To Takia, I will say, in my defense, I already mentioned Asta was in Zeltoble in a previous chapter. But hey, thanks for the feedback.
Also, got a couple of people asking when Naofumi will be back. My answer is: soonish.
Chapter Sixteen: Motoyasu's Side of the Wave… Again
Moments before the Wave struck
"Gwah (Poor Cool Hero)…"
"Yeah, I know." Blue sighed in defeat. He was rubbing a hand along his friend's black wing.
Tersia frowned. "I was hoping this would help to improve Ren's mood."
Farrie was frowning as well. She didn't say anything, her hands were idly stroking the head of the baby dragon sprawled out on her lap. Strangely, she hadn't held the egg for as long as her two friends had, yet little Gaelion seemed to feel at home on her person.
A fact that would have made her feel happy, if not for the scene they were watching being so depressing.
Ren and Wyndia were sitting at a table outside an outdoor cafe. It was the middle of the day.
The group was at the Capital of Melromarc, dressed casually to go out and try to improve the Sword Hero's mood. He had mentioned wanting to take Wyndia out on a date here once before, and so they decided to try it. Ren's friends were nearby in case the dog girl needed their assistance with her boyfriend.
Ren was wearing a simple white linen shirt and black pants, his sword was in its Wooden Practice Sword form in a sheath on his side so no one would recognize him as the Sword Hero. Wyndia, who was sitting opposite him at the table, was wearing a light blue summer dress. Her hair was almost shining in the light of the sun.
The Sword Hero looked worse than last time. He had deep dark bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. The boy also looked like he'd lost more weight.
He wasn't stuck in his home anymore, at least. The idea he'd discussed with his Hero brothers before they fought the Spirit Tortoise the second time was playing out before his eyes. His girlfriend looked amazing right now and hadn't stopped holding his hand from across the table even once since they sat down.
They'd gotten to walk around the city together. Taking in the sights, seeing all sorts of cool things.
Wyndia held his hand from the start too, always flashing him happy and sincere smiles… when he couldn't even bring himself to smile back.
…
"Ren." Wyndia grabbed his attention briefly with his name. After turning his head to face his girlfriend, Ren found her other hand holding a spoon, having raised the slice of pie they were sharing up to his lips.
Wordlessly, he opened his mouth, accepting the treat Wyndia was giving him. Even as it hit his tongue, however, he couldn't tell how good it tasted. As Naofumi had been after his summoning, the Sword Hero was so deep in his depression that he couldn't taste anything right now.
It was just another solid substance that he swallowed so his body could function for another moment longer…
"Did… that not work either?" Wyndia asked with concern.
"... sorry." Ren looked away, unable to meet her caring gaze.
If anything, this was only making him feel worse.
His friends wanted so much to help him feel better, and yet, he just… wasn't.
He felt stuck. Any step he'd take to get better would only lead to him getting worse. And it only made him feel more guilty as those he cared about tried to help him with taking that next step when he couldn't bring himself to do so. It was like a never-ending cycle of self-hatred and guilt eating him up on the inside.
As the two former nuns both watched, they saw a look of deep sadness and desperation move across Wyndia's face. Seeing Ren like this was hurting the dog girl far more than anyone else.
She was trying to put up a strong front, but she had also lost weight and sleep like the Sword Hero. It was amazing that she could look so good when she was being torn up on the inside just like him.
…
Yet, even as they moved to stand up to help her, Wyndia's face suddenly filled with resolve, and she shook her head at them. Instead, she grabbed the spoon, grabbed her boyfriend's attention, and then continued feeding him the dessert in front of them.
Even if he couldn't taste it, even if she couldn't enjoy it, she smiled wide as she fed him. Letting him know that she enjoyed getting to act this cute with him. That she loved that she was his girlfriend.
She wanted more than anything to break through that barrier of dark clouds surrounding his mind so she could see his smile again.
Tersia and the others watched, hoping that a breakthrough would happen.
…
But eventually, the dessert was gone, and Ren still hadn't smiled.
They collectively dropped their heads.
Another failure.
…
The dog girl stood up, moving her chair to be next to Ren. She then settled against her boyfriend's side as they both stared at the opposite side of the street together, hands still interlocked with each other like a lifeline.
Yet the young couple looked both lost and helpless. Wyndia was on the verge of tears as the last of her resolve drained away.
It hurt. They both hurt. And nothing they did could make the pain go away.
This wasn't working.
Nothing was working.
…
"Alright, I think we should step in now," Tersia suggested after releasing a deep sigh.
"I… yeah. I can't bear seeing them like this." Farrie grimaced, putting a hand to her face.
"Maybe Blue could have Noodle ride on his back out in the countryside…" Blue shuddered as both mage girls turned to look down at him. "... With Dog girl riding on Rikka's back next to us."
"... gwah (At least you're finally showing some consideration for other's feelings)." The black Filolial cawed dryly.
"Hmph." The preteen pouted. He'd still have to deal with annoying Dog Girl being around, but at least the stupid lizard would be staying with the two Sadistic Nun Sisters if they accepted his idea.
Please, please have them accept Blue's idea! Even if it was motivated in part by his wanting to spend time around Noodle and to have Noodle ruffle his feathers again, he was desperate to have the Sword Hero smile as well. He just hated seeing him look so hollow all the time, and even if he couldn't understand why Ren was sad, he wanted to help him anyway.
Because it wasn't fair. Noodle didn't deserve to be sad when he was so cool. And… maybe a small part of him would admit as well that seeing Dog Girl so sad and destroyed didn't sit well with him either. He didn't want to hurt anybody, he just wanted to spend time with his Hero and have him ruffle the feathers on his head like before.
…
"Actually, maybe it's not such a bad idea." Farrie finally said and looked at her fellow sister.
"There aren't any strong monsters around the Capital… it could be safe for Ren to go outside the walls here." Tersia agreed. Blue and Rikka both looked elated at the prospect!
But then, Ren's head sharply turned to the sky, a look of shock and fear plastered on his face.
Crack!
Before Wyndia could ask what was wrong, the sky above them shattered.
Monsters began pouring down from the Wave Cracks into the streets below. And the people around them began running away in terror.
"M-Motoyasu! What happened?!" Anya yelled.
The Spear Hero stood in a wide-open cobblestone plaza. He recognized where they were instantly, thanks to Mirellia's castle with its towers bearing purple banners in view. But even without that, he had the notification telling him that they were fighting a Wave in Melromarc.
But how, and why? The wave here wasn't supposed to happen for a few more weeks!
The Spear Hero shook his head of such thoughts and was quick to then take stock of the situation.
Around him were his immediate party members: Amber, Keel, Anya, Fohl, Hickwaal, Sadeena, and S'yne.
In front of Hickwaal was Sebas, along with at least a hundred or more other individuals of various races. Some looked like store employees. Others maids, bodyguards, blacksmiths, etc.
No one had teleported with S'yne. She had no one in her party. As for Sadeena…
"Big Sissssss!" The young Kaiden and Raia both cried as they tackled the orca woman. Along with a lot of other kids, who'd been teleported with her.
Sadeena felt a mix of different emotions. There were likely too many to count. She'd felt that something terrible was coming before, but this seemed almost too good to be true!
However, the kids weren't just crying in relief because their older sister figure was ok.
It was because they'd just been torn from their temporary place of residence, appearing in the middle of a very familiar, and very traumatizing situation.
"Urgh, is this what the older gladiators were forced to fight back home?" Fohl grimaced in pain. He looked to be in no shape to fight with his injuries.
"How ▇▇▇ Wave happening ▇▇▇-!" Next to him, S'yne tried to speak. However, her voice cut in and out, worse than it ever had.
"Are you asking how a Wave is happening right now?" Motoyasu asked while handing the tiger boy next to him a Healing Potion, and the girl nodded her head. "I have no idea. We'll worry about that later. We have more pressing concerns at the moment.
"Everyone!" Motoyasu shouted, grabbing the attention of all the confused individuals there with him. "Right now, we're in Melromarc's Capital, and it appears that a Wave is hitting the area!
"First things first, we're going to get the nonfighters and any citizens we come across to the Castle where they'll be safe! Afterward, I'm going to hunt down the Wave Boss with anyone capable of fighting!
"Got it memorized?! Good, then let's move!"
Without missing a beat, Motoyasu rushed down the street, heading off towards the Castle in the distance. He plowed straight through the first Interdimensional Drake that landed in his path and was then quick to bisect two other dragon-type monsters before they could start rampaging in the area.
Many of the individuals there were still stunned by what was happening, of course. Not even the Hero's party members had expected a Wave to be occurring today.
However, S'yne and Amber ran after the Spear Hero without hesitation. Amber had finally changed to her Filolial Queen form and was carrying three of the rescued Lurolona kids on her back, while S'yne held two more in her arms as if they weighed nothing. Her scissors transformed into a ball of yarn at her side as she ran.
"Bodyguards, form a circle around the master and the others! I will help Sir Motoyasu clear us a path!" Sebas ordered. The men and women did so, brandishing shields they held to their sides or above their heads, enveloping Hickwaal's group in a shell of safety while Sebas led them forward.
"Don't worry, guys! We'll get you someplace safe!" Keel promised, eyes shining with determination as she recognized old friends.
"Keel-kun?"
"W-Why are you so big? And dressed like a girl?"
"Is that a maid outfit?!"
The remaining kids recognized their friend as well. Though they were confused for more than one reason.
"Stay close, lil' ones. Big Sis still has one more fight to get through before we go home." Sadeena reassured the group, lightning shining along the length of her harpoon again. She, like everyone else, had no idea how they'd all been transported here.
Only those who'd fought along with the Heroes in the Waves could know. Motoyasu, by trusting these individuals to be in his party, subsequently saved the lives of Sadeena's kids on the surface of the city from what happened. As well as the lives of Hickwaal's loyal employees and friends. All because they'd been part of a party system that the Cardinal Weapon took advantage of to bring them safely here.
But right now, only Amber was aware of what was happening back home, since she could see it through her link with Fitoria. And to say her respect for the Filolial Queen grew tenfold in those moments would not have been an exaggeration.
The group followed in the Spear Hero's footsteps. Diving into the heart of the city as the chaos of the Wave caused mass panic to erupt all around them.
You know, life is strange in a way.
If you'd told Motoyasu Kitamura a year ago that he'd be living in another world, working alongside a teenage angel girl, an orca woman with a love for alcohol, a girl whose voice was constantly cutting off in bursts of static whenever she spoke, and a bunch of other individuals in fighting off a world-ending calamity while simultaneously protecting a city full of people, he would have laughed and laughed at your joke. Eventually saying something along the lines of: "You still talk strange, good sir. Strange, yet funny. Let's have lunch together again, my treat."
Yeah, Motoyasu was a great guy. He would have found your bad joke even more ridiculous than the first time, but he would have still kept you around as a friend and, years later, been there to help you out whenever you needed him, even if helping you out meant being the best man at your wedding.
Because that was the kind of person the Spear Hero was before his summoning. And that was the reason why he found himself in the scenario he was currently in.
Motoyasu exterminated one Dragon-type monster after another with the Cardinal Spear in his hands as his allies fought and destroyed more shadow monsters around him, saving the lives of citizens and helping to organize the knights they came across into cohesive units. Wave Cracks in the sky spewed more invaders for the Spear Hero and his allies to deal with all over the city, adding to the mess that they had to deal with.
Life really was strange, especially with the way it repeated events. Motoyasu was almost convinced that he should become a philosopher after the Waves were over, so he could find the deeper meaning in all of this.
But right now, he was doing what he'd learned to do best as the Spear Hero of this world. Exterminating every monster in his sight while saving as many people as he could.
"Crimson Thrust!"
Boom!
Motoyasu dove through the air after jumping off the roof of a building. The flames of his weapon connected with two Interdimensional Wyrms simultaneously, exploding the pair of monsters in a fiery inferno hot enough to disintegrate even the shadows they were made from.
"Fire Steps!" Amber followed behind in her Filolial Queen form, blazing in and out of existence as her feet decimated all the monsters around her. The kids on her back cried out in fear and excitement as they held on for dear life.
"Bind Wire!" Streams of thread shot out from S'yne's ball of yarn, wrapping themselves around dozens of different monsters and trapping them as she ran past.
She did not strike these herself, as Anya and Keel came up right behind, with Fohl trying desperately to keep up now that the majority of his remaining injuries had been taken care of by the Spear Hero's Health Potion.
"Drifa Shadow Claws!" "Eyyyya!"
Anya slashed and slashed again with her magic constructs while Keel pummeled the various monsters to dust with just her fists.
"Ack! I can't keep up with their freaking energy!" The tiger boy complained.
At the very least, he got to fight a couple of the monsters that fell in their way after the main squad cleared out the street. However, even then, he wasn't able to damage them much with his fists before Sadeena or Sebas assisted, with the dragon newt butler killing each monster in one blow with his own hands.
Fohl got to witness one such instance up close, as the man had fully transformed into his therianthrope form at this point. The Interdimensional Shadow Wyvern that tried attacking him from above never stood a chance, as Sebas' scaled fist was covered in strange energy, and blasted through the chest of the monster out its back.
+300 Exp
Unlike earlier, when the Spear Hero had been killing cultists left and right, the tiger boy and everyone else in the Spear Hero's main party was accumulating exp from killing everything around them. Fohl himself had already risen five levels to level 37 in the span of a few minutes, increasing his stats a bit, which helped him out somewhat in being able to keep up.
Even with that, his growth in stats paled in comparison to what Anya and Keel received when they went up a level from 53 to 54. Even as he saw it happen on his party HUD, the two girls blazed ahead as if they'd been injected with a ton of caffeine and adrenaline.
Fohl scowled in envy but did his best to keep up. Not even realizing how his level gains here could have been even more significant if Motoyasu had kept only six people in his immediate party.
It didn't take long before Motoyasu crested over a building, finding himself on the main street in front of the entrance to the walls protecting the castle. Knights and adventurers alike were fighting together, holding a defensive line on the walls and at the gates. Various knights and adventurers were fighting solo or in groups across the street to occupy the monsters' attention enough to allow the citizens navigating the chaos to flee to safety.
Motoyasu dove down and began assisting in the clearing operation.
"Ha! Hah! Huah!"
His MP and SP bars were both running low. He was also running dangerously low on Life Force again despite drinking another Life Force Water. His weapon had run out of Magic Healing Waters as well as Soul Healing Potions, mostly due to him having used up a lot of his supply to make almost a dozen doses of Yggdrasil's Elixir over the last few days. So the Spear Hero was only using regular attacks at this point to preserve his remaining MP and SP in case it was needed for a particularly strong monster.
Fortunately, regular attacks were still enough to kill these creatures in one or two strikes. With all his allies helping the Spear Hero in various ways, it didn't take long to temporarily clear out the immediate area and allow the knights and adventurers to get back to safety, with many of them being pulled to the side so healing mages could deal with their numerous injuries.
It was a good thing there were healing mages on hand. Motoyasu was also running low on Healing Potions. He was going to have to autocraft a lot more of everything after this battle was over. Meaning he'd have to buy or gather more of the herbs he'd need or sort through his weapon's inventory to see what he had on hand.
He could already tell how fun that was going to be, not.
"Sir Motoyasu! Fine weather we're having today, wouldn't you say?!" One of the knight captains guarding the entrance ran up, smiling at the Spear Hero.
Motoyasu couldn't recall his name. He did know the man was under Knight Commander Mayor and had been there in the fight against the Three Heroes Church's remaining forces at the DeRais Estate.
"I wouldn't call it fine, but we'll manage," Motoyasu responded seriously, but he did smile at the man's attempt to keep things upbeat. "Is the castle secure, Captain?"
"Well, I'd say it's safer than anywhere else in the city." The man shook his head, a more serious look coming onto his face. "Her Majesty has had us preparing to defend the Capital in case a Wave struck here ever since her return from Faubley. All the citizens living here know they are to evacuate to the Castle, or to the outer walls if reaching the Citadel is impossible.
"I also have some of my men assigned to lead people in the poorer parts of the city into the sewers. It won't be fun, but the monsters shouldn't be able to reach them there. Better to stink than be dead."
"Good. I'll continue to help out anyone I come across, but has there been any sign of the Wave Boss yet?" Motoyasu pressed on.
The man could only shake his head helplessly in response, however. He'd been stuck at the gates since the Wave started. He didn't even know how the Royals were doing, since they'd been outside the castle when the Wave started. All he knew was what his men were able to report using the crystal balls on their persons when they got to safety.
"Alright, then I'll do my best to find the boss and keep destruction to a minimum. In the meantime, I've got some important people to entrust to you." Motoyasu nodded his head, not asking anything else as he turned to look back at his friends."
Indeed, thanks to Motoyasu and his allies clearing out the main streets, more citizens rushed out from behind cover. Braving the danger and joining the mob that Motoyasu had inadvertently gathered on his way here he was then ushered into the large courtyard and then through the doors of the main castle by many of the knights there. These were the strongest in the kingdom, the ones who'd not only leveled at Cal Mira but who'd fought and survived in the battle against the Spirit Tortoise.
These battle-hardened men hardly batted an eye at the fact they were fighting dragons. They simply bore their arms and killed the various dragon-type monsters while being assisted by a few of Mirellia's Shadows.
Also… huh, was that Elhart helping out on the wall too? He was swinging a large warhammer around, smashing in the faces of any dragon monster that came within his reach. Nice! The castle would be in good hands!
S'yne and Amber ran up, placing the kids that they were carrying down at the knight captain's feet before rushing off to fight more monsters in the large street. Then, Hickwaal and his servants arrived behind the rest of the Lurolona kids. A couple of them were bruised up, but none the worse for wear, thanks to the efforts of all the fighters.
"Anya, Keel, stay here and assist with defending the civilians while me and others search for the Wave Boss, got it?" Motoyasu ordered.
"Aye, aye! You can trust everyone here to us, Bubba Spear! Ain't that right Anya?!" Keel grinned happily, glad to finally be able to call Motoyasu by her preferred nickname again.
The cat girl nodded her head, rushing up the stairs of the gate to assist the knights and blacksmith fighting on the walls above. Keel led the rest of her friends, as well as Hickwaal and his many servants towards the castle.
Motoyasu turned to ask Fohl if he was okay to keep fighting, but the tiger boy was already following after Keel. Guess that answered that question.
As he wondered who else to bring with him, Sebas paused before Motoyasu and bowed respectfully. "If I may, this Wave will end faster if this 'Wave Boss' is killed, correct?" The dragon newt man asked.
"Yeah. But saving the people trapped out there is also a priority." The Spear Hero nodded.
"Indeed. Master Hickwaal, do I have your permission to continue to assist Sir Motoyasu?" Sebas bowed lower as he asked the plump merchant.
"Of course. You'll be of more help out there than you will here." Hickwaal said seriously, before giving his butler a wink. "I'll try to not start a resort town while I'm gone."
Sebas laughed. It was such an unexpected sound from the tall old man, but one that made everyone around them smile.
The man's wings stretched out, and then like a speeding bullet, he took to the air. Flying above the streets to search for the wave boss and more groups of civilians.
"Anyone else- ah, right, Sadeena." Motoyasu turned to the orca woman, who'd stopped at the gates as well. "I know you've been through the wringer today already, but we all have. So can you do me one more solid?"
The woman looked to the side at the front doors of the castle, where Keel and a knight brought down and tore apart a giant Interdimensional Drake together.
Hickwaal had rushed up and was helping to usher the last of the Lurolona children inside the doors, before following behind them with his team of bodyguards.
"Motoyasu… Moto," Sadeena shook her head, a wide smile fighting its way onto her face. "There are things I want to talk about with you later. But first, I can hear other kids out here in need of lil' ol' me's help."
Motoyasu smiled. "Right, killer whales and echolocation. Please lead the way!"
He then saluted the knight captain, before turning around and rushing in Amber and S'yne's direction. They were following Sebas' from the ground.
The group, along with a contingent of knights whom Motoyasu had assisted earlier, roared in defiance as they followed the Spear Hero of Legend into battle.
"This way!"
"All Zweite Fire Ball!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Rowwwwwrrrrrrrrr!"
Tersia and Farrie led the way for the Sword Hero's group through the small side streets of Melromarc. They did not encounter many people in their way. Most of them had already fled due to the monsters falling more thickly in the center of the city than they were around the outskirts. But those they did rescue quickly bowed their heads before rushing off to gather… somewhere.
They never had time to ask, since they were constantly fighting off the Waves of monsters all on their own. They had no knights to back them up around here. The adventurers living in the poor part of the city were too low-level to be able to help out. It didn't help that they all were lightly armed and unarmored due to being caught in the middle of their leisure trip to the capital. And with each passing minute, the monster situation was only growing worse.
"We need to find some kind of choke point!" Farrie yelled angrily as she gulped a Magic Healing Water down.
"Drifa Earth Pillar!" Tersia summoned a giant pillar of stone, blocking off the alleyway on their left. That would slow down the advance of the grounded lesser dragons at least.
While Tersia used this temporary moment of reprieve to down another Magic Healing Water, Farrie cast another wide-range wind spell above them, to stop the sweeping shadow wyverns from reaching them from the sky.
"..."
Behind everyone, the sword hero was trying to compress himself into a tiny ball while riding on Blue's back. The disguised young man didn't look depressed anymore, but that was because he was suffering from a panic or anxiety attack of some kind.
Whether because it'd been a while since he'd last been at a Wave or some other reason, it was uncertain. But his friends knew that they had to get him somewhere safe. They couldn't leave him alone like this. Not when doing so could result in another cursed rampage, judging by how his Sword's gemstone kept on shifting from blue to orange and then back again.
"How's Noodle doing, Dog Girl?!" Blue angrily asked. He turned his head to look back at the duo of people riding on his back while sticking close to the two spell-casting nuns.
Blue had finally gotten his wish to have his Hero ride on his back again. But it did not feel like a victory thanks to the situation that they were in.
"Ren, please focus on me! You're going to be okay!" Wyndia yelled.
"Gahhh!" Gaelion pawed at her father's scarf.
The fact that Blue had to have a baby dragon on his back almost made Blue want to vomit. Couldn't Noodle get better already so stupid Dog Girl and Stupid Lizard could get off and help Sadistic Nun Sisters with fighting off the hordes of dragons?! He was already going to have to clean his feathers of their stench before he transformed back!
"Gwah! Gwah! (No! Why'd it have to be dragons?! Rikka doesn't want to kill dragons!)" Rikka complained behind the Filolial King, where she had to deal with any monsters that came behind them. She was killing them on her own, her sharp beak and talons more than capable of it, but she didn't look even a bit happy about it.
"Just fight Rikka!" Blue shouted back at his friend. "This is no time for you to bring up your weird kinks again!"
"GWAH! (THEY'RE NOT WEIRD, IS IT REALLY THAT BAD THAT RIKKA LIKES DRAGONS SO MUCH?!)" Rikka puffed out her feathers angrily.
"Yes, it is! EVERY Filolial hates dragons and griffons except you!" Blue yelled angrily. His beak shot forward and grabbed a diving Interdimensional Wyvern that the two sisters missed out of the air, before snapping its neck like a chicken bone. The monster evaporated into a sea of shadowy particles right afterward.
"Gwah! (Rikka still hates Griffons! But Rikka can't help but love how cool dragons are!)"
"Dragons aren't co- These aren't even real dragons anyway! Just kill them for Blue and Noodle's friends!" Blue yelled angrily.
"Gwah! (Fine, but Blue is going to owe Rikka for this!)" The eyepatch-wearing Filolial huffed, kicking away another Interdimensional Drake that'd been snapping at her heels before her beak tore through its neck.
"Ren, please! Focus on my voice! We're going to get you out of here!" Wyndia yelled, grabbing his face to try and get his eyes focused on hers. "I promise, you're going to be okay!"
The Sword Hero didn't respond to her words though. He couldn't see her, he couldn't feel her hands holding the sides of his head. He just lifelessly stared ahead, glass-eyed and shell-shocked.
"Ren, please! JUST LISTEN TO ME DAMN IT!" Wyndia screamed, her voice breaking, along with the last of her patience. "STOP STARING AT NOTHING AND JUST SPEAK TO ME, PLEASE!"
Yet, in his mental landscape, Ren was surrounded by darkness on all sides again. He could not see or hear the dog girl or his friends. He could barely register the warmth of her body on his skin.
All his various memories were playing out before his eyes. Grabbing his entire attention and sinking him deeper into despair.
They had done it… they had defeated the dragon. They had gotten stronger...
So why did he feel so terrible on the inside...
"I won't betray humanity. Not like Naofumi." The lie came to him naturally. After all, he'd been lying to himself ever since he'd been summoned to this world.
"Good." The Pope turned back to the doors to walk away. However, before he left, he glanced at the hooded figure standing opposite of Ren. "Before I go, may I ask where you found that girl?"
Ren looked to Wyndia…
"I met her at a town during my travels." Ren answered after a moment. "She was living with her dad... but an idiot sacked their home and killed him." He said, his voice measured with sadness and guilt…
"She's traveling with me now so she can grow strong enough to find and punish the idiot that murdered her Father."
Because he was careless.
And because he was too weak...
Welt and Bakta were dead.
Every bad moment since being summoned to this world ran through Ren's mind.
They would have interrupted this farce far sooner, but after the bull crap Myne had spouted, Ren was indecisive about what to do. What if she was more influential than he'd realized? What if he only caused more trouble by trying to speak?
"... Don't you realize that I'm just some highschooler who was chosen by a sword! I'm not some God or a person of legend or whatever everyone says I am because of this stupid sword! I'm just a teenager! A teenager who is way over his head and needs time for himself so he doesn't get overwhelmed by everything that is going on! OKAY?!"
"If you don't have any reason to be here, then go! Tell the others that I'm alright! Tell them to do whatever! Just leave me the hell alone! I don't need you or anyone to check up on me!
"I'm FINE!"
Until…
"That's Dark Shadow to you, pissant!"
The memories Ren had tried so hard to forget from his old life began to appear before his eyes. Memories that he'd never spoken to anyone about.
Not even to Wyndia.
"R-Ren, w-why are you b-being so m-mean?"
The middle-school boy laughed. "I have shed that horrible name! I am now who I have been for millennia, Dark Shadow, Harbinger of Darkness, and Endless Woe!
"May this be a lesson to never cross me again, pissant!" Ren continued to laugh, leaving his soaking-wet best friend, standing alone on the sidewalk in front of their school.
The homework she'd wanted to work on together was left lying on the ground, sopping and ruined.
"Shut up! You're just a sweaty nerd who doesn't know how to bathe properly!"
"Lol, what kind of insult is that?"
"Dark Shadow must really be sweating hard today."
"Still can't beat the #1 player? Lame."
"Say that to my face! I'll kill you all in Brave Star Online like that!"
The young boy angrily logged out as more chat messages appeared on his VR headset, belittling the true power of Dark Shadow, the persona he was trying to embrace.
The game was flawed anyway. He'd only wanted to try it to see if he could get his powers to manifest there. It was yet another bust though.
So instead, he moved on to something else, buying another game using his mom's credit card.
"S-Son… why?"
Ren's mom stood in the center of the hallway late at night. There was shock written all over her face, which had creme and eggs from his prank still dripping down her hair.
"Ahahaha! That's Dark Shadow to you, pissant!" Ren laughed. "Maybe next time you won't turn the credit card off without warning me!"
"But… I didn't…"
His mom just continued to stand there, her entire body trembling as tears fell from her eyes.
She did not get angry. She did not say anything, at first. Ren would have moved on immediately to log back into his favorite game right after saying the words, forgetting all about his anger of being unable to buy the latest VR game…
But his mother's look of disappointment almost seemed to freeze him in place. "I… can't keep doing this."
"Why… why did you have to be like your Father so much?"
…
She turned around, walking back into her bedroom. Ren returned to his room, vowing to make sure the woman who claimed to be his mom would have the credit card turned back on the next day.
He could also try to get her to snap and leave the house once and for all so his powers as Dark Shadow could fully manifest in the real world… thoughts for later, he supposed.
"Ahaha, fear me and the power I hold!"
"Lame!" "Loser!" "What a weirdo!"
Ren pouted in his costume in front of the school he was forced to go to. Why couldn't he get his dark powers to manifest in this world already?! It was so easy to do it in Virtual Reality, so why wouldn't they work here?!
"Ren…" A voice grabbed his attention, and he looked to the side.
"Oh, it's you again, pissant." Dark Shadow rolled his eyes.
Sinon trembled slightly, but she looked straight at her best friend. "Please, I want to walk home with you again.
"It hasn't been the same without my friend."
"Ha, Dark Shadow isn't friends with anyone!" Ren laughed to himself. "Now begone, pissant! I have a very important ritual to perform!"
He ran off from the area, his best friend only staring down at the sidewalk below as her hands tightened into fists.
POW!
Ren found himself on his butt in front of the school. He had grown taller, while the girl opposite him hadn't grown much. Her hair fell around her face though, and her chest had grown out.
His face stung, and he rubbed it as his former best friend screamed at him.
"GIVE HIM BACK! GIVE ME BACK THE REN I KNOW! THE ONE WHO WAS ALWAYS SO COOL AND KIND AND NOT… THIS!"
Ren attempted to laugh her words off like before, but his face hurt. "W-What was that for, piss-"
"THE ONLY ONE HERE BEING A PISSANT IS YOU! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD THIS LAST YEAR HAS BEEN!? HAVE YOU PAID ATTENTION TO ANYTHING OUTSIDE YOUR IDIOTIC ANTICS!?"
Ren opened his eyes to glare at the girl… only to see the tears falling down the sides of the girl's face. Whatever thoughts he'd been having stopped entirely.
"I WANT MY BEST FRIEND BACK! I JUST… I just want the Ren I knew back…" Sinon collapsed to her knees, crying into her hands as she did so.
For a brief moment, her entire appearance changed. There was a smaller girl with dog ears kneeling where Sinon had been.
"Just listen to me, Ren. Please…"
…
Ren slowly reached forward, suddenly wanting to comfort her.
But he couldn't.
Sinon's appearance returned to normal, and he wrapped his cloak around himself, trying to bury the uncomfortable feelings growing in his chest as he turned around and walked away.
Leaving Sinon to cry on that sidewalk once again.
That night, Ren logged out of Brave Star Online later than normal.
Normally, he would have gotten a noise notification, indicating the woman who claimed to be his mom had left food at his door. It was, possibly, one of the only things she was good for, since she spent so much time at this place she called 'work'. Even more so lately, after his outburst from months ago.
He didn't even see her in the mornings anymore. A thought which irked him for some reason, but one that he refused to acknowledge.
Opening his bedroom door, he was annoyed that there was no food waiting for him. Dark Shadow required food if he wanted to make his powers manifest in the real world eventually!
And then, as he was about to march out, he noticed that the lights were on in the kitchen and heard a weak gasp coming from there.
"Alright, pissant, you better have a good excuse for being so late! Dark Shadow also needs to sleep, you know!" Ren shouted from the entrance of his room angrily.
…
There was no response.
The boy marched down the hall and then entered the kitchen, determined to chew the woman who claimed to be his mother out for everything and anything.
…
"M-Mom?!"
However, all his thoughts stopped when he saw her trembling body lying on the tiled floor.
His mother's body was twisted at an awkward, unnatural angle, convulsing weakly while her eyes stared into nothingness.
…
Like that, the last vestiges of Dark Shadow tainting Ren's mind vanished for good. He screamed at the top of his lungs.
"MOM!"
Ren continued to soundlessly cry in his mind, even as the cries of that young kid rang through his mind.
He was, at heart, still that same kid from before he was summoned.
The same kid who tried to push everyone, including his best friend Sinon, away when he embraced being a chunibyo. Who'd tried to even push his mom, his only parent, out of his life, only to almost lose her because of a stroke.
She'd survived, and his grandparents had taken him in, but his mother had still been going through rehab before his summoning years later. The younger him couldn't have understood that what happened wasn't his fault. He couldn't have known that the stress of the black company she'd been working at to support him had been what nearly killed her. But he still blamed himself regardless for many different reasons.
After that moment, he'd thrown himself into VRMMOs to escape from the real world. A place he didn't deserve to hold a part in whatsoever. Only to find no solace in himself there either, no matter what identity he threw himself under. He was always the same, never able to overcome his challenges in those fantasy worlds… and he hated it so much.
He hated how he thought he could try to wipe his slate clean upon being isekaied to this world, only to fail and end up even worse off as a person. Unlike in VR, his mistakes had caused life-altering ramifications for everyone around him.
...
He had to face it.
He was the same loner who killed Wyndia's dragon father because he was treating the world like a game.
He was the same loser who failed to kill the Spirit Tortoise, and who lost two of the precious friends he'd made because of his failure to become strong enough to protect them.
He was the same coward he hated. Haunted by all of his past mistakes, unable to change for those around him. Unable to forget. Unable to let go.
Because he just hated himself for who he was so much…
"Ren…"
"Noodle…"
"Gahhh!"
Ren continued to cry in his dark mental landscape. Even as the real world continued to pass him by.
Wyndia's tears fell on the young boy's head.
Nothing she did worked.
Nothing she said could get through to him.
It hurt… it hurt so… much…
…
"All Drifa Earth Shot!"
"All Drifa Fire Ball!"
An explosion several dozen feet above her head made Wyndia look up.
The two former nuns were destroying monsters all around them in one or two hits with their area of effect spells, but they were quickly reaching their limits without Ren or the others able to back them up.
They'd killed hundreds of monsters by now, but there were still many more rushing towards them in the air and on the ground from every direction.
"D-Damn it all. I wish we at least had our gear on hand!" Farrie yelled.
Tersia didn't respond. She was focused on chanting another spell.
Wyndia looked back down at her perfectly still boyfriend again. At their dragon daughter, who was still too weak to be able to fight, despite all the exp she was getting right now.
…
Even though she wanted to give up once again at that moment, every part of her still wanted to stay by Ren's side. To keep on trying to break through to him.
To help him be ok. To help him be happy again.
She wanted him to be ok. She wanted him to be happy.
She wanted that more than anything right now.
…
A glare of determination settled in her eyes. She decided she would continue to help him, but only after the immediate problem was resolved.
"Farrie, Tersia, step back! Make sure nothing happens to Ren or Gaelion!" Wyndia let go of her boyfriend, jumping down from Blue's back onto the cratered cobblestone street.
"Eh?!" "What?!" Both girls, who'd been chanting their next spells, suddenly stopped as Wyndia moved in front of them, placing herself between her friends and the horde of dragons before them.
...
In Ren's dark landscape… amidst all his thoughts and pains… the disappearance of a familiar person's warmth against his skin made everything around him pause.
He'd… wanted her to go away. To leave him be…
Yet why… why did he feel so much worse now that she was gone? Why did his heart hurt so much?
Ren's eyes focused, seeing the real world once again. The gemstone of his sword finally settled back on a dull blue, losing the orange tint that'd been threatening to overcome it earlier.
"Gah!" Gaelion cried out happily, snuggling up under Ren's chin as he finally came out of the deep recesses of his mind.
"Wha… what's…"
"Noodle!" Blue's head nuzzled his hair happily. "Blue's so happy!"
Looking ahead, past Blue's neck as his hand subconsciously rubbed the feathers of his head, making the filolial Royal squirm with delight, Ren saw his girlfriend standing in front of the tide of monsters. She didn't even have her katana on hand since it'd been left at their house!
His eyes widened in fear. Like in his memories, Wyndia's appearance changed, showing a taller, more endowed girl with black colored hair running down her head standing in her place.
No, he couldn't lose another best friend! Not again!
He wanted to stand up, to fight so she wouldn't have to. But did he even have the courage or the strength to do so?
Could he do anything right now when he was-
"Don't worry. I'll protect you."
Yet, as he had the thought, he remembered the words she'd said before.
"I'll always be here for you."
Ren's eyes widened before they fell.
Those words hadn't been Wyndia's. They were Sinon's, the day she found him crying in the corner of his mom's hospital room.
"I gave up once before when I didn't think I could help you. And I regret that more than anything else."
"Please, just don't, let's forget these last two years ever happened.
"Right now, let me help you."
He recalled the memory of the dog girl from that day. Her body battered and bruised, his scarf wrapped around her neck.
And he recalled his best friend. Her hand still bruised from punching his face the previous day. The thing that should have woken him from his delusions far sooner than anything else.
"Dragon Vein, hear my petition! Earth Vein, lend me your strength!" In front of them, as Farrie and Tersia were about to run forward to assist, Wyndia began to chant.
"I promise. I won't give up on you ever again! I'll fight for you until you're strong enough to overcome your grief and fight for us again, Sword Hero!"
"I will always consider you my best friend, Ren. No matter how far we grow apart or what life throws at us."
Ren's eyes clenched shut.
Why was he remembering these moments? Why was he remembering things he never deserved?!
"Gems, come to my aid!" Wyndia continued to chant, holding several different gemstones in both her hands. Vitality came from them, and sources around the dog girl as she stood and bravely stared down the horde of charging monsters. The puzzle pieces she was dealing with in her mind were amongst the most complex she'd had to piece together yet. But as she did so, the new spell began to take its shape.
"I beseech the elements! Heed my call! Take on the shape within my heart and give it life! Help me to protect what I hold most dear! Help me to turn the possibilities into reality!
"Give me the strength I need to turn my defeat into a victory!"
"Whoa." "Wow." Tersia and Farrie quickly stepped back. The monsters also slowed, realizing something big was coming, but they didn't know what.
Looking at her still, despite their physical differences, Ren felt like he was looking at one person all the same.
"Why… why are you being so nice… after… after all I did to hurt you, and…" The young Ren's voice choked.
Sinon smiled sadly while shaking her head. "Maybe it's because I'm stupid. Maybe it's because I missed hanging out with you. Maybe it's because my life has been hell without you around and the bullies and the home have only gotten worse. Maybe it's all the above and more.
Sinon was teary-eyed as well. "Right now though, I just want to be here for you, like you selflessly did for me when we were younger.
"I want to be your strength in your time of need, Ren Amaki. Since you have been mine for a long time."
"You… really are just like my best friend." Ren sadly admitted.
How he wished he could tell her how sorry he was for everything… for trying to forget everything…
"Earth Vein: Ascension Awakening!"
The world lagged for a moment as Wyndia finished chanting her spell. It was as if it was processing something that had never been attempted in this world before.
But then, once it'd processed what was going on and that it was legitimate, a burst of energy came out of the short dog girl's form. Wrapping around her as if it was a cocoon.
…
Her friends stared in surprise at the new spell, taking another step back as they did so. The horde of monsters paused completely, suddenly unsure about snapping up the morsels in front of them or not.
After only a couple of seconds, however, their natures took over again, and they began to snap and growl as they came within reach of their prey.
But as their maws opened, and as they prepared to bite down on the tasty morsel they'd seen vanish a moment ago… a pair of razor sharp, emerald claws decapitated the front line of monsters in an instant.
Then, the next line behind them, too slow to react to the deaths of their comrades, were snapped up by the fangs of a transparent, but clearly, draconic head. Reminiscent of the Gaelion of old.
The eyes of everyone there widened in disbelief.
"What…"
"How…"
"Did she…"
"Gwah! (SO COOL!)"
Ren's eyes slowly closed.
"No matter what." She reaffirmed. "Through hellfire and brimstone. I'll love you, Ren Amaki. Now, and forever."
Fresh tears fell down the sides of his face. Sinon and his mom were gone from his life forever now, but he still had the people here.
Different memories from not so long ago pushed their way to the forefront.
"Come on Ren! You're not sweating hard enough!" Farrie yelled.
"H- huff HOW DOES ONE SWEAT- puff HARDER!?"
Farrie laughed again, not even breaking her stride.
"Oh, I was about to suggest ye do that, lad," Jerry said, looking genuinely impressed.
"S… Sorry," Ren murmured.
"Sorry?! You got nothing to be sorry for!" The large blacksmith placed one of his hands on the Sword Hero's shoulder and laughed. "It just means you're improving laddie! I admit I was a wee bit skeptical moving ye from iron to steel so soon but look at how yer already proving me wrong now, eh?"
"Gah!"
"Congratulations. It's a healthy girl, just like I promised." Rat spoke in a monotone as she handed the young dragon over to the depressed Hero's girlfriend after examining her. Wyndia's smile couldn't have been wider even if she tried.
"I will name you Gaelion, so that you will grow to become as big and strong a dragon as he was."
"Gah!"
Wyndia handed Gaelion to Ren, the baby dragon cooing as it recognized his warmth labeling him as her Father.
Slowly, Ren moved a hand along the top of her head. Feeling her warmth directly against his skin for the first time.
Despite his depression, his lips curved upward a little. He would now be a parent to this small dragon child. He'd been given a chance to atone for Gaelion's death
"All I ask is that you don't become too dependent on her, Ren."
Tersia was smiling softly, hugging the Sword Hero close.
"Wyndia is more selfless than others I know, but she needs time to live her life too. Just like me and Farrie and everyone else.
"We don't just want to see you get better. We want to see you develop a healthy relationship with our friend that'll last after the Waves are over. From what I've seen, it is hard to make a relationship last if only one person is the one giving all the time."
Ren almost chuckled. A small smile spread on his lips for the first time that whole lesson. "I know. I'll try." He promised.
He… he was truly the worst, to have been holding everyone back with his pain.
Wyndia felt no fear or hesitation when she spoke. No doubts nor stray thoughts to distract her mind.
Just a strong, single, burning desire to protect the boy she cherished.
The first guardian's sword swung down at her.
And then, Wyndia moved like a dragon.
When the cocoon of power faded away, the results of Wyndia's new spell, a blend of Earth Vein and Gem Magic, became manifest.
The dog girl in the light blue summer dress hovered in the air, inside the chest of a translucent, but terrifyingly real-looking dragon. The construct's size easily rivaled the dragon emperor Gaelion in his prime.
The eyes of Wyndia's aura energy beast shone with the same pure emotions that dotted her own amber eyes. Her fangs and claws were tinged green from the emeralds sustaining them. Her red wings glinted with the same hues as a warm fire. The spikes of her tail were as black as onyx. The scales protecting the entire body glinted with the blue of sapphires.
This type of spell would normally only be possible if multiple casters were working together. However, Wyndia had the help of Therese's friends, who were now her friends too, sustaining the various parts of the aura dragon construct. With her at its heart, pulling in vitality from sources around her to keep it sustained, this lessened the strain on the individual gemstones helping her out.
It did not change her physical appearance but captured how she felt in her heart of hearts. Pulling up her stats on her HUD, Wyndia found that all her combat-related stats had been doubled. Strength, attack, magic, defense, dexterity, agility.
The girl smirked. These wannabe dragons were toast.
"ROWRRRRRRRR!" In the construct, Wyndia opened her mouth, and the translucent draconic head unleashed a roar for her that would have made her Father proud. Indeed, her roar of challenge caused the Wave Monsters on the ground and in the air to freeze in their tracks, suddenly terrified of the enemy that'd appeared before them.
But Wyndia did not give them the chance to run. For the heart of a dragon answered the basest law of the jungle.
Only the strong were allowed to survive.
Wyndia dashed ahead, her sharp jaws tearing apart the street before they tore through groups of bunched monsters in seconds. Simultaneously she brought her tail around, impaling another Interdimensional Wyrm in the air to her side.
She then unleashed a breath of emerald fire, cooking more monsters down the sides of the street and above with her flames.
For several more seconds, Ren and his friends were frozen in their spots. Shocked at the power they were witnessing.
…
"I… I don't understand what she did there." Tersia finally managed to say weakly.
"How did she even…" Farrie started to ask.
"A combination of Earth Vein and Gem Magic."
…
The two girls looked back to the Sword Hero, who'd just spoken. "She… told me about it, the night I had that horrible nightmare…
"But… I thought she told me she was still trying to figure out how to make them work together?" Ren sounded in awe.
Despite spending so much time these last few weeks helping to take care of Ren, Wyndia had still managed to figure it out. Or perhaps, it was because of her desire to help her Hero that she'd managed to figure it out just now?
Both sisters slowly started to smile, but not for the reasons he was thinking. "Ren!" The two jumped onto Blue's back, wrapping their arms around the Sword Hero.
"H-Hey! That's too many at once!" Blue complained.
"Gah!" Baby Gaelion looked happy though as the two women squeezed the Sword Hero tight.
"Thank the gods, you had us so worried there!" Tersia pulled back to study the Sword Hero's face. Farrie, however, didn't let go of her Hero friend. Too relieved to say much of anything at the moment.
"I… I'm sorry, for locking up earlier. I-" Ren started to apologize.
"No, don't apologize. None of us were expecting to be fighting a Wave today." Tersia interrupted him, a serious look in her eyes. "And we do not expect you to fight in your current condition."
"We'll- we'll be fine." Farrie finally pulled back. The girl had tears in her eyes but was smiling brightly at the fact that Ren had come out of whatever stupor he'd been trapped in earlier. "These small fry are nothing for us, right sister?"
"Indeed." Tersia smiled. "Not to mention, you have some good bodyguards with you right now." The woman looked unapologetically at Blue, who still looked mad about having two other people on his back.
"Gah!" Gaelion raised her front paw happily, which had Farrie giggling as she returned the adorable action with a fist bump.
"SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT ME, DUMB LIZARD!" Blue angrily complained.
"GWAH (SO COOL!)" Meanwhile, Rikka's eyes were still shining in awe. Looking at the number one reason for the moment being uninterrupted by any monsters.
Whatever they all thought about it, Wyndia was now drawing all the monsters away from their location. Exp notifications were rolling in like a tide.
After climbing up the side of a building after clearing the rest of the immediate horde, her construct unleashed another roar that shook the heavens.
Monsters all around flocked to her. But with her claws, her fangs, her tail, and her breath of fire, Wyndia dove straight into their midst. Taking on every challenger who wanted to harm those she cared about.
The fake draconic creatures never stood a chance against the girl who had the heart of a true dragon beating inside her chest.
…
Tersia and Farrie jumped off of Blue's back at last. Having acquired more Magic Healing Waters from Ren before they did. They ran off to support their friend and comrade by dealing with the lesser creatures her sweeping strikes missed. And Blue and Rikka dashed off in pursuit, now that they could finally focus on finding somewhere to lay low where the Sword Hero of Legend could be kept safe, while simultaneously keeping an eye on the action as well as his friends.
Ren just continued to sit in his spot on Blue's back. Staring at the dog girl's new transformed form.
Tears appeared in his eyes again, but Ren could not tear them away from what he was witnessing for even a second.
"All Drifa Icicle Pillar!"
"D-Drifa Gust!"
The Queen and King of Melromarc moved up one of the streets of their city, wiping out and knocking down monsters in the distance as knights and adventurers marched forward, surrounding the pair and making sure no monsters fell close to their rulers.
"Your practice is paying off, dear." Mirellia complimented as she drank a Magic Healing Water.
Aultcray nodded his head in response, all of his focus currently staying present on defending himself and his wife. In addition to offensive magic, he also had a barrier of wind formed directly above them. But without the power of the Vassal Staff, he did not know if it'd hold against many attacks from the falling monsters.
At the very least, he was able to cover their most vulnerable spots. And he was able to hold his concentration long enough to cast various Earth and Wind spells.
Memories of the past tugged at his consciousness, threatening to engulf him in their misery and suffering. But with one hand holding to his Queen's arm, he was able to keep himself steady and grounded. Chanting his way through another spell.
"Drifa Tornado!"
Instead of summoning the massive tornado in the middle of the street, Aultcray placed it as high in the sky as he could. This not only kept damage to the citizen's property to a minimum but also sucked in hordes of falling monsters, slashing them to shadowy bits before they had the chance to land, easing the burden on those helping them move from the Church in the direction of the castle. Allowing citizens to evacuate in the process.
A monster crashed down onto the barrier above them, cracking it. "Zweite Ice Spike!" Mirellia slayed it with her signature ice magic before it could recover from smashing headfirst into the solid barrier.
More monsters were aiming for them. Aultcray prepared to renew the barrier as Mirellia began chanting a powerful spell.
"Is that-"
"It is!"
"The Spear Hero is here!"
The knights and adventurers to their side began to cheer.
Up above, the dragon monsters divebombing the large group were suddenly intercepted by a well-dressed, dragon newt man.
His clawed fists tore each monster apart. His eyes shone red with bloodlust. The remaining monsters of the horde turned their attention to the imposter fighting in their midst.
Down below, Aultcray and Mirellia both turned to the side. Motoyasu jumped down from the roof of a building, looking winded, his armor covered in all sorts of damage, but he looked fine otherwise. He was smiling widely with confidence as he bowed to the two rulers with a flourish. "Fancy seeing you here, Your Majesties!"
Although Mirellia did not show it, her heart was filled with relief. With the sudden appearance of the Wave, she wasn't sure if the Heroes would be here to fight it or not.
"I am glad to see you in good health as well, Sir Motoyasu, have you located the Wave Boss yet?" Mirellia asked.
"Not yet. But me and my friends are clearing out every monster we come across while looking for it. Some of your knights are assisting me with evacuating anyone who was trapped in their houses or shops by the hordes of monsters. Most of the citizens are already in the castle or the walls."
"I see. That is good. I will make sure to reward my men for their hard work later." Mirellia let a small smile appear on her face.
Up above, Sebas finished clearing out the last of the monsters currently in the air. And from behind him, Sadeena, S'yne, and the others appeared, having cleaned up the last monsters in the area.
"Are these people our allies?" Mirellia asked curiously. Except for Amber (Her Majesty had to fight to keep hearts from appearing in her eyes at the sight of the Royal Filolial), she did not recognize any of them.
"Yeah, it's a long story. I'll fill you in later, Your Majesty. You would not believe the day I've had and it's not even over yet." Motoyasu continued to smile.
"... I can imagine. Very well." Mirellia nodded her head, before addressing the crowd. "The Spear Hero and his friends are aiding our fight! Fight, fight on behalf of your country and families!"
Her subjects roared with excitement and fervor. Already motivated to defend what they cherished, they rushed headlong into battle. Now completely sure of their victory as not only did they have their rulers there to assist them, but the Spear Hero and his party as well.
Motoyasu laughed in delight, running to the forefront together with his companions and friends. The knights parted to allow them to do so.
And then, things just blurred together from there.
Motoyasu knew that it involved a lot of fighting, like, a lot a lot.
One moment, he'd be side by side with Sadeena. The orca woman used an array of magic attacks, some of which she hadn't used on the Spear Hero during their battle.
The next moment, he'd be back to back with Amber. Having charged ahead of everyone to thin out the monster hordes on the street or to save those who'd been encircled before the monsters had the chance to kill them all.
Then after that, he'd be fighting alongside S'yne, watching in awe as her vast arsenal of attacks took out clusters of monsters one after the other.
Sometimes, her attacks would come when she was holding a ball of yarn in her hands. At other times, it'd be with attacks she unleashed when she was holding a pair of scissors.
"D-Drink- ▇▇▇▇." At one point, S'yne noticed how he wasn't using any skill attacks himself, and pulled out two Soul Healing Waters from the gemstone of her scissors. She started drinking one as she threw the other at Motoyasu.
The Spear Hero caught it, but he didn't immediately drink it. He was floored by a sudden realization.
"A-Are you a Hero from another world?" He decided to use this moment of peace to ask her the obvious.
"..." The girl didn't answer and instead looked away in shame.
For Motoyasu, that seemed like the only logical answer. Her weapon, whatever it was supposed to be called, didn't fit with any of the Seven-Star Weapons in this world. It'd also explain her attacks, her weapon being able to transform, and other things he'd picked up from their duel and today.
Motoyasu downed the Soul Healing Water. It tasted like his favorite drink from back home; Mountain Lightning. It tasted even better than the ones he or Naofumi had made.
He wasn't sure if it was because it came from S'yne, or if she was good at compounding, but either way, he smiled as his SP bar refilled to full. "Thank you, now I can afford to let loose again."
"Air Strike Javelin!" Motoyasu's skill flew through the air, going through one draconic monster after another. Eventually exploding and taking out a cluster of dragon monsters around it when it did so.
"Drifa Lightning Speed!" Sadeena dashed through the path of destruction, electricity coming out of her feet into the ground with every step, paralyzing the monsters around her who'd survived Motoyasu's skill. Her harpoon moved left and right like a blur, decapacitating many as she ran by.
"Amber won't let Whale Lady have all the fun! Fire Steps!" In her human form, Amber dashed through the air, leaving burning footprints in her wake as her fire-covered spear thrust at impossible speeds.
"Ahahahaha!" Sebas roared with laughter as, above, he used one of the Interdimensional Wyrms like a large bat, swinging it around and turning other shadowy dragon creatures into piles of paste midair.
Many of the Interdimensional creatures exploded into bursts of shadow wherever they went.
"Ahahahaha! Keep it up, I say! That Wave Boss won't stand a chance once we find it!" Motoyasu laughed as he raced ahead.
S'yne was still standing in her spot, knights and adventurers rushing past her as they too worked hard to contribute and assist the Hero and his friends.
She was still madly blushing from Motoyasu's simple thank you to her, as well as how he'd seemingly accepted her despite the possibility of her being an enemy from another world.
…
S'yne eventually rejoined the battle. Her threads weaved around her as Sadeena used her lightning magic to maximum effect, complemented by Amber's fiery offense, backed up by Mirellia and Aultcray's powerful magic, as well as Sebas thinning out the hordes flying above them.
Heh, it was a bad day to be a dragon, I say!
By the end of the battle, Motoyasu and his allies would have effectively saved over half of the city. With another quarter being saved through the efforts of the knights and adventurers living there. Despite the urban combat, the amount of casualties would be stunningly low, especially among those who'd been assisting Sir Motoyasu and his friends.
Yet, even with all their hard work, Motoyasu and his friends wouldn't end up being the ones to find and slay the Wave Boss.
That honor would instead go to the members of the Sword Hero's party, who managed to save the last quadrant of the city on their own.
"ROWRRRRRR!"
"ROWRRRRRR!"
Wyndia's dragon construct crashed into the side of a giant black dragon with red eyes. The scales covering it buckled and caved under her emerald fangs. The girl's amber eyes radiated fury as her claws reached to dig into her enemy's soft belly.
The Interdimensional Emperor Dragon threw the dog girl's draconic construct off. Unleashing another roar as it turned its head and breathed out a stream of fire in her direction.
Wyndia reacted with a stream of fire of her own. The two breath attacks met in the center, expanding out in a blaze of heat and flames that started fires all over the plaza they were fighting in.
When the breath attacks ended, however, it revealed that Wyndia had already lunged forward again. Clawing and snapping at the snout of the great dragon in front of her.
It snapped and clawed back, unleashing roars of pain and frustration as Wyndia landed attack after attack on its head.
Its claws struck scales, and its teeth sank into flesh, but it did not feel like scales, nor did it taste like flesh. Its claws chipped, the gums of its mouth burning from trying to bite into the energy-made construct again and again and again.
Wyndia pressed on with her attack, working in tandem with the gemstones on her person to help repair the construct every time it took damage. Eventually, she pulled her head back, flaring out her wings and jumping onto the monster's back to give the emerald struggling to maintain her draconic head a break.
She still couldn't hear words from them, but Wyndia had gotten better at feeling what the gemstones wanted to convey, as hard as that might be to believe. Practicing with them again and again, she knew better what their limits were, and could tell when one gemstone would need a break compared to another. She was to the point now where she was able to work with other gemstones from her world as well.
They didn't quite feel the same as the ones Therese gave her. Perhaps it was because of a difference between their worlds? Regardless, Wyndia's magic was proving very useful against what was the Boss of this Wave.
Even as the Interdimensional Dragon Emperor let out a roar, a plea for the lesser monsters around the area to come to its aid, Wyndia clawed deep into its back, replacing its roar with a cry of pain. The fight would soon be over.
Closeby, Farrie, and Tersia both stood on a rooftop, taking out the flying monsters in the area with a range of magic spells.
"All Drifa Earth Shot!"
"All Drifa Fire Ball!"
Tersia's balls of earth tore through monsters left and right while Farrie's fireballs exploded the rest.
Not much to Tersia's shock, her younger sister's magic took out more monsters than hers had. "Fitoria's [Growth Revision] method really did wonders for you. Even though you're still twenty levels below me, you're stronger than me now." The older nun smiled.
"Actually, seventeen now, thanks to all the Exp we're getting from these monsters." Farrie frowned. "But still, the difference in power is only because I had Fitoria take the levels I sacrificed to give a growth boost to my magic stats. So I'm still not as fast or agile as you."
"Yes, but that will change soon enough. I am sure of it." Tersia refocused on the monsters in the air again. Taking out each one that tried to intervene in their friend's fight.
Down below, both Rikka and Blue stood guard over Ren, who they weren't going to move from the protected area until Wyndia's battle with the Wave Boss had finished. At least, that was the reason Blue would claim.
"Gwah! Gwah! Gwah! Gwah!" Rikka was yelling incessantly, heart-eyed over the battle she was witnessing.
Her cries didn't need translation. She thought Cool Dog Girl's spell was the coolest, most epic thing she'd ever seen. It made even Blue's transformation magic look lame in comparison.
"IT IS NOT LAME!" Blue shouted. "BESIDES, I DON'T SEE YOU TURNING INTO A HUMAN!"
"Gwah! (That's only because Blue is registered to Cool Hero! Rikka still hasn't taken that step yet, though Rikka just might after today!)"
"E-Excuse me?! No, I'm the only one allowed to be registered to Noodle!" Blue argued.
"Gwah! Gwah! (There's never been any rules about how many Royals a Hero can raise! Don't lie to Rikka!)"
"Boo! Nobody wants you as a Royal!" Blue pouted, anger and jealousy coming off him in waves.
"(RIKKA WANTS TO BE A ROYAL AND BLUE CAN'T STOP RIKKA FROM BECOMING ONE!)"
Blue tried to retort, but Rikka pressed on. "(AND DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT ROYAL AUTHORITY OF YOURS TO PREVENT RIKKA FROM BECOMING A ROYAL EITHER! RIKKA KNOWS BLUE CAN DO THAT SINCE RIKKA ASKED FITORIA WHETHER IT WAS POSSIBLE OR NOT!)
"WHY WOULD YOU ASK FITORIA ABOUT THAT?!" Blue screamed.
"(Because Rikka has been considering becoming a Royal for some time and wanted to make sure nothing could obstruct Rikka from becoming a Royal if Rikka chose to do so!)"
Ren wasn't focused on the two Filolials arguing. Instead, he was looking down in his lap at Gaelion, who had fallen asleep once again now that the Sword Hero had calmed down from his earlier panic attack. Even though fights were going on all around them, the baby dragon looked at peace under her father's soft, protective hands. Safely gathering EXP for the first time in her life thanks to her mom and aunt and friends taking out hundreds, if not thousands of monsters.
And then, Ren looked back up at Wyndia, who was fighting hard on his behalf to take down the Boss of the Wave.
…
Why… why was he like this? Why was he so afraid to go out and do anything?
Why did he always need someone to pull him out of his shell? To encourage him to do the things he was uncomfortable with?
Was he scared that he'd grow closer to other people? Was he scared he'd make a mistake and lose someone else he cared about?
Wyndia told him repeatedly that he was going to be okay. But he couldn't bring himself to believe it, to believe her.
Yet he wanted to believe her. To believe in his friends, to feel like he'd be enough to help out any of them whenever they needed it. But his current actions would just lead to him losing them, and then he'd never be able to experience happiness ever again in his life and-
How did he escape this? How could he escape this endless feedback loop of negativity and become the person they believed him to be and-
"M-Mommy! Daddy!"
Amid his conflicting thoughts, Ren's attention was grabbed by the sound of a young girl's voice.
It was thought that this area had been entirely evacuated by the knights, who'd taken almost everyone down into the sewers. But, as it turned out, a small, six-year-old girl, separated from her parents, hadn't been in the throng of people who left.
Upon seeing her, Ren's eyes widened drastically.
She looked nothing like Sinon or Wyndia… but it was like he was seeing Sinon surrounded by bullies again, just like the day when he'd first seen her at school.
Nobody had been brave enough to stand up for her. Not one of his classmates.
The girl was in the doorway of a large building. The bottom floor was a shop while the upper floor had been where she and her parents lived. She was crying as an Interdimensional Drake on the rooftop destroyed the only home she knew thanks to its massive weight causing the roof to cave in.
"D-Daddy! W-Where are y-you!" The girl cried out in terror.
Her cries caught Rikka and Blue's attention. And their eyes widened in horror as their argument was cut short.
"Rikka, stay with Noodle! I'll-" Blue started running in the direction of the house.
"AHHHHHHH!" The girl screamed suddenly, staring up in horror as the monster's weight brought the structure down around her. The scream also drew Tersia and Farrie's attention, whose faces blanched when they realized what was happening.
Blue's eyes widened further. He quickened his pace, but he was going to be too late.
He started chanting magic. Perhaps if he killed the monster- but the house would still collapse anyway- but he had to try something-
But what could he possibly-
"Brave Rush!"
A bright blue streak of light suddenly dashed past Blue, too fast for the Royal's eyes to track.
The glowing Sword Hero appeared above the girl. The skill only took him that far, yet he hugged her tightly to his body, covering her completely.
The rest of the building crashed down around them, burying the pair alive.
"NOODLE!" Blue yelled.
From her draconic construct, Wyndia's eyes also widened. Pausing on the dragon's back, she stared in horror at what she'd just seen.
'R-REN!'
...
"ROWRRRR!" Sensing a moment of weakness, the Interdimensional Dragon Emperor turned its head around, biting up at the ethereal dragon's chest.
SNAP!
Using her claws, Wyndia ripped one of the boss monster's wings right out of its socket.
"R̷̬̗̲̣̠̾̃̈́̐́̅̿O̶̹͈̪͚̦̭̿͂̇̌͋̎̈́͘͜W̸̡̪͌̑̐͌̆R̸̹͔̘͐́̏R̸͚̘̗̺̒͋̾͛Ŕ̴͔͍͈͛̾͒ͅR̶̗̠͙̫̦͓̘̿R̵͕̳̯̭̖̄͒͊̍͛͐̃R̸̡̗̲͓͕̘̼̔̓͘͝͝ͅ"
The shriek of pain it let out right afterward shook the whole plaza. Its cry echoed out all over the city.
Wyndia didn't pause though. With fury now blazing in her slitted eyes, her claws gripped deep into the dragon's back, pulling it up and over the dog girl's back with a strength impossible for a normal person to possess.
Boom!
The rest of the dragon's pained roaring was cut off as Wyndia judo slammed it into the ground behind her. Stunned, it could do nothing to defend itself as Wyndia's claws and fangs then tore into its exposed underbody with a speed and ferocity it had never encountered before.
Each bite, each strike came faster than the last.
The dragon eventually cried out again, this time in terror. With its last remaining good wing, it tried to buffet the dog girl away. To distract her. To try and get away.
Wyndia tore the second wing apart with her jaws. Her claws then grabbed the opposing dragon by the maw, forcing its mouth open before breathing fire directly into its body.
The Interdimensional Dragon Emperor's glowing red eyes widened. Smoke billowed out from the open, bleeding gashes as its insides were cooked by flames hotter than anything it could ever hope to produce.
It was already dying. But Wyndia, with a final jerk of her head, reached forward and sunk her fangs behind its head. Jerking it forcefully to the side and snapping its spine.
…
Without a sound, the lifeless body of the Wave Boss collapsed to the ground. The glow in its eyes faded from the world.
…
Wyndia breathed in and out deeply. Her face was still twisted with anger, her heart thumping in her ears.
For a moment, a short moment, she just stood there. Her draconic construct leaked out menacing waves of power around her.
…
"Gahhh!"
But then, Wyndia jerked her head to the side, her daughter's cry catching her attention.
"Don't worry, Ren!" Tersia yelled.
"We'll dig you out! Just hold on!" Farrie yelled after her.
"Gahhhh!" The little lizard was helping the two sisters with moving the smaller scraps out of the way. Meanwhile, Rikka and Blue were working together at the top of the pile, throwing impossibly large pieces of wood and stone far from the collapsed building.
"Hang on Noodle! We'll save you!"
There were no more monsters in the area. After witnessing the brutal way Wyndia had killed their leader, they were all fleeing in terror. They wouldn't be a problem for the knights or adventurers that'd hunt them down in the hours to come.
Looking at her HUD again, Wyndia's eyes widened, but then, relief filled her as she saw Ren's name on her party menu.
Stupid, she should have checked her party HUD before losing her cool like that… oh well, what was done was done.
Besides, she could feel the gemstones on her person wanting a break. All this fighting had taken a toll on them.
...
Wyndia breathed in, pleading with them to hold on for just another moment to help out the person closest to her heart. She was tired too, but she couldn't quit just yet.
In response, she felt care and resolve from them, and the burden on her mind eased.
Moving to the collapsed building, Wyndia used one of her draconic arms to gently push the two nuns to the side. With a happy "Gahhh!", Gaelion flew into the air with her tiny wings, rubbing up against the construct's face. Wyndia warmly returned the gesture, before using her wing to guide the tiny dragon to settle down on Farrie's head.
Wyndia then began grabbing large amounts of the collapsed home, using the jaws of her construct to dig.
Surrounded by darkness and buried deep under the rubble, one of Ren's bleeding hands gripped the hilt of the glowing Legendary Sword. Its tip was driven into the stone floor of the house, while the handle was pressed against a huge chunk of the collapsed ceiling, acting as a makeshift support pillar. Doing this was the only thing that the Sword Hero managed to come up with in the instant before the building collapsed on him and the shaking girl who was currently crying and clutching his side fearfully.
It wasn't only his hand that was injured either, he could feel blood leaking down the side of his face. The right side of his chest hurt like hell from when he accidentally bumped into the doorframe of the collapsing building while using Brave Rush earlier. He really should have aimed his trajectory better, but he had no time to think in the moment he used it, as his body moved on its own to respond to his heart's desire.
The fact that he wasn't wearing any armor today only made the impact feel worse.
"M-Mommy… Daddy." The girl under him whimpered.
"Shhh… don't worry, everything will be fine. You'll see your parents again soon." Ren said calmly, his eyes glowing with the same warm blue light as the gemstone on his weapon, pushing away the suffocating darkness around them.
Despite his words, his mind was racing on how to get out of this mess without using his sword or his skills. Despite his injuries, he knew he would survive the rubble collapsing onto him if he dug himself out, but the same couldn't be said for the girl he was protecting.
Not to mention, looking at his HUD, he saw a timer similar to the one Naofumi had whenever he equipped the Shield of Hope. He had less than a minute before he'd be forced to change from the Sword of Bravery I.
He also thought that the oxygen they were breathing would run out quickly due to how little space they had. Yet even as he realized that, his racing mind began to slow.
He didn't find himself afraid of that fact. Nor did he feel afraid of being trapped under there any longer.
A smile slowly worked its way onto his face, as, with his free hand, he began to rub the crying girl's head, making her look up at him. "I can't do anything else. But my friends will save us."
"Y-Your friends..?" The child asked hesitantly, tears still in her eyes.
"Mhmm. The best ones you could ever ask for." Ren continued to smile, not pausing in rubbing the girl's head. "Want me to tell you about them while we wait?"
…
The girl nodded hesitantly after a moment, tears still welling in her eyes. She listened quietly as the Sword Hero began to speak.
"First is Tersia," Ren started. "She's the oldest person in my party and like an older sister to me. Very diligent and proper, almost to a fault. But I wouldn't have it any other way. She cares about all of us and always tries to reel us in when we go overboard or pushes us along if we idle too much. She is incredibly caring and loving.
"In her free time, when she has it, she likes helping out at the Church in our town. She used to want to become a nun, but with how the Church of Three Heroes ended up, she had to give up on that dream. But she still desires to help out people like she would have if she had become a proper nun. That's just who she is at heart. She's not perfect at it, but she always tries her best.
"Then there's Farrie. She wanted to become a nun as well at first. But she's a more free-spirited and teasing kind of person compared to Tersia, who she considers to be her best friend. She acts like a counterbalance to her, pushing us to have fun and enjoy life whenever we have time for it. She is very passionate about what she believes in and wears her heart on her sleeve. I appreciate it a lot since it brings me great comfort with how easy and fun it is to talk to her.
"She likes to tease and poke fun at me and the others a lot. But she never goes overboard. It's just her way of showing her love and care for others. Her way of getting us to smile or roll our eyes no matter how serious life is. I know she wants to settle down one day and become a mom, but for now, I'm just happy that she's enjoying her life as it is."
A menacing groan from above caused the girl to gasp and cry out in fear as trickles of dust rained around her and Ren. A long crack spread out along the huge ceiling piece that was being propped up by the legendary sword. And the weapon itself sunk further into the stone as Ren's bloody grip on it shook for a moment.
Yet Ren continued to talk about his friends like nothing happened and the girl's fear and tears slowly vanished. She continued to look up at the Sword Hero as his Legendary Sword glowed more and more intensely with each word that left his lips. He was not paying attention to it, but the timer on his HUD had slowed to a crawl, coming to a stop entirely in places as he talked about his friends. The people who were his strength.
"Did you see that cool blue bird that was carrying me earlier? His name is Blue. We only got to know each other recently, but he's a really reliable guy. He thinks pretty highly of himself as the self-proclaimed smartest Filolial of his generation, which makes him act like a brat sometimes.
"He also gets jealous a lot. But it really isn't that bad. He has a cool head on his shoulders when it counts. And he's fascinated by humans and our culture and wants to understand us better. He truly values life no matter who it belongs to. He actually reacted and tried to save you before even I could, you know? I just beat him to the punch."
"And the black bird that was next to him is called Rikka. Honestly, I don't know her that well, besides what Blue told me about her. She's considered to be a bit of a weirdo in her flock but I think that's just an exaggeration. Blue wouldn't hang out with her all the time otherwise. I think he secretly enjoys her eccentricity since he is considered to be a bit eccentric himself amongst filolials."
The girl hugged Ren's side as she continued to listen to him, no longer paying attention to the various scary sounds around them. Even as small pieces of the ceiling began to break off around the Legendary Sword, she continued to listen to the young man's calming voice, imagining what his friends must be like.
"Ah, how about my teacher? Her name is Eclair. She's a master swordsman and the daughter of the late lord Seaetto. She's a bit of a musclehead, always focusing on improving herself physically above all else. But she's also incredibly honest and determined and doesn't take any flak from anyone no matter who they are.
"You can always count on her to tell you when you're in the wrong and to share her knowledge and skills with nothing held back. Doesn't really matter the time of day or how busy she is. She is almost always willing to drop everything and lend a hand to those who need it."
.
…
Ren paused hesitantly but then opened his mouth again.
"I used to have two other friends in the past. Their names were Bakta and Welt.
"I wish I could have known them better. Welt was a quiet guy, but also incredibly reliable too. Dutiful perhaps? But not blindly so. He probably understood the danger of the waves more clearly than most and that's why he supported me almost unconditionally. Putting his hopes and dreams in me until his final moments because he had faith that I would see things through to the end no matter what.
"And Bakta… he was our vanguard. A big and jolly fellow. Farrie and him got along like a house on fire. He was our wall, both literally and metaphorically. Something to lean on during hard times and to hide behind from our enemies."
Ren felt sad that he couldn't say more, despite all the time they'd spent together. Yet thinking about how they'd given their lives to save him… While he found the pain of his mistake was still there, there was the realization that they had done what they'd wanted to do.
Welt had lived his best life, thanks to being in the same party as Ren. He got to come out of his shell. He got to meet new people outside of his small village. He got to make an impact on the world and do good for his fellow man.
And Bakta… Ren still recalled seeing his parents at the castle during the celebration that occurred after the Ghost Ship Wave had been dealt with.
The Paynes couldn't have looked more proud of their son…
Ren was almost moved to tears, remembering the letter he'd gotten from them shortly after returning to the Hero's Nation. Thanking him for giving Bakta the chance to live the way he wanted, and not in the way they'd envisioned for him before.
The two Filolials prying apart the top of the rubble eventually had to move out of the way, as Wyndia moved far more material than they were, causing the rubble to shift and buckle under their feet. Using her tail though, Wyndia dug into the pile, positioning the tail construct under a stone slab to keep the center from collapsing in on itself.
For a minute, she continued to dig with her claws and fangs. Feeling mentally drained and physically exhausted at the same time. The dog girl kept pushing, however.
Ren was still alive and well down there. She just had to dig deeper and deeper through this mountain of wood, stone, and goods that'd been stored in the attic of this large shop, until…
"Last but not least, there's Wyndia. My closest companion." Ren smiled softly as his girlfriend's name came naturally to his lips.
"To others, she can come off as rude and straightforward. Even though at times, she can be shy and vulnerable, almost fragile in a sense. But once you get to know her, you realize that she's one of the bravest, strongest, most caring individuals you'll ever meet in your life.
"She's so cool. Did you know that she was raised by a dragon? I've made many boneheaded mistakes since coming to this world. Quite a few of them center around her. And yet, she hasn't stopped loving me or caring about me in the slightest. While I've made a lot of mistakes, falling in love with Wyndia was not one of them.
"I… I really don't want anything to happen to her. Of all my friends, she is the most important to me. But… At the same time, I could never hope to hold her back from doing what she wanted. Be it raising our dragon daughter, teaching a class of kids about monsters, fighting the battles I couldn't… or staying by my side even when I didn't want anybody around.
"She's just that loyal, and that good as a person. All of them are. I… have no idea what I ever did in my life to deserve such great friends." A tear fell from Ren's eyes. "I just… forget that sometimes.
"But one thing I can never forget is this:" Ren felt the rubble directly above him shift. A fresh wave of oxygen flowed down to the trapped pair.
"They will always help me, no matter what situation I throw myself into... because that's just how amazing they are."
Wyndia's face softened as a bright blue glow appeared in front of her face.
He just had to bury himself under the largest piece, didn't he?
Wyndia pulled her head back, using her tail as well as a wing to keep the rest of the pile from collapsing inward as she gestured for Farrie and Tersia with her head to fill in for her, given that the head of her construct was too big.
The two girls nodded and moved forward, helping to pull away the last planks and bits of rubble with their own hands as they moved with precision.
…
Eventually, after another moment, they pulled back. And the two trapped figures inside were finally able to emerge from their prison.
Ren had a cut on his face dripping blood, and he was favoring his right side. However, the sword he was holding was still in the Sword of Bravery I form. In his other arm, perfectly unharmed, was the small girl he'd managed to rescue.
Emerging from the rubble with his Blessed Series equipped, he looked as if he'd been reborn.
…
The Sword Hero shambled down the rubble. The glow around him gradually faded as it took him a moment to navigate down to the cobblestone street. The timer on his HUD finally began inching down towards 0.
By the time he set the girl on her feet, the glow around him had vanished entirely, and his sword changed back to the Small Sword form he'd started with after being summoned to this world.
…
The girl was still looking up at him. Her face had the purest, happy smile on it. Just like Sinon, the day he grabbed her hand and pulled her from the midst of all those bullies to play with him…
The girl, still smiling wide, hugged her small arms around his leg again in gratitude. Yep, he definitely wasn't in the past. He was far bigger than he'd been back then.
Yet the feelings that arose in his chest were all the same.
Ren's smile, which had faltered with the disappearance of his Blessed Series, returned in force. And then, as the pile of rubble behind him began to collapse, he started to teeter forward from weakness and exhaustion.
But a pair of arms caught him. His head fell to rest on a familiar short girl's shoulder.
"I'm so glad you're safe," Wyndia spoke softly.
The last vestiges of her spell vanished from around her as she hugged her boyfriend tightly. And he was brought back down to reality.
…
Tears pricked Ren's eyes, and he hugged the dog girl back. His shoulders shook as he sobbed.
"I'm… so, so sorry, for this last week, for not trying to do better, for having to keep you around me so much, for causing you so much pain and heartache, and for just being a horrible person to deal with and-"
"Shhhhh…" Wyndia hushed him, not releasing the hug in the slightest. Her smile was pained, but full of care, and love, for the boy in front of her.
She was tired and drained, physically, mentally, and emotionally. This last week had hurt her body and soul in ways she never could have imagined. She would not deny that.
But she would never say she was forced to do so.
It had been her choice to stay at his side. To bear his pains alongside her own. She had chosen to fight on his behalf and protect him until he was strong enough to fight for himself again.
She knew now that if this ever happened again, she would go through it a million times if it was necessary.
She had already promised that she would never give up on her boy again. And she had meant it.
"You're going to be okay, Ren," Wyndia whispered tiredly. "We'll get through this. Somehow, we'll get ourselves through this mess. I'm still not sure when, or how much help we'll need along the way.
"But I promise, you're going to be okay…" Tears fell from her closed eyes onto his hair as she began to sob as well. "Just please believe me when I tell you that. That's all I ask…"
Ren, still leaking tears from his eyes, nodded and continued to embrace the dog girl. Not saying another word as he accepted her love and care without complaint. Tersia and Farrie, both with tears in their eyes as well, joined the hug.
Deep inside, he still felt he was the same as before… and yet, when it came down to it, he'd acted without thinking to save the life of a little girl he didn't even know.
Just like he had that day, when he'd dragged his best friend from that group of bullies and played with her… just like he had that day when he saved his still best friend from a murderer's blade when the guy attacked her and another friend she'd made on the street… just like that day, by his brothers' side, when he'd faced down the Spirit Tortoise, unleashing everything he could to save Itsuki and Naofumi.
Just like that day… when he called an ambulance to get his mom to the hospital, ultimately saving her life.
…
Ren Amaki wasn't close to being who he wanted to be, and he had the feeling he would never be complete until he was honest and talked through his feelings, as well as his repressed memories with his friends… but it was not something that was quite out of his reach, as he'd believed before.
"Gahhh!" Gaelion flew happily above the group in the sky as the Wave Cracks all began to glow with a bright light.
Under that light, Ren's tears finally began to slow.
Perhaps… It was time for him to try and make an honest attempt to improve himself once again. To take that step forward back to where he'd been before, and then take the next step after that, and the one after that.
If not for his sake, then for the sake of those who loved and cared for him.
Even if taking those steps seemed so hard.
And even if it was still so hard to smile for his friends right now.
…
After another moment, the light above vanished, revealing the afternoon sky.
The Wave of Catastrophe, this stretch of darkness for the Sword Hero, had come to an end.
…
…
"Gwah. (Do you think Rikka can join the group hug?)"
"Go find a different Hero. Noodle is mine." Blue said dryly, pouting where he stood outside the group.
…
However, Blue had to admit… even if he had to observe what was going on from a distance…
He was happy to see that the cool Sword Hero of Legend was finally able to smile once again.
"... oh dear. This was… unexpected."
In the stands of the Arena where the Death Match, and then the Battle Royale had taken place, a certain figure pulled back the hood of her cloak.
The petite girl had shoulder-length blue hair, a shade darker than her light blue eyes. She had a small mole on her left cheek. Her natural beauty was hidden by the clothes she was wearing. At first glance, she looked like a shy and timid young woman.
But in truth, she was anything but that. Her eyes, which initially seemed gentle, held a dark, cruel, and sustained obsession within them.
The Arena was almost empty by this point. The cultists that this world's primary enforcer had groomed for years in the undercity were all lying inside or outside of the arena.
All his hard work, dead, and for nothing.
The Third Army Agents who'd taken charge of them had failed in every respect. They had failed to kill or capture the Spear Hero. They had failed to wipe out the Queen of the Filolials with their attack. In fact, Fitoria had acquired even more fame for herself now, after keeping the destruction caused by the Meteor limited to just the city without any of the settlements beyond the river being wiped out by the massive magic attack.
But even worse than that, the spell had only wiped out the city aboveground, failing to so much as dent the fortress below. She could already tell how ancient defenses were slowly activating in this place. Mechanisms not known or powered for millenia, but which were activating now in response to the high calamity wave energy readings caused by the tampering done by the reincarnators. The true form of the city of Zeltoble was rapidly awakening, ready to fulfill its original ancient purpose.
Making this place inhospitable for the agents of GODWORLD.
Oh well, the fool who'd summoned the Meteor was dead. The souls of all those who perished were already gone, off to respawn somewhere else in the world.
The girl smiled appreciatively, remembering the soul of the last one who left. That Larsa woman would have made a fine ally, had she been on their side.
She didn't seem romantically interested in Moto either, which was a plus.
Oh well, it was about time they finished their task here before the remaining defenses finished powering up and blasted her and her comrade to many tiny pieces. They could respawn as well, but dying always hurts. More than you might expect.
"Yo, Ikuyo! Are you done down there yet? We should get a move on before this place turns on us." The girl shouted down into the bloody arena pit where a lone, armored figure sat crouched on the ground.
Small clouds of steam emerged from the armored woman's helmet as she audibly panted like a dog in heat. Ropes of drool slowly dripped down from the bottom of the headpiece. She did not respond to her friend's words at first. Her gauntlet continued to scrape the dried bloodstain before her instead before she brought it up to her head to inhale the scent from the crusty fragments staining her fingers.
"Oiiii! Ikuyo, you still there?" The blue-eyed girl suddenly disappeared into the floor, and then rose from the ground like a ghost next to her ally to flick her helmet with a delicate finger.
"Hu- oh! What did I miss?" The second girl perked up excitedly as she took her helmet off at last.
The second enforcer had long blonde hair, drawn out in a ponytail behind her head. Her eyes were a familiar red. Her outfit bore an uncanny resemblance to the old one Motoyasu used to wear months ago.
One would have looked at her and thought she looked like a female Motoyasu, and indeed, you would be correct. Even her feminine face reflected the Spear Hero's looks, with the main difference being her unnaturally wide smile, and the crazy glint in her eyes that both enforcers shared.
"The city's waking up. We should grab what we came here for and leave. I know we haven't seen him in ages, but just put it in your weapon inventory or something." The blue-eyed girl teased her friend while gesturing at the dried-out bloodstain.
"Awww, alright. I wish I could have gotten down here earlier while it was fresh." Ikuyo sighed wistfully before sweeping the red dust into her hand, making it vanish in a flash of light into the gemstone of one of the two daggers hanging on her sides. "What about you, Momiji? Did you find out where those dirty bitches went?"
The first enforcer shook her head and shrugged, running a delicate finger along the length of a large kitchen knife that had a jewel in the handle hanging on her side. "No. They must have bailed early on while we were too distracted by Moto. Ahhhh, I should have been paying more attention back then, but I was too engrossed watching Moto fight." Momiji then smiled sweetly, almost looking embarrassed.
The girl party they'd been hanging out with while in Zeltoble was nowhere in sight. It was too bad, honestly.
After all, that paladin, Minao, had developed quite the crush on 'Sir Bubba' while watching his matches. She and the others in the group too.
…
They deserved death for that reason alone.
"Well, no use crying over spilled milk, we'll just have to find and kill them later." Momiji straightened out elegantly with a perfect smile on her lips. "Now come on, let's wrap things up. I'm not in the mood for dying in this place."
"Ha, as if anything here could kill us!" Ikuyo shot up to her feet energetically. Already, the armor she was wearing had transformed, the blood that made it up shifting and flowing around her to assume a new shape.
Gone was the old outfit Motoyasu had been wearing months ago. Now, she was dressed in an almost perfect replica of his 'Sir Bubba' personage. The only flaw being she had boobs she needed to fit inside the armor while Moto did not. "Okay, where's this girl that Tact asked us to pick up for him?"
"I believe that's her over there." Ikuyo looked uninterested as she gestured at the stands to the side behind them.
There were very few individuals still left in the underground shelter at that point, but one of them, a scarred girl with short red hair, was still hunkered under her seat. Fear radiated from her eyes at the amount of power she'd witnessed from the Spear Hero. The guy she'd thought she'd killed a while ago with that ingenious trap of hers.
Yet despite that, several cultists lay dead around her feet, as well as the feet of her two comrades, who were similarly hiding next to her.
At least it didn't appear that Tact's favorite girl and her companions were entirely helpless.
"Honestly, I can't believe we were ordered to come to this world just to end up doing fetch quests for that brat." Ikuyo's face twisted with disgust.
"Yes, but look on the bright side, we would have never met up with Moto so soon otherwise." Momiji's face relaxed, a twisted smile coming onto her lips, one which Ikuyo mirrored again.
Honestly, they could have extracted Malty, Lesty, and Mauld far sooner. But then, they wouldn't have gotten to see just how much their boyfriend had grown.
Both girls continued to smile as they made their way towards the group of three.
The Spear Hero's friend from college, and his old neighbor… they just couldn't wait for the next time they got to see their favorite Moto again.
Author's Notes:
One more chapter officially to end this arc. And then, there'll be another Interlude chapter, which will then lead to Arc 11, and Naofumi and co returning (so you all just got to wait for another month).
Honestly, this was a lot of fun, and I look forward to closing out the Zeltoble Arc here. Hope you guys have been enjoying it as much as I have, and are looking forward to what's in store down the road.
Hero Clips!
Ripping Off My Drip
"What the &^%$ is this?!"
The current scene showed Wyndia in the center of her dragon construct, going head-to-head with the Boss of the Wave. Her friends were fighting all the lesser dragons around her as she made short work of the Wave Boss.
However, standing on a cloud high up overlooking it all was a very familiar dragon from the Otherworld. None other than Kyo in his final boss form.
Never mind the fact that he should have been facing off against Naofumi and co right now. Never mind the fact that he should have been slowly going insane from his dual Cursed Series (not to say what he was currently doing was nothing short of insanity).
Never mind the fact that he'd somehow stolen the same cloud Author-Kun and Proofreader-Kun both used to observe these crazy scenarios from above since the bastard still had no idea how to fly, much like the dragon girl down below.
"Wait, is that why she hasn't been shown flying around during her fights this chapter, narrator?!" Kyo loudly yelled at the sky.
Yes. That is the reason.
"Huh… at least you're consistent with that fact." The dragon antagonist's face soured.
And now, we came to the reason why Kyo was here to kvetch in the first place.
"Still, I can't believe that stupid dog girl stole my drip?!"
Yep. And that was why. You're all as shocked as I am, right?
"Shut up Narrator! You and I both know she did it all wrong too! She's supposed to be standing tall on her two legs, looking big and intimidating while launching all sorts of attacks at her enemies! Not lying low to the ground and fighting like every other stupid dragon with just her claws and fangs and fire breath and occasionally her tail!
"It's just so stupid and ridiculous! Can't she do anything more creative than that!?"
Down below, Wyndia suddenly brought the Wave Boss up behind her, slamming it into the ground behind her with an epic judo throw.
"I… okay, while I'm tempted to question how that's possible, that was pretty cool.
"But regardless, I still don't like that she also took my schtick of transforming into a dragon during the climax of an arc!"
"Please, if there's anybody that's not original here, then it's most certainly you."
Kyo turned his head to the side with a scowl… only to look confused upon seeing a suit of surprisingly good-looking armor floating in the air. It was none other than the Barbaroi Armor set Naofumi had rejected wearing long ago, with the core of a dragon resting in the chestplate of the best armor set to have ever been made.
Somehow, that was less confusing than Kyo being there.
"I'm sorry, but who are you supposed to be?" Kyo asked.
"The Demon Dragon, otherwise known as the Emperor Dragon in the third season of the anime. Though you can just call me D.D. for short." D.D. said. "As for why I'm here, you stole my drip first. Literally.
"You have no right to complain about others stealing from you when you stole from me first."
"Bitch please, like anybody cares what a dead dragon has to say!" Kyo growled.
"Hey, I'll be resurrected soon! The new Mirror Hero will make sure of it!" D.D. yelled back.
"New Mirror Hero?" Kyo looked very confused. Understandable, since Albert had only died less than an hour ago for him.
While the two of them argued, Amber, Blue, and Rikka appeared nearby on yet another floating cloud. Author and Proofreader Kun's backup in case the first one was ever stolen.
They should really hide the keys to these things better… or whatever they used to lock up the clouds when they weren't using them. Did you need a driver's license to drive these things?
"There's too many dragons in this story," Amber complained.
"Yeah, why can't we have more cool monsters like a sentient plant or a chimera beast that can turn into a child here!" Blue whined.
"Gwah! (Are you kidding me!? Dragons are like, the coolest monster ever! They're big and pretty and their scales shine with all the colors of the sun while they tear apart their enemies, my Tyrant Eye loves seeing them!)" Rikka argued. "(If anything, I can't wait for Cool Hero to use his Magic Enchant spell so he can turn into a dragon alongside his mate!)"
"Ew!"
"Gross!"
"Disgusting!"
"Why'd you have to put that idea out there?!" Blue and Amber both screamed simultaneously.
"Gwah! (You know it'll happen! And I can't wait to see Cool Hero and Cool Dog Girl fighting as dragons side by side!)"
…
"Just gonna say." As if the scene couldn't possibly get any more ridiculous, Motoyasu showed up on a third cloud. Just how many of these did Author-Kun and Proofreader-Kun have lying around?!
"To answer you Narrator, I spotted like five in the garage." Motoyasu shrugged.
… they store these in a garage?
"Anyway, just wanted to give my biweekly reminder that Filolials are the superior species," Motoyasu smirked.
It was too bad his words only complicated the matter further, as it drew the ire of D.D. and Kyo along with Rikka. Eventually, all the individuals, as well as a suit of armor, degraded into a cartoony cloud of violence and insult-flinging as the topic somehow went from the original stealing of one's drip to which species was superior.
"Gahahahah!" On the stolen fourth cloud, Baby Gaelion began clapping her front legs together at the quality entertainment she had a front-row seat to.
Pet! Pet! Pet! Pet! Pet!
And petting her head with fervor was the omnipresent, ever-adorable Raph-Chan.
"Rafu! To be honest, both Filolials and Dragons are adorable as babies. Isn't that right little one?"
"Gah! (Yes, but not as adorable as you, great Raph-Chan!)"
"Ohoho! Right you are! You're a smart one!" The most perfect creature to ever exist laughed.
Rifana couldn't wait before she got home and proved that she was the ultimate superior species.
And if anybody ever stole her drip… they'd be dead within the week.
"Rafu!"
Till Next Time
Allen