Part 37: Chapter 6-7: Despair and Hope

Part 6-7: Despair and Hope



The reports said that Falgior appeared at Braisewest.

That makes sense. The folklore about how lightning storms turned it into a barren wasteland… it all seems so obvious in hindsight.

We haven’t a moment to lose! It’ll take us about a day to get out there, and Group One is doing all they can to keep Falgior in check!

Right! We mustn’t keep them waiting!



Uwah! Was that Falgior?

H-He’s getting pretty close. The pressure is really piling on!

We can’t let this defeat us! Hurry onward, everyone!



Those ruins…

What matters is that we don’t let Falgior turn OUR Merveille into that eyesore! Anyway! I don’t see any sign of him yet… so he’s gotta be in the deepest depths of Braisewest. At the Scorched Cave.


The Thunder God of Yore

Okay! This is our moment of truth!

Nngh…

Up ahead! That’s…!

Finally! You took your time getting here!

Sorry, Ilmeria! Is that Falgior?



Ilmeria! Where’s my father?

He got hit by an attack. Nothing life-threatening, but he’s out of the game for now. Nngh…!

Ilmeria, what about you? Uwah, you’re covered in injuries!



I’ve done absolutely everything I could. You take it from here, Lydie, Sue!

Leave it to us! We’ll defeat him, no worry!

You said it! Come on, Sue!



I won’t let you get away with this, humans!



Gah!

This can’t be…



Alt! …I guess it’s up to me now!



What the?!



Mathias?! Ahem, leave this to your big sister, girls!



Grr… time for a little payback!



How’s-



That’s just not fair…

Sue?!



Here I go!



Let’s see how this Luft works…



Well, worth a shot!



That really wasn’t much…! What is this Thunder God even made of?!

Lydie! Keep it toge-



Owwwwwww!

Ahh! Lydie! Get ba-



Firis! …Ahh!!





Uwah! You’re kidding? This can’t be… this can’t be real!

Uwah! We can’t win. He’s just too strong!

Pathetic, feeble, weak little humans. You will regret crossing me!

Ah, this can’t be happening! Run! Both of you, run for it!

Hahaha… I can’t even move. I think we got a little carried away?

Do you think we’ll see Mom again? Dad… I’m sorry…



Die.

Stop! Noooooooooooooooo!



…I don’t think so.



Huh?!




I agree, but we also can’t allow his rampage to continue.

Ah… Ohhhhhh!



Oh…? Are we still alive?

How? Falgior killed us, surely…

Hehe, you’re both fine. Plachta, take care of these two, please!

Very well. You two, come this way. Sophie, what about you?

I’m going to hit that god again!



Guwah! Not bad, for a human. You remind me of the abominable Neige… Bah!



No way! He vanished? We can’t let him get aw… owwwwww!

Further pursuit would be too dangerous. First, we need to rally and regroup.

Plachta is right. Let’s at least patch up the wounded.


Music: Let’s Try It! (Lydie & Suelle Ver.)



What just happened? I was hurting all over… and now suddenly I’m feeling better?

This is like a dream! What are you, some kind of wizard?

No. Just an alchemist, nothing more.

Miss Sophie, thank you for saving us. But what are you doing here? How did you know…?

Hahaha, we bumped into Liane as soon as we reached town. And then we rushed over here. Anyway, we sure could use a better place to talk, Firis. Care to lead the way? Falgior needs to be taken care of. We have to think, together, about what we can do.

Of course, follow me! Everyone, let’s go back to the castle!

Back at the castle…

Falgior… He was far stronger than we anticipated.

I know. We hardly scratched him…

Isn’t that cheating? There’s no way we can…


Defeat, Debrief and Deeds

…In any case, who are you two?

Ah, sorry for not introducing myself sooner. I am Sophie Neuenmuller.



And I am Plachta. I am traveling with Sophie.



Both Miss Sophie and Plachta are exceptionally skilled alchemists! If we’ve got these two on our side, we may even be able to defeat Falgior…

I see. Sophie, Plachta, I’m sorry to ask so soon after meeting you… But our entire kingdom is in dire peril. Will you please lend us your strength?

We’ve heard about it from Firis. Plachta and I will both do all we can to help you.

Thank you so much! We need to discuss our next move, right away…



Looks like we’ve been left out…

It doesn’t matter… Talking about it won’t help them defeat that monster. We fought as hard as we could and still couldn’t touch it. What can we hope to do?

Sue…

The problem, then, is Falgior’s toughness. We hit him with everything we’ve got…

But caused close to no damage… If only we could weaken him somehow.

Weaken, weaken… nothing immediately comes to mind.

Me neither. I can’t think of a method that will work.

Let’s take a break. You came here straight after the fight, after all. Luckily, Falgior hasn’t reappeared. So let’s take a break for a while and sort our heads out.

A good idea. Sophie, what are you going to do? I would like to take a walk outside.

Please go ahead. I’m going to think here for a bit longer.

Very well. Don’t push yourself too hard. …Firis, can you show me the way?

Ah, of course!

Phew. Shall we go back to the atelier? We aren’t doing any good here.



I… I want to talk to her, first.

Eh…? Sue?

She showed up out of nowhere, saved us all, and now she’s gonna give her all fighting Falgior… I don’t get it! I need her to tell me why!

Hmm… How about this, then? No, that won’t work. In which case… What about this?

Excuse me… Sophie?

Yes? Ah, Sue, is it? What can I help you with?

I’m just going to come right out with it. How can you fight so hard?

Sorry? What do you mean?

You saw how strong Falgior is. Even you might not be able to defeat him… You only just arrived in Merveille, too. What does this place mean to you? Yet you’re trying so hard, offering to lend your strength so quickly… I can’t understand it.

I’d like to know that too. You’ve seen Falgior. You can you even consider fighting him again?

I see. My answer is simple. Because I believe that alchemy is something to be used for everyone’s sake.

Something for everyone’s sake?

Yes. Something for the sake of all. Something to be used for the good of everyone. Even if I don’t know them, if I see people in trouble, I want to help them. I also believe in alchemy. That it can be used to overcome any problem, any danger, any threat. So it doesn’t matter how strong Falgior is. For the sake of all, I’ll never give up. …That’s all.

Ugh…! Lydie…!

I know, Sue! Me too!

I don’t know what was wrong with me. Acting so scared!

Back there, I was frozen with fear. Ready to accept my fate, broken in body and spirit… but now, I know what I must do! And I won’t falter!

We’ll help think of how to beat Falgior! Alchemy is something for everyone! We have to help defend everyone living in this city!



Sophie, thank you so much! You’ve really been a huge help!

I feel braver! I don’t know how else to say it. We’ll do our best too, right alongside you!

Hehe, I’m glad to hear it. I’ll be counting on both of you.

Where do we even begin? Hmm… let’s start with the old folk tale. The Legend of the Thunder God…

How exactly did they defeat Falgior again?

They sealed him in a… oh!!

You know what? I think we’ve got something!

Two hours later…



Hahaha, I don’t think we need to! Right, girls?

That’s right! We’ve come up with an idea that may help us defeat Falgior!

What? Really? Don’t keep us in suspense, twins!

We’ll use the power of the Mysterious Paintings to defeat Falgior!

The legend states that Falgior was sealed in a painting. So maybe they are his weakness?

That sounds possible. It’s one of the reasons we’ve been collecting Mysterious Paintings. But you haven’t found anything that might help defeat him yet, have you?

Even if that’s the case, we might find something in the ones we haven’t visited!

Right! We can’t give up before we even try. You’ve obtained a new painting, right?

We have indee-

Mireille, please! Show us the next Mysterious Painting!

Wow. The two of you recovered quickly! Miss Sophie, what did you do?

Hehe, I wonder?

Very well. Even if there’s only a small possibility, we have to try. Everyone, please come to the gallery. I’ll show you the next Mysterious Painting.

The gallery…

Miss Sophie! Plachta! This way!


The First Mysterious Painting

Wow, what a detailed painting! Is this a Mysterious Painting?

Yes. It is called “The Frozen Palace”, and it was painted by Neige Chintreuil. The first alchemist to ever paint a Mysterious Painting, and the one who sealed Falgior away. What’s more, this is the very first Mysterious Painting she created. In other words, the first one ever.

Wow! This is an incredible painting, then! The key to defeating Falgior will surely be inside!

Indeed. The perfect painting to entrust our fate to. We have to hurry and Restore it.



What! We still aren’t ready. What should we do…?

Plachta and I will keep Falgior occupied. We’ll buy you as much time as we can to find the key to defeating Falgior.

What? Are you sure? That’s going to be really dangerous!

Don’t worry, we aren’t going to fight him head on. We’ll just try to keep him busy.

That’s the plan, then. Lydie, Sue, we’ll leave this in your hands!

Okay!

Right, Plachta, let’s go! Il, where are we headed?

Follow me! I’ll help you keep him occupied! You do your best too, girls! Bye-bye!

…Right! We can’t keep them waiting for too long. Hurry and make the items for the Restoration!


Toward Their Last Hope

No, not yet. But we aren’t giving up!

For the sake of everyone living in Merveille, we can’t afford to give up!

Come on, Sue! We need to get synthesizing! We need to get into the world of that painting at once!

I’m with you! Leave this to superhero Sue!

Girls…



All we need is water, fuel, oil and hidden power…



And we’ve done it! Let’s round up the gang and get in there!

Finally, at the gallery…



Right, the Restoration is complete. Come on, everyone! Hurry!

I’m ready! We have to find the key to defeating Falgior!

How can they be so cheerful? They practically dragged me here from my atelier…



I agree. Let’s just pray some real hope lies ahead.