Captain Centurio

**Captain Centurio** is a major antagonist of the *Lightning SMP*. He is the central antagonist of *Shadow of the Indigo* series.

He is a military captain of the Void Screamers who was sent, along with his team, to monitor and keep track on Zillius after the latter exiled himself from the SMP.

## Appearance

Centurio wears the same attire as every other Void Screamer military personnel. He sports a dark cloak that extends from his head to below his knees, he has numerous purple and grey bands around his arms, he wears a mask that has an indigo smile. Midway through "Ghost from the Past", Centurio switches to a different cloak that has a purple outline across the edges. Centurio is mostly seen wearing Netherite armor wherever he goes.

## Personality

Centurio is excessively prideful and fanatical, he holds immense pride that he is a devoted follower of Horus and his teachings. He has a habit of abusing his subordinates, particularly Zero, if they ever question his orders. When Zero questioned why they had to keep track on Zillius, Centurio angrily states it is their god’s will and proceeds to punch Zero when he tried to question Horus’ will.

## History

### Shadow of the Indigo

Captain Centurio is first introduced alongside the other Void Screamers during the first chapter, "Intertwining Paths". When Zero came back from monitoring Zillius, Centurio was awaiting his subordinate and demanded for report on Zillius. Zero reported that Zillius remains neutral and remains unaware of the Void Screamers’s presence, suddenly Zero begins questioning the mission. Centurio threateningly if Zero questions their lord’s will, Zero was about to say something but is cut off as Centurio punches and berates Zero, telling him that he is a child and that he is only here because the Paladin insisted that he was brought along. Centurio states if Zero questions the mission again, then he will be executed.

Sometime later, one of the Void Screamers informs Centurio that the Paladin is here to see the captain in the portal room. Centurio is slightly taken aback before going towards the portal room, there he meets the Paladin and asks what urgency has brought him here. The Paladin states he has came with new orders from Horus, the Paladin tells Centurio that their god wants Zillius alive and to cease all attempts of killing him, only maiming Zillius if necessary. Centurio obliges, but before the Paladin walks away into the portal, he tells Centurio that the latter’s rank does not mean he can do whatever he wishes to his subordinates, the Paladin wishes the captain luck before disappearing into the portal, leaving Centurio with his thoughts.

In "Ghost From The Past", Centurio is mentioned by Zero when he desperately explains to Zillius why he is following the latter, Zero explains that his higher-ups sent him to do this mission. Meanwhile, Centurio is later seen praying to Horus for this mission to run smoothly, however he is later interrupted by the weaponsmith who tells the captain that Zero has not returned from monitoring Zillius, Centurio payed no mind to this but is told this could mean Zillius has captured Zero, and if he did then their cover might be blown. Centurio sighs and begrudgingly orders the weaponsmith to find the rookie.

Centurio prepares himself and exits his quarters where he meets a new member to the team named Latro, Centurio asks who Latro is, to which the weaponsmith explained Latro was sent as a replacement to the other unnamed Void Screamer (who was presumably moved to a different team) by the Paladin. Centurio dryly welcomes Latro to the team and gives him an explanation of their job to monitor their god’s grand nephew, Centurio then tells Latro about Zero and how he could jeopardize the mission and that is why they must find the rookie before Zillius does. Centurio then tells the other two Screamers to get ready as they will leave in five minutes.

In "Unfettered", Centurio sent Latro to start a fire in order to lure out Zillius from his base and allow Centurio alongside the weaponsmith to subdue Zero for his betrayal. The weaponsmith held up Zero while furiously calling the latter a traitor, suddenly Centurio comes up behind the weaponsmith and punches Zero to the ground, somewhat surprising the weaponsmith. Centurio calls Zero a "little maggot" and proceeds to demean him by stating he is a disgrace to his family, Latro later appears carrying the unconscious Zillius before throwing down the latter to the ground. Centurio angrily tells Latro that he was only supposed to subdue and not maim Zillius to near death, Latro attempted to get his word in but Centurio tells him to shut up. Centurio growls in frustration before turning towards Zero and telling the young Screamer he wants to gut him out like a fish as he waves a knife in front of Zero’s face, however the weaponsmith suggests a more benign approach by reporting to the Paladin of this incident and letting the great messenger decide Zero’s fate, to which Centurio begrudgingly agrees. Centurio orders Latro to take the unconscious Zillius back to base after the former asked if they were going to just leave behind the knocked-out grand nephew of Horus.

Back at the base, Centurio is in his quarters before the weaponsmith enters and informs the captain that the Paladin is on his way, the weaponsmith suggests Centurio to await for the messenger’s arrival at the Portal Crossroads due to the weaponsmith believing that the Paladin could be furious after the report that Zillius is now aware of the Void Screamers’ presence. Centurio shrugs it off and comments that the Paladin is an immensely devout being towards their god, to the captain’s logic, the Paladin should not have any temper due to his devotion.

However, Centurio is quickly proven wrong as when he went to the Portal Crossroads to await for the Paladin’s arrival, he was thrown to a wall by the Paladin using his telekinesis. Centurio desperately begs the Paladin to allow him to explain, to which the Paladin sets him down. Centurio explains that Zero has gone rogue and has told Zillius about their plans, Centurio adds that Zero is a heretic and must be punished for his heresy. The Paladin coldly remarks that Centurio is supposed to be responsible for the entire team, and tells the captain that if he had payed more attention towards his team and not order them around, then Zero might have not gone rogue. Centurio tries to defend himself by blaming the Paladin for placing Zero on his team, this angered the Paladin enough for the messenger to threateningly teleport towards Centurio and give him a death glare. Centurio quickly takes back everything he said and apologizes towards the messenger as he looks down in fear, the Paladin continues to glare at him before telling him to watch his tongue next time.

Centurio and the Paladin later went through the portal to the base, Centurio opens a door into a room where they have Zillius tied to a chair. Zillius demanded for Centurio to tell him where he is, to which Centurio replies by stating it doesn’t matter. Zillius struggles against the bounds as Centurio mentions that he is not escaping anytime soon, the Paladin later teleports behind the bounded Zillius and grabs his head to read his mind, the Paladin lets go and remarks to Centurio that Zillius isn’t supposed to fight back against the mind read. The Paladin teleports out of the room as Centurio follows by walking out and closing the door.

After Zillius and Zero escaped the Void Screamers’ base, Latro and the weaponsmith caught up to them in a forest and tried to subdue the escapees, unfortunately they were quickly defeated and killed. However, this gave Centurio and the Paladin enough time to catch up and restrain Zillius with the Paladin’s magic. Zero forced the Paladin to let go of Zillius by pushing aside Centurio and stabbing the Paladin’s leg, as the Paladin knocked Zero away, Zillius quickly gave the latter an ender pearl as they threw it far away, Centurio realized too late as they teleport away just before they came into contact with the captain’s netherite axe.

Centurio angrily growled as he tries to rush deeper into the forest to track the two escapees, however the Paladin tells him to let the two escape as he knows they will eventually return to finish all of this. Centurio is skeptical of Zero returning as the kid would have multiple opportunities to leave right now, however the Paladin assures him that Zero will return with Zillius because Zero would be lost without the latter. The Paladin gives Centurio full permission to kill Zero once they inevitably return, to which Centurio replies by holding out his axe. But before that, the Paladin advises Centurio to bury their deceased brothers and prepare a plan once Zillius and Zero return to finish this.

## Relationships

### Allies

#### The Weaponsmith

While Centurio might not be the most pleasant boss to work for, the weaponsmith doesn’t seem to mind and is more apathetic towards Centurio and his leadership. The weaponsmith’s one job is to manufacture weaponry for the team to use in combat, however he sometimes acts as Centurio’s second in command, being the latter’s advisor and assistant.

The weaponsmith appears to be more calm and less rash compared to Centurio, as it is the weaponsmith who convinced Centurio to spare Zero until the Paladin decides what to do with him. However, the weaponsmith might still be subjugated to Centurio’s constant mistreating of his subordinates, albeit the former doesn’t really care about it and Centurio would rather mistreat Zero due to the weaponsmith being competent in his job.

When the weaponsmith was killed by Zillius, Centurio didn’t really notice nor reacted towards his death, but this is probably because Centurio was more fixated on capturing Zillius. It is safe to say Centurio cared little to none about the weaponsmith and merely saw him as a disposable assistant.

## Trivia

* Centurio is the only Void Screamer to be seen wearing any form of armor, his netherite armor might be a way to show his rank as a military captain of the Void Screamers.
* Centurio is ironically the only Void Screamer to not be seen in combat yet, despite his warrior-styled motif and his captain rank, he has not been shown fighting yet.
* In Centurio’s quarters, he has a grey bed, a hanged head of a zombie, several candles, four dreamcatchers, a wooden table with a globe, a book and a voodoo doll. There is also a chair and a lectern