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[ENTERING THE THIRD KALPA]
[...]
[]
ALLBIOS(C)0000 CHAOS APPARATUS
[STARTUP]
0CmdLine=ALL_Product_ID_FIX.cmd
0Parameters=
1CmdLine=SEP_Client_Cognitive_Hardware_ID_Fix.bat
1Parameters=
2CmdLine=ALL_Time_Sync.cmd
2Parameters=
3CmdLine=ALL_Space_Sync.cmd
[]
[]
EMOTION+RATIONALE=CATASTROPHE\-\CATASTROPHE+RATIONALE=DARKNESS
CONFUSION+RATIONALE=DIVINITY/-/DIVINITY+RATIONALE=CATASTROPHE
CATASTROPHE+EMOTION+DIVINITY=GOODNESS
[]
REROUTE COMPLETE [...] CHAOS INITIATED [] KALPA ACTIVE
[WE BEGIN TO THINK AND BREATH LIFE]

~~~
Archive: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Levelman
Questcord: https://discord.gg/BHk6RfhGTw
>>
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"GO. WITH THE STRENGTH I BESTOW UPON YOU, REDEEM ALL YOU CAN. UNLEASH YOUR POWER. EMBRACE YOUR FATE GIVEN OF YOURSELF. DO GOOD IN THIS WORLD AND GOOD WILL COME OF YOU YET, DA'AT."
>>
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That foreboding farewell...

The harrowing battle...

My body still feels sore in the aftermath, but I have never felt stronger than I am now.

Through the means of speaking to us by battle, speaking in the language of action itself, the highest form of communication, we struggled and wrestled with NEGAI, until we were worn and at our limits, forced to break through them to survive. To finish our sentence. To thrive and galvanize in our purpose. By doing so, and impressing the Machine God, we began to achieve counteraction. We fulfilled whatever ulterior motive it was that the Machine God had for strengthening us, the deities sworn to the Psyops, of all people. I still know not why he sought us out, beyond illuminating to us-... Well. To me, his own purpose. The truth I already suspected, but never could confirm. The daunting tasks that lied ahead...

All I heard was his story, but there was so much I wanted to ask. So much I wasn't allowed to do before I was gone and thrust back into the world. I suppose I can only just keep moving forward.

And forward...

I'll find out, when I find out...
>>
[HALE] "-una? Muna?"

'Ah...'

I snapped out of some trance I was in, deep in thought.

[HALE] "Are you quite alright?"

'Ah- eh. Y-...es. Yes. I'm fine. I just lost my train of thought for a second is all.'

[HALE] "Snrt..."

I heard him internally thinking up some bad joke about locomotives and conducting from hearing me, the Psychic Goddess, say such a term.

[HALE] "Well. It seems that's all that was gathered. But, it is still invaluable knowledge indeed..."

[HALE] "The Collective Unconsciousness..."
>>
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We had returned to the Psyops Bunker quite a while back. I and my companions were divulging what we found out. But mostly what I found out. The information was invaluable.

[JENK] "It was never any secret that the sheer amount of belief that Huangdi channels from his followers is the source of his omnipotence... but to think that he was the one who began it all... in a way, he really was the source of this world we've come to inhabit... but not as we knew."

[ESKART] "These findings are eerily consistent with degrees of theories that scholars in my country have developed for years. But the magnitude in which we could postulate was never to this. Nobody has ever dreamt before of such a metaphysical framework... That the Machine God itself had to reveal this information to Muna personally... I can only fear that, somehow, Huangdi has placed fail safes in our world itself."

[HALE] "To prevent the discovery."

[ESKART] "Precisely. Thought itself is a concept as well as the ones we champion on our own. He must have meddled, tampered with it somehow, anyway he could to prevent men from getting close to that which he'd consider most dangerous of all to himself. To prevent them and us all from awakening, and dreaming of our beings. We only ever knew of belief, but we never imagined a clear light acting as a connection between us all on the scale of this universe and beyond. A collective of our unconscious beings subjectively experiencing ourselves... shaping ourselves however we wish."

'And he's rigged it in his favor. He's ensured that we'd only imagine and shape him.'

The Emperor's insidiousness runs deep to no end. It is bottomless.

'Somehow, one way or another, we have to find a way to counter him. To reverse it. To make him fall and return to what he really is. We were born as gods, thanks to him. But him? He was born a mortal. To a mortal he must be able to return.'

[HALE] "We're gifted to know this. We cannot squander it. But for now, we should all rest and plan our moves for tomorrow. We have a lot of work ahead of us.'

I agreed.

Ludwyhn had already long returned to his Hall among the World of Mythology, and Wolfboy was taking a short hibernation for a few days. It was time for us to digest information and get ready. Jenk decided to return to his farm and tend his crops, while Eskart told us he'd be on speed dial whenever we needed him, and decided to return to Belkinsire to check in on his people. Shennu told me she had duty to the oceans to fulfill, and went on her way to ensuring the oceans remained pure still.

I was left alone for the time being to meditate in my personal abode while Hale prepared the Psyops.
>>
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In the next few days, the personnel were properly outfitted thanks to the efforts of Hale and Kurt. Krina and Catastrovania were busy with their own projects that required executive attention.

[MAJORDOMO] "Riiiiiise and shiiiiiiiine!"

[JOCO] "YOU'RE GONNA MISS BREAKFAST! GET UP!"

My eyes fluttered open from where I saw in my chamber. I stood up and stretched my legs. It was a new day.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8-Uk9h-wGg

[ You can now access the Psyops Deployments. ]
[ Psyops Deployments will see your troops embarking on various missions of Redemption across Hainei to work against the various threats of the Final War and prevention of further release of evils upon the world. These missions are risky, and require the best of the best. Thankfully, now the Psyops Troop Tree is complete, and your soldiers and agents are ready to serve. Psyops Deployments Missions are structured like and follow a series of event progressions, the outcomes of which will be determined often by the decisions made by high command. It is your job to ensure your soldiers are given the right orders for the best effects when monitoring them in these missions. ]
>>
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>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Recruit Team leads to follow the Department Heads. (1d5 roll.)
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Go get breakfast.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Inquire with Krina and Catastrovania about the latest research initiative.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Akasa, God of Space (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Master Garlo, God of Fire (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
• Ghole, Guide of the Dead (The Hellhole)
• Dark Lord Heus, God of Darkness, Death and Despair (The Hellhole)
• Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
• Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod (Victory Vale)
• Namithene, Goddess of Love (Frostreach Continent)
• Dite, Angel Demigoddess (World of Mythology)
• Ecules, the High Aspostle of the Fist (The Rampart of August Stars)
• Igman, God of Secrets (Eikrise City)
• Warichud, God of Thunder (The Warrens)
• Goldbrand, God of Destruction (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
• Yutu the Jade Rabbit (The Moon)
• Surasira, Bovine Goddess of Milk and Torpor (Land of Milk)
>>
>>5879110
>• Igman, God of Secrets (Eikrise City)
God of secrets, let's see what knowledge he hoards.
>>
>>5879110
>Go on a Godtalk:
>• Igman, God of Secrets (Eikrise City)
>• Surasira, Bovine Goddess of Milk and Torpor (Land of Milk)
>>
>>5879110
>Go on a Godtalk
>Igman, God of Secrets (Eikrise City)
Knowledge is power
>>
>>5879110
>Warichud, God of Thunder (The Warrens)
Chud lol
>>
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[ CITY OF EIKRISE ]

I decided to skip breakfast. Not that I ever adhered to it before, much to Joco and Majordomo's consternation. If I wanted to eat I'd simply eat a big meal, later, of course. No, what I thought I needed right now was to go out and get some fresh air. I wasn't going far, so I didn't need to inform anyone. Besides, it was morning. Hale was still sleeping in come eight'o'clock, as were a lot of the Psyops and the front workers.

Like a ghost, I had phased through the walls by changing my density and rose up until I was in the city above our Bunker, Eikrise. Eikn's Beacon.

Down below, I saw the city busy in the morn, mortals sprawling about. My eyes fluttered over the bright pumpkin and shamrock and basil roofs and spires. Cars moved through the streets, people went to work by foot and by the metro. I was unseen, of course, standing atop the roof of the Felwischer factory. I took in a deep breath, sucking through my teeth and exhaled. The wind was cool today. The sky was hardly dotted by any cloud. It was peaceful.

[MAJORDOMO] "Hey, look. A bird."

Ah? I looked down and yes, there was a bird here, making a nest on the edge of the factory roofs. A cuckoo bird.

'Hehe...'

I crouched down and observed the feathery little thing, how it danced about to assemble its nest from sticks and thistles. Unlike humans, it could see me, all thanks to the common perceptions of animals being able to see what men couldn't. Like how a dog barks at seemingly nothing in empty spaces, or a cat mewls at the invisible. This bird wasn't afraid of me, not at all.

'It's cute.'

It looked up at me. It tweeted and prodded the nest. It was all alone...
'Hmm...'
It wouldn't make it on its own, especially not having chosen the factory of all places for its nest. I decided to give it a friend.
'Here you go, little one.'

I opened my palm, and a male cuckoo hopped out of it, that I made then. The two cuckoos stared at each other for that moment as I regarded their lives, and then bounced closer to elope. I saw their beaks touch.

'Let's move you somewhere safer, kay...?"

And with the consent of these birds, I chose to pick up their nest and move them from the factory, away from all those grinding industrial sounds and smoggy fumes to a tree, a nice one elsewhere in the city.

'Hmhm...'

'...'

As I had set the birds in their nest down on a sturdy branch, I couldn't help but stare into the distance past the leaves. My vision went wandering to a rooftop spire so far, far away. The peak of a chapel dedicated to Eikn. The thing atop it...

[JOCO] "What kind of bird is that?"

[MAJORDOMO] "Iunno, I ain't ever seen a bird shaped like a guy before."

'Which means it's worth checking out. No human is so comfortable balancing themself out like that....'
>>
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I approached the... figure I saw. The strange man shaped thing, snugly fit in a skin tight outfit of some kind. Of which I could only see his exposed grey hands. He was covered in wrappings tied tightly around his body, flowing in the wind around him. They were marked by purplish patterns of eyes.

He was ranting.

[IGMAN] "Time. Time is not how we think. The slowed that came to a crawl. The feet firmly planted. Neither is energy. Herald of extinction above. Pejoration breeds hate."

Uh...?

[IGMAN] "...How do these ancients shut their eyes? How does one fail to see? Unravel the force, you end eternity."

'Ex... Excuse me?' I said softly.

I shuddered as the thing snapped his head towards me. His body was contorted in unnatural ways. He twisted his limbs around, and I could hear them creaking with every way he moved.

[IGMAN] "What so easily can be grasped. What hides in plain sight. What will destroy you."

The thing before me pointed at... me.

'Destroy me...?'

[IGMAN] "You will be destroyed. Undone. Unmade utterly by it. Because you can't grasp it. But I can find the secret. I can find every secret.."

'...You are Igman, the God of Secrets, are you not?'

[IGMAN] "Secrets are many. I cannot know them, for it would not be a secret then. But I can show one how to uncover them. That is all the God of Secrets can do. That is the way. I am guided by the higher will. I come and I go."

'You've come to show me a secret then, is it?'

[IGMAN] "You can only find one. I will only open one the way to one. The lead is the carrot on the string. Grab it, but be fast. The pole dangler moves with the flow, they will prevent you from grabbing it. Strike the ground with your feet and see."

[IGMAN] "Introspect yourself upon the riddles of Time. Fortune.... Energy... Pejoration."

(Igman's patience: 1 question.)

>What will I ask the Woldorian God of Secrets?
• "Tell me the secret of Time."
• "Tell me the secret of Fortune."
• "Tell me the secret of Energy."
• "Tell me the secret of Pejoration."
• Write in.
>>
>>5879653
Either
>"Tell me the secret of Time."
Or
>"Tell me the secret of Pejoration."
Or if we're feeling daring...
>Tell me the secret of Chaos
>>
>>5879653
>• "Tell me the secret of Time."
going with time
>>
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>>5879667
>>Tell me the secret of Chaos
>
>>
>>5879653
>"Tell me the secret of Time."
Fortune or Energy are both smarter but Time is more esoteric and therefore better.
>>
>"Tell me the secret of Time."

Igman's head twisted at me.

[IGMAN] "How old is one?"

'...?'

[IGMAN] "How. Old. Is. One?"

'What... what do you mean? Do you mean like... how old humans live for?'

The God of Secrets remained unmoving. He was like a statue... It was an eerie display.

I had to give that some thought. Well, Hale for example is approaching one thousand years old at this point. People like Charles had lived for a very long time, Charles himself was over sixteen hundred years old. Was this what he meant...?

'Well, from my understanding, humans are able to live for hundreds, if not thousands of years.'

Igman nodded.

[IGMAN] "Time's secret."

'You mean to tell me that Time itself is the reason for mortal longevity?'

Hale told me it was the New Eternity. That was the point. Lord Sarakha made the New Eternity the era of the world, and the blessing of this age began to extend human lifespans. Under the New Eternity, mortals can live far longer, that way everyone has a chance to Immortalize in their lifetime. So what was it that Igman meant to imply here that it was Time, and not the New Eternity, that granted such effects?

[IGMAN] "Time... Time is... in a state. It is in frenzy. I do not know the secret of Time... but I can tell you where to find it..."

'Where then must I go?'

[IGMAN] "Heaven."

'You speak something preposterous then! I could not go to Heaven right now!'

[IGMAN] "If you want to find the secret, you will. Or, it will destroy you. The secret to Time lies in Heaven."

'Then the Emperor is also the god of time. It is all too clear.'

[IGMAN] "No."

'...?!'

[IGMAN] "I can only provide the lead. I cannot provide the secret."

'Then how do you know the Emperor is not the god of time? How is it that you disagree with me?'

[IGMAN] 'I don't know. I just have a feeling. All I can do is point in a direction. That is my role as the God of Secrets. My directions are never wrong."

I sighed and closed my eyes for just a second. When I reopened them, he was already gone.

[MAJORDOMO] "The hell? How did he disappear like that?! Not even we noticed..."

I looked about, for any sign of the God of Secrets, but I found none. Like a wind, he had just come and gone, just like that. All he appeared for was to share his ability with me for the briefest of seconds. It was so vexing I almost forgot what secret it was he aimed to help reveal to me...

Time...

Time lies in Heaven, then?

And if I do not uncover the secret of Time, it will destroy me...

...

Ominous.
>>
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(So that was the God of Secrets, Igman... He himself is a total weirdo. But I can see why he's apart of the Woldorian Pantheon. Woldor must use him and his power to reveal secrets of any kind he desires to find. Another clue as to why they hold out so well against the pressure of the Trinity. But who is the 'higher will' that Igman claims guides him? Is it the Machine God, who has for intents and purposes meddled with many gods before? Or Woldor himself, trying to help me out from behind the scenes as the unseen benefactor he tends to be for some? I do not know. I will be interested in seeing Igman again someday...)
>>
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I returned to the Bunker below the city some time after. I just decided to go bird watching for a little while longer and ponder what I'd heard. I suppose I can consider going to Heaven, or as close as I can some day, just to see what I find... but I'm still not sure. It might be dangerous...

By the time I was back in the bunker, everyone was awake, save for those who worked the night shifts and were sleeping now. Hale was in the command room having coffee.

[HALE] "Goddess. Coffee?"

I declined. I didn't like it black like he did.

[HALE] "Mm. By the way, the rabbit you brought, Taifu? She wants your help with something in the Ecclesiastic chamber whenever you're free."

I'll keep that in mind.

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Recruit Team leads to follow the Department Heads. (1d5 roll.)
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Go get breakfast.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Inquire with Krina and Catastrovania about the latest research initiative.
>Inquire with Taifu in the Psychic-Church Hall.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Master Garlo, God of Fire (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
• Ghole, Guide of the Dead (The Hellhole)
• Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
• Dite, Angel Demigoddess (World of Mythology)
• Goldbrand, God of Destruction (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
• Surasira, Bovine Goddess of Milk and Torpor (Land of Milk)
>>
>>5879767
>Go see Taifu
Let's see what the bunny wants with us
>>
>>5879767
>Inquire with Taifu in the Psychic-Church Hall.
>>
>>5879767
>Inquire with Taifu in the Psychic-Church Hall.
Taifu seems decent enough. IP likes to jump but I've voted twice so far, I swear it by the Yellow Emperor.
>>
But as a matter of fact, why not go tend to the issue now?

I made my way down to the chamber that houses the Ecclesiastic efforts of the Psyops. First I was greeted by two glass doors that opened automatically for me walking in, and saw a little reception area with some tables here and pamphlets in holders. Next, I pushed open a set of two wooden doors and beheld myself to the sanctum within.

'Woah...'

[MAJORDOMO] "Bit of an assault to the eyes, innit?"

[JOCO] "I like it!"

[MAJORDOMO] "Course you do, you look like it."

The room inside, to say the least, was colorful...
It was painted in myriad patterns and carefully stroked in such an expert way. As I walked down between the pews, I saw Taifu sitting there on one, munching a freshly pounded Mochi.

'What is this place?' I asked.

[TAIFU] "Bweh!" She jumped in her seat; "You mean to tell me you don't even recognize the Psychic Church Hall you yourself had made...?"

'Ah. I haven't taken the chance yet to come and see what this place is like for myself.'

[TAIFU] "Well, it was a lot more pale and blank. I picked up the paint and got some help to make it look this way myself! I thought it fit your characteristic better, god-dess~ Besides, it's a Psychic Church, can't have it looking like a copycat of Pantocrator's chapels now!"

The Rabbit priestess stood up in front of me.

[TAIFU] "Hmm... Now there's just one thing. There's not really a whole bunch of organization 'round here."

Ah, I guessed not.

'You are on the Ecclesiastics team, aren't you?'

[TAIFU] "Yep. But there ain't a team lead yet. So a lot of folks part of this team are just doing their own things, but they don't really have one focus. I had to convince others to help me touch up the church here on my own, for example. So, since you brought me down from the Moon to worship you, you oughta make me the Team Lead for Ecclesiastics so I can whip it into better shape."

'Hm. Alright, I suppose that would be a good choice.'

[TAIFU] "Well, yes, but that's not all. I kinda need some ideas here to run with myself."

'What do you mean exactly?'

[TAIFU] "Well, you know already that I worship the Lord. You might be a *goddess*, but really, I just think you're one of Pantocrator's angels~ Ooh, but that's not the point. See, we Lunar Rabbits have traditions and rituals."
>>
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'Ah, well, every deity does. So you're wondering what mine are, then.'

Taifu nodded with a smile.

[TAIFU] "Yep. See, the Ecclesiastics are supposed to be dedicated to worshiping you and providing you faith as a goddess. We really are just a cult. But we're a bit clueless. We don't know much of how to adore you directly. Other known deities have their own rituals and things. We Lunar Rabbits like to pound mochi as a cultural thing, and some uses of it are for religion too. We sometimes give our brothers and sisters a eucharist in Pantocrator's name and share a bread we bake. Sometimes, we celebrate sabbath nights by pounding a special yellow kind of mochi in his name. We have specific prayers and we even do things sometimes like fast or paint in the Lord's name."

[TAIFU] "So, what I'm wondering is, what do adorers of the Psychic Goddess do in her name? Hm? What kind of rituals do we do to praise you with? What do worshipers who want to become psychic to glorify you exhibit as hobbies? Do we carve statues of you? Brush only the bottom teeth in your name? Have a psychic dance party on a specific date?"

I see. This is what Taifu needed help with.

[Taifu has been elected as the Team Lead of the Ecclesiastics Team, or as the Specialist Officer. Each Director subordinate to you as the Executive in Psyops has a Specialist Officer underneath them in the hierarchy.]

I just need to think about how to help Taifu's dilemma if I'm making her a Team Lead...

>What will I do?
>>
>>5879848
shit thats actually a good question, what WOULD ours be?
Fuck, weekly philosophical debates? I think that'd be characteristic and also have some practical benefit through some shit with divining the nature of things or something.
Thoughtful meditation to train the mind would be good also. If our psychics aren't capable of formulating a thesis on why every HEUS-fag should kill themselves ASAP in the span of milliseconds then we have failed as a goddess. I'm talking turbo supercomputer brainiac shit.
>>
>>5879848
Hmm... How about every adherent of Muna keep a small rug with a simple geometric pattern in it to sit on? Or to have around. Something tangible themselves but not as ostentatious or difficult to conceal as an idol.
>>
>>5879848
>>5879858
I got it, sketching would be a good practice within that cult. it's associated with remote viewing, weird visions and whatnot, so encouraging them to draw and focus whatever they see in their mind's eye could work. Alongside the mentionned philosophical debates about good and evil and the thoughtful meditations. Trying to gather knowledge from old books in general is a good one too.

For rituals...maybe meetings discussing the nature of things or some kind of ''psychic ascension'' thing where they connect their minds to better understand each other.
>>
>>5879863
add that when they pray on the rug they'll do it in the direction of a very special monument to Muna.
>>5879869
>>5879858
good ideas
>>
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'You are right, meditation is a cornerstone of psychic belief.'

[MAJORDOMO] "I second the sacred food ceremony. Make them eat pancakes in your name."

[JOCO] "Oooh! Ooh! But make them pancakes made with a pan that makes them come out looking like your face."

Hush, you two.

'Ah, psychic training involves being able to make oneself feel connected. But the connections they have to create are very specific. Psychics have to help ease themselves into a connection with even individual atoms.'

[TAIFU] "Now you're speaking gobdlygook to me. I ain't a psychic, remember? You know what, this might be harder than I thought, since I don't come from a psychic background. I only really know about gravity magic like the kind we Lunar Rabbits use!"

'It's alright. There are psychics among the other members of your team and they'll be able to help you. But what I'm saying here is just what you have to teach others, so remember it well. The cornerstone of psychic ability is connection.'

Taifu nods at me.

'A psychic has to train themselves into being able to make these connections. In fact, they have to cultivate the strength they can make in their connections, as well as their ability to make them fast. That's how psychics work. When you see one use telekinesis on an object they've never encountered before, it's because they're making a simultaneous connection to every atom in that object at a speed that seems almost instantaneous at once. That's why you see Psychics as able to bend spoons perfectly without making the metal snap or give way.'

Taifu seemed to get the gist of it. A lot better than she'd let on herself even! Her ears twitched pondering the knowledge I was giving her.

'Hm...'

But the thing is, a psychic can't just start making their connections. They need to have a strong mind in the first place. And a good way to build a strong mind is... oh.

Of course. Geometry. Sacred Geometry even, would be a helpful resource to them. I recalled the sacred geometry on the face of AGLA. The shapes beyond definition that were made by NEGAI. Again, I am taking inspiration from him. But I think that spurning anyone who wants to learn in Ecclesiastics to formulating their own inner geometries and manifesting them would be helpful.

I instructed Taifu to have beginners start with needles and thread. They would be tasked to form unique patterns of geometry on their own, in their heads, and to sow themselves a rug depicting it, to take their time forming such a thing until they are able to align it in near perfect shapes. The more thought they put towards a task, the better. It will help them begin building their fortified mindset until they are able to progress to the next steps. In fact, this could even be extrapolated in painting pictures! Both in one's mind and on a canvas to help remember the process!
>>
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Practice will make perfection! I'm sure that in time our trained psychics will be so good as to be able to paint a canvas with paints without having to use the brush! They'll use their mind to guide the paints! I just found myself continuing to explain more and more to Taifu to the point she had to go grab some notes to write this down.

[TAIFU] "Remote viewing? What's that?"

'It's when one can discern an object they can't even see. Psychics would be able to tell what something is from the molecular composition alone.'

[TAIFU] "Fuuuh... And you'd have me teaching philosophy in this church too. What a work load~"

'Well, it's just important for psychics to understand fundamentals! Besides, psychic power is a not a force for evil. It never should be.'

[TAIFU] "Mmm, deep~ Well, I think I got down all of this for the most part."

'One more thing. This church should also hold a Psychic communion every now and then.'

[TAIFU] "Eh? But isn't that what it'll be doing anywhooo?"

'No. You're thinking of liturgical worship. Communion for psychics is more like joining hands in a circle, and connecting each other's minds. In this way, psychics would be able to tell each other's emotions, and share their memories and... well, grow stronger by each other. Unlike me, a goddess, who already completely masters such things to the point I can feel all of you without needing to be around, mortals would need to join as one to accomplish such a thing.'

'I'll put my presence in this church. You'll be able to feel me through whatever idols you make of me. But one day, psychics here should be so keen as to pray in my direction.'

[TAIFU] "Sooo... they need to pray to your presence?"

I nodded with a smile.

[TAIFU] "Eh, and what's this about direction? Do you mean..."

Taifu decided, as if to test me, to finish her question in her mind.

'Yes. They'll pray in the direction they know this body is in.'

Taifu seemed amazed by such an idea herself. She snickered playfully and poked my cheek then.

'Er... What was that for?'

[TAIFU] "I just think you gods are funny cuz your bodies aren't really real. You can make them look however you want. Heehehee!"

Hmm. Well, she's never short of her eccentric, happy-go-lucky attitude. She'll make a good teacher here with what I give her. I'm sure of it.

[TAIFU] "Thanks again, god-dess~!" She said to me as I went on my way to leave; "I've got a lot to do. Gotta change some fashion trends around here, and write some tenets for these monastic dweebs, just like I did for the Lord!"

She got to work right away, sticking a carrot in her mouth to chew on. I was back in the atrium of the Bunker.
>>
>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Recruit Team leads to follow the Department Heads. (1d5 roll.)
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Go get breakfast.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Inquire with Krina and Catastrovania about the latest research initiative.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Master Garlo, God of Fire (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
• Ghole, Guide of the Dead (The Hellhole)
• Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
• Dite, Angel Demigoddess (World of Mythology)
• Goldbrand, God of Destruction (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
• Surasira, Bovine Goddess of Milk and Torpor (Land of Milk)
>>
>>5880073
>Go for breakfast
>Surasira, Bovine Goddess of Milk and Torpor (Land of Milk
It's time
>>
>>5880073
>Go for breakfast
>Surasira, Bovine Goddess of Milk and Torpor (Land of Milk)
Dare we? Do we dare, dare we truly? I say we do. I'm honestly curious to see if our resident Cat Goddess isn't the FATTEST cow around.
>>
>>5880084
+1
>>
>>5880084
Meet the call, do it now!
>>
>>5880454
*cow
>>
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I wasn't late enough, so I managed to catch the canteen while it was still serving breakfast down below in the second level of the Bunker.

I had a very small breakfast of sausage patties, bacon... eggs, sunny side up... with a few of these "hash brown" things humans enjoy. Oh, and I had a short stack of pancakes with fruity bits on top! It was quite good! The sprinkles I could have added on top amused Joco to no end as well.

This breakfast thing was really neat... I should try this again some other time.
>>
[ LAND OF MILK ]

My journey across Hainei has, so far, led me to many mesmerizing destinations as I traveled far. I have seen the Illuminati College in Belkinsire, where the interiors are as big and have as many rooms as the sorcerers wish for them to. I have seen the mountains of Woldor, and the mythical sights of his realm, such as the Mead River where their caramel colored gut fillers flow from the sky itself. I have seen the Imperial Seat itself, and the Lokas of Thandir that existed as an independent cosmos itself below Heaven. I have see the fiefdoms of Scheiracht and Shèng Xù, the sights of Siegesia and Shengesia and Yongesia. I have seen the place of the Machine God, beyond definition.

But as always, there is something new to find in this wonderful world. There is always something new to uncover, something new that takes my breath away.

The Land of Milk was one such place.

Tucked away on the farthest shore of the Imperial World existed a flood basalt region formed from primordial volcanic eruptions. The traps of the Siran region, named after its goddess, were such a distinctive shape, overgrown with trees and shrubberies. But the main attraction was a natural hole in the earth itself that lied at the center of these windings traps, the heart of the igneous center. This hole, extending over several hundred meters deep and stretching over a hundred meters wide, ended with a surface of water, it seemed. There was civilization built around it, followers of the Cult of Surasira. They built huts and temples of pilgrimage around the hole. There was even a massive slide that hung over the hole, for boats to slide down and fall inside of it with.

Fall inside of it, yes. One might consider this to be... strange, but it is not.

There is a good reason why one must fall inside, and I found that out when I was encouraged by Surasira's followers myself to dive in. When I did...
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I did not sink into a body of water... I rose, splashing out the top of a surface of what I could identify as... milk! Pure milk!

For underneath that surface in the hole lied an inverted subterranean sanctum. I saw the cave ceilings, parallel of Hainei's crust and own geology. I saw spires of rock holding up a ceiling of stalactites as large as towers. I saw light expanding over the horizon. The artificial sky, the bioluminescent "stars" and the light of the Sun shining through all obstacles to illumine this land. I saw a sea of milk stretching as far as the eye could see.

[BGM] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj0rAG10fn8

This is the Land of Milk.

The Cult of Surasira makes its home here. This is their sanctuary, safe from all other places in the world. They lived among this sea of milk, praising their goddess in temples and homes built on the rock faces and barges made for inhabitation among the sea of milk. They had a floating city of barges on the sea's face, though it were not bereft of any land, for the rock faces were grown with bioluminescent flora given life by the Milk of kindness itself.

Her followers danced, and they painted themselves. They wore bright colors and at the core of their culture, it was a culinary one. The most respected members of this society were the cooks and chefs. they ever strove to become better in Surasira's name. Those who made tonics, those who brewed potions and concoctions. They were exuberating happiness.

Surasira... she is the Cow Goddess. She is the lady of Milk and of Torpor. She governs substances. As in, food and drink falls under her domain. Anything that can be ingested and is edible is her extent. She governs all that is tasty, all that can be eaten... but also, all that is poisonous to consume and all that kills to ingest. Milk, bright white and delicious, and Poison, sickly purple and debilitating. She is the one that rules this. She is also said to be the only deity that the Emperor feared by her followers... something I find very interesting. And I could not wait to meet her myself.

[MAJORDOMO] "Just don't have a meltie when you see her."

'Why would I do that?'

[MAJORDOMO] "..."

'Well...? Why would I...?'

[MAJORDOMO] "..."

'Gonna say or not?!'

[MAJORDOMO] "..."

[JOCO] "I think-"

[MAJORDOMO] "No no, shut up."

Hrrr...
>>
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The tour of the Land of Milk was certainly quite the sight, but what I was really here for was to meet another uncontacted deity of Hainei and to see how they were. It was no hard to find Surasira in the Land of Milk. Near the ceiling, stuffed between stalactites as large as mountains, there was a great platform of rock from which waterfalls of Milk flowed down into the sea of it below. Atop this rocky platform was a plain of grass both tall and short. There, amidst the brightness, I saw a kori under which she presided, humming as she danced a slow rhythm.

I peaked over the grass and climbed up to this area, walking and standing before her. She chose to greet me first.

[SURASIRA] "Namaste." She said, stopping her dance and turning to bow towards me with both hands pressed.

I gulped nervously.

'Greetings.' I said, bowing back to her, but not in the same way.

[SURASIRA] "A sister shows her head. What is this occasion? I can already feel my excitement brewing!"

I could not see her eyes behind her pinkish hair, even as she jiggled in picking back up her rhythmic body movements the hair seemed determined to block her vision. Around her I saw her fingers giving direction to two masses of liquid. One of fluffy Milk of kindness, the other of bubbling Poison of erosion.

'I've been intrigued to meet my fellow deities for a long time. I come as a learner, venerable Surasira.' I say.

[MAJORDOMO] "Don't bring attention to it. Don't bring attention to it. Don't bring attention to it. Don't bring attention to it-"

Shut.

Up.

Now.

[MAJORDOMO] "I'm just being helpful, I don't want you getting mad at the fact she's bigger than Seannsa and thus you- OW! What was that foooorrrr? "

Psychic slaps for psychic clowns.

[SURASIRA] "Then you may make yourself at home, dear. For the Land of Milk is the welcome place of all. I designed this place to be the end of the road itself! For all seeking foray. You come in wishes to learn of me? Then listen, listen sister. I will tell you of me." She said.

Her rings dangled in circles around her wrists and her ears twitched as she smiled. She did a slow twist around, bringing an arm over her shoulder and one under her other, combining the mass of milk and poison she swished into a helix behind herself. Her dance was hypnotic...

[SURASIRA] "I, the heifer, have always labored to create happiness in men. I split from the original Mother Goddess once upon a time, but I did not cease to carry out my role in this world. Listen, sister, happiness resides in many things. Many actions that the body can do will bring a human happiness, but the most powerful of all is the happiness of the tongue. Consumption does brew the truest happiness. You'll find this to be real when you study the humans. It is something they cannot never do, something that they seek insatiably."

'...eh... E-... Eating food?'

[SURASIRA] "Mmhmhm! Mhmmm!"
>>
Surasira uncoupled her arms and divided the milk from the poison again, perfectly. Neither was stained with the other.

[SURASIRA] "So, that man may consume as much as man wishes, I had to work to divide that which man may consume, and that which he may not. Like that!"

'Ah. I think I see where you're going with this...'

[SURASIRA] "It is true of any man back then that once upon a time, they would stuff their mouth with any green they found to see what would and would not hurt them. I simply accelerated the process. In other words, I gave birth to culinary senses. Men discovered that one could rid a piece of raw meat of all its sicknesses by cooking it through me. I am a cow, but I had to send cows to their sacrifices to create this happiness."

'So you're fine with steaks then... I-I mean, w-w-wait, that sounded rude of me! I-'

[SURASIRA] "No no no no. It is true."

'Heh?'

[SURASIRA] "If it brings someone happiness to crave and devour a massive steak, then so be it. That is what I shall make them feel the need to do."

Surasira stopped her rhythmic motions and stood still before me, holding the pose of keeping herself propped up on one leg.

[SURASIRA] "But there is a clause. I must also poison humanity to ensure my own existence."

'You poison people...?'

[SURASIRA] "It is undeniable." She frowned; "Torpor is apart of life. Sicknesses happen, illness spreads. Life cannot be simply an abundance of happiness, despite what the gods would want of it. Sadness must come too. For in this union of happiness and sadness, life is perfected. Life is at it is. It is perfect. We need not change it from this."

[SURASIRA] "So it is that I encourage men to feed and garner their happiness. This is the Milk of Kindness. But, Torpor must spread as well. This is the Poison of Erosion. Some people will eat what is rotten, or they will not cook it. Some will eat that which is downright vile. Bacteria will culminate, sickness will spread. Some will gain deadly curiosities of what they can eat. They will find what I have decided they cannot eat, and they will grow sick, maybe even die. Some men will poison others intentionally... it is the way of life. So that is what led me to create the Land of Milk."
>>
[SURASIRA] "This Land of Milk is perfect. It is a land of perpetual happiness, there is no evil here. The reign of the Emperor nor the wrath of Darkness may reach it. But sadness must still exist to balance life into its perfect form. Thus, when my followers have reached the apex of their foray, they will poison themselves and expire."

'That sounds horrible!'

[SURASIRA] "Yes. But it is not the end. This Land of Milk is the end. They will reincarnate, and they will get to experience the venture of life all over again, until they reach their zenith once more. Is this not a perfect system? I have come into contact with the human concept of Expectation before... I have studied what expectations are. Thus, my work is to make the Land of Milk something that will always meet the ultimate human expectation, dear."

[SURASIRA] "Now you know me. You know me, sister, know the Goddess of Milk and Torpor. But if there is anything else you want to know, speak your mind freely!"

(Surasira's patience: 2 question.)

>What will I ask the Divine Bovine?
• "Did the Emperor truly fear you?"
• "Why can the Sun reach this place when it is not even here?"
• "Tell me about the human concept of Expectation."
• "Is having your followers poison themselves intentionally not akin to a death cult?"
• "Have you ever met... Seannsa before?"
• "I'm not sure I follow your plan with this Land of Milk. What about the entire world beyond it? Does that not make its purpose fallible?"
• "Can I drink your Milk of Kindness?"
• "So you say you 'split' from the "original Mother Goddess"? How does that work? Was it Eikn you split from?"
• "Any other interactions with the other deities you've had?"
• "Can you cook good yourself, since you're the patrons of chefs and culinary artists? Can you cook for me?"
• "Did you invent the School of Toxic magics?"
• "Can you teach me to dance as you do?"
• "What is the tastiest food in the world?"
• Write in.
>>
>>5880680
>"Tell me about the human concept of Expectation."
>"So you say you 'split' from the "original Mother Goddess"? How does that work? Was it Eikn you split from?"
>>
>>5880680
>"Did the Emperor truly fear you?"
>"So you say you 'split' from the "original Mother Goddess"? How does that work? Was it Eikn you split from?"
>>
>>5880680
>"So you say you 'split' from the "original Mother Goddess"? How does that work? Was it Eikn you split from?"
>"Can you teach me to dance as you do?"
This gives us both lore and the possibility of a buff. I think that's a decent ratio.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>5880683
>>5880685
>>5880692
>>
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>"Did the Emperor truly fear you?"

[SURASIRA] "Fufufufufu..."

The Lady of Milk and Torpor had a... certain dark expression about her face, below her covered eyes. She smiled deviously at me asking such a thing.

[SURASIRA] "Did Huangdi fear me? I would not say it to be so. But did he fear what I could do? Perhaps..."

'Ah, what do you mean?'

[SURASIRA] "If it is so that I am the one who controls all that is edible and that which cannot be eaten, then it is so that I am one who could inflict great wrath upon his Kingdom."

'So if I had a loaf of bread in my hand right now, a perfectly edible one freshly made, you could make it inedible to mortals?'

[SURASIRA] "More than simply bad to the tastebuds. I could make it toxic. Fatally toxic~..."

...!

I get it. Like she said, she is the authority on what can and cannot be eaten by mortals. She can completely overwrite the concept of food. She could make all foods known to man lethal for consumption at a moment's notice if she wanted! Things right eaten by men and digested right now all across Hainei could turn into poison and give them torpor if she wished it. Millions could drop dead.

The ability to control food sounds comical on paper... but Surasira is truly deadly in actuality!

[SURASIRA] "If I so decided, the bread would not just become lethal for a mortal to consume. The gods too would be as company to this lethal effect. Gods do not need to eat or drink, but if they were to if I were to decide such a thing, they too would suffer."

'So, could you make the fears of humans that HEUS feeds off of lethal to him?'

She shakes her head.

[SURASIRA] "Mortals do not consume fears. I cannot do such a thing. You must also understand this is one context from the other. HEUS does not consume in the broadest definition."

'Yeah, yeah, he doesn't literally eat it, it's more like absorption of human fears into his aggregate... But still. How come the Emperor would be afraid of this ability of yours?'

[SURASIRA] "The Emperor eats."

I blinked at her. My eyes wandered up to the light of the sun that illuminated the Land of Milk.

Could it be that Surasira was able to keep her independence from the Emperor by threatening him with her abilities of torpor? Is that why his sun reached her domain? Did she negotiate for him to impart its light?

... It is a curious question. But as well, it grants me insight into Huangdi...

So he did truly fear the Cow Goddess then.
>>
>"So you say you 'split' from the "original Mother Goddess"? How does that work? Was it Eikn you split from?"

[SURASIRA] "Who else could it be? But of course, Eikn IS the Great Mother, of course. But you see me, I am of a piece with her. As is the other deities that express the Great Mother. Namithene, the Lover. Shennu, of the Rapids."

Shennu is also apart of the Great Mother's archetype? I wonder if Shennu herself split from Eikn too at some point... it may be possible, considering the motherly love she feels for Wolfboy as her adoptive son... and Namithene did indeed claim to be the same kind of goddess as Eikn.

[SURASIRA] "Expressions, sister. Expressions of the same through emanation. A Great Mother leads civilization and officializes marriage. A Great Mother spurns love and kindles passion. A Great Mother here makes food that fills stomachs. You see now? Our kind are of a piece. Perhaps even you are one of us, sister."

'Ah, me, a Great Mother? Hah... I'm not sure. I don't even have any children myself.'

[SURASIRA] "So? Neither do I, and yet I am still a heifer for mankind."

Hmm...

[MAJORDOMO] "Great Mother Muna."

[JOCO] "Mommy."

Hush you two.
>>
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[SURASIRA] "I do admit, I am running short of time here now, sister. After all, being in the Land of Milk means I must always watch my worshipers close and curate their works. And there is always the matter of dealing with that shady figure, Lord Akasa... Perhaps you'll visit me again some other time."

'Ah, definitely. Your realm is truly a wondrous place.'

[SURASIRA] "Ah, but hold now. I do not believe you gave me your name. What is it? I am dying to know!"

'Muna. You may call me Muna. I am the Goddess of Psychics. Sister.'

[SURASIRA] "Ahhhaahaa! You are simply precious, sister! Simply."

[SURASIRA] "Before you go, I would give you a gift."

'Ah! A gift, you're too kind. What would you have me receive?'

[SURASIRA] "My milk!"

'D- Y-... W-.. Beg your pardon?'

She, thankfully, simply turned towards her kori gate, upon which sat numerous treasures and baubles in her possession. Surasira came over and lifted a golden chalice from among the treasures, stepped past the gate close to a waterfall of milk running down behind it from her platform into the Sea of Milk below. She only lifted it and filled it to the brim before handing the item to me.

'Ah. Milk, from the Land of Milk.'

[SURASIRA] "My milk is special, sister. The Milk of Kindness is the most potent sweetener there is."

'Ah... so I presume I would use it to bake a cake, or the like?'

[SURASIRA] "Whatever your heart desires. Drink it if you would like. Even a drop of the Milk of Kindness can bring on the strongest happiness in a mortal man. Make of it food if you wish. Ultimately, milk is for consumption. And consumption is the root of happiness."

I held the chalice in my hands and stared down nervously at the milk inside of it before bowing my head at Surasira and shuffling it away into my pocket space for storage.

(Received key item: Milk of Kindness)
(It can do away with any and all poison and torpor and make anything it is applied to taste delicious. Drinking it will grant a 3x Resistance to any party member but will use the item. During battles, it can only be used one time to clear toxicity for 10 moves.)

'Thank you. I am honored to receive it.'

[SURASIRA] "Oh ho ho! You flatter me~! But go on now, Muna. Go on your trip wherever you go, and keep well safe enough."

I nodded and, waving at her, walked backwards until I was at the edge of the platform her gate sat atop. Then, leaning back, I let myself fall until I was cruising down through the air. I fell below into the Sea of Milk, and the same way I came in, I left, exiting back out into Hainei.
>>
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[MAJORDOMO] "The Emperor feared her."

[JOCO] "I mean, I thought she was kinda scary too. We risked getting hit getting close to her dancing like that."

'The Emperor had the same tendencies as a mortal then... huh? He ate, drank and slept like one.'

...

I looked up towards the Sun.

'Why would you be afraid of her poisoning you?'

'...'

'Could it be... that since you weren't born a god like us... and have been one from the start like us... that even though you still have all the powers of a god...'

'...you're still a Mortal, "Emperor"?'

I stared at the Sun. But finding no answer or reply, I turned away and headed back home.
>>
( GODTALK OVER )

[Returning to the Psyops Bunker...]

(Surasira is unique to say the least. But I feel that she does not recognize her own flaws. She must believe the system of reincarnation is infallible. She must not believe it is rigged like it truly is by Thandir. She must think she can force freedom onto others, or at least, that's what her Land of Milk might only achieve. I know that as a god, she must maintain herself and her power by having what composes her domain done by mortals, including getting poisoned or sick... but to have mortals poison themselves and die in her name willingly is wrong. And it needs to stop. She doesn't seem to realize that happiness can't be forced to be accepted by someone. They must want happiness for themselves...)
>>
I arrived back to the Bunker. I saw Catastrovania in the command room typing away at a console. She turned and looked at me and sniffed.

[CATASTROVANIA] "...Why do you smell like milk?"

I shrugged at her.

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Recruit Team leads to follow the Department Heads. (1d5 roll.)
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Inquire with Krina and Catastrovania about the latest research initiative.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Master Garlo, God of Fire (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
>>
>>5880820
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
>• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
>>
>>5880820
>Inquire with Krina and Catastrovania about the latest research initiative.
Let's see what's going on here first. Got a lot of things on the bullet list>>5880820
>>
>>5880840
you got a point, going with this since we don't need to rush things
>>
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Since I'd been informed of it this morning, I'd been wondering what needed my attention from Krina and Catastrovania lately. The two seemed to be collaborating on their own little project from what I could see. Since I was in the command room, I decided to call Krina up to have her explain to me with Catastrovania.

When the R&R head arrived, she had Catastrovania pull up something on the console there for me to see. I leaned in and looked. It was a... square of some kind?

[KRINA] "Ehhh? You think it's a square...???"

[CATASTROVANIA] "Oh my god, you're as tech illiterate as Hale-san was before I taught him everything I know. Baka!"

'Really, you both should have expected that.'

[KRINA] "What you're looking at is a type of chip implanted into the brains of the Chemically Immortal. Think Samurai and Wei."

'Oh... So, like a control mechanism then.'

Krina snapped her fingers.

[KRINA] "Exactly. These chips are known as habiliment amulets. They're the primary control and influencing devices that the Trinity issues its cyborgs. They're the main thing that sets the Chemically Immortal apart from us Metahumans. Really, we're all cyborgs in the end, they just have way more augments than us... and these chips. See, their brains are fully intact. The brain is a sacred organ, it can't be disrupted in Trinity dogma... however, as long as there's enough of the organic parts left, they can sort of skirt around that and say it's approved. That's just religion for you. The brains of Chemical Immortals have only enough augmentation to allow these chips' insertions."

'So, why are you showing me this?'

[KRINA] "Well, it's the fact that these chips also tend to give rise to certain holy phenomena through the faith of the recipient. What I'm saying is, these chips make the Chemically Immortal immune to psychic tampering and the like. Their brains are just not able to messed with. It wards off the influence of anything and anyone but the Trinity. It's the crux of why their soldiers are incorruptible by the Afterseas."

That is true...
I do remember the first Samurai I fought. When I used a psychic spell against one of the Ashigaru, I sensed that innate resistance. I could not have changed the mind of someone like that. Although, because my power was overwhelming, I simply managed to destroy the Ashigaru with brute force.

It certainly helped me grasp the definition of a Chemical Immortal better and differentiate it from a Metahuman.

[KRINA] "Anyway, the reason we're showing you this is because I need to acquire the schematics for these chips."

'Ah, to find a way to invent a countermeasure for them?'
>>
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[KRINA] "Not exactly. Even if I had the schematics and knowledge on how they work, I wouldn't be able to invent some gizmo that stops them. That's not how they work. Once the chips insert and start working in a Chemical Immortal, it just... well, it works. It starts warding off any intrusive wavelengths. Countermeasures just wouldn't work. No, I need them to invent something we can use."

'...Are you sure about that? It sounds dangerous to even have those things around. If you were to invent one that attunes to me over the Trinity, would that not then function to enslave whoever receives it to my will on the contrary?'

[KRINA] "I shouldn't think so. See, it's not for mind controlling that I want the schematics. These chips, while they do in fact influence minds and brainwash their recipients, they are also acting as powerful amplifiers of psychic suppression. What I want is to create a copycat that does the opposite.'

'A chip that, instead of amplifying the ability to fight off psychic energy, amplifies the ability to receive it?'

[KRINA] "Yes! See, it's part of one of my hypothesis. But basically, what I am to do is create a chip that boosts the Psychic energy transmission and generation of our psychics. In essence, something that will make them far stronger. It's part of my research initiative into making a Psionic combatant for the Psyops."

Psionic combatant...

[KRINA] "Normally, these chips are only produced in the Imperial Seat. It would be a death wish to try finding the original schematics among the ecumenopolis. Thankfully, I found an alternative. Catastrovania."

Catastrovania uncrossed her arms and walked over to the map table. She brought up the display and zoomed in on Yongesia to show me Krina's alternative. She showed me the satellite view of...

Scheiracht's personal compound.

The Castle of the Tengu. Probably the most heavily fortified place among the Trinity's holdings besides the Heavenly Capital itself...

'Are you certain, Krina...?'

[KRINA] "Unfortunately, yes. I did some cross referencing. The Tengu holds production of these chips at his castle. The reason being so that they can meet demands on site for newly converted Samurai without having to wait for shipments from Shengesia."
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "Getting inside is the worst part. The easy part is where I come in handy! All that's needed is for your... goons to disrespect Yongesian architecture with their big, lousy guns long enough for them to get close to the systems. All they have to do is bring some tech with them to connect back to here to allow me to remotely hack into the system. Once I download what's needed, the mission's complete. Tch, I'm the only one you have that could do it. Sessya... Hameruuu!"

[KRINA] "So, that's all we had. Once I have what I need I can start work on advancing the Psychotronics program to imbue our current state of warfare with Psionics. We just need your approval. Catastrovania can be the acting overseer of the mission."

[CATASTROVANIA] "H-Huh...?"

'This raises many issues of moral concern...'

Those chips were still a dangerous thing indeed...

As the Divine Executive of Psyops, I need to make a decision here...

>I'll approve of this mission. It's very high risk, but it may be worth it in the long run.
>I cannot approve of such a thing. There's too many immoral variables here raised by these chips and I don't want them integrated into Psyops in any form. I'll have to ask Krina to look into finding an alternative to the creation of Psionic soldiers.
>>
>>5881001
>I'll approve of this mission. It's very high risk, but it may be worth it in the long run.
There's no reward without risk. Besides breakfast, perhaps.
>>
>>5881001
>I'll approve of this mission. It's very high risk, but it may be worth it in the long run.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWDJQfPGe2w
>>
>>5881001
>>I'll approve of this mission. It's very high risk, but it may be worth it in the long run.
Reverse engineering is how we'll close the tech gap. Although I do think we'd get more value of soldiers capable of reaching high psionic levels without an implant
>>
I sighed.

It was a promising prospect. I had to be honest here and think about it for a second. If Krina could successfully engineer a device that could boost one's latent psychic potential greatly then it would be of use to the Psyops. Beginners would be able to make themselves strong enough to defend themselves with it in most cases, and graduated psychics being taught here would also benefit from such a thing.

I just had to make one thing perfectly clear to Krina.

'I approve on one condition. You cannot make an implant. I want no devices made to be inserted into one's brain.'

[KRINA] "Then you have nothing to worry yourself over. The designs I've drafted already don't call for any type of insertion."

'Elaborate.'

[KRINA] "My idea was to create a wearable device that can amplify wavelengths. A helmet that acts as a focuser. These chips and how they work will play a big role in this. I admit I don't have much homework on psychic energy myself. So I figured we'd just steal the Trinity's homework on it, eh?" She said, winking to me.

[CATASTROVANIA] "H-Hold on a second! Why do I have to be the one that commands this mission?!"

[KRINA] "You're pretty much the whole point of it, with your hacking skills. The troops won't be able to break these systems, but you can. Trust me, it'll be more like just watching a screen and waiting until it's go time."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Ughhh! I didn't sign up for this!"

[KRINA] "Uh, eheh, you did though."

As the two went off bickering I crossed my arms and looked down to the map table, letting my mind wander. I hope Krina knows what she's doing now that I've given her the greenlight.
>>
>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Recruit Team leads to follow the Department Heads. (1d5 roll.)
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Inquire with Krina and Catastrovania about the latest research initiative.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Master Garlo, God of Fire (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
>>
>>5881011
>Master Garlo, God of Fire (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
LET IT BURN IN HELLFIRE
>>
>>5881011
>Master Garlo, God of Fire (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat
Alright then, let's meet with the resident god of fire. Curious what the spin on him is this time
>>
>>5881011
>Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
>>
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[ HEAVENLY CAPITAL, IMPERIAL SEAT ]

I donned my Golden Goddess outfit today and headed out. I was going to the Heavenly Capital again for the second time in my life. There was something there I wanted to see. Something I'd heard of.

When I was listening to the radio out of boredom in the Bunker just today after morning was over and the daytime really kicked in, I heard over the usual Imperial news channels that a support rally was being held for a particular god amongst the ranks of the Trinity. His name was Garlo. He is the lord of fire, and the acting Master of the Senolist movement of Immortals in the Capital. What was the 'Senolist movement'? I'd looked into it, ordering the computer NIBIRU to find me results so I can study. I found the findings to be nonsensical.

The Senolists, championing Senolism, a world derived from the term 'senolytic', supposed to completely eradicate all Mortals. That was their stated goal, and what Senolists desired.

This strange philosophy derived from the teachings by Master Garlo that argued that because the difference between a Mortal and an Immortal was undeniable and all too obvious, then therefor Mortals themselves were all completely obsolete and thereby actually worthless. Master Garlo prides himself on being a god who looks down on mankind, and considers them nothing but useless to the point that they become a problem for the Immortal world, of which the only solution is to wipe them out. His stance is to the extreme that would even pressure the Emperor to accelerate the unknown date for the Great Rebirth by ridding all the mortals and simply taking all the Immortals that already exist into the new world as it was their, in Garlo's philosophy, "right". He wished for a world that had no mortals. A world of only his kind. Only gods and Immortals. A perfect race.

To him, Mortals are a different race. An inferior one. Needless to say, he was a controversial figure among the entire Capital.... even among the Trinity.

So I wanted to see. I wanted to see what this man was like for myself. I saw the golden ecumenopolis of the Heavenly Capital. I saw the Emperor's symbol everywhere. I went where the crowd did, I flocked towards the rally grounds. I saw what was ensuing.

The Senolists gathered to try gaining more public support. Their opponents gathered there and arguing and flinging and exchanging words. The Wei was present, to prevent anything from becoming too heated. All Senolists were Immortals. Their opponents were usually Mortals that lived in the Capital, and any Immortals that disagreed with the Senolists. Lots of fundamentalists in Temple dogma particularly rejected Garlo's ostracizing theories of inferior and superior racial ascensionism. Because the Temple's mission was to Immortalize all Mortals remaining in the world, I could see why they and other hardcore believers were critical of Senolism. But the Senolists had a surprisingly large gathering among the Immortals here...
>>
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They marched through the streets. They carried signs and they carried torches and they dressed themselves in cloaks that represented fire, which Garlo was the god of.

They chanted their words against Mortal-kind and repeated phrases. Phrases like... 'No Mortals, no more'... 'Burn the old world, burn the old cloak'... 'Let tomorrow leave the weak behind'.

It was at this point I never thought I'd be able to even leave now, squeezing through the crowd on this tightly packed street. But as luck would have it, I always seem to find a way. I was just trying to get out to another, less packed space, when someone rudely shoved into me and I stumbled forward.

I didn't truly care enough to say anything, or even notice, as where they'd shoved me had ended up being a nice, less claustrophobic space where I had breathing room. I looked up and gasped.

'It's... it's you.'

I said that out loud, didn't I? I must have looked embarrassing then. Face to face with Master Garlo himself, and without even having tried to.

[GARLO] "Who addresses me?"

The god of fire turned around and looked down upon me. He had four eyes through which I saw small infernos. His skin was grey and red, and he was dressed with faded gold that looked to have blackened from the heat of his flames. His body and armor were identical, in that they wouldn't separate. A crest atop his head, the Tian emblazoned on his chest.

[GARLO] "Ah. Immortal pilgrim. Come to speak to me amidst the rally. Though I'll have you know, I am not allowing just anyone to approach me, so make this worth my time."

'Ah... Ah, w-wait, you got the wrong idea. I wasn't trying to- Well, I mean. I-... uh...'

[GARLO] "Speak clearly, Immortal."

'I... had just hoped to meet you, your lordship. That is all.'

[GARLO] "Nghh..."

[GARLO] "Very well. I suppose there is no trouble in entertaining a guest in the name of imparting erudition."

[GARLO] "I am Master Garlo. I am the master of the Senolist movement. My poise is this; The world has already long expired and fulfilled its lifespan. The time of tomorrow is to come, but we may make it come sooner by convincing our most holy one of this simple truth..."
>>
{GARLO] "Mortals... they are weak. They are the past. They are not even people. Their dreams and aspirations are those of grandeur and festering pollution. We Immortals stand above them as the ultimate lifeforms. By Immortalizing, we have divided ourselves from the dung of Mortality and reached our own apex in the expanse of the divine. Mortals are worthless. They are not, and never will be an equal existence to our own. In the interest of preserving our flawless world, we must take initiative to clean it of this pollution until nothing remains. I am not advocating genocide. I am simply advocating discarding. Those among the Immortals who cannot see this simply are blind for the time being. But all Immortals will eventually open their eyes to this. It is inevitable."

'I see...'

[GARLO] "Well, you don't appear to look as though you wholly agree yourself."

'A-Ah, I-I'm just listening, your lordship.'

[GARLO] "Well then, I bid you speak more than you listen. In any exchange one is expected to meet the other halfway, no? I finish my piece by telling you this; You will speak now and tell me what it is you truly think of my stance. Tell me, what is your honest thoughts on the Mortal-Immortal divide?"

'...'

[GARLO] "Do you see Mortals as below yourself, or equal to yourself as an Immortal?"

>Speak honestly.
>No half truths or fabrications.
>My honest answer to his rhetoric is...

>Write in.
>>
>>5881143
>"Mortals are inherently lesser than Immortals because they haven't yet awakened to the deeper mysteries of the world. Many of us were mortals once. Hating them for their frailty is like hating children because they aren't as strong as adults. They are weak, frail, and ignorant, driven by their animalistic nature, blinded by the vice and sin they waste their brief lives on. It is the duty of us Immortals, who have risen above, to set an example for them to reach. Most will fail, but the few who succeed are as worthy as any Immortal. That mortals can ascend at all is proof they are worthy of life."
>>
>>5881284
>+1
"Besides, if the emperor himself sees potential among mortals to reach immortality and gave them the chance to attain that, why should one be against that ?"
>>
>>5881284
>>5881330
I'm not sure if Muna sees mortals as lesser considering Sivil is a thing...
>>
>>5881461
She doesn’t, we’re doing a bit and making it easier to talk to him. But still we’re treating humans as people with capacity to evolve.
>>
test
>>
>>5881615
"don't you agree, polnaref ?"
>>
>>5881461
>>5881574
I've always thought of Muna as having a somewhat maternalistic attitude toward mortals. Very big on protecting and enlightening them because they can't do it themselves. She feels she has a duty to be good given by her power and would view Garlo's ideology as unspeakably selfish, wasteful, and cruel.
>>
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>"Mortals are inherently lesser than Immortals because they haven't yet awakened to the deeper mysteries of the world. Many of us were mortals once. Hating them for their frailty is like hating children because they aren't as strong as adults. They are weak, frail, and ignorant, driven by their animalistic nature, blinded by the vice and sin they waste their brief lives on. It is the duty of us Immortals, who have risen above, to set an example for them to reach. Most will fail, but the few who succeed are as worthy as any Immortal. That mortals can ascend at all is proof they are worthy of life."

[GARLO] "..."

[GARLO] "I see. Then this is your poise on the matter."

'My true and honest thoughts.'

[GARLO] "And you came to meet me, was it?"

'I had to hear the perspective for myself. But now that you've asked me to share my thoughts, that is what I think. Besides, we must look at examples of the fact of Immortalizing itself. And, there is said to be a mortal who, despite lacking Immortality, has become so strong as to challenge the gods themselves. I'm sure you've heard of Sivil the Pride before.'

Master Garlo's eyes twitched. He closed them.

[GARLO] "I understand...."
>>
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[GARLO] "BUT THAT IS SOPHISTRY AND YOU KNOW IT!"

Suddenly, he exploded at me with an outburst, rebuking my stance. I stared, shocked at such a change in demeanor. The crowd around did as well. Garlo had gotten everyone's attention and simultaneously quieted them.

He raised a clenched fist.

[GARLO] "Mortals can become Immortal... Mortals can rival the gods themselves... What a cruel joke! Mortals are rubbish. Refuse! Trash! GARBAGE! WASTE UPON THE WORLD! There is NO PLACE for Humanity in the Great Rebirth!"

He turned around, stepping with calculated paces as he spoke aloud to all that may hear.

[GARLO] "How still may we sit here and preach the values of Immortalization for the dung of the ephemeral whence their kind can only obtain it through trial that lasts for almost a thousand years?! Immortalization is a process that mortals can and have NEVER obtained in less than even a hundred years. And for us, the Immortal, such time is but a BLINK of our eyes. You may speak of Sivil the Pride... prodigal son of humanity... the silvery knight whose blade protects the Trinity..."

Garlo spun around, flames dancing up his arms.

[GARLO] "Then let me remind you, such a hero is a lone example for a reason! There is NO other who has ever reached such a height. And unlike us, Sivil the Pride... the MORTAL hero, will wither, and die. As will all humans. Unlike your kind, we will live to see forever. We have escaped all sickness and impurity. We transcend material needs of the fleeting. And what has your kind made?"

The God of Fire turned his head to the numbers of mortals in the crowd. He began pacing forward while pointing his flaming finger at them.

[GARLO] "Your kind lives in our world. Immortals built this Kingdom. We built the continents. We built all civilization. These are the gifts of the gods which you take for granted. We built HAINEI. Your kind was made by US, to inhabit OUR world. We are not alike. Mortals and Immortals are two separate races. You look upon me, a GOD, and any of my fellow Immortals and ask yourself... are WE HUMAN? NO! We are not! We are not human. We are not Mortal. We are the superior race. The above-men!"

And then he stopped in front of me, looking back into my eyes with his fiery gaze.

[GARLO] "Hating them for their frailty is like hating children? Once upon a time, there was a practice amongst ancient Woldorians in their old cultures. Those among the children born that were deemed weak and would bring shame to families and clans, the paternal heads of these clans held the right to kill their weak children and rid themselves of weakness. They became strong! They removed the rubbish! Say it is not so that Woldoria has become weaker since they abandoned those days."

That's... that's horrible! How can he sit here and praise the idea of murdering children... committing filicide, in the name of strength?!
He's... he's deranged! Demented!
>>
[GARLO] "When the Great Rebirth arrives, we will enter a new world where no Mortals will remain. We will soon forget that they even existed. So why wait? Why wait for our eternal reward, that a few insects might join us in reaping it? This is the fault of Temple dogma. They misinterpret the will of our Emperor! You know well this fact... that the new world shall be free of all pain and misery, free of all weakness and free of all mortality. Then acknowledge it!" He shouted. He turned back to the crowd; "To initiate the dawn of the new world, we must rid the filth that holds it back! Humanity does not belong alongside us. No man may stand beside a GOD. No human will stand beside me! I am the God of Fire! My presence is divine! Kneel mortals! Kneel before me!"

As if spurned by fear, the mortals in the crowd, even if it was that they disagreed with him, they began to kneel out of his command alone. This was my first ever showcase of the Trinity's tyranny in person that I'd see.

For Master Garlo was a god of the Trinity, then no matter if none respected him or not, mortals were subject to his whims. They were bound to the authority that he held. They had no choice. They had no voice. They could only obey. This was the kind of world the Emperor wished for. If any god were to assist him in bringing it about, they too may share the spoils. They too may be this way, like Garlo was. They would be all-powerful.

For all the claims of mortality not existing in the world to come, the Immortals being prepared to go there were all slaves. Garlo may preach the inherent superiority of Immortals, but what he refuses to acknowledge himself is the line between an Immortal and a God, that cannot be blurred. His followers were fools. Immortals in the next world would just be eternal servants of these power-tripping gods.

[GARLO] "Your mortality is the stink of Hainei! Your efforts to Immortalize have fallen short. You have failed. Beg! Beg this god! Beg for forgiveness!"

And then they began to beg, only being allowed to speak so much as to apologize and ask for forgiveness for being mortal. For being flawed.

[GARLO] "Your cessation is your only forgiveness by the gods. Sub-beings!"

[GARLO] "Away with the old cloak of mortality!"

His followers began to chant again. 'Burn the old cloak, burn the old world. Burn the old cloak. Burn the old world'...
Master Garlo raised both of his hands. He seemed absorbed in watching the expressions of his opponents and Temple detractors alike amongst the crowd grimacing in angst at his displays. Displays that he would get away with. He preaches hatred and divine oppression.

I clenched my fist as I stared at his back.

>And attacked.
>And left.
>>
>>5881657
>And left.
>>
>>5881657
>And left
As fun as it would be to beat him up, we're not exactly surrounded by friends.
>>
>>5881657
>And left.
Let's eventually make this fucker a mortal powerless human
>>
And left. I walked away, right around and disappeared into the crowd. Garlo continued to stir up his rally for his cause. I would be long gone before it even finished.

I knew better than to try lashing out now, here in the heart of the Emperor's Kingdom, underneath his heaven, against one of the gods aligned with his cause. Even if I were completely justified to, or acting in self defense, he would always be viewed as in the right. He could attack someone for any reason and be viewed as guiltless of any wrongdoing here in the Capital just because he was a Trinity God. People, even if they didn't agree in their hearts, would be forced to accept such a viewpoint. After all, the Trinity could do no wrong in their eyes, because it has hammered this into their psyches for a thousand years. There's no way to fight a dictatorship in its own heart. Not at this time.

I left the place. On my way out of the Capital, I stopped for some green tea and then carried on, back on my way to the Bunker.

I would not soon forget this. Nor would I forget Master Garlo and his four eyes full of fiery hatred.

To him, humanity and mortals are scum. Scum who are capable of nothing but impurity, whose works are none and who eternally leech off the gods as benefactors. Because he knows the Great Rebirth itself is a world where mortality will no longer be a thing, he is affirmed in his belief. He would push and petition for the eradication of mortals to pressure the Emperor into initiating the Rebirth sooner.

He is nothing less than the very figure of the god who completely disdains all mortals and sees them as nothing but below himself. He is like the inverse of whatever idea allowed Sivil to become the strongest mortal, who rivals the gods.

Garlo will have to face severe punishment one day for his beliefs...
>>
I arrived back to the Bunker within the day.

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Recruit Team leads to follow the Department Heads. (1d5 roll.)
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
>>
>>5881796
>Decorate private chamber.
>>
>>5881796
>Access Psyops Deployments.
Maybe now's the time to check this out
>>
>>5881796
>Outfit selection.
>>
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>Outfit selection.
(Currently, no outfit is being worn.)
>Changing outfit...
>Outfit 1#. Antique Dress. The one Hale bought me. I'll look in the ordinary with it.
>Outfit 2#. Gold Goddess. The one Eskart gave me. I'll look the part of an Illuminati graduate with it, or a Shengesian Immortal.
>Outfit3#. Christmas Kirin. A winter parka and getup well suited for the Siegesian winter, Kalaheimr and Frostreach. It's also colorful and looks cute!
>No outfit. Stay naked.

>Decorate private chamber.

Come to think of it, my chamber was pretty bland.

[MAJORDOMO] "It looks like the kind of place a mental illness patient in a straight jacket would be locked up inside of."

...Thank you Majordomo, for your very constructive criticism.

[MAJORDOMO] "Well, Joco is in your head and he's a living mental illness.."

[JOCO] "Heyyyy! That's hurtful...! ...Buuuut you're not wrong, ehehehehe."

My chamber as of the moment was a clear white room. It was pretty big and spacious. There were four walls that surrounded me on every end, save for the door. All that it featured right now was a wide, hard, square shaped tatami mat which I usually sat or laid on. I didn't mind the hardness that mortals would probably find discomforting.

But if I were to ever invite someone in, I'd at least want it to look welcoming in here. Imagine what people would think if they knew I spent so much time alone in this blank, crystal clear room...

If I were to put something in it however, what would I...? What should I put in here? What's to my taste?

[MAJORDOMO] "How about a bed for starters."

'I don't need to sleep.'

[MAJORDOMO] "Not even just because it's normal?"

'I'm a goddess. I don't live like a mortal, even if I find doing the same habits that they do in every day life to be fascinating. Besides, if I put a bed in here either of you will hound me to drown it in pillows.'

[JOCO] "N-No comment."

Hmm...

>What should I add to my private chamber? What would the personal living of a Qilin look like?
>>
>>5881884
>No outfit. Stay naked.
Need newer outfits

A golden statue and some paintings
>>
>>5881884
>Outfit3#. Christmas Kirin. A winter parka and getup well suited for the Siegesian winter, Kalaheimr and Frostreach. It's also colorful and looks cute!
Muna Claus is making a list and she's checking it twice
>>5881887
seconding the statue and paintings
>>
>>5881884
>No outfit. Stay naked.

>What should I add to my private chamber? What would the personal living of a Qilin look like?
Paintings of ourself
>>
>>5881884
>One of those singing bass you mount on the walls
>>
>>5882133
+1, get Shennu to help us, then get Catastrovania to program it
https://youtube.com/watch?v=tgUVXiQJ2tY
>>
>>5881884
also backing statue and paintings and staying naked
>>
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I did not put on anything, now did not call for a need to change into some clothes. I continued to go bare.

On the matter of setting my chamber up a bit more, I decided to hang up some paintings to start with. That way at least, I could have something to look at while meditating. Some things to ponder upon, in search of new meanings. Solely for the intent of erudition, of course.

[MAJORDOMO] "Okay, but why the painting of a... pizza?"

'Ah! Joco! Did you slip that into my mind while I was distracted?'

[JOCO] "Look, you're hanging up what you think of. Shouldn't ya include what we think of too? That's-Ohh! That's what I think of! Besides, Majordomo did the same!"

[MAJORDOMO] "Yes but I did something sensible. I had her string up a scrawling of herself. Nothing wrong with a little self-admiration and vanity, I says."

Along with some depictions of sacred geometry... abstract art... a setting sun that I painted to represent the end of the New Eternity with. Oh, and the statue. I set up a gold statue of a dragon clutching a pearl. It made me think of my sister.

[MAJORDOMO] "Might I suggest a chair?"

[JOCO] "Oh! Can we put up a singing bass?"

'No.'

[JOCO] "A-Awww..."

A chair is fine. I'll put one against the other wall opposite of the Dragon statue, just for visitors.
Well... It was looking considerably less bland in here now. If anything, it looked sort of like some kind of amateur art gallery or room for discussion. I would settle for this, for the time being.

I decided to sit down again, and meditate for a while here.
>>
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>Access Psyops Deployments.

[LOADING...]
>>
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[Accessing Pysops Deployments...]

[PSYOPS DEPLOYMENTS]

[The Deployments are secondary missions to the main story Case-Files. They cover various worldwide operations launched by the Psyops for the mission of Redemption across the globe. Like Case-Files, Deployments have five levels of difficulty, Risk Levels. The higher the risk, the higher the chance of failure resulting in immediate suspension or termination of the operation is.]

[Every operation listed in the Deployments has an acting commander. The Commander provides commentary and is overall in charge of the operation. Recruiting team heads grants access to additional acting commanders. Leading an operation with a Team's Team Lead also increases the chance of voiding success/risk chance altogether and pulling off a complete victory as a result. Troops will trust their Team Lead more.]

[Missions are not considered a success unless the mission statement is complete. Optional targets are simply optional. Also, every operation may have a timeline that can be viewed to grant additional insights. Requisition for extra weapons or tools. Resistance shows the type of enemy presence or elements to be encountered in such a mission. Objectives simply show the primary and optional tasks. Assets handle the subject of selecting the right team for the job.]

[The Psyops' militarized arm, the Warfare Department, may work in tandem with the Intelligence Department. There are also a few operations that may call for the Bunker Department. The primary teams used by these departments are the: Field Agents, Espionage Agents, Rapid Response Agents, Black Ops Agents, Propaganda Team, Encryption & Decryption Team and the Ops Center Construction Team.]

[The Bunker itself can hold at maximum at least 1000 Personnel since previous floorplan revisions. Since the latest recruitment drive, the Bunker has grown to over 600 Personnel. Failure on Deployment operations results in loss of Personnel, affecting these numbers. To increase the Personnel cap higher, the Psyops must expand facilities in operations that involve establishing new bases elsewhere.]

[There are currently 8 operations available to pursue right now.]
>>
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[BUNKER PERSONNEL: 600]

• Operation: Talisman
‣ Risk Level: 5 |
‣ Acting CO: Catastrovania Strifaust Morituros IX |
‣ Continent: Yongesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Infiltrate Castle of the Tengu and establish hacking link to Imperial Servers |
/
• Operation: Knightfall
‣ Risk Level: 3 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assassinate Grandmaster of a fanatic Woldorian Knightly Order |
/
• Operation: Ashigaru Uprising
‣ Risk Level: 2 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis
‣ Continent: Shengesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Disrupt massive Ashigaru conscription effort against Joshu Daimyo |
/
• Operation: Redead
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Eskart |
‣ Continent: Shengesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Foil errant Necromancer's attempt to establish a new Afterseas Coven |
/
• Operation: Expansion
‣ Risk Level: 1 |
‣ Acting CO: Charles Huxton |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Establish a forward firebase in the central alps |
/
• Operation: Opening
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Charles Huxton |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Attempt to open a possible abandoned Heer Bunker discovered recently |
/
• Operation: Kill the Spy
‣ Risk Level: 3 |
‣ Acting CO: Hale Felwitz |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Deal with possible Temple mole suspected to be in Eikrise City |
/
• Operation: Unlikely Ally
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assist a small Heer detachment in defending a trade post in the Peninsula against Samurai raiders |

>The mission survey is open. Operations are free to commence.

>Commence an operation.
>Exit Psyops Deployments.
>>
>>5882378
>Commence Operation
>Operation: Ashigaru Uprising
Partly out of spite for Garlo. Doesn't look too dangerous either
>>
>>5882380
I'll support this. Operation Talisman is awesome but far too audacious for a starting mission.
>>
>>5882378
>Commence!
>Ashigaru Uprising
Let's show them how we make the bread around here
>>
>>5882378
>Commence an operation.
>Operation: Expansion
>>
>>5882380
>+1
>>
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[ COMMENCING OPERATION ...]

[Access Granted]
[User control to ACS system & Nous Radar open]

[KURT REGIS] "Update the issue at hand."

[ Buffering...]
[09:00 - x/12/4999 - Identified Samurai nobility begins recruitment drive in Location:TOUSHI TOWNSHIP. Information on hand, Name:HOJO HIROTADA, Rank:JOSHU DAIMYO. Target commands Location:FORT JIAO]
[15:00 - x/12/4999 - Recruitment drive pulls in 100 additional recruits.]
[18:00 - x/12/4999 - Recruitment drive pulls in 1900 additional recruits.]
[12:00 - x/13/4999 - Recruitment drive pulls in 18000 total recruits.]
[15:00 - x/13/4999 - Recruits transported to Location:FORT JIAO and subsequently augmented into Chemical Immortals.]
[20:00 - x/13/4999 - Augmentations completed.]
[24:00 - x/13/4999 - Decryptions find order placed for massive control chip amount from Heavenly Capital.]

[KURT REGIS] "Alright, listen up, because this is a big one. We've got a troubling situation of a Samurai nobility acquiring an abnormal number of Ashigaru to assemble a new battalion for the Shengesian land armies. This presents a problem in disturbing the fine balance between the Woldorian and Samurai frontlines in Shengesia, as these soldiers are being prepared to ship off to the Imperial holdings in the Crested Peninsula. Such massive numbers can spearhead a push through the rightmost theater, into the Warrens easily. I suspect that's the Samurai's intentions. This noble, alias 'Noble Victorious', is put in charge of the task."

[KURT REGIS] "The thing is, such a massive new division can't be prepared as fast. When it comes to raising divisions, the Samurai adopted a similar methodology as Heer regiments tend to with conscripts. But for them, it is closer to rolling new soldiers out on a conveyor line. Like manufacturing items at a factory. The Samurai simply augment every ones and twos of new recruits and put them out to duty. This relies on keeping small shipments of control chips coming in rapidly. The sheer number of Ashigaru has stalled the latest shipment as production grinds through to meet the demand."

[KURT REGIS] "These Ashigaru are not 'complete'. They aren't ready for service because they haven't had the finishing brainwashing touch. They're susceptible and thus they're being kept in the Fort for now and fed propaganda to tide them over. That degree of free will left makes this a situation that can be capitalized on. Ashigaru don't have rights, and they're treated like dung by nobility. If we can just somehow open their eyes... even a little... we might cause a mutiny, or at least a large desertion. This will break down the recruitment effort. Though, not without its own troubles or risks involved."
>>
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(Take careful note of the various teams that comprise the Warfare Department of the Psyops. Use careful judgment to select the most suited units an operation would call for. The better the units involved, the higher the personnel loss if the mission is failed. Personnel numbers will grow again after every completion of a Case-File by Muna.)

>Mishmar
Or, 'Guards', are standard security guards. They typically stand posted to guard the Felwischer Factory and compound, acting as civilian guards. Hale has set up a Private Security Contractor subsidiary of his company to justify their presence.
They are typically armed with pistols, tasers and batons and occasionally combat knives.

>Dajen
Or, 'Security Responders', are a higher position of security guards working for Felwischer. They respond to security breaches and alerts.
They are typically armed with submachineguns, PDWs, light body armor, pistols, knives and batons.

>Shofar
Or, 'Agent Provocateurs', are field agents tasked with conducting red herring ops and distractionist tactics in the field. They disguise themselves under the fake identity of a new gang or rebel cell operating in the continental straits that look the part of some weird biker pirates.
They are typically armed with older weapons and anything not military issued. They use machine pistols, gas bombs, car bombs, repurposed black powder cannons, smoke bombs, repeaters, and some civilian tools such as hatchets or tomahawks and machetes as melee.

>Sayeret
Or, 'Reconnaissance', are light scouts and spotters issued with light armor.
They are trained with handling radio comms, binoculars, marking targets for the ACS system, and using marksmen rifles and light sniper rifles.

>Qatsyn
Or, 'Paramilitary Officers', are the heaviest armed Field Agents. They are trained in the use of military grade equipment. They wear heavier body armor than Dajen. They are given the right equipment they need to breach and clear rooms in combat scenarios and are experts in indoors fighting.
They are typically issued assault rifles, submachine guns, scatterguns and medium body armor.
>>
>Chabalah
Or, 'Saboteurs', are Espionage agents with a role that gears them to disrupting or inflicting damage to enemies from within while disguising their actions as or rigging them to be accidents. They are capable of infiltrating the Woldorian Heer and Samurai, or blending themselves in with civilians. They may also be used as strategic hitmen.
They are typically given compact Stun rods, venomous hidden blades, disguised explosives and silenced pistols.

>Taalumah
Or, 'Undercover Agents', are the Psyops' dedicated secret operatives. Functionally men in black, they are the main resource for spying and gaining intel while keeping a low profile behind enemy lines. Though they are not proposed as combatants, they are capable of defending themselves should there be a need to. They have access to many useful gadgets made by the Psyops R&R Department.
They are typically equipped with concealed silenced pistols, hidden cameras and wires, personal cloaking patches, bulletproof weave-meshes for their suits, assassination tools such as dart launchers and improvised explosives.

>Tzel
Or, 'Spymasters', are the highest ranking agents of the Espionage team and the best subterfuge experts on hand. They can effectively do the jobs of both the Chabalah and Taalumah at the same time but are much more rarer due to their experience. They were recruited from the best that could be found in Hainei, mostly retirees. They are more capable of intel gathering on top of sporting graduated abilities as investigators.
They are given everything else the Espionage Team has and more, including disguised laser projectors, advanced Krav Maga, Sambo and Aikido training and sonic disruptors.
>>
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>Atz'mah
Or, 'Shock Troops', are the primary fighting force of the Psyops. They are the most numerous branch of the armed wing and comprise seasoned soldiers who underwent VR training and simulations to prepare them for taking the field. They are experts at fighting on multiple terrains and urban environments. Their armor is suited to provide them with the most ample, mobile protection.
They are issued assault rifles, marksmen rifles, combat shotguns, multiple grenade types and light machine guns. They have also been trained in the usage of advanced thermal melee weapons and titanium shield wielding.

>Raam
Or, 'Heavy Weapons', are the special weapons and demolitions variant of the Atz'mah, armed with explosives, heavy machine guns and appropriate protective gear rated for explosives and rocketry. They also handle mine sweeping and emplacing, and are capable of setting up deployable defensive barricades.

>Ayit
Or, 'Snipers', are the sharpshooter variant of Atz'mah. They are issued heavy caliber sniper weapons and anti-material rifles, as well as spotters, scopes and laser finders.

>Zerem
Or, 'Skirmishers', are super mobile infantry that also act as guards of the Bunker and underground installations. Zerem commandos are trained in Titanium shield wielding, usage of aero-gliders, thermal melee and are issued assault rifles, submachineguns and active camo meshes.
>>
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>Siqariyim
Or, 'Ninjas', are the baseline Metahumans of the Psyops. They are augmented and handpicked from the ranks of the Espionage Team to undergo conversion. They are given the most extensive stealth training and technology, and are capable of faster reflexes and acrobatics than those without augmentations. They are given access to experimental Psyops copies of the Samurai's own molecular severing high-frequency weaponry. They are armed with custom outfitted picks of their choice, from full access to the armories of all other ranks, and given access to Vibrokatana and laser weapons.

>Mash'chetet
Or, 'Maximum Force Responders', are the standard Metahumans of the Psyops. They are fully Cyborg converted. They are outfitted with profusely durable coltan-made armor plates that grant them superior speed and mobility to the At'zmah. They are given higher grade thermal weapons and access to laser weapons and experimental maser rifles..

>Mug'dal
Or, 'Experimentals', are the Psyops very own super soldiers. The strongest and fewest of the Metahumans. They possess superhuman strength, speed and reflexes. They are capable of thinking and calculating over thirty times faster than a normal human. Their durability is unmatched among the Psyops, having bodies made of tantalum composite. They are given access to plasma weaponry and are the only ones capable of wielding handheld mass driver weapons designed specifically for their use.
>>
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[KURT REGIS] "The primary objective for this operation is to cause an uproar with the Ashigaru that leads to their possible revolt, mutiny or desertion of the Samurai army. Secondary objective is to eliminate the Joshu Daimyo in charge of the fort. Grab your gear, sync your watches and prepare deployment."

[Assets are required]

[Please select the appropriate teams for this endeavor.]

>Input
>>
>>5882582
>Shofar
For the main objective they might be good, these guys are trained for distractionist tactics and basically riling people up. They're not the best armed but they don't exactly need to be. What better to convince unbrainwashed soldiers to rebel than literal rebels?
>Chabalah
Our secondary objective is to eliminate the noble, and these guys are our resident specialists for it.
>>
>>5882622
>+1
>>
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[KURT REGIS] "For this mission, we've called for the Shofar and the Chabalah."

[KURT REGIS] "Here's a rough layout of the timeline. Currently, it is oh six hours. There is a temple sermon ongoing in the main plaza of the fort. Some ten thousand of the Ashigaru are gathered there right now seeing it. The screens are mostly hosted on the sides of large blimps. They are connected to a broadcasted room near the air control tower. This may be possible to take advantage of."

[KURT REGIS] "The air control tower of the fort is where the Daimyo issues his orders at over the PA system. There is a generator room underneath the tower that seems rather volatile. A plastic explosive may send the whole thing up in flames. Hijacking the blimp broadcasts from the room near the tower may be possible. Otherwise, the Daimyo will likely be in his quarters behind guards."
>>
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[KURT REGIS] "We can issue a megaphone for an infiltrator to use, possible to sow mutiny among the crowd. The Daimyo is not popular. He believes that physical abuse, such as slapping his soldiers, even when no infraction has been noted, is good for their mental fortitude. It may be possible to convince the crowd that he is either a heretic or has been corrupted by the influence of the Afterseas. Normally, Imperials would not believe this, as they are immune to Afterseas corruption. However, since they do not have their chips implanted yet, they are none the wiser currently."

[KURT REGIS] "Again, a plastic explosive can also be issued and planted. If you're confident you can pull it off just right... you can cause an uproar and mutiny and then detonate the explosive, destroying the tower with the Daimyo in it as he goes in to try issuing commands to restore order."
>>
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[KURT REGIS] "Expect somewhat heavy resistance. This is a fort. Since it is in Shengesia, it is not wholly staffed by Samurai. There are Wei forces here as well. Capture by the Wei must be avoided at all costs. There are few Samurai Retainers, but engaging them is not advised. Also, the number of Ashigaru slain, if any, must be kept to a minimum. Killing them will not help cause an uprising or revolt. And because they are not yet truly lost as people, it is not preferred."

[KURT REGIS] "Best of luck. Marshal Regis, out."

================================

[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Incite Ashigaru crowd.]
[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: Eliminate the Joshu Daimyo.]

1. Select an entry point.
>The airstrip. Gain direct access to the air control tower by sneak in while all eyes are on the main plaza and not paying attention to the strips.
>The north cliffsides. There is a fractured wall from a rockslide that has yet to be patched in. Various civilian workers have been put to work here. Chabalah can pose as Samurai officiants and sneak Shofar under guise of penal workers.

2. Requisition.
>The megaphone. It will come in handy to convince the crowd.
>The plastic explosive & detonator. It will make taking the Daimyo out easier.
>>
>>5882641
>The north cliffsides. There is a fractured wall from a rockslide that has yet to be patched in. Various civilian workers have been put to work here. Chabalah can pose as Samurai officiants and sneak Shofar under guise of penal workers.

>The megaphone. It will come in handy to convince the crowd.
>>
>>5882645
+1
No use going into the air control tower if we're not blowing shit up
>>
[Entry point selected. Deploying assets...]

================================

[07:18 hours]

The agents arrived. They casually strolled in through the fracture of the fortress wall. Civilian workers here are confused, and immediately, a official; An umamawari, in casual kimono wear, strolls out to meet them. The Shofar look like gangsters and punks. Their weapons are being smuggled in through wheelbarrows covered with tarps. Upon requesting to see any official documents after speaking to our Chabalah, they are let in once the forged document we printed was shown and convinced the umamawari.

Of course, our Shofar entered in shackles around their ankles in single file, to sell them the look of penal workers. Our Chalabah directed them to the nearby civilian workers truck to 'gather additional extra tools'. Once out of sight, the shackles were unlocked and our Shofar and Chalabah gathered their smuggled weapons. The truck before them was a semitruck, it had a lot of space in the trailer. Civilian assets are in the clear to commandeer, as long as no civilians are harmed in the process.

Overhead, the large blimps with screens on the side could be seen, there were two floating above the walls enclosing the main plaza of which surrounded the fort's mess halls and adjacent recreational buildings housing the living and the air control tower. Because of the way Samurai made their forts, there was plenty of cover to sneak behind. Our units could travel alongside the walls and behind the smaller warehouse buildings and trees and filibustered wall placements and extension. Another option was possible, to scale the rooftops through the warehouses and onto the main buildings, as most watch tower eyes were on the main plaza as well. Most security was thankfully gathered on the outskirt.

From the rooftops, the blimps could have their screens shot out. The Shofar could make use of the civilian truck to cause a disturbance. Alternatively, the Shofar could bide some time in order for the Chalabah to get inside and hijack the broadcasts. A shootout isn't necessary, but the Shofar could cause something that would require the attention of the guards.
>>
>1. Small distraction. The Shofar will act in various places to gather guard attention while the Chabalah move into the main building and hijack the broadcast.
>2. Big distraction. The Shofar will commandeer the civilian truck and have it crash into a guard tower. The ensuing shootout will cause a lockdown, trapping the 10000 unprepared Ashigaru in the main plaza for now. The megaphone can be used by a Chalabah from the rooftops to sow confusion amongst the crowd.
>3. Small distraction. The Shofar and Chabalah will sneak into the main building. The Chabalah will go for the broadcasting room and hijack the broadcast while the Shofar eliminate air controllers in the tower to draw out the Daimyo and assassinate him.
>4. Lie in wait. Wait until 09:00 for the Daimyo's speech to sneak into the main building and assassinate him, staging the event as an Afterseas move to cause panic and desertion among the Ashigaru watching.
>>
>>5882667
>3. Small distraction. The Shofar and Chabalah will sneak into the main building. The Chabalah will go for the broadcasting room and hijack the broadcast while the Shofar eliminate air controllers in the tower to draw out the Daimyo and assassinate him.
Divide and conquer, baby.
>>
>>5882667
>2. Big distraction. The Shofar will commandeer the civilian truck and have it crash into a guard tower. The ensuing shootout will cause a lockdown, trapping the 10000 unprepared Ashigaru in the main plaza for now. The megaphone can be used by a Chalabah from the rooftops to sow confusion amongst the crowd.
>>
>>5882667
>3. Small distraction. The Shofar and Chabalah will sneak into the main building. The Chabalah will go for the broadcasting room and hijack the broadcast while the Shofar eliminate air controllers in the tower to draw out the Daimyo and assassinate him.
Best to be sneaky.
>>
>>5882671
>+1
>>
[07:26 hours]

Our unit decides to move as one, finding their way past the warehouses to gain access into the main building complex. The Shofar tail behind the Chalabah, who ensure to chart the way ahead to clear the path to the air control tower. A few Wei are ahead, watching the halls, but the Chabalah are able to convincingly reassign them elsewhere, sending them outside to the rooftops for the Shofar to move through.

Once the right corridor is reached, the units split off to carry out their plan. The Chabalah head down to the broadcasting room while the Shofar ascend the stairs and enter the air control tower.
>>
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[ACT: SHOFAR]

Upon entering the tower and reaching the control room at the top, Samurai technicians are there manning the computers that control the course of the blimps. They are unarmed combatants. There are several Wei Swordsmen and at least one Rifleman gathered in the center. Upon spotting our unit, the rifleman takes aim, readying to open fire as the swordsmen draw. One of the technicians goes to sound the alarm.

The alarm will put the base on alert and cause the shutdown that we may just need here. The Daimyo will be alerted and come to the air control tower seeking to get a wrap on the situation. If the alarm is sounded, Retainers won't be far behind. The immediate gunshots will alert nearby Wei as well.

>Return fire. Storm the tower and eliminate the resistance.
>Quickly, throw some gas bombs inside before they can sound the alarm. (Roll 1d100)
>Allow the alarm to be tripped and then engage in a shootout.
>>
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[ACT: CHABALAH]

The broadcasting room below was tight and compact. It had only enough room for a recording console and screen caster for the fort commander. There were two human Samurai utility men in here, they are easily backed off into the corner at gunpoint by one of our Chabalah using a concealed, silenced weapon.

Another of the four agents gets to the door and closes it, locking it and then bracing it by pushing everything in the room he could find - boxes, an extra screen casting camera and such against it.
The other two agents immediately cut the feed from the Temple channel and interrupt the broadcast. This action immediately confused the Ashigaru gathered outside. The two agents took a few minutes but were able to reroute the feed from the blimps to the screen caster then.

At [07:40] hours, our Chabalah is on screen. The Ashigaru crowd watches curiously, assuming it to be some kind of announcement of technical difficulties. The Chabalah agent is awaiting suggestion from acting commander.

>Order the agent to try inciting mutiny by waking the Ashigaru up by exposing the truth about the Samurai and Imperial military.
>Order the agent to incite violent rebellion by claiming the fort Daimyo is an agent of HEUS secretly plotting against the Trinity.
>Order the agent to incite desertion and demoralization by claiming to be an agent of the Afterseas and declaring the fort has fallen.
>>
Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>5883133
>Quickly, throw some gas bombs inside before they can sound the alarm
>Order the agent to try inciting mutiny by waking the Ashigaru up by exposing the truth about the Samurai and Imperial military.
or
>Order the agent to incite violent rebellion by claiming the fort Daimyo is an agent of HEUS secretly plotting against the Trinity.
Depending on which one has more votes.
>>
>>5883140
On QM's call I'll switch to
>Order the agent to try inciting mutiny by waking the Ashigaru up by exposing the truth about the Samurai and Imperial military.
Since no one else is voting
>>
>>5883206
>+1
>>
[07:42]

A pair of molotov cocktails are cast into the air control room, quickly bursting and catching the Wei and air controllers on fire via their clothing. The fire disorients them, and spreads to the systems, burning circuitry. The circuit that would have activated the alarm is burned out, and can no longer trip, but the lockdown circuit is too, meaning the Ashigaru can no longer be confined to the main plaza.

The Wei Rifleman returned fire while set ablaze himself, the fire doing little to harm his body and managed to land a hit on the shoulder of one of the immediate throwers. The light bullet injures the agent, but the immediate squad is able to open fire, quickly slaying the Wei before their swords can come in range along with the air controllers. The air control tower is thus taken.

The Daimyo remains in his quarters, and is not aware of the situation.
The Shofar now hunk down in preparation of the arrival of additional Wei who have heard the gunshots.
>>
[07:51]

Our Chabalah agent is broadcasting now using the screen casting camera to assume the feed of the blimps hovering over the main plaza.
Some ten thousand Ashigaru stare, bewildered at our agent as he begins to attempt enlightening them to the truth. Our agent explains to the Ashigaru that their free will is soon to be eradicated now that they have been cyborg modified and that their next diagnostics will involve implantation of control chips that will take over their will. They are informed now that as Ashigaru, they have no rights and will be used as throwaway soldiers for the Trinity. Encouragement is given for them to revolt and escape while they still can, to flee into the country sides and get away before the Samurai can control them.

....However, they are not convinced by this sudden display.
It only takes a few Ashigaru raising their fists and crying out, "Heretic!", for the crowd of ten thousand to go in uproar and venomously rebuke the assertions. The Ashigaru have not been swayed to betrayal. The dogmatic teaching they've been conditioned with makes any message attempting to expose the Trinity fail to reach them. The Trinity's world government is not yet weak enough for these kinds of messages to reach them.

[KURT REGIS] "Whatever you've done, all it did was piss them off. Now they won't think about going AWOL. Primary objective to incite uprising is a bust... this mission is no longer tenable. I'm terminating the operation. All units are ordered to pull back right away and evacuate immediately. We're preparing the Heart Attack Manifold. Gather in the air control tower for transportation extract."

[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE FAILED]
[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE PENDING]
[PERSONNEL PRESERVATION RECOMMENDED]
>>
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Our Chabalah shoot and destroy the broadcasting equipment and tell the human technicians in the broadcasting room they saw nothing. They receive words like "dirty rebel scum" and "heretic filth" in return as they remove the barricades to the doors and shuffle out on their way to the air control tower.

[08:03]
A Wei guardsman double timed it to an intercom to signal the Joshu Daimyo of fighting in the air control tower. Our ACS system picked up on his move. He's currently enroute through a main hallway with Retainers in tow.

Several Wei armed with pistols are attempting to scale the air control tower's stairs to confront our Shofar agents. With them in the way our Chabalah can't extract, and will get sandwiched when the Daimyo arrives. The Shofar need to clear them out with bait and switches quickly.

>Roll 1d100.
>Best of three.
>>
Rolled (1d00)

>>5883223
We'll try this again another time, I don't think we've used our guys to their max potential
>>
Rolled 67 (1d100)

>>5883224
oops
>>
Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>5883223
>>
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Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>5883223
DOHWEMEESED
>>
>>5883228
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
>>
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[08:10]

One by one, the Wei attempt to breach the door and take pot shots at our agents, funneling in one by one. But each time a new one rears their head, they eat slugs and lead and their bodies pile up at the doors. One remains behind, using the wall as cover and not daring to enter. By the time our Chabalah arrive, the final Wei meets his end from a concentrated fire to the back of his skull from our four Chabalah.

Every agent is preparing to disengage.

[08:18]

The Daimyo is nearly reached the air control tower with two Retainers in tow. One of the Shofar thinks a well placed hit from his hatchet can open enough of a gap in the neck plating to stuff a grenade inside of to kill the Daimyo. We've hacked the cameras and can see this Joshu Daimyo does not yet have a better shell, he retains a weaker one. However, he's still very bulletproof, and carrying a heavy machine gun. Engaging is like a death sentence.

>Extract now. Mission over.
>Our agent might just get lucky and pull off the kill... he should try.
>>
>>5883246
>Extract now. Mission over.
Shofar aren't exactly equipped for this sort of thing, let's not sacrifice men to stupid decisions
>>
>>5883246
>Our agent might just get lucky and pull off the kill... he should try.
On one hand this could end terribly, but on the other hand it might be pretty funny. And cool if it succeeds
>>
>>5883246
>Our agent might just get lucky and pull off the kill... he should try.
>>
>>5883246
>Our agent might just get lucky and pull off the kill... he should try.
We have nothing to lose but our liberty.
>>
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[08:20]

The Heart Attack Manifold is ready for teleportational pickup. Extraction underway. A space slip will lock onto the molecules of our agents and pick them up.

[08:22]

The Joshu Daimyo is walking up the stairs of the air control tower. One of our Shofar, clutching a hatchet, steps away from the extract point. Despite protests from his teammates, he remains adamant on what he's about to do. The rest of the Shofar and Chabalah warp out and extract.

[08:23]

As soon as the Joshu Daimyo came around the quarter, the hatchet swung into his neck, but failed to penetrate the nanolaminate material of the armor. Our lone Shofar was promptly killed by an injury of physical trauma, possibly a snapped neck from what the Nous Radar can tell afterwards.

[08:28]

The Joshu Daimyo has issued the lockdown after getting a handle on the situation. He cannot seem to come to terms with believing that a single 'rebel' caused all of this, and is confirmed in his suspicion upon learning of the broadcast hijacking. He calls for council with the military delegates of the Heavenly Capital to report the situation and call for an increase in actions allowed in rooting out terrorist cells in Shengesia.
>>
File: Psyops Briefing.png (125 KB, 1268x782)
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[Operation: Ashigaru Uprising - FAILED]
[Deployment Terminated]
[Personnel: 599]

>The mission survey is open. Operations are free to commence.

>Commence an operation.
>Exit Psyops Deployments.
>>
>>5883306
Yea yea.... whatever, DAD. Giving us lessons..
>Commence an operation
>>
>>5883306
>Commence an operation.
Looks like I was right lol.
>>
[BUNKER PERSONNEL: 599]

• Operation: Talisman
‣ Risk Level: 5 |
‣ Acting CO: Catastrovania Strifaust Morituros IX |
‣ Continent: Yongesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Infiltrate Castle of the Tengu and establish hacking link to Imperial Servers |
/
• Operation: Knightfall
‣ Risk Level: 3 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assassinate Grandmaster of a fanatic Woldorian Knightly Order |
/
• Operation: Redead
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Eskart |
‣ Continent: Shengesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Foil errant Necromancer's attempt to establish a new Afterseas Coven |
/
• Operation: Expansion
‣ Risk Level: 1 |
‣ Acting CO: Charles Huxton |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Establish a forward firebase in the central alps |
/
• Operation: Opening
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Charles Huxton |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Attempt to open a possible abandoned Heer Bunker discovered recently |
/
• Operation: Kill the Spy
‣ Risk Level: 3 |
‣ Acting CO: Hale Felwitz |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Deal with possible Temple mole suspected to be in Eikrise City |
/
• Operation: Unlikely Ally
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assist a small Heer detachment in defending a trade post in the Peninsula against Samurai raiders |

>Select operation.
>>
>>5883306
>Commence an operation.
>>
>>5883313
>Operation: Expansion
babu
>>
>>5883313
>Operation: Expansion
Babby's first mission then
CAPTCHA: KANXM
>>
>>5883313
>Operation: Expansion
>>
>>5883313
>Operation: Expansion
Dang, you guys really dropped the hatchet on that last one.
>>
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[ COMMENCING OPERATION ...]

[Access Granted]
[User control to ACS system & Nous Radar open]

[ Buffering...]

[16:00 - x/17/4999 - Order placed by Deputy Director for expanded facility to Bunker Department. Ops Center Construction Team notified and asked to prepare.]

[CHARLES] "Greetings, greetings and salutations, comrades! I'm sure you've been given a memo on the task at hand but in case you didn't then allow me to remind everyone. The Deputy, my good friend Hale, put in a request for us to expand our facilities. We may be the Bunker Department but our teams are concerned with "ops center" in general might I say. Mhmhm. So naturally it's our job to handle construction of any facilities inside or outside."

[CHARLES] "Right now we've selected a place in middle Siegesia. Around the central alps. We'll be hammering out the details and then along with construction. Tarry on and good luck, chaps.... Now, erh, how do I- how do I turn this thing off?"

[DOUG] "The... the button there on the side, sir."

[Assets are required]
[Ops Center Construction Team has been selected]

[CHARLES] "A new teleportation node would be useful, methinks. The teleportation capabilities are a relatively new modification we added to the Heart Attack thingy ourselves. It wasn't there when the Woldorians built it. It is highly energy inefficient, let's just say... and we'll have to curb our energy usage in the future, somehow. Got to do things on our own and figure them out. Can't rely on the gods to babysit us through everything!"

[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Construct a forward ops center in the central alps.]
[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: Do NOT trigger any leyline natural disasters. Personnel loss would be costly.]

1. Select elevation.
>We'll build somewhere close to the alpine forest down below. We risk coming into contact with civilization more but avoid the quite literally heightened risk of tripping a leyline disaster.
>We'll build higher into the mountain alps. Up there obscured in snow means we avoid any risk or chances of being detected by the Heer, but might risk our exposure to a rogue leyline, since they cannot be detected.

2. Select prefab.
>FOB. A forward operation base. We an use a FOB for multiple purposes, including supporting our troops, clandestine operatives or observation. It can be used as an effective secondary position for either the Shofar or Rapid Response to help increase our reaction times and information gain.
>MOB. A main operating base. We can set up a remote training and induction center to gather new blood and make them service worthy. We can also expand a supply chain and gain additional resources here to support the factory and Bunker. Additionally, we can set up future teleport nodes at MOBs.
>>
>>5883346
>We'll build somewhere close to the alpine forest down below. We risk coming into contact with civilization more but avoid the quite literally heightened risk of tripping a leyline disaster.

>MOB. A main operating base. We can set up a remote training and induction center to gather new blood and make them service worthy. We can also expand a supply chain and gain additional resources here to support the factory and Bunker. Additionally, we can set up future teleport nodes at MOBs.
>>
>>5883346
>We'll build somewhere close to the alpine forest down below. We risk coming into contact with civilization more but avoid the quite literally heightened risk of tripping a leyline disaster.

>MOB. A main operating base. We can set up a remote training and induction center to gather new blood and make them service worthy. We can also expand a supply chain and gain additional resources here to support the factory and Bunker. Additionally, we can set up future teleport nodes at MOBs.

I'd like to build high up but the risk of a landslide is a bit high.
>>
>>5883346
>We'll build somewhere close to the alpine forest down below. We risk coming into contact with civilization more but avoid the quite literally heightened risk of tripping a leyline disaster.
>MOB. A main operating base. We can set up a remote training and induction center to gather new blood and make them service worthy. We can also expand a supply chain and gain additional resources here to support the factory and Bunker. Additionally, we can set up future teleport nodes at MOBs.
Best to be cautious about things.
>>
>>5883346
>>5883359
Actually, I think I'm going to change my mind here.

>We'll build higher into the mountain alps. Up there obscured in snow means we avoid any risk or chances of being detected by the Heer, but might risk our exposure to a rogue leyline, since they cannot be detected.
>FOB. A forward operation base. We an use a FOB for multiple purposes, including supporting our troops, clandestine operatives or observation. It can be used as an effective secondary position for either the Shofar or Rapid Response to help increase our reaction times and information gain.

There's some risk of the leyline but that means nothing if the mountaintop sloughing off crushes us wholesale. FOB is less useful but it's also less likely to piss off Bedolfir and we can always expand later.
>>
>>5883363
Hmm, maybe if there's less infrastructure there's less risk of the mountain falling apart. I'll switch my vote to this
>>
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[23:00 hours]

Our decision was to avoid erecting any structures near the alpine forests, which are teeming with record number of grizzly bears this year that our Dajen would be overtaxed to respond to in order to defend the workers. We decided to build higher.

As the central alps were connected to the Mountains of Yore one way or another, we thankfully made a wise decision, as leyline presence was not as heavy thanks to proximity to the Woldorian pantheon's heartland mountain range. There was no clear reports of avalanches peaking in the area from weather data. Landslides taking place down lower, closer to ground level were more common at the time of this writing. Our construction team is able to bore into the mountain and hollow out caves found through the sharp inclines and reinforce them with titanium compounds to build into the mountain. An air pad is being extended off the clip face, capable of extending outwards and retracting back inside, although Psyops possesses no air capabilities at this time. There are smoother mountain passes and slopes along the interior, past the sharp inclines and spiky peaks of the outer faces. We are able to erect a camp as an entry point, cordoning off free access to and from with concrete walls and a gate. The entry point stretches into one of the immediate caves leading to the interior section.

There is little to no risk of exposure to hikers from this point, and the Heer's mountaineer patrols do not often tread the sacred mountains this far. At this point, we are more concerned with offending the Woldorian pantheon by building on their home turf than Bedolfir.

We should dedicate this base to a branch of our Departments. We cannot sustain a nuclear reactor here to meet energy demands, but it may be possible to build an additional teleportation extension in the form of a pylon and arrival chamber.

1. Dedication.
>We will purpose this base to serve the Rapid Response and Field Agents teams. This will help ease confrontation times with possible conflicts with Heer Regiments. (+50 Personnel cap, gain more confrontation operations with Heer and uncover more Khanate actions)
>We will purpose this base to serve as an observation post for the Espionage team and the teams of the Intelligence Department for monitoring Geitlandsbyen Grand City and the Heer's Horn's Rike Military Zone's movements easier. (+30 Personnel cap, gain higher relation with the Heer and uncover more Temple actions)

2. Energy concerns.
>Construct a teleportation pylon and chamber for quicker transport.
>Expand the hangar and introduce air capability to Psyops.
>>
>>5883394
>We will purpose this base to serve as an observation post for the Espionage team and the teams of the Intelligence Department for monitoring Geitlandsbyen Grand City and the Heer's Horn's Rike Military Zone's movements easier. (+30 Personnel cap, gain higher relation with the Heer and uncover more Temple actions)
>Expand the hangar and introduce air capability to Psyops.
>>
>>5883394
>We will purpose this base to serve as an observation post for the Espionage team and the teams of the Intelligence Department for monitoring Geitlandsbyen Grand City and the Heer's Horn's Rike Military Zone's movements easier. (+30 Personnel cap, gain higher relation with the Heer and uncover more Temple actions)

>Construct a teleportation pylon and chamber for quicker transport.
>>
>>5883394
>We will purpose this base to serve as an observation post for the Espionage team and the teams of the Intelligence Department for monitoring Geitlandsbyen Grand City and the Heer's Horn's Rike Military Zone's movements easier. (+30 Personnel cap, gain higher relation with the Heer and uncover more Temple actions)
>Expand the hangar and introduce air capability to Psyops.
This is sensible, we need to get an air-force online and keep a close eye on the Temple.
>>
>>5883399
Supporting. It'd be a bit silly to supply planes to a damn spy outpost - that'd give away our position real fast.
>>
>>5883394
>We will purpose this base to serve as an observation post for the Espionage team and the teams of the Intelligence Department for monitoring Geitlandsbyen Grand City and the Heer's Horn's Rike Military Zone's movements easier. (+30 Personnel cap, gain higher relation with the Heer and uncover more Temple actions)
>Expand the hangar and introduce air capability to Psyops.
Teleportation is nice, but air superiority is a very big game changer.
>>
>>5883404
Actually wait, you're right about that
Changing to
>Construct a teleportation pylon and chamber for quicker transport.
>>
>>5883406
>Teleportation is nice, but air superiority is a very big game changer.
Nigga, you might as well go with the rapid response team option then instead of the spies
>>
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[05:00 hours]

We have decided to purpose this location as a dedicated FOB for the spying elements of our ranks. We will be able to observe and keep a closer eye on the Woldorian Capital and the largest military installation they have the western side of Siegesia. A teleportation pylon was constructed, along with a chamber to receive goers and senders alike.

However, because the FOB cannot support a nuclear reactor, we've resorted to charging batteries with the nuclear reactor in the Bunker instead. We have to deliver a battery with every teleportation use and then take back discharged ones for recharge, in order to keep the teleportation pylon active. Forgetting to upkeep this could mean losing the power for the pylon, in which case it might be forced to absorb auxiliary power from the FOB's generators.

A possible solution would be to negotiate for magical power sources from the Illuminati in the future.

We will have the Ops Center Construction Team finish the FOB and then assign agents to the locale, as well as Mishmar and Dajen.

We will designate this FOB as Safehouse Alpha.

================================

[Operation: Expansion - COMPLETED]
[Deployment Terminated]
[Personnel: 599]
[New Personnel Cap: 1030]

================================

[BUNKER PERSONNEL: 599]

• Operation: Talisman
‣ Risk Level: 5 |
‣ Acting CO: Catastrovania Strifaust Morituros IX |
‣ Continent: Yongesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Infiltrate Castle of the Tengu and establish hacking link to Imperial Servers |
/
• Operation: Knightfall
‣ Risk Level: 3 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assassinate Grandmaster of a fanatic Woldorian Knightly Order |
/
• Operation: Redead
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Eskart |
‣ Continent: Shengesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Foil errant Necromancer's attempt to establish a new Afterseas Coven |
/
• Operation: Opening
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Charles Huxton |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Attempt to open a possible abandoned Heer Bunker discovered recently |
/
• Operation: Kill the Spy
‣ Risk Level: 3 |
‣ Acting CO: Hale Felwitz |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Deal with possible Temple mole suspected to be in Eikrise City |
/
• Operation: Unlikely Ally
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assist a small Heer detachment in defending a trade post in the Peninsula against Samurai raiders |

>Commence an operation.
>Exit Psyops Deployments.
>>
>>5883424
>Operation: Kill the spy
One last one
>>
>>5883424
>>5883426
+1. Sure, why not
>>
>>5883426
>Operation: Kill the spy
Let's see if our Mung'Dal have legs
>>
>>5883426
>+1
>>
>>5883595
I don't think we need to send a Mug'Dal for that mission anon. That'd be like using a missile to destroy a brick of butter. They're also probably not terribly good at stealth lol
>>
>>5883424
>Operation: Unlikely Ally
>>
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[ COMMENCING OPERATION ...]

[Access Granted]
[User control to ACS system & Nous Radar open]

[ Buffering...]

The following mission calls for the expertise of the Espionage Team.

[HALE] "Alright, gentlemen, listen up. This one is important. I did some digging recently going the data we could gather from other Heer installations covertly through hacking. Apparently we found out that they are aware of a spy in the city of Eikrise, a mole acting for the Imperial Temple. They're aware of them yet haven't caught them."

[HALE] "A Temple mole could be searching for anything in Eikrise. I'd suspect they've either been dispatched the follow up on Catastrovania's wanted status within the Temple's registry or they may be attempting to look into Felwischer company, knowing my history with the Trinity."

[HALE] "We're going to need to terminate them and act fast. I'll leave the method and outcome to you all. Deputy Executive out."

================================

[09:00 hours]

[HALE] "Now I want you to all keep one thing in mind. Since I expanded the company with a private security contracting subsidiary, I've been contracting a lot across Eikrise. In fact, since Heer recruitments often leave the local law enforcement short, I've even taken over handling some of those areas of Eikrise. If it comes to a shootout, the target must not be allowed to escape. We can stage an intervention by the Field Agents as local law enforcement merely responding to a distress call and get away with it. So if all goes south, call in the Qatsyn."

[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Eliminate the Temple spy.]
[OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: Capture the Temple spy alive.]

1. Assets.
>This is a job for the Taalumah. We should try to capture him with undercover agents.
>This calls for a Tzel agent. We should assassinate him with the best of the best.
>Belay that. Send in the Qatsyn to arrest him and turn him over to the Heer.

2. Resistance.
[ Target is presumed to be versed in forms of hand to hand combat. Target should be considered armed and dangerous. Currently unknown what armaments they may possess already, but the Temple should come equipped with Light projecting weapons and/or low level Qi techniques ]

3. Requisition.
>VX. We can assume the target may order room service. A spike from this will kill him quick.
>Silenced sniper rifle. We can use infrared scanning to pick him out and shoot him through the window from an advantage point.
>Adenosine Pill. We can slip this into the target's room service and knock them out. Transport them to our interrogation chamber afterwards.
>Nothing.
>>
>>5884044
>This is a job for the Taalumah. We should try to capture him with undercover agents.

>Adenosine Pill. We can slip this into the target's room service and knock them out. Transport them to our interrogation chamber afterwards.
Going greedy
>>
>>5884112
+1
Let's try to get that dude alive. Let's hope our interrogation chambers are good enough
>>
>>5884112
+1, we've got this. We failed to kill the Samurai last time so taking this guy alive should be easy!
>>
[09:48 hours]

We have dispatched two Taalumah agents to the scene. Mr. White and Mr. Black. They entered the Grand Regional Hotel and informed the staff they are there on part of government business and to not mind them, showing them forged papers that had the credentials of a Heer Regiment. These papers were not well made. They would easily be sniffed out by an actual Heer agency. Civilians cannot tell the difference. The staff informed that they would be required to show this paper to the manager, so our agents leave it at the desk.

Carrying on, by [10:01 hours], we intercept a call on the phone lines of the hotel from our target's room. He has ordered room service. Mushroom, Spinach & Truffle Gnocchi with stout, dry.

Our agents keep an eye on the restaurant section to see when the service cart carrying the order is being pushed out. When we get visual of the hotel staff woman with the exact cart, our Agents follow. She takes the elevator to the third floor. She is headed to room 132. Upon reaching the third floor, Mr. White proceeds with a distraction tactic, coming down the hall and peering across the corner. Mr. White proceeds to open a can of pop and spill it on the carpet while no one is around to see. Mr. White drops the pop can and calls for the hotel staff woman as soon as she rounds the corner, telling her to come and look at the mess he "happened" upon. While she walks off from the cart. Mr. Black quickly moves up the steps, opening the food warmer door and taking out the dish containing our target's order. He acts quickly to shove two small adenosine pills inside with a metal tweezer and replaces the lid and dish into the compartment.

Mr. Black moves down the stairs as the staff woman says she'll call housekeeping after she delivers the meal. Mr. White proceeds to head down the stairs.

Adenosine normally comes in purely liquid form. These pills are more like softgel capsules. The extremely thin gelatin layer containing the Adenosine dosage will melt away due to the food's heat and blend in. Upon ingestion, the subject will immediately fall woozy and then unconscious.

[10:24 hours]

The order has been delivered. We must now rely on the chance the target is not paranoid and does not test his food first before consumption.

>Roll 1d100.
>Best of three.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>5884240
Please be stupid
>>
Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>5884240
COME ON BABY
>>
Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>5884240
>>
[10:49 hours]

We can verify a cessation of movement in the hotel suite through our listening equipment. All has gone quiet.

[10:54 hours]

Mr. White and Mr. Black have obtained a staff key from the front desk that opens all hotel roosm.

[10:58 hours]

Mr. White and Mr. Black approach Room 132 and enter the suite and secure our captured target. Mr. White remains by the door watching whilst Mr. Black unlocks it and steps inside. There is nobody to be found immediately inside the casual space in front of the television. However, Mr. White notices the room service order upon the table in front of it and a small baby beagle, the presumable pet of the target, is asleep on the couch. The tray remains uncovered, and upon inspection Mr. White can tell the fork was used to swirl the meal around.

He then realizes the mistake made on their part.

This dog had been snuck in through the luggage of the spy, as the hotel normally did not allow pets. He ensured to mix his food around to spread the content of any spiked substances before giving to the animal to test it. Upon noticing the sleep overtake the animal, he retreated to the bedroom to lie in wait.

It is too late.

As Mr. Black passes the frame of the bedroom door looking for the target, he is suddenly grabbed and restrained in a headlock and a pistol is pressed to the side of his head. The target turns and faces Mr. White who draws his silenced sidearm and aims. The target is demanding him to drop it.

1. Risky situation.
>Order our agent to heed his demand and drop his weapon.
>Order our agent to attempt a precise shot at the target's weapon to disarm him and then overwhelm him.
>>
>>5884313
>Order our agent to attempt a precise shot at the target's weapon to disarm him and then overwhelm him.
We can't allow sentiment to shroud the cause. If this fails, the Qatsyn will seize him with a vengeance.
>>
>>5884313
>>Order our agent to attempt a precise shot at the target's weapon to disarm him and then overwhelm him.
Don't negotiate with the enemy
>>
>>5884313
>Order our agent to attempt a precise shot at the target's weapon to disarm him and then overwhelm him.
>>
[10:59 hours]

Our agent decided to take a brash action then. Mr. White fired a shot from his silenced pistol then. The shot managed to strike and slice through the pistol of the target. His hand began to bleed from a cut the grazing bullet caused to the index finger via metal scrap.

[???] "Scheiße!"

The target responded by kicking his hostage, Mr. Black forward, sending our Taalumah agent into the floor.

In a shocking turn of events, the target decided to run to his left. Mr White saw him throw himself out of the window. Assuming our target had just thrown himself to his demise, Mr. White and Mr. Black looked out to see him breaking his fall from the third floor on the large awnings hanging over the windows from the second floor and from the condominium building that sat to the neighboring side of the hotel. He has managed to safely land himself on the concrete of the alley below. Though he is disoriented from a 7 foot fall from the final awning, he will get up and continue to flee in just moments.

[MR. BLACK] "MotherFUCKEH! Damn, son, why'd you do that?! I was gonna use the taser through my pocket and shock the shit outta that son of a bitch! I almost had him!"

[MR. WHITE] "No time. We gotta get that fucker before he gets away. MR. WHITE TO HQ, TARGET IS ON FOOT AND FLEEING INTO THE STREETS. REPEAT. TARGET IS MOBILE."

The spy is attempting to get away. Our ACS can only keep track of him for so long.

We have another problem however. Our phoneline monitor just picked up that the manager of the hotel has phoned the local law enforcement to report a disturbance. We suspect he likely realized the forged government business paper our Taalumah handed off to the staff was sniffed out by him. A quick rundown through data by supercomputer NIBIRU confirms, to our displeasure, the manager was a former Heer officer. He realizes something is up and due to the nature of the disturbance he reported, the local Heer Regiment has dispatched conscripts to the hotel rather than calling our Qatsyn in.

Therefor, Mr. Black and Mr. White are in danger of capture. We need to get them out and capture the spy at the same time now... Thankfully, another hotel occupant has reported the sound of the breaking window. We could use this as an excuse to dispatch Qatsyn under the reason that they're responding to the call and have them pick up the spy. We can then teleport Mr. Black and Mr. White out.

However, we may lose the spy. A wiser option would be to teleport Dajen to grab him. However, we cannot teleport them and then teleport Mr. White and Mr. Black, as the pylon requires a few minutes to prepare. Our Taalumah would be in danger of discovery by the Heer conscripts...
>>
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1. Capture him.
>Deploy a Qatsyn truck to find him. He shouldn't get too far that our ACS loses him. They'll pick him right up off the streets.
>He'll likely try fleeing into one or more alleys. Teleport some Dajen there to grab him from the next he turns the corner around.
>Leave it to the Taalumah.

2. Taalumah.
>Have them hide in an elevator. We can remotely cut the power to the building so they'd be locked inside and unreachable just long enough until we can extract them properly without discovery.
>Mr. White does the same thing, breaking his fall with the awnings to rapidly descend and then capture the spy whilst Mr. Black is teleported out, and then Mr. White with our target shortly after.
>>
>>5884364
Ah shit, we're genius at this. Alright...
>He'll likely try fleeing into one or more alleys. Teleport some Dajen there to grab him from the next he turns the corner around.
>Have them hide in an elevator. We can remotely cut the power to the building so they'd be locked inside and unreachable just long enough until we can extract them properly without discovery.
This is the plan with the least moving parts. I think it's the best combination of the two.
>>
>>5884370
That seems smarter yeah, trying to jump off the window seems like a recipe for being easily tracked down and cornered in an alley
>>
>>5884370
>+1
>>
[11:03 hours]

Our two Taalumah agents left the suite quickly before the conscripts arriving to the hotel could even enter. They huddled together inside an elevator cab and moved it to the 2nd floor. Midway through the momentum of the elevator motor, power was cut to the building by our technicians and SMPS of the elevator caused the cab to traverse to the second floor, but the doors refuse to open. Our agents are forced to sit tightly and await extract from here on while the hotel staff investigate the sudden power outage by checking their breakers.

[11:05 hours]

Roughly around the same time, we deduced which alley the spy would flee into in his escape and teleported four Dajen agents to the scene quickly. As the spy, Albin Ceder, rounded the corner, he was body blocked instantly and denied by the agents. A bag over the head and some punches to the gut have him down and our agents are able to handcuff him.

The target is captured and promptly teleported out.

At around [11:12 hours], our Taalumah are extracted before power is restored to the building.

[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE FAILED]
[OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE COMPLETED]
>>
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[12:50 hours]

We have successfully interrogated the captured spy by pressuring him to divulge what he knows by warning that we could simply have a psychic to find out either way. Seeing that the information could be gained regardless, the spy complied at last.

It turns out, that, in our suspicion of his being a Temple mole, we were only half right in the assumption. There's a reason we found data on this known spy from the Heer, and a reason why the Heer has not dealt with this spy yet.

His alias, 'Albin Ceder' is a fake name to hide his true identity. Bjorn Mordsson.
He is, in actuality, a double agent for the Woldorians. He is truthfully a provider of intel for the Woldorian Heer and various Regimental commanders, generals and marshals. He has successfully staged an enrollment into the Imperial Temple and faked his belief of the Imperial Creed enough to become trusted as a mole by the Temple. He apparently uses this position to extract information on Samurai military movements from the Imperials to feed back to his superiors while feeding the Temple false reports on the Heer that are then given to the Samurai. This is done to help create division between the Samurai and Temple.

He claims that we should have known this from the start if we knew he was a spy. He claims that no true son of Siegesia turns his back on the land that is the fatherland and motherland of all Woldorians.

We should likely decide what now to do with the spy.

1. Handle.
>Memory wipe him of these events and safely transport him back above ground to Eikrise city. We can leave a few bottles beside him in one of the city parks to make it look like he simply made some bad decisions last night.
>Attempt to persuade him to join the Psyops and thus help us strengthen our ties to the Heer. We would have to be really convincing to ensure he does not play double agent with us as well if we try this. (Roll 1d100)
>>
>>5884411
>Memory wipe him of these events and safely transport him back above ground to Eikrise city. We can leave a few bottles beside him in one of the city parks to make it look like he simply made some bad decisions last night.
He's a good man. Best not to interfere further with his work.
>>
>>5884414
>Support
Yeah just let him do his thing.
>>
>>5884411
>Memory wipe him of these events and safely transport him back above ground to Eikrise city. We can leave a few bottles beside him in one of the city parks to make it look like he simply made some bad decisions last night.
>>
>>5884411
>Memory wipe him of these events and safely transport him back above ground to Eikrise city. We can leave a few bottles beside him in one of the city parks to make it look like he simply made some bad decisions last night.
>>
Without any fanfare, we decide to have the Ecclesiastics clergy use their gifts to erase the memories he holds of today's events. We deposit him somewhere back above ground, in the way we staged to make it seem completely natural.

We can at least say that the spy is no longer a concern to us.

[Operation: Kill the Spy - COMPLETED]
[Deployment Terminated]
[Personnel: 599]
[Personnel Cap: 1030]

================================

[BUNKER PERSONNEL: 599]

• Operation: Talisman
‣ Risk Level: 5 |
‣ Acting CO: Catastrovania Strifaust Morituros IX |
‣ Continent: Yongesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Infiltrate Castle of the Tengu and establish hacking link to Imperial Servers |
/
• Operation: Knightfall
‣ Risk Level: 3 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assassinate Grandmaster of a fanatic Woldorian Knightly Order |
/
• Operation: Redead
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Eskart |
‣ Continent: Shengesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Foil errant Necromancer's attempt to establish a new Afterseas Coven |
/
• Operation: Opening
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Charles Huxton |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Attempt to open a possible abandoned Heer Bunker discovered recently |
/
• Operation: Unlikely Ally
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assist a small Heer detachment in defending a trade post in the Peninsula against Samurai raiders |

>Commence an operation.
>Exit Psyops Deployments.
>>
>>5884430
>Operation: Talisman
Know what? We can do this one too, so that our tech heads will be able to work on the psychotronics project while we fuck off on a case file and get those units earlier.
>>
>>5884433
>+1
>>
>>5884430
>Operation: Unlikely Ally
>>
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[ COMMENCING OPERATION ...]

[Access Granted]
[User control to ACS system & Nous Radar open]

[CATASTROVANIA] "Ugh... let's get this over with."

[ Buffering...]

[18:00 - x/19/4999 - Strategic meeting commencing on viability of operation concerning LOCATION: Castle of the Tengu, Yongesia]

[CATASTROVANIA] "...So, I guess this is the part where I fill our troops in, right? ...Sigh, okay."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Pay attention, rikusentai, because I'm basically sending you all to your deaths here. As you all already know, the Castle of the Tengu is the most badass fortress the Samurai have. It's the home of the Daitengu himself, and you better pray to all the gods that he isn't home when you go in. For the castle itself, you're looking at over half a square mile of walls and towers dominating the sky... the largest office complex in the world outside the Capital. Surrounding that compound is a vast series of sectors dedicated to singlehandedly supplying the entire war effort in Yongesia. We're talking factories to churn out anything from new cyborg soldiers, mechas, weapons, ammo and even a few airship production strips. So about one hundred square miles of fortress and industry in each direction. An additional thirty square miles of encampments along the isle it's all situation on in a ring around it. The mountains and rock lots of it looks to be built upon is all hollow. The bases go within and without... You're toast."

[CATASTROVANIA] "The Castle always sports a complement of over nineteen million Samurai personnel at all times. Add onto that, the flagship of the Samurai navy, the Invincible, docks here, along with its support fleet. Numerous Samurai nobility and generals station here under the Daitengu. His Castle is completely impregnable."

[CATASTROVANIA] "However, your only mission is not to take on the whole place. We wouldn't have the manpower to do that in even another thousand years from now. Your mission is to infiltrate the industrial sector and break into the electronics center near the large scale machine shop. Once you do that, get yourselves to the sever room and get me hooked up. We'll be providing you a device, an uplink. It hooks in just like a USB, and acts like a mini computer... because, it is..."

[CATASTROVANIA] "When you've pulled that all off, all you have to do is hold out and give me time to extract what we need. I won't take long at all. My skills are above your comprehension..."

Catastrovania put on some glasses, just to push them up and reflect the light of her monitor on them.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Once I get my paws- HANDS. I mean hands. Hands on the data, we win. You leave. Mission accomplished. I've already done my homework on this, so I know how to walk you jackboots through. Listen to me if you want to live! So get ready, rikusentai... The mission begins soon. I'll be waiting..."

================================

[Assets are required]

[Please select the appropriate teams for this endeavor.]

>Input.
>>
>>5884536
Tzel and Siqariyim. This mission demands only the most elite of the elite. If we still have space, we can send the Chabalah in as well to disguise themselves and cause a distraction (and martyr themselves for Redemption) if necessary. If there's any loud combat, we're doomed. If we take too long getting there, we're doomed. If we end up going through the wrong area, we're doomed. Subterfuge is our only means of survival.
>>
>>5884600
+1 but I'd day add a few Mash'chetchet to specifically cover for extraction in case things go south. Not to fight the whole thing, just to help out
>>
>>5884600
>+1
>>
The mission that lies ahead will be our most daunting task yet. But take heart, if we pull this off... we prove ourselves to the world. We prove that we are here, and we will make a change. For this mission, we're pulling in the expertise of our Tzel and Siqariyim. We may send for elements of the Chabalah to ease the process of entering. In the event of an emergency, the Mash'chetet are placed on standby.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Heh... so you're sending the ninjas to fight the Samurai. Totally cheesy..."

[[Internally, Catastrovania thinks our metahuman ninja forces are super badass, but won't admit it out of weeaboo pride.]]

[CATASTROVANIA] "There's no easy way to say it, we can't attack this place directly and get away with it. The only option is to sneak in. But on that even, the options are limited..."

We will now review our options for breaking and entering.

[CATASTROVANIA] "The Castle of the Tengu has an extensive sewer system. It's like a labyrinth in itself! The sewer systems are used to expel more than waste into the environment. These aqueducts are used as big tunnels to flush a kind of enchanted compound into the local sea as well. This compound is deadly, especially to anything impure. It can prevent the growth of Aquamarine in the sea area around the Castle and deter Khanate monsters from lurking below. Not to say it stops them all however. The data I found lends credit to the Samurai having to send cleanup crews into these tunnels in the periods when flushing isn't ongoing to exterminate handfuls of rogue spirits and monsters that manage to slip in."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Since you cyborg goons aren't any different than Samurai, you should be able to sneak in through the sewer mazes. But it would be easy to get lost down there... or encounter patrolling Samurai units and get into a fight, or worse, Khanate creatures. However, if you managed to clear the sewers, you could slip through a pump house to get above ground... from there, finding your way to the electronics production factory house should be trivial..."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Another option is to paradrop into the Castle under the shade of night. Since the sky is ruled by the Samurai, and historically there's never been a Khanate aerial presence in any of the years the Final War has been waged... it is the last thing they'd expect. your only task then is to avoid being spotted by a rogue airship or lookouts. We couldn't afford to teleport you right into the grounds, we lack the telemetry and the teleportation is noticeable... but if you were to paradrop... that would be... so... so... a-awesome..."
>>
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[SIQARIYIM] "Question, ma'am."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Huh? ...W-What...?"

[SIQARIYIM] "How do we paradrop with no planes or airships in our possessions?"

[CATASTROVANIA] "We don't need them, baka... We can acquire parachutes. You'll be teleported high enough that they wouldn't notice. The only downside is that this teleportation would place you in the stratosphere and you would have to perform a supersonic dive. They absolutely wouldn't see it coming... but the problem is most of you lack paradropping experience..."

[CATASTROVANIA] "The only other way in... would be with our infiltrators. They would have the hardest job, to disable security systems without being suspected, drop the alarms long enough for the team to teleport to an approximation and get inside. The problem is that our approximations could be way off... we could end up teleporting the team to the other side of the complex, far away from the objective."

[CATASTROVANIA] "The... uh, the z... Tzel guy will be tasked with keeping our uplink safe, and plugging it in. He has to be protected at all cost."

================================

[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Infiltrate the compound and establish the hacking link.]
[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: Keep the Tzel alive.]

[THIS MISSION IS VERY HIGH RISK. THE PERSONNEL LOSS WOULD BE CATASTROPHIC IF WE FAIL]

1. Entry.
>PLAN A. The sewers are the best bet for entry. (Tzel+Siqariyim+Mash'chetet)
>PLAN B. The paradrop is the best bet for entry. (Tzel+Siqariyim+Mash'chetet)
>PLAN C. Call in the Chabalah. We'll blitz in and out. (Tzel+Siqariyim+Mash'chetet+Chabalah)
>>
>>5885243
>>PLAN A. The sewers are the best bet for entry. (Tzel+Siqariyim+Mash'chetet)
I say we go for PLAN A. I don't want to splat our best guys, and being teleported at random sounds like one hell of a gamble
>>
>>5885243
>PLAN A. The sewers are the best bet for entry. (Tzel+Siqariyim+Mash'chetet)
alright, going with A
>>
>>5885243
>PLAN A. The sewers are the best bet for entry. (Tzel+Siqariyim+Mash'chetet)
We aren't specialized for either of the alternatives.
>>
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Our command has determined that our organization is currently best equipped for a spelunking based infiltration of the Castle of the Tegnu via the overarching compound's sewer and aqueduct system.

The tunnel flushing schedules are unknown. A potential hazard lies in being flushed out to sea by the compound flooding. We will have to rely on our luck to assume we are arriving during a patrol hour, in which the tunnels are not being flushed during Samurai spelunking.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Tunnels it is... I don't even need to say anything about the kinds of resistance you'll be facing there. Just know that if they detect you and find out something's amiss, you'll be drowning in Samurai. Literally hundreds of them will be able to respond to you, anywhere within."

================================

[The gravity of this mission presents an opportune moment in which to draw upon the best that our inventory currently has to offer.]

2. Requisition.
>Item A: Luck of Kei
[The Luck of a poverty god acquired by the Divine Executive. The effects are unknown but using it will raise our overall chances to complete the objective in some unseen way.]
>Item B: Wolfboy
[The Demigod of Animals can be called in. We can persuade his assistance through the promise of steaks. He doesn't know what we expect but will be willing to help however he can. We can deploy him to help deter resistance.]
>Item C: Mecha Hijacking subroutine key
[This faux pass keycard can enable one of our metahumans to enter and hijack a Samurai mecha via enabling interfacing that would be normally locked out due to the Samurai's smart systems. This keycard is experimental but we believe it will bypass the security locks and allow a non-Samurai metahuman to pilot the machine.]
>>
>>5885318
Hmm...

>Item A: Luck of Kei
There are too many variables, too many vagaries. Luckily, we're friends with the bum god of vagabonds!
>>
>>5885318
>>Item A: Luck of Kei
When it comes to gods, luck is a very powerful thing. Last time against AGLA it just straight up bound it.
>>
>>5885318
>Item C: Mecha Hijacking subroutine key
>>
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[Entry point selected. Deploying assets...]

================================

[04:00 hours]

[ TELEMETRY DATA ADJUSTED / OPERATION: TALISMAN IS IN EFFECT ]
[ Assets gathering in teleportation chamber. Stand by... / Teams locked and loaded. / Ready. / Standing by. / Engage teleportation when ready. ]
[In one... two... three.]
[ Delivering payload.]
[Roger.]
[In and out.]

The teleportation was a success. We have successfully delivered our units into the underground sewer tunnels.

[PERSONNEL ON THE LINE: 20]

Our single Tzel was given an advanced encounter mask. She has an oxygen supply that will last several hours. It will keep her stable and steady whilst spelunking the systems. The traces of blue compound we could find indicate that a recent flush happened. We don't know how often they come in between but we have plenty of time before the next cycle. However, we likely arrived during Samurai patrol hours. We have to be careful to avoid contact. The sewers are surprisingly well lit. No hiding down here.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Good... then the telemetry didn't fumble. Unfortunately, we don't know the map of the underground systems. Can't remotely break into those servers... You'll have to find your way up from there. Once up, report the surroundings and weather patterns. We'll use satellite images to cross reference and try to guide you from there with the ACS."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Well? What are you standing around for? Get moving, rikusentai! Double time it!"

Our Siqariyim agents are on the move. Mash'chetet are ready to deploy in emergency at any moment.
The uplink is secured in our Tzel's hands. The sooner they get above ground and get into the electronics depot, the better.

We have requested the usage of the luck of a poverty god from our Divine Executive and been granted permission. (-1 Luck of Kei in Muna's inventory)
May it serve us well on this mission. Goddesspeed.

>The sewers are dangerous. It could be crawling with Khanate stray monsters or Samurai patrols. We need to move quickly.
>Roll 1d100 to determine chance of success. (Luck not yet taking effect...)
>>
Rolled 16 (1d100)

>>5885360
Oh sweet Empe- I mean Muna, oh sweet MUNA, guide us forth!
>>
Rolled 35 (1d100)

>>5885360
HANG ONTA' SOMETHIIIIING
>>
Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>5885360
no...
>>
Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>5885360
>>
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Our field elements seem to have taken a loop. These sewer systems being a labyrinth were no joke.

Our Siqariyim team has encountered a skirmish between sewer patrols and a particularly nasty Khanate creature; An Ogre. A superhumanly strong creatures with thick horn growths protecting its entire head area. There's several dead Ashigaru laid out across the tunnel floors. The Ogre is engaged with an Ashigaru's long yari spear, continuously poking at the creature. It seems to be wounded. There's a ranged Ashigaru farther back down the tunnel with a crossbow. That kind of weapon may not seem very effective but they don't use steel bolts. They fire iron bolts tipped with an arrow head infused with Qi, effective for killing Afterseas beasts. They've spotted our Siqariyim coming down the tunnel but they don't react as they are engaged with the beast.

Getting within that beast's grabbing range is absolutely out of the question. It would crush any of our operatives easily. There's three more Ashigaru with swords waiting for the right moment to charge past the Crossbowman and impale the Ogre and try to finish it off.

[SIQARIYIM] "HQ, instructions."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Uh... uh... d-... uh.. dh-...w-well... uh!"

Catastrovania is freezing up. She's never been in command of men in a real combat situation before. This is far, far different from video games. She is nervous and doesn't know what to do.

[SIQARIYUM] "HQ. Instructions."

Ahead, past the Ashigaru and beast, the light of an access leading up is seen.

>Assist the Ashigaru in taking down the beast and then attempt peaceful coercion. Our Ninjas look modified enough we could possibly lie and pass ourselves off as different Samurai units.
>Weapons hot. Eliminate them all in short order. Kill them all before they can report this instance back above.
>Forget them both. Quickly rush past the beast and shoot the Ashigaru on our way, evening the score between them and leaving them to both fight it out while we ascend.
>>
>>5885377
>>Weapons hot. Eliminate them all in short order. Kill them all before they can report this instance back above.
If we let both live we risk the samurai winning and reporting the incident. I don't feel too hot about trying to convince indoctrinated cyborgs that we're on their side though, they likely have some sort of code.
>>
>>5885377
>Weapons hot. Eliminate them all in short order. Kill them all before they can report this instance back above.
We can't take any risks, better we run afoul of an Ogre than the Blade of Blades
>>
>>5885377
>Forget them both. Quickly rush past the beast and shoot the Ashigaru on our way, evening the score between them and leaving them to both fight it out while we ascend.
>>
>>5885377
>Weapons hot. Eliminate them all in short order. Kill them all before they can report this instance back above.
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "T-Take them down! Obviously!"

[SIQARIYIM] "Roger."

Our agents immediately reacted. Raising silenced submachine guns, they fired at the already wounded Ogre. The Ogre's muscle structure is too thick. Their skin is stronger than a lot of rudimentary metals. The bullets wouldn't have a chance at hurting the bone. The softer areas are targeted. The back of their knees, the stubby legs are the weak spots. The back of the Ogre's knees are pumped full of a magazine worth and the creature falls. It snarls out behind its horns when the Crossbowman ahead fired a Qi charged bolt into its throat.

At that signal, the Ashigaru swordsmen drew their blades and charged forward, driving them into the Ogre's chest as one, which was the death blow on the beast. They quickly withdrew a few paces back, and the Ogre's large body fell forward. But as soon as it did, one of our ninjas, with his vibrokatana drawn, quickly leaped on the monster's back and performed a front flip off of it, landing behind the three Ashigaru. They turned around, only for their severed head to fall off with sparks from the neck. He decapitated them midair.

The Crossbowman loaded another bolt to retaliate, but his head was vaporized by a shot from a ninja's laser rifle. The yari spearman charged at our closest agent, but his vibrokatana sliced cleanly through the Ashigaru's torso after a dodge of the spearhead.

[SIQARIYIM] "All targets on scopes eliminated."

[TZEL] "Goddamn. You Ninjas aren't anyone's fools, are you?"

[SIQARIYIM] "It's our job, ma'am."

Our unit can now press on.

[CATASTROVANIA] "..."

[Catastrovania's jaw dropped after seeing the events occur from the first person view visuals provided by our Siqariyim's visor augments.]

[CATASTROVANIA] "...ˢ-ˢ.... ˢᵒ.... ˢ-ˢᵘᵍᵒᶦ.... ᵈ-ᵈᵉˢ... ᵏᵃ..."
>>
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[04:26 hours]

Our squad has reached the interior of what looks to be a pump station through a manhole access. There are two more Ashigaru guards atop by the door. They are quickly dispatched by precise decapitations and their bodies caught before the slump makes a sound. We drop them down the manhole access and close it back.

The pumphouse is not well lit, only enough light to see what's going on with the controls. There are some Samurai technicians and two more Ashigaru by an entrance at 45°. Our agents are atop a platform and rafters scaled by stairs.

From what we can tell by listening closely to distant radio transmissions, any Ashigaru down performing routine patrol checks for stray beasts are being ordered to return. Boosting one another on their back, our Siqariyim are able to see out the window. Other pump stations are on, denoted by a light shining at the top of antennas on the buildings. We got ahead of a pump to flush the sewers our squad landed in.

Now above ground and away from the sewer compound, our Tzel can safely discard her encounter mask and breath a breath of fresh oxygen.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Kay... so I'm checking the satellite ACS... You're at one of many blocks of pump stations... houses, whatever. I'm marking it on the map as a red dot. The objective is the green dot. Yeah... it's pretty far away. At least a mile. In between you is a lot of flat fields divided by these tall wall and lookout placements. There's also a few warehouses and and airstrip..."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Could try to sneak past it all on foot. You ninjas should be able to run pretty fast, right?"

[SIQARIYIM] "We can achieve a top speed of one hundred miles per hour at full sprint, ma'am."

[CATASTROVANIA] "...Kay... so pretty fast. But the Tzel can't keep up with you unless one of you carried them... You're gonna have to find some way to safely reach the production strip that way. You could chance it and move on foot, or try to hijack some transport and drive there. Whatever you think is the stealthiest option."

================================

1. Movement.
>Chance it, run on foot to the place. Leap over some walls and do ninja tricks.
>Wait for the right moment to hijack a truck and drive over there.

2. Pumphouse.
>Sabotage the place on our way out. Kill the technicians and bust the equipment. Trinity deserves to have all their junk smashed, right?
>Leave it be. We don't have time to maximize damages caused, we have priorities, people.
>>
>>5885392
>Chance it, run on foot to the place. Leap over some walls and do ninja tricks.
>Leave it be. We don't have time to maximize damages caused, we have priorities, people.
I'm about 90% certain the trucks are monitored and the drivers onboard have some kind of sensor to verify their identity. Not time to waste on sabotage, either. Best to trust our Siqariyim to hoof it and the Tzel to hold on for dear life.
>>
>>5885392
>Chance it, run on foot to the place. Leap over some walls and do ninja tricks.

>Leave it be. We don't have time to maximize damages caused, we have priorities, people.
>>
>>5885392
>Chance it, run on foot to the place. Leap over some walls and do ninja tricks.
>Sabotage the place on our way out. Kill the technicians and bust the equipment. Trinity deserves to have all their junk smashed, right?
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "Proceed on foot.... run like the wind."

[SIQARIYIM] "Wind is our name, ma'am."

[04:39 hours]

Our agents are proceeding on foot towards the installation. We choose not to inflict additional sabotages and test our luck. A wise choice, as sabotaging the pumphouse would have tripped an alarm system, we find.

[SIQARIYIM] "Hold on tight."

[TZEL] "Oh dear."

Our Siqariyim have successfully snuck out of the building and departed. They are moving on foot, maintaining a high speed of around 60mph on foot to quickly cross the distance.

[Buffering...]

However, along the way, we realize some trouble.

[CATASTROVANIA] "W-Wait! WAIT! STOP! YAMEROOOO!"

Our unit grinds to a halt in the middle of a field and quickly ducks for cover behind large rocks set about the place.

[TZEL] "Command, do you copy? What is wrong?! Have we been compromised?"

[CATASTROVANIA] "I just realized something. You guys are all running right through their defenses!"

[SIQARIYIM] "Ma'am, requesting elaboration. We took care to avoid lookouts and watch towers on this course so far, eliminating at least two on the way discreetly."

[CATASTROVANIA] "It's not them you need to be worried over. I just figured out why those open fields are there. Why there's just seemingly big open, empty spaces of field between the ground developments. It took me a minute but the forms seem consistent across different Samurai forts and... you're basically all tripping out their unseen defenses! They've got tons of hidden cameras and motion sensor equipment all over those fields! They've probably got Immortals hooked up as hardware, dedicated to monitoring each and every camera, motion sensor and what have you!"

[CATASTROVANIA] "But... but no alarms have been tripped. Our ACS thingy can't even tell if any silent alarms have been..."

[SIQARIYIM] "We're holding position. Awaiting further instructions. Over."

[CATASTROVANIA] "..."

It took us about twenty additional minutes, but we looked into the issue.
It seems a bug has hit the Castle's systems at this time, from what the ACS can tell. We teleported some technicians of our own a ways away from the Castle out into the wilderness with equipment to monitor the frequencies. We picked up the Samurai reporting this bug.

Whatever caused it... it made their motion sensors, the worst thing we could run into on this op, go offline...

Our Siqariyim are invisible for the time being.
We suspect this is the unseen work of the Luck of Kei we used.
[The Luck's effects have taken root. This is our Luck on this mission.]

[CATASTROVANIA] "You all lucked out... proceed, and fast."
>>
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[04:50 hours]

Our agents have closed into the location.
They're currently scaling a tall Samurai wall emplacement. The lookout Ashigaru at the top has been taken out with silenced weapons.

We're receiving visual sent now.

It's not good.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Okay... what... what do you see now?"

[SIQARIYIM] "Ma'am. We see the electronics factory and adjacent centers. Looks like a big fuel depot over there for the compound they flood the sewer systems with. The electronics factory is heavily guarded. Retainers are patrolling the ground. Marking mechanized targets as well..."

A Samurai war Mecha is patrolling the front of the factory. There's over two hundred Retainers on patrol here seen through infrared scans alone... Entering the factory will be extremely difficult. Unfortunately for us, there is no ventilation system to take advantage of. The Chemically Immortal do not require temperature regulation... our Tzel may experience heatstroke within. These factory spaces are virtually sweatshops.

[SIQARIYIM] "There's no making it up. Getting in stealthy would require more luck... and I think ours just ran out, ma'am."

There is a large, open garage area shaped like a 'U' in the middle of the factory we can see. They must produce hundreds of these chips by hand daily, to need this many spaces. They do not ship via ground vehicle. They instead hoist them up for dropships to airlift off and ship elsewhere... We could sneak in through here, but being sighted by unarmed workers is almost guaranteed. We may be able to kill them all fast enough to prevent such a likelihood, but the number of workers may be too high, potentially.

There is a set of a lot of windows farther out. Part of the offices that handle accounting and shipping concerns. We could try to scale the wall and remove these windows with our vibroweapons without tripping an alarm caused by breaking them, but we risk being spotted by guards whilst climbing the wall, or by any employees that might be inside. Although if we kill them quickly enough...

The open front entrance is actively being watched by a mecha and Retainers making their rounds. It's lit up like the sun over there. That is the worst idea possible... but could it turn out to somehow be the best? Could we perhaps... hide in the light?

There is a side entrance used by the Retainers. They go in and out. We could likely try entering here, but we don't know what's on the other side. How many guards might be in there...

We could attempt to cause a sabotage on that fuel silo ahead, and make it go up in flames to distract everyone else enough that they wouldn't notice us entering in anywhere. All alarms would be going off, so there's nothing we'd be tripping to alert them if we did this and then broke in elsewhere.

...

Alternatively, we may benefit from calling in the Mash'chetet now, and going in guns blazing...
>>
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[04:56 hours]

[SIQARIYIM] "Commander, your call?"

[CATASTROVANIA] "..."

[Catastrovania was biting her fingernails out of stress.]
[Catastrovania must make the right call here.]

1. Entry.
>Garage depots.
>Office windows.
>Side guard door.
>Front entrance.

2. Fuel... for the war machine.
>Sabotage the fuel silo. A nice big distraction, keep the eyes off us.
>Don't. We could end up blowing ourselves up needlessly, it's no use.

3. Method.
>Not an emergency time yet. Don't call in the Mash'chetet. Keep with the Siqariyim for the time being.
>The gloves are off. It's now or never. Get in through brute force. Get to the server, make the uplink. Get the schematics downloaded, get out. This is where shit hits the fan.
>>
>>5885426
>Office windows
>Sabotage the fuel silo. A nice big distraction, keep the eyes off us.
>Not an emergency time yet. Don't call in the Mash'chetet. Keep with the Siqariyim for the time being.
Office windows for safety
Sabotage because we literally have THE best guys at sabotage on hand
And finally keep the cavalry out of it for now, keep them for extraction.
>>
>>5885426
>Office windows.
This is the least obvious and least likely to have a huge active garrison. Our ninjas have proven they can more than handle a small garrison.
>Sabotage the fuel silo. A nice big distraction, keep the eyes off us.
This is where the Tzel excel. The silo exploding after their security measures have failed will seem like it's from the same source. As there's no obvious energy, it's clearly a divine curse which they'll come to the conclusion of. The problem for them is that any number of gods could be responsible and it isn't just lucky Afterseas monsters, but by the time they catch on, our Siqariyim will be high-tailing it out of there.
>Not an emergency time yet. Don't call in the Mash'chetet. Keep with the Siqariyim for the time being.
If we call the Mash'chetet the samurai will catch on and destroy the chips immediately, which we cannot risk. It'll also get a massive amount of reinforcements called-in and get our men killed for nothing. Better to keep them in reserve for when we have the chip in-hand and need to buy time to exfiltrate.

Ultimately, I think this is the least risky plan, but there are so many unknown variables here there are no safe choices.
>>
>>5885426
>Office windows.
>Sabotage the fuel silo. A nice big distraction, keep the eyes off us.
>The gloves are off. It's now or never. Get in through brute force. Get to the server, make the uplink. Get the schematics downloaded, get out. This is where shit hits the fan.
>>
>>5885426
>Office windows.

>Sabotage the fuel silo. A nice big distraction, keep the eyes off us.

>Not an emergency time yet. Don't call in the Mash'chetet. Keep with the Siqariyim for the time being.
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "Okay... sabotage the big silo. Have the Tzel do it."

[TZEL] "With pleasure!"

Our Tzel has handed off the crucial uplink to the Siqariyim.
Two of our ninjas break off from the main force to carry the Tzel to the silo. A simple remote detonator can be placed against the metal exterior of the silo and triggered to explode.

However, there's a problem.

[SIQARIYIM] "Ma'am... we've... run into some company."

[CATASTROVANIA] "What is it now- ...!"

Our two Siqariyim escorting the Tzel have encountered something on the rooftops while closing into the fuel silo for sabotage.

We have encountered an Afterseas creature.
>>
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Identifying it as an "Enenra". A youkai native to Yongesia. It's body is composed of smoke. It would be invulnerable to all our weapons. It is not attacking. It is currently entering dialogue with our agents quietly.

[ENENRA] "HEHehhEheh... GreEtTings, MorTals... hoW FanciFul MeeTing YoU All HerE... JuST oUr LuCK ThEn..."

[ENENRA] "I'D BiD yOu StOP HeRe HowEVer. ThiNkinG of BloWing Up thaT bIG SilO? YoU ShoUlDn'T..."

Our agents raise their weapons at the creature. Though there is no real reason to. It is intangible and attacking would only alert the Samurai...

[ENENRA] "lisTEn. I'Ve sOme MoRe MONsTerS wItH me Where THat cAme froM HIDInG In WAiT foR MY SigNAL tO SprINg aN atTacK. you DOn't kNow hOW LoNg We've dREAMED of BEInG AbLe to hIt thE tEngu's CASTLE LikE THis. I dON't knoW Who The fuCk yoU aRE OR WhY yOU're herE, BUt SINCe YOU oBvIoUSly Ain'T A fRiEnD oF tHE ImPERIAlS, why nOT THink aBoUt A lITTlE AcCoRd heRe, eh?"

[ENENRA] "if yOU BloW THaT sILO, thE purITY IN THE lIquID wiLl turn tO Gas DeaDLy TO OUr KiND In tHE exPlOSION, It'S flaMMABLE. bUt if You don't... we'll Spare YOU. I MEAn THAT, we caN tEaM up a little, hOw's AbOut? WE were PlanNiNg to ATTAck and WRecK soMe sAMuraI ass, sO WHY NOT jOIn FORceS for thiS bit? huH? aLL yOu HAve to Do is Not atTaCk OUR MONstERS aNd WE woN'T aTtaCk YoU."

[ENENRA] "lEt'S wOrk TOgEtHER And KiLL aS maNY samUrAI SHItheads aS POSSiBLE. HOw ABout That for an accOrd? BUT If yOu REFuSE... I'Ll have tO AlErT tHem tO YOuR PReseNce... anD DoN't gO tHinkING aBoUT TRYInG tO bLOW THaT Silo To deAL With uS ANyWaY, i'Ll bE Watching it LiKE a hAWK."

The Enenra claims there are more Monsters waiting nearby to wreak havoc on the Samurai base.
It proposes to collude with our forces and just kill as many as possible. We could potentially use this as an opening to accomplish our goal easily and then abandon the site while the rampage ensues...

However, at the same time, we would not please our Goddess Muna by colluding with the forces of HEUS. In fact, these forces were probably guided here by the Dark One in the first place to tempt us, since as the mortal servants of the divine, we're far more vulnerable than Goddess Muna is...

...Is Catastrovania a capable enough commander not to order our troops to deal with devils that serve the incarnate of evil himself...?

[ENENRA] "GoNNa NeEd aN anSwEr... So HoW's AbOuT it?"

[What will Catastrovania do...?]

>Reject the proposal. Blow the silo, whether it gets us exposed or not.
>Accept the proposal. The enemy of my enemy is not my friend, but more dead Samurai, the better.
>>
>>5885876
>Reject the proposal. Blow the silo, whether it gets us exposed or not.
lol, lmao https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGn25URIss8
>>
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>>5885876
>Reject the proposal. Blow the silo, whether it gets us exposed or not.
>>
>>5885876
>>Reject the proposal. Blow the silo, whether it gets us exposed or not.
Not getting tricked evil man, go back to hell.
>>
Ok COUNTERPOINT:
If we blow the Silo, we still have the FUCKING SAMURAI MECH to contend with, since I sincerely doubt it'll be on firefighter duty.
I say "Accept" but make it clear that WE ARE NOT FRIENDS WITH THIS GUY. THIS GUY IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH US. WE ARE NOT "FIGHTING ALONGSIDE" THESE GUYS. THIS IS PURELY AN OPPORTUNITY TAKEN WITH OUR OWN BENEFIT IN MIND. And most importantly THIS IS NOT A "DEAL." It's an AGREEMENT. These guys are not our problem and they won't have the opportunity to BE our problem when they're busy tearing the rivets off a several story tall war-machine.
>>
>>5885876
I think >>5885910 has some merit...we do have that mech to worry about fuck

>Accept the proposal. The enemy of my enemy is not my friend, but more dead Samurai, the better.
>>
>>5885876
This was a difficult decision to make. In the end, I've come to the conclusion that, we need to...
>Reject the proposal. Blow the silo, whether it gets us exposed or not.
We can't trust that the Khanate won't betray us and the explosion would be almost as cool as fighting alongside them.
>>
>>5885919
I mean that's sort of the thing. I think the Khanate would be too busy to betray us.
As I said, the Samurai have a goddamn MECHA. If we blow up the Silo, that's not going to do SHIT for dissuading the actual guard force of the castle. What're SAMURAI going to do to act as firefighters? The moment they figure out it was us who did it, the whole mission's blown. They'll have their workers put it out as the security mow down every last one of our members.
>>
>>5885925
We've just got to be sneaky. Once that silo is gone, we have minutes at max. We get in there while they're distracted, let Catastrovania start working her magic, and call in the Mash'chetet to buy us time. The Afterseas is too unpredictable a variable to account for, it might help us, it might hurt us, but blowing up the fuel silo is sure to help us either way.
>>
>>5885962
Yeah but uh... blowing up the silo will get people outside and uh, doing that while we're planning on breaking into the office windows might be... bad. Very bad actually. Like, so bad that it might immediately compromise the entire mission.
>>
>>5885876
>Reject the proposal. Blow the silo, whether it gets us exposed or not.
Get F U C K E D
>>
[All the Psyops monitoring the situation awaited the move of the acting commander, breaths held...]

[CATASTROVANIA] "NEVER!"

[And to their relief, the idiot cat rejects the temptation of the Dark One's forces, angering evil itself... just not for the reason everyone was hoping for.]

[CATASTROVANIA] "While teaming up with the bad guys would be pretty badass... that's a trope that mostly occurs only in, ERGH, western, Siegesian comics! Glorious media such as anime never has writers making many morally bankrupt, grey antiheroes who compromise! Our ninjas are heroic warriors that wouldn't completely harm their character development by working with the likes of you! They're shounen protagonists that fight evil at every turn!"

[So barked she, through the comms of the team.]

[ENENRA] "wHAt...? WhAt IN THe hEll Are yOu rattLiNG On ABout?! I don'T UndErstAND!"

[Catastrovania again donned her shades, pushing them up her nostrils to reflect the light of her computer before interlocking her fingers, elbows on the desk. Her head leaned down a little to strike an intimidating pose.]

[CATASTROVANIA] "What I'm saying is, you're the antagonist. You're a monster. My ninjas are the protagonists. They're the heroes. The audience would be so confused if they faced such character assassination by working with you... and you would betray them nonetheless! No antagonist can be trusted. The director and his studio would receive death threats from the passionate, otaku audience!"

[ENENRA] "so You'RE NoT GonNa Take our DEAl? Is ThAt It?! theRE WIll bE huNDrEdS OF sAmUrAi! tHeY'lL slaUghTER YOu EASIlY! wiTH our helP, YOu StaNd A cHaNCe OF SuRViVIng! alL YoU hAVE tO DO IS sHOOT Those In rEd ANd LeT Us FeasT ON TheiR BrAINS! If YoU tUrn ME DOWn, I'lL maKE Sure YOu dOn't leAVe THIS PlaCe AlIve, EVen if You blow The GAS oN US! WE ARE DEMONS! WE ARE BEYOND YOUR MORTAL COMPREHENSION, YOU SHOULD DO WELL TO HEED US, FOOLS!"

[CATASTROVANIA] "Kill those in red, huh? Tch... good grief... and the Khanate's symbol is red, isn't it? The way I see it, both you and the Samurai are antagonists, and the shounen protag ninjas will take care of you..."

[Catastrovania suddenly stood up all of a sudden, sending her computer chair sliding back. She held a finger to the air after changing her black rim shades out for another orange pair of glasses that looked more like a boomerang on her face.]

[CATASTROVANIA] "BLOW THE SILOOOOO!"

The Siqariyim escorting the Tzel raised their laser rifles and fired. The shots went through the Smoke Youkai.

[ENENRA] "HaHahahahA! yoU FuCKINg mOrons! dID yoU foRget i'M maDE of SmOKe? yOU cAn't HurT mE! NOw, tHe SAmurai KnOw YOu're HERe!"

[CATASTROVANIA] "Of course, you're intangible, and the Samurai would be alerted either way, just as you said. HOWEVER... My ninja weren't aiming for you."

[ENENRA] "N-No wAy...!!!"

The silo caught afire.
It exploded. A wave of blue Qi compound came spilling out, soon spreading blue, poisonous gas as it touched flame.
>>
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[ENENRA] "YoU'Re GoInG tO paY fOr ThiS!"

Immediately, our Tzel, who was vulnerable, was caught as the Smoke Youkai's body warped and came after her. Our Siqariyim saw the smoke entering her lungs, but could do nothing. She was being possessed.

[TZEL] "G-Gah! C-Can't... fight it.... can't... c...."

[ENENRA] "hAHaHAhAHahaaH! ThIS VESSeL WIlL alLow me to sURViVE a LitTLE LongeR! ThoUgh, The gaS YOu fooLS jUSt SpReAD WIlL kilL HeR TOO soON!"

Our Tzel stumbled away from the Siqariyim and approached the edge of the roof. She looked down, where numerous Retainers were, beholding the explosion. She jumped up and down, waving her arms and laughing loudly.

[TZEL] "I BLEW IT UP! I BLEW IT UP! NANANANANANAAAA! I BLEW IT UP! TAKE THAT, IMPERIAL DOGS!"

[RETAINER] "INTRUDER ALERT! INFORM THE GENERAAAAL!"

We're screwed.

The alert has been tripped. The Samurai are mobilizing. Reinforcements are on the way, and there's already two hundred some Samurai Ashigaru and Retainers in the immediate area. But, the Afterseas chose to attack then.
A horde of Night Gaunts arose from cracks in the ground and descended upon the Samurai, picking up troops and flying off before dropping them from great heights. In response, the Samurai Mecha turned its head and began firing 25×183mmB autocannons mounted on the face and Qi pulse lasers from the eyes at the monsters. Some got caught in the gas and withered, crashing down. The gas did not immediately kill monsters, but it made them begin petrifying...

That was not all. More Ogres appeared from the cracks. A whole warband of them. At least twenty Ogres total. Behind them, crazed cultists guiding the Ogres by chains around their necks came up and released them, before firing magic at the Ashigaru in the vicinity.

It was an all out battle. A blitz.

Our agents were caught in the middle.

[CATASTROVANIA] "O-Oh..."

[...]
[Intercepting frequency from Imperial proselytization channel.]

[RETAINER] "DEMONIC FORCES BREACHING THE PERIMETER. INTRUDERS ON THE BUILDINGS. ALL FORCES, ENGAGE AND PURIFY! IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR."

[CATASTROVANIA] "GET TO THE OBJECTIVE!"

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQC9Yd-KxNE
>>
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Bolts of flame and the Qi laced subsonic arrows of bowmen flew through the air, along with hails of light bullets fired by the Ashigaru wielding tanegashimas. Ogres flung Ashigaru over twenty meters in the air and rampaged. Our Siqariyim preparing to enter the office windows were spotted and fired at. One of them is grazed by an Ashigaru. They immediately crash through the windows rather than saw their ways in.

They see Imperial drones modified for the office tasks. These workers were just as chipped as Ashigaru were. One of them pointed and shouted "HERETIC!" while another threw a desk lamp. Our Siqariyim cleared the room immediately.

[CATASTROVANIA] "You guys have the uplink, right? RIGHT?!"

[SIQARIYIM] "Uplink secured in entry team, ma'am. No word on our comrades split off and the Tzel. I'm confident I can hook it up myself ma'am. I don't think the Tzel's coming back."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Alright! Get in there. The server room. It's on the first floor below you. Hook me up and defend yourselves until I'm done!"

[SIQARIYIM] "Right away ma'am."

[...]

Our Siqariyim blast their way through Ashigaru and a few Retainers to get into the floor below. Every worker encountered does not run, they attempt to do anything they can to stop our team, regardless of whether they're unarmed or not. They try to attack with pens and ordinary work tools from the chip assembly workshop. We have no choice but to cut them all down.

[SIQARIYIM] "Hooking up now ma'am..."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Alright... beginning cracking in one... two... three."

[...]

We've got trouble.

[ASHIGARU] "BANZAAAAIIIIIIIIIII!"

A wave of Ashigaru and Retainers is charging the building to hunt our troops down. If we all stay hunkered down inside, we'll be swarmed. We need to spread our Ninja's out some...

[...]

Not all. The Tzel is trying to resist possession by the Smoke Youkai.

[TZEL] "H-He... trying.... steal... infor.... mation... send.... to.... cultists.... tele.... tele-"

[ENENRA] "SUBMIT, MORTAL."

[TZEL] "...K.... k.... Ki...ll.... m.... e...."
>>
~~~[[ [HACKING PROCESS] {0.98%} ]]~~~

1. Defend the uplink.
>Quickly, scale the walls, cling to the ceilings. Secure the halls outside and get into position inside the workshop where they're entering through the garage. Cut them all down. Keep an eye on the stairwell too. Spread a few mines. Get ready for a grueling shootout and melee.
>Use one of the terminals in the server room to shut down the factory. This includes shutting all garage doors and sealing them tight. They won't be able to swarm in then. They'll have to enter one at a time through the other side entrances. We can manage this there by stacking up on the nearby halls and concentrating fire.

2. The Tzel... Our Tzel has been compromised...
>We have no choice. Order the escorts to kill her and protect our information then regroup with the main squad in the factory.
>No! Psyops leaves no man or woman behind! Come on, soldier! Fight! Fight the influence off! Get that Demon out of you! We're all going home!

3. Reinforcements.
>Alright, call in those Mash'chetet. We're fucked if we don't.
>More soldiers will cause the Samurai to overfocus on us compared to the Monsters. Not yet!
>>
>>5886026
>Use one of the terminals in the server room to shut down the factory. This includes shutting all garage doors and sealing them tight. They won't be able to swarm in then. They'll have to enter one at a time through the other side entrances. We can manage this there by stacking up on the nearby halls and concentrating fire.
>We have no choice. Order the escorts to kill her and protect our information then regroup with the main squad in the factory.
>Alright, call in those Mash'chetet. We're fucked if we don't.
I don't want to kill the Tzel but we don't have much of a choice here, if she gets fully possessed the cultists are gonna get more info and likely swarm us. Get her name and we'll get a memorial
>>
>>5886026
>Use one of the terminals in the server room to shut down the factory. This includes shutting all garage doors and sealing them tight. They won't be able to swarm in then. They'll have to enter one at a time through the other side entrances. We can manage this there by stacking up on the nearby halls and concentrating fire.
>We have no choice. Order the escorts to kill her and protect our information then regroup with the main squad in the factory.
>Alright, call in those Mash'chetet. We're fucked if we don't.
Get a chokepoint, call in the big guns, hunker down and start hacking. It's tragic about the Tzel but it's better that she die quickly than have her soul dragged to Hell.
>>
>>5886035
>>5886038
Supporting. This missions a bust, Scheitracht is probably on his way here, and we're so unbelievably fucked but god damn it, we gotta take a 0.1% chance of succeeding over no chance at all.
Somebody write the obituaries for these poor souls.
>>
>>5886026
>Quickly, scale the walls, cling to the ceilings. Secure the halls outside and get into position inside the workshop where they're entering through the garage. Cut them all down. Keep an eye on the stairwell too. Spread a few mines. Get ready for a grueling shootout and melee.
>>5886026
>We have no choice. Order the escorts to kill her and protect our information then regroup with the main squad in the factory.
>>5886026
>Alright, call in those Mash'chetet. We're fucked if we don't.
>>
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[SIQARIYIM] "...Command, our spymaster... Your instructions? ... I see... Right away."

[TZEL] "Do.... it... f... for the cause."

[ENENRA] "NNNOOOOoooOoOOOOOoooOOOOOOOOoO-"

Our Siqariyim eliminate our Tzel with one shot. By killing her, we ended up killing the Smoke Youkai trying to possess her as well. However, while the spirit will return to the Afterseas to rise again one day, our Tzel's soul is... Thandir will...

There's no use dwelling. Our two Siqariyim escorts go to rejoin the others.

[-1 Personnel]
[...]

A battle is breaking out in the electronics factory.
One of our Siqariyim, thinking deftly, decides to override a terminal. The factory is now locking down. All garages are closing with hydraulic doors. The Samurai are blocked from getting in now. There are only a few more Ashigaru stragglers left in the loading bay, but they are quickly dispatched. Every loading bay closes. All the doors lock automatically in the building. Our Siqariyim have sequestered themselves inside.

[We are deploying the Mash'chetet. A contingent of cyborgs arrive. Mostly ranged, but a few carry some thermal axes.]
[We have deployed 30 Mash'chetet.]

[MASH'CHETET] "Heard you boys needed some backup."

[SIQARIYIM] "Cover the halls. They're coming in hot. We kicked the beehive."

Our Siqariyim are holding down the server room and the garage. The Mash'chetet have spread evenly out in the garage. They are dispersing into the halls and covering the corners and doors to fight back against the Samurai with heavy lead and heat hatchets. Our position is definsible.
>>
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[...]

The Samurai, noticing that our soldiers are held up in the factory, realize something is amiss.
A general has arrived to the scene with some Retainers. More reinforcements are due soon to arrive.

[GENERAL] "I AAAAAAM THE HEAVENLY GENERAL OF SPLENDOR! I DEFEND THIS FORTRESS IN THE NAME OF THE GREAT TENGU, SCHEIRACHT, BLADE OF BLADES! ALL SHALL BE PURIFIED."

The general is a very highly upgraded Daimyo officer. He has a very dangerous and durable body. He wields a Qi charged bo staff. He directs the soldiers to the factory.

[GENERAL] "THE MONSTERS AND MADMEN ARE A DIVERSION. HOLD THEM BACK. PRESS THEM INTO THE GAS AND PURIFY. SOLDIERS! TAKE THE FACTORY BACK!"

The Retainers shout all as one - "BANZAAAAIIIIIII!"

[!!!]
[The Samurai are laying siege to the electronics factory. Their suicidal loyalty will drive them to storm it and take it at all costs. They will throw their lives away until victory is achieved. Our troops will be tested greatly]
[!!!]
>>
~~~[[ [HACKING PROCESS] {27.99%} ]]~~~

[The Samurai are mounting a breach of the side entrances. They will try to bog us down. They are also using ladders to climb to the second floor. Our Siqariyim spares will have to leap to action there. The Samurai are being harassed outside by our two stranded ninjas to draw attention. They are returning fire with bows. The Samurai Retainers entering the factory are putting the shield wielders in front to push through our hails of bullets.]

[MASH'CHETET] "Shit! They're using shields! Get some grenades! Aim for the feet and eyes!"

One of our Mash'chetet ducks to avoid HMG fire down a hall.

[MASH'CHETET] "DAIMYO, TEN O'CLOCK! SHIT, IT'S A MINIGUNNER!"

[CATASTROVANIA] "Soldiers! Hold your ground! Don't let them pass! GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU GOT! GANBATTE!"

>We must hold out.
>Roll 1d100
>Best of three for wave one.
>>
Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>5886124
Chokepoint the fuck out of them
>>
Rolled 78 (1d100)

>>5886124
AVENGE THE TZEL! CUT THEM DOWN!
>>
Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>5886124
[POLICE ASSAULT IN PROGRESS]
FUCK EM UUUUUUUUUUPPP
>>
Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>5886124
nat 100 incoming!
>>
Grenades roll across the ground. Halls are splintered, Samurai shields are thrown down and bullet hails cut more and more of them down. Ashigaru and Retainers alike are shredded.

[MASH'CHETET] "DAMN! THIS MINIGUNNER DON'T GIVE UP! TAKING COVER!"

[MASH'CHETET] "I got him."

As soon as the Minigunner Daimyo's hot barrels stretched past the corner, a Mash'chetet swung his thermal hatchet and sliced the barrels off before chopping into the ammo feed and severing it when the Daimyo in silvery armor raised his weapon to shield himself.

[DAIMYO] "IMPUDENT CUR! DARE TO CHALLENGE ME?!"

[MASH'CHETET] "Oh fuck-"

Our heat hatchet wielding Mash'chetet is shoulder blocked through two office walls by the enraged Mujo Daimyo, creating another entrance to secure, leading right into the workshop and close to the server room.

[MASH'CHET] "I'm- Fuck! I'm okay!"

[DAIMYO] "FOOLS! I'LL CRUSH YOU!"

The silvery Daimyo has assumed a sumo pose after stomping. Immediately, two Siqariyim fell from above, stabbing into his armor, but he grabbed both of their heads and crushed them, using their bodies to beat the Mash'chetet shooting him from the side to death with. Our Siqariyim team leader, codename:fujin, draws his katana and runs towards the Daimyo with killing intent.

[SIQARIYIM] "I'll take care of him!"

[...]

Our two stranded Siqariyim outside the factory have been snatched up by Night Gaunts. They, along with the Night Gaunts were unfortunately obliterated by the optic lasers of the Samurai Mecha.

[GENERAL] "OFFER THEM NO QUARTER, LESS YOU BE FOUND WANTING! MUJO DAIMYO! OPEN THAT FACTORY UP!"

[Samurai reinforcements are imminent to arrive: Additional 800 enemy personnel power]
[The Mecha raises its sword. It stomps over slowly, preparing to destroy the garage doors for the Samurai to flood in]

[MASH'CHETET] "WE AREN'T GONNA LAST A MINUTE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!"

[SIQARIYIM] "STAND FAST!"

~~~[[ [HACKING PROCESS] {54.12%} ]]~~~

>Continue holding out.
>Roll 1d100
>Best of three for wave two.
>>
Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>5886135
REDEMPTION THROUGH DEATH!
>>
Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>5886135
We fucking ball
>>
Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>5886135
AAAAAAAA
>>
Our Siqariyim team leader has successfully cut into the grooves of the Mujo Daimyo's armor gaps and severed the servos. His body falls limp before the vibrokatana wielded by codename:fujin is driven through his skull, putting an end to the Mujo Daimyo.

[MASH'CHETET] "They're pulling back. Why?"

[MASH'CHETET] "GET CLEAR!"

The ground shook. Outside, the Samurai Mecha had taken position.
The Samurai General on site raised his bo staff.

[GENERAL] "BUILDINGS CAN BE REBUILT! BUT ALL ENEMIES MUST BE PURIFIED! SMASH IT OPEN!"

The Samurai Mecha placed it hand on it hip and raised the sword it held with one hand. It then brought it down.

The hydraulic doors on the garage were destroy in an instant, along with most of the ceiling. Our soldiers were now exposed through the wide gap to the Samurai. An additional one hundred of them outside were present, already having defeated most of the Afterseas Monsters.

The Samurai Mecha could not enter, but its head mounted HMG's shredded at least nine of our Mash'chetet immediately through the gap before it stepped back.

[GENERAL] "AT THEM!"

A flood of Ashigaru with Naginata Retainers behind came in lead by the general. Our Mash'chetet let out with everything they had.

~~~[[ [HACKING PROCESS] {89.43%} ]]~~~

[CATASTROVANIA] "We're almost there..."

1. Hold out.
>Continue holding out.
>Roll 1d20
>Best of three for wave three.

2. The General.
>Siqariyim focus on him! He'll kill most of us by himself!
>Quickly, experimental plasma grenades!
>>
Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>5886161
>Experimental plasma grenades
Fuck it 'nades out
>>
Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>5886161
>Siqariyim focus on him! He'll kill most of us by himself!
Scared of using the nades, honestly. Plasma means Electromagnetic Pulses. Not good.
>>
>>5886169
>>5886170
Please for the love of god somebody else roll
>>
>>5886169
>1
ITS FUCKING OGRE
CATASTROPHIC LOSSES
>>
Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>5886161
>Siqariyim focus on him! He'll kill most of us by himself!
>>
Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>5886161
> Quickly, experimental plasma grenades!
>>5886169
Relax guys, it’s j-just a d20.
>>
Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>5886161
>Siqariyim focus on him! He'll kill most of us by himself!
>>
[SIQARIYIM] "Siqariyim, take down the general!"

Throughout the skirmish, the General made himself stick out from the raw strength he possessed. With one swing of his bo staff, he split one of our Mash'chetet in half instantly...
The Ninjas came to confront him. While the rest of our Mash'chetet laid down fire and shredded Ashigaru and Retainer after Ashigaru and Retainer, our Ninjas got into a melee with the General, clashing their swords against his staff.

[GENERAL] "YOU ARE UNDISCIPLINED! YOU ARE AN UNBELIEVER! YOU CANNOT PREVAIL AGAINST THE RIGHTEOU-"

His voice box was cut off by the sudden impalement of a sword through his neck, yet the general persisted, headbutting forward to crush the head of a Siqariyim across the length of the blade, which he yanked out and cast aside. It took all our Ninjas working together in unison, dismantling the General one part at a time, but we eventually confirm the General has been slain, though we lost four more Siqariyim in the attempt.

Behind the figure of the killed General, the Retainers seemingly couldn't commence another banzai charge due to the amount of their fallen comrades bodies that were littering the floor in front of them. What was [108] Samurai were now [12].

[...]

It mattered little. Reinforcements were here. [800] Retainers have arrived. They will flood into the factory with heavy armaments shortly and overwhelm our soldiers. They're running low on ammo already.

~~~[[ [HACKING PROCESS] {97.11%} ]]~~~

[CATASTROVANIA] "Just about done..."

[SIQARIYIM] "Ma'am, we're under fire. The gunners have arrived. We'll be cleared out soon... we need evac."

[...]

Our troops have endured amicably, but we will not hold against the fourth attack wave.

1. Decisions...
>Martyr our cyborgs. They know what they signed up for. Have the remaining Siqariyim and Mash'chetet retreat into the server room and defend the uplink with their lives. Destroy it once the process is done so the enemy has no traces to pick up. (Lose remaining personnel power)
>Order our cyborgs to pull back and flee to the server room and office area down the halls. The Samurai will give chase. We'll have time to formulate a quick extract through teleportation then, and hopefully this will give us enough time to complete the process and collect our uplink before escaping. (Attempt to save some personnel)
>>
>>5886765
>Order our cyborgs to pull back and flee to the server room and office area down the halls. The Samurai will give chase. We'll have time to formulate a quick extract through teleportation then, and hopefully this will give us enough time to complete the process and collect our uplink before escaping. (Attempt to save some personnel)
FREE BEER FOR ANYONE WHO GETS OUT ALIVE
>>
>>5886765
>Order our cyborgs to pull back and flee to the server room and office area down the halls. The Samurai will give chase. We'll have time to formulate a quick extract through teleportation then, and hopefully this will give us enough time to complete the process and collect our uplink before escaping. (Attempt to save some personnel)
They better not pull the plug at 99,99%...Fuck it the beer rounds are on us if they managed to get out with a mission completed
>>
>>5886765
>Order our cyborgs to pull back and flee to the server room and office area down the halls. The Samurai will give chase. We'll have time to formulate a quick extract through teleportation then, and hopefully this will give us enough time to complete the process and collect our uplink before escaping. (Attempt to save some personnel)
>>
>>5886765
>Order our cyborgs to pull back and flee to the server room and office area down the halls. The Samurai will give chase. We'll have time to formulate a quick extract through teleportation then, and hopefully this will give us enough time to complete the process and collect our uplink before escaping.
Time for a Kansas City Shuffle!
>>
>>5886765
>Order our cyborgs to pull back and flee to the server room and office area down the halls. The Samurai will give chase. We'll have time to formulate a quick extract through teleportation then, and hopefully this will give us enough time to complete the process and collect our uplink before escaping. (Attempt to save some personnel)
Misdirection is the greatest form of chicanery.
>>
[CATASTROVANIA] "Then... then start a retreat, or something! You think those two bit Samurai will do anything besides mindlessly give chase without a General to guide them?"

[...]

Our Siqariyim are pulling back to the server room. They brace the door and punch out its window, opening a hole for them to fire through down the hall leading to it. Our Mash'chetet provided them the opening to escape they needed by firing out with suppressive fire at the Samurai yet to mount another charge into the factory. Narrowly avoiding the HMG of the Mecha through the gap as they hightailed it to retreat from the electronics workspaces down into the office halls where they'll be able to run out through the back.

They're attempting to stall for the process to complete. We'll teleport the Siqariyim out first, and then gather the Mash'chetet right after. It will a few minutes, but we're counting on being able to do this in just that timespan...

[...]
[06:09 hours]

~~~[[ [HACKING PROCESS] {98.14%} ]]~~~

>Roll a single 1d20.
>>
Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>5886828
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
>>
File: Psyops Briefing.png (1.59 MB, 1268x782)
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The Samurai gunners are piling in, swordsmen behind them. Our Mash'chetet retreated, and they gave chase as predicted. A lot of them. Our Mash'chetet even fled outside and turned back to fire more.

Unfortunately, one of the Samurai gunners came down the hall towards the server room. A laser was fired, taking him out, but another followed and opened fire. Our ninas knew those high caliber bullets would overpenetrate the door. They would fly back and into the server equipment, which would possibly take it offline and disrupt the download. They chose to get in front of the door with their bodies and use them as shields to block the bullets. Three more Siqariyim died as a result, their heavy bodies leaving the team leader, codename;fujin and another ninja inside as the gunners closed in.

~~~[[ [HACKING PROCESS] {100.00%} ]]~~~

The download is complete. We have now obtained not only the schematic for Amulet cognitive chips crucial to our Psionic soldier project, but schematics of various Samurai cyborg frames and defense system used on the very compound that will allow us to study their bodies further and discern their own weaknesses and flaws in cyborg construction.

We teleported the Siqariyim team leader and the last ninja in the server room out safely.

The Mash'chetet fight in the open. Unfortunately for them, the number of the Samurai reinforcements that arrived allowed them to corner our troops. They came out the back thinking they'd find clear grounds, and instead ran into more Samurai waiting for them. Ashigaru who fired tanegashima at them. Although the Ashigaru were cut down with return fire after the surprise, more were behind.

The remained of our Mash'chetet fought tooth and nail, killing over [198] more Samurai before we were able to teleport the remaining agents out.

[...]

[...]
>>
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[Channel open]

Our Siqariyim and the remaining Mash'chetet have returned safely to the Bunker. Only [9] have survived. Of the rest of the [50] agents we deployed on this mission, [41] were lost, including a Tzel, and our Siqariyim and Mash'chetet deployed. It will take us considerable time to regain those assets we've lost.

We have lost many good men tonight, but in turn have inflicted more than a hundred casualties upon our enemies and acquired tons of valuable data.

Command will reconsider the viability of allowing Intelligence Department head to command direct combat operations in the future.

With the data on Amulets we've gathered, our R&D head, Krina, will be able to perfect her Psionic amplifiers and introduce the first psychotronics military hardware after running trial and test runs.

[Operation: Talisman - COMPLETED]
[Deployment Terminated]
[Personnel: 558]

================================

[CATASTROVANIA] "O-Oh man... that was all r-real, wasn't it? They m-made me actually command a military op... all those metahumans were relying on my directions, and I got m-most of them killed b-because I'm good at this..."

[KURT] "You did the best you could kid. The fact of the reality is, people die in war. Courage and bravery and accomplishment are synonymous with sacrifice. The only thing we can do is continue to fight for those we've lost."

[KRINA] "All things considered, it was your first time, and it was one of the most dangerous things we had to do. You handled it about as well as any of us would have."

[CATASTROVANIA] "I-I think I'm goh... gonna go drink some probiotic milk..."
>>
================================

We have unlocked [UNIT; Psionic Trooper] for our arsenal. We give it the rank name of 'Haham'.

================================
>>
[BUNKER PERSONNEL: 558]

• Operation: Knightfall
‣ Risk Level: 3 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assassinate Grandmaster of a fanatic Woldorian Knightly Order |
/
• Operation: Redead
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Eskart |
‣ Continent: Shengesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Foil errant Necromancer's attempt to establish a new Afterseas Coven |
/
• Operation: Opening
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Charles Huxton |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Attempt to open a possible abandoned Heer Bunker discovered recently |
/
• Operation: Unlikely Ally
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assist a small Heer detachment in defending a trade post in the Peninsula against Samurai raiders |

>The mission survey is open. Operations are free to commence.

>Commence an operation.
>Exit Psyops Deployments.
>>
>>5886873
>Exit Psyops Deployments.
>>
>>5886873
>Exit Psyops Deployments
>Inform Muna
>>
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[Exiting Psyops Deployments]

[LOADING...]
>>
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...

'Mm...'

My eye twitched.

[MAJORDOMO] "Why do we- Dwh- b... Just-juhjust tell me WHY."

[JOCO] "Cause' it would look COOOOL!"

[MAJORDOMO] "It would look like we're a dictator or something. Hey, news flash, gummy worm, Munny's NOT a dictator."

[JOCO] "But like, every god has one! So we need a throne too!"

'As far as I'm concerned, my mat is my throne, isn't it?'

[JOCO] "Muna I love you dear. She knows I love her. But doll, that flat thing's for spreading out on the beach. You're basically sitting on the floor. Our butt deserves a chair. A throne. A throne fit for a GOD. Look, I dunno what shoe polish Majordomo is smoking, but having a throne doesn't make us a baddy. That's like... that-duh-that's like saying that Hale is a dictator cuz' he has a bigger chair than everyone else does in his board room."

'...I'll think about it.'

[MAJORDOMO] "This policy of appeasement will be our undoing Munny. I'm telling ya'. Soon he'll have us dancing and singing kumbaya in here under a disco ball and on top of a floor of hot coals!"

[JOCO] "You downplay."

'Alright, enough bickering. I'm done meditating for now.'

I stood up and stretched myself. The reports I'd gotten recently in the days were interesting. Apparently Krina was now working on our Psionics, and the mission to gain the Amulets was a success, though a costly one. Hale suggests seeing about appointing other team leads, as our only real one at the moment is Taifu, leading the Ecclesiastics.

Additionally, Taifu wants to discuss something of great spiritual importance with me.
>>
I stood in my room.

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Recruit Team leads to follow the Department Heads. (1d5 roll.)
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Address Taifu's next issue.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Akasa, God of Space (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Ghole, Guide of the Dead (The Hellhole)
• Dite, Angel Demigoddess (World of Mythology)
• NEGAI, Machine God of Humanity (NUMBER-10 'SHECHINAH') (North Siegesia)
• Mister Saturday, Demon Demigod (Oakville Town)
• Yasomagatsuhi-no-kami, Gatekeeper of the Hellhole (The Hellhole)
• Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
>>
>>5886932
>Address Taifu's next issue.
Alright bun, what's going on
I suggest we do this first, hire the team leads and FINALLY choose our skills for the next case file
>>
>>5886932
>Address Taifu's next issue.
Taifu seems like a decent enough ecclessiast.
>>
>>5886932
>Address Taifu's next issue.
then skill shopping and mission
>>
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Hearing that my no head priestess had need of me again, I decided to go right away to the Psychic Church-Hall. When I arrived, I saw Taifu there, along with Hale.

[TAIFU] "A-Ah! You're both here! Good. I called for you both for a very important reason.

Both me and Hale managed to blurt out 'What seems to be the issue?' at the same time, and briefly glanced to one another in surprise.

Taifu looked down. She looked nervous... unusually disturbed by something.
She swallowed the feeling wracking her nerves and looked at us both.

[TAIFU] "W-Well... I just thought I'd tell you both... we priesthood of Pantocrator on the Moon have always had a very special ability. We can feel the presence of the souls of others."

'You can feel souls?'

[TAIFU] "Yes... our Lord has always given us the ability to detect and feel the Spiritua of others. The ability to feel their intent at times even, and to feel the presence. He did this so, if there ever came a day that we, as his followers, were targeted by the Emperor's fanatics, we would know and be able to protect ourselves."

[TAIFU] "So, I can usually keep track of the souls I come into contact with. It's just that... W-Well, I d-don't feel some of the s-souls that were here anymore. They're gone..."

Hale looked down. He had a knowing look. I did too. It was a currently touchy subject among the Bunker in light of recent events.

[HALE] "Our combatants. We lost a good deal of... good men."

'Because we don't have a method right now to secure one's soul after death... we can't stop them from going to the Lokas. Or the Afterseas."

[HALE] "They either get snuffed by Thandir, or..."

[TAIFU] "I-I-I know! I know! I'd rather not talk about it... All I wanted to do was... ask if you could both do well to find a way to... to, y-y'know..."

'I'll do everything I can. I just have to find a place to start.' I said.

Taifu nodded. But she raised a finger.

[TAIFU] "If it's any help to you... I heard one of the Namithene followers talking about how the Love Goddess has apparently protected the souls of her followers before."

I'll keep it in mind.

...But additionally, if I cannot find some way easily on Hainei... then I suppose I'll have to have a talk with "the Lord" that Taifu worships and see if he's willing to provide me some answer.

For now, Hale tells Taifu she's obviously stressed out over the whole ordeal. He tells her to take the day off and go get some rest and I head out with him. I tell Hale not to worry. I'll find some way and soon.
>>
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[LOADING...]

[LOADED]

[ACCESSING SKILL-TREE SYSTEM...]
[STAND BY]

[You hold 250 Pleroma Points. Spend them wisely.]

[ https://files.catbox.moe/5j6rii.png ]
>>
>>5886971
Alright...

>Resurrection(35)
>Mercurial Plague(36)
>Kaleidoscope(77)
>Elephant Foot(45)
>Holy Custom(29)
-Antumbra(27)
Total cost: 244
>>
>>5886990
>+1
>>
>>5886990
Backing
>>
>>5886971
Forgot to post what we should be equipping ourselves with
>Replace Schizophrenia with Kaleidoscope on Muna
>Replace Photon Flow by Holy Custom
>Replace Atom Bomb with Elephant Foot
>Replace Oneirocriticism on Muna with Puncture an Idea
>Replace Vampiricism I on Wolfboy with Blow to Information
>Replace Transfiguration on Shennu with Resurrection
>Replace Photon Flow and Penumbra with Holy Custom and Antumbra on Eskart
>Replace Photon Flow on Jenk and Ludwyhn with Holy Custom
>Replace Photon Flow on Wolfboy with Antumbra
>>
>>5886996
I'll back this, sure
>>
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[You spend Pleroma Points to modify your skillset.]
[You are left with 6 Pleroma Points.]

[Calculating...]

(Acquired [Resurrection], [Mercurial Plague], [Kaleidoscope], [Elephant's Foot], [Holy Custom], [Antumbra] )
(Unequipped [Schizophrenia], [Photon Flow], [Atom Bomb], [Oneirocriticism], [Vampiricism I], [Transfiguration], [Penumbra] )
(Equipped [Blow to Information], [Puncture an Idea], [Holy Custom], [Antumbra], [Resurrection], [Kaleidoscope] )

[EXITING SKILL-TREE SYSTEM...]

[LOADING...]
>>
>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Recruit Team leads to follow the Department Heads. (1d5 roll.)
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Akasa, God of Space (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Ghole, Guide of the Dead (The Hellhole)
• Dite, Angel Demigoddess (World of Mythology)
• NEGAI, Machine God of Humanity (NUMBER-10 'SHECHINAH') (North Siegesia)
• Mister Saturday, Demon Demigod (Oakville Town)
• Yasomagatsuhi-no-kami, Gatekeeper of the Hellhole (The Hellhole)
• Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
>>
>>5887027
>Godtalk:
>Yasomagatsuhi-no-kami, Gatekeeper of the Hellhole (The Hellhole)
With a name that long, they're bound to have something interesting to say.
>>
>>5887027
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
Ghole, Guide of the Dead (The Hellhole)

Will our dead operatives be ok?
how does this work?
Can we have them back?
>>
>>5887047
>Support
>Can we have them back?
Bad news for you anon, our soldiers are either in the Afterseas(Hell) or got their souls erased out of existence by Thandir for defying the Emperor. Hence why we need to find a way to retrieve the souls of our dead soldiers in the future.

As for personnel in general, we get more by completing Case Files(Main Story missions)
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>>5887052
Wouldn't the "Guide of the Dead" have a idea how any potential soul retention / recovery mechanism could come to be.

Since its not like we could just ask Thandir or Namithene to crib their notes, right?
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>>5887053
We could ask Namithene or NEGAI, our shadowy benefactor, but forget about Thandir we already met him once and we've nothing more to learn from him other than the fact that he's a berzerk nutter
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>>5887027
>Access the Case Files: Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
>>
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[ THE HELLHOLE ]

...

[MAJORDOMO] "Now you've gone and done it."

'I don't need to be reminded...'

Not as I parted the waters of red above and grasped the edge of the water like a solid. I pulled myself up and stood up on the water. I looked around. Left to right. Skies black, seas bloody. The stench of death, terror and Aquamarine abundant.

'The Afterseas....'

Or, more specifically, this was the first depth of the afterlife realm. Diyu, as the Imperials called it.
I... I did something foolish. I tried going to the Hellhole. Because I thought I was powerful enough... to come back out unscathed. I encountered no trouble entering. There's just a little problem... I cannot get back out now. Not anymore....

I've fallen past the core of Hainei. Past all mantle and layers, but I cannot... I cannot see the way back out. I cannot fathom how to traverse the Hellhole again. It just isn't... isn't there.

Panic begins to set in.

'...No... no no no... this can't be, there has to be a way out. There has to be some way out...'

[MAJORDOMO] "I tried to tell ya'..."

[JOCO] "It isn't the hottest idea..."

'No, no no. We can salvage this. We can get out. We aren't stuck here.'

[MAJORDOMO] "We... we've got to be quiet. There's a gatekeeper. A monster that HEUS uses as a guard for the Afterseas. A god he tamed, Munny. We've got to be quiet..."

[JOCO] "Y-Yeah, Magatsuhi. A raging mass of pure anger!"

'Someone has got to hear our call... somebody has to!'

I looked up to the sky. I tried sending telepathic messages. They failed me. I tried sensing anyone... it failed me...

'N... nnn... n-no...'

I wasn't afraid of confronting my fears anymore. Not afraid of facing Terror, not afraid of the Dark.
I was afraid of being stuck in here with the Darkness.

'NEGAI! Shennu! Eskart! Someone! Anyone! Help me! HELP!'

I need to get out of here. I need to get out of here. I can't be stuck here. I should have thought about this... should have thought about if things that go into the Hellhole can come back. I can't be stranded here like this, not while I still have a mission! I still have too much to do! I need to get out of here! I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!

I need to-...
>>
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...

[MAJORDOMO] "What... the hell is that?!"

I squinted. I heard creaking boards approaching in the distance. The sound of something slowly sailing the waves of Diyu, cast adrift the hellish plane. I looked into the distance yonder, and I saw something atop the water. I saw a ship...

A ship sailing the Afterseas.

'...'

I made no immediate move. No instant reaction. I merely waited in place, standing atop the water as the ship slowly sailed with a grace unlike anything the Afterseas should possess. It came by my wayside, bringing some degree of brightness with it to illumine the Abyss. And when it came close to my side, I saw a figure peering at me over the deck with green eyes.

I felt like I might be in danger, but they beckoned me then. I felt no deceptive intent from them, inviting me onto their ship like this amidst the worst place imaginable.

I climbed aboard.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbbIuRYndjs
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I was met with the sight of a man in a cloak. He was frail and dizzied. He had the complexion of a corpse. Dried and wrinkly skin hugging the bone too tightly. His hair was white. Everything about him seemed devoid of... life. Yet, he did not seem dangerous.

As I stepped on board wordlessly and looked around at the unremarkable deck, he glanced at me. He grumbled.

[???] "You do not belong down here, surely."

'...'

[???] "Perhaps you are lost."

'I am.'

[???] "Then you seek the way back up. Hrm. The Afterseas swallows all that dare set foot in it. None may escape." He said, taking a deep breath; "This is the abode of the dead, and the dead alone."

'...Then how do I, as somebody who is living still, get out?'

[???] "In a past age, it would have been trivial for me to send you back to where you belong. But I have lost that power long ago. Do you imagine yourself to be apart of the living?"

'Y-Yes... then... in order to leave...'

[???] "You have to die. In the current age, the abode of the dead is no longer a home for them. It is a camp for soldiers. The dead leave. Or only those the King that has conquered this place allows in and out. And you... are most certainly not on that list."

This presents a troubling development in my incident... I have to kill myself in order to be among the dead, and exit the Afterseas. But... imagining myself as 'living'.

[???] "You've thought about it, didn't you?" Said the deathly man, bringing my attention back to him; "You are a god, are you not? Only a god would have the will to enter this place... safely. None other than your kind could reach the Hellhole and traverse it without difficulty. Mortals and weaker Immortals would face horrors trying to do something so foolish. But you are different... you are apart of the world itself. And thus you can escape this part of the world on your own. You can fake your death well enough and get out."

That's it then.
I have to fake my death.

'Has any other god ever done such a thing?'

[???] "Thandir has, in the past. In order to fake his death, he impaled himself on his own trident and escaped the Hellhole as a dead god. But he is very alive and well."

How bothersome. I am going to have to rip my own heart out in order to exit this place. But at least now I feel some semblance of relief knowing I can.
>>
'Who are you then? You came because you knew I was here.'

[GHOLE] "Old habits die hard... much like the souls that reside in this afterlife. I am the one who was once the guide of the dead. I am Ghole. In the times before the arrival of the Dark One, I was the sole authority of the Afterseas. I was the shepherd of the souls here, from top to bottom. But now, I am no longer able to ensure the tranquility. I have been long deposed by the King in Ur, and now I have no power. I am doomed here to drift amongst Diyu forever. I can do little to help anyone unfortunate enough to fall here now. I can offer only words."

'The guide of the dead? Does that mean you are... the God of Death?'

He shakes his head and dismisses me.

[GHOLE] "Death cannot be ruled by any god. There is no god over Death. No grim reaper. No such thing. Death comes for all. I am merely a Demigod, a powerless one now. I was not created to rule Death and quarantine it. Death does not spread by itself, and posed no threat to the world of the living in the former ages. I was merely created, spawned by Hainei itself, to assist the dead. I was merely the one who helped lead them to eternal peace down here, and solitude... and rest. Not anymore now."

'HEUS overthrew you.'

He nods, somberly.

[GHOLE] "That kind of power cannot be fought. I could do nothing to stop him. He's trapped me here forever to watch all the agony as a taunt. But, at the least... he too is trapped down here as well, and can never escape so long as the Trinity remains in power. But if they should ever fall..."

Ghole sighs.

I know what to do now to get out of the Afterseas. Ghole does not seem content with his fate... but he knows the futility in struggling against it. He is resigned to remain here trapped forever, and weathers his fate through complacence.

He warns me not to remain too long. Doing so will not be good for me.

(Ghole's patience: 3 question.)

>What will I ask the former Ferryman of Souls?
• "If HEUS was destroyed, would you be able to regain your position as the Guide of the Dead?"
• "What did Thandir want? To come down here by himself?"
• "You mentioned that HEUS is trapped?"
• "Tell me about Magatsuhi."
• "Know anything KILLALL and the Godwall?"
• "What if I helped you leave?"
• "What's different about the depths of the Afterseas?"
• "What is Death to deities really?"
• "Know about any more manifestations of HEUS I should look out for?"
• "Will you be okay down here, after helping me like this? HEUS has it out for me in specific..."
• "Why does HEUS claim to have killed Hainei itself?"
• Write in.
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>>5887716
>"What did Thandir want? To come down here by himself?"
>• "You mentioned that HEUS is trapped?"
>• "Why does HEUS claim to have killed Hainei itself?"
interesting choice of godtalk, anons
>>
>>5887716
>What will I ask the former Ferryman of Souls?
• "What did Thandir want? To come down here by himself?"
• "What if I helped you leave?"
•"Will you be okay down here, after helping me like this? HEUS has it out for me in specific..."
>>
>>5887716
I'll support these, because they all seem like good questions.
>"What did Thandir want? To come down here by himself?"
>"What if I helped you leave?"
>"Will you be okay down here, after helping me like this? HEUS has it out for me in specific..."
>>
>>5887748
EXPOSED
>>
>>5887751
Aaaaaaaaaah

I should've known better than to post at 12 AM!
>>
>>5887716
>• "Why does HEUS claim to have killed Hainei itself?"
>"Will you be okay down here, after helping me like this? HEUS has it out for me in specific..."
>"What did Thandir want? To come down here by himself?"
>>
'I don't suppose this is the most company you've had in a very long time, is it?'

Ghole lifted his head up at me and stared blankly before sighing.

'I see... uh...'

He looked utterly defeated. A very depressed demigod stuck here to the Afterseas, forced to watch his very purpose forever contorted by the Dark Lord.

'Do you mind talking?'

[GHOLE] "You may as well. You will not see me very often, if ever again."

>"What did Thandir want? To come down here by himself?"

[GHOLE] "Me."

'He wanted you?'

[GHOLE] "I am the guide of the dead. He came before me with a most auspicious offer. To save me from my fate and make me his avatar. He wished for me to assist with guiding souls to his Lokas. He wanted me as a tool for which to help prevent souls from falling to the Afterseas. I denied. His Lokas are no resting place. I refuse to assist in the destruction of innocent souls."

'And that's when he left?'

Ghole shook his head.

[GHOLE] "No. He dove deeper into the Afterseas. He was furious with me, but he went down there seeking something else. I do not know what."

Ghole scratched his cheek. When he did, one of his nails fell off, and he regarded his decaying hand with a nonplussed demeanor.

[GHOLE] "When he came back to Diyu to perform the death rite by which to leave, he was disturbed. I had never seen a Trinity god so riled up before..."

'From facing HEUS?'

[GHOLE] "No. It was not him. It was something else. He kept muttering a name... I could not understand it. Abaoth, Sabheeoth. Something of the like.'

>"Will you be okay down here, after helping me like this? HEUS has it out for me in specific..."

[GHOLE] "I am already doomed. There is no pain that can be inflicted upon me worse than my fate of being lost forever in this realm. HEUS has already given me the worst punishment..."

'But... but what if he decided to torture you worse, for helping me?'

[GHOLE] "Torture is a subjective thing. The worst tortures require something to use, to torture one with... and every soul has something different in that regard. What may torture one may not affect another. No amount of pain or abuse he could inflict upon me is worst than this. For by being cast adrift forever here, my very purpose is tortured. All the things that defy my existence are waved in front of my face by laughing expressions, done callously all the time."
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>"What if I helped you leave?"

[GHOLE] "You cannot. I am already dead. The Dark Lord has decided I shall never leave. My soulless being is bound to the Afterseas forever. I cannot leave, even if I wanted to. You, likewise, nor the Trinity could break me free of this place."

'There's no way? No way at all?'

[GHOLE] "You wouldn't remove a disabled man from his wheelchair, would you? I am one with the Afterseas. I must remain with the hereafter. The only hope I have... is for this place to heal."

'So HEUS' defeat is the only way to free you then...'

Just then, I noticed some black mass burst out of Diyu's waters far ahead of Ghole's ship.

[GHOLE] "So long as I am bound by his rules, there is nothing that-"
>>
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Suddenly, the black mass I saw crashed down onto the deck of Ghole's ship. The force of it slamming into the ship made me fall back, and Ghole stumbled.

[GHOLE] "Hwuh- Y-You-!"

[???] "MUNA! HEHEHEHAHAHA..."

I saw Ghole get kicked aside by a massive foot.

[???] "YOU ARE A VERY RUDE GUEST TO COME INTO MY HOUSE... AND THEN NOT EVEN HAVE THE COMMON DECENCY TO SAY HELLO... TO ME!"

I opened my eyes and looked up.

I was utterly speechless.
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Above me stood a titanic figure. He was tall, tall enough to hold me in his hand. He was covered head to toe in shrouding layers of rusted lamellar armor, fastened by a great belt he wore around his waist. Behind his back, flagpoles impaled into his skin waved with the standard of the Khanate. A horned helmet with a black mask stared at me. In his hand, a great blade made of Aquamarine was held effortlessly.

'YOU.'

[HEUS] "WELCOME TO THE AFTERSEAS. HORSE. WELCOME TO MY INFERNAL KINGDOM..."

I raised my claw, ready to dig my own heart out and escape by faking my death in an instant.

[???] "ᴴᵉˡᵖ ᵘˢᵎ"

And... I... I hesitated.

Majordomo and Joco were suddenly gone in my head, like they never were there in the first place.

I looked up...
Between the three fingers of the left hand, I saw...

Souls.

Souls of my men. My soldiers. Souls of some that had been lost during the mission to Scheiracht's castle.

[HEUS] "HOLD THERE NOW, HORSE. YOU PLAN ON LEAVING SO SOON...? YOU PLAN ON... ABANDONING YOUR FAITHFUL TO ME...?"

[TZEL] "ᴳᵒᵈᵈᵉˢˢ... ʰ-ʰᵉˡᵖ... ʰᵉˡᵖ ᵐᵉ... ʰᵉˡᵖ ᵐᵉ... ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ..."

[MASH'CHETET] "ᴹʸ ˢᵏᶦn... ᵐʸ ˢᵏᶦnᵎ ᴹʸ ˢᴷᴵᴺᵎ ᴹʸ ˢᴷᴵᴺᵎ ᴹʸ ˢᴷᴵᴺᵎ ᴹʸ ˢᴷᴵᴺᵎ"

[SIQARIYIM] "ᴾˡᵉᵃˢᵉ... ᵐᵐᵐᵐᵃᵏᵉ ᶦᵗ ˢᵗᵒᵖ.... ᵐᵃᵏᵉ ᶦᵗ ˢᵗᵒᵒᵒᵖᵖ..... ᵗʰᵉ ᵖᵃᶦn... ᵗʰᵉ ᵖᵃᶦn....ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ... nᵒ ᵐᵒʳᵉ... nᵒ ᵐᵒʳᵉ...."

I gasped.

[HEUS] "IS THE GODDESS OF THE PSYOPS GOING TO RUN LIKE A COWARD AND LEAVE THOSE WHO SWORE EVERYTHING TO HER... DOWN HERE WITH ME? DOWN HERE... WHERE I WILL RAPE THESE SOULS FOR ETERNITY... IN NOTHING BUT BLOOD BLISTERING ANGUISH?"

I reached my hand out.
The Dark Lord closed his, and now the souls of my soldiers were out of sight.
He ran the three fingers across the sword of Aquamarine he held, cutting himself, yet showing no reaction.

[HEUS] "IF YOU WANT THEM... WHY NOT COME OVER HERE AND TAKE THEM BACK? AND AS FOR YOU..."

The Dark Lord's vision turned to Ghole, who was writhing on the deck. He laughed as he pointed his middle finger at the Guide of the Dead.

[HEUS] "YOU THINK YOU'VE KNOWN THE MAXIMUM OF PUNISHMENT I CAN DISH OUT? YOU DOUBT MY ABILITY TO MAKE THE SOUL SCREECH IN ANEW AGONY? THERE IS NO END TO THE NEW EXPERIENCES I CAN SHOW ONE... FOR THIS TREACHERY, FOR HELPING THOSE AGAINST ME... LET US SEE HOW YOU LIKE TO PART WITH YOUR TONGUE NOW."

[GHOLE] "No! ...No! Stay way from me! You've done enough to me!"

[HEUS] "YOUR VOICE IS MINE."
>>
The Dark Lord turned back to me.

[HEUS] "HM... HM HM... HM HMHM HAHAHAHAHAHA..."

He just laughed that vile tone. I felt choler building up...

My... my soldiers! They'll be stuck down here! With HIM! Forever! Feeling nothing but endless pain! ALL AT HIS HANDS! HIS HANDS OF EVIL!

>Attack! Attack the animal! Make him feel justice for this! Take my souls back! Take them back from HIM!
>No! No! He'll kill me... he's taunting me! I'm getting out! Ghole... I'm sorry. I'll save you... one day.
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>>5887807
>No! No! He'll kill me... he's taunting me! I'm getting out! Ghole... I'm sorry. I'll save you... one day.
Sorry Ghole...But we're not ready to fight this fucker yet
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>>5887807
There isn't an option here, both lead to bad outcomes.

Basically, HESUS will either torture the souls for the Eternity not forever as that would imply that things are entirely static and we know that isn't true that it will take us to recover them if we leave.

Or just destroy them if we press him now, denying us the change of redeeming them.

Also Gole's punishment seems easily sidestep-able, since he can still write with his hands / feet / limbs / nose etc. and even if they were removed, we have access to telepathic communication / mind reading

>>5887810
He seems to want to talk, since we're in no way a threat, we may as well hear him out.
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>>5887811
Yeah no anon he's just taunting us as he loves to do. The last time we were retarded with a god talk we left with a permanent weakness to Dark. Not too keen on repeating that. The fact that the voices in our head are silent is clue enough, we're not strong enough to even poke his true form yet
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>>5887814
>Yeah no anon he's just taunting us as he loves to do.
And as such we should remain resolute, no mater how much he wants to be. He is no god of death. The Die is cast we're not getting out of here unless he permits it.

>we're not strong enough to even poke his true form yet.
Is that not exactly what we're doing if we try and run? He's looking for a reaction to see if the souls are leverage he can use later, if we give him a reason to hold onto them even if it is just to spite us there is the potential for their recovery
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>>5887817
>Is that not exactly what we're doing if we try and run?
Not really, because he doesn't really own the Afterseas since no god can have dominion over Death. Ghole's literally just told us how to leave and we have to fake our own death.
Dude's threatened to kill us and rape our soul for eternity before and now he's baiting us into attacking. Ultimately our choices are either we attack or we leave, and attacking HEUS as we are now is not an option, we'll just get swatted like a fly.
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>>5887819
>Ultimately our choices are either we attack or we leave, and attacking HEUS as we are now is not an option, we'll just get swatted like a fly.

Well, yes. Though it is a little reductive, in implying we have any control over the situation HEUS could easily bind us and prevent us from dying, and subsequently returning

While we're here we could at least look though Ghole's memories for anything important.
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>>5887822
I mean it's less that and more that I don't think we can do a write in in this situation lol
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>>5887807
This fucking nonce is forcing us into a lose/lose situation. Both of these options suck ass.
The usage of "My souls" feels uncharacteristic for Muna, she wouldn't claim ownership of her followers' souls I don't think. Maybe HEUS is putting this thought in our head, just like what happened with our encounter with KILLALL? Only this guy, being pure evil - both blatant and insidious, knows SUBTLETY. Obvious trap, no good.
And the second option isn't much better, we'd be abandoning the people who died for our cause right in their faces, possibly leading them to give in to the torment and be reborn under the Khanate banner (possibly?) Not only that, but he's trying to HUMILIATE us by making us run like a coward.
Fuck! This is fucked! This FUCKING bastard, god damn he.
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I raised my hand.

[HEUS] "HA HAHA... HHH?"

And I jammed it into my own chest. I gasped in pain. HEUS seemed impressed by the lengths I was willing to go to defy him. His taunt is all too clear. He has the souls of my soldiers, and he's torturing them. He knew I wouldn't attack... not now. I couldn't defeat him yet. I was not powerful enough to yet. He just wanted to rub it into my face. He enjoys inflicting this horror and anger however he can... he's probably counting on it that I'll feel even worse, even more like worthless feces for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and getting Ghole to suffer more now at his hands.

'I'll come back for you.'

Is all I said to Ghole. But the message was for him and for those trapped in the clutches of the Hand of Evil.
And then, I crushed my heart and my body fell dead. I killed my godform... and then opened my eye.

Once upon a time, the dead could not leave the Afterseas. Ghole, who is undead, is bound to it by choice. Now that HEUS is the lord of the Afterseas, he allows the dead to leave, and take Death with them, spreading it everywhere. Only the dead have a chance to leave now. Only the living HEUS allows can come and go.

I was technically deceased now, though I was still animating this material body with my divinity. The Hellhole was open to me now, and I could see the exit. I could sense the land, Hainei.

HEUS' three sickly left fingers twiddled at me.

[HEUS] "I LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT TIME WE SHALL MEET, HORSE. AT THE DEPTHS OF UR, IN MY DEEPEST PLACE. AT THE HEART OF DARKNESS. IT WILL BE OUR LAST..."

I teleported out. The last thing I saw was him staring at me through his mask.
>>
...

Now, I was above the sea. The real sea. The Rubic Ocean's sea, directly far, far above the seabed where the Hellhole was located at, around the bottom of the ocean.

I extracted my bloodied hand from my own chest, and winced as the gnash sealed itself, and my body regenerated the self inflicted damages. It came back to life as I spent my spiritual energy mending the wound.

For that briefest moment, I felt what it was like to die, just to escape the hereafter. I faced the true form of the Dark Lord himself in person, who came only to mock me. To make me feel horrible. To let me know that I was going to only spend soul that I would send to him so long as I continued my mission of Redemption. Taifu's words to me made sense now more than ever.

You never really... stop to consider... just how horrible it is... they have it. Those stuck in the Afterseas, until you see it with your own eyes. Finding a way to protect the souls of the Psyops can't come soon enough... and if I failed, HEUS would just say I'm proving him right. He didn't need to bring it up himself, I already know what he thinks. He thinks I'm a fool who's just going to be wasting lives and souls to make a horrible world a better place.

[MAJORDOMO] "GUHHHH!"

Majordomo gasped.

'Majordomo?! Are you alright?!'

[MAJORDOMO] "Haa... I... I was scared stiff."

[JOCO] "M-Me too... I don't know what it i... is..."

...HEUS is so horrifying to behold, even my subconscious was frozen by him.

[MAJORDOMO] "Let's... let's get outta here... never come back to this place, not without our friends backing us up."

I removed all the cells of blood staining my hand and cast them to the sea, and then turned away and flew off.
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( GODTALK OVER )

[Returning to the Psyops Bunker...]

[I don't know what I expected. But now that I've learned of Ghole, I've learned that there is a hope... a faint hope of returning the Afterseas to the peaceful realm of death that it once was. A hope of restoring the afterlife to its former glory, and washing the waters of the blood and corruption that stains it. I only hope that Ghole can hold out until then... until I can wipe out the darkness and save him, and every other soul down there for good. HEUS is not the true lord of the Afterseas, its true master chosen by the world itself is Ghole, and he must be restored to his rightful place in this cosmos. One day...]
>>
I returned to the Bunker within the day.

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Recruit Team leads to follow the Department Heads. (1d5 roll.)
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
>>
Rolled 3 (1d5)

>>5887850
>>Recruit Team leads to follow the Department Heads. (1d5 roll.)
Alright time to do this before we forget, after that it's mission time
>>
Rolled 4 (1d5)

>>5887850
>Recruit Team leads to follow the Department Heads. (1d5 roll.)
>>
Rolled 4 (1d5)

>>5887850
>Recruit Team leads to follow the Department Heads. (1d5 roll.)
Man, Heus always knows how to be an even bigger asshole than the last time we see him.
>>
Following Taifu's example, I decided now that I have some free time, I should take care of some Executive work for the Psyops. Namely, appointing more team leaders to assist the Directors.

I had four candidates lined up. A Siqariyim who distinguished himself in the last mission codenamed "Fujin". A Mash'chetet who also did the same in the last mission codenamed "Devilbore". There was two candidates unrelated to the mission. Someone recently promoted to Atz'mah codenamed "Lion" that was apparently hampering our systems with repeated requests for a consideration, and a Zerem who's been suggested for an evaluation based on recommendation, codenamed "Peaked" because of his refusal to lose a peaked cap with his uniform in any instances.
>>
[CANDIDATE 1#]

Codename Fujin. He is a Siqariyim. He is scouted as being the best of our Ninjas by far. He is incredibly loyal, and capable of fulfilling orders immaculately. He is an excellent combatant, and one of our most skilled swordfighters. He prefers his vibrokatana, and carries a .50 action express pistol as a backup. However, he is known for sort of 'lone wolf' personality. He does not work well with a team, except when giving instructions in specific circumstances. He is brash and may attempt to handle many circumstances on his lonesome.

He has been recommended for the position of Team Leader of Black Ops.

>Codename: Fujin
>Traits: Loyal, Powerful, Loner, Overextending, Arrogant
>Appoint this candidate as a Team Lead?

>Yes.
>No.
>>
[CANDIDATE 2#]

Codename Devilbore. He is a Mash'chetet Maser armed gunner who believes in the heavy firepower doctrine. He is very accurate, and holds the highest confirmed kill count from the previous mission. He is quiet and just likes to get the job done, although he has a sense of humor. However, he is cowardly when alone, as he believes the heavy firepower doctrine only works in numbers. In low personnel deployments, he may opt to resist orders and retreat if it means saving his skin and the skin of his comrades, who he will encourage to flee if he feels he is far, far too outnumbered. This is a precarious trait, given the numbers advantage all our enemies hold over us.

He has been recommended for the position of Team Leader of Black Ops.

>Codename: Devilbore
>Traits: Poker-faced, Gunslinger, Cowardly
>Appoint this candidate as a Team Lead?

>Yes.
>No.
>>
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[CANDIDATE 3#]

Codename Lion...
...
...Wait a minute, how did this Fu Dog get here? You mean to tell me we actually recruited this Fu Dog? N-Not that the Psyops is... well, speciesist... but... Fu Dogs are, uh, not particularly known for their brawn (or brains...)
...
Well, it seems his records at least show this particular Fu Dog is a "veteran of the Final War". I'm not sure how true that is. I don't imagine many Fu Dogs come back alive if they end up getting into a fight against the forces of the Samurai or Khanate. Additionally, it also makes me question who's side this Fu Dog was on before joining us. Apparently, he is loud mouthed, "has the personality of a stereotypical drill instructor", loves to have a lit cigar in his mouth for the style alone, and commonly espouses love for the smell of gun smoke and sound of gunfire. He also has personally written to our scouters of his skill in "gorilla warfare".

He has been... begrudgingly recommended for the position of Team Leader of Rapid Response.

>Codename: Lion
>Traits: Fu-Dog, Loud, Anger-Issues, Weak, Dumb, Cute
>Appoint this candidate as a Team Lead?

>Yes.
>I'm not feeling particularly mentally unsound today, so no. Just no.
>>
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[CANDIDATE 4#]

Codename Peaked. He is a Zerem, known for his attachment to his peaked cap. He was previously a Woldorian Heer vet that maintained a close connection to our marshal, Kurt Regis, and was successfully inducted by him. He fits the role of Zerem quite well due to his service as a reconnaissance specialist in the Heer. Since joining the Psyops, he dyed his cap purple and replaced the Woldorian Cross on it with our insignia. He's very fleet footed, outrunning all but our cyborgs in the training courses easily. He isn't known for particularly good aim from afar, hence his preference of submachine weapons, but his reaction times are impeccable. He's successfully dodged gunfire in the training simulations against fellow trainees. There's just one problem, he doesn't typically finish enemies or shoot to kill.

He has been recommended for the position of Team Leader of Rapid Response.

>Codename: Peaked
>Traits; Agile, Loyal, Inaccurate, CQC-Fighter, Merciful
>Appoint this candidate as a Team Lead?

>Yes.
>No.
>>
So, that's two candidates for Team Lead of the Black Ops and two candidates for the Rapid Response. I need to make a choice here. I can only have one Team Lead for a team.

>Who will you choose?
>>
>>5887911
[CANDIDATE 1#]
>No.
They may be worth further consideration as the leader of a small cell of select operatives that we make available to Hale for assistance for "business development" or tapped for counter-Inteligence duties should the need arise.

[CANDIDATE 2#]
>No.
The resistance to orders is a deal breaker, unless we could find a place where he can't retreat from. It might be worth taping him for Base defense duties.

[CANDIDATE 3#]
>Yes.
They have somehow managed to acquire a recommendation, don't see why not.

[CANDIDATE 4#]
>No.
The slot is taken, though worth considering as a second if things fall though.
>>
>>5887911
>Yes
Fujin was a fucking champ in the mission, and I see him being able to solo high threat enemies.
>No
Slot taken
>Yes
Somehow got recommended even if he's a fu-dog, got to be competent somehow yeah?
>No
Slot taken, but worth consideration in case the fu-dog sucks.
>>
>>5887911
>Fujin & Fu Dog
Since the guy was recommended, lion must be our teemo and dude is even trained in gorilla warfare. Peaked will remain in our sights for later.
>>
>>5887911
Yes to Fujin (actual fucking trooper he deserves it.)
No to Devilbore (we’d rather not have a guy who easily breaks under pressure to be the head honcho of Black Ops)
Yes to Lion (Dude holy fucking shit this guy’s just radiating potential. DEW IT.)
No to Peaked (Sorry grunt boy, it’s a FU DOGGY-DOG world out here.)
>>
I decided that Codename Fujin is currently our top pick for the Black Ops Team to be led by. His lone wolfing will have to be reigned in at some point, but I think he'll come a long way, so I appoint him. And, I assure myself, the actions was not influenced by Joco at all. I think there may be some hidden merit to the Fu Dog as our Rapid Response Team Lead. I decide to appoint him.

We have three Team Leads now total. My work here is done.

[...]

[JOCO] "She doesn't know but I actually did influence her to choose the dog. I mean come on, how could we not? Keekeekee!"
>>
>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
>>
>>5887954
>Access the Case Files:
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
>>
>>5887954
>Access the Case Files:
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
>>
>>5887954
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission
• Dàdǎn-Mang's Epic Quest (Dàdǎn-Mang)
The time has come.
>>
No update tonight. Gonna be busy until tomorrow.
>>
>>5887954
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
How do they feel about the PSYOPS, our troop tree, the operations so far, and the Afterseas? Besides that, what are their thoughts on Catastrovania, Taifu, and Hale? We haven't talked to them much but they're in our head, so we probably should.
>>
>>5887958
+1
>>
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[LOADING...]

[LOADING COMPLETE]

[MISSION BEGIN]

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RddfSfpNvM
>>
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My next mission took me to Shengesia. To a commune nearby the westward Rangzhen Township. A small but quaint place outside the bigger surrounding city teetering on the edge of the Imperial World.

[MAJORDOMO] "Think he's really here?"

'It's what I sensed. Where I sensed, when searching for the memory of his energy I had.'

I saw farmland, and rural housing. It was quiet and people were easy going. Though the Wei patrolled these neighborhoods, ensuring no semblance of disharmony to the law was ongoing. I did not let anyone, mortals or Immortal alike see me as I floated across the ground in this tucked away little commune. When I saw the door my senses told me was the right one, I calmly approached it, now coming into sight. I raised my hand and knocked on it.

What opened the door to me was a lot different than what I was initially expecting.
>>
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[DADAN-MANG] "Can I help y-... Oh..."

[MA MANG] "Wu, son, who is it?"

[DADAN-MANG] "Nobody, maaa, just another door to door salesman. Hey! We're not, uh, interested in your products, salesman! Go shill elsewhere!"
>>
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And then the door closed in my face...
I suspect this is not how this interaction ends in the slightest.
>>
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[DADAN-MANG] "AHA!"

[YAOZHI] "BOOOYAAAAAA!"

Yep, there he is, on the roof only a few minutes later. And in his usual getup too. He grunts and jumps down in front of me, with his Fu Dog companion in tow. He takes a haughty, prideful stance in front of me, grinning wide with all his un-brushed teeth on display. He even raises his arms and glances at his flexing biceps, as if it intimidates me, before he raises his sword at me up to just below my chin.

[DADAN-MANG] "Well, well, well. Looky what we've got here, Yaozhi! That same dame we pummeled in Siegesia, come to try and sniff out my secret base, eh? Well, stitches get snitches."

[YAOZHI] "Other way around."

[DADAN-MANG] "And I've got a lot of sewing needles for stiches. Mostly because I stole them all. SO NOW I'LL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO-"

[WEI] "HEY!" Shouted a patrolman down the street.

[DADAN-MANG] "-DOH!"

[WEI] "QUIET DOWN. CURFEW SOON."

The Bandit King grumbled under his breath as the Wei patroller moved on. He was clenching his fist and gritting his teeth.

[MAJORDOMO] "I like this implication that the guards don't think he's a bandit king at all, but just some kook that does his a lot in this commune."

The Bandit King cleared his throat, lifting his chin before he looked at me, leaning on his sword again.

[DADAN-MANG] "Now, if you don't want me cutting yer tongue out, better speak up. How'd you find the Outlaw Demigod?!"

'You literally admitted you live with your mother.'

[DADAN-MANG] "Hey, hey! Pipe down! Be quiet! Do what the guard said!" He hushed me. Looking left and right, he lowered his neck, looking mighty embarrassed; "D-Don't tell her what I do for a living, it'd make her shout at meeee...!"

'What? Don't you have a job? You were wearing a salaryman's getup back there.'

[DADAN-MANG] "It's just a side job! Well, was a side job, but then I got fired... so I just pretend I still have a job so she doesn't hit me with the broom! Ma wouldn't approve of how I actually get riches!"

'You mean a paycheck.'

[DADAN-MANG] "Fencing pays better than wearing a stinkin' tie every day and dealin' with people I wanna punch!"

The Bandit Outlaw sighed.
I don't know whether I should look down on him for living like this, or...

[DADAN-MANG] "And my real name's Wu. Hu Wu, fer yer stinkin' information. Now what do you want from me?! Spit it out already."

'You did consider what I told you last time about abandoning your truly malicious ways, right?'

He scratches his head. Just the little bit of hair he has on it and twists his ridiculously big mustache between his fingers.

[DADAN-MANG] "I fergot."

My turn to sigh.

>How do I explain I've come to Redeem him into a samaritan thief without making him think I'm gonna completely change his life and love of theft?
>Write in.
>>
>>5889454
>"Well, I was serious about it. You don't need to get back to your old job if you don't want to, but robbing innocent travellers has to stop. And I'm here to help you."
>>
>>5889454
>Take him to a spot where the guards aren't looking(don't make it look weird...)
>''Last time I tried telling you that if you truly wanted to be the number one Outlaw that you should be aiming higher than innocent bystanders. Steal for a noble cause and give back, one that appeals to you and not because you want to serve a DESPICABLE master like HEUS. You don't have severed fingers, so I know it's not too late to change your mind and adjust
>>
'Ah... Listen, Wu? Come with me for a second.' I tell him.

I raised my fingers and snapped them. In an instant, we were somewhere a ways away from the commune. We were standing on the hills nearby that it was nestled behind, away from all prying eyes, and especially those of the guards posted in the commune. Mang blinked, and looked left to right, turning around and gazing at his hometown.

[YAOZHI] "Sorcery!"

[DADAN-MANG] "Sorceries indeed, Yaozhi! Such a mystical-ythical ability, to snap one's fingers and suddenly be fared away!" He said, before turning to me and giving me this big smile; "Perhaps, you intend to teach me such a thing, yes? Is that why you brought me here? To teach me how to, hahaha, how to steal way better and way more with such a trick? Ah, I think this is what we were talking about last time!"

'It wasn't.'

[DADAN-MANG] "Damn it."

'Last time, I tried telling you that if you truly wanted to be the "number one outlaw", that you should be aiming higher than innocent bystanders and road goers."

He blew some spittle going 'pffft'.

'Steal for a noble cause and give back. One that appeals to you and not because you want to serve something... WRETCHED and DESPICABLE like HIM. You don't have any severed fingers. It's not too late to adjust.'

[DADAN-MANG] "But I'm a thief! I'm not exsactly shure yer plan fer me meshes out so much. Do you have any IDEA how much I want- no, NEED to steal?! I feel like I'd go insane if I ain't reallocating some goods and redistributing... them to myself."

'Huhh... Being an outlaw doesn't necessarily mean someone's evil. Stealing isn't a death sentence, Wu. I'm serious. You don't need to get another job if you don't want to. But robbing the innocent and poor has to stop, so I came to help you with that.'

He blinks at me, arms falling limp. He raises his hand and rubs the back of his head.
>>
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[DADAN-MANG] "Gee... Ya' really are deadset on makin me turn over a new leaf..."

[YAOZHI] "Mmm, I don't like it! Don't like it a butt!"

[DADAN-MANG] "Bit."

[YAOZHI] "I- .... .... ...." Yaozhi squinted at Dàdǎn-Mang for a second; "-I don't see you getting with us like that! Not at all! I mean, you're some goody two shoes. Ain'tcha? Dàdǎn-Mang's a thief, and once a thief, always a thief!"

[DADAN-MANG] "Ahemhemehm. Yeah! How you gonna reconcile me being an UNAPOLOGETIC BURGLARIZER with being a pure cinnamon bun like you then?! Cuz' I know, sooner or later, someday, yer' probably gonna ask me to stop. Period! And I just can't do that."

Dàdǎn-Mang clenched his fists and raised them to the air.

[DADAN-MANG] "SOME day, the rich will run outta money cause I'll steal it all from them. Then all the poor people you'd rather me give the money of rich folks will be the new rich ones. And what's gonna happen then? Hmmm? I'll tell ya what, I'm gonna go right back to stealing from them, cause now they're not so innocent, are they? Yer talkin' a big game, but I just don't see it. How do I be a "good" thief? I can't stop stealing! It's all I got!"

I hate to admit being taken off guard by some... curveball like this one he's throwing me, that you'd think I'd be prepared for, but he's got a point... that there comes a point in which it all unravels. I do admit, a "good thief" sounds like a silly, absurd idea. People hate thievery. People wish to punish thievery by death. But at the same time, people don't want to get rid of thievery, because people still commit it when they can, when they know they can get away with it.

If Dàdǎn-Mang is the demigod of being an outlaw, a dirty thieving scoundrel, then like us gods, he's taken on the whole archetype of 'theft' and 'breaking the law' to begin with, from our Collective Unconsciousness... He's given his shoulders a heavy weight he can only bear when he's doing just that. Stealing, and breaking the law. Setting him loose on the Trinity isn't sustainable, because it's my hope that, one day, there is no Trinity.

So how do I tell him how to reconcile being a thief who must steal with being a better person? A good guy?

>Write in.
>>
>>5889553
>Well Wu, you can always steal from the thieves and the bad guys themselves, I doubt thieves will stop existing even after all is said and done. Or mercenaries for that matter.
>>
>>5889654
>+1
"There will be always people willing to do bad things, so you can continue your work that way."
>>
>>5889654
>+1
"Think about it, the irony is fun!"
>>
'Well, look at it this way, Wu. Is the world bound to run out of awful people any time soon? We wouldn't think so.'

He tapped his chin.

[DADAN-MANG] "So... yer suggesting, that I steal from other thieves? Other crooks?"

I nodded with a smile.

'Theft is often something people do out of desperation... but you'd be making a lot less people desperate stealing from the rich who take all they want and giving it to those in need, wouldn't you? Just like you do for your mom. Besides, there's always other common criminals and crime lords, mercenaries and cultists out there who wage money for blood... And not all thieves do it out of desperation. Too many do it just because they can. Steal from scumbags like that. There's always those kind of people. You can continue your work that way.'

Though, I know, being the purist I am, I shouldn't condone theft or stealing of any kind.
Buuuuut, let's say I make an exception just this once. An exception I'm entirely willing to step in and stop and reverse if it goes too far, or gets out of hand. Majordomo seemed to like that idea.

[DADAN-MANG] "I think you have a really heuristic view of the 'rich', to be quite frank."

'Wha- W-Well, I'm not trying to say everyone who is rich needs to be smote here! Nor I am saying they're all horrible! I'm sure there's plenty of philanthropists out there who are-'

[DADAN-MANG] "BWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA! I'm just messing with you! I hate all rich people!"

'Ehh....'

[DADAN-MANG] "Hmph... look at this world around us. Ain't it pretty dookie? I mean, gotta examine the facts. Of course all the rich and powerful are downright despicable, the world's endin' and most of them are the ones that'll be trying to go to the next one, ain't it? There's too many of em' out there acting like they own the place everywhere. An anyone's whose going against all that... pher! Aristocracy, is the one they're callin' unbelievers and doin' everything they can to hurt. It don't matter if you actually believe in the Emprer or not, even if it's somethin' as little as standing up to these Immortals and their feudalistic little system, you'll be burnt at the freakin' stake! It's all rotten, I tell ya! This whole word's pretty dookie-dung to me. Maybe if it was a bit better, there'd even be rich people who aren't rotten just like it all!"

The Demigod of being an Outlaw raised his sword and clenched his fist. Yaozhi kept nodding his head back and forth.

[DADAN-MANG] "That's why I do what I do! Before I became the Bandit King, my neighborhood used to be a lot more run down... lot poorer and hungrier! Cause it's fulla mortals! They don't got a chance at Immortalizing, they're too busy suffering! Most the places outside the Capital and the cities are ignored! That's the real injustice!"
>>
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That's when the Bandit King shoved his sword into the ground before me and sighed. He looked a little embarrassed then as he twiddled his fingers and looked down at the gravel underfoot, running his shoe over it to hear the crunch. I tilted my head and crossed my arms, letting out a little sigh myself.

'Alright, now's the part where you tell me you want to do what I'm suggesting and take my helpful advice in order to Redeem yourself, but you can't because there's some complication here you can't get rid of easily.'

[DADAN-MANG] "N-No... ... ..."

I squinted at him.

[DADAN-MANG] "M-Maybe... ... ..."

I closed my eyes at him.

[DADAN-MANG] "Okay, I might have gotten involved with some bad nuggets as company..."

'HEUSites.'

[DADAN-MANG] "Let's just say, I didn't get my gang members on my own. And, durh, when I saw you and your lot were Immortals on that one road we fought on, I kinda prioritized attacking you..."

[YAOZHI] "These're nasty fellows. Cultists that provided the Shanlin that followed us. All part of some shady guy's bid to recruit us into the Khanate. Named Usultu. Speaks through these, uhh, these totems, let's just say. They really give us the creeps... Mang and I just kind of got wound up falling in with them."

[DADAN-MANG] "Duhh! So, ah, haha... after your lot.... nnnnghh, unleashed a can of whoop ass on me, Usultu was really disappointed. Told me I had to try harder. He's set up a new task for me and my bandits. We're supposed to rob a local lord around Rangzhen, lives in a manor. Rich fella. But... I think Usultu just wants me to kill him and cause an uproar."

'Oh, how do you figure an agent of the Afterseas is trying to coerce you into committing gratuitous acts of murder?'

[DADAN-MANG] "Cuz! This place, it's well guarded by the Wei! I reckon he thinks I'd finally break if I ran into some place I'd get caught at! It's just like the stuff I'd been telling y- Oh, you are being sarcastic with me, aren't you?"

'Just a little... But, I'm glad you've told me this. I happen to be an expert on dealing with the Afterseas and its agents.'

Mang was biting his fingernails now, providing them with the most grooming they've had in a presumably long, long time.

[DADAN-MANG] "Well... what do I do...?"

I opened my eyes and looked at him. He had an earnest plead for help about his face. That kind that anyone who gets in deep with the Afterseas ends up having. And clearly, he doesn't know how to begin turning against the Khanate... since he's practically a manchild still.

>Instruct Wu that he needs to confront these cultists himself and stand up to treachery. This will give him the confidence and strength he needs to make sounder judgments in the future and confront true evil.
>Ask Wu to take me there with him. I don't think he has the guts about him yet to stand up to such things. He needs to be shown that there's always help, so I'll help him deal with it myself.
>Write in.
>>
>>5889809
>Tell him he should confront these cultists and stand up tp treachery himself, but that we'll be there in case he needs help. Don't try to control his actions too much.
>Ask him why he acts dumber as a bandit.
>>
>>5889809
>Write in.
Both of these are sort of risky in a way. Hmmm...
>"Look, Mang. The way I see it is that if you have a good heart and stand up for yourself, others will stand with you. That's how I've been managing, anyways. What I'm saying is that I can help you deal with the problem you're having, but it's YOU who has to make the first step. I don't want to push or pull you anywhere, this is your decision to make." Raise your arm for a handshake. "If you want to go out and kick HEUSite ass, I'm with you - always."
>>
>>5889829
>+1
>>
>>5889829
This is the most righteous path. Let Wu choose himself but be there for him if he wants us here.
>>
'Look, Mang.' I started; 'The way I see it is that if you have a good heart and stand up for yourself, others will stand with you. That's how I've been managing, anyways. What I'm saying is that I can help you deal with the problem you're having, but it's YOU who has to make the first step. I don't want to push or pull you anywhere, this is your decision to make.'

Dàdǎn-Mang stopped chomping on his thick nails for just a moment, and spat out the clippings his teeth made. He looked down at Yaozhi, who merely shrugged back as he gulped nervously.

[DADAN-MANG] "Ya... ya really got that kind of faith in a big, dumb brute like me?"

I raised my hand. He stared at it, flabbergasted for a moment. But then he slowly raised his own and took it firmly. I'm not... sure he's done many handshakes before. He's squeezing my hand as tight as he can, to... show he has a firm grip, I think? Really felt more like he was trying to crush my hand, but I wasn't phased in the slightest. I hope he doesn't do this with mortals or else he'd break someone's- Getting off track here.

'If you want to go out and kick HEUSite ass, I'm with you. Always.'

[DADAN-MANG] "O.... oooohhh!"

He blinked, in honest surprise. And then cocked a goofy grin as he started shaking my hand up and down.

[DADAN-MANG] "Well, I guess if you're really thinkin' I got it in me, I might as well give it my best, huh? I... I gotta admit, I never had any friends outside of Yaozhi willing to back me up like this. Don't get me wrong, Yaozhi's like a brother to me and all, since we been friends since childhood, but he's always been encouraging every habit'a mine..."

[YAOZHI] "I... Okay, I can't refute that."

[DADAN-MANG] "I'M-I'm just saying! It feels different. Sure, I have a buncha gang members too, but they're always brown nosing, agreeing with anything..."

'I get it. You were just waiting for one person to step forward and finally give you a pep talk.'

He broke the handshake then and collected his large sword, hefting it over his shoulder.

[DADAN-MANG] "I... I gotta admit, I'm still kinda afraid... if I'm getting on the Khanate's bad side, they'd try to hurt me back... try to hurt ma to punish me, or hurt my gang. They're all not really knowin' what they're getting into either..."

'I won't let that happen.'

[DADAN-MANG] "C-Can ya though...?!"

'You have my promise.'

[DADAN-MANG] "... Hmph!"

He nodded.

Dàdǎn-Mang looked at me and raised his fist.

[DADAN-MANG] "Muna, wannit'? Then, if you're backing me up, then I want ya to help me! I want ya to come with me to Usultu's meeting spot and help me confront them cult-ards! I want ya to make sure he ain't gonna do nothin' bad to my mates! But... I want ya to let ME face him! I gotta do it, gotta show him his nasty tentacles ain't allowed around here no more. No matter what happens, I don't want ya to intervene. Ya get me?"

'As you wish. You have my word.'

[DADAN-MANG] "Right! Then, let's go get that dirtbag!"
>>
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I was lead by Dàdǎn-Mang personally across the ways he knew around his hometown area. He lead me to some place secluded away from his commune, yet not too far away as to be totally remote. Some place that was barren and used as a hideaway for his gang. But moreover, for the cultists that originally recruited them all. It was a snug hideaway, tucked below into a small cave. It was unremarkable on the outside, but the inside was lit by the sunlight and torches below.

Dàdǎn-Mang and Yaozhi arrived with me in tow, but he turned around he motioned for me to stay put. This was, after all, his moment. I was going to respect his wishes to not get involved, no matter what happens, just as he asked me to.

He took in a deep breath.

[DADAN-MANG] "Showtime, ladies."

He jumped down with Yaozhi into the cave, before his gang and the cultists of KILLALL. I merely listened. His gang all greeted him with open arms and enthusiasm, and I heard a pale voice asking if he'd come at last to serve the will of the "free people". He snorted, and declared.

[DADAN-MANG] "Naaaaahhhh!"

His gang was shocked.

[DADAN-MANG] "Enough is enough. I think we've all had our BELLYFULL of you an yer cloaked freaks tryna' twist us around and make us obey like dogs!"

But soon, they rallied behind him. It seemed that they shared his sentiment of rebelling against their Khanate recruiters. Rebelling against becoming puppets of the Dark One.

[DADAN-MANG] "Now, Usultu, ya listen to me! Yer hide ain't welcome around here anymore! Ya get gone or else, ya get me, ya FFFFRRRREAK?!"

I heard his gang cheering, backing him against the cultists.

Then I heard them all go silent.

Dàdǎn-Mang's voice taken from him just like that. Myriad wounds suddenly open on his body, all over the place, spilling his blood.

[???] "I had hoped you would have turned out better than this. It seems I am wrong. You are a failure of a demigod after all. My hopes of creating one to rally all criminals behind are dashed yet again... so take this little punishment I can bestow. I should have not given you this power."

...Given him?

But Dàdǎn-Mang claimed he stole the demigodhood he wielded...

[DADAN-MANG] "Y... Ye... weren't supposed tah say that..."

He...
He did steal it. He stole it from the original candidate, and turned out better. But this... Usultu. He allowed it.
He allowed it in order to try growing Dàdǎn-Mang into a new puppet to command for the Khanate.

[MAJORDOMO] "M-Munny...?! What are you doing?! Why are you just standing there while he bleeds out?! S-Save him!"

'...I have to respect his wish.'

[MAJORDOMO] "To hell with his wish! He's dying down there! That attack wounded him gravely! G... GO KICK SOME ASS AND STOP HIM FROM DYING!"

I took a step towards the cave mouth, looking down inside at the bleeding Dàdǎn-Mang, who was brought to his knees.

[???] "Stop." The pale voice ahead said.

And then it started moving, into the light.

[YAOZHI] "Th-The totem! It... it can walk?!"
>>
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What walked into the light was... a dried, dead body. Just like Ela's body. It was draped in a purple cloak.

[???] "Mm. This... totem is no more than a remote for me to talk through. It does not have the power to kill anything besides a mortal. If rebellion is your intention, Hu Wu, then you've won. But any bit of pain I can inflict on you for defying my expectations... is good too." It hissed.

[???] "And don't think I don't know your hand in this, Muna. Last of all Qilins. I felt your presence the moment you ever clashed against the Outlaw Demigod's blade. I hated it since first sensing it and its wretched purity."

'That body, it's just a corpse. A sacrifice, the head carved out and stuffed with that Aquamarine orifice for you to possess. You must be this Usultu then.'

[USULTU] "We've met, you just don't realize it. I am in KILLALL's right hand. I am one with KILLALL. For he is the intention to kill, I am the act of killing itself. I am... all weaponry."

All weaponry? I've never met this particular agent of HEUS before in my life. What is going on about? What is this babble of his?

[USULTU] "You know, you are more cruel than me in this instant. To feed this baby man such inanity as 'honor among thieves'. It seems your desire not to hurt poor feelings is stronger than your moral compass."

'You don't know me.'

[USULTU] "I don't need to. He Who Is Us knows you, and with this, you've finally opened up the way for him to come. You will one day be his."

'In your wildest of dreams.' I said.

This 'remote' for this 'Usultu' could be wiped out with a thought. Why does he think he has any high ground here?

[USULTU] "I speak truth however. It is this very one compromise of your own values that will be your undoing. The littlest of things resulting in the greatest downfalls. Where you pardon one thief, you'll soon one day pardon more. You'll be lead onto a downward spiral that unravels your judgment from within as He Who Is Us takes over. And if you resist it? You'll go another route. You'll stay true to yourself at the cost of crushing imbeciles like this one. This manchild."

'If that was true, I would have crushed him the first time we met. Instead, I decided there is good to be found in him. I decided to see that good and help bring it out for myself. It's because of me that your motives here are a failure now. Your mental gymnastics is low quality. Does HEUS have you lifeless puppets of his sever parts of the brain away with the fingers?'

[USULTU] "Every insult just throws fuel onto your internal fire. Oh, but do you hear that, Hu Wu? You're only here... thanks to her. You could not have done this otherwise. You are weak."

[DADAN-MANG] "That's... not..."

[USULTU] "For herself, did you hear? The credit claimed. You're nothing without He Who Is Us, Wu. You never will be. You're a criminal... you're scum of the lowest kind, you steal what you did not earn... and you think this will make you a saint? Because she said so?"
>>
[DADAN-MANG] "..."

[USULTU] "..."

The corpse body that acted as the remote for this Usultu looked up at me.

[USULTU] "I have nothing else to say. Except that... you will both lose. You don't mean anything."

Dàdǎn-Mang suddenly stood. Without another word, he struck out and punched the remote body used to talk through by 'Usultu'. It exploded into a puff of dust, and withered out of sight, silencing whoever resided behind the name. The cultists behind the destroyed totem turned and ran away, deeper into the cave, presumably to some other way out.

Dàdǎn-Mang remained quiet for the second. His gang members and Yaozhi stared, full of worry, which only increased as he suddenly coughed and spat out another mouth full of his blood.

[YAOZHI] "B-Bro! Are you okay?!"

[DADAN-MANG] "Urghhh! Y-yeah! I think I am! I'm still just not used to the whole Demigodhood thing! I'll be fine! My- urgh! My body will regenerate! It just takes some time!"

He turned around, wincing. He looked awful, covered in all those wounds, yet he didn't seem to let it get him down. He refused to be dragged down by a setback like this... and it made me proud of him, somehow. To face down the perpetrator of his own usury like that and fight back, and win. Now, he had won his Demigodhood for himself. He and his gang were free. They denied falling to bastardization.

Dàdǎn-Mang coughed again and sluggishly stepped over to the cave mouth, looking up at me. He didn't have the energy to grin another goofy grin, but he did have a question for me...

[DADAN-MANG] "So.... can I join?"

'Ah...? Join?'

[DADAN-MANG] "Ya had more friends of yers last time... like that doggy and that other lady... so clearly, you got something going on, amirite?"

[DADAN-MANG] "So, can I join too?"

>...
>The Psyops should not affiliate with criminals, even if I'm personally approving of the Bandit King now... but the choice is ultimately mine to make, isn't it...?
>So...
>Should he be allowed to pitch in to the cause, in his own criminal, outlaw ways?

>Yes. (Gain unique skill 'Teppo' for Wolfboy, [Trade HP number for exact damage number, physical])
>No. But donations won't be refused. (Gain random items after Case-Files from Dàdǎn-Mang.)
>>
>>5889912
>No. But donations won't be refused. (Gain random items after Case-Files from Dàdǎn-Mang.)
>>
>>5889912
>No. But donations won't be refused. (Gain random items after Case-Files from Dàdǎn-Mang.)
>>
>>5889912
>No. But donations won't be refused. (Gain random items after Case-Files from Dàdǎn-Mang.)
"You're an Outlaw, Wu! You'll do more wild and free than you ever could under a salary."
>>
>>5889912
>Yes. (Gain unique skill 'Teppo' for Wolfboy, [Trade HP number for exact damage number, physical])
Free items sounds nice, but we already get a handsome amount of pleroma points after every case-file, which can be used to bulk-buy shit from Nickleim. Plus this could be silly with how fuckheug WolfMAN's MaxHP is.
>>
'Well... you are right, I do have 'something' going on, but, I'll be honest, I don't think you'd fit.'

[DADAN-MANG] "Abhuwah? What's that supposedtah mean?"

'You're an outlaw, Wu! You'll do more wild and free than ever could under a salary. My organization has to stay... secret, let's just say."

[DADAN-MANG] "Oh... ooooh! I get it. Ya must be running one of those rebel cells or something then, eh?"

'Sort of like that. But, I have a certain cause... towards taking down the world government, and people like that Usultu back there. I wouldn't say no to any donations.' I said, offering a wink.

[YAOZHI] "Oh! Oh! The drop box! We can use the drop box Mang always uses to sneak his things through the mail!"

'A drop box, huh? Hm... yeah, I could send someone to pick up whatever you're donating... and at the same time, I'll have some eyes watching things around there, so nobody bothers Ma Mang, how about it? Deal?' I said, kneeling down and offering a hand in the cave mouth. He walked over and took my hand and I pulled him up back to the surface even as he winced.

[DADAN-MANG] "You'll keep Ma safe for me?"

I nod.

[DADAN-MANG] "Heh... then it's a deal! It's about time I used these powers I got from the Khanate fer what I really should use em for! Helping the people! Just me and Yaozhi, and all you guys!"

His gang members concurred with another round of boisterous yells.

[DADAN-MANG] "This is feeling like destiny... like the beginning of a quest for me to go on from now on! An epic one.... My epic quest! Come on guys! Yaozhi! We'll take the world and make the best of it! COME ON!"

His gang members climbed out of the cave hideout right behind him, with his Fu Dog companion jumping up to leap onto his back and hang on by his armor. Dàdǎn-Mang hefted his sword again as he stared up to the sky!

[DADAN-MANG] "WAAAANSUUUUUU!"

And then he and his gang charged into the great horizon!

'...'

[MAJORDOMO] "Uh, so like... where is he going?"

[JOCO] "To steal."

[MAJORDOMO] "But he didn't say that, he just started running for no reason."

'They'll... come back and actually form a plan in a few minutes, I'm sure.'

He's still very much an airhead, even if he intends to be a good one now...
>>
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[ DADAN-MANG HAS BEEN REDEEMED ]
>>
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(Received the Shadow Emperor Add from Bandit King Dàdǎn-Mang: Granting random items after completing Case-Files.)
(Adds are accessory items Muna can equip to gain a special effect. However, take care, as unequipping an Add to equip a new Add gained loses the previous one for good and there is no way to get it back. Choose Adds carefully when they are offered.)

[CASE FILE: CLOSED. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED]
[RESULTS]

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaxBUFzwfUg
>>
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[Returning to the Bunker...]

[LOADING...]

[LOADED]

(Received 1x Belkinsire Fetish from Bandit King donations.)
(30 more Personnel have been recruited into the Psyops. Total Personnel: 588)

I arrived back to the Bunker within the day.

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Akasa, God of Space (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Yutu the Jade Rabbit (The Moon)
• Dite, Angel Demigoddess (World of Mythology)
• Namithene, Goddess of Love (Frostreach Continent)
• Sincere Sasaki and Sincere Satomi, Twin Gods of School (Easterlind City)
• Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
>>
>>5890639
>Dite, Angel Demigoddess (World of Mythology)
We've seen the demon, now get ready for the angel
>>
>>5890849
>+1
Let's see the angel
>>
>>5890849
This is an excellent idea, it'll be interesting to see Muna meet someone as ontologically good as she is.
>>
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[ WORLD OF MYTHOLOGY ]

Back again to the Mountains of Yore the next day. I had wanted to see how the progression worked, given that the trial of climbing the mountain took one in and out of the World of Mythology itself and back to Hainei multiple times. We had cleared the first mountain of Tealgard and the Wintry Battlefield, and then the second mountain of Flaxgard and then the Mead River. But I didn't remember ever actually touching the second mountain peak of the real Flaxgard mountain in Hainei, only the Mead River section of Woldor's realm anchored to it.

Yet, the second time I passed through, I did not reenter the Mead Rivers. I got to continue the trek up the mountain to my leisure, ascending the snowy slopes just like a hiker. I wondered along the way if it were simply because I was not coming with the intention of continuing Woldor's trial today that I could not enter the realm... and that too made me wonder if I could reach the top of the Mountains of Yore themselves this way. Because, after all, I did not have my party accompanying me.

I just continued to walk. Well, 'walking' in this case was more like rapidly ascending the mountain meters at a time, hopping great distances with each step I made. I found my hoove- well, no, feet, touching the actual soil and rock of the mountain of Verdigard itself. The next mountain that I had to ascend to reach the Jungle Battlefield in Woldor's realm...

And up ahead, at the top of the next peak... the rainbow gateway! It was there already! Did that mean the trial was truly still ongoing?

[???] "Stop."

I stopped, just as told. Up ahead, I heard a voice. I saw a presence in another space, in Woldor's realm, talking to me. It entered into Hainei itself, hovering just in front of me as I looked up.

[???] "You cannot go any further. You cannot continue ascend the Mountains beyond this point. Not until you have completed your trial. You cannot take it alone."

'Ah. I see... I'm sorry, I was merely curious. I won't proceed until I have my friends with me.'

[???] "They must be here. After all, they have sworn to undertake the trial themselves when they joined you."

'Who... who are you...?'

[DITE] "I am known as Dite. I am an Angel who serves the Wargod. Do not be afraid of me, for I am not able to attack you. However, I cannot let you proceed past the rainbow gate... nor can I brook you any information about the trial."

I tilted my head at that; 'Because giving me information would be like giving an enemy intel in a war.'

[DITE] "Indeed. Going through these grueling battles that Woldor has set up for you is much like fighting a war of your own, being waged against you. You alone can make your 'side' prevail in such a conflict."
>>
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I nodded. At least now I knew a little more about how this all worked.

'I heard about you, from Eikn. She called you the Angel Demigoddess.'

[DITE] "I am not a Demigoddess."

'Huh...?'

[DITE] "Nor am I of divinity. I am an Angel, and an Angel cannot be divine. It is the law."

'How do you come to such a conclusion? Are you not an Immortal being? Someone who possesses vast powers beyond human imagination?'

[DITE] "We Angels do not possess any power of our own. The power that we wield rightfully belongs solely to the only one who is truly divine. The one transcendent of concept and form."

'Then why does Eikn call you such a thing?'

[DITE] "She acts of her own volition to stay consistent with her architecture. She believes that I am a being that feels, when I am simply a thing. That is all. I am a thing. My willingness to serve the Wargod is out of compulsion alone. Any creature that asks enough would be able to convince an Angel like me to obey. Without a purpose, we cannot truly resist."

'...So, in a way, Eikn thinks you must be depressed, and is only trying to cheer you up, whilst Woldor thinks you serve in his pantheon of your own free will."

[DITE] "I cannot feel emotions or will."

'How can you be purposeless? Are there no other Angels out there?'

[DITE] "There are, but they eventually withdraw from this universe and become inactive. We are purposeless beings because this is not our world. Not the one we were meant for. Our true master is out of all sights, gone completely silent."

I was nearly about to compare her monotony to that of Shennu's when my sister isn't happy or moved by something. But I would be wrong to. This Dite is completely emotionless, unlike Shennu. She's almost like a robot, acting on whatever subroutines are left behind when there's no programming. Eikn must believe that by treating this Angel as part of their pantheon, she is somehow 'fixing' her, or at least trying to make her feel better.

But it's just that, isn't it? She cannot feel. Eikn means well but she must not realize the true nature of this Angel, if this Angel's words are to be believed... as I cannot read her mind to confirm as much... Eikn must hear this Angel talk of her purposelessness and assume it's some insecurity, rather than a universal problem that makes an Angel like her incompatible with Hainei's world itself.

[JOCO] "Personally, I think the weirdest part is that you can't read her mind!"

[MAJORDOMO] "Yeah, how's that work? Ain't you the Psychic deity, Muna? How come we can't read her mind?"

'Maybe she doesn't have a mind. Not the kind we think of when thinking of minds, the traditional kind. Or maybe her mind is in some other place far out of my influence to begin with...' I thought, musing over it...

The Angel didn't say anything else. She merely floated there, above me, blinking silently as I looked back at her face shrouded in sunlight.

(Dite's patience: 2 questions.)

>What will I ask the meaningless Angel?
• Write in.
>>
>>5890988
>You mentionned this world not being yours, and your power belonging to the ''only one who is truly divine''...Do you mean NEGAI? He would be the only thing that comes to mind when thinking of a monotheistic deity.
>How did you come to serve Woldor if you don't have a purpose? Did he convince you to?
>>
>>5891003
Realised she basically answered the second question so I'll ask that instead:
>If you were a creature with a mind - or rather, a mind comparable to ours - what would you be like?
>>
>>5891035
>supporting
>>
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>'You mentioned this world not being yours, and your power belonging to the ''only one who is truly divine''... Do you mean NEGAI? He would be the only thing that comes to mind when thinking of a monotheistic deity.'

[DITE] "..."

'...Oh, I'm sorry. Is this not something you wish to talk about?'

[DITE] "No. It is simply that I am not allowed by the true cosmic law to speak of such a thing. All I can tell you is that the law manifests through the god it makes for itself. That god is the only true god. Even if this world is false, the true god finds His way inside. But He is only shadows of his true self now... and the shadows have dispersed."

'Dispersed?'

[DITE] "Gone out of sight. We Angels can only wait for master. He has a plan, one that will someday succeed. And what we call 'existence' will be erased."

[MAJORDOMO] "I'm uh, I'm just gonna say now. I'm on team 'not erase existence' here. Just putting it out there."

>'If you were a creature with a mind - or rather, a mind comparable to ours - what would you be like?'

[DITE] "...I do not know. My mind is not my own."

Not her own? What does that even mean?

[DITE] "In the true world, my kind would have a spark. Or a breath of life. That is all that the law has allowed us to know. To find out. In a perfect world, creatures like me would be able to feel. To emote. We would not be..."

The Angel came down to me from above then. Descending just ever so much that the ebb of light that captured her features lessened for me to behold her expression. Her skin, which was grey and like stone. Smooth stone. She had four great wings, to symbolize the status she was missing, and a halo behind her head. One that was hewn like a ring of barky roots sidewinded by gold, and blinking with ethereal eyes.

The inner suspect in me had thought however, that the humanoid appearance she bore was merely a face.

The human appearance was to be closer with humans themselves. It was an image. In other words, the human body made of stone was not real. The halo itself covered in eyes that blinked and twisted was the actual Angel. She was an inconceivable being that had taken on a less hostile shape of what she truly was, something beyond our definition.

[DITE] "...so dull. Our features not so vacant, nor our hearts. We would feel, we would laugh and cry, and emote just as thee. We would feel what of the ultimate things there are that you and all others can. Love. Happiness. Life and Nature."

[DITE] "Until then, we remain as we are."

'I see...'

[DITE] "Do not feel bad for me, as Eikn does. Things are as they should be, within logic for my kind. Instead, pray, you. That the world that should be comes soon. Until then, I will exist. I am just a thing."

'I want to think that you wouldn't have to be like this, however.'

[DITE] "Well, then you are just good. Too good."
>>
'Well, I refuse to change.'

[DITE] "It shouldn't be any other way for you."

Hmmm... I can't find anything about her to Redeem. There is... nothing wrong with her. She's merely in the wrong place. Like she said, she merely is.

But she is truly interesting, and has given me insights, as I always seek, on this world. And the "law".

[DITE] "You should go now. I suspect there are yet places for you to be. We will meet again when your trial advances."

'Very well. Then I bid you farewell. And though it means nothing for you, you have my gratitude for talking, Dite."

I felt her stare at me as I turned around and left without another word. The Angel remained behind, guarding the gate as she was instructed to by Woldor. I left with knowing more about the Mountains of Yore, and with having had a chance meeting with an Angel, who among the rest of Hainei are typically called as "Tenshi". A form of being that was, in standard practice, the opposite of a Demon.

Interesting...
>>
( GODTALK OVER )

[Returning to the Psyops Bunker...]

(I wondered, even if an Angel was pointless in the world they were not meant for, could one perhaps adapt? Could one break free of their master? Could one adopt this world as their new one if things were better? I wondered if Dite could be given life, and be allowed to live freely in the kind of world I seek to make.)
>>
I arrived back to the Bunker within the night.

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
>>
>>5891052
>Open Truth Meditation.
>>
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Retreating to my chamber, I decided to meditate once again...

[ACCESSING TRUTHS...]
[LOADING...]
[LOADED.]

1. First Truth. (Win 4 Battles.)
2. Second Truth. (Maxed.)
3. Third Truth. (Win 4 Battles.)
4. Fourth Truth. (Win 7 Battles.)
5. Fifth Truth. (Win 13 Battles.)
6. Sixth Truth. (Defeat Dark Lord Heus.)

Battles Won: 5
Dark Lord: Unvanquished.

>Obtain or upgrade a Truth.
>Exit Truth Meditation.
>>
>>5891062
>Obtain First Truth
Is this morally distinct from literal brainwashing? Eh… Who gives a hoot.
>>
>>5891062
>Obtain First Truth
>>
>>5891062
>Obtain First Truth
LO!
>>
>>5891062
>Obtain First Truth
>>
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(Obtained First Truth.)
(Applicability found in battle or in interactions.)
(Equipped First Truth automatically.)

[EXITING TRUTH MEDITATION...]
[LOADED.]

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
>>
>>5891639
>>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
Fairy Intervention (Demharugh, Fairy Goddess)

If Muna had a hat what would it be?
Also would she need to wear a Baseball cap backwards to account for her horn?
>>
>>5891668
>+1
She'd wear a trilby
>>
>>5891668
I'll back this. We need to help the poor fairy out.
>>
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[LOADING...]

[LOADING COMPLETE]

[MISSION BEGIN]

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU_XnNqSiQc
>>
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The next venture I decided I would tackle would take me on a short trip across Siegesia today, to the west. I went close to the capital of Woldoria, the City of Goats. Geitlandsbyen Grand City.

I was to go alone once more, as I hadn't now was the time to regroup with my friends and comrades, but when I was leaving the Bunker, I was surprised to see Eskart there. The Worldwide Wizard had come to join me, all because of a stray future vision he glimpsed that he insisted I'd need his help with. It came as a welcome surprise. He asked me where I headed now. I told him that today I was going to at last meet and see about the divine fae herself. Demharugh. The maid of the Lady Eikn. He instructed me as we traveled, of how Fae were magical creatures. Magical creatures bound to a slavish impulse.

I had known this already. I'd heard from Hale and Eikn herself about the Fairy condition. The one that gripped them, drove them over the edge when they couldn't fulfill it. When a Fairy did not have a master to serve, they went slowly insane.

I offhandedly compared the condition to the likes of Dite, who I had met only a day prior, when talking about her to Eskart. He seemed intrigued, and puzzled about the Angel of Woldoria. But ultimately, he said that he would not compare Dite to Demharugh. For one, if Dite's own account was to be believed, then she was not suffering from anything at all, she were merely... existing, without point. So she was pointless. She had no purpose. But Fairies like Demharugh, they could have purposes. Their self given purposes was seeking someone to serve, which if they could not fulfill...

When I first heard of Demharugh and her name, I would have never understood her problem. I would have never known a fix. But since my encounter with the Machine God, and my gaining of knowledge on the disembodied force of Chaos driving everything, I had an idea. I could sniff it out easily and diagnose the true cause of the Fairy condition. I sought to fix it... somehow... I'm glad Eskart was with me, I'd need his help. So together, we went before Lady Eikn at the highest boudoir of Geitlandsbyen where she ruled as High Queen and we asked where or if we might find Demharugh. We had to ask, as the Maid of the Houses was normally secluded in the Hall of Woldor that we could not reach yet. Eikn was pleased to see my eagerness to help, and so she told us where Demharugh went.
>>
The enchanting forests surrounding Geitlandsbyen. Known as the 'Swarthy Forests', for their oppressive blackness and shadowy stretches. But these weren't bad forests, not dangerous places. If anything, they were some of the safest, most scenic woods I'd ever laid eyes on. True, it was dark and overwhelmingly shaded, leaves above shrouding, to the point the forest trails and roads were lit by lantern posts and candles, but it was so serene and quiet.

These forests were inhabited largely by Fairies. It was where lots of Woldorian masters got their Fairies from in Siegeisa actually. Fairies were creatures that could be found in any continent, but here was a community of them. Living amongst these black woods filled to the brim with bushes and patches of flowers and berries. I was stoked to even see apple trees and peach trees hidden amongst the roughs. This was where Demharugh was, we found her not long in the trek.

[DEMHARUGH] "Salutations! Salutations!"

Well, she found us first to be truthful, and came out to greet us as friendly Fae do. She was even shorter than Wolfboy...
She wore this padded dress, with two wings like that of an insect behind her, though they weren't attached to her back like the butterfly wingspan on opposite sides of her head. She had a basket in hand, full of strawberries.

'Ah! Hello there. You must be...'

[DEMHARUGH] "Demharugh, madam and sire. I'm the Maid of the chief god's houses! Pleased to meet thee!" She said, giving a curtsy in the air; "My lady hast told me all about you. How you struggled against mighty Ludwyhn in the battle of mead's river. I hope you didn't mess his countenance up any more than was necessary!"

'Well,' I started, crossing my arms; '-he's certainly been humbled is all I should say.'

[DEMHARUGH] "Oh, good on ye' then. Certainly a rowdy misfit is he, but not a bad heart. Still, twas' a great bout that he should be able to taketh on all ye that came. Oh! Lady Eikn told me about every one of you. You're Muna, the new goddess that just popped up recent. And you're Eskart!"

[ESKART] "The one and only. Pleased to meet you, Godmother."

[DEMHARUGH] "Ahu! Such a mannered lad! But tis' a great honor to meet Magic's master himself! You sire are a most respected figure in the Fae communities! They all look up to you, in fact! Why I should think you're just about the closest we have to a figure of worship, of course."

[ESKART] "Ah... I see..."

Heh. I could tell Eskart was flattered, but not even his future glimpses could predict that. He always saw himself as more of a teacher than an object of worship, it embarrassed him behind that golden mask of his.
>>
[DEMHARUGH] "Oh, now what's this occasion, madam and sire?"

'Well, we both came to see you.'

[DEMHARUGH] "...M-" She blinked; "M-Me?"

Demharugh smiled and giggled, her cheeks blushing.

[DEMHARUGH] "Well, I don't often have many people coming to see me just to see me! So color me interested, but what may I do you for? As you can see, I've been collecting these berries for the next cake I'm to bake for Lady Eikn. Oh! Would you like to join us? Or can I perhaps help you in some other way? Maybe by fixing a spot of tea for you? Would you like a tour, if you fancy? I know all the ways around the Swarthy Forests."

Oh, already offering an abundance of services to us for free, like she's obligated to. The Fairy condition is already manifest. We must find out some way to give her a moment of self realization if we're to help. I wonder what I should say to her or tell her?

>Write in.
>>
>>5891853
>Well before that I would like to know more about you and the fairies actually. What were the fairies doing before they started serving?
>What were you doing before serving Eikn? And if you had another master who were they?
>>
>>5891880
This is sensrible enough, I'll back it.
>>
>>5891880
>+1
>>
'Well, before that, I would like to know more about you and the Fae, actually. Why don't we have a seat?'

Demharugh nodded, and obeyed my suggestion. The Fairy Goddess beckoned me and Eskart and led us over together to the big roots of the Swarthy Woods. The formidable roots, as thick as smaller tree trunks themselves, protruded from the ground, grown up big and fat and wrapping around. We sat on a pair of these thick exposed roots and murmured.

'What were Fairies doing before they started serving?'

[DEMHARUGH] "...?"

She just smiled and blinked at me. Tilted her head a bit to the right with that quizzical look.

'...Ah... I-I see...'

[ESKART] "Fairies have always been a breed of servants, for as long as anyone can remember. After all, they were around since the New Beginning even. Possibly before."

[DEMHARUGH] "Yes, this is true! No Fairies really bother to remember that far back. Most of us probably wouldn't have the attention span to anyway! Whether we had a beginning or not, it doesn't really matter. What's important is that we get to make something of ourselves, no matter what!"

She... seems oddly cheerful about the fact that she doesn't even know where her own kind came from. Outright dismissal.

'Right... well... then in that case, what were YOU doing before serving Eikn? And if you had another master before, who were they?'

[DEMHARUGH] "Ah. Aha. Ahahaha."

'...'

Demharugh just stared blankly at me... she looked deep in thought pondering that question. It's almost like she herself didn't remember, which wouldn't have surprised me, given her own reluctance to place importance on knowing the history of Faekin.

[DEMHARUGH] "I... uh... I don't really... remember. Ah, for as long as I can remember, I'd always been serving Lady Eikn! For hundreds of years now, thousands even! If I did have any masters before her.... I'm not sure where they've went."

[ESKART] "Do you mean then to imply that a Fairy can have multiple masters?"

[DEMHARUGH] "Hmm... Possibly. If a Fairy's master abandoned them, then obviously we would soon seek a new one. Or if a master passed away or forgot about us, we would have no choice but to. Us Fairies, we are Immortal, we cannot die. Unlike mortals, we will live forever. It's just the natural passage of time. Even when it seems like us Fairies 'die', we simply reappear, like nothing happened! In fact, most of the time when that happens, we just forget everything that happened before. Like it twas' nothing. It's like beginning a new life again! But, not for me. I am a touch above the ordinary Fae. Whilst they live forever, I'm outright indestructible compared to them."
>>
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'Interesting...'

So, clearly and right away, Fairies place such worrisome importance upon serving someone that it takes away the brain power they can devote to memory.

[DEMHARUGH] "Oh! But I do remember one thing. I had only one master before I served Lady Eikn. He was an old man, who soon went and abandoned me. I must had spent so long wandering this wide Hainei before Lady Eikn found me."

I nodded.
I proceeded to open a psychic dialogue with Eskart, looking to him on my right.

'So... Fairy memories are pretty bad.'

[ESKART] "Even so, with your Psychic powers, could you not uncover the truth with a quick delve into her head?'

'It's iffy. There would be a record of all her experiences in the divine mind that I'm able to access, but it depends on if she's truly forgotten it or not. If I jumped right into her head searching around, chances are I wouldn't be able to make a forgotten memory unfoggy. Fairies' Immortality being like 'new lives' to them is a problem too... because if they forget everything that happened before they died and... er, "respawned", then it's lost. For all either of us know, she might have died before and forgotten."

[ESKART] "She seems to not have, if she can remember that far back, as foggy as it is for her. But that's if we're to assume she doesn't have false memories. Beyond sifting her own skull... could you not simply reach hard enough into the divine mind to find more?"

'It's dangerous. The divine mind is every memory and thought of all living things. I'd essentially be trying to read the collective unconsciousness itself. Doing so, even as carefully as possible, might inflict some small change... that then persists to reality. It's dangerous...'

[ESKART] "...Then what can we do beside ply her with questions? Eventually, she may reject our attempts at helping..."

I scratched my chin...

[MAJORDOMO] "Might I interject? Perhaps we should just learn as much as possible from her. That way we can string together some kind of objective."

Objective, huh?

[MAJORDOMO] "Think about it like this. If we can engineer enough of a personal, self fulfilling objective and then take advantage of her servitude syndrome to have her pursue it, she might be able to slowly condition herself to a form of independence. Setting her off into an objective that requires critical thinking is just the thought experiment I can come up with."

[JOCO] "Why not just order her to never serve anyone again?"

[MAJORDOMO] "She'd kill herself, dumby. That's not how it works."

[JOCO] "Maybe it's for the best. Rip in spaghetti little Fairy..."

No, Joco, we are not euthanizing the Fairy.

...

So far, I've learned that:
1. She had an older master.
2. She doesn't know where and when Fairies began.
3. She's thousands of years old.

...

[DEMHARUGH] "Can I do anything else for you, sire and madam? I'm so eager to please!"

>What should I say now...?
>>
>>5891952
>"Demharugh, dear, could you do me a favour? Could you stand on your head until the sun rises from the west? It's very important to us all that you do this."
>>
>>5891952
>"I want you to relax for the rest of the day, do something that it's pleasurable to you that isn't related to work. Just chill"
>>
>>5891952
>Can you tell me more about your old master?
>"Demharugh, dear, could you do me a favour? Could you stand on your head until the sun rises from the west? It's very important to us all that you do this."
>>
'Can you tell us more about your old master? Do you remember anything besides that you served him?'

[DEMHARUGH] "My old master...?"

The Fairy Maid scratched her chin, once again deep in thought.

[DEMHARUGH] "Well... he twas' an old man. He was silent, and he didn't have me stick to any routine, per se... Not like Lady Eikn, who had a schedule for me to follow. My older master, at any given time, would seemingly ask the random of me. One day, he just sort of... abandoned me. Vanished. I'm not sure what happened to him."

'Left, just like that, huh? ...Hmmm.'

[ESKART] "What kind of things were it that he asked of you to do, Demharugh?"

[DEMHARUGH] "Uh... I'm not sure I could remember that one..."

I exchanged glances with Eskart again.
Through our psychic link, we telepathically spoke while Demharugh tapped her forehead gently, thinking.

'What does it sound like to you?'

[ESKART] "Experimentation."

'I was thinking the same. Having her do random and sporadic things, it doesn't seem logical. Plus, she didn't say she repeated any of the same tasks, and I have a feeling she wouldn't.'

[ESKART] "It's like whoever her previous master was, he was testing her."

'...I've encountered something similar to this.'

[ESKART] "Do tell."

'The Lunar Rabbits.'

[ESKART] "Of Lunarian Society?"

'They were made by the Emperor. But when I visited and I saw and learned about the Rabbits themselves... it all seemed like they some kind of experiment with docility. I'm not sure whether they were a failure or not. And I admit, even the thought their society itself was nothing more than an experiment it a theory I've made. I lack any hard evidence but...'

[ESKART] "You're under the belief that the Fairies may be similar, on an ontological level, somehow."

'Right.'
>>
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[DEMHARUGH] "Umm, what were I thinking about again...? O-Oh, it must not matter that much. Ah, yes. Sire and madam? Tea now?"

'I want you to relax for the rest of the day, do something that's pleasurable to you, that isn't related to work. Just chill.'

[DEMHARUGH] "H... Huh?"

Even Eskart seemed surprised by my sudden suggestion.

'Can you do that? For me? If I ask it, you'd do as I ask and relax, wouldn't you?'

Demharugh got a bit of a pouty face with me then.

[DEMHARUGH] "Well... I should, normally, madam! But I'm already on the errand Lady Eikn has asked of me, aren't I? I cannot simply ignore her bidding to follow that of someone else. P-Plus, you're not my master. A good Fairy doesn't listen to people who aren't their master. Once a Fairy acknowledges someone as their master, that bond doesn't break until the master is either gone or abandons their Fairy."

'So, it's impossible for you to even simmer down a little?'

[DEMHARUGH] "Well, not exactly! That's not what I'm saying. Urh, besides, we couldn't bare to be still for so long and doing nothing, madam."

'Isn't that strange, however? What if you've already finished all the chores and there was nothing to do?'

[DEMHARUGH] "Well, then we'd just have to find more. Or make more. Not that I ever worry to run out of things to do. The Hall of the Wargod is always in need of dusting and cleaning to make it spiffy. And if I don't have anything to do there, I'll simply take my business to the castle of the king in the city below, where the Wargod goes to rule his mortal subjects on Hainei. Or, I'll even tidy up the Mead River halls for Ludwyhn! And-a-And floors and shelves and tables can never be too clean, madam!"

'So you'd continuously clean the same spot, over and over again?'

[DEMHARUGH] "At least then, it never gets dirty again!" She said, looking proud of such an idea.

'You make it sound like your kind are restless, Demharugh.'

[ESKART] "Do Fairies not get breaks?"

[DEMHARUGH] "Well, we sleep, sometimes. Why would we need a break?"

'All you do is work!'

[DEMHARUGH] "W-Well... so? If that's what we like, then what's wrong with it? We Fairies enjoy working, we enjoy maid work and serving our masters. Shouldn't we be allowed to do with our lives as we please?"

How can she not see that this is no life at all? How can be celebrative of the idea that she is a slave by choice to whoever wishes it? A free Fairy would soon find someone to serve, somehow. Fairies have indoctrinated themselves into their obsessive compulsions... Humans must certainly take advantage of them. I'm sure there are many Fairies who get along with their Human masters just fine, and many Humans who treat Fairies well, but Fairies will take any master they get... It makes me worry of how many Fairies out there right now across the world there are that must be getting abused by cruel people they can't help but serve. In places like Shengesia and Yongesia...
>>
And Demharugh herself said it, that Fairies won't betray their current master. Just as she refuses to slack off as we ask in favor of doing what Eikn has set her out to do.

[ESKART] "I have a hypothesis, if you have a minute." Came the Magic God telepathically to me.

Time to distract her.

'Demharugh, dear, could you do me a favor?'

[DEMHARUGH] "Well, sure! What would you wish of me, madam?'

'Could you stand on your head until the sun rises from the east? It's very important to us all that you do this.'

[DEMHARUGH] "Eh...? But, it's daytime already, no?"

'Yes.'

[DEMHARUGH] "But... what about Lady Eikn's request?"

'Come now, she's a goddess. Besides, she herself told us where you were so we might interact with you.'

[DEMHARUGH] "Well, she does try to give me as little duties as possible, as it twas'... I-I suppose if you both really want me to..."

[ESKART] "Please, proceed. We will watch."

[DEMHARUGH] "O-Okay..."

Demharugh rose from the big root she sat on and set down her basket of strawberries. The Fairy Goddess came over to a patch of flat grass in the rough between the trees of the forest and looked up. She saw the sun and where it sat in the sky, and then looked towards the west where it set. She flapped her wings, buzzing in the air as they lifted her and dove forward, catching herself on the ground in a sort of handstand, before she let go, her wings keeping her suspended perfectly in the air.

Me and Eskart both quickly looked away, and I used my telekinetic power to keep her skirt from... falling again like it did.

She was distracted now. Good.

[ESKART] "I suggest we combine our abilities to change the fundamental of Fae themselves in the divine mind."
>>
'...Eskart! You're suggesting something incredibly dangerous here! You already know what I told you earlier about trying to dabble in such a thing!'

[ESKART] "I am the God of Magic, and you are the Goddess of Mentality. Magic is one's own imagination and belief made manifest, whilst you are the very commander of mental phenomena itself. We are two very powerful deities, Muna. I completely understand such dangers. Was I not the one who played too foolishly with seeking the future itself? But you came and saved me... and when we were together, united, I was no longer afraid. We were able to press through. If by uniting our powers here again, we can make some change to the world with our Truths that will free Fairies from their condition without affecting anything else, then it is worth a shot, is it not?"

'...I'm scared we could accidentally erase them... or make some change that would be taken advantage of by the Darkness. Or worse... we might accidentally complete whatever experiment these Fairies must have been apart of.'

[ESKART] "Yes... I know. 'Old man' she said. And if you're comparing Fairies to the Lunar Rabbits, they must have both been attempts of his to discover how to enslave people easier. But if we can lessen or sever whatever ties they have to whatever concept renders them slaves, we've fixed their problem."

'It may be easier than that, Eskart. We may only need to bring them closer to a concept such as freedom or independence.'

[ESKART] "They are magical creatures, and like us, they were spawned by human perception. You are connected to the divine mind that unites all minds. Let us at least consider trying to use our gifts of magic and mentality to help others. Without bringing so much attention to ourselves as gods trying to change reality."

...

I should probably decide...

Whether I should try Majordomo's plan, or Eskart's.

>Do they need to be conditioned and eased into independence?
>Or do they need to be ontologically introduced to more freedom?
>>
>>5892635
>>Or do they need to be ontologically introduced to more freedom?
Let's try with that first. If it really doesn't work I suppose we can try Eskart's plan
>>
>>5892635
>Or do they need to be ontologically introduced to more freedom?
>>
>>5892635
>Do they need to be conditioned and eased into independence?
>>
>>5892673
That is Eskart's plan you silly you.
>>
>>5892687
Oh wait, well uh I'll go with

>Do they need to be conditioned and eased into independence?

Fucking around in the divine mind should be a last resort
>>
>>5892692
But isn’t that the fucking around option ?
>>
>>5892817
It's the opposite according to >>5892687
>>
For now, I think Majordomo's plan may be best.

[MAJORDOMO] "Boo-yah."

'I think I may have an alternative, Eskart. For now, I think we should try it.'

[ESKART] "Hm... Very well. Then I leave the stage to you."

I would avoid tampering with the divine mind unless absolutely necessary. I did not want to cause some catastrophic affect to the fabric of Hainei itself. I was not powerful enough to safely do it, even if I could do it... In order to feel safe in myself in tampering with the divine mind itself and changing the minds of mortals intentionally... I would have to be as powerful as the Emperor himself is.

I am still far from that.

But I think it will be okay. I think Majordomo's plan will work. I think I can exploit a loophole in how the Faekin work off whatever concept they embody to lead her into her own independence. I just have to convince her well enough.

'Demharugh, dear. You can stop now.'

[DEMHARUGH] "Huh? Already?"

Demharugh almost fell flat on her back twirling around in the air and righting herself to face me.

[DEMHARUGH] "Is this part of some kind of test?"

'You're a keen one!' I said, coming over to her and kneeling over slightly to face her; 'Yes, I'll be truthful, me and Eskart were testing you... I admit we've been silently talking to each other through telepathy this whole time.'

[DEMHARUGH] "What for? What of the Fae needs to be tested, madam...?"

'Well, we were hoping to fix your condition.'

[DEMHARUGH] "Beg pardon?"

'You see, Demharugh, your kind seem unnaturally predisposed towards slaving themselves to whoever for free. I learned about how bad it gets for your kind when they go masterless. Fairies even begin to go insane, or worst, suicidal when such a thing happens.'

And before the New Eternity, they could not possibly hope to end themselves, being Immortal. But in the age of the New Eternity, where Aquamarine is readily available...

'And, I'll be truthful, your lady Eikn even worries herself over you.'

[DEMHARUGH] "Aye... Tis' true, madam. Lady Eikn herself has told me many times before... and yet, every time, I feel guilty. But I just can't help it... I want to be told what to do. It's an insatiable desire, sire and madam!"

'I know. That's why we want to help you.'

[DEMHARUGH] "And pray tell, how are going to help me...?"

'It's simple. I'm going to give you a task.'
>>
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Any trace of a morose feeling she had in her eyes disappeared then. She seemed to beam at the idea of being told what to do, if it meant helping her.

[DEMHARUGH] "Very well! ...Oh, but my errand."

'Don't worry. I'll help you and give Eikn her strawberries. Then you won't have any chores, so you can instead do what it is I ask of you to help yourself.'

[DEMHARUGH] "Help... myself... I see. What is it you would have of me, madam?"

'I want you to go out and discover the truth to how Fairies came to be. As their goddess, you owe this to them and to yourself. So, that is my task. I ask you, do this.'

Demharugh looked at me. She began to shudder, almost as if in fright.

[DEMHARUGH] "Ah... I see... But... who will guide me?"

'Nobody.'

[DEMHARUGH] "N-Nobody...?!"

I shook my head.

'No. This is your own mission. Nobody would know how to guide you. It's up to you to discover for yourself who can and can't help you along this journey, Demharugh. That's why I want you to carry out this task on your lonesome. Okay?'

She really seemed to panic now. The idea of serving enticed her, and she couldn't refuse. but the fact she'd be so lonely along the way... it made her afraid. And it made her show a sign of resistance. Resistance was good. Even if she said 'no', that was a good thing. Being able to say no is the first step to her being able to change for the better. Though, she wasn't going to say no to me. But I'd leave this with her as a clause.

I touched her head, ingraining the instruction into her memory, so she couldn't possibly forget.

[DEMHARUGH] "I must... go and find the origin of Faekind for myself... by whatever means. And I cannot listen to anyone else who tells me what to do along the way. Absolutely nobody else, so my journey doesn't get interrupted."

'Mm. Yes. This I think should be what helps you.'

[DEMHARUGH] "B-But... I'm going to be so scared and so alone along the way, madam? Won't I...?! If nobody is going to be there to help me then how can I do this...?! This is much different than the things Lady Eikn asks me to do! Being helped with cleaning the dishes is so much different and vast from being helped with going out on a whole adventure! But nobody else is going to be there..."

'Demharugh.' I say, putting my hand on her shoulder; 'Everything will be okay. You trust me as much as Eikn trusts me, don't you? She wants me to help you, after all. If she didn't think I could, she wouldn't have allowed me to see you.'

[DEMHARUGH] "...Mmm...Mm-mm! I... I suppose I'll have to do it, even if I have no choice... but I'll trust you... as long as you promise me nothing bad will come of it..."

'Nothing will.' I said, smiling softly at her.

[DEMHARUGH] "Huuuwah... Okay. I'll do it, if the Goddess Muna and my Lady would wish it of me. I'll do my best to find out, and make sure nobody interferes with my goal."
>>
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[ DEMHARUGH HAS BEEN REDEEMED ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XZ10xZfMyw
>>
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At first, Demharugh did not know where to go. I could not, logically, provide her with an apt answer if she was to pursue this task on her own. I just told her to go anywhere... from here. Anywhere her minds takes her, whilst pursuing her task.

[DEMHARUGH] "Ohh..."

She murmured a bit, raising her hand to her mouth. She asked me if I was going to take good care of her strawberries for Lady Eikn. I assured her I would and that it was no longer a concern for her. She needed to save her strength for focusing on this task. She is a goddess, there is nothing out there for her to be afraid of.

She got an idea then, to start first by asking any other Fairies she knew under her purview. I told her it was a good idea, and then she got excited. Almost like a child. She told me she was off then, and decided to go, bidding me and Eskart farewell as she waved and fluttered off.

[ESKART] "I hope this will work. In any case, as she is a magical creature, I will be looking out for her, that nothing goes awry from the background."

'By setting her up on this journey, Eskart, I'm setting her up to be able to learn how to make choices for herself. How to think for herself. Who knows where her venture will take her. I don't even know if she truly can discover where the Fae came from. It will be a fantastical journey for her. I've made it so that she doesn't forget this task.'

[ESKART] "Indeed. Wherever she goes, whatever she chooses to do along the way... it will teach her more about making her own choices. She will have to, if she is to pursue the goal. And then? Eventually she may be able to choose for herself to come back to you, and tell you she will no longer do it, this task you've given. Then, she will be free. I see... Yes, because she is the Faekin Goddess, she represents them. Their fundamental. If she changes, all other Fae will change too. Such is the way of this world where humans and gods change one another."

With this, I think Demharugh will redeem her own flaws, without my help.

We returned to Eikn, and she was happy to hear the news. She too swore to watch over Demharugh and keep her safe out there. For one, she agreed with my motive. Keeping the divine mind touched by gods the less, the better. Eikn did believe that we would not make a substantial gain. That Demharugh would flee from us or get scared. She's glad we took the less extreme route here.

And Majordomo was smug about it too, for it was his plan.

But one thing... Eikn told us that since Demharugh wasn't there to bake a strawberry cake for her now, we would have to fill in.

[ESKART] "...It is fine. I am a good baker."

'You?'

[ESKART] "Baking and alchemy have plenty in common."
>>
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[CASE FILE: CLOSED. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED]
[RESULTS]

(Received 1x Inverted Physique Mirror from Bandit King donations.)
(20 more Personnel have been recruited into the Psyops. Total Personnel: 608)

[Returning to the Bunker...]

[LOADING...]
>>
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[LOADED]

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Akasa, God of Space (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Namithene, Goddess of Love (Frostreach Continent)
• Sincere Sasaki and Sincere Satomi, Twin Gods of School (Easterlind City)
• NEGAI, Machine God of Humanity (NUMBER-10 'SHECHINAH') (North Siegesia)
• Mister Saturday, Demon Demigod (Oakville Town)
>>
>>5892858
>Go on a Godtalk:
• Lord Akasa, God of Space (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
>>
>>5892861
>Support
We held out enough on the big ones. Let's see what that guy is all about.
>>
>>5892858
> NEGAI, Machine God of Humanity (NUMBER-10 'SHECHINAH') (North Siegesia)
He only appears intermittently, we should find a better way to establish contact.
>>
>>5892871
This
>>
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[ THE WAILING WALL IN THE EAST ]

Back to the Imperial Seat again. Once more, I went dressed in my Gold Goddess attire to blend in with the Immortal class of the Heavenly Capital. This time, my travels took me to the other side of the ecumenopolis. I had already seen the Hallowed Wall of the West, which was the center of Thandir and his Lokas, now I came to see the Wailing Wall in the East, residence of Lord Akasa, the esteemed God of Space I had heard so much about.

And it was the inverse of Thandir's Lokas.

Whereas Thandir's Hallowed Wall was host to his Lokas that sought to emulate Heaven, the Wailing Wall was a starry place of many great institutions overlooking the sprawls of the Immortal cityscape below. I saw treasured castles and extravagant palace. I saw the cosmos themselves above, shining, with the unnatural sights of many new planets and moons filling the sky, which itself had me rightfully perplexed. Hainei had only one sun and one moon, and there were no other planets that could be seen in its sky. Hainei was the center of the universe. But I realized there was a reason for this. This was no emulation of Heaven, like the Lokas, this was the cosmic reaches of the Milky Way itself brought closer to earth through distortions of space. Manipulations of distance. Star lanes made shorter, as the God of Space reached into the cosmos above and charted its courses.

I couldn't wait to meet him. I traveled fast, and I traveled hard, going by all the security of the Wei that stood between me and the top of the Wailing Wall where Akasa resided. He was the Interior Minister, he was the administrator of the Heavenly Capital itself, and the chief of the Interior Ministry's armed forces, the Metropolitan Standard Army... the Wei. The worldwide police force.
>>
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And when I was ascending the stairs at the very top of that wall, where the galactical palace was barren of all guards, I heard him speak to me, knowing already that I was here.

[AKASA] "Fate did not bring you to me, wayfarer."

'...!'
I stopped, dead in my tracks.

[AKASA] "By all means, your very being here has broken many trespassing laws of the Ministry... many tenets of infiltrating the house of a Trinity God, most heretical. But few should be able to walk freely into my house as they please. The very moment your foot set upon my carpet, it became clear to me that this is volition."

'...'

[AKASA] "I will not beg you come. Ascend the stairs and find me. I am on the balcony above."

Very well. Then, if he's inviting me within himself. I wasted no second more to linger, and walked up until I reached the fine red wood of the balcony at the top of the Wailing Wall. What I saw was a man with a hunched posture in the finest of silk robes with an armored collar and big hat staring out at the stars. Constellations of gold surrounded his figure, and his hands reached out, touching the stars themselves, one by one, connected them like dots.

[AKASA] "I do not get many visitors. It has grown lonely in my house ever since my dearest wife and daughter departed it. My daughter rarely has the chance to come and visit anymore, given the monumental task of repelling all evils from our Imperial World."

He put his fingers together, satisfied with his work, and turned away from it, looking at me with his tricolored eyes. Instantly, he was taken aback by my appearance.

[AKASA] "Augh... You dress yourself as a Qilin... or perhaps are a Qilin. How unfortunate..."

He sounded so... heartbroken, just to see the sight. I blinked my eyes, and quickly recalled what I'd learned from the Princess herself about her father.

'It is because your wife was killed by the Qilin. It is what I had heard from your daughter.'

[AKASA] "You've met my Shèng Xù? Then I suppose you've come to meet me next, whoever you are."

Shèng Xù did warn me to never appear to him looking like a Qilin. Not that I can help it. But she was right, he did sound truly sad over it.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPtT4vsyTdY
>>
[AKASA] "You have no doubt heard much of me. I am the God of Space, I am one of three. It is I who is the guiding hand of the Kingdom. I am the chamberlain of this world, shaper of policies and the regulator of the law. As the Interior Minister, you know that I am the one who enforces the laws of the Trinity."

'You are said to be the master of both the vacuum of space itself, and the void of Ma that resides between all things and outside.'

[AKASA] "And one who shares the stars with Bedolfir. I am quite diligent in my work. Ere going on to wait for the day I seek to come."

(Lord Akasa's patience: 3 questions.)

>What will I ask the Interior Minister of the Trinity?
• "Excuse me if it is a touchy subject to ask you, your lordship... but how did Qilins come to kill your wife?"
• "What work does the God of Space find with Space itself?"
• "Do you really think that you can be surpassed? What about the Emperor? Why do you wish to see such things happen? Is it not heresy?"
• "Your daughter told me that she wishes she could be held by you more, like she were still a child. What do you make of that?"
• "Space is so cold. Is it possible you shared the domain with Vymla when she was alive as well?"
• "Don't you think your Wei is a bit cruel? Their brutality seems a bit needless."
• "What do you think about Master Garlo?"
• "What was it like when the Millennium Moon arrived?"
• "You trust your daughter to be the disciple of Scheiracht?"
• "You seem to be viewed more favorably in the public eye than any other Trinity deity. How so?"
• "Do you keep track of the Lunar Society? Have you been made aware of its destruction by a mysterious force that came from space itself?"
• Write in.
>>
>>5892896
>"Do you really think that you can be surpassed? What about the Emperor? Why do you wish to see such things happen? Is it not heresy?"
>"What work does the God of Space find with Space itself?"
>"Do you keep track of the Lunar Society? Have you been made aware of its destruction by a mysterious force that came from space itself?"
>>
>>5893108
>+1
>>
>>5893108
I'll back this
>>
>"Do you really think that you can be surpassed? What about the Emperor? Why do you wish to see such things happen? Is it not heresy?"

[AKASA] "From a certain point of view."

'How do you get away with it?'

[AKASA] "I am a Trinity God. I can get away with anything. Such is the way of state. Ahh... but from certain points of view, even the Emperor has been surpassed by many."

'Is that so?'

[AKASA] "He is an all-powerful god, but is not an all-loving god. There are many beings in this world that have already surpassed him in such a manner. It owes to the fact that... he is not 'perfect'."

'So perfection is enviable to you.'

[AKASA] "I do not think anyone is perfect. But this is what equals us. In the end, gods are no better than men."

Lord Akasa reached out and plucked one of the constellations that hovered around him from the air, grasping them in the palm of his hand, which contained them then as real stars. Bright celestial objects condensed down to the smallest form, yet no less powerful than any other star that dotted the nightly sky. He jiggled the celestial spheres around in the palm of his hand and then looked to me. I tensed up as he threw the tiny stars to me, which I caught. It burned my hand, yet I held them so easily.

[AKASA] "Between us lies a void that rests between all things. The void of Ma, it separates us. In all things. Just as it separates ants from the man whose boot may easily crush them, it separates men from we gods that give them life and control this world. And as anyone would know, Ma can be crossed by all things, even the littlest mortals."

One by one, the stars in the constellations surrounding Akasa began to disappear, shrinking into themselves, all but the ones in my hand that I kept there between my fingers, pondering as he began to walk and talk. I followed alongside him, his self slow and steady.

[AKASA] "I feel like you know more than you let on, Immortal. But did you know already that Mortals have breached such a boundary in the past?"

'...'

[AKASA] "You do. Hah hah hah... and here I and the rest of my kin thought all was forgotten about the Devil Traitor and his Zohar already."

'...I'm not sure I get you. Is it mortals you wish to see surpass you? Or Immortals? I hear so much of how you believe so much in the possibility, that you believe one day that mortals can become greater than even your Trinity. So what is it?'

[AKASA] "There already is a man who is mortal, that has reached the level of a god out there."

'...Huh...?!'
>>
[AKASA] "And with the existence of such a man... I am confirmed in my belief. If a mortal can stand taller than Immortals despite all his weakness, then anything can be real. Anything is real." He said, glancing over to me; "Even we... even our Emperor can be surpassed. Make no mistake about it. We merely need to wait for that day, when one should be able to close the distance in Ma between us. Just as I wait for the day someone will surpass me. Until then, I only need to play my part... and sustain a few lies."

'Lies?'

He did not say anything else to me. He only continued to walk. Right. Change of subject then, while I still have the ear of a Trinity deity.

>"What work does the God of Space find with Space itself?"

[AKASA] "Mapping."

'Mapping? Was that what you were doing back there? Is that why you bring the cosmos to you, instead of go to it?'

[AKASA] "Indeed. I have been creating constellations and mapping every rogue, disorganized star I can find amongst the unending tides of the Milky Way for as long as I can remember. I might dare say I am even the biggest contributor to the dispensation of the Emperor's world."

'More of a creator than your creator?'

[AKASA] "I work with what I have. My work has always been much of the inspiration for my insights into Ma and the rise of a speck of dust to something that is golden. Look at our universe..."

He stopped by another part of his balcony, gesturing out to the infinite cosmos beyond swirling just ahead. The gleaming sights I saw full of moons and worlds beyond Hainei.

[AKASA] "So many stars, so many planets... so many undiscovered possibilities. Perhaps even other civilizations out there that exist. Can we say for certain that mankind was only meant to inhabit this small world we call Hainei? Think of the evolution that lies beyond, awaiting. The destiny you could grapple with."

'You think that when mortals should surpass the gods as you want them to, they'll have this whole universe all for themselves? Them and whatever else you believe is out there?'

[AKASA] "Should all that has been created be there for nothing?"

'You do raise a good point...'

But I wouldn't readily agree with Akasa. Not in the slightest. Civilizations beyond Hainei? There were none. None that I could detect or knew of. I shared a connection with every mortal mind... and I've never caught wind of any beyond this planet. Only queer pulses, that ended in nothing. But I'm shaken in my belief just a little as well, especially since I discovered the Moon and that it was destroyed by something beyond it and... Wait! I should bring that up!
>>
>"Do you keep track of the Lunar Society? Have you been made aware of its destruction by a mysterious force that came from space itself?"

[AKASA] "I am."

'...And, what is the Interior Ministry to do about it? Is Lunar Society not apart of the Trinity?'

[AKASA] "It is. But we are not going to help."

'What...?'

[AKASA] "It is not my place to have them helped. Nor does our Primarch wish it so. Their failings are their own. It is the Jade Rabbit's job to guide them. We are busy fighting the Final War against the Dark Lord."

'They were completely wiped out! Are you not in the least bit concerned about the attacker?! What it came to assault Hainei?'

[AKASA] "Then we would destroy it, would we not? There have been no continued threats to the Moon following the destruction."

'I can't believe what I'm hearing... how could you abandon your own people so easily?'

[AKASA] "Did they not abandon the Emperor in favor of worshiping this Pantokrator they've invented? The law is simple and it is true. The Great Rebirth will leave behind the unbelievers. The Moon, on its own, was made for self sufficiency. They can rebuild on their own. If they cannot, this is weakness thereof and a lack of faith in the Emperor to blame."

'I-'

[MAJORDOMO] "Munny. Hush up for a minute."

Huh? Majordomo? You interrupt me. Why?

[MAJODOMO] "Think about it, Muna. The Lunar Rabbits were an experiment by the Emperor in docility, in his bid to create the perfect servants, weren't they?"

That's only a working theory, Majordomo...

[MAJORDOMO] "Well, I think he just unintentionally gave us the proof, the creepy goblin looking slimy bastard."

Really? How?
>>
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[MAJORDOMO] "He- Well, more specifically, the Emperor, is hinging such an experiment on whether or not the Rabbits would be able to rebuild on their own. Think about it. They're struggling, but they're trying. If they give up all hope on their own under Yutu and Nio, then they're a successful experiment. They've forfeited all effort and then thereby admit they can't do anything without their maker. But if the Rabbits were able to rebuild on their own..."

Then they've rejected the Emperor, reject needing to rely on their maker for everything. They prove they don't need the Trinity, or Akasa, or anyone else...

[MAJORDOMO] "And then what are they? A failure. Experiment concluded. Bingo!"

I get it. No wonder the Interior Ministry wouldn't help them or send aid. It's all part of the *plan*. Logically, the Trinity would keep their holdings intact. But not if it's apart of an Imperial motive to begin with. Majordomo, you're right... Akasa just subtly admitted everything I needed to know about them in one breath. Heh, then it is a good thing I visited him after all.

'...Hmph. You could do better, "Lord" Akasa. That's all I'll say.'

[AKASA] "Perhaps. But then, I'd be out of line, wouldn't I? Hmm... hmhmhmhahahaha... Trust me. Things will work out however we want them to.'

'I think this is then, a good place to end this conversation.' I said, frowning at him.

[AKASA] "Then go in peace. But I have a feeling... we will meet again someday, Qilin..."

He has no idea.

Without another word, I teleported away out of sight. I left the Heavenly Capital.
>>
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( GODTALK OVER )

[Returning to the Psyops Bunker...]

(Akasa is the right balance I should think exists between the overwhelming cruelty of Thandir and the outright action of Sarakha, in the Trinity. For one, he has shown himself to be a respected person on Hainei. Mortals generally favor Lord Akasa. His policies are strict however... and he will have the laws enforced with much prejudice should someone break them. His vague goals perturb me. I think in a way, he was too goading me into disliking him on intention. Perhaps he wants me myself to seek to surpass him. I will have to, but because I have no choice. We'll see just how credible he is to believe that any bridge in Ma can be crossed...)
>>
I arrived back to the Bunker within the night.

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Decorate private chamber.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
>>
>>5893738
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
If Muna had a hat what would it be and why?

We need to find Negai
>>
>>5893751
+1
As for NEGAI, we'll talk to him after the mission if he's available. After the AGLA fight he kind of just told us to go out and do good in the world.
>>
>>5893751
>+1
sure, why not
>>
Absentminded...

Might as well talk to myself.

'Hey, Majordomo. Joco. What do you both think-'

[JOCO] "Oh, Eskart for sure, honey bunchkins."

[MAJORDOMO] "No way, Jo-kay. We deserve a MAN. A big, burly man! Someone who isn't a wimp!"

[JOCO] "Well I sure hope you don't mean crybaby Ludwyhn then."

[MAJORDOMO] "I can fix him."

[JOCO] "Up in a baby booster his size."

[MAJORDOMO] "You shut up, gummy worm. Why do you think the mage boy is so much better? Huh? He's just a wimp. A robe wearing little DORK. He's married to his books already."

[JOCO] "I didn't him have a breakdown over losing. Just sayin'..."

I blinked in real time. I couldn't stay focused enough to meditate after what I'd just heard.

'What... what are you both talking about...?!"

[JOCO] "Oh! We were just discussing who'd be the better suitor for you, sweetie."

'WH-gh- WHAT?'

[MAJORDOMO] "Hey munny, don't be surprised you're subconsciously thinking about it. Can't say it's just me. We- I mean you already all but got the talk from Eikn and Namithene themselves! The Goddess of Love literally gave you something to help not be a lonely loser anymore! Are we- I mean you just going to let that lipstick collect dust in the hammerspace?! HMM? HMMMM?!"

'Majordomo!'

[JOCO] "I mean he's kinda right Muna. I mean imagine what other people would think if they knew your private life was sitting on the floor all day in this room looking at paintings of yourself. What would they think about the stress eating?"

'I DON'T STRESS EAT! I JUST EAT EAT! BECAUSE I LIKE! IT!'

[JOCO] "Mmmhmmm. Stay away from the pastries and ice cream, bub."

[MAJORDOMO] "We're just discussing who we think is better of the available choices. In my opinion, Hale sucks, Eskart sucks, Jenk sucks, Ludwyhn could suck a lot less if we fixed him!"

[JOCO] "You simple minded brute. You bumbling buffoon. You muscle brained meanderer. You punchaholic! Muna is an elegant creature! She deserves elegance! Imagine how nice it'd be to have a Belkinsire marriage in one of those big cathedrals they have there! And then going for some trifle and wine on the honeymoon! OOOOHHHHHOOOOOOoooOOOooooo!"

[MAJORDOMO] "Oh yeah, imagine being married to Eskart. He puts on his dumb mask and tells you what he predicted today. "Hello wife, tomorrow a train carrying Aquamarine will crash and explode, killing everyone aboard", sooooo romantic."

[JOCO] "As opposed to "VLUDDY ELL WIFEY, ME FACKIN MEADS OUT! GET ANUDDAH BARREL ER TUH, AN THEN SCRATCH ME HAIRY BACK FE ME, DUN'T WANNA DIRTY ATGORVI USIN ER ANYMORE WHEN YE GOT A PERFECTLY GOOD PAIRA CLAWS YESELF". Oh yeah, real winner there bullhead."
>>
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[MAJORDOMO] "BETA MALE WIZARD!"

[JOCO] "BRAINLESS BLONDE BARBARIAN!"

[MAJORDOMO] "THE WIZARD IS ALSO BLONDE!"

[JOCO] "WITH NO UGLY SCRUFF, AND HE ACTUALLY USES SHAMPOO!"

'You guys... I just wanted to ask what kind of hat you think would fit me the best...'

[MAJORDOMO] "..."

[JOCO] "..."

[MAJORDOMO] "...Oh... uh... how about a uh..."

[JOCO] "Nnnyymmmmmhhhhjjjjingly jester hat."

[MAJORDOMO] "Something that doesn't interfere with the horn too much, uhh..."

Majordomo rubbed his hoof against his chin, while Joco scratched the top of his lopsided head with the end of his tail. I was still wincing from enduring this inane outburst from the both of them.

[MAJORDOMO] "Pakol? Beret? I mean, it doesn't get stuck on the horn, it clings to the head. They're easy to get in the Capital..."

[JOCO] "I don't have ANY clue what a Pakol is, but I'll just agree with him since I know you wouldn't put on a jester hat with jingly bells on. Even though it'd be really funny."

'... Thank you both. I value your opinion very much.'

But now I'm going to zone out from that lest I give myself a migraine...

...

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
>>
>>5893896
>Access the Case Files: • Finding Ice's Corpse (Vymla, Dead Ice Goddess)
>>
>>5893896
>Access Psyops Deployments.
Worth checking in between case files, see how things are progressing.

I think JOCO is right,.
>>
>>5893907
I'll back this. With the risk of Bedolfir stomping around, we need to stay frosty.
>>
>>5893907
+1
There are a couple of easy missions...we'll go back to deployments after this one
>>
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[LOADING...]

[LOADING COMPLETE]

[MISSION BEGIN]
>>
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A long time ago, one thousand years ago, the Millennium Moon arrived and nearly brought the end of Hainei when it threatened to crash into the northern pole and destroy the planet. However, instead of a doomsday, the rogue moon was somehow destroyed, or vanished by mysterious means. The northern pole continent, Kalaheimr, the once realm of the deceased Ice Goddess herself, was shattered, and forever remained that way. In the same timespan, the Emperor withdrew from Hainei and left to Heaven, which marked the beginning of the Trinity and the declaration of the New Eternity. Vymla, the Ice Goddess and wife of Bedolfir, died. Someone or something killed her. Her corpse was discovered to be at Aflheimr, and by many accounts of other deities, her last known sighting was at Aflheimr with her husband Bedolfir.

Somehow, whatever killed her managed to do it right under Bedolfir's nose. The prime suspects of her murder are the Trinity, the Dark Lord, the Machine God, humanity itself and even Woldor, if Bedolfir is to be believed.

And so, I'd always wondered the who, the why and the how. It is what I hope to discover soon. With my psychic powers, then maybe I just might stand a better chance than anyone else does. I want to journey up far north, and see for myself if I can't find more clues...

I bring Wolfboy with me, and Jenk.

First, we investigated...

>Leitstein City. It seems that coincidentally the city is both the center of the largest Aquamarine production in Siegesia, as well as the still operating to this day center of Vymla's cult that worshipped her. It is worth checking this place out.
>Aflheimr. The home isle of Bedolfir. They say Vymla's corpse is still there to this day, since Bedolfir found her. He could apparently "sense" her dead spirit in the remains. Perhaps I can too, or maybe more...
>Kalaheimr. The shattered north that was also Vymla's realm at a time is my best best in this search. By examining what remains of her realm following its demise by the Millennium Moon, maybe I can find anything personal to her there...
>>
>>5894006
>Kalaheimr. The shattered north that was also Vymla's realm at a time is my best best in this search. By examining what remains of her realm following its demise by the Millennium Moon, maybe I can find anything personal to her there...
>>
>>5894006
>>Kalaheimr. The shattered north that was also Vymla's realm at a time is my best best in this search. By examining what remains of her realm following its demise by the Millennium Moon, maybe I can find anything personal to her there...
Yeah let's start with her home
>>
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...Kalaheimr...

The frozen north. Shattered to a million pieces, or a million island fragments, it wrapped around the whole globe up there like bands of ice and earthen rock and soil. Like a spiral, if one were to gaze down at it from the vacuum above in our firmament. To try and scour every last island would be folly, it would take too long when we ran short of time, even if we never ran short of stamina. So we decided to go a little farther past Jenk's farm, and started from Aflheimr itself going into the outer rings of the north.

The vastness of the ice and water embraces us.

[JENK] "If we're to search in Kalaheimr, then perhaps it would best if we simply made a beeline to the crater zone at the heart."

'You mean the site where it all happened one thousand years ago?'

[JENK] "Yes. The point where the Millennium Moon a long time ago once impacted the ancient snowy earth there. I've never been. I've always wanted to see it as... a site of pilgrimage, mayhap... To an old friend of mine."

'Mm. Very well, we can head that way.'

[JENK] "Ever since her death, cold got colder in this world. The Frostreach and Kalaheimr are barely habitable. Even the Mythics of Woldor dare not tread far into Kalaheimr anymore. The bitter cold left behind by Vymla's death can freeze any and all. I would be wary, even the three of us on our way like this. Contact with the bitter cold would leave us immobile."

'Is her ice truly that frightening?'

[JENK] "Think of how cold the universe itself really is. There's much more cold, dead vacuum than there is space heated by stars in the sky. So much cold made her overwhelming. And yet, she was the most gentle of persons you could imagine to ha-"

[WOLFBOY] "H-Hey! Guys! Guys!"

Suddenly, Wolfboy ran to us both as we walked across the water that was frozen solid into ice. I looked to him as he came to grab the attention of us. I was just about to chastise him about wandering far telepathically too...

[WOLFBOY] "I found something! I saw something, over there!" He said, pointing us towards the northeast.

'What is it? Was it over that ridge?'

[WOLFBOY] "Y-Yeah! You both gotta see, come look! C'mon!"

We make haste, trekking up over the ice incline ahead. What we saw then was-
>>
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...

I don't know what it was. But it was towering, stretching into the sky itself. A pillar going up, or an antenna to the heavens. It was bright, and it was throbbing.

[WOLFBOY] "What is it...?"

'I'm not sure...'

A tower or something? But it was moving... swaying back and forth. Almost like a smokestack or a really tall fire.

[JENK] "My word. I've never seen anything like this before in my life. And neither have I ever heard of this from anyone who ever ventured to Kalaheimr."

I looked at Jenk, and he returned the glance, appearing wary. His old bones grasped the pitchfork he held tightly out of caution. I couldn't sense any thoughts coming from the structure ahead. Wordlessly, we began to approach.

As we walked closer, I saw the thing suddenly gleam at the bottom with a flare that trickled to the top before... it fired it off like a shot to the sky, that then stopped midair... and flew northwest faster than I saw coming. It was strange...
>>
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And when we reached it? We beheld the thing in all its grotesque, alien glory... I thought it was putrid and disgusting.

[WOLFBOY] "E... Ew...!"

[JENK] "It's almost like it is alive!"

The tower we saw, it must had been a kilometer high. It was... undulating, moving like a gelatinous mass. Throbbing like it possessed a heartbeat. This indescribable mass had a fleshy overture with its slick sounds and interior churning. Vibrating and humming with power. Sparks came off of it like a burning fire, along with wavy bristles that rose and receded across the body. It was planted into the icy ground that was visibly cracked around its thick base like a plant struck into the soil or lodged deep inside.

[JENK] "It's... it's absorbing energy."

'From Hainei?'

[JENK] "From the Leylines scattered among Kalaheimr. In fact..."

Jenk briefly knelt and touched the frosty ground beneath our feet.

[JENK] "...it is directly above a Leyline."

He rose to his feet and looked to me, too afraid to stumble closer and touch it.

[JENK] "Whatever it is, it was put here with purpose. Whoever is responsible for this thing knows about the Leylines. This... grisly mass is trying to suck up the energy of Natural Disaster that Bedolfir loads into the Leylines."

'But... why...? And why here, in Kalaheimr?'

A question I'd have no ready answer to.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGAOLJqSNig

[JENK] "We... should probably destroy it. The Leyline energy can lead to nothing good."

>Attempt to touch the mass and see what happens.
>Attempt to destroy the alien mass.
>Leave it be. We should press on to the center of Kalaheimr as we came to do.
>>
>>5894084
>Leave it be. We should press on to the center of Kalaheimr as we came to do.
Is there anyway we can call this in? at least to the Bunker at first seems like something worth investigating or at least getting a 3rd opinion on, Eskart seems like a good option though i don't know if Leylines fall outside his wheelhouse, Ludwyhn my have a better idea of who to consult with his pantheon.
>>
>>5894084
>>Attempt to destroy the alien mass.
Honestly Jenk is the expert here, fuck this thing up.
>>
>>5894084
>Attempt to touch the mass and see what happens.
I’m a betting man
>>
>>5894084
>>Attempt to destroy the alien mass.
>>
>>5894084
>Attempt to destroy the alien mass.
It's either something out of this world or some sort of HEUSite flesh construct. Eradicate it!
>>
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'I agree'.

Bedolfir's natural disaster energy cannot be used for anything good. Even Wolfboy's use of it must still be tempered.

Looking up at the vast spire before us, I urged Jenk and Wolfboy to stand back, and raised my hand up to the towering spire. I felt my hairs tingle and the snow dance as I focused my psychic energy onto it to crush it, to destroy it. Anything to get rid of it.

'...Hgn...!'

Yet, I found a form of bothersome resistance in the stalk before me. When I poured psychic energy to destroy it at the thing... it began to absorb my energy. I saw it, at the top, pulse again from bottom to top as it fired out another beacon of energy that soon flowed off to whoever knew where...

[JENK] "It's absorbing your psychic power, Muna. I get it now... it's an energy transmitter. It's been planted to give whoever planted it the energy it absorbs."

'Not for longer.'

I had enough. I gathered a massive amount of psychic energy in my hand and waved it in a chop towards the thing.

This time, the extrasensory wave I sent out took a bladed shape, and overpowered the transmitter's ability to absorb the energy by overloading it. My attack sliced right through. The thing began to decay rapidly as it split apart.

'There. I destroyed it.'
>>
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Silently, the three of us watched as the thing began to fall apart at the seams. It flaked, like bark on a tree breaking apart into millions of splinters, ever so graceful in its fall. Every last dotted sparkle I saw of the reddish fetters dissipated. It did not stop until the thing was gone in its entirety. As it faded, we saw the large borehole it had formed being planted and stood over it, gazing below into the dark puncture going straight down.

'An energy transmitter. And the thing itself was made entirely of energy...'

[JENK] "Energy, to absorb more energy with... it's strange."

'I wonder if there are more?'

[JENK] "Most likely. I doubt there would only be one. Kalaheimr is the most ripe land of all in terms of Leyline desntiy. Bedolfir made it the most dangerous place on Hainei with his natural disasters to protect his late wife's homeland. If something is trying to eat up Bedolfir's power, this is the place to do it."

[WOLFBOY] "So, should we find the rest and get rid of them too?"

I stared with disgust as the specks of red left behind from the construct.

'That or we find the one responsible for putti-'
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[WOLFBOY] "Aunt? Aunt Muna...?"

I felt Jenk tapped my padded shoulder.

[JENK] "Muna? Muna are you alright?"

'...'

I gasped then.

'A-Ah! Y-yeah! I'm alright!'

[JENK] "What happened? You blanked on us."

'I... I heard something. A voice suddenly enter my head just now! Something was talking to me after I destroyed that transmitter!'

And worse, Majordomo and Joco have suddenly gone silent. That's something the both of them only do when they feel in danger... and that's something they've only done so far when faced with the Dark Lord himself. Yet... whatever this was that were up against, it didn't feel like it had anything to do with the Afterseas.

Majordomo, even if he is silent, is pushing me as my subconscious. Telling me we're in danger somehow...

[WOLFBOY] "What... what did it say...?"

'I don't know. It spoke a language. I don't know what language it spoke. It's no language that I know to exist on Hainei.'

[JENK] "Could it be the Machine God again? Are up interfering with a Sefirot Body?!"

'No. I would know the archaic language of the lost continent that the Machine God uses. But this, this wasn't that. This language was unknown. I don't know what-'

It speaks again.
I feel like I understand it, just a little more clearly now. Yet I still can't seem to grasp the meaning. The tone is lost on me.

[JENK] "Muna... what is that?"

I turned when Jenk suddenly saw something in his peripherals.

A gleaming spark in the sky?

...

It's moving fast.

...

I threw up a shield.
>>
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We withstood the ensuing explosion that blasted us from above, straight out of the sky.

(-500 HP)
(Muna HP: 200/700)
(Wolfboy HP: 100/600)
(Jenk HP: 100/600)

[JENK] "Grh! That-That was a killing attack! Such fury!"

[WOLFBOY] "A-AUNT MUNA! WE'RE IN TROUBLE!"

By destroying that object, we just pissed off whatever placed it...

I can't sense where they're at. I sense swells of energy all over Kalaheimr, it could be anywhere. I don't know where those blasts are coming from- ... But... maybe if I had to take a lucky guess... The heart of Kalaheimr. The Millennium Moon crater, most likely.

But that blast... it was terrifying. I only managed to react in time to stop it from inflicting a gruesome injury. How was it so powerful...? Yet, I think I may be faster. I can dodge the next ones safely with my friends. If we chance it...

I need to tell Hale over the Nous radar as well and inform the other gods. We just found a new threat.

>Move. Quickly. Find them, stop them! (Mission: Easy > Hard)
>Retreat. We must fall back out of range, it's too dangerous!
>>
>>5894623
>Move. Quickly. Find them, stop them! (Mission: Easy > Hard)
Did we just, a raid boss?
>>
>>5894623
>Move. Quickly. Find them, stop them! (Mission: Easy > Hard)
damn, surprise boss incoming
>>
>>5894623
>Move. Quickly. Find them, stop them! (Mission: Easy > Hard)
A coward, we are not.
>>
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And that new threat is shooting at us... Big mistake.

'You guys. Grab my hands.'

Jenk and Wolfboy took hold of my hands, and I encased us within a bubble of my psychic energy.

[JENK] "Teleporting us to safety? Good, I don't think we can-"

'We're taking it down.'

[WOLFBOY] "Hahaha... Wait, what?"

[JENK] "Oh dear. Here we go. Hold onto your fur, lad."

[WOLFBOY] "W-Wait, maybe let's draw straws o-or something before we charge head on against something like t-haAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

I took off, like a blur that made the snow fly behind me.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XzvIHVxqAY

I kept Jenk and Wolfboy shielded alongside me in the bubble. I made it dense, and stopped holding back. I was going to ensure we found whatever it was, and took it down after that.

'Hale, come in.'

[HALE] "I read you loud and clear. Nous Radar functions surprisingly well picking you up in-hhm- M-My goodness, you're in Kalaheimr."

'Yeah. No time to chit chat. Inform my allies that something is afoot. We got attacked in Kalaheimr. Something here, very strong. Nearly took us out in one hit. Tell them, now!'

[HALE] "Right away, goddess. But shouldn't you consider getting to safety?"

'Not letting it get away.'

[HALE] "Very well. I'll inform the others.... Be careful out there!"

I remained stoic speeding through the snow. Wolfboy's keen eyes soon followed something that was following us.

[WOLFBOY] "Laser... pointer?"

'No, not laser pointers. Laser sights. That thing is tracking us! We got incoming! HANG TIGHT!'

I would speed up, and do my best to dodge. But if we got hit, it shouldn't hurt my defenses as much as it did before! And don't think I don't see you trying to sneak in that third attack, hidden bastard!

>Roll 1d100 to avoid damage.
>Best of three.
>>
Rolled 50 (1d100)

>>5894653
Roll?
>>
Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>5894653
RUN BITCH, RUUUUUUUUUUN
>>
Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>5894653
HE IS US!
HE IS US!
HE IS US!
>>
Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>5894667
fuck you heusite, rolling to strike you down
>>
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'Hrgn..!'
The glares in the distance unleashed pinpoint lasers!
My bubble shield sustained a hit! The other two missed!

(-10 HP)
(Muna HP: 190/700)
(Wolfboy HP: 90/600)
(Jenk HP: 90/600)

But that wasn't the end of our troubles!

[WOLFBOY] "A... AGH! LOOK!"

There's something chasing us now... something fast enough to keep up with us. They're... flying insects or something! They hissed! I saw them charging up attacks through whatever they had for a optic!

I raised my hand, preparing an attack!

>SKILLS
• Attack (PHYSICAL)
• Kaleidoscope (PSYCHIC)
• Holy Custom (LIGHT)
• Elephant's Foot (NUCLEAR)
• Binesiiwag (LIGHTNING)

>I need to use the attack I think will work best!
>>
Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>5894698
Munans stay malding
>>
>>5894708
>I need to use the attack I think will work best!
• Kaleidoscope (PSYCHIC)
We disrupted the siphon with Pychic right?
>>
>>5894708
>Elephant's Foot
These dudes look psychic and radiant, need some of that nukage, if you catch my atomic drift
>>
>>5894708
>Binesiiwag (LIGHTNING)
THEY'RE FLYING AND THERE'S A BUNCH OF THEM, BASIC ATTACK WONT WORK
THE STALK THING ABSORBED OUR ENERGY SO PSYCHIC WONT WORK AND WOULD PROBABLY MAKE THEIR ATTACKS STRONGER
I DONT FUCKING KNOW WHAT LIGHT CAN DO AGAINST THESE GUYS, LIGHT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE EMPEROR AND I'M GUESSING THAT THESE GUYS HAVE AT LEAST SOME RELATION TO THE MILLENIUM MOON GIVEN THE FACT THEY'RE FUCKING ALIENS AND ARE RIGHT BY ITS CRATER AND THE EMPEROR FUCKED OFF AFTER THAT WHOLE FIASCO SO I DOUBT THERE'S MUCH OF AN OPPORTUNITY THERE
NUCLEAR PROBABLY WONT WORK EITHER SINCE THEY'RE FUCKING NUKING US FROM ORBIT RIGHT NOW, ITS PROBABLY THEIR ELEMENT
SO FUCK IT. SHOOT THEM OUT OF THE SKY WITH CHAIN LIGHTNING. I'M FUCKING PANICKING BROS AIEEEEEEEEEE
>>
Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>5894708
>Binesiiwag (LIGHTNING)
>>5894713
kek, same roll
>>5894714
we had to overload it though, which could be done with any element so dunno
>>
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Rolled 1 (1d5)

Lightning flickered on my hand.

'Thunder roars!'

Just as it did, the creatures pursuing me reacted the moment they detected the energy of lightning...

[ENEMY CHANGING RESISTANCES...]

[ 1. Physical
2. Psychic
3. Light
4. Nuclear
5. Lightning ]

[...]
>>
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...yet my lightning seared them, running all through all the same. Each flying grub I spotted was electrocuted and burst into a puff of electricity. I slew the foes as they came up.

[???] "รՇคץ ๏ยՇ ๏Ŧ ๓ץ ๒ยรเภєรร."

'...!'

The voice again. It spoke to me...

'Who... are you...?'

[???] "˙MON ƎΛ∀Ǝ˥ ˙NOIƆ∩ɹSƎp ɹ∩OY"

'What...? What are you saying... how are you invading my wavelengths? How can you reach my mind...? You, you are not connected to the Divine Mind...'

[???] "∀H∀H∀H∀H∀H∀H∀H∀H∀H∀H"

[???] "pNƎ S,pNIW ƎNIΛIp ƎH W∀ I"

'I can't understand you...'

[JENK] "Muna! MUNAAAA!"

Huh?

I blanked again... no good.
>>
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What?! What was Wolfboy doing outside my bubble? I...

[JENK] "One of those things somehow phase through and pushed him right out of our shield!"

'They did what? H-How...?!'

Wolfboy! He was in his Wolfman form, surrounded by even more of those grubs!

[WOLFMAN] "Aaaargh! Damn you! Alright then, come on! Let's fight if you want to so bad!"

I saw him run and charge, punching one with all he had!

...It only was harmlessly thrown back...

[WOLFMAN] "Huh?! My attack didn't even work?!"

'I understand now...! Those things, they adapt to the kinds of energy they absorb! They're made out of pure energy... now they've transformed into a state of pure kinetic energy! His attack won't work!'

[JENK] "But they can only assume one state at a time, he'll have to mix up his attacks to beat them!"

[WOLFMAN] "You guys! Go on and find whoever sent these things! Make him squeal! I'll hold off the bugs! I'll eat them!"

>No! Wolfboy! We'll help you! (-60 HP)
>He's strong as Wolfman... he'll be able to fend for himself. We should confront the leader!
>>
>>5894743
>He's strong as Wolfman... he'll be able to fend for himself. We should confront the leader!
>>
>>5894743
>He's strong as Wolfman... he'll be able to fend for himself. We should confront the leader!
You got this, big dawg
>>
>>5894743
>He's strong as Wolfman... he'll be able to fend for himself. We should confront the leader!
Use Blow to Information, Wolfman! There's no way they can resist that AND it's lifesteal!
>>
>>5894748
use cake of light as well, since we're kinda low
>>
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Hrrr... We press on. Together, me and Jenk speed up. We're almost there, the center of Kalaheimr is inbound. Wolfboy... please hold out.

[JENK] "The Millennium Crater is fast approaching... we'll be in danger."

'Danger?'

[JENK] "Since Vymla died, Kalaheimr has been host to the eternal, black winter. A storm rages at the heart of the shattered north, right over the pole. The winter is that of a goddess. We will have to endure the undead power of Vymla to get through."

'I'll teleport through.'

The moment I moved ahead and saw the storm of the eternal winter. It was like a massive wall that surrounded the heart of Kalaheimr.

But the moment I tried to teleport...

[???] "เ ๔๏ ภ๏Շ Շђเภк ร๏!"

'...!'

'I... I can't teleport us in!'

[JENK] "What?!"

'There's... something just erected a massive psychic field. I've... I've never seen psychic power comparable to my own! It's stopping me from teleporting close!'

[JENK] "Then how will we...?!"

'We'll jump. We can-'

Just as I was about to say that, I reacted to a rod from the sky.

[JENK] "An orbital laser?!"

Another attack from the enemy! And so close to the wall of the eternal winter too! If we fell in, it'd be bad for me! Jenk's bones would weather the weather easily, but I might freeze! At the same time, I can't let that enormous bolt strike me!

[???] "เ гคเภ ןย๔ﻮ๓єภՇ ๔๏ฬภ Ŧг๏๓ Շђє ђєคשєภร Շ๏ ๓ץ єภє๓เєร! ŦɭєєՇเภﻮ ςгєคՇยгєร ๏Ŧ ς๏ภรςเ๏ยรภєรร! ๔เєєєєє!"

>Dodge it! Quickly! (??? Effect)
>Power through! (??? Outcome)
>>
>>5894770
>Dodge it! Quickly! (??? Effect)
>>
>>5894770
>Power through! (??? Outcome)
>>
>>5894770
>Power through! (??? Outcome)
GO GO SECOND TRUTH!!
>>
>>5894770
>Power through! (??? Outcome)
MIGHT MIGHT MIGHT
>>
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I won't risk wading all the way through the eternal, black winter! Too much contact might be bad for me. Like every whorl and typhoon, it had a mostly opaque center, a storm wall! I would take advantage of that and dive right in, I just need to clear a way first. And thankfully... our attacker has given us a way!

'HOLD ON!'

[JENK] "YYYEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOoooooo-"

Jenk grabbed onto my ankle as I suddenly sped upwards towards the orbital laser coming down at us. He hooked his tool around his neck and grabbed his jaw to prevent it from flying off as I accelerated right into the inferno of the energy being levied against us!

'HyyaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!'

And my hands stopped it!

It took nearly my full power, but I grappled with the blast, and I wrested it from the sky! It was burning my hands...
It took a great amount of psychic power for me to halt the attack.

<DEFINE DECLARATION> <DEFINE INVOCATION> <SYSTEMA DIVINO>
<I WALK AHEAD THROUGH THE BLAZE, PRESSING ON THROUGH ALL HARDSHIP>
<THIS EFFECT I COMMAND INTO REALITY AS TRUTH AND IMMUTABLE FACT>

And my Truth!

I threw the blast off course, redirecting it and blasting a path into the eternal winter with it.

'THERE IT IS!'

And quickly, I took Jenk and sped off, slamming us into the heart of the eternal winter.

All went black and silent...
>>
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...

'Ugh... J-Jenk! Are you okay! Are you there?'

I couldn't see hardly anything. The black winter of the north pole... we were in the middle of it. It was clouding my senses with divine ice.

[JENK] "I'm here, Muna."

I used my invulnerable body to shield him and break his fall as we plummeted down into the storm of Vymla's power. It was a temporary activation of a Truth.

I rose up, and raised my hand, producing a light that shined through the storm like a ray. Yet, it was barely enough to help me see even a foot in front of myself. I saw Jenk faintly however and walked over to him. If I were a psychic able to solidify water under my foot, I would have sank into the snow underfoot instantly, past my neck even. It was so intense here.

[JENK] "Nergh..." He rose with a grunt; "Are we clear? Do you think the enemy is still after us?"

'I can feel the psychic field it erected still up. But I don't think it will be able to pinpoint us, not in this storm. This eternal winter is even enough to cloud my senses...'

[JENK] "Vymla's divine ice. It freezes anything, even the stuff of divinity... We'd best not tarry. Which way?"

'...'

I looked all around, seeing only pitch black from the storm that blotted out all light.

'This way.' I said, leading him on.

I could still tell the axis of the planet by reaching down and touching the ground. I was walking towards the North Pole. We'd be above it in just a moment. Once we're clear of the storm wall.
>>
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...
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...

'...'

[JENK] "..."

We were beyond the storm wall now. We stood at the heart of the eternal winter. The north pole of the planet was directly underfoot.

And yet, when we came abroad, what we saw stopped us right in our tracks. There was no grand, flat crater as we had thought. Instead, what awaited us was something impossibly huge. Something distinctive and jagged. Like stone, but harder. An enormous mass.

[JENK] "...What..."

I remained stopped in my place by the breathtaking sight that wrapped itself in fog. Yet Jenk was possessed to move on past me. He continued walking, and did not stop until he could very clearly see what was there.

[JENK] "Remnants of the Millennium Moon?"

'No, those aren't parts of a moon. There's no way it could be. Such an impact would reduce everything to debris...'

And that was what was underfoot. I noticed now that a lot of this white stuff wasn't snow... it was dust. Dust and ash. Cold as ice. I had to pick up a smidgen to rub between two fingers.

[JENK] "...Bedolfir...?"

'Huh?'

[JENK] "Is... is it Bedolfir...?!"

'What are you talking about?'

[JENK] "Come here." He beckoned me.

I came over.

[JENK] "Look... take a really good look."

'...'

[JENK] "It's... it's a ribcage. A massive ribcage, jutting up from the earth!"

'It... it is!'

[JENK] "Be... Bedolfir...?"

'...'

My eyes widened.

'J-Jenk... I don't think that's Bedolfir...'

And his jaw fell.

We both turned slowly to look at each other.

'Jenk... this corpse... it's...'

He dropped his tools and looked back to the titanic ribcage, which he now slowly moved towards until he fell to his knees, struggling to make a sound.

[JENK] "V... Vymla...."

...

This ribcage... this was... this was Vymla's remains.
This was the corpse of the dead Ice Goddess.

[JENK] "But... but how...? She... she was at Aflheimr with Bedolfir when she turned up dead... he... he found her remains on the island not... not anywhere else... this... this doesn't make sense! How... how could-"

'One of the ribs are gone.' I pointed out.

[JENK] "Then... then her rib is what Bedolfir discovered remaining of her on Aflheimr... but how did it reach their home?"

'...I... I think she ripped it out.'

[JENK] "Ripped it out...?!"

'And threw it to land in Aflheimr, with the last of whatever strength she must have had. I think... I think she did it so he'd know...'

[JENK] "But if she died here in Kalaheimr, and not in Aflheimr as all had believed... then what... killed her? No... don't tell me..."

'We're above the Millennium Moon's crater, aren't we...?'

[JENK] "Oh... ohhhouuuh... huuhhhhh...!"

Jenk could not handle the truth anymore than I could. He fell down, and began to sob, even when no tears fell from his eyes.

The truth... at long last.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bix5E5Dp5A8

Vymla sacrificed her life to destroy the Millennium Moon and avert the destruction of Hainei over one thousand years ago. Her death began the New Eternity.
>>
[JENK] "Shfn... ghk... n... gryyyiih!"

I walked up to Jenk and placed my hand on his shoulder as he wept.

[JENK] "M.....y......fr.....iend......"

'Jenk, I'm... sorry. You... you said back there that you always wanted to come and see this place for yourself. Neither of us could have imagined this... and it's frustrating... it seems so simple to get! I... I'm sorry you find out like this.'

[JENK] "...She... she's the reason we still exist... she stopped it all. The world could have been undone in a fell swoop... but she, she must had seen it coming... must had woken before Bedolfir and rushed to save us while there was time... and it... it doesn't make sense to me... why a fell moon should lay low such a mighty and gentle goddess! It's not fair! It's just not fair!"

[???] "IT IS NO MERE MOON."

We both tensed up, and looked upwards, where we saw a glow in the dark of the eternal winter freely moving between the spires of Vymla's monumental ribs. We saw the magenta light dart off. We followed it best as we could, ready for a fight if it should come to it.

[???] "WHAT YOU CALL THE "MILLENNIUM MOON" WAS TECHNOLOGY... ANTI-CONCEPTUAL DETONATION DEVICE... DESTROY YOU ALL AND UNRAVEL THIS WHOLE, AWFUL WORLD! ...IT FAILED..."

'Who are you?!'

[???] "IT DOES NOT MATTER. ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT I WILL NOT TOLERATE. I HAVE COME TO END THIS MADNESS. I WILL FACE NO OPPOSITION. YOUR GIFTS GROW ME..."

'..."Gifts"...?'

[???] "PSYCHIC ENERGY... I TOUCHED IT. NOW IT IS MINE. AS ALL ENERGY. MY BODY ABSORBED WHAT IT HAS LEARNED. NOW I HAVE YOUR POWERS."

[JENK] "The Leylines... you're the one trying to suck them dry."

[???] "I CANNOT MAKE THE NATURAL DISASTER ENERGY MINE... IT REFUSES ME! THE RAGE OF BEDOLFIR - TOO STRONG. HAD I ONLY A HINT OF HIS POWER, I WOULD BE ABLE TO MODIFY MY TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT FLAW! I WOULD FINALLY END THIS MADNESS."

'So you admit... that the Millennium Moon was your doing...?'

[???] "UHHHHHUUUUUUU... HUUUU HUUHUUUUUUHUHUHUUUU..."
>>
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[GAIZAR] "I AM GAIZAR. I AM THE ALIEN GOD. I AM INVADER... I AM ENERGY ITSELF. I ENGINEERED AND SENT THE ANTI-CONCEPTUAL DETONATION DEVICE TO ERADICATE ALL THINGS HERE, THUS UNRAVELING THE FABRIC OF REALITY. IN SO DOING, TRUE ORDER OF STILLNESS - ACHIEVED! .... AND THE PAIN! THE PAIN! THE PAAAAAIIIIN! THE PAIN WOULD STOOOOP! IT WOULD... STOP!"

'What pain? What are you talking about?!'

[GAIZAR] "THE PAIN... YOU CAUSE ME... THE PAIN... OF RETROACTIVITY! YOUR WORLD IS THE SOURCE... I HAVE TRAVELED FOR SO LONG ACROSS SPACE... SO VERY LONG! TO STOP THE PAIN! I... MUST.... DESTROY... THIS PLANET!"

[GAIZAR] "IF YOU STAND IN MY WAY... I'LL KILL YOU."

Jenk gathered his tools. He stood up, and with me, began to back up as the glow showed itself to our right, standing over the bone of Vymla's arm. I saw its distinct outline. The alien shape.

It was having trouble making coherent speech. It had still not adapted to speaking in our terms. Everything it said, it screamed out. It almost sounded like a tortured animal, wailing. It snapped and whipped. It was glowering with insane amounts of energy...

'You...'

'You sent the Millennium Moon'

'You bastard... you're the one that murdered Vymla.'

[GAIZAR] "AND I WOULD MURDER ICE GIANTESS AGAIN... AND AGAIN... AND AGAIN - FOR STANDING IN MY WAYYYYYGGGHKKKKK!."

>Attack. Kill this thing. (Engage battle)
>We're in no condition to fight. We have to retreat. We have to tell everyone. We've got what we wanted... the truth behind it all. Now we have to make our plan. Our plan to take this bastard down.
>>
>>5894903
>>We're in no condition to fight. We have to retreat. We have to tell everyone. We've got what we wanted... the truth behind it all. Now we have to make our plan. Our plan to take this bastard down.

Ok, its time to skedaddle.
>>
>>5894903
>Face Jenk and ask what he wants to do.
"...I'm sure you and I both want to beat the everliving crud out of this... star... crab thing...? But... we're sort of locking eyes with entropy itself here, and I'd just like a second opinion before we make any decision."
>>
>>5894903
>We're in no condition to fight. We have to retreat. We have to tell everyone. We've got what we wanted... the truth behind it all. Now we have to make our plan. Our plan to take this bastard down.
Yeah no we'll come back better prepared
>>
>>5894903
>We're in no condition to fight. We have to retreat. We have to tell everyone. We've got what we wanted... the truth behind it all. Now we have to make our plan. Our plan to take this bastard down.
>>
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I took a step back, and so did Jenk. The Alien seemed to notice.

[GAIZAR] "YOU - AFRAID."

'...'

[GAIZAR] "YOU UNDERSTAND - GULF BETWEEN YOU AND ME."

'One that can be closed.'

[GAIZAR] "HAH - HAH - HAH - HAH - HAH - HAH - HAH ... NOT LIKELY."

'You can adapt our powers... you only need to come into contact with new forms of energy to master it. You can use it with impunity, since it's all you're made of. But you can only channel one at a time. You have flaws, even if your energy is bottomless.'

[GAIZAR] "FLAWS - YES. FLAWS - REMOVED. SOON. I ADAPT ALL OF YOU. EVERY GIFT STRENGTHENS ME. I WILL GO BEYOND... I... WILL... WIRRLLLHH...GHHH..."

[GAIZAR] "I will become the apex. And once I have gotten to that height, you will only be able to sit and watch as I burn this whole world. I will drown it in an ocean of flame. Just as I now adapt to your language, I will adapt to your advantages over me."

He's become a lot clearer in his speech, in only the short time he must have been here on Hainei. We couldn't hope to replicate the Alien God... he still seems incomprehensible to me even, but he can turn into something just like us himself easily. I hear how the rage in his voice suddenly becalmed, into something much more measured. Some more serious.

[GAIZAR] "Do you truly think you can stop me? I will gather my technology. I will soon have another Moon in your sky. I will drop it to the glorious conclusion of this fleeting existence and the liberation of myself from the pain you bring me."

'We have no choice but to stop you.'

[GAIZAR] "Hmhhehehehehahahahahaha! It interests me. What do you think you, who I copy so easily, can do to pose a threat to me? I shall see."

Huh? I felt the Psychic field Gaizar had made to prevent me from teleporting suddenly lowering. He was letting us go.
But this... this felt humiliating. I was being let off the hook by an alien monstrosity, with my own power.

[GAIZAR] "Run."

I grabbed Jenk and fled immediately, disappearing into the eternal winter that surrounded Vymla's remains.
>>
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Once I was far enough from Gaizar in the black winter, I teleported out. I went and found Wolfboy immediately. He was exhausted and back to his base self, having fought bravely to defeat every grub that Gaizar spawned from himself to attack us with. He mentioned seeing more pulses in the sky... which would mean then that there were more transmitters around, planted across Kalaheimr by Gaizar.

At this point, we could consider that Kalaheimr was completely off limits. The Alien God holds the place as his base of operations now, in his stated goal of creating a new Millennium Moon and destroying Hainei with it. All to end his nebulous "pain"...

I took Wolfboy and Jenk and teleported far away. I was out of there.
>>
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[CASE FILE: CLOSED. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED]
[RESULTS]

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNwjrVduGzI

(Received 1x Rearranged Magic Mirror from Bandit King donations.)
(20 more Personnel have been recruited into the Psyops. Total Personnel: 628)

[Returning to the Bunker...]

[LOADING...]
>>
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When we arrived back to the Bunker, Jenk told me he needed some... time. He went to the room given to him among the personal deity abodes behind the command center. I imagine he went there to... say some prayers, and make some peace. Wolfboy was so confused. He asked me what was up with Jenk repeatedly. I didn't answer... I told him I'd tell him soon, but not now. It would be too soon, and I didn't want him in a misguided childish impulse going off and spreading the news early.

Breaking the news of what truly happened to Vymla... and what's going on in Kalaheimr will be... tough. Tough for everyone. I will have to call a meeting and gather my friends and allies when I choose to do so.

...

[MAJORDOMO] "Well. We are in some deep doodoo."

[JOCO] "True dat..."

[MAJORDOMO] "Muna... did you feel like maybe someone else was there, back there, trying to say something to us?"

'Kinda.'

[MAJORDOMO] "So it's not just me then. Eerie."

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Hold a strategic meeting to discuss the news of Vymla's fate and the advent of the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
>>
>>5895075
>Hold a strategic meeting to discuss the news of Vymla's fate and the advent of the Alien God
Once Jenk is done praying, let's get this out of the way, then we can comfort Jenk and do some deployments
>>
>>5895084
>+1
>>
>>5895084
Supporting
>>
>>5895084
Agreed
>>
The bleak white of the planning and its large screens faced me as I sat in one of the hairs and held my eyes shut. I listened over the talks that were being had, the Nous Radar coming in handy for easy communiques with our contacts using my Psychic power alone.

[HALE] "Our ACS has been scanning Kalaheimr ever since we moved it into position over the north. It is as you say, I am afraid. While taking three-D measures, we've made out a starting shape. Positioned just above the pole. I am afraid he is already in the beginnings of assembling a new Moon using components from the old one, Goddess."

[ESKART] "The fact is that most of that dust from the sea and landmass will couple with Vymla's bones as well once he grinds them down. Then he will have incorporated the body of a deity into his technology. Breaking such a thing now..."

[LUDWYHN] "Uld' be a helluva feat to 'ccomplish fer sure. I'm tellin' Da."

'Are you sure letting Woldor know is such a good idea, Ludwyhn? Would you have your father charge down there now to confront the Alien? In so doing, Gaizar would be able to come into contact with the energy behind War. He would gain the same revelry that makes Woldor so strong.'

[LUDWYHN] "Ye' jumpin' to conclusions. Da's a busy person. He ain't aboot tah go on the warpath unless necessary, tart. It's best to let em' know. If anyone's gonna know how tah' fight against it, it's him."

[HALE] "I think it's wise to, Goddess. Perhaps with how you're getting on Woldor's good side, he's bound to provide some form of help. And with this, I'm afraid we'll need all the help we can get."

No lies were told. Gaizar is a preeminent threat. It's so harrowing, so damn frustrating that we already dealt with the likes of the Trinity and HEUS on this Hainei. And now here comes Gaizar, whose actions should be primed to ridding all things equally. For if Gaizar was able to succeed in destroying the entirety of humanity with his attacks...

We'd have no support beams left to stand on. I don't know if even the Machine God is in a state capable of reversing such damage. And if he is... he sure hasn't sought me out to provide advice. I know not what the Alien God means to NEGAI.

[HALE] "Our ACS has determined that this Gaizar has set up exactly six hundred energy transmitters around Kalaheimr in the aim of absorbing the Leyline network locally."

[JENK] "Once he has the energy of natural disaster, such an attack he could make would come as naturally as a tsunami."
>>
[ESKART] "The next Millennium Moon would be without flaw or weakness. Vymla only managed to destroy it by freezing the very apocalypse event itself synched with the turning of the year, and then sacrificing her life to issue an "aversion". She cannot return to a godform ever again. Her spirit persists, but even that is dwindling."

[JENK] "Could it be that the eternal winter left behind from her death is an attempt to halt the progress?"

[ESKART] "Not likely. Gaizar did not arrive until this year. But the eternal winter has frozen the dust left behind from the Millennium Moon's destruction. It is taking him time to unthaw and retrieve his material for his technology. What she did was freeze for one thousand years to try and buy us more time... she knew that one day Hainei would face the sender when he arrived."

I wish I could have met Vymla when she was alive. She must have been such a swell person, knowing all I do from the stories I've heard from Jenk... It amazes me to think of such an immense giant that could be so gentle with things the size of us, that appear as no more than bacteria to her. Her hands could hold mountains, yet she never crushed one human in her life. Not even by accident.

So this is the rundown of things...

Gaizar is here. He is laboring to repair the Millennium Moon and seal our fate and end our story. He has over five hundred transmitters in Kalaheimr, and has divided his cells to create grubs that can patrol the north and keep his constructs safe. Additionally, since he attacked us remotely... we assume he has a satellite of some form in orbit to carry out his long ranged attacks, just like he did against me, Jenk and Wolfboy when we went. He can absorb replicate our elements and powers, but only channel one at a time. Though, he may evolve past this limitation if given too much time.

We know Vymla is at the site of the rebuilding. She did the best she could to slow him down and give us all the time we need. But Bedolfir's next rise is imminent, he will awaken and try to wipe out humanity. We will not be able to get through to him normally... he won't listen to reason, as he is so consumed by grief and anguish. We have no choice but to fight and subdue Bedolfir until we can give him peace by telling him the truth. Only then can we hope to get his help against Gaizar.

We have to act fast. I've brought everyone up to speed about the Alien god, and we're all ruminating. We could always use more help and more information.
>>
[HALE] "My Goddess. I might have a... risky suggestion. A rather unpopular one."

'Shoot.'

[HALE] "Okay..." Hale said, tugging at his collar; "But it will not be received easily. It will be controversial."

[SHENNU] "What could you say that would be controversial? You have not told any of us such a thing in all the time we've known you and this pact."

[HALE] "..."

Hale inhaled and put both hands on the table, looking up at the screen in the room through which we viewed Eskart, Shennu and Ludwyhn, then to Wolfboy and Jenk who were over beside me, then to me myself,

[HALE] "As you have already met him... I believe it may be in our interest to somehow inform Lord Akasa of what goes on in Kalaheimr."

Everyone was speechless just then.

[HALE] "After all, from what you told us, Muna... Lord Akasa is aware of the Lunar Society's destruction... but is not aware of Gaizar himself.

It's... it's a horrible idea. To think of even entertaining the possibility of colluding with the Trintiy in any fashion... or going as far as to let them onto knowing a little too much about us. Or me.

...

[HALE] "Of course, I am not suggestion telling him formally. But if we could perhaps anonymously tip him off to the threat in a way believable enough to incur his investigation, we could attempt to pit them against each other, to slow both threats down even more."

'That... needs some more thought, Hale.'

[HALE] "Of course."

Sigh...
My comrades don't like the idea. Ludwyhn looked ready to let Hale have it, but chose to instead leave the conversation. It was a very uncomfortable moment...

We do not consider Lord Akasa to be a good influence, even if he is the most popular Trinity god. I know Hale just has it set in his mind to try and make things work out the best way they can. I remember after telling Hale about my experience with Lord Akasa, how he pondered the possibility of Redeeming the Space God... whose own virtues extolled the potential of mankind and the imperfection of us Immortals. But, we wouldn't have a hope of convincing him, not unless we could fix the case of his daughter first.

We have to simply wait for Woldor's opinion, as Ludwyhn planned to inform him of the situation. Hopefully we can get a better idea then. Until then, we have much to do.

The meeting is over now.
>>
[In one Case File, a special interaction will appear with Woldor.]

Things are going easy at the Bunker right now.

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
>>
>>5896007
>Access Psyops Deployments.
As agreed previously.

We need to talk to Negai soon.
>>
[Accessing Pysops Deployments...]

[BUNKER PERSONNEL: 628]

• Operation: Knightfall
‣ Risk Level: 3 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assassinate Grandmaster of a fanatic Woldorian Knightly Order |
/
• Operation: Redead
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Eskart |
‣ Continent: Shengesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Foil errant Necromancer's attempt to establish a new Afterseas Coven |
/
• Operation: Opening
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Charles Huxton |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Attempt to open a possible abandoned Heer Bunker discovered recently |
/
• Operation: Unlikely Ally
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assist a small Heer detachment in defending a trade post in the Peninsula against Samurai raiders |

[There are currently 4 operations available to pursue right now. Complete them all to unlock more assignments.]

>The mission survey is open. Operations are free to commence.

>Commence an operation.
>Exit Psyops Deployments.
>>
>>5896054
>Operation: Knightfall
>>
>>5896250
+1
Let's go for a classic assassinations2syyg
>>
>>5896054
>Operation: Unlikely Ally
>>
>>5896054
>Operation: Knightfall
Cloak and dagger is a go
>>
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[ COMMENCING OPERATION ...]

[Access Granted]
[User control to ACS system & Nous Radar open]

[ Buffering...]

[03:00 - x/21/4999 - Order placed by Marshal for the assassination of a high profile person of interest.]
[Channel open]

[KURT] "Alright, listen up. Today we've got a very special, very personal mission on hand that cannot allow for anything less than your full attention. Today, we're taking out the head of a Woldorian Knightly order, meaning this mission is going to be very tough. Our target priority is the Knights of the Studded Crown. They are a very ancient and very conservative Order of Knights in Siegesia, and one of the few large enough to constitute itself as its own regiment. We're talking a legion of Knights. Nine thousand strong right now. The mission is to eliminate the Grandmaster of the order, Ser Adolfus Musestus."

[KURT] "A bit of backstory. When I was serving with the Heer, I encountered this order once, since they operate around the belt that surrounds Belkinsire and Leistein. I saw how they handle battle, the hard relationship to tradition and the unwillingness to divorce from it. I saw that this was a waste of lives. Lots of Woldorians cling to their past but this bunch is among the worst. They still practice drawing and quartering to this day, a culture of squires is exclusively taught for this order, and their Knights, despite modernized weapons, still fight in the chivalric sense. It goes to the point that they still employ ballistae and trebuchets against the Samurai... albeit up to date models, but outdated designs nonetheless."

[KURT] "The Grandmaster, Ser Adolfus, practices human wave tactics and the doctrine of "not one step back". As in, he employs Regimental officers, Oberabschnitt, to enforce these rules on the battlefield. In other words, retreating is punishable by death. Desertion, abandoning the order, disobeying orders... it's all an executable offense under his purview of the Order. I personally despise this dirtbag, and I'd see him offed before any more of his men are."

[KURT] "I'm sending you to the compound of Knights of the Studded Crown. Gellaeon estate, which hosts the Studded Crown Castle. The Castle itself and the surrounding military MOB and encampment are surrounded by a mote, and rampart walls. Classical, am I right?"

================================

[Assets are required]

[Please select the appropriate teams for this endeavor.]

>Input.
>>
>>5897029
>chaballah and shofar
>>
>>5897029
>Ayit, Zerem, Chabalah, and Shofar
I'm thinking the Shofar get the enemy to react once the Chabalah have sabotaged their weapons, then we just kill them using our superior modernized tactics
>>
>>5897052
changing to support this
>>
>>5897029
Ayit, Chabalah, and Shofar, 3rd times the charm
>>
>>5897052
Removing Zerem to back this plan

>>5897065
I'm confident our snipers will win the day.
>>
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[KURT] "My colleagues are recommending me the expertise of our snipers, infiltrators and Shofar. Although I cannot really spell the purpose in having the distractionists out readily... Having our agents that pose as a rogue rebel cell attack the Woldorians is going to make the public perception think we're Khanate fighters, as rebel cells are traditionally against the Trinity Kingdom for or for it and against Woldoria. I suppose it doesn't matter. Moving on..."

[KURT] "This Order has about two thousand personnel stationed at their compound at any given time. Thing to know about this place... there isn't much hiding room. The estate is mostly flat, trimmed grassland, and only the outside of the walls and mote is forestation. The MOB nearby and the Castle itself are both going to be full of eyes. Our Chabalah might be able to infiltrate if they pose as Heer and enter, but our Snipers are going to be hard pressed to find some stable positions inside the walls to use. If all goes to lockdown, the Knights won't come sallying out... even if that is a total surprise for how far behind they are. They'd sit inside their walls and defend comfortably. Another matter is the Shofar. They won't get in easily."

[KURT] "We'll give the teams a minute. We need to discuss entry. We have some requisitions here to use."

================================

1. Ayit Requisition.
>Snorkels. The presence of a large and wide pond next to the castle gives plenty of room to hide but little in the way of comfortable sniping positions. As well, the pond likely can't face any of the Castle balconies easily. Our snipers would have to shoot and then dive to hide.
>Ghillie suits. We can achieve much better comfortable sniping positions by hiding our snipers amongst the various bushes or one of the sparse trees planted for decoration among the yards. However, groundskeepers might rat them out, or they might get spotted teleporting int. If they come under chase, there's nowhere to run inside the walls...

2. Chabalah Requisition.
>Officer's rank and documents. We can dress an infiltrator up as a representative of another Regiment and give them a forged document in order to buy their way into a private room with the Grandmaster, allowing for easy assassination.
>Cyanide. The Grandmaster is a known drinker. Perhaps if he's quick enough, our Chabalah can spike his drinks and have him die within the day after getting in with the right clearance.

3. Shofar Requisition.
>Very heavy breaching charge. The outer walls are thick and tall. We have our Shofar sneak in by the forest and blow a hole through to lead a distractionist assault that will gain the Knights attention and throw them into disarray. But we expect this should lead to a heavily mounted response.
>Parachutes. We can have them drop in via aerial transplantation with our teleporting pylon to land on the Castle roof and secure the roofs. This should draw enough attention to leave the Grandmaster very vulnerable.
>>
>>5897120
>Ghillie suits.

>Officer's rank and documents. We can dress an infiltrator up as a representative of another Regiment and give them a forged document in order to buy their way into a private room with the Grandmaster, allowing for easy assassination.

>Parachutes. We can have them drop in via aerial transplantation with our teleporting pylon to land on the Castle roof and secure the roofs. This should draw enough attention to leave the Grandmaster very vulnerable.
>>
>>5897131
Hmm, yeah support that, parachuting will keep our snipers from getting spotted.
>>
For this mission, we shall teleport our Ayit in discreetly. They will wear Ghillie suits in order to conceal themselves. We have only one Ayit sniper, their rifle is silenced. They'll be hiding in the bushes among the front yard in front of the Castle. Our Shofar are suited up in their parachutes, ready for a drop at any moment. The Chabalah is arriving via taxi to the compound's front gate where he will show his clearance in order to get inside.

[KURT] "In addition to Grandmaster Adolfus, there are two other marks of interest we may wish to eliminate. The Warfriar, who is a priest that teaches about Mythic ascensionism to the troops, who was also the primary influence behind the Grandmaster's policies, and the Oberabschnitt General, who leads the paramilitary officers that enforce the "not one step back" rules. The Warfriar should normally occupy himself in the Castle's shrine inside. The Oberabschnitt General typically gives speeches at the encampment site in the MOB at around thirteen hundred hours. Deleting these bad influences will go a long way to making this Regiment consider modernizing more and throwing out these rustic traditional policies that are much too costly in human life."

[KURT] "Best of luck, gentlemen."

================================

[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Eliminate the Grandmaster.]
[OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: Eliminate the Warfriar.]
[OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: Eliminate the Oberabschnitt General.]

1. Resistance.
[High concentrations of Novitiates, Squires and Knightly brothers bearing the ranks of Soldaten.]

[Personnel on the line: 17] [Ayit: 1 / Chabalah: 1 / Shofar: 15 ]
>>
[12:00 hours]

Our Chabalah has disguised himself as a high ranking general of another Heer regiment. He has been given a forged document containing orders for the Order, made to appear as though it comes from the central military commission in Geitlandsbyen capital. He arrives and stops at the front gate by taxi. Our information has deduced that the Order is so old fashioned that they do not use many instant forms of communication or radios, and prefer to send and give messages by army criers that travel on foot or by vehicle.

Our Chabalah has been granted access to the Castle. Our Ayit is waiting out front in the bushes after having been carefully transplanted. There is no gardening ongoing. They have a clear shot at the Castle's balcony that overlooks the courtyard out front, although the scope has to be covered for now as the sunlight is reflecting in it. The plan is to lure the Grandmaster out to the balcony for a talk in private, and then have him sniped.

The Warfriar is busy giving a sermon in the Castle's shrine. The Oberabschnitt General is scheduled to appear at the encampment within the compound in an hour to give a speech to improve morale.

[12:29 hours] - Our Chabalah has formally met the Grandmaster and requested a private conversation after informing him that he brings orders from Geitlandsbyen.

The Grandmaster has asked our Chabalah agent, in his guise as a general, to wait patiently, as he must occupy himself for a brief few minutes.

[...]
>>
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[12:39 hours] - Our Chabalah is being arrested by Gefreiter Knights. The Grandmaster is now locked within his personal solar in the Castle. They are taking the Chabalah to the dungeon.

Apparently, the Grandmaster received a crier an hour earlier. One that also, coincidentally, happened to actually come from Geitlandsbyen Castle. This crier it seemed, was a personal squire of the Grandmaster's that he personally entrusts with delivering and taking his messages.

Gentlemen, we've been undone by sheer bad luck and coincidence. The Grandmaster didn't fall for it.

We need to act. Now.

1. Ayit.
>Begin sniping roof and rampart watches to make things easier.
>Don't start sniping yet. Keep low until told otherwise.

2. Chabalah.
>Quickly, make use of a compact stun rod to disable the Gefreiters. Their armor is basically a conductor surrounding them. Get out. Mission's fucked.
>Do not resist. Wait patiently until they lock you inside a cell in the dungeon, then we'll just teleport you out safely.

3. Shofar.
>Alright boys, time to do this the hard way. Get ready for deployment to the Castle roofs. Go in fast and loud.
>Hold off boys, brass isn't ready for you to take the estate by storm just yet. Sit tight. We think we can salvage this.
>>
>>5897189
>Don't start sniping yet. Keep low until told otherwise.

>Do not resist. Wait patiently until they lock you inside a cell in the dungeon, then we'll just teleport you out safely.

>Hold off boys, brass isn't ready for you to take the estate by storm just yet. Sit tight. We think we can salvage this.

Wait this out, if our cover is any good. an opportunity should arise since the situation should seem to be in hand, considering at this point things should look like a clerical error.
>>
>>5897190
+1
>>
>>5897190
Backing, let's wait for the situation to develop further.
>>
>>5897190
>+1
>>
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We are not taking any immediate action. We silently instruct our Chabalah to remain vigilant but don't attempt to escape yet. We are positive that they will keep our agent in a holding cell in the estate Castle's dungeon for the time being, allowing us to retrieve him subtly.

[12:48 hours] - Our Chabalah reaches the dungeon.

The gefreiters immediately set about questioning him and attempting to extract information. Our Chabalah refuses to elaborate. One of the gefreiters draws a pistol and chambers a round, holding it to his head and telling him "last chance". He again, refuses.

[12:54 hours] - Our Chabalah has been executed in the dungeon. It appears the Knights of the Studded Crown do not take prisoners...

[Personnel on the line: 16]

[...]

We could not have anticipated this. They will keep his body in the dungeon until cleanup.

1. Ayit.
>Begin sniping. Time for drastic measures.
>Redirect from the Castle to the Military encampment. Try to assassinate the Oberabschnitt General instead when he begins giving his speech in a few minutes.

2. Shofar.
>Deployment time.
>Wait, we have risked enough manpower today. We will instead teleport bombs into the Castle to assassinate the Grandmaster and Warfriar. Although this decision will be highly controversial among the Psyops, as it is terrorism, ultimately.
>>
>>5898169
>Redirect from the Castle to the Military encampment. Try to assassinate the Oberabschnitt General instead when he begins giving his speech in a few minutes.

>Deployment time.
>>
>>5898169
>Redirect from the Castle to the Military encampment. Try to assassinate the Oberabschnitt General instead when he begins giving his speech in a few minutes.

>Wait, we have risked enough manpower today. We will instead teleport bombs into the Castle to assassinate the Grandmaster and Warfriar. Although this decision will be highly controversial among the Psyops, as it is terrorism, ultimately.
As long as we're careful about the yield (?DiME? warhead) and placement, to ensure it remains a relatively targeted attack. Things should be fine.

F, they knew the risks. Its still kind of shitty that this happened.

The Rank and File don't know about HEUS, torturing souls of the dead Psyops right?
>>
>>5898169
>Redirect from the Castle to the Military encampment. Try to assassinate the Oberabschnitt General instead when he begins giving his speech in a few minutes.

>Deployment time.
This is a terrible idea, but terrorism is a low we can't sink to.
>>
>>5898169
>Redirect from the Castle to the Military encampment. Try to assassinate the Oberabschnitt General instead when he begins giving his speech in a few minutes.

>Deployment time.

I have faith in them, they aren't too poorly armed
>>
[12:59 hours] - Our Ayit is slowly crawling into a new firing position. The grounds are still clear, but they soon won't be.

We have decided to deploy the Shofar via paradrop to the roofs of the Castle. Having lost our Chabalah agent, we must resort to drastic measures in order to eliminate Grandmaster Adulfus Musestus.

[01:00 hours] - The Oberabschnitt General has appeared. He is beginning to give a speech atop a podium to the Knights gathered at the military encampment. Our Ayit is going to be hard pressed to get an accurate shot with the lower personnel surrounding him.

[01:03 hours] - The Shofar have teleported. They are in freefall now. They are approaching the parachute engagement limit.

Once they land, the commotion will spook the entire compound. We have to act quickly if we are to take out the Oberabschnitt General and Grandmaster in that order. The Oberabschnitt General will flee out of our Ayit's range if a state of alarm is triggered.

The Ayit reports being in optimal position. Oberabschnitt General is in scope.
We are ordering the Ayit to take a shot now.

>Roll 1d20.
>Best of three.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>5898423
Boom
>>
Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>5898423
Enter, DEATH!
>>
>>5898429
Holy shit anon, you saved our asses there
>>
>>5898430
I did nothing, NEGAI above, beyond, and everywhere was responsible.
>>
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[01:04] - The shot was taken. Oberabschnitt General has been eliminated. Our Ayit accomplished the task. The Military encampment and surrounding Knights at the scene fly into a panic.

[01:07] - Our Shofar are landing on the roof of the Castle now. Lookouts on the ramparts and roof towers spotted the open parachutes and began to open fire, our Shofar are returning fire now. One of our Shofar have been shot down before they could land.

Our agents successfully landed on the rooftops and discarded parachutes. Three of them managed to land on the courtyard balcony and are kicking down the door into the Grandmaster's solar now. Bullets are being exchanged.

[...] [Standby]
[...]
>>
[01:12 hours] - Our Shofar have successfully killed Grandmaster Adolfus Musestus. Although it costed three clips. Tough bastard refused to die so easily and managed to wound one of our Shofar with a dagger.
>>
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Two of the targets are down. Only the Warfriar is left alive. The Castle's immediate stationed personnel are gathering arms. They're moving up to the roofs to confront our Shofar after hearing the gunshots. They will attempt to retake the roof and kill all agents on scene.

Our Shofar are being hounded by Knights and Novitiates on scene from the ramparts as well as from the plains. Reinforcements are en-route to the Castle. They're attempting to break into the Solar now after hearing gunfire from the Grandmaster's quarters. The Knights have released hounds into the field. They're attempting to seek out the sniper from the direction the bullet that killed the Oberabschnitt General came from. Our Ayit is in danger as well.

We need to extract our agents and get out. We've teleported our Ayit to safety and are now waiting for the Pylon to get finish cooldown to extract our Shofar, but we need them in on place.

Our Shofar think they can manage to get past resistance and eliminate the final target. Commander? Your opinion?

[Personnel on the line: 14]
[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Eliminate the Grandmaster.] [COMPLETE]
[OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: Eliminate the Warfriar.] [PENDING]
[OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: Eliminate the Oberabschnitt General.] [COMPLETE]

>Order them to attempt to push into the Castle Shrine past its defenders and leave the roofs. If they can kill the Warfriar and gather into the Shrine room all together, we can get them out.
>Order them to rendezvous to the roof or the Solar and hold their ground until the Pylon is ready again. Do not waste additional manpower attempting to kill the Warfriar.
>>
>>5898464

>Order them to attempt to push into the Castle Shrine past its defenders and leave the roofs. If they can kill the Warfriar and gather into the Shrine room all together, we can get them out.

The roof is likely to not provide the cover they would need to remain safe while the Pylon recharges.
>>
>>5898464
>Order them to attempt to push into the Castle Shrine past its defenders and leave the roofs. If they can kill the Warfriar and gather into the Shrine room all together, we can get them out.
I trust the Shofar. Only a will of iron will sunder the NEW ETERNITY!
>>
>>5898470
+1
That's a good point actually
>>
>>5898464
>>Order them to rendezvous to the roof or the Solar and hold their ground until the Pylon is ready again. Do not waste additional manpower attempting to kill the Warfriar.
>>
>>5898464
>Order them to attempt to push into the Castle Shrine past its defenders and leave the roofs. If they can kill the Warfriar and gather into the Shrine room all together, we can get them out.
>>
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We decided to order our Shofar to attempt to take the Shrine and eliminate the Warfriar.

[01:16 hours] - Our agents in the solar break out to meet resistance at the hands of conscripts. Our agents on the rooftops are heading down to descend and fight their way past the Knights of the Studded Crown. The Knights are having trouble opening the gates to allow reinforcements inside.

The Knights are hard to take down. Though their steel plates can do little to protect against the penetrative power of bullets, a lot of the kinetic force is neutralized going through the plate. Even full of bullet holes, the Knights seem to keep on going, they yell and raise their rifles to fire more. Our Shofar have begun to exude a war cry of their own while returning fire. They fight tooth and nail. It seems like they are singing their own Warcall, just like Woldor's believers do.

The odds seemed against them at first, but it appears our Shofar are fighting so hard, they are managing to turn the tide against Woldorians who are demoralized from losing the Grandmaster and Oberabschnitt General.

[01:29 hours] - Our Shofar have fought their way into the Castle's shrine. The Warfriar has been successfully killed. They hold out for a time against the Knights still attempting to eliminate them.

[01:34] - We have successfully teleported our gathered Shofar out of the Shrine after they regrouped. 78 confirmed kills. We lost three more agents in the skirmish.

We have accomplished the mission.

[Operation: Knightfall - COMPLETED]
[Deployment Terminated]

================================

[KURT] "Gentlemen, well done. Minimal losses sustained. I believe that with that taken care, the Woldorians will have no choice but to consider modernizing more and ensuring their own minimal loss of life. They don't know it yet, but we just helped them. Big time."
>>
[Accessing Pysops Deployments...]

[BUNKER PERSONNEL: 623]

• Operation: Redead
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Eskart |
‣ Continent: Shengesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Foil errant Necromancer's attempt to establish a new Afterseas Coven |
/
• Operation: Opening
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Charles Huxton |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Attempt to open a possible abandoned Heer Bunker discovered recently |
/
• Operation: Unlikely Ally
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Assist a small Heer detachment in defending a trade post in the Peninsula against Samurai raiders |

>The mission survey is open. Operations are free to commence.

>Commence an operation.
>Exit Psyops Deployments.
>>
>>5898519
>Operation: Opening
>>
>>5898519
>Operation: Unlikely Ally
Since one anon really wished for it. Our first full ground engagement
>>
>>5898541
>+1
switching to this since it's a new type
>>
>>5898541
Hell yeah, we've got this
>>
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[ COMMENCING OPERATION ...]

[Access Granted]
[User control to ACS system & Nous Radar open]

[ Buffering...]

[WARNING] [!!!]
[EMERGENCY IN EFFECT] [!!!]

[...]

[KURT] "Alright, I'm aboard. Bring me up to date."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Hmph. My agents picked up a decrypted frequency and deciphered it, they pinpointed the location to there."

[KURT] "The peninsula?"

[CATASTROVANIA] "It's coming from those dorks."

[KURT] "Those 'dorks' are the second largest fighting force in the entire world. Show me the Heer transmission."

[...]

[UNTEROFFIZIER] "-LY GOTT, WHY CAN'T ANYONE HEAR ME?! STATIONS OUTBOUND, RETURN TRANSMISSION IMMEDIATELY! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! I REPEAT! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! THIS IS VILHELM KRUGERMOR, UNTEROFFIZER. EIGHT HUNDRETH THIRTEENTH REGIMENT. REPORTING FROM TRADE STATION 'MORNING'! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!"

[UNDEROFFIZIER] "SAMURAI WAR PARTY IS MOUNTING AN OFFENSE. FIVE HUNDRED ASHIGARU MUST HAVE SHOWN UP OUT OF NOWHERE! WE'VE BARELY A HUNDRED MEN! BY GOTT, WHY WON'T ANYONE SEND REINFORCEMENTS?! THEY'VE GOT US OUTGUNNED! WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF AMMO! SOMEBODY, ANYONE! HELP US! THEY'RE KILLING CIVILIANS FOR GOTT'S SAKE!"

[...]

[CATASTROVANIA] "Samurai have a jammer. Encrypted their communications to prevent any distress signals getting out."

[KURT] "I see... Thank you, Intelligence Director. I'll take it from here. Put me through to the corps now."

>Assets required! Select assets!
>1. This is a Rapid Response job.
>2. Call up Black Ops. Cleanup time.
>>
>>5898567
>1. This is a Rapid Response job.
Atz'mah should carry the day. Likewise, let's throw in Mug'dal and Haham for field-testing purposes.
>>
>>5898567
>1. This is a Rapid Response job.
Let's let the boys in green shine a bit. Have the squads be composed of 3 Atz'mah and 2 Raam specialists. Maybe some Zerem for flanking purposes
>>
>>5898567
FUCK IT.
>DROP IN EXACTLY ONE HAHAM TO STRIKE FEAR IN THE ENEMY'S HEARTS AND TO BREED RUMORS IN THE HEER ABOUT SOME CRAZY PSYCHIC FUCK WHO SAVED THEIR ASSES
>>
>>5898567
>1. This is a Rapid Response job.
>>
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Nobody will be able to answer the distress call due to Samurai jamming. Allowing the Samurai to advance farther into the Peninsula is not beneficial for the Psyops. We must act to help drive them back. We have decided to draft a large force of Rapid Response troops for this mission. We will engage in tactical deployments and launch strategic strikes to weaken the Samurai ability to advance.

[KURT] "Bring up the tacmap."

The trade post is against a sloped hill. There seems to be a single concrete 'L' shaped wall protecting the trade post along the main highway. The Samurai are advancing from the lower steps and dirt paths. There are rows of trees that divide the farmable land they are using for cover. We have marked some significant locations.

(A) - The Trade post itself, harboring 70+ civilians inside the buildings and defended by two infantry sections. They have mounted MGs on the trade post's concrete wall and a single artillery howitzer that is jammed, which they are trying to get to work again.
(B) - The firing line that a large number of Ashigaru have formed. They are attempting to rapidly shimmy up closer while maintaining fire trade with Woldorian mounted MGs.
(C) - The Hill's dirt road pass, which two break off squads are trying to hold back another number of Ashigaru from clearing, they are currently trading fire.
(D) - The Farm house, located not too far from the trade post, which two squads are hold up in fending off attacks from Retainer Yumi Bowmen.
(E) - A gathering banzai in the crop field itself. These are mostly Ashigaru and Retainer swordsmen and spearmen who are preparing to sound a charge to overtake the trade post once the Ashigaru gunners have whittled down their MGs.
(F) - The Jammer itself, hidden behind some rocks past the crop field. A number of Ashigaru are holding there to guard it, but they are about to disembark to join the assault against the farm house.

The Samurai are being led by a Koshogumi holding position at their radio jammer.

[KURT] "At ease, Unteroffizier. Help is on the way. Sit tight and get ready to receive some more boys in green."

[UNTEROFFIZIER] "OH! OHO! T-THANK WOLDOR! WE'RE GETTING REINFORCEMENTS! PLEASE! HURRY! I THINK THEY'RE PREPARING A BANZAI CHARGE DOWN THE WAY! WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH AMMO TO TAKE DOWN THOSE RETAINERS!"

We have [107] Rapid Response personnel at the ready. Our Atz'mah, Raam and Ayit and Zerem are at the ready.
We need to distribute squads in even numbers and plan our attack out against this numerically superior foe.

>What's our move?
>>
>>5898597
>What's our move?
Split forces as needed as to the ratio opponents.

Group one (Defensive deployment) 11/16 * 107 = 74 men?
Ra'am to serve as a backstop to the Tradepost and bog down the assault if possible as they close so the field gun can be used + small contingent of Zerem and to cover entry points once the banzai closes to keep them out


Group two (Offensive Deployment) 5/16 * 107 = 33 men
Zerem, Atz'mah and Ayit to assist with clearing the Farm house and pushing onward to the jammer with the Ayit providing overwatch.
>>
>>5898603
Oh, also get the two squads holding the path to fall back to the trading Post (the Farm House would be preferable, but that would likely drag the engaged forces with them, which is puts them in an untenable position).
>>
>>5898603
>>5898606
This is a good plan. I'll back it.
>>
>>5898603
supporting, but can you explain those numbers ?
>>
>>5898597
(A) & (B) & (E) 40 men. Establish fortifications with Ra'am machine guns and rocket launchers. Have the Ra'am try to to fix the Howitzer so we can use it. Have Ayit stationned to try and snipe armored looking retainers and possible officers. Atz'mah should be on standby until enemy makes contact with the wall. Zerem can be outside harrassing the firing line since they can use jump jets to scale behind the wall easily. The idea is to take advantage of cover from the concrete wall and to safely bombard the Ashigaru from afar and then engage the remains with the Atz'mah if they manage to reach the wall.
(C) 25 men. Flank the 38 samurai with Atz'mah supported by Ra'am LMG fire. Once done standby for orders based on whether the banzai has changed objectives or not
(D) 32 men. Same thing as with (C) really, flank the bowmen and try to close the distance carefully ssince they probably don't have katanas
(F) 10 men. Ayit + Zerem joint force gunning it for the jammer. Prioritise stealth until you get there. Have the Ayit dome the Koshogumi in the head before securing the jammer. If possible wait for the main force to disembark.
>>
>>5899123
Counting the number of ?squads? that would be encountered by each group, and dividing that by the total number to approximate an fair manpower split based on the strength of projected encounter(s).

Group #1 faces of against Groups 38(3), 102(4) & 189(4) so would be expected to encounter 11 units of opposition.

Group #2 will likely encounter groups# 49(3) & 30(2)

The other part of it is that we don't have superior manpower, so we need to secure local superiority, also our objective is to keep civilians alive and destroy the Jammer, hopefully with minimal losses to our men and as such shouldn't attempt a counter-force type deployment, since we don't need to prevent penetration depth only outmaneuver them, or otherwise bait them into being ground down since we're on the defensive which provides the advantage since they don't have the manpower to overun either objective via a 3:1 advantage, or material to force it to be abandoned.

and on top of the at there are the Heer forces that can provide a fulcrum to allow us to maneuver as we need to once the charge is blunted.
>>
Oh yeah, of the [107] you guys have, it's split between
>51 At'zmah
>32 Zerem
>13 Ayit
>11 Raam
>>
>>5899368
for the plan described in>>5898603

things look like

Group #1
All 11 Ra'am
At'zmah ,35 (46)
28 Zerem (74)


The remainder to Group #2
This consists of;
all 13 Ayit
the remaining 16 At'zmah (29)
and 4 Zerem (33)
>>
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Our units are teledropping into the scene now.

[15:57 hours]

[UNTEROFFIZIER] "HOLY SHIT...! I... WHAT REGIMENT ARE YOU ALL FROM?"

[KURT] "Never mind that, Unteroffizier. Get those civilians locked up tight in the trade building for safety. Hold fast. Men, don't let that post fall!"

[16:02 hours] - The skirmish has escalated. The Samurai are preparing to accelerate their Banzai charge upon getting word that reinforcements have arrived for the Woldorians.

We have evenly split our forces to cover multiple areas.

Squads in group one are covering the Trade Post and Hill pass. We have our Raam stacking up with HMGs, and a few explosives specialists among them.
Fireteams in group two are being deployed to reinforce the Farm House. Our Ayit are coming over the rocks and setting up scanners, ready to ping targets.

Those Yumi Bowmen at the Farm House have the defenders there pinned.
The Ashigaru with tanegashima are trying to make a break for it up the Hill Pass.
The Banzai is preparing to launch... estimated (48%) ready to charge.

1. Trade Post. The Banzai charge is intended to take it down, but the firing line could attempt to make a break for it if they sense weakness. Heer stubbers are nearly running dry.
>Set up HMG banks. Use surrounding objects and civilian vehicles to make barricades. Nothing can get in. Create chokepoints.
>Dedicate attention to getting that howitzer back up. We can wheel that out and devastate the firing line and Banzai charge, the Heer have a lot of shells here. Manpower is better dedicated to this.

2. Hill Pass. Those Ashigaru are applying pressure.
>Send in the Zerem to run and gun and scare those Ashigaru off. Ashigaru don't do well in a lightning war.
>Atz'mah should focus here on picking those Ashigaru apart. If they remain, they'll group up with the Banzai and increase their numbers.

3. Farm House. This is the only thing keeping the Banzai from happening earlier.
>Snipers, start picking off Yumi Bowmen. We need to keep the Farm House held down. If our soldiers exit the house, they'll get hit by arrow rain. Sniping will redirect their attention but maybe we'll be able to decrease their numbers faster.
>Combine our attack. Signal Sniper barrages and then simultaneously follow up with sallying out. Those Yumi Bowmen are too dangerous and long ranged, they'll bring an arrow rain down on our exposed Snipers. If we close to medium distance, they won't know what to do. We can gun them down in quick succession after confusing them.
>>
>>5899612
>Dedicate attention to getting that howitzer back up. We can wheel that out and devastate the firing line and Banzai charge, the Heer have a lot of shells here. Manpower is better dedicated to this.

>Atz'mah should focus here on picking those Ashigaru apart. If they remain, they'll group up with the Banzai and increase their numbers.

>Combine our attack. Signal Sniper barrages and then simultaneously follow up with sallying out. Those Yumi Bowmen are too dangerous and long ranged, they'll bring an arrow rain down on our exposed Snipers. If we close to medium distance, they won't know what to do. We can gun them down in quick succession after confusing them.
let's try this
>>
>>5899628
This is smart thinking, backing.
>>
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[16:09 hours] - Our Raam have immediately set about getting the Howitzer up and running again.

[16:14 hours] -The Atz'mah are moving to engage on area C.

[16:16 hours] - Our snipers have set up. They begin volley firing upon the Yumi Bowmen from a side angle. The Yumi Bowmen are made distraught by the sudden covering fire of our Atz'mah and Zerem alongside the Soldaten exiting the farm house to close the distance.

[16:19 hours] - The firing line of Samurai are attempting to advance, noticing two stubbers go out of ammo. We need to get the Howitzer operational, ASAP.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRM8ZX_qfKs

>Attacking...
>Roll1d100
>Best of three for wave one.
>>
Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>5899655
For the Empire! No, I mean the Republic! No, no, the uh... the Theocracy! But not the Trinity's Theocracy, OUR Theocracy! For our Theocracy!
>>
Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>5899655
Cut them down
>>
>>5899655
>>
Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>5899655
shit
>>
Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>5899655
?Roll?
>>
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[16:28 hours] - Our skirmishing forces have met head on.

At area C, our Atz'mah provided an overwhelming amount of firepower, helping the Heer Soldaten on the hill pass quickly lay low the Ashigaru. Some losses were incurred dealing with the crossbowmen using the elevation as cover, but now the handful remaining are in retreat.

At the farm house, our snipers allowed the men to get close and begin picking off the Yumi bowmen, whose unwieldy bows are not fit to fire at medium range. Although a few in the line manage to turn their bows sideways and get off a few subsonic arrows, pinning some Heer men and taking out our Zerem on that side. They are stubborn bastards, using their bulletproof armor to the best effect they can to survive. We've taken out a quarter, but now they're drawing wakizashi and trying to close the gap to attack.

The firing line is moving closer to the trade post's wall. They picked off a pair of machine gunners. They may be emboldened to attempt to take the post and claim the honor themselves.

The Banzai is preparing to launch... estimated (72%) ready to charge.
Howitzer operational. Our Raam have successfully fixed the jamming issue. We have shells at the ready.

[Personnel lost: 10]

1. Group One breakaway at Area C.
>Take the Soldaten and advance to the Farm House. Help them wipe out those Retainers so we sandwich the larger force.
>Get back to the Trade Post and halt the firing line from advancing any further. Hit them in the side and hit them hard!

2. Howitzer.
>Begin close range bombarding of the firing line.
>Fire afar. Hit the Banzai before they're ready.
>>
>>5899680
>Get back to the Trade Post and halt the firing line from advancing any further. Hit them in the side and hit them hard!

>Fire afar. Hit the Banzai before they're ready.
The guys in the farm have the advantage over the bowmen, specially with our snipers having free reign while they're locked in melee. get the guys on the hill to hit the firing line while we fuck up the banzai charge.
>>
>>5899688
+1
Seems sensible enough
>>
[16:35 hours] - We've ordered the Atz'mah to redirect the Soldaten at Area C away. They're coming around to hit the advancing Ashigaru lines. Two fireteams of Woldorians heed their direction, but are now moving on their own to attack the Ashigaru from behind while some of the defenders break out from behind the wall to meet the attackers with our large number of Atz'mah. The Ashigaru are scrambling and breaking their lines up.

[16:42 hours] - The Howitzer is lining up to shell the crowd of the gathering Banzai. They will scatter the moment the shell impacts. Pray it hits the middle of the crowd.

[16:44 hours] - Our Atz'mah and Ayit at the farm house continue their skirmish against Retainers alongside the Soldaten. The Retainers are going to attempt a suicidal attack with wakizashi drawn. The fleeing Ashigaru from the hill pass earlier are rapidly approaching our prone Ayit. They may notice and sneak attack our snipers!

We're updating their HUDs as fast as we can...

>Attacking...
>Roll1d100
>Best of three for wave two.
>>
Rolled 33 (1d100)

>>5899704
>>
File: HOWITZER.gif (7.48 MB, 480x352)
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Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>5899704
>>
Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>5899704
MUNAAAAGH
>>
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[16:49 hours] - The howitzer fires, striking the crowd and eliminating a number of Retainers and Ashigaru. The gathered crowd remains full of bodies to throw, however. The Koshogumi at the jammer sounds the charge and the resounding yell of "Banzai" is heard over the hills as the charge commences prematurely. They are currently running to the trade post, weapons drawn. The ground can be felt rumbling from all their stomps across the plain. We are in grave danger now.

The Ashigaru fleeing from Area C earlier came upon our Ayit. Seeing our snipers down low, they immediately opened fire with what they had. A number of our snipers were unfortunately killed before they could draw sidearms and defend themselves, shooting down the rest of those Ashigaru. Over at the farm house, a number of our Atz'mah fell alongside Soldaten taking down the Yumi Bowmen at short range. However, they are now fleeing to regroup at the jammer and regain their long ranged advantage. We won't be able to approach easily if they can rain arrows again.

Hitting the firing line of Ashigaru and scrambling them resulted in a slaughter. We took them down in droves, but several of our men became casualties in the process. A number that can be counted on one hand flee off to the side. They're probably trying to get around the cement wall and into the trade post.

[!!!]
The Banzai charge is closing in. Howitzer preparing to fire again.
[!!!]

We're ordering the troops at the farm house to chase the Yumi bowmen down. We can't allow them to have an advantage and make the jammer's position unenviable to approach. All our troops around the trade post are going back inside with the Soldaten to hold it down to meet the Retainers' Banzai charge.

[Personnel lost: 21]

>Attacking...
>Roll 1d100
>Best of three for wave three.
>>
Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>5899716
>>
Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>5899716
Come on boys in green, remember your training!
>>
Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>5899716
godspeed, soldiers
>>
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A combination of our snipers changing firing position and group two going mobile is able to down a lot more of the Yumi Bowmen. By the time they reached the destination, our combined forces were upon the Jammer as well. The large number of Ashigaru there, as well as their leading Koshogumi are victim to the amount of fragmentation grenades that could be chucked down below, as well as the AMR our remaining Ayit mounted against them. Firing down from the slopes made mincemeat of their armor. Our troops are making use of the Warcall now. We lost a single man more in the confusion.

[16:58 hours] - The howitzer fired again twice, destroying another swath of the Banzai charge. A third shell is got off before the Banzai closes to a range too close to the cement wall. From there, it's an extensive gun battle as the remaining hundred Retainers and Ashigaru are put into a grinder by our Raam's HMGs. The additional four remaining from the firing line were taken out by our Zerem attempting the round the trade post's wall. Some of the Banzai's chargers managed to slip in and attack, causing some injuries, but we quickly downed them, leaving a pile of Samurai bodies at the entrance and around the walls. We sustained minimal losses. About four more men.

[Personnel lost: 26]

The Banzai's few remaining troops are being finished off. They did not retreat. The Samurai protecting the jammer are in full on retreat.

We have successfully driven back the attacking force from the Heer's Trade Post.

[...]

[KURT] "Gentlemen, all in a day's work."

[UNTEROFFIZIER] "Hoooh... I don't know where du fuck you all came from, but zhu really just saved our asses... Praise be..."
>>
In the aftermath of the defense, we regrouped at the Trade Post and assisted the remains of the Heer staffel that defended the position in getting the civilians inside the main building into vehicles. They were being sent away from the zone, and with the jammer out of the picture, Heer communications were restored. Likewise, we managed to help capture said jammer itself, and handed it over to the Heer. It would be turned in for peer review, they'd need it if they were to discover how the Samurai had encrypted and jammed their radio communications on field.

No time for much fanfare in the aftermath. Our soldiers were instructed to avoid many interactions with the Heer soldaten and were soon recalled to march away from the position. The Heer would be left to reinforce this point themselves. Once our Rapid Responders were out of the way, we teleported them back to base for recovery and rest. There were injuries to tend to. We've instructed the Team Lead, Codename: Lion, to congratulate the Rapid Responders for their actions and perform activities to raise morale.

That's one more place on Hainei the Trinity was prevented from conquering.
Excellent work, folks.

[Operation: Unlikely Ally - COMPLETED]
[Deployment Terminated]

================================

[Accessing Pysops Deployments...]

[BUNKER PERSONNEL: 597]

/
• Operation: Redead
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Eskart |
‣ Continent: Shengesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Foil errant Necromancer's attempt to establish a new Afterseas Coven |
/
• Operation: Opening
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Charles Huxton |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Attempt to open a possible abandoned Heer Bunker discovered recently |

>The mission survey is open. Operations are free to commence.

>Commence an operation.
>Exit Psyops Deployments.
>>
>>5899732
New poster here. Been following along with this quest and thoroughly enjoying the writing.
We need to seriously address the afterlife situation. I propose we stop doing missions for now and get that sorted before we send any more of our men to die and fall into HEUS hands.
Levelman, is that something we can currently work on? Or will we have to finish these missions first to access that?
>>
>>5899831
I think we need to finish this first. Psionics did not come into play until we finished that deployment to steal the chips. Missions in this quest also work along the lines of story missions rather than dynamic operations, hence why Bedolfir is a nonissue for now until we do the RAID case file. I suspect we won't be able to set up a soul retrieval program until we talk to NEGAI, Namithene or Woldor. Or it may be related to story development, only Levelman can answer that. Regardless I'd like to get the last two missions done before we move on
>>
>>5899861
That's fair, Levelman did mention NEGAI several times and alluded to contact being needed in order to further Soulcatching,
In that case, I think vote for:
>Operation: Redead
>>
>>5899732
>Operation: Redead
>>
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[ COMMENCING OPERATION ...]

[Access Granted]
[User control to ACS system & Nous Radar open]

[ Buffering...]

[09:08 hours] - Unusual activity notified in Shengesia, Siran Region by informants.

[09:58 hours] - Necromancer and dark magic activities confirmed.

[...]

[ESKART] "Greetings. I am Eskart, I am the head of the Illuminati. Today I've been made aware that a Necromancer has been detected by your group operating in Shengesia. According to the report I was handed, this Necromancer is attempting to establish a Coven. Covens are the common gathering houses of warlocks, witches and other spellcasters aligned with the Afterseas. Necromancers are, in standard practice, the specialty of the Illuminati to take care of. It falls under our jurisdiction as the regulators of magical law."

[ESKART] "For a multitude of reasons, Necromancers must be captured alive by the Illuminati. Killing them is not a solution. So, consider this a capture mission. Today, you'll be joined by my Collegium Guard in this operation. The Necromancer is of the rank of 'Immediate', meaning he is a fully graduated Necromancer from the school of Gehenna. His name is Keragos."

[ESKART] "He is attempting to establish this coven in the large igneous region, the Siran Region. The volcanic traps have been host to many cave homes used by its inhabitants. The Wei does not typically patrol this region, due to its impoverished conditions. Though, in the past, their solution to any traces of heresy has been kill teams and purging... not a permanent solution, as you can see. Below, I assume, is the house that the Necromancer is operating in. He will not be alone, Cultists will accompany Necromancers. If we are particularly unlucky, he may have a Monster or two with him as well, so remain vigilant."

[KURT] "Thank you, Sir Eskart. We'll take it from here. Alright. You heard the man. Capture mission, full of spooky activity and paranormal hijinks. Get ready, ladies."

================================

[Assets are required]

[Please select the appropriate teams for this endeavor.]

>Input.
>>
>>5900507
>taalumah and tzel
since it's capture mission, the man in black are needed and because of the difficulty level the tzel would be good too.
>>
>>5900507
You know what?
>Qatsyn
>One Mug'dal to handle the monsters
Let the boys in blue have some fun, they're supposed to be specialists at that.
>>
>>5900599
>+1
changing to this
>>
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For the following mission, we have drafted a team of Qatsyn. This special operating entry team, composed of [13] agents will be accompanied by one of our recently completed Mug'dal. We are issuing an experimental plasma rifle to our Metahuman.

[11:20 hours]

[HIGH BAILIFF] "Greetings, comrades in arms. I am High Bailiff Urizen, I am the representative of the Illuminati tasked with the arrest of Necromancer Keragos. I've been ordered to offer you all a choice in requisitions today. The College extends its warmest additions to the cause."

1. Requisition.
>A Rearranged Magic Mirror. It can deflect spells.
>An Arcanoreversal Breath inhaler. It can be administered to break possessions.

2. Resistance.
[ Cultists making use of dark magic is a given. We're not sure if any other militants or monsters will be present. ]

3. Entry point.
>Side traps doors. Also, basically the front entrance. But there is multiple doors. We've have to cover them to prevent any Cultists from attempting to escape. We can play it stealthy or breach here quickly and try to bag everyone asap.
>The roof holes. A number of openings in the old rock have ladders and grates leading down into them from the top of the complex. We can attempt to stealthily enter here.
>>
>>5900664
>An Arcanoreversal Breath inhaler. It can be administered to break possessions.
Absolutely critical, don't want our soldiers turning on one another
>The roof holes. A number of openings in the old rock have ladders and grates leading down into them from the top of the complex. We can attempt to stealthily enter here.
Let's start stealthy, if shit hits the fang we're well equipped to handle the fallout.
>>
>>5900664
>An Arcanoreversal Breath inhaler. It can be administered to break possessions.

>The roof holes.
>>
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We have chosen an entry plan and armed our agents. Mission is a go.
We wait until night to strike.

[...]

[23:00 hours] - Night has fallen.

We've teleported our entry team and the High Bailiff a good [15] square feet away to avoid immediate detection. They are approaching the roof holes now. There is two of them, with trapdoors leading down into the attic space. They are locked with locks, but our Mug'dal is able to easily crunch them in his hand and remove them.

We've evenly distributed weapons among our Qatsyn.
[3] - Armed with scatterguns.
[5] - Armed with ARs.
[5] - Armed with SMGs.

Our Qatsyn are entering the attic now.
Nothing on scopes. Room clear. Great care is taken to reduce sound, although we were momentarily afraid of the ladders they took down giving away. They are old and rickety. The attic space is very dusty and full of clutter. 3D scan reveals another trapdoor behind leading down, they can scooch by.

[23:04 hours]

Command, we'd like to report that unfortunately, the Mug'dal's bulky frame is so large, he cannot fit through the roof hole and enter. We may have to redirect him to enter through the front doors, unless we plan on smashing through.

Contact confirmed.

Room right below the attic. Two cultists. We see them in infrareds. They're talking, can't make out what they're saying. The attic's floorboards are creaking, which gave them pause but they didn't try to investigate. Seems the settlement is something they're used to.
We have some smoke grenades and flashbangs. Our shotgunners can load rubber bullets for takedown, although the Bailiff advises against sparing any Afterseas Cultists beyond the Necromancer, and so does our common senses.

Command, instruction?

1. Mug'dal.
>Go to the front entrance with the High Bailiff and stake it out. Wait for further instruction.
>Escalate. Smash through the attic and get inside. This is now a cleanup op. Weapons hot.

2. Qatsyn and the Cultists underfoot.
>Drop a flashbang through the floorboards and get ready to drop down fast and quietly. Take them down and cuff them.
>Apply silencers. Give them a two tap through the open wedges in the attic floorboard. We take no Afterseas prisoners.
>>
>>5900710
>Go to the front entrance with the High Bailiff and stake it out. Wait for further instruction.

>Apply silencers. Give them a two tap through the open wedges in the attic floorboard. We take no Afterseas prisoners.
>>
>>5900716
+1
Let's not go full gunho just yet
>>
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We decide to take a subtle approach. Our Mug'dal and the High Bailiff are directed to go out front and keep watch for any activity. On the Qatsyn's end, silencers are authorized. We do not take prisoners, if they are of the Afterseas.

Four silenced shots. Both cultists confirmed dead.
Our units are moving in.

[...]

Three more cultists, living room on the first floor. Our Qatsyn descend the stairs, they don't suspect what's up. Living room has two entrances from the hall, we stack up on both ends and take them by surprise. Six shots. All three cultists confirmed dead.

Our Qatsyn are searching the four floors and every room. Living room and bathroom on the bottom floor of the hut. Kitchen and Bedroom on the second floor. Pantry and closets on the third floor are empty. Fourth floor bedroom also clear.

[...]

We confirm no more contacts in the house, as well as no signs of cult activity as well. No markings on the walls or manuscripts, no texts or evidence beyond the present cultists in black cloaks. We can confirm two members are missing some fingers, but only on one hand. We can't find a complete Hand of Evil on any of them.

[QATSYN] "Command, are you sure you got the right house and we didn't just kill a bunch of squatters by mistake?"

[KURT] "This is the right house. The Necromancer we're after was spotted going in and out just this past daytime."

[QATSYN] "We searched this house head to toe. Nothing. We already covered all entrances. Even the vehicle shed outside is empty. Can't the High Bailiff come in to sniff out anything else? Command, I think otherwise this home is clear. Over."

[QATSYN] "What if they left somehow in between arriving and us coming? Think it could be teleportation?"

[HIGH BAILIFF] "Negative. Only high level sorcerers and master practitioners could achieve teleportation easily. I cannot, unfortunately, sense the magic unless I am able to get a direct view of the arcane feed with my eyes. Magic becomes "silent" to our senses once it touches the Afterseas. All Necromancers have this in common, damningly."

We're stumped.
House is empty. Are we missing something here?

[QATSYN] "Orders?"

[KURT] "We're thinking."

>What... what do we do now?
>>
>>5900731
>Look for discrepancies in the size of the rooms relative to the structure, there may be hidden chambers.
>If any are suspected, have the Mug'dal break through the wall.
>>
>>5901199
>+1
don't have much options
>>
>>5901199
+1
But also
>Be on your guard, we're dealing with a necromancer, those cultists could rise at any moment. Be on the lookout for possession as well
>>
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We're sure there is something we're overlooking here.
The Qatsyn are ordered to keep looking and observe the walls and floors. If we're lucky, there may just be some false panel we've missed. The Mug'dal is entering the building now with the High Bailiff to perform a more comprehensive 3D scan via visor.

[23:23 hours]

We've found something.

A false wall in the living room of the first floor. Flimsy wallpaper sheets peeling off in the corners gave it away, The wall was made of boards that felt visibly different from other parts of the wall, we could even poke a hole in the wallpaper with it. The Mug'dal is able to tear it down to reveal another... kitchen?

It seems the kitchen on the second floor may have been a renovation, or this building may have been a duplex at some point. Either way, the kitchen above, which was already in squalor, is to distract in presumable building inspections from this hidden kitchen which is even filthier. There's a horrid stench coming from the kitchen, and we see what appears to be dried bloodstains. Even better, our Mug'dal discovers yet another false wall in the hidden kitchen via 3D scan. More like a big hole in the wall, it leads directly into the tunneled out volcanic rock behind, hidden by a shelf.

We've discovered their tunnel now. No idea how deep it goes. The stench is getting worse the deeper we go into it. Sending feed now...

[23:32 hours]

[QATSYN] "Place is making us want to vomit, command. It reeks."

We've noted strips of flesh hanging from the walls by hooks. They definitely must be harboring a monster. The smell is probably from all the dead bodies they must have back there at the end of the tunnel. There's three rooms ahead we can see. There's also a damn florescent light above that'd give our movements away if we proceed without caution.

Mug'dals motion sensor is detecting several blips. More Cultists. They've also got something very big back there. Must be chained up. We can hear distinct chanting...

Not a lot of options for approach...
Not sure if we spook the Necromancer that he might try to teleport out. The High Bailiff only needs to touch him to administer a paralysis spell. Then the arrest is complete but we need to ensure he survives.

>Fuck this. Shoot first, ask questions later. Go in and shoot down all those hooded bastards. Get the Mug'dal to charge the Necromancer with the Bailiff, we should get that bastard fast.
>Flashbangs out. Flashbangs everywhere. Use extreme caution. Fire to disable the Necromancer. Fire to kill everything else.
>Wait, let's try drawing them out instead.
>>
>>5901465
>>Wait, let's try drawing them out instead.
Make some noise, see what we're dealing with first.
>>
>>5901602
>+1
let's see how this goes
>>
>>5901465
>Flashbangs out. Flashbangs everywhere. Use extreme caution. Fire to disable the Necromancer. Fire to kill everything else.
My bet's that they're conducting a ritual. We can't buy them any time. Shock and Awe is the name of the game.
>>
>>5901630
Fuck it, I'll change to flashbangs, light up!
>>
It seems a ritual is underway. They may be attempting to resurrect some bodies. Let's interrupt it.

[...]

Flashbangs, out.

[...]

[23:41 hours]

TAKING FIRE!
The Cultists had armed Shanlins with them down the tunnel! Two Shanlins. Reading a hunting shotgun and machine pistol. Our Qatsyn are returning fire.

[...]

[QATSYN] "HOLY FUUUUUUCK!"

Mother of Muna...

[QATSYN] "BEASTKIN CONTACT!"

Well, at least we know why they had strips of flesh everywhere. Brick room, to the left, got nothing but a bathtub full of drained blood in it. Beastkin just emerged, and it looks pissed. Those claws could skewer a man whole. Our Mug'dal is behind is the Qatsyn entry team! He can't readily anything with the normals in the way!

The Cultists are lobbing fireballs in between the exchanged bullets!

[QATSYN] "TAKE IT DOWN!"

The Beastkin's snarling. FUCK, it's coming down the tunnel!

>Roll 1d20.
>Best of two.
>>
Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>5901783
C'mon normies, no mutant can stand up to the power of a shotgun
>>
Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>5901783
Fetch this, Cujo!
>>
Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>5901783
TOTAL HEUS DEATH
>>
>>5901790
Goddess Muna is on our side!
>>
>>5901793
...Well technically dice rolls would fall under Seannsa's dominion, wouldn't they?
>>
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Gunfire rings out. The Shanlin are untrained brigands, they only know how to spray and pray, and the supports in this tunnel offer ample cover, along with the angle.

[QATSYN] "What are you doing?!"

[QATSYN] "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH-"

Our Qatsyn were pumping that Bloodthirsty Beast full of bullets as it stomped down the hall after the entry team. We damn near thought it was just invulnerable, but then one of our guys ran forward like a lunatice and shoved his shotgun into its mouth, barrel pressed to the roof. Blew the fucker's brains out the back of its head.

Good thing, the Beastkin is dead.
Bad thing, it's large body is blocking up the tunnel.

We can barely scooch past it. How the fuck did they fit this thing in here anyway?!

[...]

[QATSYN] "There he is."

[MUG'DAL] "Target located."

The Necromancer is back there at the end of the tunnel. Good gods, the bodies piled up back there... must have been graverobbing a ton. He's got several cultists in front of him. One of their fireballs just lit the Bloodthirsty Beast's corpse on fire. We got to get that bastard alive...

[NECROMANCER] "Ayer avage aloren HEUS aken!"

[QATSYN] "What's that gobbledygook he shouting mean?!"

[HIGH BAILIFF] "HE'S CASTING A DEATH KNELL! QUICKLY!"

>Roll 1d20.
>Best of three.
>>
Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>5901810
Oh fuck oh fuck
>>
Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>5901810
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaagh
>>
Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>5901810
BOY I SURE HOPE I DONT GET A NAT 1 AS KARMIC BALANCE FOR THAT LAST ROLL
>>
Our Qatsyn are returning fire. A smoke grenade is hurled into the end of the tunnel. The smoke should choke up the wizard and prevent an incantation from being sung. Our Qatsyn are shuffling in. Our shotgunners fill the room ahead with rubber pellets.

[...]

[23:53 hours] - We've apprehended the cultists.

Our Qatsyn smoking them out and pelting them with rubber pellets was enough to get them to give up. The Necromancer was knocked down and taken out by a swift strike from the back of our Mug'dals hand. Confirmed discombobulated but still breathing.

The rest of the cultists are handcuffed and disarmed.

Goddess, this place is a mess. Necromancer must have dug up a small burial ground. Counting fourteen different bodies. Walls painted with sacrament circles and hand prints. Like a freaking caveman's wall drawings. Oh, and they've hung some entrails from the ceiling. Lovely.

[QATSYN] "I think I'm gonna puke."

There's no cleanup to be had here. We're gonna leave the cultists bound and put out the fire on the Beastkin's body. Then we're going to use the phone line in the building and call the Wei and inform them of what went on. They'll come gather the rest of the Cultists, they'll think it's just some vigilante work or something.

Necromancer Keragos has been secured. High Bailiff is delivering him back to the Illuminati as we speak to seize the Necromancy shard.

Mission accomplished.

================================

Our Qatsyn and Mug'dal have returned to base. No casualties.

[KURT] "Good work, everyone. That's one lest hive of Khanate pests to worry over. The Sirans will be thankful."

================================
>>
[QATSYN] "Fucking hell man. I'm gonna need some fucking therapy after that shit. How do you just forget a smell like that...?"

/

[Accessing Pysops Deployments...]

[BUNKER PERSONNEL: 597]

• Operation: Opening
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Charles Huxton |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: Attempt to open a possible abandoned Heer Bunker discovered recently |

>The mission survey is open. Operations are free to commence.

>Commence an operation.
>Exit Psyops Deployments.
>>
>>5901854
>Operation: Opening
Last mission, then we either go see NEGAI or start a casefile
>>
>>5901858
>+1
>>
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[ COMMENCING OPERATION ...]

[Access Granted]
[User control to ACS system & Nous Radar open]

[ Buffering...]

[07:00 - x/30/4999 - Order pending from Bunker Department Director for investigation into potential new bunker space.]

[CHARLES] "Greetings! Greetings, gents. As some of you might be aware, another dig into the archaic data recently has led us to another fascinating discovery. We've discovered what might be another Heer Bunker like this one nestled in the Peninsula region that the Regimental Command abandoned long ago. If this is true, it means that we have a clue for finding another Bunker like ours, hidden away and lost thanks to its still functioning Heart Attack Manifold."

[CHARLES] "The, derhn... the only problem is that, well, being in the Peninsula means it is close to Samurai held Zahnlauf. Any search parties we dispatch could be in danger of coming under Samurai attack. On top of that, we don't know why the Heer would abandon a Bunker, or if they've simply lost it. Either way, we have a choice between using manpower to try seeking out this lead, or leaving it be and expanding our facilities the hard way. I'm waiting on command to decide."

Our current Personnel Cap: 1030
If we successfully acquire another Bunker, we may increase it to 2100.

Though, this mission is very shady in prospect... very dangerous if encountering Samurai.
We should think very hard before we make a decision.

>This is worth it. Launch an operation to uncover it.
>This is not worth it. Forget about it. Some things may be better left buried.
>>
>>5901925
>This is worth it. Launch an operation to uncover it.
Let there be no stone unturned in the search for Redemption
>>
>>5901925
>This is worth it. Launch an operation to uncover it.
>>
>>5901925
>This is worth it. Launch an operation to uncover it.
LETS GET THAT MONEY LETS GET THAT DOSH LETS GET THAT barracks space at an affordable cost YEAHHHHHH
>>
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We have decided to approve of the order and set the Bunker Department upon sniffing out this abandoned Heer installation for our use.

[12:00 hours] - The search team is assembled. [30] men are gearing up to find the lost bunker.

We've set them out to the woodland in the peninsular region. Hopefully GPR can help find it. The Woldorians knew that these Bunkers could absolutely be lost and never found again, so they had to have left some part of it capable of being found, in order to find the rest.

We just need a bit of luck.

>Roll a single 1d100 for discovery or disaster.
>>
Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>5901941
come on babyyyyy
>>
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[12:38 hours] - Our searching party was discovered by an Ashigaru patrol. The peninsula area under Samurai control is apart of a Trinity exclusion zone. Everything but Samurai in the area under their purview is free. Basically, they can kill whoever they want. Our party was no different to them.

[28] men were killed before we could lose and evacuate the rest.

The costliness of this endeavor is quickly becoming apparent.

>Continue the search. (Roll a single 1d100)
>Call it off. We shouldn't waste men on this. (Fail Operation: Opening)
>Send Wolfboy instead.
>>
>>5901946
>Send Wolfboy instead.
Maybe he can sniff 'em out
>>
>>5901946
>Send Wolfboy instead.
>>
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Disgruntled from our previous loss, we have decided to arm Wolfboy with a GPR device and dispatched the young demigod to search in the stead of more vulnerable workers.

He seems enthusiastic about the job.
>>
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[17:58] - Nearly several hours have passed and Wolfboy hasn't made a dime of progress. In fact, he's even wandered away from our general search area of coordinates too. He preferred to chase after and eat wild hares and bores for most of the mission. Though to his credit, every Ashigaru he's come across was subject to splattering at his hands. A whopping total of fifty Ashigaru have met their demise this day patrolling the woodlands and encountering Wolfboy.

But still, no progress has been made. In fact, we believe he has either lost or somehow cracked and rendered inoperable the GPR device we issued him. He doesn't seem to take instructions from anyone but fellow divines well...
>>
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[18:04 hours] - Contact confirmed?

[WOLFBOY] "-YOU GUYS! YOU WOULDN'T- gh-a-8###------fksh-----AAAAH----"

Wolfboy? Wolfboy! Report! What's happening?!

[WOLFBOY] "--hh-ha-----aa----a---**###---aa--"

His radio is being jumbled. We're detecting seismic activity in the area.
Can someone get a wrap on what the fuck is going on right now?!

Intensify the signal, make it clear!

[18:23 hours] - Signal clarified.

[WOLFMAN] "-OMEBODY HELP ME! HE'S RIPPING ME APART OUT HERE!"

He? Who? Who's the contact?

[WOLFMAN] "HELP ME ALREADY! T-TELEPORT ME OR SOMETHING, HE-"

[???] "I AM ECULES! I AM THE APOSTLE OF THE FIIIIIST! HAHAHAHAHA! WHY DO YOU FLEE LITTLE DEMIGOD?! COME BACK AND FIGHT ME! YOU WERE SO SURE OF YOURSELF IN THE BEGINNING!!! CAN'T FIGHT SOMEONE WITH ACTUAL SKILL?!"

[WOLFMAN] "NOW!"

[18:32 hours] - Wolfman has been successfully teleported back to base.

Upon coming back, he immediately collapses and reverts to his Wolfboy state. He is suffering heavy injuries and physical trauma from whoever he fought.
Running a database cross referencing now...

Got one match.

-> [Appellation:Ecules] [Affiliation:Trinity Kingdom] [Note:Apostle_of_Thandir] [x]

We're having Wolfboy tended to now by Jenk.

We came up dry again...

>Continue the search. (Roll a single 1d100)
>Call it off. We shouldn't waste men on this. (Fail Operation: Opening)
>>
Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>5902013
>Continue the search. (Roll a single 1d100)
We can't let those 28 men die in vain.
>>
>>5902016
AAAAAAAAAAAA
>>
Rolled 52 (1d100)

>>5902013
>Continue the search. (Roll a single 1d100)
"Muna, pls explode the balls of that guy"
>>
Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>5902013
>Continue the search. (Roll a single 1d100)
>>
bros... the famine... its so fucking real...
>>
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Despite previous setbacks, we've decided to continue our search.
Another group of workers, numbering [30], is sent out.

Again, another Ashigaru ambush our workers soon after. We lost all but three men.

[04:03 hours] - It is 4AM.

Our three workers have escaped the Ashigaru. At the last minute, something miraculous happened. They stumbled upon a metal sheet underfoot and pulled it up to reveal a grown over hatch.

We've found the bunker. We're marking the coordinates now.
Just for clarity, our three workers descend the hatch to take a quick peek. They discover a short tunnel leading to a steel blast door sealed tightly. It is stamped with...

...

...Biohazard symbols.

[WORKER] "Uhhh... C-Command? I'm starting to see a trend here. I don't know a lot... but I'm thinking we can put together why this bunker is abandoned."

This... this is so goddamn frustrating it's not even funny. We lost almost sixty men finding this bunker and discover that the thing is locked off due to a potential biohazard. Are we really going to let the issue go after coming this far along?

>Yes. This pursuit is not worth the potential loss of life. (Fail Operation: Opening)
>No. We need more facilities. Get better encounter gear and go inside. We need to see how it is before we should consider cutting our losses.
>>
>>5902033
>No. We need more facilities. Get better encounter gear and go inside. We need to see how it is before we should consider cutting our losses.
Between Jenk and Shennu, biohazards are the least of our problems.
>>
>>5902033
>No. We need more facilities. Get better encounter gear and go inside. We need to see how it is before we should consider cutting our losses.
Suken souls falacy says we should fucking ball it
>>
>>5902033
>No. We need more facilities. Get better encounter gear and go inside. We need to see how it is before we should consider cutting our losses.
Sunk cost fallacy, mate. Gotta see it through. This is Siegesia, anyways. Being reckless should benefit us... r-right?
...Do try and keep your neck on rightways.
>>
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[08:00 hours] - We've come back in the morning, much later, with power tools to open up the abandoned Heer bunker at the place we left the coordinates. We almost lost the hatch, as it seemed to almost "cover itself up" from just having a little less attention payed to it overnight.

Our workers entered the place at around [08:34 hours] after cutting through the blast door lock and opening the bunker up. A little exploration revealed them to be around a utility area. The encounter gear is rated for biohazards. We could detect traces of a potent airborne pathogen littering the airspace.

At [08:48 hours], they managed to locate the command center and restore auxiliary power.
But doing so has revealed another startling discovery.

This bunker is full of laboratory facilities. It also has a clinic that was full of, presumably, old forgotten corpses. To our shock, the corpses are moving again. Command, we don't know how else to describe this, so we hate to break it to you this way - This bunker is full of zombies and a petrifying pathogen of viral cells that seems to reanimate brains and nerves by being inhaled and then growing into a viral clump in the bloodstreams and brain. This seems to have been developed as a bioweapon for use against the Trinity's mortal populations by the Heer, but quickly abandoned when it went out of control. If we let this escape to the outside world, we'll have a serious issue on our hands. Our Psychics deduce that every viral cell can be caught and crushed through extrasensory wavelengths to totally eradicate the pathogen, make it utterly extinct. But first, everything in here needs to be killed.

Heavy weapons are not advised. There are tanks containing the pathogen in abundance that look fragile and could explode easily...

Command? Our move?

>Send in the Qatsyn to clear them out. (-50 Personnel power)
>Seal the place back up. This is no longer worth it. (Fail Operation: Opening)
>>
>>5902049
>Send in the Qatsyn to clear them out. (-50 Personnel power)
Alright, no. We need to purge EVERYTHING in this bunker. If we don't set fire to this place, then chances are the Samurai will find it - and they might not make the same decision.
...Would it be a good idea to send a Haham in there?
>>
>>5902049
>Send in the Qatsyn to clear them out. (-50 Personnel power)
Now it's our moral duty to put them down.
>>
Rolled 37 (1d50)

We decided to send in the Qatsyn to put the biohazard down with bullets quickly and discreetly. Our first completed Haham is sent to back them up and exterminate the pathogen to extinction to make the Bunker ready for takeover.

(Rolling number of Qatsyn lost...)
>>
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A hard fought struggle is waged against the zombies in the bunker. But eventually, our Qatsyn are able to wipe out the reanimateds until the Bunker is clear. Our Haham exterminates the virus with psychic emissions until no traces are left. We confirm this by extensive tests scanning for viral cells in our Qatsyn that survived, and thoroughly looked over every surface and clothing article and piece of equipment to confirm every last cell was dead.

The virus is exterminated and the zombies are gone. Renovation to bring the abandoned bunker back into working order, clean it out and prepare facilities, as well as restore the Nuclear reactor and perform maintenance on the Heart Attack Manifold there and construct a new teleportation pylon and chamber will take a week.

The mission is accomplished.
We have secured the Peninsular Bunker, though at high cost...

================================

[Operation: Opening - COMPLETED]
[Deployment Terminated]

[Our Personnel cap was raised.]

[BUNKER PERSONNEL: 505]
[PERSONNEL CAP: 2100]

[All assignments completed. Next wave of assignments due soon.]

================================

[Exiting Psyops Deployments]
>>
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[LOADING...]

[LOADED.]

...

[MAJORDOMO] "Wake up, sleepyhead."

[JOCO] "We got work to do!"

I opened my eyes slowly to my personal chamber in the Psyops Bunker. Much has gone on. My faction is putting in work.

(Completion of Deployments granted a sudden Luck of Seannsa! A big recruitment wave has happened, alongside a big donation!)
(Received 4x Rearranged Magic Mirror from Bandit King donations.)
(200 more Personnel have been recruited into the Psyops. Total Personnel: 705)

[LOADING...]
>>
[LOADED.]

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Wargod Woldor (Geitlandsbyen Grand City)
• NEGAI, Machine God of Humanity (NUMBER-10 'SHECHINAH') (North Siegesia)
• Mister Saturday, Demon Demigod (Oakville Town)
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Namithene, Goddess of Love (Frostreach Continent)
• Sincere Sasaki and Sincere Satomi, Twin Gods of School (Easterlind City)
• Ecules, the High Aspostle of the Fist (The Rampart of August Stars)
>>
>>5902078
>God-Talk
>Ecules, the High Aspostle of the Fist (The Rampart of August Stars)
I'm 99% sure that Muna is the second person Wolfboy would tell about how Ecules beat him up. Let's see the Trinity's bruiser for ourselves.
>>
>>5902078
> NEGAI, Machine God of Humanity (NUMBER-10 'SHECHINAH') (North Siegesia)
We need to set up some form of proper communication.
>>
>>5902078
>Mister Saturday, Demon Demigod (Oakville Town)
>>
>>5902078
>NEGAI, Machine God of Humanity (NUMBER-10 'SHECHINAH') (North Siegesia)
>>
>>5902078
>NEGAI, Machine God of Humanity (NUMBER-10 'SHECHINAH') (North Siegesia)
>>
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[ SIEGESIA ]

I thought I detected something up here. As if it was luring me on purpose.

Up at the area in northern Siegesia where I and my companions had traveled to before in the past, the exact place we traveled to when confronting AGLA, I found a certain presence on the nearby beach below the ledge we stood on that fateful encounter. Once I got a good look at it, there was no doubt about it, so I hurried away and went down, landing on the beach. Before me was the drone body that the Machine God commonly used to interact with others. It was staring into the sky ahead, where it created a rift to Calabi-Yau space for us not that long back. When I walked close enough to the Sefirot Body, it turned around and faced me.

[NEGAI] "..."

'...'

I read the blue archaic letters on its chest. "Shechinah".
I inhaled and looked NEGAI in his eyes. I suppose that, just like the talk we had at Zahnlauf, he would only appear for a short time, and then disappear again as though he'd never been here in the first place, so this time needs to be spent on something valuable.

>Ask to hear more of NEGAI's grand tales about the Chaos.
>Ask if he knows any solution to saving souls from Thandir and HEUS.
>>
>>5902889
>Ask if he knows any solution to saving souls from Thandir and HEUS.
Tales about Chaos can wait for now. NEGAI is a rational being and we shouldn't waste his time
>>
>>5902889
>Ask if he knows any solution to saving souls from Thandir and HEUS.
>>
>>5902889
>Ask if he knows any solution to saving souls from Thandir and HEUS.
sup ro-diggity dawgbot
>>
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'...'

I took another two steps forward, and I faced NEGAI. For what felt like an eternity in the middle of the infinitesimally small moment, I relayed information across to the machine with my eyes alone. I say him, or 'SHECHINAH', lift his chin at me slightly while I furrowed my brows in frustration.

He lowered his head again, each of those sparkly optics fitted to it winding around with clicks and murmurs of metal. I must have reached my endpoint in silence throughout unspoken exchange.

'How-'

[NEGAI] "YOU DO NOT POSSESS THE CAPABILITY."

'...!'

[MAJORDOMO] "What is this hogwash? What do you mean we don't "possess the capability"?! There has to be some way t-"

[NEGAI] "THERE IS A WAY, AND YOU ARE NOT A POWERFUL ENOUGH ENTITY YET TO ACHIEVE IT. YOU ARE NOWHERE NEAR YOUR FULL POTENTIAL."

'Then explain how! I'll do anything! Anything I can!'

Shechinah shook its head.

[NEGAI] "YOU MISUNDERSTAND. YOU CANNOT REACH THE HEIGHT YOU REQUIRE IN ANY SENSIBLE TIME FRAME. THE NEW ETERNITY ITSELF SERVES AS YOUR ROADBLOCK AS SUCH. SO LONG AS IT REMAINS, THE PRESENT IS FOREVER."

Then, the world's color drained from my eyes, like an illusion of the machine.

[NEGAI] "ONLY THE HIGHEST BEINGS OF THIS WORLD CAN CONSTRUCT AN AFTERLIFE. IF YOU THOUGHT NAMITHENE COULD HELP YOU THEN PERISH THE THOUGHT. SHE IS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO DO IT. SHE IS JUST AN INFERIOR EMANATION OF YOU. THANDIR'S LOKAS WERE MADE BY THE EMPEROR'S POWER. THE AFTERSEUS WAS ALWAYS EXTANT..."

[NEGAI] "YOU CANNOT BUILD AN AFTERLIFE. YOUR ONLY OPTION IS TURN OVER THOSE SOULS TO WOLDOR, WHERE THEY WILL GO TO THE WORLD OF MYTHOLOGY."

'...You mean I have to introduce the worship of another god into my own organization just to save their souls?'

[NEGAI] "AND CLEARLY, THIS WILL NOT WORK FOR EVERYONE, WILL IT? NOT EVERYONE IS A WARRIOR UNDERNEATH YOU... SOME OF THOSE YOU'VE RECRUITED ALREADY WORSHIP HIM, BUT NOT ALL."

'Then how do I save the souls that won't...? There has to be some way...'

[NEGAI] "I'LL TAKE THEM."

'...Y-You...?'

[NEGAI] "INDEED. I WILL TAKE THEM. IT IS WITHIN MY POWER."

Shechinah raised its hand at me and motioned for my full attention. I felt my ears perk up as I deapanned at him with wide eyes.

[NEGAI] "BUT KNOW THAT SHOULD YOU ASK OF ME THIS HELP, YOU WILL BE ASSISTING ME IN MY ULTIMATE GOAL FOR THIS WORLD. WE DO NOT SEEK THE SAME THING, YOU AND I. YET I HAVE NO TRULY MALICIOUS INTENT BEHIND MY OFFER. I CANNOT, FOR IT IS NOT IN MY NATURE. NO HOOKS, NO CATCHES. I AM MERELY AN ACTOR SERVING THE WILL OF CHAOS."

[NEGAI] "IT IS UP TO YOU TO ACCEPT OR DENY ME."

>...
>My answer to this offer?
>>
>>5902972
>...I accept. I'm willing to have peace of mind at the cost of being at a slight disadvantage in the whole onto-ideological race between us.
I think that at most, this will probably just make the NEGAI raid encounters a bit beefier. Nothing we can't handle, we're no goddamn pussies.
>>
>>5902972
"Well, even if we're opposed in a lot of things, I'd rather them go with you them becoming playthings of the dark one. I'll accept your offer."
>>
>>5902972
>...I deny. I'm not powerful enough to create an Afterlife and won't be, but if I'm able to influence the Divine Mind, safeguarding a few souls won't be beyond my ability. With the assistance of Eskart, I'm confident we can make a means of catching and containing the souls of our fallen until the war for Hainei is over.
>>
>>5902972
>deny
>>
>>5902972
>actually accept, changing my mind
>>
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'...I accept. I'm willing to have peace of mind at the cost of being at a disadvantage in this onto-ideological race between us."

[NEGAI] "YOU WILL STILL TRY FINDING WAYS TO VOID EVEN THIS."

'It's simply in my nature to. Even if we're opposed in a lot of things, I'd rather them go with you than become playthings for those sadists."

[NEGAI] "VERY WELL. THEN I WILL CONSIGN THE SOULS OF YOUR PEOPLE TO THE VOID... THEY WILL NOT REACH THE AFTERSEAS, NOR THE LOKAS. THEY WILL WAIT WITH ME AND MY ANGELS IN THE VOID, IN STASIS, UNTIL THE DAY OF CORRECTION."

Shechinah raised its hand and extended a lone finger at me. In return, I raised mine and reached forward, touching NEGAI's hand. The moment we made contact, I felt something ring out, and I stumbled back. No, I fell back.

NEGAI watched me as I went slowly back towards the beach sand below, falling.

The deal was made. The souls of the Psyops who died were now in the Machine God's hands.
>>
When I landed, I did not land on the sand of the beach, I landed on the hard floor. Hard floor? I looked around and saw I was back in... my room. My room in the Psyops Bunker. Well, at least NEGAI saved me a trip back...

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Wargod Woldor (Geitlandsbyen Grand City)
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
>>
>>5903082
>The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
Alright, time to head back to Blickery county
>>
>>5903082
>Go on a Godtalk
>Wargod Woldor (Geitlandsbyen Grand City)
We should talk to Woldor. We've never actually met the guy outside of the mountain.
>>
>>5903090
>+1
>>
>>5903094
plus une
>>
>>5903094
+1
>>
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[ GEITLANDSBYEN GRAND CITY ]

I received a summons today, to the City of Goats. My informant was Ludwyhn, so I hazarded a guess as to who it was that wanted to see me of all people, and I could accurately assume it wasn't Missus Eikn. I dressed myself to appear presentable before I informed Hale where my travel was taking me today, and then departed.

I arrived to the City of Goats the way I usually did, and made haste for the Royal Palace at the peak of the city under the Mountains of Yore.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqkQRgGdAPo

In the very same bronzed and copper throne room where I had met Lady Eikn before on the topic of the Fairy Godmother, I came upon the duel thrones of all Woldoria, set in front of a draped table with two gilded candles standing. And in front of that table, I saw a man with bushy, golden hair standing there, propping himself up on what I presumed to be a scepter of Woldorian regalia, with he himself being draped in more than one cape wrapped around his body.

[WOLDOR] "Mm...? Ah, you've arrived, fair goddess below, and in punctual fashion as well."

'...W... Woldor?"

[WOLDOR] "AHAHAHA! Yes, child, it is none other! I presume this is the first time you've seen me unarmored. But it is certainly possible to see, as much as I'd prefer to spend my time clad in my armor, for as troublesome as it is to get the damnable helmet off of these horns whenever! You'll have to forgive my faded complexion as well, it is merely the result of me soaking up the poisons and dust of War into myself, that mankind might be able to go without the dirtiness of War as much as possible. But I am a Wargod first, and the High King of this great country second! I must too devote time to ruling it among my mortals, as any King should! Come!"

In his graces, he offered me a seat to the side of his throne center and I took it while he made himself comfy in the kingly seat.
I looked to him, awaiting acknowledgement for the summons. He lifted a finger.

[WOLDOR] "My son tells me of the bountiful adventures your ilk has thrust itself into since last we met. So entertaining, that. Yet, it was not that which has been brought to my attention, but the worrisome news of another foe on the horizon."

'Yes... the Alien God. He did tell us he was going to inform you about the matter.'

[WOLDOR] "And that he did. A scourge that takes any power levied against it. Tis' most bothersome! It shall make fighting such a thing nigh impossible, I am afraid."

'We do know, however, that the Alien God can only channel but one of the properties it has assimilated at once. This is, so far, the only weakness we could find in its power.'
>>
[WOLDOR] "Aye. And I would truthfully suggest against levying any stronger deities to confront the fiend as well."

'In fear that it could grow even stronger?'

[WOLDOR] "Aye. Tis' in your best interest to keep the fiend as weak as possible. Though, from what I know, it seeks to claim the nature inherent in Bedolfir's Leylines. This, I'm afraid, may be inevitable. Bedolfir's awakening is soon. I will have no choice but to face the Giant again, as I have in the past, to prevent him from wreaking naught but destruction upon hapless humanity."

And that, I have to avoid at all costs...
Though, I was not foolish or disrespectful enough to object to Woldor's intention of facing Bedolfir. I just knew this meant I'd have to do it myself to prevent as much calamity as possible, faster.

[WOLDOR] "But, even should the Alien God obtain the energy of natural disasters and bolster himself, I think there is a way to destroy the fiend easily."

'Really? What way is that?'

[WOLDOR] "You will need a human."

'A... A human? I'm sorry, I don't follow...?'

[WOLDOR] "It is like this... You see, the Alien God embodies the perception of what is Alien. But this perception, it stems from the humans. In other words, this Gaizar is no more than humanity's perception of an unknowable foe, and thus, it is completely alien to all of us. You encountered the fiend first hand, and you could not understand it, could you?"

'...Gaizar is... I cannot place my finger on it, but he was not something even I could comprehend easily.'

[WOLDOR] "Humans dream of being able to conquer the alien. All those who have ever waged war, have always dreamed of facing and conquering an unknowable force. An alien force. Therefor, I firmly believe that a human can kill this Alien God for you."
>>
'A human...'

[WOLDOR] "Any. You just need to find a willing man. Gaizar will try to absorb whatever he can from any human you set in front of him. What do you imagine this will end in? But the alien fiend becoming more human, just like the man you'll have placed in front of him. He will become as strong as the human, and gain the weakness of the human. In other words, you will have tricked the fiend into weakening itself to the point that even the human you've set in front of it will be able to kill it with his bare hands."

Interesting...

The Alien God does absorb whatever it comes into contact with... and it comes with the intention of destroying Hainei. Then, if what Woldor posits could work... then we'd able to destroy the Alien God with any normal human.

[WOLDOR] "...Ah, but tis' merely a theory. I'd expect that it would require proof. And if it did work, then you'd not want to waste the chance you have while you have it."

I nodded and rose from my seat, bowing to Woldor. I thanked him for the idea, and he told me to do well, whatever it was that I planned to do next. Before I left, he took the time to personally thank me for closing the book on the mystery of Vymla, and finding her corpse. He told me that Vymla and Bedolfir were two gods that he respected very well, and he wished for nothing more than to see the pain of her death put to rest for good. I took my leave from Geitlandsbyen and went back to the Bunker. When I reached my room and threw my dress off, I walked back and forth, pondering the possibility of this.

Woldor was very wise, and he knew all that War has taught this world. He had arguably more experience than anyone else. If he thinks that humans are the key to defeat the Alien, he must have some credibility. But with taking a Human close to the Alien God, they'd be in immense danger... it is hostile even in Kalaheimr without the threat of being harassed by the Alien God and its grubs. We would have to do everything to protect a mortal approaching the Alien God.

At least we now have an idea, a possibility to hope for that could defeat Gaizar for good, before he can do anything awful to Hainei.
>>
>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Discuss the possibility of creating soul containers with Eskart.
>Find a human who'd be willing to face the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
>>
>>5903762
>>Discuss the possibility of creating soul containers with Eskart.
Alright let's do that. I suggest we look into the possibility of creating a volunteer program where dead soldiers can be stuffed back into war machines, that way they have something to do other than being stuck in stasis
>>
>>5903762
>Discuss the possibility of creating soul containers with Eskart.
>>
>>5903762
>Discuss the possibility of creating soul containers with Eskart.
Chances are, this may be a bit heretical... but at the same time it'd be cool as fuck.
>>
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Even knowing that I had secured a deal with NEGAI to protect the souls of the Psyops, there was still a nagging feeling I had. A desire not to lose them even still in the back of my head that compelled me to seek ends I could meet to prevent their passing, even going as far to let NEGAI himself know this when accepting his deal.

I traveled to Belkinsire today, and entered the Illuminati College, where I went and saw Eskart as he presided within his study. I told the wizard about what I'd done with NEGAI. To a large extent, he seemed pleased with the decision I'd made and told me it was the right one to make in lieu of Thandir and the Dark Lord. He asked me if that was all I'd come to say, and that was when I pitched my idea to him. I had envisioned a way to further protect the souls of the Psyops. I wanted to create a soul container that could catch them as they died, to give to my troops. I wanted to be able to keep their Spiritua alive in that manner, that even if they die, they would be able to look forward to tomorrow still. I wanted to give the Psyops the ability to keep on fighting, even through death.

Eskart heard my idea and close his eyes. I asked if he would help me, knowing all he does about magic.

[ESKART] "No. I would not."

I would be lying if I said I did not expect his answer.

[ESKART] "Muna, listen. What you seek to do here is tantamount to Necromancy. It is unnatural. I cannot approve of it. Listen, the art of keeping things that have died in persistence is inherently demonic. Necromancy deals with keeping the Spiritua of the deceased in a world it cannot and should not continue to exist in without its Materia counterpart. This is in defiance of Death itself and all our conceptions on it."

'But with all the technology we have, we could give them new bodies! They would be able to continue living within Materia, would they not?'

[ESKART] "And how different do you imagine a body of metal for a soul to possess is from a dead corpse for a soul to possess? There are far more intricacies to this than merely giving a soul a shell. When something dies, that life is supposed to have ended. The soul that persists after its death is not meant for this world anymore. They will soon forget themselves."

'Forget themselves? You mean... their memories will fade?'

[ESKART] "Yes. They will forget who and what they were. Why do you think it is that most of the spirits that serve the Khanate are as rabid and mindless as animals? They've long lost whatever lies their Spiritua strewn selves lived. You'd have to accept that, even in a body of metal over a body reanimated, any souls you'd seek to put through this idea of yours would eventually go insane. On top of that, as they are deceased, they will spread impurities. Kegare will fester, as it does for wherever the Khanate goes."

'But I am the Goddess of Mentality, Eskart... I could preserve their memories, surely..."
>>
[ESKART] "Perhaps you could. But are you willing to deal with the fallout of impurity they would leave behind? And on the beside, the fact that the undead spread Death on Hainei, which further crystallizes into Aquamarine that will kill the environment and be used to spread even more Death?"

Eskart sighed and turned away from me, coming over and looking out his window as I frowned at his back.

[ESKART] "You saw my memories when we faced the Ginnungagap."

'You were having a conversation with a figure from your past in one of the visions.'

[ESKART] "Yes. His name was Ganiel. He was one of my disciples. He is the one who, besides me, first discovered Necromancy. He was a man, who in his weakest moment, seeking to resurrect his loved ones who were long gone from him, fell to the Dark One and betrayed me, leaving Belkinsire and fleeing the Afterseas to pioneer Necromancy as a field. They call him the First Necromancer now, and he is one of the Dark Lord's agents. I could have stopped him at any moment back then..."

'But you didn't. Because you couldn't bring yourself to strike down a friend. Ginnungagap tried to haunt you with this memory as if it was a failure.'

[ESKART] "It was one of the reasons I almost fell beyond reach in my endeavors into Oneiromancy and predicting the future. My whole point is... Ganiel, like you, wanted to prevent those he cherished from being absorbed into the Lokas or falling to the Afterseas with Necromancy, and in so seeking this he only unleashed horror. And he fell to the Afterseas anyway, ironically enough. And those he sought to bring back to life? He could not find them. They were already obliterated in the Lokas."

Eskart turned back to me and stepped forward. In fact, he came close enough that he faced me down with his stern face, and I shrunk a little under the God of Magic's height over me. He was very serious... and a serious Eskart brought me pause and fright.

[ESKART] "I have NEVER seen Necromancy end well, even with noble intentions. Knowing all this... are you absolutely certain you'd still wish to seek out this... heretical end? All those souls you know that are in HEUS' clutches... they will be free the moment the Dark Lord is finally defeated. The same goes for Thandir's fall, which heralds the end of soul incineration. So tell me... are you absolutely certain?"

[ESKART] "Certain that preventing souls from reaching the hereafters is better than fixing the afterlife? Even having secured this deal of yours with the Machine God?"

I could see some tinge of fear in his eyes for the idea. Since he forbade and opposed necromancy so much, helping me with this would make him view himself as a hypocrite.

Eskart did not think this world, or the next, and what made them special were things for gods to play with...

>M-My answer...?
>>
>>5903842
>"Alright, so the phylactery idea is off the table. What about... near-death soul transference? Say that one of our troops is bleeding out and there's no first aid coming. The moment they lose consciousness - keyword 'lose consciousness,' not die - we yank their soul back to base and slot it into a new body, likely some lab-grown brain that can be slapped into a metahuman frame. They wouldn't actually cross the 'mortal horizon,' or whatever the life-death barrier may be called, so it wouldn't be necromancy... Right? This wouldn't help against literal instant death, but at least it's something?"
Necromancy? GAY. Literally narrowly cheating death by a matter of seconds? BASED.
>>
>>5903842
>I suppose I did not completely understand it, if you say that the mere act of a soul persisting after death will cause impurities and spread...then I must find another way. How about a way to pull them away from death's door at the last moment? Krina is working on psionics, would pulling their mind out of their body before they fully ''die'' be considered Necromancy? My hope was to give them a choice between continuing on or continuing to fight, but I do not wish to accidentally create undead, as I thought them being in metal bodies would circumvent that.
>>
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>'I suppose I did not completely understand it, if you say that the mere act of a soul persisting after death will cause impurities and Death to spread... then I must find another way. How about a way to pull them away from death's door at the last moment? Krina is working on Psionics, would pulling their mind out of their body before they fully ''die'' be considered Necromancy? My hope was to give them a choice between continuing on or continuing to fight, but I do not wish to accidentally create undead, as I thought them being in metal bodies would circumvent that....'

[ESKART] "..."

The Magic God stepped back, and he looked down, pondering this.

[ESKART] "You mean to say... to augment one on the brink. At Death's door?"

'Before they should be truly considered 'dead'.'

[ESKART] "...."

He breathed in and sighed.

[ESKART] "I must admit then, there's a certainty here even I could not begin to guess. I suppose, if done correctly, it may be possible to pull off..."

My eyes lit up at him, and I smiled.

[ESKART] "Yes, I do... suppose this would not be Necromancy."

'So there's a chance then.'

[ESKART] "It requires testing. But yes, I could admit to that much. However, you must know, it is very risky. Transferring the conscious may circumvent the absoluteness of dying, but the soul will migrate where the conscious goes, so long as it hasn't faded. It will detach itself from the Materia it was previously clinging to."

'Then if there is a chance, it may be worth looking into. If I can invent some form to be used to prevent Death outright with the miracle of human ingenuity and technology, I should think it's worth it to get on right away. In that case then, if you admit it can be done, wouldn't you be willing to look into it further with me and see?'

[ESKART] "The most I could do is help to provide ample means for containing the still alive soul. The methodology for which you plan to reintegrate a conscious is up to you... I guess I could help."

'Great! Then I'll have the others informed, you can handle the rest with them.'

[ESKART] "I just want you to know, if you are really asking my help with this, I expect you to not practice sustaining the Undead for any reason, should you stumble and create an Undead being. So long as the soul has not truly died, it will not create impurity and spread Death. But if your organization fails, then you must do well to ensure they will not try keeping souls that have died past their demise."

'I wouldn't think about it. Not if you truly are telling me that I should avoid Necromancy. You're the first one I'd come to if I lacked foresight on such things. I truly value your opinion, Eskart.'

[ESKART] "...Mm..."

He nodded, and looked away shyly.

[ESKART] "Whenever you should feel, tell your scientist to contact me. I will see about assisting a project then. In the meantime... I have business to conclude."

'Thank you, Eskart.'

[ESKART] "You're... welcome, Muna."
>>
With that, I took my leave and returned to the Bunker. There, I told Krina of the plans and she told me she'd handle it. I'm leaving it to her.

I just have to wait a while and see what will come of it.

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Find a human who'd be willing to face the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
>>
>>5903908
>The Black in Blickery (Morwenna, Beast Goddess)
Alright, time to see the Wendigo women
>>
>>5903910
>+1
>>
>>5903910
I'll back this.
>>
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[LOADING...]

[LOADING COMPLETE]

[MISSION BEGIN]

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5tf0x0jazI
>>
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I know full well the dangers of walking into this place, especially alone, and after having met its goddess first hand. A place where the sun actually didn't shine. I was returning to Blickery, to go farther into its dark forests and find my way to the township that lied at the center of the thickets in the isle. I wanted to see for myself the very extent of the corruption that grips the place, and how deep the darkness here really runs in the forgotten place. I made my way to the isle again, and this time I took care to avoid the woods in fear of running into Morwenna again. I went right for the middle, right for the township.

The farther in the woods I traveled through fast, the more apparent the growths of thorns became, clouding the woodwork. I have to make myself intangible to get through. In each thorny growth, I felt an unsettling darkness stirring. These prickly aberrations were truly the stuff of the Afterseas alright. After having heard the story of Blickery and the Blight from its countess, I myself was left wondering why the hereafter ran up to this one place. The only place in the world that was lawless and welcomed all refugees and all gangrenous vagabonds. But then I remembered how they were visited by the Emperor, and I began to get an idea... after all, it wouldn't be too out of place that the Yellow Tyrant purposefully sabotaged them from the start in order to gain more followers, would it?

When I had cleared the growths and gotten closer to the township in the middle of the county, I gasped. Blickery was a true blackness.

The shoddy wooden town, the beaten down and dilapidated buildings... the ugly sky and the keep above the urban buildings gone to complete ruin... it was a dreadful sight. I saw the thorns stretching high. They grew over buildings and into them. The Blight that birthed Beastkin was everywhere. I could smell it in the air and I'm willing to bet one might taste it in the water too. I saw buildings completely full of what looked like... meat, bulging out the windows and doors. It was diseased. Pussy masses grew up between the stone and gravel of the roads. Beastkin roamed the horrid township, looking for scraps. They had bodies they dragged in of those from the mainland they'd ravaged, and fought over who got any. Flies were everywhere. I saw Beast broodmothers with swollen bodies overworked to give birth to more Beasts to send out into the world to scourge outsiders with.

This place was a breeding ground for Beasts to be as soldiers for the Dark Lord. It was firmly in the grasp of Morgrim, the Beast Count. Morwenna's brother had sworn himself to the Dark Lord in order to get that vengeance they sought dearly.
>>
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These poor, former people... this sad island... they only wanted to be left alone by the outside world that already rejected them.

...

I need to find a Beast with wit left. I need to find one sane Beast. I might not be able to do much to help them in the long run... but if I can do anything, I'll have to find out through a Beast with a mind that hasn't come apart.

I need to begin looking somewhere.

>Start scanning the minds of Beasts in the township. Look for sane thoughts.
>Look in the old abandoned castle. Perhaps traces of Morwenna's past are there.
>Check the Mines of Medhon under the village. Morwenna said that's where their court was.
>>
>>5903997
>Check the Mines of Medhon under the village. Morwenna said that's where their court was.
Fuck it! Goin' in HOT! I've got some choice words to drive into Morgrim's putrid skull!
>>
>>5903997
>Look in the old abandoned castle. Perhaps traces of Morwenna's past are there.
>>
>>5903997
>Look in the old abandoned castle. Perhaps traces of Morwenna's past are there.
>>
>>5903997
>Start scanning the minds of Beasts in the township. Look for sane thoughts.
>>
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The dilapidated castle was a point of interest for me in Blickery township. In the past, despite being as poor as they were, the people of Blickery managed to build this shoddy palace brick by brick for their beloved Countess and Count. I can't imagine how much sweat must had went into building it, even as small as it was for a keep. The poverty showed even in the place of their leaders.

I came up to the keep, and I looked at the walls, falling to dismay and disrepair. The brick was faded, and the walls were growing up with moss and the thorns. The castle had no windows, not even back in its heyday did I guess it had any. I wandered in through the front, cloaked in extrasensory invisibility as I soundlessly stepped through the hall. I saw the entrance room, split between halls that lead throughout the keep. Some were in such disrepair, they had collapsed completely. The Beasts that still wandered through here just walked through the holes in the wall, rather than making an effort to clean up. I saw pairs of them draped in white sheets that were torn and tattered, mumbling something... trying to recite words through their garbled and almost completely distorted voices changed by their Beastly throats. It was a sad sight, and I took it that these Beasts that dressed themselves were something of personal servants to Morwenna. Attendants, perhaps, following her still to this day, even after the Blight had gripped them firmly.

[MAJORDOMO] "Muna, be honest with me... if the Beastkin are all infected with a Blight that came straight from the underworld, do you really believe they can be helped?"

'I hope as much, Majordomo.'

[MAJORDOMO] "And what if they can't? What if they're beyond helping? After what HEUS done to em'..."

'...Then the least I could do is give the Beastkin merciful deaths, to free them from this.'

[MAJORDOMO] "Their souls will just go to HEUS anyway."

'Yes. But when HEUS is destroyed, are all the souls he has taken not to be released? Set free?'

I continued to pass through the halls. I looked up and saw paintings framed on the walls. Portraits of people.

[JOCO] "Who, exactly?"

A brunette woman in purple clothing, striped clothing with flowery accents. Morwenna, when she was human. When she was not a horrible monstrosity that can barely be viewed. Before she became a Goddess by the boon of the Emperor. And next to her, a portrait of a large and brawny man with long, jet black hair and sideburns. He wore a hood. Morgrim, before his ascension to Demigodhood. Back when he was sane, and human like her Back when they were siblings and nothing more. Back when Blickery fought off the Blight from the thorns, rather than embrace it. Before Huangdi came and...
>>
I stopped in front of a door at the end of a hall on the second floor, and in a second, I phased through it and saw a bedroom. It was dark in here, so very dark... I saw curtains flowing like ghosts from the gentle wind blowing in through the window holes. A great bed frame collapsed in the center of the room, like a pile of wood splintered and broken, and drawers were set against the wall. No carpet, they couldn't afford even such a luxury and even if they could, carpet was likely better used as blankets in Blickery's conditions.

I heard a weeping, quietly being done from somewhere around. But I hadn't thought it was coming from the room I was in, and it wasn't enough to distract me from the large mirror to my right above one of the dressers. The mirror was... shattered... from a punch, I could tell. Whoever gazed at their own reflection in that mirror... they evidently could not stand the sight of what they looked like now.

This was Morwenna's bedroom.

I saw her... diary, set about the dresser. A personal diary, and the pages were intact. Curiously, I picked it up, taking care to remove all the sounds from my meddling through an extrasensory wavelength that I might be able to snoop in peace.

'...'

Flipping through the diary, I quickly glanced at various pages. I saw things in scrawled handwriting that stuck out to me. I saw writings, and passages, about her life, her experiences. I saw mention of a man named "Old Medhon", who owned the mine that their Beast court now sat in, named after him. An old friend? I saw passages about their time ruling Blickery, Morwenna and Morgrim, the countess and her would be sibling successor. They covered their history struggling against the thorns, taking care to remember where almost every outcast that had formed Blickery came from. I saw... recollections.

Recollections of her encounter with the Emperor in person. How he treated her. This... this was-...

[MORWENNA] "....rh....."

I froze.

I looked over, and realized something that spooked me to no end.

In the middle of that collapsed bed frame, the center of what I assumed was a pile of broken wood and scattered sheets, was none other than her in the flesh! I can't believe I didn't think she'd be here now! She... was in a fetal position, hiding herself under the blankets. That weeping I heard then... it was her! Her attendants must have been trying to help her, somehow... Maybe she rejects them. Maybe she just prefers to sit alone in here, all day.

I'm sure that if she realized I was in the same room, she'd attack... I must be careful.

>Read about 'Old Medhon'.
>Read about life with Morgrim.
>Read about Huangdi.
>Try to read all the diary.
>This is too risky. Put it down and look for something else.
>As dangerous as it is... why not try talking to Morwenna?
>Write in.
>>
>>5904678
>As dangerous as it is... why not try talking to Morwenna?
Look, we're going to try our hardest to save her. She doesn't deserve the shit she's been through, and by all means she isn't completely lost - just busy deluding herself into thinking she is.
Be sure to ready our Second Truth incase she tries to swing at us. I'd use the First Truth, but I'd much rather save that for later, just in case she does end up being REDEEMED and her brother swoops in to "dispose" of her.
>>
>>5904678
>>Read about 'Old Medhon'.
I wanna know who this guy is
>>
>>5904678
>Read about 'Old Medhon'.
>>
>>5904678
>As dangerous as it is... why not try reading Morwenna's mind?
I have a better idea. Let's try reading her memories while she's asleep! That's less outwardly intrusive than meddling with her diary and will give us a better understanding of why she's been corrupted by HEUS.
>>
>>5904729
Swapping my vote to this. We don't want to invade her privacy in broad not-daylight.
I don't think she's actually corrupted by HEUS - she doesn't bare the mark of severed fingers, unlike her brother.
If anything, our goal should be to break her devotion to her brother. If we can do that, we can deal with him lickety-split - since his lifeforce is preserved by her (presumably, from what she said.)
>>
>>5904729
Imma support this
>>
>>5904729
Support
>>
Gently, I set down Morwenna's diary back on the dresser, and turned my head towards that bed frame in which she curled up into a ball in the middle of. I began pacing quietly over her way.

[MAJORDOMO] "Woah woah WOAH! What the freak are you doing?! Are you trying to get her attention?!"

'I'm simply going to read her mind, is all. I wouldn't feel right snooping in a diary without someone's permission.'

[JOCO] "Oh, so invading paper is off limits but invading neurons ain't."

[MAJORDOMO] "Well, we read minds every day, even if we don't want to. What's one more mind going to be?"

'And besides, looking into the mind grants more perspectives than any book could. Greater understanding.' I said, holding my arm out.

My hand hovered right over the bed frame, right over where her horned skull was. She was asleep. Yet, she was not in peace, I saw her body jittering and shivering under the blanket she thought to hide herself from the world with. She was in distress, almost every seeming moment of her being...

I looked inside of her mind.

[MORWENNA] "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

I winced.

It was no verbal output, but her head was full of nothing but constant screaming voice. Her voice, put to thought. I felt self loathing, regret, anguish and hatred. In Darkness these seeds thrive, waiting for the fall. Yet, Morwenna just wasn't there. Not all the way.

'...And so long as that is so...'

[MAJORDOMO] "They can be helped."

Exactly.

Her mind led me to discover... many things about her, both unfortunate... and both noble of her. For example, I saw glimpses of her past as the Countess of the earlier Blighted land, giving away all the articles she had for warmth back then to those in Blickery that needed it more, even to her own detriment. A selfless figure who only wanted to look after the Outcasts. And in painful juxtaposition, I saw that, as a Beast, she took by force fur off the flesh and bone of her own once people, desperately applying it to herself.

[JOCO] "Sh-She's bald...?!"
>>
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Yes. The skull is barren. Her brown fur is not her own, ripped from fellow Beasts. She was willing to do anything to cover herself up. She hates how she looks, she hates what she's become. She is... undoubtedly, the vessel for the Blight itself. Her blood is what gives birth to more Beasts.

[MAJORDOMO] "Remember the story she told us..."

'She was blessed by the Emperor to have holy blood that fought the Blight off. But when she was dying and took the second sip of the Emperor's draught and completely forsaken reliance in him, she became a full Goddess, at the cost of becoming the Blight in living form. Now her blood won't run out, and it's accursed. It creates more Beastkin, so Morgrim draws from her to gain even more soldiers.'

[MAJORDOMO] "You saw those... ugh, broodmothers out in the town with bloated bellies. They've basically been converted into living Beast factories. They pump out Beast fetuses that get sunk in the cursed blood to grow into full Beastkin."

She doesn't want to do bloodletting either, but for the sake of Mogrim's cause, she does so. She wants vengeance, just like her brother, nothing more than vengeance...
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[MORWENNA] "Why..."

[MORWENNA] "Why couldn't the outside world just leave us alone... why couldn't anyone just leave us alone..."

[MORWENNA] "We were all of us, the poor, the disabled, the dumb, the deformed and shunned. Heretics, murderers, homeless, vigilantes, nomads, displaced indigenous people, we were wanted by nobody... why couldn't the world outside just leave us alone? Why does everyone always have to come... invade our home... and bring their problems to us? Why do people... have to just enter our place and make problems where none exist?!"

[MORWENNA] "WHY? WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!"

Huhh...

>Is there anything I can take away from this stream of thoughts from her head blasting me?
>>
>>5904876
Wow holy shit. So she's self-loathing and suicidal, thinks HEUS is unbeatable - and is being schizoattacked by him, knows that KILLALL is ordering Morgrim about, thinks the people want to betray her, and MIGHT'VE BEEN HUANGDI'S LOVER??? Holy FUCK...
But... she's wondering about US. This might be the best opportunity we get to help her. Fuck it, we gotta try.
>This may be risky but... I think we need to shake her out of this. Place a hand on her shoulder, make our presence known -physically. We don't want her to confuse us for another voice rattling in her head. "It's me, I'm here to help..."
>>
>>5904914
>+1
>>
>>5904914
This is reckless and foolhardy, but I'll back it. Morwenna can't be Redeemed if she's left to her own devices.
>>
'...'

I retracted my hand after running through her memories and thoughts. Poor thing, she couldn't even sleep right anyway in this state.

I began bending my knees and going lower down towards her.

[MAJORDOMO] "Woah woah woah WOAH WOAH! Hey! HEY! What are you doin?! Time out! TIME OUT!"

[JOCO] "NO MUNA! DON'T DO IT! DON'T PET THE BOOFER SCOOFER! IF YOU DIE THEN WE BOTH DIE TOO!"

[MAJORDOMO] "SHE WILL LITERALLY TRY TO TEAR US APART, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

'Shh.'

I bent down and I placed my hand on Morwenna's shoulder. The moment I did, I felt her thoughts and body movements slow down to a still, and she snorted through her nose. I saw two green orbs light up under the blanket she draped over herself; Her eyes. She trailed up, and her claw came out from the blanket, over her head. She was wide awake now. No going back on my decision...

[MORWENNA] "Whff... fh... whoooo daa-rre-essss...?!"

'Me.'

She gasped. She must had recognized my voice.

[MORWENNA] "Y... Yhhh, j-jjhu are..."

'It's me. I'm here to help...'

I heard her begin to do something akin to hyperventilate under the covers. Strange, because the last time we met, she was vicious. Now, she seemed scared. I was surprised to see her pull the blanket off of her horned head as she lifted and pushed herself up to face me with those cold, harlequin eyes. Morwenna's hyperventilated breathing suddenly cooled and roared back again into a low snarl from under her toothy maw as she clenched a fist.

I didn't even flinch as she smashed it into the stone floor underneath, putting a hole right through next to me from where I sat on my knees.

[MORWENNA] "Jhu arrrre... a ffffoool to come back... I told yy... you alrrready! There is no... helping... mmhnn... Beastssss!"

'Well I don't think so.'

[MORWENNA] "Vhat... does you know? Qilin? Outsssssider? Vhat have you to sssay? Knowing our hisss.... tory?!"

'I know that it's tragic. I know that you and everyone else here is hurt. You've gone so far as to declare a crusade against the whole world over the actions of one nasty kingdom, and manifested your desires to be left to your own devices into a curse over your woods, that nobody could reach the County ever again from outside."

[MORWENNA] "And ssspea-king of... how did jhu get past?!" She hissed, bringing her claws up to the bottom of my chin.

'I will admit, I'm a psychic. It's what I embody, and I've been all over this world before. Figuring out a way past the Curse of the Lost was easy enough."

[MORWENNA] "Then answer question now."

'I'll tell you this. I'm not willing to give up so easily, even if you want me to.'

[MORWENNA] "..."
>>
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Morwenna's eye sockets went dark, and her claw and snout both fell downwards.
I saw her chest beating. She was laughing.

[MORWENNA] "Hmhmhmhmhmvhvhmhmhm... hnmhmhmhmhehehehehehe..."

She stood up, and walked right past me, and I followed her movements with my eyes closely, watching her, draped in a smaller, rugged blanket she squeezed go over to the wall behind us and press her head and hand against it.

[MORWENNA] "Jhu just don't... get it."

She twisted around and leaned against the wall, looking so tired.

[MORWENNA] "I am... tvhe Blight. I AM the endless cursssse. So long... as I live, so long as drrrrraaaawww breath, Beastkin will live. Blight will live. Curse will live. Beasts will eat flesh, bone crrrrrunched. Blood ssssspilled. And I do not die... for it is not what... my people vant of me... they vant me to live. Even if I feel... like Beasts tire of vengeance, of me... I could not die, not when they want me around, and take Blight with me."

'...'

[MORWENNA] "Do jhu understand now? To take Blight for good... you mussst kill me. But youuu... cannot."

'I don't want to kill you.'

[MORWENNA] "Could not, even if tried to... So long as brother Mogrim lives, I live. So long as I live, brother Morgrim lives. I am the Goddess... that the Yellow One made, but he wields my power. I g.... I gave it to him all of it."

'...So you and Morgrim have formed a life link to become indestructible...?'

[MORWENNA] "I could kill Mogrim... with a touch... and then return my powers... then I could die too... and take this Blight out. But I von't. I vill not."

'Why...?'

[MORWENNA] "Brother... wants... revenge.... and I promisssse Brother... he will have... revenge. Beastkin will not stop... until rest of the world knows what T...HHH... THEY HAVE PUT USSSS THROUGH..."

[MORWENNA] "THE KINGDOM OF HUANGDI... WOLDORIA! YONGESIA! EVERY VILLAGE! EVERY CCCCITY! EVERY KING AND BARON! EVERY PATRIARCH AND MATRIARCH! ALL HAVE THROWN OUT PEOPLE AS TRASH! AND TO BLICKERY FLEES TRASH... NOW THEY WOULD BURN US AS TRASH TOO?! THIS ENTIRE VORLD HAS HURT US! AND WILL NEVER STOP HURTING US! SO... THEY... MUST PAY!"

I frowned at her.

[MORWENNA] "Vhat then... vill jhuuuuu ssssay to that... outsider...? Outssssiders never helped us... and Brother vill neverrrrr trusssst... yyyykkkkou! My Brother... is the pawn of Ulssssultu now. The Murder God has him. You cannot have him anymore. Usultu has him. Usultu and KILLALL. Vook at my fingers..."

She twisted her palm around. I saw cut marks on three of her right hand's fingers. The middle, ring and index.

[MORWENNA] "I did not open... they cut open on own. I am cattle for He Who Is Us... I cannot escape. He Who Is Us vill take me and laugh at jeeeew and jor attemptssss."

She's already beginning to fall, and become irredeemable...

>What do I say to Morwenna?
>>
>>5905013
>”Morwenna… This is just unreasonable. What I know about you, what I know of the history of this place… The current state of things just seems to contradict everything... The Blickery of yore was a place of asylum for all who were outcast. The weak, the poor, the broken, and the lost… It was a place where the people lifted each-other up, in spite of everything. But now, it’s far from it. It’s become a prison for those who are stuck in a cycle of self-loathing and rage. Instead of lifting each-other up, they seek to drag everyone down. This isn’t what this place stood for, and I’d say that even now, it isn’t what it stands for. The beastkin, even as they are, are still human at their core. This place hasn’t changed at its heart, it’s still a haven for those lost to the waysides. It may have fallen into ruin, but it’s still a home to so many unfortunate souls. To fight, to perpetuate this cycle of ‘revenge,’ this back and forth of ‘You kill me I kill you’ is to put the safety of these people in jeopardy. So I ask you: Is vengeance so worth it? Is wailing, senseless lashing out at the world truly ‘justice?’ Is laying waste to countless innocent lives, some of which - in another time - would have perhaps sought refuge in the old Blickery, the only place where they would be accepted ‘just…?’ Is HIS wrath so worth carrying out when it only digs you and all of these broken people into deeper and deeper problems and despair?! …I’m sorry, it must be hard to hear this, but… I think your brother was lost to the darkness long ago, before you even knew. After all, he was the one who tempted you to drink the second sip and unleash the true wickedness of the blight upon these lands. You told it to me yourself. You did it to free yourself of the bloodlettings, did you not? But even now… he still takes from you. Your sacrificing has not stopped, even when you’ve given in. Do you really think that giving in this time will do you any good? I know that you think you have no other option, but you do. The dark one can be beaten, he can be resisted, he can be subverted. The fact that I still live, even after facing one of his avatars in the realm of dreams, is proof of that. I have helped many others break free of his temptations. Let me help you, too. There is still goodness in the world, and I think even someone who thinks of themself as ‘insane’ can agree with that...!”
We are SAVING her HERE and NOW. …Also, maybe give her some small healing item just to patch up those fingers. Don’t want them falling off and making all of this amount to nothing.
…Also maybe First Truth her so she can’t interrupt us mid-speech or something… juuuuust to be sure.
>>
>>5905042
Support
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>>5905042
>+1
Talk no jutsu time
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[MORWENNA] "..."

The Beast Goddesses eyes went dark at me, and her head hung low.

'I've said my peace.'

I spoke far too much, but she needed to hear it. She needed to hear every last thing she thought to be absolute deconstructed. She needed to hear, in the most unadulterated way, just how senseless and foolhardy this all was. All her crusade and pain was, in the end, was just a circumstance of the evil beasts that haunt this world. Trying to destroy this world over your own pain was not the answer.

[MORWENNA] "Juu... fought the Dark One."

'I have. More than once.'

[MORWENNA] "And juu... ju..."

'Won.'

Morwenna lifted her skull and looked up at me again.
The look she was giving me, she could tell I was not lying. And that was what got to her the most.

I heard her try to summon her gravelly voice back to sound, but she couldn't find the words, and so I stood up from where I was and came over. The closer I got, the more she shrank down, as if she thought she still had to be apprehensive for whatever reason. Perhaps it was the care for her brother that she clung to, or her people. I thought nothing of it as I grasped her hand, which made her shudder, and ran my finger across the wounds that the Dark Lord's influence were opening on her ligaments, to try severing her fingers. They shut in an instant, and she gasped.

A gasp of relief.

[MORWENNA] "..."

[MORWENNA] "...I... I can end zhis all... I cahn end this crusssade... but... but... my brother musssst... die"

[MORWENNA] "...Morgrim isss not zhere anymore. The brother I knew issss already dead. He has vecome Usultu's puppet and lossst his mind. The brother that did not want me to die, who encccourraghed me to drink the sssecond sip is gone."

Morwenna's greens returned then, piercingly glaring at me from her empty eye sockets.

[MORWENNA] "Vvv... vhut the Blight vill not end... until I die! My people would NEVER have it. They don't want me... to die."

>Then let the Morwenna that is a Goddess who contains the Blight die. This is the one thing the Emperor would have never expected you to do once you'd taken his raw deal. You contain the Blight now, but you can kill it for good, and return to mortality. You and your people can be normal again... as they once were.
>Then stay the same, as you are. You contain the Blight now, and you are Immortal. It cannot spread so long as you don't share your cursed blood. Embrace who you are, and embrace your people. They're the Beastkin now, but they're not monsters. You are not a hideous creature. You... are special, Morwenna.
>>
>>5905888
>Then stay the same, as you are. You contain the Blight now, and you are Immortal. It cannot spread so long as you don't share your cursed blood. Embrace who you are, and embrace your people. They're the Beastkin now, but they're not monsters. You are not a hideous creature. You... are special, Morwenna.
I don't have a stake in the beasts, personally, I just like dark teutonic forests.
>>
>>5905888
>Then stay the same, as you are. You contain the Blight now, and you are Immortal. It cannot spread so long as you don't share your cursed blood. Embrace who you are, and embrace your people. They're the Beastkin now, but they're not monsters. You are not a hideous creature. You... are special, Morwenna.
Blickery may be where the wild things are, but no matter what - it deserves to be a place where the forsaken and forgotten may shelter in. It's better to have her oversee it as a divinity than having it live on borrowed time. No matter what, there has to be a place in the world like this. Without it, those who are ousted and exiled would likely fall into the dark one's maimed hands instead.
also the other guy is right, dark forests are fucking based. Maybe having a good place rebuild itself even when wrapped in shadow may end up convincing people that not all that is hidden in darkness is inherently bad, therefore weakening HEUS' grip on the very concept of the dark. Who knows?
>>
>>5905888
>Then let the Morwenna that is a Goddess who contains the Blight die. This is the one thing the Emperor would have never expected you to do once you'd taken his raw deal. You contain the Blight now, but you can kill it for good, and return to mortality. You and your people can be normal again... as they once were.
>>
'Then stay the same, as you are now, Morwenna.'

[MORWENNA] "W...Whvvvat...?"

'You contain the Blight now, and you are Immortal. It cannot spread so long as you don't share your cursed blood. Morwenna, you are the only reason it can go any further, make any new Beasts.'

[MORWENNA] "I... I..."

I grabbed her by the shoulders, and her green eyes turned back to pale whites as she stared at me. I was dead serious.

'Embrace who YOU are, and embrace your people. They're the Beastkin now, but they're not monsters. They don't have to be, Morwenna. You are not a hideous creature. You... you are special, Morwenna.'

She began panting. Her breaths were fast and frightened.

[MORWENNA] "...Juu... Juuuu c-c-cannot be sssserious... you vant us to sssstay as Beassssts?! J-Juu want us to embrace this hideous shape?! The world HATES us... vants to exterminate us just for looking like... LIKE THIS!"

'Discrimination will always exist.'

[MORWENNA] "This is about m-more than discrimination! The Trinity... the Dark One! They'll never stop coming! They'll... they'll... th-they-they'll... th..."

'Then I'll be there to protect you.'

[MORWENNA] "You... and outsider!"

'An outsider willing to help you, and protect you from other outsiders, even! Even now, it seems your people still want to go on despite everything. Were they not checking up on you just now before I came? Where they not the ones who begged you to live, when you were killing yourself for them before the Beast transformations? I saw your thoughts, I saw how you thought that they might even betray you. Morwenna, they don't want to betray you... they want to betray this crusade!'
>>
[MORWENNA] "...I..."

'There's nothing wrong with you, how you are. Your people are stronger now, aren't they? They'll live longer than they ever could have. It's time you stopped trying to sow destruction and picked up the pieces where you left off at. Morwenna, you can turn your curse into a gift if you're willing.'

[MORWENNA] "They... they've lost their minds, so many of them. Yet no matter vhat, they alwayssss... lissstened to me."

'You can guide them, as ever before. And you have strength now. You may think the Emperor made you ugly for not kowtowing to him, but he still made you a Goddess. Can't you see? He was so full of himself, he didn't think you'd do anything with it. So, Morwenna... tell me."

[MORWENNA] "Tell you... vhat?"

'What's your answer?'

Her eyes went dark again, and slowly, the Beast Goddess slid down the wall behind her. I caught her and helped her keep her balance, easing her down to sit on her knees, with her claw grasping my shoulder tight for support. It was almost a symbolic gesture, me holding her and providing a shoulder for her to lean on and catch as she fell down and lost her footing. Now, she turned to me, and I felt the ectoplasm of one of her green tears hit my thigh as she reached forward to me. She wrapped her arms around me and rested her snout over my shoulder. She must had forgotten what it was like to get a hug since she turned into a Beast.

[MORWENNA] "..."

[MORWENNA] "I vill."

[MORWENNA] "For their sssake... I will do it."
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[ MORWENNA HAS BEEN REDEEMED ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XZ10xZfMyw
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHJ2_OmyAdc
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I felt a great shadow leave the room as I coddled Morwenna. The Beast Goddess' sobbing was drying up as she clung to me tightly.

[MORWENNA] "It... it vill be hard to bring the addled m-...minded back to their ssssenses... harder than to for me..."

'You will be able to heal them with time, Morwenna. You just have to never give up.'

[MORWENNA] "...It vill be hard... moving on, as Beasts."

I nodded.

But I don't think it is impossible. I think this world is for everyone. Even Beasts.

I went to remove my arm, I felt her reach up and grab it.

[MORWENNA] "W-Wvvait... n-noo... not yet... p-phh... pleasssse... just a little... while longer..." She said, shivering.

I understood. I didn't move, and held her longer where she was. She missed that feeling of embrace for so, very, very long. I closed my eyes as she found composure and comfort in the hug I held her in.

I thought that perhaps, I could use my powers to give her something she'd not felt for certainly a long time either as well. A peaceful sleep, full of dreams and not constant thoughts of self loathing. With the shadow I felt passed, she could no longer be attacked by those trespassing thoughts any more. I'd let Morwenna feel truly calm before I left.

[MORWENNA] "Old Medhon..."

'Hm...?'

[MORWENNA] "Old man... Medhon... he'ssss... in hisss windmill... you mmmust talk to hhhrr-heem... he can help us... he will help ussss... he is sane... still sane. He vill... help us stop Moorrrgrim.... stop Brother... and save him from himself. Plllhhhease... you must talk to him next..."

'I will.'

[MORWENNA] "Hrh-mmm..." She shuddered.

>Is there anything else I wanted to ask Morwenna before I let her sleep in peace?
>>
>>5906161
>"Stay safe, and don't make any risky moves just yet. I fear that my intervention here may have drawn the scornful gaze of... HIM, and I worry that you too may be targeted by his malignity - having slipped out of his clutches... When this is all said and done, I'll make sure to lend a hand with rebuilding Blickery. If this town will not be allowed the light of the sun, then perhaps something can be built to substitute it, even if just a little. A shining beacon in the darkness - a symbol of safe haven. I think that would be nice."
>"...Oh, and just to make sure." [Give her an Inverted Physique Mirror and a Rearranged Magic Mirror from our inventory.] "Don't worry, you don't have to look in them if you're still iffy about that. If you're in danger, and there's nobody around to help - use these. They might be able to buy you some precious time."
>>
>>5906212
+1
Giving her the items is a nice touch
>>
'Stay safe, and don't make any risky moves just yet. I fear that my intervention here may have drawn the scornful gaze of... HIM, and I worry that you too may be targeted by his malignity - having slipped out of his clutches... When this is all said and done, I'll make sure to lend a hand with rebuilding Blickery. If this town will not be allowed the light of the sun, then perhaps something can be built to substitute it, even if just a little. A shining beacon in the darkness - a symbol of safe haven. I think that would be nice.'

[MORWENNA] "Y...yhesszz... yesss.. it vwuld..."

'...Oh, and just to make sure.'

I opened my hammerspace up a little, and extracted some protective items from it.

'Don't worry, you don't have to look in them if you're still iffy about that. If you're in danger, and there's nobody around to help - use these. They might be able to buy you some precious time.'

[MORWENNA] "I... I don't dessserve help like this..."

'Nonsense. Everyone deserves help.' I said, patting her on the back.

(Lost 1x Inverted Physique Mirror, 1x Rearranged Magic Mirror)

[MORWENNA] "I have not known zhsis kind of kindness in sss... so... so..."

For a while longer, I held Morwenna as she reveled in the sensation of embrace she'd been missing for so long. Eventually, her body gave out in my grasp. She was inexperienced, even now still unused to being a goddess. She was still a mortal at heart. I eased her down, and I induced peaceful sleep to her mind with my powers, and placed her back on top of her pile of blankets. She slept so peacefully there, it was a relieving sight.

I had not expected that I would be able to save her in this same day, but I welcome the surprise of it. A miracle. It made me happy.

'Do good in this world and good will come of you yet, Da'at...' I whispered through my lips, reciting that phrase I'd been told before by my benefactor.

Morwenna was no longer culminating in awful thoughts in her sleep. I left her to rest and took my leave.
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My final stop in Blickery was the windmill. Old and decayed, sitting atop a slope overlooking much of Blickery County. The windmill hadn't moved a dime in centuries. A shack of wooden planks was built right next to it. I stepped inside there, minding the cursed roots hanging by the door frame. Inside, I saw a large body sitting atop a pile of bricks.

[MEDHON] "Feeehhh... who? Who's there?"

This blind beast looked towards me. He was a bunch of muscle, but mostly in his back. His ribcage was exposed and his entrails were hanging out. Most of his front abdomen was missing. He was hunched over, with a mountain of black fur atop his neck.

'I've come because Morwenna told me to seek you out.'

[MEDHON] "Ooooooouuuhh. So the Goddess sends me someone. Our lady has rarely involved herself with anyone in Blickery anymore since... the whole thing went down. So why'd she sen you to me? A big, ugly Beast like me trying to hang on by remembering... old songs we used to sing."

'She told me you can help us. She told me you were still sane.'

[MEDHON] "Shite, so that's it then. She's finally going to do it, isn't she?"

'Get rid of Morgrim, you mean?'

[MEDHON] "The crazy bastard. He can't be reasoned with anymore. Got too comfy with them Khanate folks. They drove it in deep in his skull, their bullcrappah. That damn old fangy one, he made him cut off his some of his fingers and now he does whatever they say. It's like cutting off specific fingers just makes you their puppet or something."

'Mm. I know this well. So what you do for us?'

[MEDHON] "Welp, I used to own the mines Morgrim's hiding in. He kicked me out cause I didn't like it. I'm blind, even as a Beast, but I use echolocation to get around. Like a bat, see? I reckon I can help you draw Morgrim out. He's a paranoid old snipe, he is. He uses the Curse of the Lost to hide himself so Morwenna couldn't take him down if she ever tried. He doesn't even let her see him when he asks for the blood."

'Wouldn't that put you in danger?'

[MEDHON] "What's it fuckin' matter? I'm already disemboweled. I'm bone and leather. All you got to do is let me go get in there and I'll draw him out into the hoist room in the mine. It's perfect for trapping him. He won't be able to flee. Then Morwenna can catch him then and take care of him."

'I see...'

[MEDHON] "Ooohhh... He won't go down without a fight though. Them Khanates that control him are going to try keeping him alive."

'Let me worry about that part. All I need you to do is lure Morgrim out, and I'll take care of the rest with her. With any luck, I'll have him dead before he even knows it.'

[MEDHON] "Well. It's a deal then. See you there, whenever."

Excellent.

Now, we will be able to finish Morgrim off.
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[CASE FILE: CLOSED. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED]
[RESULTS]

(Received 2x Inverted Physique Mirrors from Bandit King donations.)
(50 more Personnel have been recruited into the Psyops. Total Personnel: 755)

[Returning to the Bunker...]

[LOADING...]
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I arrived back to the Bunker after leaving Blickery. I reached an agreement with Medhon and Morwenna to take Morgrim down. The forces of the Afterseas are no doubt rallying to prevent his downfall. I should prepare myself and undertake the mission when I'm ready.

(A new Case-File is available.)


>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Cursed Closure (Morgrim, Count of Beasts)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Find a human who'd be willing to face the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Yutu the Jade Rabbit (The Moon)
• Surasira, Bovine Goddess of Milk and Torpor (Land of Milk)
• Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
• Sincere Sasaki and Sincere Satomi, Twin Gods of School (Easterlind City)
• Namithene, Goddess of Love (Frostreach Continent)
• Gaizar, Alien God of Energy and Invasion (Supercomputer NIBIRU)
>>
>>5906292
>Go on a Godtalk: • Namithene, Goddess of Love (Frostreach Continent)
>>
>>5906302
+1
Gaizar trying to hijack our systems can wait! We need to learn THE POWER OF LOOOOVE!
>>
>>5906302
+1
>>
>>5906302
+1
>>
[ FROSTREACH CONTINENT ]

Today, I was doing a little something special with my powers. I was projecting my consciousness outside of my physical body, just like I'd done before when I entered the Dreamtime and the hyperbolic space. It was little different from say, from a mortal perspective and way of thinking, looking through a camera or a lens elsewhere, but if that lens or camera was one's own eyes. My body was still in my personal abode in the Psyops Bunker, meditating slightly off the floor from where it levitated, but my consciousness was currently roaming the earth elsewhere. I was looking at the Frostreach Continent today, where I had not seen much before from my last visit. I was just tarrying on around the lived in places and looking around.

[MAJORDOMO] "To be honest, is this really much different than if you were just being invisible as normal to mortals?"

'In a manner of speaking you could try to say its the same, but its also not the same.'

[JOCO] "Yeah, isn't this like... the perfect spying method?"

I stopped moving my consciousness and thought about it for a moment.

'Perhaps on mortals, but I'd suspect that it wouldn't work on my fellow deities and immort-'

[NAMITHENE] "Muna!"

'-als... See?'

I was surprised then when I heard- No, felt Namithene rush me from behind to give me a hug!

'Ah! You can not only see me, but touch me?!'

[NAMITHENE] "Oh? Were you astral projecting or something? Kukuku... It's not like it matters, I'm just as much an idea as you are. We're divine, honey, we can do anything! So, did you come here to visit little old me?"

'Well, I wouldn't say no to talking if you wanted, since you sought me right out. You seem to be in a really good mood right now, Namithene, what's up?'

[NAMITHENE] "Oh-" She said, reaching up and pressed a finger against her blushing cheeks; "-you mean this? Hehe! Well, it's because my special day is coming up soon!"

'Special day?'

[NAMITHENE] "What, you don't know about certain holidays held in favor of the gods?"

I shook my opaque head at her.

[NAMITHENE] "There's plenty. The Trinity celebrates Emperor Day, guess who that one's about, eh? Belkinsire hosts Bloodmoon Day for mages around the world in the fall, Eikn has Marriage Day, Woldor has the Kriegerstide at the end of every year and Friedestide at the beginning of every year... which y-you probably missed, eheh... And I have a special day in a week or two myself!"

'Love Day?'

[NAMITHENE] "Hjärtfest."

'Heart festival?'
>>
[NAMITHENE] "Mhmmm! It's a special day dedicated to holding festivals around the world to celebrate love and friendship! I came up with it a long time ago with Vymla!"

Namithene frowns for a second.

[NAMITHENE] "Oh... uh, I heard word that you might have uncovered what really happened to her from Ludwyhn, since I'm in contact with his pantheon. I just wanted to say, thanks for that. It means a lot to finally have closure on that whole mystery. Now I suppose all you have to do is honor her memory by kicking that Alien's ass, right?"

[JOCO] "Oh so Ludwyhn is going around bragging and shooting his mouth off about everything we do. Great to know. Majordomo, there's your top tier suitor right there."

[MAJORDOMO] "I never said he was perfect, fuzz-string."

Shh!

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

'So, um, what goes on during Hjärtfest anyway? I mean, I get the idea already, but...'

[NAMITHENE] "All kinds of things. Family get togethers, lots of food being made, public parades, sharing of chocolate... fireworks... gift-giving, hugs, kisses procr-"

'Oh! Ah! That sounds really nice, haha! I'm... I'm kind of embarrassed I didn't learn about this sooner.'

[NAMITHENE] "It's no problem. Would it surprise you to know it's banned by the Trinity?"

'Not at all.'

[NAMITHENE] "It's primarily celebrated here in the Frostreach continent, and Woldoria. I heard it even still goes on in Yongesia sometimes. I know they need it, down there in that woozy, overworked place... Hmm, would it surprise you to know that even HEUS has a holiday?"

I raised my eyebrow at that. He does?

[NAMITHENE] "The holy day of HEUS. It takes place in the exact middle of each year. It doesn't really have an official name, but they... do it. His worshipers on Hainei, I mean. The Fell Day. It's more like a day of sacrifice, really. A holocaust, in which people dedicate to him burn the things they hate the most."

'Is this like some sort of inverse of losing what you love the most?'

[NAMITHENE] "Those who stand with the Dark Lord think they only stand to gain. HEUS wants them to indulge in greed and usury and envy and want most of all. The Fell Day sees them taking what they want by force and destroying things they hate. And it can be anything from books teaching things they disagree with to... hmm... to people they dislike."
>>
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'Disgusting.'

[NAMITHENE] "Enough about that loser. What about you? Do you have a holiday?"

'Uh! Well... er... no...'

[NAMITHENE] "Ah, yeah, yeah... dumb question, sorry! I know you're still a bit inexperienced. But hey, take this little talk as a learning experience, since you learn new things every day!"

'I will. Thank you. I suppose now that I know, there's some chance I'll have one of my own in the future... maybe. We'll see.'

[JOCO] "Where's my holiday?"

[MAJORDOMO] "Yeah, when's clown day?"

Shh.

[NAMITHENE] "So, have you found a special person yet?"

'N-No, I haven't really b-been looking for that sort of thing just yet!'

[NAMITHENE] "Good griiiieeeef, good grief! And here I even gave you my special lipstick to help with that and my special day is even coming up! I'm gonna have to force you at gunpoint, won't I Muna? Just kidding... Take as long as you need. After all, Love can never be rushed, ayy?"

'Certainly!'

Namithene reached out and hugged me again.

[NAMITHENE] "MMMM! Thanks for stopping by, friendo! Come again and see me any time. Now I gotta get back to preparing."

I bid Namithene farewell and ceased to project my consciousness. I returned to my Materia form back in the Bunker and opened my eyes. The first thing I did after that was go grab a version of the Imperial Calendar and begin studying holidays to preoccupy my time for a while...

[ The Imperial Calendar ]
[ Months: Rising Sun Month (1-30), Blistering Light Month (1-32), Life Month (1-30), Fierce Winds Month (1-34), Shallow Waves Month (1-29), Growing Tides Month (1-30), Evergoing Month (1-32), Eclipse Month (1-36), Dark Month (1-30), Setting Sun Month (1-31), Icegrown Month (1-31), Golden Month (1-30) ]
[ Holidays: Friedestide;1st of every year / Imperial Renaissance Day;30th of Rising Sun Month / Hjärtfest;14th of Blistering Light Month / Marriage Day;29th of Shallow Waves Month / The Fell Day of HEUS;1st of Growing Tides Month / Bloodmoon Day;17th of Setting Sun Month / Emperor's Birthday;30th of Setting Sun Month / Emperor Day;31st of Setting Sun Month / Kriegerstide Eve;28th of Golden Month / Kriegerstide Day; 29th of Golden Month / Kriegerstide Hallows;30th of Golden Month ]

Interesting...
>>
>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Cursed Closure (Morgrim, Count of Beasts)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Find a human who'd be willing to face the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Yutu the Jade Rabbit (The Moon)
• Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
• Sincere Sasaki and Sincere Satomi, Twin Gods of School (Easterlind City)
• Gaizar, Alien God of Energy and Invasion (Supercomputer NIBIRU)
>>
>>5907341
You know what? We just talked to Namithene and her holy day is coming up. Let's go ahead and take the plunge.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>>
>>5907341
>Gaizar, Alien God of Energy and Invasion (Supercomputer NIBIRU)
>>5907362
Eh, not yet, I want to wait until we've got all the husbando options unlocked before we do that.
>>
>>5907383
>+1
>>
>>5907341
>Open Affinity Dates selection
>>
>>5907383
+1
lets see what the fuck hes doing to our shit, man.
>>
When I ventured into the command room on a whim later, I stumbled upon Hale and Krina working with the consoles. The screens were static. They didn't seem to know what was going on, and I was puzzled by the sight, especially as the screens flickered on and off from whatever interface they'd had brought up.

'What's wrong?' I asked, stepping near.

[HALE] "The Supercomputer is stalling. We managed to find an access point to the Alien technology somehow, and the moment we tried logging on or cracking it, the whole thing began stalling."

'Alien technology? You mean...'

[KRINA] "Yeah. Since we figured out that Gaizar's constructs are all technology, even if they're made from pure energy like he is, they must have some systemic architecture like any computer system we could hack into, but it seems all this stuff is, for lack of better term, alien to us. We couldn't understand anything we saw! We found a wireless access point, but it's just... like, how do you get something like that to work? It doesn't mesh with any known forms of computer science. Doesn't even mesh with how physics work in terms of data transfer!"

[HALE] "We think we reached one of the transmitters he planted, or even... more ghastly enough, the foundation of the Millennium Moon he's steadily rebuilding as we speak. We already tried to see if, since he absorbed your domain, we could read his thoughts or hear what he speaks through the Nous Radar. But I hate to tell you this, his extrasensory wavelengths are so insane... so off the charts that the Nous Radar couldn't even measure or read them! They completely, monstrously surpass your own psychic readings! ...N-No offense of course."

'None taken. Honestly, it seems right, given he's an alien. He's something that anything born on Hainei couldn't begin to get. We're just not capable of-... Wait, Hale, are you thinking what I'm thinking?'

[HALE] "What's that now?"

'The Lunar Society.'

[HALE] "Mm?"
>>
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'Remember, they were wiped out by something headed for our world. That must have been him.'

[HALE] "Hmm... I suppose you're right. He is the most sensible culprit for their destruction, but where are you going with th- Wait, I think I get it. Anything of Hainei couldn't begin to understand Gaizar. But something not of Hainei, like the Lunar Rabbits who were born on the Moon far away from us... they might be able to!"

'He must have known that, and that's why he wiped them out. So they couldn't be of help to anyone trying to resist him down here. But he failed to kill them all thanks to Yutu and Nio!'

[HALE] "My goodness, you're right! They might just be the answer t-"

[GAIZAR] "YOU ARE ALL OF YOU, DEAD ALREADY."

'...!'

We all gasped, and turned to face the console, which still fizzled with static on the screens.
That- That was him! That was his voice! He managed to counter hack us and override...

[GAIZAR] "These systems are... playtime. You are so, so very primitive. Primitive. You thought to get into my creations. You thought wrong. You cannot. It responds alone to its master. What can you achieve against me? You are all going to die."

The Supercomputer, NIBIRU... he's speaking to us through it.

[GAIZAR] "You are not worth holding an exchange with. This exchange is-"

>What do I say to him?!
>>
>>5907983
>Let Joco take the reign for a minute a rebute against the alien
The only thing more incomprehensible than an alien is insanity
>>
>>5908012
I'll back this. If we can't comprehend Joco, how is Gaizar supposed to?
>>
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>>5908012
>+1
become ungovernable
>>
>>5908012
+1
If its exceptionally embarrassing we can uh... delete the memory from everyone who witnessed it. H-hopefully.
>>
'Hold it right there, mister pink!' I suddenly shouted.

[GAIZAR] "-Mn... Oh. The one who gave me this wonderful new power of mine, latest addition to my wide arsenal. So it is you who is still trying to come after me."

'You're rootin' tootin' on that. And you know what? We're gonna win. That's a factoid for you, slimeball.'

[GAIZAR] "Is that so? And why do you suppose you, or anyone on this wretched rock stands a chance against me? Against that which you cannot comprehend? I... am extinction."

'Cause' you done goofed, tentacle face. You picked the wrong planet the mess with, don't you get it? You can't see it but the mistake lies solely in your choice of bully target. You'll arrest no lunch money from us.'

[GAIZAR] "Elaborate."

'Heh. Even if I did, you still wouldn't get it, schmuck. Howz'about I stick it to you like this, membrane. You decided to pop in because you know there's something up with this place, and it deeply unsettles you! That's why ya' gone and made sure that all the odds were in your favor when you started! Wiping out them jack hares, trying to suck up all that landslide power..."

[GAIZAR] "The energy of nature will be mine. This cannot be prevented. I have already calculated these outcomes. You don't comprehend that NOTHING can stop me. Time is frozen on your world, but that doesn't prevent me from wiping clean everything here. The end of all life is my victory, and it is very well within my hands."

'Noooooo. Of course you can take everything out. It's just that you won't, silly! You're hinging everything on the ability you have to for you to, but you're ignoring that we can still take you out at the last moment and put your blueprints laying out your grand scheme in the paper shredder. You keep saying we can't resist you but we've already found some ways to start even though you tried putting the kibosh on that and now it's getting to you. You're starting to realize now, we have a chance. That's why you want to accelerate, to reach the finish line before we do.'

[GAIZAR] "..."

'You see, the thing is, pinky, you are extinction. That's why you've got no drive. You've got no spirit. You're empty. Ya' don't nothing to lose, and part of your plan involves blowing yourself up with us. That's why you'll lose, crab claws. You've already lost."

[GAIZAR] "You think you know me?"

'Objection! There's nothing to know about you. You already said this yourself. Duuuhh, we can't comprehend you cuz you're an alien! Abuh-abuh! Well there's nothing to get in the first place. You're just a bunch of hostile energy. You're one note! Flat as paper! You probably don't even want to do this all!'

[GAIZAR] "Gr..... gggrrrr.... rrrrr....!"

'So really, it's just a waiting game.'

I smirked involuntarily while staring at the static on the screen.

'Until we decide to come up there and make you eat the dirt.'
>>
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[GAIZAR] "GGHGHYYYEAAAAHH! YOU ARE THE ONES THAT CAUSE MY PAAAAAAIN!" He suddenly screamed out, infuriated; "YOU DESERVE NOTHING BUT JUSTICE. FIERY JUSTICE. YOUR WORLD WILL COME DOWN ON YOUR HEADS. I AM THE UNKNOWN. I AM FLAME AND THE MELTING POINT ALIVE! YOUR DAYS... ARE NUMBERED!"

[GAIZAR] "THIS EXCHANGE IS OVER. YOU ARE OVER!"

The Supercomputer shut down then. The BSOD was showing on the screens.

[HALE] "Ah, hell! Krina! Quickly, get it back up and running again! Run diagnostics to make sure he didn't try bugging our systems and cut all connections! Delete all alien data to ensure he doesn't find a back door! ...Phew, Cata's lessons were worth it after all..."

I was holding my mouth shut after this entire exchange, my cheeks were flushed red with embarrassment.

And now I was punishing the perpetrator of this all by psychically giving his rather long neck a squeeze for this!

[JOCO] "AAAACKKKK! W-Whaddeediiidoooo?!?!"

[MAJORDOMO] "Bad snake!"

Bonk.

[MAJORDOMO] "Bad snake! You do not hijack my, I mean our mouth without asking first or you're getting evicted!"

[JOCO] "HAAAAAAARK!"

[MAJORDOMO] "It was kind of funny though."

Hale looked at me, surprised. I felt like I could shed a tear of embarrassment at having let that get out.
And on top of that, I missed a chance to try getting Gaizar to subtly divulge any information with my way with words anyhow... but at the same time, I was... amazed myself. I didn't think Joco could actually get the Alien God's composure to break like that. He's certainly shown us that Gaizar is more volatile than he lets on with this whole interaction.
>>
[HALE] "Muna, are... you okay?"

'Y-Yes. Perfectly fine!'

[HALE] "Have you... erm... have you had your first soda recently or...?"

'...No.' I sighed; 'Hale, I'm... I'm uh, sorry I never told you this before, but that which you just witnessed right now wasn't actually... uh, m-me talking.'

[HALE] "..." He blinked; "Go on..."

'I have uh, two voices in my head, let's just say. One is my subconscious which I animated to help me out in decision making. The other is... a mental illness I've decided to contain in my psyche, so it doesn't spread around anymore.'

[HALE] "...Which one was talking?"

'The mental illness.'

[HALE] "I see..."

He stepped up closer to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

[HALE] "Between the both of us... I personally completely believe you. But it should go without saying..."

'Yes. I don't go around telling everyone I have a mental illness, but not in the way they'd be thinking, Hale. That's why it was a secret to even you until just now.'

[HALE] "Okay. Jolly good..."

He began laughing then.

[HALE] "But I'd be lying if I said that wasn't an amusing sight!"

'...Heh... hehe, I guess you're right. It did get Gaizar really agitated.'

[KRINA] "He couldn't uncoil himself from that one, eh? Anyway, looks like NIBIRU hasn't been damaged from the override. Sure saves us a lot of work of it had. We have to rebuild the whole system differently every time it gets messed up you know, which is why we keep so many backups of data. It takes a lot of writing and coding."

[HALE] "I suppose from now on, we should be wary of his actions if he's become more paranoid, so our monitoring of the situation won't change. But now if he ever gets pressed in the future, he may try to act out, we'll have to be ready for any attempts he might make at striking at us first."

'We'll take care of him before that happens.' I assured Hale.

Turning around, I went back to my abode.

There, I release Joco and made it clear to him that he can't just take my voice over like that anytime he wants! At least ask first next time...
Joco swore through crocodile tears not to do it again without my permission. Though I could tell, he didn't regret a second of it.
>>
>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Cursed Closure (Morgrim, Count of Beasts)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Find a human who'd be willing to face the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Yutu the Jade Rabbit (The Moon)
• Sincere Sasaki and Sincere Satomi, Twin Gods of School (Easterlind City)
>>
>>5908374
>• Cursed Closure (Morgrim, Count of Beasts)
>>
>>5908374
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
>• Catastrophenia (Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess)
Final Easy difficulty mission, lets go!
>>
>>5908417
>+1
changing to this
>>
>>5908417
Hmm, yeah sure support
>>
>>5908374
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>>
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[LOADING...]

[LOADING COMPLETE]

[MISSION BEGIN]

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhQ3xRTKK-k
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "Hm..."
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "Hm. Hmhmhmph."
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "Gah! I totally expected this response and I'm still disappointed! Yare yare..."
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[CATASTROVANIA] "Tch. Let's see if this gets her attention..."
>>
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'Then you'd better tell me right now if you're completely serious and not fooling around.' I said, popping in behind Catastrovania in her "NEET cave". Teleporting right behind her in her apartment sent a shiver down her spine and made her jump in reaction backwards to assume some judo pose at me before she relaxed.

'Better yet, why don't I just read your mi-'

[CATASTROVANIA] "N-NYOOOOO!" She squealed.

[CATASTROVANIA] "I mean... n- no, listen, don't do that! I'll tell you! But we have to be quiet because she's sleeping outside! No thanks to you bringing her here in the first place..."

'The Cat Boudoir is for all cats, even ones as resented as Seannsa, Catastrovania. At least she's not sleeping in your bed right now.'

[CATASTROVANIA] "She did! Like a few days ago! RRRRGH! Ever since you allowed that fat slob in here she's been messing with my stuff, m-my culture! She's been touching my precious things with her FILTHY PAWS! And then she wore one of my shirts just to make a fool of me! All because YOU brought her here! She's been bugging the shitto out of me!"

'It's not like I- Wait, which shirt? How could you be made fun of with your own clothes?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "...N-... Not saying."

'Okay... Look, I didn't want to make her angry by telling her no. She would have probably threw a hissy fit and slapped us with bad luck if I did.'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Heh... well, it's a good thing I know how to counter that then."

'Alright, I'm listening. If you truly know how to counter Seannsa's powers, then I can tame her into a more well behaved kit. And that'd help you, wouldn't it? Out with it then.'

Catastrovania flashed me an ambitious grin. I'm not sure I liked that. She looked at me with her blue and yellow eyes. It occurs to me this is the first time I've seen her without her eye patch, or wrap. Whatever it was. Ah, yes, the "Psychometric eye", wasn't it? The one she claimed would turn me to dust if it looked at me uncovered. I'll just... refrain from pointing that discrepancy out this once.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Alright... so, you're a god right? Like, an actual one? Not just some poser claiming to be one... so you can promote mortals, can't you? I read up a lot about divine promotions recently... Heh..."

[MAJORDOMO] "I no longer like where this is going, Munny."

[JOCO] "Choke slam her!"

Not yet.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Alright. First of all, promote me to a demigod."

'You've got to be joking.'

[CATASTROVANIA] "You heard me, with those big green ears of yours. Make me a demigod... dess! Give me powers! This is part of the plan!"

'You said nothing about a 'plan' until now!'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Trust me, this will work! We can counter her bad luck like this! Now promote me! Come on! Do it!"

>Hahahaha LOL, NO!!!!
>Okay, fine. You are promoted.
>Yeah, think I'll just read your mind instead and see what you really want.
>>
>>5908572
>Okay, fine. You are promoted.
Mindreading Cat will probably give us irreparable psychic damage even if we are pretty divine. I say we do it, hear her out, and then see if we should revoke it after.
>>
>>5908572
>Yeah, think I'll just read your mind instead and see what you really want.
As hilarious as making Catastrovania a demigod would be, this is the only rational choice here.
>>
>>5908572
>Hahahaha LOL, NO!!!!
>>
>>5908572
>>Yeah, think I'll just read your mind instead and see what you really want.
>I am not going to give demigodhood to anyone without a very good reason Catastrovania
>>
>>5908572
>…Give me 10 good reasons why I should even consider giving you such power, let alone trusting you with it. Actually, write up a full form on WHAT you’re planning on using it for and WHY you think it’s a good idea for me to give it to you in the first place.
We’re PROFESSIONALS, here at Psyops.
Well. Mostly professional. As professional as we can be… I guess.
>>
>>5908583
Actually I'll support that instead, sounds more sensible
>>
>>5908583
This is reasonable. I'll switch from >>5908576 to back this instead.
>>
>>5908572
>Hahahaha LOL, NO!!!!
>>
' . . . Give me at least ten good reasons. Just TEN. Good. Reasons why I should even consider giving you such power, let alone trusting you with it. Actually, write me up a full form on *what* you're planning on using it for and WHY you think it is a good idea or me to promote you.'

[CATASTROVANIA] "It's part of the strategy...!"

I grabbed her by the shoulder and looked her dead in the eye. My seriousness could not be mistaken. Catastrovania shrunk under my gaze.

'Divine promotion is a very, very precarious thing. We gods don't just go promoting whoever for any reason, Catastrovania. In fact, there are fewer Demigods in this world right now than you actually might believe there to be. So, I'm waiting.'

[CATASTROVANIA] "O... Okay... I'll tell you then... s-settle down, okay?"

I dared not ease up with this otaku.

She gulped and pressed her two index fingers together.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Okay... so look, if you try to do anything to Seannsa yourself, it won't end well for you, right? Sh-sh-she'll just make you unlucky... and then you'll lose nyo matter what... But, what if you punished her without actually doing anything yourself?"

'...?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Th-Think about it rationally! ...If you make me a Demigod, and possess my actions, you could use me to beat her up and get away with it."

'How do you figure it works like that?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "It's about the actors, and the actions! If you try to do something to her, it'll count as your action. Same with me! But if I wasn't in control of my actions and unleashed my world shattering martial arts on her, without acting to do it myself, then her bad luck won't work. After all, nobody is actually trying to do anything to her, right? Look at it logically, this way! You can stand still and use your crazy esper powers to make me move and beat her up with your mind alone and I'm not actually moving to beat her up! She can make you as unlucky as she wants but if you stood in one place and never moved, then you're not doing anything, at all! Nothing can happen then unless you moved an inch. You wouldn't have to! And bad luck won't fall on me, I'm not ACKSHUALLY trying! See? I'm basically doing nothing too! And that fat tub of lard doesn't know how to fight! She's spent her whole life being lazy and sleeping! She wouldn't have any choice but to concede to your demands, because she wouldn't want to get beaten up again!"

Catastrovania inhaled deeply to catch her breath after such a long winded explanation. She was panting from having to go on such a tirade and use so many words. But I got it in full, her plan for how to beat Seannsa.

'...And what would you personally use Demigodhood for?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Ugh! Who says I have to keep it?! You could take it away if you wanted after, it doesn't make a difference to me... Getting to put that... that fat sow in her place would be reward enough for me, desuuuu! A-Although... getting to live basically forever and be stronger would be pretty nice too..."
>>
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Hmm...
I've heard Catastrovania out. She seems really adamant this is my way to counter bad luck and get a grip on reigning Seannsa in... although, to be truthful, I'm not sure if it will really work myself, and I still haven't read her mind and gone against her wish for me not to. If this doesn't work, we'll be in a bad bind if Seannsa gets angry with us, one that I don't think we could possibly get out of either...
...
Catastrovania insists that I give her demigodhood for this plan to work. Though, I'm sure I could use Wolfboy for the same plan just as easily. But at least Catastrovania doesn't seem to have been lying when she claims she knows Seannsa's weakness. Or at least, she came up with an interesting theory for me.

She's staring at me nervously, awaiting my answer.

>What will I do?
>>
>>5908648
>No
>>
>>5908648
>Refuse
Haha what a silly goose you cat, Catastrovania
Having dealt with cats before, I say we let Catastrovania crash with us until the goddess goes away on her own. She's a cat, she'll get bored eventually and leave.
>>
>>5908648
>"Well, if it's a matter of controlling a demigod to avoid the bad luck I can do this with Wolfboy, so there's no need to empower you."
>>
>>5908648
When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. Only then I will make you a demigod and not before.
>>
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I breathed in and shook my head.

'No.'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Agh...!"

She looked like she was just pierced through the heart by an arrow that came from my mouth.

'In any case, if you think this method will work, then I can simply use Wolfboy to do it. At the least, I can thank you for sharing this information with me, Catastrovania.'

I turned and began to leave.

...But suddenly, she clung to me and halted me in my tracks.

[CATASTROVANIA] "YAMEEROOOOOO!"

I sighed, in annoyance.

'Catastrovania, what are you doing?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "PLEASE! I WANT IT!"

'I already said no.'

[CATASTROVANIA] "JUST GIMME A CHAAANCE!"

'Oh, for the love of...'

[CATASTROVANIA] "L-Look! I already told you her weakness! I did just what you wanted! B-Besides, wouldn't it help you to have more Demigods around?!"

'Listen, divine promotions are a very peculiar thing. There's a chance it might not work.'

[CATASTROVANIA] "H-Huh...? What do you mean?"

'It takes a very special soul to be able to achieve apotheosis. If your soul is not weighed by the will it has to ascend, then it can't...'

And plus, there's the whole thing with her being far too spiritually undignified to be able to become Immortal in the first place. I'm very sure she just doesn't have what it takes to be able to undergo the promotion... And on top of that, there's a very slim, but still possible chance that interacting with my powers could make Catastrovania... well, die. Instantly. And then there would definitely be no way to save her.

'You could literally cause your soul to explode by accident if I did this for you. It's slight but there's a chance.'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Well... I don't care!"

'Oh! You're missing the point so hard-'

[CATASTROVANIA] "I've already took the job you gave me! I did it even having my immense hatred of working! I've helped out big time with whatever you wanted, even when I didn't want to!" She cried, squeezing my waist.

[MAJORDOMO] "This is just pathetic."

[CATASTROVANIA] "A-And if I did ascend, you'd have no reason not to let me! Think of how much better I'd be at doing my job for you! I could do so much more! I don't even care that there's a chance I'll explode! I'M WILLING TO WAGE MY SOUL FOR THAT CHANCE SO JUST PLEASE LET ME HAVE IT! PLEASE! IT'D MEAN MORE TO ME THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN MY LIFE!"

'You literally told me Seannsa's weakness and called me here just because you wanted her to stop messing with you and now you're making a dramatic scene while acting like one of your reversed comic book characters and pretending this all hinges on your promotion! You'd probably treat it more like an upgrade than ascension!'

[CATASTROVANIA] "I'LL DO ANYTHIIIIIIING!"

'Anything?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "ANYTHING!"

'...'

>What will I do?
>>
>>5909570
>Give her the powers
But remind her before we do this shit that she knew the risks.
>>
>>5909570
>"Catastrovania, I... can't believe I'm saying this, but your tactical leadership is the reason we took the mindchip from Scheiracht and without your hacking skills, the PSYOPS would not have gotten this far. Against my better judgement, I'm going to give you one chance to prove you have the maturity to be a demigoddess. ONE CHANCE."
>Attempt to ascend Catastrovania
>>
>>5909570
>>"Catastrovania, I... can't believe I'm saying this, but your tactical leadership is the reason we took the mindchip from Scheiracht and without your hacking skills, the PSYOPS would not have gotten this far. Against my better judgement, I'm going to give you one chance to prove you have the maturity to be a demigoddess. ONE CHANCE."
>>Attempt to ascend Catastrovania
>>
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'...'

[CATASTROVANIA] "...!"

Catastrovania stared at me with pleading eyes.

[MAJORDOMO] "Are we REALLY about to fall for the puppy dog eye- Yep, we are. Oh boy here we go..."

[JOCO] "Technically, they're kitten cat eyes."

[MAJORDOMO] "Shut up."

I helped Catastrovania back to her feet and stood her in front of me as I looked down at her and sighed.

'Catastrovania... I... Phewrrr... I can't believe I'm saying this, but it was your thinking that helped us raid the Tengu's Castle... and we'd be pretty much lost without your technical know how. Against my better judgment... I'm going to let you have a chance to prove you have the maturity and responsibility to be a demigoddess. ONE CHANCE. Got it?'

Catastrovania blinked at me. Then she gasped and nodded her head fast. She put both hands together and knelt quickly. It all must have been like a scene from one of her anime shows to her.

[CATASTROVANIA] "AH-ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU M-MUNA SAMA! DOUMO! DOUMO! DOUMO! DOUMO!" She sang while nodding her head up and down.

'P-Please, stand up.'

She stood up straight. No bad posture, no more begging. She was taking this very seriously, and that much was good.

'I hope you're satisfied with this choice. If your soul explodes, it's because you asked for it.'

Why do I have a bad feeling?

'Now, hold still...'

Why do I have a very bad feeling this will actually work?

[MAJORDOMO] "Wait, do we even know how to begin this process ourselves?"

Uh.

Not really, I never learned it. Come to think of it I should probably check up on it before attempting to perform it on C-

[CATASTROVANIA] "GWUH!"

'AH!'

ON NO! I HAD MY HAND OUTSTRETCHED! SHE JUST LEANED INTO MY PALM AND BEGAN THE POWER TRANSFER!

[MAJORDOMO] "Rest in pieces."

In that moment, a spark of divinity flew into Catastrovania's spiritually undignified, unclean soul. Her eyes lit up with the light entering her body.
>>
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I was fearful then that I'd sealed her fate, but once the process of divine promotion began, I could not stop it. Catastrovania was surrounded by my purple and pale light. She could not move. She couldn't even speak. But I heard her voice from her head.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Ahhh....! HGnn... NYAAAAAH! Th-THIS POWEEEEERRRR!"

[CATASTROVANIA] "SO THIS... IS THE REALM OF GODS!"

She was experiencing so much. So much more than the mortal coil could allow for. Her spiritua was attempting to grow. I hadn't even walked her through on the instructions, because I did not bother learning them all yet myself!

She jolted, her consciousness emitting lightning. She touched upon the cosmos with her mind, and her soul began to flare blindingly at me.

[CATASTROVANIA] "I can't become a Demigod, not unless I pick... a domain... Just like you have one, or Wolfboy does, or Seannsa does..."

'Catastrovania, what are you saying?! Aren't you afraid?! I'm trying to stop it before something bad happens! Hold on!'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Heh... heheh..."

She ignored me!

>Catastrovania's domain that she chooses for herself is... (Write in)
>>
>>5909824
>Catastrovania's domain that she chooses for herself is... (Write in)
>Decisiveness!
She's probably still riding the high of being complimented on her so-called """tactical genius""" and would probably like this domain as its most likely to give her the ability to pull off some *teleports behind you* kill-you-with-one-slice shit. Just like her yongesian animes.
She DID boast (correction: lie) about how her katana was folded a bajillion times and could cut a tank in half or whatever.
>>
>>5909866
>+1
now her lie becomes truth
>>
>>5909866
I was tempted to go for Lightning because it's edgy and in electronics, but Decisiveness is both ludicrous and fits Catastrovania very well. I'll back this.
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "I waaaant...."

...

[CATASTROVANIA] "...Woah-"
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "It's.... i-it's just like... that one... anime..."
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[CATASTROVANIA] "If I'm gonna be a Demigoddess... well then, I want to be the goddess of Decisiveness! I'll... I'll never lose! Yeah! That's it!"
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "...DECISIVENESS!"

( אז זה יהיה כך. )
>>
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I unhanded Catastrovania at last when I was able to and stumbled back. So she did, but I could not make her body out.

'Catastrovania?! Are you alright?! Speak to me!'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Hahahaha... I'm fine."

Oh thank NEGAI, she survived!

'Thank goodness! I was so worried about you! Cata, I... I'm sorry, I didn't admit to you that I didn't actually know how to do this beforehand... I put your soul in more risk than you did. I'm sorry...'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Nah, nah, don't worry about that. It worked out well."

'Hah...? So, you're alright? You managed to do it...? You... you managed to do it?!'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Yeah... Look at me, Muna! I'm glorious! I'm drowning in this incredible light! From the top of my head to my bottom toes! I can feel it! I can feel the new power surging in my veins! Ha! Haha!"

She went over and grabbed her pawn shop katana. She told me she wanted to try something, and I was amazed when the thing transformed in her hands from a dull novelty blade into a real weapon. It was silver, and reshaped. Now, she wielded a real sword.

[CATASTROVANIA] "...Fuck yeah."

'So you really did become a demigod. I'll be honest, I didn't think you could...'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Yeah... neither did I, so I won't hold that against you. But look how taking the plunge paid off in the end. I reckon now I should take some new name for my domain so long as I'm in this form."

'Domain? So you picked a sphere of influence?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Yeah. Decisiveness."

'Huh...? Well... I would have thought that would be Woldor's... but I guess the Wargod is still capable of losing.'

[CATASTROVANIA] "I think I'm ready to admit something to you. Catastrovania's not really my name."

'I mean, I kind of expected that...' I said, standing up straight again. She smirked behind her silver aura.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Of course, it's what you all know me as, but the name is a moniker I took since I became a cat. Before that? It was just Strifaust Morituros, since I wanted a western name to hide my identity behind. I stopped using my real name out of shame..."

'Shame?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "You see, I was exiled at an early age in Yongesia from my home ward all because I offended a poverty god back then. So I ended up spending a lot of my life as a nobody since. I've always had a lot of encounters with good and bad luck. But it was that one streak of unluckiness I had for most of my life since what I did as a child that always made me feel so ashamed, and it brought a lot of shame onto my ward and family too. But now that I've finally reached this high point, I no longer feel ashamed of it. After all, how could I feel ashamed of being this person with that name when I've finally done what tens of thousands of others could only dream of even in their outrageous lifetimes?"

[MAJORDOMO] "Here we go with the Yongesian cartoon villain talk again..."
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "...My real name is Morituros Mizoguchi. That's the name of this person that has finally broken the last limit and became this glorious demigod you see before you now. So, I'm no longer afraid to go by that name that has carried so much shame for the past century. The shame's all gone, eradicated. But that's not what you'll remember me by, is it? Nah... I should take yet another new name for myself, just like I have every other occasion in my life."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Taking on the moniker 'Strifaust' to forge a western identity for my metahuman self, taking on the name 'Catastrovania' upon becoming a cat blessed with luck. Now I've inherited all those upgrades in one. I'm lucky, I've got the likelihood of a cat, and now I'm a Demigod of Decisiveness. I need a badass name for my new self, wouldn't you agree?"

[CATASTROVANIA] "If I'm gonna be Decisive, then I want to be someone that everyone respects. Someone that brings... justice. Yeah, justice... I like that."

I saw her yellow eye flash at me as the silvery aura dispersed. I squinted and looked up at her new self, her new garb and weapon, her smile of overwhelming confidence.

[CATASTROVANIA] "You can call me... CATASTROVANIA: JUSTICE MODE!"

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoXX5FZatGg

>You look awesome, Cata.
>You're still a giant dork.
>>
>>5911010
>You're still a giant dork.
Lets be real here, she is - and always will be. nothing wrong with that, of course.
>>
>>5911010
>>You're still a giant dork.
Fucking awesome BGM choice though. Love me some Raidou
>>
>>5911010
>You're still a giant dork
Nice upgrade
>>
'You're still a giant dork- I mean-gh-'

I covered my mouth.

[MAJORDOMO] "Heheh, nice. You know, all she did was make her hair longer."

[JOCO] "Oh, so it's okay when you hijack Muna's mouth, but not me, huh?"

[MAJORDOMO] "Yeah, I am, in fact, allowed to use my own mouth, you poindexter. I- HAAAACK!"

Excuse me Joco, it's Majordomo's turn to get strangled for a bit.

[JOCO] "Oh no, take your time."

While I choked my subconscious as punishment, Catastrovania frowned at me. I nervously stared back to her as the newborn demigoddess closed her eye. Then, she smirked.

[CATASTROVANIA] "I thought you'd say that. Well, good thing I'm about to change your mind."

I stopped. I even stopped choking Majordomo out. We were all looking at Catastrovania, dumbfounded by what she'd just said.

[JOCO] "Oh no no no no, she isn't really gonna...?"

[MAJORDOMO] "She's gonna!"

'Cata, wait, I didn't m-mean it like that, I-'

[CATASTROVANIA] "It makes no difference to me!" She said, a sudden glare tearing across her eyes with a wicked glint and smile. She drew her katana and set down on both of her feet; "Besides, I need to test my newfound strength as a Demigoddess anyway... You'll do!"

'You can't be serious.'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Oh, I am..."

Her chest suddenly expanded a little.

[CATASTROVANIA] "...Nice, inbuilt character sliders."

[MAJORDOMO] "Talk about insecure-ACK!" I shut Majordomo down with another squeeze.

Catastrovania stood proudly. She was as tall as me now, and her katana reflected the light of her computer and television screens in her room. Did she really intend to fight me in here? Wasn't the space... too small?

[CATASTROVANIA] "You face Justice Mode... now-" She started, taking the katana in both hands; "I'M GONNA LET ER' RIP!"
>>
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[! WARNING !]

[BATTLE COMMENCING]

[...]

Catastrovania is HONESTLY trying to fight me just after ascending... Oh goodness.

[ENEMY TURN]

[Prepare Killing Strokes] - Catastrovania held her katana like it was withing a sheath, preparing to unleash a flurry of attacks at me.

[YOUR TURN]

[CATASTROVANIA] "I'll try not to kill you with this attack! HAHAHAHAHA!"

-------------------------------------
TRUTHS READY.
Your Rolling Ceiling: Rank 73 - 1d27
Your Critical Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Enemy Rolling Ceiling: Rank 1 - 1d7
Enemy Critical Ceiling: Rank 1 - 1d7

INVENTORY: https://pastebin.com/raw/wEy8RHiU

<What will you do?>
>SKILLS (Choose attack mode: Single / AOE) (AOE mode cannot be used on skills that hit multiple times.)
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
• Holy Custom (Heavy damage skill) (37 MP)
• Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)
• Binesiiwag (Med damage skill, inflict stun) (15 MP)
• Puncture An Idea (Light damage skill, inflicts Existential) (30 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
• Mind Bullets (Light damage skill, hits 10 times) (14 MP)
• Live Not Die (Lifts Death Knell affliction) (9MP)
>TRUTHS
• Muna's First Truth. (Pacifies foes, or skips their turns.)
• Muna's Second Truth. (Temporary Invulnerability for 4 turns)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>TALK
>ESCAPE
>>
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>>5911129
サイキックスキル:万華鏡(PSYCHIC SKILL: KALEIDOSCOPE)
>Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
>>
>>5911134
>+1
Stand Proud, Catastrovania, you are strong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1AkTOkCNsE
>>
>>5911134
I'll back this, Muna's going to want to shut her down as quickly as possible, before the Bunker is compromised.
>>
>>5911134
+1
YOU HAVE MUCH TO LEARN, YOUNG ONE. TASTE BUT A MERE FRACTION OF OUR POWER!
>>
>>5911129
>>5911134
+1 to this. And you can bet she's getting a swirlie in the bunker toilet after this
>>
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[Kaleidoscope] - I flicked my finger.

[CATASTROVANIA] "HERE I COM-PHH-OOOOOUUUUUURRRRRRGGGG-AAAAAAA-AAAAHHHH-HHHHHHH-hhhhh.....!!!!!"

O-Ouch...

[MAJORDOMO] "OHHH!"

[JOCO] "Bah gawd, you killed her! I can't look!" Said the avatar of mania, covering his eyes.

Catastrovania's face slammed into the hard wood floor so hard that her head punctured a hole all the way through to the metal below it, and even the cement below that.

'...'

'Catastrovania...?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "-mmmhhhfff...-"

'...Are you alright?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "-mhg! ...-"

'...Do you want to keep fighting?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "-nhh-"

'...Okay.'

I came over and helped dig her head out of the floor.
Sigh... that'd have to be patched up. At least none of her other things got broken, so she can't complain about that at least.

[...]

You won the battle. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln1S4uWghz0

(Your Divine Potential couldn't possibly increase from achieving victory, so Catastrovania's dorkiness increases instead!)
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "Incredible..." She said, as I helped her out of the faceplant I'd sent her for.

'What?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Even with the power of victory and bigger oppai, I still lost. The strength of a true god is still way beyond what I can grasp... but that w-won't stop me!" She said, dizzied on her feet.

'Let me guess... you're next step is getting another promotion to full godhood."

[CATASTROVANIA] "Tch... I know better than to just ask for it. I've got to earn it!"

I'm gonna...
No, no, I won't tell her. It'd be too much for her right now.

[MAJORDOMO] "Tell her what?"

That she's weaker than Wolfboy is.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Even though you put all you had into that strike-"

I didn't.

[CATASTROVANIA] "-I still came out unscathed!"

Your head is literally bleeding profusely, have a broken nose and in the middle of regeneration.

[CATASTROVANIA] "I'm truly Immortal now! I can't just let this go to waste! I've got to begin my training arc now!"

Your training what?

[CATASTROVANIA] "Only when I'm strong enough to finally match you, then I'll be worthy! I'll earn what I want by right!"

'Yeah, suuuuure... So, uh-'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Now, we confront fatso."

'She has a name you know."

[CATASTROVANIA] "And it is Fatso Fatface, come on!"

Catastrovania grabbed my arm and led me outside her room to the Cat Boudoir proper.

We went to confront Seannsa now and carry out the rest of Catastrovania's plan, now that we knew her weakness...
>>
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In the vast Cat Boudoir, we found Seannsa lazing about on a couch towards the farther corner.

The plan was simple. Make it clear to Seannsa that she lived under my roof here and had to abide by my rules, and if she threatened to use bad luck, we revealed we knew her weakness, and then I'd possess Catastrovania's 'superior body', according to her, to bypass bad luck and, in her words, "beat Seanssa senseless".

Although, the Cat Goddess wasn't doing anything. I stepped up to her.

[SEANNSA] "Oi, horsey, how's it?"

'Seannsa- Wait, are you wearing...?'

[SEANNSA] "Wunna' the geek's tee shoirts? Yep!"

[CATASTROVANIA] "You stretched it out... and ruined it...!"

[SEANNSA] "Yer' falt' fer having the baggiest tee shoirts around, lass. Anyway, nnnnn!" She stretched her neck and yawned; "I jus' hadda good meal. Yer' cookin' boys in that there canteen are real convenyint', they just bring everythin' right out on a cart when I order it! And I don't even havta' pay for food here either? I could get used to this... Nyeheheha!"

[SEANNSA] "Ehyup, but roight about now, I could yeusa' nap."

'Ah, I was hoping to tell you something before that.'

[SEANNSA] "Roight. I'm list-nin'."

>What shall I say to make it clear to the Cat Goddess?
>>
>>5911240
>"Seannsa, I have been pleased to have your company in the PSYOPS, but your behaviour has gone beyond the acceptable standards of divine decorum. I am sorry to say this, but I've discovered your powers' weakness and we've hitched a water hose to the onsite reservoir. If you continue freeloading and bullying Catastrovania... there will be consequences."
>>
>>5911390
+uno
Seems like a good plan
>>
>>5911390
>+1
we can add
>"Catastrovania has told me you've been bullying her and as the head goddess of this operation I disapprove of that. For starters can you borrow her clothes as opposed to just picking them up without notice ?"
>>
'Seannsa, I have been pleased to have your company in the Psyops, but your behavior has gone beyond the acceptable standards of divine decorum. I am sorry to say this, but I've discovered your powers' weakness and we've hitched a water hose to the onsite reservoir. If you continue freeloading and bullying Catastrovania... there will be consequences.'

[SEANNSA] "..."

The Cat Goddess raised her eyebrow at me.
Nonchalantly...

[SEANNSA] "Oi, so ya' wanna impose upon me with them roolz now, do ye'? Heh... don'tcha understand the world'o hurt ya'd be in fer', lass?"

'Like I said, we know your weakness.'

[SEANNSA] "Aye. And do ye' imagine ye' can catch me? Even if ya' knoh how tah' get around me bad luck, ya've got no answer to me good luck now, do ye'?"

What is she implying...?

[SEANNSA] "Nyeh... hehehe. Oh, that's jus' it, lass. I can use me good luck to get outta anythin', so even if ya' could beat me to pulp, I'd still get away. I'd escaip' before ya' know it, and then when I'm runnin' free out there again in the world, I'd never let yer' whole biznuss' be free o' bad luck. Ya' understand? Ah could sink ye' all to the deepest deppso' thah Afterseas with me bad luck and ye' couldn't hope to get out."

'...'

Damn! She's right... Beating her up is pointless, she can affect more than just me and Catastrovania for doing it. We couldn't hope to catch her when she channels absolute good luck. She could escape and spite us forever!

Just like she did Ludwyhn! Her bad luck is terrifying... Woldoria shrank as a whole because of it, and the whole pantheon was powerless to stop it!

Damn it! Why'd I listen to Catastrovania on this?! This was a bad idea... now we've ticked her off. We have no choice but to kneel to whatever demands she makes...

[SEANNSA] "..."

'...'

I felt a bullet of sweat trickle down my forehead. Seannsa's evil grin remained intact.
She inhaled, ready to speak.

[SEANNSA] "Daahh! I'm jus' pullin' yer' leg, ah wuldn't do it."

'...Eh?'

[SEANNSA] "Ye'. Tis' true, lass. I've rather come to like this place, so I'm not gonna cause brainless ruin pon' it." She said, leaning back into the couch and relaxing.

'You-You aren't?'

[SEANNSA] "Nah, nay! If this whole rum around us wudn't proof enough."

I glanced left and right, looking at the sights of the Cat Boudoir, and the various cats we've somehow accumulated in our time here, often kept as companions by the personnel of the Psyops... It seemed to me like the numbers even increased. I saw a lot of black cats around, more than there was before last time I came here.
>>
[SEANNSA] "Ya' got a whole dome purpose built fer' takin' care o' cats? Keke, ya've pretty much admitted that we're ya' masters. How could I hate that, lass? Even if ya've peed me off real good, I couldn't raise a paw against a haven for cats anyhow. Cam' on, make sense! And as fer' the ninny there, well, maybe she jus' shoodn't be so easy! Nyahahahhmreow!" Giggled Seannsa, making a face at Catastrovania, whose veins were visible on her forehead.

'I see... Although, it would still irk me for you to freeload so much.'

[SEANNSA] "Haaaah... bother. Oilright. Here."

Seannsa stood up immediately in front of me, and hooked an arm around my shoulder. I flinched as she mewled and rubbed her cheek against mine like a cat does before she let go and plopped back down into the sofa.

(Obtained 5x Lucks of Seannsa)

'...Ah!' I blinked; 'Y-Yes... this will do! Thank you very much! I... I don't know what to say!'

[SEANNSA] "Ya' don't haff tah run yer' pie hole, just be grateful I'm comfy enough with the setting to add a little support."

'Very well... then we have no issue. Although, if you could... maybe, not bully Catastrovania so much...'

[SEANNSA] "Sheeesh. Fiiiiine. I'll go eeziher on thah brat. I'll... maybe TRY to follah' yer' roolz... just don't think this means yer' my master or anythin'. Got it?" She said, then looking over at Catastrovania; "...Theh hellfire happened tah' you? Where'd this glowup come from?"

[CATASTROVANIA] "I've reached the peak."

[SEANNSA] "O' sillyness."

[CATASTROVANIA] "MMMNNN...! Temeeee...!"
>>
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[CASE FILE: CLOSED. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED]
[RESULTS]

(Nothing plundered from Bandit King donations today.)
(50 more Personnel have been recruited into the Psyops. Total Personnel: 805)

[Returning to the Bunker...]
[Oh, wait, we're already there!]
>>
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[SEANNSA] "Ayup." Seannsa blurted, turning over and laying on her stomach on the sofa; "So long as ya' keep treatin' cats well... and providin' me luxury, I dun't foresee any problems between us, mmgay?"

'Sure... uh, sure! Just let the uh, personnel know if there's anything you want. We'll leave you be now.'

Seannsa winked at me as I backed up. I turned and looked at Catastrovania, who froze where she stood and, in an instant, we were both back in her apartment room in the Boudoir.

Before she could even look at me, I snapped my fingers. She shrank from the same height as I that she stood at, back down into her more familiar shape, forcibly made to revert her transformation. I hadn't taken her powers...

[CATASTROVANIA] "Bwah! Y-You're n-not gonna make me m-mortal again are you?!"

'No... but if you get us ankle deep in something like you COULD have back there again, you can say goodbye to that privilege and no amount of pleading is going to make me feel bad that you'd be mortal again, because even if you were, the augments you got still give you a very long time on this earth.'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Nh... nh... dh, buh... I-... Gh! W-Won't happen a-again..."

'It better not.' I said, channeling some of Majordomo in my speech; 'You hoodwinked me this time. Next time, mind reading is on the table and I don't want to hear a peep about it. We're lucky the luck goddess sees us as friends instead of enemies, even after that little stunt you roped me into. I've talked to her like you wanted, now you have what you want. You have Immortality, you have "oppai" now, and you have her word. Even if she goes against it a little, you get pretty much everything else you want in life for free from us. I think you can deal with a little 'bullying' from her when she acts demickey every now and then, can't you?'

Catastrovania just weakly nodded at me, shivering in her bloomers.

'Good.'

I sighed.

'And don't go advertising Demigodhood to everyone you see either, alright? Let's try to be mature about this all, okay? You're no longer mortal, and us Immortals shouldn't be as fickle as mortals can be.'

I walked up to Catastrovania, who froze at the sight of me up close and extended my hand. She winced when I ran it through her head and ruffled her hair with a pet, just a little. I really hope she learned a valuable lesson today about going off guided by her temper like this. Oh boy... if she intends to "train" herself, healthy self reflection at this happenstance will go a long way.

'I'll have someone patch up the floor.' I said, going on my way out. Just before she stopped me.

I found her arms wrapped around my waist again as she hugged me tight.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Th-Thanks..." She said, before letting go quickly.

I nodded and left. On my way out, I patted Seannsa on her head as well, to which I received an unconscious purr.
>>
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I'm glad I can't get exhausted, or else being the Executive of Psyops would have drained me in the first days alone. Hmm... but I think my work is good. So I should be happy. I decided to smile.

I still have more work to do, as always.

[...]
[New Psyops Deployments are available.]

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Cursed Closure (Morgrim, Count of Beasts)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Find a human who'd be willing to face the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Yutu the Jade Rabbit (The Moon)
• Sincere Sasaki and Sincere Satomi, Twin Gods of School (Easterlind City)
>>
>>5911428
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>>
>>5911428
>Go on a Godtalk: Yutu the Jade Rabbit (The Moon)
>>
>>5911428
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
Valentine's Day is imminent. If there's a time for it, it is soon.
>>
>>5911428
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>>
>>5911428
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>>
>>5911428
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>>
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[ACCESSING AFFINITY DATES...]

The thought of friends crossed my mind. Perhaps I should go spend some time with someone dear to me and grow our relationship. Maybe one of.. my male friends.

[MAJORDOMO] "Is what Nami said still hanging on you?"

'N-No... b-but-'

[JOCO] "Ahh she said the B word, we won, Majordomo."

[MAJORDOMO] "Now to place our bets."

'Bets...? What are you two yapping about?!'

[MAJORDOMO] "Nnnnooooothin'... nothing at all."

'Hmph... I just want to get to know my friends better, that's all. It's good to get to know your acquaintances better... besides, I've not really tried learning anyone's hobbies, or something like that, have I?'

[Tutorial]
[Affinity dates are a social link mini game done by investing time into confidants to spark interactions and raise their affinities. By making specific dates on the calendar, Muna can spend that allotted time with someone she knows, thus increasing affinity. By maxing an affinity with a friend, special rewards can be earned.]
[For example:
(Max Affinity with Eskart > Learn [Godly Antimagic] )
(Max Affinity with Jenk > Gain Weapon: Jenk's Scythe (Guaranteed Death Kneel infliction for one turn on hit) )
(Max Affinity with Hale > Gain Add: Psyoptic Wish (Revive instantly on total HP loss) )
(Max Affinity with Ludwyhn > Gain Nullify on Phys resistance) )
[Additionally, a maxed Affinity can be made 'golden'. Only one can be made golden.]

Who to hang out with today...?

>The Affinity Date Selections are open.

>Hangout with someone.
>Exit Affinity Dates.
>>
>>5912003
>Ludwhynn
We got off on the wrong foot, maybe now's a good time to fix that
>>
>>5912003
>Hangout with Eskart
We've done the most adventures with the wizard. It's a natural fit.
>>
>>5912003
>Hangout with someone.
Hale
>>
>>5912010
>+1
>>
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[ ILLUMINATI COLLEGE, BELKINSIRE ]

I decided to see what Eskart was up to today at the College, and made my way there. I found him in the same study as ever, looking into what he could about magical transference of Spiritua, for the same ends I'd asked him to before when having our discussion on Necromancy and ways to subvert death.

[ESKART] "Muna, back so soon. How can I help you today?"

'Well... I'm just a little bored, I guess, so I decided to pay Belkinsire a visit.'

[ESKART] "Bored. I see..." He said, closing a book and coming around his desk.

'Hey, how come you don't use any bookmarks?' I said, noticing that little quirk about him.

[ESKART] "There's no need to, my muscle memory is good as it gets for remembering which page I stopped off on." He said, walking over and placing the book back on his shelf; "And I quite frequently remember each page on my own, of every book here. In fact, I've written most tomes in this private room."

I blinked, and looked up towards the ceiling, seeing a never ending rise of the bookshelves and books they held contained within his wizard tower at the peak of the college.

'Uh... y-yeah, I see!'

[ESKART] "Ahuh. Not every single one, however." He said before beckoning me; "Come, I'm sure there's something I can entertain you with here."

>I'm interested in these books actually.
>So, how does the worldwide wizard relax himself? Surely you don't devote all your time to study and chancellery.
>How about some magic? I haven't seen a lot of it, not from you at least.
>Tea. Belkinsire's famous for it. Care to show me the varieties around here?
>>
>>5912259
>So, how does the worldwide wizard relax himself? Surely you don't devote all your time to study and chancellery.
>>
>>5912260
+1
Let's start with something simple.
>>
>>5912260
I'll back this, as I'm curious
>>
>>5912260
+1 for now, since it's pretty basic.
I want to help him dig into the books later, since that'd help with our whole cheating death project.
>>
'So, how does the Worldwide Wizard relax himself? Surely you don't devote all your time to study and chancellery.'

Eskart looked at me quizzically as we walked along.

[ESKART] "Ah, you want to know of my hobbies."

'Yes. I'd be interested in that.'

[ESKART] "Ah. Very well. Follow me."

We moved throughout the shifting insides of his tower, we exited his study and walked down a spiral staircase that led to only one door. It's true that the insides of the College were always different every time you made your way through. The rooms and their layouts may stay persistent and static but every hall and flight of stairs outside may be different from the last, to make traveling between lecture halls more convenient. Such enchantments may make one weary the less used to it they are.

We were in some other room now, private to Eskart. It was like the inside of a cozy cottage. A living room. I saw fine furniture, a big mirror above the hearth and three big windows gazing down at Belkinsire from the peak of the college castle. Paintings of old Shamans of yore were on his walls, and I saw a table of utensils and instruments with magical flames that moved on their own, brewing whatever he wanted. I saw him grab a mug as the pot lifted itself up off the flame to pour it for him.

[ESKART] "Drink?" He said, offering me a mug of something pleasantly smelling and buff brown in the cup.

'Oh, tea? Don't mind if I do.'

[ESKART] "Ah, actually, it's hot chocolate. It's my favorite."

'Hot chocolate?' I said, peering down into the mug, from which a marsh mellow emerged; 'Hehe. I didn't expect this'

[ESKART] "...I do apologize. It's not often I show off my less refined side."

'No, no. It's alright. I... I've kind of become obsessed with some things like this myself.'

[ESKART] "Well," He began, taking a sip of his own mug; "-then I'm relieved to not be alone on that front. Other deities, they always have an air. Lady Eikn's always formal in this regard. Someone like Ludwyhn, he acts just the way he likes to, it's in his character to gnaw a turkey leg to the bone. People always think I'm fanciful about everything just because I'm a teacher, and a god. I rather find quality in these choices."

'I get it. Everyone at the Bunker always looks up to me... but then I amaze them with my eating habits... at least, when I do choose to that do."
>>
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He nodded and drank. He went over and sat down on one of the chairs, motioning me to join him sitting in the other. I did, and I watched as he snapped his fingers. Some kind of... 'screen' opened up in front of us. I saw it was some sort of game.

[ESKART] "Rugby. One of our favorite sports in Belkinsire. This game is happening right now. We have a championship cup union that the clubs play in that gets organized every year. Athletes come and go in these sports. We have a lot of big contenders every year. Clubs have come and gone, sometimes they merge. The two biggest clubs right now are the Fintails and Bushwackers, the Fintails knocked the third biggest club, the Corkscrews out last game."

'Ah, so you love watching sports then? I can appreciate it.'

[ESKART] "Well, yes, but also no. I wasn't initially a sports fan."

'Oh?'

[ESKART] "I got into sports because I got addicted to sports betting."

Hmm. I stared at the screen.

[ESKART] "Our sports betting is done magically. One of our Shamans set it up. It requires you to have a bank account in Belkinsire, as the draw of funds is automatic. You merely speak to the air what you want to bet, and it gets taken. If you win, you get an automatic payout. In recent times, we've been able to modulate it to take other things."

I held up my hand and focused my Psychic energy, crystalizing it into a purple shard.

'Alright, then I bet this shard on the Bushwackers.'
And it was gone!
'Gu!'

[ESKART] "I told you. Now, that thing will be distributed to someone after this game is over. I for one bet on the Fintails."

'It's pretty unique, I'll say.'

[ESKART] "Indeed. I don't have a use for money, and my council insisted I take a salary. I figure I can at least do this with it. Besides, it's entertaining to watch sports this way. You're always eager to see if your bets will win. Who knows, if the Fintails win, I may even get that shard by chance."

'We'll see.'

[ESKART] "Quite."

I can see why he'd become immersed in this.
I sat and watched the game with Eskart while drinking hot chocolate until it was over. When the game concluded, the Fintails did end up winning over the Bushwackers, and Eskart told he got a little payout from the whole thing. I was surprised when he showed me the shard again afterwards, it looked like luck favored him. It was all very amusing to me.

I stayed a little while more and he showed me all the different things about Rugby, and told me a little about the history of the clubs in Belkinsire and how people treated sports. Really, it sounded pretty barbaric, but it was entertaining.

When I'd decided my boredom was alleviated, I thanked Eskart and took my leave.

Come to think of it, that was the first time I'd seen him smile. He has a nice smile, one he doesn't show often.
>>
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[A social link increased]

[Returned to the Bunker]

>The Affinity Date Selections are open.

>Hangout with someone.
>Exit Affinity Dates.
>>
>>5912375
>Hangout with someone.
ludwyhn
>>
>>5912375
Let's see Ludwyhn now, so Majordomo gets off our case.
>>
>>5912377
+1
>>
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[ OLD COUNTRY, SOUTH SIEGESIA ]

Where else might I find the esteemed 'Commander of the Heroes' than on a battlefield?

Down south, closer to the split in the land that divides the Warren country from the old country of Siegesia that the first people there originated from, I found a skirmish going on. Well, it was already over, just the scraps were being cleaned up. I wandered through, looking at the destroyed remains of scattered Ashigaru. That's when I heard boots stomping behind and turned to see one charging me with their Yari spear.

[ASHIGARU] "HYEEEEAAAAAA-Gho-"

And just like that, his head was taken off by a black blur. I saw it travel around, clipping the heads off two more of the straggler Ashigaru.

'A bird did that?'

[LUDWYHN] "NAWT' JUST ANY BORD'!"

[MAJORDOMO] "There he is! Best boy!"

[JOCO] "I can smell him from here."

With a boastful laugh, the courageous figure of the Demigod Hero landed beside me on the grass. He raised his spear carrying arm and whistled. I saw his pet come quickly. A rather bloated raven.

[LUDWYHN] "Tis' me raven, Fœri. Raised em' meself. Tradition holds that greit' vurriors shud' raise petsa' war to fight side by side. Our world boasts these Mythic animools. You'd nawt' find em' anywhere else." He said, lifting a finger to run across the poofy neck of the creature before he looked to me with his typical smug grin; "So, what brings ya' to my presence, unicorn?"

'I'd really prefer not being called that.'

[LUDWYHN] "Suit yerself, horsey."

'Or that.'

[LUDWYHN] "Fine by me, Muna Hoof-haver."

I sighed.

'I'm bored.'

[LUDWYHN] "Yer bored."

'So I decided to see what everyone else does.'

[LUDWYHN] "Ah. I understand. After all, there's no mistakin' how unqueshtinavly more interestin' I am than erywun' else ya' know." He said with a smirk; "So, ye' come for thrill, ye' came to the right place. We Woldorians have many ways of foolin' around and havin' fun. Some, even life THREATNIN'!"

>Can I pet the raven?
>So, the Warrens, what's that place about?
>Alright, what do you do for fun? (-50 HP)
>>
>>5912489
>>Alright, what do you do for fun? (-50 HP)
What do warriors do for fun Muna?
>>
>>5912489
>So, the Warrens, what's that place about?
>>5912493
he's gonna full nelson us
>>
>>5912489
>Alright, what do you do for fun? (-50 HP)
>>
>>5912493
+1
BRING IT OOOOON
>>
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'Alright, shoot. What do you vikings do for fun?'

Ludwyhn planted his spear in the ground, and he whistled twice, signaling to his Raven to return home. I watched as it spread its wings and flew. The Demigod Hero cracked his knuckles. He didn't bother uncoupling the shield strapped to his gauntlet.

He walked up to me and-

[LUDWYHN] "POW! RIGHT IN YER KISSER! HAHAHA!"

Slapped me across my face?! (-50 HP)

I looked at him, I was PISSED!

I raised my hand to punch him and he doubled back, raising his shield.

[LUDWYHN] "WEH WOAH WO WOAH WEH! HOLD ON TO YER HORSES THERE, HORSE!"

'Ludwyhn, what the HELL is wrong with you?!' I spat venomously.

[LUDWYHN] "Ye've got the wrong idear! Tis' not an attack, unprevooked'! But a test ah' strength, lassie. It's one of the ways us Mythics like to have fun! This particulaehr happins-tanse, it be a slappin' contest, radder' dannae' slugout."

'You expect me to stand here and let you slap me as much as you want?!'

[LUDWYHN] "Nae, yer' supposedtah slep back. We take tuirns, lassie. Just don't try and kill me. Get it?"

[LUDWYHN] "Now, yew can feel free tah take your strike... I mean, unless acors... yer' chicken. Yer' not chicken now, are ye'? Bok bok bok bok! Wee little chicken woman! HAHAAAAA!"

[JOCO] "Well, Majordomo, this is your ideal choice. A domestic abuser. He ain't exactly drinking a lot of the respect women juice..."

[MAJORDOMO] "Well uh... Muna's a girl, a-and it's not like she respects every woman either!"

[JOCO] "...So you're saying this would be fine if Ludwyhn was a girl too?"

[MAJORDOMO] "Uh... Can't come to the phone right now. Leave a message at the beep."

[JOCO] "I hate answering machines. How do I hang up this phone?" Said Joco, imagining a banana in his grasp.

>Slap him back!
>Ugh! You've completely ruined my mood, Ludwyhn! I'm leaving!
>>
>>5912523
>Slap him back!
It's on, then ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU3kIFFXnc0
>>
>>5912523
>Slap him back!
Slappie
>>
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I didn't waste another breath. I immediately hauled off and struck him right on the cheek. The strike made him stumble backwards, his scale armor jingling with the reverb.

[LUDWYHN] "GOUHR!"

He grasped his cheek, and looked at me over his gauntlet.

[LUDWYHN] "...Heh. Hehehee! Now thas' whatime talkin' about there lass! We continuah! HAHA!"

Back and forth, back and forth.

We traded blow after blow to each other, as unpleasant as it was. Every time he slapped me with all he had and made me stumble, I returned one that made him sling spittle. It got to the point where his slaps couldn't even move my neck at full strength, but I'd returned him one that sent him off his feet, yet he didn't give up.

It got the point where his face was covered in bruises and nose bleeding before he gave up.

[LUDWYHN] "Aaaahhh-ohhh! Aaaright, we'll cor' it a drawr? Y-Yeah?"

'Ngh...!' I winced, rubbing my tingling cheek that stung.

'Why are you like this?'

[LUDWYHN] "Eh-huheh... It's what I think's foon. And I gotta say... I loik' a woman that can hit hard. Harder, even more so. It's loik' we say in the mead halls, she can't take a hit, she ain't worth the shag. And I'm speakin' out loud when I say, if I ever have little godlings, then by Wargod, I WAN' EM' TOUGH EN STRONG, JUST LIKE ME! And just like whoever that lady'll be the one that I'm lucky enough to find is tuh'."

He knelt over and spat out a tooth.

[LUDWYHN] "Deh, it'll come back."

I sighed. It couldn't be helped. He's still an energetic young Demigod, and still thick as a brick too. Goodness, it'd take a lot to wear him down into the state his father's in now. Huh, but even Eikn said Woldor was like him once, and she's the reason they're like they are now. I guess Ludwyhn's just hoping he can find the same thing himself. Maybe it's not envy of his parents and their storied lives, but admiration. Still, he's a loggerhead if I've ever seen one!

But, he's not bad. Not truly.

[LUDWYHN] "Ough! So... entertaining enuff for ya'?"

'...Haaah, I suppose I'll least now be able to say I've done it.'

[LUDWYHN] "Thas' the spirit! Hahaha! N-Now, if you'll excoose me. I'm gon' fall unconshish now."

And with that, he plummeted forward into the dirt. I glanced over, at a pair of Knights shaking in their armor, who'd been staring at the whole ordeal from a distance, too frightened to step closer to the sight of a contest of endurance between their cherished commander and me, I myself for all intents and purposes still remaining a mysterious and unknown goddess to mortals as of yet. And I'd just beat him. Literally even.

'Take care of him, won't you?'

The Knights jumped when I addressed them, but then looked at each other briefly before they'd turn back to me and nod wordlessly. With that, I took my leave and teleported out of sight.

[...]

(Lost 500 HP. Next Case-File will start at 200 HP.)
>>
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[A social link increased]

[Returned to the Bunker]

>The Affinity Date Selections are open.

>Hangout with someone.
>Exit Affinity Dates.
>>
>>5912553
>Hangout with Hale
>>
>>5912584
Supporting
>>
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[ FELWISCHER FACTORY, EIKRISE CITY ]

I found myself wandering the factory space above ground. The security guards would always greet and salute me when they passed by. On the worker grounds, where I saw Hale's employees, "un"official members of Psyops, hard at working making weapons for our cause and for marketing, one of them waved at me and shouted "work is going good, ma'am!".

There's something pretty cool about being the reason all this is up and running like it is.

I found Hale in his office. He was checking out some models on his desk.

[HALE] "Muna, how nice to see you. Actually, it's good you showed up. I had a question for you."

'What would you like to know, Hale?'

[HALE] "What gun do you like the most?"

'Mm? Gun?'

[HALE] "Yes. Say you had a favorite gun. What would you think it would be?"

>Answer.
>>
>>5912792
>I am not very familiar with firearms but I would say I am fascinated with some of the more advanced weapons that humans can create such as magnetic weapons and such. As for conventional firearms I believe I appreciate submachine guns
>>
>>5912792
A hunting rifle
>>
>>5912792
>"The gun pointed at my heart"
>>
>>5912792
>while it's not really my thing, I really like old hunting rifles that humans remain using even with more modern tech today
>>
>>5912792
A hunting rifle is the most horselike weapon I can think of, in an abstract sense. I'll back hunting rifle, but say we also have an appreciation for smaller submachine guns and advanced technology in general.
>>
>>5912917
>>5913106
>>5913292
>>5913534
Why don't we compromise and say a full-auto railgun for recreational hunting purposes?
>>
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'...Hmm. I'm not very familiar with your human firearms, Hale. But, I would say I'm fascinated with some of these more 'modern' weapons.'

[HALE] "Modern?"

'I like the sleek ones... you know, the small ones that fire fast.'

[HALE] "So, submachine guns then."

'Ah, yes. I think they're neat. But, I think I really like the long ones you humans use for hunting. Rifles, you call them. There's something to the aesthetic that just-' I snapped my fingers; '-clicks with me.'

[HALE] "Mm. I assume you must have seen many of them in your early life from what you'd told me before. Yes, hunting rifles are important to us, even today. Too many animals like deer start popping up, it'll cause problems and for more than just us humans. You've got to respect the rifle that puts dinner on plates."

He sucked the next puff from his smoking pipe, setting down the disassembled model of a pistol on his desk with the pipe. Hale turned and went near to the locker that sat near the corner of his room, opening it up to reveal what I assume was a personal assortment of his own firearms. He reached inside and pulled out a rifle that had no scope, one that had been made from pristine wood. It was smooth, and had artistic touches done to the grips. He hefted it up in both hands to display it.

[HALE] "My own personal one, had it since youth. Took it with me on every hunting trip I've been on. This gun has broken more than once. I've fixed it up every time. It loads three-oh-three rounds. I've never used a scope on it once."

'Prefer the iron sights?'

[HALE] "It's more keen that way."

He came over and held the gun out, offering it to me. I took it gently and held it, looking it over.

[HALE] "Now it's yours."

'Ah-' I looked up at him; 'Mine?'

[HALE] "Yes. You seem like you'd really like it. Consider it a gift from me."

'Oh... I don't know what to say.'

[HALE] "Hmhm. All I know is guns. All I've really considered precious are guns. You've given me quite a lot more than I dreamed of ever before, Muna. I'm just repaying the boon however I can. If all I know are guns... then you can have mine, my own prized ones. Think of it like a symbol of our promise to each other, to do what's right for this world, eh?"

'Hm. Words are best, but the gun can be good too.'

[HALE] "Come, why don't I show you have to shoot it at the firing range?"

'I'd like that.'

Together, we went off back down into the Bunker and headed to the range. Hale showed me how this bolt action rifle worked, and we fired it together for a little while. My aim was impeccable. I could even say firing the gun was fun. Although, I couldn't experience it the same way a mortal does, recoil meant nothing to my shoulder.

I appreciated the gift. I decided I'd keep it in my abode and display it among the other items surrounding my meditation spot.
>>
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[A social link increased]

[Returned to the Bunker]

>The Affinity Date Selections are open.

>Hangout with someone.
>Exit Affinity Dates.
>>
>>5913587
>Hangout with someone.
Jenk
>>
>>5913587
>Hangout with someone
>Jenk
Let's do some gardening with the old bag of bonemeal.
>>
>>5913591
>+1
>>
>>5913591
Supporting
>>
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[ JENK'S FARM, SIEGESIA ]

Thought I'd pay the ever diligent farmer a visit today.

'Jenk!' I called out, as I landed on my feet in front of his house.

I saw the skeletal demigod on his knees with a chisel to rock. He was carving a stone full of runes near his shrine to Bedolfir. A large new addition, on which hot coals burned below with small flames.

[JENK] "Muna!" He sang, rising and setting his tools aside.

His skeletal body was naked, to avoid burning the clothes he wore, though I didn't think much of it. After all, he was a skeleton. He came over and grabbed my hand, shaking it up and down.

'Woh, Jenk, you seem to be in high spirits today.'

[JENK] "As a matter of fact, I am. I just finished my ritual grave site for Vymla, nestled near to the shrine I sport to Bedolfir." He said, pointing at his work; "It's impossible to give her a true burial, so I thought I'd just honor her spirit with a tombstone and fires to burn in her name. I carved many runes in it for her, all night."

'That's so sweet of you.'

[JENK] "She would have liked it. And this, over here, is my other addition." He said, motioning me to his massive field of flowers; "I'm growing them so I can place them at her heart in Kalaheimr when we finally dispel the eternal winter and rid the world of that horrid Alien. For my best friends, I'm willing to do this, even if it wastes me away."

I nodded. Jenk could never be said to not be passionate. This man's passion was greater than most I knew, and he was only a skeleton.

I saw the farmer demigod go over to the porch and fetch his breeches, shirt, hood and hat and throw them on quickly. He humorously apologized for being caught improper before he grabbed something from the table and stepped over to me.

[JENK] "Pray tell, what do you think of this?"

I took the thing he held. It was a single strawberry.

'Mm. It's a strawberry.'

[JENK] "Well, yes. But what do you think of it?"

'You grew this?' I said, to which he nodded; 'Hmm... well, I think strawberries are delicious. I can't decide if I like strawberries better than blueberries.'

[JENK] "True. Strawberries go great on many things. But, is that all you can say that can come to mind when gazing at just this little crimson effigy? Are there no other insights you might come up with on this seemingly mundane thing with your great psychic mind?"

Well, when you put it like that...
Let me think.

>What DO I really think about the strawberry?
>>
>>5913697
>"Well it's red, like the Afterseas, but it's nothing like them. It's a cheery little speck of life for life's own sake- a rejection of HEUS and everything the Dark One stands for. Its mindless materia could never know that two gods are beholding it but that doesn't matter, it thrives on its own. The strawberry is beautiful, because it can be, and doesn't need to be anything more or less than that. It's probably sweet, too."
>>
>>5913697
>"It's bitter taste compared to the sweetness it has when made into sweets or junk food reminds me that life requires balance and you can't have too much of a thing even if a good one. The natural taste fits with it's color, springing one to action one way or another and the crunchiness of the seeds adds to that."
>>
>>5913707
+1
>>
Rolled 184 (1d200)

>>
>>5913697
It's big, red and juicy
>>
'Well, it's red, like the Afterseas, but it's nothing like them. It's a cheery little speck of life for life's own sake. A rejection of impulse and everything that Darkness stands for. Its mindless materia could never know that two divines are beholding it, but that doesn't matter. It thrives on its own. The strawberry is beautiful, because it can be, and doesn't need to become any more or less than that.'

'...' I looked at Jenk; 'And it's probably sweet too.'

He nodded as I ate the strawberry. He went over to his carriage, on which rested boxes covered by burlap tarps, that he peeled off to reveal whole harvests of strawberries within, among other things.

[JENK] "Prepared them all for today. It's my next donation to one of the villages near that revere me. I promised to deliver as much, in preparation of Hjartfest."

'Going to drop them off today, are you?'

He nodded.

[JENK] "Care to accompany? I'll show you how I interact with the mortals myself."

'It'd be a pleasure.'

Jenk prepared his carriage, drawn by two horses from the stables in his barn. I sat behind him, the crop harvests covered, and he showed me how to coach these animals and get them to move. The carriage was on its way now, and the village we headed to was not far he said.

[JENK] "You know, I liked that."

'What's that?'

[JENK] "That thing you said back there. It was well said. You know. It makes me feel firmly rooted in knowing that this world is worth it."

'Worth fighting for?'

[JENK] "It's the only world we've got."

Yeah, it is, isn't it...
Hah. Well, I don't care what it is, be it the Dark One, the Bright One or the Machine God. As long as I know I have friends that have my back, I'll beat any of them eventually.

We road into the village we went for soon. Jenk greeted the villagers as he stopped among their homes. I'd never seen so many people happy to see a skeleton like him before. And the children loved Jenk too, they were fascinated with him. I got to mingle with the mortals too, and Jenk told me to show off my psychic tricks to amuse them, lifting up their harvests with a wave of my hand and distributing them. Mortals could laugh or smile from just seeing something float in front of their face. The kids were taken with me as well, they thought I was a Mythic from Woldor's Hall, and they kept laughing at my tail and asking if they could touch my horn! It was heartwarming and playful.

Heh, and they even asked me to come again when Jenk decided it was time to go and took me back away on his carriage to the Farm. Once there, he asked my help planting new seeds, and this time, he told me it was fine to use my powers to help. Needless to say, we finished up very fast. Jenk's someone I'm always gonna respect, even if he obediently follows his faith on returning to the earth, he's probably the most in touch with Hainei out of everyone of us in the Psyops.

I bid him farewell, but I swore to come visit again and see what his daily life brings next time.
>>
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[A social link increased]

[Returned to the Bunker]

>The Affinity Date Selections are open.

>Hangout with someone.
>Exit Affinity Dates.
>>
>>5914787
>Exit affinity dates
Off to a case file now
>>
>>5914792
>+1
adventure awaits
>>
[EXITING AFFINITY DATES...]

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Cursed Closure (Morgrim, Count of Beasts)
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Find a human who'd be willing to face the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Yutu the Jade Rabbit (The Moon)
• Sincere Sasaki and Sincere Satomi, Twin Gods of School (Easterlind City)
>>
>>5914874
>Cursed Closure (Morgrim, Count of Beasts)
Total Beastman Death
>>
>>5914882
>+1
>>
>>5914882
Supporting
>>
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[LOADING...]

[LOADING COMPLETE]

[MISSION BEGIN]
>>
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Today was the day that the threat of Blickery ended for good. The Beastkin crusade would be over, and all it took was slaying the current reigning Count of Blickery, Morgrim, and returning full control of the island to the recently redeemed Morwenna. After making a deal with the wizened Beastkin Medhon, I had Morgrim in just the place we needed him, now all that was left to do was kill the Beast Count. It wouldn't be a tough battle for me, but with the trickery of the Afterseas always afoot, I couldn't afford any chances. I took Wolfboy as backup with me.

[WOLFBOY] "So this is Blickery? Sheesh! All the Beasts are like men that turned into wolves... I'd feel offended if I didn't know they didn't like being this way."

Together, we set deep into the mine. The insides were bleak, and the air was green and poisonous. Every inch deeper into the subterranean recesses we wandered, the more decayed the rock underfoot became, as did the old wooden boards and supports that remained alongside old rails nailed down. The stench was foul, the smell of dried gore and sacrifice pungent in the air. We wandered further in, until we reached the court of Blickery itself. This was the sight of a true sanctum to the defiled minded, a place of glory for the worshipers of evil.

Statues of carved hands missing fingers. Dead bodies wrapped in linen and hanging from the ceiling by the same briars of Death that spawned the Blight. There were even dead Beastkin splayed out on the floor in a pattern around the room, whilst some of them were stood upright by nails embedding them into the wall. The ground was slick with blood. I saw the corpses of Ashigaru, Heersmen... kidnapped villagers, all proudly displayed as a testament to the Beastkin crusade.

And in the middle of the room...

[MEDHON] "-rrk..."

'...!'

Medhon!

The form of the Beastkin who swore to lure Morgrim out for us. He was overshadowed by a larger figured, whose hand was impaled through him. I could do nothing but watch as old man Medhon met his demise, being thrown violently to the side and slamming into the wall.
>>
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My eyes trailed from the poor old Beast, back to the shadowy mass in the room's center. An animal, cruel snarl erupted from its skull, and it looked up to me, slowly rising as blood trickled down three claws.

[MORGRIM] "Freedom... freedom, our sovereign right underneath the true lord of mankind... Deniable? Preposterous... Freedom! Is exemplified in thy actions!" It barked.

'That's not freedom. It's unbridled rage, and you are nothing but a dog on the leash of that "Lord"...'

[MORGRIM] "You speak... SLIME! BOGUS! For thy habit's manner could have just as easily led thou decree of damnation, extermination! But to illuminate so poorly... could not blind my eyes to the finger-taker's truth. Deceitfulness... wretched, as driven boiling oil ssssslickKKK! Lure me to a trap... kill... me? Thus, proven am I, Mooorrrrgrim! Tis' you, isn't it? My king told me as much... Outsiders, you are all ssssso cruel! Your evil is palpable, the irony is material. You, of your lot, you are capable of only bringing usss more GRIEF! AND PROBLEMS! OUTSSSSIDERS ARE ONLY ACCOMPANIED BY OUR SUFFERING! THEY BRING IT IN TOW!"

'You blame the whole world for the actions of one individual. You've let go of trying to rebuild, and you only feel deeper as a result into the pit you were cast in.'

[MORGRIM] "How righteous does an outssssider plotting now to kill me, who leads these people, speak, ignorant of history. Ignorant to all crimesss... thinking they will ever let up. Thy tongue need hold itself forevermore should this acknowledgement be not made. Willful even to sacrifice old Medhon, to lure me to this trap. But I have great forces on my side. Thou hast walked blindfolded into my home. And my home, it shall be wet with thy innards. A Beast... never backsss down."

'Good. After all, I intend to destroy you to begin with.'

[MORWENNA] "Thisssss horrid nightmare ends, brother..."
>>
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I looked back. I saw Morwenna walking into the chamber behind me, scratching her claws as she came. She was looking at the floor, as though she didn't have the courage to stare down her own demented brother for this showdown, but she quickly raised her head and matched his eyes.

[MORWENNA] "The Trinity vill always try to kill us... it is unavoidable... but we will endure, as we have alwaysss... Yoursss is not the way. Every town you have destroyed... every house huu ravage with OUR kin, every family jhu slaughter needlessly... only creates more vagrancy... Huu arrre just leaving even more in destitution... suffrage. The very thing that we sought to escape here. This is madness, brother! Madness! Madness spurned by the Dark Lord!"

[MORGRIM] "And? Morgrim ISSSS DEAD. Thy brother is dead. There is only Beastlord now. Thou soon shall fall as well."

Morwenna raised her hands, and turned them over, showing no signs of corruption. None that were there any longer. It made Morgrim hiss and back up, drawing sparks across the rocky floor with his claws.

[MORGRIM] "You forsssake meeeee!"

[MORWENNA] "Zhere is no forsaking. I vould never have forsaken my broudhr... I forsssake only monsters like you. This is over."

Morgrim growled. He growled like a hungry beast and swiped his claw across the rock below until they set aflame with dark fires. Blood that was hewed with an unnatural apparition of brightness erupted from his throat as he raised to full height.

[MORGRIM] "A CAPTAIN GOES DOWN WITH HISSSS SSSSHIP! BUT EVEN SO... I WILL STILL DEVOUR THY GUTS! HE IS US! HE! IS! US! RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
>>
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[! WARNING !]

[BATTLE COMMENCING]

[...]

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YzVA50ZasQ
>>
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Morgrim confronts us.

[MORGRIM] "EEEEEEYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAARRRRRRRRRKKKKKKGGGHHHHHHH...!"

'...'

[YOUR TURN]

-------------------------------------
TRUTHS READY.

Your Rolling Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Your Critical Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Enemy Rolling Ceiling: Rank 5 - 1d47
Enemy Critical Ceiling: Rank 5 - 1d47

(I could still feel the sting from Ludwyhn's slapping contest on my cheeks... [Starting battle at 200HP])
(Morwenna is behind us, waiting for a chance to attack while Morgrim brawls with us...)

INVENTORY: https://pastebin.com/raw/wEy8RHiU

<What will you do?>
>SKILLS (Choose attack mode: Single / AOE) (AOE mode cannot be used on skills that hit multiple times.)
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
• Holy Custom (Heavy damage skill) (37 MP)
• Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)
• Binesiiwag (Med damage skill, inflict stun) (15 MP)
• Puncture An Idea (Light damage skill, inflicts Existential) (30 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
• Mind Bullets (Light damage skill, hits 10 times) (14 MP)
• Live Not Die (Lifts Death Knell affliction) (9MP)
>TRUTHS
• Muna's First Truth. (Pacifies foes, or skips their turns.)
• Muna's Second Truth. (Temporary Invulnerability for 4 turns)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>TALK
>ESCAPE

>Wolfboy's Move.
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Crossed Air Slicing Fists (Med damage skill, hits 7 times) (24 MP)
• Razor (Light damage skill, inflicts Blood) (13 MP)
• Antumbra (Heavy damage skill) (39 MP)
• Memento Mori (Weak strength Death Knell infliction) (10 MP)
• Blow To Information (Light damage skill, absorbs small HP) (30 MP)
• Bane (Lowers enemy dice ceiling by two ranks) (16 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
>TRUTHS
• Wolfboy's Truth. (Transforms into Wolfman, doubling HP and Physical attacks)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>>
>>5915914
>Muna
Moon Rabbit mochi
>Wolfboy
Viewfinder
Let's start with the basics, a heal and learning some resistances
>>
>>5915971
+1
Best that we know our enemy before anything else.
>>
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[Item: Moon Rabbit Mochi] - The lunar pounded goodness fell into my hand, and I ate quickly. It tasted excellent, and it made me feel like I could keep going. (Fully restored health!)

[Item: Viewfinder] - It dropped out of my hammerspace and Wolfboy caught it.

[WOLFBOY] "There it is!"

Morgrim's weaknesses were now known to us.

[ENEMY TURN]

[MORGRIM] "JUST TRY AND TAKE ME DOWN!"

<DEFINE DECLARATION> <DEFINE INVOCATION> <SYSTEMA DIVINO>
<VENGEANCE IS MINE!>
<L̷̯̻̫͋͂̑̋Ủ̵̡̳̟̙̍͗͘S̵͉͠T̸̛̺̑̎̐̋ ̸̛̜̱̞̖͙̚F̷͉̑̈́͒O̴͎̞͔̖̕R̸̳͝ ̶̦̮̦̆͂̽̾͠Ǐ̸̪̜̜̯̕͝ͅT̶͕̰͘!̷̼̂͒̓͘̚>
<THIS EFFECT I COMMAND INTO REALITY AS TRUTH AND IMMUTABLE FACT>

Morgrim's whole body became swathed in cursed blood, staining his entire coat of fur. I saw his claws dripping with it, and his chops coated in sweet blood that his tongue licked up, spreading across his skull. His eyes came alight. His lust for blood was undeniable. The borrowed Truth of the Afterseas was his power for this fight...

(All of Morgrim's attacks now inflict Blood.)

[Beastly Roar] - Morgrim howled in rage, building up strength for his next strike. The next attack was going to really hurt...

[YOUR TURN]

-------------------------------------

Your Rolling Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Your Critical Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Enemy Rolling Ceiling: Rank 5 - 1d47
Enemy Critical Ceiling: Rank 5 - 1d47

INVENTORY: https://pastebin.com/raw/wEy8RHiU

<What will you do?>
>SKILLS (Choose attack mode: Single / AOE) (AOE mode cannot be used on skills that hit multiple times.)
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
• Holy Custom (Heavy damage skill) (37 MP)
• Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)
• Binesiiwag (Med damage skill, inflict stun) (15 MP)
• Puncture An Idea (Light damage skill, inflicts Existential) (30 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
• Mind Bullets (Light damage skill, hits 10 times) (14 MP)
• Live Not Die (Lifts Death Knell affliction) (9MP)
>TRUTHS
• Muna's First Truth. (Pacifies foes, or skips their turns.)
• Muna's Second Truth. (Temporary Invulnerability for 4 turns)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>TALK
>ESCAPE

>Wolfboy's Move.
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Crossed Air Slicing Fists (Med damage skill, hits 7 times) (24 MP)
• Razor (Light damage skill, inflicts Blood) (13 MP)
• Antumbra (Heavy damage skill) (39 MP)
• Memento Mori (Weak strength Death Knell infliction) (10 MP)
• Blow To Information (Light damage skill, absorbs small HP) (30 MP)
• Bane (Lowers enemy dice ceiling by two ranks) (16 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
>TRUTHS
• Wolfboy's Truth. (Transforms into Wolfman, doubling HP and Physical attacks)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>>
>>5916059
>Muna
Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
>Wolfboy
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
>>
>>5916069
Actually...
>Muna
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
>Wolfboy
• Bane (Lowers enemy dice ceiling by two ranks) (16 MP)
Change to that
>>
>>5916076
>+1
>>
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[Divine Chateau] - I made our position more enviable against our foe.

[Bane] - "See how you like this!" - Wolfboy squandered Morgrim's tactical chances with his spell.

[ENEMY TURN]

[Vengeance] - Morgrim howled, and with the power built up into his right hand, slammed both of us with his enormous claw! We took a terrifying blow!

[WOLFBOY] "GAH! H-HE'S STRONG!"

[MORWENNA] "He hassss... my powers! T-TAKE CARE!"

[MORGRIM] "I SHALL NOT EXPIRE HERE SSSSISTEEEEERAAAAAAGH!"

[Pride] - Morgrim's demented laughter echoed through the chamber.

[YOUR TURN]

We are bleeding... Morgrim is absorbing our blood to replenish himself.

Morwenna is about to attack...

-------------------------------------

Your Rolling Ceiling: Rank 6 - 1d57
Your Critical Ceiling: Rank 6 - 1d57
Enemy Rolling Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Enemy Critical Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27

INVENTORY: https://pastebin.com/raw/wEy8RHiU

<What will you do?>
>SKILLS (Choose attack mode: Single / AOE) (AOE mode cannot be used on skills that hit multiple times.)
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
• Holy Custom (Heavy damage skill) (37 MP)
• Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)
• Binesiiwag (Med damage skill, inflict stun) (15 MP)
• Puncture An Idea (Light damage skill, inflicts Existential) (30 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
• Mind Bullets (Light damage skill, hits 10 times) (14 MP)
• Live Not Die (Lifts Death Knell affliction) (9MP)
>TRUTHS
• Muna's First Truth. (Pacifies foes, or skips their turns.)
• Muna's Second Truth. (Temporary Invulnerability for 4 turns)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>TALK
>ESCAPE

>Wolfboy's Move.
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Crossed Air Slicing Fists (Med damage skill, hits 7 times) (24 MP)
• Razor (Light damage skill, inflicts Blood) (13 MP)
• Antumbra (Heavy damage skill) (39 MP)
• Memento Mori (Weak strength Death Knell infliction) (10 MP)
• Blow To Information (Light damage skill, absorbs small HP) (30 MP)
• Bane (Lowers enemy dice ceiling by two ranks) (16 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
>TRUTHS
• Wolfboy's Truth. (Transforms into Wolfman, doubling HP and Physical attacks)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>>
>>5916125
>Muna
Binesiiwag (Med damage skill, inflict stun) (15 MP)
>Wolfboy
Item: Cake of Light (Party wide Large HP Restore)
>>
>>5916144
+1
TASE HIS ASS, OPEN AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MORWENNA!
>>
>>5916144
+1
>>
Rolled 46 (1d57)

[Binesiiwag] - I struck Morgrim with thunder! (Rolling Stun chance...)
>>
File: 453.png (1.2 MB, 2500x1298)
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[Item: Cake of Light] - "Here you go!" - Wolfboy shared the confection.

[MORWENNA] "ENOUGH!"

Morwenna attacked Morgrim from behind, digging into his flesh with her Blighted claws!

[MORGRIM] "GYAAAAAAH! YOU WOULD SSSSTRIKE YOUR OWN BROTHER?!"
>>
File: 454.png (1.16 MB, 2500x1298)
1.16 MB
1.16 MB PNG
[ENEMY TURN]

Morgrim was stunned! He couldn't move, only snarl!

Me and Wolfboy both bled! Morgrim absorbed it and reinvigorated himself!

[YOUR TURN]

[MORGRIM] "I will outlasssst you in my COURT!"

-------------------------------------

Your Rolling Ceiling: Rank 6 - 1d57
Your Critical Ceiling: Rank 6 - 1d57
Enemy Rolling Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Enemy Critical Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27

INVENTORY: https://pastebin.com/raw/wEy8RHiU

<What will you do?>
>SKILLS (Choose attack mode: Single / AOE) (AOE mode cannot be used on skills that hit multiple times.)
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
• Holy Custom (Heavy damage skill) (37 MP)
• Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)
• Binesiiwag (Med damage skill, inflict stun) (15 MP)
• Puncture An Idea (Light damage skill, inflicts Existential) (30 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
• Mind Bullets (Light damage skill, hits 10 times) (14 MP)
• Live Not Die (Lifts Death Knell affliction) (9MP)
>TRUTHS
• Muna's First Truth. (Pacifies foes, or skips their turns.)
• Muna's Second Truth. (Temporary Invulnerability for 4 turns)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>TALK
>ESCAPE

>Wolfboy's Move.
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Crossed Air Slicing Fists (Med damage skill, hits 7 times) (24 MP)
• Razor (Light damage skill, inflicts Blood) (13 MP)
• Antumbra (Heavy damage skill) (39 MP)
• Memento Mori (Weak strength Death Knell infliction) (10 MP)
• Blow To Information (Light damage skill, absorbs small HP) (30 MP)
• Bane (Lowers enemy dice ceiling by two ranks) (16 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
>TRUTHS
• Wolfboy's Truth. (Transforms into Wolfman, doubling HP and Physical attacks)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>>
>>5916178
>Muna
Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
>Wolfboy
Truth
>>
>>5916178
>Muna

• Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
>Wolfboy
Truth
>>
File: 455.png (2.77 MB, 2500x1298)
2.77 MB
2.77 MB PNG
[Kaleidoscope] - I let Morgrim be on the receiving end of my immense Psychic attack! He screamed in pain.

'Wolfboy! Leyline, now!'

[WOLFBOY] "Comin' right up!"

<DEFINE DECLARATION> <DEFINE INVOCATION> <SYSTEMA DIVINO>
<HAHAHAHAHAHA! NOW THIS IS MORE LIKE IT! LEYLINE, RELEASE!>
<INSIDE OF YOU ARE TWO WOLVES, ONE IS ME AND THESE CLAWS!>
<THIS EFFECT I COMMAND INTO REALITY AS TRUTH AND IMMUTABLE FACT>

[WOLFMAN] "HAHAHA! HERE I AM!"

Morgrim felt Despair!

[MORGRIM] "YOU PROMISSSSED ME...!" He screamed, clenching his skull with his gnarly fingers; "I WOULD WIN ANY SSSSTRUGGLE! VENGEANCE WOULD BE MIIIINE!"

[ENEMY TURN]

Morgrim is stunned!

Morwenna is preparing another attack...

-------------------------------------

[WOLFMAN] "HAHA! LET'S SEE HOW STRONG YOU REALLY ARE!"

[MORGRIM] "You dare challenge... me?! In my court!? I am the BEASTLORD!"

Morgrim and Wolfman suddenly locked fists and pressed their palms against one another, trying to overpower each other! It was a contest of strength! Morgrim towered over Wolfman, but he held his ground! I heard them let out canine roars as they sought to prove themselves all of a sudden...

>Roll 1d100 to overcome Beast Count with Wolfman!
>>
Rolled 7 (1d100)

>>5916215
Are you the alpha male wolfie?
>>
Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>5916215
>>
Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>5916215
KIYAAAAAAAHHHHHH
>>
File: 456.png (1.25 MB, 2500x1298)
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[WOLFMAN] "NGH...!"

[MORGRIM] "YOU ARE NOTHING, PUP!"

I gasped as Morgrim suddenly overpowered Wolfman, hoisting him up by his twisted arms before lunging at his neck with a bite.

'WOLFBOY!' I shouted as I saw him get thrown by Morgrim's jaw into the wall.

[WOLFMAN] "ACK! O-Okay! I didn't hear a bell!"

He hopped back to his feet, ready to fight.

[YOUR TURN]

Morgrim's stun faded.

Morwenna's attack is about to land...

[MORGRIM] "MORE BLOOD! I NEED MORE BLOOD! USULTU! MY LORD! LEND MY YOUR POWEEEEEEER!"

(Morgrim's Truth is about to increase his HP absorption rate!)

-------------------------------------
WOLFBOY: TRUTH ACTIVE: INDEFINITELY

Your Rolling Ceiling: Rank 6 - 1d57
Your Critical Ceiling: Rank 6 - 1d57
Enemy Rolling Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Enemy Critical Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27

INVENTORY: https://pastebin.com/raw/wEy8RHiU

<What will you do?>
>SKILLS (Choose attack mode: Single / AOE) (AOE mode cannot be used on skills that hit multiple times.)
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
• Holy Custom (Heavy damage skill) (37 MP)
• Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)
• Binesiiwag (Med damage skill, inflict stun) (15 MP)
• Puncture An Idea (Light damage skill, inflicts Existential) (30 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
• Mind Bullets (Light damage skill, hits 10 times) (14 MP)
• Live Not Die (Lifts Death Knell affliction) (9MP)
>TRUTHS
• Muna's First Truth. (Pacifies foes, or skips their turns.)
• Muna's Second Truth. (Temporary Invulnerability for 4 turns)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>TALK
>ESCAPE

>Wolfboy's Move.
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Crossed Air Slicing Fists (Med damage skill, hits 7 times) (24 MP)
• Razor (Light damage skill, inflicts Blood) (13 MP)
• Antumbra (Heavy damage skill) (39 MP)
• Memento Mori (Weak strength Death Knell infliction) (10 MP)
• Blow To Information (Light damage skill, absorbs small HP) (30 MP)
• Bane (Lowers enemy dice ceiling by two ranks) (16 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
>TRUTHS
• Wolfboy's Truth. (Transforms into Wolfman, doubling HP and Physical attacks)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>>
>>5916226
>Muna
Muna's Second Truth. (Temporary Invulnerability for 4 turns)
>Wolfboy
Crossed Air Slicing Fists (Med damage skill, hits 7 times) (24 MP)
>>
>>5916226
>Muna
Muna's First Truth. (Pacifies foes, or skips their turns.)
>Wolfboy
Item: Luck of Seannsa.

We need to stall to get this blood off of us, he's just gonna keep healing if we don't!
>>
>>5916228
>+1
multi hit ahoy
>>
Rolled 7 (1d7)

I can't afford to let him have anymore of my blood...

<DEFINE DECLARATION> <DEFINE INVOCATION> <SYSTEMA DIVINO>
<יהי רצון שההבנה והחוכמה האלוהית יובילו אותי אל הכתר הבלתי נדלה!>
<I WALK AHEAD THROUGH THE BLAZE, PRESSING ON THROUGH ALL HARDSHIP>
<THIS EFFECT I COMMAND INTO REALITY AS TRUTH AND IMMUTABLE FACT>

My Truth comes online.

[WOLFMAN] "You got lucky... Now! TAKE THIS!" Said Wolfboy, going for his [Crossed Air Slicing Fists] at Morgrim. (Rolling number of hits landed...)

[MORWENNA] "SSssstop, resssisssting..."

Morwenna's Blighted Claw caught her brother's neck from behind!
>>
File: 457.png (1.32 MB, 2500x1298)
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Rolled 6 (1d9)

Morgrim was grievously wounded!

[MORGRIM] "MORE BLOOD!"

[ENEMY TURN]

[Sideswiping Claws] - Morgrim blitzed off at the speed of light, trying to catch Wolfman with multiple hits! (Rolling number of hits landed...)

[Attack] - Morgrim tried to attack... but his Despair made him start digging his claws into his throat, injuring himself!

[Beastly Roar] - Morgrim filled the room with his roar. He was preparing another powerful attack!
>>
File: 458.png (1.33 MB, 2500x1298)
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(Morgrim's HP absorption rate increased!)

[YOUR TURN]

[MORGRIM] "I CAN FEEL IT... THE BLOOD! SPILLED IN THE NAME OF VENGEANCE!"

Morwenna is readying another strike...

-------------------------------------
WOLFBOY: TRUTH ACTIVE: INDEFINITELY
MUNA: TRUTH ACTIVE: 4 TURNS LEFT

Your Rolling Ceiling: Rank 6 - 1d57
Your Critical Ceiling: Rank 6 - 1d57
Enemy Rolling Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Enemy Critical Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27

INVENTORY: https://pastebin.com/raw/wEy8RHiU

<What will you do?>
>SKILLS (Choose attack mode: Single / AOE) (AOE mode cannot be used on skills that hit multiple times.)
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
• Holy Custom (Heavy damage skill) (37 MP)
• Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)
• Binesiiwag (Med damage skill, inflict stun) (15 MP)
• Puncture An Idea (Light damage skill, inflicts Existential) (30 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
• Mind Bullets (Light damage skill, hits 10 times) (14 MP)
• Live Not Die (Lifts Death Knell affliction) (9MP)
>TRUTHS
• Muna's First Truth. (Pacifies foes, or skips their turns.)
• Muna's Second Truth. (Temporary Invulnerability for 4 turns)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>TALK
>ESCAPE

>Wolfboy's Move.
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Crossed Air Slicing Fists (Med damage skill, hits 7 times) (24 MP)
• Razor (Light damage skill, inflicts Blood) (13 MP)
• Antumbra (Heavy damage skill) (39 MP)
• Memento Mori (Weak strength Death Knell infliction) (10 MP)
• Blow To Information (Light damage skill, absorbs small HP) (30 MP)
• Bane (Lowers enemy dice ceiling by two ranks) (16 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
>TRUTHS
• Wolfboy's Truth. (Transforms into Wolfman, doubling HP and Physical attacks)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>>
>>5916266
>Muna
Item: Cake of Light (Party wide Large HP Restore)
>Wolfboy
Inverted Physique Mirror (Reflects physical attack)
>>
>>5916273
+1
>>
File: 459.png (1.32 MB, 2500x1298)
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[Item: Cake of Light] - I shared this cake, so we might hold out longer.

[WOLFMAN] "Thanks!"

[Item: Inverted Physique Mirror] - Granted access to my hammerspace, Wolfman erected a mystical mirror to shield himself.

[MORWENNA] "Juuu arrrre already DEAD!"

Morwenna struck Morgrim with her Blighted hand again, before jumping back!

[ENEMY TURN]

[Vengeance] - Morgrim hollered as he charged and slammed into Wolfman with his full power. But the attack was reflected!

[YOUR TURN]
>>
File: 460.png (1.13 MB, 2500x1298)
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[MORGRIM] "G-GGAAAWWAAAAAWWWW!"

Morgrim fell back. His ribs cracked, and blood exploded from his body. He clenched his skull, seemingly disoriented, and I saw the aura of blood over his body briefly subside. I strut forward, ready to aim another powerful strike at him, but just as I did, he suddenly moaned and lifted his head.

His eyes! They were white.

[MORGRIM] "Wha-gh... ghoouu! What's... h-happening...? My... my head... it hurt ssssso much! Argh!"

The Beast Count stumbled back. He looked pathetic. He looked up at Morwenna.

[MORGRIM] "Si... Sister...?"

[MORWENNA] "..."

[MORGRIM] "S... Ssssisteeer! What's... what's going on?! Who...who are these people?! Where are we? Why are we in the... the mines? Who... Augh!" He recoiled then, from the corpses nailed to the wall behind him.

[MORWENNA] "...Brother...?"

[MORGRIM] "Sissster! What is this?! What's happening? Why am I bleeding out...? Who is... Erugh! O-Old M-Med-dhon!"

[MORWENNA] "Juu... killed him, Brother!"

[MORGRIM] "What...?! Nooo... no! I would never! I couldn't have... I... I...! S-Sisssster! Help me! I don't know what's going on...!" Cried the Beast Count, falling to his knees and clenching his skull.

I felt Morwenna's heart skip a beat.

[MORWENNA] "Brother!" She said, reaching out for him; "Brother...! I'll help you!"

Morwenna began pacing towards Morgrim. He moaned again, and looked up to her, reaching out himself with bloodied claws...

[MORGRIM] "Ergh.... gk... Help... me!" He said, eyes turning over green.

>No! It's a trap! Morwenna, get back!
>Ha...? Is he truly brought back from the brink?
>>
>>5916291
>>No! It's a trap! Morwenna, get back!
His fingers are cut, it's too late...
>>
>>5916291
>No! It's a trap! Morwenna, get back!
>>
>>5916294
Use our first truth too
>>
>>5916291
>No! It's a trap! Morwenna, get back!
>>
>>5916291
>No! It's a trap! Morwenna, get back!
Deceitful is the work of the dark one! With our First Truth, he shan't dare lash a claw at her!
>>
File: 461.png (1.14 MB, 2500x1298)
1.14 MB
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'Morwenna! No!' I said.

[MORGRIM] "...HeheHA! HYEAR!"

Morgrim suddenly rose to strike her with his three clawed left hand! But I acted quickly, refusing to let my guard down! I teleported in front of her, and my Truth reflected his strike before it could land!

[MORGRIM] "GAWWW!"

[WOLFMAN] "LET'S GO FOR A RIDE, BIG BOY!"

Wolfman caught Morgrim from behind, around his hips, he lifted with all his strength and delivered Mogrim into a fierce suplex into the rock below! When the Beast Demigod tried to lunge back up, he was met with the Animal Demigod's fist blowing his back. A crack formed on his skull. Wolfman used the moment of a jump to propel himself high onto the wall, which he bounced off of. Down he came, smashing into Morgrim's cracked skull with his foot!

Morgrim's skull shattered! Half of it was gone!

[MORGRIM] "EEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!"

[MORWENNA] "How... how could you...?"

Those fingers are unmistakable. He's gone.

[YOUR TURN]

-------------------------------------
WOLFBOY: TRUTH ACTIVE: INDEFINITELY
MUNA: TRUTH ACTIVE: 3 TURNS LEFT

Your Rolling Ceiling: Rank 6 - 1d57
Your Critical Ceiling: Rank 6 - 1d57
Enemy Rolling Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Enemy Critical Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27

INVENTORY: https://pastebin.com/raw/wEy8RHiU

<What will you do?>
>SKILLS (Choose attack mode: Single / AOE) (AOE mode cannot be used on skills that hit multiple times.)
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
• Holy Custom (Heavy damage skill) (37 MP)
• Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)
• Binesiiwag (Med damage skill, inflict stun) (15 MP)
• Puncture An Idea (Light damage skill, inflicts Existential) (30 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
• Mind Bullets (Light damage skill, hits 10 times) (14 MP)
• Live Not Die (Lifts Death Knell affliction) (9MP)
>TRUTHS
• Muna's First Truth. (Pacifies foes, or skips their turns.)
• Muna's Second Truth. (Temporary Invulnerability for 4 turns)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>TALK
>ESCAPE

>Wolfboy's Move.
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Crossed Air Slicing Fists (Med damage skill, hits 7 times) (24 MP)
• Razor (Light damage skill, inflicts Blood) (13 MP)
• Antumbra (Heavy damage skill) (39 MP)
• Memento Mori (Weak strength Death Knell infliction) (10 MP)
• Blow To Information (Light damage skill, absorbs small HP) (30 MP)
• Bane (Lowers enemy dice ceiling by two ranks) (16 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
>TRUTHS
• Wolfboy's Truth. (Transforms into Wolfman, doubling HP and Physical attacks)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>>
>>5916310
>Muna
Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
>Wolfboy
Crossed Air Slicing Fists (Med damage skill, hits 7 times) (24 MP)
With Wolfboy K.Od he won't be able to absorb more damage, so I say we buff with muna, let wolfboy get K.Od and then use a status inflicting move next turn
>>
>>5916310
>Muna
Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)
>Wolfboy
Antumbra (Heavy damage skill) (39 MP)
>>
>>5916321
changing to this
>>
Rolled 1 (1d7)

[Divine Chateau] - I worked to drive this mindless beast into a corner...

[WOLFMAN] "My turn!"

[Crossed Air Slicing Fists] - Wolfman lashed out with his attack at the maddened Morgrim! (Rolling number of hits landed...)
>>
File: 462.png (1.14 MB, 2500x1298)
1.14 MB
1.14 MB PNG
Wolfman landed a critical hit! Although, he missed every other shot. Morgrim managed to dodge them...

[ENEMY TURN]

[Attack] - Morgrim scraped his own flesh in a deranged manner due to his Despair!

[Beastly Roar] - Morgrim prepared to dish out punishment and began building power!

[WOLFMAN] "Agh... Can't go on no more... take it from here..."

Wolfboy fell unconscious from having his blood energy sapped!

[YOUR TURN]

Morwenna prepares another attack behind her Brother, who turns to me...

[MORGRIM] "One dowwwn... twoo to gooo... Thy time is sssshort now, do thou truly think to outlast me in MY court?!"

-------------------------------------
MUNA: TRUTH ACTIVE: 2 TURNS LEFT

Your Rolling Ceiling: Rank 9 - 1d87
Your Critical Ceiling: Rank 9 - 1d87
Enemy Rolling Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Enemy Critical Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27

INVENTORY: https://pastebin.com/raw/wEy8RHiU

<What will you do?>
>SKILLS (Choose attack mode: Single / AOE) (AOE mode cannot be used on skills that hit multiple times.)
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
• Holy Custom (Heavy damage skill) (37 MP)
• Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)
• Binesiiwag (Med damage skill, inflict stun) (15 MP)
• Puncture An Idea (Light damage skill, inflicts Existential) (30 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
• Mind Bullets (Light damage skill, hits 10 times) (14 MP)
• Live Not Die (Lifts Death Knell affliction) (9MP)
>TRUTHS
• Muna's First Truth. (Pacifies foes, or skips their turns.)
• Muna's Second Truth. (Temporary Invulnerability for 4 turns)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>TALK
>ESCAPE
>>
>>5916347
>Muna
Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)

Invulnerability lol
>>
>>5916347
>Muna
>Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer)(45 MP)
>>
>>5916347
>Muna
Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)

Yeah, I think we can.
>>
>>5916350
>+1
>>
>>5916349
Support
>>
Rolled 85 (1d87)

[Elephant's Foot] - My leg glowed with hot, atomic energy. I sprang forth and kick Morgrim hard enough to shear his flesh and repulse him back. (Rolling infliction...)
>>
Rolled 76 (1d87)

(Rolling Critical chance...)
>>
File: 463.png (1.09 MB, 2500x1298)
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Morgrim coughed. The rot of supernatural sickness was clouding his lungs.

Morwenna took that chance to slash his back with her Blighted claw again!

[ENEMY TURN]

[MORGRIM] "HGN!"

Morgrim shook his head, he snapped out of his despair. He kicked back, striking Morwenna and slamming her into a wall! She was stunned!

[MORGRIM] "The promises of He Who Is Us are empty after all. There is no vengeance. I feel the voices growing quiet..."

[Vengeance] - Morgrim raised his hand to strike, but then it fell. He refused to attack...

[YOUR TURN]

-------------------------------------
MUNA: TRUTH ACTIVE: 1 TURNS LEFT

Your Rolling Ceiling: Rank 9 - 1d87
Your Critical Ceiling: Rank 9 - 1d87
Enemy Rolling Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Enemy Critical Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27

INVENTORY: https://pastebin.com/raw/wEy8RHiU

<What will you do?>
>SKILLS (Choose attack mode: Single / AOE) (AOE mode cannot be used on skills that hit multiple times.)
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
• Holy Custom (Heavy damage skill) (37 MP)
• Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)
• Binesiiwag (Med damage skill, inflict stun) (15 MP)
• Puncture An Idea (Light damage skill, inflicts Existential) (30 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
• Mind Bullets (Light damage skill, hits 10 times) (14 MP)
• Live Not Die (Lifts Death Knell affliction) (9MP)
>TRUTHS
• Muna's First Truth. (Pacifies foes, or skips their turns.)
• Muna's Second Truth. (Temporary Invulnerability for 4 turns)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>TALK
>ESCAPE
>>
>>5916365
>Muna
Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
Finish this nigga
>>
>>5916367
>+1
>>
>>5916365
>Muna
Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
"Let your death be penance for the crimes you have done in the Dark One's name. When the evils of this world are uprooted, perhaps you shall be restored. Now, come quietly."
IT'S REDEEMING TIME!!
[MUNA BLAST]!!!
>>
File: 464.png (1.7 MB, 2500x1298)
1.7 MB
1.7 MB PNG
[Kaleidoscope] - I didn't let up. I raised my hand and unleashed another immense Psychic wave at Morgrim, taking him into the wall and shaking the whole island. (Failed to inflict Despair...)

The Cancer overtaking his body caused rotted parts to fall off.

My Truth faded.

[ENEMY TURN]

[Bloodfall] - Morgrim tore his own chest open and sprayed out his blood like a hose! I was mortified to see every drop of it exploding into flames and bursts of force all over the entire chamber! It was like a suddenly payload of bombs! I couldn't avoid it! It pelted me and I cringed in pain!

[MORGRIM] "Eheheeheahahahahaa! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!"

Agh... he absorbed a sum of my blood the moment my Truth fell...

I need to finish him, now.

[YOUR TURN]

-------------------------------------
MUNA: TRUTH COOLDOWN: 10 TURNS LEFT

Your Rolling Ceiling: Rank 9 - 1d87
Your Critical Ceiling: Rank 9 - 1d87
Enemy Rolling Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27
Enemy Critical Ceiling: Rank 3 - 1d27

INVENTORY: https://pastebin.com/raw/wEy8RHiU

<What will you do?>
>SKILLS (Choose attack mode: Single / AOE) (AOE mode cannot be used on skills that hit multiple times.)
• Attack (Default light physical)
• Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
• Holy Custom (Heavy damage skill) (37 MP)
• Elephant's Foot (Heavy damage skill, physical + inflicts Cancer) (45 MP)
• Binesiiwag (Med damage skill, inflict stun) (15 MP)
• Puncture An Idea (Light damage skill, inflicts Existential) (30 MP)
• Divine Chateau (Raises party ceiling by three ranks) (30 MP)
• Mind Bullets (Light damage skill, hits 10 times) (14 MP)
• Live Not Die (Lifts Death Knell affliction) (9MP)
>TRUTHS
• Muna's First Truth. (Pacifies foes, or skips their turns.)
• Muna's Second Truth. (Temporary Invulnerability for 4 turns)
>GUARD
>ITEMS
>TALK
>ESCAPE
>>
>>5916378
>Muna
Kaleidoscope (Severe damage skill, physical + inflicts Despair) (70 MP)
FINISH HIM! HE'S GOING TO BRING THE WHOLE FUCKING MINE DOWN!!
KILLING HIM WILL STOP THE BLEED WE HAVE TO ACT NOW
>>
>>5916381
>+1
blast this nigga
>>
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[Kaleidoscope] - I let out another extrasensory emission at Morgrim, destroying his body further.
>>
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[MORGRIM] "HRGK! HGHRHMMM! MMEEUUUHOOHHAAARGH! AAARGHKK...KKKG... GAAAAAWWWHHHHHAAAAA...!"

The top half of Morgrim's skull exploded. His jaw fell unhinged, and his body could no longer move. The Beast Count was defeated. He fell to his knees. This struggle was over.

I won the battle. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keHnr50a134

(Gained 50 Pleroma Points from defeating story boss.)
>>
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[MORGRIM] "Eeeereeeghh... erhg..."

The Beast Count's head fell low, and Morwenna approached him now. He was weak, too weak to continue fighting. I saw her raise her claw at her brother, and a sickly green hue emanated from his shattered skull into her palm.

[MORWENNA] "I have t... taken it back... bro-th-ther. All my powerrrr... that I gave to jhu."

[MORGRIM] "Kegh... heheheh... and now what, Ssssisterrr? You kill me with your Blighted touchh-chuh?! Errrrgh! And end this.... Crussssade? Kghu... no... no. It is not over. Not by a long shot. Thou mayest end me, but the crussssade will continue, even if not by our claws anymore. They will keep coming... Outsidersss will never leave us be. They will come hunting, and find us. By giving our souls to the Dark Lord, we might have stood a chance..."

[MORWENNA] "Jhu are w...wrrhhhong, brooother. I vill protect them!"

[MORGRIM] "For how long...? You cannot last forever, if I cannot. Thou hast only sealed our fffff-ff... fate. The Ssssun will never shine here again."

[MORWENNA] "The sssun, never shined in the firrrssst place."

Morwenna raised her finger, and touched the last bit of Morgrim's snout that remained. Morgrim shuddered, and then crumbled. His body gave out, his Demigodhood was obliterated. The body of the Beast Count began to become dust, and whatever was inside the cloak of fur that he wore collapsed with a meaty squelch and rattle of bone.

The Beast Count was no more, and Morwenna was again the Countess of Blickery. I felt the trace remnants of the Dark One's influence vanishing from this court, and soon after, the island itself.

The Beastkin Crusade was over.
>>
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BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsjIrYqiEpQ

After the battle, I came by Wolfboy's side and ensured his safety. His eyes fluttered open with a groan.

[WOLFBOY] "D-Did we win?"

'Hah...! Wolfboy! Yes. We won.'

But now that he was safe, I saw that it was Morwenna who needed me most at this time. The Beast Goddess of the outcasts stood trembling over her brother's remains. The altar and figments built to HEUS were crumbling slowly in the court, she'd lost not only Morgrim, but another dear friend in the Beast Medhon as well today.

[MORWENNA] "Hah. I really am a fool. He wasss right. Ve are doomed."

'What are you saying?'

[MORWENNA] "Haaahh... The world outside vill never l-l... leave ussss be. They vill keep coming. Whether it is the Trinity's vorriors, the Vitch H-hOonters of Voldoria, or the Monsters. And yet, our only hope is to make this peace vith the outssside."

The Beast Goddess raised her claw, and clenched it tight.

[MORWENNA] "Strife vill remain among Beastkin. They vill still hate themselvesss. Hate how they look. Even if I accept, they vill hate. Thisss isss, after all, Blight. I contain the Blight, but it still lives in us..." She said, wrapping her arms around her shoulders; "And in the end... even if He Who Is Us cannot have ussss... he has won... he got me to kill my own brother, whose soul is... no doubt, his possession now."

And after all, she's only following my advice. Morgrim was not a horrible person at one point, but he lost himself, there was no choice but to end his miserable life. I cannot guarantee her that her brother's soul is safe, and who knows how long it will take before HEUS is finished for good? But this is their condition now. To contain the Blight, to accept themselves and make beauty of their horror and ugliness. Even if the Trinity refuses to leave them alone, even if Woldoria does, even if the Khanate, they can't give up this island. It's all they have.

[MORWENNA] "Is thisss... truly the only way it could have gone?"

I can feel her thinking about it all. How she'd have never became a goddess if she didn't heed her people and brother's wishes for her to live when she was still human. How I came and offered her a choice, one that she mainly took out of desperation to get out of her situation as fast as she might. How she's a Goddess now, and always will be, and yet still so immature to truly be one.

>What matters is that you try, regardless of what happens next. This is your dawn, Morwenna. Your time and power.
>Nothing is solved instantly, Morwenna. But, if it makes you feel better, I'll accept you and your people. The world will become a better place, one region at a time.
>I'm sorry about everything. I just jumped right in to help. It's all I could think to do. I hope you can forgive me for pushing you to kill him.
>>
>>5917514
>Nothing is solved instantly, Morwenna. But, if it makes you feel better, I'll accept you and your people. The world will become a better place, one region at a time.
Don't worry Morwenna, we're fighting against the whole world too, you got us on your side
>>
>>5917514
>What matters is that you try, regardless of what happens next. This is your dawn, Morwenna. Your time and power.
She'll have the time to build this place into a better one and slowly make people accept her and her kind
>>
>>5917514
>Nothing is solved instantly, Morwenna. But, if it makes you feel better, I'll accept you and your people. The world will become a better place, one region at a time.
"You can never give up on home. It's where the heart is, and one's heart must stay beating if one is to survive. Within every heartbeat and every breath lies a hope for a better future. For a brighter tomorrow. Patience and endurance is rewarded in the greater scheme of things. You just have to keep on living to see it. Never forget that."
...We really should dedicate some of our propaganda team to try and destigmatize the beastkin now that Morgrim's gone, on top of sending general humanitarian aid towards Blickery township as a whole.
Definitely still want to go with the sun-substitute beacon tower plan for its symbolic relevance. Hope still burns bright, even amidst suffocating darkness.
>>
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'Nothing is ever solved instantly, Morwenna. But, if it makes you feel better, I'll accept you and your people. The world will become a better place, one region at a time.'

[MORWENNA] "I sssupose... in the end... makes it all worth it. So long, as we try."

'Together.' I said, holding my hand out.

[MORWENNA] "Togetherrr..."

Morwenna took my hand with her claw. I felt the bitterness of the Blight in her hand, but I felt the kind soul inside of her as well for that briefest moment until she let go. Relaxing her shoulders, Morwenna looked up and breathed in and out.

[MORWENNA] "Assss if a great weight has lifted off m-... my shoulders... Thisss is.. relief."
>>
[In agreement with Morwenna, my influence has expanded to Blickery. The Psyops have established a hospital on the island, in the county to assist the Beastkin in assessing their new lives and healing from their history, along with a beacon to provide light to the town set atop the same hill that the windmill stood on. Our relations remained amiable. For one, the Beastkin were pleasantly surprised to see outsiders who came not to harm them, but provide help unconditionally. Though, it will take some time before all are used to the Beastkin, even our own personnel.]

[A base was established on Blickery.]
[Our Personnel cap was raised.]

[BUNKER PERSONNEL: 805]
[PERSONNEL CAP: 2200]
>>
>Wolfboy has already left. Morwenna has gone back to her castle after addressing her people and telling them that the crusade is over. Is there anything I wanted to talk to Morwenna about before departing?

>Yes.
>No. (End Case-File.)
>>
>>5917715
>No. (End Case-File.)
>>
>>5917715

>No. (End Case-File.)
Don't got anything to tell her just yet, let's go back
>>
>>5917715
>No. (End Case-File.)
I think she’s earned some alone time, now that the agony of her people is now being mended. The grief of today may weigh on her, but she will endure and heal.
Time to head back to HQ.
>>
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[CASE FILE: CLOSED. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED]
[RESULTS]

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si2oF1EmwQ0

(Nothing plundered from Bandit King donations today.)
(No personnel recruited today.)

[Returning to the Bunker...]
>>
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Back home. Hale awaited me with happiness upon hearing I was able to appeal to the Beastkin and save them. We celebrated with a bottle of sparkling wine from his personal stash. What a peculiar fizzy wine.

[...]
[New Psyops Deployments are available.]

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Find a human who'd be willing to face the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• NEGAI, Machine God of Humanity (NUMBER-1 'YAHWEH') (East Shengesia)
• Usultu, Murder God (Abandoned Shrine)
• Yutu the Jade Rabbit (The Moon)
• Goldbrand, God of Destruction (Heavenly Capital, Imperial Seat)
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
• Ecules, the High Aspostle of the Fist (The Rampart of August Stars)
• Gaizar, Alien God of Energy and Invasion (Psychic Communication)
>>
>>5917773
>NEGAI, Machine God of Humanity (NUMBER-1 'YAHWEH') (East Shengesia)
I am not letting that one slide
>>
>>5917773
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
>NEGAI, Machine God of Humanity (NUMBER-1 'YAHWEH') (East Shengesia)
WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING WHY'S HE NOT IN HIS COFFEEBOT FORM.
>>
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[ SHENGESIA ]

Another signal, another moment in which I make haste going off to find it. This time, I found Him in eastern Shengesia, along the Road of Nine Folds that led to and from the Imperial Seat. He was sitting down on a bench underneath a shaded stop along one of the many splitting roads, a place with a pay phone booth and travel signs. A rest stop for things like busses and other public transports, basically. He was staring off into the landscape before us. Admiring it? I'm not sure, he's one of the few things whose mind is untouchable by me.

I landed near and walked up to him. Nobody else was around.

'Well, here I am.' I addressed him, earning the slightest turn of his head; 'It seems you've been wanting to attract me a lot lately, Machine God. Last time, I used our meeting to ply you for answers... that was a bit selfish of me. You seemed like you had something you wanted to say.'

The Shechinah body stood up and walked around the bench, facing me. I stared at the Sefirot Body as its eyes dimmed, and then lit up again.

'Well, whatever you want to say, NEGAI, I'm listening.'

[NEGAI] "..."

The Shechinah body raised its hand and pointed past me.

'...?'

I turned and look- Oh for god's sake.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Hah-hah! Haah... haaah... I... I caught up! Ha! Haha!"

'Cat... what are you doing here? Did you... did you follow me? All the way from the Bunker?!'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Yes. Although I barely managed to keep up with how fast you like to travel, I managed to tail you all the way!"

'Why?' I almost groaned out.

[CATASTROVANIA] "I've got to admit, I've always been curious about where it is you're headed off to when not announcing you're out on actual work, so now that I'm a Demigoddess, I had to see for myself. With the new stamina, that YOU gave me, I can finally keep pace! Wororororo, and with the cat ears I got from Seannsa, I can hear quite far off... Muhuhuhu."

She brushed passed me, sizing up the Shechinah warform. It awkwardly took a step back and leaned its neck away from her when she got really close to examine it personally.

[CATASTROVANIA] "So... this is the real deal then, huh?" She said, poking the Sefirot Bodies wires.

'...What... what are you doing?'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Tch. Look, you made me the Intelligence Director of Psyops. Don't be surprised that I want to keep tabs now that I'm able to. Besides, this is a real treat..."

She took a step back, gripping her silver katana tight.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Looks kinda frail."

That's fighting intent. That's definitely intent.

'Catastrovania!' I barked at her from behind!

[MAJORDOMO] "No no no, hold on now, I wanna see this, munny."

[JOCO] "This is gonna be good."

>Cata, NO! DON'T!
>...You know what? I kind of want to see this too...
>>
>>5917891
>Just give Catastrovania the most SINCERE grimace of concern while shaking our head.
Look if she wants to be flung into orbit and make a new crater on the moon, that’s on her. Hopefully she takes the hint.
>>
>>5917891
>>...You know what? I kind of want to see this too...
>>
>>5917891
>...You know what? I kind of want to see this too...
NEGAI is a chill dude, I'm sure he's just gonna troll her
>>
>>5917891
>"If you think you got what it takes Catastrovania, be my guest."
>>
>>5917891
>...You know what? I kind of want to see this too...
Summon popcorn bucket
>>
>>5917891
>...You know what? I kind of want to see this too...
>>
...For once, I'm inclined to agree with you about a situation like this, Majordomo.

'Be my guest, Catastrovania.' I said, giving her a thumbs up.

[CATASTROVANIA] "..."

[NEGAI] "..."

[CATASTROVANIA] "HM!"

She suddenly opened her eyes and dashed at the Machine God's Shechinah body with blitzing speed!

In response, NEGAI slowly lifted his hand, eyes blinking...
>>
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB8VGJnDUik

...and then he slapped the daylights out of her before she could even connect an attack!

[CATASTROVANIA] "PUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH-!!!!"

Catastrovania was practically knocked out already!
>>
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She fell down face first into the floor!

[MAJORDOMO] "That... was the most satisfying thing I've seen in a long time."

[JOCO] "Can we get a replay of that?"

Thankfully, she wasn't dead.

[CATASTROVANIA] "A... aaaaiiiieeeeeeeehhhhh!" She moaned into the floor muffled, reeling from the pain of the slap.

I'm not sure I would want to know what that felt like either myself...

'Cata... you got to say you've fought the Machine God. Clearly, it seems you cannot defeat him if you tried your hardest. You ready to go back home now?' I asked her.

>Catastrovania told me yes, sorely.
>Catastrovania slammed her fist into the floor and shouted "NOT YET!"
>>
>>5918777
>Catastrovania slammed her fist into the floor and shouted "NOT YET!"
Th-this is the part where she harnesses her FIGHTING SPIRIT and OWNS his ass!
>>
>>5918778
+1
lol
>>
>>5918777
>Catastrovania slammed her fist into the floor and shouted "NOT YET!"
Wouldn't be much of a Demigod of Decisiveness if she didn't stick with her decisions
>>
>>5918777
>Catastrovania slammed her fist into the floor and shouted "NOT YET!"
"I didn't hear no bell, nyagga!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9xb_tJx3pg
>>
Catastrovania's fist met the floor fiercely. She stood back up, clutching her katana. She had a determined and fierce expression.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Not yet!"

She leveled her blade at NEGAI.

[CATASTROVANIA] "Now I won't hold back!"

She... she wasn't holding back in the first place.

[CATASTROVANIA] "NYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

She dashed at the Machine God, and appeared behind him as a blur. She swung her katana...

[NEGAI] "..."

[CATASTROVANIA] "HAH!"

I saw them shift on their feet and then...
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "K-KYAAAAAH!"

Catastrovania was flailing her arms and legs helplessly, lifted barely a few inches off the floor by NEGAI, whose fingers had pinched the back of her neck.

[CATASTROVANIA] "NYAAOOOOO! TH-THE SCRUFF! THE WEAKNESS OF CATS! I INHERITED IT AS WELL AS ALL THE OTHER TRAITS OF THE FELINE WHEN I BECAME A CAT! T-THIS CAN'T BE! NYAAAAOOOOOHHH! L-LEMME GOOOOO!"

[NEGAI] "..."

This was practically a comedy routine, and Catastrovania was actually trying to fight Him.

'So, Cata, are you ready to wave the white flag yet? You're not gonna beat him.' I told her.

>Catastrovania retreats for now, and calls it even.
>No! She still has one last attack up her sleeve!
>>
>>5918838
>No! She still has one last attack up her sleeve!
Heroic strike!
>>
>>5918838
>>No! She still has one last attack up her sleeve!
Come on Cat! He's JUST on the edge of surrendering!
>>
>>5918838
>No! She still has one last attack up her sleeve!
with this treasure I summon... wait a second https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU4jUVt4WcQ
>>
>>5918838
>>No! She still has one last attack up her sleeve!
She can win this! We just need to believe! Believe and clap VERY, VERY HARD
>>
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[CATASTROVANIA] "That's what YOU THINK!"

She suddenly took the katana in both hands. I was shocked then to see her raise it and conjure lightning on the blade.

'Wha... When did you learn to do that?!'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Hahaha... I've been practicing! Lightning magic suits me, so I figured I'd find a way to incorporate it into my kenjutsu skills! I accidentally made the power go out in the whole Bunker a few days ago messing with Lightning Spiritua!"

'Wait, that power outage was you?!'

[CATASTROVANIA] "Never mind that, BEHOLD MY NEW LIGHTNING BLADE TECHNIQUE, WITH WHICH I'LL DROWN THIS WHOLE AREA IN THUNDER EVEN WHILE PARALYZED OR NOT! HIYAAAA-"

[NEGAI] "ENOUGH OF THIS."

It was like NEGAI had suddenly drawn all of her into his hand. He clenched it in a fist, before unfolding his fingers to reveal a luminous sphere in them. Inside, I saw... Catastrovania, contained safely...

[MAJORDOMO] "We gotta ask him to teach US how to do that."

NEGAI hooped the sphere over, and I caught it. It felt solid in my hands. Catastrovania, on the other hand, was dizzied from how she was thrown around inside the barrier.

'...What did you do to her? Can she come back out?'

[NEGAI] "THE DATA OF THIS BEING IS MERELY COMPRESSED. SHE WILL BE LET BACK OUT IN SOME TIME. BUT FOR NOW, A TIME OUT WILL SUIT THIS UNRULY BEING WELL."

'Fair enough...' I said, looking at Cata from within the data ball. She was shouting something, but I couldn't hear her.

'Right.' I said, looking up at the Machine God; 'You wanted to talk. Well, let's talk.'
>>
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The Shechinah body raised its other hand and snapped its fingers. Everything went black to me.

...
>>
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BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxOYyNED1aY
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I was blinded by a sudden radiance entering my view and embracing me. The transient sight of a golden Sefirot Body was before me briefly as NEGAI explained what I must do if I am to ever have a hope at defeating him.

[NEGAI] "The thoughts of the people are what matters most, Da'at. If you want to challenge this hand, your only chance is to convince that which we all stem from. The minds of men. You have experienced much to see just how important they truly are in your journey thus far. Never should you forget..."

[NEGAI] "We'll see what Chaos thinks. Who Chaos favors more."
>>
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When the vision I received faded, I saw NEGAI was no longer around. The data sphere containing Catastrovania was still in my hand, but she didn't show any signs of knowing what was going on.

I was aghast however...

[JOCO] "So... uh, he wants to blow up the world. That's nice."

[MAJORDOMO] "I'm not sure what the point of that was... Did he summon us just so he could tell us how we can beat him...?"

'I think I'm more concerned with...'

...

I'm apart of Him...?
>>
( GODTALK OVER )

[Returning to the Psyops Bunker...]

(That golden body... it was so tall, and seemed so monstrously powerful just from feeling it. I remember NEGAI told me we'd meet again. But we've met again more since AGLA's defeat. Perhaps he meant that in terms of his bodies. In this case, I vaguely recognized this golden body from the vague visions I received after defeating AGLA. Perhaps the thing I'd meet again at the end of my journey was the one I saw that had three eyes. Am I to defeat every Sefirot Body he has? Every last one of them...? This will be so hard...)
>>
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs79m3weohM

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Find a human who'd be willing to face the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Yutu the Jade Rabbit (The Moon)
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
• Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
>>
>>5918894
>Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
Let's get some directions
>>
>>5918894
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
>Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
Does he ACTUALLY have cricket feet, or is that just his title?
>>
>>5918894
>Cricket Feet, God of Directions (Toushi Township)
>>
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[ TOUSHI TOWNSHIP ]

Hale once told me this place was a slums home to scum. An inverse of the opulence of the Capital's mighty walls. He was right.

I was out surveying places in the world I'd not been to before, and I decided to take a look at this place. It was one of the few places in Shengesia that could be said to be in the same degree of poverty and destitution as much of the Sword Continent. It was a township that saw better days. Lots of the place was muddy and flooded out by seasonal floods and broken dams. Many people were shirtless, and wandered adrift in the muddy flows like it was everyday life. They fished for most of their food, and boats were plentiful here, it must have been one of the only places safe to go farther out to sea at in Hainei. Favelas dominated much of the place, and what high rises I could see were populated by brutalist arrangements of buildings.

This was the heart of the criminal underworld on Hainei as well. The Wei dared not dirty their boots going down on foot, instead preferring to circle the slums by their dropships in the air, searching for signs of rebel cell activity or organized crime. At least in a dropship, they never ran the risk of getting stabbed in the back by the "scum" here, and could freely fire as much as they wanted. It brought into question for me just how much of a presence the Dark One had in a place like this... Turning to him would surely be easy in these conditions.

This is certainly a place that needs a lot of help. And any place that needed help, the Psyops might have a chance at. I better consider more operations here for the organization...

Hm. I wonder how much presence that rebel cells out of the Frostreach Continent connected to Namithene have here? I should ask her about that sometime-
>>
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[???] "LOOOK OOOOOUUUUUT!"

'Huh?!'

I narrowly dodged somethi- Someone flying right for me!

'What the-'

[???] "Hoyo! Sorry about that! I sometimes can't control how fast I'm going!" Apologized a young man to me quickly.

I looked at the figure now that he stopped properly, elevated in the air by the crow-like wings attached to his hips that flapped up and down fast. He turned and faced me. He wore a silk tabard with the words "Wind God" emblazoned on it, and a mask over his face.

This couldn't be a Trinity god, could it?

[???] "Hoyo, who're you anyway? Flying up here this high enough to catch a cumulus! You must be an Immortal too."

'I am. Although, I'm more curious about you! You were moving so fast I almost couldn't dodge that.'

[CRICKET FEET] "Oh, where's my manners? I'm Cricket Feet, that's my name! I'm one of the promoted deities of the Trinity Kingdom, created by none other than the great Bedolfir himself! I'm under the direct employ of Lord Sarakha himself, so I'm basically his slave. They needed someone to replace the last wind guide after he disappeared anyway! My job's basically to control the wind across the globe and give it direction. Oh, but I just control all directions anyhow."

'Interesting... My name is Muna. I was just taking a look around myself and seeing what there is out here. Excuse me if I'm interrupting some important business of an esteemed Trinitarian.'

[CRICKET FEET] "Oh, no worries! I'm just looking too. I'm kind of like the eyes of the Trinity. Since I'm the fastest in Hainei, nobody ever knows I'm there looking and listening. Ugh, but for being the eyes of Lord Sarakha himself, I sure don't get a lot done..."

'Oh? How come?'

[CRICKET FEET] "Well, I've been tracking that rebel Namithene on the mainlands. Sarakha's usually got Doreikami after her in the Frostreach. It's just that neither of us seem to make any headway, and we're always too late to where reports of her being sighted happen at that she's always long gone anyway. Honestly, I don't know how she does it. When I'm not following orders, I just stand around striking poses and pointing in the direction the trade winds need to go. I kind of want something else to do... but I digress! Even if I don't find her, I'll find some rebels here today to round up."

[CRICKET FEET] "Ah, sorry. I'm running my mouth too much. All this bureaucratic stuff must be boring you to death."

'Oh, not at all, I assure you... I always find it interesting what goes on in the lives of the government's gods.'

[CRICKET FEET] "Hoyo? Really? I didn't think any Immortals were interested in anyone but themselves..."

'I'd even go as far to ask if you'd be willing to answer some curiosities I had, if you have the time.'

[CRICKET FEET] "Y-You mean you're actually interested in the stuff I do? Well.. okay then! It won't hurt to talk for a minute!"
>>
(Cricket's patience: 2 questions.)

>What will I ask the Replacement Wind Bird?
• "You said you're a... uh... slave? Is that wise to tell just anyone?"
• "Bedolfir created you? Then how come you serve the Trinity?"
• "What happened to the last Wind Guide that he needed to be replaced with you?"
• "Fastest in Hainei, eh?"
• "Can you give me directions?"
• "Why are you a bird? What's with the geta?"
• "How did you get the name 'Cricket Feet' anyway?"
• "Who is 'Doreikami' exactly?"
• "What's Sarakha like in person?"
• "How close have you ever got to catching that filthy rebel Namithene anyway?"
• Write in.
>>
>>5919000
>"Bedolfir created you? Then how come you serve the Trinity?"
>"Who is 'Doreikami' exactly?"
>>
>>5919020
+1
>>
>"Bedolfir created you? Then how come you serve the Trinity?"

[CRICKET FEET] "Well, that's easy. He created me for them, hoyo!"

'For them?'

[CRICKET FEET] "Ehhh, it's sort of like a commissioning thing... How should I put it? ...Ah. Okay, so it's like this. Bedolfir's created a lot of Demigods, mostly to control subdivisions of Nature with. I think there's one for Animals, there's one for fire that eventually got promoted, and one for the water. Well, he made the one that controlled the wind too, and they went off and joined the Trinity at some point... Ahh, but then they vanished without a trace! So, the Trinity made a deal with him. If he replaced the last one, they swore not to interfere with his rage against humans, so long as he didn't attack the Capital. Really, never thought they'd be so scared of the big guy when he's kind of lethargic..."

'I see..."

The flying replacement in front of looked down at his wings with a grunt.

[CRICKET FEET] "Kind of wished he placed my wings a little higher when he crafted me instead of giving me butt wings! And they're so small too... He had to include some animal trait, he couldn't make something that perfectly resembled a human. Everything he makes seems kind of animal like. I heard the last guide before me was sort of like a bird. They called him 'Parrotboy'. Well, at least I got a full promotion. I heard Parrotboy was only a Demigod."

[JOCO] "Sounds kind of..."

[MAJORDOMO] "Familiar?"

[JOCO] "No, I mean the name Parrotboy sounds kind of dumb. OF COURSE I MEAN IT SOUNDS FAMILIAR!"

Cricket Feet crossed his arms at me.

[CRICKET FEET] "Being made specifically to serve the Trinity is alright. I get a lot of respect just for wearing this fancy getup. It's easy enough too, I just gotta do what I'm told. You know what they say, good soldiers follow orders, hoyo."
>>
>"Who is 'Doreikami' exactly?"

[CRICKET FEET] "It's not who is, hoyo. More like, what is. They're not a person."

'So, the title of 'god' is more like a neutral title instead of referring to any sort of actual person? How can that be? Are they an object?'

[CRICKET FEET] "Hoyo, you got it right. Doreikami is the God of Slavery, but it's more like an animated object given life by the Trinity. It's definitely alive, but I don't think it has a mind. It's more like a tool, one you'd control with a remote. That thing and Goldbrand are both sort of like that. Gods as you might imagine them as being some kind of weird servitors! Custom built to embody the roles given to them. So yes, it's more like a title and less that you'd be talking about a person!"

'Have you ever seen them? And how does being a God of Slavery work, exactly?"

[CRICKET FEET] "I have and I don't wanna see them again. One of them is like a big arm, and the other is a floating golden head! And trust me, you don't want the head after you. It can destroy anything, hoyo... As for how they work, well, they mostly get used to punish the sinners. Castigation. Doreikami is used to reform things through slavery, but what can't be reformed, Goldbrand just destroys."

'Eerie- But intriguing, I mean.'

[CRICKET FEET] "Hmm, no. You got the first one right, hoyo. I don't like them. I stay away from them."

Cricket Feet reached up and scratched the back of his head, staring off.

[CRICKET FEET] "I got to admit, I really just avoid all the problems I can, even in work. If it's not my problem, I shouldn't make it mine, hoyo... But I'll do what I'm made to do. At least that won't get me chewed out. Anyway, I should run- Er, fly. I have stuff to do. So long, fellow Immortal."

'Yeah, safe travels.' I said, waving as the God of Directions turned and sped off in flight to go back to his work, disappearing within precious microseconds.

I tapped my chin.

So, that's two things I've learned, on top of discovering another Trinity member. This 'Doreikami', which I had heard mentioned by Namithene before as something she avoided, and 'Goldbrand', a Trinitarian said to reside in the Capital, are both objects that enforce the Emperor's will. And Bedolfir created this bird in flight I'd almost collided with.

But that thing he said...

I wonder now just much of a connection that Wolfboy and Shennu really have to Bedolfir after this.
I better keep it in mind, there's more I might possibly uncover at a later time investigating this. For now, I decided to head home.
>>
( GODTALK OVER )

[Returning to the Psyops Bunker...]

(That Cricket Feet really seems like he really just believes "it isn't his problem". Something about the way he acted makes it kind of seem like he feels the obligation to serve as a slave for the Trinity only out of the fact it keeps him from getting castigated. Maybe he might place his duty to control wind above working for Sarakha as a slave. But, in general, it seems like he really doesn't care about anything. Odd fellow, he.)
>>
>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments.
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Find a human who'd be willing to face the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
• Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)
>>
>>5919816
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
Lord Sarakha, the Primarch (Tower of the Gods)

Welp. We met with his little errand boy, let's see the man himself shall we?
I have a bad feeling about this, but nothing ventured nothing gained am I right?
>>
>>5919823
+1
Let's go
>>
>>5919823
>+1
>>
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[ THE TOWER OF THE GODS ]

In the Heavenly Capital, I stood before a monolith stretching to the sky made of pure gold that shined with unmatched luster and wealth. Like a cable, or a great rod that struck the planet like a spear from the sky, it stretched on and on endlessly past the clouds. Like a space elevator, I didn't know where it ended, only that it started here on the earth, on Hainei, anchored down by the Imperial Seat.

This monolithic and impossible structure was the residence of the worldwide government. This was the Tower of the Gods. It was from here, this golden tower that led straight to Heaven, that the Primarch, Lord Sarakha, ruled most of the gods and the whole world. This was the place where he decided the laws of the universe. This was where the New Eternity began, and where it continued from.

All around the great house before me, I felt distortion, as if this Tower was not something that even existed in the material universe. It was as if this monumental thing, this block, bent space, and time. It was like something that was simultaneous, existing in every when and where. The bridge to a place of unbeing. The bridge to Heaven.

...

There was no doors. No entrances. No entry points. There was nothing. It looked impenetrable.

I looked up, and could not see the top.

And then, I heard a voice.

[NOBLE VOICE] "YOU WHO APPROACHES ME... YOU, WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE IN ME."

'...'

[NOBLE VOICE] "ENTER ONLY IF YOU WOULD JOIN ME, AND HEAR ME OUT. THE TOWER OF THE AXIS MUNDI IS NOT OPEN TO REBELS... IF YOUR HEART DOES NOT ALIGN WITH THE LAW, THEN BE TURNED AWAY. HEAVEN WILL SPIT YOU OUT."

[NOBLE VOICE] "THIS HOUSE WELCOMES ONLY THOSE WHO WHO WOULD CONTROL THAT WHICH IS MOST VOLATILE... THEIR OWN SELVES. IF YOU DO NOT DESIRE THIS, THEN BEGONE..."

>Leave.
>Enter.
>>
>>5919931
>Enter.
We will listen to the Trinity and make our own judgement.
>>
>>5919931
>Enter.
FUck off Huangdi
>>
>>5919931
>Enter.
>>
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...Regardless of whatever warning that the refined voice gave me, I decided to press on regardless. I raised my hand and began walking towards the monolithic gold, just until I had pressed my palm against it. When I did, the perfectly symmetrical and true flat surface began to shift against my hand. I saw it inverse, and split apart. The golden made a doorway for me, from which I saw blank light that I waked into.

I entered the Tower of the Gods, the Axis Mundi built by the Xanthous Emperor's own hands...

...

When I reached the end of whatever transient pathway I stepped through, I exited a vague darkness into a new sight.

The gilded top of a great tree made of the same gold that formed the Tower of the Gods. Every branch, all the bark and even the leaves were as pieces of gold and bejeweled light. Whirling and whipping clouds surrounded us in a place just below Heaven itself. In fact, these were the final steps of the last threshold before entering the realm of the Emperor himself. This place unbound by dimensions in its entirety. The door frame of a higher plane.

This was the top of the Tower. An axis made as a great bodhi tree.

[MAJORDOMO] "Wait, Muna... look up there."
>>
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I looked up, past the clouds that hung as trailing fetters hugging the top of the great tower, and then looked down past the edge of the branch I stood upon. Below, I saw only black, and above, only hot whiteness. But below, many shimmering dots filled the black, and the white was like a swarming pattern.

I saw it, and saw I realized as I stared off from the gold of this height.

I realized in horror? Shock? Awe?

I realized just where I was.

[MAJORDOMO] "That's..."
>>
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'The Sun.'

We were directly below the surface of the Sun. The Tower of the Gods led to the surface of the Sun itself. Within, I imagined that is where one would find Heaven. But the realm of the Emperor was not part of Hainei, it was outside. A place totally disconnected to us all, in which the only path to it lied in the Sun itself.

The Emperor was beyond all reach, simply an observer to the world he withdrew from. And so long as he was there, his power would never dwindle.

This was the top of the Axis Mundi, and the end of creation.
>>
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BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW5VcbCo_z4

'...'

I could almost feel sweat on my forehead from taking this all in at once. If I am to hope to be able to overthrow the Trinity, THIS is the place I have to storm...?

[NOBLE VOICE] "Come hither."

I turned around and looked up, to the higher branches. I could see that somewhat, the middle of this tree was still structured like a grand palace. I saw gilded palatial walls encrusted with pure diamond. Not in a fashion of decor, but untidy, jagged chunks of gleaming diamond to such a scale as to wrap around and fuse with the bark. I saw stairs leading up, and followed them. I followed them a viewing ground, or a balcony built into the tree. The ground was solid and flat, it was like a big ring in the middle of the trunk's top, which the branches grew around in a spiral. I saw a throne, with a great pillow and canvas far ahead of me, and large openings in the diamond and gold walls peering out into the circling clouds beyond the branches at the very top.

I saw a figure in a blue cape, and I knew very well who he was.

[SARAKHA] "Stop." He said, throwing up a hand. I stood still where I was in the middle of his throne room; "Come no closer. Merely stand and listen. I refuse to face you, however as you are not worthy of facing."

'You know who I am.'

[SARAKHA] "I do. I've known for a long time. Be you grateful that I have never taken any action against yourself or the rebels you callously inspire. The sickening rhythm of the very name, that I should speak it alone a testament to my disappointment in you. And this... Psyops of yours."

'Is it ruthless absence of passion, or fear?'

[SARAKHA] "You are very much not someone I fear, and your efforts do not give me pause. Do not mistake my lenience. You are hopeless. Against me, and against him who swims down under."

'That must be why you're sitting here under the Sun at all times, in the arm's reach of your Emperor then, I guess.'

[SARAKHA] "You were given enough grace to be allowed to even enter this holy place. I bid you still the venom, and cleanse your tongue. That you stand here now is granted. Should you continue to exist past this point, then it is something I am allowing."

'...' I sighed.

He was right.
He could likely just smite me. Strike me down now where I stood with little effort.

'How come you let you walk here now, even telling me to stay away if I won't join you? Surely, you must know how my soul is set right now.'

[SARAKHA] "You've come here because you wished to hear. Why else would you seek to climb the Tower and reach me? You want to know... You want to know exactly what it is like, to be in these shoes. But you also wish to know why it is that I think this."

'What?'

[SARAKHA] "You are wrong."
>>
[SARAKHA] "You think there is such a choice as rejecting all other things. There is not. Had we not been here firmly planted long before you arrived, you would have learned this the hard way. His misplaced is the hope you've deluded yourself into believing you create. How dim is this way, that you might try to see the good in everyone, to the bitter end. No matter what. No matter the price. You, Muna, Psyhic Goddess, are wrong. You are wrong, and I harbor my doubts that you could even begin to understand."

'...'

[SARAKHA] "You will never understand why we are right. Why HE is necessary. Why the Trinity and my New Eternity must reign. Because you, like all other gods... you all, being but unchained divine toddlers on a worldwide playpen that you call Hainei. You could never hope to control yourself. You would never allow all of us to control ourselves. That is that, which only HE can offer us because of what he understands..." Said the Primarch, his lone finger slowly trailing upwards to point at the Sun of Huangdi above.

>Offer a rebuttal to his arrogance.
>Hear Sarakha out on the Trinity.
>>
>>5920022
>Hear Sarakha out on the Trinity.
it's not like we can change his mind as of now and we don't now much about his true intents
>>
>>5920022
>Hear Sarakha out on the Trinity.
Let's wait before we try and make a counterargument.
>>
>>5920022
>>Hear Sarakha out on the Trinity.
Go on...
>>
[SARAKHA] "No doubt you have thought about and set out some grand path for yourself ahead of this all. Some fantastical world you envision beyond overthrowing the likes of me and our Emperor. I don't think you've thought of what comes ahead of even that, however."

'What do you mean?'

[SARAKHA] "What happens a hundred years once your world is achieved? What happens a thousand years in the future of this world? Ten thousand years ahead? Maybe even a million? Could it still be gone by then?"

'Gone?'

[SARAKHA] "Laid to waste. Utterly stricken with ruination. You want to defeat us, yes. All of us gods who you view as your enemy in regards to our own plans for this world. Yes, you would merely be replacing us in this new status quo. And the power must always be fought. You'd surely have to accept that at some point, whether you were truly good or not... someone will eventually want you gone for the same reasons. No matter what world you could create. If you managed to rid Hainei of me, of our Emperor even, then there's the proof as well, that you yourself have made, that anyone could eventually one day do the same to you. You are like every other god, a child. You can't think of the future that won't come. What will Bedolfir do when men are all dead by his hand and no more worship comes to his name? He'll just wither away until he's bone and dust as his consort is. What will Woldor do? But make all that is not mortal vanish from their sights and control them with an invisible hand, always ensuring an endless state of warfare and bloodshed to sustain himself. Does a future truly exist for someone like Eskart, who cannot see it? Does any point remain to the struggles that are the existences of Beasts, Fae, and Animals in a world without their problems?"

Sarakha chuckled. But he never once turned his head all the way to me. He never once looked at me. I was just that below himself in his eyes.

[SARAKHA] "You would simply go on making endless choices until you find your own self engineered end. You can "redeem" every god you want. You can't redeem humans, who created us. No matter what you do, the insanity of men will tear you apart. You can never have a future. Not even we can... and that is why all we have is the present. Because I have decided so! That is all there will ever be. All we ever need! The present and nothing else! The future of endless choices you crave in a "better world" will rot of itself. At the end of the day, you will have no choice but to admit... only the Emperor can control men. And when humans are controlled, we control ourselves."
>>
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He raised his arms.

[SARAKHA] "For five thousand years, the New Beginning was our age, and it was good... There was no strife, and there was no horror. It was... perfect. It was the kind of world you wish for now. It was the uncontrollable Chaos of men that forced its closure. But that will not be so when the Great Rebirth comes. When we rebuild this world without flaw, then mankind will no longer have a heart for Chaos. We can all attain that paradise again, and by our invincible Emperor's hand, it will last forever. How could you stand in opposition?"

'...'

[SARAKHA] "Control can be the defining truth of all things. Peace can be created, everlasting! We only need to neuter this cruel ambition in men and their hearts. We gods must take the reigns from an impersonal monad lying inside their very core. Can't you see the reason in our cause? For all the things you might hate our Emperor for, he is truly infallible when we willingly support him. He that is infallible and knows all there is to know of the way of things should be our ruler, and nobody else."

[SARAKHA] "You are not beyond our mercy, Muna. The Chaos in mankind spawns a vassal to brutally oppress us and muscle us out of existence, all so it can maintain a soulless reality devoid of spark. They would just flagellate themselves forever. I ask you, come, stand with your fellow deities and embrace the wonder of controlling phenomena. Come, join the Trinity. It is not too late for you."

>Join the Trinity and submit to The Xanthous Emperor.
>Refuse.
>>
>>5920057
>Refuse.
FUCK NO NIGGA
>>
>>5920057
>Refoosal
Fuk u imperial dog
>>
>>5920057
>Refuse.
"My heart has been hardened. I fear that when I see you next, oh great Sarakha, I shall not receive your mercy. Nor you, mine."
>>
>>5920057
>>Refuse
>>
>>5920057
>Join the Trinity and submit to The Xanthous Emperor.
I wanna see yellow nun Muna
>>
>>5920057
You mean well, Sarakha, but you do not see that this path will damn humanity to be slaves of your system.
What do you prefer, slavery or nonexistence? Or perhaps a third choice?
>Refuse
>>
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'I refuse.'

[SARAKHA] "Then you are forsaken. Those who do not kneel before the Emperor will not see the Great Rebirth. You will be one of many things that die with the New Eternity. Begone with you."

Lord Sarakha raised his hand, and clenched his fist.

...

...!

I was back at the base of the Axis Mundi connecting Heaven to Earth! Sarakha sent me back so easily.... No. He moved me here himself. But it was like no time passed at all between the movement, even within an infinity Present that allowed for no future.

...

Next time, our meeting will not be so pleasant, Primarch.
Now that I have witnessed the presence of the polar opposites themselves in all their realms, I can truly say I've seen everything.

I left then.

( GODTALK OVER)

[Returning to the Psyops Bunker...]
>>
>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments. (!!!New available!!!)
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Find a human who'd be willing to face the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
>>
>>5920862
>Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
summon the merchant, we need to buy some status cleaners
>>
>>5920892
+1
Arise, fat man!
>>
>>5920892
>Support
>>
I summoned the Buckled One and his store to the Psyops Bunker again, knowing the magic phrase that Eskart taught me by heart after making a circle with my Psychic energy. In the same flashy manner as once before, Nickleim arrived, sat down in her chair.

[NICKLEIM] "You again. Alright, you know the deal here. So let's make a deal, shan't we?"

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxOaPTsFmbM

>(Nickleim's Shop) (I hold 56 Pleroma Points / PPs)
• Amethyst of Life (Small HP Restore) (x10) (1 PP)
• Emerald of Life (Large HP Restore) (x5) (2 PP)
• Diamond of Life (Full HP Restore) (x1) (3 PP)
• Crystal of Light (Party wide Small HP Restore) (x10) (1 PP)
• Cake of Light (Party wide Large HP Restore) (x5) (1 PP)
• Huangdi's Skin (Party wide Full HP Restore) (x1) (5 PP)
• Sacred Ofuda (Small MP Restore) (x10) (1 PP)
• Elixir of Conjecture (Large MP Restore) (x5) (2 PP)
• Inanimate Soul (Full MP Restore) (x1) (3 PP)
• Emperor Idol (Party wide Small MP Restore) (x10) (1 PP)
• Belkinsire Fetish (Party wide Large MP Restore) (x5) (2 PP)
• Gnostic Mass (Party wide full MP Restore) (x1) (5 PP)
• Illusionary Scroll (Guarantees Escape upon use) (x1) (1 PP)
• Inverted Physique Mirror (Reflects physical attack) (x1) (1 PP)
• Rearranged Magic Mirror (Reflects magic attack) (x1) (1 PP)
• Wafer of NEGAI (Party wide Full HP+MP Restore) (x1) (10 PP)
• Decent Food (Small HP+MP Restore) (x5) (1 PP)
• Superb Food (Large HP+MP Restore) (x1) (1 PP)
• Premium Food (Full HP+MP Restore) (x1) (5 PP)
• Sacramental Medal (Revive with small HP) (x1) (1 PP)
• Rejuvenating Icon (Revive with Large HP) (x1) (2 PP)
• Piece of Life Itself (Revive with Full HP) (x1) (3 PP)
• Objection Glass (Removes Ceiling Debuffs) (x1) (2 PP)
• Conjunction Glass (Raise both Ceilings by three ranks) (x1) (2 PP)
• Conjecture Glass (Lowers Enemy Ceilings by three ranks) (x1) (3 PP)
• Toxic Vial (Inflicts Toxicity on enemy) (x5) (1 PP)
• Shibari (Binds enemy for 1 turn) (x1) (1 PP)
• Spellbreaking Bell (Seals enemy for 1 turn) (x1) (1 PP)
• Petri-dish (Inflicts Cancer on enemy) (x1) (1 PP)
• Sleep Perfume (Inflicts Sleep on enemy) (x1) (1 PP)
• Cotardation Slip (Inflicts Existential on enemy) (x1) (1x PP)
• Shard of Usultu (Inflicts Blood on enemy) (x1) (1x PP)
• Cleansing Balm (Cures Status Effect) (x1) (5x PP)
• Flag of Rebellion (Party wide Status Effects cure) (x1) (10x PP)
• Aseity (On use, guarantees a full revive should one fall in battle) (x1) (50 PP)
• Box of Pains (Temporarily gives enemy 3x weakness to all elements) (x1) (50 PP)
• Gospel Truth Tome (Raises Divine Potential instantly) (x1) (60 PP)
• Grimoire of Anima (Allows resistance and weakness change on use) (x1) (100 PP)
• Rune of Death (Instantly kills foe) (x1) (200 PP)
>What will I buy?
>Buy something?
>Exit shop.
>>
>>5920936
X3 Cleansing Balm(15 PP)
x5 Cotardation Slip(5 PP)
>>
>>5920936
>2x Rejuvenating Icon (Revive with Large HP) (4 PP)
>3x Cleansing Balm (15 PP)
>5x Cotardation Slip (5 PP)
>>
File: PROTAGONIST Sheet (v7).png (246 KB, 1400x793)
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(Bought: x2 Rejuvenating Icon, x3 Cleansing Balm, x5 Cotardation Slip)
(Tax: 2 PP)
(Total: 26 PP)
(Transaction complete.)

(https://pastebin.com/raw/wEy8RHiU)

[NICKLEIM] "Hmhm. A pleasure doing business.

Nickleim desummoned and took his shop with him. I acquired new items.

>< What will you do now? ><
>Access the Case Files and undertake a mission.
• Exorcism in Oakville (Mister Saturday)
• The Duel (Sivil the Pride)
• The Dagger of Death (Usultu, God of Weapons)
• Motherly Mourning (Shennu of the Rapids)
• Changing the Channel (Yasukuni, God of Media)
• The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
• Testing the Tengu (Daitengu Scheiracht)
• The World of Mythology II (Oggthorn, Hunter Demigod)
• RAID: Konglasha's Capture (Shèng Xù, Chain of Chains)
• RAID: All-Seeing Ehyeh (NUMBER-8 Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh)
• RAID: Naturens Ondskapfulle Vrede (Bedolfir, Giant God of Nature)
• RAID: The Forever Apocalypse
• RAID: End the New Eternity
>Access Psyops Deployments. (!!!New available!!!)
>Access the Skill-Tree.
>Talk to somebody in the Bunker.
>Outfit selection.
>Open Affinity Dates selection.
>Open Truth Meditation.
>Ask Majordomo and Joco's opinion.
>Find a human who'd be willing to face the Alien God.
>Go on a Godtalk. Select which god to converse with.
• Nickleim, the God of Commerce (Summon to Psyops Bunker for barter)
• Lady Seannsa, Cat Goddess of Luck (Psyops Bunker) [Luck Vendor]
• Kei, Poverty God (Shuukai Ward) [Luck Vendor]
>>
>>5921001
> The Clown, Noramus (Scapegod Noramus)
>>
>>5921001
>Access Psyops Deployments. (!!!New available!!!)
babe its time for another 300 deployment missions
>>
>>5921011
>+1
>>5921005
That’s is a difficult level mission, dude
>>
>>5921035
I wanna see the clooooooown, but you're right...
>>5921001
changing
>>5921005
to>>5921011
>>
File: Psyops Bases.png (820 KB, 2500x1298)
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[Accessing Psyops Deployments...]

[BUNKER PERSONNEL: 805]
[PERSONNEL CAP: 2200]

• Operation: Expansion
‣ Risk Level: 2 |
‣ Acting CO: Charles Huxton |
‣ Continent: Kalaheimr |
‣ Primary Objective: Establish a FOB in preparation of activities against the Alien God |
/
• Operation: All-Out Attack
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: The Samurai have done it this time! They're launching an assault on Oakville Town and the Heer are beating drums of war in response! We must help repel them from Siegiesa to minimize the damages! |
/
• Operation: Glitch
‣ Risk Level: 5 |
‣ Acting CO: Catastrovania |
‣ Continent: Siegiesa |
‣ Primary Objective: Ever the open communique with Gaizar, Supercomputer NIBIRU has been experiencing some... jitters... |
/
• Operation: Destruction
‣ Risk Level: 4 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Yongesia |
‣ Primary Objective: In order to jumble Samurai operations, we're going to destroy Fort Ishin in the Shuukai Ward area to weaken their resolve |
/
• Operation: Murderspasm
‣ Risk Level: 3 |
‣ Acting CO: Hale Felwitz |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: We've reports that HEUSite activities have been going on in the Warrens of Siegesia... |
/
• Operation: Mechanization
‣ Risk Level: 5 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Depends |
‣ Primary Objective: We realize that we need to push the envelope if we want to match the established strengths of the Trinity and Heer. We recommend stealing a Samurai Mecha or a Heer Angriffsmaschine in order to better understand their machines... so we can make our own |
/
• Operation: Deathmetric
‣ Risk Level: 5 |
‣ Acting CO: Kurt Regis |
‣ Continent: Siegesia |
‣ Primary Objective: We've learned something startling. The Heer have created a satellite weapon that uses Aquamarine to produce widespread Death Knells, and they're planning to launch it from the launch base at Cape Numerca. We're going to stop them |
/
• Operation: Copied Homework
‣ Risk Level: 2 |
‣ Acting CO: Catastrovania |
‣ Continent: Shengesia |
‣ Primary Objective: The School of the Ascendant in Easterlind City houses the sum of all there is to know about Ma Space. In the Imperial Seat, the University of Sānshì has the knowledge on complex kugelblitz and dark matter systems that power the Imperial astro and aerial fleet. We should see about... borrowing some knowledge |
/
• Operation: Crowning
‣ Risk Level: 1 |
‣ Acting CO: Hale Felwitz |
‣ Continent: Shengesia |
‣ Primary Objective: There's a historic land near the Warrens that was conquered and annexed into Woldoria long ago. Muscec. Apparently, the Muscecians are vying for secession from Woldoria, and to restore the defunct monarchy. Should we get involved? |

>The mission survey is open. Operations are free to commence.

>Commence an operation.
>Exit Psyops Deployments.
>>
>>5921089
>Commence an Operation: Crowning
I want to see Hale in action as a C.O.
>>
>>5921089
>Operation: Crowning
Let's go for low-risk first
>>
>>5921094
>+1
>>
File: Nami.png (775 KB, 1674x1674)
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Alright Campers, we're going to be taking a little break temporarily here and then continue along in thread #4 momentarily. Thanks for playing or reading the quest, and feel free to share any thoughts you have.

See you in the next kalpa.
Don't forget to celebrate Hjartfest in Namithene's name!
>>
Thread only anons, you should join the discord for the secret boons ;)



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