Okay, let's go with Rosa, Rydia, and, hmmm... I'll say Luca, actually put in someone who I want to have wearing the Minerva Bustier. So, as we've beaten the Four Fiends, the path further down is open.
On B6, we follow the path down to a room with 3 chests. The ones on the left and right are high level consumables, but the middle one is trapped. Winning the battle nets us the Hypnocrown, which protects against Pig, Mini and Toad.
We continue down to B7. There's a Save Point here, and the area's kinda mazey, but it's still easy enough to find the Crystal Gloves in a room in the middle west of the floor. They protect against undead and are the first gloves other than Adamant to be strictly better than Giant's Gloves, but the Strength boosts still push the latter ahead.
We reach B8. We find a warp circle in the north similar to the ones that lead us to the Crystals holding the Four Fiends. No boss, though, just the Red Jacket. Very strong, with Fire resistance. This floor ends with a warp tile similar to the ones found on B5. Guess what's coming up.
First things first on B9 is the Save Point. That night, Kain and Golbez meet on a plateau slightly above the Save Point.
Golbez: ...
Kain: Never in a million years did I expect you to come back.
Golbez: It's been a while, hasn't it, Kain?
Kain: I have somewhat mixed feelings about this reunion... but I must admit, you have been a strong ally for all of us.
Golbez: You seem to have changed, as well.
Kain: It took a very long time... but I have regained control of myself. Just as Cecil did... and just as you did as well, I suppose.
Golbez: So...
Kain: I owe it all to the power of the Lunarians... In particular, the power of you and Cecil's father.
Golbez: I see.
Kain: Is... is this moon related to yours at all?
Golbez: ...
Kain: What has happened to your moon in the ensuing years?
Golbez: I do not know.
Kain: Ah...
Golbez: The Lunarians' Crystals were robbed of their power. The enemy's claws were upon them.
Kain: They were, were they?
Golbez: Whoever controls this moon... I am going to exact my revenge upon them.
We learn Spiral Blow. The two do tons of group slashes, knocking the enemy all over the place. Rydia learns Death on the way to a treasure in the west, the Crystal Helm. This is pretty strong, and resists all elements.
Our first boss for today is northwest. No teleporting circles, the Crystal is just out in the open.
No introduction, we're just put up against Beelzebub. Today, the theme is Final Fantasy II. Each of the bosses are guardians of chests that appeared in Jade/Pandemonium. I think that's the case anyway, my knowledge of FFII is a bit rusty.
...Hey, wait a second, Final Fantasy II didn't have Crystals! Also, is Beelzebub supposed to be a giant insect? I dunno much about mythology.
Alternative Music: Battle Scene A from Final Fantasy II
(I have no clue whether or not this is the song that's used against these four, I don't particularly care either, because this is pretty good anyway)
Anyway, Beelzebub uses a lot of magic, so we're gonna put up Reflect on everyone. After that, we can just go all out. If you have anyone who can use Shuriken or Boomerangs, he's weak to the Throw element, so take advantage of that, but we can't so, eh, Thundaga and Flare seem to work well (IIRC, Bows are also Throw element, but Rosa's damage output isn't very good even with them and Rydia's more useful using Black Magic). I eventually get him to kill himself.
Kain: (Have we blundered into the very depths of hell?)
Rosa: What a hideous creature! Do the Crystals' conjurations know no bounds!?
Rydia: ...
Luca: I like insects more than most people, but even I can't say too many nice things about this one...
Golbez: (Is this what happens when one loses all hope in body and soul?)
We get Loki's Lute for winning. This harp is really strong and is effective against everything.
Our next Crystal is to the north. This is a battle against Astaroth. The exact same strategy used against Beelzebub works here, as long as we aren't afraid to break out the X-Potions, as she can use physicals, and they have a Drain effect. She counters magic with Embrace, which can Petrify, but this can be Reflected.
Kain: A fearsome foe indeed...
Rosa: She looked like the demons I heard about in legends.
Rydia: A demon...!?
Luca: I thought we were on the moon... We seem to have landed in hell instead.
Golbez: (This is no mere moon... This is home to demons and devils!)
Our reward is Seraphim's Mace. This staff gives us a free Esuna when used.
The next Crystal is in the southeast. Approaching it reveals the Iron Giant. This guy counters magic with Meteor, but he's fine with us using items, so we pull out a Spider Silk. This is because his main attack is Crush, an instant kill. The Iron Giant will counter any attacks with a pretty brutal attack of its own, so we Blink our front row and let them go to town on him. It takes a while, but we do eventually wear him down.
Kain: (The giants of the old moon were nothing compared to this...)
Rosa: We... we beat him?
Rydia: We're alive... somehow.
Luca: If that wasn't a machine, then what was it? A living suit of armor?
Golbez: (That was absolutely nothing like any of Zemus's giants...)
He only had one! Anyway, we get the Gigant Axe. Very strong and can inflict Poison.
Finally, we head southwest. This Crystal becomes the King Behemoth. Oh boy. The King Behemoth can do two things. The first is hit very hard, the second I'll point out later. First thing, Slow, second thing, Blink. Whenever Rosa can't Blink or heal someone, she puts another layer of Shell up.
Why? Because when King Behemoth runs out of HP, he uses Meteor. Unless a character has over 3000 HP and a ton of Shells up, that attack will KO them. I still end the fight with only Rydia and Golbez up, and they were at full HP with about 5 Shells on them beforehand.
On the plus side, Golbez learns Meteor for himself after the battle.
Kain: Is this... an evolved version of the Behemoth?
Rosa: How much more formidable could our enemies possibly be?
Rydia: The Behemoth was fearsome enough already...
I feel I should mention that at this point, we are finding Behemoths as random encounters, sometimes two at a time. We're strong enough at this point that we don't have to Blink, but it's still a pain.
Luca: We dwarves may be a stout race... but that was a rough one, even for me!
Golbez: (Do the Crystals control these monsters just as they guide the Blue Planet?)
We get Tiger Fangs for winning, which is a Claw that can Paralyze.
Cecil and Kain are coming along next time. Three slots open. See you then.
Stats:
Kain: Lv 59 HP:4224 MP:222 Str:86 Spd:45 Stm:65 Int:30 Spr:43 Atk:155 (13x99%) Def:81 (8x38%) M Def:18 (3x23%)
Rosa: Lv 59 HP:3129 MP:505 Str:53 Spd:31 Stm:51 Int:23 Spr:75 Atk:93 (8x99%) Def:62 (3x37%) M Def:34 (3x40%)
Luca: Lv 53 HP:3373 MP:135 Str:85 Spd:35 Stm:82 Int:0 Spr:0 Atk:184 (13x88%) Def:82 (4x55%) M Def:24 (1x19%)
Rydia: Lv 57 HP:2577 MP:605 Str:49 Spd:46 Stm:47 Int:87 Spr:65 Atk:126 (9x89%) Def:133 (8x90%) M Def:55 (5x66%)
Golbez: Lv 60 HP:3586 MP:481 Str:69 Spd:34 Stm:90 Int:55 Spr:41 Atk:137 (11x99%) Def:95 (7x40%) M Def:18 (4x26%)
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