"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
Ren was struck by what remained of Leon's magic, but Leon caught him, slamming into the ground to make sure Ren survived.
The Spirit Tortoise's body stood a moment as if defying that what had happened had come to pass. Then, after a long pause, the giant body of the would-be world-ender fell still and quiet.
The Spirit Tortoise had been slain, in one mighty attack.
…
The body of the once formidable beast fell and shook the earth for miles. Naofumi managed to wrestle himself to his feet after removing a rock that pinned him down. He watched the corpse for a moment, making sure it was indeed dead. After that moment, he sighed in relief.
"I should have trusted Ren's knowledge. My suspicions were for nothing." Naofumi thought.
Across the battlefield, there was cheering. With the Spirit Tortoise taken down with such a powerful attack, it invigorated everyone on the battlefield. The victory was not only in sight but within reach. Several roars from the Siltveltian warriors rallied both armies back into a forward charge, running down their enemies again with a full offensive.
Naofumi gave himself a moment to catch his breath before running into the ground assault as well. Raphtalia, Filo, and Teal did the same. Ren's party met up with Ren first. Leon had already been healing him, but the spell did more than a little damage. Wyndia ran to their side as fast as her legs could take her.
"Why did that happen!? Are you okay!?" Wyndia shouted.
"I… I am guessing Leon's spell was beyond what I could absorb… I can still only cast it at Zweite-level." Ren was hurt but tried explaining himself. He didn't want Wyndia to misunderstand.
Leon also jumped in, not wanting to be in trouble. "Yeah, I didn't mean to hit him this time, we just didn't have the time and-"
Instead of anger, she seemed stressed, then relieved. "It's okay. As long as everyone is safe, it's okay."
They sat there quietly for a moment, letting Wyndia gather herself. "But no more dangerous stuff like that! Jumping off of Leon that high in the air!? Firing your strongest spell directly at Ren!? You idiots!" Wyndia pushed herself to yell as best she could, but everyone could tell it was fake and adopted a light laugh, which she became embarrassed by.
Liviccic reasserted direct control of his undead and had them attack a bit more recklessly to ensure no further losses among the living. He and Sophia rejoined the Melromarc side, just as Dou-Lon and the other Siltveltian royal guard chased after Naofumi in defending Siltvelt's side.
Eventually, Ren was healed, but by the time he was ready to assist, the fighting was over.
The armies were practically pounding their chests at the feat they just achieved. Naofumi finally was able to take a breath, giving Raphtalia a light smirk. They won the battle.
The next two hours should have been spent focusing on healing those they could save and rendering aid, but another issue quickly arose.
"We want half, and that is charitable." Jaralis argued.
"If you take half and we take half, then what of the other armies? The people who lost the most and are in the most need?" Mirellia asked, though, it sounded more like a scolding.
"Then give as much of the remaining half as you want to them, but that is your decision. You don't get to decide for us." Jaralis argued further.
Even having fought alongside one another just hours ago, there remained tension. Luckily, Naofumi was here.
"You're right, but I can." Naofumi countered, walking between the two and injecting himself into the conversation. "You're both right. Siltvelt will not accept receiving less of the Spirit Tortoise's remains than Melromarc, but the countries that were directly trampled by the Spirit Tortoise and had whole cities destroyed deserve even more." Naofumi argued on both sides.
"But we lost so much! One of my best generals died in this damned battle!" Jaralis roared, but his animosity was undercut by the Siltvelt royal guard once again leveling spears at him for how he spoke to Naofumi.
Naofumi had come to like Jaralis. Not as a person, but he was easy enough to follow and his intentions weren't the worst. Combined with how he changed his tune about his family, Naofumi decided to show a little sympathy.
Naofumi motioned for the royal guard to lower their weapons. "I'm sorry that happened. I'm sure we lost quite a few outstanding and well-loved people today… but had Siltvelt not met Melromarc on the same battlefield, had both I and the sword hero not been here together, how well would Siltvelt's forces have fared? If Siltvelt stayed at its borders and faced this problem alone after building a greater army on the backs of those defeated, would Siltvelt even exist anymore?" Naofumi questioned.
Jaralis knew Naofumi was right. He grit his teeth and snarled in frustration. "Likely… No."
"I'll let you and Werner negotiate how much Siltvelt receives, but whatever it is, it will match Melromarc's, and don't get greedy."
"To ensure everything is agreeable to all parties, we'll hold another meeting with the other nations. Will you attend?" Mirellia suggested and asked Naofumi.
"Nope. That's exactly why I told Jaralis and Werner to handle it." Naofumi gave a wave and tried to leave.
"But this is important." Mirellia pushed.
"So is what I'm doing. I still can't teleport or contact Monti. Motoyasu and Itsuki are still missing. The Spirit Tortoise may be dead, but the familiars are still a threat and can make more of themselves. I've already discussed it with Ren and Liviccic. Ren and I will head to some of the places the Spirit Tortoise wrecked, looking for those two." Naofumi explained.
"Fitoria said they're alive." Mirellia argued.
"The stained glass in Faubrey also serves to testify they are alive." Aultcray added.
"Yeah, they're alive. That doesn't mean they are safe or in good health. Their absence… It's weird, right? Motoyasu and Itsuki should be jumping at the chance to make things right." Naofumi alluded to his real concern.
Aultcray's eyes narrowed. "You think they already 'jumped', don't you?"
"Yeah…" Naofumi said after a short pause.
There was another short silence before Aultcray pierced together Naofumi's intent. "Those faux defeats of the Spirit Tortoise we received reports of?" He questioned.
Naofumi nodded, still turned away, taking another step further away. "Yup. I think they fought it, lost, and had to run away. It may have been just one of them coming back for a second try knowing either of them." He answered.
Mirellia lowered her fan and frowned. "...I see. Then yes, you must go. Recovering the other heroes should be a top priority. We'll secure enough Spirit Tortoise materials for you heroes in our discussion." She relented.
"That we can agree on." Jaralis responded specifically to the last thing she mentioned.
Before the meeting could even begin, Ren and Naofumi had left. Both planning to reach different towns, looking for their fellow holy heroes. Naofumi kept trying to contact Monti, but that Spirit Tortoise had to be out of sight before the skill could reach him.
"Hello, hello, testing?" Naofumi said in a mocking tone.
"DAD!?" Monti exclaimed loudly, practically jumping out of the chair, waking Melty from the nap she succumbed to while waiting with Monti.
"Whaa!?" Melty was not pleased.
Monti tried barraging Naofumi with a thousand questions. "Are you okay!? Is mom okay!? Is-"
"Everyone is okay!" Naofumi yelled to calm him down. "People died… but no one we knew. Ren took it down." Naofumi kept it short.
"Why couldn't I hear you? Why didn't you summon me?" Monti asked equal parts hurt and confused.
Naofumi had been asking himself the same questions. "Best guess is that the Spirit Tortoise turns off long-range skills when near it. We're far enough away now. Ready to join us?" He asked.
Monti wanted to say yes, but turned to Melty. "Eclair isn't here. Who will protect Melty?"
"Melty is plenty strong, and Keel is still there. They can slap the shit out of whoever shows up." Naofumi waved away the concern.
"Did I hear you curse?" Raphtalia asked knowingly.
"...Nope." Naofumi replied.
"Are you sure?" Monti asked again.
Melty's sleepy eyes shot awake with a scowl. "Excuse me? I am not some dainty princess in need of protection."
Monti knew he should be quiet, but he had to respond. "Okay, but… you literally are."
Melty's eyes bore a great anger hidden behind a thin sheet of politeness. "Monti?" She prompted.
"Yes?" He replied nervously.
"Shut up." She said with a smile.
"Yes, ma'am." Monti said in defeat, head hung.
Monti was summoned upon his defeat. His mood immediately switched upon seeing the rest of the family. He looked over Teal and Filo, head going from side to side. He then grabbed Leon by his horn and lifted him off the ground, turning him from side to side.
"Oi, why didn't you look around me like you did them?" Leon complained.
Finally, Monti gave a glance to Raphtalia and Naofumi before sighing in relief.
"Geez. I told you everyone was fine." Naofumi lightly complained.
"I know, I know… I just-I was worried." Monti managed.
"It is appreciated." Raphtalia said with a warm accompanied smile as Naofumi roughed his hair.
It didn't take Monti too long to switch the focus of his attention. Less than three minutes after being reunited, the conversation had shifted.
"It was bigger than Lurolona!" Leon exclaimed, fists shaking with excitement.
"A creature… bigger than the whole village?"
"Yeah, The turtle was super big!" Filo added, waving her hands over her head.
Monti was not convinced. "You know Lurolona is larger than it looks." He argued.
Teal came in as the voice of reason. "Monti, it had a few small mountains and a capital city on its back. Y'know, like Castletown sized."
Monti's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. "Something that big… And you beat it?"
"I mean, technically Naofumi and Ren beat it. We just-" Raphtalia went to give proper credit, but-
"Yup! We were super awesome. Sucks you couldn't have been there to witness my glory yourself." Leon bragged, eyes closed, hands on his hips, chest puffed out.
Monti wordlessly looked to his mother for confirmation while Leon was off in his own little world. She gave an iffy look. Meaning Leon did help, but he was also exaggerating. Monti patted his brother's head as they kept walking. "Dang. Wish I was there." Monti told Leon.
They traveled for several hours. They made it to the town they agreed to, only to find not a single building standing. They had to use the placement of barely discernible stone roads to figure out where they were. The place had many fresh corpses and a thick layer of dirt and grime coating everything. Well, nearly everything.
Naofumi noticed signs that others had beaten his party to the town. Places wiped clean from hands after the fact. The thing that pissed them off though, was that it was clear what this other person had done. Pockets turned inside out, doors opened, chests and barrels smashed open.
Before Naofumi could even say anything, Filo and Leon were on the move. They picked up on something and raced towards it. The two transformed into their full forms and smashed down in front of a few men.
"W-What the hell!?" One exclaimed.
Naofumi and the others quickly caught up, taking the men from the back. "What are you idiots doing here?" He asked.
"Call off your monsters! We're just trying to escape!" A different one yelled.
"How did you possibly survive the Spirit Tortoise?" Teal asked.
"We hid. The town had a modest sewer." The first explained.
"Yeah. At first, we tried running to the forests, but all we heard from there was screaming…" The second added.
"So we hid down below." The last one said in shame.
"You could have escaped hours ago." Naofumi told them.
"I know, but… what if they were still around? That's all we could think about." They responded. That was fair enough.
Any understanding was cut short by Leon being as blunt as he always was. "So, why do you have a lot of valuables under your robes?"
"...How…?" That was all one managed to say before putting Naofumi and the others back into a more combative mindset.
"Answer the question." Naofumi added.
One of the men snapped. "W-What do you want!? We lost everything except our lives! Now we have to become refugees in some other country. I can't find some of the valuables laying around so I can buy food and shelter!?" He defended.
"You don't know who else escaped in time. You could be stealing the last things that someone else needs just as badly as you, but is theirs rightly." Raphtalia countered with a normal tone, ushering the man to quiet down.
"How do you know this isn't mine!?" He countered.
"Is it?" Monti asked, prompting everyone to look at Filo to know if it is a lie.
"...Not all of it." The man seemed to answer honestly.
"Drop what isn't yours. Trust me when I say we'll know." Naofumi said, resting a hand on Filo's head, who in turn, smiled at the men.
They took another look at Filo and Leon, then hung their heads in defeat.
This sort of encounter happened half a dozen times over the next two days. At that time, Naofumi and Ren each visited a few cities. Naofumi was able to go further because of Filo. After those two days, there was still little sign of Motoyasu or Itsuki.
In that time, they had cleaned up a lot of familiars, but the numbers dropped steadily. A good sign. That said, they had fought two familiars that were stitched-together undead puppeteered by red string. The only other time they saw these creatures was during the Spirit Tortoise fight and they hadn't received many details. After traditional combat proved to take too long, Leon covered it in fire as Monti tore through it with lightning.
After clearing familiars out of the areas they visited, they also found many survivors, including more than a dozen from a larger town. Not even one percent of the population survived, but even the sparsest mercies need to be appreciated. They always made sure to ask them if they had heard or seen Motoyasu or Itsuki. More than one claimed to see someone powerful assault the Spirit Tortoise with large attacks made of light. That's as much information as they could muster. The survivors had to run or hide, not watch a battle. In that way, it was no surprise that everyone seemed so clueless.
It was just as the family was finishing seeing a few survivors off, recommending them countries to head towards when someone appeared.
"It is you, he who bears the holy shield." A voice Naofumi vaguely remembered spoke to him.
The kids all whipped around fast as if it were a fight. Monti particularly seemed ready to go. Most of that enthusiasm left them as they saw the speaker.
It was the second time Naofumi had laid eyes on her. The green braided hair kept up in a style that matched her traditional Chinese dress. Her eyes seemed like those of a predator and prey at the same time. To Naofumi and Raphtalia, she appeared to simply be strange. To the kids, she was even stranger, sensing she was a monster and a human at the same time. It was not like how they felt about each other or Sophia.
This person was not a royal monster.
That said, Monti and Leon took a greater interest in her right away. Leon felt like he'd met her before somewhere, while Monti felt unnaturally hostile towards this person.
"You're from Siltvelt? A human? Why the hell are you out here?" Naofumi replied to her question with a few of his own.
The woman took a step forward and placed her right hand to her heart. "You must listen to me! You have not slain the Spirit Tortoise, not yet! You must return and finish the job before it revives again!" She warned.
Before even replying, Naofumi's heart dropped. He had suspicions about the Spirit Tortoise. Naofumi thought that Motoyasu and Itsuki might have been capable of killing the Spirit Tortoise. He felt that Leon's assistance was probably not necessary in Ren's deathblow in the previous battle. If so, those two could do the same.
Meaning the two times the Spirit Tortoise was reported to have 'died'…
…
With Ren
…
Just as with Naofumi, Ren and his party had been traveling from town to town. Their journey had many more towns and therefore they were still much closer to the initial battlefield than Naofumi's party. This was both a blessing and quite damning. In the time they spent finishing off familiars and searching for information on Motoyasu and Itsuki, they visited 5 towns and saved several people. Yet, information on the missing heroes was very sparse.
Ren was keeping up morale fairly well despite the situation. He was the one that slew the Spirit Tortoise, after all. Ren was already seen as someone reliable now. No one could deny that. Not even Wyndia. Of course, she didn't want to deny it. She'd love nothing more than to tell him that he was becoming a hero in her eyes for the things he'd done. For nearly sacrificing himself to save her and Leon, for actually brokering peace with Glass, and for slaying the Spirit Tortoise.
She could not deny it any longer. Ren was chosen to be the Sword Hero, and the sword had chosen correctly. The amount of good he'd done in less than a month from getting his head on straight was on par with what Naofumi had accomplished in a similar amount of time. Wyndia knew they had to stay focused to find the heroes, but she already promised to herself that once this mess was sorted out, she'd tell Ren the words he needed to hear. To move past the guilt. Clearly, it was no longer necessary.
Just as Wyndia resolved herself, Tersia knowingly bumped her shoulder and gave a sly smile. Wyndia turned away in annoyance. She was resolving to verbally express forgiveness to Ren to give them both the peace of mind they deserved.
"And that is all, you…" Wyndia stopped herself short of internally insulting Tersia. While annoyed, she was still in a very self-reflective mood. She shifted to regarding the others she'd been traveling with. Welt, Tersia, Bakta, and Farrie. Each had been very friendly, or at least, as friendly as they could be. They all had high opinions of Ren, even through the trials. Wyndia could now see why. Ren was extremely hardworking and dependable. If asked to help, he'd do whatever was possible, and some things that shouldn't be possible, to do what he thought was right.
That's why she was at odds with the other party members for a while. Wyndia's use of guilt to influence Ren was very much not appreciated by the others. They were never directly confrontational, because they understood her feelings as well. So they stood by in begrudging silence most of the time. They were, however, not without their limits. Wyndia threatened to cross that line once, and they were ready to put her into her place. Wyndia realized and backed off.
All the same, she was very grateful to them. Them keeping her in check was something she needed. As tough as she acted, she was still very young and she often let her emotions overtake her. The other party members would apply pressure or reassurance when they thought it appropriate. She began thinking about it more and realizing that they'd been so helpful to her despite not exactly making herself the most approachable person. Clearly, Wyndia had to fix more than one situation soon.
Just as she began to hype herself up, a voice none of them wanted to hear greeted them.
"There you are!" Glass said, wearing an outfit and twin-tails, making it hard to tell who she was at first. Despite the appearance, she looked very concerned.
"Ren, this is serious!" L'arc was just behind her, placing his scythe to his back and raising his hands peacefully.
"Please listen to what we have to say!" Lastly came Therese, hands clasped together already pleading.
The three they'd just negotiated a possible peace with from a world beyond the waves were somehow back. Worse still, they did not appear to be looking for trouble. This likely meant there was an issue so important they had to search Ren and the others out despite the risk.
"Are we not at peace?" Ren reflexively questioned.
"Yes, we are." Therese responded hastily.
"We only crossed over this time to make ourselves stronger for the waves to come… but we aren't the only ones visiting it seems." L'arc added.
"And then… we received a message of sorts. You've recently felled one of your guardian beasts, no? We are here to warn you that the creature you defeated is not the principle threat! It's simply a symptom of the real threat! While we agreed to the ceasefire, one of our heroes has not!" Glass warned.
…
Naofumi
…
Naofumi stood stunned for a moment, before acting. "Everyone, get to the cart now! And you, you're coming with me." Naofumi ordered.
"Of course. I do not know all the details, but I'll help answer any questions I can." The woman replied.
Soon enough, they were on the road, heading back towards the battlefield.
"I guess the first question I have is… Who are you?" Naofumi began his impromptu interrogation.
He asked that with a hint of hostility, yet the woman seemed to discard it completely. "My name is Ost Horai, and I am a familiar of the Spirit Tortoise." She answered.
There was much reaction to that. Filo slowed a bit, Raphtalia could not help herself turning around and lifting open the sheets of the carriage to see things clearer. Teal and Leon stood up in response. Naofumi and Monti were the only two that didn't react. Naofumi was not pressed or impressed, and Monti had already begun figuring out what she was before she spoke.
"A familiar of that thing? Then we are enemies?" Naofumi asked.
"We were certainly meant to be enemies… but as things are now, the Spirit Tortoise cannot complete its goal." Ost said, eyes filled with sadness. Whether it was sadness for being enemies or sadness that the Spirit Tortoise was apparently failing, no one could tell.
"Don't tell me vagaries and cryptic shit like it's an answer… So what was the Spirit Tortoise's goal? Seems like it was just to kill as many people as possible." Naofumi could not see anything reasonable about their foe. In his mind, there were not two sides to this dichotomy.
"Yes, exactly. To kill as many humans, demi-humans, and monsters as possible." Ost replied clearly and without shame.
There was a silence that spread to each of them. What she just said seemed more evil than anything they'd encountered. The three heroes church and Malty were terrible, but at least one could understand their greedy motivations. This, however, sounded like evil for the sake of evil. Naofumi and Raphtalia were so off put by that. They could only wonder how the kids would react to this.
Teal and Leon moved a bit away from her, disdain clear on their faces. Monti simply frowned. Ost seemed to not mind this antagonistic dynamic developing between them.
"Why…? There has to be a reason, right? For what purpose?" Teal tried reasoning.
Ost gave her a lingering look. She seemed to not want to answer, but she saw this would not be gotten past without her answering. She sighed. "When the waves of catastrophe continue to a dangerous point, four powerful creatures are meant to rise and save the planet."
"Is that some weird interpretation of the heroes?" Naofumi asked, assuming weird legends often obscure a truth like that.
"No. The Guardian Beasts serve a similar, but more desperate purpose. They are meant to kill on a scale measured in continents and use the souls they gather as an energy source to shield the world itself from the waves. Roughly speaking, the waves will be staved off by offering up two-thirds of all life on the planet." Ost answered gravely.
Again, silence reigned.
They all thought about it. If this were to work, they could just live their lives, like they had been hoping to. However, there were two problems. The first was that none of them would allow such a cost to be paid to benefit the survivors in this manner. And secondly-
"You said that the Spirit Tortoise cannot complete its purpose, but you also said it will revive. So if we are not stopping it from its goal, what is?" Monti asked, his face still frowning.
"Truth be told, the Spirit Tortoise should not have awakened until the waves reached the seventh stage. Someone has forced the Spirit Tortoise awake earlier than it should be. Worse still, the souls gathered from the slaughter are not being used to form a barrier against the waves. That's what I meant with my much earlier statement. As things are, the Spirit Tortoise, and by extension, I, cannot achieve our goal… And if that is the case, the Spirit Tortoise must be stopped." Ost spoke, working herself up a bit before pulling back and trying to resettle herself.
Everyone thought over her words for a moment. Monti took that moment to speak.
"You want us to stop it because the loss of life would be meaningless. But… You'd only say that if you placed at least some amount of value on life. So… why agree with something like that, to begin with? If you value life, then the barrier is a terrible idea!" Monti stumbled through his thought, before ending it loudly.
Ost looked at him in confusion. "As I said, I am the Spirit Tortoise's familiar. It's not my choice to make."
Monti got offended at that. "Oh really? What is your favorite food?" He asked such a silly question in such a serious tone. It was jarring.
"...What?" Ost lost her acting face and stumbled on the question.
"Answer the question. What is your favorite food?" Monti repeated.
Ost eventually answered, still confused. "I don't see how this has anything to do wit-... It'd be… seafood? Specifically, lobster… Why?"
Monti grinned. "Some mindless creature wouldn't help the enemy save live if death was their only goal, and they certainly wouldn't have a personal preference like a favorite food." Monti said, offended and matter-of-factly.
Ost paused, while Monti's comment earned slight smirks from the others. Leon even chuckled aloud while nodding his head in agreement.
Now Ost was the one that was frustrated. "This does not make us allies. As a human type familiar, my job was to infiltrate positions of power and cause war or famine to have the people collect the souls themselves." She said resolutely.
From the front of the carriage, Filo cocked her head to the side. "I wonder why the turtle lady wants us to hate her?" Filo asked aloud, seeing through the intentions of those around her yet again.
"I'm not! I-Or I should say, there is no need for me to do so. We are enemies." Ost was becoming more frustrated.
Naofumi thought about this woman for a bit as the kids tried to talk to her with mixed results. She continued to argue they were enemies, but the kids felt very comfortable around her and they could frustrate her far too easily not to laugh at the situation. Even with Filo going pretty fast, it'd take them quite some time to reach the Spirit Tortoise. Given that, Naofumi decided to ask some useful questions.
He waited until the latest wave of laughter fell to interject. "So, if the Spirit Tortoise can revive, how do we keep it down?"
Ost looked down, something akin to regret on her face. "I… don't know." Was all she said.
Not unreasonable on the surface. Why would a spy mob know that, after all? "Okay, if it does revive again, what are some weaknesses we can exploit?" Naofumi asked something that she should know.
"I don't know." Ost said again, now holding her head with her right hand.
"...Filo?" Naofumi went for the reliable option.
"Turtle lady isn't lying~." Filo chirped happily.
Naofumi sighed heavily. "Well, what do you know?" Naofumi was finding this exhausting.
"...I'm sorry. So far away from the main body, I have extremely limited information. The closer I get to the Spirit Tortoise, the more memory I should be able to access… Probably." Ost seemed to not even be sure of that. She didn't know why she didn't know. It made any attempt to gather information useless.
"Well, that's something at least." Naofumi went to turn away, but caught Leon puffing out his chest and trying to look intimidating to Ost. Maybe it'd work if he wasn't in his puny human form right now. "Leon, knock it off." Naofumi said as a passing comment.
"I can't. I feel a rivalry with her. Sorta like with Filo." Leon told him.
"So dragons hate turtles too?" Naofumi thought.
"Do you perhaps… possess shards of the Dragon Emperor?" Ost seemed to only piece together her question as she was asking it.
"Yup!" Leon admitted, being far too open and proud of what should be a secret.
"Then it makes sense that you feel that way. The true Dragon Emperor is one of the four guardian beasts, just as the Spirit Tortoise is." Ost gave an explanation.
"Huh… The Spirit Tortoise was strong, but that's as strong as the strongest dragon is?" Leon seemed disappointed.
"...No. I can't quite remember all the details, but… the true Dragon Emperor is a force far greater than the Spirit Tortoise." Ost seemed completely certain and clueless at the same time while speaking.
Leon didn't really get what she was saying, but if she agreed that the Dragon Emperor is better than the Spirit Tortoise, then it was fine. If anything, Leon puffed out his chest even more. Naofumi simply shook his head.
Nothing of note came from the rest of their trip. The kids seemed to like asking Ost questions, while Ost seemed reluctant at first to answer those questions, eventually becoming a bit more forthcoming. They learned that she advised the king of the Spirit Tortoise's country, though she neglected to say what the actual position was. She also expressed that she would be able to defend herself if she were to need to defend herself from her fellow familiars.
When they reached the battlefield, it had been 5 hours since Ost warned them. Everyone except Monti stared out at seemingly nothing.
"What is it? What do you guys see?" Monti asked in concern.
"...It's what we don't see." Leon said, clearly scared.
"The Spirit Tortoise should be right here!?" Teal was even more concerned.
"Not just the Spirit Tortoise… the collective armies were also gathered here…" Raphtalia said what everyone was thinking.
Smoke was still being made from impact craters with molten rock at their center. Naofumi assumed it was from lightning. Their eyes followed the story written harshly on the earth, leading them in one direction. A path with toppled peaks, land overturned so much that no grass was visible, and a saddening number of bodies now quietly joining the earth.
"...We can still save them, hurry!" Naofumi called, and they were off again.
The cart was now full of anxiety and dread. Ost looked around at the formerly happy children, a frown forming on her face.
As the cart raced forward, they could make out the moving peaks of the mountains atop the Spirit Tortoise's back. Soon they no longer had anything obstructing their view. It was as they feared.
"RRRRAAAAKKKKSSSS!" The Spirit Tortoise was alive again, and it seemed a bit faster than before too.
"Abandon the cart!" Naofumi ordered.
Naofumi threw himself atop Filo and removed her harness, Raphtalia leaped onto Monti's back the moment he took to the air as he transformed. Teal grabbed Leon and he transformed, pulling Ost to hoist her atop Leon's back. The party flew and ran unimpeded.
Naofumi gained a large lead on the others thanks to Filo's outstanding speed. In minutes, he was nearly in front of it again. He quickly surveyed the armies that were in full retreat. Something was wrong.
There were a few people helping Liviccic keep the Spirit Tortoise at bay. It wasn't Ren, or Itsuki, or Motoyasu. It wasn't anyone who was there before or that Naofumi could have guessed.
Standing side by side with the army were Glass, L'arc, and Therese.
It made zero sense to Naofumi, but every second cost lives, so he would save his questions. He motioned for Filo to help him do what they did last time. He made sure he was in a perfect position before dismounting from Filo to save the army.
"The kid's here!" L'arc yelled, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Master Craftsmen!" Therese cheered.
"Finally." Glass and Liviccic said together, far more pressed by the enemy to express niceties.
"I told you the Shield Lord would return to repeat his miracle!"
Naofumi used [Air Strike Shield], [Second Shield], and [Dritte Shield] to form a platform that he may leverage the monster to stop. He didn't have Ren like last time, but he had Monti, and even Glass and L'arc. He was confident that they'd see this battle through just as they did before.
And then-
"Crack." The shield buckled.
"Wha-?" Naofumi was confused for a moment.
The three skills shattered and the Spirit Tortoise slammed Naofumi through all three of them. It felt like Naofumi was thrown through several buildings violently. He barely even slowed it down.
That shocked everyone. The Spirit Tortoise had now overcome Naofumi's defense. Given that, what chance did they have, and where the hell was Ren?
[Author's Notes]
I swear, I will speed up again. at some point. Eventually. Maybe. Perhaps.
Spirit Tortoise round two. The first fight was over quickly, but they had Ren at the time. On top of that, Naofumi's defense was overcome. Something that did not happen last time. L'arc, Glass, Therese, and Monti are here when they previously weren't. Will it be enough?
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