Part 109: Mission 43 (Union Route) - The Return of the Sorcerer - Part 2
: HRRRRRRMMMMMMUUUAAAAAAAAH!!
: How’d you like that?!: …: Hm-Hmhmhm… Do you believe that to be enough to defeat my Leeeegacy Of Gooooold – to defeat a GOD?!
: Regenerative abilities?! Is that also fruit of Cthulhu’s powers?!
: A-Are you kidding me?! All that pummeling and he’s looking brand new again?!
: Kch, don’t stop! Fire everything on him!
: MWAHAHAHAHAHA!! You’ll still keep attacking MEEeee?: Humans are meeeerely cattle to serve the gods! AND THAT APPLIES TO YOU TOOooooo!
: Aaaaieeeee!
: Th-This is the power of a god…?!
: It’s like the guy’s gone Hyper…! How are we supposed to beat him…?!
: Isn’t it obvious? If we’re fighting a god, then we just gotta transcend him!
: Transcend a god…?!: WAAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, the FOOOooolishness! The height of idiocy!: Cattle transcending a god?! RIDICULOUS! ABSUUUURD! I could laugh until the heat death of the universe and it STIIiiilll wouldn’t be enough!
: The only thing that’s ridiculous here is you. And it’s high time you stopped laughing. 
: You’re not the first bad apple fancying himself God that we’ve seen. 
: But God is someone who’s born of the will of man… it’s the power of our prayers that makes Him who He is.
: Meaning someone like you, who’s turned his back on humanity, could never actually be God, moron!: Y-You vermin dare insult MEEeeee?!: Fine, then we’ll just have to show it to you…!: The potential hidden inside us humans – the potential to transcend even the gods themselves!
: Wh-WHAAAT?!
: Aoi, everyone… that light is!
SRW UX - A Bird’s Song: Haaaaaaaaah!: Keyword! M-A-X-G-O-D!
: Dancouga! MAXGOD!
: The Dancouga and the R-Daigun…!
: They’ve combined?!
: It’s… the Dancouga MAXGOD!: I get it… The Dancouga never rejected us.
: We were the ones who’d forgotten…: Thanks for the help, Kaiser of Earth. You’ve helped us remember the “god” inside. : Th-The god inside you?!: Our prayers turn to power, beckoning a god – a wild beast – to nestle within us!
: I can hear their song!: Hokori to ai ga kyoumeishite… kanadeteru, melody! ♪
: Tsubasa wa, kaze ni note…! ♪
: Oozora ni inoru, tori no uta...! ♪ (All slight shifts on Dancouga Nova’s OP): You’re wasting your TIIiiime! You could never defeat a god! NEVEEEEeeerrr!: See for yourself, then!
: The sword that smites evil… No, the blade that slays even gods!: A power that’s transcended men, beasts and the gods themselves!: Let’s go wild! SEEEEEEEIIIII!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3dtlxDXeuM
Captions are available.
: OOOoorgh! I-Impossible… How?! I am a god…: I am the Kaiser of EEAAaarth! GRUUAAAAAAAAAARGH!!
: Phew…
: W-Wow. That’s…
: That’s the true power of the reborn Demonbane…
: And the Dancouga’s!
: Heeheehee… You really did touch the will of the heavens…
: It’s that Deus Machina…!: I really was right about you and your friends, Kurou!: Th-That voice… It can’t be!: What… You are alive?!
: Yoohoo! How’s it going, guys?
: E-Ennea…?!: No, sorry. That name was kind of a lie. I’m actually called Nero…: The Tyrant, Nero, of the Anticross.
: Wh-What are you talking about, Ennea?!
: And I see you’ve really come to master the guns I gave you. : Cthugha and Ithaqua… These were yours?!: Kurou looked like he was having a pretty hard time, see…: But, most of all, I figured I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the fight without a little handicap.: And, by the by, that ALVIS kid? I was the one who saved him too. No need to thank me.: ALVIS kid? You saved Mamoru…?!: What’s going on, Ennea?!: I told you, I’m Nero – not Ennea. I’m yours and the UX’s enemy, Kurou!
: That cold, nauseating smirk… it’s just like his.: Like Master Therion’s…!: That’s right, I’m a devil. I’m glad that sunk in.: Is that… Is that really true?! Are you just another monster who gets a kick out of causing destruction?!: Was everything you did as Ennea, down to that playful smile, all just one big lie?! What did you approach me for, then?!: …: Because… I wanted to meet you. That’s the truth.: And I did have fun playing with you and your friends. That’s also true.: Then, why…?!: Didn’t you hear me say I’m a devil? Destroying the world is what I do. Just. Like. This!
*RUUUUMBLE!*
: Wh-What did you do?!: I’ve made Cthulhu go berserk. Soon, the cells of his body’ll start to multiply endlessly – like one huge cancer. 
: If that happens, the planet will…!: Exactly. I’ll unleash Cthulhu upon the world and there’ll be nothing left by the time it’s done!: Here I am, the embodiment of all the evil and injustice that you guys hate oh-so-much! Come and get me!: No! I haven’t fought through all those battles in order to kill you now! I haven’t fought just to replace one injustice with another!: We have to fight, Kurou…!: Arnie, you…!: I’m sure you can tell…: Ennea… rather, Nero, wants you to kill her…!: …?!
: (Aah… I see how it is, Nero. You’re going to have Kurou do what you cannot do yourself…): (This was the answer you finally found within your eternal cage, hm? Very good, indeed.): (However… Humans are strong – truly strong. More so than you imagine…): (And that strength will be your and their downfall…!): Ennea, I…!: Go, Kurou! You’re the only one who can truly save her soul!: Hrrgh, damn it! Goddamnit! ENNEAAAAA!!
Nameless One (Nero)
Pilot Skills:
Sorcerer L8
Grimoire L8
Prevail L9
Support Attack L3
All Attack L3
Mech Features:
30% HP Regen
All-Canceller
Nero’s voice actress: Ari Yunohara (other roles: Salsa Tortilla in Blessing of the Campanella, Chiffon in Alphandia Genesis 2 and a few other stuff in games that I don’t think made it to the west.)
True to her reputation, Nero comes backing the biggest stats across all the Anticross and is on par with Master Therion (though the Nameless One doesn’t have all those S ranks). She’s got range, she’s got a ton of power, she’s immune to debuffs, she’s very bulky and even regens 50k HP a turn. That said, if you’ve saved enough SP to cast Valor (and a defensive spell), you can down her in one turn if you throw everything at her. If you haven’t… then you’ll likely need a couple, if not three, turns to drop her.
Like Augustus, her best attack is range 3-8, but, unlike him, her close-range attack is still pretty powerful and packs a big crit and accuracy modifier (in fact, unless you somehow empty her MP stock, you’ll never see her use her outright weakest attack).
She’s also accompanied by another 6 Dagons, so you’ll either want to get rid of them (they’re each worth 12k a pop!) or, if you’re strapped for resources, kill just enough to open a path and rush Nero down. Thankfully, she doesn’t have MAPWs to hit you on approach – and she likes going after big HP targets like Kurou and our ships, who can tank her just fine.
Secret Alert! Demonbane secret – 10th step: ALSO, take out Nero with Kurou.
Easy money.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHZz39S4mxk
Like I was saying, her AI prioritizes big HP pools, so you can dangle them inside her range while your guys move in.
SRW UX - Tobikage Appears!
I don’t use Rennie’s MAPW enough, but I should. Joe and Joey both know Zeal (Shouko, Al and Erebos all know Enable, too), so you don’t even NEED to spend a Continuous Action on her and have her flying solo when you spot a prime opportunity like this.
She shaves off a good chunk off all the other Dagons, so they fall in quick succession.
SRW UX - A Bird’s Song: My heart’s on fire… a flame erupting from deep within me.: Been a long time since I felt this surge in my soul!: How about we share some of this trip down memory lane with the enemy as well?: You got it! We’ll give them a taste of the power born of our united wills…: The power through which the Dancouga MAXGOD’ll soar towards our future…!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtZ8mq010PI
Dancouga Nova attacking monsters: Johnny: “Aoi, I’m relaying you some data I found in Men’s UMAs Monthly!” > Aoi: “That mag even has stuff on these?!”
SRW UX - Love 14 ver. HD (Vocal)
SRW UX - Deus Machina
: I won’t think twice of facing anyone, not even the Tyrant-robo! My darling’s love empowers me-robo!
: Nooo, Elsa! Chuck that garbage into the incinerator this instant and let my sweet heart take its rightful place!: Ahahahaha, you guys are so funny!: But if you say your love is that powerful, then fire it up and take me down with it!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1xNEogYMkE
Here’s Nero’s second strongest attack… and would you believe I forgot I hadn’t shown it yet and skipped the rest of the animation? Blah… you can see her attack and that’s what matters!
With that done, it’s time to wrap up this mission!
Kanako Ito – Shadow in the Dark
: Hmhmm, I get it now. It was because of that strong will that you’ve managed to carve out your destiny.
: Do you know something…?: However, if you stand against us, then my only choice is to cut you down!
: I feel your killer intent all the way here… You’re fighting for real, aren’t you, Nero?: What about you, Shou? Will you kill me? You have to kill my hate, you know!
: (You have awakened… How far will your and her song resound? How strongly will it shine?): (Hmhm, how exciting…)
: Holy Warriors are chosen to correct a world thrown into chaos, right?: Well, I’m absolutely a force of chaos threatening to destroy this world. Hurry up, now!
: I’m nowhere as larger-than-life as that. If I’m fighting, it’s only because I chose to do so!
: You really pulled the wool over all our eyes, huh?: To be fair, Men’s Intrigue Monthly never said anything about suspecting kids.: Heehee, this was all pre-ordained, so don’t feel too bad about not noticing it. That’s fate for you!: You spent all that time with us and don’t even know that we hate getting pushed around by fate?!: I dunno what you were actually thinking when you cozied up to us, but where I come from, little scamps like you get taught a lesson!
: Shoot me down, why don’t you? If I’m not stopped, your beloved sky’ll soon be a lot of nothing.
: Are you seriously going to keep playing the fool, Ennea?!: Because I’m sure you were meant for better stuff than that!
: Tsk, I just hate having to shoot at a girl!: Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill, I say. Just aim at my heart and pull the trigger.: It took you so long to grab a hold of your life and your fate, so you better take good care of them!
: Ah, I know you two get that this is the time for killing, right?
: Absolutely…! We won’t even give you an opportunity to regret this!
: We’re coming for you and we ain’t pullin’ our punches! You’ll die in our Hell!
Kaido attacking: “I don’t give a damn that you’re a kid! ‘Mercy’ goes right out the window when you’re an enemy!”
: I’m a force of evil looking to destroy the world. Take me down and you’ll be a real hero, just like you’ve always wanted!
: Wrong, Ennea… A hero in my book isn’t someone who beats evil.: A hero… is someone who fights to protect others! And that’s why I want to protect you too!
: A whole lot of folks were really sad because of you, Ennea. Don’t you even care about how much they hurt?!: Oh, don’t be mad. I was alive all along, so it’s good, no?: And, by the by, if you look at me as Ennea again, it’ll be you who ends up dead this time, Joe!
: Are you really going to do this, Ensign?: Don’t forget what we’ve been fighting for. We need to put down anyone who’d try to destroy our future.: Bingo! You’re really come into your own, Arnie… Now, let the fun begin!: Show me how bright your and Saya’s lives can shine!
: You’re a Champion of Justice, Kurou – the defender of the world. And I’m the Evil Sorcerer plotting to destroy it.: We’ll use all our power to utterly deny each other, with literally everything riding on the outcome of this battle. Isn’t it great?: Steel yourself, Kurou. She is Ennea no more, but Nero, the Tyrant! : Why… Why do we have to do this?! ENNEAAAAAA!!
Al: “Kurou, combat is unavoidable!” > Kurou: “Kch… I really don’t have a choice?!”
Nero drops a Nyan-Nyan Deluxe Tuna Dumpling (Accuracy and Ranged +10, Defense +5).
: Hmhmhm… That’s pointless.
: She’s using Cthulhu’s power again?!: I don’t think so. I felt something… weird. A wave of nothingness, like something was… discreated?: Ah, you figured it out. This is the Nameless One’s ultimate power: the ability to delete an occurrence, to sever something from the tapestry of Causality.: Put it simply, the Nameless One can take the fact that it was injured and make it so that never happened.: Such power… ‘tis not meant for human hands…: Well, it’s a good thing I’m a demon, then. A force of evil fully capable of annihilating the world. And nothing any of you have can resist my power.: With just one exception.: “One exception”…?*Heartbeat.*
: Rgh… Gwaaaaaaaaah!
: That’s…!: The Shining Trapezohedron…!: There you go! That’s the one and only thing that can destroy me!: Once more it manifests heedless of our call… What in blazes is it?!*The Demonbane gets yanked into position.*
: Ur…k… It’s too strong. I can’t hold it back!: Kurou, we must unleash its power against the enemy. If we do not, it will destroy us!: I know, but...! I just can’t use it on Ennea!
: Can’t you see the tears in her eyes, the Aura of sorrow around her, Kurou?! Are you still going to answer her wishes with uncertainty?!: Sorrow…?! SRW UX - Prologue: This… is the fate she chose, of her own free will!: She’s decided to sacrifice herself and leave the future in our care… just as Maj. Richard, Soushi, Ms. Akane and King Sakomizu did!: And, so, it falls on us to take up the burden of her sorrow and continue in our walk to that future! That’s our duty to them!: But… But, I—!: There are many who shall perish if we do not fight…: Mere words shall save nothing… not even the enemy!: Al, Ennea… I…! I... Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!: Come on, Kurou...!
: Rrk... Argh...!: ENNEA!
: H-Hmm...: Ennea, are you okay?!: Kurou…?! But how…?: The person the Demonbane and I cut down wasn’t you.: I defeated Nero, the last Anticross. Now there’s only Ennea. Let’s leave it at that.: Hahah… I can’t believe you managed to even get the Shining Trapezohedron to obey you…: I guess you… or, better put, the will of man is a lot stronger than I thought.: Of course it is. That’s how we managed to confront our fate and win all these times.: Even if what awaits us is nothing but hopelessness, we keep trying…: …: You know, I wanted to meet you because I didn’t have the courage to destroy myself. I thought I could borrow the courage, the strength, I needed from you guys.: But now I see I was wrong. That’s not real strength. : Like they always say, that would just be running away…: Ennea…: If there’s a next time, I promise I’ll be a lot stronger than I am now.: Strong enough that I can live with pride even while fighting against a mire of despair.: “Next time”? What are you…?: Thank you for everything, my dear Kurou…
*Craaaaaack!*
: ?!
: A-Aah… Ennea!: E-Ennea! ENNEAAAAA!!: Hmhmhm…: Y-You’re…!: What… What the hell are you doing here?!: Answer me… Master Therion!Demonbane OST – The Absolute of Darkness
: It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kurou Daijuuji… and you, the lost children of the Samsara.
: Y-You… didn’t you die?!: Not exactly. The Master Therion you are familiar with is the previous one.
: Stop talking riddles! Who are you, then?!: Do you still not understand? I was born just moments ago from my mother, Nero. Yes, I have left her womb precisely to do battle with you!: Y-You son of a bitch!: I am very much looking forward to dancing with you now that I have reincarnated at the beginning once more… but, unfortunately, the time is not yet right.: Etheldreda.*Flash!*
: Yes, Master.: The Pnakotic Manuscripts has returned as well…?!: Access Cthulhu. Mass Teleportation Spell.*Magic casting!*
: Blast, she is—: We shall meet again when the stars align, Kurou Daijuuji! As will you, lost children of the Samsara!: Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!
: Hrgh… W-We’re—!
: Back outside?! What just happened?!: ‘Twas Cthulhu’s power, I believe. They transported us outside via a Teleportation Spell.: And I don’t see Cthulhu anywhere… I guess we’d better regroup and think of what we’ll do next.: Rrrgh, damn it! Why?! I thought I’d finally saved her and he…!: Kurou…: Why did this happen… ENNEAAAAAA!!Elsewhere…
: Gch… Bereft of anything, yet I survive still… To call it pathetic would be an understatement…: However…: … SRW UX - Rebellion Against Fate
: I apologize for making you wait.: I see… you still live.: I thank you for giving me an opportunity to have one final duel with you…: You’d best relay your gratitude for my lady Ruri, then. She was the one who allowed me to come here…: Granted, now I have every intention of emerging victorious. Defeat would dishonor her.
: Hah… Then I shall also stake the very life I’ve led into this bout!: Come, warrior…!: To arms!*Flash! Swish!*
: DEEYAAAAAAAA!*Clash!*
: …: Ultimate technique… Requiem - Dies Irae.*Super Speed!*
: Rragh…!: Victory is mine, Mister Bushido.: Heh, heheheh… Never did you stop doing battle as a human…: Whereas I could not endure that difficult path… Indeed, the god of battle would never grant his favor to such a man…: Hahahah… How foolish I am…*Dead.*
: …: It’s a very fine line that separates humans and demons…: Farewell… My mighty nemesis…
: Gameran, have we any indication of where Cthulhu went?
: No, Your Highness. It teleported away right as we were forced out, apparently. We have no idea where it is.
: But considering they left the area, would that mean restoring R’lyeh was never their real objective? 
: Maybe it was for the Anticross, but I think Master Therion himself is after something else. 
: And he said he’d ‘reincarnated’…?
: Going by that word, I believe he used Ennea as a vessel for his rebirth. That likely was his plan all along.: “If you knew that all this is pointless, could you still bring yourselves to fight…?”
: She knew what fate had in store for her…: And that’s why she tried to have her existence erased with the Shining Trapezohedron? To stop Therion from coming back?
: Then… She knew that she was going to die one way or another?: I don’t know if anyone could cope with that.: Hmm, actually… Her last words weren’t what you’d hear from someone who’d been broken by fate.: I get the feeling that she saw something… something in the horizon of her fate.: I’ve no idea what that something would be, though…: What lies beyond death would be…
: Eeh, I really don’t feel like starting to believe in Heaven or Hell. : And, if anything, I doubt Ennea would want us to get bogged down in pity or remorse.
: You’re right… None of us can afford to stop now…: We have to keep on fighting, no matter how deep that mire of despair becomes.: We owe it to her, too…
: Mr. Daijuuji…
: …: My dear Grand Master, how sad you must be that you couldn’t fight Kurou after waiting so long to reincarnate.
: It’s fine. The satisfaction that this moment has arrived at last will tide me over for a while.: Hmhmhm, then what say you we sit back and enjoy the spectacle?: This sad and beautiful dance between the souls drawn to the end of the Yuga!: Hmhmhm… AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!And just one convo we missed today:
: This girl is our enemy, but… should we really fight her?!: You’ve already chosen your fate to follow, Karen. There’s no reason for you to be so troubled, hm?: Chop-chop! Come and kill me already!Now, I promised I’d tell you of the eerie theory the JP wiki has about Miwa’s abnormal growth. First off, remember when it was that Yumiko likely got pregnant – the one time the game went out of its way to note that she and Michio were doing it: mission 26, a.k.a., during party at Innsmouth.
That’s already asking for trouble, but it gets worse. One thing UX didn’t bring up is something Nero told Kurou in the original VN: “In Hebrew, all consonants have a numerical value. The Number of the Beast is 666, which signifies the Emperor Nero. Nero of the Anticross, therefore, IS Master Therion.” Therion means Beast in Greek, FYI.
Next, after Master Therion tears out of Nero, he tells Kurou this to explain his connection to her: “Domitianus, the Beast of Scripture, is Nero’s form upon returning from Hell. Master Therion, therefore, signifies both Nero and myself.”
Thus, from all this, we can infer that the child of Master Therion (Nero) is also Master Therion (actual one).
But how is this relevant to Miwa? Well, there’s a Fafner side material trivia that UX references. Look back to mission 32, where Michio, surprisingly, has a pre-battle convo with Therion, and quips about how folks at the army gave him a nickname matching his old unit… “Master Therion”.
Add all that up with Master Therion just insta-growing into an adult man from inside Nero’s womb, and you can see why we should be very, VERY afraid of Miwa! The Festum don’t even realize they’re attacking an island inhabited by a child of the Outer Gods!
Visual illustration provided by MajinZenki:
