Assassin (Fate/Crossover - Raphael Sorel)

**Assassin** (アサシン, *Asashin*) is the servant of ??? in the ??? Holy Grail War.

*"Do not delude yourself, thou wretched fool!"* — Raphael

For the Saber version; here's the link to Raphael Sorel (Saber)

## Profile

### Identity

Assassin's true identity is **Raphael Sorel**, a french nobleman that is well known for his fencing style of swordsmanship and his mocking, contemptuous persona.

Born to France’s aristocratic Sorel family, Raphael was taught the ways of the upper classes from a young age. When he was older he learned medical practices, and was rigorously trained in the art of swordsmanship. He used his knowledge and talent with the rapier to keep his family on top during the political wars that were common in those times. His cold nature, though, gained him many enemies. When the political balance shifted during the Evil Seed event, his Family handed him over to the enemy to save themselves. Raphael escaped to the slums where he was saved by a young girl by the name of Amy. He had never known charity, so her actions touched his heart deeply, and from that moment he dedicated his life to hers. For a while he acted as a doctor to those in the slums until he confronted those who were bullying Amy for protection money (also those who hurt her leg). Then deciding that Amy needed a safer place to live and wanting to repay her with a better future, he left with her to take refuge in Spain.

Despite fleeing with Amy across the border to Spain, Raphael ended up returning to southern France. Hiding his name, he served at the household of the wealthy Lord Dumas. Then, after gaining the rich man’s trust, he poisoned him, claiming his fortune and home for himself. While investigating the Evil Seed phenomenon that had changed his life, he came across some documents written by a person referring to themselves as “a scholar of the future.” The writings contained information on Soul Edge, which caught Raphael’s attention. Maybe if he could get his hands on that sword, he could use it on the warring politicians and aristocrats who had taken his previous life from him. Perhaps they would fight over the powerful sword, and ultimately fall victim to it. Raphael’s smile became tinged with madness. With Soul Edge, he could end the conflict, and build a new world for Amy.

In his quest for Soul Edge, Raphael faced off against Nightmare in the land of Ostrheinsburg. However, Nightmare won the battle. His body weakened, his breath haggard, and his consciousness fading, he looked up to see the giant, ghastly sword wielded by the embodiment of a nightmare. He muttered Amy's name; for an instant, an emotion that was neither anger nor pride flared up inside him, and he overcame his pain and forced his body to move. The desperate strike he unleashed hit its mark, piercing the center of Soul Edge. That was all he remembered. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was the sight of his opponent writhing in pain.

He should have been dead. Yet, for some reason, the Azure Knight had left without delivering the final blow. Raphael dragged his grievously wounded body back to his mansion. He spent several days on the brink of death, but he eventually recovered. At this time, however, he did not notice the evil energy radiating from the wounds he had received from Soul Edge—energy that was now eating into his body. The phenomenon of malfestation—he had come across this terminology during his research into the cursed sword. By the time that word flashed through his mind, it was already too late. The symptoms even spread to Amy, who had nursed him back to health. Likely she had been infected when she came into contact with his blood...

Raphael escaped with Amy to Wallachia, a distant land in Romania, where they took shelter in a castle ruin that stood in the mountains. Amy had been transformed into a being that could not interact with the normal world. Raphael decided that he would change the world for her. His plan, woven from threads of madness, proceeded slowly but surely, infecting nearby lands with evil energy. But one day, an incident occurred in which some people who had been transformed to evil returned to normal by the power of a Holy Stone. Threatened by this object, Raphael decided to go on a journey to discover the true nature of the "Holy Stone" and obliterate it from this world. Just as he made his decision, an army appeared at the base of the castle. They had noticed the abnormality of the area and come to attack its source. Raphael bid farewell to his beloved Amy and descended below to the world that refused to accept them.

To Raphael, Amy was everything. He even schemed to turn the whole world evil—to "malfest" it—for the sole purpose of creating a world Amy could call home. But the Holy Stone caused his plans to unravel by bringing some of the townspeople he had transformed back to their senses. That meant a power even greater than the evil sword must exist. He needed another way to accomplish his goals, and so he vanished into the darkness to find it. After extracting some useful information from the creatures of the dark, he arrived at an answer: he must find a tribe that called themselves the "guardians of the spirit sword." Though themselves lost in the darkness of history, they had continued to pass down their lore: the story of Soul Calibur, the one weapon that could stand against the cursed sword Soul Edge.

This was the answer he had been seeking! Raphael looked heavenward, up at the night sky. Countless lights darted across his vision, and he followed them until they vanished over Ostrheinsburg, where he had once confronted Soul Edge. The series of lights were proof that the cursed sword was reviving. If Soul Calibur was once again fated to stop it, then it would inevitably appear there, at the castle. Raphael now waits for Soul Calibur to appear so he can obtain her for himself and create the ideal world for himself and his beloved daughter.

Afther these events, there are reports that claimed that Raphael died after the events of Soul Calibur IV and that his body was used to make the reincarnation of the Azure Knight Nightmare, but Soul Edge had to rewrite some of Raphael's memories due to his strong willpower. Nightmare as Graf Dumas had some of Raphael's personality and his cunning strategies, which causes Nightmare to try to take over the world rather than destroy everything on sight. To this end he uses an army of Malfested and exploits politics to his advantages. It's unknown how Raphael appears in the story but it implied that after he was freed from Soul Edge's influence he regained his body and discarded the Azure Knight armor to look for Amy.

He awoke with a start to find himself in a dark dungeon cell, thick with grime and the stench of death. He had no memory of how he had gotten there, but that wasn't important—he had to find Amy. When Raphael burst out of the prison, everything outside looked different than he remembered...but no matter. This world was but a fleeting dream, destined to be transformed into a new and better place—a world twisted to the needs of he and his beloved.

### Appearance

Raphael appears as a fairly young man of French noble descent, he used to have blue eyes and shoulder length blonde hair.

After the influence of Soul Edge had changed his body to resemble something of a vampire, featuring paler skin and red coloured eyes, part of his hair swept up with another styled in a fringe that covers half his face, and a slightly more muscular build. He then wore a green jacket with a collared cape, both which feature red inner workings and gold lining with an armor plate beneath.

In Soulcalibur IV, he wore a mostly black ensemble featuring a two-tailed high-collared coat with gold lining and an elaborate white frill decorating with a bat emblem on it, making him resemble Castlevania's Alucard. His eyes remained red.

As of Soulcalibur V, it appears he has not aged at all. The outfit he is wearing has a very similar silhouette to his Soulcalibur II costume with the addition of a black widebrimmed hat. He also wears his bat ornaments upside down.

### Personality

Having been raised in the upper classes of French nobility, Raphael is aware of the deadly game needed to survive. Cunning, intelligent, and ruthless, Raphael looks down upon most others as beneath him, simply pawns for him to use and then discard in order to further his goals.

The exception to this is Amy, the one person who ever showed him a moment of kindness. He is utterly devoted to her and decides on creating a world in which she can be happy regardless of the casualties his actions might cause. If it weren’t for Amy, Raphael would have been turned into a mindless Malfested.

### Relationships

#### **Amy Sorel**

He is the foster father of Amy. Who has shown him kindess ever since he was betrayed, and has been devoted to her ever since.

#### **Azwel**

He was manipulated by Azwel into searching for Soul Edge, with the risk of him becoming a malfested.

#### **Viola**

For some reason, Raphael does not enjoy Viola's presence. That is due to the fact that they are related to each other, but it is not known to them.

#### **Nightmare**

Defeated by Nightmare in Soulcalibur II. He has dueled with the Azure Knight in order to obtain Soul Edge, though this unintentionally freed Siegfried Siegfried from Soul Edge's control during the fight,

#### **Cassandra Alexandra**

Him and Cassandra had become enemies, ever since he stole Cassandra's Soul Edge shard in the events prior to Soulcalibur IV.

#### **Kilik**

Raphael's plans of world domination were interfered by Kilik with the help of the Holy Stone.

#### **Voldo**

He has comes into conflict with Voldo in Soulcalibur V. There is actual dialogue in the series to support this.

## Abilities

Raphael’s only connection to the family he turned his back on is his sword, Flambert. This priceless heirloom has been wielded by the Sorel patriarch for most of the family’s history, and symbolizes their pride and prosperity. Unfortunately, this connection was broken when Raphael absconded with the blade, and soon after, the once celebrated Sorel name disappeared from the annals of French history.

Despite its effectiveness as both piercing and slicing blade and its abilities on both offense and defense, the blade is remarkable difficult to master. Only those with strength, speed, skill, and intense concentration needed to wield it in the heat of battle will be able to see this weapon’s true potential.

For Raphael, who has trained with the sword from a young age, it is an obedient companion who helps him acquire whatever it is he desires.

### Noble Phantasm

#### **Pale Moon Dust; "Feast of the Dark Lord""**

He knocks his opponents back with a hit, stabs his sword into the ground, and attacks the opponent by biting their neck, reinforcing the idea that Soul Edge has turned him into a vampire. However, what he says varies depending on who he uses it on. Using it on someone other than Amy, he says (before he bites them), "On your knees! I shall make you one of my minions!" He then bites them on the neck, crouching over them while they scream. After vampirizing his opponent, he gets up, wipes his mouth. The bite can be either fatal, ending his victim's life, or he could use this to infect them with vampirism and manipulate them into being his servant.

This Noble Phantasm also changes depending on whether the opponent is male or female, similar to his grab for example. If the former, Raphael doesn't bite their necks but places his hand on their abdomen area and drains a moderate amount of health from them, if it's the latter however, Raphael will bite them on the neck instead.

### Gallery

#### Fate/Crossover

1st Ascension2nd Ascension3rd AscensionFinal Ascension
## References

https://soulcalibur.fandom.com/wiki/Raphael/Original\_Timeline

https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Raphael\_Sorel

https://vsbattles.fandom.com/wiki/Raphael\_Sorel