Halloween Jiangshi Night Episode 3 Part 2

Camera tunes in with Ziz and Motosumi haven taken the kids to somewhere far enough away from the rabble. Ziz tries to ask Motosumi to handle all the kids since she should go back, but Motosumi asks her to stay instead citing that he has something important to do now.

Scene shifts away before he explains what that is as you cut off a bunch of mobs from the effects of the Resurrection Incense. Tetsugyuu finds it weird that they’re going down smiling in satisfaction after all they did while Harlot thinks it’s cute and compares it to being tired after playing.

Tetsugyuu then says to you it feels like there’s even more mobs than there were in the gym. You agree and wonder why as you look to Harlot for ideas. Harlot thought so as well and thinks it’s because there’s also so much more people around feeling afraid. What she finds more strange is how they seem to pop up at random. She wonders if Azathoth is behind that.

Some jiangshi hops over to bite on Gouryou saying he’s hungry. Gouryou tells him to stop and says he’s not sure all the spirits possessing them are children. He thinks there may be berserk spirits in the mix as well and says things will get worse if they’re left alone. The mob reacts by biting harder. Benten asks if he forgot what he explained earlier and says to not push their buttons.

Benten then comments that things are worse than when all this was inside the school. As you cut down one mob, more pop up to take its place. You say that their numbers are pushing you back and that it seems like they’re gathering. Sanat Kumara says they aren’t all Umamichi students and that the effects are spreading to the jiangshi from outside the school.

Gouryou is alarmed and says that planning won’t be able to offset this difference in strength. Harlot asks when this all happened and is about to ask if Azathoth is behind it when she’s cut off by the mobs surrounding you all. You say you’ll be losing due to sheer numbers as the horde presses in. But then Sanat Kumara suddenly says something is coming.

A sudden giant shockwave blasts through accompanied by a cheerful out of place voice, and Hanuman and Nezha reveal themselves. Nezha is making engines noises as always and refers to themselves as the cute prince. Hanuman asks if you’ve been hurt, but Nezha figures your status as Hanuman’s senpai means you should be okay. Also they had fun with that speed battle they just had.

Nezha then notices all the mobs around and says they want to go to war now and thin them out. You either say you’ve been waiting for Hanuman, try to calm Nezha down, or ask how they managed to get into this crowd.

Hanuman says he just jumped over peoples’ heads, and Nezha adds that it was because all the exits were crowded. They probably shocked quite a few people. Sanat Kumara is proud of them, and Tetsugyuu notices that the mobs seem afraid of the two of them. If you guys are retreating it’ll have to be now. He offers to cut a path open, but Harlot stops him saying she won’t let him hurt them. As such she’ll handle it by using her artifact to put them to sleep.

Li Chou is despondent, and Sanat Kumara almost tries to talk to him before deciding to ask you to take Li away. You’re surprised by this and ask him why he’s asking you to do this. Sanat says he’s asking you to look after him because you aren’t an Umamichi student. As someone high up in the school he treats everyone in it harshly, but he’s sure that’s not what Li needs now.

Sanat Kumara says that stepping away from a place is also a way of seeing new things, then asks you if you’ll take Li. You agree and either express concern for Sanat or ask for repayment. If you go with B he has an extra line where he’s caught flat-footed but promises to pay you back with whatever he can do.

Anyways, with so many mobs around Sanat Kumara says you’ll be pursued if you run so someone has to hold them back. He volunteers to do it, and Nezha says they want to stay since they’ll get to see Sanat Kumara fight. Sanat finds this funny and says they can stay. Hanuman decides he should stay too because he’s worried about what would happen if he left Nezha alone.

Hanuman tells you that the gang should be up ahead since he forgot to mention it before. He saw them while jumping over here. You compliment him and are glad about this. A has an extra line where Hanuman briefly basks, then segues back into telling you he’ll leave the other parts to you.

Hanuman says he’s not worried about you at all since he knows how strong you are. He asks you to not worry about him either. You agree and tell everyone else to move, grabbing Li Chou’s hand as you run. He stays despondent as you drag him with you.

Li Chou then starts having a narrative flashback as he talks about how his first failure stemmed from some self-consciousness. When he grew up he started working, yet he could see it on other people’s faces. He figures they must have noticed that he was making fun of them. He figures they must have seen his thoughts on his face, thoughts of “fine I’ll do this dumb work for you” and “ugh you’re dumping your work on me.”

When his relationships deteriorated and he left his government job, he still clung to his thoughts. He believed he had natural talent, talent that ordinary people didn’t have. Making poems that would sway people’s hearts was his foundation. In his small home town, people praised him. He believed his talent was a gift from the heavens. He believed that he had the power to guide people to the truth they didn’t see.

Li Chou admits that he never let anyone hear the poems he put his best efforts into. In the end, he stowed his words of truth away and told deceptions. He admits he was afraid of finding out what he was really like if he gave it his all. He figured if he just said pretty sounding words and had a pleasant face and bowed to the authorities, he’d have the money to live.

At some point he started thinking that he didn’t need any words beyond what sounded nice. He thought it would be fine if he could just keep deceiving people. People hear only what they want to hear, so who needs the truth or his sincere thoughts?

Li Chou feels that the day he truly believed that was the day he strayed from the path of humanity. That was his failure, and his punishment was to transform into the appearance he has now. Li says he doesn’t want to fail anymore. He doesn’t want to fail and be seen trying to cover up his failures. And so he continued hiding his mistakes, even now.

Back to the present, everyone’s managed to get away to catch their breath in a hidden corner where you briefly explain what’s happening to the gang. Shirou thanks you for the explanation and says he understands what’s happening. Yule comments that the improv play that trended on social media was a part of things and says he thought that was originally planned.

Touji frames it as making a failure look like it was a part of things to begin with, though he says it is partly due to Li Chou’s artifact. Li doesn’t react and just stands there shoulders drooping and staring at the moon. Shirou suggests they have a meeting to hash out all the info before they start coming up with countermeasures.

Gouryou doesn’t mind and figures having more people to help would be good. Shirou thanks him as he refers to him as senpai, then says he heard about him from you. Gouryou is flattered and wonders if you got through how much of a reliable senpai he is. Shirou politely fudges around that question.

Benten demands that people get on with things and adds that people don’t need to be polite to Gouryou. She then introduces herself to the gang as an artist booming in the music world. She does want to play a song as part of her intro but decides now isn’t a good time. Shirou skips introducing himself and the gang for time’s sake, but Benten says she’s already heard of them through you. It is what it is, formalities can wait.

The Analyst starts as briefing begins with Shirou laying out the origin of the current incident, namely the switching of the Resurrection Incense. Its use has brought spirits over to this world which have then gone on to possess the jiangshi. Whether these spirits are real or just illusions visible through faith is indeterminate due to subjectivity though.

Gouryou agrees and skips a lengthy explanation and settles with saying it’s fine to think of them as only affecting the mobs. Tetsugyuu says it’s because they are affected that this incident is blowing up though. Anyways Shirou goes on to talk about how one custom in Hourai states that treating the spirits as frightening makes them act as such.

Shirou then says this situation occurred when someone screamed, which he’s sure everyone heard. Gouryou mentally adds that it was the same voice in the gym too. Shirou explains that this scream acted as a trigger and made everyone think of the mobs as pranksters, who then rampaged. Krampus then says he now understands why he didn’t see the mobs as bad kids.

Shirou says there’s only one plan available to solve things, which is to change everyone’s impressions of the jiangshi. Tetsugyuu says he doesn’t remember much but heard that was how the gym scuffle was settled. Because people thought they were acting as such for a play they stopped thinking they were genuinely scary.

Harlot adds that it was the same for her when the gag contest was being held. Ryouta interrupts to say he really wants to see Harlot do all that. Harlot however tries to keep on topic since there isn’t time, so Ryouta stops. Kengo then suggests just punching out all the mobs instead, but Harlot says that’s counterproductive.

Tetsugyuu adds that the mobs being the living dead should already tell you how tough they are. Knocking them away is one thing, but having to hold back will just make things harder. Gouryou says that all the mobs are a mix of Umamichi and not Umamichi students, so he’d rather things settle peacefully.

Touji says he understands but asks if everyone around would accept that. A and C has you say that seems unlikely while B has you sure that explaining things could work. In any case Ryouta says he and Behemoth were pranked on and say they do think of the mobs as scary.

Kengo says that Umamichi’s delinquent reputation reaches Shinjuku and Ikebukuro, so people are likely to think of the pranks as an attempt to pick fights. Benten then says she has a plan for that and tells Li it’s his turn to do something. Li doesn’t react, so she tries prodding him to respond.

Li Chou separates from the group and starts squatting in the shadows. You either try to encourage him or comment on how depressed he is. Tetsugyuu tries getting him to do something as he says he can fiddle with how people will see how things are.

Li Chou starts responding that yes his artifact can totally deceive people about the situation, but then says that wouldn’t hide the fact that he failed. You try asking him if he thinks it’s already a bust, so he starts yelling that he’s given up. He desperately bowed to people and begged for help, and when he finally got permission a disaster dropped down on him.

Li Chou angrily asks if you think you can hide that and his failure with his artifact. He yells that it’s not something people should do, calling it messing with his feelings and just accepting what’s convenient to you. No one can bring themselves to say anything to him.

Li Chou then says that was why he turned out the way he is now. It was because he strayed from the path of humanity Sanat Kumara was always talking about. Now he’s just a man-eating tiger. Tetsugyuu seems bewildered, and you decide to speak up. You tell Li that the festival isn’t over yet, that you still don’t hate him, or that deception isn’t always a bad thing.

Li Chou looks up in surprise. You then declare that since things aren’t over it’s still not a failure yet. So long as one person, even just you, believes that there’s a chance then it’s still not a failure. Li eventually responds incredulously that what you’re saying is sophistry.

Benten speaks up in approval of your response and says she likes sophistry. She agrees that the festival is still on so Li still hasn’t failed yet. Li disagrees and says it’s clearly done for, but Benten answers that failure is only a failure when you accept it to be.

Li Chou seems surprised by this, so Benten goes on to say that what other people think doesn’t matter. If you think it turned out to be a success than that’s alright. As such she tells Li to get out there and go all out with it. She says if you can’t say you have your all you won’t be satisfied.

Li considers it, and Ryouta agrees with Benten, saying that if Li weren’t serious he’d never have prepped the festival. Yule also agrees saying this is the first time he’s seen the market street like this, saying the multiculturalism makes it as lively as Christmas. Behemoth says the pumpkin fried manju were great and that he’d never have seen them if it weren’t for this.

Touji says he was surprised to hear Asakusa was doing Halloween stuff, but seeing it made him think it’s not bad. Shirou says the mix of old and new has brought about some new value. He feels calling that a failure would be a waste and offers to help.

Harlot says that if this didn’t happen she’d never have met the jiangshi. She offers to help too in hopes of making them smile when it ends. Tetsugyuu joins in too, saying he doesn’t like Li Chou but agrees with him in that he doesn’t want people dissing the school.

Anyways, Harlot wonders what the plan will entail in more concrete terms because it’ll need more impact than a play or street show. Gouryou says it’ll have to be big in order to get attention, and you try to think of something. As you all brainstorm, Li Chou starts muttering to himself.

Li Chou feels that the festival turning out like this was his fault and his just desserts. Besides that he feels he’d have failed no matter how hard he tried and thinks about how he couldn’t change Umamichi’s image. He talks about how he tried his best to improve it. Benten talks to him saying anyone would want to give up at that, but before she says anymore Krampus walks up to him.

Krampus offers to help since he feels a sort of connection to him and to the jiangshi. Li Chou initially brushes him off before actually looking at Krampus and freaking out about a monster talking to him. You ask Krampus about what he was talking about.

Krampus says he behaved as a scary Black Santa because that’s what people wanted of him, and even now he has some pride in it. But that’s not all there is to him, which is what you guys taught him as he thinks about his event.

Krampus says he can’t do nothing when faced with people who have also been judged to be frightening. It would waste all the support everyone gave him wholeheartedly back then and betray what he stood for then. He has a small laugh as he says being called scary still stings a little.

Li Chou tries to claim he doesn’t care and says there’s nothing that can be done at this point. Krampus interjects to say he has an idea that he thinks might work. The parts of his plan includes intense sounds (Benten), a random bystander not sure if they should run (Yule), two highly quirky boss types (Tetsugyuu and Harlot), and a smart advisor in glasses (Shirou).

Krampus feels sure that with those roles set this can work...maybe. Kengo just asks him to get to the point. Krampus is embarrassed and says he doesn’t have any other ideas and reminds himself it’s to save the kids. He finally spits out that his plan is an improv tokusatsu hero show and the episode part ends.