For those who don't know, I have been steadily crossposting this fic over on AO3. Besides cleaning up some text here and there which I haven't done much of here on fanfiction . net since Arc Five, I am also inserting art images a good friend of mine named Lyron is making not only for the Main Heroes, but their party members as well as other characters as well. I am posting them at the tops of some of the chapters over on AO3.
Yes, this also means that sometime in the future, you will have visual representations of not only the main cast, but most likely a lot, if not all of the OCs I have created. Yes, this means Dou-Lon has a visual now. You may hunt for it and bask in the awesomeness of his Majestic presence.
Chapter Seventy-Seven: Rise of the Otherworld Heroes
- ENTRY #20 -
It has been several months since the fall of the Demon Dragon.
'They' are getting impatient with me again since there is no more reason to keep ████████████ around anymore.
I've told 'them' repeatedly that I already have a plan to discreetly eliminate her. That I am merely just working on my experiments while I wait for the opportunity to ████████████ in one fell swoop.
The Mirror has already chosen a new wielder, and I learned that the Harpoon had also chosen another wielder during the Final Battle against the Demon Dragon. However, I have not been able to learn any details about the Mirror's summoning. As for the details of the original Harpoon wielder's death…
Regardless, I've told 'them' that I'm working on it. And that I just need a little more time to ensure that the ████████████ will be gone. And so will the other vassals that aren't loyal to 'them'.
████████████ invited me to come along on another one of her fishing trips again.
I had to come up with another reason to pass on it.
- ENTRY #24 -
████████████ keeps on sending me letters, asking if I want to come on her latest planned fishing trip. The fact that she isn't choosing to send me an ofuda to contact me that way shows how personal this is to her.
She's long since learned to read, and has even learned how to write since these letters are no longer written by ████████████. Her handwriting is a little messy at times, and she often uses the wrong characters to spell out a word, but despite that her writing shows clear signs of hard work and progress.
She keeps writing to me to tell me about the various adventures that she and the rest of her friends have gone on lately. The Demon Dragon might be gone, but there is always work to be done ████████████. She is meeting new people and seeing new things every day, eager to experience everything this world has to offer. She has also gone through the whole book I gave her back when we celebrated Christmas together. And in her latest letter, she said she wants to ask for my help to find a certain fish off ████████████ that only appears when it is storming.
I've had to tell her repeatedly that I'm too busy with my own work. But that I'll consider it when I have time.
'They' are growing more impatient though. I'm sure, the next time I see ████████████
…
In the past, I used to feel eager to work with 'them', because I thought that all worlds everywhere were full of scum and awful people. That some of them could be useful as tools to exploit, but nothing more.
But now?... Now I can't help but wonder. Did the ████████████ really have no good people in it? Or was I just not paying enough attention to see them around me?
After reading over my old entries, I recalled fond memories of my ████████████. How they earnestly helped me to succeed. I wrote it off back then as them being only interested in ████████████. And yet, thinking back on my interactions with them now…
Was… ████████████
- ENTRY #25 -
I don't ████████████.
I don't ████████████.
I don't ████████████.
I must find a way out.
- ENTRY #26 -
The Hunting Tools Hero has gone missing.
She disappeared during a shipwreck off ████████████.
She was trying to find that stupid fish species she kept writing to me about.
I wondered why I haven't gotten any letters from her lately. Prince L'Arc sent me a message through an ofuda and gave me the news in his own voice.
Everyone is desperately looking for her. And the only clue they have that is pointing to the fact that Kizuna is still alive is the shikigami that Ethnobalt had made for her and the Fan Hero last Christmas. It would be able to tell if one of its 'parents' was dead.
…
I am ████████████.
- ENTRY #27 -
Nothing.
There is nothing. No clue. No trace. No witnesses. No shipwreck. No evidence anywhere pointing to what happened.
King Berg is emptying Sickle's coffers trying to use every available means to find her.
████████████ Ethnobalt are working day and night trying to use every available tracking, clairvoyance, and detection ritual this world has to offer to find her, but nothing is working!
Even the damn penguin is useless! The shikigami are supposed to be the ultimate tracking device used long, long ago by sailors from an ancient civilization! They would leave them with their families, so they wouldn't worry about their health and whereabouts during long voyages!
Or to give a definitive answer that they had perished.
The fact that Chris isn't able to do his job is not normal, no matter how you look at it.
████████████. No one questioned it. Everyone in Sickle, including King Berg, ████████████.
████████████ have suspicions about what might have happened. But ████████████ need to confirm it away from prying eyes. It has been a while since ████████████. It has lost its appeal to me as of late. And I fear the truth that it might reveal.
But this is an emergency. Time to put it to the test…
- ENTRY #28 -
I have ████████████.
I should have known. They are always watching. This is all being shown in real time after all.
I should have known, yet I could not resist. When I asked ████████████, 'they' descended upon me with my punishment.
Of course they took her. Who else is able to interfere in the universe the way 'they' do? They realized that I had grown too close with those who I was meant to destroy. They ████████████ to catch ████████████ and punished me greatly for it.
My mind feels foggy, there is little that I can remember about the event. Perhaps that in itself is a blessing, because every time I try to recall the details, I begin to vomit uncontrollably and experience symptoms usually associated with seizures.
Whatever had happened has destroyed ████████████ and left ████████████. She was crying uncontrollably and clinging to my body when I finally ████████████.
What an idiot…
On the plus side, I finally have ████████████, thanks to the two new tomes I unlocked.
I will make sure ████████████
- ENTRY #29 -
The main event has finally begun. The Waves of Destruction are here.
This is going to be f̶͓͈͚̂̚͠u̴͓̱̝̚n̶̫̣̪͊͘̕.
"Naofumi…"
Naofumi groaned as he opened his eyes.
It was super dark, but he was able to make out the silhouette of Raphtalia sitting on his bed. Her hand rested in his, and she was looking somewhere else. "Yeah? What is it, Raphtalia?"
"Ah, I… I'm sorry." Raphtalia looked at him in surprise, before looking away again. "I didn't mean to wake you up."
"Oh? So you mean to tell me you were watching me sleep just now?" Naofumi asked with a flirty grin as he groggily sat up next to her.
"I, well… yes, I was." Raphtalia blushed a little bit. "You looked really cute in your sleep. You and Raph-Chan."
"... … oh." Naofumi was left speechless at her honest response, and it was his turn to blush in embarrassment.
Looking to the side, he found that Raph-Chan had indeed snuck into the room while he was out. The adorable shikigami was currently lying next to his pillow, snoring softly in her sleep.
"Ah… is the Raph-Chan ban done then?" He asked Raphtalia hopefully.
"There was never a ban." Raphtalia chuckled softly while her hand found his and gripped it.
"Then… why was she sleeping with you during the past few nights instead of me?" Naofumi pouted.
Raphtalia smirked. "I may or may not have used treats you'd made for her to bribe her into staying with me."
…
WHAT?! WAS THAT WHY HIS STASH OF RAPH-CHAN SNACKS HAD BEEN DISAPPEARING LATELY!?
"And yes, I still have more stored away in my Katana." Raphtalia gave him a teasing look. "So don't think you're the only one that holds a monopoly over our daughter anymore.
"Also, yes, she does appreciate it when I brush her tail too."
Naofumi's pout grew. "No fair."
However, at her mentioning it, he couldn't deny that Raph-Chan's tail looked better than ever. It almost looked like it was shining with the sheen in her fur. Raphtalia must have unlocked some weapon forms that gave bonuses to her brushing skill or something.
What? Those did exist. You just had to find the right weapon form.
Naofumi hadn't found it yet… at least he didn't think he had.
…
'Mental note to self: Absorb a bunch of combs and brushes into my shield when I get the chance.'
…
The two sat in silence for a while. The rocking of the boat was the only thing to signify where they were at. Raphtalia's soft smile rested on her face. She did nothing to break the silence. The Katana Hero just enjoyed basking in Naofumi's presence, and it was the same for Naofumi with her around.
The Shield Hero had to admit, it was surprising how cozy it felt in the sleeping quarters he and Raphtalia had been assigned. It reminded him a lot of the captain's quarters they'd stayed in before.
Maybe a bit more advanced, with metal lining the walls instead of wood, but it looked close enough.
There was even a lamp casting a magic red glow on the wall to light up the room.
…
This time around, he didn't feel frightened when he looked up at it. And when he focused on Raphtalia, he didn't feel any disgust or revulsion at the way their relationship had evolved up till now.
He still felt some shame about what he'd said before when he lashed out at her. But she'd long since forgiven him for it and helped him to work past it.
He almost frowned. He still hadn't come to terms with his anger yet, but he was getting there. His special training was paying off, and having E Float Shield was going to help him out a lot when he finally overcame that final mental barrier.
Either way, he was here now because of her.
He'd always remember that…
…
"So… Are you ready to talk about it?" Naofumi decided to finally get to the point.
"About what?" Raphtalia asked, seemingly oblivious.
"About before. When we were in the Infirmary helping those girls… That's what you woke me up for, right?" The Shield Hero scooted a little closer to the half-tanuki girl.
…
…
Raphtalia breathed in deeply. Naofumi gripped her hand with both of his though. "I'm not going to force you to if you're not ready yet. But after how much you've helped me, I want to try and help you too if possible."
…
…
Raphtalia finally looked at him, a small smile on her face. "Since when were you the one capable of reading what was on my mind?"
"I'm still not able to do that for the most part really." Naofumi chuckled. "I was just reminded of my panic attacks from before and thought about how you and everyone else have helped me to move past them. And… I remembered what you were talking to me about the other day…" Naofumi trailed off.
He left the rest unsaid, but Raphtalia was already reading his mind. He smiled as he pecked her on the cheek. The action ultimately helped for her blush to fade, and for her to rest her head on his shoulder as she sighed. "Is Raph-Chan still asleep?"
"Yeah, she is. Though I can wake her up and ask her to leave if you want." Naofumi told her.
"It's alright. She can stay… even if she was awake, all she'd say is Rafu anyway." Raphtalia giggled.
"Hey, it's the best Rafu ever since she says it in your voice." Naofumi teased her.
"Suck-up." Raphtalia hit him lightly on the shoulder.
She didn't stop him though when his arms wrapped themselves around her. And they sat in silence for a while.
Nothing was said between them at first. All they heard was the sound of their friends moving throughout the ship and the sounds of the ship traveling through the night sky.
…
…
…
"Naofumi… do you really think that I'm not spineless?" Raphtalia eventually asked in a vulnerable tone.
"Definitely not," Naofumi responded firmly. "You cut me off from sex and Raph-Chan for almost a whole week. That definitely takes some backbone."
"I…" Raphtalia was confused at first, but then, a major blush traveled up her face. "WILL YOU NOT TEASE ME AND MAKE ME SO FLUSTERED ALL OF A SUDDEN WHEN I'M TRYING TO BE SERIOUS HERE!?"
Naofumi laughed as Raphtalia punched his shoulder again. It hurt more than a little bit, but he continued holding her. "Sorry, I'll try to tone down the teasing."
"You're unbelievable." Raphtalia continued to pout, but Naofumi held her close all the same.
"Still, I meant what I said." Naofumi's smile fell just a little. "You're capable of thinking and acting for yourself, Raphtalia. I don't think everything you do is only because that's what I want you to do.
"You've messed up here and there, and so have I. Yet we're still here for each other at the end of the day. And that's what matters to me.
"I don't believe you'd kill anyone if I were to order you to. Not blindly, at least. If you knew they were evil and beyond redemption, I know you wouldn't hesitate even for a second. But if there was even a bit of good in them, I'm sure you'd be the first one to let me know. And you'd try your hardest to convince me to spare them unless there was no other way."
Raphtalia stayed silent as Naofumi finished speaking. "I know you compared yourself to those girls who attacked us. But you're not them. And you won't have to worry about me ordering you to kill innocents. If I ever reached that point, I know you'd turn your sword on me instead."
"Naofumi…" Raphtalia sighed.
Naofumi stayed silent as his girlfriend sat next to him. A pondering look on her face.
…
…
The silence stretched for a while. And Naofumi almost began to wonder if he had hit the nail on the head or not.
"Naofumi, I know you think I'd kill anyone now if I thought they were beyond redemption… and perhaps you're right. Maybe I would if they turned out to be just like Idol Rabier or Trash or even Balamus." Raphtalia stayed looking down in her lap for a moment more before her eyes looked up to his.
There were no tears. But there was a resoluteness to them that hadn't been there before. "However, I didn't pick up this weapon to become a killer.
"I will fight for you no matter what. And I will protect this world as well as my world if the Katana wills it. But I don't ever want to become comfortable with the thought that killing another person is always necessary."
…
Naofumi's smile turned into a frown. "Raphtalia, that wasn't what I was meaning to imply-"
"It's fine, Naofumi. I know that isn't what you meant." Raphtalia sighed again, but the resolute look stayed in her eyes. "I just don't want to become like Trash or those girls. I don't want you to become like that either."
"If there is a possibility, even a small one, I'd rather save someone, rather than end their life by cutting it short with this blade," Raphtalia said, holding her katana out in front of her where they could both see it. "If there is a choice to spare instead of kill, that is a choice I'd rather take. Not for their sake, but mine."
Naofumi continued to frown. He thought more about what his girlfriend had told to him… and then, he looked at her again. "Are you saying that you don't want us to kill Kyo either?"
Surprisingly, Raphtalia shook her head. "If it comes down to it, I will kill him with no hesitation. His deeds have put him beyond redemption in my opinion. But if there is any truth in what Kizuna and the others have said, if there really is a possibility that there is still some good left in that man, then I'd at least want to try and take him in alive. For Kizuna's sake, if nothing else."
…
"Naofumi, I am not saying that I don't hate him for what he's done. While I blame myself for what happened in the village, it was ultimately because of him that those children died." Raphtalia said, one of her hands forming a clenched fist. "Had Kyo never come to our world, that situation would have never happened. You would have had a chance to not break down. You might have been able to talk about the things that were troubling you instead of… what happened.
"I will never be able to forgive him for putting all of us through that amount of pain and death."
"Then why do you also feel like that Male Bitch can be persuaded to surrender?" Naofumi asked with a bit more anger in his voice than he intended.
"... Don't you wonder what caused his change in personality to happen in the first place?" Raphtalia responded after thinking for another moment. "Everyone who we've talked to about it seems to say the same thing. That he used to be a little rough around the edges, but that they could always rely on his help and expertise in the past.
"That he used to travel around the world to apply his knowledge in a practical manner and help various people that he encountered.
"He tried to help Ethnobalt with being more useful in combat. He urged Kizuna to learn how to learn the local language instead of only relying on her weapon to translate speech. And the way you told me how he took in the news of his retainer having gotten captured.
"And what about the way he had apparently elevated said retainer into her position of power from a nobody? Kizuna said Yomogi used to be a slave and an orphan, same as me. Lastly, we have what Itsuki told us about how oddly restrained and sympathetic Kyo acted when he spoke to Kizuna at the international conference through one of his mimics.
"Don't you feel like something doesn't add up here?"
"Just like when L'Arc, Therese, and Glass tried to kill us before?"
…
…
Raphtalia's argument honestly caught Naofumi off guard, and Raphtalia looked up at him again. "Don't you wonder what could have happened to change Kyo from one of Kizuna's friends into the monster that he is now?"
"I…" Naofumi blanked. He didn't have an answer.
"For all I know, it is possible he is doing this just because he wants to and intended to from the beginning. But what if there really is some kind of big and important reason why Kyo is doing what he's doing?
"Maybe he really is acting to save their world, but doing it in a needlessly cruel way because he thinks that it's the only way? Or perhaps, since he's a Hero… he might have a Cursed Series affecting him like Glass or yours."
…
Naofumi frowned more deeply and looked ahead again. "I don't know about that."
"I don't know either." Raphtalia rested her blade in her new sheath again. "But I want to learn it. Because back when I first raised this Katana against that horrible man who had murdered his brother, my weapon's voice was full of vengeance and indignation. But now? I can feel it urging me to stop Kyo like what Glass and L'Arc had described, but it is not thirsting for his blood. And when I try to ask my katana why not, I am only met with silence for a while until it goes back to urging me to stop him.
"I was nervous about bringing it up to you since Kyo has done some terrible, terrible things. But deep down, I wonder if Kizuna might be right and that we should try our best to take him in alive. But if that proves to be impossible, then…"
"Then I will do what I must."
…
…
Naofumi's frown disappeared, but he still sighed while looking down at his lap. "You're definitely a better person than me, Raphtalia. Even with what you've said, and knowing some of the same things as you, I still want to see him dead for what he did to Ost and the others."
"I know." Raphtalia stayed holding Naofumi's hand. "Don't worry. I'll try to not hesitate if it does come to that after all."
He gripped it back. "I know. Thank you for your honesty, Raphtalia."
The silence between them stretched for a while once more. But this time, the two felt as if there was nothing more to say. They had worked through the issue together, and had a clearer plan for what they wanted to do down the road. It was good enough for now.
…
…
Eventually, a smirk worked its way onto his face. "So, now that we've talked, you feeling up for a little play time?"
"Hmmmm, but isn't Raph-Chan still here?" Raphtalia smirked as well, her hand moving up his arm towards his shoulder.
She had to admit, now that this heavy conversation was out of the way for the time being. She was feeling… in the mood, for some tail floofing.
"I'm sure she'll stay asleep for a while longer." Naofumi and Raphtalia turned their heads, and yep, Raph-Chan still looked dead asleep. She must have been really exhausted. Was it just Naofumi, or did she look even cuter than before!?
"Naofumi," Raphtalia called the shield hero's name out in a flat tone of voice and turned his head around to face her again. "Eyes on me."
"Right, sorry." Naofumi blushed while rubbing the back of his neck. Man, his Raph-Chan obsession really came up at the worst of times, didn't it? "Have I ever told you how your body is so breathtaking that if I were an artist, I'd make a sculpture out of it to preserve your memory for all of time?" Naofumi asked without hesitation.
Raphtalia began to blush even heavier, but her smirk turned into a smile. "Perhaps you've said that a time or two."
The two's lips met in the middle, but in the middle of their foreplay, Raphtalia pulled back with a frown. "Do you have any more condoms on hand? I just checked, and it looks like we've already used all the ones I had stored away in my Katana's inventory."
"Have we really done it that much? I thought you got us several boxes each after last time?" Naofumi frowned as well.
…
His question was only met with silence, and then gradual blushes formed on her face first, and then his. He began to really rub at the back of his neck. "How the hell did we go the last few days without any sex whatsoever?"
"I-I honestly have no idea." The Katana Hero looked at Naofumi, and her gaze was filled with nothing but lust and a desire to bed him right now.
Seeing it, Naofumi quickly searched through his Shield's inventory and was met with the most relieving sight of his life. "Oh, thank Gods, it looks like you gave me most of the boxes from before." Okay, so they had toned it down just a bit after all.
"Good." Raphtalia pinned him back onto the bed. "We're going to need them."
…
"Hot."
Had he said that out loud?
"Come here,"
Welp, it didn't matter, as her lips crashed against his once again.
…
Yep, we all know where this is going.
And as much as it would have been appropriate to have the scene fade to black here…
"Guys, is now a good time for them to know that we snuck aboard?"
The sudden voice wrenched the two Heroes out of their moment before they could tear off each other's clothes.
"Shhhh, quiet, you idiot! Do you want them to discover that we're hiding in here?!" A feminine voice whispered next.
"Rafu?" Then, next to the couple, Raph-Chan lifted her head up curiously.
She'd been faking being asleep up till that moment and listening in on the conversation, wanting to see her best friend and the Shield Hero enjoying their time together.
Don't worry though, she would have snuck out if things had gotten hot. She swore that she would have.
…
Either way, Raph-Chan showing that she had been awake the entire time wasn't what the couple was concerned about right now.
A third voice sounded. Naofumi was absolutely astounded, for more than one reason since he was able to recognize who these voices belonged to now.
"I, I just feel like we shouldn't be eavesdropping on a private moment like this. Can we please just get out of here before they really get into it? It's cramped enough in here as it is."
"Of course not Daitan! We still need to wait for the perfect moment to sneak out and talk to Kizuna! And what the hell, I would have thought you'd be the perverted one wanting to try and sneak a peek at their romantic moment!"
"Y-Yes, I can admit that I'm a little p-perverted! B-But not to th-this extent! E-Especially with how scary strong th-they are!"
The Shield and Katana Heroes sat up in their bed again. Naofumi was confused about where the voices were coming from. But Raphtalia was looking towards the crates in the corner of the room. Some of them were 'supposed' to be holding food items for the others to snack on later.
"Wait, guys, I don't hear anything coming from them anymore." Hoshi's voice said next.
"Do you think they're already done?" Akane asked, sounding confused. "Strange, maybe the Shield Hero is a quick shot?"
"O-Oh. I guess not even being insanely strong would f-fix that k-kind of problem, h-huh?" Daitan said next with an awkward muffled chuckle.
Naofumi groaned. He already felt a major headache forming in his head as he and Raphtalia stood up.
"Huh, are they already going for a round two?" Hoshi asked.
"If they are, then we should get out now before they hear us," Daitan whispered desperately.
"No, wait, I'm kind of curious to see how it all plays out. Does that Shield give him more stamina in bed, or is he just a stud and the new Katana Hero is one lucky-"
Before Akane could finish her sentence, Naofumi and Raphtalia ripped open the tops of two large crates.
The Jewel and Ofuda Heroes were revealed to be hiding in them.
…
"Oh, um… heheh." Hoshi chuckled nervously while waving his hand. "Surprise?"
Akane remained silent. Looking very much shocked and then afraid at the looks of anger painted on the couple's faces.
"Hey, guys, what's with the sudden silence?" Daitan lifted the top off his crate. "Are we sneaking out already, or… oh."
Upon seeing the couple's angry stares, the Blunt Hero slowly lowered the lid back down onto his crate and disappeared from view.
It seemed that, for once, he was the smartest of the group of three Heroes.
…
…
"Okay, look, we can explain." Hoshi started.
"You snuck aboard through the crates to help us out against Kyo?!" Kizuna shouted in surprise.
Indeed, it had been quite the explanation.
After the discovery of the stowaways, Naofumi and Raphtalia had dragged the three Otherworld Cardinals onto the deck.
Literally.
Not everyone had been there before, but they were definitely there now after the commotion the three had made after Naofumi had Raphtalia drag Daitan and Akane by the ears topside in the middle of the night.
He did not do the same to Hoshi, instead choosing to pull him along by the arm since he was Naofumi's favorite of the three stooges. But that did not make his anger and disappointment any less prevalent for the monochrome hero.
"Yeah, but don't worry, we didn't remove the food items to do it. They're sitting in our weapon inventories right now so we can take them out and put them back." Daitan said quickly in reassurance.
Naofumi was still glaring at the Otherworld Heroes. Raphtalia was sighing to herself at their moment of intimacy being ruined. Glass was also sighing about the group of three having revealed that they had snuck on board while Kizuna and her had been having fun doing each other's hair in increasingly elaborate ways in their cabin.
Kizuna looked pretty cute with Rishia's hairstyle, in the spirit woman's most humble opinion.
The Hunting Tools hero and the Boat Hero looked to be pondering to themselves.
Itsuki looked tired for some reason and desired nothing more than to go back to bed right away. Rishia, Aksel, and Maya were present as well, and they seemed to be of a similar mind as their Hero. Though Rishia couldn't help but sneak glances at Itsuki before blushing heavily and turning away.
Dou-Lon and Filo were still with Yomogi, but while the green-haired girl was scowling, she seemed to be a lot calmer after the meditation and singing session she'd had with the hakuko man earlier. And she was at least paying attention to what was going on right now.
"I could not care less about the food. Dealing with Aksel's snacking habits would be far better than this!" Naofumi gritted his teeth.
"Hey! I already said I don't get hungry 'that' often!" Aksel pouted to the side.
Naofumi only gave him a side glance, before glaring at the three Heroes again. "I told you three specifically to stay behind!"
"But we didn't want to do that! We wanted to come and help!" Daitan defended their group passionately.
"Oh, you want to help, huh?!" Naofumi asked sarcastically. "I guess it'd help me to have three extra meat shields to worry about in battle, right Itsuki?!" Naofumi asked the Bow Hero.
"You're wrong, Naofumi. To act as a meatshield you need to be able to actually take a hit or two. But in their case, a stiff breeze would knock all three of them out at once." Itsuki snarked tiredly.
Even if he couldn't go back to sleep, he was honestly wishing he could just go back to his room so he and Rishia could read more manga again in private. After all the trouble he'd caused recently, he didn't want to throw himself headfirst into another scenario where he could mess up. And perhaps reading more manga together with his crush would distract him from his mental dilemma.
Or he could just recall that she'd kissed him a couple of hours ago and put his mind through an entirely different mental dilemma. Which, he honestly wouldn't mind if it distracted him from his other thoughts.
And maybe having the chance to hold her hand would be enough to make him feel better. Or should he suggest sleeping with his head on her lap and see if that helped him to not have any nightmares? He could have sworn he saw Ren preparing to do that with Wyndia before he and Naofumi left for this world.
"Exactly." Naofumi glared at the three again as he sent them party invites. "There, accept those so I can portal you back. I'm not dealing with this &^%$."
Three party invites appeared on the UI's of the three Heroes.
…
…
"No."
The voice that spoke up for the group of three surprised Naofumi. Because it came from the most unlikely of the group.
Hoshi looked up at Naofumi. A strange fire burning in his eyes. "No. I'm not going back to hide while someone else stands up to protect me again!"
With one action, he rejected Naofumi's party invite.
…
The Shield Hero breathed in deeply. He felt another ball of anger rising inside of him though it was accompanied by worry. "Hoshi, I don't want you to die. So please allow me to take you and the others back with Portal Shield, and then after we're done with Kyo-"
"No." Akane and Daitan both spoke simultaneously. "We are coming along." They'd been surprised at Hoshi's boldness, but they both dismissed Naofumi's party invite as well.
…
…
Naofumi was seeing red now, but Akane pointed at Kizuna. It was time they put Daitan's idea into motion. "You're bringing her along too, aren't you? And last I checked, Kyo was a human, not a monster. Her weapon will be useless against him."
"Knowing our luck. Kyo will have minions of the Spirit Tortoise at his mansion. Not to mention, if the rest of that scum's harem is there and have been turned into beasts, Kizuna's blade will be necessary to save them!" Naofumi rebutted. "She can be useful there!"
"Yes, but while that is true, that is not the only reason Kizuna wanted to come along." Glass mentioned.
…
The Heroes looked at the Spirit Woman, and her gaze moved to Kizuna, who still held a contemplative expression on her features. "You are here because you want to try and resolve things with Kyo peacefully, right?"
"... of course." Kizuna's eyes took on a determined look. "I'll never give up on my friends."
Naofumi's scowl lessened to a frown as he was suddenly reminded of Motoyasu for some reason. "Well, if you bring us along and show how serious we are in wanting to fight for the world again, maybe that could help you out!" Daitan yelled.
"I'm still considering taking you back, you know," Naofumi said dryly to them.
"I mean, you could." Daitan shrugged. "But from my understanding, you and Itsuki's portal skills require us to be in your party, whether directly or indirectly. Also, I'm pretty sure it requires a stationary waypoint, so you'd have to stop Ethnobalt's ship and land it since we're flying in the sky right now. Then, you'd have to teleport us back, teleport yourself back, then go back into the sky to resume traveling towards that ley line, all while keeping Ethnobalt's ship undetected from anyone else."
…
Naofumi didn't remember telling him, or even Hoshi much about how their portal skills worked. So either Itsuki had told them about it before… or he'd learned it for himself through observation.
Daitan smirked widely as he crossed his arms. "In other words, until we reach that ley line and head towards Luvar, you're stuck with us. And even then, with how important Kyo is, I doubt you'd want to delay our journey for even a little bit to take us back.
"I could just have Itsuki help me with teleporting as well." Naofumi scowled. "We could be there and back within a minute, maybe two. And if Itsuki and Kizuna's stealth skills weren't enough, I could have Raphtalia, Maya, and Raph-Chan assist with their illusion magic to ensure that we're hidden from view."
"You'd still have to force us to accept party invitations. Which isn't likely to happen anytime soon." Akane replied haughtily.
Naofumi's right eyebrow twitched. But before he could respond to what she'd said.
"Naofumi." Ethnobalt sighed to himself. "Let's just bring them along. Remember, it's not only Kizuna who we're bringing along for this. You'll be working to protect me too after our arrival."
…
The rabbit man's words sounded pained. Glass was smiling a little bit though as she hugged her friend. "Don't worry. You've been improving thanks to the training you and Rishia have been doing on the side."
"Yes, but battle-wise, I'm still not all that useful." Ethnobalt shook his head. "At least defense-wise, I could assist these three and make sure they stay alive."
"Don't worry! We'll contribute too!" Daitan said excitedly. "We've been trying to improve ourselves as well during these last couple of weeks!"
Naofumi groaned again. "This isn't some anime where you're suddenly capable of defeating the main villain of the arc after only a few days of training. If you participate in this fight, you will die if even one of Kyo's attacks hits you!"
"Wait, that kind of cliche exists in anime?" Daitan asked. "Since when? Aren't you supposed to beat the bad guys with the power of friendship and love?"
"Have you been living under a rock or something?" Akane asked in surprise. "I'm pretty sure that's a common story element in just about every Shonen anime!"
"... Shonen?" Daitan blinked.
…
"Uh, Daitan, what sort of anime did you watch back in your original world?" Hoshi asked, realizing he'd never asked his fellow Hero that question before now.
…
…
…
A notification for a request to join his party suddenly appeared in the corner of Naofumi's vision. "On second thought, just take me back." Daitan sweatdropped.
"Oh ho. Now that's a red flag for some juicy gossip if I ever saw one!" Kizuna began grinning diabolically while getting in the Blunt Hero's face. "Was it something embarrassing?"
"It's starting to sound like it." Akane was alongside Kizuna now. The two were grinning while staring at Daitan like he was their prey. "Power of friendship and love, you say? Why does that sound familiar now?"
"N-No! I misspoke! Whatever I watched, it was super mainstream! Every guy in my school was w-watching it!" Daitan backed up, fear suddenly painted on his features. And it's not like that was a lie either!...
Well, okay, maybe not every guy in school watched it, and maybe it did incorporate those two tropes specifically, but-
"Come on now. I promise we won't tell anyone." Kizuna teased.
"Maybe," Akane said evilly.
"G-GET BACK!" Daitan screamed in terror.
Naofumi sighed again. His earlier anger was fading away, fortunately. However, he still felt mad about the fact that he was still going to have to worry about three extra people on top of Yomogi and all the others accompanying them.
It'd already become obvious. Kizuna wasn't arguing about them leaving at all, and in fact, if Naofumi was a betting man, he would wager that Kizuna had somehow subtly arranged for the trio to show up here, in one way or another.
It had been her idea to put food and stuff in crates after all, so as to not clog up their weapons. And besides that, she looked too ready for some hero-bonding time between her and the other Cardinal Heroes even though it was the middle of the night.
Glass sighed in disappointment. Yet she still smiled, watching as Daitan began screaming in terror while running circles around the deck of the Invincible. Kizuna and Akane chased after him, merciless glee on their faces while they hounded him for answers.
"Guys, you're making too much noise!" Itsuki complained.
"Don't worry, between the usage of your and Kizuna's stealth skills. I think we'll be just fine." Maya giggled next to the Bow Hero.
"Yeah, I guess we might as well call Ethnobalt's ship the Invisible instead of the Invincible, am I right?" Aksel said next to her.
…
…
All he got was the sound of crickets chirping in the background. A strange thing really, given that they were thousands of feet up in the air.
Everyone had just died of cringe.
Not even Maya was laughing.
"Oh come on, that was funny!" Aksel pouted.
"... maybe next time, man." Itsuki patted the tank on the shoulder. Only causing him to pout even further.
As everyone's activities resumed around them, Raphtalia walked up to the Shield Hero and whispered into his ear. "Don't worry, I can't say I agree that bringing them along is the best idea either. But think about it like this.
"When we get back to our world, we're going to have to fight alongside Keel and others from the village who'll want to join us on our adventures, whether they have a Hero Service Crest or not. Even with them, not everyone is going to be as strong as us, no matter what hero bonuses they have.
"And even if they are weak for Heroes, they're still a lot stronger than a normal person. So this could be a good chance for you to get used to having to protect others on a battlefield who aren't me or Filo or Dou-Lon."
"... Yeah, you're right." Naofumi still rolled his eyes as he sighed. He just didn't want to get used to protecting idiots against a very dangerous foe.
"You can also think of it like this." Raphtalia then said, looking at him seriously. "If all four Cardinal Heroes come at the same time, then Kyo will hesitate to launch large-scale area of effect attacks, in fear of killing them."
"What? Why? He didn't seem to have any issues with killing them off during the International Meeting, according to Itsuki." Naofumi asked.
"Because according to my Katana, it is only thanks to the Cardinal Heroes still being alive that the reality of this world is being held together.
…
"I'm guessing our world hasn't reached that point yet. But Kizuna's world has already been severely damaged by the Waves on a very deep level, due to how long they have been going on and because none of the Cardinal Heroes were suppressing them. So if all four Cardinals in this world were to die at the same time then there'd be no chance to summon new Heroes. The world would end right after, and Kyo would lose.
"He knows this as well thanks to the Book. So he will be unlikely to use attacks that could kill all four simultaneously, even if we assume that he has no qualms about killing Kizuna."
…
…
Whoa…
Why couldn't his weapon talk to him like Raphtalia's did? The Shield Hero wondered internally. That would be so much more useful!
"Won't that kill us too though?" Naofumi asked with a frown.
Raphtalia grinned. "Well, duh, but I trust you won't allow such a thing to happen."
"Rafu!" At that moment, Raph-Chan bounded onto Hoshi's head and the boy was laughing as he spun around with her. Filo cheered happily as she flew onto Hoshi's arm and hugged him in her hummingbird form.
The poor ofuda hero fell back onto the deck of the ship from that. But he didn't stop laughing as Naofumi's daughters played with him.
"And neither will Raph-Chan nor the others." Raphtalia laughed a little before she smiled warmly again. "You won't be the only one working to keep them safe. We all care about them as much as you do."
…
Her words made Naofumi smile the littlest bit. "Well… As long as they don't try to get in the way then."
"Good. Now, I believe we were about to do something important." Raphtalia told him in a different tone of voice.
…
Right. Screw dealing with this &^%$.
Naofumi had someone FAR better that he wanted to screw right now.
Without another word, he went below deck with his wife friend to have makeup tail floofing time for his behavior over the last few days.
They needed to get into arguments more often. It felt even better than normal!
Itsuki groaned as he put his face to his hands. "Is something wrong, Itsuki?" Rishia asked curiously.
"It's nothing." The Bow Hero lied.
Thus, the Otherworld Heroes were officially accepted as part of the quest to take down Kyo.
"King Berg!"
L'Arc stood up as one of his soldiers ran onto the deck of the Invincible he was on.
The fleet was currently parked on a ley line somewhere in Label, the Katana country. This allowed the gems of Lapis's fleet to slowly recharge their energy from the excess energy coming from the ground below while the Invincible and other ships of Sickle's and Label's fleets were refueled from a nearby fuel depot they'd just recaptured.
The energy recharging process for Lapis's fleet wasn't as efficient elsewhere as it was in Lapis. The world's energy seemed to overflow from the surface all over that country, allowing even their largest ships to refuel within a matter of minutes. But here, it was enough to refuel the Acclamator-Class Assault Ships and LAATs Corrin had brought with him over a matter of hours.
Many of the fleet's LAATs were currently parked on the ground around the large ships, allowing them and Lapis's Commando soldiers time to recharge their ships and armor as well. The few that weren't recharging were busy ferrying soldiers to the nearby outposts to search for enemies and supplies.
"What is it? Have our forces retaken all the nearby forts already?" L'Arc asked the soldier.
"Yes, and not only that. I've just received word from one of our outposts outside of Label's Capital. Our forces have already retaken Central City!" The soldier reported.
…
The news made L'Arc's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "How?" He asked.
"I-I'm still not sure, sire! I've only just received word that the commandos headed by General Ryoma have captured the Hourglass room itself." The soldier said. "I don't know any more than that."
L'Arc pulled out a gem communication ofuda. And at first, he got nothing but static. A sign that the communication blocker in Central City was still active.
Within a minute of that, however, the static suddenly disappeared. And Corrin's voice sounded on the other end. "Scythe Hero. We have completely taken Central City. How is it on your end?"
"We've parked your fleet of ships for now to allow them to recharge. I also sent some of my soldiers to retake nearby forts in the area. But how did the diversionary attack on the city itself turn into this?"
Corrin chuckled confidently on the other end. "Ever since the battle at the border, my men have been encountering little to no resistance. In fact, when the enemy saw your ships with my soldiers at the helm approaching, most of the opposition turned tail and fled.
"We made short work of those that remained, but by the time we reached Central City, it was basically abandoned. My forces took the hourglass room without a fight and Cole sealed it right after."
…
L'Arc's eyebrows narrowed in confusion. "I see, so it's really sealed off then?"
"Yes. My soldiers are putting all sorts of traps and fortifications in the area around it as we speak. Needless to say, with how high their levels are and the complexity of our security measures, any group that teleports to this hourglass in the near future will be in for quite a nasty surprise. Several of them, to be precise."
…
L'Arc frowned. It wouldn't do much to keep armies from teleporting to the Hourglass, due to Kyo's forces having gotten registered to it already. But it'd also warn them if Luvar tried teleporting their army there in order to outflank them from behind. On top of that, it'd allow for the defenders remaining in the area to have time to prepare and defend against an attack from the inside. And as long as they took Luvar before any of that happened…
"L'Arc, is something wrong?"
The redhead looked up at Therese, who was standing nearby.
She was dressed in a different outfit than usual. In fact, what she was wearing now was the exact same thing all the other noblesses of Lapis were wearing. Polished, fancy-looking plate armor covered her from head to toe. And included with it was the same distinct Corinthian-styled antique helmet with a t-shaped visor just like the other officers of the Gem People's army.
Unlike the others though, the gemstones of her armor were Alexandrites, like her namesake, which were a variation of regular chrysoberyls that were more suited for spellcasting rather than physical reinforcement. Therese didn't have her helmet on yet, since they were not in active combat so far, but that would change soon. And while some of the noblesses had patches on their upper pauldrons, indicating which house they hailed from, Therese had no such thing on her armor.
That was of no concern to her, however, the leader of the house she had chosen to become a member of was right in front of her, after all. Even if she was looking at L'Arc worriedly at the moment.
"Corrin, are you sure that they all fled?" L'Arc asked again. "I could have sworn our intelligence reports indicated Luvar had a massive force stationed in Label."
"... I have been getting reports of increased soldier activity in neighboring Mikikage. Our allies there are fighting some tough battles. But you're right. This was too easy. I was expecting at least a few thousand soldiers to be stationed here based on the reports we were getting." Corrin said after a short pause on his end.
There was some background noise as if the King was talking to someone else. "How close are you to Luvar's border now?" Corrin asked after a moment.
"We're still a day away if we don't encounter any major resistance. But there has been almost none since we pierced through Luvar's initial defenses at Sickle's border." L'Arc responded.
"I see… I'll be bringing your ships back to rendezvous with you soon then. I'm a bit worried that neither of us has found Luvar's main force yet."
"Yeah, nor its air fleet. It's practically been nonexistent up to this point." L'Arc said offhandedly.
…
…
…
There was a longer pause on Corrin's end this time. Long enough that L'Arc decided to speak up again. "You have at least encountered some of Luvar's ships in Label, right?"
"... no, I have not," Corrin responded quietly.
…
…
The Gem Emperor could be heard giving more orders in the background again. This time, however, L'Arc and Therese did hear what he said. "We've laid enough traps. We are returning to the ships and departing for King Berg's current position at once."
"Wait, what about my city and the people here? There is still a lot to rebuild and-" A voice that likely belonged to the elderly minister of Label spoke up as well.
"I understand. And Ryoma and his soldiers have already set up aid stations outside the city with enough supplies to help your people out for a few days. "But King Berg and I still haven't encountered any strong enemy resistance. And now, I'm starting to worry about the fact that neither of us has had any encounters with Luvar's air fleet."
"... you feel this might be a trap then?" The minister asked.
"Perhaps. I think it would be best if you and your men stay here and fortify your position now that your Capital City has been liberated. The rest of us might be forced to retreat later. Having a clear and protected escape route would be beneficial for that. You'll also benefit from the supply line from Sickle going through your lands.
"Label's Hourglass might be secured for now, but even with the Hourglass sealed, Luvar can still circumvent the sealing thanks to them having troops registered to the Hourglass. And the traps my troops have laid for such a scenario won't hold an enemy army back forever. The civilians still left here could possibly be in even greater danger than we realize."
"... Understood. Then I shall assume command here and make sure your flank is secured. Thank you for helping us get our home back. Label and its people won't forget this kindness."
Corrin's voice was then finally directed at L'Arc and Therese again. "I'll be rejoining you in a few hours. Then, we'll make our way to Luvar together."
"Are you sure it's wise to suddenly change our plans like that, Corrin?" Therese asked. "I thought we decided to split our forces up to allow for better maneuverability."
"I know, but if Luvar is not here, then they are likely preparing a trap for us somewhere and there is strength in numbers. I'd rather leave right now before they are ready to spring it at us."
"Fine, but this absence of enemy airships could also mean that Kyo was serious about wanting to do battle with us at his Capital in Luvar." L'Arc pointed out.
"I can only hope that this is the case… I will meet you in a few hours." With that, the communication with Corrin ended.
"My King, shall I put the other soldiers on high alert?" The soldier who had first reported their success to L'Arc asked.
"Yes. Make sure we have plenty of people watching the skies while we wait for Corrin to arrive." L'Arc ordered him.
The man quickly nodded and bowed respectfully before rushing out to fulfill his next task.
"Man, I sure hope that Naofumi is having a better time than we are," L'Arc muttered with a sigh.
"It'll still be another day or two before they arrive at Kyo's mansion," Therese replied. "And no other ship exists that can travel the way Ethnobalt's boat does. As long as they manage to travel along the leylines of the hourglasses, they'll be fine.
"Yeah, but then how about after that, when they have to fly normally the rest of the way to Kyo's mansion? What if they get ambushed?" L'Arc sighed again. "I'm just worried about them is all."
"It was bad enough losing Kizuna once. I don't want to lose her again as well as Glassy or the others too. Even if I find it annoying how Naofumi is always calling me boy."
"..." Therese hugged him, and L'Arc hugged her back.
"I'm sure they'll be fine as long as Naofumi is with them. If there is anyone besides us who I'd trust to keep everyone safe, then it's him. He really lives up to his title of the Shield Hero." Therese told the King gently.
"Yea." L'Arc sighed again. "As prickly as he can get, he is a super reliable guy when it counts. And maybe if Kizuna can break through to Kyo where we couldn't, then none of them will have to fight at all." L'Arc tried to sound hopeful but he was not being very convincing.
Therese nodded, hugging L'Arc for a while longer before letting him go about his duties.
She shuffled in her armor awkwardly as L'Arc gave out more orders to the soldiers that gathered around him. Even though she wished to appreciate the moment of seeing L'Arc looking so regal and mature, her mind was being drawn back to before they had left. When Corrin had pulled her aside after their meeting with everyone.
"What do you need, Your Majesty?" Therese asked with a curtsy as she and Corrin stepped into an empty room of Sickle's castle together.
"Therese, please, you do not have to call me by my title when we're alone. You are still part of the royal family, even if you did leave us all those years ago." Corrin responded.
"..." Therese sighed. "Is that what you wanted to talk about, Corrin?"
"No, cousin, not at all." Corrin shook his head. "If anything, I'd say you were right to leave back then, during the height of the political turmoil in Lazuli."
…
Therese blinked in confusion. In the meantime, Corrin walked over to the room's window and looked out of it to admire Sickle's Capital from above. "I admit the others and I had some concerns about you leaving back then. I, myself, had thought that you were leaving us only because you developed a crush on Prince L'Arc after he and his Father visited our country earlier that year."
"That's…" Therese was about to respond, but her voice choked as she blushed.
While Corrin wasn't looking at her, there was still a knowing smile painted on his features. "Well, I suppose that might have been part of your original reasoning too. But I also remember what you said about the topic back then. How you felt 'trapped' in the capital. That Lapis was becoming too reclusive for its own good.
"That you wanted to explore more of the world outside and see what you could learn about the ways of life in other countries when most others would have preferred living in the safety and beauty of our walls."
…
…
Corrin turned to face her then. "You didn't leave us on bad terms back then but still, I feel it is my responsibility as the Emperor of Lapis to apologize for not seeing you off before. Me and the other members of the court should have encouraged you in the journey that you had decided to venture on."
Therese smiled and shook her head. "Corrin, you don't have to apologize to me. Regardless of what you and the others wanted or not, it was still my decision in the end. I would have gone with or without your blessings regardless."
"Indeed. And because you have, our country has finally found a true ally in the country of Sickle, instead of one of our many allies of convenience who only sought our strength and our wealth. Because of that, you were able to meet the Hunting Tools Hero and obtain the priceless privilege that is her unconditional friendship and support. And because of that, I am now talking to you not just as your cousin, but as the Emperor of Lapis."
"And because of that… it is now within my power to return something to you. Cole, it is time! Enter!"
Corrin snapped his fingers, and a pair of soldiers along with the emperor's advisor, Cole, entered the room.
Therese was surprised at their sudden appearance. But not as much as when she realized what the men were carrying with them. She recognized it immediately, as she'd left it in her quarters the day she decided to venture out from Lapis and give up her title.
"Your level wasn't high enough to wear it back then. But I made sure to talk with Kizuna when she visited Lapis to get your new measurements, so we could properly refit it." Corrin smiled as Cole opened the chest, revealing the brilliant, sparkling new set of personalized adamantium armor within. "I believe you'll be able to put it to good use. The gems from your old cadet set have been inserted into it too, so it should fit like a glove. Your friends have missed you."
"I… Corrin," Therese choked up, looking at the Gem King again. "I can't. I gave my title up. And besides, you know that my primary focus is magic casting. I'm not someone to get up close and personal in a fight. This armor would only be wasted on me, it would be much better off serving another Gem Person."
"I know you're a magic caster, Therese. And this particular set is made with that in mind. But even if it wasn't, the compatibility of your old gem court would ensure that it would function flawlessly. The gems pressed into this armor are your friends, Therese. Their only desire is to assist you, just like long ago." Corrin smiled proudly. "They remember you still and were eager to rejoin you and help you again when we asked them to."
...
The Gem Girl looked down at the armor, feeling a strong sense of familiarity, joy, and friendship wash over her that almost made her want to start crying. Still, she looked like she wanted to protest further.
"Therese," Corrin spoke again with a serious expression. "Do know that this is not some kind of roundabout way of me urging you to return to Lazuli. I can already tell where your heart belongs." Corrin's tense look softened into a warm and genuine smile. "That little girl crush I saw in your eyes long ago has developed into the same thing that Hinoka and I share for each other no matter how much life tries to pull us apart."
"This armor belongs to you and you alone. My only condition, hope, and expectation for you out of this is that you will use it to protect those whom you love.
"Nothing more and nothing less."
…
Therese shook her head and chuckled while wiping away a few tears. "Corrin, you're still such a huge drama queen. Was this whole song and dance really necessary?"
"Hey, at least I have a good excuse to act so pompously now, since I am the Emperor." The Diamond Gem Person snorted and spread his arms out invitingly to which the sapphire gem girl promptly responded by tackling him into a hug.
Needless to say, Therese ended up accepting the armor and putting it on soon after they left for Label.
It was a nice gesture. Really, it was. Therese had opted to wear it for the coming battle because of how it'd increase her combat prowess to make up for Glass and the others not being there to assist them.
But there was a reason why she didn't want to stay in Lazuli. As beautiful as it was, it'd always felt suffocating inside those high walls. Walls that existed to protect them, yes, but which also made her wish to see more of the outside world.
And though she had seen so much thanks to L'Arc already… there was still more that she wanted to see. That she wanted to do beyond what was offered to her in Lazuli.
yet what Corrin said though had made her feel better about her decision to leave. It was nice to know that she was still considered family.
For now though, since winning the fight with Luvar was more important than her own personal preferences, she'd wear the armor that was made for her long ago. And she'd wear it with pride as a Gem Person of their world.
The next few hours passed as they waited for Corrin to arrive. During which, his soldiers kept watch on the skies and the surrounding areas as promised.
Thankfully, Corrin had arrived with the rest of Sickle's and Label's fleet right as all of Corrin's ships had finished recharging and refueling.
L'Arc had some of the soldiers ready with fuel to gas up the arriving fleet. But Corrin contacted them again before then, saying that they were going to press on. L'Arc had to then order his soldiers to get the fuel onto LAATs and other small escort ships to bring it up to Corrin's ships when they arrived. And the whole fleet took off once more after Corrin's part of the fleet arrived overhead.
They'd press on for the remainder of that day towards the plains before Luvar's border before they parked for the night. The energy of the world was stronger in that area. If the battle commenced there, great. If it didn't, at least they'd enter Luvar with full power.
And thus they continued on.
Still encountering little to no resistance from enemy forces along the way for some reason.
"Brother, you've been staring at the sky for almost ten minutes now. I know we were told to remain vigilant and to keep an eye out for enemy ships, but I'm starting to suspect that you're just daydreaming again." One of the gem soldiers spoke out to another who was leaning on the ship's railings and looking up.
"Huh? Oh, no, brother, I'm quite awake, I assure you." The other Gem Soldier shook his head and pointed his index finger up. "I'm simply observing a rather unusual weather pattern. See that cloud there? Doesn't it look strange and peculiar to you?"
The two soldiers stood on the deck of one of the ships. One of them pointed to a cloud in the distance that looked to be a few hundred feet higher than where their ship was flying.
"Peculiar? Strange?" The second soldier asked, looking only more confused at his brother's explanation. And looking at the large cloud that he was pointing out did not help in the slightest. "Are you sure you weren't daydreaming, brother? It looks just like any other cloud to me."
"Brother! You wound me! I had only fallen victim to the whimsies of my imagination once during battle, yet you continue to insinuate that I am a man who cannot be relied upon!" The first noblesse put his hand on his chest with a hurt expression.
The second soldier simply shook his head in response. "Playing victim doesn't suit you, brother. If it truly had been just one time, then I would not dare to say a word of it and would stand at your defense to put down anyone who would imply otherwise. But both of us know that such is not the case. It truly is a mystery for the ages how a man with an attention span as short as a flea's limb managed to become a veteran of not only the Waves but the Demon Dragon's campaign as well."
"Enough, brother! Do not befoul my good name further! Rather, look upon this cloud again and study it!" The first soldier pointed to the cloud again. "Do you truly not see how perfectly symmetrical it is?! Its top and bottom match each other like the reflection of a shore upon a still lake in summer during the early morn!"
The second soldier looked more closely again, and after a moment, he finally understood what his brother was getting at. It did look like the top of the cloud looked exactly the same as the bottom of it. "Well, I'll be. You are right brother. It is quite peculiar…"
Still, after a few seconds, he shrugged and turned away, looking uninterested. "But it matters not. We are marching to war, so save your strength and steel your mind for the battle ahead, rather than wasting it on such frivolities as cloud gazing."
The first soldier opened his mouth to protest and looked towards the cloud again as he did so. Only to find that the cloud had changed, looking nonsymmetrical once more.
"Ah curses… how I wish I had my painting tools with me to draw this wondrous nature's scene." The man sighed, before hefting his weapon on his shoulder and following behind his brother on their patrol around the ship again.
They didn't pay any more attention to the innocuous-looking cloud… even as it became symmetrical again.
As if a colossal mirror was passing directly underneath it.
Kyo paused in his prep work.
The metal table before him was strewn about with a mess of different items. From various scientific instruments to monster replicas of the Sword and Spear that he'd been forced to toss aside into various boxes and bins when his right arm spasmed at the wrong time and ruined his hard work.
However, this time, the Book Hero hadn't paused in his work on another turret familiar for his mansion because of that. It was something else.
While moving aside some old notes so he'd have more room to work on the extra set of defenses for his lab, he came across an item that briefly made him break out of his trance-like state.
It was an old and perfectly unremarkable-looking pair of glasses. Nothing like the expensive and fashionable lensless set that he had lost during his trip to another world.
And yet, seeing them made that annoying dull and painful sensation in his heart stir again.
…
…
His right hand reached for them hesitantly.
The dead, gray look in the Book Hero's eyes faded somewhat. Revealing a tint of blue in his irises.
"Yomogi, what is this?"
"Glasses!"
A teenage Kyo sat in a chair, squinting in apparent annoyance at the green-haired girl standing in front of him. It was downright frightening how the filthy urchin that he'd met a few years ago had grown into such a fine-looking young woman. It really made no sense. Her family had been just a bunch of farmers from some inbred village in the middle of nowhere. Where could she possibly have gotten this kind of stock to grow from?
However, Kyo's thoughts on the matter quickly returned to the topic at hand. Yomogi was smiling at him brightly with that annoying perfectly genuine smile and holding out a pair of cheap-looking glasses in front of him.
"Yes, Yomogi. I can see that these are, in fact, glasses." Kyo rolled his eyes as he patiently explained his words to the somewhat literal-minded girl as he usually did. "My question was meant to be a general one, however. I am asking you why you have suddenly walked in and are offering me a pair of glasses?"
"Well, duh!" The girl laughed at Kyo's sour expression. "It's because it's your birthday! It's your birthday gift from me! Happy birthday!"
"Huh? Is it that time of the year again…?" Looking at a nearby calendar, Kyo found that Yomogi was correct. It really was the perfectly unremarkable day marking the perfectly unremarkable occasion of him having gotten squeezed out of his mother's womb in this world. It had never held any interest to him.
Normally, he would just smile, nod, and accept the gift until the girl was out of sight. After that, he would be able to throw it into some distant corner of his study, where it would not get in the way. But this time… he did not just feel indifferent to the gift.
He hated it.
Just by looking at them, he was reminded of the times from his past life when his parents had forced him to wear similar-looking glasses. Cheap as they came, and only effective to the point of allowing him to see without needing to squint too hard.
He'd dealt with a lot of name-calling and talking behind his back because of it. And when he looked up at Yomogi again, Kyo might have let a little more anger than usual show on his face. "And why, pray tell, did you get me a pair of glasses for my birthday, Yomogi?"
"Huh? Oh, well, I noticed how you're always squinting your eyes when talking to someone or reading." Yomogi blinked once, confused about why Kyo was not immediately accepting her birthday gift, like he usually did. "So I read some of the medical books from your library and found out that it might be a symptom of visual impairment. And since you don't seem to squint when observing distant objects, I figured you were farsighted, so I bought these in the city with the allowance that you gave me!"
The girl smiled brightly again and offered the glasses to Kyo once more.
"You are not a doctor, Yomogi. And it's not your allowance, it's your salary, you are not a kid anymore." Kyo sneered as he stood up from the desk and looked down at the glasses with open disgust and anger. "And what does it matter if I can or can't see so well? I am perfectly fine with squinting my eyes to focus them. I don't need to nor want to wear glasses. I am not some helpless blind cripple."
"B-but, Kyo…" The girl shook slightly, looking hurt but then suddenly tensed her body up and shook her head before raising her voice. "You always look angry and annoyed at everyone, because you keep squinting when talking to people! I know you don't mean it, but others either perceive it as rude or keep thinking that you're mad at them for some reason! And I think it's really hurting your image!"
…
…
Kyo went silent. Yomogi shuffled her feet in place for a bit, wondering if she'd done something wrong now. "Remember how your last deal didn't go through? And before that, the time when that high-ranked merchant's guild member just walked off in the middle of your negotiations with him for seemingly no reason while refusing to elaborate? I just thought that if you weren't frowning all the time, like you hate everyone around you, it would help you to get what you need easier."
…
Kyo calmed down as he thought over what his assistant had pointed out.
It didn't take him long to realize that she was right. It suddenly made sense why he couldn't get a leg up after having recently taken over his father's and mother's affairs, despite having a very detailed business and investment plan.
"I… I see… but still, why did you not consult with me regarding this… matter first?"
"Well, because then it wouldn't have been a surprise." Yomogi smiled shyly.
…
Kyo frowned at her response. But as he opened his mouth to make a retort about him hating surprises, she said something else.
"And… I also know how much you hate looking weak in front of others. So I thought it would be better if I were just to give them to you as is, under the guise of a birthday gift, without drawing any attention to it."
"Though, I guess I'm doing that right now…"
…
Kyo thought about it some more. And a slight scowl appeared on his face. "I don't recall ever telling you something this outlandish. You sure are making a lot of assumptions."
"D-Does that mean that I'm wrong?" Yomogi deflated again, looking worried and guilty all of a sudden.
"... no." Kyo sighed and looked away. "It's just really annoying how you see right through me all the time. Is my poker face really that bad?"
"Hehehe." Yomogi giggled and sighed in relief. "Well, maybe it would be better if you didn't always look like you want to kill whoever you're looking at. And…" The girl swallowed hard and looked up at Kyo with a determined expression again.
"And I don't think that you're weak, Kyo. If anything, I think that succeeding even with the limitations put on you and overcoming them is what makes someone strong!" Yomogi said, her face shining with genuine happiness and joy again.
…
Moments later, Kyo stood in front of a mirror. Frowning at how he looked now with glasses, though much less than he would frown usually. "I look stupid." He pointed out blandly.
Yomogi's smile brightened further. "No way! I think they make you look really cool and smart!"
Kyo couldn't help but chuckle. "You'd be the first to think that."
"Huh?" Yomogi tilted her head to the side like a confused puppy.
"Don't worry, it's nothing." Kyo looked at himself again. A small smile formed on his face below his two shining blue eyes.
Kyo stared at his reflection in the washroom mirror.
His hair was a mess. Heavy bags hung from underneath his tired blue eyes as he wasn't able to get a wink of sleep after learning that Yomogi had been taken. The Book Hero's formerly handsome face appeared gaunt and his unhealthy-looking complexion was covered with a thick layer of grime.
…
"Yea. I still look stupid." Kyo muttered to no one in particular.
And yet… it'd also been the first birthday gift from Yomogi he'd actually kept and used.
…
He looked at the face of the broken man in the mirror for another moment before looking down at the open Vassal Book in his left hand, where his journal was resting.
- ENTRY #90 -
I remember what happened that day now. After finding the pair of glasses Yomogi gave me.
They didn't punish me after all.
They never even appeared.
I punished myself when I fell into Despair after learning a twisted version of the truth from [Search Engine] and unlocked both of my Cursed Series at the same time.
Yomogi was trying to stop me. To snap me out of it before I went out to destroy everything in my path.
I remember her cries. Her stubbornness to bring me back to the light. She even hugged me when all else failed.
That's why she was hurt so badly when I came out of it.
That is why I have been slowly growing insane as of late.
I hurt her.
I was the one that hurt Yomogi, the first person to ever really care about me.
…
…
Guilt.
That is what the feeling in my chest is. I understand it now.
…
Yomogi…
I…
Without realizing it, Kyo had written down another entry. Seeing it, he felt his right-hand tremble, the one that had no soul in it.
His Book began putting thoughts into his mind then. That he could stop this. That he didn't have to do this. That they could work with Kizuna to save their world.
He could still be the Hero the Book saw in him when it chose him to be its wielder despite Kyo's background.
...
Could he… could he really just allow this to happen? Could he really go through with his plans for his world and do this to his friends when… when… …
…
...
...
No, what other choice did he have?
He'd already learned that it was impossible to beat 'them'. To escape from them.
This was the only mercy he could grant to them. To the people of his world.
That part of him the Book was searching for... had lost hope long ago.
And even if he hadn't lost hope, he'd done things too terrible to be able to atone. There was nothing else he could do now except this.
The Vassal Book let out a sad whimper as Kyo subconsciously put the spirit back into its shackles. The Book Hero wrote down one last part of the entry and then closed the journal before reabsorbing it into his Book.
…
"Hm… hmhmhmhm."
The Book Hero's left hand slammed the Vassal Book closed with finality, and then fell to his side as he simply turned away and walked back into his lab without taking the glasses off.
The blue color in his eyes gradually drained away and was replaced with the familiar dull and murky metallic grey from before.
After walking down some steps into his lab's deepest and most secure area, Kyo stopped in front of a lone, tall glowing capsule that held the figure of a person within it.
Inside the lenses of Kyo's old glasses, the reflection of his own face could be seen staring back at him again, this time from within the glass container in front of him, instead of a mirror.
It was him. Or rather, it was what he would soon become. A new entity not bound by its past failures and mistakes. One that held limitless potential.
Yes. Soon. It was almost ready.
Soon, he would be f̵͎͇̣͔̦͉̰̩̠͉͍̒́̀̌̊̐r̴̡̡͉̤̖̲̪͎̠͇͉̜̭̦̿͊̅͊͜ȩ̶̡̞͇̳̫́̒̿̋̂͘͝͠͠ȩ̵̡̧̨̝̜͓̹̥̮̭̗͎̝͌̎̎͑̈́͠.
And he would finally be able to s̴̨̫̦̹̩̓̀̉͌̽̊̑͌̚a̵͔̳̻̬̥̬̫̭̰͔̹͌͛͂͆̿͆̾̊̽v̶͈̙͖̀̅̌̾́̍̓̾̎͋̓́̈̕ę̸̛̠̟̠͈̻̓͐͜ ̶̪͙̲͈̠͎̳͕̹̖͖͔͊̿̔̊̉̀̊̕͜t̶̨̨̹̝͉̺̙̼̅͗͒̓͘h̴̨̡̫̙̣̙̤͕͚̺̼̍̈́i̵̧̤̗̞̭̜̒̀̈͐̈́͊̔͑̍̚͠͝͠͝s̵͓̹͌͊̂̓̍̐͛͆̆̏̕ ̸̱̟̞͈͙͔̺͈̂w̴͈̭͇͇̻̘͙͇̳͈̣̞͚̥͂́̇̋ọ̶͔̀̐̈́͂̏̇̌̕r̴͔̍̐l̵̪̙̱̖͕̹̬̙̥͉̱͎͐̈́̀̀̾͌̀ḑ̵̢̧̩̺͈̤̣̼̭̫̗̯̌̇̿̀͋̚͜.
Author's Notes:
So, um, I think I've written to around Chapter 81 or 82 so far, and um, I still have more of this arc to write left. I'm just going to apologize in advance because I didn't realize how much there was still left to write just for this arc alone. But hey, that also means you all are getting lots of good content for a while yet!
I liked this chapter a lot. Going to be a good lead-in to the events going down as we reach the finale with Kyo and Luvar. Strap yourselves and your eyes in for a fun ride. I'll make sure that I surpass what happened with the Spirit Tortoise Arc to prove I'm far from having 'peaked' with my writing and still have vast room to improve.
Since, for example, I still have a tendency to insert ridiculous omakes at the end of otherwise serious chapters.
Speaking of which!
Hero Clips!
What are they doing?
"Guys, is now a good time for them to know that we snuck aboard?"
"Shhhh, quiet, you idiot! Do you want them to discover that we're hiding in here?!" A feminine voice whispered next.
"I, I just feel like we shouldn't be eavesdropping on them like this. Can we just get out of here while they're distracted?
The Three Otherworld Heroes were inside their crates in Naofumi's room. Debating on whether or not they should leave.
However, while it would have been wise for them to leave…
Clang! Clang! Clang!
There was a very strange noise coming from inside the room. One that couldn't help but pique their curiosity.
"Raphtalia, can you please get your Katana to yell at my Shield to get it to stop!?" Naofumi's voice sounded amidst the clanging. "This is seriously getting old!"
"I'll try," Raphtalia said unsurely.
"We can't leave now, Daitan! We still need to wait for the perfect moment to sneak out and talk to Kizuna! And besides, don't you want to figure out what they're doing?" Akane asked seriously.
"W-Well, yeah, of course I'm curious, but I'm not 'stupid' you know!" Daitan responded.
"Could have fooled me." Akane rolled her eyes.
Outside their crates, the sounds of clanging changed.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"What the hell are they doing now?!" Hoshi asked in shock. "Are they fighting with explosives or something?!"
"On a ship?! Are you insane?! Why would they do that?!" Daitan asked.
"Plus, aren't they both Heroes? I'd think their weapons would prevent them from using explosives." Akane pointed out.
…
While the three Heroes pondered on that, the sounds outside changed again.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Oh come on!" Naofumi screamed as it sounded like some construction was going on in the background.
"Is… is that a bulldozer?" Akane asked in surprise.
PPbbbbbbbbbthhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
A needlessly long, drawn-out fart sound with reverb sounded outside the crates.
"What the… what?" Daitan looked so confused.
"Is this starting to sound like a previous omake to you guys?" Akane asked.
"Is this what it's like to feel meta?" Daitan asked as he understood what Akane meant.
"How come we're the ones being meta instead of the other Heroes?" Hoshi asked confusedly.
Before the others could answer…
YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
A loud voice followed by shamisen and drum music began to sound. Hoshi's eyes widened in shock. "Ok, that is definitely a Kabuki theatre! What the hell are those two doing?!"
"Wow, my weapon says you have one vindictive Shield on you, Naofumi," Raphtalia spoke again.
"You think?!" Naofumi replied sarcastically.
As if to prove the point…
Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk!
The ill-fated goose noises were back once again.
"YOU KNOW WHAT?! &^%$ YOU TOO YANDERE SHIELD! &^%$ YOU TOO!" Naofumi yelled at his weapon.
"Alright, I have to know what's going on. What the hell are they doing to make all those different…" Daitan lifted the top off his crate and looked ahead, only to freeze up.
…
…
The Blunt Weapons Hero slowly lowered the top back down. Not saying a single word as he did so.
"So, uh… Daitan, are you still there? What were those two doing?" Hoshi asked curiously.
"You don't want to know," Daitan said, his face blank in his crate.
For a pervert, realizing just how Naofumi's weapon screwed with him was downright frightening.
He really hoped his Weapon wouldn't do the same to him in the future… if he ever got that lucky, that is.
Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk! "REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Naofumi continued to scream as his Shield ruined his love life in the background. Akane and Hoshi remained unknowing of what was actually happening outside their small wooden homes.
...
Outside, two figures stood on top of a nearby cloud while looking down at Ethnobalt's ship.
One of them spoke up.
"Your sense of humor is degrading faster than my sanity from proofreading this garbage." The shadowy person shook his head in exasperation and other overly complicated and archaic words that he used to make himself look smarter. "All that dramatic build-up in the chapter earlier and you just throw it away for… this.
"And the worst part is that this is only going to be the second worst joke in this arc's finale. Without counting the self-fellating meta commentary here, I mean."
(Insert Allen's response about this being okay since this is an omake and as such, not actually canon.)
"What about the actual worst joke of the finale then? The one that happens in-universe and ends up somehow playing a key role?" The proofreader pressed on, still looking down at the ship.
(Insert Allen's incredibly detailed and convincing response that explains that it's a necessary component of the overall narrative without which the story would be incomplete.)
"I- Wait, did you seriously leave those two responses blank!? You were supposed to put an actual argument in there! Not-" The shadowy figure turned to the writer angrily only to finally realize that Allen had never been there to begin with.
Instead, a cardboard cutout of him wielding the Cardinal Bow was left behind with a sticky note attached to it.
'Off to write Bow Hero Self-Insert, Part Two'
…
"Rafu!" Raph-chan ran up to the frame and pushed it. The cardboard cutout fell over with a dull 'fwap' sound.
"What an appropriate metaphor. Could not have done it better myself, Raph-Chan. Good job." The man praised Rifana and patted her on the head, much to her delight.
He then turned to the camera again. "Next time, on Diligence of the Shield Hero. We rip off St*r Wars and Fire Emblem Fates even more. Stay tuned!"
Till Next Time
Allen