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Malice, meaning "hatred", is a mystical force in the Shadow Hearts series. First introduced as background game mechanic in the original Shadow Hearts, it eventually becomes a major plot point in its sequels. Malice is commonly depicted as a bright red light, which causes anger and can grant supernatural powers to those infused with it. In From The New World, protagonist Johnny Garland gains the ability to channel malice through various knives he owns to create a glowing red sword which he uses as his weapon.


Shadow Hearts[]

In the original Shadow Hearts, the Four Masks refer to Malice as the anger of the monsters slain by Yuri and his party. As the party fights battles and bosses, Malice slowly accumulates in Yuri's soul. This Malice level is visible through Yuri's Talisman, which changes colour from blue (little to no Malice), to green, yellow, and finally red. At the highest level of Malice, the Gates of Death in the Graveyard open, and the powerful monster Fox Face, a manifestation of Yuri's fear of death, is set free to haunt Yuri. Until the Malice is purged, Fox Face has a high chance of appearing in any encounter; his high level and ability to reduce Yuri's HP to 1 makes such an encounter fatal until the mid-game at the earliest. The only way to release Malice is for Yuri to enter the Graveyard and face an enemy selected by the Four Masks in combat.

Later in the game, Alice takes on the burden of The Four Mask Curse. Henceforth, the Four Mask appear as invincible monsters to haunt Alice when Malice accumulates.

The Granny Mayor of Zhaoyang Village mentions using Malice to create a barrier around Yamaraja: Earth's shrine.


Shadow Hearts: Covenant[]

Malice is first mentioned by Nicholai, when he and Karin search Apoina Tower for the Holy Mistletoe. Nicholai states that many countless souls died in the tower, usually heretics and political prisoners. And with so many deaths, Malice began to increase to the point where you could actually feel the hatred and anger within. It is also shown again with Yuri sleeping and accidentally releases the Malice from within the Graveyard to create Arachne, due to the curse of the Holy Mistletoe. And while our heroes return back to Apoina Tower to stop Nicholai, Nicholai reveals that Apoina Tower is not only used to store the Holy Mistletoe but stores all the Malice of the countless souls who have died there. He soon then releases that Malice to increase the violence and destruction of World War I.

In Shadow Hearts: Covenant Director's Cut, there is a new location called the Sea of Woods that has been plagued with the Malice released at Apoina Tower.

Shadow Hearts: From The New World[]

The light of Malice in From The New World seems to be more of a mystical quality than the vengeance of monsters being slayed. After Nicolai Conrad broke the seal on Malice 10 years before the game, it has been flowing in the world ever since, corrupting and driving people to madness. The red light's power is also used in the ways of magic, channeling it into a weapon, opening windows to summon monsters, or healing and resurrecting the dead. But its power comes with a price. If one doesn't learn to control and maintain its power, they will be driven to instinct and eventually mutate into creatures of malice. Only death will bring them to peace then. Also, three ancient ruins hold pure malice that are used to summon The Gate: a portal from the world of malice that will fill the earth with pure malice, which will corrupt and transfigure the Earth into a world similar to the World of Malice and cause humans to transform into hideous monsters. The power of Malice is also revealed to be used in a ritual of the Emigre Manuscript to resurrect the body.

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