Chapter 56.

Fitoria tapped her fingers on the armrest of the seat. She was happy with the well-cushioned seat having just the right shape to lean back while keeping her wings comfortable. However, despite her carriage having been transformed into its fastest form for aerial transport, she was impatient.

She observed the newest Sword Hero and wondered why she had stopped compelling the Heroes to deal with the Waves. Fitoria knew that she had done so in the past but she couldn't remember why she had stopped. When the previous sets of Heroes had been summoned she had commanded them to fight some of the Waves while suppressing most of them by herself even though she had been annoyed by it.

This Sword Hero was the strongest Hero of his generation. It was like this sometimes, with one Hero standing above the rest, and she preferred it this way since she only had to tell the strongest Hero to get the others to work properly. This time was a little odd though. She had never seen a Vassal Hero who could take Legendary Heroes across worlds. Still, she knew that the Book Hero wasn't very strong. It was likely that he had a Vassal Weapon that specialized in fighting Legendary Heroes. Even then it was better than whenever two or more Heroes were equals. It was always annoying once they started fighting.

Fitoria had to kill the entire set whenever that happened. They never listened to her when she asked them nicely to stop.

This Hero didn't like listening to her either but he obeyed even if it was only because he was scared of her. That was enough. She didn't think he would stop being scared of her for as long as she was stronger than he was.

Heroes were never stronger than her.

Fitoria frowned as she considered that. He wouldn't listen to her if he was consumed by a Curse.

She turned her senses on to him. For an instant, all she could see was what her mundane senses allowed. He was sitting stiffly in his seat with Trystan seated on his armrest, his head on the Sword Hero's shoulder. The Hero had his eyes closed but she knew that he was awake. The Racoon girl was sleeping in another large seat with the other demi-human. The Bow Hero was lying down right next to the Sword Hero on a seat that had been pushed back to form a makeshift bed. Her senses expanded and she felt his mana and the mana of the spirit of the Sword fused like two halves of the same coin. Fitoria focused for a second to filter out all the other sources of mana, that of the sleeping girl from the pacifier bloodline, the other demi-human as well as Trystan.

The first thing that struck her was how content the spirit of the sword was. Despite his anchor taking steps towards the Curse Series, it was pleased. As if it had eaten a delicious meal and was resting out in the warm sunlight. The Hero himself was not calm. Anger and worry were vividly visible in his aura but even as she observed, the rage was leashed and determination replaced it. Occasional spikes of despair rose but were suppressed, not erased, but pushed away for the moment. Fitoria considered him for a few minutes longer, trying to see how many steps this Hero had taken towards the Curse Series, and found that she had little to worry about. The Hero still had hope. That was enough for now. But she was not willing to risk giving him more power, even if he would need it for the later Waves until he had fully regained his equilibrium. She was tempted to do that so he wouldn't bother her and would crush the Waves and deal with the Protective Beasts when they awakened but stopped herself. It wouldn't be right.

Her duty was a burden she hated her master for.

Fitoria pushed away her esoteric senses and the guilt of thinking badly of her master and returned to the mundane world. The world settled and she saw the sleeping Racoon Demi-human who was leaning against the other girl who was awake and looking out the window, fascinated by how the clouds were being pushed away. The Sword Hero didn't react to her observation and his son was simply sleeping after having tired himself out after spending hours alternating between enjoying the view and worrying about his sister.

Her Vassal Weapon sent her a warning as they neared the next Hourglass. Much like the previous 30 or so this one was also on a continent that humans and demi-humans had not set foot on in hundreds of years. Even the previous Heroes had been unaware of it. Fitoria suspected that she had been the only person who had even bothered to come to this place and if the Hero did his job properly then she wouldn't have to come here again.

The thought was a relief. She tried to ignore that. This was only a good way to prepare the Hero for future Waves.

"Sword Hero," she said. The Hero opened his eyes, looked her way and then observed the door she had opened. He nodded at her before slowly pushing his son off of himself and then moved towards the door. He didn't pause as he stepped outside of the carriage and continued to walk on the thin platform made out of mana. A long moment of observation, with various skills, later he activated his high-speed movement skill.

It was a familiar set of events and the annoyance she had felt due to his long, unnecessary inspection had faded into oblivion a couple of seconds after he left.

Fitoria tracked him as he moved and waited for several moments. She could tell that he had used a set of attack skills but it was only when he registered with the last Dragon Hourglass on this continent that she smiled. With this, the Hero had been bound to all the Hourglasses on this continent and most of the Hourglasses on the main continent.

The Sword Hero reappeared in the carriage and she quickly activated her portal. Directing it towards the only Hourglass far from the continents. Fitoria felt her irritation spike as her Portal was redirected and pushed away.

"What was that?" asked the Hero, as he held onto Trystan tightly, making sure that the boy didn't fall as the entire Carriage shook.

The demi-humans held onto each other and their seats and so were fine as well and relaxed once the shaking stopped but the Bow Hero, who hadn't needed any support until now since the carriage had been travelling through a corridor of isolated space preventing any shocks or interruptions, fell onto the floor. The Sword Hero got up, made sure that Trystan was seated carefully, and picked the Bow Hero from the floor and put him back into his previous position.

"Fitoria?" he asked after he was done. This time it was directed at her rather than it being an empty question. She could sense that he was preparing for battle.

She glanced at him before shaking her head, "Don't worry." she said, as she reached out to the Water Dragon whose barrier had interrupted her, "We are not in danger."

The Sword Hero looked sceptical but she put him out of her mind as she felt the Dragon Emperor's fragment respond. Fitoria tried to keep her disgust for the thing away from her mind. The Water Dragon was the only Dragon she knew that had deliberately accepted a fragment. She didn't know why anyone would be willing to live such a hollow life. To exist for a short time and then have their soul consumed one small fraction at a time.

[Query: Emergency?]

Fitoria frowned but used her Vassal Weapon to answer. She ordered him to remove the barrier and allow her access to the Hourglass.

[Denial: Legendary Spirit Implement Not Permitted]

Fitoria flared her power and aimed the cannons on the outside of her carriage at the barrier and waited.

It didn't take long.

Fitoria dismissed his concerns. This dragon who had not known anything but enslavement to a fragment had no right to speak to her. She followed the flow of the Dragon Veins to the Hourglass.

"Sword Hero," she said, opening the door, expecting him to move out as he always did. Instead, he stayed seated and raised an eyebrow.

"What happened Fitoria?" he asked after she tilted her head in response, "what was that shock?"

"A barrier made by the Water Dragon," she said, wondering why his senses hadn't detected that, she knew he had Mana Sight and FarSight.

"A barrier powerful enough to block you?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No," she said, "just enough to divert the teleportation. It was removed after I told it to remove the barrier."

"Is it safe?" he asked, "Is the Water Dragon an enemy?"

He didn't know about the Water Dragon. Fitoria frowned as she turned towards the girl with the Pacifier Bloodline. She could tell that the Racoon was untrained but Fitoria had no doubt that this girl was of the main line. The blessing needed to use the Sakura Lumina was present within the girl. Was she truly unaware?

"Ms Fitoria?" asked the Pacifier, her voice hesitant.

Fitoria shook it off. None of this mattered.

"It is safe." she said to the Sword Hero, "the Water Dragon will not fight you."

And he wouldn't, especially since he was on the other side of the country, even if he did, she would blast him.

The Sword Hero stared at her for a long moment before nodding. He went through an even longer version of his ritual before moving downwards using his skill. Fitoria frowned as the Water Dragon reached for the Hero. She inspected the communication but let it be after she noted that they were merely speaking and that the Hero was being guided towards the Hourglass.

"Fitoria," asked Trystan, while she was waiting, "will big brother be okay?"

She turned to see that he was very concerned. He was biting his lip as he looked at her with concern in his eyes. He was waiting. Waiting like she had whenever her master had gone to fight without her.

"He's fine," she said, checking just to be certain, "The Sword Hero will be back soon."

To her surprise he shook his head, "Not about him going down." he said, "about Isis being gone to this other world. He's really worried even though I know that sis will be okay and I don't know what to do."

Fitoria hesitated, she knew that the Sword Hero was angry and scared and determined, but he was almost always like that. His worry and concern were also like before, back when she met him for the first time and fought Isis and Trystan. Fitoria knew that Isis had been sent to another world, she could sense the Filolial through their shared connection thanks to her Vassal Weapon, it was why she was sure that the Shield Hero was alive and why she had reassured the Sword Hero before, even if he hadn't relaxed at all despite that. Plus, she had agreed to help him with travelling there and had given him both a new Enhancement Method for his soul and the chance to fight many Waves to empower himself.

"He will be fine," she honestly reassured her heir, "your master will be okay soon."

The boy smiled at her brightly, all fear and uncertainty removed before he paused and looked at her with a little bit of confusion, "He's my brother," said the baby filolial.

She smiled at him, "Of course,"

He pouted at her statement, "Fitoria-" he started, before turning to the Sword Hero who had appeared inside the carriage, "Big Bro! Welcome back!"

The Hero looked a little puzzled but smiled back at the boy and moved into his seat as he patted his head, "You're quite excited all of a sudden," he muttered.

"I'm not!" exclaimed the child, while the other smiled at him, amused. Some of the negative emotions lifted and Fitoria could feel the precise moment when the Sword Hero realized why Trystan was acting so energetically. His emotions were bittersweet and for a moment she was tempted.

Fitoria shook her head, removing her foolish thoughts, and ignored the conversation. She focused on the Legendary Sword, a moment was all she needed to confirm that he was registered to all the Hourglasses. She smiled as satisfaction surged through her. She wouldn't have to fight the Waves as long as the Hero did his part. Fitoria knew that he was scared of her and that he needed her help with the Shield Hero and Isis. He would not disobey.

"Fitoria," said the Sword Hero, pulling out a map using his sword, "can you point me towards the Spear Hero? I can deal with him before the Next Wave."

Fitoria shrugged before focusing on the combined effect of draining and then altering the power of the Dragon Veins that all the Heroes had. She ignored the two nearby sources and the dimensionally distant one and tried to narrow down the exact location of the last one. It took her a minute to find the warping effect and a long moment to get a grasp on exactly where it was. Her Vassal Weapon flared up and told her where the place was on a map and she pointed it out on his.

He frowned at the area she had marked, "Near the capital," he muttered, before turning to her and speaking normally, "Thank you Fitoria,"

She nodded and then waited as he hesitated for a moment before he spoke again, "Would you be willing to temporarily go on the other side of the rift and level up whatever team I send to find the Shield Hero and Isis?" his voice was firm, but his emotions were volatile, "The biggest risk to any party that goes to another dimension shall be during the start when the Wave is in play but it is also the biggest chance to get some experience. With your help, they could level up fast thanks to your weapon and you'd be able to return without any risk."

Fitoria paused and twisted the idea in her head. "That is fine," she said, realizing that without the Waves she was not busy at all, and like this, she wouldn't disobey her master either, as she would still be here to defend the world.

The Hero waited for some reason and she tilted her head wondering what he wanted, "Thank you," he finally said, preparing his portal, "We'll take our leave."

The Sword Hero picked up the other Hero and then quickly got his party ready. She nodded at the various goodbye's and allowed the Portal to activate.

They were gone between one heartbeat and the next. She could sense that the destination was quite close to the area where she had first tested Isis and Trystan. She almost activated her own portal but paused for a second. Something felt odd. It took her many long seconds before she understood.

The carriage was empty.

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