Part 28: Feinne Interlude 4: Stirring of the Truth

I am concerned that you may cause him some form of brain damage if you keep kicking him in the head like that.
Pretty sure I can’t make anything worse.
I OWasn’t even knOWcked OWt this time STOP THAT.
Fine. Baby. Anyway you’re up.
Ah, right. So, after the heroic efforts of the noble handmaid Ivar rescued the great Maxwell from grave danger…
Hmm, I seem to have not hit you exactly the correct number of times.
U-Umm, so after the events of the swamp, the great Maxwell’s party was separated. And then she had a mysterious dream sequence, oooooh! Truly befitting the great Maxwell!

Video- The Dream

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???: Protect the schism.
What?
???: If the schism is lost, nothing will stand between the world and spyrix.
That’s right. I must protect Rieze Maxia from spyrix.
???: You must protect spiritkind and humanity alike. That is your purpose in life.
Exactly. If I die, the world would be in grave danger.
???: Maxwell cannot die.
That’s right.
???: You must not choose death.
Never!
???: You must never choose death.
When Maxwell dies… When that happens…

She awoke alone in a strange place.



(That voice. I swear I’ve heard it before, a long time ago.)
Ow.
(I wonder what happened after I passed out. Is everyone okay?)

The great Maxwell seemed to be someplace cold, a useful piece of information from which she could surely deduce her location given time.
Do you ever listen to yourself talk?



Jude?
Urgh!

That pathetic loser was not there, though! Instead, it was one of the soldiers from the swamp.



But a single soldier is no match for the great Lord of Spirits!



We fight a single soldier here, even if I didn’t two shot him with crazy devil’s arm powered artes he’d be really easy.

Yeah, but he wasn’t alone, was he?
W-Well, no, I was about to get to that. Clearly a tactical withdrawal was in order, as befits the genius of the great Maxwell!
Okay seriously I’ve put up with that quite enough and you’re going to stop saying it.



Urgh!
I was too careless!
Heh. Self doubt, hesitation, dreams. It’s like I’m becoming human.
It’s been awhile since I’ve been alone.

The gr-um, Lady Milla wasn’t alone, however.

Video- “Reunited”

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Milla!
Thank goodness.
We never thought you would wander off on your own. We were most concerned.
I’m sorry. I was careless. Where are the others?
We don’t know.
Huh? What in the world happened?

They brought Milla up to sp-
Hey! Whose story is this? Anyway they brought Lady Milla up to speed.



Who would’ve thought those people from Auj Oule would come to our rescue.
Indeed.
I am certain the others are safe.
I hope so too.

Their mystery attackers that I really need to be clear I had no part in bringing there and I mean come on how could anyone predict that? Oh, um, yeah, so the ground shook from them attacking somewhere nearby.



What are those things?
Wow, Rowen. I figured someone your age would’ve seen everything by now.
Hmph. I assure you that’s not the case.
What’s wrong?
It’s… It’s nothing.
Let’s just look for the others. They must be close.
Right.
Shall we explore the cave?
Why am I feeling this way? Is it because of the dream?

They entered the fiery cave, which of course Lady Milla was entirely familiar with.
I mean what’s the point of the story if you’re just going to make crap up so she looks good? They were totally lost.
Ah! But that meant they knew where they weren’t! Very valuable, lets you know where you are not going to end up!

Video- The Truth

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I haven’t the faintest idea.
There is still much in the world that remains a mystery, even to me.
Are Wingul’s words still troubling you?
Are you worried no one’s around to unify things now that Nachtigal’s gone?
You could say that.
For all his stubbornness, Nachtigal had a gift for unifying the people.
Rashugal’s recent growth is a testament to that.
I dread what will happen to it now.
The question of whether I could do anything to help constantly plagues my mind.
I’m sorry. I never realized it all affected you so much.
Quiet!
Huh?

A pair of nefarious enemy soldiers approached!



The soldiers from the marsh.
Soldier A: What’s so special about Maxwell? She looked just like a regular ol’ broad to me.
Soldier B: I can’t believe they want us to capture that witch alive. What a big waste of time. Killin’ her would sure be easier.
It would appear they are alone.
Maybe we could squeeze some info from them. You know, rough ‘em up and stuff.
Perhaps, but could we really capture them with just the three of us?
Soldier B: Huh? Did you hear that? I better go check.
Soldier A: All right, watch yourself.
This is our chance.
Right. We can do this.

And that’s where Milla managed to make too much noise and tipped him off.
Q-Quiet, Lady Milla would never do something that embarrassing! It was clearly on purpose.



Soldier B: What is it?
Urgh!

A-Anyway, they easily crushed the soldiers!



Which of course meant they failed to actually capture one of them.
Details!



I’m sorry, you two.
No need to apologize.
Yeah.
You know we’re here for you, right? You can tell us if something’s wrong.
Hm?
Doesn’t matter what it is. And you might feel better getting it off your chest.
……
What do we have here?
Could this be a spyrix?
It’s a spirit fossil!
Milla, I assume you know something about all this.
I do.
Is it also possible you know where these people come from?
……

This was where Milla decided to actually give her friends some useful information for once.



What?
Uhh, what? I don’t understand.
This world, Rieze Maxia, is surrounded by a spirit arte known as the schism.
Outside the schism lies a world called Elympios.
And these people came from there?
I am certain of it.
Soldier A: Urgh…
Milla, does Jude know about this?
Perhaps I should’ve explained this all to you sooner.
Be on guard, you two. Something’s coming!

Their hopes of questioning the injured but alive soldiers from the mysterious world of Elympios were sadly dashed by the appearance of a monster both terrible yet also pathetic compared to the might of Lady Milla!



That was close.
Urgh.
We must leave this cavern immediately. We can worry about finding the others once we’re out.
We’ll finish our conversation then.
Very well.

They didn’t actually get all the way out before stopping to talk again.

Video- High Heat

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Do you think I have what it takes to be a nurse?
Are you asking because of what happened to that soldier? The best nurse in the world couldn’t have saved him.
It’s not just that.
The main reason I want to be a nurse…
…is because I thought it’d be nice to help Jude. You know, as my job.
What’s wrong with that?
Are you troubled by what Agria told you back in the capital?
A nurse’s job is to help sick people, right?
I just worry that my patients would question my motivation if they knew.
Hmm, personally, I don’t think motives are particularly important.
But what if I start making mistakes?
I might start thinking it’s the effort that counts. I’d be giving myself excuses for my failures.

They were interrupted by the terribly rude monster from earlier.



Except now, it sounds even more ticked off.
The soldiers likely encroached on its territory while they were searching for us.
Where’s it coming from?
Milla, behind you!
Ergh.



Now we fight the Fire Teagle, as well as a couple of its little spawn. It’s pretty aggressive and can do some nasty charging attacks but it’s also very vulnerable to being knocked on its ass with Death Knell. You should definitely do this because you can steal an Omega Elixir from him. Fire spirits will spawn as adds during the fight, they’re not a huge threat.

That oversized fire dog was no match for Lady Milla!



It happens to the best of us. Don’t let it trouble you.
What is this maddening feeling? I don’t know how to describe it, except to say it gets in the way whenever I need to focus.
Are you okay?
So, back to your question from before.
Huh? Uh, right.
Results are always important, yes.
But what’s even more crucial is the resolve to do what must be done.
Even when I lost the Four, even when I became crippled, I still had the willpower to complete my task.
Indeed. Without will, success cannot follow.
Yeah. You’re right. Hopefully, I’ll figure it all out.
B-By the way… What do you think about me wanting to work alongside Jude someday?
Don’t worry, I won’t abandon either of you before you find your answers.
I’m not sure you got the gist of my question, but thanks.
Guess I was just imagining things?
All right, let’s go. The exit should be ahead.
Yes.
Okay.

And then…
Stop, stop, that’s enough. I can’t listen to one more minute of your drivel. We’ll have to continue this another time.