Death appears twice on a single playthrough of Castlevania: Belmont's Curse: first in the Catacombs as the fourth encounter on the run, and again at Notre-Dame as the thirteenth encounter on the way to Dracula. He is voiced by Satoshi Tsuruoka — the same performer who controlled the demo during the TGS 2026 live stream — and is depicted wielding his signature soul-tearing scythe that tears through space.
More context
Treat the room as wider than it looks, bring Holy Light-class Arcana for parries, punish recovery frames, use aerial grapples for i-frame resets, and top off before entering.
On this page
Where to find Death
- First encounter: Catacombs, position 4 on the run.
- Second encounter: Notre-Dame, position 13 on the run, immediately after the late-game sealed bosses (Talos, Erinys, Mammon, Stained Glass Knight, Succubus, and Brauner).
- Specific attack phases, parry windows, and the Arcana he grants have not been publicly documented before the October 15, 2026 launch; the official guide page lists Death's strategy as TBD.
How he fights (what is known)
- Signature weapon: a soul-tearing scythe that 'tears through space,' which is the visual framing the published material uses to describe his reach.
- Presence: Death is the only boss in the run with a confirmed second appearance, and both encounters are positioned on the main path rather than as optional content.
- Difficulty read: as the fourth boss he is the first major difficulty spike after The Fallen, Joan of Arc, and Medusa; as the thirteenth encounter he is positioned to gate the Castle climb toward Dracula.
Recommended approach (Catacombs, first appearance)
Treat the room as wider than it looks
Death's scythe is described as tearing through space, which means his effective reach is larger than the visible blade — give yourself a full screen of breathing room before committing to melee.
Done when: You keep a full screen of breathing room.
Bring Holy Light-class Arcana
Holy Light and Holy Cross have already proven their parry value against Joan of Arc and Isaac; both skills transfer into Death's first encounter.
Done when: You slot Holy Light or Holy Cross for the fight.
Punish recovery frames, not startup
The scythe has long recovery animations, so the cleanest melee window is the back end of his swings, not the front.
Done when: You commit only on the recovery frames.
Use aerial grapples to escape combo chains
Trapeze swings and aerial dashes grant invincibility frames (i-frames) and let you reset spacing without spending a relic slot on defense.
Done when: Aerial grapples become your reset tool.
Top off on healing before entering
Catacombs is a long linear section between save points, and Death's first appearance is the largest single damage check in the area.
Done when: You arrive at the boss door with full or near-full health.
Recommended approach (Notre-Dame, second appearance)
Bring the strongest Spell you have sealed
By this point Rose has access to multiple sealed bosses, and the Spell layer carries most of the raw damage in the late game.
Done when: Your strongest sealed Spell is slotted.
Stack one or two Holy Light-class abilities for parries
The same parry family that worked in the Catacombs is the cleanest counter to Death's scythe.
Done when: Holy Light or Holy Cross is in your active slots.
Use Relic slots for break damage and air damage
Death punishes long defensive play; faster stagger and longer aerial chains shorten the fight.
Done when: Break-damage and air-damage Relics are equipped.
Plan for the True Ending route
The Notre-Dame encounter sits directly on the path to the 'Curse Lifted' ending trophy; if you want the True Ending path, do not trigger the Bad or Normal endings before this fight.
Done when: Your save has not triggered a Bad or Normal ending.
What you get for sealing him
The Arcana he grants is not yet publicly documented. Treat the post-fight payoff the same way as Carmilla: a Spell (active magical attack cast with MP) and a Special Action (non-spell ability), with the card itself being the unlock for the next region. Because Death appears twice, his second card reward may differ from his first — this is the kind of detail the official guide page lists as TBD.