Part 77: Episode LXXVII: Equivalent Exchange

Episode LXXVII: Equivalent Exchange


Music: Callback from Jesus



Now that Alice's curse is officially sorted out we are free to actually wrap up this chapter of the game. But first, there is one last order of business we need to take care of...



...back in the Graveyard.


Music: Graveyard Moon



Sure, Atman is dead. But we should probably go make sure the Four Masks are behaving now as well, right? Not that they're in a position to do much these days. But we don't want them getting any funny ideas.



Yes! Yes! Don’t come back again! You defeated Atman, our protector?! You cheat!!
That is so incredibly against the rules. I can't even with you...
Oh yeah? Gotta rulebook I can thumb through that says I can't just pound the source of the curse into dust to get off?
...Phrasing.
Th-there is no written rulebook, per se... It's a general understanding of the way of things!!
So that's a no. Welp, shoulda maybe thought of that early, huh?
Yes Just go away!! Haven't you done enough!?
<laughs> Hehe! You guys really got wiped out in there. Feelin’ a little sorry now? Oh look, they’re all scared and lookin’ away. Hey you!
I have nothing to gain with speaking with the likes of you! Leave at once!
That’s right! Please don’t come back again!
<swipes the air> It’s your own fault! Puttin’ a curse on my woman like that!!
It was a fairly executed curse with reasonable terms that all parties agreed to!!
I didn't agree to a damn thing!
You weren't part of the curse negotiations!
Yeah, well I am now and I think me and my fists put up a pretty good argument.
Ya get it now?! If so, I wanna hear an apology!!
Tskk… skk… Curse you!!
<clenches fist> Huh? What was that you just said?
Tskkkk… kkkk…
I didn’t hear you say "sorry", did I?



The aura on the Four Masks instantly flairs up as they take umbrage with Yuri's demands. However...



Yuri did just kick all their collective asses and killed their dad, or whatever the hell Atman's deal was, in the span of the last day. The Four Masks all fall victim to the Big Backdown.



Good!



In hopes of making Yuri stop punching everyone and go away, the Four Masks fork over the Seven-Eyed Mask accessory. This Aztec relic provides +9 Physical and +10 Special Defense making it one of the better general defense accessories in the game It is basically the best version of the headwear series of accessories we were purchasing in stores back when stores were relevant sources of new items.



And with that, our business with the Four Masks has concluded. Later, chumps.



If we examine the former tombstone marking Alice's grave, it's now been repurposed for Atman. Requiescat in pasta, you weird evil mutant mask entity that came out of nowhere and was immediately murdered super hard. Atman's grave confirms we're now on the good ending path of Shadow Hearts. So that's nice.


Music: Callback from Jesus



With that taken care of, let's head back to Roger Bacon and see if we can teleport into that final dungeon and sort out the whole space god coming to annihilate the planet business. Except, now that we've defeated Atman and have a certain item we acquired waaaaaaaaay back in Kuihai Tower during the first half of the game, this scene triggers instead of plot advancement.



Huh? What's this?
I sense a powerful relic on you.
Umm... Got more than a few of those kicking around, Rog. You gotta be more specific.
<leans in close> _{The one with titties...}
<looks around> ...Oh. That. Uhh... Alice isn't around, right?
Not at the moment.



<nods> Yeah... nice, huh?
<points to Yuri> How wonderful! This must be the mysterious treasure storehouse I've been searching for! Exchange this with that? What do you think?
This with what?
An ancient manuscript that can unlock buried secrets deep within the soul!
<shakes head and waves off dismissively> ...Oh, quit it. This is far more valuable.
<stomps feet angrily> P-Please don't say that! This is great, too! I bet you'll make use of it! Right?!
...
Well, what the hey. I'm tired of it anyway.
I guess I should clean my act up now that I gotta girlfriend and all...
A wise decision, my friend.





And so we gain the Pulse Tract. This unlocks the final sidequest in the game which includes all of Yuri's best gear and perhaps one final ultimate Fusion we've yet to encounter. However, we need to step foot in the Neameto Float at least once in order to actually hit the final trigger to make this sidequest fully available. So that'll have to wait for another day.



<thumbs through pages>
<thumbs through pages>
Huh? This page can't be opened!
Wasn't me! I t was like that when I got it!
...
...Where did you acquire this from, exactly?
The tower of an evil old pervert sorcerer in Shanghai.
......
<shakes head>
Let's keep this between the two of us.




The legacy of Dehuai's villainy lives on to this day. If we talk to Roger again, this time he's ready to advance the plot with his teleporter for real.



However, there is one final event we can trigger with Roger Bacon. If Yuri decides he needs to take a leak or perhaps wash his hands forever after handling that porn mag, then Roger is revealed to be...



Of course, you'll play, right?
Somehow this is the least surprising lottery member revelation...
I tried to talk Koudelka into joining once but she was having none of it. Oh well, her loss. So are you in?
Count me in!



Naturally, this event only occurs if we've located and obtained a prize from every single other Lottery Member in the game. There's nothing particularly special about Roger's Lottery Wheel. I, in fact, got both prizes in my first tries without savescumming or anything. The top two prizes are unique items.



This is a slightly crummier headgear accessory than the Seven-Eye Mask with +10 Physical and +6 Special Defense. Nothing too interesting about it beyond that.



And since Roger Bacon has decided to go all in on the gross old pervert stereotype all the sudden, the final top prize for completing the Lottery questline is a pair of white panties accessory for Alice that halves damage. Sure, why not?



In any regard, that's the conclusion of the saga of the mysterious Lottery guild. A bit lackluster after all that. But hey, let's get actually advancing the plot like we've tried to do no less than three times this very update.



Yuri steps onto the teleporter while Roger steps onto the treadmill and starts running.



C'mon, Teleporter! Work!





I guess we've very temporarily playing as Roger Bacon as he has to perform a grueling Spin Ring 5. Fun fact: Roger actually was a playable character very early in development. There's still some pointers there for him to have participated in battle even if the data isn't attached to anything. But that aside, assuming Roger keeps up the pace...





Music: ENDS



That concludes Chapter 21: Doomed World. Tune in next time for the start of the final chapter of Shadow Hearts, Chapter 22: The End of the World! That chapter title might be slightly undercut by the fact there's a direct sequel and a spin-off sequel that both take place after this game...





Aww, heck. The works are all gummed up with this queue of monsters piled in from all those sidequests. I reckon we better jump right in...

MONSTER:



Vampires already don't seem like they'd be big morning people but that's even worse.



He once got arrested for trespassing on Pride Rock.



Also, she grew a snail shell. Don't worry about that part! Strong enough burns will just do that to the human body.



That still doesn't explain why it's named Spanky.



Ahh... The wave of nostalgia that rolls upon me any time I'm reminded of the giant cannibal space babies from Drakengard.



It loves human flesh but is only into the artisanal female or child varieties.



The extremely obnoxious Internet Atheist has logged on. DEBATE ME!



I like to imagine it just sounds like James Earl Jones.



They just HATE children in these monster flavor blurbs, huh?



Can I be explained the process in which one turns a head inside out? That seems like it'd take some real skill to pull off, honestly.



Pew! Get a Tic-Tac, idiot!



It's got eyes on its back. They have no use or function but they're there, so watch it!



Ah, so Skinless Jesus was actually an incubus that rebranded. Sure, why not?



Again, I feel like we should be way more concerned about Sharon and her demon-summoning hobby.



Only a FEW townsfolk in London were brutally cut down and there were no witnesses so it's fine! Also, I don't like the fact she has "pack" now and is actively training them to be more viscous...



I feel like it should be a big fist in that case. Yuri doesn't know the first thing about using a sword unless it was affixed to a glove of some sort and that really is stretching the term.



Does Yuri secretly want nothing more than swanky cups and... fish?



Geez, you just want to sleep in a real bed once in a while instead of being a punch hobo and the next thing you know you've got some goddamn Aztec curse all up in your ass.



That greedy Yuri with his one pair of clothes and lack of permanent residence or employment.









Of course, there's the broken version of these four chucklefucks. I see they edited their own individual wiki entries to say they're not owned.



We've all got a little freaky hell mask inside us.