Hey all, I hope you had a happy thanksgiving. I wasn't sure if I'd have this chapter ready this week or not, but you know, sometimes, the brain starts working, and everything comes together just fine. So I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend with your family or friends or whoever. And I hope you're ready for some action! I know I am!
Also, since I never give any explanation for the below chapter title, this is what Naofumi calls this version of the Spirit Tortoise in the Light Novels. Just as a heads up.
Chapter Forty-One: Spirit Tortoise Tyrant
Wyndia didn't have the time to comprehend that the Spirit Tortoise had revived and had its head back on its body once again. The massive black spikes that it'd launched from its shell impacted against the ground on the outskirts of the large coalition camp first.
A series of earth rendering explosions followed. So great was the force behind them that the very land began to tear apart, causing entire chunks of landscape to shoot up into the air or collapse down into seemingly bottomless fissures. Screams erupted as those who'd still been asleep were forcefully awakened by the fiery domes that consumed their tents and the violent tremors that shook the areas that weren't immediately destroyed.
"Gwah!" Blue's wing instinctively covered Wyndia, protecting the dog girl from the debris and the heat of the blasts. A concussive shockwave then washed over them, kicking up massive clouds of dust into the air.
...
Wyndia was left completely dazed and coughing. Her ears rang, blocking out all other noise.
As Blue's wing raised up, she saw a blurry figure rising out of the ground. She rubbed her eyes, trying to clear them. At last, she saw that it was actually Raphtalia slicing herself out of the now collapsed tent. Eclair and the others were following right behind her.
After a few seconds, the ringing stopped enough that Wyndia was able to hear the Tanuki girl.
"-dia, are you alright?!"
Wyndia shakily nodded. She was trembling with fear.
"What happened?!" Raphtalia yelled.
"I-I don't-"
"█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ !"
Before Wyndia could answer, a loud roar shook the earth again. Everyone's gazes were immediately drawn to a great and terrible sight.
The Spirit Tortoise in the distance was alive again. A new head had regrown from its body, but besides that, it had changed drastically.
A series of black crystalline formations had burst out from its shell, changing the landscape on top of it. The town that it'd once held on its back was no longer visible. The guardian beast's eyes were glowing red, and a foam-like substance was dripping from its open maw.
The Guardian Beast looked rabid. An aura of power was exhuming off of it. It was like a nightmare come to life.
"…" Eclair's replacement sword slipped out of her hand and fell down on the ground with a clatter. The rose-haired knight's face bore a look of shock and near panic.
"Ahhhhhh!" Screams began to erupt from the edge of camp. As the smoke cleared, the silhouettes of numerous strange-looking, tall, and vaguely humanoid creatures began to appear in the flames.
"Naofumi!" Raphtalia immediately rushed off to help where the Shield Hero was last seen.
With the dust clouds settling, the creatures that crawled out of the craters left behind by the explosions became visible at last. Standing at over three meters in height, they appeared to be a series of constructs crafted out of obsidian. They stood upright and possessed four unnaturally thin and stretched-out limbs that were shaped like crude, jagged knives and attached to their headless torsos where a normal person's arms and legs would be. The appendages themselves were connected through some rudimentary joint mechanisms that, unlike the rest of their bodies, were clearly organic in origin, judging by the pulsating motions going through them. A single red eye in the center of its design glared at those around it with malice.
The only way one could summarize their absurd shapes and existence that defied all logic was the word 'wrong'. Despite the crude shapes of their bodies they quickly began to spread out, moving at alarming speeds. They effortlessly cut down everyone who stood in their way, swarming those who could stand up to them and repeatedly shredding their bodies using their limbs before moving on in search of new victims without a second glance, like a machine designed with the sole purpose of killing everything around it.
It was a disaster. Wyndia and the others looked on in growing fear at what was going on. But then, a single voice spoke up, bringing them all back to their senses.
"Let's go! We have to assist the Heroes!" Farrie helped to pull the dog girl back up before looking back with determination at the others.
It was a shock that the tortoise was awake, but they couldn't sit still. There were now thousands of people all around in need of their help. "Yes." Tersia slapped herself, as did the other girls there.
The girls along with Blue followed the light green-haired mage as she charged into battle.
Eclair, after snapping out of her shock, picked her sword back up and chased after everyone as well.
"What the hell was that?!" Naofumi burst out of the remains of the command tent with his Meteor Shield skill up. Following him were Itsuki, Glass, and L'Arc as well as the Queen.
A blood-curdling warped clicking noise was the only warning before one of the turtle's new spike familiars charged out from the smoke. It effortlessly ran several of the country representatives through before bisecting them like they were made out of paper. It completely ignored the terrified screams around it and began charging towards Naofumi.
"Oh cr- Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi summoned the shield in front of him a split second before one of the new familiar's limbs crashed into it with enough force to make it's obsidian limb audibly crack.
Spirit Tortoise Familiar (spike-type)
"What the-?! This definitely didn't exist in my game!" Itsuki shouted as he pulled back on his weapon's bowstring. However, L'Arc had already rushed out of Naofumi's protective barrier, with intent to strikeout.
"Full Moon Army!" L'Arc's scythe grew in his hands, and he swung it around himself, building up motion before jumping up and driving its tip right into the eye of the huge golem-like monster.
"Chchchchchchmiiii…" It let out a dying sound that sounded disturbingly like a cat's mewl at the end before it fell down on the ground with a heavy, dull thud. L'Arc's scythe returned to its normal size as he turned around.
"Heh, that thing wasn't so tough." He swung his weapon around with flair. "Big and weird looking, sure, but-"
"L'arc get down!" Glass screamed in horror.
"SECOND SHIELD!" Naofumi bellowed, conjuring another glowing green construct between L' arc and the fallen form of the spike familiar that was glowing white and letting out a high-pitched whining sound akin to a steam cooker that was on the verge of bursting open from internal pressure.
After another second, the spike's body bulged out and finally exploded in a massive fireball, sending shards of its body flying in every direction.
Everyone was momentarily blinded and then screams of agony and anguish from all around him deafened Naofumi.
…
As his eyesight returned he could only gape in horror of the aftermath.
"L'arc! L'arc are you okay!?" Glass rushed out towards the redhead who sat on the ground in a daze in front of Naofumi's shield projection.
"I- what just-" The scythe hero tried to form the words before suddenly stopping as he took in the scene around him.
"Is everyone alri-… oh Gods..." Mirellia's fan slipped out from her grip.
The majority of the present alliance leaders had been huddled behind or near the shield hero and the queen when the explosion went off and was spared from the worst of it. But the same could not be said of those who stood outside of the range of Naofumi's skills.
The ground was littered with countless jagged shards of a black glass-like substance, but what they did to the ground could not be compared to the horror of what they had inflicted on the people who got struck by them. Naofumi could only helplessly stare at the carnage around him in shock. Tasting bile in his mouth as his horror grew by the second.
And it grew only larger still when he heard a familiar voice.
"I've reawakened! Please, Shield Hero, you must destroy my body!" Looking around, he couldn't see the source of the voice right away. But there was a lone hooded figure standing nearby among the blood and viscera, seemingly untouched by the explosion, like it was a ghost or some sort of apparition. Before Naofumi could take a better look, however, one of the representatives ran past his line of sight, shouting some sort of incantation for a healing spell directed at one of the victims, and after that, the figure was gone.
Naofumi stayed standing in horror. Almost not registering it when a Shadow appeared outside of his barrier.
"Your Majesty," The mystery woman addressed the Queen.
"Status." Mirellia regained her composure and addressed the situation immediately.
"The Guardian Beast has reawakened, and its minions have already wiped out the detachments that were standing watch around it." The Shadow informed. "We've also lost contact with our comrades that were exploring the caverns. I am unaware of their fates. There are countless casualties all over the camp."
"How did the Guardian Beast reach this point without anyone being informed-" Mirellia began to demand.
"It happened all at once, Your Grace. First, it sprouted a new head, then a fresh wave of minions came off it, and then what you see is the effects of the attack it launched." The Shadow finished ominously.
Several more explosions going off could now be heard around the camp as more of the spike familiars were killed, to which they responded by self-destructing, like the one that L'Arc had killed moments ago. More screams of pain and agony followed.
Naofumi continued to stare, feeling his heart beating more and more rapidly inside his chest. No. Why now? Why did this have to happen just when they were finishing discussions on who to bring with them onto the Tortoise!?
The earth shook as the Guardian Beast finally brought one of its feet forward... then the other, then the first again, over and over at a rate that was faster than before, approaching speeds that should not have been possible for a creature of this size.
"I'd advise an immediate retreat." The Shadow finished to Mirellia. "There's no way the coalition could withstand another attack like that barrage it unleashed just now."
"... understood." Naofumi nodded. "Go, we'll go buy everyone some time!" He then shouted while changing to the Shield of Hope II.
"W-We have to face that?!" Itsuki looked incredulous. This Guardian Beast definitely looked stronger than the previous version. However, he switched to another bow as Naofumi cast Zweite Aura on himself and his allies.
He couldn't believe it. Everything had finally been coming together, and now the world threw them this kind of curveball?! This absolutely sucked. Now they would have to fight this thing again and buy time for everyone to escape, and they-
Something big dashed past the camp towards the charging Guardian Beast.
"█ █ █ █ -" The giant Tortoise turned its head, and it was mid roar when said head was suddenly violently ripped off from its body. The severed body part flew towards the mountains, mouth still gaped wide open.
...
The large body of the Spirit Tortoise collapsed against the ground again, causing a minor earthquake in the process. A river of blood rushed out from the open neck wound.
Fitoria brought her massive taloned foot down, blood dripping from the tips of her claws. She stared down at the colossal carcass beside her.
She wasn't nearly as big as it. But her bird form could reach heights of three hundred feet. That put her at head level with the giant creature.
That initial attack had taken her off guard. She hadn't even realized it was an attack from the Guardian Beast until after the detonations had interrupted her and Filo's morning training.
But thankfully, she'd been able to act. This time, she'd been able to save the Heroes she cherished. Seeing the Guardian Beast temporarily down once again, she sighed with relief and faced the camp.
It was enveloped in chaos. The ones who were still able to stand were the ones fighting against the Familiars with the help of the Hero's comrades. Everyone else that was still alive was staring at the large bird queen in both awe and fear. The legendary Filolial was sure to gain quite the following that day.
Naofumi breathed a sigh of relief. Unequipping the blessed shield while L'Arc began to shout next to him. "Holy crap, I know you said that the bird lass was strong last night, but I didn't think that she'd be that powerful!"
Glass, who stood there as well, said nothing. But she looked surprised too. And who wouldn't be? The monster that the Cardinal Heroes had struggled to defeat before had just been killed again in one blow. This beast was definitely different compared to the black tortoise of their world, but at least they could now deal with the minions and gather everyone they needed before shifting to their plan to infiltrate the-
"Oh no." Itsuki's eyes widened. "Fitoria, it's getting back up!" He screamed at the distant Bird Queen.
But Fitoria was too far away. She wasn't looking behind her to notice the river of blood ebbing. To see the new head that was beginning to sprout in its place. As the turtle's new head sprouted, its body began to glow.
Naofumi paled.
Oh &^%$.
He equipped the Voice Gengar Bat Shield and activated its skill. Raising it to his lips to scream as loud as he could.
"FITORIA, BEHIND YOU!"
The words reached the Bird Queen just a second too late.
"█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ !"
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Fitoria screamed as the Spirit Tortoise's breath attack slammed into her left wing. Surprisingly, she stayed standing even as she took the heavy attack, but the beam wasn't stopping.
"No!" Naofumi started to rush forward, but they were too far away. And that breath attack looked stronger than the one he'd blocked before.
"Wind Barrier!" Somehow, Fitoria managed to cast magic and a green barrier appeared between her and the Tortoise. However, the breath attack didn't stop, and the spell began to crack. Shockwaves of power were coming off it.
"Crap, where's Filo?!" Naofumi screamed. The situation had somehow made an even worse turn than he'd thought possible. "We need to get over there now-"
"Ex-Explosion Shot!" Itsuki let out a strained shout as he released the skill with an ear-splitting crack from a white, blanched bow covered in strange symbols.
Despite being miles away, the arrow fired off like a bullet and flew far more quickly than anything Naofumi had seen from the Bow Hero before. This wouldn't have worked from anyone else, and definitely not with Itsuki's normal forms. But the Cursed Bow proved its worth, extending the skill's effective distance just enough that after it reached the zenith of its arc, it came down towards the Tortoise's face.
The beam was immediately cut off as the Tortoise closed its mouth. The skill hit its head, exploding dramatically. But besides some burns covering its skin, it didn't appear affected.
Itsuki's cursed bow disappeared, and the Bow Hero collapsed to the ground on one knee.
"Hero Itsuki?" Glass looked down in worry.
"Just… just some life force strain," Itsuki mumbled. "Nothing to worry about."
Huh, maybe it hadn't just been his Cursed Bow. Naofumi still hadn't trained with life force yet to see what benefits he'd gain from it. Still, Itsuki didn't look so good at the moment.
At least he'd gotten the Tortoise to momentarily stop its attack on Fitoria.
However, the Tortoise's head turned to face them instead. Its body began glowing again.
Did it not have to wait to recharge that attack again?
Itsuki wasn't sure if his attack had been a good idea now.
"█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ !"
A second breath attack came from the Tortoise, right after the first one. Naofumi ran forward again, but there was no saving the section of the camp directly in front of him from the massive attack.
"Air Strike Shield! Second Shield! Dritte Shield! Royal Shield! Shield Prison!" He called off every skill that he had one after the other, reequipping his Shield of Hope II in the process.
He put every shield skill that he had in front of him to block the attack and could only hopelessly look on at the hundreds of people in front of him. They desperately tried to get out of the way or to reach out to the Shield Hero in their last moments, only to disintegrate into nothing as the beam of pure white energy washed over them..
The concentrated breath attack finally slammed into Naofumi's skills, and he watched them as they shattered, one after the other.
Not even Royal Shield, strengthened by having Mirellia behind him, lasted for more than a second.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The Shield Hero screamed as the attack impacted against his shield, and-
"HUAH!" Fitoria's foot slammed into the underside of the Tortoise's shell near its head. The rest of its breath attack flew up, going over Naofumi and destroying a series of mountains behind the coalition camp.
"█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ -" The Tortoise settled against the ground and tried to face Fitoria again with a maddening roar. But then, the Filolial Queen's foot crushed its head in, cutting it off.
However, only mere seconds later, the guardian beast's head started to grow out again, and its body rocketed forward to slam into the Bird Queen, displacing an overwhelming amount of air in the process.
The blast of wind helped Fitoria dodge to the side, holding her large, burned wing close to herself. Her foot hit the turtle's shell repeatedly, but the hits against it registered a very loud CLANGING sound with each hit. It was only when she aimed for its head or its legs that the sound didn't occur, and gradually, she got the Tortoise to face away from the camp.
"Fitoria-" Itsuki began to scream again as the Tortoise suddenly stopped moving and released a barrage of spikes from its back, aiming all of them at her.
A second blast of wind, conjured by Fitoria this time, blew them away before they could reach her, however, and then Fitoria's foot connected with the turtle's head once again, severing it for a brief period of time. With the reprieve, she started using healing magic on her hurt wing until the Tortoise was up and attacking her once again.
"Urgh…" Naofumi held his arms close. There were burns covering them. Actually, there were burns covering his whole body.
"Daddy!" Filo finally appeared, shouting in worry.
It had been brief, but he could definitely tell now. That breath attack was stronger than it'd been before. Just a few seconds more, and he wouldn't have survived. He would have disintegrated just like the people who'd stood in front of him.
"F-Filo-" He tried to stand up but collapsed almost immediately.
"Whoa, I got you Shield Kiddo!" L'Arc took a healing potion out of his scythe's gemstone and helped Naofumi to drink it. After a little bit, the Shield Hero was finally able to focus enough to cast healing magic on himself. However, he was alarmed to find that his MP gauge was empty and even further alarmed when his SP gauge was also empty. When the hell did that happen?!
Pulling out the two potions necessary, he downed them both, helping to refill those gauges so he could cast healing magic on himself.
He still had red rashes covering his arms, but at least he could move and recognize what was going on around him again.
"Daddy, Fitoria is ordering us to run!" Filo shouted in worry.
"B-But she needs help!" Naofumi pointed towards the Spirit Tortoise as a new head regrew once again.
"Fitoria doesn't understand why, but the big tortoise just won't die! Fitoria wants to buy some time for Daddy to get everyone away! Fitoria's flock will help Daddy do that! But Fitoria can't keep the big turtle's attention forever!"
Naofumi felt conflicted. However, before he could make a decision, the Tortoise roared again, and gravity magic surrounded the large bird queen this time. It was only thanks to her quick speed and reflexes that she avoided the magic attack and sent a chunk of the landscape flying into the beast's face with her good wing. It roared again, and charged after her, leaving deep, tearing gashes in the ground as it did so.
Crap, it still seemed slow for its size, but that thing moving that fast looked downright unnatural. And the earth shook with each step it took. If Fitoria lost its attention for even a moment, it would spell disaster for everyone present.
"Naofumi." L'Arc stood at attention, waiting for the Shield Hero's call.
In the distance, Fitoria began to glow with power. It was the same move Filo had used in the previous fight.
Blast. They didn't have a choice. They'd barely been strong enough for it before. But they couldn't hope to infiltrate it now until everyone here was safe and they had a better plan.
"We're retreating. Your Majesty, any suggestions?" Naofumi asked.
"We cannot have everyone gathered together." The Queen quickly began to form a plan. "Bow Hero, take the eastern camp to the eastern plains. Scythe Hero and Fan Hero, take the survivors of the west through the western mountain pass. My Shadows will help guide you. Naofumi, lead the rest through the southern mountain pass towards Melromarc."
"Once we're a sufficient distance away, we will regroup near Melromarc's border to the south so we can figure out how to enter the Spirit Tortoise."
"You mean we're still-" One of the representatives began to shout.
"We'll worry about that later, right now, survive!" Naofumi yelled at the man.
The representative was shocked speechless, and the gathered Heroes nodded. "Come on Glass, let's not disappoint our new allies!" L'Arc changed to a scythe that was red like the sun and followed Mirellia's shadow. Glass followed right behind, brandishing both fans in her hands.
"Be careful, Naofumi. I'll see you soon." Itsuki nodded to the Shield Hero and ran off as well. The representatives also split up, going along with the heroes to their portions of camp to save whom they could.
"Will you be able to keep up, Mirellia?" Naofumi asked the Queen when she stayed with him. Until they found Raphtalia and the others, she and Filo would be the only ones there to help him fight off any more familiars that they came across.
"Naofumi, have you forgotten who you're talking to?" Ice covered both of Mirellia's hands, and a second later, a familiar a hundred yards away was encased in a pillar of ice. Stopping it in the middle of its rampage.
Holy crap, he hadn't even realized she'd chanted the spell! Filo quickly ran in, shattering the large monster in her bird form.
"Wait, Filo-" Naofumi was too late to call for her to stop. However, unlike the others, the shattered spike monster didn't explode.
Huh. That was unexpected.
"As I thought." The queen nodded with satisfaction. "I once read a story about an advanced species of balloon monsters in the past that could explode when threatened. Fortunately, a hero of the past drove them extinct by using his ice magic to freeze them solid to prevent them from self-destructing after they died. Now, let us fight! I will not stand idly by while my soldiers die!" Mirellia stated in a tone of defiance.
Naofumi couldn't help but briefly wonder about the convenience of these circumstances. But then again, when was he ever the one to look a gift horse in the mouth? If it worked, it worked.
"Got it, Filo, let's go!" Naofumi called out to his daughter.
"Righteo!"
It turned out that evacuating thousands upon thousands of people from a war zone was very difficult. Especially when that warzone was filled with explosive monsters that killed everything in sight.
The tortoise's initial attack had knocked down every tent, deafening and wounding many of those who didn't straight up die right away. Supplies and wagons laid scattered everywhere. And the large living missile spike familiars going through the camp didn't help matters in the slightest.
A lot of people had died in the initial blasts. Naofumi would later learn that the whole body count from this sudden attack was in the tens of thousands. Around a fifth of the entire coalition force's numbers.
However, he didn't know that now. And everywhere he went, he was reminded of the Lute Wave from long ago.
"Air Strike Shield!" The summoned shield saved a group of soldiers from a rampaging spike familiar.
"Shield Prison!" The protective shields encased a group of archers. Another spike familiar was unable to break it before Mirellia encased it in ice.
"Second Shield!" Naofumi used the skill as a lever to raise an upturned wagon off a knight's broken legs. His comrades thanked the Shield Hero, putting the man on a makeshift stretcher before running off with everyone else towards the south while Naofumi lunged forward and grabbed another spike familiar by the legs, holding it in place.
It screeched unnaturally at him, but even its sharp appendages did nothing to the Shield Hero. It was only able to twist and turn in vain, unable to escape his strong grip.
"All Ice Pillar!" Mirellia's ice magic encased all the spike monsters around her. Stopping them in their tracks.
"High Quick!" Filo then dashed by, shattering every single one with well-placed kicks within the span of a few seconds.
More clicking sounded as more spike familiars converged towards their location. Naofumi and co charged to face them, saving as many as they could in their wake.
They couldn't save everyone. With so many people there, it just wasn't possible. Even if he protected one group with his shield, that didn't prevent another familiar from slaughtering another group in the vicinity. All he could do was his best, along with everyone who was with him.
Nearby, a group of Fitoria's Filolials grabbed some running soldiers with their beaks before running off, nearly avoiding a collision with some spike familiars. They took the humans to safety, dropping them off before running back to find more.
It was chaos, but with Mirellia there to give firm orders, the soldiers gradually obeyed. The Filolials inclusion also helped with getting panicked soldieres out of the way. Those that were injured were helped as best as they could, but the dead had to be left behind.
There was no choice. Fitoria's battle with the Tortoise waged in the distance. It was only a holding maneuver though. She couldn't kill the beast. And one of her wings was already badly hurt.
"Royal Shield!"
Naofumi was grateful to have the Queen of Melromarc behind him. He had an extra skill to rely on as he ran into a spike familiar, pushing it away from a group of knights trying to free their comrades out of one of the collapsed tents.
"Naofumi!" Raphtalia suddenly appeared, cutting the monster's limbs off with two precise slashes. A line of immobilized spike familiars could be seen behind her.
"Raphtalia!?" Naofumi's eyes widened in surprise and worry as she stumbled through the barrier of the Royal Shield skill. His girlfriend had several pieces of shrapnel sticking out of her armor, and those areas were stained with her blood. She was grimacing from the pain of learning the hard way about the monsters self-destruct sequence.
Naofumi helped to quickly pull those pieces of shrapnel out and then held a hand over her as he chanted as quickly as he could. "Zweite Heal."
The wounds on the half-Tanuki's body closed over. A look of relief washed over her features as the pain dissipated. When he was sure that she was okay, he gratefully hugged her close. "Damn it, I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you."
"It's fine. I learned my lesson after the first one." Raphtalia responded while returning the hug. Glad that she'd made it back to him.
"Mommy!" Filo then ran up too, changing into her normal form to hug her mommy and daddy.
Mirellia, meanwhile, paused as she drank a Magic Healing water to look down at the helpless familiar whose limbs Raphtalia had sliced off. It was still screeching and clicking furiously, but it couldn't so much as twitch. What had seemed so dangerous before was now nothing more than an over-glorified paperweight. The Queen also noted how none of them had self-destructed, leaving her to conclude that they only self-destructed when they died, just like those balloons she'd read about.
"An ingenious maneuver." She admitted out loud. "Shadows! Inform the other two groups about this structural weakness immediately!"
At her command, two of the masked men who were escorting her rushed in the directions of Itsuki's and L'arc's groups. At the same time, a third one appeared in front of her.
"Your Majesty, we also have received reports that using earth magic to sink these new familiars into the earth after killing them has been shown to mitigate the results of their explosions. They also appear to be particularly vulnerable to debuff magic. The power of their explosions was drastically reduced when attack debuff magic was cast on them."
"Understood. Continue relaying this info around. The more it can reach, the more lives we can save." Mirellia ordered him. The Shadow nodded and disappeared, just like his associates.
"Is everyone else safe?" Naofumi asked as the small family separated.
"I believe so," Raphtalia answered. "I ran off ahead, but I saw the others run into Itsuki. It looks like the Bow Hero's taking everyone else out to the plains."
"Good." As Naofumi said that, Dou-Lon and Eclair finally appeared running up to him out of the chaos.
"Sir Naofumi, I'm glad to see you're doing well!" Dou-Lon exclaimed happily.
"Likewise. But what are you doing here? Raphtalia just said that she saw you run into Itsuki on your way here. Doesn't he need help too?" Naofumi asked.
"Why? The Bow Hero has enough attack power as it is." Dou-Lon smiled widely. "I know I'd at least have some fun if I stay around you, Sir Naofumi."
"Please, allow me to aid you in this battle as well, Sir Naofumi!" Eclair said.
"... Well, now isn't exactly a fun time to be in, but I'll appreciate all the help I can get." Naofumi nodded with grim determination as Dou-Lon and Eclair saluted him.
Naofumi's words proved prophetic as the hakuko and everyone else rigorously assisted him with helping everyone they came across. Whether it was with defeating the Spirit Tortoise's minions, lifting destroyed wagons, putting together makeshift stretchers, or even physically carrying the wounded with them after making sure that their conditions weren't critical anymore after a sip of one of Naofumi's potions or a quick healing spell.
Filo disappeared for a brief time, reappearing again with her wagon. "F-Filo didn't want to leave the precious wagon behind!" She defended her actions.
"What are you talking about?! That's great thinking Filo! Now put the most injured people in the back!" Naofumi called out as he defended against another spike type familiar. Raphtalia sliced the limbs off it, leaving it to lie on the ground where it stayed, a now useless, former killing machine.
The information provided by the Shadows proved invaluable. After saving a group of mages that knew debuff spells and earth spells, they were able to help weaken a lot of the spike monsters they came across. Promptly burying those that died into the ground so their explosions were nothing more than firecrackers.
Raphtalia and those strong and skilled enough to slice through their limbs without getting hurt also proved invaluable. With Naofumi protecting them, the spike familiars, which had seemed so big and menacing before, were turned into nothing more than trash mobs. Scary at first with their shock and awe tactics, but easily manageable after you learned how to deal with them.
Having them all working together like this, Naofumi felt guilt gnaw at him for being unable to help bring out this level of teamwork when Lurolona Village was attacked. If he had only been able to help like this…
It was in the past now. All of his allies were there now. And they all trusted him with their lives to protect them as they fought for him. So he did just that.
There were some bat and yeti type familiars that appeared alongside the tall spike types. But they felt almost comically weak compared to the walking black death that either came from the tortoise's initial barrage, or among the waves of minions coming off the Guardian Beast in droves. Raphtalia, Dou-Lon, Mirellia, and Eclair were able to handle the regular familiars with ease.
"Your Majesty, I didn't think the day would come when I'd get to fight alongside you like this," Eclair remarked after cutting down a bat-type familiar.
"It is very much appreciated, Miss Seaetto. I'm grateful that one of Melromarc's oldest and most loyal noble houses is still ready to defend its ruler with sword in hand even after falling from grace and losing their land." Mirellia replied thankfully.
Eclair swung again, aiming to slice through another bat familiar.
Crack!
However, the sword hit the shell on its back. The weak blade shattered in her grip, leaving her with only a stub of metal sticking out of the hilt.
Miraculously, the bat didn't target her after that and instead continued on.
Unfortunately, Eclair then caught the eyes of a yeti familiar, and it charged towards her. With the broken weapon in hand, Eclair's eyes widened in fear as she tried to think of a way to fight it.
"Ha!" Dou-Lon's gauntleted fist slammed into the beast's face first. And then the second one completely tore its head from its body. It fell to the ground only ten feet away from the swordswoman.
"Get to stabbing now! We can freak out together about this later!" The hakuko shouted before shoving another sword into her trembling hands.
"D-Don't mock me, bakako." Eclair scowled as she looked around and gave the inferior weapon a few practice swings.
"Me mocking you will be the least of your concerns if you don't get a hold of yourself soon! Seriously, stop freaking out and focus on fighting! Sir Naofumi will watch our backs for us, so go ahead and unleash those crazy swordsman skills on these monsters!" He finished his statement as he slashed forward with his gauntlet, ripping the throat of another yeti monster out.
Eclair felt highly tempted to karate chop the back of his head when she suddenly realized that her sudden bout of anger had momentarily helped her to focus, so she bit on her tongue and went back to helping defend the queen while Dou-Lon continued on, pouncing from monster to monster in his therianthrope form, goring them with his gauntlet-covered hands in a savage display of cold and calculating brutality.
It was still chaos. But the Shield Hero and his compatriots were slowly starting to manage it into a cohesive plan thanks to their trust, teamwork, and hard effort.
"Slash of Night!"
The minion that the Bow Hero's group was facing off against screeched as the spell impacted heavily against its side. Rachel then ducked behind cover as it slashed where she'd been standing with one of its scythe-like arms. The group of soldiers that'd been helping them had fallen back in terror at the massive beast.
"Rachel, Aksel needs help!" Maya dragged the groaning knight behind her. His armor was peppered with shrapnel from an explosion, and blood leaked out of many different wounds. During the fighting, Maya had carelessly stabbed a spiked familiar in the eye, unaware that doing so would cause it to explode. When it'd become apparent that it'd explode, Aksel pushed her out of the way and shielded her from the explosion with his own body.
The knight was lucky to have been using a shield alongside his axe. His vitals had been protected, but he was in very bad condition. "Ugh…" The poor man looked to be in a lot of pain.
"Sir Itsuki, any idea on how to beat this thing?" Rachel yelled at the nearby Bow Hero before preparing healing magic for the large tank.
"Lightning Arrow!" The electrically charged skill slammed into the beast's chest. But besides causing it to roar, it only looked more pissed off than before. "I honestly have no idea! I know nothing about this type of familiar!" Itsuki replied.
Spirit Tortoise Familiar (Amalgamated Parasite Type)
It was utterly disgusting. It was like a patchwork Chimera mishmash of monsters. With the body of a lion, the head of a spider, another head of a large fish, and several other creatures. Along with, of course, the signature tortoiseshell that normally covered the back of the Tortoise's minions, something that was distinctly lacking from the new spike variant attacking throughout the battlefield. Unlike the other minions, however, it had a large fleshy sack dragging behind it. Like a very ugly tumor grown out on a separate limb.
The large minion had a lion's head and a dragon's head at the beginning of the fight, but Aksel and Tersia had managed to cut them both off, one with his axe, another with a well-placed earth spell. However, they'd been replaced by other heads from the disgusting mound of flesh in the back, and the original heads sprouted hordes of bat familiars that some of the others were dealing with. Tersia was still chanting nearby. Aksel, well, that was obvious.
"Zweite Heal!" Rachel's weaker spell covered the tank. Itsuki helped by pulling out a healing potion from his weapon for the man to drink.
The large minion slashed with its long scythe arm, almost slicing away the cover they were hiding behind. Crystal then dashed from behind her barrel, stabbing it in the side with her spear. As it turned to face her, she ran off behind an upturned wagon to avoid its retaliatory attack.
"Urgh, no, I need to grab its attention for you guys." Aksel tried to get up but cried out in pain as he collapsed again.
"Stop moving you big idiot!" Maya yelled at him. "You're in no shape to grapple with that thing right now! Hurry up, Rachel!"
"I'm trying. Patience. You know I haven't put as much work into healing magic as I have shadow magic." The dark-haired mage grimaced as she cast another healing spell on Aksel.
"Drifa Fireball!" "Drifa Earth Shot!" "Gwah!"
Tersia, Farrie, and Blue's spells impacted against the spider queen's head simultaneously, with Blue's Aqua's Slash ultimately slicing it off. The ugly thing fell with a sickening splatter, but from the fiery remains, more bat familiars burst out. At the same time, there was a sickening movement from the large sack behind the monster, and then, a few seconds later, the head of a Nue took its place.
"We're not going to get anywhere at this rate!" Tersia shouted as she and Farrie jumped back from a spit attack and were distracted by some of the bat familiars swarming around them.
"Hmmm…" Therese, who'd been holding back watching the battle while dealing with familiars trying to attack the group, turned to Wyndia as the dog girl finished chanting.
"Zweite Hellfire!" The fire spell hit the monster's back below its shell. The lower tier spell did about as much damage as Farrie's had, and made the heads shriek in pain. "Urgh, if only I could use Earth Vein right now! I hate how weak Standard Magic is!"
The Spirit Tortoise's breath attacks had drained the area of vitality once again. Yet, somehow, it kept on pulling out more breath attacks against Fitoria. Either way, the dog girl couldn't access her more powerful spells. She was useless once again.
The creature turned, slashing at the dog girl. However, Wyndia ducked and slashed a limb off with her katana. She then jumped behind cover beside Therese as another skill from the Bow Hero impacted against the side of the chimeric abomination.
"Wyndia, I think fire magic's the way to go." Therese suddenly said.
"What makes you say that? My magic attacks aren't doing much." Wyndia pointed out.
"Look." Therese pointed at the fiery remains of the spider head. While bat familiars were still coming out from it, many of them looked weakened. And as they watched, the last few didn't make it out and burned away with the rest of it.
"Well, okay, that makes sense, but I can't use Earth Vein thanks to that stupid tortoise! And I'm still not good enough with standard magic to cast a fire spell powerful enough to-" Wyndia started to reply.
"Then use this!" Therese thrust her hand into the bag at her side and pulled out a ruby. She handed it to the dog girl, who stared down at it in surprise. "You can pull vitality from your environment, right? It shouldn't be that different pulling it from a gem!"
"But I… yes. I've done that before." Wyndia said, recalling what she did during the Ghost Ship Wave.
Therese, meanwhile, had started chanting, now that she was going to have the dog girl's help in this. "I beseech thee, power of jewels far and wide. Heed my call and come to me." Her hair and gem turned from turquoise to a fiery crimson. "My name is Therese Alexanderite. My friends, be the fire that burns my targets away!"
Wyndia began chanting as well. Drawing from the vitality within the gemstone as she pieced together the puzzle in her mind. "I call upon the power of the Earth to come to me and take form. Dragon Vein, hear my petition! Earth Vein, lend me your strength! Channel the power of this jewel into a fiery blaze to consume my enemies! Lend me the strength to turn my defeat into a victory!"
"Ruby Explosion!"
"Bejeweled Ruby Blaze!"
Therese's fire spell slammed on top of it, while Wyndia's fire spell exploded from underneath. Together, the large blasts of fire engulfed the large minion, causing the others to shield their faces from the sudden intense blast of heat that was like a blast furnace.
The howling of the unnatural minion was unlike anything they'd heard before. The heads all screeched in pain as they melted under the intense heat. The sack behind it bulged like crazy, and minions tried and failed to burst from the intense heat consuming the body before turning to ash.
"Bunker Shot!" Seeing the main body being dealt with, but the sack of monster parts behind it still struggling, Itsuki released the skill from his bow.
It entered the front of the large body through the hole Crystal had inflicted on it earlier. Traveling straight through the intense flames and the writhing bodies of those within before traveling up the line of flesh into the sack of monster parts behind it.
BOOM!
Upon detonation, the sack exploded into many pieces. Those that'd been behind cover were spared from being covered in a disgusting pile of monster parts.
The rest of the body burned away, with no familiars escaping it.
"Well done, you two." Itsuki nodded to Therese and Wyndia. The others rushed out from their cover. Happy and congratulating the pair for the epic takedown.
They were soon back to dealing with the minions of the Spirit Tortoise around them. "All Zweite Down!" Itsuki proceeded to focus on weakening the spike once again.
Therese nodded, turning to look at Wyndia. However, the dog girl looked sad. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to destroy it." Therese was confused at first but then saw that the girl was holding the remains of the shattered ruby in her hands.
"It's fine. I figured this would happen, and that friend was okay with being sacrificed to end this creature's life." Therese grabbed the dog girl by the shoulder. "Now come on, there's still more we have to do. You promised to be a big, strong girl today, remember?"
Wyndia only stared down for a few seconds more before nodding and tightening her face again. After pocketing the fragments in a pocket of her armor, she and the others continued following the Bow Hero, leaving the remains of the amalgamated parasite familiar to burn behind them.
It felt like forever, but Naofumi's group had finally reached the southern tip of the camp. Up ahead, everyone that'd managed to escape was marching deeper into the mountains. Quite a few people didn't make the long track, but the shield hero had managed to save the ones he could.
"Gwah! Gwah!" A group of Filolials ran up to Filo. At first, Naofumi wondered if they were talking to her but then the real reason became apparent.
"Fitoria says to gather the rest of the flock. Take care of any of the big turtle's minions that try to follow. Good job." Filo replied.
"Gwah! Gwah! Gwah!" The Filolials looked happy and ran off to do as Filo said.
Fitoria was still fighting the Spirit Tortoise in the distance. The passing of time had only made the battle more intense. Between the destruction of the landscape and the escalating attacks both sides were unleashing upon the other.
Naofumi swore for a moment that they'd stepped out of a medieval fantasy setting and were looking at a sci-fi horror show now. It was downright scary. He couldn't even imagine what it'd be like being ground zero with that kind of battle.
"Ah, Werner!" Mirellia stood up in the wagon as the Shusaku leader glided down from the sky. He held an arm against his side, but otherwise, he looked alright.
"Your Majesty, I'm glad to see you're safe." The red-haired bird demi-human looked relieved. "I wanted to thank you for sending the Otherworld Heroes to assist us. Thanks to them, many of my soldiers will live to fight another day."
"Let us get out of here alive first before exchanging any pleasantries," Mirellia replied. Naofumi, nearby, helped to support a wolfman who could hardly walk to a wagon.
"Shield Hero… he's truly something amazing, isn't he?" Werner said. It was like the eyes of the councilman had been opened, and he wasn't valuing Naofumi as a hero, but rather as a person.
"He truly is." Mirellia agreed. "I have no idea what we would have done without him or the others."
"I… I hope I can have him come to Siltvelt one day… we've been trying so hard to help the people to repent of their past sins…" Werner hung his head sadly.
"When we get through this, I'll look into asking the Shield Hero to help with diplomatic relations between Melromarc and Siltvelt." Mirellia smiled at the kind birdman.
"Force me to do that and I'll refuse to help you ever again!" Naofumi shouted indignantly nearby.
"But we could use the closer relations with other countries. And I'm sure we could convince the Council not to try and use the Shield Hero to impregnate the women of their noble houses this time around." Mirellia said amicably.
Naofumi didn't bother to give the humorous and slightly creepy reply a response. He continued with helping the last of the stragglers that'd made it to the mountain pass.
"Is that everyone?!" Raphtalia was helping another soldier get into a different wagon. She looked back at the camp, wondering just how many were missing.
"Can Fitoria keep going?" Naofumi asked Filo.
"For a little while, but Fitoria is getting tired. Fitoria wasn't ready for a battle like this." Filo said worriedly, looking off at the bird queen's battle in the distance.
"Alright, she's bought us this much time already, let's go before-" Naofumi began to respond.
"Your Majesty!" Suddenly, a male shadow appeared nearby. "We haven't gotten any word from the Shadows dispatched to evacuate King Trash!"
Mirellia had been in the middle of talking to an officer to give orders after joking with Werner. But upon the Shadow's words, she froze up and turned to look at the Shadow with a look of horror. "No, my husband, he's… he's still…" She looked back at the camp. Many of the familiars were now pursuing the remnants of the army, but there were still a few going around looking for survivors inside the camp.
"Damn it!"
Naofumi, who'd been nearby when the Shadow gave the grave news to the Queen, didn't even hesitate as he ran past her to Filo. "Raphtalia, Dou-Lon, with me! Filo, leave the wagon! We need to go back! Filo, let Fitoria know that she needs to keep fighting for a little longer!"
"Sh-Shield Hero-" Mirellia looked surprised.
"Don't worry, I'll bring him back, I promise!" He told her. "Lead everyone else to safety!"
...
Mirellia stared, and then, tears appeared in her eyes. "Th-Thank you." She whispered gratefully. "My party HUD shows my husband is still alive. Please, make sure he stays that way."
'Don't thank me yet.' "I will." Naofumi hopped onto Filo's back, and Raphtalia jumped on behind him. Dou-Lon ran up in his therianthrope form.
"Fitoria is telling Daddy to hurry," Filo said.
"I know honey, I know," Naofumi answered.
"What about me, Sir Naofumi?" Eclair asked.
"Stay with her Majesty and Sir Werner." Dou-Lon quickly answered. "We'll be back before you know it."
"But I asked-" Eclair began to complain.
"What Dou-Lon said. We can't leave the Queen unprotected." Naofumi affirmed. "Come on!" Filo quickly turned and booked it back to camp. Dou-Lon followed behind in his therianthrope form.
Eclair stared, looking down at the weak blade in her grip… she then shook her head and got into her Majesty's wagon. The remains of the army then began to move en masse into the mountain pass.
Just like when she'd pulled the wagon, Filo crushed every familiar in their path underfoot. None of them stood a chance. And with Raphtalia also slashing with her sword, Dou-Lon striking with his fists, and Naofumi defending them all with well-placed shield skills, they made it through the obstacles in their way with relative ease.
Their efforts only helped a few more survivors to escape. Picked up by the last Filolials that ran through the area on their way out. There was a lot of death around them though. So, so many that Naofumi felt bile rising in his throat again. He had to force it down and continue on.
It was a miracle to think anyone had escaped this slaughter at all. And yet here they were, dashing in to find and save Trash. The man formerly known as Aultcray. The once wise, but now Foolish King of Melromarc. The man Naofumi had formerly hated with a passion. Yet he was now risking his life to save him.
Perhaps it was because Mirellia and Melty would be saddened by his death. Or maybe it was because he understood what Aultcray was going through… or, or perhaps it was because of what the king had said to Melty and him that night. But whatever it was, Naofumi couldn't leave him behind.
Whatever his mistakes were in the past, the man was honestly trying to atone for them. To be a good husband and a good father. And he'd made progress. Slow, incredibly slow, but steady progress. To have all his efforts end in tragedy...
Naofumi couldn't let that happen. Many people had died today, but he couldn't bear to let Aultcray die as well.
And fortunately, when they found him, he wasn't dead yet.
"Z-Zweite Gust." Though stuttering, the King managed to send a blast of air at a yeti familiar, blowing it away into a spike familiar nearby. There was only one lone shadow fighting for him. The second shadow with him was helping him to walk. The bodies of three of their comrades who'd been there to escort and protect Aultcray laid on the ground in the background.
Another yeti type struck its fist down at the first shadow, only for its fist to punch thin air. The next second, the shadow reappeared from her illusion, her daggers stabbing into the familiar's chest.
Though the monster howled in pain, it still tried to swipe at her, forcing Shadow to jump back. "I daresay, this is not going well, my King."
The King began to stutter his way through another incantation. But it was slow going. And it was taking all his willpower to focus on the here and now. To try and help with what little he could, and-
Dou-Lon and Raphtalia dashed in. The former punching the yeti type away, and the other slashing with her sword in wide arcs. Eliminating swaths of minions all around her.
"Shield Hero!" The second shadow yelled gratefully. Another small group of familiars came at the King and his bodyguard from behind.
"Shield Prison!" Naofumi's skill surrounded the pair, protecting them from the attacks.
Naofumi used more skills, protecting his comrades and the remaining Shadow while they and Filo helped to take out the remaining familiars in the area. As the last one fell, the Shield Prison disappeared, and Aultcray collapsed to his knees.
"You okay?" Naofumi asked as he knelt in front of the old man.
"Y-Yes… you're helping… me?" Aultcray slowly asked. The irony of this situation wasn't lost on the old fool. All his life, he'd hated demi-humans for what they did to his family. And now, here he was, being saved by demi-humans and their God. To twist it even further, one of the demi-humans that'd come to his rescue was a hakuko.
"Of course. Melty would be sad if her real father died, wouldn't she?" Naofumi asked.
"Th… Thank you, Sir Naofumi." Aultcray lifted a hand up, and Naofumi gripped it, helping to support him over his shoulder. He then gave him and the two Shadows party invitations, adding them into his party so he could more easily protect them. "Filo, grab us another wagon, the rest of you, keep the familiars off! We're getting the King out of here!" Naofumi ordered.
"On it, Sir Naofumi!" Dou-Lon saluted.
Raphtalia gave him a proud smile that almost made him melt. And then, she turned around, becoming his sword once again.
"But, but Filo wants to pull her own wagon-" Filo started to complain, but then she went quiet. Naofumi guessed she'd just been reprimanded by Fitoria. "Boo!" She then ran off to find a wagon that was still usable.
The group slowly made their way towards the exit of the camp and towards the mountain pass. There were no other survivors left at this point. Either they'd made it out, or they'd died. Those familiars that weren't trying to chase after the heels of the separated coalition army were all converging on their location.
"Air Strike Shield! Second Shield! Dritte Shield! Meteor Shield! Royal Shield!"
Naofumi unleashed his array of defenses time and time again. Whether to protect a party member or shadow from an attack or to give them an opening against the monsters. Using Royal Shield as a battering ram, he plowed into the familiars just like Filo would. Only, he did no damage, but he did knock every single monster off balance, making it vastly easier and much safer for Raphtalia to finish them in one hit.
He felt grateful for deciding not to strip Aultcray of his royalty status back when he had the chance… actually, would the weapons still consider him royalty if his authority was stripped? Eclair had mentioned that Aultcray had been the prince of some other nation…
He then shrugged. It wasn't like the weapons cared about the finer details. Slowly, they made their way towards the outskirts of the camp.
"High Quick! Wind Cutter!" Fitoria blurred in the air, appearing in one spot and another and another in a series of afterimages. From everywhere an afterimage appeared, blades of wind burst out, impacting against the Spirit Tortoise's head and legs.
"█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ !"
Despite the damage it took, the Spirit Tortoise glowed, and let out a roar as it unleashed its breath attack once again.
Fitoria dodged to the side, but then summoned another wind barrier as it twisted to face her while still unleashing the attack. The first part of the beam flew harmlessly into another mountain, but the eastern part of the coalition and her flock was behind her now. Dodging here would mean dooming them to die.
The large bird queen breathed in and out deeply. Despite her best efforts, her wing was still badly injured, and she'd acquired other nicks and scratches throughout the battle.
She was quickly tiring out. It'd been a while since she'd last faced a monster that brought her to such a state.
'Please, Naofumi, Filo, hurry, get out of there.' She really didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. The barrier of wind in front of her started to crack in multiple places.
The tortoise continued firing its beam of destruction. Fitoria strained to hold out. However, unfortunately for her, the tortoise saw something out of the corner of its eye.
The Shield Hero was still alive. He and the Bow Hero hadn't died during the barrage nor the subsequent breath attack.
"No, NO! HOW?!" Kyo banged his fist near the crystal ball he was observing the battle from. "How are those morons still alive?! They're worse than cockroaches!"
"Ha, I told you that they wouldn't die that- HRK!" Motoyasu was painfully cut off from inside his crystalline prison as more energy was extracted from him to power the Guardian Beast.
The Book Hero growled and looked at the large bird taking up most of the Guardian Beast's vision. He hadn't realized the Heroes had an ally this powerful on their side either. Not that it did them any good as she was on her last legs, but to think that the Heroes were still alive because of that!
"That does it! I'm ending this right here and now!" Kyo slammed his fist down.
The Tortoise finally cut off its beam attack and spread its legs out. The spikes along its back began to point up. Fitoria started to charge to the side, already preparing magic to blow the barrage away while shifting the Tortoise away from everyone again…
But the spikes didn't go at her.
They went up.
'No!' Fitoria stopped as she realized the Tortoise hadn't targeted her this time.
It was going to be just like that first attack. The all-around barrage meant to wipe out everything around the Spirit Tortoise. Including the fleeing army in the plains, and the Shield Hero and his companions.
'NO!' Fitoria stopped, digging her feet into the ground. The magic she'd been preparing to use to block changed as Fitoria chanted as quickly as she could. A space of a few seconds that felt like an eternity before directing it up above.
"Liberation Tornado!"
A colossal tornado of wind formed over the Tortoise. The barrage of spikes, despite being so high up, began to be caught in its range, being shredded to pieces by the powerful wind spell. Fitoria desperately tried to get rid of all of them to defend those who she was trying to protect.
"Ha, stupid bird! You should have just let everyone die!" Kyo cackled gleefully as the Tortoise glowed once again.
"█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ !"
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" Fitoria cried out in pain as the breath attack hit her in the chest. Unprepared and tired, she was sent rocketing back through the air. A loud crash! sounded as the large bird queen slammed into a mountain, and rocks and rubble rained down on her even as the Tortoise's attack didn't relent.
"What the-" At the loud sound, Naofumi turned his gaze from the last of the familiars in front of them. His eyes widened at what he saw, and a scream burst from his lips.
"FITORIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"Sir Naofumi!" Dou-Lon pointed up frantically.
An ominous whistling sound was coming from above.
The Shield Hero looked up.
Fitoria's spell had saved the coalition. But she'd failed to destroy the spikes that the Tortoise had sent in their direction.
"Sir Naofumi, that was the attack that decimated the camp!" One of the Shadows warned.
"&^%$! Second Shield! Dritte Shield! Meteor Shield!" His other skills were still on cooldown, and everyone gathered around him as he held his shield up.
The spikes rained down on their location, like a barrage of surface-to-surface missiles prepped for their annihilation. Naofumi grimaced, seeing the distant Tortoise's breath attack still going, and a layer of dust appearing over where Fitoria was at.
"Naofumi…" Raphtalia was looking into his eyes with fear. And Naofumi's own fear reflected back.
He didn't know if he could protect the others from this. He didn't know if he'd survive being in the vicinity of a blast like this. Could he block this?
He had to. If not for him, then for everyone around him. Please, let this be enough. Let them survive so they could save those they cared about and-
"I, Ost Horai, command the heavens, command the earth, defy all reason, join, and spit up blood. Oh great strength, I command you, loosen the hold of gravity on them!"
What the, who was talking-
"Gravity Reversal, Float!"
…
Naofumi slowly opened his eyes.
The spikes, which had been about to impact the area all around them, had stopped several meters up in the air.
What… what was going on? His skill shields dissolved away.
"Sir Naofumi…" When Dou-Lon spoke again, he looked stunned, and was pointing in a direction. Naofumi turned his head to look.
The hooded figure from before was standing behind him, inside his Meteor Shield skill. Her hood was down.
It was the same woman that Naofumi had seen all those weeks ago. The hakuko next to him stared, mesmerized at the sight of the most beautiful woman he'd ever met.
The woman moved her hands, and the spikes in the air moved with her as well. Their pointed ends moved upwards, pointing away from Naofumi and the group. After a few seconds, they were all pointed towards the Spirit Tortoise, which was still unleashing its breath attack.
"Gravity Redirection…" The woman spoke. "Forward!"
With a forward thrust of her palm, the spikes rocketed through the air. Going fast, faster, faster than even Itsuki's arrows.
There was no arc. No change in direction. Their aim was true.
The spikes, all at once, cut into and exploded in the Tortoise's face and open mouth.
"█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █!" The Tortoise let out a great cry of pain and agony. Its head was a molten mess, and it shook from side to side as it tried to dislodge the spike monsters that'd exploded in its flesh.
"Huh?!" Kyo stared at his crystal ball in shock. What the hell had just happened?!
"Huah!"
A second later, Fitoria, badly burned, but still alive, rocketed out from the dust. Given the moment to attack one last time, her foot connected with the Tortoise's head. Cutting the appendage off and buying the last bit of time she could for the Shield Hero.
"NO! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! THAT WAS CHEATING! IT HAD TO BE! HOW DID THEY REDIRECT THAT ATTACK, AND HOW DID THAT STUPID BIRD NOT DIE!?" The Book Hero began to throw a tantrum.
The woman lowered her hand. Besides the sweat on her forehead, there was no sign of the exertion needed for the spells she'd just used.
"Shield Hero…"
Naofumi stared. He wondered if he was hallucinating again. But Dou-Lon and Raphtalia were staring at the newcomer too. Did that… did that mean that they could see her? But then... how had she gotten inside his Meteor Shield? Only party members were supposed to be able to pass through.
Meaning she hadn't passed through. She'd appeared inside his skill. But that was impossible... right?
"Who… who are you?" Naofumi asked.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize how grave the situation has become. I'm not normally supposed to interfere like this..." The mystery woman apologized. "But seeing myself reduced to such a depraved warped state... seeing even the Legendary Filolial Queen fail to end me, I am now compelled to act beyond the boundaries of my inherent role."
"Enough with that weird voodoo mambo jumbo &^%$! Just who the hell are you?!" Naofumi yelled, finally overcoming his hesitation and the mystery of the situation. "I have no idea what you're talking about! Destroy you, what the hell do you mean?! Unable to act?! WHY!?"
"N-Naofumi?" Raphtalia looked surprised.
The mystery woman stayed silent as Naofumi continued. "I don't understand, ok! I don't understand what's going on at all! I don't even understand how you're inside my skill right now! So tell me who the hell you are and why you're finally appearing before everyone now because for the longest time I thought that I was going insane and that you were just a figment of my cracked psyche! So get on with it before I get pissed off!"
...
The mystery woman stared at the Shield Hero. A sad look crossed her beautiful features. "I… I'm sorry, I didn't know... like I already said, I'm not supposed to interfere like this… I was only supposed to guide you… to lead you to defeat me…"
Naofumi didn't say anything. The woman's shoulders fell, as if in defeat. "Look at your HUD, wielder of the Legendary Shield. Then tell me what I am yourself."
…
Naofumi hesitantly pulled his HUD up. Normally, doing this didn't pull up information on other people. It was normally used only to show a monster's name, HP bar, and its level.
However, something did appear over the mystery woman. His jaw hung, and his eyes couldn't believe it.
But it was there. It wasn't a lie.
Spirit Tortoise Familiar
Human Type
The woman, a minion of the Guardian Beast, sank to her knees, touching her head to the ground in the greatest gesture of humility that Naofumi knew.
"Shield Hero, my body has been taken over, please, help me to kill myself... before I destroy the world that I'm meant to protect."
Author's Notes:
So I should say, there were definitely some creative liberties taken with the spike monsters in this chapter. There aren't too many times they're shown in LN 7. It's probable that they don't even survive the explosions they create upon impact, or that they're weaker than they were here. But you know, kind of wanted to have fun with stuff we readers didn't get to see much action from in the LN's. It kind of showcases how Kyo is both a genius and an idiot as he designed a killing machine that was nothing more than shock and awe once you figured out how to deal with it.
But as for the rest of the chapter… yeah. It's missing one Cardinal Hero. But the Guardian Beast on Cardinal Steroids is… terrifying. Also, that amalgamation parasite familiar exists. That stuff for me is bigger nightmare fuel than the spider nest since it gathers the carcasses of dead monsters it comes across and uses them to replace parts it loses while it's fighting. And Fitoria… she wasn't ready, or at full power, and she was pretty hurt at the beginning of the battle thanks to being caught off guard by the Tortoise's quick regeneration, but damn can she be scary strong by herself. It's too bad the Spirit Tortoise was capable of regenerating its head within a minute, and was stronger, faster, and it sucked out MP and SP from targets hit by its breath attack allowing it to use its breath attack over and over again and… oh, was I not supposed to mention that? Whoops.
P.S.: Kyo was right, that new healing factor is OP. I hope Fitoria and the others are ready to deal with it again.
Hero Clips!
Behind You!
"FITORIA, BEHIND YOU!"
"Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm." Fitoria hummed as she marched away from the Spirit Tortoise.
"... huh?" Naofumi stared in confusion.
Fitoria continued walking away from the Tortoise. The tortoise behind her glowed with power, but it hadn't unleashed its breath attack.
"Come on you stupid bird, turn around already so I can see the stupid look on your face when I blast you with this attack!" Kyo screamed in frustration from inside the core room of the Guardian Beast.
However, Fitoria didn't turn around. In fact, her humming got even louder.
"What the- is she listening to music!?" Itsuki screamed in disbelief.
"What are you talking about?" Naofumi asked the Bow Hero confusedly.
"Look at her head!" Itsuki pointed.
Naofumi did look, focusing on where Itsuki was pointing, and… what the… WERE THOSE AIRPODS?!
"FITORIA, TAKE OUT YOUR STUPID AIRPODS AND TURN AROUND, OR ELSE I'LL GROUND YOU FOR A MONTH!" Naofumi screamed into his megaphone again.
The only response he got was the bird queen beginning to waggle her behind as a particularly good song came on. She was so glad she'd copied something long ago that had a radio built into it. She could get all sorts of good music from radio stations on other worlds with it.
"FITORIA! Gah!" Naofumi threw his arms up in exasperation. "Why do I even bother?!"
"I mean… the Spirit Tortoise hasn't unleashed its breath attack yet." Itsuki pointed out. "So, I guess whatever she's doing is working?"
Indeed, the Tortoise was still glowing, but it wasn't attacking. In fact, the red in its eyes began to dim and its head began to bob from side to side as it went along with the tune Fitoria was humming.
"No, NO! YOU STUPID TURTLE!" Kyo began to reeeee as his perfectly sound plan began to fall to pieces.
And thus, the long and complex battle the Heroes thought they were going to have came to an abrupt end. As Fitoria and the Spirit Tortoise ended up deciding to settle things with a dance-off, after which they became good lifelong friends.
"I… I don't even know anymore." Naofumi rubbed his temples as the largest headache ever began to form.
Till Next Time
Allen