Her Nahobino form resembles a parody of her former self crossed with a beast, and even her battle theme lacks dignity. Instead, her stubborn devotion led to her literal demonization. Had Abdiel tried to understand them, their duel may have never come to pass. The Egyptian god Khonsu points out that, for all anyone knows, God may have appointed the player as his successor. The tragedy of this outcome is that it was entirely preventable. Hoping to uphold God's laws and defend the status quo, she becomes a Nahobino herself. Somewhat poetically, Abdiel finds the inspiration to continue her fight due to Ichiro's continued faith in her cause. Thus begins the game's final act, where the various gods begin a war for control of Heaven. This proves to be a dangerous miscalculation.Ībdiel's defeat drives home the awful truth that her lord has indeed died, revealing to all those watching that nothing can stop them from taking his throne for themselves. The player's very being inherently reveals that God is truly dead, a fact that becomes brutally apparent when Abdiel challenges them to a duel, reasoning that (if a Nahobino is powerless before her) God's order must still exist. In the game's world, a Nahobino is effectively a god in all of its power and glory, entities that God forbade the existence of because their power threatened his rule. This image would be shattered when she confronts the player character, a Nahobino. Related: Shin Megami Tensei V's Sweetest Easter Egg Is a Nocturne Reunion She constantly presents an unwavering image, one that inspires the young recruit Ichiro to follow in her footsteps as a loyal servant of her deity. After all, if her master was always going to die at Lucifer's hands, what was the point of defending him? However, as the de facto leader of Bethel, the resistance against Chaos, Abdiel is incapable of expressing this fear. Though she never says it out-loud, it's clear Abdiel is terrified of everything she's done having been for nothing. Unfortunately for Abdiel, this was a battle that Lucifer would eventually win, as the game starts with him having already proclaimed his victory over the God of Law. Her backstory is taken directly from the character's appearance in John Milton's Paradise Lost - an angel who considered joining the devil's rebellion against God before turning back to the light. As such, Lawful characters often begin as gentle souls simply desiring to live in peace, and are gradually corrupted into brutal autocrats after suffering constant betrayal and disappointment.Ībdiel starts out already poised on the edge of despair. There's a case to be made that the Shin Megami Tensei series is about extremism and how good-natured people can become corrupted into authoritarian despots or anarchic objectivists if pushed to their breaking point. To understand Abdiel's character arc, one must first understand the setting in which she exists.
![characters in the awakening characters in the awakening](https://d3208a.medialib.edu.glogster.com/pI1W2E045wduwzFUSc84/screenshots/6iocrfa9nblr5m7pauiu42c/1450830737-source.jpg)
Related: Shin Megami Tensei: Why Alice Isn't From Wonderland
#Characters in the awakening series#
It's a humbling story for such a proud character and, whether one agrees with her ideals or not, her fall from grace makes for one of the most compelling Lawful characters the series has ever produced. As the world falls increasingly out of balance, her desire to preserve how it used to be drives her to despair and depravity. In a game about the importance of moving on from old ways of thinking, Abdiel is defined by her inability to let go. Yet, despite her aggressive personality, this hardline zealot is by far the most interesting of the game's new characters because her journey best-reflects what SMT V is truly about.
![characters in the awakening characters in the awakening](https://source.wustl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2004/09/2087.jpg)
She's immediately suspicious of the player character, consistently abrasive and so unpredictably violent that even her own angels regard her as an extremist.
![characters in the awakening characters in the awakening](https://www.literaryladiesguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/2-the-awakening-harold-shull.jpg)
Of all the characters to debut in Shin Megami Tensei V, Archangel Abdiel might not seem like the best at first glance. WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Shin Megami Tensei V.