Part 82: Stratum 3: Bastion Part 1

It is this author’s view that the evidence clearly suggests that the chaos in Valdia surrounding the return of Besek truly began on the fields of Westmoor with the Demon Lord Morpheus.
- excerpt, The Fall of Valdia

The Dragon’s Den

I decided to move to the other path, this darkness isn’t healthy.



This place may look like heaven, but there are Majin here just like everywhere else.

Video- “Bastion Part 1”

Click For Video with Commentary



Ally Team:
So, I’m concerned about getting the chests on this map given that I need to capture a Zyr Phantasm. I’m so concerned, I’m going to leave a free slot so that I can potentially summon a Thiefler. I’m not going to start with a Majin summoned in that space, but I’ll call an Unseelie pretty quickly. Vivian will sit, because I need to get Nena experience for Luxaphel.

Enemy Team:
There’s a big Thiefler, three Aquila, two Zyr Phantasms, and two Unseelie. The Zyr Phantasms are key to the map, as we’ll see.

Deployment:



Nothing to this, melee up front. We’re going to hard charge at Thiefler and kill it, then deal with each side at a time.

Tactical Objectives:
- Capture a Zyr Phantasm
- Get the Wyrmskin armor

Map:



Just think of it as Besek testing us.
Tch, more like Besek wasting our time.
Such things cannot be helped, my dear friend.
Let’s get rid of them.
Ah, such a noble suggestion.

Rondemion starts the show by moving forward and summoning our Unseelie. It cost us 20k gold so we should get some use out of it beyond when we need to use it.



I don’t care about that.
The ritual starts!
Falsin, you will fall before the power of Izel!
Hmph…
Hahahahahahahahaha!!!
Die Falsiiiiiiin!!!

We blast the Thiefler with the Count’s magic and advance everyone else, we’re going to utilize extreme sanction against the Thiefler now.



There is a strong possibility.
But we can’t be certain until we have seen proof of this.

A Heroic Slash puts it down, though we’re not quite powerful enough to Overkill it from so much health yet. Unseelie starts on the Aquila that followed the Thiefler, getting a solid shot in.



What about them?
They might serve as good bait to lure out Penumbra…
Hmph.
It’s worth a try.

I start pushing right on to the Zyr Phantasm with the Count, whacking it with his librum. The Aquila hits Rondemion for unimpressive damage, and in response we brutally whack it with Alexei’s hammer and shoot it with an arrow from Velnor. Even better, when we hit it with Nena’s Malus magic she levels up.



Scars of Dis is Nena’s unique attack, and it’s pretty awesome. It’s a little like Marie’s Delirium, in that it’s a ranged magical librum spell. It does Dark damage and has a high chance of Cursing a target. The Zyr Phantasm we engaged earlier hits the Count with a Meta II and Confuses him, but then moves itself to a place where the Count isn’t even able to move to attack us if the computer decided it wanted to. Rondemion chops the Aquila down, which is important because we’ve got another coming and will soon have the third one as well.



You should take battle more seriously.
Oh, my apologies…

Even Confused the Count does what I’d have had him do and whacks the Phantasm again. The Aquila from the left tries to flank us by flying into the center, so I’m going to need to shift some fire onto it. Nena casts on it, and Rondemion gives it a brutal sword strike. The Zyr Phantasm has been given a Salva buff, which actually makes it nearly impossible to Bind properly. Fortunately, this means the Unseelie backing it up doesn’t have that buff, and instead has Striking Art. Our Unseelie starts shooting at it for brutal damage. Aquila manages to slip Rondemion and hits Alexei, so he fires back with a hammer blow and we put it down with the Scars of Dis.



Given the circumstances, you’re probably right.
…

I’ve got the Unseelie on the ropes and I’m trying to weaken the Zyr Phantasm as much as possible, but it appears to be making its way back to the little area where it can’t be captured and that’s just unacceptable, so I go for an Overkill even if it’s not very likely at its health level. In the end Alexei and Rondemion don’t quite have enough juice to do 750 without any crits, though Rondemion does get a level out of it so it’s not a total loss. This puts the pressure on me to make sure I pull off the other capture, because otherwise I’ll have to redo the map. My Unseelie is almost done, so I send it to get in the way of the last Aquila, who started approaching a while ago. Meanwhile I am much more successful blowing up the Unseelie than I was the Phantasm, even getting both of the crits I wanted on the big thing. A rain of blows against the Aquila swiftly sees it off, and I start advancing on the final Unseelie and Phantasm slowly but surely. The Unseelie is lured out and smashed, fortunately it’s a melee one and easy to get away from its buddy. This gets Alexei a level, which is always great.



Alexei’s level isn’t that interesting but it does give me a convenient screenshot to break up that text so hooray. Now it’s time to do the same thing to this Zyr Phantasm we did to the last, with a few key differences. Namely, that it doesn’t have a Salva buff to heal it huge amounts each turn and that I’m not dealing with two other Majin at the same time.



Hahahahahahaha!
Remember me when you’re in the Netherworld!

Ha ha I wonder what that could mean. Anyway long story short we beat up the Phantasm, the Count gets a level, and after a bunch of maneuvering we get it away from the hole it could jam itself into and then smash it to the ground. Yuri levels up from the capture, too. Now it’s boss time.

Battle Result:

Levels:
Rondemion 23->24
Duphaston 19->20
Alexei 18->19
Nena 14->15
Yuri 17->18

Majin:
Zyr Phantasm Lv 20 x 1
Aquila Lv 18 x 2
Unseelie Lv 19 x 2

Gold:
11500

Hmph. The Shade Dragon. Just as expected.



The librum is pulsing again.
Let’s finish this quickly.
Arrogant fools! You actually think you can defeat me?

These damn Majin don’t even realize how much of a joke they are.



Vahahaha! I’ll feast upon your flesh and bones!
Don’t get ahead of yourself…
You’re just another weak Majin who likes to talk big.
You won’t be able to hear me once you’re dead.
You’ll be in the Netherworld enjoying eternal silence!
Hmph, you’ll regret those words.

He’s just one more obstacle between me and my true target.
- unknown