Part 14: Part 14
Sue's dad is dead, but look on the bright side: we have a Princess!
Let's put her to work.
Now, being a princess, Jessa isn't very-
-strong-
Yeah, I don't know. I assume Mortred taught her to defend herself. Slightly less useless damsel in distress than one might have expected!
Before Tristan takes her away and gives us another 200 bucks, I'm going to make sure everybody knows what I did. That way, it'll be harder for
THEM to CONCEAL THE TRUTH or something.Video: Homecoming
Princess Jessa?! Pardon me, your highness. I didn't recognize you.
Mrs. VIK: The Princess?!
Dear me! I never thought I'd see the day when I'd meet Her Royal Highness!
The screen pans to the right.
DAI: Princess Jessa?! I... I don't know what to say.
EDWARD: My dear Princess! Your loveliness is a blessing to us all!
Dai! What's the matter? You're blushing!
Not sure why they're all so excited; can't imagine she looks all that great after who knows how long in that cell. Then again, I guess some people are into that sort of thing...
Speaking of the princess, there are two slightly different versions of her in the artwork..
I can kind of understand dealing 30 damage with a kick if she's wearing those shoes.
(How she does it without breaking an ankle is another matter entirely.)
Haven't you got something else to do, old fella?
OLD VIK: I'm embarassed!
Forgive 'em, m'lady. A common lot, they are.
You should know better than to bring royalty to a joint like this!
You'd better take her back to the castle right away!
However...
(Yes.)
OLD VIK: That's nothing to joke about!
Mrs. VIK: Wait a minute. You're just pulling Old Vik's leg. Aren't you?
(No.)
OLD VIK: That's nothing to joke about!
Mrs. VIK: Wait a minute. You're just pulling Old Vik's leg. Aren't you?
(But thou must!)
OLD VIK: I knew it all the time! Now go on! Take the Princess to the castle!
So you can't use the tavern to recover until you deliver the package, meaning you don't get to enjoy Jessa's kung-fu fighting for very long.
(Note that she has no objections when you say you're going to run away with her...)
PRINCESS: Oh father! My dearest father!
...at least someone gets a happy reunion with their father.
KING: I feared you were lost to me forever!
SUE! Words aren't enough to show my gratitude!
Here, take this MAGIC RING as a token of my appreciation.
MILO receives an item: MAGIC RING
The MAGIC RING can recover our MAGIC POINTS which is AWESOME.TRISTAN: A fine job, SUE! I take pride in your accomplishment!
I take pride in the fact that I accomplished something else and you know exactly what I'm talking about you old goat.
VYRUN: I bow to you, SUE. If only there were more like you in the realm.
Vyrun has his lifetime membership card in the Sue fanclub.
VYRUN: By the way, have you ever heard the Song of the Shining Knight?
"Blessed by Water Spirit. Armed in Light. Darkness fears a Shining Knight."
That song bothers me. It would flow so much better if you nixed the "spirit".
Blessed by Water, armed in Light
Darkness fears a Shining Knight
Songs are supposed to be catchy, damn it.
KING: SUE! Words aren't enough to show my gratitude!
PRINCESS: I still can't believe I'm home!
I have SUE to thank for my safe return.
I think she's going to join the fanclub too
THEOS: There's no time to rest! We've yet to defeat the forces of Darkness!
Oh, Theos. Can't you ever just be happy with something I've done? And what's this "we" talk, you're just going to stand there with your thumb up your ass the way you always do.
THEOS: I almost forgot. I found something interesting regarding DEMONBREATH.
First time I hear about it. Did I miss a talk somewhere?
THEOS: Legends speak of a Dark Wizard, who once wielded this terrible spell.
He met his doom at the hands of a man known only as the Shining Knight.
Sue is totally not going to become a Shining Knight 
It would seem that Dark Sol's powers grow each day!
If he's grinding on the fifth floor, he has us at a disadvantage. Gotta find those stairs soon so I can catch up...
Back in town, we finally get the credit we deserve.
OLD VIK: You really saved the Princess!
Way to go!
I just knew you'd do it! I didn't doubt it for a minute.
Old Vik is full of shit, but it's kind of nice to hear it anyway.
Mrs. VIK: Hello there! I thought you'd be coming around.
Hey, everybody! Look! It's the hero of Thornwood!
Mrs. VIK: SUE, you're really something. Things'll be fine with you around.
Mrs. MYST: It's nice that ye rescued the Princess. But yer crazy to face Dark Sol!
"Feel free to take my daughter with you when you do, though."
Mr. BRAX: Congratu...what's up? Why the long face? Hey! Are you alright?!
Mr. Brax is the only one who notices the pain behind Sue's stoic exterior
EDWARD: Have you met the Water Spirit -- the Patron of the Shining Knight?
If not, find the Arms of Light. Then you must find the Spirit's Fountain.
It's on the 5th floor of the Labyrinth. You will also need another item.
A VIAL containing the tears of one who holds you dear to her heart.
"designated love interest GO so Pyra did you know I'm an orphan now that's a really sad story right I mean it kind of makes you want to cry doesn't it"
"He's not talking about me you dumbass."DYAN: Dark Sol, the very name sends shivers through my soul.
Damn you guys are melodramatic today.
Here's the Magic Ring.
But I'm going to sell it. I need the inventory space.
Remember that thing we picked up?
It also opens the Bronze Door. Handy!
Despite liberal application of Peace, Kaiserkrabs are out in force. Pyra and Milo turn them into crab salad.
Sorry, "krab salad".
Peace doesn't work on these either.
A flail to the face does work on them so let's move on.
Remember those cell doors we've been seeing fucking everywhere but been unable to do anything about?
Cave of Strength.
Damn, that feels sweet.
I think, this might break if it's used too much.
I will be using it. It'll be great.
Just not right now.
Cave of Courage
I AM BECOME DEATH, DESTROYER OF WORLDS.
No, it's not cursed.
Yes, it is the best damn item in the game.
Yes, I say that even with the Light Blade sitting in my inventory.
Just you wait.
Just you fucking wait.
Cave of Truth.
It is another Magic Ring.
The stone door also yields to the final key.
Cave of Wisdom.
It's-
-a goddamn chest monster.
A weakling chest monster.
Well, at least it wasn't a very long walk.
Next up is the second floor, and this is the last time we're coming here.
I'm taking advantage of an event monster to show this thing off.
It hits everybody. Monsters. Characters. Everything.
Muddle 1 is a shitty spell. Muddle 2, a spell we don't even have yet, is something completely different. And the Demon Staff is... basically Muddle 3.
"Confuse" status tends to be pretty boring in most games.
Much like other games, being confused in Shining in the Darkness sometimes makes you punch yourself in the face.
Sometimes it makes you punch other people.
But you haven't seen anything yet.
Hey, are you thinking what I'm thinking?
If what you're thinking is that the demon staff should be used on everything, then yes, you're thinking what I'm thinking.
Well, that was... something!
EVERYTHING.
...see what I mean?
This may look familiar.
Yes, that was what I used to get those shots of the first Kaiserkrab.
"I'LL SHOW YOU MOTHERFUCKERS 'ARMED IN LIGHT'"
Uh.
Oh, and that stripping business? Actually unequips all your gear.
The cell chest on this level contained a Barrier Ring. Probably the worst actual treasure so far, and worse yet since we already had one.
(Still not as bad as a goddamn ghost.)
And here is the last cell chest, and it contains...
...another piece of the Arms of Light.
Milo disses it, but...
...it's a big upgrade over any other shield in the game, which Sue is quite thankful for.
We're also going to relocate this thing.
DEMON STAFF EVERYTHING
When enemies hand over their treasure, it's the same thing they'd normally drop. It's probably easier to get this to happen than to grind for drops, since the rate is so low.
The Iron Lance is outdated, but still pretty strong. (The steel version is actually just ten points weaker than the storm sword, so if you buy one the moment the Trader opens his store, you're set for a pretty good while.)
...I shouldn't make stupid assumptions.
Still, as long as Milo lives, we'll be fine.
The Doomblade seems only to appear as a drop from Deathmasks. It has a pretty badass icon, and despite the name, is not cursed. Unfortunately, though, it comes in far too late to be useful.
Interestingly enough, several FAQs don't even list this thing.
Edit: Turns out the Doomblade can cause instant death:
It's still not common (or fast) enough to make the sword more useful than other, stronger weapons for Sue, but it is a pretty cool ability.
Oh! Oh! Oooh! This thing! It has a thing! It will be mine.
THE SOLUTION TO ALL PROBLEMS.
not now sue
Not that either!
Yes.
Yessss.
This.
Is
It is three points stronger than the Great Flail.
That is not the point.
The point is that with this thing, Milo is hitting three times per round.
THREE.
TIMES.
PER.
ROUND.
It's goddamn ridiculous.
It's goddamn awesome.
This thing also isn't listed in a lot of places.
(I found out about it myself as a kid because I fucked around with the Demonstaff whenever I had a chance.)
Medallion relocated! We're doing great.
...are you thinking what I'm thinking?
I bet you are!
It kills itself, but not before...
...handing over its treasure.
This is why you don't forge the mithril axe for Milo.
Too bad I'm never going to equip it because
SUPER FLAIL 
Milo also gained the final level of Burst while he was at it. Milo is a 'splosion-throwing head-bashing killing machine.
The final floor beckons...
Stormsword (110 WF), Frost Armor (64 AF), Light Shield (50 AF), Lighthelm (40 WF)
Sue's defence is beginning to not suck. For an item Milo thinks is "nothing special", the Light Shield is pretty damn useful. Just one more of the Arms of Light to go!
Super Flail (31 WF, THREE HITS), Mithril Armor (68 AF), Madu (20 AF and 15 WF), Mithril Helm (32 AF)Milo's high natural defence and the fact that he has the armour and helm instead of robe and hood means he doesn't particularly need a new shield. Flails are weaker than axes, so the boost from the Madu is still quite nice for him, and the fact that it's applied thrice doesn't exactly hurt matters either.
Steelwhip (35 WF, GROUP), LightRobe (44 AF), Mithril Shield (40 AF), Mithril Hood (26 AF)
Nothing new to say, and she still has higher AF than Sue - the difference is just smaller now.
Next: The final level.
You have no idea how hilarious I find it that the weapon icons are just the right size to be replace the axe in
.