Aegis Mineralization

### Abilities

Fires a beam that petrifies anything hit by it, regardless if it is a living being or an inanimate object.

## Known Possessors

### Currently

Boutros al-Baghdadi

**Aegis Mineralization**, also called **Order of Dead from the Snake Queen**, is a Sacred Gear with the power to fire an energy beam that petrifies anyone or anything hit by it.

## Summary

Aegis Mineralization is among the numerous Sacred Gears created by the Biblical God before his death under the hands of the Four Great Satans in the Great War. It is considered to be a rare and powerful Sacred Gear that only appears once every several centuries.

It is a common belief that it was created by the Biblical God based on the legendary *aegis* from Greek mythology, a divine shield owned by the pagan goddess Athena which has the decapitated head of the fearsome gorgon Medusa attached on. However, when asked about this, the Olympian gods neither confirm nor deny it, implying that the circumstances behind it are much more complicated.

However, based on several historical records found within the ruins of the Parthenon and the Library of Alexandria, the opposite is suggested - The mythological *aegis* was created based on the Sacred Gear. Despite this, due to the popularity of the previous theory, many still choose to believe it instead despite the historical inaccuracies.

## Appearance

Aegis Mineralization takes the form of an ornate ancient Greek shield decorated with three golden rings - The outer ring engraved with scenes of monsters, the middle ring engraved with scenes of war and combat, and the inner ring engraved with scenes with love-making.

Imprinted on the shield is the head of a gorgon, with squirming poisonous snakes for hair, lolling tongue between ivory tusks, and crazed onyx eyes filled with death and bloodlust.

## Abilities

Aegis Mineralization possesses the power to shoot out a beam of magical energy that will instantly petrify anything touched by it, regardless if it is a living organism or an inanimate object or even a magical attack. Depending on the user's own will, the range and effectiveness of the beam can be manipulated and changed, from widening or shrinking or even turning it invisible to the humans' eye. According to Azazel, a former user was even skilled enough to petrify their targets' organs without affecting the body, thus turning them into stone statues in human skin.

Despite popular belief, there isn't a maximum limit on how many targets that the user can petrify, thus allowing them to petrify a virtually infinite number of people and objects. In addition, the living targets do not have to directly look into the gorgon's eye in order to be petrified, as the only requirement for petrification is being hit in any part of their body, even if said "part" is their hair or clothes.

There are two main ways that the user can manipulate their petrified targets:

* If the petrified targets were originally inanimate objects, the user can then telekinetically manipulate them from afar, turning them - or pieces of them, depending on the user's fighting style - into long-ranged weapons, which they can repair if broken or even reinforce them with magic if it's necessary.
* If the petrified targets were originally living organisms, the user can then telepathically manipulate them, turning them into what practically stone golems with an unwavering loyalty and an subservient demeanor toward the user and the user alone, as they won't show any emotion or recollection of anyone else but the user, friends and foes alike.

If the petrified targets are damaged or shattered, the user can use some of their life-force to repair them into their original state, though they can only do this for a maximum of three times before the victim becomes impossible to repair. The user can also transform their victims back into their original state, though this is only possible if it's done within 72 hours since the petrification and required a blood ritual.

In addition to its petrification powers, it can also be used as a regular shield, defending the user during close-quarter combat. Despite its appearance, it is surprisingly light-weight and is made from a material reminiscent of *adamas*, which can absorb magical attacks before releasing it back as powerful blasts of energy capable of knocking down even the strongest of opponents.

The squirming snakes featured on the gorgon's head have also shown to be a dangerous feature, as the seemingly metallic snakes can become animated and attack opponents who reach too close and would inject venom straight into their body, the cure of which can be collected from the gorgon's tusk. In addition, the snakes can also be removed by the user and be used as scouts by sharing their visions with them or to have them slither underground before rising up and attacking their opponents in surprise.

## Limitations

The only known limitation that the Aegis Mineralization has, other than the large amount of magical energy it required, is the mental strain it puts its user under. According to Boutros, when he first awoke the Sacred Gear and began to practice it, he required frequent treatment and medicine for his headaches, though the headaches later lessened as he became more skilled at using it and only reappear when he pushes himself too far during battle or training.

## Forms

### Caput-Medusae and Mineralization Knight

**Caput-Medusae and Mineralization Knight**, also called **Death Dance by the Prowling Snake Queen and Snake Knight**, is Aegis Mineralization's original Balance Breaker. When activated, the gorgon's head detaches from the shield, becomes gigantic and floats mid-air, and charges a beam from its eyes that turns anyone but the user within a kilometer-radius into stone, regardless if they are friends or foes.

### Perses Eurymedon

**Perses Eurymedon**, also called **King of Snakes and Court of Holy Serpents**, is Boutros al-Baghdadi's Abyss Side Balance Breaker. It creates a Scale Mail around Boutros' body created from Celestial Bronze in the shape of a giant feathered serpent with emerald scales and two large wings behind his back. His hair becomes longer and transforms into giant snakes at the end, and his eyes become Medusa's Eyes, which allow him to petrify anything within his field of vision that he doesn't consider an ally.

The petrified people also become mutated when under this form, as they become animated versions of Boutros' Scale Mail, though theirs are made of stone and they carry weapons made out of enchanted bronze, which can instantly transform anyone and/or anything injured by them into stone. Issei estimated that Boutros' strength in this form is roughly God-class in terms of power while his petrified soldiers range from High-class to Ultimate-class in terms of power.

## Trivia

* It is categorized as a State Change Sacred Gear.
	+ Because of its defensive abilities, some categorized as Defensive/Counter-Based.
* In Greek mythology, **aegis** (αἰγίς), is the divine shield of Zeus and Athena. It is also the shield that Perseus used to behead the gorgon, Medusa. Her head was then embedded onto the shield, giving it the gorgon's ability
* "Caput-Medusae" means "Medusa' Head" in Latin.
* Boutros' "Perses Eurymedon" is named after one of his ancestor Perseus' other names.
	+ "Perses" (Πέρσης) means "to ravage, to destroy" while "Eurymedon" (Εὐρυμέδοντα) means "ruling far and wide". When combined together, the name roughly means "The destroyer who rules far and wide".