Aside: Gary and Magic:
Gary:
Since we came to this world every day has been fun. Well it hasn't only been fun and games, we've trained a lot to survive and I've taken my fair share of pain. When we came here I had two big goals, one to keep my sister happy and safe, the second was to learn magic. The first one handled itself, though to be honest I wasn't sure what to do when she got into a fight with Carl. The second however has been damn hard work. From the games and novels I've read you don't ever get a good grasp on how they learn magic. In games you pretty much just click a button and poof you've learnt it and depending on what book they just say the characters figured it out. Well in reality it's painful, just like learning maths… although the rewards are so much better. I'm not sure where Dave's been pulling them from but whenever he teaches us magic he almost always has a book on it to help. It really helps past the time while we're travelling but sometimes I think my head will explode.
That aside we reached the Klerical Kingdom and we even met with the King. Since then it's been two days and we've been chilling in the palace. Dave's told us to be careful who we talk to but he's probably just worrying too much. Today however I was finally going to practice a new technique that I made Dave teach me. Teleportation! We were in the Palace's special inner courtyard where the King's personal Knights exercised.
"Okay are you ready?" Dave asked me and I returned it with a vigorous nod. "Then begin to gather your mana." I did as I was told. "Now you remember what comes next?"
"Yeah," I concentrated as I split the mana apart. I sent half of it away and let the other half surround me. The mana needed to be properly encoded with my desires and in the right order. Too much control and nothing would happen, not enough and I'd probably lose a limb during the jump.
"Okay all good so far. Now slowly join your mana together across space. Don't rush it and make sure that you've got all of you." I nodded again at Dave's advice. Sweat began to build across my forehead.
"You can do it Garr!" my sister yelled encouragingly.
"Not now Sis!" I snapped back frowning.
She laughed and sealed her lips throwing away the key.
"I'm going to do it now," I said nervously to Dave.
"Careful…." He had a suspicious smile on his lips. Whatever, it was now or never. I opened the path between my two mana sources and felt myself get dragged between them. It was the weirdest feeling like being stretched but fully whole and in an instant it was over. When I appeared I immediately noticed two things, one I felt kind of sick and two there was a very noticeable draft across my entire body.
Dave hit the ground in a ball of laughter. Sayuri had her hands over her eyes and turned around. Carl's eyes were wide and my sister froze, then she let out a puff of laughter,
"Well I haven't seen that in a long time."
"Ha?" There was a pile of clothing on the ground where I had just been. Yeah I was naked…. "Dave!" I yelled at him as I brought up the earth to cover me.
"You actually did it!" he laughed and slowly rose from the ground, "Did I forget to tell you to include your clothes?"
"You-!" I began angrily but told myself to calm down, "Don't just laugh pass me my clothes."
"Sure," he was still smiling as he handed them to me. This jerk! I'd get my revenge and it would be sweet, oh just you wait.
Aside End:
Davarious First Born Light of the Autumn Wind:
In the past few days the Heroes, especially Gary, learnt an important lesson, magic could be tricky. When I offered to teach Sayuri teleportation as she was the only other one with talent in that area, she for some reason refused and glared at me. But all that didn't matter right now. The time had come for the King to enact his plan. Four days had passed since we met with the King and he and I had been talking since. When I told the Heroes what was happening last night they were quite surprised but agreed to help out. Right now we were in the biggest room inside the palace. It was where balls or other parties would usually be held and could fit a few thousand if needed.
The Heroes fiddled with their weapons. The King's personal Knights and the Knight Commander were positioned around the palace in case other problems appeared. We were standing next to the King, unlike before he was dressed majestically and held an aura of power as he sat on a makeshift throne.
A group of about a twenty men and women entered the hall.
"You're highness?" an older man gasped in surprise as he saw the King. "What are you doing outside your chambers?"
"Is there a problem for me to be outside?" the King replied coolly.
"It is dangerous for one such as yourself."
"The Heroes are protecting me." Before the man could say anything else the King held up his hand. "All of you please stand before me."
The group did as they were told and I could see a clear sweat start to form on some of them. There were also a few in this group who could be considered tough opponents, well at normal human standards at least.
"If I may speak your highness?" a shrewd looking man asked while bowing his head.
"You may."
"Although you summoned us here, I did not expect for you be here personally. Why have you called us?"
"Hmm that is a question indeed. Do you know the answer?"
"Your highness I'm not sure what you are implying."
"Do not play coy with me! Kneel" his voice boomed across the hall causing them to shiver and drop to their knees. "Do you think I have not known of your actions till now?"
There was silence. They all knew there was no way out of this. Their King had known all along and theirs plans to control the country had been uprooted. And amidst those who earnestly felt ashamed for their actions laughter began to echo. Four men and three women stood up,
"I've been waiting for this," a women in her late thirties grinned. "Do you really think that the Heroes will be able to protect you?"
The King ignored her and faced me, "If you hadn't noticed those seven are the trouble makers."
"I noticed," I replied plainly.
"Ah good, just making sure." He cleared his throat, "Those who are still kneeling please leave the hall." They all left in a hurry. The seven remained. "Now where were we again?"
"The women with the funny hair was getting all up herself," Alicia said.
"Funny hair!? Outrageous, for you to mock me!" she stamped her foot angrily. "Your highness we shall give you the chance to live. Become our God and live your days in peace or die here and ascend for your people."
The King smiled "My people do not need such like you to run this country."
"They are no longer your people, they are mine. I command you to attack!" She yelled loudly to someone. There was no reaction and as the seconds past she became more desperate. "I said to attack!" there was discharge of mana from her as she tried to communicate with her target.
"What I assume you are waiting for are the sounds from the thousand men you trained and infiltrated into the palace as they would presumably take my head and those of my servants." The King simply smiled, "However you should look after your men better. Then again with all those parties and events that you've were being called to lately, it must have been hard to keep track on everything."
"Y-you couldn't have, not all of them!"
"Well I had help," the Kings eyes flashed to me. We hadn't just been relaxing these past four days. Outside of my time as the Hero, the King and I had been actively distracting and removing possible nuisances.
"Tch, Kyle, Latas go!" she commanded the two of the men who had stayed behind. They charged at us but met my barrier and couldn't proceed. A mad smile split her lips, "This is the end!"
The two men scrabbled to get closer and then from their lips, "Defile thy servant." Now where had I heard that before? I clapped my hands as I realised, so this really must have been the same group that tried to assassinate the Heroes before. Already knowing how their spell worked, they simply collapsed to the ground unconscious.
"Im-impossible," the remaining usurpers became unsteady.
"Now if you admit defeat, I'll even be lenient and settle for banishing you," the King looked down upon them.
"No! I will not let all my planning end here!" There was a wave of light and she pulled a jar from somewhere. Inside the jar was a beating heart.
"Hey, isn't that…." I mumbled.
The King nodded, "Indeed, I wonder where they got that from."
"Hey, even for me it'll be a pain to kill that."
"I don't see you stopping her."
"Well it'll be good experience for the others."
Alicia turned to us with a yell, "What are you two mumbling about!? Just what is that?"
By that point the women with the funny hair had already smashed the jar into the ground. The heart free from its confines began to pulsate unnaturally. With each beat it grew in size and the shape of something became more pronounced. The group of usurpers tried to run from the hall but a barrier stopped them. The beating organ was no longer a heart but had transformed into a hideous four legged beast. Its fleshy appearance oozed black goo across the floor releasing an acidic hiss as the substance melted into the stonework. Compared to a human it was easily twice as tall and five times as long.
"To think they could summon a high Warbeast, I'm impressed." The King didn't budge. Indeed the warbeast I had destroyed earlier in the Elsbeth Kingdom was weak in comparison.
Hmm what to do, for now I'll have the Heroes participate. It's not every day where they can fight something on this level.
I changed to a panicked persona, "Everyone careful that's a high Warbeast. It's stronger than it looks!"
"It looks pretty strong…." Gary mumbled.
"Don't just wait for it to come here, get into position and fight! I'll protect the King. Go!"
The warbeast roared spitting slimy black gunk everywhere. Where it landed the walls and floor began to corrode. The usurpers had planned to escape but with nowhere to go they paled as the monster raged. It appeared that they didn't have the appropriate power to control it. It really must have been their last ditch plan.
The Heroes recovered from the ear splitting roar. Carl moved forward as the vanguard and with a powerful thrust of his sword shot a hole through one of its legs. The beast tilted but the leg quickly regenerated.
"What!?" Carl jumped back.
"Keep at it!" I yelled, "Eventually it won't have enough energy to keep going."
"Right!" Gary teleported, this time with clothes included, to the side of the hall. From there he launched a march of fireballs that scorched the beast. As the beast's attention turned to him Alicia launched forward and released a shockwave into its side. The warbeast tittered to the side as a hole opened along its body but like its leg it soon recovered.
With the monstrous beast's attention diverted Sayuri struck hard. Her sword glittered against its back and with a burst of acid a tail fell against the floor spluttering black ooze. There was no way for her to dodge everything as the hazardous gunk clung to bits of her armour sizzling and making short work of the metal. Sayuri's reaction however was quick and by the time the warbeast turned to bite her she had already backed far away, throwing away her broken armour. As a gift from the King of Elsbeth the Heroes' armour was by no means weak and protected by several enchantments which just went to show how much danger the creature in front of them was. The four of them regrouped, their expressions tightening.
"Everyone get clear!" Carl yelled from its front, "Burst raid!" It was an almighty swing. The mana around his blade had become so condensed it became visible spiralling light. The ground gouged apart and if it were not for the barrier the wall would have broken as well. The warbeast under immense pressure practically blew up but only a few seconds later it was whole once again.
The Klerical King sighed beside me, "I wonder how much it will cost to fix this." Unfortunately due to the nature of the warbeast I couldn't bring it into a reality plane. He'd just have to tough it out.
"Shouldn't you be more concerned about the battle?" I asked while watching the Heroes continue to fight.
"Should I be?"
"Not really," I smiled. They were doing really well. There was a certain amount of desperation in them not to lose and it spurred them to perform better. On an opponent like this it would usually take a full platoon of knights to take down and accept casualties. However their teamwork and abilities like usual were astounding and so far I only had to support them a few times when a stray piece of ooze got too close.
"Shall I call my Knight Commander?"
"It would help them but this way they'd get more experience so hold off for now. If it gets bad I'll step in."
The King chuckled, "The Demon Lord is watching over the Heroes."
"Hey, not too loud," I scolded him. While we chatted the Heroes were still fighting hard but each time they struck at the warbeast it simply regenerated. With no end in sight they were beginning to tire. The warbeast retreated back to the other end of the hall. Something began to pool within its mouth. Oh this could be bad.
"Everyone behind Gary!" Carl called and they retreated behind him as Gary casted multiple layers of hardened earth between them and the warbeast. The warbeast reared up on its hind legs and then with an enormous gush slammed down its feet as a torrent of black ooze spewed forth. Gary's walls were melted to nothing and the ooze covered the entire room, however the Heroes remained unscathed.
"Gary!" I yelled at him disappointedly, "Think about the type of attack it is! It would have been better just to use a normal barrier."
"Ah sorry and thanks!" he called back as my barrier protected them. The Heroes were in a bit of a predicament. Although the area around them was safe the rest had been covered by the ooze. I smirked wondering how they would overcome this.
The warbeast was on its last legs. From its appearance I could tell it would no longer regenerate. That last attack was meant to end it. To keep going it needed more energy and that meant eating something. Its eyes flicked to the group huddled in the back corner. I was surprised they were still alive. The beast leaped across the hall and past us to get to them. They screamed.
"Should I save them?" I asked the King.
"If you want to," he shrugged.
"I guess the Heroes would be disappointed if I didn't." Before the warbeast reached them I pulled it back. To my surprise it resisted my pull and instead slid to a halt still fighting against me as its jaws snapped close by the traitorous nobles. I pointed my staff at it, a movement that was mostly for show. A single chain launched out from the air beside me and wrapped around its leg. With another gesture I threw it back towards the Heroes.
"Finish it!" I yelled.
The beast skidded in its own ooze as it landed next to the Heroes. The Heroes nodded determined and before the warbeast could move Sayuri flashed past it cutting off its right legs as she delicately floated to the opposite wall. A burst of light came from Carl as he shot magic from his sword cutting the remaining legs. The beast tried to rise and heal but it no longer had the energy. Even thoughts of a partial escape were thrown away as a tight red cage enclosed around it. Gary grinned and a moment later Alicia fell down upon it.
"Breaker!" as the yell poured from her lungs a massive impact shook the room. With nowhere to go the warbeast expanded pushing against the confines of Gary's cage and after a brief second exploded. The gunk that should have been released trapped inside. As its heart was destroyed the ooze in the room began to disappear and soon enough only the destruction could be seen. Several seconds passed as the Heroes suddenly lost all their bravado, collapsing to their knees and heaving out tired breaths. I couldn't help but smile warmly. They had done well.
The respite didn't last as the door burst open and in came Commander Montegra and her Knights, "Your Highness are you okay?"
"Everything is fine," the King smiled.
The Knight Commander paled at the sight of the room and then burst into a red anger. She jumped towards the King and knocked him on the head, "How is this fine you old Coot!"
The entire room including myself was aghast.
The King however seemed used to it, "It was necessary…."
"Necessary?" she picked him and shook him, "This is why I said to call me if anything happened!"
One of the Knights stepped forward, "C-Commander please put down his highness…."
She flashed him a glare, "It's because you guys are so lenient with him that he acts like this!"
I looked at the King, "Should I help you?"
"It's fine," he coughed, "I'm used to it." I just shrugged. And like that the Klerical Kingdom's stability was assured. The main culprits were jailed and then banished with all their titles and lands stripped from them. The ones who had been an actual help to the country were kept on after the reform, although they were under careful scrutiny. The tale of the Heroes freeing the King from his imprisonment would pass from town to town. It was a dashing tale of how the Heroes barged into the palace demanding to see the King knowing something was wrong and in the end they fought a terrible monster that threatened to wipe out the entire city. As usual it was over exaggerated but things like that were fine.