Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Part #23

Part 23: Monday's Turmoil (Coda)

Monday's Turmoil (Coda)

[Music: Exploration]

So, today we'll be finishing off what little remains to do on Monday. Of course, Hibiki did gain a couple of levels from kicking Merak around so as per usual lets work on our team a bit. First though, we're going to need to buy some supplies.

Since we've spent a fair bit of Macca in the auction already, and have gotten far enough into the main game now, we can gain access to a new rank.

All we have to do is spent an extra 1k and we can start buying new demons from the auction. There's no reason not to do so, so when we do...

We can start buying slightly higher tier of demons. And Itsumade is considered Gold for some reason. Uh, okay sure. All we want right now is a Bilwis, so I grab one that's at 5 stars and...

Fuse it with the Mokoi we made previously. This gives us Waira who's the Wilder above Hare of Inaba. He's much more combat oriented, and worked out nicely for us having relatively balanced stats.

This makes the Hare of Inaba we still have lying around basically worthless. Might as well take this opportunity to fuse it with Kijimunaa and make a Moh Shuvuu of our own.

This currently leaves us with exactly 8 demons lying around. Problem is 2 of those are Kikimora, and they're a bit too low level (their base is 9) to manage to keep up come Tuesday. Plus Hibiki's almost a high enough level to make the next Femme anyway so let's take this opportunity to do something fancy.

If we take the two of them, and fuse them together we can make something special. This will give us one of four peculiar demons whos sole use is basically skill transferrance. Catch is, of course, you can't get that kind of versatility for free so you gotta pay for it. It doesn't matter which Element you make, you need an extra 1000 macca to use.

We have just that, and so we can make an Aquans. Now, he has Ice Dance by default and nothing else. Elements have no race skill, they only have one innate skill and its usually pretty good. This particular Aquans isn't one I fused with the intent of using as a fusion material immediately so I specced him more for combat. That 18 Magic in particular is fantastic and makes it a very heavy hitter right now.

...Only now we're a demon short. Since we made 3 of the 4 new possible recruits, lets fill that gap with the fourth. Because of my lack of viable fodder, however, we need to go shopping.

This might get a bit complicated, so try and keep up.

We need 2 demons to make it, a Toubyou and a Heqet. Problem is, we only have the Heqet and nothing to make one we can use as an ingredient nor do we have anything to make a Toubyou either. To make those two, we need 3 demons to use as ingredients here. 2 of them are more Kikimoras, 1 is a Hare of Inaba and the last is a Gagyson. Gagyson is easy enough to get, so I just buy a 5-star one from the Gold auction.

[Music: Special Auction]

Hare of Inaba is equally easy to get as all I need is to buy a 4-star one (there is no 5-star), and then this happens. A Special Auction is perfect because it gives us access to a particular skill we wouldn't get otherwise. 2 of them, even, but we only care about one.

Special Auctions work a bit different to normal. They're usually cheaper than regular demons, a higher level and often (but not always) give very different skills. This is where we're getting one of those two Kikimoras, and that Anti-Fire is why. The Nigayomogi is nice, but not a big deal.

Bidding on a Special is also slightly different. There's a 5 second time limit to try and bid as crazy as possible to force the AI to quit. Doesn't work as well as I'd like as often as I'd like, so I just sit this 5 second period out. That will almost always leave the price managably low still, and progresses to something much more familiar.

We now put in a "Final Bid" which is functionally identical to the bidding process for a regular demon. Put in your price, the game reveals the others, highest wins.

Because this stage works as normal, we can game the shit out of it and get the Kikimora with no trouble. The only thing different at this point is once you win/lose, other special auctions may have taken place at the same time. You cannot ever get every Special demon available, so you have to pick carefully.

I also take this opportunity to buy a Special Knocker (no unique skills) and a 4-star Kabuso. These two fuse together to make our second necessary Kikimora.

The Special Kikimora and the 5-star Gagyson are combined next, to make Toubyou. I gave it Anti-Elec (Gagyson's 5-star bonus) for a reason here. It seems redundant, but if I'm remembering something right this will help later.

Next the 4-star Hare, and the last remaining Kikimora fuse together to make the Heqet we're using as fodder. Finally, we fuse the Toubyou and Heqet together to make...

Tenong Cut. That was a convoluted process to make, but it was necessary because we had nothing that would help create it. I could've just bought one from the auction (it's what unlocked after we hung out with Yamato) but then that one wouldn't have had Anti-Fire. Important because a normal Tenong Cut has a Fire weakness.

...That was a convoluted as all hell chain, and it may have been a bit hard to follow. So here's a crudely drawn family tree kinda thing to get the idea of what just happened:

I'm sure there were much, much simplers ways of accomplishing basically the same thing. It just wouldn't be quite the same if I didn't inadvertantly make it much more complicated than it needed to be though.

And this was just for a level 16 demon. He probably won't be around for very long either. Almost a waste, but at least it added one (or potentially two) Anti-element skills to the fusion pool a little early. That alone makes it worthwhile.

We could've really just waited until Tuesday to do this, honestly, but it's out of the way now. Let's have a relaxing chat with the ladies of the party.

[Music: Exploration]

They just keep coming... All right, I'll head over there.

Thanks, that's a great help!

Hinako walks in as the members run out...

I guess there are more demons... I should go help out.

Hmm?

I knew it! Did you hear the whole conversation? Where are they, exactly?

Yeah, I know. I heard it just now. It's... uhhhh...

[Music: A Moment of Rest]

Oh, come on...!

Did you hear where the demons were, Hibiki?

To the south.

Yeah... He said "below," but south makes sense!

...Do you really think so?

Good for you. Be careful out there.

...Huh? And what are YOU going to be doing?

Don't be stupid! There's no time for that! You're coming, too!

Do I have to? I guess I could...

But I think Hibiki is better suited for this. Yeah, I'm sure of it.

Wow, pushy much?

Quiet, you! Aren't you supposed to be a man? Come on, let's go!

Hinako drags Joe away...

Hinako makes one, so let's move onto Io for number 2.

[Music: Exploration]

Huh...? Can I help you?

[Music: A Moment of Rest]

I was asking... If you're lost, maybe we could go to the evacuation center together?

No, I'm not lost... I'll be fine.

But monsters come out around here.

I know...

But I've got the summoning app, so...

Yeah, I don't think some mini apples are going to help you in a fight, babe...

......

...Oh, Hibiki!

What the--? Who do you think you are?

Who do you think YOU are?

...Huh? Y-Yeah. Just who are YOU?

Io plays along with you...

What the hell...? If you were here to meet someone, you should have said so. Sheesh.

The man walks away, grumbling.

Osaka sure is... energetic...

You and Io walk away...

At this point, we're railroaded for the rest of the day. Y'know, what little of it still remains.

[Music: Exploration]

...

Boo!

Yikes...!

Io jumps, startled...

Um... I was thinking about the battle just now...

At the Tsuutenkaku?

Um... Don't you know those names from somewhere...?

It seems Hinako happened to be passing by...

Astronomy?

Yeah... You were just talking about Dubhe and Merak, weren't you?

U-Um... Hinako? Could you explain that a little...?

Ursa Major, of course, is latin for "larger bear" and is probably one of the most well known constellations. The particular aspect that we're most interested in, however, is an asterism that I'd go so far as to say is the most well known.

You're right...

Oh... You knew that, Hibiki?

Not many people know.

Wait... if you two didn't know what they were, why were you talking about them?

U-Umm...

Io explains about Dubhe and Merak...

...I get it! So those monsters are named after the Big Dipper.

Oh... yes. But those names are just the ones that came from the summoning app...

All we know about them now is that they're not quite like the other demons.

Oh, no no no... This is an incredible find!

And I doubt the names were assigned at random. Which means...

Five left.

Mmm-hmm...! Thanks, Hibiki.

Hey, Hibiki... This is just a thought...

But could those monsters like Dubhe and Merak have anything to do with the disasters...?

It's possible.

Yeah... We found out here in Osaka that the earthquakes weren't the real cause...

Hmmm... maybe. It seems like there's still five more of 'em, so I bet this isn't over yet.

Y-Yeah... but it's better than not knowing anything.

True... Good job, Hibiki! I'll make sure to report this to JP's for you!

Oh, okay... Thanks.

I'll pass it on to Daichi and Joe.

Um... Should we get going? Oh, and hey... thanks for keeping me company.

You leave the area with Io...

It's been fun in Osaka, we learned some neat things and met a cool lady but it's time to leave.

[Music: Over the Brink of Death]

Man, that was only one day, but I'm exhausted...

Tomorrow's a new day.

Yeah... At least we figured out a few things in Osaka. I think we made some progress...

Yeah, you got a point. I got the pants scared off me, but it was worth the trip.

If we'd stayed back in Tokyo, we'd have learned diddly squat.

Maybe the government can't do much, but we can rest easier knowing JP's is out there.

...Yo.

Ah, there you guys are! We came to see you off!

Oh, hi, Hinako... and Keita. You came just for us...?

What? Dude, you're the one who dragged me here.

Not attractive, Keita. If that's true, then what's in your hand?

......

[Music: A Moment of Rest]

Ordinarily, a choice like this wouldn't be a big deal. In this case, however, it is. If we select "That's strange..." then...

We get to see this special sprite. What makes it so special? There's only 6 places it turns up. Only 3 of which are available on any given playthrough; the other 3 are all mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, this is the wrong answer here so we're not actually doing this.

A souvenir?

...Yeah. It's for you.

You took the Calamari Youkan from Keita...

What?

Yeah, what he said. Are you serious...? Who's going to Nagoya?

Huh? You haven't heard...? Keiiitaaa! You forgot to tell them, didn't you!

Can it! I'll tell them now.

What're we going for?

Oh, hmm... But having to make a sudden trip to Nagoya...?

Hey, you. You're from the west originally, right?

Keita looks a Joe...

What do you mean?

Ohhh, well, you know... The water there doesn't agree with me. Something like that.

It doesn't seem that Joe is eager to go to Nagoya...

Hm? You...?

Someone's eager.

Hmhmhm...! Have you forgotten so soon, my friend? I have a driver's license!

I can drive a truck! And if I'm transporting supplies, I won't have to fight, right?

We're counting on you.

Leave it to me! It's not like I haven't been thinking about all this.

You know how we came to Osaka and beat Merak?

So that's why I'm being, you know... more proactive in helping out.

I see.

Well, good luck.

Haha... You watch! I'll make myself damn useful!

So Daichi's going to Nagoya. I'll let 'em know.

Ah... Looks like you're leaving soon. You should get on the train.

[Music: In The Devastated Town]

Oh, no... Thank YOU! Well, goodbye.

Later, idiots. Work hard and maybe you'll survive.

We're gonna stop by Nagoya to drop Daichi off, on the way back to Tokyo.

Yeah, don't sweat the small stuff, buddy! ♪ See you in Tokyo.

Yeah, leave it to me! I'll show you what I'm made of!

Now we've only got one last thing to do, and that's sleep, but first let's do a free battle. Something special happens in this one you see.

[Music: Countdown]

Hey... Did you just hear somone scream? (sic) I think it came from the graveyard.

...Hmm? They're getting attacked by demons.

...Hey, it's dangerous! Get out of there!

The men don't seem to hear Joe in their panic...

Hmm... This is bad. I think we'll have to get up close so we can let them escape.

We're not actually going to do the fight, but it's a new mechanic that doesn't turn up in free battles that often. It's not too different to the fight from the Festival Gate, where we need to get next to a static NPC and use a talking command. In this case, it makes the helpless NPCs begin to move towards escape points.

Or, y'know, you can just kill all the demons who try and beeline for those guys while ignoring you. Either/or.

Welp, not really our problem. Let's just go to bed.

[Music: In The Devastated Town]