The Afterschool Brave and Fantastic Party Epilogue

The scene begins with the party standing outside what I assume is Midgard as apparently Orgus asks Yuuji why he's suddenly turned around to look behind him. Narration places this all as taking place as just before Yuuji the Second has left this world, and Yuuji laughs the question off and says it's nothing. He wonders what he was thinking when he first set off on this whole adventure. He had always been looking behind him, regretting the choices he had made. Why had he always lived thinking he had made a mistake?

 

Flashback kicks in to replay Yuuji's memories at school where he got made fun of for using boku and asked if he liked another guy. Yuuji was always afraid of doing something everyone else said that you 'shouldn't do.' However, his teachers and other great people told him to live as himself. That's why he believed that the right thing to do was to face his fears. Despite that, he ran away from what he ought to have faced and regretted making the wrong choice.

 

Yuuji felt jealous when he saw people resembling himself having fun, thinking he should have been like that too. He thought that if he had another chance, he'd make the right choice next time. He regretted running away, and he thought that he shouldn't have done so.

 

Now though, Yuuji has chosen to run away from the world in which the hero and overlord must fight. He chose it despite thinking that running away was not an option, that he had to battle it out. Is this choice wrong then? He thinks on it as he puts his hand on his chest.

 

Yuuji says aloud that he feels that this is the right choice. He starts thinking back to a conversation he had with Nekros he had one night after that final battle. Nekros explains that an overlord is an eternal existence, someone who stores the memories of the living for eternity. That means he has memories of Yuuji the First, and he asks if the Second understands this. Nekros takes the moment to tell him that he can see traces of other people in him. Those are the traces of the people who traveled with the first hero, or maybe the traces of his creator that resembles Yuuji. Maybe he even sees someone that resembles himself in Yuuji. But even if all those people start from the same place, they might end up in different places. And Yuuji's choice has made things into something that only he has.

 

Yuuji reflects back on the world as a light breeze blows through. There was a time when all he had and all he saw were his regrets. Now though, he can see a vast and endless world in front of him. Before, all he saw were things that he couldn't do, and he thought that that was the most important thing in the world. He kept regretting that he didn't try to fight against it. There probably are people who'd choose to fight, but he wasn't one of them. He suffered in his regrets in being unable to fight. But if his goal is not 'reaching a point' but 'going beyond that point,' then he can look ahead and move on, take his own road forward.

 

Title card pops up, and this chapter is just titled Epilogue.

 

Camera dives back into Yuuji's mental world as Yuuji talks about needing to relearn how to move since it's been a while since he surfaced. After a bit of waving his limbs around he sighs happily about how nice it is to move around freely. Now he can do this thing and that thing with everyone, and he giggles to himself before noticing you looking at him.

 

You ask if Yuuji is the First or the Second. Yuuji says he's the First and that the Second has already left, probably from the world too. You comment that he looks the same, say he's grown, and/or say you thought he was the Second. Yuuji laughs that he's still a growing boy until you tell him you meant in a different sense. He shrugs and says it's natural he'd grow after running the adventure a second time. Then he thinks on it some more and thinks he just said something weird.

 

You ask if Yuuji can answer a question for you, which is you wondering why you're in his body. Yuuji looks freaked out for a second before laughing, then apologizes for laughing. He says he's not really the type to seriously think about how and why he's wherever he is. One moment he was born in the city he lived in, the next he gets summoned to another world. He's never once chosen to be wherever he happens to be.

 

Yuuji then takes it back and says he now has a choice he has to make, like who he ought to pick or if he still wants to stick together with the whole party. He's quick to backtrack from talking about this further as he switches the subject back to your question, saying he can at least answer as to why Yuuji the Second was there.

 

You prompt Yuuji to go on, so he agrees but needs a second to figure out how. He then starts comparing it all to computer games and the idea of different save slots. In this analogy he'd be slot one and the other Yuuji is slot two. You understand and ask him to continue or take the moment to ask if this world is a game.

 

If you go B Yuuji has some extra lines where he stresses it's just an example for discussion, but he admits he thought the same thing when he first did all this. Getting cut hurts and he has only the one body, so it'd have been easier if it was a game. But anyways while Yuuji 2 started things off, Yuuji 1 was still around. Redoing things was fine, but the starting point was unexpected. He thought it was when he was first summoned, but he says it's actually even before that.

 

You ask Yuuji to elaborate, so Yuuji says that the Tokyo he came from had some sort of calamity in the past. Specifically, stars/meteors fell on the city. You silently react to that, and Yuuji says he doesn't know why the reset started from there, but Yuuji 2 started off from the point he saw that. Yuuji 2 had no body, so Yuuji 1 lent him his. Yuuji supposes that maybe you lost your body in that same incident and ended up coming along in the confusion. You either calmly accept this or freak out that the possibility that you died.

B and C has an extra line as Yuuji stresses that he's just guessing. Anyways Yuuji admits he's reaching for an explanation since there ought to be other people who were caught up in that Incident. It was just an explanation for why only you got into his body. He laughs and says that maybe the two of you look the same to God or whatever. Yuuji then starts thinking aloud about how that logic means you might leave the same way the First did. He stops partway when he notices your body acting up.

 

You comment on your body turning into light and being pulled away, and narration says you can feel it returning somewhere. You can see them going to Tokyo, which appears like a mirage to you. You say out loud that it's Tokyo, back before it was destroyed, and/or wonder if that's the Tokyo you're going back to.

 

Scene shifts around as all the other Transients pulled into the world are also turning back to light and being sent back to Tokyo. At the arena Alp yells about disappearing and calls to Fenrir. Fenrir mentions the summoner they've contracted with back in Tokyo, so they'll be returned to the same place. He comments on how they never found out who their summoner was on this end. Alp waves the arena champion goodbye and thanks him for saving them. Fenrir says bye too before talking to himself about not finding his siblings, and he hopes the little Jormungand and Hel are living happily.

 

Scene then focuses on Horus, who saw the final battle and is also returning to Tokyo. As the transition happens, he starts thinking. Him getting involved with this incident should be an abnormality. But thanks to being here he's learned something by comparing this world to Tokyo. Maybe he could use the knowledge to steal ahead of even Michael and Amaterasu.

 

But anyways, Horus is thinking specifically about the System for the repeating game in Tokyo. If his hypothesis is correct, then it should encompass every possible ending. If so, there should be an ending where one can let go of their power like the Hero did this time. Horus had seen how in doing so, the hidden Memories of Someone Else within the hero had split off into its own being. Therefore, the same should be possible in Tokyo.

 

Horus smiles confidently, and he thinks that if that were to happen, there should be a chance for him to have a true battle to settle things with his uncle. That is what is going on in the head of the king who couldn't run away from the class and power his relatives forced upon him. Horus also thinks that the key to this is the Tower of Babel in Tokyo, the tower believed to have divided Myths when that which should not be touched was touched.

 

Speaking of Babel Tower, scene shifts over to there with Alice hanging around. Narration says that at some point, the city destroyed by countless falling stars/meteors has reverted back to before. Every road, mountain, river, and body is back to how it was, like nothing had ever happened.

 

Alice is singing what I assume is the Japanese form of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and she's stated to be standing somewhere on the tower looking over at the city. She eventually comments on how it ends on a question and asks for it not to be answered. It cannot be answered, and it cannot be spoken.

 

Sanat Kumara walks over after popping out of one of the guild's Portals and suggests she talk about something nicer and appropriate to her apparent age. Alice fires back that Sanat Kumara is always talking like an old man. She says it's not her fault how she speaks, and she says he must think so too. There are so many taboos/words that can't be said and done in the Tokyo Game. She complains that she's the one bothered by all the restrictions. It's why what she's talking about comes out as a mess.

 

Narration talks about how there are taboos in the world that will end everything if touched, just like how learning of the border of dream and reality can end a girl's ability to stay a young girl. Alice says it's different for people who keep quiet and communicate in ways other than words like him though. She is who she is, and she wouldn't be alive if she couldn't talk about pointless stuff. And he dares to say her words are nonsense?

 

Sanat Kumara says it looks to him like she's enjoying it all, but he stops himself since he can't match her verbally. Alice then starts talking about the Tower. Narration calls it a symbol of reaching for a taboo one mustn't touch. It also describes it as being built to challenge a domain that shouldn't be invaded after a great flood swept the world according to certain beliefs. A tower is the concept of a pillar rooted in the ground and piercing the sky, something that will not yield even to giant floods. The fool that touches the taboo is said to invoke the wrath of a god that surpasses the flood, and the beliefs hold that the world was split apart so that no one could communicate with one another.

Alice talks about the domain of God that cannot be touched, and the Tower of Baral(?) and languages being split apart. Narration says that Babel Tower is the center point and headquarters for the Game Masters, the administrators of the game who maintain said game. As such, those trying to win the game keep trying to make contact with it. But maybe this time they know that they cannot.

 

Alice says everything is for the sake of continuing the chess game. The game is centered on the clashing of the wills of the split apart worlds. Narration says that if anyone touches the taboo they'll be sent to another world and scattered apart. Alice closes her eyes as she thinks about the fates of such people, a path of hardship with no visible end in sight.

 

Camera switches back to your end with you nearly finished with getting transferred over, pretty much a thought form still around while that happens. You comment on your memories going hazy as you wonder where you are or where you're going.

 

Yuuji asks you to wait since he has to thank you before you go. He specifically thanks you for helping Yuuji 2. He's not him, but he was still happy about it. He has similar memories to the ones you've seen of the other Yuuji's after all. They happened to bump into each other, but he realized that there was another way to go about things from that. He feels great that the other Yuuji managed to get past it. Yuuji then says he'll go over to Tokyo too since he wants to sightsee with everyone.

 

You shake Yuuji's hand and say you'll meet him again. As you hold his hand, you feel something warm and strong connecting you two. Yuuji can also feel the separation coming in as the worlds divide you two. He promises to see you again with everyone, believing that it'll happen again even with you two parting ways. Everyone is going different directions because of their choices, but he won't get sad about it. After all, everyone decides what it means to them in the end. And as the camera shows the event party reaching Tokyo, it says one adventure is ending. And now the door to a new one opens here. The End.

The Afterschool Brave and Fantastic Party Episode 5 Part 2

Narration starts up by talking about how the overlord revives over and over again to feed on the life of others while the hero comes from another world to stop him. This repeated battle has been dyed into legend in a fantasy world of adventure with swords and sorcery. And in this world, equipment that would charm the masses was made necessary. The overlord was then born to guide the world into a rampaging battle.

 

Because of the above, the chosen vessel was a descendant of the ruler of intoxication in this world. He was filled with the embodiment of the ruler of the underworld's power that can revive the dead. That is how the No Life King, ruler of the lifeless and overlord among overlords was born. He was born with something akin to a heart in order to control his body and his power. That is how He came to be.

 

The people in this world feared Those Things that took the forms of people and ate people. They feared what looked like them yet were incomprehensible. The feelings of all the people living in the world melted together and were recorded into memory.

 

However, the people never understood these feelings since the undead looked like them but in nature were nothing similar to them. The living eat other animals, but they do not eat anything that resembles themselves. They said they were just born that way, that it was just how things were. That way of living was once bemoaned and shunned, but it was never held any more closely than that. Even if the battle between hero and overlord were to repeat once more, that fact never changed. The role of overlord had to be fulfilled as expected...

 

That is, that was how it was supposed to be. He simply didn't know yet. When people see things shaped similarly to themselves they are confronted with things that they don't want to see about themselves. It is in the slight differences between themselves that they see what they truly doubt about things.

 

He saw someone who resembled himself, but what he felt was anger, not compassion. They didn't realize that they were borrowing someone else's body as a painfully cruel existence. Such foolishness brought forth something resembling rage within him. He ended up reflecting upon himself, and he wondered if the way he was born meant he really was loved. And for the first time in his life, he felt some dark sludgy emotions. He turned up to the heavens and let out all his emotions towards his Maker. "O Creator, was I born out of love? Was I born because someone wished it so...?"

 

Camera then tunes back to the present to pick up with where the action left off, and Orgus asks Yuuji about what he just said to the overlord. Yuuji however denies that he's speaking to the overlord since who he's addressing is Nekros. It's not like the party wants to fight the same Nekros who was with them before, right? Sol can't answer the question, and Yuuji goes on to say that if Nekros will hurt people as the overlord if he stays, then it ought to be okay if he escapes this world to somewhere beyond it. Right? Right!?

 

Bacchus says there's some logic to that idea, but there's also some sort of issue. No Life King laughs at the idea Yuuji has come up with, then says he's a little late. He was thinking of waiting a little more, and narration says more voices are pouring into him. They echo and dredge over his reasoning ability, though the No Life King says he understands something now. He asks if what he feels is what everyone else feels for the overlord, and he glares right into Yuuji's eyes to look further in. You either wonder what's going on or react with alarm.

 

The No Life King asks why "you" appeared before him. There is something here that he can't stand, though he can't figure out what that is. Something boils over and out from within himself, painting over his thoughts. He screams, and all of his higher thoughts capable of holding down his power is blown away. A voice from the distance calls to him, calling him the destroyer and the pillager of dignity.

 

The No Life King speaks again, commanding the dead to arise as his servants. Mobs start appearing everywhere in the world, and eventually those knights back at Midgard run in to report to King Klaus about this happening. And back at your end the No Life King cackles maniacally, declaring it is time for the world to bear witness to the battle between hero and overlord. He tells Yuuji to come at him, but Yuuji denies it when Nekros refers to himself as the No Life King. The episode battle then begins, with more story happening afterwards.

 

After the battle, the camera picks things up over at the arena as Alp is freaking out and yelling for help from Fenrir. Fenrir tells him to watch out as he calls Alp Dream Eating Monster Descendant, but then some other help comes to intervene. Jormungand beats down the undead mobs, then asks if he's okay. Narration talks about how everyone is working together to fight as it pans over Fire Dragon Mountain, the desert, and other areas. Here they battle with people from another era they should never have met, and a bond that would never have been created is linked.

 

Back to your side, countless monsters have appeared in response to the overlord's crazed yelling. Orgus and the rest of the party members are facing off against the mobs to cut a path to the overlord Nekros. Orgus asks if Yuuji really said he'd go beyond this world and take them with him, then sighs about not understanding anything he says. He does repeat that he's said he'd protect him wherever he goes though, so he'll go see the new world with him.

 

Sol ponders Yuuji's home world where there are no legends of heroes or overlords. He can't picture it in his head, but as someone imprisoned by hate he wants to go see it. Sol also talks about not knowing much of anything about Yuuji, so he wants to learn more about him. Bacchus is on board with going to a new world along with Yuuji and the overlord. They can go along with Nidhogg and anyone else who wants to tag along. He personally wants to see all that he can that he couldn't on his own.

 

Yuuji yells Nekros's name as loud as he can over and over again, paying no heed to any damage he takes. Nekros attempts to declare that his name is No Life King, but Yuuji shouts over this to deny it and say his name is Nekros. Every time he says his name, Nekros separates a little from the power of the overlord. You activate your power from within Yuuji to cut him away from it, and Yuuji throws his own sword away after the severance takes effect. It is the world's hope and proof of the legendary hero, yet Yuuji casts it aside as he calls to Nekros and asks him to come with him and everyone to Tokyo.

 

As Yuuji yells, another hand reaches forward. It shakes, its own on the verge of tears trying to hold back a fear of the unknown. Nekros says Yuuji was foolish to abandon the sword, but he understands that Yuuji chose to let go of his power and stop being a hero to chose the path that would have Nekros live. He starts laughing, saying that he can't possibly refuse him now.

 

Narration talks about how the hero cut him away from his fate with the power to sever control that he didn't have originally. Nekros goes to take Yuuji's hand firmly, and this time he will choose rather than the will of the world. He talks to himself as he understands something. Yuuji picking him leads to his pent up inner emotions flowing away, and Nekros talks about how what he felt was jealousy.

Scene tunes over back to Breke and Woden as Breke asks what happened next. Woden says that this is the finale of the current tale of the hero and the overlord. He feels it would be inelegant to go on any further, then starts strumming his instrument again as he looks over at Bifrost, the rainbow bridge that many people set off from as they found their own path to take.

 

Back in Yuuji's mental world, he starts talking about remembering something. He then greets Yuuji 1 and says it's over now. Yuuji 1 is quiet at first before he seems to tune in and asks what Yuuji means by that. Yuuji says it was a big adventure he just went on, however brief it was. He knows now that even he (which he makes a point of using boku) can do something like that, even if he doesn't quite become a proper hero. Yuuji 1 might see it as his second adventure, but for Yuuji it was his first. He has no regrets anymore, and his what-if story can end here.

 

Narration says Yuuji remembers everything and that this second adventure should never have happened to begin with. Maybe it happened because it was connected to Tokyo and got caught up by the reset. Maybe he took on this adventure as someone completely different. And now this story has reached its conclusion. He reached the end of his own adventure and not anyone else's, and that is something to be proud of.

 

Yuuji gives his thanks, then says you guys don't need to worry since he'll probably disappear from this body soon. He says out loud that he knows this adventure wasn't supposed to happen originally, and his expression is clear as he speaks. Yuuji 1 seems sad as he says he sees, though he admits to not getting it that much. Yuuji says the two of them are different people, so it follows that they'll be going different ways. Yuuji 1 agrees with that, then asks where he'll go.

 

Yuuji says he'd like to know too, but he figures no one knows the answer. He's fine with it though since he'll be going somewhere that's not here of his own volition. Maybe he'll see him again. Maybe he won't. Yuuji 1 says he's not sure what to say, but he's sure he'll remember him. Yuuji says he'll remember him too, then realizes he needs to speak with you too.

 

You are surprised at being addressed, and Yuuji says he needs to thank you too. He does so, and wishes you good luck since you guys are probably parting here. You can either thank him back or ask what he means by good luck. B adds in an extra line where Yuuji shrugs and says he means your life in general. But whatever happens, he suggests you not worry about what other people say about you. He asks you to remember everything he did here and to remember that he'll be cheering you on. You better keep it in mind if you ever get down in the dumps yourself, because he's sure he'll be in you pushing you on.

 

You either nod, say you don't get it but keep it in mind, and/or ask him to remember all this too. Yuuji laughs, and narration says these memories will probably remain within someone. Through that he'll accept the memories of someone else that isn't him. Yuuji starts thinking about everyone he went on this quest with, and how they might have started off the same way as the First. But even so, the memories that no one completely shares with him are here, and they'll probably always be a part of himself.

 

Yuuji bids you guys goodbye, raising his fist up with a big smile. Light covers everything, and when you open your eyes, Yuuji is gone. To be continued in the epilogue!

The Afterschool Brave and Fantastic Party Episode 5 Part 1

Yuuji starts narrating his thoughts, and notably he refers to himself with boku as opposed to ore he's been using the rest of the time. But as for what he's thinking? He figures that if it were him, he could have done things better. It's a thought that he thinks of every time he plays a game or reads a light novel. "I could do that. I could do that even better." Those kinds of things. That way, he could skip some events and more efficiently get to the events he'd like to do.

 

Yuuji then admits that he never thought that an adventure could be so frightening and painful. It's so much different sitting back and watching someone else do it and doing it yourself. And here is where Yuuji will talk about the one adventure he went on and everything that happened. It started with him following in the footsteps of someone who looked like himself, and it went on to follow along someone else to 'one unique place.' This is that story to its conclusion.

 

Camera then tunes in at Asgard as Breke looks over in the distance and asks what that castle above the clouds is. He was supposed to be in Tokyo, but now he's here looking at the supernatural scenery. He talks about how this is supposed to be his first time in this world, but he has the feeling he knows what the castle is.

 

A bard in a chair starts talking to Breke and explains that this is Asgard, the land in the heavens high above Midgard and one of the realms of Yggdrasil. Breke is shocked by the guy's sudden appearance, and the bard goes on to describe the castle as what lies after the dreams of the strong. It was once known as Valhalla, the palace of the dead. Breke interrupts to demand where the bard came from, then orders him to identify himself.

 

The bard apologizes for surprising Breke, then introduces himself as Woden, a bard who passes down legends and history. Breke is in disbelief that he could be taken by surprise by a civilian, but he stops with his thoughts to apologize, then gives his name and calls himself a soldier from another world.

 

Woden nods at this, and Breke asks Woden to elaborate on what he said about the palace of the dead. Woden offers to play a song, then strums his instrument as he begins his narration. The palace is a place where the strong who've finished their roles on earth gather, and within the castle there was a king. He possessed great power, able to do almost anything. In this world there was war and battle aplenty, and many strong warriors fought and perished. The king regretted parting with these warriors, the ones who had fulfilled their roles.

 

The king decided to grant these dead warriors a second life. He created the valkyries, had them gather the remains of the warriors, took their memories, then put them into new bodies. The revived warriors became known as the Einherjar, swore allegiance to the king, and stood beside him. What was left of their remains was eaten by the loyal wolves that served the king, and Breke reacts to the word wolf.

 

Thus did Asgard became complete as a System of eternity, as a food chain that reuses heroes. Since the valkyries were loved by the Einjerjar, their appearances changed however many times until threw their lives away. As for the Einherjar, they gave their loyalty to the king who was the representative of the world, burning their lives away in battle. That was how eternity was achieved, a supposed repeating happiness. But eventually the king sadly came to realize something.

 

What Odin realized was the courage of those warriors who faced their deaths of which there was supposed to be only one of. If they are brought back to before their deaths, then where does the ones who aren't brought back go? How can you say that someone who believes they live only once is the same as someone who knows they've been brought back? It didn't take very long for the king to realize that the heroes who go through their lives once and the revived who live again in front of him were Different People.

 

Breke is quiet, and Woden says his story is done before asking Breke for his thoughts. Breke says it sounds like some kind of fantasy, but he's strangely drawn in by it. Woden smiles and says he's glad if Breke enjoyed it. After a moment Breke asks Woden about where the memories of the heroes' first lives went. Woden answers that maybe they went to rest somewhere in a place they can't see. Maybe they rest within those heroes' bodies. For the matter, maybe Breke has an irreplacable someone's memories within himself. Maybe someone else is watching over him as he lives his life. And if so, maybe it's possible to meet those heroes who lived again one day, and Woden suggests that the king wanted to believe so too as he looks at the bridge.

 

Woden explains that the bridge is named Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge. It is a collection of many roads of endless variations of colors, and it connects to other worlds. Those who've decided what path to take can cross the bridge and journey to elsewhere, choosing a color that resembles no one else's.

 

Title card pops up, and this chapter is called Gate of Hel.

 

Narration then takes over to talk about what's going on while you guys are having a rough battle over at the Gate of Hel. The undead are popping up and multiplying everywhere. All the civilians everywhere believed this to be the work of the legendary overlord revived. At the moment none of the undead are attacking, just gathering in the middle of nowhere and keeping watch of things. Everyone believed that the undead forces could all descend at any moment on the overlord's orders though. It was inevitable, they believed. So they looked up to the stars and prayed for the hero to save them.

 

Elsewhere Nekros can hear a voice calling to him. It tells him to drive monsters berserk and destroy life. He is the overlord, and that is what the overlord is supposed to do. And so the voice keeps repeating and echoing within his head. Nekros is in the further part within the Gate of Hel, and in the throne room with no one else around, the overlord laughs.

 

Back to your side of things, Yuuji's sword lets off beams of light at the undead. Yuuji has equipped the things the armor that the king of Midgard has sent over before the battle, now looking like the hero from legends. He shines brightly as if gathering the wishes of everyone all over. The undead hit by the light return to being remains. Multiple voices start reaching Yuuji and echo within him. As Sol said, White Stone has the power to connect and resonate with other people, so these voices must be the voices of the people's hearts.

 

Yuuji isn't holding up very well what with a bunch of voices assaulting his head. "Please win," they say. "Destroy the overlord and save the world." "A hero is someone who is supposed to defeat the overlord." Good will, hope, prayers, and wishes. All manner of beautiful shining things come together to become a pressuring white light that weighs heavily on Yuuji, which seems to interfere with his motor functions.

 

Orgus yells at Yuuji for spacing out and moves to blow some monsters away. Sol calls to the wind to cast some defensive spells, and Bacchus calls to Yuuji to ask what's wrong. Yuuji for reasons unknown to himself is shaking so hard that he can't stand up. He tries to rally himself since he's the hero after all, but a part of himself deep down believes that this is only natural. He was just an ordinary person, so he doesn't Have Enough.

 

He starts to yell, and narration talks about how he doesn't have enough experience with facing death. He doesn't have enough of a will to save the world. He had a smooth ride to get to this point, so there was no way he could be suddenly ready to carry the weight of everyone's hopes for him. What else can you expect but for him to stumble?

 

Yuuji says he can't get his legs to move, which means he can't go forward like this. He thought that he had to answer the prayers of the people, so why can't he move the way he wants to? Here of all times, at the very end? Narration talks about how heroes fight overlords and destroy them with courage. That might be how it was for earlier heroes, but Yuuji feels he is a coward, so he knows he can't do it like they did. He starts stammering an apology to the party about this.

 

Yuuji's heart gets filled with grief, and he remembers this feeling. Back when he was in Tokyo, there was a time when he closed himself like this too. He laments that he hadn't changed, and that he was different from the heroes said to have saved the world before. His tears start falling and dripping onto his sword when something starts to happen.

 

Yuuji asks what's happening as he says the light from the sword is starting to enter him. It shines as if resonating with someone Within Him, something within what should be his closed off heart. You react in surprise to this event. Flashback then kicks in of Yuuji's old memories, starting with some people at school heckling Yuuji for using boku as a pronoun and calling him a kid. Yuuji argues back that he uses ore, and whoever he's talking to asks if he happens to like that guy. Yuuji angrily denies this.

 

Yuuji lived his whole life living up to people's expectations and lived in fear of being talked to. He lived the way everyone else around wanted him to, and he Chose to Not Love Someone He Couldn't Be In Love With. So why did it hurt so much? Why does everything feel so empty? Within him someone is crying that it hurts, someone who is huddling up holding his knees within himself.

 

You snap to attention as you pull out of the flashback, and you wonder if it’s Yuuji's memories you just saw. You look around to see an unrealistic environment, a cold and lonely place. This would be Yuuji's mental landscape. And from further within you hear the sounds of someone crying. You wonder if someone is around and go to check it out. Yuuji is over there crying to himself and cursing his situation, and you are startled at recognizing him.

 

Yuuji laments how impossible it all is for him, saying he never once had the strength to do as other people say which he compares to spearing himself. He never did, he says mentally lashing at himself. He cuts at himself, and something hot drips off of him like tears. You yell and tell him to stop. Yuuji is initially surprised before asking where you came from. He says this is supposed to be where he belongs, and he demands that you leave. Light bursts out of his shadow to push you out like a flood, but someone else comes to your rescue as he says you were almost shoved out.

 

You are surprised by another Yuuji being around, and Yuuji the First greets you as he figures this is the first time you two have spoken to each other. He tells you that for the duration of this adventure he's been inside Him close by you, but he stops as he figures now isn't the best time for explaining that. The big thing to deal with now is Yuuji's desperation, and Yuuji 1 asks you to help him do that. You agree, shrug and go along with it, and or say you're expecting an explanation afterwards. Yuuji 1 agrees as the episode battle starts, with more story happening after that.

 

After the battle Yuuji yells for you to stay out of him and to not barge in. Yuuji 1 is annoyed that Yuuji isn't really open to communicating, and he tells you that nothing will change if Yuuji won't listen. He wishes there was something that you guys could say to catch his attention. While this is going on, Yuuji is flailing his sword around and keeping you two from getting closer. Yuuji notices that he isn't swinging the sword as well as he did earlier despite never having used a sword before and having it work out then. You snap at him and tell him you've been helping him out all this time.

 

Yuuji is shocked by your words and has a brief flashback to some of the battles during the event, then asks if him being able to use his sword effectively was due to you lending him your skills. He's about to ask about you when Yuuji 1 notes that he's opened up to talks now so something can work. Narration says that the light of the sword can change determination into power and allow for hearts to directly contact each other. Yuuji 1 says it should work now and asks you to make Yuuji let go of his sword. You agree to try and ready yourself as you ask him to explain it all afterwards, then invoke your NP.

 

After doing his thing, Yuuji 1 comments on being tired before noting that's weird, then focuses back to ask if Yuuji has calmed down. Yuuji doesn't answer but instead asks who you guys are to be inside his mind. You take that as confirmation as to where you are since you've suspected as much.

 

Yuuji then changes focus to freak out about there being a doppelganger of him right there. Yuuji 1 says he wants to know why that is too. He thought he was about to be swept up in some big wave or something, then before he knew it he was restarting his adventure. He says he's heard of something like this before, but he's too dumb to remember what that is. He eventually settles on calling himself the First and calls Yuuji the Second.

 

You express some confusion over this, and Yuuji 1 simplifies it by saying he's someone else who's already been through this adventure before. It's like that thing in games you might have played that he can't quite remember. Yuuji asks if he's trying to say that they're parallel world alternate selves, which Yuuji 1 says is right and calls him a genius. You think he's being weird to say that to himself and call him shallow, or you can comment on feeling some sort of affinity.

 

Yuuji accepts this after a moment saying this is the kind of thing that happens only in games and light novels, then asks about you. You either point at yourself, greet him, or wonder if this is your first time talking to him. Yuuji wonders why you're here if he's the Second and Yuuji 1 is the First, and you shrug since you don't know either. Yuuji 1 suggests that you guys might have some commonalities that caused things to get crossed, though he's not sure. You either sigh at how casual he's taking it, figure that might be it, or choose to not say anything since you don't know.

 

Yuuji sighs at how dumb this is all getting, then after a moment prods for anything further. Yuuji 1 doesn't get what Yuuji is talking about, so Yuuji says he figured you guys came to make a speech like they always do in times like this. Don't give up like this, or believe in your potential, stuff like that. Yuuji 1 admits that he wasn't thinking of anything like that when he came in, and if he had to explain why, he just wanted to make Yuuji stop with his self-flagellation.

 

Yuuji is shocked that Yuuji 1 doesn't have a speech or anything lined up and disappointed he doesn't have some third possibility open to him. Yuuji 1 vaguely feels like he's being made fun of, then tries to bring up something he already said. The point being that he's still someone else even if they look alike, so they can't do the exact same things the exact same way. He then quietly adds to himself that he did get depressed seeing Yuuji flirting with everyone. They aren't the same people he's met though, which complicates things.

 

Yuuji gets sad as he says he hears people telling him to do something. When Yuuji 1 turns to look at him, Yuuji talks about how the world is telling him/the hero to destroy the overlord. If he doesn't do it then everyone is going to die. Yuuji then gets angry as he says he can't do it since the overlord is someone he knows, someone he's talked with about a lot of things. Yuuji 1 can't bring himself to say anything, and Yuuji says he wants to run away but can't bring himself to abandon the rest of the party. Torn between his desire to run and inability to do so he's at a loss for what to do.

 

You ask Yuuji if running away really is off the table. Both Yuujis are shocked by what you say, and Yuuji asks if you were listening to him when he was talking. You say you weren't thinking on it that hard and consider things a bit more, then come up with an idea. Yuuji 1 picks up on your wavelengths and agrees, then starts detailing it to Yuuji himself. If the problem is that the overlord is in This World, then wouldn't it be fine to take him elsewhere? And can't he just take everyone else along with him? You either say you didn't think that far ahead or say that's what you were thinking of.

 

Yuuji is shocked before asking if that will work. Yuuji 1 says he doesn't know but figures it's worth a shot. If it doesn't work then they can just think of something else. You suggest that Yuuji take his whole party with him and maybe come to your Tokyo. There's a lot of Transients like them! Yuuji 1 initially agrees before he processes what it is you're saying. Yuuji doesn't see what the big deal is, and Yuuji 1 whines about hating the idea on an emotional level for some reason.

 

Yuuji laughs and asks if Yuuji 1 likes someone in the party, and Yuuji 1 attempts to avoid answering the question. Still, Yuuji regains enough courage to start using ore again and says he wants to do what he wants. He and Yuuji 1 are different people after all. Yuuji 1 attempts to call after him, but scene shifts back to the Gate of Hel as Yuuji tunes back in over there. He's apparently been out cold or something because Sol expresses concern and is glad that he's woken up again. Orgus is irritated that Yuuji can space out in battle and tells him he's not disciplined enough. Bacchus comments on him coming back and says he understands. He figures Yuuji was talking to another self inside him. Yuuji apologizes for making everyone wait.

 

Scene shifts around as the party fights their way through. Eventually they manage to reach the throne room, and Yuuji asks if they made it. Nekros calls out and says he's been waiting for him, and the area starts to warp. A floating sensation wraps around the party, and they react with surprise when the area turns into a place similar to the one in the Sage's Tower. Nekros calls it the dark star/planet phase, the seat of the overlord. It is the place where the overlord's true power and form can be displayed.

 

Nekros turns up and shows himself as the No Life King as he compliments Yuuji's courage in getting this far. Yuuji is about to comment on how Nekros looks now when Nekros cuts across to ask if it's terrifying and repulsive. He calls it his true form again, and he describes his earlier form as nothing more than a shadow from when this form fell to the present world.

 

Yuuji says he isn't afraid because he knows that there's another form of him within that looks completely different. Nekros compliments his resolve, saying that the final battle between hero and overlord must happen. Such is the will of the world. Yuuji asks him to wait and let him say one thing first, then calls out to Nekros. You join in with Yuuji in asking Nekros to leave with him, with everyone, or with the both of you. The episode part ends with Sol and Orgus reacting with surprise and Bacchus saying your name while Nekros doesn't say anything.

 

The Afterschool Brave and Fantastic Party Episode 4 Part 2

We pick things off with the party reaching land and disembarking at Mulspelheim, the land furthest to the south in this world. It is a scorching land of hot winds, said to have been ruled by the fire giants in the past. As the party makes their way towards their goal, they come to a large city. It is the city of Yggdrasia, named after the giant tree said to have covered the world and connected to the old underworld called Helheim.

 

Yuuji is rather cheery about making it to town, and Orgus mentions having been here before. He had stopped by on his way to a courtesy visit to the Ikurios (or whatever LotR allusion I might be missing) Principality. Bacchus is quiet, which Sol notices and asks about. Bacchus apologizes and comments on how familiar the place is to him. He had been here one time before he met with the party.

 

Yuuji asks about the town, and Sol answers by telling him the name of it and describing it as being under the protection of the world tree. Yuuji comments that it sounds similar to something he's heard before, then asks about the concept of a world tree. Sol is happy to explain further, then tells him that Midgard and Mulspelheim among other places are connected to several other worlds. Each world that is connected is connected by one root of the world tree Yggdrasil. Due to that, their whole world has come to be known by the world tree's name.

 

Yuuji nods as he seems to get the idea, and Orgus adds that the Gate of Hel in old world of Helheim where they have to go to is one of those worlds. It's due to Yddgrasil's networks that the place is connected to Mulspelheim. Yuuji asks if that means they'll find the place if they follow the root, which Orgus nods at. No one knows what'll be happening from here on in, so Orgus suggests carefully preparing and gathering information. Bacchus says he'll head to the adventurer's guild to cash in on the quests you guys completed on the way. Yuuji decides to tag along for that since it seems easiest.

 

Some time later, you and Bacchus head to the guild. Surtr is here talking to the receptionist boy, and he is surprised to hear that one of Yggdrasil's roots in close to town. He's been traveling a long while himself, and the name of the tree floods him with emotions. The receptionist confirms that there is a world tree root nearby before asking if Surtr is interested in the tree itself and handling the quest paperwork Surtr brought in.

 

Surtr talks about how the world tree was one of the battlegrounds of old where the warriors of Asgard fought with the fire giants. The receptionist comments on him being familiar with legends, then points him out to some sightseeing stuff. The receptionist heard a lot about fire giants as bedtime stories since the humans of Mulspelheim are referred to as the descendants of the fire giants, especially the royalty.

 

Surtr asks about this, so the receptionist disclaims any firsthand knowledge but figures it's just a reference to inheriting their fire control abilities. Otherwise, by some miracle there came to be a child born between humans and fire giants. He comments that it's a romanticized view of history and thinks to himself it may be usable for more sightseeing stuff.

 

The receptionist is asked his name by someone so he introduces himself as Dionys, an apprentice public safety manager. He came from a different country not too far away but came here to study. His introduction gets interrupted when Surtr starts patting him on the head to his confusion. Surtr apologizes and says he found himself thinking he was adorable.

 

Surtr then starts thinking to himself that there are a few differences to what he knows of how his world was after the war, but at the very least That Thing is around. If the World Tree Yggdrasil is still around then he might be able to understand the "abnormality of this world." That's because it has to do with the class and concepts of "those that connect to several other worlds."

 

Narration talks about how Surtr saw things that didn't belong to the nine subdomains he was familiar with. Valinor, the Sage's Tower, and various legendary equipment originally did not exist in System Yggdrasil. Surtr then thinks that if the world tree is dragging in other worlds that originally were uninvolved, its setup should be similar to how Tokyo has been connected to 23 other worlds. If so, the proximate nature of it means that summoning arts should be connected, even if only by chance. That still leaves the question as to why They (Surtr and the others) were summoned. Narration mentions that Surtr saw a lot of Transients that should have been in Tokyo.

 

Surtr surmises that all of them were summoned by Transient Summoning just like they did to Tokyo. If that happens to be true, then it can only work if there's some sort of bond with them. This bond also has to be with someone native to this world as well, though Surtr phrases it as someone who has put their roots in that world. He wonders if that means there's someone around who fits those two conditions. It's possible if the two (I'm not sure who he means) are separate, but if they aren't united then...he trails off on that. But at the very least he and the others can't go back until they know who summoned them.

 

Surtr thinks aloud about checking out the world tree, which surprises Dionys into asking if he plans to go into the tree. He tries to talk him out of it saying the root nearby is connected to the netherworld. If a human were to wander by then the miasma drifting from the gate might kill them. Surtr nods at this as he takes note of the human bit of Dionys's warning. The subject reminds Dionys that another traveler earlier had told him that he was born in the netherworld.

 

If he really was from there then he can just ignore it. If he's from there... Dionys also says it won't be a problem if it's one of the dragons. The nearby root is also said to be the nest for the Wood Dragon King Nidhogg from back of the Age of Legends, and his magical power is such that the miasma is kept away. At this point Dionys notices you guys waiting in line so he asks Surtr to wrap things up. Surtr in turn apologizes for taking his time and thanks him for everything he told him. Dionys wishes him well on his journey, then calls you guys up.

 

Time skips later on to the party reaching the world tree after completing their preparations. Sol comments on what you guys have heard about at the guild, bringing up the bit about the nest of the Wood Dragon King since they've also heard about it back north. Orgus comments that the Wood Dragon King comes from the era Odin sat in the heavens and says his power would allow you to ignore the poison of the underworld. If a human is to go down there they'll need his help.

 

Sol mentions that Nidhogg is known to hate humans and worries about whether he'd actually help the human hero and friends. Yuuji asks about this bit about Nidhogg, but Orgus says he doesn't really know why. If Fafnir were around he might help because of racial sympathy. Bacchus says if Nidhogg won't help then you'll have to figure something else out.

 

Scene shifts to the party entering Nidhogg's lair proper, and Nidhogg notices as he demands to know who let the humans in. He's already aware that the No Life King has revived in the underworld, but he swears he won't help humans again. Nidhogg then notices Bacchus in the party with the game dramatically stressing his reaction to this shocking revelation.

 

Time skips a bit as Orgus comments that the party has been waiting for almost an hour for Bacchus and Nidhogg to come back, and he wonders what the hell is happening. Sol worries about whether Bacchus is okay and wonders what they're talking about. Yuuji just hopes Nidhogg didn't eat Bacchus.

 

Around this point Bacchus comes back, and Yuuji welcomes his return. Bacchus apologizes for keeping everyone waiting. He explains he was talking to Nidhogg LORD Nidhogg and is about to tell you the end result when Nidhogg goes ahead and says he'll give his full support. Yuuji is shocked by this given how Nidhogg was described as hating humans, and Nidhogg promptly gets pissy about being questioned as he demands to know whether you guys want to go to the Gate of Hel or not.

 

Yuuji gets flustered as he says yes but isn't sure Nidhogg would help out. Orgus asks Sol if he gets what's happening, but Sol shrugs and says the problem is solved at least. Anyways, Nidhogg explains that the underworld's miasma will kill anyone not from there. Dragonkind's powerful magic can protect against this however. He starts to suggest going along with the party to provide this protection, and Bacchus thanks him for the sentiment but says it's unnecessary. Also, the overlord had said for four people to come, so if they disobey that then it might be even more dangerous. He apologizes for that, and Nidhogg decides to lend Bacchus a book.

 

Sol is surprised at the level of magical power, saying it's enough to destroy an entire world. Nidhogg says it's only natural since the book is stored with his magic. He explains it'll generate a barrier for you guys to guard against the miasma. Bacchus expresses concern for what will happen to Nidhogg in the meantime without the book. Nidhogg answers that he'll hibernate until things are done to cut down on his mana consumption. He's more worried for Bacchus, and he says that if it comes down to it he should chuck it at the overlord. Nuke him AND the underworld to bits! Yuuji protests this idea since the party would get caught the blast. Bacchus just thanks Nidhogg and promises to come back to him. Nidhogg is touched, but then he notices Yuuji staring, so he tries to cover up by coughing.

 

Time skips to the party reaching the Gate of Hel, and Orgus comments on you guys making it to the overlord's territory. Sol observes how thick the miasma is and says you'd all be dead under normal circumstances, and Yuuji excitedly talks about how fine they all are and says it's like being back on the surface. Bacchus says that he's not even doing anything and the book is blocking out the miasma. If he actually tried to use it he thinks he'd blow up the surrounding area.

 

Orgus is annoyed that Nidhogg set the book up to be uncontrollable by you guys, but Sol points out that the protection it gives is plenty helpful already. Now you guys can go meet the overlord in the final battle. Yuuji starts having an issue with that, and Bacchus notes that he's shaking. Orgus says he wants to call him a weakling, but he does acknowledge that the pressure in the area is intense. Yuuji says he'll still go and tries to insist he isn't scared. Sol is concerned and initially refers to Yuuji by title before switching to his name.

 

Yuuji says he'll go, not because he's the hero but because he decided to personally. He tells the party it's time to go meet Nekros and somehow settle the issue of the overlord. Orgus agrees and says he'll count on him, Sol says he'll be with Yuuji wherever he goes, and Bacchus nods at the plan. You think about the overlord and wonder what Nekros meant by what he said earlier.

 

Flashback kicks in to replay what Nekros said about enjoying his time with the party and his issue against you being inside Yuuji. Yuuji is about to lead the party on when he hears that someone is around. Garm happens to be around yelling about coming back and looking for Hel. It takes you a moment to recognize Garm, and before too long monsters start showing up. Yuuji is surprised as he says they look tough, and Orgus figures they came to fight you all.

 

Garm gets ready to fight since he says the dead aren't allowed to leave, otherwise Hel would get mad. The monsters cut him off from saying any more, and Yuuji tells the party they need to save him. You agree internally, and the episode battle starts. More story happens after that.

 

After the battle, Garm compliments you guys for stopping the undead. He starts sniffing Yuuji and says he likes the smell of him since it's the same as someone he knows. Yuuji breathes a sigh of relief before rechecking Garm's name, and Garm confirms it as he calls himself the guard dog to the Gate of Hel. He's just come back from being away, but he finds it weird that he can't hear his old master's orders. One does not just walk in and out of Mordor Hel, so he says something is weird about the world. Garm then decides to look into this, so he thank the party and leaves.

 

Scene shifts to somewhere on Yggdrasil as Nogrim freaks out and calls for help as zombies and mummies descend upon him. Fortunately for him Surtr happens to be around and bails him out, then asks if he's alright when the monsters are down. Nogrim recognizes him from earlier and thanks him for the rescue. He explains that the king and others asked him to deliver some equipment to the hero's party, but he got waylaid on the way over. Nogrim then remembers he needs to hurry, then tells Surtr to come by his shop again sometime where he offers to return the favor.

 

After Nogrim leaves, Surtr comments to himself there really is some sort of difference with the world for the dead to come wandering out of Hel. He thinks upon the differences he's found, and if System Yggdrasil were here such a thing would never be happening. The subsection Helheim of the World Promised to Destruction Yggdrasil kept strict control over the coming and going of the dead under the request of Odin's stepson(?)/son-in-law(?) and watched by Garm. There was the ability to raise the dead, but its use was avoided to the extreme.

 

Surtr comments that the management of Helheim is supposed to be Hel's role. If the dead are allowed to come back to life, then the world would become 'one that repeats itself eternally.' Surtr then notes that Helheim doesn't seem to be up and running as if it were like that to begin with. He has no idea where Hel went off to, but he figures something must have happened. As much as this world resembles his home world it is Something Else with the System not on from the outset. It is a world Not Promised to Destruction, a world that has 'lost its System and refuses to restart.'

 

Surtr reacts in surprise when he goes to examine a cut in the world tree. He examines the tree rings next which confirms to him what he had been thinking about the state of the world. Surtr talks again about how Yggdrasil was supposed to be destroyed, where both the giants and Odin's soldiers were to be destoryed and the world handed off to humanity. This was to happen at the end of the ordained war...or at least, it should have been.

 

However, Surtr says that the world has forgotten about the same predetermined grand battle and redoing that. For some reason, a memory floats up in his mind about the last thing he saw before coming to this world. That would be Babel Tower back in Tokyo, and the episode ends.

 

The Afterschool Brave and Fantastic Party Episode 4 Part 1

Bacchus starts narrating things as a flashback starts up of his past over in Mulspelheim. Beyond him lay a vast sky and land, and there he stood in the middle of a hot and dry wind. He had no memories about himself, not a single thing about how he had lived up to this point. He was lost for direction, knowing nothing and having no one to tell him anything. Eventually he decided to take a step, following the wind as his heart told him. It was his own decision, his first memory. That was how his journey began.

 

Bacchus visited a lot of different towns and met a lot of different people while doing quests for taverns, like Yggdrasia. There were friendly people he had encountered, and then there were not so friendly people that he encountered. One day he heard rumors that the hero had appeared further north, and according to history the hero is the one chosen by the world to defeat the overlord and bring light back to the world. Upon hearing that, Bacchus decided to go to Midgard then.

 

Bacchus traveled across the ocean he didn't know anything about, and the scent of the sea filled his lungs. As he traveled, he asked himself the same questions he had asked himself countless times. "Why must I be without memories?" Did he lose them all in an accident, or is this punishment for a sin he committed? Perhaps he was like this to begin with? Or was it a fate foisted upon him by someone? But no matter how hard he thought on it, he found no answers. But as he went, he started to believe he wasn't the only one.

 

Bacchus's old philosophical navel gazing goes further than that. Why are people born as human or not human? Why are people born as male, female, or otherwise? Why are people born loving those like themselves or those unlike themselves? No one truly knows the answer. He is here now, but nothing else is certain. Bacchus reflected on this uncertainty as he made his way to the taverns for adventurers, all to meet the hero who would save the world that anyone would recognize. That was how he met you, the legendary hero who lost their memories like he did. And that was how he joined you in your travels and accomplished many deeds.

 

Bacchus thought while he held onto the memories and felt each and everything he was sensing in that moment. Maybe even this fateful journey he went on was the machination of some unseen person. But even in this world of uncertainty, there is just one thing that he alone can decide. And that fact in itself is...

 

Title card pops up, and this chapter is called The World Tree.

 

Camera tunes back in at the part where Nekros fuses with the overlord's power to become the No Life King as he hammily declares himself. He is the one opposed to the hero, the one set up as the overlord by the world. He is the one who devours life and memories, now behold the enemy of all life!

 

Narration talks about how Nekros is calling out his speech to the heavens, and that the rock that was knocked out of Horus's eye changed shape to its original host. Bacchus repeats the part Nekros said about eating memories before calling to you, standing in front of you as if to protect you from Nekros's threats. Nekros goes on to command people to respect him as the one lifeless king of the underworld, then commands the dead to rise up as his minions.

 

Mummies and other undead are summoned, and Sol is shocked by this as he starts to point out the obvious about who Nekros must be. Yuuji finishes his sentence by asking if Nekros is the overlord that's supposed to fight the hero. Yuuji then attempts to deny this since Nekros had earlier said that he wasn't. Nekros acknowledges that he said that, saying it was correct at the time, but now he's returned to being an overlord now. Yuuji is in disbelief as he parrots that part, and Nekros says it's true as he looks at the unconscious Horus's coffin he lugs around.

 

Nekros explains that the seat of the king of the underworld here in Yggdrasil was taken by Horus. Only one person can have a particular set of a class and power, and if one set is not being held then the original holder has to fill it in. In this case, since Nekros regained his power, he's now bound to fulfill the role of overlord that comes with it.

 

Yuuji tries to stop things as he asks why they have to fight, so Nekros tells him it's because that's what the world says. Yuuji protests that as the plot of some game and how dumb a reason it is to fight. Orgus speaks up to deny that and is about to explain further when Nekros takes the expositioning over. Being the overlord means that he causes death just by existing, and everyone is going to die if the hero doesn't destroy them. Everything is preestablished, and the battle between hero and overlord is inevitable. Yuuji is unable to come up with anything to say.

 

Nekros tells the party that to the continent to the south, there's a place known as the Gate of Hel (or just gate of the underworld) over in Mulspelheim. That is where his battle with you all will be, and he says he'll wait for you there. Yuuji begs Nekros to answer one other question, which is whether or not Nekros felt anything about the adventures he shared with everyone earlier.

 

Nekros says the adventures were truly enjoyable for him, one nigh irreplaceable with anyone else. Yuuji is about to make another appeal based on that, but Nekros cuts across him to say it's precisely because of this that he has to stand against him. He was wished to be this way, and he has to stand against him at the end of his adventure. One more thing he whispers...he can't abide that there's someone else inside Yuuji as he looks past his eyes with a gaze of complicated emotions.

 

You react in shock at Nekros alluding to you, and Nekros goes on to say that fact is more than enough reason for him to become the overlord again. Yuuji tries to ask for more explanation about this other person inside himself, and Bacchus stays quiet. Nekros declares he's told you guys all he needed to say, so he'll wait for the four of you at the Gate of Hel. If you won't go or if you want war, then he threatens the possibility of despair and disaster striking the whole world. Don't take too long because he might get sick of waiting, got that?

 

The Sage's Tower suddenly disappears, leaving everyone to fall to the ground. When the party regains their senses, they're left in the desert with no sign the tower was ever there.

 

Time skips a bit as narration says the surrounding nations and the Church have been informed of the overlord's revival. Nekros has already begun his attack on the world as the dead from graveyards and battlefields have come alive and are surrounding various countries. They haven't made any moves yet, but war could break out at any moment. All the knight corps are on edge glaring out and unable to move, and while that's happening the party is looking for a boat to head south. On the way they hand over their broken things to a smith before going to the port town.

 

Over at the port town Herbalgri(?), a sailor who was working on maintenance on the bottom of his boat jumps out of the water to talk to the party. This turns out to be Aegir, and he mentions being told about them wanting to go to the south. He's also amused by how gutsy the party is since most everyone else would be on edge from nerves at the state of the world, then introduces himself as a saior who controls the seas of Yggdrasil. He comments on the seas getting rough lately before adding that he's also a treasure hunter.

 

Time skips a bit later to where the boat is attacked by monsters en route, though Orgus and Sol easily beat them back. Once the monsters run off, Sol comments that the sea monsters seemed to be on a rampage. Orgus agrees, adds that they seem to specifically be targeting the party, and wonders if this is due to the No Life King's revival. Sol doesn't say anything in response.

 

You and Bacchus walk over, reporting that you've repelled the monsters that showed up at the back of the ship. Sol thanks him and observes that nothing else seems to be around at the moment. Orgus suggests getting some rest, though you can't let your guards down too much at present. Yuuji is quiet, so Sol repeats the suggestion to him that he rest for a bit. He agrees, though somewhat distractedly before walking off.

 

Bacchus turns to Sol and Orgus, apologizing for the forward question then asking why neither of them told Valinor and the Church about him. Silence passes between them all for a moment, and Bacchus talks about not having any memories or noticing he was carting the overlord around. He can't even provide any proof for his innocence. Sol says he did tell the Church that the overlord can revive and control the dead, and Bacchus says based on that it's possible that means he's not alive himself. He could fall under the overlord's control and attack the party at any time. They have no reason to trust him, so why?

 

Sol and Orgus look at each other, and Orgus is the one who goes first. He says that Nekros told the four of you to come, so it might be a bad idea to not comply with that. There's no one like Bacchus in terms of skills in Valinor's knights, and he's not foolish enough to waste any bit of potential help in the battle against the overlord. That's his answer first off.

 

Sol goes next, saying he feels that Yuuji has become majorly shaken by the fact that Nekros has become an enemy, which might be made even worse with his amnesia. Sol guesses that if Bacchus were lost too, Yuuji would be forever scarred by it. He works for That hero, so that's what he decided upon.

 

Bacchus nods as this, and Orgus adds that if Bacchus can't be trusted for what's inside him, then the same goes for himself, which he admits with a wry smile and some head scratching. Up until he went on this journey he thought he was more resolved, but now he has doubts about that. Due to that, they fit each other as travel companions. Bacchus seems touched by that.

 

Sol agrees and says that if judged based on the past, he probably can't be trusted either. But then there's the hero who accepts all of that and trusts him, not based on anything in particular. Because of that, Sol now has a goal to work towards that he wants to do while being his worthless self. He feels now that by doing so he can move past his regrets.

 

Bacchus thanks the two of them, glad that they trust him even if he can't show anything for it. It's the happiest he's ever been, and he wants to repay them somehow. Orgus is uncomfortable at this and tries to change the subject towards you. Sol agrees that you seem down, and Bacchus tells the two he wants to talk to you for a bit. He asks the two to let him handle things alone.

 

Scene shifts over to focus on you as Yuuji stares out in silence. Bacchus walks over and asks if it's alright to stand next to him. Yuuji snaps out of his preoccupied funk to say okay, and Bacchus comments on how nice the sea breeze is. Another moment of silence passes before Bacchus decides to jump in and ask if Yuuji is thinking about what Nekros said. Yuuji admits to it, saying he's talked a lot about things with him. But then Nekros declared that they were enemies because he's the hero and Nekros is the overlord.

 

Yuuji goes on to ask if that's really how it is and if the world thinks this is how it should be. Yuuji wanted to argue against it, but couldn't bring himself to say anything. He knows nothing of this world, and nothing about himself for that matter. It felt like lying if he were to say he was more correct than Nekros, who seems to know everything.

 

Bacchus starts thinking about Nekros, narrating how he called himself the No Life King and how he said there was someone else inside Yuuji. He brings up the possibility that he was manipulated by Nekros. It's not an idea he can deny, and his feet get heavy and shaky. Back to the conversation, Yuuji asks if they really have no other choice than to fight. If so, then Yuuji is against it to the point that he'd prefer to run away from this world. Sol has already told him about the Summoning Gates, which should be able to return Yuuji back. If he wants to go then it'll be possible, but Yuuji doesn't want to abandon the party either. He hallucinates feeling like his body is splitting apart as he says this.

 

Bacchus quietly calls Yuuji's name as he pats him on the shoulder. He says Yuuji did good in telling him his feelings, trying to comfort him and calling him a good, strong, and kind boy. Yuuji seems ready to cry at this, and Bacchus suggests he close his eyes and rest a little. Yuuji settles for staring out at sea for a while as Bacchus keeps patting him, and eventually he turns to him with a question.

 

Yuuji figures Bacchus talking about how nice the wind is is a sign that Bacchus has come this way before, which he asks about. He also asks Bacchus about not having any memories like him. Bacchus replies that he went on a journey because he didn't have any memories, and that he got on a boat before he met the party. He was in Mulspelheim once, and his journey was always by himself. But for some reason, things look different now.

 

Narration briefly goes into Bacchus's thoughts about how he should have seen this before, but now it looks a lot brighter. He starts talking to you about how his perspective changed during his travels. He feels that there's nothing definite that can be shown to other people. But despite that, there's only one thing that they alone can decide. Bacchus talks about how they feel they are where they are right now, and that alone is proof that they live. The ocean is unchanging, yet it can look different. That is just a change in how your will views the world. Nekros may have declared himself your enemy, and any random schmuck in the world would say Nekros is your enemy. But what does Yuuji think? That's something he can freely decide.

 

Yuuji thinks on the point as he parrots it back. Bacchus asks if the overlord is his enemy, and if he wants to defeat him as the hero. He's about to say more when he gets interrupted as monsters and undead pop up to attack. As they move forward, someone laughs. Aegir then throws out his NP to blast them all down with a wave that blows them away.

 

Bacchus thanks Aegir after he catches up to what's happening, and Aegir says he was listening in since he thought your conversation was interesting. He says he understand your feelings and decides to give you some words of advice, though he comments it feels like he's preaching to his old self and that's just uncomfortable. He shrugs and says he's not the type to be ashamed of that though.

 

Anyways Aegir attacks some other monsters as he gets to his point. A treasure is something you take for yourself, not something that you wait to come to you. When it comes to things you want, you should get in, grab it, and run off. That isn't running away, it's quitting while you're ahead! Aegir says he likes treasures like that jump in and out like that, then laughs as he tells you to stop looking so down. He smiles as he sees a familiar light within Yuuji's eyes.

 

Bacchus turns to you and says you guys should fight too, and he asks for your hand as he readies his magic. Yuuji grabs his hand, squeezing it before Bacchus does so first. Yuuji gets fired up as he pumps his other fist and looks out into the water, as if grabbing something out of the void as the episode battle starts. A little more story happens after that.

 

After the battle, the monsters go down and Yuuji tells Bacchus he's going to go where Nekros is while thinking about his voice. No matter what anyone else says about him, Yuuji has things he wants to say to him. Bacchus smiles as he says he'll go with him, adding that's how he feels deep down. After some time later, Aegir points out that the continent of Mulspelheim is visible to everyone, and the episode part ends.