Chapter Seventy-Nine: Skies Over Luvar, The Book Hero's Lair
- ENTRY #78 -
I have done it.
I know what is needed now.
It's so simple. I even helped to fight them off since they could have ████████████.
The ████████████ they gather from ████████████… I've done the calculations by hand in the ████████████ to try and avoid drawing attention from 'them' to my plans. But it could be enough to power ████████████ I'm designing.
That Adamantium mine… I originally played around with the ore samples I found there with the intent to make some new weapons to help combat the Waves. But in doing so, I found so many more interesting applications for it.
From my studies, I've found that Adamantium has the ability to not only act as a conduit for gem energy, but any form of energy. Perhaps, it could even be used to harness ████████████ if I combined it with materials from ████████████.
It… it could be enough to ████████████… to allow me to ████████████ from 'them'!
However, ████████████ of this world are dead, and the ████████████ they'd acquired has long since been used up in ████████████ from the Waves for a time. I could find and awaken ████████████ possibly by convincing one of those three useless ████████████ to awaken it for me, but that'd take too much effort, and put me in the line of fire too early with the others.
I'll need to find them somewhere else. Somewhere that's early in the Waves, where the Heroes won't be strong enough to interfere.
- ENTRY #80 -
I found the right world. Only a couple months into the Waves, and it has a ████████████ to harvest too. Excellent!
I've informed 'them' of my plan to ████████████ to get 'them' off my back, and so that I'll be given the space and time from 'them' necessary to ████████████ without them interfering with desires for reports and the like.
My weapon is yelling at me that this could ████████████. I have since used my powers to shut it up.
Like it could ever understand. As risky as it is, I'll never be able to live the life I want as long as I'm a slave to 'them'. I'll never be able to ş̵̧̢̪̣̲̝̐a̴̧̙̬̲̞̟̙͛̓̿̿́̀͆v̸̬͗͊͌̈́͌e̵̤̔ ̶̛̞̬̻̙̭̭͜o̵͈͚̦̳͎̊̆͋̋͐͑͜u̶̘̻̽r̵̡̭͍̿̓̓̑͜ ̸̨̛̥̻͖̩͆̃w̸̨̙̹͔͂̔o̷̡̐̈̓͠r̵̤̼̥̘̺̅l̷̝̀̚d̴̼̞̩̮͊̆́̏̓ͅͅ so long as it is on the verge of death.
Even… even if this means ████████████ to fuel my ambitions.
There is no other way.
- ENTRY #83 -
I know what I'll do now.
████████████. ████████████ correctly could give me the power of 'them' for a long time… and yet, my Book was right.
No matter how many calculations and projections I run, the result is the same. This… this immense power. ████████████
It's impossible to wield nor contain safely when fully unleashed.
The result is always the same.
████████████.
…
But that… that could present an opportunity perhaps?...
I could deliberately ████████████ with this process and then absorb the ████████████ that would be left behind.
And then… yes, I could use it to make something entirely new in ████████████!
I was wondering about that before. But now, it's become clear to me, there are so many pathetic roaches everywhere in the world that Kizuna loved. So many that they put down everything good around them and corrupt what little there is left of the world's humanity.
While I've been tinkering with the beast known as ████████████ here, I can't help but think how much better it'd be if it was ████████████ and allowed to begin again.
Yes, I thought about being careful, but I think I'll be better off doing it this way instead. Because this way, I'll be able to use my powers to ████████████ of the ģ̵̻͖̤͎͗͝ơ̵͇̪̗̜̯̯̮̾̒̏͆̀̇̇͂̕̕͜͠ͅͅo̶̡̦̜͙̽͋̐̽̌́ḏ̴̖̝̥͈̂͘ ̷̢̰̥͚͓͔̖̝̝̽́̅̅̓̈́̂͗̌̈́̋̕͜͝p̴̧̝̪̘̒̓̓̀̊͊̾͂͠ȅ̴͙̩̲̲̯̤͓̈́͋̍̿̃͛̔͝͝͝ͅo̵̻̼̬̰̯̼̖̣͕̎p̶̫̹̘̙̍͋͒͘̚ĺ̸̲̮̏̏̽͛̐͌̽̽e̴͚̖̭̦̒̎ and give them new life in the world ████████████.
And at the same time, I'll punish the b̶̛͍̒̍̿̓͛͛̓̀̍̀̓͑̽̕a̶̢͍̺̺͇̭͖͓͙̫̜͎̔̌̑̂́̿̽͝d̶̫̬̰̤͔̦͕̩̓̀͑͂̏͝ͅ ̶̜̥͓̭͔͙̥̫̘̥͓̘̿̿́̒̄́̐͊͂̒̀́̓͜͜͠͝ͅp̶̛̲̜̮͙͈̲̓͂̾̈͜ȩ̷̪͕͎̼̮͉̍ȍ̸̜̻̕͜p̵̆̊̾̋̐͜ľ̵̢͖̫̠̮͚͈̹͓̙̳͕̮̗̇͆̔̃͑̿̽͜͝ȩ̷̗͖͔̱͊̒̎̓̀̉̌͌̒̀͗̋͑ by condemning them to the empty hell of nonexistence! Yes! It's b̴̻͔̫̱̈́r̸̢̺̤̬͕͉̯̹̱͓̮̙̀̀̔̄̃̾͊̑͛͋͠͠͠ͅȉ̸̝̮l̶͓̭͒̒́̐̀͌̂̍̒̂͆͠ľ̵͎͎̰̱̠̗̻̝̥̅̈́̓͑́̋͒i̵̡̘̪̜̫͈̭̞͉̭̞̭̪̒̊̓̾̒̑̂̈́̏̄̚ǎ̷̡̠͖͎̤͈̻̞̼͖͖̫͇͔̎̕n̶̨̟̤̞̜̘̺̝͗ͅt̶̢̨̬͓̰̯̗̤̙̩͋̎̌͂!̷̣͇̖͍̲̻̽͛̒́̏̆̂̐̌ͅ!
I'll be able to make a world where everyone is able to s̷̺͇͖̰̼̭̺̈̆̿́̾̐̓̈͆̕͝ͅm̸͇͐̂̐̽͝i̵̩̳̳̠̞̤̪̫̍ĺ̶̡̞͓̼̖̟̪̭̠͈̗͝e̴̜̤̦͎̼͇̱̬̦̓̽̑̈̇́̆̕̚͝ and l̸̛̼̖̰̼̟̱̋̆̅̇͗̈́͌̌͊̉͘̚̚͜͝a̴̢̟̼̣͖͊ü̷̩͔͕̿̓̄̆̈́̐͑́̑g̵̪͔̝̦͕͍̖̳̮̣͇͈̯̭̽̅̋́̎̑̐̀̈́͋̉̀̓̍͘ẖ̶̡͉͇̰͖͙̯͎͙̅… just like she wanted.
Over in Luvar, things were not going any better than for Naofumi and Co.
"First Form: Wind Blade!"
A tornado of wind slammed into the underside of one of Luvar's airships. L'Arc grimaced as he watched his ranged skill tear into the hull, dealing severe damage to the enemy vessel.
"Second Form: Sky Blade!" The second tornado he summoned pierced through the rest of the ship and out its other end.
This immediately caused the vessel to plummet down below. Crashing into the side of a mountain before exploding in a great ball of fire.
Luvar's new advanced airships were sturdier than most but thankfully not indestructible. They fell out of the sky one after another when they took L'Arc's attacks, due to the damage that they'd already taken from the rest of the alliance fleet.
"Sir!" Scree!
"Hah!" L'Arc quickly turned around and moved his scythe to block the creature's path, saving his soldier from another spike familiar that'd climbed up onto the deck of the ship.
"Get off my ship, you freak!" As L'Arc screamed the words, he raised his foot and kicked the spike familiar overboard.
"SCREEEEEEEEEE-!" Boom!
It continued to screech all the way down until it impacted and detonated against a mountainside down below.
With the monster out of the way, L'Arc focused on the battle all around them again. However, he found that it wasn't going in their favor at all.
KABOOM!
L'Arc shielded his eyes as, nearby, another Acclamator-Class cruiser was torn apart by the hail of attacks coming from above and below.
The shrapnel from it flew into multiple ships, a few of Luvar's, but mostly the vessels of the coalition fleet. This damaged and brought some ships down as they tried to fly clear of the debris. Other nearby vessels glowed with gem energy, protecting them from most of the physical and magic attacks being directed at them.
However, they could not protect against every attack. And as some of Luvar's ships were showing, they had individuals piloting them that were more than powerful enough to overcome shielding on various sections of the Acclamator ships to further damage them while tanking hits from the rest of the allied fleet.
With the destruction of another Acclamator, L'Arc's grimace grew as another huge swath of soldiers disappeared from his sub-party system. L'Arc brought his Gem Ofuda to his lips. "Invincibles, move between the Acclamators and the enemy! Tank as many hits as you can! We cannot afford to lose our armies!"
Multiple voices of his army's officers responded in affirmation and the King of Sickle watched as the Invincibles he brought along moved into formation above and beside the remaining Acclamators. These ships also fired volleys at any of Luvar's that dared to approach them.
One of the Invincibles, manned entirely by Corrin's Gem Commandos, however, didn't make it as it was torn apart by focused cannon fire from above. While L'Arc looked at the falling ship though, a previously unknown feature of the Lapis Adamantium Armor was made apparent.
L'Arc still didn't entirely understand how Gem Magic worked, despite Therese's best attempts to explain it to him over the years. However, what he did know was that it relied on the energy held in gems. And so, because these commandos had gem energy surrounding their whole bodies…
Well, they could use it to cast some pretty impressive wind magic too. One that allowed them to fly through the air in short bursts. So even though he lost one of his best ships, none of its crew had perished.
"Scrap them!"
In fact, they flew through the air and landed on the Luvar ship that'd destroyed theirs before commandeering it for themselves.
"Go go go go go!" The lead commander shouted to his fellows, directing them inside and to the cannons. In mere moments, the crew and soldiers inside were dealt with, and the ship began firing powerful salvos at what had formerly been its allies.
It was a chaotic mess. And as L'Arc's damaged Invincible weaved through it, he heard the loud thrum of engines and turned towards another Luvar airship bearing down to attack them.
"Flying Circle!" A spinning disc of energy flew from his Scythe, flying through the air incredibly fast and going right through the front of the enemy ship before it could swerve out of the way.
This time, the attack caused a massive explosion that destroyed the cockpit. Bringing yet another one of Luvar's ships down towards the ground.
The side of the Scythe Hero's Invincible rocked, however, as another one of Luvar's yet unnamed ships came from behind and hit it with cannon fire as it flew past.
"Fire!" A nearby officer on another ship directed return fire at the enemy ship. Just barely managing to hit it before it could turn around for another attack.
It didn't do as much damage as L'Arc's attack. But the enemy vessel pulled back while engineers on board immediately began emergency repairs.
This allowed for a nearby LAAT to open its doors, and the gem noblesse commandos it held flew out and landed on the enemy ship's deck with the power of their armor.
"For the Empire!" The group ambushed the engineers and soldiers stationed there while another squad from another LAAT rushed inside to commandeer the vessel. The LAAT had a strange weapon mounted where the soldiers had been held in it though, and one of them stayed by it to fire at other Luvar soldiers on different ships.
Strange, it fired far faster than the Gem Lightning Rifles Corrin's soldiers used. The multi-holed barrel on it spun as it fired.
If L'Arc had been close enough, his HUD would have identified it as a Gem Lightning Gatling Gun. That would have been an interesting weapon for Itsuki to weapon copy.
L'Arc still grimaced though. Nearby, he watched as another one of his Invincibles was torn apart from enemy fire. And then as his flagship swerved around what he assumed to be Therese's Acclamator-Class ship, due to the high visibility gem energy coming off it, his ship was hit once again. But this time from more falling debris from above. Debris from several LAAT gunships that'd been targeted almost simultaneously.
The gem commandos held inside them did not have the chance to escape.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
More anti-aircraft cannons fired from down below. Sending more spike familiars into the air to add to the fray. Even though some of the escort ships had peeled off to go down below to deal with them, the attacks from the ground were still proving to be a nuisance. And some of Luvar's ships were continuing to harass and put pressure on L'Arc's ship.
"All ships near the ground, ready yourselves to change targets!" Therese's voice yelled over her gem ofuda.
"Therese?" L'Arc asked in confusion as he held up his gem ofuda.
"Ah, that's what you're charging your ship up for then. I see." Corrin's voice sounded next. "This is Emperor Corrin speaking! To all ships, AoE magic is about to be unleashed! One of the officers is about to deal with the enemy's anti-aircraft launchers. Prepare to deal with the threats above and ahead of us."
"Yes sir!" "Acknowledged!" "Ready when you are!" A cacophony of voices responded in kind to their emperor's command.
L'Arc was still confused for a few seconds, but realization dawned on him as soon as the Lapis forces turned to attack the Luvar ships harassing them instead of attacking the anti-aircraft cannons hidden within the mountains.
"Bejeweled Sapphire Blizzard!"
A flash of blue was the only thing that accompanied the gem spell Therese then unleashed, utilizing the power of the ship she was on as well as the accessory Master Craftsman had been kind enough to gift her before the start of the battle.
Within the span of a few seconds, a massive blizzard appeared around the tips of the mountains. Spanning in all directions beneath Therese for several miles.
The wide AoE spell froze the ground over entirely. And within seconds, the remaining cannons firing spike familiars from below stopped firing. Leaving only the spike familiars that were already in the air and clinging onto ships to deal with.
Thankfully, Therese's Gem Magic wouldn't harm any allies that survived their crash landings on the ground. It'd only deal with anyone that was outside of their party system, which currently extended over the whole army.
"That should take care of anything else they had on the ground. Though that blizzard is going to be going on for some time." Therese's voice sounded over the ofuda.
"That is fine. At least now we'll be able to focus on the enemy in front of us and push for the landing zone." Corrin said in response.
L'Arc in the meantime looked relieved at the advantage they'd gotten and was ready to focus on the battle again.
Another Luvar ship was bearing down on him. Only for it to be intercepted by another LAAT full of Gem Commandos. The book country soldiers on board fought back ferociously, however, and the Noblesses were in danger of being overwhelmed as fire from another ship damaged one of the LAAT's wings and prevented another LAAT from coming to assist.
"We need reinforcements!" One of the commandos yelled.
Checking his list of skills, the Scythe Hero found all his ranged attacks were still on cooldowns. And-
L'Arc breathed in then.
What the hell was he doing?!
HE WAS A FREAKING HERO FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! WHY WAS HE LIMITING HIMSELF TO JUST THE DECK OF HIS SHIP WHEN HE'D BE FAR MORE EFFECTIVE OUT THERE?! ALL OF HIS SKILLS WEREN'T RANGED FOR A REASON!
"Aye, looks like the King is finally getting riled up." One of L'Arc's officers began to grin widely while the rest of the soldiers onboard turned from the cannons to look at their King.
L'Arc was grinning widely in realization. "War Scythe!" A red glow surrounded his form as he raised his weapon high above his head. The blade of his sickle turned outwards, making it look like a spear. "That's right! I'm going to show these bastards what it means to take on a Hero head-on! Who's with me?!"
The response he received was cheering and war cries from his soldiers. The redhead turned around, still glowing from the usage of his skill.
Nearby, seeing what L'Arc was about to do, Therese cast a spell using the accessories on her person to buff the redhead's strength and speed even further, as well as hopefully boost his defense since he'd just sacrificed most of it to increase his attack.
And then, like a glowing red meteor, L'Arc jumped from the deck of his Invincible.
No, he did not just jump off to plummet to his death. He jumped with the speed and momentum of a cannonball! A blast of air pelted over his soldiers and Sickle's flagship lurched a bit in the air from the recoil of L'Arc's leap.
The Luvar ship Corrin's soldiers had been struggling on was suddenly slashed in two down the middle in the blink of an eye.
The Luvar soldiers on it began freefalling as the ship fell from the sky. Their screams split the air while the Gem Commandos, their armor battered but still operable, hovered in the air. They looked surprised at the sudden destruction of the ship.
"Was that you?"
"No way, my magic isn't anywhere near that level of power."
"None of our ships were giving us supporting fire either."
"Are any of our ships capable of doing something like that?"
L'Arc, using the falling debris to launch himself again, almost seemed to hover at their eye level as he appeared before them at the peak of his jump. "Come on!" With a gesture of his scythe, he began freefalling towards his next target.
The Gem Commando's eyes widened in shock. But then, realizing who L'Arc was, they roared in triumph as they followed the King of Sickle into battle.
"Yeah!"
"Let's get them!"
"Scrap them!"
"Die Luvar!"
From there, it was a blur for L'Arc as he threw himself headfirst into the mess of combat himself.
It was an aerial battle, but L'Arc moved as if he were on solid ground. Jumping from ship to ship, allied or not, at blinding speeds to help him close in on his targets.
"Full Moon Army!" His scythe elongated to ridiculous proportions, smashing through the side of a Luvar cruiser like a giant war hammer and breaking it in half.
Then, using his giant weapon as leverage, he swung himself up and to the side, using the pieces of the ship to avoid return fire from other Luvar ships. He weaved through their attacks as he landed on one of their decks with a mad grin.
"Get him!" A Luvar soldier rushed him, a mace held in his hands.
A second later, the same soldier was sent flying over the ship's railing. Screaming as he plummeted to his death while his comrades were skewered up above.
The slaughter ended within seconds. L'Arc didn't even stop to process the flood of exp notifications he was receiving. Right after the top deck got cleared, a bunch of Gem Commandos from before landed on it and began to fire their Gem Rifles as they moved into the ship's interior. Effectively taking command of it as L'Arc moved on.
…
One of the LAAT pilots panicked as he tried to shake the monster trying to slice into the cockpit off his ship. The creature had already wounded his cohorts manning the turrets before he grabbed its focus with an attack spell.
However, even though the two gunmen were treating their injuries, the spike familiar seemed very keen on reaching the pilot, and the armored gem glass of his cockpit continued to crack under its onslaught. The fear was really reaching the pilot too, as he was having to avoid flak from a Luvar ship chasing behind him and-
Boom!
The ship chasing him exploded in a massive fireball.
"Huah!" Right after that and before the windshield could shatter completely, exposing the pilot to the monster's spiked limbs, L'Arc appeared from the sky. Landing behind and slashing the spike familiar monster in half before it could scream out in terror.
As awesome as all this was, L'Arc then brought his scythe back as the two halves of the monster began to fall away from each other. He then slammed his weapon into them as if it was a baseball bat.
The two halves flew through the air at lightning speeds. Impaling into the sides of two smaller Luvar ships.
Boom! Boom!
The spike familiar halves self-destructed. And the explosions crippled the ships, making them easy pickings for the sections of the fleet L'Arc was rallying with his heroic actions.
"Keep it up! We're going to win this battle!" L'Arc saluted the gem pilot and then launched himself into the next enemy ship. Slicing through it with his Scythe while laughing like a deranged maniac.
"Yes!"
"Destroy them!"
"For Lapis!"
"For Sickle!"
The LAAT pilot and the crew inside began to whoop and holler, and joined in following behind L'Arc. Alongside all the other ships and troops the King of Sickle had rallied while leading his counterattack in the air against Luvar's forces.
…
Therese watched from the seat of her Acclamator ship as L'Arc led his charge right into the heart of Luvar's fleet. Explosions happened left and right as the lone Hero continued to single-handedly tear apart the fleet composed of Kyo's newest designs.
"Wow… even now, I still forget how strong the Heroes are capable of becoming." Corrin's voice said in an awed tone over the Gem Ofuda on Therese's lap.
Therese smiled proudly. For a real moment there, she was actually considering following through on her promise to the redhead.
She'd just wanted to play with him some more when she swayed her hips back there. But if L'Arc was doing this good…
Ok, maybe she wouldn't go that far. But she almost wanted to giggle as she imagined running her hands through his hair. Bringing her lips deliciously close to his before-
"Curb your enthusiasm, brother. This battle has only just begun."
…
…
Therese froze.
She recognized the voice that'd spoken on her ofuda instantly. Even if it had been years since she'd last heard it.
"What- Xander!" Cole's voice sounded over the line.
"Brother!" Ryoma's voice came next.
"Yes, me," Xander responded in kind. His voice was low, almost baritone in its sound. And it held a powerful presence to it.
L'Arc continued what he was doing, not having his gem ofuda on at the moment as he was purely focused on the battle in front of him right now. The redhead continued his massacre, summoning a second scythe in his hands before unleashing a skill that destroyed a squadron of Luvar ships around him.
But where Therese sat, she only felt a deep chill in her chest. Her eyes moved outward, trying to scan the chaotic field of battle. But with how large it was, she couldn't tell where Xander's ship could possibly be.
Not to mention, her cruiser was starting to lose its glow. Signifying how depleted the gems on the ship were.
Soon, it wouldn't be able to stay in the air, much less, shield everyone on it from the oncoming attacks. But if L'Arc continued pushing the enemy back, then they'd escape the mountains and be able to land in the plains. They were close to being able to do so, only a few miles away from the edge of the mountains.
So then… why did she feel so cold now?
"Xander, why? Why are you doing this?" Corrin's voice demanded. "We're supposed to be family! And yet you're siding with that, that… demon!"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I? " Xander's voice continued in a calm tone. "I am in charge of Luvar's armies. Is it not in my best interest to defend my lands from your invasion?"
"Kyo attacked first! And besides that, we're brothers! Yet you attacked us even knowing we were here!" Corrin yelled back.
"Yes, we were raised together as siblings, but that never meant I agreed with you on everything."
"What do you mean?" Ryoma asked. "What is this for? How did you even manage to tap into our communications?"
"It is gem technology. Did you really think I and those who came with me were incapable of figuring out which gem frequency your special military-grade ofudas relied on to communicate with one another?" Xander's voice said, sounding disappointed. "You should have used regular paired ofudas instead of this out of convenience. I've been listening in on your conversations ever since you entered Label's airspace."
"I…" Corrin started to speak, but his voice died on him. He couldn't think of a rebuttal.
"As for why I'm doing this… it is not because I wasn't given the throne if that's what you're thinking. While I was angry that I wasn't chosen to lead Lapis at first, looking back on it, I can agree that Corrin was the best choice out of all of us.
"If things had been different, I would be congratulating him and Hinoka for being the first noblesses in five hundred years to choose to have a natural birth over adopting an heir from the ground as so many of our predecessors have done."
…
"Then… why, brother?" Ryoma was the one to ask.
"Because our world is ending. And Lapis never stepped in to help with any of it. Choosing to only sit on the sidelines while nations bickered and warred with one another." Xander's voice said coldly. "Have you not seen the suffering outside of your walls, brothers? Did it really have to take the Book Hero himself strolling into your Majestic halls to make you look beyond and witness the cruelty happening outside your doors?"
"Xander…" Corrin sounded genuinely sad. "Brother, I knew. I did know. I know how twisted the politics of our world have become. I was just-"
"Too afraid to act out of fear of making things worse, I know." Xander's voice stated coldly on the other end. "Because you didn't want to start another war with the nations while the Waves were going on. While I might agree now that you were the right candidate for the throne out of all of us back then, brother, I still find the neutral stance that you continued to keep for years, even as the world around us fell apart, appalling.
"Lapis should have been using its vast power and resources to seize control of the chaos that the Waves of Destruction are causing, instead of letting it slowly escalate into the madness it has now become."
"You ask me why I'm helping the Demon Lord? I'll tell you why. Because unlike any one of you, he is at least doing something to stop this explosive chain of events. Lord Kyo plans on ending the Waves once and for all.
"Under him, we will have a new world. One where nations won't bicker over useless things. Where children won't lose their parents too early in life because of someone else's greed!"
"But what he is doing right now will make millions suffer!" Cole's voice shouted over the ofuda. "And there's no guarantee he's telling the truth either! Is all this pain really worth it?!"
"As I stated, I have been listening to your comms ever since you entered Label." Xander continued, utterly ignoring what Cole had just said. "I know for a fact that neither the Hunting Tools Hero nor the Otherworld Heroes are here to support you.
"You only have the King of Sickle helping you out.
"And as powerful as he is as a hero, he is alone.
"And a lone Hero won't be enough to make a difference."
L'Arc, still unaware of the important conversation going on, jumped off another ship. His body sailed through the air as he prepared to attack with another skill.
However, the ship he'd been aiming for vanished as he passed through it. After all of his bloodlust and the carnage he'd wrought on one ship after another… going right through an illusion spell finally pulled him out of his frenzy.
"Huh?" He said out loud as he finally looked around himself.
The ships who'd been following behind him in his charge were dealing with other threats converging on them in the heart of Luvar's fleet. Thankfully, his Invincible, though badly damaged from the further fights it'd gone through, appeared under him before he could fall too far. Allowing him to land on it without taking too much fall damage.
"You alright, Your Majesty?" One of his officers asked.
"Urgh, yeah, just give me a second. I'll start pushing them back again so our cruisers can land-" L'Arc tried to say.
Several ships that'd still been camouflaged up till then appeared around them. The reflective paneling on them disappeared as their cannons pointed at his ship.
The soldiers around L'Arc had barely opened their mouths in shock when the ships launched their volleys.
…
Over on the bridge of her Acclamator, Therese watched in stunned shock as L'Arc's flagship Invincible was torn open by the volley of fire it was hit by.
It careened forward, heading into a freefall that made it disappear into the blizzard down below.
"L… L-L'ARC!" Therese screamed.
"Hmph. Sending your strongest into the heart of the enemy army to inflict massive losses. Thus allowing the others to charge in behind him and clean up the rest." Xander's voice continued over the gem ofuda. "A bold strategy, and a valid one at that. I congratulate you for managing to get so far with it. Even knowing that we'd know where it is you'd have to land and would thus do everything in our power to prevent you from reaching it."
Those ships L'Arc had rallied behind him, without the help of the Hero taking on the vast majority of enemies, began to be torn apart while being surrounded by the rest of Luvar's fleet.
Therese nearly jumped out of her seat as another explosion hit the side of the bridge, blowing open one of the windows and knocking several gem soldiers down on the ground.
"My Lady, the ship is almost out of energy! Without the Scythe King grabbing the enemy's attention, we'll be torn apart before we can reach the landing zone!" Another gem officer informed her.
"However, now that he's out of the picture, dealing with you will be easy enough." Xander's voice continued. "Farewell, brothers… and cousin."
"Do know, that this isn't personal. I am simply doing what I must for our world to survive. Only through conflict can progress be made."
The voice of Luvar's fleet commander went silent as he cut off all communications.
…
"My Lady!" The same gem officer from before yelled again. "We need to do something, or else the ship will go down!"
"I know! I'm working on it!" Therese scowled at him. As if she couldn't already tell! She could hear the screams of thousands of gems as they did their best to assist them in the battle. But there was only so much energy they could give, and several hundred gems around the ship had already sacrificed themselves over the course of the battle to keep them alive!
She didn't want more of the gems around the ship to die for their sake. And her party HUD showed that while L'Arc's Health bar dropped sharply, he was still alive. So she had to focus on the task at hand!
However, even knowing that, her mind was consumed with fear. There was no way she could find L'Arc, or beyond that, even reach the initial landing zone like this. Especially when she wanted to go down right now to find him before…
More ships from Luvar were appearing out of the air around Therese's cruiser. And it'd only be a matter of time before she and the rest of the crew got overwhelmed and torn apart.
Several of L'Arc's remaining Invincibles moved in between her cruiser and the appearing ships. Tanking the hits for her while returning fire. But they wouldn't last long enough. They still weren't close to the edge of the mountains. And if they continued forward, that'd mean leaving L'Arc behind!
And… if they left him behind, if he'd been severely injured in his crash landing, then… then… …
"Therese. Prepare your cruiser for landing."
The gem girl was knocked out of her thoughts, mostly because the voice hadn't come over her gem ofuda this time. Rather, it'd come from one of the personal ofuda around her belt. "Corrin?" She asked, trying to choke back sobs from her voice.
"I'm sorry, I should have realized that Xander might have had a way to tap into our gem ofuda communications after all." The King of Lapis apologized. "I don't know how he did so, but regardless, I'm trusting his word when he says that he was only capable of hacking into the gem ofudas and not the normal paired ones. So I'm using these to tell you and the rest of our forces to prepare for an emergency ground landing, right now."
"But… but how? We're still not clear of the mountains." Therese replied. "There's nowhere for us to land!"
"In a moment, there will be no mountains below us," Corrin responded confidently. "We'll have all the space we need then."
…
…
It took Therese a moment to realize what Corrin was suggesting. And she looked at the ofuda with shock. "Are the gems on your ship even capable of helping to cast such a spell right now?"
"Yes… but it will require all of them to be sacrificed in order for that to happen.
"They have agreed to give their lives for it though if it means giving everyone else a chance to survive." The emperor continued, this time, his voice was tinted with sadness. "It is something I must do for the sake of everyone here."
Therese and the gem soldiers listening around her also felt heartbroken.
Even if others didn't believe them to be alive, the Gem People knew differently. For them, the lives of all gemstones were precious. From the simple Onyx to the beautiful Diamond.
Each one carried the possibility of life.
Each one held the ability to give birth to a new person. And even though they had become militarized like this, it was all done with their consent. If this was a time of peace, then these gems would eventually be born as new Jewel People into the world, freeing them from their duties on the ships. Allowing for more people of compassion and empathy to be born into the world.
For a whole cruiser of gems to all agree to sacrifice themselves like this…
"I'm so sorry, Corrin," Therese said, tears falling from her eyes.
"Not as sorry as Xander is going to be," Corrin replied. While she couldn't see it, the King of Lapis had tears running down his face as well. "I'm already preparing for landing, but once this spell is cast, well… make sure to stay close to my ship. It's going to be useless for the rest of the battle anyway."
"And after we land… find L'Arc. I know you won't be able to focus until you can confirm that he is safe, so do not worry. Me and Ryoma will lead the troops from here on out."
"... Alright. Thank you." Therese sniffled as she looked out the window, and she saw a golden glow beginning to surround Corrin's ship. The ofuda in her hand shut off.
"Shall we begin landing at once, My Lady?" A gem officer asked.
"... yes." Therese looked over the soldiers there. "Begin emergency descending procedures."
"Of course!" The soldiers launched themselves into action. And within moments, Therese's cruiser as well as the other surviving cruisers around her began lowering themselves towards the blizzard still hiding the mountains down below.
More ships from Luvar's air fleet were beginning to appear around them above the blizzard cloud. And they began to turn so their cannons would be aimed at the descending cruisers.
However, before they could fire, the golden glow around Corrin's cruiser intensified. And the enemy ships began to rapidly retreat back up.
"Brother! What are you doing?!" Xander's voice yelled over Corrin's still active gem ofuda.
"You said earlier that progress can only be made through conflict, brother." Corrin's stiff voice responded. He glared down at his gem ofuda as the glow around his ship intensified. "So I am going to escalate it."
As he said it, the complex puzzles he was doing in his mind finally clicked into place. He'd already chanted before this too, and the words of the spell he wanted to cast came to his lips.
"Shining Stones: Bejeweled Sacrificial Terraform!"
Luvar's ships closest to the ground didn't have the chance to escape before the golden glow rushed down below in a stream of light. Creating a hole in the center of Therese's earlier blizzard spell that hit the mountains down below.
Veterans of this battle would recall different stories of what happened. Based on which side of the field they were on at the time.
Those soldiers in the coalition fleet, hunkered down in their transports, would remember a feeling of calm and peace washing over their souls as some even heard voices comforting them for what was ahead.
Soldiers of Luvar would recall the day hell appeared on earth when the mountains down below tore themselves apart, sending plumes of earth and stone into their ships and knocking them out of the sky like flies. The voices they heard were that of vengeance and retribution for all those who'd fallen during the battle.
Regardless, the truth of it was this, the moment the spell Corrin cast made impact with the ground, reality itself halted for a second, processing what was about to happen. Just like it had when the Spirit Tortoise made contact with Naofumi's Cursed Shield long ago.
Then, the tops of the mountain range of Luvar exploded outwards in plumes of earth and rock. It was similar to a volcanic eruption, only there was no magma or ash that accompanied it.
Nevertheless, it didn't make the explosions of rock and vegetation any less devastating.
The Acclamator-Class cruisers and the ships of Sickle and Label were completely unaffected by the storm of power unleashed. The rocks and vegetation impacted harmlessly against their hulls. At its core, it was Gem Magic that had been cast. And all Gem Magic, regardless of where it came from, was incapable of harming allies in any way, shape, or form.
The ships of Luvar's fleet closest to the ground, on the other hand, were not so fortunate.
The large chunks of rock launched from the ground tore into their hulls like they were made of paper. Many, many of Luvar's ships that hadn't been commandeered by Gem Commandos plummeted into the blizzard mixing with Therese's earlier ice magic. Killing all those inside who didn't manage to evacuate or get clear of the storm in time.
It was brutal. Therese's view of the destruction only disappeared as her Acclamator-Class ship vanished into the snow clouds of her blizzard spell. Continuing on towards the mountains that should have been down below.
…
And yet, they didn't hit into anything at all.
After another moment, the stilts of the ship landed on solid, flat ground. Covered over by a thick layer of snow from the blizzard that was still going on, blurring their surroundings.
The tall mountains of Luvar that had stood in this area for millennia were completely gone.
All that remained was a flat plain of rock, covered over in snow, which the rest of the Acclamator Ships landed on.
…
Minutes later, as the storm finally began to clear up in front of them, they found that the mountains that'd been between them and Luvar's Capital were completely gone. Giving them an unobstructed view of the distant city.
It was similar to Sickle's Capital city, in that it had less Japanese influence than usual.
Well, it'd be more accurate to say it had less medieval Japanese influence and had more of a modern Japanese influence instead.
The city itself had more dense buildings like small skyscrapers, business centers, and apartment complexes, making it more space-efficient than most other cities in the world. It also had a lot of road access, like a modern Tokyo. However, all this didn't come at the expense of nature. Every roof had a garden on it, and the roads were lined with tall, imposing trees that were maintained through magic means.
Had they been inside the city proper, they also would have found plenty of small parks, filled with trees and pools of clean water. If there was one word that could describe the place, it was beautiful.
It was a shame that the city Kyo had helped to design for his people would soon become a battleground.
"Status?" Therese asked almost hesitantly.
"I… I think all remaining Acclamators made it safely to the ground, Lady Therese." A gem officer said uncertainly near the collection of ofuda. "I haven't gotten any messages from his Majesty's ship though."
Therese looked around from the damaged windows of the bridge as the storm continued to clear up. And, much to her relief, she found that Corrin's flagship had already landed on the ground to their right…
Well, it might have been better to say that it'd crashlanded.
The gems all along its hull had lost their luster. And Therese and the gem soldiers with her could sense nothing but death from the outer exterior of the hull. A few soldiers took off their helmets, showing how they were openly weeping over the loss of so many gem lives.
"Corrin?" Therese activated her ofuda again, calling out to the Gem King. "Cousin… are you ok?"
…
…
"Ah, finally, I got it to turn on." A different voice, Cole's, sounded back over the ofuda. "Don't worry, his Majesty and all of us here are still alive. He is just collecting his bearings right now. It has been a while since one Gem Person channeled so much energy by himself, and to be honest, we've had happier landings in the past.
"But he should be good to go within a few minutes, hopefully."
Therese and those around her heaved a sigh of relief. Therese's eyes then scanned the new battlefield before them. She couldn't see where L'Arc's ship had crashlanded earlier as there were many other shipwrecks. But before she could go off and try to find it…
"Open the bay doors. We must hurry and get our forces out before the enemy arrives." Therese told those around her. They might have landed, but she didn't believe for a second that the battle was over.
"Of course." The gem officers began rushing from the bridge. Heading down below where they could organize the full landing from the massive troop carriers.
"What about you, Cole? Is everyone on the ship…" Therese began to ask.
"I am being told that we have some casualties, which is to be expected from a landing like the one we just had. But the bay doors are open. We'll be able to get everyone out and use the wreckage as cover to treat our wounded."
Since it had been destroyed, stats wouldn't treat it as an overall viable target anymore. So that was some comfort, at least. And thanks to the other Acclamotors landing around it, it would make for a good makeshift field hospital.
Therese didn't say much more, other than to thank Cole for helping Corrin out and asking him to see if any LAATs or other escort ships were available to pick her up before leaving the bridge herself to help with organizing the rest of the exodus from the cruiser.
They didn't have many injured on their ship, fortunately, outside of those who'd survived the initial encounter with the spike familiars. Though there were quite a few siege and anti-aircraft weapons and the like that had to be dragged out thanks to the gems on the cruiser being too exhausted to assist in helping out and needing time to recover. But as long as the subsequent battle didn't destroy the ships, they'd be fine for a return trip after they recharged… hopefully.
There was also the matter of having to locate L'Arc in this mess. But one problem at a time.
Therese eventually stepped out of the ship onto the new snowy battlefield. Her eyes narrowed in worry as the rest of the blizzard and the effects of Corrin's spell were beginning to vanish overhead.
The LAATs and the ships of Sickle and Label's fleet were shown to be fighting overhead again. Thanks to the blast from earlier though, many of Luvar's prized ships had been knocked out of the sky. The area around them was littered with so many shipwrecks.
As long as more ships didn't appear though, it'd be a more even battle between their forces in the air. However, since they were in Luvar's territory, Therese didn't believe for a second that the enemy didn't have more airships they could call to the battle.
As the dust settled on the ground, an enemy army could be seen approaching them.
The banners of Luvar, a flag embedded with the design of the Vassal Book in the middle of it, hung from poles. Soldiers pushed siege weapons like catapults and ballistae as well as anti-aircraft cannons of their own forward. The infantry in front of the massive machines wielded naginatas, katanas, and other weapons. Behind them were lines upon lines of magic casters. Some were ofuda specialists, others performance specialists. There were even a few Gem casters as well who'd defected with Xander.
In the center of the army was a bunch of cavalry. And at their head sitting in the saddle of a large, armored horse was an imposing man, dressed in all black armor. The adamantium armor he'd taken with him long ago, and a man who wielded one of the only lances ever seen in the world.
Too bad for Dou-Lon though, as this lance was also made from Gems. And besides that, it was far too big for a normal man to wield naturally. Yet Xander's imposing size made the weapon he'd made for himself a perfect fit.
Therese's grip on one of her accessories tightened.
The air battle for everyone there was over. It was time for the ground battle to commence.
"Attack!" Xander's voice boomed out from his position at the front of the army.
"FOR LUVAR!" The enemy cavalry began dashing towards them. Even as siege weapons, magic users, and the like on their side began launching their ranged attacks.
"FOR THE EMPIRE!" Ryoma's battle cry sounded.
Catapults and ballistas alongside magic from their own casters as well as from those carrying Gem Lightning Rifles began raining down on the approaching army.
Simultaneously, Label's naginata-wielding samurai soldiers, alongside Sickle's knights, began charging forward to meet Luvar's calvary attack head-on. Led by Ryoma himself.
The battle for the fate of Luvar commenced.
While making their way through Kyo's mansion, everyone found themselves surprised at how empty it was inside.
No monsters, familiars, or chimeras came to greet them from the darkness. The interior was eerily empty and devoid of any furniture or other signs that the place was lived in.
"Yomogi, is this what your place normally looks like?" Kizuna asked while gripping her weapon.
"No! Not at all! T-There used to be a shelf with all of my cookbooks over there." Yomogi replied anxiously while pointing toward a part of the wall where an outline of a shelf could be seen. "And over there was the music room with my piano. And…"
The group soon reached the second floor of the mansion and there were still no enemies in sight. Yomogi rushed ahead of the group, towards a door at the entrance of the hall that had a placard with her name on it. She quickly swung it open before the others could stop her.
But Yomogi's room held no danger in it either. It was completely bare, just like every other room that they'd entered before then.
"No… what's going on here. Where did everything go?" The green-haired girl asked, looking around desperately for the things she'd valued in her life. The things that'd connected her to Kyo.
The stuffed animal she'd received from his parents as a kid shortly after getting bought by them at Kyo's request. The ball she'd played with while watching the Book Hero work on his next invention. Her clothes, weapons, even the old Order Ofuda that she'd chosen to keep as a symbol of her loyalty to the Book Hero.
All of it was gone. As if she'd never even lived here.
"Yomogi…" Kizuna rested a hand on the girl's shoulder sadly. Yomogi looked to be on the verge of sobbing at what she was seeing.
"^%$#, does this mean that we got tricked after all?" Itsuki gritted his teeth as he continued to look around. "This place looks completely abandoned!"
Kizuna turned to glare at the Bow Hero for his insensitivity on the matter. But before she could say anything…
"Wait, these doors… They have our names on them." Glass pointed out from the hallway.
"Huh?" Kizuna left Yomogi's room and looked outside again.
"Yeah, she's right," Itsuki said as he walked up next to Glass as well, struggling to read the characters with his limited knowledge.
There was a placard on the door that the Spirit Woman stood in front of. It had Kizuna written on it.
"What the…?" Kizuna walked up and opened the door. Only to pause in the doorway.
Unlike the previous rooms, this one was still completely furnished.
The bed had blankets and pillows with colorful fish designs etched into the fabric on them. There were also slots in the walls for fishing poles and hats to hang from. A nightstand had several different books on fish and fish monsters from their world resting on top of it. When Kizuna opened one, she found the books also contained detailed pictures of each species of fish.
Everything in the room spoke attention and detail to what Kizuna would have liked, including the colors.
"What… what is this?" Kizuna asked in disbelief before turning her head toward Yomogi.
The girl sighed and looked down, a sad look on her face. "Kyo… He had these guest rooms made, in case he ever felt like inviting you over."
Kizuna looked stunned. But Glass had already moved on to the next door in the hallway. One with a placard that had her name on it.
Opening it, she found an oriental furnished room perfectly suited for her tastes. There was space for her to practice her dancing with her fans, as well as a sewing table with different fabrics and needles resting on it for her sewing hobby. On top of the other furniture in the room, there was a door that connected to Kizuna's room, and a loveseat placed in the corner next to the door that would have fit her and Kizuna.
The spirit woman trembled slightly and stepped back at the creepily painstaking attention to detail that Kyo had put into her own guest room. And as the group continued down the hallway, it wasn't just rooms for Glass and Kizuna that they found.
There was a room for L'Arc, placed next to a room for Therese. Though Therese's had a lock on her side that she could engage if she wanted. There were rooms for more of Kizuna's friends that Kyo had interacted with before and after the war against the Demon Dragon.
Near the end of the hallway, Ethnobalt opened the door to his own room. It wasn't nearly as elaborately furnished as the others, as the rabbit-man maintained a humble existence when it came to his personal living space. But he still paused and walked into the room to examine the titles on a couple of bookshelves that were inside.
"I… I remember this one." He said as he pulled out what looked like a picture book before opening it.
Kizuna, who'd walked in with him as well, gasped and had to blink tears out of her eyes as she recognized it too.
"What is that?" Hoshi asked curiously.
"It looks like a kid's picture book to me," Daitan muttered.
"What's so special about a… oh." Akane trailed off, already formulating a guess based on what she knew about Kizuna, and about how she'd been summoned far earlier than she and the others had.
"This was the first book that Ethnobalt read to me when I had trouble sleeping alone soon after I came to this world." Kizuna smiled as more tears appeared in her eyes. "It's about a duckling that had lost his original family to predators.
"He tried to act like he didn't care and wanted to do his own thing at first. But then, he met some other animals. And he learned from them how to accept what'd happened in the past and to move on towards the future together.
"By the end, those animals he'd met had become his new family…"
The Heroes there slowly blinked.
That sounded… a lot more comprehensive than what a children's picture book would normally sound like.
"I remember telling Kyo about it in one of our conversations. But I never…" Ethnobalt trailed off.
…
After looking the rooms over again, everyone had mixed feelings about what this all meant. Was the Book Hero some kind of delusional stalker?
Or…?
…
Ethnobalt reluctantly placed the book back on the shelf. And, after resting an arm over a trembling Kizuna's shoulders, they rejoined everyone else and continued down the hallway.
Past the guest bedrooms and… eventually, after another minute of searching, they stopped in front of what was supposed to be the Book Hero's study, according to Yomogi.
Naofumi opened the door while holding his Shield up.
They were once again greeted with another empty room. The windows on the opposite wall were open and a gentle breeze coming from outside was making the white drapes sway in the wind. A solid wall of white mist outside cast the study in a dim and eerie light.
A lone, empty bookcase stood against the left wall. And next to it was…
"A secret passage?" Itsuki blinked in realization. The bookcase had been slid aside, judging by the markings on the wall next to it. A stone arch surrounded the entrance and steps going down were barely visible from the dim light coming from outside.
"Wha…?" Yomogi stared at the opening dumbfoundedly.
"I'll take it you didn't know about this one?" Naofumi narrowed his eyes as he took a few steps forward while still on guard.
"No. Kyo always worked on his projects in this room. I never-" The Boarish girl's shoulder just sagged helplessly as she stopped speaking.
"Well then." Naofumi looked away from the dark passage. "Raphtalia, give me a light, and let's head down. If Itsuki's comment from earlier was right and there's nothing down there either, then we'll try to catch up to L'Arc and Therese."
"Of course. [First Light]." Raphtalia quickly conjured a floating ball of warm white light that settled over Naofumi like a miniature sun.
The group began to head down with Naofumi at the lead.
…
…
…
After a long and tense descent through several winding dark passageways, they finally reached some basement area. One last double set of doors greeted them. This time cast from metal.
As soon as the group got close, the doors slid aside with a soft hiss.
The doors and their relatively modern design were strange enough to see already, but what lay beyond them made everyone stop entirely in their tracks.
It was some kind of modern, fully furnished science facility.
"What in the…" Dou-Lon said in surprise.
Most everyone there didn't recognize any of the technology. The only ones who did were the Heroes who had been summoned from Japan. But even they were stunned by it.
"Holy crap, the bastard's got a whole freaking science laboratory down here!" Itsuki gaped.
"Well, if there was any further confirmation needed that Male Bitch was from Earth, then there it is." Naofumi's grimace grew as he stepped past the doors. Kizuna seemed like she wanted to say something in response but closed her mouth tightly and just followed after him.
This was not the medieval alchemy lab they were expecting. Rather, the floors and walls were made of metal. And the tech surrounding them was all that you'd find in a modern lab. From the bunsen burners on tables to microscopes processing various samples as computers next to them ran calculations none of them could ever hope to understand.
Yes, there were computers there. It looked like they were built specifically to handle lab work instead of the many things Naofumi had preferred to do back home. But that was the damn truth.
There were some tables not holding any of these devices. Rather, they seemed dedicated to crafting and the like, as they were messy with books and notes and materials and all sorts of things. On one such table, Itsuki spotted crates full of discarded Spear and Sword weapons similar to the ones that Trash's harem had been wielding.
There were plenty of other devices there, ones like the computers that should have been impossible to have, but which were not only active but being powered thanks to Gem Energy.
All of them had to pause for more than a few seconds, taking it all in.
There was another thing that caught their attention, however.
Around them were capsules filled with liquid. They looked straight out of a lab in their world, with wiring and pipes connected to the tops and bottoms of them. Inside, naked human bodies floated in suspended animation.
Each one looked exactly like the madman who so desperately tried to steal the Vassal Katana a few weeks ago.
"Well, $%^& me. He's got cloning tech figured out too. No wonder that spirit person was convinced." Naofumi remarked offhandedly to Glass.
"I'm nearly convinced of it myself," Glass replied in a troubled tone.
"Whatever you two are talking about, save it for later." Itsuki raised his weapon. "He's here."
Naofumi immediately looked at where Itsuki was pointing. A lone figure was visible next to the wall of the far end of the lab.
It was slouching on a tall wooden chair reminiscent of a throne while looking at them smugly.
But the impression of power coming from Ko clashed with what the Book Hero actually looked like. His wrinkled clothing was dirty and covered in multiple stains. His hair was a frizzled mess too. In place of his usual gilded pair of lenseless glasses, some kind of old and well-used black set was resting on his nose.
A scowl came onto Naofumi's face as he heard Kyo speak to them in person again for the first time in a while.
"Welcome! Welcome, Heroes both of this and the other world! Allow me to apologize to you in advance for the lackluster surroundings.
"You see, I had a nice and proper throne room set up in Luvar's assembly house where my mimic was supposed to entertain you for a while. It would have acted as a grand backdrop to our epic final battle, but alas, you've seen through my attempts at deceiving you.
"And now, here you are, at my actual secret lair, ready to face me for real, save the world, and get your 'good ending'! Well done!"
"Kyo what are you-" Yomogi started, her voice filled with confusion and sadness.
"Oh, yes, of course!" Kyo looked up and snapped his fingers as if in realization. "Sorry for taking a while to get to the door earlier, Yomogi. I was very distracted in doing some last-minute preparations and didn't hear the doorbell. And don't worry about having been forced to lead everyone here, I know you didn't have a choice. Now, where was I… ah, right! [First Pull]!"
"What are you-wah!" Yomogi suddenly shouted in surprise as her body was flung off the ground and launched forward at the Book Hero before anyone could react.
Thankfully, she didn't smash into the wall and stopped in front of Kyo, before being gently set down on the floor again.
"And now, [Contract Termination]!" Kyo shouted as he ripped a page out of his Vassal Book and slapped it over Yomogi's back where Kizuna's Order Ofuda was.
In a flash of light, both slips of paper disappeared without a trace.
"Kyo, wait, I-" Yomogi tried to speak but Kyo pulled out a sword from his Book's gem next and thrust it into her hands.
"Yes, yes, I know. I missed you too. But save it for later, okay? We have some guests to entertain here. Oh, and do try not to lose your sword or give it away to anyone this time, alright? I can't exactly make them by the dozen, you know?" Kyo spoke hastily in a hushed tone close to the girl before turning to face the Heroes again.
"Sorry about that." He clapped his hands. "Now, back to business! For the first part of our epic final battle, I was thinking that we could-"
The metallic sound of a sword being unsheathed interrupted whatever he was trying to say.
Kyo cocked his head to the side in confusion and looked down at the sword that was pointed at him.
"Yomogi, what are you doing? You're supposed to point your weapon at them, not at-"
"KYO, WHAT THE ^%$# ARE YOU DOING!?" Yomogi roared and raised the sword further up, pointing it at the Book Hero's throat while interrupting him.
"The mutagen's side effects! The monsters that attacked us outside!
"The exploding weapons! This weird place we're in and these… these things floating in these glass jars!
"Is this some kind of sick prank?! You think you can just brush me off like-"
"[First Push]." Kyo flicked his wrist forward and Yomogi was launched backward toward the group of Heroes.
"I got her!" Kizuna's fishing line lashed out, wrapping around Yomogi and catching her out of the air before she could fly into a wall or one of the nearby canisters.
With a pull of her rod, Kizuna then brought Kyo's retainer safely back onto solid ground. She even landed on her feet, though as Glass ran up to make sure she was okay, Yomogi still looked shocked at what'd just happened.
"Yomogi, don't swear. That's not very cute." The Book Hero frowned and leaned back into his chair. "As for the rest of your questions, all in due time. As I was saying, there is still one more opponent I have prepared for you all first. One that I'm pretty sure the others will enjoy getting a rematch with, especially after all the trouble that he caused you before."
The Book Hero's words put almost the entire group on edge. And Itsuki and Naofumi started preparing skills alongside Glass when Kyo snapped his fingers again.
Around them, a strange purple liquid suddenly seeped into the containers holding the bodies of Trash. Almost immediately after, they began writhing around and screaming uncontrollably as their bodies began to transform.
"K… Kyo, what is this?" Kizuna asked in horror.
"Here is a little fun fact. While the Demon Dragon never truly became a Guardian Beast, it was still the prime candidate for the role of the Fourth Guardian Beast in our world." Kyo said as if he was giving an informative lecture. "That aspect in particular was why its magic and its anti-magic abilities were beyond potent. But when combined with this idiot's magical abilities, well…
"Let's just say that given the fact you all have already faced hybrids of the other Three Guardian Beasts.
"Allow me to watch as you take on hybrids of the fourth. The ones that should be the most powerful of the group." Kyo finished with a smile.
The containers around them all shattered at once.
"RAGHHHHH!" The bodies of Trash, distorted beyond comprehension, charged the group of Heroes and their comrades.
Author's Notes:
Huh, I don't have many thoughts for once. My Discord Server is up. Once I finish getting caught up on AO3 posting wise, I'll be putting my future chapters in a different channel on that server. If you want to join for that or anything else, just find me on Discord using allenblaster with an at sign in front of my name.
I'll look forward to seeing you all again in two weeks.
Hero Clips!
B1 Battle Spikes
Eh, why not? Since we're already ripping off Star Wars enough as it is.
Far above, the fleets of Luvar and the Coalition were duking it out. Spike-type monsters were fired into the fray one after the other.
Some, however, were not fired up, as they were a different type entirely that would have looked strangely humanoid if not for the fact that they were made out of the same materials as their brethren.
These B1 Spike types were being used to operate the cannons firing their powerful brethren into the sky. Some also stood guard to defend the cannons against attacks from the coalition ships.
"What do you mean the cannon won't fire?" One of the B1 spike-type familiars said in a strangely animated, yet all too familiar robotic voice.
"I mean, the thing is jammed or something. It's not like I know how this thing is supposed to work!" The B1 spike familiar operating the cannon yelled back.
"Let me see." The B1 spike type jumped into the cannon. Looking around in it, before…
"You idiot, I don't see anything wrong in here-"
BOOM!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The B1 Spike Familiar screamed as it was unexpectedly launched towards the battle up above.
"Heheheheh. Never gets old." The B1 operating the cannon laughed diabolically to itself.
Nearby, two other B1 spike familiars were standing guard. "Huh, there must be something wrong in that one's programming. Glad I'm not the one in charge over there." One of them idly commented.
"Are you kidding? I'd rather be up there having fun than doing boring guard work down here!" The other one argued.
"Fun? We'd be torn to pieces and then self-destruct before we could do anything 'fun'." The first one replied.
"Sounds to me like you're nothing but a coward." The second one said mockingly.
"More like a realist. I prefer down here where it's much safer."
"Whatever, coward." The second one rolled its eyes.
"... wait a second, didn't you volunteer for guard duty?" The first one suddenly asked.
"What are you talking about?" The second one replied nervously.
"Yeah, I remember now. You totally volunteered for guard duty instead of fighting in the city. Who are you to call me a coward?"
"UH, SOMEBODY HAD TO GUARD THE CANNONS!"
"And me and the others couldn't handle it on our own? At least you would have been guaranteed a fight in the city limits. Man, talk about stupid."
Up above, the Coalition ships hunting down the various cannons pulled away from the mountains.
"Well, you know what else is stupid? This conversation!"
"Yes, talking to you has made my IQ drop at least ten points." The first one rolled their eyes at their companion.
"We don't have IQ! We just have what we're programmed with!"
"Sounds like you didn't have much programmed into your head to begin with."
"Th-That's it! I'll show you!" The B1 began to raise its weapon to strike his comrade.
But as he was about to swing it, a wave of ice and snow froze the entire area over.
…
…
After a second, the two B1 spike familiars were shown encased in ice. Somehow, they were still alive.
"What just happened?" The second one asked.
"Wow, way to go distracting us from doing our job, bro." The first one said in a deadpan.
"HOW IS THIS MY FAULT?!" The second one asked.
The two would continue arguing until the mountains were torn up by Corrin's subsequent earth spell.
And thus, no one would ever know that there had been a variant of the spike types that were capable of speech… though that was probably for the best.
Like the B1s, they weren't the brightest bulbs in the shed.
Still, they would have made for some awesome comic relief.
Hero Clips!
I Am Bulletproof!
There was a lot of crack going on right now.
For one, instead of a large group of people fighting in front of Kyo's manor, there was only Naofumi, Itsuki, Raphtalia, and Rishia. The rest were inside Ethnobalt's ship, hunkering down for cover because of the enemy they were facing.
Raphtalia and Rishia were hunkered behind a wall up ahead. Itsuki stood behind a wall with Naofumi.
"Naofumi, are you sure this will work?!" Itsuki turned to yell back at Naofumi.
Multiple beast girls were charging their position. They not only had sheer numbers but Gem Lightning Rifles and Gem Lightning Rocket Launchers in their possession as well.
Itsuki had the Gem Lightning Gatling Gun cameoed earlier in the chapter equipped.
Don't ask how he had it. He just did for the sake of the meme.
"Ahaha, I have no idea!" Naofumi raised an odd-looking laser gun in front of him with a mad grin on his face. The Shield on his arm wasn't zapping him as it technically wasn't a weapon he was holding, and it was powered by a gem-powered battery pack on the Shield Hero's back.
Yep, it was another one of the Shield Hero's crazy plans. But for some reason, Itsuki decided to go along with it.
He flipped a dial on the side of it labeled Zweite Aura X to Uber Charged. The battery pack began to glow as the weapon charged up.
The beast girls came closer and closer, firing their weapons on their positions, until…
Naofumi fired the beam of energy at Itsuki. Who stepped out of cover to meet the enemy's charge.
"YEAHHHHHHHHH AH HA HA!" Itsuki's eyes glowed violet as power surged through his veins. It was like his heart was beating over time!
The minigun in his hands started firing. Mowing down the beast girls immediately in front of him.
Naofumi advanced, still firing the energy beam into Itsuki's back as they walked forward into an oncoming explosion.
But the Bow Hero came out the other end perfectly unharmed. His violet eyes glowed brighter as his beefed-up minigun continued mowing down all their enemies.
Raphtalia and Rishia, also armed with Gem Lightning Rifles for some reason, who had been busy trying to concoct a plan of their own, stared in shock as the two Heroes advanced past them. Itsuki laughed like a madman all the while.
"Ah ha ha ha! I am bulletproof!" Itsuki's minigun continued tearing apart every enemy in his path.
More lightning bullets and rockets hit and exploded around him. But he walked through all the attacks like they were nothing.
It was a complete massacre.
...
Kyo sat in front of his computer, staring at his screen in shock as Itsuki callously stepped onto the head of one of the dead beast girls. Completely absorbed in his blood frenzy while he continued mowing the rest of them down.
The man had no words. He already knew that he couldn't possibly compete with this level of crack.
And so, he did the sensible thing and ran for his life. Before the beefed-up Itsuki could break into his lab and finish him for good.
"I AM BULLETPROOF!"
Though those words would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Till Next Time
Allen