Last time we decided to try escaping from the lockdown in the hopes that doing so would not only allow us to survive, but also render the UEM Field useless since there would then be no point in trying to suppress the existence of demons now that some demon tamers, us, got out. We went through with it despite the game telling us it was a bad idea at almost every turn, and the consequences were predictably dire. So let’s see what happens next...
Like Amane’s 8th day, Yuzu’s strts up at the end of the final battle at the Electric Museum, with Izuna expressing her hopes that we’ll still be able to live before collapsing. Atsuro says that this leaves a bad taste in his mouth, but the death clock does go up. From 0 to 1. Uh, guys...? Now that they’re able to escape the scene jumps ahead to them arriving at the Scramble Crossing. Unlike the default ending of the route it’s not a hellscape, and Honda’s nowhere to be seen. In fact, the sky’s perfectly normal out here, meaning the red tint seems to be confined to the lockdown area. Yuzu says that the department stores around here are a sight for sore eyes after everything that’s happened this week, though they quickly notice that the area’s a ghost town. After a moment of alarm the crew realizes that everyone near the lockdown’s edge was probably evacuated due to the poison gas story and decide to start heading to their homes and let their families know that they’re okay since they still can’t get cellphone reception thanks to the government’s jamming. So they say farewell to each other and Keisuke and Midori go one way while Akira, Atsuro, and Yuzu go another.
Now that we’re out of the lockdown there are only two locations displayed on the overworld now. The first is where we just escaped from, Shibuya, where we can fight a free battle if we so want, while the second is west of the lockdown, Nakano Station. The crew arrives at the station’s outdoor bus terminal and is surprised to see that the place is empty here, too. Since they haven’t heard anything from the lockdown they assume that the final option was never used after all, but Atsuro still wonders if there’s something going on that they just can’t see. This far away from the lockdown though their phones are working again, but before Yuzu can place a call they hear a scream.
At the far end of the terminal they see a police officer and the criminal he just apprehended being surrounded by angels. The angels order the cop to relinquish the man to them to be judged, for mankind’s freedom has been revoked and they are to be the ones managing the world from now on. The cop thinks they’re full of nonsense, but the angels soon get distracted by the sight of us. More appear closer to us and the lead Kazfiel continues the chastisement right where the game left off, stating that they waited patiently these last seven days, giving humanity a chance to make things right on their own. But we failed, we escaped, and now humanity has no rights. So, good going guys. The cop and thug beat it while the angels are distracted, which means that now we have the angels’ full attentions.
Yuzu Mission 3
- All angels must be defeated
- The whole party cannot die
I imagine this mission must be a nasty wake-up call for those who picked Yuzu’s route on their very first playthrough. You could get through her two Day 7 battles with a minimum amount of grinding, and then the game springs this on you immediately after. Nine opponents, all of whom are in the mid-to-upper 50s, are tough to take down with three people and even with my inflated levels some of my guys had pretty close calls. Since we’re at a bus terminal the map’s nothing special though, so we can just wait for the angels to come to us, though a few have Culebres for an extended attack range. And throughout the battle they’ll continue to lecture us as well.
Completing the mission earns us 2300 EXP and 1500 macca.
Well the angel presence does explain why there seems to be nobody around. Yuzu laments that this is their fault but Atsuro points out that it seems like they were already here, since if they just arrived the city should be kinda panicked right now. As he’s saying this two SDF soldiers arrive on the scene, and they immediately identify us as the terrorists who broke out of the lockdown. Atsuro exclaims that that’s a bit harsh and the captain fires back that it’s all our fault the angels imposed martial, er, angelic law. Yeah we get it, what we did was bad and we should feel bad. The soldiers announce their intentions to arrest us and it’s then that Honda arrives, and he summons two Macabres to kill the men.
After the deed is done Honda off-handedly says “Hello terrorists. (...) Try to be more careful next time.” Atsuro’s outraged at the killings, but the man, who’s clearly unhinged by now, but not quite as much as he was in the default ending, shrugs him off and says that the government deserves it for trying to pin all the blame on demon tamers and he was just trying to return the favor, since it was thanks to us that he was able to escape. Like in the default ending he starts calling us heroes to all demon tamers and then whatever composure he had completely collapses and he proclaims that he’ll get revenge on all the SDF for his son’s sake, as he naturally died here too. But then he hits on the idea of having a strong demon bringing him back to life, so he departs the station, laughing maniacally. Atsuro gasps that he must be planning on going back to the lockdown and then says that if they’re going to get home, they need to be extra careful now that they’re considered terrorists in case the SDF has staked out their homes. So we’re on our way again, significantly less enthusiastic than we were before.
Since we’re moving away from the lockdown that Shibuya free battle is no longer available, which is a bit of a shame because I wanted to earn some more macca after burning through my wallet to fuse some new, high-level demons. Oh well. Our next event is a little further north of Nakano Station, in a residential area called Numabukuro. Atsuro says that it doesn’t look like they’re being followed but Yuzu’s concerned about why there’s still no one out on the streets. Akira and Atsuro try to calm her down since they’re almost to her house, but once they approach it Atsuro spots a black van parked outside it and urges everyone to hide. He gasps that he can see that the driver has a gun and they realize that the SDF must be staking out their homes. Yuzu tries her phone again and finally manages to contact her mother, and learns from her that she’s apparently evacuating in an SDF car along with Akira’s family before the call gets dropped. Atsuro tells her to turn her phone off before the call gets traced. So no, after all this time they still can’t go home. Them’s the breaks.
So the crew finally ends the day hiding out in a storeroom at a storage facility that Atsuro’s parents used to store their equipment before moving (if you remember at the start of the game he said that they work as engineers in America). Despite the fact that they at least have amenities now in the form of a bathroom and air conditioning Yuzu’s pretty depressed over what their escape attempt wrought. The game does mention that other demon tamers managed to break out too, but I don’t think that thread’s really brought up again. I guess the angels must’ve taken care of them, while Honda only escaped their wrath by returning to the lockdown. Maybe it will be later on, I don’t really remember at the moment.
Our end of day email comes from Naoya, who gives us a bit of an update on what’s been going on inside the lockdown since we got out. Since the Shomonkai summoned Belberith as they did in other routes and we're not around to beat him, neither the UEM Field or the angels’ superweapon from Honda’s Day 6 ending, God’s Thunder, have been used since he’d apparently just absorb them. Also, Jezebel managed to escape Amane’s body before Remiel could kill her and made it back to the demon world. So basically, as it stands demons are still roaming free and there’s absolutely nothing that can be done about it. Lovely.
8th Day - Man’s Decision
The next morning dawns with Atsuro yelling at the other two to wake up and saying that they need to get out of here because he heard someone asking around about them when he went out to buy breakfast. So we’re on the lam once more, and we can free battle again at Nakano Station, with the opponents being lead by angels. I spent some time there grinding so that I could finally fuse Metatron.
The next event is at Hatsudai, closer to the lockdown (though we can try returning to Yuzu’s house to see an SDF soldier questioning why they’re going after high school kids and not the Shomonkai). Near the Tokyo Opera City Tower the crew’s spotted by someone and we end up confronted by an SDF squad that’s after use not just because we’re “terrorists” but also because the murders Honda committed yesterday are being pinned on us. Good going, Honda. A host of angels show up too, intent on smiting us on the spot. Fun.
Yuzu Mission 4
- The mission ends when either:
- All enemies are defeated
- The whole party escapes
- The whole party cannot die
- Atsuro and Yuzu must be dispatched
There are two ways to handle this mission: we can try making our way from the plaza and up a winding set of stairs past a host of angels to the escape panels at the top...or we can elect to just fight everyone. My wallet’s feeling a little light still, so the option I’m taking should be obvious, heh.
Like the battle at Nakano Station there are a lot of adversaries to deal with, ten of them in fact. The three SDF teams don’t stand a chance - all they happen to be packing are the two abilities that Fushimi and Izuna had during that Day 5 battle: Long Range and Gunfire. Gunfire is supposed to be super effective on humans, but when they only have a one-in-three chance of actually hitting a human it’s pretty nonthreatening. When beaten they flee like all other human foes, the crew seemingly focusing on destroying their guns. The angels generally have the same team make-up they had at Nakano, and they’re really experience and macca pinatas at this point after the money grinding I just did.
Completing the mission earns us 2500 EXP and 1800 macca.
Atsuro on the angels and the SDF not seeing eye-to-eye on what to do about us, and wonders what exactly this means for humanity. Without a Messiah around to object, the angels are just going to continue on their “all crimes are equal, mankind is not worthy enough to judge itself” power trip. But in the meantime, they need to figure out a way to get both the angels and the government off of their backs. The solution Akira and Atsuro come up with? Go back into the lockdown, as they explain to Yuzu that they won’t be able to track them thanks to the jamming in there, and there are other demon tamers around to blend in with. Yuzu reluctantly agrees.
So after we spent all that time yesterday searching the various barricades for a way out, now we have to search them for a way in. Eventually we’re able to slip back in at Akihabara when some guards are called away by a disturbance. Once safely back inside the crew discuss what they should do next, and admit that what happened outside was their fault. They decide to make up for what they did by finding a way to send all the demons away and bring back peace. Back to square one and living the lockdown life.
Compendium
- Ongyo-ki
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- Ongyko-ki was one of the four oni alongside Fuu-ki, Kin-ki, and Sui-ki controlled by the Fujiwara no Chikata noble family of ancient Japan. Ongyo-ki special abilities were rooted in stealth, and it's speculated that he was one of the primary inspirations for ninjas.
- Yurlungur◊
- In Aboriginal lore Yurlungur is a serpent colored with the seven colors of the rainbow who brings rainfall. The basis of the myth seems to be an ordinary copper snake who appeared rainbow-hued thanks to light refracting through the water of the well it lived in.
- Asura◊
- Violent, triple-bodied deities who appear in numerous Asian religions. In Hinduism and Buddhism they are seen as embodying violence and vice, but in Japanese Buddhism and Zoroastrianism they are more positive and are forces for good, though in the case of the former they can be just as varied in personality as humans are.
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