On reaching the top of the vines, you find that not only does the pillar conveniently lead up, it conveniently leads up and right into the tunnel you just saw Reyn run down. Heading uphill after the redhead, you’ll start to hear Reyn calling out for Shulk as he leads the flight up the tunnel. When Shulk reaches the top of the passage, he finds himself looking out into a large cavern festooned with vines and spider webs- and right in the middle is Reyn, surrounded by over a dozen Arachno. The large man complains that he can’t seem to escape the predicament; ‘I kill one of ‘em and ten more pop up!’
Stymied by the persistent giant pests, Reyn turns to run, but doesn’t get far before finally listening to Shulk, who is telling him to go a different way. Reyn stops and turns- but right behind him a single tremendous Arachno is making its way down a pillar. The immense spider moves forwards, pouncing at the soldier as Shulk calls out to him, ready to bite right into the man....
And then the Monado trades out its usual blue glow for a piercing yellow one. Shulk whips the weapon in a circle, and it lets out a shockwave of yellow light that doesn’t seem to do anything at all until it reaches Reyn. Fractions of a second before the large man would have become a spider hors’douvre, a barrier of yellow light wraps around him, sustaining the bite without any difficulty at all, and continuing to protect him as the Arachno Queen tries to stab at him with its forelegs.
Reyn keeps his shield up, startled by what’s going on, as Shulk examines the Monado in confusion. The smaller Arachno begin to back away from Shulk, but the frustrated Queen has the complete opposite idea- she abruptly ignores the soldier in favour of his friend, turning and charging at Shulk. Rushing in the same direction, Reyn manages to get between the two, blocking the creature’s fangs with the barrier that’s protecting him- and then goes so far as to force the immense spider off-balance and away from the blond researcher.
And now, it’s time for a boss fight.
There is a new ability and a new subsystem introduced in this fight- and you’ll want to pay attention, because you’re going to need it. Just in case you miss part or want a reminder, the next article is going to discuss the system in detail.
That said- fight on! There are a lot of regular Arachno in the fight at first- I recommend turning your attention there to begin with. A few area attacks from Shulk and/or Reyn should clear most of those out so you can focus on the Queen. The Queen herself has one majorly threatening attack- her Talent Art, Crush, deals ridiculously massive damage for your level, and you need to keep your Monado Shield ready to protect her target. In addition, she has a Bind attack that will stick both Reyn and Shulk to the floor and leave them incapable of moving or turning for a frustratingly long period of time, and a spitting attack that will reduce your defences. Outside that, though, it’s a relatively easy fight, partly because of the cramped quarters- there’s very little the Arachno Queen can to do get to a place where Shulk and Reyn both can’t attack her.
