How to defeat bellum in the legend of Zelda phantom hourglass

BOSS: Bellum (I)

So Bellum isn't exactly an evil magician or thief -- nor human -- but he's still powerful. As soon as the fight starts, pull out the grappling hook and start pulling at the purple growths around Bellum's body. Be careful for the ones that splash next to you and turn into slime creatures; use a spin slash to get rid of them quickly. With all the bits pulled off, latch onto Bellum himself to drag him towards you, then start stabbing him. Eventually your attacks will push him across the pool, so quickly run over to the other side and keep up the offensive.

After that, Bellum will burst out of the water and fly up to the next level. Take the stairs by the wall and run up there. Now you'll have to avoid the slime creature minions, while also avoiding Bellum's tentacles slapping you, with the aim of striking the tentacles with arrows. Shoot all the tentacles until the eye on each one turns purple. Once that happens, Bellum will drop back down into the pool, where you must yank off all the purple bits again and strike Bellum as you pull him in.

Bellum will fly up again, so run back up. The tentacles are smarter this time, periodically closing their eyes and making it harder for you to strike them, as you'll still be contending with the slime creatures and more slapdowns from Bellum. The best advice is to be patient.

After all the tentacles are struck this time, Bellum will fly up to the next highest level, so take the stairs again. The tentacles will close their eyes even faster this time, so you'll just have to be extra patient. Worrying about the slime creatures should always be priority number one, as they move swift and can hurt you more than a tentacle slap.

Finally, after the last tentacle is struck, Bellum will expel a ball of energy and plummet once more to the bottom. The energy gives Ciela a new power of stopping time. Run back down to the ground floor to find Bellum floating around the outside of the pool, intending to ram into you. As Ciela explains, once you see the hourglass icon appear at the bottom of the screen, touch it and draw a figure eight to stop time. Do it at the right time just as Bellum gets close to you so you have a clear shot at his big eye, then with time frozen, start striking. Get out of the way just before the timer ends so you're not hit, then wait for Ciela to charge up her power again.
After one or two more strike sessions, Bellum will spaz out and plummet into the pool. Is he dead? Who cares, the place is caving in! A warp sends you back to Linebeck's ship, where Tetra will be restored from her stony state. But then a tentacle from Bellum takes her again! This isn't over!

BOSS: Bellum (II)

This time Bellum will have taken control of the Ghost Ship. Linebeck's ship will chase after him, and it's up to you to attack. Whatever you do, do not let up on the fire. You should be attacking the purple spores on the side of the ship, but whenever you see a bright purple ball or two headed towards you, shift your fire on it, as it hits pretty hard.

That's just about the crux of this fight -- keep up a good shooting rhythm so you're not panicking when a purple shot is closing in. After being cleared of Bellum's spores, the Ghost Ship will sink. Linebeck will steer you up to the deck to finish Bellum off, with one last offer to save your game. Sure, why not?
A cut-scene will set up the final battle: Bellum takes control of Linebeck and puts him in a big nasty suit of armor.

BOSS: Bellum (III)


Linebeck was possessed! Run around the deck avoiding Bellum until Ciela's ready with her time-stopping power. Use it and watch what happens: nothing. Ciela then moves to Bellum's back, but is caught by a tentacle. But this way, she can give you a view of the back, which shows Bellum's giant eye opening and closing periodically.

Strike at Bellum until you end up pushing swords together. Win the struggle, then strike again to stagger him. Ciela will give you another ball of hourglass power. Watch the top screen and wait for Bellum's eye to open (also signified by a distinct sound effect, in case you're better off concentrating on the bottom). At that point, stop time and run around to the back and strike at the eye until the timer runs out.

Now you'll have stagger Bellum again by getting him close to the edge of the deck. If you strike at him three times as he's blocking, he'll quickly sidestep and try to counterattack. The trick is that he usually steps to the left first, so what you should do is strike three times, then immediately run to the right a few steps to dodge him, then continue the pattern. Push him ever so slightly towards the edge until you end up in a sword struggle again, strike, stagger him and get another bit of Ciela's power. Then wait for the eye to open, and take your opportunity to defeat him or her or WHATEVER.

Towards the end, Bellum will get aggravated and try a whirlwind attack that has him spinning around the deck. If you stay at a distance you can avoid it incredibly easily, and more often than not Bellum will end up right near the edge again, giving you a great chance for another stagger. A few more sets of strikes to the eye, and Bellum will finally collapse and disappear into a cloud of dust.