All right, moving on to stage 1-5: Heaven's Scale.
This area looks like a dead end at first, but entering Look mode reveals a suspiciously free ledge I can examine. Before that, though, there's also a sword stuck in the ground to look at. Examining it lets me pull it out, which involves mashing Circle a lot. Success gives me the Dragon Killer, a sword that Ein can use, in addition to increasing his Strength by 1. The ledge, meanwhile, turns out to have a boulder hanging from it that I can jump onto. There's nothing else of interest here, so I do so.
Predictably enough, the chains holding the boulder up break. Not so predictable, however, is the appearance of a dragon that Ein and Ledah apparently failed to notice (how a dragon can hide in plain sight is beyond me).
The dragon heavily resists fire, so Ledah can't do much more than tickle it. However, Ein can use the Dragon Killer, and his attack with it has the ODRGN property (extra damage to dragons, obviously). This lets him do about 350 damage, while Ledah does about 150. Once the dragon's under 300 HP, Ledah finishes it with Lost Seraph (which only did about 375 this time).
After the fight, Rose notices a ledge we can jump to. I'm then forced into a timing minigame to jump onto it. Success lets me access a bonus area, stage 1-9: Silver Palace.
Entering the palace, the team discuss how it's ruined for a bit (Ledah: "That's the fate of all material things.") With that done, there's things to get. First up, a green treasure chest. It contains the Album, an item that would open up a gallery of images that appear during the game if I hadn't already gotten it in a previous playthrough. Next, I examine a statue, causing Ein to comment that it has an ornament on it. Rose suggests that its presence means there aren't many demons here, but that doesn't matter because it's mine now! The Golden Decoration, as it's called, doesn't actually do anything aside from giving me 3000 points. It's just there to pad out the item list and look pretty.
Speaking of padding out the item list, by the way, I forgot to mention that my key item list contains an "Immoral Rosary" that Ein supposedly got from Hector. Subtlety, Sting Entertainment. It is not your strong point.
Anyway, moving on to the next area. After killing some demons (and laughing at a giant ape whose Break Out did less than a third of what Devastator does), it's time to continue looting. First, I examine a statue of some goddess or other to reveal that there's something in its hand. Doing so grants Ein an all-important Agility boost. Next, I check out a broken statue twice in order to take the sword it's holding. The Rusty Sword I get from this can't be used, but it's important to pick it up anyway. This item, unlike the last one, provides tangible gameplay benefits for getting it. Anyway, that's all there is here, so I continue to stage 1-6: Stone Lattice.
This area is made up of boulders suspended from chains in a net-like pattern for no reason. It also has nothing on the first screen, so I move to the right. Looking at the chains on this next screen reveals a useful item that Rose grabs for me: a Power Wrist. Anyone whose name isn't Ledah can use this to temporarily gain 30 Strength, and Ein can master it. Note that while you can stack stat boosts, any boosts after the first one will only give you one-tenth of the normal bonus.
At any rate, I move right again and fight a Naga, another dragon-type enemy. Buffing Ein's attack with the Power Wrist and then using the Dragon Killer yields an impressive 542 damage, then I finish it with (you guessed it!) Lost Seraph. Victory grants me the Naga Fang, a unique weapon that Ein can use as a makeshift boomerang. He can also master it for a useful Over Skill.
Upon entering Look mode, I hear a bell-like sound. Investigating it reveals a falling bell, which I catch by way of an easy command minigame. The Angel's Bell is another filler item, but catching it gives me 6000 points (I'm at 88100 right now, by the way). Anyway, there's nothing else here and the area's a dead end, so I go back to the last screen and move north from it.
After killing some more vampires, Ein masters the Naga Fang, learning the incredibly useful Lightning Call attack (I also only got an A rank, but that's besides the point). After that, I move right and find a treasure chest. Opening it gives me a Fire Orb, which can raise the fire resistance of anyone other than Ledah and Lina. It only has three uses, but Ein only needs to use it twice to master it.
At any rate, moving on lets me leave this area. Next time: The most annoying voice acting ever, and the end of chapter 1.
