Cervantes de Leon

**Cervantes de León** (セルバンテス・デ・レオン, *Serubantesu de Reon*) is a character in the Soul series of fighting games. Cervantes made his first appearance as the main antagonist of Soul Edge and has returned in all of the games. He also appears in Soulcalibur Legends as an unplayable boss. In Soul Edge and in Soulcalibur he is nicknamed "**The Immortal Pirate**" and "**The Dread Pirate**" by other characters.

What lies in his soul is **Corruption**.

In Soulcalibur V's promotional material, he is referred to as **The Great Pirate Resurrected.**

## Appearance

Cervantes was designed to be something of a ghost pirate. Starting with *Soul Edge*, Cervantes had peach skin, long white hair with a violet tint and blue eyes and sported a full mustache. His attire consisted of a traditional pirate captain's uniform. When under the influence of Soul Edge, his skin gained an unnatural purple tint and his eyes turned yellow with the scelera turning black. He retained this appearance with very minute modifications into *Soulcalibur*. After returning from the dead as a specter, his skin even paler than before and his eyes purely white, although his mustache has grown past his cheeks and reaching his hairline. His attire had also changed to feature lighter colors and armor with the additions of gauntlets and greaves and wore a new jacket loosely on his back.

In *Soulcalibur III*, his skin pigment became a light purple and his hair turned fully white and becoming spiky. His appearance showed off more skin to reveal impressive musculature with his facial hair now fully forming a long beard. His clothing was now similar to his earlier appearance but has also taken on a purple, more darker sheen, and his gloves are now the same color.

In *Soulcalibur IV*, his appearance seems to have been even further corrupted than before, with claw-like shoulder pads with purple eye decorations with an additional one on his hat and his coat becoming wing-like with segmented metal linings.

As of *Soulcalibur V*, Cervantes is mortal again and his look is similar to that of his original Soul Calibur appearance, his hair and skin's pigment returned to their natural color, although he keeps his facial hair and hair length. His clothing returns to a more traditional appearance but now features a red and black color scheme and a Jolly Roger emblem on his boots and belt. His coat opens up to reveal his bare chest, showing off chest hair. His bonus costume on the other hand, gives him a suit of armor but his physical body appears to give off a fiery glow and aura with his face seemingly internally consumed by fire, resembling Soul Edge to an extent.

## Personality

Cervantes is a callous, evil man whose only goal in life is to satisfy his own ego. Before Soul Edge's corruption, he took all sorts of illegal jobs as a pirate, and he made a name for himself across the seven seas. Upon coming into contact with Soul Edge, however, Cervantes' own soul was stolen, and he became little more than a slave to Soul Edge's will, driven insane by its power.

After being resurrected by Nightmare, Cervantes begins to seek Soul Edge once more, having become addicted to the power it grants him. He does not care whether it takes away his free will, so long as he can steal more souls.

When Cervantes regains Soul Edge, his very life becomes linked to the sword's - if he does not maintain its desire for souls, or if it is destroyed, Cervantes will die with it. As such, Cervantes desperately seeks souls to sustain his existence. He eventually comes into contact with Ivy, his illegitimate daughter, and desires her soul to keep him alive.

In the fifth game, he returns to his old personality, having finally broken free of Soul Edge's control. Judging by his quotes, it is safe to assume that Cervantes believes that because he defeated Soul Edge's influence, he has transcended the power of gods and supernatural forces, deciding to no longer rely on them in his quest for power and glory.

## Fighting Style

Cervantes is a mid to close range rushdown character who relies on moves that knock down and launch the opponent for heavy damage output with the 2 swords. His attacks are linear and easily avoided, but once Cervantes connects with something he becomes extremely dangerous. The pistol sword is used for small attacks, checking the opponent, and attack throws, while the long sword is used for major blows. He can use both swords to stun the opponent and has a special stance (Dread Charge) used for his most powerful attacks (Geo Da Ray, Dread Slash). Dread Charge is capable of catching the enemy off guard if they don't know what move is next, but it has an extremely slow startup and most of the attacks that come out of the stance are easily punishable, so it should be used with extreme caution.

In Soul Edge, Cervantes was noticeably more powerful than any of his future incarnations due to the sheer power and range his weapons possessed and the fact that his Critical Edge could potentially destroy an entire lifebar. Throughout the Soul Calibur games, however, Cervantes gradually developed into a balanced character. The pistol sword aspect of his weapons was elaborated upon, as he eventually gained the ability to fire an unblockable bullet at his opponent. His Dread Charge setups gradually developed as well, and in the fourth game he gained an extremely powerful tool on the form of the Geo Da Ray Conclusion. When the input for Geo Da Ray is done as fast as possible, Cervantes skips the Charge entirely and goes straight into the move, which deals much more damage than the charged version. Since then, the "instant Geo Da Ray (iGDR)" has become his most important move, defining Cervantes as a character.

Cervantes usually ranks in competitive tier lists as a high-to-top tier character due to his dangerous setups and devastating attack power. As of the fifth game, he is considered to be one of the strongest in the game.

## Weapons

* Soul Edge (Longsword and Pistol Sword)
* Acheron & Nirvana
* Soul Edge & Nirvana
* Main Gauche
* Defender
* Jirotoh
* Katana
* 3 Bladed Edge
* Heavy Lance
* Serpent's Tongue
* Falchion
* Firangi
* Erlang's Blade
* Acheron
* Phlegethon
* Cocytus
* Styx
* Soul Edge (Complete) Cervantes
* Lethe
* Imitation Sword
* Erlang's Blade
* The Ancient (Cervantes)
* Gurgitator
* Avenger
* Seax
* The Master (Cervantes)

## Stages

* Valencia Port (SE)
* The Adrian and The Fortress (SC)
* Pirate's Alcove (SC2) (shares the stage with Maxi)
* Pirate Raid (SC3)
* Ice Coffin of the Sleeping Ancient (SC4)
* Sailor's Rest - Twilight (SCBD) (shares the stage with Maxi & Seong Mi-na)
* The Adrian (SC5)

## Critical Finish

**Tartarus Griet**: Cervantes slams the opponent to the ground, throws them into the air with his swords, and then teleports above them to fire a soul-charged bullet, which sends them hurtling down to earth.

## Critical Edge

**Cursed Roman Fire**: Cervantes brandishes his pistol sword and shouts "Get ready! Now die!" and fires off a powerful blast. If timed right, it can also hit off the ground as well. The critical edge cannot be blocked. But it can be easily dodged by crouching down.

## Weapon Arts

Weapon Arts are special moves in Soulcalibur: Lost Swords which act very similar to the Critical Edge system from Soulcalibur V.

**Marine Curse**: It's his Brave Edge grab called Curse of the Ancient Mariner.

**Dark Geo Da Ray**: This is a Dark Geo Da Ray attack with no alterations.

**Final Geo Da Ray**: That's a reverse just input version of the previous attack. It's called Geo Da Rey Conclusion, but Cervantes jumps up high this way only under certain conditions in SCV. In this Weapon Art his swords are surrounded by a light blue smoke resembling that of Hilde's charge attacks.

**Fata Morgana**: Yet another Brave Edge having the same name, Fata Morgana.

**Cursed Fire**: It's his Critical Edge from Soulcalibur V, though a word "Roman" was for some reason excluded from its name.

## Quotes

### *Soul Edge/Blade*

* Offer your spirit!
* *My beautiful town, destroyed! Oh what have I done?!*
* *Hehehehe...*
* *As punishment, I shall give up my life!*
* *What has happened to me?*
* *Aahhhhhhchoh! Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaao! Uhhhhhhhhhhh Uhhhhhh Aaaaahckhhh! Nooo Noooooo!*
* *Raise the anchor me hearties! We shall change this world into our own hellish paradise!*

### *Soulcalibur*

* *Taste my pain!*
* *I'll see you in hell!*
* *No one can stop me!*
* *Mm, mm, mm, mmmwah, ha, ha, ha.*
* *Got you!*
* *Dorrryah!*
* *Torryaah!*
* *Say your prayers!*
* *Take this!*
* *Not so fast!*

### *Soulcalibur II*

* *Do not defy me!*
* *Your soul is mine!*
* *Beg for mercy before me!*
* *Wallow in your despair!*
* *Pray while you can!*
* *Show me your soul!*
* *Darkness is coming.*
* *I will crush you!*
* *Now, leave your soul here.*
* *Take this!*
* *Taste my pain!*
* *I will burn you to ashes!*
* *You dare to defy me?*
* *No one can stop me!*
* *Kneel before me!*
* *Bow before me while you have the chance!*
* *You shall be my nourishment!*
* *Wallow in despair!*
* *Darkness... darkness is coming.*
* *How dare you. I will crush you!*
* *Now, leave your soul to me!*
* *I'm impressed.*
* *No, I won't allow it!*
* *I need more souls!*
* *Welcome.*
* *Come back to me, my child.*
* *I'm disappointed! What a useless daughter.*
* *Ahhh! Familiar cries. Now, come back to me!*
* *Power flows through me.*
* *Hm, haha, hah, haaah!*
* *Come with me to hell!*
* *Your resistance is in vain!*
* *Begging for mercy? I'm disappointed.*
* *I will feast on your soul!*
* *No one can stop me!*
* *Hm, hahaha, hm, hm, haaah!*
* *This is how true despair feels!*
* *Now, you're apart of me!*
* *Die with regret, you fool!*
* *That's all? I'm disappointed.*
* *Offer your soul to me!*
* *Fool, fear my power!*
* *Your soul makes a poor meal!*
* *Your struggle was useless.*
* *Hm, hm, hm! What's the matter, you want to stop already?*
* *I had more fun than I thought I would!*
* *Damn you, I won't allow this!*
* *It calls me!*
* *Your soul is not bad.*
* *I am immortal!*
* *Shut up!*
* *There!*
* *Not so fast!*
* *Stop struggling!*
* *Not enough!*
* *Crush!*
* *Burn to ashes!*
* *Stop flailing!*
* *No mercy!*
* *Come on!*
* *Prepare to die!*
* *Go to hell!*
* *No use!*
* *Drown!*
* *You... rabble!*
* *No... I won't allow it!*
* *Take this!*
* *Prepare to die!*
* *Not good enough!*
* *Burn!*
* *Regret your decision!*
* *Silence!*
* *Give it up!*
* *Die!*
* *It's useless!*
* *Damn you!*
* *What?*

### *Soulcalibur III*

* *There won't be anything left of you.*
* *You have... no where to run.*
* *Have a good taste... of my power!*
* *You dare to challenge me, you fool!*
* *I'll strangle you to death.*
* *Heh heh heh... I'm tingling with excitement.*
* *Sink unto oblivion!*
* *You shall regret... the day you encountered me!*
* *Beg for mercy... before me!*
* *Wallow... in despair!*
* *Wallow... in your despair!*
* *You dare... to defy me?*
* *Your soul... in mine!*
* *You should pray... while you can.*
* *Do not... defy me!*
* *I will crush you!*
* *How dare you...*
* *Welcome to my abode... now, leave your soul here!*
* *Show me... your soul!*
* *Well well, aren't we scary.*
* *I thirst... for more souls!*
* *You shall burn in hellfire!*
* *Darkness... darkness is coming!*
* *Admit your defeat... and become a part of my power!*
* *Your meager soul... will not quench my thirst!*
* *Worthy soul... become a part of me!*
* *Spend an eternity... in purgatory.*
* *I salute your courage... for challenging me.*
* *This fight... was most entertaining.*
* *Those who dare to challenge me... deserve no mercy.*
* *I will take everything by force!*
* *Yes... that's right, give up already.*
* *Raise sail! Anchors aweigh!*
* *What a waste... of my time!*
* *Why did I even bother drawing my swords.*
* *You have yet... to taste the true meaning of fear.*
* *You pathetic wretch. You do not deserve to live.*
* *You shall have... a watery grave!*
* *This is... the true meaning... of despair.*
* *Come with me... to hell!*
* *No one can stop me!*
* *I shall feast on your soul!*
* *Your soul... makes a poor meal!*
* *Is that all? I'm disappointed.*
* *I am... immortal!*
* *I shall enjoy... feasting on your soul.*
* *Your soul... belongs to me!*
* *Die with regret, you fool!*
* *What's the matter, you want to quit already?*
* *Yes... it's calling for me!*
* *You fool... fear my power!*
* *That was more fun... than I had expected.*
* *Disappear unto nothingness!*
* *Drown!*
* *Die!*
* *Writhe in pain!*
* *Scatter!*
* *Go under!*
* *Outta my sight!*
* *How weak!*
* *You'll pay!*
* *You will pay!*
* *Here!*
* *Take this!*
* *No so fast!*
* *Get ready!*
* *You... rabble!*
* *This is ridiculous!*
* *Time for you...*
* *What?!*
* *Return your soul to me, my child.*
* *Now, come back to me!*
* *That faint aura, I can not allow you to live.*
* *You are powerless against me!*
* *My body yearns... for your death!*
* *I am still... not satisfied!*
* *Lady luck must be on my side today.*
* *I am immortal! Can you say the same?*
* *Leave nothing behind!*
* *Humph, a sorry lot of phantoms...What do you want?*
* *That's right...You want to kill me...*
* *...but there's nothing you can do.*
* *You should be grateful that you're a part of my power!*

### *Soulcalibur IV*

* *This is your fate!*
* *Come, have a taste of my power.*
* *I thirst for more souls!*
* *Wallow in despair!*
* *Fool! There won't be anything left of you!*
* *You dare to defy me?!*
* *You shall regret the day you met me.*
* *Now, you know despair.*
* *You have yet to understand the meaning of real fear.*
* *Come with me... to hell.*
* *You think I could lose to the likes of you?*
* *Take this!*
* *Not so fast!*
* *Fall!*
* *Sink!*
* *Perish!*
* *Disappear!*
* *Get ready!*
* *Die!*
* *No mercy!*
* *Ah ha!*
* *Accept... your death!*
* *Sink into... darkness!*
* *Absurd!*
* *Feel the... pain!*
* *Drown in fear!*
* *Out of my sight!*
* *Die!...Wretched Soul!*
* *Foolish!*
* *The game is over!*
* *Burn to ashes!*
* *Cower in fear!*
* *This is ridiculous!*
* *You'll pay!*- Versus Sophita and Taki
* *Not a... Chance!*- Versus Sophita and Taki
* *Denizens of darkness, it's been too long.*
* *Offer you soul to me and become part of eternity!*
* *Taste the pain I have endured!*
* *I shall never look back.*
* *Long I have awaited this moment.*
* *You did well! I have no further use for you.*
* *I'll make you regret ever awakening!*
* *Admit your defeat and become a part of my power!*
* *Reawakening the sword is all that matters.*
* *If you truly wish to meet your end in battle, then I will perform the last rites!*
* *Yes, this is it! The power I have longed for!*
* *Do you fear me, gods?*
* *Then strike down with a lightning bolt of despair!*
* *What an annoying little girl you are. -* In Tira's Story Mode
* *I am IMMORTAL*!- Critical Finish
* *Sword, return to your master!"-In Nightmare's Story Mode*

### *Soulcalibur V*

* *Are you done talking yet?*
* *Fear the name of the dread Captain Cervantes!*
* *To Cervantes, you are nothing!*— Spoken before fighting Elysium, Nightmare, Pyrrha Omega or Alpha Patroklos.
* *It's time I send you into the deep!*- Spoken before fighting Ivy.
* *You'll not live!*
* *Nothing holds power over me!*
* *Annoying wench!* — Spoken when taunting Ivy.
* *Stupid runt -*Spoken when ko'd by Elysium
* *So... you dare to defy me?!*
* *Beg for mercy!*
* *I won't forgive you!*- Spoken while fighting Ivy.
* *No mercy!*
* *Feel the pain!*
* *Hurry up and die!*
* *Worthless.*
* *Scream! -*Spoken while fighting Ivy.
* *Know your place!*
* *Return to dust!*
* *Hurry up... and die!*
* *Bastard!*
* *Die!*
* *Sink!*
* *This is the end!*
* *Ready? Now die!*— spoken during "Critical Edge".
* *All will speak of the day that Cervantes bested you!*
* *Women and children always fetch the highest prices! -*spoken after defeating Pyrrha, Leixia, Hilde, Natsu, Viola, or Xiba.
* *What?!*- spoken when hit by a tremor.
* *You are no match for the likes of me!*- spoken after defeating Ivy.
* *Impossible!*- spoken when ringed out.
* *This isn't over!*- spoken when ringed out.
* *Hm! Stand aside!* - taunt.
* *Waste of time!*- taunt.
* *Hah! Tiresome pest!* - spoken after losing by time out.
* *No! Not again!* - spoken after losing by time out to Ivy.

## TMNT X Pokomon

Cevantes de Leon is one of the many villains you will face throughout the game. He is one of the strongest in the difficulty scale.

## Trivia

### General

* Cervantes' nickname in*Soul Edge* and *Soulcalibur* is "The Immortal Pirate". Story-wise, he's also known as "The Dread Pirate".
* Chronologically, Cervantes is the oldest character in the series barring Olcadan, Algol, Zasalamel and Edge Master who are all immortal in one form or another.
* Depending on the game, he looks alive or undead, with *Soul Edge* having an undead main and living alternates, *Soulcalibur* with both costumes with a living skin tone, *Soulcalibur II* has him back to looking undead and progressing from there to *Soulcalibur IV* where he looks like Soul Edge has taken over him. His *Soulcalibur IV* 2P costume is based on his *Soulcalibur* 2P costume. With *Soulcalibur V*, he once more looks to be actually alive.
* Cervantes' former English voice actor, Wally Wingert, is known for his roles as Renji Abarai from *Bleach*, Aoba Yamashiro from *Naruto: Shippuden*, Rufus Shinra from *Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children*, and Cubot from the *Sonic the Hedgehog* series. His current English voice actor, Patrick Seitz, is known for voicing Bob Richards from the *Tekken* series, Jin Kazama in *Tekken Blood Vengeance*, Ragna the Bloodedge from the *Blazblue* series, and Scorpion from the *Mortal Kombat* series.
* Some of Cervantes' alternate weapons are named after rivers in the Underworld of Greek mythology, including Acheron, Phlegethon, Lethe, Cocytus, and Styx.
* Cervantes' Joke Weapon is a wooden model of the swords he used in *Soul Edge* and *Soulcalibur II*. The wooden model is called the Imitation Sword, which he apparently carved out himself with great care. The biggest difference is in Soul Edge (Female) which is in the form of Nirvana and is smaller. In *Soulcalibur IV*, his Joke Weapon is two large shish kebabs called Gurgitator.
* Cervantes was revealed to be the father of Ivy. In the *Whole World of Soulcalibur* section of the old *Soul Archive* site, it's revealed Ivy's mother is actually the daughter of the Black Tail inn owner, whom Cervantes raped with the intention of Soul Edge to have a spare host if his current was rendered useless.
* Cervantes' Destined Battle in *Soulcalibur* and *Soulcalibur III* is Taki, while in *Soulcalibur II*, *Soulcalibur IV*, and *Soulcalibur V*, it is Ivy.
* Cervantes is one of the surnames of the Spanish writer of *Don Quixote*, and de León is also the last name of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, who searched for the Fountain of Youth.
* In *Soul Edge*, Cervantes speaks with a slight English accent, in *Soulcalibur II*, he speaks with a very gruff and evil North American accent, and in *Soulcalibur III*, *Soulcalibur IV*, and *Soulcalibur V*, he speaks with a thick, stereotypical pirate accent.
* His fighting style is based on the Filipino martial art known as Eskrima, also called Kali or Arnis, which can be seen perfect techniques as "round", "double" as well as some of this martial art holds. Additionally, Cervantes uses kicks from the martial art Savate. His stance also resembles that used in Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu.
* He was the only character in the series to bear a firearm until the addition of Ezio*in*Soulcalibur V*.*
* In all the *Soulcalibur* games, Cervantes has had his 1P outfit that of a pirate's. His *Soulcalibur IV* 1P attire is slightly reminiscent of Davy Jones' attire from the *Pirates of the Caribbean* movies.
* His prototype weapon and moveset was originally just going to include a rapier, but the creators thought this was "too gentlemanly", so they moved it to a longsword & a pistol sword. His prototype moveset was later passed on to Raphael in *Soulcalibur II*.

### *Soul Edge*

* In the opening and many artworks, Cervantes is seen in his 2P outfit with a mask similar to the Phantom of the Opera's. However he doesn't wear it during gameplay.
* Cervantes' input ending is the only occurrence where he feels remorse and guilt for his past sins.
* In the Edge Master Mode, Cervantes is the only character who only appears in his own stage, at all times.

### *Soulcalibur*

* In one concept art, Cervantes is depicted holding a longsword in his right hand and a flintlock pistol with a bayonet dagger attached to beneathe its barrel in his left, as opposed to holding the flintlock in his right hand (insinuating he may have been originally intended to be right-handed). The bayonet-flintlock pistol may also have been an early design of Nirvana that was dropped.

### *Soulcalibur II*

* Cervantes' eyes are completely red in his 1P costume, and are completely white in his 2P costume. However, if the player fights or plays as Cervantes in the Pirate's Alcove stage, then his eyes will be white, and unlike his other costumes in the game, the player can see the outlines of his pupils.

### *Soulcalibur III*

* The "Soul of Cervantes" discipline is available to created characters of the Pirate class.

### *Soulcalibur Legends*

* According to Lloyd Irving, he is famous in other worlds.

### *Soulcalibur IV*

* During the opening movie, it shows one of the player's custom characters fighting off three fighters. It then shows Cervantes walking in preparing to fight. For unknown reasons, he is not wielding his swords the same way he does in the game. This might have been a mistake by the developers.
* In an alternate version of the intro, he shoots Valmiro, one of the members of his crew.
* In the Character Creation, creating a character with Cervantes' moveset is the only one which gives your character a line *after* his or her Critical Finish.

### *Soulcalibur V*

* Although resurrected, nothing was revealed as to how he was actually brought back to life.
* When Cervantes wins and battle and performs the victory pose where he crosses his arms with swords in hand, he has Nirvana in his left hand and the longsword in his right, as opposed to Nirvana being held in his right hand and the other in his left.
* After the events of *Soulcalibur IV*, Cervantes has freed himself from Soul Edge's control. Due to this fact, some fans have speculated that he might have become an anti-hero as opposed to the villainous role he played throughout the series. However, there was no significant change in his personality apart from the fact that he has a character specific line when fighting either Nightmare or Elysium. There is the fact that before he found Soul Edge, he was a ruthless pirate, leaving him as a lesser evil at best.
* Cervantes' alternate costume is similar to his 2P costume in *Soulcalibur III*. He also has a bonus costume that gives him an appearance similar to Inferno/Soul Edge, with a fiery aura around him, however currently, only the computer can use it and only in Legendary Souls mode and Quick Battle mode.
* In the artwork, his 1P boots are longer than they appear in game. These boots rise up and stop just before his knee; however, in game, they are just underneath his calves.

## Relationships

* Father of Ivy, who he was defeated and destroyed by before the events of *Soulcalibur V*.
* Defeated by Sophitia and Taki in *Soul Edge*. Siegfried, who happened to be nearby after the battle, picked up the remaining Soul Edge.
* Defeated Li Long, when the latter wanted to have Soul Edge in *Soul Edge*.
* Urged by Tira to find Soul Edge and destroy Soul Calibur before the events of *Soulcalibur III*.
* Fights the Custom Character in the custom *Soulcalibur IV* intro.
* Maintains a business relationship with Dampierre, selling him looted goods.
* Fatally wounded Yoshimitsu before the events of *Soulcalibur V*.