Gift From an Angel

Tonight's slightly delayed episode starts with Archangel Vulcanus acting very un-angelic.

He has come down from Celestia to check in on Flonne. Check-in may be the wrong word, but he's suspicious of everything. He knows King K died two years ago, and he wants to know why Flonne is still in the Netherworld. He sneaks through the castle, bemoaning the conditions, until he finds a book. I assume it's smut. I'll assume more and say it's Prinny Porn, dood! For reasons I won't understand, he gets it into his head that Flonne has become evil. Not that she's dead, or taken prisoner, or is subjugated to demonic what-have-ya, no. The ditzy, timid, flower loving Flonne is evil. After tracking her because of her unique snoring patterns, he makes off with her special pendent and leaves.

The next morning, a tired looking Floone asks Laharl if he's seen her pendent. He says he didn't steal it, which Flonne believes as he wouldn't sneak around for something like that. She then explains that the pendant is, essentially, the only thing keeping her alive down here. Without it, an angel trainee such as herself will wither and die. Laharl and Etna say, "Well, that sucks," and carry on because they're demons and not very helpful. Flonne, desperate to not die, promises Laharl a "something good" if he helps her. After some consideration, silent treatment, and good-old-fashioned greed, we set out!

A few of the vessels around the palace say they saw a man head to the Blazing Core. It's a volcano, so Ice Mage Cid is finally going to shine!
Stage One takes place after Etna complains about the heat. Despite being a nearly naked demon, she's not fond of sweating. The team finds an angel feather, but it isn't Flonne's. She says it from someone much more powerful, and Etna believes this unknown angel must have stolen the pendent. Flonne doesn't think an angel would do such a thing and wonders why another Celestian would even be in the Netherworld. The battle consists of several pumpkin headed mobs guarding a headless knight. The Geo Squares give bonus exp, so try to make use of them when possible.
Stage Two starts with Etna, once again, complaining about the heat. Flonne, however, is handling it just fine. A Prinny gave her medicine to make her withstand Hell, even without her pendent. When asked who gave it to her, she can't remember because all the Prinnies look alike. The combat rounds here are similar to the last map but with more mobs and fewer Geo Squares.
State Three takes place on a map that's predominantly bad for us. Enemies have a 50% boost. There's an inactive crystal that will damage everyone by 20% of their max HP nearby. The five pumpkins blocking our path forward are easy to defeat with an OP Laharl and his multiple target moves. Swords are so much better than axes, by the way! Things can get dicey if you're low on HP near the end and you get ganged up on by the two dullahans and the nightmare. Before the fight, Laharl asks about Seraph Lamington. Knowing what's up, Etna tries to dissuade her, but Flonne says he's a good man who likes flowers and poems. Laharl wanted to know about his weaknesses than his personality traits since he thinks he may end up fighting Lamington at some point. Flonne asks Etna if there's anyone she looks up to, and Etna responds with the King. Laharl, not getting the respect he thinks is his, gets upset.
The Final Stage begins with Volcanus' hand beginning to burn. He drops the pendent, thinking it's the cause, and it lands on Mid-boss, taking a stroll through a volcano. He thanks the heavens for the wondrous gift, and Laharl overhears him and reprimands the demon who's thanking god. Flonne sees her pendant and asks for it back, but Mr. Mid-boss won't hand it over. She says the pendent harms evildoers, but Mid-boss is still unharmed. After an awkward silence, Laharl says he's just gonna take it by force then.

This fight is rough. It consists of four dullahans, two nightmares, and a next level pumpkin, as well as a Mid-boss. Everyone has upwards of 200 HP, so don't go rushing in. I brought out Laharl and hung around the spawn point until most of the mobs were around us. Unlike previous battles, everyone will rush forward to meet us. Laharl's Blash Rush and Mega Ice Spell from Cid took out two of the three lined up knights, and a final basic attack took out the other. We managed to dwindle down the other one later. The nightmares look beefy but aren't. Because they have range, they tend to hang back and give you time to kill the others. Mid-boss has a new move: Adonis Blast. It's a multi targeting move that can deal over 200 HP, but I don't know the exact targeting parameters. Fortunately, he only has enough SP to use it twice. His basic attacks did 50 damage, which a good healer can, mostly, heal through. The trick is just getting to him, as despite have over 700 HP, he lacks the DPS to make it stand up. Our new teammate, Hoggmeister, put in some good work here.

Once we win, the heavily bandaged Mid-boss walks away and trips, with the pendant falling into the lava. Laharl immediately jumps in after it. Time passes, and the team is waiting for the return of their boss. When Laharl makes it back, unscathed, he hands Flonne the necklace. She thanks him, and the Prince gets upset because he doesn't like such honeyed words. When he asks for the "something good" that was promised, Flonne says she already gave it to him. It's the gift that the heart feels when they do something kind for another person. Laharl becomes enraged at such a stupid gift and storms off. Etna congratulates Flonne for playing Laharl so well, and Flonne is thrilled because she knows that demons can feel love. She promises to lead the way to making demons and angels be friends. The last scene of this chapter is Volcanus talking to himself. He says Flonne, the weak, timid, and flower loving, is trying to gain power and rule the Netherworld, so she can take over Celestia. He walks away but promises he'll be back in a long time. It's probably a fourth wall breaking thing...

The next chapter skit has Prinnies playing baseball. The Rotten Peaches are the worst team in the league, and they're going up against the champions from last year. Everything is going terribly for them until a fiery spirit of victory appears as a pinch hitter! Will Etna be the deciding factor? Find out tomorrow on The Miracle Full Base Hat Trick! Why did she leave off with e football reference? Why is the title a hockey thing? I'm glad the guess star, Mid-boss, was also confused.

Etna's diary is about how broken her memories are of the King. To look up to someone you barely remember must be a trip. She ends it by saying she'll get them back soon.