Story Reader / Event Story / The Meandering Three / Story
Looking at how the residents thank them ceaselessly, Vera genuinely considers changing their name to Cerberus Volunteers.
Although Vera has already asked No. 21 to secretly remove the broken parts in their trunk that drew the Corrupted in the last battle...
Many buildings and facilities have been unnecessarily obliterated by Noctis' mindless bombings during the fight. Before Vera could clean up his mess, however, the townsfolk already jumped to excuse them—
You saved our lives. These damages are nothing.
But Vera cannot help but feel embarrassed for a while, knowing that they have received so many praises even though this stroke of misfortune was caused by no other but themselves.
Leaving already?
We still have a job to do.
That's fair. You're... heading northwest?
Northwest, along Route 77.
Sounds good. Let's stick together.
Beardy inspects his gear before jumping on his motorcycle.
You managed to get your bike fixed?
Both this bike and I have been broken before.
I can't say for sure if your destination is on our way.
It's in the same general direction. It's all on this road, right?
...Just so you know.
I don't need to explain the possible dangers that lie ahead. You know full well yourself.
We have a mission of our own. Cerberus won't slow down or stop for you.
Certainly, certainly.
Let's get going.
Hold on.
Sit in the front, No. 21.
Huh?
Get in the car. Mount your bike to the back.
I'll consider it an extra bottle of gas.
Thank you, then.
It's fine.
Oh, right. One more thing.
You got insurance? Life insurance that pays for car accidents?
Route 77 seems to have no end. It will continue to stretch on even when it reaches the vision's limit.
Hey! Beardy!
What is it?
It still doesn't sound right! There can't be "war-ending relics" out there!
Hah. Those are a little bit too naive indeed.
Isn't it better if they exist?
That was the thought the young man held on to when he departed. And the first challenge he faced was the haunted forest.
What... was the forest like?
Strange vines grew all over the place, and monsters that bore no resemblance to humans dwelled.
Those monsters would change their appearances based on who entered the forest. They would become what the person hated and feared the most.
Those weaknesses and fears were all reflections of the human heart.
Hm... Why are all forests like this?
Did no one go through the forest with him?
Not that I remember.
In that forest, however, he saw many corpses... and ghosts of those who tried to get the relics and became knights.
Everyone died in the way they feared the most. Some got eaten by spiders, some were strangled by vines, and some were staked through their chests...
What a lousy B-movie.
Yeah. That's what I thought.
What kind of knight are you if you can't even beat what you despise the most?
So, only the main character survived.
What happened next?
No monsters could stop him after days of fighting, and he walked out of the forest despite all his wounds.
Is there really someone that stupid?
In the movies, I suppose.
That was the director's wishful thinking. All movies from the Golden Age were shit, if you ask me.
Which era is free from shit movies? How would we know what's good otherwise?
Dammit! That's unacceptable!
Why did everyone want to save the world back then? Did everyone want to be a superhero?
Is it bad... to save the world?
But it's so hard just to think about it.
After all... it's not that the audience wanted to be heroes. They just needed a hero they could look forward to saving them.
See? It immediately becomes more crass.
I'd rather go for something more grounded. Look at us now. It's hard enough just to survive!
That's why they needed a hero to save them.
Yeah! Tch... Dammit. Did I mix it up?
Wait. Let me fix it.
Pfft...
No. 21, who has been sitting in the front, chuckles.
You should quit film criticism with that level of astuteness.
That's okay. Not all critics were professional during the Golden Age.
I even heard some critics only said three lines in their reviews all their lives.
Which three lines?
I would've been a critic if I knew, wouldn't I?
That said, I don't think critiquing a movie is any less difficult than making one.
They're movies! Even I can make them! Find me if you're making one next time. It'll be so much better than this crappy B-movie.
What happened next? What happened next?!
Well, the young man went through the forest and found a tower covered in smoke and dark clouds...
And the dust storm rolls in.
Cough... cough...
You're not... sick, are you, Vera?
Give me a break. Constructs don't get sick.
You better shut up, too. It's a pain to clean the sand that got into your vocal module.
Hmm...
No. 21 suddenly drops her raised hands, and sand pours out of her big sleeves.
So much sand.
Cough... 21... Cough... cough...
Before Noctis can scold No. 21 for getting sand on him, his vocal module is already choking with sand.
This sandstorm... We can't keep hiding behind the car. Let's find a shelter from the storm.
Tch... We can't see everything.
A map. Do you have a map?
No. 21 stuffs an old map into Beardy's hands.
I picked it up from the garage owner.
Huh? I suppose his death wasn't in vain... Let me see...
If we've driven for four hours... there should be a ravine in our south. We can hide there for a while.
Do you know when the sandstorm will stop?
Beardy shakes his head, tightening the rag he is using as a mask to cover his face.
Could be a few hours, could be a whole day. Can't say for sure.
Let's go, then. To the place you were talking about.
Should we take the car off the road first? In case someone drove it away?
No one's out here in this weather, but it's a good idea to take it off the road. We don't want some blind driver crashing into it.
I'll drive it to the side.
Vera stands up and tries to shake the sand off her body, but she immediately gives up once she pulls the car door open.
See? See? I told you I should drive.
Now our door is gone, and our windshield is shattered. How do we see the road now?
Vera pulls Noctis away before striking the smashed windshield right in the center, knocking the whole piece of glass off.
Can you see the road now?
Sigh. What a...
Come and help me, No. 21. Get rid of the sand in the car.
Where's the ravine again? Get ready to go.
