The party finally arrives where the Winged Lion is kept prisoner and where Sissel finds his home. Though the creepy part is the fact that various people and one person, including Yaad, have their souls extracted. Clearly this is something Sissel has done to perhaps bait out Delgal. It makes sense that it was those souls that brought Laios and company to that land. It’s curious that the Winged Lion is sealed in two places. The first is in this home, and the other is in Sissel’s possession. The tricky part is how to get the 2nd seal off of Sissel.
Since Falin is bound to be with Sissel, dealing with her is tricky. It is a smart idea to try to knock her out with food mixed with alcohol. Well, we see quickly how terrifying Dungeon Rabbits were. At their legs they have blades. Which is quite terrifying considering how agile rabbits are, and everyone but Marcille is killed temporarily.
You have to give Marcille credit because it could have been easier to hold off from using ancient magic after everything that happened with Falin, but she realizes what must be done. Though her even being able to use necromancy is quite interesting. Interesting to use light magic to kill them. Marcille gets the job done, but it is quite terrifying how much she went through. Even so, Laios gave her the neck armor to protect her. Of course, wasn’t much of a plan, but it is proof that he has good intentions in the actions he takes.
One thing to wonder is if the one the Winged Lion is after is really Marcille and not Laios. Laios’s desire is more so to save his sister, and he has an interest in monsters. She wishes to make all races have equal lifespans. The fact she is a half-elf, meaning she is also half-tall-man, really brushes why she would want it. In a society where elves and dwarfs seem to be on top of the hierarchy, it shouldn’t be a surprise she would want that. In fact, it makes many things add up for Marcille whether it was why she was at school with Falin or why she is now in the dungeon, where we haven’t seen many elves until the canary showed up. If the Winged Lion is truly manipulative, Marcille could be in danger.
The plan to take down Falin works well. A bit sad that to save Falin Laios had to kill her by suffocating her. Sadly, the situation only got worse since she was eaten by the Red Dragon. At this point, to save Falin Laios would need to be the Lord of the Dungeon. Regardless of whether the Winged Lion gets Laios or Marcille under his grasp, it will spell trouble. Though it is clear that the party’s hands are tied if they want to save Falin.
It’s good to get some backstory on Sissel, and it appears that tapping into the power of ancient magic was the trigger. It was just to save Delgal’s son. For Sissel, she wanted the power to have the people of Delgal’s kingdom live in peace. That power allowed Sissel to save the kingdom and be able to create monsters to defend it. Of course, sometimes one’s desires can go out of control. Sissel wanted to protect the kingdom, but his watchful eye became overbearing. Going from protecting the people to not letting them leave. Even the Winged Lion wasn’t safe from his anxieties, which might have saved the dungeon. Still, the Winged Lion offers the same truth that Mithrun gave him. At this point, with sealing the Winged Lion’s head again, we see there is no way to reason with Sissel. He truly deserves the title of Lunatic Magician.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that a fight with Sissel would go way wrong as he summons a horde of dragons. Everyone gets knocked out except for Laios. Interestingly enough, Laios gets saved when the dragons are fighting each other over who gets to eat Laios. Though Laios is screwed here, at this point the only hope is if Mithrun & Kabru end up making it in time.