Malladus

Malladus, also known as the Demon King, is the name of the primary antagonist of. He is a powerful demon that once terrorized the land that would eventually be home to the new kingdom of Hyrule, but was locked away beneath the altar of the Tower of Spirits by the Spirits of Good of the land after a prolonged war between them. The Spirit Tracks and the Tower of Spirits act as the lock to Malladus's underground prison, and as long as they remained intact, Malladus would be safely bound within.

In Spirit Tracks, the kingdom's chancellor, Chancellor Cole, seeks to release Malladus from his prison and help him return to his former strength.

Biography

 * See also: Spirit War

Malladus makes his debut in as an extremely powerful demon that once terrorized the land and its first settlers. Over a century later, Hyrule's Chancellor Cole develops a scheme to free Malladus from his prison and unleash him upon the land once again. To do this, he causes large sections of the Spirit Tracks, which serve as the locks to his prison, to begin to vanish. This event causes alarm and suspicion with the land's monarch, Princess Zelda. Although she goes to investigate the reasoning behind the disappearance of the tracks with the help of Link and Alfonzo, Chancellor Cole drops his guise and reveals himself to be a follower of Malladus. He commands Byrne to incapacitate Link and Alfonzo, and stealing Zelda's body to use it as a vessel to restore Malladus to full power. This marks the beginning of a quest for Link to retrieve Zelda's body, restore the Tower of Spirits, revive Zelda completely, and ultimately stop the Malladus's return to power.

After Link defeats Byrne on the top of the Tower of Spirits, he rushes up to the Altar of the Demon King where Malladus had just started taking control of Zelda's body atop the Tower of Spirits. Byrne then demands that Malladus give him a gift of power for his role in the recovery; however, Malladus only attacks him, knocking him out cold. As Malladus has not yet acclimated to his new body, though, this exertion is all that he can handle at the moment; he escapes with Cole on the Demon Train, retreating to the Dark Realm.

Anjean tells Link and Zelda to travel to the fifth temple, the Sand Temple in the Sand Realm, and retrieve the Bow of Light, an ancient relic wielded by the Spirits of Good during their war against Malladus. According to the Lokomo, the ancient relic has the power to split the soul of one from their body. Upon obtaining the Bow of Light, Byrne (now working with Link) reveals that the only way to track down Cole and Malladus is to use the Compass of Light hidden beneath the Altar of the Demon King atop the Tower of Spirits. After obtaining the compass, Link, Zelda, Byrne, and Anjean travel to the Dark Realm to confront Malladus and Cole. Link manages to damage the Demon Train, allowing himself and Zelda to climb on top of it. There, Malladus completes his resurrection, taking total control of Zelda's body. Link and Zelda then fight their way through Malladus and Cole's attacks to the front of the train, where Zelda seizes Malladus; Link then uses the Bow of Light to banish Malladus from Zelda's body. In the ensuing chaos, the Demon Train is destroyed, and all of them are thrown out of the Dark Realm.

Amidst the wreckage of the destroyed Demon Train, Malladus is forced out of Zelda's body. Zelda tries to reclaim her physical form, but finds that for some reason she can't; Malladus tries to repossess her, but he is stopped by Byrne, who gives Zelda the strength to re-enter her body. As revenge, Malladus kills Byrne, to Cole's applause. At this point, Malladus possesses Cole instead, transforming him into an immense beast. Malladus is unable to maintain his hold on Cole's body for long, but as he says, he has enough time to reduce the world to ruin. After a long battle, Malladus is finally defeated by Link and Zelda, and he and his vessel, Cole, are both destroyed.

Strategy
In the battle, Link defends Princess Zelda from Malladus's fireball attacks. After which, she channels her powers with the Spirit Flute's, and her and Link create a duet with her voice and the flute. This reveals Malladus's true weak point which could only be harmed by the Bow of Light. Link must then distract Malladus and have Zelda aim at his back. If done correctly, Zelda will fire one arrow into his back, causing damage. After three shots, a gem forms on Malladus's forehead and Link must strike at it and Malladus' horns. After another three shots, Link must complete the same thing again, destroying the other horn. A final arrow into Malladus' back will force him down and Link must drive the sword clear through Malladus's skull. Zelda then comes to his assistance, and together the two manage to shatter the ruby, killing both Cole and Malladus and returning peace to Hyrule.

Trivia

 * The Spanish (Spain only), French and Italian versions of Spirit Tracks refers to him as "Mallard", which is the name of the fastest steam-powered train ever built, and is also the derivative name for the English one.
 * Some believe that Skeldritch is what remains of Malladus's original body, since they both look similar-Skeldritch's skull is lit from the inside by a red light. Its mouth is rather snaggle-toothed, having three teeth on top and only two on the bottom. On its head is a helmet bearing two large horns. Beneath this helmet is a large red gem, which is the true weak point of the monster. Malladus's spirit is also rather skeletal in appearance, and through the eyes, nose-hole, and mouth shines a red light. The mouth bears three snaggly teeth on top, and only two on the bottom. When possessing Cole, Malladus has two big horns, and his weak spot is a large red gem on his head. Their attacks are similar as well-Skeldritch's two main attacks are a laser-like beam fired from the mouth, and large boulders launched out of those strange spinal orifices. Later in the battle the boulders turn red, as though heated. When Malladus is possessing Princess Zelda's body he fires a laser-like beam at Link and Phantom Zelda. Later, when possessing Cole, Malladus launches flaming boulders out of his mouth. Lastly their encounters are very similar-Skeldritch is imprisoned within the best guarded temple in the game. To enter the temple you first have to beat the three trials that protect it: a giant rock-monster, tunnels that bend the laws of physics, and a battalion of cannons. And then you have to get through the temple proper. Once in Skeldritch's chamber you will see that his body is stuck in the ground, leaving only its long spine and its skull to tower in the center. What's more, the Bow of Light, a weapon instrumental in the Spirits' defeat of Malladus the first time, is also in this temple. As though it was wanted close at hand should it be needed to subdue the monster in the temple. Malladus, too, has been imprisoned. Long before the start of the game his spirit was put deep within the earth. Then the Spirit Tracks were laid down to act as shackles, and they were powered by four very large Force Gems placed in four temples. And the Tower of Spirits was placed as a lock to hold it all together. (Unfortunately, that lock is also the place that allowed Malladus' spirit to be funnelled out into Zelda's body...)