Part 48: The End of the Vampire Reign
Suikoden 2 Tunes – Theme of Temptation ~ Asian Dub Mix
: Oh that... that must have been terrible...
: Yes, yes... my name is KLAUS....
creep levels reaching maximum
: I... I have to gather information for Lord Shu. Please excuse me.
The next morning...
This is one of the few times Nanami can be put into convoy, but the Family Unite is worth keeping her around.
That news seems to take a little longer to spread around taking this path.
That is obviously the reason we're losing people to Neclord.
Sierra's really getting into Klaus, and I'd be batshit scared if I was him.
: Yes, of course...
Gustav tells us there's a mining tunnel east of Crom that will sneak us into Tinto past the zombies. It's also, conveniently, the only other spot on the map to enter.
I guess no one clued Klaus in on who Sierra is.
The tunnel to Neclord is fundamentally little different from the Cave of the Wind. Laziness. Then again, this holds true for the entire series when it comes to dungeons.
This Unicombie, or the Unicorn from Neclord's castle in the first game, can drop the Fire Sealing Rune.
These enemies, the Neclordia, can drop the Master Garb. This is the best medium armor in the game.
Those are some undeniably good stat boosts.
Wheeeeee
I guess I was wrong, there are nine old books in the game. Good to know.
This place has two alternate paths, dictated by these slippery slopes. We'll take the eastern one.
We meet another super-powerful sorcerer down here, but we can't recruit him just yet.
When you take this slope, there's no going back, so make sure you've saved.
Puzzles!
Just then... cheesy 1999 FMV stone golem!!
He's actually way cooler in 2D form. He's the filler boss right before Neclord, but he's not too bad. He's weak to Lightning, but um... we don't really have any mages. Damn.
It's a good idea to use Sierra's Darkness Rune here as while it's still effective against Neclord, you won't really be needing it.
As you expect, he uses earth spells to attack the party.
Luckily, Sierra does wonders with a Darkness Rune.
Poor guy.
Sierra intentionally made Viktor step in front to battle the guy, as a sacrifice.
Pretty awesome shot.
Eventually, we end up back where we were the first time we entered Tinto's mines.
More zombies... but they're tougher than the ones in the mine, so you can use them to train.
There's two sets of scenes here. If you chose to run away but came back to continue the story, Koyu and Marlowe will barge in but get scared shitless by Neclord. We'll see what that looks like later.
: I am immortal, so until she grows up, I'll keep her by my side and bring her up as a lady.
: Don't be absurd. A vulgar woman like you isn't my taste. Yeah, you, you're...
: That's the kind of thing I'm saying is vulgar. For gods' sake...
: Shut up... don't talk like that!! When I think about defeating you I'm so happy I get shivers!! : You think you can beat me? With that blunt sword.
: Yeah, yeah! Tell him, Star Dragon Sword!: Viktor and Azure, I will take you both to the other world. Of course, I expect to make good use of your corpses. : Heh, I'll make sure you can never make that grin again. I'll chop you up! Grind you up! Dry you in the sun! Break you to pieces! Bury you in the ground! Piss on you! Then I'll dig you up! Pull you! Stretch you! Drag you around! And then, and then, in any case, I'll never forgive you!
Viktor's embarrassing wordplay isn't really having an intended effect, except...
It gave Kahn enough time to create a seal.
This prevents Neclord from escaping with his magic.
: Y... you... but I have the power of the 'Moon Rune'. The sacrificial offering was enough, so this sacred barrier will be blown away. Oh powerful Moon Rune, the blood of 100 men, the souls of 100 men, I give to you...
: I'm going to say... I'm going to say it... 'Hey, Neclord! It's time to cash in your chips!' Ahhh, how long I've been waiting for this moment!!
Viktor really needs to get some better lines.
Not this time.
Suikoden 2 Tunes – Gothic Neclord ~ Battle Against Neclord (seriously listen, although it makes me want to dance more than fight... hmm.. there's an idea. Suikoden 2 dance fight, starring Karen, Azure, Viktor and Neclord.)
Neclord is strong, just make sure to keep healing.
His bat form can also attack any character in any row, but he prefers to go after women.
Neclord still has a big weakness to Resurrection Runes.
He might just spend a whole turn physically attacking one member, though.
Kahn really makes that battle easy as fuck, doing 1100+ damage per Charm Arrow. Neclord tries to escape, but...
Neclord hands over the Moon Rune to Sierra, its rightful owner. She then tells Viktor to do what he wants.
: My family, my friends, the people who are important to me, killed by you. That's not all. You trampled on the lives of many times that many. It's too late to beg for your life. Hey, Star Dragon Sword.
Thank goodness this sidequest is over, I want the plot to return.
Everyone gets a big happy reunion.
The trio is back together.
: Azure... you defeated Neclord and freed Tinto. Why? Why would you do that?
: I see... Hauser, I lost a lot of soldiers due to my own poor judgment. Anabelle's last request was for Muse and the State to be saved. Under Muse law, the next acting mayor would be Fitcher. I hear that Fitcher is in the Dinosaur Army now. You can join the Dinosaur Army, too.
But he's been a goddamn asshole this whole game.
This is not the option you want to pick, because it makes him leave forever. Even if it's so enticing.
: Are you sure you're not betraying her faith in you?
: I believed Anabelle and until today have been fighting for Muse and the City-State... my anger at losing Anabelle may have been turned towards you. Now that Anabelle is gone, I have to live by my conscience. Lord Azure, I apologize for any disrespect I have shown you. Will you let me fight with you?
Before leaving Tinto, make sure to get the Mother Earth Rune from Gustav.
Next time: The plot returns! Hurray!
Artwork:
Gijimu – Chikyou Star
The leader of the Lampdragon Bandits whose fortress is called Sai, north of Tigermouth Village. Fought in the wars Tinto has had with the Grasslands.
Hauser – Tenyu Star
Kahn Marley – Chihei Star
The Marley family used to own an area in Harmonia, but were driven out when vampires started turning people in their domain into zombies. Kahn's grandfather was the first to fight Neclord, but was killed; Kahn's father figured out how to seal the doppelganger magic that Neclord could employ, but was also killed. Was unable to do jack shit as a vampire hunter until Viktor and Sierra wandered into his path.
Koyu – Chisoku Star
Younger brother of Gijimu and Lo Wen.
Lo Wen – Chii Star
One of the head bandits of the Lampdragon Bandits. She was originally a con artist in Two River, but was found out and turned to life with the bandits for safety.
Marlowe – Chiyou Star
He is Lilly Pendragon's tutor, and thinks of her as a little sister. He starts to pen a novel about Riou after joining the Dunan Unification Army.
Sierra Mikain – Tenei Star
About 800 years ago, Sierra came into possession of the Moon Rune by unknown means. The Rune possessed her and forced her to take many lives. To avoid the curse, she retreated into a forest where she found a cottage. A mortally wounded knight wandered into her cottage, uttering words of remorse about being unable to protect his liege lord. Sierra took pity on the man, named Rean Penenberg, and gave him the curse of immortality. He left her for awhile to seek vengeance, but returned to spend centuries with Sierra.
Others sought out the cottage wanting to end their lives, and under Sierra's vampiric lust, she founded the village of the Blue Moon. The Moon Rune allowed these vampires to live without drinking blood. Neclord, a new member, stole the Moon Rune, which caused many vampires to die out. Some escaped, and renewed their bloodthirst, Rean among them. Sierra was immune to this urge, being a coven mistress. She didn't want to let these vampires go renegade, so she became a vampire hunter of sorts.
After further centuries, Nash Latkje found her and wanted to know more about True Runes. She joined him for no apparent reason, but in reality she wanted to get closer to Rean Penenberg's manor, situated on the Jowston-Highland border. She entered the manor, but Rean was not present. Zombies attacked both Sierra and Nash that night, including the butler and maid, all created by Rean. Sierra let Nash kill all of them, conserving her power for her encounter with Rean. Rean appeared, and manipulated Sierra with feigned naivete. She took pity on him, and got within range to stab him, but was also in range to have her blood sucked by him. Taking on much of her powers, Rean became a force to be reckoned with. Nash attempted to fight him, but failed; he allowed Sierra to feast on him so she could regain the strength she lost. Afterward, she destroyed Rean, and, upon sensing Neclord, left Nash to move to Tinto.
Jess – Tenku Star
A giant asshole.