Part 115: ...Dead Men's Wonderland
...Dead Men's Wonderland
[Music: Exploration]
Hibiki? It's me... Are you awake?
I'm sleeping.
Ha... You're awake. You've got quite the sense of humor.
Hey, Hibiki. You up? Everyone's ready to go.
Ooh, Hibiki. Starting today, we're on the same team! Sure puts a spring in my step. Getting to our main subject... Let's review the situation and our agenda for today.
Go on.
Yeah, go for it! Thought there's no way we can lose, not with this guy on our side! Um, okay, I'll start. From last night up to this morning...[Music: Connected Hearts]
So those guy still in Tokyo who didn't side with etiher of us... They've got the run of the Tokyo JP's branch now. And the other cities?
So Hotsuin has finally put an end to JP's operations and is readying his men for action. The Tokyo crew says they don't want to fight anyone... But if Yamato invades Tokyo and wins them over, we'd be at a big disadvantage. I hate to say it, but Hotsuin is a force to be reckoned with. We should head for Tokyo. You have friends in that group, right? If we beat them, would they consider joining you? I'll try and ask. I'm sure it pains you... but I think they'll understand. Try talking to each of them.
Yeah... If you get the chance to explain things, I'm sure they'll come around!
Remember the Septentriones? Those challenges Polaris sent for mankind? Yeah, based on what Hotsuin and that strange man said, I think that's true. If all the Septentriones are defeated, the path to Polaris will supposedly open. Yeah. And since that hasn't happened yet... There's another one today. Ha... That's right. So we'll see another Septentrione today as well. Yep. We can't avoid them if we're going to bring about our world of peace and equality. Yeah. If Hotsuin or the Tokyo faction defeats them first, the path will open to them.
Either way, it means we have to defeat the Septentrione ourselves. Let's give it a try.[Music: Dark Clouds]
Oh, and about the Void-- I heard it got Chiba this morning. It's getting worse and worse... Whew, that's quicker than I thought. We might be in real trouble if we don't hurry. Yes, let's stay focused. We must fight the other factions and win them to our side... If the Septentrione shows up, we must defeat it ourselves. Okay... Let's get started!You say your farewells to the others before leaving...
[Music: Exploration]
So, uh, Ronaldo is okay I guess? Dude's our backup Str/Vit character since Jungo isn't available. He's not that good at it, to be honest. Dude has basically no agility and even at this point he still doesn't have 40 Strength.
By the end of this update, he will have hit level 70. Still won't have 40 Strength. At least he doesn't have spells stapled onto him now.
Oh, and his gimmick? Well, um... he, uh, kinda doesn't have one? Alcor gets a speed stat other than 50 and more turns than normal since its higher than normal. Yamato gets more stats than normal and a resistance to Almighty by default. Ronaldo gets, um... maybe more HP? I think?
Moving on!
Before we deal with Hinako and Shiva, we'll do this scene with Ronaldo. It's actually one worth doing for reasons beyond the normal.
Hm... Hibiki? Ha... What a shame... What's wrong?[Music: In the Devastated Town]
...I shot her for justice, and she allowed herself to die for Hostuin. Though I said tht I wouldn't be at a loss anymore... I was thinking if that was the only possible way to end things. Don't let it get to you.
...Hibiki. I believe that my ideals are correct, and that it's best for the world. But... It's also true that I've killed many JP's people, who had different ideals. I'll never forget those who had to die to create a world of equality... Keep their memories strong.
But... I wanted you to at least hear that. Thanks, Hibiki. ...All right, I'm going to go. I have to work hard to make this world a wonderful place!Ronaldo walks away...
Alright, there'll be time to rest later. For now, let's deal with what little we have to.
[Music: Connected Hearts]
Well, we're here. Is this where Hinako and the guys were? Yeah, the mole I sent into Tokyo reported back saying he spotted her. This is our chance to persuide them into joining our side. They should be around here...
Oh... Look! Over there![Music: In the Devastated Town]
So, yeah, there's Jungo's replacement. Some random, unimportant generic NPC.
Listen to us! We will crush Yamato's ambitions and create a world of peace and equality! That's why... We want as many people to cooperate with us as possible!
How dare you make empty talk about peace when you're willing to fight your own friends! Mm... That's true, too, but the world's going to be wrecked if you don't put up a fight.
We're not the same.
You guys make no sense at all! All this stuff about peace and fighting...! No... That's not what we're saying! If everyone understood and cooperated with us, then there would be no reason to fight! That's not the problem here! You really are just a child, aren't you!? Everyone thinks differently! Forcing your opinions on other people is already wrong!
It's pointless to reason with them. But, we've already made up our minds.
For the sake of justice in this world... We must do this, even if it villifies us!
All right, that's enough. Well, we've got something that we can't give up on, too.[Music: Crumbling Routine]
I really don't want to fight you guys... but no matter who wins, no hard feelings!
...! Hina, you blockhead! We're not going to go easy on you!And then we win. It takes like maybe 3 minutes, tops.
[Music: In the Devastated Town]
Seriously... Good thing we pulled through anyway. Indeed, everyone fought well. This is what comes of peeople working together as equals. Yeah.[Music: Elegy]
Mm-hm. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, though... Haha, sorry, but it does.
Yeah. It was only a few days, but we did have our share of ups and downs with those guys.
But we all agreed yesterday that the losers in battle have to step down. That means those people don't have a faction anymore. They might be open to our cause. Sure, yeah. Why don't we try talking to 'em again? Maybe they'll listen this time. If you should come across them, see if you can convince them of our righteousness! I'll try. Mm, good luck! We'll do what we can, too.You leave the area, still chatting with everyone...
Before we deal with Daichi and Io, we might as well slip in another scene with Ronaldo. We do have the time to spare after all.
[Music: Countdown]
P-Please...! Don't kill me... I have a family..! ...... I-I won't resist anymore... So please... Let me go...! ...... Is that all you have to say?Ronaldo approaches the JP's member...
*gasp* ......
[Music: Connected Hearts]
Wha...? This... M-My cell phone...? ...Get out of here. Go wherever you want. ...Don't you think I'll just turn against you with JP's? That cell is for self-defense. You have a family, right? Use that to protect them. And... You misunderstood my ideals. Misunderstand...?
And even if you change you mind and attack me again... I won't regret my choices. Ronaldo Kuriki... You've got quite the character. You really may be able to defeat Chief Hotsuin...The member leaves.
That was kind of you.
You know my objective isn't to fight. I'm only fighting now in order to create a peaceful world... Sacrifices must be minimized. ...I'm counting on you, Hibiki. We have to hurry and stop to these bloody times! (sic)Ronaldo looks towards you and nods with determination...
There is no reason to suspect it would be any different, but the tone and topic matter of this scene is wildly changed if Makoto's alive.
She doesn't appear in it, but it's pretty clever how that change works really. More importantly...
Ronaldo hit Fate 5. And that gives us quite a good demon available..
Ometeotl is actually pretty sweet. Not really for what he brings from himself, but rather because he's one of the two easy ways to make the sole level 99 demon that doesn't need Alcor at Fate 5.
We'll be seeing him later albeit from a different method.
[Music: Elegy]
Ah...! Hibiki!? I'm not here to fight. Y... You're not!? Look, what are you doing here!? I'm your enemy! You're my friend. What...? Your friend!?
In the end... I couldn't do anything. ...Just go. You don't have any business with a loser like me, right? Sure. That's why I'm here. W-Well, what is it, then!? Hurry and spit it out!
What could you want with a completely useless girl like me...!? You saved us from Alioth. Huh...!? That's... not much of a consolation.
It was thanks to you. Thanks to me...? But anybody could have done that. My family's famed for their dancing. I was forced to learn how, even if I didn't want to. That's individuality.
Equality means everyone'll be the same. Any difference in skill will be flattened out. You misunderstand. What, then? If our skills and personalities are different, how is anything equal? No discrimination. Oh... Hmm.
If we propped everybody up, the ones doing the propping would be shortchanged. It'll be for peace. For peace...? Well, normally if you say something like that, some people will cry foul... But if Polaris completely changes human nature, there'd be none of that. It might work... It's a risky move. You could only do it in a situation like this.
I understand.
Haha... To tell the truth, I've been tense this whole time. I'm just tired of it all.
I might not be able to go with you, Hibiki... But I'll always root for you!
I can't help but get a bit of a bad feeling from this. Probably nothing though.
Deal with Joe and Airi's scenes when I need to. For now, we have Daichi and Io to have a friendly scuffle with.
[Music: Connected Hearts]
According to the reports, this is it. Daichi and Io should be around here... Hmm, I don't see anyone. Hellooooo! It's your best buddy Joe! C'mon ouuuuut! ...You sure your mole got it right? What would anyone be doing around here? Let's look around. Ha... Don't worry about that. Just take a look over there.
Yeah... Don't worry. They'll be here soon. ...See? It's Hibiki.[Music: Countdown]
Dammit...! W-We're not gonna lose!
Wh-What the---!? They're totally up for a fight!
...No, listen to us! We didn't come here to fight! We just want to speak with-- Don't be stupid! You say you're here to talk, but you just want us to follow you! W-We'll never accept your goal! I'm not joining either side! You need to wise up! Yikes... Looks like he's completely on the defensive against us. Sheesh, what's with this...!? Hey, what're we gonna do!? There's no helping this.
This is going to be rough... but we have to succeed! We're going to have to fight, then... But we're doing it for a world of equality! Yeah... I'll do it! Let's win this and then we can try convincing them...! Yeah. If we don't win, we won't even be able to talk with them later. Indeed...! But there's something strange about Io right now! They might try something... so be careful!We beat them too. It doesn't take very long either.
[Music: In the Devastated Town]
That was easy. Ha, impressive. I'm quite glad you and I aren't on opposite sides. ... Say, doesn't this mean there's no forces left in Tokyo?
I think all we've got left is Yamato's boys in Osaka. That's right. The next of the Septentriones should be showing tiself sometime too. That'll be no problem.
Yeah... Oh, let's make sure we reach out to the guys we just fought, too. Though I think Hibiki's the only one with a chance of getting through to them. Ha, I agree. Let's leave the talking to Hibiki. We're counting on you. This is all ultimately for justice.You say your farewells to everyone before leaving...
...Something here seems a bit off. Can't think what.
[Music: In the Devastated Town]
Ah... Hibiki... Um... How are you?
Um... Huh? I'm, er. okay... Thanks. So... why did you come here, Hibiki? I came for you.
Hey, Hibiki... Can I ask you something?
What made you support Ronaldo's vision of equality...? I want a better world. I see... I'm amazed, though, at how clearly you can state your own goals. Don't run from your desires.
[Music: Elegy]
Why say unpleasant things out loud? We'd get along just fine if we kept quiet...!
That's "getting along"? But...! I... ...I think you're right. It's just... easier this way... I was just going along with everyone... shutting out the idea someone might hate me... That's cowardice. Yeah... It was. I knew it... and pretended that I didn't... But... that won't do me any good.
Then don't do that. Mmm-hmm... If I keep running because I'm scared someone will hate me, nothing will change. ...I think I see now why you're so strong. You think of other people and how that'll improve the world. That gives you strength...
Let's do this together. Together...? You want me to help you make a better world?[Music: In the Devastated Town]
It was a lot of fun being with you... I'm thankful for that. You'll be okay, I think. You're not like me... I always thought you were so strong.
I'll be pulling for you. I hope... we can meet again. It's a promise. Um... well, be careful not to catch a cold or anything.Io leaves...
Still getting that nagging feeling that something here isn't quite right.
[Music: Connected Hearts]
Oh... It's you, Hibiki. You scared me a little there. You did your best.
Uh...! Haha... I had a feeling you'd see right through me.
But man, joining Ronaldo... I never saw that coming, and I'm your best friend! I don't blame you.
I mean, it's fine for you. However this world turns out, I'm sure you'll be okay! But take me... All this talk about equality puts me in a real bind!
Look at me, man... I'm totally useless, you know!? That's not true.
Like, I never really gave a thought to stuff like that... But this time, it really hit me... I suck at everything I try. I'm just totally useless... That's enough.
Oh...! Sorry, um... You can't hang back. Haha... ha. Dude... I always knew, but man, you're strong.
Equality, huh...? Hey, Hibiki. Does that mean no more war or poverty or anything? Definitely no war. Hmmm... interesting. Does that mean there'll be no reason to go to war...?
That's what friends are for.
Heyyy... Haha, are you trying to get me to join up? Way to fish for help, man! Well, we are friends.[Music: In the Devastated Town]
It's too bad. Haha, you really think so? Now I feel kinda special, you know? Well... I still think of you as my best friend. I'll be rooting for you, man.
Well, erm, that's not quite what I expected.
Seriously thought this was impossible and that Daichi would always stick by you in the end no matter what. Apparently I was wrong!
Alright, let's skip ahead and deal with Benny.
[Music: Connected Hearts]
Ooh, Hibiki! We've been waiting for you. Ah... Hibiki. Ha, you always appear when needed most. I was just passing by.
What should we do? This is a fine time for it to show up. That doesn't matter. Hotsuin is also trying to open a path to Polaris... We can't ignore a Septentrione if it's here. We must deal with it first. Let's get this done. Yeah, if Yamato and his gang had beat the Septentrione and met Polaris, we'd be screwed.
Okay, so it's decided. Let's go, everyone! Uh, hey, Ronaldo...! You can't go off on your own like that! Idiot...!Ronaldo and Airi run off...
Wow, look at 'em go. Maybe they get along better than they seem.
[Music: Countdown]
There it is, everyone! That's the Septentrione this time...!
It's strange, though. I don't sense any particular threat... And it's much smaller. B-But, we really shouldn't let our guard down. I bet this isn't going to be easy. Right, let's get this over with. It'd be trouble if the Osaka faction intruded on us! Oh, are we going already? Well, I guess that's just how it is.And then we fight Benny, he does the demon thing. We run away, etc. etc.
[Music: In the Devastated Town]
Yeah... all present and accounted for. Looks like we all got out in one piece. Ngh... That was close. What was that thing...? That was a close shave... It seemed different compared to the other Septentriones. Yes... It completely prevented us from using demons at all... Oh, and that wasn't all...!
Yes, that bothered me too... "Pacify Human"? Does it null our attacks? Hmm... you're right. It must be something like that... It not only nullifies human attacks, it robs us of demons, our other weapon...
Wh-What should we do? We gotta think of something! All right. Yeah... I agree. But Yamato's not going to go quietly. We have to stay alert! So our attacks won't work, and we can't sic our demons on him either. Man, oh man... Times like this, I wish we had some advice from someone who knew about this stuff...You all leave, quietly thinking about the conundrum...
[Music: Exploration]
This interstitial scene is a wee bit different to what we've seen before.
Ah! Ronaldo, Hibiki! We were looking for you guys! For us? What is it? What's happened!?[Music: Countdown]
Wha...!? You're kidding me! We fought, but we were no match for them... You need to hurry back to Nagoya! Ugh... Ronaldo! Hibiki! We have to do this. Ngh... You're right. This isn't the time to hesitate! Everyone, let's make haste for Nagoya! We must fend off the Osaka faction!We'll deal with that ploy later on. For the moment, however, there's something I want to fuse because... it's time.
We'll start by taking Vasuki and Nyarlathotep to make Nergal. I don't particularly like Nergal if I'm being honest, because for a demon this late he straight up needs that Anti-All he has by default.
He has it by default because if not, he's friggin' weak to Fire, Ice, Elec and Force. Should probably have swapped him in for Astaroth anyway, but instead I merely made Nergal to combine with, uh...
Zaou Gongen. That makes our objective here:
We want a couple of really good Strength oriented demons here, and Satan is the highest leveled Strength one (naturally). He'll sit in the stock for the time being, but Zaou Gongen is coming along for the ride here too.
After beating Nebiros on Tuesday and Belial on Thursday, this is the time our final optional boss makes her appearance. The Innocent Soul...
[Music: Crumbling Routine]
Alice Pleasance Liddell.
Yes, Alice. Those are the children of men who are worthy of being your friends.
Yes. They are powerful... They will make you the best friends.
Oh, really? Um... Hi, you guys. Would you like to be friends with me? The problem is... All my friends are dead.
[Music: Garuda] (Overclocked)
So, this fight is actually pretty damn tough... if you're unprepared. It is totally possible to come into this fight, at level 99, and just die horribly really, really fast.
Mostly, that's because Alice alone makes Anti-Almighty borderline mandatory. All of her attacks are Almighty aligned. Die for Me! is, uh, significantly more powerful than its description implies.
Like, um, if you don't have Anti-Almighty (or Endure) it is a guaranteed one-shot kill. Because it deals damage equal to 100% of your current HP and MP. Thankfully, she only ever seems to use it on her Extra Turns.
She's the only Fiend who has the upgraded racial skill by default (just reduces MP cost; still not worth it). Vitality Drain seems like it deals percentile damage based on your remaining HP; never had anyone die from it and it seems to hit less at lower HP. Might just be imagining that bit though.
Also she has 21,074 HP and 5022 MP. Resists fucking everything but Physicals and will try and put the screws on your entire team as quickly as she can.
Nebiros has been quite significantly buffed since we last faced him. No more Elec weakness to abuse, if we get the chance, and his stats are all much higher too.
Belial, on the other hand, is still Belial.
So, the fight itself is pretty simple in concept. You want one dude with non-shit Strength to immediately bumrush Alice.
She starts exactly 8 movement spaces away from your deployment area. Ammut's ideal for getting there right away.
My Auto-skill of choice here is Full Might just to guarantee that I get extra turns and she doesn't. The more turns she gets the more chance there is of Die For Me! happening and you don't want that.
Of course, with her being level 99 and all getting in reaaaaaally good hits is not the easiet thing in the world. Zaou Gongen's critical Power Hits barely break 4 digits.
Oh, and Forget is a mildly annoying ailment here. Alice's big weakness is multi-hitting Physical attacks for obvious reasons; a top-class Deathbound or Multi-Hit/Strike is the best thing. Getting that sealed is quite bad.
Fortunately, Zaou Gongen isn't for show. Matchless lets me immediately sub out Ammut for the real demon we want at this point.
Satan and Zaou Gongen are by no means mandatory here; they just make it somewhat easier by giving some margin for error. Plus, getting two shots to drop her right off the bat is never a bad thing.
Sadly, even with someone on equal footing with her, getting really good damage output is not the easiest thing. You can make some bigger numbers happen if you're willing to forego Anti-Almighty but that's a mite too risky.
Note that out of my entire party here, Satan is the only one with it. That could potentially be an issue.
At least on the first round of combat, she lost around half her HP (she's currently down by 9207). That's not too bad, but it could potentially be better.
Everyone else is primarily interested in keeping the generic demons, Nebiros and Belial occupied.
This is mostly not too challenging, but some bad luck in places can make it take longer.
Not that much longer, mind.
After all, the generics are easy to one round regardless.
Belial and Nebiros are more on the tanky side of things. Airi has no chance at all of one-rounding Belial, since he has a little over 6,000 HP this go around.
Although, she doesn't really need to. Just focusing on drawing aggro, since he can't hit worth a shit anyway.
Plus, he, uh, has Victory Cry this time so Airi's not going to drop him anytime soon.
Nebiros's gimmick is mostly the same but the core difference is he needs less than 2 generics to pop Necromancy this time around.
Not that it matters too much when he ends up dealing more damage to himself thanks to Phys Repels though.
Fun fact about Belial's Gomorrah Fire that I noticed: he sends it at you in team order. Hibiki will always be targeted first; Team 2's leader is second, Team 3 third and Team 4 last.
This is quite exploitable, since it makes him even more predictable.
Belial remains the least threatening semi-importatnt dude here.
...She chortled in her joy.
Quoting the Jabberwocky as she does so.
Oh, and the thing about Vitality Drain is that it hits everyone in that 6 square range.
Unlike normal Drain, this is an exact 1:1 thing; the combined damage dealt is how much she regains.
Thankfully, with someone right by her from the start, she'll focus her regular attacks solely on them.
[Music: Last Decision] (Overclocked)
At this stage, it's just a matter of keeping up everything that came before. Just need to hope that she doesn't pop a Die For Me! at an inopportune moment more than anything else.
At least the regular demons are kind enough to focus on the obvious bait.
Not that everyone else is unimportant or anything; just that they're not quite as useful with like two exceptions.
We (currently) have neither of them.
Much like before, Necromancy takes up Nebiros' entire turn.
He also only revives one dude, and I guess you could use that to grind if you really needed it here.
I would have to question how effective you're doing things if you're grinding in this fight of all your choices though.
...Yes, Ronaldo is so incompetent even at friggin' Level 70 that I had to use Prayer on him so he wouldn't die.
Oh, and Alice is the only enemy Fiend who uses her Racial Skill.
She doesn't use it on herself though; she uses it go give Belial and Nebiros more turns.
Weirdly, though, Belial can use Gomorrah Fire and attack in the same turn. Alice used Unearthly Form to let Belial attack after Gomorrah Fire.
I am very definitely not questioning the sensibility of this move.
Oh, right, Hibiki's team can't heal much. Hibiki has Diarahan for emergencies, but he hasn't had a chance to use it yet.
Thankfully, I kept a hold of Da Peng just for movement bonuses. Amaterasu had Samarecarm for emergencies too. I had no intention of Recarm chaining, even if it came to that.
Because that's dumb and I don't like doing it anyway.
Considering her now abysmally low HP, you can safely come to the conclusion Zaou Gongen is the only thing that died.
One more Deathbound thanks to Matchless, and that is the end of this tale.
Since she never got an Extra Turn, not once did she use Die For Me! on this fight. Kinda makes it too easy if that never happens, y'know?
So I redid it and purposefully dragged things out up until it happened.
[Music: In the Devastated Town]
What a shame... Let's go find her. It's the least we can do...So... yeah, that's that sidequest dealt with now. A pretty standard series tradition thing at this point; as is the case in every game it appears in, the Nebiros/Belial/Alice grouping is a reference to SMT1 when it was an actual plot point.
Good news, though, is now that we've beaten Alice we can finally gain the ability to fuse Nebiros...
And, of course, that means Belial as well...
And Alice herself! Between this and Ronaldo finally hitting Fate 5, we've gained the ability to fuse every demon in the game too.
