Caster (Fate/Mythos - Death of Castlevania)

*"I decide who lives and who dies. You could not expect to win."* - Death.

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

## Profile

### Identity

Caster's true identity is Death, the devoted second-in-command of Dracula, the Dark Lord of Castlevania, being his first and foremost follower and often attempts to resurrect him. He is a divine being born out of Chaos in the Realm of Death, which in turn came about from the evil in the hearts of humans. Death is Dracula's right-hand man, thus he usually stays near his master and serves as his last line of defense, standing as the last opponent between him and his enemies –often in the Clock Tower– to challenge them before they confront the Dark Lord. He is also sometimes the first of Dracula's major servants to greet an enemy.

Death sometimes plays an equal or lesser role in Dracula's organization when someone other than he is the driving force behind Dracula's resurrection, such as the Dark Priest Shaft, Dracula's Niece Elizabeth Bartley or the Blood Countess Carmilla. When taking center stage to revive his liege, Death comes up with frighteningly good tactics. He's usually content with going with the flow and altering its course towards the way he wants, but he has on occasions set up complex, multi-layered deceptions riddled with planning for which all foreseeable outcomes benefit him, using unwitting pawns and even at times playing both sides, among others. Two of Death's closest associates includes Slogra and Gaibon, who both directly report to him.

When not working on his next move, he would appear as Zead, a wandering 'priest' that 'deals' with the darkness of the land. As Zead, he would manipulate those who are easily usable and very emotional for his own agenda.

### Personality

Death possesses absolute and undying loyalty toward his master Dracula, always placing his lord above anything else, a loyalty that has earned him his place as Dracula's most trusted servant and a notorious recognition among warriors. While he is technically Dracula's second-in-command, he is rarely (if ever) seen leading his forces, instead preferring to act alone in most cases. Whenever his lord is not present, he begins to immediately start to search for him. In the instances in which Dracula isn't fully revived, Death has proved to be a calculating schemer and manipulator, often using warriors and magic casters to indirectly and unwillingly aid in the resurrection of his lord.

It should be noted that his loyalty toward Dracula may increase with time, as no matter who is against his lord, Death will fight to defend him. This is seen mostly with Alucard, as even being the son of his master did not stop Death from attacking him, albeit he showed some level of consideration by merely stealing his equipment at first, although he did not hesitate to attack him later.

Aside from this, he is also willing to work with his enemies if it means fulfilling his objectives, although it is to be made clear that while willing to work with them, that does not mean he renounces his initial views of them as his enemies. He has also been known to show respect to figures for their courage and skill. Alucard mentioned that Death had desired more the resurrection of Dracula than he desired Dracula himself though it is unknown how true this statement is.

### Relationships

#### His Master

Unlike the other servants, Death holds no loyalty to the one who summoned him and instead using his master as a puppet so he could resurrect his true master, Dracula himself. Still, he will hide his true feelings under a fake image of loyalty until he has no more need for his master. He is however, willing to listen to commands made by his master if they don't go against his existing plans.

### Dracula

Death possesses complete and utter loyalty toward to Dracula ever since the beginning, always placing his master above anything else, a loyalty that has earned him his place as Dracula's most trusted lieutenant and a notorious recognition among both Dracula's allies and enemies. He always plans to find a way to bring back his master, no matter who gets hurt and killed in the process, and will defend him if the master is weakened or is overwhelmed. His devolution to Dracula would even result in Death willingly sacrificing his self to gift Dracula greater power and sometimes to a greater extent new transformations.

Considering that Death aided Dracula centuries before he ever tried to kill humanity, and his opposition to Brauner even as he sought to accomplish what Dracula had failed to do so often, it's likely that Death is not so much devoted to Dracula's goals as he is devoted to Dracula himself. As long as it is in Dracula's best interest, he will abide vampire hunters or even aid time travelers.

### Belmont Clan

As the family that had sworn to always opposes Dracula and his armies of darkness, it is understandable that Death completely despises them, even above his master's other foes. He would willingly and gleefully slay any Belmont he sees in his path. However, he can still show respect to some Belmonts though the reason for why those specific ones is unknown.

### King Hassan

While seemingly holding respect to the original Old Man of the Mountain, his true feelings were soon unveiled. He despises the assassin for being a immortal that doesn't use his powers over the concept of Death more often and for his faith towards God, an entity he hates as well. Death refuses to accept King Hassam's belief over the state of death and his strict code of conduct, saying that a powerful being such as him should be beyond such mortal limitations.

He also bemoans over the fact that such a powerful entity would serve a master weaker than him and has said very clearly that if the assassin wouldn't use the power properly (according to him), he would just take it from him.

## Abilities

Death is a powerful divine being that stands as the greatest dark entity next to Dracula himself. As a reaper, he is never seen without his scythe. Death can also use dark arts to summon the souls of the dead and defeat even the strongest of the living. Being an evil-aligned creature of chaos, Death is very resilient to dark-based attacks, but yields to weapons containing holy properties such as the Vampire Killer.

His attacks and appearances have changed time by time, but in general, he always summons floating sickles out of thin air to hunt down his opponents.

### Notable Skills and Techniques

* **Item Construction** (B+ Rank): As Death is not known for making anything in his home universe excluding items such as the Crimson Stone, Death can only magical items or items infused with the darkness or unholy attribute. It is impossible for him to make anything else.
* **Magic Resistance** (EX Rank): Thanks to his overwhelming power, Death nullify effects of almost every harmful type of human magic.
* **Territory Creation** (A+ Rank): As seen with his battle with Leon Belmont, Death can easily move others into a realm that he created using the Chaotic Realm or simply summoned with his own power.
* **Independent Action** (A+ Rank): As the Grim Reaper, Death holds a high ranked Independent Action Skill, making him essentially free with only the requirement to drain negative energy to stay fully stable.
* **Slogra and Gaibon** (A Rank): This skill allows him to summon the demons Slogra and Gaibon, both of who are his direct subordinates, to do what he commands without question. These demons are especially powerful among their kind, being the death of many warriors and hunters, even having fought off members of the legendary Belmont Clan.
* **Sickle Summons** (A Rank): This skill allows Death to summon many controllable yet homing sickles which cause damage to whoever it hits.
* **True Death** (A+ Rank): This skill allows Death to execute the concept of death upon one target, killing them no matter what. He can only use this technique three times all together and only once a day.

### Other Skills

* **Orb of Gehenna**: Death charges and fires a black orb at his target that freezes them for a while.
	+ **Judgment Strike**: A continued attack of the Orb of Gehenna where he grabs the frozen opponent and hits them onto his scythe, which he pulls through them, followed by a slash.
* **Moving Ability**: This skill allows Death to teleport for a few meters at least though he can use more energy to teleport further.

### Noble Phantasm

#### The Gates of Hell

*Fallen ones! Seize them!
Your fate is sealed. Too late for regrets.
The gates of Hell are open!
Hahahahaha! I'll swallow your soul!!!*

—Death activating his Noble Phantasm.

**The Gates of Hell** is Death's ultimate ability, and only Noble Phantasm, and so one he uses sparely. He summons the fallen souls to literally grab an opponent and hold them in place. Victim sees an illusion of Death in confusion and the illusion disappears further taunting the victim. Death announces that the Gates of Hell are opened. He changes his hook into a blade and stabs his victim before dislodging his head and "swallows" their soul. It is possible due to Death swallowing his victim's soul, the Gates of Hell are through Death's jaws.

## Quotes

* *"The divine ruler of Limbo and dead souls who decides who dies and lives, he is Dracula's first and foremost follower and second-in-command and often attempts to resurrect him or serves as his last line of defense."* - Death's bio, unknown source.
* *"He he heh. Wretched cur, I will slash you to pieces!"* - Death to an unnamed servant.
* *"Do not interfere. Now, I will extinguish the candle of your soul!"* - Death to Juste Belmont.
* *"Foolish humans! They will see. One day, the world will again be shrouded in darkness." - Death.*
* *"It doesn't matter how many times you try, you will never be allowed near the master!"* - Death.
* *"Who is foolish enough to challenge me?"* - Death to an unnamed servant.
* *"When something is dear to you, its effect upon you becomes immeasurable."* - Death.
* *"I am the god who governs death."* - Death.
* *"I decide who lives and who dies. You could not expect to win."* - Death after gaining victory.
* *"Unfortunately for you, as long as my master survives, I will rise from the dead..."* - Death to Leon Belmont.
* *"I go by Zead. I'm here for one purpose only: to purify this land of the pestilent curse which infects it."* - Death to Hector while in the form of Zead.
* *"You have the power of the Angel of Death and yet you refuse to use it for your own purposes! If you aren't going to use such power, then I will just take it from you."* - Death to King Hassan.
* *"You are the inspiration of the legend of the vampire, the reason for why the master took the name of Dracula as his own, and yet you refuse to use that power to slay those who use you. You ignorant fool!"* - Death to Vlad III.
* *"Oh no Gilgamesh, we have met before. Long ago... very long ago. You ran from my visage, seeking immortality to escape my grasp. But you must know that you can't escape **Death**."* - Death to Gilgamesh as Zead before returning back to his true form.
* *"So, the King of Heroes has decided to get in my way once more. You could not best me before and today will be no different. But don't despair, you will be honored as the one whose body and blood shall bring upon the master's revival."* - Death to Gilgamesh.
* *"You may not be our Medusa, you are still someone I could call an ally. Join our side like your counterpart did and together we can punish those who made you like this. Under the master's will, you can have all you wish, like your desire of revenge against the gods."* - Death to Medusa.
	+ *"So you spit upon my offer, so be it. It is a shame you refused my hand but I cannot let such sentiments stand in my way. You shall regret your folly in death."* - Death to Medusa after her refusal.
* *"While not the same as the one I know, that doesn't mean we couldn't be allies. You hold the same contempt towards the Creator God for his inaction and the same love for darkness. I am Death and I believe I could assist you in your revenge against the those beings who took **her** away from you, though of course only if you help me in turn. Shall we be allies, Gilles De Rais?"* - Death to Gilles de Rais.
* *"Ah, another Valkyrie. All your sisters who had faced me have fallen, what chance you think you have to gain victory? But don't worry, you will join your sisters soon enough."* - Death to Ortlinde/Hildr/Thrúd.

### Crossover Quotes

* *"You may not be a Belmont but you still wield a whip. In fact, you remind me of a certain woman that opposed the master once before. Either way, you have a heroic heart and I doubt you will allow me to continue my plans. Therefore, I will kill you now so you don't get in my way."* - Death to Miriam.
* *"It seems like you would be more willing to make an alliance than your gorgon counterpart. We both hold similar enemies and we could take them both out if we work side-by-side. As the mortals put it, you scratch my back and I will scratch yours. How do you say, goddess of darkness... shall we make a deal?"* - Death to Goddess Medusa.
* *"You are not the first angel to face me, nor the first to die by my hands. But don't worry, your precious goddess shall join you soon enough."* - Death to Pit.
* *"So your rage allows you to defy death itself? It will be fun to test that theory to its limit."* - Death to the Doom Slayer.
* *"Bah! You're no Reaper. You're another pale imitation not worth my time."* - Death to Margaret Moonlight or Undertaker.
* *"Let me assure you Nerd, this is no mere game!"* - Death to the Angry Video Game Nerd.
* *"Master? No, you are not him. The master I loyally serve would not lower himself to fighting for humans. You are just a dog."* - Death to Alucard.
* *"I'm hardly impressed with such displays of perversion from a pretender."* - Death to Grell.
* *"A truly remarkable undying soul. Join me and I will reunite you with your dearest mother."* - Death to Jason Voorhees.
* *"You may bear the master's appearance, but you wield none of his power."* - Death to Count Dooku.
* *"Your immortality is as impressive as it is infuriating. One day, your soul will be mine, Olórin."* - Death to Gandalf.
* *"No. For the last time, I am **NOT** your lover! …Nor am I connected to her!"* - Death to Deadpool.
* *"Another traitorous half-breed seeks to oppose the master. Unlike the Master's son, I will not bother to show even a modicum of mercy to you. See your folly in death!"* - Death to Blade.
* *"Spirit of Vengeance? How quaint. Your Hellfire is nothing compared to the power of Death!"* - Death to Ghost Rider.
* *"Your preparations and trickery will only delay the inevitable. No matter how many lives you save, death comes for all. Now come, time that you join your beloved parents."* - Death to Batman.
* *"You?! An Agent of Chaos?! Your repugnant soul should have been purged long ago! Fortunately, I am more than willing to oblige."* - Death to the Joker.
* *"In nearly every timeline, every universe, you always find some way to cheat death."* - Death to Optimus Prime.
* *"You call yourself a Grim Reaper? You're nothing more than an embarrassment that I shall rectify!"* - Death to Lamonte.

## Gallery

*Death with Medusa Heads**Death without his cloak**Death in the form of Zead**Death in an early encounter*
## Trivia

* The fact Death is mostly fought in or near a clock tower may be because the inevitability of death in all living creatures is usually referred to as "a matter of time".
* The human alias of Zead is an anagram of Deaz or THE AD, which is similar the way that many monster encyclopedias call Death.
* Galamoth has his own version of Death ten thousand years in the future, the Time Reaper. Interestingly, the Time Reaper looks like Death himself during his fight with Hector, with even Death himself acknowledging this.

## References

* https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Death\_(disambiguation)
	+ https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Death
	+ https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Zead
	+ https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Death\_(Nintendo\_64)
	+ https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Death/Judgment
	+ https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Seward
	+ https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/The\_Cross\_Eyed\_Creep
* https://www.inverteddungeon.com/index.php?section=bios&page=death
* https://castlevania.neoseeker.com/wiki/Death
* https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Death\_(Castlevania)
* https://vsbattles.fandom.com/wiki/Death\_(Castlevania)