Legend of Legaia - Part 28 - Stairway to Heaven

 

Welcome back to more Legend of Legaia.  Last time, we destroyed the final mist generator and put a stop to Cort’s evil plans.  …or so we thought.  Today, we are going to chase after Songi and stop him from conquering the Seru Kai.

Before we go, though, we can actually head back to Rim Elm.  There are some new enemies we can face here.  Or rather, some familiar looking enemies.

 

Gimard returns, now in its strongest form yet!  Well, I say stronger, but it does not take a lot of hits to beat it down.  Despite that, it has a new Tail Flare attack that can damage everyone, so watch out for that.

 

Also here is lvl 3 Vera.  Doesn’t have much new moves, but a reminder that its bloodsucker move does extra damage if you’re spiriting up.  It did about 800 damage to a party member!  As per the usual for flying monsters, no low attacks.

 

Theeder also returns in its lvl 3 form.  Not too much stronger, but it does have a lightning storm attack that damages everyone.  Again, no low attacks for this flying monster.

This is actually a pretty decent place to do some leveling up, should you need it.  You can also level up your magic here by casting it.  It’ll definitely help in what’s coming up next.

 

By checking out nearby places, some people will comment on how Rim Elm has changed.  Just a little detail I wanted to point out.  They say that the seru is growing larger and larger… we better take out Songi as soon as we can.  Not much comments from outside of Drake Kingdom, however.

now entering: Uru Mais

 

Let’s head to the place where we’re supposed to go: Uru Mais.  The place was destroyed by Juggernaut, but hopefully there’s something here that can lead us to the right direction.   

 

The Ra-Serus tell our heroes to focus their mind, and they should hear the Words of Tieg.  They do so, and they hear it!  Tieg is still here.

 

By climbing up the top of Uru Mais, Meta warns our heroes that this is a one-way trip.  Much like Rogue’s Tower, we cannot leave the Seru Kai until we finish the job.  I recommend buying some healing items before you head forward.  Once you’re ready, let’s proceed onward.

 

Our heroes concentrate their thoughts and call out to Tieg.  Eventually, Tieg appears before our heroes.  Tieg opens a portal to the Seru-Kai, and our heroes jump in.

 

Within the portal, the Ra-Serus start telling how grateful they are to have been this journey with our heroes.  They explain that they were sent to the human world in the case that some disaster would approach, such as this.  This is mostly stuff we’ve learned from when we first came to Uru Mais.  Also… the fact that they’re thanking us like this feels like they’re setting up a death flag or something.  Let’s hope that’s not the case!  

 

Terra reassures to Noa that she would be by her side to the very end.  While I did comment on Noa’s position in the previous part, I do wish the resolution wasn’t so rushed.  It’s certainly clear that we’re approaching endgame and we need to wrap things up quickly, but still.  Ah well.

H E A V E N, are you watching?

With that, our heroes reach their destination: the Seru Kai.  The game names this place Noaru Valley, which I find interesting.  Back in the first part, they mentioned Noaru Valley as the destination for the deceased, meaning the Seru Kai is kind of like a heaven of some sorts.  The place certainly looks serene, with the crystal floors over the blue sky.

Despite that, we got seru monsters in here.  Perhaps they believe we’re invading their homeworld?  Or rather Songi brought his own to stop our progress?  Anyway, most of the serus we’ll encounter here are enemies we’ve encountered back in Jette’s Fortress, such as Barra lvl2 and Slippery lvl2.  

 

A new seru we’ll encounter here is this Gilium lvl 2, however.  Only a little bit stronger than its predecessor, though, there’s not much to talk about this one.  If you haven’t gotten this seru, this is the second best place to catch it.  A reminder: equip Ivory Books if you’re trying to capture Gilium.

The Seru Kai is a bit of a maze.  Fortunately, the branching pathways that lead to dead ends cut off pretty short, so it shouldn’t be too much of a hassle to navigate.  Do get the chests around this place though, as you won’t be able to return once you finish this area.   

 

One such chest contains a Triumph Armor, an armor for Vahn.  It’s only slightly better than the Hero Armor, but let’s take it anyways.  Other items we can find here include Magic Fruit, Life Water, Healing Berry, and Magic Water.

save your game?

Once you reach the end of the area, you should find a save point up ahead.  A reminder: you cannot leave this area until you defeat the boss up ahead.  And let me tell you right now: this upcoming boss is HARD.  Add the fact that there’s no healing spring or anything to fully replenish your HP and MP aside from what you have in your inventory, and you got a place where it’s very possible to be trapped in this place!  If you must save, make an extra save file.  Once you’re ready, head north.  

 

Our heroes find a giant Genesis Tree in front of them.  The Ra-Serus explain that the tree in front of them is the Great Genesis Tree, the source of all Ra-Seru as well as the Seru Kai.  However, something seems off with it; it looks withered.  

 

On a second glance, the Ra-Serus find a giant Sim-Seru attached to the tree, sapping it of its life!  If the Great Genesis Tree dies, so will all Ra-Serus and the Seru Kai with it.  Let’s take a closer look and see if something can be done!

 

Our heroes run up ahead to the tree and find Songi!  Songi explains that he has been draining the life essence of the Great Genesis Tree to attain even greater power.  And when the tree is completely drained of its energy, the Seru Kai will die, and Songi will be the new ruler of the world.  But how is it possible to drain off the life of the tree with his own seru?  That seems more like tying your own noose at this point.

Shadow would like to have a word with you, Songi

Noa wonders that, and Songi explains that his seru isn’t an ordinary seru; it was initially a Ra-Seru back in East Voz Forest, but was converted into a Sim-Seru, thanks to Cort.  With this Ra-Seru/Sim-Seru hybrid, Songi has become the ultimate lifeform, rivaling even the powers of Tieg.

 

Gala tries to talk Songi out of it, saying that Cort’s ambitions have a hold on his heart.  Songi rebukes him, and calls him out for straying from the path of Biron, saying that Gala is no better than him.  Songi decides that the time for words is over, and transforms into a grotesque form.  Let’s fight!

 

Songi has attained god-like powers from sucking the life out of the Great Genesis Tree, and we gotta stop him.  Unfortunately, Songi will not make our job easy; in fact, this is one of – if not – the hardest boss fight in the game!

Songi’s most dangerous attack – believe it or not – is his regular attack!  If hit by the full brunt of his attack, his regular attack can do a total of 2800+ damage!  But, there’s a silver lining here: like I mentioned back in the Zora fight, bosses’ regular attacks get weaker the more damage you do, so Songi’s regular attack does get easier to survive the further you’re in the fight.

 

Songi has other special attacks he can use.  One attack he usually likes to use is Chaos Flare.  Songi will go up to one party member, and breath deadly energy towards them, dealing about 1200 damage.  It’s quite a bit of damage, but pretty survivable all things considered.  Don’t let it catch you off guard by getting hit with low HP though.

 

Songi’s other special attack Genocidal Cannon is used once his HP starts reaching around half.  Songi will absorb the power of the cosmos and fire a beam of laser down to our party, dealing around 2000 damage to everyone.

Because of how strong Songi’s regular attacks are, it would be wise to rush him down right from the get go.  The more damage you can do to him early on, the weaker his regular attacks get.  I started off with magic as usual.   

"of all things you're asking me to carry..."

 

This fight’s really all about keeping everyone’s HP as high as you can while dishing out damage to Songi.  Though, it’s not always easy to do so especially when Songi can just decide to 1HKO a party member, but that’s why you have healing items like Phoenix, right?  Hopefully, you did stock up on some healing items before you came here.

Eventually, Songi will finally fall, and Gala will have his own unique animation after the fight.

 

Songi’s Ra-Seru detaches from him, and he is left kneeling, defenseless.  But soon after, he falls over, writhing in pain.  The Ra-Serus explain that the Seru Kai is a world where regular humans cannot step foot into, and once Songi lost his Ra-Seru, his body will disappear into nothingness.

Songi calls out to Gala for help, which I gotta say: you got some nerve, asking for help like that!  After all the horrible things Songi’s done not just to Gala, but to everyone else, now he’s asking for help?  That’s pathetic.  Regardless, Gala asks Ozma if there’s anything they can do for Songi, but not even they can help him at this point.

You know, I’d feel bad for Songi, but I think back to all the stuff he’s done...

paralyzing Gala to win a tournament

 

destroying Biron Monastery

beating up and mocking Gala

tossing serus against us

blocking our progress in reviving Genesis Trees

 

turning Gaza into a Sim-Seru monster

trying to kill us back in the Floating Castle

doing this to the Rim Elm villagers

preventing us access to Juggernaut

potentially killing off all Ra-Seru and all of Seru Kai

Yeah no he had this coming.

Songi starts shouting, cursing serus and ra-serus while his body starts to disintegrate.  In his dying breath, he calls them all useless, before shattering into pieces, his very existence removed entirely.  Gala is left to contemplate what had happened to his former friend.   

 

Meanwhile, Noa sees if we can revive the Great Genesis Tree.  However, Terra has some bad news: the Great Genesis Tree is too weak to be revived.  Things turn for the worse as the sky around them starts growing darker.  The Great Genesis Tree will soon die, along with the rest of the Seru Kai.  Even the Ra-Serus are growing weaker by the minute!  Things are getting more and more dire.

Noa tells everyone that they should pray to the Great Genesis Tree.  With no other options left, all they have right now is their faith.  Our heroes call out to the Great Genesis Tree, praying for some kind of miracle to help them.

 

And miraculously, their prayers are answered!  Balls of light appear before our heroes.  From the light appear familiar faces.  

THE BABY IS T-POSING; I REPEAT: THE BABY IS T-POSING

 

It’s Hari!  Their bodies perished back in Octam, but their spirits have been granted immortality, transcending time.  And now, they have arrived to help our heroes!  Our heroes ask Hari to save the Great Genesis Tree.   

 

Unfortunately, Hari explains that the Great Genesis Tree is fated to die, and not even they can stop that.  However, the very least they can do is to offer their powers to rejuvenate the tree, even for a little bit longer.

 

The 3 Haris gather near the Great Genesis Tree, and give their power to it.  The Sim-Seru leeching off the tree starts to shatter, and life starts to enter the once withered tree once again!  Having exhausted their power, Hari leaves our heroes.  Noa calls out to Terra again, and she finally responds!  Looks like she’s fine for now.  But now, our heroes turn to the Great Genesis Tree and revive it.   

GOLDEN RADIATING TREE: THE ULTIMATE POWER

The tree glows a brilliant gold color, and the orbs of light come to our heroes, powering up their Ra-Seru once again.

With their newfound powers, the Ra-Serus can now do something about the barrier protecting Juggernaut.  However, they don’t have much time; they don’t know how long Hari’s powers will last.  With that said, our heroes warp out of the Seru Kai, back to their world.

The next thing they know, our heroes find themselves in Mt. Rikuroa, at the Genesis Tree closest to Rim Elm (as the Genesis Tree in Rim Elm is dead).  Our heroes decide it’s time to return to Rim Elm and stop Juggernaut from growing any further.

However… I think before we return to Rim Elm, we should do one last bit of cleanup.  Explore the world once again before we go there.  And we will do that in the next part.  Until then, I'll see you then!