Maxim Kischine

Maxim Kischine is a friend of Juste Belmont and a ninja-like Vampire Hunter of Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. He wields a one-handed longsword called the Stellar Sword, which, compared to Juste's Vampire Killer, is much faster and does more damage - at least in the first part of the game. His only sub-weapon is a large boomerang-like shuriken (similar to the Cross sub-weapon).

Official background: A childhood friend and rival of Juste. Wields an unique sword called the Stellar Sword. He departed on a training expedition two years ago, right after Juste inherited the title of Vampire Killer.

Character History
Maxim trained alongside Juste and was beaten by him at every competition they had when they competed for the vampire killer. One day, Maxim went on a training expedition and was never heard from again until two years later, when he appeared, injured, and delivered terrible news: Lydie Erlanger, Juste's and Maxim's childhood mutual friend, was kidnapped and was being held at a place which location only Maxim knew. It was the only thing he remembered; during his expedition he lost his memory. He couldn't even recall what happened and injured him, but he still remembered Lydie's kidnapping all too well.

Maxim's true intention for going on the training expedition was to resurrect the Dark Lord by gathering his remains. Then he would destroy him in a weakened state and gain glory of the Vampire Killer. This plan backfired, though, and Maxim ended up getting possessed by the dark power of Dracula's remains. Because of this Maxim ended up developing a split personality - a dark Maxim, through which Dracula's will spoke, which Juste would meet in the Sky Walkway. This evil side of Maxim was actually the one who kidnapped Lydie and left Maxim with his amnesia so Juste could be lead to the castle unknowingly by Maxim. Another result of this divide was that the castle has been split as well: there were two castles, or rather two sides of the same castle, connected by portals. They were named Castle A and Castle B, each representing one side of Maxim's mind, as the castle's creator.

Maxim's Fate
Depending on the player's actions and whether or not Juste was wearing both, Maxim's and his own bracelets, affects Maxim's fate, giving the player access to multiple endings - a bit like the fight with Richter in Symphony of the Night.

Ending A - Bad
True Maxim, faced by Juste in Castle A, begs him to take his life and relieve them all from danger. Shortly thereafter, he loses all control over his dark side and attacks Juste with his full power, leaving the Belmont no other choice than to fight him. He finally reverts to his old self, already mortally wounded. He manages to tell his friend that he just wanted to relieve him of his "cursed fate" to fight for all eternity. His last words are: "Take care of Lydie, will you...".

Juste leaves Dracula's Castle with Lydie, while Maxim's body stays inside as the castle starts to dissolve... This is considered to be the "Bad" ending.

Ending B - Worst
Evil Maxim, faced by Juste in Castle B, welcomes him, claiming that he doesn't have any remains of old Maxim living within him and that, thanks to the blood of Lydie, he's gained a great power. Taunting Juste, he proceeds to battle him. He seems to be right; even lying in defeat and at a brink of death, he doesn't show any hint that the soul of the vampire killer's friend still lives within him. Wondering how could he lose with all of Dracula's powers, he still curses Juste; he tells him that with him, the real Maxim and Lydie, bitten, will perish as well, and that an eternal vampire hunt is just a good enough fate for someone like him. He presumably dies.

Juste leaves the castle, cursing he couldn't save anybody while the castle dissolves, taking Maxim's and Lydie's bodies along with it. This is considered to be the "Worst" ending.

Ending C - Best
Evil Maxim, faced by Juste in Castle B, welcomes him, claiming that he doesn't have any remains of old Maxim living within him and that, thanks to the blood of Lydie, he's gained a great power. Taunting Juste, he proceeds to battle him. Though, as Maxim gets wounded, he stands up uneasily, clutching his head. He notices that Juste is wearing both, his own and Maxim's bracelets, and newly motivated by his friend, tries to fight off the dark influence inside him. He tells Juste to kill him off while he still can restrain his evil side, but then Dracula's remains start to fly away from Juste and form a circle. Dracula then ditches Maxim's body and, by the power of his remains, he manages to retain his old, but unstable, body, claiming that the blood of a Belmont will once again make him whole. After the fierce battle Dracula Wraith burns away before Juste's might, leaving Dracula's Castle dissolving.

Outside, Maxim is back to normal. He asks about Lydie but Juste claims she'll be all right. Maxim apologizes to Juste and the Belmont just tells him it's all behind them now. Lydie then comes to her senses, telling her friends, confused, that she believes she had been bitten by Maxim. Juste tells her it probably was just a nightmare. Maxim protests, saying that they should tell her the truth, but Juste tells him to be quiet. As Lydie notices Maxim, he and Juste quarrel and actually are close to fighting, but Lydie calms them down, saying they're ruining the moment and that they'll talk about it back home. She then gets closer to Juste, saying that it had been a long time since they were home...

This is the "Best" ending and the one which is considered as canon in the series.

Maxim Mode
The precursor to Julius mode is Maxim mode by typing in "MAXIM" in the name entry after beating the game. You get to play as Maxim who is surrounded by a red aura and has multiple abilities. Maxim has a huge attack stat compared to Juste's and has access to Life and Heart ups, he also has access to the triple jump ability, which is very high since Maxim is very light and literally floats for a few seconds before falling. Maxim however does not have any equipment or potions, the locations that would normally hold equipment were replaced with a single heart. Maxim also has terrible defense stats and can't take that much damage before dying. This maybe due to having Maxim becoming a more balanced character. This mode doesn't have a story line: to beat the game, the player must beat all of the original bosses, including bosses optional to Juste, such as the Minotaurs. Once they have done so, they may fight the second form of the Dracula Wraith in the usual location. Maxim is playable in Boss Rush Mode by holding L+R when choosing the difficulty. In Boss Rush Mode, Maxim can fight the first form of the Dracula Wraith, otherwise not an option in the main game, but there is no situation in which he can fight himself.