We stood there staring up at the beast before us for what felt like hours, despite it being only a few minutes. The thing had an aura about it, a magical field far and away from anything I'd felt in this world. Even the monsters like the hydra or that reaper-like creature hadn't felt like this. They'd felt…unnatural, but this was pure nature, like just looking at her would tear down the walls around us and would cause a forest to grow in its place.
Worse, my (Insight) skill revealed stats that were…just beyond reason. The T-rex had been beyond us in terms of stats, but I think, if we'd had time to prepare it was possible for us to take it down. This thing? It was far and away outside that. Oddly though, its stats were divided into two sets. The first were more akin to what the T-rex had in general, the second were above that by an order of magnitude, making me wonder what was going on, but its level, somewhere in the triple digits, kept me from seeing any status effects or the like it might be under.
"She's so pretty," said Filo, as she looked up at the feathered mountain before us, and to be fair, I could see it. She looked softer even than Filo herself, with thick plumage and some very fluffy down beneath. That said, she also looked down at us with those powerful, red eyes, and made me instantly try my (Fast Travel) skill again, finding it still blocked, and given her expression, it was by her.
She turned away from us, and towards the pile of remains of the t-rex thing, walking over towards it, her footfalls shaking the earth beneath her, as she circled them, flaring out her wings to hang over the stuff. It glowed, slightly, and I watched as she seemed to inspect the whole of it, moving her feathers gently in the breeze, before nodding, and then walking back towards us, standing right in front of where we were.
"You are the Heroes of the Shield and Bow, correct?" she asked, her beak moving as she looked down at us, and it was the same voice that had asked me not to use my (Fast Travel) skill, so it was indeed her blocking it. Still, no reason to be rude, as Naofumi and I glanced at each other, and I nodded for him to speak.
"We are," he said, with a bit more…I want to call it respect, but it was more awe at the feeling of her being near. Regardless, it was more than he'd shown the royals of Melromarc so far, and deservedly so given her power.
"There are many things I would discuss with you, but this form isn't the best for talking, one moment please," she said, and then covered her face with her wings. I had expected she'd do the same as Filo, and make a small burst of smoke and sound, but this Queen was a bit more epic when she transformed, her body glowing with pale blue light, covering her skin like water, as she shrank down.
Soon she was shorter than Raphtalia, looking like an egg shape that then deflated, into a featureless humanoid form made of blue energy. That coating popped off her into motes of the same blue light, leaving her standing there in a fancy dress that sparkled in the moonlight. Her wings covered her face, as she blinked, looking up into the sky for a moment, before turning towards us and tilting her head slightly.
"Before we begin, might I ask who amongst you slew that beast? I was unaware any of the current crop of Heroes possessed the power to contend with something of that strength," she asked, and before I could say anything else, Naofumi turned and pointed towards me. I wanted to smack him, but before I could the young woman…moved, like she didn't teleport, she moved, and a blast of wind nearly bowled me over, as she stood in front of me, looking me up and down, and then moving around me.
"Strange, the power I sense from you is not enough to threaten even the least of my subjects, and yet, your aura, it does say you are the one who killed it," she proclaimed, and I started a little, as she moved to walk away.
"My 'aura' Miss…?" I let the question trail off, and she turned around to face us, before bowing.
"Forgive me, my curiosity has made me forget my manners. I am Fitoria, Queen of all Filolials in this world," she said, and on instinct, I bowed back to her, as did Melty, and even Filo inclined her head as much as she could, given she was still in her bird form. Wonder if that was considered rude? Regardless, Raphtalia and Naofumi did not bow, but at least didn't say anything rude to her, as we stood there, and she rose back up.
"As to your aura, that should be no mystery to you. It is what allows you to level up in this world, taking in the power of the corruption that comes from the Waves, and making it part of your own. While all of you have a strong sense of the victory, it was by your hand it happened, and thus, your aura roils and churns with it at the moment," she explained, and I nodded, trying to act like that made sense, when really…how would my 'aura' know the difference? After all, it was Raphtalia's weapon, Naofumi's shield, and Filo's skill that did most of the work. I just set them up. I explained as much to Fitoria, who shook her head.
"The ways of aura are mysterious, to be sure, but in this instance, your actions, and the intent of those around you, marked this as your plan, and your kill, let us leave it at that," she said, and I sighed in frustration, rubbing the bridge of my nose as I turned towards Melty.
"Please tell me the one who kills this thing doesn't, like, gain dominion over his land or something, because I'm having enough of a headache running the city I've got," I said to her, and she puffed out her cheeks, looking quite put out.
"Of course not, Bard. If merely slaying a monster were enough to claim a title, then every adventurer worth their salt would be a landed noble," she said, and I let out a relieved sigh, only for her expression to change to a thoughtful one as she tapped the side of her chin.
"That said, this is an uncommon feat, and the Crown will see fit to reward not only you Heroes, but all involved in this event, as it should not go without such," she said, which got my hackles up for a moment, but I let it go, as she turned back to the young lady with angel wings in a dress who was also a bird kaiju.
"So, you are the Fitoria raised by Heroes from the last set of Waves five centuries ago, am I correct?" she asked, and the young lady nodded towards the princess, making myself and Naofumi start.
"Wait, you mean she's five-hundred years old?" he asked incredulously.
"She doesn't look a day over two-hundred!" I added, mostly for fun, and it did seem to amuse her, as she smirked at us.
"I am indeed of an age far beyond your own," she confirmed.
"Wow, does that mean when I'm as old as you, I'll be that big?" asked Filo, and Fitoria's eye flashed darkly for a moment, a painful memory crossing her mind perhaps? This was a Red Planet moment, after all. She had outlived those she'd been born with, probably seen even their children die over her lifetime, and their children's children. The price one paid for a long life amongst we mayflies.
"Do all filolials live that long?" asked Naofumi, and Fitoria shook her head.
"Those of us raised by a Hero will bask in their power, and grow into the form of a Royal. The common stock will perish in a scant few decades, but our kind, mine and Filo's, live until our life has run its course," she said, somewhat cryptically. Was it to not reveal she was herself, reaching the limit of her lifespan? Or was it simply that no one knew how long they lived?
"Now then, to other business. I have given you my name, Party of the Shield and the Bow Hero, might I ask yours in return?" she said, sounding very formal, and Naofumi, seeing reason perhaps, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed to her. Not deeply, but still, more respectfully than I'd seen him do even to allies in the past few days.
"My name is Naofumi Iwatani," he said. She acknowledged his bow this time with only an incline of her head.
"I'm Raphtalia, and it's a pleasure to meet you," she said happily, her eyes sparkling.
"Likewise," responded the old bird, and despite her tone, I got the impression she meant it.
"Hi you're majesty, I'm Filo!" said the youngest of the party, waving a hand…I had no recollection of her turning back into her humanoid form, but then, I hadn't been paying attention, and perhaps she could do it more silently than I'd seen her do so. Mind, Fitoria, in response, just hummed a little, which made Filo puff out her cheeks in annoyance, before turning towards me.
"My name is Bard Bowman," I said, and then, for an instant, everything around me seemed to go still, as she stared into my soul.
"No, it is not. I will allow you to maintain that fiction for now, but only if you stop trying to use your skill," her voice came, not from herself, but from all around me, before everything returned to normal, and I was shocked into finally ending my attempts to fast travel away, which seemed to satisfy Fatoria, as she turned towards Melty.
"As for you, Princess, it has been a few years since our last meeting. I hope your mother is doing well…and that she's remembering to stay away from my children," said the bird queen, and to her credit, Melty chuckled nervously, I could almost imagine a drop of sweat moving down the side of her face at that.
"Of course, Queen Fitoria, the words you traded last time have done nothing to dampen her spirit, but she will keep her word and stay away from your personal attendants, until such time as you allow," she said, bowing, and getting the others to ask her about it. She quickly laid out that filolials had been considered sacred some centuries ago, joined as they are to a Hero's destiny, in that only one of us could raise one into a Royal Filolial like Fitoria or Filo.
Of course, the rest of the world took that with a grain of salt, as Fitoria was only rumored to exist to most peoples, and it was a hard rumor to believe. But Melty's mother, Queen Mirellia, was a…fan of the creatures, and had made it part of her duty to make contact with the Queen of them, as one ruler to another, or so she'd insisted at the time.
"She spent a month after finding my personal herd grooming and pampering them. She even put makeup on more than one, and dressed some in clothing that would befit a noble of some rank," added Fitoria, and Melty admitted that had indeed happened. Since then, the rulers of Melromarc had been known to Fitoria, and had a way to contact her in dire need…but had been instructed to not come near her or her children ever again.
"So your children are all normal filolials then?" I asked as we got away from the more personal stories, and Fitoria nodded.
"Only one of us, raised from an egg to adolescence by a Hero can grow into a Royal of our kind. Without it, my children will ever be simple creatures, though I do love them dearly," she said, and then made a motion with her hand the filolials parting from around us, and a carriage, one far better appointed and looking more…divine than any I'd yet seen, seemingly rolling of its own accord into place.
"Now then, my children inform me a large force, including the other two Heroes, have arrived at the edge of the city, and are approaching us quickly. I have much more to discuss, and would like to do so with this smaller group first. I would ask that you climb into my carriage, and I will take us to a safer place where we might converse freely," she said, and the party of the Bow Hero looked at each other, then back to me all at once, causing me to shrug.
"I'm not leaving without the Princess, but I won't force her to come with me. If you want to go with her, I'm coming too," I say simply, and with that we made our way to the carriage, the filolials around us gathering closer to it, as I noticed it was smaller from the outside, with the seat extending far enough away that we were not cramped at all as we took our seats, making me curious enough to use (Insight) without a thought.
I might have assumed Fitoria would block that skill, same as (Fast Travel). Instead, it went through, and suddenly my vision filled with windows, not unlike those related to my own weapon, each one scrolling through information as fast as I could read them, listing out everything they could, including the dimensions of the carriage(which internals did indeed not match the externals), the carrying capacity of it, and even some skills that were baked into it, like (Portal), a version of (Fast Travel).
However, most important of all was the detail on what the carriage was. It was the Vassal Carriage, a weapon…no a Weapon, that apparently was quite happy to see me, as the thing responded to my Bow, which it had 'budded' from some millenia before, becoming. The pair grew slightly stronger in each other's presence, and left me staring in awe, barely hearing the sound of feet, mostly mounts, outside.
I did, banishing the middle window, glance outside, finding some of my own party, and those of the Sword and Spear, looking at us, seemingly confused by what they saw. Meanwhile Lucia caught my eye, holding up a sword of all things, a golden blade that I didn't recognize, and starting to cast something. Before she could complete it, we vanished, however, and I could almost imagine her swearing, as we slipped away once again.