This article Gary Straights, is the sole property of Per and as such, no user may edit this article without explicit permission from the aforementioned creator. If you wish to use this article in any way, please ask me first.
Second Zero
Name
Gary Straights
Kanji
ゲーリー・ストレート
Romanji
Gērī Sutorēto
Alias
Legendary Dark Knight (伝説の魔剣士, Densetsu no Makenshi) Faker
Garren Straights (ギャレン・ストレート, Gyaren Sutorēto), also known as the "Legendary Dark Knight" (伝説の魔剣士, Densetsu no Makenshi) and by his nickname Gary (ゲーリー, Gērī), is a mysterious chef who has a certain resemblance with somebody important to Tsuruko Sejren's past. Initially a student of La Pucelle and a part of Tsuruko's group, as well as one of Tsuruko's closest companions, after picking up on activity in the Old World, he left without saying a word, causing quite a bit of drama in his wake. However, there's quite a bit more to it then it seems.
As it turns out in later arcs, the Gary Straights of now and the Gary Straights in Tsuruko's past are fundamentally different- the Gary from Tsuruko's past perished under mysterious circumstances, and this Gary has a similar appearance; the reason for which is that Gary of Earth Land and Tsuruko's childhood friend is the dimensional counterpart of Klaus, from the Old World and the creator of the Hellions, Gary's father and the main antagonist of the Sun Trilogy. This Gary simply took up the original Gary's name and identity in order to divert suspicion while he wandered Earth Land to find a way to permanently end the Hellion menace and kill his father.
Referred to as "the ancient magician" (古の魔法使い, Inishie no Mahōtsukai) by Mr. E due to his ancient Chimera Driver, he needs to absorb the energy of the defeated Hellions in order to regain his strength; when he harnesses the power of the Chimera Driver, he can become Soul Armour Knight Zero (神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト) ・絶狼（ゼロ）, Sōru Āmā Naito Zero lit. God Armour Clad Supreme Warrior Slicing Wolf). However, before leaving Tsuruko's group, he gave her his Driver Belt. During his subsequent appearances, Gary uses the Grav Driver to become Soul Armour Knight Granzon (神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト) ・紅蓮域 (グランゾン), Sōru Āmā Naito Guranzon lit. God Armour Clad Supreme Warrior Crimson Lotus Zone).
Gary is known for his thuggish appearance, though this is deceiving of his kind nature. Possessing an unruly mop of silver hair that is accentuated by several fashionable spikes, while his bangs frame his face, exposing his forehead, Gary has been called 'duck-butt' by his childhood friend Tsuruko. Physically, Gary has a muscular body befitting that of a demi-god; causing the ladies to swoon over him like there's no tomorrow. Lastly, Gary's eyes gleam a glaring hazel, piercing the souls of his enemies as they lose the will to fight against this unstoppable maelstrom of destruction.
Personality and Traits
Despite his rough appearance, Gary is kind-hearted and sentimental person. He also destroyed a human trafficking organization and saved one-hundred children, when he did not need to, and did it knowing full well he would have to face the wrath of his superiors over his overtly casual attitude. When one of the children he saved says she wants to repay him, Gary dismissed it by saying he didn't expect anything in return. He also says that chaining up the human traffickers was meaningless because it was no different than what they did. Alexis points out a negative aspect of his methods, saying that Gary loses sight of his surroundings when he starts fighting, and does this without concern for everything other than what he is trying to protect.
Always declaring himself the "hero", Gary is a relentless optimist and will constantly protect and help anyone in need. Although his heart may be in the right place, his naivety and optimism sometimes rub people the wrong way. He talks and acts before thinking, unintentionally causing trouble and putting others in danger. In fact, Giselle haughtily describes Gary as "arrogant and chummy from the get-go, thinks he's everyone's pal," and that his best quality is being "too stubborn to die."; being easy-going and passionate but unreliable. Gary is hot-headed and fearless in the face of danger, not afraid to push his limits and has little regard for authorities.
Gary hides whatever guilt he feels by acting optimistic, though doing so causes people to misunderstand him. Additionally, he can be rather perverted—though while lecherous, he is also chivalrous and will protect women at all costs; his kindness and unwavering determination of wanting to protect and help those who are important to him despite almost dying by the hands of his opponents really does shine through, causing those around him to become enthralled by him. Gary tends to do silly things in battle, including using more strength than is required and using moves with ridiculous names. Being dense, Gary has a habit of giving completely impossible explanations for the nature of his abilities.
Gary also has an unusual liking for mayonnaise, constantly carrying a bottle of it with him and putting it on any food he eats, including doughnuts and oden. Tsuruko and Crux refer to him as "Mayonnaise" because of this unique habit. When he finds demons, he refers them as his "food" due to his ability and need to absorb magical energy from them. It's shown that when Tsuruko finds demons tries to defeat them, Gary will get angry for interfering with his "feeding time". He also constantly leaves everyone around him speechless due to his tendency to interrupt others and express his thoughts without breaks.
One of Gary's most prominent characteristics is a strong respect toward ramen and the preparation of ramen in the kitchen. Since food and sustenance play a crucial role in maintaining life, he strongly believes that his work must be treated as though it were sacred. Gary has a strong tendency to become hostile towards those who waste food or regard it in any way that is less than his respect for it. It has been dictated on many occasions that Gary puts the quality of his ramen before everything that is not vital, except his bond with Tsuruko. He also is shown to fully believe that anyone who wishes for food should be given food, be it a customer or a criminal, such as giving homeless people in a shelter ramen despite other people refusing to help.
Gary is defined by his undying loyalty towards Tsuruko, his childhood friend, and even after learning about her role in the Score of Destiny, he chooses to stand beside her and assist her in breaking the prophecy; stating that "bonds are stronger than any damn fate". Gary also seems to play a mentor role to some characters. Being old friends, Gary and Tsuruko are frequently seen together, the latter referring to Gary as the most important person to her—and the two possessing a bond that transcends any friendship or romantic relationship; being one of pure devotion. Gary would do anything for Tsuruko, and the feeling is mutual. He is also somewhat a charmer, and he seems to know exactly what to say, often resulting in women swooning over him. He always wants to help those in trouble, and has an obsession toward technology. Overall, Gary Straights is a person one can certainly count on. When preparing for battle, Gary normally declares "Let's make a show of this!" (派手に行くぜ, Hade ni Ikuze!); and when preparing to finish the opponent, he finishes off with "Let's pull out all the stops!" (ど派手に行くぜ, Dohade ni Ikuze!).
History
Gary Straights was born to a rich family who had precious ties with the Magic Council; not much is known about Gary's backstory. He was born in Nine, and was Gary's next-door neighbor. He was out-going, lively and had a lot of friends. Although Gary and Tsuruko lived right next to each other, and were only a year apart in age, they were never close. It turns out that Tsuruko was the "boy" who once saved Gary from, and then joined him in fighting, a bunch of bullies when they were children; however, Tsuruko was never confident enough to dress up as a girl in front of him.
Gary's mother died when Gary was eight years old, leaving him upset and confused. Gary believed his mother had gone to the mountain, and that he could meet her again if he crossed the mountain. Gary headed off to the mountains, and Tsuruko followed to keep him safe, but both fell from a rickety bridge. Gary's father found him severely injured, and blamed Tsuruko for leading him to the mountains. After that, the two were separated for a while; and Tsuruko later moved away.
Ever since he found a fossil near a lake as a child, Gary dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. Though his parents approved his ambition, his grandmother did not. Because she also scolded his adventurous behavior, Gary grew up thinking of her as strict and mean. During one of his expeditions, Gary accidentally discovered the Chimera Driver in ancient ruins. Picking the stone that held the Chimera Driver in up, the Chimera Demon inside of the Driver made a contract with Gary, granting Gary his magic. In exchange, Gary must absorb magical energy by defeating demons, or he will be eaten by the Chimera itself. After this, Gary continued getting wrapped up into all sorts of troubles ever since he touched the Chimera Driver.
Synopsis
Equipment
Balmung (バルムンク, Barumunku), also known as the Sealed Blade of Wrath (封怒剣, Fūdoken) is the name of Gary's specialized sword; a legendary blade, a divine construction, the pinnacle of holy swords, forged by the planet as the crystallization of the wishes of mankind stored and tempered within the planet. In the past, it was used to slay the 50 foot long "Sealed Flame Dragon" from ancient times. It is 3.5 metres long and weighs 200kg. Balmung is classified as an enormous broadsword. From tip to handle, it is approximately five to six feet long, with a single-edged large blade approximately one foot wide. The handguard is coloured cold and has swirl designs on it, the part of the blade bearing the two holes is raised slightly and sectioned off from the rest of the blade, and there are etchings engraved on the blade near the handguard. The handguard appears to be bolted or riveted into place. There are two holes near the handguard, said to be where Gary clips the sword onto his back. When Gary spins the front part of Balmung, it will spin the die built into the sword. After that, Gary jams his magical energy into the back part to stop the dice. What should be noted, is that Balmung is blessed with anti-Dragon properties, allowing Gary to destroy dragons, despite not being a Dragon Slayer himself. Gary can change his sword for offensive or defensive measures that would fit the situation, creating a very versatile and deadly weapon. More than mere steel, Balmung holds the power to repel those aligned with evil. The magic of Balmung also seems to prevent it from ever being physically damaged. Gary's father had the blade forged for him. His parents borrowed a large amount of money for the sword and Gary's father worked as much as he could to pay back the debt, eventually falling ill and passing away. Gary decided to take care of the sword in his father's memory, and uses it as little as possible to avoid it being damaged, instead fighting with his fists; and if he had to utilize it in battle, he uses it as a club by whacking the opponents with the flat side of the blade. In Norse mythology, Gram (Old Norse "wrath") is the name of the sword that Sigurd used to kill the dragon Fafnir; in the Nibelungenlied (ca. 13th century), Siegfried discards Gram after receiving a legendary sword called Balmung; from which this sword is based.
Chimera Driver (キメラ・トドライバー, Kimera Doraibā): The Chimera Driver, much like Tsuruko's Phoenix Driver, is a mysterious magical device that Gary found at an archeological excavation; the Chimera Driver holds Gary's Chimera within it. It is activated when a ring is inserted in the left slot and turned it counter-clockwise, opening the front buckle that reveals the lion head inside, allowing him to use Mantles from the Chimera. The form that the Chimera Driver takes that of a rusty belt composed fully of bronze—with numerous sparkling emerald gems encrusted upon the sides, and a lion's head serving the purpose of the buckle. When not transformed, the Chimera Driver appears as an ordinary belt with a closed gate-shaped buckle. Unlike Tsuruko's Phoenix Driver, which can utilize any Magic Ring in its inactive state, the Chimera Driver must be active to use any ring other than the Engage Ring. Comedic ally, the Chimera Driver can't scan Tsuruko's Super Soul Rings, since the rings can't be inserted into the slot- however, in one memorable occasion, the Chimera Driver has been shown to be able to scan Gary's own Survive Ring and Tsuruko's Infinity Ring.
Magic Ring Enhancing Adapter (魔法輪強化アダプター, Mahōwa Kyōka Adaputā): The Magic Ring Enhancing Adapter is a special device that increases a Magic Ring's power output threefold; developed by Mr. E after first obtaining the secret of how to create the Super Soul Rings. The Magic Ring Enhancing Adapter takes the form of a chain which is dark purple with cyan highlights and made up of eight links. Each link is shaped like a rounded triangle with three spikes on top, resembling a crown. Each link also has a crown-shaped symbol carved out of its center. One end of the chain is a thin, silver ring, while the other is similar in shape to a fleur-de-lis and has a crescent on either of its sides. The middle of the chain is outfitted with a USB port, meant to fit a Magic Ring. When a Magic Ring is placed into it, the Adapter displays "Download Complete" on it's screen as it upgrades the Magic Ring placed into it. The symbol of the Ring placed into it is then displayed. The Adapter was also used by E before it was stolen by Rosa Dimaggio, who gives it Gary Straights to become Infinity Style.
Powers and Abilities
Physical Abilities
Ways of Combat
Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Due to the laborious training that he had undergone, Gary shows immense power in the ways of street fighting to those who have the unfortunate fate of fighting him; and he is a highly powerful and fierce fighter. Gary's incredible skill in unarmed combat is drastically enhanced by his inherent immense strength, giving him the ability to unleash devastating blows with ease. His preferred way of striking seems to be punches, though he has often used kicks as well. Gary's fighting style is freestyle and improvised; it follows no particular code of honor at all, and so if necessary, he will actually attack women, hit below the belt, attack even if his opponents have their backs turned on him or are otherwise unprepared or unsuspecting, use allies or opponents as human shields or even bite his opponents. While fighting, Gary can also think on the spot, and come up with creative counterattacks against his enemies. He is a master of a wide variety of martial arts, focusing on hand-to-hand combat, and is capable of taking on even the most powerful of opponents without rest, such as when he was able to take down several of the military trained soldiers, before being defeated by Giselle herself. Even more so, he has been able to fight Tsuruko, one of the series' most powerful characters to a standstill on several occasions. When in battle, Gary makes most use of his powerful arms and fists to take on his foes, with his specialty lying in punching moves where he uses his fists to their fullest. In terms of fighting style, Gary focuses specially on power, using strong and powerful punches, such as powerpacked jabs or piercing uppercuts, to deal damaging blows to his opponents. Once he catches an opponent in his combos, he keeps them trapped by keeping up his strikes, not allowing his opponents a chance to counterattack. For stronger strikes, Gary tends to build up momentum with his fists by swinging them around, before hitting his opponent with full force. When Gary fights, the terrain around him becomes an extension of his fists; from a single sweep of his fists, howling winds surge forward as incredible tornadoes ripping apart the landscape, a simple stab into the earth capable of causing tremendous earthquakes, upturning entire sections as fissures and chasms spread outward. His hand-to-hand combat is a force of nature itself turning even the surroundings into a raging maelstrom of death and oblivion. Gary's fighting style enables him to strike his opponent swiftly and powerfully with enough force to knock them a fair distance—and sometimes, the power of his punches are capable of trigging a violent internal explosion, causing the foe to explode.
Gary Punch (ゲイリー•パンチ, Geirī Panchi): Gary's main attack; despite its silly name, it certainly is a force to reckoned with. When performing his signature attack, Gary focuses all of his magical energy into his fist, before punching forward with insurmountable power which is so powerful that it causes friction with the air, creating a large explosion. This punch is of exceptional strength, as he was able to make a hole in an enemy fortress' wall with a single blow. It is rumored that one of his punches could even kill a dragon. Its power is so immense that it lights up the surrounding area with its force for kilometers, sending a powerful shockwave across the area and it has the potential to shatter an entire town. The move can also be fired at such a great speed that not even an opponent using High Speed is able to land their strike before Gary throws the punch. The power of the attack causes the kinetic energy of his punch to react with the magical energy generators in a foe's limbs and counter-spins them, thus causing their defenses to weaken at the moment of impact; as the explosion dawns upon them, dealing overwhelming damage and blowing them away—the sheer force of the attack at full strength is more than enough to send the foe not just across the room or even across the yard — across town. Sometimes they reach orbit, vanishing like a twinkle in the sky. It is a fact that nobody until Daybreak Chapter have been able to withstand the sheer force of this attack; and even then, it did manage to fling his foe through several mountains, which then detonated from the immense power of Gary Punch. The way that this attack works is stated to be impossible by physics and cannot possibly be the explanation, so the exact mechanics of this attack are unknown.
Chimera Glanzer (キメラ・グランツァー, Kimera Gurantsā): Chimera Glanzer is the name of Gary's normal finishing technique; analogous to Tsuruko's Phoenix Streiser and his other signature technique. When performing the Chimera Glanzer attack, Gary charges magical energy into one of his feet, before condensing it to its utmost limit; charging magical energy within his leg and bursting forward in a rush of fire a good distance forward, taking around five seconds to store magical energy and then release; striking with tremendous force as he spins. Gary cartwheels through the air with flames emanating from his feet. The amount of spins, the damage done and the forward distance covered are determined by the amount of magical energy that he gathers in order to perform the technique; being a mere annoyance with only a miniscule amount utilized, and when surging his entire energy reserves through his leg, he can easily kill a high-leveled opponent with this technique. If he misses, his leg will ram into the ground; causing him to hurt himself. This move is released extremely fast; working as a perfect surprise to unsuspecting opponents. What should be noted is that if he hits a wall while using it, he bounces off and gains height. When it strikes, the victim is electrocuted and is spiked away in an arc trajectory; dealing immense damage with a power level equivalent to that of his Gary Punch. The sheer power of Chimera Glanzer leaves a flashing aftereffect; snapping into the opponent to blow them away with incredible force.
Gary Shot Mk III (ゲイリー・ショット号三, Geirī Shotto Gōsan): Gary Shot Mk III is Gary Straights' third most powerful technique; the name is considered extremely "tacky" by Tsuruko's standards. Gary would often use this as a finishing move, saying that the name "Mark III" was used to hook the people watching him battle and make them watch him fight again, expecting to see Mark I or Mark II, and was given that designation because it hits two opponents before blasting both away. This was only a hoax, as no "Mark I" or "Mark II" ever existed; Tsuruko refers to Gary as a "sneaky cheater" for such a hoax. The technique is quite simple, but obviously difficult to manage. First, Gary would gather magical energy on his foot, before shaping it into a giant sphere of pure energy. Right then, he would kick the sphere; hitting either an obstacle, or an opponent, then it comes back, Gary would punch it into another foe and it would shoot into the air. To finish the technique, Gary would leap into the air while spinning to gain momentum, before transferring the momentum to the sphere of magic, causing it to become engulfed in flames as Gary kicks it downwards with tremendous strength, blasting into the opponent with a tremendous velocity, akin to that of a meteor. The impact of the sphere sends them crashing into the ground or an obstruction, greatly magnifying the damage done. Gary Shot Mk III can be charged by Gary, which results in greater range and power; as well the ability to home in on an opponent.
Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: While nowhere as skilled as he is with hand-to-hand combat, Gary is reasonably deadly in the art of swordsmanship; preferring swift, heavy blows above all else. Despite the heavy size of his sword, she can swing it around with one hand and at high speeds, remarking on how light it is. His swings have the potential to split the very earth with each swing, bringing mass devastation to every direction that the weapon lands. Gary specializes in mid-range and melee attacks, preferring speed to power and endurance. This was a result of the training that he underwent, which sacrificed the flexibility of a wide range of abilities for raw speed; despite this, he is extremely powerful with his weapon, and his blows are said to land in the blink of an eye. Each of his attacks is a fatal blow that needs to be blocked or dodged. Despite the size of Balmung, he is easily able to overwhelm Crux Kouga with speed exceeding his own. He is able to easily push back even strong opponents, who are capable of blocking his strikes, and he is able to fling Crux dozens of feet away even when he manages to properly block his stronger strikes; overall, Gary is an extremely deadly opponent with his weapon. However, fearing Balmung gathering "wear, tear, and rust", hardly ever uses it, except in emergencies. However, when he does use it, he shows exceptional skill, able to wield its great weight with ease; and even so, he swings to hit it with the blunt edge to avoid damage to the edge, carving trenches into the earth where his sword strikes the ground and even using it to swat aside cannon fire in a similar manner to using a baseball bat.
Maximum Hyper Typhoon (マキシマムハイパータイフーン, Makishimamu Haipā Taifūn): After Gary inserts a ring in the back part of Balmung, it stops the dice from rolling. Then the number on the dice shows how many and how powerful spirit summoned forth will be to initiate one of 5 different attacks. The power and number of spirits summoned are directly proportionate to the number on the dice. The higher the number, the more powerful spirits will be and the more spirits will be summoned. Number 6, the largest number, summons 6 immensely powerful spirits capable of launching attacks so serious that it can be considered a finishing move, while number 1, the smallest number, summons only 1 spirit, which is so weak that the attack is treated as nothing more than a joke. However Gary is capable of turning the 1 into a powerful attack by making the spirit grow to an immense size with force of will. The most powerful iteration of Maximum Hyper Typhoon is capable of cleaving through a hunk of diamond, and bashing past the defenses of a dragon. However, this version will rarely become a possibility, so Gary usually settles for the weaker options, or in some cases, rarely, if ever utilizes Maximum Hyper Typhoon at all.
The full power of Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust.
Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust (龍覇・獄焔塵, Ryūha Gokuenjin): Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust is an extremely powerful Sword Magic spell; created by Gary Straights during the four hundred year time-skip within Daybreak. When performing Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust, the user grasps their blade within both of their hands, holding it within a reverse grip. Once they are holding it, the user charges their magical energy, coating their blade in eternano particles while using their magical aura to funnel the magical energy into the eternano, exciting it as to cause an explosive chemical reaction which does not emerge until the user initiates the spell. However, initiating it should be taken carefully—as Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust has nine stages of power, eight charging up stages and the fully-charge stage. At stage nine, Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust is capable of doing immense damage, sending opponents flying with relative ease. The timing for a stage nine Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust is very precise however, as the user must plunge their sword into the ground immediately after it reaches this stage. If done too soon, it will simply be at stage eight. Once the charging has been completed, the user plunges the blade into the ground, discharging the eternano and magical energy in a powerful chemical reaction, causing the magical energies to be unleashed in a powerful burst of pure energy which is released in a cross-pattern tilted on its side; the knockback caused by this spell is mostly vertical when it isn't charged fully and becomes more horizontal when it is. The energy reaches high up, so there is a large vertical area of effect as well. There are also smaller areas of effect below, far in front of, and behind the user. Interestingly, the uprise of magical energy caused by Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust takes the form of numerous birds composed of eternano which ascend, before the user guides them mentally in any way that they wish. Because this is also pure eternano, it will travel more quickly than many warriors could dodge. The spell, and the aftereffects are a trail of carnage carved by brute force; attacking in multiple directions or simply working as an anti-air projectile. Additionally, Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust can be focused into a stream to attack a single target. However, such focus requires immense proficiency with the spell beforehand. The user can also create a much smaller version of the technique by drawing in less power; which allows them to use it several times in small amounts.
Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust: Reverse (裏・龍覇・獄焔塵, Ura Ryūha Gokuenjin): Unlike many powerful Sword Magic spells, Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust can be reversed in direction the moment that the user begins to charge it, on stage four. When performing this spell, Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust can be reversed with no increase to damage, knockback and has no reverse animation, this makes reversing only useful if it is used to attack behind the user. It is interesting to note that when the user is running forward before activating the reverse Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust, the user can turn around and slide forward a little while charging or releasing the attack, this is probably because the running momentum has switched direction with the user. The reversing of Dragon Supremacy: Hellflame Dust is what allows the Sword Magic spell to have such amazing versatility—as it can be unleashed from any direction imaginable, or even from in the air, as to allow the user to attack with the foe being unable to keep up with their movements.
Physical Prowess
Overwhelming Strength: Gary possesses phenomenal strength and superior hand-eye coordination, and can break free from almost any attack that binds him and prevents him from moving. He is strong enough to break an enormous tree in half; and he can upturn huge portions of rock floor with a single strike at the ground with his sword. Gary also has enough power to break diamond with his bare hands, and break through diamond; his inherent immense power is only amplified by the momentum at which he moves; making him strong enough to cut through enemies (though not all shields), burrow through the ground, smash through surfaces by stomping, or break down walls. His super strength seems to lie in his upper body, particularly in his arms and hands. Gary's strength is believed to be equal to Tsuruko's speed, which would make him able to lift and press 100 metric tons, making him physically stronger than all other characters in the series. Gary has been shown being able to tear parts from robots' bodies with brute force alone. Another testament to Gary's monstrous brute strength is that he is able to split the hydrogen in the air by punching, strike out with his fists or throw object through air with such force that he can make them ignite fire and punch the ground with enough strength to cause fissures, tremors and even kick up small volcanic eruptions over a wide area. In addition, Gary's feats of strength are as simple as carrying around Balmung on his back, as it is a blade as tall as he is, and possessed of considerable weight, yet Gary is capable of wielding it with one hand. One simple swing of this sword is enough to create powerful shockwaves of air, similar to his punches, that produce similar destructive feats. He has demonstrated that he is strong enough to enable him to knock out people with normal durability with as little as a tap to the head. Gary's physical strength also extends into his legs, enabling him to be able to jump to a height of several stories in a single bound; he demonstrated this when he leaped over thirty feet vertically into the air when he first leaped out of the way of an oncoming car; and his power has only increased drastically from there; as a note, he is capable of lifting a 100 ton boulder using a single hand with very little effort exerted.
Immense Speed: Gary possesses mind-blowing speed which can be considered almost unsurpassed; his speed enables him to jump to the top of lamp posts with ease and leap from rooftop to rooftop. He can effectively use his agility to use the battlefield to his advantage, jumping from wall to wall to keep his opponents unsure of his attack patterns. Gary moves at such a speed that his foes more often than not can't register his movements, until he's made them; he's also skilled enough to dodge at tremendous speeds, even if he's assaulted from behind. It should be noted that a burst of crimson is emitted from his feet with every step he takes, augmenting his speed even further. Gary is capable of defying normal physics and zipping around with tremendous speed; and is able to move backwards at full speed just as well as forwards. His speed enables him to attack almost a multiple of fifty times in a row per second; and he manages to move fast enough to instantly close a huge gap of space between him and the opponent and even seemingly disappear from sight in the span of a millisecond. He is stated to move at a speed which nears breaking the sound barrier, and he often augments his physical blows by the velocity at which he is moving at. Due to such speed, he is able to scale right up the walls of buildings, or similar structures, and can also run right over water. When launched into the air, he can perform several tricks before finally landing on ground. He has also shown on several occasions that he can jump incredibly long distances, up to several hundred meters by applying speed to his jumps.
Wavejet Step (本職使い瞬動・噴射高速蹲踞疾走, Uēbujetto Suteppu lit. Professional-Usage Instant Movement Technique: Jet-Propelled High-Speed Crouching Sprint): The Wavejet Step is a hideously overpoweredvery useful high-speed movement technique that is classified as a martial arts-based ability revolving around the user's steps that can be performed as long as the user has some sort of supernatural energy fuelling their movements, whether it be magical power, curse power, or even good ol' fighting spirit- but what Wavejet Step is, is a jump that is canceled by descending instantly so that the user never leaves the ground, resulting in a sliding motion that produces smoke at the user's feet and a freakishly swift burst of brief acceleration for three seconds. It is regarded as a high-level advanced technique that only those deeply engrossed with close-range combat that is superior to all 'traditional' forms of speed-enhancing powers such as High Speed and Slowing Magic because it allows the user to perform any ground action while moving horizontally on the ground. In any case, the Wavejet Step is performed by the user ascending to the skies in an extremely short hop that ideally shouldn't have them raise more than ten centimeters above the ground- from here, the user gathers and condenses their supernatural energies of choice upon the soles of their shoes/feet, before they shift a majority of their weight to their legs, descending upon the ground as swiftly as they entered the air, giving off the appearance of never having left the ground- but indeed, upon contact with the ground, the shock of the impact releases an airhorn-like sound as it transfers the momentum that the user had accumulated via briefly hopping into the air into a swift strafing movement of ground-based movement, sliding long the ground without walking or running; resulting in a sliding motion that produces smoke of varying colours at the character's feet. The length of time that a user slides by harnessing Wavejet Step is determined by a number of factors: by the angle at which they charged energies into their feet -with low angles yielding longer Wavejet Steps- how close to the ground they were before charging -the closer the user, the longer their Wavejet Step- and finally, the character's traction -low traction yields long streams of movements, while high traction yields shorter slides. One use of Wavejet Step by itself is not particularly useful; it is when the move is repeated rapidly that it becomes both impressive and supremely practical, and it is capable of being harnessed for a near immeasurable amount of purposes- it is useful for quickly escaping from close combat with an opponent, and it can get a user to the end of an area to the other faster than any other type of movement; the Wavejet Step can also be harnessed in order to avoid anything in the user's way that would impede their movements, enabling each and every one of their actions and movements while under the effect of the Wavejet Step being precise as humanly possible. It can lead into many combos and techniques; and because by harnessing the Wavejet Step, the user is technically standing as they slide, they can perform any ground attacks that could normally be performed from a standing position while retaining all of their standing defensive maneuvers- a skilled user can use another high-speed movement while under the effects of the Wavejet Step as well. A skilled user can take the concept of maneuverability derived from the Wavejet Step a step further, harnessing the techniques to dodge enemy attacks and set up a counterattack; after a while, it becomes instrumental in characters' combos and their defense. Those who are slow can rely on the Wavejet Step in order to extricate themselves from difficult situations. Additionally, the concept of hopping into the air before descending instantly towards the ground provides a useful segue from a character's aerial combat to their basic ground combat. However, Wavejet Step can be interrupted, but mind-games and mix-ups can trick the opponent. All of this combined to make harnessing the Wavejet Step a very rapid mind-game aspect that is difficult to counter; generally, a fighter harnessing the Wavejet Step in rapid succession means that they possess above-average skills.
Indifference to Pain and Invulnerability: Gary's physical and mental durability and stamina is truly mind-boggling; capable of withstanding nearly any and all onslaughts thrown in his direction. His durability enables him rise from attack after attack after attack on numerous occasions, more often than not surprising and confounding his foe, striking fear into their hearts. He can smash several barriers of magical energy with his fist without showing any sign of pain or injury. This is due to his special skill, which is described below. He can smash several robots with his fist without showing any sign of pain or injury. It is also worth noting that, for nearly all the battles Gary has endured, he has never been crippled, nor has he displayed any serious injuries. Additionally, he can survive free-falls from extreme heights, bordering at the edge of space, falling face-first from a high point in the atmosphere twice, merely shaking it off after landing, and additionally, he is able to survive atmospheric reentry unharmed. Gary can, when necessary, expand his muscle areas to enhance his speed, agility, and strength. He is strong enough to forcibly move a pair of turrets, lift a giant building with little effort, and even temporarily halt a warship in its tracks. If he is penetrated by certain projectiles, the internal pressure could be utilized to propel them outwards from the body, as demonstrated by Gary against throwing knives. Gary not wholly but feels prickly pain when hurt and will not receive any serious damage when he is shot or pierced in the heart. He also is able to catch a magical blast with the teeth; he possesses near-maximized physical endurance to match his strength, and is capable of taking as much major punishment as he is able to deal out. Gary is as well strong enough to hold out against an army of robots without rest.
Ultra-Fast Regeneration (超速再生, Chōsoku Saisei): Ultra-Fast Regeneration is one of the most useful powers that a Hellion has access to—it is the source of their fearsomeness. Essentially, by rapidly regenerating lost and damaged tissue as well as organs and blood cells at the speed of thought, effectively negating any wounds they had received of any scope within a second, with the regenerating abilities depending on the Hellion in question. While this ability to regenerate is indeed powerful, it is not without its flaws. Despite the extent to which it can heal the body, internal organs, such as the brain, cannot be regenerated. The sign of a Hellion being injured is small blue flame bursting from their wounds. Because of this astoundingly rapid regeneration, not even magic can truly phase them- if smashed by even an Abyss Break fired by a member of the Ten Wizard Saints, the Hellion will simply regenerate from a single cell. It seems as if even the Law-class spells cannot truly dispel them. Indeed, because of this, the Hellions are completely immune to Magic, Curses, and other abilities which originate from the current universe because of this, with no way to negate this strength of theirs. However, the only way to permanently damage a Hellion is by harnessing the power of the darkness-burning alloy, Soul Metal; meaning that Soul Armour Knights are the only beings powerful enough to kill them, disintegrating as a result. Even so, later on, the Magic Council develops Nerve-Breaking Bullets (神経断裂弾, Shinkei Danretsu Dan) so that the Rune Knights can kill Hellions by themselves without having to rely on Soul Armour Knights. Gary himself, thanks to his half-Hellion heritage, is capable of healing from having his arm sliced off in a matter of seconds, and anything that his body was clad in before its removal is regenerated as well.
Supernatural Skills
Immense Magical Power: Thanks to his mysterious origins, it is shown, without a doubt, that Gary has enormous magical reserves. Gary has natural control over the exertion of his magical energy, keeping it contained to the point where it is virtually impossible to detect his by normal means, though the constant effort can be taxing. The presence it exudes is completely at odds with his personality and appearance; the magical pressure itself is a vibrant crimson, crackling intensely when Gary focuses; when Gary's power is at it's peak, it transforms into the frightening visage of a Chinese dragon which surrounds him, striking fear into the hearts of his foes. It is so great it can be felt from a great distance and it has the tendency to make people perspire in fear. Additionally, the sheer aura radiating from his person has the additional effect of affecting entire areas to the point of disrupting energy attacks from enemies, as well as affecting others from seemingly miles away. Magic originates from a Magic Origin (魔原, Magen), which is exactly what the wording indicates—it is a special organ that is located within the body of a magician, that absorbs eternano and bunches it up into clusters, which is processed into magical power. Every magician has a container inside their body that determines the limits of their Magic Power; this is precisely what a Magic Origin is. If the case becomes empty, eternano will come from the atmosphere and enters the magician's body and after a while, their Magic Power is restored. However, despite his immense magical power, he rarely, if ever puts such an amazing amount of power to use, instead focusing completely on martial arts and his Soul Armour. The reason for this is because his archnemesis, his father Devius, was the creator of magic in Aether, and as part of Gary's quest for revenge, he has shunned anything to do with his father. All Hellions have shown the ability to harness the power of magic; however, their skills are mostly translated to Darkness Magic and Black Arts-related powers; while Gary never, if ever uses magic, this can sometimes be seen with a black aura surging around his figure at certain points of Daybreak.
Soul Armour
Soul Armours (神鎧 (ソウル・アーマー), Sōru Āmā lit. God Armour) are specialized armours worn by various powerful warriors known as Soul Armour Knights (神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト), Sōru Āmā Naito lit. God Armour Clad Supreme Warrior); they are human or humanoid warriors who transforms from a natural human form using a Driver Belt into a superhuman form clad in the armour. The Knights secretly patrol their respective territories to protect civilians from demons. Armed with special magical equipment, the knights carry an eternal war to maintain the light over the darkness in the realm. When transforming into his Soul Armour form, Gary's magical energy flared up in the form of a wolf—quickly, Gary Straights withdrew a golden ring which had an armoured face engraved upon it—with emerald compound eyes. Throwing his jacket off, Gary inserted the ring in the right slot of his Driver Belt and turned it counter-clockwise, opening the front buckle that revealed the lion head inside. Pure magical energy was released from his Driver Belt—which quickly wrapped around Gary's body, as an orange glyph manifested before him. So casually, Gary walked through the glyph unflinchingly; the glyph erupted magnificently, cladding Gary Straights in his Soul Armour. In S1, Gary becomes Soul Armour Knight Zero (神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト) ・絶狼（ゼロ）, Sōru Āmā Naito Zero lit. God Armour Clad Supreme Warrior Slicing Wolf). However, in S2 and beyond, he can become Soul Armour Knight Granzon (神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト) ・紅蓮域 (グランゾン), Sōru Āmā Naito Guranzon lit. God Armour Clad Supreme Warrior Crimson Lotus Zone).
Zero is Gary's first Soul Armour, and one of the Seven Prototype Soul Armours. However, before A Hero From Zero, upon his departure, he leaves the Chimera Driver with Tsuruko.
— Gary's activation phrase and the Chimera Driver's transformation announcement for the Zero Soul Armour.
Soul Armour Knight Zero (神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト) ・絶狼（ゼロ）, Sōru Āmā Naito Zero lit. God Armour Clad Supreme Warrior Slicing Wolf): The Zero Armour is a Soul Armour which is completely different than the standard—the Zero Armour is an ancient Soul Armour which has been around since the beginning of time—it is one of the seven Prototype Soul Armours. Unlike the other Soul Armours, the Zero Armour's Driver Belt, the Chimera Driver, houses a symbiote, the Chimera Symbiote—this is the source of the Zero Armour's powers. In order to fuel the powers of the Zero Armour, the user must devour the magical energies of their opponents to feed the Chimera Symbiote and keep the armour running, lest they be devoured themselves. Zero's armour design is also quite different than the others; the armour consists of a black jumpsuit with golden armour covering the user's body, and a large lion head-shaped shoulder pad covering their right arm with the lion's mane stylized to flow over the user's chest; additionally, the armour possesses long, golden claws on both hands. Their head is covered with an odd, feline-like mask with large green eyes. Additionally, the user utilizes single shoulder mantle armaments called Mantles (マント, Manto) to help them gain an advantage over their foes. Very few users of the Zero Armour are known to survive their tenure holding the Chimera Driver.
While the very first Zero is still unknown, the Second Zero (代目・絶狼（ゼロ）, Nidaime Zero; Slicing Wolf) is Gary Straights; whom leaves Chimera satisfied with his fill of eternano—after this, Gary discards the Chimera Driver and gives it to Tsuruko Sejren. However, during the chapter A Hero from Zero in Daybreak, Deen Lhant takes the Chimera Driver when Tsuruko is fighting Cancer and Gemini and forms a contract with the Chimera Symbiote in order to become the Third Zero (三目・絶狼（ゼロ）, Sandaime Zero; Slicing Wolf). While the other iterations of Zero do not possess this weakness; at first Deen only stay in the Zero suit for 2.5 minutes due to the fact that he did not forge a proper pact with the Chimera Symbiote and he is only a normal human; additionally, he could not use the Mantles at all; this is known as the Incomplete Form. Regardless of this flaw, he decides to hold off on any serious combat with the suit and manage any threat on his own before bringing it out, seeing all threats as easily defeat-able within his 2.5 minute limit. However, once he had formed a proper pact, Deen was able to use Zero's power indefinitely as well as harness the Mantles. Zero's name comes from the kanji for "Slicing Wolf" (絶狼, Zerō), displaying the prominent beast motif that the armour has, as well as it's claws. Gary's version of Zero is subtly different than the other two- as his version has green eyes, whereas Deen's version has blue eyes and a cape, and the first wielder's has red eyes.
Arms Weapon: Mantles (マント, Manto): The power of Zero leaves the user capable of accessing the power of one of the five creatures that Chimera is composed of; which are lion, falcon, chameleon, dolphin and buffalo; and the user is capable of shifting between several or any species that they wish, as long as it is one of the five; perculiarly, this is the Zero Armour's Arms Weapon. All of the creatures are designed to outfit the user with the powers needed to fulfill specific roles with maximum efficiency. Each of the different creatures has their own powers, strengths and weaknesses; when harnessing each of the powers of the beasts, the beast that the user chooses takes the form of single shoulder mantle armaments; which are the Mantles, to help the user gain an advantage over the user's foes. The Falco Mantle (ファルコマント, Faruko Manto) takes the form of a long, orange sleeve with yellow patterns; on Zero's shoulder, the pauldron appears similar to that of a falcon's head. When the Falco Mantle is active; it grants the user the ability of high speed and flight; along with enhanced reflexes and a supercharged brain activity. With the Chameleo Mantle (カメレオマント, Kamereo Manto) equipped, Zero gains a long, green sleeve; with numerous spotted patterns upon it; the pauldron takes the form of a chameleon's head with golden eyes, and the tongue sticking out. When using the Chameleo Mantle, Zero possesses the ability to camouflage into their surroundings and become invisible. By a simple act of concentration, they can cause all wavelengths of visible, infrared, and ultraviolet light to bend around them without distortion; they also somehow directs enough undistorted light to their eyes to retain their full range of vision while invisible. With the Buffa Mantle (バッファマント, Baffa Manto), Zero's sleeve becomes a deep crimson; with golden and scarlet designs littering the mantle, the finishing touch is the bull head which is the form that the pauldron takes upon. The Buffa Mantle drastically enhances Zero's physical strength and endurance; reminiscent of a wrestler, and the magical energy emitters upon the mantle allow the user to perform devastating physical attacks; it is a perfect combination of offense and defense. The Ardor emitter within the forearm of the Buffa Mantle wraps Zero's forearm in a powerful circular blade of willpower. The last of Zero's mantles; when activating the Dolphi Mantle (ドルフィマント, Dorufin Manto), Zero's sleeve turns a dark aqua; mostly blues and golds in texture; the pauldron takes the form of a dolphin's head. Equipping the Dolphi Mantle enables Zero to utilize the element of water; which is placed under their command for them to employ it for various purposes. Additionally, Zero is capable of utilizing the water as a way to heal the target; emitting a pulse of water that washes away their wounds. Dolphi Mantle is Zero's fastest Mantle. It grants the user incredible swimming speed, as well as the ability to cure injuries or poisons.
Magical Absorption: As Soul Armour Knight Zero, the user is capable of absorbing the magical energy of their opponents; each and every one of the user's attacks will drain a portion of the opponent's magical power and add it to their own; this allows them to rejuvenate their wounds, as well as deal tremendous damage to their foe. While regular mages use the magical power created from their soul to utilize their magic, fighting using a power from within. On the contrary, the user is capable of absorbing a portion of the foe's magical energy with any one of their attacks; it doesn't matter if the attack connects or is deflected; once the attack at least touches the opponent's body, then a small rift will open upon the foe, releasing a portion of their magical energy in the form of small crimson orbs which is then absorbed into the user's own magical reserves via Chimera's power. From there, the magical energy instantly takes effect; rejuvenating the user's wounds and bolstering their offensive and defensive power by the amount of energy absorbed. With the Chimera's power, the user gains a perpetual power source, which can be used to power them, granting the user near-inexhaustible energy; as the magical energy is transferred to the user, essentially healing them when they damage an enemy. Chimera's magic inflicts damage based on the maximum magical power of a foe, and thus, it is effective against extremely powerful mages.
Limit Break (必殺技 (リミット・ブレイク), Rimitto Bureiku lit. Finishing Move): A Limit Break is the "ultimate attack" (絶招, Zesshō) of a Soul Armour—they are extremely powerful attacks enabled via the user taking damage in some way. When the user takes enough damage to gain an enormous amount of energy, they may perform a Limit Break. The user gains more energy to perform a Limit Break as they get angrier, and foes push them to their limits, the user unleashes an "unimaginable power". When the user's fighting spirit rises to its ultimate limit, for a short while it aligns with and emits from the user's body, allowing powerful abilities that cannot be performed in a natural state. Though generally, a Soul Armour Knight has no problem dealing with mere magicians and other magical races, against beings such as symbiotes and other Soul Armour Knights, they require much more than 'stab it/kick it/punch it until it goes down'. Thus, the Limit Breaks come into play. It gathers their fighting spirit and transforms it into power, unleashing a single attack with no equal aside from other Limit Breaks. As Soul Armour Knight Zero, Gary has access to the Limit Break known as Chimera Glanzer (キメラ・グランツァー, Kimera Gurantsā), where a burst of electrical energy surges from the Driver that travels up his body to his back, erupting into wings of flame, and then surges to his right leg. A loud bird screech echoes through the air as several red feathers manifest around Gary's body and he disappears in a red and gold blur; leaping up into the air; finally, a titanic phantasmal red falcon appears over Gary's body, his right leg extended in front of him and into the falcon's beak. The phantasmal falcon and Gary then kick into the opponent.
The Granzon is Gary's second Soul Armour, and another one of the Prototype Soul Armours left on the Old World. Gary obtains it some time after his departure and his reunion with Tsuruko.
— Gary's activation phrase and the Grav Driver's transformation announcement for the Granzon Soul Armour.
Soul Armour Knight Granzon (神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト) ・紅蓮域 (グランゾン), Sōru Āmā Naito Guranzon lit. God Armour Clad Supreme Warrior Crimson Lotus Zone): The Granzon Soul Armour is one of the countless Prototype Soul Armours left on the Old World. Granzon itself is one of the later developed Soul Armours, as it was finished half-way through the Cataclysm War against Klaus and his Hellions. Bonded to the Grav Driver, the Granzon Soul Armour wasn't one of the seven to be sent to Earth Land following the Universal Reboot. Gary later found the Soul Armour's Driver Belt at an unspecified period of time, after he gave up the Zero Soul Armour and left to investigate the Old World, with the belt accepting him as its new Qualified. The Granzon is jet-black in colour, with purple highlights on its head, arms, legs, and chest. Its body is slender and insectoid. Its helmet has a black spoiler, and a purple visor with dull metallic highlights around it. The Granzon sports segmented, telescoping projections on its back that emit greenish psychic energy to form ghostly, feathered "wings".
Originally, the Granzon, as stated above, was incomplete; though its basic design was done by Klaus, Gary's father, but it was later stolen by Gary and subsequently modified and completed by Doktor Z, a survivor of the Universal Reboot and Dzerve's old lab partner. Although the completed Soul Armour's name is the same as that of the original design, it is a vastly different armour, being more tuned to Gary's fighting style as Doktor Z used Gary's combat data when designing the Granzon. Like Gaiki Kai, the Granzon is a mixture of all three major types- the Prototypes, the New Generations, and the Symbiote Soul Armours, and could be seen as a "perfect" Soul Armour. Gary also used countless Old World relics to enhance the Soul Armour's power by integrating them into the frame. The Granzon is said to be a revolution in Soul Armour technology, and is also described as the "strongest Soul Armour ever forged", at least, until the debut of Gaiki Kai.
The Granzon, even in its base form, is astoundingly powerful; it is stated to be as powerful as a Prototype Soul Armour's Super Mode, as well as swift as a Survive Mode, if not even quicker. The Granzon has an inner frame made up of fighting spirit conductive armour, granting the Soul Armour near-human flexibility when Gary focuses his fighting spirit, causing the inner frame of the armour to shine an illustrious silver and allowing it to discharge excess residual fighting spirit within the body through the joints. As with its 'sister unit', the Granzon's basic structural components have been split into smaller, movable pieces, while the Soul Armour's Armour Parts have been divided into smaller pieces in order to grant the Soul Armour a wider range of body movements without lowering the Soul Armour's defensive power. In addition, targeting sensors were also built onto its legs and shoulders for greater accuracy and efficiency in combat.
Unlike other Soul Armours, which are powered purely by their wearer's fighting spirit and the Driver Belt's Drive Gem, the Granzon's Drive Gem contains a special power source referred to as the Antimatter Annihilation Engine (反物質滅・エンジン, Hanbusshitsumetsu Enjin); an efficient energy source that is actually an artificial black hole, theoretically giving the Soul Armour an infinite source of energy. The Antimatter Annihilation Engine, to draw in energy, uses its immense pull to forge a small opening to the same area in another parallel world, though any further interference is impossible, and it draws in all of the energy from that space, absorbing it back into the Soul Armour and continually recharging Gary's power. The Antimatter Annihilation Engine is able to meet the immense energy requirements of the Granzon's powers, which all involve gravity and time-space manipulation. Overall, the Granzon is a highly adaptable and versatile Soul Armour with high performance.
Arms Weapon: Granworm Sword (グランワーム・ソード, Guranwāmu Sōdo): The Granworm Sword is the name of Granzon's Arms Weapon; like all Arms Weapons, it can be summoned by Gary revving the Grav Driver twice, causing it to manifest within his hands. The Granworm Sword is a unique Arms Weapon due to the fact that it can change forms; while many other Arms Weapons can also change forms, the Granworm Sword will only transform when Gary enters his Super Mode. As stated just before, the Granworm Sword has two configurations- however, in the Soul Armour's base state, it takes upon the Dual Wield Mode (二刀流・モード, Nitōryū Mōdo), separating into two identical blades. In this form, the Granworm Sword takes upon the form of two curved swords with deep red blades- the hilts and hand guards are fashioned in a cutlass-like manner. The Granworm Sword has sharp cutting edges enhanced by the use of laser technology; the weapon can be used to destroy almost any obstruction by slicing through it like a hot knife through butter, although the Arms Weapon is mostly used against enemies during combat. The Granworm Sword is said to emit small electron impulse vibrations that are capable of neutralizing a Spacetime Convergence Cannon. Additionally, the Granworm Sword has a small laser gun installed within the crossguard of the weapon, which can fire in any direction the Arms Weapon's wide range of motion allows. Although the Granworm Sword is already sharp uncharged, and can be used without the laser systems, its effectiveness is increased even further when charged, and the Granworm Sword is also capable of extending the laser blade over the tip of the sword for piercing enemies with exceptionally tough armour. At any time, Gary is capable of joining both Granworm Swords at their hilts to form a large, double bladed ambidextrous form referred to as Double-Blade Sword Mode (双刃刀・モード, Sōjintō Mōdo), which he can utilize in a similar manner to that of a boomerang. In the Granzon's Super Mode, the two Granworm Swords merge into a large claymore called Great Sword Mode (大剣・モード, Taiken Mōdo), which he can wield effortlessly despite its immense size.
Graviton (時空重力 (グラビトン), Gurabiton lit. Time-Space Gravity Power): Graviton is the name of the Granzon's Knight Power. As the name would imply, Graviton enables the Granzon to have absolute dominance over the gravitational fields of the world, or just the force of gravity in general, controlling and manipulating it however the wielder of the Soul Armour pleases. Graviton allows Gary to be able to choose whether to let gravity affect him or not, as he is often seen jumping several thousand meters into the air, and slowly floating back down to the ground, as well as increase his gravity to crash down and crush his opponent; the power has a large range of offensive and defense applications. As the name would imply, as Gary can affect the gravity of anything around him, he can render most frontal assaults virtually useless; every step he takes when utilizing this Knight Power is strong enough to easily crush solid earth and any sort of projectile, no matter what state it is in, that comes into contact with him will be crushed. He can also choose to negate another's gravity, as he can, with a hand motion, levitate his target or smash them down to the ground, or leave them unable to move. Gary can also use this ability to irresistibly pull the opponent to him, regardless of their current state. Gary's signature move with this Knight Power is to expose the opponent to a fierce assault of downward forces, making it seem as if gravity had intensified to the point that it could kill someone just to make a single step. Additionally, the Graviton Knight Power is capable of manipulating the fabric of time and space, allowing Gary to create warps that teleports him instantaneously from one place in space to another. Gary can also bring others with him when warping, or warp objects to other locations without Gary with them, though varying amounts of energy was required depending on the extent of the warp. It could also work with the time and space of an area, such as making something large fit in the space of a small place like a pocket it can even make people fit in the space of small areas. With Graviton, Gary can either slow down time or stop it entirely, which in turn keeps his opponents suspended, without any means of breaking free, while Gary himself unaffected. Together with the time-manipulating properties of Graviton, Gary can create rifts in space and time, which can make those who passes into them be banished to the void.
Gary as Soul Armour Knight Granzon, preparing the Worm Smasher Limit Break.
Limit Break (必殺技 (リミット・ブレイク), Rimitto Bureiku lit. Finishing Move): A Limit Break is the "ultimate attack" (絶招, Zesshō) of a Soul Armour—they are extremely powerful attacks enabled via the user taking damage in some way. When the user takes enough damage to gain an enormous amount of energy, they may perform a Limit Break. The user gains more energy to perform a Limit Break as they get angrier, and foes push them to their limits, the user unleashes an "unimaginable power". When the user's fighting spirit rises to its ultimate limit, for a short while it aligns with and emits from the user's body, allowing powerful abilities that cannot be performed in a natural state. Though generally, a Soul Armour Knight has no problem dealing with mere magicians and other magical races, against beings such as symbiotes and other Soul Armour Knights, they require much more than 'stab it/kick it/punch it until it goes down'. Thus, the Limit Breaks come into play. It gathers their fighting spirit and transforms it into power, unleashing a single attack with no equal aside from other Limit Breaks. As Soul Armour Knight Granzon, Gary's main Limit Break is Worm Smasher (全程門撃 (ワーム・スマッシャー), Wāmu Sumasshā lit. All-Range Portal Assault), where Gary opens up a wormhole in front of himself and fires several gravity-based lasers into it; wormholes then open up at different angles around the target, and the lasers emerge from them, attacking the enemy from all angles. Additionally, Gary has another Limit Break called the Distorion Kick (時空裂蹴り (ディストリオン・キック), Disutorion Kikku lit. Time-Space Rending Kick), where he gathers fighting spirit into one of his legs, before unleashing a phenomenally powerful kick that distorts the fabric of time and space while crushing the enemy under immense gravitational pressure; this attack has three variations: a normal 180 degree roundhouse kick, a counter kick, which is a 360 degree roundhouse kick used to surprise opponents who attempt to attack him from behind, and a flying side kick similar to Gaiki's Victorize Kick.
Granzon: Survive Mode (グランゾン・サバイブ・モード, Guranzon: Sabaibu Mōdo): Survive Mode is the term pertaining to Soul Armours that have unlocked a much more powerful form. The Survive Mode is activated by scanning the Survive Rings (サバイブ・リング, Sabaibu Ringu) over the Driver Belts, causing the Soul Armours to undergo a specific evolution exclusive to themselves, more often than not resulting in a sleeker form. The Survive Rings were developed to the blueprint stage but never constructed, as it were considered too powerful for any user; and later on, Giselle Mercury managed to stabilize them with help from her father, who added his own exalted magical power into the rings. The Survive Modes offer drastically enhanced parameters, which are actually the user's powers boosted to their absolute limits. Unlike the other Prototype Soul Armours, while Granzon is stated to have a Survive Mode, it is never actually shown, as Gary had unlocked Granzon's Super Mode by the time he made his appearance wielding the Soul Armour. Additionally, due to the sheer speed granted by the Graviton Knight Power, Survive Mode is deemed all but useless as the boost of Survive Mode would not add much to Granzon's overall speed.
Darkmatter Granzon
Soul Armour Knight Darkmatter Granzon, wielding the Granworm Sword in Great Sword Mode.
— Gary's activation phrase, as well as the Grav Driver's activation chant for Darkmatter Granzon.
Darkmatter Granzon (ダークマター・グランゾン, Dākumatā Guranzon): Darkmatter Granzon is the name of the Granzon Soul Armour's Super Mode. When transforming, the Granzon Soul Armour becomes shrouded in darkness, enveloping it in its entirety while morphing the armour into a stronger form. As Darkmatter Granzon, the Granzon Soul Armour only goes through some minor cosmetic changes, as a shocking contrast to other Super Mode transformations. The Soul Armour's legs become much more streamlined, losing the dish panels on the sides in favour of more organic-looking legs, with Gary's fighting spirit forming a purple pattern on each. The Granzon Soul Armour's back gains a few modifications, with the addition of a backpack that has wings and wheels. The Soul Armour's Arms Weapon, the Granworm Sword, transforms into its Great Sword Mode. Overall, not much changes about the Granzon in its Super Mode, but the power increase, like all Super Modes, is phenomenal.
In terms of abilities, like all other Super Modes, Granzon's parameters have shot right through the roof; indeed, it is perhaps one of two Soul Armours capable of keeping up with Gaiki Kai's Super Mode; the other being Airgetlam in its own Super Mode. In basic performance specs alone, Darkmatter Granzon's punching power measures twenty tons heavier than Deadheat Airgetlam, with kicking power also measuring fifty tons heavier than Zero Amazing; making it as powerful as Gaiki Kai's Bakken Mode. The fighting spirit of the inner frame allows Darkmatter Granzon to possess near human flexibility and through its glowing effect, is able to discharge excess residual energy within the body through the markings in its shoulders as streams of energy. The body of Darkmatter Granzon is coated in a modified Soul Metal, making it resistant to all but the most powerful of weapons, as well as those made from Soul Metal, such as Arms Weapons. Additionally, the boosters on its back can propel it to fifty times the speed of sound, giving it a very high acceleration, but the user can only maintain this speed for short periods of time. Overall, Granzon in its Super Mode exhibits immense power against Hellions, while simultaneously being a double-edged sword that puts Gary's own life at great risk due to his own origins as half-Hellion.
Soul Armour Knight Darkmatter Granzon in Bike Mode.
Bike Mode (バイク・モード, Baiku Mōdo): Bike Mode is a special ability unique to Darkmatter Granzon; it is a Mode Change. When transforming into Bike Mode, the backpack attached to the Soul Armour detaches, forming the back wheels, while the legs elongate and rearrange themselves to the front, deploying two wheels from the armoured feet and merging together to form the front of the bike. Gary's actual legs remain untouched, as they rest in a 'seat' of sorts. When Bike Mode is initiated, Darkmatter Granzon is granted an enormous boost in speed, greatly improving the mobility of the armour and giving it powerful thrusts in forward and side to side movements. Bike Mode also enables Darkmatter Granzon to make irregular maneuvers that normal Soul Armours cannot do. When in motion, his opponents bounce off of an invisible force field which surrounds his body akin to the Ardor Field generated upon transformation as he drives through them; the form is also durable enough to smash through dense rocks as if they were nothing. However, any extremely powerful attack used by this form can place a huge strain on Gary's body due to the amount of G-Forces it brings.
— Gary's activation phrase, as well as the Grav Driver's activation chant for Granzon the Dread.
Granzon the Dread (グランゾン・ザ・ドレッド, Guranzon za Doreddo): Granzon the Dread, also referred to as the Supreme Warrior (最高戦士, Saikō Senshi), is the ultimate form of Granzon, a "Super Mode of the Super Mode"; a Hyper Mode. It is a secret form exclusive to Perfect Soul Armours- that is to say, Soul Armours that have been developed by the brightest minds to be a mixture of all three major types- the Prototypes, the New Generations, and the Symbiote Soul Armours; due to all types of Soul Armours achieving perfect harmony within a single Soul Armour, the code that forms the essence of Soul Armours, the Zeroize Code, becomes available to manipulate at Gary's whims; his fighting spirit flares up to unimaginable proportions as he steels his resolve, causing the Zeroize Code to transform his Soul Armour into Hyper Mode. When transformed into Hyper Mode, Granzon's body becomes permanently golden, shining bright enough to illuminate the entire world; as well as this, the transition into Hyper Mode includes the addition of angelic wings composed of coloured light erupting from the back of the Soul Armour. Not actually a Soul Armour by traditional means, the Hyper Mode is actually a mass of continuously materialized fighting spirit that shrouds Gary's body; the black portions of Granzon's armour become a shimmering golden, while the purple translucent parts glow even brighter.
When in Hyper Mode, the Soul Armour's specs are increase to staggering heights, and will only increase exponentially the more his fighting spirit rises; theoretically, Hyper Mode's power can increase infinitely as long as Gary's fighting spirit never runs out. In this form, Gary's power is beyond exalts and Over Lords; and even Klaus in his Hyper Armourize Hellion form cannot keep up with him in power, whereas previously, Klaus had effortlessly defeated the main cast while Tsuruko struggled against Signa. In addition to possessing all of the abilities of the Soul Armour's other forms in a massively enhanced form, Granzon the Dread is said to be as powerful as Gaiki the Great, the Hyper Mode of Gaiki Kai. Additionally, Granzon the Dread can manifest extra arms to help with attacking, launching countless barrages of strikes at his helpless opponent. Due to his continually rising fighting spirit, Gary is capable of altering the fundamental laws of reality, such as altering probability and creating matter out of thin air. Almost all damage suffered by Granzon the Dread is on its left ("Protect") side, while its right ("Broken") side remains mostly untouched.
Limit Break (必殺技 (リミット・ブレイク), Rimitto Bureiku lit. Finishing Move): A Limit Break is the "ultimate attack" (絶招, Zesshō) of a Soul Armour—they are extremely powerful attacks enabled via the user taking damage in some way. When the user takes enough damage to gain an enormous amount of energy, they may perform a Limit Break. The user gains more energy to perform a Limit Break as they get angrier, and foes push them to their limits, the user unleashes an "unimaginable power". When the user's fighting spirit rises to its ultimate limit, for a short while it aligns with and emits from the user's body, allowing powerful abilities that cannot be performed in a natural state. Though generally, a Soul Armour Knight has no problem dealing with mere magicians and other magical races, against beings such as symbiotes and other Soul Armour Knights, they require much more than 'stab it/kick it/punch it until it goes down'. Thus, the Limit Breaks come into play. It gathers their fighting spirit and transforms it into power, unleashing a single attack with no equal aside from other Limit Breaks. As Soul Armour Knight Granzon, Gary's main Limit Break is Worm Smasher (全程門撃 (ワーム・スマッシャー), Wāmu Sumasshā lit. All-Range Portal Assault), where Gary opens up a wormhole in front of himself and fires several gravity-based lasers into it; wormholes then open up at different angles around the target, and the lasers emerge from them, attacking the enemy from all angles. Additionally, Gary has another Limit Break called the Distorion Kick (時空裂蹴り (ディストリオン・キック), Disutorion Kikku lit. Time-Space Rending Kick), where he gathers fighting spirit into one of his legs, before unleashing a phenomenally powerful kick that distorts the fabric of time and space while crushing the enemy under immense gravitational pressure; this attack has three variations: a normal 180 degree roundhouse kick, a counter kick, which is a 360 degree roundhouse kick used to surprise opponents who attempt to attack him from behind, and a flying side kick similar to Gaiki's Victorize Kick; additionally, Gary has access to one final Limit Break.
Gary as Granzon the Dread, about to unleash Black Hole Cluster.
Finale Limit Break: Black Hole Cluster (必殺技・改・宇宙大爆発超新星 (フィナーレ・リミット・ブレイク・ブラック・ホール・クラスター), Fināre Rimitto Bureiku: Burakku Hōru Kurasutā lit. Finishing Move Revised: Big Bang Supernova): Black Hole Cluster is the strongest Limit Break of Granzon- it is activated when Gary revs the lever on the Grav Driver thrice; however, in doing so, the Zeroize Code releases the limiters on the Soul Armour's Antimatter Annihilation Engine, granting Gary access to its full power. When performing Black Hole Cluster, four extra arms on each side of the Soul Armour extend from Granzon the Dread's sides, each generating a tri-pronged blade composed purely of light. Using the Antimatter Annihilation Engine, Gary opens a portal to another dimension that consists solely of rain, thunder, and dark clouds. Then, Gary creates three micro black holes at once from his Soul Armour's chest and combines the three micro black holes into one single beautiful and magnificent violet orb which causes an explosion that opens the heavens above Granzon. With his countless blades, Gary then slashes the violet orb with his numerous arms, creating a supernova that wipes his opponent from existence and destroys the immediate vicinity, creating naught but a smoldering crater for several hundred thousand kilometers. After unleashing Black Hole Cluster, Granzon the Dread powers down to its original Granzon form.
"Gary: Birdy, my mum mentioned that it doesn't matter even if you can't get 100 friends once you graduate to your next class, you must find a real friend that you can treasure with the feelings of 100 people. Once you get this true friend that you can view as more important than anyone else, your future will be bright. Tsuruko: Then, I'll use the feelings of a hundred people to treasure you. Even if there's 100 people... no. No matter if it's a million or trillion people, even if the entire world views you as an enemy, I'll still be your friend."
— Gary Straights and Tsuruko Sejren, in their childhood, Innocent Origins
Some of Tsuruko's most prominent interactions are with Gary Straights, even after the "breakup" of sorts. The two used to be childhood friends and both considered each other best friends. In the present, their relationship is not good as it was in the past due to being separated for so long, but compared to other people that Tsuruko interacts with, she and Gary are very close; Giselle even notes that Tsuruko seems to be somewhat of a 'tsundere' towards Gary. After Tsuruko was forced to move away, she was traumatized by being separated from him; an event which triggered her desire to make friends with everyone, due to fear of losing a close friend once more. When the two eventually reunited, Tsuruko immediately recognized Gary as her childhood friend. However, to Tsuruko's dismay, Gary was unable to do the same, which is justified considering that Gary always thought of her as a boy and never really knew her true name in the past.
Gary deeply regrets that he couldn't say goodbye to "Birdy" and believes that this was the main reason why she ultimately became an outcast—often seeing dreams of his past friend, and trying to revise this past by using "time machine" that Alexis had invented; showing that the longing for each other is very much mutual. Even now, Tsuruko realizes that their past friendship is gone, and their relationship is that of two fellow students, not of childhood friends—much to her dismay. While appearing cold to Gary and only Gary, Tsuruko is continuously seen trying to make him remember their past. Whenever something romantic would happen between the two, both would blush and just brush it off; Tsuruko would sometimes remind Gary, but he just pretends to forget to avoid getting things awkward.
Interestingly, Tsuruko has some obvious affections for Gary, but due to shyness, inability to convey her feelings and pride, cannot say it out loud- and even then, it could easily be interpreted as just friendship on Tsuruko's part, if only butchered by Tsuruko's dislike of romance for a good part of the story. The two possess a truly powerful bond; Gary and Tsuruko are frequently seen together, Tsuruko referring to Gary as an important person to her—and the two possessing a bond that transcends any friendship or romantic relationship; being one of pure devotion. Gary would do anything for Tsuruko, and the feeling is mutual. However, their relationship slowly goes from affection to pure hate on Tsuruko's end as Gary left her all of a sudden. However, during the Old World arc, Gary finally revealed his true personality and reasons to her, and two decided to start off again as simply friends, not as the Gary of the past and "Birdy", but rather, as the current Gary and Tsuruko Sejren.
Upon meeting Deen, the two immediately got off to a bad start—having an intense rivalry in regards to the very same girl. Noticing that Tsuruko was acting different towards Gary than she did to other people, Deen quickly deducted that Tsuruko was in love with Gary, which caused him to instantly develop a certain coldness towards the young man, and as a result, he was known to be extremely rude to Gary, who responded in kind—the two often flinging insults against one another and butting heads at every opportunity that arose. Gary and Deen's rivalry can be fierce enough to the point of trying to kill each other, and at other times an intense competition. In any case, one always wants to outdo the other. Gary and Deen frequently fight due to their own views on justice and morality, and how to act on them. Each does not care what the other thinks of those views. In a sense, the two young men are polar opposites in every way except their appearance. Almost every time they meet, they battle ferociously. Neither is ever willing to accept defeat.
Interestingly, as the story of Daybreak progresses, Gary and Deen venture into more of a friendly-enemy territory. As love rivals, Deen tends to get jealous when he notices how casually Gary is capable of chatting with Tsuruko, and when their mutual past was finally revealed; Deen was quite shocked and saddened by this fact. As it was shown when Deen remarked that Gary's childhood friendship with Tsuruko was "ancient history", it caused Gary to become enraged at Deen and punch him across the room—startling others around, as Gary is shown to be a highly patient person. Even so, Gary later apologized; and after seeing Tsuruko and Gary's reunion, Deen noticed how happy Tsuruko was with his rival and after some thought about it, peacefully admitted that he had lost in their rivalry and wished the two the best.
Quotes
"Hey, Exalted One! What's the meaning of this!? Why don't you save this girl! She's been longing for help! She's been crying out for friends! What the hell are you doing!? Why aren't you doing anything!? I don't know a single thing about you and I also don’t believe in any religion. On top of that, I'm a demon! But even a demon like me can talk to her! Weren't you the one that gave us magic? This! This is wrong! Ah, I know. This is what I’m going to do! Watch me, Exalted One!" –Gary Straights, about Tsuruko Sejren, in Floating Lilies
"It's not why! Tsuruko, you just chilled with me for the whole day right? We talked right? We laughed together right? Then you and I are friends! A human, a demon, or anything else doesn't matter! We are friends! We'll put other things aside! We'll talk when we wanna, we'll chill when we wanna, and yeah, I'll also go shopping with you! Whether it's books or flowers, we'll go shopping much as you want! Okay?" –Gary Straights, to Tsuruko Sejren, in Floating Lilies
Amusingly, Gary is considered to be very similar to that of Kamina from the hit mecha anime, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann; as a big-mouthed teen who refuses to acknowledge the words "quit" or "surrender" in any form, fighting through sheer bullheadedness, while also showing incredible kindness as he helps the protagonist break out of their shell. Both are highly hot-blooded and hammy, being incredibly spectacular in their achievements—however, Gary doesn't die.
At the end of Daybreak, Gary achieves his dream to open his own ramen cart and it became a huge success. There are now "Straights Ramen" carts all over the world. His entrepreneurship earns him a place on magazine covers around the globe.
