Malus

> It is a being of pure deception and hatred.
>
> Charon, Cursed 2

**Malus** is the overarching antagonist of the Cursed franchise.

## History

Malus is heavily implied to be Solus, a god of great strength who ruled the Sun and the Earth, preferring to govern with the power of fear. Solus and the goddess Luna's differences lead to open conflict between them and their followers, with Luna defeating and banishing Solus into the void. After being locked within the void for all eternity, what used to be Solus emerges as the archdemon Malus. He would then descend upon humanity after the Lunars' Magic Research Team ended up opening a portal to his realm, allowing him and his demonic legion to invade. Malus had, in fact, brought a human and a demon to the Lake of Gods in the Realm of torment and threw them there. The covenant allowed him to rise again and again from the void, making him effectively indestructible. However, he is aware that throwing a human and a Lunar inside as another sacrifice will nullify it. To prevent that, he needs to completely destroy the Lunars so nothing can be used to end his curse. Despite the Lunars' efforts, Malus wiped the floor clean with them and almost finished the goddess herself, only to be defeated by her loyal Captain at the last second when he uses the Staff of the Moon to destroy the Faith Crystal. Malus, like the rest of the Lunar Civilization and his own minions, vanished soon after.

Malus was implied to have returned at several points before the events of *Cursed* and had his own band of followers, known as the **Cult of Malus**. However, he was frequently thwarted and defeated.

## Cursed

Malus is first mentioned by the Lunar Knight's Captain. He begs Spencer, who had bested him in combat, to defeat Malus and remove his influence, the source of all anomalies within the crypt, though he adds Spencer must acquire the Staff of the Moon and the Divine Shield. Malus is later encountered physically in his throne room, wielding the real Staff of the Moon. Despite the huge power disparity, Spencer managed to ward off several of Malus' attacks enough for him to stagger the demon by reflecting one of the Staff's projectiles, which stuns Malus, causing him to drop his weapon. With Spencer now possessing the Staff of the Moon Malus resorts to dive-bombing through levitation, though they all prove futile, as Spencer stops him dead in his tracks. After several unsuccessful attempts, Malus is defeated and explodes in a burst of flames.

## Cursed 2

Though presumably destroyed at the end of *Cursed*, Malus has in fact possessed Jennifer. Beyond that point, his evil influence began spreading unchecked. In the ten years that ensued, the town's remaining population dwindled, having either joined his namesake cult, being used for sacrifices for his awakening, or killed by monstrous entities emerging with his presence. Some of these, specifically the Undead, disrupted the cycle of life and death, prompting Charon to intervene and clean them up. By the time Randall returned out of guilt for not stopping Jennifer from stepping into the mine, Malus' physical vessel of flesh was almost complete, resting within the Cultist Base' throne room, while the reaper is not quite done with his job. Malus himself is relatively dormant for most of the game.
The Lunar Knight Captain, who was still present in the crypt, notes that while he is free from Malus' influence until the archdemon rises again, Spencer didn't quite finish the job, so he can't let Randall pass and get to the Staff of the Moon.

If Randall fails to save Jennifer or her soul, the cult is still destroyed, he does escape and reveals the evil presence in the town to civilization. Malus' flesh body was subsequently destroyed by a nuclear strike, though Randall speculates it only merely delayed Malus' return.

IF Randall succeeds in saving Jennifer, he eventually returns to the Cultists' Base and discovers Holly, the mastermind behind the current Cult of Malus, had her husband Tim killed for betraying them. Randall attempts to kill her in order to get to Malus, but she survives and evicts Randall with force before Malus absorbs her and breaks out. Jennifer retrieves Randall quickly and takes the wheel of his truck while Randall fights off Malus, eventually paralyzing the demon. He prevails in their ultimate showdown and removes Malus' soul, causing his gigantic flesh body to immediately disintegrate, releasing many other souls submitting to his will. After burying what's left of Tim and Holly with Jennifer, Randall tosses the Staff of the Moon into the void and leaves what's left of the town with Jennifer.

### Battle

Malus' fight is divided into two phases, starting with a chase segment before the final confrontation.

* **Soul Orbs** - Malus will fire a group of green orbs, which linger briefly in the air before quickly accelerating to the player and pack a serious punch each. The orbs can be shot and destroyed before impact.
* **Laser** - Malus will fire a green laser from his eye that soon swipes across the top of the screen, inflicting heavy damage on hit. It can be dodged by ducking. Destroying his laser eye does not prevent him from using this attack.
* **Fireballs** - Malus will launch two fast fireballs into the air that soon leap to the player, doing moderate damage. Sidestepping is required to avoid them.
* **Hands** - Malus will attempt to squash the player with his hands by moving them into each other, causing an instant game over if they do meet. Attacking his hands will stagger and delay them, eventually forcing him to abort this attack if they don't connect.
* **Fire Breath** - Malus will levitate and unleash a wave of inferno that deals extreme damage. The only way to stop this attack is to fire a charged shot from the Staff before it hits, which also stuns him for a while.

In the chase segment, Malus exclusively fires Soul Orbs. He continues doing so indefinitely until a few charged shots from the Staff of the Moon are sent his way. Apart from that, there are threats running beside the truck which must be promptly dispatched. Once Malus has been knocked out, Jennifer will stop the truck, allowing the player to save the game before the standoff with what remains of Malus.

Malus cannot be meaningfully damaged in anywhere beyond the four horns and the laser eye, which are individual components that must be destroyed first while he rains down everything save for the Fire Breath. With these components destroyed, Malus will eventually opt to use his Fire Breath which must be quickly intercepted. Once he is stunned, use the Staff's secondary function to extract his soul. Malus will inevitably rise during this and must be battered down again. The fight is won when his soul is trapped by the orb of the Staff.

### Strategy

Malus, despite being the final boss, is a relatively straightforward adversary and isn't particularly challenging as the Staff of the Moon, the most powerful weapon in the game, is technically required to get to him.

During the chase, simply focus on firing as many charged shots as possible. Constantly check the sides for any enemies, and prioritize neutralizing Malus' projectiles if there are any.

Most of Malus' attacks are not very difficult to dodge, although things can complicate when both the orbs and fireballs appear, while the laser doesn't give too much time before it sweeps the whole area. It's recommended to continue using the Staff and whittle down his horns/eye, optionally stopping his hands if given the chance. Malus will inevitably prepare to breath fire, and when he tries charge the Staff quickly, then fire away and extract his soul before repeating the process once he sprints into action.

## Cursed 3

Malus had in fact once again escaped purgatory, being actually invulnerable in the void realm where he came to be. Still bent on stopping the return of Luna, he ordered his legions to search for the Faith Crystal fragments held by Spencer's family before the crystal itself could be completed. As Jennifer retrieves various fragments, history begins to unfold before her eyes regarding how Malus defeated the Lunars.

If Jennifer chooses to destroy the Faith Crystal, the site is secured and it is implied that Malus' influence had since vanished from the area, since his very purpose was been defeated. Jennifer believes Malus would inevitably return, but he would be dealt with accordingly in the future.

If the Faith Crystal was assembled and restored, Jennifer suddenly regains her memories and her identity - She was none other than the reincarnation of the goddess Luna, who was presumably slain by Malus after the war is lost. Charon returns Luna to her realm and reveals Malus remains at large. His evil presence around Jennifer's ancestors' house is explained by how Spencer obtained the estate from Tim before moving in his family as he continues conducting research. Initially unaware of the Crystal Fragments' true nature, he left them with his family. The fragments drew Malus' attention, and his demonic influences turned them into otherworldly monstrosities. Charon then informs Luna that to achieve peace, she must search the voids for means to destroy Malus for good.

Depending on player choice, Malus can be next seen in the Realm of Torment, or Earth. In both appearances, he is the final threat.

In Realm of Torment, Randall had recklessly attempted to defeat Malus well in spite of Charon warning him against going there from Earth. Luna arrives too late and Randall is slain. Malus taunts Luna and boasts his chances before the two fight. Even when defeated, Malus swears revenge, claiming he will return within days. As the last Lunar in existence, Luna decides to sacrifice herself and Randall by leaping into the Lake of the Gods. The covenant between Malus and humanity is then destroyed, ending his reign on them.

If Jennifer managed to find and exorcise Spencer, he is freed and offers a few pieces of important information. Notably, Luna and Malus stem from the very same "Faith Crystal", rather than the ones mentioned before. Luna only lost to Malus because the Staff of the Moon was created using a fragment of the crystal, which in turn weakened her. Additionally, Spencer had learned another huge secret of Malus, that being the Staff of the Sun. Much like how the Staff of the Moon contained Luna's power to control life, Malus' minions discovered the archdemon's essence can be used with it to create the Staff of the Sun, which is able to manipulate time (up to the genesis of the Faith Crystal itself) while also being capable of opening rifts. Malus himself deems it too risky to sacrifice his essence and dismissed the option. Spencer plans to summon Randall to complete the trio in the Lunars' prophecy, which predicted Malus' downfall by the three who stood against him and lived. They then must summon Malus to Earth using the Staff of the Moon (which means it cannot be used to fight him), where he is vulnerable. Once he is weakened, Jennifer must cast SPIRITUS EXILIUM to extract his essence, obtain the Staff of the Sun, and deal with Malus from there.

With Randall and Jennifer in position with him, Spencer summons Malus. The archdemon arrives as expected, much to his own annoyance, and declares he shall not be defeated by mortals ever again. He then decides to fight the three one-by-one, starting with Spencer, who wards off Malus with the Sword and Shield given by Randall. After some fighting, he switches to Randall, who has to dodge around the demon's projectiles and slashes while laying waste with his shotgun and hammer. Eventually, he attacks Jennifer instead, who manages to weaken him sufficiently and casts the spell on him. Realizing what had happened, Malus rants furiously in vain, and leaves without his essence.

After the fight, Spencer disintegrates as a consequence of casting the summoning ritual. Jennifer checks up with Randall, and they both realize Malus is now an unstoppable monstrosity wrecking havoc outside. Jennifer wants Randall to return the last missing fragment of the Crystal to full restore Luna's power, and then defend it from Malus' minions while she fights the archdemon himself. Randall does so, and Jennifer transforms into Luna before speeding off to confront Malus, who is closing on a major city. Sensing the goddess' arrival, Malus does everything in his power to either defeat Luna directly or using his demons to destroy the Faith Crystal. Randall is mortally wounded and Charon appears to reclaim him in accordance with the laws of life and death, despite the fate of the humanity being at stake. He quickly convinces the reaper they will have to protect Luna at all costs, and Death, who decides to do what's right yet again, turns Randall into a skeleton and joins him personally. Meanwhile, Luna manages to breach Malus' chest and extract his essence, causing Malus to disintegrate into a skeleton.

Luna returns to the Crystal and finds only Charon, with Randall having perished in the battle. Sensing many had fallen or were troubled by her intervention, Luna, after discussing the matter with Charon, decides to return to the crystal's genesis and destroy it, freeing humanity from the wicked Malus and his covenant. The skeletal Malus returns in an attempt to stop Luna, but she destroys him with the Staff while travelling back in time and reaches the very beginning. Luna then obliterates the crystal, and with it gone, both the goddess and the demon are destroyed forever long before Malus could enact his retribution, cleansing his realm of carnage once and for all. Subsequently, humanity takes on a more realistic development, free of divine intervention and Malus' meddling.

## Gallery

Disaster Squad Productions confirming Malus' connection with Solus.
## Trivia

* "Malus" is Latin for "Evil".
	+ Unlike Luna, whose Latin name is properly attached to her realm, "Solus" is Latin for "alone", whereas "Sol" is the correct word for "Sun".
	+ The name "Solus" was never properly attached to Malus himself. It however is implied through how Malus' essence can be used for the Staff of the Sun and how Malus continues his ruthless reign of intimidation and fear. It is only directly confirmed by Disaster Squad Productions.
* Malus, Luna, Jennifer and Sarah are the only named characters before the release of Cursed 3.

 Carrington Family