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You've braved the wonders of the world in search of faraway allies. With a united resistance now in place, the time to strike back against Hikari's usurper brother is nigh. The battles won't be easy in Octopath Traveler 2's last Hikari chapter, but then, winning a kingship never was.
Like the Eagle of Ku, we will guide you along each phase of the coming conflict. Give this bloodied nation the peace it so richly deserves - your people must be freed!
Town Phase: Southern Ku Sands
After watching some more scenes involving Ritsu's rise to power, you'll be given control of your party again. All we need to do is run down the slope; Hikari will meet Kazan one-on-one thereafter. Our dearest Kazan brings his Lord to his allied army, including familiar faces like Zeno's. And hey - it's Benkei. Good times.
We realize, of course, that the Southern Ku Sands are not a town! We're labeling this a Town Phase because it's got all the accoutrements for it - there's a tent serving as a makeshift inn, plus shops for supplies.
Learn about Kazan's plan for the 'Valley of Windstorms'. Check the shops for any last-minute necessities; if you've been adventuring for long enough, none of this gear will be an upgrade for you, but double-check just in case. When you're ready to begin the battle in earnest, speak with Kazan.
Dungeon Phase: Ku
The soldiers inside Ku will be suitably spooked by the sandstorm. Run north through the desolation left in its wake, and into Ku proper. Just as Hikari proclaims, your goal is to reach the Bell of Dawn, which is situated just outside Castle Ku in the town's northern screen. Only the southern (entrance) screen appears to include random encounters; once you're through the gates up above, cutscenes take over.
A trap is sprung, and all hope seems lost - but then we learn in retrospect yet another of Kazan's schemes. With all eyes on Hikari's 'trapped' team, Rai Mei's arrival surprises us all! You'll be placed at the entryway of Castle Ku, so be sure to save and then ascend the staircase.
Enemies here include Elite Ku Soldier (weaknesses are Spears, Axes, Lightning, Light); Flame Guardian (weaknesses are Swords, Bows, Daggers, Ice); Ku Bowman (Swords, Staves, Lightning), and Flame Curator (Spears, Bows, Ice).
There won't be any new items here if you scoured the place in Hikari's first chapter.
Battle Phase: Ritsu
So begins the first in a string of epic last clashes. As you likely suspect, Ritsu's grown in toughness substantially since the last time we went against him. He's weak to the following: Spears, Bows, Fire, and Dark. His shields start at a lowly seven, before rising to nine, and then 11 by fight's end. At the start of the fight, Ritsu has a fairly average speed, but once his defenses are broken from the initial seven shields, he's hastened.
This increase in tempo shouldn't be underestimated. His 'Trifold Slash', which hits a single target thrice, can be used twice in a row - we've seen it committed to the same target both times, severing thousands of hit points with ease.
'Armor Cleaver' is a multi-hit that lowers defense, and Ritsu just loves to use this before the more devastating single-target fare to wipe someone out in a hurry. He can also blind the entire party, and when he reaches his 11-shield stage, he attacks thrice per round.
One efficient way to keep things in your favor is to take a cue from the Eagle of Ku, blinding Ritsu. All his attacks are accuracy-based physicals, so lowering his chances to strike substantially diminishes his danger.
Plenty of weapons offer possible Blind status, but Castti's Dual Flower combination guarantees it. You should also reduce Ritsu's physical power with debuffs.
Battle Phase: Mugen
Rest up, because immediately after heading through the throne room door (and watching the story scenes), the boss battle against Mugen begins. He'll begin with weaknesses to Spears, Axes, Lightning, and Light.
When his second phase begins, this will change to Swords, Wind, and Ice. Likely the most irritating attack that Mugen uses is 'Conqueror's Rule', which will inflict the Terror debuff on everyone (or at least has a high chance to). This should be cured ASAP.
Both 'Decapitation' and 'Gates of Hell' reduce HP to one, the former to a single target and the latter to two targets. Healing up afterward is a must. Thankfully, 'Gates of Hell' is his charge attack, so you'll have ample warning before he uses it. In fact, 'Ordained Punishment', which hits hard enough to shred 3000 or more HP off a target, is probably the more routine threat here.
Since you'll be struck by Terror on the regular, it may prove difficult to get rid of it on everyone as quickly as Mugen doles it out. If you can't boost your BP for your heavy hitters when it's their turn, look for attacks that hit multiple times.
If you have access to something that strikes down Mugen's shields two, three, four times or more, it won't matter so much that you can't boost; just try to have someone's Terror removed so you can take advantage when Mugen's shields are all broken.
The next fight, against Hikari's darker self, is largely an automated affair. Just attack with reasonably powerful strikes a few times, healing if needed. After a few turns of taking damage, the shadow battle will play out in your favor.
Boss Phase: Enshrouded King
This is where the fun begins. And by fun, we mean pain. The Enshrouded King is one of the harder tale-ending final battles in Octopath Traveler 2; he isn't as nefarious as certain others in the debuff-slinging department, but his pure power is enough to give well-leveled parties pause.
On the bright side, the Enshrouded King's weaknesses never change - Swords, Spears, Bows, Staves, Lightning, and Wind. On the not-so-bright side, he steadily locks his weaknesses over time, meaning you'll have fewer and fewer ways of shredding his shields.
With luck, he won't block his Swords weakness, seeing as it's so good for Hikari's Aggressive Slash to tear down shields and Brand's Blade to deal extreme damage.
Having a steadily-boosted Hikari to keep wailing at the Enshrouded King is all well and good, but you should be made aware of what the Enshrouded King can do to you in turn; 'Diabolical Spear' can hit various allies numerous times for high damage,
'Diamond Destruction' hits one ally hard but also inflicts our annoying-as-ever Terror status, 'Triple Poison Sting' compounds the issue by dealing damage and removing BP. Having someone on Pomegranate duty and someone else on debuff-curing duty isn't a bad idea.
'Eternal Suffering' is the Enshrouded King's charged attack. When he's about to use this, heal up and defend unless you're extremely confident in your HP totals, as it will deal devastating damage to the entire party.
Having a Scholar (or Arcanist if you've got one) to dole out Lightning and/or Wind damage is a very good idea. Osvald's natural might can prove invaluable in this battle, with his 'One True Magic' and more sure to put big dents in the King's health.
With Mugen's evil-personified self down for the count, raise your sword - or controller - in victory. You've completed Hikari's tale! Move on to others if you've still got some, or get ready for the final chapter of the overarching story if all eight are done!