Part 27: Feinne II

Chapter 16- Feinne II

Saturday

Afternoon

I don't really know what to write, but I feel like I should write something. I just feel, I don't know, sort of numb. I guess I should write about what happened, but I'm still trying to make sense of it all myself. Did we make the right choice? Could we have done something differently, avoided this horrible battle? I just don't know. And now I guess I never will.

We went to Raide. The few guards remaining at the World Eater seemed to be living in a makeshift camp surrounding it. I'd have pitied them, but on the battlefield that's not a luxury available often. Their behavior seemed sort of... odd. Almost like they weren't fighting to stop us, but just to slow us down.

VIDEO




What the hell? Is this an ambush?!
Doubt it. They wouldn't have the time or energy to set up something so elaborate.
This is most likely their home.
Loyal soldiers having to live like this... how pitiful.
This makes things much harder...
There's no way to avoid the knights before getting to the World Eater.
Crush them all now, or save our strength... I guess that depends on Gig.
That's right! Don't forget to call on me when things get tough, alright?
Remember, I kill more people by 9am than most people do all day. Hehe.
For Lady Layna...! I'll twist its head like a bottlecap!
Is that really the best you can come up with?

We beat them pretty decisively, but rather than retreat they seemed to pull back to surround an area off to the other side of the World Eater. We realized that things were only just beginning to get bad. But what happened next... I hope I never see anything like it again. Nobody deserves what happened to them.

VIDEO




Could it be... fusion?!
!! I see... they're going to use the Crimson Tear to attempt a fusion with the World Eater!
So they got the Crimson Tear back...
Looks like they've been working on this for a long time. I guess they finally figured out how to make it work.
Hmph. I can't imagine a more foolish or reckless pursuit.
Hey, hey, wuzzat?! Someone's coming!

The king of Raide and his remaining guards appeared on the scene. It seemed the mastermind had finally shown himself.



We didn't ruin anything!
That fool of a Grand Cordon didn't understand anything!
The country doesn't belong to its people. A country is nothing without its king!
So said Lord Median himself! And I quote, 'I am the key to this land, and this land is my doorway'.
Raide is my doorway, don't you see?!
What fools the masses are to rise up against someone whose vision extends well beyond the simple here and now!
I hope that ridiculous Thorndyke is burning in hell right now, lamenting his inexcusable actions! Hahaha!



There's nobody left to fight for you! For all your talk, you're helpless!
Hehehe. Haahahaha!!! You are but a child. You know nothing!
Behold!!!
A Crimson Tear...!
The time has come for my divine fusion!
Mage Hilde! Show them the fruits of our labor!
Wh-what's going on?!
Heh. Watch this. They won't like her when she's angry...
She was always my favorite. Proud and stubborn, just like me...
Now way would some two-bit parlor trick work on her.
Bahaha! It's working! It's working!!!
My dear World Eater... With you, I shall-!

And then all hell broke loose.



In a single mighty blow Feinne had nearly destroyed the entire capitol of Raide! I can only thank the gods the revolution had emptied the city, but the death toll still must have been catastrophic. But the worst was yet to come.



Ahh! Hyaah!
H-help us...!
Wh-what are you doing?! Unhand me! I am the King of-!

And then Feinne... ate them. They just vanished as though they had never existed. Nobody deserves that.



This one's usually pretty calm, but she's damn scary when she gets mad.
Forget that play fight you had with her before. She's serious this time.
You want my opinion? You're dead meat. Hehe.


Dead meat or no, we had no choice but to go. Beings like that shouldn't exist on this world, they're simply too dangerous.

VIDEO




Let's kick her ass!
Y-y-yeah! L-let's do it!
I'll s-s-s-snap 'em in h-half!
...
Even if I tried to run, you'd just summon me right back. So I might as well just stay put...
I wonder if Sis'll miss me when I'm gone.
I sure hope so...
...
Aw, screw it!



And I'm sure Lady Layna will get your corpse to your sister when it's all over!
Live without regret!
Then let's go!
Heh. Glad to have a ringside seat for the worst beatdown in history.
I hope you've decided which god to pray to, cuz you're gonna need a miracle.
Heh heh heh...

We were as prepared as we could ever be. And it was so insufficient as to be laughable. We never even got close to the damn thing before it pounded us into the dirt.



You know, you're pretty tough for spineless slugs. But... just die already.
There's no such thing as a miracle. Don't be stupid.
...
Hm?
Hey! Hey! Hey, look!
Is that reinforcements?!
We're over here! Over heeeere!
Is this our miracle?!

As it turned out, it was anything but.



Kuryukuryu. (The country's gone poo-poo.)
Kyurukkuku! (How scary!)
Whooo that's one big sonuvagun!
And it's movin'! I'll be damned. Damn thing moves slower'n my old lady!
Gyararugu... (You sure we should be so close?)

And then as suddenly as they appeared they were gone.



...!
Hold on... there's still a chance...
Perhaps our miracle has arrived, after all.
Hmph. Looks like your friends came after all, young man.
!!
Oh ho! You lied to me, my boy!
Looks like you've got friends coming out of the woodwork!

Christophe had arrived at the head of an elite force of mercenaries!



All: !!!
Christophe!!!
What are you doing here?!
All I've been hearing about these days is all the trouble you've stirred up.
You never cease to amaze me. First, you kick off a national revolution. Then you face the World Eater head-on?
Frankly, I got sick of you hogging all the limelight. So I figured I'd get in on some of the fun!
But if you don't need my help, I can just take my friends and head home, if you like.
M-Master Christophe... I don't know how to thank you...
Oh, and Levin! Your sister's getting impatient with you!
If you don't come visit her soon, she's gonna make us both suffer.
Y-yes, of course!

But that wasn't all.



So I figured I'd come back to help you guys.
If Thorndyke were here, I'm sure he'd do the same. Hell, he'd probably have wiped the floor with it by now.
This damned World Eater is the root of the weeds that have overrun Raide.
Until it's dead, I can't take the next step in rebuilding our new nation.
Those knights who still remain loyal to Thorndyke have offered their services.
Just once, we'd like to do something to actually help our homeland.
Galahad...
Oh come on! You're all so... mushy!
Okay, so, you're begging us to let you all in our gang, right?



Let's dominate them all.
Thank you! I owe you everything!
Hey, kid. Doesn't this many people feel a little suffocating?
Just so you know, everyone gets way stronger when we're summoned.
Is that so?
Hey, shut up, ya dumbass! Stop givin' away all our secrets.
I still don't trust this Christophe punk. There's something fishy about him.
Oh, come now. After everything we've been through, you still can't trust me?
No. No I can't.

We were all ready. I could practically feel a surge of power. We could do this!

VIDEO




Feinne on Soul Nomad:

We get a MAX Gigify edict for this map, which increases our level by a whopping 2000. You only get these on certain story maps, and you have to use them there or you lose them. This is how we would have beaten Feinne if we'd gotten the Bad Ending early on.

Oh, and here's Feinne's other attack, Calm Death.



It seems to hit much harder than Ego Drive.

Feinne let out a ghastly howl of pain and rage. Had we finally won?



That one's for the Grand Cordon!
Hrm... Something's not right...



Sure enough, Feinne was far from defeated. She devoured the soldiers still near her, and then turned her expressionless gaze towards us.



Whaah?! What's going on?!
Gh-! Let go of me, fiend! I said let go!
How can this be?
!!
Son of a bitch!
Hey, kid! Listen, you gotta give me control. You need my help!
No way.
Don't be so stubborn!
This is serious! We're in deep shit! When she gets like this, there's not a human alive who can touch her!



Dammit...!
Graah!
Look, numbnuts... Your friends are in trouble!
Aren't you supposed to have a kind, noble heart? Aren't you supposed to save them?
Now she's coming this way!
What will you do if I give you my body?
Oh, geez, huh, lemme think...
I'll use it to kill everyone on the planet! Haahahaha!
No deal.



Agh, here it comes!

We were all dragged in close to the World Eater. Gig decided to see if he could reason with it.



...
That's it! I am royally freaking pissed! I'm gonna rip off your head and shit down your neck, you overgrown asshole!!!
Okay kid, I'm gonna give you my power. I don't even care anymore.
Gig...?
Call it a loan! You can pay me back later!
Here, just take it! Kick the shit outta that bitch!



I could feel the power flow through me, and in an instant I knew that nothing could stand against the kind of strength Gig had. No wonder he was the way he was. That sort of power almost screams to be used. Powerful as Feinne was, I shattered her body in a single blow. She let out another unearthly scream, and began to spark and shudder.



It is for good this time...?
Thorndyke... Did you see its death from heaven?

And then it came. Something I'll never forget no matter how long I live. The questions it gave me might haunt me forever. Feinne began to... cry.



Is it... talking?
It sounds like a woman.
What's she saying...?

And then, just for a flash, I saw something, and I realized. I'd heard that voice before...



Lisoa ne... lemori...
Fasira... mahri...
Leshura...
Leshura...?
Gig?
Lisoa ne... lemori...
What is it?
The wheel of birth... returns? No, that's not quite it...
But I've heard it before... Long ago...

And just when we thought everything was over, things got worse.



Frigging hell...
Gig!
I guess I'll... see myself out...

And with that Gig was silent. I don't know if he's just asleep or... No. He couldn't have died. He's Gig the Indestructible.

I keep telling myself that. And I keep telling myself that there's no way I could have ever seen that sad woman named Resilience from Gig's dream in that giant monster. But I'm just not sure. Why didn't we ever think to just talk to the damn thing? Maybe we could have found a way to... I don't even know. And now I never will, I think. Feinne is just as silent as Gig now. Its body still looms, like a grave marker for the kingdom it destroyed in a single day.

We're going to meet, figure out what to do next. Myself? I don't know what to do any more.