Drake: The return of the Commander... I remember this vividly. He was the one who gave me the choice that cost me my friends. But in doing so, redeemed the entire planet. I know what will happen when we meet again. I know what choices I can make. I know what they'll lead to. And to be honest, all of them are pretty tempting. If I make the right one, I could be humanity's savior. The wrong one, and I could be its executioner. Also, why am I talking like this? Melodramatic soap opera crap...
So, yes, Commander Gore's body was pinched from the morgue by the demons, and now he's back and, what's more, apparently nigh-omnipotent. Whatever force is animating him here appears to have merged him with the Earth's very lifeforce somehow. He doesn't do much here but ask you some alignment-shifting questions, as he's under orders from his unseen master not to kill Drake.
Poltergeist: FOREBODING!
There's a few things you can do here now that you have the upgraded gate search. One this is unlock the hidden door leading directly to the third floor stairs, meaning you don't have to go through the conveyor maze again. This one, anyway... The doors on the opposite sides of the bottom floor can now be opened, and lead to two rival demons, Kudlak and Kresnik, who request a weapon from you to kill the other. Yes, you can do them both, and they'll just tie in their battle.
Now there's not much left to do here but find the Rosetta. And unfortunately, Zelenin's picking up multiple Rosetta readings so you'll have to run around the place a bit. The way up to the fourth floor is past another hidden door on the third, beyond which are a ton of Law-based enemies.
Virtue: Gloria! Sir Drake has called on me at last! Let us smite the wicked demons, shall we?
Rakshasa: Could you please stop talking?
Caladrius: ME GLAD YOU RECRUIT ME. NOW ME HEAL YOU. HOLD STILL. THIS HURT ME MORE THAN YOU!
Ame no Uzume: Whoo, these belts are making me kinda dizzy...
Mandrake: Ttly.
Caladrius has Recarm, which can revive a knocked-out demon. Ame no Uzume is one of the rare demons who can summon other demons, but she herself isn't that strong. Virtue has Hamaon, a very accurate instant-kill spell that'll be useful in a bit.
On the next floor is more darkness. Fortunately, also on this floor is the forma that allows you to see in darkness. Unlike other Main App forma, though, this one's entirely possible to miss, so look carefully! In the darkness are some seriously nasty customers. The Disr, Mothmen, and Yuki Jyurou aren't tough, but the Pisacas and Camazotzes on the other hand... the former has the most annoying status ailment in the game, maybe even more than Charm, at his disposal: Bomb, which turns whichever character it hits into, well, a bomb. Every attack that strikes that character thereafter has a chance of making them "explode," which usually takes the entire party with it. The latter is insanely fast, Immune to Bullets, and spams fairly strong multi-target moves. These guys are why you use Hamaon.
The fourth floor is actually kind of evil because you can't actually get to the main part of it from the third floor stairs. Instead, you have to fall through one particular hole down to another part of the third floor, then take the stairs there up. Fortunately ther'es another secret door here so you only have to do this once.
Virtue: Sir Drake, I beg you, liberate me from this fetid place full of Chaotic scum!
Drake: Keep your... crystallized skin on.
Also on this floor is the one and only healing spot in the game.
Caladrius: NO, NOT HEALING SPOT. ME PROMISE ME ONLY BREAK A FEW BONES!
The second floors gimmick was conveyors. The fourth floor's was darkness. Care to guess the fifth floor's? If your guess was "darkness AND conveyors" you'd be right. There's very little rhyme or reason to this floor, just try it until you get it.
Ame no Uzume: I'm going to be illlll...
On the sixth floor you'll find yet more conveyor puzzles!
Drake: Aaaaaghhhh!
These ones you have to change the direction of with a switch. Thankfully, it's really easy. On the top floor you'll find your goal, the multiple Rosetta signals, with one of the strange Formless demons at each one.
Pixie: They're messing with poor Miss Zelenin's head!
Power: Dastard!
As I said, these guys are only remarkable in how much punishment they can take. Their weakness seems to change from battle to battle, too, but I never really found the pattern as these are very much "shoot it until it dies" battles. There's a few very useful demons you can make around this part of the game: Black Frost, who is immune to both fire and ice, and Parvati, who has both a powerful healing move and Megido, the first Almighty spell in the game, which is the only element that can't be blocked at all.
SUDDENLY, SOMETHING HUGE DROPS FROM THE SKY!
Huge thing: BUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOONO!
Mitra: HORKOOOOOS!
Drake: Heh, Horkos. I remember how awesome you were.
Drake isn't kidding. Horkos can tank pretty much anything in at least this level and the next, and he has a multi-target physical move that seems to hit multiple times more often than when other demons use it.
Horkos: I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd lend by BUONO power to the effort!
These three are my team for the boss, and on that note, it's time to head back down to 4. The Formless demons coalesce in that floor's main chamber to form...
Mitra: Sir Asura!? My greatest friend in this land...
Asura is a firm believer in Might Makes Right, and he wishes to "save" humanity from itself by making humans slaughter each other using his parasites.
Parvati: I-I don't really like to fight, but this guy doesn't seem very nice... My kind have run into his before...
Asura has the dubious honor of being the first boss on this playthrough to make me reset. This is due to his signature status ailment, Rage, which is like a sliiiightly less annoying version of Charm. What it does is randomize target selection, meaning each demon can target either the enemy or an ally at any time. I was unfortunate enough on my first try on this boss to get every single party member hit with this in one turn. Apart from that, there are no special tricks. He uses fire and is weak to ice, which is why you bring the Frost Cannon and Black Frost, who can reflect his nasty fire moves back at him and deal damage with Bufudyne.
Black Frost: HEE-HO! Did you see how his guts spilled out-ho?
Drake and Zelenin secure the Rosetta. Arthur informs the elated crew that the Schwartzwelt's "Vanishing Point," the place it connects to Earth, is in the next sector.
Nue: HOOOOME!
Wendigo: Hua, you live here, doofus...
Horkos: I hope my service was most BUONO!
Mitra: It seems we shall part company soon.
Morax: ...
Drake: Thanks. Thanks, all of you. I remember I did something in this sector that ruined everything. I swear, this is the choice I make this time. The option to save everyone.
Can Drake keep his promise? What stands in the way to the Vanishing Point? Why did the Formless demons harass Zelenin? Will Horkos eat all the Red Sprite's rations? Stay tuned to find out!
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