Part 25: Ending II: The Good And Cowardly One

Alright, so that's one ending down, three to go. This time around, we're still going to be good, but Alaine won't be so fond of Valnar this time.



As such, the change kicks in here.

I will NEVER allow you to do that! And Alaine won't either!
Oh, Valnar, you know, it's probably not all that bad to be the bride of the most powerful being in the world! Because I love him!

Well, she might love him, but I feel like this is more learning a lesson from the past. Next time a super powerful creature with designs on world domination wants to make you his immortal bride, you maybe don't turn them down.

I can't believe what you're saying! YOU WANT TO HELP HIM?
...yes! We will rule together!
Exactly, my beloved Alaine! WE will rule! Over EVERYTHING!
I'm going to stop you from casting these spells!
Oh, Valnar, if you could see yourself now, prancing around like you're a big man! If you really want to stop me, then how about a little game? I'll give you one chance to stop me!
I'll KILL you!

From then on, everything proceeds as normal and we get sent to Asgar's nightmare world again, just this time with Valnar alone.



This time, it looks a bit different. Dialogue goes largely the same, though with an added bit at the end.



You damn BASTARD! ASGAR, I ARE GOING TO KILL YOU!

Can you tell that Marlex just copied and pasted a lot for these different endings?

Come and get me! But before that, I want to reveal your true colors! Because you've become a truly "kind-hearted" vampire! Can you believe that? A vampire that helps and protects humans!
I'LL KILL YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE TO ME!

And again, Valnar gets changed into his paladin form.



Like I thought! You've really become a honorable vampire! It will be a joy fighting you! COME ON!
You're going to wish that you had never created me!
Valnar, you've made your last mistake! In the beginning, I thought that we could become friends! But now you're on the wrong side...
I can live without your FALSE friendship, Alaine!
It's a shame, there was a lot of potential in you! But now, come and get your final death! Isn't that what you always wanted?
I'll destroy you!
Give it a shot... oh, before I forget it: I've taken the transformation spells from you. Obviously, you're going to go through your nightmare on foot...
That won't stop me either!
And of course, you're never going to come to my castle again either!



So now we're off on our second romp through this nightmare hellscape.



The map has gotten simpler, obviously because going through this shit with one party member less is hell enough.



The enemies here - "ether mutants" and "chimaeras" (which I don't run into) - are significantly weaker than those we mostly ran away from before, and again, for good reason. These enemies only have regular attacks, so if Valnar is properly kitted out with defense gear, he's practically invincible. Still, I can't be arsed, so I just run away from everything.



We make it to the end without any problems, we've got the demon summoned, let's go.

The game is over! I've found you, and now I'm going to destroy you!
Well then! Try your luck!
You really are just a small, unimportant vampire...
FOR HUMANITY!
HARHAR! Come on, knight in shining armor!



So this time around, we're fighting two enemies, not just one. Let's see their stat blocks:

Asgar:

HP: 2000
Attack: 330
Defense: 430
Intelligence: 190
Agility: 180

Attacks: Normal attack (50% chance to use), shadow attack spell that hits the entire party (25% to use), ice attack spell that hits the entire party (25% to use).

Status effect resistances: Immune to all.

Attribute resistances: Takes normal damage from regular weapons, resists light spells and is immune to all other attributes.

Alaine:

HP: 1500
Attack: 320
Defense: 400
Intelligence: 200
Agility: 210

Attacks: Normal attack (50% chance to use), fire attack spell that hits the entire party (25% to use), healing spell (25% to use).

Status effect resistances: Immune to all.

Attribute resistances: Takes normal damage from regular weapons, resists light spells and is immune to all other attributes.

Well, this is interesting. They're not as strong as Asgar was as far as damage is concerned, but there's two of them and only two of us, which is a problem. Furthermore, we don't have any good healing spells available, which is a double problem. Not only do we have to use items to heal, which only heals one person, but the demon can actually not be healed by items. I think you're not supposed to be able to heal the summons in general, but it was impossible to make it so that they weren't affected by healing spells. So with none of those available to us, the demon's life is on the clock.

So of course, I do the only thing I can do - spam the stat boosts with the demon and hope to get lucky.



And wouldn't you know it, I get lucky. A couple Attack boosts and a lucky crit later, Alaine is gone.



Even though the demon drops, Asgar can't even come close to doing enough damage to kill, so in a 1v1, we come out on top.



Now, this is finally over!
Come... on... get it... over with!
It is for the best for all of humanity if I kill you!



Do it, Valnar! Maybe it's better this way... save humanity...
Oh, Alaine... it has to be this way...



And what now?



Their souls...



Now I am the last one... what should I do now?



So that is it... the fate of those three... Asgar and Alaine are dead, and Valnar is now the last vampire in the world... what incredible responsibility now rests on his shoulders... the last of this mighty "race" of vampires!
Grandpa, that is a terrifying end... Asgar went insane, Alaine sided with him, and finally Valnar had no choice but to kill both of them.
Yes, Valnar then spent a lot of time thinking... he now had the power to determine the fate of vampires. For some advice, he went back the Children of the Apocalypse...



...well, he would be, if I didn't murder them all!

So there it is... the last light of the vampires. My light... all the others are dead... it's my fault... but do I have to feel guilty? Maybe it is my fate that brought me all this way... but I've had enough of fate... I'll make my own future...

And fade to black. Here's what would have happened if we had not murdered the Children of the Apocalypse:


Either way, we cut to Valnar flying around the world, and we get the blood text.



"THE FATE OF AN ENTIRE RACE RESTS ON THE SHOULDERS OF A SINGLE PERSON..."



"BUT THIS RACE IS A DANGER TO THE ENTIRETY OF HUMANITY."



"IS A VAMPIRE BETTER THAN A HUMAN?"



"IS A VAMPIRE MAYBE EVEN THE EVOLUTION OF A HUMAN?"



"MAY SUCH A DANGEROUS RACE CONTINUE TO EXIST?"



"BUT AREN'T THE HUMANS' GOALS THE SAME?"



"CONTROL"



"OVER EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY..."



Next, we find ourselves back in Klennar.



Klennar... what a melancholic city... my home... oh, Aysha... why couldn't we live here in peace? If only I could turn back time. I would protect you... but I can't... now I'm alone... all alone... what's the purpose of my life? My "life" as a vampire...



And out again.



Next, we go to some cliff god knows where.



It's over... left alone... rejected by the world... I never wanted to be a vampire... now I'm a fabled creature... born from some terrible nightmare. Born to create suffering... unable to ever find release. It has to end forever... there can not be any new vampires... there can not be any more vampires at all! Creatures of the night... they have no right to exist!



I have to end it! For now and forever... farewell, beautiful world! Farewell, Klennar! Farewell, humanity! Farewell, shining sun... may there be a better fate in store for me this time...



May there never be any vampires again!





Fade to black. Holy SHIT. Like how Asgar stored up all his evil laughs for the end, Valnar stored up all his angst about being a vampire past a certain point and just unleashed it all at once.



How sad... he killed himself...
He chose humanity... vampires would have been their demise... his frustration allowed him to commit this final act... suicide.
Grandpa... I'm close to tears! What a sad ending!
It's just a story. But his death wasn't really the end... because of course, he didn't die, but continued to exist as a blood ghost, suffering pain that nobody can comprehend... if you're quiet enough, you can still hear his pained screams in the wind...
...
The Children of the Apocalypse were quickly forgotten... their power was broken... the grave in Asran was completely plundered, and the powerful spell book was destroyed. The highest ranking members of the church burned it, so that such a catastrophe could never happen again... but the lives of the humans went on... by the way, Asgar's castle was inhabited solely by Ronak in the following years... sometimes, a few careless thieves came to the castle, but they were quickly torn to pieces by Ronak. As such, stories started being told about the castle, saying that it was being guarded by the soul of an ancient vampire... since nobody returned from the castle alive, the legend spread around the entire world, and Ronak could live in relative peace, since no human dared come close to the castle. And apart from the castle, there were no more unexplained cases of death and corpses that were drained of blood... there were no more vampires... and so, humans could rest easy at night once again... and you should do that as well, Simon. It's late...
Grandpa... that was a wonderful story. Though the ending was too sad for my tastes...
Maybe I'll tell you the story again tomorrow... with a different ending...

Indeed! So that's the good/solo ending, and it's the closest thing we've got to a good ending. While it doesn't end well at all for our protagonists, with all of them suffering unfathomable pain for all eternity, humanity's ended up in a pretty good spot. All vampires are dead, the grimoire is destroyed, everything's fine.

Next time, we'll take a look at what happens when we just wipe a few more cities of all living creatures, and when Alaine is on board with us as well!