Sword and Shield
The Raven Invader
"Thank you, Shirou."
"No problem. I'm glad to help."
Shirou withdrew his hand from Naofumi's Barbarian Armor's chest plate, leaving behind a faint glow that lingered, the after effect of having Blessed the armor.
Naofumi appraised the armor's Status, nodding in satisfaction. "An all around improvement. This ability of yours is broken, Shirou," he said, smiling. "The sheer range of application is simply insane," he added, looking around.
Lord Ciaran's mansion's courtyard was a bustle of activity. Raphtalia was off to the side checking her equipment. Filo was talking to Melty, who was nervously shuffling from foot to foot. Elrasla was stretching in preparation, looking remarkably at ease. Sadeena was inspecting her weapon, a massive harpoon that seemed really out of place as a weapon (though Naofumi was fully aware he had no right to be throwing around such stones).
The soldiers of the Queen were similarly checking out their equipment. And boxes full of supplies (potions, weapons, materials, etc.) were being loaded into Filo's carriage, ready for use whenever.
It reminded Naofumi of the last time they had faced a Wave, though this time the preparations were not nearly as rushed.
It was while they were preparing that Shirou had aired the idea of Blessing all their equipment. After smacking themselves over the head at the fact that no one had thought of it, they allowed Shirou do so, evident by the faintly glowing weapons, armor and items scattered all around them.
"How are your Circuits?" Naofumi asked.
"Applying a Blessing doesn't take much energy, I barely feel a difference," Shirou answered, taking a brief moment to gauge his Circuits.
"Good," Naofumi got up. "I'm going to check our supplies one more time. Try and relax a little, would you?"
"Now isn't really the time to relax," Shirou returned drily.
Naofumi merely chuckled and patted Shirou on the shoulder as he walked off. The fact that they could banter like that in a moment like this was proof that they were starting to get used to meeting the Waves. If that was a good thing or not was up to interpretation, though.
Shirou looked around. Preparations were as good as done. There was nothing to do now but wait and face the coming battle head on.
"Hey, Onii-chan!" Filo came bouncing towards him, Melty following on her heels. "Ready to fight?"
"Of course," Shirou smiled back and patted Filo on the head. "How about you?"
"You know me, Onii-chan! I'm always ready!" Filo boasted happily.
"Filo, you're so brave," Melty said with a certain degree of disbelieve, shivering. "I've heard stories of the Waves of Calamity. What I was told was terrible…"
"It is terrible," Shirou said in all seriousness, sighing. "A Wave is pure mayhem."
"If what I'm told is true, that's putting it lightly," Melty said. "I'm kind of surprised at how you all are dealing with it. I want to help, and I want to come along, but…"
Of course, that wasn't an option. She was the crown princess of Melromarc. She was too important to be risking her life on the battlefield. From what little he had seen of her so far Shirou was sure that Melty would be willing to fight for her country on the front lines, but her position made that impossible.
"You don't have to worry. We will deal with this. Just trust us," Shirou promised.
"That's right, Mel-chan! You can count on us!" Filo tried to cheer up Melty.
It seemed to work, as Melty smiled. But before she could respond, a command snapped out over the courtyard.
"Everyone! The Wave will hit in five minutes! Finish your preparations and form up!"
At those words from the Shield Hero, everyone sprang into action. Filo immediately transformed into her Queen form and rushed towards the carriage loaded with supplies, hooking herself up to it. Shirou, Raphtalia, Elrasla and Sadeena made their way towards Naofumi as the soldiers formed up in front of them in a single file.
"You all know the plan! Evacuating civilians will be our number one priority! Stay close to each other and don't be stingy with the use of Healing Potions! We've got plenty to go around!" Naofumi began. "Does everyone remember the formation?"
A chorus of confirmations were the response.
"We won't let you down, Shield Hero-sama! Command us and we will follow your orders to the letter!" the captain of the knights, a man that Naofumi had long since realized was rather gung-ho in his sense of duty, saluted him.
"I'm counting on you all, so don't mess up," Naofumi grunted back.
"Shield Hero, Filo, everyone, I wish you success and a safe return!" Melty curtsied and smiled weakly at them.
"Shield Hero-sama! Good hunting!" Lord Ciaran shouted from the steps leading into his mansion, giving a roguish grin as he came at the last second to see them off. From beside him, Hickwaal chose to keep his silence, but quietly offered his support all the same.
Naofumi nodded back at them, then looked at the timer ticking down in the corner of his eye. Taking a deep breath, the Shield Hero's Circuits spun up as he started to chant.
"I am the Hero of the Shield that commands the origin of power. I have read, deciphered and augmented a Law of nature! May the power of nature defend me and mine!"
"All Zweite Guard!"
The party wide variant, second tier Support spell was applied to the party and battle formation. Their Defence Stat was raised by a respectable 20%.
Having done that, Naofumi immediately continued on without missing a beat.
"I am the Hero of the Shield that commands the origin of power. I have read, deciphered and augmented a Law of nature! May the power of nature give swift feet to me and mine!"
"All Zweite Agility!"
Another second tier Support spell was applied to everyone, raising everyone's Agility Stat. And still, the Shield Hero wasn't done.
"I am the Hero of the Shield that commands the origin of power. I have read, deciphered and augmented a Law of nature! May the power of nature empower me and mine!"
"All Zweite Power!"
With that, dark red magical energy pulsed and applied a 20% increase to the Attack Stat of everyone participating in the Wave.
And now the preparations are truly finished, Naofumi thought grimly. He took the brief moment they had remaining to look at the Status of himself and his companions.
[Status Magic Main Menu]
Naofumi (Age: 20)
Lv: 57
Job: Guardian Lv - 10
[Status Magic Main Menu]
Raphtalia (Age: 10)
Lv: 53
Job: Magic Knight Lv - 10
[Status Magic Main Menu]
Shirou (Age: 12)
Lv: 53
Job: Myrmidon Lv - 10
[Status Magic Main Menu]
Filo: (Age: 1 month)
Lv: 54
Job: Battle Mage Lv - 10
[Status Magic Main Menu]
Elrasla (Age: 72)
Lv: 36
Job: Martial Artist Lv – 10
Since setting our on their journey to Zeltoble, they had truly grown a lot. Naofumi just hoped that it would be enough.
All their hard work was about to be put to test.
"Ten seconds!" the Shield Hero announced. Everyone's hands closed around their weapons, steeling themselves.
The world seemed to twist, and the very next second, they'd disappeared from the courtyard as they were carried off towards a distant battlefield.
The familiar scene of a Wave of Calamity was laid out before them. A blood red, cracked mess of a sky. Dark shapes in their hundreds plummeting towards the ground from the cracks, the monstrous horde appearing and starting to swell from the get-go.
But that wasn't all that was familiar.
"My home!" Elrasla exclaimed.
Indeed it was. The Wave was taking place at the town where they had first met Elrasla. The name of the place escaped him in that moment, but Naofumi recognized it instantly.
"Shield Hero-sama!"
"Good, you're here," Naofumi said, relieved that the Battle Formation function did as advertised and the soldiers had been transported with them.
"Ready for your orders!" the Gung-Ho Knight Captain stood at the ready, his subordinates lining up behind him.
Before the first of said orders could be given, a large mass of people rushed them by. It was the other Heroes and their parties. Much like they had done during the last Wave in Melromarc, they rushed directly towards the epicentre of the Wave, and again, much to Naofumi's frustration, they had once more neglected to bring along any additional troops.
For a brief second, Naofumi had half the mind to order Filo to knock them over like bowling pins. Not so much to punish them, but to give himself the opportunity to lecture them. But he restrained himself. Now wasn't the time or the place.
"Let's get moving!"
They rushed towards the village. The monsters had yet to reach the village proper. The sooner they'd acted, the more easily they could protect everyone.
"The main rift is towards the West!" Shirou's sharp eyes had picked up on that immediately.
"From that distance…I'd hazard a guess that the monsters will reach the village in about five minutes, tops," Elrasla added seriously.
"That doesn't give us much time to evacuate people before the fighting begins," Sadeena added.
"A Wave is always a running battle. It's a little much to hope to avoid that this time," Raphtalia said in mild annoyance.
"We just have to stop the monsters from getting into the village!" Filo threw in, the carriage rocking along behind her.
"A bit simplistic, but true," Naofumi said as they continued to leg it to the village.
"Keeping out all the monsters…that's going to be difficult," Shirou aired the obvious. There were simply too many of them for that to be easily accomplished.
"We don't have to keep it up for long. We just have to stall the monsters long enough, keep them from getting into the village, until the people have been evacuated," Naofumi clarified.
"There are several other villages to the east where the people here can go to," Elrasla added.
"If we mount a defence on the western side of the village, than the people can evacuate to the east," Shirou spelled it out plainly. They had done something similar in the first Wave they had participated in, after all.
"Chances are that some monsters will slip by us in the chaos, or go the long way around," Naofumi's mind raced.
"There will have to be escorts, just like last time," Raphtalia realized.
"We'll gladly take that task upon us!" the Gung-Ho Knight Captain cut in. "We soldiers will aid in the defence of the people and we shall also coordinate the evacuation! Once all the villagers are ready, some of us will escort the villagers to safety while the Shield Hero's party and those of us that remain will hold off the main host of the enemy!"
"Sounds good to me! What say you, Holy Saint?" Elrasla had already decided.
"Let's do it!" Naofumi agreed.
If there was anything he was good for, if nothing else, it would be defence. No one could deny that with a straight face.
As luck would have it, they managed to reach the western end of the village before the monsters could storm the place. The bad news? The horde of monsters was already rushing up the sharp hill leading to the village by the time they arrived.
The western end of the village, it seemed, terminated into a ravine with steep sides, having been cut out by a long dried up river. The main rift of the Wave was further back, the monstrous horde dropping down near the deepest part of the ravine, a chance occurrence that was now funnelling the entire horde towards Elrasla's village.
"Ranged attacks! By me time!" Naofumi thundered, his Circuits switching on.
Not all the soldiers were with them anymore. Six of them had broken off to help organize the evacuation, but as they had anticipated this situation, the other six soldiers that remained with them, including the Gung-Ho Knight Captain, were all capable of attacking at range.
Four of them drew bows and notched arrows. The remaining two raised their hands, magical energy gathering as they chanted and readied their spells.
Elrasla raised her hands. The abilities of a Hengen Musou master were the most effective at close and mid-range, but the moment these monsters entered optimal range for her 'bullets' she'd lay waste to them.
Filo, having cut herself loose from her carriage, had swirls of energy surrounding her as she started to cast one of her big magic spells.
A static charge was building up around Sadeena as she chanted.
Raphtalia held her hands close together, preparing a spell of her own. She was the odd one out in the bunch, in the sense that her spell wasn't meant for direct damage.
Shirou drew his Elite Power Bow, notching an Amethyst Arrow. As he withdrew said arrow, his Magical Quiver applied a certain Enchantment upon the arrow. The Magical Quiver he owned was in fact capable of applying two separate Enchantments, and as the Magical Quiver functioned on the Magical Energy of its user and but a single Enchantment could be applied at a time, Shirou made sure to select one particular Enchantment that he had been rather interested in to try out.
As they waited for the enemy horde to reach optimal range, they took the chance to appraise their enemy.
[Otherworld Assault Goblin Lv: 28]
The vast majority of the enemy host consisted of goblins. They were squat and heavy set, decked out in simplistic armor and weapons. The brows were lowered, giving them an almost neanderthal-like appearance, and sharp fangs peeked beyond the lips pulled back in threatening snarls and screams, a tell of the creatures aggression.
[Otherworld Lizardman Lv: 31]
Much less numerous, but much taller, were the reptilian humanoids stalking among the horde. Like the goblins, the Lizardmen were a shade of green, with a thick extended neck that ended in a snake-like head. They bore no real armor, only simplistic fabrics and cloths, but did bear massive swords in the form of meat cleavers.
[Otherworld Lizardman Brute Lv: 36]
Even taller still were the goliaths amongst the Lizardmen. Towering more than three heads over their smaller brethren, two times as wide and several times the mass, their muscles were bulging in a grotesque fashion underneath their scales. Meat cleavers that size of a man were clutched in the monsters clawed hands. The beasts were roaring like crazy, and gave off the distinct impressions as if they were lost in a blood frenzy. Or drugged to high hell.
Shirou took all this in, adjusting the grip on his Elite Power Bow and aiming for the centre of the front line of the enemy horde.
His choice of location to strike wasn't accidental, nor was his combination of ranged equipment.
Much like the Magical Quiver, the Elite Power Bow could also impart an Enchantment on the Arrow it was about to fire.
These items that could impart Enchantments on other objects were fundamentally made in the same manner as the accessories he himself could make, only the Magical Quiver and the Elite Power Bow were made out of many different components and materials. Each separate part had been carefully selected, every piece imbued with magic, and when these parts were assembled together, the highly complex underlying matrix of magic gave the items the ability to impart Enchantments on other objects.
If making enchanted jewellery was like matching shapes together, then making items like the Magical Quiver and the Elite Power Bow was more like doing a ten thousand piece jigsaw puzzle.
The Magical Quiver had imparted an Enchantment of Explosion. The Elite Power Bow an Enchantment of Speed. Both of these Enchantments worked off of his Stats. The higher his own Stats were, the more effective the Enchantments would be.
Shirou doubled up on that by using his skill in Reinforcement and imbuing magic to direct the flow of his energy into the Enchantments, maximizing their efficiency and upping the modifier the Enchantments applied to his Stats as far as it could feasibly go.
The result of all of that combined, well…
Once the enemy horde reached optimal distance, Shirou released the Amethyst Arrow. The usual twang of releasing the bowstring was much deeper and louder, to the point that it sounded more like a steel crumpling under immense pressure.
The arrow distorted the air around it as it flew, creating a visible slipstream, it speed such that it crossed the distance of over a hundred and fifty feet in the blink of an eye. It struck the cranium of a charging Lizardmen Brute.
And punched through its skull in a shower of gore.
The Amethyst arrow continued on, punching through six bodies before coming to a halt. Not because it had lost all its momentum, but because of its trajectory, it struck the ground, the purple arrowhead burying itself in the dirt.
At that moment the Enchantment of Explosion triggered.
A wave of fire and brutal force rippled through the enemy horde, several times the destructive power of the Incendiary Bombs they were so fond of using. Goblins went flying, Lizardmen lost limbs, while the Brutes were thrown to the ground due to the shockwave.
The initial kill count of six abruptly became more than three dozen.
The horde slowed its charge in its shock and surprise, the explosion and resulting shockwave sowing discord through its previous uniform ranks. The front line had basically crumpled and come to a halt, with many of the monsters that had not been killed in the explosion having been knocked down.
Not only the monsters were shell shocked. His party members and the soldiers were also looking at him with varying degrees of surprise. As Shirou had the longest effective range, he had been the only one to attack in that moment, and his single attack had done far more to impede the enemy horde than any of them had expected.
Shirou gave it no mind. He smoothly drew another arrow from his quiver, notched it, and fired. With a third one following in the wake of the second a single breath later.
Naofumi had done his best to not let Shirou's display distract him, mostly succeeding, and completed the spell he had been preparing.
"I am the Hero of the Shield that commands the origin of power. I have read, deciphered and augmented a Law of nature! May the soil part before me and create a pit!"
"Zweite Earth Hole!"
A large square shaped hole opened up in the ground in front of them. It was over fifteen meters in width and a dozen feet deep. Still, by the Shield Hero's reckoning, he would have to use that spell six more times before he had opened up a pit large enough to cover the ravine from side to side.
Naofumi also reckoned he'd have the necessary time, as he saw the explosions from Shirou's arrows and the resultant chaos in the enemy ranks.
The Shield Hero immediately restarted his aria, preparing the next spell.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosion after explosion rocked the monstrous horde, killing many, injuring more and sending many flying. Shirou was not letting up.
In spite of that, even through the mud, blood and bodies, the enemies now fractured frontline doggedly forced itself forward. A few lucky lone stragglers managed to break free from the mayhem entirely and ran full tilt up the hill.
It was at that moment that Raphtalia activated her own spell.
"Zweite Light!
A harsh light shone from behind the defenders, casting dark shadows down the hill. The goblins and lizardmen that had managed to make some real headway screeched as the sudden light burned their retinas. Most stumbled in their charge, with a few tripping outright.
Arrows found those lone, defenceless stragglers a moment later. They soldiers weren't exceptionally strong, but they did know how to handle a bow, evident by the fact that arrow after arrow unerringly found their marks.
The monsters streaming in from the ravine were only increasing, however, joining the press of bodies. More and more began forcing their way up the hill, like salmon swimming against the current upstream.
"Zweite Tornado!
A rolling, vertical tornado forced them back. Filo's spell lacerated more than a few to death, and also forced the rest back down the hill.
In spite of that, a few goblin archers had gotten in range and fired off arrows at them. Their steel tips glinted in the dark, red washed out world of the Wave, seeking blood.
"Meteor Shield!"
Only to be denied as a see through barrier of pure light manifested. The arrows thudded ineffectively against the barrier, dropping impotently into the expanding pit in front of the defenders.
"GOAU!"
A Lizardman Brute, even bigger than the other brutes, was rallying the suffering attackers. It roared and gestured towards the defenders, pointing its oversized meat cleaver sword at them as it charged up the hill. Some of the monsters found their second wind and followed in its wake.
Shirou once again drew his bowstring back, arching backwards and aiming for the sky. At a particular angle, he released his arrow with a deafening noise.
But even as he did that, Raphtalia completed her own attack.
"I command the origin of power. I have read, deciphered and augmented a law of nature! May there be targets aplenty for my enemies!"
"All Zweite Mirage!"
The monsters closest to them, including the Lizardman Brute at the head of the enemy horde, cried out in surprise and fear. In unison, they stumbled in their charge.
From their perspective, the reason was obvious. The opponents waylaying them had all suddenly tripled, one becoming four. All of these new additions jumped over the pit and rushed towards them, weapons drawn and their eyes radiating with deadly intent.
A mental attack. A highly effective one at that.
The monstrous horde stumbled back. Their enemies had already been reaping a blood toll amongst them. With said enemy suddenly multiplying and rushing to engage them, stumbling back in the face of that was a rather mild reaction, all things considered.
Of course, that caution did them little good. At that moment, Shirou's previous arrow had completed its arc, landing just behind the lead Lizardman Brute.
BOOM!
The explosion swallowed up the lead Lizardman Brute and killed many of the monsters that had been following in its wake.
The soldiers doubled up on the monsters woes with arrow fire. The two soldiers that were capable of magic peppered the creatures with a storm of small, but highly manoeuvrable fireballs.
And it was then that Sadeena finally decided to act.
"Dritte Chain Current Lightning!"
Her spell had long since been prepared, so she just launched it at the most opportune time. Lightning surged so brightly that they were almost blinded by it.
It built up just beyond the almost finished pit, then surged down the hill. It travelled both over the earth and also seemed to jump from monster to monster, the power of the attack such that it left no more than blackened, charred corpses in its wake. Not only was the spells power incredible, so was its range. It continued on, jumping from body to body, from corpse to corpse, from corpse to body and back again. With the field already littered with fallen monsters and those still living packed close together, the spell caused an absurd amount of damage and fatalities.
Those monsters lucky enough to survive retreated, running away with their tails between their legs.
With but a single spell, Sadeena had effectively cleared the field.
Naofumi had to hold back a whistle. If that was the potential power of a third tier spell, they had to quickly reach that stage. The conditions for that particular spell had been perfect, yes, and Sadeena was far stronger than most, but no one could deny it had been an impressive show of magic.
"Damn."
Sadeena preened under the astonished gazes directed at her.
"I didn't even get to chance to join in on the fun!" Elrasla pouted and complained.
She really likes to complain about the stupidest things, Naofumi thought in the privacy of his mind.
"Is it over?" one of the soldiers asked.
"No chance," Shirou denied that possibility immediately. "This was only the first attack."
"If I've learned anything from these battles is that Wave spawned monsters aren't all there in the head," Elrasla agreed. "They'll keep coming until they have defeated us or all of them are dead. My guess is that they are massing further down the ravine for another push."
The faint roars and screeches that they could hear steadily building in the distance underscored this theory.
"Zweite Earth Hole!"
With that last spell Naofumi had created a pit that ran from one sheer wall of the ravine to the other.
"Good job, Naofumi-sama," Raphtalia commented. "Now it will be far more difficult for the monsters to reach us or the village."
"I'm just getting started," Naofumi cracked his knuckles, his Circuits still running at full capacity. Once those monsters came back, they'd get a nasty surprise…
A bloody battlefield.
Shirou had seen many such battlefields since coming to this world, but he'd never quite seen a scene with encompassed the word 'battlefield' quite like the view before him now did.
The defensive position Naofumi had made was now further bolstered with a thick stone wall just behind the pit that ran the width of the ravine. Shirou and his allies were standing atop said wall, the extra elevation giving them the perfect vantage point to survey the scene.
Like Shirou had predicted, the first attack had only been the beginning. After the first attack had been repulsed, the monsters' had amassed their numbers again and changed their approach. Instead of just bum rushing them en masse, the monsters had split of into many small, but manoeuvrable teams that prioritized speed over everything else. This ensured that one massive attack couldn't turn away the entire assault. It also made it more difficult for attacks to find their targets, and increased the chance of reaching the range necessary to try and attack back.
It wasn't doing the monsters much good, however.
"How are you holding up, little Raphtalia?" Sadeena asked her charge, even as she errantly launched a spell at an unlucky group of goblins.
"I'm doing fine," Raphtalia said back, her eyes closed in concentration and her Circuits visible on her skin. "This is good practice, if nothing else."
The slope stretched out before them, descending into the ravine. It was a scene of mud, blood and the dead. The barren earth was pockmarked with explosion craters, blasted off limbs and scattered arrows. Blood was pooling everywhere, coating everything. The monsters were trying to force their way past this no mans land, rushing forward with mindless abandon, but even with their increased numbers and their changed approach, they were making no headway to speak of.
Arrows rained down continuously. They did not need to worry about running out. Naofumi had made sure that they had more than enough to last the Wave. At the rate they were going, both Shirou and the soldiers could continue using their bows till the sun set. After an hour and a half of active combat their stock of arrows barely seemed to have dwindled.
Spells were only adding to their woos. Fire, water, lightning and cutting wind bombarded the slope, killing many and driving back any monster that managed to make any minute headway. A large stock of Magic Water ensured that said assault wouldn't be coming to a stop either.
A Lizardmen Brute screeched and stumbled back from something unseen. The earth underneath its feet cracked, then gave way, dropping the monster into the pit.
"Zweite Earthen Trap."
From where he was crouching on the wall, his hands resting on the soil, Naofumi smirked.
It felt good that he could now aid in a more direct fashion. Learning offensive spells so far had been a bust, but these hindrance spells weren't half bad either.
All over the battlefield, the scene repeated itself. In the chaos of battle, monsters were dropping into spontaneously generated pits beneath the soil. Naofumi was firing off this spell almost continuously since the second part of the battle. It was good that the second tier variant of this spell that he was using could generate half a dozen pits whenever it was completed, instead of the single' trap that the first tier of the spell could produce. Otherwise, the aid he was providing would have been negligible.
Arrows and thrown rocks came spearing towards them, only to bounce off the surface of the Meteor Shield. The last in a long chain of ineffective attacks.
Well, even if that had not been the case, Naofumi would still have been pulling his weight in the defence of his allies. But…details, details…
From beside him, Raphtalia was chanting underneath her breath. In response, several new roars and screeches rose up from the field of battle.
Goblins fell back. Lizardmen tripped over their own two feet. Brutes attacked each other and nothing at the same time. All of it under the influence of something that wasn't really there.
Raphtalia was layering illusion upon illusion onto the battlefield. Clones of themselves that engaged the enemy, obstacles that were not present except for in their lying eyes, hiding and concealing uneven and broken terrain to trip over, visions of monsters attacking the other monsters and starting fights. She did all of that and more, making forward progress all but impossible.
It would not be wrong that say that Raphtalia was the MVP of this battle. Having her here made the efforts of all the others more effective, if nothing else.
"Captain! Shield Hero-sama!"
A soldier came running up behind their defensive encampment. It was one of the soldiers that had broken off earlier to help to evacuate the villagers.
"Soldier! Report!" the Gung-Ho Captain ordered, even as he fired off an arrow.
"As of half an hour ago, we have finished rounding up the villagers!" the soldier did as instructed. "The villagers and our fellow soldiers left to the east immediately after! I've just finished checking the entire village over, looking for any possible stragglers! There are no more non-combatants here! I repeat, all the villagers have been evacuated!"
"Excellent!" the Gung-Ho Captain voiced their collective feelings on the matter. "Get up here soldier! And grab a bow!"
The soldier didn't bother responding. The man grabbed a bow and a quiver full of arrows from Filo's carriage, and then rushed to join them on the wall.
"Now what?" Shirou questioned as he launched an arrow. The resultant explosion put an end to yet another push by the monsters. "We should go and aid the other Heroes like we planned beforehand, but if we do that…"
"If we do that, we would be abandoning this position, giving the monsters a clean shot at pursuing the villagers," Sadeena finished the thought. "Chances are that they would bypass this village entirely and chase the people all the way to the other villages."
"We were stupid not to consider this situation," Naofumi hissed to himself. If only the other Heroes had brought along more soldiers, they could have avoided this exact problem…
"We're going to have to split up," Raphtalia realized, even as she continued plying her illusions on the battlefield.
"Some of us can go aid the other Heroes, while the rest stay behind and continue to ward off the monsters," Naofumi spelled it out. The question was who should go and who should stay? It wasn't a straightforward question.
The Shield Hero cast his mind over his companions. Sending the soldiers was out of the question. They were competent, but against a Boss Monster, they would be less then useless. That just left his party members.
"Shirou, Elrasla, Filo! You three go and aid the other Heroes!"
The answer came to him quickly. As the Shield Hero, he was most effective on defence. Raphtalia's illusions were their main trump card in this defensive battle, and Sadeena's devastating area of effect spells were perfect for warding off the constant waves of monsters.
That just left Shirou, Elrasla, and Filo. With the three of them, they could fight at any distance, and all of them packed enough of a punch to fight a Boss Monster. Not to mention that with Filo carrying them, they should be able to join the fight with the Boss Monster in record time, and hopefully bring the Wave to an end as quickly as possible.
"Are you sure?!"
"Don't worry about us! If anything, I think all of us being here is kind off overkill!" Raphtalia assured them. "Go!"
Shirou placed his bow on his back. "Right, let's go! Filo! Elrasla!"
"Finally!" Elrasla exclaimed. "Thank you, Holy Saint! I was starting to get frustrated doing nothing!"
Her skill set was an ill fit for this kind of defensive battle. Moreover, the others were doing such a fine job warding off the monsters that she hadn't yet needed to step in.
"Get on, Onii-chan! Old Lady!" Filo, in her Filolial Queen form, ran towards them and crouched down. They got on and held on tight. "Here we go!"
Filo launched herself full force off the wall, making a massive jump that carried them well over the enemy front line. They landed amidst the monstrous horde, but the monsters did not get the chance to even properly process what was happening, much less do anything. The moment her claw covered feet touched soil, Filo was thundering forward at such speed that any monster in her path were knocked aside like bowling pins. In the span of a few short breaths, all three of them had disappeared in the distance, heading towards the main rift of the Wave.
"You three better stay safe," Naofumi muttered underneath his breath, making sure Raphtalia and all the others didn't see his worry.
"Is that it?"
"That massive floating ship right underneath the main rift? I would reckon the Boss Monster would be there, yes," Elrasla answered Filo's plain question.
Their surroundings sped by blisteringly quickly, Filo's feet thudding against the soil. The surroundings were bare except a few spars trees, growing out of the sides of the ravine. Above them, silhouetted against the backdrop of the murder red sky, a stereotypical pirate ship sailed through the sky, right above the ravine. What seemed to be a many headed kraken was embedded into the keel of the ship. Shirou was not quite sure how the pirate ship remained aloft, but he figured that it was not all that important..
Suddenly, several somethings impacted the side of the ship, causing explosions. They turned to look, and saw Itsuki and his party standing a ways away, having scaled the sheer walls of the ravine to give themselves a clear shot at the ship. Itsuki's Legendary Bow was trained on the distant ship, and even as they watched, he launched an attack at it.
Still, even as the latest explosions dissipated, they couldn't see any appreciable damage to the ship.
"Where are the other Heroes?" Elrasla asked the obvious. Motoyasu, Ren nor their parties were anywhere to be seen.
Shirou tapped Filo and directed her to head towards Itsuki. The Bow Hero would probably be able to answer their questions.
"Hold on tight, Onii-chan! Old Lady!" Filo ran directly towards the sheer wall of the ravine, and with her sheer momentum, she ran up said wall in a blistering run. Filo went airborne as she crested the wall, and landed next to Itsuki and his party with a loud thump.
The Bow Hero's party turned to look at them, obviously startled by the noise. Then their expressions, except Rishia's, soured as they realized who had joined them.
"What do you lot want?" Itsuki spat, turning back and raising his Legendary Bow back on target.
Shirou didn't give himself the chance to feel irritated at Itsuki's attitude. Now was not the time or the place. "What's going on? Where are the other Heroes?" he asked, getting directly to the point.
"What are you trash even doing here?!" Itsuki cussed at them, completely ignoring Shirou's question.
"We have finished evacuating the nearby village," Shirou answered, again not letting Itsuki's words get to him. "We were sent to help defeat the Boss Monster as quick as possible while the others staid behind to hold back the monsters. Where are the other Heroes?"
"Those idiots boarded the ship!" Itsuki spat again, getting frustrated as his latest attack once more did no appreciable damage to the pirate ship.
"What?" Shirou blinked. "And you're attacking it directly? Why aren't all of you working together?!"
"I don't have the time to go over all this with you!"
"You're attacks don't seem to be doing much to that thing, Bow Hero," Elrasla piped up. "It does not look like the ship is going to collapse any time soon. Maybe try something else?"
"Attacking the ship is how you trigger the boss fight in Dimension Wave!"
With that comment, Shirou felt a hot pinprick of anger well up in his chest. Trigger? Boss fight? Dimension Wave? Had Itsuki been treating this entire battle as a game, to the point that he was using his game knowledge to guide him exclusively? It was clear that, whatever knowledge he thought he had, it clearly wasn't working. And yet, even with abundant evidence that his way of doing things was not the correct one, Itsuki had stubbornly clung to his game knowledge and preconceived notions.
Had Itsuki any idea how much damage this Wave was causing? How many lives were in danger? How many people were counting on him to do at least a decent job? And he was mucking it up because he was too stubborn to try something else? To refuse to part from his game knowledge and try something new?
Because he saw all of this as just a game?!
It took all of Shirou's will power to reign in his anger. No matter how angry he got, it still wouldn't be the correct time to lay into this fool.
"Fine," Shirou said flatly. "Then we will deal with it!"
Itsuki turned to give him an evil side eye, but by that point…
"Filo, get us up there!" Shirou ordered, and Filo immediately tensed her legs to jump.
With one of her signature mighty leaps and a corresponding flap of her wings, they became airborne. Filolials weren't capable of flight, but one could have mistaken Filo's jump for flight with the incredible amount of air they gained. They soared upwards like they had been launched by a cannon, and quite easily made it up to the floating pirate ship.
They landed on the deck. Shirou's eyes darted around, taking in the scene.
The floorboards were rotted through and filled with holes. Bones and corpses of slain monsters were littered everywhere. The ropes were damaged beyond repair, and the mast looked like one solid punch would knock it over. Motoyasu and his party were towards the back of the ship, while Ren and his party were at the front.
Motoyasu and his party were fighting what appeared to be the main head of the kraken imbedded into the keel. With a second look it was clear that the kraken was an undead creature, with flesh that was rotten completely through while its eyes were clouded. It wasn't breathing.
[Otherworld Undead Kraken Lv: 38]
"Chaos Thrust!" Motoyasu unleashed a Skill, his Legendary Spear releasing several blindingly fast thrusts. It punched holes through the rotten flesh of the kraken, and finally seemed to kill the undead creature…but it quickly regenerated, resuming its position as if nothing had happened.
"Again!" Motoyasu exclaimed, annoyed. "We need to kill it one more time! I'm sure that the Boss, the Soul Eater, will appear after that!"
Ren and his party seemed to be fighting some kind of skeleton captain. The animated bones were decked out in stereotypical pirate-like gear: ornate robes, a bandana and a wide brimmed hat. Hell, it even had a hook where its left hand should be. Like it was a skeleton version of Captain Hook from Peter Pan.
[Otherworld Skeleton Captain Lv: 41]
"Meteor Sword!" Ren swung his Legendary Sword, and a wide beam of silvery energy blasted forth. It struck the Skeleton Captain dead in the chest, and the monster was literally blown apart, the individual bones falling to the deck. Only for the bones to rise back up, like they were being carried by invisible hands, and reform back into the Skeleton Captain, as if nothing had happened.
Ren clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Damn, he's tough. One more time everyone!" he rallied his party members, who responded in the affirmative and raised their weapons, but didn't seem all that enthusiastic.
Shirou could feel a headache beginning to build behind his eyes.
Itsuki was attacking the ship. From their actions and words, it was clear that Motoyasu was repeatedly killing the Undead Kraken and Ren was repeatedly killing the Skeleton Captain in an effort to make the Boss Monster, that Motoyasu believed to be a Soul Eater, show itself.
All of them were clearly working from their game knowledge, using strategies that they knew worked from their games. But, for some reason their strategies didn't overlap, nor did said strategies seem to be working. At all. And yet, the thought of trying something else didn't even occur to them.
The Wave had been going on for well over an hour and a half, and they hadn't made any progress towards ending it. All three of them were treating this just like a game.
"Motoyasu! Ren!" Shirou shouted to get their attention, just after they yet again killed their targets.
Their heads snapped towards them, just like their parties, surprised at their appearance.
"What!" Motoyasu shouted, then blinked in surprise as he recognized them. Well, one of them. "What's with the old lady and fat bird?"
Filo's Black Stone Claws clicked menacingly. Shirou quickly patted Filo on the head to calm her down. Her killing the Spear Hero would be rather inconvenient.
Shirou and Elrasla disembarked from Filo.
"You're…Naofumi's party member," Ren took a long moment to recognize him, partly because of his changed appearance. "What are you doing here?" he asked, briefly directing a look at Filo and Elrasla, but deciding not to mention them.
"The nearby village has been evacuated, and the others are busy holding back the monsters," Shirou reiterated. "We were sent to see how things were going and help end the Wave."
Malty, from besides Motoyasu, snorted contemptuously. "Whatever could trash like you do? Get lost you scum! We were doing just fine without you!"
Much to her irritation, Shirou, Filo and Elrasla didn't even turn to acknowledge her presence.
"What's taking so long? Where's the Boss Monster?" Elrasla rapidly asked.
"It's hiding," Ren answered directly, turning back to the reforming Skeleton Captain. "Killing this guy multiple times will make the Soul Eater spawn."
"What are you saying? Killing the kraken multiple times will make the Soul Eater appear!" Motoyasu refuted.
"I told you multiple times! That's not how it went in Brave Star Online!" Ren shouted.
"It does work like that in Emerald Online!" Motoyasu spat back.
With that, the two Holy Heroes started to kibble over who was in the right.
In the middle of a Wave.
Brow twitching, Shirou turned toward Elrasla. "You know anything about this Soul Eater they keep mentioning?"
"Wave spawned monsters aren't native to this world," Elrasla reminded him. "But going by its name, it's probably a ghost of some kind."
"Do you think that the Soul Eater is controlling some medium and using that to hide?" Shirou asked. That would explain all three Heroes' actions so far. If the Soul Eater could control the undead it could use that to keep itself hidden and have others fight for it.
In that case, they would just have to destroy the medium that was carrying it.
"Ghosts are weak to Light magic," Elrasla told him, nodding her agreement with his assertion.
Shirou blinked at the information she had provided him, then he immediately clapped his hands together. It had been a pain in the ass to learn this spell, the definition of an uphill struggle, but now that effort was about to be rewarded.
"I command the origin of swords. I have read and deciphered a law of nature. Provide illumination in this dark world!"
"Faust Light!"
When Shirou finished chanting, a ball of concentrated light appeared over their heads. The ball shone an intense bright light, illuminating the entire deck.
"Wait…" Shirou immediately noticed something off, and he drew his Amethyst Longsword.
The shadows that the Skeleton Captain and the Undead Kraken were throwing on the deck were flickering oddly. More shadows scattered over the deck of the ship were behaving similarly. It almost appeared like the shadows were…grinning?
Those certainly weren't ordinary shadows.
"It's hiding in the shadows!" Elrasla exclaimed as Shirou dove towards the nearest shadow and stabbed his sword into it. Ren copied his actions, with many of the Heroes party members following suit, the cutting edge of their weapons biting into the shadows.
Pale white/purple fire erupted out of the shadows, arcing upwards and reaching towards the sky.
"Finally, the Soul Eater is spawning!" Itsuki pulled himself aboard, his party following behind him, and even as he said it, the Skeleton Captain and Undead Kraken collapsed, having served their purpose.
"There were this many in hiding?" Motoyasu said in incredulity. Every single flame was a single Soul Eater, now revealed for all to see.
And yet, the Soul Eaters had one more surprise in store for them.
The pale purple fire gathered above them in a single point, combining together. With a deafening sound and a surge of power, the Soul Eaters combined themselves in a single incredibly large and far more powerful Soul Eater.
[Otherworld Soul Eater Lv: 52]
The Soul Eater was like a massive fish, hunched over and covered in a pale white cloth. It had two massive arms, tipped with monstrous hands and claws. It had a dark, evil looking face and three eyes, dark red and glaring balefully at everything around it. Purple fire of varying shades enveloped it, cloaking its body and running down its back almost like a mane, terminating on its fish-like tail. Its outsized mouth was pulled back into a menacing grin, displaying massive fangs that could easily bite a man in twain.
The eye embedded in the forehead of the Soul Eater swivelled around, before settling on Shirou, the one that had revealed it for all to see.
The Soul Eater roared a challenge and bum rushed towards him.
Elrasla met it halfway before it had even properly picked up speed.
"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Lance!"
The Defence ignoring attack struck the charging Soul Eater between its three eyes, releasing a visible shockwave and stopping its charge dead in its tracks.
The Soul Eater screeched in pain and fury.
"What?!" someone exclaimed. "Physical attacks shouldn't do anything to a ghost!"
Elrasla boomed a laugh. "To be young and naïve! How I envy you! The power of life and the Hengen Musou ineffective because of intangibility?! As if!"
"High Quick! Spiral Strike!"
Before the Soul Eater could go on the assault again, Filo's energy claws racked down its side, having sped up immensely.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Soul Eater's pained/enraged screech was drowned out by a trio of explosions, arrows coated in magical energy and the Enchantment of Explosion having punctured its cloth-like 'skin' in spite of its intangibility. The explosions hammered its side like a sledge hammer would an anvil.
"Keep attacking! Don't let it recover!" Shirou said, and followed his own order as he notched another arrow to his Elite Power Bow.
The Sword, Spear and Bow Hero acted.
"Crimson Sword!
"Lightning Spear!"
"Wind Arrow!"
The Heroes unleashed their Skills, fire, lightning and wind spearing into the smoke kicked up by Shirou's explosive arrows, striking true. It didn't seem to have done much, however, as the Soul Eater charged forwards out of the smoke, undeterred.
It charged towards Motoyasu, but its charge was diverted by Shirou's arrow striking its cheek. The resultant explosion threw it off course and made its charge miss.
The Heroes party members attacked. Magic spells of every stripe were lobbed at it, its massive frame making it nearly impossible for the Soul Eater to dodge. The Heroes added to the weight of the assault with their Skills, but none of it seemed to overly bother the Soul Eater. They were doing harm, but not enough to make the Soul Eater back off or be wary.
"Ugh, this thing is tough! Are we even hurting it?!" Itsuki complained.
No, not really.
Well, that was until Elrasla came down from above with an axe kick aimed at the base of the Soul Eater's skull.
"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Skull Cruncher!"
The Soul Eater roared in genuine agony as the blow struck home, the blow jostling its head and doing real harm. It threw Elrasla off and backed off quickly in a measure of wariness.
"What the hell!? Who is this old lady, and how is she doing so much damage?!" Ren threw in, incredulous at the display. "She's the lowest Level out of all of us! She hasn't even Classed-Up!"
"Spiral Strike!"
Filo darted around, still moving at her enhanced speed, and her blow struck the Soul Eater in the side at an unexpected angle.
The blow was so strong that the Soul Eater was thrown on its side, its ghostly 'skin' torn open.
"How are they doing this?!" Motoyasu added.
The answer was simple: Hengen Musou. With the martial arts first form, Point, one could completely ignore the Defence of a target. It was a simple technique, all things considered, with the only things needed to be able to use it being having a sense of your own Life Force and being able to incorporate that energy into one's attacks. The natural properties of Life Force would do the rest.
Elrasla was a master. Filo a beginner, a monster that had an innate sense of Life Force from the start. Both were using it in their attacks, ignoring the Soul Eater's Defence and doing full damage with every hit. Like Elrasla had said many times, this was the strength of the Hengen Musou. The ability to fell any foe, regardless of the difference in Stats.
Shirou was glad for it, if a little frustrated. He had started to really feel his Life Force over a week ago, but not with any real distinction, and couldn't yet add it to his attacks. If only he was capable, his attacks would be that much more effective…
"They must be cheating! There's no way they could be this strong naturally!"
Shirou did not know who said that. It didn't really matter. All that mattered was that those words, an disparagement aimed at his companions, really, really made him angry.
They treated this world like a mere game. They messed up people's lives. They had no doubt in their own righteousness. They had hurt Naofumi. And now they were talking ill of the very people he lived, dined and fought beside with on a daily basis.
No matter how good natured he was, getting angry was the only natural response to all that.
Instead of giving in to said anger, he used it to focus his mind to a razors edge, creating a clarity of mind that he never had before. With said clarity of mind he focused on the Soul Eater, who had once again thrown off Filo and Elrasla, and took aim on the wildly trashing Boss Monster.
As he did that, something moved inside of him. That something abruptly filled his entire body, almost making him feel weightless as it rippled ever outward from his stomach. Only half cognizant of what that feeling meant, Shirou instinctively focused on that feeling, guided it into his arm, to his hand and into the already notched Amethyst arrow.
And then he let said arrow loose.
At this range, it struck nearly instantaneously.
The Life Force infused arrow punched into and through the Soul Eater's 'skin'. Its formidable Defence was ignored entirely, and the arrow punched so deep into the Soul Eater that its shaft disappeared in to its 'flesh' completely.
And then detonated inside of it.
The Soul Eater gave an unholy, agonizing and bone rattling screech.
The smoke cleared a moment later to reveal the Soul Eater hunched over even more, an unsightly bloody chunk blown out of its side.
Shirou smiled to himself and notched another arrow, his Life Force responding eagerly to his mental commands and flowing into the arrow just as he willed it.
Whoever said that anger was never good for anything?
"That's it, Shirou! Just like that!" Elrasla crowed, ecstatic at the sudden change in her student and his success at grasping something so fundamental.
"And now that filthy demi-human too!" Malty spat, incensed.
The Soul Eater, its three eyes now reflecting what could have been fear, opened its monstrous mouth wide. Wildly swirling black and green energy starting gathering, becoming a quickly expanding sphere of coruscating power as green lightning of excess energy crackled around the Boss Monster.
The Soul Eater was aiming for Shirou. If it wanted to win this battle, the demi-human had to be eliminated post haste.
"Watch out! It's going to use a powerful attack!" Ren cautioned, drawing back a little and getting ready to act.
Shirou didn't wait for the Soul Eater to attack. The Boss Monster's attack was charging up quickly, but his arrow was notched and ready, and at this range it would be impossible to dodge.
TWANG-BOOM!
Much to everyone's surprise, the Soul Eater did not even try to dodge. It quickly curled its fish-like tail in front of it, effectively sacrificing the limb to tank the hit. The explosion completely mangled the tail, but the Soul Eater soldiered through the pain and continued charging its attack.
And then spat said attack straight at Shirou.
The demi-human had already been moving, jumping backwards as fast as his Reinforced body would allow.
The Soul Eater's attack flew like a cannon ball and struck the deck were Shirou had been standing but a moment before. A large black explosion shook the entire ship, and the resultant shockwave hammered everyone aboard and sent them flying.
With instinct born from many battles, Shirou, Filo, and Elrasla curled their bodies and rode the shockwave, coming down in a semi-controlled tumble and using their momentum to quickly get back on their feet. They launched themselves back into battle.
The three Heroes and their parties weren't anywhere near as graceful. They slammed back down on the deck like a brick and were slow to get back up, tottering.
We need to end this fight quickly! Shirou's mind raced.
Not only because it would end the Wave, but it was clear that the Heroes and their party members were not ready for this battle. If things dragged out for much longer, some of them might get killed in the crossfire. And while he wasn't a big fan of the three Heroes, he did not want them to die.
Not only for the good of the world, but because that's what a real Hero would do.
"Filo!" Shirou directed.
"Okay, Onii-chan!" Filo immediately understood what Shirou wanted. "High Quick!" she activated her movement spell and started to kite the enemy, using her speed to dart around the Soul Eater, moving so quickly that the Boss Monster couldn't keep up. Filo landed kick after kick, her speed such that she seemed to disappear from the naked eye whenever she moved after a successful attack.
The Soul Eater snaped and swung at her desperately, but couldn't seem to connect as the damage slowly but surely piled up. Moreover, so long as Filo had its attention, the chance of the Heroes and their parties getting caught in the crossfire while they recovered was lessened.
Not like Shirou and Elrasla would be standing still in the meantime, however.
"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique, Bullet!"
Elrasla started shadow boxing, each and every punch launching a ripple of Defence ignoring energy. It wasn't an indiscriminate attack in the general direction of the Soul Eater either. Elrasla was keeping careful track of Filo's position and movement, ensuring that her 'bullets' would not hit Filo and would only strike home on her target.
Shirou pulled out four Amythest arrows at once, clenched between his fingers, and notched them to his Elite Power Bow. He aimed skyward, switching out the Explosion Enchantment for the second one of the Enchantments that his Magical Quiver could apply: Lock-On.
TWANG!
The four Amethyst arrows shot skywards, but before the arrows had the chance to disappear from sight, they made an unnaturally sharp turn and came plummeting back down full force.
The Soul Eater was boxed in by Filo's and Elrasla's continues attacks, not to mention distracted, and so didn't see the attack coming at all.
Not like dodging would have helped. The Enchantment of Lock-On ensured a hit, making attacks do freaky acrobatics in mid-air if required. The only way to prevent a direct hit would be to block it, but in order to do that, you actually had to see the attack coming.
The Soul Eater screeched in pain and fury as the arrows struck home on its back, the arrows infused with Life Force punching in deep and doing considerable damage.
Without missing a beat, Shirou launched another folly skywards. Only a fool would give an enemy a chance to recover.
As the second folly struck home, the Soul Eater had had enough. Even as Filo and Elrasla continued to attack it, the Boss Monster once again rushed towards Shirou, ignoring the other two entirely, even as they piled on more and more damage. The Soul Eater made a desperate lunge at Shirou, its devilish maw wide open to devour the demi-human whole.
Seconds before the Soul Eater managed to close the distance, Shirou had placed his bow on his back and drawn his Amethyst Longsword, having pulled out a single Dirk from his belt. The Soul Eater lunged and bit down. Its fangs found nothing but the rotten floorboards of the ship.
"Where…up there!" Rishia, having momentarily lost track of Shirou, quickly found him again. Shirou was up in the air, having jumped moments before impact.
The observant would have noticed that, as Shirou came down, that the Soul Eater wasn't moving at all and that the Dirk was no longer in his hand. The even more observant would have noticed that the Dirk was now embedded in the Soul Eater's shadow.
"Shadow Bind Blade," Shirou whispered.
It had not taken long for him to realize that only using the technique by stabbing his sword into the opponent's shadow at short range really limited its uses. So, he'd fiddled around with said technique a little, making it possible to apply it to thrown knives. He could now use Shadow Bind Blade at range. This came with the drawback of only being capable of binding an opponent's shadow for a very brief moment, while with the ordinary variant he could continuously supply the energy required to keep someone from moving as long as he wanted.
Then again, a brief opening is usually all that was needed in active combat.
Shirou plummeted like a falling star, energy and light gathering and rolling down the cutting edge of his Amethyst Longsword.
"Piercing Light Thrust!"
THUMP-SQUELCH!
The Applied Sword Magic technique he had used was simplicity itself, but it was because of that, that it was so effective. It was a simple thrust of the sword with Light magic infused into the blade, the light heating up the cutting edge and increasing both the sharpness of the blade and its overall attack power.
Couple that with the fact that the Amethyst Longsword had plunged into the Soul Eater's third eye – a critical hit, in game terms – that the Soul Eater was weak to Light magic and the Life Force applied to the attack made it ignore Defence…
The Soul Eater didn't even roar. It simply arced its body in agony, the Shadow Bind Blade having worn off just a second after Shirou had landed his attack, and gave a keening, drawn out, death rattle of a screech.
And then it collapsed to the deck of the ship, slain.
Shirou pulled out his Amethyst Longsword with another audible squelch, the punctured eye sizzling as the red hot blade was pulled free. He dropped back down to the deck, flicked the blood, ocular fluid and brain matter from his blade and sheathed it, taking a deep breath in order to centre himself after such a high paced battle.
"What the hell?!"
Shirou, Elrasla, and Filo started.
The three Heroes and their parties were staring at them with varying expressions, but all of them had a degree of incredulousness as they regarded them.
"We were barely able to harm that thing, and yet you three took it down so quickly…" Ren muttered, and the look he gave them was not exactly pleasant.
"They must be cheating somehow," Itsuki spat. That statement was getting old.
"…I'll give you this victory, but if I had gotten serious I could have taken it down," Motoyasu said with false bravado.
Shirou had to suppress his irritation. They were still treating this like a game? Didn't they realize they and their companions could have all died?
What was wrong with these people?
Filo apparently agreed with him. She transformed into her human form, getting a start out of the three Heroes and their parties. She skipped up to Motoyasu with a teasing grin. "Jealous much, Spear Guy?"
"BWUH?!" Motoyasu let out a sound of pure shock. "Filo-chan and the fat bird are the same person?!"
And Filo didn't like that.
"I'm not fat!" Filo immediately transformed back into her Queen form. "I hate you, Spear Guy!" she exclaimed and unceremoniously kicked him in the groin, the blow hard enough to lift the Spear Hero off his feet and into the air.
Luckily, she did not hit him with her Black Stone Claws and didn't use Life Force. Otherwise, she could legitimately have killed him.
"Motoyasu-sama!" Malty screamed as the Spear Hero came down with a thump, curling up into a fetal position, his face purpling and his mouth stretched wide in a silent scream as his brain processed the absolute agony he was under. "Quick! Apply Healing Potions!"
His companions did exactly that.
"…Snrk," Ren shoulders shook, barely a restraining a laugh as he snorted.
Even Itsuki looked amused, as did the companions of both the Bow Hero and the Sword Hero.
It might not have been Filo's intention, but her actions had completely drained the tension in the air. That was a good, it would make it easier to talk with the three Heroes after the Wave came to an end and the already spawned monsters were hunted down…
"Say," Elrasla suddenly cut in, perplexed. "Shouldn't the Wave, you know, have ended by now?"
She was right. Even though the Boss Monster was dead, the Wave didn't seem to be ending.
All of a sudden, the previously drained tension ratcheted back up for no apparent reason. Everyone, the Heroes and their companions included, were looking around, having the same feeling of danger. You could call it a premonition of doom.
"Look, another Soul Eater!"
From the far side of the ship another Soul Eater rose out of a shadow. It was far smaller than the Soul Eater they had just fought, but it was still a dangerous enemy.
Shirou was about to throw one of his Dirks and use Binding Shadow Blade to prevent the Soul Eater from attacking. All of them were surprised and completely out of position, but keeping the Soul Eater from moving for a brief moment should give everyone the time required to prepare.
It turned out to be unnecessary.
"How surprising!" a clear voice echoed from above, eclipsing all other noise.
Long golden spikes of energy rained down from above, punching through the Soul Eater's 'body' like a knife through butter and nailing it to deck of the ship.
It was but a single attack, yet it had killed the Soul Eater instantly.
Someone dropped down from the top of the mast, landing with a loud thump.
Shirou looked at the new arrival with wariness and a certain measure of trepidation.
She appeared to be a beautiful young woman with long raven hair that reached almost to her feet. Her eyes were red and had slit pupils. She wore a black kimono with silver embroidery, the kind of dress a wealthy family member might wear to a funeral. Her skin was pale, and at certain moments looked almost translucent, as if she wasn't fully there all the time.
Any number of questions could have popped up in Shirou's mind in that moment. Who was this woman? What did she want? When did she arrive? Where did she come from? Why was she here? What was her goal?
But those questions abandoned his mind when his gaze settled on the twin fans in her hands, while simultaneously answering some of said questions.
Fan Vassel Weapon
The so called Vassel Weapon. A weapon similar in power and ability to a Legendary Weapon, yet different all the same. A weapon intrinsically linked to the Legendary Weapons. A weapon fit only for the hands of a Hero. A weapon not born from this or for this world. Held in the hands of someone, who by grim circumstances and a grim reality, was their enemy. A weapon that would soon be pointed at them as a tool to safe a world. Her world.
A weapon held by…
"My name is Glass. You may consider me your enemy. Now, then," Glass snaped open her fans with a clear noise. "Shall we start the true battle of the Wave?"
There was a pregnant silence, no one daring to make a move.
"That is what I would like to say, but…" Glass' eyes roved over those present like a hawk seizing up its prey, coming to a stop on Shirou, Elrasla and Filo. "While there are most certainly capable warriors here, there are no Heroes present. How peculiar. My only targets are the Holy Heroes. I'd suppose no one here would be willing to tell me where the Holy Heroes are?"
In the back of his mind, Shirou hoped for a miracle. Pleaded to the Fates that the three Heroes would not react as he expected. That they would take the olive branch extended to them. Unfortunately, he had no such luck.
"What the hell are you talking about? I am a Holy Hero!" Itsuki boasted.
Ren grunted. "The same here."
"What they said! All three of us are Holy Heroes!" Motoyasu joined in without a second thought.
Those…morons!
Shirou, Filo, and Elrasla shared the same thought at the same time. Only Shirou, due to his unique abilities, knew the full extent of the danger Glass posed, but Elrasla and Filo, due to a combination of battle experience and monster instincts, were equally as aware.
Glass looked them over, then sniffed in derision. "Who are you trying to fool? Me, or yourself? There is no way a Holy Hero could be so weak."
Shirou again pleaded to a higher power that the three Heroes would dredge up some common sense. And again, no such luck.
"As I said," Motoyasu raised his Legendary Spear at Glass, incensed. "We-
"-are Holy Heroes!" Ren and Itsuki joined in with Motoyasu's war shout. As one they moved to attack Glass.
Glass sighed like she had to do a particularly boring chore, and raised her fans.
"Get back!"
Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki ignored Shirou's shouted warning and moved to attack, but before they could do so...
"Circle Dance Zero Formation: Reverse Snow Moon Flower."
Glass moved like she was dancing, swinging her fans in rapid succession.
"AH-ARGH!" the three Heroes and their parties cried out in unison as their feet left the ground. It was but a single attack, a single Skill, but it's power was immense. Glass had unleashed a tornado of force, its turbulent winds carrying golden crescents of cutting energy. Said attack had struck the Holy Heroes and their parties head on, sending them flying like chaff in the wind.
They came down like a ton of bricks, and didn't get back up. They were thankfully still breathing, but they were clearly out of the fight.
"Now that those fools proclaiming themselves Heroes are out of the way…" Glass turned towards Shirou, Elrasla and Filo, who had managed to avoid the attack. "Shall we get back to my question? Do you three know where the Holy Heroes are?"
"…I've no reason to tell you anything," Elrasla elected to say, as Shirou and Filo remained stubbornly silent. "And I've no reason to fight you either. So, why don't you just leave?"
"Unfortunately, you're wrong on the second part," Glass countered, her blood red eyes narrowing to slits.
"What do you mean?" Filo asked, her feathers puffed up in distress.
"As long as she is here, the Wave won't come to an end," Shirou said lowly. "Or at least, it won't end as it already should have."
Glass nodded her agreement with that statement. "You are correct, warrior. As long as I am here, the Wave will take that much longer to end."
Shirou bit his lip, almost hard enough to make it bleed.
"Shirou?" Elrasla saw his distress.
"I'll explain later," Shirou's voice was clipped, and refused to elaborate.
The moment he had laid his eyes on the Fan Vassel Weapon, its history had been laid bare to him, as had its nature. Those revelations were heavy and distressing. Unfortunately, now was not the time to contemplate all that.
One thing in the mess of information stood out to him however.
Glass was here to kill Naofumi.
With a clear noise, Shirou's Amethyst Longsword slid out of its sheath. Its cutting edge came to point at Glass.
"Leave," Shirou's voice was flat.
"No," Glass countered, eyes narrowing even further.
There was a moment of silence, before Glass' fans snapped back open. A clear statement of intent.
"Something tells me that you know where the Holy Heroes are…" Glass' sandal clad foot slid forward.
Magical Energy flooded Shirou's muscle and bones, Reinforcing his body.
"As such, I would like you to..."
Filo tensed to move, and Elrasla's hair waved in the wind as her Life Force surged.
"…Tell me where they are!"
Glass exploded forwards, moving so fast that even to Shirou's sharp eyes she was little but a washed out blur.
Fast!
Moving on instinct alone, the Amethyst Longsword rose to meet a thrust of Glass' fan that he hadn't been able to see coming. The two weapons grinded against each other, before Shirou, with difficulty, deflected her attack with an audible clang.
"High Quick!"
In that single moment, Filo was already on top of Glass. From the side, her claw covered foot lashed out in rapid succession, kicking two dozen times in a single breath.
"Circle Dance Defence Formation: Heavenly Protective Flower!"
Again, Glass moved like she was dancing as her fans lit up with a silvery light. With every ungodly fast pirouette she made, Glass' fans, empowered by a Skill, blocked and deflected Filo's kicks.
As her last kick was deflected and her attack came to an end, both Filo and Glass stood still for a brief moment.
And then Glass swung the cutting edge of one of her fans at Filo.
Filo crossed her wings in front of her, tanking the hit even as the very force of the blow made her slide back. She hissed in pain, a long thin cut of red now running down over her wings that dripped a considerable amount of blood.
"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Skull Cruncher!"
Elrasla came down from above, executing the same technique that had harmed the Soul Eater so. At a single glance, one could tell that Elrasla was aiming to end this fight with a singular blow.
Which made it all the more surprising that Glass, instead of trying to dodge, leaped to intercept Elrasla's attack. She crossed her fans over her head and met Elrasla's axe kick head on, and the blow struck down on the fans with such force that the floorboards underneath them cracked from the air pressure alone.
But it did not halt Glass, nor did it injure her. With a show of pure strength, she used brute force to deflect Elrasla and force her up and away.
"Hidden Light Slash!"
A cutting crescent of pure light surged towards Glass, splitting the floorboards of the deck like a laser through kindling.
As she was in mid-air, Glass could not dodge. Luckily for her, she didn't need to. Just like she did but a second ago, she crossed her fans, this time in front of her chest, and caught the Hidden Light Slash. The force of the Applied Sword Magic technique carried her away, however, as she was unable to brace herself in mid-air and she had no more momentum behind her after deflecting Elrasla. She was bulldozed back first into the far wall of what was probably the cabin of the captain.
"Filo, you alright!?" Shirou checked immediately.
"I'm fine, Onii-chan. It stings a lot, though," Filo whined, flapping her bleeding wings.
"This one is tough," Elrasla grunted, having recovered from her failed attack and landed as if it had been her own jump. "Real tough. Maybe having my Level reset wasn't such a great idea after all…"
"Circle Dance of Nothingness: Moon Break!"
An innumerable amount of golden energy spikes erupted out of the cloud of dust and wood splinters Glass had been knocked into. The spikes that had one hit killed a Soul Eater speared forward as if they had been fired by a railgun.
"Dodge!" Shirou shouted. He would have advised taking cover, but he was fully aware that nothing on this ship would provide adequate cover for an attack like this.
The next few seconds were absolute chaos. Their feet pounded the deck in a constant frantic rhythm as they avoided the attack, dodging and weaving desperately between the golden energy spikes. Shirou grunted as his dodge came a second to late and a moderate cut was scored on his side, the attack having burned through his armor with little to no trouble. Filo had transformed into her human form, her smaller profile making it easier for her to dodge. Elrasla didn't have anywhere near as much trouble as Shirou and Filo, her immense battle experience guiding her feet as she moved.
By some miracle, after a long few seconds, they managed the weather the attack.
"Circle Dance Attack Formation: Flower W-"
"High Quick!"
Filo exploded forwards, moving faster than she ever had before. Her Transforming Clothes fluttered in the wind as she ran straight at Glass, who had become visible again as the dust cloud settled. Just a second before impact, Filo transformed back into her Queen form, seeking to crush Glass.
Glass jumped to evade, and then-
"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Large Calibre Piercing Bullet!"
Elrasla wound back her right arm, fist clenched tight as Life Force swirled around her fist and became visible. With a war cry, she punched, the force of the punch releasing a shockwave as a far larger and far more bright 'bullet' than normal was released.
Glass flipped in mid-air, landing feet first on the mast of the ship. With a flex of her legs she launched herself away. Just in time too, as Elrasla's attack struck the mast and reduced it to splinters. As the top most part of the mast came down like a felled tree, Glass also came down on Shirou, with one of her fans poised to slice him in two wholly separate parts.
Shirou dodged by simply hopping backwards out of her range, and as Glass' slice missed, he instantly jumped back towards her. His Amethyst Longsword made an audible wheezing noise as it came down on Glass with a helm splitter slice, with Shirou hoping that Glass would not be able to recover in time.
No such luck. One of her fans rose as Glass herself recovered her footing, whacking aside his slice in a motion as easy as breathing.
CLANG!
CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!
CLANG!-CLANG!
CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!
CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!-CLANG!
A rapid series of blows were exchanged, their feet sliding across the deck as their weapons swung again and again, seeking an opening in each other's guards. The bout lasted only a few short seconds, but for Shirou and Glass, it felt like half an hour as they reacted and predicted each other as best as they were able. It was a showing of pure skill, of pure ability between two warriors who were giving it their all to overcome the other.
And the winner of that exchange was-
"AH-ARGH!"
-Was Glass, one of her fans slicing into Shirou's shoulder, leaving behind a deep cut. Blood spilled out and coated the side of the demi-human a deep crimson.
Shirou wasn't out of the fight, though. His other hand quickly pulled out one of the Dirks attached to his belt, using it to deflect a follow up slice from Glass' other fan.
The exchange continued for another few seconds, until Glass's foot suddenly found Shirou's stomach and knocked the demi-human back. Glass was about to raise her fans and release one of her Skills at short range, but she had to abort as Elrasla suddenly rushed in, effectively switching out with Shirou, her fist once again pulled back and Life Force surging around it.
Glass moved to meet her-
Shirou twisted in mid-air, using the momentum of the movement to throw the Dirk in his hands with as much force as he could muster at Glass' shadow.
THUNK!
-but her eyes widened when she found she couldn't move.
"Shadow Bind Blade!" Shirou rasped.
"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Lance!" Elrasla roared and punched Glass full force in the stomach.
Glass spat blood, the Shadow Bind Blade technique keeping her feet nailed to the ground. Using the opportunity, Elrasla unleashed another 'lance' into Glass' stomach. This time the hit made the feet of Glass leave the deck as she was sent flying, the Shadow Bind Blade having worn off.
CRASH!
Glass crashed head first into the far wooden wall, disappearing into the dust and wood splinters once more.
Elrasla did not let up, however. She doubled down.
"Hengen Musou, Hidden Technique: Bullet!"
A continues mass of 'bullets' was launched, further reducing the wooden wall of the captain's cabin into kindling with each and every 'bullet' that punched through it like a hot knife through butter. Elrasla kept it up for a solid minute before the attack tapered off.
"You alright, Shirou?" Elrasla asked, not taking her eyes off from where Glass had disappeared.
"I'll live," Shirou grunted from where he was crouching on the deck behind Elrasla, one of his hands holding his bleeding shoulder. The other one pulled out a Healing Potion from his pouch.
"Circle Dance Rupture Formation: Tortoise Shell Cracker!"
A narrow arrow of purple energy erupted out of the dust like a dart out of a blowgun. It moved even faster than the earlier Moon Break Skill.
Shirou and Elrasla had to dodge in opposite directions, lest they be skewered. The Healing Potion Shirou had been holding shattered on the deck, unused.
"No way!" Filo exclaimed. "How strong is this lady!"
Glass stepped out of the dust, and much to their relieve, she wasn't unharmed. Blood drippled down between her eyes from a wound on her head and from the corner of her lips. She was holding her stomach with one hand, while her visible skin was covered in bruises.
"You-cough-truly are-cough-mighty warriors," Glass said in between her coughs. "To harm me so…"
There was a moment of silence as both sides regarded each other.
"I don't know how it's possible, but this woman is capable of using Life Force," Elrasla informed them flatly. "That's why she is taking my attacks so well. Defence ignoring and Defence rating attacks are not all that effective against her."
"I'm aware," Shirou grunted. He had been aware of that the moment he had laid his eyes on the Fan Vassel Weapon, but he hadn't had the time to inform his companions of that nugget of information.
Glass chuckled in a painful manner. "I would not say I entirely agree with that assessment. I certainly felt those hits. I need more practice cancelling out those kind of attacks. My teacher would be disappointed…"
"I'd love to meet your teacher," Elrasla said, and she meant it. Too bad now wasn't the time to start sharing their life stories.
Shirou moved forward, his sword still bared at Glass. "This battle is taking a toll on all of us, and even if you beat us, we won't tell you anything. Why not do us all a favor and retreat? There's nothing for you to gain here."
"Oh, is that so?" Glass' eyes hardened. "I'm not sure I agree. There's plenty for me to gain here, even if you are as stubborn as you say."
Shirou, Elrasla, and Filo narrowed their eyes back at her.
"We are all fighting for own sakes," Glass stated factually. "Learning all that I can about our opposition has merit all on its own, doesn't it?"
"It doesn't if that effort cost you your life," Elrasla countered. "Because I promise you, that's how this battle will end up if you don't retreat."
"Again, I can't say I agree. I have no intention of dying," Glass said, taking a determined step forwards to her opponents. "Now, let's continue where we left of, shall we?"
Shirou, Elrasla, and Filo tensed, readying themselves for the second round.
At an unspoken signal Glass exploded forwards, moving so fast that she was little but a blur. She bore down on Elrasla, the one she had determined to be the greatest threat to her, the one that needed to be taken down first if she wanted to win this battle without putting her own life in undue danger.
Glass' fan swung down on Elrasla, and-
"Cover Move!"
CLANG!
Without warning, Naofumi was suddenly in between Elrasla and Glass in a flash of energy. His glaring eyes met Glass' stunned ones, the mysterious woman caught completely flatfooted. Glass' fan met Naofumi's shield with a clatter. She'd struck the Ghisarma Heart Shield full force, and her attack had been stopped cold in its tracks without any apparent trouble.
She didn't get the chance to ponder the implications of that, because she'd triggered the Ghisarma's Heart Shield's counter attack: Knock Back (high).
With a cry of surprise, Glass was knocked back like a ping pong ball. For the third time this fight, she ended up crashing into the far wall, a cloud of dust occluding her once again as her attack was stopped as soon as it began.
"Naofumi!" Shirou let slip in his surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I was getting worried about you guys taking so long, so I came to check," Naofumi answered.
"But what about the village?" Filo asked urgently.
"Don't worry. A ton of adventures started streaming in from the surrounding villages after you guys left. With the defences we've set up, they should have no problem defending the village. As Sadeena is leading them and with Raphtalia as support, I'm sure it will be fine," Naofumi assured them.
The smoke hiding Glass was suddenly blown away harshly by a single swipe of her fans. She moved in their direction, now looking thoroughly annoyed.
"More importantly, what is this woman's deal?" Naofumi got straight to the point.
"She is here to kill the Holy Heroes. Even with the Boss Monster dead, the Wave is taking longer to end because she is here. She took out the others in a single attack. We have been fighting her since," Shirou summed it up as succinctly as he could.
Naofumi got the message. Don't mention that you are a Holy Hero, unless you want to become a target. They needed to drive off this woman to bring an end to the Wave as fast as possible. And she was probably the strongest opponent they had faced so far.
Lovely.
He still had ton of questions, but now wasn't the time to ask them.
The Shield Hero's eyes drifted over the three out cold Heroes and their parties, noting with relieve that they were still breathing. The question of why the woman hadn't taken the chance to finish them off while she had the opportunity he pushed to the back of his mind. Honestly, he was more surprised by the fact that they hadn't been further caught up and injured in the fighting. The deck of the ship was totalled, to put it mildly.
These three Heroes truly had the luck of fools on their side.
"Another opponent," Glass grunted, looking less than pleased. "How did you get between us so suddenly?"
"You really think I am going to explain that to you?" Naofumi countered flatly.
There was two reasons for that, actually. One, he had seen someone attacking one of his companions from a distance, so he used Cover Move to translocate himself in between them. Two, while he had been able to see the battle on the floating ship there was no other method that he could think of but to use Cover Move to get himself up here.
But like he had said, he had no reason to inform Glass of all that.
Said woman gave him a considering look, as if contemplating something. Suddenly, without any prior warning, she exploded forwards again.
Naofumi raised his shield to defend, but having already experienced the Ghisarma's Heart Shield's power, Glass was not fool enough to strike it. She got into Naofumi's face, made a small jump and did a twist in mid-air, giving herself the reach necessary to avoid the shield and strike Naofumi's shoulder instead.
CA-CLANG!
Glass' eyes widened as her attack once more bounced off harmlessly, the no damage indicator being heard loud and clear. She was quickly forced to back off when Filo lobbed a Wind Sphere at her, making her jump back out of range.
"Even if I hit you directly, your Defence is high enough to render my normal attacks useless," Glass mused out loud, still giving him a considering look as she observed him. Then she looked at the jewel in the centre of his shield, and she noted that he bore no other weapon. "A Hero of the Shield...huh? No wonder you are such a tough nut to crack."
As Naofumi failed to suppress a grimace at her assertion, Glass knew she was right.
"What's your name?" Glass asked.
"You'd ask my name without offering your own first?" Naofumi rebuffed, intentionally being difficult.
"Excuse me, how rude of me. My name is Glass," Glass answered.
"Naofumi," Naofumi responded tersely. "You came here to kill me, but we have already established that you cannot harm me. Why don't you do us all a favor and just retreat?" he offered, unknowingly repeating Shirou's earlier words.
Glass' severe expression immediately conveyed that wasn't going to happen.
"She's capable of using Life Force," Shirou informed Naofumi.
Naofumi grimaced again. That implied that Glass was capable of using Defence ignoring and Defence rating attacks. In that case, Glass would be capable of harming him, even if her Skills didn't have the raw power required to breach his Defence without it, which he wasn't quite yet sure about. He had been practicing nullifying such attacks with Elrasla, but he hadn't gotten the hang of it yet, and trying to do it in an active combat situation made it even more difficult.
Another trial by fire, huh? Naofumi thought to himself, but just as he thought that, a timer appeared in the corner of his vision. It started ticking down from one minute.
"The time limit..?" Glass hissed to herself, apparently seeing the same thing appear in her Status. She looked at him fiercely for a long moment, before letting out a long sigh as the tension drained out of her. "It appears we don't have the time to settle this. My apologies, but I will be taking my leave."
All of them felt a flicker of surprise, shifting on the balls of their feet at the unexpected proclamation. They did not, however, drop their guards.
Glass nodded at them and took a step back. "Well met, Naofumi. It pains me that I neglected to ask the names of your companions, but I sadly do not have the time to do so any more. I'll be sure to ask when we meet again, and then I'll put an end to this. Until we meet again."
Without another word, Glass leaped upwards. As if gravity had completely lost its hold on her, she'd soared up, and up, until she disappeared into the main rift of the Wave.
Something seemed to pulse in the air as Glass disappeared, and the murder red color started to seep out of the sky as the cracks in reality started to close. A couple of seconds after Glass had disappeared, the Wave unceremoniously came to an end as well.
They did not get the chance to ponder all that had just happened, because the flying ship shuddered as it started to drop out of the sky. Now that the Wave had come to an end, whatever force that had kept it airborne had similarly disappeared.
"…Let's get out of here," Naofumi grunted, visibly deciding to think later on the conundrum Glass had placed before them.
Shirou looked tired as they prepared to leave. Things had just gotten a lot more complicated.
With that, another Wave came to end. And they had survived yet again.
"How are the other Heroes and their companions?"
Naofumi looked up from where he had been treating Ren, using his healing magic to mend his wounds. Raphtalia stood over him, having asked the question. Right now, they were back at Elrasla's village. To be more specific, they were at the central meeting hall. All the people injured in the Wave had been taking here, and Naofumi was treating them.
"…I don't know if it was the grace of god, but the worst thing any of them had was a concussion," he responded, grunting.
Honestly, it left him with mixed feelings. It was both good for him and the world in general that the Heroes were in good health, but he did not exactly have any warm feelings for them. The only person that he felt bad for was Rishia, and he had made it a point to treat her first.
Moreover, he had been incensed to discover that that Bitch had gotten off with a big bruise on her temple and little else. She hadn't even been the one with a concussion. This world truly was unfair, in more way than one.
He had refused to treat her, of course. No way would he in any way help that Bitch, ever.
"So they will be fine?" Raphtalia asked to be sure
"Yes," Naofumi affirmed.
"Good," Raphtalia sighed, then bit her lip as she threw her gaze over the out cold Heroes.
Naofumi knew what she was thinking. The other Heroes were too weak. The entire world depended on them to be capable and strong, and yet they'd been defeated, sent flying like so much chaff in the wind. That didn't bode well. For them or the world.
But now was not the time for that. There were people in need of treatment right now. As he thought that, Naofumi turned towards Shirou, who was sitting on a nearby chair with a troubled, faraway look on his face. He'd treated Filo for the injuries she had occurred from Glass earlier, but Shirou had insisted that he first take care of the Heroes and their companions before him. But as Naofumi got a second look at his companion's blood drenched side he resolved himself to not take no for an answer this time.
"Shirou," Naofumi spoke up.
Shirou started, broken from whatever trance he had been under. Naofumi wondered about what was bothering Shirou, but he figured that he would bring it up later if it was important.
"Take off your armor, I'm going to heal your wounds," Naofumi grunted.
"Ah, that's alright. I barely feel any pain and the bleeding has stopped," Shirou waved him off. "I will just use a Healing Potion. Go help someone else."
"We're not wasting a perfectly good Healing Potion when I can just heal you myself," Naofumi said in a deadpan manner. "And I'm not treating anyone else until I'm sure that you are fine."
Shirou sighed and started taking off his armor. He knew that Naofumi wasn't going to let this go, so he would just do as asked. The faster Naofumi had healed him, the quicker he would take care of the other injured.
Naofumi looked at him expectantly, and Raphtalia hovered by his shoulder as she looked at him with a mildly worried look.
Shirou hissed a little as he peeled back the Leather Armor from his shoulder, revealing the wound that Glass had managed to score on him in their bout. Like Shirou had said, however, the pain was far less than it had been an hour ago when he had first received said wound.
Naofumi leaned in towards Shirou's wound. Green magical energy was gathering in his hands as he prepared to cast a healing spell. Just as he was about to cast the spell, however, the Shield Hero froze suddenly.
It took a moment, but Shirou and Raphtalia realized that Naofumi had stopped moving.
"Shirou," Naofumi said with an odd tilt to his voice. "Can you explain why there are blades growing in your wound?"
Huh?
Shirou turned to look at his shoulder. There, right there, inside of his shoulder wound, was a mesh of blades. Almost as if the blades had been suturing his wound shut. Moreover, it was apparent that wound had been healing itself somehow, going by the puckered, pink skin that they could see at the edges of the wound.
"I," Shirou stared long and hard at the odd spectacle happening to his body. "Have no idea?"
Another mystery to add to the ever growing pile.
And yet another chapter bites the dust. As you might be able to tell, I had an absolute blast writing this chapter. I particularly enjoyed writing the battle with Glass. Battles between people are, in my opinion, much more engaging. What do you guys think?
Anyway, my new goal from now on is to release one chapter per month, so that I can keep up a steady rhythm of updates. Wish me luck!
