01x05 - The Depths of the Crucible

[bunniefuu]

[drone whirring]

Hmm.

Perhaps I shall make curry.

Ah!

Try out this recipe.

It uses ingredients

you have on hand.

[MACHINA] I worry it will

lack in flavor like last time.

Can we tweak it a hair?

Ahh.

Given your resources,

flavor amplification is tricky.

[MACHINA]

Of course, it is.

According to several

articles on the net

the best ingredient is love.

Really?

Love?

[doorbell ringing]

Ah?

[MACHINA]

Coming.

[clanking]

[door knob rattling]

[door creaking opens]

Well, hello

Machina.

[expl*si*n]

♪

[MARCUS] Launching attacks

before greetings, eh?

You've become violent

in your old age.

♪

What ever happened

to that sweet little thing

I fought alongside

so many moons ago?

♪

Silence, fool.

Decorum disappears

when you come here to k*ll.

You deserve total annihilation

for betraying the immortals

and rebelling against our king!

♪

Dragon Slash!

[expl*si*n]

♪

You recall Blood Sword.

Moonlit Fire Blade!

♪

[explosions]

Beautiful work, Duchess.

Our abilities

in magical warfare

are a good match.

♪

[grunts]

♪

Now burst.

Safflower!

[expl*si*n]

♪

[scoffs]

A decent try,

but I'm not so easy.

♪

And Blood Rain.

♪

Flame Shield Blossom!

♪

Blood into b*mb.

[fingers snapping]

[explosions]

♪

I regret my decision

not to sign up

for fire insurance.

[MACHINA] I will be sending

the bill straight to IHMI.

[KINOHARA]

Please address your claim

to the director rather than

the company.

Huh?

Flying Haze.

[sword clanking]

[MACHINA] I had a feeling

the Duke of the Bloody Arts

wouldn't dare face me alone.

-Turn to ash!

-Meet Code Breaker!

[gasps]

What?

[grunting]

[grunts]

[groaning]

♪

Lovely work.

Director, we do not have

the time for games.

If you had shut down

her Familia

when she opened the door

this would've gone smoothly.

There would've been

zero collateral damage.

My life wouldn't

have been at risk.

Forgive me.

I just wanted to have fun

with an old friend.

Youtraitor!

[cackles]

What a sight!

As much as it must

break your heart,

you've never

really done it for me

but seeing you laid out

so pathetically before me,

scrumptious!

[whimpering]

I failedbut how?

That's an easy one.

While you were focused

on exterminating my ally,

I simply shut off your Familia.

Not a chance.

My device was offline.

I was in stand-alone mode.

And a Familia

cannot be aether hacked

when it's disconnected

from the net.

That was your thinking, yes?

Though extremely

unfortunate for you

[chuckles]

my Familia so happens

to be a cut above the rest.

Our innovative prototype,

The Familia Advance,

whose power I've graciously

allowed you to witness.

See, Familia are crafted with

slight ch*nk in their armor.

Put plainly,

there's a k*ll switch

embedded in the base

programming of every device.

As the director,

my vocal commands allow me

to access this switch.

I can deactivate

any Familia I desire.

Soas long as I play it safe

and give orders quickly,

no one with a Familia

will ever be able to touch me.

And anyone that isn't

implanted with a Familia

will never begin

to stand a chance.

I cannot be defeated!

In this modern age

the most powerful person

in the world is me.

For what great cause?

Tell me.

♪

Isn't it clear?

I wish to become

the one true Demon Lord.

[gasps]

A man can no longer

rule by force alone.

It's information

and technology.

Whoever controls both

controls the very fabric

this world is built upon.

That said,

I can't just stop there.

[MARCUS]

This era needs to remember

the power of force under me,

the new and improved

Demon Lord!

[grunts]

Veltol's reign

is dead and gone!

[MARCUS] I'm in charge now!

[KINOHARA]

Director, it's time.

[MARCUS]

Duchess of the Dazzling Blaze.

♪

Prepare yourself

for a little community service.

[footfall]

[TAKAHASHI] What the heck

could've happened here?

Where is she?

♪

Machina.

Machina!

♪

♪

[TAKAHASHI]

You good, Velly?

Talk to me, man!

-[TAKAHASHI] Velly!

-[gasps]

[clanking]

Are you okay?

♪

[sighs]

I am fine.

[VELTOL] But what sort

of madness befell our home?

[TAKAHASHI] Based on my

minute or so of scrolling

seems like there was some

kinda giant expl*si*n.

It's hard to tell what's real.

I'm not sure whether

it was an accident or not.

We don't have a clue

as to her whereabouts.

Not yet, but I'm on it, cap.

♪

[drone whirring]

[VELTOL]

Is that a drone?

[TAKAHASHI] There aren't a ton

of security drones

here in Outer Shinjuku,

but delivery drones fly over

every two seconds.

They're not intended

for surveillance,

but they have cameras on them

just the same.

I'll take a little peek

into their data

and see what I can find.

Enough fooling.

Let the master lock in

and get her done.

Laughing Man Activate.

♪

Access the system through

the holes in their firewall,

spread our infectious virus

program into a drone.

Now, you're gonna use it

to access the company's servers

and clear up whatever room

you need to harvest

a fat chunk of visual data.

Exclude feeds

that are outside the area

around Machina's apartment.

And I'm only interested

in seeing the last three hours,

so cut the rest.

Ah, there!

♪

I see.

Looks like magical warfare.

Yeah.

I'll check feeds

from before and after.

♪

Marcus.

So, that freak's

the one behind it?

I can't believe

the glorious director

made a house call.

[VELTOL] It means he didn't

trust any of his lackeys

to deal with one of my

Six Dark Peers.

♪

That woman is his right hand.

Is there any indication

of where they went?

[TAKAHASHI]

Just a sec.

♪

After they finished

wrecking the apartment,

they took her to the restricted

area of the aether reactor.

Yeesh, I guess

the firewood thing was legit.

[VELTOL] Farewell,

you have my gratitude.

Wait, I know you're up

against the clock here.

but you can't go alone.

The reactor is in the most

heavily guarded area

in the whole city.

Magino Gears scurry

around there like rats.

Even though

I'm useless in combat,

I could at least help you

make your way down there.

You're a crazy fighter

and your strength is no joke,

but I think my bodyguard

needs a bodyguard.

A person equally

skilled in combat.

A person who knows me.

Ugh, tall order.

[TAKAHASHI]

At this rate, we'll lose her.

[VELTOL]

Of course!

Him.

[indistinct chatter]

[footfall]

[GRAM]

Why bother coming back?

I won't answer

any more of your questions.

[VELTOL] Gram, I'm swallowing

my pride to ask you this.

[indistinct chatter]

Hero

I need help.

[indistinct chatter]

[GRAM]

That makes sense.

I always get an uneasy

feeling around that place.

Now, I know the reason.

[VELTOL]

I beg you.

In my current state,

I lack the necessary power

to save Machina by myself.

So, please, lend me your aid.

♪

[GRAM]

Veltol,

Darklings m*rder*d my family,

slaughtered my friends.

They obliterated every

mortal community they could.

They committed many

of these atrocities

in your name

and now you're begging

for my help

to save a single

immortal woman?

Listen to yourself.

You plunged the world

into an absurd w*r

from which

it could never recover,

and now you expect me

to help you

just because you've finally

realized your weakness

and bowed your head?

I despise you.

All that said,

society shouldn't be built

on sacrifice.

Immortal or otherwise.

However, the aether reactor

is the heart of this city.

If you stop

the Immortal Furnace

for your own personal agenda,

Shinjuku will be in peril.

So, what?

Are you planning to wipe out

the entire city?

Will you rob

everyone living here

of their security and joy?

Are you willing to slowly k*ll

every passerby

for a chance to save

a single person?

[indistinct chatter]

Answer me.

[GRAM]

Come on, Veltol.

Answer me!

Will I k*ll the many

in hopes of saving the one?

[VELTOL]

How can a man so long lived

speak so foolishly?

Do not misjudge me.

The answer is clear.

I will save the one

and I will heal

Shinjuku's wounds.

It is not one or the other.

It is everything.

And you know why?

BecauseI am Demon Lord

Veltol Velvet Velsvalt!

And like before

this crumbling world

shall be mine

to rebuild and rule!

[GRAM]

Demon Lord.

But at this moment

I am a king without a kingdom

and without power.

Which is why I came to you.

[VELTOL] In this time

of weakness all I can do

is beg for aid

from my former enemy.

♪

I will say it once more!

Hero Gram

lend your power to my cause!

♪

Hero.

My identity was dead

until it left your lips.

♪

All of these years.

[GRAM] And I still

long to be the Hero.

♪

Do not get the wrong idea,

Demon Lord.

I have no intention

of joining your ranks

and I have not forgiven you.

This is a simple mission.

I'm merely helping you rescue

a woman who's been kidnapped.

When the weak cry out

for salvation, I answer.

No matter how terrifying

the challenge ahead may be.

For them,

I face it with bravery.

♪

That is my job.

The Hero's job.

The Demon Lord and the Hero

working on the same team.

I never imagined

that such a day would come.

Neither did I.

[TAKAHASHI]

Hey, Velly.

I found a route

that should take us

deep down into the reactor

while bypassing the big boys

in the restricted area.

[machine whirring]

[VELTOL] This almost feels

too good to be true.

[TAKAHASHI] I pulled it

from the old IHMI data

Ejyu left behind.

There's evidence of them

moving large quantities

of essential reactor materials

down this dusty musty path.

Assuming we trust

that information,

this doesn't look like

a straight shot.

[VELTOL] I fear that

we do not have time

to conquer an entire dungeon.

I did some digging,

but none of the maps

I could get my hands on

seemed accurate.

Even if it is a dungeon,

we'll clear it in no time.

How?

[GRAM]

Auto-Mapping.

A spell?

And what does it do?

Take a look.

[GRAM]

I just scanned the dungeon

by running mana

through its walls and floors

to generate this map

we can carry with us.

It's very useful

while adventuring.

I created it myself.

In a second,

I'll have a full overview.

The adventurer in you

predates the Hero, no?

Huh?

What are you saying?

[VELTOL] Have you no pride

as an adventurer?

Pride only ever

gets in the way.

It's best to conquer dungeons

as quickly as possible.

Disgusting!

[VELTOL]

In your centuries of living,

have you never once stopped

to think about the feelings

of the dungeon's creator?

We labor over every detail!

From the placement of treasure

chests to wall decor!

[GRAM] Oh, please,

you're kidding yourself.

I highly doubt you've ever

thought about the feelings

of the adventurers conquering

your precious dungeons.

We have to worry about safety,

tension between

the party members,

food supply,

and finding appropriate places

to release our bowels!

Hey, I'm glad

you bestie westies

have so much in common,

but we have a kidnapped lady

to save, so--

[VELTOL]

I will not let this stand!

I assure you that we are not

and will never be

"bestie westies!"

[GRAM]

That's right, Miss Takahashi.

You have the wrong idea.

We're cooperating for now,

but our blades could be

at each other's throats

at any moment

-[TAKAHASHI] Shut up!

-[both grunting]

[TAKAHASHI] If you bozos

don't hurry it along,

Machy is gonna be ashes

the next time we see her!

Feel me?

[sighs]

♪

-[VELTOL] Felt.

-[GRAM] Yes, ma'am.

[groans]

I'm losing faith.

It's complete.

[GRAM]

Now we won't get lost.

You're certain

that it's accurate?

Of course.

I'm not picking up

any enemies or traps.

We should be able to take

the shortest route unbothered.

[VELTOL]

Fine.

I will set my beliefs aside

[footfall]

for Machina.

Then come along.

Let's go.

Hmm.

-[VELTOL] Takahashi.

-What's up?

[VELTOL]

Sorry about before.

[TAKAHASHI]

Screw around again

and I'll hack

you geezers to death.

[VELTOL]

I'll keep that in mind.

[TAKAHASHI]

Good.

[VELTOL]

Have you made any progress

on the strategy we discussed?

[TAKAHASHI] Yeah,

it's coming along pretty well.

There's still a bunch of stuff

I have to get ready,

so it's gonna take a minute.

You guys just might

beat me there.

But seriously, don't use up all

your energy bickering, boys.

I might have to ask you two

to buy me some time later.

[VELTOL]

Understood.

[TAKAHASHI] This is the

biggest job I've ever taken on,

so even I'm feeling

a little freaked.

[VELTOL]

"Freaked," eh?

But you just scolded us

with such spirit.

[TAKAHASHI] The deeper I get,

the scarier it is.

[VELTOL] Takahashi

you are truly talented.

Why the hype?

-[VELTOL] I trust you.

-[Takahashi gasps]

[chuckles]

♪

[GRAM] Once we exit this lift

we'll be directly above

the Furnace's core.

[static buzzing]

[TAKAHASHI]

You guys are getting close

to the aether lines, so the

density is

intenseinterference

but I'll keep checking in.

Takahashi!

♪

[deep breath]

You've grown stronger, Veltol.

Yes, and you've grown

better with sarcasm.

You know I am far weaker now

than I was then.

It's no joke.

I didn't get to face you

directly very often,

so I don't think I know

everything about you.

[GRAM] But in the past,

you never would have

bowed your head to me

in order to save

one of your vassals.

That much I'm sure of.

You've changed.

You used to be crueler

and more ruthless.

No morals guided you.

[GRAM] If my past self were

to fight you right now,

I suspect history would

need to be rewritten.

♪

[clanging]

Well, well.

You really did come for her.

♪

I suppose that no dungeon crawl

can be a walk in the park.

♪

♪

[groaning]

[water trickling]

[MARCUS]

Look who's awake.

[gasps]

♪

Good morning, sleepy head.

♪

Marcus.

♪

[MACHINA]

"The Hero's Battle."