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Chapter 20: One Last Detour

[BGM: Imperial Palace – Dragon Quest XI S]

"I'll admit, I almost choked when 'e said to tell 'im the truth!" Yangus exclaimed as we were all making our way to the fourth floor to find the royal vault, where the magic mirror awaited us.

"Yeah." Reisen agreed. "I was sure he'd refuse to give us the magic mirror if he found out what had really happened."

"Well, Charmles is Clavius's problem now. We've got bigger fish to fry." Marisa said.

"King Clavius had a very troubled look on his face when he saw the Argon Heart before." Angelo recalled. "I could hardly stand to look him in the eyes."

"I know this isn't our fault, but I can't help feeling bad." Jessica sighed. "Still, there's no use crying over spilt milk. Let's get the magic mirror and find Dhoulmagus!"

By the time our short conversation ended, we had already arrived at the fourth floor. From there, we went around a corner and came upon a lone door. "This must be it." I said and opened it, where we found lots of treasures being confined in glass domes. At the very center stood a pedestal in which a hexagonal-shaped object decked in silver, the magic mirror, laid on.

"This is the magic mirror?" Alice wondered as I picked it up. "I was expecting it to look more…mystical than that."

"Hey, what matters is that we finally have it." Reimu said as we exited the vault. "Now we should be able to break that barrier and get to Dhoulmagus."

"Pardon me for a moment!" a voice suddenly spoke, and we looked over to see the same royal mage that had given us an audience with Clavius running up to us. "Ah! You've brought the magic mirror, if I'm not mistaken. May I have a look?" I nodded and brought the mirror in front of me so the mage could inspect it clearly… but then he raised an eyebrow, "Hm? That's odd. I don't sense any magic at all." our eyes widened in surprise as we heard this. "Bereft of its magic power, it's no different from a normal, everyday mirror."

"So you're saying the mirror lost its magic!?" Jessica questioned. "How!?"

"Hm…it's only a hypothesis, but could someone have snuck in and tampered with the mirror while it slumbered in the royal vault?" he paused for a bit before speaking again, "…No, surely not. Nevertheless, even without its magic, the mirror remains a priceless treasure."

"That would've been great…if we actually wanted an ordinary mirror." Angelo muttered. "Remember what we told you before; the magical power of this mirror is central to our errand. We didn't go to all that trouble just for a normal mirror, we did it in order to bring Dhoulmagus justice!"

"I see, I see. Let me think. The mirror itself does not appear to be damaged… In which case, you should be able to 'recharge' the mirror, so to speak, by exposing it to the right kind of magic. That would restore its former power."

"And what kind of magic it is?" Marisa asked.

The mage sighed. "That, I'm afraid I do not know. But! I do know of someone who might help you with that. You see, the man who taught me was a wizard, and an expert in magical treasures. I'm sure he would know how to re-energize the mirror. Unfortunately, he is retired. Now he spends his days in seclusion, in his home deep in the western forest."

"The western forest?" I wondered as my first instinct was to fetch the map…only to realize that both my hands were full just by holding the mirror. "Hey, uh… could one of you get the map out for me?"

"I'll do it." Reimu offered, walking closer to me and taking out the map before holding it out for the mage. "Could you point out the exact location for us, sir?"

"It is right here." the mage pointed to a large forested area that was located at the far west. So we're about to go through another long walk… "Somewhere hidden within that forest is his home, as well as a place called the Mystical Spring. It's said that its waters have many magical properties…or so I've been told about."

"All right, got it. Thank you for your help."

"You're very welcome." the mage replied. "Well, I wish you all luck on this errand!" after that, he left.

"So there's a man in that Mystical Spring who knows all about the magic mirror." Youmu recapped. "If that is our only way of getting the mirror to recharge, we should pay him a visit."

"I don't see why not." Remilia shrugged. "I mean, what other choice do we have?"

"Well then, let's get on with it!" Aya fist-pumped. "We won't gain anything sitting around here all day, after all!"

"Well said there, Aya." I grinned while putting the mirror away. "Let's get going. We've wasted enough time already."

"I really hope Dhoulmagus will still be in his hideout once we're done." Reimu sighed. "Sometimes I keep wondering if we'll ever catch up with him, what with all these detours, diversions and favors we've been doing."

"Oh, come on now, Reimu!" Marisa encouraged, putting an arm around her in support. "We'll get Dhoulmagus this time, for sure. I know everything seemed to take us so long and he's been always one step ahead of us, but I believe things will get better. Plus, we have the magic mirror now. And as soon as it's recharged, we'll be able to take on Dhoulmagus no problem!" she turns to face the rest of us. "Right?"

"Sure, Marisa." I smiled, my optimism kicking in. "It might take us a while to get to the Mystical Spring from here, but we've endured through a long walk before. Besides, all these diversions haven't turned out too badly, have they? We managed to get our own ship thanks to our actions in Ascantha, found out the location of Dhoulmagus' hideout by going to Pickham and then Baccarat, and us enduring through the Prince's initiation meant we get rewarded the magic mirror. That's got to be a good thing, right?"

"…I guess so, if you put it that way." Reimu replied with a shrug.

"I'm sure this new detour will be just as profitable as the last ones, and from there we can take on Dhoulmagus and it'll finally be over."

"Yeah, you're right." Reimu gave a small nod. "Sorry, I just felt a little down and paranoid after all we've been through. It has all been like an emotional mountain-climbing to me ever since I and my friends came to this world, if you know what I mean."

"Don't worry, we know; we all feel like that at times." Angelo assured her. "It's just one of those things. It'll get better, you'll see."

"Yeah, ya just gotta believe!" Yangus agreed with a thumbs up, while the others just nodded encouragingly.

"…Thanks, everyone." Reimu said with a small smile. "Shall we get going, then?"

"Yes." I nodded. "But first… we're going to stop a bit at the bazaar." I slowly turned to gaze at Yangus. "Right, Yangus?"

"Oh, right! I almost forgot 'bout it, guv!" Yangus exclaimed. "It'd be a real treat if we could look round the bazaar before goin' out, so let's go an' do that then! You never know, we might be able to get ourselves a bargain!"

"Exactly. Let's go have a look!"

[BGM End]

A few minutes later…

[BGM: Strange World – Dragon Quest VIII]

"It certainly hasn't been easy, but at least we have the magic mirror now, as promised." Trode said once we were done shopping, and right now we were heading west to get to the forest. "We've had to go to such lengths, everything's spinning in my head like a kaleidoscope."

"You're telling us…" Reimu groaned. "I do not want to deal with that Charmless ever again."

"Soooo, now that we've parted company with the Prince himself…" Angelo spoke. "…perhaps I dare venture to ask the father of the bride what he thinks about his future son-in-law?"

Trode scoffed in response. "Hmph! It's none of your business! And well you should know it!"

"There's no need to ask King Trode what he thinks." Alice stated. "The scowl on his face speaks volumes."

"I dunno. I can't read 'im meself." Yangus puzzled. "Grandad always looks sour. Ya never know wot 'e's thinkin'."

"Oh, just stop pooh-poohing me and get a move on!" Trode ushered. "Have you forgotten we're in the middle of a very important voyage!?"

"Awright, awright! Chill, Grandad!"

"Well, at the very least no monsters have attacked us so far." Youmu said.

"Just goes to show how using the remaining of our Holy Waters really paid off!" I winked.

"Yeah, true."

"Eh, I honestly think it's a bit boring without any monsters to fight." Remilia said. "Action makes things more exciting for me. Oh well, it can't be helped."

Eventually, we had to stop following the road and, just like back at the Wild Lands, divert from it to enter the deep forest ahead. Luckily, the way to it had another road as we begin following it. "The wizard must be somewhere in that forest, right?" Reisen asked.

"I'm sure of it." I nodded, checking the map again. "If we keep following this road, we might find him eventually."

"So… you're sayin' that we're gonna have to walk a long while again." Marisa spoke unenthusiastically.

"Afraid so."

"Oh, brother…" Jess sighed.

[BGM End]

Soon enough, though… it seems that Remilia's wish would be fulfilled because we suddenly heard aggressive bull bellowing noises nearby, and a group of Bulldozers suddenly showed up to stop our progress. Steam was coming out of their nostrils, and were looking ready to viciously charge at us.

"…Well, you got what you wanted." Reimu glared at Remilia. "I hope you're happy." we then braced ourselves.

[BGM: Tangled Jungle Trick – Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana]

But instead of charging, the Bulldozers caught us by surprise by unleashing a Burning Breath that paralyzed all of us but Remilia, who managed to quickly fly out of the way in time. "Divine Art: Vampire Illusion!" she called out, shooting six large bullets with trails of blood that took out the Bulldozers in front while the remaining ones were being chased by the trails that became red bullets. Some of them were taken out by those bullets, while others managed to flee.

"U-use a Moonwort Bulb, R-Remilia!" I told her. "I-It'll remove the p-paralysis on u-us!"

She did as told and the paralysis effect on us wore off immediately, then next a horde of Toxic Zombies along with some Night Emperors approached us. Yangus quickly managed to make them all stop advancing with a Warcry, followed by Jessica, with her new Chain Whip, immediately lashing the Toxic Zombies with a Lady's Thong and I finished them off with a Firebird Throw from my Razor Wing Boomerang.

"Freeze Sign: Freeze Actress!" meanwhile, Cirno released a ton of frozen danmaku to pelt the Night Emperors repeatedly until they were all defeated.

Going a bit further into the forest, we suddenly heard bell rings as some Magic Dumbbells ambushed us next. One of them played a melody that seemed to power them all up before they proceeded to launch Frizzles at us, prompting me and Angelo to use our Magic Shield and White Shield respectively to block some of the fireballs, and then I saw Alice flying and stopping right above both of us.

"Artful Chanter!" she shouted, dropping several dolls where they exploded on contact with the Magic Dumbbells, eliminating them all.

Following that, our next foes were…Cureslimes. Oh man, those guys are pretty annoying; unless you're able to take them all out with a single powerful blow, they'll just keep healing back their weaker comrades. Luckily, Angelo had thought ahead: he used his Dream Blade to cast Snooze on them, putting them all to sleep. Perfect! I then told Aya that wind is their elemental weakness, and so she immediately got ready to unleash a spell card.

"Whirlwind: Torii Whorl-Wind!" she called out, swinging her fan to send out a powerful tornado that traveled along the ground and blew away the Cureslimes.

We kept on going, passing by a small cottage along the way (one that we would definitely check out later) …but as we were approaching a grove, a King Cureslime suddenly landed in front of us. The King Cureslime attempted to body slam us, but we jumped back as Yangus ran over and struck the monster with a Heart Breaker using his new War Hammer, stunning it on the spot.

"Power Sign: Yin-Yang King Piece!" Reimu then took the opportunity to finish it off by sending out a large yin-yang orb made out of spiritual energy.

[BGM End]

"Hopefully that's the last of them." Reimu said while dusting off her hands.

"Aw, and I was just getting warmed up…" Remilia pouted.

"Y'know, I'm still thinkin' about that cottage back there." Yangus spoke up. "That place is in the middle o' nowhere! Must be either a cranky old man or a bandit wot lives there, I reckon. One or the other!"

"Or a magician, perhaps?" Marisa added. "Because that place kinda reminded me of my own house."

"Whoever the owner is, we can always check it out later." I suggested as I looked at the grove directly in front of us. "Because right now, it seems that we're finally getting somewhere by heading into this grove. I can feel it."

"If ya say so, guv." Yangus shrugged, and we proceeded to the grove.

[BGM: Garden of Celen – Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana]

Beyond the grove laid an amazing sight: there was a beautiful crystal-clear spring of water that was gushing out from a large rocky outcrop, which I highly believed to be the Mystical Spring. The spring felt so magical and holy, and the tranquil atmosphere it brought made us stop in our tracks to admire it.

"Whoa…" Aya breathed. "Look at that!"

"Ooooh! I've never seen such a sparkly water before!" Cirno exclaimed.

"Is that the Mystical Spring?" Reimu wondered. "It certainly does look mystical."

"Hey, there's someone over there." Youmu pointed, and we all looked over.

Standing by the edge of the spring was an old man with long white hair and a long beard, dressed in a purple robe and a black pointy hat. He was also carrying a staff mainly made out of silver in his right hand.

"Ah, hello there." he spoke while turning around to face us. "It's been quite some time since I've had any visitors. Welcome to the Mystical Spring. Please feel free to rest and make yourselves comfortable here; I find this the best place to restore one's spirit…" he broke himself off as he caught sight of what was obviously Medea judging by his following words, "And what have we here? Such an exquisite beauty! I saw many a beautiful princess back at the castle, but you, my dear, oh, you outshine them all. Indeed… Indeed… It's easy to see why your fellow travelers, especially the bandana-wearing one, guard you so closely."

Uhhhh, did the old man somehow sense my feelings towards her…? I was starting to blush just from hearing that, and I was afraid my companions would notice (especially since he mentioned 'bandana-wearing', and I was the only one in our party who wears a bandana…) so I tried my best to cover that up.

"Wot!? You sayin' you can see the 'orse-princess all proper like!?" Yangus gasped, which thankfully helped divert the attention on me a little.

"Of course he can!" Trode exclaimed proudly. "Even as a horse, her inner beauty shines through! That's right, my darling…" he did a double take. "Wait a moment! How CAN you recognize this horse as my beautiful Princess?"

"A horse, you say? How curious!" the old man pondered before approaching Medea. "Please, excuse me, Princess." he walks to her side and starts patting her. "Indeed, here is her mane… And her tail! She is a horse. Curiouser and curiouser!"

"Pardon me, but how are you able to see through Medea's true form?" Alice asked. "While I can perceive the truth in everything, I am unable to actually see it."

"Ah yes, allow me to explain. As you can see, my sight failed me long ago. Now I view the world through my mind's eye instead. And what it sees is a princess, not a beast of burden!"

"I see… then are you perhaps some sort of hermit?"

"A Seer, to be exact." ah, now that makes more sense. "Anyway… Curious travelers, might you tell me what has happened here?"

Without hesitating, I explained it to him, "It was due to the work of a wicked magician placing a curse on her, her home and her father. Since then, we've been searching for him and force him to lift the spell."

"I see." the Seer murmured sadly, shaking his head. "So a curse has been placed upon her." then he perked up. "Now. I may just have a way to return her to her former self. Yes, yes. Why don't we give it a try?"

Our eyes widened. "Really? Where? How!?" Trode asked, jumping off the wagon and running up to the Seer.

"COR BLIMEY! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Yangus yelled.

"What are you flapping about!? I've been here the whole time, you twit!" this time, he's speaking the truth…

"I can't say for sure if it will work, but have her drink from the spring." the Seer said while directing to it with his staff. "Its enchanted waters have been known to lift curses. Why don't you try it and see?"

[BGM End]

We all shared astonished glances. Could it really be that simple, for once? Well, I guess there's no harm in trying. Immediately, I unharnessed Medea from the wagon and let her walk to the edge of the spring. After glancing down at the shimmering waters long enough, she leans down and drinks a few mouthfuls of it… and all of a sudden, she began glowing. Medea stood back up in surprise once she noticed it while we watched, looking equally as surprised as she was… and then a bright light blinded us as we took a step back while covering our eyes.

When the light faded, we uncovered our eyes and let out shocked gasps as the being that stood in front of us was no longer a white horse; instead… it was a beautiful human princess with long walnut brown hair that used to be her mane, and the same green eyes. She was wearing a long white bodice with a golden waistband, a blue cape fastened with a golden clasp that stretched across her chest, a long bright red skirt, two golden armlets on her wrists and one around her left arm, brown slippers with ankle bands, a golden choker and a matching golden circlet atop her head.

There was no doubt about it; This was Medea's true form.

[BGM: Make Me Feel Sad – Dragon Quest XI S]

We all just stood there, speechless and in complete disbelief as Medea looked down at herself in amazement. Words could not express how much I missed seeing her human self after so long; at that point, I did not care how that was possible – I was just overjoyed to see her back to normal. "Father…!?" she spoke for the first time since the curse hit, and her voice still sounded as beautiful and delicate as I remember back when she sang a duet with Ishmahri. "Father! Look! I've returned to normal!"

But Trode did not respond, and instead stood there blinking as if making sure that what he was seeing wasn't a dream. At this, Medea's face fell. "What's wrong, Father?" she asked him concerningly. "Why aren't you saying anything? Am I just dreaming? Or is this some new trickery?"

"No, no, my dear! I'm sorry." Trode finally said, smiling up at her through tears of joy. "It's just that you take my breath away. Come here and let me look at you!"

Medea smiled back. "Oh, Father!" she beamed, running up to Trode and kneeling down to him as he gently held her hands.

"*sniff* Medea! My darling Medea… I'm so sorry for making you pull the carriage. It must have been so hard for you. I promise, I'll make it up to you!"

"Oh, no, Father! You mustn't worry! This isn't just about me. I'm just happy that I could be of service to everyone." Medea stood up and looked over at us during the last sentence, in which we all smiled warmly in return.

"That's my Medea. Well, it's high time I restored my own visage to its former glory!" Trode then strode over to the spring, ready to drink some of it himself…

[BGM End]

…but suddenly, Medea started glowing again. "Father!? Aaaah!"

"Hm? What's wrong!?" Trode asked as he whirled around. "Medea!" his eyes widened in horror when he saw… Medea back into her horse form. "Oh, my Princess…"

After looking down at her horse body in distress, Medea attempted to speak…only for nothing but a loud neigh to come out, making her lower her head in disappointment. I couldn't believe it… This was only a temporary effect!?

"What is this new devilry?" Trode questioned. "It seems our celebrations were premature…"

"This spring's a bit cruel, eh?" Yangus remarked. "Why can't it make the Princess turn back to normal perm'nantly, like?"

"Hm… The curse placed upon the Princess must be strong indeed." the Seer mused. "If the waters don't work, there is but one path left open to you. You must find and defeat the one who placed the curse upon her."

We all knew the exact answer to this. "…Dhoulmagus." we spoke in unison.

The Seer nodded. "It is the only way to restore the Princess to her true form. You must persevere, no matter how long and hard the road ahead. And now I pray you'll excuse me. My old bones get chilled so easily…" with that said, he turned around and slowly shuffled off.

"Poor Princess Medea… She looks really distressed." Angelo lamented as we looked back at Medea, who was still sulking and gazing sadly at the spring. Then Angelo suddenly elbowed my arm gently, catching me by surprise. "You're up, Eight! Time to say a few words of comfort to the damsel in distress!" he said with a coy smile.

"M-me!?" I stuttered. "Why me, specifically?"

Angelo leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Don't even try to hide it from me; I know you like her. I saw the way you were looking at her when she changed back…" sigh… first Marisa, and now Angelo?

"Alright, alright…" I sighed. "But what about the rest of you?"

"We'll go see where the Seer is heading off to." Jessica replied.

"I'll be following them too." Trode spoke up. "I figured you two might need some privacy for this."

"Okay…then I'll catch up with you later." and thus they all took off, leaving only me and Medea standing on the Mystical Spring.

Without saying anything, I walked over to Medea and started stroking her mane as she instantly took notice and looked down at me sadly. I was able to feel her sorrow, grief, frustration and disappointment the more I stared into her tearful eyes, and I couldn't help but feel the same myself too; tears were starting to leak from my eyes, and I found myself unable to form any words in my mouth. So instead I went to hug her by the neck, and she lowered it so that I'd be able to fully embrace it. We stood there doing this for a long while, both of us trying to pour out all our grief and bitter disappointment.

Eventually, once we both recomposed ourselves, Medea went over to drink the spring water once more as I watched in confusion… but then I was forced to cover my eyes as she was engulfed in a bright light again, and moments later she was human again.

[BGM: Yesterday in Etania – Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana]

"I'm terribly sorry to behave so selfishly, but…I have a favor to ask." she said while giving me a weak, fleeting smile. "As you know, I'm only human for the briefest of moments after drinking from the spring… but it would make me very happy if you could bring me back here every now and then."

"What for?" I asked.

Her smile became more genuine. "I'd like to be able to talk to you again, Eight. Just like we used to, back at the castle. We can forget all about the curse, even if it's only for the few minutes we share together…" she paused for a bit before continuing, "We've traveled so far during our quest… Do you really think defeating Dhoulmagus will lift the curse? Do you really think everything will go back to normal?" she sighs sadly. "I miss Trodain. I miss the way things were before. I hope this will all be over soon…" she smiles back at me. "I don't know how far our journey will take us, but I'll always be right beside you, Eight."

"Medea…" I started to blush again.

"By the way, before I forget… Thank you for everything. For taking care of me, for always staying by my side, for occasionally offering me those sweet apples, for rescuing me when I was kidnapped in Pickham, and for defending me against Charmles. You're always there for me whenever I need it."

"It…it was nothing, really." I replied bashfully. "I was just doing my job as your protector."

Medea giggled. "I see you're still as humble as ever, Eight. But I truly mean it that I am really thankful to you." then she began glowing again. "I can feel the enchantment wearing off!" and after another bright light, she was a horse once again.

[BGM End]

"Consider it as a request from me as well." Trode's voice suddenly spoke as I turned around to see him joining us (and as much as how surprised I was at him coming out of nowhere, at least I wasn't like Yangus). "She asks for so little of us. It really is the least we can do. Actually, no. Think of it as an order. Understood, Eight?"

I instantly nodded. "Of course, Your Majesty. After all, you already know how I'm like when people ask me a favor."

A small grin formed on his face. "Very well. Now that that's decided, we can move on… Wait a moment!" his eyes widened in realization. "That Seer! He must be the man we heard about in Argonia! The old wizard who lives in the forest to the west!" huh! That is a high possibility! "If I'm not mistaken, he knows something about the magic mirror. We'd better visit his home and ask him about it."

"Roger that. We'll be going right away." after saying that, I led Medea back to the wagon and harnessed her to it. "We need to catch up to the others, anyway." Trode then hopped back onto the driver seat, and the three of us proceeded to leave the spring by heading back into the grove.

'Don't worry, Medea.' I thought as I looked at her with a sweet smile. 'Once we finally kill Dhoulmagus, it'll be over. We can go back to our happy days again… at least until the marriage starts.' obviously, I still haven't forgotten about that dreaded arranged marriage. I wonder what was Medea's opinion of it?

"Look! There they are!" Aya's calling snapped me out of my thoughts as I looked over to see the rest of my companions standing just outside of the grove. "How is she, Eight?"

"She's feeling better now." I replied. Thank the Goddess she didn't ask about how did it go… so I went ahead and quickly got to the important point just to make sure that topic wouldn't be brought up, "Also, Trode and I just realized that the Seer has to be the wizard that Argonian royal mage mentioned to us!"

"…Oh, of course!" Marisa facepalmed. "If only we'd thought of that earlier! We could've asked him before he left."

"To be honest, it wasn't really the moment, what with everything that happened." Jessica pointed out.

"I know! I was well gobsmacked! So the 'orse-princess really is a proper princess!" Yangus exclaimed. "Er, not that I was doubtin' wot the guv an' the old codger said or nuffin'. It was just funny seein' it wiv me own eyes, is all."

"I'd never paid the horse much attention before." Angelo admitted. "But having seen the Princess in her human form, she's really playing on my mind now. Even that horsy face is starting to look worryingly attractive…"

"Say, I wish King Trode had taken a drink from the spring too!" Remilia spoke up. "I've been curious to see what he really looks like! But now's not the time, I suppose."

"Aye, yer right. But still, I also really wanted to see wot old Grandad was gonna look like!" Yangus threw in.

"So did I." Jessica added. "If His Majesty is to be believed, his natural form is tall, dark and handsome. I'm dying to see if it's really true." oh, they'd be surprised…

"Do not doubt me, Jessica! When I recover my looks, I shan't court you even if you beg me!" Trode grinned.

"I've got to give you points for confidence! I'm reserving judgment until I see for myself, though."

"Ah hah hah! If you're so keen to witness my visual charms, you merely have to defeat Dhoulmagus! But first, we have to pay the Seer a visit. I wonder if that old chap was able to find his way home on his own? He is blind, after all, so I can't help being rather concerned."

"I've been wondering… could that cottage over there that we passed by before be his home?" Alice suggested as we all glanced over at it. "I mean, if he does spend most of his life in this forest, then obviously he'd have to live somewhere in here."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." I said.

"Why d'ya think that old geezer lives out 'ere in the middle o' the forest?" Yangus wondered as we were heading over to the cottage. "He must be into somefin' dodgy, I s'pose. Prob'ly can't go back to town in case 'e lands 'imself in a bit o' bother."

"Or, as Alice guessed before, perhaps he might be a hermit." Reimu speculated. "Hermits are known for having to isolate themselves from the rest of the world in order to continue their training, and there is a secret sealed world in Gensokyo created specifically for hermits; that one being Senkai. But hey, it's still just a speculation."

By now we were standing in front of the cottage's door, and so we left Trode and Medea waiting outside before going in.

[BGM: Quiet Village – Dragon Quest VIII]

Inside, we were met with quite a surprise: there was a Slime and a Mud Mannequin warming themselves by the hearth fire, and did not even bother to look at us even as we walked in a little uncertainly. Those monsters seemed perfectly at home.

"The Seer has monsters as house guests!? Now I've seen everything!" Jess remarked.

"Aside from the Seer, it seems that the only other 'people' living here are monsters." Angelo said as he scanned around the room. "What a strange place."

"So the Seer was able to tame those monsters somehow? That's pretty impressive." I spoke amazed.

"Wait, you're saying that the monsters can be tamed?" Reisen asked.

"Yes, it is possible, but it's incredibly hard and, depending on the type of monster, risky to do. I heard that tamed monsters are usually taken to a place where one forms a monster team and make them compete in a fighting tournament. I think it's called a Monster Arena or something."

"Interesting…"

Seeing a door to the left, we opened it and it led us to the Seer's room, where he stood in front of a bookshelf organizing the books. Hearing us enter, he turned around and looked up at us in surprise. "Ah! If it isn't the people I met at the spring! Well, well! Well, well, well… Well… Let me see… Hm? Can I help you with something?"

"We do need your help with something, sir. You see, we happen to have the magic mirror given to us by King Clavius, and we need it to break through a powerful barrier of darkness at the Northwest Isle." I explained. "However, the mirror appears to have been drained of its magic."

"What!? But the magic mirror is a royal heirloom! And you say King Clavius gave it to you!? Well, well! Let me examine it, then!" I then took out the magic mirror at his request, and held it in front of me as he went to place a hand on its glass. "Yes! This is it! The sun mirror! A quite unmistakable feel it has. I'll never forget the first time I touched it in Argonia. But…hmm… Yes… Most curious… It's lost all of its magic."

"Pardon the interruption, but… Why did you call it the 'sun mirror'?" Reimu asked.

"Oh, dear! I'm not being very clear, am I? You see, this mirror that you call the magic mirror is really called the sun mirror. But now that all its magic has been lost, you can't very well call it a magic mirror any more…"

"There was a bloke in the castle who said the same thing." Yangus threw in. "That's why we're 'ere to see ya. Thought ya could give us some assistation." it's 'assistance', Yangus…

"Hm… A way to get magic back into the mirror…? Yes… I remember hearing long ago about a spell of blinding light that was cast on the sun mirror. That's what gave it such tremendous brilliance. If the mirror has lost that magic now… Hm… Perhaps casting the same spell could restore its magical properties. The problem is…I can't remember what the spell was… A spell that casts a blinding light… Hm, what a conundrum…

"Ah! Of course! The sea dragon's spell! Just north of this land you will find a stone arch bridging the straits. A sailor once told me of a giant sea dragon in the waters there. He said it cast a spell on him that left him blinded for a few moments. I suppose it's possible a bright light such as that could restore the magic to the mirror. You never know, it might just work. Try using the mirror to reflect the sea dragon's spell! Aha, good luck!"

[BGM End]

"Ah, well, that's a relief!" Angelo exclaimed once we were back outside. "I was starting to think we wouldn't be able to use the magic mirror. And after all the pains we went to get hold of it!"

"Well at least the mirror we procured from Argonia wasn't a cheap imitation!" Trode said. "But it seems the process of turning it back into the sun mirror is going to be very bothersome indeed."

"But all we have to do is recharge its magic power with a blinding light spell, and the sun mirror will be ready to go!" Marisa countered. "Sounds easy enough to me!"

"I didn't really get wot the old geezer was on about." Yangus admitted. "But y'all understood 'im, right?"

"Use the mirror to deflect the spell of a sea dragon, and it'll absorb the spell's magical energy." Aya surmised. "That was what he said, wasn't it?"

"But there's more than one fish in the sea, as they say." Angelo interjected. "Which monster's spell are we looking for exactly?"

"Well, he also said that this sea dragon lives below a stone arch that connects the two halves of this continent." Alice said.

"Which would be…" I spoke up as I fished out the map. "…right through this canal, probably." I pointed to the location for the others to see.

"…Oh! That's the same one our ship passed through during its trip from Trodain to Baccarat!" Remilia exclaimed.

"How do you know that, Remilia?" Youmu asked. "Because we've been resting in the ship's cabin the entire time during that nighttime voyage."

Remilia smirked. "Why, have you already forgotten that we vampires are more active at night, carefree gardener? I happened to have gone outside for some fresh air at one point, and that's where I stumbled upon our ship passing through the arch."

"O-oh, right…"

"Anyway, we now have our destination." Trode said. "What are we waiting for? Off to the ship!"

"Right away, Sire!" I nodded.

Sometime later…

"We're about to approach the arch!" I announced, as we were all aboard the ship and sailing through the canal. "Are you now picking up any signs of a large creature, Reisen?"

Since Reisen has powers over waves, we decided to assign her as our living radar. That way, we'll be able to find the sea dragon much quicker. "Let me see…" she mused; her eyes glowing as she used her powers. "Oh! I am picking up something! And it's huge! Could it be the sea dragon?"

"Alright, then warn me to stop once we're directly above it!"

"Got it! Just keep going… A bit more… There!" I stopped the ship at that very moment.

"Good, now let's lure it out!" I smirked as we all stood on the deck… when without warning, a large serpentine monster with purple scales and a shark-like head flew out of the water and landed on the deck in front of us, then gave out a loud roar. "…Or not." I blinked.

[BGM: War Cry – Dragon Quest VIII]

"Well, how nice of it to show up for us!" Remilia grinned.

"Hold up, remember that we have to make it cast the blinding spell on the mirror before we kill it!" I warned as I took out the mirror. "I'll be in charge of the mirror; the rest of you go and try to provoke it into casting the spell!"

"At your orders, guv!" Yangus replied and he and the rest charged after the sea dragon, with Jessica casting Acceleratle and the Gensokyo girls firing danmaku, while at the same time flying away from the monster's snapping jaws.

After getting pelted with bullets long enough, the annoyed sea dragon let out another loud roar as it began rearing its head back… where a beacon of light suddenly appeared in its mouth, leading my eyes to widen in alarm.

"Everyone, I think that's it!" I shouted. "Cover your eyes, NOW!" as I said that, I shut my own eyes as hard as I could… just in time for the sound of a bright flash to come and shine in my direction.

Once it faded, I slowly opened my eyes and looked down at the mirror, and my jaw dropped in awe as I saw that it had been completely transformed after absorbing the spell: its frame was now colored gold instead of silver.

"Did it work?" Reimu asked as my party uncovered their eyes.

"Yes, it did!" I beamed, then I put the sun mirror away and drew my new Zombiesbane sword. "Now it's time to bring that sea dragon down!"

"Aw, yeah!" Marisa exclaimed, and thus we went to town fighting off the dragon until it got to the point where it started to get weary from fighting back. "I'll finish it off!" Marisa took out a spell card. "Star Sign: Gravity Beat!" she called out, using her broom to shoot a magic bullet straight up into the sky…where it would fall down right onto the sea dragon and explode.

[BGM End]

We all watched as the sea dragon let out a roar of agony and defeat, and then it finally poofed out of existence. "And that's the end of it!" Marisa said, then she looked back at me. "Sooo… What about the sun mirror?" I brought it out for everyone to see it.

[BGM: Steel Myself for Battle – Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana]

"Whoa… I did not expect it to change color!" Aya exclaimed.

"Amazing…" Alice awed as she leaned in closer. "I can actually feel strong magic radiating from it. I believe it's safe to say that its magic is back, so we might now be able to break through the aura at the Dark Ruins."

"I'm pretty excited about this sun mirror." Yangus confessed. "Wot d'ya think's gonna 'appen when we use it to get rid o' the dark aura? It's been 'ard enough to get 'old o' the thing. I'll be well disappointed if it don't go through it like Munchie through a block o' cheese!"

"So what would we do if this sun mirror doesn't work as promised?" Youmu wondered.

"Then we just hang around at the entrance to the Dark Ruins and wait for Dhoulmagus to come out." Angelo simply said. "He's got to surface at some point."

"Oi, why the 'ell didn't ya think o' that before, ya lemon!?" Yangus snapped. "That woulda been loads easier!"

"You haven't a brain between you!" Trode berated. "The longer we procrastinate, the more suffering the people of Trodain will be forced to endure! Whatever minor hardships YOU have to suffer in comparison, our mission remains the same: defeat Dhoulmagus! And as quickly as possible!"

"Besides, what if there was a back entrance?" Remilia pointed out. "We could be waiting forever and be none the wiser. Breaking in is a better option than just standing there and twiddling our thumbs all day."

"Right…I haven't really thought about that." Angelo admitted.

"Same 'ere." Yangus joined in.

"Still, we can't just afford to lose hope right here." Jessica encouraged. "We're so close to getting inside the Dark Ruins! I can hardly wait to get my hands on Dhoulmagus!"

"I'm with you there." Reimu agreed. "I'm not going to be able to relax until we exterminate that despicable jester. Plus, the quicker we get this done, the sooner I and my friends will be able to return home."

"You said it, Reimu!" Marisa winked. "We can't quit now!"

"Right, Dhoulmagus! You're about to get wot's comin' to ya!" Yangus bellowed defiantly, making the rest of us jump. "Huuurgh! Huuurgh! Huuurgh!"

"…What was that?" Cirno raised an eyebrow.

Yangus caught his breath again before replying, "Since we 'ad a bit of a break from chasin' 'im, I weren't feelin' so much anger an' that towards Dhoulmagus. So I just needed to charge meself up a bit. Y'know, get the ol' blood pumpin' again."

"Well, then break time is over for us." I smirked. "It's time we finally put a stop to Dhoulmagus once and for all!"

"YEAH!" my whole party shouted triumphantly while fist-pumping the air.

At long last… the hunt for the jester was about to come to an end.

To be continued…

Eight: Wow, you weren't kidding when you said it will be something I will truly like, Fairy!

I told you so! But seriously, all those conversations you can trigger with Medea at the Mystical Spring are just so sweet. They help make the player actually care more for her and support her being together with the Hero more than Charmles. The first time I saw these, I felt extremely bad for her having to be stuck with an abusive arranged marriage, and that only further fueled my desire to ship her and Eight together.

Eight: Aw, I'm glad you're very supportive of me and Medea being together!

Anyway... Next time, our heroes are going to storm the Dark Ruins and face off with Dhoulmagus at last!

Eight: I'm ready for it!