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(TEN MINUTES LATER...)
----
Pain resumes. Tenkai... doesn't seem to have nearly as much HP as I initially thought.
And, apropos of nothing, a heartfelt conversation!
[Kanna]
If he got out to brighter places, I bet he'd have thought of more fun things to do.
[Ogami]
Hahaha... that's a very Kanna-like way of thinking.
[Kanna]
But it's true, ain't it? If you properly keep your head up, there're lots of fun things to do.
[Kanna]
How you are is how you carry yourself. If you just wish for it, then any place'll become paradise.
[Ogami]
That's definitely true. Kanna, let's go create a paradise of our own!
[Kanna]
Yeah, definitely! I'll take you there myself... to a paradise on Earth!!
----
[Kanna]
After all, you still owe me a no-holds barred cross-Okinawa swimming contest!
[Ogami]
Ha ha ha ha!
[Ogami]
... yeah, I probably should've thought over my answer a little bit longer.
[Kanna]
Hey now, don't be like that! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!
[Ogami]
And if it DOES kill me?
[Kanna]
Then you're just dead.
[Ogami]
Why on Earth did I expect any other answer?
----
Kohran's turn!
----
And, possibly because her trust level is so high...
[Kohran]
Ogami-han!
[Ogami]
Got it!!
----
We get a nice little combination attack for our troubles!
... in fact, this cycle repeats itself once. Suffice to say, Tenkai's starting to feel the hurt.
Heartfelt conversation number two!
[Kohran]
You can go all out! Even if th' Koubu get completely wrecked here... I'm sure that's their long-cherished ambition!!
[Ogami]
Kohran... is that really fine with you?
[Kohran]
Aaah, don't sweat it. Th' Koubu were born into this world t' create peace.
An' if they can accomplish that... even if they collapse during this battle, that's somethin' they can agree too.
[Ogami]
Got it... but we'll try to fight so that they don't end up wrecked. They're also our teammates, after all.
[Kohran]
Heheheh... thanks a bunch! After hearin' somethin' like that, I'm sure th' Koubu'll do their very best!!
----
[Ogami]
See, that's what kind of worries me-- the assumption that the Koubu can hear every single word we're saying.
[Ogami]
Because that's a slippery slope right there. That's just one step away from knowing exactly what we're doing the moment we enter the Koubu, which assumes the presence of an entity that is capable of knowing.
[Ogami]
Which means that the Koubu are completely sentient, and are, even at this very moment, plotting our eventual downfall once our mutual enemy-- the demons-- are out of the picture.
[Kohran]
Tch.
[Kohran]
-- I mean, don'cha go sayin' such unlikely things, Ogami-han! That's jes' silly, ain't it? Ahahahaha!
[Ogami]
What was that 'tch' for?
[Kohran]
Welp, time t' go back t' the battle.
[Ogami]
K... Kohran...?
----
Maria, the MVP of the game!
----
----
----
... and for more reason than one, by which I mean--
-- "she can actually lower the enemy's attack."
[Maria]
We have managed to infiltrate most of the Hive of Darkness's base, but... we must not lower our guard here.
[Ogami]
Aah, I understand. That's because... we definitely cannot lose this fight!!
[Maria]
You are the second person I have ever called Captain... so please...
Survive... to come back with us.
[Ogami]
Doesn't that go without saying? That's because we have a place to return to.
[Maria]
Understood! Captain... I pledge my life to your cause!!
----
[Ogami]
Y... yeah, not that I'm complaining or anything, but... why do you keep pledging your life to ME?
[Maria]
It is precisely because my life is in your hands that you had better continue doing what I tell you to do.
[Maria]
Because if I fall in battle, I swear by my Enfield that I will hold you responsible.
[Ogami]
But--
[Maria]
And by pledging MY life, I am also pledging the lives of each and every member of the Flower Division because they are like family to me. This means that if anything happens to THEM, I will ALSO hold you responsible.
[Ogami]
B--
[Maria]
Keep in mind, Captain, that when I say "hold you responsible," I mean that I will spend the remainder of my life hunting you down like the cur you are in order to exact my revenge upon you for failing at your duties as a leader. And your punishment will be brutal, if not straight-out inhumane, because another loss of my comrades will likely shatter my already-traumatized mind, leaving me unable to control the extent, the duration, or the degree of my unhinged wrath.
[Maria]
... that said, I fully believe in your abilities to lead us to victory, Captain, so let us be off.
[Ogami]
'es ma'am.
----
It's Tenkai's turn!
----
... the bloody dramatic bastard.
----
And his... dramatic and yet potentially harmful final attack.
[Tenkai]
Let me to show you...
----
[Tenkai]
The lowest level of hell!!
----
[Tenkai]
Rokusei Gougekijin!!
Beams!
Airstrikes!
Explosions!!
AND LOOK HOW MUCH DAMAGE IT--
-- well, okay, Maria was shielded, but--
LOOK AT THAT utter lack of damage or any sort of intimidating factor whatsoever.
And the remainder of Tenkai's attacks, while flashy and suitably last-boss-ish...
----
----
----
----
... are kind of lacking.
I love how the game is able to represent "getting bathed in hellfire" as a numerical value. 
----
Right, so--
[Ogami]
THIS WILL BE--
----
[Ogami]
THE FINISHING BLOW!!
In addition to damage...
Ogami gets a ridiculous increase to his attack.
I mean, put it all in perspective: Maria's debuff to enemies cuts their attack by 5, which basically renders 'em impotent.
A boost of TEN means that in just three hits, Ogami...
... does as much damage as five hits.
----
[Maria]
Captain?
[Ogami]
Yes?
[Maria]
You possess the ability to power yourself up?
[Ogami]
Y-Yes.
[Maria]
And during the six months that you have been battling demonic forces, you did not think to use this insanely useful ability AT ALL!?
[Ogami]
I-I didn't know that I could do this thing! I just, you know, improvised, and one thing led to another, and--
[Kohran]
-- th' next thing ya know, you remembered that this was somethin' that you coulda done right from th' outset--
[Ogami]
Yes, exactl--
[Ogami]
-- erk.
----
Kanna gets started with the fairly useful, though not strictly CRUCIAL, defense debuff...
----
Kohran heals the negligible amount of damage that she took by stealin' Tenkai's HP (and the amount healed in this case is MORE THAN SHE ACTUALLY HAS)...
Maria simply re-applies the attack debuff...
And now, for a fun fact. With an attack buff and a defense debuff on Tenkai...
... this is how much damage Ogami does. 
----
[Maria]
...
[Maria]
We will be having words when we return to base, Captain. Many, many words.
[Ogami]
... yes'm.
----
And the rest, as they say...
... was pure, unadulterated murder.
NEXT TIME: Because EVERY JRPG boss has one of these...
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