Crimson Malefact Boss Guide — Beast of Reincarnation

Where and when you fight it

Crimson Malefact is the mandatory story boss of Chapter 9, encountered at the top of Starfall Tower in the Wasteland region — the ninth major zone of the campaign. Its listed level is 45, and like every boss in Beast of Reincarnation you can't skip it; following the main quest waypoint walks you straight into the arena. Most tested runs place the encounter around the 18-hour mark, shortly after Koo goes missing for a stretch of the story. Our own Koo guide and the boss timing both agree on that figure, so if you're well past 15 hours and Koo has just vanished from your side, this fight is close.

Why this fight is different: no Koo

Every other Nushi fight in the game runs on the parry-to-FP-to-Bloom-Arts loop covered in our Koo commands guide: perfect blocks fill Florescence Points, you spend FP through the △ command menu, and Koo's Bloom Arts crack Down Gauges open. None of that exists here. Crimson Malefact is fought as Emma alone, which means the entire tactical half of your kit — guard-breaks, crowd control, heals, gap-closers — simply isn't available. What's left is pure katana pressure, dodge timing, parry discipline, and the Entanglement Overdrive gauge Emma builds independently of Koo. If your muscle memory leans on Koo bailing you out of bad reads, this is the fight that punishes that habit hardest.

Full moveset and how to answer each attack

Crimson Malefact doesn't attack in a fixed rotation — its combos come in a sporadic order, so the fight is really a test of reading each individual tell rather than memorizing a sequence. Game8's tested attack table breaks the moveset into these openings:

Attack	How to answer it
Bite	A single lunging bite. Parry it — it staggers the boss slightly, giving a short punish window.
Bite Combo	A three-hit bite string. Parry all three; countering after only the first or second hit gets you caught by the rest.
Somersault	Telegraphed by a red flash. Unblockable — dodge on the flash. The boss is vulnerable for a moment after landing.
4 Attacks Into Somersault	A five-hit chain (two bites, two claw swipes, a somersault). Parry the bites and claws, then dodge the closing somersault. There is no punish window inside this sequence — survive it, don't try to trade.
Ground Swipe / Stone Swipe	Rocks torn from the ground and hurled at you. Cannot be parried — dodge and reposition.
Bite Into Jump Back	A deceptive lunge-then-retreat. Parry early rather than reacting late; since it retreats, follow up with ranged attacks if you're carrying a bow.
Spinning Dive	A high leap into a spinning crash landing. Unparryable — dodge to either side to avoid both the dive and the ground spikes it leaves behind.
Tail Slam Bloom	A tail slam that marks your position; a giant spider lily erupts there after a delay. Keep moving until the marker clears, then punish — it's stationary afterward.
Rapid Seed Barrage	A fast ranged volley. The projectiles move too quickly to parry consistently — dodge continuously instead.
Sakura: Javelin	A fast lightning-spear throw. Counter-intuitively, this one is easier to parry than to dodge on reaction.
Tail Roots from the Ground	Vines bloom beneath red ground markers after a delay. Watch the indicators and keep moving until they erupt.

Phase 2: what changes

In its second phase, Crimson Malefact adds Tail Vines — stabbing its tail into the ground and erupting vines beneath you. Getting caught pulls you toward the boss, setting up a follow-up hit, so the priority is to keep moving or sprint clear the instant vines start emerging. Phase 2 in general layers more AoE zoning on top of the Phase 1 kit: keep circling and watch for red warning markers rather than trying to stand and trade, since Bloom, Fire Seeds, and root-based attacks all punish players who stay still.

Gear and loadout

Because Koo's Bloom Arts are off the table, your Spirit Stone and weapon picks need to cover for that missing damage and utility on their own. Tested loadouts point to two directions:

Spring Storm, if you've already upgraded it, is the recommended weapon here.
If you haven't invested in Spring Storm yet, Purity is the fallback pick — its sustain matters against a boss this aggressive, since a single missed parry can strip a large chunk of HP.
Since Crimson Malefact hits hard and often, our builds guide is worth a look before this fight specifically for its sustain-oriented Spirit Stone picks (Fortification, Well of Fortitude, Iron Wall) rather than pure glass-cannon damage stones.

Exploit the recovery windows the boss's biggest attacks leave behind — Somersault and the five-hit combo both end with the boss briefly exposed — but don't get greedy with extra hits, since the very next attack in this fight's sporadic rotation can come out fast.

The weakness question

There's a genuine discrepancy in the community data here worth flagging rather than glossing over. Our own boss list notes Crimson Malefact as weak to Water, while Game8's tested attack breakdown lists its weakness as None and shows no elemental reward tied to the fight. Both sources agree it drops no Nushi Skill and is purely a story wall, so treat the elemental weakness as not confirmed — pack an elemental option if you have one spare, but don't build your whole loadout around Water damage for this specific fight. The fundamentals (parry discipline, dodge timing on the unblockable attacks, and sustain gear) matter far more here than element-matching.

Common mistakes

Trying to block the unparryable attacks. Somersault, Ground Swipe/Stone Swipe, and Spinning Dive all ignore your guard. Learn their tells and commit to a dodge rather than eating chip damage trying to block.
Reaching for Koo's command menu out of habit. There's nothing there. If your instinct under pressure is to open the △ menu, retrain it before this fight, not during it.
Greeding extra hits inside the five-hit combo. Game8's notes are explicit that this sequence has no punish window — survive it clean, then punish afterward.
Standing still during Phase 2 AoE. The red ground markers are your cue to keep circling, not to finish your own combo.

Crimson Malefact FAQ

Why can't I use Koo against Crimson Malefact?

It's a scripted story beat: Koo is separated from Emma for a stretch of Chapter 9, and Crimson Malefact is the boss that fills that gap. The entire FP-and-Bloom-Arts loop is unavailable for this one encounter only.

What level should I be for this fight?

The boss is listed at Level 45. Beast of Reincarnation's story gating means you'll rarely arrive dramatically underleveled, but if you're a few levels short, our beginner guide covers general leveling habits that carry over to boss prep.

Does beating Crimson Malefact unlock a Nushi Skill?

No. Both Game8's reward table and our own boss list agree: this fight pays out nothing mechanically. It's a pure skill check and story beat, not a progression gate for your build.

Is there a safe way to practice its parry timing before the fight?

Not directly — Crimson Malefact's moveset (especially the Bite Combo and the five-hit chain) isn't previewed elsewhere. General parry fundamentals from earlier bosses on our full boss list transfer, but expect a difficulty spike specific to this encounter.

Sources

Last reviewed: September 10, 2026 · Weakness element is disputed between sources and marked unconfirmed above · Verify exact numeric drop tables in-game since patches can adjust them.

Crimson Malefact: How to Beat the One Boss Fight Without Koo