Stage 2-2: Babylon's Castle Ruins
The gods are wondering why Alexander suddenly showed up to disrupt their fun. It was almost like he knew that Zetta was about to shop up. Ophelia and Dryzen indirectly accuse Pram of giving him a sly nod and wink to Zetta's location. Pram, in retaliation, gets all glowy and Death Glares at Micky. Micky freaks out, and cowers before the might of the oracle's maidenly Battle Aura. At this point, Babylon suddenly remembers that he has to go iron his dog, and exits stage left. Micky's scream of terror unwittingly generates some hellcats down below, and Zetta is dragged into battle once again.
"Disperse, loyal battle monkeys!" sayeth the Overlord of Overlords. "Do my bidding and bust a cap!" Oh, if only we had guns at this points in the game...we could make that part literal.
All Zetta can see of the castle interior once he materializes is an H-shaped corridor guarded by hellcats at each of the north and south edges. He sends the team in to dispose of them, when suddenly a wave of dark energy washes over the field, cutting everyone's life force in half (this effect is called "Hell's Field Takes Life"). Kashiwa tries to undo some of the damage, but only manages to help out Nabiki, Io and Caerbannog before the next group of monsters (which consists of metal golems, wood golems, and mud-like creatures called Tar Men) move in to attack. Astral and Morrigan fall again, as expected. Io heads back into the shop to lick his wounds, while Graz and Steve come out to try to trim the suddenly overcrowded field of monsters.
"Uh, guys? A little help here?" says Steve as he puts his new Tornado Slash technique to use, which only winds up spawning more baddies.
Graz gets taken out by one of the tar men, leaving only five combatants to stem the tide of encroaching monsters.
Steve's crew now finds itself on the defensive, as they are vastly outnumbered by the enemy. They continue to hold the line, and eventually gain some ground when they find that the remaining foes are unarmed. Zetta decides that enough is enough, and orders the team to return to base to recuperate.
New monsters acquired on this trip:
- Metal Golem: Low mobility, but high HP and defense. Best used with heavy weapons, such as gatling guns, cannons, drills, and wrenches.
- Wood Golem: Good attack and defense, but low magic resistance. Are good with Morningstars, Axes, Hammers, and Shovels.
- Mud Creatures: Decent HP and defense. Can makes the best of short-range weapons, such as swords, spears, drills and shovels.
Stage 2-3: Sleeping Babylon
"You know, I'm really starting to hate cats," says Meredith. Graz hisses at her, and then goes back to cuddling up next to Morrigan.
Upon further inspection of Babylon's netherworld, the group lands in an area that looks a lot like the bridge they saw in the entrance to the castle ruins. Astral, Morrigan and Graz are sent out first as punishment for their initial failure. They get lucky, as the small group they meet there is killed with little resistance. A group of angry hellcats and wood golems, brought onto the map by way of Energetic Power! appears to the south, but the group ignores them after they defeat the initial patrol.
"Zetta was right," says Astral. "That old fart of a dragon just doesn't have what it takes these days. If I had enough mana power, I'd create a netherworld so vast with monsters so powerful that the lot of you would wet your pants in terror at the very sight of them!"
"You mean, like Baal?" asks Steve.
"Don't be ridiculous. Nothing's scarier than Baal."
Extension Map Effects 102:
- Hell's Field Takes Life: All active units' HP are reduced by 50%.
- Energetic Power!: Summons units with high attack power armed with strong melee weapons.
- The Power of Magic: Summons magician units armed with books.
- Fast Asleep: Puts all enemies to sleep. Beneficial to you.
The monsters they encounter are getting tougher, and the monsters never stop coming, so the team spends some time in the castle hacking away at Babylon's leftovers in order to earn more money to upgrade their equipment. Nabiki's inventory has expanded slightly to include drills, katanas, and morningstars, which Steve has put his eye on for later acquisition.
