Part 40: A Decision

There's no updated crew dialogue right now, oddly. You'd think they'd have something to say with the Super MKUltra effect of Zelenin, but nope.



As you'd expect from the scene before, the Giant's Fang lets us get Phase Shifter B (this is the second and last of its ilk, yeah). Now, what to do next..



Ah, of course. We'll go back to Carina and map out as much of it as we can. Should be all of it at this point.

A Squandered Nation



Gonna use the easier to access point on the 2nd floor.



There's not much of a difference visually, but that should be expected. It's just a nice shade of yellow, which I am okay with.



There isn't anything new in the B Sanctum; there either the usual Carina stuff, some things from Eridanus or some things from Fornax and that's it. How disappointing.



That section is a tiny hallway though, so we gotta take the normal stairs to get to this Bead Chain and the rest of the area kinda. If we used the secondary shifter this step could've been avoided but eh.



Aside from the Bead Chain, there isn't much here though. Fixed AT III is kind of a weird decision.



Plus side is that we can get an easy Great Chakra from right next to the alternative Phase Shifter point.



Only other thing here is... a locked door we can't open. Weird. Guess we'll be back to finish this floor off later. Probably like a Bead of Life or something, to justify this.



So, the third floor then. This one is a bit... different? Kind of?



It's a bunch of 3x3 square rooms and almost all the doors are Gate Search C doors. That's a thing, I suppose.



A nice thing about this little diversion is that we're going to end up getting a relatively decent amount of Beads of Life from this. I'm gonna hold onto all of 'em for now; they will prove important.



The only other thing we get from this area is a set of 2 Amrita Showers. That's it; we're done here now. There IS another room but it's empty.



Plus side is that gives us this floor done. We just need 2F and that one room on 4F and we're hopefully done with all of Carina!

A Land Controlling Roads



Since we're heading back to Eridanus for a moment anyway, let's see what we get from Odin for having a Sleipnir.

As promised, I present to you this.



You have been most helpful.
Still, Sleipnir can be quite a handful at times.



I must thank you again.
A warrior of your caliber is welcome in Valhalla anytime.
When you breathe your last, keep me in mind. Hohoho...!

> Odin left...



The Odin Ring is pretty good. It gives Hitonari Chakra Walk which has its uses, especially since the MP Recover/Regen SubApps take up so much space. Because of how expensive Hitonari's skills are, I'm basically just gonna be gluing this on for the forseeable future.



Anyway, the Phase Shifter is on the 2nd floor so, let's see what this spot is about.



It's... mostly a big, empty area but it has a free Sacrifice that we can get pretty easily.



And also a Bead of Life! These are going to be very useful, for sure.





That's it for Eridanus. Just gotta open those doors on 3F in the Deva/Herald sidequest paths and then we're done with Eridanus entirely.

Et finalment...

The Land Where The Seed's Memories Lie Buried



Fornax, being Fornax, does not do much with its B Sanctum. At least it's kind enough to give us a Sacrifice.



A Summon Stone is nice, and will serve a purpose eventually I'm sure. I think I'd rather just have another Bead of Life though.



On the plus side, with that we have 100%'d all of Fornax. Barring unlikely future sidequest reasons, we will never need to come here (onscreen) again. Hurray!

...So, uh, Grus. Phase Shifter is right by the entrance, so let's see what its B Sanctum is like.



You are not planning to experiment on us again, are you...?

Poor Take-Minakata. First he lost his arms, then he lost his pride.



So, anyway, there's this thing at the end of a big ol' corridor. It looks like one of them illusory walls from the Original Space, but its super conspicuous...



So of course we can't do anything with it right now. Guess we gotta find a way to remove that purple from the door.



Those angels are holed up nearby.
Humans, angels... Both of 'em come crashin' our joint like they own the place...
Oh, well. Anyone's free to come.
Just like I'm free to stomp anyone I don't like, y'know?



My buddies took a real nasty beating from 'em...
Those humans're on my list, man!





SO ME WANT POWER. TO GET FREEDOM.
SO ME SUFFER THIS SHAME NO MORE...



...Okay, so as you probably expected, this is a bit of a teleport-y areas as well. It's fairly linear and simple though.



If you're expecting this to kind of be a mirror of the previous Sanctum, you'd go in a straight line here. That is a sensible presumption, all things considered.



It does lead you somewhere, and let you open this hidden door.



As with the Mahama Stones before, this is a very useful thing to have. Would be doubly so if I remembered to use them, honestly.

That's all on me, though.

That's as far as this path goes though. Next teleporter sends up back to the big corridor so we gotta go around in the previous area!

The Fear of God



So while en-route back there, let's fight some demons.

Succubus is a fun one. She resists Fire and Ice, is immune to Curse but weak to Elec and Expel. Her basic attack has a 10% chance to inflict Sleep and her skills are Dormina, Marin Karin and Energy Drain. Energy Drain is on Alice's source before now but that's all; it's HP and MP draining rolled into one and also not shit. How nice!

Wild Hunt is much more boring, sadly. He's yet another demon that decides that "Agility is my main stat" is a good idea. I don't know why. He's immune to Curse and weak to Expel and that's it.



Kudlak is a mix of the two above; his highest default Stat is Agility but its tied wit his... Vitality for highest growth. Augh why. He's immune to Curse (of course) and weak to... Fire. Huh. His source gives Energy Drain even though he only has Mana Drain. Good job there I guess, Kudlak.

Kingu is almost exactly how he looks, but he's also 300% weak to Mute. His source gives Diarama (whyyyyy), Rakukaja (meh at this point) and War Cry (...well thats acceptable-ish).



Loki is kind of different, and not wholly terrible but not great either. He has no weaknesses, resists Ice, Wind and Curse and nullifies Gun and Mute. His skills are Mabufudyne, Taunt and Tricky Dance (MT 70% Mute skill! Took long enough) and his source gives Void Ice.

The Land Where The Seed's Memories Lie Buried



So, let's keep on keepin' on and get further through the actual Sanctum now, shall we?



Aside from that one branch below, there's basically no sidepath teleports or anything so it's not like this is a difficult section.



And, of course, there ARE alignment lock doors here as well. Can only open them if we're Chaos aligned, which we're not right now so maybe we'll be back for these later.

Chaos Theme



> You explained the situation...

You want to meet Maya? You want to know where she is?
What are you going to do when you meet her...?



But I pity you... Maya could never be defeated by the likes of humans.
If you somehow manage to overthrow her, I'd be perfectly willing to deal with you humans.



Even if it's the king of a ruined nation.
......

> The demon is thinking.

Hmm. Why don't we make a deal?
I'm thinking of that squad that captured us...



Plenty of demons still carry a grudge, and their anger is reaching its peak.
Yes... kill the humans known as Jack's squad. Those are the conditions.
Only then will I open the seal to Maya.
Sound good?
Let me think.
I understand if you're reluctant to murder a fellow human.
But listen to me first, and make your decision afterward.



Or didn't you realize it?
Those humans who have been reduced to submissive puppets...





Someday, we'll go to war with those angels for control over the Earth. It has to happen.



Do you understand, human?
Whether I think you're worth trusting or not depends on this.



Don't disappoint me.

Alright, so the onyl way out at this point is a singular teleport back to the corridor...

Silence





How'd it go? You get good info?

> You explained the events so far.

Chaos Theme

I say take the deal.



And I got my doubts about those angels, too.
...Listen, Tadano.
I'm sure you know, being on the strike team and using demons all the time...



Look at me, who has the power of demons now. Hell, look at you and all those demons you lead.
I see all the potential power us humans have, and I think to myself...



Then us and the demons would be like peas in a pod, right?
...That's all I wanted to say.



I'll be around...
See you later, Tadano.

> Jimenez left.

Well, that was weird. Now all we need to do is use the terminal to warp out and we can see what Arthur has to say.

Silence



Stop it!

> You turned to see where the voice was coming from.

Malevolence and Benevolence



No... I believed in you! Stop it!

> Zelenin is acting strange...

Zelenin!



Hitonari...?
Then... this must be an illusion!
Curse you, wicked phantasm! Begone!

> Zelenin yelled out in a clear voice...!

Silence



> Zelenin seems to have regained her composure.

Law Theme





My family and friends... They become demons and attacked me.
They were rebuking and persecuting the old me...
The illusion made me lose my composure. It could have been dangerous.
You should be careful, Hitonari.
By the way, how is the mission? Are you making progress?

> You explained the events so far.



Do not let them fool you, Hitonari, with their tempting promises of coexistence.
Once they escape the Schwarzwelt, millions of humans will be their prey.
It will be a world where the weak are purged entirely...
That is what demons have in mind when they talk of "coexistence."



But there is no need to worry.
My hymn affects demons as well; Mastema has told me so.
I need only raise the output of my song and the demons shall become harmless.



What do you think of this idea?
Let me think.
I am all too glad to be of service...



If you need my voice, I would be happy to sing for you.
I will wait here. Come talk to me should you ever need my help.

...I'm beginning to see where this is going, and I thought this was part of the event we did before. Even my memory of Grus isn't perfect it seems!

Malevolence and Benevolence



It seems we must make a decision in order to obtain the Exotic Matter of sector Grus.



A crew meeting to discuss the matter is in order.
Crewman Hitonari.



They seem willing to cooperate with you. However...
All signs point to a high likelihood that they will both abandon their duties.
Keep that possibility in mind when approaching them.
Now, let us gather the crew and decide our course of action.

One quick fade to black later...



And here I thought I was getting used to demons... This is a real wake-up call.
This is the kind of demonic temptation you expect, y'know?



It's like they're lulling us until we're manipulated into doing what they want.
Free lunches tend to have a steep price, you know.



There's no telling when the effect of the brainwashing will wear off.
Besides, we're not even monitoring the right now. We're just letting the angels' control do the work.
That's a volatile situation if I ever heard of one.
Jack's men betrayed us twice, and we don't have any room for error now.



That's why I think we should defeat those demons, whether it's with our bare hands or the angels' song.
Don't get fooled by the demons' promises, however tempting they might be.



However, we do not need one.
Crewman Hitonari.



We have the option to cooperate with the demons.
However, our cooperation requires that we sacrifice Jack's squad.
Should we accept the demons' terms?
We shouldn't.
Then we shall move on to the next available plan.



We have the option to request that First Lieutenant Zelenin subdue the demons with her voice.
Should we request her assistance?
We shouldn't.



Well, we could try negotiating with the demons again, but...
Knowing them, they might just lose their patience and attack.



The situation is changing rapidly.



Should the strike team deem it necessary to act counter to the crew's decision, I will allow it.
It is a difficult situation, and I hope that this problem can be resolved swiftly.



I look forward to the successful completion of your mission.

So, in summary our options are:

1. Do a murder on Ryan and the rest of Jack's Squad
2. Make the demons docile like a winter catfish

The question is pretty simple:

Which one do we do?