Matthias looked at the wave crack, his hand gripping his weapon as he stared at it. He waited a moment to see if anything would come from it before looking around.
There was a pair of footsteps leading away from the wave crack, but Matthias couldn't figure out whether it was a soldier or someone who had left the wave crack. After a few moments of thinking, he let out a sigh.
"Might as well check. If they are still through there, then I can put my concerns to rest…" He spoke, shaking his head.
With that said, he stood next to the wave crack, taking a deep breath before taking a step into the portal. It was a strange sensation like he was walking through some sort of liquid, but it didn't take long for him to break through, stepping foot into the world beyond the wave.
Matthias blinked as a group of people seemed to be standing before the wave, weapons drawn.
"What…" Matthias muttered, but his arrival had already caught attention.
"A hero!" A voice shouted out, almost immediately, the group turned to face him, preparing themselves to attack if it was needed.
"Is Master…" A strong gust of wind took the name with it as the person continued. "...alright?"
"Who the hell are you talking about? All I want to know is if your lesser hero is here with you or not."
Another voice spoke up, this one sounding younger. "So the master did not manage to convince you? Then why are you here!"
"I just told you!" Matthias spoke, already annoyed by the questioning.
"He's here to kill the master!" The same voice spoke out, and that seemed to snap people into action, a few releasing their arrows toward him. Matthias still couldn't help but be confused as to what they were talking about, starting to get slightly annoyed.
"Oh screw off! Crystal Shield'' The arrows hit harmlessly against the barrier, but Matthias found himself concerned. If the hero wasn't here, then did that mean they were in his world? But what would they…
His eyes widened, and he turned around, almost immediately sprinting back through the portal. He didn't have time to deal with them. Not if a hero was going to be moving towards Kurose and Eorna.
Eorna couldn't help the shout that came from her mouth as she ran towards Kurose. The man who had stood behind him seemed to have a grin on his face as he looked at Kurose's slumped body
"Haha! I can't believe it was that easy!" He cheered, just loud enough for Eorna to hear. "I mean, that guy was supposed to be a holy hero, and yet he folded just like that! How pathetic!"
"Split Dagger X!" Eorna shouted. The daggers flew towards the man, but he caught sight of them, using his own skill to try and block them.
"Barrier Blade!" A glowing sword rose up, blocking a few of the thrown daggers before shattering, and the man let out a small noise as the others hit his armor.
Eorna hadn't been certain before now, but the use of that skill had confirmed that the person behind Kurose was a hero.
"What are you doing here!? Why are you doing this?" She shouted.
"Huh? Why am I doing this?" He asked curiously. "Well, it should be obvious, right?"
He looked at Eorna for a moment before continuing. "It's because I enjoy it! I mean, what other reason is there to do something other than because you enjoy it?"
Eorna couldn't comprehend what he was saying, instead watching as he seemed to step past Kurose, kicking his side as he walked past.
"I mean, it's obvious, right? I enjoy it, and it helps me get stronger! I mean, admittedly, the first time I'm actually doing this, but you know, heroes have to give some good exp, right?"
"That's the only reason?" Eorna asked quietly.
"Haha! Yep, it sure is!" He spoke, his grin still present on his face. "Say, how about you come back to my world? I mean, we could always use another hero to defend it, and it's not like your world is gonna last much longer. Once that guy dies…" He pointed towards Kurose's limp body before continuing." it's over for you! But if you come to my world, I'm certain we can work things out, and you will forget all about him in due time."
Eorna couldn't help the shiver that crawled up her spine at that as the invader looked at her. It was like he viewed her as some sort of trophy to take back home. But she already knew her answer.
"I'm going to have to reject that." She spoke, calmly. She already knew what this was going to lead to. She just needed to prepare herself for it.
"Is that so?" The man spoke, still grinning. "Well, I guess having a weapon would make you more defiant… It's not like you need the weapon to come to my world still. Maybe I could even give it to one of my girls…"
Her eyes narrowed at him as he said that. This was the second person who had said something about taking hero weapons. Was there something that they didn't know about the weapons? She pushed that thought away.
She could think about it later when everyone was safe. As it was, she was going to have to fight.
Kurose could barely think through the stinging pain of his back and the new, more recent addition of the pain to his ribs. His thoughts were jumbled, and he could barely even comprehend what he was thinking of.
His ears kept ringing, but a few words could be heard throughout. Mentions of forgetting him and experience. He tried to move, tried to prove he could do something, but his body just wouldn't respond.
Why am I so useless? Get up! Do something! He shouted at himself mentally.
He tried to move, to do something, but as soon as he tried, his back fought back against him, almost overwhelming his mind with pain. He let out a small grunt, managing to crawl forward a small distance before collapsing once more, breathing sharply.
Eorna took a step back as the invader swung his sword at her. As he did, flames appeared on the blade, making her thankful she hadn't been hit. She stepped in as his blade struck the floor, swiping at him with her dagger, leaving a small mark on his chest armor.
Leaving that scratch on his armor made her realize one important thing. She wasn't outmatched this time. The last time, when Matthias And the Mace hero had been fighting, she felt like she couldn't get close, and that she would have just been a burden to Matthias. But now, she felt like she stood an actual chance.
The issue, however, was getting past his blade. He had the advantage in reach simply because of his sword, but Eorna was much faster. Add on the fact that he seemed to have almost no experience with his weapon, seeming to just swing it around wildly meant that she stood a bit more of a chance. It wasn't that she was any sort of prodigy with her weapon, it was just the fact that she had to fight plenty of monsters, giving her a somewhat okay handle on her weapon.
Another concern she had was injuries. Any injury she got here would likely lead to her getting more injuries as the fight continued on, so she had to be careful about how she fought. She couldn't just rush in every time his blade was lowered, else she would risk getting slashed by his blade.
"Split Dagger X! Erst Step V!" She used both skills in quick succession, running just behind her thrown daggers.
The hero, instead of trying to block them like he had last time, simply moved to the side, but it still gave Eorna the opportunity to attack him. With her Dagger glowing, she slashed it at his side, dashing past him before spinning.
He let out a small grunt, putting a hand to his side. He glared at her for a moment before dashing towards her. Eorna's eyes widened as he dashed towards her, leaving Kurose's body behind him.
"Crescent moon Slash!" Eorna's eyes widened as the blade slashed at her, and she took a step back, tripping over something as the blade went just above her head. Almost immediately, a pale, crescent stripe flew past where she was
The hero seemed to overextend slightly, and Eorna took the opportunity, pushing herself off the ground to stab at him.
"Pierce V!" This skill stabbed through the armor he was wearing, causing him to take a step back as he held a hand to the small hole, bleeding hole in his armor.
"Gah! You fucking damaged me? You dared to damage me?" He began shouting, his eyes widening. "Fuck you! I was offering you a chance to live, to join me in my world and this is how you repay me!?"
"I wouldn't move to your world, even if it was my final choice! This is my world, and I'm going to defend it until I die!"
"Oh, and now you are speaking over me! How fantastic! You do know that violates my rights, don't you!?" He continued to rant, working himself up.
Eorna proceeded to block out his voice, instead looking at Kurose's body, being carried a small distance away by Sigun and Lea. She couldn't see where Osvien or Firnen were, but she hoped they were okay.
She returned her sight to the hero, only to find him towering over her, his blade raised.
"Oh, you were ignoring me? Well, this is what you get for that, you little- Grhk!"
He was cut off, letting out a grunt as Osvien seemed to ram into his side, tackling him down to the floor, and giving Eorna the opportunity to get back up, but it wasn't long before Osvien was pushed off the hero.
Osvien took a step back, and the invader got up quickly, rushing towards Osvien. He raised his shield to intercept the sword, but the invader had a grin on his face as Osvien raised it.
"Cleave!" The sword glowed as it smashed down into Osvien's shield which he had raised, but to his horror, it didn't seem to stop it, instead smashing through the shield and striking his arm. This time, instead of flames lashing out, electricity seemed to arc off of it and onto Osvien's armor, getting him to let out a shout of pain.
"Oh fuck off with all of this! This was supposed to be a one-on-one duel, wasn't it?" He shouted, kicking Osvien in the chest. With that, Osvien fell to the floor, Seemingly out of the way, but not totally uninjured.
"Huh? Who said that?" Eorna asked. "I think even if it was, you broke that rule when you stabbed my hero in the back!"
"Well, that's his fault for being such an easy target!" He spoke quickly, switching it up.
Honestly, Eorna just couldn't understand what was going on with him. One moment, he went from bragging about attacking Kurose, to complaining about how the fight was going. It was like he was just switching between personalities in the blink of an eye.
Yet, before she could question him on it, a timer appeared in her vision
04:59
The man clicked his tongue, and Eorna guessed the timer had appeared for him as well.
"Really?" He turned to look towards where Kurose and the others before speaking. "Damn, guess I better finish him off before getting out of here then. But before that…"
A shout of pain came from where Kurose was, and as much as Eorna wanted to run over to him and see what was happening, she had to focus on the hero before her.
He turned back to Eorna, pointing at her as he did. "If you give up your weapon, I'll make sure that you can live a happy life in my world. I can promise you that!"
"I told you before, but I reject it! I simply don't like you, and I can't accept your methods!" She shouted back.
"Tsk, a shame. Then again, you would have been much more trouble than you are worth. You did manage to hurt me after all…" With that, he began to sprint towards where Kurose and the others were.
Eorna was quick to follow. She wasn't going to let him get another attack off on Kurose. Not if she could help it.
Lea pressed the cloth against Kurose's back, trying her best to stop the bleeding of the wound, but she kept having to replace the cloth. Sigun was fumbling around with a pouch on his side, desperately trying to grab something out of it.
A moment later, he let out a triumphant noise, pushing it into Kurose's hand. He moved so that he could press Kurose's hand into a clenched position, making him crush a healing crystal in his hands. It increased his health slightly, but he was still losing it at a steady pace. He didn't know what to do.
"I… Dammit! Lea, do you have any ideas!?"
"...Maybe." She spoke after a moment of uncertainty. "I need you to try and stop the bleeding as much as you can though."
"Got it. Just… we need to help him, alright?" Sigun spoke, almost seeming to plead.
"I know, I know. Just… give me a moment. Please."
With that, Lea grabbed one of her Chakrams, fiddling with it as she attempted to pull out one of the charmes embedded in it. She let out a frustrated breath before grabbing a knife from her waist and digging it into the Chakram.
"What are you-"
"I'm trying to get it out! It's just being annoying, and if I stab at it wildly, it's just going to blow up! We don't want that with Kurose like this!"
Siguns' words died in his throat, and he nodded his head, still pressing a cloth against Kurose's back.
Kurose shifted under his hands, and he could just make out a few words that Kurose mumbled, obviously not all there.
"...seless…off…ed…"
Sigun didn't know the context of anything that Kurose said, but he could deduce that the first word he could hear was clearly meant to be useless. But why would he be saying that? Before he could question it any further, Lea spoke up.
"I've got it out. Now, I just need to… burn the wound I think? Damn, I don't know how to cauterize stuff…" She whispered to herself before shaking her head.
"No, I have to do this. I'm sorry Kurose, just… hold tight." With that, The Charme burst into flames, and she pressed it against his back, earning a shout of pain from the Accessory hero.
Eorna was slightly faster than the invader. She knew she had to be, considering her stats leaned towards speed and attack.
However, that didn't matter when he had a lead. Sure, if it was a longer distance, then she would have caught up to him before anything could happen. But with the short distance that was between them and Kurose? Eorna had no chance to catch up.
But when Firnen, who had been leveling up thanks to the monsters they had defeated during the wave, and in turn growing in size slowly, slammed into the invader's side, it gave Eorna the chance to catch up to him.
The invader kicked Firnen off of him, but all it served to do was let Firnen float in the sky, far out of his blade's range, which gave him the opportunity to start shooting bolts of wind toward him.
"Gah! Stupid creature! Can't you see I'm trying to help you?" he spoke, glaring up at Firnen.
Eorna paused to think for a moment. Did he think Firnen was a monster from the wave or something? Either way, Eorna wasn't going to waste the opportunity. She dove towards the invader, slashing with her dagger. He caught it on his blade, slashing at her.
She let out a noise as his blade seemed to set on fire again before jumping away.
Just what was going on with that lighting and fire? Could it be equip effects for a weapon? But even then, it seemed like a ridiculous amount for one weapon, and wouldn't they all activate at once?
She used Split Dagger on him again, but much to her frustration, he once again avoided it. Eorna grit her teeth, but she launched herself at him again. She had two goals right now. To keep him away from Kurose, and to stall out the timer. If he was worrying about the timer, then it could only mean good things for them.
Kurose let out a pained breath. He couldn't think straight. All he could feel was his back being burnt, and the voice above him.
"Kurose? Kurose, stay with us, alright! Just don't go to sleep, and we will sort you out soon, got it?"
"...ats happ-" He let out another groan as something pressed against his back, but the voice spoke again.
"It's fine Kurose. Just stay here. Eorna is dealing with it."
His mind locked onto that thought. Eorna was dealing with it. But… what was it? He moved, trying to get a better view of what was happening, but he just didn't have the energy. Why was he so tired?
03;24
Eorna let out a breath as she took a step back from the man. He seemed to be getting more panicked as the timer went down, throwing out more and more skills as it did.
"Splitting Dagger X!"
And again, the invader responded with the same skill he had used prior. "Barrier Blade! This is getting a bit old, don't you think?"
"Yeah? Well, if you keep wasting time, you aren't going to be able to get back to your world, are you?"
"I know that! I just need to take care of you, then I'm home free."
"As if you can take me down that easily." She responded with a grin.
"Well, I don't exactly need to kill you, do I?"
Eorna dashed forward as he spoke, thrusting her dagger at his chest. She didn't exactly want to kill him, but if it came down to choosing between her life or his? She knew what she was going to choose. Regardless of what happened.
The Dagger hit his chest plate, and she used the opportunity to use Pierce once more. "Pierce V!"
The invader let out a choked noise, but he took advantage of the opportunity.
Eorna bit back a cry as the blade, which was ignited in flames, slashed her arm, but she managed to pull herself back, breathing heavily. She looked at her arm, hissing as she touched it gently.
She bit back another noise before swapping the dagger to her other hand.
The invader made to move forward, seeking to take advantage of Eorna's short pause only to stumble slightly as Firnen shot another bolt of wind at him. He grumbled under his breath, slashing his sword at Firnen as he did. "Crescent moon Slash!"
The skill flew towards Firnen, and the Vindr Glaedr wasn't quick enough to avoid it, letting out a pained "Gao" as it managed to float away, drops of blood flowing from the wound it had received. Eorna could only hope that FIrnen would get treated quickly.
"Thank god that things gone. Now it's just you and-" He was cut off, letting out a pained noise as he looked at his chest.
Eorna had taken the opportunity to dash at him, thrusting her dagger at his chest. "Pierce V"
The invader paused mid-swing, his eyes widening as he slowly looked down at his chest, the dagger buried deep inside.
"I- Grrk" He let out a choked noise as Eorna pulled her dagger out before putting a hand over the wound, trying, and failing, to keep his blood inside of his body.
He swung his blade at her, but Eorna simply sidestepped each swing as she looked at the invader.
"Y-you… You bitch! Damaging me wasn't enough!?" He shouted, spit flying out of his mouth as he continued to swing wildly. "Now you have to ruin my armor!? My life? Who do you think you are!"
Eorna took a breath. She knew he wasn't going to stop. If she let him leave, he would just come back later. Stronger and more prepared. If he had shown any chance of reforming, of being forced into doing this, she would have hesitated, but the way he was acting, the words he shouted, as if everything had to go right for him, she could not let him live.
He had already done enough harm as it was. So with another breath, she stepped past his blade, and his eyes widened as Eorna held her dagger with both hands.
"H-hey! I was just joking before!" He shouted, starting to panic at the sight before him. "I-Ill leave! I w-won't come back! Just-"
He paused in the middle of his sentence as he looked into her eyes, only to find no sympathy. The only thing that gave away anything about her, was the slight twitch of her hand.
Eorna herself had felt her hand twitch, but her emotions were oddly muted. It was as if the world was moving in slow motion now as she prepared to do what had to be done. She didn't know whether it was from the use of her burnt arm, or a show of her hesitation to take another's life.
"Erst Slash VII"
She had added what points she had gotten from leveling up during the wave to the skill, making it as strong as she could, and she was glad she had. She would need every bit of strength for this.
She pushed her dagger towards his chest, towards where she believed the heart to be located before pushing her dagger into it. She continued to drive the dagger into his body even as he paused, gasping slightly before falling to his knees.
Eorna followed suit, tears pricking at her eyes as she looked at the person before her. She… she had done it.
The invader locked eyes with Eorna, but he seemed to have a grim smile on his face as he did. "Oh… now you've done it…"
She took a breath, looking at him as he continued.
"I'll come back to this world. That's for sure. You can't be allowed to get away… with embarrassing me like this…" He let out a laugh, which sent shivers down Eorna's spine.
"I'll make sure of it. No matter what. I'll kill you and your hero. No matter how many times I have to try it." He let out one small choked laugh before leaning forward, forcing Eorna's dagger deeper into his body.
A few moments later, Eorna got the experience, confirming that he was dead. A few more moments later, and the sky returned to its regular hues, but Eorna didn't move.
Her eyes were focused on the now-dead body of the invader. The sword in his hand seemed to glow for a moment before turning into an orb of light, spinning around Eorna before repeatedly flaring up. Once it was done, it seemed to simply disappear, likely back to its own world.
She continued to focus on him, even as her dagger left his body, a small, trail of blood beginning to flow out of the open wound. A few moments passed, and Eorna felt tears pricking at her eyes.
She didn't know why she was crying over this. He had chosen this path, had aimed to kill Kurose, and by extension, their world, so why was she crying? She did what she had to.
"Whats- Oh." Matthias's voice called out from behind her, but again, Eorna did not respond.
"Shit. I didn't want any of this to happen. Kurose getting hurt, now this…" He clenched his free hand, taking a deep breath before walking over to Eorna.
Matthias put a hand on Eorna's shoulder, getting the Dagger hero to look at him. He could see the tears in her eyes, and he felt his heart squeeze slightly.
"I… Come on, Eorna. Let's get back over to Kurose."
Eorna didn't move for a moment before speaking quietly. "I… I killed him."
"You did." Matthias didn't refute the claim, simply nodding his head.
"W-why did I have to kill him? Couldn't he have…" She trailed off, and Matthias took over.
"It's difficult, I know." He spoke softly. "But sometimes, there is no other choice to be made. You saw what he did to Kurose, didn't you?"
Eorna nodded her head at that, and Matthias continued. "Then you know why he had to be killed. Even if you had managed to fight him off and force him to go back, then he would have likely come back, stronger and more prepared."
Eorna nodded. She had thought of that herself. She had resolved herself to kill him, but she still felt horrible about it.
"Am… am I supposed to feel this bad about killing someone?" She asked softly.
Matthias moved his hand from her shoulder before speaking. "If you didn't feel horrible about ending a life, then I would be more concerned."
Eorna nodded again, slowly standing up. She kept her eyes on the body for a moment longer before finally tearing her sight away from it, letting out a shaky breath. "I'm… I'm going to go over to Kurose."
Matthias simply nodded, watching as Eorna began to move away. The timer in his vision had disappeared, and all he could link it to was the otherworldly hero's death. He let out another sigh before walking behind Eorna. They still had to sort out other stuff, after all.
It didn't take long for Eorna to be beside Kurose. She was sat on the ground whilst Kurose seemed to be out of it, his face paler than normal. His armor had been hastily taken off, being thrown somewhere to the side in the panic that had occurred shortly after his injury.
It was more than likely that armor would have to be repaired along with his previous armor, which made it three for three on armor sets that had been damaged in some way. Matthias pushed that thought aside as he looked at Kuroses back.
The wound had been sealed up thanks to Leas's quick thinking with the fire Charme, but the skin on the back was red and slightly charred, and Matthias couldn't help but grimace at the sight of it. It wasn't exactly pleasant to look at, but then again, most wounds were not.
He couldn't fault Lea, considering it was likely her first time doing something like this. She had done well in this situation. It would do for now, at least until they could get him back to the castle and get him checked out by Leron.
Matthias couldn't help but sigh. It had been going so well for them, and then this had to happen. He wasn't blaming Kurose or Eorna though. In fact, they had arguably done the best they could. They had taken the wave boss down rather quickly, and it had kept casualties to a minimum, at least from what he had seen.
And with Eorna handling the otherworldly hero, it had given the others time to stabilize Kurose's condition. All in all, it had showcased their teamwork, but the requirements to get that showing had been heavy.
"Your majesty!" A voice spoke behind him. Matthias turned to face him, and the soldier spoke immediately. "Me and some of the other soldiers have taken to cutting the monsters for you and the other heroes, as directed by Commander Euge. Do you wish for us to bring them here, or will you be coming to collect them?"
Matthias bit his cheek as he thought about it. He could ensure that the monsters were all properly cut, but then that would mean leaving the two of them out of his sight. After a moment, he decided. . "...Bring them here, but leave the wave boss for us to dissect."
"Understood, your Majesty." He bowed once more before turning, and Matthias turned to face Kurose again.
Eorna wasn't responding to anything the others said, seeming to instead be focusing on Kurose's injury, speaking softly under her breath.
And so, the wave is done. And the heroes are absolutely in the best condition. Nothing wrong at all, nope, not here.
Anyway, it is a bit of a shorter chapter, mainly because I can't really fit in the events of the next chapter, so my apologies for that. Hope you enjoyed the chapter regardless.
I'll see you next week I suppose