Sturdy Saint

### Abilities

Strengthens the user, both physically and magically, upon receiving the opponent's attacks.

## Possessors

### Formerly

**Saints & Martyrs*** {Margaret Clitherow}
* {Saint Stephen}

**Sturdy Saint**, also known as the **Saint's Trials**, is the Sacred Gear wielded by Nero Raimondi of Uriel's Deck.

## Summary

Sturdy Saint is among the numerous Sacred Gears created by the Biblical God in the Great War before his death under the hands of the Four Great Satans. It is considered to be among the strongest Counter-Based Sacred Gears with the potential of evolving into a Neo-Longinus.

According to Azazel, it got its epithet, Saint's Trials, due to the amount of its former wielders being martyrs and/or being canonized by the Vatican. He estimated that it has been in the possession of *at least* 6 saints that he knows of, two of which revealed to be Saint Stephen who was stoned to death and Margaret Clitherow who died by crushing.

## Appearance

Sturdy Saint doesn't have a physical form and appears as a silver-blue aura surrounding the user's body upon activation. Skilled users are said to be capable of hiding away their aura when activated, allowing them to stealthily increase their power without the opponents' notice.

## Abilities

Sturdy Saint strengthens the user by enveloping the user in an aura which allows them to absorb the energy of their opponent's attacks, regardless if it is physical, magical, or even spiritual. The absorbed energy then could be absorbed by the user, giving them a temporary boost in their physical and magical capabilities, or be released into the world under the form of blasts of magical energy.

Unlike many Counter-Based Sacred Gears, it is known for its ability to stack many power boosts on top of each other for maximum effectiveness, which will gradually fade away post-deactivation instead of instantly disappearing like other Sacred Gears. While the limits of how many boosts a user can stack is unclear, Azazel speculated that with the right spells and enhancements, the user can possibly stack an infinite number of power boosts on top of each other, granting them God-class power.

## Forms

### Sturdy Saint Withstand

**Sturdy Saint Withstand** (聖者の試練に次ぐ試練スターディ・セイント・ウィズスタンド, *Sutādi Seinto U~izusutando*), also known as **Saint's Trial and Next Trial**, is Nero Raimondi's Cress-Side Balance Breaker. It creates a giant automaton-like battle suit around him which he can control as easily as he does with his own limbs, and is equipped with many technologically advanced weaponry, such as laser cannons or missile launchers.

His strength and defense in this form is also significantly enhanced to the point where he could withstand the attacks of a temporarily revived Ddraig, who is considered to be one of the strongest dragons to ever hold the title of Heavenly Dragon.

## Trivia

* It is among the Top. 5 most powerful Defensive/Counter-Based Sacred Gears.
* Many users also practice touki to better control their Sacred Gear's powers.
* Due to its power, most users prefer to fight hand-to-hand combat rather than with weapons.
* Both of its known former wielders, Saint Stephen and Margaret Clitherow, died because they were unwilling to activate their Sacred Gear.