Claudius

Claudius the Chancellor is a high-class Genma that appears in Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams and is the leading member of the Genma Triumvirate, standing below only the Creator God Fortinbras in authority among the Genma.

Appearance

Claudius is a massive Genma that takes the appearance of a centipede with around 38-40 pairs of small red scythe-shaped legs across its long body. The underside of its body shares the same color as its legs while the upper side is far blacker in hue, and a pair of large, bladed mandibles are attached to the front. A smaller black face can also be seen in between these mandibles with gold-colored teeth and a pair of long thin gold antennae protruding from the top.

History

The Oni-Genma War

Also known as the Chancellor, Claudius was a devoted servant to the Creator God Fortinbras and the leading member of the Genma Triuvirate, serving alongside Rosencrantz and Ophelia. The three became leading figures of authority among the Genma, with only Fortinbras himself outranking them, and they all served him faithfully. Believed to be an architect, Claudius was tasked with bringing law and order to Genma society. When the Oni made war with the Genma tens of thousands of years ago within the Demon World at the behest of the Oni God of Destruction, Claudius would expertly lead the Genma forces into battle against them, also being a highly skilled tactician and general. Unfortunately, while the Destroyer God failed to kill Fortinbras despite wielding the Bishamon Sword, the Triumvirate would fail to stop the Oni from sealing his godly power within a celestial body known as the Omen Star before sealing the star itself within the Underworld, sacrificing themselves in the process.

At the same time, the Genma Triumvirate would eventually be defeated in battle by the Oni and imprisoned in the Underworld alongside the Omen Star itself, leaving the Destroyer God with the final task of trapping a weakened Fortinbras by impaling himself and the Genma Lord with the Bishamon Sword, using himself as the final seal. With this act, Fortinbras is left permanently trapped within the Demon World and is rendered unable to enter the Human World himself, and the impaled corpse of the Oni God is itself sealed within a separate section of the Demon World, the Oni creating the Bishamon Ocarina as the only way to access it and the Bishamon Sword. In the aftermath, both the Oni and the Genma were left severely weakened, putting a stop to the latter's initial plans to launch an invasion against the human world, though the Genma would slowly begin to seduce humans with promises of power in exchange for servitude as the years would pass. As for the Triumvirate, they would remain trapped in the Underworld with the Omen Star and their strength would slowly begin to wane, with Claudius and Rosencrantz eventually becoming so weak that they proved incapable of physically manifesting anymore. While it is not known how many, a large number of lesser Genma were also trapped in the Underworld with them.

Breaking the Genma Seal

Between the late 1580s and early 1590s, during the reign of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Mitsunati Ishida would become enamored with the prospect of Genma power and successfully break the seal on the Underworld, freeing the Genma Triumvirate from their confinement, though Claudius and Rosencrantz could only exist in spiritual forms after having been locked away for so long. Immediately seeing the potential for a human servant, Claudius offer Mitsunari the chance to gain the power of the Genma if he allowed the Chancellor to inhabit his body for the foreseeable future and aid them in their plan to fully resurrect the Creator God Fortinbras. Mitsunari would immediately and enthusiastically agree to Claudius' terms, allowing him to inhabit his body and beginning to further break the seal to allow more Genma into the Human World. With this, he would speak with Hideyoshi about the possibility of utilizing the Genma in order to expand his reign, and Hideyoshi would approve on conducting Genma research by mandating the construction of the Toyokinu Reseach Facility in both Sakai and Shimabara.

Alongside Mitsunari, Luis Frois would be assigned to spearhead this research, and they would soon unearth the Dark Stones, housing each of them in an underground chamber beneath each facility. This allows Rosencrantz to begin possessing Luis, slowly draining his sanity and self-control before taking over his mind completely as he forces the missionary to begin performing fatal experiments on his 26 children. With only his final child Roberto Frois remaining, Luis manages to use what little self-control he has left to implant the Exorcising Beads within his body and sneak him out of the facility, and while Claudius and Rosencrantz become aware of the existence of the Exorcising Beads, they fail to learn what Luis had done with them before Rosencrantz completes his possession.

Onimusha: Twilight of Desire

In 1595, after the birth of Hideyori Toyotomi, Mitsunari would discover that Hideyoshi's nephew, Hidetsugu Toyotomi, had begun to harbor a desire to kill and overthrow his uncle. While he would soon arrive at the Jurakudai Palace and warn him that Hideyoshi would learn of this, this would also give Ophelia the chance to seduce him with an offer of Genma Power, appearing before him and producing Genma Insects for him to consume after Mitsunari had left. With Hidetsugu taking Ophelia's offer, he would be tasked with infiltrating Mt. Hiei and stealing the Oni Gauntlet from Tenkai Nankobo in order to release the sealed soul of the late Genma Lord Nobunaga Oda in order to use his power to conquer the world. At the same time, having prior knowledge of Tenkai's former identity of Samanosuke Akechi, a revived Guildenstern would create a Genma Puppet in the image of Samanosuke's late companion Kaede to aid in the attack. This attack is a success thanks to the intervention of the Genma Puppet, allowing Hidetsugu to steal the Gauntlet and absorb half of Nobunaga's power before Tenkai manages to slice the Gauntlet in half and escape with the other half with the aid of Arin.

Mitsunari would report this attack to an enraged Hideyoshi, Mt. Hiei having been granted the latter's official protection, and after realizing that he would be unable to have him executed as punishment, he learns from Mitsunari that the Genma Seal is around 30% broken and decides to begin utilizing the Genma in order to combat Hidetsugu's forces. He soon launches an attack on the Jurakudai Palace, with Guildenstern and Ophelia watching the battle from overhead as they notice how powerful Hidetsugu had become, and they both agree that it doesn't matter who wins so long as both of them use the Genma, preparing to side with whoever is left. In the end, Hidetsugu personally leads his own forces to victory and forces Hideyoshi to remain in Fushimi Castle while Hidetsugu takes of Kyoto entirely. In the end, Tenkai and Arin form an alliance with Hinagiku in order to infiltrate the Jurakudai Palace, leading to the deaths of Kagesada Maeno, Guildenstern and even Hidetsugu himself, the latter being left overwhelmed once Tenkai manages to steal back the second half of the Gauntlet and reform it in order to transform into his Oni form. While he also manages to corner Ophelia soon after, the intervention of the Genma Puppet allows her to escape, forcing Tenkai, Arin and Hinagiku to do the same.

On August 3rd of that year, following the death of Hidetsugu, Hideyoshi would arrange the execution of 39 people that were connected to him including his wives, concubines and children. Mitsunari would soon report the success of this execution, though Hideyoshi remains unsatisfied as he demands that anything remotely connected to Hidetsugu is to be destroyed, whether it is a castle or a family. Incensed that his rule was threatened, Hideyoshi decides that utilizing the strength of the Genma is now a necessity, but Mitsunari assures that he has nothing to fear now that he has the Genma's power, and with Rosencrantz and Ophelia fully siding with Hideyoshi, they soon manage to convince him of their plan to revive the Creator God with him as the physical vessel and sacrifice Lady Yodo in order to create the Genma Mother Tree within Fushimi Castle. From here on out, Ophelia would remain disguised as Yodo in order to maintain appearances. From here on out, the Triumvirate would begin their work in spawning and gathering Genma Trees in order to prepare for the Daigo Blossoming Festival and produce enough dark essence to break the seal on the Underworld entirely in the hopes of finally freeing the Omen Star. With Hideyoshi now following the plan, Ophelia inplants the Genma Seed in order to fuel his power and prepare him to be a suitable vessel for Fortinbras' revival.

Onimusha: Night of Genesis

Volume 1

In 1596, Mitsunari and Claudius are present at a gathering at Fushimi Castle when Hideyoshi's adoptive son, Hideyasu Yuki, makes the decision to separate from his father and attempt to kill him after witnessing the horror of the foreign war. While he manages to defeat a Genma Insect-infested Kiyomasa Kato who tries to stop him, Hideyasu is quickly stopped in his tracks regardless of when an earthquake is triggered and rocks Fushimi Castle, having been caused by the Underworld seal finally breaking entirely as the Omen Star emerges in the human world. Realizing that he cannot defeat Hideyoshi here, Hideyasu's rage awakens his innate Oni power, and Claudius realizes that he is actually an Oni, though initially doesn't see him as a genuine threat as he is. After escaping, Hideyasu meets and forms an alliance with Minokichi and begins working to burn the Genma Trees after having learned their true purpose, gaining the nickname of Soki, Oni of the Ash. Following the appearance of the Omen Star, Hideyoshi begins to give Genma Insects to his forces in order to inflate their power, including the likes of Naoyuki Ban Danemon, though while he remained fiercely loyal to Mitsunari, his retainer Sakon Shima refused to eat them despite his orders, instead expressing concern for his obsession with the Genma. In the end, Claudius asks Ophelia to use a special mask in order to reduce him to an unwilling slave to their will and infusing him with Genma power.

Volume 2

In 1597, after the failed attack on the Yagyu Village by Ophelia and Munenori Yagyu, Ieyasu Tokugawa assures Hideyoshi that he will handle Hideyasu due to being his own biological son. However, Ieyasu instead chooses to do nothing and instead wait for Hideyoshi's rule to inevitably self-destruct due to the latter's usage of the Genma. Mitsunari does at one point visit the Jurakudai Palace in order to remind the Tokugawa family of their promise to deal with Soki, but Ieyasu remains unphased when his sons later express concern for it. Mitsunari is present in Osaka Castle when the Dark Stone in the Toyokuni Research Facility activates, leading him to confront Tenkai on the rooftops of Sakai.

Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams

Preparing for the Blossoming Festival

On the rooftops of Sakai, Mitsunari confronts Tenkai as the latter attempts to figure out and stop the Genma's plans, though after witnessing the activation of the Dark Stone, he is soon overwhelmed and defeated by Mitsunari thanks to Claudius' power, and he is dropped form the rooftops after being warned that he will fail unless the Black Oni appears. Following this battle, Mitsunari retreats from Sakai in order to avoid the destruction of Sakai the next morning. However, as reports of Soki's efforts to burn the Genma Trees continued to surface, Claudius would soon realize that he was actually the Black Oni, deeming him a threat to their ultimate plan. By 1598, while still inhabiting Mitsunari's body, he would remain within Sawayama Castle as he oversaw the continued gathering of Genma Trees as they are transported to Kyoto. After Soki manages to forge an alliance with Akane Yagyū and Tenkai, they launch an effort to rescue Roberto from the dungeons of Sawayama Castle, though after a tense exchange with the westerner who remained focused on taking revenge against Luis Frois, Soki and Tenkai are forced to fight an arriving Sakon while Roberto escapes in order to find Luis.

After defeating Sakon and forcing him to flee, Soki and Tenkai are left trapped in the dungeons before Ohatsu drops a rope from the well overhead and allowing Soki to climb out, giving him the chance to tell her the truth of the Genma Trees. At the same time, Claudius is visited by Rosencrantz, still possessing Luis Frois, and after expressing annoyance at being called Luis, he reports to Claudius that the preparations at Daigo Temple are now complete and that they only need to gather enough Genma Trees to complete their plan. Having sprung the trap that initially trapped Soki and Tenkai, they predict that Soki will escape rather quickly and arrive soon, the two deciding to wait for him after confirming that there has been no update on Ophelia outside of keep watch over Hideyoshi. After managing to convince Ohatsu to join him, the two almost reach the top of the castle only to be intercepted by Munenori who reminds her that her life is in his hands, forcing her to return to his side in order to prevent him from triggering the Genma Insects that she had been forced to consume, leading to Soki being forced to fight and defeat Munenori, though the latter does manage to use a smoke bomb to flee.

Soki soon climbs to the top floor of the castle to confront Mitsunari and Luis Frois, and he demands to know if he is responsible for Hideyoshi's recent atrocities. Mitsunari is quick to deny this and encourages Soki to go to Kyoto and speak to Hideyoshi himself, but their conversation is interrupted as Roberto bursts in through a hidden door. Mitsunari is forced to activate a trap door beneath the two and drop them into the floor below as they prepare to leave, though Claudius eases Rosencrantz' worries about losing another test subject that they will likely follow them to Kyoto. As they call after the two Genma, Soki and Roberto are forced instead to face the dormant Dark Wasp as it wakes up and attacks, defeating it and heading back to the hideout alongside Tenkai and Akane.

Defending Daigo Temple

Claudius and Mitsunari return to Daigo Temple alongside Munenori and prepare for the incoming arrival of the Oni, and they are quick to separate them once they do, with Munenori and Rosencrantz drawning Akane and Roberto away while Claudius manages to taunt Soki into rushing alone towards Hideyoshi. Before Tenkai can stop him, Claudius calls Sakon to face him, standing back to enjoy their battle. In the end, Tenkai manages to defeat Sakon, causing him to begin fighting the influence of Ophelia's mask, and while noting that Sakon "needs more work", Claudius decides to step forward and face Tenkai himself. While Tenkai does find himself injured by Sakon as he defends himself from Claudius, he manages to break away from them and rush to the top of the temple in order to save Soki from Hideyoshi's attack, blocking it and telling him and Ohatsu to flee to Mt. Hiei in order to unlock the power of the Onimusha. The two heed his warning and flee Kyoto while Tenkai is swallowed in the blast of Hideyoshi's attack, and Mitsunari praises Hideyoshi's success as they prepare to complete the festival.

The Dark Stones

After purifying Ohatsu with the help of Arin and rescuing Akane and Roberto, the Oni manage to infiltrate the Toyokuni Research Facility in Sakai where Roberto discovers the Genma's ultimate plan, after destroying the power generators, they reach the underground chamber and find the Dark Stone, though Ohatsu and Akane's attacks prove insufficient to damage it. Claudius soon appears before Soki attempts to attack it and wonders how they found this place, only to quickly notice Roberto and realize that he must have told them. He watches as Roberto approaches the Dark Stone himself and begins punching it, and Claudius realizes that the Exorcising Beads were implanted within his body, unable to help but praise Luis Frois' ingenuity and label as the reason that Rosencrantz is unable to control Roberto. Despite this, he attempts to kill Roberto in order to prevent him from destroying the Dark Stone, but his attack is blocked by Soki, leading to a battle against 3 of the Oni.

In the end, their teamwork proves too much for Claudius due to still being forced to use Mitsunari's body, and he is defeated as Roberto manages to successfully destroy the Dark Stone, though Claudius remains unbothered and claims it to have been almost used up already. Soki soon identifies him as Claudius instead of Mitsunari, much to the Genma's surprise, and Soki demands to know his true plan, leading to Claudius telling them of his plan to resurrect the Creator God and destroy humanity. Soki promises to stop him, but Claudius challenges him to try, asking what a single Black Oni can do alone as he flees through a Genma Portal. After the rest of the Oni learn the full scope of the Genma's plans, they leave for Sakai in order to use the western ship "San Felipe" in order to reach Shimabara and destroy the second Dark Stone, and both Claudius and Rosencrantz watch the ship leave port after Sakon's failure to stop them. While he is angered at Sakon's failure and decides to leave him to drown in the ocean, he and Rosencrantz are otherwise unbothered as Ophelia had already prepared to intercept them at Kyushu, the two soon leaving to do the same.

After Ophelia fails to stop the Oni in the abandoned Kyushu village, the Oni infiltrate the Toyokuni Research Facility and reach the underground chamber only to find the Dark Stone missing, both Rosencrantz and Claudius appearing to confront them. He directs their attention upwards to show that the Dark Stone is floating far above them and attempts to fight them once again as the platform begins to rise up towards it, though they prove too much for him to overcome. However, he warns that being in close proximity to the Dark Stone renders him impossible to kill due to the concentrated dark essence that it produces, and Roberto attempts to rush forward and destroy it. In response, Claudius uses his Genma magic to restrain him and the rest of the Oni, rendering them unable to fight back, but Claudius is suddenly attacked by an arriving Sakon who impales him and demands that he leave Mitsunari's body, forcing him to release the Oni from his magic. With the Omen Star having descended close enough to the earth by now, Claudius sees no reason to keep inhabiting Mitsunari's body and obliges, now having regained his full strength and manifesting in his true form. Tenkai quickly tells Sakon to fall back with an unconscious Mitsunari, and the party prepare to fight Claudius as Roberto begins attacking the Dark Stone.

As Roberto manages to destroy it, the Oni successfully defeat Claudius, though he warns them that while they have achieved a small victory here, the Omen Star only has a week before it completes its descent, leaving them with too little time to return to Kyoto and fight Hideyoshi before that happens. Believing them to have ultimately failed to stop the Genma, Claudius falls from the tower laughing, dying as he impacts the ground and catching both Luis Frois and Rosencrantz in the resulting explosion, resulting in their deaths as well.

The Final Battle

After the Oni manage to reach Kyoto thanks to the sacrifice of Minokichi, the close proximity of the Omen Star causes the revival of Rosencrantz and Claudius due to the Star's dark essence. Claudius intercepts them soon after Rosencrantz, causing Tenkai to stay behind in order to fight him off while Soki, Akane and Ohatsu rush ahead. Despite resurrecting at full strength, Tenkai manages to defeat Claudius and kill him, and after the defeat of Hideyoshi and Fortinbras, Soki sacrifices himself in order to destroy the Omen Star entirely, rendering the Triumvirate unable to revive themselves again.

Stats

Gallery

CG Render

Claudius (DD 027)