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| “ | The hate for the gods that has boiled in my veins… You will taste all of it in the bite of my blade. The only question left is how long you will manage to remain standing before I take your life. Try to keep it interesting for me, would you? And when you do fall, know that your world and everything in it will be mine to dominate… Mine to subjugate… Mine to rule! When I finish with you, you can take solace in knowing your friends and kin will soon follow, as I wipe all who oppose me from the face of this world! …It won't be long now. At last, the almighty power I've sought for millennia… I will take the Triforce for my own… And the world shall be under my foot for eternity! | „ |
| ~ Demise taunting Link before their final battle. |
| “ | Extraordinary. You stand as a paragon of your kind, human. You fight like no man or demon I have ever known. Though this is not the end. My hate… never perishes. It is born anew in a cycle with no end! I will rise again! Those like you… Those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero…They are eternally bound to this curse. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! HAAAAAAAAA!!! | „ |
| ~ Demise's last words, foreshadowing his reincarnation as Ganondorf. |
Demon King Demise, also known as the Imprisoned in his weakened state, is one of the two overarching antagonists (alongside Null) of The Legend of Zelda franchise, appearing as the overarching antagonist of the 2011 action-adventure game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
He is the primeval King of Evil and the master of Ghirahim, said to have conquered time itself and to be the source of all monsters. Long ago, he sought the power of the Triforce for his own ends, but was defeated and sealed away within the earth by the Goddess Hylia. He is also the original incarnation of Ganon and the indirect cause of every evil that has threatened Hyrule since.
As Demise, he is voiced by Takashi Nagasako, who also voiced Ganondorf. As The Imprisoned, his vocal effects were provided by Tsuguo Mogami, who also voiced Calamity Ganon.
Characteristics[]
Demise is the demonic counterpart of the Golden Goddesses, the Supreme Deities of the Legend of Zelda franchise. He is also the master of Ghirahim. Fi (the spirit of the Goddess Sword) states that his aspect changes following the era and the people who see him, likely taking the most frightening form possible.
However, the aspect under which he is seen during the final battle might very well be his real one, as he appears as this at the very moment he is fully reborn.
Appearance[]
Demise is a demon with a humanoid appearance. His skin is made of what looks like black scales, and in some parts bear with pale gray. He is very muscular, with thick arms. and neck. He wears a long brown cape around his waist, embroidered with gold in a triangle pattern and held by a belt. His head is covered in flames in place of hair, and has a white, glowing scar on his forehead from what could be the spike embedded in his head while being The Imprisoned. However, it is worth noting that according to Fi, Demise appears differently to everyone who sees him.
The sword that he wields resembles a corrupted version of the Master Sword, its hilt being the same general shape, but with a different design to the bouillons or "wings" that make up the hand guard, the Triforce engraving being inverted, the blade being significantly larger with a flambe-esque edge, and being an overall darker color.
Personality[]
Demise shares traits with his next life Ganondorf; namely the calm poise, condescending confidence, lust for domination of all creation, up to his voice and fighting style. His goal (which would later be that of Ganondorf) is to take over the world and turn it into a dark and hellish place, fitting his own designs.
Unsurprisingly for the Demon King, Demise is cruel, violent, scornful, hateful and merciless. He loathes the goddesses, likely out of envy for creating the world, only values his vassal as assets, wreaks havoc without caring and contemptuously dismisses humans as fearful, worthless, uninteresting insects. However, he holds Hylia in very high regard and is favorably impressed when someone stands fearlessly before him. He revels in the prospect of a challenge, which he regards as an entertainment. In stark contrast with Ghirahim, Demise is very stoic, collected and his praises to Link are genuine.
Demise respects his opponents, even complimenting Link as a paragon among humans after his defeat. He is extremely confident in his abilities, being certain to overcome every foe, though such arrogance is justified by his overwhelming might. Though, like many powerful villains, his liking for challenges lasts only so long he is winning. He proves to be a sore loser, cursing Link and Zelda out of petty spite in his dying breath.
Powers and Abilities[]
As a god, Demise is unfathomably powerful; being able to warp reality, mostly to twist and corrupt his surroundings. He can exit the normal world towards a dimensional void, which he created on the spot, leaving a dimensional gateway leading to it. He also spawned each and every monster and demon in the Zelda world, up to powerful giants, and turned his huge black sword into an extremely powerful, sentient demonic being.
Demise can shape-shift as he pleases, as evidenced by Fi's comment, and even under his less powerful monstrous form, he displayed the ability to alter his aspect and to levitate. He wields control over the elements, being able to cause a thunderstorm and to channel and control lightning, and he can cast curses impossible to lift, among many, many other feats of magic. Additionally, he has incredible strength, speed, agility and reflexes, even in his large and clumsy-looking monstrous form, and demonstrates exceptional skill with his sword, with a brutal yet expert fighting style.
Finally, Demise is eternal and can only be harmed with a weapon specially created by the Goddesses to fight him. At full power, even being felled by this blade was not enough to fully destroy it, and his spirit had to be sealed inside to be fully obliterated. Even then, his curse eventually reincarnated him. (Although in the game he says that his hatred will reincarnate, Hyrule Historia states that Ganondorf is the reincarnation of his full self.)
History[]
Background[]
In the beginning of time, after the Golden Goddesses Din, Farore, and Nayru shaped the world, imprisoned Null, and returned to Heavens, leaving the Triforce behind, Demise appeared from the depths of the earth. Since he coveted the newly created world for himself, he sought the Triforce to surpass the Golden Goddesses and pry the world from them.
Depiction of Demise and his forces.
However, the Goddess Hylia, patron of life and keeper of the Triforce, established mankind (which was powerless against Demise) on floating islands in the sky, where she hid the Triforce and the Goddess Sword: a weapon potent enough to destroy the King of Evil.
After this, she led the five other races of the world (most likely the Fairies, the Deku, the Kokiri, the Gorons and Zoras, as each race represents the elements, such as Gorons being fire, Fairies being air; Kokiri being earth and Zora being water) in a war against Demise's forces and held them at bay. Hylia eventually sealed Demise away; reducing him to a gigantic monster who would later be known as the Imprisoned. A Sealing Spike marked his prison in the Sealed Grounds, at the bottom of a great pit behind Faron Woods. (However, she was too severely wounded and had to reincarnate herself as a human.)
After Demise's imprisonment, the spirit of his sword, Ghirahim, vowed to free his master. Once the seal began weakening, Ghirahim set out to revive Demise, using the soul of Zelda, Hylia's reincarnation in human form.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword[]
Demise appears at the beginning of the game, when Link, the protagonist and Chosen Hero of the Goddess, has a prophetic dream in which he devours his childhood friend Zelda, Hylia's human incarnation. He spends most of the game sealed away, with Ghirahim trying to capture Zelda, and Link trying to save her. After Hylia's servant named Impa escapes with Zelda into the past, through a Gate of Time in the Sealed Grounds, the seal on Demise breaks and he escapes, in his weakened state. However, Link defeats him and reseals him below the Sealed Grounds.
Demise later escapes again twice, but each time Link is able to seal him up, these times helped by a fellow human named Groose. After many trials, Link manages to empower the Goddess Sword, turning it into the series' iconic Master Sword, and then seeks to collect the three fragments of the Triforce. As the Imprisoned was about to escape a fourth time, Link made a wish to the Triforce, causing the sky island where the Statue of the Goddess was located to fall over the Sealed Grounds and crush Demise, completely obliterating him.
Return to the Past[]
As the Imprisoned was about to escape a fourth time, Link made a wish to the Triforce, causing the sky island where the Statue of the Goddess was located to fall over the Sealed Grounds and crush Demise, obliterating him. However, Ghirahim captured Zelda and travelled to the past. He immediately started a ritual to give her soul to Demise, who was able to return to his full power.
The Final Battle[]
| “ | Ah, so you've decided to meet your end in battle after all. It pleases me greatly to see such misplaced valor, human. Take a moment to appreciate your surroundings, for where we stand shall serve as your tomb for eternity. | „ |
| ~ Demise before the final battle. |
Demise transformed Ghirahim back into a sword and remarked Link, who was facing him without fear. Pleased by such a prospect, Demise told him that if he wished to fight him, he should enter his own dimension away from any distractions; otherwise, he could just wait for Demise to destroy the entire world.
Defeated for good, Demise starts disintegrating, praising Link's valor. In the original Japanese, he warns Link and Zelda that the demons and monsters' hatred for mortals will endure, and that the more mortals fight back with the same hatred, the more the Cycle of Hatred will worsen, bringing misery to both sides.
"My hate... never perishes!"... Demise curses Link and Zelda before dying.
In the Occidental translations however, he casts a curse ensuring that his hatred would be reincarnated to torment Link and Zelda's descendants forever, hinting Ganondorf's origins. Hyrule Historia later explained that Ganondorf is indeed Demise Reborn.
Returning to the past[]
As the Imprisoned was about to escape a fourth time, Link made a wish to the Triforce, causing the sky island where the Statue of the Goddess was located to fall over the Sealed Grounds and crush Demise, obliterating him. However, Ghirahim captured Zelda and travelled to the past. He immediately started a ritual to give her soul to Demise, who was able to return to his full power.
Boss Battles[]
First Form[]
The Imprisoned 1st Form.
The Imprisoned appears as a gigantic, black, scaly demon with a large mouth full of sharp fangs. He tries to walk up the spiral ramp leading to the Sealed Temple, to reach Zelda and devour her soul to fully return.
Link must beat him before he reaches the Temple, otherwise the game is over. Link must beware the demon's stomping feet, which cause a shockwave of dark and red energy that must be dodged, and attack his toes until they are destroyed. Without them, Demise falls over, and Link must reach his head with an ascending vertical strike to hammer the Seal Spike. After three times, the Imprisoned is resealed, and the seal is completed by striking it with a Skyward Strike.
Second Form[]
The Imprisoned 2nd Form.
The second battle is similar, except that the Imprisoned is faster and now has arms he uses to climb the cliffs and reach the Temple quicker. However, this battle is considerably easier because Groose has built a catapult called the Groosinator.
When he calls Link, the player can switch to him, and fire a giant bomb at Demise to stun him, giving Link time to attack his toes, stopping him from climbing, or, if he is down, keeping him there longer. Once again, Link must destroy the demon's toes until he falls over and attack the spike, three times.
Third Form[]
The Imprisoned 3rd Form.
The Imprisoned is much faster and now has a short tail which damages Link at contact, as well as a dark halo over his head enabling him to fly. The demon will fly towards the Temple, but one hit with the Groosinator makes him fall at the bottom of the pit.
In the third phase, the Imprisoned causes a cave-in that blocks Groose off from his store of bombs. He must now use the catapult to hurl Link at the Imprisoned's head. Once there, Link must drive the Seal Spike back into his head to end the battle.
Final Battle[]
Link fighting Demise.
The first phase of the fight is rather easy: Demise is powerful and fast, attacking with punches, sword strikes and a damaging dash-stab. Link must counter his blows with a shield bash, staggering him long enough to attack him. If hit enough times in succession, Demise will fall to the ground and Link can attack him repeatedly.
With Demise wounded enough, the battle gets much harder. The Demon King conjures a thunderstorm and can raise his sword to the sky to charge it with lightning. He can strike with his sword, charge, or use an attack similar to Link's Skyward Strike technique, hurling a lightning disc. Most of his attacks do two hearts of damage, and Link gets hurt when he attacks Demise when he is electrified.
Link can attack Demise when he is not electrified, or he can raise his sword to the sky to charge his sword with lightning. This is best done when Demise is doing the same, although it can happen at any point in the battle. Hitting Demise with a lightning-charged Skyward Strike stuns him and dispels his lightning charge, enabling Link to attack him repeatedly. (Link must beware, for his attack is cancelled out if Demise unleashes his own at the same time.)
When Demise is knocked down, Link must finish him off with a Killing Blow. Should Link wait too long, he will get back up, although it will not take many hits to knock him down again.
Other Games[]
Hyrule Warriors[]
The Imprisoned blasts the heroes' position from above.
Demise appears as one of the giant bosses fought in Hyrule Warriors, under his aspect of the Imprisoned. Ghirahim performs a ritual to bring him from the Skyward Sword era to stall the protagonists in their war against Cia. During the boss battle against the Imprisoned, Ghirahim taunts the heroes stating that his true lord has returned and that all will cower before him.
The battle against the Imprisoned is very similar to the ones fought in Skyward Sword. The demon attacks by stomping, and by emitting a succession of dark shockwaves or lightning blasts from his feet. The heroes must destroy his toes until he falls over and repeatedly strike the spike on his head. The more he gets wounded, the faster he becomes, and he will start attacking by gliding.
When the Imprisoned starts levitating over the temple and concentrating dark energy in his mouth, the heroes must rush into the temple and use the Groosinator to blast him and make him fall, before he can destroy the temple with his darkness breath.
Super Smash Bros. Series[]
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[]
Demise appears as a Trophy and is part of the The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword Trophy Box.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
Demise appears as himself and his imprisoned form as spirits, both shield-type primaries. As the Imprisoned, his spirit battle is a timed Stamina battle against a giant dark King K. Rool with Ghirahim as an Assist Trophy spawning. He moves slow and has super armor, but does not attack. When equipped, he decreases the fighter's speed. As Demise, he can be summoned by using cores of the Imprisoned and Ghirahim.
Additionally, one of Ganon's attacks in his boss fight resembles Demise's attack throwing discs of lightning.
Trivia[]
- The name "Demise" is synonymous with "death", and more generally for the end of something. In the original Japanese version, he is known as "Shuuen no Mono", which can be translated as "Harbinger of Demise", or "Personification of the End".
- Demise is based on Kronos and Tartarus, due to the fact he has conquered time, like Kronos and is the source of all evil monsters, like Tartarus.
- Demise shares the same voice actor as Ganondorf. His final form looks similar in appearance and size to Ganondorf as well as Ganon.
- The way he is defeated (by being stabbed in the chest) is similar to Ganondorf's defeat in Twilight Princess. Which makes sense considering that he is Ganondorf's original incarnation.
- Demise is the source of all existing evil in The Legend of Zelda universe due to his curse.
- It is unknown if Demise has any connection to the Demon King, Malladus, in Spirit Tracks, but it seems likely as he is the source of all monsters and evil. However, it is quite clear that despite sharing his title, Malladus is inferior to Demise. Demise's successor Ganon's Japanese title "The Great Demon King" somehow emphasizes this point. However, if this were confirmed, it would make Demise even worse as (due to his curse) he would therefore be indirectly responsible for all the deaths Malladus had caused on top of all the deaths Ganondorf had caused.
- In The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Ganondorf's Demon King form bears the likeness of Demise himself.
External Links[]
- Demise on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Demise on the The Legend of Zelda Wiki
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