Part 7: Entry 3/31/10-07

Entry 3/31/10-07

We'd started to fall into a rhythm, we were pushing ahead steadily and surely.



His loyalty surprised me when I talked to him a moment ago.
What did he say?
He said it's his duty to cheer people up when they feel down.
He also said that Cerberus is good with fire, and to leave fire attacks to him...
Huh? But he said that you can understand him too, though...
......

For whatever reason, though, at that time I could no longer understand him as I'd used to. In retrospect that should have worried me more than it did.



If I had to indentify a common thread, all of the scenes were set further in the past than last year's battles.
What does this all mean...?
Let me know if you figure anything out yourself.
By the way, are you using support skills to your advantage?
My Persona in particular knows a number of them.
The first of them is Mind Charge. It doubles the effect of magic attacks once.
Next is Spirit Drain, which steals the enemy's SP for your own use.
Finally, there's Tentarafoo, which confuses all enemies, rendering them incapable of using skills.
And so on, and so forth.
If you're interested in fighting strategically, leave it to me.



If I hadn't been out that night on patrol, he might have never joined SEES.
I know it sounds weird to hear this from me, but... it was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

It did seem like there were an awful lot of coincidences that led to us all being together.



It's not that I sympathize with Junpei, but...
I... do understand how awful it feels to have parents like that.



It's actually been comforting on several occasions.
The usual Junpei-san is... Well, he's better at "comic relief."



But, y'know... he's not dead, so I don't really have it as bad as everyone else.
Don't worry about me, man.
I mean, back then was nothing compared to the hot water I'm in right now.
Yet another reason to put me, the great Junpei Iori, on your team!
I'll pull you out of any jam, no matter how bad it gets!
Especially if you're worried about fire attacks... Just call for good ol' Junpei the Fireman!



Things happened so fast, but lately I've been worried since I heard about Junpei-kun's family...
I wonder if my mom and dad are all right...

Even the girl from the Velvet Room had something to say...



......
Are you... still searching?
For "him"...?
......

The fifth door was engraved with the word "Ptolomea."



The Shadows once again were waiting.

RECORD - First Great Shadow of Ptolomea

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Boss Battle: Wondrous Magus, Crying Table, Cowardly Maya
I would almost go so far as to say this is the easiest Shadow boss so far. The Maya and Magus are weak against Fire, and if they are supposed to be able to Dodge it I've not seen that happen. The Crying Table is weak against Ice, and while he does Dodge that both Metis and Mitsuru have it. We throw Agidynes at the Maya and Magus with Succubus (just in case we have a miss, since she's got no weaknesses) and then we have a turn to either try and knock down the Table or buff the party. As long as we keep them down the enemy party is very unthreatening. After the Table dies I switch to Surt so he can get the full experience points for the fight.

It's when things are going well that you're able to fall the hardest, though.

RECORD- Akasha

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Could it have some sort of purpose here...?

RECORD- Akasha 2

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Shadow confirmed!
If that presence is summoning them, does that mean it's an enemy...?
But it seems like...
It doesn't seem like it's going to attack us this time, either. Focus on the Shadow!
...Get Ready!

RECORD- Second Great Shadow of Ptolomea

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Boss Battle: Neo Minotaur
This guy is hard, straight up. He's got two abilities of note, Magarudyne and Akasha Arts. He's very resistant to physical attacks and laughs off attempts to injure him with magic. He spends almost all of his turns on Magarudyne, but it's not the real threat here. The real threat is getting crit by Akasha Arts, which kills Aigis in one hit on both of those wipes. Our MVPs for this are going to be Quetzlcoatl and Atropos, with assists from Titania for healing and Surt for being there and soaking up exp. Quetzlcoatl resists wind and can buff our party's defense, and Atropos completely nulls wind. So this helps us with our most common source of damage, but not with the real threat. What we're going to do is use Attack Mirrors to give the party Tetrakarn. This lets us repel his Akasha Arts back at him for massive damage. He uses it very rarely, so one or two should keep you covered the whole fight.

Somehow we pushed through to the dead end.

RECORD- The Fifth Door


And we still haven't found out anything about the black shadow...
I was really hoping we'd get some clues this time...
Umm, anyway, we're heading over there now. Please look around a little while you wait.



The place in the vision this time... I'd been there before.



Tartarus...



Guard #1: So this is the interior of Tartarus...
It's only the second time anyone has been here without special equipment.
Guard #2: ......
Scientist: Normal weaponry is useless against Shadows. Any equipment we brought would be for your peace of mind.
Everyone here has had their "potential" developed in our labs... That should suffice to protect us.
And even if you're devoured, that in itself would be valuable data for us. Hahahah...
Guard #1: Ugh... Is anyone left in the Ergo Division who isn't a psycho?
In any case, Sir...
Are you all right with this? I mean... bringing your daughter...



Takeharu Kirijo: ...You heard her.
Guard #1: ...I see. I'm sorry to have spoken out of turn, Sir.
Guard #2: ......
Guard #1: Hey, what's wrong...?
Guard #2: Ngh... Agh...
Aaagh! Gaaaaaaah!



Guard #1: Wh-What the..!?
Scientist: Looks like it's back to the drawing board for the artificial development of "potential"...!
Guard #1: Sir, Miss, step aside!
That's... a Shadow...
Guard #1: You little--!
Sir! Miss!
Takeharu Kirijo: Gah...!
Father!



Scientist: Oh... did you see that!? Such power!
It's a Persona! I was right! Persona-users do exist!
Takeharu Kirijo: Mitsuru!
Father... I'm glad you're safe...
Scientist: That was wonderful, Lady Mitsuru! A beautiful expression of your natural potential!
At last, our future seems bright!
Takeharu Kirijo: Why are you so happy about it!?
Now... Mitsuru can never escape from the destiny of atonement...
She'll spend her life bound to our cursed legacy, when she should be finding her own way.
What's so bright about that...?
Don't worry, Father... I chose this for myself...
I'll protect you... Father...
Takeharu Kirijo: Mitsuru...

......



Hm...? Oh... yes.
Senpai...? What's the matter?
Ah, well.... I'm sorry, it's just that...
Seeing Father before my eyes, as if he were still alive, was...
Senpai...
Aww, but wasn't Mitsuru-senpai really cute when she was little?
Excuse me, Iori? Are you saying that's no longer the case?
Uhhh, n-no... That's not what I-- C'mon, you got it all wrong!



Of the past events we've seen up to this point...
The first one seemed to be about getting ready for battle, but the others... How should I put it...
It feels like there's some aspect they all have in common.
Don't you all think so?
Yes... Bur for now, we don't know what that might be.
This is the fifth door...
We should be getting closer to the source we're looking for...
Oh... I just remembered! There's something I have to tell you all!
Remember the machinery and documents Mitsuru-senpai found?
I looked into them, and it turns out they were things that the Chairman hid when he was still alive...
Most of them were from the accident 10 years ago, so he must have hid them so they wouldn't be destroyed.
Some of the notes I found seemed to be talking about the Abyss of Time...



We may be close to discovering what this place really is.
We're closing in on it...
We should hurry forward.

> ......
> You decided to return to the lounge.

We seemed so close to the end, yet so far from answers...



I thought we still had a long way to go, but there are only two left now.
Yeah... we're nearly there.
Now's the time to step it up, guys. Let's hurry forward!