Ikiru, the Master of Shadows, is the main antagonist and final boss of the Fighting Fantasy gamebook Sword of the Samurai. He is a powerful Shadow Demon who stole the mightiest magic sword in the country of Hachiman, whom the playable character, the Shogun's Champion, must get back before he can use it to wreck the land.
Ikiru is the villain of the gamebook adapting Japanese Folklore, and is notable for being by far one of the hardest to beat of the series.
Nature[]
While the narration remains vague about his nature, Ikiru is clearly a demonic being. To be precise, he is a Greater Demon, of the second tier right below the Demon Princes of Titan themselves.
Demons were created by the Gods of Evil Death, Disease and Decay from the corruption of creation. But while the normal ones of each kind all share the same aspects and powers, they have unique aspects, traits, abilities, and enormous influence over Evil and monsters.
They most likely fought during the First Battle opposing Good and Evil at the Dawn of Times, and followed the Demon Princes when they settled in the Demonic Planes after their deities were forever imprisoned into the Void.
Ikiru is a Shadow Demon, a featureless being of pure shadow and darkness delimited by the black robe he wears. He moves by gliding, and has no face under his hood, though he displays lanky humanoid frame and clawed hands. As a demon, he is bound to the Demonic Planes, where his essence returns after being physically destroyed, until he can regenerate.
While there is another Shadow Demon of same rank and similar appearance, Agglax, their powers and modus operandi are completely different.
The Dai Oni[]
Ikiru's second-in-command. As his title implies he is an Oni, a powerful being from Japanese Folklore and in-universe a kind of human-looking demon. It must be noted that he is only known by his title, that means "Great Oni" as he numbers among the mightiest. Described wearing an ornate armour but depicted clad in lavish oriental robes, he is Ikiru’s general, mightiest fighter and bodyguard. When killed, his spirit rises as a demonic wraith known as a Shura.
The Dai Oni is faced in Place of Battle, a dimension binding enemies to fight will allies they can gather by accessing different places and times, following strict rules. He fights along lesser demons serving as familiars, displaying great evil powers and skills with his tetsubo (a long, spiked mace). He is cruel, violent, hateful, and grows increasingly irate the more he is foiled, yet sincerely polite and honourable, following his word even when it goes against his lord.
Powers and Abilities[]
Ikiru is very powerful. As his title describes, he has complete control over shadows. He can create, conjure and shape them as he pleases. Worse, he can summon shadow spirits of all shapes and form from the Demonic Planes, whose aspect and power he selects, even turning one into a dark reflection of the hero.
He can also corrupt people, either by magnifying their existing flaws or fully turning them evil and bound to his will. His desolate and hostile domain is heavily implied to be such because of him. He can even drive people mad, among others.
Ikiru attacks with black lightning.
Finally, he can attack with blasts of dark lightning harming enemies both physically and spiritually. And he can channel his power through his weapon to hurl waves of darkness or tendrils of darkness that make him deadly in battle. He uses a demonic black katana ornate with glowing red runes with perfect proficiency.
Personality[]
As a demon, Ikiru is cruel, ruthless, hateful and sadistic, striving to wreak havoc all over the country and most likely the continent of Khul. He wants to take a domain away from the gods' influence for his kind to dwell, where he could rule and torment survivors. He is very haughty and scornful, laughing at the hero's challenge and enjoying to toy with them. He tries to corrupt them, coldly ordering them to commit suicide if he succeeds instead of using their might for his own.
He is very patient, spending all his time studying the Dai Katana Singing Death to take control of it, leaving the heavy lifting to his general the Dai Oni. Still, he very much fears its power and gets clearly anxious when the hero proves a match. But despite being terrified if they can retake the Dai Katana, he still fights them with all he has got.
Role in the Story[]
The story is set in the prosperous nation of Hachiman, based on Medieval Japan of the Sengoku era, isolated from the rest of the continent. It is ruled by the Shogun (monarch) whose rule is earned by mastery of the Dai Katana (Great Katana) Singing Death, a magic blade whose power can only be unlocked by knowing its secret, which cannot be freely given on pain of damnation. The Dai Katana was stolen by Ikiru, the Master of Shadows ruler of the hostile mountain Onikaru (Pit of Demons) linked to the Demonic Planes. So, the Shogun Kihei Hasekawa entrusts his Champion to get it back and slay Ikiru, before he can bend the Dai Katana to his evil will and doom the country.
The Champion being a samurai, the playable character is bound by a strict code of honor. They must increase their honor score, but if it reaches zero, they commit ritual Seppuku suicide and the game is lost. The Champion can choose several useful special skills, among which Archery, Quick Draw, Dual Wielding and Acrobatic Jumps.
The quest itself depends on which path the Shogun’s Champion choses at the beginning, the Eastern being the longest but the easiest. The Champion must duel enemies samurais honourably, but some have forsaken their pledge and will not reciprocate. If they battle and spare the young samurai Yomitsume Moichi, he swears fealty to them and travels with them. He provides precious advice and assistance, but might get killed or flee during the travels. In the Forest of Shadows, they can meet a Tatsu, an Oriental dragon who helps them if they can solve his riddles.
The Champion can travel through the Village of the Undead, plagued by Rokuro Kubi (Pulley Neck) undeads, who act like the humans they were by day but hunt for human flesh with their detached head flying by night. (Rokuro Kubi have elongated necks in Japanese Folklore, flying heads belong to the Nuke Kubi, meaning detaching neck.)
- In the woods near the village, the Champion can meet Yoro Ginsei, the revengeful former captain of the guard of a Daimyo (Feudal Lord) executed for rebelling against the Shogun. He is a powerful enemy with 10 in skill (power level) and 16 in stamina (life-points), who will parry any arrow or projectile shot at him.
The Champion discovers that Daimyo (Lord) Tsietsin, a fat and greedy aristocrat has allied with Ikiru and declared himself the new Shogun, prompting them to take action. They must infiltrate his castle, and escape and retake their equipment if captured. With 7 in skill and 11 in stamina, the piggish usurper is hardly a match, yet proves quite sturdy.
Before reaching Ikiru's domain in the Shios'ii Mountains, the Champion must fight a dangerous undead samurai with 9 in skill and 11 in stamina, who can be destroyed at once by shooting him with the White Eagle Arrow. From then on, they must beware his hordes of troll-like Shikome monsters and venture in the underground caves.
Facing the Dai Oni[]
The Dai Oni and his familiars, Graalsch, K'rllk and Gargantus.
The Shogun's Champion faces the Dai Oni in the Place of Battle. They must recruit allies to summon, like the Tatsu, the Kirin, and the Phoenix, who join when shown the right item. As for Eleanor the Enchantress, she was driven mad by Ikiru and needs the Waters of Knowledge.
The Champion battles the Dai Oni and his three familiars, the Toad Demon Graalsch, the Mantis Demon K'rllk, and the Bronze Giant Gargantus. Attacking the four alone only leads to a painful demise.
- Graalsch jumps high, is immune to fire and swallows whole every ineffective summon. It must be scared and slain by the Giant Snake or killed by the Sabretooth Tiger who is too fast for it.
- K'rllk is fast and immune to lightning. The Tatsu or the Phoenix will incinerate it. If not, it has 8 in skill and 10 in stamina and its tough skin causes wounds to cost him 1 in stamina instead of the regular 2.
- Gargantus will fall to Eleanor or the Golden Company. If not, it is a dangerous enemy with 9 in skill and 12 in stamina. His eye-beams cost 4 in stamina each turn, rolling uneven numbers with a dice.
- The Dai Oni himself is a powerful foe with 10 in skill and 10 in stamina. Summoning the Kirin breaks his power. If not, he casts a spell for each strike he lands: An electric blast from his tetsubo costing 2 in stamina, a confusion spell costing 1 in skill, or a bad luck spell costing 1 in luck. And the Champion can ill afford to lose either stat.
- The dying Dai Oni is bound to grant a wish. Only he knows the secret of the Dai Katana, mandatory to stand a chance against Ikiru.
- The Dai Oni becomes a Shura spirit for a last stand. He is a dangerous enemy with 9 in skill and 7 in stamina whose claws harm soul instead of body, but a Jade Amulet summons a Jizo Monk to exorcise him without fight.
The Final Battle[]
The Shogun's Champion finds Ikiru studying the Dai Katana. How the battle unfolds depends on whether they can retake the magic blade, but without it the Master of Shadows is pretty much invincible.
- Without the Dai Katana, Ikiru summons a dangerous, horned shadow spirit with 9 in skill and 10 in stamina, who 3 in 6 times loses 1 in stamina when wounded instead of the regular 2.
- He then summons a shadow spirit in the Champion’s likeness to tempt and corrupt them. Without at least 5 in honor, they turn evil and Ikiru orders them to kill themselves, ending the game.
- Ikiru now blasts them with black lightning that cannot be dodged, costing 4 in stamina, and worse 2 in skill and 2 in luck. A crippling disadvantage for victory is flat out impossible without very high scores in each stat.
- Ikiru is a formidable enemy with 12 in skill (the maximum available) and 12 in stamina. The Champion must win a test of luck every time they get struck, lest Ikiru conjures dark threads from his katana to kill them at once. This makes him virtually invincible, as each test of luck decreases their score and the probability of further success.
Seizing the Dai Katana grants 2 in skill, 2 in luck and 4 in stamina. Yet, the Champion must never throw it. Ikiru will dodge it and they will lose the blade and its power-boost, leading to the battle described above. Throwing it down the well from which Ikiru summons his spirits destroy it and Ikiru, but without the Dai Katana, Hachiman collapses into civil war and the Champion is ultimately slain in a futile battle to defend rtheir homeland.
- Ikiru summons the horned shadow spirit, but with 5 or more in honor the Dai Katana obliterates it without fight.
- Ikiru then summons ten shadow spirits with 9 in skill and only 1 in stamina, who must be dealt with one after the other. Rushing at them at once destroys them all without fight.
- Ikiru's black lightning costs 4 in stamina but only 1 in skill and luck, and can be parried with 6 or more in honor.
- Ikiru remains a very powerful enemy with the same stats. He conjures dark waves from his blade if he lands a hit and the Champion loses a test of stamina, costing 1 in skill and 1 in luck of additional damage, making the battle harder. Fortunately, the Champion can kill him in a single strike by winning a test of luck after wounding him.
Ikiru's destruction collapses his subterranean palace, but the Shogun's Champion escapes safely. They get back to the capital in glory, being celebrated by the Shogun for saving his rule and restoring harmony to Hachiman.
Trivia[]
- Ikiru's rather generic aspect of a faceless demon in a cowl stands out in a gamebook where every other enemy is from Japanese Folklore. Though he does wield a classical Japanese weapon with his katana.
- Ikiru's name also does not compute, for all other places', characters' and monsters' names and titles are in perfect Japanese, his own means "to live", not fitting a demon seeking destruction. For further strangeness, it is the title of a movie by the legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Such strange exceptions remain unexplained.
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 Villains
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Dark Gods Demon Princes of Titan Allansia Khul Old World Others | ||