National Defense Divinities

The National Defense Divinities are a group of nine powerful demons in Shin Megami Tensei IV and Apocalypse.
==Appearances==
*Shin Megami Tensei IV
*Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse
==Profile==
===Shin Megami Tensei IV===
The National Defense Divinities are deities of Japanese origin who wish to save the country and its people, having pledged loyalty to the nation. Omoikane states them all to have been souls who did great deeds for the nation in the past, becoming spirits of national defense to defend it later on as their reward. They were originally part of the Counter-Demon Force 25 years ago, but over time Tayama and the Ashura-kai obtained the mediums of six of them, forcing them to work for his group as well as be revived as many times as Tayama wishes. They despise Tayama and his organization, but are unable to act against his will. Each one turns into a huge stone slab upon defeat.
Koga Saburo, the first one to be met in combat, is met outside Club Milton in Shibuya; the Ashura-kai seize his medium upon defeat. The next one is Tenkai, who guards Midtown and must be destroyed to advance. Following Tenkai, Yaso Magatsuhi prowls within the Reverse Hills Building; attacking and defeating him is optional when revisiting the facility after the events of the Samurai's first visit.
If following Lilith's path, the last three Divinities under the Ashura-Kai are confronted at Camp Ichigaya, after a brief scuffle with a revived Koga Saburo. Michizane and Omoikane seal the path to the Yamato Perpetual Reactor and Yamato Takeru serves as Tayama's personal bodyguard.
In either route except for the White Ending, after the events of Infernal Tokyo, the Master Samurai formerly held captive by the Ashura-Kai in Roppongi Hills will seize the mediums of whatever Divinities were defeated before the activation of the reactor and hand them over to Flynn when talked to there.
In the Neutral Route, Skins will present Masakado's Katana, the single medium not to ever fall into the hands of the Ashura-Kai, to Flynn after a meeting at Cafe Florida. Skins then issues the instruction to unsheathe it at the main crossroads in Ginza to reawaken Masakado.
To unlock each Divinity for fusion, each of the stone slabs must be visited with the adequate medium in Flynn's possession. Due to this and to Lucifer Palace superimposing upon Camp Ichigaya, only Yaso Magatsuhi (optionally, if confronted in Reverse Hills before the activation of the reactor), Tenkai and Koga Saburo are unlockable in the Law path. Six Divinities are unlockable in either Chaos or Neutral paths, and the seventh, Masakado, is exclusive to the Neutral path.
===Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse===
Lucifer obtained all the mediums save for Masakado's, which is wielded by Flynn and later kept safe by Isabeau after the Divine Powers take him captive. Lucifer orders Abe to hand over Tenkai's medium to Nanashi in order to learn how to stop the Tokugawa Mandala.
The origin of the Divinities is revealed in the Challenge Quest Defeat the Ghosts, where the ultra-nationalist Cabinet Minister Tamagami had countless inhumane experiments performed on death row prisoners and others like Noa to summon deities of Japan for the sake of "National Defense," transforming most of them into their current forms.
==Members==
*Yamato Takeru: Tayama's personal demon guard, confronted in Camp Ichigaya. He is controlled with "Yaizu's Flint."
*Yaso Magatsuhi: The only optional one among the group, confronted in Reverse Hills. His sweet smelling gas is used to produce Red Pills. Controlling him requires the medium "Hades Soil."
*Omoikane: The Wisdom General, one of the two Divinities defending Camp Ichigaya's lower levels. One must possess "Yagokoro's Brain" to control him.
*Michizane: The Thunder God, the second Divinity defending Camp Ichigaya's lower levels. "Tobiume's Shoot" is what allows control over him.
*Tenkai: The guardian of Midtown. He is controlled by the medium "Myoko's Disk."
*Koga Saburo: The newest member to fall into the Ashura-kai's possession; Tayama obtains "Ryoja's Scales," his medium, after Flynn defeats him. Said to have butchered countless Gaeans during the war between them and the Ashura-kai for Camp Ichigaya. He is confronted in both Club Milton and in the underpass between Shibuya and Ichigaya.
*Masakado: The Guardian of Tokyo who became the ceiling along with the young man who slew himself. The medium that controls him is his katana. The slab holding the remnants of his power is at the crossroads in Ginza.
*Take-Mikazuchi: Revealed to be a member in Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse.
*Izanami: The final member, whose summoning was stopped 25 years ago and required the death of her living medium, Noa.
==Trivia==
*The National Defense Divinities are implied to be the same demons Take-Mikazuchi speaks of in his Challenge Quest concerning demons summoned during a great war one hundred years ago.
*Out of all of the Divinities, Masakado is the only one to have a more powerful form: Fury Masakado's Shadow.
*It has been confirmed that National Defense Divinities are not exclusive to Japan and are held by every nation on Earth during the events of Shin Megami Tensei IV.
Category:Organization
Category:Shin Megami Tensei IV