Part 34: Legends and Lies or, The Legendary Super Jeigan

Chapter 24: Legends and Lies or, The Legendary Super Jeigan

This is it, folks! The dragon sanctuary, wherein the final boss awaits!

...Though one of the things I actually knew about this game before starting it was that Idun is considered kind of a wimp as final bosses go... and I've already made one wall-like superboss, so I'm inclined to just power through. That's for next update, though! For now:




Here in the sanctuary, Roy will learn the truth of the legendary dragons. All he knows is about to be proven wrong...

I dunno, "all" is a strong word, but it certainly sounds promising.



We can only bring ten people, and two of them are force-deployed. As painful as it may be, we really only have enough for one wielder of each legendary weapon... or the ones we can actually use, anyway. I don't think anyone's surprised to see which ones I picked. Hugh and Noah are the only ones who have the requisite S-ranks for Apocalypse and Forblaze, respectively. Several people could pick up Durandal but I gave it to Shrub, who has been carrying it for most of the game, and not only because Loud Embarrassing Dad is the only one who can handle Armads. We also have several candidates for Maltet, but Queen Disappointia has... well, not earned the spot as such, but shut up. And then we have Saul for staffbot duties, and also Marcus who will be showing us the true power of the Super Jeigan even without a legendary weapon.



Nice place. Very purple.


Did the Eight Legends fight under these conditions, too?



Surprise dragon out of fucking nowhere!


When did you...?

I am Jahn. I am the last true dragon of the Dragon Sanctuary.


You do seem different from the other dragons... Are you the demon dragon?

The "dragons" you have fought thus far are war dragons. They know nothing but battle. The demon dragon too is quite a different being than I. I am a pure-blooded dragon who fought you humans in the distant past.

The demon dragon is a different being? I thought the demon dragon was the leader of your kind.

The demon dragon is nothing more than a tool to rally us dragons. It is hardly what I would call a leader.

What? What exactly is the demon dragon, then?

There is much you don't know, it appears.

What is the demon dragon? I want to at least know what it is we are fighting against!

Hrmm... I have no reason to tell you. But then, I have no reason not to tell you, either. What to do?

......

...Very well. A test. Are you worthy of hearing the truth? I await you deep within. Fight through the hordes of war dragons and come to me. Do that, and everything will be made clear.

You're deep within? But you're right there!

What you see is an illusion. A projection. Come if you wish to know the truth. Prove yourself worthy of my time and I shall tell you all...

Well now!



The map is too big to fit on one screen, so have a frankenscreen. There are only three dragons awaiting us, the middle one slightly stronger than the others and sitting on a throne. But the rest of the map is roofed, and we can't see anything but the first room. We'll need to kill the dragons and seize the throne to proceed.

Well, or just seize the throne, really, but knowing the dragons they're probably not just going to let us.

First things first, however. I've saved a knight crest for this very occasion. You may be thinking all our units are promoted already, but...



...You thought I was kidding when I said Marcus would be showing us his true power?



Let's have him do that right away.



Silly dragon, I don't know why it even bothered.



This one won't even get a chance to try.



The old, pre-promotion Noah wants us to know he's still in there, somewhere.



Oh and of course you can't fly over the empty space or anything... Not that there'd be any point in doing it even if you could, but it's a matter of principles, damn it!



Oh, and remember how I said Saul would be on staffbot duty?



That may not have been the entire truth.



And now he can do it even better! And wow, his level is really high from all that healing.



Roy takes the throne.


Or...

This is but the beginning. You have quite a way ahead of you yet. But you didn't perish immediately. That alone speaks to your ability.

We'd have to be pretty careless to ~perish immediately~ against three dragons with a wagon full of dragonslaying weapons.

We have been through many trials. We will not die here and let it be for naught.

So you say.
Allow me to tell you a little bit about the demon dragon. The demon dragon is not the leader of the dragons as you thought. The demon dragon was created to bring us victory.


So it wasn't the demon dragon who was making dragons...?

The "dragons" you speak of are in fact soulless war dragons. As I said before, they are different from pure dragons such as myself. The war dragons are indeed created by the demon dragon. The demon dragon was formed from a divine dragon, the most powerful of our kind.

It was formed from a divine dragon? Did a divine dragon agree to become the demon dragon?

Agree? Ha. No. We destroyed its very soul to extinguish its will. It is a mindless drone intended to heed our every word.



We desperately needed the power of a divine dragon. The survival of our entire species was at stake.

You needed the power of a divine dragon... So... you destroyed one's soul?

Do you wish to know more? Come further. Show me your strength...



Dragons are jerks.



And now there's more of them in the next room.



Let's show off another legendary weapon we haven't had a chance to see yet.



Killing fire dragons with fire magic will never not be weird but at least in this case I can buy that our fire is just better than theirs.

Shut up, it makes perfect sense.



Oh, and I let Bartre have the dracoshield. Now watch him not take another hit for the rest of the game.



Another dragon spawns where we started. It probably wouldn't catch up if we tried to outrun it.



I'm okay with this Bartre.



I was going to say something about how Fir can't one-shot dragons like her dad, but then she decided to crit this one and prove me wrong.



The one on the throne is only slightly tougher and wow! Strength! On Shanna!



She takes a hit in the process, though. So that means I can show off the Recover staff. It is very shiny.



Fae is going to take care of the guy back by the entrance, because his existence offends me.



She would have one-shot him regardless, but decides to crit him for good measure.



Fae will hit level 30 before this map is over.



More?



She crits him, too.



Speed is nice.



Meanwhile, Roy seizes the throne in the second room.

I'm curious how far you will make it.

I want to hear more.

...No matter how many of your kind we defeated in combat, you humans continued to multiply endlessly. We were eventually overwhelmed by the sheer number of you humans. It was then we decided to form a demon dragon capable of creating war dragons.

War dragons... Soulless beings who know nothing but battle.

Correct. The divine dragons, however, were opposed to the idea. They said it was an affront to the laws of nature. As we tried to persuade the divine dragons, they suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Why?

They probably chose to leave before we could take advantage of them. We never located the majority of the divine dragon tribe, but we were able to capture a single member of their kind.

And that became the demon dragon?

Precisely. The divine dragon Idun was to become the demon dragon. It hesitated, however, as the rift between its tribe and the rest of us widened. Hesitation... Such folly is reserved for you humans. It serves no end.

Her hesitation impeded your plans...

Idun was immature, but of enough strength to fulfill our purpose. Its heart, however, wasn't with us. It would not follow our commands.

So... that's why you destroyed her soul...?

Yes. We destroyed its soul so that it would unquestioningly obey our every command.

That's... vile...

That's enough for now. Show me more of your power if you want to hear the rest!

Roy seems torn between wanting to stab this guy right now and wanting to pump him for more info first... it's pretty great.



Before we can stab Jahn, however, more generic dragons.



Marcus gets one.



Now they're spawning out of thin air?



Fae still one-shots them.



Saul has finally got his hands on St. Elimine's Aureola, and you're going to need a crowbar to pry him off it.



We make this look easy, but the dragons are kinda tough without the weapons made especially to counter them.



...sometimes even with those weapons. Wolt misses. Twice.

Goddammit Wolt.



Hugh does not miss.

Holy shit, that's a lot of damage.



Speed's nice, Apocalypse weighs him down by like four points... Not that we have much left to use those stats on, mind.



Another day, another throne.



Rest assured, we will reach you!

Your soul is strong. What do you wish to hear next?

You created the demon dragon. The demon dragon had the ability to create endless war dragons. Why, then, did you lose to the humans?

The demon dragon created many war dragons for use in the battlefield. The tables were turned. Our victory was in sight.

......

However, the humans soon found out about the demon dragon. They concluded that their numbers were not enough to defeat us. They focused their efforts into forging weapons that would pierce our scales. They are what you humans call the legendary weapons.

That much I know...

The strongest human warriors were chosen to wield their newly crafted weapons. They came and attacked this sanctuary. However, the immense power of the weapons clashing with our own power... It caused something none of us had anticipated.

What happened?

The laws of nature started to collapse. Snow began to fall in summer. Stars shone in the middle of day...

You mean it caused the Ending Winter? I thought it occurred because the dragons released vast amounts of energy...

Is that how your legends go?

The power of the legendary weapons were used to restore order to nature. That's what I learned.

So in other words, we were the cause of everything bad that happened. How typical of you humans. But the truth is as I said.

Then the legendary weapons were sealed away to prevent another disaster... The traps that were protecting them were meant to keep us out...

You humans sealed them away? An uncharacteristically good decision. But you seem to be wielding them now.

......

I wouldn't worry. The weapons' potency seems to have decreased since their initial forging. I doubt they can bring about another such disaster as they are now.

......

Anyway, the warping of nature's laws dealt a great blow to us dragons.

How?

That disaster was the reason we lost to the humans... I shall continue my story when you advance a bit further...

Maybe if they didn't want us using the stupid things, they could have made more of an effort to keep us out than "blatantly obvious lava traps that deal 10 damage". I mean, if the ancients could make something as metal as Armads, they could probably make a decent dungeon to keep it in, too.

...Regardless.



Another room, much the same.



It doesn't matter much that Fir can't one-shot everything. She makes do anyway.



...Shouldn't have used up your good rolls dodging that breath attack, Fir.



More reinforcements.



You know what happens to reinforcements.



The dragons are like half her level and give her 100 exp apiece, and also that's speed capped.



You know the deal.



...Please continue the story.

When the order of nature collapsed, we dragons suffered the most. With nature weakened, we could not maintain our dragon forms. And so, we sealed our power into gemstones and took human form.

The dragonstones...

Yes. We were utterly powerless against the humans. In human form, we were even more feeble than the humans themselves. The humans took the opportunity to slaughter us.

Why did you choose the form of humans? Why not some other shape?

In the new order of nature, the human form required the least amount of energy to transform into.
The Eight Legends mercilessly crushed us as we were helpless in our human form. I too suffered deep wounds.

Do you hate the humans because of that attack?

Hate? Only humans feel such preposterous emotions. We battled for survival and we lost. There was nothing more to our fight.

......

However, we may yet be victorious. A human names Zephiel resurrected the demon dragon.



That is correct. Show me if you're worthy to hear more.

If not for his little "test", Jahn seems almost as soulless as the war dragons. It's rather more interesting than the current conflict, though. Maybe I'm just projecting, but it seems like Roy is getting the same kind of idea, which is to say that the whole thing is pretty gross. Humans started the war, because we're jerks. The Idun thing is pissing him off, but even that was just the dragons trying to keep us from exterminating their entire species.

The thing that bugs me the most is Jahn's insistence on calling her "it", but perhaps that's a more accurate description at this point.



Anyway.



Another room opens, more reinforcements spawn in.



Marcus cuts them down.



And Fae starts catching up enough that the reinforcements go for her instead of the main group.



It goes as well as it usually does.



I guess she will not be capping res.



Next throne.




I should have expected this of the man who defeated Zephiel. You may even have the chance to fight me personally.

How did Zephiel know about the demon dragon?

Surely you know that Hartmut of the Eight Legends founded Bern.

I do.

Do you also know that Hartmut chose to spare the demon dragon? Rather than killing it, he sealed it away.

Yes, but I don't know why.

Hm... Let me explain. The Eight Legends defeated our leader, and made their way into the sanctuary to find the demon dragon. However, arriving at its chamber, all they found was a blank-eyed human girl. That was Idun.

She didn't fight?

The demon dragon had its soul destroyed to follow our leader's commands. With our leader dead, there were no commands to follow.

Then what happened?

The Eight Legends naturally hesitated. They had expected to find the most terrible of all dragons, but instead they found a mute girl.

......

Knowing the demon dragon still had to be defeated, they readied their weapons. Idun must have reacted to their attack out of instinct. It changed into dragon form and fought as the soulless war dragons do. Hartmut, however, brandished a weapon even more powerful than the legendary weapons.

The Binding Blade!

I don't know what you humans call it, but that must be it. When the blade cut the demon dragon's flesh, it fell unconscious rather than dying.

Why didn't it slay Idun?

The blade has a strange power that reflects th wielder's soul.

Hartmut didn't want to kill her, so the Binding Blade reflected that feeling and spared her...

He had apparently heard how the demon dragon was formed and felt pity for it. We dragons cannot understand that illogical feeling.

He pitied her...

In his soul, he wished to spare Idun. I personally would never hesitate to eliminate a threat as he did.

Hartmut's soul changed the sword itself...

After persuading the others that it should be spared, Hartmut built a shrine hidden deep in what you now call Bern. There, he bound the demon dragon away using the blade and the Fire Emblem. After the founding of Bern, the shrine was protected by the royal family for generations. That it, until Zephiel unbound her, of course.

...How do you know all this? Did you witness it?

No. After the battle I hid myself to nurse my wounds. All I just told you I learned from Zephiel himself, who read it in ancient tomes kept by the Bern royal family.

...How did you meet Zephiel?

You wish to know that now, do you? So be it... Come further, and I will tell you.



The second to last chamber lies open.



The dragons within it are still no match for the legendary weapons. I wonder how much damage this would have done a few hundred years ago...



Lasers!



Apocalypse is even more ludicrous, and also looks kind of off with the dragon sprites.



Another dragon spawns in only to be destroyed by Fae.



I might almost become very slightly worried if I hadn't given her an elixir.



Let's get Roy in on the killing, too.



Roy fire > dragon fire.

Logic.



And then we seize.


It has been ages since I've shown a human my true form. I've not left this sanctuary since the end of the Scouring.

Y... you've been here that long?

For one thousand years... Having survived the Scouring, I waited, healing my wounds. I waited for the resurrection of the demon dragon. For our chance of victory. At long last, that time came. The demon dragon's seal was broken, and I felt power flowing through my veins again.

What does the demon dragon's seal have to do with your strength?

The Dragon Sanctuary's power is intertwined with the demon dragon's. With the demon dragon sealed, the sanctuary, and myself, were crippled.

I see...

After I recovered, I sought the person who had broken the seal. I used my illusions to seek him out and ask his intentions. With you humans ruling the world, I couldn't go in my true form.

Wait... I thought that dragons lose most of their power in human form. How do you have the power to create illusions like this?

This sanctuary is the only place that dragons maintain some power in human form. I am also a relatively powerful dragon. Even in human form, as long as I am in this sanctuary, illusions are a simple task. I lack the power to create war dragons like the demon dragon can, however.

Your search led you to Zephiel?

Yes. I located Zephiel by following the energy emitted by the demon dragon. I remember the exact words in the conversation we had.
"For what reason have you awakened a demon dragon?" I asked him. He was a strange one. With a bored look on his face, he simply asked, "Who are you?" to which I answered, "Dragon." To that, a smile crept onto his face. It was then he told me that he wanted to give the world to the dragons.

......

Frankly, I didn't trust him, but I accepted him as the new leader of the demon dragon. He ordered it to liberate the world from humans. He wanted it to rule the world in their place.

Zephiel is dead now. What is the demon dragon doing?

It is in this sanctuary, waiting for its chance to liberate the world.

What?! Even with her leader gone?! Have you taken on the role of leader now?

There is no need for that. Zephiel ordered it to proceed even in the event of his death. Idun will continue until control is wrested from humans.

She is nothing but a slave! Her soul was destroyed and now she's bound to a dead man's order!

Do you pity her as Hartmut did?
...Foolish human. Your kind makes no sense.
Allow me to tell you one more thing. No matter how you may want it, dragons and humans will never be able to live in harmony. The difference between our two species are simply too great.

That's not true! I know of a village where dragons and humans live in peace! I know a greater peace is possible with effort!

Humans and dragons living together? Stop your lies. I will not humor such an obvious falsehood.
Now, step forward. Let us see whose strength is greater!

Spoiler: Ours.



Jahn awaits on the final throne.



Remember what he said about being a "relatively powerful" dragon? He is... a little stronger than the others, I guess, but still a bog standard fire dragon.

He is going down.



Suddenly out of fucking nowhere, Wolt gets a support with Marcus.

Ah, Wolt. What is the matter?

I have something to ask of you.

You do? What is it?

Please, could you... teach me how to use a sword?

......

May I ask why?

I can only use bows. An archer can't even defend himself at close range. I won't be able to protect Lord Roy if something happens...

Do not belittle the bow. It has many traits that close range weapons do not.

Even so...

Besides, what is the point in learning swordplay at your late age? A mediocre skill would be nothing but a hindrance to Lord Roy.

Well...

Do not worry yourself about it any further. You are a great help to Lord Roy as you are.

...I hope so...

Not quite as much here as you once were, but still pretty good! Still, I can't agree with Marcus; even a mediocre sword rank would be better than being bow-locked. Just ask nomads.



The theme of this level is "dragons on thrones."



Sometimes it's our dragon, what are you going to do about it?

oh wait you already answered that question



One more.



Being able to kill dragons gets Saul motivated! ...Even if this level was from a heal.



They're not giving up!



I could have finished the map quicker, but decided to let Fae have this kill.



The est kill.



And that's a level 30 dragon!



Absolutely beautiful



Guess that support rank was exactly what Wolt needed.



There are still a few reinforcements lagging behind, but they give shitty exp so let's get this over with.


My strength has recovered and is greater than ever. I can feel it...

...and then he gets one-rounded from outside his attack range, gg scrub.


Humans are truly unpredictable...

That was... not exactly unpredictable, Jahn.



Roy has made for a pretty great lord indeed.



"Wait for us!"



"No."





What's wrong, Fae? You look like you're about to cry.

Am... am I evil, too...?

Huh?

When... When I get older, will I be a bad dragon, too?

Slow down, Fae. Where did you get that idea?

That man said that... dragons and humans can't live in peace...

That wasn't true. You've lived in Nabata with humans, haven't you?

But the demon dragon is a divine dragon like me! You're going to fight the demon dragon, but what about me? What if... when I grow up... I'm like the demon dragon...? Then... you'd have to...

Don't worry, Fae. I know you'll never be like the demon dragon. You'll always live with humans. With people like me.

...Do you really think so?

Of course! I want to help the demon dragon, too.

Help her?

The demon dragon isn't acting of her own free will. She had her soul destroyed. She is a slave. I... I don't want to kill her if I can avoid it...

...Your words are too big. I don't understand.

I'm sure you'll learn what I mean once you get a little older.


And I intend to answer it!

Look at this guy, getting all pumped. Roy is awesome.



Tune in next time for more Roy being awesome.

...And some other stuff too. But that's a secret.