That blow to the head only knocked Laharl out and he was buried alive all this time.
Starting a new game in normal mode. Why didn't I think there was a possibility to carry over your levels, team, and inventory to either version upon beating either version? Then again, I didn't think Etna mode would be only four chapters long. HA!
I'll be posting the whole story (under a spoiler cut of course) sometime soon. I know I rambled on to a few Squishbag members on it, but I have DA junkie pals into this stuff too, and DA journals don't have spoiler cut options.
Edit: Laharl now makes this constipated grunt when he swings his weapon