Belome

"C-can't s-stand it! The hunger-the HUNGER!"

- Belome

Belome is a strange four-eyed beast and the guardian of Kero Sewers. He usually sleeps all day and night, until awakened by a traveler seeking passage through the sewers. Unfortunately, Belome's source of food are these very travelers. Since he lives in darkness, Belome has grown four eyes to help him see. Belome also controls the water level of Kero Sewers with a ! Switch located in his chambers. When released, the ! switch activates a floodgate that allows water from Midas River to flow through the sewers.

Additionally, Belome also makes his home in a golden, underground shrine built in his honor, Belome Temple, located at Land's End. Although he works independently, Belome may have control over the various monsters residing in Kero Sewers and Belome Temple.

Kero Sewers
During the events of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Mario and Mallow have to fight Belome before the two heroes can head to Tadpole Pond, Mallow's home. During the battle, the monster will actually eat Mallow whole, leaving Mario to fight all by himself. Thankfully, Mario can rescue Mallow by continuously attacking Belome. However, if Mario falls while Mallow is in Belome's stomach, the game will end. As such, Mario needs to keep his HP high when fighting Belome one-on-one. Additionally, even if Mario does save Mallow, Belome will find the cloud-puff so delicious, the four-eyed monster will continually come back for seconds.

Besides eating Mallow, Belome attacks by licking opponents with his massive red tongue (which Mallow confuses for a fire hose). The sewer beast also has some nasty magic attacks he can unleash on Mario's party. When Belome uses the S'crow Funk attack, he can change Mario or Mallow into a living Scarecrow. As a scarecrow, Mario or Mallow cannot use regular attacks or items (however, they can still use special attacks and defend). However, if Mario is equipped with the Trueform Pin he received after beating Pandorite earlier in the level, the plumber will be able to resist Belome's scarecrow spell.

However, after being defeated, Belome does not perish. Instead, he tells the heroes the cryptic message: "If you defeat me, you still won't beat me. Beware the flood!" In this statement, Belome foreshadows his eventual return later in the game. He then warps away to his temple at Land's End. However, when he leaves, the ! Switch he controls is released. As such, water comes gushing (as Belome predicted), sweeping Mario and Mallow into Midas River. Fortunately, the two heroes survive the rapids and continue their journey.

Belome Temple
Eventually, Mario and his allies travel to Land's End, the edge of the world. After traveling under a desert and battling enemies through an underground cavern, the heroes stumble upon Belome Temple. Once again, Mario's party must fight the four-eyed monster. However, in this battle, Belome not only eats party members, he also has the ability to create clones of Mario and his allies. Additionally, Belome can (like the previous battle) use his huge tongue as a bludgeoning weapon. However, Belome trades in his S'crow Funk attack for more sleeping spells (including the Light Beam and the Aurora Flash). Unfortunately, these new sleep attacks can put the whole party to sleep, instead of just one party member.

After this battle, Belome gets incredibly hungry, and disappears for the rest of the game. However, if Mario and his party travel back to Belome Temple, they will discover a golden Belome statue guarding a room full of treasures. If Mario presents the statue the key from Monstro Town, the golden effigy will eat the key and disappear, allowing Mario to claim the treasures for himself.

How Does Mario's Party Taste? (According to Belome)

 * "Ack! Sour!" (Mario)
 * "YES! THIS is YUMMY~" (Mallow)
 * "Bitter, but not bad..." (Geno)
 * "Yuck! How repulsive!" (Bowser)
 * "Mmm, tastes peachy..." (Toadstool) (A reference to her original name Peach.)

Trivia

 * Its name comes either from Latin word bellum, meaning war, or the Japanese word 「ベロ」bero, a colloquial word for tongue, referring to the large tongue it possesses and attacks with.
 * The Mario Clone's Psychopath thought, "......", is a reference to Mario always being a silent protagonist in the game.