Chapter 3: The Vessel drops Emma and Koo into the Mountainous Region’s Great Wall Terraces, where someone has clearly beaten you to the local Nushi. The whole chapter turns into a drawn-out chase: you fight the same Nue Malefact over and over as it flees, then finish with a two-on-one boss battle at the Nushi’s Lair. It’s shorter than the first two chapters, but the repeated boss and the awkward climbing terrain can slow you down.
Quick answer: Open the gate with the control panel near the tents, follow Brad’s strange signal across the mountain, then defeat the Nue Malefact (Lv. 16) three times as it relocates. After the third fight, ride the elevator up the Great Wall, cross the broken bridge to the Nushi’s Lair, and beat the Malefact of Fate — the Nue Malefact and Male Purifier fighting together — to end the chapter.
Chapter 3 boss order and rewards
You fight the Nue Malefact four separate times in The Vessel. The first three are the same Lv. 16 encounter, and the beast keeps its accumulated damage between rounds, so each fight starts with less health than the last. The final fight pairs it with a second enemy. Here’s the full sequence so you know how many times it will run.
| Encounter | Enemy | Ends when | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fight 1 | Nue Malefact (Lv. 16) | Health drops to roughly half, then it flees | Ursine Memories (unlocks Nushi Skill: Rampaging Asago, Bloom Art Asagao: Bao, Blade Art/Finisher: Asagao) |
| Fight 2 | Nue Malefact (Lv. 16) | Health drops to its last quarter, then it flees | Erymanthian Memories (unlocks Nushi Skill: Creeping Kiku, Bloom Art Kiku: Bloom Strike) |
| Fight 3 | Nue Malefact (Lv. 16) | Health drops to a sliver, then it flees | None |
| Final fight | Nue Malefact and Male Purifier (Lv. 20) | Both health bars emptied | Nushi Skill: Chimeric Flow |
Open the gate and track the strange signal
The chapter starts with your vehicle blocked by a giant gate, and you begin exploring The Great Wall Terraces without an objective marker. Take a few minutes to loot the area first, since this region is packed with items and secrets that thin out later in the game.
Rest at the Campsite next to the field before you approach. The dying Nushi is already in its flower-like form, which is a bad sign, and a short cutscene brings back the Nue Malefact from the earlier flashback.
First Nue Malefact fight (Lv. 16)
The Nue Malefact is a four-legged beast that leads with paw swipes. Most of these can be parried cleanly, and parrying is what refills your FP so you can keep using Koo’s Bloom Arts. Use your tactical skills to stagger it quickly.
Watch for three heavier moves. It roars and then slams the ground for massive damage, so create distance the moment you hear the roar. It sweeps with its tail, which you can parry. From range it can strike with its extended tail and spit shrapnel from its mouth, both of which are easier to dodge than to block. Keep chipping until its health hits about half, at which point it runs off and you have to chase it. Winning grants the Ursine Memories.
Chase the malefact across the river (fights two and three)
The beast crosses to the eastern side of the river. The fastest way over is the large bridge, which saves you climbing down and back up the cliffs. Expect Golems and one hair-gap to cross on the way. Along the trail you’ll pass a Campsite with an altar. Talk to the Mysterious Golem (the Storyteller) beside it to claim the Hunter’s Sword.
Fight 2: You catch the Nue Malefact walking through the forest — run up and attack. Its moveset is identical, and it still carries the damage from fight one, so it won’t be at full health. This time it flees when its bar drops to roughly the last quarter. The win gives you the Erymanthian Memories.
Fight 3: The malefact heads to the northern tip of the map, the Great Wall itself, about 700 meters on. Push through the bridge and an abandoned facility, clearing Golems as you go. Around the 300-meter mark there’s a Lv. 13 Giant Golem worth killing for XP, and Giant Golems in general can gut Emma’s health, so keep an eye out. If you hit a raised bridge, use Emma’s hair and lift to reach the small building nearby, then use its control panel to lower it. Climb the huge wood-and-metal structure with Emma’s hair abilities to reach a plateau with a large statue. Approaching the statue starts the third fight. It adds a new lightning attack but is otherwise the same, and this time it escapes at the very last sliver of health with no reward. Rest at the Campsite at the base of the statue afterward.
Note: Between fights it’s worth returning to the Cleanse Walker for a stat-boosting meal from Kagura and checking in with the Merchants. Acid Arrows are a solid pickup here if you haven’t grabbed them yet.
Move the elevator and reach the Nushi’s Lair
The malefact retreats to much higher ground, so you swap hunting the beast for finding an elevator. Head to the base of the wall, where you’ll spot what looks like a broken Cleanse Walker sitting on the platform.
Defeat the Malefact of Fate
The Nue Malefact returns with backup. The Male Purifier joins it, and together they form the Malefact of Fate, your final battle of Chapter 3. Both enemies are Lv. 20 and each has its own health bar, but neither has a second phase, so there’s no surprise extra health bar to grind through. They also fight politely, usually taking turns and hanging back so you can focus one at a time.
Take out the Male Purifier first — he’s the bigger threat. He wields a sword and opens with a leap attack you can dodge or parry. His main pattern is a set of four swings that come after a slight delay, so wait for the beat and deflect the chain. He also turns his left hand into a vine and lashes it like a whip, so keep your parry timing loose enough to catch both the blade and the whip. The Nue Malefact’s moves are the same ones you’ve countered three times already, so once the Purifier is down, the rest is familiar.
Emptying both health bars triggers the closing cutscene, where the Purifier wounds Emma and Brad carries her and Koo back to the mobile headquarters. You know the chapter is finished when you’re returned to the Cleanse Walker and unlock the Nushi Skill: Chimeric Flow. Work through the remaining conversations, speak to Kunai, and rest to sleep. The Vessel wraps with Brad and Kunai talking, and Emma and Koo move on to Chapter 4: Stems in Pilgrim’s Zone.
