Chapter Thirty-Nine: Reunion From Two Worlds
What followed was a very quick trip back to camp with Motoyasu's two girls in tow. As it later turned out, Fitoria's lead was a bust, as she'd found a scent trail for Motoyasu, but it led to nowhere. So it'd been a good thing in the end that Naofumi and co had gotten sidetracked.
Elena and Rino had quite the story to tell.
Motoyasu had pulled out all the stops in trying to slow the Guardian Beast down, something that'd been very hard for him to do as the weakest hero. However, he'd known about the Tortoise's drain abilities from his game and had thus been prepared for them when it woke up. To grab and hold the Tortoise's attention on him, he used defense piercing attacks whilst adding life force to other attacks, both of which he purposefully used to target the Spirit Tortoise's eyes.
He hadn't caused much damage over the course of that long, drawn-out fight. But he definitely caught the large monster's attention over and over again, pulling back every now and then to drink soul healing waters, magic healing water, and something else that he used to replenish his life force. Until, eventually, he pushed himself too hard with an attack that made him pass out.
When that happened, Rino and Elena were forced to carry him away from the battle as Motoyasu had told them what'd happen if their MP hit 0. That knowledge of his had most likely been the main reason they'd survived.
It was a miracle they hadn't been killed by the Tortoise's familiars during that whole thing. Though the crowds of low leveled people they'd been working on saving might have had some part in why the familiars never swarmed them.
Naofumi had been told their story up to that point before they finally reached the coalition army's camp. But as everyone walked into the tent to report their findings to Queen Mirellia, Raphtalia pulled Naofumi aside into their personal tent.
She didn't have a very happy look on her face.
"Relationship counsel?" Naofumi asked with dread.
"Yes." Her voice sounded icy enough that a chill went down his spine.
It didn't take a genius for him to realize his girlfriend was pissed off at him right now.
"I already told you using Filo to kick people is bad." She continued.
"Yes." The Shield Hero agreed.
"So why did you do that then?" Raphtalia pressed on.
"Well, they were looting dead people's homes. That isn't a very nice thing to do…" The young man tried to explain, but Raphtalia put her hands on her hips and continued to glare at him, clearly not satisfied with his answer.
"And… well, I might have also done it to ease some frustration from today." Naofumi finally admitted.
"... Naofumi… you shouldn't use our daughter to do that." The half-Tanuki groaned.
"I mean, I did ask you at one point if you wanted to kick one of them." Naofumi pointed out.
"Naofumi, unlike you, I don't get any satisfaction from hurting others, even if they're bad people who have bad things coming to them." The girl grimaced.
"Yea, you're better than me in that regard." The Shield Hero sighed. "But let me ask it again, do you really think that allowing bandits to turn to grave-robbing is acceptable?"
Raphtalia frowned and Naofumi did too. "I'm sorry if I'm being stubborn." He continued. "But I couldn't let them off without at least making sure they wouldn't do it again. Disrespecting the dead and disturbing their rest is a huge taboo in my world. And honestly, if they were allowed to think that was okay, imagine what they'd do if they showed up to our town?"
"... I do understand, Naofumi." Raphtalia's frown softened. "I just wish you wouldn't have used them as an outlet for your frustration. And I really wish you wouldn't have used Filo for that either."
"Fair enough…" Naofumi harrumphed and crossed his arms.
"Besides, I wouldn't mind helping you to relieve some of that tension if you just ask." She told him firmly before a teasing look appeared over her face. "But instead of hurting others to do it, I'd rather do this." He turned to look at her in confusion, but she'd already leaned in and kissed him firmly on the lips before he could speak.
Unable to speak, all Naofumi could do was kiss her back. His arms uncrossed and his hands began moving through her hair.
When they released each other, Raphtalia was smiling, and Naofumi was a little breathless. "See, isn't this much better?" She asked.
"A-Are you sure?" Naofumi still looked a little surprised, but then he recovered and a mischievous spark began to appear in his green eyes. "I thought you'd get embarrassed if I started making out with you in front of all those strangers."
"What-... oh…" Raphtalia began to blush harshly at that. Suddenly, the atmosphere she'd developed between them was gone.
Maybe it had been a good idea that she hadn't tried that trick earlier to help him out. At that level of embarrassment, she would have given even less restraint to Filo than Naofumi had.
"Anyway, if I hadn't intimidated those bandits so thoroughly, they never would have led us to Rino and Elena." Naofumi pointed out.
"I mean, yes…" Raphtalia sighed. "I guess there wasn't an easy solution in that situation."
"No, there probably was. I just didn't take the time to think of one since they were already naturally afraid of Filo." Naofumi shrugged. "Not that I'd blame them. She really developed that nutcracker move of hers a little too well. We took some time to explain to her about restraint, right?"
"We did?" Raphtalia asked, sounding unsure.
…
…
Crap.
Maybe he hadn't been imagining it after all when he'd thought that the man's pelvis had been broken. Crap, had Filo just inadvertently ended another man's family lineage?
"Alright, maybe I did go a little too far today." He admitted nervously. "Anything I can do to make up for it?"
"Weeeelll, besides some more making out… perhaps you could teach Filo why she should hold back at times? I would do it myself, but I already have some other plans." Raphtalia suggested.
"Urk." Naofumi flinched. He had to explain this to their daughter…?
Though Filo did somehow know about "mating" already. He'd been too afraid to try and follow up on that after Cal Mira. And just thinking about it filled his mind with dread.
"Other plans?" Naofumi asked hesitantly.
Raphtalia smirked mischievously. "Don't worry, I know you'll do a good job," Raphtalia said those words a little too sweetly.
Was she getting payback from him again?!
"Does that mean that our relationship counsel is over?" Naofumi asked instead to change the topic.
"I don't know, do you want it to be over?" Raphtalia smiled as if inviting him to continue.
Naofumi did so, crashing his lips against hers once again.
Screw it. Last night wasn't enough. No amount of nights would ever be enough to keep him from wanting to do this.
"Mmmm." Raphtalia happily moaned into his lips. Their impromptu makeout session continued for a few more minutes.
However, just as things really began to heat up, things came to a crashing halt as somebody cleared their throat loudly. The two jumped away from each other, finding Mirellia standing at their tent's entrance.
"Naofumi, if you were going to be so busy, you should have told it to one of the Shadows so they would stand guard at the entrance to make sure that nobody disturbed you." Mirellia had her fan up in front of her face, hiding her smirk as well as a slight blush from what she'd witnessed.
"Ack!" Naofumi's face reddened by several volumes. "Is there something going on?!"
"Yes, you brought the Spear Hero's party members to see me, did you not?" It didn't sound like a question and more like the Queen was teasing the two.
Naofumi breathed in deeply in an effort to not pass out from embarrassment. "In fact, if you wouldn't mind coming at once. There have been several breakthroughs while you were… what's the phrase the young ones use these days? 'Getting it on'?"
"Alright, I'm coming! I'm coming!" Naofumi yelled at her.
"Oh, you're what, at least wait until I'm gone before you do that Naofumi. Goodness, you'll make an old woman blush." Mirellia turned her head and hid the smirk on her face with her fan.
Naofumi went slack-jawed. Words couldn't form in his mouth. He and Raphtalia were too red and embarrassed to reply.
"Well, when you're finished, come by the command tent. We'll be waiting for you." Mirellia smiled as she turned around and walked out.
…
...
Eventually, Raphtalia managed to give Naofumi a sideways glance. "I… I really need to go see Eclair and the others." To think she'd just been about ready to jump Naofumi a few minutes ago, and then Mirellia came in and-
Hopefully, this wouldn't become something that'd reoccur over and over again down the road.
"Yeah, uh-huh." He turned to look at her, and then he smiled. "You might want to fix your hair first."
"Speak for yourself." Raphtalia laughed, her hands already moving to fix her braids.
Naofumi felt the top of his own head and blushed in embarrassment at how much messier it had become from Raphtalia's hands moving through it. His armor was a little disheveled too.
Ugh, that back strap was starting to itch again. He really hoped Elhart had his new armor ready sooner than later.
He took some time to fix up his appearance. Thinking about it, this hadn't triggered a panic attack either…
He frowned. He didn't want to just believe that he was suddenly free of his problems. It seemed almost too good to be true.
"When it comes to being Diligent, it takes every single part of you. Both the good and the bad."
"If you somehow survive this, do not forget me. I can either save you, or I can destroy you."
Naofumi still remembered the words that his doppelganger had said. He felt like he was trying harder to do that now. Maybe that had also motivated his decision to unleash Filo. Because as bad as it'd sound, a part of him had been ok with it. Even if the other part hadn't agreed.
Urgh, was it more than just accepting himself for who he was? What the hell was he missing here?
"Sir Shield Hero. Her Majesty sent me to make sure you were coming." A Shadow appeared, kneeling in the tent's entrance.
"What, did she really think me and Raphtalia would go back to making out after she barged in on us?" Naofumi asked sarcastically.
"Oh, it was only making out?" The Shadow asked curiously. "I daresay, I almost would have thought you two were-"
"Tell her I'll be there in a moment!" Naofumi interrupted.
"As you say, Shield Hero." The Shadow nodded, disappearing within the blink of an eye.
"I swear, she better have gotten some good information from Motoyasu's girls or so help me," Naofumi muttered to himself.
Finally, he managed to leave the tent with some of his dignity intact. However, it was almost quickly lost as Raphtalia followed behind him.
Right, if she wanted to find Eclair, she was probably still with Rino and Elena… oh man, this was going to be a long evening...
Things were definitely looking busy. Other leaders were gathering at the command pavilion as well. Chen was hastily running around, making sure that the security details were appropriate for the impromptu meeting.
The Shield Hero passed by a few talking dignitaries and entered the tent. Raphtalia followed behind him. They thought they were going to find the rest of their party and meet up… only, they both came to an immediate stop.
Itsuki and his party were there, along with Mirellia and many of the other coalition leaders. Dou-Lon and Eclair were talking with Motoyasu's girls. But there were three extra people there as well. The one who Naofumi immediately noticed was talking to someone, but after being elbowed by his companion, he turned his head to face Naofumi.
There was no mistaking it. The scythe on his back was as recognizable as ever. A look of surprise crossed his face, quickly masked by a cheerful expression.
"Ah, hey Kiddo," L'Arc smiled awkwardly.
…
His face slowly lost its cheerfulness, being replaced by guilt. "It's… nice to see you again."
…
There was a moment of tense silence between the two grown men. When they'd last seen each other at Cal Mira, they were enemies, but now…
Naofumi's serious expression finally melted into a playful smirk. He walked forward and extended his hand out. "Hey, L'Arc. How's the harvest going?"
"Huh?" The red-haired man blinked in confusion until Naofumi pointed at L' arc's scythe with his chin. "Oh! Ahaha, oh I get it now."
"Well you know how it is, a hero's work is never done." The otherworlder chuckled before smiling widely. The formerly heavy atmosphere that'd entered the tent melted away for good.
"If only that weren't true." Therese sighed but smiled at the Shield Hero. "It's great to see you again, Master Craftsman. We've really missed you."
"Don't get too sappy on me now." Naofumi rolled his eyes at the nickname. He'd forgotten that Therese had taken to calling him that.
"Very well. Have you, by chance, made anything new since last-" Therese began to ask.
"Hey now, remember I'm trying to make something for you Therese!" L'Arc immediately interjected, trying to push himself in between Therese and Naofumi.
"Are you talking about the necklace that you melted or the bracelet that you crushed with your hands?" Therese asked tiredly.
"This idiot melted a necklace-" Naofumi began to say in disbelief before facepalming. "How did you even do that?"
"It was an accid-" L'Arc began to sweat.
"He thought that putting it in a blacksmith's furnace would make it malleable enough to work with," Therese answered. "And then he thought that he had to heat the furnace some more when nothing was happening. He kept doing that until he almost burned the whole pal-"
"Therese!" L'Arc interrupted with a whine.
"L'Arc, I appreciate you wanting to make me something. But you should really leave things like that in more capable hands. Like Master Craftsman here." Therese chided the redhead.
"But, Therese…" The Scythe Hero's face fell.
Wow, Naofumi had never seen someone so big turn into such a baby so quickly. It was actually kind of funny if he was being honest. He'd missed these two more than he'd care to admit.
Naofumi then looked from Therese to the third person standing angstily in the corner and…
His guard went up. Was that… Glass?
She certainly didn't look as recognizable as before. She was wearing regular adventurer's armor like her two friends. Her hair, which had been free before, was done up in twin ponytails just like Melty's. She was even missing the usual intimidating aura that had surrounded her when they saw her before.
If it wasn't for her red eyes, he wouldn't have recognized Glass at all. Actually, her get-up would have been hilarious if not for the fact that she'd been trying to kill them the last time they saw her.
"Whoa, hey kiddo, calm down," L'Arc suddenly put a hand on Naofumi's arm, pushing it down. Naofumi looked down, seeing he had equipped his Whale Core Shield subconsciously. "Glassy isn't here to fight today."
"Are you sure about that?" Naofumi asked with suspicion.
"Absolutely. Right Glassy?!" L'Arc cheerily called to his friend.
Glass looked at them. Naofumi expected a dominating glare like before, but instead… her eyes looked drained. Even upon seeing Naofumi, Glass's facial expression hardly changed.
"I hope you know I'm not lying when I say my friend is really going through a tough spot. We had a hell of a time just convincing her to come to this world with us." L'Arc whispered in Naofumi's ear.
Glass turned her head away then, her eyes blankly watching the entrance of the tent.
"Right." The Shield Hero nodded. "Okay, how about we get the obvious out of the way first: what the hell are you doing here, and more importantly, how the hell did you get here?" Naofumi nearly shouted his pressing concerns.
"Well Kiddo, I hate repeating myself, so how about I tell you as I tell everyone else here, ok?" L'Arc gestured to the rest of the room. However, even though he said it lightly, there was an odd seriousness to his features.
Right, personal feelings aside, there seemed to be an abundance of things they had to discuss over now. Between Rino and Elena's rescue and the arrival of Heroes from another world. Naofumi glanced at Glass again, but she wasn't making a move to attack anybody. In fact, now that no one was calling for her, she looked sad and alone.
It was definitely strange, and not in a good way. Even though she'd been a former enemy, he felt kind of bad seeing the fan wielder like this.
He almost wished that she'd attack him just so she'd look more cheerful.
"By the way Raphtalia, is… is Wyndia here too by any chance?" Therese suddenly asked the half-Tanuki girl. "I'd ask Eclair, but she's, well…" She glanced at the rose-haired knight, who was still discussing things with Rino and Elena.
"She's… she's in the camp," Raphtalia answered. "Some... things happened and she hasn't wanted to talk to any of us... Actually, now that you're here, maybe you could try talking to her after this?"
"I, I don't know…" Therese suddenly looked nervous. However, any further discussions amongst everyone died down as the Queen snapped her fan closed, grabbing everyone's attention.
Right, it was time to start. Naofumi sat down, as did everyone else there.
The only person who didn't sit was Fitoria, who, surprisingly, was there. However, she stood in the corner of the tent, standing away from everyone else as she observed the gathering.
...
After everyone was seated, Mirellia began to speak. "I called all of you here because of recent happenings. I believe, since they are first and foremost on the agenda, the Spear Hero's party members will be given the floor first. After that, we shall hear from the guests that the Bow Hero brought to us."
The Queen nodded to Motoyasu's party members. Rino stood up, but Elena remained seated. Both of them told the story of what'd happened to them before.
They said everything up to the point they'd told Naofumi about earlier, and then continued past that.
"We were in the middle of treating Sir Motoyasu's wounds when we were ambushed by someone," Rino explained.
"Someone?" One of the representatives asked.
"He didn't give us his name and had no obvious signs of being affiliated to anyone. He was certainly full of himself though." Rino grimaced in disgust. "I still can't believe he kicked the crap out of us."
"Yeah. That bastard was something else. None of our attacks even touched him." Elena drawled. "He also carried some weird magic book with him. It kind of reminded me of Sir Motoyasu's weapon in a way."
"Do you know why he attacked you?" Naofumi asked.
"He said that he wanted Sir Motoyasu to become his 'battery', whatever that means," Elena answered. Her gaze, which had been bored up till this point, flashed with anger. "Then, of course, he had the nerve to attack us. Saying that he only needed him, and not his useless harem."
"We tried to fight him off. But he fought with pages from his book and made fun of how weak we were. He would have killed us if Motoyasu hadn't woken up in the middle of the fight and told us to run while he engaged him." Rino added while Elena focused on collecting her thoughts together.
"Of course, She didn't want to flee, so I had to drag her off." The orange-haired woman continued, gesturing to her fellow party member. "Fortunately, we were both pretty badly hurt by that point, so she wasn't able to resist. And after a little while, we fell into some hole together and passed out. Next thing we know, we awaken in chains. Holed up in that awful place." Elena's face twisted with disgust. "At least those bandits had the decency to heal our wounds. It would have sucked to die in a hole like that."
"Did either of you see what happened to Motoyasu?" Itsuki asked next.
"I don't know. Rino, you kept looking back while I dragged you along, right?" Elena asked her fellow party member.
"I…" Rino sighed. "I can't remember. I lost a lot of blood around that point. Everything is hazy after you started dragging me away."
Naofumi sighed. Damn, so they didn't know what'd happened to Motoyasu after that.
However, they had confirmed that someone had appeared to kidnap him. And they'd even fought with him. That was something they hadn't known about. Now, all they had to do was get a sketch of his identity, and then they could send it out and-
"This book that this person had... it wouldn't, by any chance, happen to have had a round gemstone embedded into it?" Therese suddenly asked. L'Arc and Glass both tensed up in their seats.
"Yes, actually, it did," Rino said. "I can remember that. That was definitely strange. I've never seen or heard of a weapon like it before."
"Huh, maybe that's why it reminded me of Motoyasu's weapon." Elena looked thoughtful.
The azure-haired gem girl pursed her lips, exchanging meaningful looks with her two compatriots.
"You know, now that I think about it," Elena muttered. "I did hear a loud pop like what normally happens when Sir Motoyasu uses his portal skill. But if he'd used it, we would have gone with him too…"
Therese and L'Arc definitely looked troubled.
"Do you happen to know something about our kidnapper?" Mirellia asked, noticing the looks on their faces.
Naofumi was looking at the otherworlders now. Did they… know something about this hero kidnapper?
Itsuki suddenly sat up straight. "A book… is that what the Shadow from before was trying to tell us about in their message?"
Naofumi's eyes widened. He hadn't even thought about that being a connection!
"What message?" L'Arc asked in confusion.
Itsuki gave a brief explanation of the Sword Hero's kidnapping. How a Shadow had been killed but had left a final message on the ground written with his blood: Book. Kidnapped. And an arrow pointing towards the Tortoise.
Glass had been silent up to this point. Not contributing much of anything to what was going on just like before the meeting started. However, upon hearing about the Sword Hero, her sad expression finally disappeared.
"Hero Ren was kidnapped?" She asked with visible concern.
Itsuki nodded. "Yeah, sorry for not mentioning it earlier. There's been a lot going on lately."
Therese gasped, putting her hands over her mouth.
Suddenly, what Raphtalia had said about Wyndia made a lot more sense.
"Alright, I guess since I was the one that brought them here…" Itsuki stood up. "Everyone, you've probably been wondering why these three individuals are important. I'd like to introduce you to our allies and Heroes from another world. L'Arc the Scythe Hero, Therese, his companion... and Glass, the Fan Hero."
Muttering and murmuring broke out at the Bow Hero's words. Some of the people that were present looked astounded. Others instantly believed him. Others looked doubtful.
"L'Arc, if you would." Itsuki gestured to the Scythe Hero.
L'Arc stood up, holding his scythe out in front of him. Its current form was black, and then he changed to another form that was white with a red blade, and then another form that was blue and slightly larger than the other ones.
Some of the mutterings stopped, but there was still some doubt. L'Arc, however, looked prepared as he held his other hand out. "Float Scythe."
There was a flash, and then a second scythe appeared in his other hand. It looked like an exact copy of the scythe he was holding. Those that had been muttering stared in astoundment.
"Hmmm…" Granny approached from where she'd been standing guard at the back of the tent. L'Arc looked confused at the old lady examining the new weapon over. She then gave a nod to Mirellia. "Yep, it's definitely not made from life force. That's the real deal."
"What? What is she doing?" The redhead blanched.
"Don't worry. She just verified that you're a hero." Itsuki told him.
Granny looked up at his face and gave him a wide grin. "Darn, you look tough too. Too bad we couldn't have met on the field of battle, eh?"
"Uhhhh… sure." L'Arc's float weapon disappeared, and Granny confidently strolled back to her spot to stand guard.
L'Arc didn't know why, but he got bad vibes looking at that old lady. She was definitely more than meets the eye.
"Sir Itsuki, could you perhaps do us a favor and explain how and where you met these... Heroes?" Werner asked curiously.
Itsuki nodded and proceeded to explain.
They'd first met L'Arc and his friends while leveling at Cal Mira. They hadn't known who they were at first, and had gotten along fairly well… he left out how he and Naofumi got annoyed by the nicknames. And how L'Arc had gotten Ren drunk. And how the redhead had almost convinced them to peep on their girls.
He couldn't admit that. Rishia was there in the tent along with the rest of his party.
He also left out how they'd met Glass in a previous wave. Or how Glass had almost killed them in that wave. And how Glass had appeared to try and kill them at Cal Mira. And how one of her attacks had literally split the ocean, and… yeah, he left out a lot of the bad stuff.
Understandable, since they were now allies at this point, and didn't want everyone there turning on the otherworld heroes.
"And during the Wave, we learned who they really were. That they'd first come to our world to hunt us down. But…" He looked at L'Arc and saw a guilty look flash across the man's eyes again. "They decided what they were doing was a mistake and chose not to fight. We parted that wave as friends." The Bow Hero left it at that.
There was still some unease. Many of the people, even Mirellia, looked at the three with suspicion. "You wanted to kill our world's heroes?" She asked.
"Yes, that was our original intention…" L'Arc stated nervously.
"And why was that?" The Queen pressed on. "And do be careful how you answer…"
"... Because our world is being consumed by the waves of destruction too," L'Arc admitted. "Our heroes are unable or unwilling to fight them. We thought we had a potential solution from a Legend that involved sacrificing other worlds in our place, which required that world's heroes to be slain. And we were desperate to do anything that'd give our world a chance, but… we couldn't bring ourselves to fight them after we got to know them."
...
Naofumi harrumphed. "You damn softie. To think that it was because of you that we've started trying to find a way to save both our worlds."
"I'm not a-" L'Arc began to retaliate when Naofumi's next sentence registered in his mind. "You… you've been looking for a way to save our world too?" He asked, sounding shocked. Therese and Glass were also staring at Naofumi in surprise too.
"That's why you wanted those texts, Sir Naofumi?" Mirellia asked curiously. Didn't she know that was the reason why or was this her keeping a bluff up for L'Arc and the other leaders there?
"Of course. You said that you only wanted to protect the people you cared about, didn't you?" Naofumi asked. "How could I not relate to that kind of sentiment?"
"Ah, Naofumi…" L'Arc actually looked like he was going to tear up. Therese and Glass also looked at the Shield Hero in amazement. Crap, he'd probably gone higher on Therese's ladder of worship.
"We talked about it after you guys left Cal Mira. But that doesn't matter right now, we have more pressing concerns at the moment." Naofumi waved it off.
However, there was awe coming off the Scythe Hero and even more respect in the gem woman's gaze. Glass looked impassive, but there was a look of sincerity in her eyes that hadn't been there a moment ago.
Seriously, go be sappy somewhere else! There were more important things going on right now!
He was also still mad about earlier, so he wasn't in the mood for this kind of crap right now.
"Well, this is certainly interesting." Mirellia smiled. Of course, she'd already known about some of this. But the others here did not. Now that they'd heard it for themselves, and with Werner staring in awe at the great Shield Hero, there wouldn't be many problems addressing L'Arc and his compatriots as allies.
In fact, this could lead to some very interesting things down the road.
"Pardon me, err hero L' Arc, was it?" One of the representatives, the general in dragonsteel armor, spoke out. "Did I hear it right? You came from another world and it's also besieged by the waves of destruction?"
"Yes. They have been going on for a couple of years now." The young man nodded. "We're still managing to keep them at bay, but they continue to grow stronger and more frequent."
This raised another wave of murmurs in the crowd. More questions began to get directed at the trio when suddenly, the queen slammed her fan down on the table.
"I understand that these are indeed some groundbreaking revelations ladies and gentlemen. However, we must not get sidetracked from the primary issue at hand. Two of our world's heroes have been kidnapped. And if I saw correctly earlier, these heroes might have some idea about who our hero kidnapper is. Right now, that takes priority over everything else. I am sure that Sir L' Arc and his companions will be willing to answer all of our questions at a later date. But for now, let us return to the topic at hand." Mirelia raised her fan back up before addressing the trio.
"Now, let me ask this again, Heroes of another world, do you happen to know who this mysterious book-wielding person is?"
"Yes, your Majesty. We do." Glass nodded. "In fact, we saw him just a few days ago." She gave a stern look to L'Arc. The spirit woman didn't look that depressed anymore. Hearing that her greatest rival in this world had been taken seemed to have reignited the fire in her eyes.
"Right, whatever his accomplishments in the past might have been, he's definitely crossed over the line again with this. Damn, this is even worse than we thought." L'Arc sighed and shook his head before speaking again.
"Your Hero kidnapper is the Book Hero of our world, Kyo Ethnina."
…
"Another Hero." Mirellia's eyebrow quirked in curiosity. Some of the leaders, who'd been silent at Rino and Elena's tale, began muttering amongst themselves.
"Is he an ally of yours?" The armored general asked.
"No. At least not anymore." The scythe wielder shook his head solemnly.
As the protests and questions from the crowd began to escalate, he continued. "Please allow me to explain. Back home in our world, even before the waves of destruction had begun, our Holy Hunting Hero rallied me, Glass, and many others to fight a threat known as the Demon Dragon."
As the angry voices quieted down he began to recite an important part of the history of their world.
As L'Arc gave them background context, he was fondly reminded of memories from the past.
"Did the summoning work?"
"It appears so."
"Thank goodness."
A short girl slowly stood up off the ground. In her hands was a long knife with a gemstone in its hilt. She looked around herself curiously. There were several robed men around her, and two figures standing before her. One dressed in royal robes and the other dressed in a kimono.
"Welcome, great Hunting Hero, I am-" The royal figure began to speak.
"Excuse me, is this Second Life Project: Dimension Wave?" She interrupted the King.
"Um... no? This isn't whatever that place is. This is Sickle." The man took a deep breath to calm himself. "We are in need of your help to defeat the Demon Dragon, great-"
"Hmmm?" She tilted her head to the side curiously. It looked like she hadn't paid much attention to what he'd said. "Weird, isn't there supposed to be an interesting cut scene at the start? Is this a bug or something?"
She then looked down at the weapon in her hands. "Odd, I don't remember my sister telling me this was in the introduction." She tried to drop the weapon, but it stayed stuck to her hand. "Wow. This is so weird. Is this stuck to me or something?"
"... Huh?" The king looked very confused. Weren't summoned heroes supposed to be more knowledgeable than this?
"Hey, are there any neat places to fish here?" The girl asked curiously. "This is getting boring, and I've been super interested in testing out that game mechanic ever since I heard about this game!"
"..." L'Arc began to chuckle while the King remained stupefied. "What's your name, miss fishing fanatic?"
"Hey, there's nothing cooler than fishing!" The girl pouted, but then smiled widely. "The name's Kizuna. Yours?"
Oh yeah. L'Arc could already tell that this was going to be something. "The name's L'Arc. Allow me to show you to the closest fishing spot, Lady Kizuna."
"Not sure how I feel about that title, but sweet! I can't wait to try it out!" That first day, the Holy Hunting Hero shattered any perception L'Arc might have had about what a hero was supposed to be like.
And honestly, it was for the better.
"By the way, where's the logout button? I forgot I needed to go to the bathroom before I logged in. And I'd rather not have all that floating in the vat with me." Kizuna suddenly asked.
Even if she did talk very strangely from time to time.
"So… this isn't really a game, is it?"
It'd been a couple of months since that first meeting. L'Arc and Kizuna had fallen a bit behind the group when the smaller girl spoke up.
"I believe I've been trying to tell you that from the start." L'Arc then chuckled. "But you were too busy fishing to listen, weren't ya Kizuna-lass."
"I-I just thought it was so real! It was the best game I'd ever played!" Kizuna then looked a little sad. "Still, I… I was hoping that… … ..."
"That this was just a game?" L'Arc supplied when she trailed off.
"No offense. You're all really great…" Kizuna looked down again. "But are you sure I'm the one that's meant to save this world? I'm just a little girl."
"Hehe, what happened to all that confidence? Don't tell me you already forgot the fish you reeled in yesterday. How big was that thing again? Ten feet, twenty feet?" L'Arc put an arm over her shoulder and began to noogie her.
"Ack! Don't do that to me!" Kizuna escaped his grip and stuck her tongue out at him. "And it was forty feet, thank you very much!" She grinned widely.
"L'Arc, what are you doing?" The two looked ahead to see Glass glaring back at them.
"Oh, it's nothing Glass! Me and L'Arc were just reminiscing over good times!" Kizuna replied happily.
...
Glass's glare turned into a disappointed frown. "Oh, well… do not lag too far behind. We want to reach the next town before nightfall. This area is particularly dangerous at night thanks to the Soul Eaters." She turned around and hurried to catch up to the rest of the group.
Kizuna chuckled, then smiled up at L'Arc again. "So you really think I can save the world, huh?"
"Of course." L'Arc gave her a grin. "You might be the shortest hero I've ever met, but you're really something to watch in battle. That evil dragon won't stand a chance against you!"
"Hey, I hit 5" yesterday! Just watch, I'll become even taller than you! And I'll have a bigger chest than Glass too!" Kizuna pouted as she crossed her arms over her lacking assets.
Seriously, she was what, 15 at this point? She'd hit her growth spurt eventually!
"Ha, that'll be the day!" L'Arc laughed. "Come on, let's catch up before Glass gets furious. I think this village has a great spot for you to fish!"
"Alright! More fishing!" Kizuna pumped her fist up in excitement. "And... thanks L'Arc." Kizuna smiled happily. "I'm glad to have great friends helping me out."
"Always glad to be of service to you Lady Kizuna!" He mock saluted her.
"Pbth, aren't you shirking your responsibilities to your father right now Mister Pr-"
"Coming Glass!" L'Arc pretended that their friend had called for them and raced off.
"Hey, no fair!" Kizuna laughed as she followed after the individual who had effectively become the greatest older brother figure in the history of older brother figures.
L'Arc smiled a little. Those really had been good times…
Before…
…
...
Well, that didn't matter now. They had the here and now to deal with.
As L'Arc continued his story, leaving his memories out of it, he explained how their world had been threatened by a powerful dragon that wanted to wipe out humanity and give monsters rule. He'd been a large enough threat that a Holy Hero was summoned to stop him. Said Holy Hero ended up recruiting L'Arc, Glass, Kyo, and many others to help defeat this powerful monster. Something that they eventually managed to do.
"But after that, our Cardinal Hero vanished, and then the Waves began to occur." L'Arc grimaced. "The other three Cardinal Heroes were summoned, and we tried to keep the coalition that we'd made earlier together to help protect our world, but with the other three Heroes refusing to fight the Waves, there was no feeling of unity left anymore. Soon, several of our allies went to war over the former lands of the Demon Dragon, and several others left to pursue their own interests and agendas. One of those people was Kyo, the vassal hero of the book."
"Vassal?" Somebody asked.
"I believe that is the name they apply to our Seven-Star Heroes." Mirellia supplied. That term had come up a couple of times before this. It was interesting how those of another world called their seven-star heroes by a different name.
"Interesting…" Werner put a hand to his chin in thought. The bird demi-human certainly hadn't expected that he would be learning the history of another world today.
"How do we know that these three didn't bring this Book Hero along with them to get us to drop our guard with the Shield and Bow Heroes?" Another leader asked, still sounding skeptical.
"Yes, thank you for voicing that," Mirellia nodded to the leader, and leveled a glare at L'Arc. "The Bow Hero has already vouched that you came here as allies. But do forgive us for being… cautious, about the safety of our Cardinal Heroes, especially after we've lost track of two of them."
"It's understandable, your Majesty," L'Arc answered in a surprisingly regal tone, and even gave the Queen of Melromarc a curt bow. "I can assure you, however, that Kyo didn't come with us. Actually, we weren't even aware that he was here until a few days ago." L'Arc said.
"Hmmm…" It looked like Mirellia wanted to ask the more obvious question. But she held herself back. "Do you mind me asking what you are doing in our world then if this Kyo is not with you?" She asked instead.
"Well, you see…" L'Arc then explained that because they were already pretty high level in their world that it was very hard to get more powerful there. They wanted to at least give some hope to those who they were still trying to protect from the waves, so they resolved to continue grinding for levels and searching for new weapon forms on other worlds besides their own.
It was way easier to gain new levels on other worlds since they started at level one on them. And the variety of new weapon forms they came across helped with raising their overall stats. Even if those levels didn't carry over when they went back to their world, they'd at least have the levels of both worlds stacked together whenever they fought a wave connecting to the world they'd leveled on.
Naofumi didn't voice it, but he guessed they'd brought Glass along too so the spirit woman wouldn't be left by herself. She probably needed the levels too, if their last battle had been any indication of the gap in their strength. "And the world you decided to level in first ended up being this one?" Naofumi asked.
"Right. I'd say we got here, um… about a week before the Spirit Tortoise woke up." He looked to Therese for confirmation.
"That sounds about right." She nodded her head. "We weren't sure where we'd end up. But it ended up being in your world."
"Do you not have Waves you need to fight in your world though?" Mirellia asked curiously.
"Well, pretty cool thing there. Even in another world, we can be called back at any time our weapons consider it an emergency. We still have some friends back home filling in for us. But if a wave that's too powerful for our remaining allies happens, we'll be called back to assist them no matter where we're at." L'Arc informed her.
"Interesting… I wasn't aware the weapons had such a property to them." Mirellia definitely looked like her curiosity had been piqued.
"Eh-hem, your Majesty." Werner coughed into his hand. "Shouldn't we be asking them about their meeting with this Kyo fellow?"
"Werner, we are learning things here that we never knew about the legendary weapons before," Mirellia said in an odd tone of voice to the Shusaku birdman. "I feel this is something we could benefit from."
Naofumi looked at the Queen weirdly. So did Itsuki. They recalled all the times they'd spoken to her in the past. How the Queen had sometimes asked them questions about their weapons when it hadn't seemed very relevant to what was being discussed.
Was it possible that she just really liked learning about the legendary weapons?
"So L'Arc, did you come here just to loot the Spirit Tortoise, or was there something important you needed to tell us?" Naofumi suddenly butted in.
Defying all forms of proper etiquette, the queen pouted at the Shield Hero for changing the subject.
Ok, this was going too far! She could talk to the redheaded kindergartner later if she still wanted more info on heroes or whatever! There were far more important things right now! Wasn't she the one who said that we should discuss the important things just a few minutes ago?!
At least he now knew where Melty got her pout from. Like daughter, like mother.
"Aww come on kiddo, you're breaking my heart." L'arc let out a weak laugh. "We're not some group of traveling marauders... although those guardian beasts do drop some really useful stuff..." The redhead's expression turned thoughtful for a second.
At getting elbowed by Therese however, he coughed into his hand to clear his throat before continuing. "Therese, please, I'm just joking. We were actually on our way to help you hunt the tortoise and maybe smooth some things over and earn some of the beast's scraps in the process, but you guys took care of it before we made it here. And well, once we heard that you killed it, we felt that it'd be too awkward to go up to you and ask for guardian beast parts handouts after what happened last time. So we went back to grinding and-" L'arc rambled on and on.
"Oh for crying out loud L' arc, just get to the point!" Glass suddenly shouted and threw her hands up in exasperation.
"Eheh, right, sorry. Anyways, we found him several days ago." The redhead rubbed the back of his head awkwardly before resuming his tale.
"Come on Glassy, you don't need to look so down," L'Arc said upbeatedly to the spirit woman.
"You did really well against that last monster," Therese spoke next in an encouraging tone. "You're definitely getting stronger!"
"Right…" Glass didn't look at either of them. Now that they were no longer grinding for the day, she was as depressed as she'd been before they woke up that morning.
Ever since that day at sea, she hadn't so much as smiled. It was hard to do that when everything felt like a waste of time. That they were only trying to push back the inevitable time when their world would be destroyed. This wouldn't save their world.
"Glassy… come on, we can still find a way." L'Arc tried to say in an upbeat tone.
"Save it… I'm not in the mood right now." The spirit woman crossed her arms, looking away from the idiot redhead.
The Scythe Hero sighed. They remained silent as they continued through the town.
On their way through, they overheard the news of the Spirit Tortoise's demise at the hands of the Cardinal Heroes once again. They'd heard about it the day before too. It was the talk of the land.
"It sounds like Kiddo and the others have really gotten stronger since last time." L'Arc's smile looked painful.
"Yes, now we truly have no chance if we ever have to face them in battle again." Glass dryly mused.
"Glassy, we agreed not to fight them-" L'Arc began.
"I know. And I will not." Glass interrupted him. "I am just pointing out that there is no going back now. This is it." No falling back on the old plan. No changing their minds and trying to kill the Cardinal Heroes of this world.
"Oh… well, isn't that what we wanted?" The young man asked.
Glass said nothing, only turning away from the two again.
L'Arc and Therese began whispering to each other, but Glass tuned them out. It didn't really matter anyway. She understood that they were worried about her. But there wasn't anything left that anyone could do now.
Their world was doomed. And as bad as that realization was, it didn't hurt nearly as much as the fact that she wasn't going to see her ever again. They were just going to extend everyone's collective suffering this way. With the other Cardinal Heroes being too weak and useless to fight, and her being… being…
Alone…
...
They were in the middle of walking when L'Arc and Glass suddenly doubled over from an abrupt surge of agony coming from their weapons.
"What the-" L'Arc tightly closed his mouth, holding back a scream.
"What… is this…" Glass strained. It sounded like there was something screaming in her ears. But there was nobody around them.
"L'Arc, Glass, what's going on?!" Therese shouted in worry.
"I… I…" L'Arc's eyes widened and he straightened up. "Kyo's up ahead."
"Kyo? What do you mean-" Therese was ignored as Glass and L'Arc ran ahead. She was forced to run after them.
Up ahead, another figure appeared on the empty deserted street. It was a young man with a wild mane of platinum blonde hair and a very unusual outfit that seemed to consist of countless belts and pouches. He was nervously pacing in place while alternating between gnawing at his fingernails and cleaning his spectacles with a patch of his overcoat.
"No, no. I just need more time. It'll soon revive, and-" He murmured quietly to himself in a half-whisper before pausing. "Yes, I know I said it'd be best to get all four but it's okay, I recalculated the output levels, it'll still be satisfactory for its intended purpose with just two... Just trust me on this okay? If, no, when, when everything works out and I'm done, I'll be able to bring its power back with me, and then it'll be a breeze to take care of all the other loose ends. See? I'm not slacking off. I'm-"
"Kyo, what are you doing in this world?!" L'Arc suddenly shouted as he approached.
"Huh?" The Book Hero suddenly stood up straight. "What!? You!? What are you idiots doing here!?" Kyo looked at them with contempt after hastily putting his glasses back on.
"Idio-" L'Arc slowed to a stop in surprise. What was Kyo saying? He knew the guy had left their coalition, but he could have sworn it was on good terms! "We're here grinding levels, what are you doing here?" L'Arc asked.
"Hmph, wouldn't you want to know?" Kyo smirked.
Glass opened her mouth to say something, and then, a bright light flashed off the Vassal Book resting on Kyo's arm. Before anything else could be said, her and L'Arc's HUD's were overloaded with information.
"What… what's this?" The spirit woman muttered in confusion as walls of text flashed before her eyes.
Glass and L'Arc looked over what was being displayed to them.
There was a lot of info. But the gist of it was this:
Kyo had taken over this world's Spirit Tortoise. He was trying to replace the leg they'd lost in their world with the power of this world's guardian beast. To do so was not okay, and would only bring destruction to their world.
"Kyo!" L'Arc finally pulled his scythe out and pointed it at his former ally. "What have you done?!"
"Tch!" Kyo glanced down at his weapon in annoyance. "Tattletale."
"You're supposed to be a hero! Why the hell are you doing this?!"
"Bah, what does it matter? It's not like this world is going to survive anyway." Kyo waved his hand dismissively. "Why not put all those souls to better use and maybe buy our world some time while our Heroes cower in their cradles waiting for some bug fix to a game that isn't a game?" He snidely asked.
"This is wrong and you know it! Stealing the power of another world's guardian beast won't save our own! It'll destroy it!" Glass exclaimed.
"Oh? Are you going to tell me what's right and wrong now? That's funny coming from the people who've already doomed other worlds by killing their heroes!" Kyo countered.
"I… I didn't always manage to kill all of them!" Glass protested.
"But you tried to, didn't you? All three of you, actually." Kyo's smirk widened. The fans in Glass's hands as well as L'Arc's scythe began to tremble. "I'm not the only one here with blood on my hands. So spare me the sentiment and get off that soapbox of yours, you self-righteous hypocrites!"
…
Glass trembled as the weight of his words fell on her, but L'Arc put a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, we've tried to kill other Heroes." He admitted. "And we're going to live the rest of our lives regretting what we've done."
"I have no idea how many people we planned on sentencing to genocide with the loss of their heroes. But as long as I live, I'll refuse to allow anyone to make that mistake again!" L'Arc's scythe stopped trembling in his hands as he glared at Kyo. "Stop this nonsense and return to our world at once, Kyo!"
"Look at you, owning up to your mistakes. How charming." The Book Hero sneered with disgust. "Too bad it won't make any difference. Your group was never known for its smarts. Otherwise, you'd never have been stupid enough to attack other worlds. I wonder how long it'll be before they come seeking revenge, hmmm?"
Glass looked like she'd been sucker-punched. Before they could say anything else though, Kyo's weapon beeped. "Ah, it looks like we're finally moving to the last act. Great timing too. I'd like to stay and chat, but there's a giant turtle waiting for me, so..." Kyo laughed as he was encased in bright light. "Get lost."
"Wait-" L'Arc reached forward, but Kyo was already gone.
...
"L'Arc, Therese, what's going on?" The gem girl asked. Unlike them, she wasn't a vassal hero. She could only somewhat understand from listening to the gemstone of Kyo's book and trying to connect the dots of their conversation.
"Urgh, it looks like Kiddo and the others are in trouble." L'Arc looked at the two of them. "I know we came here to grind levels. But…"
"I agree," Glass stated. "This is much more serious."
"Oh, thanks Glassy. Glad that we're on the same page again." L'Arc smiled in relief.
"However, don't think this makes things any better between us." Glass continued coldly. "I merely wish to return the favor to hero Ren, nothing more."
The three left town right after that. They had to get directions, but eventually, the three managed to find their way to where the coalition camp was based outside of Melromarc, between Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden was at.
They'd been near the outskirts of camp when Itsuki spotted them and rushed to meet them. Leading back to the present.
There was silence after the trio was done speaking.
Obviously, they hadn't heard what Kyo had been saying before they confronted him. But besides that, they were able to explain what happened.
The leaders of the various nations looked everywhere from dumbfounded to completely and totally shocked. The conversations to establish trust earlier hadn't prepared them for this.
The Spirit Tortoise… taken over? How? Just…
HOW?!
Even Naofumi was wide-eyed with shock. He'd had the feeling that this Kyo fellow was the one that woke up the Guardian Beast. But to think he'd actually TAKEN CONTROL OF IT?!
"Y-You must be wrong! That's impossible!" Werner, the voice of reason, spoke up first.
L'Arc shook his head. "Believe me, we didn't think such a thing was possible either. But that's what the Vassal Book told us."
"Told you? And we're supposed to believe that the weapons of your world are capable of speech? Tell me, can your scythe or your fans talk to us now so your claim has even a sense of credibility to it?" Another leader asked.
The Scythe Hero grimaced.
"Your Majesty, this can't be possible? There's no way one of the guardians of our world could be taken over!" The armored general yelled at Mirellia. "That is unheard of! We saw firsthand how powerful it was! There's just no way!"
Mirellia was still silent, observing the Scythe Hero and the Fan Hero with a frown. "We don't know everything about what the legendary and the seven-star weapons are capable of…"
"Don't tell me… you actually believe them?!" Werner looked stunned.
"If there's anything I can say, it's that the Vassal Weapons wouldn't allow themselves to be used in such a way," L'Arc said. "So I don't think Kyo used his Book to take the Tortoise over. Otherwise, it wouldn't have told us that he'd done it."
"Then how did this 'Kyo' take over our Guardian Beast?!" Werner asked.
L'Arc shrugged. "I don't know. We didn't think it was possible before either. And if it hadn't been for Kyo's reaction, I'm not sure if we'd have believed it."
Werner still didn't look very happy. None of the other leaders there looked really happy either. "If it means anything." Naofumi finally spoke up. "I know this red-haired idiot well enough to know he wouldn't be smart enough to cook up, let alone, pull off such an elaborate lie to deceive us."
"Hey-!" L'Arc began to complain.
"Besides that, he and his friends are too 'honorable' to try something this dirty-handed." Naofumi then continued. "If they actually wanted to do me and Itsuki in, it would be out there, on the field of battle. Not in some tent convincing us to believe a lie so we'd walk into a trap."
"Oh, really?" Granny cracked her knuckles from her guard post. "I'd be down for that!"
The other leaders looked at Naofumi. Itsuki gave a nod at his words. "I don't think any of what Glass and L'Arc told us thus far has been a lie. It's hard to believe that somebody took a monster like that over… but I don't have any reason to doubt them."
L'Arc looked at the two heroes with stunned expressions.
"I think we should start with this. Do you think Kyo would actually be capable of waking up a Guardian Beast?" Mirellia asked.
"Definitely," L'Arc answered. "Before he left our alliance, he'd fought several of the Guardian Beasts in our world. He had a… unnatural obsession with them, come to think of it."
So L'Arc and the others hadn't only been fighting the waves longer than Naofumi had. They'd also fought and defeated their world's guardian beasts too.
"Dang it, I was really hoping to fight them too…" Granny sighed in disappointment.
L'Arc once again shuddered. That old lady was definitely scaring him. He got the feeling that one wrong move and he'd be subject to the worst training of his life.
"Hmmm…" Therese was looking at Granny curiously. No, Therese, don't you DARE think about it! L'Arc was not for that train of thought whatsoever!
Thankfully, the Scythe Hero was brought back to the discussion at hand. "That… that could explain why none of the shrines that housed the Spirit Tortoise's seal were destroyed." Werner pointed out to Mirellia. It looked like he was regretting his earlier outburst. "Perhaps, if this Book Hero knew of a different, unnatural way to wake it from their world, he might have also had a way to take control of it."
"It would explain why it was so weak too." Fitoria, who'd remained silent until now, suddenly spoke out.
"W-weak!?" The armored general shouted.
"Relatively speaking." The filolial queen continued. "When I fought the tortoise in the past, I remember it being considerably stronger than what I saw through the Shield Hero's Filolial Queen."
The representatives looked shocked at that reveal but the shouts of protest were now being replaced with murmurs of agreement.
It was hard to question the authority of the divine bird queen on this matter. For once, there wasn't any argument or debate.
They knew it by now. The Spirit Tortoise had woken up, and it hadn't been through the natural way of destroying its shrines. Otherwise, those shrines definitely would have been destroyed. That was at least solid knowledge they had to rely on.
That made this rogue Hero all the more dangerous.
"Is there anything about the Book Hero specifically that you can tell us?" Mirellia asked.
"Well… Not really, no. Even when he was helping us before the Waves, he was always very distant from everyone." L'Arc answered honestly. "However, he was a very meticulous planner. Even backup plans always seemed to have back-ups to them. Honestly, if it wasn't for some of his foresight, we would have suffered far more casualties against the Demon Dragon than we did. He was our strategist of sorts and he hardly ever fought himself."
"Almost like a young Owlman…" Itsuki whispered it to himself. The others around him didn't understand the reference. Only Naofumi barely understood it. It felt like it was linked to another one of those western franchises that had slowly been gaining notoriety in Japan. But he hadn't really been interested in that.
"He's also an alchemist. At least, I think he is." L'Arc scratched the top of his head. "That dude's fashion sense reeks of alchemy. He has a lot of room for bottles on that weird outfit of his."
"Alchemy…?" Naofumi asked.
"You know, all the bottles, the crazy glasses, the lack of any sort of clothing style." L'Arc clarified.
Naofumi put his hand to his chin in thought.
Why would an alchemist be interested in Guardian Beasts? Besides Naofumi's own brief drabbles in it for potion making here and there, his knowledge didn't extend beyond what he'd read about alchemists from manga and watching anime. There'd actually been a really good anime in that regard. What was his favorite catchphrase from it?
"One cannot gain anything without first giving something in return."
The law of equivalent exchange. That was the basis of alchemy. At least, that was probably the basis for alchemy in this world. Glass's world? You know what, it'd probably just be easier to say that was the universal concept of alchemy. No need to make it too complicated.
Anyway, Motoyasu's girls had indicated earlier that Kyo had called Motoyasu a 'battery'. Did that mean he was trying to cook up some sort of experiment involving the Spirit Tortoise and the Heroes?...
Naofumi didn't really know if that was the case or not. But it didn't make him feel any better. "L'Arc, since you've already fought the guardian beasts, do you know why they seem to prefer targeting highly populated areas?" Naofumi asked. He was wondering if that was the Book Hero's influence, or-
"Oh, well that's obvious. It's because the purpose of the Guardian Beasts is to gather souls to erect a barrier to protect the world. Where else would it go when there are cities full of souls for it to gather?" L'Arc answered easily.
…
"What?" The redhead looked confused at everyone staring at him. "You guys knew that, right?"
"No... we... didn't." Naofumi answered, slowly sinking back into his chair.
"Really?" L'Arc looked around, but it looked like besides the Queen, everyone else there hadn't known.
"I was afraid that my scholars were right about that part of the legends being true. At least this adds more credibility to the sources they've been studying." Mirellia sighed.
"No way… Kiddo, this is like, common knowledge on other worlds we've visited." L'Arc said in disbelief.
"Apparently, this world is lacking when it comes to 'common knowledge.'" Naofumi snarked in disgust. "Itsuki, that drain ability it used."
Itsuki looked confused at first, then his eyes widened in realization. "That thing was draining the souls out of everything around it."
"Yeah." Naofumi nodded. "That makes a lot more sense now." This also meant that, if L'Arc was right, anybody who died near the Spirit Tortoise, and likely the other Guardian Beasts, would have their souls absorbed so they could be used to form this 'barrier' L'Arc mentioned.
"Huh… you seriously didn't know that?" L'Arc asked.
Naofumi shook his head. "Well, I guess I wouldn't blame you. I didn't really believe it myself till we reached the core room of the Black Tortoise in our world." L'Arc said offhandedly.
…
…
"What, was it something I said?" The man asked. Why did this keep on happening?!
"The 'core'?" Itsuki asked with dread.
"Yeah, what about the core?" L'Arc asked again.
"It has a core?" Itsuki asked again.
"Of course. Where else do you think it stores its energy?" L'Arc answered like it was obvious.
"But… I thought it'd be the heart… that's what it was in my game…" Itsuki sat back in disappointment.
To think his knowledge turned out to be absolute garbage.
"... Strictly hypothetically speaking." Naofumi began to sweat. "Do you need to destroy this core to kill the Guardian Beast?"
"It's either that or seal its heart. You guys really are missing important knowledge, huh?" L'Arc scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"But, but what if we only cut off its head…" Naofumi asked.
"Well, if you did that, then... oh… wait, what?!" L'Arc looked at them in shock. "You only cut off its head?!"
"Yeah, we thought that was what was needed. We figured there might be something deeper in the Tortoise, but we didn't think it was something like this!" Naofumi said angrily.
"Cutting off its head might stop it for a while. But if your Guardian Beast is anything like ours, it won't really stop unless you destroy its core or use whatever sealing ritual your world has to put it back to sleep!" L'Arc answered.
Naofumi, Mirellia, and the other leaders sat in their seats in dead silence, processing that information.
No wonder the hourglass hadn't disappeared from the Hero's HUDs. The beast wasn't actually dead yet. It was missing its head, so how that worked, Naofumi had absolutely no idea. But…
"At least, that's how it went with ours. Was it like that before?" L'Arc looked to Fitoria, who at least seemed to have SOME knowledge on the subject unlike everyone else there.
However, the Bird Queen shrugged. Her memory wasn't perfect. She knew she'd fought it a couple of times in the past, but she could only remember the most recent one. And she was lucky to have remembered as much as she had with how far back it had been.
"Wow, Kiddo, I don't think I've ever seen an information problem this bad before. Do you have idiots for historians or something?" The Scythe Hero asked curiously.
"I sometimes wonder that myself." Not all the past Heroes had kept what would be considered GOOD histories in their journals.
"Fortunately, what we've discussed here has helped me to verify that the sources our scholars have been studying are accurate." Mirellia sighed thankfully. "Earlier today, they believed that they uncovered the ritual that was used to originally seal the Guardian Beast. However, there's been nothing in the archives they were studying about any core."
Naofumi's head was spinning. Just how much information was going to be unloaded all at once tonight?!
"That's probably because the ritual was used on the heart." L'Arc gave a polite bow to Melromarc's ruler. "We were missing that information as well until a friend of ours found it, but with the lack of Cardinal Heroes helping out, it would have been hard for us to protect our mages long enough to allow them to seal the beasts. And well, we figured we wouldn't want the Guardian Beasts out causing carnage again anyways, and they give great weapon forms to the heroes once killed, so…"
"I only mention sealing it because those same texts also said how the Guardian Beasts were necessary for protecting the world. If what you said is correct, I can see why they'd be important." Mirellia said.
"What do you mean?" One of the leaders suddenly voiced. "What is allowing that thing to kill us and steal our souls going to accomplish?!"
"Do you think sacrificing the Heroes to fight the Waves is any different?" Naofumi dryly countered.
…
Itsuki's face darkened a little with those words. "You know, putting it that way, I can see Naofumi's point. Either we sacrifice our lives fighting the Waves for everyone, or the people of the world sacrifice their lives to stop the Waves for a time. Either way, somebody is sacrificing something to save everybody else, huh. Funny how the world's fair in that regard."
Naofumi looked at the Bow Hero. He'd been thinking that too. But he was restraining himself from saying that in front of everyone. Or at least, he wouldn't have put it so harshly. These were their allies, after all.
The leader who'd spoken out looked chastised by the Bow Hero's words. Several others who'd been pondering the guy's words in their mind also shuffled in their seats.
"In the end, I'll leave it up to the Heroes to decide what to do," Mirellia said, looking at Naofumi.
Naofumi was still sitting there, silently pondering on the new info. This gave a whole new meaning to what Fitoria had said before about saving the world or its people. They hadn't exactly known why the Tortoise needed to kill so many. But if it was for soul power to create a barrier…
He didn't even want to imagine what an alchemist would want with that. And sadly, it made all too much sense to him now. An evil alchemist sacrificing the lives of many for… something.
Judging by the look on Itsuki's face, the Bow Hero was thinking along the same line of thought as Naofumi.
"Nothing's changed." Naofumi finally said. "We'll keep on fighting to protect the ones we care about. If the sealing ritual works, then we'll be able to focus on fighting Kyo afterward without having to worry about the Tortoise waking up and going on a rampage again."
They now knew about Ren and Motoyasu's kidnapper, they also knew the Spirit Tortoise wasn't dead yet, and that they could either destroy its core or seal its heart to defeat it.
"Don't we still need to find how to get inside it though?" Itsuki asked.
Mirellia nodded. "Yes. Now that we know these details, finding the route into the Spirit Tortoise that has eluded us thus far should be made our highest priority." Mirellia directed a nod to Naofumi. "I hope you won't mind me pulling you from your search mission for this task."
"I don't mind, Your Majesty. In fact, since we rescued Motoyasu's friends, I've been wondering how no one could have seen Ren's kidnapper, or know how Motoyasu was taken. Knowing we're dealing with another Hero though, it makes a lot more sense to assume he portaled away with them." Naofumi deduced.
"As for where he took them..." Naofumi looked at L'Arc.
"His base of operations is located inside the tortoise. Where the core is. That's what the Vassal Book told us at least." L' Arc supplied.
Yep, if they'd only learned this earlier. They could have avoided a lot of pointless sidetracking. "And if Kyo is piloting it from there, that's probably where he's holding the others hostage too as his 'batteries'."
Mirellia nodded. "I can get our mages ready to learn the ritual then."
"Wait, Your Majesty!" Itsuki spoke again. "I'm sorry for being stubborn before. But, please, allow me to help Naofumi search the Spirit Tortoise again! I promise I won't get in the way."
"Yes, I was going to suggest just that, Sir Itsuki." Mirellia nodded to the Bow Hero, who looked surprised at her sudden agreement. "I also trust that you'll be willing to listen from now on in the future."
The Bow Hero gulped, then nodded his head. Mirellia looked pleased, and then looked at the Scythe Hero. "Sir L'Arc. You and your compatriots are from another world. I am certain you have those who you must protect as well. But would it be too much to ask for your assistance until this Book Hero is taken care of?"
"Believe it or not, your Sword Hero saved the life of one of my friends." L'Arc smiled widely as Glass turned her head to look away. "And if Shield Kiddo here has been searching for a way to save our world, then it looks like I owe them both a favor. I don't enjoy being indebted to anyone, let alone my friends."
"Hmmm, very well." Mirellia looked at the assembled leaders. "Let us prepare our most elite units. Tomorrow, we go to search for the entrance to the interior of the Spirit Tortoise. And then, we make our move for the core to rescue the Spear and Sword Heroes from the otherworldly Hero of the Book, Kyo!"
Mirellia's declaration was met with approval from everyone else. Fitoria nodded her head, turning around to leave the tent so she could prepare as well.
And with that, the meeting was adjourned.
Itsuki and Naofumi left with L'Arc and Glass to begin preparing for tomorrow. There were all sorts of medicines and potions Naofumi needed to compound, as well as details of the otherworlder's fight with the Black Tortoise and details about Kyo that he wanted to go over with them before they left tomorrow morning.
Granny tried to grab their attention as they left, but L'Arc ultimately chickened out and bolted with Itsuki and Naofumi in tow. Naofumi would have laughed if he hadn't understood the flight response from the Scythe Hero.
He knew firsthand how the old lady was scary. She was very useful in a fight. But it seemed it'd been a little too long since the last one.
As for Therese… she left the tent with Raphtalia and Eclair. The two were busy filling her in on Wyndia's situation.
There was one more thing they needed to address before they entered the Spirit Tortoise tomorrow.
Author's Notes:
It's been a while since I've had to include a lot of exposition. I hope it didn't drag for a lot of you. There's a lot to learn here, and sorry to them, but Elena and Rino did kind of take the backseat in this chapter with L'Arc and the others showing up now instead of much later. I tried to keep things as accurate as I could, but some of this is unknown. If I messed something up, I'm sorry.
As for the next chapter, I guess, just be prepared for anything. I'm sorry to leave you guys hanging for a week. But I think you all are used to it by now :P. Just don't be bloodthirsty like Granny was in this chapter. Man, it's really been a while since we've had a good fight scene, huh.
Till Next Time
Allen