Ranmaru is a sort of "alien". He descended upon the earth 500 years before the plot from the meteor which splits the sky in half, along with the Host of Oboro. He controls Nobunaga, and, thinking he will gain ultimate power, Nobunaga follows all of the advice which Ranmaru gives him. However, Ranmaru was tricking Nobunaga into allowing Ranmaru to rule the Earth. Ranmaru is the one who foretold the prophecy (the "Yotoden") and gave the villages of Kasumi, Hyuga, and Hagakure-no-Sato the Swords of Sorcery in the first place. He opens the gate to the underworld, but is destroyed by the combined efforts of Ayame, Sakon, and Ryoma and their respective Swords of Sorcery.