Part 24: Turmoil on the Lake Part 2 - Part 1

The game gives you a chance to rearrange the formation of your units. I will be taking advantage of that to move Keine to the bottom of the formation.

I have finally found you, Hakurei shrine maiden... Reimu Hakurei.

Clothes emphasizing the exposure of armpits... Is that the outfit of shrine maidens!?

That means that human is the one Momiji was looking for...

...The other... shrine maiden.



Such as being an impolite type who goes into lectures right after meeting someone. How about you introduce yourself properly? If you don't show proper etiquette, you're going to get headbutted by Keine.

Remember that last bit.

Very well. I shall introduce myself once again. My name is Sanae Kochiya. I serve as a wind priestess of the Moriya Shrine. I have been searching for you for several days. Pleased to make your acquaintance.

Moriya Shrine...? There's a shrine besides the Hakurei Shrine in Gensokyo?

I ain't heard of a wind priestess either. Is that the same as a shrine maiden?

Strictly speaking, there are differences. But it should not be a problem to think that way.

Well then, what does a wind priestess like you want with me? As you can see, I'm very busy right now.

I was not planning on taking much of your time, even if you were not in a rush.



The only person who supports the faith of the land... I wanted to see with my own eyes what kind of person this shrine maiden was.

You're a real suspicious one. The tengu were looking all around for you awhile ago. You may be trying to sound all self-important... But don't you have behavioural problems of your own?

The tengu were...? I see, I suppose that could not be helped.

No, I think it could've.

My, do you happen to have an idea about that?

The matters of the youkai of the mountain do not concern the likes of you.

I don't get what you're trying to say. Could you explain yourself a little better?



You're not here to evaluate her looks, are you?

thread poll: red and white or blue and white, which is the better color combination

Seriously. If you just came here to meet me, you've accomplished your goal. Could you just go home already then? I already said earlier, but I need to resolve this incident promptly.

Yes, you should be hurrying, indeed.



Yet, there is still no indication of it being resolved.



...!

Whoa, she went there.

She's... picking a fight with Reimu.

...So, what is it exactly that you want to say?



As you are now, it is clear as day that Gensokyo's faith will continue to dwindle.

Hey, coming from nowhere and finding faults like that, you're quite the challenger.

Yes. I don't have time to listen to your preaching. Besides, the state of Gensokyo's faith has nothing to do with you.

...You have suddenly turned defiant, I see. You truly lack consciousness that you are a shrine maiden.

Oh, shush. I don't know what you're aiming for.



Very well. Please let me see your strength.

Music: Motherly Sea, One With The Wind


Watch Mario and Luigi duke it out!














Wait what that's not even pos-




I guess I walked into that one, huh.

(For those unfamiliar with Touhou, Sanae's power is that she's Capable of Causing Miracles.)



Also, Sanae's attack should look familiar.



Reimu should really consider a lawsuit.



Seriously, if this attack gets a kill? It has the exact same Dynamic Kill as Reimu. You can check it out in the attack exhibition.

Ugh...!

Reimu!



And the enemy's technique was a direct hit... To think that she could truly gain the upper hand on Reimu!

It's not that surprising. Reimu's still fatigued from all that fighting earlier!

...I see. You live up to your name in terms of youkai extermination. However, as a shrine maiden, that is all you possess.



Sanae, your victory was literally a miracle. Though that's your power so I... guess that's a real win? Man I don't even know.

...Hmph, don't get cocky just because you won round 1. I haven't gotten serious yet!

Don't overdo it! Even you can't take another hit like that again!

It is as that woman says. Thanks to our bout, I now have a firm grasp on your worth as a shrine maiden. Thus, it is no longer necessary for us to do battle.

What? You say that now when...



Remember when Sanae said that Youkai Mountain wasn't important?

Music: Reinforcements - Theme of the Detestable Youkai



Well she was kind of sort of totally wrong.

!

That's...

The tengu, and her followers... It's the youkai of the mountain!

Hey, when did they...

Momiji!

Sanae Kochiya. Negotiations are still progressing. Did you forget the promise?



...So I have been found. My apologies, but this is my duty.

I do not know about your circumstances, but for this to happen... Not even a brief bout of negligence can be tolerated.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party is checking up on Reimu.

...! Reimu, are you all right?!

...Tch, so much interference now.

Please do not overexert yourself. It is good that the tengu has diverted attention.

Yes, although they seem to be arguing about something...



We will be the ones to decide that. In any case, you must return to the mountain at once. The ceasefire agreement must not be violated any further.



...Very well. I have no pressing reason to remain here any further. I shall return to Youkai Mountain.

Sanae starts to leave, but...



Don't go after her Reimu! There's no worth in continuing the fight any longer!

Ooh... I know, but...

Leave it to me then, I'll capture her!

Stop!



Please still your hand. This is our problem.

Why are you trying to protect her?

I must return Sanae Kochiya to the mountain safely. I remember you from before as well. I told you to avoid meddling in the affairs of the mountain, did I not? And furthermore...

...

I see you are still with the humans, Nitori. You are flouting the orders of the mountain to far too great a degree. Do you not consider yourself one of the youkai of the mountain?

Ooh... Momiji, you know...



You were called Marisa Kirisame, correct? Not only did you take Nitori away from the mountain... But you are attempting to meddle into our affairs...

I didn't take her away from anywhere. Now get out of the way, that shrine maiden's getting away.

Yes. There are still things I want to tell her directly.



But then we wouldn't have a chapter!

Yeah, nothing good can come out of getting involved with the mountain's affairs.

...No, I am well aware of the attitude of your group.





Even more crows spawn in.

Huh, they came from behind.

Our escape route has been closed off. We cannot retreat now!

So there's nothing we can do but to fight. Well, it's not like we weren't intending to do that in the first place!

Good grief, I told you all already...

But we must come out of this somehow. It's best that we're resolved to do so.

I know. We're in the middle of investigating the incident.



You got that right, ma'am!

But don't chase that shrine maiden too far. We are still damaged, after all. Breaking through the enemy's formation is our foremost goal.

Yep yep. If we wanna make it quick, we can just beat that tengu up.

That's decided, then. And if we have enough in reserve, we'll take out that shrine maiden too!



These two are still here!

...

...Cirno?

All right! You all! Looks like you're in a tough spot!





Um, that fairy over there seems to be shouting something...

You all just barely lost to me after all, I bet you're all really tired.

...Goodness, she really says whatever she likes.

It's true that we could use as much help as we can get though. Let's not dwell on the minor details and accept her assistance.



Gotcha! You can wait there for a little while, Dai.

No, I will fight too. I want to be helpful, and besides...

You're with me now, Cirno.

Dai...!

All right, we'll show you all why we're the strongest!

Meatshield get.





Chapter 7 can be a huge mess. There are a ton of enemies, two bosses, your army is split, Reimu is weakened, Marisa is in a bad starting position, and Cirno and Dai are uncomfortably close to the bosses. Add that to any lack of HP/MP/SP from chapter 6, and you get a chapter that is very likely to murder most of your army!



That's not the case for me though, since I had Reimu solo chapter 6. With the exception of Fantasy Seal's (since Reimu just used one), all ammo is refilled in between the chapters so Reimu's at full power.



Her HP isn't an issue either since Dai and Keine are near/at max SP. And if I happened to be running Instinct Dodge, I probably wouldn't even want to heal.



As for the other issues, since most of my army sat around for half of chapter 6 they're barely damaged, at full MP, and most are at full SP.



Let's check out the bosses. Since Reimu already fought Sanae, only Momiji's status screen is hidden to me.



Momiji has toughened up since chapter 1M, but so has my army. Momiji isn't a real threat, and the main problem I'll face with her is keeping her alive; defeating Momiji automatically ends the chapter.



Likewise, Sanae is kind of a wimp. Just for comparison, let me post Reimu's stats from the beginning of the game.



The main thing to look at here is her Range, since that's what her attacks work off of. She's level 12, yet she's only one point higher then a level 5 Reimu! Her Accuracy/Evasion is pretty impressive though, but it's actually worthwhile to spend SP now so they aren't a real problem. If you focus on attacking Sanae, you'll find that her 11,500 HP goes down fast. Unfortunately, the game won't just let you do that: Sanae will constantly be moving to the south edge of the screen, and if she touches it (or if you reduce her to/under 5500 HP) she'll run away like Sakuya did in chapter 3.

Also like Sakuya, shooting Sanae down is entirely optional and a huge hassle. I'm still going for it.



Two of the key players in doing that are going to be Cirno and Dai. They may be totally unable to hit Sanae or do anything resembling damage...



but they take up space, so they can slow her down until I can surround her and block off her movement. Sanae isn't like Sakuya back in Chapter 3 though; she will attack anyone in her way. Dai is liable to get killed in one hit from Gray Thaumaturgy, but Cirno...



Cirno does not have that problem. Grit is an extremely useful Spirit, and it's arguably Cirno's sole redeeming feature.



By the way, as best friends Cirno and Dai have the best Support bonus in the game. While next to each other they gain +15% to Hit and Evade rates, which will really do a lot in keeping them alive this chapter.



Last but not least, Marisa will also be zooming down. With three people around Sanae, I can stall her movement long enough for Reimu and Keine to get over and take her out with Fantasy Seal + Headbutt.

Alright, that's the plan. Let's see how well it goes.



I start by moving Reimu and Keine. Since Keine still needs 20 more Graze I'll be taking the opportunity to feed two kills to her.



Meanwhile the Momiji team gets into position,



and Rumia lands on the iceberg so she can securely take out the two crows in the back. She doesn't need to land to stay alive, but it's a free +15% Defense so why not?



Crows may not seem like the most intimidating of enemies, but as you'll soon see they've got a trick up their sleeves.



The first enemy turn starts with Sanae talking to herself.

I do not fully comprehend the whole story, but it works out quite nicely. I shall make use of this danmaku battle to escape.



Sanae's already in position to get blocked off.



Thanks to Grit, even if Cirno gets hit she'll take basically no damage.

Hoooooooold it!

A fairy? Move, you are in the way!

Heh heh heh, I'll beat you to a pulp and show everyone that I'm really strong!

You are full of self-confidence, if nothing else...



Shield Defense: still annoying.



Meanwhile, Marisa is getting rushed by crows. She hasn't had her MP upgraded in Reimu's route, so it's important to be stingy!



On the other side of the screen, the crows ignore Rumia and go for Nitori. Since she doesn't have Berserk, it's in her best interest to Defend.



The lack of upgrades on Marisa's team can really make them liabilities here. The reverse isn't true on Marisa's route though; Reimu and Keine are just that good.



The enemy phase ends with Reimu fighting off another flock of crows and getting a level from them.



See all that danmaku? That's the crows' gimmick. Individually they're weak, but the numerous danmaku fields they'll spawn will lower your characters' defense/evasion rates to the point they could be in for serious trouble if they're not focused.



Thankfully this is Normal, so only a couple crows will spawn danmaku instead of every single one stacking danmaku like crazy. Still, being unfocused is pretty dangerous in this chapter.



Especially near Momiji, who incidentally has a pretty annoying danmaku effect.



Marisa doesn't have the option of focusing if she wants to close in on Sanae however, so her dying is a very real possibility. And if she goes, say goodbye to beating Sanae.



...Yeah, I think Marisa will just stick to being a roadblock.



Dai and Cirno work together to take out a crow. Oh, and see that attack Cirno's using?



She suddenly learned it in between chapters. It's going to be her main attack due to being her strongest post movement attack.



Here's another reason why the danmaku will be a problem: it'll slow Reimu and Keine down. If they can't get to Sanae fast enough to totally block her movement, it's all over.



I try to have Reimu take out the crow spawning the danmaku so Keine can move farther... but she missed. On a 92%.



Keine ends up having to do it herself.



Rumia also lifts off so she can attack the crows from point blank.



I decide to have Youmu just zoom over to the central island and hopefully draw some heat off of the Sanae team.



Artful Sacrifice + Monster Cucumber deals with the last northern crow,



and the turn ends with Nitori casting Guard and getting in position to protect Youmu.



This crow tried to attack Reimu. It paid for its foolish decision.



Youmu succeeded at being bait.



She even activated Parry twice!



Nitori also gets some attackers, but I have her defend so I can get the Graze on someone else.



I let her try and counter a crow at full HP, but it doesn't go very well.



Back on my phase, Keine get her second kill. She gets a level too.



The only thing this crow did wrong was that it happened to be in Reimu's attack range.



Sanae gets surrounded again, though in hindsight this formation disables Dai and Cirno's Support.



CROWMAGEDDON GO



Rumia starts off with a pretty lame level.



Alice shows her how it's done.



Youmu takes out another crow, and at the same time inches slightly closer to Momiji.



And Nitori follows, taking out a danmaku-spawning crow too.



Sanae's started attacking. I could have Dai evade, but honestly it's safer to Defend.



As we can see from these pictures, Dai is superior to Reimu.



Nitori tanks the two remaining crows... And then gets targeted by Momiji.

Do you really have no intention of returning to the mountain?

Um... I've already stuck my neck out anyway. I'm worried about the incident and its culprit too.

At this point, I will not stop you, but you must be prepared to be punished. There is only so much I can do to cover for you. Good grief, if only you never met that magician...

Marisa is my friend, don't talk bad about her!

I am just thinking about what is best for you!



Whew, I was worried Nitori might not survive.



I start the next phase draining Dai's SP to bring Nitori back to full.



With no crows in the way, Reimu and Keine sprint east.



Ready for round 2?

You're not getting away!

I did not think you would be able to chase after me after that beating you took. I no longer have a reason to fight against you, yet you still wish to continue?

Obviously. C'mon, let's pick up from where we left off!



This is off to a good star-







Now I wish I hadn't moved Keine so I could heal Reimu.



Alice takes down this crow easily enough,



but Rumia runs into a wolf-sized problem with this one.



Support Defend is very annoying when it's used against you!



Good thing Youmu's there too.



Oh good, she attacked Marisa instead.

After hearing what the tengu said, I'm kinda interested in you now. I stood by quietly and watched last time, but now, I'm gonna be your opponent.

To have caught up to me from so far... I am unsure whether to think of you as swift, or stubborn... What is your relationship with that shrine maiden?

None, really. I guess you could say we're in an inseparable relationship. ...Whether we like it or not.

In that case, please pull back. This is a problem between the Hakurei shrine maiden and myself.

I'm Reimu's manager. All of Reimu's problems are gonna hafta go through me.



Maybe I should have selected Evade after all...



Meanwhile, this happens. Lucky too, since I didn't have Nitori cast Guard!

You're called Momiji, after a maple leaf, right?

Yes, I am. Why?

Red bean bread is made with red beans. Jam buns are made with jam. So those maple leaf steamed buns...

!?



Oh no, I lost Rumia.



Reimu and Marisa get healed up by Keine and Dai respectively,



and I'm just slightly off.



Thankfully, Sanae still can't reach the exit.



Sanae had better not get another miracle.



Good.



Nitori blows her last Guard, and then everyone moves around a bit so Youmu can use Meditation Slash on a counter.



Alice also casts her last Focus and takes a shot at Momiji.

The tengu are supposed to be a very powerful species. But you don't seem very strong yourself.

How rude! It may be true that I am inexperienced...

But there is no way that I will be caught off-guard by those suspicious dolls!









The enemy phase was full of thrilling action.



SUCCESS



I'll just have Reimu bomb to reduce her HP low enough and-





Reimu Hakurei. I am sure I will see you again sometime soon. I will be praying for the incident to be resolved safely.



It can't be helped given this situation. We should avoid any unnecessary damage.

...Yeah. I'll cheer myself up by taking it out on that tengu instead, then.

I suggest you not underestimate the white wolf tengu. You will be the one who will be taken to task, Hakurei shrine maiden!



Well crap. I guess I should just go beat up Momiji now, but I kind of sort of swore I would beat Sanae when I was talking to Ryza about how I would do this chapter so



Reset time!



This time around Momiji attacked Marisa on the first turn instead of Cirno. Probably cause she got hit by a crow.

You again and again! You are so persistent!

I may have blundered the last time, but it will not turn out the same again!

You think? My new magic is gonna take you down even flashier than before!



Marisa was not in a very good position at the beginning of turn 2.



But in the end it's Nitori who dies. I had her try to counterattack instead of defend, and she took so much damage she attracted all of the nearby crows and got mobbed to death.





The third try went smoothly right up until Momiji went for Reimu and Keine instead of Nitori's group.

With you and that newspaper reporter, you tengu really like to keep secrets.

Newspaper reporter... So you met Aya, my senior?

So that's her name. And she's your senior? You must have it tough.

...I see, she seems to be the same as ever.

In that case, I will not let you all get in my way!



Momiji will likely be unable to kill either Reimu or Keine, but her danmaku field can restrict their movement to the extent that they can't catch up to Sanae.



That never turned out to be a problem though, because Marisa got killed on a 37% Gray Thamaturgy.





This cutscene gets old fast, especially since you can't skip it.



Also Reimu got killed from three bullshit hits in a row so



I'm going to do everyone a favor and skip to try 23. If you're curious, about 70% of the runs failed because Marisa got killed. Thankfully you can usually tell how well your run will go by the end of the first turn, so the resets don't take that much time.



This is about as close as I dare to go to 5500. Getting so low is pretty unnecessary in a normal run, but I can't save scum to guarantee criticals so I've got to do things the hard way.



Reimu and Keine blow the last bits of their SP to ensure this battle will go perfectly,



and Reimu activates this even though Sanae isn't a Youkai because why not.


Watch Sanae get trashed!



Sadly, the dialogue does not change if you manage to beat Sanae.



But the rewards certainly do!



Meanwhile, Momiji. While Reimu and Keine were getting into position, Youmu's been single-handedly fending off Momiji. Nitori's Support Defend is literally the only reason she's still alive.



Youmu's been handicapping herself the entire time though to avoid killing Momiji and ending the chapter early, so I think it's time to let her cut loose too.

You are a sword user, I see. Are you able to match my blade!?

The patrol tengu have a fondness for swords... But this Rockcrusher Fang has been passed down to myself alone. An expert you may be, but I will not back down!

Then let us do battle!

That conversation happened about four turns ago, but I wasn't sure if this run would succeed so I held off on taking a screen cap of the first fight.



oh thank the lord this chapter is finally over







...How could I have been overwhelmed by these humans...!

Hey, Youmu's half-human.

This is the second time you've lost to me. You took us lightly cuz we were damaged.

Well then, I'll be getting everything you know about that shrine maiden out of you.



So long as my Rockcrusher Fang remains unbroken... My will to fight remains unbroken as well!

...Momiji...!

I would praise you for your spirit... But do take a good look around you.



Alice might want to work on her definition of surrounded.

...Ugh...!

If you don't want to talk, then it's goodbye. I hope you're good at the dog-paddle.



Aya zooms over and picks up Momiji.

You humans have such bad manners, firing at an opponent who can no longer move. I'll be stopping your wave of momentum right now.

You're that tengu from before!

You're that newspaper reporter! ...Wait, you know her, Reimu?

Yeah, we met her a little before we arrived here.

Apologies for the delay. Are you still alive, Momiji?

Aya, why are you here...?

I was following the Hakurei shrine maiden and collecting data. I didn't expect that you were going to fight them though.

...I am ashamed to let you see me in such a state.

There's no need for that. Let's just return to the mountain.



...Oh, you're still here. What do you want?

What do we... You're the one who popped up abruptly, it should be us asking that. We met that shrine maiden Sanae Kochiya a little while ago. There was talk of an agreement and other suspicious dealings.



Heh... So you've gotten into contact with the shrine maiden. Well, please forget about that and go resolve the incident, if you could.

What...? That tengu's attitude has completely changed from the last time we met her.

...Don't tell me the tengu are in a bad mood...?

What's wrong, Nitori?

...This is bad, Marisa. Leave Momiji be. If the tengu get angry, things are going to get really bad!

Really not in the mood for a third part to this chapter either!

...Telling us to forget it is a bit unreasonable. I still have a score to settle with that shrine maiden, so don't try to protect her.

...I'm not exactly protecting her, and I do slightly understand how you all feel.



I will overlook this incident for now. But I do not know what will happen if something similar occurs again.

With the way you're talking, you're planning to run again, aren't you!?



Aya moved even faster than before, and right into my trap! It'd be cool if cutscenes worked like that, huh?

Huh, when did she become so far away?

Her speed is incomparable to what we saw earlier! Was she not giving it her all then...?

Since you don't seem to know... My top speed is the fastest in Gensokyo... Even though I'm carrying some extra weight, there is no way you all can catch me.

...My apologies for always being so unhelpful.

Don't worry about it. You did well fighting against those humans. Well then, I'll warn you all once again.



I think now's a good time to mention that in Touhou 10, Reimu/Marisa single-handedly invades and defeats Youkai Mountain.

You will surely regret it if you do. I hope you make the right decision and choose not to throw your lives aways.

Aya leaves for good this time.

They got away...

...Yeah. The shrine maiden, and the tengu, they all got away...

In the end, the shrine maiden remains a mystery. She emerged the victor this time.

Only in the cutscene!

It's time to pull ourselves together and continue the investigation...



...

We are a bit more fatigued than what is optimal.

...I'm hungry.

...Well, it hasn't been decided where we're going yet anyway.

Hm. Everyone seems tired as well. Perhaps we should take a break and discuss our next destination?

But where would we be able to rest? If we lay our swords down in a careless area... We may be inviting surprise attacks from youkai.



Hmm, yeah, let's do that. Hey you all, you took some pretty bad damage from your fight with me, huh!

I gotta admit, fighting with you hurts my head a lot.





Youkai don't pass by there much, and you can nap as long as you want.

...Well, she's saying that, but she is a fairy. What do you all think?

She helped us earlier, and she doesn't seem to be lying. We should be able to depend on her.

And she's Daiyousei's friend after all. Alright then, Cirno and Daiyousei. Lead us to your secret shelter.

Gotcha! Follow me!



------

Cirno
Sanae Kochiya

------

Mm, okay... Thank you very much for playing Fantasy Maiden Wars E.

We, the staff, hope that you have enjoyed it. We will continue developing until the planned series is complete. We hope that you can share with us any of your opinions or feelings about the game.

Thank you for your time. Rest well.

...Ahh, that was tiring. Being a main character isn't easy.

What's up, Reimu? You look like a human that just got owned by a youkai.

Being a main character's a lot of work. You do this next time.

I guess I'm a main character too, huh? All right, I'll handle the next one.

We saw Marisa's version of this back in chapter 3. Which came first?