In the Caldis region, there are three individual sub-scenarios that you can undertake, tied to the Knights of the Eternian Sky that bombarded you at the beginning of the game. While you’re stationed at Caldisla, take the time to visit the king and Tiz will question the king about Egil.

The first sub-scenario we’ll tackle is the one at the lake to the south-west. If you remember, last time you fought Barras and Holly–your first boss battle in the game–here. This time, Barras and Holly demand a rematch, after previously being beaten to a pulp. Time to beat them into a pulp again then…

Boss: Barras and Holly¶

Barras and Holly haven’t learned any new tricks at all. Barras follows the same pattern of Braving to use Invigorate and a normal attack on a single turn. Once he reaches low HP, he will damage everyone on the field (including himself) with Invigorate. Holly, again, uses Aero for damage, Protect for support and Cure for healing.

Thanks to his buffed stats, Barras is still somewhat of a threat, due to the hefty punches he throws; however at this stage you should have a massive pool of abilities to counter him (plus two extra characters!). For starters, you can use the Pirate’s Defang or Vampire‘s Curse to drop Barras’s attack, making him less threatening.

Meanwhile, the Swordmaster‘s Nothing Ventured is great for giving him a taste of his own medicine. Don’t forget Ninjas with Utsusemi who can evade his attacks altogether (paired with Transience to attack after an inevitable evade!). When Invigorate starts doing damage, you may need to worry a bit though.

If your characters’ Physical Defense is lacking, Invigorate can floor your characters in one hit when they’re not Defaulting. To avoid this dangerous situation, you can use the Templar’s Rampart to protect your party from one hit. Another good idea is to save all your best moves (like Special Moves) and unleash them at the very end

Once you’ve had experience with your first rematch, it’s time to follow up on the king’s request to stop the Eternian fire-starter. Head for the front entrance of Centro Keep and you’ll find the left door is already open–as are all the doors and chests you previously unlocked.

Head left to find Ominas, who’s just as cranky as ever–no wait, he’s super cranky this time! But for what possible reason? Well, it’s too late to find out, because he’s itching for a fight.

Boss: Ominas Crowe¶

The crazy Crowe uses Fira to hurt your party and Thunder to smite a single target. If you slap on Abate Fire (Black Mage) and Abate Lightning (Summoner), you’ll cripple Ominas’s magic big time. There’s also the Spiritmaster’s Adaptation that allows a party member to absorb elemental damage and the Iceflame Shield to negate fire.

However, don’t forget Ominas is also a master of status ailments and he’ll gleefully cause Sleep or Silence to a character or Poison on your whole party (avoided with four Star Pendants). With the appropriate protection against Ominas’s offensive and status magic, silencing him should be a simple task.

When the Black Mage reaches half HP, he’ll start to Brave and cast Fira and Thunder on the same turn, before going immobile the next.

After Ominas keels over, you’ll receive Ise-no-Kami as an item drop. If you cast your mind back to Ominas’s reaction before the battle, you might deduce what transpired here…

Finally, in your mission to rid Caldisla (again) of the Eternian host, head for the top floor of Lontano Villa once more. There, Heinkel awaits like last time and he’s not afraid to teach Edea a thing or two about turning traitor…

Boss: Argent Heinkel¶

Heinkel’s knights code of honour hasn’t changed since last time. He still uses Ironclad to maximise his defense for a turn and Protect Ally to automatically take damage for his two subordinates. To start with, rain down your strongest thunder spells (Thundaga or Deux Ex, for example) or a similarly powerful group attack to vanquish the archers.

After exposing Heinkel, he’ll resort to using Shield Strike to hurt a character and raise his defense. Cripple his defense with the Pirate’s Shell Split or Vampire’s Firestorm and then pummel him with your powerhouses or somebody with thunder magic or sword magic.

If Heinkel’s defense boosts are proving annoying, have a Ninja use Utsusemi followed by Kairai to provoke Heinkel into attacking your Ninja and missing his attack. When Heinkel’s HP drops, he’ll get desperate and use Stomp, which deals heavy damage, but lowers his defense; he’s also a fan of Braving to use Stomp twice on one turn.