Unraveling Conspiracy
Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero! No guest review questions were posted this week so we can jump right into the story! Enjoy.
On a Road Near the Border of Siltvelt
As before, Fitoria's teleportation magic proved quite useful as she and Darius's party appeared on the side of a wagon road. "This is something of a half way point," said Fitoria as she pointed down the road, "One of the heroes is off in that direction while the other two are almost in the opposite direction, heading for one of the large cliff sides."
"I guess whichever one we take will leave Naofumi to deal with the other," said Darius as he weighed his options for a moment. "I know for a fact he can take down at least one in a straight fight if he had too, so I guess we'll head in the direction of the other two."
"Are you sure that's a good idea," asked Rifana, "Naofumi's got one more member in his party right now, so in theory he should be able to take on more than one of the heroes if it came down to it."
"Yes he could definitely hold his own," said Darius, "but we don't know if the rest of them have their parties traveling along this time around, or who's traveling with who. If we're lucky, the lone hero near the border is Ren and he'd be at least somewhat willing to listen to Naofumi. Meanwhile, we've got more options for attacking as well as more mobility, meaning if things start to look too bad Johann might be able to fly us out of there."
"I won't let 'em catch me with another one of those stupid shackles again," said the dragon boy, still not quite over being forcibly changed out of his dragon form.
"Not only that, most of the heroes have more of a beef with Naofumi than with us," added Darius, "so the chances they might listen to what we have to say are a bit higher."
"Well I suppose it'd be better not to put too much of a burden on Raphtalia and Filo," mused Rifana, "So I guess double deuce it is."
"Very well then," said Fitoria, "I shall inform the Shield Hero of your decision after I bring him here. In the meantime." The Filolial Queen reached out and hugged Darius's waist one last time, "I simply ask this. Please, be careful."
"We will," replied the Armory Hero as he patted her head. Fitoria loosened her grip then as Johann transformed, allowing his two passengers to climb aboard. As the winged girl watched them fly off into the distance, she couldn't help the feelings of both awe and dread that welled up inside her. 'Even together, the challenges you face shall be great.' She thought with a sad expression.
Cliff Cave Entrance: Over the Forest
Johann's enhanced Stats were certainly noticeable. His take off had been far less taxing than normal and each flap of his wings seemed to possess even more strength than previous flights. His body was also a bit larger and the talons on his wings as well as his horns were more pronounced. Their speed was also noticeably higher as the group arrived at the desired area even faster than the dragon boy himself had expected. "Are you seeing anything?" Asked Darius as his mount flew lower over the trees.
"There's some kind of opening at the bottom of that cliff," observed Johann, "and I think I see people there."
"It's them," confirmed Rifana as she squinted her eyes to get a better look, "I'm seeing blue and some yellow down there."
"Ah great," said Darius, "that means it's Ren and Itsuki down there, so then the guy traveling alone-."
"Is the spearheaded douche who hates Naofumi's guts," groaned Rifana as she finished the sentence, "So much for trying to make things easier on him."
"Well it's too late to turn around now, they've seen us," noted the Armory Hero as he watched the two heroes and their parties move into something of a defensive formation. "Take us down next to the cave entrance Johann and switch back to human form, but be ready to hustle if negotiations break down."
"You got it boss," replied the dragon emperor candidate as he twisted around in the air and landed a few feet away from their mark, kicking up a bit of dust with his impact. The cardinal hero and his weasel companion both hopped off as Johann changed back into his child form.
"Hey Ren, Itsuki," said Darius as he held his hands up, "sorry to interrupt your little search but-."
"It's the right hand of the devil of the shield!" yelled one of the party members, a large man dressed in full knight armor as he charged forward with a swing of his ax. Rifana had her own weapon out in an instant and managed to block his first blow. She parried a few more before ducking under the man's guard and elbowing him in the face, knocking him to the ground.
Another fighter, this one from Ren's party, leapt forward and attempted to strike at Rifana only to be warded away by a flying kick from Darius before he and Rifana moved back a few feet. "You'll not harm the heroes this day!" yelled a man in a robe as he charged a spell, only for them all to stop as a familiar green-haired girl suddenly blocked their way.
"Wait, please!" exclaimed Rishia, "We should at least find out why they're here first."
"Move aside Rishia," said the armored man as he staggered back to his feet, "that man there is a servant of-."
"He's not a demon!" exclaimed Rishia, "He is a hero and he doesn't deserve any of what's happening right now. Please Sir Itsuki, Sir Ren, I'm begging the both of you just hear them out. I don't believe his party has come here to fight us!"
"Rishia this man stole my identity as a hero and claimed my deeds as his," said Itsuki, "we have no reason to trust him."
"For the last time I did that because it helped Koteraan," said Darius as he crossed his arms, "If you'd done your job in the first place it wouldn't have been necessary." The Bow Hero was about to retort to this but Ren beat him to it.
"At least answer us this," said the Sword Hero, "where's Melty and Naofumi?"
"Right about now," replied the Armory Hero, "on his way to see Motoyasu and don't worry, Melty's with him and she's safe, for the moment."
"For the moment?" Questioned Ren with a raised eyebrow at the phrasing of his response.
"I don't know what Naofumi will do once he figures out who he's running into," replied Darius, "but one thing's for sure, if Malty catches sight of Melty she'll do everything she can to try and end the crown princess's life."
"If you're so worried about that, why did you split off from his party to come and find us?" Questioned Itsuki.
"Because we've come to realize that at the end of the day even if we run to the ends of the earth, the actual problem won't go away," said Darius, "And my very convincing teacher made us promise to try and work things out with you guys so we can deal with the true threat facing this world, the waves of catastrophe."
"And why should we believe you?" Questioned the same hooded mage, Welst, he had heard someone say, "For all we know your intentions are to brainwash all of us and use the cardinal hero's power for your own gain!"
"Oh for the love of, take a look at this," said Darius as he summoned a replica legendary sword, "I can only wield the skills of the other cardinal heroes that I've actually seen and only after I've summoned a replica of the legendary weapon. If I was using this so-called brainwashing shield ability, I'd have a replica shield out right now which means so long as I have this out and so long as Ren doesn't pull out a brainwashing sword or something, I won't be brainwashing anyone."
"Not that you could anyway given that there's no brainwashing shield to begin with," commented Rifana.
"You lie damn demi, the right hand of the-AAAAAAH!" The Armored Man, Mald was his name apparently, was silenced by a sudden blast of water from Rishia.
"They're not lying," she said quietly at first, "I know they're not lying because I owe them everything."
"What are you talking about Rishia, and why did you blast Mald?" Questioned Itsuki.
"The Armory Hero and his party rescued me from the nobleman who took me away as payment," said Rishia, "they gave me the chance to see my parents again and to fight for my home and for the world against the waves. I never once saw him wield any kind of brainwashing power and even if he did, how could someone who'd risk their life to save a country that wasn't their own be evil?"
"You mean the reason you were with the Shield Hero's group was because of, why didn't you ever tell us?" Questioned Itsuki.
"I was too nervous to say anything because of the way you spoke about him," said Rishia, "you never asked why he used your mantle, you just assumed he was in it for the glory. I agreed to travel with you all in the first place because it's considered among the greatest of honors to be accepted into the party of a cardinal hero, and I hoped I might be able to change your mind at some point. But I have no choice now, if I must choose I will side with the saviors of my home. So I'm begging you, please believe they don't want to harm anyone." The girl was on the verge of tears by now thanks to the situation, but relief came in the form of Ren.
"…..I Believe them," he finally said, getting a number of gasps and murmurs from the rest of the group. "Remember it was him and Naofumi who told us to investigate the Three Heroes Church in the first place and look what we've found so far: They worship the three heroes while denouncing the shield as some kind of demon or devil, while also completely ignoring the Armory Hero. The talk about him being some sort of right hand only started up recently. Given that it's Melromarc's official religion and the secret archive we found in the church that led us here in the first place, it all adds up to only one conclusion. The Three Heroes Church is acting in exactly the same manner as the Brave Star Online event 'To Heir is Human.'"
"Yes that's exactly…Say what now," Darius said as he realized what Ren was talking about.
"Oh of course," said Itsuki, "the one where the princess gives you a quest to hunt down a criminal only for it all to turn on it's head when you realize that said criminal is the true ruler. While the so-called princess is actually leading a coup d'état. The same plot was in the game Dimension Wave as a DLC, but in this scenario Naofumi would be the bandit lord who's helping the princess."
"Well it's more like," The Armory Hero started to say before another idea occurred to him, "I mean yes, that is exactly what's happening right now. Only it's the Three Heroes Church who is aiding in the coup d'état and if we don't stop them they could potentially take control of the entire country by overthrowing the royal family."
"What's DLC, and what does it have to do with any of this?" Whispered Rifana, noting the sarcasm in Darius's voice.
"Just play along for now," Darius whispered back, "trust me it's too stupid to explain while we've got so much going on." His companion didn't get it, but nodded nonetheless.
"Well we may as well continue what we were doing before you showed up," said Ren, "but I know my party won't trust you to have our backs, so if you're going to hang around with us, you're going to have to enter the cave first."
"Why do we have to go in there first?" Exclaimed Johann.
"Because even if everything you told us is true, that doesn't necessarily mean we can trust you either," said Itsuki, "plus, my party isn't comfortable with you guys being behind us."
"Well at least tell us what we're looking for in there first," said Darius.
"A shrine to a cardinal weapon," explained Ren, "but it's not a true cardinal weapon. Apparently, it's some kind of replica the church has been hiding."
"Replica you say," repeated the Armory Hero as his own curiosity was piqued, "alright, we'll go first but you and Itsuki have to follow immediately after us. Gotta make sure tin can over there doesn't pull a fast one."
"Are you mocking my honor as a warrior?!" Questioned Mald angrily.
"Believe me if we were mocking you it'd be a lot worse," commented Rifana. Mald was about to retort to this but Rishia stepped forward then.
"I'll go in after the three of you," she said, "think of me as an envoy between the two parties."
"I can work with that," said Darius as he and the rest of his party turned and entered the tunnel, "just try not to trip over anything in here, it's kinda hard to see your feet." This warning didn't reach everyone, though as one of Itsuki's party members stubbed their toe on a rock. No other incidents occurred as the large group advanced, noting one interesting detail about the cave, or rather the lack thereof.
"You'd think there'd be some kind of traps or protection spells for something so important," noted Ren as they arrived at the shrine. It was an upraised platform of sorts with stairs circling around it, and at the center was what appeared to be more of a coffin than a shrine.
"I'm also not detecting any type of enchantments or mystical locks on this thing," observed Darius as he climbed the stairs and looked at the object of their visit.
"I suppose we may as well take a look, whatever the case," said Ren as he pushed the lid off of it, and gasped. "What is this, what in the world is going on?" The fabled cardinal weapon, or whatever it was they'd hoped to find, was gone.
"They must have taken it already," said Darius, "but why would they need, oh no. We need to get to Naofumi before-."
"EVERYBODY RUN!" yelled Itsuki as a massive light appeared from the hole in the cave ceiling. The Armory Hero swore as the blast of energy impacted against the rock walls and detonated, blinding everyone as the resulting explosion completely obliterated the large rock formation and a number of the trees in the surrounding area.
"This is the price for investigating affairs above your station, imposter heroes," said a man wearing white robes with a pointed, cardinal's hat on his head and a red cape. The gray-haired man looked relatively healthy for his age as he tipped his glasses and handed off a golden sword to one of his followers. This man was the current leader of the Three Heroes Church, Pope Biscas T. Balmus, and he was currently standing on a cliff several hundred yards away from the recently obliterated shrine.
"Your holiness," said one of his followers, a bishop in a black robe with a brown mustache, "we've located the Shield Hero. He will be making contact with the Spear Hero not long from now."
"Have you already sent the message out about what happened?" Questioned the Pope.
"Yes your holiness," replied the follower, "as far as the Spear Hero is concerned, the sword and bow fell to the devil of the shield."
"Excellent," said the Pope with a smile as he walked forward and looked out over a massive crowd of robed individuals, "Rejoice, for today we shall visit God's judgment on all of the false heroes and vanquish the devil of the shield!" A massive cheer rose from the assembled mass of followers who'd come with the Pope. As far as any of them were concerned, all was happening according to the divine plan.
Shrine Ruins: A Short Time Later
A mass of rubble was all that remained of the rock formation that had contained the shrine to the replica weapon. What rock hadn't been obliterated had collapsed into a pile that reached several feet into the air in a lifeless husk. Or it would've appeared lifeless to one who simply glanced and moved on. But should one wait patiently, they would note that rock shifted ever so slightly as sand poured out from in between several cracks. Then if one waited yet another couple of minutes, the sight of the rocks being blasted apart would be the next thing they'd witness as the three cardinal heroes and their parties came stumbling out and collapsed down into sitting positions or kneeling positions.
"That was way too close," said Itsuki, "I can't believe we're all still alive right now."
"I think we have Darius and Rifana over here to thank for that," said Ren as he watched said hero dissolve the replica rage shield on his arm. It was far less powerful without the curse series, but somehow it had held up against the massive attack from earlier and created a barrier strong enough to hold the rocks off of them. Rifana had then used her magic to reduce several of the heavier boulders to sand, allowing him and Itsuki to finish the job by blasting them out.
"But what even was that in the first place?" Questioned Rishia between breaths.
"The replica cardinal weapon," said Darius, "it looks like someone caught onto your snooping and warned the church you'd be here."
"Or maybe they were trying to kill the right hand of the shield," remarked Mald as he struggled to his feet.
"Then why didn't your beloved church fire off an attack the moment Darius entered the cave or even before that genius," Rifana pointed out, "they wanted all of us dead."
"You should learn to mind your tongue demi-OOOOF!" The armored man was quickly silenced by Johann stepping on him as he crawled out of the rubble. He'd taken his dragon form in order to provide everyone a bit more protection from the debris.
"Whoops, didn't see you there through all that ego," remarked the dragon boy.
"Enough," said Ren, "it's obvious the church is up to something. Whether it's the work of a splinter faction or the whole group doesn't matter. What we need to do right now is figure out where they're headed next."
"I believe I can answer that Sir Hero," said a familiar voice as one of the Queen's shadows dropped down from a nearby tree. She was joined by a few others who pulled out some potions to give to the injured and mana deprived. "The entirety of the Three Heroes Church is currently on the move towards the border between Melromarc and Siltvelt, specifically the one currently guarded by the Spear Hero and his party. I've also received a report that the Shield Hero should be arriving there shortly as well."
"So that is their game," said Darius with a hand on his chin, "wait for Motoyasu to bring down Naofumi and then kill him or, in a more likely scenario, wait for Naofumi to defeat Motoyasu and then kill them both. Either way we need to get moving."
"Sorry but who are these people?" Questioned Ren as he eyed the newcomers.
"They're known as Shadows," explained Rifana, "the Queen of Melromarc's personal network of spies. I believe Darius mentioned them the last time we met. They've proven helpful from time to time." Ren and Itsuki seemed to accept this for the moment as they got back to the current issue at hand.
"We were buried under there for a while. Given the head start the church has on us, we'll need to hurry to the border," said Itsuki.
"Maybe not," said Ren as he glanced at Johann, "Darius. How much weight can your dragon currently carry?"
"Well his Stats were increased recently," replied the Armory Hero, "so it's very possible he could carry four people easily, though you two would have to fly in the economy seating. Three's already pushing it for the saddle."
"But what about us?" Welst, addressing the thoughts of the rest of the party.
"I'm afraid you'll have to either follow far behind us or return to the capital," replied Ren, "we're already too far behind and too short on options to figure out a way to carry everyone." Murmurs of discontent went through both parties, but a stern look from the Sword Hero quieted any protest.
"Worry not," said the Shadow, "her highness the Queen is on her way to that very location with reinforcements. If you arrive in time and delay the enemy long enough she should be able to take control of the situation." The cardinal heroes noded in understanding as they prepped to leave.
"Just on last question before we go, Darius. What exactly is 'flying economy' in this scenario?" Questioned Itsuki
Near the Border of Siltvelt
"I swear if you drop me I will hunt you all down after I respawn!" exclaimed Itsuki as he dangled from Johann's left foot.
"Yes, like we didn't hear you the first eight times you made that threat," remarked Rifana from her seating position behind Darius.
"A fall from this height probably won't kill us," said Ren who was dangling from Johann's other foot, "But I still feel like this could've been thought through at least a little better."
"You're the one who kept saying we were short on time," Darius pointed out, "and by the looks of it, we might barely make it." The other two heroes were about to ask what he meant until they spotted a massive, smoldering crater in the ground that cut into the defensive wall where the check point used to be. What was even more astonishing was the incredibly bright light that suddenly appeared and blasted another chunk out of the crater. "I guess that's our cue for hero time, step on it Johann!"
"You got it," replied the dragon emperor candidate as he gave another powerful flap of his wings and flew towards the crater. As the group of five approached, a burst of flame erupted which just missed its intended target, the Shield and Spear Heroes along with their parties who were all currently in the center of the crater.
"Drop us right before you land," ordered Ren, "we'll hit him on the way down."
"Hope you don't mind me taking the first shot," said Johann as he came to an abrupt stop and hovered in midair before launching a ball of azure fire at the man standing on the opposite side of the crater, the pope of the Three Heroes church who was currently wielding a golden replica of the cardinal spear.
"Hundred Swords, Meteor Shot!" exclaimed Ren and Itsuki as they landed and fired their own attacks. The collective moves slammed into some kind of glowing yellow barrier resembling a magic seal before shattering it under the weight of the onslaught.
"N-not possible, how," questioned the Pope as he fell to one knee from the pain of the broken seals and gazed across the crater. Everyone else was just as surprised at the new arrivals.
"It was a nice try, but your ultimate weapon didn't have quite the impact you probably hoped it would," Quipped Rifana.
"Guess we made it here in the nick of time," observed Itsuki as he and Ren took stock of the situation. A mass of followers was standing behind the pope, all apparently magic casters, as well as a large collection of Melromarc soldiers who were apparently loyal to the church.
"You two head down there and help fight the pope," said Darius, "we'll take down his followers to cut off the mana supply to his weapon."
"How do you know that's what's powering it?" Questioned Ren.
"No idea honestly," said Darius as he summoned his lightning bow, "but there isn't a doubt in my mind that's how it works for some reason. Besides, wouldn't it be best for the four cardinal heroes to work together for a change?"
"I can understand that reasoning," said Itsuki as he and Ren slid down into the crater, "just don't be mad if we get all the glory." 'Well he's got a one track mind,' thought Rifana before drawing her mace. Darius directed Johann back into the air and around the crater as he fired a collection of lightning arrows that were assisted by a lightning blast from Johann. Another yellow barrier seal appeared around the mass of gathered mages, but some of the soldiers who were unlucky enough to be standing close to the barrage got hit.
"Our target is the mages," said Darius, "so let's hit 'em with everything we've got!"
"Right!" replied Johann and Rifana as the weasel girl dropped down and created multiple spider web cracks in the ground with a swing of her mace that managed to shake up some of the mages.
"Stop them, do not let the right hand of the devil near the mages!" exclaimed a soldier in the uniform of a guard captain as they all converged on Rifana. A rain of spears and lightning arrows cut through several of them as the Armory Hero dropped down next to his companion before shifting his weapon to a silver saber with a green gem while also summoning his mask.
"Combo attack," said Rifana as she used her hail stone spell, scraping the ground with her mace to fire several high speed rocks which Darius made even faster with a swing of his wind enchanted saber. But something was strange, the attack was much stronger than expected and even caused the Armory Hero to stumble a bit as the combo skill tore through several soldiers. "Weird, I don't remember it being that effective."
"Maybe it's self-upgrading," proposed Darius as he stared at his sword in confusion for a moment before ducking a spear attack and slashing another soldier across the chest with more wind magic. Once again it was stronger than expected and actually blew the dead follower away. "Man what is up with this?" Another group of soldiers advanced, only for half of them to be blown away by a couple of swings from the Armory Hero while Rifana sank the rest in a quicksand spell.
But as Darius was about to summon another set of portals, a sudden pain shot through his head and made him drop to one knee. "What...is…this?" Images had begun flooding his mind as he saw people he didn't recognize from a first person perspective as well as, Fitoria? But something was different about her. She seemed more, innocent.
"Darius," said Rifana as she smashed the skull of a soldier who'd tried to hit her downed comrade, "what's wrong?"
"I'm seeing, memories, of someone else I think," the Armory Hero managed to answer before blasting away another few soldiers with a swing of his saber while still holding his head with one hand. Johann swooped in and unleashed a torrent of flame on the soldiers and mages, but all Darius could see was shifting images now.
"So who are you exactly?" asked a dark-haired man with a shield as he sat atop a noble-looking Filolial. "Your story about being a cardinal hero seems a little fishy given that you're not wielding a primary weapon."
"Don't have one," he replied in a voice that clearly belonged to someone else, "my armory is my weapon." The images shifted again, this time showing different stages of a battle against a wave and then the aftermath.
"Thanks for the save back there," said the shield bearer, "where'd you learn some of those moves?"
"The mask allows me to use fighting techniques and skills I've seen to an extent," he replied, "So I guess I'm more of an imitator when it gets right down to it."
"Well so long as what you're imitating is the right thing to do I suppose I can't complain," replied the shield bearer. The images came faster now as he saw more battles, traveling along several country sides, Fitoria's transformation from a regular Filolial to the Filolial Queen, and the discovery of the ruins of the gold tyrant city. Finally, one memory played out more distinctly than the others. It was him, the Shield bearer and Fitoria all sitting around a table in a castle, resting from their latest victory.
"That boss was tough," commented Fitoria in an unfamiliar playful tone as she sipped at some tea, "please tell me the next one won't be a giant, wingless dragon monster!"
"Are you sure you aren't saying that because you hate dragons on principal," commented the shield bearer.
"I hate dragons because they're ravenous, greedy, selfish creatures who become even worse when their sex drive kicks in," replied Fitoria, "come to think of it maybe this one was having that problem. He seemed to be eyeing our armory guy here just a bit."
"Huh," he said as he was broken from his thoughts, "what'd I miss?"
"Fitoria telling an actual joke," said the Shield bearer, "and that usually only happens in the rare instances when you're not joking because something is on your mind. So what's the issue?"
"Well," he began, "Me and Fitoria actually managed to find the city of the gold tyrant recently, and its weapon's vault."
"That should be good news, right?" said the Shield bearer, "the entire arsenal of one of your predecessor's at your fingertips. It could make the next wave that much easier."
"It's sealed," said Fitoria, "the remnants of a curse series, likely the greed series, is lingering around it."
"I've already placed my own purifying seal on it," said the Armory Hero, "but who knows how long it'll be before all the weapons in there are completely free of the curse series influence."
"Okay, so I guess that's a bust," said the Shield Bearer, "but at least if it does purify before the next wave we'll still be golden, if you'll pardon the expression. But is that the only issue you're thinking over?"
"I was actually thinking a little bit about legacy," he said with a sigh, "all my predecessor left for me or the people were ruins and a mass of weapons that can't be used right now. It's more like a taunt than anything."
"Oh look at all the weapons you can't have because I was a greedy prick," said Fitoria with her hands on her hips as she made her best evil king impersonation, "You'll have to go find your own."
"Or, we could make one," suggested the Armory Hero.
"Would that really be a good idea?" Questioned the Shield Bearer, "We already have our cardinal weapons and you've got enough weapons now to outfit a small army. What would this weapon do for us that ours can't already?"
"It wouldn't be for us," replied the Armory Hero, "It would be a weapon for the people, in order to help them defend themselves against the waves."
"What brought this idea on," Questioned the Shield Bearer as he listened a bit more intently.
"Like I said before it's all about legacy," said the Armory Hero, "We're not the first batch of heroes to do this job and by the sound of it we may not be the last. But if we leave something behind, something that the people can rally behind and use to protect themselves then it might not be necessary to summon the cardinal heroes again. We could stop the cycle by giving the people the power to be their own heroes."
"Well it is an inspired idea if nothing else," said the Shield Bearer, "I guess we could at least try to see if it's possible."
"Well my only other idea is lead an army of sex-crazed dragons against the next wave," remarked the Armory Hero, "Would you mind being the bait Fitoria, I hear they like chicken legs."
"For the last time I am not a chicken," said the Filolial Queen as she crossed her arms with a quick 'hmph', "I am a proud, strong Filolial."
"Of course my mistake," said the Armory Hero, "I meant giant chicken legs."
"I'll show you chicken legs!" exclaimed Fitoria as she started playfully kicking the Armory Hero, bringing laughter to everyone at the table as the image faded from Darius's mind and he seemed to return to reality. 'It can't possibly be,' he thought, 'that weapon is-.' His thoughts were interrupted as he looked up and saw something ominous.
The remaining church mages had managed to cast another spell, this one gigantic as a black orb surrounded by purple mist appeared above the Pope's head and floated into the air. "Not good, that spell is-."
"CATHEDRAL!" Exclaimed the Pope as a building-sized structure formed around the entirety of the crater, cutting off any route of escape the other heroes and their parties might've had. As the name implied, it resembled a church cathedral, one made of gold in this case.
"What in the world are we gonna do about that?" Questioned Rifana as she looked on in awe at the mystic structure. 'Good question,' Darius thought, 'I haven't the slightest idea.' Meanwhile, far in the distance, a red-haired woman wearing armor and a crown rode towards the battle with a detachment of troops at her disposal.
'Hold out just a little longer my heroes,' she thought while picking up her pace, 'the world cannot afford to lose you all now.'
The Forces of Melromarc are all converging as the cardinal heroes struggle to end the conspiracy that is the Three Heroes Church, but what is the Armory Hero's connection to the fabled replica weapon? Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter and as always, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. In other news, next week is my planned continuation of The Adventures of Team WA! Now be sure to stop in next time as the true nature of the replica cardinal weapon is revealed. 'Til then.