Part 27: Post 24: In which we face the Demon Lord, who has an unanticipated appearance.

Post 24: In which we face the Demon Lord, who has an unanticipated appearance.

Oh look! It's a handy cabin. How handy!

to Krage? If so, change your plans. Up until recently, it was merely a simple village, but things have changed.
To the north of the village of Krage, there is a huge and very old tree called the Sacred Tree. The villagers insist that anyone who tries to harm it will be cursed! The villagers are so afraid that no one goes anywhere near that tree!
According to legend, if you bury a dead body near the Sacred Tree, it turns into a zombie! I'd say human beings shouldn't get anywhere near that tree!
I bet the curse of the Sacred Tree was responsible for what happened in Krage. Now we can't even drink the well water! And that's what Krage was famous for, too.
Well, let's see if we can't find Krage around here somewhere...

... They're one-eyed flying trees. What a bizarre thing they are.

I'm the real Demon Lord! Foolish humans, fear my wrath!
AAAH! THE DEMON LORD IS A LITTLE GIRL!
Oh! How delicious! The well water is the perfect thing for quenching my Demon Lord thirst!
Uwee hee hee! Tasty! This well water is devilishly good!
What? You want yo buy something? Ha ha ha! Nobody wants poor people as customers, you know!
I have hundreds of thousands of gold. I'm richer than you!
Oh, wicked travelers! You too must trust in the great Lord of Demons, and then you shall be saved! Uwee hee hee!
Yipee! Hiccup! Heheheh... Anytime now and I'll be just like them! I can feel my heart turning gradually to darkness. Heheheh! I just can't bear not to drink! Hic!
I'm a traveling warrior, seeking fame and fortune. I came to this town when I heard that the Demon Lord was here, but everybody claims that they're the Demon Lord! Are they mocking me?
Wait a minute, so that's not the Demon Lord?
I am the true Demon Lord, and I'll prove it to you however you like!
Today I'll show you all who the real Demon Lord is!
How many times do I have to tell you? I'm the real Demon Lord! I didn't ask you to come here!
What's this? Some kind of rock? Huh? You want it? Surely you jest! You expect me, the great Demon Lord, to give this to you? Huh? What was I just saying? I've been out of sorts recently.
It's about time to detemine who the true Demon Lord is once and for all!
I've been waiting for this day!
So how should we do it? What can we do to prove who is the true Demon Lord?
And I have an idea how! You shall cut down the Sacred Tree to the north of the village! Supposedly divine punishment will befall anyone who hurts the tree, but the real Demon Lord wouldn't care about that! What do you think? Will you take the challenge?
The Sacred Tree? Yeah, I'll do it!
The Sacred Tree's punishment, eh? Perfect! I'll show you who the real Demon Lord is!
Of course I'll do it! The Demon Lord has no fear of divine punishment!
We should take care of that later. First, let's check out this well!

Wow, that's odd. Let's see if there's anything in any of these houses...

If I don't destroy something, I'm going to go nuts! Aaaaaeeee! I'll just smash the whole house down, damn it! Arrrrrrggg! Destroy! Destroy! Destroy! ( The bully starts trying to crash straight through the wall through sheer force of will.)

(Mayor) village of Krage as quickly as you can. The villagers have all gone mad, consumed by the poison which has spread like a pestilence through the town. I, too, am gradually losing my mind. Go now, before it's too late! You'll be in danger if you remain here. Leave at once!
Well, I haven't gotten to where I am today by not listening to the advice of sagely old men. Goodbye, Krage!
(Mayor) Oh, wait! Please wait a moment, good people! If you insist on remaining here, I have one favor to ask of you. There is an unusual girl who lives at the base of the Sacred Tree to the north of the village. Tell her of what has passed, and warn her not to come here. I know it's a great imposition, but with the poison gripping my body, I can hardly walk. Can you do this for me?
Sure! I'm getting the hell out of this town anyway. In two different ways.
(Mayor) Oh! So you'll accept? Thank you!
Okay, then it's time to visit the Sacred Tree out back!

Wow! This girl just won't wake up! She's more of a sleepyhead than Maribel!
What are you saying, Gabo? When did I ever oversleep? We need a collar for this dog-faced twit! Anyway, should we go back and see the mayor again?
Eh, I suppose. There is an empty water jug next to her - that could be a bad sign.

Okay, we'll shift aside slightly. But only because we can't initiate combat with you... sadly.
We're off to cut down the Sacred Tree.
Divine punishment, bah! (The Demon Lords walk off)
Hee hee hee! Do your best, folks! You idiotic Demon Lords. (The man in black robes follows them)

(Mayor) never learn... Aah! It's too late! My consciousness is growing dim... I'll soon lose my ability to speak... Please... look after the girl...
Okay, then back to the tree!
I am the one, true Demon Lord!
Heh, heh, heh! I'm not afraid one bit of some old curse!
That's right! Do it! The Demon Lord fears nothing! (The young woman comes out)
No! Wait! Stop! Please don't hurt this tree!
Be quiet, little girl! Do you dare defy the Demon Lord? (He knocks the yong woman over.)
Please, stop!
That's right! Do it! The Demon Lord fears nothing!
What? Do you plan to stand in the way of me, the Demon Lord, as well? Ha!
Sure, my purpose is defeating Demon Lords, and you may well be good practice!
What? Don't those guys know their place? Do they dare interrupt our battle?
You are foolish, but courageous, to dare defy me, the Demon Lord.
Come on! I'll destroy all of you! Firebolt! Huh? That's odd.
Ha ha ha! What do you think you're doing? That's nothing but a fake Demon Lord! Blazemost! What? How come I couldn't use that spell?
Ha! Looks like it's my turn! Explodet! Huh? That's weird! Have I lost my touch or something?
What are you doing? I'll take care of these little kids myself! I want all of you to cut down that tree now!
All right. If you insist.
Well, that's all right. No need for me, the Demon Lord, to bother with mere children like this, anyway.
Oh, well. Let's resume our battle!
Damn! What a bunch of worthless, no good bastards. I don't know what you children think you're doing, but I won't let you disrupt my plans!
Aaah! It'a a really weird guy!
What's your problem? You want to fight with us, or what?
Sniff, sniff... This one smells like a monster! Be careful, Link!
It seems that the conditions are not in my favor! I can't believe my plans were fouled by a bunch of little brats! I'll get you for this someday! Just you wait! (The WeirdGuy runs off!)
I guess that wasn't much of a match for you after all... But don't forget! I am the true lord of all that is dark and corrupt! It's not like you have defeated the Demon Lord. Ha ha ha! (He runs off)
Heh, heh, heh. You didn't do too badly, I admit... But you're nowhere near ready to fight me! I'll be kind and leave you in peace for now. But you should be grateful! (He also runs off)
Not bad! I enjoyed the show! I guess I'll let you escape with your lives for now. (She runs off)
Let's see how that girl's doing...
Let's put her back in bed.

Who are you...? Oh, the tree! Is the Sacred Tree all right?
Sure, we chased of the Demon Lords and that weird guy.
Is everything really all right? Thank goodness! Did all of you save me?
Yeah, the Mayor asked us to do so.
I could tell even without you saying a word! Thank you... Cough, cough! The water vein that flows beneath the forest has been tainted, weakening the trees and myself. If it weren't for the presence of the Sacred Tree, this forest and I would have died long ago. The Sacred Tree has the remarkable power to purify tainted water. It is the Sacred Tree, after all! But I never imagined the villagers of Krage would try to cut it down. It sounds like they drank the water that was cursed by the Demon Lord... Uhh! Cough! Cough! I'm afraid I'm a little tired. My home is small, but you're welcome to spend the night!

Forgive me. I don't feel well. I can't seem to get up. Could you take that jug there and collect some HolyDew from the Sacred Tree for me?
Sure, why not?

Thank you very much! Because of your actions, I feel much better now! You were able to get enough HolyDew to fill then entire jug! I've never seen anything like it! With this much HolyDew, we might be able to save the villagers! HolyDew contains the power of the Sacred Tree itself! It may be able to lift the curse on the villagers! The challenge, of course, would be getting them to drink it. But it's worth a try! I beg you! Please, save the villagers with the power of this HolyDew! I cannot leave the Sacred Tree. All of you are the only hope!

today! Rather, how about a taste of this unique well water? It's a local specialty, you know!
I'll get some later, I think. First, I need to talk to the Mayor.

(Mayor) Oh... What is this? I suddenly feel better! Morning dew from the Sacred Tree, you say? (The mayor leaps out of bed!) So this is the power of the Sacred Tree! With this, I'm sure the townsfolk can be saved! Thank you so much. If you really want to save our little village, please pour that dew into the well. It's the only source of water in Krage, so it should save the townfolk!
Waay ahead of you.

Hey! Please don't put anything funny into the well! Hey everybody! These jerks are trying to put something into our well! It could be poison!
What?
You jerks!
Everyone! Get them!
No, wait! These guys are actually pretty strong. You'll be sorry if you don't watch out. If you all surround the well, we can protect it from their silly attempt to poison us! Hey, dealer! You come help us out, too!
Sure thing! I don't want any poison in my well! (They surround the well, keeping us from getting near it)
You've brought morning dew from the Sacred Tree, eh? How annoying... So, are you going to kill the villagers just so you can pour that stuff down the well?
Well, I suppose not... kinda counter-intuitive. Let's see if we can't find another way... Let's talk to the Mayor again.
(Mayor) What? The villagers stopped you from pouring the dew into the well? I guess there's only one chance left. The town well connects to an underground water vein. If you can get inside that water vein, you should be able to make it to the inside of the well.
Then let's talk to that girl at the Sacred Tree. She seems pretty chatty on the subject of water going through that tree. She'll likely know something.

in the well is a very good idea! If I remember correctly, that well is connected to the water vein that runs under this forest. I know of a tunnel at the foot of the Sacred Tree that connects to the water vein! You can make your way to the village well through there! I'll show you the way! But please be careful! I'm sure the henchmen of the Demon Lord still lurk in the water vein!

inside. Please be very, very careful!

This is a twisty maze of roots, all alike, with many diverging paths that lack even the barest treasure to make them worth traversing. Plus, there are weird and wild new monsters, like...

The HangedApe! They throw coconuts at us and are yellow!

HOLY SHIT! METAL SLIMES! One of the best known sub-branches of the Slime Family! While they have two or three hit points each, they have an impossibly high defense and are immune to virtually every spell and skill. They also evade most things, and flee at the drop of a hat. But, for all of this, they're still worth it, as they're worth 3000 exp each. EACH. The usual amount we get per fight right now is a couple of hundred, and that's for multiple enemies.

It looks like we're getting closer...

These odd demons, riding on wooden horses, charge at you if you give them the opportunity to attack. Of course, they die quite swiftly, so they're hardly anything to write home about.

Not unlike a Pikachu, the BoltRat is an electrical rodent. Of course, they can also drop a MonsterHeart, which we will need for later.

Spray this water to foul the vein with the great Demon Lord's power!
Hrmm, I think I need to be over there.

Oh, so it's you. To think that humans would thwart my plan to chop down the Sacred Tree. What? That couldn't be HolyDew you're holding in your hand! A-ha! Now I see. You intend to purify the water vein, do you? Well, as long as I'm here, you won't get away with it! Come and get me if you dare!
Why did he build a well inside of a well?
That's one of the best questions I've ever heard from you.
It's spraying poison! All right, let's finish it off quickly and get rid of the poison!
One brief fight later...

all beings! (The EvilWell expires)

Ouch! What happened? (He starts hopping with pain)
Huh? Why am I here?
It's as if I've awoken from a long, terrible nightmare!
Arrg! What was that light I just saw? It felt like it cleansed my soul!
How strange... My mind, and body... feel so light.
Ouch! Hey, that hurts! This must be... the power of the Sacred Tree?
Who is this guy? Looks like he's in a hell of a lot of pain.

Hey, are you okay? Is that a burn?
Arrgh! Shut up! Get out of my way! ( He knocks the Trader away)
Hey you! What the hell are you doing?
Move it! (Warrior gets knocked off to the side) Wretched humans, I'll burn the whole damn village to the ground!

because their plan failed.
Just as I thought. We really are dealing with a monster here.
Okay, the WeirdGuy is really a WolfDevil! Still only takes two rounds to drop, though.

What? Me? No, I'm fine. I already healed my wounds with herbs.
Oh, my... Thank you so much! I came here to expel the demons, but then I fell right into the monster's trap.
Phew, I'm saved! I owe you my life!
What's this? My little farm is a total mess! I remember doing it myself, but why would I ever do such a thing? I don't even know who I am anymore!
(Mayor) Things seem to have worked out splendidly! Please accept my sincerest thanks. If you hadn't shown up, there's no telling what would have happened. You've done very well! I'm sure the villagers will want to thank you, as well. Please, accept my hospitality, and stay for the night.
Sounds good to us!

(Mayor) I didn't realize you'd be so tired after beating up that monster. By the way, the girl at the Sacred Tree had a message for you. She wants to give her proper thanks to you. Be sure to visit her on your way back home.
I was tilling my poor farm, and I came across this weird rock. Think it's a broken piece of cobblestone? But it has this strange design carved into it... Huh? You sure seem to want this stupid rock. We owe our lives to you. It's just a rock, but if you want it, it's yours! (Link obtained a FireShard)
Let's go talk to the Sacred Tree girl, and I think where done for here and now.

I called you here because I wanted to tell you about the true form of the Sacred Tree and myself. The Sacred Tree is actually a sapling of the World Tree, a great tree with incredible healing powers! It will take hundreds of years for this tree to grow into a World Tree itself. Until that day, it is my duty to watch over this Sacred Tree and help it along in its development. I am an elf, born from the trees of this forest. I've been here with the Sacred Tree since long before humans ever came to this area. Actually, it was I who started the rumor about the curse of the Sacred Tree so that humans wouldn't come near. I've always been afraid of the humans. But the monsters used my fear to their advantage. From now on, I'm going to be more trusting of humans! We can all protect the Sacred Tree together! And this is all thanks to you and the Mayor. Thank you so very much! This is just a small token of my gratitude. It is a staff made from a branch of the Sacred Tree. I hope it is of some use to you in your adventures! (Link got the BlessStaff)
A semi-perpetual HealMore stick? AWESOME! Well, that wraps this place up for now. Next, let's check out the present to see how this actually turned out.

Author's note: I'm sorry, for some reason some of the screenshots in the middle didn't take, and I didn't realize it until afterward, hence the large wall of text fairly early on. Likely a result of operating on only a couple of hours of sleep for the past two days. Sorry again. I tried to edit it so that everything meshed, at least.


New Items: TinyMedal x 2,

23-24
New Spells: Antidote
Class Titles: ArchMage, Master, Admiral, BigBoss, General, TruTalent, ShipWreck

23-24
New Skills: Giggle
Class Titles: KingSlime, WyvernNite, HellShell, SheepLord, Novice, Marcolara, Phoenix, Boulder

23-24
New Skills: SleepSong
Class Titles: Master, TruTalent, HiPriest, Novice (Thief) Martyr, Lyricist