HIGH-RES PLZ.

First and foremost, I would like to thank all those who commented on the WIP pic ^^ I totally didn’t deserve it considering how long I’ve been missing...

Anyway, this is the completed version of my entry for Le Kun’s contest. The name is Noroimusha (呪武者), meaning “cursed warrior”. I never had the intention of writing so much for this because I won’t be developing this character anyway, but it seems that the contest weighs descriptions just as heavily as artistic value. So please forgive the length...

Inspired by Yojimbo from FFX. They’re similar in the sense that they both have a strong Japanese flavor.

BACKSTORY (forgive the incoming cheese... I'm no writer) :

He was a daimyo who died without honour, whose name was erased by history and forgotten by man. As such, his soul is earthbound by bitterness, hate and vengeance. In order to bring retribution on those who dishonoured him, he sold his soul to the demons, who thereafter took possession of his body and reanimated it. He went on to wreak havoc among the nearby populace and continued to do so for many decades, before he was finally defeated at the hands of <insert random characters here>. His body was later hidden and sealed in a dungeon.

STRATEGY (GameFAQs style, yeah!):

[DISCLAIMER: All info below- people, places, everything- are purely made up. They are not based on an existing FF-verse.]

Talk to the NPCs st the village/town near his location; you will hear rumours of his whereabouts and clues on how to navigate the dungeon. They give you words of warning and praise your bravery. They underestimate your awesome and think you got sum balls trying to go for it. But there are some who think you aren’t and beg you to erase him once and for all, because he was the bane of their ancestors and they want you to get back at him on their behalf and whatnot.

Also, their merchants and traders sell cheap, so be very sure to exploit them as much as possible before heading out because shortly after you’re gonna lose that chance (read on to find out why).

This guy’s undead. You know the rules; healing magic hurts. But here’s the deal: unlike most bosses, casting Phoenix Down or some other resurrection magic will kill him instantly. This is surely the easy way, but killing him would eliminate the possibility of summoning him in the future. :O Though if you so insist, the villagers/townsfolk would love you and shower you with gifts, and you can continue exploiting the merchants to strike good deals.

But eh, you wouldn’t want to trade off a summon for a couple of shoddy items, would you? And you're loaded with cash anyway. So let’s do this the hard way.

Noroimusha can be frustrating, but not to the extreme. A fair number of good hits would bring him down soon enough. These are some of his moves:

• Forward Spear Thrust: Damages one party member with his spear. He does this often. Relatively harmless if you’ve done your grinding beforehand; deals decent damage otherwise.
• Summon Minions: Brings a handful of his army back from the grave. Their purpose is to annoy you. They’re as harmless as random encounters, deal minor damage, and can be finished off with a few normal hits.
• Zenmetsuken: (全滅剣- Sword of Total Annihilation) The mandatory ultimate attack with a mandatory mini-cutscene, but none too flashy; Noroimusha draws his sword (the one stuck on his torso), which is enchanted with demonic powers, and does a horizontal slash across all party members, effectively reducing their HP to 1. So heal up. (I initially meant it to OHKO the entire party after a certain time limit, but I dropped the idea because it's pretty gay.) He very rarely utilizes this move, so it can be prevented if you settle the fight quickly.

Congratulations! He's now yours. Mandatory post-battle dialogue. He acknowledges your awesome, and demands a name. That’s right, he lacks a name. It seems time has eroded his memories, and after suffering so much shame and dishonour in his life, he wants to deny his past and start anew. Noroimusha was merely a nickname told in stories, so obviously he isn't aware. But you get to name him. Fabulous!

By the code of Bushido, he will henceforth serve you for eternity.

Once you exit the dungeon, the villagers/townsfolk hate you, because you decided to make Noroimusha your slave rather than dispose of him. Bah! Their vengeance is none of your business anyway, so who gives a flying shit? Unfortunately, you can no longer haggle with the merchants, 'cause they hate you too! :D You receive some crap in return for removing their arch-nemesis, but that’s about it. All is well.

I apologize once again for the insane length. My imagination is going out of hand. Critique is always welcome.

Medium: Mechanical pencil (lineart), 2B & HB pencil (shading), edited and cleaned with PS
Reference: none