Merak "The Slothful Conjurer"

Merak "The Slothful Conjurer" is a Sumeragi Group officer directly under Nova and a major antagonist in Azure Striker Gunvolt, serving as the boss of the mission Abyss (Subaquatic Base) and playing an important plot role due to his powers. Merak is also the protagonist of the drama CD Lazy Kingdom, in which he apprehends Elise after a series of events in Sumeragi's in-universe MMORPG September Record, and a supporting character in Armed Blue Gunvolt.
A brilliant genius despite his young age and extreme apathy, he was personally recruited by Nova and serves as a commander of Sumeragi's private army. He is an Adept with the Septima Wormhole, which allows him to create portals in the fabric of space.
== Website Description ==
== Appearance ==
Merak is a young pre-teen boy with blue eyes and somewhat spiky, sand-brown hair, with his bangs swept over his right eye. He wears the standard Sumeragi executive uniform, with the jacket unbuttoned, the shirt untucked, and white and black shoes with light blue soles. He also wears a pair of blue headphones.
In his Armed Phenomenon, Merak gains black eyes with blue irises, and his hair turns a bright blue, with dark blue horn-like appendages attached to his head. He wears dark blue armor with glowing light blue highlights, and white gloves. He is usually seen sitting in a matching hovering throne with large mechanical arms.
===Gallery===
Main article: Merak "The Slothful Conjurer"/Gallery
Merak Concept (1).jpg
Merak Concept (2).jpg
Merak Concept (3).jpg
== Personality ==
Representing the sin of Sloth, Merak is described as a brilliant strategist and incredible genius. However, he is extremely unmotivated and lazy, to such an extent that he cannot even bother to stand on his own feet during battles. His ultimate goal as defined by himself is "I don't want to work."
He appears to be fond of playing video games, something he mentions he would much rather spend his time doing, and has a tendency to use gamer slang.
Merak is incredibly apathetic and seems to have no regard for human life, once flooding his base in an attempt to kill Gunvolt, not caring that his own soldiers would drown as well. He is said to have the capability to make drastic decisions, yet he himself admits his plan to drown Gunvolt was something he thought of at random.
However, despite his lazy attitude, he is capable of coming up with genuinely good plans when he puts in the effort, though this is often to get a reward out of Nova. Merak is also privy to the occasional display of emotion, showing genuine excitement in outsmarting Teseo, and is somewhat prone to sarcasm, introducing himself with a slew of grand adjectives. He possesses a visible ego, acknowledging himself as a genius, revealing a somewhat prideful side. Merak is also quick to lose his temper if things don't go his way.
Compared to the other Swordsmen with more complex, eccentric personalities, Merak has a calmer, more rational mindset which makes him one of Nova's favourites.
== History  ==
===Background===
In his early life, Merak was frequently picked on by other children due to his incredibly high intelligence and his Septima, resulting in him often skipping school. One time he did this, he was scouted by Sumeragi Lieutenant Nova Tsukuyomi, and joined the group.
=== Armed Blue Gunvolt ===
During the Drama CD, Merak warns Nova about an email that he found in the Japan Ministry of Defense mailbox and which was sent by Adept supremacist group known as "Eden": in there, they proclaim their intent to attack the UTU Media Tower and bring down the "Kamishiro" barrier. In response, Nova tells him to watch for any hackers, much to the Slothful Conjurer's great chagrin.
Later, while observing the fight between Jota and Gibril, Merak encounters Teseo, who tells him that he has nearly broken through the Media Tower's security programs. Merak uses his Wormhole Septima to teleport to the Media Tower's main computer, but Teseo has already broken through all the security programs and has locked him inside the room. Merak, however, turns the tables by telling him that he sent an email with a virus to Teseo's computer, much to Teseo's dismay.
Before the two could do anything more, they are interrupted by a surprise attack from QUILL. Teseo hurriedly claims credit for the attack and leaves. After the ordeal is over, Merak reports to Nova about QUILL.
=== Lazy Kingdom ===
After a long day at work, Merak looks on the Internet and hears a rumor about a Player Killer on the MMORPG September Record who can turn players to stone and come back from death.
While playing September Record with newcomer Elise, Merak encounters the Player Killer when one of Lumen's songs start playing. After unsuccessfully battling her, Merak correctly deduces that Elise is the Player Killer, having somehow managed to use her Septima in the game world and that she attacks whenever Lumen's songs play, as her song resonates and amplifies Septima.
With this knowledge, he sets a trap for Elise, distracting her avatar with a remote controlled avatar of his own while he goes to her house and captures her. Afterwards, he delivers her to Sumeragi.
===Azure Striker Gunvolt===
==== Abyss (Subaquatic Base) ====
At the beginning of the story, the protagonist Gunvolt frees Lumen from her forced role as Sumeragi's sonar in their project to locate and capture adepts throughout the world.
Later, QUILL sends Gunvolt to investigate Sumeragi's underwater base, which Merak is in charge of, in order to investigate the possibility of an armed submarine being built. As Gunvolt makes his way through the base, guided by Moniqa, Merak uses wormholes in an attempt to distort him. At one point, he floods the base in an attempt to drown him, however, the soldiers seal the valve to prevent themselves from drowning. Eventually, he is forced to take Gunvolt directly to himself.
Annoyed that Gunvolt didn't die, Merak groans and assumes he has to fight him. Gunvolt asks if he's the commanding officer, which Merak confirms in a heavily sarcastic manner. Wanting to go home and play MMORPGs, Merak transforms using his Glaive and attacks.
During the fight, Moniqa and Gunvolt assume Merak is messing with them, but he reveals he's not even trying, explaining that, as a genius, hates doing anything himself. When asked why he doesn't just stay home, Merak says he only works because he needs to buy food. However, he mentions that if he defeats Gunvolt, he gets three years paid vacation, so he created a plan to lure Gunvolt to his base, which, however, was interrupted when his soldiers drained the water, much to his annoyance. Shocked by Merak's apathy, Gunvolt eventually beats and kills the Slothful Conjurer.
==== Hostage (Urban Run) ====
At some point after his death, Merak is resurrected on Nova's orders by Sumeragi's Rebirth Adept Elise alongside Sumeragi's other adepts. On his superior's orders, Merak goes to Gunvolt's apartment, where Sumeragi has located Joule, warping in just as GV is coming home from a mission. Gunvolt is, obviously, shocked to see Merak alive, which bugs the latter. Not wanting to deal with Gunvolt, Merak snatches Joule and takes her to Firmament, lamenting on the inconvenience.
However, Gunvolt pursues Merak, and quickly catches up with him, demanding he free Joule. Annoyed at Gunvolt's persistence, Merak reluctantly uses his Septima to flee while leaving Gunvolt face a Mantis Legion tank.
====Streak (Eridu)====
Almost immediately after, Gunvolt, Asimov, Zeno, and Moniqa launch an attack on Sumeragi's orbital elevator Babel, with Gunvolt attacking the artificial island Onogoro Float, aka Eridu, head-on, eventually coming face to face with Merak once again, who is guarding the entrance. Gunvolt demands to know where Joule is, with Merak responding that she's on Firmament. Merak then mentions that Nova told him to stop GV should he show, and, given Nova revived him, attacks Gunvolt to pay his leader back.
Gunvolt is intrigued by Merak's revival, something Merak makes as obvious, given his death, but doesn't tell him how it happened, calling it a company secret. Gunvolt notes Merak is still the same, and swears to never forgive him for taking Joule. Mocking Gunvolt by pretending to be scared, Merak groans about the work he's to do, and finishes the conversation, tiring of Gunvolt.
Eventually, Merak is beaten once more, sent to eternal rest for good.
=== Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 ===
==== Cyber Jackers ====
As Kirin and Gunvolt break into Sunrise Palace, one of the paths they can take leads them into a familiar-looking wormhole. Passing into a digitized space, the two come face-to-face with Merak, accompanied by Teseo of Eden. Kirin susses them out as more phantoms created by an ATEMS Adept from GV's memories. While Merak is more than willing to take revenge on GV, he's less than enthused about his assigned partner. His remarks are punctuated by mid-combat griping at Teseo, or even punching the hacker through a wormhole as an impromptu projectile. Eventually, the "Slothful Experiments" duo is bested, vanishing like the other phantoms.
==Other Appearances==
===Azure Striker Gunvolt 2===
Merak appears as the boss of the Score Attack exclusive stage EX The Sewers, with some upgraded moves.
The stage was originally released for the Nintendo 3DS version alongside EX Data Facility as part of the DLC pack "Missions - Carrera and Merak" for $1.99 / €1.89 / 300 Yen, and has been included by default in all ports of the game to later platforms.
===Azure Striker Gunvolt: The Anime===
Merak stars as the OVA's main antagonist. He first appears with Romeo watching over The Muse, when the latter asks if he thinks Sumeragi is overreacting. Merak states that he just does what Sumeragi tells him to do. Romeo says that they do take good care of Merak, saying he is just as cute as him. Merak then leaves, telling him to figure it out before Nova arrives.
He later appears when Gunvolt finds Joule, complaining that he picked Merak's battle route. He introduces himself, before telling Gunvolt that as they need Joule intact, they should fight outside.
Once on top of the train, Merak transforms with his Glaive, and attacks Gunvolt, who asks if he ever felt pity for Joule. Groaning about Gunvolt's hero cliché, Merak responds with more attacking, only to be interrupted by someone firing lasers, though Merak quickly ignores them.
Gunvolt asks what he's fighting for, but Merak just says he only works for money to buy games, prompting Gunvolt to claim Joule has needs too. Merak, sick of the hero gimmick by now, performs Lazy Laser, becoming increasingly frustrated as Gunvolt dodges his attacks. However, Gunvolt is then empowered by Joule, with Merak in despair over his "cheating". The Sumeragi Adept then watches dumbstruck as Gunvolt summons a massive sword of lighting, before cleaving Merak in half, killing him.
=== Mighty Gunvolt Burst ===
Merak appears as a collectible pixel sticker that can be obtained in the Capitol Building stage. Its boss Countershade frequently uses a wormhole ability similar to Merak, and the warp effects in Capitol Building and the final stages are similar to Merak's wormholes.
===Card-en-Ciel===
"That's me, yup. Merak, the mighty super genius commanding officer."
Merak is one of the characters from the first Azure Striker Gunvolt featured as cards in the crossover roguelite card-battling RPG Card-en-Ciel.
Merak's cards possess the [Convert] function, which means his normal state card is the default one in the deck and all copies will be converted into the armored version when [Convert] is triggered, and back again if [Convert] is triggered again.
Card 	Character 	Effect 	Cost	Movement
The Slothful Conjurer	Merak (Normal) 	Place this card at top of deck. [Convert](Special: Place this card at top of deck. Gain 2 Cost.[Convert])	0 	Down
Lazy Laser 	Merak (Armed Phenomenon)	25 Break. [Convert](Special: 50 Break. [Convert]) 	0 	Down
==Powers and Abilities==
As a human attuned to the Septimal stage of the Lifewave, Merak is a powerful Adept who wields the Wormhole Septima, which, true to its name, allows him to create portals in the fabric of space and travel long distances in an instant. While this power is primarily used for transportation, Merak can also use it offensively as well, using it to teleport Gunvolt into traps filled with soldiers.
However, his power has a few drawbacks. Merak can only travel to places he has been before and where he can exist without danger: he can't travel to unknown places such as the inside of a wall where he might be in danger. Also, while he can use his wormholes as placement traps, it's not completely accurate.
Fitting his title and personality, Merak rarely fights on his own. Instead, he fights exclusively with a specialized hover chair, known as the Armed Chair (アームド椅子). The chair has Merak's Septimosome weaved into it, allowing him to control it with his thoughts as if it were an extension of his body. It has a safety mechanism that prevents him from controlling it when he's not transformed. It is capable of hovering for several months without being recharged and is outfitted with various weapons to fight. It can stretch its arms, fire missiles from its hands, and fire a powerful laser from the "mouth".
Merak can use the chair's weapons in conjunction with his wormholes to confuse his opponents such as punching through a wormhole and warping the space to make the fist bigger, firing missiles through one wormhole to attack from three wormholes, and for his Lazy Laser Special Skill, firing a laser through a wormhole and directing it with his powers.
===Boss Battle Skills===
====Azure Striker Gunvolt====
Skills 	Description
Chair Punch(イスパンチ) 	Merak's standard attack. Merak floats closer to Gunvolt and extends his chair's arms in a straight punch towards Gunvolt. Merak can perform up to 5 punches and they can actively pursue Gunvolt if he is within close range in front of the mech. In Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, he can aim his punches upwards.
*Merak will always initiate this attack at the start of his battle.
"Chair Assault" 	Merak performs a ramming attack towards Gunvolt as a follow-up to his attacks. At the conclusion of this attack, he will reposition himself in the air at the right or left side of the screen, depending on whichever side is closer to him.
*Merak will always perform a ramming attack at the start of his second or third phase if he's not in his usual position at either sides of the screen.
Wormhole Missiles(イスミサイル, Wormhole Chair Missile) 	Merak creates a wormhole in front of him as well as three wormholes along the top of the screen that initially track Gunvolt's location on-screen. Merak then fires missiles into the wormhole in front of him, which causes the three top-screen wormholes to spit out several missiles.
*The missiles can be destroyed with the Flashfield.
*Merak always fires two or three waves of missiles at a time. After each wave, Merak repositions the top-screen wormholes to track Gunvolt's location on-screen.
*Gunvolt can shoot into the wormholes and the shots will land onto Merak.
Wormhole Punch(パンチ) 	Merak begins using this attack at battle phase two. Merak creates a wormhole in front of him along with a second wormhole at an arbitrary location near the surface of the arena. His chair then performs a straight punch into the wormhole in front of him, which relocates the punch's trajectory at the surface of the arena. In Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, these punches may be relocated anywhere in the arena instead of just above the floor.
* Merak may perform one to three punches at a time through the same wormhole or, in case the player has moved out of range for the punch to hit, relocate the second wormhole to a closer position.
Big Punch(ビッグパンチ, Wormhole Big Punch) 	Merak begins using this attack at battle phase two. Merak creates a wormhole in front of him, and his chair performs a straight punch into the hole. A giant wormhole appears at either side of the screen and immediately spits out a magnification of the chair's punch; a second giant wormhole and punch appears on the other side of the screen. In Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, the giant wormholes may open near the top of the arena.
* If Merak's chair punches into the initial wormhole with its right arm, then the giant wormhole appears on the right side of the screen; if it punches into the initial wormhole with its left arm, then the giant wormhole appears on the left side of the screen.
Lazy Laser() 	Merak's special attack. Merak fires a giant laser into a wormhole that reappears at different locations and at different angles on-screen; the reappearances occur up to four times in succession and track Gunvolt's location, with the goal being to create a situation where getting hit is unavoidable. To avoid the attack, start the fight by positioning yourself on either the lefthand or righthand side of the screen, and then only move to position yourself out of firing range. Using different bolts, it is also possible to hit Merak while the attack is in use.
*Merak's defense increases while he is using this attack.Skybane's Gunvault: Gunvolt Boss Damage Analysis by Saairan
*In Azure Striker Gunvolt 2, the amount of wormholes for the laser to travel through is increased, and they are angled as to be harder to avoid.
====Gunvolt 3 (with Teseo)====
Skill 	Description
"Circuit Rain/Panic Bombs + Big Punch" 	Teseo summons dozens of Panic Bombs which then promptly explode, while Merak uses Big Punch from both sides of the arena. As this is happening, Teseo uses Circuit Rain from above.
In Hard Mode, Merak does more Big Punches, and Teseo also launches a second Circuit Rain volley which then slowly edges to the sides of the arena, requiring Kirin to use Arc Chain at Teseo with the right timing to dodge.
"Chair Assault + Code Matrix" 	Teseo uses Code Matrix to shoot dozens of missiles, while Merak homes in on the player with Chair Assault. Teseo then throws his two data terminals as a giant boomerang, while sending his smaller bits through Merak's wormholes to fly at the player.
"Wormhole Missiles + Bug Death Laser" 	Teseo uses Bug Death Laser from the middle of the screen, while Merak uses Wormhole Missiles aimed at the players position, requiring using Arc Chain to dodge.
Lazy Noisy Fortress(レイジーノイジーフォートレス) 	The duo's combined Special Skill. Merak charges up his Lazy Laser skill while Teseo locks onto the player with a target reticule. After finishing, Teseo warps the player to the top of the screen. They are forced to descend to the bottom while Teseo and Merak relentlessly attack the player with spinning bits, Panic Bombs, more Bug Death Lasers and copies of Merak's Big Punch. After making it to the bottom, Merak will fire one last barrage of lasers before tiring himself out and becoming visibly angry, leaving the latter half of Teseo's Impregnable Fortress skill. It largely plays out as normal, except the payer has to drop down to the floor to evade the many bombs coming their way.
"Merak beats up Teseo" 	After using Lazy Noisy Fortress for the first time, Teseo prepares to use Code Matrix, only for Merak to punch Teseo with Big Punch, turning Teseo himself into a projectile with him careening through a series of wormholes around the arena. Merak then punches him a second time, sending him flying through another portal and eventually colliding with the ground, causing blue explosions on impact, which can also damage the player.
==Boss Battle Voices==
===Azure Striker Gunvolt===
Event 	Translated	Romaji 	Japanese
Transform 	 	Haa… Aaa… Haa... Yotto... 	はぁ……あーあ……はい……よっと……
Chair Punch 	 	Ei.. Haa... 	えい…… はぁ……
Ramming 	 	Iku yo? 	行くよ？
Chair Missiles	 	Baan! 	バーン！
Chair Punch 	 	Hoii! Soree! 	ほいっ！それっ！
Giant Punch 	 	Hai hai… Hoii! Mou iccho! 	はいはい……ほいっ！もういっちょ！
Lazy Laser 	 	Yareyare… Reijii reezaa!Kiena yo!	やれやれ……レイジーレーザー！消えなよ！
1st Phase Down	 	Daruinaa… 	だるいなぁ……
2nd Phase Down	 	Kaeritai yo…! 	帰りたいよ……！
Defeated 	 	Auu!? Nemui… 	あぅっ！？眠い……
==Special Skill Chants==
Lazy Laser:
Lazy Noisy Fortress:
==Quotes==
==Designer Comments==
Source: Armed Blue: Gunvolt Complete Works
==Musical Themes==
Title 	Context 	Composer 	Audio
The Awaiting Abyss(待ち受ける深淵) 	Merak's theme, and the Subaquatic Base stage BGM. 	Katsunori Yoshino	
The Awaiting Abyss(待ち受ける深淵) 	8-bit remix included as a bonus track in the Mighty Gunvolt Original Soundtrack.	Katsunori Yoshino	
Track notes by sound designer Ryo Kawakami:Armed Blue Official Soundtrack
*The Awaiting Abyss
The theme track of Merak "The Slothful Conjurer", that plays in the Subaquatic Base. I inputted the feelings of “how dull” and “how annoying” in the melody and at the same time express the feeling of the deep seas; now that was a hard thing to do. Yoshino, who’d just joined us, struggled a lot with this one. But it was worth it; the swinging () melody of the synth and the free pace as if you were swimming ended up making a very unique track, I’d say.
==Trivia==
*The Sumeragi Seven are based on the seven deadly sins and an animal that represents it, with Merak's motifs being sloth and a bear. He also has elements of one of the seven demons associated with each sin, in this case Belphegor. Belphegor's name means "Lord of the Opening (Gap)", which Merak's Wormhole Septima coincides with. This is similar to Jota and Stratos having Lucifer and Beelzebub references, respectively.
**Referencing his animal motif, Merak wears a teddy bear onesie in the Halloween wallpaper.
*Following the naming scheme of most Azure Striker Gunvolt 1 characters, Merak's name was derived from the Maserati Merak.
*In the Japanese version, Merak's Glaive, Fudō Kuniyuki (referred to as Unwavering Spirit on the official GV1 English site) is a real historical sword that belonged to several powerful daimyo at different times, including Oda Nobunaga.
* All of Merak's attacks were named by Merak himself, resulting in somewhat bland, random attack names.
* Despite his stage being themed around water, Merak has no water elemental attacks.
* Merak is one of two Swordsmen seen using his Septima without activating his Glaive, the other being Nova. However, he actually does use the Glaive in the first fight with him.
* In the original localization, Merak mentions a game called Realms of Robocraft, likely a brand-name product knockoff of the MMO RPG World of Warcraft.
* Merak has the most screen time out of all the Sumeragi Adepts encountered in the game, appearing in three different stages (unlike the rest who appear in one or two).
* Merak is the youngest known member of Sumeragi at 13.
* Merak unintentionally caused Elise's horrific experimentation, which resulted in her multiple personalities growing stronger, the death of many Sumeragi scientists, and the loss of an entire Sumeragi science facility, simply because he didn't report her to Nova, thinking that would have resulted in more work.
* According to an official height chart, Merak is 150cm (4'11") tall, making him the shortest male character in the series.
* His Lazy Laser attack draws similarities to the Granzon's "Worm Smasher" from the Super Robot Wars series. Both use attacks with lasers being shot out of random wormholes.
* Merak was originally intended to be the opening boss and fought on the train in 1st Sumeragi. Although this concept was omitted from the game, it would eventually be used for the OVA.
* An early concept of Merak had him wielding powers nearly identical to Asroc's, using strings or electric cords to control a robot to do battle for him.
* After Merak's defeat, Copen uses Lazy Laser in all subsequent boss battles in Gunvolt 1. This is so far the only one of Copen's copied abilities that shares its name with and is similar to the original user's SP Skill.
*In the very first trailer's English subtitles, Merak was referred to as "Wormhole Maker Melac."
*The exhausted sprite seen in Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 was present in his GV1 sprite sheet, but was unused content.
*Ypsilon's mask and claws bear some resemblance to Merak's Armed Chair.
**Both also kidnapped the main heroine under order from their superior.
== References ==
* Japanese Website Dossier
* Official Japanese Tweet Regarding Merak
* Japanese Wiki Regarding Merak
== Navigation ==
===Azure Striker Gunvolt 1 Navigation===
===Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 Navigation===
===Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 Navigation===
Category:ASG1 Bosses
Category:ASG2 Bosses
Category:Adept
Category:Sumeragi Group
Category:Characters
Category:Antagonists
Category:Azure Striker Gunvolt
Category:Male Characters
Category:Deceased
Category:ASG1 Characters
Category:Image Pulse
Category:ASG3 Bosses