Astaroth

1= "Power, power is everything!"

- Astaroth

2= "What's... happening... to me...?! I don't... feel so good..."

- Astaroth's last words before he is erased from existence by Ray.

Astaroth (アスタロス), also known as Azr Ss Trzaous, is a character from the Soul series fighting games, originating from the rebooted timeline of Soulcalibur VI, and a character also appearing in Taki Gaiden: The Kunoichi Who Leapt Through Time.

History

 * Main article: w:c:soulcalibur:Astaroth/New Timeline

Astaroth is a giant created by a cult who worshipped the Greek god Ares to locate Soul Edge. He is also part of Nightmare's faction alongside Ivy Valentine and Lizardman Aeon Calcos.

Erased from Existence
In Ivy's character arc, Astaroth was first seen murdering a number of warriors to harvest more souls. When Ivy asks the giant to stop, Astaroth collapses to his knees and had no idea that he is slowly fading away. Astaroth collapses and is reduced to dust afterwards.

It was revealed that Astaroth was erased from existence by the rogue Ray. She went back to 1583, the year Astaroth was created by Fygul Cestemus. During the ritual led by high priest Kunpaetku, Ray, as Another Decade, barged in the cultists' hideout and singlehandedly massacred every member of the cult, including Kunpaetku, thus halting the giant's birth in the process.

Astaroth's erasure results in a time paradox in the new timeline where it somehow averted the deaths of Maxi's shipmates in the main storyline of Soulcalibur VI's Soul Chronicle.

Personality
Astaroth is a psychotic and bloodthirsty brute who relishes at the sight and sound of death, using any excuse he can to maim anyone in his way who aggravates him, which is most often. Unlike before though, the memories of fallen warriors implanted in Astaroth has given him heightened intelligence and clarity and takes great joy and satisfaction in fooling his enemies into thinking he is a dim-witted brute when in reality he is much more cunning than he appears.

Powers and Abilities

 * Soul Absorption: Astaroth was solely created by Fygul Cestemus to gather souls, and so he has the inherent ability to feast on the souls of his victims.
 * Gyulkus: Astaroth's fighting style. In the language of the evil cult Fygul Cestemus, "Gyulkus" means "battle (to protect the temple)". However, it is unclear if Astaroth is acting with the cult's interests in mind or not. He was granted power during his creation by Ares, the Greek god of war, and the god remains the golem's one true master. Astaroth's fighting style is based off of the White Giant that Ares once observed, but the golem doesn't seem to care that his style is a mere copy. All that matters to him is how many people his techniques enable him to kill, and how cruelly he can do it.

Weaknesses

 * Premature annihilation of Fygul Cestemus: The only way to prevent Astaroth's rampage is to and murder his creator in 1583. The brutal massacre of the cult at the hands of Ray halted Astaroth's creation, effectively erasing him from existence. By doing so, it averted the deaths of Maxi's pirate crew, who were supposed to be killed by Astaroth himself.

Portrayal
Astaroth is voiced by Ryūzaburō Ōtomo (大友 龍三郎).

In the English dub, he is voiced by Michael McConnohie, who also voiced the character in Soulcalibur VI.