Night Raid on the Dragon's Hourglass

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero! Now first off, I have a couple of announcements to make. For those who don't know I'm taking a little time off of my 'New Crusade IF' side stories to focus a little more on my three main stories. One of them shall be done, hopefully, within the next few weeks and that should free up my writing schedule from there, but we'll have to see. Also, redfang19 is looking for some writers, or at least a writer, to do a collaborative work on a One Piece x Yugioh GX crossover, so send him a message if that might interest you. and naturally there's my obligatory advertisement: check out my book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! Now I've prattled on long enough and with no review questions this week, let's dive on in!

The Capital of Mikakage: Local Weapon's Shop

"So the other countries of this world are against each other even despite the Waves," said Darius as he stood outside with Kizuna. Naofumi and Rishia were currently inside buying armor and equipment for themselves, along with using the changing rooms. It hadn't taken Darius as long thanks to his stop at the village where he fought off the bandits. All he really needed was to swap out and sell some of his armor for better quality armor along with trading and buying a few weapons. And thanks to his inventory ability, changing into the new stuff took no time at all.

This meant he was the first one out and since Kizuna didn't need any new equipment, the Hunting Hero had spent some time getting the Armory Hero up to speed. "It's because of the advantages given by the holy weapons," explained Kizuna, "they make for powerful military tools so Vassal weapon heroes are sometimes targeted for them, creating all kinds of international incidents and suspicion. What's more annoying, though, is that the other current Holy heroes really don't seem to want to fight the Waves so there's been no real effort towards unity."

"I'm starting to wonder if Cardinal and holy weapons only have one good judge of character among them out of the four," Darius mused aloud, "you met the other three heroes of our world and, well, their lack of ability is pretty self-explanatory."

"Well the good news about that is I don't plan on fighting you again anytime soon," assured Kizuna, "even if my weapon could hurt you I'd still like to know more about how all of this ties together. The weapons, the Waves, the ones who came before. There are just a lot of things that don't add up." Darius nodded and was about to reply to that when Naofumi and Rishia came walking out of the shop.

"Alright," said the Shield Hero, "we're all set here." And he certainly looked it. His civilian outfit and low-grade armor he'd been forced to wear had been replaced with blue samurai greaves over his ankles along with armor plating around his waist. It was held in place by a large obi belt which was green and yellow and it also covered the new dark blue armor plate he had on over his white, long-sleeved shirt. His wrists were covered in a similar armor which left his fingers exposed. Tying all of this together was a green cape which went around his shoulders and reached below his waist.

Rishia also looked better prepared with black armor covering her waist and wrists while also wearing a seemingly kimono-like version of her original outfit underneath the armor. She also had a large obi belt with a blue sash tied around her waist. She'd also chosen a kodachi with a black and green handle for her weapon. "Nice, you both look great!" Said Kizuna as she happily clapped her hands together.

"Are you sure you don't need any new items," asked Naofumi, "that haori of yours is a mess."

"Oh, Glass gave this to me," explained Kizuna as she examined the dark blue coat's condition, "so I'd rather keep it if I can."

"Oh, I see," said Naofumi with a slightly embarrassed look, "sorry about that?"

"Uh, Naofumi," said Rishia, clearly trying to cheer him up, "how do I look in my outfit?"

"Oh, you look good Rishia, like a ninja girl," he replied with a slightly more upbeat expression.

"Thanks, but what's a ninja girl?" Asked the Green-haired Princess.

"We'll explain on the way," said Darius, "right now we should probably keep moving and buy that pass."

"Agreed," said Naofumi, "we'll leave first thing in the morning. In the meantime, I believe we promised to catch up a bit."

Nighttime: Local Inn

"The Infinite Labyrinth," mused Darius as his friends finished their explanation on what had happened to them after entering Glass's world, "clearly Kyo wanted us all trapped or separated in some form or another. Though why call something an 'Infinite Labyrinth' when it's clearly an other-dimensional island with a finite amount of space?"

"Haven't the slightest idea," replied Kizuna, "Infinite Labyrinth is just what they decided to call the place. I'm more surprised by the time difference there in comparison to here. I must've been trapped in there for at least a couple years but only a few weeks have passed out here."

"Makes me wonder how slow or fast time might be moving back in our world," mused Naofumi, "but we'll have to worry about that later. What I'm more curious about is how you managed to shake that tail you picked up before getting here, Darius."

"I'm actually a little curious about that myself," said Rishia, "you mentioned running into a powerful adventurer on the way to the Inn but weren't able to go into detail at the time."

"We were in a bit of a hurry," Darius pointed out, "but yeah I ran into a samurai girl called Yomogi Emarl. Like Kizuna helped you guys out at the Infinite Labyrinth, Yomogi helped me get to the capital." The Armory Hero went on to explain his first meeting with the green-haired Swordswoman along with the important parts of their journey to the city. Though the freshest memory of her in his mind was when he had to get her to leave.

Capital of Mikakage: Earlier That Day

"Vagabond Association," said Darius, more than a little confused why someone would select such a title for an organization.

"You heard correctly, a Vagabond Association," replied Yomogi, "it's a place where adventurers go for supplies, jobs, forming parties and, what will be most helpful in this case, information." 'Like an adventurer's guild,' mused the Armory Hero, just stopping himself from saying it out loud. While Yomogi had proven herself trustworthy enough he didn't want to let anything slip about his otherworld status in such a crowded place. Instead, he voiced the other thought on his mind.

"Well if they happen to have any information on my friends then it'll be worth the visit," said Darius, "would you happen to know where one of these associations are?"

"They're usually not too far from the main road of the town or city they happen to be in," replied Yomogi, "it's more convenient that way because they have a lot of people coming and going."

"Makes sense," said the Armory Hero, "still, you're the only one out of the two of us who knows what one looks like, so lead the way."

"Of course, just follow me," said Yomogi as she picked up her pace a little. Darius matched her and the two weaved through the crowd for several minutes. They wound up walking about three blocks before arriving at a building that resembled a large, two-story Japanese house but its doors were open and all around it were bulletin boards detailing everything, Darius assumed, from news to bounties and even requests for adventurers. A large line was also present with adventurers of all shapes and sizes that led out a door on the far left of the building.

The reason for said line appeared to be because of a device that stood easily twelve feet tall and seven feet wide within the building. The top of it resembled an extra-large gyroscope with numerous turning gears underneath it. The whole assembly was held up by a four-legged wooden frame. "What in the world is that supposed to be?" Asked Darius, more than a little curious about the device that was catching the eye of so many adventurers.

"Oh, that device is used to queue for weapons and items," explained Yomogi, "I'm not really sure how it works but I know it was designed by the Jewel People to reproduce the crafting ability of the Holy and Vassal weapons. Unlike the Holy weapons, however, you can't choose what you get when you queue for a drop and even if you get something good it's not as high quality as something produced by a Holy or Vassal weapon."

"Can't say I'm surprised," replied Darius, "I've got more than a little experience in comparing replicas to the real thing."

"So you've told me," said Yomogi, "but we won't really be needing that device right now, anyway. We both have access to higher quality weapons if we need them, so it's best that we continue with what we came here for."

"You're gonna have to take the lead on that too," the Cardinal Hero pointed out with a sigh, "I still can't read well enough to understand any of the bulletins."

"No need to worry," said Yomogi, "we can split up for this part. I'll read the bulletins and you can go in and try to ask one of the desk clerks if they've seen your friends." Darius nodded in agreement before heading inside where the other adventurers were gathered. The interior of the building was also relatively Japanese with round red lanterns adorning numerous places around the room. There was a large area filled with tables where other adventurers were no doubt discussing contracts, items, moneymaking opportunities or simply swapping stories.

The desk clerks he was looking for, though, were all behind large wooden desks which had wooden barricades erected around them, much like a very old-style movie theater. 'Guess they do get the occasional rowdy customer,' surmised Darius as he noted the kimono wearing desk ladies were not unattractive. Something that didn't help the current line move any faster as he got behind a tall Grass adventurer in red armor. To keep from getting too bored, and deciding it was safer with Yomogi not around, Darius brought up and activated the communication feature on his HUD.

He couldn't honestly say he expected it to work as it had proven ineffective the last few times he'd tried using it, which was why he had to stop himself from almost yelling out in surprise when he got an actual response. "Darius," said the slightly distorted voice of Naofumi as his face actually appeared in the upper righthand corner of his vision, "Darius is that you?"

"Naofumi, you can hear me," said the Armory Hero, drawing a strange look from the Grass Adventurer in front of him as well as a raised eyebrow from a female Jewel woman behind him.

"I can hear you well enough," said the Shield Hero, "where in the world are you right now?"

"Currently," said Darius as he excused himself from the line and moved to one of the tables in the back corner of the reception area. He decided to discreetly summon some of his gear and pretend like he was examining it so that his hunching over the table wouldn't draw any suspicion. "I'm in the capital city of Mikakage in a building run by one of the Vagabond Associations. I was looking for information on you guys but it looks like that won't be necessary now."

"Don't get your hopes up yet," said Naofumi, "it's just me, Rishia, and Kizuna right now. I haven't been able to find any leads on Raphtalia or Filo so far but we've been kinda busy trying not to die or get captured."

"If I heard right you just said Kizuna was with you," observed Darius, "you'll have to tell me how that happened. Though I'm not in the best way myself right now. I haven't been able to locate any information on Rifana or Johann so far. The one good bit of luck I've had was running into one of the locals, a samurai girl who's been helping me out."

"Samurai girl," repeated the Shield Hero in slight confusion, "don't tell me you accidentally won another wife in a bout."

"It's not like that," said Darius in a slight groan, "I've only had that happen one time so far and I doubt they got anyone celebrating the Armory Hero here. Though I should mention she's one of those warrior of justice types, the overly eager kind who can be a bit gullible on occasion."

"If that's the case then, as much as you hate me saying it, you're gonna have to ditch her," informed Naofumi.

"You make it sound simple," quipped the Armory Hero, "I can't just up and disappear on her, she might come looking for me. And besides I'm certain she'd be able to help us if we explained the situation to her."

"I doubt it," said Naofumi, "I'm not sure if you've been able to read the news on any of the bulletin boards, but we've been mentioned. And not in a good way."

"Do they know the apparent enemies of their world are here?" Asked Darius.

"Not entirely," replied the Shield Hero, "Rishia and I were sent to a special prison by Kyo's trap and that's where we met Kizuna. Not only are we wanted for breaking out of there, but Kizuna is considered an enemy of this country. If there's even a chance this friend of yours might recognize her and turns on us who knows what might happen."

"You're not wrong," admitted Darius, "I've seen how Yomogi delivers divine punishment on wrongdoers. And she's strong, probably stronger than any of us can take on conventionally right now."

"All the more reason to make up an excuse and get away from her," said Naofumi, "now the three of us are getting ready to do an auction. Look for a crowd of spirit people near the outskirts of the marketplace. If you see three individuals in masks selling Soul Healing Water, then you've found us."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," said Darius, "first thing's first, gonna have to break some news to someone." The connection closed then as the Armory Hero stored the gear he'd been pretending to work on and headed out the door. It would turn out to be none too soon as Yomogi was just heading in.

"Ah, there you are Duo," she said while holding up one of the bulletins, "I wasn't able to find any leads on your friends, but I did find this." She held up a poster of sorts with three pictures crudely drawn on it. Yet even despite the crudeness of the drawings the Armory Hero could make out who they were: Glass, L'arc and Raphtalia. "It looks like I've finally got a lead on the ones who may've been responsible for hurting my friend!"

"That's, uh, wonderful news," Darius managed to say, "now you might be able to capture them and get some answers on why they did what they did."

"I have no intention of capturing these criminals," said Yomogi as a frown crossed her face, "first I'm going to get some answers out of them and see if they really were the ones who hurt my friend. And if they are, I intend to deliver divine punishment on them."

"I kinda figured you say that," the Cardinal Hero muttered under his breath before coming up with an idea of sorts, "Does that bulletin say where they are?"

"It says these three were spotted in the country of Label," replied Yomogi, "Apparently they broke out of a prison and are currently on the loose. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any more information than that."

"Then maybe you should head back to your friend," suggested Darius, "perhaps he's recovered enough to give you more than a vague description of his attackers."

"That is a good idea," agreed Yomogi, "though I'm not sure if he'd allow me to bring you to his residence. I'd probably have to put you through security screening which, from what I hear, isn't the most pleasant thing in the world."

"No need to worry about that," said the Armory Hero, "I won't be heading there right now anyway."

"What do you mean," said Yomogi in slight confusion, "my friend might be able to help you locate your friends. He's got a good network that lets him keep up with the happenings in the outside world. He said it was good to have given how much time he spends in his lab."

"I don't doubt it," said Darius with a nod, "but I actually did manage to find a lead while I was in the Vagabond Association."

"That's wonderful news," said Yomogi, "but why do you still look unhappy about it?"

"Well I've come to a decision of sorts," replied the University Student, "first, understand that your help has been invaluable in getting me all the way here and I won't forget that. Thanks to you I was able to find this lead and I should be able to find my friends now. Which is why I think I should stop keeping you from your friend."

"Are you saying, this is where we should part ways?" Asked Yomogi with a mixture of confusion and possibly disappointment in her voice.

"It's not my favorite idea," admitted Darius, "but you were already on a mission of your own before you met me. My friends and are gonna have a lot to do once we meet back up again like trying to figure out how to get back home. I know you'll say your friend can probably help but there's no telling when he'll be fully recovered and I don't want to put that burden on him or you. So yeah, it's probably best that the two of us part ways here."

"You are right in a number of the things you say," admitted Yomogi sadly before getting a more determined look on her face, "but it's really no problem, I'm more than willing to keep lending a hand if you need it!"

"You've done way more than enough," said Darius as he held out his hand, "so how about this, I'll leave you with a parting gift. Could I borrow your sword for a moment?" The Green-haired Samurai still looked unsure but did as requested, drawing her sword from her sheath and handing it to the Armory Hero. Darius then quickly went through his menu until he found the compatible materials he was looking for.

'I was going to use some of these later but I've already got a couple weapons with this type of attack,' he thought to himself before inputting the command to apply changes. Like with all the weapons he modified, the sword glowed white for a second before revealing its altered appearance. It was a bit simpler this time around, though, with the blade now appearing to have blue lightning bolts running through it. "You mentioned bringing divine punishment down on evildoers," said Darius as he handed the blade back to her, "I've just given this sword material from a lightning monster or two I've run into in the past. Now you'll be able to imbue it with mana to perform lightning attacks of your own."

"Are you, really sure you want to give this to me," she asked after examining the blade for a few moments.

"Consider it my way of saying thanks," replied the Armory Hero, "now you should be able to help even more people with your skills. And I feel like I should do something since I know it seems like I'm running out on you all of a sudden."

"It is admittedly a bit strange," said Yomogi, "truthfully we've only known each other for a couple of days but it's still kind of sad for me to see you go. But I'll respect your decision and carry your feelings with me into battle with this blade. So farewell, Duo Yamato, and take care."

"Same to you," said Darius as the two of them shook hands. The Armory Hero departed the Vagabond Association then, glancing back once to wave at the Green-haired Swordswoman before heading around a corner and out of sight. 'Good luck on wherever life takes you next, Yomogi,' he thought before summoning a shade hat and brown cloak while walking down a short alley, 'as for me, the real work is about to begin.'

End Flashback

"That certainly explains how you were able to find us," said Kizuna, "I didn't know Cardinal Heroes could communicate with each other over long distances."

"It works in our world," said Darius, "but it seems to be a bit more limited here. Probably has something to do with how magic works a little differently in this land."

"You got me," said Kizuna with a shrug, "but however you found us I'm glad you're here. We've been needing another offensive player to take some of the burden off Rishia since I'm a little handicapped and Naofumi's defense oriented."

"It's still something of a shame that you couldn't bring your new friend along," said Rishia, "she probably could've been a big help to us."

"I doubt it," said Naofumi as he held up the wanted poster from earlier, "according to Darius that Swordswoman had a pretty black and white view of the world. The moment she learned that we're counted as criminals in this country, and apparent enemies of this world in most cases, she'd have turned on us. He did the right thing by not bringing her here."

"She did talk of divine punishment a couple of times," said Darius in reminder, "speaking of friends, what's the plan for finding the rest of ours?"

"Pretty straightforward, actually," said Kizuna, "tomorrow we're gonna be scouting out the Dragon Hourglass which sits close to the center of the capital. As you've heard I'm about as welcome in this country as you guys are so we'll need a plan before we head in. But long story short, if we're able to reach the hourglass then I can use one of my skills exclusive to this world: 'Return Dragon Vein'."

"I'm guessing that's some type of teleportation ability," noted the Armory Hero.

"Yep," affirmed the Hunting Hero, "Return Dragon Vein allows a Holy or Vassal Weapon wielder to teleport from one Dragon Hourglass to any other Dragon Hourglass so long as they've visited it before. In our case, we'll be heading for Sikul, the country that summoned me."

"Do you think they'll give the enemies of their world a warm reception," questioned Naofumi, skeptical as always.

"Don't worry about that," assured Kizuna with a wave of her hand, "I'll vouch for all of you. Enemy or not they should be grateful that you helped their Holy Hero return safely."

"And if we explain the situation with Kyo," added Rishia, "they might be willing to help us."

"You got it," said Kizuna, "I've also got a friend in Sikul who's good at finding people, so however you slice it our best move right now is getting there."

"It's a plan at least," admitted Naofumi, "alright then, we'll set out for the Dragon's Hourglass tomorrow and make preparations for getting to Sikul. So for now, let's get some sleep."

The Next Day: Near the Temple of the Hourglass

As one might expect, the closer one got to the center of the capital the larger and more ornate the buildings became and the larger the crowd got as well. Despite that, the group of four was still able to make good time in getting to their destination. Expectedly, the structure housing the hourglass was a large, temple-like building with a central part that rose a couple stories into the air. If they hadn't known any better, the three from other worlds would've thought it to be a type of large Japanese temple or Feudal-style mansion.

But it wasn't the temple's size or resemblance to Japanese architecture that drew their attention when they arrived, but the large number of guards and people who were currently present. "So you mentioned yesterday that people used this hourglass for its item drop system," whispered Darius, "but I don't see anything resembling a regular line happening here." Indeed it looked more like a red carpet event with people crowded on either side of a stone pathway that was lined with guards. Though they didn't seem that intimidating right off the bat because despite their black samurai armor worn over white undershirts, their weapons were staffs with metal weights on either side and their 'helmets' more closely resembled small black buckets than actual protective head gear.

"It's possible word's gotten out about me escaping the labyrinth," Kizuna whispered back, "something's definitely off right now."

"But they don't seem to be looking for us," noted Naofumi as they walked up to the back of the crowd. "Excuse me, is there something going on today?"

"You haven't heard," replied one of the civilians, a man with short hair and a green hakama, "a genius mage from another country is said to have developed a way to use Return Dragon Vein. That's supposed to be something that only Holy and Vassal Heroes can do. Word has it they're performing an experiment and should be arriving here at any time."

"Oh, so this is where that was taking place," said Darius, remembering Yomogi had mentioned something about a genius during their travels.

"Guess it wasn't just gossip after all," added Kizuna before looking around and lowering her voice, "wait a minute, you don't think?"

"It's very possible," said Naofumi, "keep your hands near your weapons, just in case." The other three nodded in understanding as some kind of light shined faintly from inside the temple. Shortly after that, three figures emerged from the entrance to the temple, prompting an astonished reaction from the crowd. Two of the figures were women, one with long black hair in a long ponytail while the other had brown hair tied in a pair of pigtails on either side of her head.

They wore identical blue and white samurai robes with blue vests and black armor covering their chests. Each one possessed a spear, marking them clearly as bodyguards for the third arrival, the so-called genius. He had long blue hair which hung in a loose ponytail over his left shoulder and his outfit consisted of what Darius, Naofumi and Kizuna could only describe as a black, long-sleeved, Japanese school uniform with long pants. He also wore a large black cape with an extremely furry collar.

The Armory and Shield Heroes took an immediate dislike to the man as his eyes and facial expressions gave away the fact that he was probably an arrogant prick. The one good thing they could tell about this guy, so far, was that at least he wasn't who they thought he was. "So that's not Kyo," affirmed Rishia in both relief and disappointment.

"I think I heard a couple people call him 'Kazuki'," offered Kizuna as the man went marching down the stone walkway with his bodyguards and an older man who must be the one responsible for running the temple.

"He still seems just as nasty," said Naofumi, "like a Trash #2 or Kyo #2."

"Well the good news is now we know why security's so tight," said Kizuna, "with luck it should get a bit more lax after he leaves."

"Guess this means the plan's about the same," said Darius, "so let's get to scoping."

Nighttime: Just outside the Temple of the Dragon Hourglass

"It's been a long time since I've seen snow like this," said Rishia as they all peered out at the wall surrounding the temple. They were currently sheltered under a large awning behind some barrels, though they did little to shield them from the wind or snow.

"Makes me almost miss skiing," quipped Darius, "too bad the conditions aren't snowball friendly anymore." In truth the blizzard had come up quite suddenly. Snow had started falling while they were at the temple and had quickly covered the streets before they got back to the Inn they were using as a temporary base. It turned out that Kizuna really loved snow and couldn't resist starting a snowball fight with Rishia, Darius and eventually even Naofumi, despite his objections.

Alas, even if they'd had time to keep playing around the snowfall had continued to pick up along with the wind. By the time they'd gotten settled at the Inn it had become a blizzard. It made the return trip to the temple a lot less pleasant and limited their visibility of the area around the wall. However, it did provide one thing to them and that was lower security around the Dragon's Hourglass. It seemed not even the guards wanted to patrol the grounds around the temple when it was snowing like crazy at night and had decided to simply close the outer gate to prevent regular bystanders from getting in.

With that in mind, the group took a quick check to make sure the coast was clear before advancing forward. Wanting to draw as little attention as possible, Darius had to forego the use of his portals and instead used a replica of Kizuna's fishing pole alongside the Hunting Hero's own pole to cast a pair of lines over the wall like grappling hooks. They used the fishing lines to scale the walls in short order before dropping into the courtyard and quickly hurried through the front entrance. It would turn out that not only did the outside resemble that of a Japanese mansion but the inside did as well with numerous sliding doors forming a maze all throughout the complex.

The group of four quietly moved through the temple, taking one turn and then another as they followed Kizuna's lead. So far they'd been lucky and hadn't encountered any guards, but Darius still had his sea serpent's whip out, just in case. "Are we about there," Rishia whispered as they turned another corner.

"The layout of this place is similar to the ones back in Sikul," replied Kizuna as she stopped in front of a pair of sliding doors, "so the dragon hourglass should be right here." She gripped the doors then and slid them open, to reveal a solid stone wall. "What in the world?! What's this doing here?!" A bright light suddenly shown through the paper windows behind them as the sound of several running feet could suddenly be heard coming from the corridors.

"There they are! Intruders!" Exclaimed some of the guards as they came around the corners of both hallways and moved to box them in.

"I should've known this was too easy," said Naofumi as they all readied their weapons.

"Naofumi," said Darius as he summoned a replica of Motoyasu's spear, "try and keep them from following us. I'll work on cutting a path through, AIRSTRIKE JAVELIN!" He quickly threw the spear then which sent several of the guards either flying or moving out of the way. It was a good enough opening as the Armory Hero summoned his Whirlwind Warhammer and led the charge through the disoriented guards on one side.

They didn't stay that way for long, however, as the guards regrouped and attempted to run after them. "Airstrike Shield!" Declared Naofumi as his signature green shield appeared behind them, stopping the troop of guards from pursuing them temporarily.

"This way," said Kizuna as she ran ahead and opened a random pair of doors. This time it was a room instead of a solid stone wall which might've been for either guests or the guards, not that they had time to wonder as they were already running through the next pair of double doors. This happened a couple more times before they came to another stone wall.

"Not here," said the Shield Hero as they took the next turn and ran into a group of guards. But Kizuna was a step ahead this time as she changed her weapon into its sword form and leapt up, jumping off the lead guard's head before slicing into the ceiling above. Debris rained down from the hole she made and scattered the guards, allowing the heroes and Rishia to run past them and into the next hallway. This game of cat and mouse would continue for some time as they raced through the mansion, eventually exiting into an outside section with multiple wooden walkways.

"Quickly, hide," said Naofumi as they all leapt over the railing and hid under the boards. The blizzard was still going outside as the guards came rushing out, so they didn't clearly see them jump off and ran past their location.

"Well this got annoying fast," said Darius as he peered out from their hiding place beneath the walkway. The space beneath it wasn't huge but it was more than enough room for them to hide under so long as they were crouching. It's position also concealed them quite well as even looking over the railing the guards wouldn't be able to see them easily. "We're probably gonna have to crank things up a notch if we intend to get anywhere tonight."

"I might have a plan for that," said Kizuna, "but we're going to have to split up to make it work."

"What did you have in mind," asked Naofumi, "and please don't say busting through with brute force. Even if we start smashing through walls, we still need to find the hourglass."

"Since we haven't found it by running in circles there's only one place it could be," said Kizuna, "the center of this mansion. So here's what we're going to do." The Hunting Hero quickly laid out her plan as the other three listened intently. All things considered it was pretty simplistic but still took advantage of the trap they'd found themselves in.

"Sounds like a good time to me," said Darius as he summoned replicas of Glass's fans, "what about you, Naofumi, any objections?"

"Only if we get ourselves caught," replied the Shield Hero, "and Rishia, you and Kizuna remember to be careful on your end of things."

"We will, roger that," the two girls replied before Naofumi and Darius moved out from under the walkway and pulled themselves back over the railing. They'd only been up there a few seconds when the sound of guards yelling was heard.

"Well that didn't take long," said the Armory Hero as he readied his fans, "you up for more running?"

"Just remember to make a lot of noise," replied the Shield Hero as he stood back.

"That won't be a problem," said Darius, "Zero Stance Rondo: Reverse Four Seasons!" He unleashed the signature white energy blades from the fans then, slicing up the walkways at several points. They collapsed just as the guards were getting close, cutting off their path to them.

"Good work Darius," said Naofumi as they turned to run with the Shield Hero throwing up another Airstrike Shield behind them to stop any guards lucky enough to have made it over the wreckage, "now we run!" And run they did, once again opening door after door until finally reaching one that had a stone wall. This time, however, they went with a different approach. "I got you covered here," he said while throwing up Air Strike Shields to the entrances of both hallways, "now get us in there!"

"One grand entrance coming up," said Darius as he extended a white energy blade from his left fan and aimed it, "Rupture Stance Rondo: Tortoise Shell Cracker!" The energy projectile blasted the wall to bits along with a couple others as the two cardinal heroes rushed through them. It was shortly after that the duo finally found their destination.

The room they ran into was likely the largest one in the whole mansion with a ceiling that went close to a hundred feet into the air and was supported by a grid-like pattern of rafters. Several wooden pillars with gold bands on them stood in the far corners of the room and in the center, on an upraised platform surrounded by decorated wood railing was the Dragon Hourglass. Unlike the ones in their world, this hourglass possessed very few dragon designs on it with its most distinguishing features being the gold decorations on the top and bottom along with a bent, gold band floating around the center of it. But there was no doubt this was it given its size and the readings registering on their HUDs.

The two might've felt a sense of accomplishment at this discovery but it was marred by one thing, or rather three: Kazuki and his bodyguards. Indeed the man stood between them and the hourglass, clearly expecting their arrival. "Well done, well done indeed," said Kazuki while clapping, "you managed to fall for my trap." This was quickly emphasized by the sudden entrance of at least a dozen temple guards, wielding naginatas instead of blunt weapons, to surround the duo. "I'd been told by Kyo that the Hunting Hero had escaped the Labyrinth and would likely come here with her new friends, so I stationed fewer guards after my arrival, figuring you couldn't resist the bait."

"So you work for Kyo then," said Naofumi with slightly gritted teeth.

"I'd much prefer the term 'business partner'," corrected Kazuki, "we are, after all, engaging in a mutually beneficial deal."

"Let me guess," said the Shield Hero, "he agreed to become your sponsor for the teleporter in exchange for you capturing us?"

"Something along those lines," replied Kazuki, "I don't know what you did to piss him off but I doubt I've ever seen him that mad."

"It makes me feel a bit better to hear that," said Naofumi with smile of his own, "but only just a little."

"I only wish I could've seen his face when he got back here," said Darius, "come to think of it, how's his left side doing? I recall scraping it pretty good before he turned tail and ran."

"It's no wonder he's pissed off," said Kazuki as he narrowed his eyes, "you assholes should really wipe those smirks off your faces."

"And why's that," said Darius, deciding to grin a little wider in response, "from where I'm standing, you're hardly in control of this situation here. At least Kyo would've had a monster or two waiting for us."

"Yeah but this guy's nothing but a fake and a wannabe," said Naofumi while pointing at the genius mage, "about the only thing he's got in common with Kyo is being a weakling."

"It seems I need to correct your thinking on one important detail," said Kazuki, regaining his composure as he held up his thumb, "I'm not required to bring you in alive." He pointed his thumb down then as the guards pounced.

"Meteor Shield!" Exclaimed the Cardinal Hero as he swung his arm for added effect, forming the powerful barrier around both him and Darius. The guards were clearly surprised as their weapons were repelled with enough force to send them staggering back.

"Air Scythe Suite First Stance!" Declared Darius as he summoned L'arc's scythe in its dual form, "Wind Blade!" The resulting miniature tornado was more than enough to knock the already imbalanced guards off their feet and well away from the two heroes as Kazuki looked on in surprise. "And let me correct your thinking on one thing: I've been nice up to this point and let the guards live because they're just doing their job protecting the hourglass. But if they're actually working for a scumbag like you then I've got far fewer qualms about putting them six feet under. So who wants to be first?"

Kazuki grit his teeth at the occurrence, noting quite quickly that the guards really didn't want to tangle with such a powerful duo unless they had too. "Fine," he said as he signaled his two bodyguards, "I'll kill you myself!" He raised his hand and shot a fireball which Naofumi quickly intercepted and deflected with his shield. His two bodyguards leapt in on either side of them at about the same time, their spears aimed for their heads.

Fortunately, Darius saw the attack coming and opened two portals with shields to stop the pincer maneuver. As they closed back up, he used the moment of distraction to summon an iron staff and jam the pig-tailed guard in the stomach while Naofumi warded off the ponytail guard with his Dogbite Shield. Kazuki fired even more fireballs at the duo who quickly changed to a back to back formation with the Shield Hero deflecting the fireballs while moving forward and Darius warding off the two female guards. "Damn it go down already!" Yelled Kazuki as he intensified the number of attacks, heedless of the fact that he was endangering his own guards to do it.

But this worked to the Cardinal Heroes advantage, lessening the intensity of the guard's attacks as they closed the distance. "Airstrike Shield! Second Shield!" Said Naofumi as he summoned a spectral shield in both the front and back of them. The unexpected barriers worked to disrupt their enemy's attacks long enough for them to switch positions, disappearing just in time for Darius to kick Kazuki in the face and knock him to the ground.

"Kazuki!" Exclaimed the two women as they moved to check on him, letting Naofumi and Darius race towards the hourglass. In only moments they climbed the stairs and reached their destination, though it would be as far as they could get for the moment.

"Ah, congratulations dumbasses," grunted the so-called genius as he got back to his feet while rubbing his nose, "you reached the hourglass but now what? You can't go anywhere without a Holy or Vassal Hero from this world!"

"Oh no," said Naofumi in the most deadpan voice he could imagine, "whatever shall we do?"

"Have no fear!" declared the voice of Kizuna suddenly as everyone turned to see her swinging from the rafters with her fishing pole, "the Hunting Hero is here!" 'Tell me her whole plan wasn't just so she could say that,' thought Darius and Naofumi.

"Look out I don't know how to stop!" Exclaimed Rishia who was swinging down on a rope connected to a chained ropedart Darius had given her earlier during their planning phase. Kazuki was so surprised by this development that he didn't think to get out of the way as Kizuna shifted her weapon back to a sword in midair before double-drop kicking him in the face. Rishia was much less graceful as she let go of her rope just as she was swinging back up, sending her flying into the two female guards as they all tumbled to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

"Sorry we can't stay," said Kizuna as she ran in and grabbed Rishia's hand, pulling the green-haired girl along, "but we've got places to be and friends to meet!"

"NOOOOO!" Yelled Kazuki as he shot fireballs after them which were intercepted by more airstrike shields and shield portals. Kizuna and Rishia climbed the stairs then as the Hunting Hero slapped her hand on the base of the hourglass.

"Return Dragon Vein," she said, causing a yellow glow to surround her and the rest of the party as the teleportation magic began.

"This isn't over," declared Kazuki, "I'll find you all and I'll make you pay!"

"Well take a message in the meantime," said Darius, "tell Kyo we're coming for him."

"And we intend to finish what we started back in our world," finished Naofumi as the yellow light shone at its brightest yet. When it faded, the three heroes and the green-haired girl were gone.

The Country of Sikul: The Dragon's Hourglass

One key difference between the Dragon's Hourglass in Mikakage and the one in Sikul was that this one was actually outside in an ornate courtyard, surrounded by four stone pillars. This was seen as a way to make it more accessible to the people, though it did also limit one's ability to visit it when the weather was bad. Such had been the case not so long ago when rain had been falling all over the area. This made the landing far less pleasant as the hourglass suddenly glowed with a yellow light before depositing four individuals in a heap on the ground.

Darius got the worst of the wet ground as he landed face first, followed by Rishia landing on top of him, followed by Naofumi and finally Kizuna, the Hunting Hero being the only one lucky enough to land in a sitting position. Albeit atop the back of the Shield Hero. "Ow," groaned the Armory Hero, "I know I don't mention it often but there are some days I really hate this job."

"Some days," grunted Naofumi, "I hate this job everyday. If we ever discover an HR deparment for heroes, I'm filing a complaint."

"Could've been worse, though," said Kizuna, "at least we know that genius guy can't follow us back. The Return Dragon Vein only works for going to Dragon Hourglasses you've already visited. And even if he could he'd be causing an international incident by barging into another country unannounced."

"That's nice," said Rishia, "can we please get up now? Being pressed against so much armor is starting to get uncomfortable." Naturally everyone was in agreement with this, but before they could get moving several people entered the courtyard, clearly drawn by the sudden teleportation. Many of them looked like civilians but at least a couple were officials based on how they how they dressed.

"Is that Kizuna, amazing, she's back, the Hunting Hero has returned!" Came the reaction of the crowd one after the other as they realized who was there.

"Hey everyone," said Kizuna with a wide smile, "I'm back!"

Seems there's more than one evil genius in Kizuna's world, but fortunately the Heroes aren't without allies of their own now that they're in the Hunting Hero's country! But we'll get to the explanation on that later, for now I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter and 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 partake in a rather odd locating ritual. And don't forget to check out my book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! 'Til then.