Captain Gordon, Defender of the Earth!

In the space around Planet Earth is the world renowned Defender of the Earth, Captain Gordon! Alongside him is his young, supple, scantly clad side-kick, Jennifer. The two of them are having one last cup of tea before they set off to hyperspace. Their destination? The Netherworld! The chief reminds them that they have intel saying the Overlord is planning an attack on Earth. Only Captain Gordan, Defender of the Earth, Jennifer, and their all-purpose super robot, Thursday, can save the world!  

We return to the Netherworld, and a Prinny tells Laharl about a disturbance in the area known as the Stellar Graveyard. The graveyard is where all kinds of random space junk land, but Flonne wonders if the disturbance is an angel here to bring her back. Etna tells her it's probably an alien, a brain sucker, or "a midget with glowing fingertips." Laharl thinks it's a waste of time, but Flonne gets him to go anyway.

Stage One tells us that Captain Gordon, Defender of the Earth, crash landed. He landed elsewhere, but Jenn and Thursday are together. The robot assumes Gordon died, but the law of "always listen to a hot babe" makes Thursday begin scanning for him at Jennifer's orders. Meanwhile, Flonne is saying how beautiful the area is. Etna informs her that she could just choke the hopeless romantic. And by could, Etna begins to choke the poor girl, and Laharl gets her to stop. The battle consists of eight catgirls protecting one dullahan. I had some issues here as the catgirls have learned a new move from last we fought that functions like last night's pumpkins. I'd tell you my strategy, but I only had Laharl and Etna alive at the end. I may need to do some grinding soon.
Stage Two starts off with the two parties meeting. But first, Jennifer assumes all the potential horrible that could happen to her: hentai tentacles, vore, or even worse. Thursday asks her to keep her imagination under control. Laharl and crew enter, and Jennifer assumes he's a human who has been abducted by demons. Laharl is stunned because, again, Jennifer is a scantly clad, supple woman, which is still one of the "cute little boy's" weaknesses. She starts to assume all the horrible stuff the demons may have done to Laharl: amputation, brain sucking, and anal probing, and the Prince wants her to leave. Jennifer assumes it's a puberty thing and tries to tell him about sexual reproduction. Flonne ends up being the voice of reason and explains everything to the human. She's shocked, of course, as her and Thursday's brains figure out that their HQ is a bunch of liars. She spills the beans that they came here to kill the Overlord with Captain Gordon, Defender of the Earth. Laharl then plays the good guy and tries to find him because it is the Overlord's duty to find heroes. He begins to shine like a Super Saiyan! The battle has us surrounded by more catgirls, but there's an optional Geo Field around us that we can, and should, use to prevent them from attacking us. Defeat the ones near to us before purging the geo squares. This was a lot easier than the last battle.
Stage Three has us finding Gordon...sorta. We see he's alright, and he then begins to wonder about his comrades. He leaves to the north just as the team enters from the south. We're fighting a horde of pixies who aren't too terrible. The easiest, albeit longer, strategy is to throw the Silence Geo Crystal onto the field. The mobs are only dangerous if they're using their magic. That makes it hard for us to heal, should the need arise, but our basic attacks should out DPS them easily.
Stage Four has Jennifer talking to "Harlie" about his plans to invade Earth. Laharl has none as he knows the planet is polluted because humans suck. Jenn then has some conflicts of interest toward human nature and references "that man's eyes." I wonder who that is? Flonne wonders about a war between Earth and Hell and becomes worried. Etna is excited. The battle has several red Geo Squares with positive benefits for whoever is on them. Be the one to use them. Watch out for the sword guy in the back.
The Final Stage has us catching up to Captain Gordon, Defender of the Earth. He does his overacting and gets Thursday to aid him in the coming fight. Jennifer stays back because, it turns out, she's smart enough to know we're not the enemy. The two bicker for a moment before Laharl summons lighting and sets the human straight. Before the fight, Laharl and Captain Gordon, Defender of the Earth, make a deal. If the human wins, Laharl won't invade. But Laharl wins, Captain Gordon, Defender of the Earth, and his crew becomes vassals. Gordon insults Flonne, calling her a villainess, and she gets fighty.

The actual battle here is us vs. Captain Gordon, Defender of the Earth, and Thursday. Thursday seems to be the only real threat, so focus him first. It took two rounds, as the guy has 2000 HP. He also an attack that hits everyone around him that can lay waste to a team surrounding him. Gordon's only actions were a few basic shots with his gun. He has more HP, though, so he's no pushover. He might be able to out tank you.

The laugh of Laharl echos as we remain victorious. "Heroes don't always win!!" Flonne then realizes she just harmed a human and begins to panic. Etna is glad she's acting like a demon, but we see a scene in Celestia. Vulcanus is telling Lamington that Flonne killed a human and has a melodramatic tirade. Lamington seems more concerned about why a human would be in the Netherworld, though. As Vulcanus goes off to capture Flonne, the Seraph wonders what a human can do here? Flonne hopes to be able to talk to her boss one day, positive that he'll understand!

The next chapter skit has Etna constantly being interrupted by Captain Gordon, Defender of the Earth, who talks about his resume of being the 37th Defender of Earth. He remains his chipper and parodic self until we hear sounds of violence. Do I look forward to Angels, Demons, and Humans?

Etna's journal is about how she's not mad at Mama K anymore, but she can't figure out the exact reason why.

Reincarnation

Things get deep tonight. It's not all fun and games in the Netherworld.

A bright, moon filled sky lights our screen as children's voices sing a song about a Red Moon. It's hauntingly beautiful. When the song is done, Flonne wakes up to general singing and wonders who could be singing at this hour. She encounters the red Prinny, Big Sis Prinny, who reminds her of the Prinny life cycle. It's also implied that she was the one who gave Flonne the medicine when she lost her pendant. I have no idea how Flonne couldn't pick her out of a lineup as she's red and doesn't say "Dood" until Flonne points it out. Through forced doods, Big Sis Prinny reveals that Prinny atonement is at hand, and the Prinnies who have done their work are free to reincarnate. In the morning, Laharl is upset that his vassals are missing. Etna assumes they left because of the Prince's mistreatment, and he admits that 20 hours workdays with no days off may be harsh. Flonne becomes annoyed because she hates Jeff Bezos, and Laharl wonders if she knows something. Regardless, the team sets out to bring back the missing vessels because, otherwise, it'll make Laharl look bad.

The Lunar Snowfield has the best battle music in the games. I've often mentioned how much I love slow, melancholic melodies, and this piece fits that bill perfectly. Sorrowful Angels is the least battleest battle them ever, but I dig it!

Stage One sets the battle theme of everything being pretty tricky. We're on a fully affected Geo Field, and everything is an Enemy Boost X3 tile. The pumpkins guarding the way have a move similar to Zombie Twister, except they return to their starting location. It's deadlier but easier to prepare for in some ways. Ignore them, though, and definitely ignore the Cyclopes (which is not how you properly pluralize Latin, Google). The first thing we need to do is kill the Geo Crystal. It took me two turns and left my best characters away from the battle, so maybe use slightly weaker guys. The Cyclopes don't bother moving much, so just don't go near them. Hope your leftovers can handle a few rounds until you get your strong party back and Laharl and Etna can do work. Once it's down to the two Cyclopes, work on them one at a time in a long grind. They have high HP and even higher defense (700). Some of your characters may not be able to do damage, but Laharl and Maderas were! Save space for a healer; you're gonna need her! Do this twice, and you win. If you want to, throw the Defense -50% on to the field. It'll probably help you more than it'll hurt you. ..probably.
Stage Two takes place after Laharl yells at Flonne to ask if she knows anything. Flonne gets mad because he's a jerk who doesn't even use her name. She continues by saying he should let the Prinnies continue on and not chase them. Laharl turns into a drama-queen. This battle is the easiest of the night. There are three groups of enemies, and each group has six mobs whose levels range from 1-32. One will be higher level than you, one will be about the same, and the rest will die fast.
Stage Three has a similar mob focus, except with humanoid units. The first group uses swords and axes. The second group are spear welders who guard the Mages and Archers at the back. The first two groups aren't affected by the Geo Crystals, so don't worry about them yet. I had some issues because I'm starting to realize how terrible Flonne is, but I want to keep using her. Several times, a good character would have easily killed the enemy, but she failed every time. It caused a lot of pain for me. Suffer through the first two groups and change the Geo Crystals to have the Attack -50% effect. The remaining mobs are mild speed bumps to victory. Before the battle, Flonne asked Etna why Laharl is like that. Etna reveals he was raised to be a kind and loving boy by his human mother. Being a witch, she came to Hell to study something, and King K fell in love with her. Unfortunately, she died. Laharl became sick with an illness that could only be cured with the death of a loved one. Mama K sacrificed herself to save her son, and the Prince has been resentful towards love and all that jazz ever since. Etna guesses that Flonne reminds Laharl of his mom.
The Final Stage is lit up by Prinnies returning to the Red Moon. Laharl demands that they return to the palace, but Flonne and Big Sis Prinny rebuke him, but in different ways. They both say this is for the Prinnies best, but the Prince remains resolute, and a fight breaks out.

The battle consists of a Grim Reaper lookalike who's guiding the Prinnies, along with several Nightmare variants. Most of their attacks are Ice based, which aren't a big deal. My fragile backline, who gets hit, has good resistances. The guy in charge can use a Light Storm move, which is still deadly, and they all have physical attacks to worry about, too. It's oddly easy, and it's been a long time since I had this many survivors.

After the battle, Death (named Minerva for me) asks why we're interfering. Big Sis says that if Laharl cares about his vassals, he'll let them reincarnate. The combo of her and Flonne manage to buy the Prinnies time and convince Laharl, or at least stun him for a moment, and Flonne asks what BSP did to end up in Hell. She says she killed herself, but only to save the life of her son. The cogs start turning in everyone's head. Flonne wishes she could stay around longer to help her son, but that's just not possible. As her spirit exits her penguin body, we all see her human form, which Etna and Laharl know very well. She says the Prince has met a wonderful person and reincarnates. Laharl's demeanor softens, and says to Flonne, using her name, that they're all heading home.
 
The next chapter skit references Gordon, Jennifer, and their robot friend, Thursday. Etna has an English accent for some reason. If I recall correctly, it's oddly specific! Let's see if Captain Gordon is actually invincible?

Etna's diary goes into detail about her feelings toward Mama K. She hated her. She wanted the King's attention but didn't get it because of the apparent love the King had for his wife. Hate is a strong word, but jealousy is more apropos. There was also another scene where Lamington and the voice talk to each other about what's going on. Since I don't take notes as I go, I've forgotten when and the details. They seemed mildly concerned, though. Was it about the fight between Laharl and Flonne?

Of being an Overlord

Laharl is still celebrating his new promotion and laughing constantly. Apparently, laughing is a big part of being Overlord. Flonne doesn't understand. Since Prince...ahem, King Laharl still hasn't done anything as ruler, Etna decides to give him his first task. She brings in a boy named Aramis. He wants us to find his pets. Laharl calls this beneath him, and Etna becomes stern and a bit scary. She will never recognize Laharl as Overlord unless he helps Aramis. As we make our way to the gate, we learn the Alternate Overlord from last night wasn't actually an Overlord but a regular guy from wherever he's from. ...totally normal. Also, Salamander's Breath has a lot of zombies.

Stage One has a lot of zombies. Etna infers Aramis' pets are zombies. She says that they might as well kill the zombies, seeing as they're already dead. This battlefield is one of the best in the game! The entire map gives a plus to both EXP and gold earned, so we'll be back here quite often to train once I get to some reincarnating. Some of your weaker characters will die, but the handful you care about can wipe up the zombies easily. Good luck, regardless, because the zombies have a painfully annoying move called Zombie Twister that does a lot of damage to everyone in a line. And it moves them, so you can't surround anyone.
Stage Two has more zombies. It also has an Enemy Defense +50% Crystal behind a group of zombies. Throw a few characters, and it's gonna take a few, or toss some zombies to clear a path and focus that down first. Once you do, I hope you have a good zombie killing strategy down because you're gonna need it! Before the fight starts, Etna scolds Laharl for being bored, and then she reveals some of her backstory with the King to Flonne. She was a lowly commoner in the Palace, and everyone would bully her. She had a pet once that the demons killed. As she sat there sobbing, King K helped her bury the pet and took her on a vassal. Etna has been loyal ever since, and that's why she wants Laharl to live up to his father's standards.
Stage Three has even more zombies! It also sucks. Half the field, where we start, has a Damage 20% and a Silence effect. Between the two halves is a green line that has a No Entry and Throwing effect. I sacrificed my ranged units to kill the nearest green crystal and then used Laharl as a martyr to kill the Damage one. Then I went weird. Once that's gone, the zombies will split up and come at us from either side. One side is further away, so make quick work of the ones closest. I killed most of the zombies but left a few alive because I wanted the big bonus. If you put a No Entry on a large area, characters can't move, giving a character time to set up the Geoboard. Eventually, I cleared the Geo Crystal board (by making everyth8ng green) and got easy free stuff. Regardless of how much time you waste, enjoy the affordable (by American standards) healthcare at the Netherworld Hospital.
Stage Four has, you guessed it, even more zombies! The team finally asked Aramis if it was okay to kill his pets to reassemble them later, and he said he's been doing it all along. This reminds Etna of her childhood, and Flonne asks if every demon does that. Laharl confirms that it's just those two. The spawn point is surrounded by two Geo Colors. One color boosts Attack and Defense, while the other debuffs them. Use the good ones to your advantage, and don't let the zombies use them. This is as straightforward as it gets today.
The Final Stage is opps all zombies and has Aramis pointing out his piece de resistance. Standing in the back is the ultimate zombie! It has the legs of the fastest runner in the Netherworld, the Body of Hercules, and the Brain of the Great Sage, Mahogany. And to top it all off, it has a Horse Wiener...
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Make use of the green Defense Boosting Titles and hope the unique zombie with over 1000 HP doesn't lay waste to your backline. He will, but try to avoid that. After the battle, Aramis, who has been disrespectful this whole time, refers to Laharl as "Your Highness" and becomes like a typical vassal. Etna begins to see him a the rightful heir, but he's not there yet. Flonne is shocked by how much Laharl, and herself, have changed since she's been in Hell. It reaffirms her hope that demons and angels can be friends. You can try to steal the Horse Weiner (and the rest of the stuff) if you want to.
 
The next chapter skit has Etna hyping up the evil Prinnies. They don't know why until Etna reveals that the Prinnies can merge into a giant robot named Super Pringer X! The Prinnies can do that, obviously, but Etna decides she'll...something. Episode eight, Fairwell Pringer X, is tomorrow, though. And after that, it's reincarnation Pringer Z!

Laharl's Challege

"Dear Sir or Madam..."

After all that's happened, Laharl decides to invite everyone in the Netherworld to compete for Overlord. Anyone who takes the deed of Overlord from his hand before Lahral reaches the Heart of Evil shall be declared ruler. Should Laharl approach it, of course, the title stays on him. This is a trick as there is no deed. He's using this as a way to get rid of all the pretenders.

As we walk through the palace, we notice all the usual vassals are gone. I'm sure it's fine. The gatekeeper says everyone is waiting to ambush us near the Heart of Darkness. I'm sure it's fine.

Stage One is an overcrowded battlefield. Laharl expected a lot of competition, but he didn't expect thirty mobs on a battlefield with only thirty five squares! As for strategy...AoE? Try to kill the Imps first. Those two got more kills than the rest of them combined.
Stage Two is the exact opposite. Sardia, the Demonslayer, is standing alone in the center of the massive field. She says her blade has killed over 2000 demons...or was it under 2000? A swing of her sword can rend the earth asunder...perhaps? When she asks what Laharl thinks, he says he's gonna make her moan in pain, which causes Etna to correct him. This is another one where strategy is odd. She has all the moves a high ranking sword user would have, so you have to get close. But you can't get too close, or else she'll Blade Rush an entire line of teammates. She's much higher level than you, so a lot of your attacks may not do damage. Maderas is a great pick-up here. In hindsight, maybe I should have had my weaker characters to the sides and not behind. I wonder what she would have done then?
Stage Three is the Prinnies trying to be Overlord, dood! Etna gets mad because she thinks this is a coup against her as well, and it's her goal to kill Laharl. The Prince seems unphased by the potential sudden but inevitable mutiny. The Prinnies know they can't win in a head-to-head fight, so they challenge us to a different game! Baseball! I guess Laharl doesn't like baseball. Remember, though, Prinnies can explode, so see if he likes playing catch. You get better rewards if you fight normally, but who has the time these days?
Stage Four, which is no the final today, consists of a giant dragon so tall we can only see its foot. The Alternative Universes Overlord wants to the Supreme Overlord and reign here, as well. To appease our sensibilities, he doppelgangers himself into ten smaller versions of himself. Flonne believes that means he split his love ten ways, so we'll have the advantage. She was wrong. Ten level 75 mobs lay quick waste to us. I assume New Game+ has a way to win this, but for now, it's impossible. During the first mid-scene cutscene, all the vassal from the castle come to our aid. They're fighting for King K, not Laharl, but they make quick work of the ten-split Alternate Overlord. After they win, the party wonders why they won't help more often, while Laharl wishes he had better luck with his vassals.
Stage Five, which still isn't the end, is a tribute to the Power Rangers. Red, Yellow, and Blue come out like a fireball and declare their intentions to be Overlord. Why would good guys want such a title? To make friends, of course! At the very least, they want to make enough colors of the rainbow, but no one likes them. Just as they begin to transform, Etna shoots Yellow and Blue dead...or at least Red thinks they're dead. Etna didn't hit anything vital, but a fight breaks out anyway because of her unethical not-allowing-people-to-transform actions. There's no strategy here since there's a Geo Crystal that causes every tile on the field to randomly warp people around. Hope you get lucky, I guess.
The Final Stage is a re-re-match with Mid-boss. I figured we'd see him here. It's the typical affair, I'm sure you understand. It's also a terrible battle. We're surrounded by ten pucks, who exist solely to inflict status effects on us. I hope you like Sleep and Paralysis. They take your characters out of the battle until they die, which is so much fun! My terrible strategy was to hope Laharl didn't get affected and have him go all out on the small fries. When Mid-boss gets close, don't be afraid to use items. I managed to keep a healer alive, so Lucy shielded him and got a few heals off before butt-face killed her in cold blood. It's a terrible fight, and it's the first major knock against the game!

When the dust settles, Laharl realizes he's officially Overlord and begins to run around chanting Overlord as loud as he can. Flonne thinks it's adorable until Etna says that she just helped Laharl, the son her assassination target, become the ruler of Hell. Apparently, this does make her a traitor. We cut to Celestia, and Volcanus is yelling at Lamington. The Seraph says he'll think about what he'll do the angel-trainee/traitor but doesn't seem to give it much thought. Volcanus, though, says he'll take care of it, and Lamington becomes slightly concerned. Flonne is seen being significantly more concerned, and Etna tries to convince her to get a new job as a demon. Flonne says no, and the screen fades as the former Prince keeps yelling, "Overlord"!

The next chapter skit has Flonne narrating it. She speaks of the evil Etna, and only the power of love can save the world today! Etna walks it, and we hear gunfire in the background. Is Episode seven of Guardian Flonne: Warrior of Love "Drop Dead, Etna" canceled?

Etna's diary is about her memories being returned and other stuff I forgot. They're very not important.

Etna's Secret

We start off tonight with Etna telling Flonne a story the angel doesn't fully understand. Etna said she kicked someone "right there," but the innocent Flonne doesn't know what that means. Eventually, though, the two notice a picture, an embarrassing picture. It's an embarrassing picture of Laharl! The girls (women? They're over 1000 years old, but they don't seem adult to me) burst out laughing as they didn't know he was into that. The Prince comes in and gets immediately humiliated. On the back of the picture is a message telling him to come to Jotenheim to participate in an Overlord challenge. We make off to another frozen landscape!

Stage one has us fighting nine imps. It wouldn't be hard, except every square has three Geo Crystals affecting it. One is defense up 50%, and a second is attack down 50%. I don't think poison is affected by either of those, so don't expect to win a long, drawn out, boring battle. To further ruin that plan, the third Geo Crystal has the effect Ally Damage 20%, so all of our characters will lose 20% of their HP every turn. Destroy the 20% one first by throwing a character or two over to it. Head for the next closest Crystal to it (Attack), and take out any imps you can along the way. Everyone will come at you here, regardless of proximity.

Stage Two happens after a strange ambush. Several hobbits show up and say kind words of encouragement. It turns out, this is one of Laharl's weaknesses. Every time they speak, Laharl shudders in pain. Flonne almost takes him out when she says her favorite word, "Eternal Love," as though she didn't just see the boy cry. Laharl's stats are, apparently, lower for the next set of battles, but I hardly saw anything. If they were, it's unfortunate as this battle was pretty hard. The hobbits around the spawn point aren't hard, but those gunners in the back will kill ya. There's also a ninja who has high evasion, so good luck. Bring range, Prinny Barrage, and Etna. That's all I know. Afterwards, we see a scene with Lamington speaking to the unknown voice again. The two discuss, presumably, what's happening to Laharl and co., and the unknown voice doesn't think this event will hinder their plan. He will aid in some way, though.
Stage Three is an odd one. To set the scene, we're beset upon by gigantically busted women (succubus) and catgirls whose attire makes Etna look like someone you'd introduce to your grandma. As luck would have it, gigantic boobs are another weakness for Laharl. "Coincidentally, flat-chested women like [Etna and Flonne] have no effect." The two sarcastically apologize for being flat but are, as you should guess, upset at the slight. Rage subsides as a vampire, complete with a Transylvanian accent, teleports into the scene. After some back and forth, it's revealed that this is the voice Etna was talking to in chapter one, Maderas. Maderas was an old vessel of the King, but he was exiled when he stole Black Pretzels, the King's favorite snack. He's been using Etna as a spy and was the reason Laharl slept for two years. She tried to kill him and has been gaining intel about the Prince ever since. All of this is so Maderas can become Overlord. To do so, he stole Etna's memories and has been using them as a carrot to manipulate her. However, because he's evil, he says the game is up and tells his sexy bodied assassins to kill Etna as well. The battle here makes no sense. The entire battlefield is affected by an Invincible Geo Crystal. To remove the effect, throw it onto the green square. While you throw a character over to it, the mobs will attack your character. But we're still invincible. Try to set up your characters so that three tanks guard your weaker characters near the spawn point. There's a three pronged fork nearby that's perfect for this. Throw the mobs out of the way to gather again and hope your furthest character (Laharl) can survive. Once everything was set up, I only lost one character because Xander is so, so, very fragile. The succubi can drain health, so focus them if you can. Alternatively, get two characters to the Crystal and have one throw the Crystal off the red squares when your team attacks. The other can throw it back on when you're done.
The Final Stage happens after Maderas uses all of the Prince's weaknesses at once. Suddenly, Mid-boss shows up and gives an over poetic strategy to overcome them. To make it short, close you're eyes and ears. I don't know he'd fight under those conditions, but it works. While he's deafened, Etna reveals she's been using the Prince as bait to get her memories back and revenge on the vampire! Laharl hears this somehow and quips in. She promises Maderas he'll pee his pants whenever he thinks of her after this, and the battle begins.

The battle music is great, but it's way too short! Anyway, take out the scantly clad women, who should be pretty easy to deal with. Because the battlefield is so narrow, Maderas, at the back, has to go a long way to reach us. That gives us time to kill the Ice Golem. Try not to stand in a line near him, or else you'll get Golem Cannoned. Ultimately, Maderas himself is pretty simple. Try not to get your healer killed, and she should be able to heal off any of his physical damage. His special move can be a problem, and I didn't get the attack targeters because the battlefield is so odd. I know it's ranged, though, so get as close to him as you can.

When the snow stops flying, Maderas begs for his life. He pathetically gives Etna her memories back and flatters his way to forgiveness. He then joins the party. Just as Laharl goes to tell off Etna for all the things she did to him, he suddenly says how great she is! That go-getter attitude is really welcome in Hell, it seems. He promises to make her Overlord if he can't fulfill his duties or dies, and Etna says she will. Flonne is slightly confused but decides that this must be how demons show love.

And that's how the chapter ends...Mid-boss totally doesn't say anything else, and no one totally forgot about him. Was he even there?

The next chapter skit has baby 1st grader Etna talking about her future career options. At least until she says all the boys will be her slaves! I wonder what episode six of Evolutionary Magical Girl Etna, "Curse you, Flonne!," will be about?

There's another ending here. If we killed 100 allies, we get the option to kill Maderas too. Etna becomes the hero, apparently. Also, is Mid-boss a friend of Lamington? What's the connection between the two, or is there something more here? How does the artist formerly known as Dark Adonis keep being in places he shouldn't?

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.

A Hint of Kimdness

First of all, it's Lamington, Lamegeton. No idea why I defaulted to a Xenosaga noun, but what can ya do? Secondly, I split this into two. Due to the aforementioned weird stuff, I could only get the prep work done for tonight. To advance, you need an item at level ten. Getting an item to level ten is fairly simple but time consuming. Simply enter the Item World and descend ten floors. Kill if you can, Geo your way away, or throw people to the portals: the choice is yours! So most of the plot is from night two, so let's get to it!

The preamble for tonight's plot is simple: It's Prinny Payday, dood! Etna could pay them, but her vessels are Laharl's vessels, so it falls on him to do so. The fact he follows through on his stuff means he's a tough but fair ruler. I'd vote for him to be Overlord. However, our Prince doesn't want to spend a dime from his own allowance and goes off to find the richest person nearby. And that person lives in Dinero Palace!

Once we dig through the Item World and get a level ten item, we can EQUIP, head to the Gatekeeper. The keyword is EQUIP as it needs to be something Laharl can use. So don't waste time with consumables. The Gatekeeper gives us a Mr. Gencey's Exit if we run into trouble, but we have the option to leave once we reach level ten. Once, in my case, the Short Sword filled with garbage is equipped, we reach our destination.

Stage One has a few humanoid mobs in the way. This acts like most battles, and I'm beginning to see a theme. The ones in the back only advance when we get close. What's odd is a few of them have ranged weapons, so you'd think they'd be more aggressive.
Stage Two happens after our characters realize most of this stuff used to belong in Laharl's Palace. He tells the Prinny Squad to loot everything! Flonne wonders about the difference in the Prinnys between the two worlds. In Celestia, they're maids, but in the Netherworld, they're borderline slave labor. Etna informs our angel that Prinnys contain the souls of useless humans who've died and are now waiting for reincarnation. In Heaven, they work towards redemption. In Hell, though, they have to buy it. Truly, capitalism is great! Since Flonne doesn't know anything about Prinnies, Etna calls her a flower head, and Flonne takes this as a compliment! As for the battle, There's a blue Geo Crystal line preventing us from advancing until we destroy it. It's not really a problem as we outnumber the enemies near the start. There is a new Manticore in the back, along with a healer, but neither should scare you.
Stage Three has us taking on a small army. Most of them are terribly weak, but their numbers can overwhelm. Bring some AoE. There are a few elite guards around you'll need to be wary of, so gang up on them after the level four mobs are dead. The archers in the back are fragile and pose little threat. Before the fight, Etna finds a painting of the King, and Larharl lets her take it. When Flonne asks how he died, Etna says he George Bushed himself and choked on a pretzel. Laharl shows no sympathy at his own father's death, even saying he was about to off him himself, and Flonne begins to plot against him in the name of love.
The Final Stage is where we meet the former vessel, Hoggmeister, reciting Shakespeare to his money. As his name would suggest, he's a pig demon. As Laharl introduces himself, Hoggy has no idea who he is. When the Prince reminds him he's the King's son, he suddenly remembers and compares him to a fishbone in his throat. As the fight starts, the Prince says he's going to take everything Hoggy has, including his life. Flonne says to herself that she'll stop that from happening.
The battle has the same properties as every other fight. Take out the row of monks, and worry about the elite guards after. I'd say to surround Hoggmeister, but he has a move that attacks everything around him, and it does a lot of damage. He's got a lot of HP, but nothing a round or two of targeted attacks can't dwindle down.

After the fight, Laharl remains resolute to kill Hoggmeister until a smaller pig gets in the way. It seems it physically holds back the Prince, giving Flonne time to say her peace. She brings up that the little pig demon was willing to sacrifice himself to save his family as proof that even demons know love. This causes Laharl to remember a conversation with the King when King Krichevskoy asked his son if he loved him. Laharl said he hated him, which would be the default answer for a demon. This causes Laharl to proclaim that this is taking too long and orders the Prinnies to get the money. But to leave a little for the family. Flonne is glad the situation settled peacefully, and we flashback to a scene with Lamington and Flonne. The Seraph told his protege that neither angels nor demons believe demons know love, but he thinks that isn't true. Flonne prays for forgiveness to Lamington as she's going to stay around longer and bring that "hint of kindness" in Laharl into full bloom. The chapter ends, and Hoggmeister joins us. We also get 5000 HL.

The skit for the next chapter has Etna participating in a Food Wars! spoof (eight years before the manga was released). The Prinny Squad is confused, and Etna says they're the ingredients.

Etna 120% takes place tomorrow!

If we had killed fifty of our allies before this, we could have gotten a secret ending. Laharl will go to kill Hoggy, but Flonne dies instead. I'm going for the Good Endings, so I'm hoping I haven't killed anyone yet.

Finally, Etna's diary details her feelings towards Flonne. She's useless, but if she needs to, Etna will kill her. Are all the diaries recaps?