Death (Castlevania)

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	This character or verse has mature themes and concepts, thus those of young age are ill-advised to look through these.

“	Unfortunately for you, as long as my master survives, I will rise from the dead...	„
	~ Death to Leon Belmont

“	Soon, my master will enter Isaac's body. Though you were favored, Isaac will do. Dracula will once more walk the night! And as for you, it is time for you to die!	„
	~ Zeas as Death to Hector

“	Do not interfere. Now, I will extinguish the candle of your soul!	„
	~ Death to Juste Belmont

“	So you've made it this far... In the name of your father, cease this foolishness.	„
	~ Death to 1700s Alucard

Background

Death, also known as the Grim Reaper, is a key antagonist in Konami's Castlevania series. Born from Chaos, which itself emerged from the malice within human hearts, Death serves as Count Dracula’s right-hand figure. Typically appearing near the end of the hero's journey—often in the Clock Tower—he challenges them before they face Dracula. Occasionally, Death is the first of Dracula's main servants the protagonist encounters, as seen in Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and Castlevania: The Arcade. Notably, he appears in every game except Castlevania: The Adventure and Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge.

When figures like Shaft, Elizabeth Bartley, or Carmilla lead Dracula’s resurrection, Death may take an equal or lesser role in Dracula's ranks. Two of his closest subordinates, Slogra and Gaibon, report directly to him. He is also known to acknowledge and respect courageous and skilled opponents.

Mastering dark arts, Death can summon souls of the dead and defeat powerful foes. As a chaotic, malevolent entity, Death resists dark-based attacks but is vulnerable to holy weapons like the Vampire Killer.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Death’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence This mysterious being forges an alliance with Mathias Cronqvist – who later becomes known as Dracula – in 1094. Initially, Death pretended to be a servant to Walter Bernhard, owner of the Ebony Stone. However, he later betrayed Walter after Leon Belmont defeated him with the newly forged Vampire Killer. It is revealed that Mathias had the Crimson Stone, a stone much more powerful than the Ebony Stone. With Walter defeated, Mathias gained access to Walter's Ebony Stone, giving him both of the vampire's treasures. To add insult to injury, Mathias used the Crimson Stone to suck out Walter's soul and place it inside the stone. The soul became a power source to fuel Mathias's dark desires. Crushed by Mathias's turn to the dark forces of evil, Leon was ready to slay his former friend when Death arrived and challenged him in the final showdown of the game. Even though Death was defeated, Mathias made his escape after some parting words with Leon. Although Death expressed disbelief for being beaten by Leon, as well as learning about him possessing the means to destroy not just vampires, but anything tied to them, he nonetheless assured the latter that he could not be permanently killed as long as Mathias remained alive. With Mathias gone, Leon swore that no matter where he should go, the Belmont Clan would hunt him and his kind down forever. Since then, Death has proven to be the Count's most loyal and devoted servant. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse In 1476, Death returned alongside Dracula to terrorize the Transylvanian countryside. He was eventually encountered and defeated by Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, Grant Danasty, and the then-recently defected Alucard at the Castle Entrance. However, this would not be the last of him. Castlevania: Curse of Darkness After Trevor Belmont had successfully defeated Dracula, the Count placed a curse on all of Europe, with the intent that the corruption and misery bred from it would bring about his resurrection. To speed up the process, a mysterious priest by the name of Zead came across Hector and appeared friendly enough with his wanting to help him defeat his nemesis, Isaac. What Hector didn't know was that the priest was actually Death in disguise. However, his disguise did not fool the time-traveling Saint Germain, who knew that if either Devil Forgemaster, Hector or Isaac, should fall, then the Dark Lord could be revived. Both fight, and in spite of Saint Germain getting the upper hand during their first tussle (and mentioning he would return until Zead surrendered), Zead manages to trick him into the Eneomaos Machine Tower and freezes his powers until he is defeated in combat by Hector. After this, Saint Germain leaves the timeline, after asking Hector to give Zead his sarcastic regards. In the reborn castle of Dracula, Hector fights and kills Isaac, but does not fall prey to the curse. Before he knows it, the body of Isaac is whisked away into a coffin by Zead. He had originally planned on using Hector as the host for Dracula when he succumbed to the curse, but because Hector rejected the curse at the last moment, he is forced to settle with Isaac's corpse. When Zead removes a scythe from his sleeve, it is then that Hector realizes who Zead really is. Shedding his disguise, Death battles Hector, only to be defeated by the Forgemaster, expressing disbelief that he was defeated by a human. Castlevania In 1691, Death returned alongside Dracula to Transylvania. Trevor's descendant, Simon Belmont, encountered him inside the dungeon of the castle and ultimately defeated him. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest After Simon had successfully defeated Dracula, the Count placed a curse on him, forcing the latter to find several relics of the deceased Count and destroy them in order to end the curse on both him and Transylvania as a whole. Death was charged with guarding the Eye of Vlad at the Brahm's Mansion. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance In this time around, Death wanders through "Dracula's Castle" searching for his Lord while trying to understand where his master has disappeared to. He met with Juste inside the Marble Corridor and implies that, while the castle might technically be Dracula's castle, the actual master of it was not Dracula himself before taking his leave. Death soon realizes thanks to Juste that due to Maxim Kischine's eagerness to find and destroy Dracula's body parts the same way Simon Belmont did about half a century ago, he inadvertently had awoken the spirit of Dracula. This led to Maxim slowly being taken over by the spirit of the Dark Lord and the split of Dracula's Castle into two different castles. Death recognizes that Maxim's body would make a suitable host for the resurrection of Dracula and soon seeks to prevent Juste Belmont from finding his friend and freeing him from Dracula's control. He also tries to locate Lydie, eventually finding her with Juste's unwitting help and takes her, viewing her as a necessary sacrifice to ensure Maxim becomes Dracula and thus complete the castle. He then fought Juste in an attempt to prevent him from interfering. He ultimately is defeated, although he makes clear that the castle would inevitably merge in the future. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood Upon returning alongside Dracula in 1792, Death briefly tested Richter Belmont as the latter attempted to race over to Aljiba as it was under siege by Dracula's forces. After gauging Richter via throwing his scythe and summoning a giant skull and Richter parrying both attacks, he then took his leave, although not before vowing that he won't hold back in their next encounter. True to his word, Death encountered Richter aboard a ghost ship and fought him in an intense battle. Ultimately, he was defeated, with his accidentally beheading himself after he threw his scythe in the air from being stunned. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night After the dark priest Shaft's successful resurrection of Dracula, the Count was swiftly defeated by Richter Belmont in 1792. However, due to a sinister curse placed on him by Shaft, Richter was slowly being possessed by an evil spirit. Five years later, in 1797, Richter Belmont mysteriously disappeared while Dracula's Castle appeared once again. This time, Dracula's son, Alucard, awakens from his self-inflicted permanent slumber when he senses that something is terribly amiss. When he enters Dracula's Castle, Alucard is confronted by Death. Since Alucard is Dracula's son, Death gives him a chance to cease his attack and turn back. Upon refusing, Death steals all of his equipment and scatters it throughout the entire castle, although not before warning that this will not be their final encounter. Later, when Alucard encounters Death again, the Grim Reaper notes that he has given ample warning, and with Alucard not backing down, he engages him in combat, suffering defeat at the hands of Dracula's son. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Even though there are no specific cutscenes with Death in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, he does serve as the boss of the Mechanical Tower, in an attempt to kill Shanoa before she absorbs one of three key Glyphs that would allow her passage to Dracula's domain. It should also be noted that if the player is defeated in this fight, Death will say that the character's soul has burned itself out, one of the rare instances of a boss actually commenting about a playable character's death, if any. Castlevania: Bloodlines In 1917, Death guarded Elizabeth Bartley from both John Morris and Eric Lecarde, presumably in an attempt to allow her to revive Dracula. However, he ultimately fell to them. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin In Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Death once again wanders through the castle seeking his Lord and Master, Dracula. Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin first run into him in the Great Stairway. Jonathan believes that he was serving Brauner, but it turns out unlike the other monsters in the castle, Death retains full loyalty towards Dracula. From them he learns of the interloper taking the role of Lord of the Castle for himself and rebuffs the idea of anyone except Dracula controlling the castle, saying that it was an odd thing to say. He does not even try to fight the heroes during this encounter, even hinting at a possible alliance to kill Brauner, albeit with different aims in mind. However, he is rebuffed rudely by Jonathan and leaves, but not before he leaves a snide remark telling Jonathan that he is nowhere near as strong as his father. Later on, he is reluctantly goaded by Jonathan to battle the duo in the castle's Clock Tower. He leaves the battle when his energy is exhausted, saying he has other affairs to handle, although not before inferring that he's only sparing the two because they themselves still have a "role" to accomplish, and also making clear this was not to be their final encounter. Near the end of the game, after Jonathan and Charlotte defeat Brauner, Death barges into his room and slices through the usurper with a swing of his scythe to finish him off, reinstating the castle's proper master, Dracula. When Jonathan and Charlotte pursue him, they find the newly risen Dracula. Ready to take him out, Jonathan is blocked by Death, who has come to Dracula's aid. In a surprising turn of events, Death and Dracula decide to team up for their battle against the two young heroes. When either Death's or Dracula's life is depleted, Death screams "My power! Use my power!" and at this point, Dracula holds out both hands and uses Soul Steal, absorbing Death's soul and transforms into True Dracula. Akumajō Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisōkyoku After the ultimate defeat of Dracula in 1999, Death remained with the castle in the eclipse and fought Soma Cruz there in 2035. He would fight him again the following year in Celia's castle. Death is mysteriously revived once more during 2037, in a part of Wallachia where he encounters Dracula's Castle, but realizing neither his master nor a Dark Lord are present, the event confuses him as he believes his resurrection in these circumstances impossible. He travels to Japan in order to seek Soma, whom he reveals himself to at the stairs of Hakuba Shrine after Mina Hakuba departs for the shrine. Initially, Soma is restless but Death assures his intentions are not hostile toward him or Mina. Death asks Soma if he would assume his role as a Dark Lord, but Soma refuses, being comfortable with his current human life. Death then wonders if the current events are really Soma's doing, but Soma does not understand what Death means and demands answers. However, Death replies that since Soma isn't willing to be his master then he has no obligation to answer and departs. Death returns to the castle where he notices humans in the castle, at the same time realizing the monsters are not hostile toward these humans this confuses Death even further as he looks for his master. He finds Slogra and Gaibon whom he orders to report the current situation. Neither of them respond but strangely attack Death for no reason. Although surprised, Death does not take the insolence kindly and destroys both of them, but he quickly notices that neither of them ever let a scream of pain out, confusing him even further. Death ventures further into the castle finally meeting Dracula's former servant Olrox inside the castle. Olrox confirms that the current set of events are of his doing and that the humans in the castle are the remnants of Graham's cult that has bowed to follow the vampire. Death mocks Olrox if he wants to play at replacing Dracula, but Olrox merely states he wants to control both humans and Chaos out of curiosity of what can be done by doing so, emphasizing that Chaos is born of humans and that Death is born out of Chaos, therefore if he can control humans then Chaos could potentially disappear. Death declares Olrox a traitor and the two of them clash with Death summoning his sickles and Olrox summoning bats, both of them canceling each other. Olrox goes to the courtyard and Death follows with the two clashing without any clear advantage, but then Olrox lures Death into a trap as a magic formation made by Graham's followers summons a large bloody hand that entraps Death depriving him of his power and taking it with him. Death remains trapped and weakened until his soul encounters the damaged body of Curtis Lang that had been shot mercilessly by Graham's cult multiple times and at the verge of dying. Death encounters Curtis whose only wish is for the safety of his partner Michelle Danasty. Death then takes possession of the young man's dying body, which is later found by Michelle and restored back to health by Hammer after he uses a potion on his body, seemingly with memory loss. The two venture into the castle with Michelle destroying the horde of zombies while he remains unfazed by them. Michelle continuously tries to protect him and encourage him to remember although he only has vague hints, his change of personality and attitude worrying Michelle the more they explore. The two enter the Clock Tower where they are attacked by a harpy that Death kills easily using Gale Force by slashing it repeatedly. Michelle is amazed that "Curtis" can use a high-level spell and attributes it to Julius's training. "Curtis" remains mostly quiet and keeps advancing, with Michelle fearing that the person in from him isn't Curtis anymore and puzzled at the fact the harpy never screamed in pain. Finally "Curtis" and Michelle reach Dracula's throne. Michelle wonders why "Curtis" hasn't used his Holy Whip and has him touch the whip thinking it may trigger some memories back, but "Curtis" warns her that he cannot hold a holy item in his current state and much to Michelle's surprise his hand burns, the duo then encounter Olrox with Death recovering his memories and Michelle learning the truth behind Curtis. Death has Michelle stand aside out of respect for Curtis' wish and fights against Olrox once more. Olrox explains that the current castle is a copy made by Graham's cult made up possible through the brief eclipse in the area that allowed Legion and the Puppet Master to be summoned, with Legion being the backbone of the castle while the Puppet Master created puppet copies of the castle's monsters. Olrox further explains that the entire scheme was possible solely out of Graham's cult wish to follow his master finding humans interesting and the thrill of fighting Death equal to when he faced Alucard. Olrox summons the bloody hand once more but Death is able to put an end to it, forcing Olrox to reveal that the castle is a giant Legion and forming a massive body out of Legion's parts. As the battle escalated to inhuman proportions, Michelle was paralyzed with fear, but honoring her training and Curtis' wish for her to be happy, Michelle decided to fight using her athletic abilities to reach the ceiling of the room and shot an arrow at Olrox during a brief opening which allowed Death to overpower Olrox and defeat him and Legion. With Olrox beaten, the castle began to crumble. Michelle asked Death if Curtis would not be able to come back but Death didn't really respond. As he disappears he states that while they had a common purpose this time around they are essentially still enemies and leaves. Curtis is eventually revealed to be alive and Michelle theorizes that Curtis was able to live because Death possessed his body while he was still alive, and also imagining that perhaps Death did something to his body. She contemplated how Death is a creature unlike any other she has seen. Grimoire of Souls Genya Arikado, or more accurately, Alucard, encountered Death inside the Grimoire of Souls while trying to locate the core monster inside the book that was causing the Grimoire and others to release monsters into the real world. He fought Death, although because Arikado was forced to utilize an avatar to access the book and thus was in a comparably weak state, Death subdued him, and also implied that the book was making Death stronger and was aware that he was inside the Grimoire. This led Arikado to suspect that someone was causing the chaos. It was later revealed in Chapter 7 that Death was the true mastermind behind Elgos and the events of the Grimoire's chaos, so he could revive his master. Chapter 9 further reveals that he disguised himself as Seward, even crafting the identity beforehand, specifically to manipulate everyone into unwittingly aiding in Dracula's resurrection. He ultimately succeeded in Chapter 10, and after Dracula, due to just freshly being resurrected, was bested by Alucard and the other Grimoire copies, Death offered his soul to ensure Dracula powered up, with Dracula stating he won't forget Death's loyalty to him.

General Information

Name: Death

Other Names: Grim Reaper, Seward, Zead

Origin: Castlevania

First Appearance: Castlevania (First release-wise appearance), Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (First timeline-wise appearance)

Latest Appearance: Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls

Company: Konami

Creator: Hitoshi Akamatsu, Koji Igarashi

Actor:

• Japanese Voice Actor: Masaharu Sato (Symphony of the Night, Lament of Innocnce, Curse of Darkness, & Harmony of Despair), Yasuhiko Tokuyama (Portrait of Ruin), Koichi Sakaguichi (Judgment)
• English Voice Actor: Patrick Seitz (Symphony of the Night), Dennis Falt (Symphony of the Night), Tom Wyner (Lament of Innocence, Curse of Darkness, Portrait of Ruin, & Harmony of Despair), Douglas Rye (Judgment)

Sex: Male

Sexuality: Asexual

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: Unknown

Homeworld: Unknown

Residence: Castlevania

Story Role: Supporting Antagonist, Lackey

Classification: Dracula's Servant, Death, Dracula's close friend

Species: God

State of Being: Abstract (Death is the embodiment of death)

Physiology: Unknown Physiology

In-Universe Creator: God

Occupation: None

Affiliations: Dracula (Noted to be Dracula's close friend), Slogra (Slogra is a direct subordinate of Death), Gaibon (Gaibon is a direct subordinate of Death)

Enemies: The Belmont Clan, The Morris Clan, The Belnades Clan, Cornell

Height: 220 cm

Weight: Unknown

Status: Has been both Alive & Deceased (Various powerful Vampire Hunters has killed him, with him coming back each time due to his master, Dracula's, will)

Date of Death: Lament of Innocence, Dracula's Curse, Curse of Darkness, Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Harmony of Dissonance, Rondo of Blood, Symphony of the Night, Order of Ecclesia, Bloodlines, Portrait of Ruin, Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow, Grimoire of Souls

Alignment: Lawful Evil (Death serves Dracula with unfailing loyalty, noting that he will do whatever is required if it serves Dracula's purpose)

Threat Level: Global Threat (Servant of Dracula, where in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Dracula plans to take over all of Europe, proceeded to amass an army to kill hundreds of soldiers to take over Europe, plagued the beautiful land located in the Southern Part of Romania into darkness by having devils attack it, plnned to spread his evil grip to the rest of Europe)

Codex Statistics

Key: 1000s | 1400s | 1500s | 1600s | 1700s | 1800s | 1900s | 2000s

Key Information

• 1000s: Covers the 1000s era of Death, which includes Castlevania: Lament of Innocence.
• 1400s: Covers the 1400s era of Death, which includes Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.
• 1600s: Covers the 1600s era of Death, which includes Castlevania: Order of Shadows, Castlevania, and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.
• 1700s: Covers the 1700s era of Death, which includes Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, & Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
• 1800s: Covers the 1800s era of Death, which includes Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness & Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.
• 1900s: Covers the 1900s era of Death, which includes Castlevania: Bloodlines & Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.
• 2000s: Covers the 2000s era of Death, which includes Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Castlevania: Requiem of the Divine Abyss, and Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls.

Grade: S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S

Tier: 7-C | 7-C | At least 7-C | At least 7-C | At least 7-C | At least 7-C | At least 7-C | At least 7-C

Cardinality: Finite

Dimensionality: 3-D

Attack Potency: Town level (Potency) (Alucard notes that Death is a force to be recokned with, where not one other of Dracula's henchman being able to compare, Dracula also serves as the absolute evil, the opposite to God, where for God to be perfectly good, there must be a being of perfect darkness, being the entity opposite to God, with such power making him far superior to Golem from Castlevania Judgment, as he died to a random unknown hunter after his return from the time rift. Golem with his ultimate can shoot out a mouth blast that vaporizes everything it touches as far as the eye can see getting these results) | Town level (Potency) (Can fight and harm Trevor Belmont. Can fight and harm Hector. A devil forgemasters power rivals that of Death, making him as strong as Hector & Isaac) | At least Town level (Potency) (Can fight and harm Christopher Belmont) | At least Town level (Potency) (Can fight and harm Simon Belmont) | At least Town level (Potency) (Juste Belmont remarks that Death has an overwheming power) | At least Town level (Potency) (Can fight and harm Shanoa) | At least Town level (Potency) (Can fight and harm Jonathan Morris & Charlotte Aulin) | At least Town level (Potency) (Noted by Soma to be have a strong, sophisticated power, along with "immeasurable" power)

Durability: Town level | Town level | At least Town level | At least Town level | At least Town level | At least Town level | At least Town level | At least Town level

Striking Strength: Town Class (Potency) | Town Class (Potency) | At least Town Class (Potency) | At least Town Class (Potency) | At least Town Class (Potency) | At least Town Class (Potency) | At least Town Class (Potency) | At least Town Class (Potency)

Lifting Strength: At least Class 10 (Alucard notes that Death is a force to be recokned with, where not one other of Dracula's henchman being able to compare, which should make him far superior to Hector's Battle-Type innocent devils who can move entire tree logs that are blocking roads out of the way where logs can weigh around 15 to 5 tons and Hector's battle-type innocent devils can lift open large iron doors that "no man could force open") | At least Class 10 | At least Class 10 | At least Class 10 | At least Class 10 | At least Class 10 | At least Class 10

Travel Speed: Superhuman regularly. At most Faster Than Light at top speeds (Alucard notes that Death is a force to be recokned with, where not one other of Dracula's henchman being able to compare, which should make him far superior to enemies like the Sky Fish, who moves so fast that it appears as a beam of light and is only slowed down when time is stopped and the White Demon, who can move at the speed of light at short distances) | Superhuman regularly. At most Faster Than Light at top speeds | Superhuman regularly. At most Faster Than Light at top speeds | Superhuman regularly. At most Faster Than Light at top speeds | Superhuman regularly. At most Faster Than Light at top speeds | Superhuman regularly. At most Faster Than Light at top speeds | Superhuman regularly. At most Faster Than Light at top speeds (Noted by Soma to be far faster than he remembered)

Attack Speed: At most Faster Than Light | At most Faster Than Light (Can tag 1400s Alucard, who can tag 1400s Dracula, who serves as the absolute evil, the opposite to God, where for God to be perfectly good, there must be a being of perfect darkness, being the entity opposite to God, making him faster then enemies such as the Sky Fish who moves so fast that it appears as a beam of light and is only slowed down when time is stopped and the White Demon, who can move at the speed of light at short distances) | At most Faster Than Light | At most Faster Than Light | At most Faster Than Light | At most Faster Than Light | At most Faster Than Light

Reaction Speed: At most Faster Than Light | At most Faster Than Light | At most Faster Than Light | At most Faster Than Light | At most Faster Than Light | At most Faster Than Light | At most Faster Than Light

Stamina: Limitless

Range: Varies through size (Death varies in size per game, being the size of a regular human to being building sized), Higher with Scythe and Attacks (His attacks reach this far), Planetary with Magic (Death diffused his magic across the world, following the traces of magical current)

Intelligence: Cosmic Intelligence (Death was able to tell that the age was on the verge of collapse from meeting Aeon)

Knowledge: Grandmaster level (Death has been meticulously preparing for resurrecting Dracula using his eternal life to prepare. Readying himself for whatever situation imaginable and will respond accordingly.

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Powers and Techniques

Superhuman Physical Characteristics (Even the smallest creatures of the night can destroy a bridge, one of Dracula's bats easily destroyed a stone ground block), Intimidation (Creatures of the nights appearances can cause one to have their body's cells cry out in terror), Immortality (Ageless; The biggest hindrance to humans when attempting to accomplish something being their limited lifespans, a limitation that cannot be overcome, however dwellers of the darkness do not apply to the laws of the human world, ignoring such limitations. Immortal Metaphysical Aspect; Creatures of the Night can continue to exist even as a spirit and use their spirit form to form bodies out of inanimate material around them), Acausality (Causality Immunity; All immortal beings disrupt the flow of time according to Aeon. The biggest hindrance to humans when attempting to accomplish something being their limited lifespans, a limitation that cannot be overcome, however dwellers of the darkness do not apply to the laws of the human world, ignoring such limitations), Free Will (Creatures of the Night do not follow the hand of God and instead choose of their own free will), Empowerment (Creatures of the night are empowered by the night, becoming stronger when it's night time), Evolution (Creatures of chaos can inherit evil natures awakening into stronger enemies with new abilities and less weaknesses), Resurrection (Self-Resurrection; Creatures of chaos can be brought back to life from the power of hate. This has also been shown with slain heads reviving as an angry wraith), Regeneration (Mid-Godly overtime; Even the castle from Castlevania is a Creature of Chaos, where they are always rebirth from Chaos with each rebirth, the creatures takes a new form, with this state being referred to as a "regeneration cycle"), Invisibility (Creatures of Chaos possess a natural aura of darkness, which makes one unable to see those with an aura of darkness by the naked eye), Time Manipulation (Passive; All immortal beings disrupt the flow of time according to Aeon), Darkness Manipulation & Subjective Reality (Creatures of chaos very existence causes dark powers to flow beyond the control of the Elgos' grimoires, due to them collecting documented information on Dracula and his castle. Causing their power to materialize in the real world in the form of monsters. With the real world and world of grimoires being one and the same), Text Manipulation & Plot Manipulation (Passive; Creatures of the night's dark powers allowed them to rewrite the Grimoires to greatly strengthen their dark powers. It is noted by Lucy that the "vital soul" of a monster is the cause of the grimoire chaos. Their vital souls are causing the grimoires contents to be overwritten changing history to things such as Jonathan Morris is now at a disadvantage in battle, or Charlotte fading from existence due to them messing with the history of the Grimoires, Maria starting to fade because Richter's history is being rewritten, where if the books contents change the creatures magic will keep growing and eventually overflow into reality, causing the grimoire to fall into chaos and even more monsters materializing into the real world. The text alterations also make the monsters stronger. With the real world and world of grimoires being one and the same), Law Manipulation (Creatures of Chaos can alter grimoires, which do not adhere to the laws of reality), Power Modification (Creatures of the night alterations of the Grimoire can greatly limit the powers of those far stronger then them, such as Jonathan Morris' power being limited due to the alterations. The Chaos of the Grimoire destabilized the magic of the others).

Resistance to Ice Manipulation & Absolute Zero (All enemies in Castlevania III: Dracula's curse can eventually break out of being frozen from Sypha's ice magic. Along with this to protect against ice attacks in series, one normally wears rings that help them resist against absolute zero), Time Manipulation (All immortal beings disrupt the flow of time according to Aeon. With time in Castlevania being so potent that not even eternity can withstand time, along with even artificial life being subject to the laws of time. Some creatures of chaos are immune to time stop, normally being boss level creatures), Fate Manipulation (All immortal beings disrupt the flow of time according to Aeon, with fate being a truth wound by time)

Social Influencing (Death is noted to be intelligent and good with words, being able to easily deceive people), Intimidation (Death is noted to portray utter fear, being the absolute presence, the awe, the religion, and the dark god), Disguise Mastery (Disguised himself as Zead, a false preise. Disguised himself as Seward, one of the heads of Elgos), Weapon Mastery (Scythe Mastery; Death is a master user of his scythe, showing great skill with it, despite a scythe not being a weapon but rather a tool), Transformation (Tranformative Arsenal; Transforms into a different state, when one defeats his first form), Extrasensory Perception (Death is able to tell who one is through the color of their soul), Large Size (At least Building Sized; His cloak covers the entire arena), Flight (Death naturally flies around and move around in the air), Afterimage Creation (Appeared through dozens of afterimages), Astral Projection (Can create astral enemies to attack for him), Weapon Creation (Creates multiple scythes to attack his foes), Weapon Control (Can control his scythes to move around and attack his opponents while he does things like pull them in with his vaccum attack. Can summon and throw his scythe to control. Can create three giant scythes that circle around him), Immortality (Life and Death Immunity; Death is unconstrained by mortality. Death is noted to be an immortal), Abstract Existence (Death is death, being the absolute presence, the awe, the religion, and the dark god. He refers to death itself as him. Noting that he is compeltely death and human death is only a part of Chaos. Olrox when seeing Death fight serious notes that he senses the overwhelming existence of death and states that death really exists), Aura (Death has an aura of energy emitting around him. Noted by Charlotte that Death is swirling with black magic), Nullification (Death stripped Alucard of all his powers and strength, requiring Alucard to level back up and regain everything), Invisibility (Can turn invisible during his battle), Intangibility (Phasing; He can turn himself intangible, where he cannot be attacked and instead one must deal enough damage to his spike), Cosmic Awareness (Death was able to tell that the age was on the verge of collapse from meeting Aeon), Immersion (Death is able to enter the grimoires, which Lucy notes to be impossible with her being the only one able to send people into grimoires. With him appearing in the books through nothing more than him possessing his image written in the text), Absorption (Death absorbs dark status related moves), Energy Absorption (Death can get hearts out of objects and enemies, where hearts are a measure of one's stored energy, thus one is absorbing energy when gaining hearts), Statistics Reduction (With the Gold Knife Carmilla's pupil becomes dim), Reliance (On Person [Dracula]; As long as Death's master survives, Death will rise from the dead. On Object [Castlevania]; Noted that even if Dracula no longer exists, the resurrection of the castle would also mean that Death was resurrected. On Concept [Chaos in Humanity]; Death will repeatedly emergy back as long as the chaos within humans still exist), Teleportation (Can fade into the darkness to teleport away. Can appear out of nowhere and teleported to kidnap Lydie), Duplication (Death can make duplications that all attack, duplicated himself into two in his fight against Christopher Belmont), Possession (Death can possess his image written in grimoires to where no matter what one does to him, they cannot destroy him. Death possessed Curtis' dying spirit, after his body was reduced to nothingness), Erasure (Metaphysical Erasure; Death's scythes eat away at one's existence, having them lose both body and spirit), Immortality Negation (Immortal Metaphysical Aspect; Death can permenantly kill Walter, despite vampires being able to come back to life despite them being killed due to being immortal), Homing Attack & Energy Projection (Death can shoot homing energy projectiles. Can shoot out pillars of light beams), Battlefield Removal (Forced Teleportation; Death could create a large energy of light, sending Leon to another realm. Faded away along with Rosa to escape Reinhardt. Took Hector to another realm to fight him in), Summoning (Death can summon his minions to attack), Sealing (Death sealed Ada within a crystal), Curtain Fire (Multi-Directional; Sends out scythes from both of his hands coming in from different directions attacking across the screen), Size Manipulation (Can extend the size of his sctyhe, giving it a blue glow), Vacuum Manipulation (Can cause a massive vacuum that pulls his target in), Space-Time Manipulation (Death made a space that was a barrier that is freed from the fetters of time), Spatial Manipulation (Can cause a room that allows him to loop around), Card Manipulation (Produces a six cards, each with unique effects, such as one shooting down bombs, one sending John/Eric to fight a boss on top of a spiral tower, one sending John/Eric to a clock room to fight a boss, one sending John/Eric to fight inside of a tower, and two producing food to heal), Portal Manipulation (Death can rip open portals in space. Emerged from a portal to fight against Richter Belmont), Glyph Manipulation (Conjures a glyph that he uses to make multiple scythes come out and attack), Supernatural Range (Can cover an entire room with a single swing of his scythe), Fire Manipulation (Can throw out fire projectiles to attack his foes. Can throw out a fire projectile that burns the entire boss arena), Explosion Manipulation (Unleashes a massive explosion of energy that pushes his foes back. His scythes can explode upon impact), Light Manipulation & Energy Manipulation (Can create large beams of light that attack across an area), Black Hole Manipulation (Death can create black holes to pull enemies in to use his scythe attacks on), Soul Manipulation (The candles in Castlevania are people's souls that were taken by Death or by vampires), Fate Manipulation & Death Manipulation (Abstract; Death governs the fate of death, being noted to have the power to govern the end of all living things. Death decides who lives and who dies, and can use his scythes to kill abstractions such as distance and sound. Death decides who lives and who dies), Fire Manipulation (Can shoot out fire projectiles that when they hit the ground they unleash fire waves), Electricity Manipulation (Released eletricity upon appearing in his boss fight against Christopher Belmont), Darkness Manipulation (Death's scythe is a natural dark elemental weapon that deals dark elemental damage. Released an energy of dark electricity upon appearing in his boss fight against Christopher Belmont), Air Manipulation (Death's scythe can create a multitude of air projectiles to attack foes with).

Resistance to Cosmic Awareness (Zead (Death) is the one being beyond Saint Germain's recollection), Death Manipulation (He is the very embodiment of Death itself), Darkness Manipulation & Hell Manipulation (Death has a natural resistance to darkness elemental attacks)

Resistance to Dracula's Castle's Abilities (Death is able to exist within Dracula's castle without any adverse effects). The Castle Abilities Include: Reality Warping (The Castle does not work on standard logic, where changing rooms can have one view a completely different background, such as room with a blue sky that is reflecting up and downwards and having the clouds rotate at a fast speed), Transmutation (Beings that come near are subject to the castle's influence, such as a local barnyard owl which was mutated just from flying near it), Possession (The castle possesses objects with its magic, such as a ouija table), Sealing (Dracula's magic captured Aguni, a primitive god of fire. The Castle has doors sealed off without solving puzzles. This can extend to walls being sealed off where explosions will not effect it until the seal is gone), Mind Manipulation (Everything that enters the castle is under the control by the power of Dracula's castle, the ghost of Eric Lecarde needed to cast a magic barrier to bind himself so he could be free from the control of the castle. The Castle corrupts the minds of those who enter it, such as making Maxim Kischine feel strange ever since coming to it. It also corrupted the mind of Hugh turning him against Nathan with Nathan noting he's being controlled by Dracula. The castle increases one's dark desires, allowing Dracula to easily control them. The magic of Dracula's power that empowers the owl enemy also spurs it to violence), Madness Manipulation (The Castle warped Gergoth, a once-gentle beast and drove it mad), Size Manipulation (Magically enlarged a toad through the use of demonic baptism), Fear Manipulation (Even while far away, Curtis and Michelle felt malicious intent from the castle where their bodies seemed to squeal "run away". Michelle even being at the entrance to the castle had her body telling her to not go in and her leg muscles being petrified like stone), Curse Manipulation (The Curse status that spirits inflict comes from them absorbing the magic power around the castle. The Castle cursed a human to turn into a lizard man), Life Manipulation (The castle can bring inanimate statues to life to attack. Can cause the glass murals to come to life and attack), Soul Manipulation (Those that die in the castle become one of the floating spirits that wander the halls of the castle for eternity), Abstract Manipulation & Hell Manipulation (The castle can create a core of evil made from hatred, envy, anger and other dark emotions)

Gravity Manipulation (With Gravity Circle, which generates a gravity wave overhead that crushes any enemy that touches it), Earth Manipulation (With Jagged Earth, summons sharp spires of bedrock and shoot up from the ground ahead)

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Equipment

• Scythe: His scythe he uses to reap souls, along with this, he can use it to spawn multiple scythes to attack opponents, enlarge it, and ignore distance altogether.

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Notable Techniques

• Deathscythe: One of Death's signature abilities is summoning numerous scythes or sickles to aid him in battle or create a distraction while he focuses on reaping. Death can generate scythes of various sizes—small, medium, or large—that cover extensive areas. Typically, the summoning is automatic, filling the room with a barrage of sickles from every direction. However, when Death fights his opponent directly, he summons the scythes more purposefully, aiming them at his target (as seen in Super Castlevania IV and Castlevania: Rondo of Blood). Only two humans have used this spell: Hector, by crafting Death’s Scythe, and Soma Cruz, who commands Death’s soul, consuming 10 MP per second.

• Dead Tempest: Death has only used this spell on two occasions: against Leon Belmont and Hector. This fire-based ability unleashes a wave of flames that engulfs enemies, covering a broad area with its intense heat.

• Spirit Summon: At times, Death can call forth various spirits in different forms to attack and overwhelm his foes. One of his frequent summons includes his own personal minions.

• Teleportation: Death can teleport in several ways to disorient and distract his opponents. He often uses long-range teleportation by opening a portal of darkness or slicing open a portal.

• Dimensional Rift: Death can create a dimensional rift to disorient and injure his enemies. This alternate realm greatly enhances his powers.

• Physical/Spiritual Shift: During his battle with Jonathan and Charlotte, Death demonstrates his control over physical tangibility by shifting between realms. When fully present in the physical world, Death becomes vulnerable to regular attacks but is nearly immune to energy and mental assaults. The reverse applies when he retreats into the spiritual realm.

• Astral Chains: Also in his encounter with Jonathan and Charlotte, Death summons chains ending in metallic hands from multiple portals. These hands can link together, forming a loose cage that creates his kill zone, where he typically throws his scythe to spin and ricochet within. The chained hands can also strike and bind enemies, setting up for a lethal execution from Death. Once bound, escape is impossible without outside assistance.

Scythe Combos

Neutral Combo

Directional Combo

Jumping Attack

Corpse Hunt

Death uses his scythe to make a spinning scythe attack around him and finishes it with a forward charge while his scythe covers him.

Teleport Dodge

Death dashes foward and teleports a couple of meters.

Spinning Scythe

Death throws the scythe and it spins around him.

The Reaping

Death throws the scythe, which home sin on the opponent. It has great range and lasts longer when the button is held.

Twin Sickles

Death throws two sickles at his opponent.

Orb of Gahena

Death charges and fires a black orb that freezes the opponent.

Judgment

Death grabs the opponent and hits them onto his scythe, he then pulls through them and follow up with a slash.

The Gates of Hell

Death summons fallen souls to seize and hold his opponent in place. The victim perceives an illusion of Death, which disappears, leaving them confused and taunted. Death then announces that the Gates of Hell are open. He transforms his hook into a blade, stabs the victim, dislodges their head, and "swallows" their soul. This act implies that the Gates of Hell may be through Death's jaws, enabling him to consume the souls of his defeated foes.

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Other

Standard Tactics: Much similar to Dracula, Death will not immediately go to fight his foe, instead waiting for them to reach his premises and come to attack them. As he governs life and death, he is easily able to kill a foe, however, if one resists that, Death will utilize his scythe along with other magic attacks.

Weaknesses

• Creature of the Night Weaknesses: Creatures of the night become weaker when exposed to the morning sun. Garlic significantly weakens creatures of the night, and causes demons to die if its placed on the ground. If a vital soul is defeated, the grimoire will revert back to its original content.
• Unique Weaknesses: Death is weak to holy related attacks.

Note

• Contrary to popular belief, holy attacks and the whips in Castlevania can affect and harm people that aren't apart of the creatures of the night. Leon's Doppelganger can use holy water and holy attacks against him in this fight along with the alchemy whip despite Leon being a pure and noble warrior. Simon's Doppelganger can harm him with the vampire killer, despite Simon being a noble hero.
• There are many arguments over whether or not Death is actually Death itself or a symbol of Death. This comes from one portion of the Akumajo Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku novel where Olrox states that Death is a symbol of death and that "death has extended his arm on you", however there is some missing context to this. Firstly, Olrox during this part of the battle is trash-talking Death. He says things like how he doesn't intend to control Death's soul in the same fight. Later on when they fight again, Olrox notes that "death" really exists and proceeds to refer to Death as purely "death" and not a symbol of death. Death himself states to Michelle that he is death and that human death only comprises a part of chaos. In Castlevania The Arcade he is outright called Death. Some people will also use the translators statement that there is Death the monster and Death the death, however this is a fan translator with no real say or hold over the Castlevania canon or continuity.

Trivia

• In Japanese mythology, a "death god" (shinigami) is the name for a type of being (of many) rather than the western idea of a single Grim Reaper. It is noteworthy, however, that Death is called as such in a minority of games, even the Japanese versions, making it possible that Death is, in fact, the sole Grim Reaper from western folklore.
• Often, Death's HP/EXP values only contain numbers four (4), or they are multiples of four in some obvious way. This is a Japanese-language-specific pun, as the pronunciation of the number "four" and the word for "death" are phonetically identical ("shi").
• The fact Death is mostly fought in or near a clock tower may be because the inevitability of death in all living creatures is usually referred to as "a matter of time".
• In Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge, when the player walks across the bridge that leads to Dracula, several statues that resemble Death can be seen in the background.
• Aside from his role as a boss in Castlevania: Bloodlines, the April 1994 issue of Beep! MegaDrive implies that Drolta Tzuentes may have actually been an alias for Death.
• Death's appearance planned in Castlevania: Resurrection resembles the pale horse in Gustave Doré's painting Death on the Pale Horse.
• In Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, the game has been observed to occasionally crash after Death is defeated when his second form is sucked into the black hole. This is especially prevalent when playing a ROM of the game on PC via an emulator, sometimes rendering the game impossible to continue due to crashing occurring either consistently or always.
• In Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, Death's second form is very similar to Ouroboros from the Strider series.
• Despite his loyalties to Dracula, Death fights Soma Cruz in both games he has appeared in, even though, technically, Soma is the reincarnation of Dracula.
  • In the light novel Akumajō Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisōkyoku, Death explains he will serve anyone who is willing to heed the calling of Chaos and take up Dracula's name. It is possible that Death wanted Soma dead to allow the power of Chaos to possess him, and therefore revive Dracula, or that he had no interest in Soma since he didn't want to heed the calling of Chaos while other candidates did. In Grimoire of Souls he notes he has no care for Soma and only for Dracula, however in the novel he notes to Soma he will not befit any harm to him and to continue living his life in peace as a human. Death's inconsistent relationship with Soma is likely due to different writers having different interpretations of Soma's relationship with Death.
• Aside from his role as a boss in Dawn of Sorrow, Death also makes a brief cameo in the game over sequence for the same game, where he's seen holding a white flame (implied to be Soma's soul).
  • Similarly, even though Death does not have a major role in Order of Shadows, he does make a cameo during the game over sequence, where he appears and descends upon Desmond Belmont's corpse.
• Galamoth has his own version of Death ten thousand years in the future, the Time Reaper. The Time Reaper heavily resembles Death from Curse of Darkness, and even Death himself acknowledge this in his True Story Mode.
• Death disguising himself as a priest in Curse of Darkness is inspired by a scene in Ingmar Bergman's classic 1957 film, The Seventh Seal.
• In Portrait of Ruin, inside of Death's boss room in the Tower of Death, there are two statues of creatures that resemble Gaibon, possibly referencing this monster's allegiance to him alongside with Slogra.
• In The Dracula X Chronicles, Death says: "Face me, boy!" even if the player is playing as Maria Renard.

Battle Records

14 - 19 - 2

• Brauner - Fight
  • Conditions: Brauner was already defeated and weakened by Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin.
  • Location: Master's Keep
  • Note: Due to Death along with Dracula being the hardest fight for Jonathan and Charlotte, it is likely that Death would be able to defeat Brauner without needing to wait for Jonathan and Charlotte to weaken him.

• Slogra & Gaibon - Fight
  • Conditions: Slogra and Gaibon were not their regular selves.
  • Location: Castlevania

• Olrox - Fight ([1], [2], [3])
  • Conditions: Death had help from Michelle Danasty
  • Location: Castlevania

• Aeon - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift

• Carmilla - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Trevor Belmont - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Cornell - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Grant Danasty - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Simon Belmont - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Golem - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Eric Lecarde - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Alucard - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift
  • Note: Fights against characters in the time rift are technically not the actual characters but one's desires being made within the time rift, such as why some characters like Dracula kill others in their story mode but the characters is alive and defeats Time Reaper in their own story mode, never meeting Dracula.

• Aeon - Fight
  • Conditions: Match was a rematch.
  • Location: Time Rift

• Time Reaper - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Time Rift

• Leon Belmont - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Pagoda of the Misty Moon

• Trevor Belmont, Sypha Belnades, Grant Danasty, & Alucard - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Castle Entrance

• Hector - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Dracula's Castle

• Christopher Belmont - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 5 of Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth

• Simon Belmont - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 15 of Castlevania

• Simon Belmont - Fight
  • Conditions: The match was a rematch.
  • Location: Brahams Mansion

• Juste Belmont - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Castle A: Luminous Cavern

• Richter Belmont - Fight
  • Conditions: Match was a rematch.
  • Location: Stage 5: Ghost Ship

• Maria Renard - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 5: Ghost Ship

• Alucard - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Reverse Caverns

• Reinhardt Schneider - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 8 in Castlevania 64

• Shanoa - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Mechanical Tower

• John Morris - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 6-6 in Castlevania Bloodlines

• Eric Lecarde - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 6-6 in Castlevania Bloodlines

• Jonathan Morris & Charlotte Aulin - Fight
  • Conditions: Jonathan & Charlotte teamed up.
  • Location: Tower of Death

• Jonathan Morris & Charlotte Aulin - Fight
  • Conditions: Jonathan & Charlotte teamed up. Death was teaming up with Dracula.
  • Location: Throne Room

• Soma Cruz - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Clock Tower

• Soma Cruz - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Mine of Judgment

• Olrox - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Castlevania

• Saint Germain - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Forest Jigramunt
  • Note: Saint Germain easily dodged most of Death's attacks and merely left after dodging them.

• Richter Belmont - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Stage 0
  • Note: Death left after Ricther fended off his attacks.