Chapter Twenty-Six: False Voices, Lasting Impacts
"Alright. You two remember the drill for exploring dungeons, right?" Naofumi held a torch up, lighting the way for his small party.
"Yes." "Of course." Filo and Raphtalia spoke at the same time.
Filo was in her Filolial Queen Form, her sharp eyes alert for danger. Raphtalia calmly observed the tunnel, her newest sword sheathed at her side, but the girl was ready to pull it out at the first sign of danger.
There were a couple of things that needed to be explained that led up to this scenario.
Some time had passed since his meeting with the Bow Hero. There was only nineteen days until the next Wave was supposed to hit.
Around three days ago, Naofumi had gone with Raphtalia to a blacksmith to get her a new sword and some new armor. Her old magic iron sword and leather cuirass had lost their durability due to her higher level. Naofumi ended up trading in her old sword and armor, and with some of the money they'd received selling his various wares; he bought her a new magic silver sword and a leather/metal armor variant.
She could still move around freely, but her vitals, boots, and shoulders had an additional layering of metal over them. Naofumi figured the ensemble would have cost around 5 Gold Coins in the Capital with a discount from Elhart. In the town they went through, they had cost around double that.
The weapon and armor were vastly superior to Raphtalia's old equipment though, so Naofumi thought it was well worth the investment to keep her safe. Raphtalia appreciated the items too, and really enjoyed the new sword.
Other girls appreciated jewelry, beautiful dresses, and other fancy things in life. Raphtalia appreciated new weapons and armor that didn't inhibit her movement speed, increased her stats, and made it easier to fight monsters for Naofumi.
She was definitely different. In a good way.
Naofumi shook his head to clear it. That wasn't the main point. While they'd been in that Blacksmith's shop, Naofumi overheard a rumor about a village a few miles away from the Capital that was experiencing an unusual amount of sickness. He thought it'd be a good chance for them to make a lot of money when he heard the name.
Lafan Village.
The same village Bitch had planned on taking Naofumi to before he learned she was going to betray him.
Of course, he shared his concerns about it to Raphtalia on the way. And she was wise enough to tell him these words.
"Master Naofumi. Would the Nocturnal Doctor knowingly pass by a town of sick people because of a grudge against one pig?"
...
Maybe it had been because Raphtalia had once more called Bitch a pig. Or maybe she'd been pointing out how it'd be suspicious for the Nocturnal Doctor to pass by a town of sick people when he had a reputation for successfully healing every sick person he came across… well, almost everyone, but that was a story for another time. Regardless, she convinced him with her arguments, and they went to Lafan Village. There he proceeded to work his wonders as the Nocturnal Doctor.
Raphtalia and Filo sold medicines and other items well into the night. Naofumi spent all his time going from house to house healing sick people. He didn't know if it was because the village was bigger than he'd thought, or if it was because people from the Capital had also come when they heard word that the Nocturnal Doctor was in the area. Either way, it had been well into the night when the exhausted group finally finished with everyone and left the town.
Exhausted, but in good spirits after helping out a lot of people… a lot of nice people too...
And they made a good bunch of money in the process.
After making camp a half-hour later, Naofumi thought he was going to sleep first. The next day or two was supposed to be nothing but traveling, so he could put off compounding and accessory making for the next day...
And that's when the reason they were in this tunnel now finally arrived.
"Master Naofumi!"
Naofumi bolted awake. Raphtalia was pointing at the forest behind them. "What is it-" Right as he was asking, someone came stumbling out of the underbrush, making a lot of noise as he did so. He was limping towards them and the campfire they had set up.
Naofumi instinctively went to grab his Shield which was in Mask form on his head. But then the guy collapsed. This close to the fire, bleeding claw and fang marks were visible all over his body. In the few seconds that Naofumi was shocked by the sight, a small red puddle started to form underneath the man.
"Raphtalia, grab bandages from the wagon, now!" Naofumi quickly ordered when he recovered from his shock.
"Right!" Raphtalia snapped out of it at Naofumi's words and ran for the wagon.
Naofumi quickly turned the man over on his back. His front looked worse than his back had. It was like a monster had decided to use him as its personal scratching post. His wrinkled face was disfigured from the fang and claw marks.
The man was dying.
"As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and heal my target, Fast Heal!" Naofumi quickly enchanted.
Raphtalia ran up with a wad of bandages. A tired-looking Filo trailed behind her, also carrying more of Naofumi's medical supplies. A couple of the wounds closed on the man, but there were still far too many. Naofumi's HUD showed the man's Health bar dropping steadily towards 0 in his vision.
"Raphtalia, start bandaging his left side, I'll bandage his right-" Naofumi tried to say.
The man's hand suddenly gripped his arm. Naofumi looked down at the guy. The light in his eyes looked to be quickly fading. "Warn the others… you have to warn… the others…"
It was then Naofumi realized it, just like this old man. The puddle of blood beneath him had grown larger as they'd tried to help. He knew there was a point when a patient was too far gone to be helped with any kind of treatment.
This man had reached that point.
It was a miracle he'd even made it to their campsite. Somehow, even though he'd only met this man, it still pained Naofumi that he couldn't save him. That he'd failed to protect someone else from harm... despite that, he forced the feeling down and calmly asked.
"Warn who about what?"
Naofumi barely got one sentence from him before he passed away by his campfire. The man's dying wish.
"Warn them... save them from… the false voices... in the dungeon... ... ..."
The man spoke no more.
That morning, Naofumi and his party brought the old man's body back to the village to identify who it was. It had been one of the local respected shopkeepers.
When he'd repeated the man's last words to Lafan's Lord, he immediately gave the Nocturnal Doctor a job request to explore the nearby dungeon. Ironically enough, it was the original dungeon Bitch and him would have explored had they been able to travel to Lafan. There, he was to locate the rest of the old shopkeeper's party, and to get them to safety.
Seeing the people, most of whom he'd helped the day before, looking at him expectantly; and with the old man's dying words still fresh on his mind, Naofumi couldn't find it in himself to refuse.
And that was why they were here. In the 'beginner's' dungeon Bitch had told him about that first night in the inn while they were having dinner.
'That Bitch was definitely lying about this place being a dungeon for beginners.' They'd already come across a larger than normal Usapil at the front entrance. And several more as they'd gone down the tunnel. On average, they'd been around Level 35.
This place obviously wasn't meant for beginners. Naofumi would have never stood a chance at level one. If the old man and his party had been stuck in here since yesterday, then he had to find the old man's other party members, and fast.
Then he could add another excuse to his bucket list of reasons to punch Myne when they got out.
That about sums up the last few days.
"Stay together, and don't go wandering off unless I say it's okay too," Naofumi repeated the instructions over again as they walked. He had come up with these ground rules for dungeons after the Orthrus Dog experience. He'd already said them several times before they'd entered the dungeon.
"If you see something suspicious, let me know. Check anything of value for traps before grabbing it. Above all, don't initiate an attack against a high leveled boss until I come up with a plan." Naofumi said.
After saying that, another Usapil jumped out of the darkness at Naofumi. It was several times bigger than the ones outside. Its level was a whopping 42.
Naofumi, however, raised his arm and took it's biting attack on it. Similar to the first one he'd ever encountered months ago with Raphtalia, he managed to restrain it on his arm, and again, similar to the first one, all he felt was a slight numb feeling where it bit.
The main difference was that this Usapil rabbit was releasing some liquid that felt like poison on his arm. It wasn't hurting, but it'd be worrisome if some of it got on Raphtalia or Filo.
"Huahh!" Raphtalia took her opportunity to slice into it with her new sword. However, despite the stronger sword, it still took another two quick slices from her to finish it off.
If that wasn't a testament to how much tougher the monsters in this dungeon were, then Naofumi didn't know what was.
Monsters outside of dungeons were like cannon fodder for Naofumi and his party. Yet their current dungeon experience was matching up with the few he'd had in dungeons with just Raphtalia before they'd gotten Filo.
Dungeon monsters were both stronger and nastier than normal monsters. Not just in stats, but in terms of what they were capable of. Naofumi absorbed the newly defeated Usapil into his shield and unlocked another shield in the Usapil category called the Giant Poison Usapil Shield that had an equip bonus that gave a +5 0increase to his defense stat.
While these monsters were capable of unlocking Shields he didn't have yet, they could be very dangerous to face.
If they weren't cautious, even their higher than average stats wouldn't be enough to keep them from getting killed.
Raphtalia sheathed her new sword. It's Anti-Blood Coating enchantment kept it nice and pristine even after killing another monster. "Filo, do you hear anymore Usapils nearby?" She asked.
Filo concentrated on the tunnel in front of them. "No, it feels like the other monsters are backing off." She said after a moment.
"Alright, let's keep moving. We still haven't reached the first room yet." Naofumi calmly ordered after the whole Usapil had been absorbed into his shield.
They continued forward, staying on the alert despite what Filo had said. Raphtalia's ears twitched on her head, listening for the faintest scuffle that wasn't from the three of them. Filo kept watching for anything suspicious…
…
"What's that?!"
Naofumi quickly pointed his torch in the direction Filo pointed to with her wing. The wall was illuminated by the torchlight, revealing… several green arrows pointing down at different chunks of metal on his HUD.
Naofumi sighed in relief and calmed his racing heart. It was thankfully ore. "Nothing a little pickaxe won't hurt," Naofumi said as he pulled out a pickaxe from his pack and handed the torch to Raphtalia. He quickly checked to make sure there were no traps and that no monsters would attack them before he switched over to his Pickaxe Shield and swung at the wall.
The wall gave way with one strong strike.
Damn, this shield sure came in handy whenever he was in caves like this.
While Naofumi gathered the higher quality ore, Raphtalia held the torch before her and stared down the tunnel. Wood beams covered the ceiling. Wood beams were also interspersed every dozen feet on either side of the tunnel, with the rock of the tunnel showing in between. "Do you think this was a mine shaft before it became a home for monsters, Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.
"Maybe. I don't really care for places like this. It's not like we spend too much time in them." He said as he picked up a piece of ore to examine it.
To be honest, the only similarity he'd noticed with any dungeon they'd been in before was that it'd either looked like an old mine shaft or had its entrance located in some ancient ruins. Not that they'd come across too many dungeons for him to make an accurate guess.
After a second, his HUD identified the ore he was holding as Gold Ore. 'I remember that Bitch said there wasn't much anything valuable in here either. That damn liar.' They'd only been in the dungeon for a few minutes and here he was literally picking up gold and unlocking new shields.
Naofumi was starting to wonder if she'd told him the truth at any time before he'd found out she was planning on betraying him.
Filo walked up next to Raphtalia. She looked slightly scared in the small space, unable to see past the light of the torch. "Mommy, something doesn't feel right," Filo said nervously.
"Shhhh. It'll be alright Filo. We have Master Naofumi with us. He won't let anything hurt us." She said encouragingly to her while stroking her head feathers comfortingly. Though she did find it odd for Filo to be nervous. Normally, Filo was the most excited out of the three of them about exploring a new place.
Maybe it was because they were underground. Was Filo claustrophic, perhaps? The thought made Raphtalia frown.
"B-But-" Filo tried to say.
"Alright, let's get moving on," Naofumi said as he packed the rest of the ore into his pack alongside his pickaxe. He absorbed a small amount into his shield, unlocking a shield called the Gold Shield. Its stats weren't too good, but once he unlocked the shield, he'd get a +2 bonus to his defense.
Every single stat bonus counted.
Raphtalia thought nothing more about it and obediently followed behind Naofumi. Filo stood in her spot a few seconds more. "Come on Filo, we still have those people to find," Naofumi said without looking back.
Filo opened her mouth to say something. This place just felt… wrong to her! But she couldn't find the words to express it. "But, but dad-"
"You annoying brat. Why can't you just listen and follow my orders?"
Filo looked around in surprise.
"Do you think you're safe just because you don't have a monster crest powerful enough to force you to obey me?"
Filo looked hurt at those words. "D-Daddy-" Filo tried to say. The voice had sounded like Naofumi's.
"Remember, I can easily sell you off at anytime you worthless bird. Gods, you're just a useless waste of space in this family. You can't even be obedient to orders without me tempting you with food you stupid child glutton. You're so stupid."
Filo shivered nervously. Why was daddy saying such mean things to her?... "F… Filo's sorry, daddy." She whispered.
"Why couldn't I have gotten that dragon instead of you?"
...
Filo was unusually quiet as they continued.
A few minutes later, without any other monster incidents, the tunnel finally came to an intersection. Naofumi frowned. "I was hoping we'd come to a room first. Damn."
"Is that bad Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked curiously.
"It depends." As much as Naofumi would hate to admit it, he was relying on game knowledge to guess the layout of this dungeon.
If he remembered correctly, an intersection at the beginning of the dungeon could mean two things. Either there were two side rooms with the way forward being down the third tunnel, or the dungeon was a maze with the rooms randomly interspersed. If it was the latter, then finding the old man's party members would become a lot harder.
He really hated times like this when the world would show functions like a game.
Raphtalia pointed the torch down one way and then another. "Which way do you think we should go Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked.
Naofumi thought on it and then opened his mouth to answer.
"HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
All three jumped at the sound of the scream. "SOMEBODY! PLEASE! HELP MEEEEEEEE!" The scream echoed in the intersection.
"Where is that voice coming from?!" Naofumi worriedly asked.
Raphtalia's ears twitched "That way!" Raphtalia pointed down the tunnel on their left. Filo also pointed left but remained quiet.
"Let's go!" Naofumi ordered as he immediately brought out his Chimera Viper Shield and started running down the tunnel. Raphtalia and Filo followed directly behind him.
"HELP! HELP!" The tunnel twisted and curved in front of them. The screams echoed in the narrow space. Yet they were gradually getting louder and louder. It was the right path.
Holy crap. What kind of monster was this guy facing? His screaming was going to attract everything in the area!
Naofumi quickly thought up a battle plan in his mind. He really hoped that the screams weren't attracting all the monsters, otherwise, they could be in for a long fight. And if they were all as tough as the Usapils… he could probably get himself, Raphtalia, and Filo out of it alive.
The currently screaming nutso, uncertain for now.
The walls and ceiling suddenly opened up into the darkness. The torchlight wasn't enough. The cavern echoed with the man's loud screams. He had to be in here.
"And light my target! Zweite Light!" Raphtalia finished chanting and used a spell.
A larger than normal bright ball of light like a miniature sun appeared, lighting up the center of what looked like a large dome-like room. Shiny chunks of ore stuck out of the walls and ground like glitter on paper. However, in the center of the room was a person kneeling on the floor. He looked to have been surprised by the sudden brightness in the room as he'd stopped screaming and was covering his eyes.
That was the weird thing. There were no monsters to be seen.
"Were you the one who was screaming?" Naofumi calmly asked as he approached. He made sure to make it look like he was holding his shield like a normal adventurer.
"Who, who are you?" The guy asked weakly as Naofumi got on one knee next to him. His voice sounded scratchy.
"Relax, your village sent me here to help." Now that he was close, he was able to see the wounds on this guy's arms. They looked like fang and claw marks, just like what he saw covering the old man. He pulled up his HUD and examined the injuries on the blonde-haired, blue-eyed teenager. "What level are you?"
"3-35." The young man answered shakily.
He looked dangerously low on Health, otherwise, he was somehow fine.
Raphtalia took out bandages and a few health potions from the pack on her back. As she did that, Naofumi began to chant. Filo stood close by, observing the room for danger. Raphtalia's ball of light lit up almost everything except the ceiling which still appeared to be shrouded in darkness.
"Fast Heal. Now what caused this, and where's the rest of your party at?" Naofumi asked.
The guy looked up at last, and his disheveled hair didn't hide the pale look on his face. "It..."
"It was my party that did this to me."
...
He'd muttered it so softly, it almost wasn't heard.
...
Naofumi's hands, ready to bandage the guy's remaining wounds that his spell hadn't healed, stopped. "Explain," Naofumi said after a moment in a hard tone.
If this guy and that old man had really been betrayed by his party then Naofumi would have no qualms about saving this teenager and leaving the rest in here to die.
Screw what the village thought about it, Naofumi did not like betrayals. He could always say he came across their bloody mangled corpses if he was ever asked about it.
"Naofumi, what are you thinking about this time?" Raphtalia asked with a sigh.
Damn. She was good.
The guy shivered. "Me, a few of my friends, and my grandfather went into this dungeon. My grandpa was running low on stock, and we'd heard there were some treasures hidden here." He said, sounding his best like he was trying not to lose it.
Treasure? With all the ore Naofumi saw sticking out of the floor and walls of this room, his grandfather could have made a fortune off the ore in here alone.
"What happened after that?" Naofumi asked.
His face paled a little more. "I thought everything was going great at first. We killed a group of monsters and were celebrating. But then I started hearing whispers amongst them. Whispers of keeping the treasure for themselves, of abandoning me and my grandpa in this dungeon." He put his hands over his face.
"I thought they were just joking, that they were just pulling a prank on me like they usually do… but then everything went dark. I tried to run, but one of my friends attacked me." The boy said in a scared voice.
Naofumi looked angry at that and was about to say something when the guy continued. "Only, it wasn't him. Eren doesn't fight with claws. He fights with a sword." His eyes took on a far off look. "I remember him saying he'd attack me first, yet he hadn't made a move towards me. None of them had been moving before it went dark. I don't think any of them saw me shaking in fear as I ran away."
"Yet, somehow, I was attacked. I… I think we all were." His hands went over his head. He was deathly scared. "Something's wrong with this place. Something's very wrong here. We should have never come here!"
Naofumi looked at Raphtalia. She looked visibly stunned at what the guy had said. He was too. Neither of them had ever heard of anything like this. "Do you think the monsters in here use some type of psychological attack?" He asked her.
Before she could reply, he suddenly screamed. "Oh no, I hear there voices again! My friends! My grandpa!" He fell to the ground. "They're coming to KILL MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He started to spasm while screaming incoherently.
"Hey, stop it! We're not hearing anything-" Naofumi tried to say as he tried to calm the guy down.
"Mommy, daddy! Something's wrong!" Filo finally cried out, cutting off Naofumi.
"Filo-" Raphtalia tried to say.
Raphtalia's spell suddenly went out. Along with the torch they'd brought with them. All three of them were thrust in complete darkness. An almost invisible purple haze appeared at the bottom of their vision. It became mass confusion for all three individuals.
"Ahhhhh!" Raphtalia and Filo both yelled in surprise and fear at the light sources disappearing.
"Raphtalia! Filo!" Naofumi yelled in worry.
Their screams suddenly disappeared.
"This is my chance," Raphtalia said.
"Raphtalia? What's going on?" Naofumi asked as he looked around himself for whatever had caused this.
"Master Naofumi trusts me so completely, I could run him through with my sword at any time in this darkness."
Naofumi looked to where Raphtalia had last been in shock. He couldn't see her though. "Did, did you just say something Raphtalia?" He asked fearfully. His companion couldn't have just said what he thought he'd heard, right? He'd just heard her screaming… how could this be her?
Over on Raphtalia's end, she could still hear Naofumi. Even though he couldn't hear her.
"What, what are you talking about-" Raphtalia was saying.
"I'm sick and tired of being Master Naofumi's slave." Raphtalia(?) continued over the other Raphtalia. "I only pretended to love him so I could kill him with my own hands."
Naofumi's eyes widened in the darkness. He nearly took a step back. "No… there's no way you could mean that."
"Master Naofumi, who are you talking to-" Raphtalia tried to say.
"Why are you so clingy to me? Don't you realize how annoying you are Raphtalia?"
Raphtalia stopped speaking as she heard Naofumi's voice speak in a condescending tone to her. "What-" She tried to say, stunned at his reply.
"Gods, you're such a burden." Naofumi(?) continued in a bitter tone. "You're supposed to be my sword, not my daily problem to deal with. Why did I have to buy you from the Slave Trader? You only treat me like I'm your personal punching bag and then cry the rest of the time like a small child crying for her mommy whenever I show a little backbone."
Raphtalia was stunned. "No, I-" She tried to say again.
"I knew I should have taken Beloukas's return offer. I could have had three wolf slaves that weren't stuck at level 40 unlike ugly worthless ^%$ you."
Raphtalia started shaking where she was standing and fell to her knees. "No… Naofumi…" Tears were coming to her eyes. He... he couldn't possibly mean that.
"Ahh! AUGHHHHHHHH!" The nameless man on the ground started screaming again. It sounded like there was something… other people attacking him. But only she could hear it.
"Raphtalia, you have to cast some light in here again!" Naofumi found he was having to force himself to say it without panicking.
'Wait, I'm not seriously doubting Raphtalia, am I?' He couldn't be. Not after everything they'd been through together. But the only voice he heard...
"I can stab him clean through from behind right now," Raphtalia(?) said.
A gash suddenly appeared along his side, as if it had come from a sword. It came from the direction she'd been standing in before.
Naofumi gasped in surprise from the pain of it, along with the sense of betrayal that burned in his heart.
NO! Raphtalia would never-
"Daddy is my food!"
Naofumi gasped in pain again when claws sliced his other side. Raphtalia and Filo were the only ones capable of harming him… it couldn't be… IT COULDN'T BE!
"No, Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled in worry when she heard Naofumi gasp in pain. She tried to stop shaking and stand back up. This couldn't be real! THIS COULDN'T BE REAL! NAOFUMI WAS IN DANGER-
"Stop being clingy to me! I'm just fine without you butting into everything in my life you damn demi!" Naofumi(?) yelled at her.
She gasped in pain as she felt something like a shield slam into the face, knocking her back onto the ground. She was supposed to be able to see well in the darkness, but besides this purple haze, she couldn't see anything! And Naofumi...
"I don't need you anymore! Get lost!"
"Mommy, daddy-" Filo tried to yell at last. She was frozen in place, too scared to move. Too scared to act.
"You useless bird!" Naofumi(?) yelled at her. "Stop trying to mess things up with us!"
"Daddy and Mommy were just fine before you butted into our lives you worthless bag of feathers!" Raphtalia(?) yelled at her angrily. "Why do you have to be so selfish whenever we have a moment to show love and affection for each other?! Do you hate seeing your parents happy that much!?"
"N-No, Filo loves it. Filo just... Filo just wanted both Mommy and Daddy to... to love Filo too and-" Filo tried to whimper out.
"How could we ever love someone like you!?" They both yelled at the same time. "GET LOST YOU STUPID LOLI!"
"No, please stop…" Filo started to cry as she laid low on the ground. Feeling something like a shield beating her and something like a sword cutting her face and feathers. "Stop it, please!"
"Hahahahaha!" Both of them laughed at Filo's cries of pain. "That's right! Feel the pain you've caused us since you were born!" They yelled maliciously. "Know the true worth of your existence!"
"Please, stop!" Filo begged through tears.
"AUGHHHHHHHH!" The man was still screaming on the ground somewhere in the darkness.
Naofumi put his hands over his ears to block everything out. Specifically the evil Raphtalia voice. He had several more gashes on him now. Another one appeared on his arm where he was trying to cover his head.
"Die, Master Naofumi."
"RAPHTALIA! I NEED YOU TO CAST THAT LIGHT MAGIC NOW!" Naofumi ordered loudly over the voices. He was hoping that this was all an illusion. It had to be an illusion! If it wasn't… his gemstone flashed red.
"But, but I-" Raphtalia tried to say at hearing his scream.
"I don't need your help! Hell, I don't need your love! I'm planning on going back to my world after this is all over, so why would I bother getting attached to someone like you?! Why would I ever have a reason to love some stupid demi-human!"
Raphtalia gasped, his words piercing into her soul. Another shield-like attack hit her across the face, throwing her farther away from the others in the darkness. Her health bar dropped from the attack.
"Please, Master Naofumi-" She tried to say again.
"You're worthless! Your whole race is worthless! I could never love a demi-human! Not when your whole race is the offspring of monsters!"
"Just do us all a favor and die! Maybe then you'll finally be of some worth to your dead parents!"
…
...
Raphtalia's heart broke in her chest. "No… Naofumi…" Raphtalia finally started to cry.
It was true.
It had been true all along.
"CAST LIGHT MAGIC NOW!" Naofumi screamed. His gemstone flashed red again.
"Aren't you going to try to defend yourself Master Naofumi," Raphtalia(?) said mockingly. "This is even easier than I thought it'd be."
"Your race is an abomination that deserves to be purged. Kneel and accept it you lowly monster." Naofumi(?) said spitefully to a crying Filo.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" The young man in the darkness continued to scream.
"THAT'S AN ORDER! DO IT NOW!"
Raphtalia felt slight pain from her slave crest. Shocking her out of her crying for only a second before she felt another hit from Naofumi's shield to her gut, making her double over. "No, don't do it! I'm fine without your damn help you useless bitch! Let me take care of myself for once!" Naofumi yelled at her.
"O… Okay…" Raphtalia whimpered as she cried.
Naofumi hated her for being clingy and overprotective of him. He hated her for being worthless. He hated her for all the times she'd tried to keep him in line…
He hated her for being a demi-human.
It was like she'd always known it, but she hadn't wanted to believe it. She hadn't wanted to believe what sounded too good to be true before. There was no way they'd ever get together. Not when he was a human, and she was not.
They'd never had a chance-
...
...
Realization hit her mind, and her tears stopped. The shock that came from her slave crest. The tiny, miniscule shock that came from her not obeying an order. So small that she could barely feel it.
It... hadn't... stopped.
"No, stay back! Rescind that order! Don't you dare come near me you useless Bitch!" Naofumi(?) screamed at her in the darkness.
And still, the shock did not abate.
It had been a long time since he'd forced her to do anything. It'd been even longer since she hadn't obeyed the command... he'd set the pain for disobedience so low that it was almost nonexistent and unnecessary.
But it was there, shocking at her. Helping her to come back to reality.
Another shield hit her across the face. That did more damage to her than what any of Naofumi's shields should have been able to do.
Wait, his Shields weren't supposed to be able to do damage! Being hit with one was like the equivalent of being hit by a fresh breeze! The only way Naofumi could do any damage was by either using counterattack methods or using the environment around him to his advantage.
His punches weren't supposed to damage her no matter how hard he tried.
"I order you not to interfere!" Naofumi(?) yelled at her again. And still, her slave crest continued to lightly shock her.
Helping her know the person she'd been hearing was not her Naofumi at all.
'It... it was all a lie.'
Finally, her ears opened to the real sounds going on around her.
"WAHHHHH! MOMMY! DADDY!" Filo cried out somewhere in the darkness around Raphtalia.
"PLEASE! RAPHTALIA! GAH!" Naofumi yelled in pain again.
Sparks were coming from the gemstone on his shield, which was flashing red again and again. If it was really true, and if Raphtalia had only been using him since the Sacred Duel...
"AHHHHHHHH!"
"Naofumi! Filo!" Raphtalia's eyes blazed with anger. Filo, her daughter, was crying in the darkness. Something she couldn't see was hurting her Naofumi and pretending to be him! And the man they'd found earlier was still on the floor screaming!
And again, whatever the creature was doing this to them had PRETENDED TO BE HER NAOFUMIIIIIIII!
"GET BACK!" Raphtalia yelled furiously. Her eyes blazing with hatred.
"No, you can't-" Naofumi(?) voice tried to say. She heard something in the air coming towards her face.
She drew her sword and slashed forward. "Gah!" Naofumi(?) cried out in pain. With his cry, there was a series of loud hissing in the air all around the half-Raccoon girl.
"I don't know who you think you are, but stop pretending to be my NAOFUMI!" Raphtalia yelled with rage in her voice.
Because of her racial affinity, she could finally tell what was around her now. She could feel it thick in the air. The telltale signs of powerful illusion magic.
That was why it was so dark. That was why they thought they were being attacked by those closest to them.
It was all one big illusion. She was the only one there who had the power to see through it.
And only she was the one who had the power to stop it.
Raphtalia moved, blocking a retaliatory strike at her chest. "ILLUSION SWORD!" She yelled.
"AHHHHH!"
Her sword blazed brightly with mana, and the fake Naofumi's voice screamed in pain as touching the powerful current of mana burned whatever the creature was. Raphtalia promptly disappeared into her own illusion. Giving her the time she needed to gather all her magic power into her sword. "Stop, I order you to stop-"
'It's time. My hard work with Filo comes down to this moment.' After all the time she'd spent training to apply her magic to her sword forms. All the hours she'd spent during her watch at night, sweating after infusing gemstones for Naofumi... after training herself to do something she thought to be impossible, but which Filo had demonstrated to be possible.
At last, Raphtalia was ready to unleash a magic technique using her sword.
"Blade of Illusion." She reappeared jumping out into the darkness, slashing at the purple haze in front of her. "Light Piercing SLASH!"
Her sword shined as bright as a star, and then a long arc of light came out from it, slamming into the darkness around her.
Kchch!
The darkness in the room shattered like glass, and the haze that had been surrounding everyone's vision disappeared. Finally, she, Naofumi, Filo, the young man, and their original light sources were free from the illusion.
Raphtalia held her sword, breathing heavily from how much magic the technique had used. 'It worked.'
"Scree! Scree!" Around her, a small horde of squeaking bats along with several large ugly looking rats with long fangs were revealed by her ball of light that was still floating up in the air. One bat was directly in front of her, the one that had been attacking her. One of its wings was burned where it had touched her sword. It also had a light gash on its other one. It and all the other monsters looked surprised that their illusion spell had been broken.
"HUAH!" Raphtalia screamed in anger as she sliced the bat clean in half with her still slightly glowing sword. It didn't have the chance to Scree or flee.
She then jumped forward, slashing her sword in a wide arc that decapitated several of the larger rats. Apparently, for all their attack power, they weren't nearly as tough as the Usapils at the entrance when their magic was destroyed.
"Air Strike Shield!"
A green shield appeared directly over the screaming man, protecting him from further attacks by the rats. "Take this! Royal Shield!" Naofumi then jumped forward as he yelled the skill. The barrier formed right as he slammed into the large rats, who were knocked back by the force of the barrier slamming into them.
Had they tried to attack it, they might have shattered it. But still reeling from the loss of illusion magic, they were pushed back away from the injured young man.
Naofumi took a position in front of him, glaring at the rats with absolute hatred in his eyes. However, the gemstone on his shield was back to normal.
"Now, Filo!" He yelled back at Filo, who had quite a few scratches on her head.
Filo swung her wings out, knocking her now visible attackers away. She got up, looking angrily at the monsters. "Filo's going to blow you away!" She raised her wings in a criss-cross position as she finished a chant. "Zweite, Tornadooooo!" Filo yelled, flapping her wings powerfully forward.
A tornado formed in the center of the room. "Scree! Scree!" The bats and rats screeched in fear as they finally realized too late that the predators had become the prey. They tried to run or fly away, but the tornado sucked in every last one that had been flying or running around them into the rapidly swirling winds, before being brought harshly down to the ground in a bloody mess.
Those few that survived the impact were easily cut through by one angry Raphtalia.
Within seconds, the crisis was over. Everyone in the room was safe.
Naofumi breathed in and out, doing the best to calm himself. 'It wasn't real… it wasn't real…' He thought to himself over and over again. 'It was only illusion magic… that's all it was… it was all an illusion… one psychologically diabolical illusion...'
…
"Get another ball of light set up Raphtalia." He said after a moment. "There might be more of them hiding in this room."
Raphtalia lowered her sword, also doing a breathing exercise to calm herself. "Right." She pointed a hand up at the ceiling and focused what little mana she had left as she chanted.
"Fast Light!" A smaller ball of light appeared just below the ceiling, lighting the whole room. It illuminated a few more of the bats that had been watching from up above.
"AHHHHHHH!" Filo yelled as she jumped up to them before they had the chance to flee. Raphtalia followed right behind her.
More screeches of fear came from up above as the bats were brutally massacred.
While Raphtalia and Filo worked on securing the room after that, Naofumi dispelled his skills and looked closely at the man who had thankfully passed out from fear. He had a few more cuts on him, but nothing life-threatening. Naofumi sighed in relief, seeing the man would be okay.
He said a quick chant and used the spell Fast Heal on him again. He then forced him to drink a Health potion after that. He then repeated the process. Within minutes, the teen was out of any real danger.
After that was done, he absorbed a piece of one of the dead bats and rats into his shield.
Conditions Met!
Voice Gengar Shield (Bat Form) Unlocked!
Voice Gengar Shield (Rat Form) Unlocked!
They didn't have very impressive stats. But they did unlock a new skill called Megaphone… however, it was a special effect and not an equip bonus. If he wanted to use that skill, he'd have to switch to the shield.
Hmmm, he'd have to think about it later, because he gritted his teeth as he became aware that he was still feeling pain from the various wounds on his arms and sides. Looking more closely, he realized they were from claws instead of a sword. A sword cut evenly, but these cuts were curved. And they weren't nearly as deep as the ones Filo was capable of causing.
'It wasn't really Raphtalia… or Filo... it was those damn bats… that explains why that old man said to warn his party about the false voices.' Naofumi finally connected the dots.
It really hadn't been real.
Naofumi cast his healing spells on himself several times, healing the wounds he'd received. Dungeon monsters were, once more, reaffirmed to be on a different level than normal monsters since they'd managed to overcome his defense stat on his best shield.
At least their own defense was so low that Raphtalia and Filo could one-shot them.
That was the only silver lining he could think of for this situation. If it had taken several blows to kill one, and if they somehow got that illusion back up before Raphtalia and Filo could kill them...
"Master Naofumi. There are no more monsters in the room." Raphtalia informed him. Filo jumped down from the ceiling, the last couple of bats were hanging from her beak.
"Good job you two. This guy is stable." Naofumi said as he stood up to face them.
Raphtalia had bruises forming on her beautiful face, and Filo's face and neck cuts were still bleeding. Their health bars were both below half.
He cast a couple more Fast Heals on the both of them before looking around the room again.
There was the entrance they'd come in through. And another two in different parts of the dome-like room. Naofumi grimaced. They had the others to find now, and the possibility of more of these monsters hiding around somewhere in here.
After this mess, the Shields he'd unlocked had not been worth the trouble and agony of going into this dungeon… though with all the ore in here...
He might as well grab it if no one else would.
He switched to his Pickaxe Shield. "Scout out the next two tunnels," Naofumi said to Raphtalia and Filo. "I'm just going to mine some of this ore for a sec-"
"Daddy…" Filo interrupted.
...
Naofumi sighed. "What is it, Filo?" Naofumi asked in annoyance. The ore was literally going to be the only thing that made risking their lives and going through all that psychological trauma worth it.
"Daddy… Daddy won't abandon Filo, right?" Filo asked fearfully.
...
Naofumi looked up at Filo's Filolial Queen form, looking surprised at the question. "Why would you think that-" As he asked, he realized it.
'She and Raphtalia must have heard different things than I did.' He'd heard them both speaking to him. Raphtalia had said she was going to betray him. Filo had said he would become her next meal… it was the last thing he'd ever expect to hear from both of them.
Had Filo... also been hearing stuff in his voice?...
"What did you hear me say, Filo?" Naofumi asked seriously.
Tears appeared in Filo's eyes, and she moved to cover her head with her wings. "Filo, Filo heard Daddy saying that Filo was worthless. And… and Filo heard Mommy saying how both Mommy and Daddy would be better off without Filo…"
Raphtalia gasped at hearing that.
Filo started to cry. "Filo is just an annoying brat who won't obey unless there's food involved!" She admitted. "Filo is worthless! Filo's sorry for causing Daddy so much trouble! Please, please don't abandon Filo here! Please don't abandon meeeeeeeee!"
Raphtalia walked up next to Naofumi, her eyes tearing up at what Filo had said. "Filo-" She tried to say. Naofumi was silent. His mind stunned for the moment.
"Filo swears that Filo will try to be a good girl! Filo will try! Just please don't leave Filo herrrrre!" Filo continued to cry while she bowed her head into her wings.
...
After a moment, Naofumi sighed. "Filo, I order you to change form," Naofumi ordered.
Filo poked her head out from under her wing to look at him. "But, but why-" She tried to say.
"Filo!-" At first, Naofumi yelled as he glared at her for not wanting to listen again. But then Naofumi swallowed down his frustration and let a tear fall from his eye. "Just... do it... please," Naofumi murmured softly… gently...
…
In a poof of feathers, Filo reappeared as a little blonde-haired kid. She looked up curiously, her eyes tinged with red from crying.
Naofumi glared down at her. "You are an annoying brat. And a child glutton at that. I've honestly lost track of the number of times I wished I could have had a dragon instead of you. You've annoyed me beyond compare by not listening to me and throwing tantrums whenever I wouldn't cook for you." He said seriously, tears slowly leaking from his eyes.
Filo wondered why her dad was crying when he was saying such mean things... Up until he dropped the glare, got down on one knee, and hugged her to him tightly. "But you're not worthless… I don't want you to leave us… and I refuse to abandon my daughter here." He said firmly, finally agreeing with what Raphtalia had been telling him all along.
Filo, for all intents and purposes, was his daughter now. "I wouldn't trade you for any other monster in the world." Naofumi admitted.
"Not even for an epic fire breathing dragon."
...
Filo's eyes widened as if she couldn't believe it at first, and then more tears appeared in her eyes. "Wah! WAHHHHHHHHHHH!" She started crying as she hugged Daddy tightly back.
Was this real?... was this really happening?...
...
"I'm not letting you go. Not ever... You got me?" Naofumi said comfortingly. His head resting on her blonde hair.
Filo continued to cry. "Y-Yes Daddy!"
It was real.
Raphtalia stood by and watched. Tears leaked from her eyes as she held her hand over her heart at how sweet the scene was.
...
"Well, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to join in on this family hug to mom?" Naofumi asked Raphtalia sarcastically.
Raphtalia was quick to comply. Within seconds, the two of them were on their knees, sharing a family hug with Filo.
"Thank… thank you. Mommy, Daddy." Filo cried happily in between the two. "Filo will try to not get in the way of Mommy and Daddy's love and affection for each other from now on."
"And Daddy and I will always be here for you." Raphtalia said, before looking to Naofumi as if to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Naofumi smiled a little for her and nodded. He moved his head so he could rub Filo's hair comfortingly with one hand. "Your mother and I aren't planning on going anywhere," Naofumi said, his voice softer than normal. "Not without our cute little daughter by our side."
The little girl sighed happily and relaxed in their embrace. He somehow got the feeling that she wouldn't be so disobedient in the future... though she was still going to be annoying as hell.
Oh well. He was annoying too. That just meant she'd inherited that characteristic from him.
...
Raphtalia wanted to cry even harder from how happy she felt. She didn't think she could feel any happier than she did now.
…
After a moment, Naofumi looked up at Raphtalia, who was now smiling as one of her hands joined Naofumi's in comfortingly rubbing Filo's hair. A thought entered his mind.
"Whatever you heard earlier was wrong," Naofumi said, catching her off guard.
"What?" She asked confusedly.
For once, it was like Naofumi finally saw a part of the full picture. Filo hadn't been the only one hearing voices. And as much as Naofumi wondered if Raphtalia had heard Filo or not, he found it much more likely that she'd heard his voice speaking terrible things to her.
Memories came through his mind of the times when Raphtalia had shared her insecurities with him. He'd never overheard her sharing small things like that with Filo. Yet she'd practically laid her soul out for him over the time they were together, trusting him with it… and those monsters had been saying the last thing you'd ever want to hear from the person you least expected to hear it from.
He had a good guess what those monsters had said to Raphtalia.
He gripped her hand tightly. "Raphtalia… I need you too. There hasn't been a day that's gone by where that isn't the case." He said sincerely. "I'm grateful to have you at my side. I'm grateful that I chose to buy you that night when I found out I'd been betrayed." Naofumi said seriously. "I'm grateful you stuck by me even after you were freed from your crest. I'm grateful that you help me try to be a better person even when I don't want to be."
Another memory passed through his mind. It was the day she'd saved him from the Monster tamer Firo…
"And... I don't care what others say. I don't care if your race possibly came from humans and monsters." He said smiling. "I don't mind that you're a demi-human. You're not an abomination to me. You're more human than I am... And as I told Beloukas before, I'd be crazy to let someone as beautiful and amazing as you go." He said with all the honesty and sincerity that he could muster.
He still didn't know for sure what his feelings were. He didn't fully understand why it was so hard for him to identify them... But whatever they were towards this girl, they were positive and warm. Like a ray of sunshine on what would otherwise be a bitter soul. So he knew he meant it.
He meant every last word.
...
Tears touched the corner of Raphtalia's eyes again, and she leaned her head against Naofumi's shoulder as she started sobbing.
She'd already known the voice from before hadn't been Naofumi's. She'd realized everything it had said had been a lie... But to hear Naofumi refute those words for real… to hear him say her worries and fears were unfounded...
She continued to cry. Her tears landing on his cloak.
It was... too much...
He embraced both her and Filo tightly.
"Thank… thank you... Naofumi..." She whispered gratefully.
He kissed the top of her head, and then rested his head against hers. "Let's stay like this for a moment." He suggested. Similar to the time when she'd suggested to stay in his comforting embrace a little longer in that mine long ago.
The three of them remained silent.
For once, no one appeared to ruin their moment.
'Thank, thank you, sir."
Naofumi sighed tiredly as he stretched out his back. It had taken them the rest of the day to explore the rest of the maze of a dungeon.
It'd been a real hassle, but while they hadn't found any treasure besides an empty chest, they had managed to rescue the rest of the old man's original party and defeated the rest of those stupid bats and rats in the process.
Turned out, that lame Voice Gengar Shield Naofumi had unlocked was actually very useful against them. All it took was Filo having to screech angrily into the megaphone the shield produced, and the bats and rats would drop to the ground like flies, dazed by the loud blast of sound long enough that Raphtalia could run through and cut them down with her sword.
Almost all of the old man's party members had been hurt except one when they'd found them. They had all been young, ranging from their late teens to their early 20's. It was probably because of their age and higher levels that they'd survived. He managed to heal them up with only a few spells and Health Potions.
Almost all of their stories when they were found reflected what the first guy said. They'd been exploring the dungeon when they started to hear the last thing they thought they'd hear from their friends around them. Eventually freaking out and running away from each other because of how scared they became of being betrayed by their friends.
"It's no problem," Naofumi said dryly. He had his Mask Shield back on over the top half of his face. Though for once, he and Raphtalia had their hoods down while talking to a group of people, and Filo ran around nearby in her child form. She was jumping around and smiling happily like a little kid. "I'm sorry I couldn't save the old man." Once the teen had woken up, Naofumi had been able to explain how he'd found them.
The group, which consisted of the dagger group leader they'd saved, a sword wielder, a katana wielder, and several mages; bowed their heads in respect. "My grandfather was one of the best men I've ever known. And he always pushed me to go and explore the world with him." The young man managed to say before his face took on a sad look.
"Hey, it'll be okay." The sword wielder, a guy, said encouragingly to him.
The katana wielder, a girl as tall as him, slapped the sword wielder. "Ow, what was that for Mikasa?" He asked angrily.
The katana wielder, Mikasa, sighed at his reaction. "You can be so insensitive sometimes, Eren."
"How am I insensitive?! You're the one who slapped me!"
"I trained hard so I could make him proud…" The two's looming argument was cut off. They looked back at their friend. "I tried… I tried so hard... but now, I'm ashamed that the moment he needed me most, I ran off, scared of the lies those monsters were saying…" The teen started to cry into his hands.
The two who had been arguing stayed silent. Unsure of what to say or do to comfort their friend.
...
One of the mages, a fire specialist with a white and black mohawk, put his hand on the teen's shoulder. "Yo man, do you really think your gramps would want you moping about his death!?" He asked his friend loudly.
The teen and the others were taken aback. "Magna, can't you at least be a little considerate of the boy's feelings?" The female mage asked with a sigh.
"Shut it Vanessa!" Magna yelled angrily at the mage, who rolled her eyes and looked the other direction. "Look, we all lose people at one point or another in our lives! I failed to save my own surrogate father, the man who changed me from a lowly street punk to the bad^%$ adventuring man I am today. But do you think he wanted me to feel sorry and stop growing after failing him!?" He asked rhetorically. He didn't give his friend time to answer. "Noooo! And I doubt your gramps would want you to feel sorry for him too, especially since what happened wasn't your fault!?"
The young man looked shocked at his friend's words. Vanessa sighed but put a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. "He could have put it less bluntly, but I agree with Magna. For once." She added as a jibe to their friend. "Your grandfather wouldn't want you beating yourself up over this Armin. It wasn't your fault. But if you need help overcoming this, we're all here for you."
The young man named Armin blinked. "What she said," Mikasa said, agreeing with the mage. She discreetly side elbowed Eren in the ribs, getting him to quickly agree too.
"As long as we keep on going on adventures together, we're here for ya!" The last mage said happily.
"You guys…" Armin said, looking around in shock at his friends.
"Just because the world decides to throw you crap," Naofumi spoke again. "That doesn't mean you should give up. If anything, it means you can take this experience and push forward. You might not have been able to save your grandfather, but you can still get stronger. And as long as you're not alone," Naofumi turned to smile at Raphtalia. "Nothing will stop you in the future."
...
Tears built up in Armin's eyes again at his words, and he looked around at his friends. They were all smiling for him, but not as largely as the loud-mouthed mage. "Those are some real man words there."
"Magna… Vanessa, Luck… Eren, Mikasa. Thank you." He addressed his friends.
"No problem kid," Magna replied for them all. "See that? You're already more of a man than you were before we entered that dungeon."
Armin looked back to Naofumi. "And again, thank you, sir. I don't know if we could ever repay you for saving our lives."
Naofumi shrugged. "Eh. You won't have to worry about that," Naofumi said plainly. "I checked while we were searching. There wasn't any treasure in that dungeon. But we did come across plenty of high valued ore and gemstones as we went along. So you can tell the Lafan Lord my services for today are paid for."
By his count, he'd unlocked a Gold Shield, a Lead Shield, a Copper Shield, a Troni Shield, and several other ore shields beside the monster shields. He'd even had a stroke of luck finding a Jade Gemstone along with several Sapphires in some of the ore veins. His and Raphtalia's packs were bursting with all the stuff they'd looted from the dungeon.
"Wait, what?!" The fire mage Magna yelled indignantly. "You mean you seriously put mining ore in the way of rescuing the rest of us!? That isn't manly at all!"
"Put a sock in it, Magna. I still remember you covering yourself in flames and screaming like a little girl when you ran away in there." The last mage, the shortest of the bunch, said in an oddly happy tone.
"You stay out of this Luck!" Magna yelled down angrily and indignantly at the short mage.
Now that Naofumi thought about it, Luck had been the one oddball of the group that Naofumi hadn't found freaking out over the monsters.
In fact, he'd found Luck at the end of the dungeon, surrounded by dozens of monster corpses. Including one that had unlocked another shield in his Chimera series. A Nue Shield.
Checking its stats, it was supposed to give him medium lightning resistance. Yet this mage had claimed he took the monster down with Lightning magic...
Naofumi figured Luck would have been just fine on his own if he'd never found him.
"Ooh! Does this mean we get to fight each other!?" Luck asked happily. Lightning crawled up his arms as he said it. Naofumi had also noticed this teenager always looked eager for a fight, unlike his friends who sweatdropped at his words. "Those monsters tried with those voice abilities of theirs. But sensing their mana was a piece of cake! Maybe you could provide me with a real challenge!"
"Here we go again," Vanessa said, sighing at the immaturity of her two fellow mages as she pulled a bottle of vodka from her robes.
Had she summoned that with magic? Where the hell had she been hiding that on her body!? He hadn't noticed before, but she wasn't wearing much clothing underneath her mage robes.
Magna was glaring fire daggers, while Luck was smiling happy and carefree, lightning sparking in his hair.
Armin suppressed a chuckle. He'd only met these mages several months ago when they moved to his village. Yet they'd gotten along ever since. "Best of luck to you sir," He said happily to Naofumi.
"Thanks. Just be more careful next time about exploring dungeons," Naofumi said, before looking to Raphtalia and Filo. "Come on. We still have a ways to go before we get to the next town. And to be frank, I'm exhausted."
"Right, I can take the first watch tonight!" Raphtalia said happily.
"Filo!" Naofumi yelled to the little girl. The yell was lacking the rough edge it used to have towards her before.
"Okayyyyyy!" With a poof, Filo turned back into her large Filolial form. The transformation was so shocking, both Magna and Luck stopped yelling at each other to gawk at where the former girl had been standing. Of course, Magna had been out cold when Naofumi had found him. He'd only seen Filo as a little girl with angel wings on her back.
"So cool!" Luck said in awe. Luck, however, had already seen Filo transform once, and found the sight of her mana during the transformation amazing.
"Just what in the hell kind of magic is that?!" Magna yelled.
Naofumi and Raphtalia climbed onto Filo's back. "Where to daddy?" Filo asked.
"Hey don't go ignoring me now!" Magna yelled angrily.
"Take us back to our wagon Filo!" Naofumi ordered.
"Yayyyyyyyy!" Filo yelled happily as she took off away from the entrance of the dungeon back into the forest. Raphtalia held onto Naofumi for dear life as they sped away.
'I finally get to go back to pulling my favorite wagon! I'm so happy!' Filo thought happily to herself.
Having both her parents hugging her, knowing that they loved her... made her just a little bit more happy though.
"Filo! Slow downnnnnn-" Raphtalia's voice faded into the distance while she gripped onto Naofumi like her life depended on it.
...
The group they'd saved stood stock still, staring in awe after them. "I just realized... were we just… saved by the Nocturnal Doctor?" Mikasa asked in surprise.
"Did they have to ignore me!? And did that giant fat bird call that stupid mining guy her daddy?!" Magna asked, looking disgusted at the thought. "That's gross!"
"I kind of thought that's what your kids would end up looking like Magnaaaa." Vanessa teased the hothead mage. She already looked drunk from the vodka she was drinking. Or maybe she was always drunk and pretended to be sober some of the time. "You know, if you managed to one day shed your identity as a virgin street punk."
It was hard to tell.
"Screw you!" Magna angrily responded. "It'll happen one day! And the kids I'll have will totally be as hot as me!"
"Which, if you think about it, means they wouldn't be hot at all!" Luck joked happily behind him.
"You little- That does it!" Magna summoned a… fire baseball bat in his grip? Then, one after the other, he started summoning fire baseballs which he hit at Luck. "TAKE THIS YOU LITTLE RUNT!"
"Wheeeeeeeeee! Now we're really having fun!" Luck yelled happily as his feet were covered in what would best be described as lightning boots. He easily slid from side to side, making hilarious poses as he avoided each fire baseball with ease.
"Come on Magna, you're going to need to try harder than that if you want to hit me!"
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Magna continued to yell what he hoped to be a manly yell as he hit fire baseballs at a rapidly increasing rate. "Flame Magic: Fast Prison Scattershot!"
One of the flame baseballs he hit split into a dozen streaks of fire all heading towards Luck from different angles.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosions all hit the canyon wall behind Luck, who somehow dodged every one of them. "Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!" He continued to say happily.
"DAMN YOU!"
Armin, Vanessa, and the others chuckled nervously at their two friends getting lost in their familiar antics. "Those two will never change," Vanessa said with a sigh. "Now if only he'd put that much effort into fighting monsters."
"How long do you think it'll take for Magna to run out of mana this time?" Mikasa boredly asked Eren while checking the sharpness of her katana.
"I give him about five minutes. Ten if he's conservative with his magic." Eren replied.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Magna continued to yell.
He definitely wasn't being conservative with his MP here.
"Wheeeee!" Luck continued dancing in the deadly barrage of fire.
Armin smiled. It had been weird since the day these three had found themselves lost and disconnected from their former squad when they moved here. But… "As crazy as this sounds, I don't think I'd want them to change."
After all, some people are perfect the way they are...
...
Magna continued to scream as he tried again and again to hit the laughing Luck.
Hero Clips!
You've GOT to be Kidding me?!
"Yo seriously, this is &^%$!"
"What are you going on about this time Magnaaaa?" A drunk looking Vanessa asked where she was lying scantily clad on a couch in the tavern. She held a bottle of wine in both hands.
"I'm talking about the Author here ripping from all sorts of anime! Including ours!" Magna yelled angrily.
"Why is that such a big deal you dummy. Just have a drink and drown in the booze with me." Vanessa said to him childishly.
"Ugh! Did he seriously have to write you drunk too!?" Magna yelled. "He's even less of a man than I thought!"
"How is the Author stealing from other animes, Magna?" Luck asked curiously.
"Helllllooooo!" Magna said as he pointed up above at something only he could see. "Hero Clips?! It's obviously a rip off of our Clover Clips dumb^%$!"
"But what else is there?" Luck asked curiously.
"Oh, he's also included references to Full Metal Alchemist!" Magna started listing on his fingers. "References to My Hero Academia! References to Attack on Titan! He even included one large Freaking Sword Art Online reference that wasn't related to the Sword Hero back in Chapter Nineteen!"
"Yeah." A familiar-looking young blacksmith spoke up from behind the bar counter as he served a drink to someone. "I would have thought Algade would have been a big give away... But nobody ever pointed it out because my real name was Andrew." The blacksmith said sadly.
"Like, seriously! It's obvious that's supposed to be AGIL!" Magna yelled loudly. Looking like he was about to blow a gasket. "A damn wiki search would have shown that!"
"Jeez Magna. You're starting to sound just as loud and annoying as Asta." Luck replied happily.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME RUNT?!" Magna yelled.
"I said Asta is a better character than you! At least he's actually useful for something!" Luck answered happily.
"DAMN YOU! YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE THAT'S HOW THE AUTHOR IS PORTRAYING YOU!" Magna again started to hit fire baseballs at his friend.
"Says the one meta knowledging everything while he's portraying you! Wheeeee!"
"AHHHHHHHH! BE A REAL MAN AND TAKE IT!" Did Magna even realize the Author was secretly portraying him right now?
Ren, Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Naofumi who had been observing from the side, sweat dropped at the scene.
"I'm really glad they never appear in our show," Motoyasu said.
"Or our light novel," Ren commented.
"Or our manga," Itsuki said.
"But sadly, they had to appear in this fic," Naofumi said with a sigh.
...
"Want to go complain to the Author about it?" Itsuki asked the group.
"Sure, why not," Ren answered. The four of them got up and started to walk away.
"By the way, what have you been doing Motoyasu?" Itsuki asked.
"I don't know," Motoyasu said with a shrug. "Maybe we'll find out next chapter."
"Are you sure you'll be in the next chapter?" Naofumi asked sarcastically. "After all, your character is also pretty lame."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME!?" Motoyasu yelled angrily.
Naofumi smirked. "Your character is nothing but a womanizer. The Author's had such a hard time trying to find a way to improve you that he's left you as is. At least the others and I are actually experiencing character growth. Your Curse Series unlock was weak sauce compared to ours."
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!" Motoyasu yelled angrily as he brandished his spear.
"I KNOW WHY YOU HAVE THE SPEAR NOW!" Naofumi yelled sarcastically as he took a defensive stance. "IT WAS THE WORLD'S WAY OF PITYING YOU BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU'RE PACKING FOR THE LADIES!"
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Motoyasu started attacking Naofumi, who blocked every single attack with his shield.
"Wait, isn't the author portraying them too?" Ren asked.
It was like a mirror image of what was going on behind them.
"Chaos Thrust!"
"Dog Bite Shield!"
"Meteor Thrust!"
"What's the matter, Overcompensating Spear?! Your attacks aren't doing any damage!"
"DAMN YOU!" Motoyasu yelled angrily.
The two realized it. The Author was making it so nobody would bother him at this time.
"... if he ever does a huge anime reference like this again, we're complaining to him." Ren said.
"Agreed." Itsuki muttered.
As long as he didn't make the references plot relevant, they'd stay back.
Got it, Author?
Till Next Time
Allen