Chapter 4

Once you've selected your successor, Sana tells you that you need to pass a test in order to win the True Fire Rune. Your party will now consist of Hugo, Chris, and Geddoe. Make sure you have medicine, and hopefully, one of your characters has a water rune to heal. Also, put all of your characters is separate groups of two - so all three of them can cast a spell when they need to. Also, save. When you're done preparing, tell Sana that you're ready to proceed. Sana removes the seal on the door, and your Successor, followed by the other two, enter the new room.

Your Successor and the others will find themselves in a large, circular shaped room. Your Successor wonders what is going on, until an enormous flaming dragon soars down from the ceiling. Now you know what the test is.

Boss Battle: Fire Rincar

You must kill the Fire Rincar in order to claim rights to the True Fire Rune. If you have an Earth Rune equipped, use Clay Guardian right away. The Fire Rincar's attacks are mostly fire elemental (as its name suggests), and they can do heavy damage to all three of your characters at once. However, Geddoe's True Lightning Rune can cause some impressive damage to the Fire Rincar. Hammer of Raijin, in particular will do nearly 2,000 damage. Earth, wind, and water magic are also a good help here. Make sure you keep all three characters alive and with high HP, and you'll eventually defeat the Fire Rincar.

Once the Fire Rincar is dead, a cutscene shows the True Fire Rune passing to the one you chose as the Flame Champion's Successor. Watch the dialogue, and as the group is about to leave, you find some more familiar faces waiting for you at the entrace to the chamber: The Masked Bishop, Sarah, Yuber, and Albert. When given the dialogue choice, pick the first option if you're feeling heroic, and the second if you want to damage your reputation (picking the first option is recommended). The Masked Bishop will summon three chimeras and battle you.

Boss Battle: Masked Bishop, Sarah, Yuber, three chimeras

It's possible to win this fight, but the Masked Bishop, Sarah, and Yuber have all their abilities from the fights you had with them, and they have three chimeras in front of them. Make sure Hugo, Chris, and Geddoe are healed before you start fighting. Using the True Fire Rune, cast Explosion and center it on Sarah. This should hopefully kill the chimera, but if not, use any True Lightning Rune skill that can hit two or three of the chimeras. Cast Final Flame on preferrably the Masked Bishop or Sarah if either are still standing. Once the three chimeras are dead, the Masked Bishop, Sarah, and Yuber should at least be wounded. Make sure you heal, and go after them with any remaining magic you have left (if you have no magic, use physical attacks and skill runes). You don't need to win this fight, but it's worthwhile if you do.

After the battle (regardless of the outcome), watch the mysterious cutscene...

The Successor wakes up in a room at Chisha Village, and you have a discussion with one of your teammates. Save first, and head outside to the entrance to Chisha Village to see Salome trying to get the Grasslanders to cooperate. Apparently, both sides had been tricked by Harmonia. Watch the dialogue, and then a Lizard Clan fighter will run toward the group outside, saying that the Harmonians are on the move toward Chisha Village. When you regain control of your character, save first. Then, when you're ready: If your Successor is Hugo, talk to to Caesar, if it is Chris, talk to Salome, and if it is Geddoe, talk to Ace. Once you've talked to the person, a strategic battle will commence.

You start this fight with Karaya and Lizard units (three people in each group) led by Lucia, Beecham, Dupa, Shiba, and Bazba. Albert and Yuber appear with five full units of Harmonian soldiers. You can easily see that you're outnumbered from the start. In your next turn, Chris and Salome will arrive with the Zexen Knights, but, at the enemy's second turn, Dios, Sasarai, and a Harmonian unit appear in the northeast. Geddoe's team will also arrive to help, but the Masked Bishop, Duke's team, and another Harmonian unit will appear in the southeast. By now, it's easy to see that you're going to get defeated horribly. Every turn, more Harmonians come on any unit that is occupied by Harmonia (and since you only have eight units and there are eleven circles, you can't stop the Harmonians from respawning). You have eight units altogether. Once you reach five units or less or you get to the tenth turn, Lucia has the forces retreat.

After this, you'll see an extended cutscene at Duck Village. Head into the Inn for a conference with the Zexen and Grassland leaders. Exit to the front to find that the Harmonians are on the move again. Another cutscene follows between Chris and Dupa. If Chris is your Flame Champion, Caesar will tell Chris he has a plan. When Salome talks to you and you get the dialogue option, pick the second option if you need to put your knights into formation. If you need to save, pick the third option Salome gives you. When you're ready, pick the first option. Otherwise, if Hugo or Geddoe is your Flame Champion, Caesar will talk to you and explain his theory of the situation. He says it is likely that half of the approaching Harmonians are illusions. When Caesar asks you if you are ready, tell him to wait. If Hugo is your FC, have your party consist of Hugo, Aila, Sgt Joe, Fubar, Hallec, and Mua. If Geddoe is your FC, have your party be your regular mercenary team.

At the start of your next strategy battle, your forces consist of full Karayan, full Lizard, and full Duck units, but the Harmonians outnumber you once again. This time, only Yuber and Sarah are fighting, but Yuber alone can probably defeat the entire army himself. Try not to get forced into a corner, and make sure you have at least one area to retreat to. If Yuber starts coming towards you, retreating is strongly advised. It's impossible to kill Yuber in this fight. At the second or third turn, Franz and a Mantor unit shows up in the north, and Sarah, a turn after, conjures more Harmonians. Eventually, Chris shows up with her knights and tells the Grasslanders to fall back to Brass Castle.

All you need to do is stay alive for 2-3 turns, but under the circumstances, it's pretty difficult. Slowly retreat into a far corner. When the Harmonians pursue you, hit them with Chris' True Fire Rune. If Yuber attacks, the Unit who battles is going to get either killed or severely damaged, so don't engage Yuber with Chris. Luckily, if you put Leo with Chris, Leo has a Firefly Rune, which can make things a lot easier. It doesn't matter if the second unit falls; as long as Chris is alive, you won't be defeated. Eventually, many of the Harmonian units will suddenly disappear as Sarah loses focus, and Yuber will order a retreat.

Regardless of who your Flame Champion is (Hugo or Geddoe), you'll see Sarah summoning more units to the fight. You'll need to battle two groups of Harmonian soldiers to reach Sarah herself. Fortunately, one blast of Explosion can kill them all at once. When you reach Sarah, the battle to save the army begins.

Boss Battle: Sarah, five Harmonian soldiers

This fight can be both long and hard. You don't need to kill Sarah, just the soldiers. However, this takes come careful planning. Trying to kill the soldiers with physical attacks only is fruitless, as Sarah will cast Kindness Rain whenever the soldiers start taking damage. Furthermore, when you start chanting spells, Sarah casts Breath of Ice or Flaming Wall on you, which often nullifies your spells. However, don't lose hope. There are two choices here: You can cast Silent Lake and take out the Harmonian soldiers with physical attacks, but you won't be able to cast healing spells on yourself. The Harmonian soldiers are no trainees at physical combat, either. The second option is to try to cast Earthquake or Explosion. If you can use it before Sarah cancels it out, you'll kill the entire group of Harmonians on one shot. After Sarah loses concentration, Yuber appears and teleports her to safety. Fortunately, you've saved the army.

The soldiers are demoralized, and the Harmonians are moving toward Brass Castle. To proceed with the story, head to the strategy room on the castle's second floor for a cutscene. If you're Chris, head to Chris' room for a conversation with Louis. If you're Hugo, head to the eastern bridge for a conversation with Sgt. Joe. If you're Geddoe, head to the west courtyard to talk with your group. When you're given dialogue options, pick whatever you want. After the conversation, go to the east courtyard to advance the story. Your Flame Champion will give a speech to rally the troops. At the dialogue option, selecting the first choice will rename your main character whatever you named the Flame Champion. The second option (I will be the Flame Champion) does not change the name of your FC. Now, you'll need to organize your units for another strategic battle. Initially, you'll have groups of three and four units. Make as many units as you can have four troops. Shift your best Units into the command of Hugo, Chris, and Geddoe. When Caesar asks if you are ready, tell him to wait and then save at the Inn. Now, commence the fight.

At the beginning of the fight, your FC has a conversation with Sasarai. Then, half of the Harmonians are withdrawn, putting their seven against your five. At the start of the battle, move to the edges of the castle where you'll still get extra defense. Having 40% damage reduced is a huge help in this fight. Move Hugo, Chris, and Geddoe's units to the front, and support them with your others. Don't let the Harmonians gain any of the castle circles, or the battle will be much harder. Whenever a Unit is wounded, send it back to the castle to be healed. Units of particular interest of Yuber and Sasarai. Sasarai has two lightning attacks, and Yuber, of course, is still a one man army. However, it IS possible to beat him. Use your fire and lightning skills on him, and then attack with your strongest unit. Hopefully, you'll kill him. The Units commanded by Dios, Albert, and Sasarai are just four Harmonian soldiers. It's possible to kill all of the Harmonians, and you'll score a Major Victory if you do. After roughly 4-6 turns, reinforcements led by Hallec, Mua, Thomas, and Lilly will show up, and the Harmonians will flee. Scoring a major victory gets you a Silver Shield.

An extended cutscene will play out of the different groups joining the now unified alliance. Head to the strategy room in Brass Castle to continue. In a conversation, the group pledges their allegiance to the Fire Bringer, and decides to use Budehuc Castle as a base of operations. Now, take a party and head there (this is the last time you'll be able to use Hugo, Chris, and Geddoe, as well as Lucia, in one party until the end of the game).

On the world map, you'll notice a new area: The Tablet of Stars, which shows how many of the 108 stars you have. As you enter Budehuc, you'll get the chance to rename it, but it will be referred to as Budehuc. There's a suggestion box by Arthur's bulletin which periodically will have notes from your group to you. The other main characters are all out on the ship-they're in the three rooms opposite where Belle and Gadget Z are, at the bottom of the stairs. Your star roster is expanded greatly now. Also, the funds Hugo, Chris, and Geddoe have are pooled together, meaning you likely have 999,999 potch right now. Anne in the bar can now change your party members, and the room at the end of the castle is where you can rest (and save as well, there's also a save point under the stairs). To progress with the story, take a strong party with you and head to the Ancient Highway.

Approach the highway from Great Hollow, and you'll see someone run inside that looks suspiciously look Jimba. Head into the highway after him. At the center, there will be a cutscene showing the Masked Bishop, Sarah, Yuber, and Albert break the strange seal from Hugo Chapter 2. Before you proceed through the strange door, go back to Budehuc and go to the conference room to find out what is happening. Also, recruiting the last 108 stars is advised; you won't get a chance as good as this.

This place is basically a maze. There are some tough enemies down here, as well. First, take the left path from the beginning of the ruins. Go right and over the bridge. After that, head straight up for the most direct route to where you need to go.

Boss Battle: Sarah, two chimeras, two two ghost armors

This is a very difficult battle. Not only can Sarah cast all of her magic, which you should be very familiar with by now, but she's got four powerful monsters helping her out. As always, she can cast Kindness Rain on her allies, which can make the fight longer. The attacks of the five enemies will eventually outpace your best healing efforts, so you'll want to finish this fight as soon as possible. Using your Flame Champion, cast Explosion and center it on Sarah. If you have characters with Lightning Runes attached, use the strongest Lightning ability you have to hit multiple enemies. Using Silent Lake to squelch Sarah's spellcasting is not advised; you'll want Kindness Drops and Kindness Rain to be able to heal. Clay Guardian is also a big help to reduce damage from both the monsters and Sarah. If you can kill the chimeras and ghost armors before Sarah uses Kindness Rain, this fight will be much more manageable. Focus on the chimeras first, then the armor suits, and Sarah last. When Sarah is alone, you can cast Silent Lake; she's much weaker without her spells.

The moment your battle with Sarah finishes, a short cutscene triggers an enormous blizzard. Sarah runs off, leaving you to follow her. If you need to, go back to rest and save, because later on, you'll face another challenge. When you're ready, head down the icy path. You may encounter some monsters, but you should save all of your spells. When you reach the end of the path, another boss will present itself.

Boss Battle: Water Dragon, nine Ice Crystals

This battle makes Sarah look like a walk in the park. The combined attacks of the water dragon and the nine crystals do heavy water and ice damage, often to your entire party. Always have Kindness Rain and Great Blessing ready for healing, because you'll be using them more than once. A good piece of advice is to have a very durable party, because the Water Dragon can easily kill low level characters in one round. Use a similar strategy from the Sarah battle: Use moves that hit all ten enemies at once, and try to knock out some of the crystals early on so you receive less damage. Lvl. 3 and 4 fire and lightning spells work wonders. If you have it, Clay Guardian will help too.

After you gain a hard won victory over the water dragon, you'll get plenty of experience, money, and also another reward for your efforts. When your group arrives at the altar, you see Jimba lying on the ground. Reinforcements from Budehuc arrive as well. After a cutscene, one of your characters will take the True Water Rune. If your Flame Champion is Hugo or Geddoe, it will go to Chris. If your Flame Champion is Chris, it will go to Hugo. Now that each character has a rune, the chapter ends.

Continue to Chapter 5