Escape 4 - Results

Ahhh, the sweet taste of fresh air! Truly, there is nothing better than the sun!

Agreed. Only in midsummer can I go around with a popsicle in my mouth at all times without getting strange looks.

Uhh. So wide. So cool. So happy.

Sheesh. At last, I can finally let off all the steam I want.

Excuse me, but I believe you have been letting off plenty of steam all this time, especially when your oversized body was pressed right up against me in the dreadfully tight confines of our tunnel!

Indeed, my suit is looking crisper than ever thanks to your unwitting steam pressing. Thank you!

Ahh, there truly is nothing like the wide-open sky. My heart feels born anew.

People truly are meant to live their lives pure and righteous, under the warm light of the sun.

Now, at last, I can continue my mission to protect public decency. No violation will be overlooked!

(Now that she's all dirty, sweaty, and wild-looking, I feel like she's committing a few violations herself!)

(Oh well! It's not like that's anything new!)

You said it. Anyway, now that we've avoided being buried alive, let's thank the Buddha for his protection! And then we need to find our ride!

We made it back to the surface! But I'm kind of disappointed that we didn't find a single subterranean world even after all that digging!

Huh... Now that I say that, it DOES feel like I went to one recently. I wonder why that is...

I can't speak to that, but perhaps it would be better if you just don't think about it too much right now. Really.

(We don't want her to remember her introduction or early treatment and get stressed out again, after all.)

Ghh, rgh, hrf...

(Loud gasp)

Nothing's more rock 'n' roll than getting buried alive at the very last moment!

Why me? Is it 'cause I don't get to enjoy the Buddha's protection!? He shouldn't discriminate against Demon Kings like that!

Now let's see, my partner is...

... ...

...still buried.

I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

I was hoping you'd at least manage to stay alive until you could whatsit-Calibur Okita for me, but I guess it wasn't meant to be!

...Ah, well. We're not too far from the goal now, so I can prolly make it on my own. RIP in peace, partner!

...X Caliburrr!

Phew, that was close! I almost ended up buried alive!

Hm? What is it, Demon King of the Sixth Heaven? You're shaking like you just facetanked a sacred sword beam!

Did you bang your pinky performing one of your un-Buddha-protected Demon King moves? How very rock 'n' roll of you!

I feel like I've been reborn! Once a god of the underworld, now a god of the heavens! Well, technically I guess I'm already both!

Ahh. The sunlight warming up my frozen body... The air filling up my lungs with much-needed oxygen...

Now that I've finally made it out of there, I hope the sheer relief doesn't kill me.

Senpai, look! Everyone's here!

？！

Oh, if it isn't Fujimaru. Are you here to welcome me back?

Umu, I appreciate your consideration! All of us racers have successfully broken out!

I could tell where everyone was thanks to all the other mes, so I wasn't especially put out myself.

At any rate, you all made it back to the surface. Don't worry, I'm still keeping track of everyone's time.

Now there's nothing left to get in your way. All you have to do is retrieve your vehicles from the warehouse, and get back to the

Did you really think you would get away with this!?

Fooou, fooou!

Always expecting the worst-case scenario, huh... I'm impressed, Master. I just wish your expectation had been proven wrong this time...

？！

...Tch. How did you find out?

Don't sell my popularity short! Queen Medb isn't only beloved by every one of Connacht's citizens, you know. Everything down to the ants and microorganisms love me!

An anonymous informant told me what you were up to! Couldn't say who it was because, y'know, anonymous! But they did great nonetheless!

I'll have to blow them a kiss on the next episode of "Medb Today" as a reward. It'll make Connacht's men even weaker in the knees than usual!

This is really bad. Not only are there lots of Celtic warriors here...but she brought HER along too.

(...I don't like how this is going. I'd better make sure I'm ready for anything.)

Well this is a shame, yes. Those prisoners were my most promising trainees...

...I was hoping to give them a lucha libre graduation test outside the barrier, where they could really cut loose.

This messes up everything, yes. Who told the queen about this, anyway?

What are you muttering about, Vice-Warden!? If you need to warm up, then hurry and warm up!

I'm going to get my warm-up out of the way right now!

Thank yoOOU, Your Highness, thank you! I'm prepared to lay down my life for you! You rooock, Meeedb!

So this way, she gets to warm up and inspire her warriors at the same time, eh. She's really thought this through.

Come to think of it, Monkey and the others used to love it when I threw my sandals at them...

Forget it. Too creepy.

By the way, I almost forgot to ask you all something pretty important.

I take it you're all familiar with the Dangerous Cheese incident that took place during one of my recent bits of precious shower time.

It may have been a foolish, outmoded plan doomed to failure, but it still gave me goose bumps, if only for a moment. That was a whole other sort of unforgivable crime!

...Was that you!?

(A bald-faced lie! Just what I'd expect from my Master!)

Don't you give me that! Who else could it have been!?

Ah, so you admit your crime! Unfortunately for you, here in Connacht, there's no guarantee of leniency just because you didn't do the deed yourself.

？！

Heh... Looks like the jig is up...or so you think!

Try this single-shot cheese derringer I made with leftover materials on for size!

Your fate was sealed the moment I overlaid Caladbolg on top of the material! Now you'll never get a chance to turn into a Saber in the future!

This prison arc ends now! Eat cheese, bitch!

Damn, she just deflected my holdout cheese blaster... I guess I should've known that wouldn't work.

With such incredible strength, maybe she really will end up becoming a swimsuit Saber next year! (Fantasizing)

...I knew it.

I never planned on letting you go, of course, but now I have more reason not to than ever.

How dare you attempt to assassinate your queen! Only the most blackhearted of villains would try such a thing!

I thought some time in prison might reform you, but I was obviously mistaken!

So now I'm officially altering your sentence. No need for a trial or any sort of formalities. I'm not going to bother bringing you back to prison.

Instead, I'm just going to execute you here and now, then use your bones to fertilize Connacht's land. It's a rare honor; I hope you appreciate it.

Don't give me that honor crap, you insolent fool. We only tried to assassinate you because we had no other choice. If you hadn't unjustly thrown us in your prison to begin with, we would have gladly left you alone.

Indeed. What did we ever do to you? All I have ever done is strive to uphold public decency this summer.

Yeah. No fair. The race was nice and cool. The prison was hot and cramped...

Are you kidding me!? Talk about being audacious in your guilt!

In case you've forgotten, this is MY land! I can rule it however I see fit!

I was all set to turn it into the greatest conquering nation ever, and stamp out every cheeky little brat out there once and for all!

And then you lot showed up and covered my Connacht in THOSE things!

As if that wasn't bad enough, next you went and drove your weird vehicles all over the place! The only rides Connacht needs are my chariot and my men!

...Exactly what things are you talking about?

As if you didn't know!

I'm talking about those planet textures from who-knows-where! The ones that already have their own names

Grr, you cowardly criminal cretins! That's the last straw... Vice-Warden! Celtic warriors! Get them!

I could have sworn an attack I've seen somewhere before just came flying in out of nowhere... At any rate, Queen Medb has assumed a combat stance!

？！

Umu! We are no longer stuck behind our cramped prison bars. Now we are free to fight without restraint! Awaiting your orders, Master!

This time, my fellow queen, I shall be the one to invite you to a closed off domain.

Mine is boundless, yet completely closed off. A place where you will lose your freedom, and I maintain control. A prison far removed from the minutiae of daily life, where not a single one of its captives yearns to escape.

You shall gaze upon the vast disparity in our tastes and despair. Though they may both be enclosed spaces, my theater is a joyous place filled with color and emotion!

Argh, what is your PROBLEM, anyway!? Connacht is MY land!!!

I mean, okay, I know I'm being a kinda selfish ruler, but what's wrong with that? I'm a queen!

This isn't right! It's not fair! When am I finally going to meet a tall, dark, and handsome herooo!?

Mucho, mucho! But I suppose now's not the time for congratulations...

I guess it's time to say goodbye to my merry lucha libre time, yes?

It wouldn't be right for a prison guard to detain ex-convicts, no! Plus, I'm supposed to disappear! That was part of the agreement!

Okay, you pass! Your Kukulkan-style graduation exam is officially over, yes!

(Excellent work, Fujimaru! The toughest enemy just left all on her own!)

Great job, everyone! I think it's safe to say that the evil here is juuust about all but done for now!

Now, let's get back to the race! Soon, all your hard work will finally pay off!

That's true. It's a shame we ended up having to fight Medb, but it's wonderful everyone freed.

However...it also seems that Medb wasn't the core of this Singularity after all.

Hey everyone! Miss me?

Mash is right. The Singularity signal is still there. It's probably the kind that's tied to the ground itself.

With Medb gone, we shouldn't have too much trouble pinpointing the core's location if we investig

That would just be a waste of time. Once we finish the Ishtar Cup, the core will just disappear!

Trust me, keeping the race going is the fastest way to get this over with.

？！

Exactly!

So come on, hurry up and go get your vehicles from the warehouse already! Those are more important than anything!

Don't worry, you all have time to retune them, so just take it slow and steady!

Oh, and at this point, there will be no making new vehicles, so make sure to stick with your original ones!

Well, of course. I would never replace Kyogoku with another steed after all his hard work.

Same here! Whether we win or not, gotta have a proper end to my journey with Bailong!

But of course, that doesn't mean I'm not still gunning for the number one spot!

I'll be checking these myself as well, but once you get your vehicle back, make sure it still has the ritual part I gave you before the race began.

If you don't, you'll be disqualified on the spot, no questions asked.

You certainly do care about those parts a lot. Oh well, I suppose they must be needed to complete the ritual to make this Singularity disappear.

You got it. Now hurry up and get ready already!

Your long prison stint is finally over, and the spectators are waiting anxiously for you to start racing again!

...Phew. Looks like I managed to fool them.

I just wish I hadn't gotten so carried away with my performance that they ended up punching through my own Spirit Core. Oh well, at least that ought to trick the spectators too.

It may not have been a flashy role, but it was a fulfilling one. Besides, people like me aren't supposed to stand out anyway.

Welp, you're free to take it from here, lady. Next time, I hope you and I will get a chance to face off.

...The prison is falling apart. I see. This was all your doing, wasn't it?

Hm? Oh, you mean getting rid of the prison by getting rid of Medb? Yup, that was me.

Those people only wanted to escape. I wanted to tear this entire prison down.

And since there was no one around to point out our different aims, I just kept my mouth shut and did what I had to make sure things turned out this way.

I don't take issue with the idea of building a powerful prison using a foreign goddess as a cornerstone...but they really should have chosen their sacrifice more carefully.

Don't you agree? If you want to build a prison, you need to use a goddess of justice as its central pillar. Using a goddess of revenge will just twist the whole sense of morality in the place.

Are you mocking me? It is not as if I had a choice in the matter. Right from the start, I was summoned here to be a sacrifiWait! Stop!

...What are you up to?

I apologize for resorting to such crude methods. I didn't mean to damage your precious scales.

But now, the pillar supporting this prison is free. You may not exactly be able to walk out the front door...

...but knowing you, I'm certain you can still find a way to escape this place. After all, you've always been good at burrowing through the ground.

...Are you expecting me to thank you? I don't even know who you are. Why are you

Beats me. Honestly, I'm not even sure myself why I wanted to help you.

But I do know that every fiber of my being is telling me this:

I never again want to see a goddess consumed by her need for revenge disappear without ever having known freedom. Not even a composite deity.

...

Now, it looks like this place is collapsing as well, so I'll be taking my leave.

Neither of us has a Master, so we won't be able to maintain our bodies here very long.

So I figure, why not enjoy this world while we still can?

You're... So that's who you are...