Part 65: Stratum 4: Sovereign Boss: ???

A minority of scholars suggest that the troubles in Valdia actually date back much earlier than the appearance of Besek, though poor record-keeping make it hard to establish the source.
- excerpt, The Fall of Valdia

Eternal Poison

I never thought I’d be here again.

Video- “Sovereign Lead In”

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Is this Besek? This looks like Falsin architecture.
Why is the Throne of God connected to THIS place…?
Thage! There’s something shining over there!

Or that the Eternal Poison would be in this accursed place.



Hahaha… At last, I’ve found it.
The power I desire is finally mine.
Who’s there?

And of course, HE’d have to be here too.



Are you…?
Thage!?
It’s been a while, King Valdus.
It is impossible that you are Thage.
I’m sorry, but it’s the truth.
Hmph, the Majin have undoubtedly lied to you, and you fell into darkness.
I think you’re the one who’s fallen.
Why are you here?
It is not your concern.
Are you here for the Eternal Poison?
Ore are you using Princess Lenarshe to resurrect Izel?
How do you know that?
Why are you doing such a thing?
A child would never understand the greatness of Izel!

What an idiot.



I’ll be unstoppable!
And you think resurrecting Izel will make this all possible?
You’re wrong…
And once I destroy this world, it won’t matter WHO’S in control of it.
Stop this ritual and hand over the Eternal Poison.
The darkness has clouded your mind, has it not?
Begone, false shadow of the past.
The real Thage was a useless being that was not fit to be a vessel for Izel.
How dare you intrude upon my ritual and bring that librum here!
Hahaha, you seem so confident in yourself.
I’ll show you what’s become of me since I was discarded.

This is Besek, and only the strong survive.



Hahahaha!!!
I will not be defeated by that useless book!
You can entertain me until the ritual is complete.
Prepare to die!

And I’ve already died once, I have no intention of doing so again.

Video- “Sovereign”

Click For Video with Commentary



Ally Team:
Our mercenary team is solid enough that there’s no real need to start any Majin.

Enemy Team:
King Valdus is joined this time by two Garuda, two Unseelie, two Lapis Slyph, and two Chiroptera. This is one of the harsher Majin groups we’ve seen here, but they’re mostly vulnerable to Darkness so in practice they’re easy as hell. Let’s look at Thage’s version of the King.



This King Valdus is a Fire and Light attacker. It’s only really vulnerable to Water and Pierce but it takes normal damage from Darkness, which we’ve got kind of a lot of. If we’d been the Fire class this would be tricky but we’re not so it’s not.

Deployment:



I deploy on the right instead of the left this time, I want to hit the side with the Garudas first because fuck Garudas.

Tactical Objectives:
- Regicide

Map:



Is Valdia ruled by a Majin?
I am neither Majin nor human.
It has been a well-guarded secret for centuries…
Valdia’s king must possess the blood of the Majin.
Only one with such power is fit to ascend the throne!
Is vanity also a requirement?
You’re not as fit to be King as you think.
You’ve thrown away what’s left of your humanity.

We start pushing up towards the first Garuda, we want to lure it in so we can pound it into the ground like a railroad spike.



Now, I must use Lenarshe to summon the Majin Goddess!
And how much have you sacrificed for your madness?
It’s time for someone to take you off your throne.

We get some buffs thrown out, and the Garuda obligingly runs in and tries to hit Raki. For once it’s not Garuda who’s dodging like a little bitch, though, and Raki avoids its attack.



No one conquers Besek without facing the Silver Wolf! Ha!
Thage, you’re the true ruler of this realm.
You are my master, and I devote my power to you.

We start throwing some attacks at the Garuda now, Dark magic is great against it so it’ll be pretty easy to Overkill if I want to.



Or that Valdus has conquered the Majin for their power.
The Throne of Valdia hides many secrets from its people.
…

I weaken the Garuda down to near death with a Malus I now, I’m going to fry it next time Thage gets to act.



He’s been consumed by his hunger for power.
Thage, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you.
If this is my last battle, so be it.

Garuda doesn’t end up healing itself, which is nice, it just wastes its time hitting Ares and then moves out of my way to try and flank us or some damn stupid thing like that. It’s not going to live very long so who cares what it does? Slightly more worrying is the Unseelie coming in from the north, but it’s not a real threat all alone.



Raki, don’t worry…
My most powerful skill will shatter it to pieces!

A Malus IV sends the Garuda packing with ease, and we Lead Raki to capture it after. Then we get started on the Unseelie as well, since it’s at my lines. The Lapis Sylphs from the center have been drifting towards us, and they get close enough to hit Alexei with an Aerosphere. They also annoyingly buff the King with Salva. I’ve already got a plan for them, though. Before we get to that, Alexei cracks the bones of the Unseelie and I try to set up a Combo to bring it down. It just HAS to move, though, ruining my efforts. The Lapis Sylphs moved right next to each other, so Thage goes over and kills them both instantly with a Malusphere. I then Lead Raki to hit the Unseelie with an Aero to bring it a bit lower for Alexei’s next turn. Thage was put in a slightly dangerous position when she killed the Sylphs and does take an arrow from the other Unseelie now, but the damage is honestly laughable. Alexei tees off on the Fractured Unseelie, easily Overkilling it and getting a level.



Oh how I wish I could keep mercenary levels between runs, because damn Alexei’s hardcore. There’s a Chiroptera coming as well, and I send Raki to run over and Bleed it before it can do something lame like try to reach Thage.



Indeed, and now I am the lord of this realm.
Well, then I should thank you, I suppose…

Thage throws some magic at the Unseelie who shot her then pulls back to safety. It ends up shooting at Yuri instead of her, which is what I’d expect and isn’t a real problem.



But it has not supplied you with the wisdom you lack.
You’re still as arrogant as ever.
I respect those who have power, but you have none!

We bleed the Chiroptera down quickly with an attack from Raki and its own efforts, then Thage lays it low with that Meta III I got a while ago just sort of because. I start sending Alexei up to try and lure in the Garuda near the King away from him. Right after that, though, I realize Raki can just engage it now and just run him up and hit it hard and fast. A Dual Attack followed by a Malusphere kills it before it can even react and gets Thage a level.



We’ve not quite gotten another S rank this level but I kind of suspect we’ll see one in Wind or Water by 30. Our backfield keeps attacking the Unseelie, and King Valdus starts the show with a Sacraspire on Raki. By the way, this version of King Valdus is also special in that he actually has an operatic intro like a normal Majin. His color scheme also makes it a lot easier to see that he’s a horrible Gigeresque nightmare with dragon mouths for hands. I’m trying to get Thage into melee to break his aura, but he keeps running away. In the meantime, we land a Bleed on the Unseelie, sealing its fate. It gets cut down, and in a totally unconnected note Yuri levels up, getting Prayer II almost too late to use it. Our aggression does put Thage briefly in danger again, the last Chiroptera moves up from behind the King and hits her. Still, we’re in a perfect position now to strike back and hard.



Besek never grants the wish you truly desire.
Hmph, you forget that I am the ruler of this realm!

Anyway Raki runs over and tears the crap out of the Chiroptera, Thage goes and breaks Valdus’ Aura with a Last Rites, and then Alexei shatters any hope of the Chiroptera being a threat with a Fracture Attack. Retica puts it out of its misery right after. Now that the king is all alone, I pour everything I’ve got at him. Malusphere tears through him like a hot knife through butter, and we also get Retica a level.



I won’t allow you to resurrect the Goddess.
Your selfishness will be the end of you!

To be classy I finish the job with a Last Rites from Thage. All in all the easiest final map so far, because Thage’s party is mega badass.



The royal blood is the vessel for Izel.
I must complete the ritual.
You killed Queen Thage that day to gain her power.
I was tempted by the one with the golden eyes…
What did YOU see in the darkness?
Thage, you are not the vessel for Izel’s rebirth.
You are a thief, and I will kill you.
You already killed me once.
I was that queen, in another life.
Before the darkness.
My Thage…? But… No, you…
I can see now. I can see… the truth…
But those golden eyes… staring from the darkness…

Battle Result:

Levels:
Thage 26->27
Retica 17->18
Alexei 19->20
Yuri 14->15

Majin:
Unseelie Lv 19 x 1
Chiroptera Lv 20 x 1
Garuda Lv 20 x 1

Gold:
15200

I almost wonder what he understood at the end. No way of knowing now, though.

Video- “Sovereign Lead Out”

Click For Video

A Falsin who killed his wife to gain the power of Izel, and years later, tries to sacrifice his own daughter…
His dream of conquering Besek was not meant to be.
No one will mourn his passing.
(But we may never know what “truth” he discovered as he was dying…)
How did someone like that become King of Valdia!?
Would you forgive him?
Never! A king is supposed to use his powers to protect people!
Does all power corrupt?
That’s why the Stag Domain lives separate from Valdia…
A selfish king, and a tyrannical church…! The whole Valdian Kingdom is nothing but corruption!

It’s important to cut off stupid rants before they can really get started.



Now that we have the Eternal Poison, what’ll you do?
…
The Eternal Poison was my one reason to keep on going.
I was determined to get my hands on it, even if it meant stealing it from you.
…
But I have no use for it…
And I probably can’t do anything about the Oath you put on me, right…?
*sigh * I don’t think I have much time left here, anyhow…
I’ll have just long enough to see what you do next…
Thage.
What about this woman?

I guess we also saved the princess or whatever. Not that I was intending to do so.



Thank you for stopping my father.
He was preventing me from reaching my goal. That’s the only reason.
Well, I am still grateful that you saved this world.
Then you should know… My plan is to destroy this world.
You can try to kill me if you want.
D-Destroy the world? What are you saying?
In another life, you were once my daughter, but no more. Goodbye, Lenarshe.

I thought we would be done here when we stopped the ritual and captured the Poison, but Besek seems to have other ideas.



AHHH!!!
What’s happening to Besek!? We stopped the ritual!
Perhaps things are not yet resolved…?
What’s going on!?
Now what?
That sound…!

The whole castle began to come down.



If we don’t leave here now, it might be too late…
AHHHHHH!!!
We should get out of this place at once!
No, we must protect the Goddess Statue!
Do you wanna die!? We need to go!
But…!
Let’s go, Lenarshe.
(The tale should end there…)
(But this is Besek…)

Why can’t things ever go smoothly for once?
- recovered text fragments

Video- “Credit Roll Thage”

Click For Video