Exit Agnus' room to the Gauntlet and step into the elevator to trigger a cutscene. The new enemy that the cutscene introduces is a more powerful variant of the Mephisto enemy you have dealt with previously. The Faust's attacks differ from his lesser counterpart's; his claw swipes cover a wide-range as opposed to the pinpoint precision that the Mephisto usually use, which make his attacks much harder to dodge.
The Faust is sided by two Mephisto, so things could get ugly. The Faust's cloak is a bit tougher to remove than a Mephisto's, too. First, jump up into the air and use Buster on the enemy, then immediately start charging Blue Rose; as soon as you touch the ground, lock-on and hit the Mephisto/Faust with Charged Shot. If the cloak isn't removed entirely, use Snatch until the remainder is removed. Wail away on the vulnerable Faust/Mephisto once it's exposed.
When the enemies have been dealt with, step out of the elevator and onto the platform. Hit the time-slow machine with Buster, then make your way past the lasers and onto the elevator at the other end of the platform. Attack the wheel on the elevator until the blue mesh blocking the dropdown is removed. Step out of the elevator, hit the machine, move to the first set of lasers and use the dropdown to reach the floor below.
Blocked Dropdown | Time-slow Machine |
A group of four knights, headed by an Alto Angelo, occupy the Key Chamber. This could be a tough fight, as facing five enemies in this cramped chamber leaves very little room to move around. Luckily the machine in here can be activated to slow time, making facing the knights much easier.
The entire group can be wiped out at once with a simple tactic, but the Charged Shot skill is required to do so. Wait until the knights gather together and begin to form a mass of energy. Charge Blue Rose and as soon as the ball of energy comes hurtling towards you, blast it to send it back to them. This should destroy each of them and possibly earn you an SSS grade.
Afterwards, hit the time-slow machine, then slip past the lasers to reach the Grand Hall. Head up the steps at the northern end of the room and cross the bridge to the second HQ building.
You must make it safely to the opposite end of this laser-ridden corridor. Having the Air Hike ability will aid you greatly here, but it is not entirely necessary. Use Buster on the machine to slow time, then start down the corridor. Some of the lasers must be hopped over, while others are high enough to be walked under. With Air Hike, you can simply jump over everything; just be careful not to touch one of the lasers on the way down.
Corridor | Lasers |
Secret Mission 06 | Time-slow Machine |
Destroy the knights that spawn here and then hack away at the Red Orb cluster in the northeastern corner of the room until it shatters. Afterwards, approach the lift at the other end of the room
Blue Orb Fragment -- The Roulette Spin and Air Hike skills are needed to get to this one. Before (!) taking the elevator up to the Meeting Room, stand about halfway between the wall and the elevator. Next, normal jump and use Roulette Spin, then immediately Air Hike to reach the elevator's lowest frame. From here, normal jump inwards and, while in mid-air, turn around, use Air Hike and try to land on the frame above. The fragment is up here; use Air Hike to grab it.
Elevator Frame | Blue Orb Fragment |
Defeat the pair of Alto Angelos that appear and then head through the doorway at the south end of the room. There's a Divinity Statue just before the next room, as well as the Secret Mission 07 parchment. Attempt the secret mission if you wish; check out the 'Secret Missions' section for more info.
Secret Mission 07 |
You've faced Dante before, but this won't be anything like the fight that took place after the introductory tutorial; this is strictly a fast-paced, no holds barred affair. Dante's abilities are similar to Nero's, and on Devil Hunter difficulty at least, he won't use any weapons other than his blade and dual handguns. Blue Rose is nigh useless during this bout because Dante will almost always manages to use Ebony & Ivory to negate any gunfire you send his way.
Trying to inflict damage with Red Queen can be an issue too, as your strikes are usually met by Dante's Rebellion blade with a clash of steel. As if having the majority of your attempts to attack blocked with a similar attack wasn't bad enough, Dante is also faster, stronger and more nimble than Nero. However Nero does have one weapon that Dante does not, the Devil Bringer…
Dante | Dante |
Dais |