CHAPTER 9:

TENSION AND ANTICIPATION

"…Give it to me straight, Ost," Harry said quietly. "Is there any way of stopping the Spirit Tortoise that doesn't end with your death?"

The sultry woman shook her head. "Not that I know of. By this point, I'm not sure if any records on how to seal the Spirit Tortoise away again exist anymore, not with the capital destroyed, and Kyo may have taken measures against it. And in truth…some part of me is glad to meet my end."

"But why?" Raphtalia asked plaintively. "Why do you want to die?"

Sadeena sighed. The group was convening in a hotel that Ost had managed to commandeer for them, and they were currently in the restaurant, Hedy gorging herself, though even she paid a little attention to the conversation. "Think about it, Raphtalia. Given what she has told us, her purpose is to cause death and destruction, all to power this protection against the Waves. Any living, thinking being with a shred of empathy would be horrified at being shackled to such a task. I heard of your reputation, Ost, as some callous, scheming woman who had the ear of the king of this country. And yet, it was an act, wasn't it?"

"An act I took no pleasure in. Well, save for our nights together. Up until recently, the king was a considerate and attentive lover," Ost said, blushing a little. "My whole image and appearance was carefully cultivated to play the role of…I believe Risa Itami called me a femme fatale when we met in Faubrey. She explained the term. But causing deaths, even on a small scale, tore at me. My only confidant was Fitoria. We both understood some of the atrocious things necessary to safeguard the world, even if they were last resorts."

"Then why haven't you got all of your memories? It seems a bit convenient to me, lacking information that we might need to stop the Spirit Tortoise," Ren pointed out.

"I understand your concern, Ren. I believe the information was edited from my memory, or blocked, as part of my function. I believe my memory will be restored as the crisis deepens, to ensure you can stop my more monstrous body. After all, my more monstrous body is still carrying out what it was created to do, just prematurely, and controlled by Kyo. If I am aware of how to stop myself, and do so because of a guilty conscience, then that defeats the very purpose of my existence, my function."

Ren eventually nodded, conceding the argument, if not his suspicions. Harry understood them, and he'd be as wary if it weren't for Fitoria vouching for Ost. "So what can we expect from your larger form? I remember from Brave Star Online that it was supposed to have gravity-based attacks, fires some sort of blast from its mouth and similar blasts from its shell. And, of course, it could simply trample or crush anything in its path," Ren asked.

Ost nodded. "That sums it up. That body is also quick to regenerate from any grievous wound, save to the head. If that body was decapitated…"

"Fitoria seemed to think that wouldn't be the end of it," Harry pointed out.

"…Then I will keep that in mind," Ost said. "But it will incapacitate that body for a substantial period, at least. I heard from the governor of this area that one of the Spear Hero's underlings has been detained, and will not speak to anyone except Queen Mirelia or one of the Cardinal Heroes. When will you see her?"

"Tomorrow morning," Harry said. "It won't hurt her to cool her heels for a little while longer. Besides, I'm not fond of traitors, and as much as I'm angry at Motoyasu, I'm wondering if she did what Itsuki's party did to him, stabbing him in the back and ditching him."

"Don't forget, Elena was the one who told the Queen about what happened to Rino," Ren pointed out. "It may be that she wanted no part of what Kyo intended."

"Even so," Harry said. "I'm not sure what she'll have to say what we don't know already. Itsuki already confirmed Kyo's involved, along with the Shadow's reports."

"She may have overheard something, something about what Kyo intends," Ost said. "It may only be a minor thing, but it's something to consider."

"…Okay, fair enough. I'll go and see her first thing in the morning…"

Thankfully, Harry was allowed through early the next morning, accompanied by Ost, who had thankfully lost none of her authority or reputation. Raphtalia came along too. Harry was not sure how he was going to handle this, which was why Raphtalia was coming. She could be the good cop to his bad cop.

They were led to a cell, and Harry saw her lying down, asleep. With an evil smirk, he began running the Shield along the bars, raising a hell of a din with the clattering, and Elena soon sat up straight, rudely awoken. But when she saw him there, she got up quickly and hurried to the bars. "Shield Hero…thank God you're here. Listen, there's been a misunderstanding. I…"

"Misunderstanding? Is that what you call following Motoyasu and Kyo to unseal the Spirit Tortoise?" Harry scoffed. "Some misunderstanding. Thousands of people are dead, with the rest of the world more or less at risk."

"That wasn't my fault. And he wasn't called Kyo, he was called Outis."

"You didn't try to stop Motoyasu," Harry said coldly. "So, you want to explain your side of the story? Then start talking…"

Elena did so, hurriedly. While Harry reckoned there was some judicious editing of the story in her favour, it seemed mostly truthful. Kyo had approached Motoyasu as 'Outis', a scholar studying the Spirit Tortoise, amongst other fields, and had recruited Motoyasu to re-seal the monster, or so he claimed. In truth, Motoyasu had been tricked into unsealing the Spirit Tortoise, and Kyo gave Motoyasu's harem the chance to flee, as he was more concerned about harnessing Motoyasu and his Spear.

After Elena explained, Raphtalia sighed. "Well, that was interesting. Did Kyo say anything about why he wanted Motoyasu's power?"

"Not a damn thing," Elena said. "And to be honest, what could we do against him? He was too powerful. Anyway, have you any idea what it was like being in the Spear Hero's little harem? Exhausting and exasperating. And it was dangerous when Malty was still part of it. If you caught his eye too much, well, you know what happened to Rino. And that bitch of a friend of hers, Lesty, was almost as bad. And he just kept having his eyes wander. To him, we're status symbols, sex objects. And I had to put on an act of being a bimbo just to make sure Malty didn't ship me off to a damned brothel. It was fun at first, but then, it got tiresome, putting on the act, trying to avoid pissing off Malty or Lesty…and he kept preventing us from getting experience out of some boneheaded attempt at being chivalrous. Honestly, when I get out of here, I'm just going to head back to my family's shop and run it. It'll be safer and steadier work."

"You mean if you get out of here," Harry said grimly. "I'll leave the decision whether to have you stay here or not with Queen Mirelia. I hate Motoyasu, and his idiocy might end up wiping out most if not all life on this world, but you didn't even try to help, and even if Kyo was stronger, why didn't you try to tell the authorities here?"

"They wouldn't have believed me!" Elena retorted. "And you can't leave me to rot here!"

"Just watch me," Harry said coldly, before turning and striding out from the cellblock.

As Raphtalia followed, she observed, "That was a bit callous of you, Harry."

"My heart bleeds. Mirelia will probably free her anyway when she arrives, or at least take her into custody, but she didn't have much useful information."

"Except that she did confirm that Kyo comes from Earth, even if it was in a prior incarnation," Raphtalia said. "Outis is Ancient Greek for 'nobody', just like Nemo means the same thing in Latin. I read The Odyssey for a class at Mahoutokoro looking at mythology, with that assignment being on Greek mythology. Odysseus called himself Outis around the Cyclops named Polyphemus. And that he tricked Motoyasu. Not that that's much comfort to the people of that city."

"But why would Kyo seek a Cardinal Hero and their Weapon?" Ost mused. "He also intended to do the same to Itsuki. He has access to all the power the Spirit Tortoise has available, so why seek more?"

"…Yes…that's a point," Harry said. "Don't get me wrong, it could be simply stopping the Cardinal Heroes from doing anything to stop him, but…Itsuki's words and Elena's suggested he wanted the power of the Cardinal Heroes and their Weapons too. But why? Is he studying the weapons, maybe to try and copy them? Or is there some way he can use the power for something else that he can't use the Spirit Tortoise's power for?"

"Good questions, Harry, but we don't have the answers," Raphtalia said.

"Agreed," Ost said. "And honestly, it is prudent to leave the girl in custody, at least until Mirelia arrives. She will have the means to guard her, if she decides to keep her in her own custody. That being said, Harry…may I ask you what may be a personal question? I'm not saying I won't ask this in front of Raphtalia, she knows you better than I do, and could help explain matters."

"…Okay, fine," Harry said.

"…Why are you so opposed to my death?" Ost said. "While I am your ally now, the fact remains that I have manipulated world events, stoking the fires of war. Subtly, yes, and only on a relatively small scale so far, but I have been doing so for centuries, under different guises, my true identity known only to a chosen few. I am, at least indirectly, knowingly responsible for thousands of deaths over the centuries, in order to prepare for the time when the Waves begin overwhelming this world. I hate myself for doing so, but I have to harden my heart to do this. But to tell the truth…death would be a welcome release from my self-loathing, from my guilt. So…again, I ask you, why are you opposed to my death?"

Harry and Raphtalia exchanged looks, before Harry ran a hand through his hair. "…I guess in some ways, it's like how I was."

"How you were?" Ost frowned. "I only was told some of your past at Faubrey, by Hermione, by Mirelia, by the Itamis and, later, by Fitoria. You were…famous on your world, at least amongst the mages there. You had to fight an infamous warlock, Voldemort, I believe he was called."

Harry nodded. "It's a long story. The thing is, a lot of my life was stage-managed by my mentor, Dumbledore, and I had expectations made of me by the populace of Magical Britain. Don't get me wrong, I believe Dumbledore had every intention of ensuring that I survived my last battle with Voldemort, but he basically couldn't decide whether to make me a child soldier or just let me be a child, and some of the decisions he made were pretty damn callous. And it felt like I was being set up to sacrifice myself, as I had a fragment of Voldemort's soul bound to me. Not to mention so many people died, some of them sacrificing themselves to save me from my own idiocy."

"…I see. You hold much pain and grief inside you, Harry."

"And it hasn't ended," Raphtalia said quietly. "During the latest Wave, some of Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters, attacked us. My friend Rifana, you met her in Faubrey, she sacrificed herself to save Harry's life during the ambush. The Death Eaters now work for whatever force is behind the Waves now, and they freed Malty from her bondage to Fitoria."

Ost looked away, her eyes glistening with tears. "I see. I…remember speaking with Rifana and Keel in Faubrey. Both were delightful children. They spoke highly of you, Raphtalia. I truly am sorry for your loss. I know you have little reason to accept such a sentiment, given who and what I am, but I do mean it."

"It's mostly because Fitoria vouches for your true character that I believe you," Harry pointed out. "That, and I can understand the cold logic of what you do. I'm glad you don't say it's for the Greater Good or anything, though. That would piss me off."

"It's not for the Greater Good," Ost said vehemently. "I estimate that at least two-thirds of this world's current population would be needed to shield it from the Waves. Permanently or at least for many, many years, yes, but would it be worth the cost? Who knows what will happen to the survivors, whether any of their society would survive, whether they would descend into savagery or squabble over what is left? No, while I do encourage conflict to begin fuelling the protection against the Waves in subtle ways, I do not believe it is for the Greater Good, only a last resort against the worst-case scenario."

"And that's the point," Harry said. "Don't get me wrong, I despise what you do. Necessary evils are still evil, it's just a matter of degrees. But I understand the reasoning. What's more, I'm so sick and tired of good people being forced to sacrifice their lives to save the world. And you're a good person doing a bad job, I think. There's no way we can…I dunno, kill your main form without killing your human form?"

"Not to my knowledge. And Harry…I've lived too long, my soul worn down by the cruelty of my purpose. If my last act as the will of the Spirit Tortoise is to prevent an even greater calamity, perpetrated by a cruel madman, then I will gladly die helping you. But I do not intend to sacrifice myself until it is necessary. If I could live to atone rather than die, then I would. But my function stops me from doing the former. As long as I live, I am obligated to carry out my function. If I do nothing, then I end up being compelled to. Think of this as freeing myself not just from Kyo, but from a most terrible duty as well."

"…It's not right. It's not fair," Raphtalia said, her voice thick with emotion.

"I know. And thank you for your kindness to me, undeserved though it may be. But steel yourself for what is to come," Ost said. "In all likelihood, I will have to perish alongside the Spirit Tortoise itself. I'm sorry to burden you with this, but between my monstrous body wiping out the entire world's population at the behest of Kyo, and my demise, the choice in my eyes is simple. What matters is that this world is saved, preferably without the death of so many people. I will do what I can to help you."

Harry nodded in agreement, but he wasn't happy about this at all. Between Ost's function and her willingness to die, he wasn't happy, and neither was Raphtalia. At least unlike with Rifana, Ost's demise wasn't going to take them by surprise. But that didn't make it much better.

Still, perhaps such would be the price of saving this world, once more paid in the coin of lives. A bitter price to pay. But they might not have the luxury of choice…

CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:

So, here we are, with Ost showing more of her inner turmoil than she did in canon. Plus, some insight into Elena's thoughts, adapted somewhat from her little diatribe towards Motoyasu in the 11th novel. Though given what she was party to, I don't have that much sympathy for her. She could have simply left the party, and Malty probably wouldn't have batted an eye. Her words suggest she just wanted to ride on Motoyasu's coattails.

Review-answering time! L: While circumstances may yet conspire against them, Itsuki and Ren will be seen as heroes still. Ren has already been growing that way for some time, while Itsuki, although he's had a bad knock to his confidence thanks to his party's betrayal, will recover. Part of these stories was about having them avoid the same pitfalls as in canon. I planned to do so with Ren from the beginning of my attempts of a fic in this crossover, but Itsuki's redemption wasn't planned until later in developing Not Your Kind of People, spurred in part by reading about his frankly pathetic state after he gets out of his Pride Bow. I mean, he's so robotic, and I honestly think that his character development was mishandled somewhat by Aneko Yusagi.

While Itsuki, in some regards, ended up becoming the worst of the Cardinal Heroes morally, I actually chalk much of the blame down to his immaturity and the toxic influence of his party (sans Rishia, of course) rather than any innate psychopathy or anything. He is a teenager after all, one who was bullied for a long time before being Truck-kun'd. The power and fame went to his head, and he didn't have the perspective of realising things weren't a game. Which is why I think Harry's reaction to what Itsuki did as a vigilante was better than Naofumi's. While Harry still chewed him out, Raphtalia also tried to reason with him, and Harry, on an impulse, confessed to Itsuki he might have done the same thing under the right circumstances. As I've mentioned before, and I will mention again, Naofumi has a distinct lack of empathy after Malty's betrayal, whereas Harry never loses it. This, plus Harry and Raphtalia continually reiterating that it isn't a game to Itsuki, as well as trying to be helpful, gives Itsuki more positive character development.

As for Motoyasu, while his reputation will be in the shit, Youji Itami will be there to try and counsel him. Time will tell if that does anything.

Finally, Ren and Itsuki will be staying behind. With Motoyasu showing himself to be a liability, they wanted to ensure that they can protect that world, and Itsuki also needs to regain his confidence as a Cardinal Hero again. Ost can also only give enough energy to allow one Cardinal Hero to make the journey, so Harry, given that he's already on good terms with the people of Glass' world. The last completed chapter of this fic as of writing this review answer has an interlude set on the main world of Shield Hero. There, we see what the three Cardinal Heroes left behind on Raphtalia's world are doing.

No numbered annotations this time.