The morning sun saw us getting up as one, despite there being no way even a single drop of sun could find its way into the bedroom of the hole in the wall that was my home here in Sanctuary. The place was actually comfortable, and the couch had proven to be far more plush than I'd expected. I could have, of course, joined Ray and Lucia in the bed, there was enough room there for three or five people of my size, let alone people who were more normal in their scale.
Still, it was with a few grunts, groans, and other noises that we made our way to the pantry and kitchen, finding both well stocked. Enough so that Ray, on seeing it, began to make pancakes. Not having known she could make those, it was a pleasant morning, especially as we traded a few stories about morning meals with family, until, as the sun reached above the horizon fully, we were ready to depart, choosing to leave via my version of Fast Travel, rather than going outside to announce it to the rest of the city.
Arriving back in the capital, we found it wide awake, with the streets already filled with the hustle and bustle one might expect of a city of its size. Carts moved about in front of the inn that my arrival point was placed by, and going inside, we were quickly told that the Heroes had left hours beforehand, getting up at false dawn and making their way to the castle, after being up all night working on something involving a lot of paper and quills.
Thanking him for the info, we made our way to the castle, which was a bit more difficult with all the traffic, but nothing too daunting. It was still only a bit past full dawn as we made our way into the gloomy halls, and were directed by the guards to one of the courtyards. On approach, we heard the sounds of battle, the ringing of steel on steel, and the hum of magic in the air, making us curious, but caution on the part of Lucia and Ray having one of them in front, and one behind as we crossed into the open air, and beheld quite the sight.
Below us, in the middle of the dust strewn courtyard were the signs of many battles. Frozen patches of dirt, lines of what looked to be scorched earth that still smoldered where flames or lightning had touched them. Even a strange water cube that was just…sitting in one corner somehow. Liquid, but staying together despite having no container, as two groups of figures clashed in the middle, dipping, ducking, and diving around each other, as they did everything they could to smite their opponents.
On Filo's back Naofumi was crying havoc, and letting slipping all the dogs of war, creating shields, and defending his young ward from attacks, as Motoyasu did everything he could to keep ahead of them, his armor gleaming in the morning sun as it came over the wall to shine right on him, showing drops of glimmering sweat falling from his brow, as he twisted and twirled his spear like a staff, using it to attack and defend in equal measure, as Filo struck out with claw and beak.
On the other side of the arena, another pair were fighting, and going all out, their bodies shimmering with an aura that made me use my skill to see what was up with them, and I was shocked to see their stat list. Like Fitoria's, they had two sets of stats, their base, and the additions being given by the 'Champion' condition from their hero. And the gains were…significant to say the least.
Raphtalia, with her sword, swung in wide, quick arcs, trying to force her opponent to dodge her in specific ways, while Rishia, her body flowing with every movement, seemed to flicker around the weapon. She had only her fists, but those proved more than adequate for the task she was putting them to, batting aside the blade every once in a while, creating openings in her opponent's guard, and sometimes even forcing Raphtalia to use her sword to block rather than attack.
It was actually kind of mesmerizing to watch the pair go at it. A slash to the side was met with a palm that caused the blade to swing upwards. A punch towards the now exposed area was then met with the blade wielder giving ground, even sweeping the sword down to force the opponent back. That was countered by the opponent 'catching' the blade with both hands, tossing it down faster, and allowing them to headbutt the other, causing them both to stumble away from each other, as the tanuki rubbed her chin, and the other woman, her head.
They then went right back into it, the fists flying as Rishia tore into Raphtalia's defenses, having recovered first, and using her greater agility and lack of weapons to her advantage, forcing her backwards. Oddly though, Raphtalia took it, and I watched, intrigued, as her bonus stats climbed up, giving her just enough defense to tank the hits coming in, and enough speed to keep up with the assault, before she leaned into one of the punches, allowing it to blow her backwards, flipping end over end, and landing just far enough away to regain her stance.
Her stats dropped the moment that happened, and looking at it, I realized why. The 'Follower' Skill to grant stats was adjustable. I hadn't noticed it, since I'd been distracted every time I opened it, but there was a little slider, and it could move up and down the SP Cost, and thus, the percentage gained by the 'Champions' in this case. It allowed Naofumi to not waste an SP, as he was tailoring her to his regeneration rate of that resource, or even buffing her in bigger moments, sacrificing some of it for an advantage for her.
Rishia was getting the same, up and down, but it was slower, and happened at intervals, rather than literally going up and down as the fight went on, and I realized it was because Motoyasu was doing it for two stat sheets at once, having to keep his own stats moving to keep up with Filo and Naofumi, while also giving Rishia enough to not fall to Raphtalia's attacks. The two together were keeping him from doing either with the same…grace as Naofumi was for Raphtalia.
It was interesting to watch, and I was impressed as Filo, despite benefiting from neither system, was keeping up with the two Heroes. It helped that Motoyasu was obviously trying to target Naofumi with his attacks, but still, she was using her speed and agility to 'flow' around the strikes of the Spear Hero, trusting her master…father…whatever Naofumi was to her. She trusted him to keep her safe, and so she fought without fear, taking a blow or two, and forcing Motoyasu back more than once, as he kept using his Spear and its skills to try and make room.
The dance finally took my eyes to Ren, who was sitting with Waltz, the magic user with the crystal rod. They sat in one of the boxes overlooking the arena directly, and strangely, Ren was writing something. Not in his menu, but writing stuff in a book with a stick of graphite, quickly scribbling things down, and then crossing some out as he watched the fight play out. It didn't take much guesswork to realize he was writing a detailed account of something about that fight, though what I was ignorant of.
My eyes were drawn back to the fighting as the tempo changed. Naofumi and Filo suddenly rushed around Motoyasu, forcing him to spin to keep them in view, as the Shield Hero raised his weapon and pounded on it three times in rapid succession. The sound was not loud, but distinct, and out of the corner of my eye, I watched Raphtalia 'twirl' out of Rishia's latest flurry of blows, and then bolt away, her feet kicking up dust as she moved faster than was natural.
At the same time, Filo rushed towards her, and just as the two would have collided, the filolial jumped, allowing Raphtalia to slide under her, so that the pursuing Motoyasu suddenly found a tanuki in his face, her blade flashing through a rapid series of strikes that caught him off guard, and forced him back, even as the mounted Hero struck out at Rishia, his weapon summoning shimmering green versions of itself to box her in, as the claws of the mount flash and she was forced to dodge them in a small space.
The moment she was locked down, Naofumi let out a cry, and suddenly, his whole body began to glow. At that same moment, Raphtalia's did the same, her stats in my display going up several fold, even as Naofumi's SP dropped rapidly. Didn't take much to realize what he was doing, and to be fair, if this worked, it wasn't that different from how Motoyasu had beaten him. Keep the opponent busy, let them exhaust some of their resources against you, and then, hit them as hard as you can before they have a chance to recover.
Given it was his own tactic, Motoyasu saw it coming, and even as Raphtalia seemed to teleport towards him from a standing start, he shifted his spear into the Lion Head mode, and began to tap the end of it on the ground. Rocks rose up, stone becoming solid walls before him, and then around him, offering him, if not total protection, than at least a barrier that the demi-human would have to get around before attacking him, costing her precious seconds on her clock, as Naofumi's SP had not been full when this started, and was already approaching half in a few seconds.
But she was fast, and agile too, her feet pausing as she placed one on the wall as it rose, and then literally using her speed to run up it, her shoes leaving deep imprints as she jammed them down into the softer soil that made up the barrier, and then vaulting over it. Grabbing the edge, she flipped in the air, and her blade came down with added momentum from her fall, forcing Motoyasu to block even more damage as she struck out, first once, then several times, before her feet even touched the ground.
He was then driven backwards, as the tanuki pressed him hard, driving him back with such power that he was leaving ruts in the arena floor from where he'd tried to dig in his heels. And yet, he was buying the time needed, as each second brought her closer to powering down, and it wasn't like Rishia was losing her fight exactly, as she shattered the shields around her, and began to lay into Filo and Naofumi, the latter of which able to do nothing as his mount tried to keep them both safe from the martial artist.
Then Raphtalia's feet touched the ground, and she 'moved'. It was an understatement to say it was just her running, as it looked more like she divided into multiple selves, so fast was she going, leaving after images behind as she struck out at Motoyasu from every side, her blade ringing against his armor, as he transferred every point he had into his defense, trying to simply turtle his way through this, until finally, with a sound like like a great bell, she hit him hard in the stomach, and sent the Spear Hero flying backwards, his body slamming into the wall hard enough to leave an impression of him in it, as he slid down, and passed out.
The moment he was down, Rishia's stats plummeted back to their pathetic level, only a bit higher than my own, and she was quick to back away, especially as Naofumi, now no longer needing to maintain the boost for Raphtalia, stopped, and almost fell off Filo's back, as he had very little SP left, along with little enough MP that he was likely exhausted. She was able to keep him mounted as she let Rishia back away, while Raphtalia, breathing hard, but still ready to fight, charged her.
The two fighters clashed again, but this time, Rishia was nowhere near her equal. Not even close, actually, as without her stat boosts, Rishia was clumsy, and barely walked two steps without falling over, as all the moves she tried to use had stat requirements that were far outside her range. She literally fell face first into the dirt at Raphtalia's feet, causing the tanuki to look down at her, then sigh and shake her head, before grinning, in a good natured way, and offering the green haired young woman a hand up.
Rishia, looking sore, in an emotional rather than physical sense, took the hand, and then stood, the battle obviously over, as Naofumi slumped on Filo's back, and the bird, looking concerned, walked towards one of the doors, which flung open to show a small group of knights, ones wearing cloaks with the shield symbol on them, so I had to assume they were 'Ake Squad' that Naofumi had mentioned as helping him during the Soul Eater Wave.
They came in with the clatter of glass bottles, one hauling a cart loaded with them, and the rest grabbing some after looking at the Heroes and their seconds, and selecting particular ones. Each member then ran towards their target, passing them a bottle that they drank thankfully. Even Filo got one, looking happy as she seemed to eat the thing, before burping it back up, now empty, as her feathers shone for a moment with healing light, and she shook with delight.
The others did this in a less showy way, Naofumi and Motoyasu climbing to their feet and rubbing sore joints as they did so, while the two ladies parted to rush to their Hero's side. For Raphtalia, she nearly toppled him over as she tackle hugged him, and started bouncing up and down excitedly, smiling and laughing in a way that the dour hero found infectious, a grin growing on his face, as Filo transformed back into her blonde self, and joined in on the group hug.
Rishia seemed a lot more down as she came up to Motoyasu, who wiped his chin, and tossed the bottle, a bit casually, to the knight, miming a word of thanks, and then, before she could say a word, he swept her off her feet. I couldn't hear the words he spoke, but it was obvious he was encouraging her, even pointing to bits on the floor that I recognized as places she'd been fighting, either complimenting her style, or perhaps just giving her pointers, either way her face brightened almost instantly, and when she kissed him on the cheek suddenly, his face turned bright red, and he nearly fell over.
I was still looking over the arena, watching the knights placing the bottles almost delicately back onto the cart, when the sound of leather on stone caught my ear, and I looked up to see Ren and Waltz standing there, the former still holding the book in his hand, writing some last bit in it, before nodding, and slamming the thing shut. The moment he did that, he held it out to me, almost demanding I take it, which I did as I rose from my own seat.
"Um…so, does this mean we all get to go next?" I asked, and Ren looked at me for a moment confused, before throwing back his head with a laugh that was just shy of being insulting.
"Yeah, nah, this was Naofumi's idea. He'll explain it, come on," he said with a smile, and motioned for us to follow, Waltz giving us a smirk as he walked beside and just behind his Hero, leaving us to bring up the rear as we made our way through the corridors and down into the arena floor.
