Benetnasch

Benetnasch, also known as Alkaid, is the seventh Septentrion.
== History ==
Eta Ursae Majoris, formally named Alkaid, is a star in the constellation of Ursa Major. It is the most eastern (leftmost) star in the Big Dipper (or Plough) asterism. However, unlike most stars of the Big Dipper, it is not a member of the Ursa Major moving group. With an apparent visual magnitude of +1.84, it is the third-brightest star in the constellation and one of the brightest stars in the night sky.
Benetnasch's two names are derived from an Arabic phrase meaning "the leader of the daughters of the bier." These "daughters" refer to Benetnasch, Mizar, and Alioth, while the "bier" refers to Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, and Megrez. Being a "leader" of all the other stars is reflected in Benetnasch's ability to use the preceding Septentriones' signature attacks in addition to its own.
==Appearances==
*Devil Survivor 2 / Record Breaker: Septentrion
**Devil Survivor 2 The Animation
==Design==
Benetnasch initially appears as a large, beige cone with rounded edges, similar to that of a giant seed. Its size is also significantly smaller compared to previous Septentriones like Megrez and Mizar as it only takes up a 2x2 area on any battlefield.
Once Benetnasch splits, its quarters are hollow, and contain parts that resemble the other Septentriones. Noticeable pieces include Phecda's ring, Megrez's bulbous body, and Alioth's purple core. The quarter that contains Benetnasch's original powers, however, is solid, black, and shiny on the inside.
==Profile==
===Devil Survivor 2===
====7th Day A Saturday Toward Coexistence/Hierarchy/Equality/Reformation====
Benetnasch appears on the 7th day. Its specialty is negation. Its unique skill "Pacify Humans" will render all attacks made by team leaders useless. It also has the ability to forcefully return all demons back into the demon realm and prevent any more demons from appearing.
Benetnasch first appears in Miyashita Park, where the party will attempt to fight it. Once it demonstrates its Revoke Demons ability, the party is forced to escape, or at least clear out its pseudo-Megrez buds to clear the path for escape. The party will discuss how to defeat Benetnasch when the only method to defeating it is easily sealed.
Fumi theorizes that the ability comes from a special wave that it sends to negate wavelengths used to summon demons, therefore the wave can be negated using another wave sent by a demon. The team discovers the existence of Trumpeter and its ability to create special wave, as well as the location it is sealed at and the code required to release it. After releasing the demon, Trumpeter refuses to aid the party until Fumi "talks things over" with him to change his mind. Trumpeter agrees to help them once and flies off.
The party realizes that although Benetnasch will be unable to forcefully send their demons back, Trumpeter's wave will still prevent them from switching out demons. Running out of time, they agree to continue with the plan anyways and summon Trumpeter to play against Benetnasch's waves. They soon realize that if Trumpeter's melody stops playing due to being defeated in-battle they will no longer be able to use their demons to attack Benetnasch as well.
===Devil Survivor 2 The Animation===
Contrary to the somewhat lax nature of the original game's Benetnasch, the animated version had by far the most impact on the remains of Japan in terms of overall destruction. When whole, the Septentrion attacks with a single charging beam that comes from the pointed tip of its body, which results in a massive explosion that previous Septentrione weren't capable of making.
Before being confronted by the remaining demon tamers, Benetnasch successfully destroyed Nagoya, Osaka, and Sapporo by targeting JP's bases and towers (thus allowing the remains of the cities to be swallowed up by the Void) in a matter of minutes. It teleported to Tokyo and proceeded to use its beam to destroy the Diet Building (which contained Tokyo's JP's headquarters beneath), only to be interrupted by Yamato's defensive magic. As a response, Benetnasch seemingly tries to break through physically by tackling the barrier, with no succession. This gave all the remaining demon tamers (besides Fumi and Hibiki, the latter whom was hospitalized during the fight) time to fight it with an array of demon attacks.
After an interval of time, Benetnasch splits into four. The "true" Benetnasch portion leaves the original body and proceeded to send out mysterious waves, which, like in the original game, revoked demons in its proximity and gave them a long time to "heal." This effort was interrupted by Fumi Kanno and her summoned Trumpeter, both of whom acted separately at a far distance from the other Tamers. Trumpeter's own waves nullified Benetnasch's, damaging the "true" portion somewhat. However, the portion containing Phecda and Merak leaves the original body, throwing a destructive beam and successfully eliminating both Fumi and Trumpeter. This portion then spends the majority of the fight trying to hit a flying Yamato.
The portion containing Dubhe and Megrez traps and kills Jungo Torii, Airi Ban, and Hinako Kujou in succession, leaving three remaining demon tamers (Io Nitta, Daichi Shijima, and Makoto Sako) helpless. At some point during battle, Hibiki enters and stops several Benetnasch portions from killing them. Hibiki and Yamato, in a reluctant joint effort, then attempt to stall Benetnasch's attacks with their natural demon powers, only for all the portions to come together again and make up the full body. The full Benetnasch sends out its destructive beam once again, which proved to be too much for the two powerful tamers upon impact.
Before Hibiki's and Yamato's powers become completely exhausted, Daichi suddenly summons Black Frost, which, after exchanging a few Bufudynes and Phecda beams later, managed to split the body in four again and expose its core. Yamato quickly takes advantage of this opportunity and, with his remaining magical powers, destroyed the remains of Benetnasch once and for all.
==Strategy==
The first thing to be noted about Benetnasch is its colossal attack range, making it nigh-impossible to approach without provoking an attack from it at least once. Proper use of the Dragons' Evil Flow skill can avert this issue, and the Genma's True Phantasm skill can help an attacking team quickly retreat to teams outside its attack range.
During the second battle, despite having its "Revoke Demons" ability nullified, Benetnasch will still retain the "Pacify Humans" skill throughout the battle, so team leaders will be unable to deal any damage to it. However healing skills will still be active, making team leaders act as support during battles with Benetnasch. It is advised that each leader combating Benetnasch carry a group healing and a revival skill since they cannot summon new demons throughout the entire battle. SDTP is also discouraged since it sends the replaced demon back into stock.
Benetnasch also carries the ability to imitate. It starts out by carrying skills from Dubhe and Merak, and will release buds similar to the ones Megrez had released. If the player defeats both of its pseudo-Megrez buds or even does sufficient damage to Benetnasch, Benetnasch will release four more closer to Trumpeter, and these will cast Dark Thunder at every opportunity to damage him. Thus, it is advisable that one team stays behind to support Trumpeter. The Phantasm and Flight Racial Skills can be useful in switching team members between the middle of the battlefield and Trumpeter's location.
After sufficiently damaging Benetnasch, it will recall all pseudo-Megrez buds and split into four, with three pieces each carrying traits of previous Septentrione bosses. The remaining piece will carry traits of Benetnasch only (along with its Pacify Human ability), as well as several new skills. Benetnasch will also litter the battlefield with patches of Alioth poison to deter movement towards it.
==Stats==
===Devil Survivor 2===
====Pseudo-Megres====
<tabber>
Bud A=
These appear after Benetnasch first demonstrates its Revoke Demons ability. The player can then either retreat to the escape squares on the map, or destroy all the Pseudo-Megrez Buds on the map to grant the party a chance to escape. Doing either will result in a successful mission.
|-|
Bud B=
These are released during the decisive battle against Benetnasch.
</tabber>
====Full Benetnasch====
<tabber>
Dubhe/Merak Style=
|-|
Mizar/Megrez Style=
</tabber>
===Split Benetnasch===
<tabber>
Merak/Phecda=
|-|
Dubhe/Megrez=
|-|
Alioth/Mizar=
|-|
Benetnasch=
</tabber>
Benetnasch also has an unlisted skill called "Revoke Demons", which removes all demons - friend or foe - from the battlefield.
==Gallery==
Benetnasch art.jpg|Concept art of Benetnasch
Benetnasch design.jpg|
Benetnasch in Devil Survivor 2 The Animation.jpg|Benetnasch in Devil Survivor 2 The Animation
Benetnasch split.png|Benetnasch's parts
Benetnasch core.png|Benetnasch's core
Benetnasch revoke demon.png|Benetnasch's revoke demon ability
Benestnacht.png|In-game
==Trivia==
* Benetnasch's unique Racial Skill breaks the theme of the previous Septentriones, being named "Alkaid Proof" rather than the expected "Benetnasch Proof." This is perhaps partially due to the fact that Benetnasch is also known as Alkaid, and partially due to character limitations.
* Comically, it is the only Septentrion with a non-Joe-given nickname: "Benny." If Fumi is one of the team leaders during the second battle with Benetnasch, she calls it the more insulting nickname "Bene-trash."
* Benetnasch's Japanese Race name is 破軍星, translating to "army-crushing star." This name can reflect its abilities which deny any attempt at damaging it.
Category:Astrology and Astronomy
Category:Septentriones