Holy Diver/Stage 5 Akuma no Kyuden


 * Akuma no Kyuden (悪魔の宮殿)

1: This stage introduces you to a new form of an old enemy that drops arrows straight down over your head. Take them out whenever you see one appear before you advance so as not to allow them to overwhelm you. In addition to these flying enemies, green boulders bounce through the stage. Other than their color, they are identical to the boulders you've faced in the past, so beware the pieces that break apart when you shoot them. You'll need to cast blizzard at least twice to get through two lava waterfalls. Don't worry too much about your heath until you get past the second waterfall, but be sure to grab a red potion from one of the flying enemies beyond it. Then be very careful on your way to the exit in order to keep as much health as you can.



2: Be careful walking into this section; if you walk forward, you're likely to fall into a gap and die. More arrow dropping demon skeletons occupy the sky. You can attempt to go entirely over the top, but you'll have a lot of demons to contend with. Activate Overdrive if you take that route. Alternatively, you can drop down the right side of the first column, cut through the blocks at the bottom and come up the right side. It's a little safer, but not by much. Make your way to the upper right platform.

3: As soon as you arrive, three skeleton demons will be flying right for you, so be prepared to take them out before you proceed, using Overdrive for extra protection. After you start to advance, the next flying demon should drop a blue potion if you defeat it, so try to kill it so it drops the potion where you can collect it.

4: The next section will look like the last, but as you begin to make your way up, a green serpentine creature will appear. It's behavior will resemble the fire snakes from the previous stage. You must destroy it in order to proceed. Upon defeating it, it drops the Dragon transformation spell which will enable you to fly up to the top of the area and advance. As you do, another serpentine creature will appear, but you can effectively ignore it and travel straight up to the exit. Press to transform back into a human in order to leave the area.



5: It's back to demons and boulders in this small cramped space. The good news is that the boulders down respawn, so once you rid the first two at the bottom, you're done. The demons on the way up can be a bit tricky to remove since they fly through the platforms. At the very top is a green serpentine creature which can mostly be ignored.

6: As you jump into this area, another green serpentine will attack you. Don't ignore this one. Destroy it and it will leave behind a Dragon transformation spell which will make getting through this area, as well as collecting the valuable items it contains, much easier. Along the bottom, you'll find not one, but two mana extending wings. Be sure to grab them. Just before the exit, higher up near the ceiling, you can also grab an extra life. More serpentines will appear to harass you as you travel through, but you don't need to fight them, just dodge them.