Brotherly Love
We returned to Goug with the stone. As usual, Ramza and Mustadio went inside to talk to Bersrodio. I decided to wait for them outside the house.
Before they could come out, a spiky haired man exited the room. He had blue eyes that shone with a strange energy, and clothes that I'd never seen before. I wondered where he had come from. Maybe Bersrodio took on an apprentice.
Ramza and Mustadio exited the room. Both seemed perplexed, probably as a result of whatever experiment was conducted. Then, Ramza noticed me waiting there.
"Have you seen Cloud?" he asked me, "Spiky blond hair, ethereal blue eyes, and strange clothes that are not of this world? Turns out that Bersrodio's new contraption was a forwarding device. We've got to find him before he wreaks havoc in Ivalice, as he doesn't know the laws or the situation here. He also said something about being a soldier of a sort, and you know how some soldiers get over the prospect of battle." He was no doubt thinking about his younger self, from the days of the Death Corps. He'd told me about how he had hunted them, and how it lead to Delita turning into what he is today.
"He just left," I told them. We then began to head to the meeting place. Hopefully, the others will already be there, and we can get going.
Suddenly, Rafa came running towards us. I could see the urgency in her eyes, as she struggled to catch her breath. Most likely, she'd run clear across town. She stated, "Ramza, I've got important news. I was in the bar with Malak, and overheard about Shrine Knights visiting Igros a lot lately. Maybe one of your brothers has contracted a Lucavi."
Ramza nodded. "Then we head to Igros right away. I don't know which brother it might be, but I'd hate to see innocents die by the hands of my own flesh. We might even find clues as to where Alma is while we're there." * * *
When we arrived, we found Zalbag fighting against Dycedarg. I only heard snippets of the conversation, but it seemed that Dycedarg had murdered Larg, and now Zalbag had heard some things that proved his older brother had murdered their father as well. Looks like we've just found out which brother was given the Zodiac Stone. Not to mention that he was one of the faces I found on the demons in my dreams.
And we were correct. The second Dycedarg fell, the Capricorn Stone began to glow. Suddenly, a bright light surrounded him, and he transformed into a goat monster named Adramelk.
"Heh, heh. . .so that's it. . .now I know," he cackled, turning to Zalbag, "Young fool. Here's a souvenir for you on your way to Hell. I killed Balbanes. . .yes I did it. The Beoulve's finally had their chance to rule. . .but he blew it! That idiot! So I killed him. . .even a sword master can't fight poison." Then, he murdered Zalbag with his magic, and turned on us.
I saw the rage in Ramza's eyes. This demon had killed his father, who loved him dearly, and now his older brother, who he greatly respected. The young man charged Adramelk, but was thrown back. "Fool, do you truly believe you can kill me?" asked Adramelk.
Suddenly, he felt a spear in his side. I had equipped the Ultimate Javelin before the fight, and now used it to strike him down. Then, I began to charge up a Flare spell. All the while, I held the weapon tightly, paralyzing Adramelk.
Adramelk screamed, "You fool! If you're too close to me, when you cast the spell, you might get caught up in the attack, and die yourself."
I laughed at this. "I'll send you to Hell first. My brother was murdered by your kind, I will never let you get away with doing the same to Ramza."
"Meliadoul!" exclaimed Ramza, "Don't do this! I don't want to win at the expense of your life. There must be another way."
"Don't worry about me. You need to save Alma, so you need to live. I have nothing much more in this life, the least I could do is protect you," I told him.
Suddenly, I felt a protective Aura around me. It was Leon casting Shell 2. Margurita soon followed up with a Masamune - - Regen and Reraise. I should have known that my friends would be there for me, no matter what I did.
Adramelk laughed, "It will all be in vain. I will survive this feeble attack, while she will be knocked backwards. Then I can continue killing you all!"
His laughs were cut short when Agrias used Stasis Sword, and Ramza struck him with his sword. He was weakening fast, and he knew it. With everyone working together, he might not survive the spell, as he originally thought he would.
I soon finished charging up. "Here's what you deserve for all of your evil deeds! FLARE!" The flames spread all over Adramelk, killing him instantly. I took some of the backlash, and was knocked backwards. After that, I fell into an unconscious state.
* * *
I woke in the tent a little while later. Sage and Leon weren't there though. The only person in the tent with me, was Ramza.
"I wanted to see if you were ok," he said, "You frightened me. I thought you were a goner back there. I mean, I know how powerful your magic is."
"Thank you, it means a lot to me, hearing that from you," I replied.
Ramza told me, "We're going to head to Zarghidas Trade City. I have a hunch that we'll find Cloud if we go there. There's no telling what trouble he's gotten into."
I looked at him. "Whatever you want to do, you have my full support in any endeavor."
"We'll leave in the morning," Ramza said, "After we're sure your burns have healed completely. I don't want you hurt any worse on this journey. I'll see you in the morning, goodnight Meliadoul." He gave me one last concerned look, and left the tent.
"Goodnight, Ramza," I whispered.
- - - -
Ok, I really like Meliadoul with Black Magic. Well, I like her with Throw more, but we already have Tess for that. Besides, it just set up for this nice little scene between the two of them.
We returned to Goug with the stone. As usual, Ramza and Mustadio went inside to talk to Bersrodio. I decided to wait for them outside the house.
Before they could come out, a spiky haired man exited the room. He had blue eyes that shone with a strange energy, and clothes that I'd never seen before. I wondered where he had come from. Maybe Bersrodio took on an apprentice.
Ramza and Mustadio exited the room. Both seemed perplexed, probably as a result of whatever experiment was conducted. Then, Ramza noticed me waiting there.
"Have you seen Cloud?" he asked me, "Spiky blond hair, ethereal blue eyes, and strange clothes that are not of this world? Turns out that Bersrodio's new contraption was a forwarding device. We've got to find him before he wreaks havoc in Ivalice, as he doesn't know the laws or the situation here. He also said something about being a soldier of a sort, and you know how some soldiers get over the prospect of battle." He was no doubt thinking about his younger self, from the days of the Death Corps. He'd told me about how he had hunted them, and how it lead to Delita turning into what he is today.
"He just left," I told them. We then began to head to the meeting place. Hopefully, the others will already be there, and we can get going.
Suddenly, Rafa came running towards us. I could see the urgency in her eyes, as she struggled to catch her breath. Most likely, she'd run clear across town. She stated, "Ramza, I've got important news. I was in the bar with Malak, and overheard about Shrine Knights visiting Igros a lot lately. Maybe one of your brothers has contracted a Lucavi."
Ramza nodded. "Then we head to Igros right away. I don't know which brother it might be, but I'd hate to see innocents die by the hands of my own flesh. We might even find clues as to where Alma is while we're there." * * *
When we arrived, we found Zalbag fighting against Dycedarg. I only heard snippets of the conversation, but it seemed that Dycedarg had murdered Larg, and now Zalbag had heard some things that proved his older brother had murdered their father as well. Looks like we've just found out which brother was given the Zodiac Stone. Not to mention that he was one of the faces I found on the demons in my dreams.
And we were correct. The second Dycedarg fell, the Capricorn Stone began to glow. Suddenly, a bright light surrounded him, and he transformed into a goat monster named Adramelk.
"Heh, heh. . .so that's it. . .now I know," he cackled, turning to Zalbag, "Young fool. Here's a souvenir for you on your way to Hell. I killed Balbanes. . .yes I did it. The Beoulve's finally had their chance to rule. . .but he blew it! That idiot! So I killed him. . .even a sword master can't fight poison." Then, he murdered Zalbag with his magic, and turned on us.
I saw the rage in Ramza's eyes. This demon had killed his father, who loved him dearly, and now his older brother, who he greatly respected. The young man charged Adramelk, but was thrown back. "Fool, do you truly believe you can kill me?" asked Adramelk.
Suddenly, he felt a spear in his side. I had equipped the Ultimate Javelin before the fight, and now used it to strike him down. Then, I began to charge up a Flare spell. All the while, I held the weapon tightly, paralyzing Adramelk.
Adramelk screamed, "You fool! If you're too close to me, when you cast the spell, you might get caught up in the attack, and die yourself."
I laughed at this. "I'll send you to Hell first. My brother was murdered by your kind, I will never let you get away with doing the same to Ramza."
"Meliadoul!" exclaimed Ramza, "Don't do this! I don't want to win at the expense of your life. There must be another way."
"Don't worry about me. You need to save Alma, so you need to live. I have nothing much more in this life, the least I could do is protect you," I told him.
Suddenly, I felt a protective Aura around me. It was Leon casting Shell 2. Margurita soon followed up with a Masamune - - Regen and Reraise. I should have known that my friends would be there for me, no matter what I did.
Adramelk laughed, "It will all be in vain. I will survive this feeble attack, while she will be knocked backwards. Then I can continue killing you all!"
His laughs were cut short when Agrias used Stasis Sword, and Ramza struck him with his sword. He was weakening fast, and he knew it. With everyone working together, he might not survive the spell, as he originally thought he would.
I soon finished charging up. "Here's what you deserve for all of your evil deeds! FLARE!" The flames spread all over Adramelk, killing him instantly. I took some of the backlash, and was knocked backwards. After that, I fell into an unconscious state.
* * *
I woke in the tent a little while later. Sage and Leon weren't there though. The only person in the tent with me, was Ramza.
"I wanted to see if you were ok," he said, "You frightened me. I thought you were a goner back there. I mean, I know how powerful your magic is."
"Thank you, it means a lot to me, hearing that from you," I replied.
Ramza told me, "We're going to head to Zarghidas Trade City. I have a hunch that we'll find Cloud if we go there. There's no telling what trouble he's gotten into."
I looked at him. "Whatever you want to do, you have my full support in any endeavor."
"We'll leave in the morning," Ramza said, "After we're sure your burns have healed completely. I don't want you hurt any worse on this journey. I'll see you in the morning, goodnight Meliadoul." He gave me one last concerned look, and left the tent.
"Goodnight, Ramza," I whispered.
- - - -
Ok, I really like Meliadoul with Black Magic. Well, I like her with Throw more, but we already have Tess for that. Besides, it just set up for this nice little scene between the two of them.