"Talking"

"Thinking"

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

…

"Wh-What the hell!? Since when is he this strong? Isn't a mimic supposed to be weaker than the original?" L'arc protested.

And normally he'd be right. But unfortunately for everyone there, they were now facing a Monti that didn't hold back. Even if it was only 80% of the real deal, it was still a bigger threat than the fake Glass.

.

[Air Strike Shield]!

The green energy shield formed between L'arc and the fake Monti, forcing L'arc free and the two to separate. L'arc stood opposed to the familiar with great annoyance.

"That's not far enough away!" Naofumi warned.

L'arc jumped away just as the stinger on his tail made its way around the small wall. It came close but ultimately missed its target. L'arc took to Naofumi's side. "Thanks." was all he said.

"You warned me about your clone. Now we're even." Naofumi dismissed him.

"Sure, sure… So what the hell? What's up with this clone?" L'arc asked.

"Perhaps with fewer clones active at once, the stronger they are?" Therese suggested, moving forward to stand beside L'arc.

"No. I don't think so. I think it's exactly the same as the others." Raphtalia countered.

"Then why is it so strong?" L'arc asked.

"..." Naofumi and Raphtalia glanced over at Monti. He seemed in a state of shock. He stood lost in the middle of the room, staring at his doppelganger. The sight of an evil version of himself seemed to affect him more. Ost was at his side, noticing the same thing.

"We'll explain later. Everyone get ready." Naofumi told the room.

The skill ended and the fake Monti lunged forward. Filo and Leon moved in response. Leon hoped to limit its movements and force it to go where he wanted it using his [Drifa Hellfire]. Filo would then strike with lethal precision and resolve the matter… That was the plan.

However.

"Ehhh!?" Leon was called out immediately as the fake Monti covered himself in lightning and ran through Leon's spell without resistance. Naofumi used [Cover] to place himself between the two, receiving a hit so strong he felt it in his bones. The mimic was not surprised, simply using his tail to coil around the shield to strike the body. Filo was able to intercept the stinger with her [Mana Talons]. Only after she did so did she realize she just wasted her bonus.

[Latch]! "Jump him!" Naofumi yelled.

While Filo and Naofumi held the clone in place, everyone else took the chance to deal heavy damage. Glass, L'arc, Raphtalia, Teal, Leon, and others attempted to swarm the foe, flanking him from both sides.

"GRAAH!" The attempts were cut short by a loud roar applying fear to everyone nearby accompanied by a thick coating of lightning around its body. Most people were pushed back, only Glass weathered the effects and attempted to follow through on her fan. However, Filo was forced to release its tail due to being covered in lightning. It then struck out with the tail at Glass' fan, halting the attack.

Naofumi pressed a bit harder, sliding the mimic back nearly 1'. The three stood defiant of one another in a short struggle. Naofumi knew he had the strength advantage now that he tested it a moment ago and used it. He swung his shield over his shoulder and released [Latch] at the last moment, throwing the creature up.

[Shield Prison]! Naofumi placed the beast in his cage to avoid long-range retaliation.

"Teal!" Naofumi prompted.

"On it!" She affirmed. She grew out her left arm and struck the skill, launching their enemy to the far side of the room.

"Take aim!" Mirellia yelled to everyone. Everyone prepared themselves to execute their foe as if this was a firing line.

"Fire!" Walter yelled, having learned the exact timing of [Shield Prison] and announcing it a half second before the skill ended.

All manner of skills and spells overtook the room, alongside ammo from ranged weapons. The mimic did what it could to weave between the attacks it could dodge, taking only about every one in three attacks. It darted back and forth, using its wings, the ceiling, and the ability to reverse course with its tail to zigzag toward them sharply. Meanwhile, everyone began to back up while continuing their barrage. Naofumi kept knocking the monster off course by placing one of his [Air Strike Shield] barriers where its wings were, forcing them out of the newly occupied space. He used it as sparingly as he could, but he still used up all three before it reached them.

Fearing the worst, Naofumi stepped forward. [Shooting Star Shield]! The barrier couldn't cover everyone but it covered the front as well as he could.

The mimic slammed into the barrier violently and even made a noticeable crack. Seeing that, it thrashed mindlessly against the skill, creating further cracks and chips. It was making progress but wasn't likely to breach the skill before it expired naturally.

Seeing it pound on the shield with such raw power and matching feral rage caused much hesitation to those mere inches away from it.

"Get ready. We have to drive it back. At least long enough for my skills to reset." Naofumi told everyone.

Walter had moved his tail outside the barrier momentarily as if checking something. Afterward, he raised his gun through the barrier and shot the mimic before retreating his arm inside again. The magical shot clearly hurt the monster but was by no means lethal.

"We lack the time now, but if we get this chance again, we should pin it to a wall and attack it safely with this barrier of yours." Walter suggested.

"If we get the time." Naofumi acknowledged.

"Right… Godiva, I need your help with something." Walter asked.

"Hmm?" Godiva came over to join him.

The barrier began to shatter just as it also began to fade naturally.

[Zero Stance Rondo: Reverse Moonflower]!

[First Form: Wind Blade]!

[Second Form: Sky Blade]!

[Shining Stone: Ball of Flame]!

Glass, L'arc, and Therese lead first.

[Drifa Tornado]!

[Drifa Hellfire]!

[Solar Burst]!

The kids also fired their own spells and abilities off. Alongside them were Fitts, Chloe, Walter, the Queen, and others, all attacking with whatever they had.

A salvo of skills and spells poured out, leaving the monster nowhere to dodge. The best it could do is choose weaker attacks to run into instead of the stronger ones. Its wing was torn off and blood flowed freely as it took hit after hit, but what everyone found so terrifying, even while being decorated with wound after wound… was it was STILL advancing. Though slow and hard to see, it wasn't 30 seconds before it managed to close the distance and reach out its claw at Raphtalia.

The real Monti had been stuck in place. He was seeing a version of himself that was a savage monster attacking his family and allies. It was more than awful to see. It was like seeing proof of a truth you've been lying to yourself about. The Monti in front of him was more monstrous than he had even feared.

But now was the time to act. His family needed him and he was doing nothing to help. His own mother was about to be attacked. A strongly formed gust of wind nearly took Ost off her feet as Monti shot off, barreling toward the enemy.

Raphtalia had the time to dodge or otherwise intercept the attack, but her sword arm was not responsive. She'd have hesitated to attack any copy of the party, but Monti was an especially sore spot. She was replaying the events in the cave when they first called themselves family. Her abandoning her weapon and trusting Monti wouldn't harm her, even if it meant dying. That image of a Monti accepting what he thought was execution because he'd never harm her, even in self-defense, was all she could see. She knew that even if it was fake, she couldn't fight it.

Monti reached his target before it could strike Raphtalia. It pivoted, attempting to strike Monti in kind. However, its body suddenly felt heavy, far too heavy to catch up to Monti's current movements. Ost had placed a spell on the mimic that multiplied its weight.

With that, Monti landed a fist squarely on the face of the target. The noise rang out as if a drum was being beat. The copy was thrown back, slamming into a wall.

…

With Rishia

…

As Rishia and the old woman began to improve under the effects of Naofumi's healing and receiving food and water, they began to consider their options.

"Once the savior subdues this thing, we'll rush to the army."

"...You seem so sure that he'll win. But even Itsuki-" Rishia's concerns were interrupted by the entire earth around them violently shaking again. Fitoria was still engaging the Spirit Tortoise in a prolonged fight.

She had crushed its skull and removed its legs, but nothing worked. She was forced to adopt a more defensive manner of fighting. However, she wasn't as pressed as she thought she'd be. The armies had been healing and buffing her however they could. She didn't ask for their help and wouldn't thank them, but she had to admit their assistance was welcome. On the ground, everyone felt pretty helpless. They had no heroes at their side, they knew they couldn't outrun the monster and whether they lived or died was in the hands of giant monsters straight out of their wildest dreams.

After the shaking subsided, the old woman responded. "The bow hero and the savior are completely different matters. You place a lot of value on the bow hero. From the short time I've spent with him, he seemed very strong and proactive… but compared to the savior? Who came here with an army, that giant filolial, and about 2 dozen party members during his invasion of the caves?"

"..." Rishia said nothing.

"The bow hero is currently stronger than Naofumi, alone. But with all his allies, it's not even close." The old woman explained.

Rishia began to cry. "So… You're saying that he lost because I'm weak-"

"What!? My lord! Survivors!" Silvius had just reached them. Liviccic, Sophia, and the large Vasteel soon followed.

"How in the world could anyone…" Liviccic question died when he saw them. "You are Itsuki's party, right? Where is he?"

"H-He…" Rishia couldn't find the words, so the old woman spoke instead.

"There's an enemy within that he lost to. He and the spear hero were both captured. The savior is mounting a rescue."

Liviccic cast another healing spell on the pair before continuing. "Do you know where they went?"

"Yes, follow that ridge leftward ahead and you'll find a cave. They entered there." The old lady said, taking the last sip of the water she was given.

"Sorry, but I'll need to leave you here." Liviccic raised his staff towards them. [Bestial Bastion] A soft glow formed a circle around the dilapidated building. "This skill will keep monsters from approaching for quite some time. Not sure how long exactly. It does work on the familiars though, I did check that." He turned and motioned for them to continue onward.

Vasteel picked up Liviccic and Silvius and rushed ahead, Sophia clinging to his back. They needed to let the undead do most of the running if they were to have stamina left when they caught up to Naofumi and the others.

However, they were not the only ones heading that way. The moment they began to move, Rishia fought to stand.

"What are you doing!?" The old lady yelled.

Rishia was already running as fast as she could, her mind a blur. "I don't know but I can't stay here anymore! I have to do something!" She just kept running.

The old woman wanted to chase after her, but she had been fighting for days and could not catch her.

…

Back to mimic Monti

…

Seeing Monti throw his double against the wall with only his fist when none of their spells and skills were doing so was both frustrating and relieving.

"Oh yeah. Almost forgot we had one of our own." L'arc said, referring to Monti.

"Sure took his time to act." One of the accompanying council members commented.

Filo, Teal, and Leon stepped forward in a line-up with Monti.

"We can take him." Filo said.

"It'll be four on one." Teal added.

"I'mma boil his face off!" Leon still felt salty.

"Oi, that's my face." Monti suddenly felt weird.

"Nah, totally different." Filo agreed with Leon.

"Totally different? He's an exact copy!" Monti argued.

"An exact copy would offer to hold my drink or do other doormat activities." Teal said.

"...Whatever." The wind was stolen from his sails but Monti still had to act.

They took the initiative. Before the mimic could peel itself from the wall, it was struck to the ground by Filo. They were grabbed by a vine and swung in a wide arc into the ground again by Teal. Next, they were covered in fire by Leon. Then finally impaled in the eye and thrown back by Monti's stinger while it was blinded.

"See? That was e-easy…" Teal's confidence deflated as the creature stood again.

It rose to its full height and started slowly healing. Its one good eye stared daggers at them in a way that made them all pause. Filo, Teal, and Leon instinctively took a step back. They knew that if they were caught by it, they'd be in a world of hurt.

"RRUUGGHH!" The copy roared as it brought its hands up for a spell.

"Shit-" A [Blightning] was launched at them that was as wide as their family cart. If it struck them, it would take the kids other than Monti out for sure.

[Storm Ward]! Godiva and Walter finished using a cooperative spell meant to give a great amount of defensive power to lightning damage. The kids now saw a new bar just above their own HP in the SMS.

The [Blightning] crashed into them, sparks of emerald surrounded them but it was warded off. About 90% of the bars they just received were depleted in an instant. The beast's own bolt was answered with another, as Fitts made sure to find the best moment to fire his crossbow at the enemy. The bolt was aimed well, but even with one eye and reeling from unleashing such a strong spell, it would have dodged it.

"No chance!" Two daggers with a wire tying them together came down on either side of the mimic's scorpion tail, pinning it, if only long enough to see the monster's left shoulder now adorned by the freshly buried bolt.

"We won't hold back. Leon, [Blast Furnace]!" Naofumi told him. Leon understood and concentrated all the fire he could muster into a ball of burning heat and shifting colors.

"Eat shit!" Leon threw the ball, not like a spell, but like a real ball. Leon had to use all his power to condense the magic, so he needed to deliver it non-magically. Of course, the wounded beast could have and would have dodged such a telegraphed move. It tore free of the wire and opened its good wing to try to leap away.

"Too late!" [Shield Prison]! Naofumi timed it so his skill was just returned from cooldown before telling Leon to try. The mimic and Leon's flame were trapped together in a powerful display of Naofumi's invention. The [Shield Prison] used Naofumi's defense as a means to further concentrate and intensify Leon's fire. Heat, fire, smoke, and screams, were the only things that escaped this combination skill.

When the skill ended, it faded with a great release of heat and smoke. They expected to see a charred corpse.

What they saw was an only somewhat burned mimic holding the holy weapon replica up in shield form. The other mimics held the weapons of their targets, so why would this be an exception?

The mimic then changed it to the bow form and pulled the string back to a full draw. [Grand Break] The monster spoke in Monti's voice, but it was too cold to ever be Monti speaking. A white arrow about 7' long appeared and fired at its target.

Naofumi went to block it but realized something as he did. He raised his shield with two hands and held firm. "It's trying to lock me down. Don't let it do anything!" The arrow met his shield and he began being pushed back, yet he was slowing the arrow down considerably.

The mimic had switched the replica to sword form and followed the path of its previous skill, allowing it to carve a path for it. As Naofumi thought, it was using this as an opportunity to keep him busy to finish someone.

"Monti, [Dandelion]!" Teal shouted as she produced an abundance of what appeared to be tufts of dandelions and pods of cotton, releasing them everywhere.

"Agreed!" Monti charged up a wide, but weak electric charge. He sent it out as a wave, charging each of Teal's spores. Then sent out a different electrical current as a small, fast bolt, striking the copy. Instantly, the produced spores shot off and latched themselves to the clone, covering it to the point that its forward momentum and ability to move was halted and was submerged in a ball of fluff. They had successfully weaponized polarity to ensnare their foe.

Naofumi held his ground until the skill faded. At the same time, the fake Monti used [Phoenix Blade] to burn all the annoying puffy plants that locked down its movements. The bird flew around it swiftly once to clear the area, then hovered in the air behind its summoner for a moment. It then shot off toward their group.

"Mom, [Dizzy Dance]?" Filo asked with a sparkle in her eye.

"No that won't… That's really smart of you. Yes, let's try it." Raphtalia seemed proud of something clever Filo figured out.

Raphtalia began casting an illusion spell while Filo used wind magic.

The phoenix saw everyone attempting to escape. They moved together at unnatural speeds, but the living skill held no higher brain functions. All it could do was pursue a target. They collectively jumped to the ceiling, then to a walling, back to the ground, and off again. It seemed strange. Everyone could keep up? They all knew what direction to go? This seemed like a trick of some kind.

Because it was. No one had moved. Raphtalia had created an illusion to send the spell on a fruitless chase. That alone would have just stalled it, however, that was where Filo fit in.

While the blazing bird seemed to dash around chasing a phantom, Filo began using a very difficult and usually very useless spell. She used her wind magic to blow air away from the phoenix in all directions in an even and measured manner. This created a vacuum, hence the name Filo gave this combo, [Dizzy Dance]. A powerful non-lethal maneuver capable of knocking out a whole crowd without ever laying a finger on them. You'd normally just walk right out of Filo's vacuum space, as moving the space was just too difficult while maintaining it. With Raphtalia distracting them via illusions, they don't know to escape until they start to choke.

Of course, that wasn't the plan here. The phoenix began to shrink more and more. Strange cawing came from the skill until it finally fizzled out. The living fire was extinguished without reaching anyone.

They expected the mimic to be pretty annoyed that its big attack was a complete waste. However, the familiars of the Spirit Tortoise don't work that way. All they have is emotionlessness and vague aggression.

While this was finishing up, L'arc moved forward to Naofumi's side. "That weapon is a pain in the ass. I'll isolate it so you can disarm it, kiddo." L'arc offered.

"Sure, but can you do that?" Naofumi asked, not looking away from the principal threat.

L'arc turned to Naofumi, half annoyed that he thought so little of him. "Just watch me."

The mimic watched its skill die and began approaching the crowd again. Just as before, it was a game of avoiding the more powerful attacks, weathering the weaker ones. After a few brief exchanges, it noticed a change in the pattern of attacks. Suddenly all attacks were focused quite accurately at its current location. This was actually preferable because dodging out of this spot meant it would avoid all the attacks.

However, it was played.

The moment it did, L'arc appeared, using the fact he'd know where it'd go and that it wasn't paying attention to melee combatants right now as a means to slip its attention. He used the blade and handle of his vassal scythe (now transformed into a form whose shape lent itself to the task at hand) to grab the replica copy. The blade was pressed down, while the handle was raised, placing the weapon in a vice between the flat of the blade and the neck of the weapon. He then pulled the weapon with both arms as hard as he could.

Even so, the mimic was not letting go of its weapon. It merely pulled in opposition with one arm. One arm was almost enough on its own. Of course, L'arc already planned for this. "Now!" He yelled.

"On it." [Air Strike Shield]! The skill formed its green barrier between the mimic's hand and the handle of the weapon, forcing them apart. L'arc took advantage of the small wall to more easily secure the weapon, throwing it to the crowd behind him.

The mimic moved around the barrier and went to attack L'arc.

"You don't learn." [Second Shield]! [Dritte Shield]! The last two of those barriers he formed appeared on either side of the monster, pinning it in place.

"Nice one, kiddo. Now it's my turn." [Blood Harvest]! His scythe gleamed a faint purple as he slashed at the mimic. The swing was a slow but deep arc that seemed to pull blood from the beast like a magnet. The loss of blood affected the creature immediately as it seemed tired and dazed.

L'arc still had to back up though, as the tail was still a threat in play.

The monster was pinned for a few more seconds and close to death. Yet no one seemed eager to get anywhere near him. Naofumi considered that.

"...Monti?" Naofumi called his name questioningly.

"...Yeah?" He asked but realized soon after what it was Naofumi was going to ask. "I'll do it…"

Naofumi said nothing else except the chant to cast [Zweite Aura] on Monti. "He shouldn't even need this boost. He is supposed to be 25% stronger than the clone. Just how much is he holding back?" He thought.

Monti stepped forward and transformed. The monster did the same the moment it was free. "I knew it would. Without the replica, this form is just better…" Monti thought.

They both raised their tails and leapt at one another. Monti on paper should be 250% as strong as the mimic, yet he didn't have the confidence to overpower his opponent. Instead, he took note that the wing torn off earlier still wasn't repaired. This meant Monti had better aerial movement. He used his wings to strafe away and the fake tried to pursue. Down a wing, it used its tail to stab the ground and pull itself forward to make up the difference in speed.

This was Monti's plan. Monti stopped his backward movement and stared a moment. It was just a moment, but it felt longer. Monti was seeing a feral version of himself covered in wounds and about to die. It brought forth a mess of ugly emotions. With the copy's tail occupied with its last maneuver, it was unable to block his own. His tail shot out so fast that even Filo had difficulty following it. Monti impaled the top of his double's skull and lower jaw. Monti then slammed the creature to the opposite side of himself, and an audible crack of its neck was heard.

Even with this, it rose again. Monti turned and pointed at the monster with his open right hand. [Blightning] he said softly. The green lightning covered the fake in lime brilliance. The spell engulfed it and tore a heavy hole into the walls behind it. After a moment of blinding light, Monti stopped. The mimic was now mangled into something that wouldn't even be considered a corpse.

Monti retreated to Ost and Naofumi, sure the fight was over. The monster rose again, but after stumbling to the ground again, it became still.

The witnesses couldn't help but take glances back and forth between Monti and his fake. The fake took dozens of attacks to take down, including three heroes and its direct superior.

"Using my own fake as a measuring stick against myself, then considering that monster… How strong is that kid really?" Werner asked aloud what everyone was thinking.

Ost thought the same but was further confused as to why Monti struggled when she firmly knew he was meaningfully stronger than his opponent. She quietly observed him. After several moments, the queen interjected. "We must keep moving."

Everyone nodded. Naofumi passed out medicine and used healing as they traveled. Several people were roughed up there. He also had to assume that whatever came next was somehow going to be worse.

As they traveled, they came across what at first glance looked like a Dragon Hourglass. Yet, it was even larger. It also did not hold golden sand but instead a bright blue energy.

"What… in the world is this?" Teal asked. Several people felt compelled to touch the glass.

Naofumi remembered something and looked at his menu, specifically his wave counter. The wave timers were still frozen and a blue hourglass with a 7 next to it was the only thing not greyed out.

Seeing this, Ost began to explain. "Yes, they are connected. The Spirit Tortoise is supposed to be as hard as the 7th set of waves, hence the 7. The blue of this hourglass… these are the collected souls." She said solemnly.

"Souls…" Raphtalia whispered.

"Everyone that it killed?" Fitts sounded notably horrified.

"Which means Wyndia's and Ren's party members…" Leon looked more introspective than he ever did before. No one could tell what he was thinking, himself included.

"Once it fills to the top, it's supposed to stop killing. It would then project a barrier with the lives of the departed, saving everyone else." Ost finished explaining.

"Yet this hourglass doesn't even seem a quarter full." Chloe said with concern.

"Partly due to your timely alliance. Partly due to whomever is controlling m-the Spirit Tortoise." Ost answered.

Filo looked at Ost a moment and went to pull on her father's sleeve, just as she was told to do when someone was hiding something. However, just before she did, she stared at Ost for a moment. Then glanced at Monti before stopping herself entirely. She could read intention and wanted to trust Ost.

Wordlessly, they continued further, reaching a new layer of the Spirit Tortoise.

.

[Author's Notes]

Sorry for the delay! I know any of my older fans are probably really annoyed at my current speed.

We see what an 80% Monti can do when not holding back, which gives us insight into how strong Monti really is currently.

I had fun making more combo moves for the family, tell me if you have any ideas for combo moves between characters. I have no three-person combo moves yet.

[Akira Toriyama]

I'm sure most of you have heard the terrible news. On March 1st, Akira Toriyama passed away. This man was a creative titan. Dragon Ball affected everything shonen and beyond. Without Dragon Ball, we'd have no Naruto, One Piece, or Bleach. And without them, things like JJK and MHA would also never exist. And it wasn't just Dragon Ball. He did all the art for Dragon Quest, one of the biggest JRPG franchises of all time, as well as doing all the art for Chrono Trigger, one of the best JRPGs. These defined JRPGs the same way Dragon Ball defined Shonen. Akira Toriyama defined Japanese media and left a huge mark on worldwide media.

Nearly everything I ever watched, read, or played was in some way painted by this man. He was one of the greats. Definitely the greatest Mangaka of our lifetime. I just want to take the opportunity that my fanfic provides to say: Thank you, Mr. Akira Toriyama. For the laughs, the smiles, the joys. You gave young me a hell of a lot. Rest in Peace.