Artorias vs The Hollow Knight

## Pre-Analysis

Alexander: Knights are known for their mighty power and their awe-inspiring duties they had to do. But what happens when they fail at their duties?

D1G1T: Like Artorias, the Abysswalker!

Alexander: Or the Hollow Knight, the sealed vessel of Hallownest. I’m Alexander, and this is my assistant, D1G1T.

D1G1T: And today, we open the Battlerealm!

## Artorias the Abysswalker

Alexander: In the time before the Age of Fire, Lord Gwyn had four knights who served him. These knights were Dragonslayer Ornstein, Hawkeye Gough, Lord’s Blade Ciaran and The Abysswalker, Artorias.

D1G1T: Each knight was given a different task, but Artorias was given one of the most difficult task to complete. He had to drive back the Abyss.

Alexander: However, he was unable to send it back. After encountering Manus, he was forever changed. Gone was the Wolf Knight under the command of the king. Now, he went by the title of the Abysswalker.

D1G1T: Artorias, due to being corrupted by the Abyss, has a bunch of attacks, ranging from simple lunges to a wave of the Abyss that can send his enemies flying!

Alexander: But how could we possibly forget the amazing sword he carries? The answer is we didn’t!

D1G1T: According to its description, the greatsword strikes harder against dark servants. This means that anything else that was cursed by the Abyss takes more out of them.

Alexander: Artorias is also pretty strong, too. He once killed a dragon by himself, which at first doesn’t sound like much. However, you then have to take into fact that dragons in the world of Dark Souls are tough creatures in comparison to most enemies the player actually faces.

D1G1T: However, this doesn’t make him stronger than the Lords of Cinder, as they were able to vanquish many of the dragons.

Alexander: If there’s anything to be learned from Artorias though, it’s that the Abyss cannot be stopped. But then again, there’s no harm in trying, right?

## The Hollow Knight

Alexander: Long ago, in the kingdom of Hallownest, there was one who ruled over all of bugkind. This bug was known as the Radiance, which felt all bugs were to follow their rule. Eventually, they were bested by the The Wyrm, who would become the Pale King. However, they knew that the Radiance would return, so they began to make a vessel to seal away the Radiance, and it’s infection.

D1G1T: Many vessels were made, but only one was a success. However, these vessels were void of personality and individual thought, which was just what the Radiance needed. But before it could do anything, this vessel was sealed away by the Three Dreamers. Many years later, he was freed again, now known as The Hollow Knight.

Alexander: Poor Guy. I guess it’s not all bad, though, since he can now use the Infection that the Radiance controls. This can manifest in either short-range teleportation or large orange blobs of almost-acidic Infection. These blobs can only be fired in an arc, though, so he has to be lined up properly for it to be effective.

D1G1T: He appears to wield a cracked nail for a weapon, but it’s more effective than your average nail. His nail appears to be much stronger, and more durable.

Alexander: However, he’s at his strongest when he uses the the power of the void. The Void boosts The Hollow Knight’s stats tenfold, effectively making it tougher to kill him.

D1G1T: Despite how tough he is, he has a bit of a problem.

Alexander: Yes, he tends to impale himself with his nail while fighting, which somehow makes all damage to him as minor as possible. Then, there's the fact that he appears to be missing an arm. However, it doesn’t hold a candle to the strength of the Radiance, which he contains in his body to the very end.

D1G1T: Either way, stay out of his way.

## Fight

Artorias wanders into the Temple of the Black Egg, finding four chains holding something above him. As he struck the chains, it became obvious that The Hollow Knight was chained up by the chains. Suddenly, he broke through what was left of the chains, letting out a roar.

FIGHT!

Artorias opened the battle with a lunge, only to be parried and struck by The Hollow Knight. Then, Artorias leaped into the air and swung down on The Hollow Knight. But rather than hitting the Hollow Knight, his sword was lodged in the ground. The Hollow Knight dropped down and stabbed Artorias in the leg, causing him to roll away from the Hollow Knight.

Artorias began to build up the power of the Abyss as The Hollow Knight approached him. Once the Hollow Knight was close enough, a wave of Abyss energy bursted out of Artorias, sending the Hollow Knight backwards and cracking his armour further. Suddenly, the Hollow Knight began to float into the air and slammed down upon Artorias several times.

Artorias swung his sword at the Hollow Knight splitting the giant insect in half. Seemingly complete, Artorias began to walk off. That is, until four black tendrils wrapped around Artorias and pulled him towards a shadowy mass. Artorias struggled and attempted to break free, but he couldn’t stop himself from being dragged in.

Shortly after he was dragged in, there was a loud crunching noise. The mass of darkness pulled the remains of Artorias into the Void, where it would break down what was left of him.

## Post-Analysis

Alexander: So, how do I explain how Artorias was done for?

D1G1T: Well, Artorias may have had an advantage in speed which The Hollow Knight couldn’t keep up with, but he simply had no way to put down The Hollow Knight’s Shade, which was able to overpower The Radiance, who was able to force all bugs to serve it mindlessly!

Alexander: Another thing to note is that while Artorias has the power of the Abyss, it’s not really shown that the Abyss is not the looming force in Darks Souls. However, the Infection was what contributed to the downfall of Hallownest.

D1G1T: But isn’t Artorias’ armour able to hold up to sword strikes and magic that was beyond it’s time?

Alexander: Yes, but so can The Hollow Knight’s shell. In fact, the shell can withstand a lot more of said swords and magic.

D1G1T: So in the end, Artorias had a ghost of a chance in winning against the Hollow Knight.

Alexander: The winner is The Hollow Knight.

+ More nimble attacks

+ Speed

+ Number of arms

= Size

= Stamina

= Strength

= Arsenal

= Intelligence

- Ranged Attack does minor damage

- Abyss may be outmatched by Infection

- Unable to beat Hollow Knight’s Shade

- Durability

- Cannot teleport

**THE HOLLOW KNIGHT:**

+ Ranged Attack does major damage

+ Durability

+ He can teleport

+ Infection may outmatch the Abyss

+ Hollow Knight’s Shade overpowers Artorias

= Size

= Strength

= Arsenal

= Stamina

= Intelligence

- Speed

- Less nimble attacks

- May end up actually taking himself down