Part 32: Chapter 10-2: Don't Fear the Reaper!

Chapter 10-2: Don't Fear the Reaper!

All right, everyone, this update is going to be substantial. And, I must warn you, it contains a plot twist that has been long in the making. Strap yourself in, this is going to be interesting.

Before we begin the update proper, I feel now is as good a time as any to talk about the Reaper Allied Actions.



As you know, the Reaper will randomly appear on certain floors and possess a party member when touched. Its chances of spawning continually increase as you go down levels in the Labyrinth, until you have roughly a 50-75% chance of spawning him at the final hallway of Sham Sanctuary.



Most people will cure their possessed party member at the Temple in town, perhaps after opening both Reaper doors on B2 and B6, and leave it at that. However...



Some rather interesting things happen if your entire party becomes possessed.







As you can see, the most obvious change is in our vision. Although visibility isn't impacted significantly, it's somewhat disturbing to view everything as if it were covered in bloody mist. But, there's more.



The party gains its own exclusive set of Reaper AAs. The advantage is that they are ridiculously powerful, since your party already gains a substantial boost to attack power just for being possessed. The disadvantages, however are many: For one, you lose all your normal AAs. And, for another, if a party member dies, they are erased from the game forever. No corpses, no ashes, just obliteration.

Anyway, I'll cover each AA briefly.

The Reaper's Blade, as the description implies, increases attack power and drastically increases the chance of getting a critical hit with everyone in the party. In exchange, one party member loses half their current HP.



Soul Smash is even more ridiculous. By sacrificing a party member, you have a pretty much guaranteed victory against any one normal encounter. As far as I know, Soul Smash is instantly lethal to any enemy that isn't a boss. Of course, the party member is gone forever as well, so it's a pretty big trade-off.



Sealing Voice is a blanket silence spell that costs half of the entire party's HP. I'm pretty sure it works on special abilities, but I'm not sure if it actually prevents spellcasting or if that's a typo.



An interesting way of keeping the leader alive is with Spirit Healing, which cures the leader for all HP currently missing from the other party members. If there were a way to get this outside of being possessed, it might be kind of interesting.



Since Flee Together can fail sometimes (Only about 20-25% of the time, really, it's pretty nice about it), Deceptive Slip is an interesting upgrade. If you aren't fighting a boss, you're guaranteed to be able to run away in one try with this ability. In exchange, a party member acts as decoy and gives up a certain amount of their HP. Again, this AA might be useful outside of a non-possessed party.

Anyway, if you want to see the Reaper AAs in action (Fancy shmancy animations and all), here they are: http://blip.tv/michael-h/let-s-play...edition-5405640

If you decide to go for it yourself, have fun. But for most parties, it's a giant liability.



At this point, also, I decided to work on our newest vellum. I love the description of this thing.



Now Michele can end practically any encounter at will. She's our glass cannon!



I also have Sara master Cathedral, which is a much improved version of Carcass. She should never fail to revive someone with this spell now.









Okay, enough messing around.



When last we left off, the party navigated a teleporter maze that brought them to a solitary door.



Past the door is an immense hallway, but... it is punctuated by the screams of the damned.







Agh...

Cursed...

The voice is...

...me... I hear a calling...

Agh... Agh...

No...

I don't want to become...

I don't want to be defiled...

NO

HELP ... ... !

http://blip.tv/michael-h/let-s-play...-reaper-5405582



The hollow voices unbearably filled the air. As if to break through the wall of voices, a shadow gradually appeared.



You bit your lip in an attempt to hold back your anger. Your rage grew to a point your fists were shaking. The Old Bishop sneered when he saw that.

- You've become more expressive in your emotions. I thought I told you that emotions only get in the way of attaining goals. Never mind. You are not the only one trying to hold in your anger. I never forgot even once that you turned against me, taking sides with the Queen.

- Moreover, you've freed the souls that were to be sacrificed in my ritual.

Freeing souls? You had no idea what he was talking about.

- My god needs souls with strong emotions for his resurrection. But you fulfilled the wishes of the wandering souls and freed them from this land before the ritual.

You recalled the memories of your journey. The people you met... The conversations you had...

You took a big breath. The clients' faces appeared in your mind.

Then... Then, they are already...

- It was my mistake to assume that you would be hunted by my Reapers. Without a will, they could never reap your soul.

The Old Bishop began to pray. The spell you cast passed straight through the Old Bishop. The Old Bishop smiled mockingly.

- My body has rotted away long ago. You cannot touch my soul!

He has no body...? Then..........

The Old Bishop made a smile that made you sick.

- That's right... Even at the time when you came to my temple...... You couldn't have stopped me. In the end, you have completed your mission as a puppet. Your mission to sacrifice the Queen for my god......

The air began to undulate in synchronization with his prayer.

- Arise, oh souls that wander the depths of the Labyrinth! Gather around the blade of death and form a new Reaper! These beings hold what thy pursue: life! With thy blade of death free these souls from the prison called the body!!





This looks... familiar...



...



...



...



...





Well guys, the Reaper is back for another round. Sadly, he's gotten considerably stronger since we fought him on B2.

You're going to want to be very careful starting this fight. The Reaper has spells like Zakuld, which inflict massive ice damage to one row of the party. If he targets the back row... as he did in the video... expect heavy casualties. On the other hand, Spell Cancel works, but you need at least one round to get your buff spells up. Otherwise you'll barely even be able to make a scratch in him. Not only that, but he follows the new boss tradition of being able to instantly kill party members with critical hits.

Of course, that hardly means we're powerless to stop him. By now, you should have a priest that's able to reliably revive fallen comrades, and one or two Curing Potions in case something happens to said priest and you need a quick revive for them. And, it's not like we haven't picked up a few tricks ourselves since B2 besides healing.



For example.



Megadeth should take care of most if not all of his cronies, whether or not it actually hits the Reaper. Once you've taken out his support, you can focus on keeping his magic under wraps with Spell Cancel. From then on, it's just a matter of keeping your Zaiba-enhanced front row alive and pumping out Double Slashes until he goes down.



- Damn you, Sagoon...! You no longer even hold the right to become one with my god!

The Old Bishop suddenly stabbed himself with his hand.

His hand, free from the chains of the physical world, easily pierced through his astral body.



- Now is the time!!

The Old Bishop vanished in a flash of light. And then.........

An eerie rumble shook the Labyrinth. Unspeakable anxiety spread through the air. But you felt someone calling you, as to ease your anxiety. It was not Sophia. Nor was it the Queen. They were being held captive by the sinister god.

Then who......? What lies ahead......?

You look down the hall ahead.

Well, on the plus side, we annihilated the Reaper. It will no longer appear anywhere in the Labyrinth to try and possess a party member, meaning the Reaper Doors and AAs are now gone for good.

On the other hand, we still have to deal with Bu'shin, apparently. Which is probably a bit worse.

Immediately after the battle with the Reaper...

http://blip.tv/michael-h/let-s-play...a-joins-5405621



- So we continue to linger in this eternal nightmare...

It was Kaza, the young Elf, who appeared before the party. His face was pale as he gazed at you. He must have heard the mad bishop speaking as well.



- We've been left here in this land, deep in the darkness where not even a ray of light exists. These eyes that gaze at you, this chest that trembles in hopelessness, are all just an illusion. The vengeful attachment to this world has etched this soul here... in limbo, where we are not allowed to die.

- Yes... It all began when the Flash occurred. We believed somewhere in our hearts... that death would not come as long as we did not accept it. And that God could not possibly perform such a heartless act.

Kaza gazed far off ahead.

- My purpose in life was to find the man responsible for this tragedy, but it matters no more. My hatred is gone... He taught me the foolishness of hatred. It is better to die with what little beautiful memories one has than to live with a rotted soul. Now I can die in peace.

- So long. Until we meet again in another life.

- Kaza, wait!



- Many still do not know of their own death. Do you not wish to save the souls of those people?

- Did you forget that an entire civilization was destroyed by him? Are you saying that you can defeat what an entire country could not? You dare not say you don't know why the bishop was collecting souls, do you? The God of Darkness lives by devouring the souls of people. A defeat at the hands of him means your soul will be devoured. It is linked to eternal damnation.

Michele began to persecute Kaza relentlessly.

- Kaza, are you scared? Even I, as powerless as I am, am standing up against him. You accept defeat, and are trying to run away with your tail between your legs, without even fighting! What would Sophia say if she were still alive and heard your pathetic words?!

- But she is no longer of this world...

- Sophia's soul hasn't returned to the Heavens yet...

Kaza's face turned pale. He had thought that Sophia's soul disappeared after the Flash.

- Sophia is...

Images of his past appeared in his mind. There Sophia, who had lovingly raised him like a mother, like a sister, made a gentle smile. The Sophia of his memories spoke to him.

"Even if the world is destroyed, your friends and loved ones have disappeared, and only hopelessness is left, lift your head and look at the bright future."

"As long as you don't lose that smile, there is nothing that can beat you."

- It is easy to walk within hopelessness... because the darkness hides everything from sight. On the contrary, a light of hope will illuminate everything... the suffering, the sadness, and the hopelessness.

- Let me return to town... I want time to think.

- It's okay. As long as he has his pride as a warrior, Kaza will help us.

Kaza has been registered as a member. You can add him to your party at the Tavern.



And so, we gain our final party member of the game... and he sucks tremendously! Seriously, evil? I don't get it.

(Hush, I know it says Kulgan is evil too, I accidentally murdered some friendly Orcs while I was getting materials on B1)

Oh, you may have noticed a bag where the Reaper was killed.



You got a Sword Fragment!

Like the Incubus Wing and Golem Flesh, it's a unique one-time material.



At the far end of the stone hallway, we find a sword stuck in what appears to be a portal.

http://blip.tv/michael-h/let-s-play...d-sword-5405647



The sword never lost its luster, as it kept the evil god sealed.

You now were certain. The sword was the thing calling upon you.

As the resurrection of the god neared, the sword beckoned you to wield it. At the very moment you approached the sword...



You slowly reached for the sword.

You got the Queen Guard Sword!



A ridiculously powerful sword that can be equipped by any class? We must be coming close to the end, folks!



And so, we enter the portal...



And approach the heart of the Labyrinth.

Stay tuned for the final chapter.

Videos:

Allied Actions: Reaper Edition - http://blip.tv/michael-h/let-s-play...edition-5405640

Don't Fear the Reaper! - http://blip.tv/michael-h/let-s-play...-reaper-5405582

Kaza Joins - http://blip.tv/michael-h/let-s-play...a-joins-5405621

The Queen's Guard Sword - http://blip.tv/michael-h/let-s-play...d-sword-5405647