I know there will be at least one review saying it this chapter, so…
Noice.
Chapter Sixty-Nine: Impossible Task
- ENTRY #4 -
As I have grown older, the words of my mother have continued to ring true: Everywhere I went, I was faced with nothing but████████████. Every person, no matter how kind they had initially appeared to be, always████████████ to████████████ in one way or another.
I was met with it even at ████████████. I struggled day to day with the monotony of being put on worthless ████████████ designed to waste ████████████ and to fish for more ████████████. I sat through endless ████████████ where nothing was accomplished. I got to see the credit for ████████████ going to someone else ████████████ far less deserving of it, only because they were ████████████.
I couldn't even play the ████████████ like I initially wanted. It would have required me to possess some serious ████████████ to try that option in the first place. And besides the randomness and 'predictability' of ████████████, the ones who truly ████████████ were the ones already ████████████ in whatever direction gave them the ████████████. Not to mention, every spare ████████████ I got from my measly ████████████ that wasn't used to pay ████████████ was going towards those ████████████, with the debt increasing despite my continued payments.
Within a couple of years, I knew I'd need to take drastic measures. Even someone like me couldn't continue living like this. I needed to make more money, and fast. Else I would never escape from this poverty hole that ████████████ had dragged me into.
The main problem though wasn't just the ████████████ me. It was also my fellow ████████████. Some laughed at me for trying to ████████████. Others not only mocked me but actively tried ████████████ when they realized that what I was doing could ████████████ in terms of ████████████.
If anything, they taught me to keep my plans secret. To wait until they were finished before I made my great reveal.
And thanks to all those years that I spent learning to expand my knowledge as ████████████, my work finally paid off as I developed a new type of ████████████ that was far more ████████████ than any of the ████████████. And I did this in a way that would keep the ████████████ low too. It could be used in both ████████████. Everything about it was a net gain. Any fool that had eyes and a single brain cell to spare would be able see it for what it was.
And so, with my magnum opus in hand, I cornered my ████████████ at the bar that he and the other ████████████ would usually hang out at during the weekend. I presented them with my new and amazing creation. I painstakingly explained how it'd not only ████████████ but make our ████████████ far more desirable to ████████████ as it'd help them to save money too. This would be a boon for ████████████! A golden goose that'd lay golden eggs for as long as it took for the competition to catch up to it!
It could make ████████████. And it would, just not for me…
When I presented it to that group of fat, greedy blobs, they laughed at me. They told me that my ████████████ was worthless. That I was worthless.
They ordered me to stop wasting their time and to go back to ████████████ and put in more ████████████ on ████████████ that'd ultimately make me only ████████████ more than I made an hour. If I was even rewarded for them in the first place.
I… struck the CEO with my ████████████. The lessons that I'd had with my anger-management counselor in ████████████ were forgotten at that moment. I was angry. And as I viciously beat him, I yelled about how I knew that they were ████████████ out of the ████████████. How they were ████████████ it with fellows I knew ████████████. How only half of their ████████████ ever got completed due to either ████████████ and that it was only because of ████████████ that we hadn't gone bankrupt.
I beat that man within an inch of his life in my fury. I had never been one to possess a predisposition towards violence. But I was too angry to care then… up until the others, after they'd recovered from their shock, managed to drag me off him and throw me out of the bar.
I was ████████████.
And by the next year, I saw ████████████ with 'my' ████████████ in them.
They'd made ████████████, just like I'd promised. And my hard work put them at the forefront of the industry for years. But I wasn't given a single ounce of credit.
My attempts to ████████████ them for stealing my ████████████ were only met with me getting ████████████. The corrupt ████████████ sided with my former employers time and time again, until I had run out of appeal opportunities.
All my hard work had been for naught.
To say that things have turned chaotic in the Conference room since the news of Luvar's dual invasion of two powerful nations would have been an understatement.
"Luvar is attacking!?"
"This was all a trap!"
"We have to get back to our countries!"
"Why is the Hourglass so far away!?"
"Sickle planned all of this! I'm sure of it!"
Kizuna, Glass, and Itsuki had moved from their desk. They'd had to move behind where Corrin was as he tried desperately to get everyone to calm down. Having about as much success as he had before.
Everyone was too busy arguing, panicking, or shouting things into communication ofudas in their hands to pay attention to much else. Kizuna and Glass would have defended Sickle from the accusations, but there wasn't much point to doing so right now, since no one would have heard them anyway.
"They're acting as if it's the end of the world." Kizuna idly commented to herself while tugging on the sleeve of her kimono.
"Indeed." Glass crossed her arms while watching the chaos unfold.
Itsuki stayed silent. His eyes were downcast and disappointed. And not only because they'd failed to gather any help for fighting Kyo.
Itsuki had possibly made the political situation in this world even worse. Even though he'd only wanted to help. To get these idiots to open their eyes to the truth of what was happening.
It was just like when he spoke up at that conference before Naofumi arrived and bailed him and Ren out. Only, this time, his failure had been allowed to play out.
He should have just kept his mouth shut. He wasn't just an outsider, he was a freaking teenager! Hell, he shouldn't have been the one to come here! The older and wiser Naofumi would have handled this scenario far better than he had!
Itsuki kept beating himself up over it while Corrin tried desperately to get everyone to calm down.
"Please, my fellow leaders, we must first address Luvar's actions-"
The doors to the room slammed open. The gem golems who'd been standing guard in front of it were sent flying. Almost squashing several delegates underneath their massive bulk.
…
All attention in the room was drawn to the doors. A lone figure casually strolled in, a familiar-looking book attached to his side. He chuckled darkly as he spread his arms out.
"Greetings, worms! How's that meeting of yours going?" Kyo addressed the assembly, his eyes shining with a mad glint while slowly scanning over everyone present.
"I would worry that I'd missed out on something important, but, knowing you, the last two days were probably spent on pointless grandstanding and petty infighting like usual. To think that you useless sacks of ^&* are supposed to be the leaders of the free world, responsible for the safety and well-being of your people. It's truly astounding sometimes!"
Corrin took a step back, a look of shock painted on his face. "H-How are you here?! I wasn't told of your arrival! It should be impossible to infiltrate this city's defenses!"
"Oh, me? I just walked in through the front door." Kyo drawled lazily. His gaze then moved behind the King to where Kizuna, Glass, and Itsuki were standing.
Kizuna's face held a look of shock, while Glass and Itsuki could barely contain their rage.
In fact, the Bow Hero already had a skill at the ready and launched it from his bow at the Book Hero. "Erst Arrow!"
"Itsuki, no! Stop!" Kizuna instinctively tried to grab Itsuki's arm to stop him, but she couldn't force him off target since he was a person and not a monster.
The single energy arrow sailed through the air, piercing Kyo's head right through the eye socket. Everyone gasped at the sight, but the Book Hero didn't even flinch. Itsuki's eyes narrowed in confusion.
…
"Hmhmhmhm, oh? Don't tell me, did you actually think that I'd come here in person?" Kyo's nasally voice chuckled darkly. Unperturbed by the grotesque wound that he was sporting.
The hole in his head didn't bleed. And flesh quickly filled it in like putty. Within a few seconds, it was sealed completely and a new eye grew in place of the missing one.
A name popped up over the creature's head.
Spirit Tortoise Familiar (mimic-type)
"Spirit… Tortoise Familiar?" Kizuna asked hesitantly.
"What the hell!? How!? We killed the Spirit Tortoise!" Itsuki asked in disbelief.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" The Book Hero chortled to himself.
"This is the same kind of creature that Kyo used against me and L'Arc in the Spirit Tortoise," Glass answered Kizuna grimly. When everyone looked more closely at its 'book', it turned out to be made of the Spirit Tortoise's shell, just like the weapons of the mimics from before. "He is not actually here. But he is communicating to us now through that monster."
"Surprised?" Kyo smirked. "My pet might be dead, but I carved out and stored enough of its flesh for my purposes." The man continued with all the eyes in the room glued to him.
His gaze then turned to Itsuki again and his smug look soured. "You sure don't waste time, do you Bow 'Hero'? Shooting unarmed, innocent people in the head without any provocation before they can even state their business? How heartless of you."
"Innoce-" Itsuki sputtered but Kyo cut him off.
"How the hell did you get out of the ancient library without Ethnobalt bailing you out anyway? That's really annoying. You really are a cockroach. No matter how many times I smack you, you just keep crawling back out of the woodworks to annoy me."
"A monster…" Corrin's eyes narrowed. "Golems! Attack that fiend!"
However, even though the gem golems had stood back up, they continued to be inactive against the threat. "Golems! What are you doing?! Attack him!" Corrin demanded again, slightly fearful this time.
…
But the stone constructs remained inert.
Kyo began to chuckle even more insidiously compared to before. "You know, Your Majesty, I have to give you credit where it's due. The other nations frequently mock you behind your back with the moniker of the 'cowardly king', thanks to all the funds and attention you dedicate to keeping your nation safe and secure against both inside and outside threats. But that very same well-placed paranoia that caused you to waste thousands of kinhans worth of your people's money to move your Hourglass in the middle of nowhere is the sole reason why your country won't fall today. Unlike Label and Mikikage."
"B-But how…" The King said, his face pale with fear.
"The gem golems of Lazuli are a formidable threat, but the form that you see before you is neither monster, nor man, and is essentially just a blob of nonliving goo. The principles that your constructs work on, which this world's original Jewel Hero first established, are horribly outdated. Essentially, your golems can't detect these mimics with their magic sense. They are just seen as another part of the floor. And since the constructs can't detect them, they can't identify them as a threat."
Kyo chuckled as a helpless expression settled on Corrin's face. "You really should have looked into that flaw in their design sooner, Your Majesty. Such a hole in your defenses will cost you dearly."
"Kyo… Why…?"
The Book Hero briefly froze at hearing the familiar voice and slowly turned to face its source.
Kizuna stepped forward in front of Itsuki. A look of betrayal on her face, and tears in her eyes. "Why? Why are you doing this?!"
…
"Hello to you too, Kizuna. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Kyo smiled faintly. "But to answer your question..."
Suddenly, he turned away from her to face the assembly again.
"I am just doing what any good demon lord should do before his plans for world conquest can begin! Attacking his enemies preemptively, before they can muster any defenses! Spreading fear and chaos throughout the land! Declaring their intentions to make the world their own, while those who thought them to be weak and insignificant before cover in fear in the face of their certain doom!"
"Demon lord...?" Kizuna whispered in horror. "Kyo! What are you talking about!? You're not a demon! You're my friend! I could hardly believe it when I learned about what you did while you were in another world, and now this...?! I don't understand! What are you doing this for!?"
"Hahaha..." Kyo looked up, causing the lenses in his glasses to flare up from the reflecting light. "Isn't it obvious, Kizuna? How did the Hero of the Fans put it earlier..? It is our... 'duty', was it? To protect the world from the waves?
"Well, guess what? That is precisely what I am doing."
"... What...?" The hunting tool hero's face paled. "Ho-how would this-"
"Tch. Tch. Tch." Kyo clicked his tongue while waving his finger at her. "Kizuna, don't go scatterbrained on me now. What did you say it was that this world needs most right now to fight back against the waves?"
"To be united-" She replied instantly only for the last word to get caught in her throat. Her hands began to shake as she looked up at the book hero again. "No, that's...Kyo, that's wrong! That's not the way to unify our world!"
"BUT IT IS!" The book hero roared, making the girl shrink back in instinct. "Look at it! Look at this bottomless mire around you! The endless greed! The insatiable gluttony! The unyielding pride of every single worthless insect in this room! Even as their death literally looms over their heads, the only thing that they can think about is how to profit off of it! These...these... animals! The language they speak! The only thing that can bring order to this disgusting cancerous mass is power!
"Power to crush them beneath your heel! Power to force them to obey your command! Power to really change the world!"
Kyo took a few deep breaths before balling up his fist and holding it in front of him.
"And I... I finally have that power now. Thanks to an infusion of souls of the Guardian Beast from another world, I shall become more powerful than any Hero! I will grind the people of this world beneath my boot until all of them submit to me!
"And then, once all the discord that is plaguing our world is dealt with, I will direct my attention to stopping these Waves once and for all! So that no otherworldly threat shall ever bother us again!"
Kizuna breathed in and out deeply at the sight. She looked both angry and betrayed.
She knew about what Kyo had done. L'Arc, Glass, Naofumi, everyone had already filled her in on the Book Hero's dark deeds.
But being told about it was one thing.
Seeing it for herself, seeing what her friend had become, was something else entirely.
"What the hell are you doing!? That's not what we're- not what heroes like us should be doing!" The Harpoon Hero yelled at the Book Hero furiously.
"What? You mean 'winning'?" Kyo glanced down at him while putting on his biggest &^%$-eating grin yet.
"What are you-" The Harpoon Hero looked briefly confused but then his eyes widened as his face twisted in rage. "You...! YOU UPSTART LITTLE BITCH! WHO THE %^&* DO YOU THINK AR-"
However, before he could continue his tirade, he felt someone touching his shoulder. It turned out to be the Musical instruments Hero tapping him with the bow of his violin. A meaningful look was held in his eyes.
The Harpoon Hero backed off, not saying anything else.
"Kyo... that's... that's too much!" Kizuna shakily spoke again while struggling to hold back her tears. "It may be true. Maybe some of the people here hate me and refuse to help, but it's only because they're ignorant! They simply don't understand the danger that they're in or they do and are allowing their fear of the Waves to lead them astray!"
"Bah." Kyo waved his hand dismissively. "What sweet, intoxicating innocence! Save your speeches Kizuna, we both know they'll only fall on deaf ears.
"These men and women are supposed to be the best of the best, the representatives of their respective nations sent to broadcast their excellence and wisdom to all. And if that's the best they've got then the world at large has no hope."
He faced the girl again with pity in his eyes. "It is simply something that you will have to understand. Your way doesn't always work. I humored your fancies during your youth. But now, you have to grow up and realize what world it is that we live in."
"It's an awful one. It was awful long before you got here. And it'll stay awful long after you're gone! Nothing you do will change that! Nothing! Look at how grateful these people are towards you for saving their lives from the Demon Dragon! Witness how short their memories are! How willing they are to chew you up and then spit you out as soon as they no longer need you!
"Even if you save them again the Waves will come back eventually! And the people of the future will be even more incompetent and complacent than the ones surrounding you now! All of your hard work, in the end, will amount to a net sum of ZERO! AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO CHANGE THAT!"
Kizuna continued to tremble. Her entire form was shaking.
"Now, back to the topic at hand." Kyo turned away from the trembling girl to address the deathly silent assembly again with another smirk. "Just so all of you insects know, my mimics have already infiltrated your countries around the world. In fact..."
He mockingly pulled a round golden pocket watch out of his coat and checked the time. "...you should be getting news about it right about... now!"
Communication ofudas went off left and right. Delivering news of low-ranking nobles and government officials being assassinated in their offices. Of attacks in the streets that were suddenly happening.
"I do hope you enjoy this small sneak peek into what's to come. Because, believe me, things will only get worse from here on out." The Book Hero announced and threw his head back in laughter.
Fear, deep primal fear, began to fill the eyes of many of those there. Kyo continued to laugh as everyone began to see just how large of a threat he'd become.
"You… you won't get away with this," Corrin said, his face set in a scowl.
"Oh, you'll be surprised by how much I've gotten away with after this." Kyo finally stopped laughing and replied snidely. "Now, for the last reason why I'm here."
The Kyo mimic turned towards the other Cardinal Heroes, who'd begun backing away in terror.
The mimic's mouth opened wide, exposing sharp teeth. "As unlikely as it is for these three idiots to become a threat to me, I would still rather limit the amount of heroes that I will have to face in my world conquest to single digits at least. And since you've done me the pleasure of gathering the three other Cardinal Heroes in one spot, I'll do us all a favor by disposing of them here and now while they're weak and defenseless!"
And like that, the familiar bolted towards the other Cardinal Heroes at a speed most people there couldn't track.
"Soldiers!" Corrin desperately cried out. But none of them would be able to reach the Heroes in time.
"It's just a game it's just a game it's just a-"
"We'll just respawn we'll just respawn we'll just resp-"
"Instant Blade: Sunflower Strike!"
Just before the Mimic tore into the helpless Cardinal Heroes, two of whom were repeating the same phrase again and again while the last one, Hoshi, was paralyzed by sheer terror; Kizuna's blade exited out the other end of the mimic.
She landed on the floor on one knee, sheathing her large tuna knife at her side. Her kimono, which got torn up from the sudden movement, settled on the ground next to Glass where Kizuna had been standing just a second before, leaving the Hunting Tools Hero in her signature outfit.
The Kyo mimic behind the girl burst into a dozen different pieces. All of which began to melt away.
"Ahaha..." Kyo's head laughed softly on the floor. "...marvelous. You haven't lost your touch in the slightest."
…
Kizuna turned around, looking down at him with such incredible sadness in her eyes, even though the rest of her face was blank. "I'll stop you." She whispered, her voice shaking.
"Will you now...?" Kyo's face scrunched up in thought before he smiled faintly. "Sure. Why not? It wouldn't be fun to be a demon lord without a hero standing forth to oppose you, after all."
His light-blue eyes turned to look up at Kizuna. "Listen well, Hunting Tools Hero! If you would stand against me, then take up arms and come to the capital of Luvar! I shall eagerly await you and your allies there! But don't keep me waiting for too long! Or I just might get bored and come knocking on your front door first! Hmhmhmhmhm..."
Kyo's head melted away completely. The mimic was completely dead, leaving only a glowing sunflower hovering over its body.
…
Kizuna's small body shook again. But as she turned towards all the delegates in the room, her gaze passed over the windows, seeing smoke rising from the outside of the castle.
"Corrin." Kizuna stopped trembling and pointed it out.
The King looked up as well, and his eyes widened when he realized where the smoke was coming from.
"THE AIRFIELDS! GET MY SOLDIERS TO THE AIRFIELDS AT ONCE!" The King of Lapis demanded.
Some of the Gem soldiers who'd been in the room rushed to fulfill his orders since the Gem Golems still couldn't identify the threat attacking the heart of their kingdom. Itsuki and Glass also rushed out to deal with the immediate threat.
As the King was about to give further orders, a sense of dread suddenly settled in his gut.
If the mimics had reached even here, then…
"Hinoka…"
"Such a hole in your defenses will cost you dearly." Kyo's mocking laughter echoed in Corrin's head.
…
The King rushed up the steps three at a time. Leaving the room and everyone else in it behind. "HINOKAAAAAA!"
…
Everyone present wanted to say something, anything, to break the silence of what'd just happened. But so much had happened all at once. And no one knew what to say.
…
…
Kizuna was the one who finally spoke first.
"How about instead of arguing like a bunch of idiots... We agree to deal with the threat of the Book Hero in our world."
Her voice sounded almost dead as she spoke her next sentence. "After all, that was the last reason why I'd wanted everyone to gather here. But as you can see, he beat me to the punch regarding it."
Did the threat of the Book Hero actively taking over two other countries while sowing chaos in other countries across the world immediately and simultaneously bring everyone together in the face of a common enemy?
Nope.
It did not.
"Forget this. I'm out of here." The Harpoon Hero was noted to say as he left the Conference.
The Musical Instruments Hero followed right behind him. Not saying a word to Kizuna or anyone else as he left to return to his own country.
The Mikikage delegates left too. They had to figure out the state of things going on back home since communication from their ofudas had suddenly cut off.
They wouldn't be seen again.
The Label delegates agreed to go back to Sickle. But…with Kyo's forces already in the heart of their country, thanks to using their hourglass to teleport into Central City, there wasn't much the country could do to fight them off.
The fortress Capital had already fallen, and the surrounding outposts and forts would fall soon after without supplies or leadership from the headquarters.
Those were the noteworthy things that happened in there, as everyone else was in such a panic that it was as if the room was full of chickens with their heads cut off instead of the 'best and brightest' the other nations had to offer. They couldn't be talked to. Fist fights broke out amongst the delegates and any sense of direction fled before the face of deep, primal fear Kyo had instilled in them.
Kizuna tried her best. She honestly did, but she couldn't make a dent in the crowd of noise. And eventually, she and the other Cardinal Heroes were escorted from the room by a group of Corrin's most loyal soldiers.
And then there was the issue with the airfields by the castle.
Itsuki and Glass had reached the airfield shortly after Kizuna's proclamation. And what they saw had almost made them stop.
There were golems rumbling around in confusion. Trying to put out the fires on the massive airships, but they could not direct any attention to the mimics spreading the fires, to begin with. As well as tearing gemstones from the hull. Toppling masts with their bulk.
Those few soldiers who'd been in the area and tried to put up a fight had been slain.
Their blood mixed with the torn gemstones on the ground. Making for an eerie sight when the duo arrived with reinforcements to exterminate the threat.
There wasn't much to note with that. The duo of heroes easily exterminated every last mimic familiar they could find over the span of minutes, and as soon as they were done with that, they helped with putting out the fires.
The insides of the ships were thankfully untouched. Each one carried enough explosives in their cargo bays that, had they exploded, it would have caused a chain reaction with nearby ships that would have destroyed not only the airfield but a good portion of the castle and walls surrounding it.
Still, even with that bit of good news, the mimics had managed to sabotage almost every single ship resting in the royal airfield in various ways. It'd be a while before they could be repaired and used in combat again.
While Glass stayed behind to make sure there were no more familiars hiding amongst Lapis's air navy, Itsuki reentered the castle to meet up with Kizuna… however, soon after going through the entrance, he was sidetracked as he learned the airships hadn't been the only target in the attack.
"Urgh… ugh…" Hinoka, the Queen of Lapis, laid on a stretcher as she was rushed past Itsuki. "K-Kana…"
"The Princess is okay, Your Majesty. The King and the Hunting Tools Hero are with her right now." The lead soldier with her said. "Please stay still while we get you to some healing mages."
The Warrior Queen had a large bleeding gash on her forehead as well as a stab wound in her side. Apparently, as Itsuki found out, several of Kyo's mimics had also attacked the Queen's quarters shortly after the attack on the delegates. However, unlike the soldiers guarding the airfield and the doors to her quarters, the Warrior Queen had been able to kill all the monsters by herself. Protecting her daughter Kana in the process.
Since that was where Kizuna was at, he got directions to her quarters from another soldier and soon arrived there.
"Wah! Wahhhhh!" The baby princess was currently crying in the arms of one of her nannies. The older woman desperately tried to calm the baby princess and herself down from the scary experience that they'd just witnessed, but without much success.
"Corrin!" Kizuna yelled at the King. It looked like she'd been trying to grab his attention for a while now.
"I almost lost them… I almost lost my family again…" Corrin's voice was a distant whisper. With the man himself stuck in another memory from another time.
"Corrin!" Kizuna shook the King by the shoulders but it didn't bring him out of his reverie. She then tried to slap him and only got an ineffectual Clang! "Urgh! I hate this!" She turned to the doorway to see Itsuki standing there. "Itsuki, thank the Gods you're here. Slap this idiot for me!"
"W-Wha-" The Bow Hero spoke to protest, but Kizuna glared at him, and the small girl looked surprisingly scary when she was angry.
"Do it." She commanded.
Itsuki complied, slapping the King with enough force that he was almost thrown off the bed.
"Ack! Who dares to strike me-" Corrin began to yell, only for his eyes to focus on Kizuna.
"Corrin! I get it! This is all a big shock for you! And I'm sorry that I have to tell you this, but if you don't go out there and do something right now, then everything is going to fall apart!" Kizuna yelled angrily.
"B-But I- wha-"
Kizuna grabbed him by the pauldrons of his uniform. "The others left at the Conference are panicking Corrin! Fights are breaking out among them! Fights that I can do nothing to stop! If you don't do something, then I'll have no support from anyone against Kyo! And our main reason for coming here will have been for NOTHING!" Kizuna screamed at the end.
"So, please! MOVE! And calm everyone left in that room down so we can at least get some sort of united front set up to face Luvar and have some chance of saving our world from KYO!"
…
The King said nothing to her words at first. However, he did nod and stood back up. His face took on a stony expression.
"Stay here. Make sure my daughter isn't harmed. Or else." He said in a deadpan.
"Of course. You have my word." Kizuna promised.
"And mine," Itsuki added.
The two Heroes stayed there as the King ran from the room.
Kizuna took the baby Kana from her nannies. None of them were able to get her to calm down. However, thanks to the Hunting Tools Hero's inability to harm another person no matter what she tried, she was successful in doing so. And she was even able to rock the baby in her arms to sleep.
She'd never thought that this would be how she'd meet Corrin's daughter. Nor how she'd get the time to do so. But she couldn't appreciate it like this. Especially since the babe's mother wasn't around to awe over the sight of her precious child being held in the arms of her friend.
Itsuki said nothing. He took in the details of the room and sometimes spoke with the nannies when spoken to. But otherwise, he felt numb.
What Kyo had just done… was unlike anything they'd seen in their world. It was one thing for him to take over the Spirit Tortoise. But to simultaneously invade two countries, cause attacks like this one all over the world, and do this much damage in just the span of several hours?
They'd thought that Kyo was a short-sighted idiot with delusions of grandeur. And his actions in their world had initially confirmed that to be the case.
But no, the Book Hero was actually far smarter, and far more competent than he'd let on. They were facing him on his home turf. They were seeing the brilliant strategist who'd led the armies from the back against the Demon Dragon. And everything he'd done thus far to the timing of that one statement of his near the end spoke of him having meticulously planned for this.
It was downright terrifying. And Itsuki's worry eventually drove him to message Rishia to make sure everything was alright.
Rishia: Yeah, we're all fine here.
Itsuki: Where are you?
Rishia: In the mountains, training. Though Ethnobalt just had to run off for some reason. Is something going on?
Itsuki grimaced. But continued typing on the ofuda regardless.
Itsuki: Kyo launched an attack here. As well as in some other countries around the world. L'Arc is locking down the Hourglass so no one can use it for teleports or anything.
…
…
It was a while before Rishia's response finally came back.
Rishia: I just told everyone else. We'll be moving our training back to Kizuna's house, in case we're needed to defend the castle. Also, Naofumi wants me to tell you that he 'fricking called it' and is asking if you at least got a good hit on that smug piece of crap.
Itsuki: I did hit him but it was just a mimic disguised as him. The coward wouldn't dare to show his face in a place where someone could punch it.
Itsuki: Are you sure that it's wise to leave the mountains? Wouldn't it be better for Naofumi to train in a place where he can connect with the energy of the world?
Rishia: Naofumi is still struggling with redirecting every attack with his ki. But he has become attuned enough to recognize his own vitality outside of the mountains.
Rishia: Whether we trained here or back home wouldn't matter. But if our friends are attacked, it'd be better if we were there to assist in the defense than out here.
Itsuki: I…
Itsuki's message trailed off. He felt like a stone had lodged itself in his throat as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say.
…
He eventually typed out the rest of his statement on the ofuda's paper.
Itsuki: I just don't want you to get hurt.
…
Rishia: I don't want you to get hurt either.
Rishia: Please, come back as soon as you're able to.
Rishia: I really need you, Itsuki.
Itsuki felt tears sting the edges of his eyes.
Itsuki: Once the chaos here settles down. I'll come back as soon as I can.
Itsuki thought on it some more. He couldn't just let the conversation end on a bleak note.
Itsuki: Before this, I managed to meet the writer of that manga we've been reading together. He gave me the next couple of volumes for it, in Japanese and in this world's language. So we'll both be able to read them together.
Rishia: Really?! I'd love that a lot!
Itsuki: I thought you'd like that. :)
…
Rishia: Take care, Itsuki.
…
Itsuki: You too, Rishia.
Itsuki put the ofuda at his side. He continued to stare down with a dead-eyed expression. Even though he knew she was more than capable, he still couldn't help but worry…
"Hey, don't worry about Squishy. She's more than capable by herself." Kizuna said what he was thinking, smiling a little now that Kana was asleep and cuddled into the Hunting Tools Hero.
"I wasn't messaging Rishia because I was worried about her!" Itsuki rebuked.
"Oh, so you were talking to her just now and not Naofumi?" Kizuna asked curiously.
…
"How can you be positive enough to tease me right now?" Itsuki grumbled as he crossed his arms around his stomach.
"Oh, I'm not positive at all," Kizuna replied wistfully. "I'm angry at our situation. I'm frustrated with the other nations in my world. I was just betrayed by one of my good friends. He said all of my efforts up to this point to try and make this world a better place have been for nothing. And the scary thing is: he almost convinced me that he was right in that regard.
"To top it off, I'm having to sit here babysitting while everyone else is trying to clean up this &%$#ing mess. I desperately want to just curl into a ball and cry right now. But if there's anything I've learned in my life, it's that stewing on these emotions won't do me or anyone else any good.
"So if I can't do anything else, at least I can make sure my closest friends are able to feel somewhat normal while others are trying to make things at least a little bit better."
After saying that, she focused her attention on little Kana again. Rocking her back and forth in her lap.
...
Itsuki, whose mind was so full of anger towards himself and everything else at that moment of time, focused on the little princess.
Kana was dressed in a little red onesie. A plate of red hair just like her mother's adorned her head. A red gemstone was embedded in her forehead, and the little girl was smiling in her sleep. She really seemed to enjoy nestling herself into the Hunting Hero's embrace.
She really was a little bundle of joy. And it helped Itsuki to smile if only a little.
"Can I hold her?" Itsuki eventually asked.
"Is it alright if my friend holds Kana?" Kizuna asked the group of nannies standing nearby.
"If… as long as he's gentle with her." The lead one eventually said.
Kizuna handed Kana off to Itsuki, and he held the little girl in his arms.
She felt incredibly warm. She shifted in her sleep and began to suck on her thumb.
Itsuki's heart melted in his chest at the sight. And the smile on his face grew just a little bigger.
"I wonder if I'll be a mother one day." Kizuna suddenly said.
"Oh? Is there… anyone you're interested in?" Itsuki asked, choosing to engage in the small talk.
"Not in particular. It's just a thought I've had from time to time." Kizuna admitted. "Though, I'm thinking that I enjoy being the cool Auntie too right now."
"Yeah, you and Glass." Itsuki chuckled to himself.
"What was that?" Kizuna asked.
"Nothing," Itsuki replied.
Kizuna began to pout. But Itsuki didn't elaborate on what he'd said. Which made it more amusing when the girl continued to pout at him, driving away some of the darkness of their situation.
Maybe she was right. This felt a lot better than stewing over the negatives.
"I've never really thought about it before… but I wonder if I'd be the cool uncle or not." Itsuki eventually replied. "I can't really see myself being a father like Naofumi or Corrin."
"You're still young. Give it a couple of years before you think about things like that." Kizuna replied with a smile.
"Aren't you only 18? That'd make you one year older than me." Itsuki frowned.
"I also spent several years in prison by myself," Kizuna replied. "When you spend that much time alone, you tend to think about things you wouldn't think about otherwise."
…
The two continued talking about random things. And eventually, Corrin came back. Glass was with him too.
Though both were grim-faced, it wasn't all bad news.
"Those who were still at the Conference and weren't busy fighting with one another have agreed to form a coalition against Kyo and Luvar," Corrin stated. "They sent word back to their nations to get their armies mobilized to deal with the mimics and that afterward they were to march to assist Lapis and Sickle as soon as possible."
"Lapis? Does that mean…" Kizuna trailed off, but her eyes were hopeful.
"Yes. The Book Hero attacked our country. He spilled the blood of our soldiers on our soil… and, more than that, he tried to assassinate my family…" The King's gauntleted fist clenched as a dark look entered his eyes.
"I believe that my people will tolerate it if I disregard our country's long-standing neutral stance to go to war with our enemy. And if they won't… I am still King. Even if I don't like to throw it around unnecessarily, my authority on military matters is still absolute. I shall make that villain regret the day he labeled me as a 'cowardly king'."
"... thank you. I know how much it means for Lapis to ally with someone for a war." Kizuna said gratefully. Though, her face became sad after that. "Is Hinoka going to be alright?"
"She'll live. She's… always been a tough one. The healing mages have told me that they had to knock her out so they could heal her injuries without her trying to get out of bed. She should be back before dinner if she isn't awake sooner than that." Corrin chuckled a little at that. Though it didn't improve his mood much.
"As for when we will be able to expect Lapis's assistance, that is to be determined," Glass stated next. "Most of the airships here at the castle were damaged in one way or another by Kyo's mimics. It will be some time before they're airworthy again."
"My thanks again for dealing with that, Fan Hero," Corrin told her. Glass nodded in response.
"What can we do in the meantime?" Kizuna asked.
…
"... if it isn't too much to ask, I'd like for some of you to stay here, to help protect the other Cardinal Heroes," Corrin said after a moment of contemplation.
…
"Kyo included them in the attack. And if they'd died… it would have made things grave for our world." Corrin proceeded in response to everyone's silence. "Me, and many others in the world, would feel better if they remained safe."
"But… Your Majesty? We could be needed in Sickle at any moment." Glass argued. "Label shares a border with us. Kyo's armies will surely be attacking from there next with our Hourglass locked down!"
"And besides, Kyo invited us to stop him in Luvar! If we don't make a move soon, he'll attack us first!" Itsuki argued.
"I know. And I understand." Corrin said with such seriousness that Glass and Itsuki couldn't refute it. "But as much as people might not like them, our world can't afford the deaths of any of the Cardinal Heroes. Especially now, with the Waves being as powerful as they are.
"And Bow Hero, do you really think it'd be that simple? After everything that Kyo just did, do you really think that rushing off to face him wouldn't be playing right into his hands?" Corrin asked Itsuki next.
The blonde hero opened his mouth to refute it… only to be unable to come up with a counterargument. "I don't understand though." He said instead. "If Kyo was really doing all this to unite people against the Waves. Why the hell did he try to kill the other Cardinal Heroes?"
"Perhaps Corrin is right, and Kyo was lying. Hiding his true agenda from us," Glass muttered. "You heard how he dismissed our world before. Could you truly think he was doing all of this to 'protect' it?"
Kizuna's fists clenched at her side. But she couldn't say anything to refute her best friend.
…
"Well… what if we convinced the other Heroes to come to Sickle with us?" Kizuna offered. "Even if Kyo is attacking there next, Sickle has many strong allies there right now. Some of them would be capable of leveling the trio up on their own if they had to. And besides that, it'd be far better for me to be somewhere where I know everyone likes me, no offense to your people or anything Corrin."
"..." Corrin crossed his arms as he silently pondered it for a moment.
"If I could order them to go with you, I would." The king finally answered. "I care about your safety too, Kizuna. And I agree that some of my people... do not like you as much as I do. As it stands, however, the other Heroes are here in Lapis by their own choice. You'd have to convince them to leave. If you can manage to do that, I wouldn't bar them or you from leaving. So long as they'd be kept safe."
It was then that Kana began to squirm in Itsuki's grip and softly cry as she woke up. Corrin moved to take his daughter from the Bow Hero and began to pat her softly on the back.
"Thank you for watching over my daughter." He suddenly said sincerely. There was such a look of love and care in his eyes that Itsuki had to turn away. "I promise, your kindness for this will not go unrewarded."
"Now go, there's much that remains to be done."
Because of Kyo's attack, and him somehow managing to get all these mimics past all of Lapis's defenses, Corrin had more than enough reason to declare war on Luvar. And to stand side by side with Sickle in warring against their enemy without much, or any backlash from the other nations in the world.
True to his word, some of the smaller nations chose to side with Corrin's decision too. Meaning that L'Arc's army would soon receive reinforcements making it almost four times its original size. With Lapis's airfleet to boot once it was repaired.
However, it would take time for this all to happen. And Glass had to immediately leave with the Label delegates in tow. There wasn't much they could do with their country being taken over. But at the very least, they could still give out orders to their troops closest to the borders and tell them to escape to Sickle with whatever resources and assets that they could get their hands on before Kyo's army besieged their positions with Label's captured airfleet.
L'Arc had already sent orders to his troops there to allow all of Label's soldiers and refugees to cross the border. And Ethnobalt was on his way to pick the spirit woman and the Label delegates up with his Boat.
"You don't have to go back, Glassy. You already warned L'Arc to lock the Hourglass so nobody could use it over ofuda." Kizuna pleaded. "Itsuki could go back instead."
"I know. I want to stay here with you if at all possible, but Kyo's plans are greater than we realized. And Hero Itsuki, for all his strength, is not in a position to lead Sickle's troops. I need to get our troops ready to defend Sickle as soon as possible. And I trust Itsuki enough to protect you should you need it."
"T-Then you could have Itsuki teleport you back! I'll be fine staying with the Cardinal Heroes here by myself!" Kizuna added to her plea.
"Kizuna… Corrin asked for two of us to defend them… and it was bad enough that a monster infiltrated the defenses of this place. What if Kyo had people infiltrate it too? And what of those here that already hate you?" Glass asked worriedly, resting a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "What if Itsuki did teleport me back, only to find that Kyo or someone else had somehow put up an anti-teleportation barrier around Lazuli? Preventing him from returning and protecting you."
"Even if it only took Itsuki two hours to bring me home and come back… what if two hours was all that was needed to make you disappear again?"
…
Kizuna's voice began to choke up as tears filled her eyes. "This… is all happening so fast. K-Kyo…"
Glass gave her best friend a hug. The Spirit Woman was holding back tears of her own. "If only I'd been here…" Kizuna weakly muttered. "If only I hadn't been captured…"
"Do not blame yourself for what has become of our former friend," Glass said sincerely. "He has chosen this path for himself, just like I did once.
"I am sorry if you hate it when I say this. But he has become a threat to our world. We must stop him before he destroys it and everything we love.
"Kyo infiltrated this place. And not only that, he tried to kill the other three Cardinal Heroes. As much as I hate them for their complacency with the Waves, we cannot afford to have them killed. We cannot afford for the Waves to become even more powerful all over the world. I can agree with King Corrin on that much."
"Is… is there really nothing we can do?" Kizuna asked helplessly.
…
Glass embraced her best friend in a comforting hug again. Kizuna took the time to break down on her best friend's shoulder. Sobbing out some of her frustration and self-loathing for their situation.
"I-I'm sorry for ruining the pretty kimono that you made for me." The shorter girl hiccuped.
"It's okay. I'll make you a new one. And It'll be even better than the last one, I promise."
Glass rubbed the back of Kizuna's head. Letting out some tears of her own.
…
It was a few moments before the two separated and Kizuna was able to speak. "A-Alright. I'll try to convince the Heroes to come with us as soon as possible."
"I shall look forward to it," Glass said with a soft smile.
They held onto each other again up until the moment Ethnobalt arrived in his large boat to take Glass and the Label delegates back to Sickle. Kizuna put on a smile as she let go of Glass and hugged the large rabbit man.
"To attack so openly and boldly... Kyo must be fully confident in his success." The Boat Hero noted somberly. "Whatever injuries and humiliation that he'd suffered over in Naofumi's and Itsuki's world, he must have fully recovered from it. I trust that I don't need to point out that his challenge for you that he put forward is a trap?"
Kizuna shook her head sadly. "Don't worry Ethnobalt, I'm not going to rush into danger blindly. We'll figure out where to go from here when I get back. Together."
"Of course." The rabbit man gently patted the girl on the head. "Still, if that's truly the best solution that Kyo had come up with to save our world, I am severely disappointed. Absolute control through fear and force might be quick and easy to acquire with proper resources, but it's just as easy to lose at any given moment. History teaches us that much. No tyrant ever lasts for long. It almost makes me wonder if that's truly the extent of his plan or if it's just a cover for something even more sinister..."
The Boat Hero blinked and shook his head when he noticed Kizuna squirming in place uncomfortably. "Ah, pardon me, I allowed my mind to wander again. Needless to say, we'll get through this one way or another. So have faith, Kizuna. A new dawn will come, that much is certain."
The girl nodded and hugged the Boat Hero again. But eventually, she had to let go and it wasn't long before Ethnobalt left on his boat together with Glass and the Katana country's Minister.
Kizuna stood on the ground for a moment. Staring up as Ethnobalt flew out of the city towards the direction of Lazuli's hourglass. Where he'd use it to get as close to Sickle's capital as possible before flying manually the rest of the way.
When his ship grew distant enough that it disappeared over the high walls, Itsuki walked up next to the Hunting Tools Hero. His Bow gripped tightly in his hands.
"I guess we better get to convincing the other Heroes to evacuate as soon as possible." The Bow Hero spoke up tensely.
"... yeah, let's do that." The Hunting Tools Hero agreed.
It was back to business as usual. With no time to dwell on what had happened once again.
The two Cardinal Heroes left the airfield behind and returned to the castle. To begin what they hoped would be the easy task of convincing the other Cardinal Heroes to come with them to Sickle.
Three days passed since the attack on Lazuli.
Three, &^%$&^%, days.
Itsuki thought it would have been simple. "Hey, you all were attacked and all, so this place isn't really safe anymore. We've been assigned to be your bodyguards, so how about you come with us to Sickle? We're strong, and we can keep you safe so we can also deal with Kyo without standing around here twiddling our thumbs and all. We even have allies who could level you all up so you'll be better able to protect yourselves. What do you say?"
…
Yeah, he was an idiot for being so optimistic.
They hadn't found the three Heroes in the Conference Room. But eventually, thanks to the help of a soldier, they found the rooms Corrin had given to them for whenever they wanted to stay in the castle. And while they were there…
"Oh, it's just a seasonal event. Nothing to really worry about." Daitan had responded. Not even looking up from the bench presses he was currently doing in the room's own mini gymnasium.
Daitan was clearly as idiotic as before. And Akane… wasn't much better in hindsight.
"I have more important things to worry about than some idiot NPC who attacked the Conference introducing himself as the Demon Lord. Thank you, but I wasn't really into that trope in the games I played. As long as no one triggers the next event flag, he won't attack again." Akane said with a roll of her eyes.
Her room had half-made clothes strewn all over it. They turned out to be different things she was designing for a new fashion line. It was chaos, but organized chaos for the girl, who seemed perfectly content with waiting out the storm where she was.
Maybe… Hoshi would respond better to their suggestion. Since he was already such a natural coward.
But…
"I… I have a deadline to meet for my next manga. Sorry, but I really need to get to work on that. I don't have time to focus on this seasonal event." Hoshi responded before closing the door to his room.
Well, at least he'd been more polite.
And at least they were all staying at the castle, so it wasn't like it was that hard to find them and protect them.
…
…
"This is going to be hard, isn't it?" Itsuki asked his fellow Hero at the end of the day.
"Yeah. But maybe tomorrow will be a better day?" Kizuna offered.
The next day wasn't much better. Though it wasn't from a lack of effort.
They'd tried a more friendly approach. Itsuki went first to Daitan's room after breakfast to try working out with the sandy-haired Hero. He didn't try to ask him to leave or to believe him about the strengthening methods. Instead, he showed Daitan how much he could bench press thanks to his stats and showed off his archery skills on a range near the castle's gem garden.
Daitan had been impressed, on both accounts. And the archery thing had even gotten him to try and compete against Itsuki to see who was more accurate.
While he couldn't wield a bow, Daitan could use ranged Hero skills from his weapon. He was surprisingly accurate with them, but it was incomparable to Itsuki.
"Does your Bow boost your accuracy or something?" Daitan asked when Itsuki won the fifth competition in a row. Daitan would have gone for best out of thirteen but had run out of soul power for his skills. And the cooldown for using them had gotten annoying even for him.
"It's actually an ability from my world. The one I lived in before I was summoned as a Hero." Itsuki answered, explaining the details of Aim Correction to the Blunt Weapons Hero.
He'd seemed to understand at the very least. Though some parts of Itsuki's explanation drew a blank look. Shortly after that, Daitan returned to his room, forcing Itsuki to go to Hoshi next.
He talked with Hoshi about what he'd read from the first volume the previous night before bed. And he genuinely was more interested in the story now since he could read and understand it.
"I couldn't help but notice, but one of the girls seems to look very similar to Akane," Itsuki noted in one of the conversations.
"Oh, that's because she is based on her," Hoshi admitted with a shy smile. "Akane asked me to include her in some capacity because my manga could be used as a way for her to show off some of the outfits she'd designed. Kind of like free advertising."
They talked some more. But Itsuki didn't glean that much more about him, or Akane, or Daitan in general. But at least Hoshi agreed that since Itsuki had been assigned to him as a bodyguard that he'd join his party. Doing so added his stats and information below Daitan's in the party HUD.
Itsuki's stomach fell, seeing the Ofuda Hero was only Level 60.
During that day, Kizuna had managed to get Akane to join the party too. The Jewel Hero was in a better spot, with her level being 75. Still, all their stats looked pretty much like what Itsuki had before he incorporated the other's strengthening methods.
They were certainly higher than a normal person's. But not nearly as high as they could have been if they'd shared their methods with one another.
Not to mention, despite Itsuki's and Kizuna's work and effort to get to know the other Heroes… they still remained very much closed off about their past lives before being summoned.
That night, Itsuki had talked with Kizuna, asking how her day with Akane had gone.
"It was so weird. We ended up going to all these stores all over Lazuli but she didn't buy anything." Kizuna grumbled. "When I asked what she was doing, all she said was 'scouting out the competition'.
"I didn't even get to fish today because she had no interest in doing that! The nerve!"
And thus, they'd come to their third day in Lazuli. With the both of them trying yet again to grow closer to the Heroes so they could convince them to leave.
It was, as expected, no more successful than their efforts from the previous two days.
They went out as a group into Lazuli so that Kizuna and Itsuki could be shown everything the other Heroes had become familiar with over the previous couple of years. But by this point, the beauty of the city was starting to wear off on the Bow Hero.
Call it travel weariness. Call it getting used to seeing the gemstones everywhere. Or, what was the most likely reason, his mounting frustration at not being able to return to Rishia and his friends as quickly as he'd thought he would. He wanted nothing more than to freaking GET OUT OF THERE!
Itsuki was currently out in a forest by the lake surrounding Lazuli, actually. Taking his frustration of that day out on every monster he came across.
It might have been risky, but Kizuna and the others were in the castle, which was filled with Corrin's most loyal soldiers at the moment. So he'd managed to get permission from the King to leave the city and vent his frustrations out on the local monster population.
'This is &^%$&^% ridiculous! Why did I have to be the one given this task!?
The memory of dinner earlier that day with all three still haunted his mind.
"So how many siblings did you have again, Kizuna?" Itsuki asked.
"Two. One older, and one younger. Both sisters." Kizuna smiled. "How about you?"
"I was an only child," Itsuki replied. "I think my parents talked about wanting to have another kid when I was ten. But they never had the time off work to consider it."
"Yeah. It was the same case for my parents." Kizuna looked at the other three Heroes at the table. "What about you three? What are your families like?"
"Um…"
"Ehh…"
"Nothing special…"
Their answers varied. But their answers were all vague and dodged the question in one form or another.
"Come on, we're all friends here. We can talk about these things, right?" Kizuna asked with her signature smile that no one could say no to.
Only, they shuffled some more in their seats, and then they focused on eating their food again.
They said no to the smile no one could say no to. It was such a blow to Kizuna that it took her several moments to recover and think of something to say next. "Itsuki, you've had some pretty awesome fights back in your world! Mind telling me about them?!"
"Um… sure, but what brought this on?" Itsuki said confusedly.
"Well, Naofumi never told me much about the fights that you all participated in! And I've only heard brief snippets about the Spirit Tortoise from Glassy!" Kizuna continued excitedly.
Itsuki looked uncertain. But he delved into it after a bit more prodding from Kizuna.
He didn't talk about the first month after his summoning, since there hadn't been much to say, and since that had been a moment in time he'd rather forget due to how stupid he was back then. But he did tell Kizuna about the first Wave he fought in alongside Ren and Motoyasu. How they took down a large Chimera Beast without Naofumi's help.
He then talked about how Naofumi had not only faced off against Motoyasu in a duel right after but how he'd managed to win said duel. It was only when he was describing an underdog moment for the Shield Hero that the other Heroes finally looked up from their meals, taking an interest in Itsuki's story.
"What were the two of them dueling over?" Hoshi asked curiously.
"Naofumi had a friend in his party who was a slave. He'd been so jaded by events in our world that he couldn't trust anyone else to work with him back then." Itsuki answered.
"A slave? That exists in your game too?" Akane asked.
"It's not a- yes, it does exist in our world," Itsuki answered, forcing himself to not grit his teeth. "Anyway, after that duel…" Itsuki continued his story. Detailing to the other three how Naofumi had 'lost' according to the Princess and the King, how Raphtalia was freed, how she stood up to their unfairness, and how it inspired him and Ren to stand up for Naofumi as well.
He continued from there, saying how he'd gone on the path to ending slavery in that country. How it landed him in trouble with the country's Church. How he had to escape a trap and work alongside Ren to save Naofumi after he was captured.
He continued speaking. Omitting personal details about his Cursed Series and the things they all went through mentally and emotionally. By the time he got to describing the fight with Balamus, it really looked like he had the other three's attention.
"How did you guys defeat someone as powerful as him?" Daitan asked in disbelief.
"We were stronger because me and Ren had shared our strengthening methods with each other and Naofumi…" Itsuki paused, waiting to see if it'd sink in for them or not. When it didn't, he continued, hiding just a bit more frustration behind his voice. "More than that though, Naofumi didn't give up even after the rest of us were taken out of the fight. And thanks to a woman sacrificing her life to cut off the Pope's dominant hand, Naofumi was given the time to seal him away with a hero skill. And that's how we won." Itsuki answered.
…
"You mean… you didn't defeat him with overwhelming power?" Daitan asked, almost as if he was disappointed.
"I mean… we could have if he hadn't taken us by surprise…" Itsuki trailed off, but eventually went back to tell the tale.
They were still paying attention. But not as much as before. Itsuki eventually trailed off around the war that almost happened between Siltvelt and Melromarc, because he really didn't know what to say after that.
Their first fight with Glass hadn't ended well. And even though the second fight with her had been a curb stomp in their favor, the ending to that fight had been… very much more emotional than anything physical. And then with the Spirit Tortoise…
Itsuki shuddered. There'd been so much with that Guardian Beast. So much that they simply wouldn't be able to believe unless they'd been there to see it for themselves. And he just didn't know what to say next to them or…
"Hey, guys, I have a question I want to ask you." Kizuna suddenly said, making Itsuki feel relieved that his part of the conversation was over.
"What is it, Kizuna?" Akane spoke promptly.
"I… I was told by a good friend we all know that while you guys have no reason to fight. You all have a reason to keep on living in this world.
"He told me to ask you what that reason was. So I want the truth. Why are you still living in this world and pretending everything is still a game? What is your reason for needing to live?" Kizuna said, looking at them seriously.
…
…
Itsuki stared at Kizuna. Hadn't… hadn't that been something he'd overheard from her and L'Arc's conversation before they left?
…
The Heroes didn't answer. They seemed to look at each other with unreadable expressions on their faces. Then they looked at Kizuna again with forced smiles.
"I'm sorry. I think I'm tired from everything today." Akane said.
"Same, I think I could sleep for a couple of moons," Daitan said unsurely.
"I guess we'll see you two tomorrow? Or until the seasonal event is over?" Hoshi asked hopefully.
…
Both Cardinal Heroes sagged in their chairs. "Yeah… I guess we'll see you later." Kizuna said without any emotion in her voice.
The three thanked them for having dinner with them, and then rushed back into the castle to go back to their rooms.
…
Kizuna and Itsuki both shared a glance before sighing once more.
It had been yet another day wasted trying to convince the other Heroes to leave.
Itsuki held his head in his hands. Frustrated beyond belief.
Kizuna had gone with them afterward, saying she wanted to try a slumber party since that sometimes got people to open up. But Itsuki couldn't take it anymore. So here he was, outside of the beautiful gem city, sniping every monster he came across and absorbing them into his Bow without so much as glancing at them or seeing what Weapon Forms he was unlocking doing this.
'What will it take to get them to leave?! I can't go back since me and Kizuna were assigned to protect them! URGH! WHY ME!?'
As he stewed over his situation and killed a few more monsters, he wondered what Naofumi would do to fix things. Since he almost always seemed to know what to do nowadays and…
'Wait… Naofumi!'
Itsuki found a spot devoid of monsters and took out the communication ofuda he had to contact Naofumi. Instead of sending a message as he would with Rishia, he instead called the Shield Hero and waited for him to answer.
Because of the time difference, he realized quickly that Naofumi might be asleep. Or… not. But before Itsuki could cringe at the thought, the Shield Hero answered within a few seconds of him making the call.
"What is it, Itsuki? Is Kyo attacking again?" The Shield Hero asked with urgency.
"Ah, no. It's been quiet so far… You weren't trying to sleep right now or anything?" Itsuki asked in surprise.
"... no. I'm trying to get everyone's accessories done in time for when we make the assault on the Book country's capital." Naofumi responded with a sigh.
"Watching Master Craftsman working so diligently is such a delight!" A female voice said in the background.
"Oi! Get back to your projects Romina! We'll need that equipment too for what's ahead of us!" Naofumi yelled.
"Rafu!" Raph-Chan made her presence known on the other end as well. Knowing the shikigami, she was likely nestled on Naofumi's shoulder as he worked.
It took a minute, with Itsuki hearing what he guessed to be the sounds of Naofumi pushing the gem blacksmith out the door before making a deep sigh. "Anyway, you were saying?" Naofumi asked.
"Well, it just seemed like since we reunited with Raphtalia and everyone…" Itsuki trailed off.
"Oh, that," Naofumi said dryly. "Yeah, well you don't have to cry about not getting some anymore. Us couples have really toned it down since we got the news about Label and Mikikage. Dealing with the mimic monsters Kyo sent our way also helped with that."
"I wasn't crying about it! I was disgusted!" Itsuki shouted angrily, and he could hear Naofumi chuckling in response.
"Whatever! I called you because I need your help, you jerk!" Itsuki said next.
"Right, right, sorry. I just couldn't help myself. It's been pretty tense these last few days." Naofumi chuckled again before continuing in a serious tone. "What do you need help with, Itsuki?"
Itsuki explained the situation with the other three Cardinal Heroes. How he and Kizuna had tried several methods to try and befriend them so they could convince them to go to Sickle with them. How nothing seemed to be working. How they were treating what was happening like it was a game.
"It's so goddamn frustrating!" Itsuki shouted at the end. "I swear, I have no idea how you didn't just punch me and the others before at the start when we first met! They're so stupid Naofumi, it's ridiculous!"
"Not really," Naofumi replied somberly, to the Bow Hero's surprise. "I'd say their reactions are actually pretty normal for people like us."
"Really? And what makes you say that?" Itsuki asked sarcastically.
"Because before the betrayal, I had the same mindset that you guys had," Naofumi replied.
…
…
"What?" Itsuki finally responded.
"Before… well, that whole fiasco with Bitch. I was in the same mindset as you three, more or less. Sure, it might not have been like any game I played. But it definitely seemed like one at first glance. More than that Itsuki, we were in another world! And everything seemed fantastic and amazing even if everyone didn't like me and the King didn't show me as much respect as the rest of you. It was every trope I'd read about come to life! It was a dream come true for me!
"I guess you could say that I was being naively optimistic, but it didn't really bother me back then," Naofumi continued to explain. "It was a new world for me to explore. And the events of those first two days really made me begin to think that I was in a video game. Had things continued as they had, I would have dug myself even deeper into that mindset just like you guys did."
"But… but you were the one that told us this wasn't a game. That it was all real." Itsuki said in disbelief.
"... Yes, I did. And who do you think was responsible for me realizing that?" Naofumi replied with a certain rigidity in his tone.
…
"Bitch." Itsuki said in realization.
"When I overheard her conversation. When I realized just how deep in the &^%$ I actually was. That was when I knew it, Itsuki. That was when I knew this was no longer a game." The Shield Hero said seriously. "That was when I woke up to the reality of the world we were in. And I haven't thought of it as I did those first two days ever since.
"The same thing happened to you, Ren, and Motoyasu too, right? The circumstances and the context might have been different, but the general gist of it was that we all were forced to swallow a big, hard, and bitter reality pill to awaken to the situation we were in."
"Yeah, but…" Itsuki trailed off.
Naofumi was right.
Their situations were definitely different from one another's. But it'd taken them a nasty confrontation with reality to make them realize that they weren't in a game. Whether it was getting tricked into killing a peace-loving dragon, realizing that the person who they trusted most hated them and was only using them to further their own goals, or witnessing a little girl being murdered in cold blood by someone for no other reason besides spite.
In a way, it'd been the same thing for all of them. An event traumatic to each of them specifically that pushed them over the edge and forced them to take up the mantle that came with their titles for real.
"If you want to get through to them as quickly as possible, you have to show them undeniable proof that they're not in a game," Naofumi said seriously. "And I suggest you do it fast. L'Arc told us today that he received a report stating that a group of elite warriors made it past the border wall. If that's true, we could be attacked within a few days at most. I'd rather us be the proactive ones, but if the male bitch wants to attack first, then we'll need to be ready. And I'd feel a hell of a lot more confident with you here to watch our backs.."
Itsuki gulped. "I'll… I'll try my best, Naofumi."
"Good. Before you go, I'm about to enchant a new accessory meant for you. Are there any specific enchantments you want on it?" Naofumi asked.
"Um… defense, probably," Itsuki admitted.
"Oh? Is there a particular reason for that? I would have thought you'd want another magic one. Or an agility one. Or perhaps an attack one since that's your highest stat." Naofumi pondered out loud.
"Yeah, defense is my lowest stat… so I'd rather have something to buff that. I'm not really good at dodging like you or Ren are, so agility would be wasted on me. Seeing how our last fight against Kyo went… I'd prefer not to crumple like a paper cup immediately if any of our enemy's stray attacks manage to get past you."
"Hmmm… fair enough. Alright, let's see what we get here." Naofumi hummed to himself in thought.
…
"Oh, what do you know? Attack Up (Medium) and Defense Up (Large). Looks like it's your lucky day, assuming one or the other doesn't change when you equip this accessory to your weapon."
"Heh, the last one didn't really change though." Itsuki chuckled.
"Yeah, but it still had that hidden effect of changing your Wind Arrow to Tornado Arrow," Naofumi replied. "I speak from experience when I say that our weapons are capable of drawing out hidden powers from accessories, whether I make them or not."
"At the cost of the accessory's life, that is," Itsuki muttered. He looked down at the Bow keychain still hanging from his weapon.
It really did look scratched and beat up, now that he was taking a closer look. After what he'd learned about gems recently, he felt genuinely terrible about it.
"Well, I'll look forward to giving this to you when you get back," Naofumi stated. "I just have a couple more to work on here, and then I'm off to bed."
"Alright, I'll… hopefully be back soon," Itsuki replied.
They exchanged goodbyes and hung up.
…
Itsuki sat in his spot, pondering over Naofumi's advice.
He had to get the Heroes to realize that they weren't in a game… but if they believed that Kyo was just a seasonal NPC meant to terrorize the populace…
He thought about it… and continued through the forest as he did so. Coming upon the base of the mountains in his pondering. The forest around him disappeared.
He found himself at the entrance of a ruined village. Likely destroyed by a previous Wave that'd hit the area based on what he could see. The wall around it had been breached from the inside out. And many of the buildings had holes in their roofs indicating monsters had fallen from the sky.
The dilapidated buildings weren't overgrown with nature, which might have indicated it was from a recent Wave. Only, there was no nature around the perimeter of the village either. The scent of death wafted from the inside, as well as the moans and groans of the undead.
…
…
Seeing it, Itsuki felt he should purge the area immediately. Only, an idea came to his mind. One that he began to think hard on.
If he wanted to make the other Heroes see that they weren't in a game, then…
…
'Alright.'
It would not be pretty. And there was no way in hell that Kizuna would ever approve of what he had in mind. But desperate times require desperate measures. And if it required him to get his hands dirty again in order to force the other Heroes to face reality…
Then so be it.
Author's Notes:
Yeah, based on a recent review, I felt I should make it clear that even Naofumi would have fallen for the game idea early on if not for being forced to swallow a hard reality pill courtesy of Bitch. In canon, that is what it takes for each hero to get to where Naofumi is at. Naofumi wasn't more special in that regard. He was only special in that it was given to him FAR sooner than the other three Heroes.
I have not changed that one bit for the other Heroes or their original personalities. I just gave the pill to them earlier on. That's it.
Next time, watch as Itsuki force feeds the other three Heroes a reality pill of their own.
Hero Clips!
Head Shots
The single energy arrow sailed through the air, piercing Kyo's head right through the eye socket. Everyone gasped at the sight, but the Book Hero didn't even flinch. Itsuki's eyes narrowed in confusion.
…
"Hmhmhmhm, oh? Don't tell me, did you actually think that I'd come here in per-?" Kyo's nasally voice chuckled darkly.
Another energy arrow pierced through his other eyesocket, cutting him off.
…
After a few seconds, both wounds regenerated. Kyo looked down at Itsuki boredly. "Yo, idiot, don't you realize that I'm not actually-"
A pair of arrows pierced his eyes simultaneously, and the wounds regenerated more quickly than before. "Hey-"
And then it happened again.
"Hey-"
And again.
"Hey-"
And again.
After his wounds regenerated again, Kyo began to screech in anger. "I'M NOT HERE YOU STUPID-" A pair of arrows went through his eyes while a third one went through his throat, severing his vocal cords.
As soon as they'd regenerated, Kyo began screaming in frustration. Only for Itsuki to cut it off as he continued his unrelenting barrage with a steel look on his face.
"Wow… these mimics really have a lot of health," Glass muttered as she watched it continue. "... and some impressive regeneration too."
Kizuna simply sat with her face held in her hands while sighing.
"I guess we'll be here for a while." Daitan shrugged helplessly while watching the Book Hero begin screaming obscenities at the Bow Hero, only to lose his voice again.
"Want a snack?" Hoshi asked.
"Yeah, sure." Daitan smiled.
"Get something for me too," Akane muttered while watching the show. "It's not often that you get to see the NPC's bugged out like this."
The others in the room mumbled as the show didn't stop even as more and more minutes went by. It didn't appear that Itsuki was going to stop anytime soon.
"Hmmm, aren't we forgetting about someth-" Corrin began to ask.
KABOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ships on the royal airfield exploded one after another in a chain reaction due to no one coming to stop the mimics attacking them. The walls around the castle as well as most of the castle caved in under the series of explosions. Killing almost everybody inside the walls.
Everybody except the Bow Hero and the original Kyo mimic that is.
Itsuki was still shooting the monster through the head over and over again even as the dust and debris settled around them.
"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-" Kyo's voice was cut off once more.
Itsuki would set a world record for the most consistent amount of headshots ever by the time it was over.
Till Next Time
Allen