Part 21: Faith is From the Transient People

Not really sure if you mean this game by that. Anyways for Lunatic, if you're on NG+ like you should be you'll be fine.

By some miracle, #touhou wasn't actually a registered irc on SynIRC. So if you want to yell at me to translate faster or I dunno actually play some Touhou games feel free to join. _{warning: we might not actually play touhou games.}

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Music: What's the Strategy?

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Music: Border of Regular and Irregular Days

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This next bit only plays if you had Marisa and Alice chat with Nitori in 20M.


Music: Border of Regular and Irregular Days

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Music: Confusion in the Moonlight



My army this time is... interesting, shall we say.

We're finally here. Pretty nice place.

I was dubious, but now that I see it there's no more doubt about it.

Yeah, so there really is a shrine here...



It came along with us from the outside world.

Sanae!

Greetings, Reimu.

Did you say this shrine is from outside Gensokyo?

Yes. Both the shrine and the lake were moved here.

Why in the world would you go that far?

For our sole goal, to acquire the faith of humans. Here in Gensokyo, we can regain the faith we lost in the outside world.

...I see, so that was your reason for cooperating with Youkai Mountain.

And why you want the Hakurei shrine. It's much closer to the human population.

Exactly. Now that you understand this, please cooperate and give us the shrine.

Not a chance. What kind of shrine maiden would do that?

If you want it, you'll have to show me what you can do first!

Very well then. I shall show you the power of the faith we have so diligently collected!





Moriya Shrine is a pretty neat map. Just ahead of the entrance is a place for visitors to clean their hands and mouths (it's a traditional thing), and right across from them are two ema racks. The building on the left is a storehouse, the one on the right is an office, Sanae's standing in front of the living area, and far in the back is place where you actually worship.



Nothing fancy about the gameplay though. I split the party up into the usual groups and steamroll everything.

Music: Specter Buster



I guess it's worth noting a new enemy type? These larger fairies are pretty much turrets. Long range, slow, bulky, wide danmaku field, you get the drift.



Reimu is just gunning straight for Sanae. She, and a couple of others, took an unlucky hit, but that won't be a problem.

Even with Komachi as my healer.
_{why did I get Sunny instead of Dai}



Reimu vs Sanae is an utter joke.

Okay, it's finally time to settle things!

The current me is filled with the power of faith. You will not defeat me!

You talk big, but let's see you back it up!

Music: Motherly Sea, One With the Wind



Both Reimu and Sanae have three levels of Shrine Maiden,





but with all her upgrades and skills Reimu is so much better it isn't even funny. But for reference, Reimu's Evasion and Accuracy stats are higher than Sanae's even without Predict's +20 boost.



Graze damage adds up though,



so Reimu unfocuses and parks next to Meiling. Until I get my formation ready, I don't want to waste any of her SP.



Oh and since it looks like I'll be dragging the LLS crew through this game, Kurumi and Elly have been mopping up the enemies on the right.





Okay, here's the thing about Sanae.



Just like in 13R, she is standing in front of some really good terrain.



So spend a few turns to get everyone on it.



Sanae's AI focuses on Reimu, so as long as she's standing next to a Support Defender you have all the time in the world.



Reimu can take the chance for a bunch of free damage too.



By the time everybody's landed on the shrine, Sanae's first lifebar should be almost gone.



And thanks to the terrain bonuses, her three spellcards will be cake.

So a huge group of people really did come, just like the tengu said.

Well I had more free time than I expected, so I figured why not.

So you're just playing around...?!



Kurumi blew the rest of her SP on a Cheer so Elly could get the most out of Sanae's first life.

Okay, this fight's heating up!

This isn't all you can do. Don't underestimate us!

...If I must. Do you still refuse to entrust Gensokyo's faith to me?

Of course. We'll never allow the Hakurei shrine to be handed over!

Besides, if you want faith so much can't you just work with Reimu? Why do you want a monopoly?

Why? Because the future of Gensokyo's faith worries us. If Reimu keeps up her current attitude, before long faith will be lost entirely. This isn't something that can be ignored.

You're still not making any sense. Who put you in charge of what's good and bad for Gensokyo? You might be a wind priestess or whatever, but don't you think you're being a little stuck-up?

Of course not. A wind priestess is a descendant of the long dead living gods of the outside world. And just like those worshippers of gods who became worshipped themselves, a shrine maiden is capable of becoming a god. Reimu, as a shrine maiden yourself, do you possess that level of determination?

I could care less if I become a god or not.

So if you're done talking, let's hurry up and do this already!

Understood. In that case, behold the power of a living god. This is the ability to cause miracles!




The Day the Sea Split is basically Kappa's Pororoca with a giant blind spot. I got really lucky here and had it start with Marisa's column free.

Now that I think about it, that person's not here this time~. What was she called again, maple leaf manjuu or something?
_{Momiji means maple leaf.}

Her name is Momi-, er, I believe you mean Ms. Inubashiri.

Right, right. Way back then, she was the one protecting you while you ran away, right?

...Back then, it was so easy for her to decide to help me. But afterwards, we never got the chance to talk...

You're ignoring me~.

Music: Fluttering Food in the Night Sky



I don't understand how this is a Ranged attack.

I guess the mountain youkai ditched you. Too bad.

...No, that too is just the way it is. Even if they don't accept us now, I'm sure that sooner or later they will come to understand us.

But is that really a good relationship? You're better off trying something else. Not fussing about the details is the secret to magic, you know.





Master Spark + Shanghai Doll is only really usable in the first half of the fight, so no reason not to spam it.

You know, it's rare to find a human willing to go directly against Reimu.

Is that so? It doesn't look that way from where I'm standing.

Point taken, but she has an odd way of attracting followers. I hope you'll see that for yourself one day.

...I have a hard time imagining that happening.
_{Hokuto helped translated this conversation.}



Shanghai Doll's accuracy mod isn't as high though, so Alice follows up with Proto Malice instead.

So something silly happens here. See, on Marisa's route a cutscene plays after the first turn of The Day the Sea Split. But since I killed her in one turn...

Impressive. I see that ordinary methods won't work on you.



Sanae has to heal herself so the scene can play.

She's pretty tough...

I don't even need to catch my breath for attacks like that!

My objective is to have Reimu realize the power of the faith Moriya shrine holds. I will show you as much of my power of miracles as I need to in order to do that.

So she's the type to respond with overwhelming force, huh... this'll be tough.

Better brace yourselves. If we can just attack her a little more...




Watch the video! _{I can not believe how well that synced up}

Music: A Sworn Friend's Bond

That's...

...Nitori!?

It's good to see you're alright, Marisa!

Aren't you one of the kappa who live in the valley...? Why would you attack me?

I have to patch things up with everyone. I'm going to fight alongside Marisa and the others!

!

If you do that, won't you get punished?

Yeah, probably. They'll definitely get really angry at me later... but I've decided to be honest with myself. And now that I've come this far, I can't back down anyways!

...I see she's completely embraced Marisa's rashness.

That idiot. She didn't have to go this far...

What are your intentions? Are you saying you've turned your back on Moriya shrine?

Nah, I'm not going that far. Once this case is closed I'll give an offering. I've already entered the shrine grounds after all.

But Marisa and the others are very important friends of mine. So right now I'll fight alongside them!

Friends, you say...

...I get it. But now that you've come all this way, you'd better not change your mind later!

No need to worry! As long as I'm with everyone, I'm not afraid!

...There's nothing I can say, the mountain will decide how to deal with you.

But if you intend to stand against me, I will not hold back!



And now I have to beat her again. I actually could do it, but then I'd start the second spell with barely anyone available.



Full Armor Nitori joining in chapter 22 is your reward for convincing her with Marisa and Alice in chapter 20M. Normally Nitori doesn't join until 24.



Not that she's going to very helpful. Kappa's Pororoca lets her join in on the long range squad of death Marisa's building, but it's not nearly accurate enough to be worth a damn in this fight.



So I have her start waddling over and end turn.



Elly grabs the kill again,



and finally gets Grit.

That's just what I expected from Reimu's group. However, this is as far as you'll go against the power of miracles.

She throws around her power like it grows on trees. She must possess an incredible amount of faith!

But in comparison, the shrine is nowhere near as bustling as it should be. Why do you insist on shutting out worshippers?

Lady Yasaka once said that faith is for the sake of the people. So in order to gather faith from them, it is essential that the shrine grounds remain sacred. Youkai cannot be allowed into it.

But isn't that lonely?

! What makes you say that...?

The kappa said it too. You're always by yourself.

If you were to allow youkai, you would distance humans and doom your shrine's god. That's your theory, correct? But in practice, it looks like it's been quite the lonesome experience.

...I will accept that if it's for the sake of gathering faith.

Well I'd never listen to a rule as stiff as that. Sure it's a hassle when youkai gather, but it's not all that bad.

So it's just a hassle to you...?! Very well then. Just like the last time you invaded, I'll show you the difference in faith between us once more!


Patchouli and Koakuma spawn in.

...?!

Sakuya, is that-

Patchouli and Koakuma?! Didn't you pass on coming to the mountain?

I changed my mind. I wanted to know more about the mountain's affairs.

We were planning on turning back if entering was too hard... but we got lucky, and getting here was easy.

Wh-why? What in the world happened to the guards?

They were there, but they let me through when I said I had business at the shrine.

I should have known the tengu from earlier would have spread the word.

...This can't be. The tengu, we...

It would seem they've left you on your own.

Sorry, but I don't understand the situation that well. All I know is that the journey here was pleasant.

...

I understand. I'm not afraid to stand alone.

No need to bluff. It's okay to admit you've lost!

I have not! Lady Yasaka is with me. As long as I have her divine protection, I can accomplish anything! Even by myself! Come forth, Takeminakata!




The animation for Summon Takeminakata _{shush, wikipedia doesn't have an english entry} traces a star around Sanae, then fills it with a circle.



It has a strange effect; Sanae auto-casts Focus, but any character standing on one of the lighter blue tiles gets a +20% boost to their hit rate. It's supposed to just be for enemies, but I think it bugged since I don't think I've ever seen anything as dramatic as a full -30% to hit rate. Meh.



Of course that doesn't do anything about Sanae's own accuracy boost,



so Sunny pops Reflection. This... probably won't do a thing, since it doesn't stop the enemy from countering. And on the enemy phase Sanae focuses on Reimu anyway.

look sunny had to do something

Now that I've come here, I wonder what kind of prank I should do...

...A prank? And just what are you planning?

Agh, no, no! I was just talking to myself! I wasn't going to do anything like throw around leaves or mess up all of the emas!

...I'll have to keep an eye on you.

Music: Proof of the Wind's Bond

I didn't want to use "bond" twice, but I couldn't think of a snappier way to express "a symbol that I am together with the wind".



Obviously Sunny can't hit a damn thing,



but Marisa can. Go go Support Attack!



I was hoping Komachi could snipe Sanae, but I forgot that The Day the Sea Split has a long reach.

Now that we've made it to the shrine at the mountain top, that's another safe ferriage to my name.

A ferriage...? Excuse me, I believe this is the first time we've met. You don't seem like an associate of Reimu's either...

I'm just lending a hand because of Sakuya over there. Well, I'm half here to help and half just relaxing. You should lighten up more too.



ow

Lady Kochiya...!

...Now that I think about it, you were with Reimu and the others last summer too.

I, I'm not fighting the Moriya shrine because I think you're bad. But Marisa is an important friend of mine, so-

Friends, friends, friends! How many times are you going to say that!?





Oh wow, wasn't expecting to land a 39%.



This is the part where I normally have Marisa fall back on Proto Malice's higher accuracy, but thanks to all her accuracy buffs she had good enough odds to keep on Sparking.

EDIT: Actually, looking at Sanae's health in the following pictures I think I did switch to Proto Malice after all.



It's kind of hilarious how much build-up Summon Takeminakata gets for what is essentially a couple of smacks.



Marisa's still got enough SP for Alert, so she can attack without fear.



Whoops, totally forgot Rumia had Darkness.





Also I'm glad I had Rumia chug her bottle of Ginju Sake because otherwise she would have died here.



Once again I'm more than capable of finishing this spell now, but then I wouldn't be prepared for the next one. I won't get a reward for beating every spell in one turn, so why rush?

Instead I just end turn and kill Sanae on the counter.

You still refuse to accept what I told you last time. Gods vanish once they lose faith. And yet even so, you-

If something like that happens, I'll just handle it my own way. Being as stiff about gods as you sounds like it'd be a pain anyways.

How could you say something like that...!?



Oh yeah, Sanae has a barrier now. It just reduces damage a bit like Reimu's Duplex Barrier.



Reimu gets Shrine Maiden 4 just a bit too early. I was hoping to hit 23 right after Reimu proved she was the strongest shrine maiden.

Impossible, how could you have pushed me so far...

Alright, we're crushing her!

You did well fighting by yourself. But against this many people, it's hopeless.

In deference to your tenacity, we'll let you be if you give up now.

...Lady Kochiya, I'm not angry with the Moriya shrine like the others. But at this rate, you'll be separated from both gods and humans. Don't you think that's lonely?

...Loneliness. Words like that no longer matter to me. We... Lady Yasaka, she chose to become a fantasy instead of obsessing on her bygone glory days.

It was all for the sake of regaining faith. My fears, my anxieties, I left them all behind in the outside world!



Sanae casts Miracle, which is Strike, Alert, Valor, Guard, Guts, Drive, Accel, Gain, and Luck all in one package. This instance is a special boss version that changes depending on the difficulty, though. Easy leaves out Guard, and Lunatic tosses Valor and Guts for Vigor and I think Snipe.

Give me a break, she can still keep going? Pretty impressive willpower.

Fine then, let's decide things once and for all!

Blow, winds of the sacred mountain. Bring guidance and faith to these transient people!




The danmaku field of God's Wind forms in a spiral, like a cyclone. I should probably start making animations of these fields, they're getting more intricate.

Anyways it drops the range of all attacks by 1 (with the exception of 1 range attacks of course), and is probably infamous as a total screw you because



it's a five range MAP with a S rank in the air. And Sanae just cast Miracle.

If you rushed recklessly through the fight, Sanae will probably nuke your entire party! Avoiding surprises like this is why you should always make sure to start a spell with at least half your team available.



First things first, let's get rid of that Alert.

So you're the living god who's been causing so much trouble. I had a pleasant mountain climbing experience because of you. Thanks.

...Is that what the tengu said? So they really do think poorly of us...

Well, they didn't exactly say that, but if you only just realized that then this is your just desserts.

...



I almost never use Patchouli, so barring some voting shenanigans this may be the only time you see her cut-in.



Patchy's default PS, Rapid Casting, is what SRW fans know as Hit and Away. If you have her attack before moving, she can move after the attack. It's really useful for long ranged characters, but it's sadly locked to Patchy in this game.



Koakuma has a really cheap Devote and the ability to Renew the MP/ammo of a nearby character at the cost of 10 Power. With her around MP issues are nonexistent.



Kurumi guzzles down Sakuya's Tea in order to get enough SP to use Accel. Then she drops my first bomb.



Rumia uses the other. This frees the bulk of my army from the spellcard Range penalty.



Then Sunny wastes Sanae's Valor. Now I'm in position to end this.



Marisa is 3 for 3 with her sparks.

Looks like the Hakurei shrine maiden's fight is finally coming to an end.

You don't sound very interested in it. For what purpose did you come here?

If you really want to know, I guess you could say I'm a bodyguard... or something like that. Anyways, you should be worried. Now that I've stuck my head into this, I'm not going to play nice.



Mokou didn't get enough Power to use Flying Phoenix.



She didn't even have the grace to die so I could show Summon Takeminakata's dynamic kill.

Now that I take a closer look, you're still just a child.

A... maid?

According to the kappa, you're the only human on this mountain. Being alone amongst so many youkai... don't you think that's dreadful?

...It's harsh, but it isn't painful. That's the same reason we came to Gensokyo.

...I see. Well, you won't be worrying about it for much longer.



Within me is the power of a wind god. I can not lose!

If that's the case, I won't lose either! Thanks to my job, I'm struck by the wind every morning and every night!

That's kind of pitiful...



And to wrap things up,



Reimu finally dips into her SP and casts Sense and Luck.

Music: Sealing Charm, Blessed Light





Cha-ching. I could have gotten more if I used Evil-sealing Circle instead, but who am I to pass on a flashy kill?



Sanae drops Kanako's Blessing (literally Sky God's Blessing but come on). It gives the holder a S rank in Air and zeroes the MP cost of Focusing.

...!

And that makes two wins. Game, set, match!

...You're strong. If you're this powerful, why can't you gather any faith for the Hakurei shrine?

That's what I'd like to know.

Anyway, we won, so cut it out with all the "take over the shrine" talk.

Now it's time to confront the Moriya shrine's god. I hope this goes smoothly...

...All I wanted was to help Lady Yasaka recover faith. Then she could bring happiness to the humans of this land...

Your heart was in the right place, but your methods not so much.

I don't particularly feel like telling you how you should do your job. But don't even joke about lending me your power. I can get worshippers back on my own.

...I understand. If you want to meet with Lady Yasaka, follow this road. It will take you to Suwa Lake. Lady Yasaka awaits you where the onbanshira stand.

Gotcha. Reimu, let's go!

Yeah!



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Elly, there's one more thing I need to be a magical girl.

Really?

Yeah, a transformation chant.

...I guess so, yeah. How about "Ruhkondakarongaronkakoonkakoonka"?
_{The original line is a spew of katakana I sounded it out in english.}

Ruh, ruhkondaruhkonga...?

If that doesn't work, maybe "Goorangarangoorainrakondakaronraga"?

Goo, gooranragongaga...Elly, are you just making fun of me?

Of, of course not!