Dragon of the Darkness Flame

For the episode with the same title, see Episode 30.

The Dragon of the Darkness Flame (邪王炎殺黒龍波, Jaou Ensatsu Kokuryuuha; translated as Wicked King Immolation Black Dragon Wave) attack is a powerful technique that summons black flames from the depths of Spirit World and shaping it in the form of a dragon capable of instantly incinerating nearly anything in its path.

History[]

Originally from Demon World, there is an unusual element at the depths of the netherworld with unmatched destructive capabilities called the Darkness Flame. For millennia, countless yokai sought to harness this power, but none of them had succeeded with the exception of Hiei.

M,. — Hiei first calling on the Dragon of the Darkness Flame

Sometime before the Dark Tournament, Hiei learned to call on the black flames and unleash the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, because his control of this technique remained unrefined at the time, he experienced considerable personal agony when he used it.

During his confrontation with Zeru, Hiei invoked the black flames for the first time and promptly burned his arm so badly that his combat skills were severely crippled for most of the remainder of the tournament; a testament to the uncontrollable essence of the Dragon of the Darkness Flame.

He eventually mastered it during his battle with Bui by consuming it and became the Dragon of the Darkness Flame in a sense.

Usage[]

When using the Darkness Flame, Hiei removes the sealing cloth wrapped around his arm and then proceeds to concentrate his demonic energy and also activates his Jagan at the same time. His energy is used at bait to lure the dragon while his Jagan allows him to understand its properties and master it.

While Hiei invokes the black flames, a series of ominous weather changes occur (lightning strikes, darkened clouds, changes in area color, etc.), but this is not always the case. In fact, such a phenomenon was only seen during his first few attempts at using this attack. This implies that the weather phenomenon was more likely a side effect of his lack of sufficient control.

Spiritually aware individuals in the vicinity will also begin feeling cold, experiencing anxiety or even despair.

Once the channel for the Dragon is fully charged, its form materializes in a swirl of black flames covering Hiei's entire arm. Upon release, the flames burst forth in an explosion described as having a mind of its own and thus difficult to guide once launched. The dark flames then proceed to instantly incinerate just about anything in its path.

In the event that the Dragon turns back on Hiei, he is capable of absorbing its energy and thus greatly enhancing all of his abilities for a short period of time becoming the Dragon of the Darkness Flame in a sense and negating the drawbacks he suffers from using it as a result of mastering the technique.

The first time this occurred, the Dragon appeared to have devoured Hiei completely before he reappeared after a while, seemingly from nowhere. The second time he did this, the Dragon simply appeared to have collided with Hiei, and he did not vanish.

Form[]

After being released, the flames take the form of a giant Chinese dragon, composed entirely of black and purple flames. However, the exact color of the dragon is not consistent; while its appearance always keeps the black base, the secondary color varies between purple, red, blue, green and even white. The dragon also appears to drastically change in size, varying in length from a few meters to miles.

Power and Effects[]

The Dragon of the Darkness Flame is one of the most powerful attacks in the series. Even the collateral damage caused by the Dragon of the Darkness Flame can be immense; during Hiei's second use of it during the Dark Tournament, the technique leveled half of the Tournament's stadium and shattered the fighting ring despite not having been directed at either.

After being fired, the attack flies toward the target and destroys everything in its path. The intense flames consumes its target instantly, as seen when used against Zeru of Team Rokuyukai; all that was left of him was his silhouette, which had been seared into a wall of the first stadium.

In principle, defending against or deflecting this attack is impossible. In reality however, it is possible, even for opponents who are at Hiei's power level, to deflect the attack. During the Dark Tournament, Bui managed to redirect the attack back to Hiei by using his battle aura to withstand the technique's effects. As he had a similar level of power to Hiei's own, it was extremely difficult for him to accomplish this. The second person to survive the attack was Sensui, who effortlessly held it at bay simply by surrounding himself in his Sacred Energy. His only reaction to it was a comment on its convenience as a means of locomotion. His power at the time, however, was at least an entire class level above Hiei's. Mukuro was the final individual to block this attack, and she accomplished her victory by not only stopping the Dragon, but also ripping it apart. As with Sensui, her powers far exceeds Hiei's.

Collateral Effects[]

Because of its intensity, the black flames are extremely difficult to handle. If the user cannot completely control this technique, its power will end up consuming the user itself. Additionally, handling the technique requires that the user be in peak condition, otherwise it is virtually guaranteed to destroy its wielder.

Hjm, — Hiei after using the Dragon for the first time

When Hiei first used the Dragon, he was left with serious burns to his right forearm, even with the help of his Jagan. Had it not been for the inadvertent healing effects of Ruka's force field, his right arm might have remained maimed, and possibly useless, for the rest of his life. After this, Hiei was unable to use the Dragon again until the final round of the tournament, due to the fact that his first use of it had weakened him so substantially. Unwilling to risk potentially crippling one of his arms again, Hiei underwent further training and developed something of a containment system for the Dragon's power.

Connection to the Jagan[]

The Dragon of the Darkness Flame may not have a mandatory connection with the Jagan, but Hiei seems to have used the Jagan's abilities to facilitate his manipulation of the Dragon's power. In fact, he has never been seen using the technique without his Jagan open. It is likely that the Jagan establishes a psychic connection with the dragon, allowing the user to gain some control over it.

Sealing and Containment[]

Hiei could not handle this attack to his liking, so he sealed its power away by compressing the black flames into his right arm via a tattoo in the shape of a dragon.

Through that image, he was able to harmonize his energy with the Darkness Flame, but the power emanating from this flame was so forceful that he had to swaddle his entire right arm with a special cloth designed to suppress the dragon. This necessitates him having to remove these wrappings if he wants to unleash the dragon's might upon an unwary opponent.