Part 68: Igros Castle

The thing about these little info boxes is that they never update. This is still calling Igros the base of Larg despite... uh...


Yeah.


Ramza walks up to the gates, unhindered.



: This chocobo is my brother Zalbag's...


However, these ominous signs aren't enough to keep our plucky hero out of castles!



I'm a bit tired of these formation screens that tell you nothing about the area.


Inside, Zalbag is attacking Dycedarg!



: You mean Duke Larg? He'd have died anyway! Think about it. He couldn't even fight without relying on others for help! It was a mistake for anybody like him to even start a war!
: It's bad to kill one's lord, but my father... I'll never forgive that. Why him? Why'd you have to kill him?



: Why, brother!? Why did you kill father!?


One of the Hokuten knights finds them.


He calls in reinforcements.



: Zalbag!


Ramza's crew arrives on the scene. Now the battle has begun!


Er, uh, who now? Dycedarg kinda is the elder brother.


The knights are nothing special, even if they are fairly well equipped.


Zalbag, on the other hand, is a pretty cool guy.


Zalbag's Arc Knight is a bit different than Elmdor's. By a bit I mean a lot.


Normally this is where I'd tell you what his abilities do, but...


Since he's a guest, we can look at them!


Also he has so much JP in random things he's unlocked Mime.


His Destroy Sword has four abilities that are essentially upgraded versions of the Knight's stat breaking skills, being ranged and much more reliable and potent.


He also has an extra reaction ability.


And some pretty stuff in support.


Lune Knight?

Dammit FFT, I love you to death but sometimes you're really hard to defend.


Dycedarg's brave story entry mentions that he's skilled in both sword and sorcery. This job is representative of that.

Or it would be if his PA and MA were better. Oh well, those innate abilities with his high HP make him fairly resilient.


His Sword Skill combines the Holy Knight and Divine Knight skillsets, giving Dycedarg a pretty good physical command. Except that his starting JP sucks for some reason so he never uses much of it past Stasis Sword.


Fire 3, Ice 3, Bolt 3, Bio 3 (Death variant). They can't all be amazing. In fact, this spell list is really crummy. He ought to brush up on his magic.


So Ramza throws the spell book at him.


Dycedarg pockets it and gives Ramza a sarcastic thumbs up for his efforts.

He'll pay for that.


I don't know why he doesn't use Lightning Stab at least. It's weird.


Both Ramza and Zalbag chug X-Potions after getting hit. They really are brothers!


I couldn't get to Dycedarg in time so one of his knights gets it.


The elevation difference makes most plans of attack impractical, so if you aren't a teleport abusing floozy like me pelting Dycedarg with magic is the best plan.



: Our brother's started a war and killed Larg to satisfy his own ambition! This is disgraceful and cannot be forgiven!!
: Zalbag!
: Fools! Why won't you obey? Why do you defy me? The powerful must rule the powerless ones! It's our duty! Even the once mighty Royal Family has fallen and lost their power! It's only natural for us to take their place! It's the right way to use our power!! Why can't you understand!?
: Don't you have any 'justice', Brother!? The Beoulve name is only for the brave! You aren't worthy of it, Brother!
: 'Justice'? I'm embarrassed to think you even said that! You think such pretty ideals can govern the people!? Why are you able to use that sword? Why do you think the people call you a hero? It's all because of me!! Because I dirtied my hands you're here! You should be thanking me, not despising me!!


Sometimes, the most effective solution is to jab a sword into a guy's spine.


Have I told you how much I enjoy Magic Sword for its instant effect? It lets me do crap like this.


So, rather than being mostly fatal, the Holy is all fatal.






: Ivalice would've been ours, the Beoulve's... You fools...


Dycedarg falls to the ground.


But the Capricorn stone in his possession responds?!




So Dycedarg was a suitable body for one of the Lucavi.


The Ghost of Fury, Adramelk!





With a burst of energy...


All the knights are vaporized!

...Incidentally, if you charm one of the knights before killing Dycedarg the horny bastard sticks around. I guess love negates the fury or something. Or maybe it's a programming quirk.



: I killed Balbanes... Yes, I did it... The Beoulve's finally had their chance to rule... But he blew it! That idiot! So I killed him... Even a sword master can't fight poison!


He removes Zalbag with a blast of magic!

: Now it's your turn... You'll regret opposing me!


So I guess this guy was Dycedarg's Elder Brother all along?

Maybe I shouldn't take typos so seriously.

The Ghost of Fury's Fear is more of the same, Seal, Chicken Race, Lose Voice, and Loss. More status spells.

His All Magic is what I expect from a command named such. Holy, Fire 4, Ice 4, Bolt 4, Flare, Demi 2, Bahamut, Odin, Leviathan, Salamander. his preferred spell is Bahamut, reminiscent of Velius's fascination with Cyclops, and if you have difficulty dealing with the height difference and getting to him he will not hesitate to pelt you with incredible magic. He's got around 1,450 HP, still not a whole lot, but once again if you can't reach him that well its enough to let him start dropping folks.


Holy Explosion's incantation.


How many of these guys have I blown up at this point? Four?


Scorpio is a best/worst thing with Taurus and Adramelk is a monster, so it's a bad relationship. Don't worry Norma, there'll be some Virgos for you to nuke later.


I think this has the same coding quirk that produces CT that Riovanes had, except it's Ramza's whole party instead of just Ramza. If you don't have issues reaching Adramelk he's easy to beat to death before he tries anything.


Hell yeah! Faith stuck around!


You know Ramza's pummeled all four Zodiac Demons so far?


He's immune to Faith. Bugger.


He has exactly 1,428 HP this time. Drain and other percentile damage attacks murder Zodiac demons.


So much so that Beowulf actually scores the killing blow.


And he would have recovered nearly all of his HP were he missing any. Drain and Life Drain are great at ending these guys.


Adramelk is level 46.



: If only 'Bloody Angel' were here this wouldn't have happened...


Adramelk explodes like the rest of his fell kin, leaving behind the Capricorn stone.



: Names don't matter... What's important is how you live your life. Alma... I must save Alma!