Part 7: Battle Fever

DUNGEON 5 - KITAYAMA UNIVERSITY
New demons:
Toubyou Jack Frost Afanc Melchom
Yomotsu-Shikome Pyro Jack

BGM: Otherworld Dungeon 2

Last time we managed to make it through Kitayama University's massive forest and make it to the building proper. Right ahead is a super convenient room.



The Healing Space. For some MAG, I can get fully healed. It makes for a great place to grind near.



So, Kitayama University. This is really when the dungeons start to turn into mazes, with multiple pairs of stairs, long hallways, and plenty of hidden goodies. There's also a few people trapped inside. Poor guys.



PROFESSOR: Wh-Wh-Wh-What a terrible situation. It's horrible, horrible I tell you. All these creatures exceed even my wildest imaginations! They don't follow the rules of nature. Everything is br-broken. Can anyone explain this in 400 words or less?!



STUDENT: Wh-What is thiiis? Kyaa, don't come any closer! I don't know who you aaaare! I don't wanna become a monster~~~!



STUDENT: I saw this priest dressed in black go to the professor's room. Seemed that he was looking for something, though.
...Wait, this is nothing to be calm about! If you don't hurry then you'll be eaten by monsters, ahyaa~~~!



Hee-ho! Here's Atlus's mascot, the chilly but cute Jack Frost.



More battles. These are the first appearances of Melchom, Afanc and Yomotsu-Shikome.



I make it to the professor's office.



But I've got some business to attend to first.



I quickly rush back down to the first floor via a new set of stairs and find another room.



BGM: Doctor Thrill

SUSPICIOUS PROFESSOR: Kekeke, my artificial demon is nearly complete. I really am a genius, ain't I. Kekekekeke.



: Hm? Who're you? This here's the secret laboratory of the great Dr. Thrill. Ya can't just walk in here all willy-nilly.
: Oh, I know, you'll be the first to test my Gargantua. You can be my guinea pig
: Now, get moving! Proto Gargantua!



PROTO GARGANTUA: ...whirrrr, DR. THRILL'S INSTRUCTIONS. YOU, KILL.

BOSS #5 - PROTO GARGANTUA

BGM: Boss Battle

VS Zoma Proto Gargantua
Proto Gargantua isn't too hard - it is a prototype, after all. It's the first boss with access to multiple elements, but he doesn't hit too hard. Rei finally gets a time to shine, since her magic does more damage than my sword. Nothing real special to say.



: Ah, how stupid. Why'd my demon gotta go and lose? The structure was just fine, but it ended up falling apart.
: I'll pay ya back one day. I'm off for today, but I'll remember this!



>Something appeared from the demon you defeated.
Mysterious doll acquired.

An "artificial demon," huh. Just what Victor was looking for. I'll take it to him later, but first...



We have some business to attend to.



: You are Kyouji Kuzunoha...I thought I had certainly killed you, so why are you still alive? ...I just don't believe it. There must be some mistake.
: The fact that you are alive, Kyouji Kuzunoha, is that mistake. Just like any other mistake, this must be corrected.
: In order to correct this mistake, I will kill you once and for all.

BOSS #6 - SID DAVIS

BGM: Boss Battle

VS Fiend Sid Davis
Sid is similar to the Yakou and company fight in that you must beat him within 8 turns or else the story will continue without gaining anything. Sid, however, is a bit tougher than all five of those demons.

To start with, Sid is immune to all magic except Force and Almighty, so you'll have to go full physical for this battle. My Shadow Jack isn't enough for this battle - on average I took off maybe 80 HP per turn, and Sid has 2900 HP in total. The weapon I used this time was a gun by the name of Cat Punch Buzz - Nekomata's Mystic Change item. Going off of power alone, this is the best gun in the entire game. To add more damage, I used Venom Bullets, which have 4 attack compared to a Normal Bullet's 1. Even with this, I would still only get about 170 HP off per turn.



This is the first battle where buffs are a must. I fused a Leanan Sidhe, as she is the lowest-level demon to have the skill Provocation. Provocation doubles my attack, but halves my defense - however, Sid isn't strong enough to have that be a real problem.



With Provocation in place, I got around 350 HP off per turn. Combined with Rei's attacks (taking off about 20-50 HP per turn), I managed to beat him within the turn limit.



As for Sid himself, he's not much of a threat. He uses Mabufu (multi-target ice attack), Mahapsy (multi-target psionic attack), and an attack called Magic Bullet which only damages demons.

There's no change in dialogue if you beat him, but I figured I might as well show off a bit.



: You seemed much stronger last time, that I can tell you. What's the matter? But, the games must end here; I'll make it easier for you.



: Soul of Kyouji Kuzunoha! Drift from your mortal body and into the darkness! In the name of the great demon lord, disappear!





: ...W-Why? It didn't work? There's no reason my spell should not have worked! I'm withdrawing for now, but I shall leave you with my demon. I am counting on you, Shiki-Ouji. Well then, farewell.



BOSS #7 - SHIKI-OUJI

BGM: Boss Battle

VS Jaki Shiki-Ouji
Compared to Sid, Shiki-Ouji is a huge pushover. He can use Tetrakarn to send all physical attacks back to you, but he's a bit slow so you'll probably move before him. He can also use Arachno Wire to paralyze you, but that's not much of a concern. Just hit him with fire and watch him go down.

Shiki-Ouji's design was later used as the design for demon Shikigami, starting with Shin Megami Tensei III.



: ...Who are you, really? That guy cast a spell on "the soul of Kyouji Kuzunoha," but it didn't work on you. Are you really Kyouji?
: Ever since I brought you back from the hospital you've seemed different. I guess it wasn't just my imagination. Whoever you are, I don't think I can be with a complete stranger.
: That's what I'd like to say, but it seems like neither of us have a choice now. However, just because I'm coming along doesn't mean I completely trust you. Don't misunderstand me.

After we defeated Sid, Kitayama University turned back to normal. Let's see how everybody's doing.

BGM: Kitayama University



STUDENT: What the heck happened? Was that a spirit? Some kind of monster? Jeez, I can't explain it at all. And I was supposed to do a presentation! And anyway, where did Professor Azuma go? There was a message on the lab's message board that said "Don't make me go on a search, Hatano." What's that supposed to mean?



ASSISTANT PROFESSOR: It finally quieted down. Professor Azuma's going to be in a heap of trouble. All of this commotion was because of him, wasn't it? That man's really changed recently. All of a sudden he was buying hiking boots and a sleeping bag, ignoring his lectures, and then he went missing. Man, where did he go...



PROFESSOR: Hey you, is this place really a university? This place is supposed to be surrounded by learning, not all this merrymaking. Even getting the police involved...Well, I'm about done here so it doesn't matter to me.



STUDENT: So this is university...Did I eat something weird? Attacking demons and zigzagging walls...It was strangely realistic for a hallucination. Now I might have to arrange for my training camp to be up in a mountain hut, urp...Dammit, I'm feeling sick again.

Turns out that even the forest was a part of Sid's spirit world. Well, that's good for the students. Gonna stop at Yarai Ginza real quick to talk to Redman.



: Magnum. It seems that Professor Azuma climbed up Mt. Kasagi. Whether it's for research or for himself is something I don't know...
: Actually, I read that book the professor wrote, and I was quite impressed. Since I read it, I became a fan of the professor. I'm always trying to follow what he is up to now.
: Well, I'll message you again later. That's all for today.

Next on the list is a special location: the sewers. Every single Devil Summoner game has a location where you may go and encounter all of the demons from dungeons you've already completed. Soul Hackers has the Sea Ark, Raidou has the nameless shrine's well, and Devil Summoner has... the sewers. Other than demons, the sewers also have items and bonus bosses to beat.



Like the Sea Ark and well, the sewers slowly open up as you progress through the game. Right now I can only go into the Yarai Ginza sewers, but that's enough to meet a special pair of demons.

BGM: Sewer



Well, it's not the worst sewer level in RPG history, but it is pretty dismal and boring.



I get to the second floor and hey, what's this door? Looks fun.



HOMELESS MAN: Yo, it's Kyouji Kuzunoha. But, it's really Naoto Shibata. Anyway, it's gotten pretty noisy down here for some reason. Right now it seems you can't get past this chain mesh. Sounds like there's some crazy shit going down in there. Well, do your best.

Sounds fun. Too bad we can't get in yet. I look forward to seeing you later, homeless man.



Continuing further into floor B2, I find another chain door. Before I defeated Sid, this door would've been locked. Now the Yarai sewers are completely open.



Whoa ho hey. Battles can get pretty crowded sometimes.

Made it to B5. Gonna check the map out.



Oh. Something wrong?



Can't summon any demons either. B5 of the Yarai sewers is the first place where you'll encounter the dungeon gimmick of "COMP-free zones," where you're barred from using your COMP. That means no map, no demon-summoning, and no talking to demons. However, there are two special demons I can talk to on this floor.



PYRO: Hee-ho!
FROST: Hee-ho!
: We beat up those no-good humans who bully demons, those Devil Busters!
: Beat 'em good!
: We're the Devil Buster Busters!
: Busters!

So, the Devil Buster Busters. A rootin'-tootin' pair of Jacks who are out to defeat all those nasty demon-slaying humans, they also go by the shortened form DB Busters. They didn't appear in any other game until the 3DS remake of Soul Hackers, in which they appear as a single purchasable demon from Nemechi (and no, Card Summoner does not count as a game).

: You're a human, aren't you?
: Aren't you?
: Which makes you a Devil Buster, doesn't it?
: Doesn't it?



I mean, technically I am, yes...

>YES
NO

: That means we're gonna beat you up!
: Beat you up!


What will you do?

>Fight
Ignore them

Hey man, if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get!

: Hee-ho! So you're gonna fight back! You're pretty cocky!
: Yeah!
: All right, we're gonna get you!
: Get you!

They pause for a few moments.



: Since you're looking pretty pathetic, we'll leave for today. Later! Hee-ho! Hee-ho!
: Hee-ho!

Aw, they're pretty cute. Let's see what happens if we ignore their provocation.


What will you do?

Fight
>Ignore them

: Man, you cowardly human! You're just gonna run away!?
: Run away!
: What a coward! Hee-ho!
: Hee-ho!

Backing up a bit, we ourselves aren't exactly "Devil Busters."



YES
>NO

: You're not? Then, you're a Devil Summoner, aren't you!
: Aren't you!
: That means we're gonna beat you up!
: Beat you up!

And then we get the previous options and dialogue from the other conversation where we claim to be a Devil Buster. Bye-bye for now, DB Busters!

There's one more fun thing down here besides the DB Busters.



SOLDIER: STOP! Stop right there! No one's allowed past without an ID. Hurry home and you won't get hurt.

...Unfortunately, we can't do anything here at this point.

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