Yuriko

Yuriko
File:Yuriko.jpg
Also known as...	Lilith, Rie, Black Samurai, Chaos Heroine
Japanese Name	由利子
First Appearance	Shin Megami Tensei
Affiliation	Ring of Gaea
Alignment	Chaos
Japanese VA	Atsuko Tanaka

Yuriko is an antagonist in Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei IV. Her true form is the demon Lilith.

Appearances

• Shin Megami Tensei: Antagonist, Ally (Chaos route)
• Shin Megami Tensei IV: Supporting character
• Shin Megami Tensei IV: Demonic Gene: Supporting character

Profile

Shin Megami Tensei

Yuriko first appears before the hero in his dreams, where she vows to be his eternal companion. In the real world, Yuriko is a member of Gotou's uprising and orchestrates the hunt for the Heroine, who leads the resistance against Gotou. She appears before the hero and attacks him, but is unable to bring herself to kill him, recognizing him as her former consort Adam. She becomes jealous of the heroine and tries to have her killed in an open execution, but is thwarted by the hero and his friends.

After the Great Cataclysm, Yuriko joins with Louis Cyphre and is instructed to lure the hero over to their side. Being reintroduced to the hero by Louis, she fails to convince him and is forced to unveil herself as Lilith, though she still cannot bring herself to attack him. Disappointed at her failure, Louis then instructs her to recruit the Chaos Hero and to this end she takes the identity of Rie, the Chaos Heroine.

The hero and heroine meet with the Chaos Hero and Rie at the Basilica. On the Law and Neutral routes, they enter battle with the Chaos Hero and kill him, causing Rie to call them out for killing their friend with no remorse and attack them herself. After being defeated, Lilith shows regret for her actions and dies lamenting her failures. On the Chaos route, after the Chaos Hero dies attempting to steal the Devil Ring from the hero, Lilith instead chooses to step aside, content that the hero is happy with the heroine.

Shin Megami Tensei IV

"Adam did not eat the apple because he desired it. He ate it because it was forbidden. Now the apple has been set before all of you. Eat well."

—Yuriko as the Black Samurai, Shin Megami Tensei IV

The Black Samurai is a mysterious character that wears a strange black armor. She appears before Flynn occasionally wherever he is in the East Mikado or modern world Tokyo. She has given literature to the people of East Mikado in order to spread knowledge and wisdom to the people. Those who read her books are transformed into demons.

During her first confrontation with Flynn's group, they are surprised to learn she is a woman and the mysterious armor she wears. She offers them knowledge and wisdom, but is turned down and told they wish to restrain her. She asks them if they want to know why she is giving out books, but is rejected. Wanting them to learn, she tells them to come to the underground. Deciding its time to go the Black Samurai summons an army of Lilims who incapacitate them (save for Isabeau) with a charm spell.

Hugo gives out a quest order to have the Black Samurai arrested. She is later found deep within a Domain in the Juraku Bookstore found in Ikebukuro. She tells them that the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado and Tokyo are mirrors of each other, and attempts to give spoilers about the manga Isabeau reads. She willingly comes with them when they state they wish to capture her.

Upon capture, she is taken back to East Mikado and sentenced to a public execution. One of the background voices at the beginning of the execution reveals a past execution with a Black Samurai before this one. Her last words is to tell them they will find no love from God. They began to hasten her execution, with her being unmasked and everyone is shocked to find that she resembles Gabby. Before being put down, she tells them their kingdom is distorted and biased, and that the people should soon realize the truth, telling them that need even more knowledge and wisdom and that she'll resurrect as many times as needed.

The Black Samurai's remains disappear while the prentices are at Kagome Tower. She has come back to life, killed one of the guards watching her corpse, and returned to Tokyo. Gabby gives out a new quest to have the Black Samurai summarily executed upon location. A Samurai mentions that the guard that lived saw a monstrous silhouette as she rose from her grave.

Back in Tokyo, Tayama orders the group to kill the Ring of Gaea's leader, Yuriko, in exchange for a fellow Samurai's life and information on the Black Samurai. Upon arriving at Tsukiji Hongwanji's main temple they are dropped into the Passage of Ethics by the Ring of Gaea, who tell them they have her to thank for not being stricken down for attempting to assassinate their leader. At the end of the path Flynn's group discovers that the Black Samurai and Yuriko are one and the same. She reveals her true identity as Lilith, and tells them it was not the books themselves that turned humans into demons, but the result of suppressed desires being unleashed due to her "wisdom and knowledge", revealing to them that humans and demons are the same.

She sways Walter into believing in a world ruled by the strong with her speech, stating she would restore the world to its natural order. However, she wishes for them to learn more and tells them to investigate Reverse Hills to see the true evil that is run by Tayama. If what they learn doesn't sway their opinion then she'll gladly fight the Samurai.

If Flynn agrees to follow Walter, they meet with Lilith once again. She tells them to open a portal into the Expanse with the Yamato Perpetual Reactor to release hordes of demons into Tokyo. If he sides with Jonathan, they kill Lilith instead, but she tells them they are too late as Walter has gone to open the portal.

NPCs in the game mention that she is known to cut up the assassins sent by Tayama and send them back to him, as well as using a gauntlet to contact Tayama through the hostage Samurai to let him know she was going to take the Reactor. After joining Jonathan or Walter she spreads a prophecy of a "child of carnage" enthralled by the witch of the night who would aid the Gaeans in their war with the Ashura-kai.

After the Alignment lock she disappears, her fate becomes ambiguous, with many of her followers not knowing what became of her. She will appear briefly on the Chaos route once access to the Kingdom of Mikado is available.

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Demonic Gene

Her role is largely the same as in the game, spreading books throughout the kingdom of Mikado. She runs across Walter in the second chapter and tells him that he will change, before disappearing. Later she saves Walter from a Oni and Fuu-Ki in Tokyo, where it's revealed that her appearance is a black haired version of Walter's friend Gina.

In spite of this, her personality doesn't resemble Gina's - she's flirty and sees no issue with swapping out her Demonica in favor of casual clothes in front of Walter. She reveals her name is actually Hiruko, and explains Gina and her are the results of a human experiment intended to create a "higher being" from scratch. Hiruko was born of the reject pile, while Gina was the "finished product". Hiruko attempts to convince Walter to join her, but begins breaking down as Gina approaches.

Some time after the horrified Walter has left with Gina, Hiruko regenerates and starts following Walter. Finding him in the aftermath of a slaughter of Ashura-kai forces, she is consumed through a large Amaymon mouth into Walter's body. This results in a new demon, which keeps following Gina and catches up with her as she deals with another Ashura-kai team. As the combined demon attacks the Samurai, it's revealed Hiruko's fusion is imperfect, as she starts reaching out of the shared body, intent on grabbing Gina.

Walter, however, is able to rip her out of their shared body. Gina, unaware Walter's fighting for control, attacks with a magical blast as she's released. Both are pierced by the recovering Hiruko's tentacle as she does so.

Gallery

Shin Megami Tensei
Yuriko bathing in the Sega CD version Yuriko as she appears in the Sega CD version Yuriko looking sad in the Sega CD version Rie as she appears in the Sega CD version Rie looking sad in the Sega CD version A angry Rie as she appears in the Sega CD version

Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE
The Yuriko-themed Night Witch Avatar from Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE

Shin Megami Tensei IV
The Black Samurai in Shin Megami Tensei IV The Black Samurai as she appears in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Demonic Gene Hiruko crawling inside Walter in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Demonic Gene Hiruko in Demon Walter reaching for Gina in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Demonic Gene

Trivia

• Yuriko's hairstyle and clothing were released as promotional items for female characters in Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE.

Shin Megami Tensei
Playable Characters	Protagonist - Heroine - Law Hero - Chaos Hero - Pascal
Non-Playable Characters	Stephen - Ozawa - Yuriko - Old Man - Gotou - Ambassador Thorman - En no Ozuno - Louis Cyphre - Soul Diver
Locations	Tokyo - Kichijoji - Shinjuku - Ichigaya - Diamond Realm - Shibuya - Roppongi - Ginza Underpass - Ginza - Tokyo Tower - Shinagawa - Ikebukuro - Ueno - Tokyo Destinyland - Basilica - River Styx
Terminology	Terminal - Alignment - Ring of Gaea - Order of Messiah - Great Cataclysm - Sword fusion - Four Heavenly Kings
Soundtracks	Shin Megami Tensei Sound Collection
Archives	Demons - Bosses - Skills - Items