Part 61: Mission 26 - The Shadow Over Innsmouth - Part 2
: What, that’s it?! That was pretty dang easy for a big, bad “sea god”!
: Don’t ya think it’s a bit too soon to party?
: …?! What an evil Aura Power… who is it?!
: Well, well, this must be our lucky day. We come here looking for the Tyrant, and who do we find but Kurou Daijuuji and Al Azif!
: Ｄｏｎ‘ｔ ｃｏｕｎｔ ｙｏｕｒ ｃｈｉｃｋｅｎｓ ｂｅｆｏｒｅ ｔｈｅｙ ｈａｔｃｈ．
: I feel their magic all the way here…! Watch out, people – they’re sorcerers!: Bam! And bingo was his name!: Plus, here’s my grimoire, The Celaeno Fragments! Rise, Lord Byakhee!
: The name’s Claudius, an Anticross of the Black Lodge!
: That child is an Anticross?! Then, that large man must be…!: Ｃａｌｉｇｕｌａ． Ｃａｌｉｇｕｌａ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ａｎｔｉｃｒｏｓｓ．: Ｍｙ ｇｒｉｍｏｉｒｅ，Ｃｔｈäａｔ Ａｑｕａｄｉｎｇｅｎ．Ｍｙ Ｄｅｕｓ Ｍａｃｈｉｎａ， Ｋｒａｋｅｎ！ Ｄｅｓｔｒｏｙ！ Ｄｅｓｔｒｏｙ！ Ｄｅｓｔｒｏｙｄｅｓｔｒｏｙｄｅｓｔｒｏｏｏｏｙ！
: Two Deus Machinas?! Fighting just one of these was already a pain in the neck…!
: Hrm, the hell is this supposed to be, huh? An evil fire sale?!: Sure, that works for me. Only it’ll be your crew that’ll get burned!: Ｗｅ ｃａｎ ｔａｋｅ ｏｕｒ ｔｉｍｅ ｆｉｎｄｉｎｇ ｔｈｅ Ｔｙｒａｎｔ ａｆｔｅｒ ｃｒｕｓｈｉｎｇ ｙｏｕ ｔｏ ｂｉｔｓ！
: Be wary! Their powers are at the very least on par with Dagon’s!: Aye, aye!
And now we need to drop either Claudius or Caligula to end the mission. Both have goodies, so, if you want everything, you’ll need to line up a MAPW.
Kraken (Caligula)
Pilot Skills:
Sorcerer L4
Grimoire L4
Prevail L4
Support Attack L2
All Attack L1
Mech Features:
Magic Barrier – negates all damage below 2000
Caligula’s voice actor: Kenta Miyake
Lord Byakhee (Claudius)
Pilot Skills:
Sorcerer L4
Grimoire L4
Prevail L4
Support Attack L2
All Attack L1
Claudius’ voice actress: Yuka Imai (other roles: Rutee in Tales of Destiny, Leviathan in Megaman Zero, Electone in Knights of Ramune and several more).
Surprisingly standard fare considering Tiberius myriad debuffs and Master Therion’s phenomenal magic powers. Caligula’s by far the strongest one, packing a meaner punch, better range and much stronger defenses (though Claudius is a sliiiightly better shot). Honestly, these two aren’t all that impressive and we’ve fought WAY worse – if you wanna wrap this up quick, go for Claudius.
SRW UX - Linebarrel: Did you guys enjoy your little vacation?: That’s good. ‘Cause you can look back on those nice memories as my Lord Byakhee’s filleting you!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1iclvCxI9U
SRW UX - Deus Machina
: Ｇｒｏｏｏａａａｒｇｈ！ Ｍｙ Ｋｒａｋｅｎ‘ｌｌ ｔｅａｒ ｙｏｕｒ ｂｏｎｅｓ ａｐａｒｔ ａｎｄ ｓｅｎｄ ｙｏｕ ｔｏ ａ ｗａｔｅｒｙ ｇｒａｖｅ！https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THDjOsBeoyg
Here’s the guy’s best trick.
SRW UX - Lion
SRW UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend
Cao Cao against Black Lodge: “Ye wielder of mystical arts… Lead the people astray no longer!”
SRW UX - The Gate of Neidhöhle Opens
SRW UX - Deus Machina: Ｙｏｕ‘ｒｅ Ｋｕｒｏｕ Ｄａｉｊｕｕｊｉ， ｈｍ．．．？ Ｙｏｕ ｗｏｎ‘ｔ ｅｖｅｒ ｂｅ ａｂｌｅ ｔｏ ｏｐｐｏｓｅ ｕｓ ａｇａｉｎ ａｆｔｅｒ Ｉ‘ｍ ｔｈｒｏｕｇｈ ｗｉｔｈ ｙｏｕ！: Two can play that game! I’ll have you beaten so bad, you’ll be too broken to do evil crap again!: ‘Tis you who the depths beckon, Deus Machina Kraken!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHdvefwr1Q8
Making this video both to show off the weaker version of Caligula’s punch and, mostly, to show him flipping out after losing.
Our prize is Holly’s Favorite Guitar, which adds +10 Skill, +5 to Melee and Ranged. And if you’re curious, Claudius drops a SEKIGAHARA Game, which is +10 Skill, +5 Ranged and Defense.
: Ｙｏｕ．．．ｈｏｗ ｄａｒｅ ｙｏｕ ｈｕｒｔ ｍｅ ｌｉｋｅ ｔｈｉｓ！ Ｉ‘ｌｌ ｂｅａｔ ｙｏｕ ｉｎｔｏ ａ ｂｌｏｏｄｙ ｐａｓｔｅ！
: Hrk… Those Deus Machina don’t have the best teamwork, but that doesn’t make them any easier to fight!: Oh, what’s the matter, UX? You’re looking a bit caught between the devil and the deep blue sea! Hyahahahaha!
: The Deus Machinas really are as strong as advertised. We need some ideas right now or…!: Fine… then we’ll use the power of Cthugha!
: Cthugha?: The divine manifestation of the flame that dwells in the star Fomalhault. ‘Tis one of my fragments, which we recovered from the Anticross in a previous battle.
: That zombie guy, yeah?: However, Kurou, as I am sure you are well aware, Cthugha has tremendous power! I am not certain if you are yet strong enough to control it…!: Still, it’s not like we’ve got any other way outta this!: But…!: We still got too much to do to let ourselves be beaten here! If this can help us pull through, I’m going for it…!*Magic power up!*
: That’s right. You mustn't die yet, Kurou. Rather, you can't die… So what I'll do is give you a little hand with that. : …?!
: Oh, White King… if you are to resist the tides of fate…
: Then we shall shine as a tyrannical light, the antithesis of chaotic darkness!: You’re…?!
SRW UX - Sublimation of a Destroyer
: Wh-What was that light…?: Those are the pages depicting Ithaqua… They are more of my fragments!
: Ithaqua?! How’d they get their hands on that?!: (I get it now… those two were the manifestation of the magic in the Cthugha and Ithaqua fragments!)
: Look! Something’s materializing in the Demonbane’s hands!
: Wait, are those… guns?!: Mayhap you could actually control it now…: I’m unleashing the powers of Cthugha and Ithaqua! Remain steadfast, Kurou, for the energies shall not be easy to wield!: Not even time for practice, eh? Fine by me! Come on!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OmNSugyuUc
: Ｕｇｈｗａａａａａａ！ Ｍ－Ｍｙ ａｒｍ！ Ｍｙ ａａａａｒｍ！: Wh-What the hell just happened?! Why are the Tyrant’s guns with the Demonbane?!: (“The Tyrant’s guns”…?)
: My word. That was very well done, Kurou Daijuuji and UX.: It’s that man…!: Vespasianus! You wanna take a swing at us too?!: Oh, no, no; that’s for another time. I’ve already accomplished what I came here for, you see.
: Did you? What are you people up to?: That would be telling, no? You’ll understand in due time. Do look forward to it.
: You might’ve won today, but next time we meet, I won’t stop ‘til I’ve made mincemeat outta all of you!: Ｋｕｒｏｕ Ｄａｉｊｕｕｊｉ！ Ｎｅｘｔ ｔｉｍｅ．．． Ｎｅｘｔ ｔｉｍｅ Ｉ‘ｌｌ ｋｉｌｌ ｙｏｕ！
: All enemy signals have vanished from radar.
: Deus Machina… I’d heard tell of these, but their strength really does match the name…: Yeah. If the Demonbane hadn’t busted out those guns, we might’ve been in some serious trouble.
: Still, we never equipped it with such magical arms to begin with…: That guy said these guns belonged to “The Tyrant”, so…: Hm? That’s…
: What is it?*Kurou moves closer to the altar.*
: …
: A girl…?: Um… I’m Kurou Daijuuji. And you are...?: En...nea...: Ennea, huh? Were you here throughout that whole mess?: I… I don’t know why I’m here… or what I was doing until now…
: She has amnesia…?
: Maybe she’s one of the missing people. Bring her aboard and we’ll take care of her.: It’s all right now, Ennea. You’re safe.: Thank you… Kurou…
: Very well done, Vespasianus. With your acquisition of the R’lyeh Text, we now have one of the keys for the C Project.: But the problem is the other key, the Tyrant. It helped Kurou Daijuuji… much to my surprise.: And the blame lies squarely on you, Claudius and Caligula. Had you acted faster, the Tyrant wouldn’t have come in touch with them.: As I see it, losing your arm is no more than your just desserts for not paying the enemy and the Tyrant their due diligence.: Ｈｒｍ．．．: You watch the attitude, you son of a bitch…! We’ll see you talk smack after I’ve gutted you!
: Enough. I grow bored of all your grumbling…: But Grand Master, the Tyrant is the centerpiece of the entire C Project. : We’ve yet to claim the grimoire Al Azif; if we let the Tyrant slip away as well—: We’ll carry out Project C without the Tyrant or Al Azif.: You wish to implement it without either of them, Grand Master?: But doesn’t the Project need both the Tyrant and a core unit of tremendous magical powers to be carried out?!: We’ll simply use me and the Liber Legis in place of both. That should take care of that problem.: Or are you implying this is beyond my powers?: No, I would never…: (Grand Master… you’re…)
Cut back to the good part of Innsmouth, Ruri’s treating everyone to a banquet as thanks for solving the disappearances. Winfield and the maids are at the ready to provide anything we might need. Sheryl and Ranka are also getting the VIP treatment, but wonder if they deserve it as well – they didn’t do anything today.
Still, Ruri’s giving them the green light, so Joe figures it’s A-OK for everyone to dig in. Gameran huffs at his devil-may-care attitude and wonders if that’s how he plans on tackling the next mission. What next mission? As Richard tells, Ishigami just called and asked us to look for a new Machina over by the Shimane Prefecture.
Another investigation? Yeah, so a part of our team will head over to Shimane first thing in the morning. Mike and Kenji could go for another trip to a beach paradise, and, as Sheryl remembers, Ranka is actually slated to take part in a music festival set to happen there over the weekend.
Eida’s excited and hopes to be in the audience cheering for her… only, not quite. Johnny points out she’ll also be taking part in that festival – he got her booked for it as soon as he heard we were going for Shimane. Eida’s been off the stages for a while now, so she needs to work to keep her name in the people’s collective consciousness.
As she gives a strained nod, Fei-Yen likes the sound of a music festival and wants to sing in it too. And since everyone’s signing up for it, Holly figures one more won’t break the bank - she wants in but Psy begs her not to.
: …
: …
: Something seems a bit off with those two, don’t you think?
: Yeah, now that you mention it, they’ve been quiet for a while now…
: Joey, you guys went into that cave too, right? Did something happen in there?
: Eerr, n-no, nothing at all… Hahahah… I-Isn’t that right, Lina?
: Huh? O-Oh, yeah... that’s right.: …
: You guys are acting a bit weird, too…: They’re still reeling from what happened with the illusion guess, I see.
: Y-Yeah… That’s probably it…: And if you ask me, that applies to you too.: Don’t let it get to you. If anything, I’m glad to hear how you really feel. : Give me just a bit of time to set things up, and I’ll show you some classical plays since you’re so interested. : Um, no… that’s…: …?: (Come to think of it, Hayase and Kizaki are both Factors, and Al’s a grimoire…): (But how come Saya wasn’t affected by that the smoke? She was standing right next to us.): Erm, Al…: … Pay it no mind.: Huh?: Our time together thus far has been quite pleasant. : What happened then was simply an embarrassing misstep. There is no need to concern yourself with it.: Al...
: (Wh-What is going on here…?): Al, I…*Door opens.*
: Heeey, Kurou, why do you look so serious? Come eat something with me!: Y-You’re Ennea, right? You’re looking a lot chipper…
: She’s been like this for a bit now.: Maybe it’s a consequence of her time in captivity, but we have no way of knowing.: Yup! Still got no memories, so what’re you gonna do, huh?: Here, Kurou. Why don’t you take a bite of this? Open wiiiiide!: B-But could you get off me first? Al, help…: Y-You GIGANTIC FOOL!*Cast magic missile!*
: Whyyyyyyyyy?!
: *Hick*…! And that’s how my invention helped us save Center City!: They know, professor, you’ve told everyone that story a dozen times already. Maybe that’s enough sake for you…: Pssshaaaaw! How can I fight aliens and let a bit of booze intimidate me?! Aaactually, you boys know what?! I’m signing up to help the UX!
: P-Professor, what’re you talking about?!
: Nnnnoope, the professhor’s 100% right! *hick*
: Um… Ms. Hadou, are you drunk?: I wouldn’t deserve to be prez of the Hadou Finant… Fintial… Finalan… I wouldn’t desherve to be Queen Hadou if I jusht shent others to fight and never went into battle myshelf! Sho…: Now I’ll be out there with you! I’m gunna join the UX as another commander!
: Wh-Whuh?!
: Oh, that sounds like fun! Sign me up!
: Well, I can’t let another Ferario outshine me! I’m in too!
: And me! I’ll sing until I drop if that’ll help keep everyone happy!: Thatsh the spirit. And whattabout you, Lina? You’ll be leading our heroesh too, right?: Wh-What, me?!
: What’re ya worried about? You’re a cheerleader, right? So get out there and cheer our guys on!
: N-Now wait just a dang minute! Cheering our guys and commanding an army ain’t even close to being the same thing!: Hey, now, lady, did you forget we got summa the best tacticians in the world to help us? Sima Yi! Zhou Yu! Zhuge Kongming! Sumeragi! Richie! Bam!: Whatever happens, I’m sure they’ll help us find a way around! Am I right or am I right, Lord Cao Cao?!
: Hahahah! You rascal, you!
: E-Everyone’s drunk off their feet!
: Sumeragi, please, say something…: Zzzzz…
: She’s already blacked out…
: Then, to clarify, mistress Ruri Hadou, plus ladies Cham, Erebos, Fei, Lina and Eida shall now be taking up duties as tacticians and morale officers for the UX.: It will be our pleasure to assist you all.
: W-Wait, when did I sign up for that…?
: This is absurd… Who has ever heard of civilians taking up the role of military tacticians?
: What is happening to our team…: Whaaat?! My sis and Michio?!
: Yep. We saw them sneaking off into a room together…
: They were looking all around to make sure no one was within an earshot, so I think it’s safe to tag this as “scandalous”! 
: “Within an earshot”… Oh.: Sis, don’t tell me…
: Ah! N-Now that I think about, I don’t see Hayase around either! Where is that guy?
: We saw him leaving the hotel not long ago.
: Yeah, he was with that cute girl with the long brown hair. 
: …?!
: S-Stop talking, you two!: …
: Hayase…
: K-Kizaki! Your eyes! 
: You want me to come to your show…?
: I just want to thank you for saving me today… What do you say?: Next week, huh… I’d love to be there, but I don’t know if I’ll be in Tokyo then.: Hmhmm… A Champion of Justice has a pretty busy schedule, huh?: And then some, yes… We get deployed pretty much all over the world on missions.: Just this weekend, for example, we’ve a mission at Shimane…: Really…?! I’m headed for Shimane too! There’s going to be a festival there, and my group was invited!: A festival? Is it the one Eida and the other girls’ll be singing at?: I’m pretty sure it is, yes! That’s the only live event scheduled for that day!: So not only did we run into each other today, we’re also headed to the same place. What are the odds of that?: Honestly, I was pretty depressed over going to Shimane, but just knowing you’ll be there…: Ms. Kujo…?: N-Never mind. Just thinking out loud. : Here’s a ticket for the Shimane show. Come see if you can, yes?: I promise I’ll be there, Ms. Kujo!: And, Hayase… could I ask you not to be so formal with me?: But… Well, aren’t you a bit older than me?: Consider it an order from your senior, then. Stop being so formal.: If you say so, Ms… Erm. Okay, Kujo. : Heehee… That’s better.: (Kouichi Hayase, the pilot of a giant robot…): (Someone as special as him wants me to live. If I have him by my side, then…)
*Flash!*
#1: Everything’s ready to go. Heheh, I can already picture the look on Kurou’s face. #2: Oh, dear, you seem to be rather taken with my Kurou… aren’t you, Tyrant? #1: What do you want, Nya? I don’t really have the time to deal with you right now.
: Hmhmhm, I’m just rather impressed at how brave you are, that’s all.: You know very well that there’s only despair down this road, but look at you go. #1: …: But, please, do as you’d like. I’m just a watcher – now and always.*Disappear!*
#1: I know what you mean… But, still, I…
: Hmm… It’s morning already? Guess everyone wound up falling asleep around here.
: Hm, and it appears that the Shimane team has already departed.
: I can’t believe they got up so early after partying as hard as we did. Impressive.: Guys, this is bad!
: What is it, Cham? What’s bad?: Everything, that’s what! Take a look outside!: Outside…?*Opens door.*
: ?! Wh-Whaaaat the heeeeeeeeell?!
And, as told, we’ve got a bunch of new tacticians:
- Cham: evasion rate +5%
- Erebos: accuracy rate +5%
- Ruri: +10% attack power when counterattacking
- Eida: +10% boost to all support effects
- Fei-Yen: pilot-affecting debuff immunity
- Lina: evasion rate +5%
Nothing too impressive now, but we’ll see once they unlock their second bonuses.
Finally, here are the few convos we missed today:
: “The Unspeakable”… “The traveler of the cosmos”… Hastur, the Great Old One that rules over the wind…: And he wields its power… do not underestimate him!: Ya getting scared, Kurou? Keep your eyes open, or you’re gonna find yourself six feet under!: You got a really big mouth, brat! I’ll make sure to bash it shut as I’m wrecking your Deus Machina!--
: I don’t remember training ever covering how to fight in a swimsuit…: But that’s exactly when I need to believe in my own strength and press on! That’s how you stay alive in a battlefield!