Mastema



Mastema (マンセマット, Mansematto) is a demon appearing in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. He proclaims to be an angel from the "Kingdom of Light". His extreme ideologies and conflicts with Chaos and Lucifer make him extremely similar to Satan, who often held the same viewpoints across the Shin Megami Tensei main series.

History
Mastema is an angel of persecution and hostility as cited from the literature of Israel's Second Temple Period. In this regard, he is also similar to Satan, who held more or less the same portfolio in other books of the period.

Appearances

 * Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey: Herald Race (Major Character)

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Mastema appears as an angelic figure but with dark skin, black hair and blackened wings. He claims to have been sent by God to visit the Schwarzwelt, but his reasons are vague at best. He often appears in times of great danger and guides the crew of the Red Sprite to the truth, but often gives an impression of being untrustable, and at least once he spoke against free will, preferring absolute submission to the Law.

He relates well to Zelenin, although Jimenez derides him as a nuisance. He helps Zelenin and the Protagonist escape from Mitra's Tower in Sector Bootes, aids the Red Sprite's crew against Horkos in Sector Carina, and acts as a translator during the events of Sector Delphinus, stating the contents of several urns in Mitra's Tower as read in demon script. Following this, he is left unseen until Sector Grus, where Zelenin learns he's nearby and consults him, later returning to embrace the "gift" of being transformed into an Angel (Judge Zelenin) to end the Jack's Squad crisis without any blood being spilled. What happens later with him is left up to the game's final choices upon reaching Sector Horologium.

In the Law alignment, he seems to vanish after turning Zelenin into an angel in Sector Grus, only appearing in the Vanishing Point in Sector Eridanus once Mem Aleph has been destroyed, praising the efforts of the Protagonist and Zelenin in creating the World of Law.

In the Neutral alignment, he appears again to express his terror and morosity after the player defeats Zelenin, but he chooses not to engage the player, merely angrily remind them whatever happens will be of their own choice only, and that he hopes the forces of Law have better hopes of triumphing with the next time the Schwarzwelt rises, feeling the eternal recurrence of the Schwarzwelt makes their triumph inevitable.

In the Chaos alignment, when his plans to rise the Kingdom of Light upon Earth with the Schwarzwelt are utterly ruined, he breaks down and attacks the Protagonist as a boss in Sector Horologium, infuriated by the loss of the possibility of ascending to a superior form. As a boss, Mastema features several unique entire-party hitting attacks such as Great Lament, which charms all non-chaos demons, Judgement, an Expel element instant death attack with a high activation chance, Untainted Wind, a decently powerful wind element attack, and Mel Faize, a powerful Almighty element spell. His physical attack also hits the entire party. After his defeat, he can be fused by a special fusion of Abaddon, Throne, and Cherub.