: It was a Gaki! It was a fucking Gaki! They're crawling all over the mall, open your goddamn eyes!
Dammit!
: And screw it, I don't even care, I'll confess to whatever you want, but you need to find my mother! She's done nothing wrong!
Nobody hears me. Hell,
I can't hear anything. It's like the whole building is empty.
Okay. Okay. I got to calm down. I can do this. I can find a way out. It's hard to break out of jail, but two days ago I thought it was hard to talk to a fairy. All I need is a plan. For the first time, I pay attention to my cell.
There's somebody in here with me.
: Wait a minute...! You're...
: Yeah, that's me! Who...?
: That wasn't just a dream then! I'm Kaneda! Do you remember me?
: Holy crap! Kaneda! I almost didn't recognize you with your pants on!
: Francois, you won't believe what happened to me.
: I doubt that, but try me.
: My girlfriend just sort of disappeared. While looking for her, I was attacked by demons... and when I killed them, the police arrested me! I need to find her... I'm worried about her! Will you help me look for her?
: I'm looking for someone myself. I think we can help each other out.
: Really!? Thank you!!
>Kaneda joined your party.
: My girlfriend's name is Kei.
: So you're the one...? I've got a neighbor named Kei.
: Eh? You live next door to her? Wow, that's a coincidence... Anyhow, let's try and think of a way to bust out of here.
*: This is Kaneda's equipment. His Machete is a sucker's weapon (500 yen cheaper than the tonfa, but has only 1 more attack power and attacks only once), but he comes with a decent Beretta 95F (22/15) and standard bullets. His armor is the stuff from the Kichijoji survival store. He knows the Dia (basic healing) and Zan spells (basic force-elemental damage).I can't quite make out what it is. Anyway, I inspect the bars again.
Surgery? So they took us to the hospital like the others... The man opens the gate to take us away.
: Good man!
: Come on, now's our chance! Let's go!
We find ourselves in a cell block. There are other people in here!
*: There are several civilians behind bars. We can't help them, unfortunately.: Why did I get brought to a hospital after getting arrested? Isn't the police station more the norm?
*: They even locked up one of their orderlies.: The hospital director is conducting experiments to try and create invincible super-soldiers.
: That's what it's all about? Super-soldiers? When has that ever turned out well?
: It's only a matter of time before I become his next guinea pig...
: If you expect me to feel sorry for you, you can keep holding your breath.
: Steven-san! What are you doing here?
*: ...is that who I think it is?: A long time ago, I was working on a teleportation device... A network of Terminal Systems that would allow the user to instantly transport him or herself from terminal to terminal.
: An endeavour
doomed to failure, no doubt.
: Oh, please.
: Heheh.
: But in the middle of one of my experiments I accidentally opened a portal to the Abyss and summoned a demon.
: This proved to be your un-doom-ing.
: Seriously? Are you gonna be
that guy?
: Sorry, sorry. Please go on, sir.
: The demon seemed like it was trying to communicate with me, but I couldn't understand it, and it eventually became hostile and attacked me. I managed to defeat it, but not without sustaining terrible wounds first. The experience motivated me to develop a computer program that would allow people to speak with and befriend demons, making them into minions... Thus, I wrote the Demon Summoning Program. After learning that the terminals were connected with the Abyss, a man named Gotou began to summon and attempt to control them. Knowing that the demons would be coming in large numbers, I sent my Demon Summoning Program to as many people as I could. By increasing the number of people that have the ability to control demons, I was hoping to balance this out and keep any potential demonic revolts from getting totally out of control. Unfortunately, the program itself is harder to master than I had hoped and very few people were able to become full-fledged summoners.
: Yeah, no offense, but your UI kinda stinks.
: Do you understand me?
: I do.
: Very well. Then I shall give you this program to assist you. It is designed to capture and analyze data. It wil scan and analyze any demons that you should meet, and record their data into your computer's memory so that you can refer to it whenever you need to.
>Francois installed the Devil Analyze Program into his computer.
*: In gameplay terms, I now have a command in my non-combat and encounter menus that lets me see the status screen of all demons I've recently met, instead of just the ones in my employ. That's great news!: If there is anything I can do to help you, please come back and see me.
*: Steven then offers to save the game for me, for some reason.: Now, go to the director's office on the second floor. I've unlocked the door for you. There should be another switch inside. If you hit it, it should open the gate outside so you can get out of here.
: Thank you ever so much, sir. Before we go, I have to say, I'm a big fan of you and your work. I would have totally read
A brief history of time had it only been just a little briefer.
: ...
:
: Okay thanks bye!
*: We're on the first floor of the hospital. The exit is only a few tiles away, but as Steven-san said, there's an electronic lock. I start looking around, but we're not alone.Lv4 Chirei Knocker
The knocker is an underground-dwelling brownie from Welsh and Cornish folklore. They are named for the knocking sounds heard by miners before a cave-in; traditionally this is seen as a helpful warning to get the hell out of there before it's too late... but that's only a step away from believing them to actually cause the cave-ins themselves. Their Sibabu is of dubious utility on account of their low Magic Effect stat, but Zan is a decent spell and Taku-kaja is a fairly useful attack power buff. I'm going to try and recruit one even if only to keep them from killing Kaneda (the dude is level 1).*: It's not too long before I reach the second floor.*: There's one more prisoner here.: Help me! I don't want to be operated on and altered like some sort of mad scientist's lab rat!
: We're gonna take care of this, just hang on.
*: Incense is awesome. It refills one character's HP and permanently increases one of their stats by one. Considering leveling up only gives you a single stat point, this is a lot. I'm probably going to use all of them on me, except the Magic ones. Using them on the spot is not a completely bad idea but I tend to wait until I need the healing.: Just like Steven said. Let's go!
: No, but you're about to get some restructural surgery yourself. Of the face. Oops, we're all out of anaesthetic!
: Oh, I see. Then that means you're still evil humans who won't listen to my commands yet. Very well then, if you refuse to play along... I'll have to alter your bodies myself, until you're nothing but mindless drones that follow my every whim!
Wow, someone's got a warped sense of good and evil... and shapeshifting abilities.
*: Derp, I got caught with my pants down; neither of my demons are currently with me, and I need to spend the first two turns summoning them while Kaneda fights. Orias uses Plinpa, a confusion spell. It hits me, but I summon Brownie anyway and the confusion wears off right away.
Next turn, Brownie increases our accuracy, while I summon Pixie into the back row. Kaneda keeps firing, and Orias hits me for 18 damage. Next turn, Kaneda heals me, Brownie attacks, and Pixie spends over half her MP to cast Zionga for a colossal 36 damage. On top of that, Zionga sends Orias in a state of shock, temporarily stunning him. We're in good shape!
I mentioned the back row. There are six slots in the active party, and the last three are the back row. I don't remember the exact effects, but I'll be sure to mention them as I notice them.
Anyway. On the next turn, Brownie is killed in a single blow, but between Kaneda's 22 damage Zan and my tonfa's 7 damage twice per turn, the fight doesn't drag on. Orias puts Pixie and Kaneda to sleep with his Dolminer spell, but I strike the final blow immediately after. This could have gone much, much worse. Brownie's dead (OH NOOOOOOOOOO~), but everyone else is fine, and Kaneda gains 4 levels and the Mapper spell. (Mapper puts a 3x5 minimap overlay in the corner of the screen, which is really quite nice. I think it lasts until the next New Moon.): FUCK. YEAH. Who's your daddy now, asshole?
: What... What are you doing?
: You mean you've never heard of teabagging before?
: Looks like fun!
: Okaynevermindletsgo.
Lv8 Datenshi Orias
Orias is a Great Marquis of Hell, commanding thirty legions of demons. He presides over astrology and can change his shape at will.
Datenshi are fallen angels, who rebelled against God's rule and were cast down into hell as punishment. In SMT, Datenshi are taken from the 72 demons listed in the Lesser Key of Solomon, a fairly well-known 17th-century book on demonology. Surprisingly, they are Neutral-Chaos rather than Dark-Chaos. I think that's because the game's mythology emphasizes their role as quintessential rebels without outright condemning their revolution. That said, they are extremely dangerous creatures and care not one bit for mankind.The "director" out of the way, we can release the entrance lock.
*: ... I just noticed my spoils have put me at exactly 666 magnetite. *: Aaaanyway. We go back to the entrance. The cells are now empty; I guess the lock release also operated the jail bars. Even Steven is gone.
On the way back, a Knocker drops an Orb, which is basically a better, rarer Magic Stone. It restores HP to maximum.Hell yeah! Justice served, wrongs righted! That's us! We're Team Awesome!
: Great work, people! Coffee's on me!
: ...coffee? Thanks, I guess.
: Yay!
: Oh, uh, except you. Sorry, it's back to the drive for you. Magnetite doesn't grow on trees, you know.
:
: Wow, she's needy.
*: Before going to the mall, I go get Brownie raised.: Can you do something for the little runt? He did take one for the team.
: That'll be 300 yen.
: On the other hand, he's technically part of an invasion force, and who knows how many innocent civilians he would have terrorized had I not been there to put him back on the straight and narrow?
*: Ehhhh... I might have to spend a Magic Stone or something to get another one, so I might as well. 300 yen is just three spooked Thugs' worth of money.
On the way to the mall, I meet a Ghost who reminds me (against his will) that some enemies are immune to bullets, and it appears that some others are resistant.
Guns are interesting weapons. They don't need an investment in Strength to be effective, most of them hit several times (some up to 8!), they can be fitted with incredibly useful ailment-causing ammunition, and IIRC they don't have a problem with the back row. On the other hand, they require an investment in Speed to reach their full potential, and they're not effective on all enemies.
Alright, back at the mall to celebrate.Lv5 Juujin Weredog
A weredog is a man who was bitten by a... Err. Hmm. Wait, people get bitten by dogs all the time, how could a myth possibly spring around that? That doesn't make a lick of sense. Yo, Google, anyone out there actually believes in weredogs?
: Yyyyyup.
Oh. Alright then. There ya go, people. Weredogs! Whodathunk? Anyway, they're a rare but fairly tough opponent with Diarama (an upgraded healing spell) and a special bite attack.
And Juujin are lycanthropes (well, therianthropes). They are Neutral-Neutral.As we wait in line for our coffee, we overhear a man talking.
: They looked really mad... they're probably going to beat the hell out of the poor guy.
: Kaneda, I don't know if I'm just high on the fumes of justice, but-
: Let's do this!
: Demons my ass! What the hell have you been smoking, you little punk! Rough 'im up a little bit more, boys!
>A single youth is being beaten up by a group of thugs that surround him.
: God, this is awful... I can't let this cowardice continue! Hey you! What do you think you're doing!? Stop that!!
Most of the goons quickly vacate the premises. It's probably thanks to our tangible aura of victory.
: Eh, no big deal. Don't try and fuck with us again, you little pissant, or you'll just get more of the same. Come on, boys!
: Hey, are you all right?
: Shut up! Don't mock me... If only I was tougher, I'd kick your asses...
: So now what, Francois? He's in a daze -- he doesn't seem to know what's going on, talking like that.
: ...H-hey... What did you just say? ...Francois... You said... Francois, right?
: Wait a minute, you look... familiar.
: Then that really wasn't just your everyday dream! And so if you're Francois... then you must be Kaneda, right?
: ...So you must be Tetsuo.
: Now I get it! You guys really saved my butt back there. Ahh... Shit! Damn it all! If only I was stronger... I'm so weak, I can't even handle a bunch of lowlifes like them by myself...
: Look, you were outnum-
: How am I going to beat the demons invading Tokyo when I can't even stand up to a bunch of thugs like Ozawa's gang? Guys! Please, let me come with you! Together we might be able to do something! Even if you say no, I'm still coming along!
: I wouldn't dream of it, man. Welcome aboard!
>Tetsuo joined the party.
*: The guy is well-equipped. His Spike Rod (8/5) is an okay weapon, and his MP5 Machine-Gun (34/3) hits 3-6 times. All his armor is one step above ours. He also comes with Agi, the basic fire-element spell.It's getting late, and the adrenaline is wearing off. I suggest we head to my house to recuperate, and the others agree without hesitation. I do want to pay a short visit to Kei's dad first, though.
: ...
: It makes me feel better to know that a lunatic like that is off the streets!
:
: Oh, if it isn't Francois! Kei went out somewhere, but never came back.
...
Ozawa, you piece of shit.