Previous Chapter: Chapter 16: Changed Ways Next Chapter: Chapter 18
*Hangar*
Rio: Just like before, it’s okay to refuse. Really, it is.
Ing: No, if there’s something I can do, I will try to help.
Rio: You always say that.
Ing: … Though I don’t have any memories of the past, I’ve been depending on you all… So if you need me, I’m here for you.
Rio: Ing…
Masaki: Thanks, Ing. Your help would be appreciated.
Ing: Understood.
Irm: That means all the pilots are participating.
Viletta: Indeed. And the same goes for the ship’s crew.
Excellen: The mechanics will go wherever Princess Xenia goes, they said.
Mai: They’re like a pop star’s fan club…
Tsugumi: Anyway, what are Lord Feil’s forces doing?
Xenia: They’re establishing themselves at the bay of Nagoll. If nothing strange happens, we’ll meet up with them there.
Viletta: In that case, everyone please prepare and wait for orders.
Rai: Roger.
Masaki: (Lord Feil… We’re coming. We’re coming to stop you…!)
*At the bay*
Chapter 17: Duraxyll’s Decisive Battle
Feil: I see, Kirkus is…
Ort: With this, we now have control over everything.
Feil: Indeed. …And the Hagane?
Ort: They’re still headed this way… They’ll soon be entering the battlefield.
Feil: The battlefield, eh? If we can’t avoid them, it’ll become that, that’s for sure.
Ort: …
Feil: General Ort, take your men and withdraw. Prepare for the fight that’s coming.
Ort: I cannot accept that order. I’m staying by your side, Your Highness.
Feil: No, you are not. Don’t waste your life.
Ort: No… I plan on staining my name with your ideals and hardships. Everyone here has decided to give their lives to your cause. If you still think us unneeded, you can start by killing me here.
Feil: General…
Ort: But this hand-crafted Blowel of mine… It won’t lose to your Duraxyll, or even their Elemental Lords.
Feil: I understand… I’m sorry, Kevin. I’m…
Ort: We can talk about it after this.
*Here’s the Hagane*
Feil: Masaki… Have you reconsidered your position?
Masaki: No… I came to stop you.
Feil: Is that… the judgement of the pilots of Elemental Lords?
Masaki: …It is.
Feil: So you think what I’m doing will bring destruction upon La Gias?
Masaki: That’s right. Right now, Louzorl is using this confusion to his advantage. And Kirkus, who has been missing up till now…
Feil: General Kirkus just passed away. In battle, against Yang Long and the Hiryuu Custom.
Masaki: …!!!
Feil: Now what you were worried about has been taken care of. Masaki, I know you will be sorry to hear it, but I will continue down the path I believe in.
Xenia: Feil! What you should be doing right now is stabilizing Langran, not invading Shutedonias!
Feil: You said it yourself, Xenia. Using force on the Shutedonias Union will bring the world together.
Xenia: It’s not just Shutedonias! Do you want the whole of La Gias to be your enemy?!
Feil: I’m prepared for that.
Tytti: That’s reckless, Your Highness! Even if you were able to collect all the Elemental Lords under your banner, it’s still impossible for you to win against the combined power of the neighboring countries!
Feil: As long as I obtain my goal, I don’t care about the method… Unless I am cruel, I can’t realize my ambition.
Carla: You think those words will change our minds?!
Feil: …War always has sacrifices.
Carla: I know that! But you shouldn’t involve people in a meaningless war!
Feil: Regardless of the casualities, this is what I, the king, have decided. If you would prevent me from achieving my goal, I won’t forgive you.
Xenia: Feil!
Feil: All units, begin the attack!
*boom boom*
Ing: !!
Ibis: They’re shooting!
Masaki: Ugh! Feil, are you serious? Are you really going to fight us?!
Feil: That’s right. If your duties as pilots of Elemental Lords would impose upon me, then you leave me no choice. I have an obligation as king.
Masaki: An obligation…?!
Feil: That’s right. I don’t want to start a war, but if I fail to act, an even worse tragedy will happen. And by then it will be too late.
Masaki: That’s stupid! Isn’t it your job to make sure that doesn’t happen?! It may take time, but if you repair your relations with other countries….
Feil: …I can’t do that… I can’t, Masaki.
Masaki: What…?!
Tytti: No matter what, you plan on attacking Shutedonias?
Feil … Yes.
Masaki: Grr! What kind of king puts his own country in danger? You’re blinded by your ambition, just like Kirkus!
Feil: It’s not ambition. It’s justice. I do this not for Langran, but for all of La Gias.
Masaki: Why are you… If you still won’t reconsider… I will stop you by force!
Aya: Masaki, that’s!
Masaki: I know! I’ll pull him right out of the Duraxyll!
Tytti: If possible, we should get General Ort, too…!
Irm: Don’t kill anyone you don’t have to. It may be difficult, but we have no choice.
Tytti: Commander Tetsuya, I’m sorry it’s come to this…!
Tetsuya: Don’t apologize. We agreed to come to this fight knowing this might happen.
Excellen: And now we know we can return to the surface with Kyosuke and the Hiryuu Custom.
Feil: Then let’s begin, Masaki. We will decide the fate of La Gias!
Masaki: I learned my duty as the pilot of an Elemental Lord from you! Now, I’ll show you what I’ve learned!
Chapter 17: Duraxyll’s Decisive Battle
Victory: Shoot down Duraxyll.
Defeat: The Hagane is shot down.
SR point: Defeat the Sodium Class Mobile Fortress within 4 turns.
*masaki Vs Feil*
Masaki: I… I don’t want to fight you. But I have no choice!
Feil: It will all end with this battle, no matter who wins…. That’s the kind of battle we’re fighting!
*Tytti V Feil*
Tytti: Your Highness, please tell me why you’re doing this! If you don’t…. I’ll…
Feil: I’m sorry, Tytti… I need to finish this quickly…. I don’t have any more time!
Tytti: What…?
*blow up Ort*
Ort: Aaah… M-my Blowel can’t take any more!
Masaki: Eject, old man!
Ort: I’m going on ahead, Your Highness… We’ll… be together… soon!
Masaki: O-Ort…!
Xenia: Why?! He should have been able to eject!
Feil: (I’m sorry, Kevin…. I knew you would come to this end from the moment I met you…)
*get Feil down to like, half*
Feil: You cannot hold back, not after you’ve come so far. If you don’t come at me with all you’ve got, you won’t be able to beat this Duraxyll.
Masaki: Feil! What’s pushing you to continue this reckless war?!
Feil: If you knew, you might not come at me with everything you had…
Tytti: …!
Feil: I’ll tell you. The person who summoned the surface dwellers to La Gias, who started all this confusion… was me.
Masaki: !!
Carla: S-seriously?!
Feil: It’s true.
Aya: Th-that’s….!
Feil: It probably sounds like an excuse… but there was a malfunction in the summoning program, and it called far more people than I expected. I don’t know what…. Or rather, who caused that to happen.
Xenia: …
Feil: But it’s a fact that I was the one behind the mass summoning and subsequent confusion in La Gias.
Masaki: Don’t tell me you were planning…
Feil: From the very start, I have been planning to unify La Gias. However, I don’t have much time left…
Masaki: ?!
Feil: Knowing my end was coming soon, I decided to take on this responsibility.
Xenia: Feil… You’re dying…?!
Feil: I… needed the throne to realize my ideals…. So I needed to somehow artificially increase my magical power, which I naturally lacked.
Xenia: …!
Feil: I was able to barely pass the magical ability test, but the training and drugs had already pushed my body past its limit… And with the injury I suffered during the terrorist bombing of the city… I have, at most, half a year.
Xenia: That’s…!
Masaki: That’s why you went with this method, no matter what anyone said…!!
Feil: As the battles passed, I realized…. I was essentially a soldier. And soldiers are respected based on their conquests. If I didn’t live up to those expectations …. It would be an insult.
Tytti: Your Highness….!
Feil: I don’t have much time left. Therefore…I will eliminate however many people I have to, if they stand between me and my goal.
Rai: If you’re trying to take responsibility for summoning people from the surface, you’re going about it the wrong way…!
Ryoto: That’s right! You could have just searched for the people you summoned and returned them to the surface…!
Feil: When the summoning program malfunctioned, the die was cast. Of course, I apologize for bringing you all down here… but if the other countries knew the truth of the summoning incident, they would denounce our country all the more. And that would just cause more confusion…
Masaki: So you’re trying to unify La Gias before the truth gets out…. Your priorities are way too messed up!
Feil: I didn’t do it to shed responsibility or hide the truth. I summoned the surface dwellers here because of the dark god foretold in the prophecy. Before it was too late, I needed to unify La Gias, and make her powerful…! If you wish to see the future of this world, come me with all your might!
Masaki: You started this war for your personal desires….! Feil! As the pilot of an Elemental Lord, I will crush your ambitions!
*one more fight with Masaki and Feil*
Masaki: I’m not holding back anymore, Feil! I’m ending this right now!
Feil: I can’t let it end yet, Masaki. For the sake of La Gias’s future… And to take full responsibility.
Masaki: Take responsibility some other way! After I rip you out of that Duraxyll!
Feil: You’re naïve, Masaki!
Masaki: !
Feil: What’s wrong? Don’t hesitate! It’s your duty as the pilot of an Elemental Machine to defeat me!
Masaki: Fine! I won’t give you any quarter!
*blow up Feil*
Feil: It’s over… It’s all over…. This might… be for the best…Xenia…. Monica… Terius… I won’t ask you to understand… just… forgive me.
Masaki: Feil…!
Feil: When… I was with you all… it was so very fun…
Xenia: Feil, eject! There should be an ejection switch!
Feil: Ha… haha… Xenia… The ejection device was taken out of this machine…
Masaki: Wha…
Tytti: Lord Feil!
Feil: Even if it were here…My life… is already…
Xenia: You can’t! Feil, you can’t!!
Feil: … Is that you, Monica? Thank goodness, you’re alright….
Xenia: Wh-what are you saying? It’s me! Don’t tell me, your eyes are…!
Feil: Monica… Xenia… I leave… Langran to you…
*And sad boom*
Xenia: Brother!
Masaki: F-feil….!
Presia: Aaah… Aaaah… Th-this…
Tytti: F-feil....
Rai (So that… is how he took responsibility….)
Novus: My lord! Was I too late?!
Masaki: You bastard… Novus!
Novus: Please wait, Lord Masaki! Everything is already over. I have no intentions of fighting.
Masaki: Is… is that so….
Mio: It’s… over?
Masaki: It is…. But there’s still more chaos to come…
Novus: Do not worry about that. Before coming here, the lord made preparations for the end.
Xenia: What do you mean…?
Novus: In the event of his death, his new system of Government for Langran would be revoked… A cabinet will be decided by a general election. The truce with Shutedonias called on them to elect a new cabinet, as well. The lord had prepared everything… He was resolved to meet his death.
Masaki: Resolved to meet his death?! Don’t say that!
Novus: !!
Masaki: Feil didn’t come here to die! He came here to fulfill his life-long ambitions!
Tytti: Masaki…
Masaki: They… They may have been misguided, but… He didn’t come here for any other reason…. Not to die…. It’s not like him… Right, Feil…?
*SAD SLOW ZOOM OUT*
*Seb shrine*
Lune: Masaki!
Masaki: Lune, you were also down here, huh.
Lune: We finally met up. It seems like it was rough for all of us.
Masaki: Yeah, I heard you guys were fighting Kirkus.
Yang Long: Beyond that… It was Lord Feil who was behind the summoning of people from the surface…
Tytti: But for some reason, the summoning program went out of control… And more surface dwellers were summoned to La Gias than he expected. Along with their ships and mechs…
Masaki: Lord Feil went too far while trying to liberate Langran from Shutedonias. In order to obtain more forces, he called people from the surface, and it wound up just like Tytti said. And that’s what started the confusion. He didn’t have very much longer to live, so in order to fix everything and end the fighting quickly, he planned to unify La Gias under an iron fist…
Zash: In the end, Feil had the same ideas as my father…
Masaki: That’s right… And after we stopped him, Prince Feil took his own life as responsibility for his actions.
Mio: He never planned to eject from the Duraxyll…
Yang: …Is she the new pilot of Zamzeed?
Tytti: That’s right.
Mio: I’m Mio Sasuga. You’re Yang Long from the Granveil, right? Nice to meet you.
Yang: Yeah, you too.
Lune: So Masaki’s in Cybuster, Yang Long’s in Granveil, and Mio is in Zamzeed… So who’s in Goddess?
Tytti: That would be me.
Lune: (Wow, she’s pretty!)
Presia: It’s Lune, right? I’m Presia Zenosakis. I’ve heard a lot about you from my big brother.
Lune: Ah, right. Masaki had an adopted little sister, didn’t he?
Presia: Yes! Nice to meet you!
Tasuku: Gah, their side is so much better… I wish I had been on the Hagane.
Masaki: What are you saying?
Tasuku: Uh, the girl over staring at the ART-1, is she a friend of yours?
Masaki: Yeah, that’s Princess Xenia.
Xenia: So this is the ART-1… It’s a combination of the R series and Huckebein series lines…
Ryuusei: Oh, you can tell?
Xenia: I can! The frame’s a bit harder, so when it bends, the center of gravity must shift a bit.
Ryuusei: You even know that…
Ryoto: She’s one of the people who designed the Elementals. And she’s studied the Personal Troopers and Special Robots….
Ryuusei: Basically, she really likes mechs?
Rio: She’s got a bit different tastes than you, though. She even designed an Elemental based on the Huckebein.
Ryuusei: Really?! Where is it?!
Ryoto: Rio, don’t talk about that…
Rio: Ah… S-sorry, Xenia.
Xenia: No, it’s okay.
Ryuusei: Did something happen?
Ryoto: That Elemental was Duraxyll, the machine that Prince Feil piloted in his last hours.
Ryuusei: ! I’m sorry, I didn’t know, and I said something stupid…
Xenia: No, It’s alright. Don’t worry about it. Sometime, if we have time, we should really talk about mechs.
Ryuusei: Y-yeah…
Mai: Ryu!
Ryuusei: Mai! I’m sorry, I guess I made you worry.
Mai: No, I’m just glad you’re okay…
Aya: So you and Kyosuke were in La Gias when you went MIA?
Ryuusei: Well, I was a bit surprised to find myself here when I returned…
Excellen: Hey hey hey, was Kyosuke lonely when he couldn’t meet with me?
Ryuusei: No, he was the same as he always is.
Excellen: Darn, that man….
Aya: (I can’t imagine Kyosuke being lonely, somehow…)
Irm: So I guess this is all the members of the Steel Dragons who have been summoned to La Gias?
Rai: It appears that that’s the case.
Excellen: The members of the ATX Team, Katina’s squad, Boss, the Princess, and Lune were all on the Hiryuu Custom, huh.
Shine: …Lord Raidiese, I’m glad to see you’re okay.
Rai: You too, Princess. I would have never figured you would be summoned, too.
Shine: That’s right. I was called from Riksent while I was cleaning the cockpit of the Fairlion.
Rai: I see…
Ibis: Hey, Kusuha. Did you guys ever see a red Series 77 Lion… The Vegalion?
Kusuha: Huh? A red one… Did Sleigh come to La Gias?
Ibis: I think so… But I wasn’t able to confirm who was piloting it.
Bullet: We didn’t see anything like that.
Ibis: I see…
Katina: We did see Murata, and some kids who called themselves Argent, though.
Excellen: Murata…. The samurai Guarlion? He came to La Gias as well?
Carla: And you met those three kids, too?
Sanger: Yeah… They were working for the Shutedonias Army as mercenaries.
Yuuki: I wonder, do they plan to stay on La Gias?
Lune: Well, if I stumble across them again, I’ll give them a spanking.
Ryuusei: Wait, you plan on staying?
Lune: Yeah. I think I like it here. And moreover, Masaki’s here, too.
Zash: S-so that’s why….
Excellen: Hoho, that face… I’m guessing you’re thinking about some naughty stuff with Lune?
Zash: Th-th-that’s not it at all!
Excellen: Oh, It’s as plain as day, isn’t it? Well, as long as you’re honest about it…
Irm: By the way… who’s that?
Zash: I’m Zashford Zan Valfarbia. I pilot the Elemental Galguard.
Rai: Valfarbia…? You’re General Kirkus’s….
Zash: His son, yes.
Aya: I…. I see…
Zash: My dad really caused problems for everyone… I’m truly sorry.
Irm: Don’t worry… That’s all in the past now.
Tetsuya: Colonel Lefina, we’ve completed our roll call here.
Lefina: Then let’s return to the surface.
Viletta: All units, report to your ships.
Aya: Roger, Captain.
Tytti: Commander Tetsuya… Thank you for all you’ve done for us.
Tetsuya: The same to you.
Xenia: Lefina, please let me say thanks, too. And… I’m sorry my brother brought you all down here in the first place.
Lefina: It’s fine… We learned some important lessons ourselves from this journey. It may get rough from here on out, so please, do your best to protect La Gias.
Xenia: … Got it.
Masaki: Oh yeah, Ryuusei, take this with you.
Ryuusei: What’s that?
Shine: It looks like… a flute.
Masaki: Exactly. Blow one note for Presia, two for Tytti, three times for me…
Leona: What do you mean?
Masaki: Eh, don’t worry about it. It’s a high-end mini Ethernet communicator. You can contact La Gias from the surface with it. If you need anything, call me. I’ll come if I’m able.
Ryuusei: I got it. Thanks.
Masaki: Just don’t call me up for boring stuff. I think I’ll be really busy down here for a while.
Tasuku: Well, it’s probably the same for us… Up above, we’ve probably been listed as missing… When we get back, we’ll have to fill out mountains of paperwork.
Lune: Aww… It would be nice if we would finally have some free time…
Carla: I know, right?
Kyosuke: Anyway… See ya, Masaki.
Masaki: Yeah. See you guys again.
*outside*
Mio: They’ve gone… It’s a bit sad, huh.
Masaki: Mio, Lune… are you guys really okay with not returning to the surface?
Lune: Well, if I want to return, I always can just go back.
Mio: I’m the pilot of Zamzeed… I have responsibilities now.
Yang: Oh ho, you’ve got the right idea of it, huh.
Masaki: But it’s more important that you get the training needed to be a pilot, Mio.
Tytti: And you don’t even have your familiar yet.
Masaki: For now, I’ll be your coach. It’s gonna be rough, so prepare yourself.
Mio: Yes sir, Sensei![1]
Gennacy: If it’s special training, count me in, too.
Mio: Sure… Wait, Who?! When did you?!
Gennacy: I’ve been here for a while….
Mio: I had no idea you were around… Are you a Ninja or something?
Gennacy: No, I’m Gennacy I. Kozyrev. I pilot the Elemental Machine Jaohm.
Xenia: Let’s return to the capital, everyone. We have a lot of stuff we need to do.
Presia: Yup!
Lune: That’s right, and we still need to go on that date, Masaki.
Masaki: Huh? Why?
Lune: Hey! Did you forget about our date again?
Masaki: Um… It’s like I remember and don’t remember at the same time…
Zash: S-so then, Lune… Maybe you could go with me instead?
Tytti: Haaaaah… When they said we were going to be busy, I didn’t expect it to be like this…
Yang: We still need to be on our guard. Shu and Louzorl are still planning things… And we still don’t know where Queen Monika and Prince Terius are.
Masaki: I understand. Whatever Shu and Louzorl are planning, we’ll put a stop to them with our Elemental Lords!
Previous Chapter: Chapter 16: Changed Ways Next Chapter: Chapter 18: The Envoy from Chaos
[1] I consider this an English word based on it’s usage in pop culture. Bite me.