Demon of Hatred | Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Wiki (2024)

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Sekiro Demon of Hatred How to Fight, How to Beat, and Cheese

BEFORE ANYTHING: MALCONTENTis an upgrade to the Finger Whistle, and when used will stun the boss, for enough time to remove roughly 1/4 of his actual vitality with regular sword strikes, and this can be repeated up to THREE TIMES before becoming ineffective. Similarly, using Suzaku's Lotus Umbrellacan help BLOCK A MAJORITY of both FIRE and PHYSICAL attacks done by this boss.

This fight will be a test of endurance; the boss's Posture meter is roughly the same as its vitality meter. As such, take any opportunities you can to attack but do not feel like you have to rush it. You will most likely deplete the full vitality bar before a Posture break.

For the duration of the fight, stay as close to the boss's leading leg as possible. Remainingclose to the leg andsprinting around it counter-clockwise will avoid most of his attacks. The main exceptions to this are his leaping explosion attack, and his Perilous attack (which may still be avoided by circling around). Luckily, both of these can easily be avoided. The explosion can be avoided by sprinting directly away as he leaps and grappling back during the aftershock, and succesfully landing a hit immediately after grappling will sometimes stun the boss, leaving it vulnerable to a couple of free hits. The Perilous attack can be avoided simply by jumping, as you will only be hit if you are on the ground. Using the distance created by the Perilous attack, he may do one of three things; a vertical slash towards you, a slash at the ground, or a swath of fireballs.

Both the ground slash and fireballs can be avoided by sprinting directly at the demon with a slight focus on his leading leg. The fireballs can also be avoided by running away from the demon. If you run back at the boss after the first volley, he will throw a second. He often uses his fireball attack directly after his perilous attack. The vertical slash has a longer startup, allowing you to react and sprint to the right side to continue pushing towards his leg. If during your attack he prepares a stomp and you don't feel confident that you can dodge or sprint out of the way, block it. The demon is not fast enough to break your posture in most cases and you will take no vitality damage from blocking anything that does not have fire damage.

After the first Deathblow, he will crouch and remain stationary for a time. Your attacks will not deal damage during this, and there will be a minor explosion at the end that will deal knock-back but no vitality damage. However, with proper spacing, you can run in after the explosion and get in a hit or two before he leaps back. The rest of the second phase is much like the first, with the exception that the vertical slash now has fire that spreads on both sides. This fire can be avoided by jumping immediately after the slash connects with the ground, or preemptively as the slash now opens up an opportunity to grapple back to the demon in a similar manner to his leaping explosion. Avoiding the slash itself will work the same as the first phase. Aside from this, the second phase is much like the first with extra damage.

The second Deathblow will trigger the third phase immediately, allowing you to get more hits in this time around. The third phase introduces some new attacks; a Perilous attack that creates a ring of fire around both of you and a follow-up Perilous attack, a second Perilous attack added to his initial Perilous dash, and homing fireballs similar to the Shichimen Warrior, albeit faster for this boss. The new Perilous attack is a slash and can be avoided by jumping over both initial slashes (made easier if you flip off of the demon) and jumping over the follow-up Perilous attack.

The main trouble with this attack is not the slashes, but the limited arena space you now have to work with. (NOTE: You can avoid the ring of fire completely by running far away from him at the beginning of the phase). Touching the ring will build up the burn status and knock you back, limiting your ability to avoid the boss's attacks for a short time. He will commonly follow this up with his dashing Perilous attack, sometimes choosing to immediately do another dash Perilous back into the circle, and sometimes attacking from outside the circle. It will disappear after a short time, allowing you to once again make use of the entire arena. His other new attack, the homing fireballs, will deal heavy damage and Burn status with the possibility of knocking you down and preventing you from getting back up until death. The best strategy for this attack is to be as close to the demon as possible and circle around in either direction. Continue to do this until he slams his foot down and poses, signaling that he is finished with the attack and is now open to be hit.

Sekiro Demon of Hatred Attacks, Indicators & Counters

Demon of Hatred Lore

• The Sculptor is confirmed to be the Demon of Hatred. Eavesdropping and talking to him prior to confronting Owl and drinking enough sake with him will unlock a secret dialogue with Demon of Hatred throughout the boss battle. Knowing who the Demon of Hatred is, will also lead to a change in dialogue with the old lady in the watchtower in which she actually talks about the Sculptor.
• Lore Theory: The Malcontent affects the Demon of Hatred because of the Sculptor's previous relationship with the ring'sold owner, the Shinobi Kingfisher, in a similar way to how Father Gascoigne in Bloodborne could be stunned by playing the music box his daughter gives you.
• Lore Theory: The Sculptor knows he will either become the Demon of Hatred, or something like it, due to his own past and the immense bloodlust he feels. Hints towards his ultimate fate include:
  • When you speak with him at the beginning of the game, the Sculptor mentions how carving statues of Buddha reflect those who carve them. He then immediately and constantly lamentshow the only Buddha he can carve, no matter how many times he tries, are those with wrathful faces rather than serene ones.
  • Similarly, when speaking to the Sculptor after meeting with the Divine Heir,you are given the chance to ask the Sculptor what the Buddha showed him,to which he replies with: "Fire, that's all I saw,".
  • One of your first clues comes when afflicted the Sculptor is affected by Dragonrot, wherein he is adamant about being unable to die from it, hinting that he is aware of his humanity slipping away from him.
  • Dialogue shared by the Sculptor when you have given him Unrefined Sakeexplains that, once in the past, he would have almost explicitlybecome a Shura had it not been for Isshin"saving him," by cutting off his arm.
  • When one examines the hut where the Sculptor lives, you can see that itsentiretyis covered with dozens of ofuda: a kind of paper talismanused in both Shinto and Onmyōdō rites for purification and exorcisms, or generally used as wards against misfortune and the supernatural. Moredistressingly, however, is that several portions of the wallssupporting the house appear to have been brokenfrom the inside outdespite the presence of these ofuda.
  • Dialogue offered by Isshin after you've given himMonkey Boozeexplicitlystates that he once faced a Shura in battle ("...or something like it,")and killed it, with the implicationbeing that he believes cutting off the Sculptor's arm--and thus robbing him of his ability to kill--was enough to put an end to his bloodlust and prevent him from becoming a Shura. Isshin also explains that Monkey Booze, which the Sculptor admits he drank much of during his time training in the Sunken Valley, also goes by another name:Shura's Wine.
  • A less direct connection, however,lies in what the Sculptor divulges about the ring his partner wore throughout their time training in the Sunken Valley. ("Whistling through that ring… would fill the valley with a somber melody. Strangely enough, I enjoyed that sound. I listened to it so often.") Though the Slender Finger upgrade material implies this partneronlyusedtheir finger to create a whistling sound: the Sculptor specifying how whistling through thering his partner wore"would fill the valley with a somber melody," implieshis partner also possessed the Malcontent's Ring.
  • The former is important to note both becausethe ring is used as an upgrade material for the Finger Whistleprosthetic, and because the description of the Ring reads as follows: "Wearing this ring as you blow the finger whistle will create a somber tune. The weeping voice is full of solitude and beauty. Possibly somber enough to temporarily quell a voice of rage."
  • It is thus possible, and debatable, that the death of the Sculptor's partner at the hands of the Guardian Apeis what finally set him down the path of becoming a Shura--although, as Isshin alsoexplains through his Monkey Booze dialogue: "Those who go on killing will eventually become Shura. They don't even remember why... Simply enraptured... They kill solely for the joy it brings them."
• Physically, the Demon of Hatred resembles the Sculptor (at least superficially) due to the style of its beard, hunched knees and back, possession of only a single physical right arm, and how its left arm is composed entirely of fire in the shape of (what appears to be) a coiled up grappling hook. The wispy red hair and pot belly also resemble an orangutan, a nickname Emma uses to refer to the sculptorduring certain sake-prompted conversations, and implied in dialogue between the two to be his shinobi name.
• If you visit the Dilapidated Temple and try to enter Ashina Outskirts like you first did at the start, you'll notice that the hook spot you used is now burnt, further confirming that the sculptor was turning into a demon as he left the temple and left this mark.

Demon of Hatred Notes & Trivia

• The Demon of Hatred can be momentarily stunned up to three timeswhen using the Malcontentupgrade for the Finger Whistle against it. As an apparition-type enemy, the boss can also be dealt extra damage using Divine Confetti.
• Most of its attacks can be blocked, and even countered, if you posses the required skill usingtheSuzaku's Lotus Umbrellaupgrade for the Loaded Umbrella. (This is especially useful for guarding against/dealing with the jump attack and overhead swipe with fire the Demon likes to pull off in Phase 2 of the fight.)
• Before defeating the Divine Dragon, if you speak to the Old Priestesslocated in thebuildingwhere you first encounter Tengu of Ashina(near the battlefield arena and theBattlefield Memorial Mob)she will mention that she is certain the war will give birth to a demon, foreshadowing this encounter. If spoken to before this, she will ominously ask: "Do you want to see a demon?" and nothing more.
• Fujioka the Info Broker offers the following explanation as to why the Sculptor is suddenly missing from the Dilapidated Temple:"Oh, if you're looking for the Sculptor, he's gone. He stumbled off muttering something about 'the flames...' I think he was heading towards the battlefield. But where he went and why he went there's none of my business."

• The Demon of Hatred is the Sculptor transformed into an Oni (鬼), often translated as "demon" in English. In Japanese folklore, Onis are a type of yōkaior ogre; in which they are usually depicted as hulking beings with one or more horns growing out of their heads. According to Wikipedia: "Accordingly, a wicked soul beyond rehabilitation transforms into an Oni after death. Only the very worst persons turn into Onis alive, and these are the Onis causing troubles among humans as presented in folk tales."

• When first met, the Demon of Hatred assumes a very distinct pose from Japanese Kabuki performances known as a mie(見え or 見得, pronounced 'mee-eh'). According to Wikipedia: "Mie means 'appearance' or 'visible' in Japanese," and as a pose is meant to "draw attention to a particularly important or powerful portion of the performance. It is meant to show a character's emotions at their peak, and can often be a very powerful pose. The actor's eyes are opened as wide as possible; if the character is meant to seem agitated or angry, the actor will cross his eyes,".
  • The particularmiedone by the Demon of Hatred is known as theGenroku mie, one of the famous and well-known of themieused in Kabuki,wherein the actor's "right hand is held flat, perpendicular to the ground, while his left hand is pointed upwards, elbow bent. At the same time, the actor stamps the floor powerfully with his left foot,".