Part 157: 11/19: Breaking The Bank

Part 148: 11/19: Breaking The Bank



Anon: Oh how far they’ve fallen
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Anon: id bet money on the arrest
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Music: Life Will Change (Listen to this, it’s the version with lyrics this time!)



What of the calling card, Makoto?
I showed it to Sis… She took it from my very own hands…
Makoto…
I understand how you feel, but you mustn’t be so downtrodden.
Yeah… If we screw this up, we’re done for. It’s way more than losin’ the place we belong… We could even lose our lives here, y’know.
It will be all right. I want to save my sister, no matter what.
Is everyone decided?
Mm-hm! All’s well that ends well!
So much has happened since we first started… You guys have become quite the reliable team. All right, Joker! This is the Phantom Thieves’ final heist! Give us the signal!






All we need to do is head back to where we saw the Treasure earlier.




As she planned…!?
No… Was the Treasure put on display to lure us here!?
So that’s why we could faintly see its shape…
First off, allow me to compliment you. I never expected you would be able to make it this far…
We would much rather have the Treasure than your words of praise. Where did you hide it?




*chuckle* Come. We shall put an end to this once and for all.
It seems as though she wants us to pursue her…
Dammit, she’s mockin’ us…! Let’s go after her!



Is everyone ready to go?



All right then, let’s go!
Sis… I’ll protect you…




Music: Blood of Villain




No matter what you bring out, we will emerge victorious.



I only guided you here because this place allows me to fight to my heart’s content.
Sis…
When my father died in the line of duty, I hated his killer from the bottom of my heart. Dying to uphold justice sounds virtuous, but the ones left behind have to clean up the mess! Can you imagine the hardships I had to endure!?



She’s lost control…
This is wrong…
Justice cannot yield to evil! I must win, no matter what!
This is nothing more than self-righteousness…



Shadow Sae Appears



Shadow Sae snaps her fingers, and the sounds of machinery starting up can be heard.






Is this…




A roulette wheel! Oh boy, more bullshit!




What is she intending…?
No more coins or playin’ games! We ain’t followin’ your damn rules!
Oh you will. There is no room for negotiation.





Now… come at me!





You’ll save her, right?
*nod*
All right everyone, be on alert!



Boss: Shadow Sae

Music: Blooming Villain



Let’s do this fair and square!




So, the first thing we notice is that she doesn’t have a fancy demon name to go along with her sin. We’ll see about that.






The next thing we notice is that after four consecutive Heavy/Severe attacks, the enemy’s HP hasn’t decreased by a single pixel. Something’s up here.





A ball begins zooming around the roulette wheel, which is now spinning.



Now, let us play a game of roulette. The stakes will be… our lives. Of course, acts of violence are forbidden here. One must follow the rules.
We already told you, there’s no way we’re gonna follow your rules anymore!
That’s fine by me. Such troublesome people will just face the penalty…




FUCK YOUR RULES



In that case, it’s time you be penalized!





What the fuck!?



Those who cannot follow rules are not to be tolerated. That is simply how society operates.
Ngh…!

So… yeah. The penalty is having your HP reduced to 1. It’s nothing to fuck around with, and there’s no reason to attack in the first place since her HP doesn’t go down.



Now, the time has come for our first round. Choose where you will place your bet!
I’m almost positive she’s going to try and cheat, but even if we bring that up, she’d just ignore us. We should go along with the game for now and try to gain evidence on her methods of cheating.
...I agree.






Well, how will you bet?
How should I bet…?



Where will the ball fall…? Red or black…?



Have you made your decision? Then let’s see the results!







We lost, of course. It’s naturally impossible to win while she’s cheating.




She drains 100 HP from each of us. If we’d picked the high-return bet, she’d have drained 150 from each of us, which is not actually how betting works. If I put 50 on 1-12, I don’t lose 150 just because the odds are about 1/3, I lose 50.




Really!? How is she doing it!?



Don’t pick the wrong answers here even as a joke, because if you do you just have do do another roulette cycle.

I see… you’re right! It did seem like the ball floated for a split second there…
How humiliating…
Let’s catch her in the act so she can’t talk her way out of it! Have someone snipe the pocket when that glass lid appears! You’re in charge of choosing who’s gonna be the sniper!





Let’s make the new guy do the grunt work.




The only thing Shadow Sae will do in this phase is spin the roulette. In addition, any move that targets her, including debuffs, will trigger the penalty. There’s still no reason to debuff her in this phase, however. This will just be important later.



The stuff displayed on the monitor changed… That must mean the betting changes every time…






We will gain or lose 6000 or 9000 yen based on which bet we make here. We’ll go high return because we’re feeling lucky and also because I don’t actually think you can actually lose on the turn the lid gets sniped.








Heheh… Joker!




Nnh… Ngh…
You coward! What’re you so quiet for!? Say something!



Music: Will Power







S-Sis!?
Cheating!? Unfair!? Silence! This is MY world! If you want a fair fight, then to hell with the game! I’ll crush you by force. Fair and square, just as you like!
This… is my sister’s true nature!? No…
We’re finally back to a normal fight… Good luck, Joker!

Yep, we can really fight her now. Her HP will actually decrease.




Severing Slash is a single attack on one party member.



We’ll be using a few different Personas here. Seth knows One-shot Kill, a Severe Gun attack with a high Critical chance (not that crit is helpful in a boss fight), Masukukaja, and Marakukaja, so he’s our starter. We also switch to Pazuzu for Dekaja to nullify enemy buffs and Kushinada for Matarukaja. Makoto’s Marakukaja is helpful too.



As we see here, in this form Shadow Sae finally gets her full title, “Sae Leviathan Niijima.” Leviathan is a massive sea monster from Jewish belief, associated with the sin of envy.




Gatling Gun hits about five times on all party members. It’s also worth noting that she crit here; any turn she crits and you have buffs up, she’ll spend the extra turn using Dekaja. Better than another attack, at least.




Megidola is partywide Almighty.



Leviathan already hits pretty hard normally, so we want to Dekaja this buff away ASAP.



After a bit of damage, we get this dialogue.

Don’t you all think the same!? You’re controlling the hearts of others to achieve your own goals!
It’s not for us! We only do it to help others who are suffering!



Oh god, the roulette again!?



SP!?



I never lose, even in games of pure luck! Let me prove it!
So she’s not going to cheat anymore…? This may be a good opportunity for us, Joker. If we win at roulette, we’ll get an advantage in battle.

One thing to be aware of is that while the roulette is spinning, the penalty is still active. So no debuffing her and especially no attacking. You can heal and buff yourself all you like, though.




I’ve never actually lost a bet in this phase of the battle. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s impossible, especially if you pick the high-risk bet. For this reason, I do not recommend you pick that bet, especially when SP is on the line. Losing 100 SP is a problem. Losing 150 SP could be a nightmare.







Besides, there’s virtually no chance you need more than 100 SP to be topped off anyway.




Hundred Slaps is single-target Physical and inflicts Dizzy.



Justice can only be on the side of the victor!




Heat Riser is a massive problem that we definitely need to once more Dekaja away immediately.

Eventually, we’ll get her to critical HP…



As long as I can win… that’s all that matters…
Sis…




As you can see here, Desperation is a boss-exclusive move that permanently increases the user’s Attack in exchange for lowering their Defense. This isn’t a buff, so we can’t use Dekaja to remove it. I’d, uh, also advise that you guard on your next turn. No reason, just do it.





This is the damage this move does with Defense boosted and guarding. On my first take I throttled my damage at the end of the fight to see this move and I got one-shot. It’s fucked.



Don’t worry, Ryuji…



You’ll get your revenge.




I… I…







Ann learns Maragidyne to replace Maragion.



This one’s gonna be controversial. So, despite Mediarama being probably my most-cast skill of Makoto’s, I elect to replace it with Diarahan, which fully heals one teammate. Why? Well, because we can buy Takemedic-All-Zs from Takemi, which are just a little better than Mediarama. We cannot buy items that fully heal a teammate. As long as we buy a ton of those Takemedics, we’ll be fine. I hope.

(In all honesty, I maybe should have gotten rid of Energy Shower instead)



Samarecarm isn’t a great skill, so I can see keeping Fortify Spirit on Akechi for now. I get rid of it anyway.

Music: Regret



Hmm… Getting some interference here. Hopefully nothing.



That’s only a Shadow. Why are you so…
Quiet!
...Sorry.
We’ll go grab the Treasure.



I don’t think it’s wrong to bring light to evils which can’t be judged by law. That’s all the Phantom Thieves have been trying to do too. But these aggressive investigations? Twisting the truth for your own personal gain…? Please… You have to think back to the feelings you had when you first wanted to be a prosecutor. Think about your justice, Sis.
My justice…
Try to remember how you used to be…
How I…
Niijima-san… She’s just like my father… What caused them to change like this…?
Hm… Even though their own desires were the cause, succumbing to such distorted thoughts is strange… Is there another reason they don’t know of…?




This deal we made… was a great experience for me.
*nods*
I feel like my bond with Akechi is growing deeper...





By no means. This shall be the end of our working together. That was part of our promise. You haven’t forgotten, have you?



(to Makoto) Are you all right…?
I am. Let’s go.



Enemy readings! When did they…!?

Music: Run, Run, Run!

They’re gathering outside!




This doesn’t look good…
We defeated the Palace ruler and even stole the Treasure, yet the Shadows are still restless… It doesn’t make any sense… What’s going on here?



Futaba hears a voice, its words scrambled and inaudible, coming from what sounds like a radio.



We need to go now! Those guys in black suits are almost here. We’ll be done for if we get surrounded!
A team this large would be discovered immediately. We had best split up for our escape… Although, we’ll need someone to act as a decoy… …No, that’s too dangerous.



Joker!? Are you planning on distracting them by yourself!?
Let him do it, Queen. He’s quiet, but once his mind’s made up, he’s not gonna take no for an answer.



Please don’t do anything reckless, OK?
I’ll never forgive you if you don’t make it back.
We still haven’t fulfilled our deal, remember?



This truly is a painfully reluctant parting…!
It seems we had best hurry.
...We’ll see you later.

Everyone nods. How are we gonna get out of this one? Find out next time!