08 :: Profession Of Faith

---

Devil May Cry 4 - Mission 08: Profession Of Faith

Make your way to the west end of the initial area and fight off the Scarecrows and Chimera Seeds there.

Blue Orb Fragment -- The pod hanging from the ceiling of the tunnel in the middle of the Ancient Training Ground holds the fragment. Stand below it, jump up into the air and use a normal attack to break it open and claim the fragment.

Pod

Examine the gnarled roots in the next area; with the Sephirothic Fruit in your possession, they'll shrivel up and clear the way. There's nothing of particular interest here, so head straight for the exit in the southwest corner of the area.

Ancient Plaza

The Assaults, the reptilian humanoids first encountered here, are much like the Frost enemy that you are already familiar with. They're a bit quicker, though, but that's easy enough to compensate for. As with Frosts, Buster is quite effective when you're crowded, as Nero will grab the Assault and swing it around, damaging the surrounding enemies. These guys are also snatchable, so use this to your advantage and lock one into a combo. Get ready to Side Roll while an Assault burrows underground or jumps up into the air, as it soon thrusts towards you in both cases.

Watch out for their projectile attack as well; just jump out of the line of fire to avoid taking damage. These guys also carry shields, but you can simply jump over them to get by this, or use Charged Shot to knock them down, then move in and pummel them. Once the Assaults have been dealt with, make your way to the Windswept Valley using the northeast exit.

Windswept Valley/Ruined Church

There aren't ant enemies here, so ignore the Gyro Blade and head for the Ruined Church entrance in the eastern corner of the valley. Kill off the Scarecrows and Assaults in the room, then smash all of the pods in the church for a large amount of Red Orbs. Afterwards, pass underneath the stairwell archway and use the Sephirothic Fruit to remove the roots there. Proceed through the door to reach the Lost Woods.

Roots

Lost Woods

The inscription on the tablet in the middle of the woods reads: 'This is a gentle forest, yet those who treat her unkindly will fall into darkness. Those who do not wish for darkness should seek the light. For if not, all efforts will be in vain.' Just that bit of information should give you a good idea what the Lost Woods is all about; if you don't follow the light, you'll be aimlessly wandering through the woods. If you head the wrong way, you'll end up in the Hidden Pit area where you then must fight off a group of enemies to make an exit seal appear. Stepping on this seal will bring you back to the initial area of the Lost Woods.

Lost Woods

Hidden Pit

Blue Orb Fragment -- To get this fragment, you'll have give the Hidden Pit a visit. After killing the enemies in the area, stand in front of the seal and spin the camera around to look north. You should be able to spot a Blue Orb Fragment in the trees; stand underneath the fragment and use Air Hike to take it into your inventory.

To get out of the Lost Woods you have take the path where the archway shadows are pointing towards the statue in the middle of the woods (see image below). Think how the shadow of something would appear in real life if the sun were shining behind it. If you chose the correct path, you'll find yourself in an area identical to the first. In each instance, take the path that the sun is shining on and you'll soon make it out of the woods.

Blue Orb Fragment

Shadows

Forgotten Ruins/Ancient Training Ground

Once you have made it out of the woods, head to the other end of the walkway (do not drop down to the area below!) and go through the door there. Defeat the Scarecrows and Assaults near the beginning of the area, then move to the end of the walkway and proceed through the door. You'll be facing a boss in the next area, so use the Divinity Statue to purchase healing items and new skills if you have Proud Souls on hand; Streak, Split, and Air Hike are all good ones to have for the upcoming battle.

Grand Album Bridge -- Boss Battle: Angelo Credo

Credo is a fierce and masterful swordsman while in his demon form. The hulking Aegis Shield that he holds can block any kind of attack, making it especially difficult to break through his guard. As well as being a solid defender, he's also a heavy hitter. To make matters worse, Green Orbs are scarce during this battle, so you're essentially limited to whatever healing items you might have stored away in your inventory.

Angelo Credo

Most of Angelo Credo's attacks are quickly executed, but if you dodge the strike using Side Roll or Jump, you can usually get a few hits in while his attack animation finishes. Credo's move pool mainly consists of various sword swings and a couple of powerful combos that can be dodged fairly easily, but there are a couple of moves in particular to look out for. If Credo teleports away from you, it is likely that he will then follow up with a sword throw. The thrown sword travels very fast, but you can get a small Green Orb if you manage to bat it down with a slash.

The thrown sword can also be caught using Buster, but Credo has to be just the right distance from you and your timing must be bang on. With too little distance between yourself and Credo, the sword is impossible to catch, so it would be best to simply dodge this attack with a Side Roll than to risk taking damage. If Credo is far away enough from you (i.e., at the opposite end of the platform), use Buster as soon as the sword leaves his hand.

When Credo slashes his sword downwards, Side Roll to avoid this attack, move behind him and use Buster while he recovers. Sometimes when Credo is knocked into while his shield is raised, he'll lift his shield up and stand on one leg; get out of the way when you see this animation, because a downward sword swing will follow. If you can get in there with a quick Streak, though, you can interrupt the attack and hopefully start a combo. Once you've broken through his guard, don't let up! Pummel him with normal strikes, Streak, Split, High Roller and normal slashes until he recovers. Activate Devil Trigger if you have Credo locked into a combo and get in as many hits as you can.

The Devil Bringer is the key to success here; use Buster on Credo whenever he stumbles backwards or his guard falters. If you deal enough damage to Credo with a single combo, he will stagger on the spot; use Buster at this moment to perform a special variant that'll deal a significant blow to Credo's health. There is a very small window of opportunity to hit Credo while he's staggering, so your best bet is to use Buster as often as possible so you don't miss a chance to deal heavy damage.

Buster

Once Credo is close to death, he'll kneel, evidently wounded, and become significantly more powerful when he stands back up. He's more difficult to manage during this powered up stage, so activate Devil Trigger and wail on him while he's kneeling; hopefully you can kill him and avoid having to face a stronger, faster, more reckless Angelo Credo. He'll also fly during this stage, and has a new attack in which he summons a number of swords around himself and proceeds to launch them towards you. Credo does not seem to be nearly as defense-oriented during this stage, and should be close to death, so slash away at him to quickly hack off the remainder of his health.

You obtain the Aegis Shield once you've bested Credo. The Hold ability is available with this attack. To use Hold, first grab a snatchable enemy with Snatch and then hold down the Devil Bringer button to use that enemy as a meat shield.

Wounded

Aegis Shield