I revive Ms. Fairellen, who got up close and personal with the ground thanks to a Minion E.
“It’s just overkill at this point. I wish they’d show a little more mercy.”
“Ms. Ellen would’ve died even if they went easier on her. I say it’s her fault!”
“But it’s fun to always be on the verge of death!”
Resurrection brings players back with only a small amount of HP, but it’s faster than using an item, so it’s essential in situations like these. I’m so relieved that we found this spell before the event started. I fear we might have been defeated without it.
“I messed up, and I died for it. But who cares?!”
“What do you mean, ‘who cares’?! Do you have a screw loose?”
“That’s so mean!”
“C’mon, back on your feet.”
The Dark Young is moving again.
“It’s no use!” the twins cry in unison.
“There’s just so many enemies!”
When the Dark Young begins an attack, we have to stop focusing on the minions so that we can avoid being hit. The Dark Young’s attacks also wipe out lots of minions, so we’re quite fond of this strategy. That said, ever since the second minion summoning, we haven’t been able to wipe out all the minions in one round.
Unfortunately, it’s too difficult to attack the minions while avoiding the Dark Young’s hits. This boss fight is a battle of stamina, so there’s no need to overdo it and target the minions too. Anyone who gets greedy and dies trying to kill minions will have the wrath of the healers to deal with.
“Almost there. Almost there!”
“That was fast!”
“Another sphere attack awaits us, my lieges.”
“It’s too hard to aim for just the fanatics when there’s so many enemies around.”
“I’m sure the freaks will help us out.”
“Kill ’em, Mutt!”
“Heh! So my time has finally come? Just watch and learn!”
They’re passing the baton to Mr. Mutt? He seems very motivated despite being called a freak. His player name of “Vincent” actually sounds somewhat cool, but he’s been reduced to the sad nickname of “Mutt.”
“Mwah ha ha ha ha! You can’t stop me now! I’m coming in hot!”
We’re able to break the force field with ease thanks to so much practice. That gives Mr. Mutt an opportunity to charge in.
Actually, he’s doing something quite impressive—dodging the thin tentacle attacks from the Dark Young as he runs.
“Nice work, Mutt!”
“Ah, but…”
“Read the room. We don’t expect him to kill the boss or something.”
“What do you mean?!”
“Oh?!”
Now what’s this? A gauge has appeared with the text “Fist of Yog-Sothoth.” It’s filling up quite quickly. Perhaps it’s showing us with the UI what the Dark Young won’t telegraph directly.
“What the hell?! Something new happens when you get this far?! Ooof!”
“Mutt got knocked into the air!”
“I see. It doesn’t do that much damage, but the knockback is insane.”
“Would you even call that ‘knockback’?”
“It’s more like a home run.”
You have learned the special spell Fist of Yog-Sothoth.
What?! Let’s take a look at this.
Fist of Yog-Sothoth
Use an amount of MP at your discretion to strike one target with an invisible fist.
The more MP used, the more knockback distance and higher chance of fainting you inflict on your target.
Effects change depending on the target’s distance, size, and stance.
Once the event is over, we’ll have to test out what amounts of MP make the spell work the best.
“I got fainting level 5. There’s no time to get in a defensive stance, so I took a lot of damage when I landed!”
“The high-angle bow fire still hit the boss anyway, and your sense of humor isn’t on point yet. I give you zero points!”
“You’re too harsh a judge!”
“I guess I could praise you for not dying, at the very least.”
“But mutts never die.”
“Damn it!”
I’d actually like to thank Mr. Mutt, since we got a new spell out of it. Knockback spells are very powerful, even though the knockback dealt by this one depends on how much MP you use. I suppose it’s still hard to know for sure if we’ll actually use it very often.
The countdown until the Dark Young calms down suddenly freezes. It swings its thick tentacles down, but the ground never changes color. Instead, the tentacles stop before impact.
The Dark Young has cooled off. Choose your words carefully to weather the storm.
“Ugh!” everyone cries at once.
“Princess! We want our S clear, so you can take this one!”
“It’s likely that the fanatics will die if I do this part. Are you sure that’s all right?”
“But they’re already being sacrificed, and we’re supposed to stop them no matter what. I think it’s fine, right?”
“Yeah, I agree.”
“Actually, a lot of ’em have already ended up as sacrifices, haven’t they? There’s no point in keeping them alive now!”
“They tried to sacrifice kids. Show them no mercy!”
The Dark Young has retracted its large tentacles and is now wriggling them above its head. I suppose I’ll step forward now. I haven’t heard it do anything but cry out, but I’m sure Dark Young can speak, right?
“Are you feeling better now, Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath?”
“A comrade among the outsiders. Are you Nemeseia?”
It seems to work like telepathy. The Dark Young still has that nice, deep voice.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever met a member of your race before.”
“Indeed. But why does a comrade attempt to get in my way?”
“Our targets were the fools behind you, not you yourself. We’ve investigated their group and found them to be up to no good.”
“Is that so?”
Okay, I’ll keep the conversation going while also giving advice.
“The kids seem like the only thing that will change how we’re graded.”
“Yep. Can we get the Dark Young to bring them to us?”
The other players are right. I’d like to get the children under our possession, but it’s hard to act when I’m unsure of the Dark Young’s motivations.
“May I ask why you were attempting to summon Shub-Niggurath?”
“To return. We cannot return to our home without the help of others.”
That’s actually an incredibly simple reason. So that’s why they’ve been acting so intense? But if that’s really the Dark Young’s motivation, then we’ve essentially already won. After all, I have the Silver Key in my possession. Some of its use is restricted since we’re playing in an event map, but based on the conversation so far, I think there’s a good chance they’ll let me use the key to advance the event’s story.
Someone probably needs to maintain Scarlet Circle in order for it to stay active. In other words, not all of them can return home through it. That was why they attempted to summon their boss, Shub-Niggurath, so that they could all return together. Their only choice was to summon more Blessed of Shub-Niggurath through the circle and work together to summon Shub-Niggurath herself.
“They told us they would provide the blood needed for Scarlet Circle and assist our summoning ritual.”
“I see. I can help you all get home, so if possible, we’d like to take the children back and return them to their own homes as well. Does that sound acceptable?”
“You can take us home?”
“Yes, thanks to this.”
“The Silver Key!”
“If it fails, you’re welcome to sacrifice the robed men there to carry out your original plan.”
“Very well. Come forth.”
At the Dark Young’s orders, the Blessed of Shub-Niggurath bring the children out for the other players to collect.
There we go. What else might have an effect on our score, I wonder? The children are safe now, and the town wasn’t damaged. With my Silver Key, I don’t think enraging the Dark Young or Blessed is possible now that they have a way home. Oh, but then there were the fanatics’ initial motives too. What should we do about that?
No, perhaps it’s best not to say anything. I can bite my tongue, open up a gate, and let the Dark Young and Blessed take the fanatics back with them as worshippers. That will keep both us and the town safe. The children will go unharmed too. The Dark Young and Blessed receive some nice souvenirs to bring back to Shub-Niggurath, and the fanatics get their just deserts.
It’s the perfect plan, isn’t it? Even if the Silver Key doesn’t work, the fanatics will end up as sacrifices for Scarlet Circle. We’ll be able to walk away scot-free.
“Ugh! That smile on Sis’s face means trouble.”
“I can tell!”
“She’s smiling just like when someone challenges her to a fight. But that’s not the case here. Her dark side is coming out!”
“Rina.”
“…”
“The little sister clammed up!”
When I call my sister through the union, she crouches on the ground and buries her face in her knees. But thanks to my vision, I can still see anyone’s face should they turn it away from me. What a wonderful way to solve my problems.
Putting Rina aside, all the players probably want to see the Dark Young go home by this point. However, that gets in the way of my role-playing. Instead of my “afterlife” aspects, I could focus on being an outer one and ignore the wishes of the players.