Let's Play Super Touhou Wars 2

[prof]

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Chapter 31: Cherry Blossom Barrier Above the Clouds, Second Part

Each character gets a partial restore of HP and MP from the end of the previous stage. I was careful enough with my resources that it's almost a non-issue, but I'm still swapping Aya out for someone else, as her MP got really low.



The black and white witch and her fellow youkai...
You're definitely the human group that Zenki reported.

There's also the humans I fought after you left, Ran!

Who the heck is this? She seems to know us...

We fought them a while back. That's a bakeneko named Chen, and...

The one next to her is Ran, a shikigami.

Oho, one of the conspirators?

Okay, what do you want? We're in the middle of something here.

Nice to see you again, Hakurei Shrine Maiden. I have business with you.

Yukari Yakumo's familiar has business with us...?

Yes, I've been searching for that magician.
I gather that she spent some time in the underground just recently.

!

That's true, although I'm impressed that you heard about this so quickly.

Did you come here to aprehend us?

That depends. I can't interfere directly with the business of underground youkai.

Well, it's a little late anyway.

Marisa was captured for a while!

What...?!

Calm down, she got out.

To tell the truth, they seemed a bit disorganized down there.

Yukari is a touch worried about that weakening of the barrier between here and the underground.
It's no light matter if people can pass through it without her knowing.

I can understand that.

Those were the ones who went underground. The rest of us didn't have anything to do with it.

Eeeeh?! Shut up and stick with us!

Sorry, but we're in the middle of resolving an incident, and can't stop for you.
I understand your position, but could you let us be on our way?

Hm, I'm not sure how much I can trust you on this matter.
After all, you were picking on Chen earlier, weren't you?

I'd say she was picking on us about as much.

We're just one step away from the netherworld...

This is no time for complaints. We'll just do this the hard way!

Well, then, Chen, why don't we take them on together?
The shrine maiden that Yukari's got her eye on... I'll see exactly what she's made of.

I'll do my best!



Victory Conditions
Ran defeated.

Defeat Conditions
All allies defeated.

Bonus Condition
Ran's first spell card activated within 3 turns.



Got a flock of birds in the rear, and Ran's team in front. I'm just going to charge, and let the birds (who include Zenki and Goki) chase me if they really want to.



Each of the three fairies has a new command they can use as long as their allies are at arm's reach - Combine! I'll be using it on the first turn of every map.



Sanae's Faith and everyone's Power has been preserved from the last map. Time to go nuts!





These guys pose no threat whatsoever!







Hoo boy, the same can NOT be said about Ran.



A lucky shot! Marisa only had a 50% hit chance there.



I don't care how last time went, I'm not gonna lose!

Where does that optimism come from?

I'm more powerful when Ran is nearby.
So watch out this time! I'm a totally new shikigami now!

Which part of you is new, then?

That beast youkai is the shikigami of the kitsune behind her. Don't think of her as a mere bakeneko.

Shikigami?

A Shikigami is a special kind of familiar that protects and serves its master's commands.
The master has a pipeline of power connected to the shikigami, so they can become very powerful.

So she's got part of that fox's power? Bad luck.

That is not the only power of shikigami.
Having faith in our masters, engraving the power of their orders into out hearts... that is what gives us power.

So it's the power of the heart? Not bad at all.

That's right! Ran is strong, and she's nice to me...
Someday, I'll be an ultra-powerful shikigami like Ran!

Haha, sounds like a grade schooler's essay on what they want to be when they grow up.

I think it's a splendid thing to have an infallible master you can rely on.

You would say that, wouldn't you.

...



Last of the frontside mooks defeated! And it's only turn 2.





Chen's here, too! But at one lifebar, she's not all that threatening. I'll take her out soon enough, but I need to make sure I can get Ran down a lifebar before the time limit runs out.



Turn 3, and I'm almost there!

FAIRIES GO













FUCK YEAH



FUCK NO



Okay, that wasn't quite how I was expecting that exchange to go.



There!



All right, we beat her!

She IS a beast youkai, you know. They're known for being tough as nails.

[ BGM - Cyano Fantasia ~ A Maiden's Illusionary Funeral ]

Hmhm, I'm offended that you'd put me on the level of a wild beast.
I'm a nine-tails, in a completely different league from your usual underfoot youkai.

A nine-tailed fox... such youkai are spoken of even on the continent.

Their physical power and intelligence are both unmatched. Not the kind of youkai you want to make an enemy of.

You seem well-informed. Why not give up now?
We can talk in great detail until Yukari awakens.

Awakens...? Your master must be a pretty avid daydreamer.

Yukari sleeps through every winter. She isn't meeting with anyone.

She's asleep? Even with Gensokyo in this state...

There's no point in depending on her.
She disappears when you want to see her, and shows up when you don't.

But surely she's aware of this incident by now. Why hasn't she taken any action?

This is some fine investigation, but now really isn't the right time for it.

Yes, The one standing before you is the servant of Yakumo, Ran Yakumo...
The power of the greatest bond, and the power of the highest of beast youkai. Look well upon them both!



Ultimate Buddhist



Oh shit.

RUN



This is a good spot. Let's tear half of you down.







WHY CAN SHE DO IT AFTER MOVING

Okay, so the enemy has a post-movement MAP attack. I've had worse, albeit not often.



Some of us can't reach Ran for now, so it's time for them to deal with Chen...





And done!



Auu, I lost again...

Chen! Are you alright?

Forgive me, Ran. I said I was brand new, but...

No, Chen, you did well. Go ahead and rest for a while.
Lay low until I come back for you.

All right...



...I suppose I should congratulate you.

Hey, she's the one who picked a fight with us.

Everything has its limits. Chen has received too much pain.
Don't think you'll easily be able to pay for the pain you caused her.



As if the situation wasn't dire enough, Ran throws down a pile of spirit commands! Among them is Strike, meaning that next time she uses that MAP attack, it's going to hit everyone it touches. Also, the birds are getting closer!



...That fox is fairly smart, but she loses her head when it comes to that underling.

I guess a nine-tailed fox's weak point is a two-tailed cat.



I don't know if I'll be able to recover if I get a full hit from that spell card again, so it's time to put EVERYTHING into taking her down this turn!



To make matters worse, she has a flat chance to double-image out of the way of any attack!



Even against Strike, Alert can successfully dodge!



EVERYTHING.

With Valor, Stardust Reverie can break 6000 damage.



Almost theeeeere.....!



BOAT TO THE HEAD



Hm, if this is all you've got, I can relax.

It stands to reason that she's be this dangerous, if even her familiar was that strong...

Reimu, if you know her, isn't there something you can say to dissuade her?

Don't ask the impossible! It's not like we've ever really talked...

If this keeps up, who knows when we'll be able to reach the netherworld.

Maybe you should have gone ahead without us.

What are you saying?!

The whole matter with the underground is just our problem.
So we'll stay here. You go on ahead.

Hina, are you serious...?

Hm, it isn't my intent to interfere with the resolution of this incident.
Very well. Those who have no business with me may go as they please.

Huh?! We can just leave?

Of course. My business is with that magician alone.
I take no pleasure in punishing the rest of you.

I guess that doesn't have anything to do with Reimu, but...

What will you do? Please, make your decision quickly.

...
No, there's no way we'd go along with this!

Is that so?

Even though they fought against the Moriya Shrine before, they accepted us as their friends afterwards. It's our turn to repay that kindness!

I figured Kochiya would say something like that.
Of course, we never had any intention of doing otherwise. Isn't that right?

...Well, if we ran away, I'd lose all sorts of photo opportunities! Let's play along.

Kochiya, and the tengu, too...!

What they said. As a shrine maiden, I can't just ignore a youkai like you.

I see... such a shame.
Although Yukari doesn't hate that about you.

Our decision is final. We're ready to continue fighting!

Very well. Next is the truer power of nine tails...
If you can surpass this power, I'll acknowledge you.



Kokkuri's Contract



Two overlapping spell fields at once! One increases all of Ran's stats by 20, and one reduces our evasion chance by 15%.





Oh boy.











Holy fuck.



Both my healers are working overtime to combat this menace!

The birds are here but I don't even give a fuck!



The fairies use our last bomb for the stage to reduce Ran's stats!



FIGHT ON



EXPERIENCE PAIN



Now we mean business!

Sanae spends 100% of her SP for a single spirit command: Miracle, at a staggering cost of 90 SP, which gives her basically every positive status under the sun, in addition to boosting her Faith by 20%.

TIME TO DEAL SOME DIVINE PUNISHMENT













FUCK YEAH



Mokou brings her down into visible HP. Max HP for this card is 28,000!



With her critical SP, Shou had to choose between a reliable offense and a reliable defense for this attack. I went with offense.



And paid the price.





HOLY SHIT SHE SURVIVED



Hold the fuck still, damn it!





One moooore!



[ BGM - Sealing Charm, Light of Gratitude ~ Witching Dream ]









GAME.



I see... I was just boasting after all.

We... We did it... We were able to stop her!

Now, will you let us pass? We really must get to resolving this incident.

Sorry about the underground! We'll sort it out once this is all over.

...You conveyed your resolve in that battle. I'll acknowledge it for now.
However, even I can't disobey Yukari's orders.

Oh, come on!

If we don't hurry, the culprit might leave the netherworld!

Hmm, the culprit is in the netherworld?

Thats right! Can't you see the cherry petals leaking through that door?

The reason spring won't come to Gensokyo is that someone beyond that door is stealing it.

Unless I'm mistaken, that person is still in charge of the netherworld...
You say it's a culprit, but who's doing this, and for what purpose?

We don't know. That's why we're searching.

We heard something about a flower viewing. Must be some amazing cherry blossoms.

Speaking of which, last summer, wasn't Youmu looking for "a way to make an unblooming flower bloom"?

...!!

An unblooming flower... in the netherworld...?!

...? What's wrong?

Could it be something related to these cherry blossoms?
If so, maybe this incident is more dangerous than we had thought.

Could she... no, it couldn't be possible, right...?

Hey, what are you up to now?!



I'm stopping our battle. Things have gotten serious.
Of all the times for Yukari to be gone...!

What's going on? It looks like the kitsune left...

Well, this is no time to be hanging around pondering things.

Yeah. I can hardly believe it, but I know why the culprit is gathering the spring.
It's for the netherworld's own cherry tree of death, the Saigyou Ayakashi.

Saigyou Ayakashi...

...This is important. We need to talk for a moment.

Stage Clear

Turns taken: 5
Spirit Commands used: 30
Bombs used: 2
Bunch of birds: Never bothered with



So as it turns out, there's a powerful youkai cherry tree sealed in the netherworld, called the Saigyou Ayakashi.

Those who see it are charmed into falling into a fatal slumber beneath it. It's one of the most dangerous of all known youkai.



Sunny points out that this sounds like a great reason to not go to the netherworld, but it's okay! According to Komachi, its power is sealed.

This is exactly the problem, though - the gathering spring could be used to revive the Saigyou Ayakashi.



To think that Gensokyo's spring is being used for such a nefarious cause...

Into the netherworld! To be continued!


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