Chapter 24: The Three Trials

Chapter 24: The Three Trials (24章　三つの試練 24-Shō Mittsu no Shiren, "Chapter 24: The Three Trials") is the twenty-fourth chapter in the storyline of Kid Icarus: Uprising.

With the loss of the Three Sacred Treasures, Pit must seek out new weaponry before his final battle with Hades.

Air Battle
As Pit is sent flying through the sky, Palutena admits that she cannot foresee victory against Hades without the Three Sacred Treasures. She announces their next mission: to seek out Dyntos, the god of the forge and the one responsible for the creation of most weapons. Though Pit believes Dyntos is already on their side, Palutena informs him that the god must be persuaded first.

They notice an odd mix of enemies swarming the skies, including Forces of Nature, Aurum, and Underworld Army troops. As a sphere-shaped structure comes into view, an unfamiliar voice begins to speak, which is soon revealed to be Dyntos himself. The god greets the two, and Palutena politely asks if he is aware of their reason for seeking him out. He tells them he does, but states that he will only lend a hand if Pit can pass the three trials he has set up first.

Pit heads into Dyntos's Workshop, where he encounters many more hoards of randomly selected enemies. Dyntos takes responsibility for their presence, claiming that his forgeries are superior to the originals. Once Pit arrives at the end of a hall, large, animated versions of the First Blade, Tiger Claws, and Palutena Bow begin to attack, forcing the angel to maneuver through their strikes. Pit reaches a large platform with crystal-like pillars shortly after, and Palutena flies him down to a landing spot.

Part 1
Upon landing, Dyntos announces that Pit must prove his worth before instructing him to step into the middle of the platform in front of him. As Pit complies, the platform lifts him into an empty interior with many long staircases. Proceeding forward, Pit faces more hoards of strangely grouped together enemies before entering the first chamber. There he will encounter the Phoenix, who attacks in the same fashion as it did in Chapter 10. Though Pit is frustrated at the prospect of fighting it once again, Palutena comforts him with the fact that the boss he sees before him is merely a replica created by Dyntos.

Once the Phoenix has been defeated, Pit is teleported back to his previous location, where a new staircase forms. He proceeds, encountering an Orne before finding a platform with Bumpety Bombs and four Mimicuties. Once these enemies have been dealt with, he will enter the second chamber which houses Cragalanche, who behaves the same as he did in Chapter 11. As Pit compliments Dyntos for his replication skills, Palutena remarks that Dyntos could create the world's strongest army if he wanted to. Dyntos claims to not be interested in the notion, then reveals that the blueprints for these forgeries actually come from Pit and Palutena's experiences with the monsters. While Pit is stunned at the god's prowess, he theorizes that Dyntos could be even more powerful than Hades himself.

After Cragalanche's defeat, Pit is transported to his previous location once again, where another new staircase forms. He presses on, defeating more hoards of randomly assorted enemies before arriving at the third chamber. Here he encounters the Kraken, who fights in the same fashion as it did in Chapter 8. After its defeat, Pit assumes that his trials are over, though Dyntos corrects him as he teleports him to the next battle.

Part 2
Pit arrives inside the throne room of Dark Lord Gaol's Castle, where he encounters Magnus with the dark lord herself. The man casually greets him, and Pit is utterly baffled as the battle initiates. Pit questions why the two are working together, to which Magnus explains that Dyntos had asked them to fight the angel. He skeptically asks if the two are actually forgeries like the previous bosses he faced, but Dyntos counters these claims. Pit then begins asking Magnus a plethora of questions, but Magnus shoots them down, stating that he is only there to test him.

During this battle, Gaol will use the same strategy as she did in Chapter 2, only now she lacks the ability to summon Skuttlers. Magnus's attacks are straightforward, consisting of kicks, melee combos, and a whirlwind that draws opponents in to inflict damage.

Once Pit has defeated the duo, the two are teleported away as a new enemy enters the battlefield: Palutena. Pit is in disbelief over her presence, telling Dyntos that this recreation is in poor taste. Dyntos assures him that the goddess he sees before him is real, which is further evidenced when Palutena fails to respond to Pit as he attempts to communicate with her.

For the first portion of this fight, Palutena's battle style is the same as it was in Chapter 20, only now she lacks the ability to summon Centurions. Once enough damage has been inflicted, Palutena's face turns purple and grotesque, revealing herself to actually be Pseudo-Palutena. Her arsenal of attacks is upgraded, and she now possesses the ability to fire a barrage of pink energy shots at her foe as well. She also has a new melee attack, which involves smashing her own face into the ground and hitting Pit should the angel be close enough.

Once she's been defeated once and for all, Pit is teleported away to the next battle.

Zodiac Chamber
At the start of the Land Battle, after the player takes the elevator to the first staircase, a hidden staircase can be found behind Pit, where he can obtain the Pisces Heal.

Boss Battle
Arriving on a large platform, Dyntos commends Pit for his hard work before presenting the Great Sacred Treasure to him. Though Pit assumes that the god is simply handing it over, the massive mech suddenly strikes a pose, which initiates the battle. Shortly after, Palutena awakens from her brief slumber, revealing that Dyntos had put her to sleep during the fight with Pseudo-Palutena.

Despite being quite the sizeable mech, the Great Sacred Treasure is as nimble as it is powerful. It is capable of shooting a wide range of projectiles, summoning whirlwinds, charging full speed at its foe, inflicting a multitude of Status Ailments, and dodging predictable attacks by rolling or teleporting away.

Upon taking enough damage, the Great Sacred Treasure's strategy will change. Not only will it use its former moves, but it will also charge a massive beam that destroys half of the battlefield and instantly kills anything caught in the blast. In addition, it can also summon an orb that will gravitate its opponent toward the center of the stage, as well as fire huge laser beams.

Epilogue
Once the Great Sacred Treasure has been defeated, Pit begins piloting the mech, using it to eagerly zip across the skies. Dyntos appears with his back turned to the angel, where Palutena points out the unusually high amount of enemies he generated for only three trials. Dyntos admits to having thrown in some freebies before Pit crashes the mech into the ground behind Dyntos, prompting Palutena to teleport him away.

Weapons
The following is a list of weapons most commonly obtained in this chapter.


 * Pudgy Palm
 * Orb Staff
 * End-All Arm
 * Palutena Bow

Trivia

 * During the Air Battle, several references are made to various classic arcade titles:
 * The three rows of Commylooses, Nutskis, and Octoses moving side to side is a reference to Space Invaders.
 * Monoliths can be seen moving up and down, playing Pong with an assortment of different enemies.
 * The Kerons hopping atop the flat-laying Rezdas is a reference to Frogger.
 * The music that plays during the Air Battle segment of this chapter contains parts recycled from previous chapters, including the Land Battle theme from Chapter 12, the Land Battle theme from Chapter 7, and the Air Battle theme from Chapter 13.
 * This chapter shares its Land Battle theme with Chapter 7. It is also a remixed version of the music that plays inside Fortresses in the original Kid Icarus.