"Ancient" doesn't send quite the same message as "ruined". And didn't the NA version dialog call this the East Tower, anyway?

A soldier stands just inside the tower.

One side of the room has a passage leading only to a sign:

On the other side is a pillar with a sign next to it:

One wall has carpet running into it, and pushing the pillar against that wall pushes the wall back, revealing a passage to another doorway.

This gimmick is then never used again, making it seem a bit pointless.

One room further on has a door that only opens when a certain tile is stepped on. To proceed, Maxim must trap a monster on the tile.

Later on, a staircase is surrounded by spikes that rise whenever Maxim approaches. However, the room also has a pillar, and pushing it behind the stairs lets Maxim use the Hook to pull himself to the stairs from a safe distance.

Yet another room has a set of floor tiles, arranged as an O with an X through it, that light up or dim when stepped on. To open the door in this room, all the tiles in the circle, and only the ones in the circle, have to be lightened.

Curiously, this puzzle is removed completely, with no replacement, in the NA version. Even if × (or ばつ) for "wrong" and ○ (or まる) for "right" aren't used quite as extensively outside of Japan, I wouldn't think it would be that difficult to figure out.

Later, a hidden room has some fancy tiles in front of a door, with a sign in the room beyond:

A nearby room has a door that doesn't work. It also has the same tile pattern in front of what appears to be just a wall, though, and walking into the wall there reveals a working door.

A later room holds a system of teleporters, with the central one sending the party in whichever direction Maxim faces when he steps on it. A bit of exploring and a few relatively simple puzzles later:

...and the bombable back wall in the same room leads to a Miraculous.

Another room, with a switch needed to continue, also has a sign on the wall.

A later room needs pillars on four buttons; the only tricky part is that most of the buttons are hidden from view behind the pillars. On the fifth floor are two statues, one on red carpet and one on blue, and a sign on the far wall.

Swinging Maxim's sword at each statue the number of times indicated on the tablets mentioned and then stepping on a central tile removes the statues to reveal HP and MP rechargers, and also opens the door to continue. A later room has this sign on the wall:

There are three monsters in the races. Each moves differently, but all are unpredictable and any can win. It's painfully random, though at least there's no penalty for losing other than needing to try again. Upon finally winning, the party is warped to another part of the room and can access a switch that lowers a passageway outside. With the Cloud Key in hand, they can now enter the top floor.

In a large central room, the music fades out as Gades appears with his usual flashy warp-in, and the menacing 2-08 "Four Gods" starts playing.

Yeah, and we've brought the strongest man in the world this time, too!

Gades's use of "us" is the game's first direct reference to others like him in Japanese, though it could still be taken to mean him and the lesser monsters.

You knew there was going to be a fight here, right? Okay, just checking. And that's a lot of exclamation points.

Gades fights much like he did back in the tower west of Gordovan... but he's much weaker this time, with less than half the HP and significantly lower ATP and DFP. As such, even his wave attack that slaughtered everyone before is now only moderately dangerous, and especially given the party's higher levels and offensive specialists, he'll go down much faster. Having to rely on Maxim for healing may complicate things, but otherwise, this isn't so bad.

As before, Gades resists Dark damage and has a weakness against Holy, so you should avoid Gades's Sword despite the high power even if you have it, and might want to give Heidecker an Undead Ring to further boost his already impressive damage output.

When you're done enjoying the special battle music, feel free to enjoy the 10,000 experience and 20,000 gold reward for winning. Not as much as last time, but you weren't really expected to win that one, either.

"Despair" plays after the battle, and Gades backs away, Maxim in pursuit.

Gades continues backing away, with Maxim continuing to give chase. Before Guy and Heidecker can follow, though, the floor between them crumbles away.

Gades stops in the middle of three posts and does something magicky to make them stick up from the floor.

The tower shakes ominously.

Gades finally fades away. Suddenly, Maxim hears a girlish voice from behind him.

He rushes back over to the break in the floor to see Tia and Selena on the other side with Guy and Heidecker.

And remember, Maxim can't use teleportation magic.

I don't think Selena's ever reacted so strongly before... Formal speech is gone during most of this scene, incidentally.

The others leave as Maxim goes to look for a way to stop the device. This section of the tower, thankfully, has HP and MP rechargers, a save point, and relatively few monsters. And... a Magical Bikini? There are also two statues, one on red carpet and one on blue, and signs explaining how to deal with them.

With those out of the way, and past a minor tile matching puzzle, Maxim finally reaches another odd device. Stepping on a central tile releases energy and appears to shut off whatever Gades has started up.

Suddenly, lightning falls across the room. Maxim takes a hit and collapses.

Iris appears unexpectedly in a swirl of sparkles.

She warps Maxim away.

Ah, but why is she here? Why does she keep saving him? And... why did she hesitate before doing so this time?

Maxim wakes up on the outskirts of a familiar town. No music plays.

Selena rushes up as he walks into town. The emotional 1-26 "Parting" plays.

Frequent pauses in her upcoming lines indicate that Selena is having some difficulty getting her words out.

Selena leans into Maxim.

Lamity walks onto the scene.

Guy approaches.

The view pans to show Tia watching from a distance. She walks away without a word. Heidecker calls to her from the shadow of a nearby house as she's leaving.

And Guy's girlfriend Jessie stands to the north, watching them. I don't think she's actually meant to be here for this scene...

He steps out onto the path.

Tia turns to the side and walks away slightly.

Tia walks back onto the path and faces Heidecker.

Tia turns away.

Tia faces him again.

The last time he used this line, he claimed flattery was his next best skill. And the next time, he'll say something different, again.

Tia briefly dips, possibly making a curtsey.

Tia leaves the town, and, for the most part, the game.