"Every living beings (sic) in this world are my tools. Is that clear?"
"You shall taste the terror eternal. Even death shall offer you no respite."
— Rhapthorne, Dragon Quest VIII
Dragon Quest is a long-running series of adventures of grand heroes, and many equally grand villains have opposed them. These ones stand out as the worst of the worst.
Entries for each group are by approximate release/publication date.
All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
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Main Series
Examples
- Demon King Orgodemir is the franchise's version of Satan. Upon gaining power, Orgodemir entered a war with the Almighty and sent monsters to wipe out all life on the various islands of the world, succeeding in sealing away all but one of them. One of these islands, Buccanham, entered into an alliance with the Sea Dragon pirates in order to fight Orgodemir; in retaliation, he personally froze the pirates and their ship alive and cursed Buccanham so that any newborn baby would turn into a mindless monster on their first full moon, usually attacking their own parents before leaving. Upon losing to the Almighty's Thanatos Gambit, Orgodemir tricks the heroes into reviving his spirit, disguised as the Almighty. He then starts his conquest anew by sealing away the islands that pose a threat and flooding the entire world with monsters before being defeated for good.
- Cardinal Sin is the leader of Orgodemir's forces at Alltrades Abbey and proves to be the most depraved of his many commanders. Having slain or imprisoned everyone working at the Abbey, Sin and his forces steal the skills of those who come wanting to change classes and drops them into a prison aptly described as a living hell. In Pilgrim's Perdition, Sin's victims are tempted by his minions to win their freedom by wielding the Soulstealer, a blade constructed from part of the wielder's soul, and stealing five souls. The victims' bodies are taken to Precipice Pass, where the survivors of the Abbey's fall are kept, and turned into the wardens; anyone who breaks the rules there are slaughtered. Those who successfully steal five souls, as well as those who escape the Pass, go to Allblades Arena and are forced to fight each other to the death for their freedom. The winners are escorted to Sin, who reveals there was never any chance at freedom and kills them on the spot.
- Gracos is a Sea Demon who attacked an island that worshipped the Four Great Spirits by submerging it underwater, almost drowning everyone in it. Gracos later cursed the spirits of his victims to be trapped in his dungeons, unable to go to the afterlife, where Gracos torments them for his enjoyment. Later, Gracos tries to do the same to Wetlock. When confronted by the heroes, Gracos summons the spirits and give them the false promise of releasing them should they kill the heroes, despite him never planning on doing so. When defeated by the heroes, Gracos attempts to trap the heroes in his dungeon out of spite.
Examples
- King Godwyn, ruler of the Gittish Empire, stands out as the prime definition of Humans Are the Real Monsters within a monster-filled world. Murdering his father and trapping his soul within a tomb out of impatience of not being granted the Empire, Godwyn then led a brutal campaign across the lands. Anyone captured by his forces would be enslaved and taken to the Gortress, where they would be brutalised constantly and killed whenever they grew weak or old. Godwyn also took to kidnapping Celestrians and had them trapped within The Oubliette, draining them of their powers, and also causing the Celestrian Corvus to snap from his 300-year-long torture. Revived by Corvus, Godwyn restarts his ambitions of conquest and enslavement, this time aiming to use the fallen Fyggs to allow him to have complete dominion over the planet. Defeated by the hero, Godwyn makes one last mad attempt on their life, forcing their mentor Aquila to make a Heroic Sacrifice.
- Barbarus is a sadistic dragon who aided the Gittish Empire with their acts of conquest before being slain by his brother Greygnarl. Resurrected, Barbarus heads to Upover to enact his revenge on Greygnarl for his past defeat. Not content with simply just defeating Greygnarl, Barbarus forces Greygnarl to watch as he attempts to destroy Upover and its inhabitants. Barbarus later attempts to destroy the Gortress to kill the rebelling prisoners, uncaring that there's still loyal soldiers there as well. When Corvus breaks free from The Oubliette, Barbarus abandons serving the empire and tries to aid Corvus with the obliteration of existence.
- Stellestria was a vain and haughty woman responsible for the corruption of the Gittish Empire into hardened conquerors. Building the Gortress, Stellestria would have anyone who disagreed with her brutalities sent there to be enslaved. Anyone not sent to the Gortress, Stellestria would have killed, culminating with her having a cliff full of the graves of her foes. Despite being deceased long before the story's start, Stellestria's evil still lingers on in the Protectorate.
- Yore is a demonic being who had a contract with the Gittish Empire to help them raze the surface world. Approaching Stornway, Yore made a deal with the King that he would spare them if he sacrificed their neighboring allies Brigadoom to him. Yore then laid siege to Brigadoom, wiping out its inhabitants and leaving the kingdom in ruins, something he took great pleasure in. Freed by Princess Simona who asked him restore Brigadoom at the cost of Stornway, Yore denies her request and declares he'll raze Stornway before moving onto the rest of the surface world to wipe out mortal life.
- The Ragin' Contagion is a sapient disease created by the Gittish Empire to guard King Godwyn's father's imprisoned soul within the Quarantomb. After the earthquake releases it from its prison, the Contagion's essence spreads to the nearby town of Coffinwell, infecting several citizens of all ages with a bedridden illness with the inevitable outcome of death—leaving fears of the whole town being wiped out. When the Player's party reaches the Contagion, the latter attempts to kill them so as to never be imprisoned again.
Others
Examples
- Dragon Quest V:
- Grandmaster Nimzo is the ruler of Nadria and the leader of the Order of Zugzwang who is imprisoned within Nadria. To be freed and take over the world, Nimzo would found the order and had his minions kidnap people from across the world to build a temple of him, having them work constantly and under constant abuse at the hands of slave drivers. When the temple is completed, Nimzo either removed the souls of the slaves to become mindless worshipers of him or left them to be eaten by monsters.
- Nintendo DS remake only: Bishop Ladja becomes utterly vile here. In his first scene, he brutally beats the hero and Harry—who are six years old at the time—to within an inch of their lives, laughing sadistically all the while. Then, when the hero's father, Pankraz, arrives to save the day, he threatens to murder the hero if Pankraz tries to fight back against his enforcers. After the enforcers are done beating him, Ladja coldly finishes off the dying Pankraz with a giant fireball, then carts the hero and Harry off to a brutal slave labor camp for over ten years. He kills off one person ahead of him, King Korol, for the power. Finally, he makes sure to wait until the main character reunites with his mother after over 18 years apart to kill said mother, just for maximum emotional impact.
- Dragon Quest VI:
- Video game: Lord Mortamor is the Archfiend who seeks to eradicate all hope in the world. Running the land of Greedmore with internment en masse, Mortamor has his subjects routinely subjected to torment and manipulation, with those who resist being shipped off to be executed by the hundreds. A complete sadist, after manipulating a town into killing each other over a treasure he planted in one resident's house, Mortamor goes on to rewind time just to enjoy the massacre over again, with his entire land suffering endlessly only to be resurrected at Mortamor's whims indefinitely.
- Land of Illusion manga, by Yuuki Nakashima: Dhuran is a far cry from the honourable warrior in the game, and rejects the idea of a fair duel. Responsible for corrupting the swordsman Terry, Dhuran sent him to kill the heroes—which included Terry's sister—for his own twisted enjoyment, and treats it like a show. After his right hand Harmour has been beaten by the heroes, Dhuran has no hesitation executing Harmour via the hand of Terry. Later, when Botts confronted Dhuran, Dhuran devoured all of Botts's party members, cruelly telling Botts that he is looking forward to their scream in agony when they melt alive in him, as he sadistically beats Botts up.
- Dragon Quest VIII: Rhapthorne is a cruel being from the World of Darkness who had warred against the denizens of the World of Light before being sealed within the Godbird Sceptre. Possessing anyone who gets in contact with the Sceptre, Rhapthorne would keep them fully aware of their mental torture. Taking control of Dhoulmagus, Rhapthorne then twists the residents of Castle Trodian into immobile plant people. From there, Rhapthorne has anyone he possesses systematically wipe out the descendants of the sages who had imprisoned him and anyone else who got in his way. Eventually free from the sceptre, Rhapthorne has armies ravage the world, intending on unleashing a new reign of horror upon civilisation.
- Dragon Quest XI:
- Dora-In-Grey is the sadistic spirit of the cursed mural of Phnom Nonh. To make herself more beautiful, Dora spreads rumors that looking at her mural grants wealth and luck and lures in good-hearted ones by disguising herself as a lost girl. Once her victims are trapped, Dora absorbs their souls to add to the mural. Having stolen the soul of innocents in front of the heroes, Dora intends to do the same to them too, commenting that she looks forward to having them added to the mural.
- The Gloomnivore is a monster and predator that enjoys eating despair. To this end, it targets victims and imprisons them in their worst memories, forcing them to relive the anguish over and over again as it savors the meal. Encountered when it targets the ghost of King Irwin, the Gloomnivore forces him to relive his murder countless times to hurt him worse as a delicious meal, before intending to attack the heroes and put them through the same.
Spinoffs & Other Media
Examples
- The Adventure of Dai: Zaboera, the general of the Mystic Legion, is easily the most despicable member among the Dark Army. Having no problems playing dirty tricks, Zaboera kidnapped and had Brass, Dai's adoptive grandfather, brainwashed, and had Crocodine give up his pride to use Brass against Dai. Zaboera also has no problems getting one of his subordinates killed to save his own skin, and several times abandons other generals to run away. Zaboera coldly treats his son, Zamza, as a tool, showing no sadness over his death. In the end, when Zaboera was finally forced to fight the heroes himself, he killed his defeated minions to create the monstrous Hyper-Zombie, all while gloating about how he planned it in the first place, disgusting the heroes.
- Heroes duology:
- The World Tree's Woe and The Blight Below: Velasco, despite being a mere human, proves himself to be far more sinister than monsters. Being obsessed with darkness and the Dark Dragon Shadroth, Velasco unleashed a dark spell that corrupted the originally peaceful monsters into attacking humans and drain life force from other dimensions, potentially killing all in there to unleash Shadroth to cover the Kingdom of Arba in darkness. Aside from leading monsters to attack towns, Velasco also kidnapped and possessed one of the Children of Light so that he could enter the Shrines of Scales to attack the other Child. When defeated at the Isle of Fault, Velasco faked a redemption as an attempt to take the heroes with him to die together.
- Twin Kings and the Prophecy's End: Fractos, the twin of Unos, originally a co-ruler of the world, was driven by his love of power and kick-started a war against his brother and summoned the Dreadbolt to blast his own world, destroying all mortals in it and leaving them unable to go to the afterlife. After getting sealed away, Fractos escaped and used various means to manipulate war in the world, such as murdering the King of Dunisia while taking the form of King of Harba and giving the peace-loving King of Al-Kazam the Sword of Discord, corrupting him into a ruthless warlord, leading to countless casualties. Later, Fractos manipulated the power-hungry King of Accordia into assisting him in destroying humanity and brainwashed the monster army into attacking their own country, only to quickly kill him once he is no longer useful to him. Fractos then summoned his castle Black Manse, ready to charge the Dreadbolt to destroy humanity again in the World of Light.
- Your Story: Bishop Ladja seeks to obtain a Zenithian spell that he can use to unleash Grandmaster Nimzo and cover the world in eternal darkness, all for his sadistic pleasure. Already having imprisoned the Zenithian Mada, Ladja kills her husband Pankraz right in front of their young son Luca, whom he spares just to hear his screams, and takes Luca and Prince Harry as his slaves. When Ladja faces Luca again ten years later, he turns him — as well as Bianca when she defies him — into stone, fully alive and aware but helpless as he takes over the entire world. Confronting Luca yet again eight years later, Ladja releases Mada just to kill her out of spite and, even while dying, rips the spell out of Mada's corpse in a last-ditch attempt at releasing Nimzo.
- Monsters: The Dark Prince:
- Aamon is the traitorous adviser of Randolfo the Tyrant who would betray anyone for his ambition of becoming the ruler of Nadiria. Setting his eye on El Zetta's gems for its abilities, Aamon placed a curse on many elves that turned them into stone golems and has his minions keep controlling and enslaving them, resurrecting them when they are destroyed. Responsible for manipulating Psaro into desiring to destroy humanity, Aamon had Rose murdered so that Psaro would transform himself into a mindless beast with an incomplete Secret of Evolution that rampaged across Nadiria so that Aamon could fill the power vacuum. When the timeline has been reset and Aamon was confronted, Aamon cruelly mocked Psaro and his friends that by destroying stone golems they have play a crucial role in destroying elves. Even after being defeated, Aamon still made one last attempt at his ambition by trying to convince Randolfo into using the incomplete Secret of Evolution on Dolph the Destroyer.
- Azabel is a member of the otherwise benevolent Zenithian race that wants nothing less than to set all of creation ablaze. Seeking to purge the world of its sins, Azabel created three abominations to rampage across the land so she could remake it in her own image. Within a few days, Azabel had already destroyed half of the world before being sealed away by Zenith Dragon. When the seal is broken by Ludo, Azabel attempts to restart her maniacal quest of slaughtering all life in order to make her perfect world, all while being utterly blind to her own wickedness.
