Chapter 5 Someone Who’s Gentle, Free-Spirited, At Times Strict and Baffling. Such a Person Can Be a Weapon Sometimes.
They threw everything they had into their first song and dance. Their first performance.
When they were done, the three mom idols collapsed on the stage.
“Whew… Seems like we managed to pull it off somehow, huh?”
“Yes,” agreed Mamako. “It was certainly amateurish, but I’m satisfied with our performance. I believe we’ve even accomplished our goal.”
“That’s right… I’m sure we have.”
They closed their eyes, feeling the power of the restored Mother Earth and Mother Ocean.
If you listened closely, you could almost hear the cries of children and parents reunited the world over.
“Mamako, Kazuno, Medhimama, excellent work. That was a magnificent performance.” Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!
“Okay, that’s enough clapping.”
“It’s just spiteful at this point.”
“I can info-P you that I am moved to the point of tears.”
“Hee-hee-hee. That’s just like you, Shirase-P!”
Shirase-P ceased her applause and approached the mom idols.
“Then let me be more sincere. Thank you, everyone. Your first concert was a success. Which means…”
“Finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for!”
Mamako leaped to her feet, humming happily. Full of energy once more.
Kazuno and Medhimama glanced up at her, then grinned and scrambled to their feet as well.
“Yes. We’ve come so far and done so much.”
“Can’t exactly go home without dropping in on our kids. Well, Shirase-P? Any way to make that work? We’ll take a ‘probably.’”
“Very well, then Shirase-P will boldly make up a way for you to meet your—oh?”
Even as Shirase-P was proudly making no sense…
The crystals rose up from the mom idols’ chests, glowing.
The light of the three Parental Bonds sketched out a door.
“Before I even had a chance to prattle any nonsense, your emotions caused a miracle! …Let’s go in.”
The idols nodded at one another and placed their palms on the door.
With a gentle push, it swung open…and a strong, frigid wind blew out.
“So cold— Urgh…!”
“Hey! What the hell?! What’s going on here?! Shirase-P just died instantly!”
“It’s like it’s rejecting us…but…”
“Ma-kun and the girls are inside… I can feel them! We have to go!”
With the snow slapping their cheeks, the mothers dragged Shirase-P’s coffin after them, taking a strong step inside.
When the door closed, they found themselves in a white-out, unable to tell if they were outdoors or in. All they could see was driving snow.
They pressed onward and, in time, made out the faint outline of a castle in front of them.
“Oh? There’s someone standing at the gate. That’s…”
“Uh, Mamako? No…”
“Hahako, I believe. Exactly as she appeared in my daughter’s progress reports. She really is exactly like you, Mamako.”
They moved closer, their view clearing. Hahako stood before the snow-crusted castle, looking uncomfortable.
When the idols drew even closer, Hahako spoke.
“Thank you for that wonderful performance,” she said. “As a token of my gratitude, I offer some information. Mothers are unable to proceed past this point. I’m afraid you’ll have to turn back.”
“Oh dear! That is a problem. There’s no way in?”
“Inside this castle your children are desperately trying to accomplish something themselves, with their own power. I believe it is best to leave this matter to them. Sometimes parental interference just gets in the way. Do you agree?”
Hahako’s argument made sense, but she seemed unsure of herself. She scanned their faces, awaiting their reaction.
The three mothers exchanged glances and smiled.
“Yes, you’re right. That’s why we’re just here to watch. After all, we’ve come all this way! It can’t hurt to look.”
“…Huh?”
With a smile, Mamako had gone right past Hahako to the castle gate. “Oh?” And found an invisible wall. She pushed at it, but it didn’t budge.
“Hahako, what’s going on here?”
“Er, well…it’s a sort of barrier. But…I’m not talking about whether it’s okay to sneak a peek here. My point is that children grow even without parents…”
“I agree with that! But still…”
“That doesn’t mean we should have no contact with them.”
Kazuno and Medhimama joined Mamako at the invisible wall, feeling around it. “If magic would break this, I could do it…” “Would that work, though?” Perhaps it was better to exercise caution here.
Or…
“Um…”
“Oh, that’s right, we’ve never met! I’m Mom Idol Number Two, Kazuno. Mother of that idiot Wise. This is Medhi’s mother, Memama. ’Sup?”
“Could you not tell her your shortened version? My official name is Medhimama.”
“Er, yes, I know who you both are…”
“Then in lieu of further introductions, let me teach you something. Mothers are selfish creatures. We want our children to grow, but we also want them to be children forever. And we struggle in vain to make both wishes come true.”
“If you don’t have that kind of nerve, you can never be a mother.”
“You have to be honest with yourself. You want to see them! Nothing can stop you feeling that way. After all, they’re your precious children! …Oh, I know!”
Mamako touched her hands to her chest, manifesting the Parental Bond within. “I see!” “It’s a distinct possibility.” Kazuno and Medhimama followed Mamako’s lead.
Light shone out from the three crystals. The invisible wall blocking their progress melted like thin ice, a hole yawning open in it.
The party could now enter Deathmother Castle!
“You’re all…incredible mothers,” Hahako said, shaking her head. Yet there was a hint of relief in her smile. “I’ll put my faith in your words. And lend you a hand. I can tell you what your children know, what they’re trying to do, and where they are now.”
“Oh, that would be such a help! Please do.”
“My idiot daughter’s probably gonna get her magic sealed at least once…”
“Let us hope this is the only wall that gets knocked down.”
“I see you know your daughters very well. Hee-hee.”
Hahako led the way inside Deathmother Castle.
At that exact moment…
“““Gasp… They’re coming?!”””
A chill ran down three spines. Masato, Wise, and Medhi all froze in their tracks, their heads turning to look behind them.
But there was only the hole in the throne room wall they’d entered through.
Nothing else. No one was coming.
“I could swear I felt something super dangerous headed our way…”
“Y-yeah…I definitely got the same feeling… Guess it was my imagination?”
“I suppose. Let’s hope so, at least.”
“Then we press on!”
“Yeah. It’ll be fine! Forward!”
The party began walking once more.
They had found themselves in a space filled with twinkling stars. A beautiful, desolate darkness.
Were those really stars? Masato squinted up at them, but…
“Hey, eyes forward. You’re gonna fall.”
“Oh, right. Yeah… Now’s not the time.”
They weren’t round, like stars, but…like some sort of shining cubes? Either way, they were too far off to make out.
The only thing they could clearly see was the road in front of them, a narrow, winding path like the white line on a road. With Porta in the lead, they inched their way forward, like tightrope walkers.
“What is this place?” asked Wise.
“I dunno…but…there’s a strange warmth to it.”
“It’s dark, but the darkness isn’t absolute,” said Medhi. “There’s some light here, too…”
“Oh! There’s something up ahead! I’ll go check it out!”
Porta suddenly darted off down the path and bounded out into an open area. The others made their way after her.
The platform was about half the size of a soccer field, with a square stage at the center.
“Is this…a combat arena?”
“It kinda looks like one…which is weird.”
At the four corners of the stage were statues of little girls and women, in pairs.
Each little girl had her hands out as if begging the women for something, but the women had their backs turned. It was unsettling.
“Masato, look at this!” Medhi called.
“What’s up?” he said, running over. He noticed right away. “Yo, that’s…”
The little girl had Porta’s face.
And the woman’s face looked exactly like the photo of Porta’s mother from the wanted poster.
They ran around the stage, checking the other statues. All were the same.
“What does this mean? Why are there statues of Porta and her mom?”
“I think…we might be inside my mommy’s heart,” Porta said, staring forlornly up at the statue of herself. “Those stars are all photos of me. They’re really far away, but my eyes can make them out. And these statues represent what my mommy and I are always like.”
“…Oh.”
“Whenever I try to talk to her, Mommy turns away and leaves, just like this. If I try to go after her, she runs…and gets farther and…sniff…farther away…”
“We get it. You don’t need to say the rest.”
Masato put his arms around Porta’s head, pulling her close. He felt her nod against his chest and gave her head a good rub.
“But if that’s the case, I have an idea. Just you wait.”
Wise and Medhi had come running over, and he handed Porta off to them.
Masato went over to one of the mom statues, grabbed hold of the base…and turned! “Hngggg!” It spun 180 degrees until it was facing Porta’s statue.
“How’s that, Porta? Much better, yeah?”
“Y-yes! I like it that way! I’m very happy!”
“Right? Cool! Three more… Mm?”
But before he could head for the next target…
A strange object appeared between the two statues.
Something roundish, made of yarn all balled up.
“What the… Porta, can you appraise it?”
“Yes! …Hnggg…this…this, um, is part of something!”
“Part of what, though? Hmm…”
Masato decided to put the other three statue pairs the way they should be. Every time he turned the mother statue, an item appeared.
Each item was something made out of yarn. Something roundish. Something roundish with a vaguely earlike shape growing out of it. Two things like skinny arms. Two things like long legs.
“All the same kind of yarn, too,” said Wise. “It’s like someone’s trying to knit a stuffed animal or something?”
“You’re right. That’s certainly a possibility,” said Medhi. “…In a way, it’s almost like someone was trying to make Piita.”
“Oh, maybe they are! It’s bigger than Piita, but the exact same color!”
“Hmm…”
Parts knitted together in imitation of the doll that hung from Porta’s shoulder bag.
And they’d appeared the moment the parent-child statues faced each other, like they’d been waiting for that to happen.
Is this…a present for Porta?
Masato glanced up at the stars twinkling far above. Those stars were all photographs of Porta.
Were they really inside Porta’s mother’s heart?
It’s certainly all about Porta, huh? This definitely…doesn’t seem like hate.
For a moment, he felt hope.
But then…
“Whoa! M-Masato! The mommy statues!”
“Huh? …Hey! What the heck?!”
The four mothers were all turning on their own, back to their original positions.
And as they did, storm clouds swirled overhead. A huge, person-shaped thing appeared, headfirst, upside-down.
A demonic female form, covered in thorns from head to toe, screaming like a banshee.
“Eeeek?! Sh-she seems really mad! …Is this because we took those items?”
“Maybe! But that ain’t a reason to return them! Porta, you keep those pieces safe, and get to safety! We’ll handle this!”
“Okay! Got it!”
Porta darted off to hide behind a statue. The thorn demon’s eyes followed her.
“Nope, not her! Eyes over here!” Masato yelled, drawing his sword. He was about to attack…
No, wait. Is she… Ack!
That moment of hesitation made him switch targets, and his shockwave struck the thorn demon’s arm.
This was enough to turn her attention back to the center of the stage.
“Damn! That barely did anything!”
“I thought flying enemies were all yours?! Do your job!”
“You’d better not brag about being the hero chosen by the heavens now.”
“No, that’s not… I just wondered if this thing is Porta’s mom, that’s all! So I didn’t use my full strength!”
Masato was starting to wonder if Wise and Medhi really had his back here.
But thorns were raining down on them too fast to ponder long. “Argh, she’s fast!” Masato held out his left arm, deploying his shield wall. It only took a few hits before collapsing, but that got them through this volley.
And Wise took that opportunity to pull out her magic tome.
“Okay, this is my chance…!”
“You’re going for it? Fine, go ahead! Don’t blame me if it goes wrong!”
“You’re seriously doing this with Porta watching?” said Medhi. “You’re sure that’s what you want?”
“Erk… If you put it that way…Medhi, she’s all yours! You’re good at this sort of thing!”
“Oh, I feel faint… I’m afraid I’ll have to retire.”
“Don’t you dare run!”
“Right—Wise! Grab Medhi… No, crap, everybody ruuuuun!”
As they argued, a thorny hand descended toward them. Masato tried to warn them, but there was no way they’d make it in time.
He had only one option. “Both of you, duck!” ““Eep?!”” Masato grabbed Wise and Medhi, pushing them to the ground. Trying to at least keep the two of them unharmed.
Then he braced himself, ready to get skewered, his back exposed…
“Sheesh. What are you playing at?”
A shadow swept in too fast for the eye to see, unleashed a flurry of stabs, and deflected the trajectory of the thorn demon’s hand.
As the giant hand stabbed the stage nearby, Amante made a beautiful landing.
“Why…are you…?”
“We said we’d show up at the perfect moment, right? Do me a favor and try to remember these things. I shouldn’t have to explain everything.”
“Besides, stopping to explain is just daaaangerous… Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Forte! Ventoooo!”
“Keep y’all’s guard up! Mah!”
The thorns aimed at Amante were swept aside by a gust of wind, then punched away by a tiny fist.
With an athletic bound, Fratello landed next to Masato. Sorella drifted languidly by, riding her giant magic tome.
“Don’t thank me, kid. You give us cookies, we bail y’all out. Simple.”
“Cookies…?”
“Theeeese. You forgot them… Heeere!”
Sorella tossed a single box of cookies down to him—the ones Mamako had made as a greeting gift for Porta’s mom, and that they’d carried through the first part of the castle.
“Oh, these! I left them behind? I didn’t even notice!”
“Only one box? Weren’t there two?” asked Wise. “…Oh, no, never mind. They ate one.”
“Who eats a gift meant for someone else? No manners. Just raw gluttony,” said Medhi.
“Sh-shut up! We got stuck rolling dice so long, we all got hungry! But those cookies fully restored us…so thanks! But don’t expect to hear me thank you for it!”
Mamako had chosen them at the store, so the cookies were clearly pretty good. “Porta, quick, over here.” “Coming!” While the thorn hand was still stuck on the stage, Porta dashed over to them and put the precious box of cookies safely in her shoulder bag.
Then…
“Right, you owe us for bringing that to you, and you’re gonna pay that debt by leaving this fight to us!”
“Huh? What do you…?”
“By the looks of it, this monster’s not our Master herself, but clearly it has some connection to her. An expression of her heart? An upside-down demon…with thorny hands that can never hold what she really wants…whatever! It obviously has something to do with her.”
“And that makes it ours,” Fratello growled.
“Sooooo, you’re in our waaaay. Piss oooooff. Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Forte! Ventoooo!”
“Uh, wait…?!”
The violent winds of Sorella’s spell caught Masato’s entire party. “Hey?!” “Eek!” “Whoaaa?!” They were sent flying off the stage, then off the platform it rested on…
Masato’s party had been blown to the far end of this zone, completely out of sight.
“You knoooow, it just occurred to meeee…what if that coincidentally blows them right where they need to beee, and I accidentally really helped them oooout? That can’t happen, riiiight?”
Or could it?
The three Heavenly Kings looked at each other, thought it over, and then snorted.
“Hell no! We wouldn’t accidentally invite our enemies into the base and on top of that help them get right to their destination! That would be far too dumb!”
“Yeah, we ain’t that stupid. Not a chance.”
“Good, goooood. I meaaaan, we did take the mid-boss away from them, so I just woooondered…but naaah. Ah-ha-haahhh.”
“Enough idiocy! Brace for combat!”
The thorn demon had finally freed its hand from the stage and was on the move again.
“We may have had our special skills stolen, leaving our combat abilities weakened…but we’re gonna beat this thing anyway! Here goes!”
Amante put the full force of her physical skills into action, carrying Sorella on her shoulders and Fratello under one arm, darting about through the hail of thorns.
And she didn’t miss the gap in the hail when it arrived.
“Fratello, now!”
“Mm.”
Amante threw Fratello underhanded.
Fratello swung. Her bleary eyes locked on the face of the demon hanging out of the clouds above, and she rocketed forward, her fist slamming home.
Splat! 1 damage!
“Mm. Without my skill, I ain’t doing much damage! And that’s just bad news.”
“Hurry back here! I’ll grab you again… Sorella, you’re next! Bring in some undead!”
“Weeeell…this zone isn’t really undead friendlyyy…”
“Use magic, then!”
“Sure, suuuure. Spara la magia per mirare… Fusione Nebbiaaaa!”
The magic tome opened above her head, and the spell activated. A powerful acid mist wrapped around the thorn demon’s body, and the thorns visibly began to melt away. A horrible smell filled the air…
For a moment, the thorn demon’s skin was smooth…but then the thorns began to regenerate.
“Those thorns make it hard to attack, but they heal so fast! What a pain in the ass! Still…”
“Go for it, Amanteeee!”
“Get ’em, Amante.”
“I’m going as hard as I can!”
The thorn fire rate was very fast. Even with Amante’s fast footwork, it was all she could do to dodge. Mages like Sorella and Fighters like Fratello didn’t have the speed to even try, so she was forced to carry them both.
Still she found openings to attack. “Go, Fratello!” “Mm.” She threw Fratello at the thorn demon and caught her as she fell back. Time to dodge some more.
Then came Sorella’s magic…
“I’m neeext…what should I tr—yeaghh?!”
“Sorella?! Argh, crap!”
A thorn in Amante’s blind spot had pierced the magic tome above them.
And the tip of that thorn had reached Sorella’s back, where she rested on Amante’s shoulders.
“Th-that really huuuurts… This is your fault, Dumbanteeee!”
“Grin and bear it! Cast a healing spell or… Oh, right, you’re offensive magic only so I’ll do it! I’m a Magic Fencer! I can use basic healing—”
“This ain’t no time to explain things, nitwit!”
“Er…augh…?!”
Distracted by Sorella’s injury, Amante found herself about to be smacked by a thorny hand. Just before it hit…
Fratello kicked Amante to one side. “Fratello?” “Humph.” Amante was flung clear of danger, but the thorny hand scored a direct hit on Fratello right in front of her.
Fratello was flung away, rolled to the edge of the stage…and did not get up.
“Now you’ve done it…not like we care about each other or anything…we don’t…but I’m still mad!”
“Yeaaah…Amanteeee…go kick her aaaass!”
Sorella slid herself off Amante’s shoulders, gave her a slap on the back like the rest was up to her, then collapsed onto the stage.
Gripping her rapier tight, fueled by the warmth on her back, Amante flew forward.
“This is totally not my thing, but I am gonna make you pay!”
She had to get a hit in. That was all she cared about—she made only the minimum necessary evasions, letting the hail of thorns glance off her sides, plunging headfirst toward the demon’s face.
And Amante struck home, putting her full force into a blow directly between the demon’s brows.
“How’s that for… Augh?!”
A moment too late. Just before the rapier struck, a thorn shot out of the demon’s brow, piercing Amante’s shoulder. All she could feel was pain.
Amante lost her balance, and thorn-covered hands rushed toward her from both sides.
In a moment, she’d be swatted like a mosquito, and then it would all be over.
…Ugh, this sucks…
As she somersaulted through the air, her eyes focused on Fratello and Sorella, sprawled on the stage.
She had no intention of crying, but her vision blurred.
…Help…
But who would?
Masato’s party? Or…
“If you’re gonna just show up whenever…then now would be a great time…Hahako…”
“So you want my help?! Then you’ve got it! Hyah!”
“……Huh?”
As Amante was about to crash-land, something big and soft, like marshmallows, broke her fall.
Layer after layer of sprightly flowing water appeared around the thorn demon. A volley of water bullets began firing from all directions, and in no time the thorns and demon were riddled with holes—the demon had been vanquished.
“This space is filled with mom power! I was able to attack with all my might. Hee-hee-hee.”
Hahako was standing in midair, a navy blue sword in her right hand, and Amante cradled in her left. She smiled.
“…Hahako?”
“Yes, that’s right. At first I was just going to hide and watch. I didn’t want to get in your way. But I just couldn’t stand by any longer. I was so happy when you asked for my help! …Oh, but we shouldn’t be talking! I have to treat everyone’s injuries!”
“R-right…”
“Medhimama! Can you cast a healing…? Oh, you already are!”
“……Uh, who the…?!”
Amante looked toward the stage, and saw a woman crouched next to Fratello, holding a staff over her.
She’d never seen this woman nor the one next to her (who had her arms folded arrogantly) but she recognized the woman who was holding Sorella’s hand and looking very worried. That, and the coffin lying behind her.
They were enemies. The same type as the awful people who had used and abandoned all of them.
But…they’d come running in when it really counted and offered help.
“Jeez…I will never understand mothers… And what are they wearing?”
This took the last of her strength. She grimaced.
And then Amante stopped fighting the warmth and comfort of the embrace, and slowly closed her eyes.
Meanwhile, the winds had flung Masato’s party…somewhere.
“I bet they didn’t mean to do this, but between explaining everything before we ask and accidentally sending us where we want to go, our enemies sure do make themselves useful… There we go.”
Wise’s levitation spell gently set the party down…
…in front of a massive door with the Libere Rebellion symbol inscribed on it.
“This is just like the door to the throne room!” cried Porta. “Same shape and size, exactly!”
“So what does that mean?” asked Wise. “What’s this place we just crossed?”
“Some mysterious pocket dimension where your sense of direction or distance have no meaning,” replied Medhi.
“Right. Anyway, I guess that means this door will take us to Porta’s mom?”
They stood outside the door, taking a moment to catch their breath and calm themselves.
Masato put his hand on the hilt of his sword…and then released it.
“Porta, can you take out that box of cookies?”
“Yes! I’ll get them right away!”
“Uh, Masato? Seriously? You’re gonna roll in with a box of cookies and introduce yourself?”
“Of course, it’s not like we want to fight, but…she may have other ideas. Between the monsters in the castle halls and that weird demon just now, I don’t see this ending peacefully…”
“I know. But that’s exactly why I want to play it this way. I mean, Mom made sure we brought these cookies… I just thought that might be important, you know?”
“Huh…”
“Ohh…?”
“Wh-what? Spit it out.”
Wise and Medhi looked at Masato, then at the cookies, then at Masato again. The both of them appeared legitimately impressed.
“You’re actually doing what Mamako said without complaining!”
“I guess you’ve really matured. You’re all grown up now, Masato! Heh-heh-heh.”
“Sh-shut up! This isn’t the time! …Come on, let’s do this.”
“Yes! Let’s go! One, two…”
Porta pushed the doors open.
As she did…
“Trade-in,” said a voice inside. The box of cookies flew out of Masato’s hands.
And a 1 mum coin fell into his empty palm.
The box flew across the impeccably decorated room…to the hands of the woman on the throne.
“Oh…I meant to swipe the weapon you wield. What is the meaning of this?”
“I’d love to ask what you think you’re doing but…for now I’ll just be extremely glad I listened to my mom.”
Wise and Medhi had both started to reach for their weapons, but they froze and retracted their hands.
Masato glanced at Porta, making sure. Porta nodded.
That’s Porta’s mom… No, right now she’s definitely Dark-Mom Deathmother.
Armor. Rebellion coat. Haughtily perched on her throne like some sort of demon lord. Chin resting on her hand, looking everywhere but at them. Projecting arrogance in spades.
One eye on the monster-head-like shoulder bag floating above Dark-Mom Deathmother, Masato stepped into the throne room.
“Hello. We’re Porta’s party—”
“Masato, Wise, and Medhi. I appreciate you looking after my daughter.”
“Hmm? Oh, so you know about us? And you’re willing to greet us properly.”
“I suppose she does think of herself as a mother on some level.”
“……!”
Wise and Medhi’s responses sent a little ripple of panic through Dark-Mom Deathmother…but she soon recovered and rose to her feet.
“Then let us begin.”
“Huh? Begin what?”
“The battle, of course. You’ve come to defeat me.”
“Wait, no, we—” Masato began.
“We came because I have something to tell you!”
Porta stepped forward, facing Dark-Mom Deathmother down.
Like she couldn’t hold it back anymore—the emotions inside her were welling up, filling her eyes.
“I love you, Mommy!”
“Wh-what’s this, all of a sudden…? Wait, that doesn’t make sense. After all, I—”
“Maybe you hate me, but…even if you hate me, I still love you!”
“Wait, Porta,” Masato said. He put a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think that’s right.”
Then he looked up at Dark-Mom Deathmother.
“Wh-what?”
“We just passed through a space that seemed like it was modeled after the inner workings of your heart. And seeing that, I thought…this woman doesn’t hate Porta at all.”
“That doesn’t matter at—”
“It’s the only thing that matters. I mean, the entire place was about your daughter.”
“Yeah, that’s right! Even the stars were all photos of Porta!”
“And every one of those photos was like a brilliant shining light! Like you’d taken the most precious memories you had and decorated your universe with them!”
“I don’t know where you think you were, but I’m not listening to your nonsense any longer!” Dark-Mom Deathmother roared. “You are my enemies! We must fight! That’s all there is to it!”
And with that, she raised a hand.
The mouth of the shoulder bag above her yawned open. Out came a crimson blade, a magic tome bound in chains, a bloody staff, a twisted bottle—a series of gnarly-looking weapons and items, which arranged themselves around the party.
“I’m a noncombatant, so your weapons can’t harm me! But the forbidden items arranged around you ignore such restrictions, allow me to attack as much as I want! And I’ll pay a good price for your equipment, so take it out and come at me!”
“No, wait. We’re not here to fight you! We’ve got no reason to!”
“Oh, but you do! I’m the founder and leader of the Libere Rebellion! The greatest enemy you’ve ever faced! …Isn’t that right, Wise?”
“Hey, just because you gave my mom that weird power doesn’t mean I’m holding that against you. That only happened because my mom is very dumb. And the upside of it all was…we got closer than ever before.”
“Wha… Th-then, Medhi, what about you? You have all those dark, pent-up emotions! Surely you bear a grudge against me!”
“I’m actually rather grateful for what you did. There were certainly some bad things along the way, but in the end, I got to let it all out. And I finally have a good relationship with my mother.”
“Spare me the honor-roll answer! Tell me how you really feel!”
“I just did! …Although if I were to make one complaint…it’s that you think I’m the type that would hold a grudge in the first place.”
“Uh, you totally are, though… Whoops.”
Medhi’s smile never wavered. Still, she swung her staff sideways, and Masato dodged—“Gah!”—but it was a feint. The kick she aimed at his shin hit home. Masato took damage!
“Then Masato! I ask you, the hero! Those girls are not the only victims! Many other parents and children suffered at my hands! I brought chaos to the world! You must…!”
Sharp weapons clustered around Masato, as if challenging him to a fight.
Masato didn’t even look at them.
“I ain’t the kinda hero that beats the demon lord and saves the world, so I don’t really care.”
He started walking forward.
“You don’t care…?!”
“Yeah, maybe this won’t work. But that’s okay. Doling out punishment is for the people who handle that stuff, like management or whoever. I’m just a normal hero, so… No, I’m me, and I’m here to settle the issue I care about.”
“What…?”
“You’re Porta’s mother. How do you really feel about your daughter? Tell me that much. And be honest.”
Porta stood next to him, looking very serious. Wise and Medhi followed; clearly, none of them were willing to back down.
Dark-Mom Deathmother refused to meet their gazes.
“…Fine. I’ll tell you. This is how I feel.”
She took a dark jewel out of her pocket and chanted:
“Monster Creation: Armed Ashura!”
The dangerous weapons surrounding the party were joined by a flood of shields and armor that came pouring out of the shoulder bag. Both the arms and the armaments clustered around Dark-Mom Deathmother.
The bits of armor came apart, forming a narrow torso and six floating arms.
Multiple shields formed the backs of the hands, and the fingers were blades and staves. The palms were covered in magical tomes.
A giant Armed Ashura made entirely of weapons loomed over them.
“Damn! She’s hell-bent on a fight! …Porta, get to safety!”
“R-right…I’ll go hide!”
“You won’t tell us how you really feel, huh?” Wise grumbled. “Instead you’re gonna hole up and clamp your lips shut! That sure reminds me of someone we know!”
“I don’t know who you could possibly mean,” Medhi said. “…Anyway, here she comes!”
Six arms swung wildly, sharp points on a collision course with the party.
“Don’t you dare! …Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Barriera!”
Medhi’s defensive spell activated. A sturdy dome enveloped them.
And a single poke from a finger easily pierced it, shattering the barrier.
“Wow… With just one hit…?!”
“Dodge! Now!”
From above and all sides, six sword-fingered hands were slicing toward them. Seeing Medhi stunned, Masato grabbed her, flinging himself sideways in the nick of time.
“Th-thanks! You saved me! This only sort of counts as sexual harassment!”
“I kept my hands in the safe zones, okay? Jeez, you can’t just say thanks, can you?”
“You both need to quit goofing off!” Wise lightly kicked Masato and Medhi out of the way and opened her tome. “This is just a cluster of weapons and armor! All we’ve gotta do is blow ’em apart! …Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Bomba! Sfera! And! Alto Bomba! Sfera!”
She chain cast, and two massive energy balls pulsing with explosive power let out a thunderous roar, spiraling toward their target…
And the target’s hand spun, turning the back of the hand toward the spells.
When the spells hit that wall of shields, they didn’t explode—instead, they vanished. They were absorbed completely.
“……Uh, really?”
“They can absorb magic? Then I guess I’ll have to handle this! Flying enemies are miiiine!”
Masato attacked! Aiming at the same one Wise had, he swung Firmamento, the Holy Sword of the Heavens! A massive shockwave rocketed forward…
And another arm shot between him and his target, catching the shockwave on its set of shields. Masato’s attack, too, was absorbed without causing any harm.
“Uhhhh…it can absorb physical attacks, too?”
“Absorbing all attacks is just absurdly hopeless… Argh!”
A hand came in to attack, and Medhi deflected it. A full swing of her staff, a powerful blow to the back of the hand…that didn’t even make a sound. The impact was completely nullified.
“I’m afraid this is that worst-case scenario! All attacks are pointless!”
“But we can’t not attack it! If we do nothing, they’ll just hammer us!”
“Damn it! What do we do?!”
Each of the six arms was attacking wildly, constantly changing up the direction of its swing.
The party responded with shockwaves, fire and wind spells, bash damage, and instant death magic, but it was all taken in harmlessly…
And then they found themselves surrounded. The arms were spaced evenly, sixty degrees apart, palms facing inward.
“…Uh, this looks real bad.”
“I agree. If they’ve been absorbing all our attacks and charging one of their own…”
“If it sucks in enough energy, then everything goes boom? I really hope that’s not true…”
Each of the magic tomes forming the six palms was glowing. A magic circle with a six-pointed star embedded in it appeared around them.
It was happening.
“Argh, gimme a goddamn break! …Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Barriera! And! Alto Barriera!”
“Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Barriera!”
“Hang in there, left arm!”
Three layers of magic barrier and Masato’s shield wall. Just as they hit their full defensive potential…
The interior of the magic circle turned white. Energy fired from each of the six hands stacked, and the pressure and vibrations rocked the party.
All four barriers collapsed. They heard Porta scream.
The impact was like all their senses shattering…and then they dropped to the floor, like puppets whose strings had been cut.
“Ugh…damn…hey, Wise, Medhi…are you alive…?”
“…Not…sure. I might be…dead…”
“I-I’ll heal us up… Spara la magia…per mirare… Alto…Cura…”
Forcing their aching bodies upright, they raised their weapons once more.
The magic circle dispersed; the six arms were flying all over the place again, like they were waiting for the party to attack.
“Thanks, Medhi. You really saved us.”
“It’s not often I really get to act like a healer, but I can’t say I’m all that happy about it.”
“You know things are bad when the healer’s laid out flat, too. Damn. So…Masato? Any ideas?”
“Uhh…we really gotta do something about these shields, but…”
“Yeah…y’know, it ain’t like all six sets can absorb all types of attacks.”
“I noticed that. When Masato tried to attack the one that absorbed my spell, another one came in to defend it. Which means…”
“If we can figure out which one can’t absorb the attack, and hit it with the right kind of damage…but how do we tell them apart?”
The six arms looked exactly the same. There was no obvious difference in the weapons and armor they were made of—colors, shapes, and positioning were all functionally identical.
Only way to find out is to attack…
Well aware this would only charge the enemy’s next attack, Masato decided to start with the nearest arm…
“Wait!” Porta cried. “That one absorbs physical damage! Those shields are weak to magic!”
Masato cut the attack off, but kept his sword pointed at the target.
“Wise! Hit that one! Don’t miss!”
“Okay, I got this! Finally! …Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Bomba Sfera!”
A magical energy blast shot toward the arm Masato had targeted.
Another arm tried to step in. “Nope!” Medhi jumped in front of it, knocking it aside with her staff.
Wise’s spell hit the target. There was a huge explosion. The armor and weapons remained intact but scattered everywhere.
Medhi had been right next to the explosions and one of the shields smacked her in the head, “Ow!” but the damage was minimal. It did leave a bump, though.
“Wise, did you do that deliberately…?” she growled.
“No, no, no, no! I’m not that competent!”
“Either way, nice teamwork! And the MVP is…”
Masato spun around and looked straight to where Porta was hiding, by the big door.
“Masato! Should I…?”
“Of course! You’re the key to this whole fight, Porta! …We’ll take care of these arm things, and then make your mom tell us how she feels!”
“Okay! I’ll do my best! I’m going to really really try extra hard so Mommy will tell me her feelings!”
“Yeah! That’s the spirit! You’re in charge here!”
They were fighting clusters of armor and weapons. Porta’s Appraise skill could easily tell what traits each had.
Five arms left. They were circling the party rapidly, as if fearing appraisal.
“Tch…they’re fast… We need to slow them down somehow…”
“Leave it to me! I can stop them!”
“Y-you can…?”
Porta pulled a bottle out of her shoulder bag, then unhooked Piita and poured the glittering fluid into Piita’s mouth.
The doll immediately started getting larger. Once it had reached full size, Pretty Prodigious Piita toppled toward the circling arms.
Two arms failed to get away in time and were both pinned down with the shield side exposed.
“Nice! Then I’ll attack…”
“Wait! They’ll both absorb your shockwaves!”
“Huh? Oh, then, uh…go ahead…”
“The one under Piita’s face is weak to water and ice! The one under Piita’s belly is weak to bash damage!”
“Got it! …Spara la magia per mirare… Alto Ghiaccio Grumo!”
“I’ll take the other one! Rah!”
A massive hailstone appeared above the party and fell toward the shields that were weak to ice, crushing them. Meanwhile, Medhi’s staff bashed the other hand to pieces. Both arms under Piita were demolished.
“R-right! Three left! Halfway there! I’ll handle the—”
“Wise, the two near you are both weak to fire! Medhi, the one near you has no resistance to death spells!”
“Fire?! I’ll take them both down! …Spara la magia per mirare… Forte Fiamma! And! Forte Fiamma!”
“I’ll send you to meet your maker! …Spara la magia per mirare… Morte!”
“Uh, hey…”
Two of the remaining arms were enveloped in searing flames, crashed to the ground, and were gone.
The last one gave the reaper a bit of a chase, but finally fell apart in the air.
All six arms were defeated!
“You’re too good, Porta! Perfect instructions! You made it so easy!”
“And the way you enlarged Piita to trap those two was really clever. Porta, I think you might be a good fit for shot caller.”
“Th-thanks… Eh-heh-heh…” Porta looked embarrassed. It was adorable.
She shrank Piita back down and hooked it on her bag again.
Porta’s smile sure was cute, but… “…Mm, fine, whatever.” …Masato had trouble seeing her through his tears.
He’d done so little, he might as well not have been there, but…at least the battle was over.
“…Huh? Whoa!” yelped Porta. “Careful! It looks like we’re not done yet!”
The armor and weapons around them started clattering.
One by one they rose into the air, clustering together again.
“Hey! Masato…no, great leader Porta!”
“Masa—I mean, Porta! What’s going on here?”
“Okay, you both did that deliberately… But I’ll have to gripe about that later, huh?”
“Um, um…” Porta said, peering close. “Oh! I think that’s the cause!”
She pointed at the chest made of bits of armor. There was a dark light shining through the gaps.
“So the dark jewel is the core, and moving the whole shebang? In that case…”
“Porta—just kidding, Masato!”
“Porta! Ha-ha, no, Masato!”
“Masato! This one’s yours!”
“Yeah, yeah, everyone loves Port—wait, me?! Now?!”
He couldn’t even see the jewel itself. The gaps in the armor weren’t even wide enough for a sword to enter—but he had to get an attack in through them somehow.
“C’mon, Masato! Show us what you can do! …Spara la magia per mirare… Colpire! And! Colpire!”
“We believe in you! …Spara la magia per mirare… Colpire!”
“You’re just thrilled to foist this problem off on me, huh?”
Wise and Medhi tacked on the pressure along with a spell that buffed his accuracy. Masato raised his sword.
Porta’s face was right next to him, beaming with trust.
I know! I’ve gotta do this.
Faith can move mountains. And this mountain had plenty of holes.
He was facing a mother hiding the emotions she needed to express to her child who needed to hear them.
“Sorry, I’m gonna be a little blunt. Porta’s asking for love with all the purity and sincerity you could ever hope for. How can you not respond?! Get the hell out of there and talk! You’re her freakin’ mom!”
He put his back into a mighty swing and fired the narrowest, sharpest shockwave he could.
It shot directly into the chest of the Armed Ashura.
It had been trying to regenerate its arms, but instead…it fell limply to the ground, its torso armor scattering.
And standing below the shattered fragments of the dark jewel was Dark-Mom Deathmother.
She stared at her feet, looking utterly spent.
When Dark-Mom Deathmother said nothing, the party was left exchanging glances.
The only answer they found was to move close enough for her to see, confronting her face-to-face.
“Porta, let’s go.”
“Okay!”
Masato took Porta’s hand. Wise and Medhi followed right behind.
“Tell her how you feel. Your honest emotions. What do you really think of Porta?”
The hovering weapons and armor all came rushing toward them.
But the moment before they hit, they changed directions, just barely missing.
She really isn’t the kind of person who can hurt someone…
He was sure Dark-Mom Deathmother was actually nice.
Then her eyes stopped avoiding them. They shifted, locking on to her daughter.
There was no trace of hatred in those eyes.
I knew she didn’t hate her. There must be a reason why she acts so distant.
If they could just do something about that, then Masato was sure Porta and her mother could make things work.
Which was why they had to press the point, even without knowing the reason.
“Stop it! This is all too painful!”
The words erupted out of her.
Dark-Mom Deathmother covered her face with both hands, sinking to her knees.
“My honest emotions?! What do I think of my daughter? That’s…obvious…!”
Her eyes turned to the ceiling.
“I love her! I love her more than anything!!”
A cry from the heart.
The words they’d wanted to hear, but the pain behind them froze everyone in their tracks.
“Mommy…you love me…?”
“If you love her, then…”
“But I can never tell her that! I can never show that! There so much I want to do for her, so much time I want to spend with her, but I can’t! Not ever!”
“Wh-whoa, calm down here…”
“I don’t have the time! I’m too busy! Work work work work! I have to work to live so that my daughter never wants for anything! Part-time, contract work, salaried…I worked my ass off climbing the ranks! And each step left me with even less time! I couldn’t do anything about it!”
“Please, settle down! Relax!”
“And now this?! A game where you get to adventure with your mother?! Where you get to fix problems in parent-child relationships? When all they need to do is spend some time together?! It’s insane! And I’m too busy managing these people’s problems to see my own daughter today, tomorrow, or any other day! …Why can’t these people understand that just being together is all it takes to be happy?!”
Dark-Mom Deathmother hung her head, then stood up.
“That’s why…at first, I was just lashing out. I was jealous of the other parents. I was frustrated… Depressed… I just wanted to destroy everything. But my plans failed. As much as I hated myself for it, I just wanted to take all these other moms down with me, make a world where it was only natural not to have your mom around, one where children could happily live on their own… But Mamako and those other mothers ruined that, too. I can’t do anything right! I’m a total failure! So go ahead, heroes. End me!”
“Like I said, we’re not here for that!”
“No, you must! Useless mothers like me should be eliminated.”
“We can’t do that! You’re Porta’s mom!”
“And you do still care about her! You’re not someone who needs to be defeated. Get it together, for her sake!”
“My daughter will be fine. She’s got you three. You’re better parents than I ever was. You’ve done far more for her than I ever did. She’s better off without a hopeless failure like me. Yes. She should live as far away from me as she can.”
“Is that why you were so hostile? Always pushing her away? Even though you adore her? Jeez. What a mess. There are so many other things you could have done!”
“Maybe so. But I couldn’t think of any. I didn’t have time to think! All I ever had was the bare minimum of maternal feelings…and the fear that my daughter would be ruined if someone like me raised her. That’s why…”
A sad smile played across Dark-Mom Deathmother’s lips, and then a small bottle containing a dangerous-looking liquid flew to her hand.
“…I leave my beloved daughter to her wonderful party…and this foolish mother takes her leave. Look after her for me.”
“No! Mommy!”
But even with Porta’s eyes staring up at her, Dark-Mom Deathmother downed the bottle.
A trail of blood ran down her lips, and her body crumpled to the ground
“W-wait… What did she just drink?!”
“Poison! W-we have to get her an antidote! Mommy! Mommy!!”
Porta frantically pulled out a medicine bottle and tried to run to her.
But the floating weapons and armor blocked her path. “Let me through! Ow!” When Porta tried to push past, a cut opened on her hand. Normally, even if a noncombatant like Porta were attacked, nothing could harm her—but these were all forbidden items.
Porta kept pushing forward, and the weapons just kept cutting her.
“Porta! Don’t! We’ll open the way! Wise, Medhi, come on!”
“Obviously… Yikes! Hold up!”
The moment Wise opened her tome, a chain-wrapped tome flew out. Its pages opened, and a magic energy bomb shot out. “That’s Bomba Sfera…!” It hit Wise hard, blowing her away.
“It insta-cast the moment it opened?! How is that fair?! …Medhi! Cure Wise!”
“S-sorry…I’m in a bit of trouble myself… Argh!”
The bloodstained staff was floating over Medhi’s head, raining curses down on her. Bind effects were appearing all over her body as she was struggling to free herself, already on her knees.
“Seriously? Another super dangerous weapon? Hang on—I’ll knock it down!”
“No, wait! Masato! Careful…above you…”
“Huh?”
He looked up just in time to see the crimson blade slicing down right toward his head. “Gah!” He managed to raise his Holy Sword in time to catch it, but it was a heavy blow. Masato was now pinned to the spot, too.
“It’s too much! I can’t afford to get stuck here! I need to do something soon, or…”
Dark-Mom Deathmother was writhing around in pain, but her movements were quickly growing feeble.
Porta had the antidote, but the flurry of weapons and armor was pushing her back, not letting her get close.
Wise was hit with another spell, sinking into a cloud of smoke. Medhi was too tightly bound to move at all.
“We gotta do something… Damn it… If only Mom were here!” Masato cried. The only thing he could do was think of the person he trusted most.
But then…
“And that’s our cue! Start the music! Go, MOM-3!”
“……Huh?”
Shirase-P had popped her face out from behind the giant door behind them. She flipped the switch on the digital phonograph and an up-tempo pop song blared. A total mismatch for the present situation.
“Being strict is an expression of love! With my daughter close by my side, together we’ll strive for greater heights! I’m Mom Idol Number Three—Medhi’s mother, Medhimama!”
“Neither of us are honest with our feelings! You gotta problem with me, spit it out! Family squabbles are my thing! I’m Mom Idol Number Two—Genya’s mama, Kazuno!”
“My love is boundless! I love you sooo much, Ma-kun! Let me give you a biiig hug! I’m Mom Idol Number One—Ma-kun’s mommy, Mamako! Hee-hee-hee!”
All together now!
“““The all-mom idol group MOM-3 is here!”””
They nailed their group pose!
Their real moms, wearing idol costumes, striking an idol pose!
“““…Blergh…”””
The effects of the sudden mom arrival skill, A Mother’s Visit, made Masato, Wise, and Medhi’s eyes roll up in their heads, and collapse in a shower of blood.
But then another mom idol skill activated!
“Let’s begin the Pat Pat Event!”
“Ahem. The mom idols will now be dispensing free head pats to anyone with a Pat Pat Ticket. Anyone who wants a ticket, please line up! Quantities are limited, so do hurry.”
Exactly like those Handshake Events that let you shake an idol’s hand—only with head pats.
In response to this call, the weapons stopped menacing Masato and the girls, no longer blocking Porta’s path. Instead, they flocked over to Shirase-P, fighting one another.
Their path was open!
“Porta, go! Hurry!”
“Y-yes! …Mommy!!”
Clutching the antidote, she ran to Dark-Mom Deathmother’s side.
When Porta’s mother’s eyes fluttered open, she saw Mamako smiling.
“…I knew you’d do it… You always show up, show off what happy families are like, and put a stop to all my plans… What a family…”
“We’re a normal hero, and a normal hero’s mother. Hee-hee-hee.”
“Nothing normal about you… Ugh…fine. Losing so thoroughly actually makes me feel a little better. All that envy and frustration…I’m just past caring.”
“I don’t think being a family is about winning or losing. But if you’re feeling better, I’m glad. Can you sit up?”
Mamako put an arm around her back and got Dark-Mom Deathmother upright.
There was a noise nearby, and she turned to look…and saw Kazuno and Medhimama stuffing weapons and armor into Dark-Mom Deathmother’s shoulder bag. When they were done, they pulled the drawstring tight.
Porta was in front of her. On her knees, covered in cuts, trying very hard not to hug her but reaching the end of her endurance and leaning closer.
Avoiding Porta’s eyes, Dark-Mom Deathmother hung her head.
“Why did you save me…? After all I’ve done, you must hate me.”
“I don’t hate you! I love you, Mommy!”
“Don’t be silly. Why would you? I’ve never done anything for you… Quite the opposite. I’ve pushed you away at every turn.”
“I don’t care! You said you love me, Mommy! That’s all that matters!”
“It is…?”
“Oh, for cryin’ out loud! You both love each other, so what else could possibly matter?!”
“There’s nothing more pointless than searching for concrete reasons for loving someone.”
Done cleaning up, Kazuno and Medhimama came toward them, shaking their heads.
Mamako smiled, and then gave Dark-Mom Deathmother a pat on the back.
“Deathmother…no, Ms. Hotta. You’re a very dedicated woman. And I think you treated your child less as a mother than as a grown-up, as a hardworking member of society.”
“Meaning…?”
“Y’know, like a sense of duty, a fair trade, that sort of thing,” said Kazuno.
“You certainly never expected anything unconditional,” added Medhimama. “You’ve been so heavily involved in what lies between parent and child, between those two opposing forces, that your own parental nature remained stunted.”
“Stunted? Then…what was I supposed to…? How can I accept my child’s feelings the way a parent would?”
“That mindset is already a mistake.”
“Looks like we have a long way ahead of us.”
“We’d better start training now!” Mamako said, flexing her arm. Then she smiled. “Children grow up even without their parents, but parents can’t grow without their children. So we’ll have Porta raise her! …Are you ready, Porta?”
“I am! I’ll raise my mommy!”
“Huh…?”
Her beloved mommy was still hesitant, but Porta just dove on in.
Then she pulled four items from her shoulder bag—the misshapen knitted pieces.
“I found these inside your heart! Do you recognize them, Mommy?”
“Y-yes…those are the parts of the knitted doll I made. Since I couldn’t accompany you inside the game, I wanted you to have something besides the safety alarm, so I tried making this…but I just didn’t have time to finish it, so the pieces were in my desk drawer. But why are they here?”
“I don’t know! But in that case, then I know what to do! …I’m going to ask you to finish this and give it to me as a present!”
“W-wait—if you want a present, I can buy you something much better! I’m not so good at this sort of thing… I know it’s not going to turn out well…”
“I don’t want anything else! This is what I want! If you make this and give it to me, I’ll love you even more!”
“…Is that how it works?”
“It is! Please!”
“O-okay. Then…”
She no longer seemed like a demon lord. Dark-Mom Deathmother was gone. Saori Hotta’s face was that of a mother doting on her beloved child. She took the knitted pieces.
And her gaze turned directly to Porta.
“Before I make this, can I ask you for something?”
“Sure! What is it?”
“You can say no if you want. But…can I give you a really big hug?”
“Of course!”
Porta threw herself into her mother’s arms, looking utterly content.
Saori caught her and looked down at the child in her arms as if her life was now complete.
Mamako was tearing up a bit, and Kazuno and Medhimama stood by her side. Everyone smiled.
And a little farther behind them…
“Well, the damages were significant, but all’s well that ends well,” Shirase-P said, glancing only briefly at the children lying unconscious on the ground nearby.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login