Part 22: Babel On

The path Rubicante walks up leads right to another section of the Tower of Babel.



Heh heh. Watch. Ready?



Edge turns on no_clip and ninjas Cecil inside. Yes, ninjas is a verb.

This part of the tower of Babel is a hell of a lot harder then any dungeon so far.



These guys were in one of those booby chests in Eblan Castle, and they're still pretty damn painful. They have really high Magic Defense.

Edge can dual-wield like Yang, and can use Claws or Katanas. Equipping the Fairy Claw makes him not terrible damage-wise, as it's strong against the ogres here and can Confuse them.



Well isn't this lovely.



This is a disaster if you get ambushed. The Ogrekiller Axe you get here is strong against... well, you know.



This description brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department.



Pretty sure this is a typo, the Ashura is a better Katana for Edge.



Um...ok? This is more than the party has currently.



Just nearby, some royalty are waiting for Cecil's group to arrive.

Edge...

Father! Mother!



Thank heavens... You're alright...

You're...alive?

Come with us, Edge.

Yes... Come with us...

Where?



!!!



Edge does everything. He dual-wields, has some Elemental Magic with Ninjutsu, can Throw old Weapons at enemies for massive damage, and can Steal from enemies. The problem is he isn't really good at any of it besides Throwing, and his Defense is far worse than Kain or Cecil's is.



Fools... burn to ashes!

What's going on?! Father! Mother! It's me, Edge!



Finally, Edge gets through to his "parents".

Edge... We are no longer human... We no longer belong here.

I'm sorry Edge.

...

We must go now. Eblan is in good hands. Serve our people well.

Don't go!



The King then appears to kill himself.

Farewell, my son.

Mother! Don't go!



The Queen soon follows.



Edge...



Well this is bad timing.

Lugae... How dare he...?

Rubicante! You sick bastard!

It was Lugae who turned your parents into monsters. I am sorry for your loss. My only wish is to battle you fairly.

To hell with your self-righteous blabbering!

I admire your spirit. But anger never bears true strength, and it blinds you from what you truly need to see.

Shut up! I'll show you the power of rage!



These are Water and Thunder Ninjutsu, respectively.

Well, this is interesting. Still, nothing can penetrate my Cloak of Flame, not even ice!

Interestingly enough, Rubicante doesn't attack you. He waits for you to come to him.



He even heals you to full HP and MP. What a nice guy.



Rubicante is the strongest of the Elemental Lords, and packs quite a punch.



His Glare is a Fire attack that will one-shot anyone not named Kain or Cecil. It's big trouble if he hits Rosa. Like all the Lords, Rubicante has multiple forms.



Ice and Water attacks wreck him in his normal form, as do Cecil and Kain's Ice weapons.



When he pulls his Cloak of Flame over himself, all magic attacks heal him. He'll even cast Blizzara on himself to recover his strength. Physical elemental attacks like the Icebrand and Ice Lance will still wreck him in this form though.

All four attackers have an Ice or Water attack, and he just can't withstand that kind of damage output.



...Father...Mother. You can rest in peace now.

Um, he's still alive, Edge. Although Lugae isn't...

Your Highness!



Gramps!

Pray, let us fight with you! Where is that devil, Rubicante!?

We got him. It's over. They helped me out.

No he's not you didn't kill him



Rubicante's master. He plans to gather the Crystals to reach the moon.

Why the moon?

We don't know. He seeks some great power there.

We have to stop him!

So he's the mastermind behind all this. I'm going with you.

But, Your Highness, Eblan needs you.

That can wait! We've gotta stop this guy before it's too late!

But...

Ahh, stop worrying and go home. I'll be fine.

Very well... Everyone, please take good care of the Prince. Good fortune, Your Highness!

Thank you.



Okay, let's go get Golbez!

We need to get the Crystals first.

Right, right. Lead the way!



Luckily, they're right here. Unluckily...

It's a trap!!!




That was a lame trap. It didn't even kill anyone.

Owww... That hurt!

That was a nasty drop.

There's a few more floors to climb up. There's no ogres, so it's a lot easier.

!?



Let's use this to get outta here.

But that's stealing!

They're trying to kill you, hun. They killed Cid with one of these for crying out loud.

Who cares? Besides, we'll put it to better use!

It could be a trap.



Edge gets her ready to fly despite having no experience with an airship.

Hey, she's not bad. Let's call her...Falcon! What do you think, Rydia?

Suits me fine. Let's get going!

Yes, let's go.

Falcon, take us up!




This new airship can't fly over lava, so the only place Cecil can head is back to the Dwarven Castle. Giott's last plan went poorly. Will he have a better one?