Changes: Malladus

Revision as of 10:01, 18 May 2015

Template:Character Malladus, also known as the Demon King, is the name of the primary antagonist of Spirit Tracks. He is a powerful demon that once terrorized the land that would eventually be home to the new kingdom of Hyrule, but was locked away beneath the altar of the Tower of Spirits by the Spirits of Good of the land after a prolonged war between them.^[1]^[2]^[3] The Spirit Tracks and the Tower of Spirits act as the lock to Malladus's underground prison, and as long as they remained intact, Malladus would be safely bound within.^[4]

In Spirit Tracks, the kingdom's chancellor, Chancellor Cole, seeks to release Malladus from his prison and help him return to his former strength.

Biography

See also: Spirit War

Malladus makes his debut in Spirit Tracks as an extremely powerful demon that once terrorized the land and its first settlers. Over a century later, Hyrule's Chancellor Cole develops a scheme to free Malladus from his prison and unleash him upon the land once again. To do this, he causes large sections of the Spirit Tracks, which serve as the locks to his prison, to begin to vanish. This event causes alarm and suspicion with the land's monarch, Princess Zelda. Although she goes to investigate the reasoning behind the disappearance of the tracks with the help of Link and Alfonzo, Chancellor Cole drops his guise and reveals himself to be a follower of Malladus.^[5] He commands Byrne to incapacitate Link and Alfonzo, and stealing Zelda's body to use it as a vessel to restore Malladus to full power.^[6]^[7] This marks the beginning of a quest for Link to retrieve Zelda's body, restore the Tower of Spirits, revive Zelda completely, and ultimately stop the Malladus's return to power.

Malladus zelda — Malladus after being revived in Princess Zelda's body.

After Link defeats Byrne on the top of the Tower of Spirits, he rushes up to the Altar of the Demon King where Malladus had just started taking control of Zelda's body atop the Tower of Spirits. Byrne then demands that Malladus give him a gift of power for his role in the recovery; however, Malladus only attacks him, knocking him out cold.^[8] As Malladus has not yet acclimated to his new body,^[9]^[10] though, this exertion is all that he can handle at the moment; he escapes with Cole on the Demon Train, retreating to the Dark Realm.

Anjean tells Link and Zelda to travel to the fifth temple, the Sand Temple in the Sand Realm, and retrieve the Bow of Light, an ancient relic wielded by the Spirits of Good during their war against Malladus.^[11] According to the Lokomo, the ancient relic has the power to split the soul of one from their body.^[12] Upon obtaining the Bow of Light, Byrne (now working with Link) reveals that the only way to track down Cole and Malladus is to use the Compass of Light hidden beneath the Altar of the Demon King atop the Tower of Spirits.^[13] After obtaining the compass, Link, Zelda, Byrne, and Anjean travel to the Dark Realm to confront Malladus and Cole. Link manages to damage the Demon Train, allowing himself and Zelda to climb on top of it. There, Malladus completes his resurrection, taking total control of Zelda's body.^[14] Link and Zelda then fight their way through Malladus and Cole's attacks to the front of the train, where Zelda seizes Malladus; Link then uses the Bow of Light to banish Malladus from Zelda's body. In the ensuing chaos, the Demon Train is destroyed, and all of them are thrown out of the Dark Realm.

Amidst the wreckage of the destroyed Demon Train, Malladus is forced out of Zelda's body. Zelda tries to reclaim her physical form, but finds that for some reason she can't;^[15] Malladus tries to repossess her,^[16] but he is stopped by Byrne, who gives Zelda the strength to re-enter her body.^[17] As revenge, Malladus kills Byrne, to Cole's applause.^[18] At this point, Malladus possesses Cole instead, transforming him into an immense beast. Malladus is unable to maintain his hold on Cole's body for long, but as he says, he has enough time to reduce the world to ruin.^[19] After a long battle, Malladus is finally defeated by Link and Zelda, and he and his vessel, Cole, are both destroyed.

Strategy

In the battle, Link defends Princess Zelda from Malladus's fireball attacks. After which, she channels her powers with the Spirit Flute's, and her and Link create a duet with her voice and the flute. This reveals Malladus's true weak point which could only be harmed by the Bow of Light. Link must then distract Malladus and have Zelda aim at his back. If done correctly, Zelda will fire one arrow into his back, causing damage. After three shots, a gem forms on Malladus's forehead and Link must strike at it and Malladus' horns. After another three shots, Link must complete the same thing again, destroying the other horn. A final arrow into Malladus' back will force him down and Link must drive the sword clear through Malladus's skull. Zelda then comes to his assistance, and together the two manage to shatter the ruby, killing both Cole and Malladus and returning peace to Hyrule.

Trivia

The Spanish (Spain only), French and Italian versions of Spirit Tracks refers to him as "Mallard", which is the name of the fastest steam-powered train ever built, and is also the derivative name for the English one.^[20]

Gallery

MalladusCole-Artwork.png

Artwork of Malladus with Cole as a host

References

↑ "This is a tale from long ago. It's the tale of the first settlers of this land. In the beginning, the people followed the spirits of good, and all was peaceful. But that era of peace soon came to an end. The evil Demon King rose to power, destroying everything in his path. The spirits of good had no choice but to face him in battle. The war that ensued seemed to last an eternity, and much blood was shed. Finally, the spirits subdued the Demon King, though they could not destroy him. Their powers were greatly depleted." — Introduction (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "Does this mean we stopped the Demon King's resurrection? At any rate, we should go to the altar at the top, where he's imprisoned." — Princess Zelda (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "The Tower of Spirits is back to normal! Now we can get to the altar where the Demon King sleeps." — Princess Zelda (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "With their remaining power, they buried the Demon King's spirit in the ground. They built shackles to imprison him, and a tower that acted as a lock. These shackles cover the land to this day." — Introduction (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "My goodness, pretending to be human is exhausting. Who knew that chancellor was just another word... for royal babysitter?! I had meant to keep up the ruse a bit longer. But you pushed me to this, Princess." — Cole (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "I'm talking about your infernal meddling! But now that those vile tracks are disappearing, the time is finally at hand! All we need now is... A little help--hee hee--from you, Your Highness!" — Cole (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "Of course, in order to resurrect Malladus, they need one other key ingredient... A vessel from the royal line of ancient Hyrule, with sacred power coursing through its veins. Yes, Malladus requires YOU in order to return. But... only your shell, my dear. It would be the only vessel suitable for him to inhabit." — Anjean (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "Oh, Demon King Malladus... I am the one who has freed you from your prison! Grant me the power I have dreamed of!" — Byrne (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "Unnnnngh... Groorreeerk... RAAAAAAAWRRRR!" — Malladus (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "Do not fear, Your Majesty. You simply aren't used to your new body yet." — Cole (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "Go to the final temple, the Sand Temple. The Bow of Light is located deep inside. It will be the most difficult place you've visited yet. It was built only to protect the Bow of Light, so it's full of the trickiest of traps and surprises. The temple will test all of your abilities." — Anjean (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "In the battle between the Demon King and the spirits, there was a weapon called the Bow of Light... Perhaps it can drive his spirit from your body. There's not much time to rid your body of his spirit. Resting even a moment could cost you your life. However... If we force out the spirit of Malladus, my dear, I don't know what will happen to your body. If things go wrong... Your spirit might not be able to reenter." — Anjean (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "There is a way to find it. The area where Malladus was resurrected... Below that altar is a hidden section of tracks. Somewhere down there is the Compass of Light. Only it can lead you to the Demon Train." — Byrne (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "You again... The Demon King's return is nigh, you know. Yet, here you are, making a nuisance of yourselves! You insolent little fools! It's time you received the punishment you deserve! Your Majesty! Your resurrection is complete! Please use your power to destroy these two!" — Cole (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "Why... why isn't this working?" — Princess Zelda (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "Stop! That vessel belongs to His Majesty! Quickly, Your Majesty! You must hurry back to Zelda's body!" — Cole (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "You cannot give up now! Your body has the sacred power of the spirits! Now concentrate on reclaiming it! After all... Didn't you say you wanted to have words with me?" — Byrne (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "Bravo, Your Majesty! Bravo! But time is short, Your Majesty. Please do away with the boy and capture Zelda." — Cole (Spirit Tracks)
↑ "This vessel...is...rejecting my spirit. I'm...slipping from it... I can't hold on for long... But the world will crumble in the time I have left!" — Malladus (Spirit Tracks)
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Names in Other Regions
Language		Name	Meaning
	Japanese	Template:Japanese	Mallard
	French^CA	Malabuth
	French^EU	Mallard
	German	Marardo
	Italian	Mallard
	Spanish^EU	Mallard
	Spanish^LA	Malhadus, el maligno