Devil

The Devil is an enemy in the Castlevania series. It is a creature spawned from the deepest abyss of Hell.
==Description==
The Devil is a powerful type of demon, and is sometimes the most powerful type of demon or regular enemy in a game. Nothing suggests that these enemies represent the religious Devil or Satan characters. The first devils were localized as "Gargoyles" in the North American version of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. The Devil was called "Ctulhu" (a misspelling of "Cthulhu") in the North American version of Symphony of the Night, a reference to H. P. Lovecraft's lore. In general demon rankings, these are ranked higher than a Lesser Demon, but lower than an Arc Demon.
==Appearances==
===Castlevania II: Simon's Quest===
First appearance of this enemy in the series. The first encounter with a Devil takes place just as Simon has acquired the Dracula's Rib relic and is heading toward the exit of Berkeley Mansion. The Devil may pose a threat as he has higher speed and mobility than most enemies encountered so far; he randomly hops around and can also spew two fireballs simultaneously, each in a different angle, one upward and the other downward. Meeting him is the perfect opportunity to try Dracula's Rib, as selecting it will arm Simon with a shield with which he'll be able to deflect the fireballs and have a better opportunity to counterattack.
In the American version of Simon's Quest, the Devil was renamed as "The Gargoyle", likely due to Nintendo's regulations against including religious or explicit content in games distributed for their console at the time. Years later, however, a proper Gargoyle enemy was introduced to the series in Super Castlevania IV.
===Castlevania: Symphony of the Night===
The Devil is called "Ctulhu" in the North American version of Symphony of the Night and is fought as a regular enemy, although a highly powerful one. Due to his large size, he may be difficult to avoid. It's possible to dash under him using the Wolf Form ability, although that takes practice. An easier method to either weaken him or get past him altogether is by transforming into a bat and performing a Wing Smash, and/or throwing vials of Holy Water where he stands to deal massive damage (although sometimes he tends to remain airborne).
His attacks can be very powerful, one of them is melee-based and the other two are elemental-based:
*His first attack is just swiping at the player with his hand, knocking them back.
*In his second attack, he swipes his hand at the player from a distance, causing an Ice-based shockwave to be fired off at their direction. This attack can be double jumped over, although it is required to time it right as it's very fast.
*The last attack is a triple-fireball attack which can be easily avoided by either hitting it or crouching under it.
The enemy Malachi is a monster similar to Ctulhu in this game (a modified sprite). However, Malachi resembles more the Cthulhu deity from H. P. Lovecraft's lore, portraying him with an octopus-like head with a tentacled face, while Ctulhu is just portrayed with a demonic face with ram-like horns on his forehead.
===Castlevania: Circle of the Moon===
The Devil is the most powerful minor enemy in the game and is the final enemy encountered in the Battle Arena, acting like a final boss of sorts of this area. He has a variety of potent Darkness-elemental attacks:
*Often teleports behind the player in an attempt to take them off guard.
*His most common attack consists in projecting a dark cloud stream from his hand that moves in a wave-like pattern and has very long range. It's difficult to hit him during this move, as the player will be forced to move far away from the monster to avoid the attack. It's possible for the player to slide under the attack before it begins, though, leaving the Devil vulnerable to a couple strikes.
*Creates a shield made of dark energy from one of his hands, which will deflect any frontal attacks. This shield will dissipate early if the player manages to get past it as it is forming, although speed will be of the essence; if the player is too slow, they can be damaged by the shield.
*From time to time, he will create dark pillars of flame that stretch across the floor. A well-timed double jump or making use of the Roc Wing may allow the player to escape harm.
*His most powerful attack consists in him rising in the air and engulfing himself inside a dark tornado. This temporarily renders most forms of standard attacks ineffective, but long range attacks (such as the Mercury + Golem combination or the Dagger) can hit the Devil while this is occurring.
Since the use of MP is restricted to the player in the Battle Arena, throwing Crucifixes continuously at him while maintaining enough distance is a good option.
Should the player find themself in need of protection, they may find use in the Neptune + Black Dog combination. Even though this leaves them with a lower STR rating due to it taking the place of another, potentially damaging card combination, it effectively renders the Devil as little more than a hardy obstacle, since all of his attacks are of the Darkness element, with the additional benefit of also nullifying the threat of a few other monsters in that particular section of the game.
Note: Second stat listed is when encountered in the Battle Arena.
===Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance===
The Devil acts as the boss of the Sky Walkway in Castle A. He attacks by spewing fireballs, swiping directly at Juste, producing a sweeping ground laser-like energy ray while he's hovering in the air, or by landing on the ground and letting go another laser-like energy ray horizontally (usually followed by a hook punch if the player is close enough). Direct contact with him causes Curse status (which can be countered if the player has acquired the Eye of Vlad beforehand).
If after hovering, the Devil lands on one of the two platforms located in the room, switching to and throwing standard Axes is recommended, as they'll have the potential of hitting the monster multiple times along their arcing trajectory (up to three or four times). If the Devil lands on the ground and starts gathering energy through his mouth, that means he'll next shoot his straightforward beam; quickly get near him, crouch and start striking him with the whip. Care must be taken, though, because as soon as he finishes this attack, he'll follow it with a quick hook punch that will curse the player, so be ready to dash away at that moment.
A couple of Devils can be found in a room of the Marble Corridor in Castle B as semi-regular enemies. Even though they're encountered near the end of the game, it's not advised to fight them both at the same time, as they're still remarkably resilient. A good way to quickly weaken them is by casting the Soul of Hydra Spell Fusion (Axe + Fire Book), which will summon a hydra that will home toward them and inflict constant damage for a determined period of time while the player can keep a safe distance.
===Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow===
In Aria of Sorrow, the Devil fights similarly to his other demonkind, the Flame Demon, the Arc Demon and the Demon Lord, by punching outward –left and right– with each fist and by flying about, attempting to inflict contact damage with his massive body. Nonetheless, he is rather easy to defeat, being the first of his kind to appear in the game. Unlike the other types of demons, the Devil doesn't have any fire elemental attacks.
===Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow===
In Dawn of Sorrow, the Devil is a flying monster in the same vein as Arc Demons and Flame Demons. He appears from a large rune when approached and then proceeds to attack with a low flying kick.
Devils can be sporadically encountered in the Demon Guest House, the Subterranean Hell and the Cursed Clock Tower, where they'll suddenly materialize out of thin air when the player gets near a specific spot in certain rooms. However, they also have a chance to appear in The Abyss as one of the three possible enemies summoned by Stolas (along with Erinys and the Flame Demon).
When the Devil dies, he will be sucked into a portal, along with any other objects that break nearby.
His soul, appropriately named Demonic Contract, when activated grants Soma Cruz a great boost in STR, although each second that passes he'll be damaged for 10 HP as a tradeoff.
===Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia===
The Devil retakes his appearance from Symphony of the Night in this game. Not many considerable attacks have been added to his repertoire, although he's more skilled with his fireball attacks.
Nonetheless, he is a favorite among players to level up quickly. In the Final Approach, two Devils can be found near the entrance to one room. The player can enter the room, kill both Devils, exit and reenter the room as many times as necessary, gaining massive experience points and AP each time.
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
Devil - Simon's Quest - 01.png|Devil (renamed "The Gargoyle" in America) from the Japanese Simon's Quest instruction booklet.
HoD 047.png|Devil enemy list entry from Harmony of Dissonance.
AoS 049.png|Devil enemy list entry from Aria of Sorrow.
Dxc 031.png|Ctulhu enemy list entry from The Dracula X Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night.
==Trivia==
*The Devil has 666 MP in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, referencing the number of the beast.
==See also==
*Demon
*Gargoyle
*Malachi
*Satan
Category:Biblical Monsters
Category:Dark Enemies
Category:Demons
Category:Fire Enemies
Category:Flying Bosses
Category:Flying Enemies
Category:Ice Enemies
Category:Literary Monsters
Category:Lovecraft Lore
Category:Aria of Sorrow Enemies
Category:Circle of the Moon Enemies
Category:Dawn of Sorrow Enemies
Category:The Dracula X Chronicles Enemies
Category:Harmony of Dissonance Bosses
Category:Harmony of Dissonance Enemies
Category:Order of Ecclesia Enemies
Category:Simon's Quest Enemies
Category:Symphony of the Night Enemies