by Aneko Yusagi
“It’s even been buffed a bit too,” I said. I was seeing more and more reasons why they had no choice in the past but to just seal it away—hah, I was even starting to think the Tyrant Dragon Rex might make a cute pet.
“Is there nothing we can do?” I asked.
“There’s one quick approach, perhaps, which I think you’ll be a fan of,” father Gaelion offered.
“Tell me.”
“That’s still a dragon, give or take. You know a little about the biology of dragons, correct?” I did—ah, of course. He was talking about it having a core somewhere that we had to remove.
“That’s why I called it a copy. If we can obtain that core, it will be reduced to an empty shell. There’s still a chance it might revive a few times, but this seems like the fastest way.”
“Which means the real Orochi is down where that thing is coming out of the burial mound and we’ll have to keep the copy occupied too?”
“Correct.”
“And if we get the core? What next?”
“I’ll have to suppress it.”
“You can do that? Weak little Dragon Emperor.”
“Heh.”
What was that laugh for? His weakness was the very reason I was worried. “It wasn’t so long ago that Ren kicked your tail, remember?”
“If we’re only talking about a core, it should be easy for me to suppress it,” he said. Hmmm. That hardly inspired confidence.
“Okay then. Let’s split up into two parties: one to fight the copy and keep it pinned down and another to go in and fight the main body.” I did a quick headcount. It would be best to keep the copy from heading to the town, or the damage—and body count—would quickly start to climb.
“I feel like I might be best suited to pinning it down?”
“About that. Something has been bugging me since the fighting started.” Sadeena actually put her hand up to speak.
“Yes? What?”
“I thought Orochi was targeting us, to start with, but doesn’t it look more like it’s only targeting either the town or Raphtalia?” A good point. In the instant Raphtalia closed in to attack, all eight heads had immediately focused on her.
“So what? Raphtalia is like the Heavenly Emperor, meaning the beast is turning its grudge on her?”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Raphtalia said.
“We could try and stop the copy then, but if it’s targeting Raphtalia, then we probably can’t do much,” Sadeena said.
“If the copy is targeting Raphtalia,” Rishia offered, “we should probably have her fight it, right?”
“If the main Orochi has the same capabilities as the copies, though, we won’t be able to nullify its protection without Raphtalia,” I said. The handling of the sakura destiny sphere really was a pain.
“It also depends just how tough the real Orochi is going to be.” It was a fair bet it would be tougher than the copies, at least.
As the discussion continued, backup arrived from the town.
“That’s a fair boost to our combat power. Maybe now we just keep it in place with sheer numbers?” Rishia suggested.
“Yeah, I think so. While they’re doing that, we’ll head into the burial mound and fight this real Orochi, then,” I said. I quickly imparted the details of the operation to our reinforcements, which included Raluva and the contingent from Siltvelt.
“Itsuki and I would be better fighting the copy, I think?” Rishia said. I gave her proposal some thought. We didn’t know what the situation would be like inside the mound, and Itsuki and Rishia worked best when providing support from the rear. Not to mention, it made sense to have heroes in both parties.
“Very well. Rishia, you and Itsuki work together to stop the copy. Do your best not to finish it off, but just buy us as much time as you can.”
“Master Naofumi, what should I do?” Atla asked.
“You don’t have a weapon, so you take the copy. Fohl, that also means I’ll be expecting more from you.”
“Hmph! As you say, of course,” she said. Atla didn’t look happy about it, but it was definitely best to keep her back. “Brother! You’d better not let me down!”
“Gah. I know, I know!” They both sounded so much like each other, truly brother and sister.
“What about me?” Filo asked.
“With me.”
“Great! I won’t let Gaelion show me up!”
“So let’s get to work!”
With everything decided, we split into two groups, and I started with mine toward the looming burial mound.
Chapter Two: Sharing Power-Ups
Checking behind for a moment, I saw that the reinforcements from the town, Itsuki, and Rishia were putting up a good fight against the Orochi copy. It wouldn’t be easy to play for time instead of just finishing it off, after all. That task would have been easier if I stayed behind, but if the real Orochi did turn out to be more powerful, they would definitely need me.
Even as I considered the situation, I looked over the half-destroyed burial mound. There was definitely an evil presence emanating from the place, a flow of some kind of magic. Was this something someone who had learned the Way of the Dragon Vein could feel?
“It looks pretty ominous in there,” I said. What was this Heavenly Emperor fool thinking, taking pity on a creature like this?
“Rafu.”
“Geh! You’re right, the air is foul!” Raph-chan and Raphtalia were both spluttering, indicating just how bad the situation was. We needed to finish this quickly.
“Still, our only choice is to go inside,” I maintained.
“We’re right here with you.” Nodding at Raphtalia’s reassurance, I took the lead and we started into the burial mound. The interior looked ready to collapse but appeared to have been some kind of stone burial chamber.
“Is the main body in here?” I asked.
“The flow of power indicates so,” father Gaelion said. Indeed, even I could feel a strange flow of power periodically flowing through the space. So was this the Dragon Vein corruption I’d heard about?
“It’s gradually eating into the barrier protecting the nation. If we don’t finish it off quickly, the other seals may break too.” This too from Gaelion. Desperate or not, was there no limit to the idiocy of these idiots? They were going to destroy everything their people had protected for generations. If all the sealed monsters revived, the country would wipe itself out.
It might be better if we just made a run for it.
“It started before I left, but I can’t believe how corrupt this place had become,” Sadeena was saying.
“Tell me, what kind of history does Q’ten Lo have? The Heavenly Emperor has, what, been treated as a national treasure down the generations?” I asked.
“I don’t know all the details, but it’s been around for at least as long as Melromarc and Siltvelt,” Sadeena replied. Wow. I was amazed they made it so long.
“Huh? What’s that?” There was some text written on the wall of the stone chamber. Even better, I could read it! It looked like the magic text I saw on the Cal Mira islands.
“Is there another hero inscription here?” I traced over the letters with my fingers while reading them. “Shield Holy Weapon . . . power-up method!?” Why was this here?
The letters suddenly started to shine, and the gemstone on my shield started to shine too. It definitely seemed worth reading some more. It wasn’t all that long, anyway.
“What is it?” Sadeena asked.
“I’m not sure why, but it says something about ‘Shield Holy Weapon power-up method’ and then some more text here on the wall. Can’t you read it?” Everyone there with me gathered around and took a look at the writing.
“Nope. I can’t read it.” That counted Raphtalia out.
“Me either. Is that the language of your home country, Naofumi?” Sadeena had no luck either.
“I sense magic.” That was all Gaelion was good for.
“I don’t know much about magic, so I can’t r
ead it either.” Fohl had much the same reaction.
“Hmmm?”
“Filo, I’m not expecting anything from you. Don’t worry. Anyway, I’m going to read it out.” I cleared my throat. “Holy Shield power-up methods. Number one: share the power-up methods from other holy weapons and vassal weapons.” Gah! That’s what we were already doing! In fact, Kizuna had also said something very much along those lines to Raphtalia. The rest of the text was just further details on the same topic, and kindly enough the same text even proceeded to appear under Help.
But what was the point? Showing information we already knew was pointless at this juncture!
“It’s meaningless if this is just information we already know,” I said.
“Maybe it’s just here to make sure you haven’t missed out on it?” Raphtalia offered. In any case, it might prove useful if Ren and Itsuki could read this language. I’d have Itsuki take a look at it later.
At that moment, we discovered a vertical hole glowing with a purple light. Perhaps triggered by our arrival, the stone chamber started to shudder and shake.
“It’s below here?” I asked.
“Looks like it. Hmmm, this place has a pretty interesting structure.” Gaelion, as analytical as ever.
“What’s so interesting about it?”
“It was created to siphon away the power of the one sealed here, no doubt about that. At the same time, however, it also works to maintain the barrier while not letting them loose but also not killing them. It even has repair functions, allowing it to operate, theoretically, forever. This is some pretty incredible technology right here.”
“A timeless seal?”
“That would be an apt description. Free from idiotic outside intervention, this seal would have lasted for an eternity.”
The purple glow allowed us to see down quite a long way. There was something down there, shining. It also looked like there was water seeping out from the hole.
“The underground water and Dragon Vein have a deep connection? No, hold on.” Gaelion indicated something inside the hole. It looked like, well, the skull of something? “The body of the Orochi from the time it was sealed has already rotted away. The breaking of that seal has led to a merging with the Dragon Vein via the media of the core.”
“So where’s that core now?”
“Right there,” Gaelion stated, indicating a spot at the bottom of the hole where purple smoke was pooling, like some kind of miasma.
The next moment, cracks spread through the entire hole, widening it considerably, and then water gushed out.
“A cunning plan. It’s using the copies to buy some time while the core creates a new body.”
“Cunning? More like a pain in the ass.” A torrent of water was now pouring out, quickly reaching our waists.
“We can’t hang around here. Sadeena, grab hold of the Shield Hero and his companions. We’re about to get washed out!” Gaelion yelled.
“Oh my!”
“Washed what?”
“Filolial, you watch out too!”
“I can swim!”
Even after Gaelion gave his advice, the water gushing from the hole started to swiftly sweep us away, leaving more than a few of us spluttering as we went. Why was it, I lamented, that coming to this country had seemed to involve so much water?
Even as I had that thought, and even as we struggled against the flow, Raphtalia, Raph-chan, Fohl, and I, all held by Sadeena, were washed back together the way we had just come.
That’s how strong the current was.
All of us, Filo and Gaelion included, were blasted out of the burial mound together and fell through the air. Just before we crashed into the ground, Gaelion spread his wings and caught us.
“Phew. That was a close one,” Gaelion remarked.
“A big waste of time too,” I commented, somewhat bitterly.
“Don’t say that. There, take a look. Here comes the main body.” Gaelion indicated with his head, just as an Orochi that looked perhaps three times the size of the copies emerged by destroying the burial mound completely. “That purple light at the base of that Orochi is the core. This isn’t going to be a pushover like that copy either! It’s still growing, absorbing Dragon Vein power.”
“Which means we need to take it down quickly,” I said.
“That’s right. Although I won’t stop you if you do want to do the noble thing and at least wait until it is fully exposed,” Gaelion replied.
“What good would that do us? So it’s like a Demon Dragon?”
“That was only the surface of the Dragon Vein, but yes, something like that. The issue is the scale. It’s receiving power from the other sealed monsters, and it’s got a troublesome sakura stone of destiny too.”
“So let’s get to work. Swift and minimalistic, such as how little Naofumi likes it,” Sadeena announced.
“That’s right! Even if you’ve left this nation behind, you don’t want this monster tearing it to pieces, do you?”
“No, I don’t think I do. Not to mention, we’re meant to be taking over, so it would be a shame if this nation was wiped out before we got that chance.” This was all for Raphtalia, for my village, and for our future. “You can count me in, then! I’ll do my best!”
Just as I was about to get some support magic going, my shield responded again.
Provide target with power and trigger beast transformation?
Yes / No
Okay. This was an ability housed within the Shield of the Beast King, a piece of gear I obtained in Siltvelt. The conditions to trigger it remained unknown, but it appeared to allow those among my companions capable of transforming into a therianthrope to perform an additional, more powerful transformation. When I previously used it on Fohl, he had turned into a powerful white tiger.
I hadn’t really counted on Fohl for battle stuff up until that point, but this boost had made him really strong, and he’d fought alongside Atla to take care of the monsters we’d faced in Siltvelt.
What would happen, then, if I used it on Sadeena, who was ranked high for strength among my companions?
“Sadeena.”
“What is it, sweetie?”
“It looks like I can command you to transform.”
“Oh my!” She had a massive smile on her face. I didn’t like it, but still, there was seriously no other choice here but to use it.
“I’d rather use it on Raphtalia, if possible.”
“I can’t turn into a therianthrope, and I don’t want you to do it on me anyway.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to turn into something like Raph-chan!”
“Rafu?”
Heh. That was exactly what I wanted to see. Or a more therianthrope-like Raphtalia, maybe? Like one of those round little raccoon-dog statues? I was sure she’d look so cute.
“You’re thinking something distasteful, aren’t you?” She’d cottoned on, of course.
“Never! Come on then, Sadeena!”
“Yes, yes!” This was a bit like a skill though, so before she was transformed by it, I decided to have her activate the other magic first. “Sakura Sphere of Influence!” With that done, I activated the beast transformation support.
A flurry of cherry blossoms suddenly appeared, centered around my shield, and flew toward Sadeena. Sadeena was enveloped, just like when I used it on Fohl, turning into a sphere of light and rising up into the air. Furthermore, the nearby sakura lumina, which looked broken and withered, also started to give off some kind of light, coming together to provide protection. Then the light surrounding Sadeena scattered, and a massive killer whale appeared, with a sacred festoon and all.
“Oh yes, this is incredible! Such power flowing through me! What is this? Naofumi’s love?”
“Stop saying weird stuff!”
Sadeena had turned into her killer whale form but simply started to swim elegantly in the air as though it were water.
“I think I heard the Water Dragon too. There’s nothing I
can’t do right now.” With that proclamation, Sadeena deployed a whole sequence of magic circles and then launched her assault on Orochi.
“Hmmm. How does it go again? Like this?” She had to ask herself? How obtuse could you get! “Thunder God! And Sea God!” Thunderclouds rapidly formed in the air above Orochi, dropping the largest thunder strike yet. This was immediately followed by a vast tidal wave appearing in front of Sadeena and rolling over the monster.
Talk about an all-out attack.
“I also experienced such a transformation. Was it something like that?” Fohl inquired, observing the ragingly one-sided assault launched on the main body by Sadeena.
“Yeah, I guess so. You were like that in Siltvelt, Fohl.”
“Incredible! I’m always messing up. So uncool. But even Atla only had good things to say about that transformation.” Wow. He was more self-aware than I’d given him credit for.
“We shouldn’t just be standing around watching!” Raphtalia shouted this caution and then dashed in to aid Sadeena.
“I’m with you!” Filo got moving too.
“You won’t outmatch me! Graaaah!” Ah, Gaelion had switched personalities again.
“Everyone is so excitable. Let’s join the pile on,” I said.
“S-sure thing!” Fohl shouted.
The Orochi hissed horribly, certainly not backing down. Then each of its eight heads started spitting its own unique breath at us—fire, ice, poison, the works.
“I won’t allow that! Air Strike Shield! Second Shield! Dritte Shield!” As I unleashed skills to create shields, the effects of the Sakura Sphere of Influence caused cherry blossom shields to appear and block the attacks. The petals withered with each attack they blocked, but they provided wide-ranging protection from Orochi’s attacks.
Hold on. The petals weren’t breaking down? They were actually pretty tough! My abilities, severely compromised by the curse, appeared to have substantially recovered—no, suddenly increased!