Demise

Template:Boss Demise is one of two primary antagonists in Skyward Sword, and serves as the Final Boss. Long ago, he and his horde of demons broke through a fissure in the earth and sought out the Triforce. However, he was defeated and sealed away by the goddess Hylia, and after the events of Skyward Sword, finally by Link through use of the Master Sword. Upon his defeat, Demise makes a claim that his hatred will not end, but will be reborn in the coming ages. The form of this evil is thought to be Ganon. Hyrule Historia specifically mentions that his flaming red hair is to signify a connection to him.^[1]

Biography

Background

When the Golden Goddesses departed from the world, they trusted their ultimate power, the Triforce, in the hands of Hylia to protect it.^[2] However, Demise, wanting to make the world his own, gathered an army of monsters and together launched an attack against the people of the surface, murdering them and causing misfortunes all just to get their hands on the power guarded by Hylia.^[3]^[4]

To prevent the great power from falling into the hands of Demise, Hylia and the five tribes who lived on the surface joined forces and sealed away Demise, restoring peace to the land.^[5] Due to the seal placed upon him, he assumes the monstrous form as The Imprisoned for the majority of the plot.^[6]

Resurrection

Ghirahim, who is actually Demise's Sword, pursues Zelda to steal her soul and thus resurrect his Master, Demise.^[7] Meanwhile, Demise attempts to break free of his seal by his own means in the form of The Imprisoned, but he is consistently repelled and re-sealed beneath the Sealed Grounds through the efforts of Link and Groose. At last, when Link obtains the Triforce, he manages to defeat Demise permanently by driving the Statue of the Goddess from Skyloft into the Sealed Grounds as The Imprisoned awakens for the fourth time. However, Ghirahim kidnaps Zelda and takes her to the past through the Gate of Time in the Sealed Temple, where he begins a ritual to revive his master.

While Link manages to defeat Ghirahim, he is too late to stop the resurrection of Demise. The Imprisoned begins to absorb Zelda's soul and eventually transforms into the Demon King himself. Ghirahim welcomes back his master,^[8] but Demise pulls a dark Sword out of Ghirahim and seals his entity within the weapon. Demise continues to absorb the soul of Zelda to gain unstoppable power; he is impressed with Link's determination to protect the goddess and invites him to do battle.^[9]^[10]^[11] To Demise's shock, Link manages to defeat him, but in his dying throes, he warns Link that it was not over, and that an incarnation of his hatred would be reborn as a being to pursue domination of the world, as well as those with the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero, in a cycle without end.^[12] With that, Demise is sealed away within the Master Sword, where his remains begin to decay.^[13]

Characteristics

Demise carries a cocky, overbearing temperament,^[14] and will stop at nothing to prove his power to any who defy him.^[10]^[15]^[16] Fi describes Demise as "the source of all monsters," and states that he "has conquered time itself." Demise has a strong resemblance to Ganondorf: large stature, fiery red hair, dark skin, and even his facial features are similar, and in the cutscene before the final battle with him, a variation of Ganon's leitmotif plays.

Strategy

DemiseDef — Demise being defeated by Link

After Link enters the chosen battlefield through the portal in the past, Demise praises him for his courage,^[17] but then tells him that when he falls,^[18] he shall rule over everything in the world.^[19] With that, the battle begins.

Striking Demise through his guard can be difficult, as he will attempt to block every attack Link makes. Additionally, Link's Skyward Strike is unavailable as the power of the Goddess is negated by Demise's personal battlefield. Link can quickly Shield Attack when Demise attacks with his Sword, then follow up with a vertical attack or Spin Attack. Eventually, Demise will be thrown backwards, seemingly defeated, but he will rise up and summon a storm. Demise can then draw the lightning from the storm to charge his Sword with electricity. Link will now be damaged if he strikes the Sword and Demise will cause twice as much damage as before. Demise is now able to perform his own variation on a Skyward Strike, after which he is forced to recharge his Sword by pointing it skyward. It is possible to defeat Demise by attacking him before he can recharge his blade, but it is easier to mimic Demise and point the Master Sword to the sky. This will charge the Master Sword with electricity from lightning bolts, allowing Link to attack with a Skyward Strike and paralyze Demise, making him vulnerable to attack.

After doing this a few times,Template:How many he will fall back again, allowing Link to finish him with a lightning charged Fatal Blow. Demise is swift however, and he will usually dodge the attack at first, and sometimes the second. If Link is quick enough to land the second attack, or attempts to land the third, the battle ends.

Non-Canon Appearances

Non-Canon Information

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Demise appears as a Trophy.

Trophy Information

Image	Description	How to Unlock
File:SSBU Demise Trophy.png	This monster, hair like a billowing flame and a giant blade in hand, is so terrifying that he is known simply by the result of his actions. Sealed away by the goddess Hylia during an ancient war for the Triforce, he awakes a thousand years later to fight Link in a battle that will truly be legendary.	Random

Trivia

Despite elsewhere referring to Demise as a man, Fi calls Demise an "it" while describing him to Link.^[20]
Demise will stare at the Bug Net if it is brought out, similar to the uses of the Bug Net, Empty Bottle, and Fishing Rod in previous games. As with Agahnim's attacks, Demise's Skyward Strike can be reflected by the Bug Net.
Demise bears a glowing, X-shaped scar on his forehead, which may be a result of the Sealing Spike. It is located in the same area that his reincarnation, Ganondorf, wears a forehead jewel, and in Twilight Princess, both Ganon and Ganondorf have similar scars which serve as weak points.
Demise shares the title of "Demon King" with Malladus and Ganon.^{[citation needed]}
Two of Ganondorf's Weapons in Hyrule Warriors, the Swords of Demise and the Trident of Demise, are named after and designed around Demise.

Etymology

Names in Other Regions
Language		Name	Meaning
	English^UK	Demise
	Japanese	終焉の者 (Shuuen no Mono)	Person of Demise
	French	Avatar du Néant	Avatar of Nothingness
	German	Der Todbringer	The Deathbringer
	Italian	Mortipher	From the Latin word "Mortifer," meaning "death"
	Korean	종언자 (Jongeonja)	The Person of Demise
	Spanish	Heraldo de la Muerte	Harbinger of Death
	Spanish^LA	El Heraldo	The Harbinger

Gallery

Demisesummonsdarkness.png

Demise summoning darkness
D+G.png

Demise and Ghirahim in their true forms
D+G2.png

Demise readying Ghirahim to transform
Demise holding his Sword
Demise absorbing Ghirahim into his Sword
Close-up of Demise
Close-up of Demise
Link standing before Demise
L+D.png

Link about to confront Demise
Demise with his back to Link
Demise about to commence the battle
The second round of the battle with Demise
DemiseScar.png

The scar on Demise's forehead
Concept art of Demise from Hyrule Historia
The Swords of Demise from Hyrule Warriors
HW Trident of Demise.png

The Trident of Demise from Hyrule Warriors

References

↑ Template:Cite book
↑ "Handed down by the gods of old, this power gave its holder the means to make any desire a reality. Such was the might of the ultimate power that the old ones placed it in the care of the goddess." — Introduction (Skyward Sword)
↑ "One dark, fateful day, the earth cracked wide and malevolent forces rushed forth from the fissure. They mounted a brutal assault upon the surface people, driving the land into deep despair... They burnt forests to ash, choked the land's sweet springs, and murdered without hesitation. They did all this in their lust to take the ultimate power protected by Her Grace, the goddess." — Introduction (Skyward Sword)
↑ "In his thirst to make the world his own, Demise readied a massive army of monsters for war. He sought to take the Triforce for himself by force." — Zelda (Skyward Sword)
↑ "With the humans safe, the goddess joined forces with the land dwellers and fought the evil forces, sealing them away. At last, peace was restored to the surface." — Introduction (Skyward Sword)
↑ "Stripped of his true physical form by the seal that binds him, he takes the shape of an abomination. But even in his hideous state, he's more than capable of devouring this land if we allow him to do what he desires." — Zelda (Skyward Sword)
↑ "My master may have perished in this age, but in the past he lives yet! I'm taking the girl back through that gate to help me revive the demon king!" — Ghirahim (Skyward Sword)
↑ "Welcome back to us, Master." — Ghirahim (Skyward Sword)
↑ "Hmm... So you and that other human would stand before obliteration to aid the goddess, would you? How curious... The humans I've known are weak things. Hardly more than insects, shivering under rocks and ready to flee at the mere glimpse of me." — Demise (Skyward Sword)
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 "When I last walked this world, they did little more than scream and cling to their goddess, mewling and praying... Counting on her to protect them." — Demise (Skyward Sword)
↑ "You grow more fascinating by the second, human. I never imagined I'd meet one of your kind who wished to stand against me in battle. Very well, then. I shall prepare a place for us where we will not be bothered by distractions. If you still have the courage to face me, seek me there." — Demise (Skyward Sword)
↑ "Though this is not the end. My hate... never perishes. It is born anew in a cycle with no end! I will rise again. Those like you... Those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero... They are eternally bound to this curse. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time!" — Demise (Skyward Sword)
↑ "The last remnants of Demise are decaying slowly within the sword." — Impa (Skyward Sword)
↑ "The only question left is how long you will remain standing before I take your life. Try to keep it interesting for me, would you?" — Demise (Skyward Sword)
↑ "How amusing to think those cowards begot someone like you." — Demise (Skyward Sword)
↑ "You can spend what little time your world has left cowering and crying, as befits your kind." — Demise (Skyward Sword)
↑ "Ah, so you've decided to meet your end in battle after all. It pleases me greatly to see such misplaced valor, human." — Demise (Skyward Sword)
↑ "Take a moment to appreciate your surroundings, for where we stand shall serve as your tomb for eternity." — Demise (Skyward Sword)
↑ "And when you do fall, know that your world and everything in it is mine to dominate... Mine to subjugate... Mine to rule!" — Demise (Skyward Sword)
↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named It