Armory of the Forgotten Hero

by Masked Spider

The legend goes that there are four cardinal heroes. But fact and fable are often twisted in the land of Melromarc, while others are left out completely. One such fact is that there is actually another hero, the Armory hero, who doesn't wield a primary weapon. But the world will soon remember as Darius Saxon is called to remind the people that there aren't four heroes, but five.

47. Battle in the Rock Lands

Battle in the Rock Lands

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero! And apologies for the slight delay, family project over the weekend. But I've also got an exciting announcement: my book, Plains Riders, is now available for only $2.99! So if you couldn't before try and check it out now! And with no guest reviews this week, let's dive on in!

Daytime: The Castle of Melromarc

Things should've been going better. At least that's what Melty had thought after receiving word that her mother had returned and that the Spirit Tortoise had been decapitated. But something was off. Naofumi, Darius and the rest of their parties hadn't returned nor had there been any word on the other three heroes. What was more, her mother seemed to be preoccupied with something and had headed off to the upper chambers the moment she'd returned to the castle.

The Princess didn't want to admit it, but all of this made her more than a little nervous. What finally confirmed her fears was a Shadow showing up with news that multiple bursts of light had been reported in the East, likely where the Spirit Tortoise was located. She knew this was urgent and had the Shadow take her to the Queen immediately as her anxiety increased little by little the whole way there. When she finally found Mirellia at one of the castle balconies she was anything but calm.

"Mother, so this is where you've been the whole time," exlcaimed Melty.

"You seem to have lost your composure over something," noted the Queen as she turned to her daughter, "what seems to be the matter?"

"There have been sightings of multiple bursts of light in the East," said Melty, "very likely in the same location as the Spirit Tortoise."

"While that is troubling news, you shouldn't lose your composure over something so simple," said the Queen, "if you feel insecure in the face of a threat then the people shall also feel insecure. Now, given the possible situation it would be best to deploy the soldiers so that the proclamation of an evacuation won't cause chaos. If it really is the Spirit Tortoise, then this place is no longer completely safe. Eventually, the sacred beast will make its way here."

"We shall pass the message along," said a suddenly appearing Shadow who led a reluctant Melty out of the room. The Queen then proceeded to the throne room with two guards flanking her as she went. She would need to head to the castle's war room shortly but before that she had a few other orders to issue. "Has the messenger we sent out not returned yet?" The answer to her inquiry was a simple shaking of her guard's head.

"Then send out another one," said the Queen, "we need to reform the Allied Forces and then-." She stopped upon noting that a bright light was appearing on the floor of the throne room. It shined brighter for a few moments before dissipating, revealing both the Shield and Armory Heroes along with all their party members. "Sir Iwatani, Sir Saxon!"

"Hey," said Darius with a slightly embarrassed wave, "so we got some good news and a lot of bad news."

"Also," said Rishia while trying to wipe some of the Spirit Tortoise's blood off of her outfit, "would you mind if we used the baths for a bit?"

"Of course," said the Queen after composing herself, "for the moment just tell me: what is the state of the Spirit Tortoise?"

"Down for now," replied Naofumi, "but it's gonna be back up soon enough. So once we're cleaned up, we got a lot of work to do."

A Few Minutes Later: Near the Royal Baths

"How long do you think we've got before that bastard gets back up again?" Questioned Rifana as they made their way down the hall. The two parties had split up and were planning on using separate baths, mostly due to the large girl to boy ratio they had going on. Though Figneria clearly had other plans, which was why she sent Johann into one of the smaller baths by himself. He wouldn't get super clean without help but they were in a slight hurry anyway.

Or at least they were supposed to be, but more than a couple of them thought now would also be a good time to address some issues. "Hey Izumi," said Darius, "could you go on ahead? I need to have a word with Rifana and Figneria for a moment."

"Very well," said Izumi, "I shall be in one of the further baths if you wish to join me." She hurried off then, likely hoping the Armory Hero would take her up on the offer. But, as was the saying, first things first.

"Alright," said Darius as soon as the Horned Girl was out of sight, "we should probably deal with this now while we've got a chance. Did you two come to some sort of agreement about Izumi?"

"Dear me," said Figneria before letting out a slight giggle, "that's right, with all the excitement happening we never got around to telling you. Yes, Rifana and I did indeed talk things over and came to something of an arrangement. One which, now that I think about it, we never informed Izumi of either."

"Well before we talk to her about it what exactly did you two arrange?" Questioned the Armory Hero. Rifana sighed before answering.

"That mess we went through in Siltvelt," she began, "we're pretty sure that's not gonna be the last time something like that happens. So, Figneria and I agreed that we'd start vetting the girls who hit on you or claim they're in love with you. You've probably already figured this part out, too, but there are going to be a few people who will try and force you into a political marriage. If at all possible, we'd like to make sure they're at least not totally crazy."

"So if I'm hearing right," said Darius after processing this new information for a bit, "you two are expecting me to get together with even more women, whether I want too or not? So instead of trying to keep them all away, you've decided to make sure that I wind up in relationships with only the good ones?"

"That would about sum it up," said Figneria, "though I'll say this here and now: this isn't a pass for you to bring home a new woman every night and ask us if you can sleep with them. The women we're vetting are ones we expect you to be in at least some type of relationship with."

"I wasn't planning on bringing a lot of girls home to begin with," assured the Armory Hero, "honestly I'm surprised you're allowing Izumi to get that close to me. I personally hadn't planned to be much more than friends with her."

"You probably noticed," said Rifana, "but she's more than a little fixated on you. If she was just an ordinary girl we'd tell her to take a hike and find another guy. Since she's a fighter and a healer, though, we can't exactly say we don't want her around. And, to some degree, I'm expecting her to realize she's more in love with the idea of the Armory Hero than she is with you."

"I want to say 'ouch' to that," remarked Darius, "but at the same time it might be the more ideal situation. It's already difficult for me to split time between the two of you on top of my duties as both the Armory Hero and co-owner of a village. I don't know if I could realistically divide my time between three girls."

"It wouldn't be impossible, actually," said Figneria, "Izumi has multiple useful skills and might be able to lighten the burden at the village. If she takes over some of my or Rifana's duties, for example, then we'll all have a bit more time to spend with each other. Not to mention, my duties in Koteraan often keep me away, so you'll only need to divide your time between two women when I'm away."

"That is, fortunately and unfortunately, a very convincing argument," said Darius, "and I do have to consider the possibility that she might actually wind up liking me for me. Not to mention, and I'm only saying this because I know I'm human, what'll happen if I wind up falling for her and want her to stay?"

"Then you'd best hope we get along," said Rifana, "and the first thing she'll need to do is save the talk about having a kid until later down the line."

"I might be able to get her to back off on that a little," agreed the University Student, "but first, let's get cleaned up."

"Oh I think we can afford to be dirty for a little longer," said Figneria as she grabbed Darius's arm and led him towards the baths. "And you should come along too, Rifana. We might not get another chance for a while." The Weasel girl quickly picked up on her meaning and hurried into the baths with them.

When they arrived, Izumi was already soaking in the large pool of warm water. "Oh, Sir Darius," she said, instinctively covering her chest with her arms, "I was not expecting you to be in here as well." 'Sure you didn't,' thought Rifana while resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"It was kind of a spur of the moment thing," replied the Armory Hero as he sent his outfit to his inventory, leaving him in what passed for underwear in Melromarc. He was still not quite believing he was about to do this. "But we did just survive a fight with a giant tortoise who's going to coming back even more pissed than last time. And I'm no pessimist, but it might be best to get a few things out of the way, just in case."

"What did you have in mind," replied Izumi, trying to hide the glint of excitement in her eye as Darius entered the bath. Rifana and Figneria weren't far behind as they finished depositing their own bloody clothes.

"Just figuring out how well this whole thing is gonna work," said Darius as he lightly beckoned her forward. Izumi did so, taking his hand as she did.

"You needn't worry so much," said Izumi as she pressed her body against his, "I am yours, Darius, just like Rifana and Figneria. I know you'll be able to love each of us equally."

"Guess we'll see whether or not I can live up to your expectations then," said Darius as he encircled her smaller frame with his arms. Izumi pulled him into a passionate kiss then, wrapping her arms around his neck while hoping against hope that this wasn't a dream. When Darius pulled her up by her legs and entered her, that's when she was certain it wasn't.

A While Later: The Castle War Room

"I see," said the Queen as Naofumi finished his explanation of their findings and subsequent battle with the revived Spirit Tortoise. Both parties were wearing spare outfits Earhard had made for them on the Queen's orders while their previous ones were being cleaned. "It's good that you were able to decapitate it again and buy us some more time. Though you've also confirmed that it cannot be killed conventionally. We'll need the magic unit after all."

"That stupid monster blew up my carriage!" Cried Filo while trying to wipe the tears out of her eyes.

"Just be glad we didn't get blown up along with it," said the Shield Hero in minor annoyance. The Filolial Girl had been upset about this for a good few minutes now.

"Yes, it is good that you're all safe," said the Queen, "now we need…" Her features showed a glimmer of recognition as Ost stepped out from behind the group and bowed to her.

"It has been a while, your majesty," she said, drawing more than a few curious glances from everyone else.

"H-How are you of all people here?" Questioned Mirellia as she realized fully who she was talking too.

"You've met Ost before?" Said Rifana to the Queen, "but we only met her today."

"I've met her majesty a few times before at the world summit," informed Ost.

"You've been to the world summit," said Naofumi, "and the Queen knows you. How long have you actually been operating in this world?"

"For some time," said the Queen, "she is one of King Hourai's concubines."

"You were a concubine," said Darius who currently had Izumi snuggling up against him with a pleased look on her face, "I'm not sure who I feel more sorry for: You for putting up with a likely unpleasant person or him for having no idea what he was sticking his dick in."

"Indeed," said the Queen, "pardon my rudeness for saying this in front of you, but you haven't given me the best of impressions in the past."

"Naturally," said Ost, not seeming to mind the comment, "I am meant to play the role of an unpleasant woman, after all. I took the name Ost Hourai and let myself be taken by the king in order to meddle in affairs from the inside. I was meant to cause instability in the country in order to collect as many souls as possible. That has been my duty ever since my creation as one of the Tortoise's familiars."

"Speaking of which," said Figneria, "it's rather clear that you collect the souls of those who've died. In order to create this barrier which is supposed to protect the world from the Waves, how many souls would you need?"

"I would need an amount equal to two thirds of the world's population, including other creatures besides humans and demi-humans," answered Ost, drawing more than a few gasps from the gathered parties.

"That…..that is the Tortoise's goal," said Mirellia, unable to keep the shock from her face this time.

"So that's why Fitoria didn't want to tell us," Said Darius as a mess of emotions from anger to sadness battled within him, "and why she was so adamant about us working together. At this point in the battle against the Waves, summoning new heroes wouldn't do any good."

"The Spirit Tortoise itself was only supposed to awaken to collect souls as a last resort," explained Ost with a somewhat pained look, "as for me, I was to be defeated by the four heroes and, if they desired, I'd reveal to them how to unseal the Spirit Tortoise. That would've been the end of my duties if everything was going as it should've gone."

"So even having an extra hero wasn't always good enough," noted Naofumi, "this whole function of yours was insurance in case all or at least the majority of the heroes messed up."

"That is correct," said Ost, "but the Spirit Tortoise going berserk was not something that was expected. So even though it goes against my original duties, I intend to provide my utmost assistance wherever possible in order to subjugate the Spirit Tortoise." The Queen fixed Ost with a hard glare, clearly looking for a lie in any of her words or actions. When she found none, though, she finally relented.

"Under normal circumstances," said Mirellia, "the two of us would never see eye to eye. But right now, our objective is the same. So I'll choose to accept your help, this time, and let's keep the fact that you're the Spirit Tortoise's familiar between us. If word got out about what you were, it would affect the morale of the troops. Many people have lost their relatives and, in some cases, whole countries to the Spirit Tortoise, after all."

Ost didn't say anything but bowed in understanding. "Right, now that we've got that out of the way," said Naofumi, "let's form a plan."

Dinining Room/Current War Room

As she'd instructed earlier, the remaining leaders of the Allied Forces were gathered and now all of them stood around a large rectangular dining table with a war map spread out over it. "The Spirit Tortoise might be incapacitated now but that won't last long," said Naofumi, "it might even be moving again as we speak. So here's the plan: my and Darius's parties will spearhead the offensive and decapitate it again, allowing us a small window of time to climb its back, enter the Tortoise and seal it for sure this time."

"But Sir Shield Hero," said one of the leaders, a man in a metal hat with a feather in it, "we climbed the Tortoise's back before and couldn't find the entrance. How can we locate it now?"

"This woman here, shall be our guide," said the Queen as she indicated Ost, "she's studied the legends of the Spirit Tortoise extensively and managed to escape Reiki before it was completely destroyed."

"Just leave it to me," said Ost with a slight bow. This seemed to assuage the fears of one of the leaders for the moment as the Queen continued.

"The bulk of the Allied Forces will deal with the familiars and provide support magic to the Shield and Armory Hero's parties," she said, "please do your utmost when casting the group magic for sealing the Tortoise."

"Our main problem will be the spine missiles and it's lightning beam attack," said Naofumi.

"Not to mention it's gravity magic," said Darius, "do you think you could counter that with enough support magic, Ost?"

"I could, yes," she replied with a nod, "as for the thunder released from its mouth, that power is drawn from the earth. Specifically, I believe it is using the power of the Dragon Veins. If we confront it where the Vein is weak, it likely will not be able to use that attack."

"Given that the Tortoise's last heading was straight for us," said Grilaroc while pointing at a rocky area on the map, "then it will surely pass through a place that is weak in the Dragon Vein's power." Darius and the others nodded in understanding. If the Armory Hero recalled his studies of magic correctly, the Dragon Veins were like underground rivers that the earth's power flowed through. And like rivers, their distribution was sporadic, with some areas much higher in the concentration of the earth's power while others had a much lower concentration.

"If it can't use its beam and we nullify its gravity magic," said Figneria, "then some good maneuvering and defense bolstering should work against the spine missiles."

"I might also have a way to help throw off such an attack," said Izumi as she raised her hand. Her good mood from earlier hadn't disappeared, but she was clearly in a serious mindset right now, having switched gears when needed. "One of my specialties is darkness magic which, when mixed with my water magic, is capable of creating different types of shrouds. With the help of enough support magic, I could cast a very large shroud over our two parties, leaving just enough of us exposed to be a tempting target."

"That would keep his attention off the rest of the Allied Forces," agreed Darius, "and as long as we keep ahead of them, the spine missiles won't pose too huge of a problem."

"It's good enough to get us close," said Naofumi, "and that's all we should hopefully need. So now that we've got a plan and a location for the decisive battle, let's move out!"

Several Hours Later: Barren Land A Few Miles from Melromarc

"Hey Boss," said Johann as they soared through the air, keeping a close eye on Filo and her new carriage along with the mass number of iron carriages several yards behind them which were being led by the Queen and Figneria, "pretty sure that's the Spirit Tortoise dead ahead."

"No doubt about it," replied the Armory Hero as they all spied the now familiar, spiny back of the corrupted Sacred Beast lumbering in the distance. "We probably should've timed how long it stayed down. That would've given us at least some idea on how long we'll have to get inside its back."

"I'm more concerned with us taking it down in the first place," said Rifana, "it grew those spikes and started firing that beam after its first decapitation. How much you wanna bet it's got one or two new surprises waiting for us now?"

"As long as we're vigilant, it should not pose too great of an issue," said Izumi confidently, "and the Sacred Beast is not the only one who's come prepared with new tricks. Are you ready, Rifana?"

"Ready as one can be when facing a sentient monster mountain," replied the Weasel Girl as she held her mace up, "as source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and form a ring of fire to strike my foes! Crimson Ring!" A ring of fire appeared around her mace and ascended into the air, growing larger and larger until it was several feet across. It lasted for only a few seconds before bursting into cinders and quickly fading away. The group of four waited to see if the signal had worked which was then confirmed when a green glow formed around their bodies.

"They got the support magic going," said Darius, "your turn Izumi." The Horned Girl nodded and held her own weapon up in the air.

"As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and shroud my comrades in shadow, Dreifac Shroud!" A mass of black mist gathered then, surrounding the flying trio and Naofumi's party down below from seemingly nowhere, making it appear as if a veil of mist was approaching the Tortoise.

"Wow, we're like a freakin' storm cloud!" Exclaimed Johann.

"You can add the lightning if we need it," said Darius, "for now, focus on getting close. We're probably already in range of that thing and I'm certain it noticed us well before we put up the cloud cover." As if to affirm the Cardinal Hero's suspicions, the Spirit Tortoise began its attack by sending out the spike missiles from its back.

"Hang on!" Said Johann as he dove and banked side to side, dodging around any of the projectiles that were getting too close. It seemed the shroud was doing its job as the attack was dispersed over a wide area, meaning fewer being dropped directly on them. And Johann and Filo clearly learned a great deal about the Tortoise's attack pattern from last time as they evaded more efficiently than before.

"We're just about there," said Rifana as Darius summoned L'arc's scythe while the others readied their weapons, "get ready for some up close and personal!" Izumi nodded and shifted her naginata, causing the mist to move away from them and towards the Allied Forces as they emerged right in front of the Spirit Tortoise.

"Remember the plan," said Darius, "try and sever its spine this time and go from there!" Everyone shouted an affirmative to this as Johann dove towards the Spirit Tortoise's nose. The Sacred Beast clearly remembered what they did to it last time and raised its head towards them. But instead of firing more spine missiles or roaring at them, it began to gather energy in its mouth. "Shit, Johann veer off!"

The dragon did his best to turn as the beam intensified. Just as it was about to fire a large spectral shield appeared between them and their opponent. "DREI SHIELD!" Darius could almost hear Naofumi exclaim as the blast impacted against the floating barrier. The Tortoise reared back as if in pain, launching some of the remainder of the blast towards the Allied Forces, missing them by a hair.

"Rifana, Izumi," said Darius as they flew down near the Spirit Tortoise's upper leg, "hop off. It's got more surprises than we thought!" The two girls nodded and leapt down onto the Sacred Beast's limb while Darius came about, making sure the Spirit Tortoise could still see him. His HUD also alerted him to Naofumi calling.

"Are you all okay up there?" Asked the Shield Hero, failing to hide some of the surprise in his voice.

"I thought Ost said it couldn't do that!" Exclaimed the Armory Hero in annoyance, "we nearly got roasted alive!"

"I'm pissed about it too, but it created the opening we were hoping for," said Naofumi as Darius looked on the other leg to see Raphtalia riding up on Filo. Grilaroc and Éclair were on either side of them, taking out strange beetle-like familiars that were actually growing out of its skin. The duo was also empowered by Zweit Aura, Rishia's First Power Spell, and a spell Ost casted called Kongou-Riki. "Ost said it shouldn't be able to attack at all now after that."

"I'm taking that with a grain of salt," remarked Darius as he directed Johann back towards the Tortoise. Its head was moving towards Raphtalia and Filo, possibly sensing the power surrounding them. "But I can still do my job, Johann!"

"On it," said the Dragon Boy as he summoned an electrical aura around his body.

"Combo Skill: Thunderbolt Wheel Swing!" Exclaimed Darius as he directed the lightning into his scythe and then into the miniature cyclone which he sent at the Spirit Tortoise's eye. The attack hit with a large amount of force, practically destroying the orb as the Sacred Beast roared in pain. This gave Raphtalia and Filo all the time they needed as Naofumi summoned his Airstrike Shield and Second Shield for them to use as platforms.

"Here we go," said Raphtalia, "8-trigrams Blade of Destiny! Spiral Strike!" Filo added her attack into the mix as the eight glowing orbs appeared once again and seemed to accelerate their attack. With the assistance of support magic, the two blasted through the Spirit Tortoise's neck and out the other side, leaving a massive gaping hole and little holding the neck together.

"Now it's your turn!" Exclaimed Darius, hoping his party members could hear him as he switched to a replica cardinal shield and summoned both an Airstrike and Second Shield for Rifana and Izumi to jump off of. The Mountain girl struck first with another special attack.

"Cascade Wheel!" Exclaimed Izumi, her body empowered by support magic from the Allied Forces as she conjured a huge vertical wheel of water that rotated at high speed like a buzzsaw. It also worked as a platform to fling Rifana even higher as she summoned a massive flaming, vertical ring around herself.

"Inferno Wheel!" Declared the Weasel girl as her attack hit the spine while Izumi's attack hit the throat. The two attacks cut the head the rest of the way off and collided in the middle, causing a steam explosion that boiled the wound for added damage. Much like before, the severed body part caused the ground to shake a bit on impact which was followed by the much more powerful impact of the Spirit Tortoise's body slamming on the ground.

"HECK'S YEAH!" Exclaimed Johann, "that was even easier than last time!"

"Only because we had a lot more help this time," Darius pointed out, "and you know this isn't over. We just bought ourselves a temporary respite."

"Yeah, yeah," replied the Dragon Boy, "still figured we could celebrate a little."

"We'll celebrate when this thing is down for good," said Darius as he steered Johann towards the ground where Naofumi and the others were. Rifana and Izumi got a little assistance in the air from Naofumi as he repositioned his two Airstrike Shields, allowing them to jump off of them and back onto the Spirit Tortoise. It didn't take long for them to join up with everyone else after climbing down.

"You did well," said Ost as they all gathered 'round, "but this battle is not over just yet."

"Yeah, we're just back where we were earlier," said Naofumi, "so let's hurry and join up with the Allied Forces before-." He stopped speaking as a strange noise reached everyone's ears. "What's that sound?"

"I know what it is," said Darius as he looked up, "those are the sound of wings. A whole shitload of wings." A dark cloud of the Tortoise's bat familiars appeared then, all of whom were moving towards the body and neck of the Spirit Tortoise.

"That can't be," said Ost, "the Spirit Tortoise's regeneration has never been this fast!" Even as she spoke the neck was regenerating and a new head was reforming to replace the decapitated one. In less than two minutes the beast's face loomed over them again, even more disgusting than last time as it shifted its bulk and got up. Everyone scattered to avoid its massive foot as the Sacred Beast advanced forward.

"Why is it heading towards the Allied Forces?" Questioned Izumi in disbelief as the Tortoise crushed its own severed head while advancing.

"It's targeting the Sealing Team," realized Naofumi as he held up his shield, "Darius!" The Armory Hero nodded and slammed his hands on the ground. "Shield Prison! Soul Eater's Chain!" The bundle of spectral shields appeared and clamped down on the back of the Spirit Tortoise's right heel while several portals opened up on the ground and produced fish-like chains that grabbed onto and started draining the energy of the Sacred Beast. 'Wait a minute,' thought the Armory Hero, 'this energy, it's almost the same as-no it is-!'

"Guys we got incoming!" Exclaimed Rishia as more of the large beetle familiars appeared and landed around them.

"Hold them off!" Exclaimed Éclair as the two gathered parties cut, smashed, burnt, electrocuted or blasted apart any of the monsters that got too close. They went down fairly easily but there were a lot of them, and they just kept coming. Even if they could hold the Spirit Tortoise indefinitely the two parties wouldn't be able to survive a war of attrition. The fact of the matter was, though, the two heroes couldn't hold the Spirit Tortoise indefinitely as it yanked with a great degree of force until its foot finally came free.

"Damn," coughed Darius as his chains retreated, "we're gonna need to come up with another way to slow this thing down." By this point, the Allied Forces had begun bombarding the Sacred Beast with flaming catapult fire and fireball magic. But this did even less to slow it down than the chains and shields that had held it earlier.

"We can aim for the joints, but we need to stop its regeneration first," said Naofumi, "do you have any weapons that'll help with that?" The Armory Hero was about to answer until another familiar, and very welcome, voice entered their heads.

"Endure," said the voice, "endure it for just a bit longer."

"Master, is that who I think it is?" Questioned Filo as she looked around excitedly for the source of the voice.

"It is," confirmed Darius, "that was Fitoria's voice just now. She's on her way to help!"

"Any idea how long it'll take her to get here," said Naofumi before thinking better of it, "no, forget it. If she says just a bit longer, then maybe we can pull out some of our best shots."

"Master Naofumi, you don't mean," Raphtalia said as she glanced back in his direction.

"He won't be alone," said Darius as his bands started glowing evily, "leave the brunt of the attack to me." The bands of Greed and Sloth formed around his wrists then as his antler-horned mask was summoned. His Leshen made cape grew more sinister as well, seeming to be alive as he called out his attack. "Sloth Series: Underworld Messengers!"

The ends of his scarf cape grew even more then as numerous shapes began to emerge from them. Crows, Ravens, Owls, wolf hounds, vultures and other horrid demonic animals assaulted the familiars around them while the avian ones went for the Tortoise's neck, thrashing and tearing at its flesh. The Beast finally slowed as it moved its head from side to side in a vain effort to rid itself of the onslaught. "Darius, let a few through!" Ordered Naofumi as he readied his Wrath Shield.

The Armory Hero signaled a group of his summoned beasts to cease their attacks on some of the stronger familiars and work on assaulting the weaker ones. This meant multiple ones were left to advance on Naofumi and slam into his shield with their full strength. The result was impressive as his cursed series ability activated and gave the force of the attack back with interest, all in the form of powerful green flames. "Dark Gas Burning!" He exclaimed as he directed the flames against the underside of the tortoise.

The Beast roared in anguish as its advance halted completely while a mass of smoke billowed out from beneath it. "Looks like we managed to at least scratch it," noted Darius as the smoke cleared to reveal a gigantic scorch mark. He tried to ignore how his voice was distorted by the mask on his face.

"Good enough if it buys time," said Naofumi before he and his fellow cardinal hero noticed another problem. The Tortoise had lowered his head to look underneath itself, right at them. Worse, it seemed to be charging up its lightning beam again.

"Naofumi!" Exclaimed Darius as he summoned a replica Wrath Shield.

"Filo, Johann, get everyone out of here!" Ordered Naofumi as he and Darius readied their shields to take the blast. But there was an issue. The shards of the dragon emperor within the two mounts was reacting with the Shield Hero's cursed series again, causing them to growl and snarl as they began tearing at the bodies of dead familiars while ignoring their given orders.

'Shit, I forgot about that,' realized the two cardinal heroes before bracing themselves. A powerful blast of light shined then as a tremendous force slammed into the barrier they created with their shields. Everyone was forced to more or less shut their eyes as they crowded behind their party leaders. Darius's whole body hurt with the strain of holding up against the attack, feeling his very bones rattle as he did so, and he imagined it was a similar story for Naofumi.

'My vision is starting to go a bit dark,' Darius realized as he continued to hold against the strain, 'come on, just a bit longer.' The sound of his replica cracking didn't help matters as his own version of the shield's barrier began to falter. But then the attack ceased and none too soon. The two barriers broke then as the Armory Hero stood breathing heavily.

Strangely, though, Naofumi wasn't breathing that heavily at all, nor did he seem to be entirely there either. "You alright over there?" Darius asked as he glanced at his friend before quickly noting that something was definitely wrong. The Shield Hero's eyes had taken on a white tone as if his irises and pupils had disappeared entirely.

It was the same look Johann and Filo had in their eyes as they continued to vicisiouly attack the other familiars. "Master Naofumi," asked Raphtalia slowly with a mixture of fear and worry in her voice.

"Is everything alright, Sir Shield Hero?" Questioned Éclair as she seemed to be deciding whether or not she should also be worried.

"Everyone stay back," said Darius as he summoned L'arc's scythe and turned towards the Shield Hero, "this might be about to get ugly."

"No, let me speak to Master Naofumi," said Raphtalia as she moved to step forward but was held back by Rifana. Before she could protest, Ost stepped forward instead.

"I, Ost Hourai, as source of thy power order thee," she said while holding her hands up, "decipher the laws of nature and expel forth the impurities from within!" The Armory Hero winced in slight pain as black flames were suddenly drawn from both his bands and even more were drawn from Naofumi's shield. "O shield of hatred, O bands of greed and sloth, mow down the beast before me! BLACK DRAGON FLAME!" As its name implied, the flames took on the shape of a large Chinese dragon, incinerating the many familiars around them before rushing towards the Spirit Tortoise.

The apparently surprised beast couldn't pull its head away fast enough before being burnt to a crisp by the torrent of flames. The blaze lasted for several seconds and when it ended, what was left of the Spirit Tortoise's head fell off as the body collapsed to the ground yet again with a thunderous crash. Naofumi and Darius both collapsed to one knee then as their cursed series receded and were replaced by their regular cardinal weapons. "W-What," said the Shield Hero, this time breathing much more heavily than the Armory Hero, "I'm…safe?"

"Master Naofumi," said Raphtalia as she moved to help him up while Rifana did the same for Darius.

"It's my specialty to extract magic from a medium," explained Ost, "normally when I do this with a living subject their life would be in danger. But the power of those cardinal weapons really are bottomless."

"Ost, your hand," said Rifana, noting the burns on the Familiar's right hand and arm.

"You needn't worry," she said, "I'm more than prepared to give my life if necessary to stop the Spirit Tortoise's rampage."

"Doesn't mean we need to be hasty about you dying," said Darius before shifting his gaze to his horned party member, "Izumi, would you mind seeing if you can heal that?" But the blue-haired girl didn't answer. She was staring at him as if she didn't know what to think. "Izumi!" That broke her out of her trance as she moved to start healing Ost's wound.

"Darius," said Rifana, "it's probably best we explain what just happened to Éclair and the others." The Armory Hero noted she and Grilaroc had similar puzzled looks on their faces.

"Okay," he said with a nod, "everyone. What you just saw were abilities Naofumi and I unlocked some time ago known as the Curse Series. The requirements are an explosion of emotion equal to the destruction of one's heart. Their theme appears to be the seven deadly sins and while they are powerful, you can no doubt tell they come at a cost."

"That was indeed the most ominous ki I have ever felt in my life up to this point," said Grilaroc with a nod, "it's amazing such power doesn't drive you mad."

"Not for lack of trying," said Naofumi, "both of us nearly lost it trying to control the Cursed Series and even then there's a corrosion that slowly ebbs away at us. That's why we only ever use it sparingly."

"I..…..never knew cardinal heroes could wield such dark power," said Izumi finally, "is that really you I'm still talking to, Darius?"

"It's me," he assured her with a smile, "still the goof ball you met at the banquet in Siltvelt with fancy bands on his wrists." Izumi giggled inspite of the bad joke.

"Yes, it still is you," she said with a nod, "I guess I just never thought a situation like this-." A sudden shifting of the ground told them something was wrong.

"It can't be," said Éclair as they all turned to see the Spirit Tortoise's body moving again. Like before it was regenerating at an impressive rate. Unlike before, it wasn't utilizing the bats to regenerate and was regrowing its head and limbs right at the point of separation.

"Shit, you gotta be kidding me," said Naofumi as he tried to steady himself on his feet.

"Guess this is why you never piss off the DM," Darius couldn't help but quip as he readied his scythe replica, "you never know when they're gonna turn a mountain into a sentient, world-devastating monster." But just as the Tortoise was about to direct its gaze down at them, the welcome voice from earlier sounded in their heads.

"Forgive my delay," said the voice of Fitoria, "I'd hoped you wouldn't have had to use the Cursed Series."

"SHE'S HERE! SHE'S HERE!" Cheered Filo, flapping her wings up and down despite her exhaustion.

"And forgive me for not intervening sooner," continued Fitoria, "I'd thought the Spirit Tortoise had awoken for the World's sake. But it has, in fact, become an enemy of the world. And that makes it my enemy as well." And there in the distance, approaching swiftly, was Fitoria in her towering Filolial form. This time she was fully ready for battle with a front that resembled that of a spiked train and eyes full of determination. The time for two ancient titans to clash for the fate of the world, had begun.

And the stakes just keep getting higher as Fitoria herself has entered the fray to battle against the Spirit Tortoise! But what is the mysterious energy it's drawing on and who is capable of commanding a sacred beast? At least a couple of those mysteries shall be answered soon, but until then feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as our heroes attempt an even more dangerous infiltration than last time! And be sure to check out my book, Plains Riders, which is now reduced in price to $2.99! 'Til then.