Bakal, the King of Dragons

Bakal, the King of Dragons
Age	Unknown (Deceased)
Sex	Male
Race	Dragon
Affiliation	Apostles of Pandemonium (Former)
Occupation	Ninth Apostle (Former) King of Drakwald Emperor of Empyrean (Former)
Alias	The One Who Breathes Fire The Dragon Tyrant The Eternal Dragon King The Cruel King of Dragons The Breath of Fire The Fire
Location	Castle of Bakal, Empyrean
Foreign Name(s)	Korean Ver.: 暴폭龍룡王왕 바칼 Pongnyongwang Bakal, "Dragon Tyrant Bakal" Chinese Ver.: Japanese Ver.:
Likeability	N/A

“

Do you truly believe you can defeat me? Is it possible? So be it... If you truly wish to tempt the fates and destroy the future, I accept your challenge. Perhaps this is our shared fate...

”

Bakal, the King of Dragons also known as the Dragon Tyrant Bakal is the former Ninth Apostle of Pandemonium, The One Who Breathes Fire. He is responsible for the Dragon War, the Magical Prohibition, and the 500 year long Age of Darkness in Empyrean as well as the presence of the three dragons in Arad: Berserk Dragon Hismar, Death Dragon Spirazzi, and Ice Dragon Skasa.

He originally served as a final boss for the unavailable and eponymous Castle of Bakal dungeon inside the Otherverse, then would later make his return currently acting as primary antagonist of Empyrean's Distorted History arc, and final boss for The Machine Revolution: Bakal Raid.

History

Bakal meets Hilder

Bakal is a dragon from the planet Drakwald. During his time there, he rose through the ranks and eventually became its king. However, he grew listless with his constant victory and praise from his people and decided to become a tyrant. Soon after, he grew bored with that lifestyle as well. He instead desired to discover a greater meaning for his existence, but was unable to find the opportunity to do so.

However, after Bakal returned from one of his daily killing sprees, an opportunity arose. He encountered a strange woman named Hilder, who emitted a strange energy similar to his own. Drawn by fateful guidance, he followed her through an Interdimensional Rift and arrived in the mysterious land of Pandemonium.

There, Bakal fought countless powerful creatures, and eventually was granted the title as the Ninth Apostle. Upon meeting the other Apostles, he encountered and developed a deep hatred, fear, and rivalry with the First Apostle, Cain. Although Bakal was slightly curious for reasons why Hilder had gathered the Apostles to Pandemonium, it didn't strike him as important until one inciting incident.

Luke's prophecy of Bakal's death

As he flew through the Pandemonium sky above the Metro Center, he witnessed something peculiar on the building walls below him as the being known as Constructor Luke turned on the electricity for a brief moment. Curious onto what he had seen, Bakal persuaded Luke to turn on the electricity again. Upon closer examination, Bakal discovered that it was a prophecy of his own death and other fellow Apostles.

Extremely intrigued from what he had witnessed, Bakal collected research from the artifacts and stories of Pandemonium, desperate to find the true meaning of Luke's prophecy. As decades passed, he also noticed as newer drawings appeared on the buildings as well. Upon viewing the final drawing, Bakal discovered the true reason why Hilder had gathered all the Apostles to Pandemonium; to fulfill the prophecy of New Genesis, the Reconstruction of Terra. Along with the destruction of a planet, the Apostles, except for Hilder and Cain, were to be sacrificed to recreate the planet Terra, where Hilder and Cain would rule as gods of the new world. Although satisfied upon his discovery, Bakal became deeply angered that his death was only a means by Hilder to promote the survival and ascension of Cain. In response, Bakal devised a plan to disrupt Hilder's plan. He knew it would prove useless to inform the other Apostles of his discovery as they were too prideful to believe him. He had to act alone.

The Dragon War

The Dragon War

Bakal remembered information from his prior research detailing the mythological and coveted elixir called the Water of Life. Upon drinking this, Bakal would become immortal, thus ending Hilder's plans. However, a problem arose, only Hilder had knowledge of its location, and obtaining that information may prove difficult.

Bakal needed a contingency plan. If he should fail, he needed to escape from the clutches of Hilder, as she held complete control of dimensional space in Pandemonium. To solve this, he received help from an unlikely source, Luke. From him, Bakal learned of the existence of the Castle of the Dead, which cut through dimensional space to the Planet Arad. It was then, Bakal realized Luke also shared a similar interest in stopping Hilder, and thus considered Luke his friend.

Cain vs Bakal

In Arad Year 16 BAC, Bakal initiated his plan and started the Dragon War. He mustered up a Dragonoid Army to scour the lands of Pandemonium to find the Water of Life. However, to his surprise, Hilder had quickly gathered the other Apostles to combat his forces. Bakal and his army were easily defeated and surrounded. In his desperation, he remembered the first phrase of New Genesis, which claimed that the Apostles' energies prevented them from kill each other. Testing this, Bakal charged without fear toward Cain. As Cain readied a strike powerful enough to kill the dragon king, his body suddenly stopped, allowing Bakal to escape.

For his transgressions, Bakal was stripped of his title as the Ninth Apostle. In defeat, Bakal fled from Pandemonium through the Castle of the Dead into the heavenly realm of the Arad Planet, known as Empyrean in Arad Year 15 BAC.

Bakal's Plan to Train the Races of the Arad Planet

Bakal knew he could not escape his prophesied death and was aware that Hilder had set him up in the beginning; causing him to enact the Dragon War, flee to Arad, and conquer Empyrean. He had to find a new way to stop Hilder's plan.

Being benevolent was not an option, as Hilder would go to any means to have him killed. Only through the trials of hardship and suffering could the races of Arad be strong enough to defeat the Apostles; in particular, kill Cain and Hilder.

The 'Dragon Tyrant' Bakal

So, Bakal decided to play along with Hilder's plot, appearing to be seemingly unaware of her intentions. He became the dragon tyrant, but with an ulterior motive. Bakal planned to make the races stronger than what Hilder expected, allowing them to be capable of killing not only the Apostles she planned on sending to Arad in the future, but also herself and Cain. As a result, Bakal brought upon the world a suffering that the races of Arad had never experienced before. But in actuality, instead of being the ruthless tyrant that the races had believed, he took upon the role of a savior who would sacrifice himself and prepare the continent for its imminent destruction.

However, there were a few problems with his plan. Bakal knew, although magic was a powerful tool, it would prove ineffective against master of magic like Hilder. The races of Arad needed to find alternative ways to challenge the Apostles. So, he decided to isolate the two sections of the planet, Empyrean and the Arad Continent, to lessen their dependence on magic and discover new sources of power. For the Arad Continent, he planned to periodically unleash his dragon children, Hismar, Spirazzi, and Skasa. Each dragon had its own set of attributes and as well as affinities and resistances to magic which would enable the races to develop and diversify their own fighting techniques. For Empyrean, in particular, which had been a heavily-influenced magical society, they would have had no chance in opposing Hilder. Bakal needed to halt their dependence on magic completely, and oversee this process himself.

Secondly, Bakal needed to ensure that no other Apostles would interfere with his plan. To this end, he relied on Luke to keep the Castle of the Dead hidden and inaccessible to others. Unknown to Bakal, Luke accomplished this deed; it was not until 1000 years later that Hilder and the races of Arad discovered the structure's existence. With the Castle of the Dead blocked, the only being that could traverse through the worlds was Hilder. Bakal knew that Hilder would eventually catch on to his plan and attempt to hasten his demise, so he also needed to develop a method to keep track of her presence and activities.

Bakal's Plan for Empyrean

Dark Age of Empyrean

In Arad Year 14 BAC, Bakal initiated his plan for the races of Empyrean. He became the tyrannical dragon king of heavenly realm, ushering the 500 year period known as Empyrean's Age of Darkness. During his reign, he issued a Magical Prohibition, banning all magic and destroying all records of its practice or use. Bakal did this primarily for two reasons. Firstly, he knew magic would prove useless against Hilder and Cain, and he wanted the Empyreans to rely on another source of power. Secondly, it allowed Bakal to easily detect and track any magical beings, particularly Hilder, that entered into the heavenly realm who intended to interfere with his plan.

In the meantime, Bakal created of a secret force of elite warriors known as Dragon Knights. Overseen by Bakal, these warriors were trained for the primary purpose of fighting and assassinating Hilder, should the opportunity arise.

In Arad Year 1, Bakal blocked off access to the two towers that were connected to Empyrean, the Castle of the Dead and the Sky Tower. For the Sky Tower in particular, he blocked the tower off with an impassable magic pentacle. Although it allowed beings to pass through it from above, it prevented them from entering from below; thus blocking all communication of magical knowledge from the Arad Continent to Empyrean.

The 'Gaebolg' Project

Under the threat of Bakal's tyranny and unable to use magic, the people of Empyrean created a new power, "science", to oppose him. Through their technological innovations, they were able to oppose Bakal's Dragonoid Army. The scientists united to form the secret Anti-Bakal Organization known as the 'Eternal Flame' in Arad Year 256. Out of them, seven of their greatest machinists took charge, and came to be known as the Seven Meisters. With their leadership, the secret weapon, the 'Gaebolg' Project, underwent construction.

However, unknown to them, Bakal had been completely aware of their actions. As he witnessed the mechanical civilization develop, he detected Hilder as she secretly attempted to hasten its development with the use of magic and Terran science. Upon Hilder's initial attempt, around Arad Year 200, Bakal approached the scientists with a proposition, revealing Hilder's plan of the Reconstruction of Terra and the destruction of their planet. However, they turned him down, and Bakal destroyed them and their research without a trace. Once again, Bakal, waited through the years for another group of scientists to arise from the ashes to oppose him.

In Arad Year 303, another such group did appear known as the Seven Meisters. As the 'Gaebolg' Project neared completion, Bakal approached the group's leader, Tenebe, who had been distraught by his discoveries of his fellow colleague Eldirh using magic, to stop the project. Through their conversation, Bakal revealed his plan, Eldirh's true identity, the existence of Pandemonium, the Terran origins of the 'Gaebolg' Project, and Hilder's plot to destroy the Arad Planet. Bakal stated that if the project were completed on-time, he might die, but he would have done so in vain. In order to prevent the end of the world, the Empyreans needed to become stronger and defeat Bakal with their own creations, through the means of passing their research down to future generations. However, to accomplish this goal, a great sacrifice and tragedy was necessary. The 'Gaebolg' Project needed to be destroyed and the Seven Meisters had to die heroically fighting Bakal's armies to inspire future generations to challenge him and future Apostles without fear. After much consideration, Teneb agreed to Bakal's request, but did so under two conditions: if Bakal let his soon-to-be born child survive and allowed his colleague Curio to escape and pass on their research; to which Bakal agreed.

Three days later, Teneb created the necessary tragedy as he sabotaged the near-completed 'Gaebolg' Project to ensure Bakal's success, and 'mistakenly' left evidence of his betrayal. Bakal's Army attacked, destroying the 'Gaebolg' Project and allowed Meister Curio to escape temporarily, enabling him to transfer the blueprints and remains of the 'Gaebolg' to another dimensions for future generations to research and develop before his death. In the end, only one of the Meisters, Hauts-de-louis, was able to survive, but suddenly disappeared with Teneb's child.

The Machine Revolution

As the years passed, the legends of the heroics and tragic deaths of the Seven Meisters inspired the people of Empyrean. Eventually, the scientists discovered Curio's blueprints and inherited their will, once again opposing Bakal. In Arad Year 526, the machinists united together to launch a full scale attack on Bakal's Dragonoid Army, ushering the beginning of the Machine Revolution.

As Bakal watched from above as the city below his palace engulfed in flames, he was visited a final time by his long time rival Hilder. Knowing that the Empyrean's machines would not guarantee Bakal's demise, Hilder grew desperate, not knowing what would happen if Bakal continued to interfere with her plans. Instead, she chose an alternative method; she boastfully tells Bakal of her plan to bring in warriors from the future to fight him. Bakal, scoffing at the idea, transformed into a dragon, and left to fight against the Empyrean army.

After a lengthy struggle, a weakened Bakal returned to his castle, filled with seas of flame, knowing his death was near. He witnessed as individuals walked out of an Interdimensional Rift. Upon questioning the warriors, he learned of their origins, of them being from 500 years in the future, and revealed to them the true history of his inevitable demise. As Bakal looked at every adventurer in turn, his heart filled with pride. Although, Bakal was saddened, being unable to test their true potential due to having been greatly weakened, he prepared for the ensuing fight, looking forward to his long-awaited death and to experience firsthand his century long efforts.

Bakal's death

Upon his defeat and death, Bakal fell from the Empyrean skies, unleashing a loud roar. As he crashed into the continent, he unleashed a massive energy that separated it into four pieces which later came to be known as the Capital Island, Etten Industrial Zone, Northpiece, and Wespiece. Afterward, Bakal's army disbanded and his abandoned castle drifted away into the skies, becoming known as the Floating Castle.

With the Empyrean people's victory, they rebuilt upon the remains of Bakal's palace and constructed the Ghent Imperial Palace. From then on, in Arad Year 530, the Zebin Empire of Empyrean was established.

Although Bakal's plan was cut short, he succeeded in making the Empyreans unite together and create a new form of power to defeat the Apostles. It wouldn't be until centuries later, after the establishment of the Seven Shards in Arad Year 533 and the Empyrean Civil War in Arad Year 992, that the Empyreans could successfully fight another Apostle known as Flame Eater Anton.

Alternatively, if Bakal had survived his encounter with the time-traveling adventurers, thus avoiding Luke's prophecy, he claimed he would have personally gone down to the Arad Continent. If this scenario had occurred, then it most likely would have followed events similar to that of the alternate dimensional plane, Dragonia.

Bakal's Plan For the Arad Continent

In Arad Year 1, Bakal initiated his plan. He sealed off the link between the Arad Continent and Empyrean known as Sky Tower with an impassable magic pentacle. An inner tower was constructed within, filled with the Dragonoid Army and Soldiers of Light led by the magical being Light Castellan Sieghart and was renamed Castle Nebulous. Only when Sieghart and the three dragons were defeated, could the magic pentacle be removed; once again allowing access and communication between the two worlds.

In response to increasing number of monsters appearing from the tower, the Elves created a magic pentacle around the structure, sealing the monsters inside and making it invisible. Although normal non-mutated living individuals could pass through the magical barrier, it would be at the expense of massive amounts of mana, making it impassable for most weaker beings. As a result, the Sky Tower's location was forgotten, and its existence became a legend. Centuries later, after the disappearance of the Elves in the Great Blaze and the side-effects of the Devolution, the pentacle weakened, allowing the tower to be visible and traversable once again. Curious adventurers from all over the continent went to explore the structure after its reappearance, not knowing of the dangers that lied within.

Bakal meets Iris

In Arad Year 100, a hooded individual named Iris appeared in Bakal's palace and told him of a prophecy relating to his three dragons. Bakal, having detected Iris as a puppet of Hilder due to his Magical Prohibition, didn't care about the divination, but was instead heavily intrigued with her powers of the Interdimensional Rift. So, Bakal decided to follow through with the prophecy, as it followed the agenda of his own. He then after used Iris's powers as a means to send his dragons to strengthen and unite the races of the Arad Continent.

In the same year, Bakal sent down the first of his three dragons, Berserk Dragon Hismar to attack the humans of the Pelos Empire. For 52 long years, the dragon raised hell upon the land, only to be finally defeated by the heroes Ozma and Kazan.

Two hundred years later, in Arad Year 300, Bakal sent the Death Dragon Spirazzi to attack the Dark Elves of the Fennes Kingdom. There, the Dark Elves allied with their rivals, the Dwarves to defeat a common enemy. In Arad Year 310, they succeeded in subjugating the dragon, but were unable to kill it, only to be sealed away.

In Arad Year 500, Bakal sent the last of his dragons, the Ice Dragon Skasa to attack the Bantu on Mount Thunderime. Upon Bakal's death in Arad Year 526, Skasa began going through hibernation cycles during the years, 526-831, 835-967 and 969-996. It would not be until centuries later in Arad Year 996, when Skasa reawakened again, the dragon finally met its demise by the hands of the united armies of Adventurers, the Bantu, the Principality of Bel Myre, and the De Los Empire.

Although Bakal had long since died, his plan had succeeded. Under the threat of the dragons, the races of the Arad Continent had united together to fight a common foe, and thus became stronger than he possibly imagined.

---

Alternate Dimension - Dragonia

In the parallel dimension, Dragonia, Bakal and his three dragons survive. After conquering Pandemonium and Empyrean, he went down to the Arad Continent, easily conquering its inhabitants. Upon bringing all the living creatures to submission through pain and suffering, the first year of his rule began, Bakal Year 1.

Ironically, under Bakal's rule, it marked the beginning of the most prosperous and peaceful century in Arad's history. During this time, Bakal's secret soldiers named Dragon Knights assassinated Hilder and the world of Arad was saved, stopping the Devolution. The Dragon used their magics to reinforce the Great Pentacle and used fear to keep monsters away from the populace.

As time passed, Bakal grew unsatisfied with his victory, and turned his attention toward harnessing the powers of the Interdimensional Rift. He believed he could use this new power to look through other dimensions to find clues to locate the sacred World Tree that Hilder had stolen from Arad. He trained his Dragon Knights and planned to send them to scour the multiverse to find the information.

Bakal learned to open the Interdimensional Rift from the Dark Elves, but he was betrayed. Having become soft from the period of peace, Bakal was oblivious of the hatred that was directed toward him. During his conquering of Arad a century prior, there were races that still held a grudge toward the Dragon King; the Dark Elves were no exception. They had misinformed Bakal of the coordinates he wanted, causing him to open a dimensional rift into a realm of dangerous alien forces.

Bakal and his Dragon Army were unable to withstand the powers of the otherworldy enemies that charged into their dimension. With most of Bakal's army decimated in the aftermath, he lost significant power. Other rival races who held a grudge toward the Dragon King took this opportunity to fight him as well, erupting civil wars across the continent.

The Dragon Knights who had survived the encounter with the alien forces felt betrayed. They believed that Bakal had used them as pawns, and purposefully sent them into danger to die. The knights abandoned their master and traveled through the multiverse on their own accord.

Quotes

• "Savage creatures! I shall bring upon you a suffering that you have never imagined before. So grow strong and show me! If you have potential and pride, then it may just be possible. Only when your strength exceeds Hilder's expectations, can we create variables in her grand scheme. I will believe in you more than she does! I shall sacrifice myself for this pursuit and look forward to the day you kill Cain and Hilder! However, you cannot defeat them by relying solely on a force like magic. Another more essential power is needed. You must find this power on your own...!!!"

Dialogue

Request Chat

• I'm tired of weak Humans. Pandemonium is full of challenges. There I couldn't have enough fun popping heads like watermelons.

• If I could travel through time, I'd like to go back to the first time I met Hilder. I want to cut that sweet-talking tongue of hers. Hah hah ha!

• Do you know a star named Drakwald? It's a red morning star visible only during early summer. The humans believe Drakwald is ominous and evil. They're not completely wrong; Drakwald is where I'm from.

Related Pages

• Episode 20: Bakal, the King of Dragons

As an Enemy

Bakal, the Cruel King of Dragons

Type

Family

Dragon

Phase 2

Berserk Mode

Similar to Ozma, Bakal has a wide variety of berserk patterns split between his first and second phase fights that requires heavy cooperation from whichever parties are battling him. If any of these patterns are cleared successfully, it will always grant a damage bonus. However, failing the more crucial ones can result in heavily lowered  Burn (Status) resistance, or receive a party-wipe attack from Bakal himself. Phase 1

• Dragon Brand:
• Dragon Spirit:
• Who wants to fight me?:
• Blazing Flames:
• Karmic Flames:

Phase 2

• Receive your king in the flames!:
• Forged Blade:
• Obey your king!:
• Dragon Runes:

Tips & Strategy

Quotes (Raid)

Appearances

• Cruel King of Dragons' Main Hall (Boss)
• Castle of Bakal (Boss)

Drops (Otherverse)

Priest weapons

•  Tainted Dimensional Scythe: Monk in Castle of Bakal (Normal, Expert, Master)
•  Tainted Dimensional Scythe: Exorcist in Castle of Bakal (Normal, Expert, Master)
•  Tainted Dimensional Scythe - Avenger in Castle of Bakal (Normal, Expert, Master)
•  Silent Doppelganger Scythe - Monk in Castle of Bakal (Expert, Master)
•  Seething Thorn Scythe - Avenger in Castle of Bakal (Expert, Master)

Trivia

Etymology

• The name Bakal could be derived from Pacal from Mayan origins which means Shield and was a common surname given to several Mayan city rulers which does seem to befit his status as a king.
• In the Korean version, Bakal refers to himself as '짐(朕)' (jim) which is a first-person pronoun used by royalty.
• Though "the King of Dragons (용들의 왕)" is one of his many titles, in the Korean version, his official title is '폭룡왕'. It is comprised of three Sino-Korean words, '폭(暴)' (pok), '룡(龍)' (ryong), and '왕(王)' (wang), which mean 'cruel/violent/tyrannical', 'dragon', and 'king', respectively.

Concept

• Similar to Ozma, Bakal's overall character motif is inspired by and shares a few traits with Vlad Tepes Dracula from the Castlevania franchise. But his direction is focused more on a Demon King with power rather than a tragic past.
  • The animation of him drinking and breaking a wine glass before transforming during his boss fight inside the Castle of Bakal is also a homage to the games.

In-Game

• His outfit is sold through Advent of Apostles for Male Priest.

Gallery

Artwork

Sprites