Wendigo: WROOOOOOOAAAAR! I'm the Wendigo, FEARED among puny humans of that sissy-ass country, Canada! Why am I stuck in Japan now? Even I can't remember, but I think it mighta had something to do with the thing what happened 25 years ago! This Oni kid's nice, but he's a bit dim. I wish I could find my original tag-team partner from those days. He's gotta be around here somewhere, right?
With Kuebiko dead (or the Ashura-kai member's horde if you fought that instead), the Jirae disappear and you can head back to Shinjuku. There are a few places we can now go, though we can't do much there just yet. First, the Shinjuku National Park, which is located just south of the entrance to the main district. You'll find your path blocked by a mysterious wall of fire here, but that doesn't mean you can't recruit demons.
Fomorian: Egaaaaaaaad! Something's latched onto my heeeeaaaaaaad!
Chupacabra: You are goat, yes? I suck you, yes?
Kamapua'a: Snert snert, he said "suck."
Principality: Ah, Sir Flynn! I have obtained a most excellent body, and have risen to the seventh choir! All due to your training, of course!
Flynn: You are that Archangel... I can train Angels to the next level? Just how powerful am I?
Apis: He's got it! By Jove I think he's got it!
The entire Divine race exists in one big, long "evolution" chain, where each member can change to the next member up upon reaching a certain level. Yes, yes, just like Pokemon.
Momunofu: Oh great, more angels. I thought I was FINALLY rid of them by moving here...
Principality: Angels are always with you, my son.
Momunofu: Man do I wish that wasn't the case...
Mandrake: Far out, maaaaan...
Flynn: Is this one... well?
Mandrake is a Bind specialist, and like Daphne doesn't actually learn any offensive moves. She can, however, learn the excellent Bind Voice, which paralyzes the entire enemy party! Momunofu is a big ol' tank, and he comes with Charge. Remember this move from the Minotaur fight? Chupacabra learns all the "Drain" skills including Energy Drain, which drains both HP and MP.
The second new area is located a bit north of this one, and you have to cross a poison swamp to get there. This is the West Entrance park, which is full of Food-race demons and...
Horkos: BUOOOOOOOOOONO! I SHALL EAT EVERYTHING!
Onmoraki: Run away!
Flynn: This demon looks very powerful. I think I shall add him to my team.
Mithras: Please don't.
Horkos: MITHRAS! MY BUONO COMRADE! A LONG WAY FROM YOUR PALACE, IT SEEMS. SHAME; YOUR MEALS WERE BUONO!
Mamedanuki: Hey, little chickie, wanna come over to my place? This ain't just a hat, you know...
Mandrake: Maaaan.... that'ssss hot...
Flaemis: Szzzzzz...
Mandrake: Yeowch, that's hot too!
Mamedanuki isn't tough by himself, but can learn the Hard Worker skill, which increases the EXP he gains! Horkos, on the other hand, IS very tough. He resists Phys and has Megaton Press, the medium-strength version of Critical Wave! Flaemis is nothing special by himself, but he comes with Diarama, the long-awaited medium strength healing move. There's nothing you need to do here, but keep the fountain at the back of the area in mind for later; like the X in Kiccigiorgi Forest, sometimes... interesting... things happen here.
When you are ready, head for the subway tunnel in the middle of the poisonous swamp you crossed to come in. This tunnel leads to the Ikebukuro region, our next destination.
???: Look! Look! It's another human come to Ikebukuro! I'm gonna drink his brains, but I think they might taste bad!
Bai Suzhen: Shuvuu, gurl, you really need to cut back your fat intake, just sayin'...
Moh Shuvuu: Well, if you're "just sayin'" why not come over here and "just say" it to my face!
Flynn: There seem to be several... interesting-looking birds around here...
(A purple bird with a human face and one leg lands on FLYNN's shoulder. It stares creepily at him)
Flynn: ...interesting...
Baphomet: Greetings, Son of Man. Welcome to my coven, fweh heh heh...
Flynn: This is such blasphemy...
Moh Shuvuu: Wind specialist. Bai Suzhen: Elec specialist. Tuofei: Ice specialist. Baphomet: instant-kill specialist, having both the Light and Dark multi-strike instant kills! Kwancha can also learn the Light version. Also, beware of the man-shaped demons on the overworld. These are Imperial Guard Hordes, a horde of military-themes demons with TITANOMACHIA, the heavy-damage version of Critical Wave. If you cannot avoid combat with these, make sure you always get the first strike. Nearby here is a car, which can be used as a vantage point to take one of the photos the man back in Shinjuku asked for.
Flynn: Those people up ahead are members of that Ring of Gaea organization. And there is another wall of fire up there. I wonder what they want.
Approach the wall of fire to be greeted by Kaga, an attractive but imposing woman who leads this branch of the Ring of Gaea. Apparently, Ikebukuro, the one district of Tokyo free from the influence of the Ashura-kai, has fallen victim to something much worse: a man-eating demon named Xi Wangmu who's turned the entire town into a Domain! The Gaeans have decided to slay her to save the people trapped inside, but they cannot find a way around the barrier without the fabled Jirae Talisman.
Naga: Well, ain't that somethin'?
Of course, Flynn conveniently has that! Use it to let the Gaeans through, which also sadly destroys the Talisman. From here you'll be able to jump down into the greater part of the district.
Let's not mince words: this place is status ailment Hell. This is a large area filled with poison swamps that need to be crossed, as well as annoying Zhen enemies that can spam Poison and Sick-causing moves. Worth a ton of EXP though.
Phoenix: How unseemly. Sir Hunter, I must apologize for the behavior of my fellow birds here; they are fallen things. Why that one over there bears her rump!
Gu Huo Niao: Got a problem with that? I'm hot; deal with it!
Phoenix: Heavens! I need my smelling salts!
Mamedanuki: I've always had this thing about chicks three times my size; c'mere, Gu...
Gu Huo Niao: Yuck.
Parvati: Who wants a hug?
Mithras: Young one, run. Now. I'll cover you.
Senri: Parvati you little trollop! We know what you really want here!
Parvati: Yup. HUUUUUGS!
Demon roundup time. Phoenix comes with Recarm, which allows you to revive demons without using an item! Gu Huo Niao is another Agilao user. Parvati is mostly a support demon, but I gave her some Wind moves, and yes, I'm going somewhere with this again. Senri also has several Wind moves.
By the way, we're at the recommended progress point in the story for the other two grinding DLC quests, so I'll walk you through those now.
Flynn: It seems those strange Jailers have posted some new quests. I may as well attempt them...
These are "Death has its Applications" and "Money Makes the Underworld Turn" (awright, Cabaret reference!). These enable you to grind, well, money and app points. You will also run into the green-skinned man again in both of these areas, and again he will trade you a demon. In the money quest, he will swap Asterius for ten Gold Jets, and in the app quest he will trade Plasma for ten ten-point cards. As before, these are offers you can't really refuse if you want these demons.
Wendigo: UWAAAAAH! Is that! It is! Nue!
Nue: BWOOOOAR, WENDIGO!
Flynn: You two know each other...?
Nue: YOU BETTER BELIEEEEVE IT! YEAH! WHEN THE EXPANSE OPENED 25 YEARS AGO, WE WERE AN UNBEATABLE TAG TEAM!
Shiisa: Sniff sniff! Hey master! Hey master! There's another dog over there! Woof! ARF ARF ARF!
Inugami: ROWF ROWF ROWF! ME SEE HIM FIRST! YOU, HUNTER! PET NOW!
Asterius: How uncivilized...
Flynn: You... have we... met before?
Asterius: Met? Not that I recall. Will meet? That is even more difficult to say...
Plasma: Fssssshhhh... you have some nerve, Ssssssamurai... calling members of the Clan of Death twice...
Flynn: This one is more terrifying than the last... will I survive this?
Ingami is a Fire-user and good at debuffing. Asterius and Plasma, as Secret Characters, have a multitude of skills, with Plasma even having some unique to him, such as Plasma Discharge, an Elec skill that can strike up to EIGHT times! Excellent for clearing out the Imperial Guard Hordes. I also gave him Zamna.
Once you have everything, proceed to the store around which several members of the Ring of Gaea are gathered. Inside the tore is the Domain of our target, Xi Wangmu. Enter.
Flynn: Eurgh! This place smells even worse than Domains usually do...
Zhen: I kinda like it...
Inugami: THAT CAUSE YOU WEIRD! YOU, HUNTER, STILL WAITING FOR PETTING!
This Domain you're allowed to use the map for. It shouldn't be too hard to find your way around. You ca also listen in at the doors to the cells containing Xi Wangmu's victims for some backstory: tired of the Ashura-Kai's oppression, the citizens of Ikebukuro teamed up with Xi Wangmu to oust them... and then she started eating them! Proceed to the end to meet Kaga again, engaged in combat with two Qing Niuguai demons. She can handle one of them on her own, and the other attacks Flynn!
=MINI-BOSS: QING NIUGUAI=
Level 28. Null Light, Resist Dark
There are several miniboss fights at this point in the game, and this, the first, is probably also the hardest. He's got no weaknesses and spams Megaton Press and Critical Wave. If he gets a Smirk off of this, it's likely all over.
Ares: Well, good thing you have me then, Son of Man!
Flynn: Sir Ares!
'Ares: Any warrior who can best me deserves my patronage!
Fortunately, Qing doesn't have any resistances, either, so just spam medium-strength attacks until he dies. Fortunately, he has really low HP, so if he doesn't get lucky with his Smirks it should take no more than two rounds to drop him.
Heal and save, then head through the door up ahead to confront the Empress!
=MINI-BOSS: XI WANGMU=
Level 30. Resist Phys, Weak Force, Null Light, Null Dark
This is certainly the most complex miniboss fight in the game, and is arguably a true boss. When the battle begins, Flynn's party will find themselves unable to do more than a single point of damage! Xi Wangmu always opens with Orchard Guardian, a unique skill that buffs all her stats at once. This is the only time she will use this.
Baphomet: That's all? Heh, these fortifications are easy to take care of!
Baphomet cancels Xi Wangmu's buffs with a cast of Dekaja, and the rest of the party should concentrate on buffing themselves and debuffing her, as you cannot hurt her yet. Two or three turns into the battle, however, the Ring of Gaea members barge in, and are swiftly devoured.
Plasma: Fssssshwwww... she is as invincible to them as she is to ussssss...
Kaga herself then joins the fray, but is herself slain and devoured. However, something... interesting begins to happen. Xi Wangmu's meal begins fighting back from inside her stomach! The humans writhing within her cancels her invincibiluty; now it's time to let her have it!
You should have already buffed and debuffed to full beforehand, so your attacks will do a lot more damage. Don't think you're in the clear yet, though, as she has the highest-strength Elec attacks in the game, Ziodine and Maziodyne. I'ts helpful thus to bring someone who resists Elec. Toward the end of the fight, she'll start spamming her other unique skill, Queen's Feast, but that shouldn't be enough for her to turn it around.
Flynn: Fwah... that was... tough... Walter, though... he seems to have been affected by this as well. Did he... feel for that woman back there?
With everything in this part of town done, head out the south exit and proceed to the Underground District to the north; you will find the place abandoned, even the Hunter Association shut down. In the north section of this area there is a Terminal, meaning you'll once again run into the Terminal Guardian, this time disguised as an elderly man.
Flynn: This fellow certainly is... dedicated, isn't he?
=MINI-BOSS: KAIWAN, INCUBUS x2=
Kaiwan: Level 28. Resist Ice, Null Light
Incubus: Level 28. Weak Elec, Drain Force, Null Dark.
More easy minibosses. I don't even know these guys' attacks, as they never got any in. Hit weaknesses and you'll win. You can now travel by Terminal to Ikebukuro.
Take note of the door next to the Terminal. DO NOT GO IN HERE if you want to balance your alignment points. Inside is a woman about to commit suicide, who says if the last person she sees is a human, she'll declare her life worth it, and if a demon, worthless. You can tell her one or the other, for a whopping ten hidden points in either direction. Since I'm going for Neutral, I won't go in here.
The exit is well-hidden on the east side. Enter the East Entrance District, another large area with lots of poison lakes. You can recruit two new demons here, Yuki Jyurou and Karasu Tengu. Since I'm running long already, I'll go over them next time. You can also take the second photo needed for the quest here, and get the last two relics Hugo wants, one of which is inside a Domain.
=MINI-BOSS: FUU-KI=
Level 28. Weak Elec, Repen Force, Null Dark
As usual, just strike his weakness with Zionga and you'll do fine. He has some hurtful moves, but I can't recall what they are at the moment.
Your destination, Juraku Books, is on the east side of the area...
Flynn: Black Samurai, prepare to meet your maker...
Inside is yet another Domain. This one is fairly linear. Proceed and you'll be met with the Black Samurai's last line of defense - the horde of Lilim from the forest! Jonathan and Walter swear revenge and we have another battle on our hands!
=MINI-BOSS: LILIM HORDE=
Level 30. Weak Gun, Weak Light, Null Dark
For all this Horde was hyped, you should have no trouble beating it in one try. Just go to town with Rapid Needle and you'll be good.
Flynn: That wasn't even a challenge... could the Black Samurai be wanting us to find her, somehow?
Proceed to the end of the Domain. Isabeau is disappointed to find neither the Black Samurai nor the last volume of her manga in the bookstore, but speak of the devil... the Black Samurai appears, and what's more, spoils the end of the manga, leading to a pretty amusing scene. She speaks some more of "knowledge and wisdom," and then unexpectedly surrenders!
Flynn: Black Samurai... I care not for your knowledge, nor for whatever made you surrender. At last, my parents and Issachar will be avenges. At last, you are under arrest.
Is Flynn's adventure over? What will be the Black Samurai's fate? Will Wendigo and Nue take back the title? Stay tuned to find out!
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