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It sucks that I lost Galuf, but I can't let that stop me.
Mozart's #12 Dance Tune (Galuf Memorial Edition)
So, we left off after finishing the Forest of Moore. I forgot to resupply though, so I'll do that before actually starting.
Not familiar with this place...
Oh, it's the Gil Turtles' cave.
Incidentally, I made Krile a Dancer.
: Isn't that a little... I dunno... overly skimpy?
: You put me in this, you know.
: I didn't pick the outfit this time. If it was my choice, I'd go with something more modest- I don't cater to customers who want... er... "younger" women.
: Meaning...?
: Ew.
: Creepy and disgusting.
The money- and turtles- are on the other side of this door. Think I'll take a little time out to pick up funds before World 3.
: This door gives me the creeps.
: Me too. I feel like if we go in there we could die...
: Maybe we shouldn't go...
: But there's treasure there- I can feel it in my bones! More than we could dream of!
Unless my math is failing me, your reward for making it to the end of this hallway is just under twice this in total- about... um... 81,910 or so? Pretty nice chunk of money, anyway. Better yet, it respawns as soon as you go out the door again. However, since I want nothing to do with Gil Turtles (which show up every few steps in that hallway) I use the Quicksave Exploit to prevent them from appearing (save state every safe step, then reload and quicksave when a turtle shows up to reset the battle counter).
Trips down Turtle Hall: 5
Quicksaves Abused: 27 (give or take)
Here's the other end of the Gil Turtle Cave; this one's closer to the money.
Back where things on this world started. This time, instead of going down, we're going UP.
In case you hadn't realized it yet: Armies are useless in Final Fantasy, since there is ALWAYS someone badass enough to solo them for every faction.
Vendor trash on the second floor. There's also a Diamond Shield on the other side, which is also useless to me.
The third floor, however, doesn't have any treasure or actually go anywhere.
...or so it seems. Krile, fortunately, manages to see through it enough to realize what's happening.
Back in Quelb, Kelger is musing on the end of the Dawn Warriors... wait, did Mozart hit him THAT hard?!
And Galuf's ghost makes a reappearance to request the werewolves' aid.
Well, I suppose the best death is one that accomplishes something. If you're dying anyway, might as well use what life you have left to fuel a supercharged Dispel so the guys who aren't bedridden can keep going, right?
Back at Exdeath's Castle, the illusion preventing us from finding the way begins to unravel...
...revealing the true form of our foe's stronghold (and yielding possibly the most out-of-place fanfare in the game).
: 
: 
: 
: Okay, THIS guy's got issues... 
This switch moves a wall so we can get at that chest over there for an Ice Shield. Incidentally, it's kinda disturbing how you can actually see beating hearts in the walls.
: There aren't enough interior decorations in existence to salvage this place.
: With a place like this, the best approach would be to just burn the whole thing down and start over.
: Wasn't expecting that out of you...
: Please tell me we weren't in the stomach when we were captured...
Black Warlocks are problematic until you realize that they start spamming instant death spells (which they are actually vulnerable to) when they're confused; in fact, the most efficient method of dealing with battles they show up in is to just Confuse the Warlocks and watch them obliterate everything for you 
. Just make sure to get rid of any Reflect Mages in the area before you try this, okay?
Anyway, we find an Ether on the next floor.
Always handy to have around. Of course, at this point I realize I'll have to go back around and into that bubbling stuff (which I have always assumed to be stomach acid) to get a chest I saw; it contains a Hayate Bow.
Hey, remember when we had to get Adamantite so Cid could upgrade our airship? Now they're making golems out of the stuff. They hit hard, but it's kind of amusing watching them suicide with ??? (they start at about 1/3 HP).
I hate timing puzzles. Fortunately, the "progress" result is fairly easy to aim for, but I want the boxes! The other one, when I eventually manage to get it, contains a Kotetsu.
Save point. Pretty sure we've got a miniboss coming up.
Not as close as I thought. Anyway, here's an Elixir hidden away in the wall, and there's 9900 Gil on the other side, near the stairs up. Also: Here there be dragons. I hate them- Yellows are tedious, and Reds are immune to my shenanigans.
Sure wish I had Float right about now.
This would be interesting if I could just USE it. That's a bit of a common problem in job-restriction challenges... Anyway, after falling through a false floor I also get 8000 Gil up a nearby staircase. Problem is getting back now...
The space above me is a teleporter; I had to go up on the right side to get to it, though.
Said teleporter drops you off here.
I challenge the nearby summon after equipping Hide to everyone.
Hi Carbuncle. His strategy is essentially "bounce tier 2 spells off his permanent Reflect until he wins." He occasionally drops his guard in order to cast a weak healing spell (I mean, 180 is NOTHING by this point, so why bother?!).
My strategy, naturally, is "call me when you run out of MP."
No points for guessing how that turns out.
I'm pretty sure that took even longer than Atomos did; not only did I have to deal with the Reflect animation every time Carbuncle wanted to do something, but he was only casting from his offensive MP half the time, making his average MP consumption per turn a mere 5. I mean, he ran out of MP for healing LONG before it was safe to attack, since he's got literally ten times as many MP for offense. Sometimes I hate my insistence on fighting all the main game bosses...
Boss Deaths: 0
Total Boss Deaths: 5
Other Deaths: 1
Bosses With Far Too Many MP Exhausted: 2 
Useless, even if you CAN summon. I mean, if you want Reflect then you're probably gonna just equip a Reflect Ring instead of casting a spell, right? That's what I'd do, at least.
Heading down the stairs drops you on a teleporter that takes you to this platform. Don't wanna wade through more damage floor? Too bad- the only way to avoid it is to skip Carbuncle.
Back to progressing, entering this area withdraws the bridge you need to move on, but stepping here brings it back. Just make sure to approach it from the right, or you gotta do it again (this used to bug my OCD).
Well, that's over with. Hope I don't see any more damage floors this dungeon...
Oh, hey, I recognize this room!
If you leave Lone Wolf locked up like a responsible citizen, I'm pretty sure this is the only empty box in the entire game.
Well, not entirely empty- opening the chest triggers a palate cleanser in the form of our next match with good ol' Gilgamesh!
: Huh. It's the kabuki guy again.
: He looks like a clown to me...
: Galuf thought so too.
: Yeah, but I've actually seen kabuki, so I'm pretty sure I'd recognize the costumes. Can't say I approve of its connection to prostitution, though.
: Wait, what?
At least here the thief has the decency to stick around and fight for the contents of the chest.
Gilgamesh round 4, go! This time, he's a credible threat, as the damage Lenna's taking here attests.
Mozart's singing the Swift Song, since I want every edge possible. Krile tosses Lenna a Hi-Potion, while the sisters dance. Jitterbug and Mystery Waltz... not bad- a bit of damage, and took some of his MP (too bad Gil's probably another boss with a gigantic MP total). True to form, Gilgamesh has a wide array of Blue Magic at his disposal, quickly demonstrating Flash (which blinds Mozart and Lenna) and Pond's Chorus (which fails).
This fails too, but is rather worrisome.
: Wait, how does that even work? 
Krile got Discorded. Guess she's stuck playing medic for the rest of the fight, not that she wouldn't anyway. Incidentally, I think Faris got confused by the sheer impossibility of what Gil pulled off there.
After another Flash that blinds Krile, a second Discord on Mozart (not that he'd ever attack when he's got buffing to do), and a Pond's Chorus on Krile which she fixes on her next turn, Gil starts talking. Seems he's decided he likes us.
Possibly because we're the only ones in the world who can keep up with him. Kind of sad, considering this is a bunch of travelling performers we're talking about.
: Yeah, I get the feeling you're not really all that bad a guy... we're just on different sides, and it's your job, right?
: I don't know about just being a job, but I have to admit, you guys aren't bad at all!
: You mean Galuf?
: Yeah, I'm gonna kill Exdeath for that.
Even Gilgamesh is mourning Galuf.
As shown when our usually-boisterous rival actually shuts up for a minute. (Incidentally, Mozart got hit with a Time Slip, but who cares?)
: Yeah... I'm mad enough already without having to go over it again.
: And ladies who dress like men!
: What's he talking about? None of you have cross-dressed, from what I've seen...
: Guess I just look the part of a crossdresser.
At this point, the battle is basically over.
: WHAT THE HELL?!
: That's a lot of arms...
: Which he's using to hold a lot of weapons.
*plink*
: ...I barely felt that.
: Hah! A fine bluff, but nothing more!
A few more swings, though, and Gilgamesh comes to believe Mozart.
: I think it'd be accurate to call that the WEAKEST of swords.
: You couldn't even kill time with that thing.
: I don't know... Everything has a use.
: Dammit, right when I was starting to calm down, Supreme Asshole there decides to interrupt us!
: For your continued bungling, I banish you from this dimension!
Despite Gilgamesh's pleas, Exdeath casts him into the Rift.
: ...I was starting to like him. Guess that's one more reason to go stab Exdeath.
Boss Deaths: 0
Total Boss Deaths: 5
Total Gilgamesh Deaths: 0
Other Deaths: 1
Believe it or not, this is, generally speaking, EVEN WORSE than it looked when Gil used it- at least he could manage double-digit damage! Mechanically speaking, it functions like fixed-damage attacks like 1000 Needles... but its damage value is 1. Of course, a Blue Mage or Ninja could make use of its phenomenal on-paper attack power for massive damage... which means that, if Gilgamesh had just used it properly (Goblin Punch), he would've wiped the floor with us.
: He dropped his sword, if anyone's interested.
: Let's see... Excali...POOR? Looks like this thing's a counterfeit!
: Exdeath probably put it there as a trap for anyone who isn't careful enough to read closely.
: Yeah, well, it wouldn't work on me- I don't even know how to use a sword!
Well, I don't want to move on with three out of four characters blinded, so I head back a screen to use a Tent and save.
Thirteen floors... appropriate, considering the superstition about 13 being an unlucky number.
: Yo. You ready to get stabbed?
: Yeah, like we'd ever listen to you.
: Only truths I care about are that you killed Galuf, and that we're gonna kill you for doing it.
: Don't care, either.
So. Exdeath. While he's got command of a lot of high-tier spells, he's also got ridiculously strong physical attacks. Incidentally, I'm guessing his sword is crafted from the bones of his victims, and its handle is wrapped in human flesh, just because that seems like an Exdeath thing to do.
He's got over 32,000 MP, so this is gonna take a LONG time.
: ...God dammit.
Don't ask how long this took. On an unrelated note, how did I miss the fact that NED's theme is a remix of Exdeath's battle theme?
I pick a bad time to come back, and end up eating an Earthshaker; several rounds of desperate healing ensue while Mozart sings Swift Song, with this being when I finally manage to stabilize myself for a little.
I finally managed to hit him! 
After Mozart gets hit with a Vacuum Wave, I belatedly realize I should probably put him in the back row; after this fight, I'll make that his default.
Between the fact that Exdeath no longer has any MP to screw with me and Mozart's singing finally getting my speed up to respectable levels, I think the situation's more or less under control now.
As expected of a Sword Dance from a character wearing a Ribbon, Faris hits hard.
Exdeath's low enough that he's starting to get two actions at a time; this often leads to failed doublecasting, but he occasionally attacks physically.
Yeah, right, like the game's primary antagonist would let himself be trivialized by status ailments? I mean, how often does that happen?
I'm getting two turns for every one he gets, so I think I'm fast enough; this almost certainly won't help, but it's something to do, at least.
With my speed boosted and no other songs that apply to the situation, Mozart decides to poke Exdeath just for something to do. It's about as effective as you'd expect stabbing a tree with a knife to be.
Well, that was incredibly time-consuming and resource-intensive, but I pulled through okay (after 54 Hi-Potions and 8 Phoenix Downs used throughout the dungeon, most of them here).
Boss Deaths: 0 
Total Boss Deaths: 5
Other Deaths: 1
Bosses With Far Too Many MP Exhausted: 3 (I was tempted to count Exdeath multiple times due to the sheer amount he's got)
As usual, we're just in time to watch the crystals explode all over the place.
This time, though, it's more of a dust than anything.
When we come to after the cataclysmic earthquake that ensues, we find ourselves near... Tycoon?
: I dunno, the terrain seems a bit off somehow...
: Yeah, this river was never here before...
: What happened?
: Hang on, lemme check my...
: ...map...? What the... I've never seen this map before!
: Move over, lemme see.
: What's wrong?
: It says the world's some kind of giant ring! This CAN'T be right!
: We should ask someone what's going on.
: Not that I expect anyone else to have a clue, but it's worth a shot anyway.
And so we will... later. For now, this looks like a good place to stop for the moment. Next time: World 3, part 1!