Part 13: Stratum 2: Ritual Part 2 Boss: Ignis

Some sources suggest Ignis, the Wings of the Sun, was the first Majin. There is persistent speculation, however, about the how he and the other Majin came into being.
- excerpt, Legend Cycles of the Ancients

Phoenix

Angered, the firebird Ignis dragged itself from the lava to attack.

Video- “Ritual Part 2”

Click Here for Video with Commentary

Ally Team:
Same team as last time, though we give Ares the Cursed Edge from the chest.

Enemy Team:
This is seriously one of the most irritating sets of Majin the game could give us. Ignis is joined by two Pyromotes, two Heeflers, and two Exo Machinas.



These Pyromotes are really terrible. They do some serious damage with their magic, and can Release bound Majin, restoring them to half health. Around them we need to capture Majin very quickly. They’re totally immune to Fire and Strike attacks, but fold easily to Pierce.



Heeflers are the devil incarnate. Why? Because they kill Bound Majin as a priority. This means we don’t get to capture them and don’t get money for them. It really sucks. They’re not really threatening otherwise but we need to kill them with extreme prejudice because of this behavior.



These Exo Machina are able to dish out some serious hits, and we need to make sure they don’t get in among anyone in Cloth for sure. They’re still pretty vulnerable to magic and Strike attacks.



Here’s Ignis. He’s got some serious Fire magic and the ability to add Fire to his physical attacks. Fire attacks are totally useless against him, but he’ll take double damage from Water. As for his Demon Aura, we’ll see how to break that soon enough.

Deployment:



Okay so this deployment sort of doesn’t convey the strategy here. I need to advance, but carefully. If I get both Pyromotes and both Exo Machinas I’ll bog down really badly and likely be forced to just kill some or all of them if I’m to advance. I also want to advance slowly enough that the Heeflers won’t engage early and start killing bound Majin.

Tactical Objectives:
-Capture what I can, especially Ignis
-Destroy my nemeses, those godddamn Heeflers

Map:



Our first few actions are pretty simple advancement. We send Ares to the left to lure the left Pyromote in, because Ares is pretty well suited to deal with it. Meanwhile Ashley and Glynne cautiously push forward to engage the Exo Machina just ahead of us without the one to the right. This worked very well, the middle Exo Machina is in range to be smashed in the head by Ashley and is still blocked off by Glynne.



We need to attack him, but in multiple ways…
Piercing, slashing, AND striking.
I am the immortal flame, the light of the heavens!
The higher you fly, the farther you’ll fall!

I take a pretty fair amount of Exo Machina’s health off, and it moves over to hit Glynne. I start throwing some magic at it to get it into Overkill range. The second Pyromote engages, but I’m not terribly worried about it. An arrow from Reyna starts the party on the first Pyromote. Velnor levels up, not really getting much out of it. Ares Bleeds the first Pyromote, ensuring it will swiftly be in Overkill range. Back in the middle, we move Irina up next to the Exo Machina then Overkill it with Ashley so we can Lead Irina to capture it.



We send Glynne up to deal with the new Pyromote while setting Ares and Reyna up to combo the first one down. Some arrows from Velnor and Irina take the new one down into the red zone, setting up a brutal situation where we combo the first one down and take the second with Glynne’s next attack. Meanwhile Ashley moves to lure in the second Exo Machina. The left Heefler has engaged, but just gets Sealed by Ares’ shiny new sword for its troubles. Exo Machina engages as well, but catches a brutal barrage of strikes from Ashley and magical attacks from Irina and Yuri.



But I must not allow this to continue!
We don’t need you to grant us permission!

Glynne moves over to engage the second Heefler while Ares continues chasing the other one back towards the middle. Ashley drops the second Exo Machina and we capture it quickly to ensure the Heefler that can still cast doesn’t screw us. Now it’s time to finish the Heeflers quickly and move on to Ignis.



You may have power, but you have no heart!
We’ll extinguish your flames!

A combo from Ashley and Reyna overkills the first Heefler. It also gets Reyna his Class Change, and as decided he ironically goes Flametongue.



This gets her the spell Pyrosphere, which is like Sacrasphere but does Fire damage. At this point I’m starting to get really concerned about time and don’t want to risk Ignis leaving, so I just capture this Heefler and get ready to kill the other. Ares levels up as well here, not really getting anything out of it but stats. Reyna starts the show on Ignis by shooting it with an arrow, satisfying the Pierce requirement. Ares moves up to Slash it with her Cursed Edge, meeting the second requirement. Glynne and Velnor finish off the Heefler, who just dies. Ignis casts Pyrosphere on Ares and Ashley, and then does the dumbest thing possible and exposes its back. Ashley moves up behind it and breaks its Demon Aura with a Fracture Attack, badly breaking its bones.



With Ignis Fractured, its capture is almost assured. Ares and Reyna take huge chunks of its health off with their attacks, leaving the once proud phoenix at near death.



People like that are a pain!

I think Ashley just got off a wicked snap on you Glynne. Anyway we weaken Ignis with an Aqua II from Ashley and then finally finish it off with an Ashley/Reyna combo. The Fracture was really clutch here, Ignis has a huge Overkill HP total and the status breaking its defense really helped.



I am the sun! The… Immortal… Wings…
How can my flame die out, never to burn again…?
You can spend eternity thinking about that…

Battle Result:

Levels:
12->13
Ares 13->14
Velnor 10->11

Majin:
Pyromote Lv 14 x 2
Exo Machina Lv 14 x 2
Heefler Lv 14 x 1
Ignis Lv 15 x 1

Gold:
1900

Refugee:
Selphina

After we defeated Ignis, Reyna came over. He had heard a… a rumor. That’s all. I’m sure it’s just a rumor.

Video- “Ritual Lead Out”

Click For Video

(The pain… It’s like I’m suffocating!)
(Please, help me… Master Leto!)
Ashley, could I talk to you for a moment?
Wh-What is it?
I don’t want to jump to conclusions but…
What would you do if… if Glynne was working for the Pope?
Glynne… a spy for the Pope? Don’t be ridiculous.
It’s just speculation…!
I heard… a rumor. Don’t get me wrong, I was surprised, too.
He would NEVER do something like that, right?
Of course not! Glynne is loyal to Master Leto!
There’s no way he would…
Yeah, Glynne’s not like that.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.

I mean it would make no sense for him to be a spy, I’ve known him forever. Surely he’s not a spy.



(See? I told you.)
(Glynne was lying to you all along. He was using you!)
(No! That isn’t true!)
(Poor Ashley… He doesn’t care about you at all…)
(Shut up!)
(That isn’t true! Here’s no way…!)

We once again returned to Isapolis in silence.



Leon: I wish I had the time to help find all your lost items.
But I’m already busy gathering information…
Researching Majin is so time-consuming.
I really can’t go looking for your things, but I can tel you about Majin!



Muse: You look depressed again! Was someone being mean to you?
Don’t let it bother you!
Or you’ll make me depressed too! Let’s be happy! I’ll dance for you!

People keep mentioning the Eternal Poison, I wonder what it really is.



Ares: You know anything about the Eternal Poison? I’m thinking I might look for it.
A girl needs some excitement in her life…

Oh, Nena’s guardian decided to join up with us.



Komori: I’ve seen my Nena start to smile more lately.
She used to be afraid to talk to people, but now she’s making friends!
I’m so glad to see her come out of her shell!
And it’s all thanks to you and your friends! I’m very grateful.
But I do wish she’d stay away from that Count…
Hey, would you like to hire us? Nena and I make one tough team!
All we need is food and shelter, and we’re set. Let’s go slay some Majin!



Komori is a sort of interesting party member. He’s a melee range support character, with healing and restoration. He can also buff straight defense, which is nice. The big problem with him is that he’s old, so he’s not really as tough as someone like Ares or Alexei. In another story his healing would be super useful but at this point we don’t need him that much.



Alexei: Oh, you want to talk to me? That’s great.
Let’s sit down and talk over dinner!

Basil thinks we’ve not seen the last of the powerful Majin we’ve been seeing.



Basil: I heard that certain Majin only show themselves under specific conditions.
If I’m not mistaken, these types reside in the Third Stratum of Besek.
But of course, this is just a rumor. Please do not take it too seriously.

The Count had some worrying intelligence about the next area of Besek.



You might have already noticed that a powerful Majin guards each gateway.
Gergedeus, the fiery destroyer, lies in your path, now.
A black shell protects him, and his fangs and claws can tear you to shreds.
Even flames themselves tremble at his fiery temper…
I pray you do not fall to this fierce guardian.

I’m not sure I understood everything Toma of the Koona said, but if I got it right I’m sure he must be mistaken.



Toma: Ti wonk i… Anook stae Master D.

I mean that’s crazy.



Shivan: Three expanses lie ahead. However you proceed is the path of your destiny.
Carry on with your journey without looking back.

Evan’s still undecided as to the path he wants to take.



How’re you feeling, Evan? You come to any decisions?
Evan: I suppose…
Don’t rush it! Take your time with this.
Evan: But I do not wish to overstay my welcome.
I already brought you out of Besek.
I’m not gonna abandon you now!
Evan: Hahaha, that’s reassuring.
I confess, the idea of joining the Church is very appealing.
But I need more time before I can make my final decision.
Sounds like a good idea.
Evan: I have been talking to the townspeople and learning about today’s society.
If you permit me to stay a bit longer, I know I shall make sense of it all.
Of course.

I have no idea what half of what Zadikus says is supposed to mean.



Hello!
Zadikus: Did ya find me them stronger opponents to practice with yet?
Oh, don’t worry. I’ve got some ideas.
Zadikus: Really!? I sure can’t wait to start trainin’ again!
Why do you want to train so badly?
Zadikus: I don’t want to train, see? I NEED to train!
I mean, winnin’ ain’t the problem. I got that down, don’t I?
I mean, shucks, sometimes ya gotta let the opponent get a little edge…
That way ya look goooood when yer winnin’. I gotta look hot!
Huh? You need to look… hot…?
Zadikus: Listen up, see? Boxin’ is like a show, and I’m one of them show-mans!
People like it when ya drag things out a little before winnin’.
Us professionals gotta understand these things! We’re wordly people, see?
Wow, you must be a good boxer!
I’ll make sure I get someone really good for you then!
Zadikus: Well, I’m itchin’ to fight someone real quick, so hurry up now!

I think Keiko’s been talking to Stein for help in getting back to her home.



Something good happen?
Keiko: Hehehe, well…
The priest with the glasses gave me this book.
Hm, it doesn’t look like black magic…
Keiko: He said it’s an ancient Valdian scripture.
It might have something in there that’ll help me!
That’s wonderful.
Keiko: I know!
There’s a lotta stuff in here that’s related to my situation.
Can you understand the words?
Keiko: Not all of them, but the pictures are pretty good.
I’ll do my best!
That’s the spirit.

Nolstein seems to be a lot more respectful after last time.



I wanted to check up on you…
Nolstein: Worry not, my dear. I will be back to full health in no time.
Count Duphaston referred me to an excellent physician.
I’m sorry I lost my temper and cast that spell on you, earlier…
Nolstein: I believe I may have been in the wrong.
There is no need for you to apologize.
Thanks…
Nolstein: May I ask one favor of you, though?
When you visit me from now on, can you please leave your weapons outside?

I’m not sure who Selphina was or where she was from.



Selphina: I am feeling quite fine.
So sorry to trouble you.
No, no, it’s okay.
Selphina: What is this Besek place, anyway?
Um, it’s kinda hard to explain…
Selphina: I see. I guess…
Please, I want you to have this.

She gave us an odd piece of armor, I guess it must be from her homeland?



Really? For me?
Selphina: It is all I have to offer…
No, no, it’s great! Thank you!
Selphina: Well, I must be going now.
Will you be alright by yourself?
Selphina: Worry not, my young girl…

I hope she’ll be okay, but if this Gergedeus is as strong as the Count said I think we’ll have our own problems to worry about soon.
- journal entry