63 – It has begun
Su Daji hailed from the Ninth Mountain and Sea of the Mountain and Sea Realm. But when the Mountain and Sea realm was shattered in the war against the Outsiders, she fell into this world.
Lost, with child, and with no allies, she quickly did what she could to try and secure power so she could return home.
But then the world itself resisted her, sending a delegate of the heavens to seal her.
Centuries passed, and after finally breaking free from her imprisonment, she took her young daughter to try and at least raise her properly.
But the world was cruel and stole Daji's daughter away from her in her weakened state. And while she managed to slaughter the ones responsible, her daughter had vanished...
Or so it seemed until now.
It began with rumors.
Using her abilities to captivate that honestly idiotic Prince Takt from the degenerate kingdom of Four Bray, she used his resources to scour intelligence for any hint or sign of her daughter.
And then she heard about it.
A hero from another realm, so betrayed that a Legendary Weapon was erased. And by his side, a beautiful raccoon demi-human, as well as a beautiful fox demi-human.
At first, Su Daji dismissed it. But when she saw a magically captured image of that hero and his companions...
The hero, Naofumi Iwatani... he didn't stand out too much. But the demi-humans by his side...
The raccoon demi-human was the spitting image of the Heavenly Empress that had sealed her all those years ago.
And then, the fox demi-human...
Snowy white hair and matching fox ears. Violet eyes. Delicate and beautiful features with jade-like skin that couldn't be seen anywhere in this world... Because she wasn't from this world.
And although it should be impossible considering how short of a time had passed... Daji knew that this accursed world went against the natural order in numerous ways. So it was possible- No, it was inevitable that the fox demi-human there was her daughter.
Which, of course, was why when Four Bray was invaded by Libertas...
===
"You damned Fox Vixen!" Ellie, Prince Takt's maid, glared at Su Daji as a knight with strawberry blonde hair tied the maid up. "I knew you would betray us! I knew you didn't care about Lord Takt!"
Daji smiled, idly tucking a strand of her silver hair behind her ear. Then she said, "Betray? Little Maid, that would mean I was on his side to begin with. The fool you call a Lord is no more than the bandits who sought to turn myself and my daughter into a cultivation furnace."
Torchlight from the forces of Libertas who were going around and freeing the slaves and captives of Four Bray's nobles illuminated the surroundings, casting everything in an orange light beneath the light of the full moon.
And with that flickering light of the flames, Daji looked like every bit the beast of calamity who had almost brought Siltvelt to ruin... and who had just now brought Four Bray to ruin.
Eclair tied a gag onto Ellie's face and then looked up at Daji. "Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Daji. I am certain that Lord Naofumi will be grateful to hear of your aid in helping us liberate Four Bray."
Daji's violet eyes glimmered with mirth as she said, "No. I am certain that I am the one who will be grateful to Lord Naofumi... but for now..." She swept her gaze around Four Bray.
It had been a great kingdom, yes. Using simple technology and physical laws to attempt to dominate the land. Rather than rely on simply the deviant magic that enforced authority, they leveraged it along with the universal laws that dictated existence.
Towering buildings of steel and glass, metal carriages that moved on steam, weaponry that were refined cannons...
And it had all fallen to a ragtag group of men and women who had decided the kingdom had gone too far in treating lives as mere resources and using women as lust outlets.
"...It's a pity that such useful knowledge will be destroyed. But it is necessary." Daji flicked her wrist, causing the silk sleeve of her robes to snap. And as it snapped, a nearby building collapsed, crushed by the sheer force of her blow.
Eclair raised an eyebrow.
But Daji noticed that she didn't react beyond that. Curious, she tilted her head and said, "Are you not afraid?"
Eclair blinked and said, "You fight for Libertas. Why would I be afraid?"
Daji blinked as well. Then she held up her sleeve to cover her mouth, chuckling. "My. I suppose I truly do have to meet this Lord Naofumi. To have a subordinate this loyal... he must be a truly great man." She paused and glared at a mass of flesh on the ground nearby, covered in stomps, bruises, and blood. "...Unlike this bandit of a prince here."
Eclair's blue eyes lit up and she said, "Shall I tell you more about our Lord and Savior, Naofumi? We have quite the walk back to Libertas." After saying that, she turned on her heel and started walking along the road out of Four Bray.
Daji smiled and said, "Yes. I am quite curious about him... And also of those he keeps at his side."
'If that man has harmed my child in any way-'
"Oh! You mean Lady Lia and Lady Sylvia!" Eclair nodded and said, "They're practically his adopted daughters. Although no one has the exact story, from what we do know..."
===
Kyo smashed his hand against the desk he set up inside of his research lab within the Spirit Tortoise. Running a hand through his silver hair, the false Book Hero glared at the system messages and said, "What do you mean that my credentials have been revoked?! How is that even possible?!"
===
> System error: World Rules modified by external user
> System error: Root administrative processes compromised
> System error: Dragon Hourglass System placed to read-only mode
> System error: External users of Status Magic System have been restricted to prevent contamination
> System error: Spirit beast protection protocols forcibly disabled
> WARNING: Due to external modifications, the third wave will simultaneously occur across the world!
===
Kyo glared at the messages again and then smacked his book against the core of the Spirit Tortoise. "Work, dammit! It should be simple! It IS simple! Why are you not obeying a genius like me?!"
There wasn't a response.
...No, there was one.
The Vassal Book fluttered open, the ruffling pages almost sounding like laughter.
Hearing that, Kyo scowled and said, "Fine. Clearly this is a lost cause. But it's not over."
It was a pity that his plan to hijack the Spirit Tortoise entirely as well as use it to hack into the Status Magic System to steal the Legendary Weapons didn't work.
But he had gained enough useful things for now.
Kyo stared at the inert core of the Spirit Tortoise. Then he chuckled and said, "If you won't obey me..." He cracked his book open and then swept his hand across it.
Magic circles spiraled, wrapping around the Spirit Tortoise core before absorbing it into the book.
"...I'll just take the energy for myself. A genius like me won't be stalled for long if I have resources."
Kyo snapped the book shut and then adjusted his glasses. "...Now, this should be enough to deal with the Four- No, was it Three Heroes? I've been annoyed of using a book this entire time... so shall we go and try to take the Sword first?"
===
Late at night, the outskirts of Melromarc where the grassy plains began to shift into a forest.
There, the Three Heroes were undergoing intensive training... is what Welt would have liked to say.
But...
"Pathetic." Welt sent Ren flying again with just a flick of his wooden staff and said, "Your balance is off. No structure, no strength. You are using a blade, not an iron bar."
A flicker of silver flashed across the plains.
But at the last minute, Welt flicked his staff again and deflected the arrows. "And you, Itsuki. Perfect accuracy doesn't matter if you are predictable."
"Predict this, old man!" Motoyasu shouted as he crashed down from above with a spear thrust.
Welt sighed and lightly tapped Motoyasu's spear, diverting his momentum to the side and making him miss. "In the air, your weight and mass might as well be zero."
Farrie, the martial artist on Ren's party... she sipped on a chilled canteen of water and glanced over at Lyno, who was already preparing some healing potions. "Is the Spear Hero always like this?"
Lyno chuckled as she tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. "Lord Motoyasu means well. But..." She glanced back towards Motoyasu just in time for him to be smacked on the rear by Welt's staff. "...He can be a bit clumsy."
Itsuki quickly jogged over and said, "Clumsy or not, we need to get ready!"
Welt paused and adjusted his glasses. "...Ah. I suppose it's that time?" He looked up at the sky.
To the others, they didn't see anything different.
But for Welt, long familiar with distortions in time and space...
"I had anticipated it was accelerated. But I didn't anticipate it to arrive so soon."
...The invisible gashes in the sky from the impending wave were as clear as day.
Ren wiped the sweat off his brow and then opened his menu, tapping through to the digital timer synchronized with the Dragon Hourglass in Melromarc. And when he did, his eyes widened before narrowing in focus. "Motoyasu, Itsuki. There's five minutes. Get your parties ready."
"WHAT?!" Motoyasu frantically opened his menu to check. "Dammit... Lyno! Get Yuki and Elena ready!"
"Yes, Lord Motoyasu!" After a quick nod, Lyno ran to the carriage nearby where Motoyasu's other party members were waiting.
Itsuki swiped open his menu and then started tapping, doing some last minute preparations.
Ren noticed and said, "What are you doing, Itsuki?"
"Hm? Oh, just setting up my equipment. You know, equipping some Ores and then using my Item Enchantment levels to strengthen my bow." Itsuki tilted his head and said, "Why?"
Ren blinked. "...Wait. Item Enchantment? Ores?" He paused. Then his eyes widened. "Do you not have Mastery points? Or Rarities?"
Itsuki laughed. "I wish- Wait." His eyes widened, quickly looking at Ren's sword. "The Legendary Sword has rarities?"
Before Ren could answer, a pair of system messages popped up in front of his eyes.
> NOTICE: By bonding with other heroes and learning of their Legendary Weapon's power-up methods, the user is allowed usage of the alternative power-up methods with the user's own Legendary Weapon, albeit at a lower efficiency.
> You have unlocked: [Ore Equip], [Item Enchantment], and [Job Level].
Ren groaned. "...We REALLY need to sit down and have a talk soon. But for now, quick, Itsuki. How does the Ore Equip work?"
"O-Oh. Well..."
===
I glanced up at the cracked sky, watching as it slowly shifted from the dark starry night to an ominous bloody hue. But I just gave it a casual look before lowering my gaze back to Mirellia, hugging Filo who was wrapped up in a blanket on her lap, and the apparent Queen of Filorials, Fitoria, sitting next to her.
We were still in Mirellia's room, seated around her bedroom table. And Fitoria had just spilled the beans on the whole nature of this conflict.
Mainly, that the waves wouldn't stop unless we endured them all or eliminated the other planet that this one was overlapping with, that the waves were a recurring phenomenon from the distant past, that there had been a point where the waves were a sort of game show hosted by a sadistic entity, and that there were four Spirit Beasts who were supposed to awaken to forcibly end the waves by using the energy of countless souls to reinforce the world and sever the connection.
The first two points were interesting, but it was the last point that caught my attention.
Lacing my fingers together, I smiled at Fitoria and said, "Miss Fitoria. Are you telling me that the only requirement... Or rather, the only restriction preventing the Spirit Beasts from fulfilling their duty to completely safeguard this world from further waves permanently is a lack of energy? And that, at the moment, they are configured to utilize the energy from the souls of this planet?"
Fitoria instinctively scooted back in her chair. "Y-Yes?"
Mirellia sighed, idly stroking Filo's feathers. "Naofumi. May I be blunt?"
"Since it's you, I'll allow it. You've been through a lot, Mirellia."
"You have the look of a corrupt noble who just heard of an untapped resource to exploit and create a monopoly."
I blinked. Then I laughed. "Well. You're not wrong. Because you see, I've heard of something similar before."
The Soul Stone from Earth-616, the Heaven's Feel ritual from the fictional works of Kinoko Nasu, the Absolute Terror Field from Evangelion...
I'd discounted using souls as fuel sources mostly because there wasn't a way to properly utilize them. And while <Parallel System> indicated that 'Capacity' was a measure of the soul, that was mostly just flavor text...
Until now.
Mirellia stared at me with a blank expression.
I raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"...Are you planning to... 'recycle' more resources, Naofumi?"
Fitoria tilted her head. "Recycle?"
I laughed. "Don't worry your little bird head about it, Fitoria."
Fitoria narrowed her eyes. "I am not a bird. I am a Filorial."
"Yes, yes. A degenerated Skywing angel then, or what have you. Same thing. But for now..." I stood up and stretched. "Mm... I'll let the kids have fun."
Mirellia looked concerned. "...Are you not going to help in the wave?"
"Pft. Wave? This?" I pointed at the crack in the bloody sky. "The average level isn't even 50 yet for the mobs, and everyone in my party has base stats equal to 200 or so. I, my dear Queen, have more important things to do. So for now." I gave her a salute and said, "Try not to die before we meet again."
After that, I warped out.
The next stop... The moon.
===
"Fi, fi..." Filo shivered in Mirellia's lap.
Mirellia sighed and stroked Filo's head. "I know, Filo. I know."
Fitoria slowly turned to look at Mirellia. "...Is that one always like that?"
"...He used to be better. But I think he's been ignoring sleep. Again."
"Ah."
"Yes."
"...Should... we be concerned?"
"Probably. But do you think you can do anything about it?"
"..."
"I thought so."
===
Meanwhile. In another dimension...
Dante stood on a cliff and stared at a castle wreathed with malice. "Huh. This isn't Kansas anymore... Where the hell are we, Vergil?"
Vergil sheathed Yamato and said, "A few dimensions over." He watched as the crimson malice around the castle started gathering into the shape of a giant boar. "...And I believe we are not welcome."
"Goddammit." Dante sighed and adjusted his hat. "It's going to take forever to find the kid, huh?"
"Unless you have a better plan, yes."
"...Well. Guess it beats hell." Dante pulled out Ebony and Ivory, his paired pistols. Then he said, "You wanted power, right, Vergil?"
"There is nothing wrong with seeking greater heights, Brother."
Dante shivered. "Okay, still weird."
"Dante, then." Vergil eyed the boar made of malice incarnate. Then he eyed a small horde of spider-like mechanical guardians with glowing blue eyes. "...Shall we see what we can reap from this world?"
"...I really shouldn't. But fuck it. Might as well pick up some souvenirs for the kid." After that, Dante took a few steps back and then leaped off the cliff, firing a hail of bullets at the mechanical guardians.
Vergil chuckled and then leaped off after him.