Part 52: UPDATE 47: Covenant

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Update 47: Covenant

Okay so when we left off I think we'd just gotten to the part where Freddie stabbed his best friend in the face with a fire sword. I predict Complicated Emotions coming soon!



Yyyyyyyep, here come the waterworks



All of a sudden Mari runs in.

: "No! ...Don't go near him! Because of you... Because he wanted to stand beside you, Yumil..."

: "...For me? You're saying that Yumil chose to walk in the darkness for me?"

He just sounds so honored!

: "What are you saying!? The power my lord attained... That is the true ultimate power! ...Yumil is the goddess Danika's..."

: "Stop, Mari. ...I'll tell him."



no shit dude, we've known that since the end of the last damn chapter

: "...Child of the Covenant!?"

Freddie, please just shut up and let him monologue.

: "Long ago, when Danika became the queen of the netherworld... Berthe, out of compassion, divided Danika's body into five parts, and imprisoned her deep within the earth."

WHAT A NICE GESTURE. Old gods are always so compassionate.

: "Her arms and legs changed form into Knights of Danika, who became keepers of the chaos gate and kept watch over the netherworld. And separated from her body, her soul went into a deep sleep..."

: "That's the legend of the goddesses Berthe and Danika... the apocrypha!"

"i am just now remembering all this stuff, but i totally knew it all this time, yessirree"

: "By chance, the Progenitor came across the chaos gate. There he met the knight who guarded it, the Knight of Danika, and made a pact with him. The content of the pact was... In exchange for the ultimate power, the Progenitor had to give up one of his descendants to Danika. ...And... the offering... turned out to be me."

It's like the end of The Last Crusade, except with a little Rumpelstiltskin thrown in for good measure!

: "But that's all legend! Are you telling me that the legend's true, and you're part of it!?"

: "...Danika slept, alone, for what seemed an eternity. Unable to withstand her loneliness, she yearned to be awakened, be brought back to life... But she needed a body to dwell within... And I was chosen. The power I wield is Danika's. ...I was never a human. I wasn't Yumil Dulmare!!"

So, wait. Yumil's actually a chick? ...explains a lot actually.

: "But... I'm grateful. I was able to become who I am now... Though I found out that I was not human, I was able to be like you... Freddie... You were my idol, everything I wanted to be!"

All this because Freddie fell down some stairs and said it didn't hurt. Yumil impresses pretty easily.

: "...After he descended to the netherworld and discovered his destiny, Yumil decided to make the world his own... to reign over all, humans and netherworlders. He believed that then you will not have a reason to fight... and you will return to him... Freddie! If only you followed my lord, all would have ended!"

PROBLEM: Your best friend is leading a revolution against the government run by your father and brother and their liege lords
SOLUTION: Descend into Hell, become the ruler of that dark place, and bring forth an army of demons to merge that world and this one, toward the purpose of conquering the entire world with the power of a sleeping goddess whose soul you share, so that way land reform or whatever won't seem like such a big deal anymore

I guess it's the only hand he had to play, but a phrase my high school programming teacher used all the time comes to mind: "Like killing a fly with a battleship."

: "What would have ended? Tell me... What the hell is supposed to come to an end!? That's not the reason I fight. ...Come on, Yumil! Did you want this world to be like that? No, right!? You wanted to bring peace to the people!"

: "........."

: "It's not too late to start over."

: "Freddie..."



Mari doesn't like where this is going.

: "......Mari...?"



whoa hey she's got a sword! Where did that come from?

...No seriously, where was she keeping it? I don't see a scabbard anywhere.



: "Mari, let's go. Let's go together..."

: "He's mine... Nobody else can have him!"

HEY HEY HEY

I know he talks about me kind of weird but I ASSURE YOU it's not like that! We're just bros with kind of a psychologically unhealthy stairs-fall-based relationship!







Yeah okay this is WAY more unhealthy than the thing we had going. Way to show me up!



Oh, look, just what this scene needed. Another crazy demon person and another sword.

First time it's actually confirmed, but you have to have seen this coming: That shadowy "Zeda" figure who fed Baldwin and Richard all that misinformation and the enigmatic old lady who's always violating Mari's personal space are in fact the same person. What is her deal???

: "Why did you let your emotions take control of you!? Fool... There's no other choice! Mari, you're my last hope!"



They teleport away together and leave Yumil and Freddie for some final alone-time.

: "Yumil... Are you alright, Yumil!?"

: "Freddie, please listen to me. Now that the Knights of Danika are destroyed... If I die, the only thing left is the seal at the ruins... When the seal is broken, Danika will be resurrected."

: "Don't move, Yumil!! Who cares about that!"

: "You must relax, Freddie. This is extremely important... Danika is an unstable being... She is a demigoddess, and the queen of the netherworld. If she does return as queen, the battle against the netherworlders will spread throughout the world..."

: "...Ogre Battle..."

(yep, that's still a thing)

: "That's right... You understand now? You need to hurry..."



well sure I guess you're allowed to do that one more time



: "Yumil... I'll make this world the way you wished it to be! I'm only an ordinary human, but I'll realize your dream! I'll do it... I promise! Watch me.... Yumil..."



Well, after all that, Frederick gets a bit of a conference-room upgrade. I wouldn't rejoice TOO much -- with this room's history, at least 4 people are going to barge in uninvited in the next 3 minutes.

: "Do you think the revolution was a success? Will this kingdom be able to recover? ...Will you let us go?"

: "Freddie, where are you planning to go?"

: "My fight isn't over yet. Resurrection of Danika... Ogre Battle must be stopped! We have to protect this land... this world that Yumil loved! I only know how to fight. It's sad, but that's all I can do. ...I must go!!"

: "...All the members of the Generic Army feel the same. ...Freddie, we'll go with you. Will you approve our leave, Frederick?"

: "I can't stop you... Yes, on one condition. You must come back. There are still many things that you must do. This is a new beginning for Palatinus. Promise me... that you'll come back alive."



Well with that we're back on the World Map. The revolution is, for all intents and purposes, over -- Lodis is in disarray, nobody has any idea where the Magnificent Asshole Brothers are, and the Palatinean royal family in its entirety is deceased. We're not done yet, though -- Yumil's out of the picture, but Zeda's still at large, and she's got Mari with her, which I guess is important for some reason. Before we do anything about that, though, we've got some business in Latium.



Specifically the only sidequest left in the game. I couldn't fit this into the Exploring the Central Region update due to wanting to do it before Latium, but this update is short enough to do it now. Send somebody to Vulge to start off.



: "There's a Berthan Church in Gothpicci, south of here. It's right in the center of the country. I'm surprised that Lodis hasn't found them yet. Okay, the story starts here. An angel appears in the church. This angel bestows gifts to those who do good deeds. Can you believe it?"

Honestly I'm having more trouble with the part of your story involving Lodis apparently hunting down and rooting out all Berthan churches. They are aware that like a quarter of the country is run directly by the Eastern Orthodox Church, right? Hasn't this grabbed their attention at all?



Well at any rate, the angel anecdote sounds like a pretty good deal too. Know who does good deeds? WE do good deeds. Let's go get some swag.



We're there, and just in time, too! In order to get this next thing to trigger you have to have Freddie show up in Gothpicci between the hours of midnight and 4 AM. Angels are night owls, apparently!



Oh it's just an Angel Knight, that's not so impressive.
I've got like two Seraphim working for me as we speak. You think this bush-league tier-1 crap is gonna win me over?



: "In the name of our great Mother Berthe, we have been watching your deeds. You have directed your energy to help the weak and the poor. Your actions are laudable. Here is a gift from Mother Berthe. Use it wisely, to accomplish your goal."



NOW we're talkin
Look at the codpiece on THAT thing. It's... beautiful!



In order to get the Southern Cross, you need to have: (a) a high Chaos Frame; (b) the Ansate Cross that nun gave us forever ago for killing those thugs for her; (c) the Pedra of Bane; (d) the Pedra of Virtue; and (e) the Dream Tiara. That exact sequence of good deeds is enough to impress Flaum, and no other.

To be honest, for an Ultimate Sidequest Reward it's not really that great. It's just barely a step above the Rune Plate Freddie was already packing; the Ogre Armor and Armor of Death are both stronger than it. Your main reward here is warm fuzzies.



Sure does free up a Rune Plate for Europea, though! Hmm. I could have given her one already, apparently. Whoops! vv



With that, we're back on the World Map once more. Apparently, the ruins Yumil was talking about in his death monologue are in the West -- remember that one cutscene forever ago, where he and Ankiseth were hanging out on top of this Stonehenge-looking thing and some asshole knight came and gave him a sword and a pretty servant girl and there was a totally inexplicable earthquake that wasn't foreshadowing anything at all? Yeah, that's where we're going. See you guys then!