Pempti

Pempti
Appears in	Under the Knife Second Opinion Under the Knife 2
Greek meaning	Thursday
Also known as	"Armored Bacteria" (UtK/SO) "Rampaging Nightmare" (UTK2)
Organs affected	Lung Liver Heart
Tools used	Laser Scalar laser Syringe Forceps Scalpel

Pempti (ペンプティ penputi) is the fifth strain of GUILT encountered in Under the Knife and Second Opinion. Pempti attacks the respiratory and the nervous system from the liver or lung. It manifests as a gelatinous mass that hinders the functions of the affected organ.

Pempti proves to be a very tenacious pathogen. The gelatinous fluid makes it hard to locate the core, and if the core somehow takes damage from regular tools, it can rapidly regenerate and re-establish itself. If these contingencies both fail, the core turns aggressive and actively tries to kill the host.

Survivors of Pempti may contract Post-Pempti.

Research

When Richard contracts Pempti, he insists that Derek and the team use his body as a guinea pig to create a cure. Derek and Victor first try a number of procedures to find a suitable solution to the problem, to no avail. After Derek excises a sample of Pempti, Victor has Derek solve a puzzle for the development of a nanomachine. This nanomachine exploits a flaw in Pempti's DNA and can induce the pathogen to undergo necrosis, turning its rapid regeneration against itself.

With the new nanomachine in tow, another attempt on Pempti is made. The nanomachine works perfectly, causing the gelatinous fluid to recede and exposing the Pempti core. Victor suggests burning the core with the laser before extracting it, and just as things start to take a turn for the better, the core regenerates and begins replacing the lost fluid. Director Kasal gives the order to abort the operation, as Richard's body cannot handle extreme amounts of experimentation. After more research, Victor develops the scalar laser, which can be used indefinitely and burns away Pempti cells far more effectively.

A third attempt on Pempti is made, and the nanomachine and scalar laser both prove effective. However, the core regenerates with an aggressive evolution, and starts damaging the Richard's organs. After prolonged exposure to the laser while keeping up with the core's attacks, Pempti is eventually defeated, but Richard succumbs to the stress of these operations and passes away.

Types of Pempti

Pempti

Pempti with gray mini-cores circling

The nanomachine will require two injections and will not cause small polyp formation. After the Pempti core is seen, use the scalar laser on it. The Pempti core will regenerate and begin a fierce counter, unleashing one of each three attacks in waves while retreating into its tissue to avoid laser damage. Each must be dealt with using the laser by destroying the associated mini-cores unless otherwise noted.

Pempti's initial wave of attacks will always involve one of each of its variations. After it's used each attack once, it will surface when unleashing its next attack, becoming vulnerable to the scalar laser. Pempti always retreats into the tissue after taking enough laser exposure to register an "Ok", giving the player periods of time to focus on countering its own attacks and maintaining vitals before it randomly resurfaces. It will take a fair amount of laser exposure before Pempti is defeated.

Mutated Pempti

Pempti's mutation in Under the Knife 2

After injecting the nanomachine, two Pempti cores will be be present. After initial scalar laser exposure, the core and gelatinous tissue splits to create two Pempti; one in the upper right, and the other in the lower left. Both Pempti are capable of creating mini-cores and often alternate between which core attacks. Once one Pempti is defeated, the other will become more aggressive, unleashing two waves of different core types at the same time (usually grey + blue or red).

Aletheia Pempti

During the Aletheia fight, the only Pempti cores seen are groups of blue mini-cores. They move around Aletheia while creating polyps, and each group needs to be be hit with the laser to be defeated.

Operations

Under the Knife

Episode	Patient	Organ	Type of Pempti
4-6: Taking the First Step	Richard Anderson	Right lung	Pempti
4-8: The Next Step
4-10: Doctor's Struggle
6-6: Fifth Sin	5th Sinner (implied: Emilio Juarez)	Liver	Pempti
X-5: Pempti	Unnamed girl	Liver	Pempti

Second Opinion

Episode	Patient	Organ	Type of Pempti
4-6: The First Step	Richard Anderson	Right lung	Pempti
4-8: The Next Step
4-10: Prolonged Struggle
6-6: The Future of GUILT	P. Heigl	Right lung	Pempti
X-5: Pempti	Unnamed man	Right lung	Pempti

Under the Knife 2

Episode	Patient	Organ	Type of Pempti	Other GUILT Present
5-6: The Carrier	Reina Mayuzumi	Right lung	Mutated Pempti	None
6-7: Tragedy	Christine	Right lung	Mutated Pempti	None
7-7: Mother of Sins	Reina Mayuzumi	Heart	Aletheia Pempti	Aletheia
X-3: Pempti	Unnamed woman	Right lung	Mutated Pempti	None
X-7: Aletheia	Unnamed woman	Heart	Aletheia Pempti	Aletheia

Stats and Attacks

Attack	Used by	Information
Grey Mini-cores	Pempti	Five small, round grey mini-cores will spiral outward from Pempti's core and circle around it until incinerated. These will deal varying damage based on how many are in full orbit and how long they have been orbiting Pempti's core.
	Mutated Pempti	Three small, round grey mini-cores will spiral outward from each Mutated Pempti core and circle around it until incinerated. These will deal varying damage based on how many are in full orbit and how long they have been orbiting Mutated Pempti's core.
Pink Mini-cores	Pempti	Single pink mini-cores move from Pempti's core at high speed to the edge of Pempti and wait for a short moment, then cause a laceration if they are not defeated quickly enough. Pempti normally releases a total of 5 mini-cores per wave, but sometimes may release a total of 10 instead.
	Mutated Pempti	Single pink mini-cores move from Mutated Pempti's core at high speed to the edge of Mutated Pempti and wait for a short moment, then cause a laceration if they are not defeated quickly enough. Each core releases a total of 3 mini-cores.
Blue Mini-cores	Pempti	Five blue mini-cores all come from Pempti's core simultaneously and wait at the edge of Pempti for a short time. They will then extend up the organ and retract, leaving polyps behind. If they extend over existing polyps, those polyps will rupture, causing vital damage and breaking the Chain.
	Mutated Pempti	Three blue mini-cores all come from each of Mutated Pempti's cores simultaneously and wait at the edge of Mutated Pempti for a short time. They will then extend across the organ to the opposing corners and retract, leaving polyps behind. If they extend over existing polyps, those polyps will rupture, causing vital damage and breaking the Chain.
Duplicate	Mutated Pempti	When Mutated Pempti's cores appear and are attacked, they will seperate and create 2 smaller Mutated Pempti cores, which will then proceed to attack with their mini-cores. Should one core be destroyed, the surviving core will turn red and become more aggressive, unleashing two different types of mini-cores at the same time.

Tips

• In Under the Knife, if the Healing Touch is used before the nanomachine is injected, the collection of Pempti cells becomes hard to see, so using it at this time is discouraged.
• Using the stabilizer on the Pempti body causes vitals to drop and results in a Miss.
• Keep the laser on Pempti's core nearly the entire time, specifically near the bottom of it, as this will do damage both Pempti's main core and mini-cores as they are created. The grey mini-cores will be incinerated as soon as they are formed, giving you an easy reprieve if Pempti chooses this attack.
• Pempti will stop attacking for 2-3 seconds if it attacks in this order: Pink, Blue, Grey, Grey. You can use this short break to raise the vitals.
• In Under the Knife and Second Opinion, scoring an "Ok" on Pempti's core while it is attacking will cause it to stop the attack, allowing you some time to treat wounds or raise vitals.
• In Under the Knife 2, when dealing with Mutated Pempti, it is advisable that you alternate your attacks between the two cores. This ensures that by the time you have destroyed the first core, the second one would be near defeat, minimizing the amount of time the remaining berserk core has to attack before its defeat.
  • However, while tackling X-3, note that Mutated Pempti's cores do not have the same amount of health - one of them will die earlier if the player evenly divides laser exposure between the cores. This is to throw off unexpecting players who have been relying on the above tactic.
• In Under the Knife 2, Mutated Pempti will always pause after releasing grey mini-cores, giving you enough time for two doses of the stabilizer.

Trivia

• Pempti appears to have been the hardest GUILT to find a cure for, as extensive research and experimental operations were conducted to counter it, compared to other GUILT having no such shown research and experimental operations. It is also the deadliest one as it kills Richard despite Derek's best efforts to treat it.
• Pempti's mini-cores are each shaped like the Greek letters - alpha, beta, and gamma. The circling cores look like alpha; tumor cores like beta; and laceration cores like gamma.
• In Under the Knife, the initial collection of Pempti cells moves, making it harder to inject the serums or nanomachine.