Part 20: Stratum 3: Perdition Part 2 Boss: Doom Shade

Many sages posit that the Majin known as the Doom Shade is the original source of tales of a so-called ‘Grim Reaper’.
- excerpt, Legend Cycles of the Ancients

Fear the Reaper

The Doom Shade had no intention of helping us without a fight.

Video- “Perdition Part 2”

Click Here for Video with Commentary

Ally Team:
We’re going with the same group of mercs as in part one, but I’m going to bring a Chiroptera to start instead of Zerda because I’m concerned Zerda would return before we got to Doom Shade.

Enemy Team:
We’re up against three Scytodida, two Aquamotes, two Heeflers, and the Doom Shade himself. It should be noted that each ‘wing’ of the map has one each of the generics, and then the last Scytodida and the Shade in the middle, because we can actually avoid fighting some of these guys.



Here’s the big, bad, level nineteen Aquamote. Mister snail is now totally immune to Strikes and much less vulnerable to his weaknesses. He’s got brutal water magic and can heal and Release. He’s really a big deal, two of them can kill most of our characters very quickly.



There’s the big man himself. Doom Shade’s specialty is powerful Malus attacks. He will do terrible damage to anyone vulnerable to Darkness. His only real vulnerabilities are Light and Strike attacks. To make things even worse, he’s got amazingly high magic defense. You can’t see it here but not only does Doom Shade have 900 HP, we need to Overkill it by a whopping 360 points to Bind it.

Deployment:



We’re deploying to the left side of the map. Our plan is to sweep the Majin on that side then sneak up the middle on the left so we don’t have to fight the Majin on the other side.

Map:



We start out by buffing Ashley up. Ashley’s now got the Regenerate skill from the first part of the map, so we can keep a speed buff on her and still have her regain health. Then we start pushing the party towards the group of Majin we want to engage. The near Scytodida moves up to engage us first, followed by the Aquamote.



You must be condemned for your sins!
You’re the one who’s going to be condemned!
Do you really think you can escape your destiny?
I’m not trying to escape anything…
I just want the right to choose my own path!

Now we start on bringing down the Scytodida. We’ll see plenty of them next map and already captured one so we’re not concerned at all with the Overkill on this one.



I made a promise to my Master…
You WILL help us cleanse Ashley of her curse.
Ah, the sin is hypocrisy! There is no mercy for it!

Ares ends up taking it out, leveling up in the process. She doesn’t get any new attacks, which isn’t a surprise. Now I get started on the Aquamote, who I wouldn’t mind capturing actually.



That’s okay. I know how to break through this one.
If I hit him with all I have, it should do the job.
I’ll have to use my most powerful attack!

So yeah, Ashley gets lucky on Doom Shade and only has to use her Punishment attack to break his Demon Aura. When we see our little buddy again in a later story things won’t be quite so merciful. We keep the heat up on Aquamote, and since she can’t do much to it Ashley gets started on the Heefler. She manages to Confuse it with a Sacrasphere, always amusing. Eventually Glynne and Ares overkill the Aquamote and Reyna just straight regular kills the Heefler. Now we start pushing for the middle of the map, and a rebuff on Ashley gets Glynne to level up.



It’s interesting because Glynne is actually close to becoming better at Air magic than Earth yet he doesn’t naturally get Air damage spells. He’s also shamefully weak to magic. Anyway, we’re getting ready to advance on the middle Scytodida and the Shade himself.



This disguise is the only clothing I brought with me.
I’m not ashamed at all!
The longer people live, the more immoral they become.
Inexcusable! I must condemn them all!
Sin is unavoidable. It’s proof of being alive.
How can you condemn us for being human!?

Doom Shade’s a dick to capture but he’s kind of an okay guy. We throw everything we’ve got at Scytodida while slowly advancing along the edge of the middle to ensure we don’t get any friends from the other side. We also have Ashley run up closer to the Shade so she can break his Aura. This causes him to start the show with a Malus IV, which doesn’t do much damage to Ashley but does Curse her. We finish off the Scytodida with Glynne and have managed to get Ares and Glynne up into the main fight now. Rather than use Glynne to cure the Curse I use an item, and I end up storing Ares and Glynne’s actions in position to attack when Ashley’s turn comes up again.



We crack the hell out of him with this, but that also brings up another big problem. We don’t do enough damage with a Punishment from the front to Overkill Doom Shade even if he’s at one HP. That’s a bad sign really. Anyway I try to land a Bleed with Ares and a Fracture with Glynne’s Terra magic but no luck on either end. A second round of this and a Fracture attack from Ashley is equally ineffective. The Doom Shade throws more magic around and advances a bit more into the middle, where even Yuri gets in on the fight with a Sacra II. This actually Slows Doom Shade, which is nice but hardly the status we want to hit him with.



You believe in the Goddess, but you’re still afraid…?
I’m not a Valdian, so maybe I don’t understand…
I know Atona exists BECAUSE I can feel fear.
She allows me to feel this feeling.
A false god who shelters his herd from emotion…
That’s a god who robs us of what it means to be human.
But whenever I’m afraid…
That’s when I KNOW my faith in Atona is well-placed.

Now I’m trying to throw everything I can at Doom Shade to weaken him. Yuri manages to level up from a buff, getting the powerful healing spell Prayer II in the process. Annoyingly, the AI activates the Aquamote to come over and support Doom Shade. I send Reyna over to start on it but stopping it from healing entirely is going to be nearly impossible. It does indeed manage to get a Cura II off on Doom Shade, which sucks but does give us a last chance to land a Bleed or Fracture on it.



Doom Shade, enjoy your last moments!
You make me laugh! Such words from such a pathetic being!

Irina manages to kill the Aquamote, getting herself the Water Attack skill in the process. It’s pretty nice if we’re up against something weak to Water. I manage to get Doom Shade down into the forties, and go for the gold with Ashley and Ares. Sadly, I’m just a bit short on Overkilling him. Doom Shade is definitely one of the hardest Majin in the game to capture, so I’m not surprised I missed it this run. I’ll be doing Ashley’s story again, and I should be in a much better position to capture it then because I’ll not use Velnor at all and instead use Alexei.



Yeah, but…
It doesn’t seem like anything’s happening.
Surprise, surprise. Reyna’s wrong again.
No… It had to be him…!
*pant pant *
Ashley? Are you alright?
Yeah, it’s nothing…
It doesn’t look like “nothing.”
I told you, I’m fine! Ugh…
Ashley?
Ugh… Aaah! No, I’m sorry!
Huh, Ashley…? Reyna, get back! Something’s not right!
Ugh… No… I can’t… I don’t want to…
Nooooooooooo!

Battle Result:

Levels:
Glynne 19->20
Ares 18->19
Yuri 14->15
Irina 13->14

Majin:
Aquamote Lv 19 x 1

Gold:
19800

Refugee:
Parjava

A light engulfed the area, and afterwards…

Video- “Perdition Lead Out”

Click For Video

Ashley…? How are you feeling?
I’m okay…
Do you feel any different?
…
Ashley!?
It feels like… it’s like there’s an emptiness inside me… a great sadness.
Does this mean I’m free of the curse…? Free of… HER?
That bright light must have been from the curse being lifted.
I’m so glad, Ashley.
Y-Yeah…
How did Doom Shade break the curse?

I know she was a monster, but still… I almost feel bad that the other me had to go in such a horrible way…



I’m sorry I put everyone in danger just for me… And we didn’t learn anything about the Eternal Poison.
Don’t be sorry. We have to take care of each other… especially in a place like this.
Master Leto said you’d need to have your curse lifted, Ashley. I think he was trying to protect you.
There has to be a connection between that curse and why the Majin keep calling you “Izel.”
What do you think?
I think the Eternal Poison is still out there, and IT needs to stay our main focus.
I agree.
What about this “Izel”? They keep talking about a “ritual” and… now that the curse is lifted…
Glynne, I have a feeling it’s not me.
I don’t think I’m the only one qualified to become Izel…
What do you mean?
Besek is still behaving oddly, don’t you think? It feels like it’s… pulsating.
The air does feel thicker, the deeper we go…
Then, we need to get to the heart of Besek and find out the truth of it all.

I’m positive there’s at least one other person who could become Izel. Maybe that’s why she tried to convince me to leave…



We need to keep moving. Something’s happening in Besek.
Ashley, you know something, don’t you…?
Not as much as you think.

The Count seems concerned about the activity in Besek.



I’ve heard that Besek’s been positively roaring with activity.
I fear something is about to happen… Please be careful.

It seems the Koona also know something’s wrong, they tried to take refuge in Isapolis earlier.



Leon: All these Koona crowded into town at the same time… it was really strange!
The Count had to convince them to leave.
But I wonder what had them so upset…

Shivan is definitely the real deal.



Shivan: The taint that you carried with you has been washed away by the light.
Continue traveling down the path towards your destiny.
May the gods protect you.

Nobody has any really solid details as to the Majin that guards it but we’re approaching the end of the Stratum.



Basil: He lies in wait, deep within the next area.
He shows mercy to no one, devastating all who dare to defy his will.
His greatest joy is perpetuating evil and suffering in the world.
Please take care.

I hope we all manage to live long enough for me to see Muse dance in the real world.



Muse: My goal is to become the world’s greatest dancer!
One day, I’ll dance my way into the hearts of everyone in the world.
I’m still in training right now, but I know my dream will come true someday!
When I become famous, I’ll get you backstage passes to all my shows!

Shanglon was feeling better, I think he’s wisely evacuating Besek.



Hi, Shanglon.
Shanglon: Thanks for letting me stay here.
Are you leaving so soon?
Shanglon: My wounds are better, and I already feel bad for staying this long.
Don’t feel bad! You can stay here as long as you like!
Shanglon: Thank you, but I really should be moving on.
Why don’t you come with us? We could use another sword.
Shanglon: Hahaha, that would be something… but I’ll only be a liability.
I think it’s better for us all if I go alone.
But please take this.



Feinne’s Notes: Dragonscale is a set of really great leather armor, Glynne’s going to get it right away.

Shanglon: Thanks for everything.
Good luck.

I’m positive Parjava’s not human. I don’t know what she is but again it’s definitely not human. Not that I’m judging.



Saved your life? I just did what anyone would have done.
Parjava: Hahaha…
What a modest young lady.
Hm?
Parjava: In return for rescuing me, I will grant you one wish.
A wish?
Parjava: Yes, anything at all. Take a moment, and think carefully.
…
Parjava: I can see there is one wish you care deeply about.
And I have the power to make that wish come true.
Shouldn’t people make their own wishes come true?
I can’t accept your offer.
Parjava: If that’s the case, please accept this gift instead.



Feinne’s Notes: Sage is a good Staff, and comes with the Meta III skill. It’s got some serious power.

Parjava: I am sure we’ll meet again, and when we do, I’ll grant your wish then.

We’re getting close to our goal, I can feel it. If the Majin are really going to sacrifice Lenarshe, then there’s no choice but to move forward as fast as we can. If we can’t save her…
- journal entry