Part 164: For Redemption
Music: Beneath the Surface 
I thank you again for your aid, my friends. Today, Werner's reign of terror comes to an end.
L-look out!
Ungh! Music: Tension 
Out of my way!
(Demons take them, but these two will not fall easily...)
You're as easy to read as that lily-livered father of yours.
Werner! But how did you--!? Ye gads, you really are your father's son, aren't you? ...!
It hardly required a scholar's deduction to determine where the main strike was to fall.
Did concern for your fellow citizens hold you back? As though you had the latitude for such charity.
I was worried we might run out of scoundrels for the pyres. Now, thanks to you, we'll have plenty for months to come. The people will be most grateful for the respite, I don't doubt.
Video: Ambushed 
Spare us! We surrend--urk!
Someone...someone stop them! Gods have mercy!
(...Watch while those I swore to protect are cut down before me!?)
Un, nngh...!
Unbending Blade of...where was it again? Your sovereignty escapes me.
Music: Battle III 
Wellspring was out of danger. Found myself at a loose end. So here I am.
Hmph. Now here's a pair I ne'er thought I'd see reunited. Few moons ago, I'd have been as surprised as you are, Werner. But here we are, nonetheless. Two swords, standing as one.
...Right, Olberic? You with me? Shoulder to shoulder, old friend!
Have at you!
Stand and fight, you cowards, or you'll feel my blade!
...That's more like it.
He's not one to flee so easily! He's just buying time, though for what the gods only know! ...
(The mind that yoked them can be spared no quarter!)
After all the casualties we've suffered, there's no giving up now.
Music: Forbidding Corridors 
Before we tackle the dungeon proper, let's check off the final banter of this chapter.
...Only in the nick of time. He took far too long to reach us.
I thought we were all done for! I'm so glad he showed up when he did. 'Tis as if he deliberately left it to the last possible moment. ... ...
But I am not happy, either. Are you sure about that? Because I'm pretty sure I saw you smiling back there. You can't fool me, Sir Olberic. ...Hmph. Let's go.
Olberic is usually so straight-laced and serious, so it's striking when he shows any emotion that isn't overwrought melodrama. There is a human side of Olberic beneath that Unbending Blade exterior.
For this dungeon, we have to move clockwise around the entire mansion to reach Werner.
Other than the usual elemental Curators and Guardians, Werner's Men pop up. They mainly debuff Crit and Speed, which are essentially wasted turns on their end.
The Rune Hatchet has a mere 100 PhysAtk, but its ElemAtk of 278 is the highest of any axe, so it's handy as an ElemAtk option for Runelord teams.
This is also the rare dungeon that has a exit in its middle, so you can go to the inn and heal before resuming.
Which is nice, as for once I don't have to use Plums and Grapes to top off before the boss.
Let's take care of things once and for all.
Video: Fight for the Future 
Music: Pure Evil 
What...? What nonsense are you spouting now!? A warrior of your skill and repute serving as a glorified bodyguard for paupers and peasants. It isn't too late to find yourself a more worthy cause.
The Flame take you and all you stand for!
Is that truly why you lug that steel around? For the sake of churls you hardly know?
Tell me. What harvest do you reap with your selfless valor? The gratitude of the rabble? Preening self-regard? You self-righteous oaf! The only cause a man needs is himself.
What do you know of truth!? All I need to know! Or have you forgotten? You once wielded your sword for the sake of king and kingdom.
SILENCE 
So why do you persist in this folly!? Join me, and together we can--
To protect someone is to gaze into the future with eyes unclouded... What is this starry-eyed hogwash you speak...?
A bright future that we might share together... This is for what I fight. This is why I must protect those in need. Music: For Redemption 
Enough prattle, fool!
You are deaf to reason because you have nothing of substance to protect...
Video: Boss - Werner Music: Battle at Journey’s End 
Here's the final boss of Olberic's tale, Werner. Don't ask me where he got that horse.
Werner is pretty simple as far as bosses go. He starts off with his aura of dread, which means all his attacks have a low chance of inflicting Horror, which prevents obtaining and spending BP.
Werner's offense is purely physical, so Shackle Foe, Hired Help, and Sidestep are wonderful as always.
That said, Werner is a bit more adaptable than most other physical bosses. For once, he can debuff your team's PhysAtk and PhysDef.
Also, he hits like a truck.
It's usually a safe guess to aim for a Light weakness for these final bosses, since most of them are right jerks.
Also, my gear is great enough that anyone can Cleric at a pretty solid level.
You know the drill. Break...
...and boost.
Werner gains shields post-break, but also randomly locks certain weaknesses.
Otherwise, his only other attack is a powerful physical that inflicts Unconscious, and later on he can gain a third turn, if you let him last that long.
I don't. Don't worry, I'll let the next two final bosses last.
Werner's Sword has high PhysAtk and even a bit of ElemAtk, but it has an annoying gimmick where it always crits but has low accuracy, so it's not really worth using.
Video: A Tyrant Laid Low SILENCE 
...It is over. Now, before you die, tell me this.
The what of what!? The Gate of Finis...lies in Hornburg... I...I had to have it...
You thought that a price worth paying!?
I will not die by your sorry blade... No, I shall go out on my own terms...
And so Werner takes his own life. I kind of feel this is a cheap out so Olberic doesn't have to get his hands dirty, but then again the game doesn't really shy away from the fact that Olberic's taken his fair share of lives, so it's not that big a sticking point for me.
As for the Gate of Finis, that answer just leaves more questions. But perhaps we'll learn more in the future.
-----
Music: Enveloped in Kindness 
...Ah. Of course, come in.
You know each other? After you helped him in that alley off the square, we ran into each other. He told me where I might find you. Thank you for that, by the by.
Hang me but if you two 'adn't fetched up in our town... We're forever in yer debt. We simply did what had to be done.
Werner's reign left a lot o' bitterness an' 'urt, but most o' the wounds should 'eal, with time an' patience. Just so. Your fate and future are in your own hands once more.
Harald's leading the town in a post-Werner world, and though it's going to be rough, the future certainly looks a lot brighter for Riverford now.
After Reggie leaves...
...For all his vices, the man may have a point. At the end of the day, I'm just a man with a sword, and nothing more.
Men like us... Protecting those we care for is all we can do in this world. Perhaps so...
-----
Video: To Protect Those in Need SILENCE 
...!
Good thing too, else I might have had the tip of your blade sticking out of my back right now.
Nay. Could never get one over on you, sir. That's why I never hold back. Hah. Then let's pray that it continues to be so. Still, you have been training hard, I see.
Aye. And quicker, too. How fare the others? Crivens, what am I thinkin'!?
Music: Olberic, the Warrior 
(Erhardt, likewise, returned to Wellspring. He had to go back, he said, and watch over those he'd sworn to protect.)
(And I know that if I am to fulfill my vow, I must grow stronger still.)
Sir Olberic!
And so Olberic has discovered a new reason to wield his blade, and a new drive to help the world and protect its future.
(Click here for larger version)
We've finished six characters' stories now! This leads us to our final vote, anticlimatic though it may be, so vote!
Next time, the usual town update.