Part 32

Scalding Coffee posted:

This is how battles should turn out.
Seeing Shaggy die in one hit is like a running joke.

 He actually survives until almost the end of the video for this next battle. He more than earns his salt this time. 


Getting right to business...


What?
I heard a voice from the other side of the door.


Do come in. Of course, you can go back now and abandon Mitula!
Sir Astral... The greater devil that attacked Bedoe was as strong as Volcanon.
Are you talking about Sir Odd Eye? Did he fight against Volcanon at Bedoe?
Yes. And he lost.
I can't believe it! Odd Eye is the strongest devil among us. But we haven't been able to contact him lately. This is good news for me. If I get the Jewel of Evil, I can take his place. Now, enter the shrine. Mitula is here.
What should we do? A greater devil awaits us inside.



Sir Astral is lost in thought...

Sir Astral?
I think I've heard that name before...
Sir Astral?
Hmm...





What's wrong with you? Should we go into the shrine now?
Oh, sorry. Zalbard... At least he's not as strong as Odd Eye. But still, he's a greater devil. We had better complete our preparations before we go in.



Well, we're as ready as we're going to be, so we might as well head on in.







Astral is a cheeky fucker, isn't he?



I've never... For that you will die! Are you ready to die?

Battle #30: The First Greater Demon - Google: Still Processing and Dailymotion: Part 1, Part 2
 The video isn't a victory run this time. It came right down to the end, too. 



We've got to contend with 5 Dark Knights, 2 Harpy Queens, 2 Orc Lords, 2 Wizards, a Wyvern, a Master Monk, a Gargoyle, and Zalbard himself. Both Zalbard and the Harpy Queens have crossed into ?? Attack power, meaning they have 100+. I assume the Gargoyle's presence is a mistake, since they've been outdated for a good long time.




Good to see we're starting things off right...



Time to introduce Shaggy's newest summon.




Neptun... makes it rain on enemies until they die. Oh well, I won't argue with the results.






MOTHERFUCKER





Ron and Cluny cut the wizard down.




I didn't think I'd ever be thankful for a Wyvern using it's defense-ignoring firebreath, but apparently life is full of surprises.



Cherry finishes off an Orc Lord.




Harvey is desperately clinging to life, as well as his spot on the team at this point.





Ron and Knox made short work of the first harpy, earning level 9 for Knox.



Well, it's better than killing one of them outright, I suppose.




D'ohh, there goes the furball.




Hmm, Nigel can almost one-shot Wyverns. Not too shabby.



Harvey finishes it off, earning level 6.



Ashley pummels the Dark Knight that killed Wolfy.




Samwise and Cherry bring down the second Harpy, giving us a moment to regroup.




The remaining wizard sets himself up for me. How kind of him.










Harvey cleans up after Knox.




Harvey's gotten some decent defense boosts over the last few levels. He can actually survive some hits now.




Cluny takes a nasty blow from an orc lord.







Knox, Ron, and Harvey take on the incoming knight, earning level 7 for Harvey.



Meanwhile, Cluny gets his vengeance on the Orc, earning level 9 and learning Katon 2.









Nice of him to start wasting his magic on single targets.






Craaaaap. Cluny started off with a critical, but then the dark knight answered with one of his own.



Darin finished the knight off, earning level 9.

You wanted to know what kind of damage a greater demon does?









Great, Ron falls to a crit.



Two targets this time.




Darin and Knox make short work of the master monk. Knox earned level 10.






Oh, for fuck's sake. That's just cruel.




I guess we won't be seeing any more magic today.




Things are starting to look bleak.






And now Cherry's dead.



Nigel finished off the last dark knight, earning level 10. Time to focus on Zalbard and hope for the best.






Zalbard wasted the last of his MP on Ashley... Then struck her hard enough to one-shot her. Only Nigel and Samwise are still alive... Time to show the action blow for blow:














Hahahaha! I can't fucking believe that I actually pulled it off. Nigel is the only survivor!



Where is Mitula?
I don't know... haven't seen her.





As it touches the floor, the Ground Orb emits a blinding flash of light!

I can't endure the light... Ohh...





Ground Orb, nothing. It was all me, baby.

The orb released holy power in its light.
Hey, look over there!



The Goddess Mitula appears before us!





She picks up the Ground Orb and casts a spell, merging it with her statue.



Goddess Mitula?
Oh, nice to meet you, Sir Astral.
Oh, you know my name? Gee... Please tell us, what should we do now?
I don't know.
What?! But, why? You're a goddess. You know our future, right?
I'm not Volcanon. I never tell people the future, even if it could prevent death.
Death?! Not ours, I hope.
Zeon is an unimaginably strong devil. If he attains full power, I, even Volcanon, would not be able to stop him.
So, we have to defeat him before he revives completely.
His power is sealed in the Jewel of Evil.
So, that's why he wants the jewel!
Then, why don't we keep the jewel forever?
Arc Valley is the place where evil power gathers. He will recover his power if he stays there long enough.
Did you say Arc Valley?
You call it Ancient Tower or Granseal. Granseal is named for the symbol in the tower. It seals the ground.
I see.



Down to the surface. To save the people.
Are you going to abandon us, as Volcanon did?
Well... no. I'll give you a hint. Listen to the legends from the storytellers before you go to Grans Island. You can't kill Zeon, but Volcanon and I will help you if you weaken him. Nigel! You are the chosen one. You have the holy jewel. We need your help to reseal Zeon. Find the holy sword.
Where is it? How can we find it?
It's on Grans. Your jewel will lead you to it...



Mitula disappears!

Mitula, Mitula!!
Nigel, Mitula has vanished! What should we do now?
We have to go to Arc Valley on Grans Island. Nigel, find the storytellers first.

There were a couple of chests lying around during the battle. In them is...





A Critical Sword and Mithril #14. The Critical Sword increases the odds of getting a critical hit.



Through the door to the left, we find a statue. Inspect it and...



It comes to life!

Hey! The evil is gone! Did you chase them away?
Nigel, who is she?
Did you say Nigel? Oh, you're from Granseal!
Yes, we are, but who are you?
Do you know how long I've been here as a stone statue?
How do you know Nigel?
Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Layla, a sorceress. Goddess Mitula told me about you.
She did?
Yes. She was worried about you. You are fated to fight Zeon. But, she is unable to help you. It's an order from Volcanon. But, I'm here for her. I'm here to help you. You want to go to Grans, right? Then, I think we can use the ancient ship. Let's go to Nazca.

Layla has joined the team. She's a sorcerer, like Shaggy, but she gains spells more slowly than him. At level 11, she only has Dao.



More chests! We find a Power Water and a Healing Seed.



On the other side of the shrine, we find the Storytellers. The information we came for is inscribed on them:

Arc Valley is a dark place where evil gathers. He who rules Arc Valley is the King of the Devils.

Dark Sol, Dark Dragon, and Zeon fought desperately to obtain Arc Valley. The fighting of the devil kings created a mighty storm.

Zeon won. And every devil named him King of the Devils. The other two kings envied Zeon. They sealed his powers inside the Jewel of Evil.

When Zeon lost his powers, he fell to Earth, and created a giant crater when he hit. His moan destroyed the mountains and the crater was buried by the debris.

Grieving over the fight, the God of Wisdom created the Jewel of Light. The Jewel of Light chose a brave man and gave him a Holy Sword.

With the Holy Sword in hand, the brave man fought against the two devil kings. The Holy Sword contained holy power. Thus, the two devil kings were defeated.

Evil Arc Valley was sealed beneath the Ancient Tower. Never open the door to the tower. A great evil sleeps inside.

In the event of Zeon awakening, the power of light will choose another. Believe us. We lie not. Attack the devil at his mouth with the Holy Sword.

Well, we're done here. As we leave Tristan, we're stopped by a birdman...



Yes, he's Nigel, but who are you?
I'm Dustin of Bedoe.
Bedoe?
Nigel saved my life there.
Nigel saved... Oh, yes! I remember
You remeber me? Let me thank you. May I go with you?
You grew up quickly, huh?
Yeah, I learned how to fight.

Dustin is a Bird Battler, like Harvey. Only not as good. Even four levels above Harvey, his attack and agility are both lower than Harvey's and he only has one more defense point.


Voting time:

We've got two new arrivials, which means we've got to vote two members to the sidelines. I strongly recommend just sidelining the newcomers, Layla and Dustin. They're worse in their respective classes than the members we already have.