CHAPTER 6:

PURSUIT

Harry hurried back after they defeated the monsters. Given what had happened, he'd become more convinced that these creatures were the familiars of the Spirit Tortoise. What was more, Keel had been injured by one, and started growing a small shell on her neck, suggesting that those injured or killed by these familiars were turned into familiars in their turn. Thankfully, Keel was cured of her affliction easily enough, though she would be out of the fight for now, as she had been weakened by the parasitism.

They returned to Melromarc Castle Town, and were soon ushered into an audience with Mirelia, with Itsuki and Ren coming back soon after. But Motoyasu was conspicuous by his absence. "Where the hell is he?" Harry muttered.

"I do not know. I ordered him to return once he had assessed the situation. I have a Shadow in the area, but he is trying to determine the source of the creatures rather than babysit Motoyasu," Mirelia said. "Either he has been incapacitated, or…"

"…Or something else has happened," Itsuki said grimly.

"Then we'd better start. We have little time to waste, and if he is merely late coming back, then we can simply tell him what is going on," Mirelia said.

"The Spirit Tortoise has stepped up its activity, I am sure of it. Those familiars are like those in Brave Star Online," Ren said, looking to L'Arc, Therese and Glass. "Meaning that this Kyo guy you mentioned may be responsible."

Glass nodded. "Unfortunately, that may well be the case."

"I think the fact that the monsters we fought have shells like you find on chelonians is a big clue, at least to the Spirit Tortoise being responsible for sending them out, even without Ren and Itsuki's confirmation from their gaming knowledge," Raphtalia pointed out. "Your Majesty, has Ost Hourai made contact?"

Mirelia shook her head. "The last time we spoke was in Faubrey. And as the chief concubine to the king of the Spirit Tortoise Kingdom, she holds an important role in their society. Indeed, should the royals be mostly wiped out, she would be their regent until the line of succession was determined. I'm not sure what properties that body she has in human form, but for now, let us assume she has no power beyond that of a normal human."

Before she could continue, there was a knock on the door. Mirelia bade the person to enter, and a soldier came in, though their demeanour was different to most. "Your Majesty, a report from the Shadow investigating the same area as the Spear Hero, using a communications crystal. The Spear Hero departed the village, heading east with a new addition to his party, a cloaked male. The Shadow lost track due to some sort of magic used by the cloaked male that summoned those creatures to attack him. All he saw were strange enchanted sheets of paper, like pages from a book, that changed into the creatures."

"…East?" Mirelia asked, her face paling in realisation. "Would they be heading towards Spirit Tortoise Country?"

"Given the bearing, it is possible," the soldier, or perhaps a Shadow, conceded.

"And just as importantly, that's Kyo, I'd stake my life on it," L'Arc said grimly. "Those enchanted pages bear the hallmark of the Vassal Book, the one Kyo's bound to his will."

Itsuki, after a moment, stood. "Then I'm going after Motoyasu." As the others protested, Itsuki said, "I've got a teleport point set in the area not far from where he was investigating, back when I was still taking jobs from the Adventurers' Guild. If I have fast Dragons or Filolials with me when I go, I might be able to catch up with Motoyasu. Look, if I didn't know this was reality, I wouldn't have batted an eye at facing the Spirit Tortoise, but if what you're saying is true, then thousands, no, millions of people are going to die. Kyo needs Motoyasu for something to do with the Spirit Tortoise. Someone needs to stop them! And I need to go with my party alone. At least this way, you have two Cardinal Heroes if something goes wrong. And I won't take any stupid risks. If Kyo proves too much for me, or if the Spirit Tortoise awakes, I'll get out of there. If what you said is any indication, we'd need an army along with the Cardinal Heroes to have any chance against the Spirit Tortoise."

"Itsuki, Kyo is dangerous!" Therese protested. "He's a lunatic, yes, but he's a genius too! You could be hurrying into a trap!"

After a moment, Itsuki looked to Harry. "Harry, give me a Portkey, one I can use to get me and my party out of there if things go wrong, or to bring Motoyasu and his party back if I can persuade them. Please!"

Harry was of a mind to refuse at first. Itsuki was rushing headlong into danger, much like Harry used to. But Mirelia caught his eye, and nodded her assent, albeit reluctantly. "Fine," Harry said. "But make sure you use it the moment something goes wrong."

Itsuki nodded, and Harry took out a length of rope from his inventory, used the charm, and handed it to Itsuki. "This will bring you and your party back to wherever I am, unless there's a clear and present danger, in which case it'll drop you off nearby. The activation phrase is Rishia Ivyred. Don't forget that, and don't get yourself killed."

After a moment, Itsuki smiled sadly. "I won't. See you all later." He then rushed out.

Mirelia, after a moment, put her head in her hands. "…I made a mistake allowing Motoyasu to investigate that village. That was the closest settlement to the route to Spirit Tortoise Country."

"You couldn't have known Kyo was in the area, Your Majesty, assuming that was him accompanying the Spear Hero," Glass said.

"No, but of the Cardinal Heroes, Motoyasu was the most rebellious towards my authority, as well as the most gullible," Mirelia said. "In addition, he was the one who was chafing against the training regimen. I only allowed Itsuki to pursue him because he may be able to persuade Motoyasu to leave this insane course of action."

"…Maybe we could contact Fitoria?" Harry asked. "Get her to help us cut them off at the pass? Give me a moment." He pulled out the communications mirror, and intoned, "Fitoria."

Eventually, Fitoria's face appeared. Usually stoic, she appeared to be a touch frazzled. Harry wondered if that was due to the Death Eaters murdering many of the Filolials under her care. Or maybe the current crisis was affecting her too. "Harry," she said. "What's the matter?"

Harry explained the situation. He then said, "Would you be capable of helping us get to Spirit Tortoise Country, intercept them?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot. The country is out of my range, at least with the Vassal Carriage, and something is blocking my ability to track the Cardinal Spear. In addition, I have been fighting off the familiars of the Spirit Tortoise within my sanctuary. Still…if what you suspect is correct, then matters have become even more serious. I can only hope that Itsuki does not perish or fall into Kyo's clutches. But this is also a point where the Heroes must make a choice between the world and its people. I know what choice you will make, Harry, and I hope you can prevail. If the Spirit Tortoise does wake, I will make haste to Spirit Tortoise Country to help out. I'll try to contact Ost Hourai in the meantime. But Queen Mirelia?"

"Yes, Fitoria?"

"You should begin mobilising your forces to stop it. I may not be enough to stop the Spirit Tortoise if things go wrong. Let us hope that Itsuki succeeds in stopping the Spear Hero…"

"What the actual hell is going through Motoyasu's skull?!" Harry snarled as they left the meeting room. "Aside from air currents, anyway!"

"Harry, mind your language," Raphtalia said. "Though you are right. I don't know what he is thinking, assuming he is thinking at all."

Ren nodded, but let that be his sole contribution to the vilification of Motoyasu at this point. Mirelia, Youji Itami, and the Queen's other advisors were in a war council. They needed to contact the countries that could possibly be attacked by the Spirit Tortoise upon its initial awakening. Aside from the titular country, there were plenty of other countries neighbouring it.

According to Fitoria, the Spirit Tortoise would target either population centres, or large bodies of people like an army or refugees travelling en masse. So a likely course could be plotted out, given that the beast, according to what Ost Hourai had told Mirelia, was beneath the capital city of Spirit Tortoise Country. Against such a gargantuan, powerful beast, the geography of the land needed to be taken into consideration too.

And, of course, there were the political considerations of amassing an army and bringing it into another country. Melromarc's reputation abroad had plummeted thanks to the actions of the King Formerly Known as Aultcray and the Three Heroes' Church, and bringing an army into another country was fraught with peril at the best of times, even if its purpose was relatively peaceful.

The only bright side about the whole mess was that, if the Spirit Tortoise awoke, the Waves would be delayed. But that was very small comfort indeed, given how powerful the Spirit Tortoise and the other Guardian Beasts were. With their advent would come increasingly difficult battles. The knowledge Itsuki and Ren shared on the next monster, the Phoenix, was chilling…two birds in one, each with horrifically powerful attacks. Harry hoped it would never come to that.

In any case, Harry, Ren, and their respective parties, along with L'Arc, Therese and Glass, were being sent to the Spirit Tortoise Country as a vanguard. Not to pursue Motoyasu and Kyo like Itsuki and his party were, but to assess the situation and to communicate with Mirelia and Fitoria about any news. If they were lucky, they could resolve it before the next Wave hit. If they were unlucky, they would either be dragged back to Melromarc by the Wave…or the Spirit Tortoise would rise.

Glass sighed in irritation. The Spirit-Person had now changed back into her usual kimono, and removed her pigtails, looking a lot more comfortable in the process. "Should we have let the Bow Hero pursue him? Kyo is not to be underestimated."

"I know, but Itsuki just needs to retrieve Motoyasu and his harem. Anything else is secondary, as we may not be able to stop Kyo, but we can at least delay him long enough to be able to take back the initiative. He could even snipe Kyo from afar, kill him or incapacitate him," Harry said grimly. "Besides, I'm not sure any of us could have stopped him."

"Unfortunately, it's a moot point," Raphtalia said. "At least Itsuki understands what is at stake, I hope, unlike Motoyasu."

"In any case, I have a teleportation waypoint saved we could use to cut down on travel time," Ren said. "It's not as close to the border as Itsuki's was, or Kitamura's for that matter, but every second counts, right? We've just got to pick up Ivyred and Grilaroc first, along with supplies for the journey."

"We'll need a bigger carriage, though," Hedy said with a pout. "I'll have to leave my favourite carriage behind."

"It's only temporary, Hedy," Harry said to his adopted daughter gently. "Melty and Wyndia will look after it."

"She's really attached to it, isn't she?" Welt, the axe-fighter in Ren's party, asked with a chuckle.

"Filolials like to pull things, I guess she got attached to that old thing we were given in Lute," Harry said with a shrug. "It's like a kid with a toy, even if it gets mangled or worn out. You're fine travelling with us?"

Tersia, a female martial artist under Ren, nodded. "We joined Sir Ren because the Sword Hero is popular in this country, but we weren't exactly followers of the Three Heroes Church."

Welt added, "You showed your mettle in the Waves, that's good enough for me. Besides, you were lauded as the Saviour of the Heavenly Fowl for the work you did with Raphtalia and Hedy."

"By the way, Harry, before we go, I want to touch base with Sadeena. Given what we're facing…I just want to make sure she understands what we're up against," Raphtalia said.

"Sure…"

The Orca demi-human sighed after Raphtalia and Harry relayed what they had learned, as they were readying the cart for Hedy. "Damnation. I'll speak to my current…employer, see if I can't get some time off. I might see if I can even procure the services of one or two other fighters in the arena willing to fight. I've heard news of some towns near the eastern borders of Zeltoble being attacked by monsters with shells on them. They could be the Spirit Tortoise's familiars. I'll sell it to him as my reputation going up if I've helped defeat the Spirit Tortoise. Hopefully, that'll stop him from pulling any dodgy stuff behind my back regarding the slaves taken from Lurolona. No word from Ost Hourai, either?"

"Not a damned thing," Harry said. "For all we know, that's something Kyo has caused, taken control of her or something, or else she's trying to find a way to get to us, but hasn't been able to." Harry winced. "And while I warned Motoyasu about Kyo, I forgot to mention the Spirit Tortoise, and what Kyo looked like."

"An understandable oversight, Harry," Sadeena said. "A dangerous one, yes, but you're not perfect."

"It may still cost countless lives, Sadeena!" Harry retorted. "I already have Rifana's death still weighing on my conscience, I don't need another mistake costing us more!"

"It wasn't just your mistake, Harry!" Raphtalia protested. "I forgot to tell him that too!"

"And so did I," Ren said. "You told me about the Spirit Tortoise and Kyo before, and I discussed it with Itsuki. We didn't discuss it with Motoyasu because we were on bad terms with him, it didn't help matters. That, and he kept going off on his own with his harem. What matters now is that we stop him, we stop Kyo, and we stop the Spirit Tortoise."

"Well said, Ren," Sadeena said. "And keep in mind, the Spirit Tortoise is merely fulfilling its function. Callously, yes, but it may be needed to save the world. Ost Hourai, from what you said, does not enjoy her role. In addition, it may be that Kyo was the one who unleashed the familiars you fought so far. If that's the case, the fault lies almost entirely with Kyo and his malice, his megalomania. Don't focus on what you could have done. Instead, focus on what you need to do. As Ren said, you need to stop Motoyasu, Kyo, and the Spirit Tortoise. Harry…I believe in you."

"…Really?" Harry asked.

"We've only talked over this mirror thing so far, but I'd like to think of myself as a good judge of people. I would be a lot less blasé about Raphtalia being with you, otherwise," Sadeena said. "Not to mention Keel, though I can see the way you and Raphtalia look at each other. I feel confident about leaving her in your hands, Harry, no matter what you may feel, especially after what happened at Cal Mira. You are a worthy Shield Hero. Hell, I'm proud of the lot of you. So get going, and be the heroes I know you are. I believe in you, in all of you…"

CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Itsuki's gone running off after Motoyasu. But will that bite him in the arse? Will the others regret it?

I did this because I wanted to have Itsuki undergo what happened in canon, even if for different reasons. Of course, the consequences will be different this time, if only because of some foresight by the others.

Hmm, maybe we might be able to see Sadeena make an appearance at the battle? Here's hoping…

Now, here is where I am diverging from the novels, at least a little. I want to take more elements from the anime, which seemed to have a better set-up for the battle against the Spirit Tortoise. So the coming chapters will be a hybrid of the anime and novels.

No numbered annotations this time.