"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
As they went to their separate rooms as they always did, Naofumi and Raphtalia were stopped by the kids. They each wanted a hug goodnight, which they never asked for before. After the brief embraces, once he laid in bed next to Raphtalia, he couldn't help but think to himself.
"This is it. This is real happiness. I want to experience this every day. To date Raphtalia, watch the kids play, go on little street adventures with them, to hug them goodnight. Yeah, this is it."
Within moments of finishing his thoughts, he was asleep and Raphtalia with him.
...
The following morning
...
The family was up a bit early, as they had a short time table. Everyone knew this and was ready to move. All except Leon, who seemed to never have enough sleep, though Filo messing with him certainly woke him up.
"We have two quick trips we have to make, then we will wait at Erhart's shop for the others to discuss strategy."
The family nodded, while a well-hidden shadow heard Naofumi and went off to tell her master where the shield hero will be.
The errands were quick as promised.
They first had to head to Erhart's to pick up his armor and the last item he requested.
.
[Barbarian Armor +1]
[Def x 1.35, Mdef x 1.35, Blunt resistance (medium), Pierce resistance (small), Slash resistance (small), Fire resistance (medium), Shadow resistance (small), HP Restore (weak)]
[Threatening Visage: Enhances attempts at intimidation]
[Automatic Recovery Function: Armor will repair itself over time]
.
It turned out great. Having given Erhart his useful item drops had been the right call. Naofumi still had four different effects that buffed his item drop rate and his family could tear through dozens of monsters in minutes. The quality and quantity of items had been enormous. Finally having both the coin and materials had let Naofumi see just what Erhart was capable of.
The other item in question was another staff. This one was mostly a blend of silver and light metal, which formed an even stronger metal itself. This [Light Silver] was one of the few alloys that this world had created. It wasn't the strongest metal out there, not by a long shot, but it was light and considered excellent for magical armament.
The staff in question had eight merging skulls circling the top, each eye socket being the left and right eye depending on which skull you were looking at. In each eye socket was a small emerald. At the top was a place to set yet another gem. Naofumi pulled out [Idol of Curses] and sat it inside the staff without touching it. He still hated curses. After that, Erhart secured the addition and within 15 minutes Naofumi had quite the wicked looking weapon.
Naofumi had yet to master his wrath shield. He was unsure if he wanted to, but if he did, then he could use [Determine] and selectively add the [Burning Curse] status to the staff. Not that he was sure if he wanted to.
After that, they went straight to the Witch's shop and had both staves attuned. The witch seemed scared of the cursed staff, probably feeling the evil. All the same, she trusted Naofumi and they were done attuning the staff in as little as 10 minutes. After it was attuned, Naofumi used [Inspect] to see how well it turned out.
.
[Staff of Curses]
[Hp + 5, Sp +5, Mp +5, Mag x 1.3, Mdef +5, Shadow resistance (medium) Light resistance (small)]
[Grudge: Your curses last 25% longer. Other magic lasts 10% less.]
[Hate: Your curses are stronger by 25%. Other magic is 10% weaker.]
[Vengeance: Gain a small amount of Hp back when a victim of your curse dies.]
.
On their way back, Leon kept staring at his weapon. He could feel the boost it gave him and he was itching to show Filo how much better he was than her during the wave. Filo felt the same, but Teal and Raphtalia weren't looking forward to it. Monti was secretly really scared, but only Filo picked up on it.
...
Naofumi's office (Formerly Erhart's shop)
...
When Naofumi and the others returned to Erhart's shop, the people from yesterday were waiting outside. Naofumi wanted to be happy, but they weren't the only ones waiting for him. Out in front of the pack was Melty. At the sight of her, Filo shot off like a rocket.
"Mel-chan!"
Neither Naofumi nor anyone else could grab her in time. She would have knocked Melty down if not for the young knight behind Melty, bracing her.
"Hehe, it's good to see you Filo-chan." Melty returned her hug, but let go once Naofumi and the others came closer.
After the party came to a stop, no one spoke. Both Melty and Naofumi were finding their words. The young knight and his companions felt the tension and began darting their eyes between the two, hoping there would be no trouble.
Melty was the first to speak.
"Naofumi... I'm sorry I lied to you. At first-"
"I get why you lied... That isn't the problem." Naofumi already interrupted her.
"...I-I've spoken to father, he figured out you were the savior of the heavenly fowl from the fact I was with you. From the limited information I had at the time I told father the savior had a rough history with him and he had me act as a mediator..., but now he knows... Sorry."
Naofumi couldn't hide his frustrations.
"Would you at least give us the courtesy of telling us how that trash king is going to attack us?" He kept himself from yelling somehow.
Melty flinched at 'trash king', but responded none-the-less, "There will be no attack. I've taken care of it. As crowned princess, I am the next ruler of this country. Father only rules by proxy and even then, only when allowed by mother. In fact because I'm acting under mother's orders right now, I-"
"I see. So you're in charge? A child? And how exactly did you 'take care of it'?"
Naofumi was still interrupting her. He was belittling her and being kind of mean. Melty's face caved a bit, but her voice continued strongly. Filo was nudging her father to be nicer.
"I ordered all knights, my father, my sister and the spear hero to 'not so much as engage the shield hero in an argument', the same for his party... I know you're mad at me, but I promise I'll do everything I can so-"
Melty wasn't holding her mask up well and a tear went to fall. Naofumi took a knee and pat her head.
"It's the situation, not you. I know you're a good kid. We were both clueless about who the other was while we spent time together... Oddly enough, that was the very thing that let us come to know each other so well in such a short time..."
Naofumi's words relieved her, but he wasn't finished.
"I'm not angry, I'm scared." Melty flinched at that.
"I'm absolutely terrified. I was kidnapped from my home and made to abandon my family into a world I knew nothing about, and I've been forced to fight a world-ending threat or die trying... Despite that, I've been fortunate enough to find people that can still bring a smile to my face. Despite your sister lying about me, despite your father trying to take them away from me, despite the majority of this country hating me before I ever stepped one foot in this world... I've found happiness... And that guise as a savior was the only security we had."
Melty was realizing what he was leading to.
"So I'm scared of you even being near us, for our safety. Your sister or father could spin a story and now I'm guilty of some other crime... and even if they listen to you now, they'll find a way. If that happens..., we may have to leave this country. I've tried everything I can think of to stay in Melromarc, to protect and fix Melromarc..., but I will abandon it before it takes them from me."
Melty was desperate.
"I'll do anything! I'll do all that I can. Even going beyond the friendship we were building, this country needs a man like you!"
Naofumi looked into her eyes for several moments.
"I'm so scared. No matter how much I want to trust her, I can't. The entire family is at stake..."
"When we return from the wave, there are several things we need. We'll need class upgrades. It's hampered our growth a lot, but your father refuses to let my family receive it, even with payment and the world at stake... And I'll need your assistance keeping your family from tracking my family. Do those two things and we can at least put escape on hold. I can't offer more than that."
Melty wiped her tears away and clenched her fists. She looked resolved to do just that.
"I promise! I-I don't understand what father was even thinking with that, but I'll fix it. I'll do whatever you ask to keep you here, so please trust in me."
Naofumi would give her at least the chance to earn trust.
"Melty? I assume you've been educated on all sorts of things for when you're queen, correct?"
Melty perked up. She felt this was a test, but even if it was, she'd pass.
"Y-Yes. I've been taught all kinds of things related to my future position... Why?"
"... We're going to have a meeting now about how best to combat this wave and assign roles. I only have some experience in commanding in a purely field exercise kinda way. Not ordering boots on the ground in a real life or death way. Your input as someone properly educated would be welcome."
There was a lot in that statement. Naofumi was reaffirming his commitment to Melromarc, he was inviting Melty to be close to them again, and he was asking Melty to prove she was a capable leader that would protect them as she just promised.
"Understood." Melty answered without hesitation.
No sooner did she finish her response did the whole group begin to file into the shop.
"Wha-what? How many are the-Kid, what the hell!?"
"Calm down. We just needed a place to do our strategy meeting for the wave. This place seemed fine for that." Naofumi said dryly, trying to act like he saw no issue.
"Mr. Erhart, please let us stay. The wave is in less than two hours. We'll be out of your hair then." Monti tried asking nicely.
Before Erhart could respond, he caught sight of Melty.
"I could be mistaken, but... are you not Princess Melty?" Erhart had to ask.
He didn't pay attention to politics at all, but even Erhart had the sense to know the face of the one he'd be paying his taxes to one day.
"Yes. Please allow the shield hero your roof for the time being. I'll compensate you for any lost business."
And just like that, Erhart had no complaints.
Naofumi began by bringing everyone, including Melty, into his party, so Liviccic and Sophia were in on the discussions via [Tele-communication]. Melty freaked out when she heard Liviccic's voice, as she knew him and was told he was missing. After giving Melty an update on that side of things, they got down to real business.
Naofumi and Melty began going over the basics. Melty quickly saw Naofumi's biggest issue. He micromanaged far too much. He wanted to give out every little order, not trusting others at all to complete his overall goals.
"No, no. Naofumi, giving out every order is inefficient and reduces you to only giving orders. As a hero, your abilities in a fight are required more. Moreover, this group isn't large enough to need a dedicated commander. I suggest instead that you should let everyone know what all the priorities are and in what order. From there, they can make simple decisions without you. You only need to inform them when something happens that changes the hierarchy of priorities... Um, if you'd like."
Melty went to perfect daughter mode for a moment and realized she was telling Naofumi what to do.
Naofumi, however, was pleased with her advice and was also pleased to know she was well on her way to being a world leader. Showing competence in something likely outside of her main teachings gave him a feeling that maybe she'd be able to keep them safe.
"I agree, but I'd like to make sure we're clear. You're all only to make simple decisions on your own. You also report anything you think I need to know to me. That said, I agree I need to focus more on my own end. So If the issue is minor or if I don't respond, Raphtalia, Monti, Teal, Liviccic and Sophia will act as officers. Essentially, they're in charge when I'm not."
The young knight spoke up, "Um, Sir shield hero, I don't mean to question you, but Monti and Teal are children. Perhaps they aren't the best options?"
"This might be the first time Teal's been in a room where the remaining collective intelligence is larger than her own. Don't let her immature nature fool you. As for Monti..."
Naofumi wasn't going to reveal that here.
"He is my eldest son and he's uniquely qualified to deal with a wave that I can't elaborate on."
"Naofumi, keeping secrets didn't do either of us any good in the end. Must you keep secrets from the people who'll guard your back?" Melty asked.
"It's not my secret to tell. No one in the family cares one bit, but Monti is insecure about it so-"
"It's fine." Monti said.
"No one in the family cares one bit. Those words are true right?" Monti thought.
Monti felt so comforted by those words. Not just them, but his dad trusted him to help lead the effort against the wave. He clearly saw no meaningful connection between Monti and the waves at all. Monti couldn't help, but smile at that.
"Are you sure?" Raphtalia said, leaning forward and placing a hand on his shoulder.
"It's fine. Melty wants us to trust her... and I do. So it's fine... As you all may have guessed, I'm a monster, raised from an egg by my mother and father like all of my siblings. However the creature that spawned me was none other than the wave boss of the wave of Lute."
Melty flinched at the news, but the young knight and his allies froze stiff. Raphtalia interjected.
"He wasn't even hatched until we returned to Lute to help repair it. In fact, Monti assisted in keeping the town from forcibly having a different lord." She'd not mention he helped by murdering two people in cold blood.
The group regained themselves a bit.
"I know what you must be thinking, but that's why I want so badly to perform so well in this wave and every other that comes after. I want people to see that I'm not like that at all. I was born in this world, this is my mother's world, my father's charge. It matters to me too."
Monti seemed genuine to the group, but they still had a mix of opinions. They kept them to themselves for now.
Over the next hour and ten minutes, Naofumi and Melty hammered out the basics to everyone. Naofumi passed out three healing potions to each person as well as a single antidote. All of which he made in the last few days when he had a free minute.
By the end, everyone was feeling confident. Even those with reservations about Monti believed they were about as prepared as they could be.
As they all filed out of the shop and into the street, Naofumi made it a point to remove Melty from the party. If he accidentally brought her with him to a wave, he'd absolutely need to leave the country.
Melty turned to them, to see them off to their dangerous mission. As the light began to surround them all, they all waved to her as they were all wisped away.
...
Some farm fields
...
The former captain of the Opaltown's guards and his group had just returned to the overseer of the local farms. They were tasked with hunting down some small, fast creatures that would take from their fields. They came to report their success with the bodies as proof. Their group was now ten strong, having gained three more traveling companions since they left Opaltown.
The captain's name was Kurtis, or Kurt for short, but even now the group called him captain. He was the one that decided they'd form a party and do enough good until they felt they'd done enough to wash away the scummy things they did under lord Wagner. He also hoped to run into the savior again. To maybe let him see that he was able to become something more than the cowardly thug he met. With his partisan, he acted as the center of the group, catching enemies that engaged his front-line or intercepting anything approaching the back-line.
There was Severin. He had the size and build with matching thick metal armor to put most people in their place without drawing his blade. If he did though, his was a greatsword that often ended whatever it caught. He had known Kurtis for years. It was Kurtis who brought Severin onto the guards years ago. He only agreed to it because he liked working under Kurtis. He was bald with blue eyes.
Wallace, nicknamed 'the wall', was another strong front-line fighter that used a mace and a shield. While not as tall as Severin, he was just as stout, if not stouter. His ability to take a hit was the party's greatest boon. He looked like a thug, but he was one of the more liked members of his party, being the first to think positively. His mood was nearly as hard to bring down as he was. He had light brown hair and light green eyes.
Clement was a women who always acted half her age. She was the oddest for leaving with the others, as she had only been a guard for just over a year. Her attitude was somewhat abrasive to the others and made worse by her choice of weapon. She used a large curved sword that was actually a boomerang. She used the only magic she knew of her wind affinity to bolster her weapon when thrown and safely guide it back to her. The others were still getting used to the thing and often leapt out of its path. She has short black hair and hazel colored eyes.
Beatrix was a women of noble birth and her choice in attire reflected that. Though her family lost their position right after the war with Siltvelt, she continued to act in a noble way. Not wanting to acknowledge her family's lowered station, it was a need for status that led her to being a guard, to wield authority. She came to understand how petty she was being when she chose to leave. She had the best armor of the group, being a mix of leather, cloth and some metal in places. She used an overly designed rapier that her father gave her years back. Her skill was above average, if only a little. She had wavy golden hair and amber eyes.
Edmund (usually referred to as Ed) was the only former guard with a strong history with magic. He used chains along with his shadow affinity to cast various binding spells to capture criminals as a guard. Now as a part of the newly formed party, his main job was to create and exploit openings while others were engaging the enemy. Despite his rather creepy skill set, he's actually a softhearted person. It was that part of him that led to him developing a way to fight without killing. He had flat black hair and violet eyes.
Godiva used only weaponized gauntlets to fight. She used her martial arts to subdue people as a guard, but now fighting monsters the party quickly saw how much she had held back against people. While she hadn't received proper training at any point, her natural talent had led her to subconsciously develop very well as a fighter. She was the loudest and proudest of the group. She only joined the guard because of Kurtis and she left with him for the same reason. She had deep red hair worn in a single long braid and green eyes.
Sigrid was one of the new additions. A fierce looking woman who wore thick cloths and wielding a quarter staff. This was because she excelled in ice magic. She could place plates of ice onto her clothes and sculpt any sort of weapon head onto her staff. She used magic to be a better melee fighter that adapts to the situation. She was the most reserved member of the group, often only speaking to Mia, who was in a party with her prior. While at first she seemed like a high quality adventurer, her short coming was her low Mp. It was because of her high magic potential and low Mp that she adopted her current fighting style. She had white hair with a blue tint to it and bright blue eyes.
The second new addition was Cassian, often called Cass. Cassian was a dog demi-human and the kind of man that just looked unsavory. He had been a thief early in life before being caught and being given the opportunity to do jobs for the guild in order to pay off his fines. After doing so, he kept at it as an adventurer, seeing the work as more desirable than his old ways. He used daggers and focused on speed, with only leather armor as protection. He was the party's main way of gathering information and finding jobs not yet sent to the guild. He had black hair and red eyes.
The last new member, Mia was simultaneously the strongest and weakest member of the group. She was a ferret demi-human and an alchemist by trade with a focus on combining weapons to result in transforming weapons. Her contribution in a fight came in the form of a crossbow that shot bolts that would morph into javelins mid-flight. However her own stats were nothing to write home about, likely due to her age, as she was quite young at 11, but because of levels she looked 16. Her tricks and hitting power combined with her lackluster stats made her protection a party wide priority. She had orange hair worn in pigtails and green eyes.
They were happy at the recent success. It wasn't too difficult, but they completed it without a single issue. It proved to themselves that they were becoming a proper team.
"Seventeen of the little bastards? That's certainly more than I expected." The overseer said with approval.
"Tracking them down was fairly hard, but even then, you'd kill one and two would pop up. Was real annoying" Clement said.
"Tracking them would've been easy if you stopped throwing the scent away with your stupid toy." Cass pointed out.
"Regardless, the job was done in a single day. I say we did well enough." Kurtis said to attempt to defuse any tension before it escalated.
"Kind of a low standard for a 'good' job, eh Kurt?" Godiva pointed out.
"What's wrong with having a lower standard to be happy?" Wallace asked.
"Um, well... I guess you're right about that, Wallace." Mia said, peeking out from behind Beatrix.
"I promised 2 silver a head... damn. I'll need to talk to the other farmers about gathering your funds. You could stay the night or-"
A loud noise rang out. The sound of shattering glass, followed by the wailing of countless people. The skies darkened and monsters began to pour out of the lime green holes.
This was a wave of catastrophe and they were nearly at the center of it.
Before the group could act, Kurtis yelled.
"Formation! Overseer, stay at the center! We will gather up the farmers and retreat into the woods!"
Had he spoke with any less confidence, a few of them might not have acted.
...
The Wave of Catastrophe
...
As the light faded, Naofumi's group appeared together. His family and the recent recruits appeared beside him. Liviccic, Sophia and the remaining skeletons appeared to his other side.
"Hopefully, the skeletons being fully armed and armored made them worth something." Naofumi thought.
Naofumi immediately tossed the staff to Liviccic. The moment it was in his hand, Liviccic felt the wicked power coming from it.
"Damn, this is gonna cost an arm and a leg." Liviccic admitted.
"You have plenty of those, I prefer coin." Naofumi said as he began glancing around.
As everyone got their bearings, Leon was the first to spot the nearby village.
"There! There's a town here too!" Leon screamed.
"Alright, move out!" Naofumi motioned them to follow him.
As they began running towards the town, Monti was panicking. His eyes were dilated, all his senses were heightened and he had only one word assaulting his mind. 'Kill'. The wave was effecting him, boosting him slightly. The green swirl in his eye began to spin.
Monti shot out a [Blightning] nearly twice the size of his normal ones as it struck the first monsters that came into view. He lunged himself wildly at the next bunch cresting the same hill, breaking the ground beneath him. He tore into them with a viciousness he was scared to know he had.
He couldn't tell how much of his current power was from this boost he felt from the wave itself and how much was him simply not holding back due to the wave attacking his mind.
The family saw how strong and nearly feral Monti was acting. He was nearly to the village, far ahead of the rest of them. Raphtalia caught up to him by riding Filo and held pace beside him.
"Monti... Something's wrong, isn't it?" Raphtalia was concerned, but she also knew what she was accusing him of. Accusing him of being a danger to others during the wave. She hated even asking.
"I'm scared... My skin is cold, my blood is boiling... I'm confused and... angry." Monti admitted.
Raphtalia didn't respond. What could she say to him?
"I'll focus on killing monster... outside the town. I'm sorry, I'll get used to this soon."
"...We're counting on you." Was all Raphtalia said.
Monti broke off from the others and went between the village and the center of the wave.
As the rest of the group made it to the town, they did as they discussed. The bulk of them swept the streets killing any monster that they saw. Teal was tasked with planting seeds around the town with Leon and Sophia guarding her. Liviccic kept his skeletons around the outside of the town to intercept new invaders. Everyone was performing well.
The enemies consisted of weaker imp-like enemies that were little threat, but traveled in groups. Larger lizardmen that were physically strong and fast, armed with decent weapons. Wolf creatures that stood on two legs with disfigured claws.
Filo would run through the enemy, breaking them up and giving the others time to surround and suppress them. Liviccic would also using [Seeking Skulls] to destroy groups of enemies if they bunched up too close. Naofumi focused on rescuing the people with [Shield Prison] and using [Fast Heal] when necessary. He occasionally used [Air Strike Shield] to box enemies in between to other walls.
When needed, Naofumi also used [Hate Reaction], but it took more Sp than most of his abilities, so he only did so twice.
As Naofumi, Raphtalia and Filo made it to the last edge of the town, they saw an old lady punch holes straight through wolfmen, their claws never reaching her. Naofumi couldn't help but gawk at the scene. The old lady saw Naofumi and bowed to them.
"Ah, savior. Or, I guess it's shield hero right now. Either way, it is good to see you. I could take them all on myself, but company is nice too."
Naofumi was confused for a moment.
"...You're that old woman whose son went to go get medicine!" Naofumi remembered her.
"What!? You forgot me for a moment, didn't you? Haha, I'll forgive you, young one... How are the other villagers?" She spoke while still tearing into the invaders.
"We're finishing our first sweep now, zero casualties so far. Soon we'll be moving to the edges of the town and focus on maintaining the border. You should find somewhere to hide."
The women struck three more weaker foes dead in a single blow before turning to him.
"No. As a former adventurer, I'll do my part... You seem to have thought this out well enough. What of the farmers to the north? They were likely tending the fields when the wave struck."
Naofumi and Raphtalia shared a look. Raphtalia used the [Tele-communication] that Naofumi kept open to speak to Monti.
"Monti... Can you hear me?"
"Yes. I'm hearing you okay. I'm doing better. I'm still very anxious, but I'm doing better. I swear." Monti didn't sound fine.
"That's good to hear... You're north of the town, right?"
"Um... north-east I guess, why?"
"There are farms north of the town and farmers were likely caught up in the wave. Please find them and bring them here. We'll send help when we can, if you need it."
There was a long pause.
"I can do it, but are you sure?" He wasn't asking about just sending him, but about having him approach people with his head all screwed up.
Raphtalia spoke with confidence, "I care about you Monti, but I'd never risk someone else's life to reassure you. So, when I ask you to save them, I'm only doing so because I really believe in you. None of us doubt the person you are."
Monti couldn't help but cry a bit, but made sure not to make a sound.
"I'm on it!"
After the brief exchange, Raphtalia turned back to the old woman.
"Our eldest is on it. Rest assured."
"Ha! Well I can't rest in any fashion right now. Where do you need me, shield hero?"
Naofumi thought to not include her. He thought to let her evac with the others, but her power was evident.
"Help where you can. When you see a flare, please proceed to the northern edge of town. That's where they are coming from. We also need someone to identify the farmers when they get brought back to know if we missed any."
"Understood. I'll head there-" She broke through a lizardman's sword and blew a hole straight through him. "-right away!"
Naofumi and Raphtalia began doubling back, while they glanced at the sky. Still no signal.
"Can anyone assist us?" The young knight requested.
"What's the issue?" Liviccic asked back.
"Ah, lord Blackcrown. We pushed the enemy to allow the townspeople time, but now we've screwed up. We've pushed them together and now the clustered enemy forces are too much. Ten lizardmen or so, just as many wolf beasts, at least twice as many smaller monsters. Formation is buying us time, but we can't engage them favorably."
"I'm not lord yet... Location?"
"Sorry. Near the western road."
"Damn, too far. It'll take me time."
Just then a ball of fire shot out close to the young knight. It climbed high into the sky and popped into smoke.
"The signal."
"The three of us will be there soon." Teal said happily.
Less than a minute later, Sophia, Teal and Leon landed on a nearby roof, having got there so quickly thanks to Sophia's [Collapsing Thread]. Teal jumped to the ground and quickly ran her roots into the ground, having them spring up to ensnare the enemy [Undergrove]. With the others keeping them mostly pinned, it was simple. From there, Leon cast [All Zweite Fireball] on the bound crowd. A pelting of small but fast fireballs rained down on the enemy.
"Feel free to worship me." Leon said with his head held high.
He'd have to settle for thanks.
Because of how clustered some of the enemies were, a few used their fellow invaders to shield themselves from the lion's share of the attack. Once the attack stopped, they began trying to free themselves from the roots only to be met with the young knight's group charging them. With their number harshly cut and unable to retreat, the small group was able to use a simple formation to finish them off.
"Alright everyone, post yourselves at the edge of the town. I've swept the town for enemies. My shield detects none."
"Where are the townspeople held up at?" Teal asked, having not been part of the evac at all.
"The Lord's manor. He let them all take refuge there." The young knight said.
"We need the townspeople to do a head count and find out how many are missing." Teal said.
"Understood, I'll send someone."
"Be aware that Monti should be bringing farmers from the field soon, so we'll need names of the missing, not just numbers." Raphtalia added.
The young knight didn't like having Monti 'saving' people as he was right now. He was one of his group that believed his earlier statement, but clearly the wave had sent him into a rage.
"...Understood."
Teal met up with her father just long enough for him to remove one of her pots from his [Inventory]. She quickly pulled the plant from the pot as it formed a blade [Iron Garden].
After that, she went to a different section of the town's edge and waited to receive enemies, the same as everyone else.
The plan was simple now. Naofumi had everyone take positions around the town to keep new enemies from entering. He posted his main party towards the northern side to deal with the bulk of the invaders, with the volunteers take more of the western and eastern sides. Lastly, Liviccic's skeletons would take the south side. At this point, all the normal sized undead were gone and only the recently repair giant skeletons remained.
Liviccic remained economical, though, and revived a few lizardmen as needed.
As everyone held their positions, they awaited Monti, hoping for the best.
...
The northern fields
...
Kurt's party was quickly being overwhelmed. Mia's transforming bolts couldn't always kill a lizardman in a single blow and that alone was pushing them harshly. Even with four front-line fighters, they were struggling. Worse still was that they hit hard enough to damage Sigrid's [Ice Mantle]. Meaning, she had to keep using her Mp to repair it and she was nearly out. Once she lost her armor and the number of front-line fighter would be lowered... Kurt thought the downward momentum would lead to their defeat.
It was clear to everyone that they were losing ground and resources and would need to make a run for it at this rate. At the same time, though, none of them were going to do that. Kurtis himself was fine dying in a wave protecting the people. That was a man's death in his eyes.
As the fighting continued, a melancholy was growing within the party. They began exchanging looks, asking each other who was going to grab Mia and lead the farmers away. No one felt a child as young as her has any right to lay her life down yet. At the moment, it looked like Sigrid was going to be the one to take her to safety.
Before a conclusion could be reached, bolts of lightning seemed to come from nowhere and take a good portion of the enemy down. As they went to go at the enemy with renewed vigor, they caught a glimpse of Monti in his full form, sparks appearing all over him as he barreled through the enemy. His tail cleaved five or more monsters with each swing and when he used [Fear], the monsters fled in all directions.
Kurtis thought that this was the wave boss (he wasn't entirely wrong). He knew the rules of a wave, as most people did. Kill the wave boss and the wave ends.
He was beginning to psyche himself up. If they killed this beast then the wave would be over.
Monti saw the large group of humans. He stopped and began to take deep breaths. He looked around and saw no dead humans. He had made it in time. He took three steps towards the groups and went to speak.
At the sight of his advance, the group acted. They attacked. They were less organized now, running on panic and misplaced hope. Monti went for the kill for only a moment before his mother's words replayed in his head.
His tail shot out and stopped right at Godiva's head. She never saw it coming. Everyone stopped. Monti looked each of them over and noticed Kurtis. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him, so he spoke.
"You're the captain of the Opaltown guards? Why are you here?"
"Holy shit it fucking talks!?" Cass said, falling flat on his ass.
Kurtis was beyond confused, but as he looked at the creature, he began recalling that odd person the savior called his son. All the features lined up, but that'd be ridiculous.
"I... I quit, I'm here defending these farmers as an adventurer... Are you... are you the savior's kid?"
The other's looked at their leader like he had fully lost it, but were proven wrong in the next moment.
Monti forced himself into his human form, but it was difficult. Far more difficult than it ever was before. Once he fully changed, everyone there was completely struck dumb.
Monti had to catch his breath again from the strain. As he did, the others spoke.
"C-Captain? What the hell?" Severin said, actually jarred by the situation.
"Believe it or not, but this is the child I saw the savior call his son."
Kurt finished speaking only for the obvious to reach him.
"Is the savior around here? Is he okay!?"
Monti caught his breath finally. "Father is fine. We need to take all the villagers back to the town, now."
"W-Why? That place is probably overloaded with monsters!" Edmund yelled while looking at the farmers.
"The town is secure. We need to move now."
Kurt wasn't just going to agree to that. "Kid. I owe your father an apology, but I can't just lead these people blindly. We'll go to the tree line and-"
Monti used [Fear] as he spoke, "I will not fail them! Either you get your asses marching to the village or I slaughter the lot of you and grab the villagers myself!"
Monti was ashamed, the volatile nature of his mood right now was leaving him unable to control his emotions.
"S-Sorry... Listen. I came with a cardinal hero. That hero and a party of more than ten has secured the town. We're still trying find out who is missing. If those farmers don't return, then we have incomplete information and will be forced to send people out to search for people who are already safe... Sorry for, um, the threat."
The group was recoiling from the threat and [Fear] still, but a few thought over his words.
Mia pushed past the others and asked, "So it's really secure? I mean, if you're worrying about sending people out then it'd have to be secure, right?"
Monti was glad he didn't screw it up. "Yes. I promise it's safe. Now, come on. I'll guard you the whole way there."
If nothing else, the offer of security was tempting, given the final stand they were in minutes ago.
"Lead the way." Was Kurt's eventual answer.
.
[Author's Notes]
Naofumi's armor and Livicci's staff are done just in time for the wave.
Naofumi and Melty make a deal and reconciliation may be in sight.
Melty gets to tell an RTS player how real war is waged.
Captain Kurt is back (and yes, that was intentional).
Making the names for his party was the hard part. Names are always the hard part.
Monti is being driven crazy by the wave, but has so far fought it off admirably..., but how long can he keep it up?
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