"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
Each hero was now on their way to Naofumi. They had two days to prepare for a wave that they had no previous knowledge of. They'd need to register for the wave, gather as many allies as they could and possibly face a wave at sea.
…
The heroes were brought to Naofumi's location as quickly as they could, with Itsuki being the first to arrive and Motoyasu being the last. They all heard some of the details from the kids, but Naofumi went to tell them in detail.
"-So I approached it and now I am registered for a wave that'll hit the area in 2 days." Naofumi finished telling them.
"Then the first thing we need to do is register ourselves. One of you needs to guide us to this temple." Itsuki told them.
"Is that necessary? We can just join Naofumi's party and when the wave comes, we'll get teleported with him." Ren said, acting quite odd. Ren of all people trying to do less work?
"The problem is that the party size isn't unlimited. Combine that with the wave likely teleporting us into the water…" Itsuki pointed out and trailed off.
"We need to party with… sailors?" Motoyasu followed along as best as he could drunk. He wasn't too far off.
"No, the queen." Liviccic correctly guessed.
"Exactly. We have her prepare men and boats. We party with them and then we don't drown during the wave." Naofumi told them.
Ren flinched at those words. "But that still doesn't mean that we all need to-"
Liviccic cut him off. "Yes, we do. We need to tell the local lord and try to recruit as many adventurers as possible. More combatants, better chance for success. And as the bow hero said, party size is limited. So we need each of us to register for the greatest potential party size." Liviccic explained.
"...Um… well…" Ren was uncomfortable for some reason.
"Ren? What's wrong? Just go to the temple. I did it. It's easy." Wyndia grew a suspicious look.
"I will… Maybe later, though." Ren was putting it off for some reason.
"No, right now." Leon demanded, feeling like something was off.
"..." Ren said and did nothing.
"Oi… You think…?" Motoyasu motioned to Naofumi and Itsuki.
"Yeah, most likely." Naofumi agreed.
"That cliche? Huh…" Itsuki understood.
"...What?" Raphtalia was lost.
"Ren can't swim." Naofumi said aloud.
"Stop it. I can swim." Ren argued.
A 'liar' from Filo said otherwise.
"Then swim to the temple." Itsuki told him.
"This is… stop deciding everything yourself. We're trying to figure out-" Ren tried to wiggle out of this.
An exchange of looks occurred, ending with Itsuki and Motoyasu grabbing Ren and they began dragging him into the water as he spoke.
"Guys, stop! I can swim! I can, I swear!" Ren pleaded, but was ignored.
Itsuki and Motoyasu tossed Ren into the water with blank expressions. They then waited to see Ren kicking and screaming in the water, but it didn't happen.
"..." A moment passed.
"No way." They saw Ren in the water, stiff as a board and drowning. He was drowning… in 4'-5' of water. He could stand and survive…
Wyndia ran out into the water and pulled him up to his feet.
*Gasp* *Cough* *Cough* "What the hell!?" Ren was justifiably upset.
The other heroes collectively didn't care. They simply turned to him with a look of 'why lie?'.
Ren grit his teeth as Wyndia helped him to shore. "I can swim, you guys just… threw me in when I wasn't ready!" Ren was clearly making up excuses on the fly.
Wyndia was trying to get Ren to sit down, but he was adamant about his ability to swim and wanted them to acknowledge that.
"Ren. Enough. You just need to put on a Pekkul Kigurumi. You'll be able to breathe long enough for us to just swim you there ourselves." Naofumi told him.
"No, I can swim!" Ren continued.
"That only fixes the immediate problem. With Ren not able to swim, what use will he be during the wave?" Itsuki asked doubtfully.
"I can swim!" And continued.
"He'll just have to use his ranged options and protect whichever ship he is on." Motoyasu said.
"I can swim!" And continued even further.
"We'll still have four heroes." Liviccic reminded them.
"I can-" Ren wasn't going to stop until someone stopped him.
Naofumi would do just that. "Leon. Wyndia. Wrestle Ren into a Pekkul Kigurumi already." Naofumi suggested.
Leon was practically giggling at the idea of stuffing Ren in a Kigurumi. Wyndia just wanted Ren to stop and catch his breath. Ren's struggle was entertaining to watch.
"Someone should stay here. Everyone will be running around trying to figure out what is going on." Motoyasu piped up, feeling a bit more sober.
"Agreed. Leon, lead them to the temple with your senses. Stay with them and lead them back. You may have to pull Ren along… Behave." He turned to Monti, "Monti, find Mia's group. Let them know what is going on. I assume they'll want to go with me to see the queen."
He turned to Raphtalia, but she was already heading towards the town. "I'll let the lord know what is going on so he can begin organizing adventurers and preparing a ship back to the mainland." Raphtalia announced.
Naofumi appreciated that Raphtalia was on the same page as him. He rarely had to give direct orders in serious situations to her anymore. That she understood meant his stress was shared. It was very helpful.
Itsuki didn't like that Naofumi was giving orders, but he only gave orders to his own party members after the heroes agreed to register to the hourglass. He saw that Naofumi was trying not to give them orders…No. He was trying to not rely on them. That was insulting to Itsuki, but he'd show them. He'd done more than the others to prepare for the next wave.
The next few hours went by very quickly. The heroes registered for the wave. Ren found moving in the Kigurumi in the water to be beyond fun. While he still hadn't admitted to it, he could not swim. So, the act of swimming with the boost was quite new to him. Mia and the others were told what was going on and led to Naofumi. The lord was shocked at the news, but seemed to take such a serious situation as fact from Raphtalia's lips, which was not what they expected.
Things were being planned. Ren, Itsuki, and Liviccic would stay on the island. With Liviccic wanting to gain the weapon forms he was lacking from the karma bosses, and the other two continuing to grind for levels for every advantage they could. Naofumi and Motoyasu would go to the queen and explain the situation. They'd not meet up again until the wave.
Naofumi began hugging each of his family members going down the line. Some parting words for each of them. Motoyasu went to explain his absence to L'arc and Therese.
Raphtalia was first of course. "I'll be back soon." Raphtalia nodded.
Monti. "Take care of your mother." Monti stood ready.
Teal. "Do not do any mischief while I am gone." Teal reluctantly agreed.
Leon. "Do not fight with your sister." Leon promised.
Filo. "Same to you. Now come say goodbye to Melty."
"Wha-? Where is Mel-chan going?" Filo asked, upset.
Melty too stepped forward with a puzzled look. Naofumi knew that lying didn't work on Filo, so he went with the truth.
"There is no way that the queen is going to let her daughter fight in a wave. I'll be taking her to her mother." Naofumi waited to see how they would react.
"Okay…" Filo did not argue.
"But I already fought in a wave before. If you count Monti's, I have been through two of them. I-" Melty was the one to argue, but stopped herself when she realized that Filo did not.
She looked at her friend in confusion.
Filo answered that look. "If it's to protect Mel-chan, then we'll play again when we can." Filo said with a smile.
Melty shut her mouth and stood in frustration. She didn't want to abandon them, but they clearly all agreed that she had to be moved to safety. Naofumi scooped her up and headed towards the ship. Everyone waved their goodbyes there.
Motoyasu went back to the bar, only to not find his party. L'arc and Therese were gone. He had only so much time to tell them before he had to be on that boat to leave. He ran like a madman to the room they were sleeping at and knocked on the door, hard. The door was not closed and swung open from the attempt. His eyes spotted L'arc and Therese sitting on a bed, talking.
"Eh, s-sorry about that." Motoyasu apologized.
"It's fine, Moto. Sorry we left the bar… L'arc had too much, so we came back here." Therese told him.
L'arc didn't speak, but waved at him all the same.
"Ah… Well… I'm sorry to say that I am going to be busy the next 2 days…, but there is a wave coming and I'll be there. What do you plan to do?" Motoyasu asked.
"We will help in the wave, of course." Therese told him confidently.
That made Motoyasu smile. "Understood. Then… let's stay in a party together and I'll see you there." Motoyasu told her.
If they were already willing to fight in the waves, then Motoyasu had little to fear. He'd show off the power he kept under wraps to them and once again reveal himself as the spear hero. He was sure that they'd accept him. They got along. They knew all the bad he did. They weren't scared of the waves. He had found great companions moving forward.
"Sounds like a plan. We'll see you there." Therese said with a smile.
Motoyasu gave her a nod and ran back down the hall, calling out an upbeat goodbye. Therese held her smile a bit longer, but soon it fell into a frown.
"I really hope it's untrue…" Therese expressed to L'arc
"But if it is, we do what we have to." L'arc reminded her.
"Yeah…" Therese resigned.
…
Melromarc, Castletown
…
Naofumi, Motoyasu, and Melty took a small but fast vessel heading towards Melromarc. Naofumi was generous enough to provide Motoyasu medicine on the boat ride. They were told to keep going until the three of them disappeared. After which, they were to return to Cal Mira. The three of them were in the same party. Naofumi and Motoyasu took turns trying to teleport to the hourglass in the capital. Neither sure where the boundary was in regards to the teleportation negation of the activation event.
Eventually, an hour into the voyage, Motoyasu attempted to teleport successfully. The three of them appeared in the church, several faces surprised by their sudden appearance. They gave themselves no time, immediately rushing to the castle. They used their hero status and Melty to quickly gain access to the queen. Once they did, they explained everything. Melty and Naofumi did most of the talking.
"-so we have two days to prepare. 46 hours, more accurately." Naofumi finished.
The queen hid her mouth with her fan as she had come to do out of habit whenever thinking. "I see. Then I will gather the ships and men needed… as well as speak with my advisor. Thank you again for prioritizing Melty's safety." The queen motioned for some servants to tend to Melty.
"Please, both of you wait here for a moment. I'll discuss strategy and then we will travel together from there." The queen told them both.
"Why not bring your advisor with you and then we can get ahead of this?" Motoyasu asked, no longer drunk.
"...Because my husband is my advisor… Would you tolerate his presence, lord Iwatani?"
Naofumi didn't even consider the options. "If he doesn't act up, fine. My personal hang-ups are less of a priority at the moment."
"He's calmed down quite a bit. He even seems less stressed. Given time…" The queen quietly evaluated Naofumi for a moment. "The spear hero seems quite a sight better, too. He has likely gained new allies and is recovering. I'll ask Naofumi to confirm." She shifted to evaluating Motoyasu next.
After a moment, a door opened and Aultcray entered the room. His crown and other finery were mostly missing. He still wore expensive clothes, but the luster was missing. He also carried himself differently than they remembered. His long stride was replaced by the quick shuffling of his feet. He looked up to meet the queen's eyes and saw the others: Naofumi, Motoyasu, and Melty.
"Has the spear hero attacked the shield hero again?" He asked the first thing he assumed.
That he assumed that Naofumi was not at fault was not lost on Naofumi.
The queen waved her hand dismissively. "They have returned Melty early because a wave is to take place near Cal Mira." She didn't say a word more, purposefully.
He turned to see his daughter, seemingly safe and sound, then turned to the queen. "Given the area, the wave would likely move the heroes to somewhere in the surrounding ocean. I'll send word to the harbormaster and prepare the ships… I should make sure they are undermanned…" The king added at the end.
Naofumi was curious why he'd say that. The king he knew would do something like that to make things harder on him. However, admitting it out loud and to himself and the queen?
Aultcray saw the looks Naofumi and Motoyasu gave to his last words. He looked to the queen for permission to speak further, she nodded.
"I assume we are using the two of you to teleport the men and ships to the wave, correct? If so, then I can only assume the other two heroes are doing the same thing, but with adventurers on the islands. The adventurers that can make it to Cal Mira and have trained for a week would dwarf the power of our average knight. Therefore, it is the ships that we must provide. Melromarc ships with seasoned adventurers aboard, that is the optimal course of action."
It sounded dumb when he first said it, but the more Naofumi thought on it, the more right he found it. You can't just bring every willing person because the ocean will likely be the battleground, meaning the ships are all the space to stand they would have. Naofumi didn't look at Aultcray, but nodded in acceptance.
"Then let us begin. I will command the men in the wave personally… I want to see what kind of threat my people face myself." The queen said as she stood and began descending the stairs.
Aultcray flinched at that. "If you are going, then I too must. Even without the staff, my level is-" He went to volunteer himself.
"No. I order you to protect our daughter until I return. Dismissed." The queen said swiftly.
Mirellia was more keenly aware of her weakness than ever. Her weakness was her family. Without any of their lives at risk, she could do what needed to be done.
..
The interlude
..
Itsuki and Ren, along with the lord of Cal Mira, informed those on the island what was to occur. They were told when the wave was going to hit and how joining a heroes' party could allow them to help in the wave. They were told that if they participated in the wave then they could receive 5 gold in product and services from the island. Many volunteered, but not as many as they had liked.
Rishia had whispered something to Itsuki that changed that. Itsuki took a step forward, addressing the crowd. "Think of the EXP you gained from slimes and worms on these islands. Just imagine the EXP you'll receive from battling the wave! The wave is happening here, during the activation event! Who knows how high your levels will shoot." Itsuki reminded them.
That got a mighty cheer from everyone and secured the volunteers they needed.
Teal and the others now understood the activation event well enough to know that the wave monsters would not provide bonus EXP, but there was no need to correct that misinformation.
Everything was planned and written on posters throughout the island. 2 hours before the wave would begin, Itsuki, Ren, and Liviccic would be at the estate of the lord. Volunteers would show up during that time and join one of their parties. That allowed the heroes and the adventurers to continue grinding for the time they had left without EXP penalties.
Itsuki and Rishia continued as they were, but Itsuki didn't lower Rishia's level in these two days. Even though her stat gains per level were horrible, every point mattered during a wave.
Ren trained harder than before and used the coming wave as his blanket excuse when anyone asked him to slow down. He did seem to prioritize his magic studies more suddenly. Cutting the grinding short an hour to receive more instruction from Wyndia.
Liviccic's group joined Itsuki and Rishia in the boss rotation, as their teams combined left no EXP penalty. They didn't get along well, but Itsuki and Liviccic both had more important things to do than argue with the other.
Mia's group continued training on Karma bosses, taking the free rotation left by Motoyasu's absence. Mia and Walter also began stockpiling extra ammo and tools for the wave, which is when Mia finally saw how Walter made his pellets. He formed them from copper coins, finding the amount of decent metal in a copper coin to be ideal. If Leon ever learned that Walter literally destroyed coinage and launched it away from him, Walter would be slain.
Without Naofumi to lead the party, it fell to Raphtalia. She and the kids continued to grind without Naofumi. with Monti taking Naofumi's defensive position using the replica. He'd have really reveled in that, but he never wanted to replace his father. Raphtalia was far less strict than Naofumi, to her own detriment as she soon realized. With Raphtalia's frustrations increasing, Monti decided to be the un-fun one, helping keep the others in line. Raphtalia's only issue she hadn't expected was her inability to sleep without Naofumi. He had been with her for long enough that she couldn't find comfort sleeping alone. Luckily, she wasn't alone. Upon hearing their mother's problem, the kids brought two beds together and piled on together to help Raphtalia sleep.
Everyone did what they could, worrying about what was awaiting them
…
The Parade marches on
…
The wave beast that had been in search of Monti was heading towards the capital of Melromarc. Kalbur knew where some church supplies were hidden near there. They planned to take those and allow Kalbur to gather information from the capital to discover where to go, as they had no decent way to track Monti or where he was. They were entering Lute village, meaning they were nearly there. They planned to walk right through the village, but they caught sight of something that couldn't be ignored.
Dragging a section of a freshly downed tree into town was Malty. She wrestled and grunted as she was forced to move something so unreasonable just because she had the levels to make it possible. Kalbur and Mald both recognized her. When they stopped, she looked up at them. Kalbur was now wearing a mask and Mald wore a helmet that covered his face. This was to avoid being identified as known criminals. She stared at them a moment in frustration.
"What? Going to laugh? Go ahead you bastards!" Malty verbally lashed out.
Mald and Kalbur both stood there a moment, truly dumbstruck.
The wave beast felt this woman was important for them to test his patience. "Who is she?"
"The first princess of Melromarc, Malty S Melromarc… Malty, why are you here? …And why are you doing manual labor?" Kalbur answered his master then questioned Malty.
"That's none of your busi-... fuck. I'm forced to serve these people." Malty tried to not answer and was shocked by the slave crest.
"Interesting…" Kalbur had a number of ideas.
"She has good stats for her level. I guess we'll take her with us." Their master suggested.
"M-Master, please reconsider! If she is here, then shadows are surely watching. To them, we are simply travelers, but if we were to try to take Malty, the full wrath of the queen would be down on us." Kalbur warned, doing his best to not raise his voice.
"I'm not afraid of some human queen…, but if she'd be more trouble than she's worth, then we'll simply move on." Merodach had a rare instance of restraint.
"Before that… Malty. Do you know where the shield hero is?" Kalbur asked.
They knew Monti was in the shield hero's party because Mald was in Itsuki's party when they confronted Naofumi about him. All they had to do was find the shield hero and for Monti to be with him. That would complete the one task each that they were given, buying their freedom.
"No… They make me work all day and tell me nothing about what happens outside this garbage dump. Hurry and get me out of here!" Malty remembered to answer his question before demanding their help.
"We have no time for you today. Perhaps I'll make you my slave some other time. Come, you two." The beast walked past her with the same uninterested attitude he usually sported.
"Yes, master." They answered in unison.
Malty begged. "Stop! Please!" They kept walking. She grew angry. "Take me with you or I'll- aaahh!" She was punished for attempting to threaten them.
They walked off, out of sight. After a moment of frustration, Malty had no choice but to return to her task of retrieving the wood she had chopped down earlier that morning. Her tasks had increased in scope as the lord slowly became aware of what she could do with her levels. She'd never be tasked with cleaning clothes or dishes because anyone could do that. She'd be assigned the type of work that usually required two or more men and a steed. She had been quite useful up until now and the village could finally offer her a room instead of the stables.
For a moment, she was grateful, but she told herself that offering her a room didn't make up for taking everything from her. She refused to see the many ways that Lute village allowed her to maintain a level of dignity and humanity. It would take much longer to humble the former princess.
…
The day of the wave
…
The day of the wave came. The island seemed more alive than ever. With the adventurers not leaving the main island, it gave the town a busy, bustling feel.
Wyndia was finding it difficult to weave between people. She (along with the rest of Ren's party) were looking for Ren. He had left early that morning and they assumed he was going to grind, which seemed irresponsible given the circumstances, but they confirmed with the man they had been renting boats from that Ren hadn't taken a boat today.
Just when Wyndia was about to give up and go get Leon to help her search, she spotted him.
Ren sat cross-legged in front of the tablet that housed the Hero exclusive spells. He wasn't looking at the tablet, though, he was shifting his fingers in front of him. Navigating menus for some purpose Wyndia couldn't know.
"There you are! We only have a few minutes until the appointed time to let others join your party. We need to make it to the lord's castle." Wyndia scolded.
Ren slowly picked himself up and walked over and past her. "Sorry, let's go." Ren offered.
Wyndia couldn't help but notice Ren's slight smile. He seemed calmer than usual and now of all times. Wyndia found that odd.
They made it on time to begin adding the adventurers to their parties. It took almost two hours to get through everyone. It was after they thought they were done that Liviccic left for a moment to check on his party. The moment he left, a party snuck in behind him and approached Itsuki.
"Hello. We are a group of Zeltoble gladiators called Stormclad. Allow us to join you, please." Their leader asked, still wearing her mask.
Itsuki was not unaware of the odd action they just took, avoiding Liviccic.
"Why are you avoiding the staff hero?" Itsuki asked directly.
"Oh that… To be honest, he kind of creeps us out." She lied.
"...Sure." Itsuki sent them invites.
After they accepted them, they thanked him and waited to be teleported.
"It's no problem. A wave can be a big deal. So we'll even accept help from liars like you." He accused.
They didn't know what to say.
Itsuki explained. "You are scared of his look and yet sign up for a wave? You should have thought about that lie a bit more… Not that it matters. Here it comes." He warned at the end.
…
Wave of catastrophe
…
The clock hit zero. The same uneasy light covered each hero and many, many others. In an instant, everyone fell a few inches onto several different ships. The plan worked.
But there was immediate panic for a variety of reasons. Many parties got separated and mixed up between the ships. Naofumi tried to locate Raphtalia and they did the same. Ren almost began to panic when he could not locate Wyndia. Everyone was confused.
Adding to that, there was a wave happening. Large sea creatures spilled out of the cracks in the sky. Monsters of all kinds fell into the sea and were making their way to the vessels. The adventurers tried to rally, but the confusion was great. But then-
"Silence all talking!" The queen yelled. The talking quieted considerably.
"Care for the man at your side! Searching for your allies right now will be fruitless. Instead, seek the enemy!" She called out.
Many people calmed down and heeded the queen, though many hoped to find their comrades through the battle. Naofumi also calmed down and had a simple idea. He removed all those in his party other than Raphtalia and the kids. He then used [Knock Knock II] summoning them all to his side.
"Naofumi-sama!" Raphtalia was shocked and glad to see him well.
"We need to help the other heroes find their parties and then reunite them. We'll go on the offensive as soon as we can!" Naofumi told them.
He'd like to have a nice moment united themselves, but it was not the time.
"Do what you can, but return to this boat." Naofumi added.
Leon took off and soared above, looking for Wyndia. Monti did the same, but was looking for any such people. Filo was able to jump from ship to ship, but she wasn't really sure who to look for.
The adventurers clashed with the sea life as best they could and with the safety of the vessels, there were no initial casualties. Those with ranged options were well enough, but few melee fighters were given the chance to try an enemy. It was going to be a slow and frustrating battle.
Or at least it would have been.
[Arrow Rain]!
[Hundred Sword]!
[Triaina]!
The three heroes lashed out at the sea and those that dwelled in it. The waters parted, the creatures wailed and blood mixed with the salt of the sea. Many dozens of monsters fell in short order.
[Air Strike Shield]! [Second Shield]! [Air Strike Shield]! [Dritte Shield]! [Air Strike Shield]!
Naofumi placed his barriers beneath three ships as they topped a wave, cradling them in the air briefly. Allowing the ships to stay high enough as to not be overturned by the harsh waves the powerful skills the other heroes caused. Even the other heroes were a little surprised by how strong their skills were. None more than Motoyasu. While the others had been restraining themselves from using too powerful of a skill while on Cal Mira, Motoyasu hadn't been using skills at all due to hiding things from L'arc and Therese. He even opened with a stronger skill in hopes that whichever ship they were on, they were impressed.
And they were… L'arc and Therese saw those attacks as clear as day. They only needed to share a look to know their plan. Motoyasu's skill was the strongest. They would assume he was the biggest threat. While they'd prefer to deal with the wave boss first to save lives… L'arc was not so foolish to believe he could fight all the heroes if this is what they could do.
Others were impressed by the display. The adventurers calmed down considerably with the reassurance that the power they were seeing was on their side. The queen was also very pleased. The meeting they had was supposed to lead them to grow and she could already tell that they were each so much stronger than they were prior.
As Naofumi surveyed the area, looking for the next attack to block, he saw something. The water's surface grew higher in one spot and began to travel towards the next closest ship. He began running over to the ship with Raphtalia right behind him. Naofumi saw that he'd need to make an impossible jump to reach the other ship and currently could not make a platform, but heard Raphtalia chanting magic behind him. He did not hesitate. They both leapt from the ship as Raphtalia finished casting [Zweite Light Shield].
Naofumi landed first, with Raphtalia landing on him due to a lack of landing area. They could now see the risen section of the water for what it was. The water parted revealing an enormous beast.
[Interdimensional Whale]
It was larger than any ship and had a single straight horn like a narwhal. Its body was covered in crystals that were a mix of smooth and jagged.
"Uwaaaaaahhh!" It bellowed as it attempted to ram the ship.
"Hold on!" Naofumi told Raphtalia as he used [Dash] to finish making the jump to the other ship and running to the edge of the ship, raising his shield.
The whale's horn met Naofumi's shield. The ship turned downwards and was pushed back, but Naofumi did not buckle to the monster. Even with its mighty size, Naofumi's current strength held firmly. The power up methods were truly showing their worth in this instance. Naofumi wished he could send Raphtalia in to counterattack, but the whale would likely just dive beneath the water again.
"Allow me." Liviccic called out, then began chanting. Liviccic was on the same boat as Naofumi and stepped forward to assist.
[Drifa Tornado Drill III]!
Liviccic unleashed a swelling force of razor sharp wind that began to carve into the whale and it formed a tornado that drilled into the whale. The force of the spell pushed the whale and the boat apart and injured the wave boss. While he has had less time to adjust to it, Liviccic was also a hero and knew of the power up methods. The wave boss began to swim around the ship, firing magical projectiles from the crystal protrusions along its body, pelting multiple ships as it went.
While the wave boss was becoming the focus for the majority of people, L'arc and Therese had reached Motoyasu just as Monti was able to locate them. Motoyasu turned towards them with a bit of anxiety.
"Like I told you before… I'm Motoyasu Kitamura, the spear hero… Do you believe me now?" He asked.
L'arc approached with a sour look. "It's hard to believe, but I can't imagine a non-hero being able to use an attack like the one you used before… So, you're the spear hero…"
"I know you probably have a lower opinion of me now, but listen, I am improving. I'll never make those kinds of mistakes again… So, after all this is over… Would you two want to travel with me? I have to save the world." Motoyasu meandered through his proposal.
L'arc sighed heavily. "Geez dude… You're making this way harder than it has to be." L'arc complained as he readied his weapon.
He pointed his weapon at Motoyasu and took a battle stance. Therese also took a position behind L'arc. She stared at Motoyasu with a sad look.
"Wha…What's going on, L'arc?" Motoyasu was lost.
"Moto, fight me. And don't you dare hold back!" L'arc yelled as he leapt forward.
Across the battlefield, progress was being made. The vast majority of adventurers had quickly come to trust the person at their back and they began defending their ships efficiently. With those proficient in magic having the time to cast stronger and longer ranged spells, allowing them some level of offensive play. The queen directed as much as she could and was finding the wave to be difficult, but manageable.
Itsuki was switching between crowd control for the monsters nearing the ship he was on and using much longer ranged abilities to assault the wave boss whenever it came up to attack with magic. He was beginning to worry about where Rishia was, but those fears were soon dowsed.
"Fuee!" Rishia yelled as she landed next to Itsuki, falling on another adventurer.
Itsuki wondered for a brief moment where she came from, but he caught a glimpse of Monti flying by. He assumed correctly. He helped Rishia to her feet, but couldn't spare another second. He returned to his offensive. Rishia did what she could by his side, finding her magic to be somewhat useful in this situation.
Ren was the hero that felt the most frustrated. He had only a small number of ranged skills and whenever they were on cooldown his only option was to wait. He used that time to travel from one end of the vessel to the other. He'd found one of his party members and Ren was thankful for that, but he'd be lying if he didn't admit to being disappointed that it wasn't Wyndia. She was his responsibility and lacked the maturity and experience that Ren's other teammates possessed.
Naofumi and Raphtalia had to perform another series of leaps to make it to the boat they were previously on. Naofumi once again repelled the advance of the enormous wave monster, but Naofumi felt the ship buckle a bit from the blow. He could mitigate the damage, but the wave monster would eventually claim a ship. Having seen Naofumi block the earlier attack, the adventurers did not run from the whale's attack. After Naofumi blocked the blow, Raphtalia led the charge to strike the beast back for the brief window they were given.
Motyasu blocked two blows from L'arc, but was struck by the third. He stumbled back, but L'arc did not pursue.
"Get your head in the game, Moto." L'arc demanded. "Otherwise this won't be any fun at all."
Motoyasu still refused to take an offensive stance. "Fun? L'arc…Therese… What the hell are you two doing!? We have a wave to deal with… I-If you don't want anything to do with me now, then… Let's just part ways… okay?" Motoyasu sounded emotionally wounded.
"I'd normally agree, but your fellow heroes don't seem to be slouches themselves. I have to take one of you out during the wave… and that means I either take you out now or fight everyone here." L'arc told him.
"Even L'arc's foolishness has a limit." Therese added.
"But why? Why are you doing this? I thought… We were friends, right?" Motoyasu was sputtering and confused.
"Yeah… we are friends… but for the sake of our world, you must die. Sorry." L'arc clashed with Motoyasu again.
After the brief clash, L'arc jumped up slightly, swinging downward at Motoyasu, forcing him to swat the swings away. While Motoyasu was looking up, Therese reluctantly chanted her spell.
…[Shining Stone: Ball of Flame]...
A bright flame of blue and white erupted from the Oreikul Starfire Bracelet that Naofumi had crafted for her and launched towards L'arc. Something so bright was easy for Motoyasu to spot and he attempted to disengage L'arc to flee, but L'arc was not as concerned. L'arc used his scythe to lock down Motoyasu's movements just long enough for the spell to land on them both.
Booooom!
Everyone in the wave caught sight of that bright explosion as everyone began to realize they had more to deal with than the monsters of the wave. Motoyasu was launched to the other side of the ship, smoke rolling off of him. In contrast, L'arc was unharmed. Still without injury and approaching Motoyasu again. Several people began making their way to Motoyasu.
Motoyasu made it to his feet, using his spear to stand. He wiped blood from his face and coughed a bit.
"Why…? Why!? Why does this happen every fucking time!?" Motoyasu was screaming at the top of his lungs.
That made L'arc hesitate for just a moment.
"L'arc!" Therese warned.
Fitts and two of Ren's party members were on the same ship as them and attempted to rush L'arc. L'arc leaned back and held his scythe forward to counter his weight. When the three attacked, he spun with his heel in place, making a deceptively wide dodge. All three tumbled past him. Fitts turned to face L'arc again, but took a step back when Therese shot a fast spell towards him. He didn't think he was going to be able to do much on his own and Ren's teammates didn't exactly fill him with confidence. He nonetheless went to charge the enemy, only to back up again as Monti, Filo, Teal, and Leon arrived.
The four landed near Motoyasu and took a stance to defend him.
"What did you do to piss him off?" Teal asked Motoyasu.
Motoyasu wasn't answering. He was shaking and grinding his teeth in frustration. Tears streamed down his face as his eyes never left L'arc. It was intense and felt unnerving to the kid. They felt some concern, but could not call out to him again.
"Three times in a row… that can't be a coincidence. What is it about me that makes me untrustable? I can trust others, but they never trust me… No. It's worse than that. I can trust them and they can't even let me live. What the hell is that? They'll stop at nothing to take everything away from me, but I have nothing? No friends, no one to talk to, no reason to fight, no reason to even be here, no reason to… live… What's the point in living a life where everyone else can bond with one another and be happy, but rejects you no matter how much you try!?" Motoyasu was spiraling downward.
"Those two said they were my friends, yet they stabbed me… killed me. Myne was supposed to be my friend. I did everything I could to be her friend. To be supportive and helpful, evertrusting. She then tried to kill me the moment she could get anything out of it. I wasn't a person, I was a convenience. I thought that maybe I chose the wrong people. That maybe I was just unlucky in who I befriended. That maybe how easily I trusted others led me to awful people…, but now these two…" Something awful began to stir within Motoyasu.
"L'arc and Therese pulled their weight. They asked for things from me, but they also offered things themselves. They weren't just hanging out with me for convenience. It wasn't a transaction. I thought they… I thought we were becoming real friends, but even they turned on me. That's the truth isn't it? This is who I am and who I'm going to be. Alone or dead… Alone or dead..." Motoyasu kept repeating those words to himself, lost in a sea of emotions.
"On guard!" One of Ren's teammates yelled.
L'arc had leaped at them while wind gathered around his scythe.
[First Form: Wind Blade]!
A strong tornado formed instantly and threw several people from the ship. The skill wasn't even directed at them, but L'arc's skill was simply too strong. The lion's share of the skill struck Motoyasu and the kids. Motoyasu, Monti, and Teal anchored themselves to the ship. Motoyasu with his spear, Monti with his tail, and Teal with her roots. Filo and Leon were thrown far off the ship, but both transformed and began making their way back. L'arc was impressed by their tenacity.
As Filo and Leon were making their way back, they saw Therese casting another powerful spell. They exchanged looks before breaking off. Leon flew right at Therese, ready to counter any spell she used, while Filo attempted to stomp on L'arc as she landed.
Both failed.
[Shining Stone: Showering Thunder]!
She launched a lightning spell at Motoyasu and the others, with Leon swooping down and attempting to use [Counter-Lightning]. It seemed to have zero effect and the spell slammed into Leon and caused him to scream and get sent back, heavily injured. L'arc dodged Filo's attempt and went to follow up with an attack of his own. When Filo tried to dodge it she heard Leon's scream and turned to see if he was alright. She would have also received a heavy blow, but Monti was close enough to have intercepted the strike with the replica shield.
Leon landed near them in human form and tried picking himself up.
*Huff* *Huff* "Her spells… They're similar to [Dragon's Vein]..." Leon realized.
"Leon, are you okay?"
Leon caught his breath and stared at Therese a moment. He hated what he was about to say, but had to swallow his pride. "I can't counter her magic…and it's stronger than mine… I'm going to need help." Leon admitted.
They knew Leon was not one to admit he couldn't do something, especially magic. Teal unrooted herself and stepped towards Leon. L'arc went to attack them again, not wanting them to organize a plan.
"Stay out of this. This is between us and Moto!" [Second Form: Sky Blade]!
A second, stronger tornado formed and struck them again. Teal was able to reach Leon in time and root herself into the ship, while Monti held Filo as his tail once again anchored him down. Oddly, Motoyasu didn't move an inch despite simply standing there. As if the skill didn't hit him.
L'arc attempted to run to Motoyasu, only for Monti riding Filo to again place the replica shield between the two. Teal and Leon took their chance to pass L'arc and face Therese together.
Therese attempted to cast another spell, one targeting Motoyasu again, but it was met by a counter offensive. She used [Shining Stone: Ball of Flame], only for the spell to collide with Leon's [Drifa Hellfire] and Teal's [Sunburst], which she had been charging for two days. It was a huge surprise to Therese to see her spell overtaken as the pair landed near her. Teal and Leon would halt Therese as long as they could, allowing the others to focus on L'arc.
They were so frustrated. There was a wave boss they were supposed to be fighting, but only Naofumi, Itsuki, and Liviccic seemed to be able to do anything about it. They didn't know why they were fighting, but if Motoyasu was left alone to help slay the wave boss, they'd be nearing the end of the wave already. Instead, they had a long way to go.
"Why are you attacking Motoyasu!? Stop it! We need to end this wave!" Monti yelled at L'arc.
L'arc went to answer the question, but saw Monti's eyes. He nearly went down a rabbit hole of thought, but stopped himself. That wasn't his style. Better not to think about it. He simply rushed forward and planned to press them back until he could reach Motoyasu. Upon having that thought, he took a look at Motoyasu and felt a lot of guilt. They guy looked torn to pieces. L'arc had heard him tell him about most of the events that had happened and had a rough idea as to what Motoyasu was thinking. It made him feel like shit, but for the sake of his world, they were prepared to do awful things.
L'arc proceeded to do as planned and strike Monti over and over again, forcing him and Filo to fall back, sparing the occasional strike to send Fitts and the others away. Slowly, he was working his way toward Motoyasu. Monti tried following up his block with his tail, but couldn't touch L'arc. Somehow, L'arc's stats were much higher than his, which made no sense to him. He was so much stronger now and the wave was giving him a boost, yet somehow this random person was head and shoulders above him. Even when he briefly allowed himself to not hold back it made little difference.
L'arc could hit faster than Filo and harder than Monti, as skilled as their mother and with stats as high as their father's. They couldn't begin to guess who L'arc was or how he was this strong.
L'arc saw a good opening, but felt bad enough to apologize first. "Sorry. I won't go for the kill on you guys, but I have to protect my people."
With that, L'arc struck the replica upwards a bit, blinding Monti to what followed. L'arc slipped his blade around the shield and pulled Monti off the ground and to the side a bit, then attempted to swing horizontally at Filo.
He figured that if he injured Filo, Monti would take her and flee. Prioritizing her safety over Motoyasu's. She tried to dodge, but it was clear she was going to be hit...
Suddenly the scythe's movement was halted and stuck to the ground, held in place. Motoyasu's spear transformed into a wicked state. The length of the shaft wasn't straight, the tip was two blades that split from a single one. The whole weapon gave many of them a familiar feeling.
[Spear of Envy Unlocked]
Motoyasu held L'arc's weapon down with ease, despite his attempts to free it.
Motoyasu stared at him a moment before speaking. "I'm tired of you people pretending to be my friends just to try and kill me. If I have to be alone… then I'm going to make you worse than alone! You won't even have yourself! DIE!" Motoyasu roared.
.
[Author's Notes]
Ren can't swim joke finally achieved.
Naofumi pretends to cooperate, but Itsuki sees that Naofumi doesn't plan on relying on any of them.
Melty set the wave out, because of course she was.
A brief interaction with Aultcray after he's had a few weeks to think about things since the trials
The wave is chaotic, but was going well enough...
But then L'arc and Therese saw the strength of the heroes and took their chance to kill one of them. Motoyasu used his best skill to look impressive to the pair and it certainly was. Too bad they only saw him as a greater threat.
Motoyasu was killed in his original world by friends, almost killed by Malty, and now again by L'arc and Therese. For a high energy and social person like Motoyasu to be put into situation time and again where trusting people will get himself killed... He can't adjust like Naofumi can. He's not that kind of person. Now envious of the bonds that everyone else has while he stands alone, Motoyasu has unlocked a curse series of his own.
How will this effect the heroes' tasks of ending this wave?
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