Absolute Virtue is actually the second enemy in a two-monster relay (with the Jailer of Love), both of which must be vanquished in under 120 minutes. At one time the Jailer itself was somewhat of an enigma, but since the time limit was placed on the fight its powers have been significantly lowered, and is often taken down in the first 10 minutes of the encounter. Time, it seems, does not prove to be much help in defeating Absolute Virtue regardless.
After 30 consecutive hours of marathon fighting, this particular Benediction allegedly caused at least 5 people to quit Final Fantasy XI on the spot.
After a patch was released in response to the news reports filed against the marathon kill attempts of comparable foe Pandemonium Warden, Absolute Virtue now only has some 70,000 HP, less than other Notorious Monsters in the game. What makes Absolute Virtue so difficult though is its unique way to stack multiple two-hour abilities (essentially Final Fantasy XI's Job System's strongest, most devastating techniques available to players, one after another). One such ability, Benediction, the White Mage two-hour, is especially frustrating, as it will heal Absolute Virtue's HP to full instantaneously at any point in the conflict, as well as remove its negative status effects.
Absolute Virtue is rumored to have caused a number of players to quit the game on the spot. In respect to the first legitimate, organized attempt (during which its two-hours were accidentally locked, and fighting had gone on for some 30 hours), one well-placed Benediction is likely to blame for one instance of this.