Since Last Time: 51 more Favorites, 44 more Followers (Total: 2078 Favorites, 2283 Followers)
Updated: October 19th, 2020 1:00 A.M.
Chapter Fifty-Eight: Ghost Ship Wave of Catastrophe
"AHHHHHHH!"
A squad of knights found themselves surrounded by a group of Shadow orcs. Their squad leader was dead, and they were separated from the main army. They knew it! They were going to die! They were going to-
Arrows sprouted from the monsters. A group of archers had seen their plight. "This way! Come on!" The squad leader of the archers yelled.
The knights quickly followed the orders. Wanting to get out of that dangerous situation. Several of them ran while others moved slower, supporting their wounded. The archers let off more arrows at different monsters as they retreated towards the village.
It had only been a minute since the Wave had started, and the two armies were already falling into total disarray. Mirellia, who had been prepared to fight on an open field, had made some preparations to fight against the winged Shuzuku people of Siltvelt, but she wasn't ready for the sheer volume of monsters that were now descending down from the sky.
She yelled out more orders for her knights to fall back into the village where there'd be more cover while using her ice magic on any monsters that came within range. But with all the chaos, it was difficult for her orders to be carried out. And so, she was forced to stay on the platform to protect her husband.
"Huah!" She sliced down a large Shadow orc that had landed behind her, killing it instantly.
"Zweite Ice Spikes!" She sent a few sharpened ice spikes down at several shadow Lizardmen that had landed next to her platform. They cut through the monsters like butter, disintegrating them into shadows. Their almost victims quickly fled, shouting words of gratitude to their Queen as they retreated.
It was only thanks to those that were saving parts of her army that the fight wasn't falling into a total free for all mess. The grandma lady, wielding only a hoe, was personally going out by herself to save many of her squads. But they had to quickly recover before the situation could become FUBAR (Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition).
Fortunately, Siltvelt was struggling with a similar issue. So they hopefully wouldn't try to add to the mess, yet.
Finally, the elite squad she'd requested managed to climb up to her platform. "Get my husband away from this!" Mirellia ordered the officer.
"Yes, your Majesty!" Mirellia continued to fight while one they helped her husband up and began the task of escorting the king back to the village. Now that she didn't have to worry about protecting Trash, she jumped off the platform and personally joined the fight.
While Mirellia was slowly wrangling the situation back under her control, the Legendary Heroes had their own share of troubles to deal with.
"Seriously, just how horrid is our luck?!" Naofumi yelled, blocking a strike from a Shadow Lizardman with his Shield.
"Haaaa!" Filo immediately appeared behind it, slashing through the monster with her claws several times over. It didn't even have the chance to scream before it disintegrated into bursts of shadow.
"First a war! And now we have to deal with the Wave and a war?!" Naofumi summoned an Air Strike Shield, knocking a goblin straight into Raphtalia's blade.
"Crimson Blade!" Ren sent a fiery slash of fire through several different monsters in front of him. "Yeah. I agree. Our luck has been pretty terrible lately."
"Take this! Chaos Thrust!" Motoyasu's spear blurred as it went through the mobs in front of him again and again. After a few seconds, they disintegrated from the force of all the blows. "Wow, I've really gotten stronger-"
"Saint Arrow's Rain!" Itsuki fired the spread skill up into the air. It came down as a volley of arrows, piercing through monsters all around the Heroes and their parties. Motoyasu looked at Itsuki in shock, then in jealousy.
"Quit showing off Itsuki!"
"Then use our strengthening methods if you actually want to get stronger!"
"That isn't how it works!"
The Heroes were trying to get to the base of the valley wall so they wouldn't be surrounded by monsters on all sides. "Quit arguing and just fight!" It was one of Itsuki's party members, Aksel, that spoke. "RAHHHHH!" He then proceeded to charge and sink his axe into the skull of a large Shadow Lizardman. Karn followed up with several quick thrusts of his sword to its chest, putting the monster out of its misery.
"Take this! Zweite Air Slash!" Farrie and Tersia both chanted, and slashes of wind cut into different Shadow Goblins.
"Hah! Huah!" Eclair preceded Raphtalia. While she wasn't nearly as strong, her sword skills easily knocked the blades of Shadow Lizardmen to the side. Allowing Raphtalia to get easy shots on every monster that approached them.
With their party members being able to handle the monsters around them, the whole group kept moving. With the Heroes congregating near the center.
"Alright, first things first, we need to find the Wave Boss," Naofumi said. "What is it and how do we find it?"
"And who suddenly made you the leader?" Motoyasu complained.
"Don't be that guy Motoyasu! Naofumi is just pointing out the obvious." Itsuki said.
"Relax Itsuki. I just wanted to joke like old times." Motoyasu said. His carefree smile helped break some of the tension.
"Your jokes suck," Ren muttered.
"Besides, if both armies are helping to contain the wave monsters, we should be able to hunt down the boss in peace, right…" Motoyasu pointed out, but he sounded unsure near the end.
"Yeah. But both of these armies also hate each other. Who knows how long they'll focus on the Wave?" Ren asked.
"Can we get back to the important stuff please?" Naofumi cut the conversation off. A large group of monsters had been charging up to Rishia and Maya. Naofumi had summoned a Shield Prison to contain the monsters and give both girls a break. He was really starting to wish he had more skills he could use to protect the group-
Wait, they had Melty with them! "Royal Shield!" He started backpedaling, facing Melty and the mages at their back. The Shield appeared in front of them, and the monsters that charged into it bounced right off. He'd almost forgotten it was also useful while defending royalty. "Way to finally be useful Second Princess!"
"Stop calling me that! Fast Aqua Shot!" Melty retaliated against the monsters. It took several of those spells from her to kill one. He honestly shouldn't have kept the girl registered to his party. She was nowhere close to being a high enough level to fight in the current Wave. But at least it made one of his skills useful for the moment.
"Alright. In my game, the Wave Boss was a Soul Eater." Itsuki said. Ren and Motoyasu both nodded in agreement. Naofumi continued backpedaling while listening to them. "To find it, we have to find the ship it's hiding out on."
"Yeah, the Ghost Ship," Motoyasu said, remembering the event from his game with fondness.
"However, there's supposed to be a set of circumstances you have to fulfill in order to get it to appear. I had to attack the ship to get it to come out." Itsuki said.
"What do you mean? I had to fight the Skeleton Captain." Ren said confusedly.
"What are you two talking about? It's the Kraken we're supposed to deal with-" Motoyasu began arguing.
"Sir Itsuki!" Karn yelled. Another large group of monsters was swarming towards them. After attacks by plenty of different monsters, the Royal Shield finally shattered.
"Shining Arrow!" Itsuki immediately released another spread skill up above them. The light energy arrow split into multiple ones, all of which cascaded down on the mobs around them again. This time, the monsters screeched before the arrows even pierced them. The weaker ones were vaporized instantly before the arrows could even reach the ground. "Right, Shadow monsters." He muttered. They had a natural weakness for light. They continued on.
"So how do you get the Wave Boss to come out?" Naofumi asked through gritted teeth, turning to run forward again instead of backpedaling.
"If all our ways of getting it to come out are different. Then who knows?" Ren said, his shoulders sagging. "We'll just have to find out what works when we get there."
"Who are you kidding? Attacking the Kraken worked every time for me before." Motoyasu again argued.
"This world isn't entirely like our games, remember?" Itsuki asked Motoyasu irritably.
"Ah, yeah, right." Motoyasu deflated a little bit at that. "I forgot not all our info will line up like before."
"Then why don't you believe me about sharing the strengthening methods?!" Itsuki asked incredulously. "You haven't even shared yours yet?!"
"It seems too easy! Alright?!"
There was no sign of the Ghost Ship in the skies above them yet. Then again, with how massive the Wave was, it could be anywhere in the surrounding mountains.
The heroes finally reached the edge of the battlefield. The monsters were less thick here, and more interested in the armies on both sides. And fortunately, their companions were more than capable of killing the few that came close. Wyndia herself hacked at them with an intensity that surprised her party members.
"How about we spread out and search for the ship for now then?" Motoyasu suggested. "We can think of what the right method to draw out the Boss is after we find it."
"That sounds fine by me," Ren said.
"Do you think it'll be alright to leave the Queen and her army here?" Itsuki asked, pointing at the disarray that they were in near the village.
The Heroes grimaced. "We could have our parties…" Ren trailed off. What would Wyndia do if he forced her and the others to leave again? Could he afford to slash his relationship with his party even more than it already was?
"What if we had our parties what?" Naofumi asked.
…
Unfortunately, Ren never got to answer, as they heard loud roaring coming from the Siltvelt army on their right. The Heroes turned, and what they saw stunned them.
It was the most disorganized mess they'd ever seen. There was no sense of formation or anything military about it. But the armies of Siltvelt were beginning to move across the battlefield like a horde of beasts. Slaying all the monsters in their way between them and the disorganized armies of Melromarc.
"What, what are they doing?!" Itsuki yelled. Were they stupid?!
Naofumi saw the reason why. Jaralis and some of the other members of the Siltvelt Council had abandoned their platform. Werner and a few others were still on it, trying to direct the chaos. But the large looming figures of Jaralis and others were personally going out amongst the demi-humans. Defeating monsters with ease and rounding up their soldiers.
He couldn't hear their orders over everything else. But he could take a good guess.
Naofumi saw red all over again. Just why? WHY DID THEY WANT TO MAKE THINGS SO DIFFICULT FOR HIM!? DID THEY WANT TO DIE THAT BADLY!? SCREW THE WAVE! SCREW FINDING THE BOSS! HE WANTED TO-
"Naofumi," A hand intertwined with his.
"Daddy?" A pair of small arms wrapped around his waist.
…
Naofumi breathed in deeply, forcing himself to calm down again. He looked beside him at both Filo and Raphtalia. They were both looking at him worriedly. "Thanks, both of you." He rubbed them both on the head.
Ren and Itsuki breathed sighs of relief. "Sir Itsuki. What should we do about Siltvelt's army?" The raven-haired Rachel asked. The monsters were peeling off from around them and running towards the Siltvelt army. They had a moment to breathe. "If they reach the Queen…"
"I don't think that there's anything we can do about them," Itsuki said, his grip tightening on his bow. "They view us as devils. So they won't listen to anything we say. The best we can do is fight them until the Ghost Ship shows up if that's what it takes."
"Whoa man, hold on, do you mean we should start killing them?!" Motoyasu visibly cringed. "Dude, these aren't mindless monsters we're talking about here! These are people! Some of them probably didn't want to be here in the first place!"
While the two argued, Ren got to thinking.
"I get that, but we don't have any time!" Itsuki angrily rebuffed. "If we did, I'd come up with a better idea! But the way I see it, either we retreat and let them start killing Melromarc's soldiers, or we stand in the way and face them ourselves!"
"But, but," Motoyasu trailed off, unsure of how to argue for a few seconds. "We're supposed to be the Heroes man. We prevent massacres from happening, not initiating them."
...
"Guys. You're both right." The Heroes looked at Ren. "We're supposed to be Heroes, but they won't listen to us… however, they might be willing to listen to Naofumi." Ren suggested.
Everyone looked at the Shield Hero...
"Why are you looking at me?" Naofumi asked.
"Well, you are their God," Motoyasu said.
"... No, hell no, I already tried with the Council." Naofumi scowled. "They didn't listen to a damn word I said."
"Who said anything about the council?" Ren gave him a serious look. Naofumi blinked in confusion, not understanding where Ren was going with this.
But some of their demi-human companions perked up at the Sword Hero's words in realization. "Of course!" Maya, the young raccoon from Itsuki's party shouted. "Sir Naofumi! You are the God of our people! You don't have to answer to that stupid council! Who cares what those bastards say, all they want is to retain their power out there!"
Dou-Lon nodded in agreement and stepped forward. "Lord Shield, the Sword Hero, and the young one are right. I believe we have been going about this the wrong way. You do not have to appeal to the Council's higher authority, for your own exceeds it already. Instead of forcing yourself through their web of lies and ambitions, what you should do is speak to our people directly." Dou-Lon suggested.
…
Naofumi looked from them to Raphtalia. He looked really uncomfortable about it. He'd been inspired by the anger he felt towards the Council to speak so boldly to them. But to a bunch of soldiers?
She smiled brightly for him. "Naofumi, they're right. You should try one more time. You can do it. I know you can." She reassured him.
...
Naofumi gulped. "O-Okay. Fine. I'll give it a shot." He looked at Siltvelt's army again. They were still having to deal with many monsters, but they were gradually getting closer to Melromarc's army. He sighed to himself. "But this would have been so much simpler if we'd stayed where we'd been summoned."
"Don't worry Daddy!" Filo transformed into her Filolial form once more, puffing out her chest proudly. "Filo can get you wherever you need to go easy peasy!"
"That's my pretty angel for you! She's so amazing!" Did Motoyasu have hearts in his eyes?! 'The bastard, get away from my daughter you simp!'
"Alright," Naofumi smiled, and looked over the party. "Second Princess, I'll need you too." He said.
"Wha- m-m-m-me!?" Melty exclaimed in shock.
"You know Earth magic, don't you?" Naofumi dryly asked. "I can't just speak to them from the ground." He had an idea forming in his mind. But it was going to require some… special effects.
"You look like you're planning something. Do you need my help too?" Raphtalia asked.
"Always." Naofumi smiled confidently, making the tanuki's tail swish back and forth in excitement. She helped Melty get onto Filo's back as Naofumi climbed on. She then got on as well, sitting behind Melty, and holding the girl close so she wouldn't fall off.
"Anything we can do to help, Naofumi?" Itsuki approached the Shield Hero. He sounded relieved and eager, now that there was a chance that they wouldn't have to sully their hands with innocent blood.
"I'm going to need to grab the Siltvelt army's attention. Make sure the monsters don't pester them in the meantime." Naofumi said to the other heroes and their parties. "After that, find that damn Ghost Ship so we can end this wave!"
"Will do! Come on girls!" Motoyasu gestured to an orange-haired girl, Elena, and a light green-haired girl, Rino, to follow him. They charged towards the fray once more. "Meteor Thrust!" He sent a blast of blue energy at a crowd of monsters.
"Come on! Meteor Arrow!"
"Meteor Slash!"
With the other Heroes spreading out, explosively grabbing the monster's attention on that side of the battlefield, Filo charged forward, towards the center where they'd been summoned to before.
Naofumi looked to the side at Siltvelt's army. The monsters were slowing them down, but not by much anymore. The strongest warriors were at the front of the army. Tearing through the monsters like they were made out of paper. Jaralis and others were near the front, inspiring their soldiers onward.
He really needed to stop them before those warriors reached Mirellia's soldiers. She was strong, but her knights probably wouldn't stand a chance.
"Raphtalia! Create some illusions to slow them down!" Naofumi ordered.
"Got it!" Raphtalia began chanting. After watching her MP bar fall considerably in his HUD, more monsters began popping up in front of Siltvelt's army. This caused many parts of the disorganized army to stop in terror when the monsters didn't disappear after being sliced through. Jaralis was also caught in an illusion trap. Raphtalia continued chanting, summoning other illusions onto the battlefield.
It wouldn't hold for long, but it was enough. By the time Filo got to the center of the battlefield, squashing any monsters that got in her way, the first part of the army was still a few hundred feet away. The remnants of Mirellia's army was only a short distance behind them. "Alright!" Naofumi got off. "Melty, form a pillar of earth to raise me up! Make sure it's high enough so the whole army can see me!"
"Stop calling me Second Prin-" Melty cut herself off, realizing Naofumi hadn't needled her like before. She stopped pouting and began chanting instead. After all, it was rare for her to be NEEDED for something. "As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature, raise the Earth in the form of a pillar in front of me and raise my target! Earth Pillar!"
The ground shifted beneath Naofumi, and then he started to raise up. Higher and higher into the air. Melty focused intently, using her less practiced element to raise Naofumi far above the battlefield.
"You got this Mel-Chan!" Filo cheered her friend on excitedly. "Filo believes in you and Daddy!"
'Don't compare me to that meanie!' Melty focused further, and finally, Naofumi stood on an Earth Pillar, seventy feet off the ground.
"Look, it's our God!" Shouts came from the army.
"ENOUGH! STOP THIS!" Naofumi yelled.
"He's giving us his blessing to war!"
"Onwards men!"
"Death to Melromarc!"
"DEATH TO MELROMARC!"
Naofumi took in a deep breath. Damn it, these zealots were already mistaking his intentions. Maybe this was a bad idea after all-
No, he couldn't let his doubts or anger dissuade him this time. It was now or never. He had to make them stop so the situation wouldn't get any worse, no matter what. He couldn't let the blood of so many innocents get spilled here.
With all of his feelings and thoughts focused on that goal, he opened his heart and unleashed the Shield of Hope II.
...
The accounts of everyone who had participated in the battle of Merlomarc's third wave of destruction that day would differ wildly. But one thing that everyone could agree upon was that, at some point, a miracle occurred. A shining blue star had descended from heaven. It's light mercilessly cut through the darkness and the blood-stained sky around it, as it brilliantly shone above the battlefield, bringing all people who gazed upon it a feeling of peace and hope while making the invading monsters writhe in agony and desperately try to crawl away to hide from it.
The accounts weren't entirely accurate. The monsters still moved around, fighting in a blood frenzy craze like usual. But Naofumi stood in full view of the Siltvelt Army. It's warriors slowed down to a halt, looking up in awe at him. Flowing, glowing blue robes surrounded Naofumi's figure. His Shield and it's gemstone both glowed a bright blue. They'd grown up being told stories of the Shield, but none were as awe-inspiring as this.
He might have also had a little extra help with the light show from Raphtalia. A Hero didn't have to rely on his own strength after all.
These people believed him to be their God. They were wrong. He never wanted or sought power and authority over others in his life. But if that's what it took to stop this senseless war, then he would accept that burden, for now. "ENOUGH! IT'S TIME FOR THIS TO STOP!" Naofumi's voice boomed out over the crowd.
More monsters fell to the ground. But besides the fringes where the demi-humans stayed vigilant, the army was focused on Naofumi. The other Heroes continued on. Ren and his party ran behind Naofumi's group to dispatch of more mobs. "BRAVE SOLDIERS OF SILTVELT! ANSWER ME! DO YOU CARE SO LITTLE FOR YOUR WORLD THAT YOU'D RATHER HOLD ON TO OLD GRUDGES INSTEAD OF DEFENDING IT!?" Naofumi's voice rang out. "ARE YOU SO BLINDED BY YOUR HATRED THAT YOU NO LONGER SEE THE TRUE ENEMY IN FRONT OF YOU!? THE WAVE OF CATASTROPHE! THE VERY THING I SWORE TO PROTECT THIS WORLD FROM!"
"No, do not listen to him! His head has been filled with lies by our enemies-" Near the front of the army, Jaralis started ranting at the soldiers.
Naofumi sharply glared down at the ground far below, and then forcibly jumped down into their midst. After a few seconds of free fall, which was reminiscent of a falling star, he crashed down into the ground in front of the lion, startling him and making him back away. Naofumi stepped out from the dust cloud, resplendent in his robes, and completely unscathed. The other soldiers immediately backed off. Leaving Jaralis to face God's judgment alone.
"Shield Prison!" Before Jaralis could react, Naofumi encased the therianthrope in the skill. "Change Shield! Animal Needle Paralysis Shield!"
"Ack-" Jaralis's yell cut off. When the prison disappeared, he fell to the ground, paralyzed.
"I'LL DEAL WITH YOU LATER, MURDERER!" The last part was more of a bluff than anything else. But Naofumi was a good liar. And if it made Jaralis's position worse later on, it'd be all the better for him.
"YOU, THROW ME BACK UP THERE!" Naofumi pointed at a strong looking wolf beast-man, which oddly reminded him of the one he'd seen in the Slave Trader's tent long ago.
The wolfman gulped but did as Naofumi asked. Naofumi gracefully flew through the air and landed back on top of his pillar from before. He looked back down at the army. After doing what he did to Jaralis, he felt even better than before. More confident. More determined. The blue gemstone on his shield began to shine even brighter than before.
"CITIZENS OF SILTVELT! MY FIRST AND FOREMOST PURPOSE IN THIS WORLD AS YOUR GOD IS TO FIGHT OFF THE WAVES!" He continued where he'd left off. "I UNDERSTAND YOU! I FEEL YOUR PAIN! IT IS ALL JUSTIFIED! MELROMARC WILL PAY FOR ITS SINS! I WILL PERSONALLY MAKE SURE OF IT! BUT RIGHT NOW, WE MUST FIGHT OUR TRUE ENEMIES! THE ONES WHO DO NOT SEEK TO ENSLAVE OR EXPLOIT, BUT TO ERADICATE US ALL! THE WAVES OF DESTRUCTION!"
The demi-humans looked up at him with their mouths agape. Even the members of the Council were in awe. Some of them appeared fearful and tried to hide from his gaze behind their bodyguards. On the other side of the battlefield, Mirellia looked up, lowering the visor of her helmet, revealing a smile. The foolish king, being protected in one of the houses of the mountain village, raised his head to look out of the window, his gaunt face twitching and his lip trembling before looking back down, feeling unworthy of being basked in this gentle light's warm embrace. The other three heroes and their companions who were hard at work to ensure that nothing would interrupt their friend's speech briefly looked up, smiling at his radiant figure.
Far far away, in a land where no man had stood for millennia; a lone, petite, angel-winged figure watching through the eyes of a little blonde angel girl, shed a single tear, as memories of something that she'd long believed to have been lost began to resurface.
And finally, back on the site of the wave, the Shield Hero's companion tightly hugged their blonde angel girl daughter. "Wahh… so pretty!" Filo looked up, mesmerized by the display. "Daddy is amazing!"
"Yes." Raphtalia sniffed. "Yes he is."
Melty remained silent, looking at the pair before sadly turning away.
"SO STEEL YOUR HEARTS! HOLD ON TO WHATEVER OLD GRUDGES THAT YOU MAY HAVE FOR JUST A LITTLE LONGER! IGNORE MELROMARC! IGNORE THE OTHER HEROES! IF YOU TRULY BELIEVE IN ME! IF YOU TRULY WISH TO HELP ME! THEN I IMPLORE YOU! FIGHT THE DAMN WAVES!" Naofumi ordered.
…
He was met with silence from them all for a few seconds. He was breathing heavily.
He hated this. He hated it so much. He didn't want to have to stand here and give another speech. He just wanted them to not get in the way and make things-
Siltvelt's army began roaring. Lifting their weapons high into the air.
"FIGHT THE WAVES!"
"DEFEAT THE WAVES!"
"KILL THE WAVES!"
"AS OUR GOD COMMANDS! FIGHT THE DAMN WAVES!"
They started charging towards the Melromarc side of the battlefield once more, letting out their war cries. However, they completely ignored Raphtalia and the Second Princess down below. They ignored the other Hero's as well as their parties. And instead of trying to fight Mirellia's knights, when they charged into the fray, they fought the monsters.
It worked. It had really, truly worked. Naofumi heaved a sigh of relief. He jumped down from his pillar, switching out from the shield as warriors of various sizes ran past. All letting out the bellowing war cry. Raphtalia smiled happily, her tail wagging excitedly behind her. "That was amazing!" She hugged him tightly, planting a kiss on his cheek. "You were amazing!"
"Well, we're not out of this yet." Now, he had to make sure that no fights started. And that everyone was kept safe and protected. Still, being hugged by Raphtalia made him feel a lot better. "Let's go, Filo!"
"Okay!"
The soldiers gave way for their God, allowing them to ride on ahead to Mirellia. There were no explanations needed. She'd continue to pull her knights back into the village. But there were still groups needing rescue, so after dropping Melty off to help defend the town, and after regrouping with Eclair and Dou-Lon to give orders, Naofumi and the others separated to rescue the knights.
Naofumi didn't stay alone for long. With Siltvelt Warriors arriving to assist him instead of to free him from Melromarc's grasp, he had plenty in terms of raw numbers who sliced the monsters out of his way for him. For once, these zealous soldiers were a big help and not a huge hindrance.
With the other heroes no longer being close by either, he started gaining experience whenever one of his party members killed a monster. That was a welcome relief too.
He had to intervene several times to keep conflicts from breaking out amongst knights they rescued and various groups of demi-humans. But somehow, he was able to get both sides to work together. Slowly, the chaos began to form into an organized mess.
It probably helped that he'd shut Jaralis up. Was he still lying face down paralyzed on the ground where he'd left him? That was a morbidly pleasant thought. With any luck, his own soldiers would trample him while marching forward.
Some time passed. He had no idea where the other Heroes or their parties were at now. Outside the village, it still looked like a messy free for all. But inside, knights and demis were being organized by the officers who had survived the first initial minutes of the Wave. Leadership was being restored amongst the ranks. The wounded were being treated.
Naofumi was helping one of the last batches of knights he and the squad he was becoming more familiar with had rescued when he heard a loud sound.
"My Lord, watch out-"
Boom!
Naofumi stumbled to the ground, an explosion wrecking the area all around him. A strange ringing filled his ears. What the hell had just happened? He hadn't taken any damage, but he felt disoriented and his vision was blurry.
As the smoke cleared away, he saw many of the knights and demi-humans around him lying on the ground. Some were trying to move. Others laid still.
"What… the hell…"
He felt a hand shaking him. He looked up into Dou-Lon's face. It looked like he was yelling something at him. Pointing up at the sky.
"Fast Heal." Naofumi used the spell on himself. The ringing in his ears finally disappeared.
"There's another volley coming!" Dou-Lon's voice was finally heard. "We need to move!"
Naofumi followed his clawed finger. There, in the sky nearby, was a large, pirate's ship. It had three masts for sails along its length. Poking out from the bottom of the ship was a large, sea urchin-like creature with tentacles. And lining the sides of the ship were cannons. Ironically, sailing through the air towards them right now was another volley fired by said cannons.
Naofumi's eyes widened in shock. "Air Strike Shield!" He quickly summoned a green Shield above them. Many of the cannonballs slammed into it and exploded in a large burst of light and smoke. The rest hit the ground around them.
"Quick, help me get the wounded to safety!" Naofumi yelled at Dou-Lon and others nearby who'd escaped the explosions.
"S-Sir Shield Hero!" Naofumi looked at a knight lying on his back. He was reaching out to him desperately. Blood pooling beneath him. "Please, I don't want to die here!" He begged.
"%$#!." Naofumi whispered under his breath. He quickly pulled out several healing potions from his shield. "Fast Heal!" The spell washed over the dying man. But the blood from his wounds didn't slow.
"Hang on. I can help-" Naofumi tried to open the potion, but the knight was too far gone. He died only seconds later, the potion hovering at the edge of his lips.
...
"Lord Shield, we need to get you to safety!" A demi-human yelled.
Another volley of cannonballs hit the Shield. It disappeared right afterward. The ship fired on their position once more.
Naofumi numbly stood up, picking up a different wounded knight before running. The sound of more explosions sounded behind him. He didn't dare look back.
Just how many wounded had been left behind in that blast? Naofumi felt his heart clench. Even if he was a Hero, even if he performed great feats, he still couldn't save everyone.
"More incoming!" One of the squad members yelled.
"Urgh!" Naofumi handed the wounded knight he was carrying to a bear therianthrope. "Shield Prison!" With cries of surprise, he surrounded the whole squad in a ball of protective shielding. The ship's volley hit the area around Naofumi, but the Shields held up. "Come and get me!" He ran off in a different direction.
The ship fired as it approached, hitting the area around Naofumi once again. He raised his shield high over his head, deflecting one of the cannonballs away to the side. "Come on! Is that the best you've got?!" He yelled up at the Ghost Ship, taunting it.
As he held the ship's attention, the Shield Prison disappeared. And Naofumi saw the rest of those who had been with him get safely to the town. He deflected another volley away with an Air Strike Shield. Good, he only had to hold this ship's attention until the other heroes arrived, and then-
The Ghost Ship veered away from Naofumi. Seeing it couldn't harm him, it started firing more volleys at the town. Naofumi stopped. "NO!"
Mages on rooftops cast magic balls of fire, water, earth, and other elements to intercept the volleys. Others that were more skilled cast barriers of different elements to protect an area. But the cannonballs exploding against the ground continued to add to the list of casualties.
One home got hit by a cannonball. The explosion caused the whole structure to collapse. How many people had been in there?
He ran as fast as he could for the village. He saw one mage being overwhelmed with protecting his general area. "Air Strike Shield!" The summoned skill protected the grateful mage for the time being. The Ghost Ship wasn't relenting. Attempts by other mages on the ground to send magic at the ship were hardly effective, with how high up it was, and since it was continuously moving.
"Damn it! Where are those guys!?" Naofumi yelled. Hadn't they gone out searching for the damn ship?!
"My Lord, what are your orders?!" A Shuzaku officer glided up next to Naofumi. The ship's cannons were now taking aim at the heart of the town. Mirellia summoned a large sheet of ice over the area to protect it. With how long the battle had been though, everyone was getting exhausted.
Naofumi was about to respond, but then as if on cue, a bright red glow on one of the mountains appeared. And then, a few seconds after that, an explosion rocked the ship up above. Ripping a large chunk out of its outer hull. The cannons next volley misfired, causing an even larger explosion along its side.
"Woohoooooo!" The knights in the town started cheering. "The Bow Hero saved us!"
Naofumi watched in amazement. The ship dipped in height severely and veered away from the area. Heading towards the mountains. The large hole that had been opened up in the hull was regenerating. But It's attention was no longer on the town. The next volley it fired from the cannons that were still functioning pelted the mountainside. Naofumi breathed a sigh of relief. He swore, that blonde kid was going to give him grey hairs with how close his rescues were.
"See to the wounded and gather my party! We're going to deal with that ship before it comes back!" Naofumi ordered.
"Are you sure that's safe-" At Naofumi's glare, the Shuzaku paled. "Yes, Lord Shield!" The Shuzaku saluted and took to the air once more.
"Naofumi!" Suddenly, Ren ran up, looking out of breath. His party also looked pretty beat behind him.
"Where the hell were you!? Do you have any idea how many people died just now because of that ship!?" Naofumi asked.
Wyndia gritted her teeth. But she didn't speak up. "We spread out to the surrounding villages to try and find it. And we found villagers stuck in their homes surrounded by monsters, and…" Ren trailed off.
Naofumi instantly felt bad about yelling at the guy. "Oh… sorry, I'm just- you know what, forget it. Right now we have a Ship to get to." At that moment, Filo ran up. She had several other Filolials with her, surprisingly. Naofumi's party members were riding some of them.
"Fitoria heard your awesome speech Daddy! She's lent some of her flock to assist Filo and Daddy with the Wave!" Filo said happily.
"Wait, how did she-" Naofumi wanted to question this turn of events but instead shook his head. "Actually, never mind. It doesn't matter." He wasn't about to argue with his good fortune. "Climb on everyone!"
Naofumi, Ren, and their party members got on the backs of Filo and the other various colored Filolials. The one Ren climbed on was blue feathered. And it started gwahing and rubbing its head against Ren's hair in recognition. He looked confused for a moment until he remembered the Filolial he'd ridden on after escaping from Van's Estate. He actually smiled and started petting it back. "Do you still recognize me, huh?" It gwahed happily in response.
"Grrrr..." Wyndia growled where she sat on a red-feathered Filolial. Jealousy was clearly coming off her in waves.
Finally, with everyone mounted, the Filolials all followed Filo towards the large Ghost Ship over the mountains.
"Keep it up!" Itsuki yelled to his party mages. Rishia, Rachel, and Maya were all holding up a multi-colored barrier that he and the rest of his party stood behind. Another volley of cannonballs slammed into it, but they remained unharmed. Rishia still "fuehed" in fear, but kept up the barrier at Rachel and Maya's encouragement. The few mobs in the general area that approached were cut down by Aksel, Karn, and Crystal.
"Eagle Piercing Shot!" Itsuki launched an arrow that took on the shape of an eagle mid-flight. The bird of prey let out a high pitched screech as it spread its wings and descended down on the ship, slamming into the hole that several of Itsuki's previous attacks had left, widening it as it shredded through the wooden hull like paper. The galleon began to sink in the air again, but as the latest damage in the hull began regenerating, it slowly started to rise.
"Hey, Itsuki!" Motoyasu slid down the slope behind Itsuki. His two girls followed right behind him. "You should have seen it! I helped evacuate a whole village of fair maidens! There were so many cute girls everywhere-"
"Kind of busy!" With the cooldown finished, Itsuki charged up a skill again. A bright red circle appeared in front of his bow. After a few seconds, he released it. "Explosion Shot!"
Boom!
The ship shook from the force of the attack. Up close, the skill did even more damage. The galleon's forward end tipped forward, and it started falling to the ground. Yet the Wave Boss still didn't appear. And as the largest hole in the ship began to repair itself, it's fall began to slow.
"Welp, it doesn't look like attacking the ship is the way to do it this time." Itsuki held his bow to the side. The Wave Boss should have appeared several times over by this point. But it didn't look like that was going to happen. "Looks like we're boarding that ship!"
"Isn't it in the air though, Sir Itsuki?" Karn asked. "How are we going to board it from down here?"
"Like this!" Itsuki pulled out some rope from the gemstone of his bow. And once he felt that he had a sufficient length out, he attached it to the end of a normal arrow and aimed it at the ship. He released the string, and the arrow flew through the air before embedding itself into the deck, like a harpoon. "Now for the fun part! Everyone, follow me!" He put his bow on his back and began to skillfully scale the rope. Aksel, Karn, Crystal, and Rachel quickly got the hint and started to climb as well. Motoyasu and his two girls followed right behind.
"Fueh! You mean we, we-" Rishia started freaking out, but Maya pushed her to it regardless.
"Come on! What's a little fun and excitement without a little risk every now and then!" She said excitedly. She grabbed on and forced Rishia to grab on as well, right as the ship veered away from the cliff face. Bringing them and the rest of the rope along with it. "Wheeeeeee!"
"FUEHHHHH!"
It took several minutes, but thanks to the speed of the Filolials, as well as some graceful mountain climbing; graceful as in, so bumpy that even Naofumi screamed in fear of accidentally being thrown off, the ship came into view. And thankfully, the group was able to run along the plateau's edge to catch up to it. So there was no need to hang on for dear life anymore.
The ship's current direction took it away from the town and the battlefield. Hopefully, it wouldn't be going back that way anytime soon. The ship still looked somewhat damaged at this point. But it was steadily rising as it repaired itself.
"I guess Itsuki abandoned his strategy of attacking the ship," Ren said. His Filolial ran alongside Filo.
Fighting and explosions could be seen taking place on top of the ship. A large explosion ripped through the Kraken attached underneath. The tentacles around it stilled for a few seconds and then started thrashing around anew. Naofumi gripped to Filo tightly. "Think you can make that jump Filo?" He asked.
"Filo could. Fitoria's flock would need a boost though." Filo said, thinking it to herself.
"Alright, everyone, hang on!" Naofumi yelled.
"What do you meAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Wyndia screamed as all the Filolials and Filo jumped high in the air, heading towards the ship. Ren's other party members screamed as well. Ren held to the feathers of his Filolial with white knuckles. The only one who seemed to be enjoying it was Farrie, as she was laughing in delight.
Unfortunately, the ship had noticed their approach and quickly directed it's cannons at the Heroes. A volley of cannonballs was fired at them. However, the Filolials all managed to easily glide around them, using their forward momentum to veer from side to side. Dodging all the projectiles almost effortlessly. The cannonballs exploded against the ground and valley walls behind them.
"Air Strike Shield!" The green shield appeared horizontally like a platform behind him while Filo continued to fly on towards the deck of the ship, thanks to the strength of her initial jump.
"Gwah!" "Gwah!" "Gwah!" "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A still screaming Wyndia gripped tightly to her Filolial's long ostrich-like neck as it jumped off the makeshift platform that Naofumi had conjured.
A few seconds later, Filo alighted on the wooden aft of the ship. The other Filolials, whose secondary jumps made them overshoot the ship, flipped themselves forcefully, rudely dropping their passengers onto the aft deck as they continued on, spreading their wings to glide towards the ground. Many complaints were made at the rude landing by Eclair. Bakta somehow managed to come out of a roll on his feet, much to his amazement, only to be knocked back to the ground by Farrie landing on his head a second later.
Poor guy.
"Thanks, tasty friends!" Filo yelled after them.
"Gwah!" "Gwah!" "Gwah!" They all gwahed back in unison as they became smaller and smaller.
"Good job, Filo." Naofumi jumped off and pet Filo's head. His daughter smiled happily in delight.
Wyndia flushed. Ren's higher agility stat allowed him to catch Wyndia bridal style during their fall, and he landed perfectly in a half kneel position. After the rush of what had happened was over, he awkwardly set her down. "So, um, are, are you okay?" He lamely asked.
"Y-yea."
The two turned away from each other, red in the face, pretending that it didn't happen like the pair of dumb kids that they were...
"Lightning, Spear!" Motoyasu's yell sounded down below.
The attack slammed into one of the Kraken's tentacles. It withered away, and then more tentacles appeared to replace the first one. Motoyasu ducked to the side as the slimy appendages pierced through the wood where he'd been standing.
"Huah!" Rino ran by, slashing through the tentacles embedded in the wood with her sword. The Kraken hissed angrily at their group before resuming its attack. It's cut limbs rapidly growing back.
On the other end of the ship, Maya appeared out of an invisibility spell, embedding her dagger into the Skeletal Pirate Captain's skull. It's HP bar dropped to zero from the last attack, and its eyes lost their glow for a few seconds, then, it's bar refilled completely, and Aksel blocked its retaliatory attack with his ax.
"Come on! Just die already you stupid thing!" He yelled at it.
Crystal jabbed with her spear. Karn slashed with his sword. Rishia fuehed but sent a burst of fire magic at it. And Rachel used a shadow slash spell. The combined attacks of Itsuki's party members once again depleted it's HP bar, but a few seconds later, it stood up again. Still hacking and slashing at any foe around it.
"Air Strike Spread!" Itsuki's party members jumped back as Itsuki released the spread AoE skill on the enemy. Once again, it's health dropped to zero, and, once again, it regenerated and the skeleton began fighting once more.
"Crimson Blade!" Ren jumped into the fray. Hitting the Captain with his fiery sword. The monster was sent flying back into the deck of the ship.
"How many times have you killed it so far?" He asked Itsuki.
"Honestly, we've lost track." The Bow Hero responded.
The ship captain's hollow eye sockets glowed red again, and it got up to attack Ren.
"Zweite Dragon's Fire!" Wyndia intervened this time, slamming it with a ball of red hot fire. Her next attack with her katana finished it off once more.
"How many times has Motoyasu killed the Kraken?" Ren asked.
"Not as many times as we've killed the Captain. But-"
"Meteor Thrust!" Motoyasu embedded his spear into the deck. His next attack went through the Kraken's main body. It's dying screech was cut off as it's HP bar finally hit 0. However, a few seconds later as the hero smirked in victory, it refilled once more. More tentacles sprouted out from the sides of the ship as the massive cephalopod came back to life again. "Aw come on! JUST STAY DEAD!"
Naofumi blocked its next tentacle attack for Motoyasu. Filo and Raphtalia both rushed in as he blocked, slicing and slashing the Kraken so quickly, that it didn't have a chance to defend itself before it died once more.
However, that didn't keep it from regenerating. Their party members worked on keeping both monsters occupied as the heroes gathered again. "Come on! Why hasn't the Wave Boss appeared yet?!" Motoyasu yelled in frustration.
"I don't know. Attacking the ship didn't work, and killing the Kraken and Skeleton Captain, again and again, isn't working either." Itsuki muttered.
Both the Captain and Kraken died at the same time. But nothing happened except for the two regenerating a little more slowly than before.
"Is there something else that we're missing here?" Ren asked. "Some clue we might have overlooked in our original games…"
"Is there any other way to draw it out?" Naofumi asked. "The longer we take, the worse it'll be for this area."
The Heroes racked their brains, trying to come up with an idea. The Wave Boss was a ghost type monster. But how would you draw out a ghost?
"Hah!" Aksel's axe embedded itself into the Captain's skull. The monster fell to the ground, a new crack in its head as the glow in its eye sockets dulled once more. Aksel turned around with a smirk. "Ha! I told you I could do it by myself, just like that dog-girl!" He said proudly.
"Whoa, so cool," Maya said in awe. The others in the party groaned. Wyndia harshly glared at the knight before looking away in a different direction.
However, the Captain began to stand up behind Aksel once again, recovering much faster than before. The proud knight was too busy gloating to realize that he was in danger. Maya's eyes widened as she cried out to the knight to warn him.
"Aksel!" The knight turned his head, and his expression froze in terror when he saw a sword heading for his skull.
"First Light!" In a desperate attempt to save her brave knight, Maya summoned a ball of light right by the Captain's face to blind it.
It worked, the Captain fell backward, it's bony mouth rattling in annoyance as it protected its eyes with a skeletal hand. "Ah! I can't see! I can't see!" Aksel was also blinded by the sudden light and flailed his ax around frantically.
"Calm down you big oaf before that goes in the wrong person!" Crystal reprimanded Aksel.
However, the Heroes caught sight of what had just happened. "Wait, its shadow…" Itsuki muttered in realization. Hiding in the shadow of the Captain, as it slowly stood back up, was a pair of menacing red eyes.
An idea quickly formed in Itsuki's head, and he began charging a skill on his bow. "The soul eater must be hiding in the shadows, but light magic can expose it! Naofumi!" The bow Hero shouted to their shielder, standing at the front.
"On it! Raphtalia!" The girl slashed several tentacles out of the way, before looking at Naofumi. "Cast a ball of light overhead and illuminate the whole ship!"
Raphtalia nodded. "As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature. Illuminate my target with a ball of light, and dispel the darkness around us! Zweite Light!"
A ball of light, bigger and brighter than Maya's, appeared up above at the center of the ship. The Kraken screeched, the Captain raised a bony hand to protect its face once again.
And all around, in every shadow, red eyes stared out at them. Itsuki was right.
"There! Attack those shadows!" Naofumi ordered.
"Hah!" Raphtalia stabbed down into the shadow of the Kraken's tentacles.
"Found you!" Filo slashed her claws through the shadow of the mast.
Ren, Welt, and Karn stabbed their swords into the shadow of the Captain. Wyndia and the other mages threw fire and other spells. Motoyasu, Dou-Lon, and Crystal thrust their spears/lances into various shadowed areas.
"Shining Arrow!" Itsuki finally released his light spread skill up above, raining light energy arrows all-around at every other shadow all over the ship.
"! ! ! ! !" From these shadows, many small, pale ghosts began to appear. They looked like ghostly fish, draped in white cloth. They had dark, evil-looking faces with red eyes and long fangs.
The Heroes and their parties moved to stand back to back in a tight-knit circle, staring up at all the floating ghosts around them. "They don't look too bad," Naofumi said. "We should be able to-"
"It's not done yet." Itsuki interrupted him and readied his weapon.
"! ! ! ! !" The small Soul Eaters began circling each other, spinning and spinning and spinning.
And then, they fused. A large, giant ghostly fish towered in the air above them. With a roar, its name appeared overhead along with a bright purple boss HP meter. Interdimensional Soul Eater.
It definitely looked like a boss too. This thing was huge!
"There, now it's done," Itsuki said.
Dark energy began gathering in its mouth. Charging up what looked like an AoE attack. "Not on my watch! Lightning, Spear!" Motoyasu's spear charged with electricity, and then he sent the powerful attack at the monster.
It hit, but the electricity fizzled out. Not even affecting it. With a roar, it released the skill at the group.
Naofumi immediately took point, blocking the attack with his Shield. It exploded against it, but it did nothing to him or the people behind him. For a Boss, it was… surprisingly weak. It felt nothing like Balamus's attacks with the Replica.
"I'll attack first." Ren stepped forward, taking the lead. "Naofumi, prepare to defend if it tries to counter-attack. Itsuki, get your biggest skill ready. The rest of you, prepare long-range spells and buffs." The Sword Hero quickly ordered, holding his sword at the ready.
Naofumi nodded, and Itsuki began charging up his strongest skill. A bright red circle appeared in front of his bow. The various party mages began chanting. With both Heroes and their parties at the ready, Ren charged forward.
"Air Strike Bash!"
His first skill slammed into the boss monster. It roared as it flew to the side, and it's HP bar very visibly dropped. Much to Ren, and everyone else's surprise.
He'd used one of his weaker long-range skills, and it had just dropped its HP by a fifth!
"! ! ! ! !?" Even the Wave Boss looked surprised.
Ren didn't fall back. Instead, he leaped off a crate towards the monster as it floated around in shock. "Crimson Blade!" He struck its mouth, and the Interdimensional Soul Eater flew backward with a surprised screech. It's HP bar dropped to just under half full.
Ren hit the ground, feeling oddly confident. This was too easy! He charged up one last skill. The Soul Eater, seeing it, sped down in a desperate attempt to stop him.
His sword glowed blue, and he slashed forward. "Meteor Slash!"
The skill went through the ghostly fish down the center of it. The huge monster froze in midair, stunned at what had happened… and then, slowly split in two, it fell to the deck in two large pieces.
...
The red circle that had formed in front of Itsuki's bow dimmed. He slightly lowered it. Seeing how Ren had just easily soloed the boss. Motoyasu stared at Ren in stunned shock.
"Good job." Naofumi commended the swordsman. After seeing the effect of the Sword Hero's initial attack, he decided to remain on standby and watch. He'd been confident that Ren could handle the monster by himself. And, as it had turned out, he was right.
"Oh, um, yeah, it was nothing, really." Ren stood awkwardly in front of the Soul Eater's remains. He hadn't expected the fight to be that easy. Sure, the mobs had been a piece of cake. But to take out what was supposed to be the equivalent of a raid boss with only three moves by himself? They really were a lot more powerful than before-
"Explosion Shot!"
A second Interdimensional Soul Eater emerged from the wood of the Captain's Cabin behind Ren. However, Itsuki's skill, which had been charged up, slammed into it. One giant explosion later, its remains fell to the ground all around the shocked Ren, Motoyasu, and Naofumi. There was also a new large, gaping hole in the Captain's Cabin. The wheel well and the balcony up above were gone, and several sections of the ship were now on fire.
The other heroes stared at the blonde bowman.
"What?" Itsuki asked.
"Did you know that there would be a second one?" Naofumi asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.
"What? No, of course not. I would have mentioned it." Itsuki defended himself.
"And there was also that time earlier when the ship showed up. You didn't attack it until it was close to overwhelming the whole town. " The shield hero accused Itsuki.
"No, I was just-" Itsuki blinked in confusion and backed away as Naofumi approached him, fury slowly spreading over the shield hero's face.
"You aren't trying to be a glory hound again, are you? Because I swear to god if those people died in my arms just because you wanted to show off, then-"
SLAP!
Naofumi stumbled back, startled as the green-haired girl next to the bow hero rushed forward and struck him. It didn't hurt in the slightest, and the girl held her hurt hand after slapping the equivalent of a brick wall, but the gesture made him snap back to reality and he suddenly realized that the gem on his shield had almost turned red.
"W-whoa! Rishia, what are you doing?!" Itsuki's eyes widened at his companion's sudden and explosive reaction.
"I'm sorry, Sir Itsuki." Rishia gritted her teeth and clenched her shaking good hand. She was glaring at the Shield Hero with such fury that if looks could kill, then not even his defense stat would save him from being reduced to a pile of ash. "But I can't stand idly by while Sir Naofumi speaks such horrid things about you! How dare he imply that you're not giving your all! That you would let someone die just to make yourself look better!" She venomously spat out, making the Shield Hero take another step back. "Who does he think he is-"
"Rishia, that's enough." Itsuki gently put his hand on the green-haired girl's shoulder and pulled her back.
"F-Fueeh?" Her indignant look vanished in an instant at his touch, now replaced with one of embarrassment. "But, but Sir Itsu-"
"Rishia. Please. I appreciate your concern for me. I really do. But I'm not angry at Naofumi and frankly, you shouldn't be either." He gave her a grateful smile and held her hands in his own.
"Fueh? But he-" She looked back between the two heroes in confusion, suddenly realizing that she had made quite a scene and went red in the face from shame.
"Listen, and I think this goes to everyone present here as well." Itsuki nodded and looked around. "Please don't take everything that Naofumi said there to heart. We all had to go through our own share of trials to get here, but nothing, and I mean nothing, comes close to the sheer volume of garbage that Naofumi had to deal with."
The Shield Hero suddenly felt a terrible ache in his chest and bit down on his lip while everyone listened to what Itsuki had to say.
"If I were to guess, the last thought that came to him when he went to sleep was: I hope I won't be ambushed and killed tonight, and the first one that he had when waking up was: I hope that I will survive today." He let go of Rishia's hands before continuing.
"We may be working together now, in no small part thanks to his actions, but this doesn't mean that he trusts us. He has no good reason to. Let's be honest, we were real jerks to him in the beginning, and some of us had our heads stuck so far up that we couldn't see right in front of us." Motoyasu glanced sideways at that remark. Ren looked ashamed. Itsuki was also ashamed about how he'd written Naofumi off that first day.
"So no. I won't get angry when he lashes out or suspects us of foul play. It's justified. As for your question, Naofumi;" Itsuki finally turned towards the Shield Hero, who was currently busy studying a particularly interesting spot on the floor. "When my friends and I first saw the ship, we were in one of the nearby villages, helping them to evacuate and hunker down while clearing the area out. At that point it was out of range of my skills and trying to hit it from the ground would be very difficult. As you have already seen, my strongest skills are powerful but take quite a while to execute, and they can cause quite a large amount of collateral damage if I miss, which happens on occasion."
Naofumi honestly felt bad now. "I rushed to the nearest point of elevation, which happened to be the canyon wall, to both get in position and have a clear shot that I was sure I wouldn't miss. Unfortunately, the area was swarming with monsters, so getting up there took longer than I expected. As for the Soul eater just now." Itsuki glanced at the mangled corpse. "I admit, after everything that's happened, I might have caught a bit of your paranoia, Naofumi." The bow hero chuckled. "When the first Soul Eater died, I thought that there was no way it should have been that easy, and after seeing the last three monsters repeatedly revive, I suspected that the same thing would happen to the Soul Eater. Turns out that wasn't quite the case, but it worked out in the end, didn't it?"
...
Naofumi nodded stiffly while Raphtalia gently rubbed his back and Filo looked around her in confusion, wondering why her dad looked so sad.
"Itsuki." Naofumi slowly opened his mouth and spoke out.
"Hmm? Was there something else?" The bow hero looked at the Shield Hero again and raised his eyebrow.
"Thank you."
...
Itsuki nodded after a moment and answered. "Right back at you."
"Okay, guys I know we are all bonding here over our shared misery and all that." Motoyasu suddenly spoke out. "But what the hell was that!?" He pointed a finger at Itsuki, sounding indignant. "You just… one-shotted that thing…!" He said in shock. "And Ren… you just… and Naofumi blocked its attack... just, how?!"
"Maybe if you'd share your strengthening methods, you'd be able to do the same thing," Itsuki said, rolling his eyes. Motoyasu was still Motoyasu, as per freaking usual.
"It's because you're cheating, isn't it?!" Motoyasu said enviously.
"Wow, someone sounds like a sore loser," Ren muttered.
…
"Yeahhhh!" While Motoyasu sputtered, their parties started cheering happily, finally celebrating their victory. "Y-Y-You did great, S-Sir Itsuki," Rishia said, looking down at the ground shyly. She still felt embarrassed about her outburst from earlier. "I-I'm s-s-s-"
"No. We all did great. I wouldn't have been able to board the ship in the first place without your support. Thank you, Rishia." He gave the girl a warm smile and a thumbs up.
Rishia blushed brightly at that. "Fuehhh?" She looked off to the side, embarrassed, but feeling a warm feeling in her chest that felt nice. However, doing so made her see Maya, who winked at her with a catlike grin and started indicating for her to try kissing him.
"FUEHHHHH!?"
"Awesome job, Sir Ren!" Welt praised Ren, slapping the swordsman on the back.
"You made that fight look so easy!" Bakta praised.
"Well, it was pretty easy," Ren said awkwardly. He looked at Wyndia, who stood off to the side, not saying a word. He gulped. Killing the Wave Boss singlehandedly had given him a rush of confidence. But he didn't know if he should try approaching the girl to say sorry or not just yet.
"Don't worry. We'll continue to get stronger, Sir Motoyasu." Rino said to the Spear Hero.
"Urgh…" Motoyasu's fists clenched in envy. To think that the others were already this strong! He didn't believe it was just because they'd shared their methods! He had to level up even more now! He had to train himself to better use his weapon and get stronger so he could match their strength!
"We, we really did it," Raphtalia said beside Naofumi.
"You did amazing, Lord Shield!" Dou-Lon commended his Hero.
He watched what was happening with a small smile, still feeling guilty over his earlier outburst. Sure, he hadn't had to do much that entire fight. But he was okay with that. In fact, it actually felt… good? Proper? Like this was how their battles should normally go. With everyone doing their best and working together. Trusting and relying on each other to succeed. Like how he usually fought together with Raphtalia and Filo. He couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, we did."
Now the Wave would close, and…
Wait, why hadn't the Wave closed yet? "Guys, didn't the wave close immediately after you killed that Chimera boss last time?" He asked.
The other Heroes were jogged from the highs/lows they'd been on. They looked around at the sky. The Captain and Kraken were now lifeless. The ship was sailing in a random direction without the Soul Eaters guiding it. But monsters were still pouring out of rifts around them. The Wave was still going on.
"Yeah… what's going on?" Motoyasu asked.
They looked around for a moment more. "We did defeat the Boss… right?" Ren asked.
"Indeed, you have."
The Heroes and their parties all looked up. A lone figure stood on top of the mast. How long had she been there for?!
The figure jumped down. Where she landed, a shockwave of power came out, making her raven black hair and oriental dress flutter dramatically. The Soul Eater carcasses were launched off the ship by the shockwave, falling somewhere towards the ground below. The others around the heroes backed up, covering their faces from the shockwave.
"Most impressive. I didn't even have to intervene on your behalf. You three must truly be heroes indeed." She said, looking at Naofumi, Itsuki, and Ren. Motoyasu was completely ignored by her.
"Who, who are you?" Ren asked. He hadn't seen her fight yet, but chills were already traveling up his spine. He got the feeling that this girl was far, far more dangerous than the Wave Bosses they'd just defeated.
"Oh, pardon me, whatever happened to my manners?" She said, not sounding sorry at all. "I am called Glass and that's all you need to know for now. Feel free to consider me your enemy, Heroes." She answered, raising a closed fan with a purple gemstone embedded in it to her face.
"E-Enemy?" Itsuki gasped.
"Now then, how about returning the favor? Tell me, how do I address the great Cardinal Heroes standing before me?"
...
Naofumi's face hardened. Was she the reason the Wave wasn't closing?... "I'm Naofumi." He bluntly answered.
"Naofumi-" Itsuki started to protest, but Naofumi directed a glare at him. The blonde bowman sighed. "Itsuki." He said.
"Ren." The Sword Hero concluded the introduction, holding his sword defensively in front of him.
"Naofumi, Itsuki, Ren. Well well." She spread one of her fans out in front of her. Naofumi noted how the edges looked like sharp metal. He had no doubt it was a weapon she was holding. As weird as it was to consider a fan a weapon.
"Now, shall we begin..." She lowered her fan at the Heroes. Looking at them with a look that clearly showed how confident she already was in winning. "The true battle of this wave?"
Author's Notes:
You know, the funny thing about becoming stronger, fight scenes are far shorter. I was grateful for that, actually. I didn't have to think up much for Ren's short bout. And I had to think up even less for Itsuki's one-shot kill.
Next chapter… that's going to wrack my brain more. I know people here have ideas on Glass's power level due to fanon. But if I were to realistically approximate it, Glass would be capable of taking on Replica buffed Balamus, by herself.
Let the first omake do the teaching.
Hero Clips!
Glass
"What exactly is this?" Glass asked.
"This is the Author's way of telling us how screwed we are," Itsuki answered.
The Four Heroes were sitting in a familiar classroom. Glass looked confused standing in front of a chalkboard. She was also dressed in a teacher's outfit, much to her displeasure. Why was the thing so freakin tight around her chest?!
"This might also be his way of shutting up the Glass is to OP critics with a comedic lesson that doesn't offend anyone," Naofumi said sarcastically.
"Knowing the Author, that's probably it." Ren sighed.
"Well. This is unexpected." Glass turned to the chalkboard, which she was surprised to find already had all sorts of information about her.
"Wait, what's that tidbit there about you having a crush on-" Naofumi was asking.
"THAT IS NOTHING!" Glass immediately erased that information off the chalkboard. It looked like it'd started with Kiz-, but she'd gotten rid of the rest of the word before they could read the rest. Who the hell was Kiz-? Whoever it was, Glass was very keen that such information wouldn't be shared.
"Anyway, can you get on with the lesson, teach? I have things to do and places to be." Naofumi said boredly.
"Naofumi, show some respect for our pale fair maiden!" Motoyasu yelled back at Naofumi, before looking at Glass with a dreamy look plastered on his face. Glass looked just about as disgusted as everyone else.
"Motoyasu, could you do us a favor and not be a simp, FOR FIVE MINUTES!" Ren yelled.
"Was that a meme?" Itsuki asked.
"Yes, now I will make this brief." Glass folded her fans. It was time to fulfill this omake's purpose.
"My world has been under the Waves for at least a year and a half compared to your measly three months. Not only do Waves hit my registered areas every two weeks compared to your forty-five days, but all the monsters are far stronger, giving me and my friends more EXP than your monsters currently do. This alone should give me a large advantage over you, as I have been fighting for six times longer than you have at the very least." She started.
'... A year and a half!?' The Heroes all thought in shock at the same time. And that was an approximation at the lowest possible end of the spectrum of time she could have been fighting for. It could possibly be two years, or even three! Were they going to have to fight for that long too?!
"The bonuses of extra EXP don't apply to me personally, since I don't have levels. To clarify, I am not a human, I am a Spirit Person. The people of my race have stats, but they are determined by how much energy we hold inside ourselves and not by levels. The higher our energy, the higher our stats. Since I have trained for years to be able to hold a maximum amount of spirit energy, my stats at the beginning of fights are always high. Incredibly so. This gives me another advantage over you puny weaklings."
"I thought she said she was going to keep it brief," Itsuki whispered in shock.
"Puny weaklings? Who does she think she is?" Motoyasu whispered angrily.
"Weren't you just simping for her earlier?" Naofumi whispered in disbelief.
"Will you not remind him of that so he doesn't start simping again?" Ren whispered.
"Hey, I'm right here you know-"
"PAY ATTENTION!" The Heroes snapped to attention. "Now, levels don't apply to me." That was a relief to hear. "However, thanks to a strengthening method I learned thanks to Kiz-, I mean, from a Cardinal Hero of my world, my weapons gain the EXP I'd normally get from killing a monster. Essentially, my weapons have levels." That was not a relief to hear, at all. "I did mention I have been fighting waves every two weeks for at least a year and a half, correct? Do you wonder how strong my fans have become during that time thanks to all that EXP?"
They'd honestly rather not wonder. That sounded even scarier than Balamus. "Oh, I also have a total of five strengthening methods, thanks to sharing with fellow Heroes. Though I won't bore your puny minds with the details of what they all are. And yes, in case you're wondering. When I fight, I receive the benefits of my fans, strengthening methods, and my racial heritage. And lastly, while the Wave is connected to my world, I have not only the levels I gained from here, but whatever levels I may have accumulated in your world. If that is not simple enough, during the Wave, I am set at the combined levels I accumulated in the connected worlds of the current Wave. So if my level was, theoretically, 200 there, and only 25 here, my level during a Wave that connects both our worlds would be shown as LV. 200+25 until after the Wave ends."
...
"Is there any weakness you have?!" Ren shouted incredulously.
"Hmmm… well, the longer I fight, the less energy I have. So if I were to be in a prolonged fight without a way of resupplying my energy, I would gradually get weaker." Glass answered. "As well as that, if the Wave were to close before I left, I would lose all the levels from my world and be set at only the level I am currently at in your world."
"... Oh, great, so we might have a chance-"
"Then again, that is why I normally wait till after the Wave Boss is killed to engage the Heroes." Glass continued. "If a foreign Vassal Hero is at a Wave, the Wave does not close until ten minutes after the Wave Boss is destroyed. In other words, I don't have to worry about a prolonged fight. I am free to unleash my strongest moves again and again without worrying about running too low on energy and allowing fools such as yourselves to overpower me. And really, do you think I would be stupid enough to remain with my enemies when the Wave is about to close?"
…
…
"UGH!" All four Heroes banged their heads against their desks.
"Damn you, Author," Ren muttered.
"Stop putting us in these fights against stupidly OP people. Please." Itsuki begged.
If they really didn't want to fight stupidly OP people at a disadvantage, they should have taken more time to become OP themselves.
Either that or learn how the world works.
This is just a side note for every other author on the site who has underestimated Glass's power. The previous omake wasn't an attack on any of you. Glass is naturally being condescending to these 'weaker' heroes.
Now, the information about Glass shown here is canon. I haven't had to make a single thing up here. This is all shown in not only LN 3 and 5, but 8 and 9 as well. I've given a barebones summary about her race and her back plot before the story. I've also explained a bit more about the Waves and how they work in terms of a character's power level during said wave. And yes, what Glass said affects Cardinal Heroes, Vassal Heroes, and normal people. There are some things I haven't revealed that'd be too spoilery about Glass's character or world build, but that further increase her strength. So much, that even at Cal Mira, with all those levels and strengthening methods, Naofumi was only able to end the match in a draw. If you still have questions, PM me them. Please.
Septorax, instead of reviewing as a guest, please PM me. The concepts you explain in your reviews are not how it works.
Now, will the addition of not only strengthening methods but two other Heroes helping Naofumi be enough to beat Glass next chapter?
Now now, that would be telling, ;P. You'll all just have to sit and wait to find out.
Now, if there are any hard feelings, here's another omake. Inspired by a comment from Cannonjet during proofreading.
Hero Clips!
Wielding a Hoe
"Hah!" The kung fu granny lady wielded her hoe, slamming it into another monster, and disintegrating it.
"Ow! I'm not a freaking weapon!?" The red-haired hoe cried pathetically.
"Anything can be used as a weapon, my dear, if you have the imagination for it." Granny raced ahead, wielding the complaining hoe by her ankles above her head. "HA!" She brought the hoe down on a large lizardman, disintegrating it.
"AH! You almost impaled me on its sword!"
"But I didn't. You should be thanking me for putting you to good use." Granny said with a humorous chuckle.
I mean, she wasn't wrong about that. This was probably the first time in her life she'd been put to good use.
"This isn't useful! This is ab-" Granny spun, slamming the hoe into one monster after another. "Ow! Stop- Oof! Doing- AH! This- Ow! To- Oof! ME!" She cried out in pain as she hit monster after monster. The hoe's face wasn't looking too good.
"Thanks for saving us, granny!" The knights she saved ran to the village. Not even batting an eye that she was using the First Princess as a weapon.
"See, that was being useful. You actually saved lives instead of ending them." Granny said.
"You'll pay for this! I swear you'll pay!" The hoe spat out venomously.
"Oooh! A horde of Shadow Lizardmen! This old granny might finally have a challenge!" She said, smiling evilly at the horde of approaching monsters. All of which were wielding large blades like cleavers.
The hoe's eyes widened. "No, please! I'll do anything, just please let me go-"
"Hahhhhhhh!" Granny let out a war cry as she charged the monsters.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" The hoe screamed in fear.
And that was how Granny became famous for defending her village from a Wave using nothing but a hoe for a weapon.
If only she could have killed the hoe against some rando monster's weapon... she might have been cemented in the book of legends.
Till Next Time
Allen