Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading the chapter and providing feed backs.
As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.
The words from the mouth of Yggdrasil's speaker hit Mein with great impact. Each syllable feels like a boulder launched out of a catapult. Nobody, not even the most skeptical critics of the church had any doubt that the pantheon they are worshiping is real even if they rarely, if ever grant divine audience to their faithful. Their miracles are used often enough in day to day life for people to contemplate the idea of the possible non-existence of their gods, and perhaps they are a grand scheme cooked up by the clergy to gather power and resources for themselves. Although the princess herself has always of the mind that the church DID use the name of their gods to acute power.
To hear confirmation from someone who is clearly in touch with the divine realm. More so than any god's prophet (at least according to her. The princess doesn't dare to question someone who is very casual with the avatar of Alaya for their claim of validity), to confirm their existence actually matches the church's interpretation perfectly, at least one version of them (the three ladies are the three faces of the same goddess) is truly a moment that requires long contemplation about one's own life. But that sense is drowned out by the immutable realization that one of their goddesses wants her dead, and the fear that comes with it.
The first princess of glorious Melromarc had always thought herself much more important than her own mother had ever given her credit for. But she would never have thought that she was destined for something so great (or terrible), one of the gods in the pantheon would want her dead and would actually breach through the barrier between the divine and mortal realm to kill her personally.
Chapter 120: The False Idol
"The Lady wants Big Sister Mein... dead? That can't be happening... that can't be happening! That can't be..." The first one in their group to break the pregnant silence was Raphtalia. They turn their focus on the raccoon girl, and see her wobbling on her feet, hands covering her head. Mein is reminded of a brief exchange near the goddess' statue in the city of Trumpet that Raphtalia clearly admired, if not flat out revered the Lady. To know that the god you worshiped is trying to actively kill your mother must be a harrowing experience for the little girl (regardless of how mature her body looks at the time). The princess releases the grasp she has on the Shield Hero's hand, takes a few large steps over and holds Raphtalia in her arms. Their surrogate daughter needs help much more than Naofumi right now.
"The one the mortals worshiped as 'The Lady' does not want anything for herself personally, much less the death of one of your own." The doll golem opens her mouth once again to dismiss Raphtalia's moment of crisis for her own faith. Just as Mein is about to take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief, her next words plunge her further down into a pit of ice. "She is merely a tool, enacting the will of the one mortal worship as 'The Chief God'. The one who wants you dead is him. I do not know why he would dictate such an action. The thoughts of a god is something Yggdrasil can not perceive, although I do see some of his past action through my connection with Yggdrasil. Perhaps he believed it would stop the invasion of our world from The Burning Legion. Or perhaps he thought it would have weakened them in some way. Or perhaps he has no intention to stop The Burning Legion at all and merely sent his fellow god in to cause mayhem. He would not have been the first, nor the last god to treat the mortal under his care with cruelty. Regardless, anything I speak about the will of any god would be nothing more than speculation on my part."
"So, let me get this straight. The god everyone worships either doesn't care about those under him, or he knows of an impending invasion from this army of demons... or whatever make up of this knockoff Burning Legion." The princess feels a pair of arms wrapped around her, to keep her steady on her feet. She hears the voice of Naofumi speaking. His voice is still calm... relatively. But there's clear fury buried underneath, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice. "And instead of doing something to stop the bad guys like giving more power to his worshippers, or attacking the legion directly … he thought the best course of action is to send his personal attack dog here to kill an innocent woman? And that's the best case scenario by your speculation? What kind of a retarded, mustache twirling evil god are we even talking about here?! Just what kind of god is this one?!"
"There are two kinds of divinity. Those who are born from a concept worshiped by a large collection of sentient minds, and mortals who ascended into the divine sphere. The first kind of god can not go against their own celestial domain and alignment, lest they be undone by their own actions. The second kind can have a more fluid domain, as they are first and foremost, born as a mortal with their own independent mind and want. And while their celestial domain tends to be more fragile than a conceptual god, they are more free to change their own domain on their own whim." Metatron closes her eyes and begins to recite what sounds like a litany. It doesn't sound like she's answering Naofumi's question, but she actually did explain a lot. "The one known as Chief God was a mortal ascended into the celestial sphere. Therefore he can be many things, even contradictory things on his own whim. Even if contradictory action would weaken his own celestial domain. Which is why he is everything the mortals of Medea worshiped him as: A merciful father. A wrathful murderer. A reveler of debauchery and desire."
"So... let me get this straight. We denounced the divinity of Founder Brimier and decided he was a man, not a god. Only it turns out the god we are worshiping now had also been a man before he ascended." The depreciative comment is not made by Naofumi as per usual, but by Mein herself this time. At moments like this, she's glad to have never been a very faithful person to begin with. Metatron's revelation would have definitely sent some shockwaves among the clergy if it's released to the public at large. "Not saying you would, hmm... Lady Metatron? Since I doubt you would grace us mortals with your presence so much. Being the interpreter and speaker of Yggdrasil and all that. But maybe not what you said to us spread among everyone? I don't think a huge religious unrest will help us prepare for our fight against this Burning Legion."
"What do you mean by that, Mein?" Naofumi turns his head, looking curious at what she pointed out. "I mean... it's probably not a good idea to let people know the god responsible for them and the god they've been worshiping in return is actually a massive asshole. But would it really be as bad as you are making it out to be?"
"The point isn't about how righteous the Chief God is. Remember what we talked about with Master Uranus back when he was still alive? On how eroding the trust of common people in the church would have much more negative consequences than simply getting you safe from the Three Heroes' Church?" The princess in disguise gives Naofumi a sideways look to inspect his reaction. "It's like that. Because Founder Brimir was denounced from his place on the pantheon for being a man. Letting the people know Chief God was like him, also a mortal at one point is going to have everyone seriously question the clergy."
For The Lady, there has always been a part of her myth about her starting as a slave in her past only to be raised to stand besides the Chief God. But a similar belief regarding the origin of the Chief God himself being a man ascended to godhood is less popular. As it would have tread too close to the main reason for the denouncement of Brimir, the Founder of Magic did not deserve a place in their pantheon. Even if there will be no unrest coming from the common people, those who descended from the faithful of Founder Brimir would likely use the opportunity to seize more power among the clergy. Regardless, it's probably not a debate any sensible people want to cause during a world ending crisis.
"Well... I don't think very highly about those church people. I don't think I have to explain why. But yeah, you are probably right in saying we don't need the unrest. At least for now. We can save it for when we don't have an army of demons or whatever knocking at the door." Shield Hero nods his head, and accepts Mein's explanation. Good to know he's still being sensible even after all the trauma the Three Heroes' Church subjected him to.
"Erm... forgive me for my impudence, Lady Metatron. But what is your interpretation of our Chief God?" Both Mein and Naofumi turn both of their heads to the side towards Sir Oersted. The young knight trudges forward on shaking feet, an uneasy look over his face as he looks at the sentient doll. "You said all the different ways we worship the Chief God are valid. So which one is the closest to the truth? There has to be one he better embodies, right? Because the rightful god of mercy we worship him is very different from the murderous god of wrath those free people of Zeltbole honor him as."
"He could be merciful. But he is not often so. At least by his own volition. Both the lord of debauchery and the god of wrath fits him much more than the version he is most commonly worshiped as." With the way Sir Oersted recoils back at Metatron's words, Mein can physically feel his world view being shattered into thousands of pieces. While a knight is simply someone who is appointed by a lord or a monarch and doesn't always have to be a man of faith, the young Gallian boy is clearly one of the better ones. Unlike a certain other brute in heavy armor that often hangs around the Bow Hero. Ironically, it's precisely because of his chivalrous nature that Oersted is suffering from a god fallen short of mortals' expectation.
"But I feel neither of those two versions best describe him for what kind of a god he is. For while he indulges in letting his fury and greed guide his actions, he isn't someone who lives for them." Metatron continues her narration, either unaware or uncaring of the trauma she is causing Sir Oersted. "Yes, I believe that was the right word to sum him up. Indulgence, and obsession. He is obsessed with giving punishment to those he perceived to have wronged him. He is obsessed with accruing more power to keep himself safe. And he is even obsessed with pampering those who have gained his favor. While there is much Yggdrasil can't show me, I believe indulgence and obsession is the best summary of what I have seen of him."
"It's all a lie... everything said by the church were lies." The young Gallian knight wobbles back on shaking feet, almost like he's drunk. His hands holding, clawing at his own head with a vice grip. "What did Master Uranus live for... what did he die for if it's all a lie!?"
"Uranus fought, and died for me... for all of us." The Shield Hero takes a few steps, and presses one hand on Sir Oersted's shoulder. Holding the young knight steady, stopping him from falling down like a steadfast rock. "We have a saying from the world I came from: Never meet your heroes. Because a 'heroic' figure is someone who has their public image scrubbed of all flaws they all inevitably have. A lot of them are actually very despicable beings once you get to know them. That's what real people are like."
"But just because they don't live up to your expectation, doesn't mean you can't take what you find inspiring about their public image, and try to better yourself with it." The Shield Hero takes a deep breath, and continues on. Flipping what originally sounds like a jaded, cynical worldview into a more positive one. From Mein's peripheral vision, she noticed how Raphtalia also began to focus her attention on Naofumi as she raised her head to look at the Shield Hero. "Metatron said that your 'Chief God' can be a god of mercy, didn't she? Just because he doesn't live up to this interpretation, doesn't mean you can't try to be this better version yourself. And I know you already have. We didn't travel together for very long, but believe me when I said that the short time you joined me was the most precarious time I had since I was summoned to this world. I lost my shield, have those fuckers from the Three Heroes' Church constantly hounding my back trying to kill me. And you witnessed your fellow fall one by one. But never have you thought about leaving us behind, or complaining about the hardship. You only ever complained about not sacrificing yourself like the rest of your comrades. That's why you should believe me, when I said you, and you fellow Gallians are someone who your Chief God apparently isn't. A good man."
"Thank you, Master Shield Hero... that meant a lot." Sir Oersted slowly turns his head to look at the Shield Hero. A sad, but genuine smile on his face. "I'm not sure the words of a newly promoted knight like me means anything. But I'm glad that I met you. You also live up to your reputation as a hero."
Throughout their exchange, Raphtalia's face becomes more resolved. Her facial features harden, her hand slowly balls into a fist and gaze becomes sharper even as tears still seem to roll right around the edge of her eyes. She doesn't say anything aloud like Sir Oersted, but clearly the young Gallian knight isn't the only one who is inspired by Naofumi's words.
"Are you going to keep pretending to slumber? Or will you rise up and face your test?" The one true queen suddenly speaks up without any context. Just as Mein is confused about what the avatar is talking about, Firo jumps up from where she was lying the whole time. It seems like the bird was pretending to be asleep. Possibly for a while now to make an earthbound demi-god lose her patience.
"They are all talking about boring stuff, and father doesn't like me interrupting it. Firo doesn't want to be put through a diet again!" The angel faced bird demon complains as she starts kicking up dust from the ground. It seems like despite her brutishness, Firo can be devious and crafting when she wants to.
"What test are you talking about?" The Shield Hero swings himself around, and steps in between Firo and the avatar of Alaya.
"She will be tested by me in battle, to see if she can be a suitable candidate to become the next avatar of Alaya. As all filorial monarchs raised by heroes. Just like the ones raised by my ruby WEAPON." The true queen's speech is the same emotionless tone as always. But this time, it carries the authority of both the will of the world mind, and the one true queen among her kind. Something not to be disobeyed. After a short pause, she further explains that she doesn't think Naofumi is capable of making connections between the identity of his fellow heroes. "You know him as the Spear Hero.
"Sounds boring! Firo doesn't want to do it." The gluttonous devil bird throws her hands up in the air, and turns around. Mein doesn't know what's more 'impressive' with this display. The fact that the brat openly defied her queen, or she turned down a fight when normally she goes around assaulting other people. Perhaps Firo had been aware the whole time, and she is simply backing down after she knows how strong the avatar of Alaya was.
"Now hang on a minute. Not that I'm ungrateful about you saving my ass back there against that giant griffin. But do you have to fight Firo to test her?" Naofumi holds his hands up in front of his chest, in a placating way, but still makes his disapproval known. "Because after what you did to that giant griffin, I'm not letting Firo get hurt. And why do you want to test Firo to be the next avatar of Alaya anyway? And even if you want someone to replace you, I know Motoyasu already raised a dozen of them, so can't you just pick one of them?"
"I am the current avatar of Alaya, yes. But I can be slain. Either by an invader from another world, or someone of this world. The very first avatars of Alaya and Gaia killed each other in a dispute, which started the long time blood feud between filorial and dragon. So it is the duty of the current avatar to test, and prepare her successors in case of such emergency. In this case, the filorial monarchs raised by my WEAPONs are the first candidates." The true queen turns her head slightly to the side after her explanation, almost like she is thinking about something. "...but you are right. I have already tested over a hundred of candidates provided by my ruby WEAPON. All of them, except their youngest, are stronger than the one you raised. I suppose I do not need to test one more."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" The princess has to cover both of her ears to stop her head from ringing. And this time, it's from the sheer volume of Firo's angry shout rather than the headache caused by her broken translation matrix. And speaking of that... maybe she should ask if the avatar could fix it, considering she's been saying they are her WEAPONs. "Are you saying Firo is weaker than those poopy stinky birds raised by the bad spear guy?!"
"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. You are weak, compared to the filorial monarchs under my ruby WEAPON. They have been training hard day and night, ready for the fight against the Three Heroes' Church and the Wave of Catastrophe while you were doing nothing." The true queen turns towards Firo. Her expression could almost be described as bored if she wasn't so emotionless all the time. Regardless, she's clearly not intimidated by Firo's baby chick-like temper tantrum when she easily beats an ancient griffin king. She tilts her head slightly to the side. "You are fatter than them too."
"Let me at her! Let Firo be the bad bird woman, Master Naofumi!" The dumb bird practically shoots herself towards the avatar of Alaya, if Naofumi didn't stop her with his arms. "No one gets away with calling Firo weak! Especially not weaker than the stinky poop birds raised by bad spear guy!"
"NO! Get a hold of yourself, Firo! I saw what Fitoria was capable of while you were out. You are going to get slaughtered!" The Shield Hero is being pulled right alongside Firo. Perhaps when the true queen said that Firo is weak, she only meant relatively to the filorial monarchs under the Spear Hero as she certainly looks stronger than most common knights by this feat. But regardless, the dumb bird is clearly not taking the information well. "She has a carriage that completely froze someone midair. And it can manipulate power to make a super changed lightning hurricane disappear!"
"I will not use the Worldshard, or its power to test this one. The point is to test her potential to inherit the mantle of Alaya. Not how her power would fare against a Worldshard. Especially not one that has the power of the blessed Paramitas series behind it. Instantly defeating her without drawing out her full power in a fight would be meaningless." The avatar of Alaya snaps her fingers and then swings her arm. The carriage, which had been following behind her during the entire journey, began to roll away from everyone. The true queen's gesture is clearly appeasing the Shield Hero, and convincing him that she wouldn't use the power of her vassal weapon to 'cheat' in a test of strength against Firo. She moves her hand up to her ear, and pulls a strand of her hair off. It turns into a long feather in her hand. "And I will not have her fighting me for no reason. Unless she is truly unsuitable, I shall grant her the boon of Alaya's crest feather like I did with the ones raised by my ruby WEAPON. It will increase her potential to rival one of the dragon lords."
"A power up is not worth it to let Firo get hurt!" Naofumi turns his head back to scream at the true queen in a clear show of frustrated anger. But with his attention now divided, Firo was able to break through his hold, and leapt over to face the avatar. "NO! Come back, Firo!"
Naofumi's legs tense up, like he's ready to spring forward and pull Firo back. But his path is blocked by a wall of filorials as they stand in front of him. They are clearly not going to let the Shield Hero interfere with the duel that's about to happen between the avatar of Alaya, and Firo. The Shield Hero pushes against their bodies in a futile attempt to get past them. "Out of the way! She just said Firo is one of the weakest candidates she's going to test! I don't want to see my daughter get hurt!"
Naofumi's desperation is rather called for. Considering he witnessed the true queen's strength against the ancient griffin king just like Mein. Unfortunately, the gluttonous devil bird didn't, so all she does is give the Shield Hero a confident smile born out of ignorance. "Don't worry, Master Naofumi! Nobody gets to call Firo weak! Firo will put her through a diet!"
Needless to say, Firo's overconfidence only makes Naofumi struggle harder against the flock. Knowing it's a foregone conclusion and not exactly sympathetic towards the brat, Mein steps forward and gives Naofumi's arm a firm tug. "You might as well let her get a taste of the queen's true power, Master Naofumi. It might be some kind of sacred rite among the filorials. You really don't want to offend them with your stubbornness. And who knows, letting Firo know how much more powerful someone is compared to her might make her behave better."
The Shield Hero's struggle slowly dies. He steps away from the wall of feathered birds, allowing them to slowly scatter around Firo and Alaya's avatar, forming into an impromptu dueling ring. He raises his hand, and gives a weak wave to Firo. "Okay, if you want to Firo. Do your best, but don't get hurt."
The Shield Hero's acknowledgement seems to be the invitation for Firo to charge ahead. As she shoots towards the one true queen of her kind as if fired out of a ballista. Her body defies what should have been possible with the aid of magic, and begins to spin in the air without slowing down in her trajectory. The aerial spinning kick would have looked impressive, if everyone hadn't already witnessed what the griffin king was capable of. Needless to say, the queen isn't impressed as she raises her left arm to her head at the last moment, and blocks Firo's attack without even a twitch. The ruffling of her hair, clothes, and a loud boom is the only indication that there had been a heavy exchange between them.
"Unskilled and undisciplined." The avatar of Alaya flings Firo right back to where she started with a wave of her raised arm. Mein noticed how there was a single finger extended on the one true queen's hand. It takes her a brief moment to understand the strange looking gesture... and realized that Alaya's avatar didn't block Firo with her arm. She did it, with one finger. "My emerald WEAPON clearly got too lenient with you for you to be this weak. And more importantly. He clearly hasn't gotten through your mind how weak you are. Else you would not have attempted to charge a foe with superior strength head first."
This feat of strength against Firo demonstrated by the one true queen might not be much. Considering she beat an ancient griffin king, who might very well be as powerful as Gaelion (or Chief God forbid, even more so considering the revelation that Gaelion had recently reincarnated). But Mein knows that there's a chance she wouldn't have survived Firo's assault if she was the one being attacked and didn't dodge out of the devil bird's way. There's a good chance that Naofumi wouldn't have left the exchange completely unscathed even if he had his shield back.
"Firo. is. Not. WEAK!" Firo seems to explode with anger as she utters each word separately. She might be as intimidating to the one true queen as a newborn baby chick. Her legs move again. This time, she stays on the ground rather than flying straight at the avatar of Alaya. But a moment before they are about to make contact again, the angel faced devil suddenly leaps up, almost straight towards the sky. Her body twists in midair with the assistance of air magic again, as her feet slam into the trunk of the gigantic tree god, and allows her to crush towards the one true queen with the force of a falling star. If Yggdrasil were annoyed at Firo, the tree god didn't do anything to show it. Neither does the avatar of Alaya, for that matter. As she once again raises her left hand, and blocks Firo's strike again behind her head.
This time, Firo didn't wait for the one true queen to flicker her away. She leaps back, seemingly using the power of their collision to boost her speed, as she kicks off against the trunk of the Yggdrasil. Her body was enveloped with an aura of orange flame in the shape of a firebird. "You are going on a diet! [AKASHIC BUSTER]!"
This time, the one true queen actually had to turn around, and cross her arms in front of herself into a proper guard. The smoke rises up from the point of impact between them, obstructing everyone's vision. Once it clears up, Mein sees the one true queen isn't any worse for wear. Her skin, her hair, and her clothes all look as immaculate as she started out with.
"You are nothing more than a weak pampered brat thinking too highly of yourself. And while you parade alongside your father, or that reincarnated fool from the the Three Heroes' Church, my ruby Weapon's children are striving everyday to hone their skill." Once again, the one true queen flings Firo away with a flick of her hand. This time, she clearly used more force and sent Firo crashing into the dirt on her back. A possible retaliation to Firo's failed assault with her strongest attack. "Perhaps your father should leave you to my ruby WEAPON, just so his children can whip you into shape."
"ENOUGH! FIRO! Don't keep going!" Mein can feel Naofumi struggling against her hand again, as he tries to step into the dueling area between Firo and Alaya's avatar. He is once again blocked by a filorial. "You already showed what you are made of! Don't get yourself hurt!"
Firo spat as she shakily got up to her feet. Her face twists, smashing together into a furious visage that fits the demon she truly was. She crosses her arms into an X in front of her chest, as four green orbs of magic begin to form around her hands and elbows. "At least Firo still has a father! Where was your father?! [COSMO NOVA]!"
Firo flings her arm out, launching the four magical orbs towards the one true queen. They rapidly enlarge, collide together and merge into a single massive beam of greenlight. For the first time since her appearance, the avatar of Alaya shows something on her own youthful face. Mein is well acquainted with the emotion buried beneath the muscles of the one true queen that seemed to have atrophied due to lack of use: anger. Firo's words clearly touched a nerve not even the griffin king managed to. A golden halo, as gloriously incandescent as the sun appears behind the avatar of Alaya, cups her hands in front of her stomach, as a dark orb begins to gather between her palms. She pushes it forward, just as the wave of magical energy launched by Firo is about to make contact with her. "[Degeneration Canon]."
The pulsating dark sun meets the beam of green magic. It cuts through the wave, like a steadfast boulder splitting a rapid stream in half. It seems to briefly distort the world, before imploding into a singularity, sucking all the magic power Firo released into nothingness. As the dust settled, the one true queen had her back bent, and grabbed her head as if in pain despite the lack of any injuries on her body. Firo is face down in the ground from where she was standing. Either because she's somehow affected by the attack of Alaya's avatar, or because she used up all her energy.
"FIRO!" The bird finally lets Naofumi through, as he runs over and kneels besides Firo. Cradling her body in his arms. He looks up at the one true queen angrily. "You said you were going easy on her! I would not have let her fight you if I knew you were going to throw a blackhole at her!"
For a brief moment, Mein is worried that Naofumi had offended the earthbound demi-god, and she might have taken out her anger on the rest of his group in return. To her surprise, the one true queen actually apologizes to them after she recovered her labored breath. "I am... sorry. That action truly was uncalled for."
"What Firo said had truly touched a nerve for you, didn't she?" The princess takes a few careful steps towards the one true queen. Besides her, Raphtalia breaks into a sprint over to Naofumi and Firo's side. "You said all potential avatars were raised by heroes. Who raised you?"
"The father of Fitoria... was the Shield Hero known as Mikage Mikami." Mein felt a loud boom go off inside of her head when the avatar of Alaya utters the name of the most infamous Shield Hero in all of history. With the way she speaks, almost like an ancient being, the current true queen of filorials is much younger than Mein expected. Which isn't to say sixty years is young, for the princess doubts she will look half as good as the avatar of Alaya when she reaches the same age.
"Your father was the King of Rape!" Naofumi's eyes instantly narrow as he hears the name of his predecessor. The one whose brutal ascension gave much ammunition to detractors of Shield Heroes, and indirectly contributed to a lot of trouble Naofumi is currently facing. There is clearly a new found disgust in his voice. "No wonder you-"
"THAT THING WAS NOT MY FATHER!" Everyone, except Metatron is suddenly knocked on their behind as the voice of a highly emotional, almost terrified sounding child breaks through Fitoria's usual blank voice. "Father wouldn't have done all the bad things That Thing did... I remember he cried for me... told me everything will be okay before I... before I died... No... NO! He can't be That Thing people call the King of Rape!"
"You can not know for sure. Fitoria." Metatron's voice, now sounding very much different from Fitoria, carries itself forward. Ever distant, without any emotion behind it. "Even with Yggdrasil's insight, I could not see what happened after both of you died. Until Mikage was brought back as the avatar of Gaia by Yujo Lung of the Azure Dragon Clan. Something could have happened to his soul to twist him, yes. But he was already burdened with all seven cursed series before his death, after all. And you know what it does to one's soul. He could have committed all of the atrocities as the King of Rape on his own volition."
"No, no, NO! I refuse to believe it! Father can't be That Thing when we were trying to free the world from the Wave of Catastrophe forever!" Mein can't help but to stare at the trembling form of the avatar... no, scared little girl Fitoria. They were trying to stop the Wave of Catastrophe forever? Something as sure as a natural disaster that would happen every two hundred to one hundred years?
"You were trying to stop the Wave forever? How does that work?" Naofumi slowly crawled up from his feet, eyes opened wide. "Why didn't that Chief God of everyone try to stop it?"
"The phenomenon known to the mortals of Medea as the 'Wave of Catastrophe' is a natural disaster of the dimensional level. It occurs between worlds that naturally formed with a flaw, like a barrel with a hole in it, letting elements of these worlds periodically bleed into each other with their respective content corrupted by whatever existed between worlds. It can be used by ambitious beings to invade worlds like this, as what The Burning Legion is currently doing, but most times it's nothing more than a natural disaster if on the existence scale. Normally, there are two methods to stop it. You can either plug it up, as how your heroes strike against the wave, and stop the fissure with the souls you gathered by slaying the monstrosities that came through. Or you can patch it over. Like how the GUARDIANs of Gaia gather the souls of Medea's inhabitants to form a barrier outside of our worlds. Regardless, both methods to stop the crack would naturally weaken with time, eventually resulting in a new Wave of Catastrophe." The clinical way Metatron describes one of the most pervasive crises sends chill in Mein's mind once again. To think... The greatest threat of their world is nothing more than a natural disaster. "And with the flaw being naturally formed in our world, even a reigning god can't do anything to fix it. The only way he can permanently fix it... is by returning everything to its original state and remake the world whole. Killing everything in it in the process."
"But I thought she said they were trying to stop it permanently?" Naofumi looks at Metatron, but his finger is pointed at Fitoria.
"The method attempted by Mikage, and Fitoria is slightly different. And it required the ultimate sacrifice from both of them. An unorthodox solution befit the creative mind of a summoned hero, I suppose." Metatron closes her eyes briefly. Despite her lack of emotion, the doll looks almost like she's in mourning. "By ascending into the avatar of Alaya and Gaia respectively, Mikage and Fitoria went into the void. Making themselves the living guardians against the crack in the world, to continuously regulate the souls to renew the barrier. It would only last as long as they can both hold onto their sanity with them cut off from the rest of the world, not forever. Alas, it didn't last long when the topaz WEAPON Shirou Emiya unknowingly created a barrier himself, cutting them away from Medea and leaving the two of them to die alone in the void."
What is described by the interpreter and speaker of Yggdrasil is truly a sad fate that Mein wouldn't even want to wish upon her worst enemy. Not even someone like Consevatie the young should die alone in the void (granted, that's mostly because she wants him to be publicly humiliated and then executed). To think something like this happened to the previous Shield Hero before he became known as The King of Rape. That's probably enough to destroy a man, turning him into a monster even if he did come back with his soul intact.
"I'm sorry, you had to see that shameful display. Fitoria still comes out, even at the most opportune times." The one true queen's completely even is back. And despite the graceful, regal way she carries herself and her god-like power, Mein can't help but find something truly pathetic about the current avatar of Alaya. She holds the long feather in her hand, as she hands it towards Naofumi. "Take it, and give it to your child once she wakes. She'll know what to do."
The Shield Hero slaps the feather away, rather than taking it from the one true queen's hand. "Take it away! I'm not having Firo turning into someone like you! She's not going to be losing her mind and develop multiple personality disorder like you did!"
"The mantle of Alaya doesn't do that. It's only supposed to give the bearer the collective knowledge and wisdom gained by the previous avatars while connecting them to the power of Alaya." The current avatar of Alaya looks away, avoiding Naofumi's contempt-filled gaze. "The reason it happened to Fitoria is because she died once. And she was brought back using an artificially created soul. And it's slowly breaking apart under the weight of Alaya's mantle. That's why I've been testing every possible candidate to pass the mantle down, before Fitoria loses all her memory and sense of self to stop existing. All Fitoria wants to do now... is to be left alone, with what memory she still has of her father."
"I think you should take it for Firo, Master Naofumi. Even if you don't want Firo to become the next avatar of Alaya, there's still all the children of the Spear Hero's children as possible candidates. In the meantime, it would make Firo stronger. It'll help us against the the Three Heroes' Church... and at the very least, we don't want to gain another powerful enemy."
The Shield Hero turns his head to look at her for a brief moment, before he finally snatches the feather from the ground. "Very well."
"Your majesty, since you said the heroes' weapons are created by Alaya. Can you fix my wand?" The princess looks up at the one true queen. She hands the star wand to the avatar of Alaya with both of her hands, hoping the protector of sentient species can fix it. "It broke when I got it from its last user, the king of Melromarc."
"It was broken when he used it as a catalyst to break the covenant and summoned all four of my WEAPONs. Regardless, the Worldshard is not created by Alaya, therefore I can not fix it for you." The one true queen looks down at the wand in Mein's hand for a brief moment before shaking her head. "The only one who could fix it is you, the current holder. If you gained enough aptitude with magic, you might be able to connect directly with the world shard and repair the damage caused by its last user."
"If you can't fix Mein's wand, can you take the slave seal off her? Shouldn't be too much of a problem for a demi-god like you, right? Or at least heal all the injuries and scars she got since she started traveling with me?" While the princess is still lamenting over the inability to fix her hero weapon even for the avatar of Alaya, the Shield Hero presented his own request to the one true queen. "You literally said one of the abilities that carriage gave you was perfect manipulation of one's physical form. So this should be within your abilities."
"I can't do anything about the slave seal. They are magic passed down by the Chief God. A true divine being above my station. Therefore I can't undo his edict. As for fixing your companion's ailment. Yes, that is within my power. But I will not do it." The one true queen turns her gaze upon Mein, and the princess gets the distinct feeling that she's both being judged, and were found wanting. "I am the guardian of all sentient life, not a healer. I never took any oath to heal any infirm that found their way in my realm, and so far your companion hasn't done anything to prove she is worthy of my help yet."
"So you proclaim yourself to be the guardian of sentient life. But when we have requested help from you, you either can't do anything about it, or won't do anything about it. Because of what? We aren't 'worthy' of your time, or because of some BS arbitrary standard your split personality disorder made up? Some guardians you truly are!" Naofumi is barely keeping his anger at the avatar of Alaya out of the tone of his speech by this point. He picks up Firo in his arms and stands up again. "Fine! Then just get me out of here. We still have to run with our lives from these goons from the Three Heroes' Church."
"Before you go, there is a bit more boon I, as the interpreter and speaker of Yggdrasil can still grant you." Metatron suddenly speaks up, as she holds her arm up. Almost like she's reaching for the branches of the great tree god once again. And just like before, the primordial being answered her beckoning as pale blue vines glowing with ethereal light reached down for them. They wrap themselves around the forms of everyone in Naofumi's party, forming a thin layer over their individual armor. "I am not one with Yggdrasil. So my arboreal control is not as good as the dryad that gifted you these armors. But the branches of Yggdrasil are still one of the strongest wood in the world. And even a thin layer woven with the vine should greatly increase the constitution of your respective armors. And if you will? Fitoria?"
In Metatron's hand is a wooden talisman shaped in twisted knots. Made of the same pale blue vine that now enhanced their armor. The one true queen steps forward and plucks three more pieces of feathers off her head, tying them onto the end of the talisman before handing it to the Shield Hero. "Take it, my emerald WEAPON. This talisman made of Yggdrasil's branch, enhanced with the feather of Alaya should further strengthen your connection with Chief God's divine sphere. Making miracles come to you easier and making their effect more potent. If we make it anything stronger, it will register as a weapon and be rebelled by the weapon restriction."
The Shield Hero gives one last long stare to the one true queen. The annoyance in his eyes almost make Mein fear he's going to throw both the talisman and Fitoria's last good will right back in her face. Thankfully, he does the practical thing and takes the gift from the hand of Alaya's avatar. "Thank you."
"Now go. Your destiny awaits over the Griffin's Spine." The one true queen points her now empty hand over at a tear in the world that opens near them. The fresh, untouched green foliage suggests it's somewhere on the northern mountain range, but thankfully not the same place that's ravaged by the battle of the Faubley giants, and the ancient griffin king. Without any more words, the Shield Hero turns around to step through the door, and everyone in his party follows him.
Before she steps through the tears in reality, she gives one last look back at the avatar of Alaya and the speaker of Yggdrasil. She notices the way they silently stare at each other, as if exchanging questions. Despite the amount of information they revealed, it's clear to Mein that they didn't tell Naofumi everything they know.
End Note:
So, the big 'divine exposition' chapter.
Fitoria essentially being Mikage's 'Firo' instead of a truly ancient filorial queen, and the ritual they did together in an attempt to stop Wave of Catastrophe for good are both suggested by Comrade Broseph very early in this story's life (obviously before his mysterious disappearance). Although obviously, I made a lot of change to have it fit the extended lore of my own story.
The part where her soul is slowly breaking apart, and how the mantel of Alaya works are both my own creation. Although the idea of Fitoria's soul being an artificial one is once again, suggested by my co-writer (Press 'F' to show him respect). Since I don't know where to put it into the actual story, I'll explain his idea here.
Fitoria is using Yui (yes, the same Yui from Sword Art Online)'s soul, which Mikage took with his Gluttony shield. In Comrade Broseph's original idea (which might subject to change as everything else in my story), Yui was summoned alongside Kirito 60 years ago. And people started worshipping her like a goddess which turned into her artificial soul since the power of worship is a real power in this world. And after Mikage's death & resurrection, he decided to resurrect Fitoria with the most powerful soul in the world: Yui's.
(This part is my own creation) But since he's insane at the time, he didn't realize it's fragile since it's created by people's worship, so Fitoria's new soul is now slowly breaking apart under the weight of Alaya's mantle. Which means what should have acted more like Matrix of Leadership from Transformers, something that give Fitoria additional wisdom and power, is now acting more like the Will of the First King from Attack on Titan. Fitoria is slowly, but surely losing both her own memories and personality, slowly becoming Alaya instead. Which is why she's so desperate to test every single filorial that's raised by the heroes in my story. She wants to pass down the Mantle of Alaya as soon as possible so she still had a bit of herself to go back to.
So yeah... turns out Motoyasu was right in the last interlude. Fitoria IS going mental. #Motoyasuisintheright
Once again, we'll be going into interlude 'breaks', and then it'll be the final arc of Three Heroes Church Saga: the final battle against Pope Balmus.