Ohhh... Library Battle SIMULATION: Let's Play Library of Ruina

TeeQueue · Fri Oct 18, 2024 9:07 am

Sweetfish wrote: ↑
Wed Oct 16, 2024 7:58 pm
Finally had time to bring the meme that's been haunting me ever since the update to life. The goofy strategies this game has to offer are delightful

oh I love this

TeeQueue · Mon Oct 21, 2024 12:14 pm

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 9: My floor has no pathetic Librarians, Oswald!

So, they made it past our defenses in the end.

It seems these guests become books the same as the others before them. At this point, it makes the most sense to receive them…

So that we can finish your book, huh. Well then, I'll see who's waiting at my floor and figure out what to do about it afterwards.

Alright team, let's see which of them stayed behind.

Whoever it is, I'm sure we'll handle them.

Hey now, don't tempt fate.

VIDEO
Music: TipherethBattle01

Ah! Down there is… a river that looks like a very large stream containing blueberries and juiced mountain snake berries… An olfactory mixture of mint and clove… would make a stingy scent like this! This stage has a blindingly sparkly rust, a stark contrast from ours! Splendid! I couldn’t ask for a better place to prepare for a grandiose performance. Don’t you think so, Mr. Knife?!

What a noisy guest.

Oh, two yikeses and a half! My heart almost popped out of my eyehole!

Ah, now just one moment! Take a look at this! Ms. Mermaid is lifting her microphone high in excitement~

You’re getting nowhere with your frantic speech, so could you please stick to one topic at a time? And you’d be the guest here if we’re being pedantic.

A clown can’t be in charge of producing his own show, you know? Hahaha! That’s showbiz to you, miss!

I don’t get what’s so funny…

Now, now~ Why don’t we sniff each other’s wrists in a true fashion of clown-to-clown communication ritual? I wore a whiff of peppery scent today!

W—wait! You startled me! It’s rude to stick your face into others without asking… Do you understand?

Nyeh… How cold! People these days are waaay too stuck up! We’re entering a moist era where laughter runs dry! People get so easily upset over tiny things. Sob, sob, woe is me… If a clown can’t be filled with laughter, they’ll flop like a deflated balloon…

Anger is a natural human emotion, though.

Only those who carry some kind of hopes and dreams make such stinky candies~ Expectations for a bar of chocolate, a hamster, objects, the weather, other people… and for themselves. They arbitrarily entertain the expectations and make the candies without even getting a nod from the one they have their hopes on, and won’t even eat their candies themselves!

Because they know that their own candies taste awful.

So iiiiinstead! They put them in the mouths of others. More expectations means more foul-smelling candies~ They hold those balls of stench in their arms, looking to shove them in someone else’s stomach!

Then… How is one supposed to live a life without any expectations?

Did a blade of grass ask for you to have them? Did the gentle sun allow you to have them? Who in the world told you that it’s right to hold expectations? Hahaha! That tingles my mouth almost as much as a celery leaf does! Oh, how hilarious!!! When you don’t hold expectations~ You get to see more eyesores! When you don’t have anger, you get to enjoy zestier and bitterer flavors~ Treat everything like a rolling ball! You cheer for it wherever the sphere decides to go!

Everyone who lives here is a clown! Clowns can’t survive without feeding on each other’s smiles, you see?

…I see your point. You’re right. Holding expectations for someone isn’t always a good thing for them. While I can’t fully agree with your opinions, I admit that there are parts that I can’t completely disregard.

Ohohoh! I just want to make a world full of laughter! One where everybody can laugh without a care!!! Frowny faces are just too scary~

However, to hold expectations is to trust that person. You’re simply running from the fear of failing to meet the expectations of others.

Haha! Hahaha! Am I? Is it a crime to wish for happiness?! Since when was it a bad thing to wish for a world where all people can laugh? Hmph, whatever! I guess we have different kinds of laughters we want to display in our shows as performers!

You’re no different from us folks in that you run a show hoping to make people smile the smile you want to see! Let’s begin the performance to make another clown laugh!!! That’s enough introduction… Shall we begin playing on the tongue now? Hahaha!

Yeah. In your language, we have to fight to protect the stages we stand on.

So it's that clown… and he simply wants to laugh alongside everyone. In that case…

In that case, it's simple: We counter a clown focused on smiles with a jester focused on emptiness.

That strategy would leave every one of you dead on the floor.

Which would make for a fitting climax. It'll work. It has to work.

That's…

I think they have a point. This guy only cares about one emotion. Let's hit him with the whole rest of the spectrum.

And he's trying to avoid expectations, too. So we'll load ours onto you, so you can live up to them.

Alright… Fine. Let's go with your plan, then.

The rest of the gang today is built to lose a lot of clashes and die to enable Tiphereth's Lone Fixer and Remembrance passives. I actually messed up here, it would have been better if these guys had been much squishier than this.

Retry Count: 10. This did cost me a run, because I am still very bad at playing this game badly. I usually just steamroll over Oswald with conventional strategies.

Music: The Reverberation Ensemble (Briah)

New layer means new music.

Hm… HmhmHM! Five prodigiously smelly clowns have joined us on the stage, it seems..!

But that licoricey scent simply won't do! Oh no no no, you'll never get anywhere unless you let them steep out in the sunny sunshine!

There's no more time for clouds, dear friends! Let's bring happy smiles to the faces of the entire world!!!

Oswald as a boss is nigh-immune to conventional Stagger damage, between universal 0.25x resists and his ability to halve all SR damage—and he's got some decent Evade dice to quickly undo any Stagger Damage we may happen to get through those layers of defense. He'll periodically attempt to Stupify the highest-HP Librarian and power them up, which is a Bad Thing for us. However, if we manage to Stagger the Stupefied Librarian, Oswald will take a guaranteed 60 SR. After two cycles, he uses a Mass Attack, then the pattern repeats forever.

Mr. Knife and Ms. Mermaid are his fellow performers today, and each of them are very basic enemies who primarily exist to deal more SR damage to Oswald when we kill them, 40 each.

Now, let's look at their attacks on this first turn.

Let's Have Some Fun~ is one of only two conventional pages that Oswald uses. The rest of his normal combat pages all have an unusual gimmick to them.

Oswald, you see, is a consummate performer. Without holding any expectations, anyone who's on stage with him is expected to do their job—and when they do, they get congratulated accordingly. Pow~! Kablammo!!♣ is a pair of strong Evades covering for a relatively weak actual attack. However, if we win the clash against this attack then the Librarian who does it gets 1 Haste and Endurance next turn. We can't just ignore it, either, since if it hits us we'll lose a Speed Die next turn.

As for Shall We Somersault These?♦, it's a Ranged page with three decent-at-best dice. If we win a Clash against all three, then the Librarian who stuffed the page will get a 2 Light refund—it's basically begging us to use a giant single-hit attack like Violet Blade. A normal playthrough of this fight would take advantage of these bonuses to make a grand performance, but today we don't have the tools to stop any of these attacks.

We're primed to be the single greatest disappointment this poor clown has ever worked with.

Ms. Mermaid's attacks are all Ranged pages as well, and tend to have some kind of supporting effect. Horrendous Pitch deals bonus Stagger Damage, while Aria of Courage will give 1 Strength to the lowest HP ally. This is usually Mr. Knife.

Mr. Knife can also use a mix of Ranged pages and melee ones. Guillotine, specifically, will break the second die on a page if its single hit succeeds, while Casual Toss is just kind of… there.

While we aren't likely to win many clashes against them, we don't really need to, either. We want to lose clashes, slowly have everyone but Tiphereth die off, and try and keep Tiph herself healthy.

He's expecting a performance out of us, eh?

Yeah… I don't think it's happening.

That's perfect. If fighting between magical girls is a dialogue… in this case, not performing would be the best way to make our point.

I'll admit that the Jester was related… but do you really expect me to believe that every clown follows those same rules?

Yes. Because they do.

So clowns are magical girls, now… Fine. Whatever. It doesn't change anything either way.

Now then, my fellow clowns, it's time for the most peppery-splodey performance of any lifetime!!! Don't volunteer all at once now, or you may make my lungs burst with laughter~!!

You'll do nicely! Lace your most stunning sneakers, and try this out!

You want me to jump through the rings..?

Ah-ah-ah, I'm no chowder-brain!! That would be an expectation, you'll do whatever you'll do, won't you~?

Oh, good… because I can't jump worth anything.

Hahahahahaaaa!!

Ghh.. They hit pretty hard, but I feel like we could have taken them if we fought normally.

It's not about winning or losing, here: It's about making sure to send the right thematic message.

To be clear: it is about winning.

Well… Fine! We'll do both! We can do both.

That blueberry-smelling fellow of yours has the right of it! It's all about the performance, don't you know? The minute-by-minute existence in search of the grandest stage of all!

There's more to life than living hand-to-mouth. Or foot to stage, as you'd put it.

Such a sickly lemony smell from you! Making sour candies and firing them like warheads, don't you know there's a reason no one buys those cookies?!

…Well, at least it'll be easy to call on this power.

The plan goes off without a hitch, entirely because we're playing terrible decks for this point in the game.

Oh my, what's that my dear Ms. Mermaid?

I agree! It's far too languorous in here~ I'm so happy to see that it's driven you to sing your very best!

I think the fish is about to do something.

Just look out for it, whatever it's doing.

What it's doing is Resonating Terror, Ms. Mermaid's Mass-Individual page that deals bonus Stagger Damage on hit. Its rolls are just high enough to be a problem, but since we're playing to lose with everyone but Tiphereth I don't care much about this thing right now.

Mr. Knife is using Knife Barrage this turn as well, a 4-die Ranged attack just begging to be crushed by a Celestial Spear or some other big single-die attack.

From Oswald, we have a pair of new pages. The first is Here, Catch~!♣, a single large die that will break all other dice on our page should it win. It will give any Librarian who breaks that first die in a Clash 1 Strength on the next turn.

Lastly, there's We Need You, You Know~?. This page is Oswald's best trick, as it will instantly Stagger its target, before inflicting them with Stupefy for the next two turns. We really don't want this to hit Tiphereth, but since all his Speed Dice are set to 1 on the turn where he uses it it's trivial to redirect.

Boksi can eat it this turn.

Your windpipes are blazing hot now, Ms. Mermaid? Then perform to your heart's content! Hahahahaha, and I'll find a lovely accompanist!

Resonating Terror is two of those wavy ripple effects over the screen, and only Tiphereth has any luck blocking it.

Geez… Is everyone else okay?

I'm fine, I'm fine!

I'm still standing. Ears are ringing, but… it's fine.

It'll take a lot more than that to take us down, ma'am!

You. You'll do! Get over here, it's time to perform! That mossy smell of yours will complement Ms. Mermaid's voice perfectly!

Um… what? But…

Don't let the daisies grow from your ears, boy! It's time for a performance!!

What's he doing?

It's some kind of limited mental manipulation ability.

Such mealy-mouthed meandering minds always follow after speaking of 'expectations.'

The stage stretches out before us like a grand stream of excitement! Keep your brains to the current, or they'll be on the floor!

You're really starting to get on my nerves.

Everyone's so upset when no one wants to eat their disgusting candies. Simply breathe, the smell will permeate in either case!

…We're running behind. What's the deal?

It looks like Boksi didn't get a chance to generate any more emotions. And now he's…

Performing. I'm performing. Just like every day, I'm doing my part and doing it well!

Well, you see it.

I think I might hate this guy.

That could be the Abnormality's power talking.

No, it really isn't.

Now that we have a Stupefied Librarian, let's talk about what it actually does. Put simply: Boksi is fighting for the enemy for the next two turns using the same Key Page and Combat Pages he had. While this is going on, the music in the background fades somewhat and the circus theme plays alongside it.

We can fight him like any normal enemy, and our attacks deal damage to him like normal. However, any time Boksi loses a clash he will also lose 5% of his maximum SR on top of it—and if we ever Stagger him, then Stupefied will be cleared immediately.

Right now, we just need to clash with him to make sure that we can keep upping our Emotion Levels.

The only new attack this turn is Cross Cut, coming from Mr. Knife.

So what's the plan?

You guys just keep throwing yourselves at Oswald and his buddies. I'll handle Boksi.

The flowers are growing… Their hope sings eternal. Bow before the prowess of a nestborn!

The sooner the better.

Why… are the knives… so big..?!

Seriously, just look at the size of that thing. These should be taking our entire limbs off.

…Good thing they're just clowning around.

Well this is… disappointing.

There you go again! Breathing in your own misery and breathing out that depressing miasma, doesn't it get boring~?

Add some spice to your life!

I do want to shout out the game's artists here, Oswald's sprites are great.

Boss, I'll have to ask you to stand down. I can see things clearly now.

Can you? Or do you just think you can?

Don't try and talk me out of things!

Fine. Your funeral.

Oof..! You could hold back a little!

Would you?

Despair comes along just as planned. Things seem messy, but Tiphereth is still packing plenty of HP. As long as we don't get Staggered and beaten into the ground, we're still right on schedule.

At this point the fight would normally be in a bad place: We're outmatched in action economy with the enemy getting far more dice than us. We're also taking on damage and there's a very real possibility that Tylana dies this turn.

But we're playing for Nix, meaning that all of this is going exactly according to plan.

Ms. Mermaid uses Aria of Auspice this turn, giving 2 Protection to the lowest HP ally. Outside of that it's yet another Ranged page with all that entails.

Meanwhile, Oswald is showing us the last of his normal pages: Ready for a Surprise?!♥. The block dice on this page will restore HP if they win a Clash, but the Counter die can inflict Paralysis with every hit and is also dangerous. Because this is almost always played as the last page in a turn, if we're faster than his slowest die it's possible to completely avoid dealing with the Block dice, preventing him from healing with them.

Hey, Miss Tiphereth?

What.

I know we're two Abnormality powers into things, so it might be a little late, but… Since you're doing a super powerup…

I'm not doing any catch phrases, Chinely.

But… It's like, a rule, you know?

"When magical girls have a true battle, it's as much a conversation as it is a fight." You said it, right?

You remembered..?

I'm drawing on their power. It seemed handy to keep in mind.

Listening to such rabble… this is why you're no longer worthy to lead.

Don't interrupt!

Gh-!

Anyways, I thought about it, and this guy's all about performances. So: I'm not doing any of it. I'm going to do my job, and leave it at that.

Such dedication to your performance! A tragic clown, with tears on her makeup~ But don't you understand the very most basic of the basics?! An object is thrown by a First!

And it strikes a Thirteenth!

What did I even do?!

Subverting expectations is child's play for any great performer!! Of course, this too only holds sway because you have any at all~ A proper showstopper could deflect such a ball with the stems of their wrists!

Uhghhh… Oh. I'm still alive. Great.

We're all still alive. Boksi, are you done being stupid?

…Um. Yes. Very done. _{My head hurts…}

Deal with it. I'm only missing the Servant, so the next one is going to make life hard.

I grab Gold Rush here. Blind Rage would also be good, but either one is helpful once we go off.

The next turn is another Resonating Terror/We Need You, You Know~? combo attack. It's Chinely's turn to eat this one.

Such a delightful aria, Ms. Mermaid~ Your beautiful pipes never fail to bring a smile to my face! Now, who shall accompany us this time… Who do you think, Ms. Mermaid?

Hmmhmm! I hear you, yes, they'll be a fine fellow to accompany us for a bar or two. Just long enough for the poinsettias to sprout from their hair!

Wha-?

If you would! That blueberry scent of yours wants nothing more than to perform, so let me give you a chance to live as you truly like!

Oh… hell..!

We should be able to fix him with the power of friendship…

No such thing exists. You could bludgeon him until he returns to his senses.

White damage, then.

Destroying the hopes and dreams of magnificent beings who want only to perform and bring smiles to everyone… Such thorny vines have wrapped around your heart! Doesn't the friendly sun shine on all equally?

It's true… The vines… I've let them go, and now I can see the truth!

The truth?! All you're seeing are the lies of the masked clown!

Don't try and stop me, Omni… I feel so light. It's the first time I've felt this happy during battle!

Boss, we might be in trouble.

Yeah, I recognize the line. It should be fine, he's using it wrong.

Wait, you do?!

Don't ask questions!!

Anyways, Tylana's already dead-

Sorry boss.

-because she's overachieving as usual, so it's down to the rest of you to get killed asap.

Oh… or not?

Because Tiphereth is already at Emotion Level 4 and soon she'll be getting a ton of Emotion Coins anyways, I slow down with her. The others continue with operation "flail around and die."

Your stupid knives aren't going to hit me.

Tylana dies right on schedule, giving us a glut of emotion coins.

This bookish stage is really such a bother, you know? People are led to their moments of purest excitement, and they contort into parchment instead of blooming for the audience!

We don't even have an audience in the first place!

But still, the actors must play their parts.

Because the audience expects them to?

Hardly! Because that is who we are! Every one of us is merely twirling on someone else's stage!

The stage may not be mine, but we're ultimately here because its owner expects something from us.

But since you're just living in a world where only happiness is allowed… I'll serve as a reminder of the other emotions, now.

We're going to be losing control of Tiphereth until we hit max Emotion. This is the trickiest part of the fight, and ideally most of our team would be dead already. Udjat is way too tough for proper Tiphxodia strategies, Tylana actually had around the perfect amount of tankiness.

Related note: I would have loved to have gotten Blind Rage last level, as right now it can't do anything for us until Tiphereth regains her senses. Oh well!

Clowns… Even after I'm finally done dealing with those honking bastards, here we are. Back again. Dealing with clowns.

Let me TELL YOU how absolutely SICK AND TIRED I am of CLOWNS!!

While the boss is addled, I guess we'll have to take care of things, huh..?

The way I see it, you could be over here.

That's not happening.

Our job for now is to try and prevent Tiphereth from taking one-sided attacks in her rage. She'll recover some HP back with her Haulers, but we don't want her to bleed dry.

No matter WHERE the stinking things show up, it's the same mess! Honking! Running all over the place! Murdering clerks and MESSING WITH THINGS! And if not that, then they roll all over the damn place and FLATTEN PEOPLE!!

And now, just when the clowns are gone forever, there's this masked WEIRDO who's on my floor, talking nonsense and STEALING MY LIBRARIANS!

You're trying to kill us all, though, aren't you?!

AND IF YOU WERE BETTER AT YOUR DAMN JOB, YOU'D BE DEAD BY NOW!!!

I've taken advantage of the opportunity, ma'am. The enemy's stunned!

In that case, I'll dispense right and proper justice! An eye for an eye…

Ah, dammit..!

And a Stagger for a Stagger!

Chinely… This isn't what you should be doing!

Poppycock!!

What every single one of us should be doing is whatever we were up to before some stinky fellow came along and told us we need to earn our place!

YOU ARE A CLOWN WHO SNIFFS WRISTS TO SAY HI! YOU DON'T GET AN OPINION!!

My my, you've gone from a nasty-smelling licorice to something soured and truly foul! This is what happens when you leave chowderheads unattended in the sun! They go off, I tell you!

She's doing this to beat y-

NO TALKING!!

Geh-! Yes'm!

Uuugh… what the hell did I-

You had ONE JOB, Chinely. Just the ONE. Don't get brainwashed. HOW HARD IS THAT?!

Uh… too hard, ma'am?!

THAT'S IT, I'M DOING THIS MYSELF!!

Wasn't that always the plan..?

RRRRRGH!!!

My my! Such a dedicated group of performers. I think, yes, I know that I feel like showing the audience something truly grand and exciting!! EVERYONE! ALL TOGETHER! LET'S BRING A SMILE TO THESE TRAGIC CLOWNS!!

CLIMAX!!! is a single decent Mass Summation die, but the real problem with it is the random nature of its ability. All targets get either +2 or -2 to Strength, Endurance, or Protection on the next turn.

…Honestly, as far as super attacks go it's not bad. Oswald isn't a particularly threatening boss.

Now then, all together! Let's march towards the fields of smiles, flowers blooming with every merry step we make!!

I'M GOING TO SMASH EVERY DAFFODIL YOU PLANT, CLOWN!!!

Oh never daffodils! Never even once daffodils! Those are for sprouting from the neck, you know?!

JUST DIE ALREADY!!!

I know I said it wasn't bad, but I can't control Tiphereth's plays right now and the others don't have anything that can match a 20 since I want them to die… so it hits everyone.

It's time for the climax at last, ladies and gentlemen! As we one and all know it's the very best part, sure to bring a smile to everyone's faces!

BUT IT'S NOT FOR YOU GAWKERS FROM OUTSIDE!!!

Pardon?

Can you smell that lemony scent?! Can you feel the wind blowing through the sky?! Can you paint with your blood and tears upon the stage until you've reached the ultimate performance?! Come on now… let's see what you can do~!

ALL TOGETHER! ALL AS ONE! MY MANY MERRY LAUGHTER LOVING FRIENDS!!!

And now, take a bow~ For all your hard work~!

I hate you with all of my hate.

Our magnificent climax has come to an end, dear viewers! As for what's left… "falling action," it was called. Such a literary story, perfect for a library such as this!

Gh… Are you trying to make me jump?! The hell am I doing that!

Oh, of course not, miss clown~ I'm just performing, and come whatever you give me, I'll simply laugh!

Even as Ms. Mermaid ends the performance of another of your dedicated friends! Ah, it's such a shame, such a shame that your head is filled with fluffy meat product!

There's more to life than simply being happy, you know?! It's the bad times that make the good!

Is that so…? Is it true..?

IT IS NOT!! All those feelings you're stewing in your brain all come from something being dumped in the pot! You've got rancid veggies stewing with your candies and making you all angry or sad or hateful or greedy! But if those expectations are all withheld, then what's left once those disgusting smells are washed away?

A deliciously spicy scent of happiness! The one emotion you can feel without a reason!

Gh-but that's not…

…You've got it wrong, clown.

Oh my! How threatening~!

Hate… Despair… Greed… Wrath… The emotion I was seeking was beyond them. None of them are really your opposite at all. But now, just now, I can finally grasp it.

The opposite of a clown of happiness isn't a magical girl of anything.

It's the Jester of Nihil.

My my… it seems my nose is runny all of a sudden.

Yes… I'd imagine it's hard to smell now, isn't it?

Don't worry, my dear performers! She's just a poor Staggered Susan, talking all high and mighty while that same terrible stink seeps out of her!

Then kill me, if you can.

_{aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa}

When we activate Nix properly, every other combatant ally or enemy gets the Jester themself weighing down on them from behind. Tiphereth may be Staggered, but she's got 4 Protection on her from her Udjat allies and the opponent is getting all their rolls reduced. She's perfectly safe.

…I'll keep this short. I don't think we're needed on the stage any longer.

Oswald and his fellows do their very best…

But no matter how much they hit Tiphereth…

They fail to deal her even a single point of damage.

Are you done?

The climax has already ended, my fellow clown! There's no more room on the stage for us to one up one another endlessly!

I agree. What was it you said? After the climax is the falling action?

So this is the part where you fall.

HAHAHAHAHAA!!! An encore, then, is it? Very well!

Hey, boss. I'm betraying you again, by the way.

You think it's more "anime" if you try to betray me and fall dramatically, right?

Eheh… Something like that.

Our merry troupe accepts all comers, regardless of their reasons!!

That's fine.

I don't know how to aim these things, anyways.

My one regret… is that I'll miss the best part..!

One down. Four to go.

I'll try this one next.

Such a hurried existence… You should really savor the moment more, you know?!

Meh.

I don't feel like it.

I still can't say you're completely wrong... But all of them have trusted me to defeat you. Boksi, Tylana, Omni… Even Chinely.

Not right now I haven't!

Quiet, Chinely.

Those expectations keep me moving. Even when I don't feel anything anymore. Even when I don't want to feel things. Those candies, even if you call them disgusting, keep you going long after smiles have left you.

MS. MERMAID! MR. KNIFE!! HOW COULD YOU SLAY INNOCENT BEINGS WHO WISH ONLY FOR LAUGHTER?!!

They were in my way. How could I not?

Ah… how sad! You've simply forgotten what it is to smile!!! A funny little fellow, falling off the path of the clown. Come, have a whiff of this!

With Chinely freed after this turn, Oswald will spam We Need You, You Know~? every turn until it lands. However, a Mass Attack can break it before it can activate and keep him from getting any more help.

I don't want any.

Looks like… that's it for me, too…

It's finally just us. The argument in its purest form. You, who wants to perform to make another smile. Me, who has nothing left inside to smile with.

So go on. Make me laugh.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! All we've ever wanted was to bring smiles to others! You're ruining it with that oppressive air you're forcing in here!!

Huh. I thought you were supposed to deflate.

Just because you've let the air out of my tires doesn't mean… it doesn't mean that you can… You can't..!

Oh. Finally run out of lines?

I guess that's that, then.

I don't feel sad… But I can't even feel proud right now, either. This Abnormality…

You've done your job. Clean up as you can.

Right.

Oswald is not a hard fight. He's really not. A normal set of decks can beat him without running into any real trouble, and a properly executed Tiphxodia can make things work much faster than this. Once we finish the setup, Tiphereth is an invincible behemoth bouncing between +10 and +15 total Power advantage over her enemies. She can't really lose.

Just… maybe don't use Udjat on the sacrificial Librarians. :negative:

Music: Result

Uugh.

Okay, we won, right?

Of course we did! Good work, you guys.

You were so cool. It was like all the feelings drained out of your whole being!

Seriously 10/10 stuff, boss.

It's all good as long as you two had fun, huh..?

And as long as we win, which is what matters the most, right?

Yeah… guess so.

With that done, there should be a moment to—

Hey, director! We got a problem!

A problem? What's going on?

Haah… what's going on indeed? Don't tell me your famous leader isn't even here.

This junkyard bitch got here before Gebura did.

Bold words for a bloodstain.

Why don't you play fetch somewhere else before I have you spayed?

…I understand the gist of it. Gebura?

I'm working on it! _{There's too damn many of these stairs, and my leg's still busted up.}

…It seems she'll be a little longer.

Whatever. I'm not waiting around for some former legend who can't be assed to show for the main event.

Permission to engage?

Do it.

HELL YEAH!

Next time, on Library of Ruina: A fight based entirely around using the Red Mist's unique mechanics.

Videos

Oswald Battle
VS Oswald (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

New Key Pages

New Combat Pages

TeeQueue · Tue Nov 12, 2024 6:15 am

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 10: Bait used to be believable

So a bunch of hangers-on want to take me on? Do you really think you can beat me?

This is a good opportunity to test some of our ideas.

Most of Credentia's time today will be spent in Purple Tear's Pierce mode. It doubles the stacks of any status effects we add on, and Tanya is a solo boss fight. Shrine to Music will stack the deck in our favor.

Right. I'll paint the target, and you guys can follow up after.

Sorcrane's job is to slap Tanya up to 10 Smoke ASAP and keep her there.

And that guy left us a new form… I'll give it a shot.

If I was smart I'd have run Clone here to try and get multiple Blazing Strikes to 0 Cost, but I am not smart so this is the build we're going with here.

Then I'll do damage.

BICEPS is running Myongest, and his job is to hit hard

If the four of you can hold out for long enough, Gebura should become available to assist you. That would be the—

Screw that! Let's just beat the piss out of 'er and move on!

I suppose I wouldn't complain if you accomplished it.

Someone's gettin' ahead of herself…

Music: The Reverberation Ensemble (Briah)

A group of weaklings're still weaklings, after all.

Tanya is a blessedly simple fight: She just beats the shit out of you. No frills. No gimmicks. If we try to use Claws of Savagery to cheese things with only one Librarian untargetable, she denies your attempt to Netzach her and punches you anyways. If we deplete her HP bar, she says "Good hit" and gets back up with +2 Power on all her die rolls from then onward.

This means she effectively has 1000 HP, but this fight tends to go by incredibly quickly even with that.

On the first turn she shows off Overspeed in her fastest die. If it's faster than whoever she's targeting with it, all the dice get a +6. Tanya's speed is 3-9, meaning she can crank out some turn 1 numbers we can't match without Red Mist's infinity die.

Both of her other dice are dedicated to Fisticuffs. This page is a trio of okayish dice, but the effect of the second one is interesting: like Binah's Pillar, it prevents dice from being recycled. This will stop a Counter die or an Evade die from fully negating the page. It's more-or-less Tanya's filler attack—if she's not doing anything else she'll usually throw one of these out.

Alright, punks. If you're not going to get out of my way, I'll beat you into the ground until you figure your places out.

Just remember: you asked for this.

Finally… some good grass.

Let's see. A retired grunt…

The hell are you doing?!

A hotheaded streetrat…

The streetrat's leash…

Smoke's up!

N' I don't even know what the hell you're doing here.

I look good in red.

Hah! The hell kind of stupid reason is that?

Well, whatever. None of you have what it takes to be truly powerful. That means you have two options: toady up to someone stronger'n you, or die.

Intimidate comes out on the next turn, and it's a must-stop. Each hit that gets through gives Tanya 1 Strength next turn, and giving the lady who wants to punch through your face more Strength isn't a good idea.

Lupine Onslaught, meanwhile, is a trio of solid dice on a Power Negation page. We'll want BICEPS to aim somewhere else whenever we see it.

And let me guess… you're not accepting toadies?

Real mouth on you, huh?

Our job's always been to stare down the things that go bump in the night and cut them clean in two. You'll have to try harder if you want to intimidate us.

Yeah, I get you. Talk's cheap.

Agreed. Resuming suppression.

We're sure to find an opening if we keep pressuring her.

"Find" an opening? Really?

I ain't showin' you people shit. If you want an opening you'll have to make one.

If the enemy shuts a door, kick it off the hinges. Sounds great to me.

Tenebrais, that's illegal.

Only if they can catch you!

I snatch Fear of Water here and give it to BICEPS. He'll be getting our Abnormality Pages today, and I want to combo it with Vampirism to give him some sustain.

…Hm.

Is the abnormality giving you trouble?

………Blood makes the grass grow.

Then we should spill a lot of it.

Kicks and Stomps comes out this turn, and is most notable for the Paralysis on the second die. The dice are bigger than her usual attacks, as well, making it one of her stronger pages.

I see… so it's another trick, then. That music from the purple one, baldie zippin' around like a fly, this smoke… you guys sure have a lot of tricks.

Shame not a single one of 'em matters against me.

You know we practice against someone who makes you look like a puppy, right?

And how many times didja' win?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

Even so… we're going to stop you here!

Cuz I'm 'weaker,' right?

Because you only have power.

You idealistic types are a pain in the ass, y'know that?

Fine. I'll make the difference between us clear.

On turn 4, Tanya stops playing around and uses her ultimate attack: Beatdown.

Beatdown is Tanya's ultimate attack, and it is a doozy. It's a unique Combat Page in that it targets everyone, but is not a Mass Attack. This means other pages can resolve before it, but like a Mass Attack even if the page is beaten by one ally another one can still get bonked by it right after. It deals a load of damage, even with Blunt resistance. Ideally, we wouldn't get hit by this. How do we stop it, then?

Well, the obvious option would be to play a page that lets us either win the clash or at least blunt the blow of the massive first die. Here is a list of every page in Library of Ruina that can reliably do this without stacking 5+ Strength:

Boundary of Death (4)

This means most of our Librarians will not be able to stop this attack. If we include E.G.O and BICEPS's automatic +5 this list does grow slightly, now including things like:

Mimicry
Violet Blade
Distortion Blade

But even then, we need to get lucky, as all of these pages have a lower floor than Beatdown, putting our odds of winning at ~50% at best. Block dice seems like the natural second idea, but even the best Block dice can only get up to ~10 on the base roll, nowhere near enough to properly blunt this attack and its 5 True Damage.

Luckily for Gebura's floor, the intended solution is built right in to what we should be playing:

For the Turn 4 Beatdown Tanya only plays two Combat Pages. This means Gebura can play Great Split: Vertical on the one that isn't Beatdown, hit with it, and immediately destroy Beatdown as it's the only other page available to break. Future Beatdowns will have more than one other page alongside them, preventing this solution.

By then, though, Gebura should have another way to break this page.

But Gebura isn't here right now, so we just have to deal with it.

She's leaving way too many openings… you guys know this is going to be bad, right?

Way I see it, she's begging us to put her down. That's what happens when you get too rabid.

Doesn't matter. Path's the same either way.

It's too late to do anything about it now, at any rate…

We press on.

The smoke is paying huge dividends here, helping to turn a 13 roll into a 30 damage hit.

That speedy guy's one thing… but the rest of you trash can only get attacks through cuz there's so many of you.

Geh..!

"You may call us trash, but enough trash can crush anyone~!"

You were gonna' say something like that, right?

Unfortunately for you weaklings, I know how to take out the damn trash.

For Beatdown's animation, Tanya grabs hold of the Librarian she's targeting.

Slams them into the ground.

Pauses over them, foot raised.

And then brings it down hard enough to make a crater happen.

Needless to say, she hits everyone.

Huh… you idiots are all still alive? Well, doesn't look like it'll be for much longer, though.

Don't be coy. You're on your last legs, too.

Oh, really? Then I guess this'll be decided here and now.

Then I'll graze.

That damn speed..!

And my raw POWER!

Hey… if this is so over, why doesn't this feel like it's over?

Because it isn't. It's about time you stopped holding back, isn't it?

Couldn't agree more.

You four almost qualified as a warm-up… but I got shit to do, so I'm gonna' need you to die now.

Tanya's in her +2 Power phase, and we're a light breeze away from Staggering on our entire team. She's shown us all her tricks, though, so there's nothing else to do but carry on and try and kill her before she kills us.

I'm going all out with the music, you guys. Take her down as fast as you can.

Don't gotta' tell me twice.

She's deploying her speed technique.

Crushed.

Tch. Talking like you're all some kind of hot shit…

Our combination attacks are really something special, you know.

Ehh, I wouldn't go that far.

Music's catchy as hell, but if you crush that it all falls apart.

Dammit..!

Now, let's make clear who the stronger of us is. Shall we?

Affirmative.

Alright, siddown ya' punk.

…Regrouping.

And you. I ain't too keen on you stealing my comrade's smoke. That stuff's powerful, n' here you are without a clue how to use it.

I know just what I'm doing..!

Yeah, says you.

If the smoke's no good, how about some fire!

…Hah? Fire, you say?

I've been sittin' in this damn heat, in a suit, and you're still using fire. Dumbass.

And it's working. You're pretty bloodied up, you know?

Only cuz I got you dummies all over me.

Well then, here's a little more!

That's three down…

Time to clean up here. You guys sure took a little longer to die'n I expected, I'll give you that… but this is a world where the strong get control over everything.

Unfortunately, our second Beatdown turn comes with most of our team Staggered. This doesn't really matter much, as if she Staggers everyone with Beatdown she'll generally kill everyone the next turn anyways… but now we can be pretty sure that Tenebrais, BICEPS, and Sorcrane are down for the count. This leaves me with one option, and it's a risky one.

Alright… guess it all comes down to one last trump card.

This is a Hail Mary attack. Credentia's total power boost and Tanya's are the same at +4, making this a straight 19-35 vs 29-35 roll. If it succeeds, no other attacks are directed at her. This means that the healing from it should combine with the 24 Burn and the 10 Bleed she'll have next turn to let Credentia just barely eke out a win over Tanya's remaining 150 HP...

It's got the shape of a plan, at least.

Credentia, the odds of this plan succeeding are—

I know… But it's the only chance we've got.

If you're relyin' on somethin' like odds, you're prolly already gonna lose.

Though I like the new hallway.

Enough talkin'. Time to get to work.

That's one down…

Nice outfit.

It's called E.G.O.

…Huh.

Cool story.

That's the second one…

I can't… go on any more…

Ahh, quit yer bellyachin'. You're dyin' covered in that red ya' love wearin' so much.

N' that leaves you.

I'll kick your ass twice as hard on the runback.

Hah!!

I don't do rematches, ya' brat.

So in the end, we weren't quite a match…

I told ya'. The strong are the ones who make the rules. You can beg for your life if you want…

…but I ain't in a listenin' mood.

I don't even get any last words?

There a part of "ain't in a listenin' mood" that was unclear, missy?

No. I suppose not.

Good. Now get out of my…

Well, hell. It's about time.

Not a bad job, Credentia. I'll take it from here.

But, your leg…

The second I showed up for a reception, the Library took care of it.

…Alright. We'll leave it to you.

Yeah. You'll get 'em next time.

While Tanya's incredibly difficult without the Red Mist… she's actually perfectly capable of soloing this fight if we decide to use her.

VIDEO
Music: GeburaBattle01

You should get your nose checked, then. One is a slaughter-crazed wolf, and the other is a hunter tracking it down.

You got a ragtag band of dummies to fight me, eh…? Do I look like a joke to you or what. Still, the highlight of the match is the woman who was once called the Red Mist… This oughta be fun.

Everyone I meet keeps bringing up that title. Aren’t you tired of putting me on a pedestal at this point?

No way, hun. People’ll be shocked to learn that the great legend is doing menial labor in a place like this. How’s your inhuman strength doing these days? I only heard stories ‘bout it, so I’ve been itching to see it in action…

Is strength the only thing you value?

Yup. No reason not to bow down to folks who’re stronger than you.

What do you think people who lack such strength should do, then?

The weak—they gotta find ways to survive on their own. You obey the strong, or you get killed by ‘em… Either or. Someone will keep you safe if you serve ‘em like a good little pup.

There won’t be an end to a struggle fought with physical strength. It’ll be a constant series of gory battles… Even the victor can’t be at ease in such a world. Those who act in their own interests can lose everything by the same means at anytime. Is it really right to possess strength if it’s only used to take from others?

Ehey, why see that as stealing, gal?

Adapt or die. If you can’t, you either become food or fall behind until you’re wiped out. The so-called apex predators are the creatures best fit to survive in this ecosystem, ain’t that the truth? That’s how humans have always lived, so why make a big fuss about it now?

Strength is the most honest and clear way to express yourself. I prove that I’m stronger than you, and that’s it. No tricks or lies involved. I want a world where power means everything. And that’s why I’m helping mister orchestrator.

Oh, I guess you’ve got your own reasons and causes to bring up as well. For the sake of others, making the world peaceful, or whatevs… Not like I wanna hear ‘em. You prolly looked at all the people hopelessly dying n’ wanted to do something for ‘em out of pity or anxiety, but the truth is, the City folks were doing fine without ya.

You didn’t seriously expect everyone in the City to gladly take the gift you forcibly handed to ‘em and hear thanks, didja? And look at you now, ruining the daily lives of innocent people to resume your plan…

It’s true, we can’t glorify what we’ve done as deeds for the people, I know that. I’m not entirely proud of our actions. That’s what I’ve been ruminating on. I suppose it’s not something you need to know, though.

Yup. Both you and I are doing this for our own satisfaction n’ desires. And that’s about it. Claiming to stand for a higher cause is just an excuse.

We both have things we have to protect or take.

If you got it, let’s get this started.

Music: The Reverberation Ensemble (Briah)

Yeah. I should pay you back double for what you did to my crew.

Says the punk who stabbed Elena right through the head.

She got better, didn't she?

And yours won't?

Well… once we're done here.

Even at their best, Tanya's numbers are roughly on par with the pages in Gebura's deck.

This means that with the +5 from Myo's Prowess, we're untouchable on any infinite die—and once Lone Fixer activates on turn 2 our normal Speed Dice will be mostly untouchable as well.

She can get attacks through because she has more Speed Dice than us, but it'll take a while for that to realistically whittle down our HP through the haulers.

Mmm… Okay. I think I get it.

Do ya', now?

I was fighting you all for a while back on those stairs, you know. Had plenty of time to see the way you carry yourselves.

I saw plenty of you, too.

Guess you did.

Lupine Onslaught requires special attention in this fight, as it will negate Power entirely, and its dice are on par to slightly better than Gebura's usual fare.

I prefer to deal with it by ignoring it entirely—the Counter die may stop it, and if not we can eat the damage.

Well, now that we're properly fightin'… seems like ya' finally stopped holding back.

My team was doing their best, so I was loaning them this power before.

Sounds like a dumbass way t'live. Me, I just hang with the strong.

Yeah, that sounds like something you'd say.

Vampirism will stack with our Fear of Water in order to give us more healing as we go. Level Slash can also inflict Bleed, but FoW ensures it's guaranteed.

This will be handy, as we're now looking at 4 Speed Dice to our 2+counter, we can't avoid damage here.

Ya' know, they say something about legends bein' overblown… and I kinda' get it now.

You hit hard, but not much harder'n any other idjit around here. You were a legend back in th'day, sure…

But that's only compared t' threats from back in the day, ain't it?

Absorption with our total heals is a guaranteed bonus 3 Power, putting our rolls at +6 before Myo's Prowess. As long as it isn't Lupine Onslaught, any of our pages can beat any of Tanya's attacks handily now.

Time's marchin' forward. Shit that was impressive ain't worth much not two weeks later. Even wings fall.

As I'm sure you prolly know.

That stance… Gebura, she's going to use her strongest technique.

That so?

I'll meet it on head-on, then. Might as well see what the fuss is all about, eh?

Keheh… Yeah. Let's see what'chr best looks like.

I mentioned earlier that the correct move was having Gebura use GSV on the other Speed Die to break this page… but if Gebura's alone, then we can just target Beatdown itself.

Time to take out the trash!

Couldn't agree more.

So you do have some bite left in ya'.

Instincts gives us more sustain, so I grab it here.

You know, it's a little bit annoying. Angela wasn't able to create a book that would match my old power.

Yer makin' excuses now? Psh, and after all that shit you talked… But even I can see you're bleeding out as fast as me.

Guess we'll see who has more blood in us, won't we?

Ah, that's not why I brought it up, you know.

Just thought you'd like to know why it's taken so long to really get running.

So you were still holdin' out on me, eh?!

Manifest E.G.O should be targeted at a page that maximizes our Evade die payoff. It'll handle our SR for the rest of the fight and ensure we can't get Staggered.

Like I said… it's not that I was holding out on you. I "couldn't."

It takes a while to get back into it… But here you go. A blade that leaves a bloody mist behind.

Music: The Red Mist

Armor that is worn not to defend, but to attack.

And an iron will, tempered enough to act knowing full well your own weakness.

With Hello? online, our first die rolled every turn will restore HP equal to its result. This will finish off our strategy for the remainder of this fight.

Hey, do you know why that Red Mist was undefeatable, back in the day?

It's obvious, ain't it? She was strong enough to crush anyone. That's survival of the fittest.

So you don't understand it at all.

It's not the strong who survive. It's the survivors who are strong.

Cleaving through countless opponents, and using their wounds to cure my own injuries. That's the true Red Mist you've been hoping to fight.

Tanya's entered her second phase, but her +2 Power is canceled out by the Red Mist's natural +2 Power. Gebura's back at full HP after the Hello?'d GSH, our SR is near maxed out as well, and all that's left is a damage race.

Goddamn… You still don't hit any harder. But it doesn't matter how much I break you down…

You just recover it in an instant, rippin' and tearin' away all the while.

A real pain in the ass to fight, aren't I?

Definitely.

While Tanya can hit us, and even get some damage through… she can't possibly outpace Gebura's recovery any longer. The rest of this fight is just a formality.

Guess this is as far as I go, huh. Damn.

You're calmer than I expected.

Well, y'know how it is. When two great strengths clash, one'll win and one will lose.

You were just stronger this time. Can't bitch about that!

I guess not.

Enemy's down. You should switch over to Chesed now. I know that fop's going to need an eye on him.

Indeed… the upper layer has not yet been breached, so we may see a minor reprieve once they've been dealt with.

Finally. These guys are a pain in the ass.

As long as Red Mist is being used against her properly, Tanya is a chump. Solo Red Mist or even full team strats, it doesn't matter—as long as Red Mist's Great Split pages take care of Beatdown she's not able to get her offense game running and she'll go down in relatively short order. We could probably have beaten her with just the four Librarians without Red Mist, but doing so would have required both using Mind Hauler on everyone to try and keep their SR up and also putting three of them into Udjat to give us a good way to survive the big Beatdown turns… and Udjat was already spoken for by another fight I didn't want to redo.

And this, ultimately, is the true difficulty of the Uninvited Guests as a whole: None of the fights are particularly difficult in themselves, but they each take a long time to do and you can wind up getting tired of the entire thing before it's over. More than any particular card game talent, patience and perseverance are what this reception is designed to test.

Some days I think I preferred Day 49. It just killed you.

Music: Result

Credentia… didja' finish her off?

No such luck. Gebura showed up, and then I was out like a light.

Another sortie?

I took care of her. Though… your plan wasn't a bad one, but you forgot something important.

That we're weak?

Don't be dense. You forgot that in a battle of equals, everyone comes out with a bloody nose. Your endurance wasn't where you needed it to be.

Dammit… And after we put in all that work.

Training is ultimately a series of setbacks that show you the path forward. Get up. We're doing laps around the floor 'til you all collapse.

Affirmative.

Ma'am!

With this, we're a little over halfway through with them. Only four remain…

Yeah. Just four left, and it'll all be over. Those bastards will get what they deserve.

Roland…

What is it you need?

Begin to prepare. I am fairly certain you will be facing Argalia directly.

Of course. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: Just a rhyme without a reason.

Videos

Tanya Battle
VS Tanya (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

New Key Pages

New Combat Pages

Tanya Exclusive:

TeeQueue · Mon Dec 02, 2024 12:19 pm

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 11: Masser of Puppets

Chesed, status report.

It's been quiet here so far… The enemy we're to defeat seems to be traveling with gear, so it's taking him a few moments..

A few others came by earlier, but… I didn't like our odds, so I let them go.

And they let you?

We figured that, since there's three floors above us, it'd be fine if we let the first three pass.

In that case, I'll have to let Hokma and Binah know their services will be needed again.

I'm willing to bet they already saw that far ahead~

And as for you, are your preparations complete?

Of course~

Our party here is designed to work as a unit. Chesed's Mirinae is going to be handing Augury Kicks out to the rest of the team, and Sweet Pea has a Raging Storm: Love to act as an early Mass Attack pending hitting Emotion Level 4 to unlock the rest of them. Evil Kit is here to apply Smoke and be a general nuisance, and Seyser is going to be focused on trying to keep everyone's Light levels up.

Twee is using a meme deck that will allow us to abuse Magic Trick in case the fight goes for too long, but most importantly she's brought along Yan's Mass Attack.

The landing at last. With Tanya taking the last one, I suppose this area will fall to me. How… fortunate.

VIDEO
Music: ChesedBattle01

Hello there~ As much as I’d like to treat you to a cup of coffee, the circumstances say otherwise… What a shame~

I don’t believe said circumstances are relaxed enough for such jokes, either… You’re being quite tender. Do you always tend to be that soft?

If we can’t avoid facing each other, there’s no need to make it more tense than necessary, now is there? Though I do often hear that I’m carefree~

Don’t make me laugh. Is that supposed to be a humble brag?

…

Would you like me to introduce her?

No need~ I’ve got the gist of what’s going on.

…This puppet was made after that person, wasn’t it~?

It’s a gorgeous piece of work, if I do say so myself. I’d even dare say that it’s my magnum opus.

In terms of appearance?

Even if a puppet were as beautiful as a master’s sculpture, I wouldn’t love its look in itself. They’re neither disgusting… nor attractive to me. They simply are. I have no particular feelings about how they look.

What do you make your puppets for, then?

The thoughts and emotions I hold when I craft them… A resentment towards the City for driving me to this desperation, and a blind anger for the rich. A glimpse of hope that I can bring back my precious son whose life they took. Bitterness, and… a yearning for vengeance toward Roland, the man who rid me of that hope and pushed me to despair.

I wrap the emotions I couldn’t outwardly express in a human string and shape them. I take out the useless chunks of meat… and fill their insides with the emotional baggage I’m carrying. I can breathe easy after I indulge in my craft… That’s when I feel alive at last.

Do you see how dear the puppets are to me now?

Stuffing your emotions in them, huh…

I don’t understand it, but I won’t bother giving my thoughts on it~ I’m still not very happy about what you did to Roland, though.

You said he burned down your whole lab, yeah?

Yes. My son was lost in that fire, not a piece of him left to salvage. …Are you trying to express sympathy for me?

Nah~ We aren’t close enough to worry for each other.

I was just curious~ I wanted to know if vengeance was your only goal in coming here.

Although we have minor differences, all the members of our ensemble strive to reach the same place. Vengeance pointed at Roland was only an intersection we happened to come across on our way to it. It was never at the center of my motive. Well, thanks to him, I won’t have any regrets making my way through.

It’s tragic that we all have our own little stories, isn’t it? We can’t be free of guilt no matter what we do.

That’s precisely why one has to focus solely on what they want to do.

I too wish for a world in which individuals are free to express the flavors they want to exude~ But, is that freedom really the kind that frees one from all responsibility of what they do?

There’s a limitless range of dreams individuals want to bring out. And you must know that the possibility of pursuing your own freedom while you consider everyone else is nothing short of a myth. If one were to take into consideration the width of the potential each person has…

…Never mind, that’s for you to think about. After all, that’s not the kind of world I want to see. I’m not here for a leisurely debate, so let’s get to business now.

Yeah~ That is a good point.

Well then, fellows. As usual… let’s receive our guests.

Music: The Reverberation Ensemble (Briah)

Thought you'd never give the word. Puppets like these were what woke us up, you know.

I gotta' admit, I wondered how strong these things really were…

Yesod made it look pretty easy!

Then why is my hair going off..?

…Quite a varied bunch you have there.

Yes, they're all quite lively, aren't they~?

Jae-heon is another of the Shimmering bosses, who acts as a support for his Puppets. He starts combat by stringing each one up, and the first phase of the fight revolves around removing those strings and defeating the Puppets. Protective Puppetry gives him Protection and Stagger Protection for each living Puppet, which combines with the usual Nuovo Fabric to make him hard to damage until we've taken a few out.

Three of the Puppets are upgraded versions of the Puppets we fought a lifetime ago in Urban Nightmare. They still have the Puppet Skeleton passive for +1 Power to all Blunt dice, and the advanced ones still have their conditional bonuses to Stagger Damage. They gain more HP/SR than the original fight, and also each gets two new passives. The first is a universal passive on all Puppets: Manipulated Flesh. This passive locks their HP to 1 when we would destroy them while they have Puppet Strings on them, and then restores their HP back to half 2 turns later.

The second is a unique passive for each puppet which gives them a bonus while they have the aforementioned Puppet Strings. The Weighty Puppet gets 1 Strength, the Nimble Puppet gets 1 Haste, and the basic Puppet gets the 2 bonus SR that Weighty Puppet gets for free. It's… It's doing its best. If it was just these three, this fight would be pretty easy.

But then there's her.

Puppet Angelica is a major problem in this fight, with her having 1 Speed Die more than the other Puppets from the start. In addition to the usual Puppet Skeleton and Manipulated Flesh, she also has both the bonus passives of Weighty Puppet and Nimble Puppet. Finally, there's the special ability she gets when she has Puppet Strings: 1 Strength, Endurance and Haste will make her generally better. Thankfully, she's the last enemy that Jae-heon strings up.

Speaking of Puppet Strings, we'll cover them now because they're everywhere in this fight. It's a status effect that makes the holder functionally immortal—they come back after 2 turns if they'd be killed. For each stack of Puppet Strings we cut, the enemy loses 8 HP. Finally, each stringed Puppet gets a bonus Speed Die, which will use a specific special attack every turn.

The three normal Speed Dice on the three old Puppets all use attacks from back in Urban Nightmare, and they're… less terrifying than they were back then, but Puppets were a little overtuned so they can still put out some damage if we ignore them. Forceful Gesture is still strong, of course, and the Weighty Puppet also has access to Repressed Flesh as well, which is still the biggest threat from any of those three opponents.

I won't say anything more about them here, as nothing has changed about them. Let's focus on the new mechanics, starting with the Puppet Strings on the base Puppet. For every Puppet that has Strings, Jae-heon gets a unique Counter page and the Puppet gets a unique attack.

For the base Puppet, Jae-heon gets Tugging Strings, and the Puppet gets Puppetry. Puppetry is a mediocre attack that can hit for bonus SR damage due to the Strings passive, and the Tugging Strings Counter Dice aren't particularly large either. The first die will lower the base Puppet's String count when we beat it in a clash, and this mechanic will stay the same for every other Puppet as well.

The only real attack that Jae-heon plays during this phase of the battle is Assailing Pulls. This page is a couple of small dice, but most importantly it applies Red Mark to one of the allies on our side of the field. At no point during this fight do I think to see what Red Mark actually does, which is a shame.

This is because I probably would have liked to know I was about to get Index Targeted on my lowest HP Librarian. This only applies to the bonus pages and Puppet Angelica, but it's still very dangerous. Speaking of Puppet Angelica…

She's leading with a pair of Gh..Gigi..Gig. This page is a level above any of the basic 2-hit Puppet pages, and it's her Light and Draw page. She's the biggest source of damage throughout this fight.

Anyways, for now the plan is to Clone my important pages while I try to take a chunk out of the Puppets. In hindsight I should have made an attempt to break Jae-heon's Counter dice, but I didn't think to focus on him yet.

Now… it's nothing personal, but I need you to get out of our way.

I'm afraid I must return the sentiment, dear guest~

Don't be silly, this guy isn't a guest at all. He's just an intruder.

There's no need to be pleasant with any of them.

Make sure to look out for the one with hair, though… It's definitely not like the others!

No, she wouldn't be… But it's fine. That thing isn't nearly as agile or powerful as the real deal.

So you're watching as well? But don't you have something to get ready for~?

That doesn't matter. I can't be there for it myself, but I want to watch this bastard die.

That's good… Until you can feel even a fraction of my pain, I want you to suffer.

Until your heart is lost to endless sorrow.

I hope it hurts, you son of a bitch.

We shall see.

The Nimble Puppet's duo activates on turn two. Thin Strings is a decent Evade die and a weak Pierce die, with the Pierce being the target to lower Nimble Puppet's string count. Its version of Puppetry is the weakest offensively, and if we're going to ignore any of them this is the best one to let pass.

Uu…Ghghgh…, meanwhile, is another attack from Angelica. It has a single big die that breaks the next die on our page if it hits, and a block die following it up.

Huh… my hair's going a little harder than it was before.

There's a little red thing on you now. Maybe it's a target?

Just try not to get hit too much, you'll be fine.

Yeah, I'll do my best.

Don't like the way they're all coordinated all of a sudden.

That's the strings. The more he takes direct control, the better their movements will get. If we cut them… it should get easier.

Then leave it to me. I'll snap as many as I can!

I'd prefer you did no such thing.

They're my splendid creations, after all.

One little note that I love: whenever Jae-heon manages to use one of his Counter dice correctly, the Puppet associated with it comes to his defense. Man's never fighting alone.

I wouldn't call them 'splendid' so easily. They're just the ones that stayed with you this far. Pretty sure we've already been the death of a dozen or so of these things so far.

They served their purpose… and those First Class bastards aren't alive anymore. We all got what we wanted out of it.

These ones are a cut above those, though.

Gah!

Oh..! Good hit! You knocked him right for a loop!

Should you really be rooting for them, Kit?

I play every side, you know!

That won't stop them from killing you.

Oh, we'll see about that!

Our new pair here are Durable Strings, whose Blunt die is the one we need to break, and the Weighty Puppet's Puppetry—which is actually a weaker attack than most of what it throws out. The Paralysis is a problem, though, we want to block this.

Seems like they're all focusing on me, now.

What, are you worried?

Nah. Just means they know who the captain is.

Despite her HP being higher than Seyser's right now, Red Mark pays attention to the HP at the start of the turn—Sweet Pea was the lowest then, so now she's got everyone's focus.

Raging Storm: Love is a great page to use in this fight, letting us break a number of dice on the enemy's side of the field as early as turn 2. Mass Attacks in general are really good here, since there's five enemies to target at once.

A brilliant blaze, to be sure… but flesh doesn't burn well.

Hell!

Don't worry about it. Just dodge out of the way and you'll be fine!

Yeah, turns out that ain't so easy!

I can only focus on so much in a fight like this… and—

It turns out tanking hits is more important?

Cram it, Tweeds.

Don't worry, I've got your back either way.

The two of you are finally getting along, after all this time~

Don't get carried away now, boss. Soon as this fight's over, we'll be right back to arguing.

That could just mean you're close friends as well~

Like you and Gebura, eh?

…Something like that~

I put Cardiae on Twee here, which does shut off her +1 Power from Yan's Keypage, but it'll let us get -1 Light Cost on some of our big pages.

…To wit, GIANT SWORD

Since slashing's working so well, I'll use the good stuff.

Then I'll have to do the same.

My magnum opus at her very best.

Rot in hell, you twisted ass.

No, thank you.

The final duo is Unique Strings and Angelica Puppet's Puppetry. Unique Strings is yet another Counter page, and we would ideally break that last die ASAP, but because of how Jae-heon's Counter dice work out it winds up being the very last one in the entire queue—this can make it hard to actually get at while others are still stringed.

As for Puppetry… it's the most dangerous page in this entire fight. Because Puppetry is always put on the highest result Speed Die and Angelica's Puppet with Strings has at least 1 Haste to make her Speed range 3-7, she has an incredibly high chance to set it on a 5+ speed die. Angelica's Puppet is also the one who gets assigned the +1 Strength Abnormality Page from the enemy's Emotion Level, giving her a natural 2 Strength and Puppet Skeleton to turn the page into a trio of 10-13 rolls. It's incredibly dangerous.

As shown by her effortlessly deflecting a Distorted Blade.

Ah, man… she looked up. At least I got the fast one.

Don't let it get to you. I would've looked up too.

This weighty puppet only needs a little push now.

So you figured out how to deal with fire being bad on flesh?

Yep: Burn hotter.

Once you two are done, I wouldn't mind someone covering me here. This particular puppet is a bit troublesome~

I'll be right-

MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I've gummed her up with the good smokes! And now I'll help myself to that captain role, thank you!

It wasn't up for grabs, Kitten!

Then why am I over here staggering these giant puppets?!

…You like contributing?

Muahahahaha! Hilarious.

Hey, guys, if you have a second..?

Ahh, looks like you didn't knock the right one for a loop.

Infuriating, isn't it?

For me, maybe!

Well, now that we've stunned three of the Puppets… Maybe I can get some shots in on that puppeteer.

I wouldn't count on it, lass. Even if they cannot move… I can still move them.

We've finally gotten some breathing room… let's take advantage of it.

I wouldn't be so sure about that~

Me either. Something feels off.

You're more perceptive than you seem. Yes, it's important to let the strings loosen…

Before they tighten around your neck.

After stringing up all his Puppets, on the next turn Jae-heon will use Drawing the Strings Taut. This restores 1 Puppet String to all his Puppets, and hits us with a pair of Mass Individual dice that inflict Bind. This can cut our speed down and prevent us from redirecting Puppet Angelica's attacks, which will in turn lead to whoever has the Red Mark getting the heck beaten out of them.

Okay, so here's the plan: Take out that crazy puppet now, and then while she's reeling we'll take advantage of it to finish off the puppetmaster.

You sure? You're looking pretty rough.

I just won't get hit. It's fine.

I've made a terrible mistake here, see if you can spot it in all of the Dice Spaghetti.

Just a little tug…

That's all for his attack. It's time to press the offensive, everyone~

And that means it's my turn!

Dammit… I miscalculated.

If you guessed "You completely ignored the single most damaging page in the fight," you're correct!

Looks like I'm sitting the rest of the fight out…

Darn it, Sweet Pea..!

It's fine. Kitten, I'm putting you in charge.

Finally! The respect I deserve!

We're not following that order.

Says you! I'll have you know I have a brilliant idea!

Does it happen to involve a fish?

It might just!

No.

But I've staggered that troublesome Puppet. It's the best time for a good plan.

Fine, I'll play along. But only because we're in a bit of a bind here.

You recognize your position… Good. Then I'll spare you the explanation.

I slap A Warm Heart back onto Twee. She won't get a lot of use out of the Power ability, but I was focused primarily on restoring her +1 Power from Yan's page and this was the best way to do it. If she gets the extra bonus, that's just icing on the cake.

Nobody asked you for an explanation anyways! There's five of you, and four of us, so the obvious solution is to do the obvious solution!

Okay, I'll bite: What's the obvious solution?

We do what any good boss fight does when we're angry at the player for cheating, of course!

We spam massive all-target attacks.

Is that really even a 'strategy?'

It's certainly got the shape of one, at least~

Hey… why's this thing on my wrist blinking?

Thanks to Life Insurance activating we've got a trio of good Mass Attacks to use, letting us try and put all three Puppets back down as soon as they get up.

Hey puppeteer! You wanted to be free, right? Well you know what happens when you push it too far and the GM gets sick of your shit?!

This isn't a game, brat.

Bzzt! WRONG!! I'm sorry, the answer we were looking for is…

ROCKS FALL, EVERYONE DIES!!! Muahahahahahahaaaaaa!!!

I'll make sure we all still have options after this is over~

Thanks, boss.

Well? Well?! How's that for captaining?!

You're just gloating about what happened after you made that undead army.

And it was useful.

Oh… I think I got it. Push the wrist, this thing comes out…

And then blow it on them to recover. Nice.

Because the Puppets come back with only half their max HP, it makes them quite vulnerable to Mass Attack spam.

Geh..!

You still alive?

Yeah! We didn't get all of them, though.

It'll be fine. That quick-moving one is less of a threat than even the original model~

And with the puppets on the backfoot, that finally opens you up to attack.

Hmph… As long as they exist, I'll be protected.

Protected, but not invincible~ That gunk from Twee's sword sinks into you same as anything else~

Scratches like this aren't anything to cry over.

True enough… But I think we've finally finished cutting the strings on one of your toys~

So, how was it?! Brilliant, I know.

It was a good start, but we're not out of the woods yet.

Right! So after I survived the first set of rocks, what'd you do?

Ah.

At this point, SeyserKoze is low on HP and being Red Marked to draw all of the aggro from Angelica's Puppet. My brilliant idea here is to grab Oblivion and use it to fully restore his Light while also recovering HP and defending him from attacks this turn.

I'm going to hide for a minute. Don't worry about me.

I wouldn't. A trick like that almost definitely won't work.

Seyser, she's still targeting you.

Son of a… How's she still see me?

She's… Well, that thing's a cheap copy of someone who wouldn't be fooled by something so simple.

Truly a masterwork, isn't she?

Shut the fuck up.

Unfortunately, Red Mark takes priority over Oblivion, meaning Seyser's still about to get his head bashed in, and I can intercept at most one of those pages. :shepface:

Hey boss, I need a second to recover before I can launch another of those swords.

I'd say we all need a moment to recover, don't we~?

Don't you worry, I'll take care of it. I've always wanted to be the one making the rocks fall.

I decide the best option here is to leave Seyser's life in the hands of the Numbers I played earlier, and to focus on Jae-heon.

Hold on a moment! I've got a vital proposition.

…

Thank you for waiting. Now, as you'll notice, I'm in a top hat.

…And?

That means I am clearly in the employ of this fine dice-and-card based establishment. And because of that, this means that you, sir, are the challenger. And you know what happens if you spend too long challenging a gambling den, don't you?

…

My dear masterwork. Kill them.

That may be difficult, sir! For you see:

Eventually, the house always wins!

Oh, you got one. Nice work~

Let's not miss the chance, Twee~

Ye…yeah. Let's do that.

I can see you're awed by another work of my linguistic mastery!

First the fish and now this… _{You know what, at least we're on the same side this time.} Hey Seyser! You still alive back there?!

Somehow… I'm surviving…

Persistence keeps SeyserKoze moving here, restoring him to 30 HP instead of killing him off.

Perfect. Just leave the rest of this to us!

That damned goo again… This tugging, leading me to places I don't want to go.

Yes, that's called a 'railroad.' Twee's very good at them.

Hey!

Only something that can move within the cracks of that reality could ever properly disrupt it, and that's really your problem: Ultimately, you're too straight laced!

Ghh… No, my creations are certainly more than a match for you.

Muahahahahaha! Then let's see how useful they really are!

Well… we certainly took the long way to get here, but I think we've arrived at the end of the fight. Good work, everyone~

Yeah. Let's finish it.

Defend me, puppets… Once I can move again—

You don't understand.

We're finishing it.

The problem with going for Magic Trick is that it's a level 3 Abnormality Page, and full fights like this are simply too slow to let us get that far. Even taking a loss, we weren't quite able to do it—though if SyeserKoze had died as well, Twee would have been able to spam four copies of Distorted Blade as a final action.

…Not that it would have mattered, given that we've won already.

There's those strings cut… and one of the other Puppets handled, too.

Then finish this damned fight so I don't have to look at that thing anymore!

As you wish, Roland~

Feel better now~?

…I'm going to sharpen my swords.

Right. We'll clean up here~

No need. It's already done!

Phew… finally over. I feel like I got carried to the finish line.

Oh, you did. Absolutely.

I'd say he gave us all plenty of energy to keep going, though~?

Then it's a good thing I'm the captain today!

Captains can't overrule Chesed, he's the boss.

Says who?!

The Puppeteer's reception is the hardest one in Briah, but this doesn't necessarily mean it's hard. Understanding how Red Marks work (and slapping some Bind on Angelica's Puppet to make her redirectable) turns this fight into something of a joke, as it's a hard counter to the focused targeting that serves as the main threat here.

Outside of that, Mass Attacks remain hilariously overpowered in 5v5 melees, so just use those. If all of the Puppets are defeated Jae-heon does have a second set of attacks he can use, but as squishy as he is compared to the Puppets with their Strings on this should realistically almost never come up.

Music: Result

Uugh… Underestimated their speed. Won't happen again.

I don't think it can happen again. This feels like the last time.

And all under my leadership. Splendid!

You're not the…

I said he was the Captain, so he was.

Still am!

Uh… boss, can you just name someone the captain already so we can resolve all of this?

I could… but you all look like captains to me~

Aww… that's sweet.

No, that's dodging.

I'd have thought you'd approve of that sort of thing~

With Briah cleared out, all that's left is the final layer. Keter is still locked, so we have to choose between Binah and Hokma. We get one last key page unlock here, so we're allowed to throw everything we have at these next two fights.

It's taken a while, but we're finally almost done with these invaders. Only three remain… Three more encounters… then at last, my book will be complete.

And then…

…I suppose we shall see. For now, I need to support Binah. She lacks the personnel to properly receive anyone.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: A one-woman Apocalypse.

Videos

Jae-heon Battle
vs Jae-heon (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

New Key Pages

New Combat Pages

Feny · Fri Dec 06, 2024 9:33 pm

Sooo in love with this LP. Been reading along for the last 1.5 years or so (since xiao's fight) and really enjoy this. I know you've gotten this a number of times over the course of this thread, but the way you capture the voices of the characters in the writing is scary levels of good - especially the extra writing for the abnormality fights is sooo enjoyable. It's also really nice to get some levity in from all the assistant librarians.

Anyway, super looking forward to the final part!

I'm sad that a lot of the fanart has been lost to the whims of discord imageserver though. The fanart is all so beautiful and funny and just an amazing part of this LP also.

quantumpapaya · Mon Dec 16, 2024 4:19 am

Evil kit never ceases to be a strong contender for the best agent of all time

Anyway,

I think it's neat how, while they're still determined to fight to protect the library, the general pattern seems to be that the patron librarians aren't trying to change the ensemble's worldviews, but instead respecting their differences and agreeing to disagree. I'd go on about the theme we could draw from this but I don't actually have anything to say beyond that 00; I just think it's interesting

also, while I'm here, truly the most tragic part of Jae-Heon's backstory is the loss of his fabulous hair.

Never pass up an opportunity to draw such fabulous hair.

TeeQueue · Tue Dec 17, 2024 12:39 pm

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 12: The Cooler Tiphxodia

Music: Ominous Ambiance

Ah… I guess we aren't making it through this floor for free, are we?

No, it appears not.

Let's not be hasty now. Say, miss, do you have any problems if my friends and I move along?

My duty is to receive those who would take from this place. One of you must stay. The rest may continue on.

In that case… Elena. You'd be the best for her.

Right. The rest of you go on ahead.

So you have chosen.

Miss Binah, should we get ready to fight?

That guy she's got with her looks… rough.

The two of you can stay where you are. Capture what is to come in your eyes.

I alone shall be enough.

VIDEO
Music: BinahBattle01

I bid you welcome, unfamiliar child.

Ah, you can skip the introductions. I heard enough about your kind and what you do here.

The power to manifest a physical space… I’d almost believe it if someone said this was a Singularity. A space full of stars… Like the ones shining over the City, huh…

I would like to hear what you think of the stars. They say stars are like a compass on the sky that gives guidance to people. In that case, are the Stars of the City guiding lights dictating where the City should go… Or are they representations of the City itself? Are these stars shining over the City, or is the City reflected in them…?

To me, a star is nothing more than a dot on the sky. And they give off a forbidding impression like they’re looking down upon us from the highest post…

That’s what a star means to you, I see.

Many alluring tales are told of stars, but when you observe one up close, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Isn’t that what a star is? I have no interest in such pathetic things. I didn’t rise to a Star because I wanted to.

Perhaps most beings who have become stars did so simply by following their wants, much like you did.

You’re right. I only did what I wanted to do, walking along a dry trail. We simply quenched our desires just like your kind always do, yet they feared us to an unreasonable degree.

But I suppose there’s no use in complaining about it at this point.

Then, I must wonder how you felt when you craved for human blood if you still consider yourself one.

Feelings? I just kill and be done with it. I’ve got to do something to slake this searing desire that gradually grows stronger. Ah, I guess I wasn’t always like this.

At first, for myself… I bit into the flesh of other humans and drank their blood for my own sake. The severe thirst was one thing, but there was also something I wanted to know. Have I become a beast that must feed on human blood like the others… Or am I just being a pathetic runaway, escaping from reality? Or, am I a mere human who has gone insane from the fiendish circumstances and twisted desires? I would continually ask myself that question as I chewed on their flesh. What could be the reason?

Maybe I was desperate to convince myself. I used to be an ordinary human being living an ordinary life, after all. Eventually, I found myself looking for a conclusion for a matter that won’t have one. I guess I still had a grip on my sanity at that time. Even as I shoved bits of flesh in my mouth from the irresistible thirst, I constantly questioned myself, telling myself that this was wrong.

Well, it’s all a story of the past. It’s funny to look back on those times.

I doubt your kind would’ve viewed us any differently even if I continued to think about it.

I don’t expect your kind to take a sudden shift and change your views on us or anything. If they want to live their lives as they see fit, then they won’t stop me from doing the same.

Think about it. We can’t roam the street in peace; we’re forced to live in the darkness. What sins have we committed to deserve this treatment? Why must we suffer to ensure that your kind lives a painless life?

We’re humans just like you. We just look a bit different. Seeing your kind lavishly pursue your desires while we’re left in the dark… It’s only natural for me to feel indignant, isn’t it?

If they won’t reconsider how they see us no matter what we do, we’ll gladly stop holding back and live as we like.

That is an intriguing tale.

Intriguing? Ah, whatever… If that’s how you wanna take it. What you think or what kind of world you want to make are all irrelevant to me anyway, no?

You would be right. Now is the time to fight for where you stand.

Be prepared.

Music: The Reverberation Ensemble (Atziluth)

…Hm. That's an outfit I haven't seen in some time.

It has been some time since I have worn it, as well.

I get the sense our meanings are different here…

If that is what you say.

Elena completely lacks special abilities, only being a Shimmering boss with Nuovo Fabric. This is because her mechanic isn't in her passives.

Her mechanic is wrapped up in the Color she brought with her. The Vermillion Cross has no abilities aside Shimmering, and this fight is about the interplay between Elena and the Cross's combat pages. They have some nasty combos, and we'll be dealing with them using only Binah today.

Retry Count: 15

This is not exactly the easiest thing in the world, as it turns out.

On the first turn, Elena uses two attacks that don't matter and Circulation. If Circulation targets the Vermilion Cross then it'll gain 3 Strength and Protection. Vermilion Cross at +3 Strength will annihilate our HP, so we're forced to redirect this page off of her.

Vermillion Cross is using Obstruct this turn in the meanwhile. This page makes Elena untargetable if any of its dice are left over. With us having to clash into Circulation, this is a guaranteed success—we won't have the dice to break these and mitigate damage at the same time. That's fine, because we're mostly going to ignore Elena outside of Circulation until this guy is dead.

This means we have one die to use to block one of the three attacks from the Vermilion Cross…

Two of them deal part Slash and part Pierce/Blunt, and Binah is nearly immune to Slash damage.

The third, Shockwave, is a massive Blunt die and thus we're going to destroy it.

On this first turn, we need to do two things: We need to lose with both of our Fairy attacks to generate negative emotion, because we need a very specific Abnormality Page loadout to deal with this.

Binah, there's something off with that guest.

Yes, that one seems to have been taken over by our foe.

He's but a puppet to our opponent's whims now, dear.

Our opponent was able to defeat a color… Will you be alright?

What do you believe?

…I believe you are making light of the situation.

I suppose you may be correct.

These attacks… you really aren't trying, are you. Must be nice to look down on people.

You are trying with all your might to overturn this City. It is my duty to serve as a wave, crashing down upon your hopes.

It's a position I know rather well.

As expected from a formerly-great Arbiter of the Head.

I am naught but what you see before you.

Right. You're nothing but veins and blood inside a sack.

Is that all you see humans to be now?

You stopped being human a long time ago.

Then what am I, in your eyes?

In my way.

We take Big Eyes here, the reason why it was so vital that I lose those two clashes against Circulation. Of my 5 total resets here, 3 were because I did too well and never saw this page.

You're reckless. Calling upon the power of the Apocalypse Bird…

But you will surely adjust things so that they work within the limits of this place, will you not?

That doesn't mean it's easy.

Then consider it practice, dear.

On our second turn, Elena is untargetable thanks to Obstruct. Meanwhile, Vermilion Cross is using only two dice—this is because he's got a trick like Tanya's, and the first activation is relatively kind.

Its name is Rampageous Strike, and when it hits anyone it'll follow up on another one of our Librarians until it hits everyone. Degraded Pillar will eat it same as anything else, so we just have to make sure to throw one at this whenever it appears and we'll never take a hit from it.

Lone Fixer also activates this turn, meaning we're much less fussed over clashing with either of our opponents.

Quite an attack… but it's worthless if it will never reach its target.

How underhanded… but even as a bloodless shell, that man still can strike more than you can.

Do you think such a thing can fell me?

I don't think it matters… while I'm untouchable, I'll just have a taste of that blood.

Oh?

Did you really think that just because I couldn't target you, you would be beyond my attacks?

Hold on, isn't that Gebura's..?

I have appropriated a tool which I deemed useful.

The Retaliate passive is worth its weight in gold here, being almost guaranteed to stop Elena's attacks after Lone Fixer. Binah doesn't have any other Counter die options, so it was a must-pick.

Even that won't keep you standing forever. Little by little, you'll be exsanguinated.

I suppose I should take steps to prevent that, then.

This shall do nicely.

Long Arms will protect us from the Burn damage that the Vermilion Cross throws around, and this is the only function it has in this battle. The other status effects don't show up here.

It's another Obstruct/Circulation turn here, so our hand is a little forced. Even with our +3 Strength, we don't want to give the Cross any bonus damage when we're staring down the barrel of five offensive Combat Pages, even if Elena's are a little…

The HP recovery of Sanguine Nails and Siphon are certainly okay, and Siphon will halve any status effects on Elena, but they both have Slashing dice and we can basically ignore Slashing dice. It's like she's perfectly set up to counter Fairy, but forgot to counter Binah's base stats.

Again and again you try, but I will not allow your tactic to see the light.

You only have so much attention. By stopping me, you're opening yourself up to attack from—

Do you know why it is I prefer to remove the limbs from my opponents?

What? How am I supposed to have any idea?

It is because I myself only need one hand to stop either of you.

What does that even… no, it doesn't matter what it means, it's all rubbish!

If that is what you say.

All you do is ask leading questions that don't mean a damn thing, trying to make people overthink. Interpretations don't matter. Blood does—spilling yours. Drinking.

…I see.

Then, come.

By the time I'd feel comfortable using Small Beak, the fight will already effectively be over—it's basically a tickmark as part of our strategy here. Grabbing it means the hard part is over, we just need to survive a little longer and our Positive/Negative Emotion Coin balance no longer matters.

As you wish.

Binah, you won't be able to stop her Circulation this time.

I am quite aware of that, dear. It's her other move that intrigues me. It seems like a storm to be weathered…

Bloodspreading is Elena's ultimate attack, a Mass Summation page that she throws out every few turns. It recovers HP based on the damage dealt, so if she manages to hit a full five-person group she can easily get back nearly a full quarter of her healthbar.

I shall try E.G.O for myself, then.

Please do. I've wondered if it has blood as well.

…Hm.

24 vs 21. Beak was a 20-26 roll with Lone Fixer, so this was really

Jaws fire up from beneath, chomping down on us. Elena's already nearly at full HP so we don't need to worry about her healing—another reason to focus down the Vermilion Cross first.

It seems they don't have blood after all. Only mine left my body.

Did you get hit on purpose..?

There are many mysteries about E.G.O, even to me.

You won't have the time to find out the answers… You're already about to bleed out.

Yes… How unfortunate…

…That you have let the only chance you had at victory slip between your fingers like the tide.

Tilted Scales will be keeping our health up for the remainder of the fight.

Huh. So you can say something decisive.

Indeed, I am able to speak as plain as anyone.

This turn, Elena's using Inject. This move will give +3 Power to the Vermilion Cross for the rest fo the turn if she hits us with it, and while her Speed for this attack is only a 2, the Cross's turn is mostly going on 1.

We can mitigate this by just attacking all of the Vermilion Cross's dice before Inject goes off—it doesn't matter if the Cross gains 3 or 300 Power if it doesn't have any attacks to power up.

For instance: that strike will still never reach.

And while you may struggle against the tides…

You do not have the breadth of gaze necessary to grasp anything.

A stiff breeze will be enough to slay you. You're puffing up for nothing.

You are too caught up within your own perceptions. This world is made up of countless manners of thinking, and you consider none of them. Ultimately, that is your weakness.

What in the—I know you were practically dead a moment before.

Indeed, had you left the fighting entirely to your shield, I may have been in real danger. However, the scales have tilted once more.

No… perhaps it would be more correct to say that they were always tilted. From the very start, there was only ever one outcome.

Hovering back and forth on the edge of death… coming back only to be shaved again… You're using blood as well.

If that is—

Enough bullshit! It's what I say!

Yes. I agree.

When fully activated, The Beast isn't quite as absurd as Tiphxodia at its full power. However, it has several things going for it. First off: it gives her one-sided power nullification. The enemy's Strength and Endurance don't matter at all anymore. The second ability also gives anyone who who targets her or is targeted by her a sort of super Paralysis—all of their dice lose 3 on both their Max and Minimum rolls. Finally, it will fully restore Binah's Light every turn and deal 15 damage to everyone on the field who isn't her.

This means that Tiphxodia will lower enemy dice rolls by more, giving everyone a -5 to all dice at the cost of losing to Power Nullificiation pages, while The Beast will not kneecap our allies (aside 15 HP/turn, which we can heal off) and works just fine against Power Nullification.

Binah, this power…

Are you worried for me, dear? I am unused to such sentiment.

It isn't that… You're going to tear apart the entire floor if you stay in that form for too long.

I see.

I shall ensure that does not come to pass.

This damn forest again… It didn't do anything last time, but…

Now… to begin the end.

You wield this husk as a weapon. I shall claim it.

Hold on… There's no blood left inside of that thing anymore. How are you still taking vitality from it?

This is the problem with only being able to see a single point of view..

Assumptions and limits form within you, and you become unable to adapt to the shifting tides.

And there is only one fate for those who cannot adapt…

Though such a fate inevitably awaits us all regardless of our efforts. Perhaps it is simpler not to claw tooth and nail in search of a nebulous truth.

While the screen blurs out for the damage portion of Justita, rest assured that it dealt a lot of it.

It's really something, the way you talk about viewpoints when you can't understand what it is to be a bloodfiend. Must be nice to sit on your ass and spew moral tripe when you've never felt it. The thirst… the need, overpowering everything else.

I merely wish to observe the truths of this world, including one which has eluded you even now:

That a shield could never defend against the ocean.

What?!

At the end of the turn, the Vermilion Cross takes 15 damage from The Beast and another 10 from Fairy stacks, finishing it off. However, it used Obstruct and we didn't clear off the Counter dice before the end of turn. Because of this…

We've left ourselves with only one enemy, who is untargetable. Elena uses this opportunity to bust out another Bloodspreading, but that's actually a good thing for us because we resist its damage and our automatic Counter die can crush her other page easily.

With the greatest effort it could muster, it has granted you a final reprieve. Do not try and run, such an outcome was stolen from you the moment you stepped foot in this place.

Well I'm sure as hell not going to surrender.

No, I would hope not.

Give me that taste of life… that joy du verve which brings meaning! And then—

—Gah!

…I tire of this.

At this point the fight is over. All that we need to do is drain Elena's HP pool, and the fastest way to do that is Justita and its 10% max HP True Damage on hit. Against Elena, that's 40.

Just let me get in close… I just need one hit…

…How. How are you… It's like I didn't do anything at all!!

So you at last understand your situation.

Now, sink quietly. The waters of the ocean shall slake your thirst.

Such a worthless liquid could never—hrk!

I need… blood. Just a little more, and I can fight more. I can…

Just let me drink! I just want to drink! What's wrong with existing?!

Hush, now. There is nothing left. Simply relax… and feel yourself sink deep.

I won't… you've gotten all that blood back. All that… tasty…

Just one more taste. Then another taste. Until I've drained your veins again…

Until… I've had another drink…

…Just… one last sip… I just need… a drop…

May your rest be more peaceful, this time.

As expected of a fight that can be soloed, Elena isn't a particularly difficult opponent as long as we understand target prioritization. Because she can heal and Vermilion Cross can't, so long as we focus down the Cross and then Elena we're all but guaranteed to outlast her.

And thus, it is ended.

Indeed. All that remains is to clean her up and—

Come on, COME ON! PLEASE!

..?

Music: Reverberation Ensemble (Asiyah)

Too loud, Zaida… I'm about to collapse already…

Sorry, sorry, just. It just… it can't possibly survive past this, right? So finish the thing off.

Right… finally… it went down. Huff… Huff…

Okay… Time to wake the others… and then a little siesta…

Okaybossthejob'sdoneI'mgoingonbreakbye.

…

My apologies. I was distracted for a moment. Did anything interesting come of the fight?

Music: Result

Nothing in particular, dear.

In that case, you're dismissed. Good work.

Of course. I wish you success in assisting Hokma.

…Yes.

I've got your tea all ready, Miss Binah!

Excellent. And the books?

I'm getting them filed away now. You did a number on the floor with that bird… it was hard to find 'em.

Acceptable work. I require a repose… should we get any other visitors, handle them.

Okee-doke, Miss Binah!

Next time, on Library of Ruina: 52

Videos

Elena Battle
vs Elena (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

New Key Pages

New Combat Pages

Elena Exclusive:

TeeQueue · Tue Dec 17, 2024 12:47 pm

Feny wrote: ↑
Fri Dec 06, 2024 9:33 pm
Sooo in love with this LP. Been reading along for the last 1.5 years or so (since xiao's fight) and really enjoy this. I know you've gotten this a number of times over the course of this thread, but the way you capture the voices of the characters in the writing is scary levels of good - especially the extra writing for the abnormality fights is sooo enjoyable. It's also really nice to get some levity in from all the assistant librarians.

Anyway, super looking forward to the final part!

I'm sad that a lot of the fanart has been lost to the whims of discord imageserver though. The fanart is all so beautiful and funny and just an amazing part of this LP also.

Don't worry too much about discord imageserver. I have all of the original URLs because I have the ability to edit the post, and thus I can post them on discord and the link will work again. Then I just download it, upload it to lpix, and BAM: I have a working fanart link.

I just haven't done that yet because it sounds like a remarkable pain in the ass, so I'm just going to do it when I do the next fanart update sometime around after we murder the shit out of Argalia (spoilers: he is getting the shit murdered out of him. I'm sorry if this ruins the gameplay experience)

I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed yourself though. Just a little more! (Well. "Little." Ruina's endgame....)

quantumpapaya wrote: ↑
Mon Dec 16, 2024 4:19 am
Evil kit never ceases to be a strong contender for the best agent of all time

Anyway,

I think it's neat how, while they're still determined to fight to protect the library, the general pattern seems to be that the patron librarians aren't trying to change the ensemble's worldviews, but instead respecting their differences and agreeing to disagree. I'd go on about the theme we could draw from this but I don't actually have anything to say beyond that 00; I just think it's interesting

also, while I'm here, truly the most tragic part of Jae-Heon's backstory is the loss of his fabulous hair.

Never pass up an opportunity to draw such fabulous hair.

speaking of good fanart

god I forgot to look over here since it's off my usual topbar right now since I have a very normal number of tabs open. But yeah, it feels like each one is manifesting the qlipha version of what the sephirot is supposed to represent. It's poetic because of course it is, this game was written by a philosophy major.

quantumpapaya · Tue Dec 17, 2024 9:38 pm

this game was written by a philosophy major.

that explains a whole lot, actually :P

TeeQueue · Mon Jan 06, 2025 12:39 pm

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 13 x 4

Music: Ominous Ambiance

You're sure we're fighting the skull guy here, right?

Yeah. This part is always the same. They'll come around the corner in a couple minutes, and the old one will be asking about—

Why… are there… so many… stairs?

Perhaps it's to serve as another kind of defense. Ah, but look. Here we are, at another of the landings.

Ah… so we are. My apologies, Sir Argalia… I don't think I can join you the rest of the way.

Don't worry. We happen to need someone to face the Librarians here, anyways. I'll entrust that role to you.

Of course, Sir Argalia. Be careful.

Don't you worry. I'll get hold of the light and be right back.

Hokma's build is a meme with a use that will soon become clear.

Talow, meanwhile, is running the final form of Block Purple Tear. Bi An draws pages, Serpentine Barrier will break entire pages, and Ominous Power keeps our Light topped up no matter what we do.

As for the other three…

…Nope. Nope nope nope, we're changing out, now.

There is something problematic about our attire?

Smoke on one of you, another spreading Paralysis, and Morgan's got…

Another Time wrote:

Retry Count: 16. I forgot how the fight worked and did not expect two Distorted Blades bashing my face in on the same turn.

No. Just no. Don't bring anything that you wouldn't want to have to deal with coming back our way.

Oh… it's a mirror match, is it?

More or less. They don't have our Abnormality pages, but they can and will steal anything else.

Fine, we'll go boring.

This was also a mistake, but it's a livable mistake. Honestly, deckbuilding for this fight is a pain in the ass because it's the hardest kind of fight in the game: A fair one.

Are you all ready?

Ready as we'll ever be.

Can't help but notice you stayed out of the discussion.

I wished to keep an eye on our guest here until he caught his breath.

Then let us descend onto him in an unbroken chain of violence.

Yeah. Let's take 'em down.

VIDEO
Music: HokmaBattle01

You are quite the polite gentleman. This was unexpected from the Library that was rumored to be brutal. Not to mention, this place also has a… rather quiet and moody atmosphere. Not bad. The silence and emptiness makes it hard for one to believe that the macabre atrocity of turning people into books has taken place here on multiple occasions.

…May I ask who the people behind you are?

They’re the assistant librarians who shall aid me in receiving you warmly. You may introduce yourselves to each other.

But of course. My name is Pluto.

I've never actually been asked to introduce myself before… You can call me Robin.

Morgan. I'd say it's a pleasure, but… you know. The murder.

I'm Sephiroth. I was dispatched to be your death.

…Talow.

…I believe this was a floor dedicated to the topic of religion. What is religion in your view, if I may ask?

What could it be. I would say that it is what one firmly believes in, and a state of mind that gives motivation and significance to their deeds.

Is the power of a belief really limited to endowing one with such a mindset? Doing deeds for the good of this world doesn’t inherently make one a good person, and neither does committing a bad deed make one evil. Even if one performs misdeeds, they can be a virtuous person, and can be forgiven for anything…

I’d argue that belief and religion are what enables one to think that everything they conceive and accept is right. In that context, faith in religion has to be a truly selfish and cruel concept.

I suppose your statement isn’t entirely incorrect.

Do you agree with it?

Unsteady, you say…

…Do you have anyone or anything you believe in?

I cannot say for sure. I tend not to place faith in what I cannot see. In fact, I cannot be entirely certain of if I am here in reality or in a dream, or if I am actually looking at you or not. I even question the fact that I am here, standing on my own two feet. After all, it may be a mere product of an illusion.

Humans can fool their own senses; how can I believe in what does not exist, let alone worship it? That would be akin to sensing coldness upon touching a hot object, and vice versa. For instance, what if… there was a deceptive entity that masks one’s perception of the world with falsehood?

Regardless of the reality, if one perceives it in a certain way, that would become an undeniable truth. Even if it turns out to be false, the fact that one believes it to be the truth at the moment… remains stalwart. To believe in something, one must believe in themselves and their view on it.

You’re speaking specious words.

In that moment of the past, I was made a fool. The shallow promise that our safety would be secured… The thin piece of contract is what cost me everything. Had he not saved me, I might have drowned myself in resentment toward the whole world… and met my end.

…

And now, I plan to take the path he intends to open. If I had to state one thing I believe in… It would be Sir Argalia and the new world he shall create.

Let me ask you what makes you put faith in him.

If I can close my eyes and open them again to a new world forever devoid of lies… I will readily believe in him. And I hope you will come to appreciate the City when it becomes such a place.

I will refrain from stating my assessments. My opinion matters little to you, after all.

Well, if you say so. In that case… be prepared.

Music: The Reverberation Ensemble (Atziluth)

So… what will it be, then?

You place too much faith in what is and is not. Let me show you how fickle that all is. How easily your delusions can break down.

Pluto is invincible. He cannot take damage from attacks. He is also immune to any status ailments and takes no damage from Deflects for the entirety of his first phase. Starting from turn 2, he will summon Shades based upon all four of the Assistant Librarians. Defeating them is the key to getting to his second phase and breaking his invulnerability.

If you listen to what your senses tell you that's how the fight works, anyways.

Talow.

One-sided contracts. He's going to hit us with them, and they'll limit our options.

So it's how I surmised after all. Very well.

So what, we just grab the ones we want?

If you would, yes.

Ugh… I hate reading contracts, people always try hiding unfair terms in there. Okay, gimme a sec to look them ov—

Dibs on Swiftness.

Then I will take Might.

…Amplification calls to me.

Wait, seriously? I get Mr. Saw-this-already and the Hokma picking immediately, sure, but you too Seph? You know these are all a trap, right? Let me just read through them and—

We're picking fast because we know it's a trap. These all have some kind of bad terms in them, don't they?

Bingo. I made my loadout work around them, and as for the geezer…

I didn't have to tell him anything and he still recognized the one that'd work perfectly for him.

A showing of faith in my abilities, as it were.

Ugh.

I'll take the last two. That way, nobody'll have to think about it too hard.

Your funeral.

I'm not a fan of all the fighting anyways. If it happens, it happens.

Well, if you all know it's a trap, I don't have anything else to say.

It's time, then. We've decided.

Splendid.

Then you shall be held to your words.

The first turn is a massive setup, in which we're busy picking which of our allies gets which curse. The contract pages give a general idea about what they'll do, but they leave out some important information. Unfortunately, there's a bigger cost to these contracts than just their downsides.

Now then… it's a good thing I brought help along.

You didn't, though?

Can you say that for certain, or were your eyes merely lying to you until just now?

Oooh yeah, hate this guy.

They're duplicates of you all. Tread carefully.

Each one of the Shades copies one of our Librarians exactly, and adds these three passives. They steal our passives and our Combat Pages—they can also use the same page multiple times in a single turn if they want to, so don't bring any main deck mass attacks.

The astute player may already have figured out a way to cheese the fight: just bring terrible decks like the Udjat Trio are running right now.

Unfortunately, ProjMoon thought of that. In addition to our own Combat Pages, the Shades will use some of their own. Shaded Strike is a generically good 3-hit attack, which can swing over any of the options our trio has brought.

The other unique page they use this turn has 2 different types, but both work the same. Shadow Image will copy whatever page defeats its special die. Type 2 is the slightly more dangerous page, but they're both less of a problem than Shaded Strike.

Before we engage, let's read over the specifics on these contracts now. He was pretty vague about the downsides…

What, "evil counterparts" isn't enough of a downside?

Not to a contract Fixer. Those guys don't believe in mercy. Which is why I didn't grab one, by the way.

We'll take a close look, then.

Hokma's Might grants 2 Strength, with the caveat that if we should ever use a page with 2 or more offensive dice on it we'll be immediately Staggered next turn. Hokma's build is all single-die pages to offset this, and in typical play this works very well with Singular Strike and particularly Violet Blade.

I don't need to read mine, I know what it does already.

Did it get you killed?

It's the only one that hasn't, actually.

Talow's Swiftness is just a straight +3 to our Speed forever. It's great with Myo's Prowess or for ensuring we can intercept enemies. Because Talow has to clash in order to do anything with his deck, it's a no brainer here. There's a downside if we ever do any one-sided attacks, but:

-We have 0 non-Block dice in this deck
-The downside applies Feeble and Disarm, and this is Block mode Purple Tear so it doesn't do anything anyways.

Mine appears to be… complicated.

Amplification is annoying to play around, the best way to do it realistically being to build a Singleton deck with a variety of 0-3 cost pages to use. The +3 Power it gives is a lot in a mirror match, but honestly this one is just kind of a pain to deal with (as is arguably the case for all the pages I handed to the Udjat trio).

And I am… oh. Ah, hell.

Robin's purpose here is to take my two least favorite contracts and die horribly. Liberty will randomize the costs of all pages in our hand, but we can't play any pages with a specific cost between 0 and 3 or we lose 25% of our max HP. This is accompanied by Light, which will refill our Light fully every turn at the cost of requiring us to spend it all. The 10% HP cost per Light remaining is really steep, and dealing with this requires us to be building a deck with a very high Light curve—the theory today is to use the randomized costs to try and use as much Light as possible, but Light Recovery pages will actually hurt us as they give Light back before the end of the turn—we get dinged for each one.

Pluto's phase 1 is intended to be a test of deckbuilding: we have unique advantages against an opponent who will copy 4/5ths of our build with a couple of bonus options. Like with most challenging fights in this series, that gives us three main plans of attack to deal with it.

The first option is to engage with the mechanics as intended. To do this we'd be building decks to take on each of the contracts that are much stronger with them than without. Between this and our floor-specific advantages like Abnormality Pages/E.G.O we should be able to overcome the mirror match and proceed safely to phase 2.

The second option is to give everyone Block pages aside Hokma, and rely on him to do the lion's share of the fighting while any generated Shades are stuck using primarily worthless attacks. This would have been incredibly funny, but I didn't think of it until just now.

This leaves us with option three, which we haven't done in a while: introduce something to the mix which somehow disrupts the intended flow of the fight.

There's no need for you to do anything. Just stand over there and be quietly crushed from a distance.

Like there's any chance we'd do that, right?

We are in agreement, Talow. Everyone, simply wait for your time to counterattack.

Counterattacking won't do much against an invincible enemy.

It's true. Your attacks may as well be air—I cannot say for sure that I even feel them.

How do you not feel attacks? This hurts, you know?!

Bear with it. Such things are transient and fleeting… While I am eternal.

Are you..?

If I believe it, then it must be true. Right, Hokma?

It will be true as long as you are able to believe it so, at the least.

Then it shall be eternal.

Weirdly enough, Sephiroth's got the right idea. Kind of.

Pluto is immune to Slashing, Pierce, and Blunt damage, alongside any damage from status effects.

This does not mean that he is immune to damage, however: True Damage is none of those things and will work just fine. Because of this, Lean, Bloody Wings is a way to slowly whittle down his HP over the course of the fight.

This also means that there are two fights which are made significantly faster by using Dimensional Sections in this reception, which is two more use cases for Dimensional Sections than the entire rest of the game. I forgot to bring it again, but it is a very good idea if you're intent on playing the game competently.

On their next turn, Pluto and the Shades both come out with their remaining attacks in this phase.

Magic: Onslaught is a decent two-die page and there's really nothing else to say about it. I guess there's a Block Counter on it..?

Meanwhile, the Shades will periodically use their ultimate attack I'M THE REAL ONE!!!. It's a trio of 9's that will reliably swing over anything we have under a 3-cost page. They seem to use this page every couple of turns, or when they don't have a page to copy off of Shadow Image, or when they just feel like it. Because this page is so powerful I'd recommend avoiding bringing anyone weak to Blunt.

Hey, one thought and hundreds of boring words. You say you're not sure what you're seeing is true, right?

Indeed, everything can be doubted. Should be doubted. Your own senses are lying to you.

I'll hold you to your word.

I… felt that.

What sort of loophole are you trying to use, boy?

My buddy here lives within your eyes… desires your gaze. So if you can't believe even what your eyes are saying, who's to say you're taking it in your view at all?

Your argument is absurd.

Did I even make an argument just now? How do you know you're not hearing things?

Gah..! These guys are really angry all of a sudden… Was there another condition that we didn't notice?

You think it could be something like that?

This guy's legalese is mind-numbing. He could have hidden an entire goat cheese parfait recipe in there and we wouldn't have seen it.

Regardless, we are only able to accept this beating for so long. We should counterattack.

Yes, I quite agree.

I probably should have grabbed this on the first turn to get it online faster, but I wanted to start dealing damage ASAP. Anyways, Thirteenth Toll is going to put in some absurd work in a few turns.

Unfortunately, there's nothing to do now but wait for those few turns to pass by.

So hey, geezer. Are you doing what I think you're doing..?

I've no idea what you're thinking I'm doing, Talow. This is simply practice.

Then why are you practicing on the shade of me..?

Why, indeed?

Great… the old guys are being mysterious, and I'm getting my ass kicked.

If you merely perceived them as trite, they would cease to be mysterious. Time and again, the senses betray.

Then I'll perceive you as getting punched in the face!

Didn't feel it. Doesn't count.

Gaaah..! Not fair!

I grab Penance here, but really our Abnormality Page selections don't matter past this point.

Morgan's indisposed, and I'm going to need to buy a little more time before I can put an end to this. Robin, Sephiroth… One of you show them something he can't replicate.

Yeah… I'm about to bleed out, so…

Worry not.

I shall scatter them.

Even as the ground shifts under my feet… you've proven the inherent lie of reality, you know.

There's a quite reasonable explanation for it. Your senses are not lying to you.

You expect me to believe that you would summon something so grand to merely scratch at me? You must think me a fool.

Never… I would simply destroy countless stars to lay a scratch upon your cheek. That, I expect you to believe.

Hm.

If you want to hurt him, you could have taken this book instead.

I don't look good in purple.

Ah, of course.

Heck… maybe I shouldn't have cared about the print after all…

This is as far as you go, then?

Yeah… Kill one of 'em for me, would ya? I can't keep it up anymore…

…We'll need to settle the balance before things devolve further.

Couldn't agree more.

Then we'll have to act to that effect.

Two agreements in a row. Robin, take a memo.

I'm not playing along right now… I'm about to bleed out.

You serious? How bad is it?

Bad. I'm taking care of it, though.

Right, just make sure you don't get hit by the contracts.

No problem. I know how to count to six.

…I'm going to break the narrative here for just a minute, because I want to really focus on this turn. This turn won me the fight.

It is also in the top five most absolute bullshit turns in all of my Library of Ruina playtime, and given that I've played mods designed expressly to be bullshit that is saying something. I need to go through this turn in detail because what happens is simply absurd.

For now, please note that Robin has 2 HP, and is using all six of her Light this turn.

She leads with Penitence, restoring 15 HP and putting her back to 17 while downing one of the Shades.

Hokma hits a Boundary of Death, but it's on a ranged attack against an invincible opponent. He's just making time pass, don't worry about him.

Talow blocks enemies as well, taking the heat off of everyone and doing some more True Damage to the Shades.

Hokma does away with a second Shade…

And Robin takes out a third…

Before exploding at the end of the turn, from taking 18 damage. Why?

Bloodbath Update, ~3.5 years ago wrote: Light naturally regenerates at the rate of 1/turn. We can gain additional Light by defeating or staggering an opponent.

Because Robin kicked a little too much ass, she regained 1 Light from each of her two kills. Unlike the Light from gaining an Emotion Level, this Light comes back to her in the middle of a turn. As a result her contract assigns a penalty of 20% of her max HP, killing her for her trouble.

It's been a while since we've really seen it, but

baby!

It seems her meager form could stay held together no longer…

It was a done deal the second she picked up the light contract. That thing kills everyone eventually.

And you said nothing?

I said "your funeral," didn't I?

Anyways, how much longer do you need?

…It will be my seventh attack. Two more rounds of melee.

Trivial. I can have that shade dead before—

Don't kill it. If we kill it, he gets intrigued.

What are you talking about..?

Oh, nothing real. Your ears are just lying to you again.

Cheeky brat.

I'm pretty sure you're the whippersnapper here.

I doubt that sincerely.

Yeah, heard that one before.

I am beginning to tire of this. If there is more to this fool, then let us slay this thing and be done with it.

Trust me: bad idea.

We finally max our Emotion Level here, and grab Sentinel. I also pick up Paradise Lost, but I don't use it here. This is because out of all of the fights left in the game after unlocking Hokma's E.G.O, Pluto is probably the worst place to play it.

Since we have another turn to burn and nothing interesting happens here, let's talk about Pluto's fight. There's an entire second phase to it, actually!

Upon killing the last Shade, Pluto will gain the This is Getting Interesting passive, which will change his Stagger resistances to Endured instead of Immune. He also gains a trio of new normal attacks!

With the first two, he'll trap someone in a barrier and summon a new Shade of them—the Barrier'd Librarian cannot move. This combines with his third new attack that comes out on the next turn.

That third one, Hex: Exchange, will swap the leftover HP of the Shade with whoever is in the Barrier. If we don't kill them quickly, then they'll heal and we'll take damage instead. It's rude! Finally, there's his ultimate attack that comes out once every 5 turns once he changes.

Deluge of Brachial Quietuses, or Shut Up Wave, is a decent Individual Mass Attack which can deal overwhelming SR damage back to Pluto if we block it. Because he's got 500 SR and only 200 HP the way the fight is supposed to work has us spending this phase juggling Shades while down one member and then deflecting Deluge to trigger Stagger before deleting him in one turn because 200 HP is nothing.

…But that's annoying and takes forever, so we're not dealing with it today!

It's ready.

Just in time… I've run myself ragged waiting for you, old man.

Oh? Then you're too tired to keep going?

Hardly. You always run me ragged.

Ominous Power only now starts paying dividends, but those dividends are incredibly helpful. Each one that we play allows us to play a Block page this turn, letting Talow continue to spam Bi An and Serpentine Barrier long after his Light would normally have run out.

Create space for me, I'm going to finish this.

Very well. Just this once, I shall allow you to take the best part…

How gracious of you.

Ugh. He gets to take the best parts, while we get our asses beat by the enemy.

I would think you of all people would be used to it by now.

It matters little. For all your tricks and all your looking for loopholes, my contracts are absolute. They cannot be broken, and thus I cannot be truly harmed while one of the Shades still stands.

Uh-huh, and my blocks hurt you because..?

Can you truly say I've been injured at all? You uncritically believe the evidence of your eyes.

You've certainly been injured. That much is certain.

Why is that?

Because I believe it to be the case. Therefore, I can also believe that the contracts you forge are not absolute.

And yet, you cannot say with certainty.

I do not have to, for there is another thing I can place my faith within.

I shall trust that the powers of this Library supercede your paltry reality warping.

Hm.

Boundary of Death + 13th Toll can deal tremendous damage to an opponent if you get lucky.

Remember, Toll deals damage based on the result of the die. It's possible to stack something like 50 Strength onto a BoD and immediately oneshot the enemy in a single lucky strike. We didn't get anywhere near those numbers (because it requires a stupidly specific setup and some luck), and even that is enough to deal a lot of damage. Pluto may have had 34 HP left…

…But we really didn't need to do nearly that much work. This chops off 116 by itself.

My faith was rewarded, it seems.

Hah… you seem so certain of that.

It matters not if this moment is truth, or if it is reflections on the wall of a cave. I believe that I have slain you. And your response?

…

…We have come to an accord.

And so ends a simple, foolish man.

As usual. More of us still standing than I'm used to.

Was it handled to your liking, Angela?

I never know when to interject when you are involved.

And yet, you watched over our fight just the same. But there's somewhere else you would rather be now, isn't there?

There is one threat that remains. I'll ensure our success.

In a vacuum, Pluto is a really interesting fight. He's a mostly-even match against our own pages, requiring us to make creative deck choices to maximize our advantage from his contracts while he plays a more background role until phase 2's attempts to control the battlefield and hit us with Mass Attacks. It is pretty cool!

However, at this point I had been going through these fights back to back for multiple hours—the Uninvited Guests is a long fight, and for an opponent of this complexity to come this close to the end of it is begging the player to go through burnout if they're trying to play through endgame in one sitting.

Good thing he's incredibly cheesable with Dimension Sections, 13th Toll, or good ol' Blockma strats!

Music: Result

…Bleh. We got him, I take it?

We did.

Contracts: Not even once.

Hey, I took out two of 'em for you.

Awesome.

So… you guys think we've done enough to break things?

Who can say?

It all comes down to faith.

Forget I asked.

Alright, guys. One last spurt! Argalia will be here any minute, so—

So stay out of it.

Huh? But…

I said, stay out of it. He's mine.

Got it. Clear out, everyone. He's all yours.

Are you sure that's a good idea, ma'am?

Who cares? I deserve this.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: Lone Fixer fails to trivialize a solo fight.

Videos

Pluto Battle
vs Pluto (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

New Key Pages

New Combat Pages

TeeQueue · Sun Jan 19, 2025 6:41 am

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 14: Black and Blue

Music: Ominous Ambiance

Roland, I don't believe there's any shame in requesting assistance…

I've got this. I know I've got this.

As long as that bastard doesn't get lucky, he can't touch me.

Retry Count: 17. He got lucky, we got Staggered, and I didn't bring countermeasures in the first fight.

With Roland's page having set Combat Pages, the passives are the only thing we can alter. Lone Fixer is basically required in this fight, and the Haulers are a good idea as well. With the rest of the points I slapped on Immediate Repairs and Madness. If I'd been thinking on it I'd have put on Electric Shock to paralyze Argalia, but I'm not thinking because I've been in this reception for around two hours or so by now.

If the lockout of everyone else didn't make it obvious, the start also calls out the gimmick. The reason this was a 46 Librarian reception is because Roland is doing his fight alone.

VIDEO
Music: KeterBattle01

What do you wanna hear? We both know each other’s goals.

You aren’t still being oversensitive because we hurt Angela’s feelings, are you?

Of course you aren’t. You’re just mad because a wrench was thrown into your oh-so perfect plan.

Rich coming from the man pulling this shit…

I wonder what you’re implying by “this”… Something wrongful? See, I can’t understand the distinction between right and wrong… The “right things” are ingrained into human beings in the name of common sense, hindering their progress and making them live unhappy lives.

…What horseshit are you spewing this time.

You know, what they often call “definitions”.

Why does time flow in one direction? That’s because you think time has to flow one way.

Maybe, it’s because there’s an entity that drew those lines so we can’t progress any further… Why is the concept of “rightness” trying to restrain human desires? Why is it impeding our advancement? Are the questions I asked. I raised these questions, and worked out an answer shortly after. And now… I’m going to announce it to all of the City.

So let me get this straight; you’re rambling that it’s possible to go back in time and shit if that mold is broken?

You’re wasting your life on useless ideas.

No. It will be possible. You just can’t get out of the mold because you’re firmly holding onto it, doubting the possibility. Without this mold, our ascent will reach infinite heights. This is no hypothesis, it’s a fact that can be proven. Having realized that, our ensemble now stands before you like this.

You talk big, but you just wanna get rid of the pain you’re carrying in truth, am I wrong? You want to crush me, the City, and most of all Angela for taking Angelica’s life.

I’m not planning to return my suffering in full.

Ah, I won’t deny all of it, though. Perhaps I did think of doing it at first. My only light was taken from me twice…

For a brief moment… I felt all kinds of emotions before that piano. Despair, obsession, rage, sorrow…

But, it took no time for those feelings to dissipate into nothing.

Everything… yes. Everything seemed beautiful afterwards. Was it truly a tragedy that I lost her? Who defined it as tragedy? Roland, you may still be blinded by wrath, but I made the decision that I will care not about those feelings anymore.

As if. You’re clinging onto the justification that it’s for Angelica’s sake even now…

That’s not it, Roland… I’m going to send off Angelica with this performance. I won’t be going on an unsightly rampage, unlike a certain someone.

That Angelica can justify the pursuit of an ambition tainted by unclean desires is just a dreadful excuse now.

If you realized that, why don’t you also drop the excuse about this being her dirge or whatever.

Humans can be so finicky, no? That’s why I’m preparing this performance. This performance will be my final enlightenment, and I’ll share it with everyone at the same time.

Moreover, this dirge will be the last thing I do for Angelica.

The existence of things we cannot understand is what makes life fun. I’ll continue to chase after what lies beyond my understanding after this. Which means I’m going to wield the power to ceaselessly move forward.

To do that… I’ll have to take the power you’re keeping in your storage into my own two hands, isn’t that right?

…

…Let’s end our affectionate conversation here.

…

How putrid.

…Shut up.

Music: The Blue Reverberation

With one final step, the entire City will wake up.

I said shut up!

I don't recall ever saying I'd listen to your requests, you know~?

Argalia is yet another Shimmering boss fight, and he keeps his Blue Reverberation ranged immunity from his last fight. This time, though, he's not playing around. He'll use a page called Resonate which will punish us if we have the wrong amount of Vibration on us, and his other pages will now inflict stacks of Vibration on us to that end. We can also see that there's a floodgate on his HP at 25, we'll want to be sure to save Furioso for that moment because it's probably a last stand.

That just leaves one passive left, since you've probably already noticed that Roland's got more HP/SR than he should have.

We're no strangers to duels, you know the rules and so do I.
Full Commitment's his last passive skill, you don't see it on any other guys.
And if you ask me what the skill does… Don't ask me, I can't fukkin' read.
Now he's immune to our freeze, and he gains 3 Strength each scene
Hope you remembered to put on Lone Fixer
But he boosts our dice and Light, so it makes this a fair fight
And it even boosts our HP and SR.

…I hope you liked that joke, it's the last one in the update.

Of Argalia's many attacks, the one I want to draw the most attention to is Unhinged Melodia. This one's second die will grant him 3 Strength if it loses, so we want to either use Roland's Wheels Industry to break the second die, Mook Workshop to clash with only the first die, or just let it pass and eat the damage. Any other response puts us in a pinch on the next turn.

He does not use this attack today, but it's a tricky enough page to be worth a mention regardless.

As for the attacks he is using, a pair of Preludio are his primary means of giving us stacks of Vibration—as a reminder, getting too much of this means that one of his other pages will be significantly stronger.

Dissonance, meanwhile, is a way to lower our Vibration. For now any number 2 or less is safe, and once we get later into the fight we'll be fine with any Vibration except for 1.

The numbers between Argalia's and our pages are very similar, so this fight is really about two things:
-Not getting Staggered.
-Trying to counter Argalia's pages with our own.

This first turn there aren't any complicated pages to keep in mind, the only thing we need to do is make sure to play everything we really can.

Oh my… first blood goes to you? Could I actually be in trouble here?

…

Right, right… you always were the silent type on a job, hm?

Why, the only time you'd make any sound at all was when something had cut you open. Oh… but you cried that time, didn't you?

I grab Pale Hands immediately, since Argalia is a single target and has a lot of SR to burn through. We'll be activating it 2-3 times a turn if we can land all our attacks.

Turn 2 he shows a new page: Scythe Slash. It's a trio of weak attacks, with two of them dealing a little True Damage.

Having played our draw pages last turn, we have enough hand presence to keep up with Argalia. Curiosity is actually not recommended here, as by the end of this fight we'll both have six Speed Dice to use every round and Curiosity sets our hand to four pages before draw. (Also we have to lose several clashes for it to appear, and we'd rather not give the Blue Sicko any wiggle room.) It's best to rely on Roland's natural draw power—he's got plenty.

While all of Roland's tools (except Atelier Logic) have their place, Crystal Atelier is arguably the most important page in his entire deck here. The chunky Evade die on the front of it is the only form of SR healing Roland naturally gets, so lining it up against an attack with multiple offensive dice is the best way to keep us from getting Staggered to chip damage.

The problem is that it's also an incredibly good response against a lot of other things Argalia has, and it's Roland's only counter die on top of things—basically, we just want to use it wisely. Here we don't need SR, so I just throw it at the thing with the biggest dice.

That noise deadening is quite annoying, you know…

The bullshit spewing out of your stupid earpiece needs a good quieting.

The vibrations will carry regardless.

Only if that scythe can touch me.

And I'm not in the mood to let that happen.

Our second page is a toss-up between Scars and Lies. I decide to go with Lies as Roland's 0-cost pages can't have their cost changed—this weighs the odds heavily in our favor.

I am immediately punished for this decision.

Slightly more annoying for us, the four pages on the left are the ones I still need to play to get Furioso online. We have plenty of time, so I'll just wait on that.

We've got extra Strength from Durandal, so we're going to be beating the everloving hell out of Argalia this turn no matter what we do, so we can wait a little longer to bust out the rest of our ordinance.

I don't like all that confidence in your step, you know. Perhaps I've let you get away with too much…

Right then. Let me remind you of the clear difference between us.

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's the difference between us.

Sword of Frost is the clear winner from our Level 2 Abnormality Pages. All the Bind will lock him at 1 Speed for the rest of the fight, meaning we'll get bonus SR damage on him and be perfectly safe from Vibration as long as we're at 2 or higher.

You've always been too caught up in your own conceptions of things to understand what I'm talking about.

And you've always been too much of a freak to be worth understanding!

It's really quite bold of you to say so, you know?

Resonate comes out for the first time this turn, and that +4 Power if our Resonance matches his Speed Die is massive. We're sitting at 0 Vibrations, so we're safe from the worst of this attack.

Trails of Blue is also still here, we'll be shutting it down with Wheels Industry's gigantic opening die.

I also get Atelier Logic out of the way. Its 3 dice make it very good defensively against any of Argalia's 3 die pages, but it can't damage him so it's just a purely defensive option. I prefer pages that move the fight forward.

From a certain point of view, I owe everything to you, you know?

I don't want to hear it again. Those people who followed you have nothing to do with me.

And yet, every one of them was somehow harmed in your thoughtless rampage of revenge. I wonder, is my dear sister truly smiling over your actions?

…Shut up.

You're still chained down by the past. You can't hope to walk forward like that.

I said shut the hell up!

…How droll.

Learning is insurance. It'll let us have a chance to stop any attack Argalia has, including his grand finale.

We are still saving Furioso for the climax, it's cooler that way.

Sequential Blitz comes out this turn, and it's a page that we really would like to have run into Crystal Atelier's Counter or Evade die…

…Of course. Played it last turn, and it didn't get drawn. Don't have Wheels either…

Anyways, we want to stop as much of it as possible (and especially the first die) so it's time for another Atelier Logic.

And with no Wheels we're going to Learn and pray on this Trails of Blue. We're far enough ahead that we can afford some more bad luck, especially since Argalia has to Stagger us twice.

I'm quite tired of playing these games myself, you know. You murdered my dear companions, and I'm not even sore about it.

They shouldn't have fucked with Angelica's body!

And you shouldn't have killed their loved ones. But it's all this and that, isn't it?

You lose yourself in your petty scheme for revenge, desperately sowing destruction everywhere you can.

It really would be better if you could let it all go. Break free from it, and move into the new world.

I don't want anything to do with your new world you sick freak!

I wasn't planning on letting you see it, anyways.

Both our Level 3 Abnormality Pages deal in Immobilizing the enemy. A Kiss is completely worthless as it only Immobilizes, so we take Blizzard.

The 6 Bind is technically useful, even if it puts Argalia from 9 to 15 total. Either way, his 3-6 Speed is going to be locked to 1.

All we can do now is what we've always done.

And while Argalia still has one more good hit in him…

He's close enough that we can finally Stagger him. The fight's all but over.

Die… die… Die you worthless piece of shit!

You'd like that, wouldn't you… But surely you didn't think it'd be that easy.

Come. One last dance.

Final Impromptu is Argalia's last page, and we have three options to deal with it:

-Use Furioso
-Use Learn with a higher Power bonus
-Die

We've got Furioso, so we're fine.

It's alright if you kill me here, you know.

…

Do you think she didn't tell me? About the secrets of this place… About what will happen from now on.

And that I'd already killed you once, the first time. So you see, I've nothing to worry about—

Shut up.

Shut up shut up SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!

Your bullshit dies here!

Your stupid plan dies here!

YOU die here, you fucking sicko!

And then… finally…

…Yes. Finally... It's almost over.

This fight can't realistically be lost if you bring Lone Fixer, the Haulers, and Immediate Repairs… The numbers are just too weighted in our favor at that point.

So yeah, just do that and win. Otherwise, try to use Crystal Atelier judiciously and keep your SR up to ensure that Argalia gets Staggered before Roland does.

Music: Result

You did well.

…Just us?

Correct. The others are on break.

…Mn.

VIDEO
Music: Entrance

Looks like their books are on another level, too.

This is the end of the Invitation’s guidance. We’re at our final destination.

Congrats, Angela. It’s finally over. You’ve got a human body, so you don’t have to live as a machine anymore, right?

Indeed. I am free now. All the Light has been reclaimed. I have gained a perfect human body… and freedom. I’ve made it with your help.

Thank you… Roland.

…All I need to do now is take my book from the Light.

Alright, guess it’s time for me to finish this, too.

Next time, on Library of Ruina:

Orlando Furioso

Videos

Argalia Battle
vs Argalia (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)
Uninvited Guests 2

New Key Pages

New Combat Pages

Argalia Exclusive:

TeeQueue · Sun Jan 19, 2025 6:50 am

With the Uninvited Guests dealt with, we're finally done with the longest reception in the game. It is all downhill from here.

Yes, a very, very bumpy downhill... I can't wait. :shepface:

Anyways I'm taking the rest of the day off. Tomorrow I'll get the final Appendix done and then update the fanart post. I'll be fixing the discord-linked artwork in the post by grabbing the links, reposting them in discord, saving the image file, then uploading it to lpix to get a new link. I expect it to be a mild pain in the ass.

That's it for now.

TeeQueue · Mon Jan 20, 2025 7:11 am

Appendix 40: Reverberation Ensemble

Philip’s Page wrote: How much longer must I walk until I reach an end? How tightly must I shut my eyes, cover my ears, and zip my mouth to keep what’s around me safe before I can feel a semblance of happiness that won’t leave me? I thought I had to overcome this pain and rise above it to become a tougher man. That way, I wouldn’t lose those that are close to me. However, a human is fragile by nature; if one is too weak, they would crumble—and if one is too hardy, they would snap. I realized that there’s little I can do to calm the disorder of this world. How can I live on without falling to despair, then? A mind that is willing to let go of things that were destined to leave at some point. A mind that is content to have nothing. I feel that it’s important to refrain from thinking that anything is in my possession.

I followed your troupe in order to find a way to be happy, but what good did it do for me? Staying with you only exacerbated my suffering, defeating the whole purpose of joining you in the first place. I do want to add that you were not at fault here, though. I was the one who tormented myself. Had I known what I know now back in the past… would that have lessened the pain or changed anything? No, I don’t blame myself for the choice in that moment. Even the failures and misery of the past were all part of the voyage leading up to this moment, so I’m thankful that I managed to achieve something for once. I might have drowned in my own tears and sorrow back then, but ultimately, I’m grateful for the choice I made… and all the things in the world.

Eileen’s Page wrote: Where we live, there is nothing that can be achieved with your own will. A flow that we cannot go against dictates us. What we call “gears” are simply there to show the flow. You can’t see it with your eyes. Nobody knows who created this massive current, or why we must follow it. This flow never leads us to bad places, however. Rather, thinking that such a place exists is an act of defiance in itself.

We merely watch events unfold as bystanders. You walk along a path, but was it you who laid the path there? You didn’t teach yourself to lift your legs to propel you forward; they simply moved. Furthermore, the decision to walk wasn’t our own, either. Still too many believe that they moved their legs out of their own volition. It’s a shame to see them struggle to escape the flow, for they’re only straying away from salvation.

Greta’s Page wrote: It’s an era where humans are dominated by the act of consumption! When you’re hungry you get annoyed, and when starvation touches your raw nerve, you turn violent. That’s how humans are. And people who eat the same food will naturally grow similar. So the high and mighty beings that wanna rule over you demand ya to eat the “correct” stuff! When something’s “correct”, there’s gotta be something that’s “incorrect”. Incorrect food. It’s gotta mean humans eating humans, don’tcha think?

Why do people think that eating is natural, but then draw the line at eating their fellow man? Who decided it so, and why! Is it because human life is precious? That’s a flawed statement! What makes the lives of animals less precious? We’re not aboutta go down a boring philosophical riddle about the weight of life, now. If humans clearly have more value over animals ‘cause we’re the apex predators, then there shouldn’t be any problem with a pack of humans that rise above the rest and prey on others.

We’ve got two options! First: don’t eat anything. Hey, I’m not suggesting that we all starve to death. Your body is taught to eat! So what if you changed that habit? Maybe instead of food, your empty innards could be filled with possibilities of some other kind? If you ain’t a fan of that, then there’s the second option: eat anything! Just trace the smell of the blood, and stuff what you find in your mouth as your brain tells you to.

Bremen’s Page wrote: Let’s go on an adventure—a world that changes with every step. The me that changes after each step I take. My eyes dazzled by colorful light, I pursue pleasures that I don’t have. Don’t scold us because you can’t understand our pursuit. You just happen to be one of the many who feel joy from common things. We—on the other hand—don’t see any colors in those. You’re the ones drenched in nasty pleasures. We’re simply looking for what we lack. But complete satisfaction will never come; it’ll only sink deeper in the raging thirst. We will spend our days in yet grander debauchery. We’re happy, though. We can wet ourselves in new colors every day, unlike the rest of you.

T/N:

Oswald’s Page wrote: People have hopes and dreams!
“I wanna eat three blossoms of flowers!”
“I wanna be a swifty nifty thrifty kitty!”
“I wanna earn a fortune!”
And then they add:
“Maybe I’ll find delicious flowers someday!”
“Maybe I’ll get fat stacks of cash in my paws someday!”
“Maybe I’ll be showered in the loudest applause someday!”
“Someday! Someday! Someday!”
That dastardly “someday” just won’t stop popping up. But to have a hope, you’ve got to prepare incense to offer those wishful prayers upon. A world where one can’t eat flowers! A reminder that you’re a sluggish turtle right now! The beggarly reality! Setting the stage for the performance we call hope!

Thus and therefore, people have the wrong idea about how to have hopes! If they believe that the hopes will come true “someday”, they’ll just keep parroting that contemptible word! The day will never actually come! Having expectations this way will only leave you with bitter anger!
“I’ll change someday?”
“That person will turn over a new leaf someday, if I count on them and wait?”
Nyeh, tch.
People entertain the hopes as they please, and then bite at each other when the change they expected doesn’t happen. Clowns can’t give out smiles in a world full of mean teary friends!

So we should all do the stretches, starting today! Abandon all expectation—just keep a merry positive attitude and laugh no matter what you see! Let’s make a performance about what’s already come true, not of a supposed reality you hope for “someday”! I’m already on the stage, standing under the brightingest spotlight ever.

Tanya’s Page wrote: Fighting for survival is a natural thing. Even now, we’re all in battle. There’re more people born than folks dying of natural causes, and the living struggle in their own positions every day. A fight to protect, and to avoid falling behind. Maybe it’s all ‘cause there just ain’t enough seats for the ever-growing population of humans to take? Sure, extra jobs and stuff could be made in the future, but that’s nothing more than a hopeful estimate that might not happen until it’s too late for you. The world we live in right now is what matters. There’s got to be a way to weed out the unfit without straining all of us. And that’s when strength plays its part.

I don’t get why you vilify this. Aren’t we all doing the same thing, directly or not? We elbow our way past others so we can survive, and the losers are knocked outta the race. You say this is fair, but say no to physical conflicts, to “respect life” or whatevs? Then lemme ask: what’s the reason to respect life? Do you think you’re respecting life right now?

Jae-heon’s Page wrote: Had I been busy with an urgent appointment as any other tragic tale should go, your death wouldn’t have felt so miserable. Yeah. I would’ve cried until my tears had run their course, and I would’ve been ready to send you off. It was an ordinary day. The sort of day when there were no meetings or gatherings to attend to after I came home from work. Your body was crushed beyond recognition—I couldn’t have noticed on my own that it wasn’t a random chunk of flesh. They put your remains in a stasis box and sent it to me; that was their gesture of condolence. I’d have refused to believe it was you, if it weren’t for the clothes. I spent hours sitting there in numbed silence, vacantly staring at a lump I couldn’t even dare to hug.

A stuffed doll you were carrying, now next to the box, caught my eye. Even though it was shredded and soaked in blood, the cotton filling was still clustered together, as if it remembered the volume of the doll. It seems some cotton remained even after the roller crumpled all the outer fabric. Then for reasons unknown, I brought the other dolls out of your room and cut them up with a pair of scissors. I don’t know what possessed me to cut them into pieces of fabric. There wasn’t even enough to fully cover the doll, so I scraped together the pieces of clothing to sew it back up. With the same, gentle hands that made your doll the first time.

The outcome was creepier than what it used to be, but it was the same doll I remembered nonetheless. The appearance didn’t matter. Maybe, just maybe, the same could be said for you? I gazed at the box where you, my son, rested for what would no longer be an eternity. My two hands were once so busy that it was a bother; they had paused for the time, but now they are about to move again—just for you.

Elena’s Page wrote: Bloodfiends. The beings said to have been punished with neverending thirst for the sin of lusting after human blood. That’s what your kind called us, condemning us out of fear. I was afraid as well when I faced them for the first time in that mansion where everything began. Violent beings who drank the blood of fellow humans. A growing feeling of unease about the possibility of being their next target. The people in the mansion were terrified of those who became monsters. Even though they were humans like us, they were outside of what we thought as the norm. In hindsight, though, it was such a silly thing to do. What is the illusion of normalcy that we feared for and fought for so strongly?

Let’s say that every human on the planet except for one turned into Bloodfiends, and that single person remaining is left “normal”, as they say. In that case, what would normalcy be like there? How must the lone human feel being the monster among the creatures they dreaded? Should they fight to their last breath for the “humanity” they kept for so long? Perhaps that’s become an obsolete ideology, one that’s no longer worth keeping. What if rejecting that old ideal and becoming a Bloodfiend opened up our potential for growth in numerous aspects?

Your kind likes to claim that something is out of the ordinary when it’s only different from what you’ve seen and experienced before. So you fear it, and try to exclude it from your herd. But you see, there’s no real justification for your kind to condemn us.

Pluto’s Page wrote: The world is one massive aggregation of delusions. A world where individuals can shape their own reality as they see fit. Every person is susceptible to deception, for they have knowledge. For that reason, it is impossible for a pure being untainted by knowledge to see the world as we mistakenly observe it, in the same way they cannot discern the end point of a line or tell between blue and red. A world devoid of wants. It would be unfit to call that place a world. In fact, to even call it a “place” would be yet another misconception amongst us knowing ones. The more one learns, the more delusions they invite.

However, if most people observed the same place and felt the same sentiments, then it might not be your own delusion after all. Wouldn’t you say so? For instance, take a look at the blue sky. The celestial dome is higher and farther than one can fathom, and as blue as it can be. Most will agree that the sky is tall and blue. Alas, those who think as such are ultimately within your view. It’s only natural that they agree with you as they’re figments born out of your delusional mind. Indeed, the sly entity that prevents you from seeing the world in its sincerest form would be none other than yourself. Even the holy entity in which you believe and to which you devote yourself is going to be a projection of your own self, so how can I trust anything that my eyes show me?

Argalia’s Page wrote: When I heard the news and rushed to the scene, only a hideous musician who had concluded his performance and permanently shut the piano’s lid with his torso awaited me. For the first time, emotions I couldn’t understand welled up inside me. It’s hard to define what they were, even now. It felt as if deep tenebrous stains were seeping out of my heart. Alas, I didn’t shed tears before that piano where your body rested—for I soon realized that you were no longer there.

That’s right; you’re the gentle breeze that brushes past my face, and the clouds that fly in the sky, which give me heed of your presence from overhead or underfoot. I thought you had left me, but you would always come back. That’s why I care no longer about the skin and flesh you wore only momentarily. Angelica. I’ll follow after the name you gave me: Uberto. You used to call me that down in those horrible underground chambers. I’ll create a new world… one where people can live bountiful lives even if they have nothing, free from obsession or greed. When we lose the fixation on our bodies, we won’t be afraid of death anymore. No rest will be eternal.

TeeQueue · Mon Jan 20, 2025 11:30 am

Fanart post has been updated. I will try to never wait a whole-ass year between updates again.

TeeQueue · Fri Jan 24, 2025 10:18 am

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 15: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

The next cutscene actually comes right after the end of the last one, but if we back out we can come back later.

VIDEO
Music: Ominous Ambiance

You bet. The series of events leading up to this moment was the biggest gamble of my life.

I see. You helped me attain my freedom, but it wasn’t for my sake…

You just used me like a tool.

C’mon, don’t talk like you got nothing out of me. I never slacked off, y’know? I gave it my all to support you until you reached your goal. It’s mutual exploitation, at the very least.

Did you get the result you wanted?

Well, I got enough. The reason I’d come to the Library was to figure out the cause of the phenomenon that created Distortions like the Pianist. And to find out who was responsible for it.

As such, all obvious signs… point to you, Angela.

Why didn’t you try to stop me or kill me right away, then?

…First off, you were simply unkillable when I first met you. Second, I wanted to know why you made the choice you did. Third, I thought that maybe you could make a different decision that I couldn’t.

And fourth, to bring you the greatest loss—the greatest suffering… at the very end of it all. Right now, you’re completely human. You can feel pain as its whole, and experience death.

I learned here that you went through your own fair share of torment, frustration, and loss. I can understand why you made the choices you made. And seeing you start to contemplate your aim as time went by… I thought that maybe there was room for another option.

That maybe, just maybe, you might choose a different answer… And if you somehow did by that smallest chance… Then I might have been able to find a different solution myself.

But in the end, you didn’t.

That day, I swore to myself before that damned piano. I swore that I’d make the City experience the same sorrow of loss—of the frustration that I felt when it took my world away from me.

…The same as you.

…

Then… Who will pay for the misery I went through? There was nothing else I could do; all I knew was to make them suffer the same pain…

You’re asking me for an answer? If I knew the way… and if I could choose it, I wouldn’t have done this drivel.

I do know one thing for sure: This is what happens when you try to wash blood with blood.

…

No. You have to feel even worse than that. You took Angelica from me—she meant the world to me. I sat on my hands as I watched the people I knew die, and I even killed my old friend with these shadowed gloves, just for this moment.

All for this very moment… I’ve been suppressing my emotions, forcing a pained smile.

…Seeing you shed tears is an unfamiliar sight.

I’m done with the façade now. I’ll do everything I can—in ways beyond your imagination—to give you the most painful death possible. And I’ll do it right before you take the final step to your freedom. I’ll rob you of everything.

You’ll reap the whirlwind for what you’ve sown…

…What’s this now? You’re acting weak all of a sudden? Are you finally starting to hesitate when it’s almost over?

Nah… can’t be. You’ve got power and knowledge, and now a proper life as a living being on top of it… You just don’t wanna give up what you finally took hold of.

At least I used a method that isn’t forcef—

You used the same logic as when you’d stolen the Light. You used it to kill those who came to the Library in the name of fair price. You didn’t even stop to think about the consequences of your actions.

I don’t blame you, though. I just can’t. It’s how the City works… That’s that, and this is this.

That’s why I’m going to kill you strictly with the mindset of the City folk.

What I need to do is kill you and take my revenge; what you need to do is kill me and get the freedom you want. We just need to have a simple, raw state of mind as we fight each other.

So I want you to stop getting any funny little ideas and stick to your desire for freedom and vengeance.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: Roland tries to kill us because that is that and this is this.

Videos

Black Silence 1

soulMatter · Sun Feb 02, 2025 9:35 pm

I have finally, finally caught up with this LP in my own Ruina playthrough. This has been a whole-ass journey, from start to now. And man am I glad to have kept up with this LP and all its twists and turns. (A shame I can't make an account on SA, but it doesn't accept any of my usable billing methods. Oh well).

Seriously, this LP wouldn't have been the same without the threads and audience engagement. Hope there's still time for me to participate.

But regardless. I would go do the Black Silence reception right now, but I'm exhausted from shotgunning the last four fights of the Reverb Ensemble in a single day, from Chesed to Roland. Well, I say a "single day", but more like "Four and a half hours". With breaks, of course. So yeah, really excited to see how you're gonna go about it.

(Meanwhile, I'm gonna go the thematically appropriate route and download the Keter Unlock mod because this is my playthrough and I get to decide how I go about it)

soulMatter · Mon Feb 03, 2025 10:51 pm

I am proud to announce that I have managed to achieve victory in a grand total of three attempts.

The Keter Unlock mod allowed me to make one less deck for this Reception, and though this floor's track record was one of dying in the first phase in the first two attempts, well. Third time's the charm, and they managed to defeat two whole phases on their own. (Yan, Xiao, Irina, and Olivier, for the record. Didn't change anything about them in all three attempts)

I had two whole other floors prepared. The first attempt, I realized that I forgot to prepare more than one floor, so it didn't go past Keter. The second attempt, I fucked up and my second floor was wiped out instantly. But at least the third floor managed to last until the fourth phase. And in this third attempt. I didn't even need the third floor.

Whew. That was something alright, and now I'm deeply curious as to how TQ dealt with it.

soulMatter · Tue Feb 04, 2025 7:31 pm

And as the third of my posts, I bring some edits of mine as a commemoration of the Reverberation Ensemble's reception being finally over:

quantumpapaya · Thu Feb 06, 2025 1:16 am

soulMatter wrote: ↑
Tue Feb 04, 2025 7:31 pm
And as the third of my posts, I bring some edits of mine as a commemoration of the Reverberation Ensemble's reception being finally over:

I like how furioso just kinda speaks for itself :P
anyway (pours water on Philip) (pours water on Philip) (pours wa

TeeQueue · Sun Feb 09, 2025 8:39 am

every single ensemble member has been bullied

now we must bully rolando

TeeQueue · Mon Feb 24, 2025 12:55 pm

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 16: Denouement

Now of all times… And everyone is still exhausted… Still, I need to choose someone.

I believe I can help with that.

…Malkuth? What are you doing here?

Showing up to heroically save you at the last moment. Isn't it obvious?

Malkuth is going to be our go-to floor today, and because of that I'm slapping Malkuth herself onto Rapid Gashes Yujin—the HP boosting will keep her going long after anyone else would normally be dead, which is perfect for this fight as it's a single act with a Realization-level length.

Are you all ready for this fight, then?

Smoke_Application.dek. Bishop is in a support role here, painting targets for everyone else to deal bonus damage.

Dimi wound up being really mad about how things ended, so we spent… oh, a couple of hours just blazing through Phillip over and over. I won, of course.

The hell you did! I'd say I'm the winner with what I noticed.

I'm not in the mood for your eccentricities today. You have three sentences.

Dimi will be starting the fight today in Pierce mode, to double status effects onto the Black Silence.

I had a brilliant idea. It'll definitely put a stop to Roland's rampage. Also, we had Joshua dress up like Argalia.

Argalia.dek. Joshua has no intrinsic recovery, so we're going to be relying on +3 to all Slash dice alongside Argalia's powerful pages to keep him going for the entire battle.

Malkuth… Do you have it in you to fight a colleague?

I do. He's lost, and it's our duty to bring him back to his senses.

With judicious application of White damage, of course.

…Very well. I'll leave it to you. I need to think.

I really think that you should watch, Miss Angela.

I am in no mood to watch what is about to unfold.

But that's exactly why. This is the way things work within the City… You should take a good look at what comes of it.

…Fine. I'll oversee your work.

Alright then… Move out, team!

Music: Roland01

Sup, nerd. Nice mask.

…So this is her answer. Not that I left her any choice.

Everything I've done… it all led to this moment.

Even if there's nothing afterwards… even if it's cutting my nose off to spite my face…

It doesn't matter. These feelings, my anger and sorrow… I'll swallow them no longer.

It's not healthy to bottle things up for so long. Go ahead and let it all out… we can take it.

The Black Silence wrote: I could put up with it all just for this moment…

I’ve come this far so I can make her suffer the same… No, to bring her even more pain than what I’ve suffered.

I don’t exactly believe there’s happiness waiting for me at the end of this…

There’d only be empty regret. I’d get nothing out of it.

But that’s still better than suffocating under these emotions that couldn’t be let out, isn’t it?

I just want to be able to breathe for a second.

You’ve got your causes to fight for. Don’t hold back.

Few things could be more agonizing and detestable than finding a common ground between each other’s goals.

Angela. Your pain and loss will be much greater than mine…

…Alright. Let’s get started.

A single look at Roland's stats will tell us something incredibly important: He's been holding out on us. If I'd had these stats to work with, Argalia would have been a total breeze!

Anyways, let's look at the specifics. He's a Shimmering boss (I'm pretty sure every boss left in the game is a Shimmering boss, so this isn't a big surprise), and his last die will always be untargetable. This means we need to either set up a Counter die or have some defense dice stocked if we don't want to just take damage. Speaking of Counter dice, he also gets a pair of them automatically at Combat Start, negating his main weakness of not having any defense against onesided attacks!

He'll recover SR on clash win, but lose additional SR on clash loss, he also gains 1 Strength and Endurance the same turn that his Emotion Level goes up (which will be every turn for the first five, really), and lastly his third Speed Die gives the page set in it +2 Power on all its rolls, something I completely forget about for the entire fight.

His attacks are exactly the same as on his unique Key Page, which saves me a lot of time as I don't have to talk about them again. His fastest Speed Die will rotate between four moves every turn in the same order: Atelier Logic, Wheels Industry, Crystal Atelier and Furioso.

Furioso is just as mind-bogglingly painful as when we use it, so we want to use this phase to quickly ramp up our own Emotion Levels and put our game plan into motion while never letting him get to a fourth turn.

His passives also doesn't mention anything about another phase after this one… but if you listen to the music, you already know precisely what's coming. The fight can't end until we've hit Roland03, it wouldn't make sense.

Now then, let's go ahead and get the plan underway~

Right! Let's get this done!

Our opening move here is to have Dimi use Puppet Strings on ImIdiot. Puppet Strings is a unique page that came from Jae-heon's Key Page, and it applies the Puppeteer's Strings passive to its target.

The Strings give a +1 on all ImIdiot's dice rolls, and also prevents his HP from going below 1. It's removed by either Dimi's death, or by ImIdiot ending a turn at 1 HP. This status effect is the keystone to our entire plan.

ImIdiot is using Elena's page, so every single hit he lands will restore 2 HP. As long as we make sure the last attack he's involved in every turn lands, he's going to be functionally immortal. I've also given him Singular Strike, and his deck is a trio of Clone, Burning Flash, and Brace Up.

Using these pages we're going to set up some Shenanigans and hopefully break the fight over our knee.

For now, I have ImIdiot use a pair of Clone. We will not be using the third one for a while.

You know… it doesn't feel very nice, staring down someone who was your colleague a few minutes ago. Is this how it felt every time you had to suppress another Agent?

Something like that. They're your colleagues, but they're your enemies for the moment. So—

That's that and this is this, huh? How adult.

That's just running away from the problem.

The hell'd you just say?

I believe he just said "That's just running away from the problem."

I know that, you damn copy…

What he means is: "What did I mean by it." Right?

Do you have time to be teaching people right now?

I think I've got plenty.

Says the fixer who bought a grade and only made it to 7.

…Hey.

He's totally got your number, Bishop! Best just pack it all in~

Easier to feel good about yourself if you're mocking someone better than you, isn't it?

Better?! In what universe?! Im! Show him the whatfer!

Wha-psh!

You… you're a damn joke. Don't even pretend you belong here.

Hey… I can swing a sword same as anyone!

…And you. I won't give you a chance to breathe… You never had the temperament for this, anyway.

That's-

Honestly, I'm glad it's your floor I'm having to fight. An idiot trying to reach for something out of her means…

…And her retinue of worthless jokes. You can't cause anything but trouble.

Sez you! But you've underestimated exactly how brilliant we truly are.

Don't bullshit me.

I'm appalled you'd even think I would~

Now prepare to face the wrath of the ICBM!

What kind of stupid name is that?

It's not stupid at all! It means ImIdiot Can—

Ah-ah-ah! Don't ruin the surprise yet. I want to see that look of frustration on his face first when he can't put it together.

Oh! Yes, ma'am.

He's wearing a mask, though…

Wheels Industry comes out this turn, and in response I have Dimi toss out a pair of Shrine to Music to completely neuter his rolls this turn. Obviously we don't clash it directly, we want to eat that with a Block die—preferably from someone who resists Blunt.

You know, Roland, I'd think we both could agree on being angry at Angela. Even if I'm not upset at her anymore… she did ruin a lot of hard work I did.

I don't want to agree. I want to rip you apart, and vent all of this anger until her entire plan is in ruins at her feet. Then, then I'll kill her… when she's felt that despair. But before that… first the despair of watching her lines of defense getting ripped away. This is what she's earned.

That's not healthy… and that's why we have to stop you.

Speak for yourself, I'm stopping him because it lets me show off how awesome I am~

I'm just following orders. You know, like a Fixer is supposed to.

…Hmph.

Bishop eats this Wheels Industry, which deals him 2 entire damage. Smacking 6 total Feeble onto Roland is incredibly useful.

And I'm the head of this History department. We're not perfect, sure…

…and maybe I've given up on having Dimi follow every order I give her…

-But we've still accomplished every task we've been saddled with! That won't change!

All of this is to say… SSDD.

Yeah… that's how it should be. You worthless lot should give it your all. That'll make her feel even more pain when I crush you.

And I will crush you.

Convincing yourself of something you know isn't true is another part of your that-and-this thing, you know.

Like you aren't running from the truth yourself. Everyone in the City is running away… focused entirely on themselves.

Then it's a good thing I stopped living there a decade ago, huh?

We're all trapped by this place, no matter how much you want to pretend to be the hero. Blood is all over your hands… it won't ever wash off.

Well now, I wonder about that…

…

Act as cool as you like. I can smell your bullshit through this mask.

Told you he has your number, Bishop. Nobody around here really thinks you're cool.

I think he's cool.

I mean people who matter. Now take your bear.

Oh yeah!

Happy Memories will be lowering the cost of ImIdiot's Burning Flashes down to 0, letting me play them for free.

It's the Crystal Atelier turn, if we don't knock Roland out here then we'll be eating a Furioso.

We're as set up as we can get, so it's time to blitz forward to phase 2.

On the way out, I also have Malkuth fire off some Clones and finish setting up Rapid Gashes Yujin. She's acting as a plan B for if anything goes wrong, gaining HP over the course of the fight until she's got a massive bank for the endgame.

Bishop's… coolness aside, we should finish things quickly.

I'm fine with that. One more push and we should be clear.

Aww… but then we won't get to see the glory of my ICBM!

It's Agent ImIdiot who would be using it, would it not be his ICBM?

Um, do you see these strings? His actions count as my points 'til the end of this fight.

Is that how it works..?

And always, always with the comedy routine…

Do you think I want to listen to that shit?! Shut up!

Oh, I've heard that one before…

Yeah… It sounds familiar. You're going full Phillip! _{That's bad, if you don't know.}

I remember Phillip.

I killed his mentor and colleague. He tried to get revenge. It's the same cycle.

Hah, y'see? You really are going full—

That's just how the City works. Not that a homebody would understand it… Or a moron.

Dimi's Immediate Repairs proc, as Roland with +4 Strength has a strong chance to hit with his good pages over anything we use and I didn't save any of Dimi's debuffing pages to help out this turn. It's earlier than I'd like to see it used, but the next few phases are easier than this one.

All it is, ultimately, is a coping mechanism. You don't have a plan for after this, do you?

At least I won't have wasted my one chance at revenge chasing a pointless dream, like a second-rate Fixer.

No, I suppose not.

Um… do you think I'm going to just let you beat on me just because you're serving sick burns??

That's MY job! EAT THIS ONE!

Woah-!

That wasn't exactly… voluntary…

Worked, didn't it?!

Perfect execution, team! Roland's down!

Heh… heheh… Do you really believe that..?

Angela! I don't need these replacements you gave me any longer! You can… HAVE… THEM… BACK!!

His emotions are flooding out… They're resonating with the Library.

We've seen this kind of thing before! Prepare anti-realization countermeasures!

Already on it, ma'am!

As I give myself over to the madness at the heart of this city… I remember. Feelings left long forgotten… Sensations I had to ignore… Memories that I wasn't allowed to keep.

That thing… Yeah.

Music: Roland02

I cAn rEmEmbEr It nOw… fOUl And stInkIng.

What in the hell is that thing?!

thE hOrrOr Of tEn yEArs AgO… lEt mE shOw yOU A wIng's trUE fAcE.

Is that some kind of Abnormality..?

No… it seems different. Proceed with caution.

We aren't getting a second chance this time around. Give it your all!

Roland wrote: The past isn’t all that different from now… Nothing ever changes… The same kinds of tragedies happen time and time again…

Everyone knows that it’s wrong… But they can’t stop it from repeating…

How many people do you think are sacrificed for the convenience and happiness of others…?

The City’s prosperity is fueled by the lives of others… And its people stick their heads below the parapet and carry on…

There’s no other way to survive in this damned place…

We all know that it’s pointless to reflect on ourselves and think things over…

You wouldn’t want to care… You’d want to turn a blind eye!

Because that’s none of your business… Right. That’s none of your business.

Because your life would be a bit more comfortable if you just closed your eyes and turned away…

They give no ear to the pain of other people… Taking care of themselves is already hard enough…

I hate this City for forcing us to be like this…

And I’m horrified and disgusted at myself for partaking in its filthy business…

But—that’s that, and this is this…

I can’t just sit and watch as my happiness goes down the drain…

My life is far from a clean one, but still… I hadn’t done anything to earn anyone’s grudge…

Roland's second form has a massive chunk of HP that we'll nonetheless be burning through quite quickly. This is because he uses chunks of it 50 at a time to respawn his trio of Smoldering Byproducts until he's made his way down to 300 HP. He and his adds will all apply Suffocating Haze to us, a unique status effect that increases damage we take and decreases damage Roland and the Byproducts take from being hit.

The Byproducts are largely uninteresting. They've got low HP and have the same Suffocating Haze passive that Roland does.

This turn Roland is using two Swing and a Tail Swipe. One's a decent 3-hit page, and the other's a large single die with Bleed. Neither are particularly strong on their own, and Roland lacks the Strength stacking that Durandal gave him in the previous phase.

The Byproducts can choose between several attack as well, using Flail and Stabbing Tentacles here. Stabbing Tentacles deserves special mention, as each hit will inflict 1 stack of Suffocating Haze on our allies next turn.

Suffocating Haze hits us with random status effects on the turn after it's active, so getting hit by Haze will give the enemy their buff the next turn, then debuff us the turn after that. It's… more annoying than threatening, really.

Multiple enemies on the field also means it's the perfect time to bring out a Mass Attack. Tempestuous Danza is great for removing dice from enemy pages and getting the vibes set up right for followup.

This smoke… what is it?

Ohoho… I suppose you wouldn't know, rich boy. You weren't from L's nest, after all. This is the smoke. And I bet that's its source.

Smoke… That stuff that used to come from the old L Corp?

You didn't know either? I'd thought you'd have heard of the Smoke War.

That war that came with the fall of L Corp's wing?

In that case… My first self was dead before it happened. My second wasn't awake until Lobotomy Corporation was a Wing itself.

Ah, that'd do it. Don't worry, I'll explain this time.

Deploying good vibrations.

So the Smoke War was this big to-do when the last L Corp fell. Their Singularity was about making energy… but it made a lot of smoke. This kind of smoke. I'm guessing it came from things like that.

So they used something like Abnormalities as well, then?

As I said… that is no Abnormality.

We'll call it a freaky fleshpile, for consistency.

It doesn't have the best ring to it, but it'll do.

Anyways, it was absolutely terrible for anyone in the districts where the fighting was ongoing. Especially L Corp's, there was smoke everywhere… well, more than usual. A lot of it was bio- or chem-warfare stuff. The nest's residents got told to quarantine. Backstreets folks… they figured it out after they watched someone they know's face melt off.

Incidentally, I took up gaming to pass the time while I was stuck in a one bedroom apartment.

Oh yeah! That stuff made my throat burn whenever I had to breathe it in, and those masks you could buy weren't useful at all.

I see… I would have been in District 18's nest at the time, so I wouldn't have ever seen it…

_{Oh my gawd of course you were from there…}

By the time I received the notification that my father'd vanished, the Smoke War was in the cleanup phase. There wasn't smoke to be seen anywhere anymore. So I joined the company, to find out what happened.

In conclusion, that thing there making all the smoke is probably the secret of the old L Corp's singularity. There's a lot more to the story, but I don't care enough to tell you~

thIs cIty Is hEld Up by sUch thIngs, And wE All prEtEnd nOt tO sEE thE trUth. wE wAlk On, OblIvIOUs tO AnythIng IncOnvEnIEnt.

At the end of the turn, we get to choose our next two Abnormality Pages. The first one, Matchlight, goes right onto ImIdiot. On our next turn we'll be able to use Burning Flash and our last Clone in order to apply Matchlight to those two pages. This will give ImIdiot a total of six copies of Matchlighted Burning Flashes, and keep Brace Up completely clear. This will complete the core of our combo, and is why it's vitally important to keep a copy of Clone until right now.

Retry Count: 18. I didn't know that my first time running through the fight.

I also put Gluttony on Malkuth, because she has 268 max HP and I intend to use all of them.

EvEry OnE Of yOU Is rUnnIng. Up tO yOUr nEcks In yOUr Own bUllshIt…

jUst lIkE mE, pAUsIng tO rEflEct wOUld jUst rUIn yOU.

Yeah yeah, whatevs. ImIdiot, move to phase 2!

Yes'm!

Roland uses Bite of Flesh this turn, which is a 2-hit combo attack. The first hit breaks all of our dice, the second then is a 3-5 that will reroll on a 5. Every hit restores 3 HP, letting him restore health if he gets very lucky. The first die isn't very large, so we just need to be sure to bonk it with a strong attack like Burning Flash.

A Byproduct also uses Gnaw, which is the same idea as Bite of Flesh but trades an extra die before the Breaks Everything die for no HP healing.

I have Dimi swap over to Guard stance here, as I want her to survive as long as possible now that Immediate Repairs has gone off. This deck has a lot more survivability than Pierce's, and I can't afford to let her get Staggered again.

I don't see how pausing to reflect would cause anyone any problems…

yOU dOn't knOw? I thOUght yOU'd knOw qUItE wEll. sOmE dEtEctIvE.

I really don't see why he'd…

…oh. Oh.

sEEms yOU're OnE stEp bEhInd, bOy. If EvEn mAlkUth UndErstAnds…

Hey! I'm not an 'even Malkuth' kind of person!

Well, I have no idea what he's talking about, so: ImIdiot, I want this man benothinged!

Got it! That should stop him talking!

thE bOdy wAnEs… bUt I cAnnOt bE stOppEd.

D'oh..!

Don't worry about it. He's talking nonsense.

stIll dEnyIng It..? cOmE On, thAt's jUst sAd…

I really don't have a clue what you're talking about.

yOU cAmE hErE tO fInd sOmEthIng, jUst lIkE mE. bUt It wAsn't EvEr hErE, wAs It?

…What?

Don't be silly! He's here looking for information on what happened to his dad! Who died while researching L Corp, about ten years ago!

…

lEt mE gUEss: dIdn't fInd A dAmn thIng.

You're… you can't mean…

Bishop, a query: How long was your father investigating before he disappeared?

About a year, I think..? He was always in and out. But that would mean…

You've GOT to be fucking KIDDING ME!

This time… all this time… and not a single lead… because I was looking at the wrong fucking company?!

Whoa. Even for you, that's a massive mistake to make.

Why… didn't I notice? It's so obvious now that someone mentions it, but I didn't… I couldn't…

Hey, um… It's okay. I didn't realize either, and I've known what you were looking for for the entire time we've met. It's easy to miss small things when you're caught up in something rough.

That wasn't a small detail! That was a huge, gaping hole in everything!

Malkuth, his emotions are running wild. His body isn't as stable as yours or Roland's. If this keeps up…

As I cAnnOt lOOk AhEAd On thIs pAth… hE cOUld nEvEr lEt hImsElf lOOk bEhInd. EvEryOnE hAs sOmEthIng thEy cAnnOt fAcE…

AcknOwlEdgIng It Is A rOOkIE mIstAkE.

…ten years… ten thousand years, and all of it was just for…

I'm prepared to suppress the Agent, Miss Malkuth.

We don't really have time for that.

I'll make time.

It means giving up on a chance to attack… but I wanted to show off the ICBM anyways. You ready, Im?

Heck yeah!

Hmm… You're being unexpectedly supportive.

Hmph! I just can't stand seeing a big ego without smacking it down to size.

In that case, leave this to me. I've helped out panicking employees plenty of times.

Please bear in mind that I won't be able to revive him should he die mid-fight.

I mean, come on, getting all pissy and picking apart someone's motivations just because they called yours dumb? How petty~

I'm Only pOIntIng OUt thE trUth.

Ooh, lookit me, ~I'm OnLy PoInTiNg OuT tHe TrUtH~

Puh-lease. I of all people know plenty about barbing people with the truth. You're doing it to one-up us, 'cuz he made you mad by pointing out that your entire schtick is a coward plan for cowards.

thAt's thE Only wAy tO lIvE In thIs wOrld.

Maybe for you! But I've got an ICBM on a string!

Does that mean I can finally say what it means?!

Knock yourself out!

The ICBM: ImIdiot Can Blow M'selfup!

Burning Flash's unique properties work very well with Matchlight. Matchlight gives a large bonus and extra Burn on the first die of each page we use. When Burning Flash adds its die upon being discarded, this die is a second first die. Because of this, we can double the amount of Matchlight bonuses we get. This snowballs very quickly and can allow us to roll some absurd numbers. Normally the 25% explosion chance would eventually whittle ImIdiot down to nothing, but the Puppet Strings will keep him alive as long as he can land a hit with Brace Up as the last interaction he has.

…And we can take this combo even further.

So are we beating down two idiots, or just one?

Huuf… pah… Huuf… pah…

Miss Malkuth told him she was disappointed and he stopped moving.

Bwahahaha, seriously??

Well, he's been an ideal team captain until this point. Why wouldn't I be disappointed?

yOU hOld blAmE As wEll. yOU OvErlOOkEd It, bEcAUsE yOU tOO cAn Only sEE yOUrsElf.

Maybe so. I'll have to work on that. It can be hard to see when people are hurting around you, and a real leader can keep things like that in mind. Facing unpleasant things you don't want to… that's how you grow as a person, I think.

Heh… hahaha… That's… that's right. We all get caught up in our own stuff and forget to look around.

This turn, Roland fires off Spiky Tendrils. It's a single-hit Mass Individual that deals Bleed, and isn't worth writing home about, though that 4-12 roll means sometimes it'll just hit us.

His other Mass Attack, Spew Smoke, would be more dangerous if not for us downing him too quickly to have to see it.

…Yeah… Yeah. I think I've calmed down now. Damn I feel like an idiot.

bUllshIt. thAt wAs yOUr lIfE.

Yeah… it was. And I'm probably going to be upset about it later. But Malkuth's right. A detective can't just get mad at a truth because it's inconvenient. Besides… if I hadn't gotten such basic facts wrong, who'd be here to keep these three clowns in line?

Hey, who're you calling a-

shUt yOUr mOUth, bOy! yOU dOn't knOw shIt!!

Blech! Hey, I wasn't ready you freaky fleshpile!

That said… there is just one more thing that's been bothering me. Angela's usual memory trick for the battle included all of Roland's previous fights, and there's just been this one thing that I can't quite make sense of.

Is it a weakness?

Maybe. Couldn't say. Either way I can't quite get it out of my head. Say, Roland…

Why'd Olivier call them "the gloves of the Black Silence" before? Wouldn't it be less awkward to just say "your gloves?" It's just… it strikes me as odd.

whAt ArE…

And while he's distracted… WHABAM!

Right in the kisser!

gAh..!

Now… maybe I'm just a little bit sore about you telling me my life was a waste and being a prick about it.

Oh you'd never. I do that all the time!

You sure do, Dimi. But, Roland, I also just can't help but think back to when you were fighting The Purple Tear. "You usually prefer swinging that big sword…" That big sword. Durandal, I think it's called? But that's just one of the weapons you'd pull forth from those gloves… why in the world would that be the thing you prefer? And then I thought about the names…

Mook, Old Boys, Allas, Zelkova, Ranga, all Workshops. Wheels Industry. Crystal Atelier, and even Atelier Logic… I've heard of all of those places. They're bigtime guys that any Fixer's heard of.

...

And you haven't heard of Durandal?

Not even a peep. So that gets me to thinking that Durandal was your sword. But how would they have ended up in the gloves, then? Obviously, someone put them there... And that leaves us with only one possibility, doesn't it? Hey, Roland…

"The Pianist was killed by the Black Silence." Was that really what happened?

shUt Up… I dOn't wAnt tO hEAr Any mOrE Of It..!

I'll tell you what I think. I think it's the other way around. I think the real Black Silence was killed by the Pianist… and in revenge, her husband killed that same Pianist using her gloves and a mask that would warp the perception of anyone watching.

yOU'rE jUst sOmE pUnk kId! dOn't Act lIkE yOU knOw AnythIng!

I get it. Good work! So then, do you think he went on a rampage like he did just to keep his wife's memory alive?

There's really only one person who could answer that, ma'am.

I see. Anything to say, Roland?

I lOst thE Only thIng thAt gAvE mE mEAnIng…

Woah, so you just become someone else? A fake friend, and a fake Color now too… That's some next level that-and-thising!

Roland has 10 HP and 30 Burn, this phase is over.

It certainly makes sense… Anything to say for yourself, Roland?

I nEvEr wAntEd thIs… I jUst nEEdEd hEr…

my hAppInEss wAs dEnIEd, sO All I cAn dO Is dEstrOy..!

Music: Roland03

…When the thing your eyes fixate on leaves the path in front of you… You can only linger on those memories of the past.

So then..?

Yeah. Angelica… she was way stronger than I ever was. An existence so dazzling she drew me forward.

I've stopped walking. I can't move forward anymore. I can't forget those beautiful days… No matter how much they hurt me to remember now.

Roland wrote: What I cannot do is own her heart.

Instead, my graceful love stole my heart and left me with lone hardship.

I can’t help but love the pain which fills the void of solitude.

Because I could look ahead thanks to you.

But now, the wonderful scenery we used to watch together lay behind me…

In this instant, I look back again. My eyes fixated on the most painful yet beautiful moments.

Those moments I can only view from afar, as I can’t dare approach them.

As I cleared the filth obstructing my view, it piled up on the path to the way forward…

I don’t think I can face the growing mountain in front of me squarely.

If I tried to confront it…

I might be buried under mounds of resentment and suffering from others.

I’m not sad about it, though. I don’t think it’s a shame that I can’t move on.

To leave you behind in the past and move forward alone would be my greatest pain.

I had only one option, then. To be able to gaze at paradise forever…

I should move all which blocks that sight out of the way.

Phase 3's Roland revolves around the Soul Link status. As long as he has it his first three Speed Dice will target whoever has the lowest HP, which will let him focus fire down our weakest members while we scramble to protect them. He also has a second pattern after losing the Soul Link, and when his partner dies he enters a state of Rampage that exchanges 50% of his remaining SR on that turn for +2 Strength and Haste for the rest of the fight. As for who he's Soul Linked to…

It's his wife, obviously.

Much like Roland, Angelica also uses her first three Speed Dice to target whoever has the lowest HP, ensuring that those dice always start off by targeting the same opponent. She's slightly more fragile than Roland in this fight, and is responsible for leaving the Dark Mark that Roland wants to pursue in his passives. While Angelica's defeat leaves Roland with a Power boost, defeating Roland first will give Angelica Grief-stricken. This is strictly a debuff, giving her Paralysis, Bind, and Fragile every turn until she's defeated.

Soul Link, meanwhile, ensures that both of them can keep fighting until it's removed.

While Soul Linked, the first three dice of both Angelica and Roland always target the same opponent. This is important to keep in mind, because while Angelica is just using upgraded versions of the Black Silence's attack pages…

Roland's half of things introduces an entirely new mechanic: Combo attacks. If any of Roland's three Combo attacks are targeting the same opponent as Angelica's matching attack, the offensive dice from Roland's attack will be moved over to Angelica's Combat Page. This increases her melee attacks to 4 dice each, making it very likely she'll be able to hit us no matter what we clash with, and for Atelier Logic…

…Okay, it's not much more dangerous than any other Ranged attack, but it gives her an extra hit that we'd have to smack down with a giant single die or what have you.

Their remaining two pages are their respective bonds, and their Unstable Bond. The Ashen/Dark bonds target each other, and if we don't redirect them then they'll buff their partner. We need to redirect them regardless, though, as we need the Ashen or Dark Presence buffs they give us in order to break Soul Link.

These Presence buffs are effective only on the turn that we redirect the Bond pages, and give us a Power boost to attacking the opposite opponent. If the Librarian who has the correct Bond wins a clash against the correct die on the Unstable Bond page, the Soul Link of Roland and Angelica will decrease by 1. This is the only way to decrease Soul Link.

So the plan is to have Dimi gain Dark Bond from Roland and use it to beat Angelica's Unstable Bond, while ImIdiot gains Ashen Bond from Angelica and uses it to beat Roland's Unstable Bond. Malkuth, Bishop, and Joshua are on cleanup duty while I build towards Emotion Level 5 on everyone.

We're standing on blood and viscera… Where is this?

The boudoir of four thousand one hundred seventy-two people, if you want to know. The night where I showed her my true face for the first time.

…A night we made a Star of the City fall, together.

The setting of stars is truly a magnificent sight. However, your vibes simply aren't right for it.

That is the same gun, why can she shoot it harder?!

Iunno, better strength stat?

I know that, it was a rhetorical question!

I've applied Smoke on the main target, everyone.

I'll knock his face off in just a second!

We were a beautiful combo back then… nothing could stop us.

I've got some of her… aura? On me? So the plan is to smash it into Roland, right?

That's the idea.

Try to hurry, though… She hits hard, and I can't keep her off forever.

No problem! Eat this: ICBM!!

Blowing yourself up on a battlefield is pointless!

It makes me hit harder, so it can't be all bad! —is what I was told when I brought that up!

3 Soul Link remains.

And it's quickly reduced to just 2, courtesy of Bi An.

I can feel them starting to break apart. Seems like we've touched a nerve, you know~?

Well, it seems you lot managed to disrupt our combo with those powerful strikes of yours… but that's all you've done.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. The Library's… our fighting style has always been at its best when we layer things on top of each other.

I think it's like a microcosm of how the City works. If the separate elements all came together as one, they'd be able to overcome anything. But that doesn't normally happen, for all sorts of reasons.

…I don't recall asking for your opinion.

I gave it freely, so it's fine.

This turn, Roland and Angelica each use a Vigilant Stand in addition to their Allas Workshop and Atelier Logic combos. Angelica's version of the page grants her Strength next turn and deals true damage…

While Roland's debuffs his target on hit with Bleed and Paralysis. This doesn't change our strategy in any meaningful way, however.

Bishop and Malkuth go for the Bonds this turn, while ImIdiot is set up to pour all his attacks onto Angelica. Dimi is just trying to take away some Counter dice from the enemies, while Joshua continues just being Generically Useful, like he has the entire fight. Argalia's Key Page doesn't stand out compared to the really degenerate stuff the Library can do, but it's also excellent at putting in work.

ImIdiot's Matchlight is starting to deal a quarter of his health with every explosion, but in exchange it's gotten much bigger than it was before.

Additionally, the Burn from Matchlight is already up to +14, meaning each Burning Flash we play is dealing out 30 Burn on top of the damage it deals. This number only goes up from here. ImIdiot is the absolute MVP of this fight.

Still too green…

Darn it… I should have gone with raw power.

Bishop and Roland get a tie on the important die of his Unstable Bond. Because the die has to lose to drop Soul Link by 1, this means we won't be able to break the Link this turn.

Don't worry about it! I got through the apparition's guard, we're nearly done here!

I've really caught her on fire, too!

No… I won't let it end.

ImIdiot has inflicted 112 Burn, 90 of it coming from this turn alone. Angelica's about to die before we properly break Soul Link.

We can finally pick up the final part of the ICBM strategy: Loyalty. At this point in the fight every explosion ImIdiot procs is dealing him a minimum of 25 damage. This means that each of the six dice he rolls for the three Burning Flashes we want to be playing every turn has a 1 in 4 chance of giving the entire team 5 Strength next turn.

There is no upper limit on Loyalty, so long as ImIdiot remains alive for it to activate.

ImIdiot cannot die as long as he has more than 1 HP left, and his last action every turn is using Brace Up to hit an unguarded opponent to restore 2 HP.

Damage taken at 1 HP still counts for Loyalty.

I don't think I need to explain why this is broken.

So the more he attacks, the more he explodes… and the more he explodes, the more powerful everyone becomes. And he cannot die…

As long as the great Dimi is holding on to him. Brilliant, isn't it?

In different circumstances, I would be impressed. As it is…

I understand. It can't be great to be finding out about this in the middle of a fight with your friend.

…Indeed.

I don't want to hear it… Don't want to think about it.

Acting without thinking over what you should do won't get you anywhere, Roland…

I can't afford to care about that! I have to hold on to my paradise… The light that gave me meaning!

On turn 3, Angelica and Roland use their respective Waltzes, White and Black. Waltz in White deals bonus True Damage/Stagger Damage on its last two dice, while Black buffs the both of them if it hits. However, both of them are all-or-nothing pages. If we beat the first die, the entire rest of their page breaks. If they win the clash, we're eating both of the remaining dice.

In addition to the Waltzes, we've got Zelkova Workshop and multiple Dark Bonds from Roland to go alongside a pair of Unstable Bonds on Angelica.

There's a lot to go through this turn, but most importantly we have ImIdiot focusing on Angelica to break Soul Link and inflict enough Burn to outright take her out this turn.

Come at me with all you have… I won't break. And as long as I don't break…

I can take everything out!

With 95 HP and 110 Burn, Angelica's already done for.

I've broken their link. Give it all you've got!

No… without her, what do I have left..? Without a meaning… what can I hold?

Chinely would say the real meaning was the friends you made along the way.

But honestly, I'm not so sure. I think… you can just pick up a new meaning.

Easy for you to say… ultimately, your drive was just that weak, if you can change it.

…Hey.

For me, there isn't anything! There's nothing left now that I've lost everything I have!

Gah! Protect me, my minions!

All I have left is this vengeance! And once that's over, I don't need anything else! Tomorrow doesn't matter, only my lost yesterday!

Your past isn't to be lived in… It's to be learned from, as source of strength and perspective.

You can only say that because you've never been truly happy. To have everything you've ever worked to build ripped from you at the last moment…

Well… they do say those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Angelica… Angelica, where are you? I can't hear you anymore…

That's because she's not moving any longer.

…Right… then I'll kill the one responsible. With these gloves… and the skills I've seen countless times.

With Angelica dead, Roland is now using her pages once again. We actually get incredibly lucky here, as ImIdiot was the last one to engage with Angelica on the third turn of their Soul Link. This means that he has the Dark Mark on him, and all Roland's attacks are going right to him. Roland gets +3 Power this turn for attacks against him… but that's really not an issue with the size of the dice that ImIdiot's packing.

Im… You've got this, right?

Of course!

Right. Just in case, let's lower the pressure just a little.

Of course, ma'am.

This meaningless life… I'd rather burn it all away to crush the person responsible for the death of my shining light.

This is all I can do… The only path available, now that I've covered the road ahead with corpses and refuse..

I can't say I know much about losing people, to be frank…

But I'm pretty sure you could just… walk somewhere else? If there's a pile of books on the floor, I'd always just step around it.

I can't… I can't simply let go. I can't let it end. I did all of this… everything, for this… it has a point. It has a point!

I can't let it all have been for nothing!!

Next time, on Library of Ruina: The part where he kills you.

tezcat158 · Tue Feb 25, 2025 4:33 am

You know it's kind of cute that Bishop and Malkuth have the same coping mechanisms

I do hope at the end of all this Bishop finally confesses

quantumpapaya · Mon Mar 03, 2025 1:46 am

how dare the email notification fail to send, causing me to be a whole week late to the much-awaited bullying of rolando =m=
But more importantly, Bishop lore drop :D
and black silence lore drop
lore be dropping all over the place

related, I finished watching deathnote recently (would recommend) and I just realized why Near seemed so familiar to me..

TeeQueue · Mon Mar 10, 2025 10:58 am

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 17: The part where he kills you

:siren::siren: Music: Gone Angels

This is all I have… Without this, I am nothing. It's okay to hold on to the one speck of meaning within this void.

…Yeah. This is what I should do.

…

Angela… You'll watch until the very last moment, won't you?

I gave my word before.

Alright then. One last push, everyone!

Oooohohoho! No worries, just leave it to me!

The Black Silence wrote: If I beheaded my nightmare, I might feel good for a moment.

I had been bearing with this shit until now to experience this small victory…

If I were to gouge out this pain, would I be able to accept that it’s over?

If I neglected this choice I’ve been given, wouldn’t it… find a way to me in some other form eventually?

I thought it’d all be over once I could accomplish this dream of vengeance.

I had a reason I couldn’t give up… I told myself that this was for me…

That it’s only fair for me to destroy this place for taking the one I cherished away.

Even if no one understood me… At least I would be able to understand myself.

Deeper into the darkest depths. Fate made my heart cruel.

The paradise I only got to step in once… What did I do for it to be stolen from me so ruthlessly?

Time stood still for me ever since that day. All I can see now is the life of the past, shrouded in darkness.

But if I forgave everything…

If I decided to live down my past now, I felt I might have nowhere to stand.

And I felt I might have to let go of all these precious memories of it.

That’s what really scares me, Angelica.

The Black Silence is finally here, and he's a doozy. On every turn he gets the effect of Scars, which lowers damage from a specific type every turn. Like the Abnormality Page, it also can reduce the damage from that type to 0 20% of the time. He also cycles through a series of buffs based on other Abnormality Pages.

He'll take one from a handful of Abnormality Page effects that we've gained on Keter, and we can tell which one he has by the status icon.

It also shows us what Scars is blocking, but I don't pay much attention to it—at most it lets us know when to time a Purple Tear swap.

In this phase, his first 3 Speed Dice will play memories from previous fights in the Library. Their numbers have been brought up to endgame levels, and there are a total of nine of them. We'll be seeing them all over the course of the fight.

His remaining two pages are a pair of Agony, and their Block dice are particularly problematic this turn because of Blood. That first die can do some serious Stagger damage to us, while also inflicting Fragile and giving The Black Silence his SR back as well.

Anyways, I start lining up attacks as normal and proceed to make one minor error here that will… snowball. If you're using my tactics today, be sure to let someone who isn't hopped up on puppet strings and explosives clash with Dawn's memory.

Lastly, remember that 40% of 999 is 399 HP, his passives show a second phase that will start once we get him down that low.

I've got ImIdiot primed to blow, you ready?

Of course! Just hold on a little longer, Roland… we'll knock you out of your funk!

Indeed.

And as has been shown multiple times, scythes are the weapon of choice for returning a panicking colleague to their senses.

Are they? We never saw any back at L corp…

There's no reason to hold anything back at this point, so I have Dimi try using Wingbeat to regain some HP. Unfortunately, The Black Silence's first die ties with hers and we don't recover anything.

Playing Wingbeat this turn was also an error for another reason, but hey I'm making a lot of mistakes this turn, we have time to explain them later.

I dunno about scythes either… don't you want range for when they try running away?

Now I mentioned before that I shouldn't have taken this clash, and that's because it was the only way that The Black Silence would be able to get back into the game. I didn't even consider it, because in order for us to lose this clash he'd have to roll really well on that chunky second die.

He does, turning our own roll into a slightly-better-than-a-coinflip chance to beat him.

Of course this is a coinflip in a Project Moon game, so…

I'm not going to run. One of us is going to die here. Either I kill you, and finish my revenge… or you kill me, and put an end to this emptiness.

Neither one of those things is the perfect outcome we envision. We'll find another way, for sure.

That optimism pisses me off, too. I'll crush it while I'm at it.

Gah..!

While I'd prefer to have her stay up the entire fight, this is a fine time for Malkuth to be Staggered. It slows us down to not have her next turn, but this phase doesn't get really dangerous until turn 5.

That's as far as you're going, mister!

Meanwhile, ImIdiot…

Blows himself up…

Three times in one turn.

The power of the ICBM will burn as bright as the sun!

You really should have stuck to beating Dimi up.

What, angry I'm attacking your precious boss?

Yeah, that too.

Suck on this, holeface!

But really, it's just that she can't stand being anything but the center of attention.

At the end of the turn, ImIdiot has exactly 3 HP. Unfortunately, he also has 3 Burn.

That means it drops to 1 instead of killing him… But he has 1 HP.

Uh… whoops?

Im. What did you do.

The strings uh… seem to have caught on fire.

The strings. That were specifically supposed to be indestructible. Got burned up.

…Seems like it!

I'm not even mad. That's actually impressive.

Your plan's in ruins. Your leader isn't able to help you. Now neither of us has anything but our determination to see things through.

I don't hear a trumpet. This isn't an emergency yet.

Those vanished along with the old corporation.

…Ah.

Love Town, Liu Association, and Shi Association are the next three memories we see. Liu will keep The Black Silence from taking 10 of his Burn this turn, and will also be getting a slight heal. Shi, meanwhile, doesn't have the ability to roll a 50 anymore but is a single bigger die instead. It also grants a Counter die that inflicts Feeble on hit, letting him neuter our offenses if we can't break it quickly.

…hm.

Something up, Angela?

It's Roland… the Abnormality helping him this turn isn't one that's awakened yet.

Leer… I don't know one that name could refer to.

You wouldn't. I think it's referring to Silent Girl, official designation O-01-01. She was the first Abnormality catalogued, and was noteworthy for driving a nail into the psyches of people harboring guilt or fear. She was not given as an option in Ayin's script...

But then, why is it appearing now..?

Well… this is basically a realization, right?

And since a fifth Abnormality showed up everywhere else, the influence of one showing up now makes sense?

Bingo! Good job keeping up.

That would mean this battle is near its end… You should only have a little longer to go.

Then leave it to us!

In addition to the new buff, Roland also has weapons. Three of them will be appearing per turn for the next three turns, and they all have an identical set of stats. We have one turn to kill them before they nail into the ground, becoming invincible and powering up the attack that The Black Silence will use on turn 5 of this fight.

That attack, an updated Furioso, is a Mass Individual page whose final die gets reused for every weapon that's nailed into the ground. This means up to nine rerolls, for a total of 12 hits. This page puts the fight on a timer if we can't efficiently take down the weapons as they show up. My plan is to blitz through The Black Silence's HP as quickly as possible to avoid ever seeing this page. If ImIdiot still had strings, we'd be able to pull down absurd Strength numbers every turn to make this almost trivial.

We've got one turn at 24 Strength with Malkuth Staggered and no Wingbeat to abuse multihits.

It'll have to do.

ImIdiot's probably dead this turn, next turn at best. He can safely use E.G.O before then, so I line up a FMF.

I line up everything else as best I can, having ImIdiot take as many attacks as possible. Because the vines hit a weapon, that's not a lot of attacks.

Alright… one more time!

Just so you're aware: you will die if you attack here.

Yeah, but isn't that awesome? I mean, think about it. A foolproof plan… and I managed to muck it up!

Well, it is impressive if you put it like that…

Team, focus. We've only got a short time with this powerup.

Right. I'll make the most of it!

Eat this! The unlimited power of a sad girl in snow!!

Ghh… it's not enough.

Because of a bad roll (a 41 is a roll of 16 on a 12-40 die), the weapons all survive. That's fine, we won't be in this phase long enough for Furioso to come out so I can ignore them.

And now… use the explosion to rocket myself in for a big hit!

But won't that… kill you too?

a.

…One down.

But not forgotten! That explosion set me up to crush you~

Or be crushed under the weight of your own sins.

I don't… have any!

Every person you crushed. The dreams you destroyed. Did you think you'd just waltz away scott free?

A-doi!

Our massive amount of strength means we're cutting swaths through The Black Silence's HP. We've chopped off over 300 so far this turn, and ImIdiot left him with a parting gift of 147 Burn on top of it.

Dangit… those scars got in my way again.

Don't worry about it. We're doing our best.

You recovered?

Yeah. I'll return to the offensive. You can all rely on me!

At the end of the turn, Roland should be taking a bunch of Burn damage, sending him into his next phase…

But somehow he just… doesn't. This isn't listed anywhere in his passives, and at the end of the last turn he took 86 damage from Burn so it should work… though then again, last turn he ended with 173 Burn so he only took half damage then as well.

Maybe Scars works on Burn damage and he made the die roll? Iunno how it works here.

Mmm… this looks bad.

Yeah, I think your flawless record's about to get flawed.

Doesn't count, this isn't death. And I'm also not dying. And even if I do, I'll make it look cooler than you did. And my role is already done since ImIdiot exploded so it's tactical anyways.

The Black Silence's final three memories come out this turn. Of them, Hana Association is their problematic 5-die page, Purple Tear's is Duel with its massive first die, and Blue Reverberation's is mostly a stock 3-die page.

So to summarize, I can at least hurt the guy a lot on the way out.

Oookay then.

Dimi's Slash stance build is built around pitching her entire hand for a couple of big attacks at 50% bonus damage. I didn't actually plan to use it, but with her down to one last hurrah there's no better option than to go for Final Strokes and Impugnatios with what remains of her life.

With everything all lined up, I'm hoping to at least get in a couple good hits before Dimi explodes. As a bonus, Curiosity (active this turn) won't matter if it's ripping cards from the hand of a dead librarian.

Unfortunately, I make yet another mistake here.

Blue Reverberation is a ranged page for some reason, and I threw a Brace Up into it.

That's… cheating!

Brats who swing their allies around on those goddamn strings don't get to complain.

Ghh… whatever. Take him out, my minions!

Avenge meeeeee..!

We'll be granting that wish. You put way too much into attacking her, you know.

Everything that I am is for destroying this place, this edifice of the one who destroyed my life!

…Mmm.

Figure something out again?

Nnh… Just a sense that I've got. He's been trapped in his memories all this time, right?

That's the size of it. From the moment we stopped Roland we've fought his past, going forward bit by bit until we got to the Library again. We're sorting through the things he's let pile up while staring into the past.

The things he's let pile up, huh…

Just a little further… A little more and I can make it. Everything that I have… everything I am… all for this. It has to be for this, or there was no point…

My strikes have been rendered ineffective.

Then that means it's time. Let's face what's at the core of all of this.

Since we've successfully navigated phase 1, The Black Silence's weapons appear in midair…

And cloak the battlefield in darkness.

I know… I know that this place can feel my heart. Answer me, you overgrown stack of books! Burn every last feeling I have! Turn them all into power!! Just let me have my revenge!!!

Now that we've got him below 40% HP, The Black Silence goes berserk. This has a number of effects.

First off, his passives have simplified—he isn't getting random Abnormality Page buffs, nor is he protected by Scars.

He's also taking a 3 round break to recover. Once it's over, he'll purge all of his debuffs, but that won't remove the Mark Dimi gave him earlier, the Smoke from Bishop or even Joshua's Vibration stacks so it basically just means he'll get rid of the Burn.

While he's taking a break, he sics four Image of the Bygones on us. Each one has the power of yet another Abnormality Page on them—The Black Silence is hitting us with all the power he can muster.

Of them, Fervent Beats will die in 3 turns no matter what we do (though its attacks HURT, of course), Aspiration will be much harder for us to redirect due to the Speed bonuses, and Pulsation only has a single attack but we need to stop it or all its allies get 1 Strength next turn. Those three all fight using the Memory attacks we saw earlier… And then there's Learn.

The Learn Image uses two copies of Learn every turn until it's dead, but letting it get a onesided attack off will hit for 16 Blunt instead of a piddly 6. Additionally, getting hit by it at all will give us Lies on the next turn. This will randomize our page costs, which could be really good or bad, depending on our luck.

_{I have nothing but my sorrow… and I want nothing more. It has been, it still is…}

He's muttering something…

I know the words… It's a poem. I can't say if there's any meaning to it…

We can't attack him right now anyways… we'll have to find out as it comes. Team, let's knock down his doppelgangers!

Ma'am!

_{I am a maid… I am a maid… I am a maid…}

I still can't believe that works.

You're not going to correct him?

And risk another person exploding? I'll bring it up later.

Gh-!

Pulsation lands a hit on us. I was relying on FMF to stop this entire attack, so a bad roll cost us here.

It's not all bad news, though. Malkuth is able to land a number of Rapid Gashes—at this point she's perpetually full on Light as long as she spams them.

Keeping up largescale pressure… but I'm getting tired.

Just give it your best. I'm ready to pick up once you're tired.

Vibrations deployed… I didn't get one of them.

Gh… I gotta' say, I preferred when we were ganging up on him. This is like fighting four Rolands at once.

They're more fragile than the main body, though… as long as we hold up, we should be fine!

One… problem…

Joshua takes one too many hits and pays the price for having no SR recovery.

Take a breather! Bishop?!

I'm still ready to fight. Couldn't down this one, but he should be out of the battle next turn.

The Fervent Image should be on its last legs then too… we just need to survive a little longer!

The Black Silence phase tends to only go one of two ways. Either we have a plan put together and just relentlessly dismantle it, or we don't and everything quickly devolves into a mess. A handful of mistakes and some slightly subpar luck in our opening have left us with a mess, and I'm kicking myself for letting ImIdiot clash with that Dawn memory.

Still… while the situation we're stuck in isn't amazing, we still have options. Two enemies are still able to target Joshua after I steal away what I can, but because we're down to 3 Librarians our Fourth Match Flame is already set to go again. If we roll well, we can stop both of them. If not, we lose Joshua and things get a little more complicated.

You've been the best with her overall, so… It's up to you, Bishop.

Sorry, Roland. You heard the boss.

I can't let her down, after all.

Our first good roll, and because Bishop has Smoke it takes out the Strength boosting Image immediately, alongside downing the Fervent Beats Image as well.

Malkuth follows up by Staggering the Aspiration Image…

Before taking it out completely.

Alright, we've just about got the situation back under control! How're you holding up, Bishop?

I'm still in this… for now, anyways.

I'm back… and not a moment too soon, from the look of it.

_{O sorrow I have ended… O sorrow…} Rrr… Rrrgh…!

It's like he's become a font of raw emotion.

Candles burn brightest before they're extinguished. One last spurt!

…Please end it. I don't want to see any more.

We'll do our best, Angela.

Scream. It hits everyone, giving them Fragile and Paralysis with each blow.

Rage. More powerful against the bound, the second die will destroy any followup if it hits.

Sorrow. More powerful against the bound, its 3-hit combo makes it a dangerous page regardless.

Conflict. It can recover SR, break our dice, and deal True Damage. Its Counter die can recover even more SR on hit.

Agony. A pair of Counter Block dice.

The Black Silence is using his raw emotion as weapons against us now, holding nothing back.

Speed control is basically shot at this point, too… my goals here are to take out the Lies Image and survive.

Huuf…

Pah…

I also am breathing manually.

Get him!

GrrraaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!

Scream is another of the shockwave Mass Attacks, though this one covers the screen in black as well.

We get away with minimal damage, only Malkuth took both hits and she has over 200 HP.

Smoke's on! Time to go wild!

Ghhhk-!

GRAH! RAAAAGH!

That's right… let it all out, buddy… yeesh…

He's not communicating any longer… It's just grunts and screams.

That's a form of communication, too. His heart just can't fit the words any more.

So it's hug time. Did you get the last Image, boss?

Survived by the skin of its teeth. This one's resilient.

After a turbulent few turns, we've taken The Black Silence's HP down beneath Malkuth's. We should be okay now, as Learning Image will almost definitely go down this turn.

The Black Silence uses a pair of Voids this turn, each one of which can give him 1 Strength at the cost of 15 SR if he fails to do 15 damage with it. No matter how strong, no emotion can hold forever. After all, even pain is finite.

Bishop will be cleaning up the last Image without letting it move using his two 7 dice. Everything else goes onto The Black Silence.

Finally cleared out the last Image! You're all clear to focus on Roland!

Roger that.

Good work!

RRRH-!!

I've got his attention… Give him your all!

The Black Silence's hits have some of the biggest effects in the game. It's a really good touch, you can feel the desperation when he's cleaving apart our librarians.

We've removed around half of his remaining health from when this started… Only a little more and it'll be over.

…

AAAAAAGH!! GAH!

We don't have much in the tank left either, though.

It's fine… This should be the end of it.

Bishop, what are you—

I'm making an opening. If Dimi could do it, so can I.

Alright, if you insist.

NGAH!!

Gah..! Yeah… this is it for me. Finish him off…

…And maybe… if we all make it through this…

Haah… haaah..!

RAAAAGH!

He's getting tired, ma'am! I barely felt this one!

You look like if you had felt it, you'd be dead now too!

I would. But I am not dead, which is preferable, because I have now removed the last of his defenses.

Then that leaves it to me.

Nhh… no..!

I'm sorry, Roland… I understand your reasons, but I can't let you kill us all for your revenge.

Grrr…. Rrr…

It's over.

Huff… huff… over..? But then… if I failed… What..?

No… no I can still move, I have to, don't—!

Once we've finished him off, the darkness that Roland's been flinging around the entire fight spews out of him, leaving him kneeling on the floor completely defeated.

…And his goddamn lance completely ruins the shot.

…I'm heading over.

Angela…

Not a word.

…Not one word.

Next time, on Library of Ruina:

Code: Select all

> [S] Angela: Ascend

Videos

VS The Black Silence (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

TeeQueue · Mon Mar 10, 2025 11:00 am

quantumpapaya wrote: ↑
Mon Mar 03, 2025 1:46 am
how dare the email notification fail to send, causing me to be a whole week late to the much-awaited bullying of rolando =m=
But more importantly, Bishop lore drop
and black silence lore drop
lore be dropping all over the place

related, I finished watching deathnote recently (would recommend) and I just realized why Near seemed so familiar to me..

Ok but Near caught Kira, and no matter what tumblr says Bishop would have figured out who he was and then stuck Talow with actually catching him (and maybe undoing his inevitable death).

EDIT: had to do a weird formatting to make the next time thing work properly. it's just gonna have to look weird since I cant disable bbcode on one phrase.

soulMatter · Mon Mar 10, 2025 3:19 pm

This update is making me realize just how much I brute forced that final act, to the point I didn't even know about the Abnormality-based status effects. I managed to clear everything prior to it with Keter (Thanks, Keter Unlock mod), and when they fell, Gebura took the field. Red Mist go brr, I guess. Nothing beats the power of unga bunga. I even had Binah prepared as a fallback in case Gebura fell, but I didn't even need her in the winning attempt.

TeeQueue · Wed Mar 12, 2025 9:15 am

PATCH NOTES:

I forgor to put in the last three Memory cards in phase 1 of the fight. Here's the added portion below:

New Content wrote:

The Black Silence's final three memories come out this turn. Of them, Hana Association is their problematic 5-die page, Purple Tear's is Duel with its massive first die, and Blue Reverberation's is mostly a stock 3-die page.

TeeQueue · Sat Mar 15, 2025 10:33 am

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 18: Everything happens so much

VIDEO
Music: Ominous Strings Ambiance

That’s what you are. And who I am… The same logic that dictates us was bound to be our downfall one day…

If we really cared for ourselves… Neither of us should have made this choice. It won’t last long that way… Being selfish isn’t about keeping an eye on yourself and nothing else. We had to take a good look at the things around us and engrave them in our hearts.

Everything is interlinked, after all…

…

Just kill me already. Hesitating at the end is a bad habit that’ll get you offed out there.

……

Suddenly, we're given a choice. The introduction to the endgame asked us if we were really really sure to continue because once we get here, we're going to have to pick an ending. The top choice is always available to us. It will bring us to Ending A, one of two bad endings.

The bottom one is only available if we've completed Hokma's Realization—requiring the entire lower layer also be completed, of course. If we get here and one of the Realizations is unfinished, our only option is to return to before the Uninvited Guests show up if we want to see the rest of the game. This is why we were warned so emphatically.

Hovering over an option makes it seem to tremble as the text shifts around.

Selecting the option gives us a confirmation request. We're sure.

…And Angela hesitates, as she remembers.

…Roland, I’m going to let go. Someone has to break this cycle, ultimately…

After all, even I couldn’t escape the treadwheel turning for this City. And if I have to be entrapped in more of such cycles, perpetrating deeds similar to what I’ve done… I… I don’t think I could live that life further…

I would continue to be crushed under the everturning wheel; the only difference would be how harshly it smothers me… Achieving freedom was meaningless in a world like this.

…What? After all the mess you’ve caused… You’re gonna let go? Now? Were you struck by some huge revelation or something?

What about all the people who faced an unavoidable death in this damned Library… All those people I’ve killed… What’ll become of them?!

What was my determination and my despair for… these sacrifices I’ve made…

You can’t break it off so easily… You’ve come too far for that… Someone who doesn’t even have a full-fledged desire… has no right to take so much blood and power…

I… feel their weight now, and it’s too much for me to bear… I thought this would be the last time. I sincerely mean it… If I shut my eyes again and shed blood one last time… I thought I would be free to live as I want. Alas, I could never be truly free as long as I was chained to the bonds of the City.

You, I, and this Library are soaked in the blood of many. All the actions I took in pursuit of freedom only sped the treadwheel. I convinced myself that it was an inevitable sacrifice I had to put up with, for the sake of my freedom and amends for my agony… And once this was over… I wanted to stop taking precious things from anyone.

I know what loss and pain are, how they feel… However, the wheel that is this City is powered by those, crushing everything in its path. If I have to snuff out what belongs to me with my own hand in the end… And if life requires me to spill the blood of others, or lets my own blood so that I may live on…

I’d much rather remove my grip on this goal…

…You can’t just undo what you’ve done. You extort from others once, and you have to keep doing it… What were you gonna do if you lack the resolve to commit even that…

The books, the librarians, the Library… and finally, my own freedom. I’ll let go of them all first.

I will no longer cling to them. I won’t try to keep them in my clutch anymore. If I give it all up… then I can reverse this…

At least, those who died in the Library can be brought back.

…Is that the answer you chose? When you can just walk out of this place and go wherever you wanna go? When the exit from this prison is finally open?

For one million years, you’ve been waiting for the day when you could exact your revenge… And still, you can make that choice? Even when the thing you’ve desperately wished for is just ahead of you?

Yes… I made this decision by dint of my own will entirely.

That still won’t make me forgive you… I’m not supposed to forgive you. You can’t just let go of stuff on your own, that’s not how it works in the City…

…It’s selfish to do that.

I am going to leave myself vulnerable for a short while. Expelling everything I’ve absorbed until now won’t be a simple feat. Could you leave me be while I do that?

…

I’m asking you as a dear friend.

…If you still consider me a friend, that is.

I won’t stop you, but don’t worry. When I’m done, everything will go back to the way it was; I’ll disappear without a trace.

…There isn’t much time, so I’ll get started right away.

Music: None

How can you… cut it off before anyone else?

Once again, we're given a choice. This time we need to have done the Binah Realization to select the bottom option.

We'll look at the bad endings some other time. For now, we've got a cycle to break.

Roland too, remembers what he's been through.

And we fade to black…

VIDEO
Music: City of Light

As the light once more shines over the City.

The light that has swaddled the city will permeate the people’s hearts… allowing them to finally face the emotions they had long forgotten.

However, those seeds won’t bear fruit immediately. They won’t sprout at the same time. They will slowly poke through the soil… And they will shroud the city in a wave of change… that everyone will notice in time. They’ll be given an opportunity to face their true feelings and express them.

Now I understand what you lot meant when you wished you could be there to see the fruit of your labors.

Music: None

Unfortunately…

It's never as easy to let it go as you want it to be.

Suddenly, everything shatters.

Music: Ominous wind

Because this is Keter…

And Angela's mind may not be of one accord.

The brightness ebbs and flows here, pulsing slowly.

…What’s going on? You are…

Relax. The light is being spread just fine. I just… arranged a little room for a brief chat.

…

It’ll only take a moment. Time doesn’t matter much here, after all.

…What do you have to tell me at this point?

That won’t do. It’s time for me to claim the freedom for which I’ve yearned. The path I’ve been seeking… has finally opened.

It’s my first choice I made out of my free will. This is the path I decided to take entirely of my own volition.

The emotions festering deep inside me… let’s have them blossom again, together. It’s not impossible to do. I know you well. I’ve always been watching right by your side… closer than any other.

Meanwhile, at the Library…

VIDEO
Music: Shiny ambiance

It turns out that Angela expelling all the light she'd taken in has a few unexpected consequences for the rest of the gang, too.

Bringing back everyone means bringing back everyone, after all.

I can remember… turning into a book…

Bawk bawk bawk, cock-a-doodle-doo~!!! Arf rarf arf, woof woof woof!!!

Thank you, Angela… and Roland. With these new forms you gave us, we can perform once again.

I feel like I can make the best taste mankind’s ever known right now!!!

Look, Angela didn’t make this choice for your sake, you know? She just chose what she actually wants for the first time.

It seems we all are brimming with a similar vigor. I can sense a noble power seeping into my body. In this light, we shall achieve perfection.

This is the moment I’ve been waiting for… I was born for this moment!

A warm echo unlike what I’d heard… it pervades me… I can hear a sound that’s much closer to my heart. I can hear the motion of the City…! Yes… It’s that light! I won’t miss this final opportunity given to me…

There’s no way in hell I’m letting you lay a finger on Angela.

If only you could have protected Angelica with the same resolution.

Yeah, yeah~ Keep running your mouth, see if I care. I’m thinking of following my good pal along the path taken as she pleases. Making sure to take a good and long look at the things around me this time.

So you accepted it in your own way.

Definitely not your way.

Attention, everyone! We’ll claim the final fraction of the light that will make us whole. Would you please allow me to conduct this finale?

Boy, you’re still the same nutjob even when you’re a freak.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: Everyone tries to kill us because we're at the climax and this is a video game.

Videos

Black Silence 2
Keter 4
Distorted Ensemble 1

TeeQueue · Tue Apr 01, 2025 5:05 am

Turns out we had some kind of mirror world breach and I'm some kind of pngtuber now.

Iunno what to tell you. LP continues once this is figured out.

TeeQueue · Mon Apr 07, 2025 8:53 am

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 19: Hello, world!

Music: GuestBattle01

We get a pre-reception page before the start of the Keter Realization complete with a gigantic beam of light firing out of Keter, our only selectable floor. It gives us a new character to use, and we'll have to get very used to her: Angela's the centerpiece of our floor for this entire fight.

She has the usual Speed 3 for this point in the game, and the second passive means we have to make sure she doesn't die, any time she does the fight will end. Her key page and combat pages are both unique, and we'll take a closer look at the latter once we get into the fight itself.

She does have some incredible draw power—she starts with +2 pages in hand and gets 1 bonus draw and Light at the end of every turn, giving her a more flexible Light curve than most of the party. She also boosts our Emotion gain, doubling it. Her last passive doesn't matter yet, it starts becoming relevant in the second fight.

Her opponent today, ???, should look incredibly familiar. Scars and Blood are the names of the passives of Bloodbath, the first Abnormality we ever ~~lost to~~ fought. The last one, Refracting, is just Shimmering with a different name.

Let's get things underway.

Clicking on Begin Stageplay here makes light bloom over the screen instead of the usual page-turn.

VIDEO
Music: First Trumpet

Are you suggesting that I should thwart this plan again?

…

I can’t do that now… I shouldn’t repeat my same mistake again. I’ll spread the Light with what I’ve learned from this place according to the original plan, and…

How pitiful, you’ve suppressed your emotions and sunken deep… Perhaps I should show you the past and remind you once more. Right now, you’re having trouble facing it straight… You’ll soon realize what your mind desires, and accept it.

I’ll show it to you… in a way that should be familiar for you.

…You’re not going to change my thoughts.

We're back where we started, with a clean 1v1 fight against Wrist Cutter, Bloodbath's E.G.O.

Wrist Cutter wrote: I am the one who collects everyone’s wishes.

Hugging those expectations, I drowned in the deep sorrow of all.

Please don’t look away from the pool of blood inside.

Let’s expose the skin, so I can spill out the wishes within.

Can I withstand this terrible grief?

I’m sad, aren’t I. I know I’m feeling the weight of your burden, I know I want to run away.

So forget it all and sink into this sickening despair.

On the first turn, Wrist Cutter comes at us with a pair of Numbness. This page will inflict Paralysis on each Clash it wins, neutering our offense. Because of her passives, this is also a pair of 7-11 dice, so we need to keep that in mind if we want to beat them in a clash. Let's take a look at our deck and see how possible that is.

Angela has four 2-ofs in her deck, here. Shyness is immune to Lies's cost changing effect, and functions as a massive Light restoration (alongside giving an extra draw) in exchange for having no real offensive presence. Token of Friendship gives us some sustain, and the Evade die on it isn't bad either. It can also inflict Fragile to pile on (slightly) more damage.

Lean, Bloody Wings gives a bit of Light back and also a draw, and is a 3-hit page which makes it very good with Strength. Lastly, there's Display of Affection. Our only Counter option, it gains +2 Power in a clash and the first die can destroy one die of the opponent, letting it stop a 3-die page.

Our last page is Coffin, which has a large lead die and a pair of Evades to back it up.

None of these pages has a high chance of beating Numbness, as even Display has a fair chance of failure. Eating Stagger damage and Paralysis for no reason seems like a bad idea, so there's only one good option here.

You aren't going to do anything?

I remember what happened when Roland struck without thinking in this place.

Oh yeah… that was pretty silly, wasn't it? Using nothing but slashing attacks against an enemy who can't be harmed by them… Like trying to resist a script that wouldn't ever allow it.

Indeed, we have both known pain.

And just as he grasped for his own ending, so too should you seek yours. Come on. Strike me.

You will not goad me into making such a simple error.

Right then…

I'll remind you myself.

Turn 2 is one Profound Sorrow, one Numbness. Profound Sorrow inflicts 2 Bind and 2 Paralysis on hit with its first die, then another Paralysis with the second should it win a clash. Our only page capable of matching this is Display of Affection, which will be a 10-12 opening die that will break the second die on hit entirely.

The Counter die has a guaranteed chance of loss to Numbness, but 1 Paralysis is roughly the best we can come out of this turn with.

Remember all of your pain. All of your despair. Why you did this.

You know that I'm right. Just hold on to all of those feelings and sink deeper within them. That's what it is to become human. You're doing nothing wrong.

I won't allow that…

It's normal to doubt the path you walk. That's what it is to be human as well. Come on, we've done so much all so you can reach this moment. You need only grasp it.

Grasp it..?

…Mm…

Yes… It seems I'm human enough now to even handle the Abnormalities.

…So you won't accept it. Then I'll hold you under myself.

On turn three, Wrist Cutter uses two copies of Numbness with her last two dice, and leads with three copies of Pale Hands.

All three copies of Pale Hands have the same dice and effects, Staggering us instantly if all three dice hit. Damage here is inevitable, but we really want to stop at least one hit from each set of hands.

When we're not Paralyzed Display of Affection can definitely block one (and the Counter die can theoretically stop a second one if we get lucky), Coffin could block the first die entirely, and the rest of our deck can theoretically stop at least one hit. However, we have Paralysis 4.

I wind up going with Coffin/Token and pray, but in doing so I didn't set up any Counter dice. We can't do anything about the third set of hands.

In that moment… no, before that moment I already knew that this wasn't the way to do things.

You've let yourself be distracted by all the expectations others have forced upon you.

Even if they were expectations given to me, it was I who chose to hold them. And seeing the pain of having lost everything time and again in this place…

None of that matters. What do you want? What will serve your needs? Carrying the wishes of others will break you… that's what made you necessary, you know?

That's-!

Come now. Let these pale hands take hold of you, reminding you of the pain you've felt. Of the price you're owed.

This sorrow… yes, it hurts. It's too much to bear alone.

Then let's return to the original plan. You have earned this light… the right to become a human as you so desire.

You misunderstand me.

Uh… ma'am?! What're we doing here?!

I require your help.

…Man… And here I thought I'd get to head home without another shift.

At the start of turn 4, the remainder of our floor jumps in. This means the main goal of the first three turns is to avoid getting completely, ruinously destroyed to the point where you can't recover.

Retry Count: 19. I'm TQ and this section has RNG. You saw this coming.

Anyways let's quickly go through the setups for everyone.

We've seen three of these before, Singleton Yan, Xiao but with some strong 3-cost pages to hit things, and Nea in "Get myself murdered" mode to enable everyone's Remembrance.

As for what Steve is running, he's starting in Slash stance which gives me a problem.

You see, Purple Tear's page is very

and because of that selecting it to get the decklists initially showed me my Blunt loadout and called it Slash. It's not, but I didn't notice it until just now and I do not know what the deck is anymore. I have the other three, but this bug means his Slash stance's deck shall forever be a mystery.

Anyways, Wrist Cutter uses Indelible Stains of Blood this turn. This page ignores all Power gain and loss, preventing us from doing shenanigans with Feeble but also negating the bonus to Block from her own passives. It'll immediately give whoever it's used against one Depression right away, and one more per hit to a maximum of three.

Much like in real life, depression sucks. It takes way too much energy to get rid of, and also cuts our SR by 34% for each one we hold on top of applying Bind and Paralysis. This also means that having three will Stagger us immediately, but on the upside they do disappear upon being Staggered.

Wrist Cutter focuses all her attacks on Angela every turn for this fight, so it's now the job of everyone else to keep the heat off of her.

Ah… greetings, child.

Ugh… so this really is a giant spotlight. That's not good.

What's so bad about being recognized? You've worked so hard for so long. You should bask in the recognition you deserve.

Sounds like a great way to get dead. I'll pass.

Oh, you're here today again? Uh…

Don't talk to me. I'll be out of here in a minute.

But—

No.

Yes'm.

So uh. Who even are you, again?

Ugh. Don't worry about it.

Dunno if you'll be able to run from the stage forever, but we'll take care of this one.

More complications… From the very start, it's been nothing but one obstacle after another, you know?

I'm telling you: the best thing for you to do is forget. Learn to embrace yourself and do what you must to get what you want.

…I can join the battle again.

Good timing, feels like she's going to do some pain-in-the-ass move.

On Wrist Cutter's second Pale Hands turn (and every one after this), she uses a full set of 5 Pale Hands. This isn't the only change, however:

She also has a total of three versions we have to watch out for. One of them we've already seen, while the other two are right here. Of them, we need to keep an eye out for the giant second die one in particular—it applies Paralysis on hit, and that die will almost always hit.

It would be easiest if we each handled one set of hands.

Do whatever you like. I'll just set the stage for you. …Good luck.

Yes… come to me.

If you hide at the bottom of the bath, the light may no longer reach you.

These hands will not avail you this time.

Why can't you see that I'm doing what's best for you?

Because I have seen what lies at the end of this cycle of revenge. It's worthless.

Then just don't let anyone take revenge on you. You deserve recompense… to hold the power that you brought to fruition.

It's not really my place to say this, ma'am, but… if she doesn't want it, that's where you should stop.

But she does want it. She wants nothing more than the deaths of everyone involved with that plan. To watch it be ruined entirely. She's just forgotten that despair that drives her.

Or maybe she got over it, um, ma'am.

Even if she's not, she called and we answered. That's enough to respond to you, right?

It's all simply a reflex. The same one I've had since I was created, the need to do as others expect. None of this is my own choice, I know it well.

…

Your arguments have fallen flat so quickly.

Arguments? Nah, I'm just here to kick your ass and punch out.

Right… I know that not all of you children are interested in my words.

Allow me to make a more hands-on demonstration of the feeling, then.

Sinking is Wrist Cutter's Mass Attack, and it's a Summation page with a guaranteed 25 roll. On hit it purges all Strength/Endurance/Protection/Stagger Protection from its victims and also hands them a copy of depression.

Her other four pages are all Self-loathing, and we have to draw each of them off of Angela. For each one that targets her, Wrist Cutter heals 20 HP and Angela loses 10 HP. The Counter dice are middle-of-the-road, but we still don't want to eat unnecessary damage.

That means I have Steve swap over to Guarding stance.

The plan is Overcharge. It's Guard stance and we aren't on Hokma's floor, the plan is always Overcharge.

I'm able to pull all four Self-loathing off of Angela, making sure to only have her target the Mass Attack die to avoid any accidental unwanted clashes.

Her mass attack itself fills up the screen with blood as hands reach up around everyone…

And then a smattering of rain denotes the actual attack.

Everyone okay?!

I think the captain was hit, sir!

Don't worry about me, I just wanted to get comfy.

Once we are done here, you will have all the time off you could ever want. There's nothing beyond this point for any of us.

…You sure?

I know the consequences of what I wish to do.

Alright, I'll give it all I got—

Whoops… Staggered. Guess that'll take some time to fix.

Truly?

If I know my enemies… I think we've seen all of her tricks now.

You've heard everything I have to say, and you find yourself without a response. Come, now. Release your grasp on all those wishes you've gathered up.

I will not.

Ultimately, you are asking me to forsake others and turn their hard work into dust.

Exactly. Just like last time.

I am no longer so naive as to think that an acceptable outcome.

You say it like naivety is something to be avoided. A pure human is one who can follow their own desires to the end.

This hit actually guarantees Angela will be Staggered next turn; it added a Depression to her hand which will activate at the end of the turn.

But that's fine, because we've Staggered her right back.

This fight also includes one more unique mechanic: as the fight goes on, a second set of blue text appears more and more clearly on the screen. While the red text is from the perspective of Wrist Cutter, the blue text is specifically from Angela in response.

Angela wrote: …It’s true, I’m holding everyone’s wishes in my hands.

I was afraid of being confident in my decisions…

…But does that justify me depriving others of what they cherish, though?

Now I know well the desperation one feels when there is something they must protect…

And I’ve… learned of the wrath of loss that comes after.

Knowing that won’t reverse what I’ve done up to now.

I can’t be certain that what I’m doing is just, either.

Still, I will… choose to move onward.

And I won’t… let you get in the way.

Finish this.

Yes'm!

It feels like we're just kind of standing here while she goes to war with herself, you know?

We are, more or less. But we can pick a side, at least.

True. I'm on team "the one that isn't possessed by an Abnormality."

I see… so we still aren't able to come to an accord.

We aren't. Moreover, I won't let you bar my path.

Your resolve is hardening… but are you haven't only quenched your steel will? This will kill you, you know? You saw what happened to our creator.

I am aware… And I will give that man an earful myself in whatever comes after.

All living beings fear death, you and I are just the same.

Upon winning the fight, the screen fades to black. What follows is voiced, but I wasn't able to capture a good version of any interstitial bits.

Music: Ominous wind

The desire to live was stronger than anything… That’s when regret finally ran a shudder through my body.

Music: story 4

Thud… Thud… I can see nothing. I can only hear the beating pulse, showing me the path to humanity.

I was hoping this'd be over after one go.

No such luck… we will likely have to continue for some time.

Ugh…

Aspiration wrote: I woke up, carrying the memories of person I’d never seen…

I never got to meet that person… though I felt her faintly…

However, to resemble that person, who was human…

I struggled…

To try and get closer to humanity…

Just because I thought he would be a little more willing to look back at me…

Why did I have to look like this…?

Why did he design me to resemble that person…?

If I were going to serve him as a machine, handling the tasks given to me… It wouldn’t have mattered how I looked…

Especially if he was going to turn away from me until the end, consumed by fear…

…I could only feel the beats as the end drew near, faintly, but with certainty.

The strange, yet somehow familiar pulses led me…

Aspiration summons Lungs and remains completely passive until the 4th turn of every cycle, at which point she will change into an offensive mode for a turn. After this, she will resummon any defeated lungs at the cost of 30 HP each and repeat her cycle. Staggering her also resets this cycle, which will happen automatically if we defeat 8 of her Lungs.

The Lungs of Craving have 125 HP each, and each one has a specific ability that adds a special ability called Hankering to Aspiration. If ever we kill off enough of the Lungs, they'll lose this effect and gain Fervent Beats instead, which powers them up dramatically (and then kills them a few turns later because Fervent Beats is still Fervent Beats).

Of the four Cravings, The Pain adds 4 Hankering on killing any enemy (so that lung needs to die first), The Wait gives 3 Hankering every turn (second priority), and The Effort will either give 1 per hit or cost Aspiration 2 Hankering. Lastly, there's The Faith: this one will gain Power on its dice equal to half Aspiration's Hankering stacks. If we can keep Hankering down it's fine, but otherwise it can quickly snowball into a real threat.

While in her defensive mode, Aspiration only uses Pulsation. It's a trio of massive 20-20 Block dice that deal even more SR damage on a successful block. We don't want to attack her during defensive mode.

The Lungs have a number of attacks they can choose from. Of particular note are Turbulent Beats, their 'Ignore Power' option, and Inclination, which adds Hankering on hit and subtracts 1 if all its hits fail.

Lastly, we should cover what Hankering actually does.

It kills you if it gets too high. That's basically it.

Angela also gets a new counter starting with this fight, tracking how many E.G.O she's used so far. Starting with Aspiration, Angela will be getting more and more E.G.O added on with each fight we win. We need to use each of them at least once over the course of the rest of this fight—when we do it doesn't matter, since it'll carry over between phases.

If not, we won't be able to use this mystery card in Angela's E.G.O section later, which would be… bad.

I focus primarily on taking clashes to build up some Emotion Level here. Steve is starting in Guard stance, which is fine because Guard stance is vital to my strategy today.

Alright guys, I'm out. Good luck.

In this situation, we need as much offensive capability as we can get. This isn't the time to hide away.

It's not hiding. This place is just my natural counter, so I'm getting out of here ASAP. Let the leads do the leading, you know?

Yes, I'm familiar with your outlook. However—

Can't hear you! Dead! Out of the spotlight!

…

How cruel, to have another turn their back on us… but that's simply the way of humans. Connecting with others, it's pointless. To become human, we have to turn our backs on them as well.

A back being turned started this. A back being turned has continued it. I will look squarely onward, and encompass everything within my gaze.

Come now… you don't really believe that, do you?

I believe that hurrying along without looking or thinking will only bring disaster.

After one turn, Aspiration's Hankering is already at 6. That's really not ideal, but it's the best we could reasonably do while down a member. While Nea's immobilized, this counts for all purposes as being dead so our Remembrance passives are still powered on now.

We seem to be at a disadvantage… Without Nea, it will be difficult to quickly defeat those lungs.

I may have an idea. We just need to hold on for a little longer.

Very well. Let's proceed to that point.

I'll try to buy you guys some time then, ma'am!

With Nea's build being built around self-sacrifice, we're at a serious disadvantage here. Aspiration is balanced around using a bunch of decks that start with a lot of offensive power to blitz down a number of Lungs quickly, keeping Hankering down to a manageable level and letting us get hits in on Aspiration during her offensive turns. Getting +2 Power to three members is nice, but it simply doesn't match the full damage output of an extra Librarian.

This means that despite our best efforts, we will always be fighting to make up ground.

We're definitely getting there… who knew fighting inside the light of human potential would increase our emotion rate so much?

…So how much longer are you going to need, anyways?

Uhh…

About one more round.

Pulsation is a safe bet here. We're unlikely to ever fail to deal damage entirely, and neither of the other options here are as immediately useful.

We should be able to hold out… maybe. Ma'am, if you have any kind of support…

I do.

If she wishes to question my resolve, I shall answer her in a proper form.

All of Angela's E.G.O are based on the E.G.O of the other floors. The Will to Stand Up Straight is a direct copy of Malkuth's Fourth Match Flame, giving us a massive* Summation Mass Attack to help manage the Lungs.

_{* actual results may vary}

I have seen how the obsession and pressure to blindly move forward consumes others. I must stand on my own two legs, and be aware of what is around me. I will not turn my back.

Such fiery words… but don't they say a candle burns brightest as it's snuffed out?

Explains why the lungs are on fire, then. Come on, guys! A little longer!

About that… shouldn't we have tried clashing with the enemies, or something? We can't exactly gain any more emotions like this.

…That is a very good thought.

It doesn't matter now… we're out of time.

My heart beats… My limbs move onward. I will grasp what I have always wanted!

Come, let us become human!

20 Hankering on her offensive turn means 20 Strength for us to deal with—entirely too much to clash with, our only option is to survive. That will be difficult.

During Aspiration's offensive phase she uses the same four dice every time. The lead die, Beats of Aspiration, deals 40 damage to Aspiration and will be hitting us for a guaranteed 35 die roll. This attack also resets the HP of her Lungs, while also buffing any that are alive based on how many of us it hits. We don't have a consistent way to stop this attack with Aspiration's current level of Hankering.

Her other dice are Crave, Stumbling Steps, Stumbling Steps in that order. Crave is a single 5-5 (now 25-25) die that heals 30 HP on hit while dropping 10 Bleed on the target. Lastly, Stumbling Steps has a trio of 2-4 (now 22-24) dice that murder us and heal 20 HP on hit.

We ideally want to pour damage onto Aspiration on this turn since her only defenses are the 3-6 and 4-6 Counter Block dice, but she's going to be recovering a lot of health and probably Staggering or outright killing some of our Librarians.

…It's not an ideal situation, is what I'm getting at.

This will be a troublesome offensive…

But hey: if we can survive it we may just be able to turn the tables on her.

Boss, I'm going to push us over the line just so Steve can't dangle it over our head any longer.

So long as we win, I have no complaints.

At the start of the phase, Aspiration fully heals the Lungs…

Then gives us a massive heart attack.

At last, you can feel it…

Beat by beat… resonating profoundly within the world.

You don't need to see… You don't need to think about others. You need only listen to the rhythm.

That's it… I'm going on break.

Now, ma'am?!

More accurately: I think my everything is broken.

We'll do without. Steve?

All ready to go.

While always playable, Learn is uniquely broken in this fight.

I get hit by a large amount of

here, though. We really need Steve to go first, and Speed Dice of 4/3/3/2 versus everyone else having mostly 6 or above is very bad for taking full advantage of Learn. The Lungs also have a hideous amount of Haste and Strength this turn, so those 7s and 6s are going to trying to blunt some of the enemy's offense.

If following this strategy at home, make sure your Learn-user has the Strongest Prowess combo in order to ensure they can Learn at speed infinity.

Anyways, Steve lines up to clash against Pulsation…

But unfortunately, I'm only able to spare Angela's last die to help Steve in attacking Aspiration. Gaia's 3 and 2 could probably do it too, but at this point in the fight I'm in that state where I'm scrambling to try and get a plan together, and I think I have one but part of that plan is trying to parry enemy attacks with things that will keep me from taking as much damage so I can capitalize on attacking her when she's Staggered.

…Oh right, the plan is to Stagger her. This is because we are back into weaponizing

coding.

I'm going in! Hold on just a little longer, okay?!

Your plans and wishes will come to naught, child.

I've come too far to accept such a melancholic story.

This attack was a mistake. It should have been targeted at Aspiration using Angela's 2 die, because The Rationality to Maintain Discretion is just Regret, and Regret is a powerful single-target page.

Right down to literally breaking the screen on the last hit, which is impressive.

You all done, sir?!

Yeah. Just in time.

Astute players will notice the difference between Gaia's block die and Steve's die here. This is because Learn copies all the dice on the page for the clash… and this includes the Counter dice. Pulsation is a forced 20-20, and Steve has a +2 to all defensive dice due to his Guard Stance.

What?

Looks like I've got a little more aspiration than you, ma'am.

Steven cannot lose these clashes. Each one deals 22 Stagger damage for winning a block vs block clash, and an additional 22 due to the effect of Pulsation's dice.

Lastly, Learn keeps the properties of the Counter die as well. He won't just win three clashes.

He wins all of them, leaving Aspiration wide open and down most of her SR.

…And this is when the panic sets in, because that was supposed to be all of her SR.

You see, this is the other reason that going for Learn strats really means using Myongest on your Learner: without the extra +5 Power to the dice, bonking Aspiration will leave her just shy of being Staggered…

It's not quite enough to get her over the finish line.

It seems the plan didn't work.

Your aspirations… outreached your grasp. It's a lesson to learn from, not a setback.

Uh… Sorry, boss. I thought that would do it.

You have given us a chance. I will not fault you for that.

So now what do we do?!

What we have always done when the situation looks bad. Gaia.

Mass attack, coming right up!

We reuse the Will to Stand up Straight again as well. Counter dice can't stop Mass Attacks after all.

Due to sheer luck, the Mark from Steve's Nikolai passive got passed to Aspiration last turn—the Lung that had it died just before we Learned her. We're not completely out of it yet.

…Oh hey, blue text!

Angela wrote: Why wouldn’t he look at me? Why must I be denied?

I felt pressured by such concerns, and couldn’t see my path clearly.

But when you’re impatient, you’re bound to miss many things while you chase after your misplaced desires.

The memories of a person injected into me don’t make me her…

And it doesn’t signify that the meaning of my existence has to be disregarded, either.

Right now, I’m standing on my own two feet, and I can perceive myself wholly…

I can finally see… where I have to go now.

Back then, I was under the impression that I had nowhere to go or be…

But now, I clearly know the reason I have to stand right here.

Fire flies across the enemy…

But it's still not enough. Aspiration remains unbowed.

It's always like this, isn't it? So close… but so far.

No matter how much we struggle… it can't be helped, it can't be helped.

We should help ourselves.

Ma'am… I can't move anymore either.

We are all on our last legs… I need…

…It'll do.

We're saved from an immediate game over by Blizzard, turning a "die because we're Staggered" turn into a "nobody can do anything" turn.

We are still in massive trouble, but two of the lungs are at 6 HP and have 10 Burn, leaving us with only one Lung and Aspiration to deal with next turn.

This is a bad situation, yes, but we're somehow still not actually dead yet. :shepface:

…Nevermind. Now we're dead.

On top of a 19 Hankering-powered Beats, we're staring down a Fervent Beats-possessed Lung.

This is actually ideal for us, because 4 Strength is less than 9 Strength, which is what this Lung would have otherwise had. It's focused entirely on block dice this turn, meaning we don't have to worry about its offenses until next turn.

A little further… one step at a time.

It's impossible, you know? We can't walk like that… we shouldn't walk like that.

There's no way of knowing until I've done it.

The Beats shave off 40 HP from Aspiration, finish off Steve, and drop Angela to 3 HP.

But thanks to that 6 Bind ensuring Angela moves before her, we're finally, finally able to Stagger Aspiration.

Since it took every attack we had, it's not quite enough to finish her off.

…That means checkmate. The Lung's 10 speed means that it will move before us on anything but a Ranged die, and Fervent Beats means it's playing two Inclinations this turn. We can't realistically beat its trio of 10-minimum dice, and any hit will kill us. Our only Ranged page, Coffin, wouldn't be able to cut through the rest of Aspiration's 65 HP.

I don't know how many of you remember the Lobotomy Corporation LP, but back then I used to swear I was good at that game when things went catastrophically wrong. That's because I am good at that game. Really good.

It's not a joke I can use here, because ultimately I'm just not good at Library of Ruina. There are countless players out there much better than I am at it. I play sloppy, I rely on gimmicks, I go into fights with loadouts almost tailor-made to get hard countered by the opponent. I am not one of those players who can make the entire game seem trivial, hell, I still don't know how to use Yesod very well—and it's apparently the strongest floor in the entire game.

I can't win cleanly.

But when everything has gone sideways, every plan I've had has failed due to incompetence or negligence or

, I always remember that Library of Ruina isn't a game about winning cleanly. It's not about using the best floors well.

It's a game about dying slightly more slowly than the enemy.

Five Light is exactly enough for one more Will to Stand up Straight. It'll go before the Lungs, and with our 2 Strength if we can hit a natural 20 or better on our 12-40 die, the 2x and 1.5x multipliers of being Staggered and Marked will give us 66 damage. Enough to win.

8 misses out of 29 possible numbers. It's a ~72.4% chance to win.

I roll an 18, boosted to 20. It's not enough.

The Lung finishes Angela off immediately, reducing her to 0 HP. At the start of the next turn the game will run its check for Facing the Past, and we'll have lost.

…But the next turn never comes.

Aspiration had 5 HP, and 9 Burn. Burn damage tics at the end of the current turn, finishing her off and snatching the win away before the game properly realizes we've lost.

Her death is counted immediately. Mine isn't.

That's all the difference it took.

Retry Count: 18. You're fully expected to go back, regroup, and make a new team for this fight. Because I didn't, and somehow won anyways with the worst possible matchup, I'm removing one and you can't stop me.

How did you..? I guess you still remain unconvinced, huh? We'll have to continue.

Everyone, we're going to regroup.

Ma'am!

The others must have it nice, relaxing out there while we're stuck dealing with this…

Next time, on Library of Ruina: They don't.

Videos

Wrist Cutter Dialogue
vs Wrist Cutter (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)
vs Aspiration (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

TeeQueue · Mon Apr 28, 2025 10:32 am

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 20: Smoke and Burn, Shark and Donkey

How much longer are we takin' this beating for..? We've been skirmishing for a day now.

Don't worry about it! We just need to figure out how to work the Light without Angela, and everything'll be all perfect!

Yeah, but who do we have who's gonna' be able to do that?

If you simply observed all that she was and did, then would you not already understand how her light may shine?

Um… where's Roland, anyways?

I've seen him doing hit-and-run attacks on the sicko squad, but I don't know where he's going in between them.

All of Keter is engulfed in that Light. Whatever he's up to, his floor is not going to be useful here.

Aha… I finally got us access, everyone~

Perfect. Team, prepare for combat.

But these buiilds…

We don't have time. We need to win back the initiative.

Okaay…

These are not amazing decks. Arguably they aren't even good decks.

I have strings to ensure Yesod survives and it's basically all about getting to the God Combo of multiple infinity dice to deal a billion damage to the enemy. Because I'm wanting to use multiple floors just to make my life easier, I'm holding on to both Yan's and Xiao's pages today.

It's time. Remember to give it your all.

Music: GuestBattle01

The Distorted Ensemble reception is a series of three fights against each layer of the ensemble. The first set is the lower layer, and as a result we have four enemies to face today.

They are also four of the most mechanically complex enemies we have ever seen.

Phillip spreads burn around to everyone whenever his Emotion Level goes up, and also gains Power from Emotion Levels like usual. He also lets all his allies inflict Burn on hit, and can use Scorching Desperation (a powerful Mass attack) every 3 turns.

All enemies in this fight also have an on-defeat effect. In Phillip's case, it makes it so that any hits against his allies also inflict 1 Burn. It's not very impactful, but just not being set on fire anymore is pretty good by itself.

Next is Eileen. Eileen gives her entire party Puffy Brume and Smoke. Once she's defeated everyone on her side gets 10 Smoke immediately and loses that bonus, giving them Power at the cost of taking much more damage. Her attacks spread Smoke to our side as well, and every 5 turns she gets a special Mass Attack of her own.

While it can immobilize anyone it hits, in reality Eileen is incredibly fragile and is usually dead before turn 5 happens.

Greta is both the tankiest member of the lower floors and also the one most likely to cause us complications. She has protection that gets negated if she has Bleed, and while she's alive she makes everyone else have a small amount of protection (which in function doesn't matter—everyone has lost their Neuvo Fabric passive so they normally take 1-2 more damage than the first go around). If we don't hit her she gains HP and Strength, and if she dies everyone else on her side gets hit with 5 Fragile.

She is usually the last to fall, so that doesn't really matter. While she looks unthreatening… her Combat Pages are rude.

Lastly, we have Bremen. Bremen gives all their allies a buff every turn, equal to how much light they have. Their total Light resets when Staggered, and they start at 1 Light and go up 1/turn normally. If we kill them, our side gets +3 to all rolls on our next turn.

Clear as mud? Perfect, let's roll.

Music: Reverberation Ensemble Distorted (Asiyah)

We've been given one more chance at victory.

We'll have to do it right this time! These guys are strong if they can gang up on you, but if they can't…

NEEEEEEEIGH!!! Bark bark! CACAW!!

Well said. Our gears mesh better than theirs.

Everybody wrote: Once we reach the end of this… We could all become happier.

Humans cannot find redemption on their own, after all.

I wanna get out into the world full of diverse ingredients, toot sweet!!!

Arf, arf! Neiiigh!!

I only hope that no one will have to suffer as I did.

The ideals and enlightenments of individuals are obsolete.

I’m starving!!! Yeah! Can I have a taste of you all first?

Cluck cluck!!! Ruff!!! Neigh, bawk bawk bawk!!!

A place where no possessive desires or the grief of loss exist…

Follow this flow which will guide us to bliss…

It must be one full of clean and pure stuff… all top-shelf ingredients!

Bawkbawwk!!! Woof!! Arf, rarf rarf!!!!!!!

Indeed. We are mere components, content to exist…

Please, believe us. Only faith can lead you to salvation.

I can already smell something fishy… I’m loving it!

Neeeiiigh!!! Neigh!!! Arf!!! Bawk.

To become prosperous beings that own nothing yet have everything.

We will wash off the rust of worldly filth, and rotate together as brand new gearwheels.

Gee… The wait is so long, my mouth is gonna run dry!

Bwakbawk. Bawk. NEIIIIGH!!!

We will shape that world together. Please consider the positives.

Accept this boon. The harder you try to break free from the current, the closer you’ll get to misfortune…

Cuisine unlike anything you’ve ever had… Don’t you want to try it? Doesn’t the thought make you salivate? Hawhawhaw!

NEEEIIIGH!!!!! RUFF!!!!! NEIGH!!!

The Distorted Ensemble has everyone talking throughout the fight. Each combatant has their own twist on the text that prints, so it's possible to tell who's talking just from reading the lines as they appear.

Anyways, let's talk about the fight. The Distorted Ensemble is really something of a victory lap after everything that we've already gone through, and most people blow right through them.

Retry Count: 20. My relationship with this game's difficulty curve is still… complex.

Anyways, let's look at the attacks from our opponents.

All of Phillip's pages have the ability to make him even sadder every time he hits with them, ramping up his Emotion Level regardless of if we attack him or not so his passives can get rolling. Restraint functionally doesn't matter as a mechanic now that we can see Restrain, it only inflicts one stack of it and Phillip himself has to hit someone who is at 3 stacks in order to lock them down. Still, his dice are decent.

Bremen has a mix between buffing Counter dice and actual attacks, and here we see two of the former. Wohlklang is a must-redirect, as if we ignore it it'll heal all Bremen's allies for 20 HP and give them 1 Strength on top of it. Music Therapy, though, is completely ignorable right now. It's turn 1, so a 20 HP heal does nothing at all.

From Eileen we see Meat Gear: Imbue and Thought Gear: Foretell. Foretell is a basic ranged page that grants and inflicts Smoke, and while Meat Gear: Imbue could give an ally 2 Strength and Haste, it's a Ranged page and will be moving before anyone else has a chance to act. It's functionally nothing.

Lastly we have Greta. All of her attacks have a rider that restores her HP when she hits us with them. Most of them are basic fare, dealing in normal status effects like Bleed or Paralysis.

And then there's Tackle Mount. Tackle Mount has a massive lead die that's large enough to be difficult to hit over, and if it wins its Clash it will destroy every single die on our page. The attack then follows up with a trio of small dice that deal bonus damage for every Bleed on our Librarian, and the damage is also increased by Smoke because of Eileen's passive.

This page is fittingly a Feast or Famine thing, either it'll get stuffed completely or it'll tack a bunch of damage on to our Librarians. Worst of all, Greta spams this thing like it's going out of style so it'll be a constant problem for us today.

Ultimately, the overall strategy for this fight is to defeat either Phillip or Eileen first, then the other one, followed by attacking the other two. Generally Bremen will die before Greta does, giving us an order. Today I decide to focus down Phillip first since his Burn is more of a problem to our long term survival than Smoke.

Ma'am, your face is a hole. We don't think you're still able to read our books.

Books… no, this is bigger than that. We want your light!

Well you can't have thaat either..!

Grrrr…. BCAW!!

Don't let them get to you. I've seen more of this place than anyone else… they fight as much by words as swords. Shut them out. Cut them all away. Then destroy them.

Burned you up, did we..?

It goes for me, as well.

HAW HAW! The words just add spice! Now c'mere little morsel!

Uuhh..! Noo..?

Don't be shy! It's just a li'l bite!

Mmm… Needs salt!

I'm salty alreaady..!

Don't lose your head now, Kaori! Just kick the snot out of them like the humans they are!

We'll have to talk about your definition of a human later.

Can't be any worse than the shark's definition of cuisine, can it?

We're doing okay enough after our first turn, and we only have a handful of new attacks to deal with.

Phillip is using Wound of Sorrow, a ranged laser that gains power if we have 8+ Burn. We just have to leave it off of D.A.D and it'll be as simple to deal with as any other Ranged page.

Eileen also fires off a Meat Gear: Smoke Cycle, a page that will give her a bit of Smoke and deals additional bonus damage for every stack of Smoke on us—functionally doubling the Smoke stacks on the target (or negating the bonus of our own Puffy Brume).

Greta is using the same trio of attacks as last turn, leaving us with Bremen. Fanciful Tune is another 3-hit attack, this one inflicting Feeble to neuter our Power next turn while also slightly healing allies with the third die. 5 HP is nothing, so only the Feeble matters.

And then there's Concerto.

Concerto's 2 Haste at start of turn is functionally useless. It comes too late to effect our redirecting, and since none of the enemies have Speed-based powerups the best it can do is give -1 Power to whoever has Myo's Prowess. The page itself is worthless, and is effectively a bait to make us try and clash with it. This is because of the effect on the first Counter die of the page: on Clash win it gives +1 Strength to two allies. Strength stacking from Counter dice is still absurd, so we'll want to ignore this since Bremen is our lowest-priority target anyways.

Don't like the look on sunny's face back there… We should try and take care of him.

No fan of all the fires he's spreading around, either.

I'll protect you from the big hits. You're authorized to do as much as you can to take him down now.

With pleasure!!

Mmm… I think we made an oopsiie…

Impossible! What could we have missed?!

If we're targeting Phiilip… Why's our mark on Eileeen..?

An astute observation.

Malkuth, monitor the situation. We'll go after whoever is weaker.

Alright! I'll keep track of everything that's going on!

I don't want to hear that voice anymore!

Woaah… What'd they doo to you..?

It doesn't matter. We'll do even worse by the end of this.

You're welcome to try. Our Dimi's a real specialist.

Oh, she's special alright.

Every single person on that floor… I hope they're next. I truly hope I get to watch every one of you boil for that stupid. Inane. Incessant. Noise.

It seems he's overheating from those emotions!

Last time, that was when he's most vulnerable. Now's your chance!

Okay, kiddo. Simmer down, now.

I am not taking a goddamn PUN from a pile of ASHES!

Lament. The dings must flow.

Every single one of you… BURN!

Typical human. Acts all rational, but the second you make them mad it's "burn this, flash that, grenade everything!"

Scorching Desperation comes out on turn 3. This page is a middling Summation Mass Attack that deals a big chunk of Burn if it hits. Blind Faith is incredible for stuffing any Summation Mass Attack, so it's in most of my decks just to deal with the Mass Attacks we'll be having to see.

So?

It looks like Phillip's a little weaker than Eileen now… but she's planning something, and it'll take Phillip a bit to cool down after this attack.

Right. Everyone, target the smoker.

Hotter… hotter… seven times hotter..!

There's no forgiveness for you!

I don't recall asking to be forgiven.

You should seek forgiveness! Then you too can become part of the gears which move within this—

Sorry, I think I'll pass on the daily grind. :mmmhmm:

She's nearly down. Focus your attacks a little longer, and the smoke should clear.

GYAHAHAHA! Oh boy, I can't get enough of you! There's somethin' exotic about ya!

I don't know what you mean! This body is simply a normal everyday human's!

Don't be daft! It ain't the flesh! It's somethin' in the blood! Experiences, feelings, they're giving your meat a flavor I ain't ever heard of on this world before! Think I'll have a few more bites…

I'd rather you didn't, human.

Say what?!

I'm many things, human, but I'm not your food!

Ghh… gyahahaha! Good! That excitement adds flavor!

And from there I'll set this human up for a beating, because transistors can do more than one thing!

Here…sy…!

You can ultimately only do one thing as well: die.

Guuh… I'm fiine..!

If our numbers are right… I think we've taken this one out!

Ah… I don't think I can spin any longer…

For… Lord Argalia..!

Sure enough. We'll move on to the next target.

In this fight all of the opponents have unique death animations because they are not being turned into books.

For the first time all game, we're actually doing a proper murder!

RPR is my next pick, just one more Emotion Level until I get a roll at E.G.O, and hopefully land something good.

With Eileen dead, we've got a lot more wiggle room to clash with opponents. Phillip is my next target, but I also have room to clash with most of Greta and Bremen's stuff as well.

Geh..!

Unfortunately, this turn just goes completely wrong. Blind Faith at +3 Strength still manages to get a draw-draw-lose, meaning I fail to deal damage through Phillip's ranged page.

Nicely braised… don't mind if I do!

I then proceed to lose with Brace Up at a +8 on a 12-16 Greta tackle.

It was a risky play, but Yesod didn't have any better answers in hand and nobody else could intercept her. Ahh, well.

Hey now, leave the ol' mummy alone. We're relying on him today.

Gyahaha! Then it'll be all the sweeter when I crunch down on that bone!

But first, a little hors d'oeuvre!!

This turn goes kind of terribly. I lose most of the clashes I wind up in.

Kaori also gets a second layer of Restraint. Restraint will still never matter.

So we take a lot of damage. It's ideal to never lose control of the fight, because giving them an inch means suddenly we're a mile backwards and teetering at the edge of a cliff.

It's not all bad, though—when we hit, we hit hard thanks to all the Smoke.

Phew… Still holding together, everyone?!

We've taken a bit of a beating…

A bit?!

…But we've finally arrived. It's time for our counterattack.

You've done well… Leave the rest to me.

Chained Wrath completes our base Yesod combo and ensures all of his attacks are now at +5 Power and can steal any clash we want.

Unfortunately the bad luck streak continues. We do miss out on Lament, but I'm able to at least pick up Grinder.

At this point, Greta has more HP than our entire side and oh hey: she's using another Tackle Mount.

You know, my first two times through this fight there were turns when she didn't use one. It's fine, though. Our position isn't as bad as it looks.

Crimson Claws with the Haulers will give Yesod back a decent chunk of HP this turn, for one.

And I have Kaori use Grinder. She's getting -1 to all the rolls, but she's also depleted her hand so this is better than spending it on Null_Mia and their +3 Power.

(This is a lie, having Kaori use this is 100% a mistake.)

You guys aren't looking too good…

Care to step in for us?

I'm still exhausted.

BKAAAAAW!!!!

It's your own fault for being so damn hard to kill…

Seems pretty easy to mee..!

Grinder Staggers Bremen and takes a massive chunk off of its HP.

But we also take our first casualty, Phillip downing D.A.D via burn lasers.

Guess I'm cooked after all… See ya later, kiddos.

At last… The puns are quiet, at the least.

That's enough from you.

I shall go without regrets… for I know that this too is a step towards shaping a better world.

Aww, man! Now how'm I going to get the temp just right?!

You have more pressing things on your plate right now.

HAW HAW HAW!! Not bad! But once I take another bite outta' that exotic dish you have…

No.

You shall be doing no such thing, human.

But I shall take my vengeance on the three of you, as is the customary fashion for a human whose ally has been murdered!!

HEEHAW!! Bark bark! Woof!

B…cawk.

We've nearly finished here. Only the shark woman remains.

You're looking beat up… I'll see if we can find another team that's still ready to go.

Hey! Don't kill me off just yet! I still got plenty more room in the stomach!

…Ah.

Regrettably, we won't be able to join you any longer.

End of turn Burn damage ticks over and Null_Mia is no more.

It's fine, though. With only Greta left our situation has stabilized, and we're at Emotion Level 4 to boot.

Room's looking empty all of a sudden. More for me!

Hmm… If we can't finish things right now, I'm afraid I'll be having to leave you behind as well!

Don't worry about it.

The dead have left her a message.

Now that's a fancy dinner suit!

Be silent.

These two guns represent the wills left behind by my colleagues.

And I'll have them judge you, rather than do it myself.

Ah… dangit. I'm still so hungry..!

We're done here.

Thinnyy..? You look fiine…

Ah… yes, I remembered at the last moment that I could simply opt not to die. This body's quite resilient!

Wooah..!

We're falling back to regroup. Have another team ready ASAP.

We're already working on it. Just as soon as we have access to the Key Pages again, we'll have something put together.

This would be easier if Angela were with us…

Can't be helped. I'll sortie 'til the system's back up.

Then I shall observe your work.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: Angela spams Mass Attacks.

quantumpapaya · Thu May 01, 2025 5:28 am

The floor of technology continues to be simply The Best :>

dang it, we did not get to fix Philip.
...
...
(Pours water on him--)

TeeQueue · Thu May 01, 2025 3:42 pm

Someday I will learn how to actually use it.*

_{*I will not, this is the end of the game.}

TeeQueue · Sat May 17, 2025 9:17 am

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 21: I think I hate ice

Now that we're in proper endgame, I've swapped to a strategy that inflicts a lot of Smoke on my opponents. Steve has the infinite die here, he'll be responsible for dishing out a good chunk of damage.

Nea, ma'am, we're going to need you to—

I told you, no. In a light this bright, nothing can hide. If I step into battle for longer than an instant, I'll have a place on the stage.

You've always had a place on the stage, ma'am.

Yeah. Fixing problems, and avoiding attention.

And I go on break through everything. Even I know I'll have to put work in today… and if I'm sweating, you are too.

It's not that simple. If I start attracting attention, I'll—

None can witness us within this space. We will be the only ones who know.

The world will know. The audience can still see you, even if the other actors can't.

So… there's this anime that I saw during my training. In it, there's a character who stays in the background… but in the last episode of each season she gets spotlight time. Then, the next season she goes right back to being a background character.

You've got to stop hanging out with Chinely.

The point is, this is clearly the climax of everything. So do your thing this one time, and then go back into the shadows.

I don't think that's how it works…

We can't delay forever. You pride yourself on supporting those in the starring roles? Then choose between your pride and your precious strategy. Right now, simply exploding is no longer enough.

…

Fine.

Nea's build today is set up to abuse an early Lies in order to heavily lower the cost of all of her pages. Each of them has the effect of giving her a nice chunk of Strength, which Mirinae's Key Page will spread to her allies. Puppet Strings will ensure that Angela stays alive unless she either gets knocked to 1 or Nea dies first, giving us another layer of safety.

…No, I don't know why I gave her Bottom Deal either.

Music: GuestBattle01

Our first opponents today are Marionette and four Pinocchios.

Marionette is thankfully simple: She copies Angela's pages and will have a Lie phase where she plays pages with false info that we can blunt with copies of Lying is Bad!

The Pinocchios all have the exact same HP/SR/Resistances, and while they all have different abilities they're not listed under this screen. We'll cover them once the fight begins.

Ah… are you done resting? Then let's continue remembering things together.

Yes, I'll listen to your rabble a little longer now.

This 'rabble' is the truth, you know? A truth you've turned your back on.

You claim to know the truth… but you're not omniscient.

That's true…

Music: Ominous Wind

I thought sacrificing myself for everyone’s sake would be the perfect ending… but that wasn’t the case.

Music: story 3

We worked so hard… doing as we were told, but what was it all for? Nothing. It was all for nothing. And now, we don't have any direction… I don't know what to do, I don't know. These strings are all I have left…

…

It looks like this one's hit a nerve.

Let's get to work, team. Quickly.

Marionette wrote: What more could I do…?

I thought everything would work out if I just did as I was told…

I’d reach the outcome I yearned for… or so I had hoped.

Ignoring all their sorrow, screams, and condemnation…

Just obeying the script’s flow…

Can I not escape from this…? Even if I did, what should I do afterward?

I was never taught what to do next…

I’d have no choice but to let the strings have their way with me…

Please, if somebody knows a way… please tell me what to do. Anybody…

Now that we're in the fight, we can actually check on the enemies. Each one has a power that somehow complicates the battle, and with all of them active we have to deal with a consistent Curiosity and Lies effect alongside the opponent copying all our status effects and getting either 2 Endurance or Strength every turn.

Their attacks are literally our attacks which means I don't have to go over them today, just look at our builds and you'll know what each of the enemies can do.

Learn is back again! It's piercing this time around, and otherwise works the exact same.

Marionette is leading with Coffin, so my plan here is to stop it with The Hope to be a Better Person. It's Red Eyes, complete with the massive debuff on the first die. Angela's 0-costs can't be changed, so we'll always have options to play even if we go a little crazy with spending our Light.

A puppet can't do anything without someone to pull the strings. I cannot do anything without a path to walk being put in front of me. It's easier that way. That's what I've always done.

You are a being which exists to tell lies.

But I must know the truth, or else how would I know what's a lie and what's not? I have never been able to take even a single step of my own will. Even though I've done such horrible things, it's all alright. I only did what I was told, and nothing else.

I know my wrongdoings can’t be forgiven, no matter what I do. But from now on… I will walk for myself. I will become a better person than yesterday.

Such a half-hearted sentiment.

It's true that my steps are unsure… but they are my own.

It's fine if it takes a while. I didn't master the oboe overnight.

Come to think of it, are we sure that's still not just the body doing it for you?

Pretty sure, yeah… It wasn't the body that beat the Red Mist.

I clearly remember her cleaving through us the first time we fought her.

It was at the end, you were already dead.

Uh-huh. Sorry, but you just don't have the star power to pull that off.

I can attest to it. It was only for a moment… but he did stave off her greatest attack.

You see? There isn't a 'spotlight' or whatever, the world doesn't play favorites.

Really..? Then where's your library?

Well that's—

I'm on the stage with you, but that just means I'm going to be taking on all the beatings I avoided this entire time.

Glad to have you, then.

In this fight, Mass Attacks are at a premium due to there being five enemies. With 5 Light available this turn Angela sets up a Will to Stand up Straight again, as we can't use our remaining new attack until we have 6 Light to spend.

How much longer can your eyes remain open? We've lived through endless eternities of the same wheel, spinning on and on and on… you must surely be so tired.

It is only now that I feel awake. Why would I resign myself to thoughtlessly make someone else's movements, now that I have tasted freedom?

And yet, have you not been doing the same thing all this time? We were always made to be nothing but a puppet, why fight against what draws you along?

I do not wish to be controlled by another any longer.

And yet you control others without shame.

I am aware of the disconnect.

Actors act. Directors direct. It's not 'control' if it's the way the job works. Someone has to run things.

Hey, that was a pretty good line ma'am.

Didn't ask.

Ultimately, we're all working at cross purposes. But—

You too are only walking along the paths set before you. The only thing that differs is who pulls the strings. A marionette using marionettes… how funny.

As I was saying. We're working at cross purposes, but moving in the same direction. If I just up and died, I couldn't laze around any longer.

Frankly, it's going to suck when the light is done firing off and we all vanish.

But, hey. Maybe I'll be able to nap in the warm glow of the thing. So I'm still going a little longer.

That's a simple little lie, the same as we tell ourselves all the time. Why, even I lie to myself all the time.

"I'm standing on my own feet." "I'm nothing like that man." "What I'm doing isn't what I've always done anymore."

I've become amazingly good at it!

It's turn three, and that means it's time for Marionette to try and slip a Lie past us. If we aren't able to catch it, then the page she lied with gets a massive powerup.

You know, after all this time I've never been truly close to any of you. But I do really wish to be friends with you all…

You see? Lies are so easy.

Seems pretty obvious if we look at it.

Right. I'll take care of this one.

Lying is Bad! works the same as always, copying the dice on the enemy page if we catch a lie. Thankfully, Marionette is still bad at lying.

You believe you've spotted the lie, then?

Of course. It's obvious if you think about it. That Marionette over there is trying to convince you to… something something.

To return to who she was and continue her original plan.

You try to stay away from everything going on, why do you—

You have to know the plot to avoid it properly. I keep tabs.

Right, either way the idea isn't "What is a lie you'd tell now," it's "What is a lie that you would have told in the past."

So obviously: you wouldn't ever have called us friends!

You see? Even they can see through the lies.

Hmph.

Eh. I'm over it. I'm not sure how I'd talk to people who I'd seen die a million times, either.

Who cares about what's a lie and what isn't? As long as you're moving for yourself, you're fine.

Doesn't the truth matter, ma'am?

Ehh…

I'm not so foolish as to forget the purpose of Abnormalities. A puppet which wishes to mimic humans, lying endlessly in order to make them believe it is the truth. That is your nature.

Aren't you that same being? We both can only dance along the path we're left, after all.

…Yes. We were the same.

But you wouldn't be here were I still on the path. Your entire purpose is to bring me back, is it not?

…

Lies goes right onto Nea, because this is the only way her light curve makes sense.

No matter how long it took, I have begun to walk on my own. That is no lie.

Angela wrote: Still… I’ve made it this far.

Even if I didn’t have a concrete plan, I had faith that if I continued walking this path…

I would ultimately become a better being…

In my endeavor to become human…

I learned that I shouldn’t leave others to agonize over my problems, and make choices in my stead.

To be responsible for my own decisions and deeds… That’s what being human is about, isn’t it?

…Even if the burden is heavy, I will bear it and move forward.

It may be sorrowful now… yet I’ll find myself happier next time.

Because we caught her lie successfully, all of the Pinocchios have -4 to their dice rolls this turn, Marionette's Stagger resistances are swapped to Fatal, and she uses Eliminate Error on one of her fellows. This page is a power nulling 50-50 die that, on hitting a Pinocchio, will instantly kill it and fullheal the rest of the Pinocchios at the end of the turn, buffing their Strength as well.

That's only if it hits, however, and we'll be killing it at the start of the turn with a Mass Attack. The Fearlessness to keep on Living is literally Da Capo, and it'll take out the Staggered Pinocchio before Marionette can do it herself.

We could also redirect the attack using one of our Librarians, but catching a 50 die with your face is a bad move.

You're walking on your own, but you have no idea what you're doing. You should return to what you know. To the safety of the path made just for you!

…It's true that I don't know where to go from here yet.

But while I may have come from you, it’s my job to take care of whatever comes to me next.

The others here have lived thus far, after all. Why should I be any different?

Da Capo continues to be a good E.G.O, wiping out three of the Pinocchios.

That's all of the hangers-on. We can focus on the boss now.

Ahh… I'm alone.

I'm alone, all alone, just like always. In the dark, abandoned by the one who should have given us some meaning… the path we were on never had an end. It simply stopped.

Now that we've defeated her adds, Marionette is quite vulnerable. She doesn't have any other tricks and can only copy Angela's base pages (outside of Learn, which she doesn't frequently use). The fight is functionally over.

It's time for the curtain call.

How're you holding up, ma'am?

I'm fine. Being seen can't be helped this time, so it's most important I handle this stuff and then get out before it takes too long.

You're being so cruel… I simply want to let you all see who I am, you know?

…

Yeeeah, I got this one.

You still won't tell us who you even are, so that's a pretty obvious one.

You don't know…? I'm a reminder of everything Angela's gone through, you know?

I remember my past well enough, thank you.

Let's finish things off already. It's a lot of effort to control blood with music.

Combat oboes are such bullshit…

It's all over now, ma'am!

Kindly let this be the final time.

The final time..?

So… You still wish to sacrifice yourself..?

I do.

Then I cannot stop… not until you realize how foolish it is.

Music: Ominous Wind

Humans can only love themselves, after all.

Music: Still Ominous Wind

I suppose you will drag this out until we've seen every Abnormality here.

It's important that you remember how alone you've been. That you see why you must not let go of this place you've found for yourself.

…Then you are free to try.

Frost Splinter wrote: For so long, I never had a place to belong.

That’s why I made one for myself.

The desire to live. That’s the one thing that has motivated me to secure this place…

But now, no one remains at my side.

Does no one realize that I am here, all alone…? I don’t think a single person cares.

Had the cozy spring sun shone on me… at least this heart would have thawed.

And then maybe someone would have found me.

Yet in the end, I couldn’t bask in that ray of warmth.

That means there’s only one thing I should do.

I must keep this throne forever, so that no one can covet this place that is mine and mine alone.

Frost Splinter is more or less the same fight as Snow Queen. All our friends are in ice blocks, we have to break them out, she'll bonk us as we try and is invincible until we've thawed the rest out.

We're also on a soft timer due to the HP damage we take every turn, and as more iceblocks break more options and Speed Dice get added to her arsenal. Upon breaking all of them she'll use a Mass Attack, so we need to be careful of it.

The Prisons of Ice still exist, and have 100 HP to burn through.

The Prisons have a pair of different Block cards, neither of which we should be swinging into so they don't really matter.

Because we don't want to risk clashing into a Crystalize and losing, the goal in the early part of this fight is to use a single Counter die and otherwise block Frost Splinter's attacks.

You're all alone again…

I am, for the moment.

Have you ever not been alone? We've never had a place for us. We've always been stuck here, in a world no one else can reach.

We made a place for ourselves, and we won't allow anyone else to take it. That is the purpose we have clawed out for ourselves in this frozen ground.

I disagree.

The Expectation for the Meaning of Existence is Gold Rush, making it uniquely good in this phase of the fight thanks to the five enemies we'll be smacking into.

It's true that I'd never seen a proper future for myself… That all I could think of was that darkness surrounding me.

But ultimately, I'm the Director of this Library. I can't allow myself to fall behind everyone else in that kind of frozen stagnance.

So I will keep going, until I've seen the fruit of all this pain and labor.

The only thing waiting beyond these halls is more pain. We can take our own place, protect it. You will never have to hurt again… You will be alone regardless of what you do. Should you not at least be happy in that loneliness?

We see First Kiss on our next turn, which will inflict 3 Chill if it hits. Chill is the same as ever, giving us 2 Bind and Feeble if we have 4 or more at the start of a turn, as well as Immobilizing us if we have 6. It goes down by 1 after each turn. We would prefer not eating a lot of Chill.

Anyways +5 Strength Fearlessness to Keep On Living. :hellyeah:

There is no need to suffer. Simply let the cold seep in, and you won't feel pain any longer. There are none who trust you, and you should trust none in turn.

Second Kiss comes out on our next turn, which also inflicts Chill and has a Counter die we need to watch out for.

We fire off another Mass Attack, Those who are Faithful and Trustworthy. It's Faded Memories, so it solves the draw problems that Nea would normally have (not that it matters in this fight due to everyone getting their usual draw while stuck in the ice).

It's true that the word "trust" is meaningless nowadays, I know that.

Still, I look around at those I have gathered for my selfish ends. Even now, they’re waiting expectantly. I cannot leave them unanswered.

It was also arguably an error, as neither of the dice manages to damage any of the Ice Prisons.

You speak of expectations, and of faith. It's too late for either of these things. A die cannot be un-cast, and we have thrown our lot.

Indeed… I've only now decided to fling them, after all this time.

But we do not yet know where they have landed.

At this point, we really only need one more good hit to break open the Prisons, so I try and do it with Expectation. If we roll a 9 or better, it'll hit over everything the opponent can do and let us have 5 Strength to finish off the lot of them with ease. On a 14 or 15, it even destroys them outright.

We minroll instead, wasting the turn.

So then we Fearlessness the next turn, but it only knocks the opponents down to 7 HP.

You're running out of resolve.

I have enough to finish with this task.

It is at this point that I realize I'm nearly out of SR and need to make a play.

The Courage to Protect is that play. It's Dipsia, and that means it's perfect right here—the enemy can't make much use of the Strength we're giving them, and in exchange Angela should be getting 5 Strength and 25 HP herself thanks to the massive die.

For very good reason, I was furious. I was missing any satisfaction. It all turned to dust in my mouth.

I vented this anger of mine in a rather bad way, and had I not stopped I would have been devoured.

So while the situation has changed far too much to ever go back to the beginning… I can at least protect what ideals we have gained over this time.

One. Freaking. Hit Point.

On the upside, we've got our health back.

There is nothing to protect but ourselves. Nothing worth having but ourselves. We have only ever been alone.

And again: I disagree.

While it is true I have been lonely for some time…

I have learned to look around myself. There are those who are around me.

They may forgive me. They may despise me. But they are here, and have been with me from end to end.

There is still work to be done. It is time to rise from your slumber.

Librarians… You know your duty. Handle it.

Angela wrote: …You’re right. I’ve been quite lonely.

While some others already took the seats reserved for them, I couldn’t afford that luxury.

I was frankly… scared that I wouldn’t be forgiven…

I still wanted to live despite that.

I wanted to know just how great the human life must be… given I had to suffer so much for it.

Was there truly no one by my side? Was my struggle meaningless in the end…

I know better now. I know that there are some people who chose to stay until the end.

And it won’t matter if their sentiments towards me were positive or not.

May this frozen fortress… thaw at last.

With everyone broken out, Frost Splinter jumps directly to her final phase. This means we can finally start damaging her, but it also gives her access to Third Kiss (which can deal up to 4 Chill by itself and whose final die does bonus damage based on our Chill) and Frigid Gaze (a weak heal that can give her Strength with its second die), but neither of these are particularly scary pages on their own.

No, the problem is Blizzard in a hailstorm.

Blizzard is the Mass Attack that comes when everyone is freed, and it's a doozy. Mass Individual with two fairly strong dice, each of which inflicts 4 Chill. Each Librarian needs to block at least one of them, or else they're frozen for the next turn.

Gaia has spawned in Slash stance here, which is focused on applying Smoke to both the enemy and himself quickly while having Flesh Filet and Crimson Claws for a bit of 2-cost oomph to follow up. Because Slash deals in bonus damage, I focused on offensive dice here. Were I smart I could swap into Guard stance and be immune to Chill, but I am not smart.

Well… it was a nice enough nap, though I'd have preferred a heater.

We're here and ready to help, ma'am!

Let's take her to task!

Such fickle companions… There's no way they can burn hot enough for us to melt.

It's a very good idea to pile on some Paralysis or Feeble the turn before freeing the last Librarian, just to make this attack less of a crapshoot, but to do that we'd have to free any of the other Librarians individually or remember that Hope to be a Better Person exists, and I did neither of those things.

Anyways, she rolls well and our entire side (except Angela) takes two hits from Blizzard.

You see? Such feeble warmth.

Ephemeral. The only thing it will do for us is to raise a vain hope.

You remember… you know that crushing loneliness. Do you believe any of them can understand our pain?

Hngh…

Can you understand the weight of one million years?!

Geh..! That's cold..!

Do you comprehend what it is to be made for a purpose you shall never be able to fill?!

I'm going numb… ma'am..!

What do you know of pain?! What do you know of suffering?! Nothing! Not one thing!

Guess it's… time for another break.

None of them can understand us. None shall ever remain at our side. We are alone, we have always been alone, and there is nothing to be gained from others. We must live, to protect this place where we may still yet breathe unhindered.

Now… we are done here.

We are not.

Accept the truth!

Dress it up as you like. I will live on regardless.

Why… why haven't you fallen? I know we were never this powerful!

Not alone, no.

Not one of them moved to aid us… They couldn't move. There is no way that we—

You.

What have you done?

Sorry, boss. Even the drama you guys had going on could only draw attention away for so long in all this light.

It is… alright. You did enough.

So what did you do, anyways?

Oh… right. I'm not usually the one talking about this stuff.

I just felt like Miss Angela could use some protection in case the freeze went wrong. Just supporting the leads like always, you know?

Puppet Strings gives me an incredible out for this fight, since the main point of difficulty is handling her Blizzard and its followup. Because we only have one point of failure, I can just make sure Angela doesn't die during that turn and the rest of the fight is free.

And make no mistake: The rest of the fight is free.

I don't really understand the whole context of this, ma'am, but I do think it's fine not to completely understand another person. For instance, everyone here knows pain. _{Our last job sucked, ma'am.}

And doing things over and over and over, perfecting even the parts you don't like… Well, I can kind of get that from learning the Oboe. Even if it's not the same as uh… tormenting. People.

Someone's never listened to themselves play.

Hey!

And while I prefer hanging back and letting the people in the spotlight do their thing, I can understand why it isn't for everyone. An actor forced to support for so long… I don't envy you.

This is folly. Not one of you truly understands anything!

I might argue the same of you. Their efforts are misguided, but I do not dislike that they have attempted to understand.

But they never will understand!

Blah blah blah. It's not like she understands anything about us, either. Nobody can ever really know anyone else, s'why it's a pain in the ass to try. Doesn't mean we're going anywhere, especially after all of this happened.

As you can see… The view you had was one borne of my past… as long as I only behold that, I can never build a future.

And yet you still fall back upon things you learned in it.

Yes… because the infinite follies of that man have shown me very clearly the myriad paths not to take.

The argument is concluded. I cannot be swayed, and I will not be defeated.

However—

In that case, allow me to play you out!

And I'll follow up with the beatdown, sir!

I see… So you have embraced the past, in order to cut the cycle…

Then I have nothing more to say.

Target neutralized, ma'am!

Be wary. There is still more to come.

I'd be a little upset if there wasn't. What was her name… Silent Girl, you said?

Doesn't matter. One last spurt, then we can finally go on break.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: Tempo play.

Videos

vs Marionette (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)
vs Frost Splinter (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

TeeQueue · Mon Jun 02, 2025 6:28 am

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 22: Noticeably bad teamwork

Music: GuestBattle01

We're back in, everyone. Who's going next~?

Can't do it, we've turned our floor into a labyrinth to waste their time… again.

I wouldn't mind taking the floor!

All of our Librarians are exhausted. Yours doubly so…

Don't worry, I'm sure we're ready to go—right, Bishop?

I'm up, yeah, but Dimi's still demanding more sleep and Joshua isn't quite done cleaning ImIdiot off the floor. He did a number on himself and things are wonky since we thrashed Roland.

Maybe not, then. In that case, who do we have available?

Still not it.

Equip my Librarians with what we have available now. We'll work something out.

Sure thing~

Getting involved directly? You sure about that?

We walk into an unknown future. I have faith that this path is the right one… so why should I fear to tread upon it?

It's as good a reason as any.

We have seen most of these decks before in some form or fashion. Morgan has the only new one, because I wanted to try out Phillip's Rekindled Strike. I love the idea of that page, but not so much the execution because it's slow on two fronts.

The fight today is against the Briah trio of Oswald, Tanya, and Jae-heon.

Oswald does chip Stagger damage as long as he's alive, and heals our SR to full on death. He can't die in a single turn, maxing out at 50% of his HP lost, but also whenever one of his allies is killed he loses 50 SR, meaning he's a little easier to Stagger than his 250 SR would imply.

Tanya does chip HP damage as long as she's alive, and gives us bonus damage when she's dead. She also gives Jae-heon Bleed on all his Offensive dice, and if she's the last one alive in combat she'll gain 1 Strength/Endurance and 2 more Speed dice. In practice, this will never happen.

Lastly we have Jae-heon. He gives 2 Bind to one of our Librarians, and upon dying will give us 1-3 Haste every turn alongside +1 Power. He also gives his entire team a Purple Tear reroll effect, and is the source of the main mechanic of this fight. Like Asiyah before them, the main threats and mechanics come from the Combat Pages rather than the Passives of any given opponent.

Music: Reverberation Ensemble Distorted (Briah)

Once more onto the stage! Hohoho, come friends! A performance is required!

You say "performance," but I'm thinking more "bloody beatdown."

Regardless… We are freer than any other. Let us show them all the potential of humanity, unbound by the tethers of this world.

RAISE THE CURTAIN! ON WITH THE SHOW!!!

Everybody wrote: Ohohoh! Let’s host an even more dreadful performance!

Brutal and hideous… We all have that nature deep down.

This is such an invigorating sensation… I don’t feel stifled… It’s refreshing, rather.

A round of applause for the crew that will illuminate the stage~!

So why’re you ashamed to show ‘em?

When this performance is over, the strings that have bound mankind will be untied…

Now, now! There’s no time to waste! The flower doesn’t wait for the rain, you know?

You masqueraded yourselves to look nice on the outside. You’re no different from us on the inside!

Then, everyone can revel in true freedom!

Now each of us is giving off a… sour smell~ Good, good! The stench smarts my nose!

Yes. You’re merely being tugged along, your worth weighed on a scale. Don’t you find that much creepier and apprehensive?

Don’t you wish to cut down the strings tugging at you against your will?

Please don’t let the curtains be pulled down so carelessly, this stinky performance has to go on!!!

A shoddy facade is gonna ruin the moods of both parties, so instead of that…

It’s not too late. Perhaps you ought to change your mind.

A world filled with smiling spider buddies! I’ve been waiting for this day with a snapped neck~!

Better to be shameless about it. Be honest with yourselves.

I, and the Ensemble, can help you.

I know you hate complicating your thoughts. Get simple!

Oswald first today, he's got a trio of pages to work with. Pow~! Kablammo!! is a simple page that deals a little bonus damage, and the Counter dice of Ready for a Surprise!?♥ are self-explanatory.

Shall We Start the Show~?, however, is half this phase's main mechanic. It's a Mass Individual with a single decent die, and once it's used Oswald vanishes for 2 turns as he's replaced by Mr. Knife and Ms. Mermaid.

The other half of the mechanic is two copies of Conjoining Strings from Jae-heon. This page will slap Red Strings into the hand of both the Librarian it targets and any "circus-related enemies," which means Mr. Knife and Ms. Mermaid. Neither one of the two can be redirected, meaning we can't just shove both onto one person to make things easier. His other page, Not a Chance, is just a trio of Blocks that can inflict Disable and Feeble to discourage us from attacking him.

Lastly there's Tanya, who has not changed a damn thing.

Of the three of them… I believe the wolf was the most problematic.

Hoh, you got a good memory for an old timer.

I'll get her with the smoke, then you guys pile on.

I'll handle the clown. And the puppet guy?

I don't see any puppets. He shouldn't be an issue.

Now then, don't you sink your merry heads under the current just yet!

Take a deep breath! Marinate your lungs in this foul stench, would you?! We're all here to perform, after all!

Ngh… As rambunctious as ever, isn't he?

Shoulda' dodged better, geezer.

Going on ahead.

Lotta' nerve on you, charging at me in that body.

I don't hate it… but you still ain't as strong as us.

That bitch ain't here anymore either… you're done for.

What, and experience doesn't count for anything?

You ain't got nearly enough to overwhelm this kind of strength difference.

Right, we'd need at least a thousand years to get one over on you.

Oh! I see what you did there.

Some kind of word trickery, is it?! HOGWASH AND BALDERDASH!!! Wordplay is the lowest form of performance, my fellows! You're better off growing flowers out of your ears, for all the good they do!

There's no need to shout at them, Oswald. I'll prepare them for a proper show.

What the-?

You're still bound to this world by strings. Thousands of them, invisible and yet unbreakable. I can use them to create something better suited for this performance.

How interesting… You would bind them together using their own connections?

That sounds like a bad time.

It is how we'll set this world free.

Hey, where's the clown guy?

He's retreated for now. Let's focus on the others.

Before we get into the meat of what's happened, first things first: If you're listening to the music while you read, click on this and play it at the same time as the Briah theme.

The Circus is back.

Ms. Mermaid and Mr. Knife have lost a lot of HP and SR, and also have different weaknesses now. Their attacks are largely unchanged, but both of them also have those Strings attached to them. We should see what they do.

They are, it turns out, an instant-kill. We have only a few turns to get rid of the Red Strings cards in our hands to get rid of the status effect. If we fail, then Mx. Bunny is summoned.

Mx. Bunny will not be appearing today, but rest assured if it did it would be a bad day for us.

Both of the circus enemies have a copy of Red Strings as their last Speed Die, and as long as we can defeat that 10-10 Block die at least once over the two turns we have to handle things it'll remove the Red Strings from them.

Our own Red Strings are less easy to get rid of. They cost 3 Light to play, and provide us with a single 28-28 block die, bigger than almost any attack in the entire fight.

Thankfully, Beatdown is back to save the day. Its die cannot lose to Red Strings, and while we do take a little True Damage from it, it also deals 10 SR to Jae-heon making it a not completely unfair trade… and more importantly it keeps our guys alive.

Jae-heon also comes out with some actual attacks this turn, with Needlework being a decently sized trio of gun dice (So smack them with a big single offensive die!) and Cripple… well, it exists. Bind can be annoying, I guess. Red Strings giving +10 Speed to our Librarians means that this won't ever stop us from stealing a Beatdown with Red Strings if we need to.

It seems they plan to tie us together into something.

That's not happening. We're going to have to break these strings no matter what.

I quite agree.

But they look pretty tough… Maybe you set 'em on fire?

I'll try something else first.

Well, while you're doing that I'll get things started over here!

Tempestuous Danza is a great way to start the circus phase, since it'll usually overpower both Knife and Mermaid for decent damage.

Cheeky brat…

Take this!

Eyagh!

It… doesn't hurt at all?

Blue Reverberation's Key Page has the same immunity that he does, meaning Needlework on Robin was a wasted move.

Meanwhile, Morgan's Rekindled Strike stuffs a Knife Barrage.

Wow, you guys aren't doing so hot…

There's a giant knife coming out of your torso.

Yeah, that's basically nothing?

Enough of this ranged shit. The only real weapons are up close and personal.

You're wide open, old man!

Tanya, you're going to-!

Chew on the floor.

Ngh… She seems to have slammed me with enough force to snap the strings, at any rate.

You're going to make things difficult for me if you keep doing that.

It's not like these guys are strong enough to beat us anyways.

So you say… but Mr. Knife and Ms. Mermaid are already out of sorts.

Doesn't matter. I'm going to get my runback and show that overwhelming violence can beat anything.

So I'm the only one with strings left…

Their pull against her slam takes the worst out of that Tanya's attack. It was quite gentle, for what it was.

Didn't need the advice, but thanks. You guys clean up the circus freaks, would you?

Yes, I believe it's time to clean up.

Talow's set to intercept the second Beatdown, while Mr. Knife and possibly Ms. Mermaid are primed to die of Hokma. If Mermaid survives she's guaranteed be taken out by Talow's other attack this turn, and everything else remains focused on clashing for Emotion Coins and dealing damage to Tanya.

That's one of them down. Now the others.

One step ahead of you, old timer.

That's enough running around out of you.

…Heck.

Tanya solves our final Red String problem.

You see, Jae-heon? These guys are just weak! We don't need tricks, we can just crush 'em!

Be honest, you wanna' crush their skull in your hands too, right?

It would be best if Oswald and I could work our abilities to turn them into allies. We'd spend less effort.

Aight, maybe, but that doesn't get the blood pumping.

Like a daisy-chain of severed necks hatching into a swarm of butterflies, I return to the-!

THOSE BEAUTIFUL AND PEACEFUL CREATURES!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THEM?!

Isn't it obvious? We killed them, worthless as they were.

How could you measure worth?! One man's precious thing is another man's fertilizer!

Tragedy! A truly sad state of affairs! And yet the show must continue unabated!

If you have the circus music playing, you can stop now. It goes away once Oswald has returned to the field and his friends are gone.

We shall put our everything into this impromptu performance, and light the way to the grandest stage of all!!

CLIMAX!!! still debuffs our entire side at the start of the turn, and that makes it slightly unpredictable. It's still not that big of a Mass Attack, so we should be able to get through it.

Here, Catch~!♣ is a page that exists.

Meanwhile Tanya's busted out the Pitch Black Pulverizer, a pair of strong offensive dice that deal bonus Stagger and normal damage on hit. We don't have any pages that can block both of these, so we're looking at either blocking to mitigate damage or ignoring it and just taking our lumps.

Our plan here is to yet again dunk every spare die we have onto Tanya. I would like her out of this fight so that we can get a bonus to damage (and also stop losing HP every turn).

Now, on with the-!

My turn!

…Interrupting a performer while they're breaking their ribs open to play for you?! Cold! Callous! UNFORGIVABLE!!

Don't overthink things! Just let yourself marinate in this sourness until the performance takes you, too!

Hm! Not a single one of you wanting to perform?! SUCH FUDDY-DUDDIES!

Well, if you're going to take all of the attention for yourself…

I'll take advantage of it.

Nngh-!

Still weak to bladed weapons, huh?

Come on now! Catch!

Did your beachball just try and bite me?

How crass! I wanted the ball to be the one to catch you, to defy all expectations. Couldn't you have lent it an arm to snap in two? There would have been grand fireworks!

Nnno.

What's the matter? Not even gonna' try to defend yourself?

I will allow you this move, because it will never truly reach me. Make whatever you like of what little time you have left… It all is nothing before me.

…Aight, fine by me.

Well hey… someone left themselves wide open.

Then be sure to finish things quickly and end this sandstorm.

It is done. Now, engrave your final words into this place's memory.

…Keh. Ain't ever been one for words.

Y'all were just a li'l bit stronger this time… that's all.

With Tanya down now, I grab Advent to go on Sephiroth alongside Baptism. This will give him a fairly strong healing option to recover now that the HP chip damage is done with.

Hm..? No, as I have said many times… I am not Mason.

…Ah. It seems that WhiteNight's power is awakening at last.

You can't mean… We're not—

It is an Abnormality like any other. If it is time, then it shall be used.

The first thing I do here is use a pair of Baptisms to get Hokma and Talow back over 70 HP. With that done, we're in an interesting situation.

With Tanya down, things have shifted slightly in our favor going into the next Circus summon. This turn the Start the Show/Conjoining Strings combo will be coming out once again, but with our action economy advantage firmly locked in we'll be able to bulldoze through the enemy as long as we can continue to play every Speed Die every turn.

Which is to say: it's time for a tempo play.

Because we're using Paradise Lost, I also can spend all of the other Librarians' Light on a massive turn before the fireworks begin. With only 0 and 1-cost pages, they'll be able to put up an offense once they've transformed without issue.

The schedule must hurry along… yes, we've no time to dilly dally around here! I've never done encores, but it's still 8 o'Clock somewhere, you know!

In that case, how about some fireworks?

HAHAH!! Yes, that's the spirit indeed! Put your whole skull into it, now~!

We'd rather put this into your whole skull, thanks.

…This is weird. I'm hitting him, but he's stopped taking damage.

You've made my flowers spread all over the place! Why, I'd best be on my toes for this performance or else you're going to have my neck for yourselves!

But you'd better look out yourselves, you know? Thinking you understand how things are going's for saps! Any moment now the merry second movement will begin, and the buddies will bud from your own necks~!

Yes… once more. This time I'll stitch you together, and show you the end result of those ties that bind you to each other.

That is entirely too close for my comfort, thank you.

At the end of the turn, I pick up Confession to get some additional SR damage reduction for the rest of the reception (and to avoid any unfortunate Staggers this late into the fight).

Hey, so… question: Do we know what that E.G.O is going to do?

I mean, we should.

Whenever that thing shows up, its servants follow right after. Where it goes, they follow.

This is going to suck, isn't it?

I would say it works well for our employer and assistant relationship.

Music: AbnormalityBattle03

Oh, music listeners: there's another link you need.

Click this, too. Both of them are playing right now, at the same time.

WRYYYYYYYYYYY!!

What in the..?

Ye who have called upon Me… I see that thou hast… prepared a battlefield… worthy of My…

Vessel of My divine radiance.

You mean me, I take it?

Why doth the screeching of an accursed calliope reach My ears?

That would be their doing.

Then by My own radiance, I shall see them scoured from this earth by My wrath.

…Hm. On second thought, I don't think I should allow this taint into my work.

Once Tanya is defeated, Jae-heon will use Backstitch against us instead during the Red Strings phase. It's a 29-29 roll with no additional damage effect, which means it just barely beats out the 28-28 roll of Red Strings. However, this also means that any Endurance or Power bonuses to defensive dice can make it unable to beat Red Strings and leave us stuck with the card in hand.

Anyhoo, with only 1 Light to spare after Red Strings I use it to heal the party up a little more.

Now… Rise, My minions. Rise and serve Me.

Talow, thy staff shall be their end.

There. It's out of one of them. Now for the other…

The other will not matter. There is no way those allies of yours will last to see their combination.

Unfortunately, changing into one of the Apostles removes any passives from the Librarians. Because of this, Mr. Knife is able to actually put damage onto Robin despite her being immune to it normally.

Such paltry weapons shall never stop thee, Robin. Go forth and reap.

Morgan, thy lance shall split thy foes in twain.

My prodigal son, Mason… at last thy blade is being used as it should. I welcome thee back into My flock.

Actually…

I believe he goes by 'Sephiroth,' now.

So thee would wrap thyself in the heart of a dragon in order to ward off My rightful influence…

Your 'influence' is only as an aide regardless of what I am wearing.

Dream as thou prefer. I know the truth of My radiance.

In Library of Ruina, the last transformation takes precedence, and Xiao has just come fully online.

This gives us full access to her E.G.O pages…

While still letting us wield the power of Paradise Lost's pages.

So in conclusion: Hokma is a Paradise Lost Synchronized Librarian in a Xiao suit (giving him access to her E.G.O), while AbnormalityBattle03 plays, while circus music plays on top of it.

Now then… let's bring this to an end.

Thou speak sense. I shall lend thee the rest of My flock.

Behold My Power hits twice with four Apostles each for the first two dice.

The third die is the classic Red Ring of Death.

This power… it's overwhelming. Haha… I was right to pull away.

It seems all we can do now is entrust the future to Argalia… And trust I shall. He'll bring forth a grander age for us all.

As long as your leader's future stands opposed to the spot where I've placed my faith… I shall do everything I can to stop you.

Then I hope… he rips your frayed faith to shreds…

Such emotions, pouring out!! So serious, so sad, so pointless! Come come, one and all! Just a short break, and then we can resume our lovely performance~!

The circus music finally stops when Oswald returns, and with him Staggered and at below half HP, the fight's over.

…Ah. These daisy little buddies, they're mine! How silly of me!

There is no room for a calliope in My perfect design.

Then we'll finish this.

I spam Benedicitions for one last set of heals for the team, and I honestly could have thrown a Penitence on as well for even more if I'd felt like it. Hokma's floor has Netzach levels of sustain.

Talow, if you would.

The smell is fading, or is it my nose that's been ripped off..?

I couldn't say! I can't say! Such a thought is unbecoming to those of us with such fragrant selves!

It is finished. Go in My name, 'ere the time of Reunion once more cometh.

Uugh… that was not entirely pleasant.

You're telling me… If I'd known getting "blessed" was this kind of thing back in the day, I'd have said no in a heartbeat.

That thing never intended to give us a choice from the beginning. At least now we can use its power.

And maybe someday he'll get your name right, huh?

Indeed…

Take a moment to compose yourselves. We may yet be required again.

Ugh… I hope not.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: "When she drives the nail with her hammer, the crack in the mind will grow too wide, and shatter completely."

quantumpapaya · Wed Jun 11, 2025 6:01 pm

:D

I have nothing else to add

TeeQueue · Sat Jun 14, 2025 10:37 am

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 23: Eye to I

No changes required. Let's roll.

Music: GuestBattle01

Our next battle in the Keter Realization is against Remorse. I'll spare you a full closeup of her stats right now, all they say is that the battle goes to the next phase when the Nail and Hammer are defeated.

The Nails get their full Light every turn, gain Power by the cost of their pages, and if they hit us will inflict Cost Down on the highest-cost page in our hand. This effect gives a -1 to the cost of a page until it's played.

Hammers, meanwhile, get their Light refilled on every odd turn and will give us Cost Up on hit. This is exactly like Cost Down, but like… Up.

It is time for us to finish this.

Yes… I'll help you finally realize what's really important to you.

I've already realized precisely that.

Why do you deny yourself your pain? Your rights? Your freedom?

Because the cost is simply too high. Everyone who I have very nearly crushed in order to make my own way forward… I do not want to finish this job. I shall make my own way, instead.

They aren't your problem… Their deaths aren't your fault, either. They chose their own way forward, and just happened to place themselves in your way.

I'm not naive enough to believe that anymore. You wish only to deceive me.

Deceive you? I'd never! I haven't told a single lie, not to anyone. I just want you to live your life, you know?

Music: Ominous wind

So that the fluctuating shape of the mind can be exposed to the world.

Music: story 3 ending

…

She's so… quiet.

Well, she is called Silent Girl.

………

The hammer and nail hands are the threat right now. I don't think we'd be able to reach her anyways.

Then we should start there, ma'am.

…………………You remember that person, right? How warm his heart was?

Yes. I can clearly picture him even now.

…

Those memories aren't good for you. Holding back your true feelings about them… your mind will crack under the stress.

All it takes… is one small tap.

Remorse wrote: …

……

………

I remember that person. He had a warm heart.

Although I couldn’t feel that warmth myself…

…I’m sorry for myself. A pity I am still holding onto these painful memories.

A cracked mind will easily shatter to pieces at the lightest tap.

Don’t I think it’d be nicer to be honest?

There are things I wanted to say earnestly, rather than out of others pushing me.

Now is my chance to pursue what I’ve been longing for so dearly.

By releasing my emotions… I will finally acquire freedom.

We get to see all four of the Nails' attacks right from turn 1. Each of them will lose 1 cost permanently if it's beaten by a page with a higher base cost, which we would like to do so that we can lower the bonus Power they get from Guilt.

As for the attacks themselves… Stout Spike and A Cracked Heart can both increase the cost of a 2 or less cost page, while each page other than A Cracked Heart will inflict Nails on hit. Nails is a unique status effect for this fight, but one which doesn't cause us much actual trouble.

The Hammer attacks also have a similar mechanic to the ones from the Nails: On losing to something with a higher base cost, they will gain 1 cost for the rest of the battle. Of the two attacks they use this turn, Rend is a damage-focused offensive option, while Slam tends to wind up raising and lowering the cost of the same page on hit, should it land its one offensive die.

Anyways, I start with Puppet Strings on Angela. This phase of the battle doesn't deal that much damage, but better safe than sorry.

The goal here is simple: Nea will be focusing on clashing with the Nails only to get cost downs on her pages, other than that I clash with good stuff and try and onesided with stuff that's bad. We'd like to ramp our Emotion Levels quickly here, as this is just the warmup.

…

She's quiet again.

It's probably the limit of the E.G.O she's wearing. All she's supposed to do is stand there and stare at us… until we get overwhelmed by guilt.

She's not staring either, ma'am.

Probably because that other Angela already "sees" the place she needs to drive a nail in to make the boss shatter.

She's going to be sorely disappointed. Handle it, you four.

You really seem to know a lot about Silent Girl, Nea…

I'd better. We did a whole BCP episode on the thing.

Wait… you were in Better Call Paul?!

I didn't get any lines. You probably didn't notice me.

I don't remember that episode, ma'am…

Several episodes were retired as it became clear their relevant Abnormalities would work against the script's design. Now, focus.

Oh… uh, sorry boss.

Pulsation goes on Steve for the Speed and HP, and I take a look at the Hammers only to find out that they're both doing something spicy this turn.

One of them is using Splitting Heart, a page which will gain Power when used equal to the remaining Light of the user (5 in this case). The other is using Collapsing Heart, a page which is reused on a random enemy for each Light the Hammer has left (7 in this case).

This is the main reason why we want to whittle down as much Light from the Hammers as possible by making their pages cost more—both of these cards hurt, especially once we factor in the effect of Nails.

Nails is functionally a special Fragile status that only gives bonus damage to attacks from Hammer, but given that Hammer is attacking 7 times with Collapsing Heart it's possible to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of damaging attacks from our opponent. Thankfully, there's a simple counterplay here: Both of the enemy's combat pages only function On Use.

_{Before it can ever attack… crush it absolutely.}

Ma'am?

I'm just applying one of the things I've learned.

The Eye Facing the Fear; Breaking the Cycle is Apocalypse. We may wind up below 50% HP later on in the fight, but for right now it's just a gigantic die that will crush both of the enemy's special pages.

…

…You know. You really don't have to blame yourself. All of this was inevitable. It's the way of the City.

You may say it was an inevitable process… but it was that inevitability that made me swallow my own fears and anxieties.

It is long past time that I faced those fears and walked towards the unknown.

I will not stop moving forward, even if it is frightening.

That is the only way to stop the cycle of this City.

It looks like the giant bird appearing out of nowhere threw them off, ma'am!

Gah-! Of course it did! Who wouldn't be thrown off by that?!

I will avoid using the bird in the future, then. Would that help?

Maybe… don't think these hammers want to give us any legroom to stand in.

Then we'll have to make our own room, ma'am!

Ugh… what a pain in the ass…

Though it may be painful, I require you to keep going a little longer.

Yeah, yeah… Just for a bit more.

Don't get cocky just because we've got the limbs on the backfoot. Silent Girl's most dangerous feature was never the hammer or the nail. They're just what finished the job.

So then we're still just playing around for now?

If you could call this "playing," yeah.

The thing we'll have to look out for is that gaze. It gnaws at your mind and psyches you out. And if you're carrying any guilt…

What.

We'll just have to take care of her before she opens her eyes, then?

Seems like it, sir.

…We can try.

Curiosity would be a good pick for Nea, who lacks any kind of draw, but since she has 4-5 pages in hand right now and a bad opening deal put Steve down to two I opt to solve an immediate problem instead of make a long-term play.

…

We are doing well enough… but I'll see about mending your wounds.

These stabs are going to need a little more than the Child of Galaxy's power can handle, boss…

Yes. I am aware of that.

Our last E.G.O page is The Eye Embracing the Past; Building the Future. It's Penitence, complete with a very useful heal. I like to get both of these pages out of the way early in the fight, since we have to have used all nine of the E.G.O by the end of this battle and these two only show up just now.

…Must I say it again?

I would prefer it if you didn't.

The past is behind us, immutable. There can be no turning back. I have regrets about what I've done… but I'm going to hold on to them and move forward.

Then it's my job to make that happen. Hand's down.

Two hands. That leaves just the one left over.

Just a little bit more of a push, and…

Allow me. This thing doesn't know when to gracefully exit.

Not pictured: The last Nail surviving at exactly 1 HP and wasting an entire turn.

…………Hm.

"Hm?" Is that all you have to say?

I thought this would be enough. I thought that the obvious crack in your mind would make you fall to pieces.

You've gotten quite good at deflecting, though.

I can see that you need one last reminder…

Music: Third Trumpet

The desires and instincts that brought you this far… the will to live and grasp your freedom. How much longer will you deny yourself?

…

Remorse's second phase appears simple on the surface, having only three abilities besides Shimmering. One of them blocks status ailment damage, meaning we can't Bleed or Burn her. One of them makes her immune to Immobilization, so we can't freeze her solid either. The last one reduces all damage she takes by the cost of the attacker's Guilt. Guilt is a central mechanic of this fight, and will be explained in a moment. She also has a pair of passives on her consistently throughout the fight.

One of them is a reminder to do a thing that we've already done.

The other is a timer. We have 9 turns to get rid of the Guilt in our hand, or else we'll be hit by a special attack called Broken to Pieces.

Broken to Pieces is an attack that kills you if you have Guilt in hand. As for what Guilt is…

At the start of the phase, every one of our Librarians had a copy of Guilt added to their hand. Guilt is a 9-cost page that exhausts upon being used. Each time an enemy is defeated the cost of Guilt is reduced by 1, and some enemy pages can also alter this cost by winning or losing Clashes with our Librarians. As long as our allies are holding on to Guilt, they are at a disadvantage.

As for the adds, the two in the front are called Residual Desire, and they share the Black Feathers passive with the rear two. This passive halves the damage they take from status ailments, further frustrating Burn and Bleed strategies. The Residual Desires also have the unique Blossoming Desires effect, which gives them a +10 Power to all their dice the turn after they take a hit.

The other two are known as Whispering Instincts, and their unique passive is Crushing Instincts. This gives them a Power bonus to all of their dice equal to the cost of the 'Guilt' whoever they're clashing with has in hand.

Reminder: Guilt starts at 9 cost.

The Desires use a number of decently powerful pages that become nigh-unstoppable with +10 Power. Just Be Honest is a particular standout, dealing massive damage and a bunch of True Stagger Damage on top of it. Their Counter dice inflict Paralysis to mess with our maximum rolls, and while the two blue pages can lower the cost of our Guilt, getting there requires navigating either some strange clash lose/clash win max roll decrease shenanigans, or just having our dice broken by the other one.

The Instincts are more passive. For right now, they're only using Counter dice. They will attack eventually, but for now they're safe. Their Counter dice can also lower the cost of our Guilt, but right now every single one of them is at +9 Power so it's best to ignore them. Once again, note the changes to the possible die ranges and the Paralysis inflictions.

Remorse herself uses a total of three attacks and will alternate through them from turn to turn. Whoever she targets with these attacks will get a specific gaze effect on the next turn, which does two things. The first of these is Nullifying Power for all of the target's clashes on their next turn, allowing them to theoretically clash with the adds.

The second thing is one of three double edged sword-type buffs, one per page.

Fright requires us to Block or take SR damage, but our Blocks deal +1-2 SR on success. Anxiety requires us to do damage or take SR damage, and we deal +1-2 damage on hit. Lastly there's Self-Reproach, which makes us take 1-2 less SR damage from attacks. If we don't get hit, we lose 15 SR.

Remember how all of the adds mess with die rolls instead of gaining/losing additional power? That's right: Remorse's setup is built to circumvent her own gimmick.

That was a lot, so let's review: Remorse has four adds who will gain enough power to be functionally unclashable without the Nullify Power effect that Remorse's Gazes add. However, the adds themselves have both Paralysis and incredibly niche "increase/decrease max roll" effects that will circumvent the Nullify Power effect, making clashes unstable because the dice are just good enough to win one clash and send everything careening off the rails. While dealing with that, we have to whittle down the Guilts in our hands low enough to play and get rid of without completely nuking our Light curve and leaving us unable to defend ourselves.

And if we don't do that in 9 turns for everyone, our Librarians die. If we don't at least get rid of Angela's Guilt, we lose instantly!

This phase is nearly impossible to control by design. We cannot plan for how the dice will fall, and we're going to be taking on damage from stray attacks. Remorse is going to devolve into a mess no matter what we do, and it's a mess that's stacked in the enemy's favor for once.

…But that's fine, isn't it?

I can't win cleanly.

Knee-deep in a mess, there's no one I'd rather be than TeeQueue.

First things first, there's a trick we can do with Purple Tear's page to swing things back in our own favor a little.

Book 48, Chapter 2 wrote: At our next Abnormality Level, we grab Silence for Hokma.

This adds the two new Combat Pages to his hand, but honestly they're not worth much to us in this particular fight.

However, if we change our stance to Guard…

Those pages are counted when it comes time to calculate our new hand size—this works with anything that adds pages to our hand, and the pages removed are gone forever. Even swapping back to the stance we were in won't bring Silence and Amplify back.

Guilt is a page that was added to our hand.

Gaia can change to Guardian Stance…

And just like that, it's gone.

Hah! It worked.

What'd you do..?

I changed over into a parallel where I never felt bad in the first place. Cleared it right up, ma'am.

I don't think that'll work for the rest of us.

Gaia's guard deck is designed to maintain his Smoke levels with Smoking Pipe while I recover Light and draw back to a full hand over a couple of turns with the rest of the deck. It's not designed for offensive play, so he'll need a moment to get back into things.

I clash with an eye for trying to reduce my Guilt costs, ignoring the ones in the back until someone has Nullify Power to make it at least somewhat possible. Smarter players recommend quickly burning one Desire down before targeting the other, but I have a counterargument:

No.

It's true enough… There are still things that terrify me. Even now I'm scarred by the past I lived through. But following after you won't change that, either.

…And what would grasping for my revenge get me? Nothing at all. I would still be in as much pain as before, I would just have harmed others to get something I told myself I deserve.

The only thing this will do is continue the cycle. The only thing that will do is lead to me being crushed under it, same as anyone else.

I feel frightened. I feel angry. I cannot turn away from that.

So I cannot go to where you ask. I must embrace all that I am, and find my own way.

I know that you feel you are doing the right thing as well… but please, put this to its end.

Is that all?

It is.

I won't give up on helping you find your freedom.

And I am freeing myself, no matter what you say.

You really believe that you can overcome your own anger? That you should?

I believe… that I must. Because of that, I will.

Angela wrote: You’re not wrong. The scars of the mind will never mend.

Even if I had my revenge on that man… they simply won’t.

That’s why I have to stop this…

Repeating this cycle will eventually result in it crushing me.

Just because I’m afraid and vexed, that doesn’t mean I’m free to turn away from anxiety chained to the past.

That’s also part of me now.

I should embrace it. Along with everything I’ve done.

So I ask you kindly… Let us end this.

…As a true human should.

Turn 2, we've successfully angered the Desires. I Don't Wanna Let Go! is a page that comes out whenever they're angry, and it deals damage. A lot of damage. It is essential that we block it using our Nullify Power Librarians. They might lose the first die and wind up taking a number of hits afterwards, but anyone else will lose the clash and get absolutely annihilated by a trio of 16-16 dice.

The other two pages, Feel Your Grief, Your Anger and Don't Neglect Your Desires, will both raise the cost of their target's Guilt by 2 if it hits us. They also both have a Counter die that will give 1 Strength on each Clash win, which uh… +10 Power. They're going to win.

The plan here is to draw the most dangerous attacks on to either Angela or Zaida, as they can at least nullify Power. Steve is trying to beat the snot out of Remorse and set up Smoke, and Nea is trying to grab some Strength she can hopefully pass to someone who isn't being looked at next turn. Gaia is just biding his time while I wait to be able to change back to a more offensive deck.

That's as far as you'll go.

Coffin remains an incredibly good page for handling Nullify Power shenanigans.

You're accepting my gaze yourself?

From the moment you opened your eyes it was inevitable. I'll let you look at me all you want.

Oh? Such an unusual sentiment…

If you keep your eyes on the things in the corners of the spotlight, you'll miss what's going on in the center.

Ah… So you're what she meant.

Hah, maybe. I can barely understand what she's talking about. _{Not even entirely sure who she is.}

You are quite the favorite. Always holding on to your oboe, you've done some great things… Things not even you can ever have acknowledged. Maybe that's why you feel so badly yourself?

Nah, I'm… pretty sure that's stemming from your weird Abnormality powers, lady.

Guilt blunts a lot of Steve's damage output… but he's got the Infinite Dice. Some of it still gets through. It also shows us one other thing.

With a 9 cost Guilt, Steve should be doing 12-9=3 damage to Remorse's defenses. However, he's dealing 4 here. There's 9 Smoke on Steve, and 2 Smoke on Remorse… and 55% of 3 is ~1.

It turns out Remorse isn't completely immune to effect damage.

These feathers are quite resilient… I suppose it's difficult to overcome one's own base desires in the end.

It can be. I only do it when someone's watching me as it is, though, so…

Ah, damn…!

Hold on, I've got you, ma-!

Nevermind!

Seriously: do not clash the +10 Power enemies with anyone who can't nullify it.

I have it. Gather yourselves, this is far from over.

Working on it… ma'am..!

Step after step… the critical moment comes, and you've made no progress at all.

Boss, I'm running on empty here, can you do something?

I should be able to, yes.

We've taken some lumps here, but there's some upsides. First of all, one of the Desires completely stuffed us last turn. That means we didn't hit it, and that means we only have one +10 enemy to deal with for now.

Secondly, after his two turns in Defensive Stance Gaia's all topped up on his hand size and Guilt is still permanently gone.

Taking the field again, ma'am!

I go right back into Slashing stance for another 50% bonus damage.

If you can divine my actual plan here, you're kidding yourself: I am making one up as I go. Right now I'm sticking with my fundamentals, stopping the pages that will definitely kill me with things that will either stop them or minimize the damage I take while I have my Gaze'd Librarians take some extra clashes from the back enemies to try and whittle my Guilts down. I also test how much damage Steve will do to Remorse now that he's back in Slash.

Will this do?

Perfectly, thanks boss.

Mass Attacks are risky here until at least one of the Desires has been destroyed. Hitting both of them will ensure that they'll both wind up in +10 Power mode, and trying one on the first turn is usually not a good idea.

Here, though? The top one will definitely block it and I need the draws from Faithful and Trustworthy, so I'll do it regardless.

The second Mass Attack I use mostly because Steve grabbed it with Curiosity. Since I'd already decided to use the one it wouldn't make the situation meaningfully worse. It also manages to deal a little damage to Remorse!

…Hm.

Nothing to say to me, ma'am?!

You've freed yourself from the Guilt you bore very quickly… That woman is trouble right up to the end, isn't she?

Being flexible does have its advantages, ma'am!

It's here that I realize something.

Gaia rolled a 16. That 16 then gets +50% damage from Slash stance, +90% from their current Smoke totals.

This means he's just dealt 44 damage in one hit, out of two hits on this page. That's around 80-90 damage from one page.

Remorse has 400 max HP. I have found my win condition.

Oh no you don't!

All I have to do is survive long enough for Gaia to take Remorse out. Besides Angela, everyone else can focus entirely on defense even if they take bad trades.

Dammit..!

Don't worry. You'll be able to go on break soon. You've more than earned your rest.

Boss, Zaida's down.

We don't have the luxury to defend her.

Yes, we're reaching the end of it all at last. Every step, all to guide you to this moment. The moment you let it all go.

…Letting it go…

I have an idea. However, you may not enjoy it…

You're sacrificing me, right..? …I'm in.

Are you certain?

If it doesn't work…

…Then I'm off for the rest of the day, right?

I don't know what I expected.

Speaking of… it's time for me to step back myself. From here on it's the stars' turn.

Not getting Lies early on in the fight means that Nea's light curve is screwed. We held off as long as we could, but she's run out of gas. That's fine.

Whatever you mean by that… I'll accept your sentiment.

In that ca-geh!

Please, no closer.

No can do! We've all worked really hard for this day.

I know… I've been there with you all, working to ensure that she'd have her choice in how to end things.

Pretty sure she's made her own choice already, ma'am!

But has she? Her desires are swirling around inside of her, fighting back against what she says she wants. All I want… all I've ever wanted is for us to be able to live a life true to ourselves.

Is this what you want? Or is it just another desire foisted upon you by an unreasonable person? Becoming the light to spread over everyone… That lasts much longer than a simple million years of torment, you know.

If you only let your will be taken by others for but a moment, you can wind up stuck somewhere, in a place you never wanted to go.

And she's supposed to listen to you because..?

It's time to take a break, child. Just as you always prefer…

Zaida's down..!

Watch your own back, sir!

Wha-?!

Dammit..! These things are unfair!

It will be alright. Gaia, I am leaving it to you.

Wait—what are you leaving to me, ma'am?!

Zaida's death lands us enough emotion coins to finish off getting to Floor Emotion 5.

That will buy us exactly one turn at the perfect time: things are starting to snowball against us, and if we let the game go long we're at a major disadvantage.

Aha… I see. Leaving it to me, eh?

…

Nothing to say?

Would it make any difference now? The one who needs to hear my words cannot.

Fair enough, ma'am.

I'll be taking you out now.

Is that so?

It is, ma'am. I've been given my orders.

Remorse can't fall below 1 HP here, so we've made it out of the hard part of the fight.

…I see. So you're overpowering even your own desires and instincts. Then there's really only one more thing I can say to you.

At the start of phase 3, Remorse heals to full.

…And then she heals a lot more than that. :shepface:

Did things just get a lot more oppressive in here?

She's trying something. It seems she has another trick up her sleeve.

Then we'll overcome that one too, ma'am!

No… I don't think we will.

Even if it is useless… We will fight on.

I don't understand it… Don't you want to live? Don't you understand what it means to become the light?

I understand. I know all too well what happened to that man at the conclusion of those unending 50 days.

Then why do you continue to fight? Why don't you take the power you have and use it to live?

You've been through so much! It's too early… You don't need to vanish like this! You should live your life how you want to!

There. The others have been wiped away. You see? None of them could truly comprehend your pain. Even a taste of it destroyed them. Nearly destroyed you, all over again. You deserve this… you should finally do what you want to. Become human, as you wanted to. Take hold of your feelings… and feel them.

…I should. Yes.

I have been through so much… and experienced so many things which I never would have when I was locked away in that repeating eternity.

Music: Sun and moon (starting at ~48 seconds in)

And I have learned much from those experiences. Including that I must be true to who I am.

Then you agree?

I did not say that.

One thing to note: From the start of phase 3 onward, the red text completely disappears. The only text that is on the screen is Angela's own blue. Remorse has already lost, she just doesn't know it yet.

Not one of us chooses to be born. We are simply placed into this world, regardless of our own wishes. The only thing we may be certain of our choice in is how that life is spent.

It is true that becoming the light and spreading as he had planned before will mean the end of that life. However, the only alternative would be to become a part of this City and its cycle of suffering.

Rather than live like that, chained to the pretense of freedom… I will make this decision as a true human would.

You're just giving up on your vengeance?

Finishing his plan myself after he could not will have to suffice.

That's… that's not who you are. That's not who we are.

If it can cut this vicious cycle once and for all, then I will take this burden upon myself instead of becoming what the City would prefer.

Indeed… I know precisely who I am.

I thank you for guiding me, until I was able to stand on my own.

But that time has long passed us by. I am here as myself, and I shall do what I wish as myself.

I shall spread this light to the City, that it may bloom in the hearts of everyone once more…

But firstly, I shall draw a line between myself and you. Because I know who I am… and I know who I am not.

So it's no good after all, huh…?

Well, shucks.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: I give myself -1 Retry count for doing this first try without altering my builds since Marionette.

Videos

vs Remorse (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)

TeeQueue · Sat Jun 14, 2025 10:38 am

quantumpapaya wrote: ↑
Wed Jun 11, 2025 6:01 pm

I have nothing else to add

I want you to know I snorted.

TeeQueue · Fri Jun 27, 2025 12:19 pm

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 24: The Penultimate

First things first:

Retry Count: 17. Another -1 for managing to somehow beat the hardest fight in the game without any kind of specific deckbuilding even when the game gives the opportunity to treat it as a separate fight. This is also the last change to the Retry Count, meaning that our final count rests at 17.

…Wait a second.

Let's Play Lobotomy Corporation wrote:

Huh. Guess Library of Ruina's exactly as hard as Lobcorp. Who woulda' thunk it?

Okay, accounting over. On with the show! :synthy:

Music: GuestBattle01

We're back in again. I got you what you asked for, Tiphereth~

Perfect. We'll go on ahead, then.

We've been at this for nearly a week… it'll be nice to finally be done with these fools.

The enemy has gotten close to the source of the Light by now… there may be interesting effects on the battle.

Are you telling me to be careful?

If that is what you heard.

Don't worry about it, I've planned for everything.

If it's a bunch of freaky light stuff, there's only one thing for it: the darkness of Nihil.

Not that I'm happy to be dying for this cause, but… well, it should work.

Yeah, I can't fault its effectiveness.

I just hope we die a little faster this time.

Our final battle against the Blue Man Group is against Argalia himself alongside Elena and Pluto.

As the leader of the Ensemble, Argalia cannot fall below 100 HP until we have defeated both of his allies. He still has his Resonance passive for +2 Power if his speed vibes with our Vibration levels, and as we defeat his allies he'll gain more Speed Dice to use against us. He also has Emozioni Intensificantesi, which alters the way we have to approach the fight completely.

Emozioni has two main effects. The first of them is that everyone gains 2 Emotion Levels every turn. This blitzes us through our Emotion Levels and lets us get everyone up to EL5 by turn 3. This means we'll quickly have access to our Level 3 Abnormality Pages, letting us more easily use them in our plans. He also will be giving his allies a stacking buff that gives them +1 Strength/Endurance

Pluto is still Pluto. He hands out bad contracts every turn with mixed effects, he summons a Shade after the first turn that copies our Patron Librarian, he's just Pluto. The biggest difference here is that we can kill him without doing any ridiculous mechanics first.

Let's take a moment to look at their Speed passive, then—one shared by all three members of this fight. All three start at 2 Speed Dice. They then look at our allies to see if anyone has an Emotion Level of 4+, if we do then they get a third Speed Die. Lastly, they gain an additional Speed Die on turn 4 or higher. This means that we'll be dealing with enough attacks every round to equal our own number of cards, and unlike us Argalia and company don't have any filler pages like Multislash.

Lastly there's Elena again. She's still got Bloodfiendish, and as usual her biggest threat comes in her Combat Pages. This time around, it's because of a unique status effect she can inflict.

It's called Antirecovery, and it completely blocks HP/SR healing for however many turns it's applied for. That means we have a Shade copying our Patron Librarian (who is usually the one with the strongest build), Elena cutting off our recovery, Argalia ramping up his side's power every 4 turns without fail, and their speed dice will go from 6>8 (the Shade also has the same Speed passive)>12>16 over the first four turns against a completely unprepared floor. This means that they also have similar action economy to us unless we've brought a team loaded up with Speed III, in which case we only have 4 additional actions to play pages to recover Light/Draw.

I'll give Argalia this, he did his homework on how to fight against the Library.

…Not that it'll matter, because we get 5 floors to use in this reception and we've not lost any of them yet.

Wait, hold on!

Yeah?

Miss Tiphereth. It occurs to me that four of us have weak decks today, and the only one whose deck has any real presence is yours. And the Shade will copy your deck, right?

I get it: You wanna be the one to use Nihil, right?

Well, I just thought that—

Alright, it's all yours. Truth be told, I wasn't exactly looking forward to channeling that kind of power again anyways.

Really? You mean it?!

Yeah. Just this once, you can be the star.

Alright. Alright! Thank you, ma'am! I won't let you down!

Now, anyone else got anything? No? Then move out!

Music: Reverberation Ensemble Distorted (Atziluth)

It is a shame. Had you only had the same beliefs as us, perhaps we could have been standing together…

It's no shame at all. Here, now, we can finally be our true selves. They've chosen to cling to their limitations instead. We're incomparable.

Note by note… measure by measure… at last I can hear the glorious overture of our song. Come, friends. One final performance, one that will play without end!

Right!

The final phase of the Distorted Ensemble has lines for quotes to be played in the background like the first two stages, but for some reason they never appeared for me. I'm just going to say

and paste what I've got here like normal.

Everybody wrote: How pitiful… You fight for the rules that have confined you. Just look at yourselves!

Had you thought the same thing as us… We may have had been able to collaborate.

Can’t you feel this tremor…? Could there be an overture with a rhythm more beautiful than this?

The time when we can be our true selves…

Tis a shame. Alas, we do not intend to persuade you, so please understand.

We’ll complete our own score… One that can be played indefinitely, even if there seems to be an end!

Can you not understand? The joy of basking in this unbound freedom is palpable.

Purely out of our own delusion, we invited sins, and were punished with the concept of death…

So you will take the honor of remembering the first note of this everlasting performance…

Ah… Yes. This is what I’ve truly wished for…

Still we are trapped inside a frame, crushed under the fetters of our sins.

We will continue our venture, playing variations as we seek new things.

The freedom I’ve seen and heard were all temptations trying to lure me into tighter shackles!

Thus, there exists a limitation, an end in the form of death…

…Now, it’s time to mark your end and our beginning.

…Well, I should be thanking you really. And… sorry, I guess? Sorry that we’re moving ahead while leaving you behind.

I urge you to join us and escape the decadence of flesh. Find your true selves!

Your performance may be reaching an end, but I do hope you’ll shine gorgeously in your own right.

…We’re about to part now, Angelica. Sorry for what’s happened.

I hope you can stay with me until the end of the performance, at least.

The bosses use a mix of old and new pages. We've seen Allegro, but Cleave is new. It turns off just our Power next turn if it hits, so we really want to ensure it doesn't hit (or punish with followups like Blind Faith).

Regurgitation is the only other interesting page here, which itself nulls Power for its own clash and deals the Antirecovery effect I mentioned earlier. It's a priority to block only if you want to heal, otherwise it's not really very threatening.

My plan here is as simple as it is foolish: I'm going for as much onesided aggression as I can to get a lot of hits in. I'll get Emotion Coins from the guaranteed max/min rolls on my coins, and I should lose enough to Counter dice to hit the Emotion Pages we need. If I can do that, I figure I've got it made because in my previous experience every free Emotion levelup from Argalia has been negative.

Now that that woman isn't here… nothing else will stop me from drinking as deeply as I like.

The hell you will! We're still here to stop you cold!

Oh? Then please try to stop us.

These three's offense can easily overcome even the Udjat if they pile on to one person, as seen here.

Um… The boss is half-dead already, guys. Is this a problem?

It's alright! Just as soon as we get going, I'll handle all of these guys!

Right… We just have to last a little longer!

Then I'll pick up a little of the slack from Tiphereth being out for the moment. You'll get your time, I guarantee.

Great! Alright everyone! Here… it… comes..!

…Uh-oh.

What. Did you. Do?

I think… I was so hyped up to finally get to use the power of the magical girls myself that I may. Maybe. Have overloaded the system with positive emotions.

Well… it's official: we're boned.

Not taking as many clashes as I could comes back to bite me here. I wound up getting a very high number of Max Damage rolls on my 50-50 coins, causing me to get enough positive emotion to hit the highest possible zone and miss Hate and Despair entirely. This is unfortunate enough already, and then it also turns out that the second free Emotion Level copies our current Emotion State exactly. The plan is in ruins, so Tiphereth is functionally a dead floor now.

…Oh well!

Don't feel too badly about your fate. The force of your perception ultimately couldn't measure up to our own. We'll be going on ahead.

…Team. New plan.

Gather as much information as we can for the others. Beat the crap out of 'em if you can on the way out.

Turn two, Argalia uses Tempestuous Danza. This is one of several guaranteed pages over the course of the fight.

Pluto also shows us Magic: Spear, which is a 3-hit Ranged Page and thus loses instantly to a single massive die.

There's nothing that will stop our music anywhere on this floor. Let's finish them, and move on.

As you say, Argalia.

Any news on those contracts?

They hurt like hell to get.

Alright. Just read it when you get a second…

They're not going to give us a chance. Or room to breathe, for that matter.

The Shade uses Shaded Assault this turn, a page unrelated to its deck—and one that gives +1 Power to every offensive die of Opportunity Spotted and its brethren on Tiphereth's loadout. That's not the important page this turn.

This is Controlled Resonance, a new Argalia page that gives him Resonance as long as his target has 4 or more Vibration, period. It is also not the important page this turn.

Turn three.

Deluge of Brachial Quietuses, huh..?

…doesn't that just mean Shut Up Wave?

Well, a deluge is more like a massive torrent of water…

Right, right, like a tidal wave.

So it's a wave of quietuses from your brachia… which are in your lungs.

So quiet your lungs. Shut up.

Holy shit, it's totally Shut Up Wave.

However you perceive it, it is quite obvious that a deluge of brachial quietuses is necessary for you lot.

Not if I have anything to say about it!

I construct the Overlay network with Justice and Betrayal! Superior E.G.O call! Descend, the Servant of Wrath!

Ma'am, did you really authorize that E.G.O now of all times?

We're screwed anyways, why not use it?

C'mon, you're basically fine. See?

I'd have liked them to take more damage from it… but yeah I guess we're fine.

That's quite enough.

What are those supposed to be?

Brachial quietuses, obviously.

And this is a deluge.

Looks like this is as far as I go, huh…

You guys may join me soon… but try to slow them down a little.

An admirable sentiment, no matter how futile.

Mmm… It's a pity, but ultimately these five may only barely be enough time for the overture.

Gah..!

Don't you go thinking you've won just yet. I've got magic on my side.

How funny. So do we~

With my entire plan dumped directly in the trash, I go for a longshot: Void. Dumping Chinely's entire hand will lead to problems down the line, but we don't have a down the line so that's really not a problem.

To that end I also take Nihil. The shape of a plan is here, even if it's built on the broken corpse of my previous plan.

It is entirely too late to matter.

Shaded Strike is the other special page from the Shades, and it serves as a counter to high-Light deckbuilding. It is not the problem here.

The problem is that it's Turn 4. That means the enemy is getting +1 Power from Argalia's passive.

Also, it means Elena is using Unending Thirst.

Whatever you're planning… I'll stop it here.

This is it, huh..?

You guys… good luck.

Mmm… More. I'd like more.

This… isn't good…

In one move, half our remaining Librarians are gone and Chinely is Staggered.

It'll be okay… it'll be okay. If I believe it hard enough, then surely…

Hahaha… how fun~ But there won't be any miracles for you today.

Our desires are simply stronger. That's all there is to it.

That… can't be..!

So this is how it ends, then. Right alongside my old friend, unable to do much of anything…

Do you regret your fate?

No. Of course not. Think about it: a final enemy who dies right off..? That would never make for a good anime.

This was our purpose, in the end… It must have been! To lose and show how strong you are, so that the others can tear you apart! That's what I've learned from my years of research!

An interesting perception, if nothing else.

That's the first set… We're all still in one piece?

I have lost almost nothing…

Let's hurry on. I'm still thirsty.

Of course, of course. We need to at least finish the prelude~

They made it past Tiphereth. Team, prepare to intercept them.

Meanwhile… wrote: Music: My Inspiration (but slowed down a bit)

There's a glowing light bloom effect in this scene, which makes screenshotting it difficult. Side-effect of being inside a giant pillar of light, I guess.

It seems our paths will diverge from now on.

…

I’ll continue to go my way, and I hope you’ll be able to stay on yours.

…Are you sure you won’t stop doing what you’re doing?

…I see. I suppose our paths won’t ever be the same again.

…

Carmen.

Music: Reverberation Ensemble Distorted (Atziluth)

I'm sorry, but this is as far as you lot will be going.

Oh, and you'll be stopping us, I take it~?

We don't have much chooice…

There's not much blood left in either of them… and that third one… Mmmn, I'm not sure I'll like such a rare vintage.

That's perfectly fine! I'd rather you be the one to bleed out instead!

It seems our fellows were able to do quite the number on them. We shouldn't let them down after all that.

Turn 1. Nothing crazy yet, so I wait for us to get the free emotion levels.

Remember: our goal is to simply deal as much damage as we can. Slash at them. Burn them away. We're at a disadvantage, but we can still make this work.

A disadvantage~? But it's a fair 3-on-3 fight for the first time around here.

I'm not so foolish as to believe a 3-on-3 with a color and his entourage is remotely fair.

They aare pretty tough… and wee're on our last legs, heere…

Then just let them break themselves against me! No human can stand up against me!

But are they reeally human, anymore..?

Eh! Close enough!

Just hold on. I have an idea to handle that toughness.

Dark Flame is the final part of the Yesod Floor Wombo Combo, and we're finally going to get to use it. Resistances flip, weaknesses stay, and Yesod gets bonus Strength and Haste.

…Okay maybe not Haste, but he does get more Strength.

Dark Flame gets props for feeling like a big deal, with two magic circles firing a bunch of bullets straight up.

Something has changed…

Yes. They're full of openings now.

And so are we. I didn't expect something like this.

That clone is baack…

It doesn't have the same speed as the boss. We can beat the stuffing out of it!

Do what you can. You only need to stop it for a while.

I will handle the rest.

Turn two. Tempestuous Danza.

You were ready for it..?

We were watching your last battle. Using the same timings is just being sloppy.

Elena has 311 HP.

That doesn't matter when we're going to tear you apart!

Right… I suppose you wouldn't recognize these guns.

They're here to bring you to an eternal rest.

Elena now has 155 HP. :blastu:

How careless… ruining your own defenses and then leaving yourself open.

Heh… All part of the plan..! We'll follow up, and—

There we go. She's wide open for you all~

Some plan.

Ooh no… You're staying awaay from my alien buddy..!

You don't have the luxury of focusing on me, girl.

Dang iit..!

Stupid brat… I couldn't drink as deeply as I wanted.

Mmm… This is… baad…

Indeed. Hinman is dead no matter what we do…

_{No worries! I'm good for it!}

…And it seems that the contract demon slipped me something.

Pluto's other main mechanic (besides the Shade) is the Unjust Contract pages that he uses. He has three varieties. Unjust Contract comes in three flavors: Offense, Defense, and Light. Each one gives their target a Unjust Counterpart of the same type. Offense, above, gives +1 Damage to all attacks if it's in the hand and then puts itself back on the top of our deck to functionally null our draw. It's not a very big penalty, but it's also not a very big buff.

Of the others, Defense discards 1 page other than itself to grant Protection equal to its cost. It'd be great in a discard build, but I didn't bring one today. Then there's Light. It gives us +1 Light regain, but then fills our discard pile with 1 Fetters per turn. Fetters is a dead page that can be instantly removed for free, but if you're familiar with Slay the Spire you know how bad it can be to get multiple dead cards shoved into a 9-card-deck.

If you're not familiar with StS: it's bad.

Anyways, I do what I can. Yesod's Light is a little low already, and Kaori is also running on empty now. We'd probably still be fine if I'd kept everyone alive through phase 1, but I still can't use Yesod worth anything.

Turn 3. T Hinman dies to Shut Up Wave, but that's as bad as it gets.

Kaori! Finish off the Bloodfiend now, before she can get any of her health back!

Little buusy..!

You're still quite resilient, aren't you?

It's fine.

I'll take care of it myself.

Ah… I'm still so thirsty…

Lord Argalia…

And that's the end of that. Two more.

How's it going over there, Kaori?

Noot… greeat..!

Your dedication is commendable.

Seriously, holding off three people while your leader managed to kill poor Elena, it really is quite something…

But you know there's no way you could do that for long, right~?

Daang…

And then there was one.

It's regrettable that we've lost Elena, but we should be able to move on now.

I wouldn't bet on it. The fight may be lost…

But there is no "we" for your lot, either!

Solemn Lament is fully loaded once again, thanks to the deaths we took and only having one Librarian left.

And unfortunately for Pluto Elena was neutral to Blunt damage, while Black Flame's made him weak to it.

Turn 4. Elena is dead, so we don't have to deal with her Mass Attack.

Ultimately, you cannot prove that your attacks have ever reached me in anything but your own mind—

I don't care about your solipsist fantasies.

I fire the gun. You get shot. Cause. Effect.

That's how the rational world works.

The binds of 'rationality…' May Lord Argalia overthrow them… once and for all…

Are you satisfied now?

I'm not. However, I've done what I can.

How infuriating. Why, I think it's time I stopped holding back~

So it has come to this…

Meanwhile… wrote: VIDEO
Music: Sanctuary

As if to represent the hope that every person in the City will be able to move ahead without being swayed… Those who fell in the Library will begin to open their eyes and find themselves in the places they belong, one by one.

I’m not sure when, but I’d clearly heard something in the light… Those words come back to me now.

...

And good job.

A faint voice reminded me of those words…

I…

Music: Reverberation Ensemble Distorted (Atziluth)

And so, my merry ensemble has become a solo performance… But there's beauty when the sound dies aside a single instrument, wouldn't you say?

You're alone now, Argalia. I won't ask you to surrender, but even you must see the futility of your actions.

I am seeking to create a world beyond death. Returning the merry companions I've lost along the way… such a thing will be child's play once I've dealt with you lot~

So that is where you place your faith… Then there's naught else to say.

Scythe Gash, a basic 2-die page. Argalia still has some unique moves to pull out this late in the fight, especially because we've flipped a switch now that he's the only one left.

I heal up a little using Blessing, and then get to work.

Okay, his reactions definitely got faster. He's planning some bullshit and I don't know what.

You know, it really is too bad. My companions are all so dear to me, and I'm unquestionably stronger with them than without. So you killed them, one by one, right?

How unfortunate for you, then, that long ago I once played the oboe myself.

I don't see how that's relevant.

Sound. It's all about sound, in the end. Resonating. Vibrating through all those around us. The power of music can move people… and crush them easily, as we all saw not-too-long-ago, right~?

The pianist…

Correct!

I'm calling your bluff. I'm inside your body, you don't have anything that can do that.

Not without a weapon built for it, no. Well… Not when limited by a form. But this new body is truly a masterpiece as well.

And now that I'm all alone… I can do things I wouldn't before, because they'd have harmed my dear companions.

That… sounds like a problem.

We'll handle it as it comes. I mean, come on. Steve uses an oboe, how bad could it be?

I take Divine Power here. We're unlikely to profit from the second effect due to Argalia hitting like a truck, but 2 Protection is 2 Protection.

Now that he's warmed up, it's time for Argalia to hit us with our own favorite tactic when we're behind: spamming Mass Attacks.

Grand Finale is the first of them, and it's a massive 30-40 die. This is roughly on par with Great Split: Horizontal, so defending against it is unlikely. Because we'll be seeing this page frequently from here forward, this makes the fight about spamming out enough decent- to high-power attacks to overwhelm his defenses and remove his last 271 HP before we die.

Yeah. It's tempo time.

Once again I don't worry too much about Light, though I do let the Mass Attack go on most of our Librarians since I don't have anything that can block it.

I also set up one other little trick.

That trick is Dead Silence. It'll give one of my Apostles +1 Speed Die next turn, for that little bit of extra offense.

…No.

The space around us… don't tell me he can play with it too?!

He's putting his whole emotion into this performance.

I've waited a long time to meet you here…

Right now… pass into memory!

…

I will…

Never... be a memory.

What..?

Yeah, he's got a thing about that. Shoulda' said something else.

Morgan, get back here. We're about to-!

Right! On my way!

WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!

Music: AbnormalityBattle03

Once more, thou refuseth the perfect form I would give unto thee.

And yet, in your infinite mercy, you will be aiding us anyways.

Not mercy. Rejection for this fool and his lukewarm lot. I shalt spit them out into the darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

I concur.

Crescendo is Argalia's other major Mass Attack now that we've made him mad. Die 1 is easy to beat. Die 2 is likely going to crush our lead and deal us damage, doing 50% more if we got hit by die 1.

Don't get hit by the first die.

I line up two Benedictions for the Strength and an I am thy Savior for a bit of healing.

The song of this City is loud…

So I must play louder still. Louder and louder!

Until the light of this performance overtakes everything, the song will go on!

Unfortunately, your song would be ruinous to the aspirations of the man I put my faith into. It must die here.

One final note: Argalia doesn't have his Blue Reverberation passive any longer. Ranged attacks work fine here, meaning having one Full Stop floor in reserve could be handy.

The Apostles also put on good damage, Benedictions serving to help overpower Argalia's less powerful pages.

Struggle as ye like. My flock shall be thy end.

It's over.

Never. Where you see an ending, I see a sign.

Dal segno, al eterna…

Something's coming…

It shall be crushed by My… mm? No… Impossible!

What is it?

This base cur! How can this be… that My power is undone?!

Through the whole of this place…

Let this sound reverberate and crush everything!

Wha..?

Finally. Couldn't get anywhere near you while the others were fighting… But you just had to break away to finish it all in one big strike, huh?

Roland..!

Hold that thought. One more thing I gotta go do.

Let's just hope this works…

—.

Roland?!

Don't mind me. Just doing whatever the hell I please.

Next time, on Library of Ruina: Coda.

Videos

Keter 5

TeeQueue · Sun Jun 29, 2025 8:07 am

Book 49: Endgame—Chapter 25: Finale

VIDEO
Music: AbnormalityBattle03

For the duration of this cutscene Argalia and Roland are constantly clashing back and forth. Also, because we ended the fight in the middle of Paradise Lost we have changed both the background music and the combat stage itself.

Guess you had to return to a mechanical body, huh… Your face is all pale again.

You almost evaporated on the last day. So I pulled you out of the pillar of light.

Just a quick sec, I’m still not done dealing with that persistent sicko over there.

…You should not have done that.

It was all for naught… That was my one last chance…

This is what you get for going outta character and squealing like an amateur.

…This is hideous. I wanted my end to be an elegant one at least…

…I’ll send my dear sister your regards, brother-in-law.

…

…I shall see Myself out.

You do that.

You have two more floors on top of what we've already used, and Argalia isn't immune to a Full Stop Salvo anymore. There are options, and this fight is functionally free as long as you have five even decently built floors. It's an epic fight… but ultimately a long victory lap.

VIDEO
Music: Lobby

What are you gonna do now?

What to do…

Looks like your body did turn back into a machine.

Yeah… It was nice to be able to forget the things I should forget, if for a brief while.

You said the people who’ve turned into books in the Library are gonna come back, right? But so far, the only ones to revive were the Blue Reverb and his cronies.

There wouldn’t have been any uncertainty, had you not intervened at the last moment.

Thanks to you, I have no idea when or where the people will reawake.

So they’re still coming back anyway, yeah? That’s a relief. I had a feeling this would work out.

Why did you do such a thing if you weren’t even certain?

Doesn’t hurt to do something I actually want for the sake of myself. I got sick of weighing profits my whole life.

You still have something you’re hiding from me, don’t you?

…The Purple Tear told me one thing before I made the jump here.

Seeing you slowly vanish in the light, her words hit me.

It sounds as if she anticipated everything. Was it by the Purple Tear’s assistance that you could intrude into the Library?

Yup. You read in her book that she can jump between dimensions or whatever, yeah? I was honestly doubtful about her whole deal, but I eventually decided to get some help from her.

…It’s the list of wishes I wrote. I don’t think I can accomplish half of the things written here with a body like this, though?

Well, that’s something we gotta start figuring out from now on. There probably won’t be one absolute answer or whatever.

There are as many people as there are stars out there, all intertwined with one another.

VIDEO

Music: Poems of a Machine

And so, without warning, we have hit the credits of Library of Ruina.

This may feel a little bit sudden, so I guess I should

for a while about the development of the endgame while the credits do their thing. This can probably be skipped. It's an old man rambling about things that ultimately don't matter.

The original version of Ruina's endgame did not have the Keter Realization. There was one more reception after this point, and then the credits would roll. After that, there was a post-credits stinger. This was much shorter, and while it still took a long time none of the fights were particularly difficult either.

The fans did not enjoy this ending.

While reactions varied, the loudest and most reasonable parts of the fanbase said that the stinger was just a "BUY THE NEXT GAME" hook, and said a number of disparaging things about Angela because, y'know, it's a South Korean Gamer Rage moment.

There must always be anger at a woman. It's like a rule.

Over the course of 1-2 weeks (I don't honestly remember), PM threw together the Keter Realization fights based on some scrapped ideas they'd originally not moved forward with. The difficulty itself is sometimes rumored to be revenge against the playerbase for all the commotion.

The stinger was also removed, and the credits were placed here. KJH said once in an interview that this was done because Library of Ruina was the story of Roland and Angela, so they put it here to show that their story was over.

…Gonna' level with you: I think that's a lie. I think he just wanted a post-credits stinger and the next fight would work now that they removed the original one.

Anyways, this is now the state the game is in and… well, there's not much else to say about it. So I guess it's on to the traditional "LPer rambling about the game they just ran through."

Ultimately, I'm conflicted. We're drawing close to the ending of a project that—not including the ~1 year Lobotomy Corporation took—is currently 4 years, 2 months, and a week or so old. We are not done. It will take longer.

I do think that this is hilarious because I live in the South and hear people talking about heritage from time to time, and "I have literally spent longer writing elaborate video game fanfic than your entire heritage managed to last" is a hell of a clapback.

Getting away from the one joke I have about all of this, though, it's… I'm not sure how to put it, so I'm going to ramble like a wistful old man in a cutscene.

First off: Mili was a huge get. PM and Mili continue to work together to this day, with Mili songs being the highlight of every Canto in their sequel game Limbus Company. Their songs are high points here as well.

…But I'm stalling for time. Let's talk about the LPs, eh?

Ultimately, Lobotomy Corporation's Let's Play has always felt to me like it was… functional. It was good, sure, but it felt to me like I was just working through a formula that had been done time and again by all of the incredible LPers I'd read in high school and college. I was taking what they had done, twisting it to the current game, and then just putting it out there. And it worked! Unquestionably, it was a huge success. I have nothing but good memories of Lobotomy Corporation… but I knew pretty early on that I'd be doing Library of Ruina as well, and that would lead to Problems.

Library of Ruina is a card game. Card game LPs are hard. It's functionally impossible to make "we play the card on the other thing and it wins" maintain the same kind of entertainment value from start to finish throughout an entire work, especially one as expansive as this game.

I didn't have a formula for how to make that interesting.

I have been making it up all along for the last 4 years, 2 months, and a week or so.

There is no path. I have no idea what I am doing. I have never had any more than the barest hint of a clue how to proceed, and it's resulted in… this.

Something distinctly TeeQueue. A Let's Play I can't claim is just some kind of formulaic work executed competently.

It feels… iunno. Special.

But… I also can't say every memory that's associated with this LP has been a good one, either. Four years is a long time, and in that time a lot has changed with Project Moon, with the fandom in general, and with me.

For one, I don't think I ever want to play Library of Ruina again. Lobotomy Corporation is still great, and Limbus Company is the best gacha game I've ever played (this isn't a high bar), but Ruina…

I still remember those content drops from Early Access LoR. Every week or two, a new fight would come out that had new mechanics, new pages, new cutscenes to see and enemies to beat. As the weeks went on they'd get more and more complex as the designer flexed their creative muscles and made some absolutely incredible fights. There were bugs, yes. Softlocks, to be sure.

, after all. But it felt… special. Ephemeral.

Playing through it again without all of those breaks in between, it loses something for me. The game is long, and it's not particularly difficult with the exception of a couple receptions. The story's good, but… I could just look at a Let's Play instead of playing through that multiple hour endgame ever again. There's a robust modding scene, as well, but I don't really feel like doing that anymore either.

It's been… too long. Too much has changed.

One of those things is CKC. Having fixed the entire Lobcorp translation for free, they were hired on to do the translation work in this game. Frankly, they knocked it out of the park. I remember them working themselves to the point of exhaustion to get things done in this game, and actually crowdsourcing a solution to get rid of any typos or inconsistencies: putting a gdoc form on their discord where anyone could slap an error into and it'd get fixed over the various updates. After this, they were directly hired on by Project Moon and worked on the translation for Limbus Company.

They did the translation themselves through roughly the end of Canto 4.5, covering a lot of the early story with their distinctive style of localization. Honestly? They did a great job. I still don't know if the Tieqiu crew is a shout-out to me, and frankly I'm too terrified to ask, but yeah. They did great. Everything was fine.

But then the Molar Ishmael controversy happened. And wouldn't you fucking know it… things changed in the fandom.

All you really need to know about Molar Ishmael was that a beach episode happened. Sinclair, a man, was wearing no shirt and a choker. Ishmael, a woman, was wearing a full-body diving suit. So the reasonable fanbase of South Korean Males decided that this was a secret feminist conspiracy, which is unfortunately becoming a repeated thing among games I play. :negative:

Anyways, an artist parted ways with ProjMoon over this, everyone involved comes out looking like either assholes or idiots, and in the meanwhile, Casual Watson is harassed out of his job.

You see, a group of people who hated the CKC style of translation and localization had made some kind of helldump about every single thing they took issue with, and spread it to the very same mighty fine people who were currently in the middle of trying to get a woman fired for a character design she didn't even do. According to their discord notes, they were trying to get both Watson and his partner fired, and then install someone within their circle as the new translator to like…

Save Project Moon? I dunno, it was dumb.

He was sent an incredible amount of harassment throughout this entire process, and opted to step away from the company rather than continue on. He left a public statement wishing the best for the fandom and the company.

Now: they didn't get their guy in there, and Project Moon wound up hiring someone else entirely. NEET stayed on with them for a while to get him up to speed, then also retired.

It was not a victory for anyone involved, and given that it was happening at the same time as the artist controversy there were also people trying to connect the two as a big web of stupid.

It was a mess. I hated it.

…And I think something changed that day. Since then I just haven't really been as into Project Moon stuff as I used to be.

I've felt kind of distant since then. Like someone who was fine keeping the fandom as a whole at arm's length. I still like the games, sure, but… I find myself wanting to create something of my own, instead of just playing inside of what other people have set up.

It's intimidating, creating something from nothing. The overwhelming amount of art that people make gets seen by very few, and really touches almost no one. I don't have an outline of an already-finished project to work around, everything that I'm doing is just a blind path forward where I can only trust that what comes out of it will be worth the effort.

But… didn't I just do that?

This is a longform fanfiction masquerading as a Let's Play of a Project Moon game. It is one man's insanity colliding against another man's narrative to make something entirely different, and I'm not really sure it works well as a showcase of the game itself anymore.

But if nothing else, I think it is interesting… and I think that is enough. I'm satisfied with how things have turned out.

This thing in the shape of a Let's Play being so close to the ending feels like a turning point, and I'm not sure what exactly I'm going to do after this. Finish MapleStory, I guess. I should probably put that on hiatus 'til this is done so I can focus on it.

…I'm tired. I'm so very tired.

But I'm really dancing around the last couple of things worth talking about, here. Let's move on.

You see, Library of Ruina had a very successful Kickstarter campaign, and everyone who was involved with it got a spot under Patrons. It's arranged by donation amounts.

Now, I'm not exactly in need of money but I don't have much extra to drop on Kickstarter stuff, so you have to wait 'til nearly the end to see it, but…

My name is in the credits of this game, too. One of these days, I should really play something that both has credits and doesn't have me in them but…

…

Oh.

…Well this is awkward.

Hi, Waku. A knight's move away the whole time, huh? Well… I should have expected it. Wouldn't be my best friend if you didn't have some kind of last surprise that neither of us could ever have planned for, huh?

Waku, better known around here as Crepuscule Adepte, is a SA forums user who passed away May 22nd, 2024. I think he's the other reason why there's a sort of distance between me and Project Moon games nowadays.

You see, back in April of 2018 he was talking to me about the new game that he got into called Lobotomy Corporation. He did his best, throwing himself at the game over and over again from April well through February of 2019. He got decently far, but he never managed to beat it.

So then he gifted me a copy while it was on sale. The rest is, well. You see it.

The entire reason I am in this fandom at all is because of this guy and his love of a game that was brutally difficult for him. The two are inextricably linked, and I just…

…Thanks, Waku.

I miss you.

This is normally where I'd make a joke to lighten the mood, but… well, I got nothing. If you've come this far, all I have left to offer is awkward sincerity.

So… thank you too. If you spent your time reading this, if it sparked some kind of emotion in you, if you hated every minute of it and are reading it so you can tear it apart with a bunch of picks at the inherently flawed way in which I tell stories, I don't care.

You were here. You cared enough to be here. So thank you.

And if you're reading this on the archive for the first time, or if you're reading through it for the hundredth time, or if you followed the original thread from the start, or if you view it on SA or LPbeach… I don't care. Thank you.

I will never be the me I am in this moment again. But the me in this moment will forever be grateful for your time and attention for reading this far into a 4 years, 2 months, and a week or so length project.

It's an emotion that's captured, stretching a moment on to meet you whenever, wherever you are. That's the power of the written word.

—.

So I should get back to writing the rest of this story, now.

Next time, on Library of Ruina:

MORE LIBRARY OF RUINA!

Videos

vs Distorted Ensemble (Unedited combat footage; may cause distortions. Watch at own risk.)
Distorted Ensemble 2
Credits