The Dustbin
Day 15: Field Day Part Final
4th of Harpstring Moon, Morning
An Archer runs up towards Shamir, the latter still hiding behind [Silver Bow] rested against her forearm with an arrow nocked in its string.
"Report," Shamir spoke in a subdued voice, keeping a low profile as do the others.
"We might have another problem," the Archer reported, "local villagers have heard of an avian Demonic Beast being spotted in the skies for the past days," he spelt out, "and it was last seen heading towards-"
All of the present Knights of Seiros then hear a faint screech sounding coming from atop of Zanado.
"Half of each Mercenary and Archer companies, come with me," Shamir ordered as she begins reformulating her current plan to adjust to the sudden shift, "Alois, establish a defensive perimeter here," she stated as the troops ready to embark towards the Red Canyon, "spread the word that a Demonic Beast has appeared here. Keep the civilians away from here, and I don't care whoever they are, be it swineherds looking for their loose animals or the most devout of pilgrims of Seiros. No one enters."
"Right," Alois replied as he hoisted his [Silver Axe] over his shoulder, "men, you heard her! Don't let anyone walk into this place unwittingly or otherwise!" he barked out his orders, "pair up and keep your eyes peeled!"
As soon as Shamir's detachment headed towards the Red Canyon, Alois's squad spread themselves throughout the area surrounding it, combing through the forests in pairs to search for anyone present nearby.
Unbeknownst to everyone else, there were two people hiding in the forest, albeit involuntarily.
"Bloody ell'," Doug groaned out as there was now a [Javelin] in his shoulder. As he looked down from the trees where he and the Flame Emperor popped onto out of thin air, with the two of them now tangled between the foliage, with the enemy sprawling right below them none the wiser of the presence of the former, he cupped his hands over his fresh wound to keep the blood spilling from the wound that was inflicted upon him. "... Fell off of a cliff again, thought I'd die for sure," he heaved out, "... but I'm not, so what does that make me-"
"Quiet," the Flame Emperor remarked in an extremely subdued tone.
"... Yer fault for wearing that stupid mask... that makes yer voice go all echoey or whatnot," the Bloodhound snidely replied before he looked at the now-empty sack being hung from its strings by the arrow's shaft in the Flame Emperor's hands, "the bloody ell' was in this thing that made us end up here from all the way up there?"
"I said, quiet," the Flame Emperor whispered out as he put away his empty sack and arrow, "they have Archers."
Doug nods and places his left index finger over his lips, signaling silence to the masked man, because he'd rather not end up as a corpse.
As soon as the scents of Knights of Seiros are no more, at least he'll have a chance to make a run for it. Whether he takes a dozen arrows to his back before having his neck cleaved off by the business end of an axe, is still up for debate.
Considering that they just survived a fall from a high cliff from what it can be described as a divine intervention, he's liking his odds so far.
Meanwhile, at Zanado...
Darius lets out a loud bray as it stomped towards the Giant Bird while lets out another horrid shriek before diving towards them beak-first.
"This is the first time I've ever fought a flying enemy!" Cyrus remarked as he held onto his steed's bridles in an iron grip, "any tips, Professor?!"
"For now, keep moving!" Karna barked from behind as the Demonic Beast raked its talons across the ground in its descent. Upon seeing the rising cloud of rubble coming towards his direction, Cyrus steers Darius to the side, evading the coming swipe as Karna whipped out his [Crescent Sickle] across the beast's side, drawing out a streak of blood from the graze.
"It's big, it's flying," Cyrus listed out the Giant Bird's features before he saw the winged shadow coming back down towards them, "... and it's coming right back for us! FASTER DARIUS!"
As he snapped his bridles once again, the Battu Steppe King galloped faster as the Demonic Beast gained an advantage by being behind the two of them.
"Keep running!" Karna barked out as he then aimed his [Miasma ∆] towards the Giant Bird's head pointed towards them before firing, slowing it down slightly before the chase resumed back to its prior state.
"Dammit!" Cyrus cried out, "we're a massive disadvantage!" he pointed out as he and Darius continued riding for their lives with Karna attempting to slow it down with his magic, "it's out of our reach while we're just sitting ducks!"
"It ain't like the Giant Wolf back at the Abyss," Karna pointed out as he fired one more [Miasma ∆] before he can shoot out no more, as indicated by his right hand and the [Crescent Sickle]'s blade stopped glowing, "the open area and limited solid ground puts us at a massive disadvantage. We're at the worst possible place to run into a Giant Bird, even more so after our combat prowess has been depleted post-bandit raid!"
Darius's steps were also becoming more uneven and less consistent as it slowly figured out climbing up a mountain all the way to its peak would leave itself less room to run around. However, he is forever bounded to his master, and he was going to go back home together alive.
It refuses to die away from its sea of grass that it was hailed from, and that oversized poultry behind it won't be the one to send them to their makers.
"Don't stop don't stop!" Karna cried out as the Giant Bird pursued after them, "if we stop, we're dead!"
"I KNOW! I KNOW!" Cyrus cried out before he noticed his horse slowing down all of the sudden, "h-hey, what's wrong?"
The two of them looked back, and saw that the Giant Bird was now flying in place.
"... It stopped?" Cyrus pointed out with skepticism, "for what?"
"... Usually, that's when they're about to unleash strong gales from their wingbeats," Karna pointed out, "but why?"
Karna then began looking around his surroundings and noticed that the they were caught between a Giant Bird ready to beat its wings and an open ledge before a cliff.
"Oh goddess," Karna groaned out, "CYRUS! GET OUT OF THE WAY-"
But as soon as the Giant Bird was about to beat its wings towards the two to blow them off of the ledge behind them, the back of one of its wings were then struck, knocking it slightly off balance as it turned around to find the bandaged girl with a massive sword in her hands.
"... Like ye said, professor," Sorcha heaved out, still badly injured, yet still willing to fight the beast before her, "Demonic Beasts attack the nearest shiteface who smacks it, right?"
"Sorcha, NO!" Karna yelled out as the Giant Bird then swooped down towards her, only for an arrow to strike its eye, causing it to flinch long enough for Sorcha to wobble out of the way.
From behind, Selene, still missing her glasses, now uses her hyperopia to strike the beast with an arrow shot from her [Iron Bow].
"I've heard rumors," Selene remarked as she nocked another arrow to her bow, "that flying foes are weak to arrows," she pointed out, "they're out of reach because if they get hit, they'll crash and be left helpless."
Karna then leans down his body from Darius's bridle and sweeps up Sorcha from the ground into his arms.
"You alright?" Karna asked the Brigidian girl, to which he was received with a nod. "Good," he sighed out, "now how the hell did you get yourself all the way up there?"
"... Vidar and Byron," she mumbled out her answer, "... former can lift a man bigger than im', latter has a really good throwing arm."
"Whatever the case, that was utterly reckless and stupid of you, and..." Karna suddenly stopped what he was saying before wiping a tear from his eyes behind his glasses, "... just don't do that without tell me first, understood?"
"Eh... yer crazy as the rest of us..." Sorcha mumbled out as Karna dismounted from Darius and took her back to Byron for healing.
"You, are an idiot," Byron grimaced as he began casting the spell [Heal] onto her reopened wounds beneath her bandages, "I already have myself and Vidar to look out for, so don't go doing something like that ever again."
"... Oi... it was going to pick us off one by one," Sorcha pointed out, "... only seven of us ere' to murder an overgrown chicken" she stated with bravado, "easier... that way..."
"Remind me to not lead an army of my own," Byron sighed out as he finished up patching Sorcha's wounds, "there, that was my last [Heal] for the day, so spare me the trouble and don't go get yourself maimed out there."
Vidar then came rolling towards them before he gets back up and charges back into the fray.
"... Yeah, I guess that's enough being thrown around for one day," Sorcha remarked as she picked up her [Claymore] and faced the Giant Bird, who was still flying in place as its wingbeats grew more and more intense with each flap, picking up turbulence as tried to make a buffer zone between itself and the Dustbin.
"Gah, sandstorms back at Almyra weren't this intense!" Topaz cursed as she staked her [Bolo] into the ground to stabilize her feet into the ground.
"EVERYONE GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Selene cried out as she ran after noticing the wing muscles beginning to convulse and tense up like a bowstring that was being pulled back before being released, "THE WINGS-"
With one final wave from its wings, the Giant Bird unleashes a blistering blast of turbulence unto the Dustbin.
"EVERYONE HOLD ON!" Karna cried out as he casted [Flux H] onto the area around himself to create a zone of dampened dynamics, suspending everything that came towards them into a dead halt as the Demonic Beast's typhonic wingbeat scattered a storm of dust clouds towards their directions.
Even as Karna has established a zone of gravitational equilibrium, the force of the coming winds themselves were intense enough to rip a fissure across the sky itself as numerous rocks and dead trees came into the dead zone's circumference, stopping dead midair upon entry.
The Giant Bird then goes back to flying, stretching out its wings as it began gliding itself above the Dustbin. Karna then drops his [Flux H], reverting the laws of dynamics back to its default state as indicated by everyone else being able to move again and the blown-in trees and rocks suddenly dropping back down from the air.
"... Okay, that was close," Karna remarked as he flexed his right hand while looking up at the sky, the Giant Bird still circling above them, waiting to swoop down and strike again, "I still have about 4 uses left for my [Flux H] and about 8 uses for my recently-learned [Swarm Z], but the real question is, how do we get it down from there without attacking us?"
"... For one, not even Vidar and I can throw someone up that far," Byron pointed out, "... and I'm pretty sure the horseman and Selene can't reach up there as well."
"... So what, wait for it to come down and we jump on it?" Sorcha suggested with a hint of sarcasm, "... I really need to ride onto top of the bloody thing."
"I really wish it stood still," Topaz remarked, "if so, we can easily disable it by striking all nine of its parts."
"Problem is, it's usually attacking when it doesn't hold still," Cyrus stated, "at best, all we can do is gradually whittle it down with spells and arrows, but when it starts flapping its wings, we can't close in on it as we are now."
"Either way," Selene remarked as she noticed the Giant Bird looking down towards them, extending its talons as it began its descent, "it's coming back down!"
The monster then lets out another screech as it dive-bombed towards the Dustbin, with everyone else scrambling to get out of the way of its attack.
"Scramble!" Karna ordered as he ran with his [Swarm Z] buzzing around his right hand, "don't bunch up, but don't separate too far!"
As the Dustbin scrambled into three groups, the Giant Bird began to look around the three groups to see which ones were the weakest. It's eye then turns towards the veiled girl with the short rectangular blade in her hands. Next to her was a thin, bandaged youth with feral eyes much like its own, focused, yet out of touch with the current reality.
It was going to be a light snack, but the bandit that it ate wasn't enough for the bird. Driven mad by its own bottomless hunger, the Giant Bird then swooped towards the two with the intent to feed itself.
But as it was about to snap its beak across their bony frames, the two of them jumped towards the Giant Bird and latched themselves onto its wings.
"... Birds... are light..." Vidar grunted out as he gripped his fingers around the bird's feathers as he dug his hands into its wings, "... in order... to fly..."
"In other words," Topaz remarked as she staked her poisoned blade into the Giant Bird's wing joint, "you're fragile."
The blade dug into the bird's left wing made it lose its gliding balance, causing it to jerk around and begin flapping its wings wildly to regain equilibrium of its travel.
Vidar was then thrown off of the Giant Bird, causing him to roll across the ground upon landing before hitting his head against a rock and knocking himself out in the process. Topaz however was flung off of the ledge due to her light body being unable to support itself in the rapid beats and sways of the Giant Bird's wings.
Karna then tries to run towards where she was falling towards, ditches his [Crescent Sickle] before firing a [Swarm Z] towards the Demonic Beast's eyes as distraction, and leaps towards where she was falling towards, his coat and knees scraping across the stone earth as he reached out his hands towards Topaz.
He thought that he was going to miss, but heaven allowed Karna to at least allow one finger to hook around Topaz's own, letting her hand on, even by the slightest of thread.
Come on... Karna plead to himself as his middle finger clung around Topaz's own finger as he kept pulling himself up with Topaz, ... not yet! No more! he thought as his mind flashed back to scene of fire, not mattering where, but why it was burning, goddess, I don't care whoever you are, but do not let my student die in a place like this!
With a final yell, Karna then pulls Topaz back up from the ledge, grabbing around her body before rolling themselves both away from the open pit.
"... You know that I could've easily just climbed back up, right?" Topaz pointed out.
"Would it kill you to say 'thank you'?" asked Karna.
"I don't thank people," Topaz remarked, "I kill them."
The two than look towards where the giant bird has landed at, engaging the rest of the converging Dustbin students, with Vidar being dragged away elsewhere by Byron.
"... Then you want to go kill that thing over there?" Karna asked, "because I think that thing has your weapon in its shoulder."
"Point made," Topaz remarked as she squirmed her body to try and move, "... you mind letting me go? I need to retrieve my weapon."
Karna lets her go, which at that moment Topaz speeds towards the grounded Giant Bird as it warded off the Dustbin students by kicking up dirt with its talons and slapping its giant wings like bludgeons.
Their weight and bulk weren't the issue, but rather its their width and wind manipulation that made its wings so annoying to deal with. Even with the poison running through its veins, the Giant Bird was too starving to care, so its body simply moved on its own in order to feed itself. The longer that fight lasted, the more the beast's movements grew more sporadic and desperate.
Compared to the Giant Wolf that they've fought prior, the Giant Bird proved extremely problematic to deal with for all of the reasons above.
"[Swarm Z]!" Karna declared as it fired numerous bug-like constructs towards the Demonic Beast's head in an attempt to blind it, only for its already berserk state to be increased, beating its wings wildly in random directions as it tried to ward away the things that were hampering its vision.
"Just attacking it is making things worse!" Byron remarked as he fired his [Blizzard] spell onto the beast's legs in an attempt to hold it down, only for its talons to chip the ice and scatter it like shrapnel, with Byron's face and ribs getting grazed by the blast.
"If we don't attack, we're all gonna die!" Sorcha barked out as she slashed her [Claymore] across the beast's chest, "kill the bloody thing or we're the ones going toes up!"
"Easy for you to say!" Selene cried back as she shot her last available arrow that she can salvage from the dead Archers, "now that it's close, I can't do shite!"
The Giant Bird then lets out another horrid squawk as it begins to stamp its feet rapidly in a stomping tantrum.
"Guys," Selene remarked as she covered her eyes from the kicked up dust clouds, "what's going on?!"
Darius lets out a loud bray as he runs away from it. Cyrus tried to protest, but it then also noticed what it was seeing.
Mainly, the bird itself wasn't stamping its feet, but rather, it was jumping up and down, springing its limbs to gain vertical momentum.
"EVERYONE RUN-"
Everyone but Darius and Cyrus got away from the Demonic Beast's second massive wingbeat, this time, the blistering gale pushing everyone below it onto the ground as if an entire mountain of stone fell on top of their collective backs. The resulting staggering blow has now completely left everyone immobile as the bird came back down, looking down at its potential meals.
"... I have to stop it!" Cyrus remarked to himself as he swallowed his fear to charge towards the beast picking up the professor with its beak, "I can't be the only alive all because I was scared!"
On his way, he snaps off a dead tree's branch to use it as a weapon.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THEM, YOU DAMN DIRTY SKY RAT!" Cyrus bellowed as he charged towards the Demonic Beast, catching its attention as it dropped its meal to swoop towards Cyrus to deliver its retribution for his interruption.
But before the two can clash, a voice cut in between the rider and the monster.
"Seiros Archers," a cool, yet commanding voice of a woman sounded out, "fire."
As the sounds of numerous bowstrings being released was heard, a fusillade of arrows poured onto the beast's back, staking quills into its head, back, two wings, and hindquarters.
"Seiros Mercenaries," the voice ordered, "charge in."
The white clad Mercenaries all set themselves upon the weakened Giant Bird as they began striking the monster with their [Steel Swords], targeting its legs before moving onto its shoulders in an onslaught of unbridled melee. Meanwhile, after the Archers finished firing their arrows, they pull the injured Dustbin students back along with the Professor in a safe perimeter.
"... Haven't seen your face around the academy," Karna grunted out as he looked around the white-clade Archers accompanying the short-haired woman with the [Silver Bow], "... your name?"
"Shamir, Sniper for hire, currently under the Knights of Seiros's employment," the Sniper woman answered as she looked around the mess before her, "explain. Twenty words or less."
"Got caught, blew cover, killed bandits, saw weirdos, they fell, giant bird, blew wind, almost died, you came, now here," Karna listed out exactly twenty words to the Sniper's face, "... you said twenty words or less."
"You're well enough to talk," Shamir remarked, "keep it that way."
"Professor!" the voice of Cyrus cried out followed up by Darius's hoofbeats drumming across the earth.
"The horse," Shamir remarked as Darius huffed at her face, "you escaped."
"Wait, escaped?" Cyrus pointed out, "... you guys tried to put him in a cage or something?"
"Is there a reason we shouldn't?" Shamir replied, "academy rules dictate that all horses are to be kept in the stables, but due to it breaking the wooden edifices, we had to confine it."
"Um, my horse is big enough to eat Fodlan's mares for breakfast," Cyrus pointed out, "don't, keep him, in an enclosed space," he insisted, "he will break out, no questions asked."
"Why?" Shamir asked.
"Battu Steppe Kings are a special breed," Karna pointed out, "they're strong enough to topple entire houses to rubble, so his people usually let them roam free range until it's time to either raid a local tribe or march."
Behind them, a loud thud was heard.
"We'll talk later," Shamir remarked as the Mercenaries came back to her, "report."
"Demonic Beast subjugated," the Mercenary reported, the Giant Bird behind them now lying dead with its wings spread out like an eagle's, "ready to evacuate when able-"
Behind them, the monster lets out one last crow followed up by a desperate lunge that shot its own downed avian body towards them.
In a blink, Shamir quickdraws out her [Silver Bow] towards the charging Giant Bird, while in unison, Topaz springs from her back, rockets herself towards the monster's shoulder to pull out her [Bolo] before severing the back of its neck at the same time where Shamir's arrow struck between the beast's eyes, delivering the deathblow.
"... Next time," Topaz heaved out as she jumped off of the monster's back, "... make sure that its head is separated from the body."
But before the other Mercenaries can protest to her snide remark, Topaz collapses onto the ground in exhaustion.
"... You know what?" Karna remarked as he was then lifted up by the Mercenary's shoulder, "... I get the feeling that if we ever do this again, it'll be deliberate."
And thus, the Knight of Seiros and her subordinates all escort the Dustbin and their professor down from Zanado, leaving behind the corpse of the Giant Bird as it reverted back into its normal size of that of a regular crow.
Then, a black-cloaked figure suddenly appears out of nowhere, his face obscured by a silver mask engraved with intricate patterns that made it resemble a visage of an owl.
He then looks down at the bird's corpse before casting a [Fire] spell to dispose of it before casting it onto the other dead bodies of slain bandits present, leaving behind a cracked gemstone before he ground it under his heel.
"Another failure," the masked figure remarked "the dog wasn't enough, let alone a bird," he cursed as he took out a sack before dipping his finger into it, coating it with a translucent violet powder that glimmered under daylight, "milord's plans mustn't be hampered at any costs. I will kill that accursed man for the sake of Fodlan or I'm naught to be the Black Mage."
The Black Mage then scatters the powder towards his feet, causing a flash of light to make him disappear from thin air.
To Be Continued...
Support Conversations Available:
- Cyrus and Byron (C)
Cyrus: I have to ask.
Byron: What is it?
Cyrus: What made you want to start learning new things in the first place? I mean, I don't find you that much of an open-minded person, but you seem rather attentive to the things that catch your interest over, well... people.
Byron: Because unlike people, books can only lie consistently. It's almost amusing of which I can pick out are lies and which are only half truths, and even if I do get them wrong later on, it won't physically harm me, unlike people, where they can simply say "I changed my mind" and stab you in the back at a drop of a hat.
Cyrus: Ah, fair enough.
Byron: So what made you want to know how I think in the first place? Is this your way of instigating small talk with me?
Cyrus: Nah, it's just that... compared to everyone I've met in Fodlan after my capture, I kinda think you're the most honest person I've ever met here.
Byron: Really now? Me, an honest person? Far from it. People who kill for money aren't exactly exalted like kings or priests. They do good work, I just take out the person that whoever's paying me for mine and Vidar's food as requested.
Cyrus: I don't find that a bad thing.
Byron: Oh really now? You, the yellow-bellied giant, think that my actions were just?
Cyrus: I think it's better to be honest with yourself than just changing who you are. I don't care if the people who captured are telling me that I can do "better". I'm of the Battu people. I kill as a way of respecting life. And I really don't think that you should be looked down upon just because you got blood all over you.
Byron: ... You are odd. Almost sociopathic.
Cyrus: Nah, only Fodlan thinks of that. In Battu, it's survival at all costs. All methods are welcome as long as the people are alive.
*Cyrus leaves elsewhere, leaving Byron to ponder*
Byron: ... "Only Fodlan thinks of that"... Heh, guess I have a lot to learn about myself, if I still wish to learn. I guess being born here is both a blessing and a curse. And the first thing to do is to get rid of my bias of Fodlan.
- Sorcha and Vidar (C)
*Vidar looks around the empty plains at night and finds a familiar-looking girl with a braid standing over him*
Sorcha: Took ye long enough.
Vidar: ... Why... here... now?
Sorcha: Ye like hell, boyo. Need to let off some steam with some sparring.
Vidar: ... Afraid... of killing... friend...
Sorcha: Hah! I ain't that fragile! I can take a few blows-
*Sorcha is then sent flying across the grassland before landing on her bum from Vidar's punch*
Vidar: ... I... warned you...
Sorcha: Gah... bloody ell', ye got lead in ya knuckles or somethin'?
Vidar: ... What... is... lead?
Sorcha: Bah, fuggetaboutit. Ye got teeth, so use em to make me a stronger warrior! Fight like ye got nothing else left in the whole bloody world! It's just you and me now!
Vidar: ... I... try.
Sorcha: Don't bother. Come at me!
*Sorcha gets flattened after one punch to her face*
Vidar: ... You... alive?
Sorcha: ... Bloody ell'... I need more training.
- Selene and Sorcha (C)
Sorcha: So, how ye holding up?
Selene: ... Bloody awful, that's what. People around the marketplace and halls alike givin' me strange looks. Some say that I look weird with me tattoo on me.
Sorcha: To hell with em. Fodlan's culture ain't have to do with us. We're Brigidian folk. They're Fodlan folk. Of course we ain't gonna look in the same direction.
Selene: ... I've been thinking. Wouldn't be easier when people can see... common ground?
Sorcha: Nah, everyone keep them to themselves. Better keep each other from stepping on each others' toes, but those cucks think that our toes are worth stepping like dog shite. What's in there waters to make em think that way?
Selene: I tried asking why. One of them just stated because we're not Princess Petra Macneary.
Sorcha: ... Bloody bitch sold us out. She's lapping up the Adrestrian taint like a damn dog.
Selene: I mean... it's easy to think of that, but if that were the case, wouldn't we be rotting behind bars at Embarr?
Sorcha: Bloody ell', I don't wanna think about this anymore... Fodlan doesn't want us, and giving them a bloody nose seemed like the right thing to do after taking our lands, so why do we have to like em and play by their rules?
Selene: ... I think it's because they're more of them than us. They feel safer, so that's why they look down at us, and maybe thinks that we should join them.
Sorcha: ... Ye not thinking of joining them, aren't ye?"
Selene: Of course not! Those bawbags can choke on it for all I care, but even I know how to control meself.
Sorcha: ... Well, if someone tries to hurt ye like those bastards back then, I'll gut em where they stand. No matter what, I ain't letting Fodlan grinding us down, ye hear?
Selene: ... I'll hold ye to that. But no matter what, I'll find a way for people to accept us. At least no more toes will have to be stepped on from there.
Author's Notes: I think that I have to keep making reference to other media just to keep myself motivated in my own writing. And this week wasn't exactly forgiving, due to all of the events going on in my mobile games F/GO and Cardfight! Vanguard ZERO.
So any who, the intention for the Giant Bird fight is meant to be a wake-up-call boss, since A), they're in an open area with little room to walk around (perfect for an avian predator), and B), unlike the Giant Wolf prior, this one has gone a full week without food, and a tad bit more aggressive.
The hardest thing about Fire Emblem fics in my opinion is whether to implement permadeath or not, so I intended to implement somewhat realistic outcomes in a battle, with varied results.
Ultimately, Shamir and her squadron stealing Karna's thunder is kind of a karma moment for him. At least, retroactively, for getting caught and stealing Byleth's canon kill.
Either way, this fic is going to have to move faster before my own brain rots.
References:
- Topaz's line after nearly falling off of a cliff is a reference to Jack's line from MadWorld, "I don't help people. I kill them."
- Shamir's battalions, the [Seiros Archers] and [Seiros Mercenaries], when engaging the Giant Bird, performed their [Fusillade] and [Onslaught] gambits respectively. In relation, the Giant Bird performed its [Sky Fissure] staggering blow twice, described as "coming winds themselves were intense enough to rip a fissure across the sky".
- Shamir's quote upon meeting Karna is a reference to Saitama's quote from One Punch Man, the whole "twenty words or less" meme.
- The Black Mage's appearance is based off Shouan's masked appearance in Shin Chuka Ichiban.
