Part 45: Episode XLII: The Darkside Dead Aim Chronicles
Episode XLII: The Darkside Dead Aim ChroniclesMusic: Haunted Manor Ambience
Right, then. Our goal is clear: go speak with the creepy butler on the other side of the mansion according to the creepy Gorgon kid. Sure, why not?
"Leave her! The woman is capable enough on her own."
"True enough."
Despite Emil claiming his key unlocks any room in the house...it really only unlocks the one just outside the area where we found him. I guess you really can't blame a blindfolded kid for screwing up and giving us the wrong key.
That is, unless something darker is afoot...
The following hallway leads to...another hallway...again... But, this one has a series of nine doorways lining it.
Granted, all but two are empty bed rooms (with the occasional swarm of Shades.) But, there are a couple of note...
"A butler... Or at least a remarkable likeness of one. Ah-ha! I KNEW this was a trap! Curse my brilliant intuition."
So...the butler was a fake or...something...? Ergh... Kay... This house is weird...
In the last door to the east at the end of the hall, Nier can come across yet another shiny key item.
Huh... I guess I got both additional keys' names right. I do not know if that is a good thing...
Anyway, the rest of the rooms are rather devoid of anything of interest. Beyond the occasional loud crash, woman calling out for help, and sink filling up with blood....
In any case, the Light Key unlocks the door at the opposite end of the hallway from where we initially entered the corridor.
Inside the end room the duo comes across yet another Butler. Though, this one is slightly more interesting due to the glowing orange Important Person Word Bubble™ above his head...
"Is that...another one?"
"....."The butler suddenly springs to life...
"Yaaaaahhh! Gah! It moves!"Emil bursts into the room...
"Sir?" "Th-th-th-this...!"
"Yes, this is my butler. He helps me out around the manor. He's a good man at heart, but a bit...inflexible. Almost like a statue." "Yes, and I do apologize for that, Master Emil." "Hmph! I doubt he's even human."Nier interrupts the chat.
"Mmmm, yes. I wrote the letter. Please forgive my impertinence in sending it. As you may know, Master Emil, deeply pained by his eyes, has shut himself away from the world. He suffers greatly behind that blindfold, and I feel it is my duty to help however I can. I heard tale of your courageous exploits, and so I sent a letter under Master Emil's name... But I received a response from one Miss Yonah instead." "So you wrote the letter?" "I did, sir. My letter merely requested that you come to the manor. I meant no ill intent." "I believe Yonah saw the exchange somewhat differently." "She's just a kid. She probably didn't understand what was going on." "Regardless, I am quite pleased to see you here. Long have I dreamed of the day when we could cure Master Emil's eyes." "I think you want a doctor. I'm just a big guy who kills things." "Couldn't have said it any better myself! Well, off we go then-"
"So why don't you just go get it?" "The location of the cure has become a den for those abominable Shades, and I lack the skill to combat them. I beg of you; Defeat these Shades and restore Master Emil's sight!" "You know this is an impossible task! Why would you ask it of our guests?" "Well, we've no more time to waste-" "We'll do it." "...We will?" "The more Shades we kill, the better Yonah's chances. Plus, we have to find Kainé anyway." "A thousand thank-yous! I owe you a debt that can never be repaid."
The Butler hooks Nier up with the key that opens the first locked door the party came across just outside the dining room. Oh boy...backtracking across the entire mansion. They're really going all out with this homage, eh? Though, there is a new addition to this leg of the trek.
Music: Haunted Manor Battle
"At least I can petrify your enemies! That's gotta be some help, right?" "....." "I'm sorry. My butler thinks so much of me, but for him to make such outlandish requests... I'm coming with you. It's unfair to let you go on your own. And besides, it might be fun to put my eyes to good use for once!"
So Emil has now temporarily joined the party. And just as he said, he can zap enemies with petrifaction blasts.
Any Shades Emil zaps with his eyes are immediately turned to stone for a one hit kill and he can spam them to his heart's content. This makes battles for the next portion extremely easy, since the kiddo can one-shot half the crowd in the time it takes Nier to do a single melee combo. The only down side is that stoned enemies also have stoned blood, so there are no MP boosts for shattering the petrified foes. Also, no experience points. But, if you're grinding for levels in NIER you are just kind of dumb. Either way meh... It's pretty damn useful all the same.
It is also worth mentioning that enemies completely ignore Emil. There is no
There is not much to be said for the rest of the trip to the Library. It is just a few empty corridors full of Shades to be slain, shattered, and maimed.
Though, there is a little noteworthy trinket hidden inside a crate over by one of the ill-placed couches.
It is the very last weapon located in the first half of NIER: The Blade of Treachery. The treasonous sword is inferior in every way to both the base Beastbain and our newly upgraded Faith. But, hey... One more for the collection.
Sadly, I lack a translation of its new weapon tale. But, the Blade of Treachery is another wild blast from the grim dark Drakengard past, so...
The Skald's Song: found during the siege of the Castle of the Goddess and obtained by slaughtering about four dozen Imperial soldiers in a specific corner of the map during the third Ground Mission. I do believe this weapon popped up earlier as the lost-in-translation origin of Devola and Popola's names. But hey, it's one of the few stories that ended without everyone in them dying horribly/losing their souls/going insane.
And that brings our Weapon Percentage to the Part 1 maximum of 30%. Cavia is surprisingly merciful in that unlike sidequests, missed weapons will show up in the Blacksmith's shop (for a large fee) during Part 2 of the game.
Moving right along...
There is a trapped door at the end of the hallway leading to a gauntlet of additional, but entirely unnecessary to fight, Shades hanging out in the den if you're into that kind of thing.
And just so you're aware that there is a boss fight just ahead, there is a handy
The trio enters the library...
"Bah. I do not like anything about this place."
Emil wanders over to one of the bookshelves and looks for the needed tome. Emil is about as blind as Leonard was back in Drakengard. I don't think Cavia knows how blindness words too well...
Of course, Emil is quickly interrupted by one of the books glowing an evil purple. Maybe Cavia were just really fans of Daredevil or something?
One of the books goes flying from the shelf and spins about the room in mid-air.
"Heheheehehe. Huheheheheehehe! Heheheeheh!"
Well...it ain't electric tits, but it sure doesn't look friendly...
Further Mansion Highlights
Full Mansion Exploration (Part 2)
Emil Illustration - Emil is named after Ludwig Emil Grimm, the younger sibling of the Brothers Grimm of pussified by Disney fairy tale fame. Early on, his name was going to be "Snow" (as in Snow White.) Indeed, his music themes are still listed under Snow in the game's filenames.