Section 4: Nikitich Conflict Resolution

Yes. Taigong Wang.

Oh, you can also call me Lu Shang, or Jiang Ziya, or Grand Duke Jiang... Whatever you like.

T-Taigong Wang Lu Shang...!

Hmm.

Taigong Wang.

I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before. Or...maybe not? No, I think I have...

U-um, I don't know the extent of your knowledge, Ibuki-Douji.

But I can tell you that Taigong Wang Lu Shang is a genius tactician from ancient China's Yinalso known as the Shang dynasty!

He's also said to be the author of the Six Secret Teachings and the Three Strategies, the ultimate techniques Kiichi Hogen guards with her life...

And he's the great hero who fought alongside King Wu of Zhou to defeat the tyrannical King Zhou, the last ruler of Shang!

According to the Investiture of the Gods, he's also a master of sage arts who single-handedly defeated tons of the monsters who threw their lot in with King Zhou and the Shang!

This is great! You guys hit the jackpot!

We overheard the whole thing! Taigong Wang, eh!?

He's also a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, immortal ruler of the Kunlun Mountains and one of the greatest deities in all of Taoism!

Yup! He was one of the key figures in the overthrow of the Shang dynasty!

He's also the one who coined the phrase, "Spilled water never returns to the bowl." It's the Chinese equivalent of "there's no use crying over spilled milk"!

I've read the annotated English translation of the Investiture of the Gods from cover to cover, so I know exactly why you're here, Taigong Wang!

You're here because Daji, King Zhou of Shang's beloved consort, famed for her beauty and the havoc she wreaked all throughout China...

...is actually the Fair-faced Golden Foxa millennium fox spirit and a Beast. Right?

Daji was a Beast all along, right?

...Right?

Well, are you going to answer the man?

Oh, yes, of course. It was just so obvious, thought it was a rhetorical question.

Yes, that's right.

Daji was what you nowadays call a Beastone of the Evils of Humanity.

Man, but she was tough, too!

Seriously!

Aha! I knew it!

？！

？！

(U-um, Senpai?)

(I'm pretty sure I remember Tamamo-no-Mae being very clear that she wasn't Daji...)

Hm? Daji?

Sure I was, woof.

Most of the legends of to Tamamo-no-Mae say she washed up in Japan after committing all kinds of atrocities in China and India...

...so of course, they make her out to be the worst kind of monster.

Daji of Shang! Bao Si of Zhou! The great evil god who demanded a tribute of a thousand heads in the Magadha Kingdom!

She's one of the worst foxes in the history of ever! She gives all Tamamos a bad name!

Absolutely not!

I'll thank you to put a stop to this Daji slander.

In fact, when you talk about her, it sounds like a confession, so I'd really appreciate you stopping.

Whoa, the way you just casually brushed over the parts about Zhou and Magadha... I'll need to remember how you did that for later.

Okay, but really though, are you sure you're not excluding Daji because you're actually worried about her?

C'mon, why not accept Bao Si, aka Daji, as part of your story, too? We're all the same, and we're all great in our own way!

Don't be ridiculous. Bao Si and Daji are as different as chalk and cheese sticks.

Sure, maybe we look alike if you squint a bit, but that's about it.

Look. They say Daji was one of the most evil women ever to walk this world.

They say she was an unrivalled ruiner of nations who delighted in torturing and killing people by making them walk oiled pipes over charcoal fires...

And, okay, maybe I did some things, but I never went anything like that far.

Gotcha. So even though, as the original Tamamo, your nation-ruiner gauge pops up whenever you max out your good wife gauge...

...you still say you never did anything so major as taking an entire nation for your husband, huh?

Now, you listen, and listen good, Cat. I'm going to put an end to this once and for all.

I know nothing of Daji in any way, shape, or form. That is my story, and I'm sticking to it!

Hm? Is something wrong?

O-oh, no, it's nothing.

Taigong Wang! I remember now!

You're basically the progenitor of military strategy as we know it! You're a renowned general and tactician, and you later went on to found the state of Qi!

...Right?

Hehe. I may not remember anything about myself, but I guess I still have that bit of knowledge tucked away in my brain.

So Chaldea's finally got a genuine legend helping us out, huh? Sounds good to me!

Fou fou!

That's...sort of a weird thing to hear from a Divine Spirit...

I'm also pretty sure the Spirit Origin graph isn't exactly short of other legendary figures...but I get what you're saying!

I take it you two are both Rogue Servants then?

Even though it's apparently really difficult for most Heroic Spirits to even materialize here...

Oh yes, it definitely is!

I'm doing my best to not disappear even as we speak. Fortunately, I was able to improvise a fangshu that helped...

But to be completely honest, even with that, it's rough being here.

Really? It is?

Huh?

You know, now that you mention it...you don't seem all that affected by this environment, Nikitich.

'Cause I'm not.

Being here's no problem for me at all. You know what I'm talking about, right, dragon lady?

Hm, yeah. It's not really a problem for me either, warrior lady.

Fufu, so you could tell I'm a dragon, huh? I kind of had the sense I might be one.

Hmm, hmm.

Maybe we have more in common than we think!

(Personally, I'm curious what's going on under that hat and with that tail, too... Maybe she's a werewolf? I mean, I GUESS it's possible, but I don't know...)

Let's see, first off...

Nikitich, I bet you're pretty skilled, aren't you?

...Well?

Well, are you going to answer the woman?

Oh, right. Sorry, I got kind of caught up watching the dragon talk, so I wasn't thinking.

(R-right.)

(I wonder if they share some kind of connection we don't know about?)

(Oh yes! They're getting along so well!)

？！

I'm Dobrynya Nikitich. I'm a dragon.

You can call me Dobrynya or Nikitich. Doesn't matter to me.

You already told us your True Name, but okay. Dobrynya Nikitich it is!

You're going with both, huh... Greedy girl.

You're one of the legendary Bogatyrs, a renowned dragon slayer who served the Grand Prince of Kiev.

A hero of Kiev, eh!

Nikitich... Hmm. Yes, I've heard that name before.

You single-handedly defeated Gorynych, a many-headed zmeithat's Russian for dragon.

And twice, no less! I remember hearing stories about your journey to Constantinople too.

I'm a little surprised to see you as a woman, but then again, this sort of thing does seem to happen with Heroic Spirits kind of a lot!

And sometimes, we get bigger or smaller, too!

Yup.

I'm really strong. I can do just about anything.

I see, I see!

So now we can count Taigong Wang the Beast Hunter and Dobrynya Nikitich the dragon slayer among our allies!

That's a great start to our operation, and I'd say it bodes well for the future, too!

Right!

...Taigong Wang? Nikitich?

Yes?

Hm?

I'm so sorry we didn't properly introduce ourselves sooner.

I'm Mash Kyrielight, a Demi-Servant.

I'm working for the Chaldea Security Organization to help restore human history.

And this is my Master...

？！

Pleased to meet you.

So you're the last Master and Servant of humanity, hm? Lord Yuanshi Tianzun has told me all about your exploits...

Which is to say, I know a great deal about all of you thanks to the guidance of human history.

Don't worry about Nikitich. I've caught her up.

I don't know much about capital-H Humanity, but there's someone here who wants to get rid of it, right?

Then I'll smash her up good. Simple as that.

How...enthusiastic. That's the most reassuring thing I've heard in a while.

No wonder you got so famous.

Buuut...is it just me, or does she seem kinda of, erm, bloodthirsty? Can we really count on her? Are we sure she's not a Berserker?

Don't worry, she's definitely a Rider. I mean, we're communicating right now no problem, right?

Yeah, I can talk. I did a great job mastering human words.

(And it's pretty clear that is a recent state of affairs!)

Okay, Taigong Wang and Nikitich, let's just make sure we're all after the same thing here.

We're pursuing the being we expect is running this entire Special Region...

Tamamo Vitch Koyanskaya.

She's an immature Beast IV who used to flit from Lostbelt to Lostbelt...

...but now, for some reason, she seems to have settled down here.

We still don't know the specifics...

But, worst-case scenario, she's preparing to mature into a full-grown Beast.

We're looking to eliminate her before that happens...

...and we'd like you two to help us. What do you say?

I'm so glad you asked.

As a matter of fact, I've been anxiously awaiting your arrival.

I'm relieved to see you Chaldeans are just as friendly as I'd been told. Phew!

Buttering them up already?

Hahaha, I'm not buttering them up. I'm just paying them a compliment.

Isn't that the same thing?

Well I'm not gonna compliment you. Hmph.

If you're gonna fight to save the world, you need to be strong enough.

That's better. That cloth was just getting in the way.

Wai

I'm gonna see what you guys are made of. Got it?

Yeah.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's all just calm down. You already saw their skill in battle against the Lostkin, remember?

And I said, I'm gonna see what they're made of.

!

M-Master! Nikitich's magical energy is rising quickly!

So much for our peaceful negotiations... Must it ALWAYS go this way?

Here I come.

Chaldean Heroic Spirits! And you, Master guy!

Show me what you've got!

Hahahahaha!

Kngh!

Hahaha, not used to aerial combat, are you!?

？！

At least she's not pelting us with projectiles, but we're still at a disadvantage!

I could fly up there to fight her, but I don't feel right leaving you two alone...

I know! We can use the trees as cover! Follow me!

Oh no, you don't.

Wow!

That tingles! What a weird feeling!

She's using her wyverns as though they were fighter jets...

It looks like Dobrynya Nikitich is a more formidable enemy than we thought, Master!

And on top of that, she's using attacks made to hurt dragonkin against Ibuki-Douji!

Yup! She's a dragon slayer who actually RIDES her own dragon! Talk about winning the skill lottery!

Then that white dragon might just be Nikitich's legendary horse in a new form!

Watch out, guys! That's no ordinary dragon! Think of it more like a Heroic Spirit in its own right!

Heroes are supposed to challenge impossible odds!

So challenge them!

Don't tell me you're going to give up just 'cause you can't fly!

...Well that's just silly.

No, no, I think you're going too far there, Nikitich.

That's like telling a turtle to fly, or a lost child to just figure out a way home.

We're all adults here, so we can adapt as necessary.

So what if they can't fly?

So what if they can't defy the impossible odds you set before them?

All they need is a little help. In this case...

...from me.

!

...!

Huh? You guys are floating, too?

？！

？！

Yes, Master! This is just like the magecraft that lets someone walk on air!

I'll be backing up the two Chaldeans with my fangshu.

As for myself, I'll be riding on Sì Bú Xiàng here. I am a Rider, after all.

Huh?

Look out! She's gonna dive-bomb us again!

Then we'll just have to go higher than her! Come on!

Wind sorcery!? Taigong Wang!

I've managed to limit her mobility, but only temporarily! Now, let's see...

Lady Ibuki-Douji!

On it!

Mash! Give me a foothold!

R-right! Here, use my shield as a springboard!

Thanks!

Okay, here goes!

Fake Noble Phantasm: Overarm Octo-Pulsing Billow!

？！

She said it was fake, so I think she's just going to charge!

？！

A flying earth dragon! No fair! But it is beautiful!

I see your resolve, and your bravery!

A perfect way to decide the winner! Bring it!

...!

...Brilliant!

You did a great job of piercing my mount's wing! I'm impressed!

See? I can just barely stay aloft now.

Your teamwork was as excellent as your swordplay.

Unless I have Taigong Wang heal my mount's wing, or let him use his spirit form to rest...

...I won't be able to stay in the air.

You win, Chaldea. Now, for the time being...

...let's get back on the ground!

Sounds good.

This new fake Noble Phantasm technique really takes a lot out of me...

？！

... ...

...Using my full strength is kind of tiring. Oof.

(Inhale... Exhale...)

...Good idea. Whew.

？！

There we go.

Good work, my mount. Stay in your spirit form until you feel better.

Now then.

You Chaldeans are pretty good!

Fou, fooou!

Phew. I'm glad things worked out this time...but my poor heart would thank you for not doing this kind of thing again.

Hahaha. Hahaha.

I know that laugh. You've learned nothing here, have you?

Not to worry, my good man. I won't let her pull a stunt like that again.

Besides, she was mainly just showing off here.

And Heroic Spirits don't generally feel a need to prove their strength twice, do they?

True. Demonstrating how strong you are in battle is a simple and effective negotiation tactic.

Though I'll also say I'm glad we had your help for this one. Thanks, Taigong Wang.

Not at all!

My goodness, Lady Dobrynya Nikitich. Once you make up your mind, you don't change it for anything, do you?

You certainly are a willful young warrior.

Are you calling me selfish? 'Cause I'm not.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...

Yeah?

Yeah.

Aww.

How about we set this stuff aside for now, shall we? Besides, people didn't even have notions of psychological ideas like ego when we were alive!

Fo fou fou, Merlifou!

Yeow.

S-stop that, Fou!

What's gotten into you? Huh? He's just like Merlin?

That doesn't matter. Besides, it's insulting to both him and Merlin to assume they're alike.

Fou...

Mo... Momomomo...

There, you see? Even the tapir next to Taigong Wang is upse

Huh?

A tapir?

Mo. Momo.

Fou!

Momomomo.

？！

I-I don't know, but he looks adorable!

Oh, yes, this is my little Sì Bú Xiàng. It's what he looks like when he's not in battle mode.

Mo. Mo.

It's nice to meet you, Sì Bú Xiàng.

Mo. Momo.

Oh my, that's odd. He's usually so shy around strangers.

Maybe his personality changes while he's a Noble Phantasm? Fascinating.

...Anyway.

If we may put Sì Bú Xiàng aside for now, my good Chaldeans, we have a lot to discuss.

As I'm sure you suspect, Dobrynya Nikitich and I materialized in this territory before you arrived.

As Heroic Spirits on the side of humanity, we naturally did so to destroy the being that lies at its heart.

I believe we know a good deal more about this place than you do, and we would be happy to serve as your guides.

However, there is unfortunately still a lot we don't know about you.

All we really know is that you're an organization that fights for humanity.

We have no idea about the trials you've overcome to date, your current situation...

...or anything pertaining to the six Lostbelts you've taken down.

So before we go any farther, I would like to suggest that we both share what we know. How about it?

I see...

Yes, that sounds great. We could really use all the information we can get right now!

？！

I see, I see. Those six Lostbelts were really something, hm?

So THAT'S why there are six of them here... Hm, that explains quite a lot.

Thank you very much. Now I can better explain what's going on here.

...Mmm. Hmmm. I know there may not be much point in saying this now, after the fact...

But I'm in charge, so I need to say it anyway.

Fujimaru. Kyrielight. Do you really think field ops agents should be quite so...forthcoming?

It would be one thing if we didn't have any information at all, but to share the many things we do know so easily with Heroic Spirits you've only just met is

(Muffled grunting)

Come on, Chubs. This ain't exactly Fujimaru and Mash's first rodeo. They know what they're doing.

They believe they can trust these Servants, and they want to. That's why they're taking the shortest possible path to get there: exchanging information.

They wouldn't do that unless they were confident in these Servants' character. Right, guys?

？！

...

...Well, um...

Hm?

Yes?

I'm very happy you're so keen on the idea of exchanging information...

...but I was hoping to make a little deal first, actually.

You see, there's actually something I'd like to take care of before sharing valuable intel... Ahaha.

... ...

...I see.

Um...

... ...

(I don't really know what they're talking about, so I think it's snack time. Want some, Sì Bú Xiàng?)

(Mo. Mo.)

(Hmm. Maybe he'd prefer carrots over jerky.)

(Why did I even bring carrots with me? Oh well.)

(Okay, here you go. Some nice, yummy carrots.)

(Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch)

(Wow! You've got one heck of an appetite, don't you!?)

You idiot!

Gaah!

Look! My dragon and Sì Bú Xiàng are getting bored 'cause you can't get to the damn point!

... ...

(Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch)

Look! Doesn't he have a hearty appetite!?

Delifou!

AhAhahahaha! You've got me there!

You're right, I messed up! Just look at Sì Bú Xiàng go to town on those carrots!

All right, I understand. I'll get straight to the point then!

That said, this is sort of a thorny issue, and one we'll have to confront sooner or later.

You see, there's a place I'd like to show you all to best share the information we have.

But, the quickest way to get there...

...requires us to cut through an incredibly powerful creature's lair.

And when I say "incredibly powerful"...

...I mean something that makes those giants you fought earlier look like nothing.

？！

？！

Indeed.

We'll need to eliminate this creature if I'm going to safely show you around the place I'd like you all to see.

Besides, we also need to whittle the enemy's forces down at some point.

So, what do you say, Chaldeans? I leave the decision in your hands.

Hmm. If that's what Taigong wants to do, I'll go along with it.

I'm with you, whatever you decide, of course, Master.

Master.

？！

Right!

Oho. Good call.

？！

Then it's settled.

Come along then. This will be our first operation together!

This blizzard is making it very hard to see!

Please hold on to me, Master! This is no ordinary weather!

And then there's the

Lightning, huh.

Yup. Lightning.

Hang on. What's that past the lightning? A mountain?

No, it's not a mountain.

Now I get it. So they've got that kind of stuff here, huh.

Maybe that's why I'm here. This is all so messed up.

That's right. That's no mountain. It's someone you're already very familiar with.

A being who commands lightning and blizzards, and who commands incredible magical energy.

Of the various kings who disappeared into the riftsome of them peacefully, some of them kicking and screaminghe was the very first...

Ivan the Terrible, the wandering glacier!

？！

...!

That's right! A complete recreation of Ivan the Terrible constructed entirely from magical energy!

Of course, I only learned his actual name earlier when you told me about the Lostbelts, but never mind that now.

At any rate, the unfortunate truth of the matter is, he's been made into one of Daji's weapons!

At present, he's one of the single strongest creatures in this place, and he's guarding his base.

And that, as I'm sure you can imagine, is quite the conundrum!

Yeah, I can see that.

He's strong. And heavy. Very heavy. Did I mention strong?

And to make matters worse, he'll even leave his base to lend his aid to other areas if he's needed...

...which, for all intents and purposes, makes him an incredible

Pain in the ass.

Indeed.

...Wow. I'm amazed.

You guys are planning to take THAT thing on?

Ahahahahahaha, that's great! Those three giant generals earlier were exciting, but this! Wow!

I like you guys! This will definitely be worth the hard work!

What do you think, Master? Me going all out won't kill you, right?

？！

...Got it. Then I'll go even harder.

Just don't blame me if you run out of magical energy, okay?

Fo, fooou!

I-it's okay, Fou. I always keep a close eye on Senpai's magical energy levels!

Fou!

I'll have Orochi hold that big elephant down!

Then you guys hit him with everything you've got!

Right!

I'm ready for battle! Habetrot, can you help me?

I'm up again, huh? You got it! Whoa! When'd it get so cold!?

Aw, who cares!? Don't worry! I'm not gonna let a little frost bring me down! I'll make sure the Black Barrel's okay, too!

Huh, I didn't know you had another small friend. And you mean business, too. Heh, not bad!

All right everyone, let's get him!