Part 42: Update XXXIX - The blond girl and how it ended - VS Berserker

Update XXXIX - The blond girl and how it ended - VS Berserker



Music: None


When I twirl around, Kotomine's standing there. Like always.

Hakuno is starting to notice a pattern here.

Come to the first floor when ready. You can take the time necessary to stop by the commissary.

Finished speaking, he opens the door and lets himself out. In preparation for the Elimination Battle, I should go to the Chapel and the commissary. Or, I could go to my personal room and sort out my information on the enemy Servant. And then, once that's in order, I'll go to where Kotomine is.

Music: Down to Dawn




My opponent is a religious zealot... Gatou. While his religion is pure insanity, he has a powerful Servant. How did Gatou refer to his Servant's heterochromatic eyes-?



Demonic Eye.

The term he used was "Demonic Eye." I have no idea what it's capable of, but I'll find out soon enough. I think my unease about it came more from her intensely ominous aura then anything else. But, every time I've expected something to go wrong, it has. When I fought with his Servant in the Arena, I recognized the terrifying truth behind her class and identity. Her true identity is that of—



The Founder of all things.

Wait, didn't her identity have something to do with fish? No, that wasn't it. I can't flounder now... The true identity of Gatou's Servant is that of—

A True Ancestor from the stars.

That's right; she is a "True Ancestor" and the queen of the vampires, tasked with fulfilling the will of the stars. Her power is such that if she were to use all of it against me, I'd be obliterated in an instant. But since being summoned as a Berserker by Gatou, she seems to be unable to use her full strength. Of course, the most useful bit of information came as a prize for winning Kotomine's enemy hunt. It was info on her battle technique. Her ultimate technique was called—



The wrong answers here are both from Stay Night.

Blut die Schwester.

The name of her ultimate technique is "Blut die Schwester." I think it's German for "Oath of a Blood Sister"... I have no idea what implications the meaning of the phrase might have, but I'm pretty sure the technique itself is incredibly powerful. Although the ability is probably significantly restricted by her Master, Gatou.







And Hakuno figures out Arc's name through nothing but the plot saying so.

But I have Rani on my side as well as my Servant, Caster. I can't be defeated. I won't be defeated. While Gatou will be fighting alone, I have friends willing to fight by my side.



Level E just holds her true name and character background.




Music: School III


In just one week Caster has gained two full ranks in Magic! And as a bonus, her next skill only needs 3 levels to get! The P mark on it means it'll be a passive skill.





Music: None


And while I'm in the status menu...



The Command Seal popup properly updates to show just one Seal left.



Caster's new skill, Mantra: Bestial Sky is a sizable damage buff, increasing the damage of her next skill by 250%.

It costs as much as a second Curse, but it's an overall damage increase over slinging two, and you can use another Curse to open up a safe move to set it up. It all depends on if you want to conserve MP with Spirit Theft or finish the fight faster with Bestial Sky.



The nurse's office is locked during Elimination Battles, meaning we can't see Rani for a quick pep talk.



Time to fight.

Video: Week 4 Elimination Battle


Remember, the only way to leave the Coliseum is to win. If you are ready, I will open the gate.



Enter the Coliseum

The way to the Coliseum is now open, young Master. I wish you the best of luck and hope that you will return. Remember: It's kill or be killed.





Music: Duel - Prelude to Confrontation








However! It seems that even now you harbor a fear of my presence. The evidence of which is your reluctance to come any closer to me. Or am I mistaken?



No, it's just you're...really loud.



Because for the first time in your fleeting life, you have encountered one who will deliver the voice of god! It is through my voice that god speaks! Elevated above Gaia even as Skanda was- And with speed that would shame even Ramiel, I must sound the voice of god from the heavens to the Earth! Or to be more accurate, my voice holds more meaning than even the tolling of the bells of the Sagrada Familia!

~

More unnerving than scary, but...

I see, I see! It's not necessarily a bad thing to feel the way you do, or that you are aware of the cause. For that is proof that, through earnest contemplation, your judgment is truly sound! Such wisdom! Your insight is akin to that of the venerated Robert Grosseteste! For this, I will perform the consecration ritual which will bestow upon you the title of acharya. No! Please, there is no need for any expression of gratitude! I but act upon the guidance provided by my god!

~~



For if I had not been instructed in the will of god, your life may have gone on for a while longer... A pitiable little lamb, soon for the slaughter. Were you at least able to enjoy one last meal?





Oh hey, a typo!

...Please, just go way. Now.



'Is unforgivable is a sin'? Honestly, I don't blame the editors here for not going over Gatou's lines with a fine tooth comb.

Be certain that your defeat and resulting death will come swiftly, as is ordained. However! This is no reason for you to simply abandon and toss away the gift of life bestowed upon you! For only those souls who have hope even at the end will re-enter the cycle of rebirth and redemption! Is the truth now clear to you? You must have hope if you're to have any chance of being reincarnated! Even if Armageddon occurs before your very eyes! Actually, in that case, surrender would be acceptable.

~

I don't really get your "religion."

How laughable! Of course it is beyond your ken! I am the embodiment of the teachings of all religions. However! In the course of my studies I was struck with a revelation. Every teaching not only had contradictions, but had self-serving excuses for their hypocrisy! Theologies that willingly embrace inconsistency and hypocrisy cannot change the world.





...





All of the teaching that I had studied were made false! Only my god was worthy of my belief!

~~





If you try to follow his words too closely, you'll be driven as crazy as he is!

Seriously, my dear Master, there's no time to waste! If you want, I'll cover your ears for you!

Oh, no need to worry about me. Also, there aren't enough hands to go around to cover my ears...



But I care not! Your Servant is irrelevant to me, as they are a mere facet of sarva-dharma-anatman! And the reason for that is this! It is because I alone serve the one true god!



You serve your Servant?!



The pinnacle of all reason! The messiah of all peoples! We will return to Karbala! Do you honestly think just anyone is able to serve such perfection embodied by my god?! Thus! That is why I serve my god, because that's how it should be!

~

The one true god is a...Berserker?



The reason my god cannot speak is because her silence is but the final trial given to me by the heavens! Once I emerge as the ultimate victor and receive the omnipotent vessel— My god will smile upon me and allow me to hear her voice for the first time.

...

~~



And my deeds have all been done in the name of salvation! By standing in my way, you play the role of Lucifer! You demon! You know naught of shame! No matter how black your wings, evil is never acceptable!



Both options get the same result.

The only fallen one here is you.











I will come at you with all of my strength so that you will have no regrets once you reach heaven.

Music: Duel - Kill Or Be Killed






I'm surprised that Gatou actually has a different portrait.



I cannot allow my Master to keep breathing the same air as that fool.















If the Inari gods are wrapped up in this, I'm going to be pissed.

But of course, I'm well-versed in the Inari gods. Want some fried tofu?

Hey, that's just toast!

Arc's HP is unlisted, and she starts the fight with her Noble Phantasm lit.



If you're stubborn enough to play along, you miiiiiiiight want to block on move 6.







Because Arc is a massive fucking cheater and ignores the whole NP reveal perk of a level E matrix!

Fun fact, the only reason I knew to block that is because I record death scenes first. If I came into this blind, I would have died turn 1 with zero warning!

This fucking game!

Anyways, Blut die Schwester will kill if you don't block it, and the moon icon means we're getting hit with the increased gravity her matrix mentioned, debuffing all our stats.



How did you survive my god's blow!? This HEATHEN!?

To make it even worse, her NP is still lit!

At the very least, she can't use it while the debuff is up, and will usually wait several turns after it wears off to pop it again.

Not that it matters, because just two turns later...



I had a 1/3 chance of correctly guessing which pattern she's on.



I then proceeded to guess the wrong one, and very swiftly...



Die.



At least I can finally use the Retry button.



Here's the worst part about Berserkers. A ton of patterns have Wait on 3 and 5, making The List all but useless.



Just to keep up with her damage output I end up throwing a heal every single turn regardless of it I know the pattern or not.



Aaaaa, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Oh, and Arc's NP being hidden isn't a one off thing, you'll never get it freely revealed from your Matrix. This line right here marks when she'll use it, so good fucking luck if you played without the Perfect Patch and have no idea what anyone is saying!



Extra marks HP as ???? if it goes above 4 digits.

Nursery Rhyme, just last week, had 6K HP.

Arc has 18,000. I deal 300 a hit. And this is on top of her breaking Info Matrix rules and killing you in three hits.

This fucking game!



I get really close!







Except a bad turn leaves me too weak to block her skill, causing me to lose just three hits away from victory!

Welcome to Fate/Extra, the game that fucking hates you.



Hopefully the third time will be the charm.



Arc's NP can be revealed on the preview, but only if move 6 would show up normally.



Der Mond is her last skill, giving a 128 HP regen for several turns.

You know, because she doesn't have enough health already.



Spirit Theft is practically mandatory for this fight. Each Wait is a free Break, and running out of MP at any point is a death sentence.



To prove my point, Arc's very next move is a Wait.



I'll skip over most of the fight to speed things up.



On the plus side, Caster's Skills are finally dealing comparable damage to her physical attacks.



Arc's NP icon fades after reaching critical HP.



Instead, she'll start using Gnaden Sturz on move 6.



Except for when she uses her NP anyways.

Why? Because, get fucked, that's why!

This is just a stupidly out of place, downright spiteful difficulty spike. The very nature of the battle system makes increasing the challenge nigh impossible, (as The List has proven time and again) so the only thing the devs can do to make it harder is jack up the numbers and break the previously established rules of the game.

Do not play Fate/Extra.



Remember that Spirit Theft and Aphotic Cave are the only sources of MP recovery in the game so far. If you chose Archer or Saber, you'd have your starting MP bar, period. Caster can at least keep herself topped off to safely deal with unknown commands, the others will have to resort to normal clashes and pray RNG favors them.



And as an extra fuck you, Gnaden Sturz can inflict Paralysis!



Unlike Stun, which stops the next move, Paralysis locks out a random command.

Gatou also decided to chip in for once.





Curse is just Poison but More.

Which is far better than his other Code Cast, seal_attack();, which locks out the Attack command for two turns if it hits! See a nice juicy Break on the preview, and want to punish it? Fuck off, you eat the hit.



Hilariously, Extra only supports one status ailment at a time. Gatou's Curse cleared my existing Paralysis, freeing up that locked action.



Shame I used a Guard there.



Caster is in rough shape.



But I physically cannot lose now.



Eat shit.



Fuck off.



Stay out of the franchise for another 10 years.



Music: None




After loosing a primal yell, Gatou falls to his knees.



And the barrier goes up.

Music: Game Over








—For once, his shout is muffled. The barrier makes it seem small and far away. Just like how Gatou's body itself is fading away.





Farewell, Monji Gatou.



Music: Stops


Come on, now.

Music: Duel of Fate


Did you honestly think we could kill the titular Moon Princess on the Moon?

-She transformed. I can think of nothing else when she looks over at me. No, it's more like she "reverted." That's the word I'm looking for. The weight of the shackles—the spell—that had restrained her has been stripped away.



Arc is entirely voiced for this scene.



But the power of assumption is incredible, huh? He was way off the mark in treating me like a god. I'm a natural phenomenon, and a god is a sentient being with values that humans can understand, right? He claimed he would make me a real god, but there's error in that assumption as well. Something real will never become something fake. That's fallacious.



Only Arcueid could describe the Moon Cell's kill field as 'tingling.'

With that, she starts walking away from the barrier...





There is a flash.



As if this dimension acknowledges that she holds a right to pass through. Or perhaps this dimension has no right to stop her.



She turns on her heels and faces me. I've always thought of her as my enemy, so I'm surprised that I'm not frightened of her anymore. For some reason, she treats me to a carefree smile.



I'd like to return the favor sometime. If you feel like it, come find me. When you do, I'll make you pay for defeating me.

She says it with a smile.





As if we're friends, she waves as she turns back around. —But, seconds later she leaps into the air and out of this dimension.

And with that, she leaps clean out of the Extra series. Only time will tell if she'll reappear in Extra Record.

Farewell, Arcueid Brunestud.





So, she was some kind of anomaly. Not one that I have to worry about— I won't see her again in the war. After all, her Master was defeated. I've won through the fourth round; I should start heading back soon.





And for once, we have no post-fight scene.









Fun fact: The JP version of this lists Arc's class as "Funny Vamp."

But, uh, Caster? Is there anything you want to talk about?

Next time: The best line in the game.