The Pandemonium is a location in Classic II: Dominique's Curse. It is a gigantic palace that serves as the residence of Bael, the king of demonkind and supreme ruler of Limbo.
At the site of the Pandemonium, Dominique initially only finds a Stone Formation on an icy plateau. The stones here are placed around a circle of purple light and feature the icons of the four Dukes of Hell who rule Limbo alongside Bael: Bathin, Valefar, Focalor, and Gremory. When Dominique returns to the Stone Formation after defeating the Dukes in their respective dungeons, a cutscene begins where the stones glow intensely before the Pandemonium castle rises from the ground, engulfing the old Stone Formation. Dominique can now proceed into the castle and fight Bael with the intent of escaping Limbo.
Dominique's fate after defeating Bael depends on whether she has defeated all four Hunter demons as well as whether she has assembled the sixteen pages of the Logaeth.
Overview[]
The first section of the Pandemonium resembles a cathedral with stained glass windows. The first obstacle here is a bottomless pit that requires special means (such as Double Jump or Summon Circle) to cross due to its width. It is followed by a long stairway with swinging pendulum blades. The enemies around the stairway include G Axe Outsiders, a Volcano Morte, Maledictions, and roosting Bats. The stairs end at a door, above which is a hidden cake that replenishes HP and can be uncovered with the Block Breaker.
The doorway leads to a room with yellow platforms, which open when jumped onto, and brown platforms, which break when exposed to the same event. These platforms and the Gold Knights here create a risk of falling into abyss before one can proceed upward through water that is somehow suspended in mid-air. As usual, this water requires the Deep Sinker to enter without instantly dying. The way upward inside the water is narrow and features both spikes and guillotine-like platforms. Seamas frequently jump out of this water both downward and upward, but the only enemies actually seen in the water are swimming Deeseamas. The path continues in a narrow corridor where some more water effectively works as a ceiling; Cannon Mortes are the greatest threat here, but Titanias can also spawn from the water "ceiling" and shoot projectiles in addition to those that the Cannon Mortes fire.
The next section features rotating gears of the two types seen earlier in the Clockwork Nightmare. Several torii gates act as portals between enclosed rooms where patiently riding the gears while crouched is the only way to avoid bottomless pits and spikes. This is made more difficult by the enemies here: Gold Knights, which can hit Dominique from above and below; Maledictions, which can cause petrification at inopportune times; and Demon Lords, which can attack from afar using their spells. A cake is placed in a breakable wall near the start, and an Ofuda Charm is in another wall near the end. It is possible to skip much of this section by breaking the latter wall from the opposite side and then performing a precise Dimension Shift to warp to it.
A door leads from the machine segment to an expansive room above a lake of lava. Stable platforms and staircases here are scarce and are home to a variety of enemies including Ninjas, reanimating Kunekunes, Cannon Mortes, G Axe Outsiders, Volcano Mortes, a Dullahammer, and a Wall Dragon. Moving platforms and guillotines must often be boarded to cross the lava here, and in addition to the grounded enemies, Wisps also frequently spawn in the air, often above the lava while Dominique is riding a platform. A breakable wall early in this segment contains a large Mana Rose while a later one contains a cake.
After the perilous lava room, another door leads to a path that winds downward. In stark contrast to the remainder of the Pandemonium, the only hazards here are slow-moving Mortes, which deal little damage and die in one hit from any weapon. This segment is more notable for its large quantity of candles that can be attacked to reveal various supplies.
The upper-right wall in the room is partially made up of blocks that, although the True Sight does not reveal anything particular about them, can be broken with Unholy Fire. This opens up a tunnel to a hidden room with an angel statue in the background. Here, a friendly IGA (wearing his boss attire from the main game of Ritual of the Night) is found walking back and forth. He acts as a Merchant who sells basic items, and he can also give Dominique Coins in exchange for demon Remains.
When Dominique considers herself ready, she will proceed down and right to the next room, where a portal takes her to the demon king Bael. The boss battle is similar to the one in the main game, though Bael has fewer moves this time because no one is riding him as Dominique previously did. Dominique's fate after defeating Bael depends on which endings she has the prerequisites for: in the Bad Ending, she, much to her dismay, remains stuck in Limbo, and becomes the queen of the realm. In the Bitter Ending, Dominique manages to escape Limbo to the human world, only to discover that the demonic realm was keeping her Crystal Curse in check, and the curse completely overtakes her. In the True Ending, she escapes Limbo, but at the cost of her powers and memories, being subsequently found and taken to safety by a unsure Miriam.
Notes[]
- This is the only boss fortress in Dominique's Curse that cannot be warped to using a Waystone, even after the castle has been summoned. The nearest possible destination is the town of Paulina.
- This is the only boss fortress in the game to lack an associated Groundskeeper.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This area is named after the Pandæmonium (also spelled as Pandemonium), the capital of hell in John Milton's narrative poem Paradise Lost.
- The layout of the last room before the portal to Bael is closely based on Dracula's Castle, the final area in Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. The secret passage from that room to IGA (who appears as a Merchant in Dominique's Curse) is made up of blocks that can only be broken with Unholy Fire, much like to the blocks in Simon's Quest that can be broken with Holy Water.