Dark Inferno

The Dark Inferno is a Pureblood Heartless that is introduced in Kingdom Hearts III. It is fought in Battlegate 14 at the Keyblade Graveyard.

The Dark Inferno χ is a Pureblood Heartless that is introduced in Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind. When Sora enters Ventus's heart, he is stopped by an entity referring to itself as "", who takes on the form of the Dark Inferno χ.

Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind
When Sora begins his journey to restore Kairi's heart using the power of waking, he first enters Ventus's heart. When attempting to wake Ventus, he is stopped by an entity referring to itself as "Darkness". Sora questions if "Darkness" is Vanitas, but does not get a reply as the entity forms itself into the Dark Inferno χ and battles Sora.

Design
The Dark Inferno is a large, muscular, humanoid figure with a large, heart-shaped hole in its chest. It bears a striking resemblance to the Invisible Heartless. Raised portions and ridges on its black skin give it an armored appearance. It features large, spiked horns on the sides of its head, and two more rising from its forehead which form the shape of a heart; all four horns fade from black to red to yellow, giving them the appearance of heated metal. Its tail ends in a bladed fin with a diamond-shaped hole through it. Its two-toed, clawed feet stand upon swirling vortexes of white energy, which it uses to "skate" around the battlefield. It has undersized, purple bat-like wings on its shoulders and dull purple tendrils wrapped around its throat like a scarf, which drape down on either side of its "heart." It also has tendrils wrapped around each wrist, which fade to the same burning yellow color as its horns. In each hand it holds a large blue sword with hook-like extensions near the tip and an exaggerated gold hilt with a knuckle bow.

The Dark Inferno χ is identical to the Dark Inferno, though its body has a yellowish hue rather than purple, with golden features instead of orange.

Its name refers to its association with darkness, sharing a naming scheme with many other Pureblood Heartless, and the burning appearance of its horns and tendrils, along with its fiery attacks.

Strategy
The battle will begin after accessing the 14th Battlegate in the Keyblade Graveyard. The battle starts with Sora and the Dark Inferno equidistant from each other.

Phase 1
In this first phase, the Dark Inferno will have four moves it can perform: a 7-hit slash combo, a 3-hit slash combo, a spinning attack, or a disappearing attack with fireballs.

For the 7-hit combo, Dark Inferno will position itself far away from Sora, and will begin slashing at the air as it approaches him. The first 6 hits can be blocked, but the 7th attack resembling a drill cannot be blocked. Block the first 6 hits, then dodge roll to avoid the final hit, and wait for Dark Inferno to land on the ground - he will now be open to attack.

For the 3-hit combo, Dark Inferno will quickly rush at Sora with 2 slashes that can be blocked, and 1 downward slash that cannot be blocked. Block the first 2 hits, and once the second hit is blocked, use a reprisal to start a combo against Dark Inferno. Alternatively, air slide to dodge the third hit and then immediately attack.

For the spin attack, Dark Inferno will briefly pull in some red/black energy before releasing a large red energy attack with its swords. If Sora is hit by this attack, he will be stunned. Sora can avoid this by jumping, or standing a significant distance away when the attack starts. There are two ways to counter this move: if Sora is close to Dark Inferno, use Doubleflight to get into the air and then perform Falling Slash to hit the Dark Inferno just after the red swords appear. If Sora is far away, jump for safety (in case the distance from the swords is misjudged) and then Airstep to approach and attack the Dark Inferno just after the red swords appear.

For the disappearing attack, Dark Inferno will combine its swords, impale them into the ground, and spawn a dark pool. The Dark Inferno will spawn several white orbs and then disappear into the ground, sending the orbs to track and surround Sora. It is possible to attack Dark Inferno and interrupt the attack, but that is not recommended. Avoid the orbs by jumping over them and using Doubleflight to gain more height, and then glide around the battlefield, as the orbs will not be able to hit Sora as long as he's moving. The orbs will fly at Sora in 2 sets. Keep an eye on the exact spot where Dark Inferno vanished, and try to glide in a circle that ends at that point. After the orbs have vanished, Dark Inferno will return at the same spot it vanished in, and will be open to attack for a short period.

When punished, the Dark Inferno can be attacked with nearly two full combos, but it is recommended that Sora stops his second combo before the boss blocks with its swords. Striking Dark Inferno again while it is blocking will result in Sora's attack getting knocked back and the Dark Inferno countering with two blockable slashes and one unblockable slash. However, using magic will not trigger this counter-attack, so Sora can use magic to get in a little extra damage. If PRO codes are on, using magic at this time is a good opportunity to heal via Wizard's Ruse.

Phase 2: purple aura
After five health bars of the boss's health have been depleted, the Dark Inferno will cross its swords over itself quickly and it will start to glow purple. Unlike other hidden bosses, the Dark Inferno will not add new attacks as its health gets lower, but simply compile its attacks on top of each other, and perform them more sporadically. Its spin attack now has increased range, and its dark orb attack summons more orbs. The Dark Inferno will also flash white occasionally, indicating that it is about to start another attack.

The 7-hit combo no longer ends with the Dark Inferno landing - instead, it will dodge away and perform either spin attack or a 3-hit combo right afterward. Block the first 6 hits, dodge the seventh hit, wait, and then deal with the spin or 3-hit combo the same as in phase 1 (airstep/falling slash on spin, reprisal on second hit of 3-hit combo, etc)

The 3-hit combo is now a 5-hit combo - the Dark Inferno will perform 2 slashes, flash white, do another 2 slashes, and end with 1 unblockable slash. He will then follow up with a spin attack. Block the first 4 hits, dodge to avoid the fifth hit, then Doubleflight into the air, wait for the red swords to appear, and then perform Falling Slash to punish the spin attack.

The spin attack can be punished the same as before, but its range is wider and the timing for the punish is tighter - if Sora approaches too late, the Dark Inferno will chain the spin into another attack (indicated by a white flash), leaving Sora open to attack.

The disappearing attack works the same, but the orbs will fly at Sora in 3 sets instead of 2. Avoid them same as before, and try to land at the spot the Dark Inferno disappeared at. If Sora doesn't punish the Dark Inferno in time upon it re-appearing, it will flash white and follow-up with a spin attack - this can be punished with the Airstep method or Falling Slash method, as before.

Phase 3: red aura
After eleven health bars of the boss's health have been depleted, the Dark Inferno will begin to glow red. This is its last phase, but also its most deadly. Note that in this phase, the Dark Inferno is immune to Fire-type attacks.

The 7-hit combo is now a 15-hit combo - the Dark inferno will approach with 6 slashes, flash white, perform 2 more slashes, flash white again and pause, do 6 more slashes, and finally finish with 1 unblockable slash. Block the first set of 6, and use the white flashes to help with timing blocks for the set of 2 and set of 6. Be careful with the last 6, as there is a slight delay before it starts. Dodge roll to avoid the last hit. Dark Inferno will dodge away and may do a spin attack or 3-hit combo - punish these the same as in phase 2.

The 5-hit combo is sometimes a 4-hit combo, but otherwise works very similar to phase 2. The Dark Inferno will perform 2 sets of slashes (2 + 2 or 1 + 2), then 1 unblockable slash, and follow up with a spin attack. Block the first 2 sets of slashes, dodge the last slash, Doubleflight to get above the spin attack, then use Falling Slash to punish.

The spin attack works the same as phase 2, and the timing is just as tight. Use Airstep/Falling Slash as usual.

For the disappearing attack, the Dark Inferno no longer disappears - instead, it will attempt to do a 3-hit combo on Sora shortly after spawning the white orbs. Doubleflight into the air, block 2 hits, and then reprisal to knock the Dark Inferno away. Instead of a reprisal, another option is to briefly fall after blocking the second slash, causing the third slash to miss, and the Dark Inferno will retreat. A third option is to air-slide the third hit instead. After dealing with the 3-hit combo, glide around to avoid the orbs in 3 sets, as usual.

As the Dark Inferno jumps out of attack range to prepare for its next attack, Sora can get in some damage with the usage of a Shotlock command.

Dark Inferno χ
The Dark Inferno χ is fought as the first boss in Re Mind. While its attack patterns are the same, it has a lot less HP and remains in phase 1 for the entire battle.