Part 13: Chapter Thirteen: Blue, White, and Red

When we last left the story Felt needed a Cure Jar to save the girl who had earlier tried to assassinate him. They rushed towards Fort Zeyung to find the merchant Hagel had met earlier.

Video- “At Fort Zeyung”

Watch the Story Unfold

Thank you.
Soldier: Galahad, sir, if you leave us here, we’ll be sad and lonely…
My god! This forest is vital to the defense of Riesevelt.
I was going to trust you to guard it.
That is why I’ve been training you so hard.
Soldier: But, sir!
Hey, that’s…
That’s Galahad, one of the Imperial Champions.
He is cruel, heartless and uncaring.
Really?
…He doesn’t seem that bad to me.
……

Fortunately the merchant was still there.



Merchant: Yes? May I help you?
I heard that you are selling the recipe for Cure Jar.
Merchant: You actually want to buy it?!
Oh, yes, yes, I have it! Please buy it from me.
For some reason, I couldn’t sucker anyone into buying it. It’s been a real problem.
Well, unless you’re an alchemist, it’s just a piece of paper…

The merchant was so desperate to sell, it was practically free.



Viese should be able to Synthesize it.

Felt sent the recipe and a request to Viese.



Sounds like he really needs a Cure Jar.
I better make one right away!

Feinne’s Fourth Wall Lectures: And Now We Break the Game
Okay, so as soon as we can make the Cure Jar we can start breaking the game. See, the Cure Jar allows us access to our first alchemy loop, a set of items produced with alchemy that can then be used as ingredients for their own ingredients. This allows us to amplify any property review we can get onto them to its highest level quickly and easily. Cure Jar loops with Heal Herb and through it many of our current items, and we’ll use it to propagate Heal Up (XL) and Element Cost Reduction (XL) throughout them, because the first one makes even Heal Herbs powerful and the second makes anything with it on cost half the normal amount of Elements. Later on we’ll get an even better loop that allows us to make incredibly powerful items for use in our weapons and accessories, but we’re not quite there yet.



This is great. I better give it to Felt right away…
Alright!
…I really created a Cure Jar.
And, it’s been initialized, so we’ll be able to use elements to make more.
I hope this makes that girl feel better.
Hang in there…

And Viese was able to deliver.



Felt hurried with the Cure Jar to Max’s tent.

Video- “Misinterpretations”

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Will this work?
Simsiltian: Hmm, this looks like it might do the trick.
……
Simsiltian: Hmm, she is starting to look better.
She should come around soon.
Go tell Max.

Max, for his part, couldn’t shake an odd feeling he’d seen the girl before.



That’s a relief. But…
What’s wrong?
For some reason, I just can’t get that girl out of my mind.
Ooooh? Max, I didn’t know you were like that.
Hahaha. No, it’s not like that.
…There’s just something about her.
Maybe it was because she was dying…

And when Felt returned, the girl was indeed feeling better.



It looks like she’s waking up.
What? YOU saved me?
Yes, and you’re welcome by the way.
…Why? Why did you save me?
I don’t know. I just couldn’t bear to watch you suffer.
……
You said you were going to destroy the Azoth.
That is correct.
I have been sent by the Altena Church.

And at this point the source of the conflict was found to be a misunderstanding.



Those are my orders from Eizlen and Yuveria.
Crimson?!
Azure Azoth: Aha, that is a prudent course of action.
Your sword! It spoke!
……
Azure Azoth: That is your imagination, girl.
And, I am not Crimson, I am the Azure Azoth.
?!
Azure Azoth: Yuveria did not properly explain the situation.
I am not the Azoth you were sent to find… You must find the other one.
The one you seek is the Belkhyde Azoth.
What are you talking about?!
……
Azure Azoth: If you do not believe me, bring me to Yuveria to pass judgment.
I propose we travel there together.
Hmmm… What do you say, Felt?
The situation still confuses me, but sure!
Maybe going to Altena Church will help us all.
Azure Azoth: Then it is settled.

And the misunderstanding was not entirely cleared up on some fronts.



So, can I still go to Altena Church?

They all got together at the edge of Max’s camp.

Video- “Separate Paths”

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Fee.
I’m Noin. It’s nice to meet you, Miss Fee.
Just call me Fee. You don’t need the “Miss.”
……

Unfortunately, Noin would not get her wish.



The Empire is getting active in Zeyung.
!
I know you’re busy, but we need your help.
……
Sure, no problem.
Well, looks like this is where I get off.
I know you can save Eden, if you try your best.
Don’t give up.
You’ve been a great help to me, Noin.
Thank you.
Be careful out there, and stay outta trouble.
System Message: Noin has left the party.

And so they prepared to head to Altena Church through the forest.



We can cross the lake east of Sessier Forest.
Okay.
System Message: Fee has joined the party!

While they got ready to head out, Viese found Melona had another request.



What is it, Melona?
Well, you know how I’ve been collecting rare items, right?
Yes, I remember.
Well, there’s something else that I want really bad. It’s a Rainbow Disc.
Can you get one for me? Please, Viese?
Again? …Well, actually, I think I already have one.
Really?! Will you give it to me?! Please?!
Sure. Here you go.
System Message: Handed over [Rainbow Disc]!
Oh, thank you! Viese, you’re the best! So, this is a Rainbow Disc…?
…Oops, I almost forgot. Is this an even trade?
System Message: Received [Glowing Mana]!
You really like weird stuff, don’t you?
Oh no! I like rare stuff. There’s a difference.
I think I’m gonna start getting one to save and one to display…
Well… Good luck with that…

On the way to the Altena Church, Felt encountered the devastating King Fungo. This time, they faced it head on.

Video- “King Fungo”

Watch the Battle

Boss Battle: King Fungo
King Fungos are nasty but very beatable even at this level. We absolutely NEED to Break them before they get a turn, though. See, what makes them hard is that they regenerate every time they act a bit and they will use a Time Effect that does physical damage and debuffs your party. Once the thing is Broken smash it as much as possible with your hardest hitting attacks unless it’s close to recovery, at which point you should use more break attacks. You’re not going to kill it before it gets any actions at all at this level probably, but ideally it shouldn’t get more than one.

In order to reach Altena Church, they needed to cross Lake Midgard.



Have patience.
So, there’s some kind of hidden path, huh?
Now we can cross Lake Midgard.
And Altena Forest, after that.

Taking the boat, they reached the Altena Forest.





The church is just a little farther.
Just a little, huh?

After such a long journey, everyone was tired. Felt suggested they rest a bit.

Video- “Red vs Blue”

Watch the Showdown

…Sounds good to me.
I’ll go get some firewood.
Oh, and there’s a hill over there with a great view of the lake.
Why don’t you and Fee check it out together?
It doesn’t matter to me…
Okay, I’d like to see it.
Huh? Why is your face turning red?

The hillside was peaceful indeed.



Unfortunately that peace was about to be shattered.



!
Y-You’re Chaos!
You took good care of my troops the other day.
So, today I’ll return your hospitality!

It turned out they wouldn’t have to search hard for the Crimson Azoth.



That’s… the Crimson Azoth!
Crimson?!
So, you must be…
I want to see if you are truly worthy of wielding an Azoth.
Fee, look out! He’s attacking!

Boss Battle: Chaos
You can’t possibly win this fight. Chaos will start out going ‘easy’ on you with Crimson Slash, which does about ninety points to someone. If that was all he did he’d probably eventually be beatable. After a few of those, though, he’ll use Crimson Ambition. This is a Time Effect that buffs him every time it comes up, making him even stronger. After a few more turns he’ll use Crimson Flash, which one shots both Felt and Fee.

But its power was too much for them to overcome.



Just as I thought, the Azoth is too fine a toy for a vermin like you.
Your name is Felt, right? Tell me where the Gardo is.
The Gardo? What is that?
The fact that you are here proves the path to Gardo is still open.
What are you talking about?
……
You don’t know anything, do you?
What a disappointment. I was expecting more of a challenge.
Oh well, die!

Luckily for Felt and Fee, they were not alone.



Tch!
Crimson Azoth: Master, that is Gray the Dragon Slayer.
He may be problematic to deal with.
Hmph, I played around too much.
Hmph, Felt.
The next time we meet, I will shatter the Azure Azoth.
So, be ready.
…Did he forget to kill us?

When Felt awoke, they were all back at the camp site.

Video- “Back in Action”

Watch What Happened Next

Wh-Where am I?
We made a camp in Altena Forest.

Felt headed out to stretch his legs, and found he had not exactly impressed the Azure Azoth earlier.



Azure Azoth: You cannot defeat Chaos in your current state.
It was fortunate that he spared your life. We may not be so lucky next time.
I… couldn’t lift a finger against him.
Azure Azoth: That man is a far superior swordsman than you.
The next time you see him, run for your life.
!
Azure Azoth: That is your only hope.
Don’t you have any faith in me?!
Fee’s waking up. We better get moving.
……
Azure Azoth: ……

Chaos, in the meantime, had returned to Riesevelt, his plan and motives still a mystery.



So you suggest we team up?
That’s why I’m at this meeting.
……
Chaos. What are you plotting?
………

The companions were close to the Altena Church, and next time we’ll learn what happened when they got there.