Demon of Pride

The Demon of Pride was one of the demons residing in the vessels of sin. Taking a mirror as its vessel, the demon caused numerous incidents over the centuries. After its vessel was acquired by the mage Abyss I.R., the Demon was transplanted into Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche, prompting her to commit numerous atrocities during her tyrranical reign.

Mantle of Pride
After the death of Eve Moonlit in EC 014, her children, Hänsel and Gretel, split her Original Sin into seven fragments, each with its own demon. Afterwards, the demons and their vessels of sin were scattered across the world. Armed with the knowledge of the sun god's rules for demons, the Demon of Pride eventually inhabited a mirror as its vessel.

Twiright Prank
Sometime during the EC 480s, the Demon's mirror was collected by the mage Abyss I.R. and split into four smaller mirrors, sharing the vessel fragments with Queen Prim Marlon. In late December of EC 491, the Demon of Gluttony was transplanted into one of the mirrors and planted in the northwestern coast of Lucifenia. The mirror was later sealed by Elluka Clockworker and the demon was recalled from the vessel fragment.

Story of Evil
After Queen Anne's death in EC 499, Ney Futapie gave another mirror to Princess Riliane and the Demon of Pride was transplanted to her. With the demon deeply rooting itself in her soul, Riliane's arrogance magnified, turning her into a cruel tyrant and causing her to commit numerous atrocities during her terrible reign, supported by her twin brother Allen Avadonia. By the time Riliane had escaped to the Held Monastery during the Lucifenian Revolution in EC 500, the Demon had left her body.

Later that year, Abyss I.R. transplanted the Demon of Lust to another mirror. Queen Dowager Prim then had the Demon of Pride possess the Marlon king from the mirror he possessed. Whenever the king questioned his actions, the Demon whispered to him from the mirror, crushing his doubts and prompting him to annex Lucifenia. In EC 505, Kyle declared war on Beelzenia and Asmodean, launching an imperialist campaign and intending to conquer all of Evillious.

As time progressed, the demon rooted itself deeply into Kyle's soul and grew bored of his prolonged ambitions. When the king contemplated his coming revenge during a party at Corpa's mansion, the Demon repeatedly voiced its boredom to Kyle until the king was approached by Yukina Freesis. The next night, the mirror in Kyle's possession was stolen by Gumillia and Yukina. The Demon then called out to Kyle as he searched for the vessel fragment, telling him to leave all his feelings to it.

Once the king found the fugitives in the palace courtyard and wrestled the mirror back, the Demon repeated its previous words to him. When the king again touched the mirror for support, the Demon told him to leave all his feelings to it a third time. Kyle then gave in and the Demon of Pride had him undergo a demonic transformation, attacking Gumillia before flying off into the night sky.

Over the course of two weeks, the transformed Kyle tracked down Yukina, Germaine and Gumillia to the Millennium Tree Forest. As a result of the ensuing battle, the Demon of Pride was exorcised from Kyle and two of the mirrors were successfully sealed by Gumillia. Later that year, all four of the mirrors were sealed by Elluka and Gumillia shortly before Abyss I.R. took the fraagments and removed the seals.

Dark Star Scandal
After Gallerian Marlon began collecting each of the mirrors in the early EC 480s, he stored two of them in his home; while there, the Demon of Pride laughed at the Clockworker's Doll, telling her they were all the same. After all four mirrors were collected by Gallerian Marlon, the demon's vessel fragments were chained together.

Defying the End
After the Third Period's destruction and subsequent merging with the Hellish Yard in EC 998, the demons were approached by the sun god, tasking each of them with helping Michaela have Allen Avadonia meet one of their previous contractors, the Demon of Pride's being Princess Riliane. After the demons agreed to cooperate, the Demon of Pride waited in its vessel for its turn. At some point, Held and Michaela forbid the demon from taking its full size.

Once Hänsel and Gretel passed the mirrors to Allen at the Conchita Mansion, the demon prepared for its entrance and declared it was finally its turn. Once the demon manifested itself in a smaller form, it saw the boy's loss for words. Glaring at the human, it asked if there was a problem. Allen then replied that it was a lot smaller than he expected. Telling him to shut up, the demon explained Held and Michaela's fault for its present predicament before saying they should leave if he wanted to see his sister, laughing fearlessly.

Allen brushed off the comment and told the demon he was pleased to meet it. After telling Allen to hold on tight since they were flying, the boy complied and the Demon of Pride began flapping its wings at full speed, slipping through the mansion's ceiling into the sky. Allen then noted that it would take them a while to reach Lucifenia at their current, slow pace. The undersized demon then replied that it would work a little harder, gradually increasing its speed as it pushed itself.

Once the two reached the royal palace, the Demon of Pride announced that they had arrived before the former chamberlain sarcastically congratulated it. The Demon then asked in reply if there was even a need for it to bring him there, since he was already informed about Riliane, saying he could go on even without meeting the princess. Once Allen admitted the Demon was right, it complained about Michaela having it do this before lowering Allen to the ground. Stating it was tired, the Demon returned to the forest.

Personality and Traits
At the time of taking its role as one of the demons for the vessels of sin, the Demon of Pride existed as a blank slate, having no aspirations or goals save for sating its own boredom, the same as its fellow demons. To this end, the Demon would become easily bored when its host was not acting out its sin to a strong enough degree, throwing tantrums and intervening in the host's state of mind to make it act as desired. The Demon of Pride would also sometimes possess individuals without their consent, particularly when made to do so by a third party.

Resenting its small stature, the Demon of Pride often put on a show of bravado and worked hard to compensate for its shortcomings while blaming others for its state and getting angry when it was pointed out. The Demon was also impatient, bossy, and belligerent, particularly when exhausted; once irritated, the entity was prone to rudely complaining to others.

Skills and Abilities
As a Demon of Sin, the Demon of Pride was able to possess those who wielded its vessel. While possessing a host, the Demon of Pride was able to influence their personality and actions, fueling their host's arrogance and vanity. Under the Demon's influence, the individual's doubts would turn into confidence while their confidence would turn into hubris.

If a contract was forged between an individual and the Demon, the Demon's host would have access to powers provided by the Demon. The Demon could also communicate with their host through telepathy. Because of its unique vessel, the Demon of Pride could also move between its mirrors and thus reach more potential hosts across the region or escape if one mirror had been sealed.

Among the host's powers were undergoing a physical transformation; those made to transform by the Demon of Pride would have their skin turn black and grow long, sharp claws and teeth, as well as six feathered wings. The Demon of Pride's transformation was the most powerful of all the demons; however, unlike the other Demons of Sin, the transformation did not provide its host with any other unique abilities. Due to its interactions with Held and Michaela, the Demon's physical manifestation was smaller in size than those of the other Demons, causing it to be slower in terms of movement and become tired more easily when exerting itself.

Although inhabiting the body of its host while possessing them, the Demon of Pride's true essence remained in the Four Mirrors of Lucifenia. Because of this, the Demon's powers could be inhibited by a sealing spell; similarly, the demon was forced to abide by the "rules" put in place by Sickle until the end of the Third Period.

Character Connections
Kyle Marlon: One of the demon's hosts. Initially forced to possess him, the Demon of Pride found Kyle to be boring in his restraint and attention to politics and often berated the king for this. Nonetheless, the Demon gradually forced the king to rely more and more on its power by soothing his insecurities, using him for its own ends.

Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche: One of the demon's hosts. Although forced to possess Riliane, the Demon of Pride appeared satisfied with the princess' tyrannical behavior and bloodthirsty rule compared to the likes of Kyle.

Allen Avadonia: The demon's temporary charge. While incensed at the boy's surprise from his small size, the tired Demon also became aggravated by Allen's insistence on visiting Riliane despite already knowing about her from firsthand experience. It nonetheless attempted to put on a show of bravado for the boy to make up for its unimpressive appearance and speed.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * The vessel's representative sin is derived from Pride of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Curiosities

 * In The Servant of Evil ~Opera Buffa!~, the Demon is called ゴーちゃん (Gou-chan), likely a pun on 傲慢 (gouman), meaning "pride".
 * While the Demon of Pride is initially referred to as a "he" in Allen's narration of the Seven Crimes and Punishments story, the descriptor is immediately followed by an uncertain "she" in parentheses.

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