me or Ren."
The Spear Hero was electrocuted again, and Kyo focused on the battle as the Tortoise's head was regrown. Its body was still glowing, so he unleashed the breath attack that'd done so much damage before.
"█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █!"
The chariot's wheels spun sideways almost impossibly fast, allowing Fitoria to move out of the way of the attack. That was another advantage of the vehicle she was in. It was not your standard tank. The individualized wheels rotated on their own axis. They weren't connected like a normal vehicle.
In other words, it had the maneuverability needed to quickly move out of the way of oncoming attacks.
The Tortoise moved its head around to hit the large bird, but Fitoria's agility and speed magnified by her vassal carriage made landing a hit on her near impossible despite her size.
She took a moment of thought while dodging to appreciate the vehicle she was currently in. If she remembered correctly, a hero of the past had developed it. Unlike the fools who brute-forced vehicle designs from their world into Fitoria's, failing every time due to lack of resources, certain materials not existing, or other factors, one particular hero had taken careful consideration of all these things while designing a vehicle that'd be an effective tool in this world, just like how a ballista or a catapult was effective when a high leveled person was operating it.
It was a shame that the original vehicle hadn't survived through the centuries. But she could still be grateful to the Hero that'd managed to make it and given her permission to copy it for this fight.
"Crash! Charge!" The skill rocketed the carriage forward. The train break slammed into the underside of the Tortoise's head, cutting off the rest of its attack. Fitoria then thrust forward with her beak in a series of fast motions, pecking through its head once again.
"Gah! Get off you bitch!" Kyo began unleashing hordes of familiars from the Tortoise to attack the large bird queen.
"Gwah! Gwah! Gwah!"
From a nearby mountain top, a red feathered group of Fitoria's flock began to gwah in unison. For anybody watching, it didn't make much sense what they were doing at first. But then, a large, burning hot fireball appeared in the center of the horde of minions.
"GWAH! (Ceremonial Magic: Giant Fireball!)"
Fitoria moved back from the blast. Watching with satisfaction as the minions were burned to ash. On another mountain top, more Filolials began to chant in unison. The previously empty sky began to fill with storm clouds, dropping rain and lightning onto the front of the giant beast.
"█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █!" With its head regrown, the Tortoise spread out its legs and began firing its spikes at the pests on the nearby mountains.
"Liberation Tornado!" Fitoria was quicker this time though. The spikes between the storm and the powerful wind magic never had a chance to reach a single target as they were all slashed or blasted to pieces.
"█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █!" The Tortoise roared as lightning struck its face. At the same time, another skill from Fitoria's carriage impaled its glowing red eyes with the lances on the bottom. Finally, Fitoria ripped off its head once again.
"GAH!" Kyo slammed his fists down on his display. He began moving every available familiar on the surface of the Tortoise to battle positions.
Fitoria rode back some distance away in her carriage and waited. The Filolials around her moved. Some engaging with the Tortoise's minions. Others changing location to prepare for more powerful magic attacks.
Indeed, she had trained her flock well. They were no longer the tiny, helpless fledglings she'd taken in long ago. They were strong and ready to take on the world alongside Fitoria.
'Thank you. All of you. I promise I won't let you down.'
Within a minute, the Tortoise's head was grown again. With another roar, it unleashed another devastating breath attack as it moved forward. But just like before, Fitoria evaded the attack. She stopped the Spirit Tortoise in its tracks. And somehow, she managed to cut off its head again to keep it from moving forward.
This was going to be a long… long battle.
And Fitoria was absolutely excited to have this chance to unleash her and her flock's full potential.
"The battle's started! Go, Go, Go!"
From where they'd perched in the mountains behind the Spirit Tortoise, Naofumi led the charge as the hundreds of dragons took off. They were invisible to the naked eye, thanks to Raphtalia, Maya, and a host of other mages in the group casting wide-scale illusion magic, hiding them all from sight. Hopefully, it'd be enough to make a clean landing while the Guardian Beast was distracted by Fitoria.
Far, far up ahead, they could hear the sounds of the epic battle going down. Even though they were behind the Tortoise, it sounded downright frightening. Overhead, Naofumi saw storm clouds forming in the clear sky directly over the front of the Spirit Tortoise.
"Is that Fitoria's magic?!" Naofumi asked confusedly. He thought she only used Wind magic.
"It looks like Fitoria's flock is helping Fitoria out, Daddy!" Filo said excitedly from where she sat in front of him in her human form. "Wow, Filo wishes that Filo could help with that kind of magic!"
"Amazing… Filolials using ceremonial magic…" The Queen, flying on a nearby dragon, looked on in awe.
At any moment, she was going to turn into a little fangirl and Naofumi would never hear the end of it.
It was honestly an amazing sight. But they were on a time schedule!
"When we land, we're going to need to find the caverns as soon as possible before my body realizes we're on it." Ost pointed out on her mount.
"Can you guide us to one?" Naofumi asked.
"I'm sorry. My body has been changed thanks to the rogue Book Hero. But if we get close enough to one, I could identify it, I believe." Ost answered calmly.
From their vantage point in the sky, they could see that all the new spikes sticking out of the Tortoise had drastically changed the landscape on its shell. Even some of the mountains had shifted or changed shape. Nothing looked the same. Finding a cavern in that mess would be difficult.
"Don't worry, I'm on it." Itsuki started to use the abilities of his bow to get a birds-eye view of the back of the Spirit Tortoise.
"If we have to, I remember there being an entrance in the temple in the town," Ost said. "However, that is near the front of the Spirit Tortoise. It would take a while for a group of this size to get there. And I don't think we'd be able to do so without being detected."
Naofumi nodded. He decided to worry about it after they landed on the damn thing. He hoped the shaking of the battle didn't make things too difficult to navigate around on it.
"Wyndia, you look way too happy right now," Tersia commented.
"How could I not?! I'm flying a dragon! It's been so long!" The dog girl shouted happily. The black scaled dragon she was on let out a playful snort at the enthusiastic rider on its back as she nuzzled her head against the back of its neck.
Huh. Maybe they could have brought her a dragon to cheer her up before. Then again, it wasn't like the beast would be able to follow them inside.
"Daddy? How much longer does Filo have to do this for?!" Filo loudly complained.
"Only about another minute. Then, we'll get off and-" Naofumi was answering.
"No! Filo doesn't want to ride this stupid dragon for another second!" Filo cried.
The red-scaled dragon Naofumi was riding turned its head to glare at the Filolial girl. "Boo! Get lost stupid dragon!"
"Filo, honey, please calm down. We're pretty high up right now and Daddy would rather not fall all the way to the ground." Naofumi tried to ease his daughter.
"Why couldn't Filo have flown there?!" Filo loudly complained.
"But honey, you can't fly." Naofumi patiently pointed out while rubbing her head to calm her down.
"Well, Filo can't! But dragons are stupid, and ugly, and they smell, and-"
"Hey, shut it about dragons birdbrain! You don't smell that good either!" Wyndia screeched angrily at the little blonde girl. "They're the only reason we're able to do this, so be grateful!"
"Boo! Filo doesn't have to listen to stupid Dog Girl!" Filo crossed her arms and looked away.
"What the ^%$# did you call me-" Wyndia's tail spiked in agitation.
"Enough!" Naofumi yelled. "We may be invisible right now, but we're still audible! Don't shout unless it's an emergency!"
Holy crap. They definitely weren't bringing the dragons inside with them. He was not going to deal with an angry Filo for the entire time they were inside the damn beast.
Fortunately, the rage of battle didn't have an effect on them landing on the back end of the Spirit Tortoise. Naofumi was quick to hop off, already holding his shield in front of him in case minions jumped out of the forest to attack them.
But none did. It looked like the illusion magic Raphtalia and the others had cast together had worked. No familiars were in sight to greet them upon their landing.
It took several minutes, but eventually, all their allies were off their mounts and standing on the Tortoise's back. Wyndia was the last one to get off, rubbing the snout of her dragon and hugging its neck before it and the others took off to get away from the Tortoise and its drain effect.
"Feeling better?" Therese asked her.
"Much better." The dog girl smiled happily.
"Naofumi." Raphtalia looked to be straining at this point.
"We're clear." Itsuki nodded to the Shield Hero.
"Alright. You can drop the spells now." Naofumi told her and the others.
Raphtalia, Maya, and the other mages immediately did so. Raphtalia, sweating from exertion, pulled out some magic healing water and began to down it.
"Good job." Naofumi rubbed her hair between her ears as he smiled. His girlfriend blushed but smiled in return as her tail wagged behind her.
"D-Did I do well, Itsuki?" Maya asked tiredly as she sagged against Aksel.
"You did great. Well done." Itsuki gave his friend a thumbs up.
"Awesome." Maya sighed."Say, Aksel, I'm feeling, a little dizzy right now. Could you hold me up, please?" The girl asked tiredly.
"Sure thing." Maya swooned as her knight in shining armor carried her off her feet. The two then nuzzled foreheads with each other.
Nearby, Crystal and Rachel both grimaced.
"I'm never going to get used to this," Crystal muttered.
"You and me both." Rachel agreed.
"Come now, I think it's rather romantic," Farrie said teasingly.
"I'm looking forward to seeing Ren and Wyndia acting like that with each other." Tersia teased as well.
"Hmmm, did you say something?" Wyndia asked, having been distracted by thoughts of dragons and how great it was to fly on one after so long.
"Oh, it's nothing." The two nuns smirked at one another.
While they had their conversation, Mirellia looked around curiously. "Hmmm, with how the Guardian Beast is moving around and fighting, I would have expected things to be a lot more… bumpy."
"My body uses magic to create a gravitational field around itself," Ost explained as she adjusted her hair to make sure it was still in its chikron. "This allows it to move despite its massive size. It also makes it easier for us servants to get on and off."
"No matter how much it moves around, the most we might feel is a minor tremor." Ost finished her explanation. "Unless something drastic were to happen, we should be fine."
"Damn, and I thought it only used Gravity magic to attack," Naofumi muttered in disbelief.
"Gravity magic can be used for many things, Naofumi." Ost simply replied.
"Well, either way, that's one less thing to worry about. Does everyone have their Magic Healing Waters ready?" Naofumi asked, stopping all the conversations going on.
Soldiers and mages nodded as they pulled out bottles full of the clear blue liquid from their pockets. It'd be a few minutes before they needed to drink them, but you could never be too careful.
"I'd suggest this path here." Ost pointed to what looked like a destroyed mountain path on their left. "This route has the least servants that I can detect… and I think an entrance to the caverns is somewhere along this way if I'm not mistaken," She said unsurely.
"Sir Itsuki, can you verify this?" Mirellia asked.
"Um, she's right about there not being many familiars that way. But I… haven't seen any hints of where the cavern entrances are now." He said awkwardly.
"Hmmm, Shadows." At Mirellia's command, three shadows that had accompanied her on other dragons appeared kneeling in front of her. "Scout out this path. Find out if there is a path into the caverns up ahead."
"At once, your Grace." The Shadows bowed their heads and then quickly disappeared. Itsuki saw the group of three dash off amongst the trees.
Slowly, the large elite force of several hundred began their march up the path.
Naofumi hadn't been on the Spirit Tortoise that much before its recent transformation… but wow. Sometimes, he couldn't tell if it was a tree they were walking by or one of the numerous spikes that'd popped out of the Spirit Tortoise's shell.
And despite there being a massive battle going on at the front end of it. The back end they were walking on was almost tranquil.
You know, besides the sound of explosions, mountains crumbling in the distance, and the occasional lightning bolt, fireball, or whatever was going on over there upfront.
That really put the size of this beast in perspective. One end could be peaceful as a clear winter morning while the other end had full-blown armageddon going on.
If he'd been a philosophist, Naofumi might have tried to garner some deeper meaning from this. But Naofumi was not. He just wanted to get inside the blasted thing as soon as possible so he could kick Kyo's &^%.
You know, the important things in life.
"Such a strange environment… I'm sorry Lord Werner, I'm not certain if my tracking skills will be of much use here." Chen stated apologetically.
"It is quite alright Captain. Right now, let us entrust our safety to the Cardinal Heroes." The red-feathered birdman replied. "We will save our skills for when they're needed for the sealing ritual."
At that moment, Itsuki paused, then, he turned to the side and unleashed several arrows one after the other.
In the distance, a few familiars that'd been prowling through the forest fell to the ground. Chen stared, a look of awe covering her face at what she'd witnessed. "How did you even spot them?" She asked the Bow Hero, trying to keep her voice low.
"My weapon grants me… unique perspectives of what's happening around me," Itsuki answered hesitantly.
"Whoaaaaa… so like, nothing can sneak up on you?" She asked.
"Well, as long as I'm paying attention to my surroundings, yeah, pretty much." Itsuki smiled bashfully.
"Cooooooooool."
"Chen, please let the Bow Hero do his work." Werner sighed behind her.
"I'm sorry, Lord Werner!" Chen quickly bowed to the member of the Siltvelt Council.
"Shh! Not so loud." Dou-Lon hissed.
Itsuki sniped several more familiars in the distance, then put his bow to the side again as they continued on.
"You don't think this Kyo is going to keep track of every familiar killed with the battle going on, right?" He asked Naofumi.
"Hard to say. Let's try to limit our encounters with them, just in case." Naofumi assured him.
"Kyo is pretty cautious. Kiddo's probably got a point." L'Arc interjected.
"Master Craftsman, L'Arc." Therese chided him.
"What are you- Therese-" L'Arc looked ready to whine like a little kid.
"Silence. Do you wish to expose us to unnecessary danger like she almost did?" Glass sternly said to the redheaded kindergartner while pointing a fan at Chen.
"Hey, I didn't do-" Chen began to look indignant, but then, Dou-Lon covered her mouth, keeping his childhood friend from complaining. She settled on crossing her arms and huffing without saying anything else.
L'Arc grumbled as well, moving his scythe from hand to hand as they continued on.
Half an hour passed, and the sounds of battle near the front were beginning to sound more intense. Naofumi looked down at Filo worriedly.
"Don't worry. Fitoria is telling Filo that Fitoria has everything under control." Filo smiled happily at him. It was like she'd read what was on his mind.
"She hasn't been hit or anything?" Naofumi asked.
"Nope. The big turtle hasn't even grazed her yet." Filo answered cheerfully.
"Good." Naofumi looked around again. Raphtalia was nearby within range of his skills if need be. As was Dou-Lon, who was chatting quietly with Chen at this point. Eclair was also nearby, taking the chance to swing her new sword around and looking over the blade with fascination.
"Raphtalia, is this truly the blade you've been swinging around recently?" The rose-haired knight asked in awe.
"Yes. I still can't believe Elhart managed to finish it on such short notice." She replied happily.
"Be grateful, he ended up finishing that instead of my new armor," Naofumi grumbled.
"Is that backstrap still bothering you?" Raphtalia asked curiously.
It hadn't… until Raphtalia pointed that out. Damn it, and he thought he'd finally gotten used to how uncomfortable it felt. Seriously, what the hell Elhart?!
"The blade is a little heavier than what I'm used to. But it's definitely much better than what I've had to work with as of late." Eclair concluded before sheathing her new weapon.
"Maybe when we set up base, we can take some time to spar so you can get used to it," Dou-Lon suggested.
Was the hakuko seriously putting that forward? Did he have a death wish or something?!
"Yes, that would be beneficial," Eclair agreed as if it made all the sense in the world.
It made no sense whatsoever to Naofumi. But whatever.
Chen had her arms crossed and was pouting again. Dou-Lon didn't notice though as he and Eclair began discussing what they could do to practice.
Shortly after that though, just as they climbed around a spike, one of Mirellia's shadows reappeared. "Your grace, there is an opening in the shell up ahead. We found it thanks to one of our lost compatriots signaling us."
"Well done. And well done to you too, Ost. It appears you set us in the right direction after all." Mirellia grudgingly admitted.
"Of course. I would not do anything to impede the Holy Heroes, your Grace." Ost dipped her head respectfully to the Melromarc Queen, causing her to frown.
Itsuki began to shake slightly at how useless he'd felt in trying to guide them there. His quick work in sniping any nearby familiars that could give away their position had likely saved many of the soldiers' lives. But he didn't like how the turtle lady Naofumi had brought along had essentially taken his job away.
But Naofumi did make it better by patting him on the back for a job well done. So he went on, keeping his complaints to himself.
After another minute, they reached a crack in the rocks. The large group found the two other Shadows Mirellia had sent ahead, as well as one that looked like she'd been through hell.
"Your Grace, thank the Gods you're safe." She muttered in a tired voice.
"Naofumi." Mirellia gestured.
"Zweite Heal." He got started with using his healing magic on the injured shadow.
"You have done well, Shadow. Rest easy, now. I will call upon your services again when needed."
"Th-Thank you, Your Grace." The shadow bowed her head. "The others are inside. We have set up a base of operations in the cavern up ahead."
"Alright. We shall get there, and-"
"Your Grace, the caverns… they've all moved around since the Spirit Tortoise's awakening. The maps we made before are useless." The Shadow managed to inform them.
...
Mirellia frowned at that. Naofumi and Itsuki both groaned.
In other words, they were going to have to search all the tunnels all over again to find the way to go deeper into the Tortoise. Great.
"Ost, do you think you'll be able to direct us down there?" Naofumi asked.
"Roughly…" Ost began to speak but then frowned. "It almost feels unfamiliar down there. I'd be relying more on intuition than hard fact from this point on, I'm afraid." She took a moment to think. "Imagine your arm. You know how it looks on the outside. But you can't see everything going on within. That's how it feels like for me right now. It is… strange."
"All I can say for certain is that the way to go deeper is somewhere this way. We just have to find it." She finished.
"So it'll be like finding a needle in a haystack." Naofumi groaned. "Alright, let's find the Shadow's base first. And then, we can worry about finding the entrance to this blasted thing's heart."
The others nodded. And with Naofumi at the front, they began to go into the crack in the Spirit Tortoise's shell.
In this order, Naofumi was upfront with his shield raised. Raphtalia and Filo flanked his sides, sword, and claws out. Dou-Lon and Eclair flanked them with their weapons of choice. Ost followed directly behind Naofumi. And L'Arc and Glass followed behind Raphtalia and Filo.
Behind them was a mixture of high-leveled soldiers. The party mages were near the center of the group. Walking alongside Mirellia and the coalition's mages. Itsuki was near the back, alongside Aksel, Rishia, and… oh damn, Granny had come along with them, apparently, as she was humming happily to herself while marching beside Itsuki.
"Since when was she here?" L'Arc asked in a frightened voice.
"I have no idea. It's not like I keep track of everyone." Naofumi shrugged.
"But you're the Shield Hero! Keeping track of us all is your job!" L'Arc responded.
"Let me clarify. I only keep track of those who I know for a fact are unable to protect themselves at all times." Naofumi then smiled at the look of disbelief on L'Arc's face. "Yes, that means I trust Granny there to protect herself far more than a lumbering oaf such as yourself."
"Urgh, that's fighting words there Kiddo!" L'Arc said angrily.
"Master Craftsman!" Therese corrected from where she was walking alongside Farrie, Wyndia, and the Queen.
"Whatever. Are we all in yet?" Naofumi called back to Itsuki before L'Arc could throw a tantrum.
"There's only a few more soldiers left." The Bow Hero called back. The rest of the large group was marching into the caverns behind them.
"Alright. We're almost there." Naofumi spoke softly to himself. Raphtalia smiled next to him as she rested a hand on his shoulder.
Outside had been the most nerve-wracking part. If they'd been discovered out in the open and flooded en masse by the monster hordes, there was no telling how many they could have lost. Naofumi and Itsuki were good, but not good to protect against attacks from all directions.
But now that they were inside, it would be much easier to protect everyone. They just had to create a bottleneck on both ends of the group of soldiers and mages, and then…
Ost gripped his shoulder. A look of surprise on her face.
"Ost?" Naofumi asked worriedly.
"Outside, they're coming." She spoke.
Before Naofumi could say anything, screams erupted from outside the cavern.
"Sh- Naofumi, we've got incoming!" Itsuki yelled.
At the entrance, the soldiers that had been marching in found themselves fighting for their lives as a horde of bat and yeti types flooded inside. Naofumi took a step in that direction, but Ost kept a firm grip on his shoulder.
"Up ahead too!" Ost pointed. From around the bend in the cave in front of them, another group of minions came charging their way.
Naofumi grimaced. It was a good thing they were already inside. It appeared Kyo had finally noticed what they were doing.
"Itsuki, plug up the back as best you can! Everyone, we're moving forward!"
Itsuki didn't respond. He was already sniping familiars out of the air as Aksel and the others charged forward into the fray.
"Ha!" The knight's ax cleaved through the head of a yeti.
"Skybound Slashes!" Rishia, in a surprising display of strength, slashed through several of the bat familiars in the air with a series of clean, quick strikes that seemed to come from almost every direction in the air in front of her.
"Yes, seeing my pupil all fired up fills me with such pride! I can't let her have all the fun though! Take this, Eight Palm Thrust!" Granny followed up with her signature hoe. As she thrust forward, it was like her weapon turned into eight copies of itself.
The yeti she hit flew back into one creature after the other, knocking all of them out of the cave completely.
Karn just stared. Simply wondering why they couldn't just let the old lady and the green-haired girl fight everything they came across.
Seriously, the two were monsters themselves with those attacks! There really wasn't much his simple sword could contribute right now!
Upfront, Naofumi charged forward, holding his shield in front of him like a battering ram. "Meteor Shield!" The skill encased the area around him in a five-meter radius. The sheer mass of monsters bounced off, but some were powerful enough to start putting small cracks in the barrier. There were also so many that Naofumi was having difficulty pressing forward.
"I, Ost Horai, command the heavens, command the earth, defy all reason, join, and spit up blood! Oh great strength, I command you, grant them strength! Herculean Strength!" As Ost's Support spell activated, Naofumi found both his defense and strength had been massively buffed by the spell. Raphtalia, Filo, and the others with him also saw a huge increase in their stats.
Holy crap, it was even more powerful than the boost Zweite Aura gave them! Naofumi found it much easier to keep on pressing forward, and as he pushed the horde of monsters back, his party took ample opportunity to dish out the hurt on their numbers.
"High Quick!"
"Light Slash!"
"Dawn's Thrust!"
Filo, Raphtalia, and Eclair clawed, slashed, and thrust their way through the monster's ranks. Monster blood painted the front of his barrier, but the girls remained focused. Attacking where the monsters were most vulnerable from the safety of his barrier.
"Air Strike Shield! Second Shield!" Summoning the two shields parallel with each other, Naofumi sandwiched more of the monsters together, keeping them from moving.
"Haha! I can feel power flowing through my veins! Take this!" Dou-Lon proceeded to thrust his lance forward with such force that every monster trapped in the makeshift shield trap was impaled by the weapon.
"Dritte Shield!" Naofumi then called the third skill forward just in time to shield Dou-Lon's retreat back to safety.
They continued from there. Slowly plowing their way ahead through the relentless onslaught.
"Zero Stance Rondo! Reverse Moonflower!" Glass used her signature attack, repeatedly slashing into the endless horde. However, Naofumi noted that it wasn't nearly as powerful as when he'd seen it before.
"Sorry Glassy. I wish we'd had more of a chance to level you up before this." L'Arc apologized.
"I-It is fine." The spirit woman breathed in and out heavily. "I can still fight."
"Alright, just don't exert yourself too much. You'll need to save as much energy as possible for Kyo." L'Arc nodded to her, before charging past Naofumi's barrier. Scythe glowing in his hands.
"Floating Scythe!" A second scythe appeared in his hands. "Into Deadly Dance!" He started swinging both scythes around rapidly in a state of pure aggression. The monsters in front of him quickly became nothing but clouds of blood and gore.
"Oi, don't go too far beyond the shields!" Naofumi yelled.
"Relax, I just want an appropriate bite of the action." L'Arc gave a thumbs up, followed by a serious look. "And given that Kyo is no doubt watching us now, I'd suggest hiding as much of your hand as possible Naofumi. He knows all of our moves from being with us. But he doesn't necessarily know all of yours."
…
Naofumi found it a bitter pill to swallow. But nodded as he allowed the redhead to take much of the fighting on himself. With him at least retreating to his barrier every now and then to catch his breath and allow Raphtalia, Filo, and the others some opportunities to attack.
Naofumi didn't know how much Kyo had seen of their attack strategies before. But at the very least, they could hold some cards to themselves in case the bastard had prepared contingencies for some of their more powerful attacks.
At times, Ost would reach forward as the horde grew thicker, and some of the monsters upfront would visibly slow. Though they didn't quite freeze up as they did before in the camp.
"I'm sorry, my influence over them, is limited, thanks to the proximity to my body." Ost slowly exclaimed. She looked rather pale the longer the fight went on.
"It's fine. We're still handling it." It was much easier to focus on the immediate problem in front of them, thanks to Itsuki and his squad holding up the back.
"Meteor Shot!" With those they could save behind them mostly out of harm's way, Itsuki unleashed the powerful skill into the bulk of the monster's ranks. They were burned to ash by the subsequent explosion in an instant.
"Illusion Strike!" As Maya charged forward, she disappeared into an illusion, then reappeared on top of a yeti, stabbing both daggers into its head before lithely jumping off.
"Haaaaaa!" Aksel slammed his shoulder into the same yeti. Sending its dead carcass through the air into more of its comrades. Maya landed behind him, and the two smirked as Crystal and Karn ran past.
"Oh joy, more worthless cannon fodder for us to slaughter that the heroes can't be bothered with." The swordsman joked.
"Just shut up and fight." Crystal thrust forward repeatedly as Karn hacked and slashed. Together, the two killed a number of the familiars before jumping aside to make way for Granny and Rishia.
"Ha!" Her rapier glowing with energy, Rishia thrust into the shell on the back of a yeti-type. Despite the blade bouncing off the hard exterior, the yeti's eyes widened as energy exploded out from its chest. It fell to the side as Granny's hoe decapitated another nearby yeti type.
"Great defense piercing attack Rishia! Are you ready to try something a little more powerful?" Granny asked, a crazed look in her eyes that could only be described as battle rage.
"Fue- yeah, let's do it!" Rishia forced the whimper down to speak with determination.
"Hohoho, I love your eagerness! Now, synchronize your breathing with mine! Just as we practiced!" Granny raised her foot and started kicking the air in front of her again and again. Rishia followed suit, kicking a pattern of life force energy that some of the others recognized.
"Are you insane?!" Karn yelled in fear.
"What are they doing-" Aksel and Maya both started to ask curiously.
"Get back, all of you get back!" Karn shrieked at the others. Hastily retreating from the two crazy ladies and the monster horde running at them.
Confused, but not used to seeing the swordsman afraid, they listened.
The two life force practitioners finished at the same time. "Combo: Double Full Moon!"
They kicked forward simultaneously, and both attacks exploded against the rank and file monsters in front of them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It kept going forward, exploding repeatedly. It washed over monsters and burned them away as if they'd stepped into the core of the sun.
…
Wow.
Just… wow.
It really was too bad that the Cardinal Heroes were too close together. There had been a lot of experience in that blast.
"Holy… moly…" Aksel breathed out.
"Ahahahaha!" Granny laughed cheerfully. "I say, well done Rishia! Your form was nearly perfect! And making it so the explosion of energy in that attack washed over them like a tidal wave. Well done, I say, well done!" The old woman praised the blushing but smiling green-haired girl.
"I-It was nothing, really…" She muttered to herself.
"Rishia…" She turned, looking in surprise at Itsuki, who'd paused in fighting as well. To her delight, the Bow Hero was smiling widely. "That is probably the strongest attack I've seen from you yet…"
"It… it was?" She asked.
"Yep. I knew I was right."
"H-Huh?" She looked surprised as Itsuki gripped her hands in his.
"Remember. Back at Cal Mira. How I told you you could be strong." He let go to point at the remains of the monsters. "This proves it. You did it, Rishia! You're as strong as the rest of us now!"
"You won't have to worry about holding us back any longer!"
"... Fu… fue…" She looked from Itsuki at the cave of bodies. Then down at her hands.
She'd done this…
…
She'd… done this!
SHE'D DONE THIS!
"Fueeeeeeeeeh!" Rishia put her hands to her head in disbelief as she screamed. Whether in fear or excitement, it was unknown, as this was how her scream normally sounded.
"Gonna have to break up your tender bonding moment, cause more of them are coming!" Karn pointed out.
Indeed, more monsters were starting to come down the cavern again. And Naofumi was making considerable progress upfront.
"Right, let's continue to blast these suckers back down to hell," Itsuki smirked encouragingly to his party. "Keep at it! Let's show that loser what he has in store for him when we get our hands on him!"
"Yeahhhhhhhhh!" And just like that, Itsuki's friends went back to fighting off the horde with vigor.
During that, one girl couldn't stop smiling.
'I… I am strong!'
She was still stuck at level 68. Her stats were still beyond terrible. And her magic wasn't very useful… but because of life force, she could fight now.
She could fight… alongside the heroes and her friends! Alongside Itsuki!
Words could not describe the happiness she felt at having overcome one of the biggest obstacles on her path to justice.
Naofumi noticed it first. The horde of monsters in front of them was starting to thin.
"We're almost there! Just keep at it!" He called out to his party before chugging a soul healing water.
"Illusion Sword!" Raphtalia disappeared into an illusion. And then, the line of monsters in front of her was slashed to pieces from behind.
"Huah!" Slashing with just the sword in her hands, Eclair cleared the area before her of monsters. She paused for a moment to appreciate the blade in her hands. Despite all the magic sword techniques she'd used during the battle, there wasn't a single scratch on the blade. She'd… she'd finally had a chance to fight at her fullest for the first time since losing her family's sword.
"This was made by a blacksmith who truly loves his craft." She hugged it close. "I shall cherish this blade for the rest of my life."
"Oi! Focus on the battle!" Naofumi yelled at the sword crazy knight.
"Eat this, and this, and more of this!" Dou-Lon laughed in a frenzy as he impaled one monster after another on his lance. The poor hakuko had probably broken from finally having an opportunity to do something useful.
"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi summoned a shield just in time to save his poor butt from being squashed by two yeti types that jumped from the ceiling in an attempt to dogpile him.
"You're finished!" Filo rushed forward in her human form. Her hands were covered over by ethereal green claws, and she slashed over and over again.
As she settled on the ground in front of Dou-Lon, the two yetis fell to the ground in tatters.
The hakuko, looking around himself in surprise, began to chuckle. "Hehe, thanks for saving me, Sir Naofumi, Miss Filo."
"You're welcome Tiger Guy." Filo replied happily.
"Hehe, she called me Tiger Guy." He giggled happily.
Eclair proceeded to karate chop the back of his head, bringing him back to reality. "Ack! What was that for?!"
The rose-haired knight rolled her eyes. "Bakako."
"Come on, is now the time to bully me Miss Seaetto?!" Bakako whined.
"No, that'll be later when you spar with me." At least she was honest about it. And she was nice enough to help him up to his feet right now too.
With that, the line of monsters they'd been fighting finally came to an end.
They continued on another ten meters. Then twenty. Then fifty.
"Ost, are there more of them hiding ahead?" Naofumi asked after a while.
The woman concentrated, frowned, then shook her head. "I believe we have at least dealt with most of those in the vicinity...for now." She answered.
"For now?" Naofumi asked.
"My body is always producing more servants to do its bidding. But for now, we have dealt with the vast majority of them inside these caverns. Though rest assured, this won't be the last time we have to fight them." As she said that, another small group came charging from around the corner.
But just as quickly, they were cut down by Raphtalia and L'Arc. "Well, as long as they don't try to swarm us like before. I think we should be alright." Naofumi kept his Meteor Shield up but otherwise relaxed his posture.
"You and the Bow Hero have inflicted plenty of casualties. Even I would need to take some time before I could amass another force like that to attack again." Ost smiled this time as she spoke. "Fitoria and her flock are doing well upfront too. My body will be short of servants for a long while."
"Sounds good to me." Naofumi smiled back at the bit of good news. They continued on, with little of note happening after that. At least on his end.
He heard explosions every once in a while from the other side of the large group. But the soldiers and mages were well protected by the heroes and their party members. Besides casting buff and debuff spells, the mages had hardly needed to participate. Besides the surprise ambush at the beginning, they'd gotten through with no casualties whatsoever.
It was a job well done in Naofumi's book.
After another moment, they finally marched out into a large cavern.
"Shield Hero!" A group of people that'd been hiding in the shadows raced in front of Naofumi, getting down on their knees. "Thank the Gods you're here. We feared the fate that'd befallen you and Her Majesty."
"Don't worry. We survived. And we're here now." Naofumi nodded. "If you're looking for orders, Mirellia is further back. For now, we're going to secure this area and set up camp."
"Alright. Thank you for coming here, Sir Naofumi. We look forward to working with you to stop the Guardian Beast!" The Shadows bowed their heads, expressing their appreciation to him before moving ahead to find Mirellia.
Naofumi looked back at their retreating figures. Even as soldiers moved past him to begin setting up tents and securing the various entrances into the cavern.
"Is something bothering you, Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.
"It just… feels weird. Is all." Naofumi shrugged. "I don't think I'll ever get used to people thanking me for saving their lives." He admitted.
Raphtalia, however, smiled as she hugged him close. "To me, that just means that more people are coming to recognize you the way I do."
Naofumi blushed. He then coughed into his arm as Rino and Elena walked past alongside the other soldiers that'd come with them. "W-We should help get things set up here."
She nodded, but her smile didn't drop, and her hand fell into his. "Let's get ready to explore the caverns of the Spirit Tortoise together."
Naofumi smiled back. And together, they began helping to set up a base of operations before their exploration of the caverns of the Spirit Tortoise was to commence.
Author's Notes:
You know, it really does feel strange at times writing this during the pandemic. I had some family members sick with Covid in the last week, but they're all doing better now. I hope you all are doing well and finding some solace on your pandemic Mondays with these updates. God bless those of you who've had to endure suffering from this.
Alright, somberness aside, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I got to read LN 22 since the last time I updated. I'll say, I'm surprised at what Aneko has been able to accomplish despite being limited to a first-person point of view (Naofumi's at that) and a page limit set by her publisher for the max length of each novel. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading most of the novels, and I look forward to hearing news of when LN 23 will come out!
Hero Clips!
When You're Too Strong: Part One
"Unless something drastic were to happen, we should be fine."
"Hmmm… what would be defined as drastic?" Naofumi asked.
"For example, if my body were to be flipped onto its back." Ost supplied. "I don't believe there's much it could do in that scenario to keep itself from crushing everything on its back."
"Well, fortunately, you weigh as much as a continent, so I don't think we'll have to worry about that," Naofumi said.
"... Did you just call her fat?" Raphtalia asked curiously after a short pause.
"Oh, um, no offense," Naofumi muttered awkwardly to the Tortoise woman.
"None taken. Now, let us…" They went silent as they stared up at the sky.
Or rather, at the ground overhead.
"What- Oh fu-"
"Gwah! (Wow, Fitoria managed to knock the huge turtle on its back!)" A member of Fitoria's flock cried out happily.
"(So amazing! Rikka can't wait until Rikka's as strong as Fitoria!)" A black-feathered Filolial cooed happily.
"Aw shucks, my flock is too kind to me-" Fitoria began to respond happily.
"FITORIA!"
The large bird queen turned her head. Odd, for some reason, Naofumi was standing in the air next to her. And he didn't look very happy.
"Naofumi? Aren't you supposed to be infiltrating the Spirit Tortoise?"
"Oh, golly, it's kind of hard to do that when your body is SQUISHED LIKE A GRAPE!"
Squished, what was he… … oh.
Fitoria began to chuckle lamely to herself. Perhaps flipping the Tortoise on its back hadn't been the best idea. "Well, at the very least, the Tortoise isn't going anywhere anytime soon."
The Tortoise let out an angry roar as its four legs twisted this way and that. Unable to right itself off the ground.
"So, um, sorry about accidentally killing you?" She offered.
"Turn back time and fix this right now!" Naofumi yelled.
"Turn back time? Sorry, but that is just a bit out of Fitoria's power range-" She began to respond.
"Not you, them!" Naofumi pointed at the sky, only to notice two clouds shaped like hands flipping him the bird as they passed on by.
"&^%$ you!" Spectral Naofumi also flipped the clouds the bird and began screaming at them for some, strange, abnormal reason.
"Gwah! (Fitoria, did the Shield Hero lose it or something?)" A member of her flock asked.
"Gwah! (How are we even seeing the Shield Hero right now? Isn't he supposed to be dead?)"
"Gwah! Gwah! Gwah! (Oooh, perhaps this is Rikka awakening to Rikka's dark powers! Yes, at last, Rikka's time has come! Now, Rikka will awaken all those in the underworld, and they shall be servants to the New Dark Overlord, the Tyrant's-)"
Slap!
Fitoria slapped the young Filolial. "No." She stated evenly.
"Gwah… (Awww… fine, next time. The Tyrant's Eye shall reign supreme.)"
Eventually, something weird happened and time reversed itself. Meaning Naofumi and the others were alive and able to proceed as normal into the Spirit Tortoise. With no memory of what'd happened at all.
And that was why it was a good thing that Fitoria wasn't strong enough to knock the Tortoise onto its back. Cause not even its gravitational field would be enough to prevent everything on and inside it from being squished like pancakes.
Or something like that…
Hey, it's not like I have to provide reasoning or life lessons for every ounce of bull crap that happens in an omake. Give me a break!
Till Next Time
Allen