Ugh... I-Impossible...

I'm a disciple... yet my power was surpassed by mere humans...

Take this!! Magna Arca!!

And this'll...finish you! Nandikeshvara's End!!

Ahhh...!

No...this cannot be...

My lord's orders...will go unfulfilled...and I will...fall to ruin in this dark world...?

Does this mean...we will be overthrown by mere humans?

No, this isn't over yet...

I-I will find a way to survive...

I'll be back!

*Huff* *huff...*

......

Is he...dead?

I sense that all the magic power from this area has vanished. However...

Yeah, I felt it too. At the very end some very faint power moved off somewhere.

There's still the chance he only ran away.

But with the condition he was in, he won't be back any time soon. In the meantime it's safe to assume we're not in any immediate danger.

Yeah, we can be sure of that.

Still, just who was he, I wonder?

Beats me.

But something tells me that everything he said was the truth.

And although he was our enemy, something tells me he was not truly evil.

But even so, Lord Karna Masta is still in danger, right?!

We have to get back quickly!

Fadahl, how are we supposed to get back to Grand Gaia after completing a mission?

If we go to the same place where we first stepped foot here...

...the servants of Lord Karna Masta are supposed to come to meet us.

After we regroup with the troops, let's head there.

I hate to be the one to tell you, but, even if you go, no one will come for you.

Who's there?!

Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Demon Graham.

You're...a demon?!

This feeling... Are you the presence the troops went to investigate...?

You...! What's happened to the troops?!

Have no fear.

They overcame my trial, and are now headed here.

But, it seems that Melord has been defeated.

As expected of Grand Gaia's elite Guardians of Meirith...I guess I should say.

What do you mean no one's coming for us?

He's lying! You can't trust a word these demons say!

Believe me, don't believe me... I'll leave that decision up to you.

But, I can promise you'll find no one waiting for you if you go.

As they are quite busy at the moment defending the Holy Emperor Karna Masta from those who are after his life.

They have no time to spare for mere humans, such as yourselves.

Fadahl, what do you think?

In such a situation it could be possible.

However, Graham, was it?

Why did you come to tell us this? What do you stand to gain?

We had assumed that you were affiliated with Ragruvord.

You assumed correct. I am a servant of Lord Ragruvord.

I thought that by serving him, I would be able to get to Grand Gaia...

...until unexpected disturbances such as yourselves showed up.

Are you going to attack us?! Because if you are...

Don't jump to conclusions.

My main goal is still to get to Grand Gaia.

Fighting you here would do nothing towards achieving that goal, so I have no intention of fighting you.

Then...why have you come here?

Out of spite. I came out of spite for you all, who got in the way of my goal.

I could have used Melord to reach Grand Gaia...

...but you just had to go and kill him.

For being affiliated with a god, you really are a pathetic bunch.

But oh well, I can at least take comfort in seeing...

...the despair on all your faces when you are unable to return to Grand Gaia.

That's in bad taste...

You flatter me.

Now then, allow me to ask you a question that's also in "bad" taste...

You've all learned through this experience that there are different gods, with different ways of thinking.

If one of these gods decided to wipe you humans from this planet...

...as servants to the gods, what would you do?

Would you die quietly as your god wishes?

Or would you rise up, and rebel?

A god would never intentionally destroy humanity! That question's not even worth considering!

You find it unthinkable? You really are nothing but insects.

No, what we mean is, our choice in that situation goes without saying.

Oh?

If it ever came to that, we would side with neither humans nor gods.

We would make every effort to restore peace between humans and the gods, until the very end.

......

How noble... You've chosen the kind of answer I hate most.

Yet, it suits you well. It is very much the answer I'd expect from one that embodies all that is Meirith.

I do believe that I loathe you.

......

Don't worry about it.

I'm not actually planning to do anything to you.

I shall leave you here.

I look forward to seeing how you choose to live on trapped in this realm.

Hehehehehehe...

...... What was all that about?

He certainly was a strange demon.

...... There's no point trying to understand demons.

There are demons who only care about combat, after all...

True. More importantly, what do we do now?

Well, nothing has changed. This is still a dangerous place to be.

Acting without a plan would be reckless.

Yeah...

First, we should wait to regroup with the troops. Once we do, we'll return to the place we arrived at as planned.

And if, as Graham says, no one is there to meet us...

...then we'll find a way to return to Grand Gaia by ourselves.

Will we be able to find a way?

I don't know...

......

......

It won't be a problem.

Huh?

No matter what troubles we face or strong enemies stand in our way, we will overcome them.

Right now, all six of us are together.

We are the Guardians of Meirith!

Huh? Why are you so carefree all of a sudden?

What was that, Colt?

N-Nothing!

I'm pretty sure...

...I just heard him say something like, "I love my sister!"

I didn't say that!

What? So you don't love her?!

Honestly. You really have no sense of the danger we're in, do you?

And you all accuse Quaid of not taking things seriously enough.

He he, I think it's for the best.

I feel much better with everyone here together.

So, Claire...

...pretend our conversation earlier never happened.

And, from now we're rivals, okay?

Huh?!

......

Yes, I guess we are. I promise you I won't give up easily.

Let's make sure to give him some real trouble, when we return to Grand Gaia.

Claire, Diana, what are you two muttering about over there?

Uh... Hey Fadahl, what's the deal with those two?

Who knows?

I really have no idea...

Anyway, Quaid, the troops are approaching from over there.

Let's head out to regroup.

Good idea.

All right, Guardians of Meirith! Let's head back to Grand Gaia!

I see. So an ending such as this was possible after all.

Yes.

It seems that from the beginning, Meirith's Ishgria expedition force was interrupted by various other gods.

And overcoming those interferences...

...was due to their superior resourcefulness...or maybe it was just their intuition.

So, in the end, that makes the key player in this expedition...Quaid?

Hm... That's a hard question to answer...

By the bye...I do believe an apology from you is in order.

...... Sorry.

It wasn't a very good idea to try and personally control the system.

I learned my lesson.

......

I must confess, I am more concerned with the question you had the demon ask.

What was the reasoning behind it?

I...merely wanted to know...

...just what kind of people were the "Guardians of Meirith."

In the great battle between gods and humans, there were a few humans who still sided with the gods.

I wanted to see if the "Guardians of Meirith" were the same sort of people.

And? Are you satisfied with their answer?

I'm not sure...

But...it certainly seemed like a befitting answer...

Befitting of Meirith, that is.