It was a straightforward path to Garfont. One road up the cliffs, and then you either went in by coming around the front of the cliffs, or taking a well-hidden route through one of the rock walls to get in through the back. If it was your first time coming, then you would almost certainly come in through the main gates. At least, that was why Mikhail felt like hiding out in that particular route would let him choose where and when to make his move.

He reached down, to a case he'd received from Akhos, mere hours after he'd sent Xiaxia and Muimui to keep track of the two drivers from Indol. Part of him was confilcted about what he was about to do. Not the murders. Just awakening a blade.

He held out a hand, and waved it once. A shining blue fan appeared. This weapon was his own personal one. The skill to use it to it's best was ingrained into his mind so hard that he could have used it while asleep. But he knew that Jin wanted everyone to keep their powers hidden as long as possible, for the element of surprise. So he willed it to return to the ether he'd created it from.

He opened the case. A note was resting on top of the core crystal inside. 'Treat them well. My script didn't call for an ally who abuses their blade. And remember to equip this core chip!'. Mikhail almost automatically rolled his eyes at the mention of Akhos' all-too-precious script, but at the same time, he knew Akhos' secret. He grabbed the crystal.

The nopon wheezed, reaching the very top of the cliffs.

"You'll get used to it." Maria was apparently fine. "Or are you unfit?"

"Is... nothing." Muimui said, trying to suck in air.

"Aw, it's okay. Maybe if I crushed up some of those plants over there I could try making an oil for you..." Offered Nim. she looked over to some bushy leaves growing on the side of the path.

"Nah, we'd better keep going. After spending this long travelling through Uraya's titan, I want to reach Garfont today." Said Rhod firmly. He marched forwards. "C'mon, let's crack on!"

"Halt." Said Maria. "You can't proceed if one of our allies is in this state."

Rhod stopped. "...Yeah, fair enough. Did the guy get enough sleep last night?"

"Probably more than you, Master. You were shivering a little. I was considering waking you if it got worse." Kouki was bringing up the rear, doing a pretty good job at looking out for any threats from behind.

"Hehe. Looks like I did have a point when I said you looked cold a few days ago." Nim smiled. "Admit it?" She leaned in close.

Rhod leaned back, wary of the laser phonexes. Especially the orange one that was leaning in entirely too close for comfort. "Nope. Still weird. Ah, Sunny, was it? Don't bite me, I'm your driver." A thought struck him. "Hey, Nim. I've never actually touched either of those... automata? Am I allowed to pet them, or-"

"'Still weird.'" She'd put her voice as low as possible, trying to imitate Rhod. The result sounded like a sad rubber duck, and Rhod cracked a smile. "No, I actually think they'd like it. Go on, pet them!"

Rhod reached up, and gingerly patted the top of Kit's head. He was still wary of the looks Sunny gave his hand. Unfortunately for him, he should have paid attention to the one that actually could have done anything, because he suddenly froze up when he felt Kit quickly snap down on his hand. There wasn't much force behind the bite, only enough to be uncomfortable, but trying to get the hand out would be an awkward and likely painful job. Assuming Kit didn't bite down. "Nim, I don't think he likes me." Said Rhod in restrained panic.

"Oh-! Kit! That's our driver! Let him go!" Nim looked up, and then reached over and grabbed Kit by the back of the neck. It released its jaws instantly.

Rhod took his hand back. "Guess I was never a fantastic animal person."

"Ironic, considering the Gormotti share more animal traits than any other race of humans." Observed Sanzang.

Kouki turned to the group. "Master Rhod, if agreeable to you, I could carry the nopon for the remainder of the journey."

Rhod nodded. "Great plan. Hey, uh, ninja Mcninjaface? Climb up and let's go."

It was noon once they finally arrived at Garfont. The gates were attended by a pair of drivers, and Rhod could tell something about this little town the second he lay eyes on it.

It was the kind of town where people like him lived- perhaps not the richest or grandest town, but it wasn't starved and it didn't have problems with crime. Different titan, difference race of humanity, but honestly, he might have been able to find his exact alter-ego here, minus the blades.

Kouki padded past, the nopon dismounting. "We've arrived, but remain cautious. This is unfamiliar territory."

Maria took point, scanning the village. Most of it was made of tough-looking tents, that might even have been permanent. "I can't see any kind of smithy around here. They must be further in."

Rhod went back a bit, to one of the guards at the entrance. "Hey, 'scuse me? Where's the armorsmith?"

"It's over there mate." The driver pointed to the back of one of the tents.

"Thanks." Rhod strode past Maria. "This way, guys." The village as he saw it was lively, even if there weren't that many residents. A few people were cooking over an open fire. Someone was weaving. Someone was tending to a patch of vegetables. People were just milling around. There was a giant training area, and Rhod could see it was full of drivers facing off against one another.

And he came to the smithy. Unlike all the other tents, this one was very obviously fireproofed. Even if the wooden stall next to it might not have been. Regular weapons were next to a few core chips, while the smith himself worked on something red-hot in the flames.

Maria marched up. "Smith! Smith!"

"Hey, Maria? Rude." Said Rhod. "Seriously, you're the one who calls me out for that! Stop being a hypocrite."

"I'll be done in a moment, ladies and gents." Said the smith.

Everyone waited for the man to finish. Sanzang looked around while that was happening, and he saw something. At the very back of the village, on top of a strange rock formation, he could see a driver in armour. Even at this distance, that armour didn't seem right. It was very, very form-fitting compared to the bulky tough pieces everyone around here was wearing. That thought clicked for him too. "Everyone... something doesn't seem right." He said. "Look around. What can you see?"

Rhod put a hand on his hip. "Drivers. Blades. Tents."

Kouki realised it next. "But compared to the style of what that Akhos was wearing..."

Maria frowned. "We shan't jump to conclusions. Have patience and faith that the architect will deliver."

They waited a few minutes. The smith set his piece of metal aside. "Alright, what do you blokes want? Don't often see Indoline here. Or Gormotti."

"We're searching for a thief. He stole some core crystals from the praetorium, and burned a section of the forest down-" Maria started, before Rhod held up a hand and actually interrupted. Somehow.

"He's got fancy blue armor and it has shoulder guards that go up like this." He moved his hand.

"Mate, I haven't made a blue anything in my life." Replied the smith.

Rhod bit his lip. "Aw. Right... Anywhere else here that makes armor?"

"Nope. Blue dye's expensive as hell in Uraya, anyway. You'd have more chance getting it in... Hmm. I guess the praetorium, but you cam from there. Anyway, buying anything?" The smith gestured out at the core chips.

Rhod shook his head, and walked away.

"Do you think we were tricked to coming here?" Suggested Rhod. He'd had to take a while to gather the bravery to say that, in case Maria blew up. Thankfully, she didn't.

"It's possible. Certainly possible. Or it could also be that this village wants to help this... Torna." Said Maria. "In which case, we're in grave danger just being here." She straightened her posture. "But I shan't leap to a conclusion."

"In any case, we could benefit from asking around a little more." Said Kouki. "Lady Nim, it might be helpful if you questioned any nearby phonexes. They would have no reason to lie. I shall attend to Rhod's safety."

"Sure! I can go, right?" Nim looked around.

"Just be safe. Splitting up isn't always a wise move." Reminded Maria, before Nim skipped off. "Now, where can we find the head of this village? Perhaps they'll know something."

"Dunno. Most of these tents look the same, too..." Rhod crossed his arms. "Oh, hey... is that..."

"Do you see something?" Maria asked quickly.

"It's, um, it's nothing important. Just that shop's got a torigonda."

"A... torigonda? What is that?" Maria looked over.

"It's a musical instrument they always play in Gormott. I can actually use it fairly well myself. Learned for a few years." Rhod smiled. "Brings back some great memories. I wonder how much it costs?"

"We don't have time for that. At least, I don't. I'm going to ask around and try and find the village leader. You hang back, and intervene if anything goes wrong. I cannot discount the possibility this place is working with Torna." Maria walked over to one of the shopkeepers.

"Hey, Kouki." Said Rhod immediately. "Watch Maria for two minutes."

"Master Rhod, please don't act rashly." Said Kouki resignedly, not taking his eyes off Maria. "You don't even have any money."

"I'm just going to take a quick look. Shout if anything goes wrong." Rhod wandered over to the shop with the torigonda. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't in great shape, with water damage in one of the corners and scratches down the side. And the strings weren't that new either. "Hey, how much for the torigonda?"

"I don't really know. Didn't even make it here, just a few of 'em washed up down at the maw." Said the owner. "Got another three or four in the back if you want one in another colour? They're all a bit soggy though."

"...I'll take one of the wrecked ones off your hands if you want?" Said Rhod hopefully.

The shopkeeper laughed. "Nah mate. Forty gold."

Rhod dramatically turned out his pockets. "I'll be back if I get lucky." He went over to Kouki. "Any changes?"

"None, Master Rhod. It seems that we were simply misdirected here." Kouki remained watchful.

"...You know, you don't have to call me master." Rhod put his hands in his pockets. "It makes me feel like I treat you too much as a servant."

"Apologies. Though, in truth, is that not what I am here for? To serve?" Asked Kouki.

Rhod shrugged. "I guess I did awaken you to help me accomplish a task. But... well, no reason to be a douche to you, just because I'm your driver." Rhod looked at one of the rings at his side. "I'd be a pretty crap driver if I did, really."

"I see. Well, I will continue to offer you all I can. Alas, one such as myself without many skills cannot achieve much. The depths of my power are shallow."

Rhod placed a hand on Kouki's back. "Makes no difference to me. You're a cool blade, and the easiest to get along with. Truth be told... Well, there are times I have to talk myself down from telling Nim that nature really isn't a good form of medicine, among other things."

"I see. I shall keep trying to better myself nonetheless." Confirmed Kouki.

Maria returned. "It doesn't seem to be any use. I've questioned several people. None of them have heard of Torna, and without doubt, they don't have the technology here to make Akhos. We should depart back for Fonsa Myma."

"You're giving up searching here?" Said Rhod in surprise.

"If they are working with Torna, then they know I'm affiliated with the praetorium and will never speak. If they're not, then we're wasting time here." Concluded Maria. She looked around. "Where... did the nopon go?"

"Hm? Oh, he's..." Rhod looked around. "He's disappeared. That seems like bad news. Anyway, it's getting to evening time for now, so shouldn't we just stay at the inn for the night?"

"...That's a risky move." Maria looked around.

"We have our blades. If one of mine keeps watch, the other one can still fight in an emergency." Rhod said.

"Actually, where is Nim?" Asked Sanzang. "I would have thought she'd be back by now."

"Oh, you're looking for some people from Torna?" Said Mikhail. "Never heard of them, but if you head down that tunnel, you'll be able to find some more things to talk to. Don't mind us." He went past, followed by a giant of a blade that only barely fit into the tunnel.

"Thanks!" Nim headed down the other way, just slipping past. One of her phonexes made an odd sound. "Kit, I'm sure they'll be okay. They're in a town."

"Boy, you sure are smart at this thing!" Said Cressidus. "She just bought it like that! Man, I gotta become a genius like you someday."

"Eheh, what can I say? I'm the most charismatic sucker on this planet." Mikhail spread his arms, grinning. "Still, if you want to be a genius, then lemme introduce you to my good friend engineering someday... For now, we have a driver to mess up."

"We'll smack 'em into a paaancaaake!"

Mikhail grabbed a communicator from his side. Portable ones were a pain to come by, but a salvager had turned up a pair of these... walkie-talkies. "Alright Muimui. Make sure I get some good data. These blade bots have to be perfect."

Rhod sat up from the bench he'd been sitting on. He had been waiting for some sign of Nim, and was considering going out to search for her, when he could have sworn-

"Do you feel the floor shaking?" Said Maria uncertainly. "I'm not familiar with this titan, does it do this?"

"...Don't think so." Rhod got up, and without realising it he reached for his weapons. And then proceeded to almost cut himself on the rings, because he normally had his knuckles.

"Something isn't right." Sanzang looked around. "A tremendously powerful blade approaches." He got up, and looked around. "I sense it up on those rocks!"

Everyone got up, looking up at the sheer walls.

A lone man in black stepped up, and brushed a lock of slightly too perfect hair out of his face. And the most massive blade Rhod had ever seen was backing him up. The blade stamped once, and generated a sound like a cannon firing. Instantly, everyone's eyes were on the newcomers.

"Hey there, people of Garfont!" Mikhail shouted. "So I heard that you guys don't know the name Torna! but the thing is, we're going to be known across Alrest. Because we're the ones you should be running from. And there are two people here that were sent after us!" He jumped down, and landed solidly. There was a thunderous rumble as his blade landed behind him. "So what we're going to do is kill everyone in our way until the people we're looking for are dead! Should make our point well enough." He held up his arms, and caught a pair of enormous gauntlets.

"Step right up!" Yelled Cressidus.

The drivers that were normally guarding the main doors ran over. "Stop right there!" One of them brandished a Megalance.

Mikhail walked up, looking cocky, and then without a warning he lunged, punching the driver in the face. The size of that blade weapon... Rhod could only assume it weighed less for the driver, because those gauntlets should have pulled this man's arms off.

The other driver charged, holding a Greataxe overhead, and Mikhail almost lazily moved his left arm to block it, stopping the attack still, and then took his right hand and punched the driver three or four times with his free right, before kicking him away.

"He's strong, lads! You better run!" Shouted the Megalance guy, charging back in.

Rhod was torn. Mikhail was very obviously stronger than him. He didn't have Nim. And if he died here, the things he was leaving unfinished... He was turning hesitantly, when he saw Maria. "I..."

"Well?" Demanded Maria, holding her hammer. "Am I fighting this evil alone now?"

Rhod shook his head. "No. No, I'm still with you. Let's go!" His weakness had only been for a few seconds, but he was burning with shame. Abandoning these people to die? What kind of sorry excuse for a human would do that?!

"In the name of the architect!" Maria ran forwards, as Mikhail floored the two guards that had been duelling him. Rhod could see the barriers of ether around them shattering, blades dropping to their knees with ether lines dim- but they hadn't died.

"You're going down, you soap-scum hairdo!" Yelled Rhod, as he turned on his rings. He followed Maria in, feeling the flow of power from Kouki at his back.

They clashed, and Rhod was nearly overwhelmed by the defensive power of his foe. He'd thought those weapons might not have been easy to move quickly, but even though he was striking with both hands, Mikhail was parrying him and Maria with ease.

He stepped back and started using arts. He threw a ring like a ninja star, and this time he saw the ether energy do some damage even as Mikhail tried to block. Maria got the idea, and started spinning, pounding away at Mikhail's defences.

"Cressidus!" He threw his huge gauntlets back, and they enlarged in size as they flew, landing on his blade's hands as a pair of weapons the size of a small fence.

Rhod suddenly felt extremely small as the giant of a blade barreled towards him.

Kouki tacked Rhod from the side, calling out. "Move, Master Rho- Oof!" He went flying, and with the chunks of earth and ether flying everywhere Rhod wasn't feeling good either. Rhod got himself to his feet, as Mihkail started to really try to knock Maria down. She wasn't handling well, even if her forte was taking damage, she needed some healing and disruption to withstand the punishment Mikhial was dishing out.

Kouki struggled to get up, and nearly collapsed. "Injured. Need... a moment." He was struggling to speak, but still on his feet and giving the ether needed to fuel the Twin Rings.

Rhod scrambled up, and went on a desperate offensive. He cut as fast as he could, and threw out arts as much as possible, but even working in tandem with Maria, he was hardly scratching this... rock of a foe.

"You're the drivers Indol sent to deal with us?" Mikhail made a fake yawn. "Dearie me." He suddenly dropped his yawn and hit Maria with such a forceful uppercut as to lift her clear off the floor, and then slammed into Rhod.

Rhod skidded back, but he didn't fall. He could feel something. Something powerful, as the ether stream between him and Kouki turned a bright gold. Before he knew it, he swung his ring up, moving in with the second one quickly and precisely, hooking it on the fist of the gauntlet and then pulling, before kicking Mikhail back. "I won't submit!" He threw the rings back, suddenly understanding Kouki's intentions clearly. "We'll cut you down!"

"Together, Master!"

Kouki charged, holding the ring and also enveloped by that golden aura, as the other one flew around, levitating. Ice crystals were growing all around the floor, leaving his footsteps clearly visible in the earth as he struck. The flying ring landed in Rhod's right hand, and he jumped in, swinging it in a tremendous arc, while Kouki mirrored the move, coming in from the other side.

"Savage Chakram!"

Mikhail was knocked back a few steps. There was a light dusting of frost on his gauntlets. And he moved them out of the way of his face, revealing a smug grin. "Looks like the power of these blades we stole really is all it's cracked up to be." He was suddenly in front of Rhod, before he had a moment to react. "Hyah!" He punched Rhod in the chest.

The barrier of ether around him shattered, as he crumpled to the floor.

"No... I've..." It dawned on Rhod he was very likely about to die. "I've got too much..." He couldn't get up. The shock of the barrier breaking had left him drained. The pain of the hit was blanking his mind. Kouki was downed too. "Left... unfinished."

"You ain't dying here, lad!" One of the guards rushed for Mikhail. He brought his lance up, aiming to ward him back.

"Without your ether barrier?" Mikhail taunted.

Rhod didn't see what happened. He just heard the slam of a fist, and the horrible sound of the man hitting the floor, coughing. He strained to move, and forced himself to look.

Dead.

Rhod tried to get to his feet, but his legs were screaming at him and even adrenaline couldn't numb the pain. He could see Maria struggling to rise from the ground. "You... you murderer..."

"Well, duh. Gotta make a point somehow." Mikhail shrugged. So casually, as if he hadn't just... "Bye now." He raised his hand, readying an executing punch.

"Hold right there!"

There was a volley of gunfire. Mikhail suddenly moved back, trying to block the attack.

The nopon assassin dropped down from above. "Cannot allow. Nopon, go!"

"You're a little late." Said Mikhail. "You can't beat me."

"Ninjaface bring friends. Attacking!" He bounced forwards, as Rhod crawled over to Maria.

Maria looked up. "Architect, is he..." She coughed. "...fighting that demon alone?!"

The nopon wasn't winning either. But he seemed far too confident for someone who was losing ground. Then, he jabbed past Mikhail's guard. "Eeeeelectro shock!"

Mikhail seized up for a second, then appeared to jump off the floor.

"Now, largepon! Bladepon!" Instructed the mystery nopon.

Rhod saw three figures suddenly jump down from the cliffs Mikhail had appeared on.

One was the buffest man Rhod had ever seen in his life. It would hardly have been an exaggeration to call that man a moving mountain. "Ain't nobody messes with my village, shrimp!"

And he was followed by two blades. One was a bird, swooping down. "You'll pay for this!"

And Nim. "You leave my driver aloooone!"

Mikhail suddenly looked around, as he was surrounded by two drivers and three blades, all closing in. Vandham didn;t wait for further monologue, and sliced with one of his sickles. Mikhail moved to block.

The sickle carved through his gauntlet at the top.

Muimui closed in, and stabbed and clawed, this time matching Mikhail's attacks. Then Vandham and Muimui moved back, and both passed their weapons to their blades. "Xiaxia, get stabby!"

"Roc, lad! Get'em!"

Mikhail couldn't endure the two-pronged assault. Winds and sharp metal tore at him from all angles, and when the attack cleared, he was clutching at his chest. "Well, bye. I'm dying here."

"Stop right there, ya bloody murderer!" Vandham attempted to grab Mikhail, but the man was already sprinting. He was slippery, and only second after speaking, he was gone, out of the gates, blade in tow.

Rhod let himself collapse to the floor.

It was an almost surreal ten minutes. Rhod didn't know what to do as Vandham identified the fallen driver, and as he felt his ether barrier come back online. Eventually, he looked at Kouki. "Are you okay?"

"I believe I overextended myself. I'll be alright soon. Master, you are not hurt?"

"..." Rhod looked at the driver. "I'm fine. It's no worse than... than..." He shook his head, and forced himself to his feet, hobbling over to the fallen guard. "This man died for me. I didn't even know him."

"Who did this?" Asked Vandham, as he looked at Rhod.

"The man was a part of Torna. He came here to kill me and my... leader." Said Rhod. He didn't have it in him to try and sugarcoat anything right now. "And your guard paid the price. This is my fault. I... I'm so sorry." It wasn't just the fact that a good person was dead that was hitting Rhod hard. He wasn't more shaken by the death. He felt like a far more horrible person for that.

"Torna. Got it." Said Vandham. "I'll make sure everyone's on the lookout for them." He closed the eyes of the fallen driver. "Alright, we'd better get Skipper buried." He stood up. Rhod suddenly felt like he was about to be blamed for this. He felt like it was his fault. "...You alright?"

Rhod nodded, silenced by Vandham's imposing presence.

"Roc, could you go and get Yew and Zuo to dig a grave?" Vandham offered a hand to Rhod. "Don't you worry. I can see who was in the right here. The name's Vandham. Can't believe Garfont got attacked while I was gone..." He grumbled. "Right, you'd better get that there girl somewhere to recover. Inn's over there. if that girl's your leader, I'll talk to her once she's up."

Rhod couldn't stop looking at the guard. "Nim, can you... can you use your earth mastery to help dig a grave? I probably wouldn't be alive if he hadn't bought me those extra few seconds. I'll get Kouki and Maria to the inn."

"You're hurt too!" Nim looked over her driver. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here in time, I was misdirected-"

"I'll handle it." Rhod was aching all over. "Sanzang might be able to lend a hand, too. I just want to do something for him, okay?"

"Okay."

It was two hours later. Rhod was sitting at the foot of a bed, where Maria was lying. She'd gone down on her arm in an awkward way. Not an injury that would last long on a driver, but it needed bed rest. Sanzang was immovable from her side, channelling all the power he could into his driver's recovery.

Kouki was recovered, and was sitting in the corner. Nim had sat down in front of him, leaning against his side.

"Architect, why..." Said Rhod.

Maria stirred. "He does not intervene on..." She stopped. "...Alas, that poor driver..."

"We just went straight into a trap. If it wasn't for that nopon, we'd have all died here." Rhod stared at the floor. Indeed, he'd learned that the nopon had been the one to fetch Vandham and Nim back.

There was a knocking sound. Despite the cloth door. Vandham called from outside. "Everyone okay in there? I've cleared up the mess. The guys know to watch out for Torna. You lot can rest up."

"Thank you very much, Mr Vandham." Said Rhod. He was the only one in a state to speak properly. Kouki was still feeling hazy from having to restore himself. Sanzang was focused on Maria. Maria was nearly unconscious.

Nim was the other one who could speak. "We're sorry!"

"Told you already! It's Torna's fault, you just got tricked. Can happen to anyone." Said Vandham. "Rest up good, okay. I gotta go sort some things out with the mercs."

There was a bumping of feet as he left the inn.

The rest of the daytime was silent and solemn.

It was late at night when Rhod woke up. He'd eventually booked another room, to give Maria some privacy.

There was someone tugging at his arm. He sat up, and saw the glowing ether lines. "Nim?"

"...I just, well... I was worried."

"Couldn't sleep?" Rhod looked around. "...Yeah. This isn't nearly as bad as last time, but..."

"You could have died! I would have died too. And then Torna would be able to do anything they wanted to, and- well, it's scary." Said Nim.

Even blades can suffer the worse side of fighting. Rhod shifted, and sat up. "You can sit down. What happened today wasn't your fault. I don't think I could have overcome that member of Torna, no matter what."

"But maybe if I'd been there to heal for you, then-"

Rhod placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't think so. Anyway, what's done is done. You still helped, by getting in Vandham."

"I'm just worried."

"...I understand. If you're going to cry, or anything, then... just do it. No need to hold it in here."

Nim just sighed. "I never knew them at all. Death is a part of nature too. I'm just... just... scared of the danger."

"Shh. We're safe for the moment. Kouki is around too." Reassured Rhod.

There was a quiet moment.

"...You know, I really like Kouki. So do Kit and Sunny."

"Yeah, he's a really nice guy." Agreed Rhod. "If only I could have half the patience he does." He lay back down in the bed. "...Let's get some sleep. You... you can have the bed, if you want."

"I... I'd like to have someone with me. Safety in numbers. I know you think it's weird, but..."

"It's fine." You need someone to lean on. That'll have to be me. "Just... um, make sure Sunny doesn't bite me."

Author's notes: The actual Kouki I have in game only has 1 crown, most of his specials couldn't be upgraded more than once, and his only combat skill is the first level of resist fire. He does however have ice mastery 2, which was pretty handy.

By the way, was Mikhail gay or not? I don't actually know any gay people that played this game but I feel like Mikhail was gay and played it off as being Ultra Straight(TM). But at the same time he did never actually hit on a guy...

At last, a review!

Anon: So, she was the first you obtained? I got her when I was trying to get some blades for Zeke, once I'd had him join the party, and there she stayed. I always found she was good because you have two specials that can basically full-heal the party at any time, on top of a free heal if someone applied Break.

Dagas definitely is a more interesting case of character development, because I really expected he was going to get humbled after his Blade quest, when in reality his change is simply changing his view of his driver to see them as more loyal, and then deciding to actually try. Honestly, quite a badass, and I appreciated the small plot twist quite a lot, on top of his new voice lines for battle.

Believe it or not, Nim isn't my favorite rare blade. I like Perceval the most, his design is fantastic with the banners and the fire, and he has a pretty cool backstory with his blade quest. Plus he manages to be a dark swordsman that has teamwork issues without being an edgelord, which is a huge plus in my book.

Deleted scene

Everyone got up, looking up at the sheer walls.

On that day, Garfont was given a grim reminder...

"That I. Am. Awesoooome!"