Lords of Alchemy

"This new world has no need of nation states. No need of avaricious, incompetent prime ministers, or presidents, or kings, or despots."

- The Regent of the Mask, high-ranking member of the Lords of Alchemy.

The Lords of Alchemy ("LOA" for short) is a modern-day cult of alchemists and the main antagonists of Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge.

Though they were dangerous fanatical cult of self-proclaimed "liberators", they hid behind a façade of being a corporate conglomerate under the name "LOA". They used acts of terrorism to change the Earth, which they believed had no need of nation states, leaders or tyrants whom they saw as corrupt, greedy, and incompetent.

The LOA cult was a massive high-tech corporation with such a global reach that were into everything from dental hygiene (such as toothbrushes) to military technology (including tanks). But ever since the economic crash and resulting industry shakedown, they diversified into manufacturing, according to Cliff Higgins, "anything and everything". This powerful, influential cult-like organization are a proof of the fact that, as people would say, "if you have techonolgy, money, and a vision, you're invincible".

History
Elite master of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan, Ryu Hayabusa, is called upon by the Japanese Self-Defense Force to deal with a terroristic group of mysterious cultists led by the enigmatic alchemist, the Regent of the Mask, who personally wanted the Dragon Ninja to come. Upon encountering the alchemist in London, he curses Ryu's right arm with the Grip of Murder which thrives on all the lives Ryu has taken, causing the Dragon Sword to be absorbed into Ryu's arm. After escaping the British Prime Minister's mansion when it was destroyed by an incoming missile, Ryu returns to the JSDF Yunagi. There, he and JSDF member Mizuki McCloud watch as the Regent demands the immediate surrender by the nations of Earth in 7 days (as according to the Biblical tradition of most Abrahamic religions that God created the universe in seven days), or risk annihilation.

After the Yunagi intercepts a signal coming from the Rub' al Khali desert, Ryu departs there with Mizuki and is visited by Ayane, who delivers to Ryu the Tenshin Clan's treasured Jinran-Maru sword, at Hayate's request. Fighting past hired killers and desert assassins, Ryu makes his way to a tower in the desert, where he meets the Regent of the Mask once again. The Regent reveals to him that the affliction of the Grip of Murder used the Dragon Sword as a medium for the curse, then broke its structure down and transmutated it into Ryu's arm, and reveals that without treatment, the curse will rot his arm from the inside out and spread throughout his body, killing him. Ryu attacks but discovers that the Regent was a mirage, and battles an armed helicopter. Ryu returns to the Yunagi, where he meets Mizuki's daughter Canna]] and Cliff Higgins, Mizuki's brother-in-law. Cliff reveals that the group they were fighting are a secret cult of powerful alchemists called the Lords of Alchemy, who are also known by their corporate front called LOA. Ryu departs for Abismo Island.

At the island Ryu lays waste to all the assassins sent to kill him, all the while fighting off the effects of the curse. Soon Ryu would face the Regent again, and defeats the clone of a Gigantosaurus created by him. However, Ryu discovers that Mizuki has been captured. To save her, Hayabusa feigns surrender and in a surprise move, kills the guards holding her, only for Mizuki to knock him unconscious with a tranquilizer gun.

Ryu awakens in a VR simulator, where he meets the alluring and sinister LOA scientist named Lovelace. She demonstrates that in the simulator he can be hurt or killed, and Ryu is forced to go through with the simulation, taking him to places from his past, from the blimp to the capital city of the Vigoor Empire, to the Sky City in Tokyo, to the Prime Minister's residence, where he squared off with a virtual Regent of the Mask. After escaping, Ryu fights his way through the LOA guards. Eventually he finds Canna and escapes with her to find her mother. They find Mizuki, held captive by the Regent. After the reunion, the Regent ruthlessly pushes Lovelace into a prototype God's Egg, and Ryu is forced to fight a mutated version of Lovelace. After defeating her altered form, Ryu escapes with Canna and Mizuki, only to be arrested by the US military. The two are reprimanded by Captain Heinlern for their actions and are ordered to cease their operation immediately. Ryu travels via helicopter back to Hayabusa Village to find out how to remove the curse.

First, Ryu revisits Genshin's grave where he placed the Blade of the Archfiend from their last battle. He takes the blade and travels back to Hayabusa Village, fighting hordes of vengeful Black Spider Ninjas until the Grip of Murder begins to take its toll on him, causing him to lose consciousness. He awakens in the clan leader's residence, nursed to health by the Dragon Shrine Maiden, Momiji. Ryu and Momiji travel to the hermitage where his father Joe Hayabusa lives. On the way, they are attacked by the Black Spider Ninjas as well as the Black Spider Clan's sorceress Obaba, who somehow came back to life. After the battle, they make their way to Joe's house. Joe tells Ryu that the curse is karmic retribution for all the deeds committed by the Dragon Ninja Clan over the generations. Ryu then heads back to the Yunagi.

On the Yunagi, Ryu is sent on an operation to Antarctica with Cliff requesting that he should be Ryu's backup. After defeating numerous foes there including an evil version of himself called the Epigonos, the Grip of Murder begins to activate. Cliff reveals himself as a member of the LOA, along with his grandfather Ashtear Higgins, the Chairman of LOA and the cult's most prominent leader. Ashtear reveals that Cliff is the head of LOA's R n' D and that he has plans for Canna. Soon after, Ryu attempts to chase down Cliff and Ashtear, but is left behind when he is knocked off their jet. Cliff tells Ryu that he would meet him on the Black Narwhal, a mysterious fleet thought to have been dismantled. Ryu is picked up by Ken Ishigami from the JSDF and transported to a UN vessel, where he is told that Canna is missing.

Ryu and Mizuki fly over the Black Narwhal, and Ryu jumps off and proceeds to take down the escort ships before landing on the main ship itself. There he faces off with Ashtear and defeats him. Ryu learns of his plans for Canna just before killing him, and proceeds to search for her inside the ship. Eventually he would come face to face with the Regent of the Mask, watching as Canna is fused with the Egg of a God. Ryu defeats the Regent and is shocked to see that the man is actually Canna's father, Theodore Higgins, who was thought to be dead. Cliff appears and revealed that he killed his brother when he tried to stop his plan, but for the purpose of him dying at Ryu's hand, he brought him back from the dead, and erased his memories, while controlling him through an AI unit in the mask. Canna sees this and calls Ryu a murderer, merging with the God Egg to become the Goddess, the Lords of Alchemy's ultimate creation beyond their wildest dreams as well as their own deity. The Goddess emerges, wielding the Dragon Sword as the Black Narwhal sinks into the ocean.

Ryu, Mizuki and Ishigami pursue the Goddess to Tokyo where she left a trail of destruction. Ryu and Mizuki are attacked by Cliff, who has transformed into a mutant creature which he demonstrated as the "new flesh" of the human race. He states his plans for creating the Goddess and for Canna's involvement that Cliff and Canna will change and rule the world forever with Cliff as her Adam and Canna as his Eve. Ryu and Mizuki are about to be killed when Theodore appears and kills his own brother Cliff, his memories fully restored. Ryu and Theodore continue their pursuit of the Goddess, but when they are about to reach her, Theodore suddenly betrays Ryu, stating that the Blade of the Archfiend Ryu uses will kill Canna indiscriminately as it is an evil blade. The 2 men battle for the final time. After Ryu kills him with the Blade of the Archfiend, Theodore chants an incantation and the Grip of Murder on Ryu is removed. Ryu realizes that Theodore wants to die as atonement.

Ryu confronts the Goddess. As the battle reaches its climax, the Blade of the Archfiend and the Goddess' giant Dragon Sword are broken to their hilts. Ryu's original Dragon Sword returns to him and he cuts the Goddess in half, killing it. Canna falls into Ryu's arms, safe and alive. Ryu destroys the Goddess and defeated the Lords of Alchemy, ending the entire alchemical cult's reign of terror once and for all.

High Ranking Members

 * Chairman Ashtear Higgins: Leader of the Lords of Alchemy, an evil madman capable of controlling alchemy and sorcery.
 * Regent of the Mask: A mysterious masked individual whose skill with the blade is a match even for Ryu Hayabusa.
 * Lovelace: A scientist in charge of LOA's biological experiments, she holds her base in Abismo Island.
 * Cliff Higgins: A scientist working with the JSDF, secretly head of R&D for LOA.

Paramilitary Force
The main arm of the Lords of Alchemy that attacks various cities and defends their various bases throughout the world.

Troops
Vehicles
 * Terrorists: Standard balaclava wearing soldiers, equipped with sub-machine guns and knives. Can also appear mounted on hover bikes.
 * Assassins: Martial arts specialists with berets, equipped with two long curved blades and throwing knives.
 * Heavy Soldier: Heavily armoured soldiers equipped with 2 heat knives and machineguns. They can also come equipped with jet packs or riot shields.
 * Alchemists: Mystics that wield alchemy in battle.
 * Sword Alchemists: Swordsmen trained in alchemy, they fight similarly to the Regent of the Mask.
 * Ghosts: Heavy Soldiers equipped with cloaking devices.
 * Steel Spiders: Giant, robotic spider-tanks equipped with machineguns, rocket launchers and flamethrowers.
 * IDE-1011 Mantas: Enormous attack helicopters shaped like a manta-ray.
 * Helicopters: Attack helicopters equipped with missiles.

Bioweapons
Biological weapons (bioweapons for short) based on existing living organisms. These horrifying experiments tend to torture their test subjects leaving them mad and craving for death.

Clones
Epigonos: A fiendish copy of Ryu Hayabusa, with all his abilities and powers.
 * Gigantosaurus: A cloned dinosaur enhanced by both mechanical parts and genetic manipulation and brought to life as a bioweapon.

Artificial Fiends/Chimera

 * Homunculi/Moon Children: Test subjects mutated into brain-chewing fiends. Moon Children have a darker color. Killing them will make them transform into a Megaselion (Demon Baphomet if it's a Moon Child) or an Ourboros.
 * Ourboros: Fiends transformed from a Homunculus/Moon Child. Their head and torso are the same as in their previous forms but their arms and lower bodies are replaced with snakes.
 * Celsus Fiends/Paracelsus Fiends: Human size fiends with spikes on back and a Bird Mask as their skulls. When weakened, they will sometimes charge themselves with lightning on their back and kamikaze themselves. Paracelsus Fiends are differently coloured and appear from crystals.
 * Megaselions/Demon Baphomets: Fiends that look like skinless gorillas. Demon Baphomets have armor on their body and wears a mask similar to the skull of the Celsus Fiends. They can go into a berserk form when weakened. Megaselions transform Homunculi. There can only be hit in the air by the Eclipse Scythe. They are surprisingly very easy to kill in Razor's Edge, as attacking them will bait them into attempting to grab you, giving you the opportunity to perform Steel on Bone.
 * Magna Persona Fiends/Magna Fiends: Powerful fiends that start off as floating faces that shoot laser beams. When the face is damaged the Magna Fiend controlling it is exposed. The Magna Fiend is revealed to be a fiend with humanoid upper body and four insect-like legs who carries a scythe.
 * Goddess Prototypes: Humans merged with the God Egg without the factor of Dragon Lineage blood. These female creatures' hands rearrange themselves to function like those of other Chimera. Lovelace is turned into a variation of these by the Regent of the Mask.

Trivia

 * The LOA Symbols.jpg then the main LOA logo/insignia which always represents their cult, the Lords of Alchemy used and worn the other 2 symbolic logos of their own design: one is a skull with a snake encroaching it and a star on top of the skull in a diamond square shape, and the other one is a laurel wreath beneath the ouroboros circling around the Eye of Horus.