Book 48: Hana Association—Chapter 2
Music: GuestBattle01
I believe wearing her page may assist with figuring something out, Talow.
Or it could make everything worse. What if that dimensional thing is reflexive?
Then I shall try it first, and we shall observe. It's an ideal page for our floor in any case.
And if it turns you mental?
I have faith that it shall not.
The Purple Tear has four different decks up her sleeve at all times, and no one ever uses all four at once due to how different each build tends to work. Today we'll be focusing on our Guard stance, and in the future I'll focus on whatever stance we start with, showing relevant decks as they come up. The passives here are just pure Defense dice bonuses, so that we can more effectively Block everything to death.
No one else is playing anything particularly noteworthy, as the Hana don't have any specific gimmick outside of "being generically good at everything."
Woah… you've got that laid-back chic thing down perfectly, Sephiroth.
These fools are no threat to the likes of us… Why should we busy ourselves with proper posture?
Our fight today is another two Act fight, with the first being five standard enemies.
Each of the Hana has the signature ability Four Trigrams. To make a long story short, they can choose to be slightly better at one thing per turn, and when they do they stop being able to be better at that thing until they've chosen all three of the other things.
Music: HokmaBattle01
It seems they've sent two squads of Fixers after us. As expected of the Hana themselves, I suppose.
Does it matter? Let's just tear them apart and be done with it.
That's the way to look at it. They're just humans, same as anyone else.
Oh… Hod's team. You're with us. Today.
Of course. Given workplace protocol is to talk about something unrelated to keep your mind off of any mental trauma that might be going on, what better than trained conversationalists to try and give form to whatever you wind up saying?
You know that protocol
barely works, right..?
No two people have the same psyche, so we have to use a variety of methods. Some will be more effective than others.
Oh! I know the next line, Miss Hod! "Remember: if your mental health's cratering, your therapy plan needs straightening!"
A close look at each of the Hana will show that they have some strange buffs we've never seen before. These are their Four Trigrams buffs, and they come in four varieties.
The Hana can use any of them on their turn, and once it's used they can't use it again until all four have been used. The decision is completely random—they have no problems with throwing out Gam while they're at full Light, for instance.
They use an assortment of decent pages, though of particular note here is Celestial Spear. It's Better Transpierce, and if these guys used Singular Strike or any kind of Pierce buff it'd be scary. Unyielding Strike also has some pretty good dice for what's effectively a 2-cost, but turn 1 is basically a freebie.
Their best attack costs 5 Light, you see. :shepface:
As for the Purple Tear's gimmick, it starts in a random stance. The one that it selected today happens to be Blunt stance, but we want to be in Guard. So we click on our E.G.O button…
And we can change our stance! These pages cost 1 Light each and are immediate, as soon as we play one our stance changes immediately. This also reshuffles our hand and gives us as many pages from the new deck as we had in hand with the old deck. This lets us do some silly things, and we'll cover a few as we go through the rest of the game.
Anyways, we play Guarding Stance and…
Ah, that's better.
That specialty-changing thing she did not causing any problems?
None at all. It's quite natural, so we can adapt to any situation.
These guys don't seem too bad… they're just Fixers, same as any other.
That's only because you haven't seen their ultimate attack yet. I remember people saying it was nasty… What was it called?
Oh, Divinatory Impact? It was on their summary… it looked nasty.
…Right. That's the one. Let's just hope we don't see it.
So are you ever going to explain why you're cringing every time I talk, or..?
No, thanks.
To the grave, then?
To the grave.
In that case, I've got an observation. Their weapons are really malleable—they change shape to match the user's… thought process? Desire, maybe? Either way, they can use them as armor and weapon both.
Just don't misjudge the distance, or things can get messy… Oogh, that packs a punch.
They can form it around their feet as well, for a sudden burst of speed or to keep their stance against a blow. The distance they can cover is longer than you're thinking it is.
Right, I'll get a feel for it as we go.
From turn 2 onward, we need to be vigilant any time that we see one of the Hana using a bunch of Light in one turn.
That's because Divinatory Impact is a pretty strong page. Packing a chunky die of each type, the order of the dice is just as interesting as the rest of the page. The lack of four die pages for us means that the only ways we can hope to avoid damage completely from this attack are either a powerful Counter die, or a 3-die page that leads with an Evade—a die type that is in short supply through most of Star of the City. Moreover, the last die being an Evade acts as a sort of pseudo-Counter die to later onesided attacks, since the odds are it's going to be saved in the Defense queue until it's needed.
Lastly, it absolutely crushes any Summation Mass Attack, with a minimum roll of 30 and an average roll of ~39. Because we have no E.G.O, this particular use will not come up today.
They also use Brace Up this turn, the last page that the base Hana have on hand. It's incredible drawtech for us, especially when paired with Bottom Deal, but it's not worth worrying about right now.
The goal here is to just mitigate damage as best we can, and to build our Emotion Level so that we can steamroll through the second phase of the fight before they can do anything too nasty.
Which is always the goal in this kind of reception, but between Celestial Spear and Divinatory Impact it's slightly harder than usual.
I'll take one of those impacts. Any volunteers for the other..?
I will give them the opportunity to show me their resolve. As I am now, I cannot be defeated.
Confidence is good, just make sure it doesn't get you killed.
I wouldn't worry about it. These guys never killed us.
You sure..? Because this hits hard.
Yeah. Not a once, that I can remember.
Their attacks have punch… but if that is as high as they can reach, then I shall forever be beyond them.
It's good to hear that these opponents are within our grasp, but don't get overconfident simply because of your memories—the
point of the exercise is to change things.
And just
telling Miss Angela won't work because… why?
Tried it once. Ended even worse. THAT one I remember, since it stands out so much.
Shall I pretend I am not hearing this conversation, then?
Erk. That's…
It should have been obvious you would be paying attention to such a stage. We'll simply talk later, so as not to influence your choices.
…yes. That will work for now.
I can't make heads or tails of what you're babbling about, anyways.
We pick up Lean, Bloody Wings to get Hokma's damage output online. From now on, our Blocks deal damage.
Now that he's ready to go, I have Hokma pull as many attacks as I can while playing a Serpent Barrier to eat three of them in entirety. Now that we have Wings set up, there isn't much else to showcase from our current opponents—it's all about execution.
So we execute them.
Okay, I got my footing back. Let's go take another beating.
In
moderation, Talow.
Says the geezer who's only blocking attacks.
You know precisely why I've chosen this strategy.
I'll set them up, and leave them for you all to finish off.
And I'll take care of the real work. Ghh…
Talow, you're taking a bunch of damage… don't overextend yourself.
To the grave, Medea.
That didn't mean to go die, moron.
No problem! I'll just wipe them out faster than they can slice through us, and it'll all be good!
Trying to alter the natural flow of life into death… Hah. Laudable, if you hold the strength to do it.
Speaking of, I'll be tapping into the power of
imminent demise from here on out. It's depressing enough to give this body a power boost.
Music: HokmaBattle02
Kinda morbid, isn't it?
I don't think you get to talk.
Heads up you guys, their formation's crumbling. We're an inch away from finishing them off!
Then we shall plunge them into the darkness evermore.
Yeah, well… it's done. Let's move on.
Caterwauling clocks! You gave those guys a butt-kicking in no time at all!
Most of you have taken some big hits, though.
We are no strangers to difficulty.
Just don't die, okay?
Music: GuestBattle01
Our second Act is against Mirinae and Harold, alongside three more of the Hana Fixers. The three generics are the exact same, but as is tradition by now Mirinae and Harold are both a cut above them.
Mirinae has the ability to pass any of the basic buffs she gets from pages on to her allies. This includes the boosts she gets from Four Trigrams as well—if she uses Geon it means two enemies will be getting 1 Strength that turn, for instance.
As for Harold, her All for Hana ability functions as a sort of reactive armor to give her an Endured resistance against whatever dealt the most damage to her last turn. It makes her somewhat bulky, in practice.
If we just keep hitting her she'll get Staggered eventually, though, so it's more of a speedbump here than anything.
Music: HokmaBattle02
Well… Here we are. What's your analysis, Harold?
Their mindsets are fundamentally different from those of Fixers. There's… one at most who would warrant a grade above nine.
And yet they stand here, as parts of a Star of the City. That just goes to show you how powerful the Library is.
A Star is a Star… the specifics of their powers change, but the way to defeat them never does.
Well said. Let's show these guys they're not as high as they think, hmm?
Both Harold and Mirinae have access to True Trigram Formation, a very powerful page whose effects differ based on which of the four formations they've used.
…Like so. Harold is in Gam here, so the True Trigram Formation will give +1 Light on use. Because she'll be gaining an Emotion Level this turn, this makes it redundant.
.
A new Act also means that Hokma's randomly chosen Blunt stance. I could immediately switch back to Guard, but he also opened with Mirage Storm and 7 Light. I decide to do that instead.
Insulting my coworkers… I've got to tear them one in your honor.
Confident, aren't we? Come on. We know who the one Fixer would be.
We don't have to worry about that Divinatory Impact just yet, Hokma… Try to make this leeway count.
I intend to.
He's mimicking that Purple Tear! Direct your weapons to defensive posture! Maximum leg reinforcement!
I'll weather this storm, for certain.
This 'storm' was simply a means to rock the boat somewhat. Consider it a trade for your attempt before.
You figured that much out, did you?
As if you were even hiding it.
So the old man can lead, as well… troublesome.
Sorry to cut in, but I just heard something
unforgivably stupid.
Oh..? There's no need to be jealous. With age comes wisdom.
Now listen here, you little brat..!
While that one breaks himself against Harold, I'll take care of the weakest link.
That's…a bit much…
Is it?
Anyone could see you're holding back. That stab was barely a scratch… You're too soft to kill.
Well ex
cuse me for having a problem with murder!
Such high-minded idealism can only come from those with privilege.
The woman seeks to shake our resolve… Come, then. I shall taste your despair.
Yeah! Like, if we
wanted to get psychoanalyzed, Hod's already right here?
Therapy isn't exactly about psychoanalyzing anyone, though…
At our next Abnormality Level, we grab Silence for Hokma.
This adds the two new Combat Pages to his hand, but honestly they're not worth much to us in this particular fight.
However, if we change our stance to Guard…
Those pages are counted when it comes time to calculate our new hand size—this works with anything that adds pages to our hand, and the pages removed are gone forever. Even swapping back to the stance we were in won't bring Silence and Amplify back.
We also finally get a chance to stuff Divinatory Impact with Counter dice—its rolls are high, but Hokma's rocking a +5 to all Defensive dice, making his wins
guaranteed.
Music: HokmaBattle03
Now, let's end this before they can find their footing.
It seems we've made one miscalculation, Harold.
Have we?
We brought too many allies. With the way the Library split us, it allowed these ones to warm up… so they can bring their full power to bear immediately against us.
In the future, send small teams of highly competent fighters. That's the best chance to stop the Library.
So our own run is lost, I take it?
It's a stalemate, at worst. We've got more plans to fall back on.
Don't worry about those! They'll fail too.
That's some confidence for someone who can barely stand.
Just took me a while to get warmed up today.
Oh yeah! My grandpa used to have that problem, too!
Sephiroth, are you okay? You're taking a lot of hits as well…
My counterattack failed me… but their power is nothing compared to Mother's.
Just hold on, I'll be right there!
There we go. I got you.
…Your assistance is appreciated, if unnecessary.
Khh..!
I think we've got everything under control now!
Don't say it before the fight's over…
We're already killing off their sidekicks. That's basically the end, isn't it?
I guess so, but one of you might still get hurt if you let your guard down.
I shall see to it that does not happen.
That's not entirely up to you.
Rather than vain provocations, I would recommend you savor what time you have left.
While Divinatory Impact is a very powerful page, it can backfire on the user if they run into a brick wall like Hokma here. After the first block, Mirinae's still got 84 SR to work with…
But over five dice, that gets cut all the way down to 14.
His defense is absurd… I can't even see him past those tendrils.
Such is the point.
I'm a little… anyways, can I take a second?
We should be able to accommodate that.
I'll take a second, too.
It's fine. I'll kill them… I'll kill them all.
Talow?
He's gone into that Rabbit battle frenzy… Best to stay out of his way for now.
At this point, I make a conscious choice: Both Mirinae and Harold are only at Emotion Level 2, and I want them to hit 3 or higher to ensure that I get copies of their books—back in the R Corp 2 fight I killed Nikolai so early that her book didn't actually drop and had to redo the entire fight afterwards, and I'm not interested in doing that again. Library of Ruina
does have a feature which guarantees you get at least one copy of each book necessary for progression, but because I didn't remember what the next fight required I didn't want to chance it.
Thus, we slow down.
Coming for me now that I'm weakened, eh?
Rabbits have good senses, you know. I can smell your weakness. Your fear.
Oooh. I see. So
that's the kind of person you are.
More talk, eh? Admitting that you're about to lose?
Maybe. But I won't run away, at least.
The hell are you talking about?
You stuttered and choked at nothing, then got yourself beaten almost to death to escape that. Even now, you can only fight properly because of that body's own properties. Between this and that… You're a coward, aren't you?
I think it's time you
stop talking.
Hssh… Hit a nerve, huh..? But you can't say I'm wrong, can you?
I can say it just fine. You're wr—
…ah.
You were a distraction.
Ma'am, I don't think I can hold their leader back any longer.
She's off-balance... Everyone who's left, regroup now.
Not many left to listen to you, I'm afraid.
Then I'll strike back..!
So even the acclaimed Fixers of the Hana Association can panic.
Nngh… I've bought all the time I can…
You've done just enough.
I'll take care of things from here.
Mirinae brings out her other unique attack this turn: Augury Kick. This attack gives Strength, and even more of it when it hits with the first attack. Because of Mirinae's passive, this means that someone else will also get all the Strength that she gets from this page.
It's a bit late for that to matter, though, because Talow has 20 charge and I can
finally use Feral Knives. This Mass Attack will deal 15 true damage to whoever we directly target with it on that last die, and because Harold is out regardless that means making sure to target Mirinae.
Don't think you've won. You may have stopped
us, but the next group… They'll stop your leader for certain.
Yes, you'll keep coming until we fall. You've implied as such. Know, however, that this Star will be forever out of your reach.
I'm ending them all. Anyone have a problem with that?
Nope, you're good to go.
Feral Knives is another in the increasingly popular 'Move around quickly and stab everyone with each die roll' style of Mass Attacks.
More…
The main difference with this one is blood spatter and the orange R Corp trail as the user moves from target to target.
Faster… stronger…
I'll
tear all of you apart!
So this is as far as I go…
Truly, to make something so powerful it can make opponents like
these turn into our equals…
The
Library has earned its place as a Star, at least.
Shut your goddamn mouth already!
Gah-!
Talking like you know everything. Picking holes in everyone. Saying we don't deserve to stand on the same level as you. You don't know shit about us. What we've survived.
Even if you never wanted to. Funny how that works out, isn't it?
…What are you implying?
You've beaten us due to a miscalculation on my part. I can admit that. So I'll tell you two things. First: you shouldn't underestimate our information gathering ability.
My guard… she's managed to overcome it.
And the second: That we
will figure out how to slip past your every defense.
Then we'll just make new ones! Easy.
As if… Simply overcoming our expectation once was a miracle. To do it twice…
We'll do it as many times as we have to.
Even if we hate it. We're not playing around either, you know.
Their lives have returned to the darkness. As all things shall.
So, Talow. Did this wind up helping you with anything?
…mmh.
Arbitrary adrenaline crashes… that can't feel good.
I'm not entirely sure that's entirely adrenaline, Paul.
As befits the final normal Reception, the Hana Association are a strong group of fighters that require us to be decent at the fundamentals of the game in order to beat them. They don't have any gimmicks like Index targeting, however, nor do they force us into an even match. Because of that, we're able to follow the Library's textbook strategy of building Emotion Level in Act 1 in order to blitz down all of the more dangerous Act 2 before they can do real damage to us.
Music: Result
If it's all the same to you, Hokma, I'd rather we never did that again… Watching it's one thing, but actually putting a sword in someone… Ugh.
I can't promise that, for obvious reasons. We still have work to do, to determine the shape of what may come. Angela, might I make a request?
As I become more human, it has become increasingly easy to tune things out. I will focus my attention elsewhere.
In truth, it is rather refreshing to no longer be committing to memory every word of what every person in this place says.
I would have expected you to be curious.
I
am.
However, you stated that simply telling me would somehow make the outcome worse.
I haven't yet forgotten what can happen when you reveal the inner workings of someone else's machinations to those trapped within it.
Quite an odd thing for you to say, as the owner of this Library.
I will speak with you all later.
SNAP
Huh. She ran?
Perhaps knowing about the Blue Reverberation's plan is getting to her…
Alright, that's quite enough chatter. My team, pick up the books. Talow, back to your writings. I have faith you shall complete them shortly.
VIDEO
Music: Lobby
Is there someone you know among them?
I was thinking I might have to face an old friend of mine. Good thing I didn’t.
By the way, it looks like the situation out there is worse than I imagined. Even the Hana Association is making a big deal.
Could the City be breaking down?
Nah, I don’t think you have to worry about that. The City carries on somehow. As long as the Head stands, the City’s nature won’t change.
What does the Head do, exactly?
It’s shrouded in layers of secrecy, so no one knows in detail. A Corp—the Wing directly run by the Head—does stuff like managing patents, minting, and authorizing Wings on the surface. It’s in control of all the important factors that make the City breathe, basically. And they seek out anyone plotting to overthrow the City and uproot them.
That makes the Head one of the Wings, at least ostensibly.
Through Arbiters and Claws?
Huh, how’d you know about that?
The research facility the Red Mist used to be part of fell because of the Head. To protect her colleagues, Kali killed the Arbiter and the Claws before succumbing to injuries herself.
I can only guess that she fought with all her strength to save those behind her to the last breath, and I suppose that is something that could never be replicated.
I can kinda picture how that would’ve looked.
Well, going back to where I was… When the Head determines something to be an impurity of the City, they’ll send Arbiters, Beholders, and Claws to try and get rid of it.
Was their research an impurity to the City…
Something about that story doesn’t sit well with me, though. I heard it from Hod and asked her the same question…
As the other librarians likely have said to you, she is telling you the truth. Though I don’t know the reason, either… Is the Head staying quiet at the moment because they deemed the current state of the City to be acceptable?
I guess? It’s not like we’ve had a visitor from the Head…
The Head coming to the Library… I’m curious how it will turn out.
Sure, you’ll want to draw as much attention as possible if you wanna live long.
After the Hana Association battle, we get the necessary books to do our last pair of Realizations. Long-time readers are probably expecting that a poll will be coming soon, but it's not quite time for that…
Hana Association is the last of our two-part nodes, so we have to complete it first.
Maaaan… in the end it feels like we didn't really accomplish much of anything.
I wouldn't be so sure of that. If nothing else, I confirmed my theory on why Talow's been rushing out of his therapy sessions the moment I show up.
Wait, you noticed that? So why's it happening? He hasn't mentioned anything to me.
Simple, Elle Tee: Imagine you spent two months being incredibly Not Over It with an ex who shot you down. Then imagine you were left alone for about thirty years, having no company outside your own thoughts. What do you think would happen?
Oh. I think I get it!
Then explain it to me?
It's cringe. That reaction is his attempt to not immediately roll up into a ball and die of shame.
Oh… like when I think about my school days.
Exactly.
Jeepies. Our handbooks don't have any information on how to handle that kind of problem!
That's because we don't have to. A problem like that isn't going to kill him unless I decide to beat him down myself.
So… to the grave, then?
Hah! Maybe later.
Next time, on Library of Ruina: Olivier returns, and we get more handshakes.
Videos
Hana Association 2
New Key Pages
New Combat Pages
Mirinae, Harold, Olivier Exclusive: