“ | I take what belongs to me. I take what belongs to others. I take what is satisfying to me. I will take what satisfies others. I will take it all. And mine it will be. | „ |
~ Livyatan |
Livyatan is the demon lord of envy, chaos, and the sea. He is also one of the Seven Kings of Hell that rules the Inferno and acts as its gatekeeper.
Overview[]
Livyatan is one of the Seven Kings of Hell and its gatekeeper. Livyatan as the gatekeeper is known as the Hellmouth where the mighty demon's mouth is said to represent the gates of Hell itself. Livyatan and the Gates of Hell are inextricably linked to one another, as such it is said that that the demon's very mouth, famously known as the Hellmouth, can lead to the depths of the Abyss as well (though this may be another entity instead).
Livyatan is not a fallen angel but instead a torn of piece of the Leviathan, the primordial beast of the sea that attempted to devour the moon only to be thwarted by Jophiel. Livyatan is believed to be an entity similar to the demonic counterpart of the Behemoth who the demons tore a piece off to create a powerful demonic being that wields the Behemoth's incomprehensible strength and became the cupbearer of Hell.
History[]
Background[]
Livyatan was essentially "born" sometime during the climax of the War in Heaven. Seeing the Leviathan breaching the walls of Paradise, Jophiel took notice of the beast making its way towards the moon with the intention of devouring it. The archangel took up her sword and with a swift but mighty swing, managed to cut through the Leviathan's seemingly impenetrable hide, detering it from its course in sheer pain, and forcing it to flee. The piece that was cut from the Leviathan was said to have fallen at the exact time Lucifer and his armada of rebel angels were defeated and cast out of Paradise before colliding into the Abyss. This torn piece of the Leviathan was said to have taken a life of its own from the mixture of Heaven's fire and watery chaos, naming itself Livyatan.
Due to not being a fallen angel it did not heed Lucifer's calling when the fallen angel was the first to awaken after their impact from the abyss, instead waking on its own accord, possibly even before Lucifer himself regained consciousness from the fall. Livyatan witnessed the innumerable horde of fallen angels slowly rising up to the call of Lucifer who rallied them all together and relit their spirits with his words. Despite only being a newly born creation, Livyatan was inspired the Morning Star's words and inheriting the Leviathan's envious nature as well as its disdain towards Heaven, he became part of Lucifer's cause. The other fallen angels, however, upon noticing Livyatan were cautious and wary of this new guest especially since they had to deal with the Prime Evils. Lucifer was only curious in regards to Livyatan's nature and with a learning capacity of an astonishingly swift rate, presented himself before the Morning Star explaining his origins and new purpose all in thanks to his words to which Lucifer was humbled by and accepted him into his ranks.
Ruler of Hell[]
After the defeat of the Prime Evils, not only did Livyatan joined Hell's ranks but also its place of nobility. Becoming one of the Seven Kings of Hell, lording over the sin of Envy, as he conquered Hell alongside the original Kings of Hell and made it his domain. Since conquering Hell, he not only rules over the fallen angels, but also the demons that were native to the Abyss. He observed the commissioning of a grand and glorious palace known as Pandemonium to be built within the center of Hell, becoming its capital. He also joined Beelzebub's court the Order of the Fly giving the rank of Grand Admiral, overseeing the demonic legions and infernal spirits that made their dwelling within the element of water.
It is said that Livyatan's own body serves as its own realm of Hell and preys upon souls that attempt to escape from the Inferno, devouring them and sucking them inside his stomach, where they are forever to be burned in the flames of his body. His maw serving as a gateway to the Inferno was due to its 'parent' unintentionally creating a chemical mixture of the components from the Abyss and Heaven's fire, with chaotic effects. Livyatan was also informed of Azazel's treachery in regards to creating the Right Hand of Doom to unleash the Ogdru Jahad where the great king released two fallen destroyer angels in the form of massive serpents who obliterated the complex where Azazel and his cohorts congregated before being severely punished by Beelzebub.
Defeat by Sparda[]
Livyatan was among the ruling lords of Hell that was stationed by his gate due to Mundus's ruling. Though not exactly thrilled by the prospect of being under Mundus's command, Livyatan would make use of his situation by having his corrupting influence encompass the lands. A key and destructive factor of this was through the use of spreading an infectious substance only known as the Sludge, a black viscous fluid that would transform a human into a monstrous beast with a gaping maw filled with teeth and no other discernible facial features, only with the intent of consuming others and help build the growing power of Livyatan.
Owing to his embodiment of envy, Livyatan was deterred several times from the relaying information concerning his fellow kings and their rapid rise to power far across the other foreign lands. And so he not only hastened the process of his growing kingdom but had several of his legions trespass through the territories of the other infernal kings to acquire materials of which Livyatan does not possess. However, he soon began to notice a shift in the wind, more accurately is that the energies being emitted by the Convergence as well as the Seven Gates of Hell were rapidly deteriorating. The answer came before him in the form of the Legendary Dark Knight, Sparda. The Knight of Hell rebelled against his masters, defeating them and dismantling their kingdoms, thus cutting off their influence from the world. Livyatan engaged in a fierce battle against Sparda with the Knight gaining victory and banishing Livyatan back into the Inferno then destroying the gate with Yamato.
Despite his defeat and imprisonment by Sparda, Livyatan was still able to exert his presence through the Earth but weakened nonetheless. In the 17th Century Livyatan, alongside Asmodeus, Balam, Behemoth, Aamon, Gressil and Isacaaron, possessed the Nun Jeanne des Anges from France. His tendrils were seen erupting from the Nun's mouth confirming his possession of her.
Attack on Hellboy[]
Livyatan appears briefly in league with the demon Moloch, whose minions kidnap Hellboy from the deck of a freighter in the Atlantic Ocean. Livyatan carries Hellboy across the sea in its belly, before spitting him out onto the coast of the same Scottish isle where he was "born."
At some point in time after the Apocalypse, before Hellboy's descent into Hell and even meeting his uncle, Astaroth had a hand in the Livyatan's defeat by Hellboy's hands. In the beginning, Hellboy was unable to land any lasting damage on Livyatan and was consumed by the devil king. On the threshold of life and death, Hellboy was able to resurrect himself from hearing his uncle's words, disguised as Professor Broom's voice, prompting the cambion to shift into his Devil Trigger and overwhelm him. Hellboy, in his Devil state, was able to siphon the energies of the Hellmouth inside Livyatan's maw and redirect it back at the beast with his Right Hand of Doom, creating a blowback cancellation that warped Livyatan into the realm of the Abyss.
Livyatan was understandably enraged by this predicament, but was far more enraged upon knowing that Astaroth played a part in his defeat by Hellboy's hands, vowing a terrible revenge over Astaroth. During Hellboy's reunion with his uncle and his two brothers, Gamon and Lusk, Livyatan appeared and consumed both Astaroth and his nephews before any further business could be done, ending the grudge between the two demons. After the majority of the demonic hierarchy is killed by a titan in the visage of Hellboy, Livyatan emerged from the seas to fight this new adversary but was killed. Its death was soon followed by its 'brother' the demon Behemut's death.