Astaroth (Soul Calibur)

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Astaroth
CG rendering of Astaroth in Soul Calibur II
Game series	Soul series
First game	Soul Calibur
Voice actor(s) (English)	Jay S. Gilbert (Soul Calibur II) Michael McConnohie(Soul Calibur III)
Voice actor(s) (Japanese)	Banjou Ginga (Soul Calibur) Ryûzaburô Ôtomo (later games)
In-Universe Information
Age	7
Birthplace	Grand Shrine of Palgaea
Birthdate	September 3, 1584
Blood type	None (Clay-made Golem)
Weapon	Giant Axe
Weapon name	Kulutues
Fighting style	Gyulkus
Family	Servant of Ares Creator, Kunpaetku (deceased)

Astaroth (アスタロス, Asutarosu^?) is a fictional character designed for the Soul Series of fighting games. Astaroth made his first appearance in Soul Calibur and has returned for both Soul Calibur II and Soul Calibur III.

1 Biography
2 Weapons
3 Stages
4 Trivia
5 Series' Appearances
6 External links

[edit] Biography

The god of war and destruction, Ares, desired Soul Edge, so he ordered Kunpaetku, the grand priest of the cult order Fygul Cestemus, to seek it out. Astaroth, a golem, was created in hellish heat under the divine protection of the god of war (Ares) to head up the quest. Kunpaetku ordered his creation, Astaroth, to find the demonic blade. As he watched Astaroth depart from the shrine, the grand priest laughed to himself as he planned to keep the Soul Edge and become a god for himself. Unknown to Kunpaetku, however, Ares had possessed Astaroth with the spirit of his servant, Ker, to ensure that Kunpaetku would not betray him. When Astaroth finally found Soul Edge, it had lost half of itself during the battle with Sophitia Alexandra. Deciding that Ares would not be pleased with the sword in this condition, he agreed to help the azure knight, Nightmare, build its power by collecting souls by slaughtering countless victims. As Astaroth was finally ready to betray Nightmare and take the Soul Edge from him, Kilik, Xianghua and Maxi, stormed Ostrheinsburg Castle; and Astaroth was killed by Maxi. Four years later, signs of Soul Edge began to reemerge, and Ares resurrected Astaroth in an attempt to retrieve the evil blade once again. This time, though, his body had been infused with shards of the Soul Edge, making him more powerful and ruthless than ever before.

Astaroth had set out on the trail for the evil blade, but a problem arose. The grand priest Kunpaetku had realized his golem was not behaving as originally instructed--that another force now claimed ownership over Astaroth since his initial creation. In order to reclaim Astaroth as his servant, Kunpaetku performed a ritual on the lowest level of the cult's temple and unleashed a powerful curse on him. But Astaroth fought back against the curse, for he had become an ideal host for Ker, because of the fragments of Soul Edge he had taken in during his resurrection. He would destroy anyone who stood in his way, and now the cult had become nothing more than an obstacle in his path. Astaroth entered the temple to destroy the cult once and for all, and his whirlwind of destruction mowed down everything in his path. The curse had only fueled him with anger, and he was determined to destroy anything and everything he saw. The temple of the heretics had become a crucible of chaos. Astaroth pursued Kunpaetku into the deepest part of the temple, but the grand priest managed to escape at the last minute. Only the words the priest left behind remained, telling him that he was nothing more than a failed doll modeled after a mere human. Astaroth immediately stopped in his tracks, distracted with this newfound horrible knowledge, and began to search the temple's archives for his roots. He had been made in the image of a man called only by the name "White Giant." Astaroth destroyed the facility in which Kunpaetku's ritual had been performed, and his curse faded such that he regained his true strength. He then proceeded to destroy the temple completely until it became unrecognizable debris, and nothing was left but chaos and rubble. Fygul Cestemus had been wiped from history by the very being that they themselves had created. Astaroth stood within the ruined temple, quietly thinking to himself. If the "White Giant" he had been modeled after was as powerful as himself, then that man must surely be the greatest soul on earth, the perfect nourishment to resurrect the Soul Edge back to its full power. But perhaps Astaroth himself did not realize his own hidden desire to destroy the "White Giant"--to make himself a complete creature, unique without any model. The golem set out, his new objective set, disappearing into the mirages in the distance. Behind him was only a column of smoke rising from a ruinous wasteland; in front of him somewhere was the perfect soul.

[edit] Weapons

Kulutues

A giant axe created by Kunpaetku, the Grand Priest of the heretical order Fygul Cestemus. He used various incantations to create the axe, which Astaroth took in his quest to find Soul Edge. It is said if anyone not part of the cult is to take this weapon, the blessings used to create it will act as a curse. In the ancient language of the sect, Kulutues means "Merciless Destroyer".

[edit] Stages

-- Palgaea Shrine (SC)

This shrine is an underground construction for the great god of destruction. It seems to be near a volcano since the grand hall is always filled with lava. In the center, stands a triangle shaped altar where the grand priest "kymm mrl py eltzk" (Kunpaetku) performs various ceremonies. This is also the place of Astaroth's creation and birth. The material of construction remains unknown, but by observing the surrounding statues vomiting lava one would think heat was the source of life. No one knows if the original materials were formed of evil magic or human hands.
(Note: Known as The Evil Shrine on the Arcade version)

-- Palgaea Shrine - Lowest Level (SC2)

The Palgaea Shrine is the headquarters of the sinister cult that birthed Astaroth. As a result of the over thousand year-old practice of building a new temple on top of the old, the lowest level was forgotten about until the entrance was rediscovered coincidentally a few years ago. The statue found in the lowest level was that of a long-forgotten God of rebirth. The cult is studying the lowest level in order to decrypt its secrets to gain the power of rebirth.

-- Kunpaetku Shrine Ruin (SC3)

Beneath an unknown desert existed a cult that worshiped a God of destruction named Palgaea. Their temple, long used in secret activities throughout history, is now nothing more than a crumbled ruin. The grand priest Kunpaetku, while foolishly attempting to obtain the power of a God, received an oracle and

created Astaroth. Astaroth then destroyed the temple. That golem's true master was not its creator, the grand priest, but the God of destruction, Palgaea. The God, known as Ares to the Greeks, was filled with anger. The God's anger exploded, and only a very select few managed to escape. The bizarre statue that bore witness to these events stands silently, showing only its crumbled form to those who visit this ruin...

[edit] Trivia

Astaroth is the name of the Duke of Hell according to the Ars Goetia. It also comes from the Hebrew pronunciation of the Northwest Semitic goddess Astarte (translated Ashtareth).
Astaroth appears in Namco's Pac Man Fever as a playable character.
In the ancient language of Fygul Cestemus, Astaroth's name means "A Creature Resembling a New Human Being" and his fighting style ("Gyulkus") means "The Way of Defense".
Astaroth is part of one of the Dreamcast's VMU mini-games, called "Cannon Dare". In it the player must shoot Astaroth out of a cannon guessing which fuse is the correct.
According to the Tale of Souls path that leads to an encounter with Astaroth, the Kunpaetku Shrine Ruin's location on the map (Astaroth's birthplace)appears to be somewhere in Persia (present-day Iran).
Astaroth's nickname in Soul Calibur is "A Soldier of the Heretics". He's also called story-wise "The Black Giant". The introduction of his stage in Soul Calibur III refers to him as "The Warrior of Carnage".
In Soul Calibur and Soul Calibur II, Astaroth's Destined Battle is Maxi. In Soul Calibur III his Destined Battle is Rock.
In Soul Calibur III, Astaroth's weapons and fighting style are available under the discipline Soul of Astaroth to characters created under the Barbarian class.