Inugami

"The world will drown in tears before The Hound is finished."

– Inugami.^[src]

Inugami or The Hound is a character from The Darkness II Vendettas mode.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

His mother was Turkish while father Japanese. As a child, Inugami was forced to witness the slaughter of his entire family at the hands of the Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood came to Inugami's home forcing him to tell him the location of Kusanagi; however, Inugami did not know. So, the Brotherhood buried him to the neck and killed his mother, father and brother (who was two years old). After this, Inugami found the hidden Kusanagi and then sought to find and kill the Brotherhood by becoming a mercenary. Eventually he comes to New York and is hired by Jackie Estacado for his connection with the Darkness.

The Darkness II[]

Vendettas[]

After Jackie survives an ambush on his life at Mama Lucchesi's, Vinnie calls Inugami, JP, Shoshanna and Jimmy Wilson to help them figure out who were behind this. He then tasks the Vendettas to free and bring a Darkness expert, Johnny Powell from the Old Junkyard where he's being held by no-name crew. As the mercenaries head out, they hear the Darkness laughing in anticipation of their coming fight.

As they enter the Old Junkyard, the Darkness tells Vendettas to "Embrace The Darkness". At the junkyard, the Vendettas meet hostile mobsters who try to stop them. After dispatching them, Vinnie contacts the mercenaries, asking if they have located Powell. The Vendettas answer that they still searching for him and Inugami tells Vinnie that he's blade must feed or he will perish, much to the mobsters confusion.

Eventually, they find Powell locked inside a shed at the far end of the junkyard. When they enter it, they're surrounded by the mobsters are forced to fend their assault. With their combined efforts, they succeed and bring Powell to Jackie after he realises they were sent by Estacado. Back at the mansion, Powell sends the Vendettas to investigate a strong source of dark essence, that he was investigating before being kidnapped by the mobsters. This leads the mercenaries to Broadside Paper Factory, which was used by gangsters to print strange symbols on money.

At the paper factory, Powell tells Vendettas to check in with him when they find the artifact and also asks Inugami if the blade he possess is the legendary Kusanagi. Inugami confirms Powell's suspicions and expresses respect towards for knowing the history behind Kusanagi. As they enter the factory, Powell asks if they made any progression in finding the source of the dark essence. The Vendettas inform him that they still searching for it. Powell then takes time to ask Inugami as to what happens if he misses a day to feed Kusanagi. Inugami explains that if he misses a day, he will live one year shorter and he already missed seventeen days after picking up the blade. Because of this, he's blade must feed today on the wicked souls. After hearing this, terrified Johnny reassures Inugami that although he's nut, he doesn't have wicked soul before ending the call.

Inside the paper factory, the Vendettas face-off against hostile mobsters. After defeating them and destroying their money printing machine, the mercenaries retrieve the artifact. This forces the Darkness to summon Hell Minions in order to stop them from finding out about the Brotherhood and their retrieved weapon. With their combined fire power, they manage to kill them. Powell then contacts the Vendettas, asking what just happened. They answer that their retrieved dark relic needs more studying and it was used by mobsters to print strange symbols. Johnny tells them he needs to see the relic and the symbols and that Jackie found a wax seal on a gangster named Swifty, bearing a strange symbol he doesn't recognize. He guesses that there might be a connection between all these things. Before ending the call, he also asks Vendettas to buy him a burger and some fries as all the food in the mansion is Italian.

Having returned from the Broadside, Powell informs Vendettas that both the wax seal and the relic they found share the same insignia. He comes to a conclusion that whatever is behind this is tied to the Darkness. In order to find out what the symbols mean, Powell sends the Vendettas to find the guy who owned the Broadside Paper Factory and used the relic - Luigi Palladino. They find him in Riverside Houses, hiding in a trailer and guarded by a small army of gangsters.

At the location, Vinnie informs mercenaries, that he has sent one of their guys, Dolfo, to help them do any heavy lifting they need to be done. In order to reach him, the Vendettas plant an explosive charge given by Dolfo to blow open the trailer. Although Luigi tries to convince the Vendettas that he had no choice and doesn't anything about the people who hired him, the mercenaries go through with their plan and proceed to kill him and retrieve another dark artefact that he kept with himself in the trailer.

With the artifact retrieved, Vinnie tells them to bring it to Johnny in order to find out what it is. As they do this, the mansion is attacked by the Brotherhood. While Vinnie his men try to fend off their attack, Johnny confirms that the artifact and the wax seal are connected to the Brotherhood. He also reveal that the two relics are older than recorded history and were created and used to find weapons that can kill the Darkness host. The symbol on the paper shows what weapon they found, but Johnny can't decipher it at the moment. Vinnie informs him, that they will cover him as he tries to decipher the symbol. Meanwhile, he sends the Vendettas to find the man who Luigi and Swifty both worked for - Cedro Valdez.

The Vendettas track Cedro to Broadside Paper Factory, now inhabited by the Brotherhood forces. After defeating them, the Vendettas manage to corner Cedro outside Broadside Paper Factory. Realizing that the Vendettas have come to kill him, Cedro at first tries to beg for his life, explaining that the Brotherhood paid in cash and they hate Jackie for some reason, and he doesn't know anything about them besides that.

Cedro then experiences a full breakdown and asks the Vendettas to put him out of his misery, as he can't live no longer after witnessing both the supernatural side of the world and Brotherhood activities. As the Vendettas prepare to fulfil his wish, Cedro jumps out of News Watch 6 van, enveloped in Darkness armor and attacks the group. In the end the mercenaries manage to take him down. But just as he dies, Cedro is possessed by dark essence inside of him. He then proceeds to teleport on top of a container and tells the Vendettas, that the Brotherhood will take the Darkness by killing the host with the Spear of Destiny and then use its power to take over the world. Cedro then proceeds to die.

The Vendettas then investigate a van belonging to News Watch 6 channel from Cedro exited. Inside they sense big trace of dark essence and decide to investigate the channel's headquarters. On their way, Johnny reveals to have deciphered the symbol, which confirms that the Brotherhood found the Spear of Destiny. He tells them that the spear is the actual spear that stabbed Christ himself when he was on the cross and with it, the Brotherhood can permanently kill Jackie. With this revelation, Johnny tells Vendettas to proceed to News Watch 6 headquarters and also adds, that because he's looking after Jackie as he heals his wounds, Dolfo will take the calls from them.

At the news station, the mercenaries encounter the second leader of the Brotherhood - David Graves. He tries to convince the Vendettas in joining the Brotherhood, but seeing as the mercenaries refuse his offer, Graves sends veteran Brotherhood members to kill them all. The Darkness then tells the Vendettas to "tear and mutilate" Brotherhood members. Together with other mercenaries, Inugami manages to kill their attackers and reach the top of the news station, only for them watch as David Graves escapes via a helicopter, while the Spear of Destiny is brought to Old East Docks.

Seeking to retrieve the spear from the Brotherhood Vendettas move to the docks with Dolfo accompanying them. As the Vendettas search for the spear, Graves contacts them yet again, trying to convince the mercenaries that their efforts are meaningless and they should instead join the Brotherhood. Just like before, they refuse to join him and Graves sends Amelie Dubois and Jean-Luc Lambert who operated the docks for the Brotherhood to stop them. Having failed to accomplish this, Jean-Luc and Amelie run into a boat house, waiting for the Vendettas to come after them. The two then again attack assassins, now wearing a Darkness substance armor. Even with their increased durability and their combined efforts, the Vendettas manage to overpower and kill them. The Vendettas then take the docks shipping manifest and return back to bar.

When they return, Vinnie informs Vendettas that they tracked every package and they all check out except for one that was headed to Manhattan Trust Bank, which is owned by Graves. As Jackie is heading down to Hellgate Field all by himself, not knowing about the weapon, they must retrieve it before the spear reaches him. To help them get into the bank vault, Vinnie sends Dolfo with them. The Vendettas use 8-Graves Street subway system to reach the bank as Graves gets Lower Manhattan on lockdown. After they clear the station of Brotherhood forces, Vendettas escort Dolfo to the front entrance of Manhattan Trust. As he puts explosives to blow open an entrance for them, the mercenaries cover him from veteran members of the Brotherhood.

Dolfo proves successful and Vendettas gain entrance to the bank. They're then tasked by Vinnie to clear the lobby of hostiles as they work on the codes for the vault door. With the lobby clear, Vendettas secure the vault only to find it completely empty. Vinnie then looks at the bank schematics and finds a V.I.P. vault upstairs. He then directs the mercenaries to blow the back wall of the vault with the rest of Dolfo's explosives. This leads them to a secret lobby, containing elevators, that take the mercenaries to the V.I.P. vault. Powell then contacts the Vendettas, expressing his worries, that in the hands of the Brotherhood the Spear of Destiny could become a weapon of mass destruction. The mercenaries calm him down, reassuring Powell that they will stop the Brotherhood and retrieve the spear.

In the V.I.P. vault, Graves sends his last remaining Brotherhood forces against the Vendettas, but even these doesn't stop them. As they come to confront Graves himself, as last ditch to kill Vendettas, he stabs himself with the Spear of Destiny, turning himself into a Hell Beast and transporting the mercenaries to Hell like place. There they face off against the beast and waves of Hell Minions and Darklings. Together, Inugami and his comrades of arms, manage to slay the beast and retrieve the spear, much to the Darkness excitement.

With their mission accomplished, the Vendettas return back to the bar, where they're congratulated by Vinnie. He reveals, that the spear is now in the hands of Powell whose trying to find a way to destroy it. Also, Vinnie tells Vendettas to not leave town as they have more work for them.

Personality[]

Inugami is a merciless killer, determined to take revenge for his family death at the hands of the Brotherhood. Because Kusanagi requires to be fed with wicked souls everyday or else Inugami's own life will shorten, he has embraced his sadistic side and enjoys bathing in the blood of his enemies. Whatever witnessing the death of his family or because being the wielder of Kusanagi, made Inugami unhinged and detached from ordinary humans or even other Vendettas. Because of this, he addresses himself in third person and howls during combat.

Powers & Abilities[]

Powers[]

Kusanagi: Inugami is the Hound of Death and the Wielder of Kusanagi. Kusanagi is an ancient Katana that originally belonged to the first emperors of Japan and was made as a symbol of peace and prosperity. However, the blade was lost and fell into evil hands and was used in the death of one thousand innocent souls. This is why the bearer of Kusanagi is cursed to feed it one thousand evil souls. Each day Kusanagi goes without feeding, its bearer loses one year of his life. The sword is amazingly powerful and grants Inugami the Darkness powers.
- Swarm: Inugami is able to summon and use the Darkness Swarm and upgrade it just as much as Jackie's own swarm ability.
- Healing: When Inugami destroys a heart, Kusanagi will heal all his wielders wounds.
Sprint Endurance: Whether due to his athletic physique or him being imbued with dark essence, Inugami has the innate ability of have amazing sprint endurance even being able to shrug off damage while sprinting.

Abilities[]

Master Swordsman: Inugami is an expert swordsman and is able to wield Kusanagi to its full potential.
Marksmanship: Inugami is trained in wielding all kind of firearms with great expertise.

Trivia[]

Inugami has missed 17 days of feeding Kusanagi, meaning that he will live 17 years shorter.
Inugami names himself after a dog spirit of Japan that legends say was created from extreme suffering, trained to exact revenge upon the enemies of its master.