Gerard Dantes

Gerard Dantès (ジェラール・ダンテス) is the leader of Almata in Calvard and serves as the main antagonist of .
== Profile ==
=== Appearance ===
Dantes is a tall man with a long plum mullet and matching eyes, which can also be seen glowing red with slit-like pupils. He wears a stark white suit over a burgundy shirt and waistcoat, complete with a slender lavender scarf and a golden-yellow tie. Dantes also wears a brown long coat with a black fur trim and black leather shoes with golden buckles. He wields a large cruciform sword in combat, later revealed to be an Artifact.
=== Personality ===
Dantes has a fixation with the concept of fear, perceiving it to be the driving force of existence and to underlie everything. Disillusioned by reality, Gerard cared little for his family's legacy or lineage, nor the ambitions of any organizations he serves under or operates. The lives of others are worth very little to him although he harbours a respect for those who are willing to get their hands dirty in pursuit of their ideals. Not above harming children, innocents or allies, Gerard is ruthless and unflinching in his efforts to achieve his ultimate ambition. 
Dingo speculates Melchior to be Gerard's lover, and some of Melchior's behavior shows him to be affectionate to him, but Gerard doesn't seem to see Melchior as anything more than a subordinate.
=== Background ===
Gerard was the child of two members of the D∴G cult, whom he described as having clung to the cult to extend their own lives. His true name is Gerard Eldarion (ジェラール・エルダリオン), and he is actually a descendant of Calvard's fallen monarchy. He wields in battle the Apeiron (聖魔剣アペイロン), a sword both a 'Holy' and 'Demonic'Bergard Zeman uses the terms 聖剣 and 魔剣, previously localised as 'Holy Sword' in Jusis Albarea's 'Holy Sword Elvars' (聖剣エルヴァース) and 'Demonic Sword' in McBurn's 'Demonic Sword Angbar' (魔剣アングバール), respectively. that was passed down within the fallen Calvard royal family.The Septian Church's attempts to retrieve Apeiron after the fall of Calvard Kingdom were futile, for the sword was kept safe by the D∴G cult, to which Gerard's family fled. His lineage allowed him to be a high-ranking member of the cult. Gerard cared little for the cult's beliefs and used it only to serve his own purposes. He regarded most of their tenets as pointless.
In S.1197, he received a report from a cult lodge of a victim, Van Arkride, who was host to a demonic factor. Putting Van through inhumane but nonlethal experiments, the cult succeeded in extracting his demonic essence- the Diabolic Core. Using his authority in the cult, Gerard took possession of it and making use of its abilities, which he used to survive and escape the near-total destruction of the cult. Afterwards, he left the cult and joined Almata, which at the time was run by a man named Enrique.
Gerard managed to maintain a public reputation of being an honest and humane person, while Enrique was disliked and seen as petty. Because of this, reporter Dingo Brad was willing to give Gerard the intel he would need to kill Enrique and usurp his position as Almata's Don- a decision Dingo would regret for the rest of his life. Under Gerard's leadership, the cult began a rapid series of high profile activities, threatening the delicate balance of the underworld. Their power and influence grew and they started to attract the attention of powerful groups and parties.
He eventually discovered that the remnants of the cult had merged with the remnants of the Order of the Moonlight Horse to form the Garden. He managed to secure the cooperation of Garden members Arioch, Olympia and Melchior; the former two via contracts, and the latter through Melchior's loyalty and devotion. He also recruited Alexandre and Viola into Almata directly.
=== ===
Dantes first appears in . However, no illustrations of him are shown and his name is not given. Additionally, his organization is only referred to as A.
This episode is set in September of S. 1207. Bracer Elaine Auclair was searching for two children kidnapped by a low-level organized crime syndicate. Said syndicate had aspirations of becoming subcontractors for Almata. Thanks to the assistance of a member of the CID, Auclair was able to track down the location of the syndicate. She easily subdued all of its members before Dantes suddenly appeared. Dantes, disappointed by the syndicate being outwitted and found out, brutally and effortlessly executed all of its members, and also succeeded in subduing Elaine, and used his power to even conceal his presence from her. However, he spared the kidnapped children, and informed Elaine of where she would find them unharmed. He claimed to be pursuing the "ultimate fear", and called fear the driving force behind existence, before escaping.
=== ===
Gerard is first seen experimenting with a Genesis in Tharbad. He had previously appeared in the guise of a dealer, whom neither Van nor Dingo seemed to recognize. He chats with Melchior on the roof before the main part of their operation starts, and ambushes Shahina during the night before the Tharbad Film Festival to give her a mask that would usurp her autonomy. When the chaos of the film festival is unleashed, Gerard remains at the top of the Al Jumeriah Hotel with Melchior until Van Arkride, the Arkride Solutions Office and Grimcats arrive. He introduced himself before using the Genesis to transform Naje Berca into Verethragnar. Upon the battles conclusion, he makes his departure onboard an Almata airship.
In , Gerard uses his sword's artifact properties to detonate an unfinished Reactor Weapon in Creil. Over a thousand individuals, including Dingo, fall victim to the explosion. Dingo confronts him moments before this can occur, hearing him whistle 'La Oraciónese' and is unsuccessful in persuading him to cease the wide-scale murder. Gerard himself is not confident his translocation ability will help him escape the detonation but proceeds anyway, laughing maniacally as everyone in Creil dies.
Later, Gerard hosts the Carnival, a battle royale between the many factions pursuing Almata for their own ends in Oración. He uses the Sixth Oct-Genesis to force compliance with its rules (the detonation of another Reactor Weapon in the city being the penalty for disobedience). A holograph of Gerard greets participants to the challenge as he waits upon the throne in the Vashtar Palace Ruins, Oración, the seat of his family's former power. Van's party, the victor of the Carnival, challenge Gerard, who is somehow able to disturb Mare. Gerard is killed in battle by Van, but not before Gerard whispers that he has 'finally found you' in his ear. Melchior detonates his boss' body with his bombs and the corpse is annihilated in the explosion that destroys the Vashtar Palace.
Later, Melchior manifests Genesis Tower by using the Seventh Genesis, enabling all of the fallen Almata members to revive. Gerard is able to rise again as an Immortal and become a Demon due to the effects of the Pandemonium created by Melchior, as well as Gerard's life being tied to the Diabolic Core. Van breaches the tower and encounters him at the top. Gerard explains his motivations and philosophy, before entering his demonic form to fight. After Gerard summons yet another demonic form, becoming The God-slaying Emperor of Fear (神滅の恐皇魔神ジェラール), he is finally defeated and Van reclaims the Diabolic core, ripping it from Gerard's chest and killing him for good.
=== ===
It is revealed that while Gerard was in the cult, in order to preserve his dying bloodline, the cult arranged for him to give birth to two children. Gerard never raised the children; following the cult's destruction, while Gerard left the cult for Almata, the children were absorbed into and raised in the Garden, specifically ending up in Melchior's Garden. Through their Eldarion blood, the children were able to use Gerard's Aperion sword while fighting Van's party on Nemeth Island, as the sword had not been retrieved by the church after Gerard's death.
During the final battle between Van and Grendel-Zolga, Zolga uses its abilities to force Van through recreations of several of his past battles, and one of them is a battle between Gerard and Melchior in their demon forms in the Genesis Tower (though neither of them have any voice lines during this battle).
== Gallery ==
=== ===
Gerard Dantès (Kuro).png
Gerard & Creil - Key Visual (Kuro).png|Key visual
Priest Gerard - Visual (Kuro).png|Flashback
Gerard - Visual (Kuro).png|Flashback
Van's Childhood 6 - Visual (Kuro).png|Flashback
Van's Childhood 7 - Visual (Kuro).png|Flashback
Gerard Dantes OP (Daybreak).png|Opening
Gerard Dantes concept art (Kuro).png|Concept art
Gerard Dantes concept art 2 (Kuro).png|Concept art
Apeiron concept art (Kuro).png|Apeiron
Apeiron concept art 2 (Kuro).png|Apeiron concept art
Demon God Gerard concept art (Kuro).png|Concept art of Demon God Gerard
Gerard Dantes - Promotional Screenshot 1.jpg|Promotional screenshot
Gerard Dantes - Promotional Screenshot 2.jpg|Promotional screenshot
Gerard Dantes - Promotional Screenshot 3.jpg|Promotional screenshot with Melchior
== Trivia ==
* His sword Apeiron has the same name as the dark god in Brandish 3: Spirit of Balcan, another game by Falcom. In real life, Apeiron is a Greek word meaning "infinite" or "indefinite". 
* Eldarion is Sindarin for "Scion of the Elves", fitting with Gerard being a descendant of an ancient king. 
== References ==
Notes
Sources
Category:Characters
Category:Trails through Daybreak Characters
Category:Almata
Category:Deceased Characters
Category:Swordsmen
Category:D∴G Cult