Death Sword

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Death Sword

Game(s)	Twilight Princess
Dungeon(s)	Arbiter's Grounds
Weakness(es)	Head, Bow, Sword, Clawshot
Reward(s)	Spinner

Death Sword is the mini-boss of the Arbiter's Grounds dungeon in Twilight Princess. The Death Sword is one of the few creatures, Poes included, that reveal their true form when seen through Wolf Link's finely tuned wolf senses; the body of the Death Sword is normally invisible to the naked eye.

Strategy

The runes covering the Sword begin to glow as it awakens

When Link enters the room, the Death Sword is found embedded in the ground, bound by ropes. Cutting one of the ropes binding the Death Sword causes the evil magic within the blade to awaken and burn away the rest, thus beginning the battle. Link must transform into wolf form and use his senses to see the Death Sword's master. When it attacks and gets its sword stuck in the floor, Wolf Link must jump at it and start biting to make it visible. Afterwards, he can shoot it with arrows while it is floating in the air to stun him. Alternatively, he can use the Clawshot or the Gale Boomerang to do the job. It then flies in circles around Link, and finally attempts to strike him with its sword, at which point it gets stuck again, leaving its head vulnerable. Repeating this process a few times puts an end to the Death Sword, and Link is free to claim the Spinner in the next room.

Theory

Theory Warning

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At the start of the battle, papers are seen dangling from the ropes that hold the sword down. If looked at closely, they appear to have ancient inscriptions written upon them. This may mean that the Death Sword was a demon from the ancient times. It seems that the people living in the Gerudo Desert were unable to defeat the demon (considering he is invisible to the human eye), so they sealed him in his sword. In terms of the sword, it seems that it was an object of Ganondorf's origin because at the end of the battle, the sword is the only thing to burst into dark energy, while Death Sword himself turns into a group of flies and exits through the roof. This may mean that Death Sword was aided by Ganondorf, and used to kill the people of the desert. If this theory was to be true, it may explain the absence of the Gerudo tribe.

Some fans mistakenly believe that Death Sword's neck is "bent" and believe that this may indicate a cause of death. However, a close examination of its behavior, as well as his animation files, reveal that its neck is always relatively straight and that it is in fact its entire back that bends to the side and not just its neck. The confusion lays with Death Sword's cloak, which obscures its spine and lower neck, which falsely leads people to believe it is just its neck that bends.

Video Guide

Trivia

Death Sword shares many of his characteristics with Phantom Ganon: the horns, the skull face, an ability to fly and disappear, and a similar sword. Phantom Ganon may have served as a concept for Death Sword.
During the first part of the battle, Death Sword shuffles in a similar manner to Dead Hand.
Death Sword also wears similar-styled clothes to Ganondorf's in The Wind Waker.
Both this creature and Phantom Zant share a unique mini-boss theme.
Some players have experienced a glitch that renders half of the battle complete before Link even walks into the room. When Link does, Death Sword will act as if that phase has been complete, with his sword raised, ready to attack.
Death Sword shares its French name with Gomess, Faucheur, which means "harvester", alluding to the Grim Reaper.