Mephisto Pheles

**Mephisto Pheles**, also known as **Mephistopheles**, is one of the oldest Devils in existence, being born in the same generation as the original Four Great Satans.

He is the unofficial leader of the Extra Demons and the Progenitor of the Pheles Clan.

He uses the name **Johann Faust V** in public and is the Headmaster of the True Cross Academy - one of the institutes used by the Heaven Faction to train future Exorcists. He is also the chairman of the Magician organization, Grauzauberer.

## Appearance

Mephisto Pheles is a friendly-looking man with shoulder-length dark-purple hair that shifted into a mixture of red and blue at the tips. He has heterochromia; his left eye is blue, while the right is red. He is considered to be handsome for someone appearing in middle-age. He also gives out a mysterious atmosphere. He is also very tall, having a height of 195 cm (6'5").

He is usually seen in an elegant white outfit that consists of a white top hat with pink and purple around the base, purple gloves, a tie that is pink with white dots, a white suit-shirt and undershirt, jester-style pants, and pointed shoes. His appearance prompts Isami to refer to him as *The Clown*.

As the series progresses, he stops wearing the jester pants and pointed shoes, instead wearing white dress pants and black shoes. Like other old Devils, his eyes glow an eerily gold whenever he uses his demonic power.

In addition, he can transform into a small white dog when he counts down from three in German (up to three in the anime). In this form he is a small, fluffy, Scottish terrier-looking dog with a large pink ribbon around his neck with a silver trinket attached to it, the trinket being the symbol of an Grazauberer. He also is shown to be able to transform into a bug.

## Personality

Shrouded in mystery, one quickly learns of Mephisto's innate ability to act as if he knows more than what he is letting on. Careful and meticulous, he is like a chess player, always ahead of the game.

He enjoys chaos, as he stated to himself that he is a hell-raiser, and the human world to be his playground. He likes to make gambles with whoever possible, including his clients and the True Cross Order, though he does not wish to see any of his students killed.

He believes in Liberalism, so he didn't get along with the descendants of the original Satans due to their extremely domineering nature of ordering him around. Mephisto even admits he outright hates them, who he considered to be snot-nosed brats walking around in their parents' shoes before they could learn to crawl. He also isn't interested in the Rating Games, so he doesn't give that many orders to Tannin, and allows him to roam freely as he pleases.

He is prone to eccentric moments nestled in between serious moments, making light of a heavy mood and is portrayed as a man with more money than sense, but is very cheap when it comes to spending on others. He loves to eat sweets and is deeply interested in modern Japanese pop culture, proudly stating that he is an otaku, much to Lavinia Reni's embarrassment.

## History

Mephisto Pheles is one of the oldest living Devils, coming from the same generation as the original Four Great Satans, and possibly came into existence independently of the Mother of Devils Lilith. In the past, Mephisto was known as the legendary Devil that formed a pact with Johann Georg Faust. After forming a pact with Faust, he remained in the human world even after Faust died and quickly rose to the top of the Magician organization, Grauzauberer, becoming it's Chairman. At some point in time afterwards, he reincarnated the former Dragon King Tannin as a member of his peerage as well as becoming the Headmaster of True Cross Academy.

## Powers and Abilities

**Pure-Blooded Devil Physiology**: Mephisto Pheles possesses all the standard traits and abilities of an Devil.

* **Immense Strength**: Mephisto Pheles is an immensely powerful Devil, despite only holding the rank of High-Class Devil. He is also considered to be the unofficial leader of the Extra Demons because of his sheer power and authority.
* **Immense Demonic Power**: Mephisto has an immense amount of demonic power beyond that of a regular Maou-Class Devil. He could generate a red-and-blue aura around himself that he could cover his attacks and weapons with to increase their overall destructive power. According to Rias, his demonic aura is as mysterious and chaotic as its owner.
	+ **Clockwork**: The signature power of the Mephisto Clan, which allows him to manipulate, distort, or bend the space-time continuum - The fabric of reality in which all exist in, serving as the boundary of existence, separating different realities and timelines and keeping them flowing properly.
		- **Consciousness Transference**: He is able to transfer his and others' consciousness into other worlds and dimensions that aren't protected against demonic power.
* **Shapeshifting**: Mephisto could shapeshift his corporeal form, transforming and reshaping it down to the genetic and cellular structure. He could impersonate others or enhance his own body for combat, either by turning into animals, humanoids, monsters, etc. or by making the body stronger. He has shown to transform into a small dog, which allowed him to escape through small gaps and spaces. He has also shown the ability to transform into a cockroach, which he used to spy on a conversation between Azazel and Akeno.
* **Soul Absorption**: Mephisto could absorb the souls of those he killed or gained through contracts to increase his powers and status within the infernal hierarchy. Often, by doing this, his victims will be left in a persistent vegetive state: empty shells that are still alive but irretrievably "gone".
* **Immortality**: Mephisto is an immortal being who could live infinitely unless he's either killed or faded.
	+ **Nigh-Invulnerability**: He could not be harmed or killed by unconventional means, as only Enochian or Faustian weapons and magic could be able to harm or kill him. He is also immune to all curses, poisons, and diseases that aren't angelic or demonic in origins.
	+ **Regeneration**: He possesses an immensely powerful regenerative ability which allows him to instaneously regenerate every and any wound he received on his corporeal form that aren't caused by holy/light weapons and magic. He could easily regenerate himself down to every single cell in mere seconds.
* **Flight**: Mephisto is capable of flight, with or without his two pairs of wings.

**Master Magician**: As the chairman of the highest-ranked Magician organization, Grauzauberer, and the director of the Magician Council, Mephisto possesses immense skills and knowledge about ancient magic lost to time. He has been known since ancient times as the patron of Magicians and guardian of Witches, gifting them with magical powers in exchange for their souls, loyalty, or simply sex. He has knowledge about numerous Magic Systems and rituals unknown by even the gods, ranging from the Antediluvian times, as well as countless types of forbidden technique.

* **Divination Magic**: Mephisto could perform divination rituals to gain insight into a question or situation. When performing these rituals, his eyes glow a bright gold while he levitates several centimeters above the ground.
* **Summoning Magic**: Mephisto is able to summon a variety of objects by counting up to 3 in German, "*Eins, Zwei, Drei*". He often summons his peerage members such as Tannin.
	+ **Kuchens Kuckucksuhr**: A giant candy clock, it has a large cuckoo which springs out and grabs the target. It is first used to capture Amaymon.
	+ **Das Stärkste Gefängnis**: A prison touted as the "strongest defense," it has the ability to halt the movements of those who approach it with hostile intent. It cannot be opened from the inside without the key but can be easily opened from the outside.
* **Flammendes Pentagramm**: Mephisto waves his hand in circles above him and a giant flaming pentacle appeares in the air. It creates powerful strikes of lightning as it hovers, which is noted by Azazel to be infernal lightning - The opposite of Baraqiel and Akeno's Holy Lightning.

**Faustian Bargain**: As the man known as the **King of the Faustian Demons** in mythology, Mephisto capable of entirely warping the reality surrounding him and his clients through a combination of his demonic power and said client's soul. Following their deal, he will gain a near-absolute authority over his client, allowing him to control them to his heart's content. According to Rias, the price for dealing with him is so high that only exceptionally powerful and important figures should summon him, though many desperate people have been known for making deal with him as a last resort, the most famous one being the Magician Johann Georg Faust.

**Witch's Pact**: Mephisto is the Contracted Devil of multiple witches throughout history, being the main source of power behind many great and ancient witches in mythology. In the ancient times, he would appear as a small black dog with red-and-blue eyes and make deals to desperate and vulnerable people, such as prisoners, wives, bastards, etc.

**Genius-Level Intellect**: As head of True Cross Academy, he has access to countless articles on demon-hunting which is supplemented by his own experience as one of the Kings of Hell, making him a deadly exorcist despite his heritage. In addition, he is a meticulous planner, admitting to viewing all others except for his father as mere pawns with the True Cross Order, Gehenna, and the Illuminati being left unable to properly identify his intentions.

* **Master Manipulator**: In addition, he has roamed the Earth for an unknown amount of time, studying humanity for all that time under various other alias, such as Loki, Trickster, and Raven, thus making him a master manipulator of the human psyche. He also has a vast amount of resources at his disposal and only revealing his deception when it suited him most.

## Trivia

* Mephisto Pheles' appearance is based on Mephisto Pheles from "Ao no Exorcist".
* He likes the current Four Great Satans compared to the previous ones.
* His average hours of sleep is 1 hour.
* He is pretty good at party games, claw crane games and chess.
* His pastimes and talents are: watching movies, reading manga, watching anime, playing video games, listening to music, toys, and subcultures.
	+ All manga genres are his favorites.
* His favorite food is junk food (mostly candy).
* His favorite type of women are those who are temptresses, "devilish", or elegant/beautiful. He mentions also fancying "pretty girls with a sad past", as well as charismatic women.
* In legends, Mephisto Pheles' name is considered as one word: Mephistopheles.
* Grauzauberer means "Grey Wizards".