Archbishop Lazarus

"Abandon your foolish quest! All that awaits you is the wrath of my master! You are too late to save the child! Now you'll join him, in Hell!"

- Archbishop Lazarus

The Archbishop Lazarus is a major villain from the first Diablo game.

Story
Lazarus was an archbishop from the order of Zakarum, a religion that established itself in Sanctuary much time after the three Prime Evils were imprisoned. When Leoric, a high member of Zakarum, moved to Tristam and proclaimed himself king, Lazarus went with him, becoming his trusted advisor. Leoric established himself in the ruined Horadrim Cathedral, reconstructing it to become his castle. Little both knew of the evil that slept in the underground of the cathedral. One night, Diablo talked with Lazarus through his dreams. The archbishop awoke and ventured deep into the labyrinth, finding the Soulstone where Diablo was imprisoned. Speaking words long forgotten, Lazarus shattered the Soulstone, freeing Diablo, who then possessed Leoric. The king would become more and more maddened from this possession, with Lazarus at his side at all times, manipulating the crazy king to make things easy for his new master. However, Diablo was still too weak from his imprisonment, and thus couldn't fully possess Leoric. He needed a young and innocent soul, and Lazarus provided him, by kidnapping Leoric's son, Prince Albrecht, and taking him to the bowels of the labyrinth. Diablo leaves Leoric, who ends completely mad and is later killed by his trusted knight Lachdanan, and and starts terrorizing the kid with nightmares. All of his fears materialize themselves in front of him, starting to inhabit the desolated cathedral, as Diablo possesses Albrecht and mutates his body to resemble Diablo's former body. Some time later, as the people of Tristam started panicking with the recent events, Lazarus returns from the labyrinth and tells that a evil is lurking in the cathedral and that Albrecht was still in need of being rescued. He organizes a mob, who enters the place unaware of what was really happening. As Lazarus vanishes, the people are brutally slain by a demon called The Butcher. Few survived the trip, and villagers started fleeing Tristam, which spread the rumors of an evil under the town, attracting a number of adventurers to Tristam. One of these adventurers found his way into Lazarus's hideout, the Unholy Altar, where the Archbishop, along with dozens of succubuses, fought the intruder, but the adventurer ultimately prevailed, killing Lazarus and putting an end to his madness.