So the Tartarus Arc has begun and I have to say with my current low expectations of the series it has gotten off to a tolerable start. Something finally happened with the council and it was hilarious, bar the whole thing with Lahar and Org dying because they were two of the three likeable characters in that most useless government in the history of fictional governments, but maybe I’m just giving those useless imbeciles too little credit. Anyway we at long last get to see our antagonists, Tartarus, the last of the Balam Alliance and Powerful Demons from the Book of Zeref, with the possible exceptions of Tempesta and previously Jackal but my hope in him was restored in the end of the last chapter and as for Tempesta does strength matter when you’re an immortal lion-man that can turn into a deadly gas lethal to pretty much every human being? Probably still yes as it would lead to disappointingly short battles in the future but then again with a deadly ace in the hole like that who gives a hoot. I still can’t get over the fact that a whiny little girl created these beasts. Okay despite my little nit-picks I am liking the darker route this arc is taking, with a lot of characters dead already and the villains are quite interesting from their first impressions, but I have been let down by villains who seem cool before and turn out to be disappointing in the end, *cough* Sting *cough* Future Rogue *cough* Hades *cough* ahem excuse me please. Still in a much simpler time when Tartarus was still hidden in the shadows and theories that buzzed around in my head like the bumble around the first tulip to bloom in spring. Tartarus was no exception to my random theories and with the seven deadly sins basically being taken up by the Seven Kin of Purgatory I began to of the possibility that Tartarus’ head mages would be related to that of the Nine Circles of Hell form the epic poem Divine Comedy. So with Tartraus know revealed and with the core of the guilds strength build into the Nine Demon Gates could it be that these demons share characteristics related to the circles? Well that is what I want to discuss.
What are the Nine Circles?[]
First of all if you’re not familiar at all with Inferno in the Divine Comedy, don’t worry I’m as far from an expert on the classic as any other regular schmuck, but basically the Nine Circles are the different depths of hell where the sinners are punished for their particular sins and the nine goes as follows;
First Circle Limbo; where those who are not sinful but yet did not accept Christ go. In this circle these damned souls are punished to deficient form of Heaven.
Second Circle Lust; the first circle were people are truly punished and for those who were overcome by their lustful desires. Here souls as trashed back and forth by the wind of a violent storm that symbolizes how lust can blow you about needlessly and aimlessly in life.
Third Circle Gluttony; our good old three headed dog, Cerberus, resides here to guard the gluttonous souls that are punished to lie in awful slush crated by an icy downpour of rain which symbolises the cold and selfish nature of these damned souls.
Fourth Circle Greed; where those hoarding and obsessing over an abundance of material goods go. They are punished to forever push their load of materialistic possessions up a hill, only for it to tumble back down, forcing the damned to begin again from the bottom.
Fifth Circle Wrath; where the wrathful fight in the river Styx to reach the surface for a breath of air while those in the swamp-like waters are left gurgling beneath.
Sixth Circle Heresy; where Heretics are left trapped in flaming tombs.
Seventh Circle Violence; guarded by the Minotaur this circle is divided into three rings. The outer ring is where the violent towards people and property ad immersed in a river of boiling blood and fire. The middle ring is for suicides, where those who committed violence on owns self are turned into gnarled and thorny bushes and trees that are fed upon by harpies and profligates, who destroy their lives by destroying the means in which the lives are sustained and are chased and mauled by ferocious dogs. The inner ring is for the blasphemous souls who are left to reside in a desert of flaming sand, where fiery flakes rain down from the sky.
Eighth Circle Fraud; where those who committed where those involved in conscious fraud or treachery are punished. There are 10 different parts each to different kinds of fraud so I’m sorry but at the moment I am not go into to all of them in detail but they all involve different ways of punishment for different kinds of fraud so if you are interested, please research it as I do find each image of hell in the Devine Comedy intriguing and you might as well.
Ninth Circle, Treachery; finally were those treacherous with pride and other flaws behind their acts of betrayal are punished by being immersed in ice. Notable characters such Satan reside here.
Into the Inferno[]
Now I hope that helps clear thing up a little, so let us move on. With the Nine Demon Gates being a group of nine my mind was sent back to my ideas of the members of the guild, named after the underworld, to have powers somewhat related to hell. I began to look at each demon and began to wonder where each demon would fit into to one of the nine circles but sadly most of my thoughts are based mainly on aesthetics, titles and the glimpse of each demon’s personality we have been given so far, and for those who have acted already it makes it easier to put then into a particular category. So without further ado here we go.
Circle One, Limbo: Torafusa
This scaly bastard starts of the list by being mainly dissatisfied all the time we’ve seen him so far. Honestly I had too ideas for Limbo but Torafusa goes here because of his dissatisfying look he has like one of the virtuous damned stuck in limbo. You’re probably dissatisfied with this reason aren’t you?
Circle Two, Lust: Sayla
Sayla being one of the two women in the Nine Demon Gates Basically was decided to be placed here mainly on looks and her “personality” as she has a great “personality”. Anyway I just but her here because she takes the appearance of an attractive female whereas Kyouka looks a lot more evil and deadly, basically something that wouldn’t draw you in with her femininity. Also Sayla reminds me of the Babylonian goddess of love, sexuality and fertility Ishtar as she resembles one depiction of the goddess I saw and what the goddess represents links into the lustful desires on human beings.
Circle Three, Gluttony: Tempesta
I don’t know he goes to a restaurant. That’s more than anyone else in the team has to do with gluttony, bar fatty. Speaking of fatty
Circle Four, Greed: Franmalth
Franmalth was probably the second easiest to connect to his chosen circle as his overall character design empathises greed with round body, fat neck and large hanging tongue that gives the idea of a hunger for desirables. He could have been placed into the fourth circles but his comment on the lives of the council members Jackal took and Temepesta’s resurrection costing Tartarus a pretty penny shot him up into greed. I won’t be surprised if his armour turns out to be golden.
Circle Five, Wrath: Ezel
Well this angry S.O.B was the easiest to connect and his first appearance clearly showed him up as the angry one. Ezel works for Wrath just by being this brute.
Circle Six, Heresy: Keith
I mainly place Keith (by the way, best name for a demon ever) in heresy because of his title of Black Priest. It’s clearly give an idea of the opposite of a priest with the word “Black” giving off evil connotations and linking into the definition of heresy, beliefs or opinions contrary to orthodox religious doctrine, as a demon won’t be praising the lord any time soon.
Circle Seven, Violence: Jackal
I put Jackal into violence because of his sheer love of it. Ezel was a possible candidate but his anger clearly had him in wrath. Honestly any demon wanting to throw the world into chaos would fit here but it’s Jackals joyous expression when he literally blows someone out of existence puts him here. Also the two burning forms of punishment in the circle of violence work hand in hand with his awesome explosion magic.
Circle Eight, Fraud: Kyouka
Kyouka was put into Fraud as following her just screams bad idea. Allowing her to use her magic on you basically fits the definition of fraud as she is using the promise of power to lure you into her schemes. If it works she gains a powerful minion, if it doesn’t you die and are part of the many Tartarus wish to kill. It’s basically a deal with the devil where you sell away your humanity for the chance of power.
Circle Nine, Treachery: Silver
Okay to be honestly if anyone is going to betray Tartarus it will be his guy. I just have a feeling if there is a traitor in the guild like there usually is in the end of Balam Alliance it’s going to be this. It’s mainly his Devil Slaying Magic and discerning look in chapter 357. Also his Ice Devil Slaying Magic works perfectly with the punishment on the ninth circle. He also doesn’t like his demon form so that could be something else.
So that’s that. I hope enjoyed the lengthy read, and what are your ideas on Tartarus? Did you have any theories of your own on the guild and its members? Well if you did read it and have anything to say on the matter I really hope to see your feedback in the comments below. Just remember to be good or you might end up in Limbo at best.