Part 27: Various plans to become evil

I'm alive.

Suffering, humiliation, deceit, torment.

Compared to dying in the Conception... Compared to following Yosuga, Musubi, or Shijima...

Four blessings.

I may not be able to create the new world myself, but if it's in my power to prevent it from being made abominable, then I'll pay any cost with my head held high. I owe that much to those who have died, and to those who will live.

: She's gone again.
: Wouldn't it have been nicer to invite her to come with us?
: No, I don't think so. She needs to see everything with her own eyes. Besides, if her god has any sense, she'll be protected anyway.
: I hope you're right about that. This Aradia doesn't seem very reliable, and we're running low on humans.
: I know what you mean, but I have to trust that Ms. Takao knows what's best for herself. Otherwise I'd just be some jackass telling her what to think.
: I AM CURIOUS. WHAT WOULD YOU TELL HER TO THINK, IF IT WERE YOUR PLACE TO DO SO?
: Oh, heck, I don't know. I haven't really... I have more productive things to think about, you know?
: Speaking of which, have you decided on our next step?
: Ah, I have. We're going back to the Labyrinth.
: To see Kamala, right?
: Yeah. The Fiends are an immediate concern for now, seeing as they seem to delight in ambushing us.
: What, did you expect us to just sit around waiting for you to exterminate us at your leisure?
: That's odd, I seem to remember your red and black colleagues waiting for us in completely out-of-the-way places.
: Calling both of them the Yellow Riders would probably get pretty confusing.
: Well, I, uh, you see...
: Alright, alright, you guys can stop picking on the incarnation of death, we'd be here all day,
: I hate reminding you of this, but while we're down there, we could visit the Efreet again.
: Gah, yeah, I'll think about it. Maybe we can actually fight a battle or two while we're there this time, we're much stronger than we used to be. Speaking of which, we ought to visit the Cathedral before we head down.
: Should any of us be worried about...
: Welp, time's a-wastin'! Let's go!

*: We head for the nearby Terminal.


: Hmm?
: ...Heard she looks nice from behind, if you catch my drift!
: If you're talking about the Lady of the Fount, you're at the wrong end of the park.

*: We warp to Shibuya. At the Cathedral, the first thing I do is fuse Nigi Mitama to Nue.



Nue keeps all its skills and experience, gains Force Boost and Rakunda, and receives a point of Magic and Luck. The stat bonuses will be lost when I perform a regular fusion with Nue again, but I wanted it to have a full skill list so the result will inherit as many as possible.

: Aight sweetheart, you're up.
: ...what? After all we've been through together? Really?
: Well it's not like I'm showing you the door. Besides, maybe somewhere down the line we can get together without you turning me into a California Raisin.
: Oh, fine then. I was halfway expecting to be sacrificed anyway. Who am I hooking up with for now then?
: You'll love this. Yo, over here!
: Awoo?
: You have got to be-
: Press the button!
: You are such a glorious cad, young man.

Nue + Succubus =





: You really gonna hit that?
: Haha, hahaha, haha hahahaaaaa... No.


*: That's all we're fusing for now, but I have plans for the very near future, and in fact I summon a Bicorn from the Compendium in preparation. This leaves us with one open slot, and I want to fill it right away. We warp back to Yoyogi Park.






: What are you smoking? You can't throw a Preta around here without hitting a god.
: Good day, sir.
: Well then!
: Hmph.
: Hell, I'm related to a bunch of gods, I probably count too.


: After you went inside, the sky lit right up. It was like magic!


*: That's right, Titan is recruiting Titania.
: Why don't you ditch these losers? You'll never travel with a more awesome crew than ours.
: My goodness! Do you plan on taking me with you? If that's the case... Could you endow me with 1280 Macca?
: ...boss?
: Just pay the lady.
: *frown* This is still not good enough.
*: She asks for some more small change.
: It is still not enough. I am NOT that cheap. Would you be so kind as to give me 1 Amethyst?
: Alright, here-
: Actually, no. We don't have 200000 of those.
: You heard the man. That a deal-breaker?
: Would you be so kind as to give me 670 Macca?
: Now we're talking.
: Just a little more...
*: More cash.
: Then before joining you, I shall ask for your opinion.

: Hell, are you kidding me? If I hadn't swallowed my pride, I'd be homemade titan puree by now. This is loads better.

: Yeah, well, I'm still breathing, and I'm kicking ass besides.
: You know, love... You have been quite a bore.
: Are these the manners of fairy royalty?
: ............ Well, it would go against my values to leave without permission.

> Titania seems to be satisfied.
: I am Titania of the Fairy lineage. I will serve you gracefully.
: Ha! Excellent decision!
> Titania joined your party.

*: Titania is now our highest level party member. She only knows Glacial Blast and Pester right now, but she'll lean Mediarahan on her next level and generally turn into a spectacular healer before long. It's hard to say no to Expel/Death reflection and general magic resistance, too.

Now that this is settled, we go heal at the Fountain, and take the small Terminal back to the eastern entrance, then leave on foot towards the east. We missed at least one area in the Asakusa Tunnel and I want to make sure there's nothing important down there.


: She was still in high school, you enormous creep.
: I think he might be talking about someone else.
: Ms. Takao? Okay, that's better.
: No, someone else, even.
: Do you know something I don't?
: Oh, err, hmm. Of course not!
: ...right.





*: Aaaand that's it. At least it makes up for one of the Chains I used in the Girimehkala fight. Time to head back out. Bicorn has leveled up three times and learned all its skills by now, so we return to the Cathedral.

Raja Naga + Bicorn + Deathstone =



: There will be more blood before this is all over. Trust me.
: Heyo.
: Fancy meeting you here!
: If you can't beat 'em, right?
: Oh absolutely.
: It's adorable how you schmucks pretend you had a say in this. I'll allow you to keep it up.
: Yes sir.
: Thank you sir.



*: Welp, Titania wasn't our highest-level ally for very long, eh?

Alright, that's enough for now. Next stop: the First Kalpa.


: Huh. We were just there, I can't believe we missed it. Welp, thanks.

*: We go the Third Kalpa next. We have 17 base Luck now and I want to see if we can open more doors, preferably before we get mangled by the cursed corridor.



Ah-ha! We can in fact open this door at least.




: Well hey, that does sound pretty rad.




: How about you? Would you be interested in buying it? This stone, called a Deathstone, is supposed to bring death to you. But, who knows? Maybe you'll find a use for it. You can have it for the bargain price of 100000 Macca. Well, how 'bout it?
: Yikes, no thanks.
: That's fine. If you change your mind, feel free to come back anytime.

*: There is only a finite quantity of Deathstones you can find in Cubes around the Labyrinth, but this guy sells as many of them as you can afford. Once you master all Magatama, your alignment is guaranteed to add up to Neutral, so you're never permanently locked out of this place.








*: Another Luck door takes us to an unexpected location.



That's 100000 Macca saved right there.

Yet another Luck door denies us passage and sends us back to the main area. That's about all we can do here right now. Final stop in the Labyrinth today: the Second Kalpa.

Zed levels up and learns Deathbound, Gaea's first skill. It targets random enemies like Berserk and scales off HP like Heat Wave, and it's purely a physical damage attack. I still prefer Xeros-Beat right now, even if only for the Bind chance­.



Welp, no sense putting it off any longer. Zed ingests Anathema for the immunity to Death, and we summon Titania and both Riders.

...yeah no, the corridor damage makes it ridiculously impractical to heal up between fights. We unsummon all our allies and Zed makes a run for it on his own. Let's just say Endure comes in repeatedly handy.



And we make it on the second try!


: But I... That's... I don't... Oy. You don't have a table I could flip, do you?
: Nope.

...

I need to punch something.

*: Which is to say, it's Fiend-clobberin' time! We warp to Shibuya and walk to Yoyogi Park, since that's less hassle than going to the park's Terminal and fighting our way to the other side.


: A woman?
: ...She's probably a monster here to eat us! That's another bad thing that's gonna happen to me...

A woman... Is the next Fiend a woman? Hmm. There's no reason that shouldn't be possible.


: Can't blame them, I suppose.
: But even then, they got dragged into the way over Magatsuhi...

*: As we enter the small room to the north of the entrance...


> The flames of the Candelabrum of Sovereignty are flickering wildly...

Cutscene + Boss battle: Fiend Mother Harlot


*: The Mother Harlot is a tough cookie. On top of the usual boss immunities, she reflects physical damage (which I learned at White Rider's expense) and absorbs electric damage. Her signature moves are Death Lust, which inflicts special Mind-element damage and has a chance to inflict Charm, and Beast Roar, which is a powerful Almighty attack that also restores 10% of its user's HP. She also knows Dragon Eye, Makajamon, Maziodyne, Bolt Storm (electric damage, random hits, basically a souped-up Shock), Focus, and Dekunda. Notably, her basic attack hits seven times, but if one is dodged, they all miss.

One might be tempted to use Magic Mirrors or Makarakarn in this fight, but reflecting Maziodyne or Bolt Storm will trigger the Harlot's electricity absorption, so it's best to bring along resistant demons instead if you got 'em.

That said, this time I preferred to try avoiding the Charm ailment as a priority; Sparna and the Riders nullify all ailments, and Iyomante protects Zed from Mind effects. Of course, the White Rider taking himself out, not to mention the discovery of the Harlot's physical reflection, required a change of plans. I figured I'd have Sati bring him back for Prominence while the remaining Rider and Sparna played support, but then I figured I might as well let Agidyne and the Force Boosted Zandyne see us through. Once the Black Rider was done with stacking Sukukaja, Long wasted a few turns on Makarakarn before I realized I ought to be using his Makakaja instead, and that was the end of that.

Oh, and before I forget. The question the Beast asks us before the fight seems really important, but it has no mechanical or story effect.

Only one more to go.


: ...I heard an incredible woman appeared at Ikebukuro! Now something bad IS gonna happen to me!

*: That's our cue. We walk back to Shibuya, do the usual town stuff, then warp to Ikebukuro.



Door's open. Let's see what's going on.

*: The place is no less deserted than when we were here last. But maybe something's going on on the top floor.



Cutscene: Strength and beauty

: Chiaki! CHIAKI! What the HELL!? Open up!



: DAMMIT!
: What a horrid child.
: IF SAKAHAGI IS THE ONE WHO TOOK HER ARM, SHE MUST BE TRULY STRONG TO HAVE MADE IT ALL THE WAY BACK HERE.
: That damn psychopath... If only I could kill him a second time!
: Why are you angry at him? Is she not your enemy?
: If he had finished the job, it would have saved us a bunch of trouble.
: That's not what I... Ugh!
: I'm sure our master is finding it difficult to rejoice about bad things happening to his friends.
: Bad things? She doesn't seem too broken up about it by now.
: I suppose it got her what she wanted.
: In any case, it would have been much simpler to eliminate her when we had the chance.
: If you're going to start suggesting I go around murdering unarmed women in case they grow into threats...
: Boss, I don't mean to interrupt, but if a bunch of Yosuga types are coming here, maybe we ought to make ourselves scarce.
: Gah! You're... probably right. Let's get moving.



*: The brasiers' flames here have turned blue. Things are definitely different now.



Angels in the Mantra HQ, that's new. In fact, all encounters around here are now against various Divines.


: ...What a splendid idea!



*: The whole HQ's color scheme has changed, too.


: ...But, since I agree with the Reason of Yosuga, I shall protect her.

The angels are flocking to her side. Man, if I thought she had a big head before...







: No. Fuck off.
: ...Hmph, what a bore.


: There's a demon at Kabukicho claiming to be an Emperor... That's what I hear. The world only needs demons of Yosuga... Quite annoying.

It bugs me that someone's taken the place over, but at least it's not Chiaki's people. Maybe we should take a look once we're done here.




: Err, no.
: I hear there are two men struggling for Magatsuhi, using the terminals. They must be fond of terminals, I reckon... Quite amusing, if I do say so myself. After all, the world will soon be Yosuga's.

Huh. I guess Hijiri tracked down Isamu at last.


: Hmph... Yosuga needs no jails!
: ...
: Why, you ask? ...Because the weak will die.

*: Sati levels up, and replaces Recarm with Samrecarm, which revives a demon with full HP. One more level to go before she evolves!

The rest of Ikebukuro still has its old encounters, but there are new NPCs around.


: Not bad...


: There is nothing to worry about...


: When Yosuga takes over the world, cleaning the city should be top priority...


: ...It still feels like home, though.
: Dude, just find a way to go to Asakusa, alright? Do me a favor.


: ...I'd be the first to go.


: Uh-oh... I'll be picked, right?
: Better get started on your training!


: She's inherited Gozu-Tennoh's power. ...It's time to rock!

*: That's about it for Ikebukuro. We heal up, save, and warp to Kabukicho.




: ...This is all the Emperor's doing.

Things seem different here too. But as long as the mirage isn't back, we shouldn't have any trouble finding this Emperor.


: I'd go whoop the boy, but I'm too cold to move! He got lucky... this time...
: This all feels... strangely familiar.


: He's in Mizuchi's room acting all big. Is he an ex-Mantra?
: Doesn't matter. If he's an asshole, he'll be an ex-Emperor before long.


: The Emperor is Kabukicho's number one, hee ho!


: Yeah, I'm! You want a piece?
: ...Wait up! I'm not dumb enough to go against you.

: I'm listening.
: ...Have you ever seen a Jack Frost named Heeho?
: Oh, yeah, sure, I remember him. He used to run a store in Shibuya, before he left on... on a trip. To get stronger...
: YOU DON'T THINK...?
: Hmm.
: I hear he has something to do with the Emperor...
: Well, he seemed like a nice enough fellow. Maybe we came here for nothing.

*: We drop at save at the fifth floor Terminal. Zed levels up soon afterwards. He passes on learning Kamurogi's Life Gain, but does earn an extra +1 Vitality!






: Hee! Ho! Hee! Ho!



Cutscene + Boss battle: Night Black Frost

: Poor, dumb little guy.
: He got so far too! What a shame.
: If he had come with us, maybe it would have ended differently.
: I sure would have put the kibosh on any plans to become evil. Let that be a lesson to the rest of you, I guess.


*: Black Frost can be a right pain in the butt. Offense-wise, he's nothing we haven't seen before; he only knows Mamudoon, Mabufudyne, Berserk and Diarama. You might think he's weak to fire damage, but he in fact reflects it. He also reflects Death and ailments instead of merely nullifying them, absorbs ice, is immune to Expel, and has a special type of physical resistance that reduces physical damage by 90% instead of 50%. You can essentially only hurt him with Force, Electric or Almighty damage.

Fortunately, Sparna is still a Force-type killing machine. On top of that, Black Frost knows neither Dekunda nor Dekaja, so there's a license to neuter him hard. And with Miasma, Long and the Black Rider taking care of ice damage, the biggest threat was from Mamudoon, and we got a little lucky there.



Satan is a strong caster-inclined Magatama judging from its stats, but it comes with an odd grab bag of skills, the first one of which is Jive Talk, which allows the Demi-fiend to converse normally with Wilder, Haunt and Foul demons at any time. That's kind of neat, but I can't think of any real build that'd let it use up a slot.



The Jack Frosts are gone. I suppose they were mostly harmless, but there's no telling what Heeho was going to do from here.


: Problem solved!
: ...I see.
: Heeho's training paid off, in the end, even if only for a short while.
: So, the Emperor WAS Heeho!? Wow!


: But, how did a run-of-the-mill Jack Frost get so much power? Did he get a bunch of Magatsuhi from somewhere? ...Weird.

Maybe it was the Magatama he had. I better hang on to these.


: A lot has happened here, but now it's finally quiet.

*: We reach the Terminal and save. It would appear our next lead is Hijiri again. It might be hard to find him if he's in the Network somewhere, but I suppose Asakusa is as good a place to start as any.

Cutscene: Knowledge

Oh for... Dammit, Hijiri! You used to be the sensible one!

: ARE WE GOING AFTER HIM?
: Yeah, but not right away, we need to hit the Fountain first. And besides, maybe one of them will take out the other and it'll be that much less hassle for us.
: So it's fine when someone else does the murdering?
: They're both butts, who cares.