Part 32: No Help From Wendel

"Uh.. no, there's no Kevins here!"

"That's what I thought, but I wanted to be sure. Thanks!"

"… That was close…"



"I'm not exactly with them, but that still sounds like pretty good advice to me lady."



"…Maybe?"

"Really!? Where did you see him?

"Um… well…"

"Were you lying? How dare you! … but you were just trying to cheer me up, right? Thanks…"

"One of us is confused, and I'm not sure which one."



"Quiet down, you idiot!"

"Oh, Beast King's secret, huh… I understand."

"Thanks. And don't tell anybody. Even if you tell Lugar, this is so secret that he'll have to pretend he doesn't know too."

Side Note - Kevin's expression when he gets caught is hilarious and never gets old.




"What? No! I just didn't expect anybody else to be here.. and you kinda.. fell out of the covers.."

"You couldn't resist my beauty, then? Well, I suppose just this once I'll forgive you. But!"

"I'm keeping my eye on you…"

"The outside world is full of strange people, and this is only the first city I've visited."



The gate guards have the same reaction to Kevin that all the other guards in town have. Unfortunately, this means they can't just get out of the way and let us pass.



So the natural response is to murder the shit out of them.



"They kind of are.. you might want to leave."



Kevin uses knuckle and claw type weapons, rather than just using his pure fists of fury to destroy enemies. It's worth noting that even the iron knuckles, as pictured here, appear to have spikes on the outside edge.



"Where I come from, we have strange lights over the lake all the time… but I come from a place where it's always night time and there's a giant glowing tower."



"Hey! Put that out! Some of us are trying to sleep here!"

"...I think somebody needs an ass-kicking.."



"What are you doing making all that light so that people can't sleep?"

"Oooh… I'm all right now. Who might you be?"

"Holy Luna, you've got wings!"



"Beastman? Well, beggars can't be choosers. You'll just have to do."

"What?"



"Well, I'm going to Wendel anyway, but I'm stuck at the waterfalls…"

"Oh, that should be no problem if I'm with you."

"Let's hurry! A disaster is taking place in the Mana Holyland…"

"Mana Holyland!? That's...



"Oh dammit, I told them they were coming. Might as well go see how bad it was.."

"Let me tke a rest inside your head for a while…"

"What? Wa, wait a minute!"



"Understood!"




"Wait, I thought he stayed back and sent his lackey to do this?"

"It's still all his fault!

"We have to hurry to the Priest of Light, and tell him… Wendel is in danger…"

"That's really about all we can do at this point."

And so, they set off for Wendel...




"But.. Wendel is my home…"



"What? You're going to see Grampa? My Grampa is the Priest of Light!"

"So maybe saving Carlie will give you good luck!"

"Ha! Maybe, as long as he doesn't want me to marry you. You're not my type either, and besides, you're way too short!"

"I'm enough of an adult to beat you over the head with this flail if you don't treat me like a lady… and besides, I don't want to be your type anyway! There's somebody else I have my eye on."



"Wha? Heath wouldn't bother with some kid like you!"

"Heath, is it? Do you comprehend the irony of you being the one to tell that little girl that she's too young for Heath?"

"I'm 15 years old, Fido. There's plenty of women my age getting married. She's all of about 7. Heath… just hasn't realized my womanly charms yet."

"That's probably because they're running a few years late. Don't worry though, some people just take a bit longer to mature."



"Aren't you going to come in with me?"

"My grampa and I… well, I didn't exactly leave on the best of terms."

"I getcha. I won't let him know you're out here, either."



"Priest of Light? Can you bring my friend back to life? He's a little wolf named Karl…"

"What is your name? Listen, Kevin… all living things eventually face death."

"All lives must end at some point. But, each life is connected to another…"

"So.. can you bring him back or not?"



"Wait, so are you saying he's still alive somehow? What do I have to do…?

"As long as Karl is remembered, he will live eternally...

"So that's a no, then? Fine then…if I can't have him back, then I'll have vengeance on the Beast King!"



"The Mana Tree is starting to wither, and Mana is disappearing from this land…"

"Holy Mana Tree, a freakin' Faerie!"

"Thank you! That's what I said!"

"If the Mana Tree dies, the eight God-Beasts will awaken to reclaim this world!"




"You've got to go to the Holy Land and draw the Sword of Mana so that the world doesn't end."

"And I need to hitch a ride inside your head, since there's not enough Mana left for me to stay alive outside of it."



"It's not that simple, I'm afraid…"

"Once the faerie chooses a host, it can't leave until the host dies…"

"I don't care about the Sword of Mana! All I care about is getting revenge for Karl!"



"You've got my attention. But how is the Sword going to do that?"

"The Sword of Mana is the center of power for all the Mana spirits…"

"It is the impliment which the Goddess used to create the world."

"He who holds the Sword of Mana has the power to reshape the world, create and destroy life…"



"If it'll let me get my revenge on the Beast King…"

"But… how do we get there?"



"You'll need to release the energy of the eight Mana Stones…"

"The Goddess closed the Gate to the Holyland long ago, and sealed its energy inside the Stones.

"Then… how do we get it back… ?

"There's a spell… but… it's kind of cursed."

"How cursed?"

"You'll die if you cast it cursed."



"The eight Spirits who guard the Mana Stones… they could probably help us.

"With their combined energy, we may even be able to open the Gate…"

"That may work… Wisp, the spirit of Light, resides not far from here."

"Some people have even sighted nimbi hear the giant waterfall, in the Cave of Waterfalls…"

"That's awfully convenient… well, if that's what it takes to start my revenge, that's what it takes."



"Whatever you want, kid. Just try not to get in the way while I'm kicking ass. Can you do anything in a fight?"

"Hit things with a blunt object?"

"Good enough. Let's take a rest before we get started"



"You might want to leave the room for a minute… I'm going to use the dirt box here…"

"What? No! That's not what that's for!"

"But…"

"The outhouse is out back. The little shack with the moon."

"Fine.. but I'm going out exploring while I'm out."



"Some of them. Most of the soldiers aren't THAT strong, but the upper ranks are pretty tough."

"Are you done yet?"

"Eh.. sure. This place is kind of dull, all things considered."



"Waterfalls and large gaps can't stop a beastman!"

"I might have had something to do with that, you know…"



Full Metal Hugger. It's pretty much the same, except that with Carlie as our second character we only have two people to fight with.


The Kevin Effect

Regardless, it doesn't go well... for the Hugger. Kevin is just that much of a bad-ass.



"So I can just punch all kinds of strange monsters until the Mana Spirits pop out?"

"I don't think that's quite how it…"

"Shhh. If that's what works for him, don't mess with it."

"I'm finally free! The faerie told me all about you folks. You've got a lot of work ahead of you."

"But I'm like the faerie, I can't live without Mana… so I'll go along and help save the Mana!"

"Well, that's nice… but the Mana Stone of Light? Do you remember where it's at?"

"Up above us, but we can't get there from here. Don't worry about it, though, it'll be okay as long as the Mana doesn't completely vanish."

"That doesn't reassure me at all."



Some things just don't change.



"Falling! What the hell does it look like we're doing?

"AAAAAAaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"



"Lugar… you're a jackass…"

"Hahahaha! I'll be sure to tell the Beast King you were helpful… and that I took Wendel while you were slacking off!"



"Help… me… I think I can see my ribs…"