>>38555266
Not sure Athame was worth it.

>>38555266
Morning, JQOP. Hope 4chan won't cut out again, seems it happens pretty often in the weekends now.

Also, anyone else a bit disappointed in the Athame and Behemoth upgrades?

Thoughts for today:
- Can Kazuya empower the arsenal beacon to reach the Hollow Sun?
- Does Kazuya even know how to store weapons/relics on/in his armor?
- Did the Athame cause our Quantum Singularity Cannon to be changed, due to the change in the black sphere?
- What do we do with White Licorice?

>>38555316
The Behemoth upgrade sounds nice, even if a bit situational. Pop into cover against enemies with chainguns, absorb the cover and then Scrander crash them with additional mass.

The Lachryma absorbtion will likely be a nice endgame feature. It also allows us to see how high our encroachment is.

I feel that the ability to cancel out an attack with a Lachryma shield will be worthwhile.

OP, does a Lachryma over-armor increase our encroachment?

Guys, our HP got restored.
Our Codebursts didn't, though.

>>38555352

(Yes, because you're effectively combining DRAW FORTH - and all the benefits involved - with OVER-ARMOR.)


>>38555266

(Gentlemen, be aware that I've updated the Equipment Guide with the entries for OVER-ARMOR and DRAW FORTH, as well as your HP bonus from TRIACH BEHEMOTH's Eidolon.)

Across lost ARCADIA, the rain continues to fall. It is a torrential rain, out of the dry air like falling shells - exploding like black glass against the twisted landscape of wreckage and flame below. The sky has gone oddly dark, opaque - the uneven urban landscape pale, harshly-lit, swathed in an eerie, flickering radiance from the great dome of the Shield overhead. It mingles with the static that blurs across your sensors, flickering barrow-fires lending a hellfire illumination to the scene; already, the ruins feel like a grave site, a waste of mouldering funeral rot.

A rising grey fog of vapor has been lifted in the wake of the Fusion Annihilator's blast - writhing lightnings underlighting the belly of the clouds, setting off brief, white flashes like flares. Time is uncertain, here; the irregular strobing making the light seem strange and impermanent, a perpetual twilight.

On all sides - Tilting, teetering buildings. Water gurgles out of them, the bent, blackened girders of the corpse-structures framing the great spike of the Diadem, corospant jagging across the spires of the crown.

And you-

Black.

Not long, just for an instant. Gravel crunching beneath your feet, your Fusion Annihilator sobbing smoke into the hell-light. A stab of distant and miserable pain, at the very core of your being-

"-Up." Palladium Rook's gauntlet vices against your shoulder, as you draw yourself to your full height. Autoreactive talons scratch against the ground, Scylla's limbs writhing against your back - You can still feel the lingering echoes, a sense-memory of agony, within you...

The Athame. A little closer to your heart, now - Another twist of the blade.

(Continued)

>>38555405
>(Gentlemen, be aware that I've updated the Equipment Guide with the entries for OVER-ARMOR and DRAW FORTH, as well as your HP bonus from TRIACH BEHEMOTH's Eidolon.)


>This ability can be used with any source of Lachryma.
...Even fellow Players?

>>38555366
It wasn't restored, just compensated for by Behemoth's HP boost.

Are Eidolon and Limiter Upgrade 2 separate things or is Eidolon an effect of Limiter Upgrade 2?

>>38555433
I was a bit confused because the character sheet doesn't say that.

>>38555420

(Yes, exactly. It's not just a healing ability, it's an offensive one.)

>>38555405

"Joker," Rook grunts - the sound flawed by the hiss of air through his jagged mouth grille, flickering with static. There is guarded concern to his voice, a concern the avian visage of his altered helm cannot express. Machine growls sound in your cabled neck joints, as your myomer muscles tense with unintentional tics-

"...What a pair we make, Joker."

Where's...

His cloak spread around him, Daegal kneels. Even in the pounding rain, he gleams, water running from the slanted eye-lens of his helm like tear-trails. In his arms - with a kind of helpless caution - he cradles White Licorice's half-shattered form. There is a tentativeness to every motion, something you've never seen before; and you know that Kazuya has absolutely no idea what to do. What he *can* do.

And he says-

"Mayuri-"

Licorice stirs. Just a little, her shattered arm against her side. Myomer fiber and smooth joints have twisted into ugly, jagged protrusions - even as cracks flaw across her faceplate, beneath the icon hammered into her helm.

"Kazuya-kun..." Soft, a whisper - "...You're Kazuya-kun, aren't you? It's-"

Daegal tenses. The light in his helm's lens burns a little higher, now - Embers fanned into furnace-heat.

"...It's me," he says - the anguish in his voice unfiltered by his speakers. "-you're safe now. You're *safe*."

"-Interesting," Rook growls, with the sound of fingernails scratching down sandpaper. His helm twitches in your direction. "He's always used their names, you realize? Never 'Joker', always 'Anon'. Not 'White Licorice', but 'Mayuri.'"

Not now, Rook.

"-they *hurt* me-"

(Continued)

>>38555515
>"-they *hurt* me-"
Kazuya's Revengeance incoming.

>>38555515
We really need to find someone with healing powers.

Hellion replacement limbs?

>>38555515
>Not now, Rook.
"rook pls they're having a moment, stop commenting like this is an MST3K."

>>38555515

Give the Arsenal Beacon to Deagal.

He needs guns asap.

Also holy fuck wait what when did daegel get out of us?!

>>38555540
I'm starting to think Rook also had something done to his mind. I don't remember him being this unaware of social norms.

>>38555555
Nice repeating digits, but I think you missed some sessions.

>>38555555
>Also holy fuck wait what when did daegel get out of us?!
Read the last few threads.
NOW.

Seriously, you missed important shit.

Also, nice sexts.

>>38555515
>"-Interesting," Rook growls, with the sound of fingernails scratching down sandpaper. His helm twitches in your direction. "He's always used their names, you realize? Never 'Joker', always 'Anon'. Not 'White Licorice', but 'Mayuri.'"
Well, duh. He became a player about twenty minutes ago.

...I hope we don't find out that he can't see names.

>>38555572

Yeeaah i did. i'm skimming but i stopped reading when everything went to shit and nobody tried to change the course of the trainwreck.

>>38555590
>but i stopped reading when everything went to shit and nobody tried to change the course of the trainwreck.
Please be a little more clear. That could describe so many parts of the quest.

>>38555590
>nobody tried to change the course of the trainwreck
Less "nobody tried" and more "nobody knew how".

>>38555583
>...I hope we don't find out that he can't see names.
Hell, he might even be able to see their real names or some shit.

File: jokerdaegal.jpg (690 KB, 1087x2000)

690 KB JPG

>>38555515

That oriachulum helm lowers. Slowly, Daegal's fingers curl into a fist, the cables in his neck bunching - But he doesn't say anything. You don't think he can.

"...took some of us away - no reason, no sense - killed everyone else..." Her speakers wash, and crackle again. "-don't understand, don't know *why*...J, just taking them to, to-"

An irritated bark of noise, from Rook. Not far from a falcon's shriek, but with something of a crow in it.

"-We can't stay here," he warns, watching the skies. "Hnnnh. They'll have seen that - they'll know." Metal joints squeal, as he shifts his stance - As if eager to take flight, eager to soar...Or just anxious to be away from here, pacing on the arching claws of his feet. He hunches, now, as if remaining upright is too much of a strain to his altered form - as if constantly fighting to temptation to drop to all fours.

"Anon-" Daegal hasn't moved; holding himself rigid, holding himself absolutely still. The beseeching note to his voice belies the unmoving, ever-vigilant mask that is his face, now. "Can't you-"

"...Can't you do something?"

>>38555555

The Arsenal Beacon unlatches from your back, with a hiss of magnetic clamps. It thuds against the ground, as you set it down next to him; this close, your sensors paint a merciless picture. The damage to White Licorice's fragile form - what remains of it - is deep and rending; worse still are the fibrous growths that have ruptured within her, that have erupted forth from the cracked joints of her limbs, aspirating the wan glow of Essence-

...She's bleeding out. Halfway to being *reshaped*, like Chiffon Doll.

"I don't-" Helplessly, now. "...Anon, I don't know what to *do*-"

[ ] "Rook's right. We can't stay here."
[ ] "-That arm has to come off."
[ ] "We can't take her with us."
[ ] "We'll take her with us."
[ ] "It's all right, Kazuya. It's all right. There's nothing you can do."
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>38555623
>[ ] "Rook's right. We can't stay here."
>[ ] "-That arm has to come off."
That way, she still has a chance. If we can get her to one of those Vitruvian things, she might still make it.

>>38555623
>"-That arm has to come off."
>"We'll take her with us."

>>38555602

There were tons of ideas. I was at the forefront of most of them, and pretty much refused to use any sort of critical thinking skills and apply it to the situation.

I successfully predicted that the smilers would go for mio while were were busy/obligated to do the final fight, and also that their final plan would involve pre-emptive strikes - we had many allies and people we could have arranged beforehand, and just... didn't even try.
I don't know why you jokers sent the thief after rook but didn't take charge of all dead ebara's goons, or throw a bodyguard on Mio.

Instead of any sort of strategic strike, we lost:
The chalice queen
Daegal
the hollow sun
ALL of our vehicles
Massive casualties
Cybele
Black ship succeeded in dumping payload

Just saying literally everything good we had going is in pieces.

I stopped reading more precisely when I realized the the train hasn't brakes and nothing we really do matters for the endgame scenario.

like 3-5 threads ago? something something.

>>38555623
>[ ] "Rook's right. We can't stay here."
>[ ] "-That arm has to come off."

"First, try to use this thing. If you can get it to function despite this shielding dome, we might be able to do something right now.
For me, it only summons weapons. But you are Daegal, so it might be able to do more. Your armor is the master of the machine that made the two weapons that I gave you, as well as this piece of equipment.

If that doesn't work, our best bet is to find someone with knowledge. Natsumi's faction might shoot us on sight, though.

Rook, can you scout out if anyone is coming?"

>>38555658
>a bodyguard
What, and have them go up against the White Joker?

>>38555623
Give Daegal the Teleport Homer. We can only afford to take her if we have a vehicle
"See if you can use it here. Try to summon the Red Comet."
>[ ] "-That arm has to come off."
Use the Sinistral's phase blades to cut it off. Suck up the Lachryma if she has any in the body.

>>38555623

Cut the arm. If the infection doesn't spread to her core, she'll heal up eventually.

Chop it, Microwave the remains. Burn it out. Maser shit was made to combat lachryma stuff.

Have daegal summon us up the armory guardian. Its an apc/troop transport and no matter what happens next we need a ride.

>>38555623
[ ] "Rook's right. We can't stay here."
[ ] "We'll take her with us."

>>38555555
>Dat get tho

>>38555623
"I can kill myself and make her Red Joker. Aside from that? No. I've never heard of a player who could heal others."

See if Cybele's bracelet can do anything.

>>38555668
>try to use this thing
"This thing" referring to the Arsenal Beacon.

>>38555671
Wata had the idea to prepare mio to defend herself too, and hey look we didn't take that either.

>>38555682
Cybele.

>>38555266
...hey JQOP, the equipment faq still lists daegal's arm/the hand of midas as part of our equipment. What gives?

>>38555693
>Cybele.
Not a player.

>>38555693
>prepare mio
You mean when we tried to tell her about the robot fight thing and she panicked and ran off?

>>38555693
>Wata had the idea to prepare mio to defend herself too, and hey look we didn't take that either.
We couldn't have, numbnuts. She refused to take up the role and instead almost killed us.

>>38555658
Please, anon.
>smilers would go for Mio
They didn't, and trying to claim you expected the Black Joker's possession attempt is asinine.
>We had many allies and people we could have arranged beforehand and just... didn't even try
And have them go up against the White Joker?
They would've been blown the fuck out and then we would've been short on allies too, now.
>didn't take charge of all dead ebara's goons
Armaros was there first.
>throw a bodyguard on Mio
We actually asked Bishamon to do that.

>>38555693
>Cybele.
Cybele could copy things. She wasn't a healer.

>>38555724
>We actually asked Bishamon to do that.
Shit, I missed how hilariously ironic this is.

The only thing we could have done would be better write-ins when we met Mio during the posession thing.

>>38555748
Or, you know, not fucked Cybele.

And no, we didn't have to, people just can't read the text and the ones who could samefagged to piss people off.

>>38555786
Well, yeah. we could have been all heroic, walzed into that place, BTFO Naoya by professing our eternal love for Mio, made her the Chalice Queen and unlocked Daegal fully...
But we aren't Ixion.
What's done is done.

>>38555645
>>38555651

> [X] "Rook's right. We can't stay here."

"Anon, I won't *leave* her-"

> [X] "We'll take her with us."

"Bad idea," Rook warns. The look Daegal gives him is as vicious as it is singular - before Kazuya's focus returns to you.

"All right," Daegal says. "All right-" His hand comes up, to wipe at his mouth grille - but the futility of carrying White Licorice must have occurred to him. Not that it would stop him from trying; from his stance, you know that he'll do it alone if he has to. And he might need-

"Joker-" Rook's avian head jerks. His left talon-hand snaps shut, the clawed fist trembling. The motion reminds you of an animal sniffing the air, scenting-

"...they're gathering." A tense murmur. "Company incoming."

Shapes in the fog - And with a start, you realize that you can sense it too. Not with your Argus sensor, not really - But like a whispering, unseen tide, a kind of sixth-sense hyperawareness, an instinctive dread. You don't know what might be out there, in the fog...But you can feel things drawing closer.

"Don't-" There's unalloyed terror in the blurt from Licorice's speakers - "Kazuya-kun, don't let them *take me*-"

>>38555668
>>38555675

> [X] "-That arm has to come off."

"W...what-?" White Licorice stirs, weakly - One cracked optical sensor settling on you, for perhaps the first time. And the mere *sight* of you, in your crimson armor; the ragged ash-cloak of your Assault Shroud, the hydra-mawed tentacles that bulge from your spine as the Sinistral hums to life...

And she says:

"-no-"

Every fibre of her being shrinks back from the purring edge of the ghost-steel blade, a wedge of streaming light. Her warped limb is continuing to grow; extruding fibres, like artificial veins, that fan out from her - where they touch the ground, they take root. A hiss of incoherent pain blurts from her speakers-

"You're...You're going to cut off her *arm*?"

(Continued)

>>38555711
>>38555713

You're all confusing the first, second, third, and fourth time we brought it up - and also bungled every attempt from the 'shove the nigh sphere at here and hope we roll a hundred'.

It was handled poorly, but workable. All we had to do was fall on our knees, say/lie 'i love you and he's lying!' and.... thread cant think tactical when it comes to social.

>>38555724
>They didn't, and trying to claim you expected the Black Joker's possession attempt is asinine.
The literal first thing I told you all was 'hey look, there's ten years worth of essence here they're going to feed the black joker into to grow. thats their endgame plan, and why enfer warned us they were going to kidnap her'.
I saw that coming a mile away. Ten years of essence = asset.

>>38555735
Thats the source of it, actually. She could mimic essence enough to fit-in for it and restore it. If hp restoration isn't healing, what is?

>>38555748
>>We actually asked Bishamon to do that.
We could have asked, oh, anyone else. Everyone else. The rest of the tri-stars, players at our school, for Natsumi to quietly gather up everyone who trusts her and act independantly.
We could have tried to reason with armaros, we could have warned the simulation-players at the school of the impending apocalypse.
We could have presented a unified front.

Nope.

Ideal course of action would have been:
Athame bishamon, preserve bro-hook and tristar friendship. (Core leadership/generalhood intact)
Profess love for mio, lying if need be.
Full squad coordination with vehicle tactics & orbital support to fight the smilers. (natsume, others)
Microwave-sanitizing the moon IMMEDIATELY instead of after cybele's essence core was corrupted.

If you can take bad choices, the thread will.

Everyone needs to think about what's actually going on before pressing forward.

>>38555786
People panicked, plain and simple. Stop whining about old mistakes and start thinking about our current situation.

>>38555819
>All we had to do was fall on our knees, say/lie 'i love you and he's lying!'
Guarantee you that would have made her even madder

>>38555819
>Athame bishamon, preserve bro-hook and tristar friendship
That's not how it works.
Fondness remains. This means that Bishamon would still be against the idea of having his Hyades be killed.
She didn't just brainwash him. She was one of the Hyades with heart.

>>38555805
But we DID all those things. It's just you compromised the first two by being a giant cunt and didn't get the last for yourself.

>>38555824
Whining would be saying I expect people to double down on it rather than learn from it. Reminding people that this is the result of their own choices isn't whining.

>>38555845
We did that actually. Since she's not stupid she didn't believe it.

>>38555819
>We could have tried to reason with armaros,
We were thrown into the Red before we got a chance to finish our talk with Armaros.
>warned the simulation-players at the school of the impending apocalypse.
Who would believe us?
>We could have presented a unified front.
Impossible. Argent's faction would have rather slit their own throats than work with a band of thugs like us.
>Athame bishamon, preserve bro-hook and tristar friendship. (Core leadership/generalhood intact)
Wouldn't have helped much. Bish had honestly fallen in love with his Hyades at that point. Destroying the contract wouldn't have prevented him from going rogue.
>Profess love for mio, lying if need be.
Pretty much did.
>Microwave-sanitizing the moon IMMEDIATELY instead of after cybele's essence core was corrupted.
Not a choice, Alura prevented us from doing that.

I wonder if Daegal can carry a Solaris System without major drawbacks.

>>38555819
>Athame bishamon, preserve bro-hook and tristar friendship. (Core leadership/generalhood intact)
That's not how it works and you're a retard for thinking so.
>Profess love for mio, lying if need be.
Because that ended SO WELL for us. Wow, anon.
>Full squad coordination with vehicle tactics & orbital support to fight the smilers. (natsume, others)
We don't actually know where the Smilers are, outside of Nara Dreamland, and that place likely has protections out of the fucking wazoo.
And then, Armaros doesn't trust us at all. Justifiably so.
>Microwave-sanitizing the moon IMMEDIATELY instead of after cybele's essence core was corrupted.
More hindsight. Besides, that would've definitely killed Cybele, this time without any real reason. Good going, jackass, you made everything worse.

All of yours plans are contigent on everything going as it did exactly like it did.
How anything else worked is a total unknown.

>>38555806

(Gentlemen, my apologies: Lost the connection for a moment. Typing now.)

>>38555905
>We don't actually know where the Smilers are, outside of Nara Dreamland
It's abandoned. There's some nasty ass monsters there, but no Smilers so far as we know.

>>38555824
>People panicked, plain and simple. Stop whining about old mistakes and start thinking about our current situation.

Treat it like Aliens.

Maser and flame weaponry on EVERYONE.

Have daegal summon one of those.... heavy weapon booster/aoe arrays. (solaris enhancement?) He can use hollow sun weaponry at no charge. Its the most force-multiplying thing he has around, and we can give him a crash course in combat while we're doing it.

Contact Imminent = fight imminent.

>>38555845
Nah. we went for a piddly half-logic half committment approach. She WANTED to believe us. We allowed the 'but you cheated!' think through unrefuted. thats what lost us that arguement - poisoning that belief. The appearance of committing would have trumped it.

>>38555853
that was a train of thought justified after the fact/murder. The idea is that it removes the brainwashing, and the tangents relating to it - instead of yearning after a lost love, they're back to normal.

>>38555873
in reverse order: We didn't jump on the option as soon as we brought it up. It took 2-3 fight posts of her burrowing underground to pull the trigger.
We professed love, just not hard enough.
Argent does what needs to be done. We warned him the endgame was going to trump his Shroud sealing project and hey look, leadership vacancies. If armaros' talk got interrupted, we didn't take it soon enough.
Also the red joker has massive street cred, and our persuasion skills are massively amplified based on who we are - we could have had an army, easily.

>>38555905
>More hindsight. Besides, that would've definitely killed Cybele, this time without any real reason. Good going, jackass, you made everything worse.
a ~10 meter~ pinpoint strike doesn't blow her core up when you have a target as big as the moon.. JQOP flat out stated her essence core was breached - that wouldn't have been by us, it was the hidden timer on the fight, not our hand.

>>38555905
>New Game +
>Joker gets the Killsat ASAP
>Kills all of the Hyades
>Hecate becomes the only Hyades, because he killed her earlier

>>38555905
Better post thought.

At some point the 'safe spot' high school became a battleground when the shroud dropped. If all of our allies were in one spot, coordinated, expecting trouble - it would not have been a bloodbath. There would have been a real Resistance.

>>38555926
>It's abandoned. There's some nasty ass monsters there, but no Smilers so far as we know.
Just saying i've been advocating using Exec_reap on any smiler we fought to start pinning down their secret lair, organization structure, leaders - batmanning them from the inside out - ever since, oh, we got that ability.

Nobody wanted to even try using it on a willing subject, or murdering Megumi for the good of the world.

>>38555935
Solaris Enhancements are useless when the only Hollow Sun weapon right now is the Fusion Beamer on our back.
Even if he summons weapons, we are three people. It's likely that Rook won't fight with those guns and we will probably prefer our other equipment.

End result is that Daegal will use Hollow Sun equipment. Which doesn't require the array.

I personally think we should stop pointing fingers at each other/the story/what we did and didn't do and just focus on the now and the future, without bickering about the past.

>>38555948
>At some point the 'safe spot' high school became a battleground when the shroud dropped. If all of our allies were in one spot, coordinated, expecting trouble - it would not have been a bloodbath. There would have been a real Resistance.
But no one expected that the Shroud would actually drop. You're planning with Hindsight again.
All you're doing is going 'I knew it all along!' and trying to pin all the blame on us for doing the best we could in the context afforded to us.
>Nobody wanted to even try using it on a willing subject, or murdering Megumi for the good of the world.
Nigga what?

>>38555970
He started it.

>>38555961

40% to summon as much as we want, for as many hands as we want.

The point is to stock up the Armory Guardian as a safe haven, mobile armor, and escape vehicle. Any survivors we find can join the fight, and get a 'free' black joker slaying gun.

Also one solaris enhancement array = roughly 4 heavy boosted free weapons just with us and daegal.

Assuming his capabilities are roughly midas-hand like across the board, he has two-hand Talon capabilities, which means megaman blasters all the time.

>>38555978
>Nigga what?
Megumi is a smiler, that stole our red-world-spying tape recorder, and also knew enough about the smiler internal arrangements to know that Hecate was pazuzu's lead reseracher.
that means she knew when and where.

We should have ganked her, stolen our shit back, and ripped all that from her head first thing.

>>38555935
...Dude, we're the one who blew up her core. Hyades are their stage/the machine behind the illusion. By irradiating it we destroyed her.

>>38555948
>murdering Megumi for the good of the world
I still think that's going to backfire spectacularly. We're going to give Rust Kaiser to his dad by killing her, and that'll be just as bad as this down the line. Except actually a threat since Naoya's a child.

>>38555970
>[derisive laughter]

>>38555994
We don't get free HS weapons anymore. Solaris Array would let us use them for free. Plus it takes both of Kazuya's hands and his ability to dodge, so we have a net gain of "jack shit". I don't think he has the power output for it either; he's super defense, not energy.

>>38556018
Volt Regios with Solari Enhancement would be awesome.

>>38555978
>But no one expected that the Shroud would actually drop. You're planning with Hindsight again.

UH.

we were flat out told the smilers were blowing the world up, when(3 days), where(heisin), and how(the black ship), with(mio being part of it, by enfer).

We played our cards wrong. We were pre-warned we had 3 days to solve everything.

Everyone knows the smilers cheat. Repeatedly. Everything they do breaks rules. Everything from square one.

It was a meta-level misunderstanding that JQOP would cut us some slack 'because it was the big finale and we could have a final fight before saving the world'.

hahah fuck no. The xanatos trainwrecks going on in the background since day 1 don't STOP for the endgame, they play AROUND it.

>>38556018
Follow my logic:

If a solaris enhancement array makes weapons free in an AOE
and daegal can power a hollow sun item for free
then 1 free enhancement array = aoe of free guns.
these include guns in our hands, our allies hands, and most importantly kazuya's hands.

Thats the upside of using a wi-fi power transmitter - it includes the gear the owner is carrying.

>>38555806

"Anon-" Daegal looks up at you - As if he's never seen you before. He stares at the Sinistral, then at you...And it's uncertain what he's about to say. But then he looks down, at the spreading arteries and veins; Even as White Licorice clutches at his arm with her remaining hand and tries to say-

"-Kazuya-kun, ple-"

The Sinistral comes down.

It's a clean cut. A neat and deliberate chop, slicing down through her shoulder - You hear the sizzle of myomer fibre disintegrating beneath the singular stroke, her armor yielding absolutely no resistance. It shears through a tangle of burrowing roots, down through the joint; Sparks flicker, as the blade slashes into the ground beneath, leaving a deep, molten furrow...

And Licorice screams. It is a scream of utter agony, beyond what a human voice could ever hope to make - an electronic shriek, monotone and gurgling and somehow worse for that, a wail that goes on and on and *on* without the need for breathe to fuel it-

"Oh Jesus-" He flinches back. Her helm clatters against the cobblestones as Licorice curls around the terrible absence, as her arm falls away - the magnitude of the injury, you realize, much be very much like hell. Even as it slides away, it is *already* continuing to grow; questing tendrils reaching out towards the crackling stump, fighting to reconnect...

They shriek, too, when you bring the Sinistral down. Again, and again - the elemental violence of the action stretching your shadow stark and dark across the ground.

"Licorice, it's all right - It's *all right*-"

>>38555668
>>38555689

Rook glances back, a swift look over his shoulder - there is movement through the fog, skittering limbs, a hideous chittering, chittering sound...Not like any Corrector you've heard. It's something worse, something terrible; A slither, a scraping, like blades skritch-scratching their way across the shattered street...

"They've heard us-"

(Continued)

>>38556049
>we were flat out told the smilers were blowing the world up, when(3 days), where(heisin), and how(the black ship), with(mio being part of it, by enfer).
That doesn't mean they'd actually remove the Shroud. It could have just as easily meant they were blowing the whole school up. And then, whoops, there go all our assets and our strategic strike.
Why the hell are you even here, anyway, if you think we've made such a mess of it?

>>38556042
Volt Regios is actually competent. The Solaris Enhancement lets players buff a weaker group. We probably won't be in a situation where we use them again. Other people might be, we won't be around for it. Besides, Kotone told us Regios would die as soon as the shroud went down.

>>38556049
Solaris took hands to hold. It's not a backpack.

>>38556049
>Thats the upside of using a wi-fi power transmitter - it includes the gear the owner is carrying.
Let's be more specific:
- Kazuya doesn't need the Array. He's ALREADY got the free equipment
- What weapon would rook us?
- Is White Licorice in any condition to use a Hollow Sun weapon?
- Which weapon would we use in favor of the rest of our arsenal?

Hell, the priming cost doesn't even bother us that much. It's, at the very most, four rounds of regeneration. And we won't be constantly switching out the weapons.

>>38556087
>much be very much like hell
Oh wow. That entire paragraph just makes me lol.

>>38556087
>"Licorice, it's all right - It's *all right*-"
Depending on the arm, it's all left now.

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>>38556150

>>38556087
One has to wonder if that's phantom pain or real pain.

>>38556167
It's all phantom pain. It just doesn't matter.

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>>38556087

Daegal's already rising. He has the Arsenal Beacon in one hand - as if he's not sure if he's really going to use it - turning with a kind of half-formed dread, a hiss of "What *is* that?" muted when you push the Teleport Homer at him. It thumps against his chest, and he looks up at you as if you're speaking a foreign language-

> "See if you can use it here. Try to summon the Red Comet."

"The *Red*...?"

And then he understands. His gauntlet curls around the beacon - A lambent radiance kindling within him, golden circuitry winding their way across the Teleport Homer's surface. Not the same as before; the telltale light beginning to glow, the wavering edges of a shape taking form-

The Shield. The Shield's blocking the Teleport Homer's signal. Mercifully, Licorice has stopped screaming - On her side, she twitches like a dog in the throes of a nightmare.

"Need a moment-"

And Rook says, quite calmly:

"It's too late."

The first thing you see, from the fog - Lurching shapes, masked figures, moving like mannequins forced into hateful life, puppets in the hands of an unskilled manipulator. They are black, except for their polished white skulls; Smooth, except for the brittle cracks that form their eyes, perfect ivory teeth set in snarls.

But the thing behind them-

There is a deathly chill in the air. Blade fingers scraping and squealing against the stone walls as it slithers along, feeling its way down the street with lascivious caresses. It is a horrid form, crowned with branching antlers - eyeless, freezing mist roiling from it's surface as tree-trunk limbs crunch against the street. Ambulating on four limbs, lashwhips slicing the air - each one ending in a calcified spike...

The puppets - the Simulation Bodies leading the way - begin to snuffle. To whine.

Then they began to howl.

(Continued)

>>38556171
Should we tell the two that player armor is not a human body and should not, in fact, be treated like one?
They won't understand it outright, but it will be a good hint.

>>38556116
>That doesn't mean they'd actually remove the Shroud.

We were also flat out told this was their goal, so....

>>38556122
>Solaris took hands to hold. It's not a backpack.
we asked about mounting it to ourselves a while ago. Conclusion was that it replaced one of our other pieces of equipment IIRC - i think it was something more important than drones. Scrander i think.

>>38556124
>And we won't be constantly switching out the weapons.
Actually, we should 40% prime the beacon for DAEGAL, and tell him to switch every round until he finds a gun he likes.
Its a freebie with the Vector Trap.
Anyone who's watched their kamen rider W knows that quickswapping your toolset to match an enemies weakness is a great tactic.

>>38556124
>Kazuya doesn't need the Array. He's ALREADY got the free equipment
That's such a misnomer. 1 free gun =/ unlimited free heavy guns.
We still have a fusion beamer for one.
Rook can use whatever he damn well pleases since we have an arsenal beacon and he knows Russian Joker Pitch.
White licorice can have a 'suicide if you feel like you need it gun'.

Upside of solaris enhancement array: If you have an AoE charging matrix for hollow sun weapons(we do), and the means to summon unlimited weapons(we also do, at a 40% charge for the scene, removing them one at a time), this also means unlimited photon grenades.

Unlimited
Grenades.

Booby traps, timer traps, contact traps, rolling handfuls of them down stairs.

And thanks to the photon research, the lances are reusable too.

>>38556204
Wait, when did we start fighting Dark Eldar?

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>>38556204

"-God in heaven-" Daegal stammers - As the enormous Corrector...Not a Corrector any more, really, something rebuilt from the inside-out as a weapon...takes a step, a sound like a tank's tracks as it moves. Grating metal noises, blistering power. That huge form grazes the side of the building, and the fleeting contact worries off chunks of concrete that crack and shatter where they hit the ground.

It doesn't even slow.

Memory stirs - ALECTO, TISIPHONE, MEGARA - a fusion of alien technology and mass and fury...

Not a Corrector at all.

A Hyades' Cryptid, a living weapon. Grinding down the street, with ponderous unstoppability - right towards you.

And a name:

CTHON

HP: 148.2%
COBALT BOOSTER: 170%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 122%
METER: 49%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>38556204
Should've summoned the vehicle first.

>>38556243

(He's trying, actually. There's interference.)

>>38556240

Shove our fusion beamer into Daegal's hands. Tell him to hook it into his arm, and hold down the trigger.

>>38556240
Time for the usual giant-slaying tactics.
Aim for its legs and/or its head. Use our heavier guns. The Tau gun or the Fusion Annihilator.

Wait, does this thing have Lachryma? Can we drain it?

>>38556240
So, I guess we need to stall for time.

If that thing wasn't so fucking large, I'd suggest trying our over-armor to get more tankyness and knockback resistance.

Our Chain Mines will do jack shit.
We need to stay nimble on our feet.
Activate after-images, shoot the dual Tau Guns to get its attention. Try to get it to change direction. It should not get anywhere near White Licorice.
Get out a swarm. It will likely have trouble killing the insects, due to its size. And they are armor-penetrating due to Muleta.
Use Rubicante and Cagnazzo. Test if our HP-cast shot can do sufficient damage to be worthwhile. Try to aim the shot so that it travels down the entire length of the thing.
If that doesn't work, we'll use the Railgun instead.

>>38556240
>METER: 49%

Fusion annihilator in minigun mode.

Cobalt boost it for fast-charge, combo with manifold-tower charge upgrade, and rapid succession blast mode.

>- Firing multiple Level 1 shots.
Do that, just firing/charging as often as possible. Full megaman mode.

Deploy two of our Lucifer drones in cobalt boost mode - anti armor fire damage is perfect for this and we want them in the air as fast as possible. We can sustain two on recharge indefinitely but now is the time to start with a bang.

Left-hand the immolator while fusion annilating things.

Burn
Everything.

>>38556263
This too.

>>38556252
Nah, I mean that we should have given him the Teleport Homer first instead of the Arsenal Beacon.
>>38556240
"Don't stop, Kaz. Once it's here, grab Licorice and get in."
Send a Chain Mine at it and shoot a few missiles at the figures. Pop in the first Charge of OVER-ARMOR . We need to stall for time now, not speedblitz them.

>>38556207
We told Kazuya repeatedly. It doesn't matter because pain is pain.

>>38556216
>unlimited photon grenades
With a summoning delay you idiot.

>>38556240
"All's not right with the world, Daegal. You want to change that? Fight and win."

Leukocyte time? Target it with the Distortion Cannon, pay with Booster, lock on with the Argus. Make one of the Shroud spears and toss it to properly get its attention.

>>38556305
>Deploy two of our Lucifer drones in cobalt boost mode
Anon, our bits got disabled by Slake.
Technically, Slake doesn't occupy the slot anymore, but our bits are still stored at the Hollow Sun.

>>38556308
>>38556289

No chain mines.

>>38556316
>We told Kazuya repeatedly. It doesn't matter because pain is pain.
I didn't refer to the pain specifically.
I mean *everything*. Like movement.

>>38556319

Actually, slake doesn't take a equipment slot anymore, and we noticed drones turned back on.

Make use of the drones while they are still useful. This is the ONE type of fight - hordes of enemies - where extra death rays shine.

>>38556308
>Kaz
Stop using his name. It's a bad habit that we need to break him of.

>>38556308
Vetoing chain mine and overarmor. It's not anything we need.

>>38556240
Before we forget:
"Rook, take down the little ones. I take the Essence Pinata."

>>38556336
>and we noticed drones turned back on.
When?
I mean, I'm totally in favor of drones right now.
But from what we've been told, they're deactivated.

>>38556316
>"All's not right with the world, Daegal. You want to change that? Fight and win."

Say this

>>38556305
Do this.

>>38556331
Yes, we told him that too. It doesn't matter because he's not in a state to learn.

>>38556336
They aren't here.

>>38556348
>They aren't here.

They folded up when we put the slake on, they didn't drop from inventory.

The enemy brought zombies?
UNLEASH THE DRONES OF WAR

>>38556316
>Make one of the Shroud spears
Actually, that sounds like a good idea.

Satellite is a bad idea, though. It will likely cause collateral damage.

>>38556359
>They folded up when we put the slake on, they didn't drop from inventory.
Huh.

OP, can you explain?

Also, if we got Lucifer bits, give them to Kazuya and activate our Rifle Bits.
Why?
Because then we have twice the bits, with Lucifers being even more powerful because Daegal. Ours kill the small fry and his can anger the big monster.

>>38556359
>they didn't drop from inventory
They did actually. It says they're inactive in the equipment guide.

>>38556364
>It will likely cause collateral damage.
Distortion Cannon is the one that doesn't.

>>38556316
>Leukocyte time?

Actaully, use this to punch through the Shield.

If its a physical obstruction, then a KEW on booster should get through.

I want to hit 100 meter, or even 150% meter for our mysterious tier 5 gun, and see what we can do about this shit.

So don't spend Meter for everything. use booster when possible, and go for high-impact high-return weapons.

Missiles/chain mine/plasma shotgun = no.
Fusion annihilator/vulcans/free meter relics = yes.
If we can use our Interceptor system again, please by all means, more guns when we're outnumbered.

>>38556393
>mysterious tier 5 gun
If there is one it's not accessible.

>>38556378
>They did actually. It says they're inactive in the equipment guide.

The Slake description is also outdated.

From JQOP's mouth:
>(SLAKE has been upgraded to SCYLLA - The cost of utilizing each arm has been reduced to 5%/round, and the range of each limb has been increased to eight meters. In addition, you can now use EXEC_CONSUME when SCYLLA's maws bite into a target. As an integrated system, SCYLLA no longer occupies the appropriate weapon slot - Allowing you to install another system.)

>no longer occupies the appropriate weapon slot
> Allowing you to install another system

Guys we get slake AND drones.

>>38556406
Tier 5 has been confirmed to exist. One of the benefits of my long memory. The conditions to reach it were never uncovered, but now that we have the inactive part of our core that the athame turned on, I'm willing to bet that's it.

>>38556393
>our mysterious tier 5 gun
Tier 4 was that thing that fired Black Holes, right?
Because I really, really want to see what could possibly follow that up.

>>38556419
>Guys we get slake AND drones.
Thank you, captain obvious.
We are talking about if the drones have been re-activated, not if we can also install the drones.
We know that the slot is open.

>>38556406
My guess is that it requires more upgrades to FORCE and METER.

By the way, remember that our core changed. The Quantum Singularity Cannon might be different now.

>>38556419
Your memory's failed you then; OP said whatever t5 is it's behind Force upgrades, and he's never said it was a gun.

>>38556422

This is correct, and this is why i mentioned it.

>>38556438

when/where was this? Thread talks a lot of shit.

>>38556263

Daegal's clutching the Teleport Homer like a lifeline - He staggers when you thrust the Fusion Beamer into his hands. He cradles it against his chest, for a moment; Before the hum of his Talon engaging pulses in the air, as it locks against his right arm - An oversized extension of the limb, as Kazuya levels it. He's not used to the weight of it, and it makes him stagger slightly as he stammers out-

"What do I-"

Shoot it.

"Shoot it," Rook crackles - He's already backing away, coils of liquid darkness bulging from his spine; they fan out across his arms, in overlapping fractal patterns like scales...

-No, not scales. Feathers.

Feathers, and blades. Rook's arms become wings. His wings become great, razor-edged cleavers that bulge with veins and muscles, and they whistle as they slice the air; raised before him, as he takes a practice cut - his legs coiling beneath him, ready to spring, ready to take flight...

>>38556275
>>38556289

> "All's not right with the world, Daegal. You want to change that? Fight and win."
> "Don't stop, Kaz. Once it's here, grab Licorice and get in."

"Once *what's* here-" he begins, but your words penetrate through the confusion that's threatening to overtake him; It's not fear, but sheer sensory overload. The sight of the huge creature lumbering down the narrow street - razing everything before it, toppling posts and casually splintering walls, the ground trembling beneath it's passage as leering puppets caper forward...

A scene from a nightmare. Beyond belief.

Daegal fires first. The shot is surprisingly accurate - A shrieking beam of white-cored fusion energy blasts down the street, the superheated beam like a sword of light; It shears through the shambling Simulation Bodies in the way, ignites them like paper put to the torch...

He can't miss. The beam hits the haze that shrouds CTHON and-

(Continued)

>>38556422
>Tier 4 was that thing that fired Black Holes, right?
Doesn't fire black holes, it makes a single target crush itself out of existence. One target, any size, no essence. The scifi magic justification behind it is more interesting than the effect, really.

>>38556467
Hell if I remember, ask Wata next time he shows.

>>38556471
>Doesn't fire black holes
"Quite simply, this weapon - when fired - creates a black hole. "

>>38556468

The Fusion Beamer's ray *diminishes*, as it slashes through the freezing field - water vapor flashing to steam-

And the blast that hits the lumbering, living tank - the entire charge of a fusion cell - burns a molten gouge across the Cryptid's exoskeleton...A molten gouge that glows white-hot, then orange, then fades to nothing.

The twin thunderclap of your Tau Guns sound, a split-second later. Your first shot goes wide; your targeting laser skimming across the ground, the antimatter round plunging to the earth, falling short. A entire segment of pavement erupts upwards in a vertical column of debris, a short-fused explosion - A plosive BANG that sends sharpnel hailing down across the distance...

Your second shot hits Cthon head-on. Even diminished by the field that engulfs it - the singular round becoming visible for a split-second before final impact, a fist-sized chunk of the Cryptid's exoskeleton glowing with frenetic light - the blast that follows is satisfyingly loud, but somehow brittle; the altered Corrector judders, smoke pluming from the shallow wound in the creature's surface...

It checks it's stride, as you draw a bead with the Fusion Annihilator.

And you know - somehow, you just *know* - that it is narrowing it's eyes.

The Simulation Bodies charge.

(Continued)

>>38556519
>And you know - somehow, you just *know* - that it is narrowing it's eyes.
Bring it, bitch.
What's Rook doing now, actually?

>>38556519
>Even diminished by the field that engulfs it - the singular round becoming visible for a split-second before final impact
Hmmm... A stasis field? Or something that drains energy? Or both?

>>38556561
The mist is a result of draining energy from the air.

This means the Distortion Cannon would work pretty good.

>>38556534
>Feathers, and blades. Rook's arms become wings. His wings become great, razor-edged cleavers that bulge with veins and muscles, and they whistle as they slice the air; raised before him, as he takes a practice cut - his legs coiling beneath him, ready to spring, ready to take flight...

Getting ready to bounce the Essence Pinata.
ON EBONY WINGS HE FLIES.

>>38556583
>ON EBONY WINGS HE FLIES.
I'm sorry, I don't get that reference.

>>38556519

You don't know how many of them there are. Dozens, maybe, scattered fistfuls that lunge and caper - You're already firing, as Cthon drives forward; One pile-driver leg comes down, and crushes a lurching puppet underfoot. It's slow, but it dominates the horizon, rendering the gleaming, jostling black and white bodies - so fast, so agile, so many, the rain hailing down on them as long-hooked limbs flick up to strike...

Your Fusion Annihilator shrieks. The first blast spews from the barrel, the energy beam banging painfully as it discharges; It scores down the street, incinerating eight of the capering, ghoulish figures in *passing*-

It doesn't even connect. The beam flashes to steam the moment it contacts the Cryptid's field-

You fire again. Another flash, more steam. The first wave is almost upon you-

"My turn," Rook rasps, and hurls himself forward. There is a phenomenal speed to his motions; Hyperaccelerated, without restraint. He meets - and is past - the first two Simulation Bodies before they can adjust to his presence - they crumple, decapitated, skulls already clattering to the ground with hollow thuds. He wheels, and limbs fly off - barbed, hooked arms flipping and spinning through the air. You hear shrill binary-code shrieks, hisses; His blade-wings do not bite, they *shear* through their targets in ripping, eviscerating arcs. Bodies are bisected, as you brace yourself and take aim-

Your third shot sears right past Rook - You aim wide, snapping off one final shot with the Tau Gun - and the flashlight of annihilating radiance spears through the press. They're spread out, moving without unity; merely clawing their way forward, limbs thrashing as your forearm sheaths retract, Plasma Vulcans blazing to life...

-When you begin to fire into the incoming swarm, leaping horrors pop, burst, fracture. Explode into splintered fragments.

Their chattering mouths seem to be laughing at you.

(Continued)

>>38556661
>Their chattering mouths seem to be laughing at you.
Spoopy.
Also, the dispersion mist field thing seems to block against energy attacks. We'll have to use kinetic attacks instead, I suppose.

Really not feeling this thread. More edging Kazuya and not even in an interesting way. Out for the night OP catch you next time.

>>38556700

thats how i've felt for the last while.

me too.

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>>38556661

"Holy *shit*-" Daegal's holding his ground, despite the narrowing skirmish line. The more you hit and burst, the more of them there are, capering and bounding in. You switch sides - fire - aim, target, fire - even as Kazuya goes to one knee, swearing; He has the Teleport Homer in one hand, which means there's nothing he can do but to wait for the Fusion Beamer to cycle, to wait for another shot-

He's standing his ground, even though he's effectively unarmed - Even though all he can do is to focus on the lambent glow that builds, builds...Even as you lay down a hellstorm of fire around the whirling, slashing dervish that Rook has become, splitting your Vulcan fire to pummel apart any that lurch past his scything blades as Cthon continues its inexorable advance-

And you realize-

He can't. To fall back means to risk White Licorice.

Nearly no Meter gain from your targets. No ambient Essence to absorb, nothing to prime your charging elements as your Vulcan barrels pulse with death-heat.

Suicide puppets. Completely expendable.

So why-

There is a sound, like onrushing winds - Through the haze of the field, you glimpse vents opening across Cthon's surface as the moaning chorus builds, white mist fuming thickly into the blurring air-

On your sensors, an urgent pinging - A high-energy reaction...

HP: 148.2%
COBALT BOOSTER: 162%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 144%
METER: 41%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>38556683
Good thing that Joker doesn't have kinetic attacks, then.

Fuck, Kazuya needs a Machine Cannon.

>>38556700
I, for one, enjoy it quite a bit. I feel more in control now and our fight seems more intelligent.

>>38556710
Exec_Smite.

>>38556700
I'm enjoying myself. Kazuya (or, rather Daegal) needs a bit of a primer on this whole Red thing, but we're kind of busy right now.
I expect he'll be much more useful after that.

>>38556710
He's firing his laser. We need to get the fuck out of here.
Also, I'm asking again: does this thing have Lachryma?

>>38556710
>On your sensors, an urgent pinging - A high-energy reaction...
Cobalt Boosted movement, with Abruption Jets. Throw a fortress over Kazuya, White Licorice and us.
Shout at Kazuya to use his own Shroud in the same way.

"Rook, get the fuck away from this thing."

>>38556728
...Actually, if we can do this while retreating to Kazuya, we should absolutely do it.
A head-on smite on the fucking thing. Also, add Rubicante and Cagnazzo fire.
Is Aquila useful in this situation, to allow us to fire while moving backwards?

>>38556741
Don't forget to use Behemoth's ability, on top of all the other things.

>>38556738

(My apologies, I missed that - You're too far away, but it seems unlikely. The Simulation Bodies, however, have *something* like a Lachryma source within them.)

>>38556700
You know, you're right. This fight exists just to make Kazuya feel bad about his decisions. It's not doing anything for us except slowing down the story. I'll be back when the filler episode is over.

>>38556755
So we position ourselves in front underneath the shroud, and use our over-armor and activate the Sinistral at full blast?

>>38556776
We could also use Draw Forth, considering >>38556759
I'd rather not, because of the whole Encroachment thing, but it's an option.

>>38556710
Tyrant Burst the thing.
Have the Cobalt-Boosted Level 2 Sinistral ready to shield us, Daegal. Have Daegal Cloak WL in Fortress Mode or do it ourselves.

>>38556792
It might be a good test case. Let's see how the fight progresses, before we decide.

Also, guys, if there's another Athama upgrade: Don't take it.
It's obviously corrupting us and will carry drawbacks if we progress further.

>>38556831
>Also, guys, if there's another Athama upgrade: Don't take it.
It was kind of disappointing, yeah.
If we get another level, I'm voting for that Oblivion's Husk thing, under Meter.

Random thought:
Draw Forth on White Joker
Y/N?

It requires physical contact, so we can add some CONSUME, as well.

>>38556853
Yeah, Oblivion's Husk was the consensus.

>>38556853
>It was kind of disappointing, yeah.
It'll be useful against powerful Lachryma-infused opponents like White Joker and Rust Kaiser, though. We can literally rip the Lachryma out of them.

>>38556879
I also expect something like the last level of Metroid Prime 3, where Lachryma makes us invincible and the area is all about venting the corruption.

>>38556879
Rust Kaiser doesn't bleed lachryma.

Plus encroachment has a debuff us as it goes up. Not worth it at all.

>>38556904
See it as a situational last-ditch measure, which can fuck with players who are dependant on Lachryma infusions.

...Like Rook and Totenaz.

>>38556913
You mean our allies? GREAT plan there.

>>38556862
>>38556831
>>38556792
>>38556853

(This is, unfortunately, very much my fault. This was very much meant to be a 'gateway' ability for the initial manipulation of Lachryma, which subsequent powers would build off. However, folding the next power into this one would completely unbalance it.)

>>38556728
>>38556741

> "Rook, get the fuck away from this thing."

He hears you - a brief crackle over the channel you share - and *leaps*. Pulsejets flare to life, thrust nozzles vomiting screeching flame - So abruptly his immediate adversaries are left standing, almost awkwardly, suddenly devoid of an opponent...

-In the brief moment before the blue-fire backwash of his thrusters incinerate the knot of Simulation Bodies clustered around him, pushing him high into the air. Rook spirals higher, without grace - A sweep of his wings flinging him up, up and away-

And then the air itself shimmers and bends like a phantom lens, a blaze of insane geometry fanning out around the lumbering Corrector; It seems to be aware of the imminent attack, pile-driver legs churning the ground beneath it as it struggles to accelerate-

But the field that shrouds it - so effective against energy weapons - does nothing to stop EXEC_SMITE from erupting *within* it.

There is a blaze of impossible color. An teardrop of pure and undiluted annihilation, rearing up in a split-second *flash*-

You don't see the blast. But you *hear* it - the keening screech of outrage and agony as objects in the blanket of fog explode, Simulation Bodies shattered by the concussion of the Codeburst, the raw data distorting the air around it with code-streamers as the blast-wake blows out across the roadway-

The Corrector's blast is not energy, or light, or a kinetic projectile. Gale-force winds spew forth - Undirected, disorientated by your codeburst. Rather than engulfing the street in waves of freezing annihilation, the windstorm sweeps into the ruins of the collapsed hall-

(Continued)

>>38556939
>However, folding the next power into this one would completely unbalance it.)
That sounds really, really tempting.
I'll have to reconsider the Husk now.

>does nothing to stop EXEC_SMITE from erupting *within* it.
Oh jeez. Did we explode someone again?

>>38556939
Shit.
I love weapons that ignore armor.

>(This is, unfortunately, very much my fault. This was very much meant to be a 'gateway' ability for the initial manipulation of Lachryma, which subsequent powers would build off. However, folding the next power into this one would completely unbalance it.)
Now I wonder if the upgrades would allow us to purge Lachryma or heal people with it or something.

>>38556968
>I'll have to reconsider the Husk now.
Not really no.

And yes, all the simulation bodies are schoolgirls.

>>38556939
>The Corrector's blast is not energy, or light, or a kinetic projectile. Gale-force winds spew forth - Undirected, disorientated by your codeburst. Rather than engulfing the street in waves of freezing annihilation, the windstorm sweeps into the ruins of the collapsed hall-
This giant Corrector reminds me of the Laser Fort class in Muv Luv: TE. And it seems like it's just as killy.

>>38556974
>Now I wonder if the upgrades would allow us to purge Lachryma or heal people with it or something.
Class/Ability Tree Unlocked: Lachrymancer?

>>38556998
>Class/Ability Tree Unlocked: Lachrymancer?
So can we become the Red World's "Moses" by parting the Black Sea?

>>38556939

I am now very sad we never double smited someone when we had the chance.

>>38556939

Everything it touches shatters.

Unutterable cold. The temperature plunges, as the tectonic impact of CTHON's grinding tread revebrates through the street - the freezing mist pouring off it, engulfing the capering puppets that have miraculously survived the first spasm of agony...

-But the high-energy reaction is building, building...

Not from the Cryptid, even as it reels in godlike agony, flailing limbs demolishing all around it. Steam wisps from its surface, as it reverses - then smashes through a wall without stopping, each crashing concussion sends cracks flawing through the frozen ground. The air begins to sing with accumulating charge, webs of lightning crawling across your armor, threatening discharge-

You know what this is. You know what's about to happen.

It's coming from the Diadem.

>>38556794
>>38556741

> Shout at Kazuya to use his own Shroud in the same way.

Fortress Mode. *Now*.

"What-" Daegal jerks upright, startled - the great bulk of the Fusion Beamer dragging against the ground, his focus narrowed to the shifting glow of the Teleport Homer. "But I almost-"

The urgency in your voice makes him reconsider, as your pounding stride crunches over the battered earth. He sinks to his knees, again - Hovering protectively over White Licorice, as he sweeps his Assault Shroud around them; Your ash-cape whirls away from you in a cloud of expanding nanomaterial...

-Not enough. Not nearly enough. The ground trembles, even as the Fortress barrier takes form - Not larger, but *denser*, more concentrated; Layer after layer of overlapping tile, as stone pulls free with a grinding shriek; It is drawn to you, inexorably, a crude shell of concrete and rebar clumping against your frame, the inert weight making your acutators groan with renewed strain...

(Continued)

>>38557092

Black. As the half-sphere of Fortress Mode encloses around you, even the flickering light winks out; the only illumination is the faint emerald glow from Daegal's lens, the cold blue light of your Cobalt Booster - Even as you hear Kazuya's rapid breath, White Licorice's half-cohered whimpers-

"Anon-" Outside, you can hear the skirtch-skirtch of barbed limbs clawing against the dome's surface - "-Anon, what's going to-"

The Diadem fires.

------------------------

Ruin breaks, like a storm.

As a matter of academic interest, the Diadem's armaments - Weapons meant for unknowable wars - are not dissimilar to Player weaponry; Grotesquely scaled up, but meant for focused destruction rather than indiscriminate culling. That is what saves you; Even as the electromagnetic crackle blurs your vision to distorted, flickering images, in ech of the static that surrounds the charging weapon banks...

It is a ray, a beam. A burning force that shears across the block, cutting in a line that bisects anything it touches. The sectioning is so precise that buildings are sheared apart in surgical cross-cuts, fires burning within as all matter explosively superheats; the torrential rain becoming worse, if at all possible, as the weather patetrns of the abused microclimate beneath the Shield convulses again.

With a target this small, within the minimum range - with the system's build-in safeguards, to avoid the rupture of the interdiction field - a direct hit is impossible. But it is *close*, and proximity is what matters.

You see none of this, of course. You suffer the awful turbulence of the blast, as the air turns the shade of molten glass - light seeping in through the gaps of the Fortress Shroud, like a bright void, alien and sterile. The flashing concussion tears the sky overhead, not quite drowning out of the toppling roar of more of ARCADIA's superstructure yielding to ultimate destruction-

(Continued)

>>38557092
>Fusion Beamer
Photon?

>>38557264
I want me one of those. We're gonna hafta raid the Diadem sometime soon.

>>38557264
>As a matter of academic interest, the Diadem's armaments - Weapons meant for unknowable wars - are not dissimilar to Player weaponry; Grotesquely scaled up, but meant for focused destruction rather than indiscriminate culling.
Can we do the Samus thing, where we destroy the Diadem and get a new beam weapon out of it?

>>38557303
>>38557291

(The issue is that these are the equivalent naval guns, the kind that are mounted on ships and other superheavy vessels.)

>>38557264

It is a ululation. Reality shredding beneath a fizzling javelin of light. The Fortress Shroud beginning to glow red-hot, then white, as the crisping blast alters the ionization of the air.

It is torrential. A sound like the end of the world. A roar of skyscrapers folding upon themselves and collapsing with long groaning, grinding tumbles-

And for a while - Just a while - all thought, all sense, is lost in the cataclysmic impact.

------------------------

An eternity later:

As the last of the Fortress Shroud sloughs away, vision returns in pitch-blackness. There is the distant crackle of burning, the atmosphere airless-

You reach up. Your Crisis Arm encounters an obstruction, refusing to give. You strain-

Stones slither away. There is a mountain of tangled metal and chunks of masonry atop you. The smoking wreck of the grand hall, already half-unmade by the abuse it suffered, must have collapsed on you during the bombardment - A shelter of shorts, from the arcing line of destruction. Your Over-Armor flakes away, fist-sized debris clattering across the aftermath; Close by, columns of dirty black smoke spew lazily from the fires that continue to burn, the wavering heat of the inferno bleeding into the ravaged skies.

HP: 102.8%

You remember-

Bracing, the Sinistral's field expanding before the other two, your form contorted to take the brunt of the blast-

"Anon-" A hand pushes from the rubble. It gleams golden. A surge of motion, and - With an effort - Daegal pushes himself free. He has White Licorice cradled against him, in the crook of one arm - the other still holds the Teleport Homer, now pulsing with lambent light.

Shakily:

"Are we - are we alive?"

Then-

"Where's...?"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>38557385
>"Where's...?"
"He likely got of out the way of the blast, Kazuya. Let's worry about getting out of the way before it recharges."
And, y'know, if he didn't, I don't think there are gonna be any traces of him left.
Scan with the Argus, check out our surroundings.

>>38557385
>[ ] Free
Engage full Argus sweep of immediate surroundings. Hopefully the rubble surrounding us won't be *too* thick.

Trying pinging Rook if he's still flying around.
Start the convo with something like "Yo buddy, still alive"?

>>38557385
"The Corrector is likely dead.
Rook should have made it out of here intact.

By the way, the Red Comet is a tank. Use it when we encounter one of those huge-ass things. Later, you should use the Arsenal Beacon to get yourself a loadout that you are comfortable with.

Is she okay?"

And yeah, scan the environment, get out of the rubble and try to ping Rook.
We really need to get Joker icons for White Licorice and Daegal.

>>38557385
"It's the ship that was a weapon, from the play. They were firing it earlier; guess they realized I was here."

"Kazuya, I want you to know that I'm sorry. About this. About Azazel. About Licorice. I can't imagine what you must think about it all, and there isn't much time to explain."

"Call me Red Joker from now on. You're Daegal. It's important. People hold grudges, and sometimes all you can do is limit the damage to here."

Activate our Icon. Tell anyone who's left that we're coming.

>>38557485

She's already got one, it's nailed to her head.

>>38557385
"We're fine, though I'm a bit scratched up. Rook is probably flying above. Just summon the Red Comet quickly."
Sweep the place with Argus, check if the Cthon anything else is still around. We might want to CONSUME it for HP.
Try to find signals of our Emblems and go there.
"If you're not fried chicken yet, get back here Rook."
Send a Tyrant Flash towards the sky if necessary to give a signal.

>>38557509
But is it functional?

>>38557497
That's a good write-in. Seconding.

>>38557437
>>38557456
>>38557485
>>38557497
>>38557520

> "Kazuya, I want you to know that I'm sorry. About this. About Azazel. About Licorice. I can't imagine what you must think about it all, and there isn't much time to explain."

"Yeah," Kazuya nods slowly, pensively, as though each motion of his head welds another layer of armor around him. You hear the hiss of air through his helmet's mouth grille, as he shifts his stance to support White Licorice - Shoving himself to his feet. "-Lots of people are sorry tonight, I think."

> "He likely got of out the way of the blast, Kazuya. Let's worry about getting out of the way before it recharges."
> "And, y'know, if he didn't, I don't think there are gonna be any traces of him left.

Your altered senses sweep your surroundings - Sensor-cone picking up ghost-echoes, heat-shimmers. The aftermath of the blast is the equivalent of a stellar minefield; there is so much smog, so much vaporized debris, that detection is nearly impossible as the rain continues to pelt down. But then - somewhere, somewhere up above, in the churning skies...

-A returning signal.

> "Yo buddy, still alive?"

"...oker...erly...by-"

The channel washes and crackles again.

"-ay again, Joker. I-"

A fizzle, a crackle.

"-an't land. Too much...lak in the grid. Send-"

"-ater, with the others."

The line goes dead.

(Continued)

File: jokerarmour.png (364 KB, 500x675)

364 KB PNG

>>38557838

And no wonder. The dust, the roiling smog banks, the fading aftereffects...It's a wonder that your visual sensors are working. From where you stand, your view of Arcadia - a vast, dark field pockd with calderas the open on hell - is obstructed; There are dense metals in the air, a barrier to optics and sensors alike.

> "It's the ship that was a weapon, from the play. They were firing it earlier; guess they realized I was here."

"...They're all against us now, aren't they?" Daegal says, softly. Looking through the smog, as if he can see the shape of the Diadem in the vast distance. "Whoever's up there...They want us dead. All of us. Everyone who's still alive - maybe everyone who's ever lived."

He stares, unseeing, for a long moment. Then-

There is a loud double-bang of over-stressed air pressure. The Red Comet slams down, fuming with vapour, amid the mountain of debris - It arrives in walker mode, treads retracting to rise on four great limbs. Fire alarms, set off by the violent apport, begin to shrill. The sound is forlorn, somehow, amid the ruin that has taken place; Like a reminder of a different time, a last scrap of mundanity before the plunge into horror.

> "Call me Red Joker from now on. You're Daegal. It's important. People hold grudges, and sometimes all you can do is limit the damage to here."

At Kazuya's back, the Red Comet stirs. The combat chassis's pilot compartment opens, revealing the darkened innards - Awaiting your order, threads of light pulses across the banks of viewscreens and controls within. It is a vast predator-machine, adaptive armor shimmering from chrome to gunmetal grey to a deep arterial red; Optic sensors flickering to life.

(Continued)

>>38557853
So we're still capable of driving this thing, right?
Because I don't think Kazuya is in the mood right now.

>>38557877
In an ideal situation, we would let White Licorice drive.

...Wouldn't it remove her phantom pain, due to integrating her senses into the tank?

The question is if she would adjust to fighting or if she'd just be completely useless.

>>38557877
Unless he got the Nihl Sphere it only responds to Joker.

>>38557895
>Wouldn't it remove her phantom pain
No.

>she'd just be completely useless
Yes.

>>38557895
>Letting women drive
Sure, anon.
I think she's unconscious right now, anyway.

>>38557877

(Yes, you're the one driving it. It's optimized for you, in fact - Like the Hellion Cycle.)

>>38557853

At Kazuya's back, the Red Comet stirs. The combat chassis's pilot compartment opens, revealing the darkened innards - Awaiting your order, threads of light pulses across the banks of viewscreens and controls within. It is a vast predator-machine, adaptive armor shimmering from chrome to gunmetal grey to a deep arterial red; Optic sensors flickering to life.

He looks at the ruins of the concert hall one last time - And you know he's thinking of hell in zero gauge; Horror and red death and miles of pain.

Of Yui.

The wind picks up. He paces towards you, across the narrow distance - Shifting White Licorice's weight to his other arm, the Arsenal Beacon mag-clamped to his back as he extends a hand for you to shake.

"Good to meet you, Joker," Daegal says, gravely. He turns to the great machine - As if, for the first time, he can see the future in the brutal shape of it, an electric charge rippling across the mimetic surface.

"-Let's get this done."

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 125

TO BE CONTINUED

>>38557877

The Red Comet isn't Hollow Sun tech so it should still be keyed to us.

>>38557929

(Gentlemen, my sincerest apologies: It's extremely late for me, and - while I would love to continue - my working week starts tomorrow.

I'm aware that this episode covers a shorter time-span than the others, and I'm sorry for that. However, this has been - quite frankly - an awful week for me, and I'm afraid that it might have affected the quality of my writing somewhat. Hopefully, this shouldn't pose an issue next week.

Good night, and God bless - You've been a wonderful audience, and I hope to see you again soon. I'll do my best to run the next session on Saturday instead of Sunday, to allow for a longer episode.)

>>38557940
I wonder if there's customized equipment for Daegal, as well.

>>38557953
No problem, JQOP. It was fun.
See you next week.

>>38557956
All of the Hollow Sun.

>>38557838
>"Yo buddy, still alive?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGjwXI0n5-I

>>38557992
I really ought to play one of these games one day.
What's the recommended starting point?

The archivist is pretty succint, as usual.
>Red Joker survives an attack.

>>38558122
>filler
Fucking butthurt.

>>38558144

It's kind of weird how Kazuya doesn't seem to 'get' fighting. He's mostly been sitting back while we do the work.

>>38558161
What confuses me more is that he didn't take better to the Condemner.
He's practiced Kendo for ages. He should have at least some skill.

And he did fight properly. He just needs a bit of time to adjust properly.
He couldn't do anything while he was summoning the Red Comet.

By the way, where are the two relics that we gave him? Did he find out that he has light weapon slots?

>>38558161
Deagal seems better suited to defense so far than to murdering everything as quickly as possible, as we're used to doing.

>>38558161

JQOP outright said that he's never killed anyone before. He might not be psychologically capable of doing it.

>>38558226
This entire arc is about him learning to fight and what to expect.

>>38558226
>He might not be psychologically capable of doing it.
Meanwhile, we're an out-and-out traumatized murderhobo.

>>38558256
It makes us a perfect backstory Kamen Rider, who's introducing the idealistic hero.

>>38558256

This is an important point, because he's not desensitized to violence the way we are. He's such a newbie it isn't even tragic. Licorice spent the whole chapter incapacitated because we sawed off her arm, while we've lost half our entire body without slowing down.

>>38558300
>while we've lost half our entire body without slowing down.
The Ixion fight was hardcore close.

I hope Haze can give the two pointers from the perspective of a newbie who just learned how to play to win.

Then again, why would Haze be under the dome?

>>38558300
>we've lost half our entire body without slowing down.
I'd even say we're more used to the Red than to the Real, actually.
Kazuya is probably hoping this is some kind of terrible nightmare.

>>38558317
>Then again, why would Haze be under the dome?
We told our group that they need to be on standby close to Seisin even before the school trip began. He should be nearby.