Part 64: Mission 27 (Byston Well Route) - The Overworlders' Aura Power - Part 2
SRW UX - Dunbine Flies
: You’ve found your way to a different world, and fighting is what you’re looking to do?!
: That’s rich, coming from an American! Starting wars in other places is your whole bread and butter!
SRW UX - Dunbine Flies
: Byston Well isn’t meant to have Overworlders fighting in it – much less to satisfy their own ambitions!: What a high-and-mighty windbag we got here! Problem is, I can’t stand that kind of people!
We get another Celestial Being Movie from him.
: I-I’m not letting it end like this! No way in hell!
: ?! Th-That light…!: Oooooryaaaaaaa!
: Aiiieee!
: Goddamn, this guy’s strong…!: Haaaaah!: This is Aura Power?! This is all my power?!: Stop! Let that power run out of control and you’ll end up—: Shut your mouth! I’m done letting you Yanks tell us what to do! That’s precisely what I got all this power for!: And now you’re all dead!
: Wh-What the?! Where’d that come from?!*Beep, beep.*
: This is…! A new connection’s been established with the Siegfried System?!: But this Unit ID code is…!
: Th-That mech is…!
: …
: It can’t be… the Mark Sechs?!: You’ve got a lotta nerve messing with me!*Rouri goes after the Mark Sechs!*
: Fine, you can die first! I’ll cut you in twain!: This is their home, and I’ll keep it safe…
: That’s the promise I made!
MIO - Dunbine Flies
“I’ve grown much since before!”
“I’ll soar higher than the skies! Higher! Higher! HIGHER!”
: U-Uwaaaaaaaaah!
: R-Rouri?!
: What’s the Mark Sechs doing here?!
: Th-This has gotta be a dream!
: It can’t be… but it is!: Shouko! Is that really you?!: Maya, everyone… how long it’s been!
: (That’s Shouko Hazama… Youko’s daughter…): Shouko, you… you’re alive!: Yes… Yes, I am!: Oh, my God… You’re really there?!: Yes, Kazuki… I’m right here!: Shouko!
: Well, dang… We thought she was just another Holy Warrior, not that she was your friend.: Wait, she’s the Holy Warrior we’ve been hearing so much about?!: Ha-Hahaha… Wow. Shouko, that frail girl, has been kicking tons of ass down here…?!: I… I’m just so happy I don’t even know what to say!: That’s enough! The battle’s still going, so pay attention to it!
: Hey! Can’t you ease up even a bit?! Your friend is alive—: Exactly. She is alive, meaning we can celebrate our reunion later and she’ll still be here with us. Isn’t that right, Kazuki?: Yeah, she will! Let’s take out the remaining enemies, guys!: Hrrgh… H-How dare you humiliate me like this…!
: My lord, retreat! We’ll hold back the enemy!: Damn it… I’ll get you for this!
*Beep, boop.*
: Enrollment complete, initiating crossing. Are you ready, Hazama?: I’m on it, Minashiro. I’m not the same person I was back then!: Shouko Hazama, March Sechs! Engaging!
Yaaaaay, we’ve earned our first secret: Shou Koha Zama, the Holy Warrior, and her Sechsbine!
Her bot’s still excellent squaddie material... though I’m disappointed she didn’t earn herself Aura Power and Holy Warrior skills to offset her lack of combo attacks in comparison to the others! Still, she’s pretty great.
If you need a reminder, here are the steps required to unlock her:
- Prologue – Destroy the Sphinx with Kazuki
- Stage 13 – defeat at least 5 enemies with her by the end of Enemy Phase 3
- Kazuki has 100+ kills by the end of mission 26.
- Mission 27 - take the Byston Well Route.
And I’ve been asked to point out that Shouko’s name is a huge wordplay that extends beyond it being like Shou Zama’s. So sit down, because I’m taking you for a trip.
If you’re familiar with Dunbine (or if you read the prologue of this mission), you know Byston Well is repeatedly referred to as “the land in between the earth and the ocean”. In here, they wrote “in between” using 間に (aida ni), but it’s more commonly written as 海と大地の狭間にある (hazama ni). But wait, there’s more!
Next up, Shouko’s name proper: it’s written as 翔子, where 翔means “soar/fly” and 子 is the standard name suffix indicating girls (as Youko told her in that flashback). So if you break it down, her name literally means Flying/Soaring Girl.
Pair that up with her surname and that bit of Byston Well info, and what could you read it as? The girl that flies in between – that flies to Byston Well.
And that’s it for the trivia. Time to take out Kanamoto and everything else.
SRW UX - Dunbine FliesYes, she’s got her proper BGM on.
: I’ll protect Kazuki and my friends, just like I did before…!: That’s why I am here!
Heey, I hadn’t noticed before that her Mine Blade breaks midway through the attack!
SRW UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend
SRW UX - Dunbine Flies: This girl’s the rebels’ Holy Warrior, huh…? : That said, there’s no one I can’t take on with my Aura Power!: Everyone wants nothing more than to live in peace... and then people like you come along!: But I’ll keep them safe! You will not keep us from being with our families and the people we love!
SRW UX - Dunbine Flies: Treating a different world like its your playground… If you’re really an Overworlder, then you should be ashamed!: An American Holy Warrior?! Are you Yanks so self-righteous that you sent troops all the way here?!--
: My Shinden’s afraid? Just who is this guy?!: I feel the heart of that Aura Machine’s pilot…! If you’re worried about being hurt, then leave!
SRW UX - The Eternal Soldiers
And we get more Nyan-Nyan Ramen from him.
: Bah, fine. They only wanted us to stall them today, so this should be good.
: All Hojo forces confirmed destroyed. No new signals on radar.
: Recover all mobile troops and then we’ll head back to Abuta Blas. We need to come up with a plan to rescue Aesap and the others.: Aesap…
SRW UX - Separation
: I’m so sorry I put you guys through all that…
: But what happened? We thought you disappeared with that Festum when your Fenrir went off…
: Yeah, how did you end here in Byston Well?: I don’t really know how it happened. When I came to, I was already here…: It was a huge shocker for us, too. The second you guys opened the Aura Road, the Mark Sechs came flying right through it.
: Then the Fenrir’s explosion did cause the Aura Road to open?
: It could also be that the Wings of Rean led her here.: It doesn’t matter why it happened… Shouko’s alive… I’m so… so…: Waaaaah, Shoukoooooo!: Thank you, Maya…: And, Shouko, are you really not feeling weak, or tired or anything at all?: It’s like a dream, but no. I’ve been feeling great ever since I came to this world. 
: Your arrival here has obviously stimulated your Aura Power, so that might've strengthened your body. 
: I think that's it! Aura Power is the light of life, after all!
: And considering how strong hers is, that sounds pretty likely to me. : Have I really become that strong? I don’t really feel that way…
: You’ve always been strong, as you showed when you tried to protect our island. : Kazuki…: Thank you so much for keeping my home safe. And…: Welcome back, Shouko…: It’s good to be back, Kazuki…
: …
: Sure you don’t wanna be there with the other kids?: They’re all so happy that Shouko Hazama’s back… : I think it’s better that I not be there…: Canon…
: How’re things looking with your troops?: Amalgan’s our leader, so him being captured has got everyone on edge.: That’s understandable. He was clearly a very charismatic man.
: Do you think Aesap and the others’ll be alright?
: The king showed himself to be interested in Aesap when we fought him, so…: So they won’t hurt him – at least not right away. What could King Sakomizu be after, I wonder…?
Location: Hypp Kurene Castle – Hangar
*Slap!*
: Rgh...!
: Lux, you may be of royal blood, but cooperating with the rebels is an immeasurable disgrace. : Who are you to speak of disgrace, father?! You’ve forgotten your duty as a Holy Warrior, and now oppress and fight your own people…!: Excuse me?
: King Sakomizu, the princess is concerned for you! She just believes that a military rule that mistreats the weak doesn’t befit a Holy Warrior such as yourself!
: And just who is she to question that her father, the king, should or shouldn’t do? To say that is being disrespectful would be an understatement.: B-but…!: Be at ease, you two. I have captured Amalgan, yes, but I have done so in a bid to establish a peace accord with the rebel army.
: Peace…? Then you will stop your offensive?: Naturally. I never once sought a war that would lead to the extermination of my own country.: King Sakomizu… can I really trust your word?: Ah, to be young and so outspoken… You are a fine lad, young Aesap Suzuki.*Door opens.*
: Yo, Aesap. Sorry about what happened there.: No hard feelings, yeah? We were just following orders.: Rouri, Kanamoto! You…!
: Pipe down! You stand before the king!: Hrm…!: Rouri and Kanamoto are fellow Japanese warriors. They share in my will.: Step this way, you three. I have something to show you.*Curtain rises.*
: I-Is that?!
: An Ohka, a purpose-built aircraft fielded by the old Japanese Army during World War 2. : WW2 was over 200 years ago up top, but you said the flow of time is different here, right?: And what’d you mean “purpose-built”?: These were used by kamikaze squadrons… the strategy was to cover the plane in bombs and fling it at the chosen target.: Whaat?! Can you even call something like that “strategy”?!: I used one of these to thwart a third nuclear bomb from being dropped at Kokura following Hiroshima and Nagasaki. : At that moment, the impact flung me here to Byston Well and, later, I established the nation of Hojo.: (… Hm? What’s that hanging inside the Ohka’s cockpit?)
: …: (An origami doll…?): As for myself, I foster the growth of His Majesty’s nation by developing newer Aura Machines for his men to use.: Aura Power is what gives this world life, and I have worked nonstop to create engines capable of converting it into large amounts of energy. : (Your Aura Machines only added more fuel to the fires of war, you snake!): It’s not my wish to conquer the Overworld. Rather, what impels me even now is the thought of failing to protect my homeland.: Then…: Yes… My true goal is and has always been to defend my beloved nation of Japan! Nothing more, nothing less!: You want to defend Japan…?: But if I’m to do that, I cannot be fighting a war in this land. Thus, young Aesap, I have a request for you.: For me?: Yes, a very important task in the interest of establishing peace with the rebels. A task that must be carried out by you, whom I expect to rise as the next Holy Warrior. : …
: Hold him down!
: Uurgh… G-Get your hands off me!: Did you get it?: Yes, my lord.: “I accept our unconditional surrender to the Hojo Army”…: Hmhmhm… your blood seal is very much appreciated, Amalgan Ludol.: Rrgh… Y-You scum!: And with it, the agonizing cries of the rebels that taint our nation will pave the way for our dream to be realized…!
And Michio just unlocked his second Tactician bonus, which is 10% attack power boost to all ranged weapons. Eh.
Oh, and before we close off, have some fanart of our newest teammate that I was given/came across on Pixiv:
And the convos we missed today:
: You are a Holy Warrior, no? Then why do you oppose King Sakomizu?!: Because being King doesn’t make you right! I’m putting a stop to your evil Aura Power!--
: This is our nation you stand in! You might be a Holy Warrior, but we won’t suffer an Overworlder walking through it uninvited!: Byston Well… I didn’t think we’d have to fight a war in it again. Still, I know just who I need to beat!--
: Why do you not lend your strength to the King?! You are both fellow Overworlders!: Because you guys are too trigger happy and it’s clear who’s in the wrong here!--
: You accursed Overworlder! First you steal our Aura Machine and then you have the gall to parade it around?!: First off, I didn’t want to steal it, and, secondly, I didn’t want to come back to Byston Well either!--
: Kasumi! If you insist on bearing your blade against innocent people…: Then I’ll take mine in hand and correct your misguided path! Come and face me!: Such a stout Aura Power! It’s like I’m staring down the King himself! Is this really the princess…?!--
: A warrior is meant to protect the people! You disgrace yourself by forgetting that spirit and raining violence onto the land!: All is as the King commands! We are merely following his guidance!: Then the King has to be stopped! And I’ll do so with my own hands, not that of others’!: Her presence feels so different from before! What in blazes happened to her at the Overworld?!--
: Are you deaf?! Can’t you hear the people’s cries as the flames of war rage around them?!: That may well be the masses’ lot in life, but I won’t suffer you lecturing us!--
: Amalgan Ludol! You are a rebel and a traitor to Hojo, and now I take your head!: You are free to try! But I won’t fall to the sword of a warrior who isn’t even capable of stopping her King’s insanity!