Part 48: Brink of Death on the White Jade Belvedere's Staircase

I ended up getting everything done way sooner than expected so here's an early update.

Also this used to be on the last page but I figured it was huge enough already.

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Music: Dark Clouds

Full Text



Music: Confusion in the Moonlight

I guess this is pretty much just the Stage 5 boss map theme now?



Hang in there, Lady Patchouli! It's just a bit further!

But it's kinda funny to have nothing but stairs in front and behind.

Enough is enough! I just wanna sit down somewhere...



Youmu!

I thought I told you that the next time we met, I would show no mercy.

Didn't we fight together last summer, Youmu?! Why are you starting an incident?!

Everything I've done has been under Lady Yuyuko's orders. Leave behind the spring you've collected and go home peacefully. I promise it will be returned shortly.

It's no good, she's not listening!

We were ready for this. We'll never hand over spring!

Very well, you leave me no choice!



Insert a bunch of enemies.

Looks like this won't be that easy.

You talk big, but isn't this kind of cowardly?

It's common sense to do whatever it takes to achieve a goal. Offer up your meager spring for the sake of the mistress!





See the white line there? That's the midway point.



Also this map is huuuuuuuuge. Youmu moves as well so it's not actually that bad though.



I was given a fairly slow team, so this bonus is going to be tricky. Reimu (who I gave a Tengu's Feather) will be running around clearing out these large spirits and their gigantic danmaku fields (which are only -0.10 move a tile, but every bit counts),



while Marisa is going to jam on Accel so she can clear out the sunflower fairies camping on the midpoint. As my units approach, those jerks will throw up their own danmaku fields (-0.5 move a tile, much more worrisome) to screw me out of the bonus.

Since this strategy puts Marisa right in the line of fire, I had Alice weaken a spirit so Marisa could kill it for a quick Power boost. Marisa also has an Alert on because you never know.



The Three Fairies count as three units even while joined, by the way. Getting Unfocused Movement on Sunny (or the spare Tengu Clogs Youmu could have dropped back in 27) makes things a lot easier.



In general, everyone should be moving as far as they possibly can each turn. I only need to get half of my units across, so slower units like Patchouli or Letty should focus on clearing the way for faster people.



You'd think that'd make Kurumi (one of the two units with Accel) useful, but hahaha nope. She missed a 97% kill on a spirit, which slowed down Mokou and Koa.



Patchouli's Hit and Away PS is actually pretty useful this chapter. Speaking of useful personal skills, you know who would be really great here? Aya.



Here's the situation at the end of turn 2, the midway point. I'm making good time!



Marisa had to dodge two attacks at critical health, but she successfully killed one of the sunflower fairies.



I was on the edge of my seat hoping Marisa would dodge two 5%s on the enemy phase of turn 3, and then Reimu got hit by a 1%.

Well, at least she's activated Instinct Dodge now.



Youmu reaches the midpoint by turn 3. If I were running my normal setup of tanks, tanks, and more tanks, this would be really useful. As is it's going to take some shuffling to get things to work out.

Let's start the fireworks!

The last one standing can claim the rest of the spring as their own. Prepare yourselves!

Now that we're at endgame, we're going to start seeing a lot of conversations that change slightly depending on who the protagonist is. Reimu route players get:

Music: As Decisive as a Battlefield



She still has her Melee damage buffing field, so Youmu hits hard right now. Though I didn't think it'd be that much, that's weird.



Also by some miracle Kurumi landed her counter.



Three,



four,



five,



six (yes, being on the line counts),



and seven.







And now I have to start setting up my formation. With Alice's 15% friendship boost Marisa is now completely safe from enemies so I only need to worry about Reimu now. And, uh, yeah. She's Reimu.

Aieee! I'm being assaulted with a knife!

Assaulted? You don't like swords, do you?

No, I can't use kitchen cutlery at all. The best I can do is use scissors. That means all I can do for cooking is throwing veggies in a pot.

So you're kind of a one-trick pony...



Aaaaaah why don't I have a dedicated healer.



I'm honestly not sure if Keine can take another hit, even with Berserk, so I have her cast her first Trust. Three left.



My goal is to keep Youmu distracted at the center of the screen while everyone else forms up on the right. It's not as secure as surrounding her with tanks, but it should work as long as there aren't... low HP... targets.



Two Trusts left.



Wow, Youmu really has something against Kurumi.



I decided to split up the Three Fairies to pin Youmu in. With Mokou and her extra life, the fairies and their endless Alerts/Grits, and Reimu and Keine just being themselves I can kind of trap her. I'm really just relying on her AI targeting low HP units though.

Unfortunately, the fairies couldn't move far enough, so I need to delay for one more turn.

Or to be exact, I need to wait one more turn before triggering the spellcard.

I told you earlier, Reimu. I won't hold back, even if you're my opponent!

Yeah? Well no complaints here, especially now that we're this near the end.

No matter who they are, if someone gets in my way, I'll beat them up and move on!

I understand. In that case, I'll have to treat you just as seriously!



Nothing wrong with whacking her to critical.

And as usual, this turned into a fight.

You are all my enemies. Please do not even think about trying to persuade me.

Well of course I thought about it, but you're far too straightforward. I knew this battle was inevitable.



Since Marisa is low on SP from all of that legwork earlier, Proto Malice Cannon surges back into usefulness.



Youmu broke her streak of Kurumi hatred to go after Star. Since this would necessitate another two turns of movement, I decided to just blow a bomb.



The stage is set on turn 8.

Knowing you, I figured you'd never leave the mansion.

I can't relax with my books when it's so cold.

When I try to turn on the heat, Sakuya gripes about how we should be conserving fuel. She doesn't complain when Remi does it for her own room...

Just keep conserving and waiting, and I'll return spring soon.

Let me tell you two words I hate: noise, and forbearance.



I start off with Silent Selene.



Kind of thought it would do more damage!



Kurumi blows her last Alert to trigger Letty's Support Atta- oh wow, looks like there was a second formatting mistake.

What do I mean by a second? You'll see.



Letty just barely doesn't seal the deal with her Support Attack,

You fueled this incident without so much as a thought. How foolish can you be?

This cold wave...! Why would a youkai who controls the cold ally with them?

The winter knows why. You've twisted and distorted it. If you can't see that for yourself, then I'll fight to make you see it.



but she still has her own turn.

How about that?

Rgh, I see my usual methods aren't working. We're so close to granting Lady Yuyuko's wish...

You mean making the unblooming Saigyo Ayakashi bloom, correct?

Wow, you figured it out? I'm impressed!

With just a bit more, the Saigyo Ayakashi will be in full bloom. If I take the spring you carry, that should be enough for the final push.

You're already that close to reviving it?!

If you succeed, the power of death will be unleashed. That isn't a trivial matter!

Wait, reviving? The power of death? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?

No way...

Do you not know what the Saigyo Ayakashi really is?!

My blade will not falter before your petty tricks!

This sword will cut through two hundred yojana in an instant!






200 Yojana in 1 Slash is a particularly annoying MAP, because Youmu will move after using it. I have to kill her before she can use it or else she wrecks my entire formation.

I pegged you as pretty straight-laced last summer. Never thought you had it in you to steal spring.

If Lady Yuyuko wills it, I would turn my blade on even you, Marisa.

As the gardener of the White Jade Belvedere, I'd like a fair match!

No problem here!



This is not particularly hard.



Cirno landed Freeze on a Support Attack, which will make things even easier.

Again, you aid Reimu's group.

Well, duh. I'm the strongest! They'd be a mess without me around!

Having people like you on their team must be very reassuring. But this is no place for fairies!



Sakuya is at such low health that I didn't plan on her doing more than Support Attacking.



But then I forgot Youmu had six levels of Berserk and messed up giving Reimu a Gained kill.

In the summer, you were one of the invaders. But now our positions have switched.

You were very fierce back then, but you seem composed now.

If you ask me, I've changed ever so slightly for the better since back then.

Perhaps you could also use some time flat on the ground. It might even cool your head.

Try it if you can!



So what the hell, why not.

Nrgh!

What's wrong, Youmu? This can't be all you've got.

Our engine's just gotten warmed up! Or something like that.

You're strong... I can't underestimate you.

Course you can't! Take us lightly and you'll get an ice burn!

Low temperature burns don't actually have anything to do with ice or freezing, you know.

These frivolous mid-battle conversations... it's just like back in summer.

However, that all ends here. I will not yield!



Youmu casts Spirit, cause you know clearly she wasn't already at max Power.

Her aura's growing?! But we're clearly pushing her back!

She refuses to see reason. You weren't kidding about the horse blinders.

My resolve is unwavering. Now, let's have a fair match!






Five Signs of the Dying Deva does two things: make Youmu hit harder, and totally mess with my sniping formation with its massive maximum range (9 spaces). Youmu doesn't have Ignore Distance, though, so it's not a major problem.

Y'know, this is the first time we've fought you, Youmu.

That's true, actually. When was the last time we met?

I think it was when Kurumi was scavenging for food.

No, it was when we went off on an adventure to Alice's house.

I don't remember either of those things. Was I even there?

She wasn't; those were 12 and 2M respectively.



Star ran out of SP Cheering Reimu, so I had the Three Fairies combine again.



And then Reimu made up for her previous mistake by going full bore with Fantasy Seal.




Marisa tried to follow suit and got hit by a 13%.



I had Keine cast Strike earlier, so this is my last Trust.



Meanwhile Patchouli technically dodges a 47%. Who's supposed to be the athletic one again?

Youmu had barely any HP left after a second Silent Selene, so I had Mokou finish her off.

I'm not all sappy like the others here. I'll make you settle down, one way or another.

Keep talking. Your posture is sloppy and full of openings!

It won't matter if I beat you up first.
_{Remember Mokou's conversation with Momiji?}



Or at least that was the plan.






Turns out that if you don't put a space before a new line in the battle dialog files, it won't load. So the last part of Youmu's one-liner was lost.

At this point I looked around the battlefield to see who needed the most levels,



and Keine is level 21? No wonder she was getting wrecked!



Youmu decided to attack Reimu on enemy phase though, and Reimu needs XP just as much as Keine does. Eh, Keine gets automatically boosted to like level 35 in FMW3, she'll be fine.



I thought Reimu got Shrine Maiden 5 at level 29, but nope, 31. Oh well, at least she's all caught up now.

Ugh...! So you've even beaten that technique...!

You've improved too. Your skill is incomparable to what it was before.

But this time we're better.

Youmu, can we stop fighting already? If you just stopped to listen to us, I'm sure you'd understand where we're coming from.

Sanae still has no idea what series she's in.

No. I cannot back down, not even a single step. We stand before the gate of the White Jade Belvedere. On my life, you shall not pass!

Sanae, she's not really the type to listen to reason.

Yeah, we can save that for after we settle this!

There is nothing else. Everything I am is in this single moment, this single thought.

And I'm entrusting it all to my sword!






Wait, what? Shoot, I made a mistake copying in field effects or something. A Single Thought and the Infinite Kalpas prevents anyone in the field from using Support Attack or Support Defend, which would be a problem if I wasn't just going to bomb right through it.



Like so. This allows me to...



suicide Kurumi!


Watch the video!

Sheesh, this is annoying!

I'm just going to be sacrificing Kurumi for all of the SRW jokes I have in mind from now on. Deal with it, Ryza.



A bunch of attacks later, Youmu is near death. She'd be at critical if Patchouli hadn't screwed up and missed a 90%, but she made another miraculous dodge again so I guess I can't complain.



I was expecting I'd have to suicide someone else, but then it turned out Mokou still had all of her SP. So she just casted Focus then moved out of Infinite Kalpas range.

I'd ask you to hear me out, but I suppose it would be useless.

My duty requires that I must fight you all. I will show no mercy, Keine. Not even to you.

I'm ready for that. I'll stop that sword of yours in its tracks!

Music: Theme of a Punishing Love



Youmu drops another set of Tengu's Clogs.

Urgh!

So, have you calmed down yet?

We can get past now, right?

Ugh, I'm at my limit...

But, I can't afford to fall here!





Why would she go so far for this...?

Shou is the wimpiest stage 5 boss.

Haaaaaaaa!

At this point, Youmu slashes (I think) who ever is closest. There's a lot of possible different conversations (and in the case of Marisa's, they change depending on her friendship situation), but I got Keine's so:

Guah!

Keine!

She's going to keep fighting?!

What do we do, Marisa? At this rate, it'll be a battle of attrition!

I guess it's kind of cool she's so tenacious? This is going too far though!



A combo attack with you?

Yeah. C'mon, there's no time to think about it! I'll go first, you cover me and try to match my movements!

Hmph. Cover you? Who do you think you're talking to?

I'll do whatever I want, and you can try to keep up!



Youmu, we're going to end this right now!

You can't stop us here! We're going ahead, even if we have to go straight through you!


Watch the video!
_{The attack is based on Rampage Ghost, but that attack doesn't actually have a theme so we had to choose something else.}

Music: Trichromatic Danmaku Träumerei

This is the attack's actual theme.

Uwaaaah!

Was that a teamup attack between a shrine maiden and a magician?!

What did you two do just now?

Well, it was sink or swim there, but we pulled it off.

We don't really match up, but whatever.

Trichromatic Lotus Butterfly actually is probably the worst combination attack in the game. It's solely because you have to be point blank to use it; it does a lot of damage (third highest base damage, I think?), but unless you're using it to finish a boss off it's just not worth leaving Marisa out of her effective range and in the line of danger.

If you are using it to finish a boss off though, you can take advantage of the fact it has two ammo to slam a boss twice really hard. Or, you know, you could use a Shotgunned Fantasy Seal and a Master Spark + Shanghai Doll and do more damage.

Also in the early versions of the game the animation was bugged and the dynamic kill never showed up. This made the finale of 32 a lot less impressive.

So is Youmu really down this time?

Youmu is forced to land.

I'm sorry, Lady Yuyuko...

That settles it, we won!





No regrets.

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The initial stage portion is much more frustrating on Lunatic (to the point I would seriously not recommend trying for the bonus), but that's about it as far as differences go. Youmu casts Focus and Strike, neither of which are particularly problematic.

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Tonight's moon is beautiful as well, Yuyuko.

Indeed, it's making me quite hungry.

(...It's just the two of us on a moonlit night, and there's only one dish of snacks. The situation is perfect.)

(To think I'd do something like share a single plate... the White Jade Belvedere is quite romantic at night.)

Whew, I ate so much. Thanks for the food.

Wait just a second, why are you here?! And where did the snacks I had go?!

Oh, you only had one plate? You must not have very much.

That was pretty delicious, I should have sis make some for me later.

Koishi leaves.

Wh-what was that girl? She cut in so suddenly.

The moon is beautiful, Yukari.