Malefacts

Overview

Malefacts are the primary enemy type in Beast of Reincarnation. They are created when the Blight -- a parasitic phenomenon -- transforms living organisms into monsters. The Blight fuses creatures with plant matter, turning them into hostile, monstrous hybrids of their original forms. Malefacts range from common enemies encountered throughout the world to the massive Nushi boss creatures that generate entire Blighted Forests around themselves.

Origin and Creation

Malefacts are created when living creatures are exposed to and corrupted by the Blight. The parasitic phenomenon transforms living organisms, fusing the animal with plant matter into something aggressive and dangerous. The variety of Malefacts reflects the diversity of the original creatures that were corrupted -- each Malefact type is based on a different animal or organism, resulting in a wide range of forms, sizes, and combat behaviors.

Some Malefacts are tree-like monsters -- creatures so heavily corrupted that their original animal form is barely recognizable beneath the plant overgrowth. Others are more clearly merged with animal bodies, retaining recognizable features of their original forms while displaying grotesque plant-matter mutations. This visual variety communicates the Blight's indiscriminate nature: it corrupts everything it touches, regardless of the creature's original form.

Types and Variety

The Malefact population includes several distinct categories based on their level of corruption and original form:

• Tree-Like Monsters -- Heavily corrupted creatures where plant matter has almost entirely consumed the original organism, creating shambling, wood-like enemies.

• Animal-Plant Hybrids -- Creatures merged with animal bodies that retain recognizable features of their original form, such as limbs, heads, or movement patterns, overlaid with plant mutations.

• Nushi -- Extremely powerful boss-level Malefacts that are massive behemoths capable of generating entire Blighted Forests around themselves.

Malefacts spawn not only in existing Blighted Forests but also in areas undergoing dynamic environmental transformation. As the world changes in real time -- with plains and wastelands gradually transforming into forests -- abrupt transformations can give rise to unseen Malefacts, creating unexpected combat encounters.

Role in Gameplay

Emma, as a Sealer, hunts Malefacts and absorbs their Blight into her own body after defeating them. She can absorb essences from defeated enemies to unlock new abilities, making Malefact encounters a core progression mechanic beyond simple combat challenges. This absorption is both her purpose and her curse -- it strengthens her powers but draws her deeper into the corruption she fights against.

Players can approach Malefact encounters through multiple combat strategies: engaging aggressively with Emma's katana, fighting from long range with bow and crossbow, using stealth assassinations to thin enemy numbers before engaging groups, or directing Koo to lead in and strike first. The diversity of Malefact types encourages players to vary their approach and adapt their Blooming Arts selections based on the enemies they face.

Blighted Forests

Powerful Malefacts, particularly Nushi, generate Blighted Forests around themselves. These corrupted zones are explicitly described as dungeons that players explore, fighting through waves of lesser Malefacts and navigating corrupted terrain to reach the Nushi boss at the forest's center. Players must fight through these forests and the Malefacts within them to take down the Nushi.

Blighted Forests spread across the landscape, expanding the Blight's influence and spawning additional Malefacts. The dynamic nature of the world means these forests are not static -- they grow and transform as part of the Blight's ongoing corruption of the landscape.

Koo's Paradox

Koo, Emma's wolf-like companion, is himself classified as a Malefact -- making their partnership deeply paradoxical. A Sealer whose mission is to destroy Malefacts has instead bonded with one. Koo's vine-branch tail marks him as Blight-connected, yet he fights alongside Emma against his own kind. Koo is described as an abandoned dog that Emma encounters, suggesting his Malefact nature developed after he was already alive -- raising questions about the nature of the Blight's corruption and whether it always strips creatures of their will.

This contradiction is central to the game's narrative and raises questions about the nature of the Blight, free will, and whether corruption is truly irreversible. If Koo can resist the Blight's influence and maintain loyalty to a Sealer, what does that mean for the other Malefacts Emma destroys?

Notable Malefacts