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Chapter 5: The First Youkai Extermination
The 8th Generation Maiden of Are, Aya. Her memories and records are inherited from past generations. As well, she possesses the Power of Gumonji: the power to remember her past lives.
For those that live in fear of youkai, her birth was a source of hope.
For their sake, Aya thought to embark on a mission of youkai extermination.
Upon hearing news of this youkai subjugation squad, Yukari rushed to the scene.
Yukari thought that the Maiden of Are might just become a critical component of her plans...
――人里はずれの洞穴付近
--Cave on the outskirts of a village
Hey Yukari. We had stuff to do in this village, right?
So why'd we come all the way out here?
They had so much yummy looking food, too.
It doesn't seem like there'll be anything appetizing out here.
MGMG
You say that, but you've still managed to find some fruit...
Is something the matter?
No, nevermind.
Lady Yukari, if I may, where exactly are we heading?
It would appear we're about to enter a large cavern of sorts...
And it feels like there's... something peculiar, about that cave.
Well noted, Byakuren. Your intuition is on point.
This cave is a hole straight to the underworld.
Despite its plain appearance, it contains a path to a world completely unlike the surface.
The underworld, huh...
Of course, youkai living underground travel through here.
Lately, it seems the number of youkai meddling with the human villagers has been increasing.
Can I ask how exactly that ties in to our objectives here?
You aint about to say we're gunna exterminate 'em, or protect the humans, are you?
Got it in one.
Seriously?
Um...?
Our objective this time, is the Power of Gumoji, said to retain memories. It is possessed by the "Maiden of Are".
For those that fear youkai, she is a being of both great hope, and great expectations.
However, that goes for more than just humans. Her power, and indeed her life, are are of critical importance to us.
Hehe. You mean us specifically, right?
Quite. The 8th Generation Maiden of Are, Hieda no Aya.
It seems she's ventured into this cave, for the purpose of youkai extermination.
To further our goals, we'll be supporting her here.
We're gunna exterminate youkai together with a freakin' human!?
Um...
Yes. That is exactly right.
...
...
That said, there's no need to completely wipe them out.
Our goal is to support and guard the Maiden of Are. Protecting her is all I ask of you.
For the time being, I'm afraid the two of you will just need to accept it.
Let's change the subject. Suika, from what I hear, there are quite a few talented youkai living underground.
Maybe one of them will make for a fine chance to test your strength?
Woah, strong dudes!?
Izzat right... In that case, this might be kinda fun!
Is that so...
Perhaps I, too, will have something to look forward to.
Youki's lines here only play if he's still alive.
Are we all agreed? Then let us proceed.
Just make sure not to mistake your means and our ends.
Awright!
Mm, by your will...
A human... The Maiden of Are...
There's some lines here in the script from Byakuren, but they've been commented out. I'll include them for posterity, sans portraits.
Byakuren: The underworld sees many youkai visiting from the surface, I hear.
Byakuren(Worried): Nue, Ichirin, Murasa. I wonder, are the three of you here, as well...?
I know it's connected to the underworld, but this really is deep, huh. Wonder how far it goes.
It is WAY too gloomy here. Stay here too long and you'll wind up like Lunasa.
Would you prefer I was as peppy as you are?
Uh, no, I think you're fine just the way you are...
I believe our destination is just up ahead.
Up in the top left...
We finally cornered them.
Your days of tormenting humans are finally over!
I didn't expect you to come this far.
However, your pursuit ends here. You are already trapped.
What!?
You may reveal yourselves.
In the center.
On the left.
Top middle.
Koishi also pops in here next to Satori.
I-impossible! We're completely surrounded!
I bear no grudge with you or your people.
However, for those that step into our sanctuary, there can be no mercy. Please, prepare yourselves.
No... We need to escape!
They run to the right.
They're fleeing. A prudent decision.
You've avoided my grasp. But can you avoid the others?
Everyone! Let 'em have it!
Do you really think we'll just let you go after you've torn our place up?
You fancy surface dwellers, with all your light. Makes me so envious...
The grudges. The hatred. It's all overflowing.
Nobody can controll it now...
Hehe... Ahahaha...
Ngh... We have to escape, somehow!
They keep running to the right.
Did you think we'd make it that easy for you?
Ahh! Dear ancestors, please protect me...
They run to the top right corner.
Oh my. Things are pretty lively down here.
Everyone's all hopped up and rearin' to go.
I bet one of em'll be down for some wrestling.
If you need to fight, I don't mind. So long as we protect the Maiden of Are.
Understood!
Roger that~
First, we must make contact with Hieda no Aya, and demonstrate we mean her no harm.
Yukari, I'll help too.
Very well. One of us should talk to the Maiden of Are.
And with that, we're in to the chapter. But first, we have some new characters to look at.
And hey, here's a treat: it turns out the method I've been using to extract text from this game (searching text strings in cheat engine) has also let me extract accurate growth rates for every character in the game. So from now on, I'll be including growths in (parentheses) in front of the bases. I'll also include all of our current characters' stats in a bonus update after this.
Spoilers: holy shit Yukari is even worse than I thought lmao
Lunasa Prismriver
Poltergeist Violinist
HP: (50)25
STR: (35)8
MAG: (15)1
SKL: (40)11
SPD: (30)7
LUK: (30)3
DEF: (25)10
RES: (25)4
The oldest ghost sister. Her stats start pretty reasonable, but her growths are all in the average-to-bad range. Somewhat distressingly, she only has 4 Move. She also uses swords, basically the worst weapon type. She'd be pretty hopeless, if she didn't have access to the Prismriver Trinity. With it, she's actually pretty strong, and the Ghost skill combines with her naturally high Defense to make her very durable.
Like seriously though, Trinities get so strong later on that her weak growths sort of don't matter.
Merlin Prismriver
Poltergeist Trumpeter
HP: (55)26
STR: (50)12
MAG: (15)3
SKL: (40)8
SPD: (20)10
LUK: (40)9
DEF: (15)9
RES: (15)5
The middle sister, emphasizing Strength. Her Speed growth is low, but her base is high, and she gets Trinity bonuses, so it's good enough. Her base Skill is a liiittle shaky for Axes, but it usually turns out fine. She'll be the sister doing most of the fighting for a while.
Lyrica Prismriver
Poltergeist Keyboardist
HP: (50)22
STR: (45)8
MAG: (35)2
SKL: (50)10
SPD: (45)9
LUK: (30)2
DEF: (35)8
RES: (40)4
The youngest of the ghost sisters. She has the worst bases (albeit not by much) in return for the best overall growths. Almost like some kind of... Est-like character, or something... Most importantly, she has 5 Move to her sisters' 4, so she's the one doing the moving.
She also has the only non-Ghost skill at base, Bandwagon. While's she not in front, it gives her a chance to follow up an attack with one of her own. I have no idea if it uses her weapons/stats/etc or how it works, but in short, it means Lunasa or Merlin will sometimes do extra damage for free. Can't complain.
The Prismrivers and a duo of Yukari/Byakuren will take care of the southern path. Mostly because they started closest and I can't re-arrange starting positions yet.
We can also see Yukari gap-ing through a wall here, which is fun.
Kogasa greets the closest enemies up north.
Ran finished that enemy off, and everyone else moved up to join them.
Aya's entourage gets to act before the enemies do, which is appreciated.
She and her 3 escorts are booking it down south.
The 2 soldiers on the peripharies, however, are a bit more daring.
Not very smart, but certainly daring.
The poor fool furthest south nearly gets offed by a fairy.
But alas, the northern one dies first.
Parsee's group is set to follow Aya. Hard to avoid getting sandwhiched by her.
At the start of turn 2:
You came down here, acting like you owned the place...
What kind of hosts would we be, if we didn't you show you how terrifying we can be?
Have a taste of our abominable power!
Poison gas.
I don't feel like giving these mooks portraits, so I'm just writing out their names.
Monk A "Ugh... Wh-what is this?"
Monk A "Cough, cough... P-poison!?"
Hehe, they've left their guards wide open.
Best watch your heads♪
Monk B "Huh? What was that?"
I somehow failed to capture a screenshot of this, but she gets bonked on the head.
Monk B "Gah!!"
I'm done being patient.
Let's grow envious of everything together!
Monk C "Huh? There's a green light, flickering..."
Monk C "Hah... hahahahaha..."
Huh? E-everyone, what's the matter?
Please, get a hold of yourselves!
Monk A "Cough, cough... the antidote I brought, isn't working...!"
Monk A "Someone, help me...!"
Monk B "..."
Monk C "I'm jealous... I'm so jealous of talented people..."
What is this!? O-oh, I know! I should consult the Gensokyo Chronicles!
...I see. An earth spider, a tsurube-otoshi, and the power of hashihime.
Monk A "L-Lady Aya, please, save me!"
H-hold on a second. I'll do something!
Um, uh... Abnormalities borne from the power of youkai.
Uhuh, I see. Then, this restorative charm should work! Take this!
Heals.
Monk A "Cough, cough... Ah, thank you..."
Monk A "My body's going back to normal!"
Monk B "Mmm...?"
Monk B "Wha!? L-lady Aya, are you safe!?"
Monk B "Just now, I think something hit my head!"
Monk C "Why... Why is she always the one..."
Monk C "..."
Monk C "Uh, what was I talking about?"
It worked! Just as the Gensokyo Chronicles described!
The memories and records of my ancestors were correct!
Monk A "Lady Aya!"
Monk B "What even happened? Lady Aya, did you make yet another miracle for us!?"
Monk C "So that's it. Ahh, Lady Aya, you really are our savior!"
Everyone! So long as we have the Gensokyo Chronicles, we needn't fear the power of youkai!
We're going to get out of this, together!
Monk A "Yeah!"
Monk B "Praise be to our Maiden of Are!"
Monk C "Praise be to the Gensokyo Chronicles!"
Ahh, dear ancestors! Thank you! Thank you so much!
I am so grateful to have had such wonderful ancestors!
Monks "Praise be! Praise be to the Maiden of Are! Praise beeeeee!"
And then we get a tutorial prompt. I think that melodramatic scene was more than enough of an explanation on status effects already.
Sorry Dai-chan!
Maybe I'll translate one of these...
Some day...
The Prismrivers move up for their first fight.
Despite how down I might have sounded on Lunasa, she's very strong for this point in the game.
This fairy didn't stand a chance.
Oh yeah, here's what Lunasa's stats look like in a Trinity. The other two are getting similar, though slightly different bonuses. Pretty nice!
Kogasa finishes off the other fairy that was close to us and gets this level. HP, Strength, Skill, Speed, Luck, and Resistance. An excellent level.
The 3 Fairies move up to weaken this lance youkai.
Sunny gets a Skill, Speed, Luck, and Res level out of it. I'd like more Magic, but as our thief, I can't complain about Speed levels.
Suika finishes her off and gets HP, Luck, and Defense. Not the best, but every point counts.
Seriously, every points counts.
Everyone else moves up.
I actually could've had Shrine Maiden heal that monk, but there's no real point. I don't think there's any reward for keeping anyone but Aya alive.
Said monk promptly breaks herself on a fairy's face.
A youkai walks up, gets punked, and gives Shrine Maiden some Magic and Resistance.
Fun fact, Shrine Maiden has a 99% growth in Luck, but this game has (completely invisible) stat caps, so she can't get more Luck until promotion.
This was a little scary! Apparently this wolf youkai had a Ghost-Slaying Axe. Luckily they dodged it.
As time goes on, we'll see more and more random spatterings of effective weaponry in the enemy forces. Keeps you on your toes, if nothing else.
17x2 is really impressive this early on.
Oh yeah, Aya's right there. Shrine Maiden moves up to talk to her.
Are you Hieda no Aya?
You're... human? Uh, I don't remember bringing someone like you with me...
Short answer, we're here to rescue you. You're an important person for us.
Um...?
I uh, don't really follow, but I guess you've got your reasons.
Understood. We'll get through this together, somehow!
Right, let's go!
And like that, we've got ourselves an Aya. Maybe not the Aya we wanted, but it's the Aya we get.
Before we take a look at her stats, here's the version of the cutscene that plays if you talk to her with Yukari:
The 8th Maiden of Are, Hieda no Aya, yes?
Wha!? How'd you sneak up on me like that!?
Be at ease. I bear you no harm.
Rather, I've come to help you.
Help?
Um, why? Aren't you... a youkai?
Whether you trust me or not is up to you. Let's just say that "We need you", and leave it at that.
I'm not sure I follow... but I'll put that aside for now.
For now, let's get through this somehow!
I'm glad you're so sensible
Let's go!
HP: (45)17
STR: (15)3
MAG: (50)0
SKL: (60)4
SPD: (60)4
LUK: (45)5
DEF: (20)2
RES: (35)3
A sword-and-staff user. She's basically just Shrine Maiden, but worse. That's a fair knock against her, but then again, Shrine Maiden's kinda OP, so not really. If her Strength growth cooperates then you can maybe use her for attacking, but otherwise she's a perfectly serviceable healer. If nothing else, that Speed growth will give some fat Pair Up bonuses for her partner. Eventually.
She comes with a a basic Heal, a Restore to cure status effects, a Vulnerary, and that bottom thing is a Book of Are, which permanently increases a unit's Skill by 2. She has Miracle, which gives her a chance of dodging a fatal blow. As usual, I have no idea how it works, but ideally she shouldn't be in that much danger in the first place.
As an aside, she gets a bunch of skills on promotion that make her even more of a backline unit.
Aya's not out of hot water yet, so Suika's body blocking up north. Parsee is still coming down after her.
That's Kisume off to the left. As demonstrated in the earlier cutscene, she has a chance of knocking people unconscious, effectively paralyzing them for a few turns. Annoyingly, even if you cure it immediately with Aya, that unit (and their Pair Up partner) still lose that entire turn. Best to handle her with care.
Unfortunately...
Aya's minions are still buzzing around, and will try to stay as close to her as they can. In this case, that means walking into Kisume's aggro range.
So much for handling her with care, I guess.
Kisume's got a Hand Axe, so baiting her was always going to be a pain. At least this way I'm not endangering my own units.
And she didn't even hit anyway.
Interestingly, they get the Charisma buff from Shrine Maiden, but the skill popup is in green. Weird.
Actually, these monks are kinda kicking ass now.
Here comes Parsee.
Getting sandwiched between her and Kisume is kind of what I was trying to avoid, but oh well.
The southern crew are chugging along.
Had I more foresight, I'd be pushing Yukari/Byakuren up a bit more aggressively for future events, but alas.
I took a gamble and stole a Vulnerary from Kisume. Not really worth it, but she only has 33% to hit, so it's pretty low risk. I was hoping to grab her Steel Axe, though.
While I'm here, might as well point out her skill. Faint does exactly what it implies, knocking people out for... some number of turns. Maybe some day I'll find the formulas for these skills somewhere, but not today.
Kisume also has a Anti-Magic Seal, which boosts Res by 2. She drops this one on death, so there's no need to steal it.
I'd like Kisume dead before she can wreak havoc on my units' heads, so Youki softens her up.
As does Ran. This was pretty dangerous - my plan was to have her move in, attack, and Canto out. However, had Kisume Fainted her, things would have gotten a lot hairier.
As-is, Ran moves aside, so Shrine Maiden can finish her off.
And we get the Anti-Magic Seal out of it.
No dialogue for bopping her, by the way.
Suika moves down and Hand Axe's this wolf.
I'm trying to feed her as many levels as I reasonably can.
This ghost picks a fight with a much stronger ghost.
Parsee's finally caught up.
Here's Parsee. She has the Confuse skill, which can make affected units attack their own allies for 3 turns. Nasty stuff.
She also drops a Restore, in case the one Aya starts with isn't enough.
Luna walks up and crits her in the face.
Suika finishes her off, getting the Restore, a C rank in Axes, and closer to one more level.
That takes of the most pressing threats, for now.
After that is some clean up of the near-by enemies. Kyouko gets a HP, Strength, Luck, and Res level.
Komachi gets HP, Strength, Defense, and Resistance.
At the start of turn 6, a new complication is introduced.
I didn't really want to get stuck into this underworlder mess...
They've taken care of us.
We can't act like we're not related.
Favors, and repayment.
Hahaha, we've got loads of humans here!
Let's go on a rampage!
So yeah, they're chillin' in the top left. I mean, I say chillin', but Nue's coming straight for us, and she has 8 Move. So, y'know. Gotta deal with that.
Aya gets a healer level. Strength, Skill, Speed, and Resistance. I'd like some Magic, but I won't complain about the Strength.
I figure moving the Prismrivers here is pretty safe.
lmao this wolf had a Devil Axe. I really gotta check this stuff more often.
Luckily it wouldn't have done that much damage even if it had hit.
They crit this wolf off the face of the planet, for her crime of making me looking foolish.
Despite me mentioning Nue moving earlier in the update, I only realized it when I heard her moving on the enemy phase. (I say "heard" because she's invisible, if you forgot).
Byakuren's gotta start legging it up to the middle area. The Prismrivers will be fine on their own.
Kogasa bait's a couple enemies forward while we wait for Nue's charge.
IIRC, Murasa doesn't start moving til turn 10, and Ichirin only moves if a unit is in range, so we don't have to worry about them just yet.
The Prismrivers are getting a lot of critical hits this chapter...
Lunasa gets her first level: HP and Strength.
sasuga Palla
Nue's here. Sadly, Byakuren is no where near by, so we're gunna have to play the stalling game.
They're getting there.
We thin herds, and Yuyuko gets HP, Magic, Skill, and Speed.
You'll be a wizard some day, Yuyuko.
We delta split as far away from Nue as we can. Her having 8 Move and Canto makes predicting her movement tricky.
She goes for one of the monks.
Amazingly, not dead.
Byakuren still isn't in range. Gotta weather some more attacks.
She finishes off the closest wolf and gets Skill and Speed for it.
The most annoying thing for me is if Nue attacks, and uses Canto to run way off, so I'm sorta walling her in.
Aya does her best to keep her subordinates healed up. I've decided they make good meat shields, if nothing else.
There's some fighting, and then...
God damnit Nue 
Suika finishes an enemy off and nabs HP, Strength, Speed(!!!!!!!), Defense, and Resistance. A fucking amazing level. If she can just get one more point of Speed...
SM gets a healer level. HP, Strength, Skill, Speed, Resistance
The rest of us are trying to bait Nue to come left. I figure she'll go right past Shrine Maiden to attack that bottom right monk, so she won't be able to Canto very far away.
At the start of enemy phase 10, these dorks spawn.
Youkai: Awright! We've blocked the entrance!
Those dumb humans aint getting out of this one!
Suddenly...
Goodness me. I came to see how things were going, but it's just as I feared.
Youkai: Nn? Who da heck are you?
Get in our way, and you're in for a world of hurt!
Hah. Creatures such as you aren't lacking for vigor, I see.
Do your worst. I'll endeavor to hold back. A bit.
Youkai: You makin fun of me!?
You're gunna regret that!
But first, Nue takes the bait.
Lucky ass monk dodges at 60% to save her life.
It's turn 10, so Murasa starts moving.
The southern enemies make their moves, but...
Well, they're no match.
Here's her stats, while we can look at them. She's pretty tough!
I won't bother describing everything, but just to mention, she's wielding a Silver Hand Axe. The "Silver" part matters not just because it's high-tier, but also because Silver-tier weapons are all Oni-Slaying by default. Suika would not last long against her.
Nue is finally close enough to talk to.
Nue!
Hijiri? The hell, you brought the losers, too?
The... Pardon me?
Those stinkin' human-lovers. Well, guess it makes sense. You used to be human too.
Hold on! That's not what I wanted to talk about!
Murasa, yeah? You know, she still buys your crap.
Really?
Cuz of what you said back then. She's still got some hope lying around in a corner of her heart.
Nue...
And yet, you're betraying that trust.
What you're doing right now is exactly the problem. Get it?
Hold on! It's true that I am an ally of humanity, but I'm not trying to betray Murasa's trust. It's just-!
Can I believe that?
Huh?
What you just said. Is it true? For what you're thinking of, you need to hang out with those human-lovers?
Yes! I am acting for the sake of both humans and youkai!
Then prove it.
Prove it? How should I do that?
What do you think? If you're serious about Murasa, then she'll be the judge.
Nue...
Later, Hijiri. I'll be watching you down here. I'm always keeping an eye on you.
Just make sure you keep one thing straight.
If I think you've betrayed Murasa's trust, you're done!
I understand. I promise, that won't happen.
...Best of luck, Hijiri.
Nue leaves.
Nue...
While repositioning for Murasa's arrival, Aya gets a level. HP, Magic, Skill, and Speed.
Fun fact, Yamame doesn't have a ranged weapon, and never moves.
Not that it would matter if she did. The Prismrivers could easily take her in a fair fight.
On turn 11, Eirin's outta here.
I suppose that'll do.
Goodness gracious. The Maiden of Are dying wouldn't even do anything. Though, I suppose they don't know that.
In any case... With this many assorted youkai, they might have some trouble.
Yukari Yakumo. I wonder, is this as far as you can manage?
Some enemies ram into the Prismrivers and give Lyrica Strength, Speed, Luck, and Resistance.
Yamame has a vulnerary, and since she can't attack anyone, she'll keep using it to heal. Just means we'll have to smack her with the Hand Axe until all 3 uses are depleted.
Also, for some reason, the camera really wanted to remind me that Eirin was gone.
Murasa time.
Murasa! What are you doing here?
That's my line. What are you doing here, Hijiri?
Well, um...
All that talk about humans and youkai coexisting, and what are you doing?
Why are you buddying up with those humans and fighting the youkai living here!?
Hold on! That's not what I'm trying to do at all!
How exactly am I wrong!?
You're awful! I still believed in you! But you betrayed me after all!
That's not it!
Please, just listen to me!
...What?
Trust me, I'm not doing this because I want to. Were it possible, I'd prefer to avoid fighting.
But at present, the only way forward for me is to throw myself into this battle.
So that's your excuse?
I really do think this is unfortunate. However, I must keep going.
The conflict between humans and youkai is growing larger every day. Soon, it'll grow completely out of control.
And that's why you're lending that human your help?
Yes. For now, that's what I intend to do.
However, were the circumstances reversed... Then of course, I would stand on the side of youkai.
...I don't get it. You guys can't just change how things are by yourselves.
We're completely different...
Then we must simply accept our differences.
We can't let things devolve into all-out war.
...
Murasa, I won't ask you to understand, just yet. But won't you please withdraw, for now?
Please, withdraw, and think things over.
That's all I ask of you, for now. Please...
...ne.
Huh?
Fine. For now, I'll head home.
But I still don't buy it. I can't completely accept what you're talking about!
That's fine. Thank you very much.
...Hey, Hijiri?
Yes?
I'll be watching. What you do down here, I mean.
I understand.
...Alright. Later.
She leaves.
Yes, I hope to you see you again. And at that time...
With that, most of our strategic objectives have been met, so here are some levels. Luna gets Skill, Speed, Luck, and Resistance.
HP, Speed, Luck, Defense.
Skill, Luck, Defense.
HP, Strength, Skill, Speed, Defense.
Oh yeah, before I finish of Yamame, here's what she looks like.
She has the Poison skill. It does what you'd think it does.
She also drops an Antivenom upon defeat, which is polite of her.
So here's something fun. I was weakening this Devil Axe nerd so that Ran could safely get the kill.
Turns out I weakened her enough that she killed herself with the Devil Axe's rebound.
Actually, have I explained that yet? The Devil Axe is super powerful, in return for having a chance of hitting it's own wielder. In FE games it's based on the user's Luck, but who knows what the formula is.
More healing levels! Strength, Skill, Luck.
We move close enough that Koishi stops being invisible.
She's a mage, and has the same Nihil skill as Shrine Maiden.
The last little trick in this stage is that, despite sitting on a red Magic Circle (a sure sign that a unit is a boss) she can and will move to attack you if you're in range. And uh, with 18(!) Magic, a stray hit from her is going to hurt.
While I'm setting up, Lunasa gets HP, Strength, Magic, Skill, Speed, and Resistance. A ridiculous level, considering her growths.
Kogasa actually has a pretty high Resistance stat, so she baits Koishi over.
Still hurt pretty bad.
By the way, here's Nihil disabling Kogasa's Ambush skill.
This is stupid, but I can't resist the allure of free shit.
Free Heal 
And then Suika walks up and smacks her.
No dialogue, by the way.
She drops her Wind tome, and amusingly, Suika proc's her Gather skill, getting a sellable treasure item. We're getting pretty close to having a use for these.
More levels! HP, Strength, Magic, Skill, Speed, Resistance. Lyrica putting those Est-ish growths to work.
Skill and Speed.
Yukari moves down. I figure she's safer to eat a hit from Ichirin than Byakuren.
Please go away.
Ichirin! Unzan! Why are you two here?
Long story. Basically, we're paying our debts.
People here have helped us. We're returning the favor.
Even so, this isn't right!
This will only deepen the rift between us. It might boil over into a full-scale conflict!
Even though they started it? Even though humans made the first move?
And there's Murasa. We've got debts to repay to the humans, too.
Are you saying we should just ignore all that?
I understand your feelings. However, this conflict will only grow if we deal with it by force.
"Peaceful negotiation" is tough to buy when the other side's pointing their swords at us.
That's not my point. I'm not saying that you should never fight.
But we shouldn't just blindly rely on strength of arms!
...Your words aren't without meaning.
Unzan? What are you-?
Think on it, Ichirin. We did not come here to fight with Hijiri.
Unzan...
Hold on Unzan, what are you saying!?
Ichirin. I understand. We still owe a debt to the underworlders.
However. Fighting Hijiri solves nothing.
Thus, we have no reason to be here. We should leave.
Yeah maybe, but even so!
Let's go home. We can judge for ourselves then.
Whether we must fight Hijiri, or if she deserves our trust.
...
Gah, fine! If you wanna go home so bad, then let's go!
Chief! I'll be watching what you do from here!
If you're really fighting for BOTH Humans and Youkai, we'll be watching!
But if you're just all talk, then you know what'll happen, right?
Yes, I understand. I trust you will do what is best.
Alright, you better not forget that! We'll be watching you!
Let's go Unzan!
Right. Stay well, Hijiri.
They leave.
Right...
………
Back to leveling up healers. HP, Magic, Skill, Speed, Luck, Defense. An excellent level.
And then I steal all of Satori's shit.
First this Physic staff, which can heal at a distance (she naturally drops it on death anyway).
Then a third Restore.
And finally a Vulnerary.
Did I have to do this? No.
Did I want to do this? Yes.
Two more healer levels for the road. Skill, Speed, Luck, Resistance.
HP, Luck, Resistance.
By the way, it's turn 32 now. In case you were curious how long this took.
Now that we've robbed her, we can talk.
...Aint that the most Touhou sentence ever.
So you're the conductor of these youkai, I see
Judging by that Third Eye, you must be the head of the Palace of Earth Spirits, "Satori Komeiji", yes?
Wha-? Yukari Yakumo?
What is a surface youkai doing here? Why are you aiding a human?
I doubt you need me to say it for you.
...
You need her?
Indeed.
In the first place, you should have no reason to seriously attack humans, right?
Now, let's bring this matter to a close. You should all withdraw from here at once.
I'm afraid that is impossible.
What?
The conflict between humans and youkai is rooted deeply.
What's more, you've tread upon our home. Why should we let you leave peacefully?
I suppose that's fair enough.
Frankly, I would have been surprised had you agreed.
Is that so.
In any case, if you intend to save that human, you'll have to defeat us.
Shrine Maiden has a conversation too. There are already over 160 screenshots in this update as-is, so forgive for saving on one here:
I'm surprised a human made it all the way here.
Wait! I'm not here to fight. We're just here to save that girl!
...I see. You appear to be telling the truth.
Huh?
How unusual. You bear neither hostility nor malice towards us youkai.
(Is she reading my mind!?)
And even with me reading your mind, you feel more curiosity than fear.
...Hehe.
Wha?
A human such as you... No, if only there were more people like you.
Um, are you...
However, this is a different matter entirely.
I'm sorry, but if you intend to save that human, you'll have to defeat us. Prepare yourself.
Hold on, there's gotta be a better way than this!
The jpwiki seems to think these are just fluff and that they don't actually do anything. I have no idea myself, but I don't mind either way.
Some fighting happens.
Suika finishes her off, for one last level.
HP, Strength, Skill, Luck...
and SPEEEEEEEEEEED 
Ngh, I can't fight any longer!
Yuugi pops in out of no where.
Stop right there! You lot, lower your weapons!
Is that an Oni?
You're...
Oh hey, sup Yuugi.
Thought you might be around here.
Yuugi Hoshiguma. What are you doing here?
Who cares. Y'all were seriously going at it, weren't you?
Humans, underworlders, and surface youkai. Anyone wanna tell me what the hell's going on?
Um...
Er...
I dunno what happened between you all.
But I'm not about to just sit back and ignore this.
If any of you don't feel like leaving, we'll see if I can't change your mind.
I, Yuugi Hoshiguma, will be more than happy to kick your asses out of here at full power.
...
...
Woa-hoh! Lookin' cool as always, Yuugi.
So. What's the plan, Yukari?
Just so you know, an Oni going all-out aint a laughing matter.
If you really wanna fight her though, I won't stop you.
I'll pass. I don't want to fight any more than is necessary.
I feel the same. We have no need to escalate further.
Miss Hoshiguma. Out of respect, I will defer this situation to you.
Hmm...
Nice, nice. Best to talk things out.
Alright everybody, head on home! Nothing more to see here!
Indeed, let us return at once. That includes you, Hieda no Aya.
Huh? Oh, um, alright.
They disperse.
Miss Hoshiguma.
Yeah?
Thank you. I appreciate your assistance.
Truthfully, I didn't know how to resolve the tension back there.
Don't worry about it. Hard to do much when everybody's losing their heads like that.
All I did was give em a pretense.
You did your best to resolve the situation. That's more than enough.
...Thank you.
Right then. You head on home too.
Don't want people wondering why you're still hanging around here, yeah?
R-right.
Well then, good day.
She leaves.
Now then... Wonder what she's up to.
And that's it for Chapter 5.
Stay tuned for next time, where...
(spoilers below)
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EVERY POINT MATTERED