Cervantes de León

> "*I'll silence your incessant mouth forever!*"
> ― Cervantes de León
>
>

**Cervantes de León** is a recurring antagonist in the SoulCalibur series of fighting games.

## Background

Cervantes' father, Philip de Leon, was a privateer sent on a special mission from the Spanish king to loot in the name of Spain. One day, he sailed close to an English ship with intent to loot it, only to find out too late that it was a warship. He was taken by surprise, his ship was destroyed, and he died along with it. Cervantes was devastated. Cervantes grew up full of pride over his father who was a great sailor but became a notorious pirate because of his father's death. He decided that if that was what happened to sailors that swear allegiance to Spain, he would forsake it and become a pirate. One day, he received a message from the "Merchant of Death," Vercci. It was a request to find Soul Edge. At first, Cervantes dismissed the offer but finally accepted since Vercci was the merchant who gave him the artillery for his ship. After a year of searching, Cervantes found information pointing to an antique dealer with a "strange article". There was no specific evidence of that said article being Soul Edge, but Cervantes was a pirate, and he could find some use for the ship's goods even if Soul Edge was not there. Cervantes attacked the ship, and nobody heard from him again for more than twenty years. He obtained Soul Edge from within his efforts and it eventually drove him mad as it had devoured his own soul and caused him to go into a psychotic state of insanity, leading Cervantes to slaughter his own crew under the dark and malevolent power of Soul Edge itself. His insanity made him kill anyone who had come seeking the sword for their own reasons. Li Long was the first to confront him in an attempt to possess Soul Edge but was defeated by him thanks to Soul Edge's own overwhelming power. Realizing that he was not strong enough to defeat Cervantes, Li Long had decided to make an immediate escape, with Cervantes pursuing him in an attempt to kill him and absorb his soul. However, Li Long successfully fled from the scene of the battle. In the end, the combined efforts of Sophitia, Taki, and Siegfried had led to both Cervantes' defeat and supposed death, but as it turns out, this was not the end of Cervantes.

## Stats

**Attack Potency: Small Country Level**  (He was able to kill Algol, who caused a massive supercell storm.) | **Unknown**

**Speed: Supersonic+** (Can keep up with Ivy Valentine, who was able to react to bullets from his gun.), **Massively Hypersonic** attack speed via summoning natural lightning. | **Unknown**

**Durability: Small Country Level** (Often contends with the verse's strongest characters, like Inferno, Algol, or Siegfried.) | **Unknown**

**Hax:**Manipulation of the Undead, Telekinesis, Soul Manipulation and absorption (with Soul Edge), Weather Manipulation (With Soul Edge), BFR (With the complete Soul Edge), Resistance to Corruption (Survived Soul Edge's corruption for decades).

**Intelligence: High** (Knows many complex combat techniques, very dedicated to his fighting style.)

**Stamina:** **High** (Survived Soul Edge's corruption for decades)

## Powers, Techniques, and Equipment

### Powers

* **Fighting Style:** Cervantes' fighting style focuses on the usage of a large sword and a gunblade. Based on the Filipino martial art known as Arnis. This martial art makes use of weaponized sticks (replaced with swords in this case) to target the weaker parts of the opponent's body. Cervantes often gives a higher emphasis on rushdown tactics, but he can create mixups with his gun. When it comes to unarmed combat, he focuses more on kicks.
* **Telekinesis:** Cervantes has the ability to lift people and items with his mind. In combat, he tends to use it to perform spinning long-range attacks with his sword.
* **Fire Manipulation:** Cervantes can imbue the ammunition of his gun with fire energy to boost the damage he deals with it. Can also be done to empower his blades.
* **Electricity Manipulation:** Cervantes can imbue his swords with electric energy to boost the amount of damage they deal.
* **Teleportation:** Cervantes can teleport short distances.
* **Manipulation of the Undead:** Cervantes is able to summon ghosts that can possess dead bodies. These zombies will obey Cervantes' orders and fight for him.

### Techniques

* **Tartarus Griet:** Cervantes' Critical Finish. 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.
* **Cursed Roman Fire:** Cervantes' Critical Edge. Charges Cervantes' pistol with fire and shoots a potent blast.

### Equipment

* **Acheron:** The sword that Cervantes uses when he's not in possession of Soul Edge. A broadsword that he wields with his right hand.
* **Nirvana:** A pistol sword that Cervantes typically uses, even in combination with Soul Edge. Serves the normal functions of a short sword. It has a gun hidden in its hilt, which Cervantes can fire at any time.
* **Soul Edge:** One of the most powerful and sought out weapons in the world. Cervantes has wielded this sword many times, and at one point, it was even a part of his body. Cervantes typically wields an incomplete version of it, but it can still absorb souls and manipulate weather. Cervantes' complete version of Soul Edge merges with Nirvana. The complete version heals Cervantes with every attack that connects. It can also create dimensional rifts. However, it constantly corrupts him further and drains him of his health.

## Key

**Original Timeline | New Timeline**

SoulCalibur VI serves as a soft-reboot, so it is likely that it'll affect the characters' power and speed ratings.

## Minor Feats

### Attack Potency/Strength

* Using Soul Edge, created a thunderstorm very casually.
* Casually lifts heavy foes like a fully armored Astaroth or Nightmare.
* Casually sliced through metallic bars.
* Slaughtered a crew of pirates.
* Killed Algol.
* Defeated Tira.
* Defeated Taki.
* Defeated Zasalamel.
* Defeated Siegfried and Abyss.
* Superior to Yoshimitsu, who was able to grind Soul Edge to dust.
* Comparable, if not superior to Xianghua, who was able to part clouds.
* Due to being another wielder of Soul Edge, can be found comparable to Nightmare.
* Defeated Inferno before obtaining Soul Edge.

### Speed/Reactions

* Comparable to Mitsurugi, who is able to dodge bullets fired from a Tanegashima rifle.
* Reacted to an oncoming gear that was about to crush him.
* Reacted to an unexpected cage that was going to trap him.
* Blocked a scythe thrown at him by Abyss.

### Durability/Endurance

* Often endures many stab wounds and impalement during battles.
* Has survived the corruption caused by Soul Edge for decades.
* Before obtaining Soul Edge, took hits from Inferno.
* Has traded blows with many members of the SC cast.
* Has taken hits from high tiers like Siegfried, Algol, and Abyss.

### Skill/Intelligence

* Fought Ivy to a standstill.
* Obtained Soul Edge multiple times.
* His dreadful actions became a myth, even in the worlds beyond his.
* It took the combined might of Taki, Sophitia, and Siegfried to defeat him, and even then, it was not enough to keep him in the grave for good.
* Escaped from a dimensional rift created by Soul Edge.

## Powerscaling

Cervantes ranks fairly high in the cast of SoulCalibur, having fought numerous high tiers like Siegfried, Abyss, and Algol, the latter of which he managed to kill in his SCIV ending.

## Weaknesses

* The complete Soul Edge constantly drains him of his health.
* A few of his attacks can leave him open if they miss.