Spoilers: Theory for Pandaemonium Story

[Shyron]

What if Lahabrea isn't controlling this demonic place, but is instead a prisoner? What if we have to rescue him for some other purpose? It might be rather difficult to suddenly turn Lahabrea into a credible menace after how low he fell in 2.0 and 3.0. So perhaps this isn't that. Maybe this is about turning him into a friend.

[Enkidoh]

What if Lahabrea isn't controlling this demonic place, but is instead a prisoner? What if we have to rescue him for some other purpose? It might be rather difficult to suddenly turn Lahabrea into a credible menace after how low he fell in 2.0 and 3.0. So perhaps this isn't that. Maybe this is about turning him into a friend.

I sure hope not! Mostly because I just found him insufferable throughout ARR and HW, but also because I've... kinda made up a headcanon of him back in Amaurot that he was actually nothing but a hack with a silver tongue that just used to steal other's ideas and passed them off as his own, especially Azem (or rather, 'my' Azem) - given Azem was not usually in Amaurot but out in the world doing what they still do thousands of years later (fighting monsters, saving innocents and well, being pretty much a big hero ), it's not hard to see how he was able to get away with it without blowback. Of course there is zero canon-proof that was ever a thing but I still like to think it is!

Yeah, I really, really dislike Lahabrea and I always felt cheated I didn't get to kill him myself back in the Singularity Reactor (thanks a lot Thordan ><), so I'm kind of looking forward to Pandemonium just for the hope I actually get to kill him now - I sincerely hope I do!

[Kesey]

I sure hope not! Mostly because I just found him insufferable throughout ARR and HW, but also because I've... kinda made up a headcanon of him back in Amaurot that he was actually nothing but a hack with a silver tongue that just used to steal other's ideas and passed them off as his own, especially Azem (or rather, 'my' Azem) - given Azem was not usually in Amaurot but out in the world doing what they still do thousands of years later (fighting monsters, saving innocents and well, being pretty much a big hero ), it's not hard to see how he was able to get away with it without blowback. Of course there is zero canon-proof that was ever a thing but I still like to think it is!

Yeah, I really, really dislike Lahabrea and I always felt cheated I didn't get to kill him myself back in the Singularity Reactor (thanks a lot Thordan ><), so I'm kind of looking forward to Pandemonium just for the hope I actually get to kill him now - I sincerely hope I do!

Although I want to agree with your sentiments, I really hope he is just dead and this raid is the mechanism he established before permanently dying as a plan B for Ascians if Zodiark is ever destroyed.

[Nezerius]

Mostly because I just found him insufferable throughout ARR and HW

But how much of that was due to bad writing? Ascians were a very one-dimensional type of antagonists during ARR/HW/SB, with the only exceptions being Elidibus (who mostly worked in the shadows), and Emet-Selch, close to the end of Stormblood.
If Lahabrea had been written with the same depth as Emet-Selch, I'd imagine he would've been a far less insufferable character. Especially when looking at some of the stuff that was brought up in Amaurot.

[Shyron]

But how much of that was due to bad writing? Ascians were a very one-dimensional type of antagonists during ARR/HW/SB, with the only exceptions being Elidibus (who mostly worked in the shadows), and Emet-Selch, close to the end of Stormblood.
If Lahabrea had been written with the same depth as Emet-Selch, I'd imagine he would've been a far less insufferable character. Especially when looking at some of the stuff that was brought up in Amaurot.

Yeah, him getting to be more interesting is why I'm kind of hoping for a more protagonistic role for him. A lot of the other Ascians could use that treatment, too.