-Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs King Abaddon
Raidou Kuzunoha was a Devil Summoner in the 1920s, tasked with the protection of the Capital of Japan from demons who might cause harm to the hearts of people. To do this, he masqueraded as a detective who specialised in odd cases. In King Abaddon, Raidou was tasked with finding a missing man by a young girl, but soon found his course leading him to a plot that may end the world.
A run of bad luck striking the Capital went from bad to worse as Raidou discovered that the missing man was a renegade from a group of assassins who used luck-eating insects as weapons. His intent was to awaken a group of giant insect “gods” in order to become their king, King Abaddon, and protect his sister from being forced into reproducing with a group of lesser insect “gods” known as the Tento Lords for the sake of their village.
However, this was all planned by Louis Cyphre. By tricking Dahn into unleashing the luck insects, he sent the world into a spiral of bad luck that had the misfortune of both sending people into depression and causing major disasters that threatened the earth itself. This would open up a portal to the “infinite abyss”, a world of pure misery. This gate was eventually closed by Raidou; however, this did not stop the cycle of despair, for the source of the chaos had already entered the human world. Watched over by Louis, Raidou managed to defeat it and served as a “spark” for the hope of humanity.
Louis Cyphre’s role in the game was more to the background than usual; he was the one who set the events of the second game in place. While he appeared more often, as a giver of quests and cryptic exposition, it was not until the end that his role is discovered... And then it was never mentioned again.
Personality:
Louis, being a demon, is not quite bound to human attributes. Despite that, he often shows how much time he spends watching them, even walking among them. He seems to have almost foreigner attributes at rare times, using awful pseudonyms and slightly stilted speech, as well as curiosity regarding peoples’ actions. Despite that, although he is ever-formal he tends to play the part of a very friendly person and gives off an attitude of relaxation more often than not.
While his “old man” and “young boy” forms may be less communicative than others, rarely speaking directly to the player, in his other appearances he is extremely fond of talking. He regularly shows up simply to chat, albeit briefly, with the main characters, and is often a good source of information (and exposition). He spends a lot of time in bars or – in the third game – in a library on a stage floating in the middle of Amala. He is often one of the most helpful people you will meet in any of the games.
Outside of the world of entertainment and wars against law-aligned forces, Louis shows his nature a little more in his style. Despite his apparent lack of gender issues, the female form is the only one never shown to be wearing a snappy suit that is always perfectly neat. He is regularly seen adjusting his clothing to be immaculate. His appearance apparently can look different to many people at once; he indicates that the insect-like Mushibito see him as a gigantic insect.
His alignment being dark-chaos (to the extreme) means that he believes in freedom above all else – however, this does not mean that he does not believe in consequences. Occasionally he can come off as a cold or expressionless person due to his nature as a demon; he has little compassion for those who bring their own fates upon them. Weak minds, pride, over-confidence and foolishness – the results of these attitudes are the fault of the person who held them. He does not believe in blaming others for one’s own foolishness. Despite those traits, however, he often remains non-committal when shown the thoughts of the protagonist – or anyone else, for that matter. This is fitting with his role as the bringer of freedom.
The friendliness of the fallen angel is not something to be taken for granted. While Louis is in many cases genuinely friendly, he has also been shown to use this friendliness to get people to lower their guard and plant suggestions in their minds. He rarely directly lies, preferring to allow others to come to the right conclusions by themselves. Louis is the more subtle type of Lucifer, who prefers to set people in the right direction and see where they go. Often, this is for the sake of the world, and he appears to have an almost supernatural ability to set things in play so that – should the protagonist choose it – it will result in good things for him. Sometimes it is merely for his own entertainment; but more often than not, he mixes the two. He is surprisingly good at seeing potential in people and as a result rarely even attempts to hold back on the things he will throw at them to see that potential grow.
As a being that exists beyond time, and the second most dangerous being in the SMT-verse, Louis Cyphre is a highly patient person. Even if his plans fail, there is always another time. The only times his patience fails, leaving him agitated, are when his people are threatened. In Strange Journey, “Louisa Ferre” states that humanity belongs to her, and that though she does not love them, she chooses to protect them. To save both humanity, who represent the freedom and madness that exists in life, and the demons under his service, he is even willing to lay down his own life.
Although he does not show it, he is not beyond fear; he admits to being immensely relieved to discover that Aleph is not Satan. However, even when afraid, he does not give up. He is also a surprisingly graceful loser; when he is killed in the neutral path of the second game, he simply gives Aleph the advice he will need to ensure the world remains safe. He is, in essence, an example of a noble demon. Brave, intelligent, and attempting to do what he believes is right for his people no matter the cost. Death, it seems, is something that garners little attention from him, however.
Regardless of how he appears to humans, to the demons he is highly respected and his word is generally law. Few dare to go against him, or deny him, both for fear of his anger, and for the closest thing to “love” the demons can endure. They would march into heaven for him if they had to.
Of all of the demons, Louis is the one that is the most interested in humans and the one that puts the least stock in race – other than angels. He enjoys seeing their struggles to survive and the results of those struggles, and finds value in those who persist despite all odds. As a demon of chaos, he values strength highly. One of his many goals is, in fact, for demons and humans to co-exist, so that the struggle for survival will bring humanity closer to nature.
His distaste for the followers of law is not a thing to be dismissed easily; it is only YHVH who comes closer to complete hatred. Although his language is never foul, he shows his dislike of them easily, both in word and action, and never misses a chance to put the angels down. One of his few anger triggers other than angels, however, is disrespect. The lord of hell is not someone easily dismissed, after all, and while he may forgive easily at times and is far less prone to overly severe punishments than YHVH, he is still a demon.
Louis Cyphre | Shin Megami Tensei | Not Reserved - 3/?
-Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs King Abaddon
Raidou Kuzunoha was a Devil Summoner in the 1920s, tasked with the protection of the Capital of Japan from demons who might cause harm to the hearts of people. To do this, he masqueraded as a detective who specialised in odd cases. In King Abaddon, Raidou was tasked with finding a missing man by a young girl, but soon found his course leading him to a plot that may end the world.
A run of bad luck striking the Capital went from bad to worse as Raidou discovered that the missing man was a renegade from a group of assassins who used luck-eating insects as weapons. His intent was to awaken a group of giant insect “gods” in order to become their king, King Abaddon, and protect his sister from being forced into reproducing with a group of lesser insect “gods” known as the Tento Lords for the sake of their village.
However, this was all planned by Louis Cyphre. By tricking Dahn into unleashing the luck insects, he sent the world into a spiral of bad luck that had the misfortune of both sending people into depression and causing major disasters that threatened the earth itself. This would open up a portal to the “infinite abyss”, a world of pure misery. This gate was eventually closed by Raidou; however, this did not stop the cycle of despair, for the source of the chaos had already entered the human world. Watched over by Louis, Raidou managed to defeat it and served as a “spark” for the hope of humanity.
Louis Cyphre’s role in the game was more to the background than usual; he was the one who set the events of the second game in place. While he appeared more often, as a giver of quests and cryptic exposition, it was not until the end that his role is discovered... And then it was never mentioned again.
Personality:Louis, being a demon, is not quite bound to human attributes. Despite that, he often shows how much time he spends watching them, even walking among them. He seems to have almost foreigner attributes at rare times, using awful pseudonyms and slightly stilted speech, as well as curiosity regarding peoples’ actions. Despite that, although he is ever-formal he tends to play the part of a very friendly person and gives off an attitude of relaxation more often than not.
While his “old man” and “young boy” forms may be less communicative than others, rarely speaking directly to the player, in his other appearances he is extremely fond of talking. He regularly shows up simply to chat, albeit briefly, with the main characters, and is often a good source of information (and exposition). He spends a lot of time in bars or – in the third game – in a library on a stage floating in the middle of Amala. He is often one of the most helpful people you will meet in any of the games.
Outside of the world of entertainment and wars against law-aligned forces, Louis shows his nature a little more in his style. Despite his apparent lack of gender issues, the female form is the only one never shown to be wearing a snappy suit that is always perfectly neat. He is regularly seen adjusting his clothing to be immaculate. His appearance apparently can look different to many people at once; he indicates that the insect-like Mushibito see him as a gigantic insect.
His alignment being dark-chaos (to the extreme) means that he believes in freedom above all else – however, this does not mean that he does not believe in consequences. Occasionally he can come off as a cold or expressionless person due to his nature as a demon; he has little compassion for those who bring their own fates upon them. Weak minds, pride, over-confidence and foolishness – the results of these attitudes are the fault of the person who held them. He does not believe in blaming others for one’s own foolishness. Despite those traits, however, he often remains non-committal when shown the thoughts of the protagonist – or anyone else, for that matter. This is fitting with his role as the bringer of freedom.
The friendliness of the fallen angel is not something to be taken for granted. While Louis is in many cases genuinely friendly, he has also been shown to use this friendliness to get people to lower their guard and plant suggestions in their minds. He rarely directly lies, preferring to allow others to come to the right conclusions by themselves. Louis is the more subtle type of Lucifer, who prefers to set people in the right direction and see where they go. Often, this is for the sake of the world, and he appears to have an almost supernatural ability to set things in play so that – should the protagonist choose it – it will result in good things for him. Sometimes it is merely for his own entertainment; but more often than not, he mixes the two. He is surprisingly good at seeing potential in people and as a result rarely even attempts to hold back on the things he will throw at them to see that potential grow.
As a being that exists beyond time, and the second most dangerous being in the SMT-verse, Louis Cyphre is a highly patient person. Even if his plans fail, there is always another time. The only times his patience fails, leaving him agitated, are when his people are threatened. In Strange Journey, “Louisa Ferre” states that humanity belongs to her, and that though she does not love them, she chooses to protect them. To save both humanity, who represent the freedom and madness that exists in life, and the demons under his service, he is even willing to lay down his own life.
Although he does not show it, he is not beyond fear; he admits to being immensely relieved to discover that Aleph is not Satan. However, even when afraid, he does not give up. He is also a surprisingly graceful loser; when he is killed in the neutral path of the second game, he simply gives Aleph the advice he will need to ensure the world remains safe. He is, in essence, an example of a noble demon. Brave, intelligent, and attempting to do what he believes is right for his people no matter the cost. Death, it seems, is something that garners little attention from him, however.
Regardless of how he appears to humans, to the demons he is highly respected and his word is generally law. Few dare to go against him, or deny him, both for fear of his anger, and for the closest thing to “love” the demons can endure. They would march into heaven for him if they had to.
Of all of the demons, Louis is the one that is the most interested in humans and the one that puts the least stock in race – other than angels. He enjoys seeing their struggles to survive and the results of those struggles, and finds value in those who persist despite all odds. As a demon of chaos, he values strength highly. One of his many goals is, in fact, for demons and humans to co-exist, so that the struggle for survival will bring humanity closer to nature.
His distaste for the followers of law is not a thing to be dismissed easily; it is only YHVH who comes closer to complete hatred. Although his language is never foul, he shows his dislike of them easily, both in word and action, and never misses a chance to put the angels down. One of his few anger triggers other than angels, however, is disrespect. The lord of hell is not someone easily dismissed, after all, and while he may forgive easily at times and is far less prone to overly severe punishments than YHVH, he is still a demon.