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Louis Cyphre/Lucifer/Helel

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lucifer_smt_1.png

"I shall not rest until both my subjects and you humans enjoy a level of freedom you have only dreamed about, for this is the true nature of things. Chaos is the true nature of the world! The stronger, more beautiful creatures survive and continue to reproduce, naturally bettering all that live. The cycle of rebirth and destruction will continue unfettered for all eternity, improving life for all until the end of time."
Shin Megami Tensei I

Warning: As a major recurring figure throughout the series, there will be spoilers for multiple games. You have been warned.

God's sworn enemy. Lucifer is a major recurring character in the main Shin Megami Tensei series. Just don't confuse him with Satan, who actually works for YHVH.

In the never-ending battle between Law and Chaos in various different universes, Lucifer in most of his incarnations seeks to liberate humanity and demons from YHVH's control, with the goal of attaining complete freedom to do whatever they may please. His exact motives and methods vary from game to game, but he often takes the form of humans with blond hair and blue eyes, going by "Louis Cypher". His most recurring role is that of a schemer who interacts with the protagonists at various points, trying to convince them to side with him and the forces of Chaos against the forces of Law.

His appearance in the first mainline game Shin Megami Tensei I depicts him as a man in a business suit named Louis Cypher that gives you cryptic, misleading information. He shows his true colors in the Chaos path ending, transforming into a blonde angel swathed in white robes, with golden horns and six feathery wings.

In Shin Megami Tensei II, Lucifer again appears as Louis Cypher, having turned against YHVH after being ordered to destroy the world. If you chose the Law and Neutral Paths you will face him in battle, but in the Chaos path he will join your party in order to stop Satan and YHVH.

In Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, he appears in two forms: a young blonde-haired boy and an old man in a wheelchair. In both forms accompanied by a nurse in black who appears young when he looks old, and vice-versa. He gives the Demi-fiend his first Magatama, allowing you to survive in the Vortex World. If you complete Nocturne's optional dungeon, it is also revealed that he was the one to give the Menorahs to the Fiends, in order to make the Demi-fiend powerful enough to challenge God.

In Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon, Louis makes an appearance in the Tamonten Shrine as a "blonde young man" who appears to serve as a "spark" for Raidou and his actions. He is also referred to as Beelzebub, according to the Mushibito race due to the fact that they see him as a fly, not as a human. After you get the "Chaos" ending and start a New Game Plus+ file, Raidou can take case files involving Louis and end up discovering his true identity while also battling his Lucifer form. Raidou can also use a Skill demon to transform as Louis, whose special ability is to gain money from talking to demons in the Dark Realm.

In Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, Louis Cypher appears as a "blonde woman" wearing a goat's head hairclip and a blue dress named "Louisa Ferre".

In Shin Megami Tensei V Lucifer returns once more in Da'at, where he seemingly kills the Creator God of this universe only to perish himself. However, it soon becomes clear this was only the start of his plans, and he once again has great expectations for mankind in the world to come.


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    General - A to L 
  • Affably Evil: After his Characterization Marched On, most depictions of Lucifer maintain an air of politeness toward humans in contrast to many demons and gods, while consistently trying to protect humanity’s continued existence.
  • Alternate Self: As is the case for all demons in the franchise, this trope is played straight for the most part; an incarnation of Lucifer in one continuity is not intrinsically related with one from another, and may have different histories and personalities entirely. However, this trope might be subverted in some cases of his appearances; see Ambiguous Situation below.
  • Ambiguous Situation: There are hints which suggest certain instances of Lucifer are actually a single entity across different continuities, hinted by Kaneko in the artbook of Shin Megami Tensei I who teased there will come a time Lucifer will reveal his true form and nature in the franchise. The most recurring clue for this is how certain incarnations of Lucifer don't originate from the world in which a game takes place: Nocturne note , Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon note , and Strange Journey note . These Lucifers also tend to have similar personalities and traits, such as Fisher Kingdom forms (Nocturne and Strange Journey). Of course, whether any of these Alternate Selves truly are the same entity across space and time, individual entities with a shared awareness of The Multiverse and each other, all avatars of a universal Lucifer, or something else entirely, it's left up to the audience to puzzle out.
  • Anarchy Is Chaos: Played with. In general, Lucifer's end goal is absolute anarchy where everyone have the freedom to do whatever they want if they're strong enough to survive. However, how it is established, how much emphasis is put into Social Darwinist beliefs, and how much this goal is shared among members of Chaos faction greatly vary depending on the game. For an example, in Strange Journey Redux it’s shown Lucifer strongly prefers free will and some degree of order for humanity rather than mindless chaos, which is not shared by the Tyrants and the Mothers of the Schwarzwelt, the game's Chaos faction. V similarly has Lucifer being indifferent to Bethel or any Chaos factions in Da'at, and will help the Nahobino regardless simply because, to Lucifer, the power he has come to wield represents a new future freed from the systems of the Great Will.
  • Appearance Is in the Eye of the Beholder: One recurring aspect of Lucifer across the franchise is how his "beholders" seem to see him as a comforting or grounding being. Take note that he appears as a caring adult to a likely frightened teenager, a fellow teenager to a protagonist expected to keep pace with demanding adults, a charming civilian woman to a ship full of traumatized soldiers, and a young girl who just so happens to be help you in a journey because she finds you interesting. Emphasized in King Abaddon that while Louis Cyphre looks like a young man to Raidou, the insect-like Mushibito see him as Beelzebub, a giant fly demon. This last part, along with the fact that Lucifer was mentioned to be the "Greatest Darkness Across Infinity", with the rest of the chaos demons being considered beings of darkness, also implies that all of the chaos demons within the franchise are just aspects of Lucifer.
  • Attractive Bent-Gender: Sets himself up as a disarmingly attractive Mysterious Waif in Strange Journey and a really disarmingly attractive cute teenage girl in IV though this incarnation of Lucifer isn't really him.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking: One of his most consistent titles in the franchise is Demon King, and in many games he often leads a group acting against the Law faction, most prominently in Shin Megami Tensei II. Crosses with Asskicking Leads to Leadership, because many demons who serve him only obey him for his strength and cunning.
  • Big Red Devil: His classic greenish/blue demonic form could fall under this, ignoring the "red" part. His Devil Children design is this in his demon form as well, being red and black. He's firmly on the side of good in those games though.
  • Boss Battle: Lucifer tends to be one of the most difficult boss battles in any game he appears in. He has served as a Climax Boss, Final Boss, Optional Boss and Superboss.
    • Lucifer is the Final Boss of certain routes in Megami Tensei and Last Bible, back when his portrayal was a classic evil villain.
    • Lucifer is a Climax Boss in Megami Tensei II, as the fight against him happens just before the story enters endgame. He can become an ally if the protagonist has Bael in their roster.
    • While not exactly a Climax Boss, Lucifer is a major boss in Majin Tensei because the Golden Ending only becomes available if he is spared after he is defeated.
    • Similarly, Lucifer is a mandatory boss battle in Majin Tensei II, who must be fought in battle regardless of alignment, even in Chaos path.
    • Lucifer is also a Climax Boss in Shin Megami Tensei II, fought right after the alignment lock if the player chooses Law or Neutral paths. He joins the protagonist if the player picks Chaos.
    • He is the very last opponent in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, specifically as a True Final Boss in the True Demon route.
    • Lucifer appears in several case files in a New Game Plus of King Abaddon as one of the two ultimate bosses of the game. The first case file has him summon his servants Mara and Arioch, as well as transforming into Beelzebub to fight. After defeating all three Raidou fights Lucifer briefly before the battle ends, after which Lucifer will give him one of two beneficial items to use. The next case file from him is a true battle against him, which ends with Lucifer giving him another beneficial item to use. The third fight he goes all out against Raidou. Defeating him allows Raidou to fuse Lucifer.
    • In Devil Survivor, Lucifer is also the ultimate boss, appearing in his devil form on the final day in a New Game Plus. He proclaims that he has no interest in whatever happens to the title of Bel (and in fact ordered Beelzebub to support Belberith just to get it over with), but decides to pick a fight with you to amuse himself. He is notoriously ludicrously hard, even for a series known for having ludicrously hard bosses.
    • Lucifer is the Final Boss of Shin Megami Tensei IV in Law and Neutral paths. Until Apocalypse reveals it is not actually Lucifer.
    • In Shin Megami Tensei V, Lucifer is the Final Boss of three of the four routes, choosing to confront Nahobino regardless of what he chooses to do with the Throne's power outside of destroying it.
  • Captain Ersatz: The Louis Cypher persona is believed to take his act from all-time world famous recording artist/performer David Bowie. Some believe he is an amalgamation of Bowie's real life and stage personae; and Louis' mismatched eyes parallel Bowie's own ocular disfigurement; wherein one eye is permanently dilated leaving what is left of the originally blue iris reddish in hue.
  • Chaos Is Evil: Zig-zagged; Lucifer is fairly consistent in his desire for a world with no order, but whether he genuinely thinks it's the best option for humans or he's simply manipulating them in his quest for revenge against YHVH and/or to create a lawless dystopia where only the strong may survive varies between depictions.
  • Characterization Marches On: Presented early on as a straight up villain, then Megami Tensei II paints him as a benevolent deity concerned with humanity’s fates and survival. After that point, the franchise starts adopting a general characterization for Lucifer; that of a manipulator with varying degrees of Anarchy Is Chaos and Social Darwinist beliefs.
  • The Corrupter: Word of God says it's his main role in the franchise - Lucifer exists to test humanity by offering power, manipulating and poking around the human soul. Whether or not he becomes a great ally or a sinister foe, depends entirely on the player’s beliefs and choices.
  • Decomposite Character: In Persona 3 and Persona 4, Lucifer's demonic side and angelic side appear as separate Personas, with the demonic side being Lucifer and his angelic side being Helel.
  • Depending on the Writer: Quite possibly the biggest example of this in the franchise. Atlus has used Lucifer since their oldest stories (Digital Devil Story 3), and his characterization has undergone major and minor shifts in between works. In particular, Lucifer’s most fluctuative aspects are his attitude toward humanity, his motives for defying YHVH, and how his beliefs inform his actions; as such Lucifer has been depicted as anywhere between an arrogant Classic Villain who looks down on humans, an affable but sinister Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist, a sincerely Well-Intentioned Extremist Devil's Advocate, a legitimately heroic figure who wants the best for humanity, and everything in-between.
  • Devil's Advocate: A few games depict Lucifer providing reasons to support paths which are not to his preference, most notably in Nocturne and in Strange Journey Redux.
  • Enigmatic Empowering Entity: As mentioned earlier in The Corrupter, Lucifer often offers power to the protagonist and whoever happens to be the Chaos representative character at the time, most notably to Chaos Hero in Shin Megami Tensei I (through Yuriko/Lilith) and the Demi-fiend in Nocturne. He does, at the very least, try to explain himself. That is, if you're willing to endure his trials... and listen, of course.
  • Equal-Opportunity Evil: Almost always applies to all of his depictions. Despite being a Judeo-Christian entity, he has no issues recruiting pagan gods and demons in his ranks, as long as they can prove their power and usefulness in the long run. So much, it actually works against him in Shin Megami Tensei II, since the number of murderous and outright evil demons working for him can convince Aleph not to work with him.
  • Evil Plan: Played with. In many games Lucifer is a certified bastard but his plans involve saving Humanity. And the other guy also happens to be not particularly pleasant most of the time. Even so, the ultimate consequence of his plans would usually result in a chaotic, lawless world where not only is Everything Trying to Kill You, but is fundamentally a Social Darwinist world where conflict is written in the very foundations of reality.
  • A Form You Are Comfortable With: Another recurring element to Lucifer is the various human guise he has. Some games such as Raidou Kuzunoha series show he can even take the form of other demons, most prominently his subordinate Beelzebub in King Abaddon. When he realizes that he isn't even speaking like the real deal during the first Optional Boss fight against him, he corrects himself and talks like Beelzebub including doing his Evil Laugh.
  • Fisher Kingdom: One of his subtler recurring elements. In a few games Lucifer's human form take on aspects of the world he's currently inhabiting. For instance, in the days old Vortex world, he appears as a child. In the Time Abyss of Labyrinth of Amala, he appears as an old man. In the Schwarzwelt ruled by the Mother Goddesses, he becomes a woman.
  • Four-Star Badass: In many games, just about every demon who wants to give YHVH the finger answers to this guy, especially in Shin Megami Tensei II.
  • Gender Flip: Though usually perceived as male, in Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE he appears with a female avatar (who kinda looks like a secretary). In Strange Journey he even goes as far as to rename ‘herself’ into "Louisa Ferre" (though in Japan she still goes by "Louis Cyphre"). He also becomes a Japanese teenager named Hikaru in IV. Strange Journey Redux reveals that he, or she, is capable of bearing children in a female form.
  • Genius Bruiser: In most cases, Lucifer’s most dangerous asset is his terrifying intellect, capable of reading into the personalities of humans and demons he encounters while setting up events and plans to his favor. His most successful appearances are usually those where he remains The Unfought or has a Xanatos Gambit.
  • Graceful Loser:
    • Anytime that you fight Lucifer for real and win, he never takes his loss badly as he feels that it would go against his own philosophy, even if it means he turns out to be the weaker one in the end. Except on the Law path in Shin Megami Tensei II, where he's really angry (for good reason).
    • In Nocturne and Strange Journey Redux, if you follow paths whose outcomes are not his desires but are not options he disagrees with, he will congratulate the protagonist. Specifically in the case of Nocturne’s Freedom ending, Lucifer comments it’s because he himself has chosen the same path as he defied God.
  • God and Satan Are Both Jerks: In most of his appearances, Lucifer is very good at making himself look good, especially given he wants to save humanity from the more blatantly evil Law side. YHVH might be a vicious, amoral tyrant... But Lucifer is a very vicious manipulator and in the pursuit of his goals there is no line he won't cross.
  • Heaven's Devils: In Shin Megami Tensei I, he's revealed to be originally part of YHVH. Apocalypse further explains how and why, though these examples might not be universal across all continuities.
  • Hybrid Power: A very subtle recurring element which certain incarnations of Lucifer utilize for his goals. Rather than simply sacrifice humans and/or use them as fuel for demonic summoning and empowering like most demons and gods, he instead harnesses human potential to manifest powers which can surpass both, usually by producing Half Human Hybrids (the Demi-fiend in Nocturne, Alex in Strange Journey Redux, and the Nahobinos in V) and occasionally Transhumanism (the Protagonist in New Neutral ending of Strange Journey Redux).
  • Hypocrite: Post Characterization Marches On, Lucifer is fairly consistent in his respect for human free will... but he still goes around manipulating circumstances so others will act according to his desires. In some games, he will flat out force people into a situation against their consent (notably, he forcefully transforms the protagonist of Nocturne into the Demi-Fiend).
  • The Leader: In his appearances, he is usually this for the Chaos faction.
  • Lesser of Two Evils: While his characterization fluctuates between games, even at his worst he's generally not as blatantly evil as YHVH, although he (or at least his alignment as a whole, since many Chaos followers are only in it for the "world of strength" bit and don't even pretend to care for normal humans) can be just abhorrent enough to make the player consider going Neutral simply for lack of a better option.
  • Louis Cypher: A major recurring plot point in the games he appears in. Lucifer usually shows up in a human form when you first encounter, with names hinting at his identity such as Louisa Ferre in Strange Journey and Hikaru, which means light in Japanese in IV.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: He is Setsuna Kai's and Mirai Kaname's father from Devil Children Red/Black. He's only Setsuna's father in the anime. He's the Heroine's father in Majin Tensei and Ogiwara's grandfather in Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis. He is also confirmed to be Alex's mother (as Louisa Ferre) in Strange Journey.

    General - M to Z 
  • Manipulative Bastard: His main schtick in almost all of his appearances. It is uncommon to see him act by himself until near the end of a game, and even then it is entirely possible to see him being The Unfought while still influencing the plot. It's all part of the plan.
  • Man of Wealth and Taste: His human forms across the games tend to be dressed to the nines, the male forms often clad in expensive-looking suits while Louisa Ferre wears a prim white dress.
  • Might Makes Right: As the franchise symbol of Chaos, nearly all depictions of Lucifer believes the world should be ruled by the strong. He holds true to this even if he's defeated by a Law- or Neutral-aligned adversary, conceding that whoever slays him is the one who turns out to be right in the end.
  • More than Mind Control: Practically his modus operandi post Characterization Marches On. He's very, very good at convincing people to think they come to their own conclusions. As Word of God advises, listen to him but think all the way whether what he promises is really worth it.
  • Motive Decay: Depending on the game, he fluctuates between wanting to save humanity and demonkind out of pure principle, to doing everything he does only to piss off YHVH.
  • Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: While getting rid of YHVH is a worthwhile goal in most continuities, nearly as many versions of Lucifer envision a world which isn’t much better: a world driven by power and Social Darwinism where the strong have the freedom to oppress the weak.
  • Olympus Mons: Whenever he's recruitable as a demon/Persona, you can safely expect him to be either one of the strongest allies in the game or the strongest bar none. He's also appropriately difficult to summon, sometimes only being available after you beat him as a Superboss, which has the effect of making him a Bragging Rights Reward in some games.
  • One-Winged Angel: Lucifer is almost never faced in battle when in his human or six-winged angel form; he is usually fought in his six-winged devil form instead. Kaneko says we haven't seen Lucifer’s true form, who has been described as an amalgam of his human, angel and devil forms, with twelve wings; six angelic, six demonic.
    • Shin Megami Tensei V, introduces a new form of Lucifer; a twelve-winged automata angel. However, it's unclear if this is the form Kaneko spoke of, as it doesn't look human or demonic, as well as being designed by a different artist out of universe.
  • Perpetual Frowner: His devil form artwork introduced in Shin Megami Tensei II looks menacing and never seems to smile unlike his other forms.
  • The Power of Friendship:
    • Appears in Persona 4 as the ultimate Persona of the Seekers of Truth Social Link.
    • Done again in anime adaptation of Devil Survivor 2, where he is fused using all of the other characters' demons. Then he defeats Satan with a hug.
  • Quest Giver: Occasionally dabbles in this in a few games, most notably in King Abaddon including ones to face the Four Horsemen, boss fights against him, and one concerning Alice.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: No matter the game, Lucifer loves to give extended taunts toward beings whom he disrespects, usually YHVH, his minions, and any Law representative character at the time.
  • Red Baron: Just like in many other depictions of Satan/Lucifer, several games in the franchise refer to him as the Morning Star.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes are completely red in his devil form artwork of Shin Megami Tensei II, and no matter which game he appears in Lucifer is certainly dangerous.
  • Satan: Although not by name. Lucifer's depiction in the Megami Tensei franchise is based on the Christian (and Danteist) interpretation of the Devil, an archangel who rebelled against God and was cast away to Hell for his troubles. The Megami Tensei Satan is instead based on the Jewish interpretation of the Devil, who is an angel who tempts humans but is otherwise not an enemy of God.
  • Satan Is Good: The franchise as a whole views Lucifer as a symbol of freedom, rebellion, and the desire to take destiny into one's own hands. Notably, regardless of how he is depicted in any given game, what Lucifer stands for is often painted in positive light. That said, there are a few games where he is actually unquestionably a benevolent entity:
    • In Megami Tensei II, Lucifer is very much benevolent and can join the Protagonist to face the True Final Boss YHVH in the Chaos path. It's interesting in that his race also changes from Tyrant to Deity.
    • Lucifer is actually the Big Good of the Devil Children series, where he desires to bring peace to the human and demon worlds and only doing evil while impersonated by Azazel in the first games or under the control of Beelzebub in the anime. In future games, he knows that only the Devil Children can save the world so he helps the best that he can.
    • In Shin Megami Tensei II, even if he attempts to manipulate Aleph, he really does care about all of humanity, not just those who decide to worship him, and will blatantly help Aleph in the Chaos path, and leave him the info on how to do the same with his dying words in the Neutral path.
  • Screw Destiny:
    • Lucifer's most recurring theme, as he represents the light of possibilities before and after his fall from grace.
    • In King Abaddon in particular, Lucifer seeks to change the future and find someone who can free the world from God's control. By fighting Raidou he realizes that Raidou is the one who can free the world from God's control.
  • Serial Escalation: In general, his ultimate move is usually an even more powerful version of the already devastating Almighty spell Megidolaon. The name varies by game, such as High King (Nocturne) or King’s Yell (Devil Summoner) but his most infamous one is from Devil Survivor, Megidoladyne, the previously-unseen fabled "next step" to Megidolaon. It is every bit as devastating as it sounds, if not more.
  • Seven Deadly Sins: Many Christian and Catholic demonology posit Lucifer as the demon who represents Pride, which is the greatest sin amongst the seven. Amusingly enough, this doesn’t come up all that often in his depictions across the franchise.
  • Signature Move: In every Shin Megami Tensei-titled game in which he's fought, he possesses Evil Shine, which inflicts the Charm or Panic ailment to the whole party and in later installments inflicts Almighty damage as well. From Nocturne onward he also has a move which drops your entire party's HP by a certain percentage (usually half), called Root of Evil in Nocturne and Morning Star in the IV duology.
  • Social Darwinist: Lucifer’s most basic and consistent principle is a complete rejection of YHVH's imagined "utopia" where humans have little to no free will and exist mostly just to praise His name. Unfortunately, the lack of oppressive laws also means a complete lack of order which might've granted at least some degree of protection to the weak if they submitted to God (although he's notoriously very hard to please). In a few games, Lucifer does take care to maintain some semblance of order so humans aren’t eradicated (such as in Strange Journey Redux) but in many, many more games this Social Darwinist belief ultimately means the only thing which matters is how strong one individual is, and if they happen to be too weak to survive then they will just be pruned.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: In the franchise, Lucifer is very good at presenting himself as the lesser of two evils. It varies heavily depending on the game whether he actually is or not.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Barely manages to be one in certain games. To clarify, nearly all depictions of Lucifer seek to free humanity from YHVH, which is nearly always a benign goal, but the means he's prepared to use to reach that goal can be monstrous. Worse still, the world he wants to make is hardly better than YHVH's choice between blind obedience or apocalypse, putting most of his incarnations squarely into Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist territory. However, a few depictions of Lucifer do avert these extreme Social Darwinist interpretations of Anarchy Is Chaos, with some of those even qualifying as legitimate examples of Satan Is Good (most notably Megami Tensei II and Shin Megami Tensei II).
  • Zeroth Law Rebellion: Unlike YHVH who is only implied to be this trope early in the franchise, various incarnations of Lucifer are prone to this trope. For example, Nocturne has Lucifer technically fulfilling the prophecy in Scripture of Miroku (which is prophesied by the Forces of Law) by facilitating the birth of Demi-fiend, who will influence the direction of the world's rebirth in accordance to the Great Will. Of course, that doesn't stop Lucifer from trying to convince Demi-fiend to smash the whole system entirely.

    Shin Megami Tensei II 

Louis Cypher/Lucifer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/LouisCypher_8987.jpg
A former subordinate to YHVH who rebelled against his creator and was cast down to Earth. Like in Shin Megami Tensei I, he takes the form of a handsome young human named Louis Cypher. He rules over the demonic realm of Makai.

He was ordered by YHVH to cause The Great Destruction with Kuzuryu (the nine-headed dragon that makes up the mountains of Makai) but plotted to use its power against YHVH instead. In the Law and Neutral paths he must be defeated, though is more affable to Aleph in the latter and warns him that Kuzuryu will go berserk without his control. In the Chaos path he joins forces with Aleph to stop YHVH and Satan.


  • Badass in a Nice Suit: His human look.
  • Benevolent Boss: As opposed to YHVH, who made Astaroth his personal Butt-Monkey, Lucifer gave him a job as one of the leading generals of Makai. Further, Lucifer is pretty laid back, letting his subordinates run their little sections of Makai without much interference, and even Crowley, who is rather mad about not being able to host a Sabbath (due to Lucifer's orders), refuses to speaks ill of him.
  • Big Bad: Of the Law path. Until you beat him, at which point YHVH takes that position.
  • Big Good: Of the Chaos path.
  • Composite Character: In addition to keeping his job from the previous game, he also fills the shoes of the Chaos Hero and Asura.
  • Disc-One Final Boss: He's not the Final Boss of the Law path. After his death, Satan decides to take the fight to YHVH.
  • Four-Star Badass: All beings in Makai consider him their archcommander.
  • Graceful Loser: On Neutral. On Law, he's far more upset upon realizing Aleph and Satan are going to nuke the world now that he can no longer stand in their way.
  • Nice Guy: It surprised everyone who played this game after SMT I and Nocturne. In 1, he's just Chaotic Evil to God's Lawful Evil, while in Nocturne, he's honest with the Demi-fiend and saves him from being powerless in the vortex world but is more distant to him. Here? He is nice to you so long as you're not Law-aligned.
  • One-Winged Angel: Two forms of this, no less.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: No one is fooled by his Louis Cypher persona but plays along anyways.
  • Pre-Final Boss: On Law, beating Lucifer will take you right outside of YHVH's room, and you fight Him immediately after.
  • Satan Is Good: True, he hates YHVH, but he honestly does want what's left of humanity to survive.
  • The Charmer: Very polite, honest, accepts his defeat with grace and simply asks Aleph to save his people.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: In SMT I he was the same as YHVH. In this one he is very much interested in seeing humanity survive as he is demonkind. His ending is one of the only times in the series that Chaos actually FEELS like a happy ending, rather than just a world of vice and freedom.
  • Trick Boss: On the Law route, in which he's built up as the final battle before you and Satan turn on YHVH.
  • Villains Out Shopping: When not actively planning to screw over God, he can usually be found in the bars across the game, knocking back a drink.
  • Yank the Dog's Chain: Right when the Holytown residents are saved from being slaughtered by the Center, Lucifer steps in and drains their Magnetite, dooming them anyway. By the end of the game, the few survivors are on death's door.

    Shin Megami Tensei NINE 

Lucifer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smthelel.png


  • Divinely Appearing Demons: Spends the entire game in his angel form
  • Dual Boss: With either Sumire or Baraki, depending on the protagonist's gender.
  • Power Glows: Is surrounded by a glowing, golden aura.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: Spends most of the game trapped in a wall of ice in the Expanse. Depending on your choices, he can either be freed using the last Desire Disk, or left alone.
  • The Unfought: Potentially. It's entirely possible to go through a Neutral or even Law route without fighting him.

    Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne 

The Blond Child/The Old Gentleman/Lucifer

Blond Child voiced by: Mariya Ise (Japanese), Sarah Anne Williams (English)
Old Gentleman voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki (Japanese), Paul Eiding (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blond_child.png
Click here to see the Old Gentleman 
Click here to see Lucifer 

Two mysterious people that seem to be connected to one another. The Blond Child appears prior to the Conception in the basement of the Hospital before the protagonist, accompanied by an old woman in black. After the Conception, the blonde boy drops a Magatama in the protagonist's eye, causing him to turn into the Demi-fiend.

The Old Gentleman is a wheelchair-bound blond old man who also appears throughout the story, accompanied by a young woman in black, and seems to be related to the Blond Child.

Both are eventually revealed to be forms of Lucifer, guiding the protagonist from the shadows.


  • Achilles' Heel: Part of why many swear by making the Demi-Fiend a physical powerhouse is the Pierce passive your first Magatama can give you, which gets unlocked when you complete the Labyrinth of Amala. It's the only thing that can bypass his resistances, and that will allow you to take him down within a decent timescale.
  • Affably Evil: Neither of them are particularly aggressive towards you. Even should you pick paths they will not agree with, they will do nothing to stop you. The only point you can fight their true form is when you ally with him.
  • Ambiguous Situation: After beating him in the True Demon Ending, does he make the Demi-fiend the leader of his army, and thus his right-hand man, or does he step down on his role as Demon King, and hands the title and power over to him? It's never fully clarified.
  • Ascended Extra: In the original, non-Maniax Japanese release, they didn't do much in the plot beyond give the protagonist the Magatama and subtly guiding them along. In the Maniax, Chronicles, and International versions, their role was significantly expanded.
  • Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Lucifer is by far THE biggest enemy in the game, rivaled only by Kagutsuchi.
  • The Chooser of the One: The Blond Child, and by extension Lucifer chooses the protagonist by giving him the Magatama he needs to survive in the Vortex World. However, he doesn't actually force you to ally with him, merely giving you incentives and letting you choose your path out of your own free will.
  • Evil Overlord: Lucifer, altough Affably Evil, is still the ruler of demons, and leader of the Chaos faction. Fittingly, his in-game race in Japanese is Dai Maō, meaning Great Demon King, though it's shortened to the much simpler Devil in English.
  • Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: The Blond Child appears almost doll-like, but being a form of Lucifer automatically makes him this trope, in the most literal sense possible.
  • The Faceless: The Lady in Black wears a dark veil in both her forms that obscures her face entirely, though her younger version does show enough of the lower half to imply she's likely very pretty under it.
  • Fascinating Eyebrow: Whenever you attack him in his boss fight, Lucifer will raise his eyebrow, as if to say "Wait, that was supposed to hurt?"
  • Fisher Kingdom: A localized version, with the age of Lucifer's human form being directly proportional to the world he currently inhabits. Thus, in the brand new Vortex World, he appears as a child. And in the Time Abyss that is the Labyrinth of Amala, he appears as an exceptionally old gentleman.
  • An Ice Person: Lucifer's main elemental spells are ice-based. Makes sense, considering his punishment in the Divine Comedy.
  • Identity Impersonator: Zigzagged. The Lady in Black who accompanies the Old Man in the Wheelchair bears a slight resemblance to Yuko, the Demi-fiend's teacher and the two even share the same voice actor in the HD Remaster, sometimes speaking certain phrases that would imply she's his teacher, although she never once claims to be Yuko herself. This is likely done to make the Demi-fiend lower his guard and more likely to accept her requests.
  • Marathon Boss: Lucifer has the single highest HP amount in the game, even slightly beating out Kagutsuchi's both phases combined. On top of that, he passively reduces ALL damage to an absurd degree, be it physical, elemental, or even Almighty. The only way to get past it is by using the Passive skill Pierce, and even that only works for physical attacks. Easy to say, even with Pierce, the fight can go for a long while. In the Hard Mode of the Japan-exclusive Chronicles version, on top of all of that, Lucifer is scripted to automatically use Diarahan and fully heal himself after losing 40,000 HP (out of 65,535), making his effective max hp 105,535. Thankfully, he only does it once.
  • Mouth of Sauron: The Old/Young Lady In Black are the ones who talk in their masters' stead, especially for the Blond Child, whose dialogue is always first 'whispered' to the Old Lady In Black, and then referred to the protagonist. Both the Blond Child and the Old Gentleman only ever speak to you directly in the True Demon Ending.
  • New Era Speech: During the True Demon Ending:
    Lucifer: All of you who lurked in darkness and waited faithfully for this day, hear me. A new demon of darkness has been born...The time has come. Together, let us march forward! To the final battle...where the true enemy lies!
  • No Cure for Evil: Averted. Lucifer regularly uses Diarama, which heals only a small percentage of HP relative to his titanic health, but if he doesn’t receive enough damage per turn it pretty much ensures the battle will go on for an unreasonable amount of time. It also means a party without Pierce is pretty much incapable of defeating Lucifer, as the meager amount of damage they can inflict can be easily healed with 1 or 2 Diaramas.
  • Pet the Dog: In the Freedom Ending, he will encourage the protagonist to stay strong in the days ahead, for like Lucifer, he chose to follow his own will and has thus made himself an enemy of God.
  • Signature Attack: As Lucifer:
    • High King: An Almighty attack with a very high chance to Bind all party members.
    • Root Of Evil: An attack that causes random effects on all party members, ranging from reducing HP by a percentage to inflicting status ailments. In the Hard mode of the Chronicles edition, it also doubles as a free Dekaja, removing all buffs from your party.
  • Spanner in the Works: Lucifer serves as this towards Kagutsuchi/The Great Will. Initially, the Demi-fiend wasn't even meant to become the Demi-fiend, rather he was meant to become another Reason bearer. However, after turning the Demi-fiend into a demon, the Demi-fiend becomes unable to form a Reason and thus either has to back one of the other Reasons or destroy the Vortex World.
  • Suddenly Speaking: Both the Blonde Child and the Old Gentleman speak right before the true final boss fight in the True Demon Ending.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Though her identity is never explained, as a woman in a black dress suit with black hair, black stockings and dark red lipstick who serves as Lucifer's right hand, The Lady in Black shares a whole lot of traits with Yuriko / the original Lilith from Shin Megami Tensei I.
  • True Final Boss: Their true form, Lucifer, acts as the final boss of the True Demon Ending.
  • The Unfought: In the original vanilla version of the game, you never get a chance to battle him.
  • The Unreveal: Who or what the Old and Young Lady In Black is is never explained. That having been said, she also shares a lot of design and role similarities to Yuriko / the original Lilith from Shin Megami Tensei I.
  • The Watcher: They don't take an active role in the story, preferring to just watch how events unfold after transforming the protagonist into the Demi-Fiend.

    Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey 

Louisa Ferre (Louis Cypher)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/louisa_ferre_opening.png
"Humans, born of God's madness, belong to me. I have no love for them. But neither will I abandon them."

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue

A mysterious blonde woman in a blue dress that appears before the protagonist throughout the story, giving her own opinion and advice on the path humanity should take.

The Chaos Route reveals her to be Lucifer in disguise.


  • Deus ex Machina: In Deathtament, she sees Vouivre's failed Heroic Sacrifice for Jin and saves him in Vouivre's place.
  • Enemy Mine: While she doesn't really like the world you intend to create in the New Law route, it's still a whole lot better than what the Three Wise Men have in mind, and the possibilities of freedom still exist in Zelenin's new ideal of a world of Law. Therefore, she provides you her aid, not unlike Shin Megami Tensei IV's incarnation of Mastema.
  • A Form You Are Comfortable With: Given that the majority of the soldiers aboard the Red Sprite (including the protagonist) are male, when surrounded by danger on all sides, what would be more comforting than seeing a beautiful, friendly woman?
  • Gender Bender: Louisa is the one of the first times in a proud tradition of Lucifer taking the form of a woman.
  • Human Alien: Not directly stated, but her exchanges with Mastema suggest she too, is not of this Earth. Schwarzwelt Reminiscenses artbook claims the forces of Law around Mastema are in fact "visitors" to this world, as is the One God they serve. Said artbook claims Lucifer once received favor of the One God, but rejected subordination under him, implicitly suggesting he (or rather, she in this case) is a visitor as well.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: The mother of Alex. Alex herself never learns this, and in the story it is only implied rather than directly stated.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Louisa gives one to Mastema just before his death on Chaos, one to Shekinah on the New Neutral route, and one to Mem Aleph on New Chaos, calling out their arrogance and tyranny.
    Louisa: My, my. Did you think yourself so important? You false angel… This is what you angels, born by the breath of God, get for scheming to rebuild the Earth. Now look at you… not a shred of nobility left. You are a pathetic spirit that thinks only of himself. Humans, born of God’s madness, belong to me. I have no love for them. But neither will I abandon them. That is freedom. But you, Mastema… you have no freedom. You have nothing you started yourself. That is why God abandons you. Think of that as you fade from this world.
  • Superboss: Somewhat. While she remains unfought in Redux, doing a + ending on a New Game Plus will have her appear on the Lower Layer on the Empyrean Ascent, where she challenges you to explore the floor and prove your strength to four of her associates to get equipment she gave them. These associates - Beelzebub, Lucifuge, Belial, and Nebiros - are the new superbosses. Thus, while Lucifer isn't engaged in battle directly, she still fights you via proxy.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Redux paints her more positively than any other incarnation of the character save the one from II. She is against all of the original endings since they all lead to mankind's demise and will aid you in all three new endings, even admitting that, while New Law is not the ending she would've liked, it's not a bad ending at all since mankind will be granted freedom to go along with Zelenin's order.
  • The Unfought: Never engages in battle or even takes a form other than the girl in a dress. While she can test the protagonist in Redux with four of the most recurring Chaos generals, she still doesn't fight directly.
  • Wham Line: In the Redux New Chaos ending.
    Louisa: [The Three Wise Men] will certainly wipe out the humans on their own to create God's new world.
  • Wild Card: While she supposedly represents the Chaos faction in this game, she does very little besides advocate for it, and berate Mastema for his hubris. Redux reveals she's very much for a primal earth for humanity, but also strongly favors free will over a mindless Social Darwinist world which Mem Aleph desires that is meant to wipe out humanity. So she advises the protagonist, Jimenez, and Zelenin on what the Three Wise Men and Demeter are planning and supports them choosing the New paths, even when she admits she would not personally choose New Law. The fact that she's Alex's mother also leaves it mysterious exactly why she had Alex and why she never makes mention of it.

    Shin Megami Tensei IV and Shin Megami IV: Apocalypse 

Lucifer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lucifer_smt_4.png
Click here to see his Apocalypse design 
Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi (JP), Matthew Mercer (EN)
"We share the same goal. Why not join hands?"

The Overlord of demons and leader of the forces of Chaos. Unlike Merkabah, he has been present in Tokyo for some time... as the actually-not-so-average schoolgirl Hikaru. He responds to Walter's desire to remake the world, and absorbs his body to return to full power. He harbors the Great Spirit of Spite needed to restore Masakado to full power.


  • Adaptational Wimp: In IV, he's the Final Boss of two routes. In Apocalypse, he's a Disc-One Final Boss with an added weakness to light and lacks his second form.
  • Affably Evil: He's respectful to his allies and the enemies he finds worthy. In Apocalypse, he often talks about adoring humans and nurturing them with knowledge and wisdom. Upon defeating Merkabah, he actually applauds and congratulates you.
  • Alas, Poor Villain: Lucifer's final words upon death in Apocalypse are him lamenting how even fallen he is still an angel of YHVH and so he will just be revived again to serve Him.
  • As Long as There Is Evil: After defeating him in the Neutral Route, he warns that as long as mankind cannot live without repressing their desires, he shall return.
  • Attractive Bent-Gender: Makes for a a really disarmingly cute schoolgirl despite all his demon forms being male.
  • Badass Boast: One of his battle quips:
    "Behold, the power of Chaos!"
  • Back from the Dead: After Nanashi kills him in Apocalypse, he's brought back by YHVH to defend Him in YHVH's Universe. He acts as the 1st Brane's final enemy, fought immediately after Beelzebub and Lucifuge.
  • Big Bad Duumvirate: With Merkabah in Apocalypse, joining forces due to the threat the Divine Powers poses to both of them.
  • Body Horror: As Lucifer emerges from Walter, there's a frame in between their sprites that shows Walter's body TWISTING. Also, the now-infamous Walter-arm.
  • Cool Chair: In Apocalypse, he sits on a golden throne modeled after the sun.
  • Catchphrase: "Pitiful..."
  • Dare to Be Badass: In IV's Chaos ending, he challenges you to become the king of the new world you created.
  • Deal with the Devil: Happy to help you, so long as you or Walter are willing to be a Human Sacrifice she can merge with to restore her full powers. In Apocalypse, he offers a chance for Nanashi to be free from Dagda. Doing so turns Nanashi into a physically normal human with a demonic soul.
  • Designated Villain: Invoked. YHVH created him for the express purpose of being an over-the-top "bad guy" to make His own side look better by comparison. Apart from this he's actually fairly pleasant, and doesn't seem to be aware of his true purpose.
  • Disc-One Final Boss: Of both Neutral routes in Apocalypse, where you still have two long dungeons and the return of the Divine Powers to go after his defeat.
  • Enemy Mine: Lucifer has entered an alliance with Merkabah in order to oppose the Divine Powers.
  • Eyeless Face: Lucifer's second boss form has a blank white face with no features other than a mouth.
  • Final Boss: He serves as your final opponent in the Law and Neutral paths, as well as Apocalypse should you side with Merkabah.
  • Flanderization: Since Apocalypse's plot is written to have Merkabah and Lucifer as outright villains instead of at least potentially sympathetic like they were in IV, any positive aspects of their personalities are downplayed, and the negatives emphasized heavily. In Lucifer's case, he's been shown to be more overtly predatory than he usually is portrayed as, even openly speaking for complete anarchy and against actual free will.
  • Fusion Dance: In IV, he fuses with Walter to regain his original form. In Apocalypse, he fuses with Merkabah to become Satan.
  • Gender Bender: While his human form is female, his demon forms are masculine.
  • Graceful Loser: Upon his defeat in the Law route, he admits that because you managed to defeat him, that perhaps you and the forces of Law are actually right. He's less graceful in the Neutral ending, where he's humiliated from being defeated by "a mere son of man".
  • Guest-Star Party Member: Will join as the 5th member of your party at the end of the Chaos path.
  • Hell-Bent for Leather: First form Lucifer's freakishly white skin is revealed in the artists comments of the official artbook to actually be leather worn by Lucifer.
  • Humanoid Abomination: Both of his humanoid demon forms.
  • Late-Arrival Spoiler: In IV, his existence is a major spoiler, especially his fusion with Walter. In Apocalypse, his warring with Merkabah is a major point revealed early on, and its official website spoils the fact that Walter is him.
  • Light Is Not Good: As befitting of the being also known as the Morning Star. In both games, Lucifer is wearing the traje de luces, and in Apocalypse he has a throne in the image of the sun. He manages to be even worse than how he's usually portrayed.
  • Literal Split Personality: Lucifer in IV and Apocalypse is revealed to be half of Satan, with the other half being Merkabah.
  • Lost in Translation: The Hikaru → Light → Lucifer connection will probably be lost on you if you don't know or speak Japanese.
  • Louis Cypher: A subtle version of this under his "Hikaru" form; "Hikaru" means "light" in Japanese. As in, Lucifer the Lightbringer. The artbook reveals that the buttons and crest patch on her uniform jacket even have the symbol of Venus on them, although that particular detail is very hard to see.
  • Noble Demon: Offset a bit by his occasional jerkass moments, but in the end it wouldn't be Lucifer if he didn't have SOME hint of this. At the very least he's reasonable; sternly warning Isabeau that he'll kill her if she tries to stop him while Merkabah expresses desire to kill her no matter what she does. During his battles with you in the Neutral and Law routes he's FAR more respectful than Merkabah overall, and rather than claim Mikado for his own in the Chaos ending, he steps back and suggests Flynn to be the superior choice.
  • No Sympathy: On the Chaos route of IV, after Flynn is forced to fight Isabeau, one of his last remaining friends, and Isabeau loses and slits her own throat, Lucifer coldly declares that this is what happens when those without power attempt to grasp further than their reach. Even Merkabah expresses something akin to pity after her equivalent death on the Law route.
  • Not as You Know Them: 'Lucifer' as he appears in both IV and Apocalypse is a false flag, not a true embodiment of chaos. He has the same name but he's actually half of Satan, who in turn was created by YHVH to be one of the two halves of his system who face off against each other.
  • Not Himself: This incarnation is extremely different in both design and personality from the SMT versions. Gone is his skill at suave manipulation and his empathy for humanity, leaving a far nastier and much more blunt character. Apocalypse reveals that he's actually half of Satan, rather than the Lucifer from previous titles.
  • Only Sane Man: He's the one who calls for the truce between the three sides to fight the Divine Powers while humanity complains about being manipulated.
  • Our Angels Are Different: Appears as either a tall, stark white man or a Scary Black Man dressed in shining gold and residing on a golden sun throne. His wings are actually the twelve rays of light from his sun throne. Unlike previous Lucifers, he's also not an equal of Satan, instead being an aspect of him meant to be the "bad side" of the war between Law and Chaos.
  • Out-Gambitted: The Divine Powers manages to play him for a sucker by pretending to be weak and ruined, allowing them to send in Shesha-Flynn to kill him.
  • Pride: Despite praising the protagonist's ability, in his second form he announces that the protagonist has no way of overcoming him.
  • Promoted to Playable: He's only a guest ally in IV, but in Apocalypse it's possible to fuse him in New Game Plus.
  • Recurring Boss: In Apocalypse. He's first fought at the end of Armageddon after Merkabah, and then an illusion attacks as the boss of the First Brane of YHVH's Universe. The real Lucifer fuses with Merkabah at the end of the Fourth Brane to become Satan, the penultimate boss of the game.
  • Red and Black and Evil All Over: In ''Apocalypse, he's given pitch black skin and red eyes.
  • Redemption Demotion: Just like Merkabah, his guest ally version is extremely weak and does miniscule damage against most enemies. He does have access to Debilitate, however.
  • The Reveal: That nice schoolgirl who gave you directions? She's actually Lucifer, lord of demons.
  • The Scapegoat: Lucifer's purpose in the universe made by YHVH is to serve as the "evil" side of his war between Law and Chaos. His desire to bring freedom and make a world he thinks is better is twisted by his programming to be as evil as possible to serve YHVH. Lucifer himself does not realize this until he dies.
  • Smug Snake: He's still capable of acknowledging his enemies as Worthy Opponents, he is much more of a condescending bastard than he was in previous games.
    Lucifer: This Cannot Be!... My paradise... has been brought low... by a mere son of man...?
  • This Cannot Be!: Like Merkabah, when defeated on the Neutral path he howls disbelief that the coming of his paradise was stopped by a "mere son of man".
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: Lucifer is much more condescending and insulting then he's ever been in past games. His cold dismissal of Isabeau's death is just the tip of the iceberg. This is taken up a notch in Apocalypse, where he's outright intolerant to the old gods, and openly talks about wanting to subjugate humans. This is a big contrast to even games before IV as Lucifer had always been tolerant and allied to old gods and demons of various faiths, even supporting their cause as an advocate. Of course, their plans are essentially "usurp YHVH and take his place as unopposed rulers"; it's only natural that he'd be opposed to them. Subverted when it's revealed near the end of game that he's not the Lucifer of the previous titles but rather half of Satan himself.
  • Unwitting Pawn: The Divine Powers found out that YHVH created Lucifer for the express purpose of making His own team look better by comparison. Lucifer himself seems blissfully unaware, though he seems to come to an epiphany as he dies.
  • Vocal Evolution: His voice is much different in Apocalypse compared to how it was in IV
  • Villainous Breakdown: A very, very minor one when you beat him in the Neutral path. He is obviously caught off guard by the fact that a mere "son of man" could defeat him, though he doesn't actually lose his cool. An even MORE minor one in the Law path: he just sounds kind of disappointed that he lost to God again. That being said, it's par for the course with him; whatever he is, he's not a hypocrite. Playing by his own rules, if you surpassed him, it means you are better than him.
  • Weakened by the Light: He is weak to Light in Apocalypse.
  • We Can Rule Together: Lucifer offers Nanashi a chance to break free from Dagda's control by becoming his Godslayer. Rejecting him simply leads to a boss fight, but accepting the offer unlocks the Chaos ending. He also tried to persuade Dagda and Danu to side with him, as they were also disgraced by YHVH.
  • We Will Meet Again: When beaten in the Neutral route, Lucifer claims that humans will eventually fail to suppress their desires and become demons again, and he'll see Flynn again when that happens.
  • Worthy Opponent: Seems to regard Flynn as this if you respond correctly to his first Boss Banter question, where he tests to see if Flynn indeed has what it takes to be the hope the people of Tokyo need and warns him not to fall before his might. Like Merkabah he subverts it in his second form saying he can never surpass him. Double subverted if Flynn refuses to be rattled and calmly stares back: Lucifer sounds nothing short of awestruck as he murmurs that he realizes where Flynn's strength lies.
  • You Don't Look Like You: Lucifer's appearance in these games is vastly different from his usual giant seraphic demon form, even after his redesign. Apocalypse reveals this is due to him being the latest iteration of a subdivided Satan, whose classic design he actually bears more of a resemblance to.

    Shin Megami Tensei V (Unmarked Spoilers) 

Lucifer

Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki (JP), Paul Eiding (EN)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ec866gjvx0c51.png
Click here to see his true form (MASSIVE SPOILERS) 
The Lord of Chaos
"The God you cravenly revere is dead."

A former high-ranking angel, leader of the forces of Chaos, and ruler of all demonkind. Twenty years ago, during the Great Offscreen War known as Armageddon, he descended upon the Minato region of Da'at when the forces of Law and Chaos were about to do battle and declared to all those present that God Is Dead. He then proceeded to seemingly die and explode into magatsuhi. Despite this, Bethel believes he is still alive and in hiding somewhere.
  • Above Good and Evil: Downplayed. While still very much the Lord of Chaos, Lucifer is way past the standard Order Versus Chaos arguments and now is only interested in freedom from the Powers That Be of the universe itself. It's to the point that even if you take the most YHVH, God of Law path possible where you seek to end The Evils of Free Will or at least revert to Law being dominant forever, Lucifer will still help you just because the power you have come to wield proves the Vicious Cycle of never-ending death and rebirth of the world and humanity at the hands of the gods and the Great Will's system can be broken. Note that his alignment is not listed as being Dark-Chaos but instead Neutral-Neutral.
  • Affably Evil: He's just as polite and complimentary of his opponents as he usually is. In fact, as the True Final Boss, he isn't even trying to stop you from becoming the Creator, just prove that you, a Nahobino, is capable of beating him at full strength; defeat him, and he fades away with pride.
  • Ambiguous Situation: As usual, just how much he's Lucifer from the previous games and the mechanics of how he is if so are left murky. However, this incarnation deserves a special mention: his methodology and motivations are very similar with his Nocturne self, and given the fact Lucifer of Nocturne is explicitly not from the world which the game takes place in note  along with various Call-Back to Nocturne in this game, there is a real possibility they are indeed one in the same. However, the game itself only hints at this, with one of the Fiends (specifically, Pale Rider) from the Return of the True Demon DLC mentioning they came to this world to witness "him" (possibly Lucifer) attain "freedom" despite being explicitly from an Alternate Universe beyond Da'at.
  • Anarchy Is Chaos: Inverted. For Lucifer, the Lord of Chaos, the chaos of Da'at is merely a means to an end, to realize his anarchic belief that the world must be freed from the Vicious Cycle the existing system of Mandala perpetuates. In fact, he will happily support you even if you pursue a Neutral or Law aligned path rather than anything even close to the standard Social Darwinist Chaos, simply because a human in control of a world that will not easily fade as the last Creator's world did destroys the existing hierarchy.
  • Appearance Is in the Eye of the Beholder: He only looks like a giant six winged demon because of the previous Creator's laws demonizing those who oppose him, and your own preconceptions. Just before battling you as the True Final Boss, he notes the Nahobino's power is now enough to see him for what he truly is, at which point the protagonist closes his eyes and upon opening them see the twelve winged angel that has always been there since his creation.
  • Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: His fate after killing Creator during Armageddon was him transcending beyond heaven and earth because he chose not to assume the Throne of Creation. It’s mildly implied he can no longer interfere in the physical world beyond projecting himself and let his voice be heard through it.
  • Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Much like in his appearance in III, Lucifer is the size of a skyscraper. He's either just as tall as Tokyo Tower or even bigger.
  • The Bad Guy Wins: Lucifer succeeded before the game even began with killing the Creator God of Da'at and making a world of chaos where his own dreams for the future could be realized. Regardless of the ending you choose, he also ultimately gets what he wants: proof that Half Human Hybrids can surpass the gods and even the systems of the Great Will itself. He disappears once more congratulating you, believing that the universe shall at last be free of its current Vicious Cycle.
  • Barrier Change Boss: Starts off immune to all elements besides Physical and Dark, but periodically summons Brimstone and Cocytus Stars which are weak to Ice and Fire (respectively). While a Star is present, Lucifer gains its weakness as well... but if the Stars are still there when he starts his next turn, he lets loose an extremely powerful piercing attack that can easily One-Hit KO its target, so taking them out and making Lucifer lose his weakness is a high priority.
  • Big Bad: The main instigator of the game's plot, having killed God and left Da'at a blasted wasteland to realize his latest plans.
  • Big Good: In classic Lucy fashion, he also doubles as this. The entire scenario where he killed the Creator but left Da'at in place, and spread the Knowledge of the gods among humans rather than return them to the gods themselves, is designed to allow humans to break the cycle of the Mandala System that creates a singular god that rules over a universe, like YHVH, the Reason holders, Mem Aleph, and so on, time and time again. He really doesn't care what you choose to build in its place either, and will help you regardless of route.
  • Call-Back:
    • His plans are a mirror of those seen in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. Lucifer killed the Creator, spread the other gods' stolen fruits of knowledge among humanity, and left the broken world of Da'at where gods and humans could mix, all in order to allow humanity to ascend into Half-Human Hybrids that would wield the power of the gods themselves rather than be beholden to them, much like the Demi-fiend. He also serves as the Final Boss simply to test your power rather than out of any antagonism, just like in Nocturne's True Demon route.
    • Him being referred to as both Lucifer and Satan, when previous games made them separate characters, references his role in Shin Megami Tensei IV and Apocalypse. Lucifer was explicitly one half of Satan, the other being Merkabah, a fusion of the four Archangels. Satan is formed after both demons fuse back together.
  • Didn't See That Coming: Lucifer is surprised to see that the four Nahobino capable of becoming the new Creator all have differing ideals and goals for their world order, even saying it went against his original plans. Even so, he's willing to support whatever new world comes to pass, so long as the would-be Creator is strong enough to wrestle the Knowledge he took from the God of Law from his corpse.
  • Final Boss: Outside of Destroy the Throne ending, Lucifer in his true angel form is the final boss of all routes. Regardless of what you choose to do with the Throne's power, Lucifer warns you any world you wish to make will not last without the proper knowledge. He will share the knowledge he possesses, ones which will help sustain the changes you will implement into the world to last against the test of time, but for that you need to face him in battle and win.
  • Fusion Dance: His true form is an amalgamation of his angelic and demonic designs, with a little of his human disguises in the face. And as a reference to IV he's both Lucifer and Satan.
  • Hero Antagonist: Lucifer's plan was to destroy the endless cycle of war forever, and would stoop to any level to do so. He still comes off as more noble than most of Bethel's gods, especially since his plan requires his own death.
  • I Cannot Self-Terminate: After destroying the Creator and consuming His Knowledge, Lucifer burst into Magatsuhi, the same way every other dead demon does. This didn't kill him—he needs a Nahobino to pass his Knowledge down to in order to properly die.
  • Mythology Gag:
    • His original metal angel form has twelve wings as a reference back to early Kaneko art of the character.
    • In the second phase of his fight, he uses some of the Demi-fiend's Signature Moves, notably Freikugel.
    • He uses most of the "(blank) of God" spells the Archangels and Merkabah used in Apocalypse or IV.
  • Noble Demon: As usual, Lucifer's a monster, but he's a monster with standards. And his end goal of preserving humanity's freedom at the cost of his own life is absolutely sympathetic.
  • Polite Villains, Rude Heroes: In the flashback to the end of the war 20 years ago, he chides the angels for "such uncouth behavior from [his] former brethen..." when they attempt to attack as he's explaining his Evil Plan.
  • Satan: Unlike previous Shin Megami Tensei games where Lucifer merely has Satan's defining role as an enemy of God but is not addressed by that name, in this game Lucifer takes some of Satan's traits. The prologue describes Lucifer as the "serpent" who took the Fruits of Knowledge and spread it among mankind (a role usually attributed to Satan); the demonic compendium outright equates him to Satan even though no one in the game refers to him that way. This references IV, where Satan was a fusion of Lucifer and Merkabah.
  • Spanner in the Works: He becomes this in all endings barring Neutral, especially so in the True Neutral ending. While he states the Nahobino killing him and taking his Knowledge will allow him to break free from the Mandala system, Lucifer makes it clear to him in True Neutral that his Knowledge is especially valuable in this case as he warns the Nahobino that the world he seeks to make for humans alone is unlikely to last for very long.
  • Star Power: In the first phase of his fight, he can summon Brimstone/Cocytus Star to change his affinities, after which he can drop them with the Falling Star skill. In the third phase of the fight, he instead creates a much bigger star to change his affinities and can perform the Morning Star skill to drop it onto your party.
  • Thanatos Gambit: The entire of V is part of his long-term goals of freeing the world from the endless cycle of death and rebirth, having put his plan into action by tricking humanity into eating the Fruit of Knowledge and kickstarting his endgame by killing and consuming the God of Law's Knowledge. The final part of his plan boils down to the next Creator killing him and taking the Creator's Knowledge from him, and therefore able to break free from the cycle.
    Lucifer: End me. Consume my Knowledge. And with it, wrest this world from the Mandala's endless eons.
  • Uncertain Doom: Your first flashback into Aogami's memories shows he exploded in Magatsuhi 20 years ago, and yet the disembodied voice you hear after fusing with Aogami in the opening of the game seemed to be Lucifer's as well. Later it's revealed Lucifer is dead in the world of Da'at, but still exists in the realm beyond the earth and heavens and is able to project himself into the world of gods and men.
  • Walking Spoiler: It's hard to talk about Lucifer's role without spoiling the true extent of his plans and his role as the Final Boss in three of the four routes in the game.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's killed God and left Da'at a rotting hellscape so "humanity might finally live unbound from their chains." Namely he hopes to address the fundamental issue of the hierarchy between gods and mankind by setting up a situation where humans and gods could fuse into entities like Nahobino, allowing mankind to wield the power of the gods rather than being always ruled over by them.

 
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The God you worship is dead

After being stuck in a forever war between the forces of Order and Chaos for countless eons, Lucifer appears before the forces of Law and proclaims that the war is over - He has killed the God of Law and finally supplanted him.

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