Hey everyone. I've been thinking about it, and I decided that I should make a Discord server for people who like this fic. I know a good author friend of mine who has done so for his fic, so I thought I'd give the option to those who want it.
Haven't fleshed out too much for it yet. I just know that I'll be including commissions and artwork and the like that I can't normally include here on. I'm also thinking of putting future chapter docs there first for those who want to read them.
If you'd like to join and help give me ideas or just enjoy artwork or whatever, feel free to contact me over Discord. The old Discord info I gave in chapter one is outdated now. Contact me via allenblaster on Discord if you want to join.
I should also mention, in case you've missed the hype train, Season Three of Shield Hero starts coming out this week. And you know, even though I haven't finished Season Two yet since I wanted to write out the rest of this arc before I finished watching the Episodes there, it looks like Season Three PVs show that the season has been cooking. And it might actually look like a fine dish.
I'll definitely have to watch it once I've written ahead to the point that I have the rest of this arc all written down.
I believe that is all. Now, enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Seventy-Eight: Approaching Danger
- ENTRY #45 -
I said goodbye to Ethnobalt and the others today.
With ████████████ refusing to participate ████████████ any longer, it is only a matter of time until ████████████.
I guess it's up to me to save the world then. Since no one else will.
So that ████████████.
So that ████████████.
And so I can k̸̖͋̀̓̐̚ȉ̶͎͉̫̞͋̽͜ḷ̷̥̔͆̊̄͌̍͊̊͋͛̈́̉̈́̕ľ̸̟̩̜̜͎̮͚̭̘͙̌̅͐̆̈̽̈́ ̴̧̲̪̯̜͗̓̍̓̽̉̏̐̏͆'t̷̛̛̤͖̬̙̍̂̃̈́̑̏͝ḥ̴̨͚̹̯̤͇͛͛̓͛̒̂͊̔̾̽̐̓̚̕è̴̦̯͖͇͚͖̳̯̫̆̇m̶̯͎̏' for taking everything from me!
— ENTRY #52 —
All the ████████████ are now slain. I decided to lend ████████████ a hand once more to deal with them. Though I've parted ways with the others again.
It was almost too easy. We basically ambushed the three of them at the moment of their awakenings, before they could ████████████. Though, the fact is, a lot of people still died as ████████████. And even with our ambushes we were incapable of bringing them down immediately.
Either way, with their deaths, I have ████████████ to work with.
I have a g̵̞̳̲̱̩̫̐̈́͆͝͠ǫ̶̝̠̰̤̦̋͗́̀̽͝o̶̢̼͋͠ḑ̷̘̝̗͚̞̰̏̿͘ ̶̬̙͈̽̏̄̈́͝f̵̠̜͍̗̀ę̴̗̦͎̺̣͊̏͆e̶̪̭͗̆̀̋̐̂̈́l̷͕̘̠̱̬̿͜ĭ̸̩n̵̦͈̬̥̩͓͇͑g̸̭͚̫̬̃̀̄͗͒̅ about this now!
- ENTRY #58 -
Amazing! I've spent all this time trying to figure the first part out, but my ████████████ already did so! Behind my back too! The jerk!
After stealing a few of his ████████████ and dissecting them, it became clear that they were incomplete. However, that was hardly of any concern. It is much easier to finish something than it is to build it from scratch, after all.
Now that I have the basis for ████████████, it should be easier to build myself ████████████.
I just need to figure out how to sever ████████████.
What is the power needed to overcome it? If only I could ask Ethnobalt to help me again. He had been ████████████ before I left with the books I didn't manage to steal from him. But he never gave me an answer ████████████ with during the brief time we spent ████████████ together.
Perhaps he might find something useful to help overcome the power 'they' possess, something that I haven't managed to find in the texts I've gathered on 'them'.
— ENTRY #62 —
Yomogi has been checking in on me more lately. I get the feeling that she's ████████████. I hardly ████████████ these days according to her. She tells me I'm ████████████.
I don't care though. I am more than able to handle it.
I'm the only one who can ş̴͓̗̮͈͂̀̿͜ͅa̸̡̢͍̰͓̣̘̝̗̝̣̎̌̏̆̄̄͘v̸̧̨̗̘̝̖̦̙͗̃̈́e̸͈͈̜̣̠̟̰͕͇͌̇̇̚ ̸̢̨̛̲̘̱̰̰͖̮̬͍̰͈͚̃͆̓̆̅̐̽͛̏́͛̚ư̸̧͈̭̱̰̻̲̦̩̠̞͌̌́͗̋̉̓̃̾͑̈́̚s̷̢̊͆̆́̂̎́̀ after all.
- ENTRY #69 -
Progression on the ████████████ is proceeding as expected. I have fixed the development of the internal organs and a few even look like they could ████████████ at any moment.
Yet, while I've managed to accomplish this, and while I'm closer to my goal than I have ever been… I still have not yet found a power source for the ████████████ I'm trying to design. One that could ████████████ that binds me to 'them'.
Things in the world are going from bad to worse. It is clear now that 'they' have put ████████████ than I expected in other ████████████. The politics of the world is turning into a true &^%$ show, and many countries have joined Label in blaming Sickle for Kenshiro's death.
I've even learned that ████████████ have started traveling to other worlds. Killing the ████████████ on them in an attempt to save our world.
They truly are foolish. Sacrificing other worlds isn't going to save ours. One might mistakenly think that if we give 'them' a good show of bloodshed and betrayal, that they might find us entertaining enough to leave us be this time for a future 'sequel'. I know better than that, however. I know what they are like.
Their ████████████. Their ████████████.
They will be far more likely to kill us all even if we ████████████ to please them, just to subvert ████████████ for some cheap shock value that will be forgotten in a moment like everything else they've ever done.
No, trying to play by their rules is only doing what 'they' want. And it's only a matter of time before ████████████ decide to come back for revenge and perpetuate the cycle of violence and death for the amusement of my employers.
████████████ wouldn't have wanted this.
████████████ wanted a world where the people could smile and live together in peace and harmony, didn't she?
Then I mustn't waste anymore time! I must focus all my efforts on s̶̡̕á̶̠̮̪̯͉̩̰̋v̶̛͉̭́̆̓̕͜į̶̱̱͎͒̋̉̋͝n̸̗̱̭̍̃͆̓̑̃g̶̲͕̞̩͑͐͝ ̵̝͖̣͌͌͐͗t̸̺̠̖͒͂̔̎͗h̶̺̅̽̒̾̈́̎͝į̵̱̝̅̐̀̓͑s̶̢̫̖̬̠͋͊̅̏͘͝ ̵̼͉͙̪̜̯̿w̴̲͇̫̰͗̿͠o̴̡̰͙̮̻͌́r̶͚̗̩̣̘̒͒͐ĺ̵̲̅͑͑d̵̰̱̯͈̹̰̻͐̿̑̏̾͒!
If only I could free ████████████! I need a power that can counter even the gods, yet… what power could possibly do that?
I must research this further if I am ever to be free to save this world!
With the exception of finding out that the three Otherworld Heroes had stowed away onto Ethnobalt's ship… the rest of the voyage felt almost… pleasant.
There were no monsters attacking them, thanks to Itsuki's and Kizuna's stealth skills being applied to the ship. So everyone was free to do whatever they wanted.
Dou-Lon spent most of his time on the top deck, practicing performance magic while Glass observed him. The hakuko could not hold a candle to Filo's natural talent, but he tried his best nonetheless, eager to expand his skill set for the sake of extra flexibility and utility in combat.
He and Glass sometimes sparred as well, but not as intensely as usual; even if Ethnobalt's ship was true to its namesake, there was still not a whole lot of room on the top deck to go all out.
Kizuna sometimes watched these spars with jealousy painted on her face. Or perhaps she was just extremely grouchy since they couldn't fish from this high up in the sky.
"Come on! Can't we make a pit stop near some kind of lake or river… or something?! I'm dying for some fresh seafood!" The short girl complained.
Yep, she was most definitely jealous of Dou-Lon hogging all of Glass's attention. The hakuko was happy to be able to further improve his skills though. And sometimes even Raphtalia joined in to sharpen her own combat abilities as well.
Itsuki wasn't seen for the majority of their journey. He was likely spending his time in his cabin, below deck and resting, since there was no need for a lookout for now.
Rishia was oddly missing too. Hoshi made an idle observation about how Itsuki would likely need the next volume of his manga soon, but Naofumi wasn't so sure about that.
Things definitely couldn't have still been that innocent between the two at this point.
Then again, Naofumi's perception on this matter might have become warped, due to the time that he and Raphtalia had also spent in their cabin. In their case, doing exceedingly unwholesome things that certain prudish and close-minded people would even describe as 'obscene'. So what did he know?
Thankfully, he was not playing around all the time, he still did other things like cooking and teaching his daughters how to cook too. He also regularly swapped between new different shields to unlock their bonuses, practiced feeling and manipulating life force, and practiced using his new skill shields to get a feel for them; among other things to pass the time.
As for the otherworlders, Daitan, Akane, and Hoshi really did make good on their promise to stay out of everyone's way. Akane sometimes helped with cooking while Hoshi spent the majority of his time drawing the landscapes that they passed over.
Daitan tried joining Glass and Dou-Lon at one point for some training… but it didn't work out very well when he inevitably opened his big, stupid fat mouth again when Glass's sarashi accidentally got undone during a spar.
On the bright side, it was impossible to make a crater in Ethnobalt's boat without straight up dispelling it entirely.
On the downside, it still hurt a lot when his face got slammed into the floor by Glass.
Especially since the Spirit Woman asked the Shield Hero to buff her with Zweite Aura before she did so.
Sure, his weapon gave him an innate blunt damage resistance. But that had still hurt, and he'd been nursing a bump on his head in his room ever since.
…
At least he remained out of everyone's way after that.
Also, Naofumi could have sworn that Kizuna got a nosebleed when that whole event happened. But that's beside the point.
For Maya and Aksel, there wasn't much to note either. They spent most of their time in their room, only coming up to the top deck at night to go stargazing together while hugging each other's sides.
During one of those moments, Naofumi heard them talking to each other about something. But when he realized the privacy of what they were talking about, he decided to pull back and not eavesdrop on the young pair.
He may have been a bit mischievous, but he knew better than to get into what was none of his business. Especially when it was as important as what Aksel and Maya were discussing with one another.
…
Wedding planning, huh…?
They must have really loved each other a lot. Naofumi definitely felt like there was a different light exuding from Itsuki's party tank compared to before. Maybe it was about time for the Shield Hero to discuss such things with Raphtalia as well.
If not now, then definitely after they get back to their world for sure.
On other occasions, Naofumi would find Dou-Lon looking out at the open sky when the tiger man wasn't training.
One time, Naofumi joined him in the evening without saying anything, and Dou-Lon said nothing in return.
The hakuko man was deep in thought about something. Whatever it was, Naofumi couldn't tell. And he never did pry into his friend's business about it. Though he had a feeling it was in regards to someone back home.
The only thing he did was pat the hakuko man on the back and give him a nod. His loyal retainer looked at him, and nodded in return, The rest of that time was spent pondering in silence together.
...
Lastly, there was Yomogi.
She usually only appeared whenever there was food being served. But sometimes, she'd show up on the upper deck and observe Dou-Lon and Glass in their training. But for the most part, she'd keep quiet and withdrawn from the others. Often sitting in a meditative stance in plain view of everyone.
Naofumi spotted her discussing something with Akane and Daitan at one point. But he didn't know what they'd talked about, and he hadn't felt like asking. It wasn't important to him. And he was sure that if it was, then Kizuna or the others would tell him about it.
…
Oh, and of course, there was Raph-Chan! He made sure to make up for lost time by cuddling with her and petting her whenever he had the chance!
"Rafu!" The shikigami's face was alight with happiness. Yes! More stroking and tail floofs from the Shield Hero!
"Pen!" Chris pouted angrily nearby.
Ha, that stupid bird was still trying to butt its way into Raph-Chan time? He was never going to accomplish that in a million lifetimes and…
…
Ehhem, anyway, Naofumi really enjoyed petting Raph-Chan in his spare time. And Raph-Chan enjoyed it as well. However, she'd always run over to her best friend as soon as she pulled her favorite treats out of her Katana.
It was the easiest way to disappoint Naofumi. Ever.
Ethnobalt didn't leave his spot at the wheel for food or sleep until sometime at the end of the second day. And that was to tell everyone that the next morning, he'd reach the ley line that'd take them to Luvar, and then soon afterward before they reached Luvar's hourglass, he'd exit the ley line to resume flying in the direction of Kyo's mansion.
Had it not been for all the complications, it would have taken them less than a day to travel to Luvar via the ley lines.
That being said, the ley line they'd traveled to was closer to Luvar than any other on their part of the world. And it had no hidden traps or complications too. So when Ethnobalt's boat reached it and disappeared from the real world to travel along the energy of the world into Luvar, it took less than two hours for them to reach the exit point and reappear right over enemy territory.
You could tell there was a shift in the air on board the Invincible after that.
Itsuki stopped spending time alone in his room with Rishia and could be found patrolling the deck of the ship. Examining both sides to make sure no attacks came from either monsters or any forces Luvar had patrolling in the area. He would also practice infusing his bow with life force to make sure he was up to snuff with the lessons Rishia had taught him.
Glass had taken a meditative pose inside to accumulate her energy for what was ahead.
Dou-Lon still trained on his part of the deck. Though he was also accompanied by Maya and Aksel, as well as Rishia and Raphtalia and even Chris and Raph-Chan.
They didn't spar with each other, as the loud noises could attract unwanted attention. But they made sure their forms, magic, and weapons were in top shape before the coming battle.
Hoshi had donned himself in his battle kimono again. And while one could see him drawing still, that was only a secondary task, as he was simultaneously going through all his weapon forms and figuring out what'd go best with which skills he had.
Akane was also dressed for battle. She was going through her list of weapon forms and skills as well. Pulling some of them out to test them for herself.
Many of them were accessories of various kinds. However, she did have a few that weren't accessories at all.
In fact, one of her weapon forms made Itsuki pause in surprise. It was the same Lightning Gem Rifle he'd copied accidentally days before. "Since when are you capable of using something like that?" He asked her in disbelief.
Akane just shrugged in response, however. "I ended up accidentally copying it myself a while back during one of Corrin's parties. I guess since it's considered to be a Jewel-Sourced weapon I was able to copy it?"
Either way, unlike Itsuki, she didn't have any Weapon forms stronger than this one that she could equip right now. She was fortunate she'd finally hit the level she needed to wield the rifle during her time in Sickle so she could use it in the coming battle.
"No freaking fair." Itsuki pouted off to the side.
"You know, you could just use it exclusively for the next few months and Moto's [Weapon Mastery] method should make it as strong and effective as our other weapons," Naofumi suggested.
"And do we have a few months to allow me to do that?" Itsuki snarked.
…
Alright, fair point.
As for Daitan… well, he'd recovered from his most recent head trauma. But he did his own series of workouts away from Dou-Lon and the others.
He made sure to keep his distance, especially from Maya and Aksel.
Finally, as for Naofumi himself… since everything else was ready, he moved inside Ethnobalt's ship and checked his new armor over. Pondering to himself while he waited to be called out above for their final approach. Or in case of an aerial ambush or some other sort of attack.
Glass sat cross-legged on the wooden floor nearby. Naofumi double and triple-checked every strap. Making sure that what he was wearing fit him properly and securely.
Romina had done a good job fitting the Byakko Armor to him. But after the annoying backstrap incident from Elhart, he couldn't be too cautious…
…
His anxious examination of his equipment was finally broken when Glass spoke up.
"Is there something on your mind?" The Spirit Woman asked.
"... Nothing in particular. Just thinking back on all that has happened since coming to your world." Naofumi replied in a vague way.
"I see…" Glass opened her eyes. Her fans rested on her thighs as she stayed in the lotus position on the floor.
…
There was silence between the two again for a long moment. Naofumi finished with his armor examination and turned towards the observation windows.
He was silent for a moment, trying to find something to distract himself with. And then, he remembered there was something he wanted to ask Glass specifically.
"I've gotten Kizuna's and Raphtalia's perspectives on the topic, but what do you think we should do when we get to Kyo?" Naofumi asked without turning around, his gaze still glued to the endless forest of trees passing by down below.
…
Glass shook her head on her spot on the floor. "I think it should be pretty obvious that I am not of the same opinion as Kizuna. If it were me, I would rather choose to kill Kyo and get it over with, instead of wasting our time and risking our lives to futilely try to make him see reason. It is apparently clear that reason abandoned him long ago."
Naofumi nodded. "I understand why you'd take such a stance on it. Especially after… well… you know."
"I have my own personal bias in it, true." Glass breathed in deeply. "However, there are other reasons for why I think the way I do."
…
Naofumi heard something lightly tapping on the floor behind him and he turned around to look at Glass again. She gestured for him to take a seat opposite her with her fan.
After a moment of thought, he obliged her and sat opposite her, leaning back against the wall of the ship's hallway.
Glass breathed in deeply as she thought about her next words. "First off, I don't think that our world will be safe so long as what Kyo is doing threatens to destroy it. My weapon shares this sentiment with me too."
Naofumi nodded but didn't interrupt. Again, he was starting to wish that his weapon would speak more to him like the weapons of this world did with their wielders.
"And the other part of it is something… something that deeply disturbs me." Glass continued with a grimace.
"What about Kyo isn't disturbing?" Naofumi could not help but point out bitterly.
…
Glass remained quiet, pondering to herself. Then, she looked at Naofumi again in a serious manner. "There is something I want to ask you too, Naofumi. Have you figured out what Kyo's end goal might be?"
"Well..." Naofumi frowned. "I have a couple of theories, but I haven't really settled on anything yet. Yomogi insists that he wants to stop the Waves permanently, but I just don't see it being possible considering how they are a form of natural disaster. If such a device could actually exist, then surely someone would have come up with a design for it already. Otherwise, why would Heroes ever be needed to fight off the Waves?"
Glass sighed. "I agree. Which is why I believe that what Kyo is trying to achieve is… immortality."
…
…
"... Bit of an odd leap of logic. What gave you that idea?" Naofumi asked with a frown.
"..." Glass looked around again, then focused on Naofumi. "Because Spirit People like myself don't believe that such a thing is possible."
…
…
…
…
Naofumi's frown grew even deeper as he tried to process her logic but couldn't comprehend it. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
Glass shook her head. "I was keeping this to myself because it seemed unimportant at the time. But on the day before we departed, while I was standing guard in front of the infirmary again, I kept on hearing one of the girls inside calling out the name of Kenshiro's younger brother. She was pleading for him to come back.
"At first, I didn't pay her any attention, but after a while, I stopped hearing her voice.
…
"... when I later peeked inside, I found that she was gone. And that one of the windows was open."
Naofumi's eyes widened. But before he could ask anything, Glass continued. "I found her outside, not far from the building. She didn't die from the fall but she did get hurt. She was crawling along the ground in the direction of the Hourglass. And when I restrained her, she just kept on calling out the name of her master. Pleading for him to come back. Saying that he was in pain and that he needed her help.
"She didn't cause any major trouble beyond that, so I felt no need to tell anyone else about it earlier." Glass cocked her head to the side slowly. "But now, after pondering about it some more and hearing what Yomogi said before… every part of me feels like what she said isn't actually what Kyo is planning at all."
The frown on Naofumi's face remained. "I still don't see why this makes you think Kyo's goal is immortality."
"Naofumi, that girl who tried to escape from the infirmary was a Spirit Person," Glass admitted.
…
…
…
Naofumi sat still, processing the info Glass had revealed. "She thought she could see him?" He asked for clarification.
"Yes. Though, I could not. I believe you understand the concept of a soul?" Glass gestured at the Shield Hero with a quizzical look.
He nodded in response. "A soul is a person's essence. And when they die, that essence becomes a ghost." Naofumi replied with what limited knowledge he had on the topic.
"Yes, in regards to us Spirit People, we can see these ghosts better than others. For some of my people, physical death is not considered a farewell at all. We are able to see and talk with them as they gradually move on to the next plane of existence." Glass explained calmly. "But once a person has died, we do not think that it is possible to bring them back to life. We do not yearn for their return, since we know for certain that they are going to a better place."
"Wait, but why was she grieving him then- ah!" As Naofumi was about to speak out, he went quiet instead. Understanding started to dawn on him.
"Yes, if a Spirit Person were told that their loved one could come back to life, we would not believe it. Actually, we would never believe it," Glass said at the look of clarity that came onto Naofumi's face. "Not a single member of my race would ever take such a sentence at face value. Such a thing is impossible for us to imagine.
"And yet for her to act like this…?"
"I am guessing that Kyo showed her something legitimate. But whatever it was, I doubt that he is going to use it to bring that villain back. The only other thing I can guess then is that he plans on using whatever means to cheat death that he's discovered to ensure that he can live for a long time. Forever, if he can achieve it with the soul energy he stole from your world."
Naofumi breathed in sharply. "That was among my theories of what Kyo was planning. But it seemed so obnoxiously stereotypical and just straight-up anime that I didn't give it any serious thought."
Glass blinked once in response to Naofumi's odd choice of words. Fortunately, her time with Kizuna had taught her a few things about Heroes from other worlds, including their terminology. So she frowned again when something else came to her mind. "Kyo used words like that even before he'd been around Kizuna for long."
Naofumi put a hand to his chin. "I know I already asked this before, but he really did grow up in your world, right?"
"He did." Glass nodded. "So I just don't understand…"
…
…
Naofumi felt something unsettling in his stomach. He thought about Kyo's plans some more, trying to recall everything that they knew. From taking the souls of many people from another world to promising a group of girls that he could resurrect their master. While also providing something convincing enough that even a Spirit Person would believe it.
"Why haven't you tried asking Kizuna or Itsuki about this?" Naofumi asked. "Why talk to me?"
"I have considered talking to Hero Itsuki, however, I did not feel it appropriate since he seems to be on edge lately." Glass admitted, her head hanging in front of her. "As for Kizuna… even if I do want nothing but to kill Kyo, I know telling her such things would only sadden her. And the last thing I want to do is to make her feel even more miserable than she already is."
"Kizuna feels miserable?" Naofumi blinked in surprise before looking thoughtful again. "Scratch that, of course, she is. I bet she's still thinking something stupid like that it's her fault that Kyo went crazy in the first place."
"Yes. She is." Glass nodded solemnly.
"Still. I wanted to get these things off my chest. And whatever has happened between us in the past, I know that I can trust you, Naofumi." Glass looked at him again. "I did not deserve any help from you or anyone else after what I tried to do to your world. But you reached out to help us anyway. You made sure my friends and I remained alive inside the Spirit Tortoise… and you brought Kizuna back to us.
"I'm already forever in your debt for all that. And if we actually find a way to save both of our worlds too, then..."
Naofumi shook his head in response. "I already told you before that I would have made the same choices as you, had I been in your position. And if we find a way to save our world and yours, it'll be a win-win. So all we can do is move forward together and make sure we stay safe, right?"
"Yes…" Glass sighed. "If only it was that easy."
"If it's still bothering you a lot, then I'd suggest talking to Kizuna about this too," Naofumi said as he stood up. He was smiling just a little now. "You said so yourself that she's miserable and blaming herself for things outside her control right now. So as her best friend, you'd be best suited to discussing things with her.
"It's more than obvious how much she values what you have to say even if she won't necessarily agree with it. So you two should help each other calm down and sort your thoughts out before we arrive. I think that'd be far more effective than sharing things with only me and not feeling resolved about any of it." Naofumi suggested.
"Right…" Glass nodded to herself and stood up, only slightly blushing at the underlining meaning of what the Shield Hero had implied. "I won't mention my desire to kill Kyo. I believe she is aware of my thoughts on it already… But I will at least discuss the rest of what I brought up to you with her. So we can ask Kyo about it ourselves when we arrive."
Naofumi nodded and shook her hand. Glass then turned around and went outside to find her best friend. Giving him another nod of thanks before she departed.
…
After seeing her leave, Naofumi sighed. "Rishia, are you going to just keep standing there?"
"Fuehhh!" The girl fuehed at being caught but stepped out from the hallway into view. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't want to interrupt." She said meekly.
"It's fine, you're not in trouble." Naofumi looked up at her. Her hand began playing with something in her hair out of nervousness. He found it was the same Emerald Flower Itsuki had given her after her return from Lapis.
"I know I haven't spoken with you much since reuniting with Itsuki several weeks back, but I didn't forget how clever you are. Do you think there's any serious credence to what Glass talked to me about?"
Rishia looked surprised but then thought to herself as she recalled the conversation she'd accidentally eavesdropped on. "I mean, I can't say that I know much about Spirit People. I haven't found any good books that talk about them in detail during our stay in Sickle…
"But I do agree that Kyo isn't all that he appears to be," Rishia admitted.
Naofumi nodded and didn't interrupt.
"During our battle with him in the Spirit Tortoise, he kept on throwing around words that didn't make much sense. Words that I've only heard from you and the other Heroes, as well as words I found while reading the journals of various Heroes with Tersia and the others back home. The Heroes that were summoned instead of chosen from our world."
"In other words, people from Japan, or places like it," Naofumi concluded.
Rishia nodded. "Yes. But… even knowing that, it doesn't make much sense. From everything I've learned, Kyo was born and raised in this world. Even his parents are still alive and living in the northern area of Luvar near the Capital. While his weapon chose him, it was not from a summoning ritual. Kyo shouldn't have such distinctive Japanese characteristics like you and Itsuki."
Naofumi frowned. "Could he have adopted that terminology from studying books alongside Ethnobalt? He told me that the two of them studied various old texts together a lot."
"It is possible, but I've already talked to Ethnobalt about Kyo before. And I don't think he'd be someone to change his language or wording because of something some musty old Hero in a book said in the past. And even if that had been the case, he uses these words with the kind of familiarity and in-depth knowledge that only a native speaker would hold." Rishia shook her head.
…
Naofumi's frown deepened. He looked out the window beside him again and saw the edges of a foggy forest fast approaching.
"Alright," Naofumi turned to Rishia again. "You ready to face him?"
Rishia looked down at her hands, and after a moment, she balled them into fists while looking up again. "Yes, whatever happens, whoever he really is… I'll bring him to justice for what he's done."
Naofumi nodded, and this time, he followed behind her onto the deck to gather everyone.
L'Arc felt more on edge than he had ever felt before in his entire life.
Not even preparing to storm the Demon Dragon's continent and facing down the monstrosity itself alongside Kizuna, Ethnobalt, and the others had made him feel this nervous.
"Seriously, where the hell are they?" He asked through gritted teeth.
He and Therese were still standing on the bridge of Sickle's flagship Invincible. Watching the soldiers around them moving about, checking the engines, and making sure that everything was fine.
Below them, the lush viridian forested mountains of Luvar stretched out into the distance. The massive fleet of ships as well as its escorts flew unimpeded in what should have been the heart of Luvar's territory.
"You're right. This is starting to become unsettling instead of just strange." Therese sounded concerned as well.
They'd parked once outside of Luvar's border, and then once again outside of the mountain range they were flying over. Allowing them to fully charge up Lapis's entire fleet of ships before making the last stretch of their journey over the mountains toward Luvar's Capital.
They'd lost contact with their forces in Mikakage soon after crossing the border. But they'd set up a pair of messengers who could still contact them from outside and then relay the information inside the no comms zone Luvar had set up at the borders of their nation. From what they knew, Luvar's forces in the Mirror Country were breaking and falling back at last.
Yet, there'd still been no sign of Luvar's new air fleet.
Corrin felt concerned as well, and right now, glowing energy shields were up along the front and upper portions of the Acclamator class ships. LAATs and other Invincibles plus smaller escort ships from Label and Sickle's air fleets flew alongside the cruisers, which flew at different altitudes from one another. Watching for signs of danger ahead.
They were fully prepared for a sudden attack, especially since they were flying in an area where they couldn't land right now. But after these mountains, Luvar's Capital would be in view. And all they'd have to do is land on the plains outside of it, and then their armies would be able to march off into battle.
There was no way in hell that this was what was going to happen. L'Arc was completely sure of it.
He may have acted like an idiot a lot of the time. But he knew how battlefields were supposed to work. He'd lived and fought on them ever since the days of the Demon Dragon. And he had been forced to fight on even more after the Waves had started.
Sickle had many enemies. He knew he always had to be prepared for the day he would face other people who weren't heroes on the field of battle instead of mindless monsters. So the fact that they were flying unimpeded into enemy territory screamed into L'Arc's ears how this was a trap. This would be the perfect place for it too, and he had his soldiers on high alert trying to find where it would come from.
Yet…
…
He spoke into a gem ofuda. "Any enemy activity from the east?"
"None, sir." A soldier responded.
"Any activity from the west?"
"No, my King." Another soldier responded.
He did the same with ships in the front of the formation and the back.
There was activity ahead at Luvar's Capital. A fleet of ships was preparing to meet them at the edge of the mountains, and soldiers were based on the ground ready to battle their ground forces as soon as they came out of the mountains.
No matter how you looked at it, it appeared that Luvar was preparing to receive their invasion force in a head-on assault.
And yet as Corrin gave instructions to L'Arc over an ofuda to have him move his ships into a spearhead position at the front of the fleet… L'Arc still didn't feel so good about this and voiced it aloud to Corrin.
"Corrin, wait, I think we should keep the ships where they are." The King said over the ofuda to Corrin.
"Why? I think that at this point it's clear that Kyo's arrogance has grown greater than his cunning. He really wants to face us in an all-out assault. So let's give him one! We have to reach the landing zone." Corrin responded.
"I am not moving my ships just yet," L'Arc replied. "There's no way they'll just accept a head-on assault."
"Well if it's a trap, my forces are detecting no signs of life in the mountains below, aside from a few stray monsters. The only human forces we are able to detect are ahead of us." Corrin responded, a bit heatedly.
"I'm not moving my ships out of their positions yet, and that's final!" L'Arc shut the ofuda off, preventing Corrin from being able to respond.
"L'Arc, I understand your paranoia better than anyone else here, but are you sure that's wise?" Therese winced.
"Therese, I respect Corrin, but my gut is telling me something bad is about to happen." The King of Sickle quickly replied. And as he did so, the nervousness on his face increased. "Hail an LAAT. I get the feeling you're going to be needed on one of those cruisers soon."
"L'Arc?" Therese looked surprised and wanted to voice how she wanted to stay by his side, but the redhead looked directly into her eyes.
It wasn't him being nervous and wanting her out of harm's way. No, he was dead certain that an attack of some kind was coming. And because he knew his girlfriend's capabilities better than anybody else, he was placing her in a spot where she'd be the most effective for what was about to occur.
If he was right about this being an ambush too, then it'd been smart to have her wait by his side till that moment. They'd expect both of them to be on the same Invincible if the information wasn't relayed to the enemy within the next few minutes.
The kingly aura radiating off him was a nice touch too.
Therese finally nodded her head. "Ok, I trust you. Just make sure not to do anything that'll get yourself killed."
L'Arc actually managed to smile at her in response. "You know, maybe if you were to kiss me, then I'd be more motivated to survive."
"But playing with you is so much more fun." Therese smiled teasingly, causing L'Arc to pout.
Before he could retort, however, she took her helmet off her head, leaned over, and planted a peck on his cheek.
The action stunned him speechless.
"Do well," She pulled back, putting her helmet back on. "And I'll make sure to kiss you somewhere else. Maybe." Therese giggled, before turning around and heading up to the deck to wave down a transport ship.
She even made sure to sway her armored hips from side to side as she did so. Knowing how such an action would raise L'Arc's energy levels to the max.
…
Ohhhhhhhh, L'Arc was going to do his best to survive this battle now! His motivation was at an all-time high, and he was going to kick %$# and take names in the name of all horny men out there!
There was nothing more glorious than the rack that Therese had on her. He was absolutely certain about that.
…
Minutes passed by. An LAAT picked Therese up off the deck and flew her towards one of the Acclamator-Class cruisers. L'Arc's eyes lingered on it from the observation window of his Invincible until it flew inside the hangar, and then his gaze returned to what was ahead.
The edge of the mountains was in sight. Luvar's air fleet was beginning to appear in the distance. And there were still no signs of any enemies from down below.
L'Arc's turned his ofuda back on, and Corrin's voice came out from it. "Damn it, L'Arc! Listen to me and get your ships moved into position already! We'll need to force our way through using the defense stats of your Invincibles!"
…
L'Arc opened his mouth to answer. Maybe Corrin was right and the main attack was coming from the front. Even now there were no signs of anything being-
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The undersides of several nearby ships closest to the ground exploded. The Invincible L'Arc was hitching a ride on lurched as explosions tore into its hull.
"STATUS!" L'Arc yelled to the people on the deck as he righted himself on a nearby chair.
"Anti-Aircraft fire just started coming from below!" A soldier yelled frantically.
"How?! I thought we were detecting no signs of human life from the mountains!" L'Arc looked out the cracked observation window in front of him. His fleet began to scatter left and right at the sudden barrage.
Down below, he couldn't see anything at first. But then, as he used a skill to enhance his eyesight, he saw how several more projectiles were launched from the thick brush of trees.
One of those projectiles was heading right towards him, and he turned around, tackling two of his soldiers out of the way as whatever was coming right at them was about to explode outside the window. "TAKE COVERRRRRRRR!"
Boom! "Screeeeee!"
The screech he heard made L'Arc's blood turn cold, and he turned around to face a monstrosity he hadn't thought he'd ever lay eyes on again.
"W-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!?" One of the soldiers he'd saved screamed.
The Spirit Tortoise Familiar (Spike-Type) gave no response to the man's frenzied plea, as it ripped the remains of the window away and forced its way inside the ship's interior. It raced forward on its spindly legs to attack L'Arc and his soldiers.
…
Over on the cruiser that she was on, Therese was facing a completely different mess as she entered the control bridge.
"Raise shields on the lower hull!" A gem soldier yelled. "Divert power from the forward shields!"
"Sir, we have breaches in the lower hull! Those weren't anti-aircraft rounds! They're monsters! They're already attacking the maintenance crew!"
"Monsters?! Luvar shot monsters at us from the ground?!" An officer yelled fearfully.
"Yes, sir!"
"Screeeeee!"
Therese's blood chilled in her veins. While the gem officers were trying to shout orders to their soldiers from the safety of the bridge via ofudas, she heard a familiar disturbing meowling scream echo over one of the officer's comms.
There was no way… had Kyo also made these creatures in this world?
...
L'Arc had been right to move her after all. She would be much more effective here.
"Tell the soldiers to start casting ice and debuff magic on the creatures! They will explode when killed, but not when they're hit by those kinds of spells first!" Therese ordered the nearest gem officer.
"W-What?! How would you know-" An officer began to reply.
"I've fought them before! I'd recognize that sound from anywhere! Now get the word out before they bring down the ship along with everyone on it by killing them!" Therese yelled. "Their self-destruct mechanisms are the real threat here!"
"Y-Yes!" The officers ran over to a collection of ofudas hanging on one of the walls, yelling out orders into them one after the other that reverberated all over the inside of the ship. Another officer made contact with the other Acclamators in the fleet, relaying information to their officers so they could deal with the threat.
Therese, donned in her gem armor and her various accessories, sat down in the pilot's chair after kicking the Gem Person who'd been operating the ship out of it.
Immediately, she was connected to the ship by its multiple layers of gems. The gems of her armor assisted in garnering the attention of their brothers and sisters who were installed throughout the ship and made them heed the beck and call of the new pilot who was taking over.
When she was recognized as the pilot, the shields of the ship flared up intensely, as Therese's far higher stats helped to bolster the ship's own defenses. More monsters trying to tear into the ship from down below found themselves unable to pierce the ship's hull now, and it made them easy pickings for the LAATs that flew underneath to destroy them with a wide range of different ice gem spells.
Through the help of the gems, Therese was also able to look into other parts of the ship. Something only the pilot had the ability to do.
The soldiers were moving in to defend against the intruders that'd forced their way inside by ripping apart parts of the hull at the ship's bottom. Several of the crew already lay dead on the ground, however.
Yep. Those were the spike familiars the Spirit Tortoise had used before in Naofumi's world. It looked like they were being shot out of anti-aircraft guns poking out from the forested mountains down below. And even though their weaknesses were made known, the soldiers were having a rough time dealing with them on their own.
Luvar's air fleet up ahead also blasted their engines at full power. They began to rapidly close the distance between their fleets while getting ready to engage in air-to-air combat.
It was the perfect ambush tactic. Too bad L'Arc had already seen through it and put Therese in a position to counter it. "Launch the remaining LAATs stored in the hangar! We're taking these bastards head-on and reaching that landing zone!" Therese shouted out more orders.
The officers listened to their new commander without any hint of hesitation whatsoever. Whatever Therese might have thought about her leaving Lapis, it was clear the others still held her in high regard as a member of Lapis's royal family to listen to her orders.
All of her ship's remaining LAATs flew outside. On the other Acclamators, the same thing happened. All of them raced forward to counter the fast approaching enemy fleet, spells charged and ready to fire.
But then, right as she was certain that they'd foiled Luvar's ambush…
"M-Madam! Up above!" A different Gem Soldier pointed out the windows of the bridge up above.
Therese looked up, and all color completely drained from her face.
Not only had the LAATs left the fleet of Acclamators, but some of L'Arc's escort ships had moved down towards the mountains to deal with the sudden attack from below, making both completely ignorant of the threat that had now made itself known up above.
"&^%$!" Therese cursed, diverting the power of the ship's shields back to the upper hull herself. Of course, it wouldn't have been that simple!
The reflective mirror panels that'd been placed along the undersides of the ships of Luvar's new stealth fleet reverted back into their hulls, raising the ships' stats for offensive operations. The ships were long and sleek, looking very similar to Ethnobalt's Invincible but with a more modernized look to them.
This was why they couldn't find Kyo's supposed new ships anywhere up to this point.
They had been tailing the coalition fleet from above all along.
"All ships, raise shields! I repeat, all ships, raise-" Corrin's voice sounded from a gem ofuda, but it was too late.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Near the top of the fleet, one of the Acclamator-Class Cruisers of Corrin's fleet that'd been flying higher than the rest of its brethren was torn apart by the stealth fleet's ruthless and immediate bombardment.
The debris from it began to fall down into the midst of the rest of the fleet, causing even more damage and chaos.
The fleet split apart, trying to deal with threats up above, down below, and directly in front of them. Several of the LAATs turned around to assist, but the rest were already engaged.
Even though L'Arc had been right about the ambush, they'd vastly underestimated Luvar's tactics.
And as the remains of the destroyed Acclamator fell in Therese's vision, she found that they were already paying a heavy price for it.
Ding!
Naofumi stood at the bow of Ethnobalt's ship, fully geared up for battle. The rest of the team stood behind him, with the exception of Yomogi who was in front of the Shield Hero and still had the Order Ofuda attached to her back.
"And you're sure this bell is going to work?" Naofumi asked once again with a healthy degree of skepticism in his voice.
"Yes," Yomogi replied in an annoyed tone. "It has allowed me to come to and from this house countless times in the past. So it will work again here. Now please, be quiet while I focus."
Ding! Ding!
…
Ding!
…
Naofumi studied the bell in her hands again. It really didn't look like anything special. Maybe a little fancy, but nothing that looked like it'd lead them through the foggy forest.
Naofumi looked at Raphtalia, who stood at the edge of the deck, staring down at the fog with Raph-Chan on her shoulders.
She looked at him and nodded her head, confirming his thoughts.
This fog was made entirely of illusion magic. There was no way a simple bell should have been able to lead them through this.
Yet Yomogi continued to look ahead. The bell in her hand kept on softly ringing again and again.
Ding!
…
Ding-a-ling!
…
Ding!
…
Everyone remained silent. Waiting for something to happen. But the fog around them continued to thicken. Obscuring where it was they were going.
Itsuki kept a tight grip on his Bow. Looking around for anything that would attack them. Rishia stood next to him, an ofuda in one of her hands, and her katana gripped tightly in the other.
Glass's fans were spread out, and Kizuna stared dead ahead, same as Yomogi. The three Otherworld Heroes stood behind them.
Filo held her hands over her chest in her human form, looking oddly silent as the minutes passed.
Naofumi grit his teeth again.
…
Ding!
This was seriously turning out to be a waste of time. He opened his mouth to say just that but was interrupted.
"DAMN IT KYO! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! AND I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR THIS! SO OPEN THE DAMN DOOR ALREADY, BEFORE YOU REALLY PISS ME OFF!" Yomogi stopped ringing the bell and instead nearly crushed it in her grip as she leaned over the railing to scream down into the fog.
...
There was another short bout of silence. But then, as the bell in her hand Dinged again, the fog began to part. "There!" Yomogi shouted triumphantly.
Ethnobalt turned the ship sideways, directing it through the path that opened up in the cloudy mist. Only a couple minutes later, the ship finally arrived at its destination.
In the midst of the lush green forest, a lone fenced-off clearing could be seen. Most of it was taken up by a huge building, but it was hard to pick out the details, due to the thick layer of mist still clinging to it and the rest of the courtyard. The only two things that stood out were that the mansion appeared to have been recently partially renovated. The second thing of note was the medium-sized airship that was parked on the grass outside the mansion's front gates.
It looked pretty similar to the one that Ethnobalt was using right now, actually.
There was no doubt, this all matched the description of what Mayori had told them. This was the Book Hero's main base of operations in all of its surprisingly restrained and humble glory.
Naofumi walked up to the railing next to Yomogi. He looked visibly shocked at what had just happened. Had it just been a stroke of pure luck for the bell to actually work, or had Raphtalia decided to intervene in the background?
But when he turned his head back, the Katana Hero looked just as surprised as him. Even Raph-Chan was perplexed and staring at the bell, suddenly very curious to find out how it'd worked.
…
Ok. Maybe that bell did actually work after all.
"I told you it'd work," Yomogi said smugly.
"Whatever." Naofumi rolled his eyes and turned to face the Bow Hero. "Can you see any potential threats down there, Itsuki?"
The blonde young man narrowed his eyes in irritation as he studied the scene below. "This damn mist is a real piece of work. Most of it has cleared up, but I still can't see much. I think there's some movement here and there, but I'm not sure what it is or if it's actually anything at all. Even the way the trees are moving in the wind looks kind of creepy."
Naofumi clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Ethnobalt, raise a white flag, and land the ship outside the gate," Kizuna ordered in an uncharacteristically authoritative way. "Slowly."
The rabbit man nodded and began to descend his boat gently after making a white flag appear on one of its masts.
…
After a minute of tense silence, the boat touched down next to what was presumably Kyo's ship parked outside the entrance of the mansion's front gate.
Everyone exchanged anxious looks and after confirming that nothing was jumping out of the fog at them right away, they began to disembark.
Most of the heroes and their allies managed to land on their feet, with only Daitan ending up comically landing on his face with a grunt.
'Finally, I'm no longer the biggest clown in the group.' Aksel thought to himself in relief as he watched Akane and Hoshi help their friend up. Before he could share this lingering thought with Maya though…
"Naofumi get your shields up, we've got hostiles!" Itsuki suddenly raised his voice along with his bow and pointed it ahead at the cloud of mist in front of the gates.
"Well, that didn't take long." The Shield Hero snarked and followed his fellow hero's gaze with a grimace.
From the clouds of mist still lingering in the area, the forms of many, many creatures began to appear, looking at them hungrily. They slowly prowled towards them through the open gates of Kyo's mansion.
The rest of Trash's harem really was there… and based on their appearances, Mayori's worst fears had been confirmed.
Filo's fists tightened at her sides. "Daddy, there's a lot of beast girls concealed in the fog ahead of us. They all look hungry. Filo can tell."
"Yes, honey, I know. Stay close to me and Mommy." Naofumi warned her.
The girl changed into her humming fairy form, singing a buff spell for everyone there to prepare them for battle.
"So these are the rest of the girls that Kyo was supposed to help 'train'." Itsuki said with a tight grimace. They looked far more menacing right now, for some reason, compared to what he'd seen in Sickle.
"Looks like it," Naofumi replied tersely.
"Kyo, it's me!" Yomogi yelled at the front gates of the mansion. "Please call everyone off and come out! Kizuna and her friends aren't here to fight you! They just want to talk!"
…
Despite what Yomogi yelled, the doors of the mansion up ahead remained sealed. And after another moment, the guardian beast chimeras began to charge out of the mist with hungry and savage looks in their eyes.
"Everyone, stand back! I'm going to cut their beast halves out just like before! And then we're kicking that stupid door down and making Kyo talk to us! Naofumi, give me a buff!" Kizuna yelled.
Naofumi used Zweite Aura on their group while Itsuki similarly used Zweite Down on the approaching beasts. The golden and green glows in the midst of the fog gave an otherworldly vibe to what was about to happen.
When it was all said and done, the Hunting Tools Hero rushed ahead and slashed out with her large knife. "Hiya!"
Immediately, her first strike cleaved through the chest and neck of the first two girls who tried to attack her. Their beast forms were cut apart entirely. And a second strike from her blade cut clean through a third chimera that tried attacking her right after.
"How was that? Did it work?" Kizuna asked before she turned her head back with a confident smile.
…
The excited and happy expression on her face died instantly.
The three beast women lay on the ground, dead. No human forms emerged from them like before.
Her blade hadn't released them as it had for the girls back in Sickle. The women here had been under the influence of Kyo's guardian beast enhancement drugs for too long. They were no longer human enough to be freed.
"I… I…" Kizuna breathed out in shock, completely frozen in place as it felt like her heart was hammering itself out of her chest.
"Watch out!" Dou-Lon got in front of her, stopping another tiger chimera in its tracks before Naofumi could summon a Shield to protect the Hunting Tools Hero.
The hakuko grunted as his hands held the beast by its jaws, but it quickly ended when Glass's fans cut through the beast's midsection. Dou-Lon then unsheathed his own blade while the chimera was thrashing around in pain and cut off its head, finishing the beast off.
"They are too far gone, Kizuna! We do not have a choice now!" Glass yelled as she faced the other chimeras that began charging at them after the deaths of the first four of their number.
"B-But they're still-" Kizuna tried to yell.
"Kizuna," Glass's fans impaled themselves into the skull of one of the chimeras. The spray of blood that covered the spirit woman's features gave an almost somber appearance to her otherworldly allure. "It is either them or us. We must defend ourselves."
"The fact that you were able to cut their lives short tells you all you need to know already. They are not human anymore." Glass withdrew her fans as she effortlessly blocked a clawed strike from another chimera. "Whatever Kyo has done to them has stripped their humanity away, leaving only mindless monsters behind.
"Think back on how we had to clear out various ruined villages of undead from the Demon Dragon's rampages. Those lost souls never wanted to live on as monsters. I don't believe these girls would want such a fate either. Let us at least grant them this mercy before we face Kyo."
…
Kizuna still looked shocked, but Itsuki and the others rushed into the battle as the chimeras tried to converge on Glass's position. Pushing them away from her back towards the gates of Kyo's mansion.
The Hunting Tools Hero had no choice but to follow behind them as the Heroes began their attack.
"Air Strike Shield!"
"Saint Arrow's Rain!"
"Reverse Four Seasons!"
"Crescent Moon Sword!"
The full transformations of these girls were quite noteworthy. Some had transformed into full-on white tigers, going even further than Dou-Lon's therianthrope transformation ever did. Some looked like smaller versions of the Spirit Tortoise with a snake tail growing out of their backs, with long necks and tortoiseshells covering the tops of their ruined armor. Some looked like Vermillion Birds and were even capable of flight.
Those ones didn't have much luck on that front though. Itsuki shot them down repeatedly every time they tried to ambush the group from above.
The remnants of their gear could still be seen worn on some of them. And a few still had assets that indicated they'd once been human on their torsos. But the hungry savage looks in their eyes were all the same.
They had become mindless monsters, through and through.
"Second Shield! Dritte Shield!" Naofumi summoned the shield barriers, stopping a group from charging forward.
"Lightning Arrow!" Itsuki's follow-up skill went between the gaps of the two shields. The beasts behind were shocked repeatedly as Raphtalia ran into their midst alongside Rishia. Both girls were grimacing, but they acted on behalf of their Heroes, just like always, and granted their foes a quick death.
"Stardust Blade!" "Eight Palms of Destiny!"
The two girl's combined powers completely demolished the group of beasts around them. They continued rushing forward as Ethnobalt's ship changed next to him, becoming something that looked like a small plane with a gatling gun attached to the bottom of it. "Cannon Shot!"
The cannon attachment on top fired large black balls that exploded on impact with the horde of monsters. Some had their forward momentum stopped, others bled from small wounds caused by shrapnel, but it was clear that his attack hadn't done much damage.
"Sapphire's Fury!" "Power Charge!"
Akane's ice skill washed over a pair of beasts, stopping them in their tracks. Daitan's armor-covered body then crashed into them with a powerful tackle, sending the pair flying backward with deep injuries on their bodies.
"Formation Three: Blaze Tag!"
Hoshi threw an ofuda from his weapon, and the two beast girls were engulfed in fiery flames. The skill finished them off, allowing the rest of them to press on.
The rabbit man grimaced. He'd spent all that time training, but it was clear the gap between him and the others was still too high for him to bridge. Even the weaker Cardinal Heroes were dealing more damage to these beasts than he was.
"Pen!" "Rafu!" However, with Chris and Raph-Chan assisting him, the two shikigamis took their chance to rush forward and rip and tear their respective opponents apart. Aided by Ethnobalt's support fire from behind. The two shikigamis also intercepted a larger group's attacks, allowing the weaker Cardinals to pull back and allow Ethnobalt's armored ship to soak up the damage directed at them before they charged into the fray once again.
"Ha!" Aksel's ax tore a large tiger chimera's head from its body, and he ducked as a viper from a nearby black tortoise chimera almost bit into the top of his head.
Said viper was then sliced off by an unseen blade. As the beast howled in pain, a pair of kunai embedded themselves into its skull, killing it instantly.
"You ok?" Maya quickly reappeared to check on her favorite knight.
"Yeah, let's just finish this before I get sick." Aksel had to divert his eyes from the fallen bodies of their foes.
Maya nodded and rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder as she faded out from view again. Aksel hefted his ax once more and continued to push their advantage alongside Glass, Dou-Lon, and Kizuna, who had no choice but to press on with their counterattack too.
"Blood Flower Strike!"
"Tortoise Shell Cracker!"
"Instant Blade: Mist!"
"AHHHHHHHHH!"
Their attacks kept tearing through beast girl after beast girl. Kizuna was looking more and more distraught at the amount of death and carnage around them... it only kept on getting worse as time went on.
If a hundred girls had attacked the Capital, then there had to be at least two hundred guarding Kyo's mansion. All of whom had succumbed to the effects of the genetic experiments they'd undergone in the most horrible of ways.
Yomogi had been following behind the Shield Hero, not having a weapon of her own to fight with. But seeing what was before her, her face was painted with shock and terror.
Why…
Why hadn't Kyo listened to her?
Why hadn't he called these girls off?
Were… were they too far gone to listen to orders anymore? Were they no longer human because of the experimental drugs Kyo had developed?
That had to be the case, right?
Nearby, Kizuna beheaded another former human's head. The head landed next to the green-haired girl, glowing tiger eyes looking up at her as she died.
"Th… Thank… You…" Instead of an incomprehensible snarl, a small whisper left the monstrous lips, before the former member of Trash's harem passed into the void.
…
They were fully beasts. Yet deep, deep inside, their human souls were still there, trapped inside whatever their bodies had been changed into.
While they were killing monsters, they were also killing people.
The experimental drugs could not strip them of their human souls even after taking everything else that had made them human.
"Kyo…" Yomogi muttered in horror. Finally realizing what the other girls had almost succumbed to back in Sickle. And just how much worse it could have been for them.
"Why?" Kizuna said next to her. She'd paused, having followed the head of the monster she'd sliced off. But she'd heard the same thing that Yomogi had. And she looked all the more crushed because of it.
"Why is this happening? Kyo, why?!" Kizuna screamed as she turned to face the distant front doors of the mansion again.
Naofumi focused on keeping everyone safe and summoned another skill shield to protect Raphtalia from more Chimeras that kept on pouring out of the mist in front of them like an endless horde.
The tide seemed almost endless. But after a couple of minutes, they managed to go through the front gates of the mansion into the courtyard proper.
As they got closer to the mansion, the turret-type familiars Mayori had warned them about popped out from the walls and began to rain attacks down on the group as well.
Yet they pushed through it. The main group of fighters focused on the chimeras with Naofumi protecting them. In the meantime, Itsuki and Akane used their ranged attacks to take down the turret familiars from a distance.
"Take this!" Phoom! Phoom! Phoom!
The Jewel Hero's ranged attacks hit her targets repeatedly with her only missing a few times. But it took several shots from her gem rifle to kill even one turret-type familiar.
Itsuki said nothing. He kept on pulling the bowstring of his Bow back as he fired again and again at a faster rate than Akane. And each of his arrows was a one-shot kill for each turret-type familiar he hit.
The girl scowled at being clearly shown the difference in their power levels. But kept on firing and assisting the best she could while her two friends assisted against the remaining chimeras.
While Naofumi had to summon shields to defend the others from the additional attacks, he found that the attacks from the turrets weren't all that powerful or effective.
Kyo still hadn't learned his lesson when it came to tower defense, huh? He was still going for quantity over quality.
Whatever. Their group pushed on through all the carnage. Along with all the disgust and horror of it.
…
Only a few minutes later, the bloody massacre was finally over.
No more turrets appeared from the walls or roof to fire on them. And no other beast girls came out from the mist to attack them.
Naofumi and the others looked behind them to the entrance of the courtyard, where they'd first walked in.
There was not a speck of dirt nor a single blade of grass that hadn't been covered with blood.
The bodies were too many to count.
All of them had been beasts… who'd once been human themselves.
However, now that the fighting had died down, there was one last eerie detail that they'd finally come to realize as the fog began to dissipate around them.
"What… didn't we only kill beasts though?" Kizuna asked in shock.
Naofumi walked up next to her and bent down by the body of a black-haired woman with tiger-like features on one side of her body. There were several others just like her strewn around the perimeter of the manor. These bodies seemed to have been mostly spread out around the windows and the front doors.
A few had died with weapons clutched in their hands, defending their friends. Others rested against the doors and windows as if they'd been pleading to be let in.
The Shield Hero didn't have to examine the woman's corpse for long before he shook his head. "No, she's been dead for at least three days."
Taking only a brief moment to examine the bodies of the others close by, he found they all had similar wounds. Ones that a beast would have inflicted on them.
And the fact that they were concentrated around the entrances to the manor instead of scattered about… Naofumi's gaze fell just a little as his nose wrinkled in disgust from the smell of dried blood and the setting of rot and decay. "They must have not all turned at the same time. And those that didn't turn quickly enough…"
Had suffered similar fates to some of the girls in Sickle.
Only, there'd been no one here to help them out.
And Kyo hadn't been merciful enough to even allow them inside, where they could have possibly sought shelter from their deranged friends who got fully consumed by their transformations.
"…" Glass looked around sadly and began to whisper out quiet prayers under her breath, looking as if all the energy from her had been drained.
"What… what is all this?" Daitan asked, looking stunned. Behind him, Hoshi and Akane were struggling not to vomit.
…
Kizuna trembled where she stood at the front of their formation. But after only a few seconds, she turned to face forward instead. "Let's go."
"But Kizuna, what about-" Daitan turned to yell at her.
"There's nothing left for us to do here." The Hunting Hero's voice sounded hollow. Just like it had been on the day Naofumi found her mourning the death of her adopted father on the pier. "We don't have time to give them proper burials or to even burn them.
"Kyo's waiting for us inside. And there are now even more things that I want to ask him about."
…
Did she still want to save Kyo, or was she starting to change her mind? Naofumi didn't know.
Yomogi was oddly silent too. A look of great horror and disbelief was still painted on her features as she followed behind the Hunting Tools Hero.
The others slowly nodded, keeping their weapons out as they looked ahead.
The doors to the mansion finally opened with an ominous creak. Greeting them with the sight of a great and all-encompassing darkness ahead.
…
Yeah, Naofumi knew then. Kyo was perfectly aware of what'd been going on outside. And was likely observing them even now.
He didn't know about the others… but he swore that Male Bitch would pay for everything he'd done. Whether Kizuna liked it or not.
The group of Heroes entered the mansion and the doors closed behind them with another ominous creak.
The blood-stained misty woods outside grew quiet. Its former inhabitants were now forever silenced and their remains slowly vanished under a layer of fog as it slowly crept back over the ground to cover the carnage.
But the illusionary mist would do nothing about the thick smell of iron and decomposing flesh.
A smell that would continue to linger in the air of the Misty Forest for a long, long time. Eventually earning it the nickname of The Dead Forest when later generations settled around the land.
Author's Notes:
This chapter was originally longer. However, I thought I'd go easy on you guys and cut it in two. Plenty happened, and this is as good a cut off point as any.
I'll look forward to seeing you all again in two weeks. Or sooner if my Discord offer is taken seriously.
Hero Clips!
The Sensible Thing To Do
"Can you see any potential threats down there, Itsuki?"
The Shield Hero stood on the deck of the ship alongside everyone else, who looked ready for the battle ahead.
The blonde young man narrowed his eyes in irritation as he studied the scene below. "This damn mist is a real piece of work. Most of it has cleared up, but I still can't see much. I think there's some movement here and there, but I'm not sure what it is or if it's actually anything at all. Even the way the trees are moving in the wind looks kind of creepy."
Naofumi clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Ethnobalt, raise a white flag, and land the ship outside-" Kizuna started to order.
"Explosion Shot."
KABOOM!
Itsuki's first skill exploded against the roof of the mansion.
Kizuna turned to the Bow Hero in surprise. "What the- ITSUKI! WHAT ARE YOU-"
"Meteor Shot."
KABOOM!
The next skill exploded inside the massive hole his first skill made in the mansion.
"NO, KYO!" Yomogi screamed in horror.
"Saint Arrow Rain. Arrow Strafing. Thunder Shot. Flame Shot."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of explosions rang out as Itsuki ignored the two girls and continued reducing the mansion below to a pile of rubble. When he went through his list of skills, he used the ones that finished their cooldowns and continued with his orbital bombardment of Kyo's home.
He also summoned his E Float Bow to shoot alongside him. Raining down twice the hurt at the same time.
Some of the others stared at Itsuki in growing horror. A few like Glass and Naofumi looked at him with surprise, but then respect.
Either way, the Bow Hero didn't relent.
...
Finally, after the mansion and its courtyard looked like a nice deep crater, he stopped barraging the area with skills. Staring down below at what was left.
"Alright, I think that should… wait," Itsuki held up his hand.
"YOU &^%&^%$ BOW IDIOT! WHAT THE HELL!" Kyo's soul rose up to be level with the deck of the ship. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND?! WHY THE &^%$ WOULD YOU JUST COMPLETELY ANNIHILATE EVERYTHING INSTEAD OF JUST COMING DOWN AND-"
Itsuki changed to his Soul Eater Bow and shot the soul of Kyo through his big fat mouth.
The rogue Book Hero howled as he died a second time and faded from view forever.
"There, now I'm not detecting any signs of movement." Itsuki nodded his head to himself.
…
…
"What?" He asked when he got no immediate response from the others.
"Itsuki…" Kizuna breathed in deeply, looking like she was on the verge of equipping her Cursed Series. "We came here to TALK to Kyo. Not KILL him." She emphasized.
"Not to mention, you destroyed all the loot man! What the hell?!" Daitan yelled next.
…
The manlet subsequently shut up at the glares Yomogi and Kizuna gave him.
"Oh…" Itsuki looked overboard at the massive crater again and then back at the Hunting Tools Hero. "Well, good talk. Now that the sensible thing to do is out of the way, can we gather the Spirit Tortoise's energy and go home?"
…
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kizuna and Yomogi both screamed as they beat their fists against the strong Bow Hero's body.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Wow, that defense boost from this accessory is amazing Naofumi." Itsuki idly commented. "Thanks again for that."
"No problem." Naofumi gave him a thumbs up.
"Fueh." Rishia facepalmed behind him, as did Raphtalia beside Naofumi.
"So much for trying to talk things out," Raphtalia commented to herself.
"Eh, like that would have even worked." Naofumi shrugged nonchalantly.
And so, thanks to Itsuki doing the sensible thing of bombarding the entire area out of existence with his powerful skills instead of landing to confront Kyo on fair terms, they were able to waltz down, find where Kyo had stored the remainder of the Spirit Tortoise's energy, and take it back home. Avoiding what would have surely been several more chapters worth of content and ending the Grand Otherworld arc prematurely before it could have the chance to peak.
"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
But then again, Itsuki's actions resulted in Kizuna and Yomogi becoming the main antagonists of the next arc. So at least things would remain interesting for a while yet!
Till Next Time
Allen