Having defeated the Four Fiends of Elements for the last time, we hurry towards the Giant of Bab-il's central control system. A blaring alarm rings in our ears when we reach it.
"It's the core of this Giant! The CPU!" FuSoYa says.
"It's huge!" Edge says.
"We must destroy the defensive system first! Otherwise, all the damage will be repaired!"
We draw our weapons and the battle begins.
"Adrienne! What's our strategy here?" Rosa asks.
"Follow FuSoYa's advice. We have to destroy the Defender first to prevent the CPU from healing. After that, focus all of your attacks and spells on the CPU. Rosa, you and FuSoYa should cast white magic spells on us and our enemies. Unfortunately, I don't think black magic or summons affect these things. We'll have to rely strictly on melee attacks."
"Understood!" Cecil says, his sword shining. I draw my own. Edge is first up. He slashes at the Defender in an X pattern, creating sharp serrated edges and exposing the Defender's innards. Rosa's next. She looks through her list of spells and selects Fast to cast on Cecil; that way, his turn will crop up more often. After she finishes her spell, his turn comes. He elegantly spins and slices into the Defender's circuitry, destroying it instantly. Luckily for us, the Defender had a short lifespan.
"Now the CPU!" I say. "The Attacker will hurt, but as long as we continue to heal each other, we'll win!" I turn to Rydia. "Stay behind me. I'll protect you."
"Okay, Adrienne."
FuSoYa and Rosa bring our health back up as the Attacker fires lasers at us. Cecil, Edge, and I focus our weaponry on the CPU. Before we defeated the Defender, a reflective spell covered the CPU. Any magic spells cast on it would hurt us instead. I don't know about summons, but I'd rather not take risks. I twirl my sword in my hand and slice deep through the CPU. Unfortunately, the circuitry inside it remains untouched. We'll need more power to finally destroy it. On Edge's next turn, I watch as he takes a handful of shurikens out of his pocket and throws them at the CPU. They manage to slip in the cracks that Cecil and I made, cutting deeper into the wires. After a couple more key strikes from our combined swords, we wear the CPU down enough to finally cause its demise. Cecil deals the killing blow. Now, only the Attacker remains, and it does not have long left to live. Edge throws an old sword as hard as he can at it, splitting it in half. Bright sparks tumble to the ground and fizzle out. We have won.
"We did it!" I say.
"It stopped!" Edge says.
"You wretch!" We look across from us to find Golbez standing there. A cold aura surrounds him. "You ruined my plan! You shall pay for this!" He falls silent upon seeing FuSoYa alongside us.
"You," FuSoYa says. He crosses the nearby bridge and approaches Golbez.
"Get away!" He raises a hand crackling with dark energy.
"Don't you realize who you are?"
"Stop it!" A hint of desperation lies in Golbez's voice. He's scared.
"Wake up."
FuSoYa calls on his Lunarian magic and reaches out his fingertips to touch Golbez's mask. Colorful lights flash brightly around us. I shield my eyes. When the lights subside, Golbez is quiet and calm, almost as though his rage has been completely quelled.
"...Why did I have all that hatred?" Golbez murmurs.
"Come to your senses. Do you remember your father's name?" FuSoYa asks.
"My father?" Golbez thinks for a moment. "His name is... KluYa...?"
"What?!" Cecil gasps.
"That means..." Rosa begins, unable to finish.
YOU ARE READING
A Paladin's Promise
Фанфикшн[BOOK 1 OF THE ADRIENNE RAYNE SERIES] Adrienne Rayne lives a perfectly ordinary life in Ashbourne. She attends Monarch High, hangs out with her friends, and pursues her hobbies. All the while, she secretly wishes to experience a magical quest of her...
