Inferno (インフェルノ Inferuno) is a character in the Soul series. He appeared in the game Soulcalibur VI, which marks his debut appearance in the new, rebooted Soulcalibur timeline.
His nickname is Hellfire of Despair.
Biography[]
Soulcalibur VI[]
Inferno is the embodiment of Soul Edge’s will, an evil amalgam of all the warriors’ souls it has claimed. Nobody knows that it he wants exactly. Some say he just obeys his desire to fight, malm, and gather souls. The eerie fire that surrounds him is the result of all the souls the sword has reaped being burned to fuel.
Harvested from the souls it has collected, Inferno possesses a deep knowledge of all fighting techniques – allowing it to use any weapon style with a phenomenal degree of skill. Though its power defies standard means of measurement – it easily transcends that of any of its previous vessels. Although Inferno’s look changes with every incarnation, rest assured that it is stronger and more brutal than ever![1]
Main Story and Soul Chronicles[]
After Sophitia destroyed one of the two blades of Soul Edge and Cervantes was killed by Taki, the remaining sword was picked up by Siegfried, who was not in a right mind after killing his own father, Frederick. Inferno promptly made Siegfried his new host and they became Nightmare, unleashing the Evil Seed in the process. Assuming the identity of Frederick, Inferno easily tricked Siegfried into killing many innocent lives to resurrecting Frederick. But in reality, Soul Edge was regaining its power.
When Soul Edge was about to become fully resurrected, Nightmare was defeated by Kilik, forcing to abandon the Azure Knight and reveal its true form. Dragging Kilik and Xianghua into the Astral Chaos, Inferno fought the latter after her Krita-Yuga revealed itself as Soul Calibur. Despite losing the fight, Inferno caught a weakened Xianghua off guard but was thrwarted by Kilik, who then fought the demon in his purified Malfested form. Inferno was weakened enough by Kilik and was then seemingly destroyed by Xianghua.
The result of that battle was that Soul Edge was now weakened again, and Siegfried was freed from Inferno's control. But the demon tried to corrupt the knight again until Soul Calibur cried for help, prompting Siegfried to take up Soul Edge and mentally enter the Astral Chaos. It was here that Inferno assumed Nightmare's form to mock him for his sins as the Azure Knight. After one battle, Inferno revealed his true form and attacked Siegfried again. In the end, Inferno could not consume Soul Calibur, but with Siegfried's consciousness trapped inside the Astral Chaos, the demon took control of his body and became Nightmare again.
Physical Appearance[]
Inferno now appears as a more humanoid-looking burning skeletal demon with purplish red flames as opposed to a will-o-the-wisp in the original.
Personality[]
Inferno wants to consume any soul that dare to cross his path, while also trying to get rid of the only thing that can stop him (it's purified shard that became the Spirit Sword). Though in his real form, while he acts like a mindless beast that roars and rampages around, he is actually cunning, malfesting people and manipulating his host to do his bidding in completing the Soul Edge by impersonating anyone close to them.
Costumes[]
Inferno's Color 1 has his signature red flames, while his Color 2 recolors his flames to blue. In Libra of Soul, Inferno uses this color when the Conduit confronts them after defeating 10 Ancients. He also dons a jet black version of Nightmare's armor with a red cape after the Conduit defeated 20 Ancients. Destroying the helmet reveals he has no head underneath.
Weapon & Style[]
Soul Edge[]
The cursed sword Soul Edge has maintained the form of Siegfried's weapon, the Zweihänder. However, whether it has done this intentionally or not is unclear.
Inferno is the true form of Soul Edge, and what makes it so fearsome is its deep knowledge of fighting techniques, which allow it to use any weapon style with a phenomenal degree of skill. Those its power defies standard means of measurement, if you are comparing only skill with weaponry, it easily transcends that of any of its previous vessels.
Whatever the fighting style of those under his control[]
The cursed sword has experienced many battles throughout its long history. Its fighting style is probably best described as a fusion of the physicality, techniques, and fighting spirit of the many warriors who lie in its memory.
Soul Edge changes its form to best suit the one that holds it, and the blade also tends to wholly adapt to its vessel's fighting style. It also remembers the combat techniques of its vessels, most likely to increase its own knowledge and power. However, this is mere theory, and no one knows for sure. Only those who defeat the sword's latest vessel and fight its true form, Inferno, know the primal fear of facing the surging flames that embody Soul Edge.
Inferno is Soul Edge personified. Drawing on the fighting experience and memories of warriors from throughout history, he can utilize their strengths, strategies, and techniques to claim victory. Inferno's attacks have the destructive force of a landslide, and it takes only the blink of an eye for a battle against him to turn in to a massacre. Even the most proficient of warriors cannot guard against his unrelenting fury. His body seems wreathed in the fires of hell, and he is oblivious to pain; half-hearted strikes will do nothing to stop him. Those who face inferno have two choices: submit and die, or go down fighting. Either way, their souls will be devoured by the cursed sword, doomed to spend an eternity trapped in torment inside.[2]
Critical Edge[]
Dark Reconquista: Purgatory: Inferno slams Soul Edge, causing an eruption of dark energy to explode from his immediate area, emerging seconds later on horseback riding a nightmare of evil energy, galloping towards his opponent before viciously swinging his sword through them with one savage strike. This Critical Edge is identical to Nightmare's, but more powerful.
Stages[]
Soulcalibur VI[]
Astral Chaos: Tide of the Damned
Relationships[]
- Cervantes was his former host
- Siegfried is his second and main host, and arch-enemy; uses the host’s fighting style as his own likeness
- True alter-ego of Nightmare
- Defeated and seemingly destroyed by Kilik and Xianghua
- Tried many times to devour the soul of the Conduit through the Evil Seed and Astral Chaos
Trivia[]
- Inferno is the final boss on Legendary in Arcade mode.
- As an anti-cheating measure, Inferno will immediately die if used in an online match; something only possible through hacking.
- A custom character forced to use Inferno's fighting style via hacking will have Nightmare's fighting style instead. The only way around this is to set the custom character's core profile to that of Inferno's standard character.
- There are several things that Inferno does that can be traced back to previous games, like Judecca Flood being the same as Grim Stride-Soul Wave from Soulcalibur IV and a victory animation (Pose 6 in Creation mode) being the same as one of Night Terror's and Nightmare from Soulcalibur II (Pose 7 in Creation mode)
References[]
Video[]
| New Timeline Characters | |
|---|---|
| Playable Characters | Amy • Astaroth • Azwel • Cassandra • Cervantes • Grøh • Hilde • Hwang • Inferno • Ivy • Kilik • Maxi • Mitsurugi • Nightmare • Raphael • Seong Mi-na • Setsuka • Siegfried • Sophitia • Taki • Talim • Tira • Voldo • Xianghua • Yoshimitsu • Zasalamel |
| Other Notable Characters | Bolta • Curtis • Daniel • Dion • George von Krone • Gerhilde von Egilmar • Gorozaemon Yamabuki • Gyobu Kokonoe • Iska Acht • Johan Dürer • Kunpaetku • Kyam • Lingyu • Lucius • Lyla • Natalie • Orzal • Plata • Rothion • Seong Han-myeong • Sakan Inobe • Shugen Kokonoe • Valtro • Vercci de Burg • Wilhelm von Krone • Won Gabok • Xiangfei • Xianglian • Xiuqiang |