The Princess and I reacted immediately, with me grabbing her and using my (Blink) to take us towards one of the town's high points. I had expected us to be alone, but was shocked when several casters and archers were already there, turning at the sudden arrival, but then turning back when they saw we were human, barely registering what was happening as they returned to their jobs.
Outside, the town was under siege. Despite the fewer number of holes, and the fact that monsters were not 'pouring' from them as they would during a true Wave, they were still active. Worse, they appeared stronger, as I saw all kinds of things mixed in below us. The four basic ones of Cal Mira, Penguins, Dogs, Squirrels, and Rabbits charged, their bodies huge compared even to what we'd been fighting before.
The Princess took a position beside the rest of the casters, throwing blades of water down into the tide, slicing a few foes in two, causing them to literally disintegrate in a way I hadn't seen before. Ignoring that, I plucked my Bowstring and cast (Sense), my eyes nearly boggling at the sheer scale of the assault, which seemed to be coming from all sides, as people took shelter wherever they could.
A glance told me the Heroes were spread out, and our party members as well, assisting where they could. The others were using every spare SP they had to keep their 'Champions' as boosted as they could, creating a nice set of living walls that could protect certain flanks as they just mowed down the enemy, with Lucia providing support fire from a nearby tower in town, while Ray was in the thick of it, dancing with her twin swords.
'Tactical data in coming, the monsters are about to start glowing, it should help the ranged fighters pick the most vulnerable parts of the horde, and I'll try and 'paint' targets of opportunity,' I sent with (Awakened Mind), closing my eyes and focusing, before opening them back up, and looking out with (Void Gaze), letting all three spells mix together to send the data to everyone else, thankful my MP regeneration was good enough to maintain them as I kept looking out.
'Southern district, there are two civilians hiding in an overturned cart, the monsters haven't noticed them yet, but get someone there quick. West has a small herd of rabbits backed up by a big dog thing, Theresa hit the dog with a firebolt, that's its weakest element, without it they should scatter and be easy pickings,' I began, sending out the orders out,one after the other, coordinating everyone I could.
I also began to bring boosts where I could, hitting people with attack, mana power, and others as I went, helping to bolster the lines. Mind, that resulted in me almost getting cut down by a penguin that popped out of a sewer area unexpectedly, blowing a freezing wind which stuck my feet to the ground, and then raising its flipper, which I could swear made a 'shing' sound as the edge of it shined before it brought it down.
I braced, but the blow never landed, opening my eyes to find one of Naofumi's shields above me, the glowing green thing giving me time to shoot at the ice holding my feet to the ground, and then teleporting away, watching as Filo came out of nowhere, her claws raking over the monster and rendering it to dust with a victorious squawk, before she raced down the street against a small group of slimes.
I shot an attack boost into her back as she went, and then went on to help a few more with tactical data, sending everything I could to everyone was starting to strain, however, though fortunately, as the horde thinned out, and we consolidated those we were protecting, the job became easier and easier, until, with a cry, Motoyasu drove his spear into the head of the last squirrel, the monster's fall heralding at least a lull in the battle.
The adventurers, town defenders, and even we Heroes and our parties collapsed as we found ourselves not under attack at the moment, with me noticing as we did that the people coming out of the Count's hotel, where we'd stashed the non-combatants, included familiar faces from Harmony Island, including Diwaniya, as well as dozens of people wearing things I had not seen on this island at all, forcing me to assume they were from the rest of the archipelago.
On the horizon, I saw a light, and realized it was in the direction of the port, and it took me a moment to figure out that the port itself was likely abandoned, and stymied here, some of the monsters must have gone there. A port had plenty of things that were flammable in its docks, and so they'd lit the place up like a tinderbox the moment no one was around to hold them off.
Worse, while the sky was darker, it was obvious that the sun must have gone down, and the red tint with glow remained, casting a bloody sheen over everything, forcing the adventurers who had been hit to get into the hotel so they could be checked for wounds, before healing was applied to them, which at least gave myself and Princess Melty time to convene with the other Heroes, who looked ragged, but still managed smiles at us as they and the parties came together in the hotel afterwards with the Count directing as a few others passed out food and drink amongst the group.
"So, what the heck happened while we were gone?" I asked, cutting through the introductions once we were settled enough for us to start recovering. For a moment, it looked like Motoyasu would talk, but then Naofumi spoke over him, only for them both to stop, and look at each other. Oddly, despite their former animosity, neither looked angry about it. In fact, I thought they looked defeated, as they sighed, and it was Ren who took over for them.
"Naofumi, in his time here on the central island of Cal Mira was made aware of some ruins just outside the bay, sunken since ancient times that seemed to hum with magic, according to the descriptions, and given we had free time, the three of us decided to explore them, along with Filo, Raptalia, and Rishia," he said.
"We chose not to participate since you weren't present, and Welts isn't fond of underwater," explained Ray, to which the crystal rod wizard blushed, embarrassed, but nodded.
"Well, anyway, we got down there with those water breathing rings, and we found the ruins. They looked…well like ancient runs. Stone buildings, carvings that were half eroded, and a few buildings that were just shells, with nothing in them," continued the Sword Hero.
"It was near the center of the place where we found something interesting. One of the structures was still mostly intact, with a few carvings on it showing the symbol of all four weapons. We at first thought we'd have to wait for you, but then Naofumi reached up to brush some algae off one of the carvings, and it lit up like a christmas tree, opening up and sucking us in as the water rushed inside," painting a very interesting picture.
"Luckily, the place had several levels, so we made it to some stairs, and then walked up, finding a place with open air, where we discovered some empty rooms. Most were simple sleeping chambers, like those you'd expect for monks at a temple, with the decayed remains of what I can only assume were sleeping arrangements in them," he continued.
"However, at the end of one hall was a large set of double doors with several reliefs of Heroes on it. Groups of four, with all four weapons represented in strange ways, like they'd combined them together from other images," this time Motoyasu nodded.
"Yeah, figured that had to be, like, a treasure room or something. Maybe with some kind of cool gear inside. Mind, we expected it not to open to us without you, so we were going to wait till you got there, but then the door just opened up. With a 'whoosh' sound, like a vacuum sealed container or something," he explained, making the noise with his lips.
"We went in, and it turned out that was the room this region's Dragon Hourglass was contained in. Despite the decaying state of some of the ruins, that thing was pristine. It even glowed a bit, like a nightlight. Well, like a nightlight until we went inside, then it lit up like a freaking flashbang," said the blonde, blinking like just remembering it was somehow having an after effect from the flash.
"After that, we got a new timer, counting down to what I think is tomorrow morning, and when we got back up to the surface, the sky was red, and we had more holes in the sky. We immediately went to work, helping the adventurers defend the town," said Naofumi, before gesturing towards Lucia.
"Lucia was the one to get everyone from the other islands here using that gateway spell, and we'd hoped to keep everyone safe, but I have to admit, if you hadn't shown up when you did, I think we would have been forced to give up some of the town to make that happen," he explained, leaving me to nod, as I looked up into the sky. The holes were still there, pouring out the miasma, rather than solid monsters, but I could (Sense) more of them being born in the woods outside the city, their forces gathering for more attacks.
"So, in the morning, there's going to be a 'Wave' type event," I said, closing my eyes and focusing inward.
"The fact that the Princess and I saw nothing in the capital means this is a local event, nothing global like normal, that restricts it to either an island or a sea event. Something with a world boss like the Chimera and Soul Eater. Do the two of you know any from your games?" I asked, opening my eyes and pointing towards Ren and Motoyasu, who both looked startled to be called on, but then looked thoughtful, with the former holding his chin, and the other scratching the back of his head.
"I…like I said, not one for the ocean, so I've never really participated in any," admitted Ren, shaking his head. Motoyasu, however, was obviously trying to remember something, his eyes scrunched closed, before he finally snapped his finger.
"That stupid unicorn whale thing!" he said, causing the others to stare at him, but I nodded.
"Narwhal," I supplied, and he pointed at me.
"Yeah, that thing. I remember it was one of the events we never went to as a Guild back in Emerald Online. We were busy every time it happened, but that's got to be it. It's the only one I remember being ocean based," he said.
"I remember something similar in Dimensional Sign. That's two for it, so we'll work under the assumption it's the same event," I said, and began to think again, going over the resources we had, and what I remembered of the boss. It was lucky that, while the Arc itself was different, all three of us knew the Soul Eater as the same beast, likewise with the Chimera, so I could safely assume the Whale would be much the same.
"We need to limit its options, that means we need backup. Lucia, I need you and Ray to head to Sanctuary and every Guild Hall you can to recruit adventurers. We need ranged fighters. Archers and Casters, as many as can be gathered by the morning," I said, and they looked about to protest, but I glared, and that died on their lips. We didn't have time to play it safe, or to argue.
"Motoyasu, you're going to have to be the one to head back to the Castle and ask the Queen and her husband to prepare. This area is under their protection. Same thing, as many ranged units as can be activated," I said, and Motoyasu did protest, despite the glare.
"Shouldn't you be the one to go then? You were just there with them, weren't you?" he asked.
"I'm more help here with the defenses thanks to my overwatch skills. We can't lose this city, and that means it's got to be myself or you, since Ren's Fast Travel method follows the roads. Naofumi's…I don't remember, but defense is better than offense in a siege situation like this, so he and I will be most useful here," I explain, and he doesn't protest, just nods seriously.
"Beyond that, I need ships. Four of them. One for each of us. Don't need to be huge, but as big as can be prepped, so we can load them with men. Lucia, do you think your (Gate) spell can manage to bring them here?" I asked, and she nodded without an instant of hesitation.
"Good, doesn't matter if they're Guild or Kingdom, we just need them, and load them with the guys you're bringing. Once we've got everyone here, we'll deploy any additional forces around the town to bolster the defenses here, leaving the adventurers here to help them, while we hunt down the boss," I said, turning to the Count.
"I need you to find or make or whatever as many rings of water walking as you can do. Find some water breathing ones if you can, but we need walking far more," I ordered, and he accepted the command with a nod.
"Good, we've got about half an hour I think before any of the forces in the woods attack, so everyone, get going. Tell the adventurers to divide up into three shifts, that way we can keep them fresh if something surprising happens. If the Spirits of the Weapons are with us, in the morning, we're going to make Captain Ahab proud," I said, getting a shout from everyone, if a confused one from the locals.
Oddly, the three Heroes all seemed to get it, and quickly deployed themselves. They vanished in short order, leaving just myself, Ren, and Naofumi, along with their parties, standing there. I ordered Ren to rest for now, getting him and Welts as much sleep as they could get, while Naofumi and I took first watch. With all that done, we made for the door, to head out to the tower beside the mansion hotel, but Naofumi stopped me at the door.
"Listen, I know you said that you want the adventurers to stay here, but I've been working with Theresa and L'Arc the past two days. I think they'd be a better help with us than staying here," he said, and I looked at the two, who were looking around, not nervously, but judgingly, like they were taking the measure of everyone here. For a moment, my eyes locked with the woman, who turned away the moment she noticed I was looking at her, but she seemed nervous for some reason.
"If they're up for it, that sounds fine. Theresa's a caster of some kind, right?" I asked, and he nodded.
"Yeah, and L'Arc can shoot these blade wind things from this scythe. It's really powerful, and I can't think of anyone but our companions who compare," he said.
"Then I approve, get them to agree to it, and meet me on the roof of the hotel right after. We're in for a long haul fight," I advised, and went to the stairs, feeling heavy already, and making a mental note to ask for a sleep spell or something later, so I could go right to sleep when I was done with my first shift.