Act Eight: The End of Tokugawa

Master! Are you okay!?

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It seems the worst of the Tokugawafication has worn off. I'm so relieved.

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She chose to stay behind so she could help us escape. I will never forget your valiant sacrifice, Lady Sessyoin.

If it wasn't for her...we never would have made it out of there alive.

I can never thank her enough...

Master? Master, is that you?

Our connection came back so suddenly... Or rather, you returned to the surface so quickly that it took me some time to process your coordinates! Are you all right!?

From the looks on your faces...I am guessing you have not returned victorious.

We can celebrate our reunion later. Right now, I want you to tell us everything that happened down there.

So Kama is Mara the Demon King AND Beast III/L...!

One of the Beasts of Disaster, huh...

I have seen those occasionally pop up as possibilities during the Atlas Institute's investigations into the apocalypse but I never thought I would get to see one of these "bad ends" for myself.

In one sense, I am now especially glad that I am not still holed up in the Titan's Pit.

So she's just like Goetia and Tiamat...

Or rather, she's the other half of another Beast, and still in the incomplete, immature stage of her growth...

Still, I can tell just from what you've told us that she's an incredibly formidable threat.

She's a Beast of Pleasure with power linked to the universe who says she wants to shower all of mankind with love...

Kiara's not here anymore because she stayed behind to help the rest of you escape...

And Director Goredolf is still Tokugawafied in the Ooku's innermost chamber.

This seems like a good time to review the positives of the situation.

Knowing that you were able to get Scheherazade and Mata Hari to rejoin the team is wonderful news.

I was concerned about how that all went down, since I did not get to give you as detailed instructions as I had hoped to.

Thanks, but I'm not sure if we've actually been much help.

I certainly want to help you as much as I'm able, but, I'm afraid it's taking all I've got just to stay alive...

Anyway, at least now we know that the Ooku's inner sanctum completely belongs to Kama. Though we still need to think of a way to deal with that.

Right. The first thing we need to do is determine everything we can about our enemy.

What is she exactly? What can she do, and what can she not do? What sort of properties does she possess?

It is only once we have the answers to all those questions that her weakness will become apparent, and we can plan how best to strike.

Right.

Why don't we start with one question in particular:

Just what is the being calling herself Kama who awaits you at the bottom of the Ooku?

Well... We know she's both Kama, the god of love, and Mara, the demon of desire.

I've heard that Beasts have multiple forms, so I'm guessing her demonic side must have resonated with Beast III.

Beasts of Disaster usually need to be fought with the power of the seven Grand Servants chosen by the Counter Force.

But since this one is still immature, and she is inside this Ooku...or rather, herself...

...the Counter Force still has not recognized her as a Beast.

That must be why we have not yet seen so much as one Grand Servant.

Honestly, I think it would be way too reckless for us to fight a Beast head-on by ourselves.

Which is why we should fight her another way.

What do you mean?

We should forget that she is a Beast for the moment and look for a weakness intrinsically linked to one of her other properties.

Say, her weakness as Kama, her weakness as Mara, or a weakness of some other aspect of her altogether.

Can you think of anything like that?

She is both Tokugawa and Ooku.

Oh?

She said as much herself numerous times.

But most importantly...she holds a pillbox containing Lord Iemitsu's soul within her body.

Much as it pains me to admit this, admit it I must.

When I attempted to cut her down...

...my sword felt as heavy as it did when Lord Goredolf spoke.

Furthermore...since the Ooku's inner sanctum is the universe, and Kama is linked to the universe...

...that would mean that Kama is also linked to the Ooku.

Hm hm, excellent! The more properties we know of, the more cracks in her armor we should be able to find.

It would seem that Beast III/L has a lot more going on than the other Beasts we have seen to date.

These must be Beast III/L's characteristics...or her nature, as the Beasts themselves would say.

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...Master is right. No matter how dire things may seem, he...we...don't have to face them alone.

We've always fought as a team, and that's not about to change now.

I think Kiara must have sent you all back to the surface because she believed we could come up with a plan if we all worked together.

So let's prove her right.

Fortunately, we managed to refine our analytical model even further while we were out of contact. All we have to do now is feed it data.

Can any of you think of any hints that could help us crack this case? Anything at all will do.

Now that you have told us the gist, I think we need to go over everything that has happened so far in greater detail.

Tell us everything that happened after we lost our connection, starting at the beginning.

We will throw all of that data into the calculation engine and analyze the shit out of it! Pardon my French.

This is wonderfully reassuring... You truly have some excellent companions, Lord Fujimaru.

I guess it's true what they say about great leaders attracting great talent.

You must be a truly virtuous young man! As your acting wet nurse, I couldn't be prouder! (Pat, pat)

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(I only wish the same was true for Lord Iemitsu.)

(With the exception of Lord Munenori, all he has is that traitorous Nobutsuna, and this powerless wet nurse... I'm so sorry, Lord Iemitsu...)

(But I can't dwell on that now. I still have to save him, no matter what! Keep your chin up, Fuku!)

...

Understood. Thank you for telling us all of that!

I just hope there's some hint hiding in that information that will help us take down Kama...

Sure there is. There was one thing you found that stands out as being especially suspicious.

Y-you already found something!?

What is this suspicious thing, exactly?

I imagine this was hard for all of you to notice since you just happened to get a hold of them while you were preoccupied with other things, and especially since you found them out of order.

I might not have caught it myself if I had not prepared the database ahead of time.

I am talking about the inrouthe pillboxes you found.

Kama told you that they were the souls of great shogun from the past and future...

...and that she used them as anchors when she built the Ooku, right?

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Well, that does not add up. There is clearly something important missing.

What is it?

...Yes?

To be honest, Kasuga-no-Tsubone, this next part may be difficult for you to hear...

Please, don't mind me. All that matters now is rescuing Lord Iemitsu.

I see. All right then, I will go ahead and say it.

There is one pillboxor rather, one shogun's soul you did not find even after you made your way to the Ooku's final chamber.

Namely, Tokugawa Yoshinobu...the fifteenth, and final, Tokugawa shogun.

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Fi...nal...?

Indeed. I can scarcely imagine how I would have felt if I had learned of this when I was not yet a Servant.

Lady Fuku, please try to remain calm. In approximately two hundred years from this age of Kan'ei...

...the Tokugawa shogunate will end.

!!!

...I see. I was trying hard not to think about it...but I knew that every great civilization falls eventually.

That was certainly true for Ashikaga and Toyotomi. Ultimately, they all ended just the same.

I guess it really was too much to hope that the Tokugawa reign would be the only one to last forever...

...Let me just ask you this. What happens to Japan after Tokugawa is gone?

Does it go back to the turbulent way it was before, when the whole country was constantly at war?

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...I see. Well, that's all right then.

I can't speak for any future shogun, but...I think the ones I've known would be happy with that.

Lord Ieyasu, Lord Hidetada, and Lord Iemitsu alike would surely say that as long as the world is at peace, that is all that matters. That is the kind of people they are.

Oh, so which daimyo takes over the shogunate after Tokugawa?

None of them. The entire shogunate system of government is abolished.

The right to lead Japan is returned to the emperor, and the business of governing is conducted by representatives chosen by the citizens themselves.

Oh my, is that so? Well, well...

Right. That is the crucial point. Tokugawa Yoshinobu abolished the Tokugawa shogunate of his own accord.

Which is to say that he ended the reign of the Tokugawa, clearly setting himself apart even from the other shogun.

I see. Then it does seem unlikely to be a coincidence that you haven't yet seen his pillbox anywhere.

I analyzed the pillboxes you have so far, and they all possess properties indicative of that shogun's reign.

So, thinking logically

The last pillbox may contain the power to bring Tokugawa to an end?

Right. So if Kama is both the Ooku and Tokugawa, there is a better than good chance that this pillbox will have some sort of effect on her.

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But, where could it be? Didn't you already explore the entire Ooku?

...It must be there.

I remember we found a suspicious wall at one point. Perhaps there is something hidden behind it...

You found a secret passage!? Now that is how a dungeon is supposed to be! Way to go Kama!

...Oh, sorry. Not really the time for that, is it?

At any rate, the fact that she chose to hide whatever is behind that wall must mean that she does not want you to find it.

That makes it even more likely that whatever is there might have an adverse effect on her!

So our next goal is finding this hidden pillbox, huh? Maybe this isn't so hopeless after all!

And incidentally, thanks to the inner Ooku data that was stuck to Fujimaru's Mystic Code...

...I was able to make even more precise noise canceling and wavelength adjustments.

So do not worry. We should now be able to stay in touch even at the very bottom of the Ooku.

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I've put in coordinates for my best guess as to your destination.

I'm just sorry we have to ask you to go into the Ooku again...

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Indeed. We now know what to expect. There is no reason to hesitate.

And we may not be much help, but at least Scheherazade and I will be there with you from the beginning this time.

Yes. I can't imagine I will be able to fill Kiara's shoes, but I will at least do my best so long as it does not put my life in danger...

(I think I always knew in the back of my mind that even the Tokugawa reign would end one day.)

(...Now I just know it for certain. I understand. It's unfortunate, but that's just how the world works.)

(Still...what is going on with me?)

(Why is it that, for some reason...)

(...I feel...relief now?)