Part 24

Thanks to the amazing power of jetlag, I had to stay up for a whole day doing something involved enough to keep me awake. As it turns out, a game is good for that.

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Music: Bizarre Smile

Full Text


Music: Determination in the Chest

Full Text

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Music: The Arrows and Bullets That Enshrouded the Night



What a huge moon! Are we in space?!

If this were really space, we wouldn't be able to breathe.


Akyu, what does the radar say?

It's showing absurd numbers! Something must be interfering with it!

Oh? They really fell for that?

Tewi and Reisen spawn in.

I never knew you were such a good actor, Reisen.

I was seriously shooting to kill, though.

Hey~, you're that rabbit who snared Lily and the others!

So she ran back to her hideout. Just what I'd expect from a bad guy!

When you live too long, you stop trying to push your limits. I could only manage an ambush.

We've successfully trapped you in the pocket dimension we prepared!

You're saying this entire space was created with sorcery?!

Almost certainly, given what else they've done so far!



Eirin makes her entrance.

...! What an intimidating presence...!

You must be the woman who hid the moon, in the flesh. Eirin Yagokoro.

Oh, so you know my name...? Ah, you must have heard it from the Fujiwara girl.

I'm pretty sure we don't have time to introduce ourselves. Or for a leisurely chat.

So not only do you have a fake moon, but you also have an entire fake starry sky? What an elaborate decoration. Though setting up the spell seems like it'd be an awful bother.

Hah! So you can tell that it's an illusion?

Indeed, this is but a memory of the moon. A stale, old moon befitting for those who have been stained by impurity. You'll greet your final moments here, in the space between the fake moon and the surface.

Speak. Why have you threatened Gensokyo's youkai by stealing the full moon?

What you're doing is pretty much picking a fight with every last one of them. Give it up, or we'll do this the hard way.

And what can some mere Earth youkai possibly accomplish? Before long, my Sealed Room spell will be complete, and the connection to the moon severed. Once that happens, no one will be able to pursue us to Earth.

So our guess was correct, that's what you were aiming for.

We'll NEVER let you get away with something so selfi- Hey, what're you doing?!

Lady Yagokoro! You're Lady Yagokoro, right?

...That voice! You're the one I met back then!

Master, that's the rabbit that got away.

Oh? You came all the way out here to meet me?

Lady Yagokoro, I'm a rabbit on the run from the moon! As fellow fugitives, please shelter me!

Wh-What did you just say?!

Wait, are you switching sides at the last second?!

Why not? I only came here in the first place to meet Lady Yagokoro. I never thought it would go this well, actually.

Not only are you from the moon, but you also want our help?! Are you KIDDING me?! Why do you think we're doing all this?! Whose fault do you think this is?!

Now, now, Reisen, calm down.

...Very well, I'll listen to your request.

...! Yay!

But first, we'll have to deal with these Earthlings.

Hmph, you play the bad guy so well that it makes our jobs easy!

Who cares what happens to the rabbit? You're not getting away this time.

Now, prepare yourselves!





Twelve turns is actually a pretty generous amount of time for a regular playthrough. I might cut it a little close with voter-picked teams though.



This chapter introduces the blue-haired sunflower fairies, who have a whopping 11k HP.

In early versions, due to a bug the blue fairies would magically change their hair pink while attacking.



Normally I have Border and Magic Teams clean house, but Reimu's sitting this chapter out. But by some stroke of luck I have almost all of MoF, so I may as well build a big friendship block.



The results are immediately apparent: Aya is completely unupgraded and eight levels behind, but she's still doing well for herself.

The fact that Reimu lent her the Yin-Yang Orb probably helped too.



Meanwhile Magic Team wrecks face. This time I keep a closer eye on enemy HP count though; no need to use Malice Cannon when a Kick will do.

I knew Lady Yagokoro would be on my side! C'mon, open the hatch. I need to go join up with her!

Why in the world would we let someone who just betrayed us out?

Grrr...! Lady Yagokoro, save me~!

...Udonge, try not to destroy the bridge, and capture that rabbit alive.

You seriously plan on helping her, Master?

If we can secure her, we might be able to learn something about the current state of the moon. We can worry about how to dispose of her afterward.

Wait, what?

Heh. So much for your benefactor.

But didn't you say that you hid the moon to protect her?

No way, of course not. Why would we do that?

This was the obvious result. Surrender yourself quietly!

I-Is this a joke, Lady Yagokoro?! You're not really going to dispose of me, right?

Udonge, I'll leave this to you.

No way...



I take things a little slower on the next turn so I can form more distinct squads. Marisa and co will get their revenge on Tewi while the other side beats down Reisen.



Sakuya is forced for this chapter, and as a solo unit at that. Not having Meiling absolutely drops her survivability, so she won't be doing much.

Also she got hit by that 11%.



Yuuka has Superior Flower on, so I decided to take the plunge and cast Drive. Having an actually useful MAP will definitely be helpful for this first phase too.



I did some experimenting, and turns out the Three Fairies' friendship gimmick doesn't work while they're combined. It seems like the only way to get the most out of it is to go full on SRX: decombine, use S-Formation twice, recombine and then attack with the combined form.



Tewi still has her decoy field, so these grunts have to go down before I can take her out.



I had Team Mediocre try to pull their own weight and help out. They couldn't.



Meanwhile everyone else has been having some incredibly bad luck. Momiji activated Shield Defense a whopping once, and Yuuka kept failing to trigger either of her defensive skills.

If I let this many humans through, my reputation would be shot.

What reputation? I've never heard of any long-lived rabbit.

Your body is letting out a particularly wily sound.

Please, wait. I think that's the lucky rabbit of the bamboo forest!

Lucky? You mean she'll make me happy?

Yes, although I can't begin to imagine how the leader of the rabbits became the Lunarians' subordinate.

I'm no one's subordinate. What I've got going with the Master is a business arrangement.

What are you talking about?

She didn't want anyone to find her, so I lent a hand. In exchange, she shares her wisdom with us.

How can you so willingly join hands with someone who harms Gensokyo?

Can't you tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys?

Hey. I wanna live a long time, and she depends on me. I've got plenty of things left on my bucket list.

I can't deny that. You definitely need smarts to survive.

But by that logic, you should accept us. After all, when someone stronger shows up, it's only smart to follow them.



I was worried Tewi would finish off Nitori, but thankfully she went for Magic Team.

She took more than 11,000 damage for her troubles.

Thanks for earlier, that was some greeting.

Why do you have to get in our way, over and over again?! This has nothing to do with any of you. Why couldn't you just leave it alone?

On the contrary, I think it has a LOT to do with everyone who lives in Gensokyo.

Why are you helping the moon people? You must have very complicated circumstances to be complicit in a plan like this.

...I ran here from the moon. Master saved me.

You're a moon rabbit too?! Another fugitive?

Then why not listen to Rabbit's request?

Don't be ridiculous. I don't have the slightest obligation to help her!

But-

I finally get my chance to live in peace, and she just destroys everything I've worked for without even trying. You're a nuisance! If you understand, then stay away from me!



Meanwhile Reisen tried to snipe Ran. Since I put the Portable Gap on her, her MP zeroed out faster than you can blink so she couldn't counter.



I may not have Koa, but this time I have Minoriko in position to refill people.



Tewi's field still counts as Support Defense, so Fury ignores it.



RIP. Tewi drops another Four-leafed Clover.

Geh, they really didn't hold back.

It's our win! Admit it!

Hmm, it wasn't supposed to go like this. Maybe I could've come up with a better plan.

You could try a million times, and it'd end the same way. If you're from the Earth, then think about how to protect it!

If not, then you can just take off, like chicken off skewers!

Yeah, yeah, I'm going home.

Tewi ditches.

That's one down~.

It's because we all put our power together.

I didn't even deploy any of them.

...It appears Tewi's retreated. As shrewd as ever, I see.

How generous of you. A powerful caster like yourself is letting a chump youkai like her get away with that?

I can't control the Earth rabbits the way she does. With that in mind, I can tolerate a reasonable amount of selfishness from her.

How can you talk about your comrades like that?! You're so cold!

If you only consider your own interests, you'll never be able to live in Gensokyo.

What's really important is to support each other and let your hearts be filled with gratitude!

Looks like we'll have to beat that into your head!



I normally ignore this fairy since it's a little too out of the way to bother rushing down, but this time I have long ranged attackers.



Really long-ranged attackers.

It survived because Nitori sucks and missed an 80%. I had to send Ran over to finish the job.



Reisen still has her Null Strike field, which makes her pretty annoying.



Getting closer to her also means getting in range of Eirin's arrows too. They have an insane 1-10 range, and an even more insane +50 accuracy modifier. And Eirin's pretty damn accurate as is!

I already knew this, but you really are quite quick-witted. You were able to immediately determine that hiding the moon was your best response.

As the Brain of the Moon, I find the best solution is always the most obvious. Don't tell me you consider yourself a match for me, as the Brains of the Earth?

There can be only one answer to that. It's always worth trying out other options!

Such an unrefined way of thinking. How befitting of an Earthling!



But as you probably expected, in exchange the arrows aren't very strong.



Eirin has HP and MP Regen (L), so there basically no point trying to kill her before you get your entire army over. She also has the unique skill Genius, which boosts her accuracy and critical rate by 20%.

She's also got Predict and Counter, which are the traditional SRW "this person is really skilled" indicators.



I spend the sixth turn working on my final formation.



Reisen may be naturally dodgy, but the MoF squad have so many stacked friendship boosts it doesn't matter.

I knew you people weren't just anyone...!

She's pretty special too, our powers don't work on her at all.

I heard you gave Reimu a good fight, and I can believe it.

I assume you've had training, to move that well.

...I was a soldier for the moon. I was conscripted and put through boot camp.

They have soldiers...?

A while ago, the Earthlings invaded the moon, as if they owned it. So they recruited us rabbits to fight that war.

I think I've heard this story from Keine before...

So you didn't like it and ran away?

That's...!

A deserter, huh? That's pretty cruel for such a babyface.

I had no choice. If I hadn't, then I'd be-

Was your life so important to you that you'd betray your comrades?!

Shut up! What's wrong with trying to survive?! I'm going to live through this, even if I have to drive all of you insane!

Watch out, something's coming!

The wavelength of the moon can drive people mad! Do YOU think you can stand up to it?!





Lunatic Red Eyes is actually less annoying than Reisen's initial field since it just halves all my characters' hit/evade rates. Strike and Alert bypass it so I could not care less.

But much more importantly...

Music: UDON-ZAM



The animation is literally Gundam 00's TRANS-AM!



Reisen is The Best Character.

Spells seem to be your specialty, but how's your speed?

My speed?

That's right. Can you catch me, the fastest in Gensokyo?!

Hah! I'm sorry, but sealing an opponent's movements is my field of expertise.

How about I fence you in, capture you... and then do as I like with you later?

Don't count your chickens before they hatch.



Even Aya can tank an arrow.



I was going to have Momiji finish Reisen off, but she zeroed out on MP from all the Support Attacks she's been doing. I didn't notice fast enough and just had her end turn without doing anything.



Oh well, the ship could use the levels.

Reisen drops an Enemy Marker, which increases the range of all non-MAP or range 1 attacks by one.

N-No way...

Too bad. There's nothing wrong with your goals, but you lost your nerve.

If you spend all your time focused on the past, won't your danmaku suffer? You won't be able to put your heart into it.

...How could this happen? Just a bit longer, and everything would have turned out okay...

How so? Did you plan to keep running forever?

Well I guess there's no way to lose when you don't even try to fight.

Grk...!

Reisen goes splat.

So what now? You're pretty much exposed on all sides.

Suwako has an alternate line if Tewi is still alive, incidentally.

That's about what I was expecting from Udonge. She fulfilled the bare minimum of her duty.

Hm, so you carefully assessed your subordinate's desperate battle? In that case, how about we test your own abilities next?

By all means, go ahead. If a mere Earthling like you can, that is.



Alright, four turns to take down two spells.

So you're the one who created this space. I can't completely grasp the basis of your spell.

It's pointless to just analyze it, it's protected on countless layers. No matter how many calculations you make, a mere Earth youkai like you would never be able to grasp it.

In that case, I'll simply have to defeat you in a different manner.

That's not an incorrect answer, but still impossible.

Music: Mind of Space



Eirin has some snazzy animations.

You're not concerned with the Earth at all. I guess that's a Lunarian for you.

As gods of autumn, we're gonna show you some divine punishment!

Gods of autumn? So there are gods that even the moon hasn't heard of.

It's no wonder of course, since there are no seasons on the moon.

Really? That sounds like a pretty boring place to live.

Spring, summer, and winter are whatever, but you need to at least do something about autumn!

Such hubris. Is this what the gods of the Earth are like?



Sadly until she gets her spells up all I'll see is Game of Rising.

I give up, I just can't deal with you intellectual types.

Oh, so the people of the Earth believe they can measure my intelligence?

Nah, it's really easy to tell. You'd look pretty good in glasses, right? Not everyone can say that.

...I'll never understand these Earthling values.



And that'll take a bit because...

Yeah, we got her!

That one hit her hard! Now we can-

Me? Defeated?

Hah hah hah...

You're laughing? Is there anything funny about this situation?

Indeed, it's hilarious how worthless that all was.



Mokou isn't the only one who can full heal herself.

Wha- That light!

It's the same as when Mokou's resurrected! Did she also drink the Hourai Elixir...?

The Hourai Elixir was originally just something I made for the Princess. The fact that some other girl managed to drink some is nothing more than a fluke.

In other words, both you and the princess are immortal? This will be quite a long fight, then.

Even so, we've stopped the night. They can't win by just stalling.

Heh, didn't I just tell you that your tricks are worthless?

What?

The screen shakes.

...! The moon's starting to move!

This is another effect of this dimension. The Princess's power is advancing time.

Are you beginning to understand? You're already out of time.

Impossible! How could Lady Yukari's spell be forced back?!

How irrelevant. I was already in a hurry.



Against opponents like this, it's important to negotiate.

Negotiate? Isn't it a bit late for-

The screen flashes white.



Don't move. If you disobey me, this knife is going right into your throat.

Oh yeah, Sakuya can do stuff like that!

Now she'll have to listen to us!

That technique..! Are you saying you can control time?

I believe you just saw a sufficient demonstration. Now, if you don't obey me, then...

Let's see...

Music: Girls, Surpass the Carnage!

Eirin slams Sakuya away.

Sakuya!

She doesn't care about the knife?!

Well yeah, a knife to the neck isn't really threatening when you're immortal.

I'm surprised. I never imagined someone on the Earth would have such a power. I suppose this means I shouldn't underestimate you.

It's a trap! Get away from her, Saku-



There, now I've taken away your freedom of movement. Even if you stop time, touch one of these lasers and it'll burn your flesh.

I can't believe she saw right through the weakness of Sakuya's power...!

Did you really think I would submit to something like this?

Either way, it'll have the same result.



Eirin starts opening fire. Nobody stops her because... cutscene?

Ngh!

Ah, Sakuya!

The power to control space-time is far too much for an Earthling human. I'll erase that power from the Earth, along with your genes.

This is bad, she's gonna kill Sakuya!

I was even entrusted with returning the moon for those two... My apologies, mistress.

Sakuya!



!

Music: Emblazoned with an Eternally Young Scarlet

Lower your filthy hand, you red-blue. If you go any further, I'll tear you apart along with that disgusting moon.

Who are you?! And that aura....

Lady Patchouli, that's-

Good grief. You're late.

How impertinent. Show yourself!

Remilia spawns right next to Eirin,

I was going to anyway!



and attacks! Okay, let's see what she's learned since we last saw her all the way back in the first ga-



Oh it's just one of her weakest attacks.



And it did 11,500 damage because reasons.

This cutscene actually scales with the difficulty. Eirin will always start the next phase at half health.



Mistress! Why are you-

I'm angry, Sakuya. Who gave you permission to be so reckless? What were you thinking? I don't remember giving you permission to die, either.

My apologies, but I was trying to fulfill your order-

Heh. That one actually stung a bit! I can scarcely believe that an Earth youkai's claws managed to scratch me!

Hmph, it bothers me that you think I'm gonna settle for just that. First you take our moon, and now you want Sakuya too? You're getting way too full of yourself.

Let me show you what it means to incur my wrath.



I'll save the scolding for later. Get behind me.

But, I should clean up my own mess-

I'm telling you to spare me the theatrics. Now that I'm here, you're not allowed to shed a single drop of blood.

Yes, of course...!

The two form up into Scarlet Team.



And Sakuya learns Soul Sculpture which... is literally just Eternal Meek, but without the cooler parts of the animation.

Man Sakuya kind of got screwed in this game.



Since her event is over, as normal Sakuya is free to die now.



Not going to lie, Remilia kinds of sucks considering she's a 3.5. But that's a discussion for the character analysis.

Good, you at least still have all your limbs. Sheesh, you can be so reckless, Sakuya.

...My deepest apologies for troubling you. But is this really okay? Lady Flan is back at the mansio-

Well, that's why we've got to deal with this lady first.

I can make good use of this eternal night. Let's teach these villains that when we work together, we're invincible!

Yes, Mistress!



Most of my team is still ready to go, so Eirin's already crippled healthbar goes down immediately.

Ugh, you people don't know when to give up.

We're in better spirits than before. At this rate, we'll get her!

Thanks to Remilia, our morale's improved!

Yeah, sure.

You know, this is as good an occasion as any to ask. Why did you hide the full moon at all?

...It would be a nuisance if the lunar emissaries arrived, pursuing that rabbit over there. Left alone, their search would inevitably lead to them to the Princess.

I knew this princess of yours was involved in all this too.

Indeed, this is my continuing atonement, for what I did long ago. The Princess was banished to Earth after drinking the Hourai Elixir I made for her.

In the pure Lunar Capital, immortality is a grave sin.

So that's why you took action to help her escape.

Yes. Fleeing to Gensokyo, hiding the moon, everything was for her.

Do you even think about what you're doing? You taking the full moon is a huge problem for all night-dwelling youkai.

True... It's a shame.

Just "a shame"?! You looking down on us?!

Flan's suffering so much because of THIS jerk?!

I'm deciding your fates, here and now.

Hah, what can a diminutive, impure Earthling youkai possibly accomplish?!

You people are nothing before us, the eternal. Burn this into your eyes! This is the wisdom of the moon, accumulated since ancient times!





Omoikane's Device zeroes out the Defense stat of anyone in it. This, like so many other danmaku effects before it, would be a problem if anyone was actually getting hit.

So you're the Lunarian who stole the moon.

An Earthling youkai... Moreover, you reek of impurity. There's no way your power could reach a Lunarian.

Heh heh, you Lunarians are so tasteless that I almost pity you.

What do you mean by that?

The flowers that bloom so vividly on the surface are a symbol of life, yet at the same time their transience makes them a symbol of death. You, who don't know the beauty of flowers, could never understand the beauty of the Earth.

What sort of nonsense is that?!



Yuuka illustrates my point.



Komachi does not because haha. Komachi dodging things.



Ran is in need of some MP. Good thing I loaded Nitori with restoration items just for this purpose!

To think someone would invade us by ship... Still, this will save me some time. I'll simply take you all out at once.

...I know that we've been trapped, but we're ready for a fight too!

The Palanquin Ship has the power of Gensokyo in it! Here, let me show you!



There goes my last Sinking Anchor.



I was worried the Three Fairies were going to die, but then they triggered Open Fairy.



I'm near the end, so I have Sanae blow the rest of her SP on Miracle for the kill.



But Eirin just barely survives.



Yuuka has to finish the job.

Impossible, I'M on the defensive?!

Looks like even an immortal sage can still sweat.

You shouldn't underestimate living beings who have their roots in the soil.

Hurting someone with a thousand papercuts is hardly something to get conceited about!

You know, for someone so arrogant, you're pretty desperate about this. Are the lunar emissaries really that scary?

I've already told you, this is all my continuous atonement for what I did that day.

Excuse me?

I came to greet Kaguya, as a lunar emissary. But Kaguya chose not the moon, but this prison known as Earth.

That being the case, I would share the same cage. Spending the same eternity with her was the least I could do to atone.

That's the reason you killed your entire entourage and stayed here?!

That's right, we two are eternal accomplices.

...I understand. You're quite self-righteous, aren't you?

You wanted a cage, so you built one yourself.

What did you say?

Heh, I see. I almost feel sorry for that princess of yours, being used as such a cruel excuse. The Earth is a prison? The princess's great sin? You're the one who's locked away.

Shut up! You know nothing, Earthling youkai!

...Enough. I need only rid us of those who would get in our way.

Nothing changes, nothing CAN change... An eternal atonement.

She's not listening anymore!

Then I suppose we'll have to dispel that madness of hers.

Dawn will break, and the spell will be completed.

And then, the Earth will become a jewel, eternally protecting the Princess!







This spell has a bunch of effects. First, characters can't cross the outer layers of the field. Second, Eirin is guaranteed to get a critical hit if she lands an attack. And finally, all characters in the inner portion can not move or attack. It's kind of like Elly's floor tiles, only



they can still use Bombs.

I tried to have the Three Fairies split instead of wasting Ran's turn, but the field prohibits using Join/Split too.



I left the Akis next to Magic Team just so I could Final Spark through this spell.

Give it up, Eirin Yagokoro! This whole incident is a huge pain for us humans too.

The humans as well? Shouldn't suppressing the power of the moon be to your benefit?

You're not getting it. You hid the moon, so it's your fault that Yukari stopped the night. And because of that, the surface youkai are going crazy.

That's quite an accusation. But it doesn't change the fact that you're in our way.



As a side note, Eirin's theme overrides The Moment Dreams Reach the Stars by default. You can mess around with music options to fix that, but eh.

If you can hide the moon, you must have a vast amount of knowledge. I certainly hope you'll leave books behind, for future generations.

Oh, but I have no interest in making records. All of my wisdom is in my head, and that's enough for my purposes.

...You may be intelligent, but your understanding is shallow.



Astronomical Entombing has a cut-in.



Like Yuyuko, Remilia lost her original final spell, Scarlet Gensokyo.



But also like Yuyuko, the assets were recycled into a new spell, Spear the Gungnir.



Looks like I'll be winning just in time.

Normally I complete this chapter much faster, around turn 8 or so. But normally I have Border Team.



I spend a while weakening Eirin so I can guarantee a flashy finish.

...There may be a fake moon, but it's still the night.

You all should be thankful, tonight is a special occasion. I'll show you my true power.

...! Remilia's aura is getting even stronger than before?!

I suppose it is. Remi's now releasing her inherent power as a vampire.

What's that supposed to mean? You saying she wasn't being serious with her danmaku last summer?

A vampire's strength lies in three qualities: their overwhelming power, speed, and magic. However, when you fought before, she only used each of these strengths separately.

I was still spewing out the mist back then, so I couldn't do any flashy stuff.

So, tonight you're finally going full throttle!

Heh heh, how about I teach your body what a sin it is to rebel against the queen of the night?

Your blood will paint the walls of my castle of the night!


Watch the video!





Eirin drops Yagokoro's Remedy, which is a full heal to HP, MP, and somehow Ammo.

Ngh, why?!

You were quite a caster, but the battle's been decided.

If there's a reason you lost, it's because you weren't aware of your own weakness. That's what happens when you live in a closed-off world.

Did I ask for your opinion...?!

But I highly doubt that you can interfere with the real moon. If I close this space, you'll be stuck here for-

More shaking.

!

The dimension became unstable...? Doesn't look like she can control it properly.

She IS pretty exhausted. The spell's fraying at the edges.

...Now that it's come to this, I have no choice.

Eirin exits stage right.

Hey, she got away!

If we head forward, it looks like we'll reach the inner chambers.

My intution is saying that the mastermind's right in front of us.

If that's settled, then let's charge in!

I'll raise the output of the Buddhist reactor. Get back aboard, everyone!



------

Momiji, I'm counting on you to cover me!

Leave it to me, Nitori.

I'll be relying on your shield, Momiji.

Understood, Aya.

Momijiiii~, if I ever get hit you know what to dooo~.

Indeed, but you need to be careful too, Hatate.

Momiji, do your best!

Of course. When the time comes, I'll protect you.

...

Am I popular or something?

Shouldn't you be a little more self-conscious...?

Well if you look at chapter 40's formation, this is what it kind of seems like.