Footsoldiers whose faces were transferred to their shields by a cruel curse, and who won't rest until this wickedness is undone.
Starting in the hallway, we get a visit from dark dullahan of DQ8 fame. He was a bit of a gimmicky enemy there, but he stuck around for DQ10 and coming back here. They can crit, swing their mace around for multiple strikes, and can spray around some air pollution to lower attack.
Their rare drop is a pretty solid shield called the Saintess Shield. Despite being locked to ladies in DQ8, they're Greatshields here- so only Erdward and Hendrik can wield it. It's worth trying for, at least, although the Metal Slime shields can suffice.
The first thing we see is a big room we can fly around in- although with those diamond crystals, we're not getting high. Those sealed doors are also going to hold us up.
Ow...
There'll be plenty of the normal treasure to find around here, too. This'll be super useful later. Although you really don't want to anger those uberkilling machines back there...
The finest minds in mechanical monster manufacturing laboured to create these creatures, which want nothing more than world domination.
Metal dragons come form DQs 5 and 10, and they could certainly get exactly that. Although their only skill is crashing on the ground for some spread damage, they rock some solid attack and defence. He's also got a good rare drop, I'll pick it up in a bit.
You'll need to outright jump onto this button, but once you do, we get one of the seals out of the way. Admittedly, though, there wasn't much left for us to do but break this somehow.
Ooh, this is a cool one. I'll save actually Forging it for when I can get some help later, but this is a cosmetic armour for Jade.
The liquid metal jacket can be worn by anyone, having 10% elemental resist and 8% evasion. This is a nice piece of armour to have handy. Speaking of...
Here's its bigger brother, the liquid metal armour, as a drop from the metal dragons. 18% elemental resist and a bunch more Defence at the cost of only being an option for Erdward, Hendrik and Sylvando, you won't need a lot of these.
Well, at least he's going for the guy whose job it is to spot these traps.
Some ordinary pots. What, was the colourful cocoon not good enough for a chest?
...Probably not.
Anyway, as we step up here, we can... Autosave? For some reason, going in and out of the Fortress of Fear gets an Autosave. This is a good way to score some safe Forges when you're in the area.
The ingredients for Jade's new cosmetic armour. I'm usually short on slipweed, but that's pretty cheap.
What we're supposed to pick up out here is a spare chronocrystal. I expect it's on a balcony to be annoying for Nose For Treasure.
The Dress gives you a point in Crit as well as some stats, but no actual bonus effects. No elemental resists, no status resists. That point in crit is carrying. The headdress has 2% crit at +3, and because the competition in your helmet slot is so much looser, I'd recommend that one a lot more.
As a cosmetic armour, though, this is actually really elegant. I quite like this one.
The masterworks of the monster world's most accomplished demonic dollmaker. If ordered, they will rain down destruction indiscriminately.
The golden girl is new to 11, although recursively in 10. They can attempt to mesmerise, catch party members in their cages, stab them with their hair, and happen to know the spell Thwack.
You can ride the golden girls around to avoid getting into encounters, although you can't get through any doors with her.
Once-human wizards whose pursuit of ever-stronger spells led them to sell their souls. Having done so, they dream of destroying all other mages.
Leger-de-men, the stronger variants of prestidigitators, have all the same traits ascribed to their little brothers- these ones are from DQ3, although you can also find them with different appearances in DQ1 and DQ5. They know the spells Kacrack, Kafrizz, Fuddle, and Fizzle.
Heroically selfless healers of the slime world who'll jump in with the ultimate in medicinal magic whenever their friends are in need.
King cureslime first appeared in DQ4 and they maintain a perfect record. Like King Slimes, they can come crashing down for some solid damage, but unlike King Slime, they're scary for their spells- Fullheal and Omniheal. They also drop goobricants!
...Critical spells, of course. I think enemy mages can just crit whenever.
...You're getting just Thwack now? Even if the Whack spells were super useful, good luck using them at this pace.
These are what happens when infanticores finally grow up. Stupidly strong and insanely intelligent, they're pretty much the perfect predator.
Manticores from DQ3 present a rather chilling reception: They have both Kacrack and C-C-Cold Breath, alongside Fullheal. They're also a good chance to grab some new Skull Rings- still in the rare slot, though.
Some technicolour dreamcloths over here. Apparently these are only used in costume pieces. Cute.
They say the way ahead is blocked by evil. But considering the Luminary can bust through it easy, it can't have been that much of a barrier. Who's Mordegon keeping out? Yggdrasil's Witnesses?
At the very least, this represents a checkpoint in our climb. We can make our way up here any time now.
The only thing worse than a king cureslime is two of them. They can run out of MP, at least. I hope.
Bizarre beasts that use huge spiked hoops as weapons, with which they lay waste to all around them.
The hooper trooper represents Booga's demotion to common enemy type- although with his record, I expect he's got a chance of pulling a Murdaw and having these guys quietly slipping into the background. They know the spells Tornado and Kaboom, and have some halfway decent claws in the rare slot if you really care about poison.
Defeating one of these is a ridiculously rewarding experience, making them a massive hit with adventurers everywhere.
Metal king slime first appeared in DQ4 and has a perfect attendance since. In many games in which it appears, it is the best EXP around outside of maybe the occasional boss. In the games where that isn't the case, it's surpassed by Platinum King Jewel. That guy isn't in this game. Their only special skill is Kasizz.
I got one!
Learned two key spells out of it, too.
...Everyone but Erdward got a level? Aw...
Scored a few skills here and there.
There was a Warp, got this fantastic transitional frame.
Around this point, one can ride around an Eggsoskeleton enemy. I, foolishly, apparently didn't notice they're a new one.
Ultra-advanced mechanical contraptions with unmatched military might. Their spotted pattern signifies the severe danger they present.
Hard-boiled eggsoskeleton has the scalding gas of some of its friends... and apparently knows Kamikazee. I've never seen that, and don't really want to try them to find out.
Indoors, we've got some balhibs roaming around in serious numbers.
Ah, yes, this is going to come in handy, too. This is a new cosmetic armour for Hendrik.
Hee hee hee.
No, I didn't think Thwack would work on the Metal, I just didn't want to deal with Jerkules.
Shame it ran, though. Erik doesn't have Critical Claim yet.
Another layer down.
Black-clad dragon knights who serve the lord of hell. They are granted dark powers by their patrons, and will use them without hesitation.
Dread dragooners are a new level of dragon rider to DQ11, knowing Kazam, Air Pollution, the tag-team clobber, and having some scalding gas to drop. Tougher, but still basically just mount fodder.
Up here, one can find some Sainted Soma in a chest.
And now for the General's gear. The Jacket gives 10-25% Dark Defence, while the Jackboots are 25-40%. Both are pretty solid gear choices, if you see yourself facing Darkness.
It's also a pretty handsome ensemble.
Now Erik's picked up Critical Claim.
There are some visor kaisers around here for riding across some damaging floors.
Also back where you find them, a mini medal. This one should give you number 75, to nice and roundly finish Page 3 of the album. Not like we're going back to redeem it, though (it's not a prize that'd help us much here anyway.)
There's our electric floors. This sort of damaging floor design harkens back to how the NES damaging floors looked, come to look at it.
Back here, we've got a den of gambling filled with hooper dupers and caped caperers.
Maniacal slot machines that convince punters to pump them full of tokens, then take their lives into the bargain.
Token takers continue the tradition of the slot machines being tough cookies. They have the crits, gold breath, and roulette spins of their younger brethren, and they can land on C-C-Cold Breath and Thwack.
Hurts like hell. Their rare drop is gold bars, if you get a bunch and want to try and snatch anything. Their common drop is the Drasilian sovereign.
These tenacious fellows go through harrowing ordeal after harrowing ordeal in order to earn the black flames they fling about.
Shadeshifters first appeared in DQ Super Light, and their main-series record only counts 10. They can throw about flames of darkness and Kazam, being a dark version of these guys to contend with. Their common drop is the artful amethyst.
Oh hey, a precarious beam to cross. I'd feel a lot more tense if I didn't know there was no way to make Erdward fall.
Here, there's a short drop before we proceeed. You don't want to do that, though- you want to go all the way up first.
Gargantuan golden statues said to guard the way to heaven, where they ward off anyone attempting to enter under false pretences.
Great keepers are golden statues that appear in the remakes of DQs 3 and 8, finally making it to main-game status here. They have powerful tremors and the Bounce spell, but they're more famous for their drops here.
Common drop is sainted soma. Rare drop is the Seed of Skill.
Behind that Great Keepr is a gold bar in a chest.
A Jerkules guarding a chest.
Sounds like we can sneak by and steal it without bothering the guy!
Well, that's a lot of recipes in one book! This is an improvement over the Metal Slime set in every way, and we haven't had the Metal Slime set long enough to really get a lot of benefit out of it- which kinda comes off a little bait-and-switchy, but depends how heavily you invested in it.
For... the most part, Liquid Metal gear is the best option out of raw stats in each slot it is competing with. The Liquid Metal Gooreatsword is the one Greatsword I can really pick over the Lord's Sword, although I think the ultimate Spear we can get later might be better for Jade. The Sword and Boomerang, while they can compete with the ultimate weapons, can still work alongside them with Dual-Wielding and team setup. As for the armours, I'd only make as many as you think you need- don't drop everything to fill up on these. Yes, that means there's improvements on this, but not until after Mordegon.
...What the hell is this rock formation? I'm going to pretend it is a rock formation.
Their crimson clothes mark them out as elite soldiers of the underworld. Utterly without mercy, they would pursue a foe to the depths of hell.
New to DQ11, hellriders are mount fodder that happen to have a surprising amount of tricks. You can expect a freezing blizzard, an Assassin's Stab, a leg sweep, and something called a "deadly double attack". Yeah, just let them have it.
That is a lot of cash in one chest.
...Considering we're in Mordegon's domain, I wonder if this is just to make losing to him hurt more, because of the "halving gold on person" thing.
Silent as shadows, these ghostly knights fall upon their foes without warning, raining down brutal blows with unerring accuracy.
Headless hunters, as seen in the Wheel of Harma and new to DQ11, are some tough cookies that somehow serve as the grunts up ahead. They have crits, a whinny, Air Pollution, and can call some dark dullahans to make things irritating.
That is a lot of Great Keepers. We're going to get a lot of sainted soma... and what's that at the end of the hallway?
Great golden wyrms whose roars echo around the underworld and beyond, causing all who hear them to cower in abject terror.
Great dragons appeared in DQs 5 and 10, being a really hard-to-recruit monster in the former game that I have fallen quite in love with. In this game, though, they're beasts with obscene HP and Def to chew through, having powerful tail swings, scorching breath, and just a bunch of powerful bites and claws.
...That is a lot of damage in one blow.
We're going to need some serious healing here.
On the other hand, this guy has a very helpful drop.
The Staff of Resurrection can be used to cast Zing as a Use item, which is just as good for people without revival magic to help you if you're dying a lot. On the other hand, this is also the best stats on a Heavy Wand you can get before Mordegon- so Serena herself is interested in this one.
Appearing only in DQ6 (where they were also Nokturnus recolours), loss leaders are some powerful endgame generals. They have Inferno Slash, Gigathrow and Kafrizz, being a considerable step down from Indignus, but still pretty damn scary.A highly decorated general in the army of an ancient evil, brought back by the dread power of the Dark One.
Great dragons and loss leaders alike are similarly powerful, although the latter are more likely to appear in horrifying groups.
This is the top floor up here now.
Rab's picking up some MP over here. Not sure how helpful it'll be for him.
Agate of evolution up here.
Now then, there are two teleporters on either side, and that means exactly what you think it means here.
On the west flank, we have loss leaders running around.
And this one's guarding a balcony that leads to this lovely spear, the base of the ultimate.
The Poker is equal in power to a Liquid Metal Spear +1, but that bonus effect of "Attacks can't be blocked" is an incredibly potent one. There's so many times that Multithrust and Multifeet get one or more of their hits blocked by that annoying enemy who happens to have that ability, and it's difficult to overstate how enjoyable it is to just say no to that nonsense.
...Ohohoho...
Erik just declares victory over Metal Slimes.
And the entire party is grateful for it.
Myself, on the other hand, less so. Clearly I've given up on these two getting anything actually valuable out of their Trees- since we're coming up on Mordegon, not a horrible problem to have.
Gooray! Not that we really needed Slime Crowns, though, but still, rare drops. This harkens back a bit to DQ8, though, where Slime Crowns were among the rarest and most valuable alchemy ingredients period.
If we get to the other end of this flank, we find a Button to push. It doesn't seem to have helped us out much, though.
Anyway, over on east flank, one can find Great Dragons, and here is me discovering some fixed damage is a good way to get something serious done about them.
Here is me noticing that Erdward gets Dragon Slash if he has Sword Dance. Not that I necessarily think it's the solution to the problem, but it's a solution- and most importantly, it's a solution I've been overlooking.
Ah, there we are. The other Button allows me to cross to frontiers unknown.
And also on this side is another valuable chest, but this one's indoors.
The baby form of the ultimate Sword- although a sword with an 8% chance of dropping Defence is nothing to sneeze at.
Erik takes it, and for some reason, puts it in his right hand. Like the Poker, this Sword is equal to a Liquid Metal Sword +1, but it is, in fact, stronger than a Miracle Sword +3. I think, ultimately, my reasoning for putting the "superior" blade in the off-hand slot (other than maybe forgetting to check this sort of thing) is that the powerful healing of the Miracle Sword is a better bonus effect than the Stardust Sword's chance of Sap- while that's good, it's good no matter what hand Erik wields that particular sword in. The Miracle Sword is only pulling its weight as a healing blade if it's in the left hand.
(I say this, just kinda tacitly assuming the 8% Sap is still 8% in the non-dominant hand. I don't actually have proof either way on that assertion.)
...Takes moment to scoff at how much Pep is in this party.
Loss leaders drop Liquid Metal Helms, and if you can get them to appear in groups, this is a good chance to stock up.
Ooh, red button.
This button opens the seal on that one door on the ground floor we hadn't actually unsealed yet.
On the other side, this great dragon and two headless hunters... this fight might get various shades of exciting.
Pink Typhoon it is!
...Yay?
The button behind this side opens the path forwards.
And it looks like this is the end.
SACAGEWEA!
Once you've busted all three seals of crystal in this central room, there are five Sparkly spots for all five gems on the ground. Not that you'd grind for them at this venture.
Inside this room is something that many DQs have given as an ultimate accessory, the Meteorite Bracer. Hilariously, despite my stance on speed control being "it's pretty damn worthless" throughout the whole game, the Meteorite Bracer is a key exception- in DQs from 3-7, it doubled your Agility, making the character who wears it incredibly likely to go first. DQ8 nerfed it to 50 Agility- barely qualifying as "speed control", but that game has an actually passably valuable Agility stat- while DQ9 buffed it up to 100. In DQXI, it's 100, but a +3 Bracer gives 200. Give this to Serena and she can probably get the first turn she needs.
Since I found myself on the bottom floor, I figured I might as well heal, Save, and do some Forging at the goddess statue. At level 55, Erdward has learned a brand new mechanic to Forging: the Master Stroke. Despite the phrasing of this message, Hephaestus' Flame is the only Master Stroke in the game.
At some point, randomly occuring in the Forging process, you might (key note, although it's incredibly likely you will, it's not guaranteed) get an "Inspiration Strikes!" pop-up. Once this happens, you may use Hephaestus' Flame at your leisure- don't make the mistake of assuming you have to use it as soon as Inspiration Strikes.
Hephaestus' Flame costs 0 Focus, but does count as a flourish, lowering the temperature 50 degrees and potentially causing bonus effects to occur. It doesn't do anything else to the actual process other than add a flaming effect to the screen. Your next stroke, though?
Guaranteed critical hits on every single blow. This counts only for one action, although as shown, if you use a Flourish, you get a crit on every individual strike. Considering the power of Kaquadrabash, anything with a 2x2 pattern is basically a guaranteed +3 if you get Inspiration and you're good at the minigame. Anything in another shape requires more care, but Inspiration still gets you a long way and probably a good chunk of golden segments.
Here's a demonstration of the fact you can get hit with a field effect right after a Master Stroke. It didn't cost me, in this instance, but keep it in mind when choosing when to time it.
Skull Rings? No problem!
Meteorite Bracer, on the other hand... Ahahaha, 27 Pearls. I don't quite want the Agility that badly.
Time to pick up the pre-boss elixirs.
...
Wait, do I not have the party builds I used coming up? That's an oversight!
All right, so what's waiting for us?
...Apparently, Veronica.
Well then...
(This whole encounter has no background theme.)
I mean, I guess the last place we left her was around this physical location. You know, back when it was Yggdrasil and not the Fortress of Fear.
Well, that just reveals she's a fake out in front. She's so earnest about this question, though.
...Good gracious, the villain thinks he's being clever with this argument!
I'm 100% certain the framing of this shot is supposed to make this Veronica come off as fake in some way, and she certainly looks it, but I swear I can't actually point to what part of the eyes is off from Veronica's normal model. I think it's the size of her sclera- a quick skim of some of Veronica's other expressions show that normally, her sclera don't surround her irises on all sides.
The disguise is moderately effective at best, and tasteless all around.
Serena sees right through it, of course.
Who needs Ra's Mirror when you've got Serena?
Oh wow, her irises are tiny now.
It was certainly a lot more than hope. I don't think Veronica had much faith in the idea we'd lose.
Could also have been Mordegon, but you know...
We had an appointment with this guy eventually.
Jasper's done much worse than Mia ever managed in her stint as Gyldygga, but considering some of the vitriol she threw at Erik, this isn't as bad as it looks. Although I doubt Jasper's going to have things the same way as Mia.
Of course, you're good at that, aren't you, Jasper?
Hendrik, pig-headed? The guy who went from wanting to murder us all to being our staunchest ally?
Jasper can transform in and out of these two forms, although why exactly he'd want one over the other is just personal preference at this point. He never fights us in the "purple skinned court wizard" form, though.
The only words Jasper has to express what it is he has now are that he is better than Hendrik. He hasn't even done what he wanted, like Mia did.
I mean... he can fly. Wait, never mind, we have Cetacea.
Jasper in the form he took when he finally cast aside his humanity and was reborn as a monster.
??? Family
3600 HP
999 MP
Jasper Unbound is the last and scariest of the Spectral Sentinels. To list some of his attacks, one can see a javelin of judgement with the curse ability, a dire pyre of dark damage, flashing a blinding red, a breakneck blitz of attacks, crashing down from above for knockdown, Disruptive Wave, and the nerve to guffaw ungraciously.
To fight Jasper, who better than Hendrik and Jade, the people Jasper is fighting in his head? Serena's half here practically and half here because of the Veronica stunt. Note that Hendrik isn't being literal- that would be a jerkish move.
He's going to start with the attempted Defence down.
Jasper starts with his Orb attack, a Silver Spark that attacks everyone for some decent damage. It's not a particularly... impressive move compared to the rest of the Orb powers. It's at least better than Blue Blast.
He'll call for help from a balhib, and in doing so prove how much of a loser he really is. Take a closer look at the balhib there- a long mane of purple hair, a nice moustache, and a wicked axe? Mate, we get it, you think Hendrik is the greatest thing since sliced Luminary, but that is not Hendrik.
I want Hendrik doing most of the work for narrative reasons, so he gets first pick of the buffs.
Erdward's Sword Dance could do with a bit of a buff, but...
Jade has her own buffs.
Hendrik taking care of business.
OK, that is clearly flouting the rules of averages.
This is just a waste of his turn, as it happens. Thankfully, since Serena needed to act quickly.
Multiheal it is.
The balhib isn't doing inconsequential damage here.
Although Jasper is the clear star of the show.
OK, what lowered your output? I think he had a Sap that's no longer there.
Thanks a lot, Zing.
Although this damage isn't that bad. Still need a healer online.
...Oh.
I think you still have to kill the balhib? That's how it works in some DQs, although since Hendrik is still standing in front of Jasper, I kinda think beating Jasper has ended the fight here.
Have you seriously forgotten you're a human, Jasper?
Once upon a time, it might've been wrong.
Now, though? No regrets.
Everyone talked highly of the Soldier and the Stragetist- the two bravest knights of Heliodor were inseparable in the minds of the public, like the two-headed eagle of Heliodor.
I assure you, you did not want to be an orphan from Zwaardsrust.
Hendrik's going to keep his thoughts to himself on that one.
Although we have the Silver Orb of Puerto Valor to complete our collection. Again, no idea what we're using it on.
Hendrik: I too have known hesitation and doubt. It was no easy decision to pledge my sword to your cause, Erdward. Jasper faced the same decision, and chose poorly. Whatever doubts or fears he had, Mordegon manipulated them and drew him towards the darkness. ...There is only one lesson to take from this. We must walk the path we are on without doubt or hesitation. I choose to face the future and not look back- my friend is gone. Jasper is gone...
Rab: So that's the full roll call. Tyriant, Booga, Alizarin, Gyldygga, Indignus...and finally Jasper. Now we've defeated Mordegon's Spectral Sentinels, he's without his most trusted lieutenants. We'll never have a better chance than this, laddie. Let's bring this story to a close...
Sylvando: It's fine to admire someone, but when you let that turn into envy, things have gone too far. You've got to love yourself, and learn to be happy with what you've got. I'd say that was something Jasper never learned to do...
Jade: The Jasper I knew was smart, loyal and had a bright future ahead of him as one of the finest knights in Heliodor. If only he hadn't been tempted by the power of evil. It's such a waste...
Erik: When we beat Jasper, it reminded me of what happened with Mia. That's what Mordegon does- he finds some darkness in people's hearts and uses it to turn them into his puppets. Come on, Erdward. He can't be allowed to get away with this any more. It's time to finish it.
Serena: Poor Jasper... He really was a tragic figure. The Lord of Shadows used his pain and confusion and turned him into a monster.
Behind Jasper's chamber, there's a teleportal further up.
There can only be one explanation for why there's so much pomp to the path ahead from here, though...
We've got one last ditch effort to deal with.
Jasper is still kicking, somehow, and he's brought copies of all the Sentinels to help him snag Erdward's party members.
The game doesn't linger on this shot long enough for it to really sink in for the player's benefit, but I just want to take a moment to pause and stare at Alizarin just leaning in over the side of the railing with the goofiest expression on his face. The game knows it's not making that look intimidating, so it tries its best to look anywhere else.
...Yes.
This question is not answered. None of the non-Jasper Sentinels speak, or even emote, so I highly doubt any of them are real.
Jasper, being the petty little bastard that he is, decides that this is going to make Hendrik feel the same way Jasper did about him. And to be fair, I suppose he has a point. Jasper was held back from achieving the same greatness as Hendrik by someone acting in bad faith. Not that Jasper realises that.
Hendrik, of course, is having none of it.
Neither is anyone else in this party.
Erik gets the last word. By this point, the bond between Erdward and Erik is definitely supposed to be far deeper than any of the previous "brother" party members of DQ history. Even Yangus didn't really feel so intimately interwoven with the Guv.
The Sentinels that Jasper sent our way were fake, and fake was their attempt to do anything resembling damage.
Jasper, on the other hand, is real. And Jasper is back to his old pettiness.
Hendrik tells him, in nicer terms, to get over it.
Jasper... you'll be doomed to disappointment speaking like that.
Hendrik has one last thought to spare for Jasper. Hendrik, the poor, dishevelled orphan who got adopted into Heliodor's knights, looked up to the boy who cared for him enough to become his sworn companion.
Hendrik had always wanted to be what Jasper chose not to.
Jasper lived a monster's life, and died a monster's death.
Leaving behind his Token of Fealty.
Hendrik: I vowed that I would serve you, Erdward, that I would be your sword and your shield. Today I make that pledge once more. I will gladly give my life so that you can fulfil your destiny.
Rab: All the rage and resentment in the world, all the darkness in people's hearts, Mordegon feeds on it all... But if we can defeat him, we can bring hope back to the world!
Sylvando: I've had enough of darkness! I'm sick to the back teeth of sadness and tears! It's time to bring laughter back to the world! Did you hear me, Mordegon? It's time for you to leave the stage!
Jade: All those years I spent, separated from my home and those I love... I cannot have them back. But this isn't the time to dwell on the past. That's what you taught me, Erdward. You showed me how to fight for a brighter future!
Erik: I can't believe the words the Seer spoke to me led me here... I guess my destiny really is to fight alongside the Luminary, right to the bitter end. I believe in you, Erdward. I believe you will defeat Mordegon. So come on- let's show him what we've got!
Serena: Veronica, if you are watching over us, please do what you can to come to our aid. We will need all the help we can get to defeat the Lord of Shadows.
The Point of No Return is a little further on, apparently.
I have no idea how this was handled in the vanilla version, where Tockles weren't a thing.
He's also a full church, if you want a proper save.
Before we go through this Point of No Return, I went skimming the Party Chat datamine and found not one, but two sets of Party Chat lines that fit in best here. I liked both enough to add them in:
Hendrik: When all of this is over, I know what I must do. I must return to Heliodor and do all I can to restore it to its former glory. I must stand beside its future queen and fight for her kingdom. I am a knight of Heliodor and this is my pledge.
Rab: Once we've dealt with the Lord of Shadows, I'm going to head straight to Cobblestone and thank them for all they've done. I'd likely never have seen ye again if they hadn't looked after ye and raised ye as their own. I owe them a lot. We all do.
Sylvando: Is it my imagination, or do you have a touch of stage fright, Erdward? Well, fear not- you're not the only one. It's not unusual to feel nervous before a big show- or a big battle. My advice is to try to see the funny side, even when things look bleak! There's nothing like a good laugh to make you feel like a new man. Those nerves will just disappear, you'll see!
Jade: I must confess, Erdward, when I first saw you, you didn't inspire much confidence. You just looked like an ordinary young man. But now I know different. Now I know that you never give up. Without you, we would never even be within striking distance of Mordegon! Thank you, Erdward. It has been an honour to fight alongside you.
Erik: I can't stop thinking about Mia, but I've got to stay focused... The best thing I can do for her- the best thing I can do for anyone- is to take down Mordegon and make this a world worth living in again. When she finally opens her eyes, I don't want her to see this darkness. I want her to see blue skies. That's what I'm fighting for.
Serena: I can feel it... I feel each life lost, gone like falling leaves... We must move quickly, Erdward. We have to defeat Mordegon before he brings more death and despair to the world!
Hendrik: When we were growing up, Jasper always left me in the shade. Whether it was horsemanship, study or the sword, I was always second best. I wish I knew when things had gone wrong. When did the darkness in Jasper's heart lead him astray? Alas, lost time cannot be regained. All I can do to avenge Jasper's death is to slay the one who led him down the path of darkness. Mordegon will pay the ultimate price, this I swear.
Rab: D'ye know something, laddie? I remember the first time I held ye in my arms when ye were just a wee bairn. You were so light and frail, I was a wee bit worried. But look at how ye turned out! A mighty warrior destined to defeat the Lord of Shadows! We're all depending on ye, laddie. Ye've got the world's future in yer hands.
Sylvando: Honey, I've just had a brainwave! When all of this is over and Mordegon is pushing up the daisies, how about you all join me as performers in my parade? We can thrill the crowds with some of our finest moves. They'll lap it up, I just know they will! Ah, just thinking about it makes me happy! Come on, let's finish off Mordegon and then get down to the serious business- show business!
Jade: I was once a weakling. A spoilt princess who could not protect you, Erdward... But no longer. Now I fight to protect the Luminary, and I will not stop until Mordegon has drawn his last breath.
Erik: Listen, I know this might sound kind of stupid, but there's something I need to say. We've done a heck of a lot of travelling, but you know what? There's never been a dull moment. Thanks, Erdward. I've had a blast.
Serena: My destiny was to guide you to Yggdrasil. When it fell, all of that came to an end. I was left without a purpose... But I made a choice. I chose to stand beside you and aid you in any way I could until we had defeated the Lord of Shadows. I would not change that decision for the world. Whatever happens- however this ends- I have no regrets. You are the Luminary and I will protect you at all costs.
Now then... we have a final boss to fight.
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