Creed Diskenth

"What I hate most are useless individuals. However... there is too many such people on this planet, including those elders of Chronos. I cannot bear to think that we share the same air! That's why some house-cleaning is in order. To get rid of the worthless. I will only allow those superior individuals who serve me to remain...! That is my ideal world, "Eden!" As a god I will forever dominate it from above...!"

- Creed Diskenth

The primary antagonist of the Manga Black Cat and the major part of its anime adaptation; Creed Diskenth was once the partner of Train Heartnet, the primary protagonist whom he idolizes, until he betrayed the secret organization Chronos and created the Apostles of the Star. His ultimate goal is to become an immortal God in order to rule the world for all of eternity, and he would stop at NOTHING to have Train join him.

Background
Creed was born as the undesired son of a single, alcoholic mother who intensely abused him. She constantly insulted him, hit him and blamed him for everything wrong in her life. He later ended up living in the streets, picking "food" in bins and being beaten down without reason by policemen. All these ill treatments drove Creed to insanity and gave him a fierce hatred towards the entire world. (The anime implies that he murdered his mother, though this seems less likely in the manga.)

Sometime later, Creed was taken in the ranks of Chronos: the secret organization that controls one third of the world's economy and politic from the shadows. There, he was trained to become one of Chronos' countless erasers (assassins). Over the years, Creed developed swordplay beyond human level. Therefore, the Elders of Chronos considered making him join the Chrono Numbers: Chronos' elite brigade, a group of thirteen supreme erasers, each one of them being unmatchably talented in the use of a specific sort of weapon. However, Creed's bloodlust, insanity and desire for power were (rightfully) deemed too dangerous.

The Elders partnered Creed with Train Heartnet, the world's best gunfighter and the other candidate for becoming Chrono Number. In these times Train (who had been raised by his parents' murderer) hated the entire word and trusted none but himself, looking only for power. This state of mind coupled with Train's supreme fighting skills made a very strong expression on Creed, who came to regard him as his equal, both in term of strength and hatred, despite Train not caring the slightest about him. They teamed up for about a month, before Train was appointed as the Chrono Number XIII.

During three years, Train became known worldwide as the "Black Cat", and grew to become the world's strongest and most feared warrior, superior to the Chrono Number I, Sephiria Arks herself. All this fueled Creed's fascination for his former partner. Meanwhile, the demented swordsman kept working as Chronos' best (regular) eraser. However, Creed utterly despised Chronos' leaders. At some point, he killed the Chrono Number X Ash, against whom he held a grudge. From then on, he defected from Chronos and went into hiding.

Two years before the start of the story, Creed came in the town where Train lived. There, he found out that Train had befriended a sweeper (bounty hunter) named Saya Minatsuki. The lively young woman was teaching him how to enjoy life, something Train had forgotten since his parents' murder. Creed was extremely displeased by this, calling Saya a "witch" who "made Train weak." Thus he resolved to "lift the spell" by killing Saya and attacked her one night. Saya fought on par with Creed, but she got distracted by three children whom Creed tried to kill. Saya saved the children at the cost of her life and managed to break the blade of Creed's katana. Train ultimately arrived and beat Creed down, but it was too late and Creed fled, telling him that one day he would realize that he killed Saya to "save" him.

After Saya's death, Train defected from Chronos to live "free as a stray cat" and he became sweeper. As for Creed, he got in touch with Shiki and Maro, who chose him as their leader and awoke his power of Tao. Creed and his newfound allies spent the next two years recruiting Tao wielding followers from all around the world, building a secret organization of their own, the Apostles of the Star.

Personality
"In a battle, there is no such word as under-handed."

- Creed Diskenth

The first and foremost thing to keep in mind about Creed is that he is downright insane! He is a bloodthirsty murderer who kills as naturally as he breathes and enjoys battles to no end. He is unable to feel empathy towards even his closest followers and would slay anyone at the drop of a hat. Even his own followers can end up dead, should they disobey him or simply cease to please him. The sufferings he endured as a child caused him to hate the entire world but he does not seek revenge or anything like this, he simply hates and kills.

Creed is also deeply narcissist and egomaniac. He cares about nothing but himself and considers himself superior to everyone in every way. As such, he wants to become immortal in order to remain perfect forever. Creed considers that he is the only one right in the world; he is convinced that those who disagree with him simply do not understand the truth, and he never hesitates to eliminate any contradiction. When things does not go the way he wants, he fabricates absurd explanations that follow his way instead of questioning himself. His delusion is so strong that he does not understand why people such as Train hold a grudge against him. However, deep down in his heart, he knows when he cannot bend a will to his own, and this only furthers his hatred. Nothing infuriates him more than a persistent opposition.

Creed is obsessed with talent. He regards regular people as mere trash, and despises even more people who have done nothing to deserve a political influence that they take for granted. Creed wants a world in which only gifted people who obey him can live, and plans to select them one by one, killing anyone whom he would deem unworthy. To put it simply, he wants the entire world to revolve around him and to fit his demented ideals of perfection. He does not care only about fighting skills though, and he considers any talent to its rightful worth. However, even though he values his followers' strength and listens to their advices, he regards them as disposable and almost never considers their objections.

Train Heartnet is the only one whom Creed truly respects. His dearest wish is to have Train rule the world by his side. Back when they were partners, he was not only fascinated by Train's astonishing power but also by his hatred of the entire world, which mirrored Creed's own. Creed felt that Train was the only one who could understand him. But unfortunately for him, this was not Train's true personality but rather a shell that he built during all those years of loneliness; a shell that Saya Minatsuki would break, much to Creed's dismay. Creed is persuaded that the ruthless killer is Train's true persona and he would stop at nothing to restore it, even if there is no hope right from the start.

Despite all this, Creed is a very charismatic and refined person. He enjoys luxury and he lives in opulent manors and castles. When he interacts with people he deems worthy, even if they are enemies, he acts with smiling and courteous manners. Creed is also clever and knowledgeable; He knows what he needs, he knows how to use it and he rarely underestimates his opponents, only making his move only when he has all cards in hand, or where he has at least one backup plan. Yet, in spite of his caution, he is certain of his superiority and when confronted to an opponent he admires, he may reveal his weaknesses to make things more interesting.

Power and Abilities
"There is nobody other than him who is capable of stopping me. The Black Cat of course."

- Creed Diskenth

Even before being granted the power of Tao, Creed was already a highly skilled warrior with a level matching that of any Chrono Number, (with the exceptions of number I, II and XIII). His weapon of choice is a "Kotetsu" katana, which he wields with incredible proficiency, being without a doubt second only to Sephiria Arks when it comes to swordfight. He his naturally highly fast and agile, being able to jump atop a building without effort and to fight normally even after being shot in the leg.

Creed's power is called Imagine Blade, sometimes translated Phantom Blade. By concentrating his ki on the hilt of his sword, he can create a blade of materialized ki that can slice through almost anything. This blade is linked to his mind and its full power remains dormant during most of the story. When Creed is submitted to a particularly strong emotion, his blade evolves and gains a new, stronger form. Creed then becomes able to switch between his blade's different forms as he pleases, but he almost always fights with the strongest available.

Imagine Blade level 1
At Level 1, Creed's Imagine Blade looks like a regular katana, albeit invisible. Creed can materialize the blade so that people can see it, but he rarely does so. As such, the blade can only be detected by reading through Creed's movements, a feat that only fighters matching Creed's level can do. Creed can control the length and the sharpness of the blade. (He can extend it to a maximum of 80 meters.) He is also able to channel his ki through the blade and use it to send invisible waves of slicing energy.

Imagine Blade level 2
At Level 2, the Imagine Blade looks like a huge scimitar with a demonic face. The sword is (fortunately) no longer invisible, but it is still linked to Creed's mind and it gains a limited sentience that enables it to move by its own accord. The Imagine Blade Level 2 sychronizes with Creed's emotions, smiling and laughing according to Creed's mood.

The blade moves with extreme speed and can be extended and distorted, enabling Creed to strike from unpredictable sides. It can also bite Creed's foes and swallow their projectiles to spit them back with equal strength. With this blade, Creed gains access to a dangerous attack where he smashes the ground and sends a blade-like wave of slicing energy before him across the ground.

Imagine Blade level 3
The Imagine Blade Level 3 is only revealed during the final fight between Creed and Train. In this form, Creed fuses with his sword, which becomes part of his right arm, and gains a third eye and a demonic arm. (In fact, Creed still holds the hilt of his sword and the ki it produces envelops his arm under a solid shape.)

In this form, Creed's speed, strength and power skyrocket. He becomes able to cut and destroy an entire terrace with his blade-like energy wave, and to destroy several bullets with a single sword strike, faster than the eye can see. Not only Creed can extend and distort his sword and his demonic arm, he is now able to increase their size and reshape them. Creed's demonic arm has strength way over that of Creed's regular body. Creed mostly uses it to grab things and propels himself, to grab his opponents and toss them violently on the ground, or to throw large pieces of rubble. Creed's attacks create so much pressure that blocking them becomes close to impossible, and he synchronizes the sword strikes and the arm attacks, so that he can hit his foes with one after they dodged the other.

When Creed calls forth his full might, the Imagine Blade becomes a gigantic, house-sized blade of pure energy, reminiscent to the Imagine Blade Level 2. With one strike of this blade, Creed can easily obliterate what stands before him.

Nanomachines
Very early in the story, Creed is injected with healing nanomachines that make him recover at a very fast rate. At the moment of the final battle, he got injected nanomachines called the "God Bless" that make him immortal. With these nanomachines, he no longer ages and he can recover from any injury (even a sliced neck or a severed limb) in the blink of an eye. Thus, he becomes an immortal "God." As such, he can only be killed by destroying all of his brain, the only thing that the "God Bless" cannot restore.

Miscellaneous
Aside from his Tao power and his fighting skills, Creed is a capable spy, able to come up with decent disguises. Creed knows Chronos' immense network of informations like the back of his hand, and he can use it as well. Moreover, he is a skilled orator who managed to convince many people from different horizons to join his cause, and to enlist the financial help of many wealthy criminals. Thanks to this financial support, and probably thanks to the fortune of many of his "sponsors" that he killed, Creed has gained considerable wealth, which enabled him to purchase many residences all over the world and to invest huge amounts of money into scientific research in the field of nanomachines.

The anime even depicts him as a talented piano player who can play the "Presto" (the third movement of the sonata in C minor by Giovanni Pescetti) without fault, as well as a skilled paintor.

Reunion of the former partners
Creed's name is first revealed when Train and his sweeper partner Sven Vollfield defeat the weapon dealer Torneo Rudman and save Eve, a young girl with nanomachines inside her body that enable her to transform at will, whom Torneo was using as a human weapon. Upon hearing Creed's name, Train gets overcome with fury and he orders Torneo to tell everything about him. Torneo appears to be one the sponsors of Creed's group, the Apostles of the Star, and he shared with him the results of his experiments with nanomachines. Later, Creed and his second-in-command Shiki have Torneo killed.

Creed then abducts Rinslet Walker, a famous thief for hire and a recent acquaintance of Train, while Shiki tells Train that Creed will await him at the Lunafort Tower, with a hostage who will get killed if he does not come. Enraged, Train goes to the meeting, intending to kill Creed to avenge his late friend Saya. Train is greeted by Creed, who tells him that he plans to take down Chronos and rule the world, and wants Train to join his group. Trains answers by demanding a one-on-one fight, which Creed accepts at the condition that if he were to win Train would join the Apostles of the Star. Creed fights with his invisible Imagine Blade and drives Train into a corner, but Train ultimately sacrifices his right hand to shoot Creed in the belly with an explosive bullet. Later, Creed is saved by Shiki and he orders Doctor to find Train and to give him back his severed right hand. Doctor later injects Creed with healing nanomachines and puts him into an artificial coma. Creed is seen again at the end of volume 3, still recovering, musing about the growing conflict between him and the Chrono Numbers.

War against Chronos
Sometime later, a fully-healed Creed declares war to the entire world. The Apostles of the Star go to Sanzers City (the Black Cat counterpart of New York) for the World Conference: an international meeting that gathers twenty of the most powerful state leaders, including seven of Chronos' highest-ranking executives. The Apostles slaughter every soldier and politician before taking their leave. Hearing this, the Elders of Chronos order the Chrono Numbers to make the annihilation of the Apostles of the Star their absolute priority.

The Chrono Numbers I and II, Sephiria Arks and Belze Rochefort pay Train, Sven and Eve a visit, telling them that Chronos has labeled Creed as a Double S class criminal and put a 3 billion yens bounty on his head. Surprisingly, while Train is still determined to defeat Creed by his own hand, he is no longer interested in rushing after him. Meanwhile, Creed and his group travel around the world, destroying several of Chronos' sub-organizations.

Shortly after the Numbers visit, Train defeats Durham, who wants to prove that he is the world's strongest gunman. Irked by his insubordination and by his desire to kill Train, Creed later kills Durham, which prompts Charden to doubt about Creed's motives.

The battle of the old castle
In the volume 8, the Apostles of the Stars are hiding in a castle in the mountains, near the city of Stoke Town. Many bounty hunters manage to track them down but those who are not killed serve as guinea pigs for Doctor's experiments on nanomachines.

Sephiria Arks then sends the group Cerberus, consisting of the Numbers V, VII and XI, to eliminate him and uses Rinslet Walker as a bait. Creed has Rinslet brought into his castle, but the Numbers follow her and storm his hideout. Creed greets them, holding Rinslet hostage, and forces them to fight a brainwashed bounty hunter, whom Doctor transformed into a shape-shifting werewolf thanks to nanomachines called the "Lucifer". The Numbers manage to kill the werewolf but instead of setting Rinslet free like he promised, Creed sends her falling to her death in a chasm. The numbers save Rinslet in-extremis and engage a fight against Creed, who gets backed up by several Apostles.

After a little while, Train enters the castle and joins the fight, "guided" by the Chrono Number X. Overjoyed, Creed believes that Train has come to join his side but Train answers by shooting him. After a few shots, Train grabs Rinslet and departs, stating that he has nothing to do in the conflict between the Apostles of the Star and the Chrono Numbers. Distraught, Creed unlocks the Imagine Blade Level 2 and uses it against the Chrono Numbers, while the Apostles exit the castle which is about to be blown up. Creed gets rescued by Echidna but his left arm is severed in the fight. The castle explodes and Creed and Echidna take shelter in a doctor's house. (Creed later kills the unfortunate doctor.)

The following day, Creed finds Train's whereabouts. He convinces himself that if he kills Train's partners, Train would lose what makes him a bounty hunter and join his side. Creed and Echidna set a trap to drag Sven and Eve in a Church, where Creed attacks Sven and tries to talk Eve into joining the Apostles of the Star. Creed then changes his mind and decides to turn Sven into a monster by shooting him with a bullet full of "Lucifer" nanomachines. Train comes in at the last second and blocks the bullet with his arm, before punching Creed in the face. Creed ultimately departs with Echidna, and Train is turned into a child by the nanomachines.

Nanomachines of immortality
Train, Sven and Eve goes to find the world's greatest Nano technician, Dr Tearyu Lunatic, (who happens to have created Eve from her own DNA) who would be able to revert Train's transformation. Meanwhile, the Apostles of the Star contact Dr Tearyu and ask her to create nanomachines that would make Creed immortal. She ultimately rejects the Apostles' offer and helps Train to transform back into an adult. Trains transforms back and he gains the ability to turn his gun into a Rail Gun (an electricity powered gun able to fire extremely fast and devastating bullets) in the process. Train uses his newfound power to save Dr Tearyu from the Apostles of the Stars, who stole her knowledge and were about to get rid of her.

The battle of Clarken Island
The Chrono Numbers eventually discover the Apostles of the Stars' main hideout on Clarken Island, and have Number X use a false identity to recruit many powerful bounty hunters; including Train, Sven and Eve. The Numbers plan to send the newly formed Sweeper's League on Clarken Island to distract the Apostles of the Star, while Sephiria Arks would sneak into Creed's manor and engage a one-on-one swordfight against Creed.

On Clarken Island, Train and his friends manage to take down most of the Apostles, but each other sweeper ends up forced to withdraw at one point or another. Upon entering Creed's manor, Train and his friends meet the villain in person, who wanted to speak to Train. Creed asks Train if he has come to avenge Saya like he did last time, but Train tells him that he is here to capture him as a sweeper. Horrified, Creed laments that Train was totally "swallowed by that witch's spell". He then departs, telling Train that he'd rather see him dead than see him the way he is now.

Creed orders his remaining followers to give everything they have in the fight, hoping that this would turn back Train into a ruthless killer. In the ensuing battles, two of the remaining bounty hunters get brainwashed and two other get severely wounded, leaving only Train, Sven and Eve. While the Chrono Numbers help the wounded sweepers to get out safely, Sephiria manages to reach Creed and challenges him to a fight.

The world's two strongest swordfighters then do battle, but in spite of her superior skills, Sephiria cannot kill Creed. Sephiria deals two lethal wounds, but the demented anarchist recovers in a matter of seconds because of his new "God Bless" nanomachines that make him immortal. (The "God Bless" even gave him back his left arm.)

Creed wounds Sephiria, before telling him about his new "godhood" and the only weak point he has left: his brain. Sephiria then unleashes Apocalypse (her most devastating attack) and reduces Creed to dust... Or so it seems. This near-death experience unlocks the Imagine Blade Level 3, which Creed uses to escape Apocalypse by hiding under the floor at the very last second. He then reverts to the Level 2 and defeats Sephiria, preparing to land the coup de grace. Unbeknownst to him however, Sephiria wears an explosive bangle which would detonate with her last breath and destroy his brain.

Meanwhile, Echidna unleashes the Phantom Star Brigade. Only Train is allowed to enter Creed's private quarters, while Sven, Eve and the Numbers must fight against the cyborgs. Train arrives just in time to save Sephiria's life, saying that he has come to "deliver bad luck" to Creed. The hour of their decisive confrontation has come.

Final Showdown
"Degraded as you are, you're still the Black Cat, the only man in this world I respected... That's why I can't forgive you!!"

- Creed Diskenth (to Train Heartnet)

Creed starts the fight with his Imagine Blade Level 1, determined to kill Train to "save his soul". However, Train is now able to detect it by reading Creed's movements and he strikes his enemy with his gun. Creed then recovers, telling Train about his immortality and his weak point.

Creed retaliates with the Imagine Blade Level 2 and drives Train into a corner, but the young sweeper manages to hit him with Saya's signature technique: the Reflect Shot (bouncing bullets). Infuriated by Train's sweeper-like fighting style, Creed reveals his ultimate form, the Imagine Blade Level 3. Given his immortality, the sheer strength of his blows and Train's weakened state from his previous battles, Creed gains the upper hand. Train then decides to destroy the Imagine Blade, which would shatter Creed's mind and defeat him. Yet, all his attempts prove unsuccessful.

Helped by Saya's spirit, Train ultimately combines all his remaining electric power with an explosive bullet to create the Burst Rail Gun, the most powerful attack he can muster. Enraged, Creed calls forth his Imagine Blade at its maximum level and prepares to obliterate him. As both attacks collide, the Imagine Blade ultimately disintegrates, shattering Creed's power and mind. As they are about to fall from the manor's roof, both Creed and Train are rescued by Leon, who witnessed the entire fight.

Conclusion
Creed later wakes up, conscious but paralyzed, and Eve uses her nanomachines to destroy his "God Bless" ones and revert him back to a mortal state. As Creed pleas Train to kill him so that he would not be a "mere" human again and asks him why he does not understand his hatred for a world that mistreated them, Train tells him that he must live on as a human and bear the weight of his crimes for the rest of his life, like he himself did. He then allows Echidna to depart with him.

Having been proved wrong through his own logic, Creed ends up confined in a wheelchair in a nearly vegetative state, under Echidna's care. Now that the Apostles of the Star have been disbanded and that Creed is reduced to the state of powerlessness he despised so much, the former terrorist has his entire life left to reflect on his past and his mistakes.

In the Anime
In the anime, Creed first appears as an eraser for Chronos.

Creed meets Shiki and Maro when he still is an eraser, and they begin to create the Apostles of the Star while Train still serves as a Chrono Number. Creed later betrays Chronos and tries to make Train join his side before he kills Saya, and it is Train, not Saya who breaks the blade of his katana. Creed also kills Number X and Saya after he gained his power of Tao.

The rest of the story is more or less the same as in the manga, but Creed is portrayed as even more demented and obsessed with Train. As for Train, he is portrayed as crazy with revenge, far from his easy-going manga counterpart who learnt to detach himself from his gory past. It must be noted that Creed has gained immortality during the time gap between his defection from Chronos and the creation of the Apostles of the Star.

Creed and Train meet again during the Apostles' attack of the World Conference, because Creed broadcasted an "invitation" instead of luring him to the Lunafort tower with a hostage. Train manages to wound Creed in the belly when they meet again, yet Creed heals immediately thanks to the "God Bless" nanomachines (which are never mentioned). Also, contrary to the manga, each time they meet Train attacks Creed in blind rage, intending to kill. It is only during the showdown in the castle than Train finally chooses the safety of his friends over his revenge.

Creed spends most of the Battle of Clarken Island playing the piano, not caring the slightest about anyone but Train. He later fights against Sephiria, and once again defeats her thanks to his immortality, but his Imagine Blade Level 2 does all the fighting while he is busy playing the piano. Train later uses the Orichalcum bullet that Sephiria gave him to defeat Creed, and Sephiria helps him by stabbing Creed in the back while Train attack from the front.

In the anime, when Creed loses his nanomachines of immortality, he apparently recovers his sanity. This reformation is symbolized by the fact that he is now seen with white roses in hand instead of red ones.

In the anime, Creed's crippled state is short lived and he and Echidna take part in the battle against the Zero Numbers and Eden. Apparently the Apostles of the Star and the Zero Numbers were in contact from the very beginning and worked together. (The Zero Numbers may even have manipulated Creed and the Apostles.)

Creed, who knew about the "Eden" project manages to sneak into Eden alongside Echidna (likely thanks to Echidna's power) as Train and Sven are fighting the leader of the Zero Numbers, Mason Ordrosso. Creed takes over the battle, allowing Train and Sven to go ahead. Creed is later saved when Echidna takes one of Mason's attacks for him. After "Eden" and the Zero Numbers are destroyed, Creed is seen living with Echidna in a chalet in mountain, where he is painting a landscape.

No one really knows however if he retained his power of Tao or if he simply fought against Mason with a regular katana.