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Phantasmaraneae, also known as the Twister of Flame or the Spinner of Flame, is a large and terrifying arachnid Infernal Demon. A reclusive creature even within the depths of Inferno, Phantasmaraneae appears as both an ally and enemy to Bayonetta through the series. In Bayonetta 3, it gains an evolved form called The Phantom, Igniter of Creation.

Book of Infernal Demons[]

Bayonetta & Bayonetta 2[]

Phantasmaraneae nests upon a sea of magma, deep within the furthest reaches of Inferno. Rarely seen upon the face of the Earth, even sightings of the demon in hell are a seldom event, leading to its name, which means phantom spider.

While having the frightening appearance of a spider, it is a curious beast, and should one have the good fortune to encounter the Phantasmaraneae, one should treat it with care and respect, in hope of receiving rare treasures and secrets in return.

― Bayonetta
The Phantasmaranae are growing increasingly violent, perhaps due to recent occurrences of unnatural phenomena in the human world. Sightings of the creatures outside their molten lairs may be related to this change in behavior. Anyone who encounters one is advised to take caution: Phantasmaranae can spit magma from their stomachs capable of incinerating victims within seconds. ― Bayonetta 2 Addendum

Bayonetta 3[]

An Infernal Demon that nests upon a sea of magma within the furthest reaches of Inferno.

Rarely seen on the surface, even in hell sightings of the demon are a rare event, which led the residents of Inferno to give it the name Phantasmaraneae, meaning "phantom spider."

While having the frightening appearance of a gigantic spider, it is a relatively good-natured beast, and should one have the good fortune to encounter Phantasmaraneae, it should be treated with care and respect in hopes of receiving rare treasures and secrets in return.

However, should you anger it, you will be melted instantly by an indignantly spewed burst of magma.

Bayonetta 3
The Phantom
Phantasmaraneae's ultimate form, unleashed by Bayonetta's "Deadly Sin" ritual, now with an out of control internal reactor that continuously creates magma at a temperature of one trillion degrees.

The flames that cloak its body and the sheer heat from the magma are powerful enough to vaporize nearly anything in the vicinity.

In this state, Phantasmaraneae itself has no way to cool down, and must simply fight until time runs out and it explodes into nothingness.

Appearance[]

Phantasmaraneae appears as a giant spider with a particular affinity to fire. It wears a crown of skulls atop its head, and similar skull adornments are visible on its legs, along with sharp blades. It appears partially doused in flame, and the inside of its mouth resembles molten rock to hint further at this connection. When summoned in the first game, the majority of its body is wrapped in black/white hair.

In Bayonetta 2, without anything to obscure its features, Phantasmaraneae's fire connection is even more apparent, with the entire demon seeming to be aglow with flames but otherwise unchanged.

Bayonetta 3 introduces a visual update to the demon, with its body now covered in segmented plates of armour, trimmed with gold. The faceplates of that armor can open up to reveal the demon's face and numerous eyes. The spikes on Phantasmaraneae's legs have also been changed into red crescents, and it now possessed a lava-like scorpion tail that it can conjure when in battle.

Story[]

Bayonetta[]

Phantasmaraneae's appearance in the first game is limited to the boss fight against Sapientia. After whittling down the angel's health, Bayonetta summons the demon to finish off the Auditio and continue onwards to Isla Del Sol.

Bayonetta 2[]

Phantasmaraneae returns in the sequel, as a mini-boss that Bayonetta must defeat in order to journey deeper into Johnson Forest. Though rather resilient to her attacks at first, the demon eventually falls and explodes clearing the path leading deeper into Inferno.

Bayonetta 3[]

A Phantasmaraneae is bound to Bayonetta β1. The main Bayonetta briefly encounters this Phantasmaraneae during her adventures to defeat the Homunculi. While it initially enquires who Bayonetta is, it recognizes her strength as similar to Bayonetta β1's and allows her to ride on its back in order to navigate the destroyed urban center of Tokyo. It is later empowered to become The Phantom with Deadly Sin in order to battle Stratocumulus.

Abilities[]

Though initially seen to most be powerful in terms of brute strength, many of Phantasmaraneae's abilities fire-based magic attacks such as fireballs and area-of-effect explosions to do damage. As mentioned in the Book of Infernal Demons, the spider is also innately curious despite its reclusive nature and will reward any who show respect with supposed treasures and secrets.

Gameplay[]

Bayonetta[]

Phantasmaraneae appears as a mechanic in the battle against Sapientia. After reducing the angel's health, Bayonetta uses Madama Butterfly to steer Sapientia towards the spider's waiting jaws. When close enough, Phantasmaraneae lunges at Sapientia and cracks away his armour piece by piece. Bayonetta does this twice before Sapientia conjures a whirlpool to escape.

After beating the Virtue, Bayonetta calls forth Phantasmaraneae one last time to make the final kill, summoning the demon's children alongside it to brutally tear the angel limb from limb.

Bayonetta 2[]

Phantasmaraneae is a mini-boss that appears in Chapter X. It utilises a mixture of surprisingly fast attacks for its size, summoning fireballs, explosions from its body, lava plumes, webbing and even summoning its children in a swarm

Phantasmaraneae can also be fought on Tag Climax mode, appearing in conjunction with Labolas when the difficulty is set to maximum. Its moveset is the same as when encountered in the story.

Bayonetta 3[]

DMPhantasmaranaea

Bayonetta fused with Phantasmaraneae during Demon Masquerade

Phantasmaraneae appears as part of the Demon Slave ability, able to be called in full to the battlefield. In addition to bolstering Bayonetta's combo attacks and lunging at enemies with sweeps of its legs, the demon can also counter-attack and paralyze foes in its webs when utilising the Assault Slave. Some of Phantasmaraneae's special attacks include hanging from its webs in midair to strike like a swinging pendulum, and also use its stinging tail to set foes up for Torture Attacks. It is unaffected by fire and can walk up walls at will.

In addition, Phantasmaraneae is bound to the Ignis Araneae Yo-Yo weapon, allowing Bayonetta to fuse with the demon as part of Demon Masquerade. Here, she takes on the appears of Phantasmaraneae's lower body, able to damage opponents with rapid strikes from the legs and also strike with its tail. In traversal terms, the Masquerade form allows Bayonetta to swing over gaps using a webbing line and crawl along the walls of the environment, similar to Witch Walk.

Skills[]

SpecialSpecial[]

  • Massive Web (R)
    • Spews a net made of highly adhesive webs that temporarily bind enemies. The net is also flammable, and any enemy caught in it when the net is ignited will take additional damage.
  • Web Lock
    • Extends the time enemies caught in Massive Web are bound.
  • Web Lock II
    • Further extends the time enemies caught in Massive Web are bound

PunchPunch[]

  • Slingshot Rush (Left Stick DownLeft Stick Up+Punch)
    • Uses webs to launch at enemies like a slingshot. Hold Punch for more power.
  • Heaven Or Hell (Rotate Left Stick+Punch)
    • Self destructs, damaging all nearby enemies. R will be temporarily unavailable to summon.

KickKick[]

  • Flame Domain (Rotate Left Stick+Kick)
    • Stabs its tail into the ground and spins, gouging it while attacking.
  • Scorpion Blaze (Left Stick DownLeft Stick Up+Kick)
    • Stabs the ground with its tail, igniting a pillar of flame under enemies and launching them.

ShootShoot[]

  • Attractor (Left Stick DownLeft Stick Up+Shoot)
    • Spews a web strand that pulls an enemy close and launches it. When used against larger enemies, R zips to them instead and attacks with a tail swing.
  • Cluster Bomb (Rotate Left Stick+Shoot)
    • Jumps up and scatters baby spiders that explode immediately.

Gallery[]

Bayonetta[]

Bayonetta 2[]

Bayonetta 3[]

Trivia[]

  • The name Phantasmaraneae is a portmanteau of the words "Phantasm", an illusion or apparition, and "Araneae", the largest arthropod order of Arachnids or spiders thus its appearance.
  • Phantasmaraneae is a reference to Phantom, an enormous lava-based spider from the Devil May Cry series which was created by Bayonetta's creator, Hideki Kamiya. Phantasmaraneae goes so far as to share the majority of its attacks with the Phantom character, and is outright given the same name when empowered via Deadly Sin.
  • In the demon profile menu in Bayonetta 3, Phantasmaraneae is revealed to originate from the Sea of Magma named Phalaris in Inferno. Phalaris is named for an Italian tyrant known for his excessive cruelty and rumored cannibalism. A special torture device known as the brazen bull was built for and used by him, wherein a victim would be placed inside and a fire lit underneath so as to roast them alive until they perished. The bull was rumored to have an acoustic apparatus built into it so that the victims' screams would bellow from the device's mouth and resemble the sounds of a bull. Phalaris is said to have eventually been killed in a brazen bull himself, which would come to bear his name by association.
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