[Mirrinus]

Why yes, I am a huge fan of Agatha Christie. Why do you ask?

Spoiler

Let's Play Labyrinth of Touhou - Chapter 20

*Sniff* Big Sister is always so mean to me, treating me like a kid!

Please understand, young mistress, Lady Remilia is only trying to look after you. She does this because she cares about you.

But she doesn't treat you or Sakuya or Patchy like this!

That's because you're special. You're her one and only sister.

I just wish everyone would take me more seriously...

Maybe they'll do so if you and I narrate this next segment? Come on, let's go.

The Fifteenth Floor loomed before us as an enormous cave of jagged tunnels and chambers. Not knowing where to begin searching for Yukari and Rinnosuke in such a large place, we took the time to pool our information and consider what to do next.

From the conversation on the previous floor, we knew this incident has something to do with humans from the outside world, although we didn't know how or why.

Hmm...maybe they're Yukari's friends, and she brought them over?

That might be, Flan, but they why aren't they with Yukari now? If Yukari had the power to do this all along, why didn't this kind of incident happen before?

Uuuu...I don't know, I can't think about these things well.

I think Reimu's right in assuming that both Yukari and Rinnosuke still have some sort of agenda to hide.

Patchy always tells me I'm not here to help them figure stuff like that out; I'm here to blow up whatever gets in our way.

She tells me something similar too, expect she expects me to be a punching bag for her to stand behind. Honestly, some people just don't respect you if you can't perform multi-variable calculus or explain Bernoulli's Principle.

What's that, China?

Um, it's nothing.

Well, they better understand that they still need us! With each floor, the baddies we see are getting much stronger!

That might be true. These new creatures we're fighting seem to have incredible defense, or magic resistance, or even both. It's getting much harder for our group to quickly and efficiently eliminate them before they get a chance to attack us.

But I can kill them all in one swing with my Laveatein! I'm the only one strong enough to destroy them all single-handedly!

Yes, but...

So why won't they stop treating me like a child? I think you and I should revolt.

What?

You heard me! We should stand up for ourselves and demand more respect! My big sis will learn that I'm not just some little pet to be protected!

Calm down, Flan. I don't think you've thought this through.

Will you join with me? I'll call you Meiling if you do.

Hmm...that's very tempting. But I love both you and Remi, and I don't want to see you two have to bicker. Don't you usually get along so well with her?

But...

It's OK, Flan. Sometimes we just don't get things our way. Part of becoming a mature person means learning to accept this fact. That's how I've had to endure all these years as the mansion's gatekeeper. You should listen to your older sister, because she wants what's best for you.

Even if it doesn't feel like it?

Yes. Now let's move on to our mutual problems.

Another set of magic seals hindered our exploration of this floor. Looks like we were in for more Sigil Bosses.

Eh, they're all so easy, I'm never worried about these guys!

Maybe from your perspective, perhaps, but I'm the one who usually has to take the brunt of their punishment.

Our first target was the Aster Sigil guardian, Hill Gigas.

That was a boss? It felt more like a walking punching bag!

Well, it was certainly a welcome easy opponent compared to some of the other enemies we've seen thus far. It felt like Suwako kept it paralyzed for the whole entire fight.

I'll say! That was the most disappointing excuse for a monster I've ever seen! And I've seen some pretty lame youkai.

Ah, but we shouldn't let our arrogance get the better of us. The second sigil guardian of the floor posed a greater challenge.

Its Huge Tremor Strike looked kind of terrifying...I'm glad I wasn't up in front when it used it.

That's why we try to keep you back, Flan. We don't want you getting in such dangerous situations.

Oh...but I just know I could have done so much damage to it if you'd only let me! Couldn't you have paralyzed it or slowed it down for me to do that?

Its strength seemed to come from its speed, or lack thereof. If we had slowed it down, it would have struck with far greater magnitude than it originally would. Or at least, that's what Patchy and Suika told me.

Well, I know I can handle it! You guys can keep running scared of these monsters, but if I were in charge, we'd be plowing forward with no fear!

Not everything will always go your way, Flan. Remi knows not to risk the safety of others on reckless ventures.

There you go again, always praising Sis. I'll show you I'm just as good as her!

Flan! Where are you going?

You'll see. I'll challenge Big Sis, and I'll win! I'll hit her so hard, she'll go SPLAT! against the wall!

I don't think anything good will come of this. Chances are, everyone else will stand with Remi.

Let them! I can take them all on!

Flan dear, please reconsider!

Will you stand with them too, Meiling?

I, uh...

Will you?

...Yes. I am still the gatekeeper of the Scarlet Mansion.

Fine! I don't need you anyway! I'll take everyone on all by myself!

~ Flandre Scarlet

~ Hong Meiling

Some notes on the Sigil Guardians:

Spoiler

Both bosses shouldn't be that hard if you've been able to beat all the Touhou character bosses thus far. Great Stamp might still give you a slight challenge, though.

Hill Gigas is truly a joke of a boss. It has low paralysis resistance, so Suwako or any other character with a good paralysis move can keep it stunned for much of the fight. It only got off one attack against me that whole battle, a single-target DEF-ignoring move that does ~3000 damage and paralyzes its target. It's a strong move, but the Hill Gigas is just too easy to paralyze for it to matter.

The Great Stamp poses a greater challenge, although it's not necessary to defeat it to beat the game. Defeating it will unlock several treasure chests on Floor 16, though, which contain some very valuable equipment. The Great Stamp is slow with good DEF/MND, and it's completely vulnerable to debuffs but somewhat resistant to paralysis. It tends to use just 2 special attacks: the DEF-ignoring move that Hill Gigas had, and a very powerful multi-target physical Nature spell called Huge Tremor Strike. The latter is strong and can OHKO most weaker characters, but nature resistance combined with Reimu's group buffs/cures can go a long way towards nullifying it. While you may be tempted to lower its terrible speed even more with speed debuffs, take note that if you do, it'll upgrade to Huge Earthquake, an even stronger version of Huge Tremor Strike. Personally, I wouldn't advise using speed debuffs, as it's slow enough as is, and Huge Earthquake can randomly wreck even your tank. A high level and fully-buffed Tenshi might be able take it and switch in attackers during its huge delay, though, but that's rather risky. Feel free to debuff the Great Stamp's DEF and MND, though, to make this fight go quicker.