Kangokutou Mary-Skelter: Hikari no Arika

**Kangokutou Mary-Skelter: Hikari no Arika** (神獄塔 メアリスケルター ～光の在処～) is the side novel created alongside *Mary Skelter: Nightmares*. It chronicles the journey of Mamoru and Hikari after the Prologue novel featured in the game.

It is only available in Japanese and has yet to be translated to English.

## Story

Note: As the novel is still in Japanese, the summary below is from a Reddit user, u/psylo55, with editing done for conciseness and consistency with the English version of the game.

The story begins right after Mamoru and Hikari are recaptured by Marchens. They are tossed into a cell in an unknown location and wait. It isn't long before someone else is thrown in, a mechanic with fluffy hair. Two more, a frail man with glasses and a more athletic woman, are thrown in with them before they are lead from the cell and into the Underground Cavern.

The group meets Hameln, who ordered the Marchen to bring them all to her. She orders them to play tag with her, and demonstrates the game by telling a Marchen to run away, and she incinerates it with a fireball. She decides to give them a head start by counting to one hundred before she chases after them.

The group make quick introductions as they run. The fluffy haired mechanic is Takumi, a former Blood Factory worker, the frail, glasses-wearing man is Itsuki, a former Dawn researcher, and the athletic woman is Kaede, a former member of the Order of the Sun.

Itsuki says that he remembers the way out, but they into a pit as they follow his direction, the bridge having been destroyed earlier. Takumi manages to create a makeshift bridge for them, and they cross and dissemble it just as Hameln manages to catch up. She asks why they don't want to play with her, and Mamoru says that she doesn't know the difference between a friend and a follower. With their escape behind them, the group make it out of the City Streets and to the Liberated District.

When they return, Mamoru and Hikari discover that the slums they used to live in were ravaged by Marchens, so they take shelter in the Order of the Sun. While Kaede was a part of the organization, it is explained that she was not a believer, but just worked under the Order. Takumi returns to the Blood Factory to find work while Hikari becomes a favorite among the orphaned children, but Itsuki stays in the Order. Mamoru asks why he left the Dawn a year ago after working there for five years. While reluctant, Itsuki talks about his doubts about the Dawn to Mamoru. He says that the Professor was waiting for a seventh Blood Maiden to appear, one for each dungeon, saying that he was willing to risk one Maiden per Nightmare. Itsuki also mentions his uneasiness regarding how smoothly research was going and questions if humans could really create weapons to combat the Marchens. Kaede and Hikari overhear their conversation, and go to Takumi to ask him if he has any insight.

When confronted, Takumi asks Haru about it. He simply says that they don't make the weapons, they only upgrade whatever is found in the dungeons. Before he can answer anything else, Miko appears and pulls him away for a meeting. The trio then turn to her and start asking her questions, but she only says that they should be more careful around the Order of the Sun and reveals her suspicions that Chiaki is pulling all the strings.

As Jack and the Blood Maidens clear the dungeons, the group decide to try to dig up proof or evidence of wrong-doing from either organization, but only end up with more questions, such as how the Order produces food and why they are so secretive with their techniques. With nothing to show for their work, Itsuki decides to look into the cores of the dungeons. Takumi invents a spray that will make them smell like Marchens to avoid capture, but there is only enough for three, so only Itsuki, Takumi, and Mamoru go to the Graveyard to nab a core chunk. They safely return a short while later.

After careful examination, Itsuki concludes that nobody should have known about the cores prior to the Blood Maidens destroying one, making the Dawn's knowledge of them highly suspect. While he doesn't have any solid proof, Itsuki believes that there may be a spy for the Marchens inside of the Dawn.

At the same time as Jack and the Blood Maidens reach the Tower Base, the group, excluding Takumi who is still at the Blood Weapons Factory, return to the Order of the Sun to find it deserted. They find out that Michiru has led the entire Order up to the Tower. Confused, they leave to go find Takumi and discover that the Dawn is in chaos after the disappearance of the Professor, with Haru and Miko trying to find them. With nothing left to lose, Mamoru and Hikari decide to go save the Order of the Sun. Itsuki has Takumi prepare double the amount of spray for the journey, and they manage to grab some leftover weapons from the Blood Factory just in case. They approach the Tower after they finish, but the front entrance is riddled with Marchens. Hikari manages to find a second, hidden entrance for them.

As they ascend, they discover that there are no Marchens blocking there path. Before long, they find a cherry blossom tree. After some investigation, they discover that there are two entrances and two exits to the area. Takumi and Itsuki draw a map of the area and figure out that there are two portions of the Tower that spiral around each other, meeting at the cherry blossom tree before separating again. The group decides to go through the main exit, but the area starts to turn dark. The Tower Base Nightmare discovers them, and quickly proceeds to slaughter all five of them.

The novel shifts to the former Dawn investigation team from fifteen years earlier, consisting of the Leader, the Doctor, the Professor, the Assistant, the Mother, and the Chief. The Leader commands the group to open-fire on the same Nightmare, but soon discover that no matter how many shots it takes or where they hit, the Nightmare takes no damage. The Leader orders everyone to retreat, but there exit is blocked by streams of Marchens. The Doctor runs in front in an attempt to draw the attention away from the group, but is bitten in half by the Nightmare. The Leader is shocked by the event, but continues to try to lead everyone out, especially the Professor so he can still help the Dawn. He is knocked out however, and dies.

Mamoru wakes up covered in dirt and looks over to Hikari, who he mistakes for the Doctor for a brief moment. Haru, Miko, Michiru, and Chiaki watch over the resurrected group. They explain to the group that they were reborn as Marchen copies with their memories by the core at the base of the cherry tree. They all have large scars where they were struck by the Nightmare, but are otherwise fully intact. The group then inform the four that they have the memories of someone else in their head and Haru explains that the core combined their being with the memories attached to the old Dawn memories. They introduce themselves, Mamoru being the Leader, Kaede being the Mother, Takumi being the Chief, and Hikari being the Doctor. Itsuki was about to tell the group whose memories he received, but Miko began to sob when she realized that the Doctor and Hikari were now one and the same, telling her how she aspired to be just like her. Hikari pats her on the head and praises her. Haru mentions that Michiru and Chiaki came back down here because the main exit was blocked, and both he and Miko will go with them to try to open it. Mamoru and his group decide to go up the second exit.

Before long, the group gets stuck behind a door. Mamoru decides to use the transceiver that Michiru gave him and contacts Jack. He hears a familiar voice other than Alice, most likely Hameln, but doesn't press the topic. The conversation between them occurs as it did in game with Mamoru informing them that none of the Dawn team were killed by Snark.

Itsuki reminds everyone of their new memories and asks the group who they think he is. With the Assistant and the Professor left, they guess the Assistant since the Professor is still alive. He says that they are wrong, that he has the memories of the Professor, meaning that the survivor and the man posing as the Professor now is actually the Assistant. He did so to control the Dawn and used Snark to control the Marchens, using the Blood Maidens to destroy the cores and grow the tower.

The group reaches the top of the tower and find a core, but no exit. They decide that it would be too dangerous to destroy the core by themselves and prepare to tell Jack when Haru contacts them. He tells them that they found the believers and wanted Mamoru to climb back down to show them the way through the tower that he used. He agrees to assist.

Mamoru and Hikari go down since their scars are easier to hide. The followers trust Hikari like a second Michiru, putting their faith in her. The pair explain to the followers that they have to go through a wall of flesh to get out. After they finish, Haru asks Mamoru what he plans on doing, and he replies that he was going to go help Jack and the Blood Maidens, but Haru explains that they just destroyed the last core and are in a sort of "familial dispute" right now so it would be best not to go up there. Mamoru thinks back to the core they found and concludes that the group in the main tower likely don't know about it, but chooses not to mention it to Haru. The two reconvene with the others and confirm that if all the cores are destroyed, all of their lives will end because of the lack of core support. The group decides that they will destroy the core themselves so the Blood Maidens don't cause their deaths and feel guilt over it.

Mamoru punches the core, but to no avail. Instead, it releases some of its tendrils and pulls all five of them in. He blacks out, but when he regains consciousness, he finds his point-of-view is behind the Professor. He sees Jack and hears him call whatever he is inside an egg. The other four are also sharing his viewpoint, and the Professor explains what the egg is as he does in-game. Itsuki further explains that Tohjima must have brought the followers to the tower to create the god that they believed in. Tohjima, who is revealed to be Snark, moves to merge with the egg since the followers were saved. They lose their vision and are pushed out, but Hikari stands next to it. She tell Mamoru to take care as she reenters it, and he blacks out.

When he wakes, Mamoru is at the foot of the tower with everyone except Hikari. He looks up to find her helping the Blood Maidens defeat the Jail Nightmare.

The story then cuts to when everything is over. Hikari returns to the group and Mamoru teases her, having gained an angelic appearance and losing her death scars.

The novel explains that the second core was connected to the egg through the moon. Hikari hijacked the egg and used the followers' faith in her to transform into an angel. Snark, having lost the egg, merged with the Jail to become the monstrous Jail Nightmare. He was defeated and the way to the surface was uncovered.

Mamoru asks Itsuki how much longer their bodies will last, but he says that he doesn't know. Even if there was a core, with the Jail gone, it would shrivel up and die before long. Hikari asks them if they would like to go to the surface as well, but they refuse, not wanting to let everyone see their death scars and the eventual failure of their bodies. They instead decide to look for anybody that got left behind and Takumi vows that he will find another core while they search. At the end, they mention seeing Hameln with everyone else and the book ends with everyone smiling.

## Notes

* This follows the Good Ending to *Mary Skelter: Nightmares*. If the player gets the True Ending, then the group will show up with everyone else and agree to go to the surface, even if the appearance of a core up there is uncertain.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/JRPG/comments/d8kuis/mary\_skelter\_nightmares\_answers\_from\_the\_collab/