Part 63: Update XLVII - A Very Bad Idea

Update XLVII - A Very Bad Idea



♪ BGM: A Truth Revealed - WraithTouch.mid ♫

Alright, so next up will be some main quest stuff. Our current target is the Elras hideout, marked by this flag because I already stumbled over it at some point earlier.



♪ BGM: Hidden Spells - horror3.mid ♫

We're slightly below level for this area, but "slightly" in this case means one level, so whatever, it's fine.



We need to search for the spell!
Well then, let's go!

Let's!



This place is just a large cave with enemies strewn about. There's really not a lot of interesting stuff going on here.



The only enemy type around are these Elras mages. These guys are interesting, because they actually don't have a regular attack command in their behavior lists. Instead, they have three different spells, two that attack the entire party, and one that hits one party member. Now, this sucks, but there's of course one wonderful side benefit to this - if we cast Silence on them, they're completely helpless, since all of their potential options are disabled by Silence.

So basically, we make our way through this cave, fighting Elras and picking up assorted pieces of loot that are not really notable.



And eventually, we make it to our destination: A set of bookcases that will hopefully hold the spell we want. Also, ignore the chest, it's locked and therefore will never be opened by us. Fucking locked chests. Now, let's check the bookcases.



of the leader of the Elras, and nonsensical blabbering...
Hm, there really doesn't seem to be anything here!

Damn. Let's try the next one.



Hmmm...
Well, nothing here...
Keep looking!
Hey, here's a spell book!
Excellent! Take a look inside!
All the pages are blank!
Damn it!
No, wait! Here are a few pages filled with writing!
What kind of spells are in there?
The first two pages are recipes for the rune synthesizer. On the third page, there is the correct spell!
Poisonous Fire Recipe obtained! Poison Rain Recipe obtained!

Note that if we don't have the first level in the ancient languages skill, Valnar will just be unable to read the two recipes, and we won't get them.

Finally we have some luck!
All right, so we also found the spell now! And you are sure that you really want to go through with all of this, Alaine?
Yes, I have to!
But let us at least do this in a safe location!
Then I would suggest we go back to my castle. The magic chamber is suited perfectly for this!
Fine, I also think that's a smart choice.

Alright, let's make that happen. We teleport back to Asgar's castle and get to work.



♪ BGM: Asgar's Castle - blood009.mid ♫

After one short trip that reminds me once more that I've completely forgotten where the hell it is, and that the actual castle part of the castle has become completely and utterly peripheral to the central tower, which, really, was a good design choice overall, since it keeps everything you'd want to access in one convenient area.



I'm not so sure about this...
And you are convinced you are willing to risk it?
Yes, I need to know what kind of life I had before I became a vampire!
I hope it pays off...
I'm sure of it! And now, let's begin!
So it has to be...



♪ BGM: Megalomania - Laughter2.mid ♫

Ah. This music tells me that somebody is about to make a very reasoned and well thought out decision.

Do it, Valnar.
I don't know...
It is the only way to learn more...
But it's dangerous. What if we won't be able to bring you back?
We have the blood and the spell. It WILL work!
I'm scared!
Don't worry! Everything will be fine!
I can't do this!
Do it, Valnar!
I...
DO IT!
...
JUST DO IT! STRIKE!
I... love you!



Yes, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!? YOU FOOL! YOU KNEW IT WAS A MISTAKE!
...
We never should have let it come to this! How insane is this plan!?



Oh, Alaine! Just how did it come to this? I hope you'll be successful...



I hope she can bear the agony.



♪ BGM: The Crimson Realm - Trident.mid ♫

And with that, we join Alaine in the world of the Blood Ghosts. To note, the music in this area is also joined by several wails of the damned, much like the atmosphere of the magic chamber.

So this is it... the Crimson Realm. I wonder if I will find every vampire here that has ever died? All the vampires from the Holy Crusade? I need to be strong! Where is that damned Vincent Weynard!?



Now, the Crimson Realm is a bit of a maze, but nothing major. It's just a bunch of twisty and turny stuff going on, with plenty of people for us to talk to along the way. We start in the area in the bottom left, and Weynard is in the red rectangle area very slightly to the right of the middle of the map.



Uhhh... I... don't... remember...
Hm, it would seem he had been transformed and executed immediately. Poor guy.



Help... me! I can't... bear the...pain... anymore!
Seems to have been stuck here for quite a while...

I don't think we can expect too much help from these guys.



ARRRRR... the pain... uhhhh...
Sordid fourth generation rabble...



ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA... PAIN, PAIN, PAIN!
I think this one will no longer be able to help me...



AAAAAAAAARHHHHHH... CAN... YOU... FEEL... THIS?
Yes, I'm also currently suffering extreme pain...
ROAAAAAAAAAA... No... something... else...
Hm, what do you mean?
UAHAAAAAAAAHHHHH...



And then he just explodes into a pillar of blood, apparently.

What was that?

Good question. Something tells me we're going to find more questions than answers here.



VINCENT... TRAITOR...
Traitor? What do you mean?
Fought... against vampires... his bite... his strike...
He had bitten his own companions and then killed them? He was truly insane.



ARRRR... he must... SUFFER!
Yes, but where can I find him?
Torment him... forever!
Not very chatty...



Why don't you stop it? I have other things to do.



Vinceeeeent... Weeeeynaaard! HE... MUST... SUFFER, SUFFER, SUFFER, SUFFER!
My sentiments exactly. So, where can I find him?
Seeeeaaaaarch sooouuuuth! AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR...

Hey, that's the first helpful advice we've gotten so far!



So of course that Blood Ghost then explodes and disappears.



WHYYYYYYYY THIS AAAGOOOONYYYYYY?
Because you are a vampire who got his head cut off.
ARRRRRRRRRR... I WANT IT TO STOOOOOOOOOP!
It probably won't anytime soon...
NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Alaine: Making eternal suffering in the vampire afterlife just that little bit extra shitty.



PAIN, INFINITE PAIN!
Get a hold of yourself and give me an answer!
Theeeyy... disappear! I... also... want to...
Where are they disappearing to? What's going on here?
AAAAAAARRRRRRRR!
With some vampires, it's really not much of a loss.



Whyyyyyyyyy... ARRRRRRRRRRGH... MEEEEEEEERCYYYYYY...
I can't help you, either...



He... one bite... then... this agony! AAAAAHHHHH...
The vampires didn't even stop for defenseless women. Well, not to mention for their executor...



It's... cooooooooooming... noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!



Damn it, what's going on here?



Vincent... he... AHHHHHHHH! No, not the PAIN!
Where is he?
Nor... th...
Thanks.

We're really close now, so let's just head to Vincent. However, there, we actually find an old friend of ours!





YOU? YOUUUU? The little whore!? The bitch that cut off my head? HARHARHARHARHARHARHAR!
What's there to laugh about, you worm?
You are here. And with that, you have received your rightful punishment! Welcome to the world of eternal pain!
It is a feeling of satisfaction to know that you have been suffering here for quite a while...
You're going to catch up on that time, whore...
If you are here, then Vincent can't be too far away... you're probably still his little lapdog.
Correct. And yet wrong. Vincent has become a worm. A worm like you!
Has the pain smushed his mind?
If that were true, he would still be smarter than you, little whore.
Apparently, your choice of words hasn't changed despite all the years of agony.
Irrelevant. You are what you are. A little bitch.
Step aside, I want to speak with Vincent.
Why should I let you pass? There is NO reason!
And how do you think you're going to stop me?
Do you feel this tingling? This tingling between the bursts of endless pain?
What about that?
It is the end of every one of us. Why is it so empty here, I wonder? Empty, despite the fact that we brutally slaughtered several hundreds of vampires...
Okay, tell me.
I have found out about their plans from Vincent.
Their plans? Who are you referring to?
HARHARHARHARHAR... you will never find out!

Spoilers: We will find out.

Wretched bastard, now let me through already!
Never!
How are you supposed to stop me, anyway!?
No... oh, no! Not now! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I haven't even started yet!?
I'M CURSING YOU! SUFFER FOR ALL ETERNITY!



And then Abraxas blows up as well.

What is this now? Oh well, at least he's no longer in my way.

Alright, let's have a chat with old Vinny.



It is too late... my actions, unforgivable...
You're not feeling remorse now, are you? It's absolutely too late for that!
They're getting us. They're consuming us. It is only a matter of time...
Who, damn it, WHO? WHO is getting you? What is going on here?
Alaine... Alaine, is that you? Alaine, I love you!
Are you kidding me? It seems your brain has been cooked for too long!
I didn't want to... I couldn't...
Damn it, I think this is going to be harder than I thought!
The book, THE BOOK!
What about the book? Speak, wretch!
Your book!
My book? I'm sorry?
Your book! It is YOUR book!



Awright, it's flashback time!



♪ BGM: Silence ♫

We cut to the Elras spell book floating down a river...



...and eventually washing ashore.



Alaine then walks in, currently in her "working for Weynard" phase.

After all, Sir Vincent needs it for a healing potion for the poor sick Mirai. The flu she caught has gotten worse. I hope Sir Vincent will be able to help her.



Then, she spots the book laying there.

A book? Hm, I guess Sir Vincent should take a look at this. After all, he knows his way around magic and healing. Maybe this book will interest him.



And then we cut to Vincent in his still incredibly sinister-looking dungeon.



No, unfortunately, but I did find this.
What is it? Hmm?
It is a book, Sir Vincent. I don't have much knowledge about this, but I believe it is a spell book!
A spell book? Let me see for a moment...



Do you have any use for it?
I think so. Thank you very much, Alaine, that you brought me this book.
But of course. I want you to be able to help the people in Asran with your healing knowledge, after all. And if this book will be able to help you with that, then that's a wonderful thing!
Nevertheless, I still need the Laxen root for the healing potion.
I'm going to look around the forest east from here for now. Perhaps I can find some there.
That would be lovely. What ever would I do without you?
*giggle* I'll be back soon!

And then Alaine heads out.

Hm, this book is interesting. Very interesting, in fact.
What is a Blood Spirit? Peculiar, peculiar...
Hm, if I'm deciphering this correctly, then this is a spell that turns someone immortal.
Immortality...





♪ BGM: The Crimson Realm - Trident.mid ♫

Brought... and turned me into that which I had become...
You have turned yourself into a vampire with the help of that book, you created more vampires, and after some time, you started a Holy Crusade in order to attain the rank of a high priest. But why high priest? As a vampire of the zeroth generation, you were endlessly powerful. Why did you want to become a high priest? Why? I don't understand what you had to gain from that? Fame and glory couldn't have been your goal, right? And where did you get the souls from, the souls you needed for most of the spells created by the Elras?
Your rejected love. It made me cast the spell that had cursed you. I don't know about any souls. No, no souls... something happened when I casted that spell. I had new goals... new goals, new points of view. Something forced me to transform myself into a vampire. It forced me to create vampires. To hunt them after they had killed many people and monsters. Only then, and not too early...
Only after the vampires had killed many people and monsters? Why?
I... don't know... to kill monsters that I created. Before the vampires.
You have created the monsters that are roaming the earth?
Yes, I... have created many monsters. Mankind was afraid. But the vampires were filling them with terror... I was their savior. Vampires killed monsters and humans, I killed the vampires... during the Holy Crusade.
But why the rank of a high priest?
Device... dark device...
A device? What kind of device?
...
Vincent, what kind of device?
I can't remember...
Damn it!
...
Vincent, what kind of person was I? How was my life? Where did I live? Who were my parents? How did I meet you?
A nice young lady... yes, that's what you were. You were from Asran. Born there, lived there. Once upon a time, I came to Asran in order to offer my services as a priest and healer. You wanted to... support my work. And shortly after, my assistant. My secret love.
You were in love with me from the beginning?
From the very first day... the very first day...
But when I rejected you, you cursed me! And for that, I hate you for all eternity!
It is over...
No, it is not!
It's over! Over! I can feel it! They're coming!
Who's coming? Vincent, WHO!?
The tingling, the tingling between the bursts of agony!
Yes, that is what that worm Abraxas also said! But WHO is coming? WHAT is happening here? Why are all the Blood Spirits disappearing?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I REPEEEEEEEEEEENT...



And I guess that's it for Vincent.

I guess that was it! I'd better get out of here! I should concentrate and try to manifest in the real world!
"Manifest" available!



Now, we're on a timer. Five minutes to get back to the real world, or else it's blood explosion time for Alaine.



We now have a new spell available. And when we use it...



...we manifest in the real world for a second...



...and then are teleported back. Now, the basic gist for this segment is that there's a specific place you are warped for every part of the map. You can't really tell on the map I posted unless you really zoom in, but there's lines of events placed all around the map that switch the number that tells the skill where to teleport you to another number. So you need to find the right area of the map that teleports you back. Where is that area? Well, it's actually not that hard to figure out.



It's where we started. Let's blow this popsicle stand.



♪ BGM: Asgar's Castle - blood009.mid ♫

She's been gone for too long now!
If she doesn't come back, I'm going to kill you!
Isn't the vivification spell meant to be used on humans that you want to turn into vampires?
...

Good timing on that, Valnar. Just marvelous fucking timing.



♪ BGM: Megalomania - Laughter2.mid ♫

You didn't stop it, either!
This is just more proof of your complete incompetence!
If you wish to lose your head, then come at me! I never liked you anyway!
Without me, you'd be NOTHING! Your pathetic existence would have ended a long time ago! Even the worms would have avoided your corpse!
Okay, that's it! You're after Alaine once again, I bet! But she never wanted a psychopath like you! And that's what you are! Insane! Unpredictable. Irrational! Dangerous to both of us...
Alaine doesn't love you! At best, she feels pity towards a worm like you! The desire for a truly strong vampire sleeps deep inside of her!
All right, so now's the time! Come here...



I am your CREATOR! Your instincts will prevent you from striking me. YOU ARE NOTHING!
...





♪ BGM: Silence ♫

ALAINE!
You're in so much luck, pal! She's returned!
Come on, revive me already! This pain is unbearable!
Quickly, Valnar, go and use the spell! I hope it works, for your sake! Otherwise, you might as well say farewell for now!
At once! Where is the paper?
Here! You have the blood...
IRSK NOS FUM LAHR! URZO WUSTRO MON! AM IMN PAT JOL!



And after some red flashes and screen shaking, she's back!

Were you able to find something out!?
Did you actually meet Vincent Weynard?
Yes, but not only him... I'll tell you everything...
Your luck, Valnar...



With that, we're dropped into a save screen, and that can mean only one thing - we're due for a grandpa segment! Tune in next time, when the fact that we ended up conquering all of the castles before really starting on the main plot comes back to bite the game's pacing in the ass, as we end up posing a lot of questions that will be answered in the same update.