Part 42: Chapter Forty-One: The Empire Falls

Chapter Forty-One: The Empire Falls

I decided that bringing Pahn, Cleo, and Gremio would mean the most to our victory.



: Although the Imperial Army is defeated, the Emperor himself is a very powerful man... cough... cough!

: Master Mathiu! Don't strain yourself any further. You shouldn't be outside.

: Tir, please fulfill... my sister Odessa's...dream.

Before we do that though...



How much Gregminster has changed...



All of the doors are locked, the birds are gone, and the fountain has dried up. Enough of that, we must defeat Emperor Barbarosa.



: You're... I remember now. You're the one who let us go when we were disguised at the Fortress of Kwaba...

: Yes, and I believe your name was Schtolteheim Reinbach III.

: What do you want? Please let us pass.

: I can't. I am an Imperial General.

: The Imperial Army is virtually finished! Please let us through. I owe you one, and would hate to harm you.

: Even if the Imperial Army is defeated, I cannot betray Emperor Barbarosa. If I, Ain Gide, betray him, who will he have left? Master Tir, if you insist on going any farther, you will have to do so over my dead body!

Okay.



That was pretty simple.



: Yes, he was wrong. But just as some things can be right and useless at the same time, can't something be wrong... and priceless?



At any rate, we made our way inside the Palace, when we were attacked by...



(Seriously, every few steps there's a forced fight with a group of these, and the groups get larger as you go farther into the Palace. It was pretty draining on the healing supplies )

We were getting closer to Barbarosa, I could feel it. However, I was drawn to another room...



I felt as if it were critically important to touch this orb before fighting Emperor Barbarosa...

(The box had a Power Ring, if anybody was wondering.)



: Look at this garden... a beautiful place full of flowers in bloom. This is the end. It is all that remains of my Empire. Tir, I shall protect my Empire. With my own hands! Dragon King Sword, give me power!

En Garde, Barbarosa!



: Kasim...

: You've changed, Your Highness. Why? We believed in you.

: Kasim, I've missed you. And I miss those days we fought together.

: You were deceived by that woman. By Windy.



: How dare you insult His Higness!

: Don't be silly.



: Ha ha ha ha ha! Now it's your turn, Tir. This Empire is dead. But I'll still take your Soul Eater! Give it to me.



I'll give it to you alright.



Is that...?



It's the souls of the people I've lost...







: W-why do you reject me, Soul Eater? You control life and death, and eat sould. I am your ideal host. Together, let us take revenge on this cursed world. Even you reject me, Soul Eater! Even the most cursed rune refuses me!



: What are you doing?! I'll destroy you with my magic!

: It's no use, Windy. The rune on my Dragon King Sword, the Sovereign Rune, is protected against any form of magic. Even the Rune of the Gate.

: But with the Black Rune... you were..

: I lied.



: I loved you.

: Liar. You loved my resemblance to Claudia!

: That's not true. I wanted to erase the sadness that lies hidden deep in your eyes. The sadness of one who cannot accept others. I loved you. But that was a mistake. It was my only mistake. But it cannot be forgiven.

: Please... please stop it, Barbarosa.

: As a result of my mistake, I lost my Empire. Tir, what kind of land will you create in its stead?

: Emperor Barbarosa!

: Emperor...

: Your Highness!

: Farewell!





: The end of the Emperor.

: And the end of the Empire.

: I don't think this palace will hold for much longer. We'd better escape.

Run Away!

The Fate of the 108

The End?

I'd like to thank everybody who read, voted, and helped push this LP along. It was a lot of fun, and perhaps I'll do another LP someday. For now, I'm going to pass the Suikoden data to Nephrite so he may start working on the Suikoden 2 LP.  Don't worry, he's going to take care of the TcDohl issue and other carry-over data. 

About the Blacksmith Unite: I messed up, and waited too long to make a recording of it. I don't have any saves where I can put in 5 people. I'm sorry.