Horkos: BUONO! My homeland of Carina! Welcome me back with open arms, my subjects! ... Wait, NOT BUONO! NOT BUONO at all! I'm stuck in time! My loyal subjects will not recognize me, for my past self still exists! This Drake was a harrowing opponent and BUONO ally, so it seems I'll have to work with him again to take my rightful place in time back! BUONO!
Mitra: Will you stop talking, you buffoon?
Horkos: Heh, you're just angry that I'm stronger than you.
Mastema fuses Hathor and Jueyuan into a crystal called the Shibboleth, which, when combined with Irving's technology, makes a gun called the Horkos Buster, which, true to its name, should serve to dislodge Horkos from the plasma armor. Now begins an annoying "Get Back Here!" Boss portion of the level, where Horkos flees each time you shoot him and you have to follow him around to three more rooms. These should be pretty easy to find if you're exploring everything in the level (which you should be), though some of the dark sections can get tricky.
Nozuchi: IT JUST ME, OR THERE PEOPLE IN HERE?
Drake: That's weird... I can see shadows on the escalators. I wonder who they are?
Shan Xiao: Hyuck hyuck hyuck, I bet they're not tougher'n me!
Moh Shuvuu: I bet they taste delicious...
Myrmecolion: Kzzz... MIND IF JOIN YOU?
As you can see, some of Carina's natives have joined Drake's party. The Myrmecolion in particular is quite strong, having powerful projectile skills that can inflict status ailments. The most useful demons you can make around this part of the game, though, are...
Fortuna: The winds of fate behave strangely around you, Drake...
Macabre: This place is ghastly; I don't see what my fellows see in it.
Fortuna has the fourth-tier healing spell Mediarama which should be more than enough for the next several bosses, and Macabre, as mentioned, has a multi-target poison attack as well as instant-death Dark spells. He's every bit as useful as his boss form was annoying.
This level consists largely of uneventful running-around-in-circles (which is why I'm finishing it in two chapters; there's not really much to describe). Horkos drops a rare forma which enhances the Unlock function of the DEMONICA, letting you get past locked doors in this and previous levels, one of which, in Antila, has a very strange device behind it that is unique to New Game Plus.
Norn: I feel this object was one of the things time called you back here for, Drake...
At the fourth meeting with Horkos he is dislodged completely from the Elve and the radio is retrieved. Horkos retreats to a mysterious inaccessible portal. Thankfully, he drops a forma that allows you to access it.
Mitra: Imbecile...
So begins this level's second gimmick, sanctums, which are basically hidden "levels-within-a-level" that normally ca be accessed only by demons.
Hathor: Heyyo, we're back!
Drake: Huh?
Hathor: Don't you remember, silly, we're stored in the Comendium!
Koppa Tengu: My head hoits...
High Pixie: Hello there, Drake.
Drake: Do I know you?
High Pixie: It's me, Pixie! I've evolved thanks to the Fusion Program!
Wendigo: Hua hua hua... like old times, eh, Nue?
Nue: WROOOOOOAAAR!
Several new party members have joined up, as you can see. High Pixie is one of the few demons it's possible to easily get more that two types of elemental spells on, and the Wendigo and Nue are powerful ice and thunder users respectively. Also recruited are some natives of the upper level of Carina: Halphas, Dwarf, Power, Sudama, and Nekomata.
Power: Excellent! Into the fight once more, Sir Drake?
Momunofu: I think I like you.
Power: Chaos slime!
Momunofu: Lawful brute!
Dwarf: Can't we all just get along? I remember when we was above this Law-Chaos gobbledegook. Probably 'fore most'a you was born...
Drake: A time before Law and Chaos... So we don't have to kill each other over that?
Halphas: Hohoho, the plot does thicken...
Horkos is behind a hidden door on the very top floor of Carina, which you have to go through several sanctums to reach the stairwell to. Honestly? He's not tough. His gimmick is replenishing his own HP, which he has two ways of doing: he can either siphon it from your party or summon a Katarikauwa (stronger than a usual one) and, after a few turns, eat it for a big gain. Oddly enough, if Horkos dies first, the Katarikauwa still needs to be killed to end the battle; this actually happened to me. He's weak to fire, so just hit him with a bunch of that.
With Horkos defeated, escape from Carina is now possible, and with the radio, contact with Earth is now possible. The Schwartzwelt Joint Project are able to pinpoint the Schwartzwelt's exit!
Pixie: Mister Drake can go home!
Drake: Wait, I thought you evolved?
High Pixie: Actually, we're both here.
Koppa Tengu: My freakin' head...
Is escape possible? If so, what will our heroes have to go through to get there? Is Mitra just jealous of Horkos, or is there something else there? Stay tuned to find out!
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