Part 61: Stratum 3: Perdition Part 1

Nobody knows how the first heretics came about, but given havoc these mad creatures wreaked whenever they appeared few particularly cared.
- excerpt, Legend Cycles of the Ancients

Legacy of Darkness

We found Retica’s Majin in the deepest darkness, as expected.

Video- “Perdition Part 1”

Click For Video with Commentary



Ally Team:
We’re going to use our standard team, we need to go with our toughest lineup because this map is brutal early on.

Enemy Team:
Same thing we fought when we were doing this with Ashley long ago, three Armatus, two Lapis Sylph, two Scytodida we’ll never even see, and a Thiefler. It’s good to remember that Armatus are actually slightly vulnerable to Darkness, we’ll be using that to our advantage.

Deployment:



Even though I have the Regenerate skill already and could just buy the armor that has Cast Speed II in it, I feel like getting them here and showing you how you’d have to do it with this party. I could have saved myself some trouble with a less aggressive deployment, but not that much because the Majin on this map are absolutely insane.

Tactical Objectives:
- Capture both Lapis Sylph

Map:



Thage, they won’t stop you from your ambition.
I grow weary of their interference.
But I’ve traversed Besek to restore this librum…
And no one is a match for the power I wield.
You are worthy of reaching the depths of Besek.
That is why the Guiding Sage accepts only you as a master.
Those who accept the truth are often rewarded.

Okay, so stopping the Thiefler is much harder this time because we don’t have Ashley being all overpowered and invulnerable up ins. The plan is to push forward aggressively and then get Thage into range to Bleed the Thiefler with an Aero II. Then I can throw some arrows at it and finish it with Raki. This isn’t entirely reliable, though, because Thiefler Evades quite well. Actually pulling it off took several tries.



Wh-What’s with them!?
REJOICE! REJOICE!

The first stages of the plan go very well. We land the Bleed, lead Raki to weaken the Thielfer with an Aero I. and are starting to get set up to throw an arrow its way too. Because they’re crazy aggressive all three Armatus are coming for me, as are the Lapis Sylphs.



We should capture the Lapis Sylphs and use them as bait.
Is it the Majin you’re looking for, Retica?
I don’t know, but my blood feels like it’s boiling…
That’s your instincts… The destruction.

Yeah that’s the dick thing about Perdition with anyone other than Ashley, we need to capture BOTH Lapis Sylphs. Good luck doing that with any party other than Thage’s, it’s pretty tricky. Raki finishes off the Thiefler, I use Dual Attack to ensure it dies. He even levels up, which is nice. Get ready, though, because the Majin are about to take it out of our asses. All three Armatus rush Ares and between a Curse Attack and two of those horrible Blade Spins they instantly murder her. If not for the Curse she ‘might’ have dodged one of the attacks but it’d still be hard to keep her alive at t his point. Vengeance will be swift, though.



Tell me, and you might live a little longer.
The shrine is ahead, but the way is blocked.
You won’t get inside.
I have no more use for you.

Retica caught one Blade Spin too, so we Lead a heal into him and then blast two of the Armatus with a Malusphere. They’re vulnerable to Darkness, so it cuts through them like a knife and leaves two near death. We start focusing on one of them to try and get it dead, and Irina levels up from an otherwise boring shot. The Lapis Sylphs have meanwhile hit my lines, and one blasts Alexei with a brutal Aerophere. I am forced to have him retreat and use an item on himself to ensure he survives a bit longer. Raki then closes the deal on the injured Armatus, taking some pressure off of me. As long as we’re forcing them to attack Raki we’re in good shape, because he’s very resistant to Slash. The injured Armatus catches an arrow from Retica and then gets Overkilled by Thage’s magic, even though it’s going to get Released it’s worthwhile to get those out now. The other Sylph keeps up the heat on Alexei, which sucks. He gets some healing, though, and then hammers the hell out of the just Released Armatus and Thage Binds it right back up again. She even gets a level out of it.



At this point Thage isn’t really in any danger from most single Majin. Her stats are pretty great all around. Meanwhile I have made a tragic mistake and let my healers all be near each other, and all three of them get smashed and Bled by the other Sylph’s Aerosphere. Even worse, after the second Sylph uses its Release the Armatus Fears him with a Fear Attack then does some bullshit flying to bypass him and get next to Thage. The other Armatus, amusingly, assists me in my efforts to recover by Cursing Alexei, which overrides the Fear.



I’m not sure. Are you willing to help me?
I’ll destroy any Majin in my path.
Then I’ll be looking forward to your help, sage.

This let me hammer the one (though it gets him Countered) with a Led action and then blow it up. At this point how late I was up recording this starts to get to me, because Retica gets hit with a spell and I don’t even notice he’s really low. Alexei goes down to a spell from a Lapis Sylph, and even worse Thage gets hit by an Armatus, sending me into panic mode. I immediately have her blast it hard with a Malus II, which easily heals her back to full, and then pull her back out of its way. I get so fixated on starting on the Sylphs here I forget Retica’s hurt badly and he gets dropped by the last Aero II the Sylphs have. Oops. After an intricate ballet of me throwing out spells and Sylphs healing I manage to get one down low enough to Overkill it with a Malusphere while Raki plays with the last Armatus.



More revelations from the Guiding Sage…?
The Eternal Poison and the Princess should be there.
The heart of Besek…

The other Sylph has run away and buffed itself with Salva, so I focus on the Armatus (which also has Salva but I’m allowed to murder it). After it dies a horrible death and Yuri levels up from some fool thing I eventually blow up the Lapis Sylph. We scoop up the chests and then the last Majin, ending the show.

Battle Result:

Levels:
Thage 23->24
Raki 17->18
Irina 14->15
Yuri 12->13

Majin:
Lapis Sylph Lv 19 x 2
Armatus Lv 18 x 1

Gold:
11100

Now at least it all makes sense. There’s only one Majin Retica would want to kill so badly he’d risk his life.



Quit hiding from us, Majin!
It’s him. I feel it.
It’s the same feeling!
This Majin is my father! I can smell him coming!

The Majin responsible for bringing him into this world.



The sin of imitating the great Izel is unforgivable!
You. I’ve finally found you…
Retica, is that him!?
I’ll avenge my mother…
My only reason for existing is to murder you!
Kid, are you a heretic?
I’m impressed you survived this long!
Prepare for your judgement!
We’re ready if you are.

It’s all falling into place.
- recovered text fragements