The occult world must know of my powers. I am Hermes Trismegistus unbound, and I will unfashion Merlin's most lasting spell. 
- — Elphius Levi src
Elphius Levi was a brilliant, yet ambitious, scientific occultist who created the magic system he coined techno-alchemy.
History
Once he believed he had mastered control over the metaphysical principles, he sought out renowned occultist, Jason Blood with a proposition. He would remove the demon Etrigan from Blood's soul, and in doing so, Levi would be famous in the occult world for being the man who broke Merlin's most enduring spell.
Levi had spent his adult life preparing for one great experiment, the extraction and containment of a demonic entity before banishing it back to Hell. He found the perfect subject in Jason Blood, host to the son of Belial. Blood was unimpressed with the egotistical Levi at first, and uninterested in his proposition, but humoured his pitch anyway. After hearing Levi's passionate argument, Blood slept on the idea before accepting Levi's invitation to his laboratory in Los Angeles.[1]
His laboratory was located at a warehouse in Long Beach, on a street that was a popular gathering point for street racers. To start the process of exorcising Blood's demon, Levi and his assistants, Seamus and Marquez, first isolated the frequency that Etrigan vibrated at. Submerging Blood in a vat of liposuctioned fat and circumcised foreskins that Levi stole from medical waste bins, he began the separation of the metaphysical electrical elements, transmuting it to plasma form and containing it in the lipids and proteins of the concoction. The exorcism was a success, unfortunately the second phase - sending the spirit energy back to its own dimension - failed. Levi's "Hell's Gate" code overloaded, and the plasma confinement coils were inadequate against the power of Etrigan. Taking rudimentary form in the fatty substance through sheer will power, Etrigan broke free and lashed out, killing Seamus. The viscous form was too draining for even the Demon to maintain, so he jumped to the nearest host, Marquez. In a panic, Marquez fled from the laboratory, his unstable body fluctuating wildly, running into the street were he was hit by a car drag racing.[2] In his last breath Marquez tried to summon the Demon, but one of the racers, Ame Okumura, inadvertently transferred Etrigan's pneuma to herself by coming to his aid. Levi advised Blood that they leave immediately.[3]
Levi locked himself away in his apartment. Terrified Etrigan would seek him out, he created a protective ward by smearing the walls with his purloined medical waste. It wasn't long until his door was kicked in, not by a vengeful demon, but by Shoko Ishiguro, head of the L.A. Yakuza. The girl who was possessed was his second in command, and he had tracked Levi down from his laboratory looking for answers.[1] Levi was escorted back to his laboratory while he divulged the entire story starting right from meeting Jason Blood. Ishiguro persuaded Levi to repair his equipment while also inquiring about the other potential applications of his experimentation. When Blood returned to the lab with Ame to rid her of Etrigan, Levi had repaired the coils, but it was Ishiguro in Ame's place wanting to be possessed by a demon of his own. Held at gunpoint, Levi reluctantly activated his machine, infusing the aged Oyabun with a powerful Eastern deity. The Nature Goddess rampaged, mortally wounding Blood and forcing Ame to unleash Etrigan, who managed to defeat the monster. When Etrigan returned to gloat over the dying Blood, he walked into their trap, and Levi activated his alchemy one last time, returning the Demon from Ame to Blood.[4]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Science & Occultism: Levi has a profound grasp on science, having combined both applications of scientific disciplines and the occult.[1][2] As an outsider, he even deduced that Blood was host to the Demon.[1] He would combine elements of mysticism, science, and technology in order to create an entirely new system of magic he dubbed "Techno-alchemy".[1][2]
- Mechanical Aptitude: Levi constructed (and repaired) his own laboratory and equipment.[2][4]
- Computer Operation: Levi's work was centred around "computer mysticism" in which electricity was a conduit between the pshysical and metaphysical realms. He described it to Blood as "computer-aided alchemical hermetics".[1][2]
- Exorcism: Using his solution of sourced lipids and proteins as a conduit, Levi could exorcise a host with metaphysical entities such as Etrigan.[2][4]
- Alchemy: Levi is a self proclaimed alchemist.[1][2]
Trivia
- Ishiguro tracked down Levi by finding, Techno-Alchemical Journal Vol.#48 Being the Occult Speculations and Scientific Experimentation of Elphius Levi, in his laboratory.[5]
- When trapping Etrigan for the final time, Levi swore that if it worked, he would never download porn again.[4]
- In Blood's apartment, Levi accidentally sat on Harry and caught a glimpse of Thing.[1]
Vehicles:
Related
- 4 Appearances of Elphius Levi (New Earth)
- 5 Images featuring Elphius Levi (New Earth)
- 2 Quotations by or about Elphius Levi (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Elphius Levi (New Earth)
Footnotes
  This character has been an ally or antagonist to either The Demon Etrigan or his counterpart Jason Blood in any of their various incarnations. |