Part 32: Arakune: Story 05

...An insect.
So this is the white star. This'll end well, I'm sure.



is color... White...! Why White h !? white that's flicker skies bove!
Begone, foul creature. Or perhaps you would prefer to face my blade and meet oblivion?
Eeheeheehheeheeheehee! White! f I consume white, I will be top ultima soul ! must eat star, alon wi heaven earth.





...Fool. Ungh... Such power. Bastard, have you devoured the Azure as well?
Keehee. Azure Az ... s now come with . Will white consum , too? have Azure party.
...So you allowed this paltry insect to consume you. You disappoint me.


Yes, Hakumen just literally tore Ragna out of Arakune's stomach. KALIMA.

Gah...agh...aghaghaghagh!
Your actions...will imprison us in the Boundary. I demand that you desist...!
Azure, zuuure, zuuure, azure!
...
Sleep. I must exterminate this insect.



...my ev ...in world...
I am the white void. I am the cold steel. I am the just sword. With blade in hand shall I reap the sins of this world, and cleanse it in the fires of destruction.
I am Hakumen. The end has come.
Khaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!


So, here's the thing. Hakumen is really slow, but when he hits Arakune it hurts like fuck. Not demonstrated in this match is also his ability to cut through bugs, which provides him with neat little shields if you're spitting them out too much. It's rare that he can cut them during curse, but if he does it's pretty awesome for him. Clouds are harder for Hakumen to deal with, so those work pretty well. It's mostly a game of trying to keep away from that huge sword and create enough obstacles to get curse going.

Quick discussion of how Arakune's story works. You have to eat everything when given the option to get the true ending. If you don't you get an alternate ending when encountering Hakumen. You can also get that ending by losing this fight. So let's assume we let Hakumen beat us.



Az ...Eve withou zure, wander will trav to each world's t groun ... out way, white star.
You still persist? You cannot prevail against the blade of justice. Fool. Judgment!

Hakumen stabbed his sword deep into Arakune

Arrrrggggghh!
Perish!
Ugh!? My... bo d ... dy...Alll dea corps d th eyes eter bo tom my heart, world...all it... t's...dead...
We will meet again in the afterlife, pitiful insect.
Ahh ugh haagh ...Li...tchi...I'm...Gah...It hurts... ... ... y body... ebirth... poss ... attack? ...I'm... g ng estroy d...Aaaagh!

Hakumen's blow tears through Arakune's body. He roars in pain... The creature can't regenerate or escape...

...You shall only find ruin, fool. True wisdom cannot be hoarded like gold.

A dark fluid beings to pour out of the wound left by Hakumen's blade, flowing slowly, like thick syrup.

Aaaarrrgggghhh!

He writhes on the ground, screaming, the fluid that makes up his body gushing out across the floor. Whatever he might be, it's clear that he's dying. Hakumen knows how to kill him.

S...Stop it!



Screaming at the top of her lungs, a woman barrels across the floor, throwing herself between Hakumen and his victim...

...But it is already too late for Arakune.

Please! Get your sword out! Don't kill him!

That, I cannot do.

Hakumen's words are cold and emotionless.

It is my fate to balance karma's scales--the ones that this fool has tipped. I must destroy him. Hagh!

Hakumen tears his blade out of Arakune. The creature writhes in pain, but can no longer speak. Finally, whatever holds his body together ceases to exist, and he collapses into a black, oily puddle on the floor.



Ah...aaaaah...


that's harsh. I guess we should have won and seen this:





...It is not yet complete.
Hee. Guheehee, heeheeheeheeheehee. eat. This nt white sta . white du . That's tru . That fate.
Very well then. I will not hold back! You will taste the full fury of--



Hakumen's form begins to waver as his body is surrounded by a field of energy

Guh! How dare you interrupt me, Grimalkin!




For those that don't remember, Hakumen gets gated out here because of the magic plot devices that Tager set up around the city on behalf of Kokonoe.


...Uagh. kin...Koko...noe...Ko noeKokonoe. y gonna get y gain,g neglect gain, t bitch! Urrrrrrggggghhhhhhh!
Oh, . T Azure rea n my possess . I take Az ... just take it in...
...
Azure... future... key open door the ose world...
Oh well. We can still re-digested Ragna!


Welp.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Complete.
Huh? Ragna? Ragna, what happened? Who did this to you...?
Oh? A...noth ...Azure...?
...I'll make you feel eternal pain!




Surprise, Arakune dies anyway.



Much like every other side character, Arakune's story is pretty much non-canonical. Continuum Shift treats him as just having kind of existed up until that game starts. I guess this was just a fun exercise in wishful thinking. Next I'm going to do Noel's story, and after that I'll see if anyone wants to vote on who comes next.



Also here's another Katamari.