"Guh!"
The evil clown is down on his knees, holding his injured arm, as his summoned lady minions dissipate into nothing.
"To think that you, the guy in the red vest, indeed awakened to the power of my eternal rival... You've won, I give you that. The coup plot, spore infections, and political wars are all a ploy for my master, as well as The Movement I serve to the bitter end, to effectively conquer this land of Shurilesia! But know this, interlopers... You will still lose, because you will still screw up big-time! AHAHAHAhahahaha... ha... ha... h..."
He then vanishes into nothing, his presence only a footnote in the overall scheme of things.
With no enemies in sight, we are all clear to go towards the elevator going to this castle's topmost floor.
The fourth floor.
It's headlined by a massive dancespore generator that spews out so much of the substance that then scatters throughout the snowy continent.
And this time, CJ knows better than to stay vulnerable to the spores, as she uses the power of her ring, the keepsake from the late king, to create a kind of invisible face mask that wards off the vile substance.
And on the deck near the generator, the boss of the castle herself, Maryam Quintana, emerges.
"You've finally come, youths who defeated my sister-in-arms, Carmealla Gonzalvo. And to my arch-nemesis, Carmina Johnston, I'm making good on my surprise for you."
CJ steps up to the plate and confronts the rival beauty queen.
"What are your plans for me, pretender?"
"Simple. I challenge you to a one-on-one duel. It'll be the match of the century – beauty queen vs. beauty queen!"
And before her retainer, Christian, does anything, she non-verbally signals him not to interfere.
The big guy just relents, knowing that in some situations, she has to face something head-on.
"Excellent. Now then..."
Ms. Quintana then aims her scepter at her rival.
"...my beauty shall finally beat yours!"
***
[Duel Mechanics]
It's a one-on-one battle, where the right choices matter. Two duelists have three choices: Attack, Defend, and Deathblow. Each choice is effective against some other choice (Attack is effective vs. Defend; Defend is effective vs. Deathblow; Deathblow is effective vs. Attack). The duel is over once a duelist's HP runs out. If you win the duel without sustaining any damage, you gain bonus experience points.
[Duel: Carmina Johnston versus Maryam Quintana]
Attack:
You're getting in the way of spreading potential fun.
You have the attitude of a dog, and the life of a pig!
May I bonk you with my scepter? You really have an empty head.
Your daily horoscope arrived... It says you're a numbnut!
Your mere existence is a blight on all princesses in existence.
Defend:
Unfortunately, you're not me.
Oh, don't you cry, little princess.
Sis, you seriously need this: A brain!
You're running for your second consecutive loss, old hag!
Your mere presence is a red flag.
Deathblow:
It's gone, it's finished. There's already a winner!
For Master Ralston!
I hope you choke on mayonnaise flakes!
The dancespores shall proliferate forever!
Your so-called friends won't save you from THIS!
[End of duel]
Carmina Johnston wins!
Flawless victory!
CJ wins 2000 EXP.
Flawless victory bonus: 1500 EXP.
***
Even with her defeat at the hands of our one and only Her Highness, the mistress of this castle still stands defiant.
"This is not over yet, gullible youths! I'm about to unleash my true power!"
She then transforms into a humanoid monster with a queen bee motif via a strange stamp.
"Now bow down to me, the true princess of Shurilesia!"
***
[Boss Battle: Maryam Quintana]
The Movement's "mayor" of Shurilesia and a "distant relative" of CJ. She is normally carefree, but when it comes to spreading the dancespores and enforcing The Movement's will on the continent, she's dead serious.
Level 34 | HP: 12000 | MP: 616
Party: Benoit, Edilbert, Angelino, Christian, Jurina, CJ
[Note]
Stinger Volley attacks all targets and sometimes inflicts Poison. Honeycomb Buckler protects herself from all physical attacks. Bedlam Breath deals heavy shadow-elemental damage to all targets.
Benoit chooses to use a Blink Stone on all allies.
Edilbert chooses to use a Resistance Stone on all allies.
Angelino chooses to use a Sharp Stone on all allies.
Christian chooses to use a Barrier Stone on all allies.
Jurina chooses to cast her Innate Skill spell, Kidlatwa, on Maryam Quintana.
CJ chooses to summon Tarabusaw as her Innate Skill on all targets.
Maryam Quintana performs Honeycomb Buckler on herself.
All physical attacks are now ineffective against her for one turn.
Benoit uses a Blink Stone on all allies.
All allies' speed and evasion increased.
Edilbert uses a Resistance Stone on all allies.
All allies' magic and magic defense increased.
Angelino uses a Sharp Stone on all allies.
All allies' attack increased.
Jurina casts her Innate Skill spell, Kidlatwa, on Maryam Quintana, dealing her 1219 damage.
Christian uses a Barrier Stone on all allies.
All allies' physical defense increased.
CJ summons Tarabusaw.
"O scion of the earth, tremble with the rumblings of justice! Underground Voice!"
Her Innate Skill deals an average of 982 damage on all targets.
Benoit chooses to perform his Innate Skill, Chuk Chak Tienes, on Maryam Quintana.
Edilbert chooses to perform his Innate Skill, Legionnaire's Charge, on Maryam Quintana.
Angelino chooses to perform his Innate Skill, Angelino Rush, on Maryam Quintana.
Christian chooses to perform his Innate Skill, Darkside Earth, on Maryam Quintana.
Jurina chooses to cast her Innate Skill spell, Apoywa, on Maryam Quintana.
CJ chooses to summon Tarabusaw as her Innate Skill on all targets.
Maryam Quintana attacks CJ, but CJ dodges the attack!
Benoit performs his Innate Skill, Chuk Chak Tienes, on Maryam Quintana, dealing her 3 hits for a total of 993 damage.
Maryam Quintana's PDEF is decreased.
Christian performs his Innate Skill, Darkside Earth, on Maryam Quintana, dealing her 792 damage.
Christian loses 396 HP.
Edilbert performs his Innate Skill, Legionnaire's Charge, on Maryam Quintana, dealing her 3 hits for a total of 1005 damage.
Angelino performs his Innate Skill, Angelino Rush, on Maryam Quintana, dealing her 996 damage.
Jurina casts her Innate Skill spell, Apoywa, on Maryam Quintana, dealing her 885 damage.
CJ summons Tarabusaw.
"O scion of the earth, tremble with the rumblings of justice! Underground Voice!"
Her Innate Skill deals an average of 1092 damage on all targets.
Benoit chooses to perform his Innate Skill, Chuk Chak Tienes, on Maryam Quintana.
Edilbert chooses to perform his Innate Skill, Legionnaire's Charge, on Maryam Quintana.
Angelino chooses to perform his Innate Skill, Angelino Rush, on Maryam Quintana.
Christian chooses to perform his Innate Skill, Darkside Earth, on Maryam Quintana.
Jurina chooses to cast her Innate Skill spell, Apoywa, on Maryam Quintana.
CJ chooses to summon Tarabusaw as her Innate Skill on all targets.
"This is the power of the dancespores!"
Maryam Quintana performs Bedlam Breath on all targets.
"Bedlam Breath!"
All targets suffer an average of 519 damage.
Benoit performs his Innate Skill, Chuk Chak Tienes, on Maryam Quintana, dealing her 3 hits for a total of 1003 damage.
Christian performs his Innate Skill, Darkside Earth, on Maryam Quintana, dealing her 802 damage.
Christian loses 401 HP.
Edilbert performs his Innate Skill, Legionnaire's Charge, on Maryam Quintana, dealing her 3 hits for a total of 1015 damage.
Angelino performs his Innate Skill, Angelino Rush, on Maryam Quintana, dealing her 1006 damage.
Jurina casts her Innate Skill spell, Apoywa, on Maryam Quintana, dealing her 996 damage.
Maryam Quintana is knocked out.
The counter-terrorists win! That's us.
6913 EXP and 5200 Double Pesos acquired.
Armband of Bravery acquired.
Benoit leveled up, from Level 34 to Level 35!
Edilbert leveled up, from Level 34 to Level 35!
Angelino leveled up, from Level 34 to Level 35!
Christian leveled up, from Level 34 to Level 35!
Jurina leveled up, from Level 34 to Level 35!
CJ leveled up, from Level 34 to Level 35!
***
Even with her second defeat, Maryam Quintana is still as defiant as ever, as she reverts to her human form.
"You thought... eliminating the likes of us... would solve anything! You adventurers... who have nothing... but excrement for brains! We of The Movement have more elaborate plans... than what you all expect! Soon... all of Daig'digaia... will be enveloped by our will..."
She then chants the slogan of the evil organization she belongs to in her final breaths.
"Our will is salvation... Our will is perfect... Our will is eternal... harmony..."
She then falls down and explodes – her life ended just like that.
Uh-oh!
There's a great shake-up! Literally!
"This place's self-destruct mechanism has been activated!" Edilbert alerts us all.
"And we can't just run like heck outta here! We'll be buried in the rubble!" Bearwin complains.
"Don't worry, my partner. We have a solution for that."
Juniper brings out a stash of Teleportation Feathers, which should be enough for us all to warp out of here in mere seconds.
We take a Feather each, and with our calm selves prevailing, we finally hightail it out of this castle.
Outside...
We can spot what remains of the castle.
First, Dillingtonlandia. Now, Shurilesia.
We've saved another continent, thank goodness!
The next day, in the Theresentien House of Politics...
The scheduled televised debate between the two candidates has been canceled to give way to an awarding ceremony.
As a reward for restoring order to Shurilesia, both the Rebirth Party and The Unity Power Coalition, which are now a rainbow coalition, give us seventeen adventurers (and a sage in our entourage) due recognition.
Their respective leaders, Ferdinando Jose Shimokawa and Corey Fiedel Glorio Mitsumaruyama, decide to share the position of Kingly Prime President and rule over the snowy continent to the best of their abilities.
And they even give us a free luxury ship ride to the continent due east of Shurilesia, Sarbacutta.
"All aboard!"
Enjoying the rewards of a well-fought battle, we relax in the luxury ship, sipping on tropical drinks and whatnot.
And we can see Sarbacutta on the horizon, which is surprisingly spore-free.
Man, the prospects look good.
Or... not good.
Because our trip is abruptly interrupted by gunships that surround us.
Man, are we having a repeat of what happened when we exited Dillingtonlandia?!
The marauding gunships waste no time opening fire on the ship, which surprisingly doesn't sink.
But we all have to save ourselves; and thus, we unluckily get separated in the thick of the fight.
Once the dust settles, and we eventually get to the western shores of Sarbacutta in our own little ways, we just ask ourselves.
Will this... be our last ride?
END OF SEASON 2
Adventurers recruited so far: 17
Allies in entourage: 1