Chapter 10 Episode 8: The Flag Waving on the Battlefield 2

Hakumen starts acting as an interactive narrator as she reacts to being asked to talk more about her former master. She decides to describe her as a wicked woman or an evil woman. She is then asked about why her opinion is so different when most others refer to her master as the esteemed mother of the world.

 

Hakumen says that this is true too, and that this is another part to her master. She was the one who became the base of all other life in Hourai, the one who repaired the auroras that were the tears in the world, the one who spread agriculture and salvation to many.

 

Hakumen then mentions that there are people who say that this lady was an evil lady who started a war with fengshen (sealed gods? Sealing gods?) that split the world in two. This lady was Hakumen’s master, the one who sent the thousand year vixen to the emperor and drove him to smash his kingdom to pieces. Hakumen makes no attempt to deny this and says this is totally possible of her master.

 

Hakumen suggests that the only person who can really say who that lady is is that lady herself, just like Hakumen is the only one to know who she really is at heart. Still people made their judgments of that woman. The criticisms were harsh according to Hakumen. She figures her master would still scoff it all off though.

 

Hakumen’s master (who does appear to be Nuwa) apparently hated having other people’s narrow judgements and rules imposed onto her more than anything. The war of the gods apparently started when the emperor at the time told her to “be his.” She was a great and proud wicked woman, and the state of the world bent to her will. That was how she came to be the one who divided the world, the master Hakumen served and loved.

 

Scene tunes back into the Warmongers medbay in the prison school where Shennong yells about how treatment is going to start and he admits up front that it’s going to sting. So if it does start hurting, he tells you to raise your hand and say so. He then proceeds to heavily disinfect you before slathering an ointment all over your body. As you happen to be strapped down and have a bandage pressed on your mouth, all you can do is chew on the dressing and yell incoherently while thrashing your limbs.

 

Shennong is obliviously impressed that you aren’t saying it hurts as he vigorously rubs the ointment in. He says it works really well but it does hurt a lot, and he laughs about knowing about that firsthand. You try harder to struggle and yell through the bandage dressing, and after a bit more application of the cream or whatever, Shennong finally realizes he didn’t actually take the bandage off your face, then takes the gag off.

 

Now that you can speak you yell that yes the thing hurts and can ask him to be gentler on you. In C if it matters, he protests that he is being gentle and that he just isn’t telling you to lie back and sleep through this. This is how he does his treatments after all, and he says he’s hard on idiots who don’t take care of their bodies.

 

Shennong continues with the ointment application, and you demand to know why you have to be tied down for this, demand to be let go, and/or demand that you at least be allowed to use the restroom alone. In C, Shennong says you can’t and that you need complete bed rest for now.

 

A knock comes at the door, and Shennong comments on whoever it is coming back again. He tells you to stay there quietly as he pulls the curtain around your bed before leaving. After he goes, you wonder if he’s gone far enough and try to call Solomon. Your brand glows, and your physical sword appears in your ring wearing hand. The sword then transforms into Solomon.

 

Solomon greets you and says he’s your new cute familiar Solomon. He then says that while you were resting here, he’s been investigating the building. Solomon then prompts you to compliment him and maybe even pet him. You say he’s a good boy and ask how it went.

 

Solomon reports that of the places he can reach, he didn’t find either Taurus Mask or the Shadow giant. He also says he found a suspicious Enclosed Area in the deepest part of the site. You ask about this space and ask if it’s like the walls that form when an app battle is starting.

 

Solomon tells you that thanks to the ring, he can now appear inside Enclosed Areas so long as he is with you. On the flip side, this also seems to mean that he has to be with you to get into any of them. You think this over and start thinking about what happened in the old schoolhouse.

 

That was the day you went into the deepest part of the old library and suddenly obtained the ring. When you brought your ring to Solomon’s, you felt that the wall that was between you two disappeared. Ever since then, Solomon has been able to enter the battle zones with you. Narrative flashback ends as Solomon says it’s thanks to that he’s able to be with you inside the prison school too. He says he can help even more now and fishes for more praise.

 

You can either tell Solomon he’s helped you plenty before, shrug and say he’s helping now, or decide to pet and fluff him. He’s happy if you pick C and calls you bold. In any case you suggest checking that room out and looking for Taurus Mask et al. Solomon asks how you plan to get away from Shennong. Calm as he looks, he still has a tight watch on you. You wonder if there’s something you could use, think about if Shennong would nap for a bit and ask Solomon to go look.

 

Camera switches over to show it’s Yasuyori who’s come to the medbay. Shennong comments on him coming over again. He has an idea why he’s there but he asks him what it is just in case. Yasuyori says he’s come for you, and Shennong compliments his diligence but says the answer is still no.

 

Disappointed, Yasuyori asks for an explanation. Shennong says it’s nothing big or anything. He’s the doctor so it’s his job to look after his patients. You’re also convalescing still, and Shennong says the rules are absolute.

 

Yasuyori mentions that a lot of the soldiers are starting to be suspicious of Shennong for harboring you. Shennong comments on how there’d be someone who’d deny how the whole school works and everyone there coming at some time. He says you’re too whimsical for alienating everyone around in the military, which is even more reason for him as a doctor to not let you go back.

 

Yasuyori doesn’t try to argue the point, and Shennong says that he gets to decide what happens in the medbay according to the rules since he is the doctor. If even the commanders were to judge him unfit for duty, he’s going to defy them on that. Yasuyori chooses to just suggest that Shennong not make his own position any worse. Shennong laughs that Yasuyori is in a tough spot too to be saying that.

 

Shennong asks if Yasuyori has any other business. Yasuyori asks for his prescription of sleeping pills since he’s been unable to sleep again. He mentions having nightmares the night before. Shennong sighs and suggests that Yasuyori ought to be the one discharged from the school.

 

Shennong says that before he can give him the pills, he needs to do an exam, so he prompts Yasuyori to lift up his shirt so he can check his heartbeats. Then he asks if it hurts anywhere, if his heart rate went up, and if it hurt when he took the pills before.

 

Eventually he agrees to give Yasuyori the pills, but he does warn him that he’ll suggest to Tezcatlipoca and Tanetomo that Yasuyori needs to be shuffled to a different position if this keeps up. Yasuyori nods silently as Shennong hands the pills over, and Solomon takes the opportunity to steal a few himself.

 

Time skips to that night as you wonder if Shennong is asleep. Solomon pops up and says it’s probably okay. You apologize to Shennong and say you have to go, then thank him for keeping you in the medbay. You then sneak out, then ask Solomon to take you to that Enclosed Area he found. He tells you to leave it to him.

 

Outside there are wrestlers patrolling around, and Solomon points them out to you and tells you to be careful not to be seen. You nod and say that you expected this. Narration brings up that Yasuyori said that all the mirrors around can show everything happening in the school. If that were true then patrol guards should be unnecessary. That there is at night means that the mirrors don’t function at night without light to reflect, as a voice behind you says.

 

You recognize Shennong’s voice, and he says he never gave you permission to leave. You are surprised he’s here and that the sleep pills didn’t work on him. He tells you those are his medicine, so they don’t work on his body. He then asks you to go back since he can’t let you go out and hurt yourself.

 

You refuse, so Shennong sighs about how everyone around is in such a hurry to die. He then readies his giant syringe to face off against you, saying it’ll hurt a little when he gives you a shot as he starts the episode battle.

 

Chapter 10 Episode 7: The Flag Waving on the Battlefield 1

Shennong starts narrating. When numbers increase, so does damage. When quantities increase, so does poison. When it keeps on building and building, eventually it’ll destroy itself. That’s why wars break out, and Shennong states that no world can escape war. This is a fact he knows painfully well, as it is the System of this world.

 

Shennong then starts narrating about Hourai, his home world. A long time ago it was destroyed by a great flood, but it was then created again by two sibling creators who survived. The great mother from that pair created Shennong and everyone else, which then led to lives living in the world to spread.

 

Life grew and grew, and it continued to do so even after the mother had left the world. Shennong and the other successors to the world simply enjoyed it in peace, at least at first. Eventually famine and illness arose. Resources became scarce, and war broke out.

 

Shennong says he still remember the pain of the first time he was starving. He decided that if not for his sake, but for the sake of those important near to him to not endure that suffering, he could do any and all sorts of cruel acts. He thinks anyone else would do the same. It’s why the world was overtaken by war, where things split and the majority destroys the minority. This goes on until life is hopelessly lost, and such is the history of Hourai.

 

Somewhere over there, the sky is breaking again today. The heavenly firey aurora flutters among the clouds, an evil omen of battle breaking out somewhere out there. When that happens Shennong runs to that battlefield, but in the end is unable to save anyone.

 

He clung to the belief in justice that perhaps maybe he could save even one person with his development of medicine and farm techniques. This did nothing to stop the loss of life to illness, hunger, and war. Shennong kept at it using his own body to determine what was poison and medicine, pushing himself to teach people how to better raise crops. And then... Shennong eventually fell, wracked with stomach pain.

 

Scene tunes back to the present with you clutching your own stomach after getting beat on by the giants in the prison squad. They called you over to the back yard under to pretense of combat training to do this to you. Everyone keeps punching you in the gut, and with you outnumbered you fall to the ground. The giants demand that you leave, proclaiming that since you don’t remember anything of the war, none of them will treat you as a friend.

 

Solomon pops up to ask if you’re okay, and you can either call out to him or be silent. In A there’s an extra line with one of the giants wondering why you’re looking into space talking at nothing and thinking you went crazy. Anyways Solomon says you can’t let the giants do this to you, so he suggests using your new power to kick all their asses. He specifically refers to something you learned from Musashi, and your ring glows upon him mentioning this.

 

You start up a flashback about this meeting you had with Musashi, which happened the day after you reunited with Solomon in the old schoolhouse with Furufumi. You took Solomon with you to go back to the Crafters to talk to Musashi, and Musashi comments on you guys looking different now. You just say things happened and turn to Solomon, who agrees.

 

Musashi approves of you two making up, then asks why you guys came to see him. You tell him you were thinking of something he said before. It takes him a moment to realize you mean something he said during your fight with him, and you repeat the bit he said about how “that wasn’t enough.” It was the first time you figured out how to use two Severance powers at once and Musashi still crushed you.

 

Musashi laughs and agrees to tell you what he meant, partly thanks to Shuuichi making a referral. His young man self that he calls a sword devil is also willing to teach you if you pay him a ton of money. Anyways he prompts you to summon two swords like back then. You agree and take a moment to remember you did so by calling out Solomon’s name.

 

Like before, you summon the powers of anti-distance and anti-gravity as your sword and its shadow appear in your hands. Musashi says that what you’re doing now is simply dual wielding, so now he’s going to show you his dual wield style esoterica. He then tells you to keep your eyes peeled, pay attention to how he moves, and keep up with him. If you don’t take it seriously he warns you he can’t guarantee your safety.

 

You copy what Musashi is doing, which starts with you pressing your hands together. You move as if to overlap your ring with its shadow, and then Musashi apparently shows you the actual attack as you are shocked by what happens and say you can’t move. Musashi laughs about your skills being pretty good because you’d be in pieces if you let go too late.

 

Anyways Musashi warns you that this is a second order secret move that you have to save for the very last second when you try using an ultimate move. Flashback ends as Solomon suggests you use your combo move with him that you learned to beat down all the giants.

 

You however feel that it isn’t the right time to be playing that card, and the giants slam you one more time before demanding that you pack up and leave by tomorrow morning. They walk off, leaving Solomon to try to talk you into staying conscious. You try to stand through all the pain, though Solomon freaks out and yells for help. Shennong walks up at this point, and Solomon notices.

 

Scene then shifts to a base in Roppongi. Someone is sleeping, and this turns out to be Hakumen waking up from dreaming about you being in a bad spot. She asks where she is and for some reason acts like she has no idea who she is, but she remembers the latter right away.

 

Xolotl walks over to greet her good morning, commenting that she slept well and that the night before was awful. Hakumen doesn’t remember what happened and is more concerned she isn’t in her room. Then she remembers what happened, which narration says was some tax investigator forcing their way into the casino and taking the whole thing. She escaped by setting off the self-destruct system which blew her somewhere and forced her to run with just the clothes off her back.

 

Hakumen then starts ranting about being accused of tax evasion and hiding assets. She might at least have been hiding some stuff because she notes that whoever came seemed to know where to look, and she mentions that whoever it was was from the Invaders. Xolotl freaks out and tries to get Hakumen to calm down by telling her getting angry detracts from her beauty. Then he offers her some herbal tea.

 

Hakumen takes a few breaths, then says the tea is pretty good. She also mentions that she’s repeatedly dealt with crap this bad before too. She starts talking about her master dealing with this level of stuff too, and Xolotl interprets her to mean you as he says she should be optimistic like you.

 

Hakumen clarifies that she was talking about her first master actually, an evil tough lady she admired. This lady also apparently never showed what she was really like to anyone besides Hakumen. Hakumen says she was called the Great Mother, and that she was really good at hiding her tail. Hakumen always obeyed her and never would have believed she’d be sold out by her at the last second.

 

Hakumen then starts reminding herself that she learned how to live and keep the long view from her old master. She also learned how to be dauntless and to not be afraid of working alone while at her side, and that she’s the proud evilest woman of three countries who was chosen by that woman. If she were like she was then, she’d probably be working her way into the enemy camp and sabotaging the hell out of them with her charms.

 

Hakumen sighs as she wonders when she got so soft, then orders Xolotl to come back out. Xolotl comes back into the room thinking she wants breakfast, so he asks how many eggs she wants. She reflexively answers nine before taking it back and saying she’s about to head out. He’s confused by this, so Hakumen says she’s gonna march right into the Invaders’ home base. She’ll use her charms to get all those louts together, then knock them all out at once. She plans to whip them all into being her pets!

 

Xolotl freaks out at how crazy the plan is and begs her to not leave him alone. Hakumen is surprised by this and says she has a plan for him set up too. He doesn’t understand, so she says it’s at least partly why she got him new eyes.

 

Scene then shifts to your side as you wake up from having passed out and wonder where you are. Shennong notes that you woke up under your own power and mentions that he was thinking of giving you a shot otherwise. Then he laughs it off as a joke and says you don’t need to look so surprised. It takes you a moment to remember who he is, and Shennong jokes about being the army doc who loves shots and everyone. Then he comments on how badly you got beat and says your vitality resembles someone’s.

 

You either protest that you are hurting, say you’re used to things being hard, or say having terrible judgment is your specialty. Shennong clarifies that he was talking more about your mental fortitude than physical. You did just alienate everyone around you, then got ganged up on and stomped to the ground after all. He suggests you’d be cuter if you got depressed by that and understood your lack of power. He says you’re tough again, much different from a lot of people including himself.

 

You either ask Shennong if he helped you or if it was okay if him to help you. He shrugs and says he already helped you, so he suggests you guys talk for a bit since he’s a bit interested in you. In for a penny, in for a pound as they say. And that’s where the episode ends.

Chapter 10 Episode 6: Academy Military Prison 3

The world is a place created by a group of people sharing the same beliefs in an enclosed space. That belief in itself is neither weak nor strong because it is simply a matter of hierarchies. Love is greater than violence, money and influence is greater than love, and sometimes, violence is greater than money and influence.

 

When several different values exist at once, it becomes a matter of which is prioritized. Again, strength and weakness are irrelevant when it comes to faith itself. But when it comes to different worlds born from different beliefs, that is when strength and weakness comes into play. This is decided by a System’s stability, not on the belief’s ideals or correctness.

 

Now take the academy military prison, the frontline base and training facility the Warmongers have. If you think of it as a world, then it is strong. Strong enough to trample upon the famous Berserkers where the mighty had gathered. There is an information gap between them, but that isn’t the only reason the Warmongers won. Neither is it about any overwhelming power differences on an individual level. The deciding point was the power difference between the guilds as organizations.

Here in the Warmongers’ base, the gathered soldiers all carry the same mental scars. They all believe that “outside this world” they won’t be understood. If this belief is attacked, if they are shunned, they believe they will have nothing left.

 

It’s not that the soldiers are afraid of losing their place to be. It’s that they fear losing the place where their friends with the same pain stay. They aren’t putting their lives on the line for their beliefs. They obey it for the sake of their friends who believe the same. They believe that dying for that is an honor, and that is what the hierarchy is set up as. As they take the attacks they can, they get stronger by the number of wounded comrades. With each sacrifice, this System gets stronger.

 

This isn’t the only thing going on. The prison school world has one other stabilizing mechanism to its System. There is some other world that has this same System, El Dorado, the world named for the shining golden city.

 

Scene then tunes in somewhere as Oz starts talking to Amaterasu, telling her she did a good job as chairman of the emergency guild meeting. She thanks him and mentions wanting to shut herself in somewhere because she’s tired. She also sighs about how all the other Representatives just want to talk about their own things like they always do. She wonders why they can’t have a proper conversation.

 

Oz asks how the meeting turned out. Amaterasu says they naturally suspect the Warmongers of rule breaking due to two incidents. The first is the attack on the Kamata Crafters. The second is the Warmongers hanging onto the trophy and refusing to give any clear answers to their inquiries.

 

Amaterasu says that Michael, Horus, and Koropokkur are going to directly question the Warmongers. They’re heading to a Portal Koropokkur controls, Oujimachi Academy in Kita Ward. The rest of their guild is staying behind, and Amaterasu is happy to leave it to them to deal with any trouble.

 

Oz seems relieved and says that if those three go, the rest of them might not need to go either since they’re strong. Oz then asks for permission to go see his friend he promised to meet. He got word about a new rocket being made and a celebration about it, and he promises to finish all his work for the student council.

 

Amaterasu is willing to let him go, but she says there might be a problem. The Ota Ward is closely related to the current incidents they’re looking into after all. This is somehow a surprise to Oz, and Amaterasu moves on to ask if he knows about her being an assistant to the academy military prison. He says yes, though only along the lines of rumors.

 

Amaterasu then asks if Oz knows about the World Representative that runs that school as one of the management of the Warmongers. He doesn’t, which he gets flustered about. Amaterasu tells him that this Representative is like her in that they are the sun of their world, but this other Rep has a big difference compared to her.

 

Amaterasu describes his world as one where two brother suns take over from each other. For that reason the Representative represents a System that seeks sacrifices. The both of them are creators of the world and simultaneously the exiles of their world. The subject of sibling exile reminds Amaterasu of someone, and for a moment she casts her eyes down.

 

She then picks back up to say he’s the El Dorado World Representative, master of the prison school and avatar of smoke and the mirror. And he is the one involved with the previously mentioned two incidents.

 

Scene shifts back to the prison school as Yasuyori sees Daisuke and Avarga in the middle of a drill, then panics and hides in the shadows of the giants in the squad. You notice and try to call to him. Avarga says it’s time for the morning combat drills to end for them, and Daisuke thanks him as he calls him coach before switching to instructor.

 

Avarga tells his group to get to cleaning since the next group is waiting. Daisuke looks over at the mention of that and then notices you. He then quickly puts his mask back on in a hurry, then runs up to you and asks why you’re here. You comment on him being here, say you were worried about him, or hug him.

 

Going C, Taurus Mask gets embarrassed as he says you’re a passionate one. Not that he hates it or anything as he hugs you back. Anyways he says he’s happy to see you and he has to take a moment to correct between his private and stage first person pronouns. He then whispers and asks if you’re also Pretending to Be Caught.

 

You are surprised by him mentioning ‘also’ and ask about him. Taurus Mask says he can’t talk now but he can do so during break time after lunch, so he asks you to meet him at the back yard then to talk.

 

Time skips to that point as Taurus Mask tells you what’s been happening on his end thus far. He informs you that people in his school are also disappearing and not just the Berserkers. Lots of people at his school are deploring this string of disappearances. Taurus Mask got here through conspiring with Snow and the others, then moving around a lot.

 

Taurus Mask then says he was surprised when he saw a lot of the people he knows working as soldiers and instructors here. He hasn’t found everyone he’s looking for though, which includes the people in the sumo club among others. He also mentions that everyone is choosing to stay instead of being imprisoned. You agree that it seems that way and that you were told you could leave.

 

Taurus Mask says you guys will need to come up with to make it so that everyone can leave on their own. He’s thinking of making them remember the people waiting for them outside so they want to go home to them. To that end, he’s been playing along while looking around inside. You either say he’s amazing or are comforted to have a friend here.

 

Taurus Mask agrees and starts talking about the war memories, which causes him to pale up and shake. You call out to him in concern and figure he saw the memories too. He tries to claim he’s alright because he’s a superhero. He swears to bring everyone back even if he has to stay there. You protest that he has to come with you all.

 

Taurus Mask is surprised before trying to laugh and agree, though clearly still disturbed by what he saw. Around this time you hear footsteps approaching, and both of you look to each other. Taurus Mask says you guys can’t be caught talking to each other, so he runs off and says he’ll see you later.

 

You then see the Shadow giant from your group come by, and he cries and moans about wanting to go back to his school and his friends on the outside, shaking as he looks at a picture he has in his pockets. He admits people have treated him well here, but he still wants to go back. You decide to try talking to him about those feelings, and he asks in shock how long you’ve been there listening. He begs you not to tell anyone else.

 

You assure him it’s okay and that there are people waiting for him. He starts to ask about you when Yasuyori shows up to stop the conversation. You are shocked by his turning up, and the mobs flanking him grab the Shadow giant. You then ask what Yasuyori is doing or try to tell them to not use violence.

 

Yasuyori says violence isn’t happening and that the giant has reason to leave. The giant reacts in fear to this, and Yasuyori asks if he’s going or something else he trails off on. The giant yells that he doesn’t want to lose his last home.

 

You react with shock at this, and the giant says that while there may be people waiting outside for him, he can’t bring himself to forgive himself for what he remembered and be with them. He also pleads for the others to stop looking at him that way and insists he’s not a traitor. It’s now that you finally figure out what it is that’s been bugging you, that guilt behind everyone’s eyes and the sense of complicity they’ve shared between them all.

 

The shadow giant begs and says he’ll never think what he thought again. Yasuyori accepts it and says he’ll have to remember his war memories even more clearly. The giant seems to slump in resignation as he agrees and thanks him for it, and the others drag him away as he hangs his head.

 

You try to protest this, but the giant says there’s nothing else to be done since he can’t go anywhere else. He then starts begging to be saved. You call out to him to stop and run towards him, but Yasuyori and his flunkies stand in the way. When you demand an explanation for this, Yasuyori asks if you figured out why you were let free.

 

Yasuyori then tells you that the whole school is being supervised by their CO’s power as he points out the mirrors that are everywhere with his eyes. You react in shock to this and wonder if he also knows about your earlier conversation. He confirms it and says he doesn’t even need to do anything himself while Daisuke is probably being restrained by the other trainers by now. He’ll be taken to the CO like the giant is to have more war memories reawakened.

 

Yasuyori says everyone has feelings about wanting to go home to places important to them, but he insists that the war memories that only they remember prevents them from returning. He asks if you think this System is clever.

 

You ask if he’s talking about a total surveillance society or say that it won’t be happening next time. He denies it and explains that the mirrors inform everyone regardless of social class, and you understand what he’s getting at.

 

Yasuyori confirms and says that if everyone can see everything including the nature of the past crimes, this will lead to harmony and kindness. He says that the prison school is not a society of total surveillance, but a society of mutual understanding. He then asks if you’ve learned it’s futile yet and offers to take you to the entrance if you want to leave. Then he notices something about your expression and is confused by it.

 

You state that you originally came for different reasons as you think of Taurus Mask and Pollux, Bathym and Andvari, and Mononobe. You say you came to save your friends, the one who helped you, and/or the people you care about. Yasuyori doesn’t responds to this, so you continue by saying that’s not your only goal now. Yasuyori asks if disbelief if you’re saying you’ll make an enemy of them and that they’re mistaken.

 

You declare that they are mistaken for believing they have no other choices other than to be here. Yasuyori is quietly surprised, and you yell about not knowing anything about the war memories, but no matter what they are they can’t be enough to trap anyone. The giants are shocked to hear you don’t have those memories and turn hostile. Yasuyori sighs in mild disbelief about you outing yourself. He then asks to make sure if you plan on leaving now or not.

 

Yasuyori states that you can’t win against the Warmongers at all since you have never done so before in all the loops. You declare you do have a chance that they don’t know about, and you send a thought about that to Solomon. He pops up in response to agree and asks you to leave things to him.

 

Over in the prison school’s commander’s office, Tezcatlipoca is laughing while surrounded by mirrors showing him what’s going on there. He watches utterly delighted as he looks at your face, asking if you’re declaring war as he refers to you as a friend. He’s also impressed you’d say you can win, saying that it’s not a war if you don’t. No war can happen if your opponent isn’t choosing to fight, doesn’t have the ability to fight, and doesn’t have a plan to win.

 

Tezcatlipoca says it has to be you as he calls you brother as well as friend again. Once again a war will break out, the most nostalgic and irritating war that has repeatedly continued. Then he warps out from his office for a second to fully materialize from the shadow he was being. Tezcatlipoca yells that he was waiting for this war with you as one of the seven managers of the Warmongers, then declares that the war with you, Quetzalcoatl, is on as the episode ends.

 

Chapter 10 Episode 5: Academy Military Prison 2

Yasuyori begins narrating about his past, the time when he could laugh innocently and live in ignorance. He wants to go back but feels like he can’t because he’s learned what he’s really like. The group he thought of his friends and thought also saw him that way was the people he thought of as important. Friendship was what tied them together, and he believed they would never hurt each other.

 

But it turns out that Yasuyori had forgotten the times when he wasn’t like that, which he believed was how he really was. He saw that he was someone who could hurt the people dear to him. He ran before anyone could find out, before he could hurt anyone again.

 

Yasuyori then describes the prison school as comforting since the only people around are like him. It’s a place where everyone quietly believed that everyone else was going through the same thing. It’s the one place left that accepts him for what he is, the place he can be whether he likes it or not. He feels that being elsewhere is impermissible.

 

Now he wishes to protect the place. Yasuyori also mentions that he has to feel that way, so he hopes that his old friends will forget about him. He hopes they won’t remember that he was a monster who would attack his friends.

 

Scene then shifts to Somewhere in Nakano. The Analyst starts up for exposition as Ose is in some school’s secret room that acts as one of the safe houses for the Agents. Aside from some of its top members, no one knows that it’s a stronghold for the guild.

 

Ose is shooting at a target with his golden gun, and Mineaki claps for him saying that a thinker like himself has to compliment him. Ose brushes it off, then suggests they get to exchanging notes. He starts by asking Mineaki about the investigations he and his client have done about a certain surprise. He also teases him about who Mineaki’s real client is, asking if it’s the Warmongers, the Invaders, or someone else.

 

Mineaki says that all he wants is to see the proper end to this chain of events, by which he means the true ending without the loops starting up again. Ose asks if that’s why he’s so willing to play triple agent. Mineaki laughs it off and says Ose’s doing something similar, not working for any of the true big three guilds. Ose laughs off having the point turned back against him and agrees to return to the main topic.

 

Ose then asks Mineaki about how the present situation could likely cause issues for him. As a result of all the loops happening, the big three guilds have agreed to ban certain moves that would cause a deadlock. After all, the game will stagnate if loops happen so quickly.

 

One of these rules is that “all guilds are forbidden from directly interfering with the trophy until the last move as been made.” Except this time the opposite event has happened, and Ose seems surprised that you’d intentionally put yourself in one of the side’s hands.

 

He figures you’re doing this to force the big three to come to blows, upset the board, slip through the cracks, and gather information. Ose seems to approve and says causing chaos is the correct thing to do as a weak party.

 

Ose notes that while everyone calls them the true big three guilds, even those guilds aren’t united in their thoughts internally. Each Representative has their own viewpoint. But even with that fact, Ose says that the Warmongers are acting strangely.

 

The other guilds are asking if the Warmongers are intending to break the rules, yet the Warmongers are moving slowly. No one could blame the other guilds for accusing them of rule breaking. Ose compares it to them being afraid of a move being made against them.

 

Mineaki speaks up and tells Ose of a rumor he’s heard of. So apparently in the Warmongers’ training drill place/academy military prison, they’re holding a “disastrous thing” of some kind in their deepest interior section. Ose finds this interesting, and Mineaki elaborates that this Thing is something that has never happened before in any of the loops. If it isn’t investigated from the outside, the Warmongers might...something he cuts off on.

 

Mineaki says that the prison is working probably, so he suggests that things be done as quietly as possible. Ose comments on how far out Mineaki is sticking his neck out and how it doesn’t look like simple curiosity. Mineaki confirms that and says this time he’s working hard since this bit can’t be dismissed as other people’s affairs. He just loves his students and coworkers, man.

 

Scene then shifts back to your side as morning comes just like any other day. Yasuyori comes by ordering everyone to tidy up their sheets and head to the mess hall for breakfast. After eating it’ll be time for drills again. You either yawn about how well you slept, comment on a night passing by, or wonder if Jacob and R-19 will be joining you yet.

 

As you make your bed and change clothes, you look around and see everyone else is following suit. You note the presence of other members in the group besides the one you fought the day before, and you think that if they all attack you another fight like before will happen. For now though you have to focus.

 

Some of the giants start talking to you and ask about your name as you all head over for breakfast. You either be cold, afraid, or just nod to the question. It turns out the water giant is the leader of the group, so the others tell you to show him respect. He tells them to not make threats, but shrugs and says you aren’t the type to back off so easily since you’re also a wild one, I think. Plus there’s what happened after the fight, so you being defensive isn’t unreasonable.

 

Anyways, the lead giant tells you to relax because you’re all in the same position. You are confused by this, and the giant explains that you must be someone who was Forced to Remember what you were like. The rest of the group pat your shoulders in sympathy, and the water giant says the ones who attacked you yesterday were also new prisoners. They need time to accept what they’re Really Like, which is why they attacked. Not that anyone else was any different to begin with.

 

Anyways, the giant comments on you having balls for looking so calm still. He mentions what a shock it was to have the memories returned. As you are about to say something about that, Yasuyori yells for you two to finish eating up. The giant suggests you not get Yasuyori’s attention on you, then heads off.

 

Time skips a bit to you all heading out for drills, and Yasuyori starts you guys off with running around the outer circumference. You head off and can comment on the shaking the giants are causing. The shadow giant who attacked yesterday starts talking to you while running along, and he apologizes for what he did. He also mentions the leader told him that you’re all in the same position so you guys better get along as you don’t have anywhere else to fit in. He gives an awkward smile as he holds his hand out.

 

You think to yourself that you were expecting the place to be a lot more brutal. You also note that it isn’t really camaraderie the giants are sharing as you feel something is up, like they’re looking for something else.

 

Anyways the giant talks about still being unable to accept the memories, then talks about how everyone here is like him. He desperately asks you about him not needing to bear it all alone and that you understand him, a dark light in his eyes as he smiles. You wonder about either or both of those parts of him.

 

The Shadow giant starts asking you about you attacking your friends, but Yasuyori calls over to you two and orders the small talk to stop. The giant drops the conversation in fright and distances himself to continue running.

 

Yasuyori then tells you something that he describes is less a suggestion and more a warning meant to prevent trouble. He tells you straight out that unlike everyone else around, there’s a certain special policy regarding your memories. If people were to find out, Yasuyori says you’d be causing disorder and ostracization. If you don’t plan on leaving soon, he says you should keep quiet about your memories.

 

You ask if he’s talking about the loop memories as you flashback to Tiger Man talking about people remembering their memories and living in eternal war. You also flashback to Claude talking to you about what happens to people who regained their memories of the war parts. Yasuyori is surprised you know and confirms that.

 

Yasuyori elaborates that most people have only forgotten about the war that dragged everyone into it and repeated itself, where everyone was divided and attacked each other. Yasuyori asks how much you do remember, so you tell him you only remember being killed and may not have any memories of killing. You also think to yourself that you don’t know what happens before or after any of it.

 

Yasuyori seems sad as he opines that not having any memories of being the assailant like them is a blessing. He doesn’t seem to have any memories before or after the deaths in his, but he says remembering that he’s a beast who could attack his friends at any moment drove him away from everywhere else.

 

You take note of Yasuyori telling you he doesn’t remember everything in shock, and you wonder if the memories are being selectively given or something else is up. Yasuyori continues by saying he can’t go back to Yoyogi, then panics for a moment upon realizing what he said. Then he calls over the squad and says it’s time for the combat drills next.

 

Time skips a little as you guys head to wherever your drills are taking place while some other group is still there. Yasuyori comments on this, then says he heard Squad 25 has new members and instructors added today. He’s then shocked to see Avarga and Daisuke around. You recognize Taurus Mask and take note of Avarga. Yasuyori asks in dismay why they’re here as the episode ends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 10 Episode 4: Academy Military Prison 1

Things pick up from last time as our cellmates laugh at us upon being told we’re in for raiding a police station. Much of it is going look at the puny human since they’re all giants and them interpreting you as exaggerating what you did. You either insist it’s true, ask them to stop picking a fight, or keep quiet.

In C the giants take offense at your facial expression, and in any case react by saying they don’t fear anything anymore, so they decide to teach you how things work at the academy military prison by attacking. You question the term but dodge the attack as best you can while trying to talk them out of this. This doesn’t work, so you resign yourself to a fight but try to keep it as quiet as possible to not stand out as the episode battle begins. More story later.

After the battle, the story picks back up in the middle as you avoid the giants swinging as best you can. But as it goes on you feel that something is off about their attitudes since it doesn’t seem to be done out of looking down on you. You pick up on unease and a sense of fear. At that point Yasuyori runs in to put a stop to the fight.

The giants stop what they’re doing out of fright and stand up straight, and Yasuyori reminds them that personal fights aren’t allowed under Warmongers supervision. The giants apologize in unison as they refer to him as a senior NCO. Yasuyori sighs about how hotheaded they all are, then starts talking to you as he calls you by name. You can ask who he is one of two ways or call him cool and ask him to marry you.

In C, there’s extra lines about Yasuyori being surprised at being confessed to and how he’s weak to that sort of thing. He gets shy about asking that you guys start with dating before he controls himself and steps away from the topic to give his name and say he’s the squad trainer. He’s also the highest ranked officer in the facility, and he bows before looking at you with a sharp glare.

 

Anyways, Yasuyori explains that this is a Warmongers education facility and also known as the academy military prison as he welcome you. You ask about the name of the place or his position, and after a moment he decides it’s okay to tell you that much since he’s supposed to treat you like any other new recruit.

 

The prison is a training facility for great obedient soldiers for the Warmongers, one of the true big three guilds. When asked about that, he says the Warmongers want soldiers and not berserkers since being disloyal isn’t helpful no matter how strong anyone is.

 

You ask if this is why students are being kidnapped and confined, and Yasuyori says he was told no special treatment was needed for training newbies. He then docks you one point for speaking out of turn and one point for your clothes being messy. This translates to 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, 100 pull-ups, and a 10km long distance running. You either ask if this is an order, protest that you can’t handle it, or claim it’ll be easy.

 

Yasuyori remembers that you also have to do it while wearing a sandbag. Since it’s your first day he says you should wear three of them. You ask what would happen if you refused or said you couldn’t actually do it. Yasuyori offers to take you to the entrance in that case. You’re surprised and ask if he means it’s okay for you to leave.

 

Yasuyori says yes and adds that soldiers without enough morale aren’t worth having around in the battles they’re looking at. This applies to everyone and not just you, so anyone can leave. The giants are cowed by Yasuyori mentioning this, and he goes quiet. You notice the giants’ reaction and find it weird.

 

Anyways Yasuyori asks if you want to leave. You choose to stay as you think about how you can’t leave yet until you get some sort of clue. He sighs about you staying but says it’s a matter if you can handle it. Then he says the sentence will have to be carried out by the whole squad. The giants go yes sir, and you try to ask about R-19 and Jacob.

 

Yasuyori tells you that they are being thoroughly investigated for their inductions over their backgrounds and ideology. He almost lets slip something about their entrance before catching himself and adding 10 short distance dashes to your punishment.

 

Time skips a bit as you run with the giants, and Yasuyori comments it’s about time you can hear from the other new cadets. The giants are noted to be carrying the same amount of weight you are, and you are struggling to keep going, possibly questioning who could be making any noise.

 

Narration says that the prison is walled on all four sides, but the height can definitely surmounted by the giants. You wonder if they really can leave whenever and why they won’t, but you don’t quite have the energy to keep this up. Eventually the Shadow giant of the group collapses, and Yasuyori comments on the importance of keeping hydrated. He proceeds to dump a bucket of water on the mob. You either protest this or try to ask for water for yourself.

 

The giant thanks Yasuyori loudly without any trace of resentment or hatred in his voice. You are taken aback by this and feel that something is off. Yasuyori calmly says it must seem strange to a civilian how the armed forces are as he keeps his stern expression. You wonder if he’s right but are sure that’s not what you’re picking up on.

 

Yasuyori feels that it’s best that you go back provided that you do have a Home to Go Back To, and his face betrays his own thoughts for a moment. You catch part of it, and Yasuyori adds another demerit for chitchat, so that’s one more set for the squad. Your training/punishment goes on until nightfall, at which point you collapse.

 

Sometime later a voice talks about nothing particularly wrong turning up on the ECG or pulse check, so you just passed out of fatigue. The voice assures Yasuyori that it’ll be okay so he doesn’t need to worry so much. They then suggest giving you a shot of their Shennong Nutrient Special for Humans. You come to enough to open your eyes around this point.

 

Shennong notices that you’re awake, and narration says the first things you see when you open your eyes is the infirmary ceiling, Shennong, and his giant syringe. You shriek upon seeing it, say good morning, or ask where you are.

 

Shennong greets you good morning, though he notes that it’s nighttime as he laughs. He then says you’re in the sickbay inside the academy military prison before asking if you remember fainting during the drills. Yasuyori sighs and says it doesn’t look like you’re suited to be a soldier if you fainted from the training that was going on. He suggests you leave as soon as possible. He then apologizes to Shennong for waking him up at this time and excuses himself.

 

Shennong sighs, and you ask for his name. He introduces himself as a doctor and part of the Warmongers’ chemical creature unit. You introduce yourself back and can call him cool. If you go C, he notes that your face is red and asks if you’re sick. Then he offers to give a shot to make you feel better.

 

In any case Shennong talks about how flustered Yasuyori was, then says it’d be best if you left the prison too. He figures Yasuyori being cold towards you would have been the fastest way to do so. You either ask what he’s talking about, understand something, or be confused.

 

 Shennong says it’s the same for everyone in the base, not just Yasuyori. They all know they have nowhere to return to anymore. Shennong then corrects this to being made to remember. Everyone believes that they can’t live anywhere else, so if they happen to lose this too there’d be nowhere left.

 

Outside, Yasuyori looks around to check if anyone else is around, then pulls out a picture from his pockets. He calls out Ashigara, Wakan, and Daisuke’s names, and tears fall onto the picture. He cries about wanting to go back but being unable to, and the episode ends.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 10 Episode 3: Inside Wall 3

Things pick up with Jacob being anime blind as he’s able to dodge gunshots inside a building without no issues despite not being able to see and close the gap towards the Shadows firing at him. You try to stop him long enough to talk to him, warn him of the danger, or try to attack. You are forced to dodge as other policemen show up to shoot at you too.

 

Jacob punches out some Shadows as they dissolve back into nothingness, and you note that the officers really are Shadows. Solomon warns you of some behind you about to shoot, but Jacob punches them out too. He asks if you’re okay, so you thank him for the help. He downplays it as he says you were the one to help him to begin with.

 

Jacob then takes off his hood to introduce himself. He seems to have an idea who you are already somehow by the time you start to introduce yourself back, and narration says that he’s blind as he looks at you with a smile. You ask about this fact about him as you notice, and Jacob confirms it and just says an unfortunate thing happened long ago that left him like that. Still, he says his mind’s eye can see how full of love your heart is. He also thinks you two meeting is due to the love and guidance of the lord.

 

You are confused by this as you try to ask him to explain, but more policemen pour in to interrupt with gunfire. As they aim their guns and give the order to fire, R-19 slides in with a save by blasting them all first with his NP. He then asks if you’re okay. You’re surprised by his involvement, comment on him having a gun artifact, or ask why he’s still here.

 

R-19 starts talking about being designed to look for protection when he got summoned over to Tokyo. Since you’re harboring him, he’s decided you need to be safe as well. His programming also prioritizes investigation over his own safety. And since he’s been doing things that he doesn’t understand, he thinks you should be saved so he can figure out why. You thank him and/or comment that you don’t understand him either.

 

Anyways, now that the policemen have been exposed as Shadows, the imprisoned students start running off, and Jacob comments on this happening. He talks about being forced to act in principle when he happened to walk by and see all this, but he decides that it’s all good in the end.

 

You have varying levels of disbelief that Jacob did this without a plan and can yell about not wanting to be reminded of a certain someone. Jacob blithely talks about how he’s always going where the wind blows and where love leads him. And on that note, Jacob says now’s a good time to surrender.

 

Scene shifts to the Ikebukuro labyrinth as Shirou says R-19 just informed him about how you guys surrendered. Claude notes that he looks worried, but Shirou doesn’t respond to that. Claude then asks if he understands that if things go on as is, it’ll be dangerous over there. And by that, Claude is talking about how things will be after the Berserkers, Missionaries, and Tycoons all fall.

 

Shirou says he knows that on a logical level that being focused on how something must be when the level of accessible information to both sides is too different is a dangerous thing. He then says that if you think about it tactically, the current enemies’ actions are causing total defeat. Or in other words, the war front can’t be expanded recklessly, and the Summoners are just being postponed.

 

Claude agrees and says that means the initiative can only be taken now. To be on the defensive is to be playing into your opponents’ hands. That said, that is their current position so they have to acknowledge the power difference. In which case, why not force the ones who can fight to do so? More specifically, why not make them all fight each other?

 

In essence, Claude is saying that you guys have to make the real big three guilds start fighting each other. He also brings up that none of them are laying their hands on you, and Shirou says that’s why the plan is to have you take refuge with the Warmongers. Claude smiles back a winner’s smile at that.

 

Claude then elaborates that since all the big three guilds are after the same trophy, none of them can let the others have it. Whether them leaving you alone is because of some agreement they all came together on or if this is something they decided from looking over their information, Claude can’t say. Either way he’s interested in seeing what they’ll do if one of them is closer to the trophy than the others.

 

Shirou notes that this is still a hell of a gamble since they don’t know if the Warmongers will guarantee your safety over a taunt like this. Claude reminds him that you guys chose this plan and says heroes are always cutting their way out of hardships because that’s what they do. He also reminds Shirou that they have their own battles to deal with over there. He’s not really going to sit around and give up, is he?

 

Shirou nods and says he’s going to fight his own fights as well. Then he apologizes to Shuuichi, Kengo, and Moritaka for keeping them waiting. He talks about how he’s heard that the analysis of the maze Duo made has been moving along, and Shuuichi says there’s still one part that isn’t clear yet. He laughs about the homework Duo left him as he looks a D initial carved into the wall. Upon pressing that hidden seal, a hallway opens up.

 

Scene shifts over to the Nerima command room as Yasuyori finishes delivering some report about the day’s prisoners, meaning you, Jacob, and R-19. The game notes that for once Tanetomo’s calm expression is thrown off as he admits that this is a good move on your part. He’d have liked to have you guys thrown out before anyone in the command room had noticed, but it’s too late now and the official orders have already been given. So yes, they have to keep you there.

 

 Tanetomo sighs about how the Warmongers internal control has been thrown into chaos. He thinks the other side (which I think he means you) wasn’t aiming for this but this is still a thorn in his side. He also comments on the Plan D Replicant being here and feels like it’s unlikely it was intentional that he’s there.

 

Tanetomo sets that aside to say that the other guilds should know of what’s happening by now so countermeasures need to be taken right away. He comments on how the Warmongers leaders are warring over you before he corrects that to all the World Representatives. If they have you, then it’s easy to think that the others will start meddling. Tanetomo also comments that it’s possible that the other two guilds will attack at the same time.

 

Of the two, Tanetomo thinks the Warmongers needs to be more careful of the Invaders. A moment of worry crosses his face as he bites on his fan for a bit, and he decides that he has to leave that second. Tanetomo then asks Yasuyori to hold the fort and make sure nothing big happens until a general policy is decided upon. He agrees and asks for more specific directions.

 

Tanetomo thinks and says that after you, Jacob, and R-19 get here, assign you all to Squad 26. Yasuyori notes that that group is filled with notoriously crazy loose cannons known even outside the prison. He then asks if it’s okay to have you guys with them since that’s probably going to cause issues.

 

Tanetomo then asks Yasuyori to act as an NCO (aka not a lead soldier) for that squad and says there’s no need to have you remember past loops. As things are there’s no need to give an enemy information. Tanetomo asks Yasuyori to treat you like any other prisoner until he sends any new instructions, then asks if Yasuyori has questions.

 

Yasuyori calls himself dumb and asks if Tanetomo is putting him on watch duty. Tanetomo confirms this and says it’s most efficient to leave you alone. It wouldn’t be needed if they had their surveillance network, but he doesn’t want to cause trouble for the top brass since he’s an advisor.

 

Tanetomo makes a point of telling Yasuyori of being vigilant about what you do, so he should always keep an eye on you and what you’re doing. He does worry about needing Jacob and R-19 put under similar watch, but he doesn’t have anyone around he can ask to do that.

 

Yasuyori affirms that he can do the job. Tanetomo takes a moment to express his surprise that you would willingly jump into enemy territory like this. He thinks if it happens again then it would be a hit to the mental blind spots, but then he starts thinking it’s an excuse. He calls himself still inexperienced and tells Yasuyori one more thing.

 

So apparently Yasuyori has been told this a bunch of times already, but Tanetomo tells him that under no circumstances should anyone be allowed to get close to the the solitary confinement cell in the deepest part within the detention center. No one is allowed to meet That Teacher. Scene shifts over to the prison school’s solitary confinement where probably Mononobe is sitting there in silence.

 

Flashback ends as things are caught back up to the present as you grasp your handcuffed hands. You say it’s time for the real thing to begin as you investigate the prison, find a lead on Mononobe and the other imprisoned people. And that’s where the episode ends.

Chapter 10 Episode 2: Inside Wall 2

Ever since the Gates reopened in 1999, a certain special detention facility in West Tokyo was built to handle the influx of new Transient cases. That was where students related to other world incidents were held in custody, the Transient Detention Facility.

Nowadays it’s been remade into something completely different, and almost no third party knows about this. It now looks like the sort of place that holds military drills, and today yet another prison transport vehicle has arrived. And the passenger within...?

 

Inside the prison, Daisuke asks where he is, but the tenjin cops with him don’t respond. Daisuke tries to ask for an explanation, saying he was told they’d let him see Avarga if he came in while in his wrestling gear. A cop says they did as they refer to him as the Berserkers’ Taurus Mask.

 

Daisuke is surprised he knows about this, and the cops around start transforming into shadows to his shocked loss of words. Tezcatlipoca’s silhouette approaches and says he knows before telling him he’s going to make him remember. Daisuke tries asking who he is, and Tezcatlipoca tells him it’s time to remember the evilest and most foolish of wars he’s fought together with people in.

 

A giant dark mirror appears in front of Daisuke, and the shadow cops hold him to force him to look into it. Daisuke he yells about things streaming into his head, and the memories of the times he spent competing with his friends in matches at school begin flowing. The light fades out and the significance of them inverts...

 

Scene shifts elsewhere in Nerima to what’s listed as the Warmongers’ frontline command room. Tanetomo starts to talk about the Berserkers and how they’ve absorbed 60% of their rankers into their own forces. Narration says the war room is in the same area as the detention center, and that the Warmongers were the ones to repurpose the place. There is where they prepare for the battle of the true big three guilds by gathering and training forces.

 

Tanetomo says he’s received reports from police station chief Daikoku that their gathering of valuable forces is proceeding without delays. He then asks Yasuyori how the training plans are progressing. Yasuyori calls himself a sergeant while referring to Tanetomo as a staff officer or advisor, and the game skips over the report.

 

Tanetomo nods at whatever was said, summing it up saying all is going to plan. It’s obvious though since they no everything while their opponents know nothing about them. He comments that knowing what your opponents will do means things are less work and more like disposal. In the end, the true big three guilds’ enemies are really only the others in that group since they have memories of the past loops. Tanetomo figures his tactical wisdom will shine best in the fight against the Invaders.

 

Tanetomo’s wisdom orb starts glowing, and Yasuyori says he’ll leave the thinking to him since he himself is stupid. Yasuyori is noted to have the brotherhood orb, one of the virtues of the three bonds of Confucianism. He says he’ll never again move under his own judgment, and he remembers the slippery touch and the smell of blood the last time he laid his hand on someone. A fresh memory of war he was made to remember.

 

Those memories were memories of days fighting against people he once thought of as his friends, killing each other. They were days where they were shown the ugliest side of people in perpetuity. Since Yasuyori has remembered of times when he lived the life of a monster, he’s come to question whether he can go back to live in society with everyone again. He talks about being unable to live anywhere else but the swampy battlefields, and that he cannot go back to Yoyogi.

 

Tanetomo seems sad as he says he understands Yasuyori’s pain. He talks about how he once killed the traitors who went against his master. He doesn’t think he was wrong to do so, but he can no longer return to how things were before. Because of that he says he knows the pain and hollowness Yasuyori feels, and that falling to the world of pain dooms you to stay there for life.

 

Yasuyori seems to sympathize with him and calls him by name before correcting to advisor, but Tanetomo says being called by name is fine. Tanetomo also tells Yasuyori that if he ever thinks Tanetomo is lying at any point, he asks him to run him through with his own sword.

 

Yasuyori doesn’t answer at first, but after sighing he bows and tells Tanetomo that they share lots in life. He also declares that he has no intention of making just one of the two of them do all the dirty work. Tanetomo says he understands and suggests getting back to the topic of said dirty work.

 

Tanetomo says that based on past loop activity data, it’s almost time for the Summoners to take action. The commanding officers will be taking care of you, so Tanetomo suggests he and Yasuyori deal with Moritaka and Tadatomo. Yasuyori acknowledges it and goes along with the idea.

 

Tanetomo says Yasuyori should take Moritaka because based on affinities he can’t win against Yasuyori. Since he can’t handle Tadatomo on the same principles, Tanetomo casually suggests disposing of him himself. He also talks about Tadatomo being a halfwit who never managed to get any sort of revenge for his master, so he judges him to have never been an enemy to them. Narration says he gives Yasuyori a pure, bewitching smile as he says so.

 

For a change in subject, Tanetomo says it’s about time for Police Chief Daikoku to bring in the next set of forces from Shinjuku. Having military forces is all well and good, but can they actually be brought up to snuff? He asks Yasuyori to handle their training.

 

Scene shifts over to the Shinjuku Ward police station. Tajikarao tries to ask Daikoku for an explanation and realizes he can’t move. Daikoku says he and his dorm mates doesn’t need to be so on guard and comments on Tajikarao being weak to no-holds-barred parties and festive occasions. But it’ll be okay, because he has arrangements for their replacements.

 

Daikoku raises his hand, and Shadows start appearing from the police officers the game says are kneeling. Said Shadows bow down to Daikoku as if to swear loyalty, and Tajikarao is shocked to see these Shadows appear. Daikoku says they’ll be working in the officers’ places in the name of both the Warmongers and the World Representative Mahakala, the Great Darkness.

 

Elsewhere Hougen is flying around in the sky as he sighs sadly about how much of a novice Tajikarao is to have fallen for what’s happened. He does comment on the enemies moving fast and needing to get ready himself, but he then reacts in shock to seeing something.

 

Scene shifts again to the front of Shinjuku’s police department, and R-19 reports to Shirou that he’s reached the location with you. Shirou and R-19 have somehow set things up so that Shirou can see through R-19’s eyes, which he thanks him for. Claude is also patched in I think and he asks if you’re ready to start. You protest vehemently and ask why R-19 is with you.

 

R-19 answers that he was made to investigate the danger zones in Tokyo, and since he believes that going with you on this idea is conducive to that order, he’s decided to come along. Claude asks why you’re hesitating, so you start to protest about how this is a crime and that you’re against hurting innocent police officers.

 

Claude says he understands and says you don’t need to worry about that. When you ask why, he informs you that all the officers have been replaced with fakes at some point in the past. You react with shock to this, so Solomon pops up to tell you that Claude is right. The officers around are all memories of somebody like you’ve fought before in Kabukicho and elsewhere, meaning they’re all Shadows. He knows since he’s also composed entirely of memories.

 

You ask what happened to the original officers, so Claude reminds you of the time you fought the Warmongers in Kamata and asks if you remember what they did and said. You answer that they said they ruled by making people remember the past loops.

 

Claude says they were memories where people killed and were killed by their neighbors, so what would happen if people were to remember that? In such a case, there should be many who feel they can’t live their normal lives anymore. If they joined their armies, good. If they couldn’t find some new place to live, they probably ended their lives. It’s questionable what happened to the officers, but Claude hopes they’re okay. Shirou is quiet at the subject.

 

You ask Claude about the possibility this happened to the other Berserkers. He doesn’t answer, and neither does Snow. As your conversation is going on, some prison bus or whatever stops in front of the police station. Officers then start rounding up students that are around and forcing them board the bus.

 

Wolf A protests being handcuffed for walking around and tries to punch an officer in the shoulder out of desperation. Said mob flickers as a Shadow to the wolf’s shock before forcing the students in without changing their expressions. The wolf then cries for help.

 

You decide to go help since you can’t leave them be. Claude decides to confirm one last time that you are on board with doing this, saying that it’s possible that you won’t be attacked if you don’t interfere. If you choose to sit things out, Claude believes it’s highly likely a new loop will occur. You’ll probably lose all memories of this loop, but you might get to this loop end without being endangered.

 

You say that you’ve decided that no more loops will be happening as you turn to Solomon. He agrees and asks that you leave things to him since you both have a new power. You then notice something happening, and Jacob walks up and asks the policemen to stop because what they’re doing is without love.

 

A mob tries to nab him, but Jacob easily sidesteps the attempt. They start trying to attack him for resisting them, and Jacob says he’ll fight them in a challenge to see who’s left standing. He immediately launches two of them into the air, and the mobs then disappear. You wonder who Jacob is, and Claude seems to recognize him. You decide to jump in to help, which leads into the episode battle.

 

Chapter 10 Episode 1: Inside Wall 1

We begin by being escorted to some prison cell, and a title card pops up briefly to state that Chapter 10 is the Warmongers Prelude. The title of it is The Frontline of Lingering Smoke. But back to our scheduled story, some rando giant notes that you’ve been thrown in as the new guy and ask you your name. You can either tell him or glare silently.

 

Some other doofy looking giants talk to you next and go for the next customary question people ask of prisoners: what are you in for? You then start to think about what has happened up to this point.

 

Flashback jumps back to some other day as Triton and Jinn start up a lesson and tell everyone to sit down so they can talk about the long break coming up. Some girl in class is confused Mononobe isn’t here to do that, some wolf asks why Jinn and Triton are doing it, and some guy mentions not seeing Mononobe lately and asking what happened to him.

 

Triton claims that Mononobe is taking a leave of absence, so he and Jinn will be taking care of things until he comes back. You react silently as the class starts talking about it, and sometime after class you go to talk with Jinn and Triton. They ask what’s wrong, so you ask if Mononobe really is on vacation and if anything happened to him.

 

Jinn lets slip that he doesn’t know and asks if you do, but Triton cuts him off from saying too much. Triton then starts diplomatically staying that there’s nothing he can tell you or the other students, but he tells you not to worry. He believes that Mononobe will come back to your classroom and teach again. Jinn seems worried, and Triton says you should go on as usual as the two of them leave.

 

After they go, you call out to Solomon as you hold up your ring. He pops up to answer, and the game makes a note that he’s doing so not through the App, but through your ring. You ask what he thinks of what Triton said, ask if he found anything on his side since you didn’t, or ask if Mononobe really isn’t at school.

 

Solomon tells you that by all appearances, Mononobe isn’t anywhere near the school, then cries about him running off and leaving him alone as he calls him Father. You question this term of address, ask if he was always connected to Mononobe, or ask how much he knew.

 

Solomon gets nervous as he tries to say it wasn’t like he kept quiet because he liked it. He does tell you it was Mononobe who introduced you two together since Mononobe told him to greet you when you appeared in Chuo Park that day. He insists Mononobe isn’t a bad person because he’s seen him help so many people while hanging around him, then cries and begs you to believe him.

 

You tell him you understand, and that you don’t know what would have happened to you if he didn’t show up. You then wonder why Jinn and Triton aren’t talking, say you’ll need to have a discussion, and get ready to go looking for Mononobe. Solomon answers that he’ll do his best. Having said that, you are at a loss for leads so you ask Solomon how he got in contact with him up until now.

 

Solomon tells you that thanks to the ring he points out you’re wearing, he knew where Mononobe was all the time until recently. You comment on finding it in the old schoolhouse when you reunited with Solomon, and he tells you it Mononobe originally came to be in possession of it. He doesn’t understand why you have it though.

 

You ask about Solomon wearing another ring like it on his horn, so he says it’s the same thing you have. You have the ring in the physical world while he says he has something like a shadow of it in his world. The two are part of a set, which is how he knows where the other one is at any time. You either nod and say you don’t really get it, say you do at least get that the two are connected, or ask about Shadows.

 

In any case Solomon says that since Mononobe doesn’t have it anymore, he doesn’t know where he is. He worries as he wonders why Mononobe left without saying anything. You shrug about the lack of clues and figure you’ll need to ask for eyewitnesses, but you also mention having problems aside from all this.

 

Solomon hears your phone ping and tells you there’s a message from the App for you. You say it’s from Shirou, so you say it’s time to go to the safe house and talk about the problems at hand.

 

Scene shifts over to the guild house as Shirou greets you. You greet him back and ask where everyone else is, so he tells you everyone went off to support the other guilds in Ikebukuro, Aoyama, and Roppongi. Kengo and Moritaka are specifically noted to be at Ikebukuro. All that’s left is you, him, and one other person.

 

That last person is R-19, and his first words to you are to say you are 99.8% likely to be really you. You greet him and ask how he is and if he’s gotten used to the guild. He affirms it and says he’s being treated politely. His self-repair functions are working right at the moment, so he’s good. Shirou notes that he was a mess when he first came over, but now that he is here he’s been a huge help.

 

You ask about R-19 being introduced to you guys by the Outlaws or by Tsukuyomi and Suzuka. He starts talking about being summoned from Utopia to scout out the danger zones and disputed areas in this time axis. He was however restricted by a certain influence, which led to his confinement and inability to fulfill his job.

 

You express some shock at his mention of confinement, and R-19 adds that thanks to someone’s guidance, he was able to escape so he could look for refuge in Kabukicho. Shirou finishes by saying it was Tsukuyomi and the others who then sent him to us.

 

You remark on the Outlaws just letting R-19 go and how it doesn’t sit well with you. Shirou talks about how the Outlaws have a policy of taking in anyone with nowhere else to go despite their isolationism. Normally they would take him in, but Shirou trails off on that. He then says that if you look at just the results, the timing for R-19 to go with you guys was a last minute thing.

 

You ask Shirou to explain and wonder if something happened in Kabukicho. Shirou says the Berserkers have a suggestion they can give over remote comms, then he asks R-19 to act as a projector like he usually does. He affirms, then sets up the link.

 

A projection of Claude and Snow appears from some gadget R-19 has in his arms, which you note is working and convenient of him. The Analyst kicks in for exposition time as Shirou says R-19 also has a generator and the ability to communicate through the App in his body. He can be helpful with a lot of things, and Shirou says he’s happy R-19 is around and on your side. R-19 thanks him and is glad to help.

 

Claude says it’s time to begin the meeting and asks you to not mind that he won’t tell you where he currently is. You’re glad that he’s okay and agree to start the meeting, then ask if Shirou is ready. Shirou greets the Berserkers, and Claude begins by reporting on the Berserkers’ current status. Since the past few days, some guild has been attacking them, so they’ve been hiding somewhere in the Ikebukuro underground labyrinth. They’ve been unable to contact the rankers.

 

Shirou says the Missionaries, Tycoons, and other guilds are being put under increasing pressure. Snow adds that their chain of command is breaking, and every defeat is a crushing blow. Shirou says there’s a bit of information that should be shared about that, then reports that the police have raided all the stores and safe houses the Outlaws had in their Portals. Many of their guild members have been captured, though some have gone into hiding.

 

Claude nods as he processes that, then asks if it’s the same for the others. You express shock at the police raids, and Shirou confirms it’s happened to other guilds too. The Missionaries parent organization volunteer NPO and all the Tycoons businesses have also been seized at the same time by the police and prosecutors. People have been arrested and detained under false pretenses.

 

Snow figures that any search requests for missing guild members won’t be taken as he asks Shirou to confirm. Shirou does so and takes the question to mean the Berserkers are in a similar state. The way things look, they’ll be unable to deal with guild battles or move their organizations.

 

Claude decides to be direct and tells you that no guild aside from the Summoners is functional anymore. You ask why that is or wonder if they’re deliberately leaving you guys be. Shirou mentions that it’s unsettling how no one has attacked your guild Portals. But it’s because of that that Kengo and the others can go lend help. Shirou thinks that around now though, the police and prosecutors will quickly lead by hand the places Kengo and the others are headed to.

 

Shirou then talks about how you guys have talked about it before, but now you guys know they aren’t coming to attack. He thought at first it was to lull you guys with a false sense of security, but now he just has to say it. Claude then brings up that they’ve mentioned that you are the trophy for the battle in Tokyo. In which case there’s some reason they won’t interfere with you, but Claude also says there must be a gap to break through. If they won’t hit you somewhere, why not take advantage of that fact?

 

You then bring up not knowing where these people even are. Claude concedes that the enemies have hidden themselves while driving out the other guilds. Michael and Amaterasu have hidden their Portals, so you are unable to attack them. Claude however says that all only applies up until a while ago. You ask what he means before realizing he’s talking about what happened in Ota Ward.

 

Shirou brings up Tiger Man and his military wrestler flunkies, and Claude mentions the Warmongers. Claude also names Tiger Man as the attackers’ leader and says they talked about the World Representative Tezcatlipoca, then asks if that’s right. You nod, say it was an impressive introduction, or say it feels like a trap.

 

Claude says the Warmongers definitely exist, though they are hiding where their central figures are. Still, knowing their names and faces is enough to find weak points since no one can hide all traces of themselves in a city this big. Shirou mentions having lots of information being compared from anti-crime camera footage and the regular and dark net. Through all that, they’ve now found a lead on them. You ask how that all happened with so much information out there, then wonder if Shirou did something.

 

Shirou says R-19 did it all and says he’s so reliable. R-19 confirms it and says he can handle all your investigations since his systems on it are his specialty. You call him amazing or cool. Anyways, Snow says that because of all that, you guys now know where Tezcatlipoca is. Claude shouts that they’re in Nerima Ward.

 

You think on Nerima and ask about it being the westernmost Ward of Tokyo, then ask if anything is there. Snow asks if you know there used to be a Transient detention facility over there. It’s been remodeled mercilessly, and all promising fighters from other guilds are imprisoned there. Claude adds that those people are forcibly transferred schools and re-educated as soldiers since it’s a education facility now. It’s also called Academy Army Jail or something.

 

You question how this can be happening with the prisoners. R-19 is quiet, and Shirou agrees but says it’s true after he looked into it. He then asks if you know what kind of job field gives the power to arrest people. Those would be prosecutors, the police, and special judiciary agents. Which means that those are the people who are raiding Ikebukuro, Aoyama, and Roppongi.

 

Shirou says he was surprised when he heard about this from Claude since he’s savvy with the political and business sector, but he was able to corroborate it when he looked himself. And of course, most of Tokyo’s populace is unaware of all this. A lot of old police and prosecution departments have been closed down and replaced with new ones. The members of those new groups have a special connection, and you react with disbelief at what he’s getting at.

 

Claude spells out that the legislation, judiciary, and administration branches of Tokyo have all been taken over the Warmongers and the other big guilds. Snow adds that this includes the military, police, and terrorist organizations. As such, the three guilds each control a third of all of Tokyo. They are taking the Berserkers’ rankers and taking them to the Academy prison and converting them to their own soldiers.

 

You express shock that the police are in on it, say you’ll never stand for it, or say it’s not just them. Snow says there were parts of the army and police that resisted, but they were moved to powerless positions and made to disappear. Claude says it’s a predictable outcome since they have memories of past loops to figure out what people will do and how to stop them.

 

Shirou says R-19 was caught in similar circumstances but managed to escape. He confirms it and says someone helped him with it. You wonder if it’s the same for the Berserkers and Outlaws, or you can ask about him mentioning that certain someone who helped.

 

Snow says he’s sending some visual information he got about people witnessed near police stations in areas thought to have less enemy influence. In all likelihood, these people are probably already captured and held somewhere.

 

R-19 shows Bathym, Pollux, Andvari, Gyoubu, Ibaraki, and Tetsugyuu. You wonder if Suzuka and Tetsuya are okay as you see the Outlaws, and the game skips over showing you the other students and teachers you’ve seen at Ikebukuro’s underground, Kabukicho, and Shinjuku Academy. Snow then informs you of one last picture, and this one is a silhouette of Mononobe.

 

Shirou reacts with shock at the image, and you say the lighting makes the face hard to see, but you think it’s him and are shocked he’s been caught up in this. R-19 is quiet, and Claude says the situation is the worst, and that you guys are in a corner.

 

He does however say you guys have a joker to turn things around. No matter how crazy it gets, it’s something you know the enemies can’t react to. Claude suggests that you guys might as well go up to them and sock them in their smug face then. You are shocked by what Claude is getting at, and the episode ends as Claude says he’s saying you should attack the police station.