Part 77: Chapter Fifty Seven: Eternal Darkness

Music: Find the Truth





:…I’m actually speechless. I want to say something sarcastic, but the words just won’t come.



: I mean, I know the dating opportunities for people like us are few and far between, but still…we only just met…

: I know it’s hard to understand, but…I know we were destined to be together!





: Uh…oh, crap…uhm…uh…aha!



: Ryu! A little help!

: Uh…well then. I think we should all, uh…calm down a bit, and…





:…Excuse me?

: H-hold on! What’s Ryu got to do with this?

:…I know I’m being stupid, but this is the only way I know how to do this. I love you, Lin…



:…What?

: That’s taking things a little far, don’t you think?

: Clearly. This is all just a misunderstanding…

: Ugh, whatever. Fine, fine, let’s take this outside. I can’t believe I’m doing this…

Music: Tiga’s Fight



: Th-this isn’t a love triangle, you hamhead! Ryu is not my boyfriend!

: Let the man speak for himself!



: Lin is a very good friend, but we aren’t romantically involved.



: Listen…what Lin does on her own is her business, not mine. If she decides to marry you then of course I won’t have any objections.



: Now can we please stop with the stupidity already?

If you answer ‘No’ to the first question or ‘Yes’ to the second then the following happens.



Music: 29 – Dramatic Battle



Ryu faces off against Tiga, one-on-one. You’d think that a lowly resistance leader would be nothing to Ryu, slayer of demons and monsters, but you’d be dead wrong. For you see, Tiga has prepared for this fight by equipping the legendary Plot Armour and cannot be defeated by any means. It doesn’t matter how many times you stab him or how many times you steamroll him with Dragon attacks, Tiga simply won’t die. Like Balio and Sunder from Breath of Fire III, there used to be rumours floating around that Tiga could be beaten, but they’re false.

I like to imagine Ryu gets tired of Tiga’s crap halfway through and decides to just throw the fight.

Regardless of whether you choose to fight or not, the next sequence is exactly the same.



: All right, that’s it for today! You’re all dismissed! We attack the Rhode Chapel tomorrow. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep!

: The Rhode Chapel? Where’s that?

: It’s a little place to the south of here, near the tip of the peninsula. The hardcore believers go there to be taken to Evrai, so it’s pretty important. Attacking it should stir the hornet’s nest a bit, maybe rile ‘em up enough so one of ‘em makes a mistake. Anyway, make sure you’re ready for it.



Music: 13 – More Than Words



:…*Sigh*

:...This…is too much…



:…You couldn’t get to sleep either, huh?

: Tiga…



: Heh, heh…well, it’s like you said. We are the same kind…It was love at first sight. I know it’s stupid, but that’s what happened. Sorry if I’ve annoyed you…



: You’re a good fighter and a good talker, and that’s a combo you don’t find very often. I like you, Tiga…

: Then…what’s wrong with you and I?

:…Well…I know I’m not very smart…especially with stuff like this…but…



: I like you, and you like me, but I don’t think we’ve gotten as far as ‘love’ yet.



:…*Sigh* I don’t get it. Anyway, when we hit the Cathedral, stay close to me, okay? I…just feel I won’t be able to do my best without you there. Okay?

:…Sure, no prob.





: Had a good night’s rest? Our forces are en route to the Rhode Chapel as we speak. Get moving, or get left behind!

: Finally, some action! Don’t worry, Ma, I’m comin’ for ya.

Lin has left the party for the time being. We can talk to Patty for some casual banter before heading out.





Music: 02 – My Home Sweet Home



Kotto is completely empty now – that guard wasn’t joking when he said everyone had gone on ahead.

Music: 19 – Our Journey



We’re down one party member so I decide to take this opportunity to finally take Deis for a spin. We’re getting close to her level anyway, and it’s high time the legendary Sorceress was allowed to show off her powers.



: Ryuuuuu…

: Yeeeeees…

: Why didn’t you call on me sooner? All of those peon demons wouldn’t have stood a chance if I was there with you.

: _{Because you keep making creepy passes at me, god woman act your age, besides you’re part snake and oh god I don’t even know…}

: Hmm? What was that, sweetie?

: Oh, um, I didn’t want to ask for your help when dealing with such, uh, pitiful enemies. I didn’t want to, um, insult you or anything.



: That’s the chapel, right?

: I don’t see any other buildings around here. Let’s have a look.

Music: Please God



: Whoa, take a look at this ruckus.



: What’s the problem?

: We got here too late. The whole place is deserted. There’s no one here.

: Damn!

: Sorry to drag you out here for nothing, Ryu. I was hoping we could inflict some massive damage on their weak point…

: Boooooring!



: Dammit! Take that!



Lin smacks the base of the statue…



…accidentally revealing a hidden passage in the stonework!

: Hey! It’s a secret passage!

: You think they all went out through that tunnel?



: Violence really is the answer! If you can’t solve your problems with it you simply aren’t using enough of it!



: What do you think, Ryu?



: It’s worth a shot, right? We’ll go down and check. If this priest has a hidey hole down there we can flush him out of it.

: That’s good enough for me! Go down there and check it out!

Music: 04 – Dungeon



: These are…human bones…

:…What the hell…isn’t this supposed to be a holy place?

: Maybe if you’re a demon. And I’m willing to bet this Manson character is one.

As with all new dungeons there are enemies that need to be categorized.



Living Armours are your standard physical attacker – nothing too complex, he just whacks you with his sword until you stop moving, although I have seen them use a HP draining attack from time to time. The Demon Spirits can steal your AP and generally make a nuisance of themselves.



Occasionally these guys show up. They lumber towards you at chokepoints, say that they can’t let you go any further and then attack.



Though they have boss music, they’re all pushovers. Their only special power is that they can cast Rejuvenate.



Mind Blasters are fairly tough. They can cast Iceblast and can use both HP and AP draining attacks. They’re also fairly tough, so it’s useful to target them first when they appear in enemy groups.





: Hey! There’s the bastard, right there!

: I saw him. Let’s move!





The two plates here shift the door along the northern wall, with the left hand plate shifting it left and the right hand plate shifting it right.



Shifting it right leads to a chest with a weapon for Lin.



Shifting it right again leads to the next staircase down.



: We’re getting close now. There is a foul energy to this place…it feels so familiar, and yet different at the same time. Be cautious.





: There’s something wrong with this place. And that priest…he’s…oh no…

:…This is a powerful one alright, if even the little missy can feel it.

: Whatever. He won’t be so mighty once I’ve pounded his face in a few times.





: So, what brings you to my humble hideaway? Something tells me you’re no mere treasure seekers…

: We’re here to put a stop to whatever it is you’re doing down here.



: My, you must hate the church so. But certainly, your quarrel is not with me?



: Don’t listen to him. Remember the skulls at the entrance! This man is pure evil!



: Naturally, I fulfilled that wish for them. Unfortunately, as a direct consequence, their souls were torn to pieces…

->



: Yeah, I don’t think we need to listen to you any more.

Manson begins to flicker, and the screen takes on a sickly green tinge…



: What the hell?! This one is even worse than the others!

: So powerful…so much death…it empowers him…



: It seems a certain fervour takes them when I leave them in there long enough…Eventually, they do nothing but offer praises and prayers to the Lord Eva…



: You sick, twisted monster.



: Look out!



Not content with rambling on about how evil he is, Manson raises three Entombed and sends them against the party. They aren’t particularly dangerous, but since they count as a boss enemy they can’t be killed by Kyrie. Like many other enemies down here they like to spam Drain attacks.



: The souls of the dead go straight into Eva’s domain…each one you kill offers our God ever more power!



--



Music: 10 – I’ll Do It!





Necromancer can either be a roadbump or a nightmare depending on what state your party is in once the fighting begins. Lots of the random encounters in the dungeon can drain your AP, and if you didn’t bring along some Wisdom Seeds then your spellcasters are probably running on fumes. Nina can alleviate the problem somewhat with Spirit, but sooner or later you’ll run out of gas and then Necromancer will take you apart.

Necromancer himself has only four abilities, but they are extremely irritating and perfectly suited for screwing over an unprepared party. Firstly he has Foul Breath, which can turn the entire party into Zombies. This in itself can be a death sentence if you don’t have the means to reverse it, turning your entire party into murderous mohawked berserkers who attack each other every turn. He can also inflict Zombie on individual characters via Zombie Attack. If you live through that Necromancer can just cast Death and kill your characters immediately. And, like the other enemies here, he can drain your HP and AP like there’s no tomorrow.

Luckily I came prepared and topped off my HP and AP before I fought the Entombed, so I had an easier time of it than others might have. I try to show off Shed right at the end, but sadly Necromancer didn’t target Deis with anything other than a failed Death spell so she didn’t recover any HP.



--



: But…don’t think for a second that you stand a chance against our Lord…





Manson explodes like the other demons, and a chest appears out of thin air behind the party…





…containing just what we need to enter the Cathedral.

This seems like a good spot to end the update. The major revelation this time is that the church has not only been infiltrated by demons, it’s the original source of them and their God is actually Lord Eva. I’m sure many of you guys had this figured out a while ago, particularly since corrupt churches are a dime a dozen in videogames these days. Back then though this was a pretty unusual thing and it’s surprising that it managed to make it through Nintendo of America’s censorship bureau (Though the atrocious translation and the fact that the church is portrayed positively throughout most of the game probably helped in that regard).

Regardless, our enemies are now the world’s dominant religion. If the stakes were high before they’re in orbit now.