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Bael (バエル?) and Dagon (ダゴン Dagon?) are large, toad-like ice demon species in Devil May Cry 4. They make their lair in the courtyard of Fortuna Castle, atop the snowy Lamina Peaks. Nero encounters Bael in Mission 4: Cold Blooded, and Dante battles Dagon in Mission 15: Fortuna Castle.
BaeruDescription[]
Bael and Dagon's species has toad-like bodies, and they possess two anglerfish like glowing feelers known as Rusalka which resemble young, nubile women, and can speak. These are used to entice human prey, but they can also defend themselves and freeze the prey. They have a highly vulnerable tongue, and though they are capable of shrouding their bodies in a special gas that turns them invisible, however, their potent body odor gives them away. The Bael variant is colored white and has blue Rusalka, while the Dagon variant is colored green and has red Rusalka.[1][2]
Story[]
Some time before the start of the game, a Bael emerges from the Fortuna Castle Hell Gate in the Central Courtyard, and its influence shrouds the castle in a blizzard. Nero first encounters its Rusalkas and recognizes them as demons, and after fighting them for a short while, the Bael appears. Nero manages to defeat the Bael and rip off one of its Rusalkas, which his Devil Bringer absorbs. The dying Bael threatens that its brothers will come, and Nero soon sees six Dagons about to emerge from the gate. However, he is able to rush to the gate and deactivate it in time.
Later, a Dagon emerges from the gate, and freezes much of the castle in ice. Dante also encounters its Rusalkas in the Central Courtyard, where he flirts with them. Dagon is about to devour Dante, but Dante dodges it, to which Dagon asks in surprise how did he know. Dante insults the demon by saying that its stink is what made Dante discover it, angering Dagon and making it roar at him. As Dante defeats Dagon, it warns him that there are more of them before Dante slashes it, causing it to turn to ice and shatter. He then takes the Pandora which was powering the Hell Gate, just as the other Dagons escape. Dante uses his new weapon to slaughter the escaped Dagons and destroy the gate. Instead of Bael, Nero battles Dagon inside the body of the Savior.
Strategy[]
Background[]
Ba'al is Semitic title meaning "master" or "lord" applied to many local deities which the Hebrews considered demons, but is also considered an individual god, or referring to Hadad. The title is also used as part of the name of the Philistine deity Beelzebub. Early demonologists came to regard the multiple uses of the title within the Bible as referring a singular demon, and depicted it as a hybrid of man, cat, and toad, named Bael. According to the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, it spoke with a harsh voice and taught the art of invisibility.
Dagon was a major god of the Amorites, Philistines, and Phoenicians, and was considered a demon by the Hebrews. It was typically depicted as a man-fish hybrid, with the human half being the top half and the fish half being the bottom. It was considered a god of fertility, grain, fish, and fishing, which may have inspired the depiction as a man-fish hybrid.
A Rusalka is a type of Slavic ghost which tries to seduce men in order to trick them into drowning, much like nymphs.
Trivia[]
- The Gobul in Monster Hunter Tri is essentially the same creature as Bael and Dagon, a mix of anglerfish and toad.
- If Dante/Nero fails to do significant damage to the boss on a certain amount of time, the boss will taunt you by laughing. 1
- When Dagon and Bael disappear in battle, their rows of sharp teeth remain visible. This is a reference to the Cheshire Cat,[3] a sentient cat-like critter that can disappear at will, from Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. At one point in the book, the cat disappears gradually until nothing is left but its grin, prompting Alice to remark that she has often seen a cat without a grin but never a grin without a cat.
- Bael is referenced by name in Devil May Cry 5 in one of King Cerberus's in-battle lines. Curiously, it seems to refer to Bael as an individual, and not as a race.
- In addition, in Mission 04: V, at the Burrow Market area before V encounters Nidhogg, there is a fresh meat stall belonging to "Bael the Butcher."
- The feelers of Bael & Dagon were made using Kyrie's nude model.[4]
References[]
- ↑ Devil May Cry 4, Boss File — Bael: "A family of demons that resemble toads. They use a gas to conceal their bodies and sensual bait to lure prey which they swallow up. These demons are not used to direct combat, and their huge tongues are a particularly weak spot."
- ↑ Devil May Cry 4, Boss File — Dagon: " A demon much like a Bael, adaptation has caused it to evolve a different body color. This proves to be the only difference between the two, including the particularly weak tongue."
- ↑ Devil May Cry 4 Devil's Material Collection. p. 135
- ↑ Devil May Cry: 3142 Graphic Arts. p.127