Fixed Fusion Monsters: Soul Hunter 2.0

Here’s the fourteenth picture of the second wave of the Fixing Fusion Monsters series. Other than being the twenty-fourth overall entry in the entire series, this also happens to be the last one of this current wave before I work on the upcoming third wave later this year. This is the updated and improved Fusion of Lord of the Lamp and Invader from Another Dimension, named Soul Hunter 2.0. I named this Fusion monster Soul Hunter 2.0 because, in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, anime, and card game, there is an actual Fusion monster called Soul Hunter. However, very similar to how I’ve worked on all the previous Fusion monsters that were either turned into 2.0 versions of themselves because they lacked the physical attributes and colors from their respective fusees, or completely redesigned into entirely new forms due to them dropping several elements and themes from the two or three monsters used to create them, this monster truly needed major improvements, as it lacked nearly every single aspect from both Lord of the Lamp and Invader from Another Dimension.

The original Soul Hunter was a sinister-looking, brown-skinned clown wearing a medieval fool’s costume composed of a red shirt, purple pants, sleeves, and hat, yellow and blue shoulder pads with green symbols on them, a red clown nose, and two red marks around his closed eyes. He was also wielding a huge scythe and riding a yellow-skinned, scaly, winged dragon with blue eyes, a striped green belly, gray claws, and razor-sharp teeth. Although the design of the original Soul Hunter was creative and frightening, it still fell way short of the mark, at least in terms of being a proper amalgamation between two or three monsters, considering that its two fusees are a purple-skinned genie and a giant green ant with big yellow eyes. Despite all of those flaws, I still believed this Fusion monster had major potential to be called Soul Eater, given that it carried a scythe, which is the main weapon of the Grim Reaper and therefore a symbol of death. Similar to the 2.0 versions I’ve previously worked on for Labyrinth Tank, Cyber-Saurus, Rare Fish, Flame Ghost, Roaring Ocean Snake, Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, and Sanwitch, this Fusion monster received a couple of major updates, as it truly had a lot that needed to be improved in order to remain faithful to both Lord of the Lamp and Invader from Another Dimension.

The first concept I had in mind for the updated design of this Fusion monster came from Arabic mythology, considering that Lord of the Lamp is a genie, and genies originated in Arabic folklore long before they became widely known as magical beings who live inside lamps and grant three wishes. The creature I used as the main inspiration for the redesign of Soul Hunter was the ghoul, a foul undead creature originating from Arabian folklore. A ghoul is described as a type of demon and even a jinn, which is another name for a genie. Ghouls are said to dwell in graveyards and other uninhabited areas. According to folklore, these monsters are crafty shapeshifters that take on the forms of animals in order to lure unwary travelers into their territory so they may devour them. Ghouls have appeared in many works of popular culture, including video games, literature, and films. Because of their habit of feeding on human flesh and lingering in graveyards, ghouls have sometimes been mistakenly associated with vampires or zombies. So yes, having a ghoul as one of the inspirations for this updated Fusion monster makes a whole lot of sense, especially since ghouls are often depicted as devourers of souls.

The second concept I immediately came up with for the redesign of this Fusion monster was a scorpion. This may sound quite strange at first, but once the explanation is complete, everything should make sense. Although his overall description states that he is a monster from another galaxy, Invader from Another Dimension is actually a human-sized ant with a green exoskeleton and a pair of big yellow eyes. Since ants are insects, they share similarities with arachnids such as spiders and scorpions in terms of appearance and behavior, aside from their leg count. In Arabic legends, scorpions are often associated with duality, representing both danger and protection. They are seen as creatures connected to the earth, possessing both healing and venomous properties, and are also symbols of revenge and justice. In some Sufi traditions from the Arabic regions, such as the Rifa’i dervishes, people are known to handle scorpions and snakes as part of religious practices, displaying an apparent immunity to their venom. Since scorpions inhabit Arabic deserts and are extremely dangerous due to the venom they inject through their stingers, it became clear that a scorpion should be part of the design of this revamped Fusion monster. As such, ghouls and scorpions together gave rise to the new Soul Hunter, also known as Soul Hunter 2.0.

The physical elements present throughout this updated Fusion monster include the muscular upper body, head, arms, purple skin, blue eyes, pointed ears, dark mustache, human-like teeth, red sash with yellow and green triangles, sand-colored turban with a green gem, red feather, gold crown beneath it, and blue staff with a gold sphere at the top, all originating from Lord of the Lamp. Meanwhile, the massive lower body is derived from Invader from Another Dimension, transformed into a gigantic scorpion form with a green exoskeleton, two deadly pincers, four legs, and a long tail ending in a sharp bladed stinger. The staff inherited from one of the fusees was redesigned into a gold-bladed scythe, reinforcing the idea that Soul Hunter remains a messenger of the dead, now with a far stronger Arabic aesthetic due to his half-ghoul, half-scorpion form. Some of you may be wondering why I chose to give this Fusion monster the lower body of a scorpion, and that’s because I took heavy inspiration from centaurs and the Scorpion King—the former being a legendary race of human-like creatures with horse bodies from Greek mythology, and the latter being a man with the body and tail of a scorpion, and sometimes even pincers for arms.

Soul Hunter 2.0 is a cruel, ruthless, and gruesome entity of darkness that roams the seemingly endless deserts alone, emerging from the shadows only when the time is right. He appears either to claim the souls of those whose destined hour of death has arrived or to punish those who have stolen countless innocent lives without mercy, regret, or remorse. Neither hero nor villain, this fearsome being exists as an executor of a higher, unforgiving balance, ensuring that no soul escapes its rightful fate. This gigantic purple-skinned ghoul, fused with the massive lower body of a monstrous scorpion, is instantly recognizable by his nightmarish visage and ever-present look of sadistic satisfaction. Soul Hunter takes grim pleasure in slaughtering the wicked, cleaving them apart with his massive scythe before finishing them with a precise strike from the venom-filled stinger in his tail. His movements are swift and relentless, combining the dark sorcery and cunning intelligence of a ghoul with the raw agility, speed, and crushing strength of a colossal desert scorpion. As the fusion of Lord of the Lamp and Invader from Another Dimension, Soul Hunter wields ancient magic alongside overwhelming physical power. His scythe is said to be imbued with forgotten dark energies, capable of severing not only flesh but also the soul itself, condemning his victims to instant death with a single swing. Meanwhile, the poison within his gigantic tail is so potent that it can paralyze its target in mere moments, leaving them helpless as their soul is claimed. Countless warriors who dared to oppose him have fallen without landing a single blow, earning Soul Hunter a reputation as a nearly invincible force on the battlefield. Despite his savage methods and terrifying appearance, Soul Hunter views life as something sacred that must never be wasted or taken lightly. He does not kill out of mindless cruelty, but rather fulfills his sworn role as a reaper of souls, passing judgment on both the innocent and the wicked without bias. To him, death is not punishment nor mercy—it is simply the inevitable end that all beings must face, and he is the one chosen to deliver it. The new Soul Hunter has the same stats as the original.

Level: 6

Attribute: Darkness

Type: Fiend/Fusion

Attack: 2200

Defense: 1800