Part 148: If you feel the strength of your conviction is stronger than my own...Then let it speak for itself!

-Axis Pillar-







-Liber Ark-



Only one Enforcer still stands in our way: Loewe the Bladelord. And after him, there's nothing left but the Anguis himself. Time to bring out the big guns.







She'll understand what we said to her someday, right?
Personally, I'm hopeful about her. Renne's a smart girl--smarter than I was, anyway. She'll come to understand it all eventually.
Yeah! Yeah, I bet she will.
I hope...I hope she and I can play again someday.
You'll meet her again, Tita. I know you will. Just keep believing, you know? After all, it took a while, but I met Joshua again, in the end.
Haha. True enough.
Ah...yeah! Renne will figure things out on her own, right? I'll believe in Renne like you believed in Joshua, Estelle!
I hope we can go shopping again someday...



One of two whole times I've ever seen Shadow Spear work.

















-Axis Pillar-



You know how Agate does it by now.











Care for a rematch?



















Ha-hah! Not bad!

















Here...We're not done yet!









All right! We rule!



This is the point of no return. The endgame starts once you board the next elevator.













-Silver Will-



No lie, this'll be tough. But if I can just get Clock Up EX or Clock Down off then I've got a fighting chance.







Your souls shall burn in the flames of Hell.







-Disappearing Star-



...Huh.



Alright then. Let's get stupid.





-The Enforcers-



I thought you would keep me waiting a little longer.
It just means we've grown a bit. Granted, all your buddies did their best to hold us up.
Well said.
Do not think the Bladelord is comparable to those you have beaten, however. Few can match me in a direct confrontation.
Even among S-rank bracers and the Anguis.
Pfft. Pretty friggin' cocksure, aren't we?
Trust me, we're painfully aware of how strong you are.
But we came here for a reason. We're here to put a stop to all the strangeness the Aureole is causing, and to shield our homes from the threat of chaos and war. We've come this far with the help of countless people, and now we're carrying all their hopes.
So we have no intention of standing down. Or losing to you.
A solid enough conviction.
But you're here for a different reason, aren't you, Joshua?
What?
As always, you see right through me.



I'm here because...I want to face my weakness.
It's what destroyed me while fleeing the pain of Karin's death. It's the reason I continued to follow Weissmann's orders without question. All of that was born of my weakness.
That's why I'm ready to face you and Weissmann head-on, Loewe. I feel I owe it to the person who made me face those weaknesses...
...and I need to fight for what's important to me, no matter what.
Joshua...
...
Time for you to leave the nest, then. My promise to Karin is fulfilled.



Now, at last, I don't need to hold anything back. This WILL be everything I have.
But hold on a second! I still don't get why it has to be this way! If you're worried about Joshua, then why--
It's okay, Estelle.



Conviction alone won't be enough to make Loewe back down. It's time I show him that I have the power to make my conviction reality.
Precisely.





-Silver Will-

I have made my choice. If you feel the strength of your conviction is stronger than my own...
Then let it speak for itself!
We will!
If that's the only way...then BRING IT ON, LOEWE!
All right. I have SO been lookin' forward to this!
Can't let the Gralsritter catch me slackin'! Let's do this!



Enough is enough, Loewe Leonhardt Lorence. You're going down today.







Feel the sting of the swordmaster's blade!





I think Lion-O might know I'm trying to pull some nonsense here.



But he's only delaying the inevitable.







Even if you got past the other Enforcers without using SPD mods, they are absolutely vital against King Richard. Renne and Pater-Mater were immune but he is not, and you need every ounce of SPD you can get.



And that's why Father Kevin is dressed up like a kitty cat.











I wasn't sure about the Time Gem or cat getup, and the first section of the chapter probably wasn't the right time for them, but they turned out to be seriously strong. As long as Kevin can lay down the Max Guards faster than Aslan and his Riot Sabers can strip them away, this battle is as good as won.















Meanwhile, Estelle is stuck on Agate babysitting duty again. It's just like old times.













MGM's defenses are kind of absurd.













Unlike Bleublanc and Luciola's mirror images, Simba's Body Split produces a complete, battle-ready double with most of his moves and immunity to Clock Down. He can do this twice. In the original PSP version he could do it as many times as he liked. I don't even want to think about how that fight must have been.



























Mockery is the last refuge of the coward, Burt Lahr.



We flew to a place we've never been. Now you're a lion on the cold hard ground.