Archer (Fate/Crossover - Cervantes de León)

**Archer** (アーチャー, *Āchā*) is the servant of ??? in the ??? Holy Grail War.

*"Fear the name of the dread Captain Cervantes!"* — Cervantes de León

## Profile

### Identity

Archer's true identity is **Cervantes de Leon**, a privateer who was sent on a mission by the King of Spain to loot in the name of Spain. Following a disastrous attack on an English warship that killed Philip, Cervantes forsook his allegiance to his king and became a pirate. Receiving an order from a wealthy merchant to find the cursed sword Soul Edge, Cervantes voyaged through the sea and eventually found the sword in the possession of an English dealer. However, the sword gradually corrupted him until his soul was devoured by it. Having murdered all of his crew, Cervantes boarded his ghost ship on a reign of terror for twenty years until he was defeated and killed by the combined efforts of Greek warrior Sophitia and Japanese ninja Taki.

However, Cervantes was accidentally resurrected without his memory by Nightmare because of the Soul Edge fragments lodged in his body. For the next three years, he decided to search for the cursed sword despite knowing that it had robbed him of his free will while slowly recovering his memories. Upon the shattering of Soul Edge, Cervantes began his quest on collecting the fragments of the cursed sword for four years which melded to form a weapon for him, attacking other ships that came close to his sea. When the presence of Soul Edge's other half vanished, Cervantes's body began to weaken as the fragments that sustained him crumbled. He was informed by a servant of Soul Edge, Tira, that a powerful entity was the one responsible, so Cervantes sought to defeat the entity and preserve his life. Eventually, Soul Edge summoned all pieces of itself back to it. Cervantes followed its trail, intending to wield the sword once it completed itself. Along the way, he devoured the soul of his illegitimate daughter, Ivy, but after the latter had survived thanks to her artificial soul, Ivy retaliated and defeated Cervantes, releasing all souls he had consumed, including hers. His body beaten and his mind shattered, Cervantes was swallowed by a dimensional rift opened by Soul Edge.

Seventeen years later, during the wake of the 17th century, people reported the presence of Cervantes' ship, voyaging through the sea; Cervantes had been released from the rift, now free from Soul Edge's control and at his height of power.

### Appearance

Cervantes was designed to be something of a ghost pirate. Starting with Soul Edge, Cervantes had peach skin, long white hair with a violet tint and blue eyes and sported a full mustache. His attire consisted of a traditional pirate captain's uniform. When under the influence of Soul Edge, his skin gained an unnatural purple tint and his eyes turned yellow with the scelera turning black. He retained this appearance with very minute modifications into Soulcalibur. After returning from the dead as a specter, his skin even paler than before and his eyes purely white, although his mustache has grown past his cheeks and reaching his hairline. His attire had also changed to feature lighter colors and armor with the additions of gauntlets and greaves and wore a new jacket loosely on his back.

### Personality

Cervantes is a callous, evil man whose only goal in life is to satisfy his own ego. Before Soul Edge's corruption, he took all sorts of illegal jobs as a pirate, and he made a name for himself across the seven seas. Upon coming into contact with Soul Edge, however, Cervantes' own soul was stolen, and he became little more than a slave to Soul Edge's will, driven insane by its power.

After being resurrected by Nightmare, Cervantes begins to seek Soul Edge once more, having become addicted to the power it grants him. He does not care whether it takes away his free will, so long as he can steal more souls.

When Cervantes regains Soul Edge, his very life becomes linked to the sword's - if he does not maintain its desire for souls, or if it is destroyed, Cervantes will die with it. As such, Cervantes desperately seeks souls to sustain his existence. He eventually comes into contact with Ivy, his illegitimate daughter, and desires her soul to keep him alive.

In the fifth game, he returns to his old personality, having finally broken free of Soul Edge's control. Judging by his quotes, it is safe to assume that Cervantes believes that because he defeated Soul Edge's influence, he has transcended the power of gods and supernatural forces, deciding to no longer rely on them in his quest for power and glory.

### Relationships

#### **Ivy Valentine**

Father of Caster, who had wished to defeat him. She was successful and managed to destroyed him by before the events of Soulcalibur V.

#### **Taki**/**Sophitia Alexandra**

Cervantes had been defeated by both Saber and Assassin in Soul Edge and before Soulcalibur VI.

#### **Nightmare**

Seeks to reclaim Berserker's Soul Edge for himself.

#### **Tira**

Cervantes had met Assassin durings some time before the events of Soulcalibur III. She had urged him to find Soul Edge and destroy Soul Calibur.

#### **Yoshimitsu**

He had fatally wounded Rider before the events of Soulcalibur V, right before the descendent of Rider takes his place.

## Abilities

The fighting style features a weighty longsword paired with a dagger/gun combination, and requires superhuman strength and skill to wield effectively. A forceful strike can turn the tide of battle in one fell swoop, while combos that utilize both weapons leave no openings for an enemy to exploit. The gun can be used to hit an opponent from a distance, blindingly fast leaps can close the gap and impale them, and inhumanity high jumps can be used to come at them from above. With such a wide range of moves, what is a challenger to do?

This style even utilizes wall to further broaden its rage of attacks, climbing and kicking off of them to launch fierce combinations. Anyone bombarded by this style's many fearsome techniques will soon find themselves consigned to Davy Jones' Locker.

Acheron has been the pirate Cervantes’ sword since he plundered it from its hapless former owner, sometime during his reign of dread over the Atlantic Ocean.

Nirvana is a dagger whose hilt houses a pistol. While pistols of the time were still relatively unimpressive, shooting an opponent could open up a gap in their defense, allowing for a fierce follow-up blow. The gun dagger was a gift from the Italian weapons dealer Vercci, and symbolizes the twisted connection between the feared pirate and the Merchant of Death.

With his mastery of such weaponry, Cervantes is an almost unparalleled warrior. And yet he craves greater strength... But that should come as no surprise, because he knows first-hand how it feels to wield the forbidden power of the cursed sword.

When Cervantes first gripped Soul Edge, the power of the cursed sword transformed him into a monster. Even now, the sword’s bloody memories flicker through his mind, and he can tap into them to help him control the vast energies within him. His brutal attacks with his two blades leave little room for his opponent to counter, and should they be knocked off-balance, he will strike like a viper with supernatural strength. This merciless fighting style was developed during his time under the sway of the cursed sword, where he pillaged and slaughtered without prejudice.

After his resurrection, he further improved his skills, and now Cervantes walks grinning through a sea of corpses, claiming countless souls wherever he goes. His final aim is clear: to once again seize Soul Edge as his own.

### Noble Phantasm

#### **Tartarus Griet: "Fire from the Dark Depthes"**

Cervantes slams the opponent to the ground, throws them into the air with his swords, and then teleports above them to fire a soul-charged bullet, which sends them hurtling down to earth.

#### **Casa de Leviathan: "Bite of the Storm Blade"**

Cervantes elbows his opponent. If the elbow connects, he kicks the opponent then shoots the knees of his target before he slashes them up in the air. Teleporting above them, he drills them to the ground. The move does 19 hits.

## References

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

https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Cervantes\_de\_Leon