Part 5: EXEC_CUTYPUMP

On a normal day the way to Fallen Heaven Peak would have been dangerous. This time, it was far worse.

Video Record- “Mute”

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What’s that sound…?
Someone’s fighting.
Huh?
Let’s go!

Doctor Gojo, Saki, and an older man were under attack by the Clustanians.



Saki!
Rev. Gengai!
Alright! Let’s help ‘em!
Okay!
L-let’s go!

They charged in to help.



Aoto! Finnel!
…Aoto!
What the hell…? There are more bugs to stomp!
Whoa! You’re…! In Blue Canyon Hamlet…!

The huge Reyvateil from Blue Canyon Hamlet was leading the attack.



Urgh...what a persistent wench. Oh, I'm sorry...you're a man, right? I forgot.
Kh...how dare you show your ugly mug to me again! You don't know what I had to go through, thanks to you!
This time, I’ll rip ya ta shreds!

Once again the huge Reyvateil singing a strange song attacked.



Video Record- “EXEC_CUTYPUMP”

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Boss Battle: Mute
So, here’s our first real boss battle. We’re fighting Mute and a Clustanian Soldier, who is mainly just there to make things more annoying for us until we drop her. Mute’s got two normal attacks, an uppercut combo and a strong smashing attack. She also has a Charge attack, which is basically enemy Song Magic. She’s surrounded by a white circle and we have to do enough damage to her before it finishes or she’ll unleash her strongest attack, Lovely Magical Stick.



This does a ton of damage to the current Party Leader, though thanks to a piece of equipment that gave him more health Aoto just barely survived. She tends to try to cast it three times in a row, and since you can’t Purge while it casts you can end up in a really annoying situation. The other thing to consider when fighting a boss like this is the adverse music. EXEC_CUTYPUMP isn’t nearly as bad to fight in as some of the later ones, while it does have sections with no height on the Harmograph at all they’re not large. The first video there is a pretty ugly run on the boss where everything goes wrong but which does nicely show some things off. This one shows some… other things off.

Video Record- “EXEC_CUTYPUMP alternate”

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Mute was defeated again.

Video Record- “Gengai”

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I don't know, maybe it's because my boss exploits the hell out of me. But you're just a huge pile of dead weight!
You little pipsqueak! I’ll get you for humiliating me!

The Clustanians withdrew to lick their wounds.



…We won…
We’re safe.
I thought you were heading to Fallen Heaven Peak…
Our vehicle was seized by their airships and we were forced to land.
But…I didn’t expect you to come help us.
…Master.
It’s been a while, Tatsumi.
Master? This old man’s your mentor!?
Please forgive me for being so old.

Aoto was finally introduced to the other man they’d saved.



…!?
?
You're Aoto, right? I heard you've been pretty nice to Tatsumi. Be a good friend to him.
Anyway, Master, you were just attacked!
Huh...? Oh...that. It's not a big deal. Don't worry, I just got a scratch or two.
…Soma. I must defeat her!
…!
Alright, that’s enough talking.
Yeah, we have to return to Fallen Heaven Peak!
Huh? Where did Luphan go?
Hm? He disappeared again... Don't worry, he always does that.
Shouldn’t you be a little concerned?
Well...whenever he vanishes, he usually comes back with the inside scoop.
I'm more concerned about the Clustanian Army. We have to get back to Fallen Heaven Peak as soon as possible.
Yeah, we better hurry.

Saki wanted to talk to Aoto before they set out.



Um…excuse me…
Saki?
…Thank you! You saved my life again!
I believed in you. I knew you would come and save me. Hehehe…
Saki…
…?

They set out, joined now by Doctor Gojo as well. They were far too late, however.



What happened!?
Look! Over there! In the sky!

The Clustanians were already attacking Fallen Heaven Peak.







What the hell…!?
Damn! We’re too late! Let’s get out of here!

They rushed to Fallen Heaven Peak. A stream of people was flooding out of it.



They’re running away…
Hey, stop!
Man: Rev. Gengai!
Sorry for the late arrival, bro. What's the situation!?
Man: Fallen Heaven Peak was basically besieged! Anyone who goes back is toast!
What!?
That’s going too far!
So, where are you all escaping to?
Man: We're not trying to escape! We're asking to be Purified!
What!?
…Purified?
What is that?

Clustania’s methods were truly terrible.



Huh…?
That's how they control humans like slaves.
That’s so inhumane…
So! What do you mean!? You're asking to be Purified!? You're surrendering to them!?
Man: What other choice do we have!?
…!
Man: At this rate, our entire town will be Cleansed anyway!
Those bastards told us if we show up at Ciela Gate and let them Purify us, they wouldn't take our lives.
They promised they'd provide us a peaceful life if we do that.
That’s bull!
Man: !
Can't you see!? They see us as lowly insects for their experiments!
Man: Then what can you do for us!?
What!?

Fear was leading them to make a very poor choice.



…
Wait! Is that your attitude towards the man who has been protecting Fallen Heaven Peak all this time!?
Man: Hmph...you used to be charismatic, but you're nothing once Fallen Heaven Peak disappears!
…Hmph. They’re being way too boo!
…
Reverend…

They rested for a while before ascending to the peak of Fallen Heaven, and Saki wanted to see Aoto about something.



Aoto, are you still awake? I’m sorry for barging in this late!
Saki? What happened?
Um…I wanted to ask you for a favor.
Sure, what is it?
Well, umm…
…?
Please Dive into me!
Huh? Why are you saying that all of a sudden!?
I heard you are Diving into Filly.
So, I want you to Dive into me, too! I want to help you even more!
Well, uh…
Of course your answer is no, right?
I was told that you should only Dive with someone you like. I’m just not good enough…
Wait a sec! You’ve got it all wrong! It’s not like that! Finnel and I are just…
Huh…?
A-anyway…!
Diving’s not easy, you know. It’s full of all kinds of danger.
I’ve already decided to take you to Archia safely. I can’t put you into any more danger.
I don’t want to be treated like a doll! I want to protect you, too!
…Saki.

Saki made a pretty compelling argument.



I’m only asking you because you’re Aoto. I wouldn’t ask anyone else to do this with me.
……
…Alright. I give up.
…Huh!?
Saki…if you don’t mind me, then let me Dive. We’ll become super strong, like Liftman and Strengthgal!
Aoto…! Thank you for understanding! Saki’ll get a lot stronger!
Sure! Let’s do it!

They’d not gotten to talk about the Synthesis from earlier until now.



Synthesis isn’t that hard.
Really? But that was your first time synthesizing, right?
You didn’t think it was hard? You must be a genius.
Really? …But Doc was saying this was a simple kind of medicine.
But still, he gave me so many spare ingredients in case I messed up. He didn’t seem to trust me.
That was only in case of an emergency! It was your first time, so…it’s like…insurance.
Oh, really? Well, all’s well that ends well.
Right. I hope we can make many more items like this.

Aoto continued to prove he didn’t understand at all why Finnel wasn’t happy with him earlier.



How do you feel, Finnel? Aren’t you glad I Dived into you?
Th-that’s random.
Well, that Song Magic you launched at the Clustanians…it was super powerful.
That’s all because I Dived into you. You should thank me.
…
Huh? What is it?
Nevermind. I gave up on expecting anything decent from you.
But Aoto, now you have to keep Diving into me!
Why are you saying that? Do you want to get stronger?
That, too, but more importantly, I need to fix your insensitivity!
I don’t think you can take lectures. You need first hand experience!
…I don’t quite understand what you mean, but sure.

Of course, she had another reason to be mad.



Hey, please do better, Aoto!
Wh-why are you so mad?
It’s all your fault.
That really hurt, you know!?
Reyvateils are really vulnerable when singing!
So, if you don’t protect me well, I’ll be too scared to focus on singing…
Oh, I’m really sorry.
You’re pretty active and energetic compared to Saki, so I kind of felt less intense.
I’ll be more careful from now on, so please forgive me!
…Do you really understand?
Yeah. I don’t want you to get hurt.
I can’t promise I’ll protect you perfectly, but I’ll try harder.
So, please forgive me for earlier.
…Okay, if you really do understand, I’m not mad anymore.
I believe in you, Aoto.

They’d found a schematic for a V-Board, and Tatsumi had asked Aoto if they could piece it together before they moved on.



Aw, c’mon. Don’t be so stingy.
Don’t be so mean, Aoto.
I’m not being mean! It’s just, what do I know about making a good V-Board if I can’t even ride one?
I think it’ll be better to let Tatsumi take the lead on this one and let him tell us how to help.
…That sounds like a good idea.
Well, sorry, but it’s a waste of time to expect anything like that from me.
I’m not good at making stuff. Aoto, on the other hand, is like, an artisan. …Right?
Well, it’s not like steeplejacks are good at making everything, but I’ll give it my best shot…

For a first try I understand it turned out pretty well.



See? I knew you could do it, Aoto.
Yeah, I did it. But I’m not sure how well it came out…
Hey, you finished it. What’re you so grumpy about?
Because I know next to nothing about V-Boards.
And I had to make something half-assed like this. It hurts my artisan pride.
Hey, that’s just how synthesis goes sometimes.
It’s how all crafting works.
That’s the name of the game.
Would you guys mind not repeating the game thing over and over to me…?
Sorry, Aoto. So now that it’s done, do you want to name it?
Let me see… What about Hard Board? It was hard to make…
It doesn’t look very hard to me, though.
Then, what about Advanced Board?
Well, Tats, you’re the one who’s gonna use it, so you should get to decide.

We’ll wait there for now, I think, next time we’ll see what happened when they reached the peak of Fallen Heaven.