Part 37: To the Face! Again!

"I think that pretty much sums up the situation, yes."

"I think that's three votes for getting the hell off this island as soon as possible."



"Maybe that's the next thing we need to fight for a spirit?"

"Looks a bit… derpy… for that.. let's keep moving inland."




"I guess that's one way of looking at it. Pretty darn fatalistic if you ask me."

"Sounds like they deserve whatever they get. We're definitely not sticking around."



"The shopping is pretty nice, though. They're pretty fashionable for a bunch of tomato men."

"I don't even want to know why they have bikinis in human sizes, though."



"He could help you escape the island… but… the entrance to his cave is blocked off."

"A large boulder fell on it during an earthquake. You'll have to find another way in."

"Pfft. If the only problem is a boulder, I can fix that myself."



"They have some really strange Goddess statues around here."

"I'm not sure if they converted a Goddess Statue into this.. thing… or if it's evidence that there's more than one deity…"

"I think I'm okay never going down that road again."

"Never mind that. Boulder! Punch!"

Some few minutes later...



"You know.. we should have asked more questions about where this boulder was before leaving town…"

"Is there any chance this rock right here could be it?"

"C'mon, what are the odds?"



"….."

"Shut up."

"That… looks like a very extensive cave system… let's go exploring."



"Are you… are you the Sea Dweller?"

"'cause we were kind of expecting someone with a boat."

"What? NO!"

"I am Jagan. I have come to follow through with the Dark Prince's prophecy… to end your lives."

"The who with the what prophecy now?"

"Oh for the love of…the Lord of the Underworld? Bigieu sent me. You screwed up her plan in Rolante."

"Was she the thing at the gate? Or the one in the throne room?"

"I think the throne room, but.. it's kind of fuzzy.."

"Hehehe… I'd tell you, but you're about to die anyway. This volcano will erupt at any minute!"




"I think this is a pretty clear sign that it's not at all connected to the elemental spirits."

"At least try not to punch it until we're safe."



"No worries, I think you're right. Not sure if this is better or worse than a ship, though.."

"It might be a bit better if there was a house or something on his back."



"We go back to Forcena… ask about other Mana Stone!"

"We're close to Maia… whatever that thing was, it sure knew to bring us to the right place."



"Use that for advertising. Cannon Travel, only for the brave!"

"That's.. actually not the worst idea I've ever heard. Color me surprised."

"Anyway… if you want to go to Forcena again, go on out back."



That never gets old. No matter how many times I travel by cannon.



"You still have four more to retrieve. I'm counting on you."

"Wasn't there something you were going to tell me?"

"Eh, one of these days. You've got spirits to catch."

"One of these days, old man…"




This time we'll be going to the Desert first, then the Snowfields… because that's the reverse of how we did it last time. Also, (presumably) this works out better with Angela because there's a lot more enemies in the Snowfields weak against fire than there are enemies in the Desert weak against ice.




And we'll be doing these in the same order, because there's not much choice.



"Thanks for rubbing it in."



"When did you learn to play the flute? That's a bit unusual for a beastman."

"What do you mean playing the flute? I can't hear a thing."

"It's your weak human ears."



It's more and more clear as the game goes on that Lise and Hawk's storyline is the primary storyline in the game. No matter who you go with, you're going to be dealing with Bigieu and Jadan first and foremost. Now we're going to Sultan, which concludes that story arc.



"And you all laughed when I bought that bikini. Well, who's laughing now?"

"The people on the street who are watching a woman in a bikini wandering around."

"Sunburn is a real problem."



"Hmm… maybe this will cover me a bit more?"

"Your armor keeps getting skimpier and skimpier with each passing store."




"So.. ninjas are your big problem around here?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."

"The world is a far more interesting and wonderful place than I would have believed."



"And kicked its ass."

"What!? You've been on it!?"

"That's one way to put it, yes."



You might notice that I'm a bit underleveled compared to the last time I played this. Previously I did some grinding to get a class change before going after the last four spirits. As a result, this village is a very welcome refuge.



"Better and better!"



"You've got NO idea. The heat out there is beastly."

"Even in a leotard."



"Stupid girl.. you'r not cursed anymore, so look alive!"

"Bill, Ben… this is your last chance to prove yourselves. Guard the entrance!"

"W… wait!!"



"Yay! Ninjas, just like everyone promised!"

"Fusion!!"




Bill and Ben are even more of a pain in the ass at this level, with all the same tricks. At least this time, they lasted more than a few seconds.



It's one of the few fights that just… ends. With no fanfare. With that, it's just a few rooms to the next bit of plot.



"Don't come any closer.. or the girl goes into the flames!"

"!!"

"That'd be a lot more effective as a threat if we actually knew who she was or had any reason to care about her."

"This guy's a bit soft… but we know what the stakes are. You're trying to wreck the world."



"To the face!"

"Hahaha… I see you brought company! Well… until next time!"

"That's just freakish. People should die when they're killed."

"Did she just drop that girl?"

"Is she… okay?"



"Hang in there, Jessica!"

"… Hawk…"

"I'll bring her to Deen to recover… you hurry to the Mana Stone and stop Bigieu!"

"Why is it that every time that guy sends us ahead we've got the hard job that involves something trying to kill us?"

"Quit complaining! He's being generous and letting us have all the fun!



"Pity I couldn't use Jessica's soul to do it… I had to use Bill's and Ben's…"

"So Jessica's soul was worth twice as much as Bill or Ben's?"

"Virgin sacrifice and all that, you know."

"That certainly paints a different picture of Hawk…"

"but their sacrifices will not have been in vain! My master, my Dark Prince… the holyland is ours!"



"Just like in Altena… it seems that everyone is after the Sword of Mana…"

"If the Sword falls into the wrong hands… there would be another worldwide catastrophe!"

"Maybe instead of keeping the legend of the Sword of Mana alive you should just stick it somewhere out of the way and let people forget about it?"




"Awww…we didn't even get to punch something until you came out!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, kid. Better luck next time."



And with that, we've reached a decision point. How shall we develop these characters?