Chapter Seven: Buying Time
We arrived at the camp and I made for the carriage where the coalition army was having its strategy meeting. I stepped inside to find all the generals sitting around, their faces pale and sour. It was a pretty desperate situation.
“We had seen the monster demonstrate some of its regenerative abilities from a distance, but I never would have imagined it was capable of what we just saw,” the queen said, her forehead knit with concern.
“I must apologize,” Ost said, bowing deeply.
We didn’t have the time to sit around feeling sad!
“I know. I thought we could at least buy ourselves some time. What options do we have left? If we can’t defeat it, we’ll have to imprison the Spirit Tortoise like the ancient heroes did,” I said. But considering how violent and powerful the monster was, how were we supposed to get to the ruins on its back, much less get inside of its body?
“We have discovered some information related to the imprisonment method,” the queen said as she looked over at Ost.
“Is it something we can pull off?”
“I believe so. According to the investigation, it should be possible.”
“Does it involve magic we can use?”
“Well . . .” the queen sighed. Things weren’t looking good. We were going to need luck.
“Oh . . .”
“The spell is very demanding. If we are lucky, the wizards of the coalition army may be able to perform it if they all work together.”
“I am not sure it will truly fix our problem. It is only intended as a stop gap measure until the proper time for imprisonment arrives.”
“But the seal wasn’t broken correctly, was it? So maybe this spell will be more effective than it would be otherwise, right?” I asked.
According to what Ost had said so far, the seal on the Spirit Tortoise’s prison hadn’t been broken properly. I had no idea what method had been used, but there was a good chance that the seal itself was still intact or still held a considerable power over the tortoise.
“You’re correct that we cannot ignore the possibility. The statues in the underground temples around the world are still intact, after all.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” the queen said, surprised by the new information Ost had provided.
“Yes, well, they represent the true power behind the seal. There are three seals, and as long as they are not broken, the Spirit Tortoise is not supposed to be able to move as it is.”
“Well, that sounds like our best option. What other choice do we have? We should try to use this imprisonment magic and see if we can’t at least stunt the abilities of the tortoise.”
“I concur. However, I cannot guarantee that it will be effective.”
“Well, we still need to find a way to kill this thing—cutting its head off didn’t work. I think the next best option would be if Filo took a small group of us up onto the shell so we could investigate the interior of the temple we found there.”
It might not be enough to sneak up behind it and use sealing magic to blunt its movement, but what other choice did we have? It was better than nothing.
“According to the legends, the Spirit Tortoise can only be imprisoned if we are able to make our way to its physical heart.”
That would be tough, considering the magic we needed was going to require all the coalition army’s wizards. The situation seemed to be getting worse and worse.
“Should we try to investigate the temple ruins beforehand?”
“It’s certainly an option.”
But what if we went up there and made our way through the temple ruins and came back empty-handed? I didn’t even want to think about it.
“Master!”
As we sat around considering our options, Filo came running up beside the carriage and called over to me.
“What? The adults are talking about important stuff, so don’t bother us if it’s not important.”
“But I can see the castle in the distance!”
Shit! We’d covered so much ground running from the tortoise that we were already back within sight of Melromarc castle.
“If the Spirit Tortoise continues on its current path, we will soon arrive at a place where the earth’s energy flows freely,” Ost said, making the bad news even worse.
Was Melromarc castle going to fall? We’d only gotten along for a short time. Now, I’d probably have to move on to another country to get support— once we dealt with the Spirit Tortoise.
“Mr. Iwatani?”
The queen startled me. I wondered if she could tell what I was thinking the way that Raphtalia and Filo could.
“Hey, master! Fitoria is trying to talk to us.”
“She is? What does she want?”
“She says she wants you to stall for a little while longer. She says she’s on her way!”
“Why now? Isn’t it a little late to offer help at this point?”
Was she coming to kill me?
Fitoria was a legendary filolial. She had once said that if the four heroes couldn’t learn to get along, she would have to kill us. When the Spirit Tortoise threat first reared its head, she had decided to sit out on the sidelines. She said it was because we’d proven that we weren’t capable of cooperating.
“She’s saying that things have progressed to the point where she has no choice but to step in and help.”
“So if we can buy enough time for Fitoria to get here, she’s going to take care of the Spirit Tortoise for us?”
Could I really hope for that much? If the great legendary filolial would come and defeat the Spirit Tortoise for us, then we could enter battle with the Spirit Tortoise and try to stay alive long enough for her arrival.
“She’s saying that she’ll do all she can, but that it might be difficult to kill something that can grow new heads.”
“I can’t argue with that.” To be honest, we all faced the same problem. No one knew how to kill the Spirit Tortoise. The way I saw things, we needed all the help we could get.
“But master! If we don’t do something fast, the castle is going to be destroyed!”
I sighed. “I know. How long will it take for her to get here?”
Judging from the speed the tortoise appeared to be moving, we probably only had an hour or so before it reached the castle. And once it did, the castle and town would be in range of the Spirit Tortoise’s missile attack.
If the castle suffered a direct hit from either the missile spikes or the particle beam breath, it wouldn’t stand a chance. Even worse, it could probably hit the castle with a particle beam from a decent distance if we didn’t step in to stop it.
“She says she needs about an hour.”
The castle was as good as gone. Come to think of it, the castle town probably wouldn’t make it either. I turned to the queen. “Are the evacuations completed?”
“Not entirely. And I do not believe they can be completed before the Spirit Tortoise arrives.”
That didn’t sound good, but I bet that anyone still in the town would run away when they noticed the giant Spirit Tortoise stomping toward them. Granted, that didn’t mean they’d escape in time. Things were looking bleak.
“We have no choice. We need to buy ourselves enough time to hold out until Fitoria gets here.” There was another problem though. Who knew if Fitoria would be able to defeat the Spirit Tortoise, anyway?
“Mr. Iwatani, are you going to try and halt the Spirit Tortoise’s progress?”
“Yeah.”
We’d only have to hold out for an hour. But an hour seemed like a really long time.
I’d learned a few things during the last two battles with the tortoise. For one, the monster needed time to recharge after both of its major attacks. But . . . Actually, come to think of it, the beast had been able to use its particle beam two times in a row.
I wondered if the cool-down time between attacks was shortened when the monster took damage. If we were careful about how quickly we attacked it, we might be able to control how quickly it was able to counter-attack. In some ways, the Spirit Tortoise itself was a sort of special attack that needed recharging.
Whatever ended up happening, we were going to need enough time for the coalition army to get us up onto the shell. If Fitoria showed up in time to take over the main battle, that would probably be the window of opportunity we needed.
It was a gamble.
If we were just fighting to stall and buy time, then we didn’t need to make sure we won. Actually, it probably made more sense to think of it as if we were leading the tortoise away from the town.
Alright.
“We’re going into battle to buy ourselves more time,” I said, turning to the queen. “We are going to need your support to survive. Make sure you’ve got restorative ceremonial magic ready when we need it.”
“I will do whatever you ask, Mr. Iwatani.”
“The army should focus on evacuating the area until the people escaping from Melromarc arrive. Form a regiment that always keeps the tortoise in sight.”
“Roger.”
I confirmed that the army had prepared a battalion of flying dragon knights. They would be our best option for getting up onto the shell. Besides, we had Filo—the fastest thing on two legs. We’d find a way up there.
If we could get inside of its body, we could try to find the heart and kill it. But we’d already lopped its head off, and that hadn’t worked. Would killing the heart be effective?
Oh well. Worrying wouldn’t fix anything. I went back to the carriage where Raphtalia and the others were waiting.
“Welcome back. What should we do?”
“Raphtalia, Rishia, Eclair, and old lady—you’re in charge of getting everyone out of Melromarc. There might not be any familiars around the Spirit Tortoise itself, but they could be attacking the town.”
When we’d noticed the castle, I thought I had seen dark clouds of monsters off on the horizon. If my hunch had been right, someone would have to protect the citizens. And if we were only trying to stall the Spirit Tortoise, we weren’t going to need Raphtalia and the others anyway.
“Feh . . .”
“Understood. If I can save even one person, I will.”
“Good answer. Old lady, I’m counting on you, too.”
“I know you are.”
I took a deep breath and turned to Ost and Filo. “You two are coming with me. Filo, if things look bad, you’re in charge of cutting its head off and getting us out of attack range.”
“Okay!”
“Ost, I’ll need your support, just like last time.” If she could dramatically increase the defensive capabilities of my shield, then she was an essential part of our strategy. “But do me a favor and keep an eye on your stamina. I’ll try to stay on top of keeping myself healed. This is going to be a long fight. We need to do all we can to save our strength.”
“Very well. I will do my best to pace myself.”
I looked back and forth between the castle and the Spirit Tortoise and realized that I was about to step into the longest hour of my life.
“Mr. Naofumi, I realize that I may not be of much use, however . . .” Raphtalia said when she noticed me watching the tortoise. “. . . Can’t I help you directly in this battle?”
“We’re just trying to survive its attacks. You all have more important jobs to do.”
“But I . . .”
“I appreciate the concern, but I . . .”
Raphtalia understood that I wasn’t going to change my mind, and she laid her hand over her heart and closed her eyes. I could tell that she was worried about me. The truth is that I didn’t want to fight the Spirit Tortoise either. The last thing I wanted to do was stand there and suffer through an endless series of the beast’s attacks.
Because they’d never really learned how to power up their weapons and stats, the other heroes hadn’t been nearly as powerful as I was. Had the Spirit Tortoise vaporized them instantaneously? If we were in modern Japan, the battle was like humans fighting Godzilla with their bare hands. But this was a tortoise, so it was really more like Gamera, wasn’t it? Ha!
Godzilla didn’t actually exist though, so I suppose I was getting a little ahead of myself.
“Please take care of yourself.”
“Who do you think you’re talking to? I always take care of myself.”
“No, you don’t.”
She shot me down. Was I so untrustworthy? It made me wonder how she thought of me. What was I to Raphtalia? Did she think I was the kind of guy who would sacrifice myself to save others?
Ha! Give me a break!
“I’ll be fine. If things look bad, I’ll run. All we have to do is buy ourselves some time.”
And an hour wasn’t that long. “The most important thing you can do is to get as many people out of that castle as you can. That is the highest priority.”
“But I . . .”
“Raphtalia,” Eclair interrupted. “We have a responsibility to follow Master Iwatani’s orders. If we don’t, what good are we to anyone?”
“Eclair is right. Don’t worry about me. Just do what you can to save as many people as you can.”
“Alright. I understand,” she said, nodding sadly.
Raphtalia and the others climbed into a carriage that was heading for the castle, and she watched Ost and I climb up onto Filo’s back.
“Please. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Raphtalia, get over it already! Are you my mother?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
If anything, I was closer to being a parent than she was. But here she was, worrying about me. Mothers worry about their children, but not the other way around. I wished I didn’t have to worry her.
“Filo, and you too, Ost, please watch over Mr. Naofumi. Don’t let him do anything foolish.”
“Okay!”
“I will protect the Shield Hero with my very life.”
“Hilarious. I’m the Shield Hero, and you’re protecting me?”
Just who did she think I was? Didn’t all this start with her asking me to defeat her?
“Alright! Let’s get going!”
Filo took off running for the Spirit Tortoise. As we pulled away from the others, I saw Raphtalia’s carriage charging toward the castle, along with half of the army.
“Me and master! Master and me!” Filo shouted, oddly chipper, as she shot like a bullet over the fields toward the towering tortoise. She never worried about anything. I was counting my bottles of medicine, and then before I could even blink we had arrived at the feet of the beast.
“ROOOAAAAARRR!”
When it noticed how close we’d gotten, it roared loudly and moved its massive feet in our direction.
“Zweite Aura! Shooting Star Shield!” I shouted, casting a supportive spell along with setting up my protective barrier.
The ground was shaking all around us. I looked up to see a raised foot hovering over us.
I wasn’t going to stand there and get stomped! We ran out of range from the foot before the barrier could break. When it hit the ground, the earth split open.
Enormous clouds of dust shot up all around us, blocking out the sun. I ran over to the foot and threw my whole body around it.
“ROOOAAAAARRR!”
When the tortoise realized it couldn’t raise its foot the way it intended, it seemed surprised.
The thing was stupid.
But even if I had surprised it for a moment, I wasn’t anywhere near heavy or strong enough to stop it from raising its leg when it decided to. We clung to its front leg where, luckily, its head couldn’t reach us. Still, it craned its neck around and tried to find us.
“ROOOAAAAARRR!”
Suddenly, a massive spike fell down in front of us, and a monster’s name appeared before my eyes.
Spirit Tortoise familiar (spike type)
Legs shot out from the spike and it came dashing straight at us.
“If that’s all it’s got . . . ha!” Ost shouted, stretching out her hands towards the charging spike. The familiar’s legs stopped moving.
A gap opened in the battle, and it was immediately filled with fire raining from the sky. It was the queen and her wizards casting magic from a distance. The flames fell down on the now-still spike type, and then . . .
“Taaah!”
Filo shot into view like a bullet and kicked the monster away from me.
The spike type flipped through the air and stuck into the ground where it fell, unable to move.
“Excellent!” Ost shouted, then immediately began to chant a spell. What was she doing?
“I, Ost Horai, command the heavens, command the earth, defy all reason, join, and spit up blood. Oh great strength, I command you—grant he who stands before me strength!”
“Herculean Strength!”
She used the immobile spike type as a medium to cast support magic on me?
“These monsters utilize the same type of energy as myself. If I can steal it from them, I can produce powerful magic effects without depleting my own energy.”
Was she connected to them because she was also one of the Spirit Tortoise’s familiars?
“Can you steal the energy of the main body?”
“Sadly, no. I think it is impossible.”
I think I understood her strategy. She could keep the familiar monsters immobile and use them as a source of magic. That way she’d be able to support us in battle without running out of energy herself.
I was impressed. But there was no time for that. I saw the tortoise’s leg muscles begin to contract. Crap! If I stopped paying attention for a split second, I wouldn’t be able to keep my grip on the leg. Still, Ost’s support had definitely made it easier.
The Spirit Tortoise was confused as to why its leg wouldn’t rise like it normally did, and it began to rage. It spent its energy on me, trying to shake me off. Perfect. It had forgotten about the castle.
Yes!
Then I felt a vibrating energy building in the body of the tortoise, which could only mean one thing. It was about to use its special attack.
“Filo!”
“Yup!”
Filo ran around to get behind me.
“I’ve taken a lot of power from the familiar. We should not have much trouble this time,” Ost said, coming to place a hand on my shield.
The spike type was writhing across the field, but before it could get back on its feet Ost absorbed more energy from it, and it immediately stopped moving.
The Spirit Tortoise opened its mouth and was about to shoot a powerful particle beam at its own legs!
I was pretty sure that I’d be able to defend against the attack, but I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. I switched to the Shield of Wrath. Instantly, I felt a flame of rage flicker in the back of my mind.
“Master.”
Filo’s arms and legs were wrapped in black flames.
I could still hold out. I could hold out because Raphtalia and Filo believed in me. Wanting more of a defense, I quickly used a series of shield skills, putting a few more layers between us and the Spirit Tortoise.
Everything filled with blazing light, and a moment passed, before I heard the explosions.
I held the tortoise’s leg with one hand and protected my party with the Shield of Wrath in the other.
And when the attack hit, it didn’t hurt.
The Shield of Wrath was amazing. It withstood the attack without taking any damage.
I held the shield and braced myself for the remainder of the attack when, all of a sudden, a countdown timer appeared in my field of view.
4:37
The numbers fell with each second.
What did it mean?
The tortoise’s attack subsided when the counter read 4:15. Great—we survived the first round of attacks. Furthermore, it had been easy enough. I breathed a sigh of relief, and then I realized that I couldn’t control my body.
“Master?”
“Shield Hero?”
What was happening? I quickly checked my status, only to find that I was completely out of SP!
How? What was going on? Where did it all go?!
Did the Spirit Tortoise’s attack also drain all my SP?
I quickly switched to the Soul Eater Shield, and my SP began to regenerate automatically. I pulled out a bottle of soul-healing water and drank it. Then I used Shooting Star Shield again.
“Shooting Star Shield!”
The strange counter that had appeared, when I had the Shield of Wrath equipped, wasn’t there anymore. I was starting to get a bad feeling about all of this.
Could the countdown have been numbering the amount of time that I, or Filo, were free from the control of the Shield of Wrath? If so, what would happen when the counter reached zero?
The Spirit Tortoise quickly regenerated the charred stumps of its legs and once again moved to smash us.
“Not again!”
Just like last time, I rushed over to get a grip on one of the feet to stop it. If I had used the Shield of Wrath when I grabbed the foot, then Dark Curse Burning S would activate and hurt Ost and Filo. I had to wait until the very last second if I was going to try and use it.
Immediately, as if the Spirit Tortoise had been waiting for the chance, it lowered its head and prepared to use its particle beam attack.
How could it be? How could it use the attack again so quickly?! Even worse, there weren’t any familiars that Ost could harvest energy from!
Cold sweat dribbled down my forehead.
If the attack also drained its victims of their SP, then this second attack would use the tortoise’s recovered SP as well as all the SP it had drained away from me. The Shield of Wrath hadn’t been damaged in the attack, but I’d lost all of my SP. If I stuck with the Soul Eater Shield, then I would certainly be hurt in the attack. But the SP draining effect would be nullified, which would mean that the tortoise would need time to replenish its SP stores before it could use another attack like that.
Is that how it worked?
“Dammit! Shield Prison!” I used a skill to form a cage of shields around the tortoise’s head, but it shattered the second it materialized. I should have expected as much. How could any cage form around something so large?
Taking that logic one step further, if I couldn’t use Shield Prison on it, then iron maiden probably wasn’t going to work either.
I’d have to switch to the Shield of Wrath to survive the next particle beam attack.
But if I did, I’d lose all of my SP.
I could switch back to the Soul Eater Shield to counter, and . . .
“Master! Are you okay?”
“Ugh . . .”
Should I jump on Filo and try to escape?
The tortoise’s attack was nothing to laugh at. If it hit the army, none of them would survive.
“Ost! Filo! We have to ride this one out!”
“Okay!”
Both of them ducked behind me and I used all my defensive skills like before, surrounding the three of us with layers and layers of protection.
. . . ?
The light that filled the Spirit Tortoise’s throat was much brighter than it had been.
“Shield Hero! The density is . . .”
“I know!”
Crackling lightning sizzled and snapped over the entire body of the Spirit Tortoise, even its shell. When the whole mass of the monster was crackling with electric energy, it opened its mouth and unleashed its attack.
“Argh!”
The lighting shot at us, around us, through us, for 45 seconds. The burning was far greater than the attack we’d just survived.
Ost was using her magic to increase the power of my shield, but I could tell I was taking an enormous amount of damage. The pain was unlike anything I’d ever experienced back in Japan. It was like being burned and electrocuted at the same time.
For a second, I think I lost consciousness.
Once I realized what was happening, I cast restorative magic on myself. At the same moment, the troops in the distance cast supportive magic on us. My wounds were healed, but the deep exhaustion remained.
“I’m going!” Filo shouted.
“Good luck. If you see any familiars out there, knock them out, but don’t kill them. Ost can use them to replenish her energy.”
“Okay!”
There was no rule that said the Shield Hero couldn’t do other things besides defend against attacks. Filo kicked at the Spirit Tortoise’s head and drew its attention. It opened its huge mouth and tried to bite at her, but she was too fast to get caught.
The tortoise looked irritated as it continued to chase after Filo. While she kept the monster distracted, the rest of us focused on recovering from the last attack.
“Yikes!” Filo shouted as she slipped back into the protection of my Shooting Star Shield barrier. We kept it up for a little while, but soon enough the Spirit Tortoise was ready to use its particle beam attack again. Its mouth opened wide.
“Filo! If this thing tries to stomp us again, you grab Ost and get her out of here.”
“Okay!”
Filo’s magic had finally recovered. She closed her eyes and focused. Her feathers all stood on end. If she was ready to use magic before the Spirit Tortoise could use its particle beam, then her magic power must have recharged faster than its did.
Huff . . . Huff . . .
“Ost, don’t you do anything stupid! I don’t need you yet. I’m using a shield strong enough to survive the attack!”
“But I . . .”
“If we mess up now, it’s all over. We’re going to endure this next one.”
“I . . . very well.”
The attack was ready. The Spirit Tortoise unleashed its particle beam, and I quickly switched to the Shield of Wrath and we made it through the attack mostly unscathed.
Without missing a beat, the tortoise regenerated its charred legs and moved to stomp us again.
“Now!”
“Okaaay!” Filo shouted and dashed across the battlefield to grab Ost. In a flash, they were out of range. I met the rapidly falling foot with my Shield of Wrath. Dark Curse Burning S activated automatically, and I was immediately enveloped in swirling black flames. The flames roared high into the air, searing the beast’s leg and face with cursed flames.
“Like that?!”
The cursed flames that came from the shield took a very long time to heal, so I was hoping that they might help counteract the Spirit Tortoise’s regenerative abilities. If it worked, it would be easier to stall for Fitoria.
The face and legs were so burned they were turning to ash, but then they regenerated as if nothing had happened.
“ROOOAAAAARRR!”
The Spirit Tortoise’s life force was unbelievable!
“Master!”
“Yeah, I know.”
I switched back to the Soul Eater Shield to save time.
The battle was feeling longer and longer.
The air was filled with electric crackling energy. A new set of spikes grew from the beast’s back and launched into the air before raining down around us.
Spirit Tortoise familiar (electric spike type)
Um . . .
“I’m goin’ again!”
“Wait a second!”
She had already shot across the field to kick the familiar. I tried to stop her, but she was too fast. Her claws swung through the air and hit the monster.
“Yaowwie!”
Filo was shocked, literally. Electricity crackled through her feathers.
“That hurt!” she yelled, burping up a cloud of smoke as she ran back to me.
“Why did you do that?”
I didn’t really need to ask. I was pretty sure that if she hadn’t stopped it, it would have attacked us. The Spirit Tortoise must have been irritated that I was down there, constantly holding its feet in place.
I turned to see Ost with her hands outstretched. She had just finished replenishing her energy stores by stealing it from the electric spike type.
“Ugh . . .”
A short while later, we had survived another one of the particle beam attacks. I turned to Filo. “Filo, when you see a chance to get away, go to the queen and find out how things are looking. This battle is harder than I thought. Make sure they get the town and castle evacuated! If we’re not lucky, the Spirit Tortoise is going to make it to the castle before Fitoria can get here.”
“But what about you, master?!” Filo shouted, on the verge of tears.
“I’m okay. Thanks to Ost, I think I can hold out a little longer.”
“Leave it to me, Shield Hero. I realize this is a difficult request, but if you can protect a familiar from the Spirit Tortoise’s attacks, it would help.”
That was a good idea. If we kept a familiar alive, then Ost could use it to power our defense.
“Got it. If we keep one around, we’ll have an easier time surviving the attacks. Get it, Filo? So don’t worry about me.”
“Okay.”
The Spirit Tortoise above us seemed to sigh with disappointment. I was using the Soul Eater Shield, so it hadn’t been able to drain off any of my SP.
With any luck, we’d make it out of the next attack alive.
Filo turned her back on the Spirit Tortoise and took off running.
“Haikuikku!” she shouted, and she shot off like a bullet.
“I, Ost Horai, command the heavens, command the earth, defy all reason, join, and spit up blood. Oh great strength, I command you—heal his soul!”
“Soul Light!”
Ost stretched her hands out to me while she cast the spell, and I could feel my SP replenishing. As it came back, I felt more alert than I had.
I didn’t even know that there were spells like that. It was sure to come in handy.
I quickly used the Shooting Star Shield barrier again and grabbed the leg of the tortoise to impair its movement. After all the electric attacks, the ground itself seemed on the verge of giving out. It was littered with deep rifts and craters. And with the constant shaking, it was harder than ever to keep my hold on the Spirit Tortoise’s foot.
Things were looking bad.
Every once and a while, a spike from the monster’s back would fall down nearby and turn into a familiar. The newly conscious monsters then ran to attack us. Their attack power was in another league altogether, compared to the bat types we’d fought before.
There weren’t very many of them though, so even as I tried to use the Soul Eater Shield’s counter effect to replenish my SP, it didn’t go very smoothly. We were only able to survive the powerful attacks because of Ost’s support magic.
The air was filled with clashing and clanging as the Spirit Tortoise familiars threw themselves against the Shooting Star Shield barrier. If I had never had that meeting with the other heroes—if I had never learned how to power up my shields and attacks—then I never would have made it as far as I had. The monsters would have broken through the barrier long ago.
As things were, we were teetering on the verge of defeat for the entire battle. I was getting worn out. I wished there was some way to gain an advantage.
“Here I go!” Ost shouted. She began to cast another spell.
“I, Ost Horai, the source of all strength, command you! Read and comprehend all that is under the sun, and show your power to me!”
“Gravity Field! Extreme Gravity!”
A semi-transparent black sphere shot through the air and slammed into a nearby familiar and crushed the monster into the ground. Well, well, I was growing more and more interested in the unique magic that Ost commanded. But there was no time to stand around feeling impressed.
“Filo, the source of all power commands you. Hear the truth I speak, and destroy them with the angry sky’s fierce tornado!”
“Drifa Tornado!”
Filo’s spell summoned a powerful tornado that ripped the crushed familiar to shreds. Ost’s magic had put cracks all over its surface, so finishing it off had been simple.
“I’m back!”
“What did you find out?”
“She’s on her way, but she needs a little more time!”
“Damn.”
“Oh! And she said to use this medicine for your stamina. She says the restorative magic becomes weaker if you use it too much!”
Filo was carrying a satchel that she hadn’t had when she left. She took some medicine from it and passed it to me. It looked like a cough drop.
I popped it into my mouth to find it tasted like mint. Sure enough, I started to feel as if some of my energy had returned.
“She said that she saved some of these for you!”
“What is it?”
It was rucolu fruit. It was like super-concentrated alcohol. But for some reason alcohol never affected me. Instead of making me drunk, the rucolu restored my magic power and SP.
“Great. Just great,” I said, popping one in my mouth. I felt like it worked better than the medicine. I checked my status to make sure and found that my SP and magic power had been completely restored.
I turned to Ost and said, “We got some great restorative medicine, so you don’t have to worry about my SP anymore. Focus on something else.” Of course, it was also possible to restore SP with a bottle of soul-healing water.
With my ability to concentrate restored, I felt like I had a better shot of making it out of the next round alive.
“Understood.”
The Spirit Tortoise opened its mouth to shoot another particle beam.
What was the best way to defend against it?
“Shield Hero . . . The black shield . . .”
“Huh? Got it!”
We’d survived as long as we had because of Ost’s magic. I decided to do what she said.
“I, Ost Horai, command the heavens, command the earth, defy all reason, join, and spit up blood. Oh great strength, I command you—protect them with plundered power!”
“Drain Seal!”
I used the Shield of Wrath to protect us from the particle beam, which meant that the Spirit Tortoise had been able to drain my SP during the attack.
I prepared to eat another rucolu fruit and checked my status, only to find that I still had all of my SP. Ost’s spell must have done something to affect it.
“I have cast a protective spell on you, Shield Hero. I believe this will prevent the Spirit Tortoise from draining your SP with its attack. What do you think?”
There was a spell that could prevent something like that?
The Spirit Tortoise’s throat was filled with crackling electricity, but it wasn’t charged enough to use its attack, which must have been because it wasn’t able to use my SP anymore.
The battle with the Spirit Tortoise continued in this vein for a long while, and for the entire time, I hoped I would never have to do anything like this again. I took turns defending with the Shield of Wrath and the Soul Eater Shield.
The barbarian armor I wore had seen better days. It restored itself automatically, but it wasn’t fast enough to keep up with the incessant onslaught.
It was a rough battle.
Huff . . . Huff . . .
The countdown that appeared when I used the Shield of Wrath had fallen to 00:30. When I switched to the shield, Filo looked like she was doing all she could to control a pestering something in her head. At the same time, the festering rage and hate in the back of my mind was growing stronger.
“Ma . . . Master! I can’t . . . I can’t control it.”
Filo and I were both on the verge of losing ourselves to raging insanity. I wasn’t sure how much longer we could hold out. I realized I wasn’t going to be able to use the Shield of Wrath anymore.
“I know how you feel! I’ll stop using the shield! We’re going to be alright!”
“Please wait a moment,” Ost said. She softly shut her eyes and focused her mind. Then she reached out and touched my shield.
Black flames erupted from the shield and scorched her hand.
“What are you—”
“I, Ost Horai, command the heavens, command the earth, defy all reason, join, and spit up blood. Oh, strength of this raging shield, rid us of the beasts that best us!”
“Black Dragon Flame!”
Roaring flames burst from Ost’s palms and covered the face of the Spirit Tortoise, turning it into a blazing inferno.
“ROOOAAAAARRRR!”
The insane, rabid Spirit Tortoise suddenly looked confused. It’s face distorted into an expression of agony, barely visible through the wall of searing black flames.
The spell had a cost though. Ost’s hands were covered in horrible burns. Worse, they seemed to be cursed. They were stained black.
“I used the hatred in the shield. I believe I may have bought us a little time.”
“You . . .”
My eyes shot to the countdown. It had risen to read 3:00.
I was amazed. I thought Ost had the best, most convenient spells of anyone I had ever seen. I suppose that we’d be enemies under normal circumstances, but I couldn’t help but be impressed. And it was clear that we were on the same side. She was obviously doing all that she could to limit the damage the Spirit Tortoise was causing.
“Alright! This is still going to take some time!”
“Right. Filo, how long until Fitoria gets here?”
“Um . . . it’s kinda noisy so it’s hard to hear. But I think she’s saying she needs another 30 minutes!”
Seriously? We were only halfway through this?
At least we’d managed to stop the Tortoise’s attacks . . . is what I was thinking when those very attacks began to intensify.
Spikes shot into the air with a loud swoosh. I turned to Ost, and she silently nodded. We’d been holding out for a while, but we had finally arrived at the place where the earth’s energy flowed more freely.
“I guess . . . I guess we still need to keep this up,” I sighed. To be honest, I was ready to give up and get out of there. But when I saw how close we had gotten to the castle, I realized we couldn’t give up. There was a huge town at the foot of the castle, after all.
If the town was in range of the tortoise’s exploding spikes, then it didn’t stand a chance. The whole town would vanish. We had no choice but to keep our heads down and keep on fighting!
“Ugh . . .”
After suffering through a few more of the Tortoise’s special attacks, I was on the verge of losing consciousness. My barbarian armor was battered beyond recognition. And the Spirit Tortoise, having noticed our strategy, had stopped sending familiars after us. Without the monsters around to replenish her energy, Ost could barely keep up with the necessary spells.
We’d already gone through our stock of life force water, and because I was using skill after skill, I’d been forced to eat all of the rucolu fruit, too.
“I hate to say it, but we might have to retreat.”
“But if we do, the destruction will . . .”
“Think of all the time we’ve bought. We can’t help anyone if we die here either. When it comes down to it, we need to cut our losses and get out.”
Under constant barrage from the Spirit Tortoise, I’d completely lost my sense of time. I asked Filo how much more time Fitoria needed, only to find out that she wasn’t able to contact her anymore. The incessant magic and skills must have been so powerful that they were having an effect on the earth’s energy fields.
The support from the queen and her army was slowing down, too.
Every once and a while they would manage to cast a powerful offensive spell, but they were never able to do any significant damage to the tortoise.
What was left for us to do? I promised Raphtalia that I wouldn’t do anything stupid, and I was running out of sane options.
Ost’s hands were stained black from the cursed flames. She had used the rage in the shield to cast spells three times now. The spells she’d cast to limit the SP drain from the tortoise’s attacks were growing less and less effective.
What were we supposed to do?
How many times had I thought, “I can only survive one more attack?”
This was by far the hardest battle I’d ever fought—even harder than the battle with the high priest. I was stronger than I’d ever been, but it wasn’t doing anyone any good.
I was running different escape options through my head when it happened.
A cloud of dust stood over the horizon behind the Spirit Tortoise, and it was moving in our direction.
“Ah!” Filo shouted, jabbing a wing at the cloud.
The ground started to shake, and a furious wind blew over the battlefield. Something sky blue fluttered in the wind. It was . . . It was a filolial queen feather—just like Filo! And it was a color that I’d seen before.
“Sorry it took so long! Good job holding out! Fitoria will make sure your effort was worth it.”
That’s right. It was Fitoria, and she was running full speed for the tortoise.
As if it could sense the gravity of the situation, the Spirit Tortoise immediately ignored us and turned to face the approaching threat.
Fitoria crossed her wings in front of her, and then, twitch, puff! Her whole body started to grow.
A moment later and she was large enough to look the Spirit Tortoise in the eye. Of course, the Spirit Tortoise was still much larger, as it walked on four legs.
“Hyaaaaa!” Fitoria shouted. She leapt high into the air and brought her claws down with force on the beast’s head.
With a sickening crunch, she smashed the head beneath her foot.
Yeah! I was amazed by the show of power. Maybe she really could win?
But then . . .
The head popped back into place with ease. Then it opened its mouth and shot its particle beam straight at Fitoria. It wasn’t fast enough. Fitoria twisted out of the way and let the centrifugal force carry her around for another swift kick that sent the Spirit Tortoise’s head flying.
But the head never tore free of the neck. Instead, the whole neck stretched along with the head, then snapped back into place.
It was the second monster battle I’d seen, and it wasn’t going to disappoint. Last time, it was a dinosaur. This time it was a tortoise. I felt like I was watching a kaiju movie.
But I couldn’t afford to forget where I was. If we didn’t get out of the way, we’d end up trampled. “Filo! Fitoria made it, so let’s get out of here! Retreat! If we don’t, we’ll get pulled into the battle!”
“The support has finally arrived,” Ost said, wavering. I grabbed her before she could completely collapse, and we climbed up onto Filo’s back.
“Let’s go!”
“Okaaay! Haikuikku!”
Filo’s swift legs carried us off like a shot, back to army that had supported us during the fight.
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