by Aneko Yusagi
“We’re retreating! Filo, get us out of here.”
“Okay!”
Filo sped off across the field, pulling our carriage away from the towering Spirit Tortoise.
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 bee
n 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 m
y 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.
