Dark Shrine Final Path

New Game+: Defeat the Tsukumogami

Note: This is the final boss when on the path to Ending 2.

Before entering the final arena, take a break at the Hokora Shrine and prepare your inventory, as you won’t be able to change your omamori amulets during battle. Use the Rabbit Omamori for powerful counterattacks after a perfect dodge, the Suzuran Omamori to make perfect dodges easier, the Snake Omamori to automatically attack when a visual cue appears, and the Boar Omamori to speed up stamina recovery. However, your strategy against this boss and your choice of omamori may vary depending on your playstyle, the omamori available to you, and the amount of supplies you have.

For Ending 2, Hinako accepts the curse and uses the Fox Hand instead of her usual weapon. During the fight, use Focus to land quick stun attacks on the boss, dodge, and counterattack when the distinctive red distortion effect appears. Also, keep an eye on the Kuzu Seal – once it’s fully charged, you can transform into a beast form, in which Hinako becomes invulnerable.

If you want to unlock every trophy, pay close attention to his bow. You earn the “Puppet Master” trophy by beating Tsukumogami without taking a single hit from his golden arrows. Even a single hit will cause you to fail the current attempt, so be ready to dodge the arrows as soon as he draws the bowstring.

Trophy/Achievement: Puppetmaster

Defeat the Tsukumogami without getting hit by a single arrow.

Phase 1

Tsukumogami opens with heavy physical swings. Since the Fox Arm never breaks, stay aggressive and fight him up close.

• Stomping Attack: He raises his leg and brings it down sharply, trying to deal damage to you. After the first attempt, the boss may follow up with a second one or continue the combo with strikes from his staff or sword. When he raises his leg for the first time, you have the opportunity to counterattack.
• Staff Combo: He swings the staff behind his back and strikes downward, then spins around, after which he forcefully brings the staff down again in an attempt to hit you. Watch for the red distortion effect to launch a counterattack, or try to dodge the attacks toward the boss to get behind him.
• Sword Combo: The boss pulls his sword-wielding arm behind his back and delivers a thrust. He then swings his sword and lifts his leg, delivering a sweeping strike after a brief pause. The combo ends with another sweeping strike. Again, try to dodge toward the boss to get behind him, or look for opportunities to counterattack.

Depleting his first health bar causes him to roar and transition into Phase 2.

Phase 2

In Phase 2, Tsukumogami tries to stay far away by leaping through the air and firing arrow volleys.

• Arrow Volley: He jumps back and fires a barrage of golden arrows. Watch for the flash on his bow, then dodge forward and to the side to slip between the arrows and close the distance.
• Self-Guided Arrows: Tsukumogami raises her bow and fires three self-guided arrows one after another toward Hinako. To avoid being hit, dodge the arrows to the side.
• Straight Shot: He aims his bow at you and fires a horizontal volley of arrows straight at Hinako. Dodge to the side.

Tsukumogami can also stomp from a distance, creating small waves that you’ll need to dodge, or fire three water balls in your direction when you get close to it. If you deal enough damage to it again, it will enter its final, enraged state.

Phase 3

In the third phase, Tsukumogami moves much faster, combining attacks from the first two phases and using its new weapon – a bell. In addition, he will frequently teleport around the arena, but he will still return to Hinako to launch attacks. Therefore, it’s better to let the boss come back to close range than to waste time trying to catch up to him.

• Desperation Bell Blast: As soon as he starts ringing the bell, you’ll find yourself in a dark version of the arena. Here, he’ll launch several physical attacks that you’ll need to dodge, and then he’ll begin raising the ringing bell, charging up a massive attack. After that, he’ll dash toward you, and if you time it right, you can dodge and launch a powerful counterattack that will stun him.

Keep up the pressure, dodge, use focus, counterattack, don't forget to transform into the beast form, and eventually you'll see the ending.

New Game+: Defeat the Shichibi

Note: This is the final boss when on the path to Ending 3.

Before entering the final arena with Shichibi (the Seven-Tailed Fox), rest at the shrine to set up your gear. This fight is exclusive to New Game+, so you will have access to the Sacred Sword which is able to deal powerful and quick attacks. Carry it along with a heavy weapon to punish the boss during large openings. Bring plenty of toolkits to keep your weapons working.

After a brief battle with Shiromuku, you’ll face the real boss – Shichibi. Between phases, Shichibi retreats into a red invulnerability sphere, while the Fox Mask summons dark versions of the monsters you’ve encountered earlier. To earn the “Fox Tamer” trophy, you must defeat every single shadow monster without exception before taking down Shichibi. During these transitions, use a Kitchen Knife or another light weapon – you’ll be able to quickly dispatch the shadow enemies with light strikes and then refocus on the main boss.

Trophy/Achievement: Fox Tamer

Defeat all the summoned monsters before putting an end to the Shichibi.

Phase 1

Shichibi acts as a massive fox god, mixing fast claw slams with ground-based tail traps.

• Front Leg Slam: He lifts one of his front paws and quickly slams it down. The move is very fast, so dodge sideways the moment you see his front leg lift, then land a quick strike.
• Tail Spears: He jumps away to create distance and sticks his tail into the floor, spawning glowing red circles across the arena. Keep running to avoid the red spears that shoot out from these circles.
• Tail Slam Roar: He steps back, turns sideways, and roars before slamming all his tails down on top of you. Watch for the roar to time a perfect dodge or parry right as the tails fall.

Depleting his health causes him to retreat into a giant red sphere to spawn shadow monsters. Defeat them to start Phase 2.

Phase 2

Shichibi bursts out with gold-streaked fur, retaining all his previous moves while adding longer combos and ranged wave attacks.

• 3-Hit Combo & Backflip Wave: He rears up on his hind legs, slams down, delivers a quick swipe, and then roars before backflipping away. Dodge the initial slams, then roll sideways to avoid the wave of water sent out by his backflip.
• Quick Bite: He pulls his head back slightly and snaps his jaws forward. The wind-up looks similar to his other moves, so do not get caught off-guard; dodge backward as soon as his head moves.
• Tail Spin Leap: He leaps a short distance and spins in a circle to sweep the area with his tails. Dodge into the spin to pass through the attack safely.

Wipe out his health bar again to enter the second shadow-monster intermission.

Phase 3

Shichibi turns almost fully golden, becoming even faster and summoning shadow minions directly mid-combat.

• Tail Launch Jump Slam: He plunges his tails into the ground to launch high into the air, dropping out of sight before crashing down. Watch the water ripples on the floor to track where he will land, then dodge right before he strikes.
• Mid-Fight Minion Summons: He will occasionally summon shadow monsters while remaining active. Switch to a fast weapon like a Knife to take out the extra enemies quickly before returning your focus to Shichibi.

Keep moving, don't panic, and don't start dodging nonstop during his trap attacks. Also, take advantage of his moments of vulnerability when he's recharging – and eventually, the battle will be over.

New Game++: Defeat the Gods

Note: This is the final boss when on the path to Ending 4.

You will face a double boss before Ending 4: Tsukumogami and Kyubi (the Nine-Tailed Fox).

Before entering the final arena, rest at the Hokora shrine and prepare your inventory. Carry at least three Knives or Sickles, as fast weapons are essential here for quick damage output during short openings, whereas slower swords will lock you into dangerous animations. Stock up heavily on sanity-restoring drinks like Kudzu Tea along with your standard healing items.

For Omamori perks, equip the Suzuran Omamori to widen your perfect dodge window, which is critical for dodging arrow flurries and triggering counters. Pair it with the Tanuki Omamori, which converts your focus and sanity bar into extra armor to prevent health loss as long as your sanity stays full. Fill your remaining charm slots with anything that boosts counter-attack damage after a perfect dodge or increases light weapon efficiency.

If you are aiming for the “God Slayer” trophy and achievement, you must defeat both bosses within a strict 10-minute time limit. Using the Story action level significantly alleviates the task, although it still won't be a walk in the park.

Trophy/Achievement: God Slayer

Defeat both the Tsukumogami and the Kyubi within 10 minutes of the fight starting.

Phase 1: Kyubi

The fight opens with the blue spirit version of Shichibi. His arsenal includes a wide range of attacks similar to Shichibi's moves.

• Jump and Bite: Cubi stops a short distance away and jumps toward you, trying to bite Hinako. When he’s about to land next to you, dodge to the side and launch a counterattack.
• Fox Arm Combos: Stick to a three-light-attack into one-heavy-attack combo sequence with your Fox Arm to maximize damage.
• Saving Ultimate: Save your Fox Arm ultimate transformation for Kyubi's main body rather than wasting it on adds.

Phase 2: Tsukumogami

After dealing enough damage to Kyubi, the fight switches to Tsukumogami for a close-quarters round.

• Teleportation Dash: He teleports a considerable distance away from Hinako, turns his back to you, and begins charging. After a brief pause, he quickly glides toward you and immediately delivers a backhand strike. As soon as he gets close, dodge to the side.
• Knife/Sickle Rush: Close the gap quickly using fast Knife or Sickle strikes. Land several quick slashes and retreat before he swings back.

Phase 3: Kyubi

Kyubi returns to the arena, this time bringing dark shadow minions to protect itself.

• Shadow Minion Summon: Kyubi becomes protected while shadow enemies flood the arena. Immediately rush down and defeat all the black figures first; failing to kill them lets Kyubi deal massive area damage.
• Unleashing the Fox Ultimate: Once the shadow adds are dead, activate your saved Fox Arm ultimate attack to rapidly chip away Kyubi's health bar.

Phase 4: Tsukumogami

Tsukumogami re-enters the fight equipped with his bow, firing dangerous ranged projectiles.

• Arrow Rain: He fires a volley high into the air that rains down across the floor. Sprint sideways horizontally across the arena to outrun the falling arrows.
• Single & Spread Arrow Shots: Time your perfect dodges right as he releases his bowstring, then instantly counter-attack with your Knife or Sickle.
• Ground Bubble Projectiles: Watch for glowing bubble indicators appearing on the floor, and dodge laterally right before they erupt.

Phase 5: Kyubi

In its final phase, Kyubi becomes extremely aggressive and gains a high-damage charging attack.

• Vibrating One-Shot Charge: Kyubi pulls back, vibrates rapidly, and charges across the room. On higher difficulties, this move can instantly kill you. The moment you see Kyubi pause and vibrate, prepare to dodge sideways immediately.
• Final Shadow Minion Rush: Clear out the final wave of shadow minions quickly using light Fox Arm attacks, drink a Kudzu Tea to restore your sanity and armor, and finish off Kyubi's remaining health.

Phase 6: Tsukumogami

Tsukumogami enters his most aggressive form while the sky turns red and the screen shifts color.

• Teleportation with a Bell (Area-of-Effect Attack): He raises the bell overhead, teleports straight toward you, and delivers a powerful blow to a large area. Watch for his teleportation animation and dodge the moment he appears in front of you.
• Multi-Arm Spear Spam: He uses multiple arms to thrust spears frantically in front of him. Avoid panic-rolling; wait for the visual attack cues, execute a Perfect Dodge, and counter-attack with fast Knife slashes.
• Final Rush: Maintain your aggressive Knife or Sickle combos during his recovery animations to deplete his final health bar.

Enjoy the ending cutscene after a long and tiring fight.