Part 26: Galuf vs. X-Death

^^^ BERSERKER UPDATE ABOVE ^^^




Right, so we've got a good chunk of stuff coming up. First up, we've got a boss to fight.







What are these?
Sealed creatures?!



Here they come!







These guys don't have actual names, though that's something consistent with all versions. They're seals, so that's what most refer to them as. They can also kick your ass if you don't know their gimmicks.



To start with, all four of them will stick to physical attacks. Nothing too damaging, and so far they're pretty tame.





Faris hastes the party to start with, because Haste2 is baller. Bartz's job is to buff the party with Shell. Yeah, I have Redx2 to speed up Shelling the party, but Shell is one of the most useful spells you can have here.





So these guys have different elements relating to the crystals. Top one is fire (thus the absorption), right is water, bottom is earth, and left is wind. They're immune to the other elements like Ice, Thunder, and Poison.

As for Fire3, don't worry, I'll show the animation later.



Faris ends up serving as my healer while Bartz layers buffs on the party. Having two healers is pretty awesome.



I also Blink everyone to avoid their physicals.





Since all Reina wants to do is attack, I give her Berserk.



She ends up doing 4000 damage a hit. These guys have 7777HP each. Reina just tears through them.

Thing is, once you bring one to low-enough HP...





...it starts using its big attack on everyone. Water uses Aqua Rake, and each one has its own elemental attack that will do big damage. That's why Shell is so damn important, and that's why you should focus on just one at a time, as getting hit with multiples of these spells will kill you in short order, even with Shell.







At any rate, Water's down.



The top one will cast Fire3. One strategy for this fight is to have fire-absorption gear, like that Flame Shield you could've just found, or a Flame Ring, and have it heal you while whittling down the rest.



That said, I have a dual-casting White Mage with Cure3 and a Blue Mage with White Wind, so these guys aren't that big an issue for me.



The wind one casts Aero 3, which is handy because it's a solid Blue Mage spell that I haven't learned yet.

The earth one uses Earthshaker, which Float nullifies. I end up destroying it before it got a chance to use it, though.



Overall, this fight went pretty smoothly, though that's because I grinded myself fucking Redx2 and buffed the shit out of my guys.



Solid reward, too.









You see...you four just broke the seal for me.





The crystal's power that once bound me... Will now be mine!









-----



My heart's pounding...it's Grandpa...they're in trouble...







-----









Grandpa! Bartz! Reina! Faris!



It's all right. He should be out for a while...huh?!



...good one...





Stop! What are you doing?!













Think Galuf! Resist and the crystals are powder!





And so the crystal shatters...







...and Galuf absorbs the power of X-Death's energy attack.









That's right. Galuf vs. X-Death. Complete with the big battle theme and everything.





X-Death is a fucking beast. His L3 magic will deal big damage.





Of course, I can avoid some of his attacks with jumping, which is handy in a solo fight.



But in the end, I can't overco-



...oh. Yes, this is a plot battle. His granddaughter in mortal danger, Galuf isn't going to fucking settle at getting knocked out at 0HP. He's out for fucking blood.







Time to give the Black Mage X-Death a little Black Magic of our own!







He'll mix things up with his special physical attack, Vacuum Wave.











He then proceeds to attack Galuf with Flare, Holy, and Meteor, all in one fucking turn. If you somehow weren't at 0HP before, you sure as hell will be now.

In the other versions, X-Death is more exasperated and in disbelief when uttering the following line. "Why...why won't you die!?"



Not yet! It's not my time to die! I'll win, X-Death...





Neither rage nor hate alone will defeat me!



This is not...mere rage or hate...!









-----







Despite being struck down, X-Death still manages to take the crystals...



...and escape. Welp.





Galuf!!



...Unfortunately, using every bit of life force in him to stop X-Death has rendered Galuf to a horrible state.





...no...good...don't have much longer...
Galuf! Don't say that!
Galuf!
Stand up!







Don't die, Galuf! "Cure 3!"



Please... "Raise!"



Awake, ye lubber! "Phoenix Down!" "Elixir!"









Even while writing this up, I'm tearing up a bit. Having four set people, it comes out of nowhere to have one of them die, especially one that's served so long as comic relief. He was always the gutsy one of the group, always willing to risk his life for his friends...

And then there's Krile, who lost her last relative in the world. The grandfather she adored so much is gone, sacrificing himself to save her life. The others are taking it hard, but Krile is simply devastated.



Just got to let time pass for the next scene to trigger...









Wha? Grandpa?







I've borrowed the power of Elder's Tree, which protected the crystals for 1000 years. Now, I give that power to you... Krile...Don't cry...











Grandpa... I feel so warm... I know he's with me...





What? X-Death...?







Krile...
Grandpa told me. X-Death is trying to destroy the crystals. We've got to hurry to X-Death's castle to stop him!

And so, as we lost an ally, so do we gain a new one.