"Talking"

"Thinking"

[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]

…

Ren interrupted. "Spirit Tortoise-! It's the Spirit Tortoise! Just like my game-" Ren managed to say while trying to catch his breath.

"One of the 'world event' bosses in my old game. We have to find the Spirit Tortoise or the familiars will never stop!" Ren warned.

.

"Calm down, Sword Hero. What is this about a game?" Aultcray seemed perplexed by the seriousness of Ren's attitude in contrast to the unserious nature of the words being said.

Naofumi spoke while Ren continued to catch his breath. "Ren played a game in his world that was strikingly similar to this world in hundreds of ways. Even hidden locations of monster nests are exactly the same as he remembers. It's why he had such a hard time taking things seriously… Is there something called a 'Spirit Tortoise' in this world?" He asked at the end.

"There is, or at least there is supposed to be. Such a creature is supposedly sealed beneath a country that shares its name." Mirellia answered.

"The shells on the monsters… and the Spirit Tortoise country is east of here…" Aultcray thought it aloud. It seemed more than reasonable considering the factors.

"At our level, we ought to finish the Spirit Tortoise with ease." Ren assured.

"...How do the familiar's strength line up with that view?" Naofumi asked with doubt.

"..." Ren paused.

A brief conversation between everyone involved placed the power of the bat familiars at level 35, noting that their ability to fly and use long range attacks would probably beat out equally leveled adventurers on average. They also gauged the yeti type familiars as needing to be level 55 as an average adventure to deal with, but since it lacked flight, significant skill could lower the threshold to level 45. That meant that no one in Lurolona who hadn't class upgraded could beat a yeti familiar. Meaning Naofumi would need to leave Keel in Lurolona to safeguard it.

Naofumi gave parts from the wave bosses he fought with Ren and he did the same, as they had both dealt with waves the other was not in. Next they agreed to visit the castle every day at the same time to receive updated information as regularly as possible. Lastly, they both agreed to help coordinate with the Melromarc soldiers to clear the country of these monsters.

The meeting had nearly concluded when Aultcray said the thing on all of their minds. "Where are the spear and bow heroes at this hour? Could they really be so far away that they are unaware of this crisis?"

"Itsuki went to that northern land he messed up before. It borders Melromarc, right? So he should have been made aware of this. Motoyasu… he said something about going to Zeltoble, but you can never really know with him." Ren answered.

They planned again.

"Our current course of action doesn't require them. We'll adjust our plan as they become available." The queen finally said. No further words were wasted on the subject.

Mirellia sent a few shadows to seek out the country of the Spirit Tortoise and report their findings to her. She had to send some of her best, as they'd likely meet heavy resistance from those familiars. Wyndia lightly asked Ren to go to the mountain her monster friends now lived, to check on them and the nearby town before they follow through on assisting the knights. He complied immediately. Naofumi was willing to begin to assist the soldiers as early as tomorrow. As soon as Lurolona regained a level of security.

With all their plans decided, their meeting ended. Naofumi dropped by Erhart's and Beloukas'. At Erhart's shop, he copied 4 shields that Naofumi commissioned with the provisional materials given to him by the queen. None gave a particularly neat ability, but they gave welcomingly large stat gains. He also picked up the [Karma Rabbit Swords], [Karma Squirrel Flails], [Karma Dog Claws], and [Karma Penguin Tridents] that were left with Erhart. Their curses were removed, no longer lowering any stats. Their names also changed. Now they were named [Usauni Sword], [Risuka Flail], [Inult Claws], and [Pekkul Trident].

They had left several of each, as did the other heroes. Whatever Erhart's method was for removing the curses, it was apparently something easy to do in bulk. So all of the weapons were cleansed relatively quickly.

They also both voiced concerns.

"Hey, how's the village doing?" Erhart asked very early into their exchange.

"We lost some people… That isn't happening again." Naofumi didn't want to say more, and Erhart didn't push for more either.

Soon enough, Naofumi asked his own questions. "Have the other heroes come by for their orders?"

"The sword and bow heroes did. Sword hero dropped by every day and got his stuff the moment it was finished. That boy's gonna croak from stress before 50. The bow hero came two days ago to pick up his orders, including that weird costume for the lass…" He told Naofumi.

"And Motoyasu?" Naofumi asked.

"The spear hero came in once to order even more spears. Said he got some big money suddenly, but wouldn't say where or how… Haven't heard from him since, and most of his orders are done." Erhart answered.

So Itsuki doesn't have business here anymore and Motoyasu has been several days late. It didn't sound like he was going to get lucky with either returning soon.

"Well, if either show up, tell them about what's going on… and tell them it might have something to do with the 'Spirit Tortoise'." Naofumi requested.

Beloukas' wasn't as eventful. He dropped off seeds and got Teal's money. They briefly spoke about the current crisis. Naofumi mentioning the Spirit Tortoise didn't seem to cause any reaction in the man. He so often seemed to know so much, but he truly knew nothing on the subject. However, the moment Naofumi called the monsters 'familiars' Beloukas seemed annoyed.

Apparently he had managed to catch a few of them, but now knowing they were familiars meant that they were untamable, and practically worthless. Naofumi gave him a silver lining though.

"Mia in Evergreen will probably be the person the queen places in charge of figuring out what we can about the enemy. She might pay something for live specimens." Naofumi offered.

It was a very small comfort. Naofumi already knew that as a former slave, Mia would probably refuse to do business with Beloukas. Hopefully she'd see the bigger picture.

Either way, Naofumi touched base with the magic shop owner and even that crazy tailor to make sure everyone was okay. He assured them that everything was okay, then returned to the village as soon as he could.

…

Return to Lurolona?

…

Naofumi teleported back to Lurolona. The moment the light left him and he could see his surroundings, Naofumi was surprised again, but this time for the better.

The roads that were only just planned a week or so ago were done. The wall that was planned to be built into the forest to force visitors to use the main road was also done. The many houses for the women planned along the longest road were nearly done. Monti was placing small homes for them and adjusting them between one and two bedrooms depending on if the person was pregnant or not. Naofumi saw Monti working on the house, with the craftsmen and the person who'd be living there adding their advice as Monti altered it.

Monti could add things like windows to walls which would automatically create the appropriate holes, or a chimney that rearranged the roof accordingly. Still, there were smaller things that either he couldn't do or the cost to do such a small task was a rip-off. Things like adding a single step up or down. Monti didn't do those things, he'd leave it to the craftsmen still here.

Naofumi's smile relaxed slightly as he saw Monti did as he himself did, making the buildings mostly out of bio-plant material.

Leaving a task like this to Monti was the right call. He'd be adding buildings and paths for weeks if he let him. Though, that sizable point value wasn't infinite. Monti would spend a lot, but he'd also need to budget it and it'd be a good idea to save some points just in case.

"If that point total is because I own the whole territory, then it'd be only right to spend some in the other towns within it. Maybe repair or replace some things that were damaged or destroyed in the recent attacks." Naofumi considered.

Naofumi let Monti notice he returned, but waved to him to continue. Naofumi knew Monti would go all night if he didn't stop him. Seeing Naofumi back might make him stop at some point to ask about the situation, pitting Monti's sense of worry against his sense of duty. If by nightfall he hadn't stopped himself, Naofumi would send someone to get him. Raphtalia if he was feeling nice… Teal if he wasn't.

He located Raphtalia and informed her of what they discussed at the castle. "-So until the queen confirms how accurate Ren's game knowledge is on this, we'll be pushing the enemy back starting as westward as they've spread. The monsters are thinned out the further they go. So, they won't need us right away. Once the military effort reaches here though, we'll need to join them."

"What about Lurolona?" Was Raphtalia's first concern.

"I figured we'll leave Monti behind for now. He'll be busy remodeling the village for some time. I'm sure he'll agree." Naofumi answered.

"That's true. Asking Melty to keep him from overworking himself is also going to be needed if we are not here to keep an eye on him… Speaking of Monti's task…" Raphtalia's words drifted away as she stared at the town. "It's really being rebuilt. Many places, the same. Many more added… This town is going to be bigger than it was before the wave." Raphtalia said emotionally.

Who could blame her? Something lost was found again. Most of her emotions were positive, but she felt the need to add. "I know that everything you do is for a good reason, but do keep Monti from going overboard, okay?" She asked.

"Of course. I'll have him make houses for those women and a few others. Leaving it mostly unpolished. The polish, the buildings for businesses and other town-wide needs will be built by hand." Naofumi calmed her worries.

"Why? Is Monti's power limited?" She asked.

"It is, but honestly he has enough to go really crazy if he wants to. No. He'll need to stop so we have plenty of points left for repairing damage if something happens in the future, to help the other towns in the region, maybe even redo the entire road…, but most importantly, I want this to be everyone's town. Monti can do more now, but this is still ultimately supposed to be a town built by those that live here. I won't let them take the easy way out. The easy way is often a shitty way." Naofumi answered.

Raphtalia sighed. "I agree with that, but you need to find a nicer way to put that last part." She told him.

"Yeah, probably." Naofumi responded. "By the way, I mastered this. Here you go."

[Inheritance Menu]

[Select a valid shield]

[Bushido Shield selected]

[Select a valid receiver]

[Raphtalia selected]

[Granting inheritance]

[Successful]

Raphtalia felt the change. "Huh? …Is this…?"

"Yup, I gave you your shield now too. I upped it just as much as I upped Monti's. This gives a lot of bonuses to counter attacking." Naofumi explained.

Raphtalia's ear twitched. "Counter attacking? Is that not something you excel at?"

"I have counter skills. This one buffs the damage and effect of anything used on a target after it is blocked. Not 'blocked by me' just 'blocked'. So that means if I block an attac-"

"Then my following action against them is greater. So it enhances our teamwork further." She understood. "I'm glad you were able to give me something that let me play to my strengths and desired role. I don't think I'd like having something so completely different like what you granted Monti." She added.

"I figured. You are 'my sword' after all." He said with a smile.

The two shared a moment, knowing they'd be fighting soon.

Always fighting, always on the move. If only this ST mess hadn't happened. In less than a month, Naofumi could have located another hourglass and with the other heroes' help, register to several other hourglasses. It would have still meant a lot of fighting, but they could have stayed in Lurolona whenever a wave wasn't going on. They could put down some roots. Sure, Monti could build them a house, but it'd only be a home once it felt that way, and that would happen when they were allowed to slow down…

The next few days were fleeting. Mirellia was true to her word, she had Godiva mobilize a large host from the western front and had them march eastward for the entire breath of Melromarc. This gave Naofumi and the others 4 days to put the town in order.

And did they.

Teal made and modified a plant to act as vines growing up the outside of the town's new wall. Those who tried to climb them would be grappled. She also sparred more with Keel, trying to use life force like she was shown. Teal kept her mind on improvement and Keel was similarly minded.

"Try this, [Heavy Drag]!" Keel used her new claws to drag her claws across the ground in a motion that made Teal believe was meant to pick up dust, or maybe launch some stones alongside her attack.

Keel did neither. She dug her claw in too deep and stropped her swing. Teal was late to respond to this.

"Wha-?" Keel used her sunken hand as leverage and brought her other claw down, burying the blades of her claw into Teal's bark armor. Keel was excelling well in her skill as a fighter. She had the knack for it and had a strong motivation to drive her.

That said, Keel could not do any damage to Teal that she couldn't heal from fairly fast. She knew Teal would handle Keel's more brutal and less refined fighting style. Teal even modified her body to utilize life force more effectively. She felt she was getting better, but still lacked tangible results. At least Teal and Keel saw some results in the form of basic martial prowess.

While Teal found a way to be useful to help her emotionally, that could not be said for Leon. That first night after returning, Leon was not around when it was nearly dinner time. Raphtalia asked Filo and Filo correctly guessed he was in the valian tunnels. Raphtalia went down there to find Leon a crying mess. Even with him hearing her approach, he'd already cried himself tired and failed to hide it.

"..." Raphtalia walked over and sat next to him, holding him gently.

"They were mine…" Leon said while crying.

"Who?" Raphtalia asked.

"The guards. They were mine. They had my image on their shields. They were called 'the Leon knights'... But I didn't save them this time." Leon managed to say.

Leon often spoke in this manner. His sisters were his, his brother and parents were his. Leon was often selfish and possessive, so no one really called him out on it.

"We can't always be here." Raphtalia told him.

"It's not fair. It's just like with Gaelion and Ren. Gaelion and Wyndia just wanted to live weak, then Ren came along."

"That's why we have to get stronger. If everyone on the village were to get stronger, we could-"

"It's not fair! Why can't they be weak if they want to!? Is everything so rotten that it's only good if we can make it so!?" Leon screamed.

"...That's exactly it." Raphtalia told him with a sad voice.

"..." Leon stopped crying.

"This world is unfair. The good will suffer and the evil will not if you let it. That's why strength is needed. To make the world a place we want it to be. If you want people to be allowed weakness, then be their strength." Raphtalia told him.

"...I see. Then I can't leave it to brother, huh? …Starting tomorrow, I'll help my knights more." There went Leon again calling people his.

"Then we better head back, you'll want to get up bright and early." Raphtalia suggested, rubbing his head.

Leon didn't disagree. Raphtalia thought she'd get rid of Leon's habit of claiming ownership of people like he often does, but now wasn't the time. One issue at a time.

Filo was very useful throughout the three day stretch. She was able to visit every town in the territory and return in under an hour. She was able to take Melty from town to town, hearing the demands and needs of the towns due to the familiar attacks. Between Melty, Naofumi, and Eclair, they could offer what the people needed. However, what most asked for was either more men patrolling their towns for safety, or for Naofumi to 'send his beasts again'.

Those that referred to the kids in that manner were lucky if they only received Melty's death glare. The rare person Naofumi met himself was practically begging to be allowed to return to their home without hope to escape him.

That said, Naofumi sent Filo and Leon to help specific places throughout the three days. Filo sang to the kids after monsters were cleared to calm down and distract the kids in those towns. Leon wanted to charge them, but didn't.

They even went to Castletown when they headed in that basic direction. Leon commissioned new armor for the remaining soldiers at Erhart's. Erhart knew that Naofumi would never send the kids instead of visiting himself, but he still accepted the order when Leon used the phrase "remaining soldiers". He'd tell Naofumi about it the next time he visited.

Lastly, Monti did as Naofumi and Raphtalia thought. He tried to make every little thing for everyone. Naofumi had to point out that he wasn't sure the points he spent were recoverable, only for Monti to tell his father that the points have gone up a few times. Raphtalia tried the more direct approach of telling him that making the village in its entirety is effectively stealing everyone's chance to make the village their own. After hearing that, Monti only made a few more buildings.

He had finished the houses for the women and made 10 more. They'd be used to house the remaining villagers in the meantime, making sure Melty would have a secure room with a lock. He spread those houses around but still in the city's designated placements. Letting the villagers choose their own sleeping arrangements and such.

He wished he did more, but the villagers were practically falling over themselves to thank Monti from then on. The figurative barrage of praise did truly take Monti's mind off the centipede for the first time since they met. Raphtalia had to hold Monti's tail in place as the praise had his tail wagging dangerously.

Raphtalia trained a bit, but volunteered to help her fellow villagers where she could. It was clear that helping her village and its people was very high in her list of priorities. She found herself lost in the work just as easily as Monti. That said, she still visited her parents' and Rifana's graves daily in the early morning. These visits were no longer sad or bitter, but helped her nonetheless.

She'd have liked to train more with Eclair to get more of a chance to use this life force training practically, but to Eclair's dismay her duties as the former lord were not all removed. Naofumi asked her for help doing certain tasks over the three day period, which began to paint a pretty clear picture. If asked to fight, train, or do other knightly duties, Eclair shined and was the perfect representative of a knight. However, if Eclair was asked to do paperwork, proactive problem solving, or maintain the needed level of social contact with the other towns… it was clear that maybe Naofumi being the lord of the territory was also to Eclair's benefit.

Naofumi was the busiest of them all. He was constantly making medicine and shipping it out all over the territory. The shipments contained his highest quality medicines as well as something to help remove the parasites. He also sent a shipment to Opaltown, hoping that they'd send the word out. Naofumi also continued to cook the village's food to keep spirits high and their minds off the more bitter topics. Naofumi also had to do most of the directing, planning, and proactive problem solving himself. Melty helped when she could, but Eclair's lack of ability left Naofumi shocked and overworked.

Naofumi also took another look at the man that lost his arm. The man wasn't a proper member of the village. He was a craftsman sent to help. Now he was down an arm, meaning his ability to do things took a massive hit. The man was happy to be alive, but his ability to earn an income as a carpenter was gone. After discussing things with Naofumi, they had a solution. He could teach a few of the kids carpentry. He could teach and guide them through the trade, having them be his hands. Naofumi promised to pay him monthly for each kid he taught, and get 20% of their earnings for the jobs they do under him until he says they know the trade. The man was thankful. And with that, Lurolona had another permanent human resident, which was also important.

Those three days went by in a flash, and when the time came, the eastern march reached them. The force was small, but it was stretched thin throughout the length of the country, so it was understandable. Godiva and Ren were there to meet Naofumi on the dawn of the fourth day.

"Oi, Savior. We've been slow to reach you. Things going well?" Godiva greeted, arm outstretched.

Naofumi received her hand and shook it. "As well as can be expected. We're ready to leave right now." Naofumi answered.

Naofumi looked past Godiva to Ren, waiting with his party outside of the town. Then looked past them to those Godiva brought with her. They were some tough looking fighters, but more than a little rough around the edges. Naofumi and Raphtalia had no trust of these people, but it'd fall to Godiva to keep them in line. Outside of one of the heroes falling to a curse series or Fitoria, they couldn't think of anything that could threaten them as they were now. The family didn't want to delay this any more than they had to. The sooner these monsters were finished off, the sooner they can focus on the village full time.

"Take care of everyone." Naofumi said to Monti, Melty, and Keel. With a wave, they departed Lurolona to join in fully eliminating the monsters that brought strife to them. Once on the road they spoke more.

"I heard everyone else made it through the initial assault." Naofumi said to Godiva.

"Yeah. We're a little mad they came from the east. I wanted to show off a little. Little Mia got ahead of me now. She got to show her worth before me." Godiva answered.

"Ai, we've been begging for this." One of her men said.

Naofumi gave Godiva an inquisitive look.

She answered the question on his face. "Averill didn't take a single man from his territory with him during all that Three Heroes Church nonsense. He worried that if he did, that there wouldn't be enough left for him. I had my doubts, but there are some tough bastards there. If not for this power you helped me gain, a few would have beat me." Godiva admitted.

"That's a version of you before class upgrading… That's not too impressive." Leon commented.

The men with Godiva started giving Leon the stink eye.

"I mean, I've fought a dozen or so class upgraded folks in the past. Skill is always more important. After all… It was that very skill that led Averill to play with his food. So the fact that I would have needed more stats to deal with a few of the men in the western front is pretty astonishing. Even now, I think the 10 best could probably beat me." Godiva corrected Leon's thinking.

"If 10 of us could have taken you, you'd have been dethroned day one. Bi-my lady." One of the men complained.

"That's because you didn't want it hard enough. 10 people without a class upgrade killed Averill. You'd just need to commit as hard as we did." Godiva said, proud of what her party achieved.

"And lose 8 of us doing it?" Another questioned doubtfully.

"See? That proves it. We were and are more committed than you. We can die if it means winning, you'll surrender if it means living." Godiva said with some pride.

"You calling us cowards!?" The first one accused Godiva angrily.

"Not all of you, just enough of you." Godiva responded honestly.

One of the men reached for his weapon. "You bi-!"

[Drifa Hellfire]!

Boom!

Leon used his favorite spell on a lone bat familiar he spotted as they moved forward. The crater was large, smoking, and with bits of molten stone. It was impressive enough to shut Godiva's men up and take a step back.

"I know that you people are strong. I know that you're proud of that strength. But you ought to find a purpose for that power and take pride in that instead… because as you can clearly see, with the cardinal heroes amongst us, what it takes to be called powerful now-a-days is beyond what you've known. The boy with the scorpion tail that was left in that village back there slapped your precious Averill across the battlefield like a father disciplining their daughter. He's easily thrice as powerful now after the Cal Mira event." She seemed to take pleasure in putting Averill's name through the mud whenever she could.

The men began to understand their place. They were better than the average soldier of Melromarc, and by a fair bit, but that didn't mean much when compared to the power they'd be facing by not doing as Godiva commands.

Naofumi used [Tele-communication] and [Trickster] to speak to Godiva privately.

"Oi, I know you could have got them in line before reaching us." Naofumi accused.

"...Y'know… they're really stubborn…" Godiva sucked at lying.

"You waited to use us as the muscle." Naofumi said plainly.

"...Yeah." Godiva admitted with a chuckle.

"Leon, save your MP. Wasting that much on one enemy?" Wyndia chastised.

"...Okay." Leon only used that much power to put Godiva's men in their place, but Wyndia failed to notice.

"Should we move towards Lerno or Mirso?" Raphtalia asked about half a mile before the decision needed to be made.

"Mirso is fine. I-We cleared it out the day of the attacks and visited it daily." Ren told the group.

"My monster friends helped too. They got a bit stronger than before." Wyndia added.

"It was a good thing we did. Mirso was still so weak from before that the familiars might have wiped them off the-" Bakta (one of Ren's male teammates) went to add, but was elbowed by Farrie (one of Ren's female teammates).

"Good thinking." Naofumi commented.

More than ever, guilting Ren was no longer necessary or productive. He improved a lot in a short time. Naofumi remembered how Ren said he died, saving a friend. Naofumi could admit that Ren was hero material. In many ways, Ren had more traditionally heroic traits than himself. Though, Naofumi still considered Raphtalia to be the one most befitting the title of hero.

"Many of us will need to travel off the road." Godiva reminded them that it wasn't a binary decision.

"Fine, then-" Naofumi proposed that they splinter out at the next split in the road. A small group including Filo and Naofumi would head directly for Lerno. Most of the rest would continue to fan out into the wilderness and hunt down the monsters. Leon's ability to fly would be ideal for this. The plan was put into practice without much fuss.

There was a stray familiar every once in a while, but it was few and far between. That was until the 7th hour of traveling. They had stopped to rest once, but kept a fast pace. At the midpoint of the 7th hour, multiple people reported either groups of bat type familiars or a lone yeti familiar. Nothing beyond their ability to deal with. At the same time, Naofumi and Filo arrived in Lerno.

The wooden walls that once were hastily built to stave off the bio-plant were nearly gone, torn down and repurposed since the incident. The plants Naofumi left the town were much larger than he left them, each being as large as a tree. Most notable about the village though, was that it wasn't in bad shape at all. There were a few damaged homes, but the village fared amazing above expectations.

At the sight of Naofumi, the lord approached. "Ah, Savior. We've already secured some of your medicine from Opaltown, but your assistance is welcome."

"How is this place not destroyed?" Naofumi ignored the niceties and asked the first question on his mind.

The man flinched a bit from the rudeness. He had hoped Naofumi would be nicer now that his name was clear. "Well, it was the strangest thing. We'd barely glimpsed the monsters over the tree line when streams of light rained down on them. At first, we didn't understand what was going on, but if three of our young men's testimony is true, it was the spear hero of all people."

"Motoyasu? I'd want to speak to the witnesses. We haven't heard or seen Motoyasu since this happened." Naofumi told him. "Still, Motoyasu got every last one? By himself?"

"A few got through the light, but we aren't as defenseless as before. With these fruits selling so well, a merchant or two is always here and with the bandit problem increasing, they had their own bodyguards."

"Increased bandit activity? First I've heard of that… Not that it is what matters right now." Naofumi didn't pry further, instead wanting to confirm what he was told.

When Naofumi was shown to the three witnesses, he and Filo both facepalmed. It was the same three idiots that tried fighting the bioplant on their own. They were made to sit in the center of town. They were probably considered liars for what they said they saw. It was a good thing Naofumi brought Filo. It wasn't like their testimony meant much without her.

"Aight, spill it. What'd you see?" Naofumi demanded.

"Eep! It's just as we told everyone. The spear hero just kind of appeared on that far hill over there." The first one began spilling his guts.

"Yeah, just a big flash of light and bam, he was there." The second one added and agreed.

"The guy just started blasting and saying some strange words." The third said.

Naofumi glanced at Filo who assured her father that they were truthful.

"Huh… Where'd he go?" Naofumi inquired further.

"He ran towards the monsters after he was done shooting lights…" One started talking.

"...We didn't go as far as him, so we don't know when he actually left." The second added.

The third said nothing more, but looked up to Naofumi.

The lord went to speak. "Sorry, Savior. I know their testimony is probably a waste of your time. Perhaps-"

"No, they're telling the truth. We heroes can teleport to saved locations. Motoyasu likely teleported to that hillside. We also need to call out the name of our skills, and Motoyasu has several skills that can be called 'streams of light'. The teleport takes an hour to recharge, so arriving so miraculously and leaving on foot makes sense… And Filo can tell if people are lying." Naofumi explained his reasoning, leaving Filo for last.

"See? Now let us go." The third told the elder.

The elder paused a moment before waving to let the three leave.

"You three like trouble, huh?" Naofumi asked.

The three of them soured at his question.

"Still, you took my advice. Had you followed Motoyasu into the swarm of familiars, you'd definitely be dead." Naofumi complimented them, though they didn't see it that way.

Naofumi checked the injured and treated people while relaying information to the others. If things went well, they'd push all familiars from Melromarc's borders in three more days…, but Naofumi could only wonder.

"Motoyasu knows this is going on, and yet he and Itsuki haven't visited the castle yet or spoken to Ren… Where the hell are those two?"

…

Far to the east

…

People ran as fast as they could. At first they carried what they could, but they threw even their most precious items away as it weighed them down.

"Move!" "Get out of the way!" "They're coming!"

People screamed, smoke rose and bodies fell. The sun was stolen from the scene as countless bat familiars flooded the sky. The confusion, crazy, and death left little to need explaining. This place was being destroyed with a more concentrated force than anyone else was facing. What little hope came from believing that they could find somewhere underground to hide was shattered time and again by a heavy rumbling of the ground.

Off in the distance was a mountain chasing them from over the horizon. The scale of what was happening was unreal, and their hope was nearly gone. They were made the prey of the Spirit Tortoise, one of the supreme beings of this world. They were now duty bound to die, for the sake of the world.

However.

[Arrow Rain]!

Dozens upon dozens of monsters were struck to the ground. Not one that was struck moved again. They were dead before they hit the ground. As the skill finished, a hole was made in the blackened sky. Light shined through it, giving a ray of hope for those that ran.

"It seems that your prediction was correct. So now what? Do you think we have the means to fight this many?" The old Hengen Muso lady asked.

"F-Fuee. We couldn't do that, there are thousands of them." Rishia said, defeated.

Itsuki took a step forward and pulled back his bowstring. "We delay them long enough for the people to get away…, then we fight that." Itsuki aimed his arrow at the moving mountain.

Itsuki was ahead of the game and now faces the threat directly. He'd show Naofumi and the others that he can be a proper hero too. What will happen?

.

[Author's Notes]

So, it's been like 2 months… Sorry. Life is being exceptionally rough right now. Rougher than it has ever been. I'll ask to maybe consider giving me something on Pat-reon if you feel inclined to do so.

They plan to sweep through Melromarc before taking an offensive.

Will Itsuki stave off The Spirit Tortoise? Will the Shadows report the truth of The Spirit Tortoise? And where the hell is Motoyasu?

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