Part 97: Update LXXXIII - I can't decline - The blond girl

Update LXXXIII - I can't decline - The blond girl

This update covers the events of Update XXXV to XXXVIII.



Music: School I


We get some advice from Leo.





And think about our past a bit.



Are you still obsessing over your past? You are you; that's all that matters. Leave the past where it is.

I appreciate Saber's attempt to comfort me, but the fact is I want to know who I am. I want to know where I came from. I want to know what there is for me after all of this.

Is that so? Then try to get to know those around you. They may have the answers you seek. To start...maybe you should speak to that girl in the nurse's office. She can't be entirely useless.

Saber may be onto something. Talking to others might give me some insight into my true self. For now, I should go to the nurse's office. I want to check in on Rani, and maybe pick up some info as well.



We team up with Rani.





Run into Gatou.



"Demonic Eye." But knowing Gatou, there's no special meaning behind the words.





Music: Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea - First Floor


In.



Out.



Music: School III


...I still disapprove of helping that girl, but, well, sacrifices must be made. Yes, retrieve your connection to your body so that you can sever your connections to that girl.







Another dream.



Music: School I


Another chat with Rani.



Another batch of blatant filler.



Praetor, I will not be denied! If this is a competition, I will not rest until victory is ours! Now, let us be off! I find myself looking forward to facing that bizarre pantomimus!



And another trip into the Arena.



Music: Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea - Second Floor




Focus on the enemy programs for now. You'll only lose time if you engage in combat with the enemy Master— I excel at this type of competition. Relax, our victory is assured.

More like lose our life, considering we'd run into Skill-spamming Arc today.



The hunting quest will be much the same as the first time around, but this time I can use the speed buff on the Enhancement Spikes to speed things up a bit.



This is too perfect! No, to praise a foe is to wallow in false humility!



Without the Spikes, Gatou was almost able to reach the final Carnivore.

With them, he can barely make it to the cave.









Excellent. We finally have a cipher key. Keep up the good work, Praetor.



And done.



Music: School III






Talk to Rani.



Get some subtle foreshadowing for CCC.



And get a new Skill!



Every Servant gets a dedicated defensive Skill, and while Tamamo's Aphotic Cave acted as a super Guard...



Nero's Thrice-Setting Sun lets her ignore dying.



Let's go test it out, shall we?

Music: Fear


Gatou's waiting for us, after all.



We still have some hunting left to do, so we must make this encounter quite brief!



I was hoping the speed buff could make me fast enough to catch Gatou before he got his first Carnivore...



But I'm just a bit too slow to make it.



Although funnily enough, the cutscene to start the fight can't begin while the light pillar is up.



But Gatou's score screen bit seems to have been overwritten by the cutscene, letting me skip it entirely!

any% NG+ speedrun strats, people! Literally no one is on the leaderboard for it, so even you can claim the world record for yourself!







But, it looks like she's already transformed into a Berserker, so we may defeat her yet.

My divine lord! Crush these morons with your star-heavy might!

Music: Duel - Unauthorized Battle


Now, Thrice-setting Sun is an incredibly simple skill.



You just set it up when you have a free turn...



And that's it! Just like Cu and Lu Bu, Nero now has a free Get Out of Death Free card.

It has no duration, so you can make it last the entire fight if you don't get unlucky. Buff removal can clear it, but the only Master with access to that is Leo.



And as for the revive itself?



It brings Nero back with a full 30% of her HP! And then you can just throw it back on next turn!

Considering the only thing that can punch through the incredible strategy of, 'just spam skills lol' is an enemy Skill, this means that the vast majority of the time there's only one move per turn that can actually threaten you. Thrice-setting Sun lets you completely ignore it, as no amount of overkill can bypass it. The 50 MP cost is a bit heavy on Nero's miniscule MP pool, but even on NG you're just one week away from getting your first MP recovery Mystic Code.



Music: Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea - Second Floor




Bellowing in fervent prayer, Gatou disappears from the Arena. I wonder what a True Ancestor is...



But, they are nothing like vampires. They're a non-human spiritual force that is the will of the stars. More perplexing is how that annoying man forged a contract with such a powerful thing in the first place. We should count our blessings he is her Master. If that thing was in its right mind, we'd already be dead.

Will of the stars-? I can't quite wrap my head around that one, but does that mean... she really IS a god?! Seeing the relief on Saber's face, I realize how powerful our enemy could have been. It gives me chills. Somehow, we won. On with the hunt!











Music: School III






If I am to defeat rare breeds such as that, I must raise my skills. I am flushed in anticipation.

Turns out that Nero also has optional chats for killing Nephilim!

Although she doesn't have a chat for reaching the midpoint of the Holy Grail War like Tamamo did.





And there's this week's room decor.



One last chat with Rani.



One last level.





One last bit of info.



And one last Arena trip to close out the week.





...actually just one more level. Arc still scares me.





Music: School III


By now I've hoped you've learned that worry and hesitation chafe against my principles, right? —Command me gloriously, and in return I shall deliver victory.



Next time: The last time we see Arcueid.