Seraph Lamington

"The existence of Angel Trainee Flonne has been erased, along with her sins...King Laharl, do you despise me?"

- Seraph Lamington

Seraph Lamington, some times called Master Lamington, or simply The Seraph, is the final boss of the game Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. Lamington sets in motion a grand scheme against the protagonist Laharl placing the fates of the angelic Celestia and the demonic Netherworld in the balance.

Angel Trainee Flonne's mission
Lamington ruled over the Angelic world of Celestia for centuries, training the resident angels. One day Seraph Lamington asked one of his Angel Trainees named Flonne to preform an assassination for him, he instructed her to assassinate the leader of the Netherworld, King Krichevskoy. Flonne, though feeling somewhat unfit for a task as serious as assassination did as her master said and entered the Netherworld in search of King Krichevskoy. Flonne was detected by the King's son, Laharl, while she was debating actually going through with an assassination and fled before she could be caught. Laharl pursued and eventually cornered Flonne with the help of his Vassal, Etna. When asked about her business in the Netherworld she admited she had been sent by the Seraph to assassinate the King Krichevskoy. Laharl and Etna told her she was too late and that the king had died two years prior. Flonne apologized and felt horrible for Laharl's loss, even though she had been sent to kill him herself, though Laharls remained unmoved by the lose. Seeing Laharl's seemingly emotionless attachment to his father thought Laharl might be a danger to Celestia, furthermore Flonne knew little about demons outside of rumors and decided to stay in the Netherworld to learn more, making up her mind that if demons were really as bad as she had heard that she would carry out her mission with Laharl as the new target. Laharl welcomed the challenge and took Flonne in to prove his true nature as a being of pure evil to her, in hopes of breaking her positive nature.

The Schemes of Archangel Vulcanus
The Archangel Vulcanus heard that Flonne had been dispatched to assassinate the Overlord as he felt he would have been a better choice. Vulcanus insisted on monitoring Flonne's progresses and went to the Netherworld. Lamington was opposed to the idea but did not step into stop Vulcanus, instead adapting his plans around the situation...

When Vulcanus arrived in the Netherworld he saw Flonne taking up residence in the Overlord's castle and began to suspect Flonne had instead formed a pact with the demons. Vulcanus took away the pendant Lamington had given Flonne to sustain her life-force in the Netherworld, for as a simple trainee, Flonne did not have the energy to survive for long in the Netherworld on her own. Flonne told Laharl she needed the pendant to live and told him if he got it back for her she would give him a reward. Vulcanus eventually dropped the pendant after being burned by it and was forced to hide as Flonne, Etna and Laharl arrive hot on his trail. Before Flonne could arrive however the demon, Mid-Boss, found and picked up the pendant. Flonne warned Mid-Boss if he did not let go the pendants power would burn him, as it's holy light harmed all those with evil hearts. Despite the holy glow though, Mid-Boss seemed unharmed. Laharl had fought Mid-Boss before, giving him the name Mid-Boss to mock him, and was more than willing to beat Mid-Boss a second time to get the pendant back. When beaten Mid-Boss retreated but dropped the pendant in a near-by lava-flow. Laharl dived in to retrieve it, though unharmed by the lava the pendant burned Lahral's hands and he was eager to give it back. When Laharl demanded the "something good" Flonne had promised Flonne said she had already given it to him, a chance to do something helpful and kind. Laharl became enraged by the "reward" instead complaining at having been tricked by an Angel and flew off in a rage. Vulcanus, having observed the entire confrontation took it as confirmation that Flonne was manipulating the demons for her own purposes and left to put together plan of his own.

Laharl would spend much time proving his rite to succeed his father and Flonne assisted him in his travels, partially just due to her natural helpful nature, partially to keep an eye on Laharl's true nature and partially to remain on hand to prevent put him down if he ever did anything irredeemably evil. After Flonne realized she had helped crown a new Overlord she became worried she would get in trouble with the Seraph when she returned to Celestia. Though Vulcanus considered the act treason, Lamington was less than concerned with the crowning.

Eventually Laharl, Etna and Flonne met some human astronauts named Gordon, Jennifer and their robot Thursday. Gordon Jennifer and Thursday had crashed in the Netherworld while looking for a route there via a space fissure. Gordon fought Laharl but was beaten and made Laharl's manservant, though eventually he would prove himself a suitable warrior and knighted as "Protector of the Netherworld". After a couple of other battles with Mid-Boss a real threat arrived in the Netherworld, Gordon's boss, General Carter, arrived in the Netherworld to mine it for resources and set up colonies there for the overpopulated Earth. Carter admitted he had no real value for Gordon except as a crash test dummy to pilot the shuttle to act as a beacon for the Earth Deference Force to follow into the Netherworld for the invasion. Laharl would eventually foil the invasion but Carter called on angel's to come to his aid when cornered. After the battle Carter got away but Laharl was more concerned with angels being involved in the invasion and asked Flonne who could set up a pact like that with the humans? Flonne said interfering with human affairs, let alone using them as a army was forbidden by Celestia law but that only a high ranking angel could form such a pact. As the Seraph had originally ordered the assassination Laharl suspected him, despite Flonne objections she admitted even if he had not been involved he would have surely known who was and allowed it prompting Laharl to confront the Seraph in Celestia.

Celestia
Just inside Celestia Laharl, Flonne and the others met Mid-Boss again, which Flonne pointed out should be impossible since demons could not enter Celestia unless a resident of Celestia let them in. After beating Mid-Boss a final time Laharl traveled further into Celestia. Vulcanus had ordered the angels to kill Flonne on charges of treason, Laharl and Flonne were forced to use lethal force to progress. When encountered Valcanus stated his suspicions to Flonne and summoned some demons to destroy her and her friends once all his angels were defeated. Though the demons would eventually be defeated Flonne was broken-hearted, not only had she harmed fellow angels and be declared a traitor but one of her masters had broken angelic law and conspired with humans to take over the Netherworld and even made pacts with demons as his henchman.

Once at the Seraph's residence Vulcanus decided to finish Flonne himself and admitted he had intended to overthrow the Seraph for some time and declair himself God and he would not let her beat him to it. Though Laharl and Flonne beat Vulcanus he managed to escape, flying off to tell the Seraph and frame Flonne for all his transgressions. Though Vulcanus arrived first and attempted to shift all the blame to Flonne he was soon interrupted by Flonne and her friends. Lamington asked Flonne what she had to report from her mission to the Netherworld. Flonne reported that while it was true demons were short-tempered and often rude, she found they were not inherently evil and that Laharl alone had proven good-hearted, if ill-tempered. Lamington was pleased as he had suspected demons were not inherently evil for some time and further more that not all angels were inherently good, he then turned to Vulcanus, saying he had been aware for some time of his plans and ambitions and imposed summery execution on him by transforming him into a flower.

Lamington said that Flonne and her friends had still killed several angels on their way into see him and needed to be punished as well. Flonne pleaded that she be the one held responsible as she had lead them into Celestia, Lamington honored the request and said she would be punished but her friends would be spared and executed Flonne in the same way he had Vulcanus, by transforming her into a flower. When the Seraph asked if Laharl hated him for what he had done Laharl replied that of course he did and proceeded to take out his wrath on Lamington.

Seraph Lamington's gambit
If the final battle with Lamington is not reached withing a few hours of game play, Laharl kills Lamington after battle for executing Flonne. Mid-Boss shows up after battle saying he was too late to stop him. Mid-Boss explains he and the Seraph had been conspiring to test Laharl's heart from he beginning, Mid-Boss's battles were set up to give Flonne a chance to observe Laharl and Lamington had sent Flonne in the first-place as he suspected she was one of the only angels who would stop to question the ethics of the situation rather than just follow orders. If Laharl had spared Lamington, Mid-Boss said he would have turned Flonne back to normal, having proved he was capable of compassion. Laharl feeling upset at having failed Flonne twice used a spell his mother, a powerful human witch, had taught him. The spell would restore a person to health in exchange for the caster's life, a spell Laharl's mother had used to save Laharl at the cost of her own life. Laharl offers himself to God in exchange for Flonne's life (ending the game but allowing it to be started over with all current stats still available for a new game+).

If the final battle with the Seraph is reached within a few hours events play out differently. After the battle with the Seraph, Laharl instead spares him, as killing him would not bring Flonne back. Mid-Boss arrives as before to reveal his and Lamington's conspiracy and activates the Seraph's prepared spell to reverse the transformation, though Lamington had intended the life of Angel Trainee Flonne to come to an end the spell revived her as a demon instead to act as a representative within the Netherworld. The post credits sequence shows not only is Flonne alive and well but she is teaching demons about concepts like love and friendship. Lamington and Laharl are also shown making a formal alliance between their realms.

Trivia

 * By Flonne's account there were Seraphs, or at least one, before Lamington, meaning Seraph Lamington has a natural (if surely long) lifespan and is still subject to death and can be succeeded himself.
 * Though Archangel Vulcanus seems to believe that taking the Seraph's place will make him effectively the new God, Laminton and Mid-Boss both seem to acknowledge God as a completely separate entity, which they pray to.
 * Seraph Lamington makes a brief appearance in Disgaea 4.
 * Combined with Laharl's appearances in following Disgaea games and Lamington's in Disgaea 4 the game's good ending seems to be the cannon one.