Torneko was confused as to why he was brought along inside.

“Um... Master Dyne? Why did you tell me to go with you?” Danpas asked.

“Oh... That!” Dyne forgot to explain to Torneko that since he was a character in Dragon Quest IV and has his own game where he started as the MC, he would naturally be a part of the ‘team.’

“Everyone! I decided to make Torneko a part of our team!” Dyne declared.

“What?” Torneko was amazed.

“I have heard praises of his ability as a merchant. He could be the one in charge of managing and allocating our resources. If not for him, my purchases and spending would have been chaotic.” Jaden admitted.

“Agreed.”Chad nodded as well.

“His spirit is quite strong.” Tetsu also commended.

Alright! Since we are all in agreement, Torneko is officially part of our roster!”

“Uncle Torneko! Uncle Torneko! You’re a rooster?! Wow!” Noa was amazed.

The rest chuckled at Noa’s words, and Arya went full Big Sister mode to teach Noa what that meant.

“The group moved deeper into the mines, and a putrid stench could be smelled in the area.

“It looks like this place has become a monster's den...” Dyne frowned.

“Everyone, be careful! There seem to be a lot of beasts in this area. But, for some strange reason, there are no Serus here! Which means that all the monsters inside have defeated and devoured the strong Serus!” Dyne warned.

“How dangerous. If we don’t kill them now...” Jaden could sense a foreboding presence deep inside.

“Vidna is doomed!” Torneko was horrified at the prospect of Vidna being eliminated by the monster hordes.

“But how can the monsters kill all the Serus?” Gala was confused. In the East Voz forest, the division of power was tilting towards the Seru had it not been for Dyne’s attack, which weakened all those forces. It didn’t make sense for the monsters inside to overpower the serus.

“There is an explanation. A monster king lives inside this place!” Dyne explained.

“A Monster King?!” Tetsu and the Ipkus both exclaimed.

“I think there are two. And one of them... is related to Nanaki!” Dyne guessed.

“Nanaki?”

Curious stares turned to Nanaki.

Dyne, however, was delighted.

“This could be where Nanaki learns the truth about his father!” Dyne recalled the Final Fantasy VII plot.

“Strafe, you are a genius!” Dyne praised.

“You’ll be surprised with the many secrets of this place. But prepare to be careful. Without your magic and serus, the battle will be even more dangerous in this place than it was in Jeremi!” Strafe warned.

“I have my full team ready. Don’t underestimate their experience!” Dyne assured.

“Everyone, with possibly two monster hordes, you guys have to be careful.”

“Understood!”

“Torneko, keep up and try to fight.”

“I won’t be a burden! Before I settled down with my wife, I once accompanied Van Saryu on a journey to save a monster horde that attacked us years ago! A monster King who called itself Saro annihilated a village in the hometown of the king. We fought and saved it, which is how the young king became king over this continent!”

Dyne recalled the story of Dragon Quest.

Torneko brought out a powerful sword.

“This is a sword forged in Sol! I won’t be a burden!” Torneko declared.

“Good! Let’s go!” Dyne had already expected this. If Strafe's plot was that for Tornkeo: The Last Hope, then it would mean that Torneko would have at least one grand adventure from either the former Tornkeo game or Dragon Quest IV.

The group moved deep into the mines and so on. Various skeletons and ghosts appeared, and the group fought them.

Bertugo and Brod quickly used their steal ability to steal more of the Elixirs from the ghosts and the Incense from the Skeletons.

Their current outfits were stunning. They had strong metal armor that made them look like knights! But their sheer power and strength still allowed them to move fast to make such attacks.

Oak Slimes and Green Slimes also appeared, which the groups quickly defeated.

Soon, the group reached a vast chamber with numerous paths. Numerous carts and tracks were used, and Dyne immediately could tell that this was the main loading and unloading chamber based on the train tracks.

“Odd. Now this place looks like the Leck Mines of Grandia.” Dyne glanced around and had a nostalgic feeling.

Suddenly, Vahn, Noa, Arya, and Amorien felt it.

And they suddenly went to the outer perimeter of their circle and assumed a fighting formation. But each of them had a different place to guard.

Dyne felt it, too, and sighed.

“I thought it would be like this...” Dyne chuckled.

“Master Dyne! Monsters!”

“I know. I could feel the hordes of monsters coming. Killer Bisons and Wolves.” Dyne stood up.

“Wolves?”

“Yes. But unlike Nanaki, these wolves walk on their two feet. This place must connect to the Unholy God who had sealed itself nearby. The wolves should only appear east of Ratayu. But it seems that a pack has escaped and hid here. Together, they allied with these Killer Bisons.”

“We can’t use magic! Everyone! Prepare to fight!”

The beasts appeared from all sides, and even the route they passed towards this place was full of bison and wolves.

“Everyone should stay here and fight. Vahn, Noa, Gala, Chrone, and Nanaki, follow me.”

“What is the plan, Master Dyne?”

“The horde of monsters will be too much. We must first defeat the boss to dispel their control over these monsters. So you guys stay here and buy us time. Hold the line, and don’t make these monsters crowd over us. We will be headed over to deal with the boss!”

“Master Dyne! Allow me!” Jaden urged.

“Me as well!” Arya also volunteered.

“No. You guys stay here. It doesn’t seem fitting for you to go.”

“Fitting?” Jaden frowned.

“Just trust me. You guys defend, and we’ll move on ahead.

Suddenly, the beasts finally showed themselves.

As Dyne thought, Killer Bisons and wolves that walked on two legs appeared and surrounded the team.

But then, another group appeared.

It was a group of men but had monstrous forms.

“Orcs? ” Jaden recognized the creatures.

“That’s no orc! That’s a human! Something nefarious and foul has taken hold of it, turning it into that monstrosity!” Chrone clarified.

“It’s a power that is similar to my Spirit Stone. But the effects of that power are permanent!”

“What strange power...”

“That’s the power of the Mist! It can corrupt a man! These people stayed here too long, and they managed to transform their already barbaric ways! It’s like they ate the flesh of these beasts, and the Mist allowed them to transform!” Tetsu frowned.

“It’s not just the Mist. It’s the Unholy God.” The Evil God spoke.

“Dyne... Expect monstrous beasts inside of depraved nature inside this cave!” The Evil God warned.

“Monstrous beasts of depraved nature, huh? So basically Aerith- Cloud shippers.”

“...I think you should imagine something more depraved than that.”

“Ah... Those monsters! Don’t worry, Evil God. I’ve been through numerous family reunions.” Dyne gripped Grim, and intense anger grew within. He recalled those aunts and uncles who held numerous interventions to get him to stop gaming. Those brutes brought terrifying memories.

“I recognize those!” Torneko suddenly exclaimed as he finally recognized the features of the men.”

“Those are indeed humans! They look like them!”

“Them?”

Yes! The rebels that plagued this land! When Vidna had accepted the alliance with Sol, many in Ratayu, an extremist group, hated that. Even though King Van Saryu and the rest of Sebucus Islands welcomed them, this group kept making acts of terrorism! They called themselves the Grandia Insurrectionist or the Gi Tribe!”

Dyne quietly observed and realized that these orcs combined two games.

“Grandia’s orcs and even the Final Fantasy VII Gi Tribe’s backstory were merged.

“So they became the Gi Tribe by naming themselves the Grandia Insurrectionist. Not a bad twist.”Dyne commended.

“We’ll go on ahead. I feel that the power of the boss is deep in the direction of the Gi Tribe. We will fight our way through to fight the ones deep inside. You guys will stay here to fend off the enemies. Also, this should be training for everyone. In the battles to follow, we might need to do this repeatedly as the team of MCs and I press on to fight the leaders.” Dyne explained as he held on to Grim and sought a minecart that they could use to move deeper.

“Understood! We’ll hold the line and fight all of them!”

“Let’s go, team!” Dyne ordered, and the group quickly made their way to a minecart and rode it!

The Gi Tribe Orcs stood their way and charged at Dyne.

“Well, since it’s Grandia, we might as well use Grandia-themed attacks.”

“You can’t use Dragon King Slice! The fire element will cause a chain reaction to the gasses around this area!” Jedo reacted.

“I know! Don’t worry! I know what attacks to do!” Dyne chuckled as he began to spin Grim. The attack was one of the more low-level skills used in Grandia.

“Shockwave!” Dyne shouted as he flung Grim towards the approaching orcs.

BOOM!

Spirit power exploded, sent the orcs at the center to the sides, and allowed the mine cart to move through, ramming and attacking those in front.

The minecart pushed deep into the cave as the many monsters charged to fight Jaden and the rest.