Darkshine Knight

The Darkshine Knight is a major antagonist in the game ''Seiken Densetsu 3. ''He is an highly powerful Knight of Chaos and the third-in-command of the Dragon Emperor. (One of the three possible final bosses.) As such, he plays a large role in Duran's or Angela's story. He is in fact Duran's late father, whose soul was enslaved and reincarnated as a Knight of Chaos by the Dragon Emperor.

The Darkshine Knight was once a human named Loki. He was the strongest Knight of Gold (elite knight) of the grasslands kingdom of Valsena, (Forcena in the unofficial translation) as well as Prince Richard's best friend and right-hand-man. Loki took part in the events described in the game Heroes of Mana, (which takes place nineteen years before Seiken Densetsu 3) where he served as a playable character.

Around fifteen years before the begining of the game, Loki left his wife Simone, and his two children Duran and Wendy, in the care of his sister-in-law, because he had to fight alongside Prince Richard and the Valsenian army against the forces of the demonic Dragon Emperor, who threatened the entire world of Mana. At some point in the game, Duran manages to go back in time and tries to warn him, but Loki doesn't listen to him. Loki ultimately engaged a fight against the Dragon Emperor, and they both fell into a bottomless pit, ending the war at the cost of his life.

However, the spirit of the Dragon Emperor survived and retained all his evil power. Acknowledging Loki's immense skills, the Dragon Emperor resolved to use it for his own gain. He enslaved Loki's dead soul, which he sealed in a dark armour, turning the brave Knight of Gold into the fearsome Darkshine Knight. Some years later, they met a young Altenian wizard in training named Koren, who ran away from home because he was "useless with magic." The Dragon Emperor granted Koren incredible magical power in exchange of a part of his soul, thus enslaving another human. Now helped by two extremely powerful servants, the Dragon Emperor hatched a plan to regain his body and to became the new God of Mana, by releasing and using the eight dreaded God Beasts.

In the events of the game, the Darkshine Knight obeys the orders of Koren and leads the Dragon Emperor's armies of monsters, which he likely helped to raise. If neither Duran nor Angela was selected as the game's first protagonist, then Koren and the Dragon Emperor will be killed by the final boss of the storyline. The Darkshine Knight survives long enough to reach the Mana Holyland and to tell what happened to the game's protagonists, but as he states himself, his "life" was bound to the Dragon Emperor's and he shall soon disappear forever.

When the protagonists reach the Mana Holyland, the location of the Mana Tree (the Mana Goddess' earthly avatar) the Darkshine Knight helps Koren and his lord to get rid of the other villains. He then stays by Koren's side, when the evil Wizard of the Crimson Lotus takes the legendary Sword of Mana from the protagonists and uses it to release the God Beasts, before unleashing the Dragon Emperor's army of monsters on the world.

After slaying the eight God Beasts, the protagonists head for the Glass Desert when they battle the Darkshine Knight, whom they manage to defeat. If Duran is in the party, even if he isn't the game's main hero, the Darkshine Knight reveals his identity and asks Duran to join the Dragon Emperor's side, mirroring Darth Vader's and Luke Skywalker's first confrontation. Then, when the Darkshine Knight is defeated, Loki's soul appears and thank his son for freeing him. If Duran isn't among the protagonists, the Darkshine Knights attacks without a word and his secret vanish along with him.

Darkshine Knight (boss battle)
Level 44. Life-Points 17132

The Darkshine Knight is regarded by many as the hardest boss among the three third-in-command. Be well prepared as he is very powerful, very dangerous and very long to defeat. The stronger your characters are, the better it will be.

The Darkshine Knight attacks only with his sword but he can also cast the spells Power Up and Protect Up on himself, whose effects are self explanatory. Better avoid fighting at close range, as the Knight delivers powerful blows which can strike several characters, or strike a character twice. Also, his counterattacks are very dangerous. The knight uses nearly every special sword techniques that Duran can learn. He mostly uses a combo with Whirlwind Sword, (He charges around the screen in a circular motion with his sword whirling around him.) Vacuum Sword, (He sends countless twisters around him with his sword.) and Eruption Sword. (He stabs the ground and causes a blazing explosion on his targets.) All his special techniques are very powerful and strike every target; and he launches his combo attacks in rapid succession.

The Darkshine Knight is weak to the Light element, so cast the Light magic on your weapons and harass him with every Light based magic you can. Also try to decrease his strength and is speed, while rising your own strength and defense. Don't stay close to him for long, use your best spells and special techniques and heal every time your character's life-points decrease under at least 100 before his next attack.