KMST 1.2.413 - More Skill Changes (2)

Bold part is where I want to focus fire on first. Orchid and Lotus are.... um.... Team Rocket meets Wonder Twins meets Twinrova Sisters. Proof? Mercedes mentions that Orchid can transform, but in the dialogue prior, mentions that she was glad Lotus wasn't around. So my guess is that Orchid relies on Lotus to activate said transformation (further proving the whole "twins possess limited telepathy" theory), or that their fighting power is greater when they're together than when they are apart. Not to mention, Orchid's dialogue gives me a hint that if her sister is anything like her, then they both fall under Sadistic - thus the nickname "Sadistic Sisters".

I see. Thanks for the explanation. I really wonder if we'll ever see Orca's strong form (her transformation). Guess not since Lotus is dead, isn't she?

Next is the line that Shinsoo says in the first few moments of the trailer: "I was unable to save her". This implies that the Sadistic Twins did SOMETHING to Shinsoo that broke Aria's immortality, thus allowing her death. This also proves that Shinsoo has a power BEYOND what we know, and that Cygnus's immortality depends on her. How much so, we don't entirely know without knowing more about Aria's reign as Empress. That, sadly, requires a deeper dive into Phantom's past, which Nexon probably cannot give us in current form (this is stemmed from Aria's second line: "No matter how many times you come here, I will not hand over the treasure of Ereve" - implying that this isn't the first time they've met).

I interpreted Shinsoo's "I was unable to save her" as in "my magic abilities in battle couldn't refrain them from killing her". Now, I don't know if the storyline says anything about her being able to fight (such as having magical abilities which allow her to do so). But we do know for a fact that Cygnus has a mini-Shinsoo summon in the fake-future. And it fights. So.. I'd say that she would be able to fight. Sure, the Empress' immortality might indeed depend on her, but, as someone said before, it doesn't necessarily mean that she can't be killed.

Afterall, the Empress herself isn't even supposed to engage in battle. Ereve has an invisible protection shield (which fails, but still) which prevents Black Wings members or anyone related to the Black Magician from entering, and also the Empress is just supposed to stay in Ereve and lead her knights. This makes me think that the fight in which she died was indeed not started from her nor expected, and Shinsoo just couldn't stop them with her magic. Indeed she probably has abilities which go beyond what we know, but maybe they are just not fighting ones.

This entire sentence is a joke in the fact that so far, the Black Mage has been doing a crappy job of destroying the Maple World since he's come back. In anime, the mega villain who shows up last is usually known to be an incompetent basterd.

Now, why have we only seen the Black Mage in retrospect (AKA trailers with that bloody Eregos-ripoff of a robe) whenever he's confronted, but we never actually get in-game sprites? Simple: He's an utter failure, and his generals are stalling for time, hoping nobody notices how weak he really is to be calling orders from the rear.

I mean, think about it: We don't even have all the heroes right now, and the Black Mage is chilling deep in the Verne continent. If it took so many peeps and five heroes who lost their memories/strength/lives/fortunes/whatever to kill him the first time, why not take advantage of the situation now, when nobody expects it, and pull a cheap stunt out of his rear and destroy the Maple World? He's already come close to making half the Maple World believe that Cyggie is a bloody traitor, so why not keep that momentum?

There's but one answer, and as soon as you accept that answer, you accept that the Generals are stall-devices for the real truth: The Black Mage. Is. A. Bloody. Failure. An incompetent loser who can't blow up the world on his own and prefers the textbook cliche method of destroying the world.

I can't agree with you here. This isn't an anime (even if they make anime clips to make it look "cooler") or a novel. It doesn't quite work like that. Nexon needs time to prepare everything, and they haven't even released the last hero yet. Sure, storyline-wise it doesn't make much sense for him to not already attack Maple World and destroy it, but.. they'll probably make up for it by saying that he was preparing a huge, incredibly complex plan which will be later revealed. Afterall, in the fight with Mercedes, Orca almost tells her a secret about the Black Magician. "The Black Magician is going to...". Since he has already revived, the word "come back" would totally be out of place. The only option left here is that he's preparing something big which we don't know about yet, nor are supposed to, since it's a secret afterall.

To me, the Black Mage indeed is as strong as they picture him to be. Even Mercedes clearly said that she FEARS him, and she doesn't look like a dummy at all. She's smart, and she knows what she's going to go through. The Black Magician has learned from his mistakes, and this time he won't let them win this easily. Though, Maple World hasn't stood still. The main instructors created an union of the strongest forces and they are organising them pretty well, too. It'll be a "fair" battle at that. Well, maybe not so much, as we never know what to expect from the evil array.

Let's also remember that all the heroes were at their maximum power when they fought him (level 200). Demon Slayer didn't look weak at all, tho he was defeated.

The "Over 9000" was a pun saying the Black Mage most likely lost more than his physical form in that fight. I mean, we don't exactly know the WHOLE story of how that fight went down (all we know is the outcome: Black Mage dies, 3 heroes get scatterbrained, one dies, and the last one is swallowed by the threads of time until otherwise remembered). So the Black Mage probably lost his dignity, his pride, and all that hard work he spent in raising a rather pointless army when he could have just blown the world up himself (hey, if his revival caused the Big Bang, imagine what else he's capable of!).

The army just serves him as a support to achieve his purpose more easily and to gain time for the first move. Again, he's not weak.

This is speculation, so bear with me here. Most likely, the Skyia that Hilla possessed is a fake, and Phantom knows this. Why? Shinsoo more than likely gave him the real one. And Phantom's lived his pre-hero life as the Mask DeMasque of Maple World - a genuine criminal, and probably a minor villain as far as Maple's history is concerned; that is, until he falls in love with Aria and she gets killed.

Think. If Cygnus didn't realize it was a fake, who in that room would know otherwise? I'll give you a hint: you're viewing that meeting in his eyes.

Thank you for the clarification. I just knew that when Shinsoo said "I have to give you something" she probably meant the Skyia.

As for the Generals thing, most likely Eleanor is a General. However, I can sorta explain how Orchid and Lotus fit into a single General spot.

First, reference numero uno: Mercedes storyline, finale. Mercedes mentions that Lotus not being there makes the fight winnable.

Wait, where did Mercedes say that, again? I can't remember correctly.

Second, reference numero dos: Demon Slayer storyline, intro. Of those present at the conference, only Demon Slayer, Arkarium, Von Leon, and Orchid are present. Even IF Lotus wasn't revealed (which if this is even significant, Nexon needs to redo that scene to include the twin's fusion form when they reveal it), it means that this scene took place midway through the First War. Thus, only Orchid is shown here, because Phantom has incapacitated Lotus at this point. Thus, Orchid takes the place of their fusion and thus, the Wing Master is only half of what it once was.

Thanks for the explanation.

I still don't get Hilla's role in the storyline. I think I understood that she's another general of the Black Wings. But then, who are those soldiers following her? Are they members of the army of the Black Wings? But then why don't they have their symbol rather than that strange, small stone in their hats?

That sounds just strange. Also, why wasn't Hilla in the hall with the other 6 generals at the times of the First War? Was it because she was on a mission, or she just wasn't born back then?

Last question: how can the Black Wings survive hundreds of years? I understand Mercedes and the other heroes trapped in ice, but.. what about them? They most likely weren't affected by the ice curse, else they couldn't have resurrected the Black Magician in the first place.