Part 53

Or the day after

Due to popular demand, YES. WELCOME BACK.

Yay! The doggy came back!

Damn right you are.

Now get in the Computer.

His level is kind of low, but his Strenght is quite nice. He'll be somewhat useful for a while. HP higher than most other recruited demons, and that is a plus (oh why couldn' t the minions level up in this one like they do in SMT3? )

Aaah, the Destiny Land. The land of Destinies indeed. A lonely island with a single access point, the BRIDGE, formerly guarded by the fearsome Pascal/Kerberos, and now left unprotected, making access to this fabled land oh so much simpler and easier, and with far less risk of getting your arm ripped off by an angry demon (the danger is still there, though, but now that its guardian is gone, it is significantly lower.

IT MUST BE CROSSED. THE DESTINY LAND MUST BE EXPLORED.

Well, the color scheme is... Quite ugly. Oh well. What the hell, it is EXPLORATION TIME!

Oooh, a new demon: Choronzon!

Wikipedia posted:

Choronzon is a demon or devil that originated in writing with the 16th century occultists Edward Kelley and John Dee within the latter's occult system of Enochian magic. In the 20th century he became an important element within the mystical system of Thelema, founded by Aleister Crowley, where he is the Dweller in the Abyss,[citation needed] believed to be the last great obstacle between the adept and enlightenment. Thelemites believe that if he is met with the proper preparation, then his function is to destroy the ego, which allows the adept to move beyond the Abyss of occult cosmology.

Law. So he'll help us reach the appropriate alignment (really, the alignment shift in the Yama palace was MASSIVE). But that seems wrong somehow.
Eh, whatever, butchery of the beast is achieved quickly.

A Manticore!

Wikipedia posted:

The manticore is a legendary creature possessing the following chimera-like features:

* The head of a man, with horns, gray eyes, three rows of iron shark-like teeth, and a loud, trumpet/pipe-like roar.
* The body of a (sometimes albeit horse-sized) lion, often covered in red fur.
* The tail of a dragon or scorpion, which may shoot venomous spines or hairs to incapacitate prey. Note how porcupines are erroneously associated with this behavior.

The manticore may also be depicted with wings.
The manticore was of Persian origin, where its name was "man-eater" (from early Middle Persian martya "man" (as in human) and xwar- "to eat"). The English term "manticore" was borrowed from Latin mantichora, itself borrowed from Greek mantikhoras-an erroneous pronunciation of the original Persian name. It passed into European folklore first through a remark by Ctesias, a Greek physician at the Persian court of King Artaxerxes II in the fourth century BC, in his notes on India ("Indika"), which circulated among Greek writers on natural history, but have not survived.

Its HP is lowish. But other than that it would be a good addition to the party, but not just yet. And would probably just be used as Fusion Fodder.

Oh goody! Another Gaian temple! Healing is required.
Again, it was a corrupt priest and with the proper bribe he left Stamos pass, and he healed the party. And that was good.

Nice, a Terminal that is EASY TO FIND, and not retardedly hidden like others. I like that.

Yay! Teleporting is now available!

Hey, just look who it is, the Chaos Asshat.

Good for you. Now get the hell out of my way, Gaian asshat.

Wait, a Chaos asshat teaming with someone else? Weren't the Chaos asshats very individualistic?

A creepy Gaian asshat smile, no doubt.

Um. What?

Could you repeat the question?

Wait, what?

Durr and no shit. Mostly demonic blood, though.

Wait, what?
I thought that Stamos was a mute
In any case, FUCK YOU YAMA, for the massive alignment shift.
Also: Stamos ain't no Mesian asshat.

... You sure you are not confusing Stamos with JudgeDre?

Wait what again.

Translation "I am going to attack my former friend because I am a fucking Chaos Asshat."

See? SEE?

Sure dude. Whatever.

aSSHATS

Creepy Gaian asshat. Supposed to do that.

Obviously that is NOT the case. Otherwise it would be somewhat boring, In my opinion.

Hey, someone is talking to the Party!

How could I know? The Destiny is A MYSTERY!

... FUCK YOU.
Cursed!
Bah!

Easily fixed in the Temple, though.

Too damn expensive... But eh, better than being cursed. And money is rather easy to get in this game, anyway.

Trying again!

YOU TELL ME DISEMBODIED VOICE OF DOOM.

That is rather nice.

Advancing a bit one finds this man in this room...

Translation: THis is the area where one can change one's alignment.

Indeed!

Hms.
That's expensive.

Durr.

Shall do so sir!

The required path is that one the left. It is the one that will lead to the Gaian asshat that will change the alignment toward Chaos.
Good thing: It can be repeated as many times as needed.
Bad thing: Every time it will cost 5k :P

The door.... OF DESTINY.

Actually, it was a very conscious and deliberate choice, but okay, if you want to think that...

Second, third, fourth and six times in that path...

(yes, had to take it SIX TIMES before Stamos came back to Neutrality)

Those messages appear all over the place. It is a bit annoying.

Yeah, yeah, get on with it.

Har.

Neutrality reaquired.

Okay... THat was... Different.

That bizarre message returns Stamos to full health. And it is creepy.

Yay! Treasure!

BOO, Trap!

Oooh, weapons!

oOOOoOooooh, Minigun! Quite expensive, though, will have to grind for moneyfor a bit before acquiring that.

This better NOT be another trap...

Excellent, those are always useful.

MAP:

Notice that in the upper middle area there's only one path that was explored. THat is the way I like it, because the other paths may lead to an Angel or another monster that WILL augment the Law rating. Might be useful later, though.

Next: Getting the awesome expensive gun (might not be as awesome, so am going to use Savestates ), and GOIN' UP.