Malzeno is an Elder Dragon first introduced in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak where it appears as the secondary antagonist. It is a vicious and bloodthirsty monster that commands the Qurio, a horde of bat-like leeches that infest and sap the strength of nearby monsters, delivering a portion of this energy to their masters. As such, it is constantly on the lookout for more prey to consume, and was previously thought to be the destroyer of Elgado in ancient times.
Physiology[]
Like Velkhana, Malzeno has a European dragon-like body shape, with dark scales covering its body and swarms of tiny, flying lesions called Qurio on its neck, chest, and front legs. From above, its wings appear drab grey, yet underneath they are scarlet. Each wing has a single, enormous talon, and the wing membrane attaches "separately" to the wing fingers. At the base of its tail are a pair of tiny fins that share the same color as its wings. Its front legs have three fingers that terminate in a huge, curled claw. It has two big golden horns and cowl-like frills that hang from either side of its neck. It may catch small animals using its three big, moveable prongs at the end of its tail. It may use its wings as a cape to conceal its body.
Malzeno's appearance changes when it expends sufficient life energy; its eyes illuminate, its wings and neck frills start to pulse, its chest, front legs, and tail get covered in a dark crimson energy, the Qurio on its body starts to glow, and its body becomes darker in color.
Abilities[]
Because of their symbiotic relationship, Malzeno can control the Qurio to attack directly by firing clusters of their energy and drain life force from opponents and victims. Many of Malzeno's physical assaults result in Bloodblight, which can significantly weaken a target and deplete their vitality, due to the Qurio's impact. Additionally, they have the ability to breathe dragon energy, which they will use to create powerful eruptions through beams and shockwaves.
Malzeno uses its limbs—mainly the clawed tail, which is agile enough to grip and pin down opponents, and the hook-like spikes on the points of its wings—to deliver swift, strong physical attacks during melee combat. It is quite acrobatic due to its tiny frame and will often spin around or perform barrel rolls to attack or reposition. A massive monster like a Lunagaron can be readily picked up and thrown by its powerful tail, and despite its slender build, its physical attacks have a surprising amount of brute force because they frequently break the ground and produce shockwaves.
The "Bloodening" is a powered-up condition that Malzeno enters after depleting enough life force. In this stage, it becomes incredibly agile and uses bursts of the Qurio's energy to push itself so quickly that it looks if it is teleporting. It can combine several powerful attacks in succession, and its attacks have been improved to produce enormous explosions, black/red aftershocks, and debris soaring through the air. Its tail and glowing body parts will weaken in this form, too, and if you deal enough damage to them, Malzeno will be knocked out of the Bloodening and it will fall to the ground. If this isn't done, Malzeno will eventually channel all of its transformational energy into a destructive attack before returning to its original form once it's finished.
Behavior[]
An Elder Dragon of great strength and aggression, Malzeno will use the Qurio to attack anything that stands in its way and drain its life and blood. It will inflict Bloodblight on them using the Qurio if they make it out alive. This is why Malzeno and Qurio are so feared in the kingdom for the damage they can wreak to the ecosystem. It was thought to be the fabled monster that had previously come dangerously close to destroying the Kingdom, but the Gaismagorm, the Qurio's real lord, was later discovered.
As a Variant known as Primordial Malzeno, Malzeno used to live in harmony with humans and many other monsters in the Citadel. But after battling the Archdemon of the Abyss for supremacy, it was compelled to become symbiotic with the Qurio that tormented it. Over the next fifty years, it underwent a morphological shift that resulted in its current state as a vicious monster as the Qurios' power drove it mad. However, Malzeno is still the lesser of two evils in this state as its theft of the Qurio from Gaismagorm prevents the latter from gaining enough energy to erupt from the ground, preventing further destruction to Elgado.
Habitat[]
In addition to the Shrine Ruins and Lava Caverns of Kamura, Malzeno is mostly located in the Citadel's ruins.
