After Nanashi catches Toki, she gets to her feet and awkwardly departs. Navarre notices something "off" about her as she does so. Regardless it's a job well done for our heroes; Fujiwara and Skins call to inform them that the Mandala has been broken, and Nanashi and Asahi have been cleared of all charges.
Nanashi: Wow, we actually pulled it off.
Dagda spoils the mood by commenting on how the people of Tokyo have now completely reversed their position on Nanashi, labeling them all hypocrites who don't deserve to live.
Nanashi: Ggrmmmgble I wish that guy would shut up.
Pallas Athena: Summoner-child, a word?
Nanashi: Yes?
Pallas Athena: I am Athena, commander of the army of Olympus; I must admit your defeat of that Eastern god impressed me greatly. Still, part of my decision to join your group was... concern. I see you've been consorting with not just my idiot brothers, but Titans as well. I've come to warn you, therein lies madness... stay on the straight and narrow.
Titan: 'Bah. You Olympians are but usurpers; lest I remind you it was our age that was the golden one. When this is all over the world shall belong to Titans once again!
Medusa: Meheheheh... or perhaps it is time for monsters to rule at least...
Nanashi: I feel like I'm missing out on something here...
Prometheus: Millennia-old piffle, pay it no mind. Might I led my services to you, young one worthy of fire- oh dear, I feel I shall be punched soon.
Titan: You! Eat fist traitor!
(TITAN swings at PROMETHEUS, who dodges)
Prometheus: I also sense another demon behind you will soon make his presence known.
Fuu-Ki: Float like the ephemeral mayfly.
Nanashi: Wah! How long has he been there?
Fuu-Ki: As long as the days of the great tortoise.
Character notes: The most intelligent Greek god, he was a Titan who nevertheless sided with the Olympians in the great war, the Titanomachy. He is the creator of mankind and served as a Trickster Mentor to them; he famously stole the secret of fire from right under Zeus' nose and gave it to humanity. Zeus chained him to a rock as punishment, accompanied by his liver being eaten every day by a giant eagle, then regrowing at night. Eew. Zeus eventually allowed Hercules, his son, to free him. Fire specialist.
Personality notes: Can see a few seconds into the future.
Character notes: The second of the four Oni brothers from the Taiheiki; he was a highly speedy wind-user, as he is in the game as well. He gets Zandyne right off the bat; fun times.
Personality notes: Speaks in stereotypical ninja-like quotes.
Regardless, return to Kinshicho to find Asahi waiting in Nanashi's room (I think they might room together but I'm not sure). She apologizes for bailing on the group and always being a crybaby.
Nanashi: I mean, your dad died, girl. Take all the time you need.
Night Stalker: I hope she doesn't feel too bad. My tongue doeth.
Pele: Well if you weren't such a pig maybe you wouldn't have a mouth full of Chagrin spines.''
Nozomi leads the rest of the group out... and Asahi begins dropping a whole lot of hints she's fallen for Nanashi. She realizes what she's saying and conspicuously backpedals before excusing herself in embarrassment.
Asahi: Wait what? Asahi's... into me? Like... that? I mean she's sure cute but... we're practically siblings and... I am very confused.
Phoenix: Pshaw. Humans are so selfish. TWO lovely young ladies to choose from and his reaction is bewilderment? How terribly pedestrian...
Nanashi: Right, that's enough from you all tonight.
HALF MOON
Nanashi wakes up to his phone blaring. Asahi and Nozomi are in the room and inform him that the worst has occurred: Shesha is truly back!
Nanashi: You never can rest around here, huh...
It seems Krishna wasn't just blowing smoke; Shesha is attacking the Ikebukuro district highway. Head out to the map. We're essentially going to be going through Ikebukuro "backwards" to how it was in Vanilla, entering through the east entrance and going out the West.
Nanashi: Ikebukuro, huh? Heard a pretty big-name demon rolled over that place a while ago. Flynn killed it, though.
Qing Niuguai: That's a lie! Lady Xi Wangmu did nothing wrong! This is all a smear campaign against Chinese demons!
Patriot: To protect... this country... we shall... slay the serpent.
Yoshitsune: I could not agree more, my more modern brother-in-arms. Your methods lack the finesse of those of my day, but technology does march on.
Jeanne d'Arc: We must slay zees serpent so ze Lord's Kingdom shall be realized!
Nanashi: Gah! More weird people appearing from my Gauntlet!
Character notes: This is simply an uber-nationalistic zombie soldier draped in an American flag. Weirdly, while he was an American zombie in his origin, Devil Summoner, he actually seems to be a Japanese one here, given how he prattles on about "this country," that is, Japan, they just didn't edit the sprite. Gun specialist.
Personality notes: As per the game's unique dialogue
Character notes: The first of the accident-exclusive "Famed" race, Yoshitsune was a Japanese general of the Genpei War to whom mythology ascribed a lot of superhuman abilities and mystical feats, as well as stating he was a disciple of the Kurama Tengu. Phys specialist.
Personality notes: A skilled but rather amoral strategist.
Character notes: Saint Joan of Arc herself, the Maid of Orleans, is the second Famed. Like Yoshitsune, she was a real person ascribed supernatural abilities by hagiography. She was one of the greatest heroes of the Hundred-Years War between France and England, but the English eventually executed her on trumped-up charges. She is revered as a saint by the Catholic Church. She's a healer who is the first demon with Mediarama, the medium-tier heals-all move, which you could get way earlier in IV Vanilla.
Personality notes: An upbeat and charismatic warrior of the Lord!
Jeanne d'Arc: We are 'eroes, non? We appear when you need us.
King Frost:' THAT IS A LOAD OF HEEEEE-HOOOOOOOLY SHIT.
Nanashi: This place is kind of a dump. The Radar says I'm getting closer, though. Some new... people about to recruit, too...
Grendel: WROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAR! NOW I SAY NOW, YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE GRENDEL!? PROVE IT YOU LITTLE SHRIMP!
Nanashi: Have some Life Stones and Macca; don't NEARLY have the time.
Grendel: YOU THINK YOU CAN PLY ME WITH LITTLE GIFTS, KID!? WELL YOU'D BE RIGHT! JUST DON'T LET IT GET OUT!
Catoblepas: Oh my sweet Lucifer would you just be quiet? I'm depressed enough as it is!
Nanashi: Probably shouldn't tell that guy I've been collecting Catoblepas Eyes for a quest...
(This is an actual quest by the way)
Catoblepas: So all we are is just tools to you!? Pieces of beef to be cut into any form you want!? Huh, HUH?
Zhong Kui: Stand down there, big fella, it's gonna be alright.
Ghoul: Flesssssssshhhhhh... Must... have.... Magnetite!
Character notes: The nemesis of the Nodic hero Beowulf, Grendel was a savage monster who terrorized Denmark until Beowulf was hired to put an end to him. Their first fight ended with Beowulf ripping his arm off but Grendel escaping to his lair below a nearby lake; Beowulf slew him and his even master mother the next day. Phys specialist.
Personality notes: Really angry pro wrestler.
Character notes: A monster of Ethiopian lore and pretty much the only thing from non-Egypt East Africa that make regular appearances in the series. It's said to be a giant buffalo with one eye that lives by the Nile and always keeps its head pointing downward - goofs thing, too, as like the Basilisk looking right at a Catoblepas turns you to stone or just causes you to drop dead. He's an Elec and Phys-user with an interesting new move - Eat Whole, which hits all opponents and drains HP. He and several other large bestial demons had this move in Soul Hackers, where it was A LOT stronger and could easily wipe a party.
Personality notes: Always dreary and depressed; sees the dark cloud behind every silver lining.
Character notes: An animated corpse of Muslim lore, Ghouls are flesh-eating demons that possess dead bodies and use them to devour living humans, especially children. The modern concept of a "Zombie" interestingly owes more to Ghouls than it does to the traditional Haitian Zombies, who were brainwashed humans. Phys and Dark-user.
Personality notes: Traditional brain-eating zombie.
Baphomet: That infernal thing jumps on me every chance he gets!
Chupacabra: Delicious gooooooaaaaaaaaat...
Tsuchigumo: Wanna buy a Relic of Revival?
Anzu: Sure, I'll swap you one for Lucifer's genuine toenail! Gives you the power to rule the world!
Arachne: So we're in agreement, yes? We deliciously destroy Athena tomorrow!
Medusa: Ohhhhh yes... our revenge shall be true art!
Hare of Inaba: I d-don't like all the p-poison!
Alice: BUNNYYYYYYY <3 <3 <3
Hare of Inaba: N-NOT AGAIN!
Nanashi: ...sometimes I wonder if there's such thing as "too many demons."
Anyway, head underground to find the same scene of carnage as in Shinjuku and Shibuya before. The bar owner is still there, though, presumably so you can do delivery quests like the one for Catoblepas Eyes.
Hsing-Hsing: I really tellsh ya... back in my day the drinkssssshhhhhh here were da real shhhhhhit, not like this... shhhhtuff here... drinkie drinkie...
Sui-Ki: Ooh! Fuzzy monkey! Sui-Ki like monkey!
Hsing-Hsing: I tellllllsssssssh ya, back in my day da Sui-Kishhhhh were DISH big! Bigger dan a Mothman!
Wild Hunt: This pageant has quickly become a farce... the time now nears! Come, we ride!
Character notes: Another weird thing from China, a Hsing-Hsing is a being with the body of a monkey and the face of a human. He loves the sauce. He's another one of those "gets Phys moves that cause ailments" demons.
Personality notes: You really need to ask?
Character notes: The third of the Taiheiki Oni brothers, Sui-ki was a water-manipulator, reflected in-game by being an Ice user. Like the Fates, these three rose to prominence with their roles as bosses in Nocturne.
Personality notes: Big dumb Hulk-like character that speaks in third person.
Character notes: A pan-European supernatural phenomenon, the Wild Hunt was a ghoulish parade of spectral humans and animals that rode across the sky, foretelling impending doom. In Germanic territories Odin was said to be their leader, while in Celtic ones it was Gwynn, the capricious fairy lord. Phys and ailment-user.
Personality notes: Another apocalyptic fatalist like Macabre, but more dour.
Mithras: Egad... demon saturation is reaching critical mass!
Melchom: Yes... it won't be long now. A reckoning is coming.
Head up into the West Entrance area where there are some scared civilians to talk to. The Radar blares ever louder.
Nanashi: There's something terrible I sense up ahead...
Shesha is on the highway overlooking this area. To get up there, we need to climb the building in the center. The highway area itself has been expanded somewhat; there are now other paths you can jump onto to find treasure and such.
Vivian: So you seek to slay a great dragon, eh? Truly the mark of a goodly knight!
Pisaca: Drrrrrraaaaaaaagon? That mean dinneeeerrrrrrrr?
Orthrus: ME KING! ME CHEW ON BIG SNAKE LIKE BIG BONE!
Character notes: The only Arthurian demon to regularly show up, Vivian or Vivianne was King Arthur's benefactress, the Lady of the Lake. Vivianne was her french name; her Celtic name was Niamh or Nimue. She bestowed Arthur's sword, Excalibur, on him, and was among the women who took him to Avalon when his treacherous nephew Mordred slew him. Ice and buff user.
Personality notes: Still has her role as patroness of knights; she looks on Nanashi's martial career with great interest.
Character notes: A type of very powerful and evil Preta in Hindu lore. They crawl in your mouth and possess you, and even seeing ones is an omen of death. Yowza. On the plus side, they say they can help you solve annoying mazes in video games... Dark and ailment user
Personality notes: Ravenous glutton with little intelligence.
Character notes: Cerberus' lesser-known kid brother in Greek lore, with two heads to Cerberus' three. He was the son of the primal monsters Typhon and Echidna, and banged his mom in some versions to make more monsters (I wish I knew the origin of the prevalence of incest stories in mythology). He ended up in the employ of the Titan Geryon, where Hercules smashed his head in while attempting to steal Geryon's cattle for his Twelve Labors. Fire and Phys specialist.
Personality notes: Standard "Beast" personality which I find really funny.
Head into the next, and final, area to meet the Eternal Serpent once more. He seems to have changed form completely; he's now green, scaly, and covered with eyes all over his body.
Nanashi: And here I thought he couldn't get uglier!
What's more, he can speak now! He seems to have actually been gaining knowledge as he's observed humanity. Obviously, he's... kinda steamed at us for killing him back then.
BOSS: SNAKE SHESHA
LEVEL 55. Resists everything, weak to Ame-no-Habakiri and Spear of Michael
You remember how this goes, yes? Set Gaston as your partner and use Nanashi as the main attacker, with his basic physical strike using Ame-no-Habakiri. The demons should focus on buffing, and Tetrakarn is also helpful if you have it as most of his attacks are Physical.
He has Serpent's Hunger, Seismic Yawn, Venomous Flare, and Earthquake from his prior battles, and has picked up three new moves. The first is Critical Eye. Yeah, ow. Next is Thousand Heads, which is a single-strike high-crit-low-hit move; it might actually be literally identical to Mortal Jihad, just with a different name. Last is Wave of Endless Power, an Almighty move that's basically... Megidola with a different name. He seems to use this more often if you protect against Phys, but it's not a sure thing.
Ishtar: How cute! I shall rejoice when this mighty serpent goes limp!
Shesha has no way of buffing himself or de-buffing you whatsoever, however, he does have a few Boss Banter moments. In the first, he coils up, preparing to do his full-heal move from before. Obviously, the answer is to hit him before he can complete it.
Nanashi: Only I can heal to full around here, bub!
Next, he'll hunker down and use the eyes on his head to do some sort of move to freeze you in place (this is scripted, not an actual attack). The correct response here is to let your partner attack him. Lastly, he'll rear back and attempt a massive strike on you. Correct response here is to attack him together with your partner.
Nanashi: Dunno why that guy in my phone keeps saying teamwork sucks. It's really producing results for me!
Not that Shesha isn't tough, but his inability to buff himself or cancel yours means that he really doesn't live up to the hype, sadly. As he slumps across the highway in defeat, he says even this will not be the last of him...
Nanashi: Man I'd hate to have to do this again...
Once the Serpent falls, an Orias appears!
Orias: Bah; in no way am I that plump.
The Orias states that he is a messenger of Lucifer, and with Shesha slain, the time to strike on the Divine Powers is now! Both Lucifer and Merkabah will be advancing to Tsukiji!
Yatagarasu: Then join in, we shall as well!
(YATAGARASU swoops in, landing on the hand of a tall, red-robed god orbited by two spheres)
Okuninushi: Futotama-san!
Futotama: Indeed. I, Head Diviner to Queen Amaterasu herself, have taken prescient interest in you, young one! The end of your quest nears!
Hitokotonushi: Quest nears... quest nears... quest nears... nears... nears...
Ukano Mitama: Bountiful harvests shall come to this city again!
Hitokotonushi: Again... again... again...
Character notes: Messengers of the Amatsukami of Japanese lore, they take the form of three-legged crows. They serve the chief goddess Amaterasu in particular and were said to have helped Jimmu, Japan's founder, defeat his enemies and establish the country. His skills are extremely offbeat as he actually has a positive affinity in something he's weak to, namely Gun; he gets Fire moves as well.
Personality notes: Speaks in "backwards" statements a la Yoda.
Character notes: Another Amatsukami, though not grouped under that race for whatever reason, Futotama is the god of sacred divination. During the episode of Amaterasu's flight from the sky (more on that later) it was Futotama's rituals that let the gods find her. He's actually the only demon that has NO skill affinities, positive or negative, whatsoever, but he does get both "Knowhow" skills. So basically he's an item-bot.
Personality notes: Yet another grandiose god; sorry if these more important gods are running together.
Character notes: The Japanese god of words, whose very speech allows things to be true. Japanese Emperor Yuraku supposedly met him in person, and he mimicked everything the Emperor said or did. Light and buff-user.
Personality notes: Everything he says is an echo of something someone else said.
Character notes: Japanese god of the harvest and foxes; he's another form of Inari the main harvest god. Like many fertility gods he's looked to to provide bountiful crops, and is actually the Japanese god with the most shrines to him. He's another pure healer, including getting Mediarama.
Personality notes: Talks about the harvest a lot and encouraged Nanashi to eat his veggies.
Prometheus: And I sense these are not your only reinforcements! Look there!
Lailah: Well isn't this just the most adorable little summoner! I can't believe you weren't chosen to enter Mikado! Let's go smite some foreign gods!
Slepnir: I humbly request you avoid smiting Lord Odin, though! I must speak to him...
Character notes: The first of the big-name angels to appear, Lailah is the Jewish angel governing the good aspects of the night, including the conception of children; she was viewed as a Good Counterpart to Lilith in that respect. Light and healing-user.
Personality notes: Coddling grandmotherly figure.
Character notes: Odin's eight-legged horse of Norse lore. His mother was Loki, who turned into a female horse and got pregnant because Loki's like that. His eight legs gave him the greatest speed in the cosmos and thus he became the personal vehicle of the King of the Gods. Light and buff specialist.
Personality notes: A noble, knightly horse.
Nanashi: So now I have a fish-dragon thing, a giant bird, AND a horse with eight legs to ride on? Freakin' sweet! Makes me want to, well, go raid one of the holiest places in the city!
