Part 43: Grus Clean Up
Prayer
Time to take a break before we step into Horologium. Gonna use this opportunity to talk to the crew first though.
The truth behind the Schwarzwelt, our course of action, the future of Earth and humanity itself...! It's like he knew it all...
...But I'm convinced. Call it a gut feeling, woman's intuition, whatever... But that really was Gore, and he's trying to tell us something. Please... go meet him. Find out what his true intentions are.
...Huh, there's no Maebe or Wolf here. That's pretty weird!
But when I heard his call, I realized... that's not the issue here. ...Go to him. We have an obligation to hear what he has to say--even in death.
Alright, so let's see what SubApps we're going to get from having trashed Maya with minimal effort.
A very strong start with an inexplicable Beatles reference, I see. More EXP is never a bad thing, and it might prove useful later. There is a non-zero chance that I'm just gonna leave this equipped.
Shusendo is, uh, not a good SubApp since it gives you more Macca from fights. How boring.
It's name is clever though, since "shusendo" is Japanese for... "miser." That's pretty clever, I like that.
What I don't like are the Garnishes.
They require you to either do a negotiation for a demon to join in OR for one to try and join willingly at the start of combat.
That's it; that's the only time they proc. They are straight up the Friend SubApps but flatout worse.
C'mon! Commander Gore's waitin' for us out there somewhere! Now git, Tadano. I'll leave it up to you how much forma ya wanna collect on this trip.
So whatever information he has is also not of this world. We have no way of finding it ourselves... But what does that mean for us? Should we be hopeful, or...? I think whatever he knows really might swing the balance.
Oh, sure, we COULD go into Horologium which... takes up almost the entirety of the bottom screen... but we're of course not going to right now.
Instead, we're going to talk to Dent I guess? Since Blair is also not around. Bizarre.
We've almost reached out main objective... Like I told you before, we can do anything! And I'll be supporting you to the very end. Good luck!
Real quick before we deal with anything else is that we've got Abaddon in Grus B3F semi-rarely I guess? He never turned up last time for some reason which isn't helpful. On top of what you can see here, he's 300% weak to Mute.
Crushing Wave is an enemy-only skill that I'm PRETTY sure is meant to be Madness Crush instead. 1-4 random NoHs nothing super fancy here.
A Squandered Nation
Gonna start off the sidequests by picking up a new one for sensible reasons.
You put that weapon I made to good use? A nice bit of business, eh? But I ain't satisfied with that... I'm aiming to forge a real work of art.
Willya do it for me?
Yes. That's the spirit! I'll make the greatest weapon there ever was! That oughtta light a fire under you, eh, boy?You're probably wondering why we'd bother to pick this up right now, right? Pattern recognition says that the Onogoro Stones are gonna be in Horologium in fixed spots, right?
Wrong. They don't appear in fixed spots anywhere at all. They only spawn via pure chance in Silver forma. They CAN appear in Horologium (and there is technically the easiest spot for it in there anyway) but they CAN also appear elsewhere. I don't know everywhere they can spawn but there is at least one other...
But first, let's make that Murakumo Clone. This is a fucking pain in the ass to get despite being a slightly worse Cursed Sarai. Weaker but controllable at least.
It requires... AT Grusite II x3, Wood Sceptre x8 (Erlkonig) and Genma Bugle x8 (Heimdall) because who wants it to be quick and easy?
Now for the most important thing:
The Onogoro Stone CAN spawn in Grus which is all that matters. This spot right here, on B3F next to the heal spot? It has a 100% Forma spawn rate and will never give you an Enemy Search. The one catch is that you have to use those stairs in the bottom-right next to the sleep tiles.
So, use Medic and then walk a simple pattern from those stairs to here and back again. It takes a bit of a while because Onogoro Stones are rare, but it's the second easiest way to get Onogoro Stones.
What!? You got 'em all already!? You're amazing for a boy your age, sonny! Well, you deserve it... I'll make you the ultimate weapon! It'll take a long time, though. Mind waiting until I'm done?And by "a while" he means that it's 10 full moon cycles. Again. We'll be back for this later...
So in the meantime, we're gonna go and clear out a whole bunch of sidequests!
Encounter
Gonna do this in some kind of vague order that makes a degree of sense, I guess? Starting with this since it's been waiting for way, way too long.
I'm willing to listen... Tell me.> Hitonari told Gemori about Anthony...
I... see. Now I know why I heard a voice.
Amidst the sharp, metallic tang of the wills possessed by the humans here on a mission... I had felt a different, unfitting will; one strangely pure and innocent. That's most likely him... This man called Anthony. Yes, that is my mission.
Though he seems to desire not love itself but an answer to a certain hesitation he had... Though in truth, this is not much different than my usual practice. In either case, I am a teacher. I must go, then, to this man I am to love...> The demon left...
And back to Anthony we go. He's only been waiting since... Delphinus?
Prayer
> You reported to Anthony...
...What? Are you kidding me? Th-Then... Just now... That was...!
It was just so sudden, and she talked like a normal girl, so... She gave me a lot of good advice. I thanked her, and she said, "You're welcome." And then before I knew it, she was gone. Man, what a waste, huh?
Well... I wouldn't hit on her. Definitely out of my league.Character... development...? Almost???
Ohhhh, yeah. I almost forgot. That goddess actually gave me a message to pass on to you.
But the stuff she wrote don here doesn't make any sense. It's just a bunch of letters.
Or is this what that stuff looks like in the divine realms?...And there we go, again. Improvement to backslide in less than 30 seconds.
Well, well... looks like a goddess has taken a liking to you... Maybe you're the luckiest guy around, huh?
Oh yeah, while I'm at it... Hey, Hitonari. I figure I might as well ask...
No!
C'mon, man, you heard what that goddess said... share the love...! I'm counting on you!So, great news about all this: we never have to see Anthony ever again!
Oh and as you probably expected, that note is just a password.
The password here is part of this incantation of the names of God:
quote:
I (N.N.) do Conjure thee (O Spirit N.N.) by the virtue of the Great and Holy Names of God, that immediately and without delay thou art to appear unto me under an agreeable form, and without noise, nor injury unto my person, to make answer unto all that I shall command thee; and I do conjure thee herein by
EL ELOHIM ELOHO ELOHIM SEBAOTH ELION EIECH ADIER EIECH ADONAY JAH SADAY TETRAGRAMMATON SADAY AGIOS O THEOS ISCHIROS ATHANATOS AGLA Amen.
In particular, it's an extract from The Grimoire of Armadel. It's a tome from the 17th century that, like many of its ilk, was translated into English by Samuel Lidell MacGregor Mathers.
It... just gives us a Gemori who's 3 levels higher than normal. And has the same stats and skills as a base Gemori.
What the everloving fuck is this? That's not a reward. That's a goddamn punishment.
Anyway, let's see... Next should be that Laevateinn demon, but we still haven't met them and they're not in Grus. So, hmm...
A Scorched Nation
This is next on the list, I suppose. It's the one remaining one we haven't finished yet outside of Thoth's thing.
Thank you so much! I'll have Goblin show them around.
Fare thee well.> Oberon and Titania left.
Thank you... Without you, this village would never have been established. You helped make a home for us... We'll welcome you here anytime.
It sure is a good thing this is a decoy fake reward otherwise finishing the Faerie Village would not be worth it.
There are two more things you get from this that are far more worth your time.
The first one is in the back here; gotta talk to Oberon for it.
I have heard some say you played a central role in this village's founding. In praise of your work, you shall receive our kingdom's traditional armor. You have done well, very well.
This is some semi-decent armor for sure, but...
It's biggest issue isn't so much that Elec weakness as it is that there's no Phys/Gun resistance. It's a big ol' defense upgrade, immunity to both Expel and Curse, resists Wind for good measure.. Hard to not use this for a little while at least, really.
We'll get to the second reward, that makes the Faerie Village the most worthwhile sidequest chain later on. It's very special.
But first we gotta start some new ones, so let's see...
Prayer
Just because we have nothing left to do for Anthony, at long last, doesn't mean Dent can't hook us up with someone else.
I'd encourage you to get more details from him. Will you grant Tanaka's request? Yes.
I'm Tanaka, on the supply team. ...I realize I'm kind of an odd duck for a Supply man...
To tell you the truth, I find the forma here more interesting than the fate of mankind.Not that weird; you'd definitely get along well with Irving.
Hahaha... I probably shouldn't go around admitting tha,t huh? But enough about that. Let me get right to my request. It's a tough job, and probably only someone who's survived so many battles could do it...
Yes. I'm glad you're willing. Allow me to explain.
...Can't say that we do actually, huh.
It's categorized under the Drake family, but I have my own private race for it...
Yeah, you heard right. Fafnir is a draconic demon with a mechanical body. Doesn't that set your mind reeling? Just think... what kind of parts is he composed of? That's my first interest, the parts themselves and how they work. After that, I'm interested in the possibilities. I mean, just think of the kind of equipment we could develop using that stuff... So, Hitonari, you heard my story, right? I bet you're ready to run right out and find Fafnir!
Good luck with the hunt. I'll start prepping the analysis for when you get back. Oh, and one more thing!
Every component from his body is precious research material. I don't want to see any scratches or dirt.
Don't worry, if anyone can do it, it's you!Gonna have to put this one on the backburner for now, I suppose. So, what's next... Oh, right! Of course! To Eridanus!
A Land Controlling Roads
We have Gate Search C, so we can get to the 3rd rooms on the outer edges here at long live last.
Oddly enough, the door after that one isn't locked or hidden or anything. It just... doesn't open.
As before, there are laws governing this match.
This is a relatively difficult one to deal with. Not because it's super-mean or anything but because it basically makes it slightly harder to prepare for. Not by much, though.
The trial will be harsh, make no mistake, but you shall gain an even greater power. Will you take the trial? Yes.
Then we shall begin. En garde...!
Herald Kazfiel and Herald Aniel Vehement Rage
So, in practice, Kaz and Aniel aren't really that much different from before. They have more HP, hit harder, etc. etc. but there's no resistance changes or anything.
I don't remember if Kazfiel could do this before, but he can slightly increase defense. That's... something, I guess?
Aside from that, they're basically identical to before in movesets as well. Pretty simple, pretty ho-hum.
They both have 2500HP in this fight, for reference.
And we unlock both of them at once from this fight, oh my.
I sure hope they're worth using after jumping through that many hoops. It'd be a weird decision if they weren't, huh?
End A Land Controlling Roads
That we two could be so defeated... And by a son of man, no less... We yield to you.
We have waited for someone to grow so strong. Though we expected that your spirit would emulate more closely the Holy Spirit...
There's a secret-not-secret alignment check here. If your alignment isn't Law then you can't continue this quest chain.
Therefore, we shall issue you a final challenge. The trial given to the saints since days long since passed into myth...
Getting into some biblical apocrypha with this one, I see. What's next after that, the Harrowing of Hell?
You have seen the drastic changes in this world for yourself... We have managed to capture one of the demons who wrought these changes. You shall defeat it for us.
Will you accept this trial? Yes. I have unlocked the door. Now go...
We'll go through that door in a moment. First, though, gonna use another special password for a unique demon. ALCARMOR gives us a demon at level 61(+) who is...
Completely fucking awful! Alciel is quite possibly the worst demon in SJ, excepting like I dunno... Maya? His Phys and Gun weaknesses are only 125% as per normal thankfully, his resistances to Ice and Wind are... but that Expel weakness? That's one of those rare 300% ones. Y'know, the ones that thus far have only been on Slime and Doppelganger? Yeah, those.
Oh and he's weak to Almighty. Like, he's not weak-weak but every demon in the game takes 100% flat neutral damage to Almighty. Alciel doesn't. He takes 110%.
Oh and his source is Retaliate and Life Surge.
God, just fuck right off Alciel. You're lucky I'm going to use you against this here dragon.
...Oh, right. The Cleric Robes. These are very nice, honestly. That Curse weakness is really annoying and obnoxious though. I did consider using this in our dragon fight at least. Really, they might be more worthwhile if they weren't alignment locked.
Silence
In The Master's Name
A seven-headed beast, with ten horns raised from its head, huh...
O grand warrior, sent by the angels... You were told to slay my dear dragons, were you not? To look down upon me so and yet contriving to use me toward their own ends... What a selfish and self-righteous justice theirs is.
Human... I bear no grudge against you. But if you turn your blade against me, I will respond in kind. Rise, my dear dragons... It is time to feed. Devour the poor lamb being used as God's pawn! Fiend Mother Harlot Vehement Rage
So, our denouement boss fight for this quest chain is the Whore of Babylon and oh my. Level 93, huh? How exciting!
...On paper.
In practice she has a grand total of 3 moves she can do. That is including her basic attack. Yes.
Resistance-wise, she's weak-but-neutral to Wind, immune to Phys (but does not resist Gun...), and she drains Electricity.
In terms of skills, she has Maziodyne which is why you might want to bother with the Cleric Robes here.
Her second and final skill is at least a unique one. Babylon Goblet deals Almighty damage (hence why Alciel takes more than everyone else by a noticable margin!); it has a base 300 power like Megidola, costs more MP than Megidolaon and compensates for that by inflicting Charm.
With a base 25% rate. Why yes, it does cost 25MP more than Megidola, why do you ask?
OH and incidentally, Mother Harlot? Does not have anything to remove buffs or debuffs. At all. Not even Sunset Melody or anything similar.
She has 3500HP, which is on the higher end of things for an optional boss but pretty low for a fight where the gimmick is that it has no gimmick.
...Also she is the second worst Fiend we will get. Yes, really. She is only better than David. That is fucking shameful.
End A Land Controlling Roads
Hohoho... The angels have chosen a frightening champion. And now, the finishing blow... Worry not. I trust that you will carry out your own justice.
Well, let's think... Mother Harlot... is ironically not a Mother as far as we care. Maia Ouroboros, Tiamat, Maya, Mem Aleph is literally just MA...
Do you mean that I am free to go?
You know this, and yet you spare my life... Humans are peculiar creatures. Son of man... Rather than give you my thanks, I will give you a piece of advice.
But if your spirit is aligned with those hated by God... The "Mothers" shall look upon you with affection. The decision is yours. Whatever you choose, I shall bear witness to it...
No reward immediately, huh? Guess we gotta go back and see what Aniel and Kazfiel have to say about this.
You have vanquished the dragon! It is regrettable that you let the demon escape, but your deeds are none the less praiseworthy.
But so long as you remain, the future need not be a bleak one. We pray for the Holy Spirit to live within you...
Alright, so the Amanomi Sword... might just be the best sword in general.
Like, sure, it's a really boring weapon. Single really powerful hit, but targettable and no added effects or anything. On paper, very ho hum and not something that I'd normally use but it's absurdly powerful so it makes up for it by having the highest base attack of all swords.
So, what about the other side of the floor?
We Four Devas have come in response to the restoration of a world full of energy. Thou, too, hast come to this land prepared for death. If thou dost desire power to reinforce thy resolve... I am willing to train thee. Even if thy spirit matcheth not our stance. Thou must fight and defeat me, son of man. But this be no ordinary battle. There are conditions.
This is basically a level cap, rather than anything else. Fortunately, I have the perfect setup for this...
Thou mayst under no circumstances change demons once te battle has begun. If thou dost accept these terms, let us begin. Wilt thou train? Yes.
Now, let the battle begin! Kishin Jikokuten Vehement Rage
So, Jikokuten... is a Deva fight, alright. He really likes to punch dudes really hard. Really, really hard. Sometimes he uses Berserker God and sometimes he remembers he can cast Garudyne.
That's it. He's a Deva fight. The HP limit isn't an issue because you can just casually use Matador and Doppelganger to Taunt > Reflect Phys for an easy win. Taunt twice to make it slightly quicker though, it's really down to how often he hits Doppelganger.
Girimehkala's HP is way too high, unfortunately!
End A Land Controlling Roads
Shouldst thou desire even more strengh, open thou the door behind me and enter. This door can only be opened by one who hath bested the trials of we three pillars. The last of the Four Devas awaiteth thou within.
Honestly, I really kind of like the Monarch Vest. Sort of.
It has a giant weakness in that its a rare thing that removes our natural immunity to Expel and only resists Gun but it's a very high defense and there IS a way around that Expel weakness.
But it's Chaos only so we can't use it and I probably wouldn't seriously use it anyway.
With all three Devas beaten, we can open this door. No alignment lock here, huh?
And once we're through this door, we've mapped out all of Eridanus. We might just never be back (on-screen) after this, huh...
Thou hast done well in coming, you who defeated the three pillars. I would like to begin the final trial, but...
'Tis a shame that thy spirit's flow is different from our own... Alack, I had hoped to entust thee with that sword, but... So long as our paths diverge, the trial endeth here. ...Thou mayst leave.Well, that's a shame. We can get into the room but Bishamonten doesn't give us the time of day if we're not Chaos aligned...
A Scorched Nation
So let's go back to the Faerie Village. Now that we've finished the village, at random the Goblin here can have something obstructing his digging.
We can choose to help out with getting through this quicker or we can just... leave it to the Goblin to deal with.
Regardless of which happens, he finds a low-tier recovery item (either Medicine, a Life Stone or a Chakra Drop) and then we can either let him have it or take it for ourselves.
Regardless of context, these are both alignment affecting decisions:
Watch: Chaos
Help: Law
Let Goblin keep the item: Law
Take it: Chaos
And this event is repeatable infinitely. It's just random on whether or not it happens. As a result, this is how we can make our alignment change when by all accounts its not really going to any more.
Alright, now that we've spent about 5 minutes here we've gone from a blue name to a red name. This means we CAN go back to Bishamonten, but first...
A Land Controlling Roads
Back to Grus real quick! There are two Chaos alignment locked doors in here. Let's see what we get out of this, shall we?
The Strength Incense at least makes sense, but I really think that at this point the Megido Stone should be a Megidola Stone.
Alright, so let's go back to Bishamonten and this is a marginally annoying limit but I once again have A Plan.
To change demons in the midst of battle is, of course, out of the question.
Now... if thou dost accept these terms... let us fight. Wilt thou take the final trial? Yes.
Let the battle begin! I, Bishamonten, shall bear witness to thy final trial! Kishin Bishamonten Vehement Rage
Oh, Bishamonten... how are you the easiest boss fight we've had to date? Out of like, all of them?
He's weak (neutral) to Fire, resists Phys and immune to Ice.
Attack-wise he sometimes uses Glacial Blast, I think? Maybe? I dunno, he doesn't really live long enough to get to do much of anything.
He has somewhere between 1250-1300HP. Yes. This makes me question the data I have for boss HP since it lists his HP as 2000 which is still ludicrously low but also visibly and provably wrong.
End A Land Controlling Roads
Thou hast bested me, a god of war. The trials of the Four Devas are at an end. But so long as thou livest, thine own trials shall never cease. I look forward to our next meeting.
Honestly, the Kurikara Blade is pretty good for how hilariously, absurdly simple it is to get!
It's let down somewhat by its seemingly low attack power. It's random NoH from 1-4 doesn't help it much unfortunately. It does have the opportunity to outdamage the Amanomi Sword (and thus everything else) but it's really inconsistent about it.
Now there's just one last thing...
A Squandered Nation
I finally finished it! Here, boy... it's yours.
I never thought I'd live long enough to make a beauty like this. Longevity has its perks. But I owe it all to you, boy. Thanks for giving me the chance. Prayer
The Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi is basically just the Amanomi Sword except kind of worse. It makes up for it by not being alignment locked, at least.
And with that, we're done here. Let's just take a trip to Irving for the last time before we get into Horologium...
The Mortal Knife is a crap ol' weapon that I'm kind of amazed we never got at the very beginning of Grus. When you're expected to have it; AT Grusite x2, Fairy Helmet x1 (Oberon) and Jirae Mud x2 (Gogmagog).
The Azathoth Knife is just the Mortal Knife but with More Power. Neither are very good, yes. AT Grusite II x1, Drake Board x2 (Kingu) and Fairy Dust x3 (Titania).
Jestcost's all that's left for the guns. It's... okay, I guess? Only has an instant kill skill which is nice and it's basic attack is a multitarget chance to Fear which is fancy. Probably wouldn't bother though, because its's AT Grusite II x2, Tyrant Tongue x3 (Abaddon) and Cold Scythe x1 (Pale Rider).
Tenma Vest exists solely to out me as a dirty hypocrite because it's the Monarch Vest, right? But it has shit defense, so it's awful and worthless. It's also functionally way harder to get because it doesn't require beating up exactly one guy by... having him beat himself up: DF Grusite II x2, Avian Wing x3 (Garuda) and Fallen Crown x3 (Gemori).
Oh boy another one of these fucking things! +25max HP. That's it. Fuck this. AC Grusite x2, Raptor Jar x3 (Anzu) and Yoma Bridle x2 (Valkyrie).
The Wizard Ring is the best of a bad lot by a fucking mile. It's only +25MP as per the above but it also grants an immunity to Expel. Normally that is completely worthless, but since there is a tiny handful of armor that makes that a weakness instead... still not worth it though
AC Grusite x2, Night Choker x3 (Succubus) and Nymph Robe x2 (Peri/Sarasvati).
Et finalment, the items what aren't the Magic Incense. Both Mirrors are a bit tedious to get and aren't really worth it for the most part since they usually just make bosses angry.
Ironically, Attack Mirrors are REALLY REALLY good for a fight in the future. Since you're more likely than not to do that in NG+ though, they aren't worth farming for.
Attack Mirror: DF Grusite II x2, Jaki Tusk x5 (Girimehkala) and Genma Bugle x5 (Heimdallr).
Magic Mirror: DF Grusite II x2, Fairy Dust x5 and Avian Wing x5.
Now this is nicer in general. And it's relatively easier to make to boot: AC Grusite x1, Reaper Tux x3 (Guedhe) and Tyrant Tongue x1.
And with that, we've made everything we can make. There are unknown items in every category still, but they're all special. And the Vitality Incense. And pffft Vitality Incense is maybe the worst incense, so who cares?
Anyway, yes, Horologium. Hopefully the denouement is approaching! Are you excited?
