Astolfo Granatum

Astolfo Granatum:

GENDER Male Male

FANTASY RACE Human

AGE Adolescent (At least 15)

BIRTHDAY January 6th (Capricorn)

AFFILIATION House of Granatum Chasseurs The Catholic Church Marco

OCCUPATION Chasseur Paladin

WEAPON NAME Louisette

Firstborn son of the House of Granatum, a long line of Chasseurs since the time of the War, Astolfo was raised by his father to continue their family's legacy. However as a child Astolfo hated conflict, a trait praised by his mother as kind, which led him to helping and befriending an injured Vampire he found. Though initially the friendship built through secret meetings between the Vampire and the Granatum children encouraged Astolfo's childhood dream of peace between races, this only ended in tragedy. The Vampire and his companions raided the Granatums' home, torturing the family for days on end. After being Marked against his will over twenty times, his parents and younger sister killed, Astolfo was saved by Roland.[1] This led to Astolfo idolizing, near worshipping the man who would go on to be assigned his trainer.[2]

Immediately following his rescue by the Chasseurs, Astolfo was unstable and suicidal. First Paladin and the Chasseurs' Commander Charles personally fostered Astolfo's hatred for Vampires and encouraged him to step up as a Paladin,[1] intent to use the tragedy Astolfo survived and his growth from it as a symbol to gain public favor. As Astolfo was raised by Roland to gain Paladin rank, the former's hatred festered while the latter searched for salvation for the boy he took in. This escalated during a mission to storm the site of a Vampire-run human trafficking ring. Astolfo, assigned to rescue the survivors, found that they sympathized with the Vampires whom they called their saviors and friends and thus were hostile to the Chasseurs. Astolfo slaughtered every survivor there for being Vampire-sympathizing "heretics."[2]

Roland was enraged by this and denounced Astolfo for his excessive violence towards victims who could still be forgiven. Astolfo then broke down and confessed his hatred for Vampires and subsequent violence was only misdirected from a hatred towards himself, revealing he still desired punishment and death for his family's murder. Roland broke down in despair as well realizing that Astolfo was beyond salvation. Roland resigned as Astolfo's trainer to let the boy to believe he was abandoning him, intent to redirect Astolfo's hatred from himself to Roland. In time, Astolfo was promoted to Paladin, his violent hatred for Vampires and betrayed contempt for Roland stronger than ever as he dedicated himself to killing every last Vampire.[2]

ADVERTISEMENT Appearance

Astolfo is a short, slender boy with fair skin and androgynous features. His face is round, with a small chin and nose, thin, arched eyebrows, and large, pink, upturned eyes with long eyelashes. Adding to his androgynous presentation is his hair, dark pink in color and very straight. Parted in the middle, his hairstyle is long for a boy's, cut straight just beyond his chin so as to cover his ears. Long bangs fall into the center of his face, but do not cover his eyes.

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He wears the standard chasseur's uniform, including black pants, a cassock, a white harness, a ribbon-like purple belt, and white lace-up boots. Astolfo wears a red rosary – the color of garnet – around his neck, while in the anime it is a simple white rosary. As accessories, he wears a pair of earrings which resemble vampire fangs. His hands are protected with fingerless gloves.

ADVERTISEMENT Personality

Astolfo is the first of the chasseurs to be depicted as wholly malicious- he states outright that it is not the job of chasseurs to protect humans, but to kill vampires. He holds little regard for human life and takes apparent joy in causing harm to others, going out of his way to inflict unnecessary suffering on his victims. His temper is extremely quick, and he flies into a rage with little provocation. In particular, he hates being mistaken for a woman, being touched without consent, and being compared to Roland Fortis.

Violent, obsessive, egocentric, and sadistic, Astolfo wishes wholeheartedly for the genocide of vampires, and is unwilling to hear words to the contrary. Despite Noé's initial attempts to negotiate with him, he soon realizes Astolfo does not care about the feelings or humanity of those around him. Nonetheless, Astolfo believes himself to be "justice"- he sees himself as a deserved punishment upon vampires, going so far as to name his weapon the Pillar of Justice, Louisette- "Louisette" being another name for "guillotine," the device famously used to execute King Louis XV. When Astolfo becomes determined to eliminate a target, he will pursue them to the point of self destruction, thoughtlessly overdosing on the chasseur's steroids in an attempt to kill Noé.

Prior to his family's deaths, Astolfo was far more timid and empathetic. He showed kindness towards a wounded vampire boy, in spite of his Catholic upbringing. As a consequence, he blames himself for his family's demise. Though openly hateful towards Roland, he still appears to rely on him for comfort. Noé questions how much of Astolfo's genocidal passion is genuinely his own will, and how much was implanted in him by the Church. Small traces of Astolfo's gentle persona remains, despite being aloof towards even his comrades. He is shown to be particularly gentle and affectionate towards small children.

Unnamed Mother and Father

Astolfo watched his parents be murdered by a group of vampires as a very young child, scarring him for life. His mother was violated in front of his father, and his father had his head split open. Astolfo honors his parents and wishes he could have protected them. He goes berserk when anyone insults them for any reason.

Unnamed Younger Sister

Just like with his parents, Astolfo watched his sister die in front of him. Both of them had their blood drunk by the vampires who attacked his family, and he held her hand as he felt her warmth leaving little by little. Astolfo is very fond of her, and he was always protecting her and playing with her when she was alive.

Quotes

“We Chasseurs will hunt them all to extinction!”[3] “You seem to have the wrong idea. A Chasseur’s job isn’t protecting humans. It’s hunting Vampires.”[4] “Come! Offer your head to my ‘Pillar of Justice,’ Louisette!”[4] “Don’t you dare!! Insult my father!!”[5] “There’s a Vampire I failed to end right in front of me. I can’t ignore that, can I?”[6] “Vampires... and those who take their side—I’ll slaughter every last one of them.”[6] “Vanish. Vanish. Vanish. You Vampires... need to vanish from my world, every last one of you!!”[7] “Vampires should never have been born in the first place. Filth that doesn’t have permission to exist. That’s what you are!!! And so I—we... have to wipe out the Vampires and make the world clean again!!!”[7] “I’ll kill you. The Vampires. Every last one of you. I’ll be the one to do it!!”[8] “I’ll never forgive you. You Vampires. Never, no matter what. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you.”[9] “Lord... knight. I beg you... please, save my sister. I don’t care what happens to me, just... It was my fault. It was all my... all my fault they...!”[9] “When my father gave this dagger to me... I was so young that ‘death’ was just something I’d read about.”[1] “I’m scared. Hurting somebody. Getting hurt. I’d hate that.”[1] “They took from us... so we should take everything from them!!”[2] “No matter how I prayed, no hand reached down to save me. The one who did save me was—Roland. Roland Fortis. My God.”[2] “Forgiveness? There’s no need for that. There can’t be. I mean... forgiving these people... meanings forgiving myself!! Something like that should never be forgiven!! I won’t allow it!!”[2]