"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
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.
…
A murky mist began to roll off of Motoyasu and everyone around began to feel something awful. L'arc slowly stopped trying to lift his weapon as he matched eyes with Motoyasu.
Naofumi and Raphtalia saw what was happening to Motoyasu, with Monti and Filo nearby. Naofumi needed this Whale to be dealt with, now.
"I'll handle things here. I can push the beast back with my magic." Liviccic responded to their concerns.
"But…" Naofumi knew this wave boss was going to be stubborn.
"The bow hero is also attacking it. The two of us have it covered. Go!" Liviccic told them.
They reluctantly turned and began racing towards Motoyasu.
Teal also looked at the scene with concern, but a united front was going to be needed against Therese. Just as she went to tell herself to stay still, Wyndia arrived at their side.
"Leon, why haven't you beat her already?" She asked in a playful way, but she was concerned.
"She can use something like [Dragon's Vein] but it's not [Dragon's Vein]. She overpowers me, and Teal only has so many charged abilities."
"I only have two left… I'm not good at magic." Teal told her.
[Dragon's Vein] uses the mana around you. Someone like Teal would never outlast Therese.
"Then you should go help the others, Teal… Leon, I'll need father's strength here." Wyndia was looking and sounding uncharacteristically brave. Both of them realized immediately.
"So, [Dragon's Vein] versus [Dragon's Vein]?" Leon asked while already handing control over to Gaelion.
"Good luck." Teal wished them luck before running over to Monti and Filo.
"This is… Oh… Moto buddy…" L'arc recognized what was happening to Motoyasu and immediately regretted his decision. He was willing to kill Motoyasu for the sake of his world (or at least he believed he was), but he knew what kind of despair and misery that was needed to unlock the curse series. He wasn't willing to have Motoyasu suffer the curse series, even for his world's sake. He thought of what he could do to stop him.
L'arc thought about what he had learned about Moto over the week he knew him. His shame and regret, his friendly demeanor and easy-going attitude, his consistent desire to not be alone…
He felt so stupid to not see it. Turning on Motoyasu was going to hurt him way more than any weapon could. Betrayed again.
"Moto! I know you're in there! Listen to me for a moment, Let's stop this here and-" L'arc never got to finish his sentence.
Motoyasu lifted his spear up, tearing through the wooden ship with ease, dragging L'arc's scythe with it. He threw L'arc's weapon into the air, L'arc was also thrown, unable to let go. Motoyasu struck at L'arc as he fell back down to the ship. L'arc blocked, but he was sent skipping across the ship to the other side.
Monti and Filo looked at Motoyasu with concern as they began inching away from him. Motoyasu turned towards them and stared for a moment. There was a brief moment of tension where all three of them didn't know what was going to happen.
But with a jarring amount of speed, Motoyasu leapt at Filo and attempted to strike her. Monti placed the replica between them and briefly clashed with Motoyasu. He had hoped that his myriad of bonuses and the wave being active would give him the strength to contest him, but Monti found himself lacking. A hero using this many power-up methods and also under the effects of a curse series was already something Monti could not hope to deal with. As Motoyasu easily overpowered Monti, Monti felt something. His strength was fading somewhat. He felt weaker as time went on.
Before Motoyasu could overtake Monti completely, Naofumi arrived.
[Cover]! Naofumi placed himself between Monti and Motoyasu and attempted to push him back. It was extremely hard to do, but he was managing it for a moment, but his strength seemed to wane and he was forced to disengage.
[Air Strike Shield]!
He used the spawning of the barrier to allow them to step back and ready themselves. Naofumi and Monti noticed that the feeling of weakness they briefly felt was gone. Raphtalia and Teal ran to Naofumi's side as Motoyasu shattered the skill.
"Naofumi!" L'arc ran towards him. "Moto isn't himself, you have to wear him out or trap him until you can get through to him!" L'arc called, arriving near them.
"I know what this is, back off. You two are the ones that caused this! Why the hell were you trying to kill him!? He's a holy hero, dumbass! If he dies, we're all screwed!" Naofumi was less than friendly with L'arc.
"We don't have time to-" L'arc was cut off by Motoyasu attacking him.
L'arc was still more skilled, but there was now a larger power gap between them and every second L'arc stood near Motoyasu, he felt that gap widening. Motoyasu pressed him a bit, before pulling his spear back slightly.
[Chaos Spear]!
Dozens of strikes shot out and L'arc took nearly a dozen of the hits. L'arc saw that he could not win one-on-one with Motoyasu as he was now. He turned to Naofumi. "We can slug each other silly later, but we have to stop Moto! He's a danger to everyone and is in a lot of pain!" L'arc called.
"Like I said, you caused that." Naofumi dismissed, waiting for the cooldown of his skill until- [Air Strike Shield] [Second Shield] [Air Strike Shield]
Naofumi placed two barriers so close together that it pinned Motoyasu in place.
"Nice. I'll weaken him a bit and then we can-" L'arc was getting used to being cut off.
Naofumi used [Dritte Shield] [Air Strike Shield], placing a barrier between Motoyasu and L'arc, pushing him back.
"You tried killing him, no one trusts you! I'm not giving you a chance to finish him off. Back off!" Naofumi told him.
A [Zweite Tornado] from Filo and [Blighting] from Monti forced L'arc to step further away.
L'arc was frustrated at the situation. If he tried to help against Motoyasu, then they'd divide their attention between the two of them. Meaning him trying to help was worth less than nothing. He'd need Therese to- "That's right, Therese." L'arc turned toward Therese, together they should be able to convince Naofumi that saving Motoyasu from the curse was a higher priority than what happens next.
He turned to see Leon (With Gaelion in control) alongside Wyndia casting a huge spell. Therese was trying to tell the pair to stop so she could help Motoyasu, but they were already chanting. Seeing the power of the spell they were planning to cast on her, she did her best to answer its might with her own.
[Black Dragon Flame]!
[Shining Stone: Showering Thunder Rain]!
An eruption of pitch black flames met a sea of lightning that shifted color and hue constantly. The two spells clashed for a long moment. L'arc was already running towards Therese as he saw which spell was going to win.
The black flames began to overtake Therese as she tried a desperate back-up plan. She took a jewel from her bag and held it gently for a moment. "I am so sorry." She whispered.
She then threw the jewel at the approaching spell and chanted again. [Shining Stone: Shrinking Explosion]. The jewel exploded and helped defend herself from the approaching spell, but some of it still reached her.
"Aaah!" She screamed in pain as L'arc reached her side. He caught her as the spell threw her back. L'arc looked at the two that caused Therese so much damage so easily. Their spell had too much power and reach. He could not engage in another fight with these two around.
…
Motoyasu
…
Motoyasu tore the two barriers apart with minimal difficulty and turned to Naofumi. The haze around Motoyasu spread again, reaching about five meters away from him.
Naofumi placed himself in front of everyone and was thinking things through and planning aloud. "We feel weak when we get near him… I'll have to confirm to be sure. Raphtalia." Naofumi called.
"Yes?" She was ready for an order or plan.
"I need you to approach him for a moment. I'll pull you back." Naofumi gave her the task.
"Understood." Raphtalia needed no more explanation than that.
She ran forward in a defensive manner. She began chanting, then used [Zweite Hide Mirage]. Motoyasu struck where she was before, but she had moved. He could sort of see where she went by looking at the miasma around him shifting to her movement. He tried striking her once more before getting angry and going for a wide sweep.
Naofumi used [Knock Knock] as soon as he had the information he needed. She might have been able to dodge that attack, but he wouldn't risk it. He found out how the debuffing effect worked and that was enough. As Raphtalia appeared next to him, he explained his findings to the others.
"That cloud around him lowers your stats by a decent amount when you touch it and it can keep lowering until it takes roughly a quarter of your stats… So the attacks that'll do the best are quick hits of considerable power." Naofumi explained.
Motoyasu whipped around to see Raphtalia was next to Naofumi again. He stared at them for a moment, seeing that Naofumi had Monti, Filo, and Teal at his side as well.
"Look at you, Naofumi! Surrounded by people that care about you… THAT MUST BE NICE!" Motoyasu roared.
Again, Motoyasu's spear changed. The length of the shaft was still uneven, but now it looked like a snake's body. It now sported a snake's head before the blade, which now appeared to be the snake's forked tongue. His power grew with it.
Naofumi assumed what was happening correctly. Motoyasu was gaining a rank in his curse series. They had to act quickly. Naofumi led the charge as everyone quickly followed behind him. Motoyasu met Naofumi's advance with a swift strike. Naofumi blocked the spear then used [Latch] and [Bedrock], attaching his shield to Motoyasu's spear and multiplying his own weight. Both skills were also boosted by supplemental skills as well. Naofumi hoped this would lock him down.
The others flanked Motoyasu from either side and tried to inflict some damage. None of them were going for a killing blow, but as they saw how little they were doing, that changed. They each began trying to hit Motoyasu more severely, while he struggled to free himself of Naofumi's grip.
"You haven't won, Naofumi!" Motoyasu roared as he lifted Naofumi above himself.
Naofumi was shocked to know that Motoyasu could lift ten of him, even if only because of the curse series. Motoyasu then used [Sprout Lance] to extend the length of his spear several times.
"Everyone, move!" Naofumi warned from up high.
They all backed away and soon ducked or jumped over the following attack as Motoyasu swept the area with his spear before slamming Naofumi into the ship like a head of a hammer. Naofumi allowed both of his skills to end as Motoyasu retracted his spear. Naofumi was more hurt than he'd like, but as long as Motoyasu took more than them, they were-
"You have to be shitting me…" Naofumi said as he saw the wounds Motoyasu received began to rapidly heal.
Naofumi had two regenerative abilities and together they were nothing compared to the speed at which Motoyasu's wounds healed. The sight was more than a little demotivating.
"Motoyasu, stop!" Teal was still using any moment she had to try calling out to him.
All that did was cause Teal to be the one he paid attention to. He turned to her and began sprinting towards her. She lowered her head and prepared to fire.
"I'll only have one more after this…" Teal reminded herself.
[Sunburst]!
The burning light spilled forth from Teal's head and flooded the area. It even overtook Motoyasu's miasma as it burned his armor and seared his flesh. Teal was stronger than ever and had learned to optimize her body further. Her strongest attack charged for over two days would be a match for any foe.
But Motoyasu wasn't just any foe. He took the hit and kept coming. Seeing him overtake her light, coming through it burned and angry, was one of the only things that had ever really scared Teal to her core.
He pulled his arm back and prepared to strike. "I should have killed you the first time instead of thinking we'd ever be friends."
Naofumi placed [Shield Prison] around Teal before the blow came. Motoyasu sent the entire cage off of the ship and into the sea, Teal inside. It'd take her a bit to get back to the ship, but she was safe, for now.
Motoyasu turned to Naofumi in annoyance. He took his spear in both hands and began using [Spiral Spear], his spear formed a drill of energy at its tip. "Let's finish this, Naofumi!" He called out while running toward him. Naofumi had no choice but to answer the challenge. He sprinted toward Motoyasu and the pair met somewhere in the middle.
…
Back with L'arc.
…
He had to deal with Leon and Wyndia's magic before he and Therese could do anything else. He shared a look with Therese before sitting her down and running towards the kids.
"Sorry about this, but I need you two to stop." L'arc called out.
They saw him approaching too fast to escape, Leon threw himself in front of Wyndia.
They assumed that the pair would cast another large spell and planned to power through it. Therese cast [Shining Stones: Explosive Thunder Rain], but she aimed at L'arc.
The spell struck his scythe as he reared back. [Combo Skill: Lightning Firework]!
On another ship, the same ship as the queen, Ren had been watching the events of the wave in frustration. He could do little more than the occasional skill. Without the ability to swim, he was more or less dead weight. Still, once Motoyasu succumbed to the curse, he had tried making his way over to that ship, but made little progress. He kept watching the events, but also saw the battle with Therese at the other end of the same vessel. He was growing increasingly concerned for Wyndia and it came to a head as L'arc rushed her with that magic combo skill.
It was everything Ren was afraid of. Wyndia and Leon were both in danger and he had a duty to both of them to see them through safely.
The front of the ship Ren was on looked as if it exploded. The queen looked to where the sword hero was, only to see that section of the ship obliterated. For a brief moment, she thought the wave boss' magic had reached him and sent him into the water. Before she could order his rescue, she located him. He was flying through the air at great speeds. He had used a skill at his own feet while he jumped to propel him further. If he were to miss and land in the water, he'd be done for.
Ren traveled higher than he'd have liked, but the aim was good enough. Once over L'arc he used his spell.
[Zweite Magic Enchant X]!
Ren had learned his hero's exclusive spell. He had finished learning it just that morning. And since it was the only spell he knew, he leveled it to its maximum rank. That was what he was doing when Wyndia caught him navigating his menus in front of the heroes' tablet.
The question became, what did it do? What effect does this spell possess to rival the power of Naofumi's Aura?
It stole the power of one's magic and added it to his sword for a brief time. Both empowering him and countering any and all spells. Even Therese's jewel magic and the life force of [Dragon's Vein] were susceptible if casted at a high enough level. In a way, he had gained another ability that specifically countered Leon in every way.
The magic that was once part of L'arc combo skill was entirely stripped from him. L'arc finished his swing, producing nothing. He was more than a little confused, Wyndia and Leon were too.
"L'arc, above you!" Therese warned.
L'arc, Wyndia, and Leon all looked up. They saw Ren with all of Therese's previous spell's power swirling around him. At the sight of Ren saving both Leon and herself, Wyndia's heart skipped a beat.
"You will not harm them!" Ren demanded as he continued to fly through the air.
[Meteor Slash]!
The skill combined with the stolen magic fell upon L'arc and he had no time or ability to dodge it. Before Ren could see the results of his actions, he fell. He hit the ship, if barely, but skipped and fell into the water. He aimed poorly, but at least he protected Wyndia and Leon.
"Ren!" Wyndia forgot herself and ran to Ren, jumping off of the ship. Swimming downward to grab Ren. Leon ran to the boat's edge, ready to transform and scoop them out of the water the moment they surfaced.
The smoke cleared around L'arc, showing he was now even more hurt, but with Wyndia separated from Leon, he'd not need to worry about those powerful spells. He'd leave them be and focus on the real issue.
"That weapon and foul force around Moto… It's exactly what I think it is, right?" L'arc gave a quick nod. "Then… I want to help him. I know we agreed to do this, but that curse series… Even if we must kill, Moto is our friend and we can't let that thing torture him endlessly!" The more Therese spoke, the louder she was.
She had found herself a strong conviction. Currently slightly stronger than the one they came here to do. L'arc was glad they were on the same page, though he knew they would be. They needed to back up Naofumi. Together they could-
"They are both wounded. I demand their immediate capture for the attempted killing of a cardinal hero!" The queen declared.
"For fuck's sake." L'arc thought.
…
Back to Motoyasu
…
Motoyasu was not making this easy.
Naofumi could not fully block any of Motoyasu's attacks and any attempt to contest him physically was met with a brief taunting of victory before his stats fell and was overpowered.
His skills bought them so little time. Raphtalia's illusions were less effective with the mist around Motoyasu to still give him visual information. Teal could not create anything that Motoyasu could not immediately destroy in a single swing. Monti had tried several times to sting Motoyasu, hoping that poison would work, but every time he had to disengage because Motoyasu was about to cut his tail completely off.
The only tactic that afforded them any chance was actually an idea that Filo came up with. Sometimes simple was good. She would use [Blowback] or wind magic to push Motoyasu's cursed fog away while giving those approaching Motoyasu a wind to help carry them. Once they struck him, she'd reverse the wind to help them retreat. It was a very telegraphed tactic and had to be used sparingly.
Monti wanted to try using [Blightning] on Motoyasu, but knew that Motoyasu would just use [Turbine] like last time. He considered transforming the replica into a different form and trying to be more offensive, but using the replica like that was costly and thought it best for his father to decide when best to use that was.
They thought they could buy more time, but Motoyasu wasn't going to allow himself to be stalled any longer.
[Diving Spear]!
Motoyasu attempted to impale Raphtalia into the ship, but Naofumi was able to summon her to his side using [Knock Knock]. Motoyasu tore through the floor, into the inside of the ship. There was brief confusion about what they should do before-
[Meteor Thrust]!
Motoyasu attempted to strike Filo from below, but she had already ran from that spot, having felt the fog reaching her. He wasn't perturbed. He leapt high enough to throw his spear at Filo.
[Air Strike Javelin]!
Monti wrapped his tail around Filo's waist and pulled her towards him to move her out of the path of the skill.
[Banner Summoning]!
Motoyasu teleported to his previous skill's location, inches from Filo. He, again, attempted to thrust his spear through her. This time it was Raphtalia who saved her. She came in using her sword to divert his attack. He swung the back of his spear forward, breaking the bridge of her nose. She staggered back as Motoyasu readied to stab her before she could recover.
"Raphtalia!" Naofumi called, rushing in to block Motoyasu's attempted follow-up attack.
He had switched to the [Chimera Viper Shield] and blocked the strike. Every attack rang in Naofumi's ears and shook him to the bone. The force behind them was ridiculous. Despite upgrading this shield, it was not up to par. He was taking more damage for using this shield. He allowed a little hope, as his current shield's ability activated.
[Venom Fang Bite]
It was stronger after being awakened and Motoyasu's regeneration would likely not help him against poison. The snakes shot out and snuck at Motoyasu only to be caught by his spear.
"What!?" Naofumi was panicking.
Motoyasu caught the mouths of both snakes with the shaft of his spear.
[Turbine]!
Motoyasu spun his spear in place, causing Naofumi's skill to retreat.
"He can counter my counter attacks with his own!?" Naofumi didn't expect that, but he expected what Motoyasu would follow up with. Because that previous skill applied lightning to his spear for a single attack as well. He had used it during their duel. During that duel, he also showed that the boost was particularly useful when paired with-
[Lightning Spear]!
Naofumi was already switching to his [Soul Eater Shield] before Motoyasu even spoke. This shield had the greatest lightning resistance out of any shield he currently possessed and just like the [Chimera Viper Shield], this shield was powered up quite a bit.
The lightning struck Naofumi's shield and pushed him back a bit, but even with the boost from Motoyasu's previous skill, Naofumi's resistance won out.
[Soul Eat] activated in response and drained some Sp from Motoyasu.
"Aahh!?" Motoyasu staggered back himself.
It seemed to have done something to him. Naofumi didn't even need to say it, Raphtalia was already pulling out her [Mana Blade]. If Motoyasu was going to regenerate his health, then they'd ignore his Hp entirely.
"Focus on binding and tiring him out." Naofumi told them.
Armed with a new plan of attack, they re-engaged Motoyasu.
…
L'arc
…
On the queen's orders, a number of people attacked L'arc and Therese. Mia, Chloe, Silvius, and another of Ren's party members had made it to the same vessel. They had met up with Fitts and the first two members of Ren's party and together they attempted to swarm L'arc.
L'arc could clash with Fitts and win easily, even with his wounds.
And if he could do so to Fitts, the others weren't going to do much better. Mia's specialized bolts and Chloe's throwing knives were more likely to make L'arc trip over them after dodging them than to be struck by them. Silvius was fighting a human which meant he could wield [Grief], allowing him to heal and damage far more effectively. L'arc was nearly struck by Fitts, however. L'arc had heard a noise and turned to address it. It was a perfectly aimed ballista bolt traveling right at him. He struck it from the air, inches from his face, only for one of Ren's party members to land a blow on his back. Chloe always took L'arc's back, her silent steps making L'arc even more on guard. Silvius had taken a few light blows for his allies, only for the wounds to begin healing.
L'arc was beginning to be overwhelmed.
On another ship, Walter was having a much better time than everyone else. His gun was having a chance to shine under these specific circumstances. Since the monsters were always at a distance, range was key. The speed at which his projectile traveled meant that he could hit his target the moment it thought to exit the water. Arrows did well enough, but the wind on the sea left them often missing their mark. Walter had no such weakness. Instead of holding him back, his gun actually put him ahead of his peers. It was a welcome feeling.
Unfortunately, Walter forgot that he had terrible luck. When the wave boss was first repelled by Naofumi, the resulting wave battered the ship he was on. The damage was minor, but it left Walter soaked. With all of his black powder wet, he was dead in the water.
A bit later, he had found himself operating one of the ballista that were mounted to the ship. Though not his preference, his accuracy combined with a harder hitting weapon was helping even more. For most of the time on the ballista, Walter had struck the wave boss, but once he caught the eye of Mia engaging L'arc, he switched targets on a dime.
After L'arc defended himself from the first shot, Walter was surprised to see Godiva helping him reload the ballista.
"I need you to do me a favor." Godiva began.
L'arc soon got relief in the form of Therese using a wide area spell. It knocked them all back and gave L'arc some breathing room. He felt he had a moment to speak. He needed this to stop so they could help Motoyasu.
"Listen to me! Yes, we came here with ill intent, but right now Moto is all of our concerns. We need-" L'arc heard the sound of the ballista firing again in the distance and put his scythe up to block. Unfortunately for L'arc, a ballista bolt wasn't the only thing that was fired.
"Yoooo!" Godiva rode in on the ballista bolt, greeting L'arc with her loud voice and a haymaker while his head was turned away.
Even L'arc had to stumble from that. Godiva was the second strongest one of them after Fitts, and the second most skilled after Chloe. She had the best chance of laying a finger on him.
"God dammit! Listen! We have to save Moto!" L'arc yelled louder.
"Ignore their lies and capture them!" The queen reissued. She was now here as well and prepared to participate.
Mia rushed forward and took off her helmet. "Expand!"
The helmet changed form, once again becoming a dome cage, placing L'arc and Godiva in a space with too little room for L'arc to swing his weapon. Mia believed this was a winning play. It looked like it was going well, too. Godiva came at L'arc with several quick jabs that he was forced to take, but after not being able to swing his scythe he stopped holding back.
[Full Moon Formation]!
L'arc activated a skill that forced his scythe through the cage, forming a complete circle. This also forced Godiva to retreat several feet. Again, L'arc heard the ballista firing and answered it with impatience.
[Flying Circle]!
He sliced the ballista bolt and sent a circle of light towards the source. Walter had no choice but to abandon the ballista as it was cleaved in two by L'arc's skill.
Just when L'arc was free and his scythe came to a stop, the queen herself acted.
[Drifa Icicle Prison]!
She had encased his scythe in ice that bound it to the deck of the ship. The amount of ice was quite large.
"Subdue him now!" The queen ordered.
Fitts, Godiva, Silvius, and Chloe all rushed L'arc, thinking he was defenseless.
"Heh. Thanks for bunching up." L'arc placed a second hand on his scythe.
They all just realized that L'arc had been using one arm this whole time. With a grunt, L'arc tore the ice free from the ship's deck and wielded the ice-covered scythe as a hammer. In one stroke, L'arc defeated all four of them. Many people attempted to flank his sides while he did that, but Therese assisted with another spell.
[Shining Stone: Crashing Wave]
A blue shockwave emerged as the spell covered half of the ship and struck nearly everyone in its range. The queen was going to be struck too, but she had her legs swept from behind, causing the spell to pass over her. Mirellia saw only a brief glimpse at the person who saved her before they retreated themselves.
Even as wounded as he was, L'arc and Therese had bested them all.
Still, L'arc hesitated a moment. He needed Naofumi to cooperate to help Motoyasu. He looked over to see Wyndia struggling to drag Ren from the water. He leapt over to her, past Leon and grabbed Ren's arm. He threw Ren safely aboard the ship then stomped on his stomach, causing him to spit up water and begin to breathe.
Everyone looked at L'arc with great confusion. "What are you doing? Weren't you trying to kill a hero a moment ago?" Leon questioned.
L'arc went to answer, but spoke loud enough for all of them to hear. "Listen… I am here to kill a hero… I don't want to, but I'd rather kill one hero than let my world die. And just the same, I will save Moto from that awful curse, even if I need to strike each of you down, even if I need to pause our mission completely. Right now, saving him from the curse series is a higher priority than our mission and certainly a higher priority than all of you." He explained and threatened.
L'arc motioned to Ren.
"So, I'll put the mission on hold if that's what it takes. What do you say? Let's fight afterwards, yeah?" L'arc offered.
The queen was back on her feet and saw the state her men were in. Silvius was the only one standing and L'arc was less than a foot from Ren, who was in a helpless state. She had no choice.
"We will temporarily halt hostilities…" The queen agreed.
Before much else could happen, Leon transformed and rushed at Motoyasu screaming, grabbing everyone's attention. "Filo!"
…
The boss
…
While everyone else was either dealing with Motoyasu or L'arc and Therese, Itsuki and Liviccic focused on the wave boss, as it was capable of sinking every ship there. Liviccic would use every skill and spell he had to keep the Whale from destroying the ships and Itsuki would focus on dealing damage. The two were not on the best of terms, having attacked one another before, but neither had the luxury of choosing their allies right now.
Itsuki was seeing the types of things Liviccic was doing and had to conclude he really was a hero now, while Liviccic saw the amount of destructive force Itsuki possessed and had to conclude that he had the most killing ability out of all the heroes, by a fair bit as well.
They had been wearing it down ever since Naofumi had to deal with Motoyasu and they saw victory in sight. At their current rate, the wave beast would be dead soon, but not soon enough.
They were both stealing glances towards Motoyasu throughout the fight and their worry kept rising as he kept showing himself as being more and more dangerous. Eventually, Itsuki lost his patience and did what he wanted to avoid. Speaking with Liviccic.
He grabbed Rishia after firing his [Blink Arrow]. The arrow traveled to another ship, landing a few feet from Liviccic. Both Itsuki and Rishia appeared at the location. Liviccic said nothing and addressed neither of them, continuing his protection of the ships.
That meant Itsuki had to speak first. "What's happening to Motoyasu is becoming too dangerous…" He didn't want to do all the talking.
"Agreed…" Liviccic said, also not wishing to speak to Itsuki.
"...Can you hold the whale still? I can finish it if you do." Itsuki made sure to ask and not demand.
"Understood." He disliked Itsuki, but his feelings came second.
Liviccic had a skill that would normally throw large objects into the sky. It was a setup skill for a follow-up that rained those things down from high above. But Itsuki's range should allow him to hit it still.
[Forced Ascension]!
Liviccic used his skill on the whale, but quickly found that size mattered to the skill and that due to the whale's size, it wasn't rising fast and wouldn't raise that high. Still, the skill forced the whale nearly out of the water and Liviccic struggled to maintain it.
Itsuki didn't expect Liviccic to have the strength to do something like this, but he'd not waste time marveling at it. He first launched [Bull's Eye] at the beast's side, then used three skills in a row.
[Money Shot]!
A skill that lets him spend money to increase his next attack.
[Long Draw]!
The charge skill that empowered his next skill.
[Bunker Shot]!
And then his skill that dealt the most damage currently.
The [Bull's Eye] created a ring on the whale and the following shot pierced the whale in its entirety.
Liviccic didn't want to, but had to let go of the beast, having violently crashed back into the sea. It was dead, and with it they both shifted their gaze back to Motoyasu.
…
Back to Motoyasu
…
While L'arc was trying to get a word in while fighting, Motoyasu was not going down. Despite Naofumi and Raphtalia's efforts to lower his SP and MP, he wasn't slowing down. Even throughout this whole time, Monti and Filo hadn't managed a direct hit on Motoyasu. Motoyasu's attacks weren't too creative, but the gulf in strength kept anyone from capitalizing on them.
Naofumi's stamina was beginning to wane and if he was, everyone else was probably even more exhausted. They were beginning to give up on the idea of exhausting Motoyasu. Naofumi needed something else.
"Filo… You haven't hit Motoyasu yet, have you?" Naofumi asked, a plan forming.
"Filo has not, but Filo will." She answered, but wasn't giving up.
Naofumi liked that answer. He raised his hand toward her and began chanting.
[Zweite Aura V]
A strong glow surrounded Filo as she stood freshly recovered and ready for action. She readied herself for the strongest [High Quick] she had ever used. The damage should be strong enough that they could follow up, and from there, Naofumi would attempt to lock him down with every skill he had.
That was the plan anyways…
Monti shot a quick [Blightning] near Motoyasu to cause a distraction as Filo shot towards him like a cannon. Motoyasu looked like he'd been hit directly as Filo pushed him back further and further, dragging him towards the edge of the ship. It looked like they finally landed a serious blow on Motoyasu, but…
Everyone watched as Motoyasu revealed to have blocked Filo's kick with his spear, still taking damage, but not as much as they'd have hoped. The confusion instantly changed as two things were made clear. Motoyasu had grabbed hold of Filo's foot, meaning she wasn't getting away. The other thing was even more horrifying, Filo no longer had the glow of the buff on her… Instead, that light was adorning Motoyasu now.
It turned the whole situation on its head and left everyone in a well justified panic. Motoyasu now had an additional boost in his stats when they had no answer for his might already. They also now knew that support magic could not offset the penalties of the cloud around him. And thirdly-
They were running out of help.
Motoyasu slashed at Filo while he held her from escaping. The slash was deep and went from the back of her neck all the way to her left heel, cutting up her back and left leg. She screamed out in pain like she never had before. The wound was instantly festering. This cursed spear's blade produced cursed poison.
"Filo!" Leon roared.
He transformed into his full form and rushed Motoyasu, planning to tackle him off of the ship and into the water.
"Wait!" Naofumi was late in trying to call Leon off. Seeing Filo so hurt was making all of them panic and choose emotional answers.
Seeing Leon's approach, Motoyasu threw Filo aside. He didn't even need to use a skill. His power right now was not contestable. He swung his spear upward, catching Leon in the jaw and throwing him into the sky behind him. He began to fall as if that one attack had knocked him out, but Motoyasu felt like making sure he was done.
[Air Strike Javelin]!
With Motoyasu powered by both the curse and the [Zweite Aura V], the skill pierced Leon completely and came out the other side. A low yelp was heard.
"Leon!" Monti called.
Two of them were down and they might be more than down. Monti immediately abandoned his principles and changed the replica's form to that of a spear. Naofumi and Raphtalia were about to rush in themselves, but stopped when they saw Monti doing the same. Monti activated [Overdrive] and without holding back, unleashed the full power of the replica.
[Brionac]!
All the Sp and Mp that Monti had been giving the replica over the past 2 weeks and then some was gone in a single moment. Spent on this one skill.
Motoyasu's spear returned to him in time for him to clash with Monti.
[Triania]!
Monti, with his [Overdrive], the wave boost, his myriad of bonuses and using a skill that was a direct upgrade of Motoyasu's skill would lead you to believe that he was going to win. Afterall, how many times stronger was Monti right now than Balmus? A weapon's power is dictated by the wielder. So he should win…
But Motoyasu had been sincere in wanting to improve and to one day make it up to Filo and Teal for what he almost did when he was being tricked. He had been trying to get the most out of every power-up method he knew. Now boosted by the curse and [Zweite Aura V]?
Monti was forced to face the truth, replica or not, a pretend hero cannot face a real one.
The skills collided and broke the ship apart, throwing everyone from the ship as it was scattered to the wind. The queen was moved to a safer ship by shadows, but everyone else had to save themselves. Naofumi and Raphtalia struggled to get to a piece of wreckage large enough to pull themselves atop of. They feared the worst for Monti, Filo, and Leon.
The ocean became oddly clear and still thanks to a skill used by Therese, [Shining Stone: Silent Ocean].
As they looked around, they saw Sophia in her full form, hanging off the side of the next closest ship. She had managed to place a web on both Monti and Leon. She had reeled in Leon and covered him head-to-toe in [Mending Thread] and was soon to do the same to Monti. Their worry lowered a bit as they searched for Filo.
After a moment, they saw Filo desperately swimming toward Sophia, with Motoyasu giving chase. Naofumi looked around for a moment, then motioned for Raphtalia to follow him. Using his [Water Walk] and various platform making skills, Naofumi and Raphtalia reached the Whale's corpse. It was a wide area and their best arena to face Motoyasu.
Naofumi used [Knock Knock] to summon Filo to his side.
While Motoyasu looked around to see where Filo went, Naofumi and Raphtalia looked at Filo's wound.
…
It was terrible. It was fairly deep and such a long cut. Raphtalia wanted to cry, seeing Filo in such pain, as all she could do was cry and whimper. Naofumi applied a medicinal cream along the wound and used [Zweite Heal V] on her. He then passed Filo to Raphtalia.
[Air Strike Javelin]! [Banner Summoning]!
Motoyasu used his skills to reach the whale as well. Again, they were going to face off. Naofumi briefly considered using his [Wrath Shield], but he was scared of what would happen if two cursed heroes fought.
"Still… I'd rather chance that than let him hurt any of them more." Naofumi resolved.
Naofumi raised his shield and put himself between Motoyasu and Raphtalia and Filo.
"Motoyasu, stop this! If L'arc and Therese started this, then they're the ones you should be mad at!" Naofumi called to him.
Just hearing L'arc and Therese's names was angering him further, but what happened next sent him over the edge.
L'arc and Therese landed near Naofumi.
"I just saved one of your fellow heroes, so you got to believe me when I say 'we are here to save Motoyasu'. We can resolve our other business afterwards" L'arc said.
Naofumi regarded him for a moment. He looked at what remained of the ship and saw Ren, roughed up but still alive. L'arc could be finishing Ren off, but was here instead. He'd have to concede.
"I see… Then, if only for now, let's knock Motoyasu out." Naofumi said as the pair readied themselves.
"Seriously…?" Motoyasu whispered.
"Seriously!?" Motoyasu screamed.
"Now they're on your side, Naofumi!? Am I allowed nothing!?" He continued to accuse.
No one responded to Motoyasu. They stood prepared.
"Then so be it…"
Motoyasu's spear transformed again and with it his armor began to change. The red gems of his armor became as emeralds, the red of his cape became as jade. The bright silver of his armor darkened to a dull light gray and the gold remained unchanged. The energy around him became more solid as it appeared to look like translucent snakes coiled all around him.
He extended his spear and pointed it at Naofumi.
"May your meager corpse hide within the brush of war." He began
Suddenly, several spears shot up all around Naofumi. Several stabbed him, while the ones that missed grew taller.
"Fuck!" Naofumi yelled in pain.
He felt it, this was cursed… Meaning he was using a skill like his [Iron Maiden]. He began desperately trying to free himself.
"Naofumi-sama!" Raphtalia wanted to help, but was holding Filo. She chose to abandon neither of them, readying her blade in her right hand while carrying Filo with her left.
"Transgressor, I drain your sin as I drain your life." He continued.
The spears that grew past him began to fold inward, pushing Naofumi down as even more spears began to pierce him. The pain was incredible and he found himself unable to move.
Raphtalia was swinging with everything she had. She was growing increasingly desperate and kept screaming Naofumi's name. She could see well, she just kept crying. Things were about to go to the point of no return. The thought of Naofumi or any of them dying drove Raphtalia further.
"Naofumi-sama!" She screamed louder.
[Liberation]! [Liberation]! [Liberation]!
Naofumi kept shouting, but he couldn't free himself.
L'arc and Therese began following Raphtalia's lead and started attacking the spears, attempting to break him free.
"May I drink deeply of it, in solitude." He went to finish.
The pain and damage was becoming too much for Naofumi as he began to believe he was going to die.
"Don't do this, Motoyasu! You said you wanted to make it up to Naofumi! You have to stop!" Therese shouted.
[Vampire Bunk-]
The spears were all destroyed by the sudden appearance of Ren, Itsuki and Liviccic. All using rather powerful skills all at once to completely free Naofumi. While that had saved Naofumi's life, he was severely hurt. He would not participate in this wave further. Everyone collectively stood between Motoyasu and Naofumi.
"Why? Why does he have everyone's support and I'm alone!?" Motoyasu questioned as he ran at them.
They also ran at him and tried to lock him down. Itsuki and Liviccic decided to try binding him at a distance. A combination of [Binding Arrow] and [Gravity Crush] seemed to do the job. Once bound, Ren used his [Sealing Slash] that they'd seen before. That stopped him from using the last skill or spell he used, which was currently the very deadly [Vampire Bunker]. Finally, Therese used [Shining Stones: Paralysis Wing] on Motoyasu while L'arc engaged him physically.
Raphtalia wanted to help, but Naofumi and Filo were so hurt. She refused to abandon them. She tried to tend to them the best she could.
As L'arc and Motoyasu clashed, L'arc continued calling out to his friend. "Moto. You are doing it again! You told me you felt a heavy guilt for what you were tricked into doing. Don't repeat that mistake!"
Motoyasu's response was simply to grab L'arc's scythe and throw him aside. Even with them all helping, the [Zweite Aura V] just made him too strong. He tore himself free of Itsuki's bindings and overpowered the poison and the gravity. He began approaching Raphtalia.
She tried picking Naofumi up and carrying him and Filo away, but she wasn't fast enough. He kicked her from behind, making her fall and drop them both. The whole time this was going on, others were attacking Motoyasu, but the upgraded armor, regeneration and [Zweite Aura V] kept him going.
He readied his spear over Filo and tried stabbing her. Teal burst from the water and morphed her body to wrap around his. She did her best to bind his movements and gave others the chance to help. Raphtalia, Ren and L'arc all tried pushing his spear arm back as Filo desperately grabbed the spear's tip and cut herself trying to push it away.
For a moment, they all felt it. They were going to lose… Motoyasu was about to overtake them…
But finally [Zweite Aura V] faded. The moment it did, the clash was over. They locked Motoyasu's spear arm down. The poison and gravity was also more effective and Teal's grapple was more effective. They felt it, the tide was turning.
They all knew this was their chance.
Liviccic prepared to use [Anti-curse], knowing it'd have little effect. Therese readied her [Shining Stones: Ball of Flame] again, targeting only the curse as the target. Everyone else tried holding Motoyasu in place until they were done casting.
Motoyasu began using his other arm to strike Filo in the head, over and over again. Everyone was busy holding him down in other ways so he continued.
Raphtalia begged him. "Please, Motoyasu, stop. She's our daughter! Don't do this!"
Teal cried. "Stop trying to kill my family! You were supposed to start helping us!"
L'arc yelled. "Motoyasu, look at what you're doing! This isn't you!"
Therese and Liviccic finished their spells and the others screamed.
"...What?"
"...Where am I?"
"..."
"Where is every-" And suddenly Motoyasu was at the forefront of his mind again.
Seeing himself with a bloodied fist overtop Filo. He thought it some crazy dream or wicked vision.
But he tasted and smelt blood. He heard so many voices calling out to him. He looked down at the terrified Filo holding her bleeding arms over her face, crying.
"I did this…"
Slowly, he began to pick each of the voices out. Teal's, Raphtalia's, L'arc's, Therese's and more.
They were all begging him to stop. The horror began to set in as he saw Naofumi bloodied nearby. He saw L'arc's wounds, Therese's, Raphtalia's.
The gravity of the situation began to be understood. He looked away in horror and disgust from the things that he did. Turning to see his spear.
He felt somewhat entranced looking at this form, one he never remembered seeing.
Slowly, the exact things they were saying were breaking through whatever was making it harder to hear them. They were telling him to switch his spear. They were begging and crying for him to do so.
He tried to change his weapon form like they asked… It would not. He was beginning to realize how badly he had failed everyone and fought with all his might. Slowly he regained his willpower. He shook his weapon while trying to change it, increasing in intensity. Screaming at the top of his lungs until he did it. As his spear returned to its base form, he could hear and see everything clearly. He could now hear the heartbreaking crying that Filo was doing, thinking she was going to die.
He had never felt like such a liar and failure than this moment.
"I am sorry… So sorry." But he remembered Teal's words about how being sorry was useless. He couldn't think or process anything anymore. The relief from the curse lifting combined with the many suppressive effects and his own mental state drove him to pass out, falling backward. With Motoyasu's armor returning to normal and his spear as well. They all sighed in relief.
Raphtalia and Teal immediately scrambled to Filo and Naofumi's side and began trying to use their medicine themselves as best they could, crying their eyes out the whole time, a complete mess.
L'arc and Therese moved Motoyasu's body a bit away and stared at him. Hating themselves for having done that to him.
Itsuki, Ren, and Liviccic looked at the other ships, eyeing them for damage, allies and enemies.
Everyone did their best to catch their breath. After a moment, Ren returned to looking at L'arc and Therese. Both were taking potions. They were preparing for round two. Ren wasn't so honorable as to wait. He pulled his sword back, but froze when someone else appeared.
She slowly descended from the sky and came to rest next to L'arc and Therese.
"You two seem quite hurt. They must have given you quite a bit of trouble." She spoke.
"Yeah…" L'arc answered, still out of breath and looking at Motoyasu.
"Then allow me to assist you. The three of us together should make short work of those that remain." She spoke.
The woman was Glass and unlike before, there was no Naofumi to face her.
.
[Author's Notes]
EnvyMoto too strong, please nerf.
L'arc and Therese will put their world above the lives of heroes, even if they are friends. That said, they'd not allow a friend to suffer through the curse series if they could help it. So their priorities shifted for a bit.
Ren got his one cool moment against L'arc, Wyndia approves, Leon is jealous of his cool moment.
Most people at least tried to fight L'arc… Hard being a non-hero fighting a level 160+ hero.
Didn't include Keel. I'm just going to say she were on another boat. Maybe with so many people down, Keel will have some time to shine next chapter?
For those that care the Envy spear is currently as followed
.
[Spear of Envy III]
+10 atk, +10 def, +10 agi
[Unique Ability: Serpent Regeneration] Regenerate health rapidly the fewer members are in your party.
[Unique Ability: Covetous Cloud] Gain a cloud of 5 meters wide that dampens others' stats by 10 when they enter it, upto 25% after 10 seconds
[Ability: Change Spear (attack)] Change spear or skill instantly. Must be an attack.
[Unique Ability: Vampire Bunker] Heavily damage a target with spears from the ground. Heal for damage dealt
[Unique Ability: Greater Yearning] On contact with your spear, steal any temporary buffs that were applied.
[Unique Ability: Serpent Poison] On contact with the blade, apply a cursed poison that makes others bitter and in great pain.
.
If Moto ever gains a blessed series… He's going to be a powerhouse.
How will Motoyasu ever get them to forgive him after this?
How will they manage to beat Glass, L'arc, and Therese without Naofumi or Motoyasu? Not to mention the rest of the shield family.
(about the re-writes I mentioned before. I've decided I want to improve much more as a writer before I do a re-write, but one thing needs to be addressed and that is travel time. From castletown to Lurolona is 3 hours in canon, yet I had it 2 days. I've made several logistical mistakes like this and it really matters since I want the family to head towards Siltvelt after Cal Mira. Should I ignore those logistical mistakes and use more correct times now? What's the best way to address this?)
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