LP Beach

Sweetfish wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 16, 2024 7:58 pm

Finally had time to bring the meme that's been haunting me ever since the update to life. The goofy strategies this game has to offer are delightful

oh I love this

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 9: My floor has no pathetic Librarians, Oswald!



So, they made it past our defenses in the end.

It seems these guests become books the same as the others before them. At this point, it makes the most sense to receive them…

So that we can finish your book, huh. Well then, I'll see who's waiting at my floor and figure out what to do about it afterwards.



Alright team, let's see which of them stayed behind.

Whoever it is, I'm sure we'll handle them.

Hey now, don't tempt fate.

VIDEO
Music: TipherethBattle01


Ah! Down there is… a river that looks like a very large stream containing blueberries and juiced mountain snake berries… An olfactory mixture of mint and clove… would make a stingy scent like this! This stage has a blindingly sparkly rust, a stark contrast from ours! Splendid! I couldn’t ask for a better place to prepare for a grandiose performance. Don’t you think so, Mr. Knife?!

What a noisy guest.

Oh, two yikeses and a half! My heart almost popped out of my eyehole!



Ah, now just one moment! Take a look at this! Ms. Mermaid is lifting her microphone high in excitement~

You’re getting nowhere with your frantic speech, so could you please stick to one topic at a time? And you’d be the guest here if we’re being pedantic.

A clown can’t be in charge of producing his own show, you know? Hahaha! That’s showbiz to you, miss!

I don’t get what’s so funny…

Now, now~ Why don’t we sniff each other’s wrists in a true fashion of clown-to-clown communication ritual? I wore a whiff of peppery scent today!

W—wait! You startled me! It’s rude to stick your face into others without asking… Do you understand?

Nyeh… How cold! People these days are waaay too stuck up! We’re entering a moist era where laughter runs dry! People get so easily upset over tiny things. Sob, sob, woe is me… If a clown can’t be filled with laughter, they’ll flop like a deflated balloon…

Anger is a natural human emotion, though.



Only those who carry some kind of hopes and dreams make such stinky candies~ Expectations for a bar of chocolate, a hamster, objects, the weather, other people… and for themselves. They arbitrarily entertain the expectations and make the candies without even getting a nod from the one they have their hopes on, and won’t even eat their candies themselves!

Because they know that their own candies taste awful.

So iiiiinstead! They put them in the mouths of others. More expectations means more foul-smelling candies~ They hold those balls of stench in their arms, looking to shove them in someone else’s stomach!

Then… How is one supposed to live a life without any expectations?

Did a blade of grass ask for you to have them? Did the gentle sun allow you to have them? Who in the world told you that it’s right to hold expectations? Hahaha! That tingles my mouth almost as much as a celery leaf does! Oh, how hilarious!!! When you don’t hold expectations~ You get to see more eyesores! When you don’t have anger, you get to enjoy zestier and bitterer flavors~ Treat everything like a rolling ball! You cheer for it wherever the sphere decides to go!



Everyone who lives here is a clown! Clowns can’t survive without feeding on each other’s smiles, you see?

…I see your point. You’re right. Holding expectations for someone isn’t always a good thing for them. While I can’t fully agree with your opinions, I admit that there are parts that I can’t completely disregard.

Ohohoh! I just want to make a world full of laughter! One where everybody can laugh without a care!!! Frowny faces are just too scary~

However, to hold expectations is to trust that person. You’re simply running from the fear of failing to meet the expectations of others.

Haha! Hahaha! Am I? Is it a crime to wish for happiness?! Since when was it a bad thing to wish for a world where all people can laugh? Hmph, whatever! I guess we have different kinds of laughters we want to display in our shows as performers!

You’re no different from us folks in that you run a show hoping to make people smile the smile you want to see! Let’s begin the performance to make another clown laugh!!! That’s enough introduction… Shall we begin playing on the tongue now? Hahaha!

Yeah. In your language, we have to fight to protect the stages we stand on.



So it's that clown… and he simply wants to laugh alongside everyone. In that case…

In that case, it's simple: We counter a clown focused on smiles with a jester focused on emptiness.

That strategy would leave every one of you dead on the floor.

Which would make for a fitting climax. It'll work. It has to work.

That's…

I think they have a point. This guy only cares about one emotion. Let's hit him with the whole rest of the spectrum.

And he's trying to avoid expectations, too. So we'll load ours onto you, so you can live up to them.

Alright… Fine. Let's go with your plan, then.



The rest of the gang today is built to lose a lot of clashes and die to enable Tiphereth's Lone Fixer and Remembrance passives. I actually messed up here, it would have been better if these guys had been much squishier than this.

Retry Count: 10. This did cost me a run, because I am still very bad at playing this game badly. I usually just steamroll over Oswald with conventional strategies.

Music: The Reverberation Ensemble (Briah)


New layer means new music.

Hm… HmhmHM! Five prodigiously smelly clowns have joined us on the stage, it seems..!

But that licoricey scent simply won't do! Oh no no no, you'll never get anywhere unless you let them steep out in the sunny sunshine!

There's no more time for clouds, dear friends! Let's bring happy smiles to the faces of the entire world!!!



Oswald as a boss is nigh-immune to conventional Stagger damage, between universal 0.25x resists and his ability to halve all SR damage—and he's got some decent Evade dice to quickly undo any Stagger Damage we may happen to get through those layers of defense. He'll periodically attempt to Stupify the highest-HP Librarian and power them up, which is a Bad Thing for us. However, if we manage to Stagger the Stupefied Librarian, Oswald will take a guaranteed 60 SR. After two cycles, he uses a Mass Attack, then the pattern repeats forever.



Mr. Knife and Ms. Mermaid are his fellow performers today, and each of them are very basic enemies who primarily exist to deal more SR damage to Oswald when we kill them, 40 each.

Now, let's look at their attacks on this first turn.



Let's Have Some Fun~ is one of only two conventional pages that Oswald uses. The rest of his normal combat pages all have an unusual gimmick to them.



Oswald, you see, is a consummate performer. Without holding any expectations, anyone who's on stage with him is expected to do their job—and when they do, they get congratulated accordingly. Pow~! Kablammo!!♣ is a pair of strong Evades covering for a relatively weak actual attack. However, if we win the clash against this attack then the Librarian who does it gets 1 Haste and Endurance next turn. We can't just ignore it, either, since if it hits us we'll lose a Speed Die next turn.

As for Shall We Somersault These?♦, it's a Ranged page with three decent-at-best dice. If we win a Clash against all three, then the Librarian who stuffed the page will get a 2 Light refund—it's basically begging us to use a giant single-hit attack like Violet Blade. A normal playthrough of this fight would take advantage of these bonuses to make a grand performance, but today we don't have the tools to stop any of these attacks.

We're primed to be the single greatest disappointment this poor clown has ever worked with.



Ms. Mermaid's attacks are all Ranged pages as well, and tend to have some kind of supporting effect. Horrendous Pitch deals bonus Stagger Damage, while Aria of Courage will give 1 Strength to the lowest HP ally. This is usually Mr. Knife.



Mr. Knife can also use a mix of Ranged pages and melee ones. Guillotine, specifically, will break the second die on a page if its single hit succeeds, while Casual Toss is just kind of… there.



While we aren't likely to win many clashes against them, we don't really need to, either. We want to lose clashes, slowly have everyone but Tiphereth die off, and try and keep Tiph herself healthy.

He's expecting a performance out of us, eh?

Yeah… I don't think it's happening.

That's perfect. If fighting between magical girls is a dialogue… in this case, not performing would be the best way to make our point.

I'll admit that the Jester was related… but do you really expect me to believe that every clown follows those same rules?

Yes. Because they do.

So clowns are magical girls, now… Fine. Whatever. It doesn't change anything either way.

Now then, my fellow clowns, it's time for the most peppery-splodey performance of any lifetime!!! Don't volunteer all at once now, or you may make my lungs burst with laughter~!!

You'll do nicely! Lace your most stunning sneakers, and try this out!



You want me to jump through the rings..?

Ah-ah-ah, I'm no chowder-brain!! That would be an expectation, you'll do whatever you'll do, won't you~?

Oh, good… because I can't jump worth anything.

Hahahahahaaaa!!



Ghh.. They hit pretty hard, but I feel like we could have taken them if we fought normally.

It's not about winning or losing, here: It's about making sure to send the right thematic message.

To be clear: it is about winning.

Well… Fine! We'll do both! We can do both.



That blueberry-smelling fellow of yours has the right of it! It's all about the performance, don't you know? The minute-by-minute existence in search of the grandest stage of all!

There's more to life than living hand-to-mouth. Or foot to stage, as you'd put it.

Such a sickly lemony smell from you! Making sour candies and firing them like warheads, don't you know there's a reason no one buys those cookies?!



…Well, at least it'll be easy to call on this power.

The plan goes off without a hitch, entirely because we're playing terrible decks for this point in the game.



Oh my, what's that my dear Ms. Mermaid?

I agree! It's far too languorous in here~ I'm so happy to see that it's driven you to sing your very best!

I think the fish is about to do something.

Just look out for it, whatever it's doing.



What it's doing is Resonating Terror, Ms. Mermaid's Mass-Individual page that deals bonus Stagger Damage on hit. Its rolls are just high enough to be a problem, but since we're playing to lose with everyone but Tiphereth I don't care much about this thing right now.



Mr. Knife is using Knife Barrage this turn as well, a 4-die Ranged attack just begging to be crushed by a Celestial Spear or some other big single-die attack.



From Oswald, we have a pair of new pages. The first is Here, Catch~!♣, a single large die that will break all other dice on our page should it win. It will give any Librarian who breaks that first die in a Clash 1 Strength on the next turn.



Lastly, there's We Need You, You Know~?. This page is Oswald's best trick, as it will instantly Stagger its target, before inflicting them with Stupefy for the next two turns. We really don't want this to hit Tiphereth, but since all his Speed Dice are set to 1 on the turn where he uses it it's trivial to redirect.

Boksi can eat it this turn.



Your windpipes are blazing hot now, Ms. Mermaid? Then perform to your heart's content! Hahahahaha, and I'll find a lovely accompanist!



Resonating Terror is two of those wavy ripple effects over the screen, and only Tiphereth has any luck blocking it.

Geez… Is everyone else okay?



I'm fine, I'm fine!

I'm still standing. Ears are ringing, but… it's fine.

It'll take a lot more than that to take us down, ma'am!



You. You'll do! Get over here, it's time to perform! That mossy smell of yours will complement Ms. Mermaid's voice perfectly!

Um… what? But…

Don't let the daisies grow from your ears, boy! It's time for a performance!!

What's he doing?

It's some kind of limited mental manipulation ability.



Such mealy-mouthed meandering minds always follow after speaking of 'expectations.'



The stage stretches out before us like a grand stream of excitement! Keep your brains to the current, or they'll be on the floor!

You're really starting to get on my nerves.

Everyone's so upset when no one wants to eat their disgusting candies. Simply breathe, the smell will permeate in either case!



…We're running behind. What's the deal?

It looks like Boksi didn't get a chance to generate any more emotions. And now he's…

Performing. I'm performing. Just like every day, I'm doing my part and doing it well!

Well, you see it.

I think I might hate this guy.

That could be the Abnormality's power talking.

No, it really isn't.



Now that we have a Stupefied Librarian, let's talk about what it actually does. Put simply: Boksi is fighting for the enemy for the next two turns using the same Key Page and Combat Pages he had. While this is going on, the music in the background fades somewhat and the circus theme plays alongside it.

We can fight him like any normal enemy, and our attacks deal damage to him like normal. However, any time Boksi loses a clash he will also lose 5% of his maximum SR on top of it—and if we ever Stagger him, then Stupefied will be cleared immediately.

Right now, we just need to clash with him to make sure that we can keep upping our Emotion Levels.



The only new attack this turn is Cross Cut, coming from Mr. Knife.



So what's the plan?

You guys just keep throwing yourselves at Oswald and his buddies. I'll handle Boksi.

The flowers are growing… Their hope sings eternal. Bow before the prowess of a nestborn!

The sooner the better.



Why… are the knives… so big..?!

Seriously, just look at the size of that thing. These should be taking our entire limbs off.

…Good thing they're just clowning around.



Well this is… disappointing.

There you go again! Breathing in your own misery and breathing out that depressing miasma, doesn't it get boring~?



Add some spice to your life!





I do want to shout out the game's artists here, Oswald's sprites are great.



Boss, I'll have to ask you to stand down. I can see things clearly now.

Can you? Or do you just think you can?

Don't try and talk me out of things!



Fine. Your funeral.

Oof..! You could hold back a little!

Would you?



Despair comes along just as planned. Things seem messy, but Tiphereth is still packing plenty of HP. As long as we don't get Staggered and beaten into the ground, we're still right on schedule.



At this point the fight would normally be in a bad place: We're outmatched in action economy with the enemy getting far more dice than us. We're also taking on damage and there's a very real possibility that Tylana dies this turn.

But we're playing for Nix, meaning that all of this is going exactly according to plan.



Ms. Mermaid uses Aria of Auspice this turn, giving 2 Protection to the lowest HP ally. Outside of that it's yet another Ranged page with all that entails.



Meanwhile, Oswald is showing us the last of his normal pages: Ready for a Surprise?!♥. The block dice on this page will restore HP if they win a Clash, but the Counter die can inflict Paralysis with every hit and is also dangerous. Because this is almost always played as the last page in a turn, if we're faster than his slowest die it's possible to completely avoid dealing with the Block dice, preventing him from healing with them.



Hey, Miss Tiphereth?

What.

I know we're two Abnormality powers into things, so it might be a little late, but… Since you're doing a super powerup…

I'm not doing any catch phrases, Chinely.

But… It's like, a rule, you know?

"When magical girls have a true battle, it's as much a conversation as it is a fight." You said it, right?

You remembered..?

I'm drawing on their power. It seemed handy to keep in mind.



Listening to such rabble… this is why you're no longer worthy to lead.



Don't interrupt!

Gh-!



Anyways, I thought about it, and this guy's all about performances. So: I'm not doing any of it. I'm going to do my job, and leave it at that.

Such dedication to your performance! A tragic clown, with tears on her makeup~ But don't you understand the very most basic of the basics?! An object is thrown by a First!



And it strikes a Thirteenth!

What did I even do?!



Subverting expectations is child's play for any great performer!! Of course, this too only holds sway because you have any at all~ A proper showstopper could deflect such a ball with the stems of their wrists!



Uhghhh… Oh. I'm still alive. Great.



We're all still alive. Boksi, are you done being stupid?

…Um. Yes. Very done. _{My head hurts…}

Deal with it. I'm only missing the Servant, so the next one is going to make life hard.



I grab Gold Rush here. Blind Rage would also be good, but either one is helpful once we go off.



The next turn is another Resonating Terror/We Need You, You Know~? combo attack. It's Chinely's turn to eat this one.



Such a delightful aria, Ms. Mermaid~ Your beautiful pipes never fail to bring a smile to my face! Now, who shall accompany us this time… Who do you think, Ms. Mermaid?



Hmmhmm! I hear you, yes, they'll be a fine fellow to accompany us for a bar or two. Just long enough for the poinsettias to sprout from their hair!

Wha-?



If you would! That blueberry scent of yours wants nothing more than to perform, so let me give you a chance to live as you truly like!

Oh… hell..!

We should be able to fix him with the power of friendship…

No such thing exists. You could bludgeon him until he returns to his senses.

White damage, then.



Destroying the hopes and dreams of magnificent beings who want only to perform and bring smiles to everyone… Such thorny vines have wrapped around your heart! Doesn't the friendly sun shine on all equally?



It's true… The vines… I've let them go, and now I can see the truth!

The truth?! All you're seeing are the lies of the masked clown!

Don't try and stop me, Omni… I feel so light. It's the first time I've felt this happy during battle!

Boss, we might be in trouble.

Yeah, I recognize the line. It should be fine, he's using it wrong.

Wait, you do?!

Don't ask questions!!

Anyways, Tylana's already dead-

Sorry boss.

-because she's overachieving as usual, so it's down to the rest of you to get killed asap.

Oh… or not?

Because Tiphereth is already at Emotion Level 4 and soon she'll be getting a ton of Emotion Coins anyways, I slow down with her. The others continue with operation "flail around and die."



Your stupid knives aren't going to hit me.



Tylana dies right on schedule, giving us a glut of emotion coins.



This bookish stage is really such a bother, you know? People are led to their moments of purest excitement, and they contort into parchment instead of blooming for the audience!

We don't even have an audience in the first place!



But still, the actors must play their parts.

Because the audience expects them to?

Hardly! Because that is who we are! Every one of us is merely twirling on someone else's stage!

The stage may not be mine, but we're ultimately here because its owner expects something from us.



But since you're just living in a world where only happiness is allowed… I'll serve as a reminder of the other emotions, now.

We're going to be losing control of Tiphereth until we hit max Emotion. This is the trickiest part of the fight, and ideally most of our team would be dead already. Udjat is way too tough for proper Tiphxodia strategies, Tylana actually had around the perfect amount of tankiness.



Related note: I would have loved to have gotten Blind Rage last level, as right now it can't do anything for us until Tiphereth regains her senses. Oh well!



Clowns… Even after I'm finally done dealing with those honking bastards, here we are. Back again. Dealing with clowns.

Let me TELL YOU how absolutely SICK AND TIRED I am of CLOWNS!!

While the boss is addled, I guess we'll have to take care of things, huh..?

The way I see it, you could be over here.

That's not happening.

Our job for now is to try and prevent Tiphereth from taking one-sided attacks in her rage. She'll recover some HP back with her Haulers, but we don't want her to bleed dry.



No matter WHERE the stinking things show up, it's the same mess! Honking! Running all over the place! Murdering clerks and MESSING WITH THINGS! And if not that, then they roll all over the damn place and FLATTEN PEOPLE!!



And now, just when the clowns are gone forever, there's this masked WEIRDO who's on my floor, talking nonsense and STEALING MY LIBRARIANS!

You're trying to kill us all, though, aren't you?!

AND IF YOU WERE BETTER AT YOUR DAMN JOB, YOU'D BE DEAD BY NOW!!!



I've taken advantage of the opportunity, ma'am. The enemy's stunned!



In that case, I'll dispense right and proper justice! An eye for an eye…

Ah, dammit..!



And a Stagger for a Stagger!

Chinely… This isn't what you should be doing!

Poppycock!!



What every single one of us should be doing is whatever we were up to before some stinky fellow came along and told us we need to earn our place!



YOU ARE A CLOWN WHO SNIFFS WRISTS TO SAY HI! YOU DON'T GET AN OPINION!!

My my, you've gone from a nasty-smelling licorice to something soured and truly foul! This is what happens when you leave chowderheads unattended in the sun! They go off, I tell you!

She's doing this to beat y-



NO TALKING!!

Geh-! Yes'm!



Uuugh… what the hell did I-

You had ONE JOB, Chinely. Just the ONE. Don't get brainwashed. HOW HARD IS THAT?!

Uh… too hard, ma'am?!

THAT'S IT, I'M DOING THIS MYSELF!!

Wasn't that always the plan..?

RRRRRGH!!!

My my! Such a dedicated group of performers. I think, yes, I know that I feel like showing the audience something truly grand and exciting!! EVERYONE! ALL TOGETHER! LET'S BRING A SMILE TO THESE TRAGIC CLOWNS!!



CLIMAX!!! is a single decent Mass Summation die, but the real problem with it is the random nature of its ability. All targets get either +2 or -2 to Strength, Endurance, or Protection on the next turn.

…Honestly, as far as super attacks go it's not bad. Oswald isn't a particularly threatening boss.



Now then, all together! Let's march towards the fields of smiles, flowers blooming with every merry step we make!!

I'M GOING TO SMASH EVERY DAFFODIL YOU PLANT, CLOWN!!!

Oh never daffodils! Never even once daffodils! Those are for sprouting from the neck, you know?!

JUST DIE ALREADY!!!



I know I said it wasn't bad, but I can't control Tiphereth's plays right now and the others don't have anything that can match a 20 since I want them to die… so it hits everyone.

It's time for the climax at last, ladies and gentlemen! As we one and all know it's the very best part, sure to bring a smile to everyone's faces!



BUT IT'S NOT FOR YOU GAWKERS FROM OUTSIDE!!!

Pardon?

Can you smell that lemony scent?! Can you feel the wind blowing through the sky?! Can you paint with your blood and tears upon the stage until you've reached the ultimate performance?! Come on now… let's see what you can do~!

ALL TOGETHER! ALL AS ONE! MY MANY MERRY LAUGHTER LOVING FRIENDS!!!



And now, take a bow~ For all your hard work~!

I hate you with all of my hate.



Our magnificent climax has come to an end, dear viewers! As for what's left… "falling action," it was called. Such a literary story, perfect for a library such as this!

Gh… Are you trying to make me jump?! The hell am I doing that!



Oh, of course not, miss clown~ I'm just performing, and come whatever you give me, I'll simply laugh!



Even as Ms. Mermaid ends the performance of another of your dedicated friends! Ah, it's such a shame, such a shame that your head is filled with fluffy meat product!

There's more to life than simply being happy, you know?! It's the bad times that make the good!

Is that so…? Is it true..?



IT IS NOT!! All those feelings you're stewing in your brain all come from something being dumped in the pot! You've got rancid veggies stewing with your candies and making you all angry or sad or hateful or greedy! But if those expectations are all withheld, then what's left once those disgusting smells are washed away?

A deliciously spicy scent of happiness! The one emotion you can feel without a reason!

Gh-but that's not…

…You've got it wrong, clown.

Oh my! How threatening~!



Hate… Despair… Greed… Wrath… The emotion I was seeking was beyond them. None of them are really your opposite at all. But now, just now, I can finally grasp it.

The opposite of a clown of happiness isn't a magical girl of anything.



It's the Jester of Nihil.



My my… it seems my nose is runny all of a sudden.

Yes… I'd imagine it's hard to smell now, isn't it?

Don't worry, my dear performers! She's just a poor Staggered Susan, talking all high and mighty while that same terrible stink seeps out of her!

Then kill me, if you can.

_{aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa}

When we activate Nix properly, every other combatant ally or enemy gets the Jester themself weighing down on them from behind. Tiphereth may be Staggered, but she's got 4 Protection on her from her Udjat allies and the opponent is getting all their rolls reduced. She's perfectly safe.



…I'll keep this short. I don't think we're needed on the stage any longer.



Oswald and his fellows do their very best…



But no matter how much they hit Tiphereth…



They fail to deal her even a single point of damage.

Are you done?

The climax has already ended, my fellow clown! There's no more room on the stage for us to one up one another endlessly!

I agree. What was it you said? After the climax is the falling action?



So this is the part where you fall.

HAHAHAHAHAA!!! An encore, then, is it? Very well!



Hey, boss. I'm betraying you again, by the way.

You think it's more "anime" if you try to betray me and fall dramatically, right?

Eheh… Something like that.

Our merry troupe accepts all comers, regardless of their reasons!!

That's fine.



I don't know how to aim these things, anyways.

My one regret… is that I'll miss the best part..!



One down. Four to go.



I'll try this one next.

Such a hurried existence… You should really savor the moment more, you know?!

Meh.



I don't feel like it.



I still can't say you're completely wrong... But all of them have trusted me to defeat you. Boksi, Tylana, Omni… Even Chinely.

Not right now I haven't!

Quiet, Chinely.



Those expectations keep me moving. Even when I don't feel anything anymore. Even when I don't want to feel things. Those candies, even if you call them disgusting, keep you going long after smiles have left you.



MS. MERMAID! MR. KNIFE!! HOW COULD YOU SLAY INNOCENT BEINGS WHO WISH ONLY FOR LAUGHTER?!!

They were in my way. How could I not?



Ah… how sad! You've simply forgotten what it is to smile!!! A funny little fellow, falling off the path of the clown. Come, have a whiff of this!

With Chinely freed after this turn, Oswald will spam We Need You, You Know~? every turn until it lands. However, a Mass Attack can break it before it can activate and keep him from getting any more help.



I don't want any.

Looks like… that's it for me, too…



It's finally just us. The argument in its purest form. You, who wants to perform to make another smile. Me, who has nothing left inside to smile with.



So go on. Make me laugh.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! All we've ever wanted was to bring smiles to others! You're ruining it with that oppressive air you're forcing in here!!



Huh. I thought you were supposed to deflate.

Just because you've let the air out of my tires doesn't mean… it doesn't mean that you can… You can't..!

Oh. Finally run out of lines?



I guess that's that, then.



I don't feel sad… But I can't even feel proud right now, either. This Abnormality…

You've done your job. Clean up as you can.

Right.



Oswald is not a hard fight. He's really not. A normal set of decks can beat him without running into any real trouble, and a properly executed Tiphxodia can make things work much faster than this. Once we finish the setup, Tiphereth is an invincible behemoth bouncing between +10 and +15 total Power advantage over her enemies. She can't really lose.

Just… maybe don't use Udjat on the sacrificial Librarians.

Music: Result


Uugh. Okay, we won, right?

Of course we did! Good work, you guys.

You were so cool. It was like all the feelings drained out of your whole being!

Seriously 10/10 stuff, boss.

It's all good as long as you two had fun, huh..?

And as long as we win, which is what matters the most, right?

Yeah… guess so.



With that done, there should be a moment to—

Hey, director! We got a problem!

A problem? What's going on?

Haah… what's going on indeed? Don't tell me your famous leader isn't even here.

This junkyard bitch got here before Gebura did.

Bold words for a bloodstain.

Why don't you play fetch somewhere else before I have you spayed?

…I understand the gist of it. Gebura?

I'm working on it! _{There's too damn many of these stairs, and my leg's still busted up.}

…It seems she'll be a little longer.

Whatever. I'm not waiting around for some former legend who can't be assed to show for the main event.

Permission to engage?

Do it.

HELL YEAH!

Next time, on Library of Ruina: A fight based entirely around using the Red Mist's unique mechanics.


Videos

Oswald Battle
VS Oswald (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

New Key Pages




New Combat Pages

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 10: Bait used to be believable



So a bunch of hangers-on want to take me on? Do you really think you can beat me?



This is a good opportunity to test some of our ideas.

Most of Credentia's time today will be spent in Purple Tear's Pierce mode. It doubles the stacks of any status effects we add on, and Tanya is a solo boss fight. Shrine to Music will stack the deck in our favor.



Right. I'll paint the target, and you guys can follow up after.

Sorcrane's job is to slap Tanya up to 10 Smoke ASAP and keep her there.



And that guy left us a new form… I'll give it a shot.

If I was smart I'd have run Clone here to try and get multiple Blazing Strikes to 0 Cost, but I am not smart so this is the build we're going with here.



Then I'll do damage.

BICEPS is running Myongest, and his job is to hit hard



If the four of you can hold out for long enough, Gebura should become available to assist you. That would be the—

Screw that! Let's just beat the piss out of 'er and move on!

I suppose I wouldn't complain if you accomplished it.

Someone's gettin' ahead of herself…

Music: The Reverberation Ensemble (Briah)


A group of weaklings're still weaklings, after all.



Tanya is a blessedly simple fight: She just beats the shit out of you. No frills. No gimmicks. If we try to use Claws of Savagery to cheese things with only one Librarian untargetable, she denies your attempt to Netzach her and punches you anyways. If we deplete her HP bar, she says "Good hit" and gets back up with +2 Power on all her die rolls from then onward.

This means she effectively has 1000 HP, but this fight tends to go by incredibly quickly even with that.



On the first turn she shows off Overspeed in her fastest die. If it's faster than whoever she's targeting with it, all the dice get a +6. Tanya's speed is 3-9, meaning she can crank out some turn 1 numbers we can't match without Red Mist's infinity die.



Both of her other dice are dedicated to Fisticuffs. This page is a trio of okayish dice, but the effect of the second one is interesting: like Binah's Pillar, it prevents dice from being recycled. This will stop a Counter die or an Evade die from fully negating the page. It's more-or-less Tanya's filler attack—if she's not doing anything else she'll usually throw one of these out.



Alright, punks. If you're not going to get out of my way, I'll beat you into the ground until you figure your places out.

Just remember: you asked for this.



Finally… some good grass.

Let's see. A retired grunt…



The hell are you doing?!



A hotheaded streetrat…



The streetrat's leash…



Smoke's up!

N' I don't even know what the hell you're doing here.

I look good in red.

Hah! The hell kind of stupid reason is that?



Well, whatever. None of you have what it takes to be truly powerful. That means you have two options: toady up to someone stronger'n you, or die.



Intimidate comes out on the next turn, and it's a must-stop. Each hit that gets through gives Tanya 1 Strength next turn, and giving the lady who wants to punch through your face more Strength isn't a good idea.



Lupine Onslaught, meanwhile, is a trio of solid dice on a Power Negation page. We'll want BICEPS to aim somewhere else whenever we see it.



And let me guess… you're not accepting toadies?

Real mouth on you, huh?

Our job's always been to stare down the things that go bump in the night and cut them clean in two. You'll have to try harder if you want to intimidate us.

Yeah, I get you. Talk's cheap.



Agreed. Resuming suppression.



We're sure to find an opening if we keep pressuring her.



"Find" an opening? Really?



I ain't showin' you people shit. If you want an opening you'll have to make one.



If the enemy shuts a door, kick it off the hinges. Sounds great to me.

Tenebrais, that's illegal.

Only if they can catch you!



I snatch Fear of Water here and give it to BICEPS. He'll be getting our Abnormality Pages today, and I want to combo it with Vampirism to give him some sustain.



…Hm.

Is the abnormality giving you trouble?

………Blood makes the grass grow.

Then we should spill a lot of it.



Kicks and Stomps comes out this turn, and is most notable for the Paralysis on the second die. The dice are bigger than her usual attacks, as well, making it one of her stronger pages.



I see… so it's another trick, then. That music from the purple one, baldie zippin' around like a fly, this smoke… you guys sure have a lot of tricks.

Shame not a single one of 'em matters against me.



You know we practice against someone who makes you look like a puppy, right?

And how many times didja' win?





Yeah, that's what I thought.

Even so… we're going to stop you here!

Cuz I'm 'weaker,' right?



Because you only have power.



You idealistic types are a pain in the ass, y'know that?



Fine. I'll make the difference between us clear.

On turn 4, Tanya stops playing around and uses her ultimate attack: Beatdown.



Beatdown is Tanya's ultimate attack, and it is a doozy. It's a unique Combat Page in that it targets everyone, but is not a Mass Attack. This means other pages can resolve before it, but like a Mass Attack even if the page is beaten by one ally another one can still get bonked by it right after. It deals a load of damage, even with Blunt resistance. Ideally, we wouldn't get hit by this. How do we stop it, then?

Well, the obvious option would be to play a page that lets us either win the clash or at least blunt the blow of the massive first die. Here is a list of every page in Library of Ruina that can reliably do this without stacking 5+ Strength:

Boundary of Death (4)

This means most of our Librarians will not be able to stop this attack. If we include E.G.O and BICEPS's automatic +5 this list does grow slightly, now including things like:

Mimicry
Violet Blade
Distortion Blade

But even then, we need to get lucky, as all of these pages have a lower floor than Beatdown, putting our odds of winning at ~50% at best. Block dice seems like the natural second idea, but even the best Block dice can only get up to ~10 on the base roll, nowhere near enough to properly blunt this attack and its 5 True Damage.

Luckily for Gebura's floor, the intended solution is built right in to what we should be playing:



For the Turn 4 Beatdown Tanya only plays two Combat Pages. This means Gebura can play Great Split: Vertical on the one that isn't Beatdown, hit with it, and immediately destroy Beatdown as it's the only other page available to break. Future Beatdowns will have more than one other page alongside them, preventing this solution.



By then, though, Gebura should have another way to break this page.

But Gebura isn't here right now, so we just have to deal with it.



She's leaving way too many openings… you guys know this is going to be bad, right?

Way I see it, she's begging us to put her down. That's what happens when you get too rabid.

Doesn't matter. Path's the same either way.

It's too late to do anything about it now, at any rate…



We press on.

The smoke is paying huge dividends here, helping to turn a 13 roll into a 30 damage hit.



That speedy guy's one thing… but the rest of you trash can only get attacks through cuz there's so many of you.



Geh..!

"You may call us trash, but enough trash can crush anyone~!"

You were gonna' say something like that, right?



Unfortunately for you weaklings, I know how to take out the damn trash.

For Beatdown's animation, Tanya grabs hold of the Librarian she's targeting.



Slams them into the ground.



Pauses over them, foot raised.



And then brings it down hard enough to make a crater happen.

Needless to say, she hits everyone.



Huh… you idiots are all still alive? Well, doesn't look like it'll be for much longer, though.

Don't be coy. You're on your last legs, too.

Oh, really? Then I guess this'll be decided here and now.



Then I'll graze.

That damn speed..!



And my raw POWER!



Hey… if this is so over, why doesn't this feel like it's over?



Because it isn't. It's about time you stopped holding back, isn't it?

Couldn't agree more.



You four almost qualified as a warm-up… but I got shit to do, so I'm gonna' need you to die now.

Tanya's in her +2 Power phase, and we're a light breeze away from Staggering on our entire team. She's shown us all her tricks, though, so there's nothing else to do but carry on and try and kill her before she kills us.



I'm going all out with the music, you guys. Take her down as fast as you can.

Don't gotta' tell me twice.

She's deploying her speed technique.



Crushed.

Tch. Talking like you're all some kind of hot shit…



Our combination attacks are really something special, you know.

Ehh, I wouldn't go that far.



Music's catchy as hell, but if you crush that it all falls apart.

Dammit..!



Now, let's make clear who the stronger of us is. Shall we?



Affirmative.



Alright, siddown ya' punk.

…Regrouping.



And you. I ain't too keen on you stealing my comrade's smoke. That stuff's powerful, n' here you are without a clue how to use it.

I know just what I'm doing..!

Yeah, says you.



If the smoke's no good, how about some fire!

…Hah? Fire, you say?



I've been sittin' in this damn heat, in a suit, and you're still using fire. Dumbass.



And it's working. You're pretty bloodied up, you know?



Only cuz I got you dummies all over me.



Well then, here's a little more!



That's three down…



Time to clean up here. You guys sure took a little longer to die'n I expected, I'll give you that… but this is a world where the strong get control over everything.

Unfortunately, our second Beatdown turn comes with most of our team Staggered. This doesn't really matter much, as if she Staggers everyone with Beatdown she'll generally kill everyone the next turn anyways… but now we can be pretty sure that Tenebrais, BICEPS, and Sorcrane are down for the count. This leaves me with one option, and it's a risky one.



Alright… guess it all comes down to one last trump card.



This is a Hail Mary attack. Credentia's total power boost and Tanya's are the same at +4, making this a straight 19-35 vs 29-35 roll. If it succeeds, no other attacks are directed at her. This means that the healing from it should combine with the 24 Burn and the 10 Bleed she'll have next turn to let Credentia just barely eke out a win over Tanya's remaining 150 HP...

It's got the shape of a plan, at least.



Credentia, the odds of this plan succeeding are—

I know… But it's the only chance we've got.

If you're relyin' on somethin' like odds, you're prolly already gonna lose.



Though I like the new hallway.



Enough talkin'. Time to get to work.



That's one down…



Nice outfit.

It's called E.G.O.



…Huh.



Cool story.



That's the second one…

I can't… go on any more…

Ahh, quit yer bellyachin'. You're dyin' covered in that red ya' love wearin' so much.



N' that leaves you.

I'll kick your ass twice as hard on the runback.

Hah!!



I don't do rematches, ya' brat.

So in the end, we weren't quite a match…



I told ya'. The strong are the ones who make the rules. You can beg for your life if you want…

…but I ain't in a listenin' mood.



I don't even get any last words?

There a part of "ain't in a listenin' mood" that was unclear, missy?

No. I suppose not.

Good. Now get out of my…

Well, hell. It's about time.



Not a bad job, Credentia. I'll take it from here.

But, your leg…

The second I showed up for a reception, the Library took care of it.

…Alright. We'll leave it to you.

Yeah. You'll get 'em next time.



While Tanya's incredibly difficult without the Red Mist… she's actually perfectly capable of soloing this fight if we decide to use her.

VIDEO
Music: GeburaBattle01


You should get your nose checked, then. One is a slaughter-crazed wolf, and the other is a hunter tracking it down.

You got a ragtag band of dummies to fight me, eh…? Do I look like a joke to you or what. Still, the highlight of the match is the woman who was once called the Red Mist… This oughta be fun.

Everyone I meet keeps bringing up that title. Aren’t you tired of putting me on a pedestal at this point?

No way, hun. People’ll be shocked to learn that the great legend is doing menial labor in a place like this. How’s your inhuman strength doing these days? I only heard stories ‘bout it, so I’ve been itching to see it in action…

Is strength the only thing you value?

Yup. No reason not to bow down to folks who’re stronger than you.

What do you think people who lack such strength should do, then?

The weak—they gotta find ways to survive on their own. You obey the strong, or you get killed by ‘em… Either or. Someone will keep you safe if you serve ‘em like a good little pup.

There won’t be an end to a struggle fought with physical strength. It’ll be a constant series of gory battles… Even the victor can’t be at ease in such a world. Those who act in their own interests can lose everything by the same means at anytime. Is it really right to possess strength if it’s only used to take from others?

Ehey, why see that as stealing, gal?



Adapt or die. If you can’t, you either become food or fall behind until you’re wiped out. The so-called apex predators are the creatures best fit to survive in this ecosystem, ain’t that the truth? That’s how humans have always lived, so why make a big fuss about it now?

Strength is the most honest and clear way to express yourself. I prove that I’m stronger than you, and that’s it. No tricks or lies involved. I want a world where power means everything. And that’s why I’m helping mister orchestrator.

Oh, I guess you’ve got your own reasons and causes to bring up as well. For the sake of others, making the world peaceful, or whatevs… Not like I wanna hear ‘em. You prolly looked at all the people hopelessly dying n’ wanted to do something for ‘em out of pity or anxiety, but the truth is, the City folks were doing fine without ya.

You didn’t seriously expect everyone in the City to gladly take the gift you forcibly handed to ‘em and hear thanks, didja? And look at you now, ruining the daily lives of innocent people to resume your plan…

It’s true, we can’t glorify what we’ve done as deeds for the people, I know that. I’m not entirely proud of our actions. That’s what I’ve been ruminating on. I suppose it’s not something you need to know, though.



Yup. Both you and I are doing this for our own satisfaction n’ desires. And that’s about it. Claiming to stand for a higher cause is just an excuse.

We both have things we have to protect or take.

If you got it, let’s get this started.

Music: The Reverberation Ensemble (Briah)


Yeah. I should pay you back double for what you did to my crew.

Says the punk who stabbed Elena right through the head.

She got better, didn't she?

And yours won't?

Well… once we're done here.



Even at their best, Tanya's numbers are roughly on par with the pages in Gebura's deck.



This means that with the +5 from Myo's Prowess, we're untouchable on any infinite die—and once Lone Fixer activates on turn 2 our normal Speed Dice will be mostly untouchable as well.



She can get attacks through because she has more Speed Dice than us, but it'll take a while for that to realistically whittle down our HP through the haulers.



Mmm… Okay. I think I get it.

Do ya', now?

I was fighting you all for a while back on those stairs, you know. Had plenty of time to see the way you carry yourselves.

I saw plenty of you, too.

Guess you did.



Lupine Onslaught requires special attention in this fight, as it will negate Power entirely, and its dice are on par to slightly better than Gebura's usual fare.



I prefer to deal with it by ignoring it entirely—the Counter die may stop it, and if not we can eat the damage.



Well, now that we're properly fightin'… seems like ya' finally stopped holding back.

My team was doing their best, so I was loaning them this power before.



Sounds like a dumbass way t'live. Me, I just hang with the strong.

Yeah, that sounds like something you'd say.



Vampirism will stack with our Fear of Water in order to give us more healing as we go. Level Slash can also inflict Bleed, but FoW ensures it's guaranteed.



This will be handy, as we're now looking at 4 Speed Dice to our 2+counter, we can't avoid damage here.



Ya' know, they say something about legends bein' overblown… and I kinda' get it now.



You hit hard, but not much harder'n any other idjit around here. You were a legend back in th'day, sure…



But that's only compared t' threats from back in the day, ain't it?



Absorption with our total heals is a guaranteed bonus 3 Power, putting our rolls at +6 before Myo's Prowess. As long as it isn't Lupine Onslaught, any of our pages can beat any of Tanya's attacks handily now.



Time's marchin' forward. Shit that was impressive ain't worth much not two weeks later. Even wings fall.

As I'm sure you prolly know.

That stance… Gebura, she's going to use her strongest technique.

That so?



I'll meet it on head-on, then. Might as well see what the fuss is all about, eh?

Keheh… Yeah. Let's see what'chr best looks like.

I mentioned earlier that the correct move was having Gebura use GSV on the other Speed Die to break this page… but if Gebura's alone, then we can just target Beatdown itself.



Time to take out the trash!



Couldn't agree more.





So you do have some bite left in ya'.



Instincts gives us more sustain, so I grab it here.



You know, it's a little bit annoying. Angela wasn't able to create a book that would match my old power.

Yer makin' excuses now? Psh, and after all that shit you talked… But even I can see you're bleeding out as fast as me.

Guess we'll see who has more blood in us, won't we?



Ah, that's not why I brought it up, you know.



Just thought you'd like to know why it's taken so long to really get running.

So you were still holdin' out on me, eh?!

Manifest E.G.O should be targeted at a page that maximizes our Evade die payoff. It'll handle our SR for the rest of the fight and ensure we can't get Staggered.



Like I said… it's not that I was holding out on you. I "couldn't."



It takes a while to get back into it… But here you go. A blade that leaves a bloody mist behind.

Music: The Red Mist


Armor that is worn not to defend, but to attack.



And an iron will, tempered enough to act knowing full well your own weakness.



With Hello? online, our first die rolled every turn will restore HP equal to its result. This will finish off our strategy for the remainder of this fight.

Hey, do you know why that Red Mist was undefeatable, back in the day?

It's obvious, ain't it? She was strong enough to crush anyone. That's survival of the fittest.

So you don't understand it at all.



It's not the strong who survive. It's the survivors who are strong.



Cleaving through countless opponents, and using their wounds to cure my own injuries. That's the true Red Mist you've been hoping to fight.



Tanya's entered her second phase, but her +2 Power is canceled out by the Red Mist's natural +2 Power. Gebura's back at full HP after the Hello?'d GSH, our SR is near maxed out as well, and all that's left is a damage race.



Goddamn… You still don't hit any harder. But it doesn't matter how much I break you down…



You just recover it in an instant, rippin' and tearin' away all the while.

A real pain in the ass to fight, aren't I?

Definitely.

While Tanya can hit us, and even get some damage through… she can't possibly outpace Gebura's recovery any longer. The rest of this fight is just a formality.



Guess this is as far as I go, huh. Damn.

You're calmer than I expected.

Well, y'know how it is. When two great strengths clash, one'll win and one will lose.



You were just stronger this time. Can't bitch about that!

I guess not.



Enemy's down. You should switch over to Chesed now. I know that fop's going to need an eye on him.

Indeed… the upper layer has not yet been breached, so we may see a minor reprieve once they've been dealt with.

Finally. These guys are a pain in the ass.



As long as Red Mist is being used against her properly, Tanya is a chump. Solo Red Mist or even full team strats, it doesn't matter—as long as Red Mist's Great Split pages take care of Beatdown she's not able to get her offense game running and she'll go down in relatively short order. We could probably have beaten her with just the four Librarians without Red Mist, but doing so would have required both using Mind Hauler on everyone to try and keep their SR up and also putting three of them into Udjat to give us a good way to survive the big Beatdown turns… and Udjat was already spoken for by another fight I didn't want to redo.

And this, ultimately, is the true difficulty of the Uninvited Guests as a whole: None of the fights are particularly difficult in themselves, but they each take a long time to do and you can wind up getting tired of the entire thing before it's over. More than any particular card game talent, patience and perseverance are what this reception is designed to test.

Some days I think I preferred Day 49. It just killed you.

Music: Result


Credentia… didja' finish her off?

No such luck. Gebura showed up, and then I was out like a light.

Another sortie?

I took care of her. Though… your plan wasn't a bad one, but you forgot something important.

That we're weak?

Don't be dense. You forgot that in a battle of equals, everyone comes out with a bloody nose. Your endurance wasn't where you needed it to be.

Dammit… And after we put in all that work.

Training is ultimately a series of setbacks that show you the path forward. Get up. We're doing laps around the floor 'til you all collapse.

Affirmative.

Ma'am!



With this, we're a little over halfway through with them. Only four remain…

Yeah. Just four left, and it'll all be over. Those bastards will get what they deserve.

Roland…

What is it you need?



Begin to prepare. I am fairly certain you will be facing Argalia directly.

Of course. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: Just a rhyme without a reason.


Videos

Tanya Battle
VS Tanya (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

New Key Pages



New Combat Pages



Tanya Exclusive:

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 11: Masser of Puppets



Chesed, status report.

It's been quiet here so far… The enemy we're to defeat seems to be traveling with gear, so it's taking him a few moments..

A few others came by earlier, but… I didn't like our odds, so I let them go.

And they let you?

We figured that, since there's three floors above us, it'd be fine if we let the first three pass.

In that case, I'll have to let Hokma and Binah know their services will be needed again.

I'm willing to bet they already saw that far ahead~

And as for you, are your preparations complete?

Of course~



Our party here is designed to work as a unit. Chesed's Mirinae is going to be handing Augury Kicks out to the rest of the team, and Sweet Pea has a Raging Storm: Love to act as an early Mass Attack pending hitting Emotion Level 4 to unlock the rest of them. Evil Kit is here to apply Smoke and be a general nuisance, and Seyser is going to be focused on trying to keep everyone's Light levels up.

Twee is using a meme deck that will allow us to abuse Magic Trick in case the fight goes for too long, but most importantly she's brought along Yan's Mass Attack.



The landing at last. With Tanya taking the last one, I suppose this area will fall to me. How… fortunate.

VIDEO
Music: ChesedBattle01


Hello there~ As much as I’d like to treat you to a cup of coffee, the circumstances say otherwise… What a shame~

I don’t believe said circumstances are relaxed enough for such jokes, either… You’re being quite tender. Do you always tend to be that soft?

If we can’t avoid facing each other, there’s no need to make it more tense than necessary, now is there? Though I do often hear that I’m carefree~

Don’t make me laugh. Is that supposed to be a humble brag?



…

Would you like me to introduce her?

No need~ I’ve got the gist of what’s going on.

…This puppet was made after that person, wasn’t it~?

It’s a gorgeous piece of work, if I do say so myself. I’d even dare say that it’s my magnum opus.

In terms of appearance?



Even if a puppet were as beautiful as a master’s sculpture, I wouldn’t love its look in itself. They’re neither disgusting… nor attractive to me. They simply are. I have no particular feelings about how they look.

What do you make your puppets for, then?

The thoughts and emotions I hold when I craft them… A resentment towards the City for driving me to this desperation, and a blind anger for the rich. A glimpse of hope that I can bring back my precious son whose life they took. Bitterness, and… a yearning for vengeance toward Roland, the man who rid me of that hope and pushed me to despair.

I wrap the emotions I couldn’t outwardly express in a human string and shape them. I take out the useless chunks of meat… and fill their insides with the emotional baggage I’m carrying. I can breathe easy after I indulge in my craft… That’s when I feel alive at last.

Do you see how dear the puppets are to me now?

Stuffing your emotions in them, huh…

I don’t understand it, but I won’t bother giving my thoughts on it~ I’m still not very happy about what you did to Roland, though.



You said he burned down your whole lab, yeah?

Yes. My son was lost in that fire, not a piece of him left to salvage. …Are you trying to express sympathy for me?

Nah~ We aren’t close enough to worry for each other.

I was just curious~ I wanted to know if vengeance was your only goal in coming here.

Although we have minor differences, all the members of our ensemble strive to reach the same place. Vengeance pointed at Roland was only an intersection we happened to come across on our way to it. It was never at the center of my motive. Well, thanks to him, I won’t have any regrets making my way through.

It’s tragic that we all have our own little stories, isn’t it? We can’t be free of guilt no matter what we do.

That’s precisely why one has to focus solely on what they want to do.

I too wish for a world in which individuals are free to express the flavors they want to exude~ But, is that freedom really the kind that frees one from all responsibility of what they do?



There’s a limitless range of dreams individuals want to bring out. And you must know that the possibility of pursuing your own freedom while you consider everyone else is nothing short of a myth. If one were to take into consideration the width of the potential each person has…

…Never mind, that’s for you to think about. After all, that’s not the kind of world I want to see. I’m not here for a leisurely debate, so let’s get to business now.

Yeah~ That is a good point.

Well then, fellows. As usual… let’s receive our guests.

Music: The Reverberation Ensemble (Briah)


Thought you'd never give the word. Puppets like these were what woke us up, you know.

I gotta' admit, I wondered how strong these things really were…

Yesod made it look pretty easy!

Then why is my hair going off..?

…Quite a varied bunch you have there.

Yes, they're all quite lively, aren't they~?



Jae-heon is another of the Shimmering bosses, who acts as a support for his Puppets. He starts combat by stringing each one up, and the first phase of the fight revolves around removing those strings and defeating the Puppets. Protective Puppetry gives him Protection and Stagger Protection for each living Puppet, which combines with the usual Nuovo Fabric to make him hard to damage until we've taken a few out.




Three of the Puppets are upgraded versions of the Puppets we fought a lifetime ago in Urban Nightmare. They still have the Puppet Skeleton passive for +1 Power to all Blunt dice, and the advanced ones still have their conditional bonuses to Stagger Damage. They gain more HP/SR than the original fight, and also each gets two new passives. The first is a universal passive on all Puppets: Manipulated Flesh. This passive locks their HP to 1 when we would destroy them while they have Puppet Strings on them, and then restores their HP back to half 2 turns later.

The second is a unique passive for each puppet which gives them a bonus while they have the aforementioned Puppet Strings. The Weighty Puppet gets 1 Strength, the Nimble Puppet gets 1 Haste, and the basic Puppet gets the 2 bonus SR that Weighty Puppet gets for free. It's… It's doing its best. If it was just these three, this fight would be pretty easy.

But then there's her.



Puppet Angelica is a major problem in this fight, with her having 1 Speed Die more than the other Puppets from the start. In addition to the usual Puppet Skeleton and Manipulated Flesh, she also has both the bonus passives of Weighty Puppet and Nimble Puppet. Finally, there's the special ability she gets when she has Puppet Strings: 1 Strength, Endurance and Haste will make her generally better. Thankfully, she's the last enemy that Jae-heon strings up.



Speaking of Puppet Strings, we'll cover them now because they're everywhere in this fight. It's a status effect that makes the holder functionally immortal—they come back after 2 turns if they'd be killed. For each stack of Puppet Strings we cut, the enemy loses 8 HP. Finally, each stringed Puppet gets a bonus Speed Die, which will use a specific special attack every turn.



The three normal Speed Dice on the three old Puppets all use attacks from back in Urban Nightmare, and they're… less terrifying than they were back then, but Puppets were a little overtuned so they can still put out some damage if we ignore them. Forceful Gesture is still strong, of course, and the Weighty Puppet also has access to Repressed Flesh as well, which is still the biggest threat from any of those three opponents.

I won't say anything more about them here, as nothing has changed about them. Let's focus on the new mechanics, starting with the Puppet Strings on the base Puppet. For every Puppet that has Strings, Jae-heon gets a unique Counter page and the Puppet gets a unique attack.



For the base Puppet, Jae-heon gets Tugging Strings, and the Puppet gets Puppetry. Puppetry is a mediocre attack that can hit for bonus SR damage due to the Strings passive, and the Tugging Strings Counter Dice aren't particularly large either. The first die will lower the base Puppet's String count when we beat it in a clash, and this mechanic will stay the same for every other Puppet as well.



The only real attack that Jae-heon plays during this phase of the battle is Assailing Pulls. This page is a couple of small dice, but most importantly it applies Red Mark to one of the allies on our side of the field. At no point during this fight do I think to see what Red Mark actually does, which is a shame.



This is because I probably would have liked to know I was about to get Index Targeted on my lowest HP Librarian. This only applies to the bonus pages and Puppet Angelica, but it's still very dangerous. Speaking of Puppet Angelica…



She's leading with a pair of Gh..Gigi..Gig. This page is a level above any of the basic 2-hit Puppet pages, and it's her Light and Draw page. She's the biggest source of damage throughout this fight.



Anyways, for now the plan is to Clone my important pages while I try to take a chunk out of the Puppets. In hindsight I should have made an attempt to break Jae-heon's Counter dice, but I didn't think to focus on him yet.

Now… it's nothing personal, but I need you to get out of our way.

I'm afraid I must return the sentiment, dear guest~

Don't be silly, this guy isn't a guest at all. He's just an intruder.



There's no need to be pleasant with any of them.



Make sure to look out for the one with hair, though… It's definitely not like the others!

No, she wouldn't be… But it's fine. That thing isn't nearly as agile or powerful as the real deal.



So you're watching as well? But don't you have something to get ready for~?

That doesn't matter. I can't be there for it myself, but I want to watch this bastard die.

That's good… Until you can feel even a fraction of my pain, I want you to suffer.



Until your heart is lost to endless sorrow.

I hope it hurts, you son of a bitch.

We shall see.



The Nimble Puppet's duo activates on turn two. Thin Strings is a decent Evade die and a weak Pierce die, with the Pierce being the target to lower Nimble Puppet's string count. Its version of Puppetry is the weakest offensively, and if we're going to ignore any of them this is the best one to let pass.



Uu…Ghghgh…, meanwhile, is another attack from Angelica. It has a single big die that breaks the next die on our page if it hits, and a block die following it up.



Huh… my hair's going a little harder than it was before.

There's a little red thing on you now. Maybe it's a target?

Just try not to get hit too much, you'll be fine.

Yeah, I'll do my best.



Don't like the way they're all coordinated all of a sudden.

That's the strings. The more he takes direct control, the better their movements will get. If we cut them… it should get easier.



Then leave it to me. I'll snap as many as I can!

I'd prefer you did no such thing.



They're my splendid creations, after all.

One little note that I love: whenever Jae-heon manages to use one of his Counter dice correctly, the Puppet associated with it comes to his defense. Man's never fighting alone.



I wouldn't call them 'splendid' so easily. They're just the ones that stayed with you this far. Pretty sure we've already been the death of a dozen or so of these things so far.

They served their purpose… and those First Class bastards aren't alive anymore. We all got what we wanted out of it.



These ones are a cut above those, though.

Gah!

Oh..! Good hit! You knocked him right for a loop!



Should you really be rooting for them, Kit?

I play every side, you know!

That won't stop them from killing you.

Oh, we'll see about that!



Our new pair here are Durable Strings, whose Blunt die is the one we need to break, and the Weighty Puppet's Puppetry—which is actually a weaker attack than most of what it throws out. The Paralysis is a problem, though, we want to block this.



Seems like they're all focusing on me, now.

What, are you worried?



Nah. Just means they know who the captain is.

Despite her HP being higher than Seyser's right now, Red Mark pays attention to the HP at the start of the turn—Sweet Pea was the lowest then, so now she's got everyone's focus.



Raging Storm: Love is a great page to use in this fight, letting us break a number of dice on the enemy's side of the field as early as turn 2. Mass Attacks in general are really good here, since there's five enemies to target at once.



A brilliant blaze, to be sure… but flesh doesn't burn well.

Hell!



Don't worry about it. Just dodge out of the way and you'll be fine!

Yeah, turns out that ain't so easy!



I can only focus on so much in a fight like this… and—

It turns out tanking hits is more important?

Cram it, Tweeds.



Don't worry, I've got your back either way.

The two of you are finally getting along, after all this time~



Don't get carried away now, boss. Soon as this fight's over, we'll be right back to arguing.

That could just mean you're close friends as well~

Like you and Gebura, eh?

…Something like that~



I put Cardiae on Twee here, which does shut off her +1 Power from Yan's Keypage, but it'll let us get -1 Light Cost on some of our big pages.



…To wit, GIANT SWORD

Since slashing's working so well, I'll use the good stuff.

Then I'll have to do the same.



My magnum opus at her very best.

Rot in hell, you twisted ass.

No, thank you.

The final duo is Unique Strings and Angelica Puppet's Puppetry. Unique Strings is yet another Counter page, and we would ideally break that last die ASAP, but because of how Jae-heon's Counter dice work out it winds up being the very last one in the entire queue—this can make it hard to actually get at while others are still stringed.



As for Puppetry… it's the most dangerous page in this entire fight. Because Puppetry is always put on the highest result Speed Die and Angelica's Puppet with Strings has at least 1 Haste to make her Speed range 3-7, she has an incredibly high chance to set it on a 5+ speed die. Angelica's Puppet is also the one who gets assigned the +1 Strength Abnormality Page from the enemy's Emotion Level, giving her a natural 2 Strength and Puppet Skeleton to turn the page into a trio of 10-13 rolls. It's incredibly dangerous.



As shown by her effortlessly deflecting a Distorted Blade.



Ah, man… she looked up. At least I got the fast one.

Don't let it get to you. I would've looked up too.



This weighty puppet only needs a little push now.

So you figured out how to deal with fire being bad on flesh?

Yep: Burn hotter.



Once you two are done, I wouldn't mind someone covering me here. This particular puppet is a bit troublesome~

I'll be right-

MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!



I've gummed her up with the good smokes! And now I'll help myself to that captain role, thank you!

It wasn't up for grabs, Kitten!



Then why am I over here staggering these giant puppets?!

…You like contributing?

Muahahahaha! Hilarious.



Hey, guys, if you have a second..?

Ahh, looks like you didn't knock the right one for a loop.

Infuriating, isn't it?

For me, maybe!

Well, now that we've stunned three of the Puppets… Maybe I can get some shots in on that puppeteer.



I wouldn't count on it, lass. Even if they cannot move… I can still move them.



We've finally gotten some breathing room… let's take advantage of it.

I wouldn't be so sure about that~

Me either. Something feels off.

You're more perceptive than you seem. Yes, it's important to let the strings loosen…



Before they tighten around your neck.

After stringing up all his Puppets, on the next turn Jae-heon will use Drawing the Strings Taut. This restores 1 Puppet String to all his Puppets, and hits us with a pair of Mass Individual dice that inflict Bind. This can cut our speed down and prevent us from redirecting Puppet Angelica's attacks, which will in turn lead to whoever has the Red Mark getting the heck beaten out of them.



Okay, so here's the plan: Take out that crazy puppet now, and then while she's reeling we'll take advantage of it to finish off the puppetmaster.

You sure? You're looking pretty rough.

I just won't get hit. It's fine.

I've made a terrible mistake here, see if you can spot it in all of the Dice Spaghetti.



Just a little tug…



That's all for his attack. It's time to press the offensive, everyone~

And that means it's my turn!



Dammit… I miscalculated.

If you guessed "You completely ignored the single most damaging page in the fight," you're correct!

Looks like I'm sitting the rest of the fight out…

Darn it, Sweet Pea..!

It's fine. Kitten, I'm putting you in charge.

Finally! The respect I deserve!



We're not following that order.



Says you! I'll have you know I have a brilliant idea!



Does it happen to involve a fish?

It might just!

No.

But I've staggered that troublesome Puppet. It's the best time for a good plan.



Fine, I'll play along. But only because we're in a bit of a bind here.

You recognize your position… Good. Then I'll spare you the explanation.



I slap A Warm Heart back onto Twee. She won't get a lot of use out of the Power ability, but I was focused primarily on restoring her +1 Power from Yan's page and this was the best way to do it. If she gets the extra bonus, that's just icing on the cake.



Nobody asked you for an explanation anyways! There's five of you, and four of us, so the obvious solution is to do the obvious solution!

Okay, I'll bite: What's the obvious solution?

We do what any good boss fight does when we're angry at the player for cheating, of course!







We spam massive all-target attacks.

Is that really even a 'strategy?'

It's certainly got the shape of one, at least~

Hey… why's this thing on my wrist blinking?



Thanks to Life Insurance activating we've got a trio of good Mass Attacks to use, letting us try and put all three Puppets back down as soon as they get up.

Hey puppeteer! You wanted to be free, right? Well you know what happens when you push it too far and the GM gets sick of your shit?!

This isn't a game, brat.

Bzzt! WRONG!! I'm sorry, the answer we were looking for is…



ROCKS FALL, EVERYONE DIES!!! Muahahahahahahaaaaaa!!!



I'll make sure we all still have options after this is over~



Thanks, boss.

Well? Well?! How's that for captaining?!

You're just gloating about what happened after you made that undead army.

And it was useful.



Oh… I think I got it. Push the wrist, this thing comes out…



And then blow it on them to recover. Nice.

Because the Puppets come back with only half their max HP, it makes them quite vulnerable to Mass Attack spam.



Geh..!

You still alive?

Yeah! We didn't get all of them, though.

It'll be fine. That quick-moving one is less of a threat than even the original model~



And with the puppets on the backfoot, that finally opens you up to attack.

Hmph… As long as they exist, I'll be protected.



Protected, but not invincible~ That gunk from Twee's sword sinks into you same as anything else~

Scratches like this aren't anything to cry over.

True enough… But I think we've finally finished cutting the strings on one of your toys~



So, how was it?! Brilliant, I know.

It was a good start, but we're not out of the woods yet.

Right! So after I survived the first set of rocks, what'd you do?

Ah.



At this point, SeyserKoze is low on HP and being Red Marked to draw all of the aggro from Angelica's Puppet. My brilliant idea here is to grab Oblivion and use it to fully restore his Light while also recovering HP and defending him from attacks this turn.



I'm going to hide for a minute. Don't worry about me.

I wouldn't. A trick like that almost definitely won't work.



Seyser, she's still targeting you.

Son of a… How's she still see me?

She's… Well, that thing's a cheap copy of someone who wouldn't be fooled by something so simple.

Truly a masterwork, isn't she?

Shut the fuck up.

Unfortunately, Red Mark takes priority over Oblivion, meaning Seyser's still about to get his head bashed in, and I can intercept at most one of those pages. :shepface:

Hey boss, I need a second to recover before I can launch another of those swords.

I'd say we all need a moment to recover, don't we~?



Don't you worry, I'll take care of it. I've always wanted to be the one making the rocks fall.



I decide the best option here is to leave Seyser's life in the hands of the Numbers I played earlier, and to focus on Jae-heon.

Hold on a moment! I've got a vital proposition.

…



Thank you for waiting. Now, as you'll notice, I'm in a top hat.

…And?

That means I am clearly in the employ of this fine dice-and-card based establishment. And because of that, this means that you, sir, are the challenger. And you know what happens if you spend too long challenging a gambling den, don't you?

…

My dear masterwork. Kill them.

That may be difficult, sir! For you see:



Eventually, the house always wins!

Oh, you got one. Nice work~



Let's not miss the chance, Twee~

Ye…yeah. Let's do that.

I can see you're awed by another work of my linguistic mastery!



First the fish and now this… _{You know what, at least we're on the same side this time.} Hey Seyser! You still alive back there?!



Somehow… I'm surviving…

Persistence keeps SeyserKoze moving here, restoring him to 30 HP instead of killing him off.



Perfect. Just leave the rest of this to us!

That damned goo again… This tugging, leading me to places I don't want to go.



Yes, that's called a 'railroad.' Twee's very good at them.

Hey!



Only something that can move within the cracks of that reality could ever properly disrupt it, and that's really your problem: Ultimately, you're too straight laced!

Ghh… No, my creations are certainly more than a match for you.

Muahahahahaha! Then let's see how useful they really are!



Well… we certainly took the long way to get here, but I think we've arrived at the end of the fight. Good work, everyone~

Yeah. Let's finish it.

Defend me, puppets… Once I can move again—

You don't understand.



We're finishing it.



The problem with going for Magic Trick is that it's a level 3 Abnormality Page, and full fights like this are simply too slow to let us get that far. Even taking a loss, we weren't quite able to do it—though if SyeserKoze had died as well, Twee would have been able to spam four copies of Distorted Blade as a final action.

…Not that it would have mattered, given that we've won already.



There's those strings cut… and one of the other Puppets handled, too.

Then finish this damned fight so I don't have to look at that thing anymore!



As you wish, Roland~



Feel better now~?

…I'm going to sharpen my swords.

Right. We'll clean up here~



No need. It's already done!



Phew… finally over. I feel like I got carried to the finish line.

Oh, you did. Absolutely.

I'd say he gave us all plenty of energy to keep going, though~?

Then it's a good thing I'm the captain today!

Captains can't overrule Chesed, he's the boss.

Says who?!



The Puppeteer's reception is the hardest one in Briah, but this doesn't necessarily mean it's hard. Understanding how Red Marks work (and slapping some Bind on Angelica's Puppet to make her redirectable) turns this fight into something of a joke, as it's a hard counter to the focused targeting that serves as the main threat here.

Outside of that, Mass Attacks remain hilariously overpowered in 5v5 melees, so just use those. If all of the Puppets are defeated Jae-heon does have a second set of attacks he can use, but as squishy as he is compared to the Puppets with their Strings on this should realistically almost never come up.

Music: Result


Uugh… Underestimated their speed. Won't happen again.

I don't think it can happen again. This feels like the last time.

And all under my leadership. Splendid!

You're not the…

I said he was the Captain, so he was.

Still am!

Uh… boss, can you just name someone the captain already so we can resolve all of this?

I could… but you all look like captains to me~

Aww… that's sweet.

No, that's dodging.

I'd have thought you'd approve of that sort of thing~



With Briah cleared out, all that's left is the final layer. Keter is still locked, so we have to choose between Binah and Hokma. We get one last key page unlock here, so we're allowed to throw everything we have at these next two fights.

It's taken a while, but we're finally almost done with these invaders. Only three remain… Three more encounters… then at last, my book will be complete.

And then…

…I suppose we shall see. For now, I need to support Binah. She lacks the personnel to properly receive anyone.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: A one-woman Apocalypse.


Videos

Jae-heon Battle
vs Jae-heon (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

New Key Pages




New Combat Pages

Sooo in love with this LP. Been reading along for the last 1.5 years or so (since xiao's fight) and really enjoy this. I know you've gotten this a number of times over the course of this thread, but the way you capture the voices of the characters in the writing is scary levels of good - especially the extra writing for the abnormality fights is sooo enjoyable. It's also really nice to get some levity in from all the assistant librarians.

Anyway, super looking forward to the final part!

I'm sad that a lot of the fanart has been lost to the whims of discord imageserver though. The fanart is all so beautiful and funny and just an amazing part of this LP also.

Evil kit never ceases to be a strong contender for the best agent of all time

Anyway,


I think it's neat how, while they're still determined to fight to protect the library, the general pattern seems to be that the patron librarians aren't trying to change the ensemble's worldviews, but instead respecting their differences and agreeing to disagree. I'd go on about the theme we could draw from this but I don't actually have anything to say beyond that 00; I just think it's interesting

also, while I'm here, truly the most tragic part of Jae-Heon's backstory is the loss of his fabulous hair.

Never pass up an opportunity to draw such fabulous hair.

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 12: The Cooler Tiphxodia

Music: Ominous Ambiance


Ah… I guess we aren't making it through this floor for free, are we?

No, it appears not.

Let's not be hasty now. Say, miss, do you have any problems if my friends and I move along?

My duty is to receive those who would take from this place. One of you must stay. The rest may continue on.

In that case… Elena. You'd be the best for her.

Right. The rest of you go on ahead.

So you have chosen.



Miss Binah, should we get ready to fight?

That guy she's got with her looks… rough.

The two of you can stay where you are. Capture what is to come in your eyes.



I alone shall be enough.

VIDEO
Music: BinahBattle01


I bid you welcome, unfamiliar child.

Ah, you can skip the introductions. I heard enough about your kind and what you do here.

The power to manifest a physical space… I’d almost believe it if someone said this was a Singularity. A space full of stars… Like the ones shining over the City, huh…

I would like to hear what you think of the stars. They say stars are like a compass on the sky that gives guidance to people. In that case, are the Stars of the City guiding lights dictating where the City should go… Or are they representations of the City itself? Are these stars shining over the City, or is the City reflected in them…?



To me, a star is nothing more than a dot on the sky. And they give off a forbidding impression like they’re looking down upon us from the highest post…

That’s what a star means to you, I see.

Many alluring tales are told of stars, but when you observe one up close, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Isn’t that what a star is? I have no interest in such pathetic things. I didn’t rise to a Star because I wanted to.

Perhaps most beings who have become stars did so simply by following their wants, much like you did.

You’re right. I only did what I wanted to do, walking along a dry trail. We simply quenched our desires just like your kind always do, yet they feared us to an unreasonable degree.



But I suppose there’s no use in complaining about it at this point.

Then, I must wonder how you felt when you craved for human blood if you still consider yourself one.

Feelings? I just kill and be done with it. I’ve got to do something to slake this searing desire that gradually grows stronger. Ah, I guess I wasn’t always like this.

At first, for myself… I bit into the flesh of other humans and drank their blood for my own sake. The severe thirst was one thing, but there was also something I wanted to know. Have I become a beast that must feed on human blood like the others… Or am I just being a pathetic runaway, escaping from reality? Or, am I a mere human who has gone insane from the fiendish circumstances and twisted desires? I would continually ask myself that question as I chewed on their flesh. What could be the reason?

Maybe I was desperate to convince myself. I used to be an ordinary human being living an ordinary life, after all. Eventually, I found myself looking for a conclusion for a matter that won’t have one. I guess I still had a grip on my sanity at that time. Even as I shoved bits of flesh in my mouth from the irresistible thirst, I constantly questioned myself, telling myself that this was wrong.

Well, it’s all a story of the past. It’s funny to look back on those times.



I doubt your kind would’ve viewed us any differently even if I continued to think about it.

I don’t expect your kind to take a sudden shift and change your views on us or anything. If they want to live their lives as they see fit, then they won’t stop me from doing the same.

Think about it. We can’t roam the street in peace; we’re forced to live in the darkness. What sins have we committed to deserve this treatment? Why must we suffer to ensure that your kind lives a painless life?

We’re humans just like you. We just look a bit different. Seeing your kind lavishly pursue your desires while we’re left in the dark… It’s only natural for me to feel indignant, isn’t it?

If they won’t reconsider how they see us no matter what we do, we’ll gladly stop holding back and live as we like.

That is an intriguing tale.

Intriguing? Ah, whatever… If that’s how you wanna take it. What you think or what kind of world you want to make are all irrelevant to me anyway, no?

You would be right. Now is the time to fight for where you stand.

Be prepared.

Music: The Reverberation Ensemble (Atziluth)


…Hm. That's an outfit I haven't seen in some time.

It has been some time since I have worn it, as well.

I get the sense our meanings are different here…

If that is what you say.



Elena completely lacks special abilities, only being a Shimmering boss with Nuovo Fabric. This is because her mechanic isn't in her passives.



Her mechanic is wrapped up in the Color she brought with her. The Vermillion Cross has no abilities aside Shimmering, and this fight is about the interplay between Elena and the Cross's combat pages. They have some nasty combos, and we'll be dealing with them using only Binah today.

Retry Count: 15

This is not exactly the easiest thing in the world, as it turns out.



On the first turn, Elena uses two attacks that don't matter and Circulation. If Circulation targets the Vermilion Cross then it'll gain 3 Strength and Protection. Vermilion Cross at +3 Strength will annihilate our HP, so we're forced to redirect this page off of her.



Vermillion Cross is using Obstruct this turn in the meanwhile. This page makes Elena untargetable if any of its dice are left over. With us having to clash into Circulation, this is a guaranteed success—we won't have the dice to break these and mitigate damage at the same time. That's fine, because we're mostly going to ignore Elena outside of Circulation until this guy is dead.

This means we have one die to use to block one of the three attacks from the Vermilion Cross…



Two of them deal part Slash and part Pierce/Blunt, and Binah is nearly immune to Slash damage.



The third, Shockwave, is a massive Blunt die and thus we're going to destroy it.



On this first turn, we need to do two things: We need to lose with both of our Fairy attacks to generate negative emotion, because we need a very specific Abnormality Page loadout to deal with this.

Binah, there's something off with that guest.

Yes, that one seems to have been taken over by our foe.

He's but a puppet to our opponent's whims now, dear.

Our opponent was able to defeat a color… Will you be alright?

What do you believe?

…I believe you are making light of the situation.



I suppose you may be correct.

These attacks… you really aren't trying, are you. Must be nice to look down on people.



You are trying with all your might to overturn this City. It is my duty to serve as a wave, crashing down upon your hopes.

It's a position I know rather well.



As expected from a formerly-great Arbiter of the Head.

I am naught but what you see before you.



Right. You're nothing but veins and blood inside a sack.



Is that all you see humans to be now?

You stopped being human a long time ago.

Then what am I, in your eyes?

In my way.

We take Big Eyes here, the reason why it was so vital that I lose those two clashes against Circulation. Of my 5 total resets here, 3 were because I did too well and never saw this page.



You're reckless. Calling upon the power of the Apocalypse Bird…

But you will surely adjust things so that they work within the limits of this place, will you not?

That doesn't mean it's easy.

Then consider it practice, dear.



On our second turn, Elena is untargetable thanks to Obstruct. Meanwhile, Vermilion Cross is using only two dice—this is because he's got a trick like Tanya's, and the first activation is relatively kind.



Its name is Rampageous Strike, and when it hits anyone it'll follow up on another one of our Librarians until it hits everyone. Degraded Pillar will eat it same as anything else, so we just have to make sure to throw one at this whenever it appears and we'll never take a hit from it.



Lone Fixer also activates this turn, meaning we're much less fussed over clashing with either of our opponents.



Quite an attack… but it's worthless if it will never reach its target.



How underhanded… but even as a bloodless shell, that man still can strike more than you can.

Do you think such a thing can fell me?

I don't think it matters… while I'm untouchable, I'll just have a taste of that blood.

Oh?



Did you really think that just because I couldn't target you, you would be beyond my attacks?

Hold on, isn't that Gebura's..?

I have appropriated a tool which I deemed useful.

The Retaliate passive is worth its weight in gold here, being almost guaranteed to stop Elena's attacks after Lone Fixer. Binah doesn't have any other Counter die options, so it was a must-pick.



Even that won't keep you standing forever. Little by little, you'll be exsanguinated.

I suppose I should take steps to prevent that, then.



This shall do nicely.



Long Arms will protect us from the Burn damage that the Vermilion Cross throws around, and this is the only function it has in this battle. The other status effects don't show up here.



It's another Obstruct/Circulation turn here, so our hand is a little forced. Even with our +3 Strength, we don't want to give the Cross any bonus damage when we're staring down the barrel of five offensive Combat Pages, even if Elena's are a little…



The HP recovery of Sanguine Nails and Siphon are certainly okay, and Siphon will halve any status effects on Elena, but they both have Slashing dice and we can basically ignore Slashing dice. It's like she's perfectly set up to counter Fairy, but forgot to counter Binah's base stats.



Again and again you try, but I will not allow your tactic to see the light.

You only have so much attention. By stopping me, you're opening yourself up to attack from—

Do you know why it is I prefer to remove the limbs from my opponents?

What? How am I supposed to have any idea?



It is because I myself only need one hand to stop either of you.



What does that even… no, it doesn't matter what it means, it's all rubbish!

If that is what you say.



All you do is ask leading questions that don't mean a damn thing, trying to make people overthink. Interpretations don't matter. Blood does—spilling yours. Drinking.

…I see.



Then, come.



By the time I'd feel comfortable using Small Beak, the fight will already effectively be over—it's basically a tickmark as part of our strategy here. Grabbing it means the hard part is over, we just need to survive a little longer and our Positive/Negative Emotion Coin balance no longer matters.



As you wish.

Binah, you won't be able to stop her Circulation this time.

I am quite aware of that, dear. It's her other move that intrigues me. It seems like a storm to be weathered…



Bloodspreading is Elena's ultimate attack, a Mass Summation page that she throws out every few turns. It recovers HP based on the damage dealt, so if she manages to hit a full five-person group she can easily get back nearly a full quarter of her healthbar.



I shall try E.G.O for myself, then.

Please do. I've wondered if it has blood as well.

…Hm.



24 vs 21. Beak was a 20-26 roll with Lone Fixer, so this was really



Jaws fire up from beneath, chomping down on us. Elena's already nearly at full HP so we don't need to worry about her healing—another reason to focus down the Vermilion Cross first.



It seems they don't have blood after all. Only mine left my body.

Did you get hit on purpose..?

There are many mysteries about E.G.O, even to me.



You won't have the time to find out the answers… You're already about to bleed out.

Yes… How unfortunate…



…That you have let the only chance you had at victory slip between your fingers like the tide.

Tilted Scales will be keeping our health up for the remainder of the fight.



Huh. So you can say something decisive.

Indeed, I am able to speak as plain as anyone.



This turn, Elena's using Inject. This move will give +3 Power to the Vermilion Cross for the rest fo the turn if she hits us with it, and while her Speed for this attack is only a 2, the Cross's turn is mostly going on 1.



We can mitigate this by just attacking all of the Vermilion Cross's dice before Inject goes off—it doesn't matter if the Cross gains 3 or 300 Power if it doesn't have any attacks to power up.



For instance: that strike will still never reach.



And while you may struggle against the tides…



You do not have the breadth of gaze necessary to grasp anything.

A stiff breeze will be enough to slay you. You're puffing up for nothing.



You are too caught up within your own perceptions. This world is made up of countless manners of thinking, and you consider none of them. Ultimately, that is your weakness.

What in the—I know you were practically dead a moment before.

Indeed, had you left the fighting entirely to your shield, I may have been in real danger. However, the scales have tilted once more.



No… perhaps it would be more correct to say that they were always tilted. From the very start, there was only ever one outcome.

Hovering back and forth on the edge of death… coming back only to be shaved again… You're using blood as well.



If that is—

Enough bullshit! It's what I say!



Yes. I agree.

When fully activated, The Beast isn't quite as absurd as Tiphxodia at its full power. However, it has several things going for it. First off: it gives her one-sided power nullification. The enemy's Strength and Endurance don't matter at all anymore. The second ability also gives anyone who who targets her or is targeted by her a sort of super Paralysis—all of their dice lose 3 on both their Max and Minimum rolls. Finally, it will fully restore Binah's Light every turn and deal 15 damage to everyone on the field who isn't her.

This means that Tiphxodia will lower enemy dice rolls by more, giving everyone a -5 to all dice at the cost of losing to Power Nullificiation pages, while The Beast will not kneecap our allies (aside 15 HP/turn, which we can heal off) and works just fine against Power Nullification.



Binah, this power…

Are you worried for me, dear? I am unused to such sentiment.

It isn't that… You're going to tear apart the entire floor if you stay in that form for too long.

I see.



I shall ensure that does not come to pass.



This damn forest again… It didn't do anything last time, but…

Now… to begin the end.



You wield this husk as a weapon. I shall claim it.



Hold on… There's no blood left inside of that thing anymore. How are you still taking vitality from it?

This is the problem with only being able to see a single point of view..



Assumptions and limits form within you, and you become unable to adapt to the shifting tides.



And there is only one fate for those who cannot adapt…



Though such a fate inevitably awaits us all regardless of our efforts. Perhaps it is simpler not to claw tooth and nail in search of a nebulous truth.

While the screen blurs out for the damage portion of Justita, rest assured that it dealt a lot of it.



It's really something, the way you talk about viewpoints when you can't understand what it is to be a bloodfiend. Must be nice to sit on your ass and spew moral tripe when you've never felt it. The thirst… the need, overpowering everything else.

I merely wish to observe the truths of this world, including one which has eluded you even now:



That a shield could never defend against the ocean.

What?!

At the end of the turn, the Vermilion Cross takes 15 damage from The Beast and another 10 from Fairy stacks, finishing it off. However, it used Obstruct and we didn't clear off the Counter dice before the end of turn. Because of this…



We've left ourselves with only one enemy, who is untargetable. Elena uses this opportunity to bust out another Bloodspreading, but that's actually a good thing for us because we resist its damage and our automatic Counter die can crush her other page easily.

With the greatest effort it could muster, it has granted you a final reprieve. Do not try and run, such an outcome was stolen from you the moment you stepped foot in this place.

Well I'm sure as hell not going to surrender.

No, I would hope not.



Give me that taste of life… that joy du verve which brings meaning! And then—



—Gah!

…I tire of this.



At this point the fight is over. All that we need to do is drain Elena's HP pool, and the fastest way to do that is Justita and its 10% max HP True Damage on hit. Against Elena, that's 40.



Just let me get in close… I just need one hit…



…How. How are you… It's like I didn't do anything at all!!

So you at last understand your situation.



Now, sink quietly. The waters of the ocean shall slake your thirst.

Such a worthless liquid could never—hrk!



I need… blood. Just a little more, and I can fight more. I can…



Just let me drink! I just want to drink! What's wrong with existing?!



Hush, now. There is nothing left. Simply relax… and feel yourself sink deep.

I won't… you've gotten all that blood back. All that… tasty…



Just one more taste. Then another taste. Until I've drained your veins again…



Until… I've had another drink…



…Just… one last sip… I just need… a drop…



May your rest be more peaceful, this time.



As expected of a fight that can be soloed, Elena isn't a particularly difficult opponent as long as we understand target prioritization. Because she can heal and Vermilion Cross can't, so long as we focus down the Cross and then Elena we're all but guaranteed to outlast her.

And thus, it is ended.

Indeed. All that remains is to clean her up and—

Come on, COME ON! PLEASE!

..?

Music: Reverberation Ensemble (Asiyah)




Too loud, Zaida… I'm about to collapse already…

Sorry, sorry, just. It just… it can't possibly survive past this, right? So finish the thing off.



Right… finally… it went down. Huff… Huff…



Okay… Time to wake the others… and then a little siesta…



Okaybossthejob'sdoneI'mgoingonbreakbye.

…

My apologies. I was distracted for a moment. Did anything interesting come of the fight?

Music: Result



Nothing in particular, dear.

In that case, you're dismissed. Good work.

Of course. I wish you success in assisting Hokma.

…Yes.



I've got your tea all ready, Miss Binah!

Excellent. And the books?

I'm getting them filed away now. You did a number on the floor with that bird… it was hard to find 'em.

Acceptable work. I require a repose… should we get any other visitors, handle them.

Okee-doke, Miss Binah!

Next time, on Library of Ruina: 52


Videos

Elena Battle
vs Elena (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

New Key Pages




New Combat Pages



Elena Exclusive:

Feny wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 06, 2024 9:33 pm

Sooo in love with this LP. Been reading along for the last 1.5 years or so (since xiao's fight) and really enjoy this. I know you've gotten this a number of times over the course of this thread, but the way you capture the voices of the characters in the writing is scary levels of good - especially the extra writing for the abnormality fights is sooo enjoyable. It's also really nice to get some levity in from all the assistant librarians.

Anyway, super looking forward to the final part!

I'm sad that a lot of the fanart has been lost to the whims of discord imageserver though. The fanart is all so beautiful and funny and just an amazing part of this LP also.

Don't worry too much about discord imageserver. I have all of the original URLs because I have the ability to edit the post, and thus I can post them on discord and the link will work again. Then I just download it, upload it to lpix, and BAM: I have a working fanart link.

I just haven't done that yet because it sounds like a remarkable pain in the ass, so I'm just going to do it when I do the next fanart update sometime around after we murder the shit out of Argalia (spoilers: he is getting the shit murdered out of him. I'm sorry if this ruins the gameplay experience)

I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed yourself though. Just a little more! (Well. "Little." Ruina's endgame....)

quantumpapaya wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 16, 2024 4:19 am

Evil kit never ceases to be a strong contender for the best agent of all time

Anyway,


I think it's neat how, while they're still determined to fight to protect the library, the general pattern seems to be that the patron librarians aren't trying to change the ensemble's worldviews, but instead respecting their differences and agreeing to disagree. I'd go on about the theme we could draw from this but I don't actually have anything to say beyond that 00; I just think it's interesting

also, while I'm here, truly the most tragic part of Jae-Heon's backstory is the loss of his fabulous hair.

Never pass up an opportunity to draw such fabulous hair.

speaking of good fanart

god I forgot to look over here since it's off my usual topbar right now since I have a very normal number of tabs open. But yeah, it feels like each one is manifesting the qlipha version of what the sephirot is supposed to represent. It's poetic because of course it is, this game was written by a philosophy major.

this game was written by a philosophy major.

that explains a whole lot, actually :P

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 13 x 4

Music: Ominous Ambiance


You're sure we're fighting the skull guy here, right?

Yeah. This part is always the same. They'll come around the corner in a couple minutes, and the old one will be asking about—

Why… are there… so many… stairs?

Perhaps it's to serve as another kind of defense. Ah, but look. Here we are, at another of the landings.

Ah… so we are. My apologies, Sir Argalia… I don't think I can join you the rest of the way.

Don't worry. We happen to need someone to face the Librarians here, anyways. I'll entrust that role to you.

Of course, Sir Argalia. Be careful.

Don't you worry. I'll get hold of the light and be right back.



Hokma's build is a meme with a use that will soon become clear.



Talow, meanwhile, is running the final form of Block Purple Tear. Bi An draws pages, Serpentine Barrier will break entire pages, and Ominous Power keeps our Light topped up no matter what we do.

As for the other three…



…Nope. Nope nope nope, we're changing out, now.

There is something problematic about our attire?

Smoke on one of you, another spreading Paralysis, and Morgan's got…

Another Time wrote:

Retry Count: 16. I forgot how the fight worked and did not expect two Distorted Blades bashing my face in on the same turn.

No. Just no. Don't bring anything that you wouldn't want to have to deal with coming back our way.

Oh… it's a mirror match, is it?

More or less. They don't have our Abnormality pages, but they can and will steal anything else.

Fine, we'll go boring.



This was also a mistake, but it's a livable mistake. Honestly, deckbuilding for this fight is a pain in the ass because it's the hardest kind of fight in the game: A fair one.



Are you all ready?

Ready as we'll ever be.

Can't help but notice you stayed out of the discussion.

I wished to keep an eye on our guest here until he caught his breath.

Then let us descend onto him in an unbroken chain of violence.

Yeah. Let's take 'em down.

VIDEO
Music: HokmaBattle01


You are quite the polite gentleman. This was unexpected from the Library that was rumored to be brutal. Not to mention, this place also has a… rather quiet and moody atmosphere. Not bad. The silence and emptiness makes it hard for one to believe that the macabre atrocity of turning people into books has taken place here on multiple occasions.

…May I ask who the people behind you are?

They’re the assistant librarians who shall aid me in receiving you warmly. You may introduce yourselves to each other.

But of course. My name is Pluto.

I've never actually been asked to introduce myself before… You can call me Robin.

Morgan. I'd say it's a pleasure, but… you know. The murder.

I'm Sephiroth. I was dispatched to be your death.

…Talow.

…I believe this was a floor dedicated to the topic of religion. What is religion in your view, if I may ask?

What could it be. I would say that it is what one firmly believes in, and a state of mind that gives motivation and significance to their deeds.

Is the power of a belief really limited to endowing one with such a mindset? Doing deeds for the good of this world doesn’t inherently make one a good person, and neither does committing a bad deed make one evil. Even if one performs misdeeds, they can be a virtuous person, and can be forgiven for anything…

I’d argue that belief and religion are what enables one to think that everything they conceive and accept is right. In that context, faith in religion has to be a truly selfish and cruel concept.

I suppose your statement isn’t entirely incorrect.

Do you agree with it?



Unsteady, you say…

…Do you have anyone or anything you believe in?

I cannot say for sure. I tend not to place faith in what I cannot see. In fact, I cannot be entirely certain of if I am here in reality or in a dream, or if I am actually looking at you or not. I even question the fact that I am here, standing on my own two feet. After all, it may be a mere product of an illusion.

Humans can fool their own senses; how can I believe in what does not exist, let alone worship it? That would be akin to sensing coldness upon touching a hot object, and vice versa. For instance, what if… there was a deceptive entity that masks one’s perception of the world with falsehood?

Regardless of the reality, if one perceives it in a certain way, that would become an undeniable truth. Even if it turns out to be false, the fact that one believes it to be the truth at the moment… remains stalwart. To believe in something, one must believe in themselves and their view on it.

You’re speaking specious words.



In that moment of the past, I was made a fool. The shallow promise that our safety would be secured… The thin piece of contract is what cost me everything. Had he not saved me, I might have drowned myself in resentment toward the whole world… and met my end.

…

And now, I plan to take the path he intends to open. If I had to state one thing I believe in… It would be Sir Argalia and the new world he shall create.

Let me ask you what makes you put faith in him.

If I can close my eyes and open them again to a new world forever devoid of lies… I will readily believe in him. And I hope you will come to appreciate the City when it becomes such a place.

I will refrain from stating my assessments. My opinion matters little to you, after all.

Well, if you say so. In that case… be prepared.

Music: The Reverberation Ensemble (Atziluth)


So… what will it be, then?

You place too much faith in what is and is not. Let me show you how fickle that all is. How easily your delusions can break down.



Pluto is invincible. He cannot take damage from attacks. He is also immune to any status ailments and takes no damage from Deflects for the entirety of his first phase. Starting from turn 2, he will summon Shades based upon all four of the Assistant Librarians. Defeating them is the key to getting to his second phase and breaking his invulnerability.

If you listen to what your senses tell you that's how the fight works, anyways.

Talow.

One-sided contracts. He's going to hit us with them, and they'll limit our options.

So it's how I surmised after all. Very well.

So what, we just grab the ones we want?

If you would, yes.

Ugh… I hate reading contracts, people always try hiding unfair terms in there. Okay, gimme a sec to look them ov—



Dibs on Swiftness.



Then I will take Might.



…Amplification calls to me.

Wait, seriously? I get Mr. Saw-this-already and the Hokma picking immediately, sure, but you too Seph? You know these are all a trap, right? Let me just read through them and—

We're picking fast because we know it's a trap. These all have some kind of bad terms in them, don't they?

Bingo. I made my loadout work around them, and as for the geezer…

I didn't have to tell him anything and he still recognized the one that'd work perfectly for him.

A showing of faith in my abilities, as it were.

Ugh.



I'll take the last two. That way, nobody'll have to think about it too hard.

Your funeral.

I'm not a fan of all the fighting anyways. If it happens, it happens.

Well, if you all know it's a trap, I don't have anything else to say.



It's time, then. We've decided.

Splendid.



Then you shall be held to your words.

The first turn is a massive setup, in which we're busy picking which of our allies gets which curse. The contract pages give a general idea about what they'll do, but they leave out some important information. Unfortunately, there's a bigger cost to these contracts than just their downsides.



Now then… it's a good thing I brought help along.

You didn't, though?

Can you say that for certain, or were your eyes merely lying to you until just now?

Oooh yeah, hate this guy.

They're duplicates of you all. Tread carefully.



Each one of the Shades copies one of our Librarians exactly, and adds these three passives. They steal our passives and our Combat Pages—they can also use the same page multiple times in a single turn if they want to, so don't bring any main deck mass attacks.

The astute player may already have figured out a way to cheese the fight: just bring terrible decks like the Udjat Trio are running right now.



Unfortunately, ProjMoon thought of that. In addition to our own Combat Pages, the Shades will use some of their own. Shaded Strike is a generically good 3-hit attack, which can swing over any of the options our trio has brought.



The other unique page they use this turn has 2 different types, but both work the same. Shadow Image will copy whatever page defeats its special die. Type 2 is the slightly more dangerous page, but they're both less of a problem than Shaded Strike.

Before we engage, let's read over the specifics on these contracts now. He was pretty vague about the downsides…

What, "evil counterparts" isn't enough of a downside?

Not to a contract Fixer. Those guys don't believe in mercy. Which is why I didn't grab one, by the way.

We'll take a close look, then.



Hokma's Might grants 2 Strength, with the caveat that if we should ever use a page with 2 or more offensive dice on it we'll be immediately Staggered next turn. Hokma's build is all single-die pages to offset this, and in typical play this works very well with Singular Strike and particularly Violet Blade.



I don't need to read mine, I know what it does already.

Did it get you killed?

It's the only one that hasn't, actually.

Talow's Swiftness is just a straight +3 to our Speed forever. It's great with Myo's Prowess or for ensuring we can intercept enemies. Because Talow has to clash in order to do anything with his deck, it's a no brainer here. There's a downside if we ever do any one-sided attacks, but:

-We have 0 non-Block dice in this deck
-The downside applies Feeble and Disarm, and this is Block mode Purple Tear so it doesn't do anything anyways.



Mine appears to be… complicated.

Amplification is annoying to play around, the best way to do it realistically being to build a Singleton deck with a variety of 0-3 cost pages to use. The +3 Power it gives is a lot in a mirror match, but honestly this one is just kind of a pain to deal with (as is arguably the case for all the pages I handed to the Udjat trio).



And I am… oh. Ah, hell.

Robin's purpose here is to take my two least favorite contracts and die horribly. Liberty will randomize the costs of all pages in our hand, but we can't play any pages with a specific cost between 0 and 3 or we lose 25% of our max HP. This is accompanied by Light, which will refill our Light fully every turn at the cost of requiring us to spend it all. The 10% HP cost per Light remaining is really steep, and dealing with this requires us to be building a deck with a very high Light curve—the theory today is to use the randomized costs to try and use as much Light as possible, but Light Recovery pages will actually hurt us as they give Light back before the end of the turn—we get dinged for each one.



Pluto's phase 1 is intended to be a test of deckbuilding: we have unique advantages against an opponent who will copy 4/5ths of our build with a couple of bonus options. Like with most challenging fights in this series, that gives us three main plans of attack to deal with it.

The first option is to engage with the mechanics as intended. To do this we'd be building decks to take on each of the contracts that are much stronger with them than without. Between this and our floor-specific advantages like Abnormality Pages/E.G.O we should be able to overcome the mirror match and proceed safely to phase 2.

The second option is to give everyone Block pages aside Hokma, and rely on him to do the lion's share of the fighting while any generated Shades are stuck using primarily worthless attacks. This would have been incredibly funny, but I didn't think of it until just now.

This leaves us with option three, which we haven't done in a while: introduce something to the mix which somehow disrupts the intended flow of the fight.



There's no need for you to do anything. Just stand over there and be quietly crushed from a distance.



Like there's any chance we'd do that, right?

We are in agreement, Talow. Everyone, simply wait for your time to counterattack.



Counterattacking won't do much against an invincible enemy.

It's true. Your attacks may as well be air—I cannot say for sure that I even feel them.



How do you not feel attacks? This hurts, you know?!



Bear with it. Such things are transient and fleeting… While I am eternal.

Are you..?

If I believe it, then it must be true. Right, Hokma?



It will be true as long as you are able to believe it so, at the least.

Then it shall be eternal.



Weirdly enough, Sephiroth's got the right idea. Kind of.

Pluto is immune to Slashing, Pierce, and Blunt damage, alongside any damage from status effects.

This does not mean that he is immune to damage, however: True Damage is none of those things and will work just fine. Because of this, Lean, Bloody Wings is a way to slowly whittle down his HP over the course of the fight.

This also means that there are two fights which are made significantly faster by using Dimensional Sections in this reception, which is two more use cases for Dimensional Sections than the entire rest of the game. I forgot to bring it again, but it is a very good idea if you're intent on playing the game competently.



On their next turn, Pluto and the Shades both come out with their remaining attacks in this phase.



Magic: Onslaught is a decent two-die page and there's really nothing else to say about it. I guess there's a Block Counter on it..?



Meanwhile, the Shades will periodically use their ultimate attack I'M THE REAL ONE!!!. It's a trio of 9's that will reliably swing over anything we have under a 3-cost page. They seem to use this page every couple of turns, or when they don't have a page to copy off of Shadow Image, or when they just feel like it. Because this page is so powerful I'd recommend avoiding bringing anyone weak to Blunt.



Hey, one thought and hundreds of boring words. You say you're not sure what you're seeing is true, right?

Indeed, everything can be doubted. Should be doubted. Your own senses are lying to you.



I'll hold you to your word.

I… felt that.



What sort of loophole are you trying to use, boy?

My buddy here lives within your eyes… desires your gaze. So if you can't believe even what your eyes are saying, who's to say you're taking it in your view at all?

Your argument is absurd.

Did I even make an argument just now? How do you know you're not hearing things?



Gah..! These guys are really angry all of a sudden… Was there another condition that we didn't notice?



You think it could be something like that?

This guy's legalese is mind-numbing. He could have hidden an entire goat cheese parfait recipe in there and we wouldn't have seen it.



Regardless, we are only able to accept this beating for so long. We should counterattack.



Yes, I quite agree.

I probably should have grabbed this on the first turn to get it online faster, but I wanted to start dealing damage ASAP. Anyways, Thirteenth Toll is going to put in some absurd work in a few turns.



Unfortunately, there's nothing to do now but wait for those few turns to pass by.



So hey, geezer. Are you doing what I think you're doing..?



I've no idea what you're thinking I'm doing, Talow. This is simply practice.

Then why are you practicing on the shade of me..?

Why, indeed?



Great… the old guys are being mysterious, and I'm getting my ass kicked.

If you merely perceived them as trite, they would cease to be mysterious. Time and again, the senses betray.

Then I'll perceive you as getting punched in the face!



Didn't feel it. Doesn't count.

Gaaah..! Not fair!



I grab Penance here, but really our Abnormality Page selections don't matter past this point.



Morgan's indisposed, and I'm going to need to buy a little more time before I can put an end to this. Robin, Sephiroth… One of you show them something he can't replicate.

Yeah… I'm about to bleed out, so…

Worry not.



I shall scatter them.



Even as the ground shifts under my feet… you've proven the inherent lie of reality, you know.

There's a quite reasonable explanation for it. Your senses are not lying to you.



You expect me to believe that you would summon something so grand to merely scratch at me? You must think me a fool.

Never… I would simply destroy countless stars to lay a scratch upon your cheek. That, I expect you to believe.

Hm.



If you want to hurt him, you could have taken this book instead.

I don't look good in purple.

Ah, of course.



Heck… maybe I shouldn't have cared about the print after all…

This is as far as you go, then?

Yeah… Kill one of 'em for me, would ya? I can't keep it up anymore…



…We'll need to settle the balance before things devolve further.

Couldn't agree more.



Then we'll have to act to that effect.



Two agreements in a row. Robin, take a memo.



I'm not playing along right now… I'm about to bleed out.

You serious? How bad is it?



Bad. I'm taking care of it, though.

Right, just make sure you don't get hit by the contracts.

No problem. I know how to count to six.



…I'm going to break the narrative here for just a minute, because I want to really focus on this turn. This turn won me the fight.

It is also in the top five most absolute bullshit turns in all of my Library of Ruina playtime, and given that I've played mods designed expressly to be bullshit that is saying something. I need to go through this turn in detail because what happens is simply absurd.

For now, please note that Robin has 2 HP, and is using all six of her Light this turn.



She leads with Penitence, restoring 15 HP and putting her back to 17 while downing one of the Shades.



Hokma hits a Boundary of Death, but it's on a ranged attack against an invincible opponent. He's just making time pass, don't worry about him.



Talow blocks enemies as well, taking the heat off of everyone and doing some more True Damage to the Shades.



Hokma does away with a second Shade…



And Robin takes out a third…



Before exploding at the end of the turn, from taking 18 damage. Why?

Bloodbath Update, ~3.5 years ago wrote: Light naturally regenerates at the rate of 1/turn. We can gain additional Light by defeating or staggering an opponent.

Because Robin kicked a little too much ass, she regained 1 Light from each of her two kills. Unlike the Light from gaining an Emotion Level, this Light comes back to her in the middle of a turn. As a result her contract assigns a penalty of 20% of her max HP, killing her for her trouble.

It's been a while since we've really seen it, but baby!



It seems her meager form could stay held together no longer…

It was a done deal the second she picked up the light contract. That thing kills everyone eventually.

And you said nothing?

I said "your funeral," didn't I?



Anyways, how much longer do you need?

…It will be my seventh attack. Two more rounds of melee.

Trivial. I can have that shade dead before—

Don't kill it. If we kill it, he gets intrigued.

What are you talking about..?

Oh, nothing real. Your ears are just lying to you again.

Cheeky brat.



I'm pretty sure you're the whippersnapper here.

I doubt that sincerely.

Yeah, heard that one before.



I am beginning to tire of this. If there is more to this fool, then let us slay this thing and be done with it.

Trust me: bad idea.



We finally max our Emotion Level here, and grab Sentinel. I also pick up Paradise Lost, but I don't use it here. This is because out of all of the fights left in the game after unlocking Hokma's E.G.O, Pluto is probably the worst place to play it.



Since we have another turn to burn and nothing interesting happens here, let's talk about Pluto's fight. There's an entire second phase to it, actually!



Upon killing the last Shade, Pluto will gain the This is Getting Interesting passive, which will change his Stagger resistances to Endured instead of Immune. He also gains a trio of new normal attacks!



With the first two, he'll trap someone in a barrier and summon a new Shade of them—the Barrier'd Librarian cannot move. This combines with his third new attack that comes out on the next turn.



That third one, Hex: Exchange, will swap the leftover HP of the Shade with whoever is in the Barrier. If we don't kill them quickly, then they'll heal and we'll take damage instead. It's rude! Finally, there's his ultimate attack that comes out once every 5 turns once he changes.



Deluge of Brachial Quietuses, or Shut Up Wave, is a decent Individual Mass Attack which can deal overwhelming SR damage back to Pluto if we block it. Because he's got 500 SR and only 200 HP the way the fight is supposed to work has us spending this phase juggling Shades while down one member and then deflecting Deluge to trigger Stagger before deleting him in one turn because 200 HP is nothing.



…But that's annoying and takes forever, so we're not dealing with it today!



It's ready.

Just in time… I've run myself ragged waiting for you, old man.

Oh? Then you're too tired to keep going?



Hardly. You always run me ragged.

Ominous Power only now starts paying dividends, but those dividends are incredibly helpful. Each one that we play allows us to play a Block page this turn, letting Talow continue to spam Bi An and Serpentine Barrier long after his Light would normally have run out.



Create space for me, I'm going to finish this.

Very well. Just this once, I shall allow you to take the best part…

How gracious of you.



Ugh. He gets to take the best parts, while we get our asses beat by the enemy.

I would think you of all people would be used to it by now.



It matters little. For all your tricks and all your looking for loopholes, my contracts are absolute. They cannot be broken, and thus I cannot be truly harmed while one of the Shades still stands.



Uh-huh, and my blocks hurt you because..?

Can you truly say I've been injured at all? You uncritically believe the evidence of your eyes.



You've certainly been injured. That much is certain.

Why is that?

Because I believe it to be the case. Therefore, I can also believe that the contracts you forge are not absolute.

And yet, you cannot say with certainty.

I do not have to, for there is another thing I can place my faith within.



I shall trust that the powers of this Library supercede your paltry reality warping.

Hm.



Boundary of Death + 13th Toll can deal tremendous damage to an opponent if you get lucky.



Remember, Toll deals damage based on the result of the die. It's possible to stack something like 50 Strength onto a BoD and immediately oneshot the enemy in a single lucky strike. We didn't get anywhere near those numbers (because it requires a stupidly specific setup and some luck), and even that is enough to deal a lot of damage. Pluto may have had 34 HP left…



…But we really didn't need to do nearly that much work. This chops off 116 by itself.



My faith was rewarded, it seems.

Hah… you seem so certain of that.

It matters not if this moment is truth, or if it is reflections on the wall of a cave. I believe that I have slain you. And your response?

…



…We have come to an accord.



And so ends a simple, foolish man.

As usual. More of us still standing than I'm used to.

Was it handled to your liking, Angela?

I never know when to interject when you are involved.

And yet, you watched over our fight just the same. But there's somewhere else you would rather be now, isn't there?

There is one threat that remains. I'll ensure our success.



In a vacuum, Pluto is a really interesting fight. He's a mostly-even match against our own pages, requiring us to make creative deck choices to maximize our advantage from his contracts while he plays a more background role until phase 2's attempts to control the battlefield and hit us with Mass Attacks. It is pretty cool!

However, at this point I had been going through these fights back to back for multiple hours—the Uninvited Guests is a long fight, and for an opponent of this complexity to come this close to the end of it is begging the player to go through burnout if they're trying to play through endgame in one sitting.

Good thing he's incredibly cheesable with Dimension Sections, 13th Toll, or good ol' Blockma strats!

Music: Result


…Bleh. We got him, I take it?

We did.

Contracts: Not even once.

Hey, I took out two of 'em for you.

Awesome.

So… you guys think we've done enough to break things?

Who can say?

It all comes down to faith.

Forget I asked.



Alright, guys. One last spurt! Argalia will be here any minute, so—

So stay out of it.

Huh? But…

I said, stay out of it. He's mine.

Got it. Clear out, everyone. He's all yours.

Are you sure that's a good idea, ma'am?

Who cares? I deserve this.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: Lone Fixer fails to trivialize a solo fight.


Videos

Pluto Battle
vs Pluto (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

New Key Pages




New Combat Pages

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 14: Black and Blue

Music: Ominous Ambiance


Roland, I don't believe there's any shame in requesting assistance…

I've got this. I know I've got this.



As long as that bastard doesn't get lucky, he can't touch me.

Retry Count: 17. He got lucky, we got Staggered, and I didn't bring countermeasures in the first fight.

With Roland's page having set Combat Pages, the passives are the only thing we can alter. Lone Fixer is basically required in this fight, and the Haulers are a good idea as well. With the rest of the points I slapped on Immediate Repairs and Madness. If I'd been thinking on it I'd have put on Electric Shock to paralyze Argalia, but I'm not thinking because I've been in this reception for around two hours or so by now.



If the lockout of everyone else didn't make it obvious, the start also calls out the gimmick. The reason this was a 46 Librarian reception is because Roland is doing his fight alone.

VIDEO
Music: KeterBattle01


What do you wanna hear? We both know each other’s goals.

You aren’t still being oversensitive because we hurt Angela’s feelings, are you?

Of course you aren’t. You’re just mad because a wrench was thrown into your oh-so perfect plan.

Rich coming from the man pulling this shit…

I wonder what you’re implying by “this”… Something wrongful? See, I can’t understand the distinction between right and wrong… The “right things” are ingrained into human beings in the name of common sense, hindering their progress and making them live unhappy lives.

…What horseshit are you spewing this time.

You know, what they often call “definitions”.

Why does time flow in one direction? That’s because you think time has to flow one way.



Maybe, it’s because there’s an entity that drew those lines so we can’t progress any further… Why is the concept of “rightness” trying to restrain human desires? Why is it impeding our advancement? Are the questions I asked. I raised these questions, and worked out an answer shortly after. And now… I’m going to announce it to all of the City.

So let me get this straight; you’re rambling that it’s possible to go back in time and shit if that mold is broken?

You’re wasting your life on useless ideas.

No. It will be possible. You just can’t get out of the mold because you’re firmly holding onto it, doubting the possibility. Without this mold, our ascent will reach infinite heights. This is no hypothesis, it’s a fact that can be proven. Having realized that, our ensemble now stands before you like this.

You talk big, but you just wanna get rid of the pain you’re carrying in truth, am I wrong? You want to crush me, the City, and most of all Angela for taking Angelica’s life.



I’m not planning to return my suffering in full.

Ah, I won’t deny all of it, though. Perhaps I did think of doing it at first. My only light was taken from me twice…

For a brief moment… I felt all kinds of emotions before that piano. Despair, obsession, rage, sorrow…

But, it took no time for those feelings to dissipate into nothing.

Everything… yes. Everything seemed beautiful afterwards. Was it truly a tragedy that I lost her? Who defined it as tragedy? Roland, you may still be blinded by wrath, but I made the decision that I will care not about those feelings anymore.

As if. You’re clinging onto the justification that it’s for Angelica’s sake even now…

That’s not it, Roland… I’m going to send off Angelica with this performance. I won’t be going on an unsightly rampage, unlike a certain someone.

That Angelica can justify the pursuit of an ambition tainted by unclean desires is just a dreadful excuse now.

If you realized that, why don’t you also drop the excuse about this being her dirge or whatever.

Humans can be so finicky, no? That’s why I’m preparing this performance. This performance will be my final enlightenment, and I’ll share it with everyone at the same time.

Moreover, this dirge will be the last thing I do for Angelica.



The existence of things we cannot understand is what makes life fun. I’ll continue to chase after what lies beyond my understanding after this. Which means I’m going to wield the power to ceaselessly move forward.

To do that… I’ll have to take the power you’re keeping in your storage into my own two hands, isn’t that right?

…

…Let’s end our affectionate conversation here.

…



How putrid.

…Shut up.

Music: The Blue Reverberation


With one final step, the entire City will wake up.

I said shut up!

I don't recall ever saying I'd listen to your requests, you know~?



Argalia is yet another Shimmering boss fight, and he keeps his Blue Reverberation ranged immunity from his last fight. This time, though, he's not playing around. He'll use a page called Resonate which will punish us if we have the wrong amount of Vibration on us, and his other pages will now inflict stacks of Vibration on us to that end. We can also see that there's a floodgate on his HP at 25, we'll want to be sure to save Furioso for that moment because it's probably a last stand.

That just leaves one passive left, since you've probably already noticed that Roland's got more HP/SR than he should have.



We're no strangers to duels, you know the rules and so do I.
Full Commitment's his last passive skill, you don't see it on any other guys.
And if you ask me what the skill does… Don't ask me, I can't fukkin' read.
Now he's immune to our freeze, and he gains 3 Strength each scene
Hope you remembered to put on Lone Fixer
But he boosts our dice and Light, so it makes this a fair fight
And it even boosts our HP and SR.

…I hope you liked that joke, it's the last one in the update.



Of Argalia's many attacks, the one I want to draw the most attention to is Unhinged Melodia. This one's second die will grant him 3 Strength if it loses, so we want to either use Roland's Wheels Industry to break the second die, Mook Workshop to clash with only the first die, or just let it pass and eat the damage. Any other response puts us in a pinch on the next turn.

He does not use this attack today, but it's a tricky enough page to be worth a mention regardless.



As for the attacks he is using, a pair of Preludio are his primary means of giving us stacks of Vibration—as a reminder, getting too much of this means that one of his other pages will be significantly stronger.

Dissonance, meanwhile, is a way to lower our Vibration. For now any number 2 or less is safe, and once we get later into the fight we'll be fine with any Vibration except for 1.



The numbers between Argalia's and our pages are very similar, so this fight is really about two things:
-Not getting Staggered.
-Trying to counter Argalia's pages with our own.

This first turn there aren't any complicated pages to keep in mind, the only thing we need to do is make sure to play everything we really can.



Oh my… first blood goes to you? Could I actually be in trouble here?

…

Right, right… you always were the silent type on a job, hm?



Why, the only time you'd make any sound at all was when something had cut you open. Oh… but you cried that time, didn't you?





I grab Pale Hands immediately, since Argalia is a single target and has a lot of SR to burn through. We'll be activating it 2-3 times a turn if we can land all our attacks.



Turn 2 he shows a new page: Scythe Slash. It's a trio of weak attacks, with two of them dealing a little True Damage.



Having played our draw pages last turn, we have enough hand presence to keep up with Argalia. Curiosity is actually not recommended here, as by the end of this fight we'll both have six Speed Dice to use every round and Curiosity sets our hand to four pages before draw. (Also we have to lose several clashes for it to appear, and we'd rather not give the Blue Sicko any wiggle room.) It's best to rely on Roland's natural draw power—he's got plenty.



While all of Roland's tools (except Atelier Logic) have their place, Crystal Atelier is arguably the most important page in his entire deck here. The chunky Evade die on the front of it is the only form of SR healing Roland naturally gets, so lining it up against an attack with multiple offensive dice is the best way to keep us from getting Staggered to chip damage.

The problem is that it's also an incredibly good response against a lot of other things Argalia has, and it's Roland's only counter die on top of things—basically, we just want to use it wisely. Here we don't need SR, so I just throw it at the thing with the biggest dice.



That noise deadening is quite annoying, you know…

The bullshit spewing out of your stupid earpiece needs a good quieting.



The vibrations will carry regardless.

Only if that scythe can touch me.



And I'm not in the mood to let that happen.



Our second page is a toss-up between Scars and Lies. I decide to go with Lies as Roland's 0-cost pages can't have their cost changed—this weighs the odds heavily in our favor.



I am immediately punished for this decision.

Slightly more annoying for us, the four pages on the left are the ones I still need to play to get Furioso online. We have plenty of time, so I'll just wait on that.



We've got extra Strength from Durandal, so we're going to be beating the everloving hell out of Argalia this turn no matter what we do, so we can wait a little longer to bust out the rest of our ordinance.



I don't like all that confidence in your step, you know. Perhaps I've let you get away with too much…

Right then. Let me remind you of the clear difference between us.

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's the difference between us.



Sword of Frost is the clear winner from our Level 2 Abnormality Pages. All the Bind will lock him at 1 Speed for the rest of the fight, meaning we'll get bonus SR damage on him and be perfectly safe from Vibration as long as we're at 2 or higher.



You've always been too caught up in your own conceptions of things to understand what I'm talking about.

And you've always been too much of a freak to be worth understanding!

It's really quite bold of you to say so, you know?



Resonate comes out for the first time this turn, and that +4 Power if our Resonance matches his Speed Die is massive. We're sitting at 0 Vibrations, so we're safe from the worst of this attack.



Trails of Blue is also still here, we'll be shutting it down with Wheels Industry's gigantic opening die.



I also get Atelier Logic out of the way. Its 3 dice make it very good defensively against any of Argalia's 3 die pages, but it can't damage him so it's just a purely defensive option. I prefer pages that move the fight forward.



From a certain point of view, I owe everything to you, you know?



I don't want to hear it again. Those people who followed you have nothing to do with me.



And yet, every one of them was somehow harmed in your thoughtless rampage of revenge. I wonder, is my dear sister truly smiling over your actions?

…Shut up.

You're still chained down by the past. You can't hope to walk forward like that.



I said shut the hell up!

…How droll.



Learning is insurance. It'll let us have a chance to stop any attack Argalia has, including his grand finale.

We are still saving Furioso for the climax, it's cooler that way.



Sequential Blitz comes out this turn, and it's a page that we really would like to have run into Crystal Atelier's Counter or Evade die…



…Of course. Played it last turn, and it didn't get drawn. Don't have Wheels either…

Anyways, we want to stop as much of it as possible (and especially the first die) so it's time for another Atelier Logic.



And with no Wheels we're going to Learn and pray on this Trails of Blue. We're far enough ahead that we can afford some more bad luck, especially since Argalia has to Stagger us twice.



I'm quite tired of playing these games myself, you know. You murdered my dear companions, and I'm not even sore about it.



They shouldn't have fucked with Angelica's body!



And you shouldn't have killed their loved ones. But it's all this and that, isn't it?



You lose yourself in your petty scheme for revenge, desperately sowing destruction everywhere you can.



It really would be better if you could let it all go. Break free from it, and move into the new world.



I don't want anything to do with your new world you sick freak!



I wasn't planning on letting you see it, anyways.



Both our Level 3 Abnormality Pages deal in Immobilizing the enemy. A Kiss is completely worthless as it only Immobilizes, so we take Blizzard.



The 6 Bind is technically useful, even if it puts Argalia from 9 to 15 total. Either way, his 3-6 Speed is going to be locked to 1.



All we can do now is what we've always done.



And while Argalia still has one more good hit in him…



He's close enough that we can finally Stagger him. The fight's all but over.



Die… die… Die you worthless piece of shit!

You'd like that, wouldn't you… But surely you didn't think it'd be that easy.



Come. One last dance.



Final Impromptu is Argalia's last page, and we have three options to deal with it:

-Use Furioso
-Use Learn with a higher Power bonus
-Die



We've got Furioso, so we're fine.



It's alright if you kill me here, you know.

…

Do you think she didn't tell me? About the secrets of this place… About what will happen from now on.

And that I'd already killed you once, the first time. So you see, I've nothing to worry about—



Shut up.



Shut up shut up SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!



Your bullshit dies here!



Your stupid plan dies here!



YOU die here, you fucking sicko!



And then… finally…



…Yes. Finally... It's almost over.



This fight can't realistically be lost if you bring Lone Fixer, the Haulers, and Immediate Repairs… The numbers are just too weighted in our favor at that point.

So yeah, just do that and win. Otherwise, try to use Crystal Atelier judiciously and keep your SR up to ensure that Argalia gets Staggered before Roland does.

Music: Result


You did well.

…Just us?

Correct. The others are on break.

…Mn.

VIDEO
Music: Entrance


Looks like their books are on another level, too.

This is the end of the Invitation’s guidance. We’re at our final destination.

Congrats, Angela. It’s finally over. You’ve got a human body, so you don’t have to live as a machine anymore, right?

Indeed. I am free now. All the Light has been reclaimed. I have gained a perfect human body… and freedom. I’ve made it with your help.

Thank you… Roland.

…All I need to do now is take my book from the Light.

Alright, guess it’s time for me to finish this, too.



Next time, on Library of Ruina: Orlando Furioso


Videos

Argalia Battle
vs Argalia (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)
Uninvited Guests 2

New Key Pages




New Combat Pages

Argalia Exclusive:

With the Uninvited Guests dealt with, we're finally done with the longest reception in the game. It is all downhill from here.

Yes, a very, very bumpy downhill... I can't wait. :shepface:


Anyways I'm taking the rest of the day off. Tomorrow I'll get the final Appendix done and then update the fanart post. I'll be fixing the discord-linked artwork in the post by grabbing the links, reposting them in discord, saving the image file, then uploading it to lpix to get a new link. I expect it to be a mild pain in the ass.

That's it for now.

Appendix 40: Reverberation Ensemble

Philip’s Page wrote: How much longer must I walk until I reach an end? How tightly must I shut my eyes, cover my ears, and zip my mouth to keep what’s around me safe before I can feel a semblance of happiness that won’t leave me? I thought I had to overcome this pain and rise above it to become a tougher man. That way, I wouldn’t lose those that are close to me. However, a human is fragile by nature; if one is too weak, they would crumble—and if one is too hardy, they would snap. I realized that there’s little I can do to calm the disorder of this world. How can I live on without falling to despair, then? A mind that is willing to let go of things that were destined to leave at some point. A mind that is content to have nothing. I feel that it’s important to refrain from thinking that anything is in my possession.

I followed your troupe in order to find a way to be happy, but what good did it do for me? Staying with you only exacerbated my suffering, defeating the whole purpose of joining you in the first place. I do want to add that you were not at fault here, though. I was the one who tormented myself. Had I known what I know now back in the past… would that have lessened the pain or changed anything? No, I don’t blame myself for the choice in that moment. Even the failures and misery of the past were all part of the voyage leading up to this moment, so I’m thankful that I managed to achieve something for once. I might have drowned in my own tears and sorrow back then, but ultimately, I’m grateful for the choice I made… and all the things in the world.

Eileen’s Page wrote: Where we live, there is nothing that can be achieved with your own will. A flow that we cannot go against dictates us. What we call “gears” are simply there to show the flow. You can’t see it with your eyes. Nobody knows who created this massive current, or why we must follow it. This flow never leads us to bad places, however. Rather, thinking that such a place exists is an act of defiance in itself.

We merely watch events unfold as bystanders. You walk along a path, but was it you who laid the path there? You didn’t teach yourself to lift your legs to propel you forward; they simply moved. Furthermore, the decision to walk wasn’t our own, either. Still too many believe that they moved their legs out of their own volition. It’s a shame to see them struggle to escape the flow, for they’re only straying away from salvation.

Greta’s Page wrote: It’s an era where humans are dominated by the act of consumption! When you’re hungry you get annoyed, and when starvation touches your raw nerve, you turn violent. That’s how humans are. And people who eat the same food will naturally grow similar. So the high and mighty beings that wanna rule over you demand ya to eat the “correct” stuff! When something’s “correct”, there’s gotta be something that’s “incorrect”. Incorrect food. It’s gotta mean humans eating humans, don’tcha think?

Why do people think that eating is natural, but then draw the line at eating their fellow man? Who decided it so, and why! Is it because human life is precious? That’s a flawed statement! What makes the lives of animals less precious? We’re not aboutta go down a boring philosophical riddle about the weight of life, now. If humans clearly have more value over animals ‘cause we’re the apex predators, then there shouldn’t be any problem with a pack of humans that rise above the rest and prey on others.

We’ve got two options! First: don’t eat anything. Hey, I’m not suggesting that we all starve to death. Your body is taught to eat! So what if you changed that habit? Maybe instead of food, your empty innards could be filled with possibilities of some other kind? If you ain’t a fan of that, then there’s the second option: eat anything! Just trace the smell of the blood, and stuff what you find in your mouth as your brain tells you to.

Bremen’s Page wrote: Let’s go on an adventure—a world that changes with every step. The me that changes after each step I take. My eyes dazzled by colorful light, I pursue pleasures that I don’t have. Don’t scold us because you can’t understand our pursuit. You just happen to be one of the many who feel joy from common things. We—on the other hand—don’t see any colors in those. You’re the ones drenched in nasty pleasures. We’re simply looking for what we lack. But complete satisfaction will never come; it’ll only sink deeper in the raging thirst. We will spend our days in yet grander debauchery. We’re happy, though. We can wet ourselves in new colors every day, unlike the rest of you.

T/N:<!-- Enivrez-vous, anyone? -->

Oswald’s Page wrote: People have hopes and dreams!
“I wanna eat three blossoms of flowers!”
“I wanna be a swifty nifty thrifty kitty!”
“I wanna earn a fortune!”
And then they add:
“Maybe I’ll find delicious flowers someday!”
“Maybe I’ll get fat stacks of cash in my paws someday!”
“Maybe I’ll be showered in the loudest applause someday!”
“Someday! Someday! Someday!”
That dastardly “someday” just won’t stop popping up. But to have a hope, you’ve got to prepare incense to offer those wishful prayers upon. A world where one can’t eat flowers! A reminder that you’re a sluggish turtle right now! The beggarly reality! Setting the stage for the performance we call hope!

Thus and therefore, people have the wrong idea about how to have hopes! If they believe that the hopes will come true “someday”, they’ll just keep parroting that contemptible word! The day will never actually come! Having expectations this way will only leave you with bitter anger!
“I’ll change someday?”
“That person will turn over a new leaf someday, if I count on them and wait?”
Nyeh, tch.
People entertain the hopes as they please, and then bite at each other when the change they expected doesn’t happen. Clowns can’t give out smiles in a world full of mean teary friends!

So we should all do the stretches, starting today! Abandon all expectation—just keep a merry positive attitude and laugh no matter what you see! Let’s make a performance about what’s already come true, not of a supposed reality you hope for “someday”! I’m already on the stage, standing under the brightingest spotlight ever.

Tanya’s Page wrote: Fighting for survival is a natural thing. Even now, we’re all in battle. There’re more people born than folks dying of natural causes, and the living struggle in their own positions every day. A fight to protect, and to avoid falling behind. Maybe it’s all ‘cause there just ain’t enough seats for the ever-growing population of humans to take? Sure, extra jobs and stuff could be made in the future, but that’s nothing more than a hopeful estimate that might not happen until it’s too late for you. The world we live in right now is what matters. There’s got to be a way to weed out the unfit without straining all of us. And that’s when strength plays its part.

I don’t get why you vilify this. Aren’t we all doing the same thing, directly or not? We elbow our way past others so we can survive, and the losers are knocked outta the race. You say this is fair, but say no to physical conflicts, to “respect life” or whatevs? Then lemme ask: what’s the reason to respect life? Do you think you’re respecting life right now?

Jae-heon’s Page wrote: Had I been busy with an urgent appointment as any other tragic tale should go, your death wouldn’t have felt so miserable. Yeah. I would’ve cried until my tears had run their course, and I would’ve been ready to send you off. It was an ordinary day. The sort of day when there were no meetings or gatherings to attend to after I came home from work. Your body was crushed beyond recognition—I couldn’t have noticed on my own that it wasn’t a random chunk of flesh. They put your remains in a stasis box and sent it to me; that was their gesture of condolence. I’d have refused to believe it was you, if it weren’t for the clothes. I spent hours sitting there in numbed silence, vacantly staring at a lump I couldn’t even dare to hug.

A stuffed doll you were carrying, now next to the box, caught my eye. Even though it was shredded and soaked in blood, the cotton filling was still clustered together, as if it remembered the volume of the doll. It seems some cotton remained even after the roller crumpled all the outer fabric. Then for reasons unknown, I brought the other dolls out of your room and cut them up with a pair of scissors. I don’t know what possessed me to cut them into pieces of fabric. There wasn’t even enough to fully cover the doll, so I scraped together the pieces of clothing to sew it back up. With the same, gentle hands that made your doll the first time.

The outcome was creepier than what it used to be, but it was the same doll I remembered nonetheless. The appearance didn’t matter. Maybe, just maybe, the same could be said for you? I gazed at the box where you, my son, rested for what would no longer be an eternity. My two hands were once so busy that it was a bother; they had paused for the time, but now they are about to move again—just for you.

Elena’s Page wrote: Bloodfiends. The beings said to have been punished with neverending thirst for the sin of lusting after human blood. That’s what your kind called us, condemning us out of fear. I was afraid as well when I faced them for the first time in that mansion where everything began. Violent beings who drank the blood of fellow humans. A growing feeling of unease about the possibility of being their next target. The people in the mansion were terrified of those who became monsters. Even though they were humans like us, they were outside of what we thought as the norm. In hindsight, though, it was such a silly thing to do. What is the illusion of normalcy that we feared for and fought for so strongly?

Let’s say that every human on the planet except for one turned into Bloodfiends, and that single person remaining is left “normal”, as they say. In that case, what would normalcy be like there? How must the lone human feel being the monster among the creatures they dreaded? Should they fight to their last breath for the “humanity” they kept for so long? Perhaps that’s become an obsolete ideology, one that’s no longer worth keeping. What if rejecting that old ideal and becoming a Bloodfiend opened up our potential for growth in numerous aspects?

Your kind likes to claim that something is out of the ordinary when it’s only different from what you’ve seen and experienced before. So you fear it, and try to exclude it from your herd. But you see, there’s no real justification for your kind to condemn us.

Pluto’s Page wrote: The world is one massive aggregation of delusions. A world where individuals can shape their own reality as they see fit. Every person is susceptible to deception, for they have knowledge. For that reason, it is impossible for a pure being untainted by knowledge to see the world as we mistakenly observe it, in the same way they cannot discern the end point of a line or tell between blue and red. A world devoid of wants. It would be unfit to call that place a world. In fact, to even call it a “place” would be yet another misconception amongst us knowing ones. The more one learns, the more delusions they invite.

However, if most people observed the same place and felt the same sentiments, then it might not be your own delusion after all. Wouldn’t you say so? For instance, take a look at the blue sky. The celestial dome is higher and farther than one can fathom, and as blue as it can be. Most will agree that the sky is tall and blue. Alas, those who think as such are ultimately within your view. It’s only natural that they agree with you as they’re figments born out of your delusional mind. Indeed, the sly entity that prevents you from seeing the world in its sincerest form would be none other than yourself. Even the holy entity in which you believe and to which you devote yourself is going to be a projection of your own self, so how can I trust anything that my eyes show me?

Argalia’s Page wrote: When I heard the news and rushed to the scene, only a hideous musician who had concluded his performance and permanently shut the piano’s lid with his torso awaited me. For the first time, emotions I couldn’t understand welled up inside me. It’s hard to define what they were, even now. It felt as if deep tenebrous stains were seeping out of my heart. Alas, I didn’t shed tears before that piano where your body rested—for I soon realized that you were no longer there.

That’s right; you’re the gentle breeze that brushes past my face, and the clouds that fly in the sky, which give me heed of your presence from overhead or underfoot. I thought you had left me, but you would always come back. That’s why I care no longer about the skin and flesh you wore only momentarily. Angelica. I’ll follow after the name you gave me: Uberto. You used to call me that down in those horrible underground chambers. I’ll create a new world… one where people can live bountiful lives even if they have nothing, free from obsession or greed. When we lose the fixation on our bodies, we won’t be afraid of death anymore. No rest will be eternal.

Fanart post has been updated. I will try to never wait a whole-ass year between updates again.

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 15: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!



The next cutscene actually comes right after the end of the last one, but if we back out we can come back later.

VIDEO
Music: Ominous Ambiance


You bet. The series of events leading up to this moment was the biggest gamble of my life.

I see. You helped me attain my freedom, but it wasn’t for my sake…

You just used me like a tool.

C’mon, don’t talk like you got nothing out of me. I never slacked off, y’know? I gave it my all to support you until you reached your goal. It’s mutual exploitation, at the very least.

Did you get the result you wanted?

Well, I got enough. The reason I’d come to the Library was to figure out the cause of the phenomenon that created Distortions like the Pianist. And to find out who was responsible for it.

As such, all obvious signs… point to you, Angela.



Why didn’t you try to stop me or kill me right away, then?

…First off, you were simply unkillable when I first met you. Second, I wanted to know why you made the choice you did. Third, I thought that maybe you could make a different decision that I couldn’t.

And fourth, to bring you the greatest loss—the greatest suffering… at the very end of it all. Right now, you’re completely human. You can feel pain as its whole, and experience death.

I learned here that you went through your own fair share of torment, frustration, and loss. I can understand why you made the choices you made. And seeing you start to contemplate your aim as time went by… I thought that maybe there was room for another option.

That maybe, just maybe, you might choose a different answer… And if you somehow did by that smallest chance… Then I might have been able to find a different solution myself.

But in the end, you didn’t.



That day, I swore to myself before that damned piano. I swore that I’d make the City experience the same sorrow of loss—of the frustration that I felt when it took my world away from me.

…The same as you.

…

Then… Who will pay for the misery I went through? There was nothing else I could do; all I knew was to make them suffer the same pain…

You’re asking me for an answer? If I knew the way… and if I could choose it, I wouldn’t have done this drivel.

I do know one thing for sure: This is what happens when you try to wash blood with blood.

…



No. You have to feel even worse than that. You took Angelica from me—she meant the world to me. I sat on my hands as I watched the people I knew die, and I even killed my old friend with these shadowed gloves, just for this moment.

All for this very moment… I’ve been suppressing my emotions, forcing a pained smile.

…Seeing you shed tears is an unfamiliar sight.

I’m done with the façade now. I’ll do everything I can—in ways beyond your imagination—to give you the most painful death possible. And I’ll do it right before you take the final step to your freedom. I’ll rob you of everything.

You’ll reap the whirlwind for what you’ve sown…



…What’s this now? You’re acting weak all of a sudden? Are you finally starting to hesitate when it’s almost over?

Nah… can’t be. You’ve got power and knowledge, and now a proper life as a living being on top of it… You just don’t wanna give up what you finally took hold of.

At least I used a method that isn’t forcef—

You used the same logic as when you’d stolen the Light. You used it to kill those who came to the Library in the name of fair price. You didn’t even stop to think about the consequences of your actions.



I don’t blame you, though. I just can’t. It’s how the City works… That’s that, and this is this.

That’s why I’m going to kill you strictly with the mindset of the City folk.

What I need to do is kill you and take my revenge; what you need to do is kill me and get the freedom you want. We just need to have a simple, raw state of mind as we fight each other.

So I want you to stop getting any funny little ideas and stick to your desire for freedom and vengeance.







Next time, on Library of Ruina: Roland tries to kill us because that is that and this is this.


Videos

Black Silence 1

I have finally, finally caught up with this LP in my own Ruina playthrough. This has been a whole-ass journey, from start to now. And man am I glad to have kept up with this LP and all its twists and turns. (A shame I can't make an account on SA, but it doesn't accept any of my usable billing methods. Oh well).

Seriously, this LP wouldn't have been the same without the threads and audience engagement. Hope there's still time for me to participate.

But regardless. I would go do the Black Silence reception right now, but I'm exhausted from shotgunning the last four fights of the Reverb Ensemble in a single day, from Chesed to Roland. Well, I say a "single day", but more like "Four and a half hours". With breaks, of course. So yeah, really excited to see how you're gonna go about it.

(Meanwhile, I'm gonna go the thematically appropriate route and download the Keter Unlock mod because this is my playthrough and I get to decide how I go about it)

I am proud to announce that I have managed to achieve victory in a grand total of three attempts.

The Keter Unlock mod allowed me to make one less deck for this Reception, and though this floor's track record was one of dying in the first phase in the first two attempts, well. Third time's the charm, and they managed to defeat two whole phases on their own. (Yan, Xiao, Irina, and Olivier, for the record. Didn't change anything about them in all three attempts)

I had two whole other floors prepared. The first attempt, I realized that I forgot to prepare more than one floor, so it didn't go past Keter. The second attempt, I fucked up and my second floor was wiped out instantly. But at least the third floor managed to last until the fourth phase. And in this third attempt. I didn't even need the third floor.

Whew. That was something alright, and now I'm deeply curious as to how TQ dealt with it.

And as the third of my posts, I bring some edits of mine as a commemoration of the Reverberation Ensemble's reception being finally over:

soulMatter wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 04, 2025 7:31 pm

And as the third of my posts, I bring some edits of mine as a commemoration of the Reverberation Ensemble's reception being finally over:

I like how furioso just kinda speaks for itself :P
anyway (pours water on Philip) (pours water on Philip) (pours wa

every single ensemble member has been bullied

now we must bully rolando

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 16: Denouement

Now of all times… And everyone is still exhausted… Still, I need to choose someone.

I believe I can help with that.

…Malkuth? What are you doing here?

Showing up to heroically save you at the last moment. Isn't it obvious?



Malkuth is going to be our go-to floor today, and because of that I'm slapping Malkuth herself onto Rapid Gashes Yujin—the HP boosting will keep her going long after anyone else would normally be dead, which is perfect for this fight as it's a single act with a Realization-level length.

Are you all ready for this fight, then?



Smoke_Application.dek. Bishop is in a support role here, painting targets for everyone else to deal bonus damage.

Dimi wound up being really mad about how things ended, so we spent… oh, a couple of hours just blazing through Phillip over and over. I won, of course.

The hell you did! I'd say I'm the winner with what I noticed.

I'm not in the mood for your eccentricities today. You have three sentences.



Dimi will be starting the fight today in Pierce mode, to double status effects onto the Black Silence.

I had a brilliant idea. It'll definitely put a stop to Roland's rampage. Also, we had Joshua dress up like Argalia.



Argalia.dek. Joshua has no intrinsic recovery, so we're going to be relying on +3 to all Slash dice alongside Argalia's powerful pages to keep him going for the entire battle.

Malkuth… Do you have it in you to fight a colleague?

I do. He's lost, and it's our duty to bring him back to his senses.

With judicious application of White damage, of course.

…Very well. I'll leave it to you. I need to think.

I really think that you should watch, Miss Angela.

I am in no mood to watch what is about to unfold.

But that's exactly why. This is the way things work within the City… You should take a good look at what comes of it.

…Fine. I'll oversee your work.

Alright then… Move out, team!



Music: Roland01


Sup, nerd. Nice mask.

…So this is her answer. Not that I left her any choice.

Everything I've done… it all led to this moment.

Even if there's nothing afterwards… even if it's cutting my nose off to spite my face…

It doesn't matter. These feelings, my anger and sorrow… I'll swallow them no longer.

It's not healthy to bottle things up for so long. Go ahead and let it all out… we can take it.

The Black Silence wrote: I could put up with it all just for this moment…

I’ve come this far so I can make her suffer the same… No, to bring her even more pain than what I’ve suffered.

I don’t exactly believe there’s happiness waiting for me at the end of this…

There’d only be empty regret. I’d get nothing out of it.

But that’s still better than suffocating under these emotions that couldn’t be let out, isn’t it?

I just want to be able to breathe for a second.

You’ve got your causes to fight for. Don’t hold back.

Few things could be more agonizing and detestable than finding a common ground between each other’s goals.

Angela. Your pain and loss will be much greater than mine…

…Alright. Let’s get started.

A single look at Roland's stats will tell us something incredibly important: He's been holding out on us. If I'd had these stats to work with, Argalia would have been a total breeze!

Anyways, let's look at the specifics. He's a Shimmering boss (I'm pretty sure every boss left in the game is a Shimmering boss, so this isn't a big surprise), and his last die will always be untargetable. This means we need to either set up a Counter die or have some defense dice stocked if we don't want to just take damage. Speaking of Counter dice, he also gets a pair of them automatically at Combat Start, negating his main weakness of not having any defense against onesided attacks!

He'll recover SR on clash win, but lose additional SR on clash loss, he also gains 1 Strength and Endurance the same turn that his Emotion Level goes up (which will be every turn for the first five, really), and lastly his third Speed Die gives the page set in it +2 Power on all its rolls, something I completely forget about for the entire fight.



His attacks are exactly the same as on his unique Key Page, which saves me a lot of time as I don't have to talk about them again. His fastest Speed Die will rotate between four moves every turn in the same order: Atelier Logic, Wheels Industry, Crystal Atelier and Furioso.

Furioso is just as mind-bogglingly painful as when we use it, so we want to use this phase to quickly ramp up our own Emotion Levels and put our game plan into motion while never letting him get to a fourth turn.

His passives also doesn't mention anything about another phase after this one… but if you listen to the music, you already know precisely what's coming. The fight can't end until we've hit Roland03, it wouldn't make sense.



Now then, let's go ahead and get the plan underway~

Right! Let's get this done!

Our opening move here is to have Dimi use Puppet Strings on ImIdiot. Puppet Strings is a unique page that came from Jae-heon's Key Page, and it applies the Puppeteer's Strings passive to its target.



The Strings give a +1 on all ImIdiot's dice rolls, and also prevents his HP from going below 1. It's removed by either Dimi's death, or by ImIdiot ending a turn at 1 HP. This status effect is the keystone to our entire plan.



ImIdiot is using Elena's page, so every single hit he lands will restore 2 HP. As long as we make sure the last attack he's involved in every turn lands, he's going to be functionally immortal. I've also given him Singular Strike, and his deck is a trio of Clone, Burning Flash, and Brace Up.

Using these pages we're going to set up some Shenanigans and hopefully break the fight over our knee.



For now, I have ImIdiot use a pair of Clone. We will not be using the third one for a while.

You know… it doesn't feel very nice, staring down someone who was your colleague a few minutes ago. Is this how it felt every time you had to suppress another Agent?

Something like that. They're your colleagues, but they're your enemies for the moment. So—

That's that and this is this, huh? How adult.

That's just running away from the problem.

The hell'd you just say?



I believe he just said "That's just running away from the problem."

I know that, you damn copy…



What he means is: "What did I mean by it." Right?

Do you have time to be teaching people right now?



I think I've got plenty.

Says the fixer who bought a grade and only made it to 7.

…Hey.



He's totally got your number, Bishop! Best just pack it all in~

Easier to feel good about yourself if you're mocking someone better than you, isn't it?

Better?! In what universe?! Im! Show him the whatfer!



Wha-psh!

You… you're a damn joke. Don't even pretend you belong here.

Hey… I can swing a sword same as anyone!



…And you. I won't give you a chance to breathe… You never had the temperament for this, anyway.

That's-

Honestly, I'm glad it's your floor I'm having to fight. An idiot trying to reach for something out of her means…



…And her retinue of worthless jokes. You can't cause anything but trouble.

Sez you! But you've underestimated exactly how brilliant we truly are.

Don't bullshit me.

I'm appalled you'd even think I would~



Now prepare to face the wrath of the ICBM!

What kind of stupid name is that?

It's not stupid at all! It means ImIdiot Can—

Ah-ah-ah! Don't ruin the surprise yet. I want to see that look of frustration on his face first when he can't put it together.

Oh! Yes, ma'am.

He's wearing a mask, though…



Wheels Industry comes out this turn, and in response I have Dimi toss out a pair of Shrine to Music to completely neuter his rolls this turn. Obviously we don't clash it directly, we want to eat that with a Block die—preferably from someone who resists Blunt.



You know, Roland, I'd think we both could agree on being angry at Angela. Even if I'm not upset at her anymore… she did ruin a lot of hard work I did.

I don't want to agree. I want to rip you apart, and vent all of this anger until her entire plan is in ruins at her feet. Then, then I'll kill her… when she's felt that despair. But before that… first the despair of watching her lines of defense getting ripped away. This is what she's earned.

That's not healthy… and that's why we have to stop you.



Speak for yourself, I'm stopping him because it lets me show off how awesome I am~



I'm just following orders. You know, like a Fixer is supposed to.

…Hmph.

Bishop eats this Wheels Industry, which deals him 2 entire damage. Smacking 6 total Feeble onto Roland is incredibly useful.



And I'm the head of this History department. We're not perfect, sure…

…and maybe I've given up on having Dimi follow every order I give her…

-But we've still accomplished every task we've been saddled with! That won't change!



All of this is to say… SSDD.

Yeah… that's how it should be. You worthless lot should give it your all. That'll make her feel even more pain when I crush you.



And I will crush you.

Convincing yourself of something you know isn't true is another part of your that-and-this thing, you know.

Like you aren't running from the truth yourself. Everyone in the City is running away… focused entirely on themselves.



Then it's a good thing I stopped living there a decade ago, huh?

We're all trapped by this place, no matter how much you want to pretend to be the hero. Blood is all over your hands… it won't ever wash off.

Well now, I wonder about that…

…



Act as cool as you like. I can smell your bullshit through this mask.

Told you he has your number, Bishop. Nobody around here really thinks you're cool.

I think he's cool.

I mean people who matter. Now take your bear.



Oh yeah!

Happy Memories will be lowering the cost of ImIdiot's Burning Flashes down to 0, letting me play them for free.



It's the Crystal Atelier turn, if we don't knock Roland out here then we'll be eating a Furioso.

We're as set up as we can get, so it's time to blitz forward to phase 2.



On the way out, I also have Malkuth fire off some Clones and finish setting up Rapid Gashes Yujin. She's acting as a plan B for if anything goes wrong, gaining HP over the course of the fight until she's got a massive bank for the endgame.



Bishop's… coolness aside, we should finish things quickly.

I'm fine with that. One more push and we should be clear.

Aww… but then we won't get to see the glory of my ICBM!

It's Agent ImIdiot who would be using it, would it not be his ICBM?

Um, do you see these strings? His actions count as my points 'til the end of this fight.

Is that how it works..?

And always, always with the comedy routine…



Do you think I want to listen to that shit?! Shut up!

Oh, I've heard that one before…



Yeah… It sounds familiar. You're going full Phillip! _{That's bad, if you don't know.}

I remember Phillip.



I killed his mentor and colleague. He tried to get revenge. It's the same cycle.

Hah, y'see? You really are going full—



That's just how the City works. Not that a homebody would understand it… Or a moron.



Dimi's Immediate Repairs proc, as Roland with +4 Strength has a strong chance to hit with his good pages over anything we use and I didn't save any of Dimi's debuffing pages to help out this turn. It's earlier than I'd like to see it used, but the next few phases are easier than this one.



All it is, ultimately, is a coping mechanism. You don't have a plan for after this, do you?



At least I won't have wasted my one chance at revenge chasing a pointless dream, like a second-rate Fixer.

No, I suppose not.

Um… do you think I'm going to just let you beat on me just because you're serving sick burns??

That's MY job! EAT THIS ONE!

Woah-!



That wasn't exactly… voluntary…

Worked, didn't it?!

Perfect execution, team! Roland's down!

Heh… heheh… Do you really believe that..?

Angela! I don't need these replacements you gave me any longer! You can… HAVE… THEM… BACK!!

His emotions are flooding out… They're resonating with the Library.

We've seen this kind of thing before! Prepare anti-realization countermeasures!

Already on it, ma'am!



As I give myself over to the madness at the heart of this city… I remember. Feelings left long forgotten… Sensations I had to ignore… Memories that I wasn't allowed to keep.

That thing… Yeah.

Music: Roland02


I cAn rEmEmbEr It nOw… fOUl And stInkIng.

What in the hell is that thing?!



thE hOrrOr Of tEn yEArs AgO… lEt mE shOw yOU A wIng's trUE fAcE.

Is that some kind of Abnormality..?

No… it seems different. Proceed with caution.

We aren't getting a second chance this time around. Give it your all!

Roland wrote: The past isn’t all that different from now… Nothing ever changes… The same kinds of tragedies happen time and time again…

Everyone knows that it’s wrong… But they can’t stop it from repeating…

How many people do you think are sacrificed for the convenience and happiness of others…?

The City’s prosperity is fueled by the lives of others… And its people stick their heads below the parapet and carry on…

There’s no other way to survive in this damned place…

We all know that it’s pointless to reflect on ourselves and think things over…

You wouldn’t want to care… You’d want to turn a blind eye!

Because that’s none of your business… Right. That’s none of your business.

Because your life would be a bit more comfortable if you just closed your eyes and turned away…

They give no ear to the pain of other people… Taking care of themselves is already hard enough…

I hate this City for forcing us to be like this…

And I’m horrified and disgusted at myself for partaking in its filthy business…

But—that’s that, and this is this…

I can’t just sit and watch as my happiness goes down the drain…

My life is far from a clean one, but still… I hadn’t done anything to earn anyone’s grudge…

Roland's second form has a massive chunk of HP that we'll nonetheless be burning through quite quickly. This is because he uses chunks of it 50 at a time to respawn his trio of Smoldering Byproducts until he's made his way down to 300 HP. He and his adds will all apply Suffocating Haze to us, a unique status effect that increases damage we take and decreases damage Roland and the Byproducts take from being hit.



The Byproducts are largely uninteresting. They've got low HP and have the same Suffocating Haze passive that Roland does.



This turn Roland is using two Swing and a Tail Swipe. One's a decent 3-hit page, and the other's a large single die with Bleed. Neither are particularly strong on their own, and Roland lacks the Strength stacking that Durandal gave him in the previous phase.



The Byproducts can choose between several attack as well, using Flail and Stabbing Tentacles here. Stabbing Tentacles deserves special mention, as each hit will inflict 1 stack of Suffocating Haze on our allies next turn.



Suffocating Haze hits us with random status effects on the turn after it's active, so getting hit by Haze will give the enemy their buff the next turn, then debuff us the turn after that. It's… more annoying than threatening, really.



Multiple enemies on the field also means it's the perfect time to bring out a Mass Attack. Tempestuous Danza is great for removing dice from enemy pages and getting the vibes set up right for followup.



This smoke… what is it?

Ohoho… I suppose you wouldn't know, rich boy. You weren't from L's nest, after all. This is the smoke. And I bet that's its source.

Smoke… That stuff that used to come from the old L Corp?

You didn't know either? I'd thought you'd have heard of the Smoke War.

That war that came with the fall of L Corp's wing?

In that case… My first self was dead before it happened. My second wasn't awake until Lobotomy Corporation was a Wing itself.

Ah, that'd do it. Don't worry, I'll explain this time.



Deploying good vibrations.

So the Smoke War was this big to-do when the last L Corp fell. Their Singularity was about making energy… but it made a lot of smoke. This kind of smoke. I'm guessing it came from things like that.



So they used something like Abnormalities as well, then?

As I said… that is no Abnormality.

We'll call it a freaky fleshpile, for consistency.

It doesn't have the best ring to it, but it'll do.



Anyways, it was absolutely terrible for anyone in the districts where the fighting was ongoing. Especially L Corp's, there was smoke everywhere… well, more than usual. A lot of it was bio- or chem-warfare stuff. The nest's residents got told to quarantine. Backstreets folks… they figured it out after they watched someone they know's face melt off.

Incidentally, I took up gaming to pass the time while I was stuck in a one bedroom apartment.



Oh yeah! That stuff made my throat burn whenever I had to breathe it in, and those masks you could buy weren't useful at all.



I see… I would have been in District 18's nest at the time, so I wouldn't have ever seen it…

_{Oh my gawd of course you were from there…}

By the time I received the notification that my father'd vanished, the Smoke War was in the cleanup phase. There wasn't smoke to be seen anywhere anymore. So I joined the company, to find out what happened.



In conclusion, that thing there making all the smoke is probably the secret of the old L Corp's singularity. There's a lot more to the story, but I don't care enough to tell you~

thIs cIty Is hEld Up by sUch thIngs, And wE All prEtEnd nOt tO sEE thE trUth. wE wAlk On, OblIvIOUs tO AnythIng IncOnvEnIEnt.



At the end of the turn, we get to choose our next two Abnormality Pages. The first one, Matchlight, goes right onto ImIdiot. On our next turn we'll be able to use Burning Flash and our last Clone in order to apply Matchlight to those two pages. This will give ImIdiot a total of six copies of Matchlighted Burning Flashes, and keep Brace Up completely clear. This will complete the core of our combo, and is why it's vitally important to keep a copy of Clone until right now.

Retry Count: 18. I didn't know that my first time running through the fight.



I also put Gluttony on Malkuth, because she has 268 max HP and I intend to use all of them.



EvEry OnE Of yOU Is rUnnIng. Up tO yOUr nEcks In yOUr Own bUllshIt…

jUst lIkE mE, pAUsIng tO rEflEct wOUld jUst rUIn yOU.

Yeah yeah, whatevs. ImIdiot, move to phase 2!

Yes'm!



Roland uses Bite of Flesh this turn, which is a 2-hit combo attack. The first hit breaks all of our dice, the second then is a 3-5 that will reroll on a 5. Every hit restores 3 HP, letting him restore health if he gets very lucky. The first die isn't very large, so we just need to be sure to bonk it with a strong attack like Burning Flash.



A Byproduct also uses Gnaw, which is the same idea as Bite of Flesh but trades an extra die before the Breaks Everything die for no HP healing.



I have Dimi swap over to Guard stance here, as I want her to survive as long as possible now that Immediate Repairs has gone off. This deck has a lot more survivability than Pierce's, and I can't afford to let her get Staggered again.



I don't see how pausing to reflect would cause anyone any problems…

yOU dOn't knOw? I thOUght yOU'd knOw qUItE wEll. sOmE dEtEctIvE.

I really don't see why he'd…

…oh. Oh.

sEEms yOU're OnE stEp bEhInd, bOy. If EvEn mAlkUth UndErstAnds…

Hey! I'm not an 'even Malkuth' kind of person!

Well, I have no idea what he's talking about, so: ImIdiot, I want this man benothinged!



Got it! That should stop him talking!

thE bOdy wAnEs… bUt I cAnnOt bE stOppEd.

D'oh..!



Don't worry about it. He's talking nonsense.

stIll dEnyIng It..? cOmE On, thAt's jUst sAd…



I really don't have a clue what you're talking about.

yOU cAmE hErE tO fInd sOmEthIng, jUst lIkE mE. bUt It wAsn't EvEr hErE, wAs It?

…What?



Don't be silly! He's here looking for information on what happened to his dad! Who died while researching L Corp, about ten years ago!

…

lEt mE gUEss: dIdn't fInd A dAmn thIng.

You're… you can't mean…



Bishop, a query: How long was your father investigating before he disappeared?

About a year, I think..? He was always in and out. But that would mean…

You've GOT to be fucking KIDDING ME!

This time… all this time… and not a single lead… because I was looking at the wrong fucking company?!



Whoa. Even for you, that's a massive mistake to make.

Why… didn't I notice? It's so obvious now that someone mentions it, but I didn't… I couldn't…



Hey, um… It's okay. I didn't realize either, and I've known what you were looking for for the entire time we've met. It's easy to miss small things when you're caught up in something rough.

That wasn't a small detail! That was a huge, gaping hole in everything!

Malkuth, his emotions are running wild. His body isn't as stable as yours or Roland's. If this keeps up…

As I cAnnOt lOOk AhEAd On thIs pAth… hE cOUld nEvEr lEt hImsElf lOOk bEhInd. EvEryOnE hAs sOmEthIng thEy cAnnOt fAcE…



AcknOwlEdgIng It Is A rOOkIE mIstAkE.

…ten years… ten thousand years, and all of it was just for…

I'm prepared to suppress the Agent, Miss Malkuth.

We don't really have time for that.

I'll make time.



It means giving up on a chance to attack… but I wanted to show off the ICBM anyways. You ready, Im?

Heck yeah!

Hmm… You're being unexpectedly supportive.

Hmph! I just can't stand seeing a big ego without smacking it down to size.

In that case, leave this to me. I've helped out panicking employees plenty of times.

Please bear in mind that I won't be able to revive him should he die mid-fight.



I mean, come on, getting all pissy and picking apart someone's motivations just because they called yours dumb? How petty~

I'm Only pOIntIng OUt thE trUth.

Ooh, lookit me, ~I'm OnLy PoInTiNg OuT tHe TrUtH~



Puh-lease. I of all people know plenty about barbing people with the truth. You're doing it to one-up us, 'cuz he made you mad by pointing out that your entire schtick is a coward plan for cowards.

thAt's thE Only wAy tO lIvE In thIs wOrld.

Maybe for you! But I've got an ICBM on a string!



Does that mean I can finally say what it means?!

Knock yourself out!



The ICBM: ImIdiot Can Blow M'selfup!

Burning Flash's unique properties work very well with Matchlight. Matchlight gives a large bonus and extra Burn on the first die of each page we use. When Burning Flash adds its die upon being discarded, this die is a second first die. Because of this, we can double the amount of Matchlight bonuses we get. This snowballs very quickly and can allow us to roll some absurd numbers. Normally the 25% explosion chance would eventually whittle ImIdiot down to nothing, but the Puppet Strings will keep him alive as long as he can land a hit with Brace Up as the last interaction he has.

…And we can take this combo even further.



So are we beating down two idiots, or just one?

Huuf… pah… Huuf… pah…

Miss Malkuth told him she was disappointed and he stopped moving.

Bwahahaha, seriously??

Well, he's been an ideal team captain until this point. Why wouldn't I be disappointed?

yOU hOld blAmE As wEll. yOU OvErlOOkEd It, bEcAUsE yOU tOO cAn Only sEE yOUrsElf.

Maybe so. I'll have to work on that. It can be hard to see when people are hurting around you, and a real leader can keep things like that in mind. Facing unpleasant things you don't want to… that's how you grow as a person, I think.

Heh… hahaha… That's… that's right. We all get caught up in our own stuff and forget to look around.



This turn, Roland fires off Spiky Tendrils. It's a single-hit Mass Individual that deals Bleed, and isn't worth writing home about, though that 4-12 roll means sometimes it'll just hit us.



His other Mass Attack, Spew Smoke, would be more dangerous if not for us downing him too quickly to have to see it.



…Yeah… Yeah. I think I've calmed down now. Damn I feel like an idiot.

bUllshIt. thAt wAs yOUr lIfE.

Yeah… it was. And I'm probably going to be upset about it later. But Malkuth's right. A detective can't just get mad at a truth because it's inconvenient. Besides… if I hadn't gotten such basic facts wrong, who'd be here to keep these three clowns in line?

Hey, who're you calling a-



shUt yOUr mOUth, bOy! yOU dOn't knOw shIt!!

Blech! Hey, I wasn't ready you freaky fleshpile!



That said… there is just one more thing that's been bothering me. Angela's usual memory trick for the battle included all of Roland's previous fights, and there's just been this one thing that I can't quite make sense of.



Is it a weakness?

Maybe. Couldn't say. Either way I can't quite get it out of my head. Say, Roland…

Why'd Olivier call them "the gloves of the Black Silence" before? Wouldn't it be less awkward to just say "your gloves?" It's just… it strikes me as odd.

whAt ArE…

And while he's distracted… WHABAM!



Right in the kisser!

gAh..!



Now… maybe I'm just a little bit sore about you telling me my life was a waste and being a prick about it.

Oh you'd never. I do that all the time!

You sure do, Dimi. But, Roland, I also just can't help but think back to when you were fighting The Purple Tear. "You usually prefer swinging that big sword…" That big sword. Durandal, I think it's called? But that's just one of the weapons you'd pull forth from those gloves… why in the world would that be the thing you prefer? And then I thought about the names…



Mook, Old Boys, Allas, Zelkova, Ranga, all Workshops. Wheels Industry. Crystal Atelier, and even Atelier Logic… I've heard of all of those places. They're bigtime guys that any Fixer's heard of.

...



And you haven't heard of Durandal?

Not even a peep. So that gets me to thinking that Durandal was your sword. But how would they have ended up in the gloves, then? Obviously, someone put them there... And that leaves us with only one possibility, doesn't it? Hey, Roland…



"The Pianist was killed by the Black Silence." Was that really what happened?

shUt Up… I dOn't wAnt tO hEAr Any mOrE Of It..!



I'll tell you what I think. I think it's the other way around. I think the real Black Silence was killed by the Pianist… and in revenge, her husband killed that same Pianist using her gloves and a mask that would warp the perception of anyone watching.



yOU'rE jUst sOmE pUnk kId! dOn't Act lIkE yOU knOw AnythIng!



I get it. Good work! So then, do you think he went on a rampage like he did just to keep his wife's memory alive?

There's really only one person who could answer that, ma'am.

I see. Anything to say, Roland?



I lOst thE Only thIng thAt gAvE mE mEAnIng…



Woah, so you just become someone else? A fake friend, and a fake Color now too… That's some next level that-and-thising!

Roland has 10 HP and 30 Burn, this phase is over.



It certainly makes sense… Anything to say for yourself, Roland?

I nEvEr wAntEd thIs… I jUst nEEdEd hEr…



my hAppInEss wAs dEnIEd, sO All I cAn dO Is dEstrOy..!

Music: Roland03


…When the thing your eyes fixate on leaves the path in front of you… You can only linger on those memories of the past.

So then..?

Yeah. Angelica… she was way stronger than I ever was. An existence so dazzling she drew me forward.

I've stopped walking. I can't move forward anymore. I can't forget those beautiful days… No matter how much they hurt me to remember now.

Roland wrote: What I cannot do is own her heart.

Instead, my graceful love stole my heart and left me with lone hardship.

I can’t help but love the pain which fills the void of solitude.

Because I could look ahead thanks to you.

But now, the wonderful scenery we used to watch together lay behind me…

In this instant, I look back again. My eyes fixated on the most painful yet beautiful moments.

Those moments I can only view from afar, as I can’t dare approach them.

As I cleared the filth obstructing my view, it piled up on the path to the way forward…

I don’t think I can face the growing mountain in front of me squarely.

If I tried to confront it…

I might be buried under mounds of resentment and suffering from others.

I’m not sad about it, though. I don’t think it’s a shame that I can’t move on.

To leave you behind in the past and move forward alone would be my greatest pain.

I had only one option, then. To be able to gaze at paradise forever…

I should move all which blocks that sight out of the way.

Phase 3's Roland revolves around the Soul Link status. As long as he has it his first three Speed Dice will target whoever has the lowest HP, which will let him focus fire down our weakest members while we scramble to protect them. He also has a second pattern after losing the Soul Link, and when his partner dies he enters a state of Rampage that exchanges 50% of his remaining SR on that turn for +2 Strength and Haste for the rest of the fight. As for who he's Soul Linked to…



It's his wife, obviously.

Much like Roland, Angelica also uses her first three Speed Dice to target whoever has the lowest HP, ensuring that those dice always start off by targeting the same opponent. She's slightly more fragile than Roland in this fight, and is responsible for leaving the Dark Mark that Roland wants to pursue in his passives. While Angelica's defeat leaves Roland with a Power boost, defeating Roland first will give Angelica Grief-stricken. This is strictly a debuff, giving her Paralysis, Bind, and Fragile every turn until she's defeated.



Soul Link, meanwhile, ensures that both of them can keep fighting until it's removed.



While Soul Linked, the first three dice of both Angelica and Roland always target the same opponent. This is important to keep in mind, because while Angelica is just using upgraded versions of the Black Silence's attack pages…



Roland's half of things introduces an entirely new mechanic: Combo attacks. If any of Roland's three Combo attacks are targeting the same opponent as Angelica's matching attack, the offensive dice from Roland's attack will be moved over to Angelica's Combat Page. This increases her melee attacks to 4 dice each, making it very likely she'll be able to hit us no matter what we clash with, and for Atelier Logic…

…Okay, it's not much more dangerous than any other Ranged attack, but it gives her an extra hit that we'd have to smack down with a giant single die or what have you.



Their remaining two pages are their respective bonds, and their Unstable Bond. The Ashen/Dark bonds target each other, and if we don't redirect them then they'll buff their partner. We need to redirect them regardless, though, as we need the Ashen or Dark Presence buffs they give us in order to break Soul Link.



These Presence buffs are effective only on the turn that we redirect the Bond pages, and give us a Power boost to attacking the opposite opponent. If the Librarian who has the correct Bond wins a clash against the correct die on the Unstable Bond page, the Soul Link of Roland and Angelica will decrease by 1. This is the only way to decrease Soul Link.



So the plan is to have Dimi gain Dark Bond from Roland and use it to beat Angelica's Unstable Bond, while ImIdiot gains Ashen Bond from Angelica and uses it to beat Roland's Unstable Bond. Malkuth, Bishop, and Joshua are on cleanup duty while I build towards Emotion Level 5 on everyone.

We're standing on blood and viscera… Where is this?

The boudoir of four thousand one hundred seventy-two people, if you want to know. The night where I showed her my true face for the first time.

…A night we made a Star of the City fall, together.



The setting of stars is truly a magnificent sight. However, your vibes simply aren't right for it.



That is the same gun, why can she shoot it harder?!

Iunno, better strength stat?

I know that, it was a rhetorical question!



I've applied Smoke on the main target, everyone.

I'll knock his face off in just a second!

We were a beautiful combo back then… nothing could stop us.



I've got some of her… aura? On me? So the plan is to smash it into Roland, right?

That's the idea.



Try to hurry, though… She hits hard, and I can't keep her off forever.



No problem! Eat this: ICBM!!

Blowing yourself up on a battlefield is pointless!

It makes me hit harder, so it can't be all bad! —is what I was told when I brought that up!

3 Soul Link remains.



And it's quickly reduced to just 2, courtesy of Bi An.

I can feel them starting to break apart. Seems like we've touched a nerve, you know~?



Well, it seems you lot managed to disrupt our combo with those powerful strikes of yours… but that's all you've done.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. The Library's… our fighting style has always been at its best when we layer things on top of each other.

I think it's like a microcosm of how the City works. If the separate elements all came together as one, they'd be able to overcome anything. But that doesn't normally happen, for all sorts of reasons.



…I don't recall asking for your opinion.

I gave it freely, so it's fine.



This turn, Roland and Angelica each use a Vigilant Stand in addition to their Allas Workshop and Atelier Logic combos. Angelica's version of the page grants her Strength next turn and deals true damage…



While Roland's debuffs his target on hit with Bleed and Paralysis. This doesn't change our strategy in any meaningful way, however.



Bishop and Malkuth go for the Bonds this turn, while ImIdiot is set up to pour all his attacks onto Angelica. Dimi is just trying to take away some Counter dice from the enemies, while Joshua continues just being Generically Useful, like he has the entire fight. Argalia's Key Page doesn't stand out compared to the really degenerate stuff the Library can do, but it's also excellent at putting in work.



ImIdiot's Matchlight is starting to deal a quarter of his health with every explosion, but in exchange it's gotten much bigger than it was before.



Additionally, the Burn from Matchlight is already up to +14, meaning each Burning Flash we play is dealing out 30 Burn on top of the damage it deals. This number only goes up from here. ImIdiot is the absolute MVP of this fight.



Still too green…

Darn it… I should have gone with raw power.

Bishop and Roland get a tie on the important die of his Unstable Bond. Because the die has to lose to drop Soul Link by 1, this means we won't be able to break the Link this turn.



Don't worry about it! I got through the apparition's guard, we're nearly done here!



I've really caught her on fire, too!

No… I won't let it end.

ImIdiot has inflicted 112 Burn, 90 of it coming from this turn alone. Angelica's about to die before we properly break Soul Link.



We can finally pick up the final part of the ICBM strategy: Loyalty. At this point in the fight every explosion ImIdiot procs is dealing him a minimum of 25 damage. This means that each of the six dice he rolls for the three Burning Flashes we want to be playing every turn has a 1 in 4 chance of giving the entire team 5 Strength next turn.

There is no upper limit on Loyalty, so long as ImIdiot remains alive for it to activate.

ImIdiot cannot die as long as he has more than 1 HP left, and his last action every turn is using Brace Up to hit an unguarded opponent to restore 2 HP.

Damage taken at 1 HP still counts for Loyalty.

I don't think I need to explain why this is broken.



So the more he attacks, the more he explodes… and the more he explodes, the more powerful everyone becomes. And he cannot die…

As long as the great Dimi is holding on to him. Brilliant, isn't it?

In different circumstances, I would be impressed. As it is…

I understand. It can't be great to be finding out about this in the middle of a fight with your friend.

…Indeed.

I don't want to hear it… Don't want to think about it.

Acting without thinking over what you should do won't get you anywhere, Roland…

I can't afford to care about that! I have to hold on to my paradise… The light that gave me meaning!



On turn 3, Angelica and Roland use their respective Waltzes, White and Black. Waltz in White deals bonus True Damage/Stagger Damage on its last two dice, while Black buffs the both of them if it hits. However, both of them are all-or-nothing pages. If we beat the first die, the entire rest of their page breaks. If they win the clash, we're eating both of the remaining dice.



In addition to the Waltzes, we've got Zelkova Workshop and multiple Dark Bonds from Roland to go alongside a pair of Unstable Bonds on Angelica.



There's a lot to go through this turn, but most importantly we have ImIdiot focusing on Angelica to break Soul Link and inflict enough Burn to outright take her out this turn.



Come at me with all you have… I won't break. And as long as I don't break…



I can take everything out!

With 95 HP and 110 Burn, Angelica's already done for.



I've broken their link. Give it all you've got!

No… without her, what do I have left..? Without a meaning… what can I hold?

Chinely would say the real meaning was the friends you made along the way.

But honestly, I'm not so sure. I think… you can just pick up a new meaning.

Easy for you to say… ultimately, your drive was just that weak, if you can change it.

…Hey.



For me, there isn't anything! There's nothing left now that I've lost everything I have!

Gah! Protect me, my minions!



All I have left is this vengeance! And once that's over, I don't need anything else! Tomorrow doesn't matter, only my lost yesterday!



Your past isn't to be lived in… It's to be learned from, as source of strength and perspective.

You can only say that because you've never been truly happy. To have everything you've ever worked to build ripped from you at the last moment…

Well… they do say those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.



Angelica… Angelica, where are you? I can't hear you anymore…

That's because she's not moving any longer.

…Right… then I'll kill the one responsible. With these gloves… and the skills I've seen countless times.



With Angelica dead, Roland is now using her pages once again. We actually get incredibly lucky here, as ImIdiot was the last one to engage with Angelica on the third turn of their Soul Link. This means that he has the Dark Mark on him, and all Roland's attacks are going right to him. Roland gets +3 Power this turn for attacks against him… but that's really not an issue with the size of the dice that ImIdiot's packing.



Im… You've got this, right?

Of course!

Right. Just in case, let's lower the pressure just a little.

Of course, ma'am.



This meaningless life… I'd rather burn it all away to crush the person responsible for the death of my shining light.

This is all I can do… The only path available, now that I've covered the road ahead with corpses and refuse..



I can't say I know much about losing people, to be frank…



But I'm pretty sure you could just… walk somewhere else? If there's a pile of books on the floor, I'd always just step around it.

I can't… I can't simply let go. I can't let it end. I did all of this… everything, for this… it has a point. It has a point!



I can't let it all have been for nothing!!

Next time, on Library of Ruina: The part where he kills you.