Part 33: CH27: She was Never a Person
CH27: She was Never a Person
: Time to head out, but there was one curious thing to look at before they left
: Look, there's a spirit fossil! What's it doing here? Its mana is completely gone.
: It's because Elympion soldiers used a spyrix here. : What? Elympion soldiers were here?! 
: Yeah. The day after I fought with Alvin. You had a terrible fever from your injury, so I'm not surprised you didn't notice.
: Did you beat them? : No. They were just passing through here as they fought with soldiers from Rashugal. All I did was hide out in the shed. Pretty lame, I know.
: I'm surprised you didn't step out and fight. : If I'd gone out there and gotten killed, you'd have been all alone. What I really need to do lies elsewhere.
Now come on, let's go.
: Yeah, you're right. 
: I think we might be coming back to this.
: Oh?Skit Video: A New Departure
: Yeah. Maybe he's grown a little tougher? 
: Young men can mature dramatically in very short periods of time. 
: Jude seems to have found the resolve to confront the harsh truths of the world. 
: Women grow up too, you know! 
: We have no choice but to. 
: Yes. 
: So you can grow big bazongas like Milla! 
: That's... That's not the sort of growing up we mean! : Hahaha. 
: I shall do whatever I must to see you all safely into adulthood. Skit Video: Stress Relief
: Are you getting tired? 
: Ah, a little bit. Things aren't the same as they used to be. : Hey, Elize, can we borrow Teepo for a sec? 
: Huh?! 
: Give Teepo a squeeze. You'll feel better. 
: Oh! This does feel good! Just the right amount of resistance. I could do this all day!
: No, stop! I can't take anymore! : Ahhh. All the stress has drained through my fingers. : I know, right? It's crazy addictive. : Oh no... He's going to get all stretched out. 
: I feel so violated. : While they were leaving, mysterious things were going on!
: Lord Maxwell! Please answer me! 
: Someone must have been influencing Milla, possibly controlling her. : Why am I no longer receiving orders?! : Did the Four share with her the truth? Impossible. They would never disobey my command. Hmm.
What... What should I do?!
Milla, why did you stray from the path? I know not what to make of this.
Skit Video: Interrogator Elize
: Pretty much. 
: Did you cook for him? : Yeah, sure. : And anything else? : L-Like what? 
: Elize, if you have something you want to say, come say it to me straight! 
: You're the one who needs to be telling it straight! : Nothing happened, okay! Nothing at all! 
: Uh... 
: Boooring. 
: That's too bad. : You'll get him next time! : Damn it, Elize... I can't believe you had Teepo bad-cop me like that. : So they arrived at Fenmont at a good time.
: What's going on?! Woman: Aaah!
Somebody help!
: This is terrible! 
: And unfortunately, not surprising. Elympion soldiers are popping up in cities across Rieze Maxia. : Because Gilland's gone now? : That's part of it, no doubt. But on top of that... 
: He's terrified. It's Muzét, isn't it?
: She's been swatting 'em like flies. : Stop! 
Elympion: Urgh...
Rashugal Soldier: Freeze, all of you!
: So you survived after all. : Gaius! : Throw him in a cell. These people are with me.
Elympion: Stop it! Let me go!
Rashugal Soldier: Come quietly or else!
Elympion: All of Elympios will die at this rate! What did we do to deserve this?!
: Gilland said the same thing. : Wow, Gaius! When did you start ordering around Rashugal troops? : Everyone in Rashugal succumbed to terror and panic after Nachtigal's death. I led them from the chaos.
: Wow, that's some trick! : What exactly are you doing here in Fennmont? : We are working with the Rashugal military to salvage the Lance of Kresnik from the bottom of the ocean. : Why? What do you want with the Lance now? : Exodus may be gone, but it's unlikely they've abandoned their Otherworld Reactor Plan. I will put a stop to it.
And you? What of your plans?
: We want to talk with Muzét. : Why come find me? : We heard you've been fighting her, so we figured you might know something. Au Jole Soldier: Your Highness, we're ready to set sail.
: Good. Come to the seahaven.
: How come? : Come with me, and you may get your chance to see Muzét. : We should join him. : Okay. The King of Rieze Maxia
: That is pretty impressive. But Leia, you need to watch your tone around him. You're way too casual! 
: I was legitimately afraid for your life. : Heh heh. Oops. I guess my excitement got the better of me. : You think Gaius was pissed? 
: Who knows? He never shows any emotion. : A man in charge of two nations probably doesn't care about such trifles. Probably. : Yeah, I thought so! It's no biggie. : But try not to get carried away next time, okay? : Indeed. Push a man like that too far, and you'll be dead before you see the sword leave his sheath. : Yeah, next time, I'll keep a lid on it. Skit Video: Tales of School - Part II
: I bet you want to go to school too, huh? Don't worry! As soon as we find a nice safe place for you to live, you can start going.
: I don't want to go. : Oh? May I ask why? : Because if I bring Teepo to school, won't they get mad at me? : You needn't worry about that. I'll ask them to let Teepo go too. : I can go too?! : Sure. Leia used to take dogs and cats to school with her! : Wouldn't Leia have gone to a, uh, rural school?: Does that make a difference?
: Then I do want to go! : Why didn't you tell us sooner?! : I hope we'll be able to send Elize to school soon. : Indeed. And I'd like to see you continue your education as well. Mark my words, Jude. One of these days, life will return to normal.
: Yeah, I guess it will. Skit Video: (To the Talim Medical School)
: What's up? 
: Coming back to Fennmont like this makes me miss my old medical school. : Then why not drop by? : You don't mind? : Nah. : You must've really loved it there if you miss it this much. : I guess becoming a doctor really is your calling. : Along their way they stopped by the medical school and ran into a guy Jude knew.
: Doctor Jude?! Hey, good news! You're in the clear now. Between Gilland's betrayal and the Exodus situation, no one cares about your charges anymore.
When everything calms down, they may want you to come in and answer some questions, but it won't be a big deal.
: But there are still wanted posters everywhere. : Yeah, I'm sorry about that. We haven't had time to take them down yet. : Well, that's still great news! Right, Jude? : Yeah. : I've been meaning to ask you, doc... What happened to that tall guy who was with you before? : ...... : You know, the one who knocked me down on the pier. : You mean Alvin? He's... Well... : Aha! I knew that had to be Alvin. : You know him? : Not personally, but my wife and I used to be close to the woman he lived with. Her name was Mink.
: Mink? : She's a real beauty. She wears glasses, and always carries a book around. You don't know her? : Hmm, do you mean Presa? : Uh, maybe? I'm sure Mink wasn't her real name. That's why I wanted to talk to Alvin, you see.
To make sure he knew her real identity.
: What do you mean? : We received some intel that said she was actually a spy. One of the Rats. : What's that? : They're spies from one of the Auj Oule clans. : Exactly. Mink made friends with a lot of Rashugal nobles and military officers and pumped them for secrets. If you see Alvin, could you tell him that? I think he has a right to know.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm late for my appointment.
: What should we do? : I dunno... : If it's something Presa didn't want him to know, then I don't think we should tell him. I mean, if even Alvin couldn't figure it out, she must have really wanted that secret kept.
: That's true. Well, if you feel that strongly about it, I guess we can keep her secret. : I'm betting he knows.: Anyway, it was time to set sail.
: His Highness is already aboard. We will depart soon. 
: Excuse me. : I presume you wish to ask about Jiao. 
: Yes. Do you know why he protected me during the battle?
: Perhaps he sought to make amends for his past crimes. : But he ended up dying as a result. : There are some who believe that nothing is more important than survival. But priorities change. Life starts to lose purpose when you've gone astray.
Sometimes the only means to make amends for one's actions in life is to die.
: ...... : I don't really understand. : Nor should you. You should focus instead on enjoying what you have. : How do I do that? : That's for you to find out. Jiao's greatest wish was for you to find happiness in life. Of that I am certain.
: Okay, I'll find a way. : That will put Jiao at peace. : If I may. : Full of questions today, aren't we? Let me guess. Is it about His Highness?
: What are Gaius' plans for Rieze Maxia? : No doubt His Highness will one day unite this world. That should tell you what you want to know.
: Thank you for your time. : What is it? : It's nothing. Shall we move onward? 
: That's why I want to meet the real Maxwell. To find out the truth. : He'd most likely reside in the spirit realm. : But, does such a place even exist? : And even if it did, we have no means of getting there. : Indeed, it's little more than a legend. But we know for a fact that spirits exist. So it follows that they must reside somewhere. Likewise, a path to their realm must also exist.
: Hey, what about Nia Khera? Don't they call that place the village of the spirits? : You have a point. It lies near a mountain known as the Hallowmont. Perhaps you might find a clue there. : Well, what are we waiting for? Let's check it out! : Don't get too excited. This ship isn't turning around before we reach the Lance of Kresnik. 
: Really? Come on, who cares about that stupid Lance. : Gaius, earlier you spoke of stopping the Otherworld Reactor Plan. I suspect you're planning to invade Elympios using the Lance of Kresnik.
: It is for the good of Rieze Maxia. : Hold on. You would need massive amounts of mana to use the Lance. : I understand. I do not wish to sacrifice humans or spirits. : Then, maybe we don't have to use it? : The reality is, someone must. : Oh come on! *THUD* *THUD*: You, uh, know people like that, huh?: Yeah.: Are you trying to finish what Milla started? : I never put it into that perspective, but inevitably yes, that is what I'm doing. No one has ever made such a strong impression on me.
: Then we also need to consider the fate of Elympios! : You're worried about them? At a time like this? They were willing to sacrifice every human and spirit life in Rieze Maxia!
: Why does one side have to suffer for the sake of the other? That doesn't sit well with me. : It wouldn't sit well with her, either. : She would destroy the schism and save everyone. That's what I want to do. : I'm surprised to hear such words from you. : ...... : Are you trying to repay her for what she's done for you? : Yes. : You've grown strong. Jude, join me and--
: Your Highness, we've nearly arrived. The salvage operation needs your attention. : Very well. : Gaius? 
: Jude? : Ah, yeah. After this, I bet that they'll rebuild the Lance back at the laboratory.
:So then, you were listening to m-- : Uh! 
: What's happening out there?! Soldier: Incoming from the southeast! It's her!
: Muzét, stop this right now! 
: They live? I should've known better than to trust that rogue. I'll deal with him later. : But first! : I hadn't had a good fight in forever.So it's been a while since we've had a fight that was difficult but fair. Now is the time.
This is actually my second go at the fight, since I died to a thing you'll see later.
Muzet's primary attack is her long and crazy hair. Here she leans backwards for a bit and it tunnels through the ground to stab you from underneath. The "bursts" of hair follow the target around.
Oh, and she can also just teleport away from your frontliners.
Up in the background is Sunburst, which hits the ENTIRE FIELD a few times for fire damage. Sharpened Petals is dangerous because it hits in front and behind her.
Oh and she has an overlimit.
Elemental Hymn fires four homing projectiles, one for each of the four primary elements. It's also her Arcane Arte.
She won't use it just once, no.
Illusionary Charge lets her charge-attack. Sometimes she'll teleport to someone else right after using it.
Binding Sphere is annoying because it sticks around and has a decent AOE, so if I use Snap Pivot to get behind her, it'll put me right in its AOE.
Like that.
Sharpened Whip attacks a cone in front of her several times.
Diffusional Drive is an AOE water spell, I think Rowen gets it at some point. It fires water projectiles up from within its area.
Stun Blitz is a strong frontal attack that fortunately doesn't have that much range.
So here let's take a moment to talk about one of my least favorite mechanics in Xillia. So attacks that are too "weak" won't stagger, represented by that hexagon-shield thing. Fucking guess if it benefits enemies or us more. I'm attacking her from directly behind and I still have to hit her more than once to stagger her. Note from the position of her hands that she is NOT blocking.
At least I got through before too long. It only takes about four hits before she's back to being unstaggerable though. IIRC there's some stat pair that determines how hard it is to stagger foes, but it's never going to favor you so fuck it.
Cyclone is another move she shares with Milla, although not one I used much.
Spire Throw does what you think it does.
Just with a little more dark energy than you were expecting.
Of course, the combination of Arcane Arte and Overlimit can mean only one thing.
She's going to do for us what she did for those ships.
Event Horizon, ladies and gentlemen. Area of Effect of "fuck you" and damage to match. It's quite arguable that this is the most brutal enemy attack in Xillia (or Xillia 2).
Fortunately it USUALLY can't reduce you below 1HP. Unfortunately Muzet has a lot of ways to get those last few HP off. So yeah, that's what killed me the first time. Note that everyone was at >75% HP before that hit.
If you watch the video, you saw me order Elize to cast this on me a bunch.
For some reason, I'd been under the impression Demon Fist was light-elemental. It's not. This is.
The little floaty light ball is hard to hit with, but Muzet can feel it.
Force Mine drops four dark energy mines on the field. I think Rowen triggered the one closest to the camera.
Event Horizon had reduced everyone to 1HP, but the burn status on Jude and Leia insta-killed them.
Thankfully Jude revived, Elize rezzed Leia, and then for Rowen I had a life bottle (HP Surge makes all revives return you to 100% HP, there's a TP Surge as well we'll be using soon enough).
Gravity Well.
She's got Rowen's Roche Waltz as well.
Ugh, Binding Sphere. Leia and I died to it, then Elize tossed me a life bottle and I promptly died to it again.
In a nice bit of serendipity, I manage to finish the fight with Jude's Mystic Arte. Still haven't shown off our other four party members', gotta remember to do that.
Unfortunately it's no longer as easy to grab 3 levels off a single boss fight.
: Four on one sucked it turns out.
After you beat Muzet, a bunch of seriously brave soldiers grab her.
: Phew! It's a good thing we didn't try tackling her on our own. Yeah, I'm sure Gaius would save your asses if you lost.
: Muzét, why are you doing this? 
: Why? All I am doing is-- 
: All I am trying to do is protect Rieze Maxia! That's what! : I mean… How does what you're doing protect Rieze Maxia?
: How am I supposed to know?! : So you are acting under order. : Please, you have to tell us. Where is Maxwell? We need to know. 
I'm also sure those guys are fine.
: What do you people want with Lord Maxwell? : So, there is another Maxwell after all. : Urgh! : Muzét! This can't be what Maxwell really wants, can it? : Of course it can! Lord Maxwell, is this not your divine will?
: Lord Maxwell! Please! Command me to smite these humans! 
: No answer.: *Sob* : What is happening to her? : I do not know. 
: Wingul, come, follow me! : Yes, sir! 
: Gaius, no! : After His Highness! Send word to the Chimeriad!
: Where are Gaius and Muzét? : You sure this is the right place? 
: What? : Why? : What's the big idea, featherneck?! : Are you going to tell us why you're doing this? : Because it's dangerous. ; What is? Us? : No, Jude. You. : Why would you say that? : Having Jude meet Maxwell may impede on Gaius' progress. Is that what you believe? : ...... : You think I would get in Gaius' way? : Don't let them escape. Soldier: Now, please come quietly.
: ...... 
: Ha! : Huh? Soldier: What?!
Yeah they're not going to bother pretending these guys can hold us.
: Teepo! : Pucker up! Mwah!
Soldier: Ugh.
: Hah! : Wait, really? : Now, let us find Gaius! : But where'd he go? : One place comes to mind. : The Nia Khera Hallowmont! : Yes. Precisely. : Come on, guys. 
: What? I'm not a mind reader! Skit Video: The Hand of Gaius
: He really caught us off-guard. : Why would he do that after he told me about Jiao? : When Wingul makes a decision like this, he's thinking only of King Gaius. : He would do anything, and stop at nothing, for the good of his king. : Ugh. He must really look up to Gaius. : I think it's more complicated than that. 
: Gaius and Wingul aren't friends? : They are friends. They share the same ideals, and they walk the same path. : Which is what makes it so complex. They are close friends, and yet at the same time, fierce rivals. : What does that mean? I don't get it! : Leia, do you understand? : Not really. I guess it's like the dude version of being a catty schoolgirl? : Heh. That's... Well... That's surprisingly accurate, actually. Skit Video: Erratic Muzet
: She was never a person. She's a different spirit! : She's no different. This was her true nature all along. : I don't know if that's the case. : How come? : She's just been following orders this whole time. : I wonder what she's feeling inside? It could be completely different from her outward actions. : She might simply be lost, like I used to be. : ...... 
: Oh boy. Here we go again. : Don't get me wrong. I can't forgive what she's done. It's just... : I know, I know. Nice-guy Jude has to walk a mile in the enemy's shoes. : Just remember what we're here to do. : I know. She has to be stopped. : We have to stop her.