The plaza is full of Elsens. Japhet is getting ready for some kind of big speech.
"There is still time to repent of your omissions, ungrateful wretches... Crave my pardon immediately, or I will send you back to limbo this instant."
"Did you hear something?" said one Elsen.
"Poor cretins! I am here, right in front of you, ready to send you to hell! So? Are you ready to apologize to your father and protector, you band of wimps?"
But the cat was ignored. The Elsens just minded their own business like he wasn't there.
"That is it! I am going to teach you to respect me..."
And just like that, a bunch of specters pop up to terrorize the citizens. Everyone starts running and screaming. I looked back at the Batter.
"Let's purge these impure beasts... and fast." Hell yeah, that cat's not getting away with this!
These specters just keep getting grosser. This one has a disturbing smile and a giant head with... littler heads, if that makes any sense. Not that anything here is making much sense.
Upon a whack of the bat, it separates into several smaller specters. Great. I've really got my work cut out for me this time.
And so, once again, I have saved the day. I may have had to kill a few burnt citizens, but it's all in the name of justice and the greater good, so whatever.
"A... Anyway, we thank you for helping us. But, uh... That thing you have there..."
"My bat?"
"Yes... your... bat... That's an awfully dangerous object... I'll have to ask you to leave the residential area. ... and give us your tie... You... You should understand, of course... It's a measure of security..."
For saving a whole residential area, I get unceremoniously dumped out. Ungrateful shits.
The Judge walks up to us.
"I am embarrassed, I admit it, but it appears that I need you and your puppet's purifying intentions, dear Puppeteer... Valerie, my beloved brother, appears to have fallen off the rails of conciousness and into the depths of uncontrollable madness. He calls himself Japhet, and, in addition to being the royal agent he has never been, proclaims himself chief of the spectres."
So my paranoia was justified after all.
"I believe this is a perfect mission for you, full of all that gratuitous violence which you seem to revel with glee." Wait, what's that supposed to mean?
"Okay. I'll go to the library," says The Batter, eager as always. Well, as eager as a man like him can be.
"I will follow you," says The Judge.
The books tell the story of Japhet. Once the proud guardian of zone 2, he created the library and the city as a gift to his subjects. The citizens played as happy children... before giving in to their natural state of fear. Soon their father was forgotten. The bird became a cat and then a ruler, who summoned sprits of vengeance. Now, he waits for the one who will kill him, and end his evil.
...Wow. Now I actually feel some sympathy for him. Nevertheless, he must be stopped.
There's Zacharie, the merchant, just under the top.
"Nice view from up here, don't you think? It almost makes me forget that this is only a video game."
Ha ha, fourth wall jokes. But anyway, we should prepare for our battle. For his sake...
The Judge calls out to his brother. "Valerie!"
"Valerie? That ... is the name of the cat. You are mistaking me for someone else. I am Japhet the fire bird, guardian of zone 2!"
"Stop with these paranoid delusions, dear brother! Come with me to zone 0. I have built a cellar where we can forget our sorrows..."
"I am not your brother! I do not even belong to any race of predators! Take a look at my real face, you poor, smelly cat!"
"Va... Valerie?"
The cat's mouth opens to reveal the bird inside. So that is what the book meant.
"You do not understand, do you? I am not Valerie, I am Japhet! I have taken control of your miserable little brother! Unable to even chew through a little bird, until the end."
...Why? Just why would you do this?
"Whatever. Japhet, I am here to destroy you, you who claim to control the specters."
"I was waiting, Batter. I will not go down without a fight."
...Let's just end this quickly. For Valerie.
"You must understand! These fools... They only care about their own pathetic hassles! I did everything for them! They are like my own, countless children... And like all disrespectful children, they need to be punished."
What did Valerie do to deserve this? You're the one who needs punishment.
"I am not a god. I am not perfect. Yes I have sinned, I admit it, but my responsibilities are far beyond that of a mere mortal." Japhet squeezes itself out of Valerie even more, grotesquely stretching the poor cat's body beyond recognition.
"Alright, purifier. You are going to seal my fate? No matter. I am ready to die. But first, allow me to show you my true form."
Valerie's bones can now be heard cracking, breaking into little pieces, his blood spilling onto the face of the now-giant bird. The whole scene is disgustingly pitiful. Japhet's blank, dead eyes now staring directly at us, it says, "I am the millennial fire bird. Let the battle begin."
The once-proud guardian now lies on a bloody puddle on top of it's greatest creation, both mere shells of what they once where.
"So, I have been slain. You can be proud to have accomplished your mission, Batter."
The Judge still vainly calls out for his brother. "Valerie..."
"You've been defeated, Japhet, guardian of the second zone. This land is now pure." And, like last time, everything turns to white. Except, this time, victory doesn't feel so sweet.
Another vision of that kid in the red room. "The... the bird... he fell too."
Again, in this black void. That certainly was a depressing "victory." I decide, nonetheless, to press onward. Maybe, if I go fast enough, I can save more lives. I can get a happier ending.
...Yet I'm getting that bad feeling again. Like I shouldn't press onward. I ignore it. This can't possibly be that bad...
Oh, if only I weren't so naïve...