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"A land grotesque as its people. You dreamt of utopia. You saw the tribes united as one. That dream died long ago. You should have done the same. Your kingdom... will perish alongside you. By my hand."
Louis Guiabern is the main antagonist in Metaphor: ReFantazio. He is a charismatic prodigy and an army officer, supposedly of the clemar tribe.
He is a highly controversial figure in the kingdom who vouches for true meritocracy built on skill and rationality over birth and circumstance, attracting strong public support especially among radical youths. On the other hand, his (supposed) assassination on the prince and his explicit assassination of the king, as well as his threats to kill people who oppose him, has earned him the ire of many.
Appearances[]
- Metaphor: ReFantazio: Major Antagonist; Final Boss
- Metaphor: ReFantazio (Manga): Major Antagonist
Design[]
Louis is a young man with long, wavy light-blond hair, blue eyes and a pair of clemar horns on his head. The horns are actually fake and are attached to a magical hairband. He wears a suit of white, ornate armor decorated in the Euchronian state army logo, and wears a white cape around his neck. He sheathes his greatsword on his left waist.
He has two boss forms: his Archetype form (Archdemon (魔王 maou)), and his human form (Destroyer Charadrius.) In his Archetype form, he appears as a mostly nude version of himself with white skin and gold-and black decorations laced around his body, mostly covering his underparts and chest. His right leg and left arm are colored black, and he wields the Royal Sceptre in his right hand. Behind him is a pair of levitating gold wings separated into four blades. His arms have robe-like threads of cloth on them. In his human form, he initially appears as a statue of a three-headed Lucifer in black with three masks; a mask with a yellow tongue known as the Mask of Mirth on the right, a mask with a red tongue known as the Mask of Ire in the middle, and the Mask of Joy with a blue tongue on the left. Whenever one of these masks are destroyed, the tongue disappears, and the eyes shut down. The human has a pair of large wings with effigies of people from various tribes hanging down from them; he would consume these statues to gain power. It has a black, skeletal upper body with a flaming core. When the masks are broken, it reveals the right side of his face with red eyes and a hollow, gaping mouth contorted into a smile, which becomes a frown when he is in low health. He now has six white, angelic wings with eyes on them, which from left to right are of the green, red, yellow, orange, gray and blue colors and a white, skeletal upper body. The lower body of the human is fused into the skyrunner, Charadrius.
Personality[]
At first glance, Louis is a meritocrat who values rationality and appoints officers based on their capabilities rather than tribe or origin, contrary to the traditional methodology of the masses and Sanctism. He has no prejudice against tribes and will even recruit halfbloods into his elite ranks as long as they can prove their competence, even if such a person would otherwise be considered an outcast based on tribe and status.
Deep in his core however, he is a broken, misanthropic and hypocritical madman who radically wishes to evolve the entire kingdom's population into humans by force. Greatly angered by the ongoing injustices of the world, which include pogroms caused by Sanctifex Forden and his being framed for the sanctifex's assassination of the prince, Louis realizes that the only way to unite all tribes and end the racism of the world is through forced evolution, creating a land of equality at the expense of culling those who cannot handle the transformation and retain their sanity. He is also hard to find trust in anyone to confide his real plans to, which limited his chances of being convinced of better alternatives to his plan, and with Cirsium Zorba likely being the only one Louis could truly rely on based on the necromancer's blind faith and half-human transformation.
He is extremely unscrupulous, summoning humans (and possibly even converting them himself) to invade and attack nearby urban settlements to rally popular support, openly talks about destroying Virga Island himself if the protagonist fails to retrieve Drakodios for him, and uses his own elda knowledge of the populations' original human origins as a tool to destroy the protagonist's strong reputation through forcefully transforming him into a human in front of the public. He is also extremely hypocritical; for example, while he is motivated by Forden's destroying his home village to a significant extent, he himself primarily targets other people's villages in the human attacks he orchestrates and ruins the lives of many others in the process.
Louis is stated and shown to be an extremely resourceful and competent military strategist, as shown when he prepared for Forden's assassination with backup plans to get around the party trying to assassinate him and use the fake Drakodios the party gave him to his own advantage. The Memorandum also states that he has a superior grasp on psychology. These traits allow him to easily terrorize the public into giving into their anxieties by taking advantage of the already tumultous and corrupt state of the country, rendering them increasingly vulnerable to the forced evolution that ensues afterwards. Most of his underhanded tactics are motivated by pragmatism and lack of empathy towards others, and he never participates in needless sadism. As a victim of Forden's lies, Louis despises lying and does not directly lie, although he will use misleading language and twist words to fit in his narratives or omit important details out of his words.
In spite of his general hypocrisy, insanity and lack of trusting others, Louis seems to somewhat care about his comrades and those he felt having shared similar experiences with him. This is shown when he attempts to kill Basilio and Fidelio takes his brother's place to be killed instead, Louis appears to be oddly silent despite Zorba's gloating on Fidelio's death, indicating that to some extent he was disheartened by Basilio's betrayal. He also took every chance he could get to meet with the protagonist, whether through their earlier amiable meetings or his outright challenge to their duels and face off at the Tyrant's Star. Louis viewed the protagonist as a rival and nemesis to his human utopia vision, one who he expected to understand the kingdom's injustices he faced as a fellow member of the elda tribe and a fellow reader of the same copies of the fantasy novel they both own. Louis would also offer a hand for him to join his cause for his human utopia before becoming disappointed at the protagonist's refusal.
Louis displays some personal grudge towards the Sanctist Church, especially Forden due to the santifex's pogrom that burned down his hometown and blaming him for the prince's curse that lead to his supposed death. The count would spite them at every opportunity he could during the Tournament for the Throne, such as complimenting the protagonist for openly humiliating the church by exposing the Sanctoress Joanna Calendula as an indirect serial killer that relied on a human. However, he would claim to the protagonist's faction that he would not be so petty as to solely focus his every action as revenge against the sanctifex, and that any form of grudge he has towards Sanctism and Forden is merely a cog in his overall ambition of creating an utopia of new humans.
Originally, Louis in his youth respected King Hythlodaeus V and was inspired by his ideals when the clemar visited his village, and has dreamed of himself and the elda leaving the sanctum to roam a new world where his tribe has no need of hiding. However, such ideals that Louis had perished due to the kingdom's injustice conducted under Forden's leadership and how the king failed to believe in Louis' innocence over the prince's assassination, which lead to Louis' radical approach to ending all injustice through forced evolution. Even though he had lost his dream of a better and unified world, Louis still held some form of respect for Hythlodaeus V as he kept the king's fantasy novel, provided him euthanasia when the clemar no longer desired to live, and declaring he will carry on the king's ideals and vision of a better world (albeit in Louis' own additions towards the overall idea).
Profile[]
Louis is a royal army officer who managed to become nobility at a young age, wielding military prowess and overwhelming magic and combat abilities. He is also regarded for his capabilities as a military strategist, possessing both insight and psychological insight. Because of this, he became the state army general. However, this went so far his own allies became wary of him, dubbing him a "monster in the making." Unbeknownst to his followers with the exception of Zorba, he is not a clemar nor is Guiabern his real name. He is actually an elda of the Charadrius family of medics who hailed from the Ancient Eldan Sanctum of the Principality of Oceana, whose family was annihilated in a pogrom orchestrated by Forden to eliminate King Hythlodaeus V's eldan heir that he deemed an inconvenience against his plans to take the throne and an affront against his personal beliefs. However, Louis survived the attack and when the king brought the prince to the capital from the village, he followed. Disguising himself as a clemar by wearing a pair of fake horns, Louis entered Euchronia's military in hopes of gaining enough strength to enforce equality through force, and using his family's magical lore to become one of the greatest mages known to Euchronian history.
Some of Louis' contributions include keeping Euchronia's unity in check, as he would put down both the Principality of Oceana and Montario's bursts of independence.
Twelve years ago, he was supposedly responsible for assaulting the prince by inflicting a curse on him. The assailant had command of high-level magic and had the appearance of the child, leading to a conclusion that Louis is the perpetrator. Allegations could not be made against him, however, as Louis did not leave behind any evidence. In reality, the culprit was Forden, who orchestrated a conspiracy to assassinate the prince by blackmailing Saintess Rella with the safety of her sister as a follow-up on the previously failed attempt to eliminate the king's heir, only for the unwilling Rella to botch the assassination and cast a curse that would slowly kill him instead. With the prince being essentially as good as dead, Forden effectively isolated the king by removing the people he could rely on, which sent him into a deep depression that allowed the church to essentially gain near-infinite power over the country and systematically change it to their favor. Louis had no ill-will towards the royal family at the time, and greatly respected King Hythlodaeus V as a friend and a personal savior; that the king discarded his former ideals and became nothing more than the church's puppet king out of grief shattered what was left of Louis' idealism and sent him to the path of full-blown radicalization, something that Forden did not take account of during his assassination plot against the prince. He came to believe the only way to enforce true justice and equality was to forcefully merge all tribes into one by mutating them into humans with the Royal Sceptre's stagnant magla, with the strongest-willed regaining their minds and humanoid forms to repopulate the world with those able to overcome their anxieties.
Some time after the prince's assassination, Rella was ordered by the church to examine Louis' magla to prove his involvement. Instead, she uncovered a vision of a world overran with humans and people either maddened or running away screaming and became terrified and vigilant of him as a result.
Louis was condemned by the palace following the church's assassination attempt on the prince and was kicked out from the army's leadership as state army general to a higher position so he can't directly interfere with the church's power-grab, causing the Euchronian army's military prowess to be heavily weakened. However, Forden underestimated Louis' influence over the state army and his charisma. In the following years, Louis quickly regained control of parts of the army and now has his own private militia that were fanatically loyal to his cause. Even other soldiers in the state army that are not part of his militia end up being zealots to his cause; some of them such as Captain Klinger and the unnamed Montarian Spear Soldier would even secretly work with him or start disturbances in his name.
Seven years prior to assassinating the king, Louis started a series of false flag attacks to further his own goals by both forcing anxiety out of the people and exploiting people's desperation into support. In all of these attacks, he used a corrupted version of his family's healing spell to transform random civilians into humans and send them into attacking villages before slaying them himself, creating a narrative that he is the only one capable of ridding the continent of the monsters. The first village subject to such attacks is Halia, where he summoned a group of humans to burn it to the ground, killing Strohl's parents in the process. When the village ordered backup, Captain Klinger withheld reinforcements and let everyone in the village die to feed Louis' point. Similar attacks have occurred throughout Euchronia afterwards.
At the start of the game, the disillusioned Louis would directly assassinate Hythlodaeus V; while it was obvious he was behind the assassination, his popularity, the lack of direct evidence and the already-chaotic state of the country left him in the clear for actual investigation, and Forden decided to cover up it was an assassination at all to preserve the status quo.
When the protagonist was created by the eldan queen, he was given false memories to assassinate the person who cursed the prince to free him, and Gallica similarly had her memories tampered to match. Most people, including the prince's supporters, thought that the supposed perpetrator is Louis, indicating that the cover story of Louis trying to assassinate the prince is already widespread knowledge among the kingdom. For most of the game, the protagonist's goal is to slay him in order to free his "childhood friend" from the curse.
Prologue[]
"Good people! Is Forden truly fit to be king!? Or, shall you cast off the shackles of blind faith!? We need not be chained to birth or tribe. In my world, we are a people equal and united! I shall be your shield from the human menace. Together, peace is within our grasp!
No future exists without the power to eliminate the human crisis! Those who stand at my side, who oppose the powers that be, my protection is yours! Or refuse my hand and perish! I will lead us over your corpses."
Shortly after he killed the king, Louis instigated one of his many false-flag stunts involving summoning humans to attack remote areas and slaying them himself, this time targeting the Northern Border Fort. He had his accomplice Klinger recruit new soldiers before the captain sacrifices the unsuspecting fresh meat to be killed by the attacking monsters. The protagonist and Strohl just happened to join the army during the preparation of this scheme, the former to infiltrate the army and get close to Grius. Despite the invading humans managing to kill most of the new recruits during the attack, the protagonist gets away slaying the largest human involved due to awakening his own Archetype to protect Strohl and ends the attack, unknowingly foiling Louis' stunt before he can complete it. After surviving the encounter, he runs into Grius, who informs him about the count and his supposed role in the prince's assassination.
Louis is then seen desecrating the funeral for Hythlodaeus V, where he brings attention to himself with his arrival through his flying gauntlet runner, the skyrunner Charadius and adorned the air with royal flowers that are considered to be taboo for anyone else to use, effectively declaring himself royalty. Upon arrival, he mocks the deceased king for his weakness, then directly dropped a corpse of a giant human into the ground to bring attention to the fictious "human threat" he created. With that, he establishes a narrative by promising to rid the problem with his undeniable strength and wit and become the next ruler.
To everyone's surprise, however, Hythlodaeus V's election magic is triggered, declaring that the next king will be determined by the faith of the citizens. Though Louis has tremendous support, he is rivaled by Forden who takes the lead, and criticizes Louis for his behavior. Louis himself has a step over Forden too, successfully garnering public support by using his views of meritocracy over blind faith while threatening to kill people who defy him. When accused of killing the king, Louis outright admits to it, dismissing his demise as being caused by his weakness and betrayal of his responsibility as leader.
However, Louis doesn't know that there's a planned assassination on his head for his actions, as with Strohl's distraction by riling up an uproar against him, Grius is given an opening to catch Louis off-guard and kill him. His attempt is unsuccessful, as Louis is protected by the election magic thanks to his popularity, after which for Grius' defiance Louis slits his throat immediately, scaring the people into submission. After the announcement of the Tournament for the Throne ends, the skyrunner Charadius bombards the Regalith Grand Cathedral and drops his right-hand man, Zorba, from the sky, who announces that he will enact an terrorist attack known as the "Day of Calamity" at the final day of the king's mourning. He lets Zorba take over most of his operations for the rest of the Grand Trad arc.
Unlike most other participants of the royal election, Louis initially did not participate in the Tournament for the Throne as he had no interest in it. Instead, he had an independent candidate known as Idaeus Glodell work in his place for the first leg of the competition. Nevertheless, he promised a meritocracy should he win, but also claims that he will have people who oppose him killed should he take the throne, so most people fear a scenario where he would take power and establish tyranny. In actuality, he had no interest in becoming king, his claims of meritocracy was misleading and his true plans were worse than speculated; if he ever won the royal election, he will take the Royal Sceptre for his own use and release the immense amount of magla stored within it to transform all of humanity into humans so all would be equal and strength is truly the only thing that matters. It is also heavily implied that threatening to kill people who defy him was another way for him to draw anxiety from the public.
Martira Arc[]
Louis, alongside Basilio and Fidelio, drops off from the skyrunner Charadrius to meet the protagonist after he helped Glodell fend off Gideaux's gauntlet runner. Glodell apologizes to him, before he turns to speak to the protagonist, asking him about his identity. He then asks him the reason why he would join the competition. Regardless of which response the protagonist takes, Louis will tell them to prove their worth before he would consider letting them join him. This conversation allows the party to learn about Louis and get close to him.
According to church crier Batlin, Louis did not participate in the monster headhunting competition. Instead, he was still out there hunting and slaying humans (likely by transforming random civilians into humans, summoning them into settlements and killing them himself just like before). Despite this, his popularity is still increasing and is expected to match Forden's.
Brilehaven Arc[]
The party is approached by Louis and the Magnus brothers during the aftermath of the monster head exhibit and Sanctoress Joanna's public execution, claiming to walk by during a human hunt. He compliments the protagonist for forcing the Sanctist Church and Forden to embarrass themselves in front of the crowd before Junah asks him to leave. Junah then turns back to the protagonist, telling him that Louis will send a messenger to him tomorrow, indicating that Louis has interest in recruiting the party as they currently have a common goal in taking down the Sanctist Church. The party speculates that if Louis was the assassin, he might have the cure for the curse, and instigates a plan to infiltrate his gauntlet runner, the skyrunner Charadrius, during his soiree.
During the soiree, he briefly introduces the protagonist to the rest of his followers before announcing that the party will begin; the protagonist and Gallica then take the opportunity to infiltrate the ship themselves. In the meantime, the count has a conversation with Strohl, where he openly and remorselessly admits that he deliberately did not send aid to the young noble's village as it was attacked and brushes the losses of life as a small sacrifice required to make the rest of the country understand fear. The callous dismissal of the loss of life the count abided to advance his own agenda enrages Strohl, who leaves without saying a word, leaving Heismay to pardon him in front of Fidelio.
Infiltrating the count's private quarters, the protagonist and Gallica are spotted by Junah, who reveals herself to be the second agent alongside Grius. Glodell, who was following Junah, eavesdrops on the conversation and makes his way to report to Louis in hopes of getting recognition. Back at the soiree, Louis holds a speech decrying the Sanctist Church and Forden, and announces that he will be formally entering the tournament. The count then changes topics to a traitor within his ranks and orders an investigation on whoever's aboard the Charadrius.
After the protagonist fairly defeats Glodell in a duel, Glodell attempts to underhandedly kill him but is thwarted by the king's magic, which immobilizes and strangles him to death. Reporting back to Louis, shadowed by the Magnus brothers, the protagonist uses Glodell as a scapegoat and claims he is the rat Louis was looking for. As there were no other witnesses other than Junah, though aware that the protagonist could be lying, Louis accepts this.
After the Sanctist Church announced to the tournament contestants that their next set of challenges will be plundering pagan relics and delivering them to the church, Louis decides to take advantage of the contest to take Drakodios, a magical lance said to be able to bypass the king's magic, which he plans on using to assassinate Forden. He tasks the party with taking the relic, and requests the Magnus brothers and Junah keep an eye on the party.
Altabury Arc[]
After retrieving Drakodios, the party plans to kill Louis on Saint's Day during Junah's performance at the Montario Opera House. Right after departing from Virga Island to Altabury Heights, the party presents him with the fake Drakodios. Louis congratulates the party for obtaining it without shedding a drop of blood, adding that if they couldn’t have, he would have been forced to destroy the island to find it. Eupha is appalled but he merely rebukes that had a situation like that happened, it would be a small sacrifice to save many.
During the night prior to the festival, Louis had a private meeting with a man in a sanctist hood, and seemingly catches up to the lance being a fake and that the protagonist was trying to assassinate him and save the prince, but reassures the man that he will have a plan to get around the assassination.
During the festival, the protagonist and Eupha infiltrate the opera house to reach the chandelier and throw Drakodios at Louis. Though the lance finds its mark and Louis collapses, Eupha cannot recall the lance. After retreating to the rooftop, the count arrives, bloody but alive. The protagonist challenges him to a duel and Louis ends up with the upper hand, holding him at swordpoint. With Louis distracted, Eupha telepathically launches Drakodios. Louis sidesteps it but is surprised when the protagonist stabs him from behind, impaling the lance through his chest. Louis tells them they've achieved nothing, indicating he's not the killer, before he crashes through the opera house's skylight. When they go down to take credit and claim the lance as theirs, Forden congratulates the party on killing the traitor.
The party seemingly assassinated the perpetrator of the prince's curse, but it did not lift, making them realize that someone else other than Louis was responsible for it. Hulkenberg deducts that Forden must have been involved, as she had never told anyone about trying to stop the assassin out of shame while Forden complimented her over it, meaning that only the assassin or their employer would know anything about it.
Despite his supposed death, Louis' plan to slay the power-hungry sanctifex still succeeded as intended. On the second day of the festival, Forden, confident that he has no more legitimate opposition in his road to a power-grab, announces his imminent victory. The party arrives on stage and confronts him over his treachery, but are interrupted by Louis, posing as a hooded sanctist. Forden tries to kill Louis with Drakodios, only to be restrained by the king's magic; Louis reveals he holds the true lance and uses it to slay Forden.
The party, baffled that Louis is still alive, points out that one of Forden's own men examined his corpse. Louis' right-hand man Zorba then reveals himself, having ordered the undead to retrieve his body and return him to Louis should the need arise during the events at the Regalith Grand Cathedral. Posing as a Sanctist to infiltrate Forden's ranks, Zorba stitched Louis back together with magical healing, a feat easily accomplished as the lance left Louis’ heart intact, and swapped the real Drakodios with the fake one.
Louis demands to know where the prince is, realizing that if they were to assassinate him knowing that the prince's curse can only be cured by killing the caster, the prince must be alive. When he knows he isn't getting an answer, he fires a beam at a family of innocent Sanctists just to force them to speak up, only for the protagonist and the Magnus brothers to try blocking the attack. Fidelio sacrifices himself to save Basilio, and the paripus man leaves Louis for the protagonist in disgust of his complete lack of empathy. Louis appears to be upset by the decision, but decides to not interfere further and leaves.
After Forden's death, Rella holds a speech at the Altabury Heights' plaza to announce that she will be taking the seat of the sanctifex. In the meantime, Louis drops out from the skyrunner Charadrius to confront Rella and mock the sanctist church in front of the audience. Unsatisfied that only he can kill other candidates, Louis then convinces the king to remove the protection his election magic provides, which would render all candidates to be vulnerable regardless of their popularity, something that the king agreed to.
Seeing no point in keeping Drakodios with the election magic lifted from all candidates, Louis tosses it at the party's feet. He then tells the protagonist that if he still opposes Louis even after learning he wasn't behind the prince's assassination, he must be seeking the throne, and offers a chance to challenge him to one final battle in the royal capital before leaving. After the protagonist defeats Sogne the Icebound, Rella commits suicide and exposes Forden's crimes, rendering the Sanctist Church politically impotent and leaving only the protagonist and Louis as the sole competitors of the tournament. Having caught wind of Rella's death, Louis sends a letter to a crier for him to read out loud, challenging the protagonist to a duel in Grand Trad.
Skybound Avatar arc[]
Before the duel, Louis and Zorba planned to use the duel to discredit the protagonist and assassinate the prince. He orders Zorba to go to the Ancient Eldan Sanctum to attack the village and slay the prince while he goes to duel the protagonist. In case things go awry, Louis planned to use his human transformation spell to turn the protagonist into a human.
From that point on, things go exactly as Louis expected; the party departures from Altabury to Grand Trad and duels him. When they come close to defeating him a second time, he uses his human transformation spell on the protagonist, both to discredit him out of the competition and to take a final shot on the public's anxieties so the Royal Scepter can no longer prevent them from collapsing under it. Under the effect of Louis' spell, the traveling boy transforms into a massive human resembling a shadow form of himself with purple lines around his body while deceiving the audience with a half truth claiming that "the elda and humans are one and the same." Despite the protagonist quickly snapping himself out out the spell, his reputation is already destroyed and a mob is incited to go after the party, forcing them to take Neuras' skyrunner to escape all the way to the Ancient Eldan Sanctum. With the traveling boy being essentially out of the competition, Louis' victory in the royal tournament is near-guaranteed and he is now able to approach and use the Royal Sceptre. In the meantime, under Louis' orders, Zorba managed to assassinate the prince around the same time the duel between the party and the count occurred. The party also learns from Gruidae that Louis is a former eldan resident of the sanctum and his true plan to turn all of mankind into humans.
If the protagonist does not respond to the eldan queen's questions properly or accept the offer to fuse with the prince, he will desert his journey, causing an automatic game over where Louis takes the crown and presumably devastates the entire world and overruns it with humans.
After Zorba manages to escape the party's pursuit and returns to the skyrunner Charadrius, he reports to his boss that the prince has re-awakened in the protagonist's body. Louis hears the report and tells Zorba that he is interested about the worthy opponent he's waiting for. He orders his quartermaster to land on the Skybound Avatar, where he will be taking over the royal castle.
On his way to the throne room, Louis initiates one final conversation with the king. He asks the king to hand him over the Royal Sceptre, outright mocking him for his ideals. This summons the king's soul, who makes a last-ditch, fruitless attempt to plead with him. Louis rebukes him that he already threw away his ideals to become a broken, old man while he will not. The king tells him that the sceptre is out of reach and can only be used by the royal family, but the count tells him the royal magic's true secret, shocking him and causing him to demand the count how he knew. Louis then discards his fake horns and reveals himself to be an elda, implying that he had generational knowledge about how the royal magic works. He gives one final remark to the king about his enabling of Forden's atrocities before going straight to take the sceptre, now overloaded with stagnant magla enough to transform every person in the world into humans once released. He then turns all of his remaining crew into humans, with only Zorba spared from being transformed into a rampaging monster and instead evolved into a half-human mutant courtesy of his loyalty to Louis.
When the party returns to the capital, they find out that insanity has taken over the country -- courtesy of the scheme Louis pulled on the protagonist prior, with a few exceptions, the public became irritable and were seemingly devoid of reasoning. Accusations of people being monsters in disguise and violent incidents are not uncommon, with multiple violent attacks being visible in the overworld and frenzied Louis supporters going around silencing and attacking people who criticized him. The sky is also painted blood-red by magla worldwide due to the festering hatred and anxiety of the general populace, and retains so for the remaining free days of the game. To make matters worse, human attacks have drastically increased in scale because of the heavy concentration of magla, and the creatures are getting increasingly closer to the royal capital. The sheer amount of terror occuring all over the country renders the public even more vulnerable to the eventual forced evolution of mankind into humans. The party has one month left to prepare and stop Louis from (their own viewpoint) being crowned and establishing a dictatorship.
Inside the former royal palace, Louis remains seated in the throne room, and would taunt the party while throwing melancholia blockades to obstruct them. The blockades are held by a group of Hythlodaeus-era relics known as the King's Servants, lesser magla containers that have also turned stagnant like the Royal Sceptre. Upon their destruction, the magla released from the containers would dispel the public's uncontrolled anxieties bit-by-bit. Once the party reaches him, they confront him for his insanity, but he merely rationalizes his actions as a well-justified punishment for the kingdom, and reveals the true extent of his plans. He had no interest with the throne to begin with despite initial assumptions, and everything he did up to this point, from the terrorist attacks and acts of intimidation, were his own designs for the Royal Sceptre so he could use it to fulfill a twisted version of the late-king's lost ideals; releasing the stagnant magla contained within the Scepter onto the world, which would induce a forced evolution upon all of humanity, causing those who had conquered their anxieties to ascend into "new humans" while the rest become rampaging monsters.
Finally, considering him a worthy person and seeing their common goal in wiping the world's injustice and hatred, Louis tries to convince the protagonist into joining him into creating and ruling over a world overrun with humans, confident that he and the party will retain their minds and evolve into superior forms.
All decisions in this event are considered final.
Skybound Avatar, Throne room
| |
|---|---|
| Louis: "It is not a solution without cruelty. But surely the fairness it would restore to our lives is worth any sacrifice. Come with me, and we can realise this dream. What say you?" | |
| That's false fairness. | Good ending; game proceeds |
| You're absolutely right. | Bad Ending |
Accepting the offer results in a bad ending where the protagonist and Louis rule over the new world infested by rampaging human monsters. If he refuses, he will be disappointed at the rejection, but nonetheless vanishes into the Tyrant's Star waiting for the final confrontation, adding that he will at least consider the party a worthy opponent. The party is forced back to the Grand Trad for one last chance to prepare, so they could put an end to the mad elda's plans once and for all.
Finally reaching the Tyrant's Star, they might defeat six mid-bosses, all of them former human bosses with their "Homo" prefix replaced with a "Diablous" prefix and recolored in a sinister purple. They might choose not to take on these bosses at all, but doing so results in Louis' final form having eight press turn icons and gaining the moves of these bosses. Once they reach Louis for a final confrontation, he explains the reason why he would be driven into his insane plan and his motives, which the protagonist rejects.
Seeing that all attempts at negotiation have failed, Louis uses the Royal Sceptre's power to transform into an Archetype-like form known as the "Archdemon Louis Charadrius" and battles the party. The party defeats him, and he reverts to normal, but decides that he will not give up yet. Louis summons the skyrunner Charadrius one last time and tries to board it and escape, while summoning a legion of humans to fight off the party. The protagonist and Neuras go to chase Louis, while the rest of the party seemingly perishes trying to fend off the seemingly endless swarm of humans.
The protagonist tries to confront Louis alone atop the Charadrius, but finds himself severely outmatched when Louis transforms into his Archdemon Louis Charadrius form again and blasts the protagonist with another human transformation spell from the Royal Sceptre. The protagonist instantly collapses, but seemingly commits suicide by destroying his resonant vessel, only to be saved and whisked to Akademeia by More.
Inside Akademeia, More tries to convince the protagonist to give up and offers him to stay inside an illusionary version of Shibuya. The protagonist might opt to stay; if he does so, he will remain in the illusion forever. If he rejects the illusion, More will battle him. Once the protagonist defeats More, he then can exit Akademia for the real, final battle.
Once he ends up outside Akademia, the protagonist finds himself lying on the same spot as prior, with all of his teammates revealed to have survived the human attack. Seeing his ideals must be kept at all costs, Louis further mutates and fuses with the Charadrius, transforming into a massive, demonic human with three masks known as "Destroyer Charadrius." Once all three masks are broken, the human reveals his true face, a version of Louis' own face with a bloodied visage and a gaping smile. Louis also finds his own sanity slowly deteriorating during his transformation despite his powerful will, and the party makes their final resolve to put the madman out of his misery.
After a long, difficult fight, the party manages to take out Louis, seemingly killing him and dropping him down the air. With Louis' seeming death, the sky clears and people are restored fully back to their sanity, only for him to come back up one final time and trap the gauntlet runner in a beam of purple melancholia. However, he was confronted by the protagonist, who now wields the True King Archetype and slays him, shattering him, the Royal Sceptre and the Charadrius which he's fused with into pieces.
With the protagonist declared the winner of the tournament and the new king, Gideaux promises to fend off any remaining defiant Louis supporters, and all of his former troops who survived the events of the game are now working under Basilio. The rubble left from the final battle is now a tourist destination.
Manga version[]
Louis is virtually identical to his in-game counterpart, although on top of disrespecting the royal funeral by scattering royal flowers, he also steps on the late-king's coffin.
Stats[]
Opera House[]
- Starts the battle at 50% HP.
- Louis has a tendency to attack the protagonist, even if a taunt skill such as Knight's Proclamation is in effect.
| Louis Guiabern | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Level | HP | Turn icons | ||||||
| Person | 55 | 7,000 |
2 | ||||||
| Affinities | |||||||||
| Slash | Pierce | Strike | Fire | Ice | Elec | Wind | Light | Dark | Almi |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Normal Drop | Rare Drop | ||||||||
| --- | --- | ||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||
| Royal Slash | Deals heavy physical Slash damage to one enemy twice. | ||||||||
| Royal Coercion | Decrease one enemy's Attack/Defence for 3 turns. | ||||||||
| Soul Cry | Adds two Turn Icons. | ||||||||
Regalith Grand Cathedral[]
- Battle ends automatically after HP is dropped to 90% or below.
- Uses his first press turn to cast Soul Cry. Uses Soul Scream instead if HP is reduced to below half.
- Has a tendency to attack targets affected by Royal Coercion.
| Louis Guiabern | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Level | HP | Turn icons | ||||||
| Person | 60 | 12,000 | 2 | ||||||
| Affinities | |||||||||
| Slash | Pierce | Strike | Fire | Ice | Elec | Wind | Light | Dark | Almi |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Normal Drop | Rare Drop | ||||||||
| --- | --- | ||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||
| Royal Slash | Deals heavy physical Slash damage to one enemy twice. | ||||||||
| Spatial Slice | Deals heavy physical Slash damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Gale Royal Slash | Deals heavy physical Wind damage to one enemy twice. | ||||||||
| Gale Spatial Slice | Deals heavy physical Wind damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Voltaic Royal Slash | Deals heavy physical Electric damage to one enemy twice. | ||||||||
| Voltaic Spatial Slice | Deals heavy physical Electric damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Royal Coercion | Decrease one enemy's Attack/Defence for 3 turns. | ||||||||
| Treasure Sword: Unlock Affinity | Changes weapon affinity. | ||||||||
| Soul Cry | Adds two Turn Icons. | ||||||||
| Soul Scream | Adds four Turn Icons. | ||||||||
Tyrant's Star[]
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Archdemon Louis Charadrius[]
- If the party ignores the midbosses in the Tyrant's Star and goes straight to fighting Louis, he will have 5 press turns here instead of 3.
- Despite the human boss battle OST plays in this battle, Archdemon Louis Charadrius is not considered a human for gameplay purposes and is unaffected by any bonuses against humans, such as Royal Sword's damage boost effect.
| Archdemon Louis Charadrius | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Level | HP | Turn Icons | ||||||
| Demon Lord | 80 | 40,000 | 3/5 | ||||||
| Affinities | |||||||||
| Slash | Pierce | Strike | Fire | Ice | Elec | Wind | Light | Dark | Almi |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Normal Drop | Rare Drop | ||||||||
| --- | --- | ||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||
| Quadwing Pierce | Light Pierce damage to all foes 3-4 times. | ||||||||
| Quadwing Sweep | Heavy Slash damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| Cyclone | Heavy Wind damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| Hamadyne | Heavy Light damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| Mudodyne | Heavy Dark damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| Blizzaton | Heavy Ice damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| Kandeon | Heavy Elec damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| Octowing Crush | Heavy Strike damage to all foes. | ||||||||
| Dekunda | Removes all debuff effects from all allies. | ||||||||
| Dekaja | Removes all buff effects from all foes. | ||||||||
| Tetrabreak | Removes all physical barriers from foes. | ||||||||
| Makarabreak | Removes all magic barriers from foes. | ||||||||
| Demiahan | Restores medium amount of HP to all allies. | ||||||||
| Demiahan | Restores medium amount of HP to all allies. | ||||||||
| Anxiety Convergence | Prepare for Anxiety Explosion. Attack is interrupted if user takes enough damage. | ||||||||
| Anxiety Explosion | Light almighty damage to all foes 8 times. | ||||||||
Destroyer Charadrius[]
- Fought directly after rejecting More's offer, defeating him and exiting Akademeia. The party's HP and SP are fully recovered before this fight.
Mask of Ire[]
- Starts with 5 turn icons. 4 turn icons if one mask is destroyed, 3 if only one mask remains.
- Always spends the final turn icon using New Dawn's Sacrifice. Be sure to interrupt the attacks by targeting the mask with a puppet with sufficient damage.
- After two puppets are swallowed through New Dawn's Sacrifice, the boss will instantly use Great Reset on the next turn icon.
- Damage of all physical attacks against the Mask of Ire are halved.
| Mask of Ire | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Level | HP | Turn Icons | ||||||
| Human | 82 | 28,000 | 3 - 5 | ||||||
| Affinities | |||||||||
| Slash | Pierce | Strike | Fire | Ice | Elec | Wind | Light | Dark | Almi |
| 50% | 50% | 50% | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Normal Drop | Rare Drop | ||||||||
| --- | --- | ||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||
| The Culled World | Chance of inflicting Anxiety is maximized. | ||||||||
| Terror Overflowing | Increases power of the following attack by 2.5x. | ||||||||
| Focused Shot | Heavy Almighty damage to one foe and lowers their defense. | ||||||||
| Slam | Heavy Strike damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| New Dawn's Sacrifice | Prepare for a powerful attack. | ||||||||
| Great Reset | Severe Almighty damage to all foes and inflict Anxiety. | ||||||||
| Paripus Sacrifice | Used after New Dawn's Sacrifice. Light Almighty damage to all foes and inflict Daze. | ||||||||
| Clemar Sacrifice | Used after New Dawn's Sacrifice. Heavy Almighty damage to all foes. | ||||||||
| Ishkia Sacrifice | Used after New Dawn's Sacrifice. Heavy Almighty damage to one foe. | ||||||||
Mask of Mirth[]
- Starts with 5 turn icons. 4 turn icons if one mask is destroyed, 3 if only one mask remains.
- Always spends the final turn icon using New Dawn's Sacrifice. Be sure to interrupt the attacks by targeting the mask with a puppet with sufficient damage.
- After two puppets are swallowed through New Dawn's Sacrifice, the boss will instantly use Great Reset on the next turn icon.
- Damage of all magical attacks against the Mask of Mirth are halved.
| Mask of Mirth | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Level | HP | Turn Icons | ||||||
| Human | 82 | 28,000 | 3 - 5 | ||||||
| Affinities | |||||||||
| Slash | Pierce | Strike | Fire | Ice | Elec | Wind | Light | Dark | Almi |
| --- | --- | --- | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| Normal Drop | Rare Drop | ||||||||
| --- | --- | ||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||
| Gabouat | Heavy Fire damage to all foes. | ||||||||
| Gakandeon | Heavy Elec damage to all foes. | ||||||||
| Gacyclone | Heavy Wind damage to all foes. | ||||||||
| Gablizzaton | Heavy Ice damage to all foes. | ||||||||
| Hamadyne | Heavy Light damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| Mudodyne | Heavy Dark damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| New Dawn's Sacrifice | Prepare for a powerful attack. | ||||||||
| Great Reset | Severe Almighty damage to all foes and inflict Anxiety. | ||||||||
| Rhoag Sacrifice | Used after New Dawn's Sacrifice. Heavy Almighty damage to all foes. | ||||||||
| Mustari Sacrifice | Used after New Dawn's Sacrifice. Heavy damage to all foes. | ||||||||
Mask of Joy[]
- Starts with 5 turn icons. 4 turn icons if one mask is destroyed, 3 if only one mask remains.
- Always spends the final turn icon using New Dawn's Sacrifice. Be sure to interrupt the attacks by targeting the mask with a puppet with sufficient damage.
- After two puppets are swallowed through New Dawn's Sacrifice, the boss will instantly use Great Reset on the next turn icon.
- Damage of all non-almighty attacks against the Mask of Joy are halved.
| Mask of Joy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Level | HP | Turn Icons | ||||||
| Human | 82 | 28,000 | 3 - 5 | ||||||
| Affinities | |||||||||
| Slash | Pierce | Strike | Fire | Ice | Elec | Wind | Light | Dark | Almi |
| 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| Normal Drop | Rare Drop | ||||||||
| --- | --- | ||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||
| Dekunda | Removes all debuff effects from all allies. | ||||||||
| Dekaja | Removes all buff effects from all foes. | ||||||||
| Debilitate | Reduces all stats of one foe by 1 stage. | ||||||||
| Heat Riser | Increases all stats of one ally by 1 stage. | ||||||||
| New Dawn's Sacrifice | Prepare for a powerful attack. | ||||||||
| Great Reset | Severe Almighty damage to all foes and inflict Anxiety. | ||||||||
| Eugief Sacrifice | Used after New Dawn's Sacrifice. Greatly decreases the stats of all foes. | ||||||||
| Nidia Sacrifice | Used after New Dawn's Sacrifice. Restores HP + Dekaja on all allies. | ||||||||
Destroyer Charadrius[]
- Fought if all six minibosses are defeated in the Tyrant's Star.
- Despite this being treated as a new fight apart from the first phase, the party's HP and SP will not be recovered at the start of this fight.
- Uses all of his turn icons in this order:
- Always during the first turn: The Culled World > High Pressure > random physical attack > random physical attack > random magic
- During most subsequent turns, if HP is above 30%: Dekaja/Dekunda/Debilitate/Heat Riser > random physical attack > random physical attack > random physical attack > random magic. The boss will prioritize using Dekaja/Dekunda if there are any buffs on the party or if there are any debuffs on himself. High Pressure is used on the first action every several turns.
- At 50% or below, there is a chance where the boss will telegraph "A Tribe Condemned" through a diatribe against the target's tribe (clemar/roussainte/eugief/nidia/mustari/paripus). He will follow-up by using the attack on the targeted party member on his first turn icon during his next turn, instantly killing them. This cannot target the protagonist and will always fail if the targeted party member is swapped out.
- At 30% or below, he will spend the final turn icon on Soul Scream. Any extra turn icons gained here will be used on random attacking moves.
| Destroyer Charadrius | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Level | HP | Turn Icons | ||||||
| Human | 85 | 40,000 | 5 | ||||||
| Affinities | |||||||||
| Slash | Pierce | Strike | Fire | Ice | Elec | Wind | Light | Dark | Almi |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Normal Drop | Rare Drop | ||||||||
| --- | --- | ||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||
| The Culled World | Chance of inflicting Anxiety is maximized. | ||||||||
| Dekunda | Removes all debuff effects from all allies. | ||||||||
| Dekaja | Removes all buff effects from all foes. | ||||||||
| Debilitate | Reduces all stats of one foe by 1 stage. | ||||||||
| Heat Riser | Increases all stats of one ally by 1 stage. | ||||||||
| High Pressure | Takes one turn icon off from the foe's party during their next turn. | ||||||||
| Focused Shot | Heavy Almighty damage to one foe and lowers their defense. | ||||||||
| Slam | Heavy Strike damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| Tempest Shot | Heavy Pierce damage to all foes. | ||||||||
| Destructor's Flare | Deals extreme physical Strike damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Attack | Normal strike attack. | ||||||||
| Crimson Flameflower | Deals extreme magic Fire damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Hadean Icerag | Deals extreme magic Ice damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Emerald Vortex | Deals extreme magic Wind damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Thunder Fang | Deals extreme magic Elec damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Unsullied Radiance | Deals extreme magic Light damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Underworld Tree | Deals extreme magic Dark damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| A Tribe Condemned | Instantly kills a random party member other than the protagonist after telegraphing at the start of the previous turn. 100% accuracy and cannot be avoided. | ||||||||
| Soul Scream | Adds 4 turn icons. | ||||||||
Destroyer Charadrius (Star Shatterer)[]
- Fought if the party ignores the midbosses in the Tyrant's Star and goes straight to fighting Louis.
- Despite this being treated as a new fight apart from the first phase, the party's HP and SP will not be recovered at the start of this fight.
- Defeating this version of Destroyer Charadrius' final form unlocks the "Star Shatterer" achievement/trophy.
- Uses all of his turn icons in this order:
- Always during the first turn: The Culled World > High Pressure > random former boss attack > random former boss attack > random physical attack > random physical attack > random magic > random former boss attack
- During most subsequent turns, if HP is above 30%, the boss has two uses of a random physical attack, one use of a random extreme-tier magic attack, two uses of Dekaja/Dekunda/Heat Riser/Debilitate and three uses of skills from former bosses. The order these skills are used is completely random. The boss will prioritize using Dekaja/Dekunda if there are any buffs on the party or if there are any debuffs on himself. High Pressure is used on the first action every several turns.
- At 50% or below, there is a chance where the boss will telegraph "A Tribe Condemned" through a diatribe against the target's tribe (clemar/roussainte/eugief/nidia/mustari/paripus), which uses up a single turn icon. He will follow-up on the next turn by using the attack against the targeted party member on his first turn icon, instantly killing them. This cannot target the protagonist and will always fail if the targeted party member is swapped out.
- At 30% or below, he will spend the final turn icon on Soul Scream. Any extra turn icons gained here will be used on random attacking moves.
| Destroyer Charadrius | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Level | HP | Turn Icons | ||||||
| Human | 90 | 80,000 | 8 | ||||||
| Affinities | |||||||||
| Slash | Pierce | Strike | Fire | Ice | Elec | Wind | Light | Dark | Almi |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Normal Drop | Rare Drop | ||||||||
| --- | --- | ||||||||
| Skills | |||||||||
| The Culled World | Chance of inflicting Anxiety is maximized. | ||||||||
| Dekunda | Removes all debuff effects from all allies. | ||||||||
| Dekaja | Removes all buff effects from all foes. | ||||||||
| Debilitate | Reduces all stats of one foe by 1 stage. | ||||||||
| Heat Riser | Increases all stats of one ally by 1 stage. | ||||||||
| High Pressure | Takes two and a half turn icons off from the foe's party during their next turn. | ||||||||
| Focused Shot | Heavy Almighty damage to one foe and lowers their defense. | ||||||||
| Slam | Heavy Strike damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| Tempest Shot | Heavy Pierce damage to all foes. | ||||||||
| Destructor's Flare | Deals extreme physical Strike damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Crimson Flameflower | Deals extreme magic Fire damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Hadean Icerag | Deals extreme magic Ice damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Emerald Vortex | Deals extreme magic Wind damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Thunder Fang | Deals extreme magic Elec damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Unsullied Radiance | Deals extreme magic Light damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Underworld Tree | Deals extreme magic Dark damage to all enemies. | ||||||||
| Gorleo's Wingbeat | Heavy Wind damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| Avades' Dust | Inflict Forget on one foe. | ||||||||
| Butera's Sandstorm | Light Almighty damage + Sukunda to all foes. | ||||||||
| Jaluzo's Gaze | Inflicts Daze on one foe. | ||||||||
| Sabara's Ink | Inflicts Sick on one foe. | ||||||||
| Margo's Beckoning | Heavy Almighty damage to one foe. | ||||||||
| A Tribe Condemned | Instantly kills a random party member other than the protagonist after telegraphing at the start of the previous turn. 100% accuracy and cannot be avoided. | ||||||||
| Soul Scream | Adds 4 turn icons. | ||||||||
Quotes[]
Main Storyline[]
- "A country is heavier than a crown, and he could not bear it. Retribution past due."
Battle quotes[]
Altabury Heights[]
- "My name is Louis Guiabern! I am the rightful king, he who will forge anew this unworthy country into a utopia! Attack in any number. Wield any weapons. But... fight with your very lives! If you live by a creed, show me its strength!
- "Go ahead! Have at me! An attempt on the life of Louis Guiabern is a folly most cannot afford!" (Start of battle)
- "Hmph. A mission? An assigned purpose, an ideal borrowed? If you think that alone is equal to my will, then you have already failed!" (Responding to the protagonist's dialogue: "Ending you is my purpose!" is selected)
- "You hesitate. What's wrong?" (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "This might be your only chance to kill me." (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "You needn't hold back."(Randomly on someone's turn)
- "Ready to see something supernatural?"(Randomly on someone's turn)
- "Bear Witness!" (Randomly when using Soul Cry)
- "This is...strength!" (Randomly when using Soul Cry)
- "Hmph!"
- "I strike...to kill!"
- "Come...accept my challenge."(When using Royal Coercion)
- "Ugh...interesting." (Randomly when low HP)
- "Urgh...I underestimated you." (Defeated)
- "A fine blow... you've surprised me. But why... why are you so intent on killing me?" (Post-battle)
- "I see now. You are the intruders looking for the formula. I take it. And yet.. you have achieved nothing."
Regalith Grand Cathedral[]
- "I desire but one thing! A world without inequality! And I shall gladly offer my shield to all of those who follow this ideal. Those who do not, however, will be slain without mercy or regret. It could not be simpler!" (Pre-battle)
- (Responding to Strohl: "If your "equality" means you will sacrifice the people who need help most, then I deny your world!") "So, you think you have the strength to protect the weak? Then prove to me these are more than empty words."
- "Come, then, and act your part in this showdown. I've a new world to build, and you will die in its name!" (Start of battle)
- "There is no escape from me." (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "You defy the rules, you will die by it!" (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "We'll settle this here!" (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "I see." (Attack misses)
- "I will... annihilate you!" (Using Soul Cry or Soul Scream)
- "UAAAAAGH!" (Using Soul Cry or Soul Scream)
- "Hmph!"
- "Hraaaagh!"
- "I strike to kill!"
- "Can you endure it?" (Using Treasure Sword: Unlock Affinity)
- "Come...accept my challenge!"(When using Royal Coercion)
- "I see... It would appear you have the mettle to defend your claims. Then I need not hold back either!" (HP under 50%)
- "Haha, good! Very good! Yours is a worthy power, one untainted by petty tactics or cheap tricks! However..." (HP 10% or below, battle ends)
- "Magnificent. You have truly become more powerful. But I would expect no less of a remnant of humankind... You're a survivor of a lost tribe, aren't you." (Battle ends, preparing to use a human transformation spell on the protagonist)
Tyrant's Star (Archdemon Louis Charadrius)[]
- "Come! We decide our world's future here!" (Pre-battle)
- Our land is consumed with anxiety as it has never been before... All of it foundation for my new, better world! You are but an audience, powerless to tread on history's stage! Let it begin!" (Pre-battle)
- "I will destroy the fantasy in your heart." (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "Only the strong can prevail" (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "For all that I believe!" (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "Take this!"
- "Hraaaagh!"
- "There is no hope for you." (Dekaja/Dekunda is used)
- "Wallow in despair." (Dekaja/Dekunda is used)
- "Are you prepared?" (A buffing skill is used)
- "Magla... come to me!" (Anxiety Convergence is used)
- "Face my wrath!"
- "I will eradicate you!"
- "Begone!"
- "You fight well... but this is not over."
- "Ugh!" (Attacked)
- "Your desperation shows." (Attack misses)
- "Very good! By all means, challenge me! Stake everything you have on this battle! I will face your convictions and crush them! This is but my first step to an ideal world!" (HP below half)
- "I do not fear death. And yet..." (Defeated)
Tyrant's Star (Destroyer Charadrius, masks)[]
- "Fools... These false foundations... Who in their right mind could promise such fantasies? I will never let injustice be repeated... never again!" (Pre-battle)
- "Again the world must be shattered. And again it must be rebuilt anew... You will die in tribute to my ideals, prince!" (Pre-battle)
- "There is no power in your fantasy." (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "Our new world and its ideals have no need for you." (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "The world of old... and its people... shall perish." (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "How trivial!" (Rarely when getting hit)
- "Still, you defy me?" (Attack misses)
- "How pointless!" (Rarely, if foe's attack misses)
- "Why do you fight back!?" (Rarely, if foe's attack misses)
- "Give in to anxiety." (Using The Culled World)
- "The inequities of the world can only be cleansed if the strong subsume the weak. Now... be a noble sacrifice!" (Using New Dawns's Sacrifice for the first time)
- "Sacrifice yourself to the new age!" (Using New Dawns's Sacrifice)
- "There is no more stopping it... this is the end!" (Using Great Reset)
- "This tainted world and its people... shall perish!" (Using Great Reset)
- "Shatter!" (Using physical attack)
- "This heralds a new world!" (Using terror overflowing)
- "Hraagh!"
- "You struggle in vain... Give in to the truth... Your "fantasy" has no meaning whatsoever..." (All masks below HP 50%)
- "My world... MY PERFECT WORLD!!!" (Defeated, moving to next phase)
Tyrant's Star (Destroyer Charadrius)[]
- "Not yet! I refuse! I won't let it end like this!" (Start of battle)
- "You will be a sacrifice... You will sustain the strong... O weak one... O peon... (Start of battle)
- "There is no power in your fantasy." (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "The world of old... and its people... shall perish." (Randomly on someone's turn)
- "Give in to anxiety." (Using The Culled World)
- "Feel true terror!" (Using High Pressure/Soul Scream)
- "Hraagh!"
- "Shatter!" (Using physical attack)
- "You fight a losing battle!" (Attack misses)
- "Why... Why you cannot understand my ideals...?" (Below HP 50%)
- The following occurs on the turn before Destroyer Charadrius uses A Tribe Condemned to kill a party member other than the protagonist;
- "The clemar: a foolish people, tainted with guilt. Begone from this world." (Strohl is targeted)
- "The roussainte: a foolish people, shackled by insecurity... Begone from this world." (Hulkenberg is targeted)
- "The eugief: a foolish people, terrified by alienation... Begone from this world." (Heismay is targeted)
- "The nidia: a foolish people, fearing and denying solitude... Begone from this world." (Junah is targeted)
- "The mustari: a foolish people, powerless by their own perception... Begone from this world." (Eupha is targeted)
- "The paripus: a foolish people, haunted by despair... Begone from this world." (Basilio is targeted)
- "Begone!" (A Tribe Condemned is used)
- "A world... born of fantasy...? It must... not... be..." (HP below 30%)
- "How... did it come to this?" (Randomly on someone's turn, low HP)
- "AAAAAHHHHHH!!!! MY WORLD... MY NEW WORLD!!!" (Defeated)
- "But why? Why... is it still beyond me?"
- "I have my ideals... witness!!" (Post-battle)
- "Your fantasy... is nought but LIES!"
- "Now DIE!!"
- "DAMN YOU!!"
- "ARRRGH!!!! ARGH...ARRRRRRRRGH!!!" (Death)
Followers[]
Much like with the protagonist and Forden, Louis has a band of followers who are deeply loyal to his cause. All of them were either killed in combat, defected or turned into humans by him by the end of the game.
- Cirsium Zorba - Louis' right-hand man and necromancer
- Idaeus Glodell - an independent contestant who infiltrated Louis' ranks to sate his ego
- Basilio Lupus Magnus - defected in disgust for Fidelio's death
- Fidelio Aureus Magnus- sacrificed himself to protect Basilio from being killed by Louis
- Juani Cygnus - spy of the resistance
- Cercis Klinger - willingly allowed humans to destroy settlements under Louis' orders
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
- Louis is a French name meaning "famed warrior" or "loot bringer."
- Charadrius is a genus of wading plovers. It is also a reference to Caladrius, a Roman mythological bird that cleanses people of diseases.
- Louis originates as a child of healers, relating to Caladrius' role as a healer that can cure some, while leaving others to die, and his ability to use his healing magic to instead turn people into humans.
- The Japanese pronunciation of his real surname is the same as the demon Caladrius (カラドリウス.)
Trivia[]
The three-headed Lucifer from the Divine Comedy presumed to be the inspiration of Destroyer Charadrius' design.
- Louis is one of the bearers of a copy of the fantasy novel.
- Louis' depiction within the game bears resemblance to depictions of Lucifer from history and from previous Shin Megami Tensei games.
- His first name is shared with Louis Cypher, a name often used by Lucifer when in human form, and are arrogant, meritocratic and bent on rebellion against the powers that be. However, while Lucifer's incarnations in the series usually had genuine well-intentions and firm convictions, Louis turned against his own beliefs and ultimately lost himself to his hatred against Forden.
- His long hair is blond, like in Lucifer's Louis Cypher form and his Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne forms. As an elda, he also lacks any physical mutations and he is almost always seen clad in ornate gold and white armor, making him stick out in front of other characters. This ties to the biblical Lucifer being known as the most beautiful of all angels prior to his fall.
- His angelic descent at King Hythlodaeus V's funeral, as well as killing said king for his ambitions and making a blatant desecration of the funeral bears symbolic connections to Lucifer's identity as a fallen angel who strongly desires a world of freedom and chaos while attempting to overthrow God. His control over the humans, many of which have designs based on the legions of hell as depicted by the artist Hieronymus Bosch, might also be interpreted as an allegory to Lucifer commanding armies of fallen angels and demons to plague and destroy mankind.
- His human form is based on the devil (Dis) from The Divine Comedy. However, his characterization as a somewhat tragic and complex character with completely unjustified motives bears resemblance to the Paradise Lost iteration of Lucifer, which is portrayed in a similar manner.
- Louis never refers to himself as a clemar anywhere in the story. He only wears a pair of fake horns and expects people to assume he is one.
- Louis is one of the very few major Atlus antagonists and final bosses that remain as the main antagonistic force throughout the course of the entire game rather than hiding or downplaying their involvement in some form or way. Uniquely, the protagonist's motivation for going after him also changes over the story; first to release the prince from his curse; when the curse was revealed be the result of a Sanctist Church conspiracy, to win the Royal Tournament; and when his past and his true plan of transforming all of humanity into humans was exposed, to put an end to his insanity.
- Louis appears to be a popular target for assassination attempts. Aside from Grius and the protagonist, Basilio mentions that he has captured over ten assassins and used them for magical experiments.
- Before one can join Louis' ranks, they must cut their finger with a heart statue made of magic silver with spikes on top of it to prove their loyalty.
- The text on his campaign poster reads: "Kolektiu sub lastandardo depotenco: Louis Guiabern - U preta por an i la mondon," roughly translating to "Gather under the banner of power: Louis Guiabern -- are you ready to change the world?"
- Usually, when Louis appears in cutscenes, an ominous orchestral theme titled "Those in Power" is played.
- Both of Destroyer Charadrius' unique battle themes are rearranged versions of the game's other soundtracks. The OST during his "masked" phase, "A World Culled," is a rearranged version of the title screen theme, while the one that plays when fighting Destroyer Charadrius himself, "King of Destruction," is a rearranged version of the Akademeia theme.