Part 50

So why did this update take so long? Well besides the fact I was away from my computer for a week thanks to an impromptu Thanksgiving break,



I finished the game, that's what. Finals are coming up and I'd rather not blow my weekends on this LP, so I asked the IRC for my final team and blazed through the rest of the game. The translation's mostly done too, so the rest of the chapters will be up when they're done.

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Music: Night of the Wishing Star - Segment I

Full Text

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Music: Confusion in the Moonlight



I guess we got a bit carried away, we didn't need to bring the ship along with us.

We came right through the front door, but there hasn't been a single guard. It's almost too quiet. What a lonely place.

That's just how it is here in the palace. Almost no one lives here, and no one visits.

Satori pops in on the other side of the hall.

...!

So there really was a flying ship from the surface. I can't believe you made it this far.

Here she comes, that's Satori Komeiji.

Is the boss really meeting us at the front door without her minions?

True, I don't see Orin or Okuu.



I can't say I expected YOU to step off that ship, Yukari Yakumo.

We came here without going through the proper channels for a very good reason. For you see-

Yes, I see. So vengeful spirits are leaking out through a geyser on the surface.

!

You suspected the Underworld, so you came here, where we manage the spirits, to ask about it. And you brought large force with you because you wanted to be prepared for the possibility of hostility? How shrewd of you.

W-Wow. Miss Yukari hasn't even said anything yet.

I'd heard about it, but this must be what it really means to read minds.

That saved us some time, so let's get right to the point. This is all your fault, right?

Hardly. We'd have no reason to do something like that.

Even so, it's possible that there's been some kind of accident.

One of your servants, a youkai called Orin, can speak to spirits, correct? We'd like to borrow her.

...You mean to have her assist the investigation? Unfortunately, she's busy with work and isn't here at the moment.

Incidentally, while you're suspicious of her, she isn't the sort of girl to get up to mischief in secret.

Now, now, no one's seriously suspecting anyone. Why don't we all just sit down with some tea and-

Your mouth says one thing, but your real goal is to get inside.

Aw, she's onto me.

Looks like bluffing won't work on her. Not that we can just give up either.

It appears you have no intention of backing down, but I can't remain silent either.

You shall face me.



Youkai showed up. She's planning to fight!

The Palanquin Ship can't move from here, so you'll be on your own for this.

Everyone, deploy!



I guess that just because she can tell what we really want from her doesn't mean she's gonna listen to our excuses.

Still, it seems like Satori really doesn't know anything about all this. She's WAY too unprepared for us for her to be the mastermind.

But she's the only lead we've got.

...I'd prefer it if you didn't interfere with our quiet lives. I'll send you home before Orin or Okuu show up.



This chapter's bonus is a fun one to approach. The absolute easiest way to do it is to have Border Team spam Zeal and Accel to get to Satori on the first turn, but that's obviously out of the question for this run.



So instead I'm going to pile as many people onto the Palanquin Ship as I can,



then have Aya cast Accel and activate Supreme Speed.



Combined with the Tengu Feather and the Tengu Clogs, Aya's Move rockets all the way up to 18. Now she (or rather Yukari) just has to survive a turn, and then I can warp the entire ship past the enemy blockade.

Border Team can do this strategy even better both since they don't have to wait a turn and because Reimu is so overpowered she can go straight up to Satori instead of hiding near the sides.



But with Magic Team on the case, I can just have them draw the majority of enemy fire and call it a day.



(Well, so far no one's said that I'm the culprit, or revealed anything about Okuu. I've just gotta get them headed to the Remains of Blazing Hell before things get complicated.)

(But how exactly am I gonna do that?)

Music: Gale Winds! Whirlwind! Shameimaru!



Aya's underleveled, but she should be able to survive regardless.



And any issues Magic Team might have from getting ganged up on are nullified by Counter.



In what is probably the game mocking me, Aya is hit on a 20% but barely makes it by with one-digit HP.



Times like this make me wish Magic Team had their MAPs.
_{People checked the .dats, and it turned out Alice was supposed to get a MAP along with Dolls War and Return Inanimateness. And Marisa, of course, has a boss-exclusive MAP version of Master Spark.}



Anyway, I warp the Ship over,



cast a shit ton of spirits,



and fire away.



They only get two kills, but that's enough to jump Murasa to level 46. So she has Valor now!



From there I start deploying all my other units to clean up the grunts, starting with Servant Team. Hitching a ride in the ship dropped everybody's Power by 10, but since I equipped Scarlet Charisma on Remilia that isn't an issue for Sakuya and Meiling.



Fun Fact: You're not actually supposed to be able to move onto this wall. But Yukari's Spiriting Away doesn't care about little things like that, so everyone moving off the ship are basically stuck on this wall.



Fun Fact 2: You'd think that being underground would mean that Remilia wouldn't have to equip a Parasol, but you'd be wrong. All the stages still count as Day.



Deploying off the ship is actually kind of annoying for Chen and Suika, since it makes it so they can't change their altitude for this turn. I was planning on landing the two of them, but that'll have to wait.



And of course that means Suika's accuracy rates plummet.



Enemy phase of turn 2 sees something truly rare in this game: Yukari doing something besides her Team Attack.



Like I mentioned earlier, none of my team can make it the floor. They'll need to get back on the ship and be rewarped.

So a petite girl like her is the ruler of the Palace, huh.

I thought someone so important in the Underworld would be some big tough lady or something.

Don't let your guards down. What makes her terrifying isn't brute strength. I'm guessing that eye on her chest is the key to her power.

So you've noticed then. Yes, this third eye lays bare your hearts. It's a dangerous power, one that frightens even the Underworld youkai.

So even the people everyone hates hate you~

Are you saying that in terms of being troublesome, it stands above everything else?

Oh, you'll learn to fear it too, soon enough. Having a third eye is true strength. Allow me to demonstrate.

Music: the eyeline



Satori is a total wimp.



Her big trick is that she has Mind Reading L9, which in SRW terms is pretty much Cyber-Newtype. That is to say, it's an inferior version of Shrine Maiden. It does have one quirk though: Satori will automatically cast Alert at the beginning of every turn.

Fun Fact 3: In the early version of this game, teams punched right through Satori. See, Team Attacks counted as a separate attack. So the backrow character would pop Satori's Alert, and then the front would smash her. This was patched out, but was pretty damn funny.



Okay, time to get down to business.



I clean up the remaining grunts to help my characters build up some more Power,



then pop the Alert with Cirno.



Satori has crazy Hit/Evade rates (with the former boosted further by her field, which drops allied evade rates by 30%), but I'm swimming in SP right now so I don't care!



Alice is in range now, so Hourai Dolls will be on Alert popping duty.



A couple good hits later and Satori is down for the count.

...So that's it then.

Huh, didn't think that'd be so easy.

She said she could read our minds, but all she did was shine us with this strange light.

Perhaps you should have called for the rest of your servants? Though if they haven't come running on their own by now, maybe they're not that loyal to you?

...While it is true that I haven't seen either Orin or Okuu recently, that has nothing to do with you.

More importantly, did you really think I was being pushed back?

What are you-?

I've already examined the furthest reaches of your minds. Why don't I help you remember, nice and slowly?

...Oh no, she spent that time peeking into our minds! That light from earlier had an unusual wavelength. It must have been some kind of hypnotism!

It's too late to realize that. You've already shown me the danmaku engraved on your heart. I'll help you relive your worst fears!











This is the fun part about how Satori is implemented in FMW; in the source game her spellcards changed depending on your player character, and likewise here she has different spells depending on what route you're on. But she specifically goes for the spells that the average player probably hated the most, as fitting her gimmick. On Marisa's route she brings back the infamous "oh you didn't equip any Five-colored Shells? Well fuck you!" Kappa's Pororoca, and on Reimu's route she declares "are you out of SP after that meatgrinder of a stage? Well fuck you!" Illusionary Dominance.

Been a while, Satori.

Suika Ibuki...? I see, I didn't know you returned to the surface.

...So you planned to try establishing a relationship with humans again, even if you only got a new trauma for your efforts.

If you're afraid of getting hurt, forget humans, you won't get along with anyone.

But more importantly, bring Orin out would ya? I'm here on an investigation after all.

So even YOU think she's behind this... Let me assure you, Orin would never do something so dangerous. As a fellow Underworlder, please remove yourself from these premises.



Kappa's Pororoca still has its "everyone is now underwater" effect, but I have characters who can actually attack underwater now so I'm fine. Oh, and the Pyonta.



The animation just suddenly summons in the original character, nothing fancy.

Are these the kappa we fought on Youkai Mountain?! Why are they here...?

Aren't they probably just part of the spellcard's trauma too?

They're just fakes, so feel free to give them a good thrashing.

E-Easier said than done...



The spawned in grunts will disappear once the spell is over, but two are holding 10,000 points. Satori goes down super fast already, I have the time to kill them.

...You seem to be carrying quite a dark and heavy trauma. You deeply regret your own actions, and constantly dwell on what you should have done.

!

And yet even so, you ally yourselves with your former companions. Is the purpose of your actions that you seek forgiveness?

...No matter what I do now, I doubt I'll ever be forgiven. I don't have the right to judge my own actions. And because of that...!



Satori's hold item, the Rainbow Fragment, gives her A ranks in all terrain. So the water doesn't bother her.

I-isn't this MY danmaku...?!

Correct. This danmaku left a strong impression in the hearts of your companions. And it seems to be stirring your heart up as well.

Wh-Whatever! I made up with Marisa and the others! I'm not going to lose to bad memories!

But do you have the conviction to back those words up? Let's find out.



...It's kind of sad how Satori hits harder with Nitori's attack than Nitori does.

You carry some very complex memories. I have no desire to sort them all out but... Even though you took up arms against so many of your brethren, you don't seem to carry any trauma about it at all.

Back then, I made a decision that I judged to be just. I have no intentions of changing my mind on that, even now.

There is only one thing I truly regret, and I intend to atone for that crime for eternity.

Atonement, hmm...



Since Eirin traps the target in another dimension during Astronomical Entombing, it has A ranks in all terrains.

Phew, we made it through.

Wow, so this is what my danmaku looked like to everyone else...?

She even managed to convey how desperate you were back then.

You might have been able to withstand THAT trauma, but if you wish to flee, then now's your last chance. There is no hostility or dark plotting worthy of suspicion going on in this place.

Maybe so, but we've heard that things have been strange at the palace recently. Does anything come to mind? Any kind of trouble?

You're referring to-

We heard about Koishi. About how things have changed ever since she sealed her power.

...I see, so Hoshiguma told you. However, I'll figure out how to deal with that myself. It has nothing to do with you people.

I'm afraid you're mistaken about that. If there's an abnormality in the Palace of the Earth Spirits, then I need to know about it.

Yukari Yakumo...

I was the one who proposed that you two sisters move to the Underworld. If a problem arises, you need to let me know, in detail.

...You seem to be serious, but we desire nothing of the sort. There is nothing in the Palace of Earth Spirits worthy of others' pity.

...

Someone who can't read minds could never understand us. Why don't you leave, and never come back? Never bother us again.

So cutting off all relations is your solution as the representative of the Palace of Earth Spirits?

Yes, it is. If you can't understand, then I'll simply have to drive you out by force.

She's planning to attack again!

This vivid, unforgettable trauma. Face it once more!





Marisa's second spell is Flandre's good old "and now for something completely different" And Then Will There Be None. Meanwhile Reimu goes up against "did you use all your bombs up on Boundary of Humans and Youkai? Then fuck you!" Boundary of Life and Death.



Sanbondo apparently realized the "force the player to do nothing but move for multiple turns on end" gimmick was really boring, because there aren't any spells like that in this game. Instead, And Then Will There Be None makes it so you can only damage Satori from that patch clear of danmaku. Just bomb and move on.

It's not exactly unconventional, but you seem to be hiding some very depressing memories. You shut yourself in your own world, and kept your distance from your surroundings...

Once upon a time, I suppose. But now I've mended. There's nowhere else I'd rather be.

You say that, but it remains a fact that nobody else can enter your world.

True, but it's also a fact that there are many other peculiar characters around me.

I'm sure that you too will soon realize who truly despises your power.



Satori's Skill is rather low, so Sakuya can easily trigger Time Paradox.

I can see it. I can see your trauma.

A-Are you talking to US...!?

...You fear the end of autumn and the coming of winter. And then, you despai-

Stop it! Don't bring back those gloomy feelings!

...It happens every year, so it wasn't a very deep trauma.

I didn't need to hear that!



I was planning to give the Akis the kill, but Minoriko missed a 98%.

I never imagined I'd fight a danmaku battle with you, Satori Komeiji.

...You don't seem to be lying. Still, this is a good change for me to learn more about you.

This incident didn't need to happen for that. I would have been happy to converse with you and improve our relationship.

...There's nothing I want to talk about. Now, hurry and leave.



I guess you guys got to see Quadruple Barrier more than twice after all.

Impossible, you broke it...

Once I've seen a spell before, I've already figured it out. The same trick's not gonna work twice.

Is that how you got interested in these incident investigations then?

...No, I'm sure you'd let yourself into the investigation regardless.

Hold on, I still haven't said you could pass.

But you're all beat up. Why don't you take a break?

I'm sure it's hard to keep reading all our minds at once. Don't push yourself.



Suddenly, zombie fairies spawn in.

Huh, what? Some girls in weird clothes showed up...

Are those the fairies who live nearby...? They don't normally come here...



...You've come to capture me? What are you-



The fairies drag Satori off the battlefield.

Wh-What was that? They grabbed Satori and ran.

Maybe she couldn't move so they came to save her?

Why would she be resisting then?

A cat pops up on the other side of the field. Could have sworn I took a shot of it, but I guess not?

Huh? Now there's a cat...

Is it an ordinary bakeneko? No, this is-!

Music: JAJAAAN ROCK!!



Say, remember how both stages prior had two bosses?

Huh, it took on a human form?!

Didn't we fight her on the surface?

Right, that's Orin. Why did she show up now, of all times...?

Wow, you ladies sure are strong! I think I'm falling in love!

The way you were going toe to toe with Miss Satori, it wasn't really my place to barge in.

You just watched while your master was in trouble...? No matter, we have some questions for you.

We've come to investigate the spirits appearing on the surface. Satori didn't seem to know anything, but what about you, Orin?

Welp, you caught me. I did it.

Huh?! You just admitted it?

Well, living down here is... you know how it is. We need a little excitement once in a while. I sent some spirits up from the Remains of Blazing Hell right back there. Just a little prank.

So you're saying you had no particular goals then?

And you didn't stop to consider the chaos that would cause on the surface?

Of course I did, that was half the point. Kill some time and tick off the surface: two bird with one stone.

Anyway, if you wanna stop them, you'd better head to Blazing Hell. It's just a short trip if you take the front door.

So on top of calling yourself the mastermind, you're even giving us directions~.

You're obviously lying. We'll catch you and force you to tell us the truth!

(Well, it was worth a shot anyway. I was really hoping they'd get going while Miss Satori's still gone...)

(Might as well see if they've really got the power to stop Okuu though!)





The only person with a turn left is Remilia, and she's out of SP so she may as well not have a turn.

(I wanted to leave the vengeful spirits thing ambiguous, but I guess now I've got to come out with it. I don't care what they do to me, as long as they go to Blazing Hell...)

Come at me, ladies! I'll be your opponent tonight!



I know it's thanks to Alert, but it's pretty funny seeing Orin miss a ship.

I had my suspicions, but I guess she really was the culprit.

And she just wanted to harass us too.

But is that really the reason? When we met before, she didn't seem like the sort of person who would do that.

You mean she's hiding something? Well, we'll find out once we win.



More spirits spawn in.

...! Spirits are coming in from outside!

If I hadn't warped the ship away, it'd actually be in a lot of danger thanks to being stuck right next to Orin's group and these reinforcements.

Whoops, the ones outside got in too!

...Wait, I'm picking up something else too. Whatever it is, it's far stronger than the spirits!

No way! If they come now, then-



Music: Fantasy Maidens Appear!



So these reinforcements are here to bail players who didn't expect the second boss out.

Looks like they're up against Orin and some spirits though...

I don't see Satori or Okuu around.

Huh?! Why are you girls here?

Yo, surface dwellers! Looks like you made it here in one piece!

It's Yuugi! And Yamame, and the others! What's the occassion?

What does it look like? We're here to investigate the spirits too. I can't stand the thought of owing you people anything because of this mess.

We've got our own sense of duty, you know. We could go together or separately, either way's fine by me.

So you're all here to help us, Yamame...?

Don't get the wrong idea, we're all just worried about what's going on too.

Anyway, tell us what's going on. Looks like that Orin chick brought some spirits?

Yeah, and she told us that she's the one behind all this too.

I mean, she was pretty suspicious anyway, because she had spirits with her when we saw her on the surface too.

What?! Then she went to the surface?!

That does bug me, but we have bigger things to worry about right now. Why did you release spirits on the surface?

It's not like I put much thought into it. What can I say? I was bored. I was just messing with the surface dwellers. Satisfied? Okay, you can go home now.

After you caused all this trouble to the Underworld? Not a chance, buster.

This is what you do when you're bored? What has Satori been teaching you?

We can chat later. If she's the culprit, then let's help catch her. Parsee, you come with me. Yamame, Kisume, you two join up.

Right!

The four proceed to team up into Yuugi/Parsee and Yamame/Kisume.



My reinforcements start at 100 Power, but Yuugi is awesome so she has a quick way around that.

For the love of- could someone tell me why I'm helping out the surface dwellers?

No one's forcing you to. You wanna get off here?

I said I'd come with you, didn't I? I'm with you to the end.

But try keep your eyes on the fight, Yuugi. One slip up and we'll get surrounded.

That's what I'm hoping for! Where's the fun if we're not outnumbered?

It's just no use talking to you in the middle of a fight, is it?!



The Underworld crew will spend their time cleaning up the spirits in the back while my main force runs up to Orin.

Ugh, I can't believe it really WAS the Underworld's fault.

Are you really all right with this, Yamame? Didn't you say you'd never get along with these surface youkai?

Or have your feelings changed, just a bit?

This is just how things ended up. I haven't really thought about it.

...But it's a good chance to see how they're gonna fix this. Let's see what they've got.



Orin's field still buffs the stats of evil spirits, so they can actually put up something resembling a struggle. Which is to say that Yuugi can't quite OHKO them yet.



Apart from an extra eight levels and higher initial morale, Orin is unchanged from her previous appearance all the way back in chapter 45.



So she goes down in no time flat.

Nice job, ladies! Messing with you sure was worth it.

You're appraising us...? Please don't say I'm a cheap woman!

But your attitude back on the surface was completely different.

At the time, I thought you were being especially worried, paranoid even, about causing any friction between the surface and the Underworld.

So why are you doing things that'll get you scolded?

I do what I like. Nothing more and nothing less. If you have time to chat, maybe you should be worrying about yourselves instead.

Good grief. I guess she's not gonna give us a straight answer.

I wish she'd at least listen to us.

You ladies sure have a way with danmaku. Even the spirits are charmed! They're getting pretty rowdy! The dance of the fairies, wrapped in grudges! Enjoy it to your heart's content!







This is a puzzling spell. At the beginning of every turn, all Zombie Fairies in the field will fully regenerate their HP. Furthermore, upon Orin's turn (and she will always go after the fairies), any defeated fairies will be respawned. I could see how this could be an issue if you couldn't damage Orin until all the fairies were dead, or if they were powering her up, or some kind of crazy danmaku effect,



But there's nothing like that so there's no reason to not just smash right through the spell.

I thought it was a long shot, but you really WERE behind the vengeful spirits.

I just wanted to tease you, but I guess you took it seriously, huh? You and I know each other enough by now that you can't be surprised, right?

Yeah, but I didn't peg you as the kind of girl who'd do something like this on a whim.

Still, if you say you're the mastermind, then I'm not holding back!

(...That's it, show me your strength.)



They didn't even try to edit Blazing Star's animation. I guess the Palace of Earth Spirits has a really high ceiling!

Pretty impressive of you, beating them all like that!

The way they were wriggling out of the ground was really gross...

I'm sure that was the power of grudges, corrupting their life energy!

I get the feeling that all they had going for them was guts though...

Those aren't actually zombie fairies, just regular ones dressed up like zombies. So them constantly coming back is in fact just them being really dedicated zombie cosplayers.

...They're stronger than I expected. I'm sure it'll be fine. All that's left is for them to head to the Remains of Blazing Hell alread-

The Remains of Blazing Hell? What are you planning?

Setting aside your trip to the surface, that's one whopper of a lie you're feeding us. I never thought you were the type to play pranks behind Satori's back.

!

You and Okuu have always stayed here with the sisters as their pets, right? You know exactly how complicated our relations with the surface are.

...Of course I do. Who in the world would do all this on a whim?!

Orin...?

...The surface is the place that hated Miss Satori and Miss Koishi enough to kick them out. If I could handle this on my own, then I WOULD have...!

Wait, what are you even talking about?

I changed my mind. I'm not gonna let you through until I've taken out all my anger on you!

Spleen Eater! Rip out these live youkai's intestines and eat them alive!







Spleen Eater makes it so my character's damage output is tied to their remaining HP; people at critical health will do nearly nothing. Also, all allied units in the skull field lose 500 HP at the beginning of every turn.

This spell is actually kind of a problem since it comes out on the last stretch of a fairly long chapter. It's actually kind of likely your characters are low on HP, thus allowing Orin to actually survive more than a turn.

You know, unless you have Dai.



I should have given Sakuya the Scarlet Soul instead of Remilia.



Speaking of Remilia, she missed her finisher and was immediately killed in return.

Not bad. You lot, be careful while you fight.

Nothing of value was lost.



Doesn't look like the SA squad will be able to finish up their end in time, but at least they got the red spirit with 10k points.



Eirin grabs the kill again. Orin drops another Cat's Tail.

It's over.

...Well done. I hate to admit it, but you're even stronger than I was expecting.

I'm still not sure if you were trying to annoy us or test us or what.

Anyway, now that you've gotten your just deserts, we're done here. Incident resolved.

You're gonna stop sending spirits to the surface right this instant.

Or maybe you'd like to tell us more about why you did it? Of course, you've continually insisted it was just a prank...

Y-Yeah, cause it was. I'll tell you where the spirits are coming from, okay?

How can we trust your word? You're coming with us.

Us too. We have our own questions for the culrpit.

Why can't anything ever go smoothly for once...?





RIP Hourai Dolls.

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Orin and Satori put up more of a fight on Lunatic, but they basically blow their SP on Faith so they're still not a threat.

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Let's see, now I do... this.

...Yuugi, what are you doing?

Oh, this is something the youkai sage made. Apparently it can send a letter without using any paper.

Huh. Okay, who are you writing to then?

I'm suspicious all of a sudden. Let me take a look.

Huh? I'm just asking Suika when she wants to go drink- Hey, watch it!

Sheesh, why are you even using something like thi-

...

You sure got quiet all of a sudden.

...Um, I don't know to use this.

Ahahahaha, you're hilarious!

D-Don't just laugh at me! Just teach me how to use this!

It's a cell phone.