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| “ | "How now, Streibough?" This ghost—it lives and speaks! For I was buried not by stone and fury, but by inspiration driven to act... The statue's secret. I found it... And then... Stifled feeling overwhelmed! In that moment, I knew how I'd finally best you. And rescue Alethea—my true love! With magic I would win the day. A trap I'd feign to send you running with the priest. 'Twas simple... Heh heh heh... Easy... Hah hah hah... With such fear you fled! Ahahahaha! The contest's champion, so strong and bold...abandoned good Hasshe—hero left to rot! But blackest, final crime was soon to come. When guided I your hand in murder just of a thieving king who gifted you my love! Disgraced... Yet still you came to ruin us! As is your wont. A singular creature. Insatiable destroyer! Selfish beast! You've never been content to share your spoils. I tried, friend. I believed that you could change... But that competition in you cannot. You'd never settle—never let me win! Not even when I begged! For love! For love! You've no idea how I wept that night... You lustful wretch! How could you understand!? You've never loved nor lost, nor known shame! But that was then. I've newfound strength. You'll see! A final bout to settle it, my friend! To prove a faithful follower better, and champion crowned champion no more! [Streibough channels the powers of the Archon's Roost through himself] You will repay my loyalty—in death! |
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| ~ Streibough revealing that he was the one who orchestrated Oersted's suffering out of envy for him before trying to kill him. |
Streibough (spelt Straybow in the Aeon Genesis translation) is the overarching antagonist of Live A Live, serving as the main antagonist of the Middle Ages chapter of Live A Live for the SNES and its remake for the Nintendo Switch. He is the former best friend and sidekick of Oersted, who was envious of him getting all the fame and winning Princess Alethea's love. Wishing to become the hero of Lucrece and claim the princess's love for himself, he orchestrated the chain of tragedies that led to his friend being despised by everyone, before ultimately trying to finish the job by killing Oersted. Though slain, his actions would lead to Oersted's downfall that would turn him into Odio, the new Lord of Dark, whose hatred would span over all time and space, thus making him the true cause of all the game's conflict.
He was voiced by Shizuma Hodoshima in Japanese and Nicholas Corda in English.
Biography[]
The Lord of Dark[]
Streibough was the partner and the best friend of Oersted, and they together took part in the tournament hosted in the Kingdom of Lucrece, the winner earning the right to marry Princess Alethea. The final showdown was between Oersted and Streibough. Though Streibough wanted to earn the princess's heart, Oersted bested him, winning the tournament and the princess's love, leaving Streibough only to weep at night (according to himself). However, as the night fell, the Lord of Dark reappeared once again and kidnapped Alethea, taking her to the Archon's Roost.
Oersted was chosen to embark on the quest to save his beloved, and Streibough joined to accompany him so that they'd be able to defeat the demon together. In their quest, they enlisted the help of Hasshe, the former hero who slain the Lord of Dark in the past, and his friend Uranus. Together, they vanquished the Lord of Dark, only to learn that it wasn't the real one, but merely a high-ranking minion who impersonated him. As Hasshe succumbed to his plague, his last words telling Oersted to keep his faith in humanity in spite of everything, Streibough observed the statue and discovered its true secret: that it has the hidden passage beneath, where the princess was imprisoned. With his envy for Oersted and desire to win the princess's love finally overwhelming him, he activated the statue and proceeded to lie to everyone that the cave is about to collapse, thus forcing Oersted and Uranus to flee. Afterwards, he shut the cave's door and faked his death by imitating the cries of being crushed by the ceiling, and came to princess's rescue on his own, lying to her that Oersted did nothing to save her.
Oersted and Uranus were saddened by the failure of their quest and lamented the loss of their friends. As they rested before their next journey, Streibough visited Oersted at night and used his magic to make him perceive the king of Lucrece as the Lord of Dark before returning to the Archon's Roost. Awakened by Streibough shutting the door, Oersted came to the throne room and saw the king, but Streibough's spell made him see the Lord of Dark in his place. With his sword, Oersted struck down what he perceived as a demon, but then the illusion dissipated, revealing that he actually murdered the king of Lucrece. When the guards saw it, they accused him of being the true Lord of Dark, leading to him becoming the pariah, with Uranus sacrificing himself to release Oersted from his prison and urging him to go and save Alethea.
As the knight returned to the Archon's Roost, Streibough used the mountain's powers to slow Oersted's progress by forcing him to fight the monstrous manifestations of phobias while taunting him throughout his journey. Ultimately, Oersted was able to reach the mountain's top, where he saw the statue of the Lord of Dark. At this moment, Streibough revealed himself by coming out from under the statue and gloated to Oersted that he actually faked his death and that he was the one who orchestrated the chain of his tragedies, so that he'd be the one who'll rescue Princess Alethea. Afterwards, he made his hatred and envy for Oersted clear, decrying him as selfish egotist and accusing him of stealing all the fame, never caring about his feelings, and taking away the princess from him when he had feelings for her. Using powers of the Archon's Roost, he harnessed the powers of the Lord of Dark and tried to use them to kill Oersted.
The two former friends fought, and Oersted won, killing Streibough. However, Alethea soon came into scene, coming from under the same statue Streibough came. Witnessing Oersted standing victorious over Streibough's corpse, she was appalled by the sight of him. Swayed by Streibough's lies, she accused Oersted of not doing anything to save her and making his friend suffer for his own glory, while Streibough was the one who saved her and loved her in spite of everything. In despair and wish to be together with Streibough, Alethea committed suicide to reunite with him in death.
For Oersted, this was the final straw that broke the camel's back, and he ended up completely succumbing to despair and misanthropic rage, renouncing his name and past titles, and deciding to embrace what everyone saw him as: a demon. Thus, Oersted became Odio, the Lord of Dark, decimated Lucrece and became the threat to all of time and space.
The Final Chapter[]
Streibough's soul can be encountered by the time-displaced heroes in the Trial of Heart, accessible randomly whenever Akira teleports, imprisoned with all other people of Lucrece. When Akira reads his mind, Streibough is shown to regret how he was responsible for Oersted becoming Odio and destroying Lucrece, wondering whether or not he should've simply stood aside and renounced his wishes back then.
Quotes[]
| “ | <Sigh> Am I his architect, and he my work? Should I have stood aside? Renounced love's grace... Like so much else before. But not this time. And so I led him to a throne of bone... | „ |
| ~ Streibough's ghost in the Trial of Heart expressing remorse over being responsible for Oersted becoming Odio. |
Trivia[]
- It is theorized that Streibough was actually influenced/corrupted by the Lord of Dark (whether it'd be Odio's predecessor or Odio himself in a "stable time loop" manner) into betraying Oersted and stealing Alethea's love. Streibough taking the demonic appearance in the remake further hints at the implication. However, it could also simply be him channeling the evil powers of the Archon's Roost through himself.
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 Villains
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All Chapters The First The Successor The Infiltrator The Wanderer The Strongest The Outsider Mechanical Heart The Lord of Dark Dominion of Hate | ||