Part 12: Chapter 4R: Battle Amidst the Mist - Part 1

This is Taiyaki Maryuu Azking! You're really giving this to me?

Of course. I have lots more so have as many as you like.

Thank you! I think I got the wrong impression of you, Keine. I thought you were some annoying know-it-all who didn't know when to stop talking.

Hahaha. Well, it's just as you say. Don't worry about it.

Well, time to dig in! *chomp*

Wait, hold on.

...Mm?

Reimu, we don't have time for that.

Where did that come from? Didn't you just tell me I could eat this? What, do you want me to share it with you? It's too late for that now.

Reimu.

What? I'm listening.

...Reimu.



Reimu. Reimu...

Reimu!

Gah!



Finally awake, are you? I had to yell right next to your ear before you'd wake up...

I'm in... the shrine? What happened to the taiyaki?

What are you talking about?



...You're not very tactful in the real world either, Keine.

Reimu's one to talk.

Enough with the sleep-talk. We don't have time to chatter. Hurry up and get ready!

Hey! Wait!

I can get changed by myself you know! Sheesh, first you wake me up and now this?



I want you to help me move her somewhere safe, away from the village.

Music: Dark Clouds

...What did you say? Hold on, let's do this in order. What do you mean she collapsed?

Rather than explaining, it would be faster if you'd just take a look outside.

Wha...! What is this!? When did the mist get so thick? It was so thin yesterday...

It was like this when I woke up this morning. I don't know the reason, but it seems like it suddenly became thicker last night.

The altitude of this area is pretty high... If it's this thick here, then...



You can barely even see down there. Many humans have already taken ill due to inhaling the mist.

I believe it, considering how thick it is. It's probably best if they stay home.

I talked to the village chief earlier. I told him to let people know not to leave their homes if at all possible. Naturally, the humans who are in good health are just feeling a bit ill. But for someone with a weak body like Akyu, it's a different story altogether. At this rate the noxious energy might begin to corrode her body...



This is particularly bad for Akyu, because in exchange for continuously reincarnating all of her lives are very short.

...That's not all. If the mist has already reached the shrine... Then it might spill over into the outside world if we leave it alone.

Indeed. We don't have much time to waste.

What? REIMU is evolving!



Congratulations! Your REIMU evolved into HAKUREI SHRINE MAIDEN!

Jokes aside, this marks the official beginning of EoSD. Everything that happened beforehand was mostly spurred on by Keine's sense of duty or Marisa's boredom, and as such was actually completely pointless. But now that the mist is actually a problem, Reimu is taking charge and this incident is going to get the hell resolved out of it.

I'm glad to see you've realized the gravity of the situation.

Yup. Looks like it's time for some serious youkai extermination!

Yeah. but first let's go get Akyu. The elevation is high here, plus the shrine is a sacred ground. It should be preferable to having her stay in the human village.

Unfortunately, I don't have anything better to offer than just the shrine. I get what you're saying, though. We'll bring Akyu here first. Then after that, we'll go and resolve this incident.

Thanks. Let's hurry!



*gasp*... *gasp*...

How are you feeling? This is all the medicine I could find in the cabinet. I do hope one of them works...

I don't think that's how you're supposed to use medicine!

...I am so sorry. You came all this way and I am not able to even provide you with any hospitality.

This is no time to be worrying about something like that! Your health is the most important thing right now. Please try and get some rest...



...Thank you very much. Please do not worry, though. I've simply come down with a bit of a fever.

It is... because of this scarlet mist, right?

Most likely. However, this amount of mist should not be enough to threaten one's life.

But your condition has indeed taken a turn for the worse... Oh, yes! I applied some weather strips to the window just a while ago. Shall I put some on the door as well?

We won't be able to leave if you do that. Please calm down. I am fine, really.

M-My apologies. I am not used to taking care of sick people, so I suppose I panicked a bit.

No, I appreciate your concern. I am sure Keine will find some place the mist does not reach. Shall we wait a bit longer?



Akyu! Are you okay?

Hello. We have been waiting for you!

Hey, you're... Youmu, was it?

Were you looking after Akyu?

Yes. I came by a little while ago and she seemed to be suffering, so...

But I have settled down a bit thanks to Youmu.

That's good to hear. Do you think you can walk? Just for a bit?

Yes, I should be able to walk.

All right, let's move her before it gets any worse. As I thought, the mist is thinner at the shrine due to its high altitude. It should be somewhat better than staying here.

...All right. I will get ready.

Is it really okay to move her? She is not doing so well...

If I take too long resolving this incident, she'll be in much more danger here. I don't plan on dawdling, but just in case, you know?

EoSD happened over the course of about one full day, so Reimu is kind of underestimating herself here.

I'll carry Akyu on my back. If we can fly over the mist then it shouldn't affect her as much.



I have some work to attend to after this, but after seeing Akyu like this... I am not able to just look away and ignore the situation.

Fine by me.

You're more than welcome to help. Thanks a lot. Though, I must say I'm impressed you came here for research two days in a row. You can never have enough good students.

Oh... I, um...

Sorry to make you wait. I am ready to leave any time.

Looks like she's ready to go.

Indeed. Let's hurry!

R-Roger!



(I can not tell her that now, though... I shall just stuff them in my pocket now that no one is looking.)





This is the first time I have visited a shrine. I must say, though, the road is in pretty bad shape. It might be kind of scary trying to go through here when it's dark.

Speaking of that, do you know where this chapter is located?



Stage 1 of EoSD! I wasn't kidding when I said EoSD starts now.

Yeah, a lot of monsters start showing up at night.

Huh!? I am not very good with monsters...

Aren't you half a monster yourself?

*gasp*...

Sorry, Akyu. Just hang on a little longer.

I am fine. Are you sure I am not too heavy?

Nah, you're pretty light. It's like you're not even there.



Way to tempt fate there.

We're almost there, so let's try and power through the rest.

Keep it up, Keine! That look fits you pretty well.

Why does it sound like you're mocking me?

Hehe! Yes, I am rather comfortable back here.

Even Akyu's joking around at a time like this? Maybe I shouldn't complain. It's strange. All the kids at school always say I'm bad at giving piggyback rides...

...Huh?



Oh look, fairies.

Did you say fairies!? Could it be...



I think this is the Charlie someone in the thread mentioned earlier. The fairy's status screen still just says it's a generic fairy though.



There are quite a few of them, just as I thought.

Ugh! We don't have time to mess around with fairies right now!

!



What...?



You're right! She looks like a turtle or something. Hee hee! Let's split them apart and play with them!

There are reinforcements coming from behind!?

Watch out, Keine!



The black kedama targets Keine.



The damage Keine takes depends on the difficulty; if this was Lunatic, she'd take 2000 damage.

Gah!

Keine!

This is bad. I didn't sense them at all!

We got careless and walked right into a pincer attack... Keine, are you okay?!

Yeah, it just grazed me. I can't take too many more hits, though.

Oh don't be so overdramatic, you totally can.

We are in trouble. We have to protect Keine!



Ugh. We'll just have to pierce through their formation while trying to defend.

...



W-what did you say? I'm fine, I can still carry you.

No, the mist has grown thicker and made the fairies even more powerful. If you keep trying to protect me, then both of us might be defeated.

That's true...

Predicting the enemy's movements and striking at the right time... That is one of the theories of youkai extermination.



I'm not really sure how that links at all to the strategy she just gave.

...

I understand. Don't try to push yourself, though. Just try and keep yourself safe!



She's going to walk for a bit until we take care of these fairies.

And she means that, as Akyu can not fly. This is somewhat of a mixed blessing: Akyu can't move very fast, but she can benefit from the trees everywhere.

What!? Is that okay?

Of course it isn't! That's why we need to defeat them as fast as possible. Alternatively, we protect Akyu until she can get away from the field of battle.



Secure the road to the shrine.

Alright. Akyu, how long do you think you can walk?

About 10 minutes, most likely... I do not think I can do more than that.

Understood. In other words, we need to defeat the enemy in less than 10 minutes...



Or escort Akyu to this point before 10 minutes are up!

Yup! Don't let your guard down!

All right... I won't let them lay a finger on Akyu!

Sorry, but you don't have Support Defend yet.



And with that, the chapter begins.



With that huge list of conditions, the Bonus, and the fact that Keine starts off a bit weakened, this chapter seems like it would be a gimmicky mess. Well, it is but not for any of the reasons you'd think. Ten turns is far, far more than enough to murder every enemy on the field.



And Akyu is packing Alert so she's totally safe. Fun Fact: In the original english patch, a bug caused Alert to never wear off. This made this chapter even more of a joke.



Here's this chapter's real gimmick. Every character needs to step on these flowers in order to get a Bonus Conversation. Well, I say "need" but it's entirely optional and still doesn't do a damned thing.



Getting back to Akyu, she's just as flimsy as you might think.



She has this though, which would be useful if this wasn't the only chapter she's in. Yes, spoilers, Keine and Reimu aren't going to take a sick girl along with them while they solve an incident.



Akyu also has a surprisingly durable brush. But between its low attack power and Akyu's low stats, Akyu actually killing an enemy with this thing is basically not happening, especially since nobody here has Mercy. Good thing there's a much easier way to get the Bonus.



I start the chapter by having Akyu cast Alert and begin the long march northwards.



Reimu also makes a beeline to the flowers, crippling this fairy along the way.



Also, this was a 9%.



Youmu goes for Charlie. Note that if Akyu uses a Bomb to kill an enemy, that still counts as her killing an enemy!



Finally, Keine starts up a fight with the Black Kedama.



This is how much damage Keine should have taken. Cutscenes.



The enemy phase begins with Charlie burning up Akyu's Alert.

Music: The Brush-Holding Girl Weaves History



Man, look how much mist there is.



Reimu's fairy is next. Since Akyu's in a forest though, she should be fine even without Alert.



Or at least she should be.



Keine brutalizes this fairy,



and the Black Kedama she was fighting goes straight for Akyu.



Thankfully, for once the RNG didn't decide to kick me in the balls. This was the last enemy with a real hope of hitting Akyu too, so she's safe for the chapter.



Keine finishes off the Black Kedama.



As much as I want to show off Brush, the odds here are a little iffy.



So Youmu finishes off Charlie and Akyu drops the Bomb.







Meanwhile, Reimu reaches the goal.

Oh look, there are flowers over here. Hmm... Doesn't look like they're edible, though.

Hey, Reimu! What the heck are you doing all the way over there? Quit messing around and clean up these enemies!

Sheesh. You should take some time to smell the roses every now and then, Keine. Oh well. I'll leave these flowers here for now and go back to the danmaku battle.



That sure was a productive turn.



This fairy kills itself just to do 43 damage to Keine.



Reimu will be the only one attacking this phase.



Everyone else heads for the flowers.



The only thing that happened on the enemy phase was this fairy wasting an attack on Akyu.



Reimu kills the fairy from as far away as possible,



and Keine and Youmu sit down and chat.

Huh, there are flowers here? There's something precious about flowers blooming on a battlefield. Maybe I'll take one and put it on the podium at school. Or... Wait, if I started bringing flowers to school the kids would just laugh at me. But...

Keineee, why are you dawdling around over there? Aren't we trying to protect Akyu?

Er, that's true. I must really be slipping if Reimu's scolding me. Time to return to the battle!


Oh my, flowers blooming in a place like this? Now that I think about it, I should change the flower arrangements in the mansion soon. I have been arranging them ever since I was small...



Yuyuko is to Youmu as Remilia is to Sakuya, only Yuyuko is dead. That is, she's a ghost. Youmu's not comparing herself to some sort of former mentor figure or anything.

Perhaps the style I learned from my master is too unrefined. But what is different about how we arrange them?





M-my apologies! I slipped into one of my work habits. Let us continue the danmaku battle.



Meanwhile, Akyu begins her climb up this cliff. This is how most of these ten turns are going to be spent: forcing a sick child to climb up a mountain. Look what you've done, Sanbondo.



A 17% hits Reimu. I guess I should actually bother to cast Focus now that the chapter's about done.



Also, Reimu's 100% counter attack hits. Just in case you wanted to know I guess.



The game will give a turn alert after you hit the halfway point.



Keine finishes off the Kedama and gets a level.



Youmu casts Accel, zooms over to one of the fairies, and one shots it.



And Reimu casts Focus and enjoys a battle with perfect odds against a fairy.



Turn 6, Rumia spawns in. She'll also do that if you kill all the enemies before Turn 6.

It's the youkai from yesterday!

You're just in time for my third meal of the day. Time to get revenge!

Just what we needed...



AKA kill Rumia to beat the chapter.

Well I'll beat her anyways since she's a youkai.

Huh? Are you listening to me?

Sorry, we are busy right now.

Ooh, don't underestimate me! I'll make you regret that!

With that, the enemy phase begins.



I actually expected that to hit.



Anyways, Rumia! She's the exact same as she was at the end of chapter 3,



including starting with Night Bird. Something to note about reoccuring bosses in this game: if they declared a spell card in their initial battle, they won't re-declare it the next time around. Makes rematches more expedient.



First thing I do on my turn is heal Reimu.



Then everyone charges Rumia.

Things are gonna go different today!



Well shit, they did.

What? Is that all?

At this point, whether you hit her or not, Rumia casts Guts, which fully heals her. I would've taken a screenshot, but I pressed the wrong button.

What's going on? Our attacks aren't working!

That pesky sunlight isn't here to get in my way and I'm not hungry either. I'm in top form today!

This might take longer than we thought, and we do not have time to begin with...

Looks like there's no way around it.



Another one? You mean you had another one besides Evil-sealing Circle?

Yeah. I guess I haven't shown it to you yet, now that you mention it.

It doesn't matter what you do. I don't care if you're a shrine maiden or crime-laden or whatever!

You'd better not underestimate the power of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden.

Music: Sealing Charm, Blessed Light


Watch Reimu use that move she had the entire damned time but couldn't be bothered to use to help beat Sakuya!

Owwwww!

What...!



This is the actual description of Fantasy Seal. A lot of Reimu's techniques are just her doing something ridiculous and reality bending to accompany her.

When you say it like that, I'm not sure if it's something to be amazed at or not.

It sure surprised me, though. I never knew you had a technique like that.

I wasn't hiding it or anything. It's just that Keine kept getting in my way every time I tried to use it.

What are you talking about?

Reimu's not kidding, though "every time I tried to use it" actually just refers to:


Probably would've made more sense if the translator hasn't messed up the name, but who cares about one minor issue in an overall solid translation.

Oh... I still haven't lost yet. I can still recover!



Despite what Rumia said, she's pretty much doomed if Reimu drops another Fantasy Seal. Unfortunately, I can't do that quite yet because



Akyu is still climbing!



So I'll need to stall for about two more turns.

I don't know what you're trying to do... But you've got guts to keep showing up in front of us.

Oh, really? Thanks.

Aren't you dragging this out too long for a stage 1 boss, though?



Rumia is indeed the stage 1 boss of EoSD!

Don't ask me...



One day I will successfully capture a character letting an enemy run past them.



Almost there!



So here's Fantasy Seal. It runs on both ammo and MP, but that's basically meaningless because two shots are more than enough for any chapter, and Fantasy Seal is the only thing Reimu should be spending MP on anyways. For all intents and purposes, Fantasy Seal straight up replaces Evil-sealing Circle.

Fantasy Seal also holds the priviledge of being one of the straight up most ridiculous attacks in the game. It's ranged, unlike Headbutt or Meditation Slash, and can benefit from Shotgunning (which is why I recommended Reimu buy it.) It's Post-Movement, so it benefits from Unfocused Movement like the rest of Reimu's moves. The 120 Power requirement is nothing because Reimu builds up Power ridiculously fast. The +45% accuracy modifier is complete overkill on Reimu, to the point that it would take a miracle to miss with Fantasy Seal. And last, but not least, it has the second best music in the game. The music's so good, in fact, that it will override every other song; it doesn't matter if you're fighting a normal enemy or the final boss, Sealing Charm, Blessed Light will always play if Reimu uses Fantasy Seal.

EDIT: Also:




The only thing about it that might trip you up though is that you have to be Focused to use it.



Yes, I got one!



I decided to weaken Rumia just a bit more to ensure a kill with Fantasy Seal.



My, what precious flowers.... And growing in a place like this, no less. You can feel the fundamental power of life intrinsic to nature in these flowers. Especially those that bloom in seasons.



Oh, I do enjoy watching the flowers change with the seasons...

Akyu! Why are you all the way over there? Quit being naughty and just head for the target!

Oh, I suppose you are right.

I mean, it is because you are over there moving me pointlessly! I thought you were supposed to be protecting me!

Hey, I didn't put the bonus conversations flowers there.

...Who is she talking to?



Anyways, let's finish this. Reimu's WP Bonus is one of the few that have some use, if only because basically every boss is a Youkai. It can backfire on Hard/Lunatic though; the damage buff can push Reimu's attacks over the boss' damage threshold, causing them to Defend and take half-damage.


Watch the Fantasy Seal exhibition!



Fantasy Seal has a Dynamic Kill Animation; that is, if an enemy is defeated with it, the animation is extended a bit. They exist to prevent silly things like a universe being cut in two or something in the animation and the enemy still surviving.

I didn't have any strength cuz I was hungry...

That's not what you said earlier.



Reimu is one step closer to getting Shotgunning.



Rumia also drops this, which both Keine and Youmu can get some use out of. I usually tack it on Keine though.

Okay, looks like we shut her up for now. She's only a youkai after all.

We should be able to advance now!

We're wasting our time. Let's hurry!



This awkward transition is pretty weird when you consider that they actually programmed the game so that you couldn't beat the stage without Rumia popping up.

That's about how it goes when I get serious.

Good work, everyone. Shall we go to pick up Akyu?

Good work, Akyu.

It was all thanks to you three. Thank you very much.

There shouldn't be anything else in the way. The shrine's not too far off now!

Oh, hold on.



That youkai from earlier is sprawled out over there.

What? Where is she?

Right there, hanging from a tree branch...

I think Rumia actually won't move from her spot, so she actually will always end up on a tree branch.

Good timing. Hey you. Come here for a second.

What? What do you want?

You are going to capture her? What are you thinking?

If she's attacking humans this often, then I can't just overlook her behavior. I'm gonna give her a good lecture.



Ahhh... I can't just do what I want?

Of course not! First off...

Heh heh. Keine can even humble youkai...

Ack...

Akyu!?

She must've inhaled too much of this mist. We need to get her to the shrine as fast as possible!

Sorry, Akyu. We'll be there soon...!



Finally, a stage that went well. Mostly.

------

Akyu's attack animation is incredibly silly, since even though she can't fly she can still attack enemies in the air. Also I have no idea why Youtube decided to stretch the video.

Akyu Hieda

------

Ah, you're stopping? That's fine...

But if you don't pay your respects properly, a strange god will come after you.

So make sure you play again soon.

EDIT: There was nothing else beyond here.