"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
They announced their return and told Melty, Keel, and the others about what happened. They ate a good dinner and made sure to have plenty of sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a wave, but they were so strong from Cal Mira now. Even if Glass and the others were lying and returned, they'd have dozens of allies with them then. For the first time, the wave did not fill them with anxiety.
…
The following morning was one that confused a number of people. Eclair, Keel, and Melty assumed that Naofumi would be focusing on the wave that was going to hit in a few hours. The whole village figured that the family would be so focused on the approaching wave that they'd have no time for anything else… and yet-
Naofumi cooked food for the whole village again. Raphtalia and Teal were practicing their swordsmanship. Filo and Leon were engaging in a mock battle so Filo could get used to her new weapons. And Monti was helping out the villagers with whatever task they'd give him. None of them seemed in a rush.
As the most straightforward person not in the loop, Keel asked. "Um, isn't a wave happening soon? Aren't you guys a little too relaxed? Remember what happened last wave?"
Raphtalia gave a reassuring smile. "That was only because of Motoyasu, L'arc, Therese, and Glass. Imagine if it was just the whale. We have gained a lot of power recently. Even if this wave is a bit tricky, we are so much stronger than normal. We are far ahead of the problem. For once." Raphtalia answered.
And there it was. The monsters and boss of the waves were stronger each time. Each escalating at a steady rate. Both this wave and the one in Melromarc in about a week were not as scary as they had been. It'd be unwise to think light of them, but it was also a waste of valuable time to dread them.
"We'll head to Siltvelt castle in a bit. I'll give them an hour to show me who they got to come along. Anyone of exceptional talent might be worth allying with. Them and the hourglass are our main benefits for having traveled there. I'll give those politicians another chance. Maybe they'll learn." Naofumi spoke.
"If they try something, I am all for calling them out… However, we, or rather you, need more patience. These people are used to being in charge. You can't expect such people to adjust quickly." Raphtalia told Naofumi.
"That Werner guy seemed like a nice enough person." Teal commented.
"And Councilor Renair was fun." Leon added, making sure to add respectful titles.
"2 out of 11 isn't great." Naofumi mentioned.
"2 or 11 is better than what we were dealing with in Melromarc for the longest time." Monti pointed out.
"...Okay, I'll try to be patient…, but I'm not sleeping alone in that castle." Naofumi gave some ground, but refused to surrender the battle.
"Agreed. If they tried sending women directly to the room… I cannot be held responsible for what my blade does." Raphtalia threatened.
A cold chill ran up the others' spines. Again the kids were reminded that their father's wrath may flare more often, but their mother's wrath is far worse.
They did what they could for the village and went to leave.
"We are trying to play nice with these people, so expect us to not be back tonight." Naofumi told Melty.
"It's fine. I wish I could help, but mom and dad told me I shouldn't go to Siltvelt." Melty said with disappointment.
"We'll have more time together after this, right dad?" Filo asked.
"Yeah. After this, we have about a week before the wave in Melromarc again. So we might as well stay put. During it, I plan to talk to Ren and the others and have one of them teleport us to Zeltoble. That'll be five hourglasses, counting the one Fitoria made me register to…" Naofumi said in response.
Naofumi liked that he was above the curve, but the number of waves continued to increase. Naofumi knew that Fitoria had at least 2 more hourglasses due to asking the other heroes for help. "Faubrey had one too… there are at least 10, I assume." Naofumi considered how rough it'll be once they are back to doing things normally.
They soon parted ways with the village, teleporting to Siltvelt castle.
…
Siltvelt Castle
…
In a blur of light, they arrived in front of the castle.
"Shield Lord, it is good to see you." Werner greeted.
Naofumi saw nothing in front of him and so spun around to see Werner and a few council members, including Renair. Behind them were as many as 4 dozen others eagerly waiting. They all wore armor and held weapons. These people were the help that was asked for. Naofumi quietly sent an invite to each of them.
"70, 72, 74, 73…" Naofumi saw their levels as they joined.
They'd be very useful. In fact, if they had a way to reach the wave themselves, the people here would likely deal with this wave without a hero, but it'd be rough. Truly impressive. As Naofumi scanned over everyone, he felt someone was missing. Someone he remembered from the day before.
"This is everyone?" Naofumi asked.
"Nearly. Jaralis recruited most of them, but had someone specific he wanted to recruit. He might be a bit." Werner answered.
Jaralis entered the view. "Unfortunately, he is currently in Zeltoble… I was hoping to show you one of the finest warriors in Siltvelt. I'll do my best to fill his shoes personally." Jaralis responded while pulling brass knuckles out from a pocket.
"What? You mean you're actually fighting yourself?" Renair asked, a mix of a mocking tone and genuine bewilderment.
"Of course. In order to prove myself useful to the Shield Lord and fight on behalf of those who granted me this position." Jaralis answered.
Naofumi paused. Filo did nothing. "..."
Naofumi had told Filo to tug on his cloak when someone was lying, but Jaralis' claim was completely truthful?
"He gathered the most people and genuinely thinks it's his duty to fight for his people… How troublesome." Naofumi thought. "People who are just greedy or power hungry can be convinced to stop if it'll end their life. People that do bad things for good reasons are always more stubborn, like Itsuki. He was the rudest yesterday and yet-"
"I hope to apologize through my actions, Shield Lord. The way I acted was shameful. I got ahead of myself." Jaralis continued.
Filo tugged on Naofumi's cloak. "So he either thinks that lying is the right thing to do here, or there's more to him than that." Naofumi hated this.
People with agendas he has no idea about have consistently been Naofumi's greatest enemy. Politicians and religious figures have made themselves more of a threat to him than the waves ever had. In a way, Glass and her allies also fall into that type of group. It never seems to be the monsters that truly threaten Naofumi, but people. Thinking about the irony brought a smirk to his lips.
"Stop being bitter." Raphtalia told him.
He wiped the smirk off his face. He began placing people into teams.
"Those capable with a healing affinity will focus on civilian evacuation first. I will not micromanage your every move. Your priorities are the civilians, then yourselves, then each other. Always choose to take an ally to safety over pushing for a win. Do not engage a wave boss unless there are either 7 of you or if any of my family or myself are there… Normally I'd say to accept orders from Raphtalia, Monti, and Leon. However, there are many experienced leaders among you. I'll let you all decide how best to form a chain of command." Naofumi told everyone.
"Hmm, this all sounds so very exciting. I wish I was young enough to come along." An older voice spoke.
In response to his voice, most of the people assembled straightened themselves. Naofumi and the others could not help but turn to the source. They saw a somewhat large turtle beastmen exiting the castle. His tail seemed to be a snake.
"Who's this?" Naofumi asked, seeing him as a big shot.
"He is a genmu, and one of the country's most famous nobles. He is at least the second most influential person in all of Siltvelt," Werner explained.
"Werner is a red bird like the vermillion bird, and this old man's race is called 'genmu', like 'genbu' the black tortoise…" Naofumi thought.
The beastmen began to approach Naofumi, but Werner spoke first.
"Do not show such hostility to the Shield Lord. As powerful as you may be, using that form can be seen as intimidation." Werner warned.
The turtle stopped for a moment. "Oh? I'm always in this form, so I tend to forget these things. Apologies." The turtle suddenly transformed into a plump old man.
"He can transform?" Teal was surprised.
"Are you unfamiliar with our therianthrope forms? Ah, forgive me. You have lived in Melromarc, so not understanding demi-humans is to be expected." The old genmu said.
"So demi-humans can become beastmen?" Leon asked.
"Yes and no." Raphtalia answered, kind of annoyed she never corrected this misinformation.
"Demi-humans can take on a greater form that possesses more animal traits. Those that you call 'beastmen' are just demi-humans whose therianthrope trait is so strong that they are always in that transformed state. Otherwise, there is no meaningful difference." The genmu explained.
Naofumi suddenly felt really self-conscious about the times he used the term beastmen. Especially the villagers he called 'beastmen'. Maybe he should have always just used the term 'demi-human'?
"You can retake that other form if that makes you comfortable. None of you could intimidate father." Leon said, Naofumi nodding in agreement.
The genmu did so, retaking his old form. "As expected of the Shield Lord. You'd never be intimidated by the likes of us."
Werner seemed annoyed at how quickly the man retook his therianthrope form in front of Naofumi. "Why did you come here?"
"As I said, I am too old to take to the battlefield, but I wanted to meet the Shield Lord at the very least." The man said, eyeing Naofumi a bit.
They spoke strategy and explained what everyone was capable of. Some seemed to doubt the claims of what the kids and Raphtalia were capable of, but Naofumi wouldn't need to convince them. The wave would demonstrate it well enough. The old genmu spoke for a short time as well, then waited to wave them off.
00:01:57
"Less than 2 minutes." Naofumi told everyone.
Preparations were done, the talking was over. They just had one battle between them and a return to peace.
00:00:01
Shatter
…
The Siltvelt wave
…
Everyone was teleported to wave. They were near the top of a large hill. Directly below them was a town along a river.
"Does anyone recognize this place? Is there any natural cave nearby?" Naofumi asked. He was hoping to copy the evac strategy from Lute.
"No, this town has no such feature, it's a logging town." One of the demi-humans answered.
"Then we repeat the strategy from our second wave. Bring everyone to the largest building in town and defend it. Teal?" Naofumi began forming his battle plan.
"I'll make the wall." Teal answered, knowing her role.
"Let's go!" Naofumi called out.
Raphtalia jumped on Monti, Teal on Leon, and Naofumi on Filo, as all three transformed. As they ran down the hill, Naofumi was surprised at what he saw. The wave monsters were unmistakably yokai from Japanese myth. Most of them were flying types, but they also seemed like the frail tricky type of enemies. Flying heads, bunches of eyeballs, jars with bat wings, oni faces with claws, flaming wheels, tengu faces made of smoke. There were so many different kinds.
"There are three wave bosses." Monti told them.
That was not expected. Multiple wave bosses occurred but were uncommon. "Maybe that'll become more common as they escalate?" Naofumi considered.
"In that case, we'll switch teams after the town is secure." Naofumi told them.
Once Filo brought Naofumi to the center of town, he switched to his [Voice Gengar Shield (Bat form)], then used [Megaphone].
"This is the shield hero! We will defend you! Go to the largest building in town and we will safeguard you and defeat this wave!" Naofumi yelled.
Naofumi wasn't one for acting all heroic, but in Siltvelt, such a showing was more likely to get the response he wanted. The voice carried over most of the town and dozens of people opened their doors and began rushing to the lumber mill. Some monsters tried to intercept the fleeing people, but Naofumi's various protective skills halted any advance. Filo was also able to blow the flying enemies far away using a [Drifa Tornado].
Soon enough, Monti and Raphtalia arrived. Leon watched over the town from above while watching Teal set her wall. Werner was the first to reach the family. He had taken on a majestic form that was unmistakably the vermillion bird. Any monster that was close to him burst into flames.
While not as impressive as Raphtalia in power, Naofumi saw a lot of potential in Werner. "These elite races are no joke." He thought.
"I see a wave boss." Leon said.
"How can you tell?" Raphtalia asked.
"It's a giant golden statue atop a fancy building that keeps growing…" Leon answered.
That was more or less the truth. A golden idol statue of an old man holding a fan rested on top of a pagoda style Japanese tower, currently 7 stories tall. One arm rested at its side holding the fan, the other firmly held the central spike of the tower to keep it firmly in place.
[True Image: Shogun]
"Yup, definitely one. Monti, Leon, you two deal with it since you two can fly. Filo, stay with Teal until the wall is complete." Naofumi told them.
"Okay~." Filo saluted.
The other demi-human volunteers arrived and did what they could. As Naofumi suspected, they could handle the monsters well enough. Being at level 70 or higher meant that they also weren't one trick ponies. They either knew magic in addition to martial prowess or knew how to use more than one weapon or style. With so many people helping, securing the town was going well.
"Wall is ready." Teal announced.
"Do it." Naofumi confirmed.
[Living Wall]!
The town now had a nice 10 foot wall around it for some extra help.
"A wall around the entire town? Instantly?" Jaralis questioned quietly.
"They did briefly mention it earlier. I believe this is Teal's ability. The ability to make any plant. She also provides her father with any herb needed to treat any victim, making his healing all the more effective." Renair said, throwing chakram at an enemy, then using a chain to grab the weapon and pull it back to her.
"While we have reservations, they are quite powerful… That dragon seemed very impressive." Another council member commented, pulling his ax from the skull of a downed foe.
Jaralis seemed to be frustrated for some reason.
Crash
A section of Teal's wall was smashed to pieces by the oddest of things. It appeared almost like a moving metal cylinder, nearly 30 feet tall.
[True Image: Samurai]
Naofumi approached it and saw it differently. From between the chains, Naofumi could tell there was something inside it. The top of the cylinder was almost like a disk hat of some kind, made of metal. The sides of the creature's shell were made of powerful sections of thick links of metal that draped down from the edges of that hat, forming a metal curtain around it.
"There's… a person in there?" Naofumi was unsure.
Either way, the oddest thing seemed to happen with the second wave boss.
[Alert! Danger Imminent!]
Naofumi put up his shield as a large katana slipped between the links of metal and slashed down on him. He blocked it easily enough. Its speed was decent, but its power wasn't concerning to Naofumi as he was now. The katana withdrew from the attack and slipped back between the heavy chain-like metal curtain.
"Hya!" Raphtalia swung at the creature, but was surprised.
"Clank!" It did nothing.
This thing's defense was very impressive. The outermost layer of its body was nearly as defensive as Naofumi. However, Naofumi wasn't fooled. "It shouldn't be this powerful, which means its stats are balanced differently… It withdrew its blade instead of pressing the attack. I bet under that iron curtain, its defenses are nothing." Naofumi theorized.
"We need to bait an atta-" Naofumi went to explain, but the blade shot out towards Raphtalia.
[Cover]!
Naofumi blocked the attack, but was pushed back. Somehow this attack was every bit twice as strong as the previous swing.
"Worse case scenario, each swing gets stronger." Naofumi thought.
It withdrew its blade again, not pushing the attack. It stood, waiting for the next attack.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
They were not the only ones that found an annoying enemy. Teal and Filo were dodging attacks left and right. With barely any sound to indicate it, whole areas were blowing up.
"South of you!" Werner called from above.
Filo and Teal turned to see the source. They saw a large humanoid that was both 20 feet tall, but unnaturally thin. It wore black cloth wrapped tightly around its body, even covering its face.
[True Image: Shinobi]
The creature held its hand out and formed a few small balls, then threw them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The whole street was destroyed. Filo, however, easily dodged with Teal on her back.
"Dumb stick man can make explosions." Filo noted.
"It just made them out of nothing… I wonder if it can make other things." Teal thought aloud.
…
Monti and Leon
…
Monti and Leon were having it a little rough. The golden statue of an older man continued to sit atop the pagoda tower and had no intentions of leaving that spot. Lifting the fan every 30 seconds or so, each time lightning would be called down, striking the tower. Each time it did, the tower grew one floor higher, and more yokai-like monsters spawned from it. They also both noted that the lightning was getting stronger. They had to divide their efforts between attacking the statue and keeping the freshest batch of enemies from reinforcing those attacking the town.
Attacking the statue, however, seemed like a waste of time. If either of them approached the wave boss itself, lighting rained down over and over until they backed off. They wanted to ask their father or Teal for advice, but both were busy with their own enemies.
"So, what do we do?" Leon turned to his older brother for advice.
"Let's prod its response time and see if we can slip through… Maybe also see if that lightning veil can kill the allies it spawns." Monti decided.
They did just that. Their luck was mixed. On one hand, they weren't fast enough to pass through the lightning strikes, but at least they did discover that the lightning could kill the very wave monsters it summoned. They continued to try different ways to fight the wave boss, killing the new enemies by baiting the lighting each time.
"I know this sounds dumb, but… maybe we have to enter that building?" Leon suggested.
"That might work." Monti was running out of ideas.
They both waited until a new set of enemies were wiped out by them baiting the lightning, then entered the building in their human forms. The moment they entered, the doors tried to shut, but Monti caught and held them open.
"Even if this is the way you're supposed to do it, if we are trapped in here until it's done, all those new enemies get to keep pouring out without us contesting it. And the tower keeps growing. How long would it even take to reach the top?" Monti saw several flaws with trying this method.
They thought for a moment how best to approach this weird fight.
…
Filo and Teal
…
Filo was becoming surprised at how fast this enemy was. Even though Filo was carrying Teal, it shouldn't affect her enough for this enemy to dodge even one of her attacks. Not only was it fast, but it could bend in any possible way, as if it had no bones, allowing it dodge in ways Filo didn't consider. The three of them danced along the roofs of the town for some time when-
"Click" Boom!
Filo stepped on something. She didn't take that much damage, she was still much stronger than the enemy.
"Filo, you stepped exactly where that thing's foot stepped before… I think it's making mines when it walks, just like how I can plant seeds with my steps… Let's force this thing out of town and on the ground."
"Then can Filo hit it?" Filo asked.
"Wha-..." Teal was confused for a second, but understood. Filo wasn't trying to hit the enemy because she knew her first hit was going to carry her bonus. Filo had been playing up until now, expecting Teal to know that.
"It'd feel like a waste to use it to only make it leave town…, try your best kick." Teal said, jumping off of Filo.
[High Quick]!
Filo almost seemed to teleport into the gut of the enemy, hitting it with considerable power.
However.
This barely hurt the creature. It seemed almost like the cloth wrapped around its body was its body. There was either nothing inside or something that didn't care about being attacked. Its body simply stretched with the impact. Filo frowned and turned to Teal, who gave a thumbs up. Filo used the fact that the creature needed a moment to find its balance to send it out of town.
[Blow Back]!
She shot it away from town at great speed. It must have weighed very little. Filo grabbed Teal before chasing after the wave boss. It was a good thing they did too, as it seemed to somehow gain a kite behind itself to softly land and was about to run back towards the town. Filo and Teal whispered something and approached.
"Time to beat you at your own game." Teal announced.
…
Naofumi and Raphtalia
…
The barrel-like creature advanced some, knocking down a house. Naofumi knew how long making a home took and reacted accordingly.
"Maybe we can knock him off balance. Raphtalia!" Naofumi called.
"Right." Raphtalia seemed to know what he was thinking.
She leapt into the air. In response, the creature once again revealed its katana with a swift stabbing motion.
[Air Strike Shield]!
Naofumi responded, but not with a skill meant to block the attack. He made a platform beneath Raphtalia for her to jump off of, then repeated the process again twice, first with [Second Shield], then again with [Dritta Shield]. Each time, the wave boss' blade missed Raphtalia by a fair bit. Once she leapt for the last time, she was high enough to be well above the enemy. She focused her magic into her blade, trying to do the same with her life force, but not being good enough at it.
[Yin Yang Blade]!
Raphtalia's sword swirled with black and white energy and came crashing down on the top of the creature. It was very sturdy, but began to buckle, stumbling back. It tried to attack her again, but Naofumi was ready.
[Shield Prison]!
The blade struck the barrier and cracked it a bit, knocking Raphtalia away, but unharmed. Naofumi noted two things.
"It cracked [Shield Prison] when it wasn't nearly strong enough to do that before… and-" Naofumi saw the same white and black energy coming off of the wave boss' sword. "It's not getting stronger. It's a counter ability. Something I'm quite familiar with."
Naofumi turned to check on Raphtalia, but was correct in her being okay.
"Naofumi-sama, I think this thing uses counterattacks. Similar to yourself." Raphtalia independently came to the same conclusion.
"Glad we agree. Now that we've scouted out his trick, ready to end it?" Naofumi asked.
"Certainly." Raphtalia said with confidence.
Naofumi ran at the wave boss with Raphtalia hugging his back, a strategy they often used. The wave boss did what it had been doing when something entered its range. The blade slipped past the chain veil and attempted to strike Naofumi again.
[Latch]!
Naofumi blocked the approaching stab, then folded his shield to the side to have it touch a wide surface area of the blade. The holy shield and the wave boss' katana were now stuck together.
[Bedrock]!
The creature attempted to pull its weapon back, but Naofumi and its weapon would not budge. The creature seemed to be bewildered and unable to understand what was happening.
"Our turn. Hah!" Naofumi lifted the sword up and with it, the large and extremely heavy wave boss.
Everyone around was utterly shocked at how large a creature Naofumi could lift without really pressing himself. Several jaws hung in shock. Naofumi followed through and slammed the creature onto the ground opposite from where he was standing. The creature landed on its head, taking no damage. However, now upside down, the chain-like veil fell to reveal the creature's body beneath. A scrawny form that looked sickly except for the one arm that held the sword, being much more muscular.
"Now!" Naofumi called.
Raphtalia was already on it. She ran past the creature, running her blade through and decapitating the foe. The body started leaking black ink instead of blood. It went to stand despite the fatal wound, but after a moment it fell silent, defeated.
…
Filo and Teal
…
Filo and Teal were not having fun. While the explosions did little to either of them, catching the enemy was becoming annoying. Filo had adopted her human form again and was using both her claws and flail when possible. Throughout their exchange, the wave boss showed one more trick that led Filo to the decision to use her smaller form. The boss could touch two surfaces, one with each hand, and form a thin metal wire pulled tight between them. Touching it caused an explosion just as the balls and mines did.
"I know you like ending things quickly, but…" Teal began.
"Filo is already winning. And Filo knows Filo can't always be quick." Filo answered with a more serious look than normal.
"Huh?" Teal was lost.
"The ground explosions are every step that cloth man takes." Filo answered.
"Yeah, we know that-" Teal didn't get it.
"No, no. Every step." Filo repeated.
"Oh!" Teal got what she was saying.
Every step the creature took HAD to involve it placing a mine. Suddenly Filo's actions made all the more sense. She wasn't having trouble with the enemy at all. She was winning more and more with each action.
"Wow. I sometimes forget you're the big sister." Teal said with some appreciation.
The two engaged again, but this time Teal knew the game plan. She made exploding fruit like the treants did all that time ago. She handed them to Filo to sit down. Teal continued to ride on Filo's shoulders and produced fruit. Filo baited the wave boss to move around more and more while not letting it leave the minefield they were creating. Filo had paid attention to every single place the creature had stepped until now. It made Teal remember that Filo is not an idiot, she was also very smart in her own ways.
After placing dozens of fruit and causing it to dodge more, Filo stopped.
"Is it ready?" Teal asked.
"Yup, there's nowhere left for anyone to step." Filo answered.
Teal smirked and got off of Filo. She formed one last fruit.
"Ready?" Filo asked
"Ready." Teal answered.
Filo used a simple [Fast Wind Slice] horizontally at the wave boss. Teal tossed the fruit a moment later. The boss hopped over the spell, but realized it now had nowhere safe to land. More than a hundred explosives were about to go off, with the fruit triggering it either way.
"As mom would say, 'you fought well'." Teal said.
"And dad would say, 'sucks to suck'." Filo added.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Every mine, tripline, and fruit exploded as Filo and Teal began walking back to the others, knowing that the fight was over. The ninja-like creature was torn to pieces, revealing black ink was the only thing inside it. It was in tatters.
Again those that came here looked on as the series of explosions continued and Filo and Teal walked away from such destruction without a care. They all watched the explosions continue for nearly 30 seconds before they stopped. They wondered how much of that destructive power was the wave boss' power turned against itself and how much were these two young monsters that the Shield hero brought.
…
Monti and Leon
…
Monti leaned out of the door and looked up. "The lighting isn't striking as fast…" Monti noted.
"It's been slowing down more and more. The last one was over 2 minutes ago. I guess the tower has a height limit?" Leon theorized.
"You know… approaching the tower doesn't cause the other lightning to strike either. Only when we approach the wave boss up top." Monti was forming a plan.
"So are we going to climb the tower or what?" Leon wanted to hear Monti's idea.
"We have two quick solutions… Either of us could get it in different ways." Monti said.
"Then let's do both and make sure it's dead." Leon said.
"I was hoping to try speaking to it, but it didn't look alive, so I guess going for the throat is the thing to do." Monti agreed.
Monti decided to tear both sides of the door off the building rather than keep it open. The two of them stepped outside ready to finish this.
"Use your favorite spell to hit the base of the building. Since the lightning isn't interested in hitting us unless we approach the boss, it isn't protecting the ground floor." Monti said, then transformed and clawed into the side of the building.
"Sweet. I get to knock down the whole thing?" Leon began transforming, but didn't start using a spell yet.
"Whatever is left of it." Monti alluded to his part and shot off.
"Huh!? No fair! You aren't giving me enough time." Leon began flying a bit away from the base of the tower and began doing something he'd not tried much yet.
"If something like the last wave happens, I'm not going to weigh anyone down. Wyndia had to help me back then. Filo got so hurt and I could help her… I need more magic, greater magic!" Leon began channeling the magic inside him, pulling on not only his mana, but his very vitality.
Monti shot up the side of the building at an increasingly blinding speed. As he thought, he was too close to the building, so the wave boss wouldn't strike at him and risk hitting the tower. Only after Monti was very close to the top did it fire off a bolt of lightning from the sky.
[Drifa Overdrive]! Monti covered himself in lightning before the bolt hit him. It did less than nothing. Monti went to make contact with the wave boss.
"RRRAAAWWWRRR!" Monti roared as he slammed into the bottom of the wave boss and dug into it with his claws. He barely slowed as he lifted the boss higher and higher into the air. Monti took him as high as he could go, then slowly turned both of them around.
[Living Lightning]! Monti dived as fast and violently as he could, carrying the wave boss in front of him. He looked like a bolt of lightning coming to crash down on the tower below. The statue tried its best to pull free, but Monti wasn't faltering. He rushed downward and just feet from the top of the tower, Monti threw the wave boss down with everything he had. The golden statue was impaled on the central spike of the building as black ink poured everywhere. The momentum of the impact carried the golden figure crashing through each and every floor of the previously daunting tower. At this point there were 23 floors, and all had a fresh hole torn through them.
As the wave boss made its way through the floors, Leon finished preparing his spell.
"I, the great Leon, command all fire in creation! Cast a flame as dark as space with a heat as fierce as the stars that dwell there! Power of mine! Surround them with your essence and rend them from this world! [Starry Night Sky]!" Leon screamed.
Dozens of balls of blue fire each as large as his full form appeared all around the tower, then shot towards the base of the tower. Just as the wave boss came to rest at the bottom of the tower, it was engulfed in blue flames that finished it and caused the tower to catch fire, burning hotter than anything either had seen.
For the third time, the volunteers saw the family's destructive force, only now on full display. They had high opinions of themselves, but seeing all this power was incredibly humbling. Even Jaralis could not argue with something like this. Either Monti or Leon's attacks just then could compete with the greatest attacks they'd ever seen, including the heroes they'd seen. Jaralis shook with a quiet fury.
"What's the matter, Jaralis?" Renair asked, wanting to get a rise out of him.
To her surprise, he calmed down a lot, then spoke. "Such power registered to our hourglass means that the people of Siltvelt have gained a powerful answer to the waves… That's enough… for now." Jaralis turned away, not wanting to share his thoughts further.
After confirming all three wave bosses were dead, Monti closed the wave a bit faster than it would on its own. Everyone prioritized finishing the monsters before they escaped further, suddenly finding them to be extremely weak. The cleanup went very well with people in high authority able to get everyone to do their part. Naofumi and a few others healed the injured and soon confirmed the good news.
"Not one person died?" A council member was beside themselves.
"That's the second time we've done that. And we used the same strategy too." Teal informed them.
"Filo guesses Teal's wall really helps." Filo called.
The two smiled and stayed light-hearted. They collected the cloth from the boss they fought, just as Leon made sure to grab every single piece of the golden statue.
Naofumi absorbed the materials from all three bosses. Four of the shields stood out.
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[Bushido Shield]
+5 Def, +10 Slash Resistance
[Ability: Bladebane II] Bladed weapons are moderately less effective against you.
[Unique Ability: Counterplay] When an enemy's attack is blocked, they take additional damage the next time they take damage.
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[Nindo Shield]
+5 Agi
[Ability: Soundproof] Take 5% less damage from sound-based attacks.
[Ability: Trap Jammer II] Take 10% less damage from traps.
[Unique Ability: Fall Block] Shield becomes kite-like to slow fall.
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[Golden Shogun Shield]
+5 Mdef, +10 Lightning resistance
[Unique Ability: Lightning Shield (Medium)] If attacked, deal a moderately strong shock to the attacker.
[Unique Ability: Territorial Reform] Allows the user to place, move, create, combine and otherwise dictate terrain that is rightfully theirs.
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[Life Ink Shield]
+20 HP
[Ability: Creation Boon III] Your familiars have 15% more stats.
[Ability: Healing Assist] Healing magic is easier to cast and more precise.
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Naofumi unlocked many other shields; [Canopy Iron Shield], [Cloth Shield], [Five-Layer Shield], etc. He unlocked even more via the normal wave monsters. He took special note of both the [Bushido Shield] and the [Golden Shogun Shield]. Naofumi asked the shield a few questions about the wording of their abilities. [Menu Plus] gave him enough of an answer.
Monti tried sampling the cloth, gold, and metal of the three bosses, but he gained nothing. Just like with the golem, his ability seemed to not work with inorganic creatures, even if they otherwise met the correct conditions. He tried the ink as well, that did give him a boost in HP at least. It wasn't much, but anything at all was more than what his siblings were getting. He tried to keep low expectations when it came to potential bonuses, lest he get too full of himself, like Leon.
Within the hour the wave was wrapped up and the higher-ups and other volunteers were patting themselves on the back for what little they had done. Naofumi decided to let them have that. He still didn't like many of them, but if he let them look good from letting him do his job, maybe they could get on the same page.
There was much to do still. Leon used his magic to suss out the remaining mines throughout the town. He was hoping to be clever and simply cancel the effect, but remotely detonating them was the only timely solution. They couldn't risk someone dying from a mine weeks later due to their negligence.
The wave was over in a flash, it was only about 20 minutes. The family had a plan of attack and the stats to make it happen. They were finally strong enough to face the waves and that should remain the case. Not only that, but Siltvelt was at least somewhat cooperative. So now Naofumi had the backing of two major countries. Things were more than just looking up. They had a chance to really look forward to the lives they could lead, lives of peace. Soon.
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[Author's Notes]
Another week, another chapter. Lets hope I can return to my old speed now.
Those familiar with Siltvelt in the LNs will be aware of Jaralis. However, Jaralis is not necessarily an antagonist. Yes, he has done some evil things and is a villain. BUT his motivations are the removal of the elite races from power and for Siltvelt to be as secure as possible. Given these event changes, expect his role to also change.
Filo is being more thoughtful in battle. Leon used [Dragon's Vein] for the first time and Monti dunked a wave boss like they were playing smash bros.
Three more weird wave bosses. Two of which gave shields Naofumi will be giving to Raphtalia and Monti. Were they okay?
Now that Naofumi is on decent terms with Siltvelt, will Naofumi find them as useful an ally as Mirellia?
If you have an idea for a wave and/or wave boss, let me know. I might use them in some capacity in the future.
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