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.

48. The Living Walls of the Beast

The Living Walls of the Beast

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero! Now for those wondering about the lateness of this chapter, well, the local Anime Con was in town, the mild head cold didn't help and I've started doing a little work on another story. So kinda busy I guess is a good way to sum all that up. But it's here now for your enjoyment and, obligatory advertisement, don't forget to check out my Ebook, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Now, with no Review questions this week, let's dive on in!

Desolate Land: A Few Miles from Melromarc

The thing about being a Cardinal Hero was that one often found themselves getting into the middle of fights instead of avoiding them. In this case, however, Darius and Naofumi's parties were more than willing to get out of the way as Fitoria slammed into the Spirit Tortoise, her own massive size actually moving the beast back. 'Is she bigger than before,' noted the Armory Hero as Johann flew him, Rifana, and Izumi away from the center of battle. He'd also managed to scoop up Rishia in his claws, her Filo character costume making the task a little easier.

As for Filo herself, she was carrying Naofumi, Raphtalia, Ost and Éclair while also pulling Grilaroc along with her beak. It was only thanks to Ost's magic that she was able to handle such a load and why Johann wasn't carrying someone else in his claws. Despite this, Naofumi's group was still sent flying as Fitoria increased the power of her chariot weapon, using its giant spinning wheels to actually force the Spirit Tortoise back. "Damn," said Johann, "what do I got to eat to get that big?"

"You can ask Fitoria when we she's done dealing with that thing," replied Darius as they circled around and attempted to stay nearby despite the powerful shockwaves and debris. The Filolial Queen had succeeded in wrestling the Sacred Beast to its knees and was now moving away. The group quickly realized why when she directed some of the 'spikes' of her armored front towards her opponent and fired. "Holy shit she's got artillery too!" Exclaimed Darius as the blast tore multiple gaping holes in the Spirit Tortoise's head.

"So it's really her then," asked Izumi from behind Rifana, "the legendary Fitoria?"

"The one and only," replied the Armory Hero, "and this'll be the second time she's saved our hides."

"All I ask for in return is a hug, maybe two," said Fitoria's voice in Darius's head.

"You can have a dozen if you managed to kill that thing just now," he replied before looking back at his other party members, "I'm not the only one hearing her voice right now, am I?" Before he received an answer, the Spirit Tortoise's body shifted again as its head began to regenerate, and grow two extra heads while it was at it.

"I think we've got bigger problems than voices in your head!" Exclaimed Rishia while flapping her arms in Johann's grip, "why does it have three heads now!" And they were all just as dangerous as the original as they charged up and fired three lightning blasts at the Filolial Queen. Thankfully she could move incredibly fast despite her size and dodged out of the way. It was also thanks to the angle of the Tortoise's attack that it missed the Allied Forces.

"Damn it," said Darius, "I guess it really is like it's familiars. We'll have to destroy its core or whatever passes as a power source on the inside of it."

"Good to know you've already figured things out," said Naofumi as his face appeared in the top right of Darius's vision, "Fitoria's telling us to head inside of it too. We're working on gathering the magic unit now."

"Any idea how in the world we're going to get a force that large on a moving mountain?" Questioned the Armory Hero, "Johann and Filo are already at their carry limit from what I can see."

"I'll take care of that," said Fitoria as the armored chariot she was using suddenly glowed and shot towards them, shrinking and changing shape until it landed near the Allied Forces in the form of a large, royal looking wagon. "Get in, quickly." Darius didn't need to see down there to know everyone was filing into the mystical carriage as quickly as possible. What he did find strange was that his HUD was lightning up like it usually did when identifying a weapon.

'Vassal Carriage,' he read, 'what in the world is that supposed to mean?' He didn't have time to ponder it, though, as Naofumi gave him an update. "We've got the magic unit along with the Queen and Figneria," he informed, "we're heading up to the Spirit Tortoise now."

"Why is the Queen coming along," asked Darius, "don't we need at least one person leading the Allied Forces?"

"She left one of the generals in charge," replied Naofumi, "and she's pretty confident in her successor if things do go south. Truth is we're probably not gonna get another chance after this."

"Fair enough I guess," admitted the Cardinal Hero, "we'll meet you on its back. Let's hope Ost can lead us to the entrance."

Shortly Thereafter: The Back of the Spirit Tortoise

Much like before, it was amazing to think they were on the back of a massive living creature. "It's like being in a forest of giant stone spikes," noted Raphtalia, looking at the alterations that had taken place since their last visit before the beast shook with an impact that was no doubt caused by Fitoria. The group moved closer together to avoid some falling debris caused by one of the spikes breaking.

"Filo," said Naofumi, "tell Fitoria we need her to keep the Tortoise as still as possible."

"I think she's trying but she says it's kind of hard," replied the Filolial before Ost raised her hands in the air.

"Reverse Gravity: Suspend!" She declared as a glow emanated around them, causing several pieces of debris to fall much more slowly. As for the parties and the magic unit itself, they no longer felt the shaking from the impacts the Spirit Tortoise was taking. "Everyone, please stay close to me!"

"I don't think that's gonna be a problem in this giant spike forest," commented Rifana as they all inched a bit closer to the Human Familiar.

"Ost," said Naofumi, "are we close to the entrance that leads inside the Spirit Tortoise?"

"I can't really be certain," she replied, "my sense of direction is better when I'm inside the Tortoise itself." Darius was about to ask what that meant until Figneria picked up movement from the corner of her eye. She barely needed to signal the rest of them before the two parties all moved with their weapons held at the ready.

"My apologies if I startled you," said the newcomer as they stepped into the light and knelt. It turned out to be one of the Queen's Shadows. "I've been needing to move quietly for some time now."

"It's good to see you're alright, Shadow," said the Queen, "I was concerned when your messages stopped coming."

"Your words honor me, your highness," said the Shadow with a bow, "I was continuing my investigation here and believed it best that I not send any more messages unless absolutely necessary. Fortunately, I've managed to discover an entrance and I can guide you there." Everyone nodded in understanding before moving to follow the Shadow into the ruins of Reiki. Darius was slightly surprised that they actually looked even worse than before, but they were able to navigate it without too much difficulty until they arrived at another, smaller temple.

"Guess we really were searching the wrong one," commented the Armory Hero as he looked around at the barely standing structure they were entering.

"If we'd known the Spirit Tortoise could regenerate at the time we never would've left," stated Naofumi, "we won't make that mistake again."

"Then we should be in luck," said the Shadow as they came to a rather large cave entrance, "from what we've gathered, this tunnel likely leads to the Spirit Tortoise's center."

"You don't know for sure whether or not this is the actual path?" Questioned Izumi with a raised eyebrow.

"We've only been able to investigate up to what we assume is the midway point," explained the Shadow, "the Tortoise's familiars have made it near impossible for me or the other Shadows to continue much further than that."

"Have you at least been able to find a map or something that could show the way?" Asked Rishia.

"Nothing like a map, I'm afraid," said the Shadow as she produced a journal and opened up it to reveal several drawings of stone tablets, "but we have been making sketches of things that have caught our attention."

"And it's all written in that 'Japanese' language," observed Rifana, "can you make any of it out, Naofumi?"

"Only bits and pieces," replied the Shield Hero as he took the journal and examined the drawings, "most of these look like they were part of a larger tablet that got reduced to rubble. I can make out the word's 'heart' and 'head', along with the word 'same'."

"Do you know what any of that might mean, Master Naofumi?" Questioned Raphtalia. The Shield Hero didn't answer right away as he stared at the words, trying to make out any others.

"I might have an idea," said Darius, getting everyone's attention, "it might be referring to something like an assured kill."

"'Assured Kill'?" Repeated the Queen, "what do you mean by that, Sir Darius?"

"It's something that's taught to many soldiers and spies in my and Naofumi's worlds," explained the Armory Hero, "one to the head and one to the heart. The body will die already without the brain or the heart to control it, so if you take both out it's basically guaranteed that your enemy is dead."

"But we've already taken out the Spirit Tortoise's head and all that's done is slow it down," Naofumi pointed out.

"And now we're in here to either seal it or destroy its core," said Darius, "but if you think about it, maybe the head and heart are supposed to be destroyed at the same time. I mean, remember Shingeki No Something or Other when that Levi guy cut Reiner's spine at the back of his neck?"

"Yeah, he transferred control of his body to his lower nervous system at the last second and…son of a bitch," said the Shield Hero as he thought it over, "if it really does work like that then maybe-." His statement was interrupted as the cave shook violently, causing some rubble from the ceiling to fall a bit closer than anyone would've liked.

"It seems we'd best be moving onwards," said the Queen as she nodded to her Shadow. The scout nodded in return before leading the way. They encountered several other Shadows waiting for them along the path until they came to another large chamber.

"We've only managed to search this far," said the Shadow as she indicated a fair-sized monster corpse that was the most tortoise-like yet, "there are a large number of familiars further ahead. Please take care."

"Then I suggest we make this location our temporary base," said the Queen, "and we should also break up into squads in order to cover more ground for the investigation."

"We'll take the lead," said Darius, "Figneria. Hate to say it but we'll need you back here to help keep things organized."

"The same goes for Granny and Éclair," said Naofumi, "you all have more experience with this sort of thing. The rest of us will go on ahead and report back as soon as we find something."

"If that is what you wish then I'll fulfil my duty," said Éclair while Grilaroc nodded in understanding.

"Just try not to keep me waiting too long," said Figneria as she quickly pecked Darius on the cheek, "I might actually start to miss you if you do."

"I'll keep that in mind," replied the Armory Hero with a wink before proceeding into the tunnel with the rest of his and Naofumi's party.

"Ost," said the Shield Hero, "I'm counting on your 'intuition' here." The Human Familiar nodded in understanding as they arrived at a three-way split in the tunnels. "Now, which way do we go?" She put her hand to her chin for a moment while concentrating.

"This way I believe," she said before hesitating and shifting to point at the next tunnel, "no, it's probably this way."

"Can't you sense which way we're supposed to be going?" Questioned Naofumi with a raised eyebrow.

"That's actually the problem," said Ost, "I'm sensing far too much right now. There's a strong feeling of regret that's blocking out everything else, almost like the thing that's controlling the Tortoise is getting stronger."

"I might have a theory on why that is," offered Darius, "it would also explain how the Tortoise has so much power despite being in an area that's low in the dragon vein's energy."

"What do you think it is?" Asked Raphtalia with a tilt of her head as everyone else listend intently.

"Earlier when we tried to slow it down, I grabbed it with my Soul Eater Chains," said the University Student, "they're some of the strongest ones I've got right now and they're not vulnerable to lightning but that's beside the point. What is strange is that it started draining energy from the Tortoise."

"What's strange about that?" Questioned Naofumi, "the Soul Eater series is supposed to drain energy."

"Yes, a very specific energy if you recall," said the Armory Hero, "Spirit Points or SP."

"You think the Spirit Tortoise has SP?" Questioned Naofumi, "do you know if that's….no."

"What is it Master?" Questioned Filo with a tilt of her head, "you look kinda pale."

"Ost," said Naofumi as he turned to the Familiar, "earlier today you said your specialty was extracting magic from a medium, right?"

"That is correct," said the Familiar with a nod, "it's one of my more notable skills next to my gravity magic."

"Magic that is possessed by the Spirit Tortoise too," said Naofumi, "you were even able to extract magic from my shield and Darius's arm bands. You said one's life would usually be in danger but in the case of our cardinal weapons-."

"The energy was quite bottomless, according to you," continued Darius as he glanced towards Ost, "what if the Spirit Tortoise is using that same method to make itself stronger?"

"You don't mean," said Rishia as she covered her mouth with her hands, "the other three cardinal weapons, do you?"

"It tracks, unfortunately," said the Shield Hero, "if we think about it for a bit, we haven't been able to find the other three heroes ever since they went off to confront the Spirit Tortoise. They might not have been all that strong themselves, but their cardinal weapons have plenty of energy stored in them. If they're inside the Spirit Tortoise right now with their energy being continually extracted-."

"Then it means the Spirit Tortoise basically has an almost unlimited power source it can pull from as necessary," finished Darius, "and it's pulling more and more to keep up the fight against Fitoria right now."

"If all of that's true, do you think that means the other heroes might be…?" Raphtalia let the question hang in the air.

"Whether they are or not," said Naofumi, "we won't know anything for sure until we find the heart. Rishia, Filo, Johann, you three will take that tunnel over there."

"Okay! Let me at 'em! I'll do my best." Answered the three. Naofumi nodded before pointing to Darius.

"You, Rifana and Izumi can take that tunnel over there," said the Shield Hero, "Raphtalia, Ost and I will take the last one there."

"Be sure to call if you find anything," said Darius as he and his two female companions started down their specified tunnel. The Armory Hero quickly summoned his firestaff to light the area with Rifana assisting by lighting her mace with her own magic. As for Izumi, she seemed able to navigate relatively well even despite the darkness, which raised a question for the Cardinal Hero. "So I've got to ask, are you able to see in the dark using darkness magic?"

"Something like that," replied Izumi, "it's more correct to say that my training has allowed my eyes to adjust more quickly to dark places and shapes are far easier to identify. Though I do still have some trouble in complete pitch blackness."

"We'll find plenty of that in a deep dark cave like this," said Rifana, "I just hope that whatever we're looking for is lit." Darius was about to respond to that when he noticed something odd. 'Huh, was that passage there before?' He moved to check part of the wall where he thought he'd seen the shadows shift. "Hey you two, looks like there's another passage here."

"Good news," said Rifana as she walked down the tunnel slightly further and raised her flaming mace to better illuminate the area, "because it looks like this is a dead end."

"That's strange," said Izumi, "do the tunnels possibly converge some-." She suddenly shifted and pointed her weapon at the new passage they'd found as Darius quickly moved to do the same. Rifana was next to them in only a moment as a figure emerged from the passageway. It was a woman with blonde hair done up in long pigtails on either side of her head and brown leather armor on her front and shoulders that seemed almost a size too big.

"Huh, are you an adventurer?" Questioned Darius as they all lowered their weapons slightly. The Woman's answer to that was to simply nod her head. "Part of the Allied Forces? We didn't have a lot of time to search for survivors at that town because we were racing against the clock." The Adventurer seemed unsure how to answer that at first but a sudden shaking of the Tortoise wound up making their decision for them.

"Maybe we should discuss this back at the camp," said Rifana, "we haven't found much else here but a dead end."

"That certainly sounds like a good idea," said Izumi before quickly whispering in Darius's ear, "let me try something." The Cardinal Hero nodded just the slightest bit for the go ahead before she stepped forward and spoke to the Adventurer then. "Before we go too far, I'm going to cast a quick healing spell. You look a little roughed up." The Adventurer wasn't given time to answer as Izumi raised her naginata and produced a black mist from the blade. "ANTI-REFRACTION!"

She swung her weapon and blasted the adventurer with the mist which quickly dissipated, revealing who they were really dealing with. "Glass!" said Rifana, recognizing the distinctive weapons of the Fan Hero as she and Darius readied their own, "so you and your group are here after all."

"And what have you done to your hair," the Armory Hero couldn't help but point out. And it was noticeable as her hair was now done up in two very long pigtails which hung behind her ears. She'd also altered her outfit with a shirt that had baggy sleeves, wrist-length black gloves, an armored chest piece that led into a thigh length skirt and knee-length armored boots.

"This is why I despise underhanded moves," said Glass as she held up one of her fans, "to think of the trouble we could've saved if we'd just shown ourselves from the start."

"No kidding," said Rifana, "how long have you been back in this world? Better question, why are you inside the Spirit Tortoise right now?"

"You two know this individual?" Said Izumi with a questioning glance in their direction.

"Glass was one of the four people from another world we fought in the last Wave," explained Darius, "she and her friends, Kizuna, L'arc and Therese, tend to show up shortly before or during the Waves."

"So she's an enemy of the Armory Hero," said Izumi as she deepened her stance, "that is all I need to know."

"Found another loyal companion I see," said Glass as she unfolded her fans, "but I'm afraid I don't have time to get acquainted or reacquainted with any of you at the moment."

"Then why not give us a few answers as to what's going on here," said the Armory Hero as he hefted the recently summoned Raisetsu Arashi, "because we've actually got our own situation to deal with at the moment too." If Glass was going to give them an answer, she never got the chance. Before any of them could make a move, the walls started churning and shifting as several eyes suddenly appeared around them. Next, a mass of what could only be described as rocks with one eye and four spindly legs dropped down on top of them.

The trio reacted by swinging their weapons in all directions, careful to avoid each other as they quickly carved through the new arrivals. Eyes and legs went flying for several seconds before the new familiars suddenly turned and retreated. "What in the world were those things?" Questioned Rifana, catching her breath as Darius knelt down to pick up one of the 'eyes'.

"Whatever they were, they helped the woman called Glass escape," Izumi pointed out, casting her Anti-Refraction spell one more time to make sure their foe wasn't still in the area.

"Maybe," said the Armory Hero as he put the material in the jewel of his left band, "or maybe they were reacting to her specifically. Either way it doesn't change the fact that she's not our top priority right now." The information on the monster material came up then and scrolled across his HUD. "Hmm, so there are Mimic Familiars too, outstanding."

"Are you sure that woman and her group aren't the ones responsible for the Spirit Tortoise's rampage?" Questioned Izumi.

"It's unlikely," said Rifana, "in our last battle with them L'arc and Therese at least went out of their way to avoid casualties. Therese even put out the fires she started once she was sure no one else could interfere. Their only goal is to take out Naofumi and Darius along with the rest of the cardinal heroes of this world. A destructive monster like the Spirit Tortoise would make it near impossible to avoid casualties."

"So they are honorable warriors," said Izumi with a nod, "then perhaps there is another matter aboard the Spirit Tortoise that they are attempting to deal with."

"It's always possible they're trying to stop the Tortoise themselves," said Darius, "but whatever the case, we'd best get back to the others and compare notes. We still need to find that heart." His two companions were in agreement as they turned and headed back where they came. It didn't take long for them to retrace their steps and they wound up exiting the tunnel at about the same time as Naofumi's group.

"Master's back! Hey Boss!" Exclaimed Johann and Filo happily as their two owners and other friends emerged.

"Hey," said Naofumi, "did you or anyone else happen to meet any adventurers coming out this way?"

"We didn't encounter anyone on our way back or while waiting for you to return," informed Rishia.

"So you guys encountered L'arc or some of his other friends then?" Questioned Darius.

"L'arc and Therese," affirmed Naofumi, "they tried slipping past us disguised as adventurers, but Raphtalia sniffed them out and dispelled it. They got away once the walls came to life with Familiars though."

"About the same story here," said the Cardinal Hero, "we ran into Glass and she got away when the walls started sprouting those Familiars."

"Great, just one more problem we have to deal with," said the Shield Hero, "for now, let's get back and go over what we've learned. We might find something we missed once we got a map of this place drawn up." Everyone nodded in understanding as they proceeded back to where the Queen and the magic unit had set up the temporary base and reported their findings to the Shadows. In just a few minutes they managed to draw up a crude map that showed several branching paths, all of which were dead ends.

"This doesn't make any sense," said Rifana, "L'arc's group had to come from somewhere beyond those dead ends and with Rishia's group getting back first they should've run into them."

"It's highly likely the mimics you encountered are hiding and shifting passages in order to confuse us," suggested the Shadow.

"Wonderful," said Darius before looking down at Johann, "can you or Filo pick up anything off about the Familiars in comparison to the rest of the caverns, like a difference in smell?"

"Everything smells like a Familiar in here," said Johann, "all I can tell you is what smells more like a Familiar and what doesn't. Betcha the story's the same for Filo."

"But that might not be a bad thing," said Naofumi as he thought for a moment, "Filo, where in here do you feel the strongest presence of the Familiars?" The Filolial answered by sniffing the air as she slowly walked around the cave until stopping at a specific spot on the floor.

"I'd say, here, maybe," stated Filo as she rubbed her foot on the spot, "the presence seems a little bit stronger."

"The feeling of it is different too," noted Johann as he got down and tested it with his hand, "it's more flesh-like. Wonder if it tastes any good?"

"Don't even think about it," said Darius, "the last thing we need is you puking Familiar parts all over the place."

"And I've got a better idea anyway," said Naofumi as he produced a vial from his waist, "pour this on that exact spot, but don't let any of it get on you. It's a strong acidic liquid after all, so if my guess is right then-."

"Naofumi!" Exclaimed Raphtalia as she caught sight of a familiar scythe heading right for the Shield Hero's head. Fortunately, he was able to bring his shield up in time and block the strike before it could hit his neck.

"L'arc?" Said the Surprised Shield Hero as he whirled around, "where did you come from?" But the Scythe Hero didn't seem to want to talk and neither did the suddenly appearing Glass, Therese and even Kizuna. Strangely, Kizuna went straight for Darius as the Armory Hero produced Ren's cardinal sword to block her attack. Rifana and Raphtalia intercepted Glass and Therese with the former blocking the Fan Wielder's attack while the latter forced the Gem Wielder back with several skillful swings of her mace.

"Naofumi," said Darius as he parried Kizuna's attacks, "I'm not getting a read on any of their weapons. Instead I'm picking up-."

"Mimics," confirmed Raphtalia as she crossed weapons with 'Glass', "these are fakes we're fighting."

"Then let's deal with them," said Izumi as she leapt into the fray and summoned a burst of water to counter the blast of blue flame being used by the Therese Mimic. Rifana took this as her opportunity to get in close and slam her mace into the Fake's head with a full force strike, crushing it. Éclair joined Raphtalia in pushing back the Glass Mimic before they swatted her weapons aside and slashed her across the stomach with their blades.

Darius continued to trade blows with the Kizuna mimic, switching to a replica of the real Hunting Hero's sword partway through. "Heads up Darius!" Exclaimed Rishia as she opened a hole in the ground to trip up the Mimic. It was only for a second but that was more than enough for the Armory Hero to summon his mask and rush forward with an attack.

"Blood Flower Strike!" He proclaimed as he slashed through the mimic with the copied technique, leaving little more than sliced up chunks in his wake.

"Filo, throw that liquid at the L'arc mimic!" Ordered Naofumi as he deflected the incoming attacks. Had this been the real Scythe Hero he might've been in trouble but since it wasn't his shield was holding up fine against the onslaught as Filo leapt in and threw the bottle of acid at the disguised monster. An inhuman screech followed as 'L'arc's' form melted and changed to that of the mimic which was a much larger version of the ones they'd encountered in the cave. "Now use this one and throw it on the spot from earlier!"

Filo caught the next vial he threw and broke it on the floor. Once again there was screeching as the floor bent and twisted to reveal another Mimic which quickly collapsed and died from the acidic liquid. "Hmm, that explains a lot," said Figneria as she and everyone else moved to look at the now revealed stairway that led downwards into the Tortoise, "not only L'arc's group or the walls but even the floors had Mimics on them."

"Most excellent work, all of you," complimented the Queen, "now let's clean up here and work on getting a team down those stairs." Her statement was met with a series of affirmatives as they got to work taking out whatever Mimics remained.

A Few Minutes Later: Stairway to the Heart

It was quickly decided that the exploration team from earlier would scout ahead and report their findings to the Queen's group as they'd done before. Rishia didn't go with them this time as she was staying behind to help some of the wounded from the battle with the Mimics. Figneria was a little disappointed that she still didn't get to go but acknowledged that her leadership abilities would be needed for keeping the magic unit organized along with Éclair and Grilaroc. And so, Darius and Naofumi's parties ventured deeper and deeper into the Spirit Tortoise via the stairway as their surroundings became even more flesh-like.

"Master Naofumi," said Raphtalia as she looked around at the now slimy walls.

"Yeah," said the Shield Hero in agreement with her silent thought, "we're probably deep inside the Spirit Tortoise now."

"It's just like the inside of Filo's mouth," said the winged girl happily as she felt some of the fleshy protrusions while getting her hands absolutely covered in whatever slime or saliva was present.

"Don't you dare touch me with those hands," said Johann as he quickly retreated to the other side of Darius.

"Ah, but its so warm and sticky," said Filo with a smile as she held her hands up.

"All the more reason for you to get it off your hands," said Naofumi, "you'll need them for when we encounter trouble." And they did encounter trouble a couple times in the form of more Mimics which were, fortunately, dispatched with little trouble. It was shortly after that when the group encountered something really worthy of note.

"What in the world," said Rifana as they stopped in front of the large fixture which seemed to be fused with the fleshy walls, "how did a dragon hourglass wind up in here?"

"And the sand running through it is blue," noted Raphtalia as she took a closer look.

"It is the vessel which is used to collect souls," explained Ost, "all those who are sacrificed by the Tortoise have their souls stored here in the form of sand. When it fills a barrier is cast which will protect the world from the Waves, or at least it was supposed to."

"But there isn't a lot of sand in here," said Naofumi as he noted only a few feet above the bottom of the hourglass was filled, "which lends more credence to our earlier theory. It's drawing energy from a different power source, likely the other three cardinal weapons."

"Ost," said Raphtalia suddenly as she noted steam coming from the Familiar, "what's happening to your arm?"

"It appears to be healing the remainder of the damage," replied the Human Familiar as she looked at her hand. Izumi had healed most of the damage with her magic earlier, but some scarring had remained due to the effects of the Cursed Series. But even that was gone now. "This is proof that we're getting close to the heart. I'm receiving more of the Spirit Tortoise's power, so let us be off." She quickly led them to another one of the fleshy walls where she raised her hand.

It opened in response to her silent command as the sound of powerful thumping like the beat of a slow drum filled the air. An eye seemed to appear from the darkness then before lighting up. "MOVE!" Exclaimed Darius as the two parties leapt out of the way just in time to avoid a heat ray which charred the wall behind them.

"Everyone alright over there?!" Yelled Johann and got a round of affirmatives in return.

"Guess there's no mistaking it," said Naofumi as everyone regrouped to get a good look at the pulsing artery before them, "we've reached the Spirit Tortoise's heart."

And it looks like that heart isn't going down without a fight, will our heroes be up for it? We'll just have to find out in the next chapter. In the meantime, 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 the Allied Forces fight their way through a literal heart in order to reach the true heart of the matter, and be sure to check out my Ebook, Plains Riders, on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! 'Til then.