Albus

is a rogue agent of Ecclesia who possesses the magical gun Agartha and, eventually, the all-powerful glyph Dominus, which is said to have the power to defeat Dracula. In Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, Ecclesia's founder Barlowe sends Shanoa on a mission to find him and retrieve the glyph.
==History==
Albus was brought into Ecclesia alongside Shanoa at some point in the past, and also did an action that would have proved lethal, causing Shanoa to offer to take his place, although he refused, citing that as her "big brother", he was obligated to protect her. Eventually, Barlowe, Ecclesia's leader, decided to have Shanoa use the Dominus glyphs in order to destroy Dracula. Albus, knowing well that using Dominus would at the very least result in Shanoa losing her memories and emotions, if not outright resulting in her death, attempted to talk Barlowe out of using her for the sacrifice, despite her technically being more capable; even implying that he would find an alternate mean to access Dominus himself if it meant ensuring Shanoa didn't end up killed. Barlowe seemed to concede his point and promised to let Albus take her place, under the condition that he ran a "great errand" for him first. In actuality, Barlowe had absolutely no intention of honoring his word and merely sent Albus on a wild goose chase specifically to get him out of the way so he could use Shanoa for the Dominus ritual without him interfering, which Albus learned from Shanoa moments before it happened upon returning. Infuriated at Barlowe's deception and desperate to ensure Shanoa didn't die, he then interfered with the ritual and stole the glyphs at the last minute, although not before the ritual ended up robbing Shanoa of her memories and emotions. Barlowe then falsely claimed that Albus had been responsible for Shanoa's memory and emotion loss before dispatching her to track down Albus and retrieve the glyphs.
Albus is later found by Shanoa and he gives up two pieces of Dominus to her. He then steals the last part of Dominus, Dominus Agony, after testing and analyzing Shanoa's reactions to the other two glyphs, and seeks to retrieve them, but because Dominus draws its power from Dracula, Albus nearly succumbed to Dracula's will and made a retreat to the Mystery Manor, where a final showdown between him and Shanoa would take place when he ultimately fell under Dracula's influence.
To receive the bad ending, he must be killed without rescuing all thirteen villagers. To continue, all the villagers must be rescued before Albus is fought. He calls Shanoa's name in agony shortly before he succumbs to death. Shanoa absorbs Dominus Agony afterward, but as a side effect —due to the blood ties the villagers had to the Belmont family— Albus's memories flow through her mind. This causes Shanoa to realize that he never robbed her of her memories and emotions. His spirit materializes in her subconscious, allowing him to explain the real reason he fled with Dominus and his motives behind attempting to control its power. Although Shanoa could not completely understand without her own memories, Albus has her promise never to use the glyph under any circumstances. She complies and Albus is relieved that he can pass on, knowing that his adoptive sister will do the right thing in the end. With no time to lose, Shanoa decides to confront Barlowe and demands answers to honor her comrade's sacrifice for her. After completing the game, Albus is unlocked as a playable character.
Albus refers to himself as Shanoa's big brother, and knowing the fate awaiting the wielder of Dominus, stole the glyph so he could learn to use it himself. He hopes of not only to overcome his weakness, but also to protect Shanoa from Dominus itself, as deep down he cares for her a lot, even plotting to give his life up for Shanoa's.
In the end, Albus does just that not long after Shanoa is forced to break her promise to vanquish Dracula. Dominus requires a single soul, so Albus surrenders his to take his adoptive sister's place. Albus requests Shanoa to smile for him as his final wish and she does, allowing him to feel at peace shortly before he passes away. Thanks to his ultimate act of brotherly love, Shanoa regains her emotions and is given a second chance to live life.
==Quotes==
===Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia===
*Name's Albus. I guess we're brother and sister now.
*What... kind of brother would I be...if I didn't protect you...? That's...my role.
*Accepting Dominus is likely to interfere with one's memory and emotions.
*That being the case, we should assume the true price is much higher... Sir! Name me as the bearer. I can't allow Shanoa to risk her life.
*There has to be a way! ...and I'll find it.
*Wait, Shanoa! You don't understand!
*Orders may be orders, Barlowe... But I'm holding you to your promise.
*You lied to me.
*I was to be the bearer. You promised me!
*I intended to overcome my weakness. What happened to working together?
*...You said it yourself: each of us has a role. And, like a fine master, you've finally shown me what mine must be.
*I have my own mission.
*You are my master no longer... Farewell, Barlowe.
*Shanoa! Still slaving away for the old man, are we?
*Home, you say? I have none. The old man saw to that.
*We've been over this... My place is no longer as the old man's errand boy. I have a role to fulfill, and fulfill it I shall.
*Half-right. But think about it: where does a Glyph's power come from? Nothing comes from nothing, after all. What do you suppose Barlowe used to create his precious Dominus?
*They used Dracula, Shanoa. Dominus is made from his remains. That's HIS power. Nothing less.
*Ask the old man if you think I'm lying. And be quick about it; I'm very nearly done with all this.
*So you figured it out...a shame everything ended in failure.
*Inside Dominus, actually, which you absorbed.
*It would seem the blood of the holy whip's legacy makes many things possible. One of life's fortunate miracles, you might say. Betrayed by the old man, I fled with Dominus. In this way I had taken your place as bearer, and you were no longer at risk. Alone, I continued my research into methods of controlling Dominus. As you know, that Glyph's power is Dracula's as well. To this end, I required the blood of the sacred Belmont clan. Since they vanished years ago, I set out to find any traces of their heritage.
*Exactly. Fate drew them to the village...all thirteen of that line. I studied their blood with great diligence... In the end, even that power wasn't enough to contain Dominus, and the Glyph consumed me.
*By all accounts, Dominus should have overpowered and erased my will. However, the villager's power courses through you, and that tethered me here.
*Probably from absorbing the Glyphs I used to imprison them... You are quite remarkable, Shanoa.
*...I doubt you could understand, without your memories or emotions. Let's just say I knew what mattered to me, and what had to be done. Once the ritual began, though, I no longer had any choice. Everything that happened since then was laid out before me... a path I had to follow.
*No matter what happens, you mustn't use Dominus. Its power comes at a great price... Your life. Please, Shanoa... Don't ever use Dominus! You have to trust me!
*This is no dream, Shanoa. The tears you shed are your own.
*Once I realized I was allowed to exist within Dominus, I thought to find out what else had been absorbed... It seems your precious sacrifice remained intact.
*Since my existence was questionable at best, once we parted ways I wandered the darkness inside Dominus to see if I could locate the memories it had taken from you... As soon as you used the Glyph to stop Dracula, its dark power rushed away, leaving one glimmer behind. That last trace of light was your sacrifice...
*...To be fair, I am your big brother, after all.
*Shanoa... there's no need for you to die.
*Dominus requires but a single soul.
*No arguments, Shanoa. This is my role.
*If you want to repay me, then you can grant one final wish.
*Smile for me. That will be enough.
*Beautiful. I... I can finally...
====In-game====
If Shanoa talks to Albus without leaving during the prologue, he says nothing. However, he says the following to her if she does not absorb the Dominus Hatred and Dominus Anger, respectively:
*"That's what you came for, isn't it? No time to waste."
*"You know you haven't got a choice, Shanoa. Let's not play games."
===Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls===
*Shanoa... This isn't some sort of fever dream, is it? I never imagined I would ever see you again.
*I should thank you as well. To think such miracles exist.
*Don't let that worry you. I was just a brother looking out for his sister.
*I only wanted for you to be happy. Even at the cost of my soul.
*Smile, Shanoa. It brightens the world.
*Be that as it may, I would like to be of service. I am indebted to you for reuniting me with Shanoa.
*Bang!
*Optical Shot!
*You won't escape!
*Max Shot!
*Fire!
==Strategy==
Albus appears in this game as the boss of the Mystery Manor area, being the game's eighth boss. Because he has the power of Dominus Agony absorbed into his body, he has descended into madness, as he is deluded enough to believe that he himself is the reincarnated Count Dracula. Unlike over half the enemies in the game, he is actually weak to Dark-attribute attacks, so take full advantage of the Vol Umbra glyph if you acquire it just before the battle.
He uses a number of attacks during the fight, mainly all the fighting abilities that you can use in Albus Mode. The first is a regular bullet attack, which does medium damage. The second is the Optical Shot/Vertical Shot attack from Albus Mode, charging up Light and Dark energy to be used in one spiraling shot. The third attack is where he jumps into the air and drops Torpor crystals upon you as an aerial assault attack. The fourth is the Quad Ignis kick attack from Albus Mode, where he leaps upward and spirals through the air, dealing a lot of fire damage upon impact. His fifth attack is his Glyph Attack, namely the Max Shot/Glyph in Bullet attack in Albus Mode, where he summons the Acerbatus glyph to make the attack. This is the only time where this Glyph can be obtained. In Hard Mode, he has three additional attacks, the standard Ignis, Fulgur and Grando glyphs.
No matter which ending you try to get, your reward for defeating Albus is the Dominus Agony glyph, but if you're trying to get the good ending, you don't get to keep it until all the villagers have been rescued.
==Powers and abilities==
===Feats===
*Marksmanship: Albus is an expert marksman with his single barreled Agartha. He can sacrifice MP for rapid fire of Agartha until it runs out.
*Martial Arts: Albus also mastered close combat abilities and excels in aerial flaming kicks.
*Glyph mastery: Albus can fire a variety of glyphs from Agartha the same way Shanoa fires her glyphs from her arms, although Albus prefers Acerbatus, Torpor, and other types of shots suitable for Agartha.
*Magic regeneration: Due to Ecclesia's research, Albus's MP regenerates at an astounding speed, allowing him to fire Agartha successively.
*Researcher: Albus was the chief researcher of Ecclesia, and his critical thinking led Shanoa to the truth of Dominus and learned to absorb the Dominus Agony glyph within two observations of Shanoa absorbing Dominus Anger and Dominus Hatred. Unfortunately, even with research of the Wygol villagers' blood, he didn't have enough time to anticipate the dangers of absorbing Dominus without absorbing a slight essence of the villagers, like Shanoa did, which were madness and delusions of being Count Dracula. Nobody knows for sure, if they were just delusions or if Dracula really controlled him for that short period of time.
===Abilities===
*Shot: Agartha can fire a magic bullet that pierces magical creatures. It does not require physical bullets to reload as it functions the same way as Julius Belmont's sub-weapons do with MP.
*Rapid fire: Agartha can also fire in infinite rapid succession as long as it has enough MP to empower it.
*Torpor: Agartha can fire a Torpor glyph that incapacitates its victim in a crystal cage. It has the longest cooldown in Albus's arsenal. It is an Ice based glyph.
*Optical Shot: Also known as Vertical Shot. Agartha can also fire a magic wave of black and white energy. The light wave will spiral into where Agartha marks before released as an outward spiral in an opposite direction. The black and white light waves do either Light or Darkness damage, depending on the opponent. Along with Max Shot, it has the second longest cooldown.
*Max Shot: A powerful glyph. Also known as Casper Shot. Agartha can fire an Acerbatus glyph that curses the victim, shocks with Thunder damage, and consumes the enemy in Darkness. Albus inserts the Acerbatus glyph into Agartha's barrel and fires it, launching a large black ball of darkness with yellowish skulls. Along with Optical Shot, it has the second longest cooldown. While battling him, he says "Glyph in bullet!"
*Quadruple Ignis: Albus also masters a spinning flame kick and uses Hearts instead of MP.
*High jump: Albus can high jump to taller areas faster than Shanoa with her Volaticus wings glyph.
*Slide: Albus can perform a weak slide.
*Backdash: Like Shanoa, Albus can backdash, and he is invincible when he does so.
*Warp: Possibly his best ability in the game, Albus can warp to wherever spot he chooses to in a determined area and as many times he desires, as long as he has the MP to do so. He cannot do this when he is possessed by Dominus, though.
*Torpor Rain: Albus rains down Torpor on Shanoa.
*Ignis: In Hard Mode (Lv 50 or LV1), Albus can fire a triple fireball Ignis like Shanoa.
*Grando: In Hard Mode (Lv 50 or LV1), Albus can fire an icicle Grando like Shanoa.
*Fulgur: In Hard Mode (Lv 50 or LV1), Albus can fire a thunderball Fulgur like Shanoa.
*Dominus: In Albus Mode, Albus finds a way to master Dominus and uses it to enhance his powers to effectively counter Count Dracula without becoming insane from it. He then goes in a mission to permanently destroy Count Dracula in place of Shanoa.
==Item Data==
==Albus Mode==
Albus can be played in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia in Albus Mode, which is unlocked after beating the game once. It this mode, Quick Shot, Particle Shot, Max Shot, Quad Ignis, and Torpor attacks are available to him. He can also perform a High Jump and teleport anywhere on the screen.
<tabber>Abilities=
|-|Items=
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==Other appearances==
===Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls===
Albus appears as a playable support character in Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls.
<tabber>Original version=
|-|Apple Arcade version=
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==Gallery==
Ooe dracula 04 1024.jpg|Albus official wallpaper.
OoE offart36.jpg
Albus - Order of Ecclesia - Masaki Hirooka.jpg
Ooe dracula 02 1024.jpg|Albus and Shanoa.
Koma Albus.JPG|Albus in the official Koma comic strips.
CV Dominus Gallery OoE 14 - Albus portraits.png
Albus GoS.png|Albus in Grimoire of Souls.
Stand ex002 010.png|Albus in Grimoire of Souls.
==Trivia==
*As with many Castlevania characters, Albus's name is significant, as it hints he may not be as villainous as he tries to come off. His name means "white" or "bright" in Latin. It's also noticeable that Albus as a boss is weak against Darkness, which is uncommon for a villainous character.
*Due to the nature of the boss fight, he, along with Barlowe, are the only bosses that cannot hurt the player by simply touching them.
*In Castlevania Judgment, at the end of Shanoa's story, it is said that Albus is a traitor who betrayed Ecclesia for an unknown reason and that Shanoa must continue her adventure to stop him.
*In Order of Ecclesia, Albus uses two different sets of voices, one "normal" for Albus Mode, and the other "crazy" one for his boss version. Apparently, he is almost driven crazy by Dominus Agony.
*Keith Silverstein, Albus's English voice actor, also did the voice of Simon Belmont in Castlevania Judgment.
*Albus appears as a summon in Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls. Unlike Richter, elder Maria Renard, or Jonathan Morris, recruiting him doesn't require saving him from an empowered Vital Soul boss in a Grimoire. Instead, he was summoned by trace elements of his magic lying within Shanoa shortly after defeating Eligor.
*The Japanese name of Albus's firearm is "Agathe" (アガーテ), apparently taken from the heroine of the German opera Der Freischütz (The Marksman), about a gunslinger who makes a deal with the Devil for the love of a woman. Albus's Max Shot attack is a possible reference to the opera's hero; the game's voice samples also reference the "Caspar Shot" attack, which would be a reference to the opera's villain.
*Albus bears a striking resemblance to Balthier from Final Fantasy XII. Furthermore, both use an antique-type styled pistol as their main weapon.
*The Quad Ignis Kick he uses may be a reference to the Street Fighter series character Fei Long, who uses the same kind of kick (his is named Shien Kyaku, 熾炎脚, "Kindling Flame Leg") - it seems to be combined with the Rekku Kyaku (裂空脚, "Rending Air Leg"), which is another technique from Fei Long's arsenal, when Albus goes forward in air during the technique's execution.
*Albus and Joachim Armster are the only characters to canonically die that also become unlockable playable characters in the games they appear in.
==External links==
*
*Albus at the Villainous Benchmark Wiki
*Albus (Castlevania) at the Villains Wiki
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