Okay, I lied. We're not actually done for today yet, largely because I have nothing better to do. So, it's time to go through stage 2-8: The Sealed Tower.
We're immediately beset by some generic enemies, allowing me to test out Serene in a real fight. However, before I can actually fight, I have to sit through one last tutorial, because apparently the huge spiral staircase doesn't have enough room for all four of our heroes to fight on it. Don't expect them to come up with an explanation for why we can only use 3 characters elsewhere, by the way.
Anyway, I should explain why I've been holding on to the bat from before. You see, most characters, when they use a bat, get an attack for X hits against whatever enemy has the lowest HP, that absorbs the damage into them. However, these attacks can also backfire.
Serene, on the other hand, gets an attack that does X+1 hits, can't backfire, and heals the entire party. Given that the bats are already as strong as an average Break Out, this is most useful. Anyway, this fight has one of those hammer guys, and I end up eating a Devastator before it's over. The victory gives me a Spiked Hammer, which can do heavy percentage-based damage to a random target (75% for Lina, 50% for anyone else), but it has such low accuracy that you'll probably run out of hammers before you actually hit anything.
Anyway, moving on. We arrive in a dark room, which Fia lights up with some magic. It doesn't last, but there is a torch to light. Doing so allows me to get a treasure chest containing some ore (called Ogrenium, which would be the dumbest name ever if not for the existence of Lina's Japanese name) along with 3000 points.
Now, on to the next screen. After dodging a ball of light, I can light a torch in this room, revealing the mage who attacked me and his mooks. After killing them, I can get the treasure chest in this room, which has the Book of Laura in it. Books are unique in that they have completely different attacks based on who uses them: Fia will heal the party, Lina will throw them, and Cierra will do a magic attack on the back row. My Power Wrist is discarded to make room for it, and I have some practicing to do, with the following rewards:
Fia:
- Book of Laura: Fuer Rune: Level 1, 1-hit magic fire-elemental attack, power of 72, unstoppable
Lina:
- Book of Laura: Wild Flames: Level 2, 3-hit physical non-elemental attack, power of 56, unavoidable, randomly does extra fire damage
All right, with that out of the way, it's time to end this chapter. Two screens ahead, we come to a mysterious room containing a stone with some writing on it. Examining it, we discover that it's written in a sacred language that only people from Asgard can read. Naturally, Ein can read it, and he ends up summoning a blue knight named Isher.
Isher promptly fights us in another unwinnable battle. He is currently immune to literally everything I have, so we just have to throw Einherjar until he decides to use his Break Out and end the fight.
After Isher uses his Break Out for less than 100 damage total, the fight ends and Ursula suddenly speaks to Ein. She restores Einherjar's full power for Ein, and it removes Isher's blue paint job, allowing us to hurt him.
Serene: "This could get ugly!"
Boss battle: Isher
- HP: 1000
- Strength: 59
- Magic: 16
- Agility: 5
- Vitality: 10
- Resists non-elemental attacks
- Weak to all elements
Now, Isher may be killable this time, but he can block attacks. Fortunately, his attacks are hardly a threat, but I want to S-rank him. To that end, I have Serene use the Ignis Spear, which I've been saving this entire time. Her attack with it, Phoenix Dance, does heavy damage and is unavoidable, though Isher is known to block it entirely (he didn't this time, though, and it did quite a bit of damage).
Furthermore, in that last cutscene, Einherjar's power was restored, and it now has a power of 68 when Ein uses it. In addition, it also has an Over Skill. It's not some wimpy Double Slash, though. Instead, it's a proper Execution-level Over Skill, called Disaresta. This attack tears through Isher and grants me an S rank.
Results:
- Time to victory: 67
- Final attack level: Execution
- Score for victory: 14300
This rewards me with the mighty Excalibur, and I'm really struggling not to make a Fate/Stay Night reference here, because I already made on last time.
Ursula explains that she sealed Ein's memories away so he could see Riviera for what it really is, rather than what Hector would have him believe. She then returns Ein's memories to him.
Naturally, the team is somewhat shocked to discover that Ein's a Grim Angel, but they don't judge hum for it. Ursula then explains the actual situation in Riviera: Beings known as the Accursed have been awakened, and they're the ones filling Riviera with demons. The people of Asgard, in their infinite wisdom, have decided to just nuke the place instead of actually dealing with the problem. Ursula sealed Ein's memories because she realized that he's not a bad guy, and that he might be willing to deal with the Accursed properly.
I'm given the option to have Ein try to refuse, but the game won't go on unless I agree to kill the Accursed, so there's no point. As such our new goal is to seek out and fight the Accursed. Ursula gives us a hint: the next one's in the ruins of Nelde.
My results for this chapter are as follows:
- Turns taken: 94 (Rank A)
- Items left: 15 (Rank A)
- Party members "pleased": 2 (Rank A)
- Score: 296300
- Starting TP next chapter: 6
With that, I can save this time, so I'll see you all for the return to Elendia next time.
