Mastema[a] is the angel of hostility and persecution in Judaism who appears in the Book of Jubilees. He rules over one-tenth of the Nephilim after he pleaded with God to let them remain on earth so he may test the faith of humanity, with the rest being damned. He fulfills the role of the Adversary. He is identified in the Book of Jubilees as the angel responsible for multiple acts of divine wrath, being the one that questions the faith of Job and requests that God rescind his protection of Job so that he may test him, for ordering Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac to prove his loyalty to God, and being responsible for the deaths of all the firstborns of Egypt. Despite these actions, he never brings harm to the servants of God and only has them endure trials when approved by the will of God, and can be seen as a protector to those faithful to God and a judge of those that would bring them harm.
In the Acts of Philip, a 4th century AD apocryphal text, Mansemat[b] is given as the name of Satan, and he is stated to have entered the high priest Ananias.
Design
Mastema first appears in Ronde as a speckled blue torso of a man with blond hair riding a frilled brown frog-like beast with fangs, claws, a spiked tail, and the hind legs of a grasshopper.
In Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey onward, Mastema is a gray-skinned angel with large black wings, long hair, and nails, and blue lips. He wears an off-white angular mask and robes, adorned in decorations of lines, with a large vertical halo floating behind his head. His robe is loose, exposing his chest, with thin vertically lined legwear that stop at his ankles, revealing his feet.
The angel who persecutes evil in Hebrew folklore. He carries out punishments for God.
He tempts humans and tests their faiths. He asked God to permit him to have demons as his subordinates. In the Zadokite Fragments and the Dead Sea Scrolls, he is the angel of disaster, the father of all evil, and a flatterer of God.
The angel who persecutes evil in Hebrew folklore. He carries out punishments for God
He tempts humans and tests their faiths. He asked God to permit him to have demons as his subordinates. In the Zadokite Fragments and the Dead Sea Scrolls, he is the angel of disaster, the father of all evil, and a flatterer of God.
The angel who persecutes evil in Hebrew folklore. He carries out punishments for God
He tempts humans and tests their faiths. He asked God to permit him to have demons as his subordinates. In the Zadokite Fragments and the Dead Sea Scrolls, he is the angel of disaster, the father of all evil, and a flatterer of God.
An angel who persecutes evil in Hebrew lore. His role is to deliver punishment on behalf of God.
He is said to be permitted by God to tempt humans and test their faith, and even has demons as his servants, at the behest of God. The Zadokite Fragments and the Dead Sea Scrolls describe him as the angel of woe, the father of all evil, and a flatterer of God.
When the Protagonist arrives to rescue Zelenin and is imprisoned with her in Sector Bootes, they are considering their options for escape when they are approached by a member of the crew, who vaguely notes that they are humans. Zelenin becomes alarmed at his presence as the Protagonist did not come with anyone else, and the mysterious crewman drops his disguise to reveal himself as the angel Mastema. Mastema introduces himself as different from the demons, and although Zelenin is distrustful of him and believes him to be in league with them, Mastema swears that they are his enemy and that he wishes to help the humans, making Zelenin relent a bit in her distrust, though she remains suspicious. Mastema does not hold it against her and works on assisting in finding a way to escape, and he quickly locates a loose spot on the floor. He tells the humans to stand back and starts to dig through the ground with his bare hands, shocking Zelenin, who exclaims that doing such a thing must be painful for him. After some more digging, Mastema manages to make a hole in the floor and directs the humans to jump into the hole, and once they reach the bottom floor, they reunite with him. Mastema offers them a parting gift in the form of the rare forma that had been in Norris's possession and bids them farewell, though he is stopped by Zelenin offering him her sincere thanks and apologizing for doubting him. Mastema simply says that it was natural for him to have helped, as their situation is shared, and tells them so long as they continue to fight demons, they will meet again.
The Protagonist meets Mastema again in a room in the next sector, Carina. When the Protagonist first enters the room, Mastema asks the human to lower his weapon before realizing who he is, greeting him warmly and speaking of his bravery in defeating Mitra. The angel bows to him and asks the Protagonist if he recognizes him as different from the demons, and then begins to share information about the demons of the Schwarzwelt and God's angels with him. Mastema describes the world they find themselves in as the "hidden world of spirits" and says that he has come to find out why the situation has arrived to this point, and as the actions of the demons mirror those of the humans, he suspects the cause to have occurred back when Adam's spirit, and by proxy, humanity's spirit, was defiled. He assures the Protagonist that God will not allow the world to fall to the demons however and pledges he will do what he can to help the humans overcome the trials they face, and asks if Zelenin is well. He becomes pleased to hear that she is also investigating the Schwarzwelt and expresses his desire to meet her again. Mastema encourages future cooperation between them to fight evil as the Protagonist leaves the room.
After encountering Horkos for the first time, the Protagonist returns to Mastema, who is already aware of the situation, and as he deliberates on how to defeat the now-part mechanical demon, he gets the idea to create an energized crystal that, combined with the humans' weaponry, would be capable of defeating Horkos. To create the crystal, Mastema asks the Protagonist to bring him two demons; One of the Megami race and the other from the Wilder race. After obtaining the two specified demons, the Protagonist hands them to the angel, but before he can begin transfiguring them into the crystal, he is interrupted by Zelenin entering the room. Mastema discovers that Zelenin refuses to use demons as she is too traumatized from her experiences with them, but then decides to proceed with the transfiguration ceremony, asking the humans to close their eyes as he works, claiming that if humans saw his fire, it would bring about calamity. Once he is done reshaping the demons into a crystal, which he calls the Shibboleth, he gives the okay for the humans to reopen their eyes and gives the Shibboleth to the Protagonist. He also gifts Zelenin with a Power, figuring that while she will not trust demons enough to fight with them, angels will be acceptable to use instead, which she agrees to. He then leaves, promising to rejoin them when they confront Horkos.
Once the Protagonist uses the newly created Horkos Buster and uses it to weaken Horkos, Mastema appears, impressed with the humans' technology. His appearance startles Jimenez however, who remains suspicious and hostile to him even after he introduces himself. Mastema encourages the Protagonist to continue using the Horkos Buster on Horkos, but Jimenez interjects, confident that their own weapons should be enough to defeat Horkos now. Mastema is entertained by the notion and tells Jimenez to show him the extent of humanity's power, but as expected, Jimenez's assault fails, giving Horkos the chance to escape. Mastema at first attempts to offer Jimenez a hand to help him to his feet, but after Jimenez rejects his help, he turns his attention to the Protagonist and encourages him to continue chasing after the escaped demon and leaves, claiming he has a different task to attend to in the meantime.
Later, during the outbreak of the Delphinus Parasite, the Protagonist and Zelenin return to Sector Bootes to search for clues on how to cure it when Mastema appears to them again. Mastema says he is aware of the state of the crewmen back in Delphinus, so he has also come to Bootes to guide the humans on how to resolve the issue. Mastema briefly laments to see humans acting like demons, but wonders if this is the the fate of those who refuse to let the Holy Spirit guide them. However, Zelenin assures him that with their technology they may still be able to save those infected by the parasite. However, Mastema is still slightly concerned that over-relying on both technology and demons may lead to humans' downfall, then asks the Protagonist whether he believes it is acceptable to rely on them more than strictly necessary. Regardless, the angel gives the two humans a clue on where to go next, revealing that there had been a sort of trade going on between Sector Bootes and Sector Delphinus and that there may be further clues hidden somewhere in Mithra's palace. When the Protagonist and Zelenin locate Mitra's secret lab and the Madman's Stone inside, Mastema reappears to read the stone's inscription written in the demons' language, revealing it to be a commemoration by Mitra celebrating his success with an ally named Asura in crystalizing "human madness". Mastema shows his worry about demons applying their knowledge to scientific pursuits and warns them that any knowledge that is unclean in God's eyes is a vice, but Zelenin nonetheless thanks him for his help and he goes on his way.
When the crew makes it to Sector Grus, the Protagonist finds a Dominion guarding a phase shifter, who says that they are guarding the path to their secret area under Mastema's orders. Upon hearing Mastema's name mentioned, Zelenin speaks up, curious about his whereabouts, and is pleased to find that he is currently in Grus, as she wishes to speak with him. After briefly exploring the area, the Protagonist finds Mastema, who is impressed to see that the humans have made it that far and explains that the sector is made up of illusions originating from the demon controlling the sector. Zelenin then arrives as Mastema advises them to be cautious and tells them that the heavenly host is gathering to prepare for the upcoming battle with the demons, and so grants them access to their sanctuary, which allows them to use the phase shifter. Zelenin then asks for his opinion on something, which Mastema says he would be delighted to hear about, allowing Zelenin to express her frustrations and doubts about the investigative team falling about. Zelenin worries that the demons have tainted their hearts without them realizing it, but Mastema dismisses the notion and instead believes that what the team is experiencing is something that humanity has always struggled with; the overreliance on trust. He goes on to explain that as trust comes from the human heart, which is prone to errors, under difficult situations trust easily breaks and leads to betrayal, making trust unable to be the basis for a firm bond. Zelenin starts to become disheartened by this, taking it to mean that such problems are inevitable and cannot be avoided, but Mastema reassures her that he would not go as far as to say that, and hints that there may exist a way to guide people's hearts without illusions or lies, but determines that such measures are not yet to be called for. Mastema tells Zelenin to let her heart dictate her actions toward the team and to seek him out once she becomes lost again, then bids her and the Protagonist farewell as he leaves to meet with the rest of the angels in their sanctuary.
Not long after, Zelenin and the Protagonist seek out Mastema again for help in coming up with a non-violent way to deal with Jack's Squad's uprising. After the two locate Mastema in the angels' sanctuary and explain the situation to him, Mastema offers a solution in the form of an angel's hymn, which can make corrupt humans turn to God. However, the hearts of modern humanity have changed too much for old angels' voices to be able to affect them, rendering Mastema's own hymn powerless against them, though he offers a way to bypass this problem by revealing he has the power to turn humans into angels. If a modern human becomes an angel, their hymn would be able to affect modern humans, so he asks if one of them would be willing to transform, even at the cost of never being able to return to Earth. Zelenin willingly volunteers to become an angel, and if the Protagonist volunteers as well, Mastema will be pleased, but regardless decides only one will suffice and so chooses Zelenin to be transformed, as her will most closely aligns with angels. After turning Zelenin into an angel, Mastema passes down the responsibility to guide humanity to her and remarks that God must be pleased to witness the birth of a new angel like her.
Mastema's next appearance varies based on the route. On the Law route, Mastema appears at the Vanishing Point to congratulate Zelenin and the Protagonist for completing their mission to create a lawful world. He leaves to inform his Lord of their success. On the Neutral route, he appears after the Protagonist kills Zelenin. He laments her loss, but at the Protagonist's expectant look, he tells him off, stating the angels do not intend to fight him. As angels will live for eternity unlike humans, he sees it fit to wait for the next opportunity rather than fight an unnecessary battle. He advises the Protagonist to do what he can with his time left on Earth and leaves. On the Chaos route, Mastema appears in Sector Horologium to stop the Protagonist from reaching Mem Aleph. Mastema's facade breaks down as he angrily curses the Protagonist for trying to ruin his plans, which involve his Lord acknowledging him, which he claims will allow him to ascend beyond his form as an angel into something more supreme, revealing his manipulative nature. He curses the Protagonist more for not falling for his manipulation, as he believes humans live to be pawns, and places his last hopes in Zelenin, trusting that his plan is sound even without the Protagonist. He promises to kill the Protagonist brutally and attacks him, though he is left incredulous when he is defeated. He is then interrupted by Louisa Ferre, who taunts him for failing. He realizes she is Lucifer, but can do nothing but weakly curse her before disintegrating.
In the Empyrean Ascent, Mastema expresses some concern over the Three Wise Men regaining their true form. He reveals that his true master is Shekinah, meaning he had relations with the Wise Men, and does not wish to fight them, leaving Zelenin and the protagonist behind.
This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
Reason: Clipped wings section needs expansion
Mastema is encountered at the top floor of Midtown where he has been acting as an ally of the Ashura-kai. Initially, he threatens Flynn and seemingly attacks him and his party, only to immediately admit he is an ally of Mikado and was simply amusing himself. He tells Flynn that he has been guarding Reverse Hills from interlopers such as the Ring of Gaea for the Ashura-kai, as the production of Red Pills is key to preventing Tokyo falling into chaos. He then removes the barrier preventing the Samurai from entering Reverse Hills, claiming his actions are out of self preservation, and urges them to not tell Tayama of what transpired, adding that he is carrying out the Lord's will in his own way.
Mastema later appears as the boss of the Law route-exclusive Challenge Quest "Great Raven of the Underground". After the defeat of Azazel, Aniel makes another request on behalf of Sister Gabby to eliminate Mastema, as the Archangels have decreed that he is a threat to Mikado. Following Flynn's arrival at Midtown, Mastema will express that he had not expected his fellow angels to act against him, immediately attacking Flynn and swearing that he will rue the day he crossed him. Following his defeat, he will curse Flynn, stating that humans are nothing but puppets, unable to move without being controlled. Prior to vanishing, he questions the Lord if he was not the most faithful to His will and curses Gabriel.
In the "Clipped Wings" DLC questline, Mastema appears under the disguise of M and summons Flynn to the past in order to defeat the four Archangels. His opposition to the Archangels is explained to be that their interference in the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado is in opposition to the will of God and also seek to kill all the citizens of Tokyo[1]. He reveals that he had been working with King Aquila to defeat the Angels prior to his death.[2] While Flynn is successful in defeating the Archangels, Gabriel is able to escape which Mastema allows, believing that she cannot achieve anything alone, and seals the power and identities of Uriel, Raphael and Michael and imprisons them at Kagome Tower. As thanks he grants Flynn the ability to summon Aeshma, a demon that served Aquila, before returning Flynn to his time and setting out to shape Tokyo into a land where humans rule.[3]
This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
No reason provided.
Mastema is an angel of Bethel, acting as the organisations shadow operative by taking covert or extreme actions in the name of his Lord. He arrives in Tokyo in pursuit of the Qadištu. Under the disguise of a crow, Mastema turning humans and demons into salt in order to deprive the Qadištu of magatsuhi, specifically transforming those targeted by Agrat's Nightmare System, with his presence forcing the Qadištu into retreat.
After the Nahobino and his allies confront Khonsu for the apparent abduction of Miyazu Atsuta, the Egyptian god informs them of Mastema and gives the Nahobino the means to contact the angel. He appears in Shinjuku before the Nahobino, Yoko Hiromine, Tao Isonokami, and Ichiro Dazai, and explains how the Qadištu are collecting magatsuhi in preparation for the summoning for their god and that he has been hunting them for some time before taking more direct action against them. When questioned with what action he is speaking on, he demonstrated by turning Ichiro into salt much to the horror of the others.
↑"M: You see... They have forsaken the will of the Lord. The Angels were originally meant to aid in the establishment of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado, and then observe. Humans were supposed to be left to their own devices in this land... That was the Lord's will." Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS). Developed by ATLUS.
↑"M: That is why I, with the help of the now-late Aquila, have been working on a certain plan... One that will help us truly become one with the Lord's will." Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS). Developed by ATLUS.
↑"Mastema:I shall now rebuild Tokyo into a world that follows the Lord's will. The world where the Unclean Ones-- No, humans-- rule." Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS). Developed by ATLUS.
↑Page description: A table of bosses and where they would be encountered. MegaTen Maniacs (2017), Nobuyuki Shioda and Masashi Uchida. Japanese. p. 133.
This section contains spoilers. (Skip Section)
English
Japanese
Ronde 
Traditional Chinese
