Kama: Hm hm hm, at last, my turn to speak, is it? Kamadeva, Indian God of Love; you may call me Kama. I must confess I've become rather attached to this Sinclair Drake character; he called me through his Demon Fusion Program, but first, we met as enemies on the battlefield, and it was there he did something that I can never comprehend: he walked right up and spoke to me. Amused, I indulged him for a spell and told him his love was here in the Schwartzwelt. Is this the woman? This angel cloaked with the sun? Even I couldn't say that at this point; both of them have broken destiny into infinitesimal pieces. And no matter what choice he makes, they're on a collision course. It's going to be a Hell of a ride. Hm hm hm... HEE HEE HEE!
The questions Gore asks us here determine the fate of mankind and, more importantly, our path through the rest of the game. If we're neutral, like Drake is now, we get two questions; answering the first gets us locked into the Chaos path, and the second into the Law path. If we choose the Neutral options on all the questions, however, we remain on our original path of fighting for humanity, the Path of Most Resistance and of Neutrality.
Poltergeist: Suspense!
Drake: To everyone I've failed before... and will fail by making this choice, I'm sorry. Commander... my place is here; I fight with you!
Mithras: GYIIIIIIIII!
Kama: Oh, how interesting...
Erlkonig: Hrnff. Stubborn as an ox, this one.
Seraph: ...
If we had chosen Law or Chaos, we'd have to fight Gore. And while I've never done it, I've heard he's even harder than Ouroboros and Jack. Another good reason to be Neutral, apart from both the Wise Men and Louisa being off their respective gourds, that is.
Anyway, Gore reveals he knows about strange artifacts known as Cosmic Eggs which, if they were to be detonated, possess enough energy to seal off the human world from the demon world, thereby destroying the Schwartzwelt and saving the planet. However, they won't just blow themselves up, meaning we've also got to retrieve a detonator, namely, the nuclear warhead conveniently aboard the missing Gigantic.
Naga: How conv-
Guedhe: Would you give it a rest, mon?
Persephone: A brainwashing gun and a nuke? I'm starting the think that Jimenez character may have been onto something when he said none of us were expected to come back alive...
Valkyrie: Also, could someone get this guy to stop talking?
Xiuhtecuhtli: ...WHICH WILL LEAD YOU INTO THE SHRINE OF THE SILVER MONKEY...
Gore empowers Drake with his super-knowledge-of-all-the-Earth-stuff, then fades away, his body too unstable to go on any longer. The entire crew salute him.
The Cosmic Eggs are located in hidden areas in the first four sectors which can only be passed with the final Unlock upgrade, which Gore helpfully provides. It won't be all that easy getting them, though, as both Louisa's and Mastema's forces are on the move, because just as easily as these things can destroy the Schwartzwelt, they can also use it to reshape the Earth.
Zouchoten: We are creatures of Chaos...
Koumokuten: ...but we serve only Sir Drake.
The Kishin are really good, by the way; like Alice and Doppelganger their level downplays their usefulness. Now, it's time for an egg hunt!
Hua Po, Ubu, Acheri: HOORAY!
First, we stop by Antila, where the egg is past three dark areas, including one with level 3 darkness that can't be seen through yet. Louisa's people are already here, led by the Monkey King, Wu Kong. He's not hard. Just another "hit it 'till it dies" boss.
Next, Delphinus. This one's been secured by Mastema's guys, led by Cherub. He's the deadliest of the minibosses around here as he has Mahamaon, an annoyingly-accurate multi-target instant-death spell. Still, he's pretty weak.
Drake: I think it's the point where you guys can come out now. Sorry about leaving you hanging so long.
Ongyo-ki: Finally. My mighty axe yearns for combat!
Norn: We shall repair time. I am sure of it.
I made these two a while back, Ongyo-ki being the fusion of the three ogre brothers from Eridanus and Norn being the fusion of the three Fate sisters from Fornax; I haven't used them so far because, hey, I wanted a challenge. They're both plenty strong.
???: i believe it's time for me to make my move, too.
High Pixie: Sir Guardian!
???: This Drake was beneath my notice until now, but seeing as he seems to have befriended every other demon in these lands, I thought I might as well give him a shot.
High Pixie: With all due respect, My Lord, you're probably beyond what he needs at this point.
???: True. But if the cause of these temporal anomalies is what I think it is, he'll need all the help he can get...
The next-to-last egg is in Carina, and this one's a pain to find as it involves multiple floors, a sanctum, and a hidden door. Miniboss here is Zhu Yin; again, just hit him 'till he drops.
The last egg and the nuke are in Bootes. To get these, we go up the elevators, through a locked door, then up another elevator to a hidden part of the top floor.
Drake: I can do this... I know what's behind that door. Can I do this? Am I the good guy? Did I trade her, all the people I know, and a certain future for more Schwartzwelts? Am I the good guy....?
...
...am I the good guy...?
Yup, beyond the door is Zelenin, completely subsumed into Angelhood and a wee bit homicidal. She confiscates the nuke and starts a boss battle.
Drake: Zelenin, you're one of my best friends... I can't kill you! I'll try not to kill you... I must save the world... I must save the world...
Zelenin is crazy strong. She's got Wave of Death for lots and lots of pain, can buff up all her stats while healing at the same time (chuck a Dekaja Stone), and has the painful Megido Storm attack, an absolutely wicked thunder move. Like most thunder-users, however, she's weak to wind. Two new demons have joined the effort to stop her.
Pales: My part shall be played. It pains me to strike down a fellow creature of Order, but we are all simply cogs and this is my role.
Abaddon: HELLO.
When her HP gets low she starts spamming Sinner's Song, which inflicts damage and can cause Charm. Drake got hit by that a lot for some reason.
Vouivre, Bai Suzhen: OooooOOOOH!
Eventually, she goes down to a Hades Blast from Abaddon. She doesn't even get to die as herself. Very sad.
Drake: I'm... sorry...
Aaaaand Mastema shows up, gloating that while his plans have been foiled for now, he'll get Drake eventually.
Drake: Mastema... I don't have the patience right now. I mean, what do you say to a guy like you? Well, except perhaps: KfQ3tVmbRexOnaxu JavEYq0EJZCeNKwX.
Mastema: What? What's happening to me? Am I... NO! MISTER DRAKE! MISTER DRAKE! WE CAN DO A DEAL! I'LL BUY YOU A DELICATESSEN! IN STAINLESS STEEL! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN! MISTER DRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-
DEMONICA: *ping* PASSWORD ACCEPTED
Drake: Heh. ... That didn't help at all... I realized I never even got her first name... I... never... am... I... the good guy?
...
Drake: Sir Thoth.
Thoth: Mm?
Drake: You're the god that knows everything. So tell me. Tell me everything.
To be continued...
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