Part 41: Eliminate Jack's Squad

Prayer



We do have a very important decision ahead of us, so let's put it off just a little bit longer. Not much; just gonna talk to the crew as per normal.

But I'm not here to argue over what's right or wrong.
I'm fine leaving that up to you, Hitonari. Do whatever you think is best.



But everyone here does. It's not up to us to make that kind of decision.
We trust you, whatever you decide. You've seen everything up to now up close.
Let's go on with the mission like we always have.



"What if I had done this?" "What if that had happened?" I'm too caught up in rehashing the past...
I feel like that a lot, actually. What about you?
Not me.
...You seem so sure. I'm a little envious of that.
It's okay, though... I know you'll be able to choose a path that you won't regret.



...What? No, we only have two ways of dealing with this, Wolf. Were you just not paying attention?

I'm the kind of guy who likes to attack a problem head on. Thinking things through isn't my style.
So I'll leave all that up to you, Hitonari.
It's okay. I have faith that you'll make the best decision.



Me, I like to keep it simple. I trust my gut when it comes to decisions like these.
But hey, what you decide is yer business.
Just be confident, whatever ya go with. Stand tall, cowboy!



Irving's right, though. I think you should have confidence in yourself.
If you're the one making the decision, Hitonari, then I'll support it wholeheartedly.



"The Queen commands and we obey," and such. They handle the political end so we can do the real work.
...In that regard, you've drawn the short straw.
Don't worry about it. Just think how much the owe you now.
No one will raise a furore over your judgement.

Alright, so let's check those votes shall we?

Seems pretty clear cut to me. That means we're going to head straight on over to...



Accept Zelenin's offer for a song, of course. You didn't think that whole thing was seri--

Malevolence and Benevolence



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.tiwollalliwI,noisiceds'wercehtotretnuoctcaotyrassecentimeedmaetekirtsehtdluohS



However, our cooperation requires that we sacrifice Jack's squad.
Should we accept the demons' terms?
We should.



Put the demons on one end of a scale and Jack's squad on the other, and I know which way it tips.
They need to be judged!



You are authorized to carry out your duties according to this decision.
The situation is changing rapidly.
In that light, I authorize the strike team to act at their own discretion.



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.

Okay, so now that we've made our decision informally it... doesn't really do much of anything right now. We aren't on any given path through this event right now, so we should probably head on back to Grus and talk to Grendel.



...But Zelenin's on the way, so let's make it official that she ain't gonna sing.

No.
I will wait here. Come talk to me should you ever need my help.

I do wonder if Jimenez will be around in the middle of the sanctum or something, then.



Nope, nothing happens up until we get back to Grendel.

If you agree to the deal, then go kill those humans.
Once you do, I'll unseal the gate to Maya.
Hm? Is something wrong?
No.
Hurry and kill them. I look forward to hearing of their deaths...



Okay, fine, so I guess we gotta go through Jack's Squad HQ.

It's Jack's Squad HQ. We've seen it before, we know where the Lightning is. There's not even any random fights here or anything; encounters are turned off entirely.

Fear



> Ryan is chanting while staring off into space...



Welp, let's get our murder on.

......!
We are... the sacred squad... who serve the Lord...
...Blasphemer against the Lord! You shall die!

An Honor Befitting That Name



Ryan honestly doesn't deserve a video. He doesn't even really count as a midboss.



He's... he's literally just Jack again. But relatively worse, and without the Pisacas to maybe get an instant kill in.



He does like using Pure Blue a lot more than Jack or Tiamat ever did, though.



Like, A LOT more. He didn't even remove any debuffs with this one! I don't know, either.



Just to cap off Ryan being a Shit Clone of Jack, he gives (relatively) less EXP, no Macca, has no drops and he only has 1800 HP as opposed to Jack's 2000.

In The Master's Name





> ......

> ......

> ......



...What have you done!? What audacity is this!?



This shall lead only to ruin!
Ahhh... You must repent, or you will soon be...!
...Nice one, Tadano. Now you'll get some respect from those demons.



So what'll it be today? You here to sing a requiem?
Well, take it somewhere else. Your songs are like nails on a chalkboard...



It seems that the evil within your newfound form has devoured your soul as well, Jimenez!
...Don't go thinking everyone's gonna bow down to you, Zelenin.



I'm sure Jack's squad is much happier with their souls free.
You refuse to acknowledge your sin, Jimenez!
Have you now fallen so far as to be incapable of recognizing it...?



...I must prepare, Hitonari.





> Zelenin left...



We're gonna be destroyed, huh? Says her...
We'll see which side is gonna say hello to oblivion.
...I gotta go give the demons the good news here.



Let's go, Tadano.

> Jimenez left...

Whew, that was... actually fairly simple, huh? Didn't really have to do much in practice. I suppose we should report back to Grendel now.

Prayer



But first we'll see what the crew thinks about what just happened.

Let's move on and pray for no more surprises.



Then again, it probably would've ended up like this no matter what you chose. Don't worry about it.
Let's go on with the mission like we always have.



That may have consequences down the line... But what's done is done.
For now, just concentrate on your main mission. We've been putting things off for too long.



Doctor Zoe was saying that for everyone's mental health, we shouldn't prolong the mission.
So there it is. Let's find the Exotic Matter soon and get to the next sector.



Time we got back to rustlin' up those Exotic Materials!
And don't forget to pick up some forma, y'hear!?



I assumed we woukdn't be able to get along because we're so different...
But it seems a lot of the crew are pretty taken with them.
Is that because we're adapting to our situation, or because we're losing our humanity?
...It's a tough one.



I don't like this political give and take with everyone's ulterior motives all tangled up.
Now I can concentrate on the mission at hand. It's quite exhilarating, really.

Alright, NOW we can go and report back to Grendel and see what's gonna happen next.

Chaos Theme



A promise is a promise. I have already undone the seal.
You may come and go as you please. Now then, let us see what happens.
Will things go as you planned...?
Hmhmhm. Good luck... You'll need it.

Nice and simple, there. It's not even a particularly long path to the purple door.

Silence





Suit yourselves... continue forward... to my corridor of illusions...
Come to me... if you can...



I think it's safe to say that we can, so moving swiftly on through here. This should get us somewhe--











Mankind cannot defeat demons such as these!
We have no means of preventing the Schwarzwelt from swallowing the Earth!
We can do nothing but await the annihilation of mankind...
...Now take up your firearms!



Let us choose to die at the barrel of a comrade's gun than at the hands of a demon!
Ready! Aim! Show your bravery, men... Death before dishonor!



> You tried to protest, but no words came out...

> You hear a voice coming from somewhere...



...For once, I genuinely have no idea what this voice is supposed to be. It's not from that one weird demon who keeps talking at us at doors (the text is too quick for that, and it's a Voice not a Strange Demon!), it's obviously not Gore, there's no reason for it to be any other normal demon...

You can end your painful battle...

It's okay...

You can end your harsh journey...

> You hear another voice.



This one by contrast is much easier; it is a random person from the Red Sprite (most likely a Monitor Team person) who just... stops existing as soon as this part of the scene is over. Might even be intended to be Arthur, but that doesn't work.

...Who... are you...
...Who are you fighting, Crewman Hitonari?
...Commander Gore?



Snap out of it, Hitonari! That's an order!





This is represented by... no audio at all. Good job there.





My name is... Gore!? That's right, I'm Gore!
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Palace of Pleasure





But Hitonari... That shout of yours from deep down broke the spell...
...And awakened my sleeping consciousness.



Thank you, Hitonari.
......



The Ubergestalt is most likely meant to be a reference to the Nietzschean concept of the Ubermensch. A kind of superhuman-esque figure that is the epitome of humanity itself. Except he's not human, hence the gestalt; he's a being in a form in which it no longer belongs and is greater than the sum of its parts.

It also might just because it lets you make a really awful pun.

I see... That explains why I know so much...



They tried to use me as their puppet.



And it was you who pulled me back into the land of the living after I was fated to rot away here.
My body is still the ubergestalt, but...



> Gore is deep in thought...



Just in case you forgot, here's Gore telling you this for... what, the fourth time now? Yes, we get it. The Schwarzwelt is the deadly sins. We got it FOURTY HOURS AGO. Fucking christ.

It's appeared on Earth many times now to wipe out declining civilizations.
And now...
It's us who's staring down the barrel of annihilation.



I also understand the gravity of mankind's sins and that, frankly, we brought this on ourselves.

> Gore took a step back...

However...



We are a species that has the power to adapt to any situation.
Even at this very moment... The power to change our destiny is at work.



Hitonari, I must travel the Schwarzwelt again. This time, to prepare to alter our fate.



Now, go. Defeat Maya.
The "Mothers" that awakened in the Schwarzwelt number four in total.



Two have been defeated. Two are still seeking our destruction.
In order to save the Earth... The Mothers must be eliminated.
The fate of the Earth rests on us two...

> Gore disappeared somewhere...

Alright, so THAT was one giant plot-dump. Sort of.

On the plus side, we learned that provided nothing goes awry (...again...) Grus is going to be the penultimate sector.

The Land Where The Seed's Memories Lie Buried





The location of where I heard the voices of the Mothers is in sector Grus.
That must be where Maya is.
I'll send you the coordinates.



Only 3 floors between us and Maya, huh? That doesn't seem too bad at all...

Maya is one of the Mothers... Be careful.



Plus side, the stairs down to B1F are right here so this might be even brisker than expected. We also need to leave the B Sanctum as the active area here, because we can't get anywhere otherwise.



The Sanctum might be simple but at least its consistent with itself. This kind of is as well, I guess, but it just FEELS worse. 1F was Antlia and Bootes, so B1F is just a purple/blue... Delphinus? Sure, sure why not.



Thankfully there is a terminal right here. Since we actually get to explore Grus for real now, we'll take a wee bit of a rest here before actually dealing with this.