Max remarked after the battle, ¡§I hope these monsters had
nothing to do with the PN Centre.¡¨
¡§I don¡¦t think so.¡¨ Heidis replied.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew up the dust on the ground. An
enemy airship landed between them and their flaming speed ship¡Xonly a
single one. Someone hopped out from the ship. Heidis was alarmed, ¡§It¡¦s
you again!¡¨ She had already activated her weapon and was ready for battle.
¡§Of course,¡¨ Zephaniah replied, ¡§as the best killer of
the PN Centre, I won¡¦t rest until I finish my duty. You were smart,
thinking you could trick us by destroying your speed ship.¡¨ He added with
a sly smile, ¡§But unfortunately, this will only escort you to your route
of death much quicker.¡¨
(Heidis and Esonia are definitely in this battle. You may
choose your third character. We choose Max in this example.)
Heidis
turned to Yisa, ¡§Yisa, please take the citizens to safety. We¡¦ll handle
Zephaniah.¡¨
Yisa
assured her, ¡§Leave it to me.¡¨
BOSS BATTLE: ZEPHANIAH KNIGHT
You won¡¦t be too
unfamiliar with Zephaniah¡¦s attack pattern. This time, Zephaniah will use
more magic¡X¡¥quake¡¦ and ¡¥plough¡¦ respectively, and cause
considerable damage to your party¡¦s HP. If you have Yisa or Ponnie as your
third character, you can use an advantage and repeatedly cast ¡¥poison¡¦
and/or ¡¥fire¡¦ on him since they are both strong in magic.
You may also use Max and Heidis to cast magic on Zephaniah, but
they can rely on physical attacks as well. Again, choose dagger for
Esonia¡¦s weapon, and don¡¦t bother getting her to use magic.
Okay, Zephaniah wasn¡¦t superman. He was defeated but he
managed to slip away in his air ship. Esonia was injured and she crouched to
the ground. (I was just wondering why she wasn¡¦t during the last encounter
with Zephaniah?!) Max (or the third character) helped her stand. He
suggested that they should find somewhere to rest since evening was coming.
Heidis agreed. The three of them met up with Yisa who was just around the
steel factory. (Yisa/fourth character: Oh, Esonia! You¡¦re hurt! Are you
alright?) (Esonia: I¡¦m fine. I¡¦m not gonna die yet. (And gave Yisa a
¡¥cut the bullshit¡¦ look.) It appeared that she had found the perfect
place to stay. Under the bridge which led to the port, there was shelter.
Making use of the abandoned ¡¥steel¡¦ materials and pieces of wood and
cloths¡Xe.g. cars and petroleum barrels, they managed to construct a
temporary shelter.
Night fell and the tired company laid down to rest. Only
Esonia remained awake. She waited until everyone was asleep. Then, she got
up and headed outside. If she left now, nobody would be there to stop her.
Just when she thought she could get away, someone whispered,
¡§Where are you going, Esonia?¡¨ She recognized immediately the voice of
Max and stopped.
¡§What do you want?¡¨ She asked, trying to sound as
impatient as she could.
¡§Don¡¦t leave us now. It¡¦s full of danger out there, and
you¡¦re injured. It¡¦s unsafe to walk alone.¡¨
Esonia snapped, ¡§I¡¦m used to working alone.¡¨
Max instantly sensed that he said something wrong, ¡§Well,
you know what I mean. Actually, ever since we¡¦ve fought with the boy named
Zephaniah, you¡¦ve been awfully quiet. Are you okay?¡¨
She didn¡¦t want to make a big business out of this and she
tried to cover the truth by telling him, ¡§I speak only when I have to.¡¨
He prompted, ¡§Esonia, what is it? You can tell me and see
if there¡¦s anything I can do to help you.¡¨
Esonia hesitated. He had touched the pain deep inside her
heart. She paced herself to an abandoned transport and sat on the hood. Max
followed her and sat down beside her.
She was silent for a moment before she spoke, ¡§Why do you
always want to find out something about me?¡¨
He didn¡¦t answer. What should he say?
She shot him a quick glance, ¡§To admit the truth, I don¡¦t
want to be with a group for a long time. I don¡¦t want anyone to care about
me.¡¨
¡§Why?¡¨ He asked, ¡§Won¡¦t you feel lonely and isolated
sometimes? Won¡¦t you feel that you¡¦d like someone to be concerned about
you sometimes?¡¨
¡§Sometimes,¡¨ She admitted, ¡§when I get too sick of
being a loner, I go back to the Underground City. Witt and Linda will always
welcome me. So will the DARK. But I feel uncomfortable as they are near.
They all love me very much. They all wanted to protect me. But what I need
is not their protection¡K¡¨
¡§Is it that you don¡¦t want to become their burden?¡¨
¡§A threat to their lives.¡¨ She corrected and went on,
¡§My life is under constantly great danger, and I don¡¦t want them to put
themselves in a treacherous position because of me. But it¡¦s impossible to
shake off their concern. After I¡¦ve been named as one of the PN Centre¡¦s
target, they all tried their best to keep me from threat. This puts them in
jeopardy too. I don¡¦t them to risk because of me.¡¨
¡§But trying to be a loner is not a solution.¡¨ Max further
explored Esonia¡¦s psychology, ¡§You are only human. You can¡¦t possibly
live alone forever.¡¨
¡§You¡¦re right.¡¨
Esonia nodded slowly, ¡§I¡¦m just trying to run away from my problems.¡¨
