Kishin Houkou Demonbane is an anime television series based on the Demonbane Mythos. It was produced by Wowow and first aired in 2006. The storyline is an adaptation of the visual novel Kishin Houkou Demonbane, featuring a compressed version of Al Azif's route.
Synopsis[]
Episode 1: I AM PROVIDENCE[]
While desperate for money living in Arkham City, private investigator Daijuuji Kurou got hired by Hadou Ruri of the Hadou Estate to find a grimoire to activate her Deus Machina known as Demonbane. During his search, Kurou visited a mysterious bookstore where he met the owner Nya. Although Nya couldn't sell any grimoires to him, she informed Kurou that he will find one that is fit for him in the near future. Nya turned out to be correct, as Kurou had an encounter with Al Azif, the humanoid manifestation of the Necronomicon. Weakened without a sorcerer, Al used Kurou to form a pact with her, turning him into a powerful sorcerer and her new master to combat the Black Lodge. Doctor West was one of the Black Lodge members who wanted to capture Al for his master, bringing his Destroyer Robot to attack her and Kurou. In retaliation, Al would summon Demonbane.
Episode 2: EVIL SHINE[]
Now piloting Demonbane, Kurou and Al managed to defeat West's Destroyer Robot. After their battle, Kurou abandoned Al by quickly driving off, not wanting to get involved with her conflicts any further. Back at the Black Lodge, Master Therion went out to go search for the new master of the Necronomicon. The next day, Kurou visited the church run by his friend Leica Crusade so he can get a free meal from her. Unbeknownst to him, Al followed Kurou all the way there and the two of them were confronted by Master Therion. When Master Therion attacked Leica, Kurou began to attack him out of rage. After Kurou summoned Demonbane, Master Therion eventually summoned his grimoire the Pnakotic Manuscripts, which took the form of a human girl named Etheldreda, who was able to defeat Demonbane with a single attack due to Al's power being incomplete from her missing pages. Realizing the full extent of the Black Lodge's depravity, Kurou agreed to help Al fight against them before they can hurt anyone else. Meanwhile, Ruri and her butler Winfield found out that it was Kurou who had been using Demonbane without their permission.
Episode 3: REANINATOR[]
Back at his laboratory, West completed his newest invention: an android girl named Elsa. Meanwhile, Kurou and Al began to collect her missing pages, including a fragment that took the form of a spider-woman monster named Atlach-Nacha. However, Ruri scolded them for repeatedly destroying the city during their conflicts, threatening to take away Demonbane if they cause any more collateral damage. Not wanting to continue the argument, Kurou went off with Al to retrieve more of her missing pages so that her power can be at its full potential.
During their drive throughout the city, Kurou and Al recalled the time they retrieved the Mirror of Nitocris, one of her fragments that had power to break the boundaries between fantasy and reality, before noticing another fragment that was on the loose, known as the Scimitar of Barzai. Shortly afterwards, they encountered West and Elsa, who were trying to retrieve Al's fragment for themselves. Although Elsa began to develop romantic feelings towards Kurou, she still begrudgingly fought against him. West successfully stole the missing pages and activated his evil knockoff named "Demonpain", with Elsa being his copilot. Demonpain would be defeated by the real Demonbane, allowing Al to retrieve the stolen pages.
Episode 4: THE INVADERS[]
While Demonbane was being repaired at the Hadou Estate, Ruri berated Kurou and Al for the damage they have caused to the Deus Machina, with the argument resulting in Ruri smacking Al in the face. Winfield later apologized to them for her actions, explaining that Demonbane is very important to her due to it being passed down from her late grandfather and representing a symbol of justice. Shortly afterwards, the Black Lodge's Anticross members Titus and Tiberius broke into the Hadou Estate. Winfield engaged in combat with Titus while Kurou and Al went to go fight Tiberius, who was endangering Ruri. Despite their confrontation eventually leading to Tiberius gaining the upper hand, Master Therion forced him to retreat before he can finish off Kurou. Titus also withdrew from battle, promising Winfield that they will have a rematch someday. Severely injured, Kurou ended up at the hospital and was slowly recovering.
Episode 5: THE SHADOW OVER INNSMOUTH[]
After hearing numerous reports of people going missing at the Innsmouth holiday resort, Kurou and Al were sent to look into the place, accompanied by their friend Leica and the members of the Hadou Estate. Despite initially enjoying some vacation time, they later went to go investigate an ominous nearby island, leading to their ship being destroyed by Deep Ones. Kurou and Al woke up in a mysterious temple, where they discovered their female associates about to be used as human sacrifices. Shortly afterwards, the Anticross Vespasianus revealed that it was an experiment to summon the evil god Dagon by using the R'lyeh Text and sacrificing the Deep Ones. Dagon was eventually defeated by Demonbane with the help of an unknown being known as the "Tyrant", who gave Kurou access to the power of Cthugha and Ithaqua. Meanwhile, Vespasianus departed from the island with the R'lyeh Text, having gained a one of the keys to activate the C Project in the near future.
Episode 6: QUO VADIS[]
During a rainy day, Kurou and Al brought an abandoned little girl named Ennea to their house, who appears to have lost her memory and had a few unexplained scars on her body. Ennea decided to live with them, with Al quickly getting annoyed by her clinginess to Kurou. They were eventually confronted by Claudius and Caligula, members of the Anticross who wanted to retrieve Ennea for themselves. Kurou was initially overwhelmed by the Anticross until he received help from the Tyrant once again, obtaining a pair of handguns. In retaliation, Claudius and Caligula summoned their Deus Machina, Lord Byakhee and Kraken respectively, with Kurou summoning Demonbane to fight them. During their battle, Ennea was seemingly crushed to death by some rubble. Enraged by the loss of his new friend, Kurou used the handguns to access Cthugha and Ithaqua, using their power to defeat Lord Byakhee and Kraken.
Episode 7: BIG "C"[]
Back at the Black Lodge, it was revealed that the Tyrant and her Deus Machina known as the Nameless One were vital components for the C Project. Despite being unable to obtain them, Master Therion decided to continue the plan anyways, with the replacements for the ritual being himself and his Deus Machina, Liber Legis. Lacking confidence towards his actions, the Anticross Augustus plotted a rebellion against him, while West was planning to leave the group entirely. Master Therion summoned Cthulhu and sealed it within the Illusionary Heart Mother, intending to use the evil god's power for his mobile fortress and sacrificing the people of Arkham City. During their attack, Demonbane got into a fight with Liber Legis; however, their battle was quickly interrupted after the Anticross decided to betray Master Therion, seemingly destroying him along with Etheldreda. When the Anticross attacked Demonbane, Al sacrificed herself to save Kurou.
Episode 8: SHADOW IN THE DARK[]
Devastated by the death of Al, Kurou vowed to get revenge on the Black Lodge; however, Ruri and the others tried to convince him to seek immediate medical attention instead due to him being unable to fight them in his condition. They were interrupted by Elsa, who brought West to the Hadou headquarters in order to treat his wounds. Elsa explained that West left the Black Lodge when he was offended by the Anticross planning to use Cthulhu's power to take over the world, instead of his inventions. Although his attack managed to damage their control panels for the Destroyer Robots and delayed their next attack, West was critically injured in the process. Meanwhile, Kurou worked on creating some magically enhanced bullets for his handguns as he no longer had access to the powers given to him by Al.
Shortly afterwards, West formed an alliance with Kurou to fight against the Anticross and modified Demonbane to be able to function without a grimoire, with Elsa being Kurou's new copilot. Demonbane fought off the Destroyer Robots when the Anticross launched their next attack, leading to Caligula attempting to destroy Kurou himself while piloting Kraken. Although Demonbane's abilities were hindered due to being unable to access any magic-based attacks, Kurou and Elsa still emerged victorious by using their finishing move Lemuria Impact to annihilate Kraken, along with Caligula.
Episode 9: THE HUNT[]
Seeking to avenge the death of Caligula, Claudius broke into the Hadou headquarters to face off against Kurou. Although Elsa managed to quickly subdue him, Claudius used the wind power of Hastur to escape before Kurou could finish him off. Claudius reached Demonbane's hangar but would be blasted away by West. Titus also broke into the headquarters in order to have a rematch with Winfield, while Claudius summoned Lord Byakhee to fight Demonbane. The confrontation between Winfield and Titus seemingly ended with a mutual kill; however, Winfield eventually regained consciousness. Meanwhile, Claudius also perished at the hands of Kurou and Elsa when Demonbane's Lemuria Impact annihilated Lord Byakhee.
Episode 10: METALLIC WARCRY[]
When Kurou and Elsa were unable to contact the command center, they were confronted by Tiberius, who had infiltrated the Hadou Estate to kidnap Ruri and use her as a hostage. Tiberius began to slowly torture Kurou, intending to kill him and turn his soul into one of the vengeful spirits. Despite the odds being against him, Kurou continued to fight which eventually lead to the return of Al. Now reunited with her, Kurou and Al piloted Demonbane to face off against Tiberius, who was piloting Belzebuth. Demonbane destroyed Belzebuth but Tiberius survived due to his immortality. Unbeknownst to both Kurou and Al, they gained access to the Shining Trapezohedron, an attack that was used to banish Tiberius into a realm of madness and eternal torment. Meanwhile, Vespasianus attempted to overthrow Augustus and obtain Cthulhu's power, only to get himself killed in the process as Augustus had already taken the R'lyeh Text away from him.
Episode 11: THE RETURN OF THE SORCERER[]
Arriving at the coordinates 47°9′S 126°43′W in the southern Pacific Ocean, Augustus gained full control over Cthulhu using Nero, who was seemingly trapped within the Illusionary Heart Mother. Kurou and Al came to confront him but they were briefly interrupted by the return of Titus, who piloted Ogre to fight Demonbane. Upon entering the Illusionary Heart Mother, Augustus was quickly disposed of by Ennea, who revealed herself to Kurou as "Nero the Tyrant", the one destined to fight him to the death to determine the fate of the world. Even after Nya gave him access to the Shining Trapezohedron again, Kurou refused to finish off Nero, urging her to redeem herself by taking up the false identity of Ennea. Nero was unable to accept the offer and died shortly afterwards, exploding into a shower of gore while giving birth to Master Therion, with Etheldreda returning as well. As the son of Yog-Sothoth and Nero, Master Therion managed to summon the former by sacrificing Cthulhu, revealing the true goal of the C Project.
Episode 12: STRANGE EONS[]
Taking the form of the Gate and the Key, Master Therion intended to use Yog-Sothoth as a portal for the Outer Gods to consume all of reality, challenging Kurou and Al to a final battle. Although Al tried to convince him not to go, as he will never be able to return to the physical universe, Kurou ultimately accepted it both for the greater good and so that he would not be separated from Al. Upon entering the Gate, Master Therion revealed that they have already repeated this battle thousands of times in an infinite cycle but he intended to finally break free from it by colliding Liber Legis' Shining Trapezohedron with Demonbane's, resulting in one of their existences being rejected. Shortly afterwards, Nya reveals her true identity to be Nyarlathotep, the one who had been orchestrating all the events behind the scenes, intending to use their final battle to unleash the Court of Azathoth from their prison. However, Kurou managed to absorb both of the Shining Trapezohedrons in order to defeat Nyarlathotep and Master Therion, with the latter happily accepting his defeat as he was finally at peace and could spend the rest of eternity with Etheldreda in the abyss. After their victory, Al was able to use Demonbane to send Kurou back to Arkham City to live out the rest of his life, despite his disapproval. Kurou was devastated to be separated from Al until she was rescued by the Elder God versions of themselves, allowing them to be reunited once again.