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Ignis is a basically well meaning and sweet jock under a grumpy hotheaded tsundere warlord exterior. He gets endearingly blushy but can be a bit Toxic Masculinity.
His character is exactly what it seems, and the structure is very similar to the other routes, but parts got WAY darker (and a bit sexier) than I was expecting. There's also some Dating The Dominant Wolf Man tropes, but I didn't mind them the way I usually do.
The worldbuilding of Bestia makes NO SENSE.
But overall, I enjoyed the route!
Content notes: Violence, including to the heroine from the love interest (for Reasons), suicide, trauma
I'm not SUPER excited about Ignis but the game has surprised me before.
The narration often describes Ignis as like...howling and doing other doglike things, I'm not into that sort of thing so am glossing over it. Also, he has a deep rough voice, and since I didn't take any pictures of him during this route here's a reminder of what he looks like from an earlier chapter:
He turns out to be a competent and sensible cook.
Ignis admires how Kotone kept her cool during the violence on the island, makes her a hot drink, and tells her to sleep well.
Ignis Route chapter 1:
Time to find out how Dromi is complicit in some scheme to suck the lives out of the inhabitants of Bestia!
Someone who is probably child!Ignis swims away from friends and family to explore an ice cave decorated with strange figures. A scary voice repeats "Vanar..." and the child mutters it to themself.
Kotone finds Ignis collapsed with hunger by the gate, having had to fight off a bunch of attackers while taking Kororo for a swim in Bestia. He demands a massive pile of food but tells Kotone her cooking is improving.
Kotone: I think this is the first time you've actually complimented my food!
Ignis: It's not like I thought it was bad before or anything >.>
Kotone: Clearing your plate is the biggest compliment, but thanks :)
Ignis: You're way too nice. Nothing like the people in Bestia.
When he realises he's eaten the food for everyone else's breakfast Ignis goes to buy more, and Kotone joins him.
Apparently people in Bestia don't usually eat, but having discovered food Ignis gets really hungry after big fights. They bump into Dromi who says he came through the GPM portal to Bestia, having become bffs with Mikado.
Seeing Ignis and Kotone standing close together to look at the shopping list and discuss what to get next, Dromi asks "So, is she, like...your mate?"
IS THIS OMEGAVERSE
(I'm guessing not. But he is a wolfboy, and it's a popular genre in Japan...)
Ignis drops the shopping he's holding, turns bright red, and tells Dromi to shut up.
Kotone: Oh no the eggs are cracked :(
Dromi: I've just never seen you act so friendly around a lady before.
Ignis: We're just...uh...you know! She owns the cafe! And I'm a customer!!
Dromi: Ha right, you'd never end up with some weak female human! Must be hard finding someone worthy of you...oh didn't you mention some strong female hitting on you the other day?
Ignis: SHUT YOUR MOUTH D:
Kotone: (Oh! Ignis feels awkward about his barista hearing about his love life!) Ignis, when you get a girlfriend, make sure to invite her to Enchante :)
Ignis: D:
Ignis POV: He doesn't want Kotone knowing anything about how mates work, and is also annoyed she wasn't upset to hear about him talking to other women. HAS HE IMPRINTED ON HER OR SOMETHING.
He vents his frustration by beating up "that stupid tiger", who acts like he's dying but heals completely in moments. I'm never sure how to feel about this sort of violence, especially if Dromi really is a traitor.
Dromi reports that minotaur numbers are decreasing for no apparent reason.
Meanwhile...
Misyr: I suppose we've never talked about each other's love lives ;)
Canus: I cannot speak for demons, but fairies and angels have no need of such things.
Rindo: According to GPM reports, the inhabitants of Bestia do engage in procreation.
Misyr: As the strongest of his people Ignis presumably has a unique appeal ;)
Il: He may be the first of the regulars to find a lover. I want nothing more than to see who he deems worthy of his love ^_^
Sorry Rindo I guess he assumes you're a 42 year old virgin (which I guess has technically not been contradicted by canon). Nice job bringing the topic up yet avoiding answering for yourself there, Misyr.
Ignis, running down the stairs: STOP MAKING UP FANTASIES ABOUT ME!! Listen, Kotone, forget everything you heard! I'm not interested in dating! All I need is these two fists!
Later, Kotone explains all this to Titania, who giggles and says she enjoys the 'womanly pursuit' of gossiping about romance. Even though this TOTALLY CONTRADICTS Medio having been established as an agender aromantic society so lets assume she's been reading Earth women's magazines and is playing at Being A Human Girl.
A classmate of Kariya's assumes Kotone is his big sister and she thinks it might be nice to have a little brother. Kariya is shyly delighted to be invited to hang out with his classmates. Aw, he's making friends.
Kotone hears cheers from the park: It's Ignis doing GNARLY SKATEBOARD TRICKS. He says there's a competition so he gave it a go, not having done it before. She asks to watch him for a while and he enjoys how excited she gets. On the walk home he doesn't want to worry her, but mentions that his attackers in Bestia seem coordinated lately.
Then his nose twitches and they encounter...a minotaur! Ignis knocks it out with one punch, but only stops attacking when Kotone pulls his sleeve, which makes him embarrassed. She points out it seemed weirdly bestial for a humanoid-type Greater Minotaur.
It twitches and Kotone jumps back, giving herself a little scrape.
And then. HE LICKS IT.
OK THEN :D
There is a sexy CG with the two of them looking all blushy and overwhelmed, I was going to post it but got too embarrassed to write the image description. Him licking her wound is described in much greater detail than any of the kisses I've seen. Ah, Otomate.
She shouts his name until he stops, then he stares at her blankly for a moment before going bright red and shouting "It's not what you think! I WAS WORRIED ABOUT...GERMS..."
This is delightful. I actually had an idea for a story idea a while ago about a tsundere from an omegaverse world stumbling into ours and doing their damn best to make sure the person they had a secret crush on had NO IDEA. Because this situation is GOLD.
I mean I'm sure this isn't literal omegaverse but there's obviously something in that general Sexy Animal Instincts genre going on. And given the kind of game this is it shouldn't get too dubconny! Just lots of awkward repressed UST :D :D
Rindo: Whoa, that's a big beast. I know I don't need to worry with Ignis here, but are you ok, Koto-
Ignis and Kotone: *intense awkward silent blushing*
Rindo: Uh. Anyway, we'll handle this, you two head back to Enchante.
Kotone: Just...the two of us? D:
Ignis: You're not...coming? D:
They walk back with a massive distance between them. He blushingly asks how her hand's doing and says she should look after it, since she's human. She steps closer and thanks him, finding his shy concern endearing enough to overcome her embarassment.
Ignis: It's not like I care! If I couldn't eat your food I'd get pissed.
Kotone: Yeah, yeah :)
Ignis: DON'T ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME
Chapter 2:
Ignis why are you playing poker against Misyr you can't lie for shit.
He plays against Kotone, who tells him not to be disappointed, and she gets nothing every time, which is highly statistically unlikely and my kind of superpower.
Kororo wants to come with Kotone when she goes shopping, and Misyr basically pushes Ignis out the door with them. Guess he prefers Kotone with someone her own age!
...ok, the dialogue just referred to Kororo as "she" for two lines before going back to "he". The quality control on this localisation could definitely do with some work.
Anyway. They discuss how Kororo likes everyone except Dromi. I bet he helped get Kororo's family killed :(
Ignis sniffs the air. It's a BUNCH of minotaurs this time, all clearly after Ignis in particular. But Il wanders out of a gamestore and cheerfully smooshes them. Aw, Canus was accompanying him to help the odds of Il winning an otome raffle.
Just as Il notices that the minotaur's eyes are clouded, Rindo calls and tensely asks Kotone and Ignis to come to the GPM.
Nnnng seeing Mikado and "Kuu-chan" is so creepy now D: He proudly shows off the wormhole he made to Bestia. Next to it are a cages full of minotaurs which fell out of the wormhole over the last few days.
Dromi, coming through the wormhole: I came to give my report and everyone's here! Talk about luck!
And he found...nothing, except a random wormhole that took him from Bestia to near Enchante. Kotone points out that all the recent minotaur sightings are also near Enchante. Yet wormhole locations are supposed to be random.
Are they all chasing Ignis here, knowing he's restrained by not wanting to cause damage to the human world?
Ignis thinks the clouded eyes are a thing that happens to beasts who overstimulate their combat instincts by fighting too much, and go mad. But it shouldn't last this long.
Ignis is going to Bestia to investigate, and tells Kotone to take care of herself while he's gone. Awww Kotone insists on making him a bento box of food designed to increase stamina and taste good cold. Seeing how closely he's watching her hands as she cooks ('like a puppy') she asks if he wants her to teach him how to cook these more complex dishes.
He grumpily follows her curtly barked orders until he gains enough confidence to be smiling and having fun.
Ignis: I never realised how much effort and love goes into a good dish. I gotta be sure to thank the old man.
A little self conscious, he tells the story of how he came to Enchante:
It was about 5 years ago, just before the GPM got involved. Ignis was already top of Bestia, having to constantly fight to keep his position. One day it got too much and he was overcome by his combat instinct. His vision went red and he craved prey mindlessly. But he refused to kill. Instead he wandered looking for a secluded place to calm down...and found the gate.
Souan welcomed the baffled Ignis, and gave him a plate of food, cheerfully explaining what eating was when he realised that was necessary. And Ignis immediately felt like himself again.
He apologises for hiding the fact he'd been in that state, and wonders if she's afraid of him now. She says it sounds like she'd just have to feed him and he ruffles her hair with a warm smile that makes her feel strange.
Just as Ignis and Dromi are about to leave through the gate, Dromi says he left something back at the GPM and will catch up with Ignis through their wormhole. HMMM.
(Sometimes I think having EVERY SINGLE second in command be Up To Something spoils the surprise, but I guessed them all separately anyway)
Days later, and the others point out Kotone is cooking way too much food now that Ignis isn't here. Misyr teases her about being preoccupied with "her friend the hungry wolf" and she doesn't get the implication. Rindo!Kotone was smarter but I guess that fits.
Kororo cries, missing Ignis, and Kotone realises she does too. As she stares sadly at the gate...someone comes through, grabs her, and throws her in!
We see Il telling Canus he's sorry to wake him but he felt the temperature plummet in the cafe. They rush to the gate.
Kotone is on Bestia, on the verge of getting frostbite, with Kororo headbutting her awake. As she falls unconscious, a figure approaches, saying they will 'return the favour'.
Fruitlessly searching an abandoned Minotaur settlement, Ignis decides to look for a wormhole since that may leas him to the minotaurs. But this would involve asking beasts for information, and they're all too scared of him, so he needs Dromi. Who is weirdly late.
Then he hears knocking on the ice beneath his feet (Bestia is on one big ice sheet) It's Kororo.
Kotone finds herself in an igloo with a cute little fox boy and some other little fox people, just as Ignis rushes in with Kororo.
The foxes explain that Ignis protects them, and they rescued Kotone because she smells like Ignis.
Ignis says he usually avoids talking to the foxes directly because he scares them. But the foxboy explains that having heard that Ignis never kills, he's realised how unfair it was to fear Ignis and never thank him for saving them. So this is atonement.
Ignis pats the kid's head and says "You're a kid. Don't worry about all of that. But thanks."
And then Dromi arrives saying he got lost in a blizzard. HMMM.
Since it's closer and there's a storm, Ignis takes her to his hometown, the Firewolf Stronghold. It's made of ice brick buildings surrounded by lanterns, the only fire Kotone has seen in Bestia (I guess it's magic fire? Because what is there to burn if the trees are made of ice? *thinks about the Bestia ecosystem* ...wait is ALL THEIR CLOTHING MADE OF OTHER BEASTS?? Or their own collected fur?? This worldbuilding makes NO SENSE)
Cam sat next to me, looked at the difference in Kotone and Ignis's clothing and laughed that Ignis is in the equivalent of a chainmail bikini. But I guess if CLOTHES ARE MADE OF PEOPLE it makes sense for him to be wearing as little as possible!
We then got into a discussion about the mechanics of Ignis's shirt that ended up with me image searching and seeing a rather sexy upcoming Ignis CG :D Cam felt his outfit in that picture made a lot more sense.
ANYWAY.
Ignis politely asks his uncle for a spare room for the night. Getting the feeling that Ignis hasn't told anyone about Enchante, Kotone says she helps him take care of Kororo, who they found abandoned.
The uncle agrees, as long as Ignis will visit more often to protect them. Kotonme notices that most of the igloos are empty. And the few people she sees around all stare at Ignis.
Ignis says they're surprised since he doesn't visit often. Also firewolves aren't naturally confrontational, but he's known for always being up for a fight, so everyone fears him. The only person he can trust is the man he calls Uncle.
Later she finds Ignis standing watch. He says she needs sleep more than him and should rest, but when she sneezes he pulls her to rest her back against his chest to keep warm. He stares at her face with longing.
Ignis: When I saw Kororo I thought of you being stuck in Bestia alone and my heart froze. But you're here with me. This place didn't devour you.
Kotone, snuggling closer: Thanks to you and your commitment to peace.
Ignis: Then a lifetime of fighting was worth it.
She tries to tactfully ask about his background and he says he doesn't mind telling her, but she should tell him if it gets too heavy.
Firewolves have always been a close-knit tribe oppressed by other beasts even beyond the usual. When he was a kid raiders came and killed all the women and children (EVEN THOUGH EARLIER IL SAID THEIR SOCIETY HAD NO GENDER BIAS) Ignis was overcome with rage, and when he came back to himself he'd driven the raiders away single handed. Yet while he was distracted, his best friend and many others were killed. So he vowed to never kill (again) and not give into his violent instincts.
Dromi's people, the Werecats, were neighbours of the Firewolves, who suffered so much persecution that Dromi was the only one left. The Firewolves took Dromi in but he's still needed resilience to survive. (So the lone survivor of a genocide likely betrayed the people who took him in, lovely)
Ignis: I'm a beast too, I accept that fighting is my purpose. But noone needs to die in the pursuit of glory. I climbed to the top of Bestia to try to change it, to at least inspire other fighters not to kill. But it's just increased the bloodshed. They want me dead or die trying. What is the root of all this bloodshed? If someone started all this, I will forever forsake him.
He thanks her for listening, and blushingly admits he's fond of her "for...uh...listening" .
That was really cute. So...if the other routes are any guide, things are about to go completely to hell!
Sure enough, Dromi runs up saying minotaurs have been spotted! But they're not attacking, they're jumping into a nearby wormhole that's shown up. Ignis goes to knock them out to stop them causing trouble on Earth, but not only do they attack him fearlessly they start attacking each other.
One stands a little distance away, and laughs.
Ignis: Hey meat slab! What does killing me in the human world get you? You need to prove you've killed me in Bestia.
Minotaur: Haha. Our people are no longer concerned with the glory of being strongest. Our purpose is only...to kill you! You are an anomaly we will stop at nothing to eliminate.
Ignis: Why, because I refuse to kill?
Minotaur: Ahahaha! You killed your own kin! You just don't remember! Isn't this smell nostalgic?
He throws Ignis a bloody armlet that belonged to Ignis's childhood friend. And Ignis's scent is mixed with the blood. Ignis is overcome by a repressed memory of killing his friend.
Horrified, Ignis asks his uncle to tell the Minotaur how he drove the raiders away without killing anyone.
Uncle: ...I'm sorry :(
This is why the other Firewolves fear Ignis. The Uncle persuaded them not to kill him, and to hide the truth...because they need to use 'this monster' for protection.
Minotaur: And I'll tell you one more thing. No other beasts rampage but you. Beasts are self-centered and cruel, but fight with our conscience intact. You are far more dangerous!
The uncle lied about that too, telling Ignis everyone else had the potential for rage blackouts so Ignis wouldn't feel bad. Uncle says "I'm sorry. You must forgive me" and then leaves.
Minotaur: Do you understand? You, within Bestia, are a monster. You cannot save anyone!
He jumps into the wormhole and it closes behind him. HMMM. Is The Person Behind Bestia trying to take Ignis down to maintain the cycle of violence? What IS Ignis?
Ignis tells Kotone to leave him alone and covers himself in fire to emphasise the point.
A shivering Il comes down from the sky, having used up all his energy on spells to find Kotone. She quietly says to Ignis "Let's go home". He wants her to go alone, but she grabs onto his arm and he lacks the strength to shake her off.
Ignis wants to scream. His whole life, all his convictions, were all a lie. Then he sees the blood on the snow and something within him burns. ...is this not omegaverse but vampires? I am 100% down for that.
Back at Enchante, Ignis is keeping to himself. Kororo says "Food! Ignis!" but Kotone doesn't understand.
The others roll cheerfully with the revelations about Ignis, all hardly being in a position to judge, and discuss how the Minotaurs are likely to keep coming after Ignis, endangering the locals.
Ignis: So I'll just leave.
Misyr: Out. Of.The. Question. Enchante will go out of business ;)
Canus: That would be a catastrophe.
Il: Besides, you have done nothing wrong.
Rindo: I don't mean to speak out of bounds, but you don't seem yourself, Ignis.
The minotaurs were on a drug which makes you stronger but mindless, Kotone has trouble imagining Bestia making drugs and wonders if it's from Earth. Me too, Kotone! Taking such a drug undermines their supposed moral high-ground over Ignis but anyway.
Ignis wants to take care of things himself but is overruled. Rindo thinks the best solution is to persuade the Minotaurs Ignis is no threat by removing his attack instinct. Kotone asks if Il has magic that could help.
Il: I do possess magic involving...psychological control, but I'm unsure they will be of much help if we're dealing with the core of who Ignis is in terms of his physiological response.
Misyr says they should try to investigate Ignis's instinct, and be ready for the "one in a million chance" he goes beserk. Ok, for all that Ignis's backstory is reminiscent of Il and Canus, this is the first time we've had everyone aware of the love interest being Tragically Forced To Murder and in a position to work on it with the love interest without being in a position to immediately and easily fix it.
Ignis feels pretty weird about all this and storms off to his room. And then Kotone notices he didn't eat his breakfast :(
Dromi takes her aside and GOD it feels weird seeing him be nice not knowing for SURE that he's a traitor. He's against taking away something so central to Ignis, that might be the reason he's so strong. "My bro is my bro BECAUSE he's strong. Think of all the good he's done! And now you want him to change because it's convenient?"
Kotone: But Ignis doesn't like things as they are. If he ended up accidentally killing someone it would destroy him.
Dromi: But the vow we made would all be for nothing!
He freezes, changes the subject, and leaves. HMM.
Ignis is lying in bed angsting. What kind of monster is he? He dared to touch Kotone with his blood soaked hands...what if he'd gone mad and killed her? Why, knowing the truth, had she still taken his hand?
Canus comes in and tells Ignis he's making Kotone depressed by being so distant.
Ignis: Forgive me for being a little upset I found out I'm a bloodthirsty monster. She's the most vulnerable of all, how could I go near her?
Canus: That is no excuse. You express concern for her, yet here you are hurting her.
BECAUSE YOU WOULD NEVER DO THAT, CANUS
Canus: I understand your fear. But for all our sakes, you should tell Kotone your true feelings.
Ignis's stomach growls, and it occurs to him that his appetite seems to just grow and grow recently.
Kotone is angsting in her room when Ignis arrives. At first he quietly apologises for avoiding her, and wasting the food she made for him. And then he tells her that after tomorrow's mission...he's not coming back to Enchante.
Koone: But we all agreed you would stay! And you've managed to contain the instinct until now...
Ignis: After the fight with the Minotaurs, I blacked out for a moment...Kotone, I coulda killed you! As long as there's a sliver of a chance of that happening, I'll never come back.
She grabs him and he flinches. She says she understands why he wants to leave, but she can't imagine Enchante without him, and she still doesn't fear him. The Ignis she's seen has always been kind.
For safety, Kotone is coming with everyone to Bestia, Kariya is to stay home with Kororo, and the GPM will guard Enchante. But Kororo insists on coming to Bestia.
Also Rindo gives everyone radio-like transmitters. The insets for little items like this have "je t'aime juste comme tu es" written in the corner, which apparently means "I love you just as you are".
The Uncle says that to atone to lying to Ignis, he will tell them everything he knows.
HMMM so during the raid everyone was hiding and didn't actually see Ignis kill the others. And about a dozen vanished without a corpse. He says Dromi may have seen more, but Dromi claims to have passed out due to fear. Ignis's dead parents were average, but the Firewolves have a vaguely recalled mythical, powerful Ancestral Beast. Hmm I wonder if they are persecuted because they shall ONE DAY PRODUCE THE CHOSEN ONE.
Kotone: Is there anything else about Ignis that's different to other Beasts?
Everyone: HIS APPETITE!
Through the transmitter Mikado explains that spiritual beings like Misyr, Il, and Canus can eat and turn food into energy, though they don't have to. But beasts don't have a digestive system. Kororo never eats and the most Dromi has is a cup of coffee and Kotone simply never noticed or mentioned this fact before.
How did Kotone not notice Kororo never eating? THEY LIVE TOGETHER. Did she just assume someone else was feeding him offscreen???
Kororo leads everyone towards where the Werecats used to live. Dromi makes his excuses and goes back to the Firewolf stronghold.
Kotone moves closer to Ignis.
Kotone: I know you're suffering...but I'm glad I got to see your big goofy smile after a big meal. I want to feed you whatever meal you want, every day of my life. That's how much I...uh...(Oh god what am I saying)
Ignis and Kotone: *intense silent blushing*
Kororo: Ignis! Food! Eat!
And then he swims away and it takes all of Il's remaining energy to find him. He's in the ice cave from the flashback at the start of the route, which Ignis clearly doesn't recognise.
Which means the one who came here before was Dromi. Is he possessed by some ancient evil or something??
Rindo recognises the murals on the walls of wolves on fire as ancient Bestian characters. And then KORORO READS THEM OUT???
"Far past. Bestia. One day human came. But Bestia already firewolf there. Wolf sleep. Wolf. Human. Wolf wake up. Food lots eat. Wolf are Vinitryu. Tigrish. Kansh. Ignis Wolf. Food Eat Become."
(Hearing okami/wolf got me looking upJapanese wolf folklore)
Ignis thinks this is all stupid but Misyr gets everyone to try and puzzle it out, using Il's word perfect memory: In ancient times, humans visited Bestia. This woke the firewolves from hibernation, and the humans fed them. The werecats watched. Ignis is a firewolf. When he eats, these qualities are enhanced.
They decide the human visitors gave the firewolves the ability to eat. And then they find a mural showing a giant firewolf eating humans and beasts.
Dromi: It's obvious isn't it? The ancient beasts imprisoned the Firewolves to protect themselves from their own destruction. We werecats were assigned to watch them in this prison, passing as their neighbours. Man, I was hoping to reveal everything my bro in a big, once-in-a-lifetime way.
He's no longer playing the wheedling coward, and there is a an unstable glint to his wide-eyed smile.
The ancestral firewolf was a monster who brought Bestia to the brink of destruction by slaying everyone. Ignis is the first to carry on this legacy, and is a big inspiration to Dromi. The minotaurs are protecting Bestia the only way they know how.
When Ignis expresses fury Dromi smiles and says maybe he should be worrying about the firewolves? Who he...maybe told the Minotaurs were currently unguarded?
Ignis runs off, and before the others can follow, Dromi says "the audience isn't allowed to get on the stage" and blocks the exit with Minotaurs.
OK THEN DROMI
I'm wondering if he killed the other werecats because he wants the world to end. Or wants the world to end because they are dead!
Il grabs Kororo and Kotone and flies them to safety.
Once again, Ignis faces his home in flames, the snow stained with blood. His Uncle and everyone else are dead. The only living beings are cloudy eyed Minotaurs. Ignis's vision goes red. He tries to remind himself of the faith Kotone had in him. But instead he is overcome by the smell of blood, calling him to feed.
No I don't know how Igloos burn. Also wow so maybe Kotone feeding him was BAD? I assumed it was helping D:
Just as Il is telling Kotone he's too weak to protect her so they'll have to go to Enchante, they are surrounded by a huge wave of fire coming from the Firewolf stronghold below. Il cries out in pain as his wings catch fire, and they fall.
Kotone sees blood everywhere, the Stronghold in flames...and in the centre, Ignis, bathed in blood. But there are hardly any bodies... And then she realises he is eating them D: D: There is a quite disturbing CG.
Kotone lets out an involuntary scream and Ignis looks at her sharply...like she's a delicious meal. Il tries to defend her and Ignis eviscerates him. Il lands face down in a pool of his own blood???
HE'LL BE FINE, RIGHT????
IGNIS LIFTS IL'S LIFELESS BODY TO HIS MOUTH WITH A VICIOUS GRIN
Kotone: STOP IT! Don't give away who you are!
ALSO DON'T EAT IL. I LIKE IL.
Ignis throws Il to the ground and BITES HIS TEETH INTO KOTONE'S ARM WITH THE SOUND OF RENDING FLESH AND ALL SHE CAN DO IS SCREAM IN AGONY
Holy fuck this is
more than I was expecting????
Canus, Misyr and Rindo finally get to the Stronghold to see Ignis WIPING KOTONE'S BLOOD FROM HIS MOUTH WITH A GRIN.
Canus immediately attacks, shouting at Ignis to wake up. Misyr and Rindo's eyes meet and the first runs to Il while the second runs to Kotone. Rindo tells Kotone to keep applying pressure and creates a makeshift bandage while Misyr cries out to Il and curses his own destructive nature. All he can do is attack Ignis, so he throws a giant iceburg at him, and evading it uses up enough of Ignis's power to bring him back to himself.
Ignis: Canus, why are you pointing that sword at m......D: D: D:
His eyes meet with those of the injured Kotone. She flinches, and he gasps as he tastes the remains of her arm in his mouth. Ignis retches but it's too late, he's absorbed everything.
And the Dromi arrives, laughing. "What a view! This is what it means to be a beast!"
Ignis: You've...been pulling the strings all this time...
Dromi: Yess!! I knew you had some brains up there, bro :D I thought these humans were pests but it would have taken ages if you only had beast blood to bathe in. Anyway bro, it's time to wake up. That girl, the minotaurs...enjoyed devouring them, didn't you ;)
OH GOD. IGNIS ATE THE FIREWOLVES WHOSE BODIES WERE MISSING AFTER THE RAID.
Ignis swipes at Dromi but he dodges easily.
Dromi: AT LAST. Enough of that snively persona at Enchante. This is your true form! Catastrophe! A cannibalistic monster! This world is ready to blow! The reborn World Devourer, Doom Incarnate: Vanar!
Chapter 4:
Dromi narrates.
Thousands of years ago, humans arrived in Bestia. Most froze or got eaten.
There was a flaming wolf, larger than any mountain: Vanar, the World Devourer, put into a deep sleep to prevent the world's destruction. Some of the surviving humans woke him up and he went an a massive rampage to fill his empty belly. He had a special taste for human flesh.
The humans silenced him with a massive sacrifice, but his descendants carried on his legacy: the Vinitor, wolves with the blood of the heretic of doom. They were too strong to kill, so were exiled, with the Tigris/Werecats as their guardians. And the rest of Bestia was inspired to become focussed on becoming stronger, leading to the violent place it is today.
It's days later. Dromi cheerfully let himself be taken in by the GPM. Kotone's arm still hurts and she will be left with a big scar. Il is in a coma, so badly injured his healing magic isn't working.
And Ignis has been sealed into the shrine D:
The regulars discuss how Dromi manipulated everyone, including the Minotaurs. But why does he want Ignis to become the eater of worlds? And how can it be stopped? When interrogated Dromi just smiles. It feels like the regulars still sympathise with Ignis, and want to help him if they can, but are starting to think he may have to be killed for the greater good.
Everyone tells Kotone she doesn't have to take part in the discussion, and realising they're being vague to spare her feelings she goes to her room.
Now, every time she hears Ignis's name she is overcome by the memory of being afraid of being eaten D:
Ignis POV. He's not feeling so great about himself!
Ignis: I ran my mouth, condemning everyone from my soapbox, but I was the worst of 'em all!
Oh god of course he is STUCK STARING AT THE MURAL. Geeze, leave the dude a book or something.
Ignis: I won't give in! I just have to avoid blood and-
He is overcome by an overwhelming, painful hunger. He thinks sadly of Kotone who used to feed him...and is horribly aware of how good her flesh tastes. She trusted him when noone else would...and he betrayed her, and will never see her smile again.
He tries to kill himself but is stopped by the hungry monster within.
The little foxboy is keeping guard for his village, and sees the little bunnygirl approaching. HOW DO THEY LOOK MALNOURISHED IF THEY DON'T EAT, OTOMATE.
She asks if her people can settle nearby, having been kicked out of their previous home. He cheerfully tells her this is a good place, protected by Ignis, the strongest beast in Bestia.
Oh wow I get a chance to make a decision AS FOXBOY. I say that Ignis is kind!
Bunygirl: He's too soft! And a troublemaker!
Foxboy: I hope he's ok where-ever he is.
Mikado: I let you use the wormhole as an expression of friendship and you betrayed me >:(
Dromi: You never told me NOT to use it for that stuff ;)
Rindo: Is you demeanour a defence mechanism or do you really not care about what happens to you?
Dromi: I haven't done anything to trouble the human world, have I? I didn't tell the minotaurs to jump in those wormholes. So strange they all ended up connecting to your world ;) So I haven't done anything wrong! How about about freeing me from these chains, huh?
Rindo is going to have to let him go for lack of evidence, because this isn't their jurisdiction? Are we in a shitty crime drama right now? HE IS AN ALIEN AND YOU WORK FOR THE SHADY ALIEN GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY.
Rindo: Why summon Valar if you were just going to get eaten.
Dromi: Because it would be SO COOL :D
The Tigris are also descendants of Valar? Anyway by Dromi's time all they remembered was they'd gotten tangled up with the Vinitor somehow and suffered for it.
Seeing his whole people murdered "left a mark" and made Dromi start to question Bestia's 'meritocracy'. He was taken in by the Vinitor and looked after by Ignis.
When the raid on the Firewolves happened, "At first I thought, oh man, another boring massacre. But then I saw Ignis attacking and eating...what beast could live to see a more glorious day?"
Dromi covered up the cannibalism, and afterwards did research, eventually finding the shrine. He wanted to see Vanar, the strongest beast in history, devour all competition without fear or mercy.
Kororo heard Dromi ranting to himself as he worked on the plan, which is why Kororo hates him (and knew how to read the mural?). And Dromi justifies all this with the belief that Ignis will be elevated by becoming Valar, and everyone else is just prey waiting to be eaten.
Rindo: You're insane.
Mikado and Solitus: Yeah, even we think that's crazy.
Assistant leaves, presumably to stop himself murdering Dromi for possibly getting Il killed.
Dromi: Being stuck in here is driving me cuckoo. Time to leave ^_^
There's an explosion, and then a wormhole appears inside the GPM leading to Bestia. They're overrun with minotaurs. Rindo goes to shield Mikado while Dromi easily slips his bonds and steals Rindo's phone.
Dromi: HAHA! Humans are so stupid! Thanks for being the worst captors ever. I gotta go grab the last meal. Try not to get trampled ^_^
I find evil!Dromi weirdly endearing in his terribleness.
Kotone is in her room, still overcome by traumatic flashbacks yet missing Ignis, and knowing that if he knew how much she feared him it would hurt him.
Minotaurs attack Enchante, drawing away Canus and Misyr, so that Kotone is left almost unprotected.
Dromi, in English: Hiiiii >:D
He only realises she's still holding Kororo when they get to Bestia, but just throws him to the side. Ooh I wonder if he'll band with the other little beasts.
Ignis, barely holding onto sanity, sees the barrier around him crack and wonders if Misyr is doing ok, aw.
And then Dromi shows up and throws Kotone into the shrine. She and Ignis avoid eye contact, separated only by the barrier. Ignis's voice actor puts a lot of sad longing into how he whispers her name.
Dromi: Doesn't she look delicious? The pure joy on your face that day said it all. So I thought I'd make your celebratory feast extra special before you officially become Valar. Bon Appetit, big guy ;)
Ignis: You...I won't do it!
Dromi: You can't help your instincts. It's only a matter of time :D
And then he deliberately reopen the wound on Kotone's arm so it drips blood.
Ignis cries out, and backs away as far as he can before tearing into his own flesh with fire and claws.
Kotone slowly approaches and he shouts to stay back.
Kotone: I'm scared. Every time I look at you I am reminded of when you tried to eat me. I thought...that when you love someone, nothing could keep you apart.
Ignis: That's...how I feel too! Why did it have to be me? Why did I have to hurt you? I don't want to live another day without you! You're the strongest person I know, noone else's smile lifts me like yours. Is it too much to ask for a simple life together with you?! ...but you'll never be safe around me. Why do I crave the woman I love?
Kotone: ...me too! I don't want to fear you...
Dromi, kicking Kotone: I'm getting real tired of your chatter. I hate to think what you'd be like as Vanar's mate.
Kotone slaps him and Dromi is deeply offended to have been hurt by meat.
Dromi: Why you hesitating, Valar? We both want to change the world, and get rid of all the murderers!
Ignis: Valar's the worst murderer of them all!
Dromi: No! You eat because of instinct, to survive! You honour the dead by absorbing them into yourself so they live forever! Once Valar devours all of the beasts you'll see the true path!
Kotone: You're wrong! Ignis sees the beauty in the world, and is the sworn protector of the weak. He wants to save the world, and you're condemning it!
SIGH, there I was hoping we'd avoided the typical "survivor of genocide goes crazy' tropes.
Dromi kicks Kotone until she coughs up blood, then stops and sighs.
Dromi: I realise now that bringing you here may have just made Ignis not want to associate with Vanar. But if you won't eat her...maybe I will ;) Of course, I got no stomach, so don't be surprised if I puke her up again.
He pushes Kotone down, says some EXTRA CREEPY SHIT, and bites into her neck.
It's too much for Ignis. The barrier dissolves in fire and he turns into a literal wolf of fire.
Across Bestia, beasts see the pillar of flame and feel a deep instinctive fear. Except for one.
Dromi: Vanar :D :D :D Great Equaliser! Consume the strong and meek alike!
Kotone falls into unconsciousness, and when she wakes it's to see Misyr, Canus and Rindo. Vanar bounded off without eating her, I guess (or Dromi, as it turns out later)
Interesting, the walkthrough says to choose "Dromi outsmarted me" over "it's my fault". I mean yeah, it really is Dromi's fault.
Misyr asks if Kotone wants to come with them, as they save Ignis in the name of friendship :)
And then Mikado rings with news of a huge wormhole to Bestia. They see Vanar heading towards the delicious smell of humans. Vanar is 20m tall and will only get bigger and stronger. None of Misyr or Canus's most powerful attacks have any effect.
Misyr sadly says he has one attack which will finish the fight...by killing Ignis. He and Rindo sadly agree it's necessary, and Kotone knows it's what Ignis would want. Desperately, she cries out "Ignis! Stop!"
Meanwhile all sorts of beasts, strong and weak, stop their fighting to watch the giant fiery calamity. Most run, but hearing Kotone's voice, the foxboy and bunnygirl run to see if they can help, watched by beasts who would usually consider them nothing but weaklings to kill.
As Canus is about to reach his limit, Vanar is finally forced to pause...by chains of light.
Il: Apologies for my tardiness! Kariya says a strange man arrived and insisted on treating me, and I recovered a sliver of spiritual energy.
Awww.
But Il is still weak, and nearly gets squished by Vanir...only to get saved by foxboy! Bunnygirl throws snow into Vanra's eyes, saying "Ha! Doesn't matter how big you are, noone likes dirt in their eye!"
Countless other beasts join in. And though each attack does little harm to Vanar, it's death by a thousand cuts. All of them are united by owing their lives to Ignis.
Misyr: New plan! Let's bug the lights out of Ignis until he collapses from exhaustion :D
He, Il, and Canus distract Vanar from the beasts with lots of little spells and attacks.
Bunnygirl: You, sitting there doing nothing, didn't Ignis save your life too? You have the rest of your life to be scared! Don't wait until he's dead to say what you feel!
So Kotone decides to get Ignis to turn away from the wormhole by using her delicious blood as bait :D
He's faster than expected and it looks like he might eat her! But then...Kororo shows up with a BUNCH of tiny little sea beasts and breaks the ice beneath Vanar so he falls into the sea!
(at this point it was getting very late but I wanted to see the end so the rest is a bit fuzzy)
This shouldn't be enough to stop him, but he just flails in the water, as if his body and mind are at odds. Kotone decides it's time to talk to him.
She approaches, and he moans for her to leave, before he hurts her. She puts her hand on his massive snout and says maybe it's naive, but she believes in him, as the strongest person she knows.
Vanar shudders...and is Ignis again. He and Kotone hug and happily express how much they love each other, and that they'll stay by each other's side forever. Ignis has realised his life's purpose is not fighting, but to dedicate himself to her.
Credits
A month later and the people of Bestia have been inspired by the experience of bonding together to fight Vanar, as led by the smallest beasts, to become less aggressively nasty to each other. This isn't how Ignis wanted to inspire Bestia to change, but now it's happened he lives in Enchante, working as Kotone's assistant, away from bloodshed.
Dromi is at the GPM, a broken man, but Ignis still cares about him and hopes he will one day see the error of his ways.
Kororo lives with his family now, in Bestia, but the others visit him regularly through the gate.
Ignis feels like Vanar won't rise in him again, but to be sure he's stopped eating. Instead he satisfies himself with Kotone ;) ;) There is a sexy makeout scene with a lot of food metaphors for sex, Ignis is very YOUR BODY AND BLOOD BELONGS TO ME NOW but Kotone is very into it and it's all very good hearted and affectionate.
I'm sure some other stuff happened but tl;dr they live happily ever after. I was expecting something a bit more definitive to stop Vanar than The Power of Love but maybe that was naive of me haha.
THE END
Prologue 5 (FINAL PROLOGUE!)
When he leaves, I'll be alone again. And if he returns, I am certain all I would have for him is apathy. This is unfair. That is why I've continued to hope. And little by little, the hand I reached out with...it will, at last, reach her.
*image of Kotone*
???: Finally, I've found you.
THE END
When I played the preview version of this at 1am there was an image of a face that was half Misyr half some other guy but it didn't show up this time so it feels like a dream.
I'm kinda sad Ignis won't be eating any more. He really liked eating Kotone's cooking, and she really enjoyed cooking for him, and they had that sweet scene where they cooked together. So I'm going to head-canon they figure out some way for him to eat safely.
Also head-canoning that there are some weird aspects to Demon Beast relationships that he explained to Kotone offscreen, after much embarrassed avoiding of the topic, but she cheerfully rolled with it.
Also I was expecting "the humans made a sacrifice to defeat Vanar" thing to be explained. Maybe it'll come up as part of the meta-plot? There better be a meta-plot about humans in ancient times and energy theft/gathering or it's all a bit silly. Also what was up with the scary voices in the cave at the start??
Given how dark the good ending got I'm not up for the bad ending. Also I want to see what happens with Misyr!!
I've seen all the possible choices during the main route at this point, I wonder how the Misyr route gets chosen. Maybe a new choice right at the start? I might start a new game and not look up a walkthrough, let myself be surprised.
Also, randomly: I really like the menu design, with the game visible in the background:
I think this may be the only picture I've posted of Kariya haha.
Ignis is a basically well meaning and sweet jock under a grumpy hotheaded tsundere warlord exterior. He gets endearingly blushy but can be a bit Toxic Masculinity.
His character is exactly what it seems, and the structure is very similar to the other routes, but parts got WAY darker (and a bit sexier) than I was expecting. There's also some Dating The Dominant Wolf Man tropes, but I didn't mind them the way I usually do.
The worldbuilding of Bestia makes NO SENSE.
But overall, I enjoyed the route!
Content notes: Violence, including to the heroine from the love interest (for Reasons), suicide, trauma
I'm not SUPER excited about Ignis but the game has surprised me before.
The narration often describes Ignis as like...howling and doing other doglike things, I'm not into that sort of thing so am glossing over it. Also, he has a deep rough voice, and since I didn't take any pictures of him during this route here's a reminder of what he looks like from an earlier chapter:
He turns out to be a competent and sensible cook.
Ignis admires how Kotone kept her cool during the violence on the island, makes her a hot drink, and tells her to sleep well.
Ignis Route chapter 1:
Time to find out how Dromi is complicit in some scheme to suck the lives out of the inhabitants of Bestia!
Someone who is probably child!Ignis swims away from friends and family to explore an ice cave decorated with strange figures. A scary voice repeats "Vanar..." and the child mutters it to themself.
Kotone finds Ignis collapsed with hunger by the gate, having had to fight off a bunch of attackers while taking Kororo for a swim in Bestia. He demands a massive pile of food but tells Kotone her cooking is improving.
Kotone: I think this is the first time you've actually complimented my food!
Ignis: It's not like I thought it was bad before or anything >.>
Kotone: Clearing your plate is the biggest compliment, but thanks :)
Ignis: You're way too nice. Nothing like the people in Bestia.
When he realises he's eaten the food for everyone else's breakfast Ignis goes to buy more, and Kotone joins him.
Apparently people in Bestia don't usually eat, but having discovered food Ignis gets really hungry after big fights. They bump into Dromi who says he came through the GPM portal to Bestia, having become bffs with Mikado.
Seeing Ignis and Kotone standing close together to look at the shopping list and discuss what to get next, Dromi asks "So, is she, like...your mate?"
IS THIS OMEGAVERSE
(I'm guessing not. But he is a wolfboy, and it's a popular genre in Japan...)
Ignis drops the shopping he's holding, turns bright red, and tells Dromi to shut up.
Kotone: Oh no the eggs are cracked :(
Dromi: I've just never seen you act so friendly around a lady before.
Ignis: We're just...uh...you know! She owns the cafe! And I'm a customer!!
Dromi: Ha right, you'd never end up with some weak female human! Must be hard finding someone worthy of you...oh didn't you mention some strong female hitting on you the other day?
Ignis: SHUT YOUR MOUTH D:
Kotone: (Oh! Ignis feels awkward about his barista hearing about his love life!) Ignis, when you get a girlfriend, make sure to invite her to Enchante :)
Ignis: D:
Ignis POV: He doesn't want Kotone knowing anything about how mates work, and is also annoyed she wasn't upset to hear about him talking to other women. HAS HE IMPRINTED ON HER OR SOMETHING.
He vents his frustration by beating up "that stupid tiger", who acts like he's dying but heals completely in moments. I'm never sure how to feel about this sort of violence, especially if Dromi really is a traitor.
Dromi reports that minotaur numbers are decreasing for no apparent reason.
Meanwhile...
Misyr: I suppose we've never talked about each other's love lives ;)
Canus: I cannot speak for demons, but fairies and angels have no need of such things.
Rindo: According to GPM reports, the inhabitants of Bestia do engage in procreation.
Misyr: As the strongest of his people Ignis presumably has a unique appeal ;)
Il: He may be the first of the regulars to find a lover. I want nothing more than to see who he deems worthy of his love ^_^
Sorry Rindo I guess he assumes you're a 42 year old virgin (which I guess has technically not been contradicted by canon). Nice job bringing the topic up yet avoiding answering for yourself there, Misyr.
Ignis, running down the stairs: STOP MAKING UP FANTASIES ABOUT ME!! Listen, Kotone, forget everything you heard! I'm not interested in dating! All I need is these two fists!
Later, Kotone explains all this to Titania, who giggles and says she enjoys the 'womanly pursuit' of gossiping about romance. Even though this TOTALLY CONTRADICTS Medio having been established as an agender aromantic society so lets assume she's been reading Earth women's magazines and is playing at Being A Human Girl.
A classmate of Kariya's assumes Kotone is his big sister and she thinks it might be nice to have a little brother. Kariya is shyly delighted to be invited to hang out with his classmates. Aw, he's making friends.
Kotone hears cheers from the park: It's Ignis doing GNARLY SKATEBOARD TRICKS. He says there's a competition so he gave it a go, not having done it before. She asks to watch him for a while and he enjoys how excited she gets. On the walk home he doesn't want to worry her, but mentions that his attackers in Bestia seem coordinated lately.
Then his nose twitches and they encounter...a minotaur! Ignis knocks it out with one punch, but only stops attacking when Kotone pulls his sleeve, which makes him embarrassed. She points out it seemed weirdly bestial for a humanoid-type Greater Minotaur.
It twitches and Kotone jumps back, giving herself a little scrape.
And then. HE LICKS IT.
OK THEN :D
There is a sexy CG with the two of them looking all blushy and overwhelmed, I was going to post it but got too embarrassed to write the image description. Him licking her wound is described in much greater detail than any of the kisses I've seen. Ah, Otomate.
She shouts his name until he stops, then he stares at her blankly for a moment before going bright red and shouting "It's not what you think! I WAS WORRIED ABOUT...GERMS..."
This is delightful. I actually had an idea for a story idea a while ago about a tsundere from an omegaverse world stumbling into ours and doing their damn best to make sure the person they had a secret crush on had NO IDEA. Because this situation is GOLD.
I mean I'm sure this isn't literal omegaverse but there's obviously something in that general Sexy Animal Instincts genre going on. And given the kind of game this is it shouldn't get too dubconny! Just lots of awkward repressed UST :D :D
Rindo: Whoa, that's a big beast. I know I don't need to worry with Ignis here, but are you ok, Koto-
Ignis and Kotone: *intense awkward silent blushing*
Rindo: Uh. Anyway, we'll handle this, you two head back to Enchante.
Kotone: Just...the two of us? D:
Ignis: You're not...coming? D:
They walk back with a massive distance between them. He blushingly asks how her hand's doing and says she should look after it, since she's human. She steps closer and thanks him, finding his shy concern endearing enough to overcome her embarassment.
Ignis: It's not like I care! If I couldn't eat your food I'd get pissed.
Kotone: Yeah, yeah :)
Ignis: DON'T ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME
Chapter 2:
Ignis why are you playing poker against Misyr you can't lie for shit.
He plays against Kotone, who tells him not to be disappointed, and she gets nothing every time, which is highly statistically unlikely and my kind of superpower.
Kororo wants to come with Kotone when she goes shopping, and Misyr basically pushes Ignis out the door with them. Guess he prefers Kotone with someone her own age!
...ok, the dialogue just referred to Kororo as "she" for two lines before going back to "he". The quality control on this localisation could definitely do with some work.
Anyway. They discuss how Kororo likes everyone except Dromi. I bet he helped get Kororo's family killed :(
Ignis sniffs the air. It's a BUNCH of minotaurs this time, all clearly after Ignis in particular. But Il wanders out of a gamestore and cheerfully smooshes them. Aw, Canus was accompanying him to help the odds of Il winning an otome raffle.
Just as Il notices that the minotaur's eyes are clouded, Rindo calls and tensely asks Kotone and Ignis to come to the GPM.
Nnnng seeing Mikado and "Kuu-chan" is so creepy now D: He proudly shows off the wormhole he made to Bestia. Next to it are a cages full of minotaurs which fell out of the wormhole over the last few days.
Dromi, coming through the wormhole: I came to give my report and everyone's here! Talk about luck!
And he found...nothing, except a random wormhole that took him from Bestia to near Enchante. Kotone points out that all the recent minotaur sightings are also near Enchante. Yet wormhole locations are supposed to be random.
Are they all chasing Ignis here, knowing he's restrained by not wanting to cause damage to the human world?
Ignis thinks the clouded eyes are a thing that happens to beasts who overstimulate their combat instincts by fighting too much, and go mad. But it shouldn't last this long.
Ignis is going to Bestia to investigate, and tells Kotone to take care of herself while he's gone. Awww Kotone insists on making him a bento box of food designed to increase stamina and taste good cold. Seeing how closely he's watching her hands as she cooks ('like a puppy') she asks if he wants her to teach him how to cook these more complex dishes.
He grumpily follows her curtly barked orders until he gains enough confidence to be smiling and having fun.
Ignis: I never realised how much effort and love goes into a good dish. I gotta be sure to thank the old man.
A little self conscious, he tells the story of how he came to Enchante:
It was about 5 years ago, just before the GPM got involved. Ignis was already top of Bestia, having to constantly fight to keep his position. One day it got too much and he was overcome by his combat instinct. His vision went red and he craved prey mindlessly. But he refused to kill. Instead he wandered looking for a secluded place to calm down...and found the gate.
Souan welcomed the baffled Ignis, and gave him a plate of food, cheerfully explaining what eating was when he realised that was necessary. And Ignis immediately felt like himself again.
He apologises for hiding the fact he'd been in that state, and wonders if she's afraid of him now. She says it sounds like she'd just have to feed him and he ruffles her hair with a warm smile that makes her feel strange.
Just as Ignis and Dromi are about to leave through the gate, Dromi says he left something back at the GPM and will catch up with Ignis through their wormhole. HMMM.
(Sometimes I think having EVERY SINGLE second in command be Up To Something spoils the surprise, but I guessed them all separately anyway)
Days later, and the others point out Kotone is cooking way too much food now that Ignis isn't here. Misyr teases her about being preoccupied with "her friend the hungry wolf" and she doesn't get the implication. Rindo!Kotone was smarter but I guess that fits.
Kororo cries, missing Ignis, and Kotone realises she does too. As she stares sadly at the gate...someone comes through, grabs her, and throws her in!
We see Il telling Canus he's sorry to wake him but he felt the temperature plummet in the cafe. They rush to the gate.
Kotone is on Bestia, on the verge of getting frostbite, with Kororo headbutting her awake. As she falls unconscious, a figure approaches, saying they will 'return the favour'.
Fruitlessly searching an abandoned Minotaur settlement, Ignis decides to look for a wormhole since that may leas him to the minotaurs. But this would involve asking beasts for information, and they're all too scared of him, so he needs Dromi. Who is weirdly late.
Then he hears knocking on the ice beneath his feet (Bestia is on one big ice sheet) It's Kororo.
Kotone finds herself in an igloo with a cute little fox boy and some other little fox people, just as Ignis rushes in with Kororo.
The foxes explain that Ignis protects them, and they rescued Kotone because she smells like Ignis.
Ignis says he usually avoids talking to the foxes directly because he scares them. But the foxboy explains that having heard that Ignis never kills, he's realised how unfair it was to fear Ignis and never thank him for saving them. So this is atonement.
Ignis pats the kid's head and says "You're a kid. Don't worry about all of that. But thanks."
And then Dromi arrives saying he got lost in a blizzard. HMMM.
Since it's closer and there's a storm, Ignis takes her to his hometown, the Firewolf Stronghold. It's made of ice brick buildings surrounded by lanterns, the only fire Kotone has seen in Bestia (I guess it's magic fire? Because what is there to burn if the trees are made of ice? *thinks about the Bestia ecosystem* ...wait is ALL THEIR CLOTHING MADE OF OTHER BEASTS?? Or their own collected fur?? This worldbuilding makes NO SENSE)
Cam sat next to me, looked at the difference in Kotone and Ignis's clothing and laughed that Ignis is in the equivalent of a chainmail bikini. But I guess if CLOTHES ARE MADE OF PEOPLE it makes sense for him to be wearing as little as possible!
We then got into a discussion about the mechanics of Ignis's shirt that ended up with me image searching and seeing a rather sexy upcoming Ignis CG :D Cam felt his outfit in that picture made a lot more sense.
ANYWAY.
Ignis politely asks his uncle for a spare room for the night. Getting the feeling that Ignis hasn't told anyone about Enchante, Kotone says she helps him take care of Kororo, who they found abandoned.
The uncle agrees, as long as Ignis will visit more often to protect them. Kotonme notices that most of the igloos are empty. And the few people she sees around all stare at Ignis.
Ignis says they're surprised since he doesn't visit often. Also firewolves aren't naturally confrontational, but he's known for always being up for a fight, so everyone fears him. The only person he can trust is the man he calls Uncle.
Later she finds Ignis standing watch. He says she needs sleep more than him and should rest, but when she sneezes he pulls her to rest her back against his chest to keep warm. He stares at her face with longing.
Ignis: When I saw Kororo I thought of you being stuck in Bestia alone and my heart froze. But you're here with me. This place didn't devour you.
Kotone, snuggling closer: Thanks to you and your commitment to peace.
Ignis: Then a lifetime of fighting was worth it.
She tries to tactfully ask about his background and he says he doesn't mind telling her, but she should tell him if it gets too heavy.
Firewolves have always been a close-knit tribe oppressed by other beasts even beyond the usual. When he was a kid raiders came and killed all the women and children (EVEN THOUGH EARLIER IL SAID THEIR SOCIETY HAD NO GENDER BIAS) Ignis was overcome with rage, and when he came back to himself he'd driven the raiders away single handed. Yet while he was distracted, his best friend and many others were killed. So he vowed to never kill (again) and not give into his violent instincts.
Dromi's people, the Werecats, were neighbours of the Firewolves, who suffered so much persecution that Dromi was the only one left. The Firewolves took Dromi in but he's still needed resilience to survive. (So the lone survivor of a genocide likely betrayed the people who took him in, lovely)
Ignis: I'm a beast too, I accept that fighting is my purpose. But noone needs to die in the pursuit of glory. I climbed to the top of Bestia to try to change it, to at least inspire other fighters not to kill. But it's just increased the bloodshed. They want me dead or die trying. What is the root of all this bloodshed? If someone started all this, I will forever forsake him.
He thanks her for listening, and blushingly admits he's fond of her "for...uh...listening" .
That was really cute. So...if the other routes are any guide, things are about to go completely to hell!
Sure enough, Dromi runs up saying minotaurs have been spotted! But they're not attacking, they're jumping into a nearby wormhole that's shown up. Ignis goes to knock them out to stop them causing trouble on Earth, but not only do they attack him fearlessly they start attacking each other.
One stands a little distance away, and laughs.
Ignis: Hey meat slab! What does killing me in the human world get you? You need to prove you've killed me in Bestia.
Minotaur: Haha. Our people are no longer concerned with the glory of being strongest. Our purpose is only...to kill you! You are an anomaly we will stop at nothing to eliminate.
Ignis: Why, because I refuse to kill?
Minotaur: Ahahaha! You killed your own kin! You just don't remember! Isn't this smell nostalgic?
He throws Ignis a bloody armlet that belonged to Ignis's childhood friend. And Ignis's scent is mixed with the blood. Ignis is overcome by a repressed memory of killing his friend.
Horrified, Ignis asks his uncle to tell the Minotaur how he drove the raiders away without killing anyone.
Uncle: ...I'm sorry :(
This is why the other Firewolves fear Ignis. The Uncle persuaded them not to kill him, and to hide the truth...because they need to use 'this monster' for protection.
Minotaur: And I'll tell you one more thing. No other beasts rampage but you. Beasts are self-centered and cruel, but fight with our conscience intact. You are far more dangerous!
The uncle lied about that too, telling Ignis everyone else had the potential for rage blackouts so Ignis wouldn't feel bad. Uncle says "I'm sorry. You must forgive me" and then leaves.
Minotaur: Do you understand? You, within Bestia, are a monster. You cannot save anyone!
He jumps into the wormhole and it closes behind him. HMMM. Is The Person Behind Bestia trying to take Ignis down to maintain the cycle of violence? What IS Ignis?
Ignis tells Kotone to leave him alone and covers himself in fire to emphasise the point.
A shivering Il comes down from the sky, having used up all his energy on spells to find Kotone. She quietly says to Ignis "Let's go home". He wants her to go alone, but she grabs onto his arm and he lacks the strength to shake her off.
Ignis wants to scream. His whole life, all his convictions, were all a lie. Then he sees the blood on the snow and something within him burns. ...is this not omegaverse but vampires? I am 100% down for that.
Back at Enchante, Ignis is keeping to himself. Kororo says "Food! Ignis!" but Kotone doesn't understand.
The others roll cheerfully with the revelations about Ignis, all hardly being in a position to judge, and discuss how the Minotaurs are likely to keep coming after Ignis, endangering the locals.
Ignis: So I'll just leave.
Misyr: Out. Of.The. Question. Enchante will go out of business ;)
Canus: That would be a catastrophe.
Il: Besides, you have done nothing wrong.
Rindo: I don't mean to speak out of bounds, but you don't seem yourself, Ignis.
The minotaurs were on a drug which makes you stronger but mindless, Kotone has trouble imagining Bestia making drugs and wonders if it's from Earth. Me too, Kotone! Taking such a drug undermines their supposed moral high-ground over Ignis but anyway.
Ignis wants to take care of things himself but is overruled. Rindo thinks the best solution is to persuade the Minotaurs Ignis is no threat by removing his attack instinct. Kotone asks if Il has magic that could help.
Il: I do possess magic involving...psychological control, but I'm unsure they will be of much help if we're dealing with the core of who Ignis is in terms of his physiological response.
Misyr says they should try to investigate Ignis's instinct, and be ready for the "one in a million chance" he goes beserk. Ok, for all that Ignis's backstory is reminiscent of Il and Canus, this is the first time we've had everyone aware of the love interest being Tragically Forced To Murder and in a position to work on it with the love interest without being in a position to immediately and easily fix it.
Ignis feels pretty weird about all this and storms off to his room. And then Kotone notices he didn't eat his breakfast :(
Dromi takes her aside and GOD it feels weird seeing him be nice not knowing for SURE that he's a traitor. He's against taking away something so central to Ignis, that might be the reason he's so strong. "My bro is my bro BECAUSE he's strong. Think of all the good he's done! And now you want him to change because it's convenient?"
Kotone: But Ignis doesn't like things as they are. If he ended up accidentally killing someone it would destroy him.
Dromi: But the vow we made would all be for nothing!
He freezes, changes the subject, and leaves. HMM.
Ignis is lying in bed angsting. What kind of monster is he? He dared to touch Kotone with his blood soaked hands...what if he'd gone mad and killed her? Why, knowing the truth, had she still taken his hand?
Canus comes in and tells Ignis he's making Kotone depressed by being so distant.
Ignis: Forgive me for being a little upset I found out I'm a bloodthirsty monster. She's the most vulnerable of all, how could I go near her?
Canus: That is no excuse. You express concern for her, yet here you are hurting her.
BECAUSE YOU WOULD NEVER DO THAT, CANUS
Canus: I understand your fear. But for all our sakes, you should tell Kotone your true feelings.
Ignis's stomach growls, and it occurs to him that his appetite seems to just grow and grow recently.
Kotone is angsting in her room when Ignis arrives. At first he quietly apologises for avoiding her, and wasting the food she made for him. And then he tells her that after tomorrow's mission...he's not coming back to Enchante.
Koone: But we all agreed you would stay! And you've managed to contain the instinct until now...
Ignis: After the fight with the Minotaurs, I blacked out for a moment...Kotone, I coulda killed you! As long as there's a sliver of a chance of that happening, I'll never come back.
She grabs him and he flinches. She says she understands why he wants to leave, but she can't imagine Enchante without him, and she still doesn't fear him. The Ignis she's seen has always been kind.
For safety, Kotone is coming with everyone to Bestia, Kariya is to stay home with Kororo, and the GPM will guard Enchante. But Kororo insists on coming to Bestia.
Also Rindo gives everyone radio-like transmitters. The insets for little items like this have "je t'aime juste comme tu es" written in the corner, which apparently means "I love you just as you are".
The Uncle says that to atone to lying to Ignis, he will tell them everything he knows.
HMMM so during the raid everyone was hiding and didn't actually see Ignis kill the others. And about a dozen vanished without a corpse. He says Dromi may have seen more, but Dromi claims to have passed out due to fear. Ignis's dead parents were average, but the Firewolves have a vaguely recalled mythical, powerful Ancestral Beast. Hmm I wonder if they are persecuted because they shall ONE DAY PRODUCE THE CHOSEN ONE.
Kotone: Is there anything else about Ignis that's different to other Beasts?
Everyone: HIS APPETITE!
Through the transmitter Mikado explains that spiritual beings like Misyr, Il, and Canus can eat and turn food into energy, though they don't have to. But beasts don't have a digestive system. Kororo never eats and the most Dromi has is a cup of coffee and Kotone simply never noticed or mentioned this fact before.
How did Kotone not notice Kororo never eating? THEY LIVE TOGETHER. Did she just assume someone else was feeding him offscreen???
Kororo leads everyone towards where the Werecats used to live. Dromi makes his excuses and goes back to the Firewolf stronghold.
Kotone moves closer to Ignis.
Kotone: I know you're suffering...but I'm glad I got to see your big goofy smile after a big meal. I want to feed you whatever meal you want, every day of my life. That's how much I...uh...(Oh god what am I saying)
Ignis and Kotone: *intense silent blushing*
Kororo: Ignis! Food! Eat!
And then he swims away and it takes all of Il's remaining energy to find him. He's in the ice cave from the flashback at the start of the route, which Ignis clearly doesn't recognise.
Which means the one who came here before was Dromi. Is he possessed by some ancient evil or something??
Rindo recognises the murals on the walls of wolves on fire as ancient Bestian characters. And then KORORO READS THEM OUT???
"Far past. Bestia. One day human came. But Bestia already firewolf there. Wolf sleep. Wolf. Human. Wolf wake up. Food lots eat. Wolf are Vinitryu. Tigrish. Kansh. Ignis Wolf. Food Eat Become."
(Hearing okami/wolf got me looking upJapanese wolf folklore)
Ignis thinks this is all stupid but Misyr gets everyone to try and puzzle it out, using Il's word perfect memory: In ancient times, humans visited Bestia. This woke the firewolves from hibernation, and the humans fed them. The werecats watched. Ignis is a firewolf. When he eats, these qualities are enhanced.
They decide the human visitors gave the firewolves the ability to eat. And then they find a mural showing a giant firewolf eating humans and beasts.
Dromi: It's obvious isn't it? The ancient beasts imprisoned the Firewolves to protect themselves from their own destruction. We werecats were assigned to watch them in this prison, passing as their neighbours. Man, I was hoping to reveal everything my bro in a big, once-in-a-lifetime way.
He's no longer playing the wheedling coward, and there is a an unstable glint to his wide-eyed smile.
The ancestral firewolf was a monster who brought Bestia to the brink of destruction by slaying everyone. Ignis is the first to carry on this legacy, and is a big inspiration to Dromi. The minotaurs are protecting Bestia the only way they know how.
When Ignis expresses fury Dromi smiles and says maybe he should be worrying about the firewolves? Who he...maybe told the Minotaurs were currently unguarded?
Ignis runs off, and before the others can follow, Dromi says "the audience isn't allowed to get on the stage" and blocks the exit with Minotaurs.
OK THEN DROMI
I'm wondering if he killed the other werecats because he wants the world to end. Or wants the world to end because they are dead!
Il grabs Kororo and Kotone and flies them to safety.
Once again, Ignis faces his home in flames, the snow stained with blood. His Uncle and everyone else are dead. The only living beings are cloudy eyed Minotaurs. Ignis's vision goes red. He tries to remind himself of the faith Kotone had in him. But instead he is overcome by the smell of blood, calling him to feed.
No I don't know how Igloos burn. Also wow so maybe Kotone feeding him was BAD? I assumed it was helping D:
Just as Il is telling Kotone he's too weak to protect her so they'll have to go to Enchante, they are surrounded by a huge wave of fire coming from the Firewolf stronghold below. Il cries out in pain as his wings catch fire, and they fall.
Kotone sees blood everywhere, the Stronghold in flames...and in the centre, Ignis, bathed in blood. But there are hardly any bodies... And then she realises he is eating them D: D: There is a quite disturbing CG.
Kotone lets out an involuntary scream and Ignis looks at her sharply...like she's a delicious meal. Il tries to defend her and Ignis eviscerates him. Il lands face down in a pool of his own blood???
HE'LL BE FINE, RIGHT????
IGNIS LIFTS IL'S LIFELESS BODY TO HIS MOUTH WITH A VICIOUS GRIN
Kotone: STOP IT! Don't give away who you are!
ALSO DON'T EAT IL. I LIKE IL.
Ignis throws Il to the ground and BITES HIS TEETH INTO KOTONE'S ARM WITH THE SOUND OF RENDING FLESH AND ALL SHE CAN DO IS SCREAM IN AGONY
Holy fuck this is
more than I was expecting????
Canus, Misyr and Rindo finally get to the Stronghold to see Ignis WIPING KOTONE'S BLOOD FROM HIS MOUTH WITH A GRIN.
Canus immediately attacks, shouting at Ignis to wake up. Misyr and Rindo's eyes meet and the first runs to Il while the second runs to Kotone. Rindo tells Kotone to keep applying pressure and creates a makeshift bandage while Misyr cries out to Il and curses his own destructive nature. All he can do is attack Ignis, so he throws a giant iceburg at him, and evading it uses up enough of Ignis's power to bring him back to himself.
Ignis: Canus, why are you pointing that sword at m......D: D: D:
His eyes meet with those of the injured Kotone. She flinches, and he gasps as he tastes the remains of her arm in his mouth. Ignis retches but it's too late, he's absorbed everything.
And the Dromi arrives, laughing. "What a view! This is what it means to be a beast!"
Ignis: You've...been pulling the strings all this time...
Dromi: Yess!! I knew you had some brains up there, bro :D I thought these humans were pests but it would have taken ages if you only had beast blood to bathe in. Anyway bro, it's time to wake up. That girl, the minotaurs...enjoyed devouring them, didn't you ;)
OH GOD. IGNIS ATE THE FIREWOLVES WHOSE BODIES WERE MISSING AFTER THE RAID.
Ignis swipes at Dromi but he dodges easily.
Dromi: AT LAST. Enough of that snively persona at Enchante. This is your true form! Catastrophe! A cannibalistic monster! This world is ready to blow! The reborn World Devourer, Doom Incarnate: Vanar!
Chapter 4:
Dromi narrates.
Thousands of years ago, humans arrived in Bestia. Most froze or got eaten.
There was a flaming wolf, larger than any mountain: Vanar, the World Devourer, put into a deep sleep to prevent the world's destruction. Some of the surviving humans woke him up and he went an a massive rampage to fill his empty belly. He had a special taste for human flesh.
The humans silenced him with a massive sacrifice, but his descendants carried on his legacy: the Vinitor, wolves with the blood of the heretic of doom. They were too strong to kill, so were exiled, with the Tigris/Werecats as their guardians. And the rest of Bestia was inspired to become focussed on becoming stronger, leading to the violent place it is today.
It's days later. Dromi cheerfully let himself be taken in by the GPM. Kotone's arm still hurts and she will be left with a big scar. Il is in a coma, so badly injured his healing magic isn't working.
And Ignis has been sealed into the shrine D:
The regulars discuss how Dromi manipulated everyone, including the Minotaurs. But why does he want Ignis to become the eater of worlds? And how can it be stopped? When interrogated Dromi just smiles. It feels like the regulars still sympathise with Ignis, and want to help him if they can, but are starting to think he may have to be killed for the greater good.
Everyone tells Kotone she doesn't have to take part in the discussion, and realising they're being vague to spare her feelings she goes to her room.
Now, every time she hears Ignis's name she is overcome by the memory of being afraid of being eaten D:
Ignis POV. He's not feeling so great about himself!
Ignis: I ran my mouth, condemning everyone from my soapbox, but I was the worst of 'em all!
Oh god of course he is STUCK STARING AT THE MURAL. Geeze, leave the dude a book or something.
Ignis: I won't give in! I just have to avoid blood and-
He is overcome by an overwhelming, painful hunger. He thinks sadly of Kotone who used to feed him...and is horribly aware of how good her flesh tastes. She trusted him when noone else would...and he betrayed her, and will never see her smile again.
He tries to kill himself but is stopped by the hungry monster within.
The little foxboy is keeping guard for his village, and sees the little bunnygirl approaching. HOW DO THEY LOOK MALNOURISHED IF THEY DON'T EAT, OTOMATE.
She asks if her people can settle nearby, having been kicked out of their previous home. He cheerfully tells her this is a good place, protected by Ignis, the strongest beast in Bestia.
Oh wow I get a chance to make a decision AS FOXBOY. I say that Ignis is kind!
Bunygirl: He's too soft! And a troublemaker!
Foxboy: I hope he's ok where-ever he is.
Mikado: I let you use the wormhole as an expression of friendship and you betrayed me >:(
Dromi: You never told me NOT to use it for that stuff ;)
Rindo: Is you demeanour a defence mechanism or do you really not care about what happens to you?
Dromi: I haven't done anything to trouble the human world, have I? I didn't tell the minotaurs to jump in those wormholes. So strange they all ended up connecting to your world ;) So I haven't done anything wrong! How about about freeing me from these chains, huh?
Rindo is going to have to let him go for lack of evidence, because this isn't their jurisdiction? Are we in a shitty crime drama right now? HE IS AN ALIEN AND YOU WORK FOR THE SHADY ALIEN GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY.
Rindo: Why summon Valar if you were just going to get eaten.
Dromi: Because it would be SO COOL :D
The Tigris are also descendants of Valar? Anyway by Dromi's time all they remembered was they'd gotten tangled up with the Vinitor somehow and suffered for it.
Seeing his whole people murdered "left a mark" and made Dromi start to question Bestia's 'meritocracy'. He was taken in by the Vinitor and looked after by Ignis.
When the raid on the Firewolves happened, "At first I thought, oh man, another boring massacre. But then I saw Ignis attacking and eating...what beast could live to see a more glorious day?"
Dromi covered up the cannibalism, and afterwards did research, eventually finding the shrine. He wanted to see Vanar, the strongest beast in history, devour all competition without fear or mercy.
Kororo heard Dromi ranting to himself as he worked on the plan, which is why Kororo hates him (and knew how to read the mural?). And Dromi justifies all this with the belief that Ignis will be elevated by becoming Valar, and everyone else is just prey waiting to be eaten.
Rindo: You're insane.
Mikado and Solitus: Yeah, even we think that's crazy.
Assistant leaves, presumably to stop himself murdering Dromi for possibly getting Il killed.
Dromi: Being stuck in here is driving me cuckoo. Time to leave ^_^
There's an explosion, and then a wormhole appears inside the GPM leading to Bestia. They're overrun with minotaurs. Rindo goes to shield Mikado while Dromi easily slips his bonds and steals Rindo's phone.
Dromi: HAHA! Humans are so stupid! Thanks for being the worst captors ever. I gotta go grab the last meal. Try not to get trampled ^_^
I find evil!Dromi weirdly endearing in his terribleness.
Kotone is in her room, still overcome by traumatic flashbacks yet missing Ignis, and knowing that if he knew how much she feared him it would hurt him.
Minotaurs attack Enchante, drawing away Canus and Misyr, so that Kotone is left almost unprotected.
Dromi, in English: Hiiiii >:D
He only realises she's still holding Kororo when they get to Bestia, but just throws him to the side. Ooh I wonder if he'll band with the other little beasts.
Ignis, barely holding onto sanity, sees the barrier around him crack and wonders if Misyr is doing ok, aw.
And then Dromi shows up and throws Kotone into the shrine. She and Ignis avoid eye contact, separated only by the barrier. Ignis's voice actor puts a lot of sad longing into how he whispers her name.
Dromi: Doesn't she look delicious? The pure joy on your face that day said it all. So I thought I'd make your celebratory feast extra special before you officially become Valar. Bon Appetit, big guy ;)
Ignis: You...I won't do it!
Dromi: You can't help your instincts. It's only a matter of time :D
And then he deliberately reopen the wound on Kotone's arm so it drips blood.
Ignis cries out, and backs away as far as he can before tearing into his own flesh with fire and claws.
Kotone slowly approaches and he shouts to stay back.
Kotone: I'm scared. Every time I look at you I am reminded of when you tried to eat me. I thought...that when you love someone, nothing could keep you apart.
Ignis: That's...how I feel too! Why did it have to be me? Why did I have to hurt you? I don't want to live another day without you! You're the strongest person I know, noone else's smile lifts me like yours. Is it too much to ask for a simple life together with you?! ...but you'll never be safe around me. Why do I crave the woman I love?
Kotone: ...me too! I don't want to fear you...
Dromi, kicking Kotone: I'm getting real tired of your chatter. I hate to think what you'd be like as Vanar's mate.
Kotone slaps him and Dromi is deeply offended to have been hurt by meat.
Dromi: Why you hesitating, Valar? We both want to change the world, and get rid of all the murderers!
Ignis: Valar's the worst murderer of them all!
Dromi: No! You eat because of instinct, to survive! You honour the dead by absorbing them into yourself so they live forever! Once Valar devours all of the beasts you'll see the true path!
Kotone: You're wrong! Ignis sees the beauty in the world, and is the sworn protector of the weak. He wants to save the world, and you're condemning it!
SIGH, there I was hoping we'd avoided the typical "survivor of genocide goes crazy' tropes.
Dromi kicks Kotone until she coughs up blood, then stops and sighs.
Dromi: I realise now that bringing you here may have just made Ignis not want to associate with Vanar. But if you won't eat her...maybe I will ;) Of course, I got no stomach, so don't be surprised if I puke her up again.
He pushes Kotone down, says some EXTRA CREEPY SHIT, and bites into her neck.
It's too much for Ignis. The barrier dissolves in fire and he turns into a literal wolf of fire.
Across Bestia, beasts see the pillar of flame and feel a deep instinctive fear. Except for one.
Dromi: Vanar :D :D :D Great Equaliser! Consume the strong and meek alike!
Kotone falls into unconsciousness, and when she wakes it's to see Misyr, Canus and Rindo. Vanar bounded off without eating her, I guess (or Dromi, as it turns out later)
Interesting, the walkthrough says to choose "Dromi outsmarted me" over "it's my fault". I mean yeah, it really is Dromi's fault.
Misyr asks if Kotone wants to come with them, as they save Ignis in the name of friendship :)
And then Mikado rings with news of a huge wormhole to Bestia. They see Vanar heading towards the delicious smell of humans. Vanar is 20m tall and will only get bigger and stronger. None of Misyr or Canus's most powerful attacks have any effect.
Misyr sadly says he has one attack which will finish the fight...by killing Ignis. He and Rindo sadly agree it's necessary, and Kotone knows it's what Ignis would want. Desperately, she cries out "Ignis! Stop!"
Meanwhile all sorts of beasts, strong and weak, stop their fighting to watch the giant fiery calamity. Most run, but hearing Kotone's voice, the foxboy and bunnygirl run to see if they can help, watched by beasts who would usually consider them nothing but weaklings to kill.
As Canus is about to reach his limit, Vanar is finally forced to pause...by chains of light.
Il: Apologies for my tardiness! Kariya says a strange man arrived and insisted on treating me, and I recovered a sliver of spiritual energy.
Awww.
But Il is still weak, and nearly gets squished by Vanir...only to get saved by foxboy! Bunnygirl throws snow into Vanra's eyes, saying "Ha! Doesn't matter how big you are, noone likes dirt in their eye!"
Countless other beasts join in. And though each attack does little harm to Vanar, it's death by a thousand cuts. All of them are united by owing their lives to Ignis.
Misyr: New plan! Let's bug the lights out of Ignis until he collapses from exhaustion :D
He, Il, and Canus distract Vanar from the beasts with lots of little spells and attacks.
Bunnygirl: You, sitting there doing nothing, didn't Ignis save your life too? You have the rest of your life to be scared! Don't wait until he's dead to say what you feel!
So Kotone decides to get Ignis to turn away from the wormhole by using her delicious blood as bait :D
He's faster than expected and it looks like he might eat her! But then...Kororo shows up with a BUNCH of tiny little sea beasts and breaks the ice beneath Vanar so he falls into the sea!
(at this point it was getting very late but I wanted to see the end so the rest is a bit fuzzy)
This shouldn't be enough to stop him, but he just flails in the water, as if his body and mind are at odds. Kotone decides it's time to talk to him.
She approaches, and he moans for her to leave, before he hurts her. She puts her hand on his massive snout and says maybe it's naive, but she believes in him, as the strongest person she knows.
Vanar shudders...and is Ignis again. He and Kotone hug and happily express how much they love each other, and that they'll stay by each other's side forever. Ignis has realised his life's purpose is not fighting, but to dedicate himself to her.
Credits
A month later and the people of Bestia have been inspired by the experience of bonding together to fight Vanar, as led by the smallest beasts, to become less aggressively nasty to each other. This isn't how Ignis wanted to inspire Bestia to change, but now it's happened he lives in Enchante, working as Kotone's assistant, away from bloodshed.
Dromi is at the GPM, a broken man, but Ignis still cares about him and hopes he will one day see the error of his ways.
Kororo lives with his family now, in Bestia, but the others visit him regularly through the gate.
Ignis feels like Vanar won't rise in him again, but to be sure he's stopped eating. Instead he satisfies himself with Kotone ;) ;) There is a sexy makeout scene with a lot of food metaphors for sex, Ignis is very YOUR BODY AND BLOOD BELONGS TO ME NOW but Kotone is very into it and it's all very good hearted and affectionate.
I'm sure some other stuff happened but tl;dr they live happily ever after. I was expecting something a bit more definitive to stop Vanar than The Power of Love but maybe that was naive of me haha.
THE END
Prologue 5 (FINAL PROLOGUE!)
When he leaves, I'll be alone again. And if he returns, I am certain all I would have for him is apathy. This is unfair. That is why I've continued to hope. And little by little, the hand I reached out with...it will, at last, reach her.
*image of Kotone*
???: Finally, I've found you.
THE END
When I played the preview version of this at 1am there was an image of a face that was half Misyr half some other guy but it didn't show up this time so it feels like a dream.
I'm kinda sad Ignis won't be eating any more. He really liked eating Kotone's cooking, and she really enjoyed cooking for him, and they had that sweet scene where they cooked together. So I'm going to head-canon they figure out some way for him to eat safely.
Also head-canoning that there are some weird aspects to Demon Beast relationships that he explained to Kotone offscreen, after much embarrassed avoiding of the topic, but she cheerfully rolled with it.
Also I was expecting "the humans made a sacrifice to defeat Vanar" thing to be explained. Maybe it'll come up as part of the meta-plot? There better be a meta-plot about humans in ancient times and energy theft/gathering or it's all a bit silly. Also what was up with the scary voices in the cave at the start??
Given how dark the good ending got I'm not up for the bad ending. Also I want to see what happens with Misyr!!
I've seen all the possible choices during the main route at this point, I wonder how the Misyr route gets chosen. Maybe a new choice right at the start? I might start a new game and not look up a walkthrough, let myself be surprised.
Also, randomly: I really like the menu design, with the game visible in the background:
I think this may be the only picture I've posted of Kariya haha.
no subject
Date: 2020-12-11 06:10 pm (UTC)Thanks for writing this, it was a lot of fun to read the recap and omg, was not expecting cannibalism and literal fire wolves and sexy wound licking. *...bumps game up the list a bit*
I looked up the CGs (including the wound licking one), and wow. They're pretty. (Also, aww at the giant fire wolf one you posted!)
Dromi seems really fun (and I'm so glad he lives!! fixit fic time), as well as Ignis's identity angst.
the Vinitor, wolves with the blood of the heretic of doom
Hmm, I wonder if this was supposed to be venator (or venatori, I guess, if we're pluralizing things correctly, but it doesn't seem like we are for tigris). It's Latin for hunter and goes with bestia and tigris.
vinitor is apparently also Latin, but means "one who works in a vineyard", which lacks a certain dramatic something. Though I do like the idea of grape-tending doom wolves.
Oh wow I get a chance to make a decision AS FOXBOY. I say that Ignis is kind!
!! Omg. This is very cool.
Rindo is going to have to let him go for lack of evidence, because this isn't their jurisdiction? Are we in a shitty crime drama right now? HE IS AN ALIEN AND YOU WORK FOR THE SHADY ALIEN GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY.
AMAZING. :D
Kotone slaps him and Dromi is deeply offended to have been hurt by meat.
...Dromi is really into the "eating people" thing for someone with no digestive system, huh?
Also, I admit that I was half-reading to look for evidence that Misyr and Kotone are Totally Soulmates, and this route seems good for that, between Misyr asking about love (and avoiding the question!) and
When he leaves, I'll be alone again. And if he returns, I am certain all I would have for him is apathy. This is unfair. That is why I've continued to hope. And little by little, the hand I reached out with...it will, at last, reach her.
he = Souan, I'm guessing?
Misyr is slowly becoming more demony (assuming he's the human hero), and Kotone is the Chosen One who can save him because Reasons?
no subject
Date: 2020-12-12 06:28 am (UTC)omg, was not expecting cannibalism and literal fire wolves and sexy wound licking.
ME EITHER. But I'm not complaining, and hope you enjoy the game if you play it :)
Yeah the CGs in this game are really well done.
I don't speak Latin but had to stop myself writing venatori a few times since they're a group from the Land Of Latin Speaking Wizards in Dragon Age. The fact the writers used winemaker instead is amazing.
Dromi is really into the "eating people" thing for someone with no digestive system, huh?
He eats vicariously!
smiles mysteriously about the Misyr route, which I'm halfway through
no subject
Date: 2020-12-12 07:01 am (UTC)Thank you! :D I am not complaining either, all of those things are relevant to my interests.
I also don't think I realized how much I want cannibalism in my otome until I read this recap. But then, maybe it's not surprising, given I started with Hakuouki. :P
I don't speak Latin but had to stop myself writing venatori a few times since they're a group from the Land Of Latin Speaking Wizards in Dragon Age
Oh, right, them! I also don't speak Latin though I know some smattering of words.. This one, I know because uh, the Dresden Files had a secret society called the Venatori. >_>
smiles mysteriously about the Misyr route, which I'm halfway through
Just tell me...are you having fun and learning lots of secrets? :P
I might hold off on reading your recap of the Misyr route to motivate myself to play through the game. the promise of gossip will motivate me in the times when romance cannot. ;)
no subject
Date: 2020-12-14 07:12 am (UTC)I also don't think I realized how much I want cannibalism in my otome until I read this recap. But then, maybe it's not surprising, given I started with Hakuouki. :P
See I am definitely into blood drinking love interests (see also: Hakuoki), but am still deciding how I feel about cannibalism, romantically. The only other otome game where I can remember seeing it is Hatoful Boyfriend, and that's a very different context (also I can't remember if there's literal cannibalism or just the main character inadvertently eating one of the sentient bird LIs)
Just tell me...are you having fun and learning lots of secrets? :P
I am! No cannibalism though, so far, but there's still time.
no subject
Date: 2020-12-14 05:25 pm (UTC)Oh, I'm interested in cannibalism in my otome games, but not as a romance thing (or even as an intimacy/vulnerability/need thing, the way blood drinking is in Hakuouki). If it's going to involve the LI, I need it to happen by accident and also never happen again. :p
I do feel like I'm starting to appreciate cannibalistic characters more, because I want to know why they do what they do...bonus points if I never actually have to watch or read the gory details.
(also I can't remember if there's literal cannibalism or just the main character inadvertently eating one of the sentient bird LIs)
It's the latter! I still remember that scene with eating the sentient bird LI, years later. I think I still have a screenshot of the narration in Steam.
Hatoful Boyfriend was my first otome and I was...not expecting the quail doctor's route.