Part 62: Stratum 3: Perdition Part 2 Boss: Doom Shade

While heretics have always been few in number, they have always posed a terrible threat to the areas in which they arose.
- excerpt, Legend Cycles of the Ancients

Those With Cursed Blood

Such a pitiful creature.

Video- “Perdition Part 2”

Click For Video with Commentary

Ally Team:
We can only bring five normal characters this time, because we need to leave two slots free to summon Amirhage. I’m going to bring Alexei and Yuri because I need the Strike power from Alexei and Yuri is a superior healer to Irina. So that I’m not missing any power on the trash I bring out an Ocenyx and one of the level fourteen Sprites to fill the other slots until I’m ready for the Shade.

Enemy Team:
It’s the same group of enemies as last time we fought Doom Shade, three Scytodida, two Aquamotes, and two Heeflers. Let’s just look at Doom Shade again.



Doom Shade remains the premiere Dark Majin in the game. He’s armed with terrible magic and is totally immune to Dark attacks, his only real vulnerabilities being Light and Strike attacks. If you’re to Overkill him, only Strikes will have any real chance.

Deployment:



The basic strategy is unchanged from when we did this with Ashley’s party, we’re going to force our way through one side and then smash the Shade. All that’s different is that we have two Majin along.

Tactical Objectives:
- Capture Doom Shade if we can.

Map:



We start out incredibly close to the Majin, so we can get an Aero into the Scytodida immediately with Raki. We then send Ocenyx over to support him and use one of its buffs, we might as well because we can’t store its actions. Scytodida moves up and annoyingly Curses Raki, but our Sprite can easily cure that, so all in all we’re having a much better start than last time.



A Falsin… casting judgement on ME? What fools!
You won’t escape me! I’ve finally found you!
Do all heretics mutter such meaningless words!?

Thage then runs in and blasts the Scytodida hard. I’m not concerned about capturing these Majin, they’re not worth risking Doom Shade running away for.



You murdered my mother! You must be brought to justice!
I lost track of how many Falsin I’ve slain, long ago!
DAMN YOU!!!

We keep hitting the Scytodida, we need to get it down fast so we can move on. The Aquamote moves up to start casting on us as well, it’s a real annoyance and it’s next on the list. This is a really chatty map by the way so buckle in.



Care to enter and find out?
Sinful Falsin! Repent for your sins and DIE!

We get more magic defense buffs out with Yuri and push Alexei up to join the party. Now it’s time to try and seal the deal on Scytodida.



How do we break through it?
There is only one way…
Magic from the Majin masters of the Second Stratum.

Yeah, that’s the big dick move of this. We need to hit Doom Shade with a spell cast by Dahlia Queen, Amirhage, or Gerdedeus to break the Aura. Anyway, we’re not quite able to kill the Scytodida with Raki’s attack and it evades Ocenyx so it gets another hit off, and runs away a bit. Not far, though, so it’s dead soon.



Ah, the legendary power hidden deep within Besek.
It’s not a blessing to be taken lightly.
Are you underestimating my power?

Thage finishes the job on the Scytodida, so we can start on the Aquamote now. We put an arrow in it, and it responds by Freezing Raki with a spell.



But heretics need not wait. You’ll be judged swiftly!
You’re the reason I exist! It’s your blood inside me!

We pound Aquamote down with brutal force, finishing the job with some Fire magic from Thage, and then push forward a bit to get the Heefler engaged.



A Falsin and I…? GEHEHEHE, what nonsense is this?

We start the show on Heefler with an arrow from Retica. It’s vulnerable to anything physical so we do pretty damn decent damage.



All of you will be judged!
And my judgement is more terrifying than death itself!

We charge forward into the Heefler, which swiftly falls to the combined might of our whole party. Raki ends up getting the killing blow, always a good thing.



Cursed one, I have no idea what you’re talking about!
That scythe… that blood… It IS you!

We push hard to reach the middle of the map, and I send Ocenyx in to draw out the Scytodida in the middle. It takes the bait and has moved up to meet the party. I unsummon the Sprite now, it’s running out of turns and is likely just to waste PP if I keep it out. Ocenyx can stay a while, though, since it’s taking heat for me. Raki gets in range to hit the Scytodida with an Aero and Thage an Aero II. I’m actually very surprised here because I land a Bleed on it with the Aero II, I’d previously thought these things didn’t even Bleed.



I’ve come this far…!

We keep pushing at the middle of the map, we need to catch up to Raki and Ocenyx. Scytodida is Bleeding now, so it’ll go down quickly.



Why would a sage such as you associate with them?
As Majin, it is our destiny to serve the great Izel.
Silver Wolf, you’re a danger to your own kind!

Raki gets in and bites the Scytodida, which is quite effective. The Aquamote from the other side is starting to come in now, which is a relatively minor concern really because we can easily kill it before we’ve got Doom Shade down to the sort of health level at which it would heal him.



One who brings creation and one who brings destruction…
Hmph, I don’t need to answer you.

Scytodida does manage to Curse Raki before Alexei knocks it out of the park, which sucks but is survivable. Now we’re getting ready to push on to the Doom Shade himself.



Why doesn’t he remember anything Retica says?
I don’t know. Besek can have strange effects on Majin.
He may be the same being Retica remembers…
But he’s different from his former self.
How is that possible? Was he reborn?
Besek is a lifespring for Majin.
Something may have happened before, and now…
I believe he has no memory of his past self.

Aquamote comes in and manages to Freeze Raki, his Curse probably made this more likely. I cure the Freeze with Retica and move Raki up forward a bit. I’m close to the Shade, so I return Ocenyx.



Are you trying to control me at a time like this!?
Retica, your rage will consume you!
Shut up! I’m tired of being ordered around by you!
AHHH!!!

We summon Amirhage far afield, it’s pretty resistant to magic in general so even Doom Shade’s Malus magic won’t do that much. Doom Shade hits it and Thage with a Malusphere for minor damage, and Aquamote does a lot of damage to Raki. We take advantage of our bunched up formation to heal Amirhage and Raki back up and hit the Aquamote with Thage’s Pyro magic, which gets her a level even though it’s not enough for the kill.



Now Thage has S rank Fire magic to go with her Dark and Earth. She’d still need a spell like Pyro III to really rock with Fire but the point is that it’s possible now. Amirhage goes right after her and breaks the Doom Shade’s Aura with a Sacrasphere. Now I do need to be a bit careful not to drive him into corner where he can’t be captured.



I will destroy everything!
Ah, the heretic’s true form! The curse…
Anyone with unholy blood must be punished.
Gehehehehehe…

We keep throwing out stuff at Aquamote as well since it can Release. It’s out of magic so it resorts to melee attacks. We end up finishing it off with Thage’s newly powerful Fire magic. Meanwhile we start wearing down the Shade with everything bit by bit. We don’t manage to land a Fracture, but Amirhage does Slow it with a Sacra II. I’m pretty sure Doom Shade is especially susceptible to Slow. Doom Shade has moved out of the corner, which makes it easy to surround. We start in on it with everything we’ve got, trying to Fracture with Thage’s Terra III and Alexei. This also lets us feel out the amount of damage our attacks are doing. Amirhage also acts as a backup healer with his Prayer II once the Shade is too low for him to do anything else.



No, if it had, we Majin would know about it.
Then we still have time…

Yuri moves in to try and weaken Doom Shade down to the red zone. This does put her at risk, though.



What were my mother’s final words!?
The words of the dead mean nothing to the living.
I didn’t ask for your philosophy!
Retica, it’s useless.
Was this all for nothing…?


We start getting our Combo set up, but it’s not quite fast enough.



The Goddess will release us from this prison.
We shall have a new world to unleash our wrath upon.
Maybe, maybe not. But you won’t live to see it.
Impurity must be… punished…
Sinners must be… destroyed…
Do you ever say anything else?
Besek is indeed altering the Majin within it…

The Doom Shade then manages to exactly kill Yuri with a Malus IV, which really sucked. But who cares about that in the end?



In Besek, only the strong survive.
The weak perish, until only one is left.
But things are different…
Is someone controlling the Majin? Changing them?

Thage and Alexei hit the Doom Shade and hit him hard, cutting through that absurd 360 Overkill HP like butter and getting me the second to last Majin I need.



What you seek is not in Besek…
What!?
The betrayer has been punished already…
Your bloodline no longer exists…
Defeating me should gain you no satisfaction…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
…
Kid…
Is this… Is this the end?
What was the point of coming all the way here…?
Kid…
…

Battle Result:

Levels:
Thage 24->25

Majin:
Doom Shade Lv 22 x 1

Gold:
15000

Refugee:
Parjava

I think now it’s time to get some answers.

Video- “Perdition Lead Out”

Click For Video

The runt’s end is drawing near.
Thage, you know I speak the truth.
The magic energy in the air isn’t the blame for his weakened state.
It’s his cursed blood affecting the rest of his body.
If this continues, then he won’t last much longer…
His body will turn into a Majin, and his poisoned blood will spill out and kill him.
You knew this, yet you did nothing. Why?
Heretics are not very common. I could not leave him.
I needed to know how he came into existence.
I needed to know why Majin blood and human blood was mixed.
…
Raki, what do you know about the heretics?
Why do the Majin hunt them down and kill them?
…

To think the Majin could feel shame about their mistakes.



We’ve done many things in order to make it a reality… The Majin’ll stop at nothing to resurrect her.
And the mixing of the blood was an experiment to help in the Majin’s plan…?
…
I’m going to assume I’m right.
It didn’t all go as planned.
We thought they’d be strong enough to become Izel, but we were wrong.
And soon, they started attacking the Falsin
So hurting the humans isn’t really one of the Majin’s motives?
…
What is this “Izel” the Majin worship?
In truth, we don’t know. None of us has ever seen Izel.
We don’t even have evidence of her existence…
Long ago, we just started to wish for the birth of Izel. That’s all.
It’s as if that was our sole purpose for being alive.

Such a waste of time.



I agree.
But it gave meaning to our existence.
Thage, we aren’t proud of all our experiments, but we can’t change the past.
Is it possible to remove the impurities from a heretic’s blood?
No one knows.
Even if it were possible, no one knows what could happen if it succeeded.
I see…
I wonder what the world would be like if the humans at Majin.
I wonder what would happen if the humans took over the darkness.
I want to see it happen.
Thage…?
That’s why I need the Eternal Poison.
With the Eternal Poison and this librum, everything will be revealed.
Thage, are you thinking straight!?
Get rid of the runt! Forget everything!
Hahaha…
Thage!
(You’re acting foolish, Thage…!)
(What in the hell are you after…!?)

It’s not going to mean anything soon. Besek seems to know I’m coming as well.



My reports tell me Besek is stirring.
The Koona believe that it’s an omen.
Please be careful…

Shivan is always worth listening to.



Shivan: Evil is a deadly mist, threatening to swallow all in its path.
The darkness grows in strength and light cannot penetrate it.
You must stop this darkness from engulfing the world…

And if the information we received was correct, things are about to get very exciting indeed.



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’m not what that ‘person’ we saved earlier was and I don’t care so much.



That’s right.
Parjava: Then I’m glad I ran into you. I want to thank you in some way.
That’s not necessary.
Parjava: Hahaha…
Don’t be afraid.
It’s simple: If you tell me your wish, I will grant it for you.
Grant my… wish?
Parjava: Correct.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any wishes that you’d be able to grant.
Thanks for the offer, though.
Parjava: Oh well.
I guess I should get going, then.
Parjava: Before you leave, please accept this as a token of my gratitude.



Feinne’s Notes: This is an awesome staff that we’ll give to Thage, it’s got Meta III on it but we’re going to pull that out and pull the Terra III off of the other staff because both of those can go in librums as well.

Parjava: Farewell.

It’s getting closer to the end every day. I can feel it approaching.
- recovered text fragments