Chapter/Tale 7: Fractured Conflicts: Act 6
Author's Notes Intro:
Sora's in Smash! I'm still crying… Now it's officially canon! Excuse me. I made you all wait too long, did I? Sorry about that, had some business to take care of while struggling through College as well. I was having a bit of trouble deciding how to direct the scene as well, but I eventually got something. And now here we are, finally. Hopefully it holds out well enough for its decent length, but I can guarantee the next part will be a bit shorter. And regarding Kirby and the Forgotten Land, the lore about Shiver Star (Earth) may be explored; it came faster than I anticipated, of course. I mean, it's known that the humans possibly left earth, but for the true cause, that will remain a mystery. We'll have to wait next year for the lore to happen.
One more thing, don't forget to support me on AO3 as well. Although you'll note some major and minor differences in the chapter's content if you're that attentive. That is a work in progress right now. Also, just for a thought, do you think that at some point I should leave the title the way it is or should I change it and if so, should it change to Kirby: Tales of Crystallia or something else? Let me know in your reviews or just answer the poll I set up in my profile (check there often for updates).
Alright, that should be all, so I'll let you go now! Enjoy!
(P.S. A fair warning- prepare (like always) for the brutal bloodbath and cruel carnage depicted in this chapter. Eh, what else is new?)
Tale 7 Act 6-2/4
Level Five: Central Square- Outskirts (Winterland- Tales of Destiny)
Mission: Rescue the Mages!
Knaiva's POV (Continued): The Fangs Seek Vengeance
Dots of snowflakes covered the ground and eventually started to fill up the roads of the whole square, covering the footprints of those that have passed through the roads before us. The trail was not cold, although the air felt isolate, devoid of people as if a disaster took place.
Following the old town roads were filled with uncertainty and edge, making sure that there weren't any possible signs of a setup as we clear some obstacles and defeat some wild monsters roaming about in the area somehow.
"The square's just ahead," Magolor alludes ahead. "Gooey, how's the jewel?"
The rogue Dark Matter pats his stomach. "So far, I can feel almost all of its aura draining away. It should be enough to avoid the calamity, I hope."
"Not really assuring when you put it that way," Marx shakes his head. "The entire planet is riding all on that single jewel, y'know."
"But we have to get through them first," Kirby reminded us. "Just seeing Celsius in action proves they're a force to be reckoned with, and we need to make sure they won't pull a fast one on us during the exchange. I doubt it'll go well, honestly."
That's true. Last time, I could barely hold my own against those three, even with the odds against them. A master swordsman, a master twin-lance wielding chancellor, and a master martial artist Godbeast that was the cause of this planet's condition. Of course, someone as inexperienced in combat as me wouldn't stand a chance. The very thought of yesterday pains me to this very moment.
"All the more reason to try harder, don't you agree?" Adeline suggests. "Should push comes to shove, that is. Those three are the reason why we know as much as we do now through Knaiva, and now we can't let this opportunity go to waste. We will save them."
"You think so?" I asked her.
"Yeah. Never give up, Knaiva," She replies. "There's always an answer for every tough situation, even if it seems unlikely. You were able to hold off on your own, weren't you? Keep at it still."
"Alright, I'll do my best!" I firmly declared.
"Good, because we're almost at the Central Square," warned Magolor. "It's just under and through this tunnel pass where they expect us to show up in. We should quickly prepare ourselves before we go in blind."
Just as Magolor said, there was a tunnel that was sure to lead us right into a possible lion's pit. Before that, I found a large treasure chest nearby and went to retrieve its contents. Inside was a tome and a spell book, a pair of golden bracelets, some jewel cores, a pair of gloves, another book, and one of those strange trophies from before, which had a symbol of a capsule of some sort.
"Ooh, another one!" Kirby exclaimed, swiping the item before I could even blink. "I'll take that, thank you very much!"
"Okay…" I sweatdropped.
Tome and Spell Book obtained! Knaiva learned the skill Demon Swarm!
Knaiva learned the spell Healing Circle! (Heals All Allies in the Circle)
Knaiva learned the spell Spiral Blood! Unleash torrents of gushing red blood and snare your foes in the explosions! (Targets All Enemies; Shortcut Input: Up-Down-Left-Right-A-B-X-Y)
Casting Spells- Shortcut: The Art of the Blahblahblah
Guess I never really touched upon casting spells much, huh? I'm sure you've figured it out how already. But there are certain spells that requires a fixed amount of time to cast, leaving you vulnerable during the incantation. However, there's a little shortcut to quickly cast the spell and it requires some button-mashing. When in the artes menu, some spells will have a specific combination to cast the spell faster. Once you select the spell in battle, perform the shortcut using the directional buttons or the Right Analog Stick (Controls Varies) and quickly summon your offensive/defensive spell right away for either devastating combos or save your allies from biting the dust. The required amount of MP for the spell will be reduced in half instantly, sparing you MP recovery items and whatnot for a while. Use those shortcuts to master the art of the Blahblahblah!
What? That's actually a thing. Never played Tales of Vesperia before? Trust me, Blahblahblah saves lives in that one.
Knaiva learned Target Chain! Envelop the target with an energy ball bomb that'll detonate once another attack strikes the victim, multiplying the damage depending on the amount of times Target Chain has been afflicted on the opponent! Attacks will have different effects when this move is involved, so be wary and plan accordingly! (Targets 1 or more enemies. Shortcut Input to Target ALL: B-A-B-Z-Y)
You got the "Doctor" ability! Save lives and take lives- one pill at a time! And a physical! 9/12 abilities collected.
Joker Gloves obtained! Mana Regeneration UP By 15%! (Marx)
Spirit Bangles obtained! Offense/Defense Up By 30! (Magolor)
Onyx Earrings obtained! Evasion Up By 20! (Gooey)
Canvas Grimoire obtained! Proficiency Up By 45%! (Adeline)
In a nutshell, everyone scrambled to obtain whatever else was left in the chest, being pulled in by the aesthetics of their respective items. While they were doing that, I noticed another Star Point and went up to it.
Would You Like to Save Your Progress? Yes.
Now Saving… Save Complete! Showing Results…
Current Status:
World 7, Level 7-5: Central Square
Lives x 78
9/12 Abilities Collected So Far.
Current Level: Level 44. Next Level in 6500 Experience Points
Party: Knaiva, Magolor, Marx, Gooey, Adeline and Kirby.
Current Location: Entrance to Central Square
Now Exiting…
"Alright, now we're ready," Magolor coughed, equipped already with the Spirit Bangles. "I've confirmed that the others were able to make it inside the other locations as well. We better get a move on, it's almost 12:00! Be prepared for anything, guys."
"Right," we all agreed, entering the tunnel that will take us straight to the heart of the town.
I was feeling shaky, but I know I need to do this, otherwise… I may regret it.
Central Square
We heard the obnoxious noise of the crowd way before we entered through the tunnel, hard to make out the tone in general. But one thing's for sure, the crowd went dead silent the moment we arrived. They probably recognized us by chance earlier from the posters- the wanted, I mean.
The square was massive enough to squeeze almost the entire population of the people in there. They were all secluded on the sidelines behind bars, their beady eyes focused solely on us as we pass them by. It was rather intimidating, that's for sure. Still, it seems like they were also relieved at the same time, perhaps it was fear or something else altogether.
Maybe they were relieved that someone was going to do something about… this. What really intimidated me the most were the people waiting for us ahead. At the center of it all stood the nation's three greatest of the Zenoxia Guard, arms crossed and all. The amount of power emitting from them made me mentally quiver in fear.
It wasn't as strong as before. Who knows? Either way, I was able to tame that wild cowardice beast within me as I took every step forward into the center with everyone else. Soon, the exchange was to take place, after we negotiate with the kidnappers. Once we stopped in place, all noise dropped dead for the suspense.
"Well, well, well," Teyren initiated the conversation. "Look who decided to show up after all. I suppose the mere thought of us harming the hostages made you surrender, hasn't it?"
"A tactic like that would make anyone give in," Magolor replied. "And here I was thinking you were better than that. Must be out of reliable options to use that card if you really want that jewel back."
"Yeah, not to mention that you tried to silence us by jeopardizing the lives of everyone on the Shivera Starshine a few days ago," adds Kirby. "And gave them a virus. How dare you."
The crowd starts to murmur to each other in response to what they've heard. A hint of fear and surprise started to boil slowly.
"Silence, you filthy criminals," demanded Celsius. "You've brought this situation on yourselves, and here we are now. Your very presence sparked this entire catastrophe to the entire planet itself for weeks ever since. Now there's nowhere to run."
Marx casually laughs before he retorted. "Oh, that's rich coming from you, sugartits. Last I checked, you were a major part of the entire reason why this planet is having an eternal bloody winter in the first place- just by existing. How do you feel about that, sugartits?"
"W-what does that have to do with now?" Celsius started to blush and fume. "And don't call me that!"
To make things even worse for her, someone from the crowd anonymously shouted, "No, no, he's got a point." And the crowd followed suit in discreet but escalating laughter, making the feared Godbeast look like a joke as she huffed and turned red in embarrassment, clenching her hands while trembling furiously.
Marx snorted and bore the face of a jokester. "Told ya you were an exhibitionist. You do love being the center of attention, sugartits, with those clothes you're wearing and those big, bountiful melons that were copped by a little girl yesterday. I believed she said they were heaven-attaining, if you know what I mean."
"Stop calling me sugartits, you perv!" Celsius growls, quickly covering her lumps which grabbed the attention of the onlookers thanks to Marx's description. "And all of you, stop staring! This isn't a show!"
"God, Marx," sighed Adeline. "You never change, do you?"
"Settle down, everyone," Rushgarde suddenly spoke up, seizing everyone's attention. "No need to gang up on Celsius, even though the jester's claims are completely accurate-"
"True, he does have a point," Teyren teased as well.
"Thank you, Rushgarde- wait a minute! Don't encourage them!"
"-But we have today a better picture for you all to look at and we have no time for this idle nonsense as well. Let's get to the point of this whole circus act, shall we?" Rushgarde turns to one of the soldiers. "Bring them up."
On command but hesitantly, the soldier flipped a lever and upon activation, there was a symbol that erected between both groups in the middle, giving off a brief, flashing light. And if no one knew what was going on, what appeared before us made it firmly clear with a shocking sight.
"What the-?!" Gooey gasped. "Guys, you're not gonna like this!"
Everyone shared the same reaction upon what they just saw and the relaxed and whimsical tone in the air became heavy and hard to breathe in with dread. For me, I was paralyzed in shock.
What was brought up before us was the very reason we're even here in the first place- the girls. But it wasn't what shocked everyone- it was how they were brought up. The ones who were going to be exchanged were beaten up severely, exactly how they were yesterday but even more brutally. Chains bound the three very tight, forcing their bare and lashed skin to warm each other despite the weather not being cold.
Their clothing was very tattered and torn, exposing skin in various areas, especially the chest area where the scars were oozing fresh blood over the dried splotches on their lumps, covered barely by whatever was left of the clothing left there. Blood was leaking out from their faces as well, their eyes barely showing any signs of consciousness.
I glared in horror, seeing their seemingly lifeless bodies bound in chains, forced on their knees when I last saw them on the ground. Gryll, missing her hat, had the least torn clothing and had messy hair and more bruises, was forced to lie on Pandora's big lumps, which were more exposed than the other two and her dress was more ravaged, exposing the lashes on her legs and feet as her ice heels were cracked and was barely clinging to life.
Marxanae… she was the same as Gryll, leaning on Pandora's chest and her exposure of scars, torn clothing and blood outweighed the other two in general, but it seems her body suffered the most from impalement. I could see visible tears of sweat and blood stem from her unconscious eyes as her lifeless body was forced to stand upright because of the chains binding her neck, body, wrists and her ankles that also had broken heels and torn leggings.
The very sight of their demise brought disgust and fear into everyone that saw them. Our group stood there, petrified with bewilderment and dread. But something else was brewing in the stir of emotions.
"Holy crap…! That's going way too far!" Magolor gasped.
"Marxanae, Gryll, Pandora…" I shouted. "Answer me! Say something!"
"They're still alive," Adeline confirms with horror rattling her eyes, "But they're barely holding on there! Those wounds are too severe!"
"All this… for a stupid jewel?!" Marx seethed through his breath.
"Zenoxia Guard," Kirby grimly demanded. "What the hell is this?"
The three elites gave a suppressing smirk before they answered the masses; Teyren spoke up. "Isn't it obvious? This is what happens to those who refuses to cooperate in a situation like this one and all those associated with said convicts. You stole the Void Jewel, and this is the punishment for refusing to do so. After all, her Grace has ordered your captured along with the jewel alive through whatever means necessary. This is rather the most disgusting tactic to ever exist, but considering the circumstances, we cannot take any chances. And these three resisted us with all they had, and we responded in such a manner, of course. That fate of theirs would've been yours as well, Knaiva, you rogue, wild Demon Beast!"
"BASTARDS!" Magolor shouted angrily. "This was too much to do for a single jewel! You're willing to forfeit the lives of innocents just to achieve your objective?!"
"Right back at ya, roaches," Celsius cackled proudly. "You may have eluded our grasp these past couple of weeks, but we've got ya right where we want ya now! You know damn well you can never leave these chicks for dead, and they knew what they were getting into by breaking into the Factory and letting a wild Demon Beast escape in the mix! They brought this on themselves, and now they're gonna pay for their actions- with their lives, that is!"
"Damn you…!" Adeline growls.
"However, we're willing to make an exception this time," Rushgarde cuts to the chase. "Don't worry, they're still breathing, although they were like this during our little showdown after they provided your escape, Knaiva. They won't last for very long, that is. Wish for their survival still? The Void Jewel. Have that Gooey kid barf up the artifact and turn yourselves in and we'll forget this nonsense ever happened." Onlookers then turned their gaze upon us, awaiting what we'd do right now.
"Tch, I know what we're supposed to do," growls Magolor. "But one wrong move and the girls will get axed on the spot! What do we do if that happens?"
"Gooey," I asked him. "How's the jewel?"
"…It's empty and void of its aura just now."
"Give them the jewel."
Gooey hesitated for a bit. "But what if they-"
"GIVE IT TO THEM." I demanded aggressively. "NOW. BEFORE THEY… BEFORE THEY… please…"
The defect Dark Matter was taken aback by my words, but he finally complied when he saw the streams of water coming from my eyes. "I… I understand. But you should give it to them. It… just feels right." He raised his hand and drove it right into his stomach, not fazed by the life stream flying out from him as he pulled out a spheric-shaped black gem with a small ball of energy centered in the middle of it that eventually disappeared before he handed it to me. The others stood out of the way as I went to exchange the jewel for the girls.
"Here you go, you monsters," I grimly offered, water streaming from my eyes. "Hope it was worth everything you did up till now."
"Knaiva…" The others silently could say.
Gave up the Void Jewel…
Teyren chuckled, analyzing the jewel in his palms. "Well, was that so hard to do in the first place? You could've saved yourself the pain of this scene, yet you decided to pull a struggle. Consider the exchange a success. In exchange-"
"I don't care, just let them go now," I turned around to their aid, wanting to see if they were alright. If anything were to happen to them after all that, I will-
"-those three will be punished!" Celsius suddenly shouts.
"Huh?!"
"KNAIVA! LOOK OUT!" Before I could even react, my attention was directed behind me, only to witness Gooey shielding me from several icicles with his body, blood splattering everywhere from him. The crowd shrieked and gasped upon this sudden turn of events as Gooey nearly collapsed from that fatal spell. None of the girls have been harmed any more than they already have been.
"GOOEY!" The others screamed.
"Don't worry about me! I'll be fine!" Gooey coughed, his wounds responsively healing themselves. "But those backstabbers won't be."
A sudden switch within me has been flipped with my next line. "You three. We gave up the jewel and you do this. Explain."
Rushgarde laughs at this. "You damn fools. It's true you gave up the jewel as demanded, but YOU never fully held up your end of the bargain! We demanded that the Void Jewel was to be returned along with the surrender of all four criminals. You think we wouldn't notice that you were one short of them?"
"Damn it…!"
"Ah, yes. The traitorous arachnid," adds Teyren. "A coward he still is to this point, leaving you fools for dead. I knew he didn't have the balls to show his face after what he has done to her Grace, and he should be ashamed. What a useless commoner he is."
"And to think he had feelings for the Queen as well," laughed Celsius. "What a loser! How do feel about being friends with someone like that?! It's disgusting! More disgusting than these three dead weights in front of us! Speaking of, once we're done with you, we'll string him alive as soon as we find him! As for you lot, consider yourselves-"
SMACK!
Without a blink on anyone's eyes, the first thing that they saw… was Celsius suddenly being knocked out in front of them by a fist. A fist that belonged to an angry Marx. Celsius spat blood as she skids back to halt herself, slightly feeling the bruise on her right cheek while progressively getting angry.
But it was nothing compared to how Marx looked, teeth seething, and his eyes become more blood red than before, his hands starts to tense up more until visible lines pop up, and his tone become more bloodthirsty.
"You bitches. That's my friend you're talking shit about. I'm done trying to be a pacifist. You're gonna regret making me upset."
The other two raised their guard up after that one-shot made on Celsius, who was still caressing her bruised cheek. "You fool. Do you realize what you're getting yourselves into by doing that?"
"Obviously. We were going to quietly surrender ourselves and everything would've gone your way," Adeline growls. "But you were the ones who didn't hold your end of the deal, and now that you've gone and done this, consider the deal worthless!"
"And what are you going to do about it?" Rushgarde taunted. "We are this nation's strongest elites; for you to challenge us would be like foolishly building your own graves!"
"Who gives a damn?" Magolor shouted. "It doesn't matter how strong the three of you are, you will not get away with this in one piece!"
"Ugh! Such baseless confidence! Something's definitely wrong with you people!" Celsius retorted. "And what would that be anyway?!"
"Well, whatever's rising," Kirby pounds his fists. "One thing's for sure- it's not the Shield Hero."
Celsius tenses up in disgust as she quickly takes a step back. "Disgusting! You think you can keep your murderboners in your pants please?!"
"Oh, don't try to stop us now!" Gooey denies her request.
"We are erect with RAGE!" Marx hollered. "You've officially crossed the line, Zenoxia Guard!"
Teyren let out a heavy sigh. "Good grief, you really want to do this? Especially you, Knaiva. I'm sure you remember how weak you were against us the last time and look at where that rebellion brought those three. We could do the same to your other batch of companions right now if you wish."
I took one good look at the three girls before I did anything else and remembering how much they've done for me made the answer clear before my eyes. I knew what I had to do. For them.
"You're right. I couldn't even outmatch you the last time we fought, and the defeat was humiliating. Maybe that wouldn't have mattered to me anyway if I was still asleep for a little longer or so. I have no recollection of who I was then, I may not even have a past to lose. But what I do have is now, something these three gave to someone like me, a monster with a hole in his chest and an abnormal ability. It's thanks to them that I have some sort of meaning waiting for me. This moment is what I have now, and right now I'm not going to leave them in the state you put them in!" I morphed my hand into a blade. "Consider it foolish all you want, but I'd be even more of a fool to leave the ones who helped me out of their own want for dead! If it protects them, I'll take you three on till I drop dead!"
The crowd reacted to the words I spoke, and soon they were all excited as they were moved by those words.
"I see, so you all have chosen death, is that so?" Teyren chuckled, eventually escalating into a maniacal laughter as he called together energy to materialize a deadly spear, spun it around and performs a battle stance. "Well, if it's death you seek, then it's death you shall get."
"You should've surrendered when you had the chance, but you decided to pull a struggle. In any case," Rushgarde materializes his sword and readies himself for a fight. "We'll make this as painful for you fools as possible."
"Enough games," Celsius starts to float in the air, materializing lances of ice orbs circling all around her in a battle stance. "You've humiliated me for the last time. I'll make sure you peasants bow down to us- dead, that is!"
With those declarations made, I hacked the chains binding the girls together with the others dragging them quickly out of the way and healed them on the sidelines. Some of the spectators offered to take care of them for us while we deal with the elites. We thanked them before returning to the center just in time as an invisible barrier with the same magnetic pulse was erected to trap us.
Good, I don't intend to run this time. And neither will the rest of the party.
"Don't think you can make us surrender that easily! You will be squashed like the criminals you are!" Teyren laughed.
"Yeah, you keep laughing, all right. We'll see who'll get the last laugh in the end!" Kirby shouted.
"This time, I'm not gonna go easy on any of you!" Magolor summoned dark spheres from his palms.
"You don't know the real reason why we took the jewel," Gooey declares. "So, we'll make you listen!"
"No one hurts my friends and insult Taranza and gets away with it!" Marx growled. "I'll crush you!"
"You were there, weren't you?" Adeline glared at Rushgarde. "I'll beat the answers out of you if I must!"
"Enough talk! You're gonna pay for what you've done to them! Bring it on!" I yelled.
It's payback time!
Lethal Royale- 41st Boss Battle
Party VS Teyren, Rushgarde and Celsius, Zenoxia's Elite Warriors (Scutum: Decisive Battle- Tales of Rebirth)
Boss Description: Presenting the strongest warriors representing the Tempestoria nation, Zenoxia Elites, comprised of the Chancellor, the Squad Captain and the Godbeast herself?! All under the orders of Queen Spectralinae, they were to retrieve the Royal Family's heirloom, the Void Jewel, under any circumstance from the four most wanted criminals responsible for the theft through whatever means necessary. That resulted in the compromise of the lives of innocents in the process, and now you're squared off against them all at once to avenge the innocent blood. Was there a reason for their desperate attempts to claim the jewel back at all? Only if you make it out alive you'll know! Time to knock them down the totem pole!
(Hint: Blahblahblah is your best friend!)
The Zenoxia Elite Warriors challenges you! It's payback time!
The crowd went wild as they witnessed the start of an epic battle. I should be nervous now, but that became nothing more than a spectrum, just as Kazela said before. The only thing that was rising was actually courage. And not whoever this Shield Hero was.
"Okay, everyone," Kirby commanded. "Three of us will go offensive while the other three provides backup. It doesn't matter who's fighting who, we need to keep them occupied. We're not gonna give them a break this time! Let's do this!"
With that, we immediately sprinted into the brawl against the elites of Zenoxia. I went for Rushgarde, Kirby went for Teyren, and obviously Marx was gonna dunk Celsius. My blade hand clashed with Rushgarde's sword, causing a brief shockwave around us. Sparks of fury ignited between the struggle, attempting to dominate the other.
"Do you really think you can match my strength, lowly Demon Beast?" Rushgarde taunts me. "You weren't able to last a minute against us last time!"
"Maybe so, but things will be different this time!" I shouted, managing to parry his blade back. Our blades clashed again and again as we both evaded and fought to avoid each other's attacks. One more clash unleashed a weapon spark that shoved the both of us back.
Adeline took that chance to fire daggers made of crayons to throw the swordsman off guard. A few manages to pierce through various parts of his armor when he tried to parry them. While he was occupied in that moment, I winded up my arm and threw an extended punch that immediately pushed Rushgarde back.
"Frigid Cross!" Rushgarde ignited his blade with an aura of ice, and when he swung, physical slashes of ice came forth and came flying at us in X markings.
I countered with my newly acquired skill, my hands enveloped with a white aura, swinging them to fire a swarm of energy slashes as well. "Take this! Demon Swarm!" The barrage of attacks clashed with each other, creating brief bursts with every contact.
"Knaiva, let me go at him!" Adeline requested.
"Got it!" I agreed, leaping backwards in time to dodge a surprise attack from Rushgarde, only for him to barely react to Adeline rushing right at him, forced to take the huge swing from her paintbrush to the stomach.
"Urk…! Why you-" Rushgarde gets back up, only to stop dead in his tracks upon seeing Adeline. "You… you look familiar… of course I've seen you the last time we fought, but you're acting like you have a grudge against me."
Adeline said nothing as she raised her brush and strikes the ground, causing a rainbow shockwave of paint aiming for the captain, who simply sidestepped out of the way while the attack threw Celsius off guard and wide open for another punch from Marx.
"Damn artist! Watch where you're swing that thing!" Celsius complained, barely dodging a swinging kick from Marx and a dark laser from Gooey.
"And now for my next trick," Marx grinned, holding green seeds between his fingers and flinging them near the area where Celsius was. "I'll make a garden of thorns appear before your very eyes!"
"What the- AGH!" Celsius was bombarded suddenly by a rapid growth of a vine of thorns sprouting from the ground and shot back, being covered in severe slashes and blood started to seep from the fresh cuts. "Damn it! You little-!"
"Aww, why so mad? Everyone knows that even roses have thorns!" Marx joked- then his tone suddenly changed. "And by the way, that's nothing compared to what you did to those three. Suck it up, sugartits. There'll be plenty more where that came from."
"Damn you!" Celsius snarls, attempting to get Marx back in her rage.
Teyren had his hands full taking on Kirby, who was rapidly throwing pills at him for fun whereas Magolor casted spells. "Are you going to take this seriously, you pink-haired nuisance?!"
"Not until you take your goddamn pills here! Don't question my methods, patient! You'll take these pills and you're gonna like it!" Kirby cackled maniacally, firing pills with a machine gun out of nowhere. Teyren swiftly dodged and hacked some aside and in pieces with his spear, failing to realize that Magolor had opened a rift to warp the fired pills from behind, leaving him defenseless against the barrage.
"You sneaky little runt! You'll pay for your defiance!" Teyren shouted. "Ripper Dash!" He raised his spear and struck the ground, causing the ground to sprout a wave of spikes towards the two of them.
"Pff, you wish," Magolor scoffed, erecting another spell instantly that countered the Ripper Dash move. "Deadly Spikes!" With a complete hastened chant, the spell dominated Ripper Dash and struck Teyren before he could blink. He managed to regain his footing afterwards, only to be covered in scars and some blood, on his knees and struggling to catch his blood spitting breath.
"Teyren!" The others shouted.
"Damn," The Chancellor gasped as blood started to purge from his wounds and mouth. "I let my guard down for a brief moment and this happens afterwards. These fools are more formidable than I expected, it's no wonder they were able to last this long up till now. I had some sort of feeling that they were more versatile in power than they appeared at first sight, but even if that wasn't their full power, what they fought with was enough to put us down like this…"
"Gee, I can't imagine why," Marx stuck his tongue out mockingly at them. "Probably because you pissed us off before, and it's only gonna get worse, so you better stand down if you know what's good for you."
"Yeah, and you need to hear us out as well," Gooey demanded. "Unlike you, we had a reason for what we did before."
"And I want to know what happened during that time too, Alzen," Adeline also demanded.
"As if! You expect us to stand down that easily without fulfilling her Grace's wishes?!" Teyren smeared off the blood from his mouth and rose up on his legs, pointing his spear at us. "The nerve of you damn lowlifes! Don't you dare mock us! Our entire reason for our actions are entirely more crucial than your own, and you're better off not knowing it either!"
"What gives you the right to say such a thing after what you've done?" Kirby questioned. "If your reason was worth the hassle, maybe you should've resorted to methods that don't involve innocents! People almost died because of your actions, and you hurt our companions as well! Don't give us that BS!"
"Say what you wish, but it's going to take a lot more than that to make us speak," Teyren growled. "You'll regret going against us once we're through with you fools! Alzen! Celsius!"
"Yes, Sir!" They both obeyed, readying themselves for another round.
"Up for Round 2, huh?" Magolor taunted. "Bring it on!"
Phase Two Activate!
"Time to get serious, shall we?" Teyren said as he was reciting a summon, a spell circle manifested underneath him. "Mighty earth, unleash your wrath against those who defy you… Invoke your anger! Strike! Raging Gaia!"
"Crap, everyone dodge!" Magolor warned us, barely managing to evade a sudden, out-of-nowhere pillar blast sprouting from the ground, erupting in a chaotic manner.
The rest of us were also caught off guard and were blasted backwards when the beams erupted, and it soon became nothing more than a scramble for survival. Unfortunately, that also left us open to another attack spell from Celsius.
"Cold Front, make the bones of my enemies shiver and solidify into ice," Celsius chanted. "Stab the fools with the lance of justice! Put them on ice! Freeze Lancer!"
A spell circle erected in front of her, firing lances made of ice right at us during the Raging Gaia spell. Tons of them grazed our skins, causing blood to be forced out of our bodies. And if that wasn't enough, we were also vulnerable to Rushgarde, who also chanted a spell.
"Binding frost, unleash your wrath in snow," Rushgarde chanted. "Make thy enemies falter and freeze upon your rage and bask them in hail! Despair! Glacier Crusher!"
Instantly, we were all ensnared in a chunk of ice that manifested out of thin air and without warning. Thousands of slashes struck the shell on the outside faster than a second can go by. The shell of ice exploded without a bomb and cubes were flying before they disintegrated and melted into droplets of water.
A spell like that was so sudden, we found ourselves lying on the ground before we could process what just happened. Spectators let out a concerning groan of worry, witnessing the brutality before them. I struggled to get up only to knee's length. Scratches and blood was flowing from the wounds I had on my legs, but I was wearing these things called pants that were black and long and hard socks called boots, so it wasn't visible from anyone's view. But I don't have to see to know I'm injured there.
"Okay, that really stabs," coughed Marx. "But this is nothing compared to what you put them through! You wanna go that way, huh? Fine! Two can play at this game!"
A spell circle erected underneath Marx who was preparing to cast a spell of his own. "Darkened space, unleash your inner-"
"Not so fast, joker!" Celsius charged straight at the vulnerable Marx in the middle of an incantation. Before she could land a fatal blow, however, Marx did something unexpected.
"-Blahblahblah, Meteor Rift!" Before anyone realized it, a shower of rocks started to ascend from a rift made on the ground, punishing the ones who were caught in the sizable range and received it brutally as they came crashing down on the Elites.
I didn't know what just happened now, but the others were far more shocked than I was. "Holy crap! What did you just do?!" Magolor gasped.
Marx gazed at his nails and expresses a smirk towards us. "A little cheat code Marxanae was kind enough to teach me some time ago. Nothing biggie, y'know. I just shortened the casting time, that's all. Not a big fan of all that muttering nonsense anyway."
"W-why you… damn cheater!" Celsius snarls.
"Why are you getting mad? This ain't Smash Bros, sugartits! You cheated anyway before, so you don't get to complain!" Marx shrugged mockingly.
"For the last time, dammit," Celsius yelled. "Stop calling me that! If you're gonna call someone that, it has to go to the blue haired witch with the giant airbags!"
Marx paused upon that sentence. "You know, that is a fair point. I just think sugartits simply fits you way more than any of those three."
"You little-!" Celsius raised her hand, conjuring a massive amount of aura to manifest a giant disc made of snow. "Grand Snowflake!"
Marx smirked. "Oho, you wish! Raging Cutter Blades!" A set of flying crescent blades sprouted from his back, hurling towards the thrown giant snowflake from Celsius, but instead being reduced to pieces from Marx's attack and pierced through it before aiming for Celsius.
She dodged as expected of what anyone would do, but that left herself wide open for Gooey to lash his tongue and snag her by the leg, flinging her wildly around the whole square like crazy and eventually releasing his tongue on her where she was sent flying to where Marx was and received a fist to the gut.
"God damn-! Binding Impaler!" A sphere of ice began to manifest around her, spike erecting out without a warning. Both Marx and Gooey were caught off guard and it wasn't long before the ice needles struck them and bounded them to the ground.
"Marx! Gooey! Hold on, we're-!" I shouted.
"Worry about yourselves first! You still have to take care of those two!" Marx refuted.
"Guys, heads up!" Kirby warned us. "The other two are making their move now!" Grasping the spear hurled at him, Kirby tossed it back to Teyren, who caught it with ease, and Magolor hurled energy spheres to throw him off guard while Kirby went to rush in for a close-ranged attack with a sword.
As for Adeline and me, the second attack was about to begin. Adeline was determined to get answers out of him, so she asked me to back her up while she fought. Her grimoire set off a radiant rainbow glow, floating in the air with its aura as she pulled out a blade from within the center of the open grimoire.
"Paint Creation Arte, Replica Form: Rainbow Blade!" Adeline drew an ordinary sword seemingly by first sight terms but possessed immense power from within the blade itself.
I was in awe. "A-amazing…!"
Rushgarde, on the other hand, didn't appear to be shocked upon that while he held his sword in a combat stance. His words conveyed the opposite, however.
"Very impressive; you can conjure anything that your imagination desires, I see…" Rushgarde suddenly lunges for Adeline and me. "But can you keep up with me? That is the question."
The question was provided an answer when Adeline was managing to balance the blade struggle against the captain and the blades flailed to strike consistently against each other. "Apparently so. I suppose that the wielder of that power can adapt their body to whatever creation they made with ease. So, it seems that there was more to her power than I had remembered…"
At that sentence, the tension radiating from Adeline grew even more violent than before. "What did you just say?" Her anger clearly demonstrated with her assertive attacks suddenly turning aggressive.
"Huh. Is that what this aggressiveness is all about? You have yet to understand the meaning, your anger makes you reluctant to accept it," Rushgarde replied without a change in his tone, making the artist only more aggravated.
Adeline applied more force into her swings, enough to throw Rushgarde off-balance for a moment. The captain regained his balance to swiftly parry her blade in time, taking a scratch to the cheek. Using his sword, he manages to shove the artist back with full force and swung energy slashes to chip at her slowly. The slashes were swung so fast that it won't give enough time for the receiver to evade it at all.
For Adeline, however, her anger provided a shield that withstood the barrage like a wall made of steel. It made her bear the fangs that tore at her skin from the frigid slashes, causing cuts and blood to leak from the container that was her body, taking every step forward to withstand the storm before her.
"Accept it, my ass! I know what I saw that day, the day where everything went to hell, and YOU were there when it happened after us children left on the shuttle! My mom, my dad! Everyone's parents! Why…? Why did you do it?"
Her blade jumped on Rushgarde more fiercely, causing the ground to reform into a crater, forcing Rushgarde to struggle and gaze into her bloodthirsty eyes and his own widened when she screamed at him:
"WHY DID YOU KILL THEM?!"
Those words gave everyone no chance to keep their gasps from escaping their mouths, even the attention of the other two knights. Even I was shocked.
"So that's what this is all about?" Kirby gasped. "Revenge for your parents?! That explains everything!"
Teyren and Celsius pushes the others back before confronting him about it. "Alzen, is this true? Come to think of it, if it's about her parents, then the only time she last saw them may have been to evacuate the children on the shuttle… did you…?"
"That was not my intention at all! Trust me, that's not what-!" Rushgarde was interrupted by Adeline, a scratch across his cheek was transparent.
"You sick bastard… I'll make you pay! And so will you as well, you damned royals!" Adeline's rage flared up suddenly, and her attacks became rather aggressive on Rushgarde, who struggled to withstand a blow.
The crowd were in a confused but understanding yet shocked state, and it was evident from their words.
"No way! Is she for real?! Now that's messed up!"
"How do we know that? We can't assume that's what really happen at the same time; maybe something else took place that spiraled what she said!"
"Why bother with reason?! There wasn't reason when the Elite Guard brutally punished those three girls and attacked almost every passenger on a cruise! Screw reason! Kick his ass, artist girl!"
"Artist girl…? Hey, come to think of it, she looks a lot like Atenea's kid when she was younger. I heard that both Alton and Atenea were caught in the destruction of the shuttle pathways. If what she said is true, then maybe their deaths weren't just an "accident" after all!"
The suspect in question was getting more and more agitated, more upset that no one is trying to listen to him, and considering his actions, that was understandable or perhaps that was to be expected. "Damn it! You all are not listening to me! That's not what happened!"
Adeline managed to sully his face with slashes of blood from her painted sword replica. "LIAR! I KNOW YOU KILLED THEM! WHY ELSE WERE YOU THERE WHEN THINGS WENT TO HELL?! I DON'T KNOW WHAT REASON YOU HAD BACK THEN, BUT I'M GONNA MAKE YOU REGRET IT!"
Rushgarde tanked the next thrust from Adeline, now more furious that Adeline was. "FINE! IF YOU WON'T LISTEN TO ME, THEN I'LL MAKE YOU LISTEN! FRIGID CROSS!" The captain in full bloom rage unleashed slashes of fury made of ice. Adeline countered with slashes made of colors and the two cancelled each other in brief explosions.
"Man, who would've ever guessed that Adeline was that formidable in battle than she appears to be?" I thought, dodging some of the attacks as well. "As impressive as it is, this battle isn't going anywhere. The others are starting to have a hard time to keep themselves from taking any more fatal strikes, and Adeline and Rushgarde are duking it out to kill each other. We're not gonna get anywhere until we take them at once and fast… wait, that's it!"
A sudden thought struck my mind as I dodged the stray slashes from the battle between the two. I had just remembered that I learned the skill Target Chain, which allows me to strike people with a remote-energy bomb that'll detonate once another attack compatible with it hits them again. If I can just land it on them, then maybe…
"Okay, here goes nothing!" I gasped discreetly, erecting a ball of red energy which multiplied into four smaller variations in my palm. At the same time, Adeline was shoved back by one of Rushgarde's attacks, skidding on her boots to regain control, getting close enough to me.
"Hey, Adeline!" I whispered, her eyes gazing at the energy orbs for a quick moment. She grabbed it, not being affected by the effects of the spell, quickly catching on to my idea before rushing back into the battle.
Marx and Magolor were quickly shoved right near me by coincidence, looking at the orbs in my palms and somehow knowing what my plan was, they both grabbed the remaining orbs and quickly acted to put my plan into motion.
"Man, how did they know what my plan was without me telling them a single thing?" I thought in my head. "And I was sure they would be affected by the orb, but I guess it's able to distinct friend from foe, possibly? Well, I just hope it works. Wonder what I should do with this last orb anyway?"
And sure enough, the three managed to set up the link to my plan, in which all three Elite Warriors were struck and enveloped in a light red aura that seemed to have inflicted a small amount of paralysis on their bodies.
"Ack! W-what the hell is this?" Celsius gazed at herself. "It hurts like hell, but it doesn't seem to do much…"
"Some sort of weak paralysis? Ha!" Teyren laughed, brushing off the damages done to his body. "Are you starting to run out of ideas now?" He shoved Kirby back with his spear in the meantime.
Adeline jumped back to me at that moment along with everyone else. "It's done. What now?"
"I need time to cast a spell that'll defeat them all in one sitting," I replied. "Can you give me a hand?"
"You got it!" Kirby affirmed my request, now equipping a thin sharp sword and some strange armor. "Let's go, everyone!"
And without hesitation, they sprang into action, more aggressively than ever before. Meanwhile, I prepared to initiate the spell that will put this battle to an end- to force it to an end. A circle manifested below me as visible energy began to accumulate all around the area as I chanted.
"What is that kid up to now?" Rushgarde turns his attention on me. "Trying to erect some sort of offensive arte, eh? I can tell you that it won't be so effective on us this time, not if you're allowed to finish the incantation, that is! Glass Anchor!"
In a split moment, an anchor of icy spikes surrounded with a strange red glow manifested above me before anyone realized it and it didn't waste any time in trying to drop on me. The spectators tried to warn me as they shrieked and yelled, forced to watch the chunk of ice fall right on me.
"Knaiva!" The others shouted. Unfortunately, the opposers took that chance to bind them all and shoved them into the ground and aside from them.
"Dammit!" Magolor squirmed and struggled to break free of his bindings. "Kid! Watch out!"
"Oh no! I can't evade that in time! And I'm done for if that thing hits me! But I need time to cast this spell too!" I panicked in my mind. "What do I do now?! Think, Knaiva! Think!"
It was then that a brilliant thought struck my mind. But I need to act fast for it to work. I just need to take a shortcut.
"A shame it truly is," Teyren laughed. "If we can't have you alive, we might as well have you in pieces, lab rat! NOW BEGONE WITH YOU, REBEL! FALL! ANY LAST WORDS BEFORE YOU'RE REDUCED TO BONES?!"
A wild, scheming grin drew itself on my face. "Yeah, I do." The giant anchor was mere moments away from colliding with me from above; it seemed like it was over for me at this point. And just when it was about to be a reality…
It never did become one, because my last words were:
"Blahblahblah, Target Chain!"
Shortcut Input Successful! Unleashing Target Chain Combo!
In just a few seconds away from life and death, the Glass Anchor instantly crumbled without any explanation why, sparing me from the grasp of death's hands. This instantly threw the elites off guard, paralyzed with shock.
"IMPOSSIBLE! WHY DID IT SHATTER BEFORE THE KILL?!" Rushgarde gasped, gazing to me now. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
"Nothing much, really," I responded. "I was about to be crushed by that giant anchor thing, if that's what you call it."
"TCH! NO MATTER THE REASON, YOU'LL BE DEAD IN A FEW SECONDS ANYWAY!" Celsius yells, preparing to charge at me, but she froze as if she was being forced to stay that way. "W-what?! I-I can't move!"
"Even me as well?! Urk…!" Teyren found himself in the same position as well, even Rushgarde fell victim to this strange paralysis too. All the binds casted on the others had disappeared suddenly, and they rushed over to my side instantly.
"Damn! Was it the effect of the red orbs this entire time?" Rushgarde came to the realization. "Our bodies were still infected up until now… what did you do, Demon Beast?! How did you dissipate Glass Anchor?!"
"Like I said, nothing much, really."
"Shut up! Why can't we move our bodies then?!" Celsius growls.
"You're paralyzed, isn't that enough for you?"
"Then why…? WHY WON'T YOU JUST FALL LIKE WE'VE BEEN COMMANDING YOU TO DO THIS ENTIRE TIME?! WHY WON'T YOU STAY DOWN?!" Teyren yells.
"Well, it's only like that," I walked towards them and stopped at a fair distance, holding up my palm to reveal the answer in the shape of a tiny red sphere, which made their eyes spread wide open in the realization of the truth.
"Because YOU'RE the ones who are going to fall."
"YOU LITTLE-! THIS ISN'T OVER-!"
"Too bad, but this struggle is officially over!" I firmly declared. "NOW FALL AND TASTE DEFEAT! SPIRAL BLOOD!" I crushed the last orb in my hands, triggering the finishing spell as a large puddle of red liquid surrounded all three elite warriors while the aura around them caused by Target Chain was about to go off and when it did…
It sealed the outcome of the battle with an immersive and massive explosion of scarlet aura that erupted below the victims, causing a spiral of blood to awaken before all of us. The entire arena was painted red in an instant; the explosion was enough to make the barrier surrounding us crumble to pieces in a flash.
Everyone covered themselves from the boom of the explosion as they gasped and yelled from the commotion. It eventually settled down in a matter of time, spectators slowly revealing their eyes upon the carnage before them all. And the first sight they had witnessed…
…were the unconscious bodies of the three Elite Warriors that once posed a threat, now humbled at the hands of unruly lowlifes- us.
"Is… is it over…?" Magolor hesitatively stammered. "Are they…? Did we-?"
"Yes," I boldly declared, "Yes, we won."
Marx whistled. "What did we learn, everybody? You don't mess with the Star Allies!"
The Zenoxia Elite Warriors have been bested! Victory! (Normal Victory- Grandia 1 HD)
Party has gained 6500 Experience Points! You are now Level 45!
Health rose to 4000! All stats rose by 400!
You got a new Fusion Ability, Alchemist, made from Metal and Doctor! Bend the laws of alchemy to your will with a single clap and craft weapons or morph the environment around you to crush your enemies; achieve the Brotherhood! 10/12 Abilities Collected.
You reclaimed the Void Jewel!
Knaiva earns the title "Soul Revenger"!
Next Level in 7500 Experience Points.
"Holy crap…! Are my eyes deceiving me?!" One person shouted in the crowd.
"I can't believe it… they actually did it! They managed to defeat the nation's elite warriors!"
"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" And with that, the spectators gave birth to a loud cheer for the victors, proud to be relieved from the wrath of the losing team, one they at first deemed impossible to defeat.
"Well, that's that, I suppose," Kirby yawned, reverting into his original form. "All in a day's work, and we couldn't have done it without you, Knaiva. Thanks a lot!"
"I didn't do much, you know," I shied away from the glory. "I just wanted to protect those three, that's all."
"Still, you did fantastic, kid," Marx smirked. "Marxanae would be proud if she saw your accomplishment right now… too bad she's unconscious. I wonder if she and the other two are okay now…"
"We are now, thanks to you guys," A familiar voice grabbed our attention, only for us to turn around and witness the ones who said it approaching us in an unpredictable state. "Sorry we made you go through that because of us."
It was Marxanae, Gryll, and Pandora! They're okay! Their clothes were still in rags, but they're still alive!
"You guys…! You're okay…!" I gasped; a sudden weight within my chest made me mess up my words, and water started to leak from my eyes uncontrollably. "I… I…!"
Before I could even finish, they gently wrapped me in their arms for a hug, and I lost it. "It's okay, now. You did your best."
The crowd let out a sympathetic cheer, some even acting the same way I did as well. Either way, it felt like a long time for me as I lost control of myself. Eventually, I settled down for a bit.
"And with that, everything turned out alright in the end," Magolor concluded, "Is what I would say, but we have some unfinished business to take care of."
Gooey nodded, now having the Void Jewel in his possession again. "Yeah, the Void Jewel is one thing, but what are we going to do about them?"
Everybody now gazed at the unconscious bodies of the elite warriors, drenched in blood like they were just murdered. The soldiers were probably unsure of what to do but relieved at the same time now that they don't have to follow their ruthless orders anymore. To be honest, we all were at a lost.
Well, except for Adeline, that is.
"Hmm… at this point," Adeline speaks up, pulling out a shiny red fruit thing, "What we need right now are answers. And there's only one way we're getting them…"
Before anyone could realize it, Adeline dropped the shiny red fruit on top of the three at once. Soon, life was emitting from the unconscious warriors, letting out light moans from their bodies. It was for a moment before they managed to move their limbs, alerting all in the vicinity to be on guard.
"Well, well, well," taunted Kirby. "Never thought things would turn out like this for you, huh?"
"Tch… you little-! Urk…" Celsius coughed when she tried to bark back.
"Can it, sugartits," Marx boomed without having to raise his voice. "A shame it ended like this, but you three forced our hands and look where that got us. At this point, I'm not game for another round, so don't even. Just be glad that Adeline was merciful to heal you in the end."
The three of them said nothing in response, probably taking time to realize the situation they were in.
"Geez, so much for going the pacifist route," Magolor shook his head. "Anyway, let's cut to the chase. The things you've done up till now are inexcusable, unacceptable and downright dirty. While I get you just doing your job and all, what I don't get is why. Why would you guys go so far as to involve the lives of innocent bystanders just trying to get the jewel back? Do you realize how many people got hurt because of you?! You should be ashamed of yourselves!"
"Says the ones who stole it in the first place! That was an act of treason right there! You think we WOULDN'T hound you for that?!" Celsius argued.
"Fair point," Gooey replies, "But you all owe us your lives had I not swallowed it at all, otherwise you would all have died right then and there that day because of the unstable dark aura it was about to set off! Believe it or not, that's the truth behind the theft, one we were forced to make at the last minute!"
That statement threw everyone for a loop. "W-what are you saying? That Jewel has laid dormant ever since the incident occurred years ago! How can you sense aura made from Dark Matter itself? That's impossible!" Teyren questioned.
"It is possible… if you're born from that monstrosity like I was." The crowd was shocked even more by that reveal.
"You're… you're kidding… then why are you…?"
"Because I was defective, and for that reason, they didn't hesitate to get rid of me at once. It's thanks to Kirby that I never became heartless like them, otherwise you would've not lived too long. In fact, by having the jewel lay dormant in my stomach, it allows me to extract the unstable aura from the jewel without setting it off. It was before we gave it to you that I devoured the aura completely and in time too. If you used it while it had the awakened aura on that project of yours, the result would've been catastrophic. In other words, we saved you from a terrible fate or at least delayed it somehow."
"…Damn it all," Rushguarde growls. "To think we would've made an even bigger blunder because of our ignorance had we used it then. That means… you were trying to prevent a massacre from happening?"
"Ironically, that's the gist of it," Magolor answered. "Of course, it was only after these past few days that we understood the danger. Thank god we managed to prevent the unintended consequence from occurring. You should be able to use the Jewel safely now if your goal was to reverse the curse upon this planet."
"Wait… what are you getting at?" Celsius asked.
"It's simple and clean," Marx answered. "We told you our reason, so don't you think it's fair for you guys to explain yours for doing all of this? I believe everyone here has the right to know."
The three of them tensed up suddenly, perhaps hesitant to give us a firm answer. "Er… that is, well, rather something we can't… well, explain that easily…"
"You don't say…" Marx deadpanned. "Let's try this: Why did you guys make our "crime" globally public in the first place? Rather, what reason did you have for wanting the jewel back? Which one of you can answer that for us?"
"Please, allow me to answer on their behalf," An unfamiliar voice made us turn to where it came from, giving us another shock of the day. It was a woman who possessed the same feeling as Vanja with yellow long hair and clothing like Vanja for her size. I didn't recognize her, I shouldn't have, but I did because I recognized the one who was carrying her.
"Yo, isn't that-?!" Marx pointed.
"It's Taranza!" We shouted. "And he's-!"
"-princess-carrying Her Highness!" Teyren, Rushguarde and Celsius finished our sentence.
That's right- it was Taranza in the living flesh. He appeared to have been in a tough battle or something, yet he still walks. Not only that, but the other members who went with him before were also behind them as well. "Hey, guys. Am I late to the party?"
"A better question is: what are you doing here?!" I asked. "And isn't that the queen you're holding?"
"Yeah, I'll get to that in a little bit," Taranza replies, gently letting down the queen. "But it'll be quicker if Spectra explains everything."
"Your Highness! You shouldn't be up right now!" Teyren urged her.
"Don't worry, I'm okay now thanks to Taranza and his friends," Spectra coughs. "After all, I'm to blame for everything that happened so far. I was hoping this would be resolved in secrecy, but this is a matter we cannot keep everyone in the dark anymore."
"Your Grace, with all due respect, you're not in any condition to strain yourself anymore!" Rushguarde requested.
"Yeah, what about those unusual headaches you've been having?" Celsius adds to it.
"I'm fine for now," Spectra affirms herself. "More importantly, we have an urgent matter to explain to everyone at this very moment, so please keep your comments to yourselves until I'm finished. Is that clear?"
"…Yes, your Highness." The three of them complied.
"Good," Spectra sighed before turning over to us. "Now then, I must apologize for everything that has happened to you and for everything that they've done as well. You have every right to be furious with us, especially me. I was the one who ordered the wanted's capture along with the jewel. I was a fool for doing such a thing that it resulted in hurting many innocent people for the past few weeks. I'm very sorry, everyone."
The queen was sincere in her words, even go as to put herself on the ground when she apologized. You could tell it was that bad because no one could even find the right words to respond with.
"Jesus, I… I don't even know how to respond to that at all," One person nervously whispered. "Now I feel like an asshole."
"I know, but we can't just overlook everything that just happened, y'know, just because she apologized. How do we know she means it?"
The crowd began to murmur to one another, unsure of what to do or how to respond to it. Only when the queen spoke up afterwards made the solution clear.
"Of course, an apology won't be enough to soothe your pain, that I know. However, right now, I should at least explain everything that's truly going on this entire time. Eventually, you all were going to discover this anyway, so I suppose we couldn't keep it a secret for very long, that's if you're willing to hear me out."
Without a doubt, that was what everyone wanted this entire time, using nods to confirm that they want to hear the truth.
"Very well. Please listen carefully... what I'll tell you won't be so easy to grasp."
"Hear that, guys?" Marxanae whispered. "We're gonna learn the truth behind this whole mess right now!"
"Yeah, hopefully it was all worth it," Gryll adds. "Speaking about the whole factory nonsense, of course."
"Well, while we're on that," Pandora asked us. "You had a few people go to the Factory, right? Shouldn't they be back by now?"
Pandora's intuition was very sharp. Now that she mentions it, there was about a few people missing from the overall group that joined us. Weird, she's right.
"Oh yeah," Adeline recalled. "Espera, Niva, Susie and Kaila aren't back yet. Wonder what's holding them up?"
"I just hope they're okay…" I admitted.
"Don't worry," Kirby assures me. "It's most likely they may have learned something very important. They'll be here before we know it."
"Wait, didn't we ask them to search for the Re: Genesis Project while they were down there?" Gooey reminded us.
"…you think that's gonna bite us in the butt cheeks somehow?" Marx guessed.
"Hopefully not…" Magolor shrugged.
I hope those four are okay… no, they'll be okay! I think…
Sorry, can you please check on them for us?
Scenario 1 Cleared!
You now have 2 scenarios remaining to complete. See it through in order to advance the tale. You can still view the party's stats of each scenario.
Do you want to oversee Kailaine's party in Scenario 2 or Taranza's side in Scenario 3?
A) Scenario 2- Factory Inspection
B) Scenario 3- Zenoxia Castle
Answer: Scenario 2!
Are you sure?
A) Yes, let me help Kailaine's party!
B) Maybe I'll think about it more…
Understood. You will now enter Kailaine's POV next act! See to it that they acquire the answer from Naiva to this planet's mystery and find the Re: Genesis Project!
Now Saving… Save Complete!
To be continued…
End of Act 6 Part 2!