Part 36: Quelling a Demon’s Hatred.

And so here we are, ready to end this final chapter of our story. Let’s not waste any more time; Odio’s waited for us long enough.

There will be three videos for this update. Here is the first.



My name is…



We’ve heard this part before, but now we’ll do things properly.



I have called each of you here to ask you some very, very important questions.



… All anyone’s ever done is ask for your help. They distance themselves from harm, and rely on others to save them… Are such people even deserving of help in the first place? That is my first question.



Why, what is the reason for your fight? Why do you continue?





Li is… not the most eloquent lady.

Very well… You have all been victorious in your self-important battles… Self-important and indeed, selfish!



You are all the same. The same as the maggots that lived in this realm… Just like them…





The battle begins… with a deafening roar…

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Oersted got one hell of a makeover, didn’t he? There’s wings, grapes, flowers… and one hell of a mole.



This boss obviously consists of four parts; two Odio Eyes, the Odio Mouth and Odio Mole. The mole takes almost no damage and will counterattack with Revenge Storm if hit, a move that heals all four parts of the boss. So instead we’re going to focus on the rest of this messed-up face.



The mouth has 1440 HP, and each eyes has 800. Li can put out pretty good damage on them, but they’ll still take some effort to put down.



The eyes aren’t very threatening; they can drain health, attack diagonally with High-Speed Gel Bullet, and counter with Beguiling Eyes if you get right up close on the diagonal.



The mouth is slightly more threatening; Melt Breath is pitiful, but it has a move called Deathber Space that does some fairly random damage. But that’s effectively neutered once you realise it can only hit you if you’re on the same two rows as the mouth.



Amusingly, it’s actually Andre’s Earth-Rending Fury that does both of the eyes in.












Of course, it’s not going to be that easy. It wouldn’t be a JRPG final boss without at least a second form!

Pure Odio is a good deal nastier than his silly face form; he has 2032 HP, but he still has Life Eraser to drain more from your party. His is considerably stronger, doing 100-250 damage depending on who he hits.



He also has this move, the animation of which is rather telling. It even has angelic singing that gets replaced by a hellish shriek when the face changes.

Saint Alicia can do even worse than putting people to sleep though; it will petrify the target if they’re not wearing some of the Ariel equipment. Cube can cure that with High-Speed Op, but it’s obviously better to avoid the status altogether.



His third and final tech is Cancel Ray, which is basically a giant middle finger directed right at the Waco Kid. He won’t always use it if someone’s charging an attack, but you do need to give him an alternate target.



On the plus side, those who have been diligent about gathering treasure will have two Potion No.9 and four Izanagi’s Scrolls in their inventory, each of which is a full heal for the whole party. (They also cure being drunk, but not petrified.) Add in the stack of Castellas and similar stuff, and we have plenty of longevity so long as no-one gets attacked at 0 HP.



The recorded version of this fight takes a whole lot longer than it usually would, actually. You see, Hurricane Shot is somewhat random, like Dodegesden. And this time, the Waco Kid kept rolling about 360 damage instead of the full 999. If you get lucky, he can be nearly dead in two shots.



Got there eventually, though.



Apologies to anyone watching the boss fight who wanted to keep their eardrums intact, by the way.

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…Oersted… You deserved better.


Also, that was a sucker’s choice if I ever saw one.



Oersted has been defeated, so we shall simply go our own way…

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When we arrive in the room with the stone idols, we hear some monkey sounds before Ayla walks in.





Coop and Sonic soon follow.

But of course… (Second video.)





Even if I’m beaten… I’ll keep on living…



Time for another villain speech.





















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And so, we face off against the incarnations of hatred one more time.



Each fight has music from the character’s own chapter.



They fight alone against their demonic counterpart.



But our heroes are much stronger than they once were.



What once were fierce battles are now easy victories.



So long as they are not foolish, these old foes pose no threat.



The fights each fade out during the final blow…

(Loud rumbling.)

So that we can see the bosses dissolve, one after another.

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(Silence.)

Why can’t I win…!? Isn’t this my destiny!?














I used to envy people the way you do! But… But that’s wrong! Just because you want something doesn’t mean you’ll get it!





… I…



…



… I…





Oersted… Truly, he is the most sympathetic antagonist I think I’ve ever encountered.

That section was the biggest change from choosing your protagonist. Aside from Ayla and Cube, each of them has something to say to Oersted, and he has his own reaction. And I must admit, I wish I could include everyone else’s comments here.

…



But… Don’t forget…







And so Oersted is carried away by the rushing wind…







His words still lingering in the air as that wind fades, and silence falls again…



Cube turns and burbles at the other heroes before disappearing, the first to return to his own time.



At least I have a place to go home to…!



The dawn will always break through the dark of night!



L-… … L-……! … Loooove!



To be the strongest!



Life goes on…



Gramps…



…And so… It’s time for the ending of Live-A-Live. Even if you have not watched any other videos in this LP, I really must insist on watching this one.

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There are two parts to this ending… You will always see the colour returning to the land of Lucretia, even though the people have not returned.

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And then a scene from each of the heroes we’ve met along the way…



It looks like Ayla’s a daddy now!





…Although I think Gori has him beat on this one.

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As scientists come to examine the rogue Mother Computer, Cube enters… and eagerly accepts a hug from Kato.

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Some things never change.

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Andre closes the blinds in his workout room, finished with training for today.

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Coop watches as Toei shows off his teleporter for everybody.



It still isn’t quite ready… and Watanabe continues to be the butt of every joke.

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Sonic is off on another mission as one of the Enma Shinobi…


Although things could have gone a different way for him.

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And of course, Li has a new generation to instruct in the ways of WuTang Kung Fu.

That would be where things end if you didn’t have all seven heroes in the party at least once… You would have missed their scenes, and the credits would roll with music from the leader’s chapter. But since we got everybody, we get to see the proper ending…

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The rest of this simply cannot be done justice without seeing it in motion, especially with how the final track is timed. So while I include that track here, not watching the video would be doing yourself a disservice. Here’s where the rest of it starts.





I’ll let you folks enjoy that… But please, remember Oersted’s words.

"Don't forget... Anyone can become a King of Demons... As long as hatred still exists, in any world, at any time..."





_{Credit for these sprites and the Ryoma’s Offer gif both go to the previous LP.}

This is the end of Let’s Play Live-A-Live. I hope to see you all again, for whatever comes next…