Part 18: Bad Priest

Last time I fulfilled Sid's request, so it's time to go rescue my girlfriend! Well, I've gotta do something first, but then I'll be off.



I got another Dolly Kadmon, so I'll be putting it to good use. Using the Black Maria I fused awhile back, I can now make Jeanne D'Arc.



JEANNE D'ARC: I am the Hero Jeanne D'arc. I will join you in the battle for charity, equality, and freedom.

While Yoshitsune is for attacking, Jeanne D'arc is for support. She can cause some damage with her attack Misty Blade, but her two stand-out skills are Virgin Pray and Hold In My Arms. Virgin Pray is exclusive to her and revives all dead party members while Hold In My Arms heals all party members for a good chunk of HP. She also has Penta Wall which reflects magic attacks, but unfortunately she isn't quick enough to have it be of much help. Still, her recovery skills are damn good and she frees up Rei to do other things during battle.



With that taken care of, it's time to do meet Sid. He said to meet us inside the park which means there's a dungeon standing between us and my girlfriend.

DUNGEON 19 - YOUJU FOREST

BGM: Otherworld Dungeon 5



Luckily this dungeon is a complete breeze compared to the ones I've gone through lately. No gimmicks, only a single warp, and it has a low encounter rate.

The name of this forest, Youju (Mystic Tree), is the Japanese name for the Wood race of demons. Amusingly, there are no Wood demons found inside this dungeon.



I hope the forest isn't usually this color. Purple seems like a really unhealthy hue for a tree to have.



Would you look at that, damage floors. I haven't seen those in forever. It's like I'm back at the beginning of this game.



And, with nary an exciting or dangerous moment, I'm done with the dungeon.

BGM: Conversation



: It seems the entrance to the ancient tomb has opened, so I will be heading in. If I don't, then I will never understand what lies within. Well, I'll let her go as promised.



: ...I have to go. The sealed soul in the ancient tomb is calling me...



: Oh dear. At least she's free. It seems she's been acting of her own free will. I followed through on my promise, but I suppose we're both heading in the same direction. Fufufufu.
: Well, shall we go chasing after her? Farewell.

Sid, I know that technically wasn't your fault, but I'm blaming you anyway. Stop messing around with my girlfriend!

And here's the reason for having such an easy dungeon: it's the only way to get to the final dungeon. The skill Traesto returns you to the beginning of the dungeon, but in this case using it in Youju Forest when you're coming from the final dungeon will just return you to the entrance of the final dungeon, not the entrance of Youju Forest.

After getting ready and stocking up on items, I head back through the forest and into the final dungeon.



DUNGEON 20 - ANCIENT TOMB MAZE
New demons:
Yamata no Orochi Cherub Tao Tie Abraxas
Taowu Huoniao Ouroboros Gogmagog

BGM: Otherworld Dungeon (Ancient Tomb)
MUSIC: Hidden Track

The music for this dungeon serves as the backdrop to a little hidden goodie. If you put your Devil Summoner disc in a CD player or computer, then a hidden track will play. On it, somebody reads through the game's intro while the dungeon music plays...kinda. The game intro, found in the game manual, is similar but not the same as the paragraph spoken in the hidden track. For comparison: the manual's intro and the hidden track.



Youju Forest was the calm before the storm, because the ancient tomb is packed to the brim with almost every dungeon trick in the book: warps, one-way doors, damage floors, pits, conveyor belt floors, spinning tiles, and a convoluted series of stairways. There's a reason this dungeon's called the Ancient Tomb Maze. Even the first floor has two warps that will send you straight back to the beginning of the dungeon.



I do like that whoever made this tomb had the decency to label the stairwells. Wouldn't want anybody getting lost, after all.



A particularly fun room is found on B1: six pits, and only one leads to the correct floor. This is getting close to SMT3's crazy dungeon designs.



Despite being the final dungeon, there aren't too many new demons running around here. We have Tao Tie and Taowu, two of China's Si-xiong or Four Perils.



Both Yamata no Orochi and Cherub give us several heads for the price of one.



There's also Abraxas. He's a chicken with snakes for legs. He's cool.

After dragging myself down to B6...



>The stone door is sealed shut.

Splendid. There's two guardians on this floor, and we'll have to eliminate them both to move forward.



First is the one on the right.



ZOMA: I am Yasomagatsuhi. It is my duty to protect the door to the burial chamber. I cannot allow you to disrupt Princess Inaruna's slumber.

BOSS #21 - YASOMAGATSUHI

VS Zoma Yasomagatsuhi

Yasomagatsuhi is most well-known for his crazy appearance in SMT4, while he looks downright quaint here.




Yasomagatsuhi specializes in magic, both because he uses some powerful magic and because he absorbs any magic we throw at him. Most of his attacks can cause some form of ailment as well, though I lucked out and didn't get inflicted with anything. The one attack that can actually cause some damage is Hellish Flame.



>Zoma Yasomagatsuhi has been defeated.

One down, one to go. If we check back in on the stone door...



>It seems the stone door has opened a crack.

Time to crack that door wide open.





ZOMA: I am Oumagatsuhi. It is my duty to protect the door to the burial chamber. I cannot allow you to disrupt Princess Inaruna's slumber.

Hey man, get your own line! Buncha lousy, unoriginal demons...

BOSS #22 - OUMAGATSUHI

VS Zoma Oumagatsuhi

Unlike his brother, Oumagatsuhi was doomed to a life of obscurity as he only makes an appearance here and in Card Summoner. Well, I guess he appears as a giant ship in Raidou 1.

This boss posed a bit of a problem for me, because my team is rather physical and his physical defense is pretty tough, so I had to devise a plan instead of just letting Rei pelt him with Makakaja-enhanced magic.



Both Naoto and Yoshitsune reflected his most powerful attack, Mash Flesh, right back at him.



For his other two attacks, Flare Rush and Stun Crash, I had to pull out some items and Yoshitsune's Tatami Shield to reflect them right back. I also purposely lowered my defense so that I could throw even more damage back in his face. It was a bit of a slow-going, but I managed it.



>Zoma Oumagatsuhi has been defeated.

Back to the door.



>The stone door can now be opened.



Will you go through the door?
>YES
NO

Let's get out of here.





Onwards...in the next update.

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Next update: Someone's weight-lifting routine finally pays off.