Caster (Fate/Crossover - Azwel)

**Caster** (キャスター, *Kyasutā*) is the servant of ??? in the ??? Holy Grail War.

"*What a thrill to see a human on the brink of death abandon their sense of reason for despair or hope! It is like the sweetest nectar to me! I could never grow tired of the human race!*" — Azwel

## Profile

### Identity

Caster's true identity is **Azwel**, Self-proclaimed "Studier of the Human Race," Azwel's love for mankind bordered on the fanatical. Blessed with an almost unwordly intelligence, he was a scholar in numerous fields, inclunding history, medecine, war and art. His research into human history in particular led him to conclude that people would eventually destroy themselves through war or some other catastrophe. In response, he decided to become the savior of humanity. As a member of the Aval Organization, he conducted research at a lightning pace, and concluded that by causing the powerful Evil Seed, humanity would be taken to its next level. Azwel's was such that it might soon rival even that of the gods themselves.

Azwel's research at the Aval Organization had not been for nothing. He had concluded he was unable to obtain enough information about the cursed and spirit sword by himself—at the same time, however, he is also felt restricted in his movements within the organization. So when he became a member of the Twelve, he recruited crazed followers who would help. His actions, though, raised the suspicions of the organization. With his theories about the Ultimate Seed already formed, he was ready to take his plan to the next stage: by getting his hands on a fragment of both the spirit sword and the cursed sword, he could use their power to bring forth the Ultimate Seed. The day humanity would be saved was nigh! Just thinking about it filled Azwel with ecstasy...

### Personality

Azwel is a cunning and charismatic genius who possesses mannerisms of a playwright with a messiah complex who advocates his love for humanity. Underneath it all, however, Azwel comes off as irredeemably cruel, self-aggrandizing, spiteful, and sociopathic sadist. His warped idea of "love" for humans is merely for his own self-gratification and can be likened to that of psychological abuse and emotional manipulation he inflicts to his victims, especially through his experiments. He also made no hesitation in remorselessly murdering any high-ranking members of the Aval Organization when they became suspicious of his schemes, including Grøh's master,
Orzal.

## Abilities

This style grants the unique ability to produce dual swords, a giant axe, and a spear-and-shield combination out of thin air. Not technically a fighting style per se, the combat techniques used here are a product of Azwel's "martial philosophy and theory," and the weapons crafted from a special device he made in his pursuit of "saving" the human race.

Beyond simple slashes and strikes, this style boasts a host of unorthodox techniques-weapons are turned into projectiles, and blades are even manipulated mid-air to fall upon a surprised opponent in one deadly rush.

Because an opponent has no idea what they will have a tough time anticipating just what sort of attack will come at them next. On the other hand, it requires intense concentration to create and maintain weapons, making it hard for a wielder to move their physical body while controlling them.

Once a weapon has been produced, it can be reproduced more quickly (the weapon "modes" referenced in the move list), adding a layer of depth that must be considered when forming a long-term strategy. Azwel also has certain moves that put him in an "Almighty" state in which all attacks are executed with maximum speed; normally this only lasts for a limited time, but Soul Charge puts Azwel in Almighty Mode for its entire duration.

Understanding this is the key to unlocking a whole world of potential.

Azwel uses vastly different fighting techniques than an average fighter.

He has studied the cursed and spirit swords deeply—particularly their power—and realized that they operate in a similar way to waves. (The concept of waves and their ability to cancel each other out had been known for some time by this point.) While part of the Aval Organization, Azwel formulated the theory that the sword's waves could be manipulated. This revelation would help lead him to his final aim: creating the Ultimate Seed. Through his research, Azwel also discovered that within each sword lies the memories of past battles, stores as a sort of data (which he calls "martial philosophy and theory") can be induced as a form of reaction, then retrieved and used to replicate actual fighting moves. According to Azwel, the fragments are a condensed mass of information, somewhat like a dictionary.

Azwel's fighting style involves him creating a weapon and style appropriate to the situation he's in by drawing on the martial philosophy and theory contained within the swords fragments. When Azwel began planning to leave the Aval Organization, he knew his lack of fighting ability was a fatal weakness. However, once his research into the cursed and spirit swords was complete and he could harness their powers, that was no longer a concern. All he had left to do was put his plan into motion...

### Noble Phantasm

#### **Palindrome**

The right gauntlet-like device is fitted with a fragment of the cursed sword; the left, a fragment of the spirit sword. Mechanisms send carefully tuned waves to the fragments, and data (martial philosophy and pratical theory) retrieved from them—formulated from memories of past battles—are translated into physical movements. In addition to simply replicating combat techniques, the device can also be used to manifest weaponery out of thin air. However, in the early stages of its development, the weapons took too long to fully form, and so the device was unsuited to pratical use. With a few improvements though, Azwel is now able to produce dual swords, a giant axe, and a spear and shield quickly enough to use them in combat. Even in its current state, creating new weapons can be a slow process, but if Azwel can effectively link together data for mutiple combat forms, he can produce diffrent weapons with great speed.

A palindrome is a word that reads the sames both forwards or backwards. While Azwel's reasons for naming his device this are unclear, it may have something to do with his succes in tapping into the power of the cursed and spirit sword fragments, and manifesting their data as text. With this information, perhaps he noticed the similarities beetween the two swords, despite their antithetical existence. Thus, the name "Palindrome" hints that he understands something of the fundamental of the swords.

#### **From Science, With Love**

An extremely quick upward sword slash while in dual swords or Almighty mode. He then guides his two swords as they continuously slash at the airborne opponent before summoning numerous red and blue energy blades that converge on them and explode violently.

#### **I Shall Save Humanity!**

Only available in Soul Charge. Azwel generates a burst of energy that launches them in the air, then proceeds to pull a projection of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur from his body and spins them around the opponent in a swirling vortex of energy before smashing them together, causing a massive eruption of energy.

## References

https://soulcalibur.fandom.com/wiki/Azwel

https://vsbattles.fandom.com/wiki/Azwel