Part 22: Mission 12 - Burning Water, Frigid Flame
Location: Hundred Demons’ Island Fortress
We find Brai, emperor of the Hundred Demon Empire, exhorting the troops that they are the only ones fit to rule the Earth. Of course, the place is still filled with those worthless humans but the leader of his troops, Marshal Hidler, says they’re no threat whatsoever.
Brai likes hearing that, commanding Hidler to convert every single human into a demon like them – then, the world shall belong to him.
But that’s not their entire plan of worldly conquest, so Brai turns to his chief scientist, Gura, for details. Gura relates the chaotic state of the entire Earth Sphere, beset by battles of not only humans but also space invaders and more. Gura suggests they leverage the situation to conquer the whole thing… but there’s a problem.
Namely, their island fortress needs more energy. It can operate just fine right now but waging an offensive against the world isn’t something so mundane. They’ll need more forces than just this mighty base and while Gura already has plans to produce large amounts of units and weapons, that’ll require a tremendous amount of energy.
How do they solve this problem, then? By getting their hands on the Getter Ray Amplifier that one Prof. Saotome’s recently developed. By improving and mass producing the thing, they’ll have all the energy they’ll ever need to power their island fortress.
Sounds good, so Brai commands Hidler to grab some Hundred Demon Robots and capture the Saotome Laboratory. Let that be the first blow of the conquest!
HAIL BRAAAAIIII!
Location: Tekkoryu Fortress
Saiga’s approached the empress, suggesting that the Tekkoryu should also take measures against other potential threats than just the Zeorymer. He figures she’s already been informed of the Nahel Argama team, the ones who showed up in the aftermath of the Lanster’s defeat.
Indeed, she’s aware of this squadron comprised of several unique robots but Yura asks how Saiga takes them as a threat to their plans. “Maybe not yet but someday… And that’s saying nothing of the fact that, like the other robots, the Zeorymer could also be taken into the group,” he explains.
So, he figures it best to nip this problem at the bud in the interest of fulfilling the empress’ plans; fair enough, Yura decides to send Si Aen and Si Tau to dispatch them. Saiga is silently pleased: it’s best to eliminate any potential threats for HIM, as well. And that applies to the other Hakkeshu as well.
Location: Last Guardian’s Base
Oki isn’t done traumatizing Masato yet, showing him a clip of a test tube. Or, rather, of Masato as an embryo, growning inside that test tube. What the hell? It’s true. Masato’s a man-made human, unique in all the world and cultivated with a specific purpose in mind: pilot the Zeorymer
Masato is stunned, whimpering that he’s lying, but Oki say it’s all fact. Is that why they commanded him to use the Zeorymer to fight the Haudragon? “Correct. It’s your fate,” Oki says matter-of-factly.
: (I’m… a human designed to pilot the Zeorymer… Same as that girl, Miku Hirumo…): (But even as a test-tube baby… they’d still need to obtain the sperm and egg from someone. If it was the same man and woman… would that make Miku my sister…?)
: Masato.: …: Did Mr. Oki brief you about the Tekkoryu – the Haudragon?
: He did; an army of robots bent on world domination, right? That’s great but it’s not my problem to deal with.
: Hahahah…
: What’s so funny?: You will pilot the Zeorymer and fight them. It's your destiny.: How can you be so nonchalant about this?!: …: We were made only to pilot that robot… How can you accept that?!: Humans are meant for… you know… more!: Do you think so? I believe all humans have a predetermined path in life.
: !: And ours is with the Zeorymer, Masato.: …*ALARM!*
: ?!
The kids run back to the command room, where Oki reports that some unknown troops are attacking the Saotome Laboratory; furthermore, intel just came in that two Hakke Robots are also headed that way.
Miku’s surprised to hear that the Hakkeshu aren’t focusing on Last Guardian but Oki has no idea what they’re up to. The Federation Army’s currently engaging them but it’s only a matter of time before both break their lines; the Nahel Argama’s already been dispatched to the Saotome Lab but Oki also wants the Zeorymer to head there.
Miku is wary but Oki says that the Hakkeshu’s involvement demands they launch; she accepts and pulls Masato to the hangar. “Do I really have no choice but to pilot that thing…?” he mulls.
Mission 12 – Burning Water, Frigid Flame
Saotome does not recognize his attackers, obviously not Mechasaurus. Hidler gets on the mic and introduces himself as Field Marshal of the Hundred Demon Empire. The ones who’ll supplant the foolish humans are rulers of Earth!
They are the apex life in this world, so it is only natural that it all belong to them; and they’ll remake every human into demons along the way! Saotome stands baffled but, regardless, the demons’ plan starts here: Hidler sends his troops over to stomp the lab and take Saotome’s Getter Ray Amplifier.
Or not; the Nahel Argama arrives and blocks their path. Saotome confirms to Michiru that he’s fine and tells of what the attackers are after. Hayato muses that, if they’re seeking the Getter Ray AMPLIFIER, then their the exact opposite of the Dinosaur Empire who sought to destroy anything related to Getter Rays.
Seems to Ryouma that this gang wants to actually use the energy to fuel their world domination, prompting Hidler to once again harp of how they’re the most suited to rule. “Well, at least these guys are pretty straightforward,” Asuka quips. “True, true. None of that ‘new world order’ or ‘revolutionize mankind’ song and dance,” Light adds.
Still doesn’t mean we’re just going to let them do their thing, of course. So off go our troops to keep their hands away from the lab.
Mission Objective: Destroy all enemies
Mission Failure: Nahel Argama destroyed or any enemy unit reaches the Saotome Lab
Simple, so long as you form a decent defensive line. The frontline Horned Demons will make a beeline for the lab, not even attacking if no one’s in range after they move, so field speedy units to run them down.
It’s a long way for them to reach the lab so you’ll be fine… unless you really screw up.
Of course, I’ve no problems with this whatsoever as Domon has a Haro and can move twice as far as the demons.
They’re made of sturdier stuff than most but your protagonists should be capable of twoshotting them.
Everyone else closes in.
Enemy Phase!
So do the Horned Demons, Domon’s quarry dying when he attacks. Hidler and the rest stand by.
Player Phase!
And we might as well take a quick gander at Hidler:
Mecha Fortress Demon (Field Marshal Hidler)
Pilot Skills:
- Unyielding Spirit
- Support Attack L1
Well, he’s a lot weaker than he was in Z. This Skill List is positively ridiculous, especially when you consider Balendos has Prevail; as is, Hidler relies solely on his ship to stay alive and, while it is decently powerful and bulky, it’s not enough.
If anything, he has decent enough stats but that’s only a problem if you let him get a clean hit in.
Domon cuts another demon to size and in goes Rei.
Gone.
One thing that can give the Horned Demons more longevity are the forest around which’ll boost their defenses. It’ll also slow their advance, however.
Hugo giving an assist, Kouji moves in.
But it’s not quite enough. Puru Two is nearby to wrap that up, though.
As Domon zips far away to hurt a fresh demon, Ginga gets to work on the closest one.
Easy pickings for Akira.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs_JGAZgWWw
Also, watch as Akira Kamiya goes crazy for what is, essentially, his vulcan.
Might as well send our remaining guys to start dealing with Hidler.
: Rrrgh! This fly won't sit still!
: Heh! How good are you at tag, Mr. Demon? You're it!
… Or the plot can kick in as soon as I start.
: Ah! Those are…!
: Hakke Robots, I think!
: Hmph. There are others beside us targeting the Saotome Laboratory?
: So that’s the Nahel Argama squad…
: Plus some other unknown group, it seems. Tau, they are—: Spare me the step-by-step, I know. Our orders are to destroy the Nahel Argama, so we’ll ignore the others, right?: … Right, yes. : Then we are ready. Let all here behold the Si Sisters, masters of flame and water…: To battle!: Ignore them! Capture the laboratory ASAP!Not like the sisters are close enough to attack any of the demons but whatever. We’ll deal with the in a bit but, before that, Hidler needs to go.
: We’ll end the lot of you and, then, this world will belong to the Hundred Demons!
: I don’t think so! It’s you folks who’ll get a crushed by us!
: What he said. The lizards are saving you a spot in Hell.: Hah! You’d best not bunch us with the likes of those geckos!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MbYmhG557g
: Demon or whatever you are, all I see is another bad guy pulling the same crap as the others!: Silence, boy! I will not allow a worm like you to bungle the first step in our conquest of the world!
: I always thought demons only showed up in fairy tales but…
: Come on, weirdo! We’re gonna drop a ton of salt over your head!: You brats dare mock the Hundred Demons?!
: Mutropolis’ Raideen, eh? We’ll also claim your Mutron in time!
: These guys are after super energies?!
I gave Raideen a Jammer
: Urk! I should retreat for now and revise our strategy…!Yeah, Hidler runs off once he reaches 9.5k HP. I could easily have set up a kill but I was in a hurry when recording and didn’t do it.
Also, here are the other convos we missed:
: Trying to attack the Saotome Lab while we were all away, huh? You demons are a bunch of chickens!: Silence, human! You being here or not’ll make absolutely no difference!--
: Hundred Demon Empire! If you’re here to threaten peace, then we’re ready to fight back!: Impertinence! A mere human dares challenge us?!
Back to our regular program, Elle weakens the last Horned Demon and Asuka takes it.
So there.
A Spirit cast later and Domon get Hyper Mode going.
That’s just to speed things along, as these Wheel Demons are resilient, at 8500 HP.
Not resilient enough, mind. Also, is it wrong that Domon is like five levels ahead of everyone?
Off go Hugo and Ginga, each picking a demon to whittle down.
This one’s in Tap’s range.
Perfect.
Ryouma finishes Hugo’s, gaining a Prevail level.
Enemy Phase!
Ow.
FYI, Si Aen and Si Tau have been slooooowly heading towards the coast. They’re almost there.
Player Phase!
: Sister, this signal is!
: Can it be… him?!
: …
: Zeorymer…!
: (That’s Prof. Kihara’s…!): Curse you, Zeorymer…! Did they detect us and come in pursuit?
: But that’s good. If we can capture it ourselves, the Empress will be delighted.: Hold, Tau. That very Empress ordered us to, above all, destroy the Nahel Argama and its team. This is not the time for us to engage the Zeorymer.: What are you babbling about, sister? Reclaiming “Heaven” is the empress’ ultimate desire. We’d be shaming the Hakkeshu name if we let it go now!*Si Tau steps towards the Zeorymer.*
: Do not run off by your lonesome! Did you forget that we fight together?!: And what point is there to that when we still cannot perform the “Twin Lords”?!: Tau!
: Flame and Water are twin Hakke Robots… We, sisters, are burdened with the same fate…! None of that matters! My Gallowin of Water alone is more than capable of defeating him!: Masato, are you ready? We’ve to stop those two Hakke Robots.: (Is… Is this really my destiny…?): Did you hear me? I’m shifting us into combat mode.: …: Masato… If you won’t fight, then why did you board the Zeorymer?: I’ve no home to return to. This is all I have left… Isn’t that how it is, Miku?: … Just try and focus on the battle right now. The Hakke Robots are engaging us.: … Roger.
Gallowin of Water (Si Tau)
Pilot Skills:
- Prevail L3
- Support Attack L1
Briest of Flame (Si Aen)
Pilot Skills:
- Leadership
- Prevail L3
- Support Defense L1
See this, Hidler? This is what a midboss should look like. Standard to the Hakkeshu, the twins are both competent pilots with good stats and high-powered robots. The Gallowin and Briest have a lot of HP for this point of the game, too (though they’ll also retreat at 50%).
That being said, Si Aen is clearly the better pilot, having an edge on Tau on pretty much everything. The only thing she has over her is morale gains. Leadership has the potential to be dangerous but, thankfully, Tau broke their formation and the AI isn’t smart enough to get it back.
Masato would be in trouble if he didn’t have Iron Wall. You’ll want to get your people up there ASAP, though.
So, Masato will hold the line and weaken them however he can. His morale is way too lose to abuse the Dimensional Coupling System, too.
: Zeorymer…! I’ll best you myself!: I-Incoming!
: Settle down… Keep your cool and fight back!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sliEODL29ac
Yeah, it’ll take a while.
The Demons on the northern front are all cleared out, though. Now there are only a few back on Hidler’s front.
A good chance to show off the Unicorn Drill’s File Load, even.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jniTvZkz98
Last one is weakened by Duke and sniped down by Rei.
Next, insert a few turns of me trudging my people over to the sisters.
: These fools are challenging us?!: Calm yourself, Tau! It’s only by cooperating with one another that we show our full might!: Do not tell me what to do, sister! I can dispatch the likes of them by myself! 
: What… the pilots of these blue and red units are sisters?: That matters not during battle!
: Yes, it does! Sisters are strong because they help each other – just like me and Puru Two!
: Did they ally themselves with the Hundred Demon Empire?!: Idiocy… The Tekkoryu are the rightful masters of this world – we’ve no need for allies!: Tau, please! Teamwork! It’s dangerous to underestimate this foe!: Hrm… I know that!!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BJ-5734kU0
That was a 98% chance to hit, mind.
: I’ve no choice now… engaging!: Wh-What is you people's problem with me?!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7gW7GLydp0
“Zeorymer… I’ll reduce you to cinders!”
: Urgh…! If only we fought as one, this…!*Si Aen retreats.*
: This… This is all I amount to by myself…?! No, it can’t be!!*Also retreats.*
That’s the last of the enemies. When Bright asks, Torres reports that the Zeorymer’s not receiving any transmissions.
Miku calls for them to return to base and off the bot goes, leaving Hokuto to wonder just what kind of people could be piloting it. Misato looks on in silence.
Saotome sees that only his lab was attacked and posits that this means the demons aren’t launching a full-scale invasion YET. Ryouma asks if they’d be massing their forces now and, indeed, that’s what he figures.
Kouji adds two plus two and wonders if they were after the Getter Ray Amplifier to power the creation of more units; yes but Saotome doubts they’ll limit themselves to just this source of energy. Photon, Mutron, Light Quantum, Daimolight and even that robot from Last Guardian are all likely to be targeted… Having three robots powered by those in our team, the Nahel Argama’s now quite the prize for the demons.
Saotome will get in touch with the Federation and request some extra protection for the lab, so he wants us to worry about ourselves. Misato is about to leave but Ryouma asks her to go on without them – there’s one last thing they’ve to do.
That is, visit Musashi’s grave and tell of the new trouble brewing. That said, Hayato and Benkei tell him to rest easy – they’ll protect peace on Earth in his stead.
They probably won’t be returning to the lab for a while but they’ll always bear his spirit within their hearts; so, Ryouma asks him to wait for them.
Back to the Hundred Demons’ Island, Brai isn’t surprised that the Getter Robo’s proven to be a hindrance. Hidler begs forgiveness but the Emperor will let this failure slide on account of all the good data he brought back.
He turns to Gura and orders him to leverage the energy they’ve currently available and start mass-producing their Demon Robots. The professor says it’ll take a while but that’s fine: in fact, letting the Getter and friends run loose isn’t a bad thing. They’ll eliminate others obstacles to the Demon’s conquest for them, while they focus on building their strength. When the right time comes, they’ll attack in a massive wave.
Meanwhile, they’ll keep on gathering energy whenever the opportunities present themselves.