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| “ | The Lord is merciful. If you have done this to appease your own sense of justice then you must repent immediately. Please thank the Lord for His guidance. All is delivered through the mercy of the Lord. | „ |
| ~ High Priest Balamus to Naofumi, erred through the mercy of the Lord. |
Biscas T. Balmus, also known as the Pope, is a major antagonist in The Rising of the Shield Hero franchise, specifically serving as one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Aultcray Melromarc XXXII) of the first quarter of the story.
He is the corrupt and fanatical leader of the Church of the Three Heroes, who plots to kill the royal family and take over the Kingdom of Melromarc.
He is voiced by Takayuki Sugou, who also voiced Hundred-Faced High Priest Chaos, Thousand-Faced High Priest Gaos, and Zangetsu.
Personality[]
At first, Balamus seemed to be a peaceful and kind individual when Naofumi first met him. In spite of what the hero felt to be a patronizing, if not condescending tone whilst speaking of God's mercy. Deep inside, however, he has a warped and fanatical personality alongside a deeply routed God Complex.
Often preaching with the steadfast belief that anything done for his convenience in order to secure the Church of the Three Heroes' influence is the will of God. When his religion begins to be questioned, Balamus starts claiming the idols of his faith to be imposters. Showing his true nature towards them, seeing the pillars of said movement as nothing more than mere titles at best.
Revealing himself to be little less than a deranged zealot just like his staunch followers. Willing to do anything in defense of his delusional pontifications, even if it means devaluing the very focuses his religion worships.
The pope is more than willing to make rather ambitious plans that would heavily affect the kingdom and the world. Having used his deep connections in said home nation to do away with any opposing authority in the fiefdom for personal benefit. The High priest being so narrow-minded in fact, that he calls all of his actions "the will of God". Also claiming that his followers who died in the fight against the Devil of the Shield to be gifted with going to Heaven. After seeing his followers constantly rising from the defeat and pain, Naofumi suspects the High Priest of using some sort of brainwashing charm of his own for selfish advantages. Meaning that Balmus is not beyond using underhanded and petty stratagems to gain victory.
When wielding the replica of the legendary weapons, Bisca T. Balmus proclaimed himself to be God and anyone opposing him as evil, The Pope revealing himself to be merely a maniacal hypocrite with fervent, albeit bent, views of self-serving and twisted justice. This belief even extended as far as him planning to make the Shield Hero out as an evil deity in his religion as part of a pact with the king, who hated the Shield Hero of the previous generation for being worshipped by demi-humans
In the light novel, Balamus is even worse and more brutal than his counterparts in either the manga and/or anime. He attacks a village that was already devastated by the acts of one of the incompetent heroes who unleashed a sealed creature on said town which was closest to the border checkpoint before getting called out on his hypocrisy by Naofumi.
He also proves to be more-so backbiting, not to mention a self-righteous poser whom preaches sanctity while denouncing the false heroes whom his clan praises while committing other atrocities. Particularly whilst admonishing Itsuki for his misuse of power for the sake of personal grandstanding, when Naofumi came to the conclusion that the lord whom his fellow savior had dethroned in a villa he'd liberated was in fact a staunch follower of the church whom only taxed his citizens unfairly so as to fund the pope's misdeeds. Moreover, it was revealed that his sect had in fact murdered Queen Mirella's stand -in whilst the waves were getting underway to push their intrigue while she was away.
Relationships[]
Enemies[]
Naofumi Iwatani[]
Being the primary mover of his particular faith and a staunch follower of the cult's beliefs. Pope Balmus only ever saw Naofumi for what the religious movement always ever painted the shield as. That being the Devil opposed to their particular godly revelation. From the beginning he and his followers in the Three Heroes Church viewed both the Shield Hero and his following of Demi-Humans as aspirant's to Satan himself. Secretly working behind the scenes with Trash a.k.a. King Aultcray in order to hobble and/or deter the shared target of their ire in any way they could think of. I.e. Propping up the rigged duel between Naofumi and the Spear Hero Motoyasu to framing him for brainwashing the citizens of Melromarc along his travels, on top of kidnapping the second princess whom the Church intended to assassinate and frame the Shield for her murder.
As per the main Doctrine of the Church of the Three Heroes, Pope Balmus was dead set on considering any and all whom served beside him to be nothing more then the mortal enemy of all that is righteous in the world. Only ever coming off as abulantly amiable during the first meeting between himself and the much hated Devil of the Shield merely to make a good, albeit faultily misleading, first impression. What truly galled him the most however, was that Naofumi never once acted in a manner befitting the slander and demonization of his religious sect. Bisca's frustrations with which only ever growing more and more extent over time as the individual he worked so hard to derail and dispose of only ever kept gaining in accolades as well as notoriety whilst o'erleaping whatever impediments The Pope and his order set up in his wake. Only ever going into a tangent rant while revealing his true character to all whom he surveyed during his battle with the preconceived Shield Demon.
Going into a rant about how Naofumi's presence tainted the world, the political meddling of nobility and royalty defamed the church & its influence alongside the three archetypes whom spawned his maligned religion failed miserably at maintaining the country's primary faith; due in part to the Spear, Bow and Sword's general ineptitude. All for the sake of correcting the misperceived problems his own apocryphal bigotry had brought upon him and his to start with. Even before all of this, Mr. Iwatani could see through much of his false affability and felt he was being looked down upon by the pastor as much as he was by said cult's followers. Going so far as to call him a hypocritical madman who screwed over his own faith with all the underhanded antics he and the cult pulled whilst in their heated battle.
Raphtalia[]
Being a Demi-Human, Raphtalia was held in contempt by all within the unofficial holy movement; not just by nobility of the state. Pope Bisca T. Balmus, as with all members of the radical Three Heroes Church; looked upon her as a living blight in need of eradication for the sake of making a purer, perfected world. Having been revealed in "Reprise of the Spear Hero" he'd always intended to invade and raze Siltvelt and Shieldfreiden to the ground and kill every las Demi-Human within arms reach as a means of ethnic cleansing.
Itsuki Kawasumi[]
As with all those summoned to be their patron saviors, the exception being Shield Hero Iwatani, high priest Balmus only ever saw Sir Itsuki as a useful pawn in his fanatical clergy's conspiracies to overturn power within the kingdom they summoned him to. Finding his heroic superego a particularly malleable tool for him to bend and mold in the direction of said cultist's will; hoping to use the clueless lack of understanding said individual chosen as the Bow Hero for his own nefarious purposes & intent. The malignant pastor having little to no real issues turning mister Kawasumi's purview of right & wrong to priesthood's gain.
This all changed when Itsuki and his parties underwhelming performance as the sanctioned saviors of the world had been turned on its head. The pope considerably having come to detest Itsuki the most out of all their failed summoned heroes, The Bow's contemptibility in Balmus's eyes comparable only to the Devil of the Shield by right. Particularly because not only did Itsuki's antics in playing the unknown savior in a kingdom territory end up destabilizing the region. Causing a break out of rebel factions vying for power with the poor & impoverished whom had been taxed beyond their means being displaced from their homes, landing in the waiting laps of the Shield Hero and his party's traveling sales convenience. Something which only served to further the likable credibility towards the daemon archetype of their heretical faith while landing more heavy blows to the cultist faith's influence. The noble lord whom Itsuki deposed while hiding his status as the Hero of the Bow was in fact a supporter of the popes Church whom funneled all the forcibly acquired overhead from the towns people directly towards the Three Heroes Church's coffers.
Something Naofumi deduced when he and Motoyasu were later confronted by the madman and his acolytes at the checkpoint later during the web novel. The final straw that would break the camels back, would be when after the Shield Hero convinced Mr. Kawasumi and the Sword Hero to think carefully about whose in the right or not after they confronted him over the second princesses kidnapping. Causing the two to run a private investigation into the shady deeds of Melromarc's chosen faith. Only to run afoul of a trap set by their former benefactors stationed to kill them. All for the sake of further slandering the hated Shield Hero in the name of the Pope and his loyalists web of deceits as well as his ultimate plans against crown and country.
Motoyasu Kimatura[]
In the beginning, Pope Balmus thought of Mr. Kitamura as a useful peon for bringing about fame and prestige to the Three Heroes Church's name, especially since he was the anointed of the blatantly hated but equally easily manipulated first princess. Looking to use the chosen Spear Hero in his churches scheme to gain power over Melromarc and the world as a whole whilst the Waves of Catastrophe were underway. A viable plan seeing as all whom were summoned had little to no real idea of how the world works; making it rather easy to convince the naïve newcomer to his point of view with the royal pains help. Over time however, he came to rescind this train thought when Motoyasu and the other two of three faith archetypes went around causing more problems for the cult's overall plans than they rightly amended. The pope labeling his would be drone as as phony whom damaged the citizen's belief in church's teachings about their primary faith. Balmus taking particular offense when Motoyasu's antics in giving a sealed creature to a local villa, causing the township & its denizens incredible harm, only for the accursed Shield Hero to come in and gain good social standing for cleaning up the former's mess. When confronting both parties of the Shield & Spear, he even slighted Motoyasu and the respective Bow & Sword heroes as a pestilence in similar regards to the Royal family whom the deranged zealot equally despised. Flat out citing how the hero's arrogant, foolish actions only affirmed Biscas's citing him as an impostor of a religious symbol as he unabashedly mentioned how he killed Ren & Itsuki earlier on for similar slights.
Ren Amaki[]
Biscas initially considered using the Sword; one of three of the heroes church's most holy idols, as a useful pawn in his sects many long stretching schemes in store for Melromarc. Thinking he could use him to the faith's own advantages by taking into account his knowing absolutely nothing about the strange land the newly appointed Sword Hero had been conjured into, Ren having little to no real idea of how anything worked in this world. Thus making him easy enough to turn him to Pope Balmus's world view for the sake of the world, as he would put it mainly. Said train of thought quickly faded from the worldview of the Three Heroes Cult after public opinion began to change in favor of the Shield. In no small part due to the fact that the false Sword Hero, as he would later on be categorized due to a mishap on his part that resulted in a territory in the Kingdom he and his party traveled through which fell to infection & disease when a dragon he slew wasn't properly disposed of. An event which resulted in the Shield Demon garnering an even greater following which further damaged the priories influence in the country after he'd cleaned up Amaki's mess. This coupled with the Three Holy Heroes floundering during the second wave causes the people to look up to the Shield as a true hero whilst slating the Sword as a reckless incompetent. Completely inverting the stance that which Melromarc was founded upon. The pope lost all care and/or patience in his following's own idols when Ren, along with Itsuki, opted to plumb the depths of the Pope's questionable tendencies. This, given their past mistakes in tandem, opted the Pope to eliminate those whom amongst the false faith following deemed impostors alongside the Spear Hero and the hated Devil Shield. Pope Balmus leading Ren to a secluded burial site only to have the group ritual; Judgement, cast upon them to kill off their false idol's so as to blame it upon the Shield.
Royal Family[]
Aultcray Melromarc XXXII[]
Being the seditious anti monarchial/matriarchal figure he was. Bisca T. Balmus held King Aultcray in personal disdain like he did with the rest of the royal family. Only ever opting to use Trash's blind hatred of the Shield to further his own and that of the Church's speciest, bigoted ends. Something which the Queen of Melromarc cited when she admonished her husband and their disgraceful eldest daughter for working in tandem with the treasonous prophet. Despite coaxing the king into summoning all four of the cardinal heroes to their territory for the sake of manipulating them for entirely selfish purposes. He'd always intended to eliminate the foolish king consort and replace him with a proxy ruler in the manga, and flat out stated his design to stage an uprising to depose the ruling family in the anime. For even if the general plan was to work him into summoning all the cardinal heroes to their sole nation whilst disposing of the Shield through their respective means, depriving the other countries of their shared faiths patron idols. The pope held very little esteem of the trashy king Aultcray. Going so far as hypocritically citing his country's royalty as a blight upon the face of which whom often abused their authority for the sake of shortsighted designs and/or petty personal gain. Disgracing and insulting both the presbyter's selected few whom answer directly to God himself as His chosen ones.
Mirellia Q Melromarc[]
The only person whom Pope Balmus and the Church he conducted ever truly feared out of most everyone within the country of Melromarc was the queen. More so frugal and influential a leader than King Aultcray ever was, as well as compared to many amongst the aristocracy like Idol Rabier. The Priesthood chose to wait until the Waves of Catastrophe got underway to get up to any of their scheming, and much of the more serious planning and plotting done by the Pope and his sect had to be done whilst Mirellia was away on political jaunts to be commenced without arousing her suspicions. Even still, feeling that he had already won. What with wielding a relic powered by the faith of his zealots from bygone times in hand. High Priest Bisca still overlooked the onset of her return with the whole of the Melromarc Army at her back. Urging on his followers to fight the false heroes and the Devil of the Shield to the bitter end.
Melty Q Melromarc[]
Even with his extent and glaringly vindictive disregard for the state's highest nobility. Biscas's resentment of the familial lineage was somewhat tempered by the sharp minded, inquisitive nature of the one poised to succeed the royal line. Often favoring Melty over the bratty lackwit she was unfortunate enough to share blood ties with whom was all too busy running her grimy little conspiracies behind the scenes and being a general hindrance in name if not by right. Still, it was by The high religious authority's decision to use treacherous soldiers within the capitols armed forces devout to the Three Heroes faith for pursuing her demise. All in an extreme attempt to derail and dispose of the Shield Hero by blaming him for murdering the heir apparent to the throne of Melromarc. Exclaiming as much vitriol and scorn of the ruling power of the kingdom as much at her sleazy sister Malty as much as toward the second princess herself when the Three Heroes Church has the parties of the Spear and Shield cornered at the time.
Malty S. Melromarc[]
Whilst in the original novels, Malty was just foolhardily scheming around the Church's web of intrigue to her own treacherous benefit, having no real affiliation with the Pope nor his manic followers whatsoever. Still Pope Balmus saw Malty for what she truly was: A self-serving runt whose blighted, entitled nature only ever served to show just how she was about as unfit for the role of leadership as it gets, much in the same vein as her mother Mirellia did. Opting to eliminate the unrightful heir to the throne alongside the false Spear Hero and his party whilst battling him and the Devil of the Shield.
Going so far as to slight her and her puppet champion as vulgar people whom the world would be better off without. This relationship is broadened upon in the anime & manga however. With princess Malty being a willing conspirator in on both her father and the High Priests ploy's, for the most part. In actuality, Priest Biscas had little to no real respect nor care for the reviled royal brat at all. Not any more than he did for the rest of the pinnacle of Melromarcian society's ruling family. Only ever using her as a means to an end, and bitterly loathing having to associate with Whore every step of the way. The haughty royal's reviled and crooked lack of a personality showing the very meanspirited corruption Balmus denounces the entire matriarchy for, being one of the primary motivations to eliminate the countries principality so he can take power for himself.
He goes so far a to liken Malty and her whole maligned clan as a living infection whom only ever abused their power for shortsighted, idiotic ends. Even comparing the princess to her younger sister out personal disfavor towards the. Slighting the elder of the two for being a conniving, empty-headed sort whom was always ill suited to be any kind of real leader. The Pope going so far as to flat out describe her and the false Spear Hero she's partnered up with as little more than a pair of talking corpses reanimated by the Shield Demon. Stating that as far as God was concerned, her death was preordained, capping it with all whom his sect had marked for death finally meeting their untimely end being the will of God himself.
Allies[]
Idol Rabier[]
Like many aristocrats within the country of Melromarc, Idol was a staunch follower of the Church of Three Heroes to a tee, being such that he would willfully torture Princess Melty for information about the Shield Demon. On top of brutalizing another noblemen whom was more accommodating the Demi-Humans whom idol and other charters of the faith despised with a passion on behalf of God. It was never truly established on what level he and Pope Balmus cooperated, but it can be assumed the malignant priest trusted him enough to enact his and the will of God. At least well enough to hamper, if not do away with the Shield Hero.
Nuns[]
To be added
Soldiers[]
To be added
Faith Recipients[]
To be added
Nobles[]
To be added
Shadows[]
To be added
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The High Priest's name is only revealed in the anime and is never mentioned in either web story, light novels, or manga.
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 Villains
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Melromarc Kingdom Glass' World Legendary Heroes Former Companions Medea's Reincarnators Vanguards of the Waves Army of the Waves Church of the Three Heroes Faubley Siltvelt | ||