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.

74. The Cursed Bandit

The Cursed Bandit

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero. Before we get started, I've got some unfortunately sad news. For those who haven't heard, the legend himself, Akira Toriyama, has passed away at the age of 68. As the creator of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and a number of other series, his effect on pop culture throughout the world cannot be understated. His works were some of my, and many others, first ever experiences with anime and they continue to inspire to this day. So to honor him I'll be dropping in a little Easter Egg in this chapter, you'll know it when you see it. Though he may be gone from this world, he shall never be forgotten. Sayonara, Toriyama sensei, and thank you for everything you've given us. On to the story.

Nighttime: Rurorona Village

Izumi sighed as she sank down into the warm water in the bathhouse, feeling the tension in her muscles loosen. "I have to admit," Komuri commented from her place next to Izumi, "this village is nice. I had my doubts when I found out a large portion of the inhabitants were children, but they perform their duties surprisingly well." Which was a relief. Currently, Darius was experimenting with the guard detail a bit, trying to squeeze in people who could fight and needed the experience. Right now the men of the Yama clan, Keel, Éclair and a few others were handling the nighttime patrol, which is why the three of them were taking the time to wash up.

"I imagine they're just happy to be home or to even have a home," Izumi responded, "it makes me wonder how the children of our clan are doing back in the mountains."

"They were fine the last we heard," another Yama clan member, a girl with long bluish-purple hair that covered one of her yellow eyes and two brown horns sticking out from the sides of her head, informed. This was Naria, second in command of the Yama clan warriors under Natsui. While it was true she was his younger sister, she had earned her place like every chosen Yama clan member had. "None of the Spirit Tortoise's familiars ever made it that far into the mountains, or at least not enough to pose any real threat."

"Which reminds me," Komuri turned back to Izumi, "have you invited Sir Darius to visit our home yet? The clan is as eager to meet him as Siltvelt is to meet the Shield Hero."

"That's been a difficult subject to broach," the naginata wielder sighed, "with all of the preparations for the awakening of the phoenix, the hunt for the other heroes, and now the threat of attackers from another world, it just seems like a good moment isn't going to present itself for him to venture to our village any time soon. And even if circumstances do allow it in the near future, I don't think he'll be able to stay for any real length of time."

"I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that he has a busy schedule," Naria mused, "still, see if you can at least give him the suggestion every now and then. You're in the best position to persuade him."

"She's in many positions these days," Komuri snickered, "I've been meaning to ask, what's it like making love to the Armory Hero? Should we be envious?"

"It's hard to say," Izumi resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "all of us learned about pleasing a man as part of our training but we were never really told how it's supposed to feel for us. According to Darius, he learned everything he knows from his lover, Figneria, and I'd like to say it shows. I've yet to end a night of passion in what I'd consider disappointment."

"After all the work you put in to become the chosen candidate it's good that he can please you," the purple-haired clan member commented, "when I think about it now, there were so many things that could've been terrible. What would we have done if he turned out to be a jerk, or had a weird fetish we never learned about, or a shrimp dick?"

"The chief would've told us to find a way to work with those last two," the short-haired clan girl pointed out, "the Armory Hero is still the Armory Hero and the gifts he bestows on his descendants are, thankfully, not affected by such things."

"That reminds me," Izumi tried to think of how to phrase her realization, "since Darius seems to have accepted me for the time being, you and the other girls are free now. No one will object if you go and find a man for yourselves."

"You know it's not that simple," Naria propped her head up on her arm and stared at the wall, "the Waves of Catastrophe are still raging and now, these powerful sacred beasts are awakening to threaten the world. There's no guarantee that everyone will survive, and that includes you, Izumi. So we must remain ready to offer ourselves to the Armory Hero, should it prove necessary. Even after all of the disasters have passed, there must be at least one ready to bear his children in the event that it becomes necessary, and it won't be our choice as to who bears that burden."

"Then, we'll just have to give it our all," the blue-haired girl declared with determination in her eyes, "and we'll believe in Darius and Naofumi. They've come this far and a lot of that was without our help, so now that we can help them let's make up for lost time!" Naria actually laughed a little at this declaration. "Did I say something funny?"

"Just thinking that maybe I should go out and find a man now," she explained, "if Darius has really inspired that much confidence in you already then there's no way I can seduce him. Though it might still be worth a try."

"If you want to risk your life that badly then be my guest," Izumi sunk a little lower in the water, "even if Darius has allowed me into his bed I'm not foolish enough to anger both the weasel girl and the expert assassin by overstepping my bounds. I can only imagine what they'd do to an outsider trying to seduce him."

"Aw, you're fitting into their dynamic already!" Komuri cooed while hugging her friend from behind. "I think this will all work out just fine!" Izumi sighed but couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face. It really was wonderful that they could treat this place like a second home already.

The Next Day: Forest Road

"So this sudden increase in bandit attacks isn't even a week old," Darius observed as they rode along in Filo's wagon. It had taken a good few minutes to convince Johann that they might scare away their prey if he was seen flying overhead but at least he hadn't had to be tied up and thrown in this time. Said prey was a group of bandits Éclair had heard was roaming around their region who'd suddenly gotten very bold in recent days.

"That's what makes it all the more unusual," the Seaetto heir elaborated, "bandit attacks had been occurring in this area but recently they've become even worse. The leader of these bandits is said to be strong and smart enough to attack people only when they get separated from their group."

"Like a pack of dogs," Naofumi commented from his perch on the driver's seat, "but we can still turn that to our advantage if we do it right."

"Do you have a plan, Naofumi?" Rishia asked from behind him.

"First we'll pull off here, then I'll explain," he responded before directing Filo down a path with a rock wall rising on either side where he stopped at the entrance to a forest. Everyone piled out then as he went over his plan. "Since we know the bandits only attack those who get separated from their group, we'll split up to widen the search area and lead them out."

"Who's going with who," Rifana asked, "this is the first time Keel, Fohl, and Atla have hunted bandits and it's been ages since we brought Éclair."

"I've been thinking about that," the Shield Hero put a hand to his chin, "Raphtalia and Keel, Rifana and Johann, Rishia and Filo, and the last group will be Fohl, Atla, Éclair and Izumi."

"Would it not be more efficient to have our group split up into two," Izumi questioned.

"I doubt Fohl wants to be away from Atla," Naofumi reminded, "and while I don't doubt your skill, Izumi, it's still safer if everyone has a partner."

"Then you should let me go with you," the white tiger girl insisted, "Izumi can go with Darius and Fohl can go with Éclair."

"But I can't protect you if we split up," Fohl argued, "what if something happens?!"

"I can't be the shield for the Shield Hero if I'm not with him!" Atla shot back, "we can protect each other!"

"Enough," the cardinal hero put a hand to his face, "Éclair is an expert swordswoman and Izumi has seen the kinds of enemies we'll be up against. I'm going to have them evaluate you and if you do a good job, then we can split up like you're suggesting. Is that agreeable?"

"I guess since Naofumi's the one asking, I'll do it," the blind girl finally relented, "but you'd better keep your word!"

"This means you and Darius will form the final group?" Raphtalia decided to ask.

"Rafu, Rin-Rin!" The two shikigami appeared next to their owners.

"It'll be us, with assistance from Rina and Raph-chan," the Armory Hero confirmed, "what's less threatening than a couple of unarmed guys with fluffy animals?" As if to prove his point, Rina jumped up on Darius's shoulder and let out a 'raaaaaargh', the kind that might intimidate a bug but otherwise just looked adorable.

"Or the bandits will have a change of heart and beg forgiveness for even daring to lay a hand on such precious little faces as those," Rifana shook her head while smiling with her hands on her hips.

"First thing's first, we need to find them before we do anything, so let's get to it." Naofumi Ordered. The other groups barked an affirmative before splitting off towards different sections of the woods. The Shield and Armory heroes both advanced at their own leisurely pace, keeping their eyes and ears open for anything that seemed suspicious.

"So do you really plan on splitting up Atla and Fohl at some point," Darius asked after a few minutes of walking.

"I'm sure you know as well as I do that Atla's growing stronger at an incredible rate," the shield hero reminded, "she's already a prodigy in Hengen Musou and her growth is being sped up by being part of my party. Fohl doesn't want to see it because he's taken care of her for so long, but some day soon she'll be fully capable of handling herself."

"Yeah and then she'll probably challenge Raphtalia and Sadeena to a duel for your love," the Armory Hero remarked, "you may want to go ahead and make an official declaration that Raphtalia is your girlfriend. That should nip the problem in the bud."

"You really think they'll both just give up if I do that," Naofumi raised an eyebrow at him. "They'll probably follow Izumi's example and declare themselves my other lovers whether it's true or not. You might be able to do it but I can't say the thought of managing a harem excites me."

"Maybe not," Darius scratched his chin, "but, and hear me out, if you do it right then maybe you can devote the majority of your lovemaking time to Raphtalia and spare the occasional moment for making love to Sadeena. Atla's gonna need to grow a bit more before it's appropriate which is an excuse you can use to avoid any intimate contact with her for the time being."

"Still the same problem in end," the shield hero pointed out, "it's not what I'd call a monogamous relationship."

"No, but you can't exactly tell them to buzz off right now," the university student reminded, "Sadeena's strength, skills, and experience are too valuable to lose at this point in time and Atla's potential is also sky high. Even after the Waves are over you won't be able to just kick them out since the kids love Sadeena and Atla doesn't have a home or a lot of experience traveling the world on her own."

"I can't say I'm fond of the idea of dealing with protesting children," Naofumi admitted before Raph-chan suddenly perked up and tapped his arm with her paw. "What is it?" He let the Shikigami down with Rina quickly joining her. The two of them looked around for a moment before pointing in a direction ahead and a little to the left of them.

The duo followed the shikigami to a large dirt clearing with a fair-sized cliff at the other end. In the center of said cliff face was an entrance to a large cave, but that's not what caught their attention. It was the two figures clashing their weapons together that gave them pause. "You got to be kidding me," Darius groaned, "that's Motoyasu, isn't it?" Suffice it to say they'd encountered the blond spearman enough to recognize him on sight, even at a distance.

His opponent in black, slightly demonic armor, a blue scarf, and a black fox mask was more of a surprise. Without even looking at his sword they knew who it was. "Ren," Naofumi breathed out upon seeing him. And the sword hero didn't look all that well.

He'd never been one for smiling that much but his face had usually kept at least a neutral expression. Now he looked tired, but also visibly annoyed with just about everything. That became all the more clear when he swung his sword and unleashed a blast of purple energy, causing an explosion that forced the spear hero back. It did nothing to dull the blond's enthusiasm as he rushed back in and clashed his weapon against Ren's.

"What the fuck's going on here," Darius had to ask, "why are you two duking it out?"

"Oh, Father-in-law, Darius," Motoyasu finally noticed them while still holding off Ren, "I'm defeating these bandits before they can attack your village!" He pushed the sword hero back to create some space. "I lured out their leader only to find out that it was Ren!"

"You're kidding," Naofumi had suspected that was the case when he saw the mask but to think this is how they'd run into him again. He didn't seem all that pleased about it either as he raised his sword.

"Maneater Meteor Slash!" Ren declared, swinging the weapon downwards and unleashing another blast of malevolent purple energy. Darius used High Quick to pull both Raph-chan and Rina out of the way while Naofumi blocked the blast with his shield, planting his feet to keep from getting knocked over. The Armory had just enough time to glimpse his sword's black-bladed appearance with jagged sides and red jewels on the end.

"Darius," Naofumi called while blocking another attack with his black dragon shield, "is this what I think it is?!"

"Unfortunately yes," he responded, storing the shikigami in their card forms while summoning the scissors of the vassal sewing set, "the curse series of Gluttony and Greed!" He had more confidence in his abilities with the vassal weapon now but S'yne hadn't been able to tell him whether or not it would prove effective for sealing curse series skills. Naofumi forced Ren back then.

"You," the sword hero growled, "you both think I'm a failure too, don't you?"

"More like a stubborn idiot," Darius corrected, "you're only failing right now because you won't listen."

"SHUT UP!" Ren yelled, striking for Darius this time who parried one blow after another, "I'm going to get stronger than anyone else! I'm going to awaken even more power and defeat you and Naofumi and anyone else who gets in my way!" They locked weapons then. "My ambitions know no bounds! I'll become the strongest in this and every world!"

"Not flailing about like this you won't," the Armory Hero remarked before breaking their lock and kicking his opponent away then wrapping the swordsman up with threads from his left hand, "power's nothing if you don't know how to use it."

"And that's why you're done!" Motoyasu declared, charging back in with a straight jab of his spear.

"Hold it!" Naofumi intercepted him, stopping the blond in his tracks, "we can't kill him. Unless you've got a restraining ability too just stay back and let us handle this!"

"Of course, father-in-law!" The spear hero saluted, "just let me know if you change your mind!"

"You think I can't take you all on," Ren snarled as his sword glowed purple, the evil energy snapping the threads holding him. Before Naofumi could get another word out he began chanting. "Let these foolish sinners pay for their transgressions by beheading!" The ground glowed yellow beneath all three of them before chains leapt up and wrapped around their limbs, torsos and shoulders, "let them despair as their heads are separated from their bodies before they even have time to scream: Guillotine."

"So this is what it feels like when I use my chains on someone," Darius commented as said bindings grew spikes, biting into their bodies and attempting to tear flesh. Two poles came down from above with a giant blade inbetween them. As said, a guillotine now hung over their heads. Ren smiled maniacally as the blades fell.

Motoyasu and Naofumi still had enough strength and movement to raise their weapons up and block the gigantic cleavers while Darius dismissed his replica and summoned ten chains with tortoise like features that caught the blade in their clawed hands. They were Spirit Tortoise chains, the strongest bindings he currently possessed. "I've had enough of this shit!" Naofumi yelled while forcing the blade back up, causing it and the chains to shatter. Likewise, Darius's chains pulled and tore apart the guillotine, ending the skill.

"This won't hold me," Motoyasu declared while pushing back up against his own blade. It was then, however, that Rifana and Raphtalia both appeared and slammed their weapons against the construct, destroying it. This also had the unintended effect of causing Motoyasu to stumble over when he suddenly had no more pressure to push against.

"Naofumi, Darius, are you alright?" Raphtalia asked with a quick glance in their direction.

"We're fine," the Armory Hero assured while summoning a short staff, "but keep your distance, he's using a curse series." This news arrived just as everyone else was regrouping, having been alerted by the commotion.

"Teams, guilds," Ren narrowed his eyes, "none of you are worth anything without your buddies." He raised his sword one-handed and started another incantation. "Let these foolish sinners pay for their transgressions by being crushed in the name of a god. Take my riches and unleash a divine strike upon my foes: Gold Rebellion!"

A mass of gold coins appeared out of nowhere and melted together in the air, forming a giant, gaudy ape-like statue that appeared to be wearing monk beads and fancy rings on its large fingers. "Raphtalia," Naofumi moved in front of his companion and raised his shield, "Meteor Shield! Shield Prison!" The powerful barrier and mass of spectral shields surrounded them both as the golden attacker loomed over them and brought its fists down. Upon impact the statue shattered, raining an entire treasury's worth of gold down on top of the pair, pinning them in place temporarily. Ren took this opportunity to move around behind them while the attack continued to batter its targets.

As he went to strike, however, Izumi intervened, knocking his weapon away with a swing of her naginata. "Get out of my way ogre girl!" Ren yelled while raining more blows down on her.

"Ogre," the Yama clan girl repeated casually while deflecting his strikes. She suddenly whirled around and backhanded him with enough force to knock the sword wielder off his feet. "I don't know why but I feel like that was supposed to be an insult."

"I'll tear you all apart!" The cursed hero raged as he got up to try attacking Naofumi again now that the shower of gold had ended, and his barriers had disappeared.

"Rifana, pit!" Darius called, landing next to Izumi, and pointing his staff forward. The timing was almost perfect as the second the weasel girl created a good-sized hole in the ground the Armory Hero's staff extended and slammed into Ren's abdomen when he raised his sword to start another skill. The Japanese youth was sent cursing into the pit while Naofumi and the rest of their party regrouped.

"Get ready to restrain him," the shield hero ordered, "we're gonna have to knock him out like we did Motoyasu."

"Wait, Sir Iwatani," Éclair stepped up, "I might have a better solution. Let me face him in a one-on-one duel."

"Are you serious," Naofumi asked in surprise, "he's got an active curse series right now!"

"Be that as it may, I still believe I can bring him back to his senses," she stated confidently, even removing the helmet she'd donned as part of her steel armor set for the trip. The Shield Hero glanced at his fellow cardinal hero.

"His skills with a sword haven't improved all that much," Darius analyzed his earlier clash with the sword hero, "and Éclair's been training in Hengen Musou. I'm pretty sure she's got this."

"Fine," Naofumi conceded, "but I'm still buffing you to make up for any gaps his hero bonuses give him."

"That is acceptable," the swordswoman nodded in thanks and proceeded forward with Naofumi casting a Zweit Aura to boost her physical abilities. By this point Ren had clambered out of the pit and was getting back on his feet. "Sword Hero, Sir Amaki. I don't know if you remember me, but I am Éclair Seaetto! I challenge you to a duel! so if you wish to confront Sirs Iwatani, Saxon, or Kitamura you will have to defeat me first!"

"It doesn't matter who you are," Ren snarled before rushing forward, "you can't beat me!" Sparks flew as their blades clashed. The sword hero's angry visage was mirrored in his swings while Éclair's features showed nothing but focused determination.

"Do you think Éclair will be okay," Fohl asked, "I know she's strong but Ren's a cardinal hero."

"It's fine," Atla assured, recalling her own training with the Seaetto heir, "just leave it to Éclair."

"But this isn't a training match where he'll be disqualified if he uses a skill," Keel pointed out as Éclair began dodging around Ren's strikes with her own expert footwork, "what'll happen if he hits her with one of them?"

"Naturally we'll intervene if her death seems imminent," Izumi sighed, "but I doubt there will be a need. The other three cardinal heroes have all proven unimpressive so far, hardly stronger than average adventurers. Even with his new power this man is just lashing out, he has no direction and Éclair knows it." A point she'd choose to question now as the strawberry blonde woman evaded yet another swing from her opponent.

"Sword Hero," she began, "why do you desire to get stronger?"

"I won't accept anything less than being the strongest," Ren answered, "the strongest in all worlds, all times, all dimensions!"

"And then what," Éclair pointed her sword at the cursed hero, "what is it you hope to accomplish once you become the strongest?" This finally gave the sword hero pause as a look of confusion crossed his face. It seemed he hadn't actually planned that far ahead.

"I want to become the strongest," he thought hard, "to save…...to save the world!" The sword wielder began to rave then. "That's right, I'm the chosen hero, the sword hero who's going to save the world!" He leapt upwards and came down with a vicious overhead strike. Despite its obvious ferocity, however, Éclair blocked the blow without her stance buckling in the slightest.

"That was a task someone else thrust upon you," she countered, "I'm asking what you want, Ren Amaki, what are you fighting for?!" The swordswoman pushed him back then before he attempted another halfhearted swing. Her words had clearly gotten to him as she casually sidestepped each unfocused blow. "I taught you this before, don't make shallow strikes, commit to an attack!"

Éclair came in with an upward diagonal strike intentionally aimed for Ren's blade. Even if the blow had been weaker, he'd still have been knocked over due to his poor stance. "You haven't decided on anything right now, you're just reacting and even then, you're not sure if that's the right course. You'll never defeat me with your heart in such a state!"

"Shut up," Ren growled while getting to his feet, "shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" He stabbed his blade into the ground then, his eyes glowing red and his sword radiating purple energy once more. But it was different this time. The cardinal sword widened and developed more serrations on either side of the blade. "I'll get stronger, I'll gain that strength….by devouring it all."

The energy seeped into the ground, causing it to crack and shift in several places. Éclair had to steady herself as the earth moved beneath her feet and the stone heads of what looked like carnivorous fish emerged from all the cracks. The land in the immediate vicinity changed color then, turning a sickly violet while purple pools of bubbling liquid oozed from the cracks. Giant fly-like insects with stingers emerged from the toxic pools, their wings fanning out to shake off the sludge before taking to the air.

This was the Gluttony Series skill, Strong Decline, and its target was clear. Éclair's expression when confronted with it, however, didn't change. She took a stance and stood firm, waiting until they got within range before striking. Moving at full speed her blade seemed to flash all around her body, arcing in multiple directions. In the next instant, all the insects had fallen to the ground, their undersides cut open by the precision of her bladework.

"You're suffering, aren't you," Éclair's features softened for a brief instant as the land returned to normal, leaving a shocked Ren. Her expression shifted back to one of determination then as she took a ready stance. "I'll end that now," the swordswoman launched forward, her arm poised to use the familiar multi-strike attack she was known for but this time with an added twist. "Hengen Musou Swordcraft: Multi-strike Crumble Attack!"

Her blade was enveloped in yellow energy as she assaulted her opponent with numerous jabs of her sword, all striking far too fast for Ren to even attempt to counter. He let out a pained cry as his mask shattered and the red glow left his eyes before the cardinal hero fell on his back. Everyone gathered around cautiously then, noting he'd finally fallen unconscious, and his sword had transformed back to normal. "Damn, nice work," Darius was the first to speak up, "guess even the curse series can be bested with the right combination."

"You and Sir Iwatani knew what to direct your power at when it first manifested," Éclair surmised, "both Sir Amaki and Kitamura were simply lashing out aimlessly. Still, I'll admit to being worried for a brief moment with that last attack." Any further conversation was interrupted by Ren stirring. As he opened his eyes and sat up, everyone noticed with relief that he no longer looked as haggard as he did before.

Éclair crouched down and offered her hand, but the touching moment was unfortunately interrupted. "We've got company," Rifana's ears twitched as she, Raphtalia and everyone else took a ready stance. Four figures emerged from the forest then, cackling gleefully. It was the otherworld attackers from before.

"S'yne wasn't kidding," Naofumi narrowed his eyes, "they're back."

"And this time we'll crush you!" The saber-wielding attacker declared.

"Wanna bet," Darius shot back as he decided now was as good a time as any to implement a new speed boost. "As source of thy power the Armory Hero orders thee," he ran forward, "decipher the laws of nature and empower my body with lightning! Zweit Lightning Speed!" Electricity crackled around his form before he accelerated in a flash. The cardinal hero sped past the surprised saber wielder and towards his true target: the sickle and chain man.

He yelled in pain as Darius's staff made contact with his midsection, the added electricity increasing the damage as the force caught up and sent him flying back. 'Not as fast as Sadeena's but definitely faster than High Quick,' the Armory Hero couldn't help but smirk, 'with a bit more practice, though, I should be able to reach Dreifach.' Naturally he'd have to make it through this first and both the bident woman and the mace wielder were coming at him from either side. Darius quickly shifted his staff, which he'd recently dubbed Kakarot, horizontally and extended it.

His surprised attackers just managed to get their weapons up in time to block the strikes but by this point all the others had caught up. Raphtalia and Keel engaged the saber man while Izumi, Atla, and Fohl fought against the purple-haired woman. Rifana and Johann engaged the mace man while Éclair and Naofumi stayed behind to guard a still recovering Ren. "You need a bunch of kids to help you out," Darius's dark-haired opponent taunted.

"Nah, we're just showin' 'em the ropes," the Armory Hero corrected while tapping his weapon on his shoulder, "as we are now our party's got more than enough strength to take you out. Of course, It'd be rude of me to leave our new friend out of this." On cue, S'yne walked out from behind him, again having used her teleportation ability.

"It's over," she pointed her scissors at the man, "run back to your world and leave this one in peace."

"You really think it'll be that easy!" The sickle and chain wielder raged before putting his hands together. "METEOR!" Once again clouds swirled in the sky as a giant flaming mass came hurtling towards them all.

"Here we go again Naofumi," Darius readied to summon his replica cardinal shield while his friend moved into position. But the sudden sound of flesh being torn caused everyone to freeze for a moment. Looking down, the group say that the otherworld attacker had been skewered from behind, by Motoyasu?!

"Burst Lance," the spear hero declared, causing their enemy to explode, leaving little more than blood and entrails. His death caused the meteor to disintegrate instantly as the blond turned to them, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he was now covered in blood.

"What," the surprised Saber wielder stared in disbelief. This would be his undoing as Keel snuck in under his guard and slashed him across the stomach with the sword he'd brought for the hunt. The attacker couldn't recover in time and was decapitated by a swift strike from Raphtalia. It went downhill for the otherworlders after that.

Atla scored a paralyzing hit on the bident woman when Izumi knocked her off balance. Fohl punched her in Izumi's direction, and she sliced the woman in half at the waist. The mace wielder couldn't hold off Rifana's full strength and was disarmed by her strikes before Johann plunged electrified claws into his heart. These deaths all happened at about the same time, ending the battle.

"That wasn't near as bad as last time," Rifana breathed out while wiping her forehead.

"It's not over just yet," S'yne pointed upwards. Everyone noted four black whisps in the air then with twisted faces on them.

"Souls," Naofumi noted, "so that's how they revived. We can do something about that."

"Soul Eater Chains," Darius summoned four of said bindings which latched onto their escaping enemies with their gnarled hands, "Raphtalia, they're all yours." The Raccoon girl nodded and leapt into the air.

"Spirit Blade," she unsheathed her sword and released slashes of whitish purple energy, "Soul Slice!" The bound spirits disintegrated, this time never to return.

"They're finally gone," S'yne sighed in relief, "I'm glad none of you were lost."

"I'm surprised it wasn't more difficult," Naofumi mused as Motoyasu approached, "you seem stronger. Did you?"

"Father-in-law's word is law," the spear hero declared, "I used the methods you ordered me too! After all, father's enemies must die!"

"Thank God one of you finally did," Darius commented, "though I'm a little concerned about that last part."

"So, you both were telling the truth this whole time," Ren's eyes widened in realization, "the other methods really do work?"

"They discovered what they needed to do," Éclair confirmed, "and right now you're suffering because you don't know what to do. I realized you still want to live and not waste away in a place like this, but even changing and getting stronger won't bring back what you've lost. But it's also because of the things you've lost that you should live and keep fighting, doing your best to make up for your mistakes. You may be weak now, but a sliver of strength still exists within you, and I believe we can make that into something much much greater. So, let's get stronger together."

She offered her hand to Ren then. When he hesitated, she simply smiled and pulled him to his feet. "You'll find your reason to get stronger eventually," Éclair assured, "in the meantime, I could use a training partner." This seemed acceptable to the Sword Hero who nodded, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Guess that finally takes care of that," Naofumi sighed while Raphtalia smiled.

"Master, are you okay," Filo asked, seeming to pop out of nowhere with Rishia right behind her. A decision she immediately regretted.

"FILO!" Motoyasu cheered loudly while moving to invade her personal space. Naturally the winged girl shrieked in surprise with her hair standing on end before transforming into her Filolial form and running as if her life depended on it. For some reason Rishia was also fleeing in a panic.

"Rishia why are you running," Darius called, "he doesn't want to pork your behind!"

"I still believe her fear is understandable," Atla commented.

"Yeah, the Spear Hero's a weird guy," Fohl added as the group watched their two friends and a horny hero disappear into the distance.

"Don't even get me started," Naofumi huffed, "but if everyone's set, let's head back to the village. Can we include you in that, Ren?" The Sword Hero glanced at Éclair before nodding. It was all the confirmation they needed as the party headed home with one more hero now in tow.

That makes two out of three, both in heroes and curse series. Will they be lucky enough to avoid the curse series on the third...unlikely. But I'm getting way ahead of myself, so for now leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters! Also check out my Pat reon and see some of the new content being posted! Don't forget to stop by next time as our heroes welcome an unexpected new face or two to their little village! 'Til then.