Old Lion

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Severus Hamlet; the name is also used by Human Puppets impersonating him 971 972.
Alias(es)	Old Lion (老狮子); “the lord whom knights follow” 145.
Gender	Male 548 971.
Species/Race	The original Severus was distinct from his two Human Puppet successors. The principal impostor used Ritual power to become human 971.
Affiliation	Golden Lion Family, also known as the Hamlet Family; Inner Bay 501 548.
Occupation/Role	Grand Duke of South County; ruler of the Inner Bay and head of the Golden Lion Family 107 882.
Power Rank	The principal impostor is identified at death as a Marshal Puppet, Tier V, pinnacle 981.
Status	Original Severus: died long before the identity reveal. Deputy Marshal impersonator: destroyed by Arthur. Principal impostor: killed by Arthur 971 972 981.

Power Progression

The principal impostor’s early transformations are revealed retrospectively; their exact dates and intermediate ranks are not given 971.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Marshal Puppet	971	Created by Robin above the General Puppets. Arthur identifies Marshal Puppets as Ascension Rank beings.
Human transformation through Ritual power	971	Acquired part of a mysterious Ritual, became human, and fathered Greisa, Diodone, and Pistrie. Completing the borrowed Ritual required fulfilling the Old Lion’s ambition to unify South County.
Claimed godhood	978	Declared himself a god during the South Los confrontation. This is his claim, not an independently confirmed rank.
Tier V, pinnacle — final confirmed rank	981	Arthur’s kill notification identifies him as “Severus Hamlet (Marshal Puppet, Tier V, pinnacle)” and awards 150,000 XP.

Identity

Identity	Distinguishing facts	Fate
Original Severus Hamlet	Awakened Robin’s puppets and bound them through Contracts. Promised to release them after becoming ruler of South County 971.	Died after falling victim to another person’s schemes; the exact circumstances remain unspecified 971.
Principal Old Lion impostor	Continued Severus’s public life, borrowed Ritual power to become human, and pursued South County’s unification and godhood 971 975.	Killed by Arthur 981.
Deputy Marshal impersonator	Served as the principal impostor’s shadow and double. Approached Arthur with a supposed offer to return inherited Ritual power 971.	His liberation scheme failed, and Arthur destroyed him 972.

• The puppets lived under Severus’s name to prevent his Contracts from erasing them after his death 971.
• The Deputy Marshal described himself as still unchanged after thirty years, while the other puppet had developed ambitions of godhood 971.
• Although the visitor introduced himself as the Deputy Marshal, his later betrayal revealed resentment over being treated as a copy and a belief that he was the true Marshal Puppet 972.

Background / History

Seven-Year War

The young Old Lion made his battlefield debut by facing an elite Musketeer Company of two thousand men alone. According to Malinda, the soldiers stopped firing when they saw him. He asked whether they would fight for him; half immediately defected, and the remainder followed after a second question. He then used the company as the vanguard of a victorious counterattack 145.

The spectacle required substantial support from the Golden Lion Family. Later rumors attributed it either to exceptionally developed Lion Swordsmanship combined with Lion Pride, or to an enormous expenditure of gold. Arthur regarded the more disparaging claims about the Old Lion’s talent skeptically 145 361.

Count Bernaken associated the Old Lion’s fearsome reputation with his ability to break through a predicament left behind by a mysterious figure during the war. Unlike other survivors, the Old Lion could speak about that history without suffering consequences, making him a symbol of the Pioneer Age 835.

Severus’s Death and Replacement

Severus awakened the Human Puppets created by Robin, a Holy Age rebel who developed them through alchemy after losing trust in human allies. He became their master through multiple Contracts and promised their freedom once he ruled South County. His death left them bound, forcing them to maintain his identity 971.

The principal replacement acquired part of a Ritual’s power and became human. His transformation allowed him to father children, but also committed him to fulfilling Severus’s ambition of unifying South County. By the time Arthur uncovered the substitution, the impostor wanted to proceed beyond humanity to godhood 971.

Appearance

• Public appearance: An elderly man recognizable to Malinda immediately as the Old Lion 971.
• Eyes: Pale golden, repeatedly noted during his encounters with Arthur and the Countess 978 979.
• Build: A sturdy arm is visible during the confrontation with Arthur 979.
• Golden lion manifestation: His imposing power can produce a golden lion behind him; he later transforms into a golden lion himself 772 976.
• Family resemblance: Veteran soldier Bob finds Arthur’s golden hair, golden eyes, and lionlike bearing strikingly similar to the young Grand Duke 558.

Personality

Arthur’s early impression of the Old Lion is ruthless, vindictive, and merciless toward challenges to his authority. He rejects the comforting interpretation that the ruler’s aggression is merely an aging man’s bluster, because the retaliation still produces real deaths 523.

Malinda describes him as demanding total victory whenever possible—and, beyond that, victory without losses on his own side. His later decision to leave the Inner Bay exposed reflects the same confidence on a larger scale: he accepts enormous political risk to draw concealed opposition into the open 145 912.

The principal impostor treats family as part of his advancement strategy. He regards his three sons as failed experiments and believes he can raise a better heir using the experience they provided. Arthur impresses him as a potential successor, but he dismisses the threat posed by Severus’s descendant and trusts his own strength to overcome resistance 975.

The Deputy Marshal’s apparent concern for Arthur conceals resentment and a desire for liberation. He exploits the language of family inheritance and goodwill, expecting Arthur’s pride in his bloodline to make him accept a dangerous bargain 972.

Abilities & Skills

Lion Pride

Lion Pride combines extraordinary charisma with the ability to reshape the thinking of sworn followers. Malinda’s account of its limits comes from the South Los Family’s research 145.

Property	Documented effect or limit
Initial influence	Makes people feel favorably toward him at first sight 145.
Sworn allegiance	Followers may come to regard him as their everything and willingly sacrifice all they possess for him 145.
Ordinary targets	Approximately 2,000, with every enhancement in place 145.
Spiritual targets	Estimated capacity of one to twelve; three spiritual followers remain when Malinda explains the ability, down from seven 145.
Resistance	Spirituality can counter the charisma. Remaining clearheaded and refusing to swear allegiance provides protection 145.
Overuse	Exceeding the target limit causes backlash 145.

• Truda is not one of the three remaining spiritual followers; his modified stomach was the Construct Maker’s work 145.
• Arthur later theorizes that Lion Pride might combine the family bloodline with the Death Poetry Society’s Death Sound, possibly explaining its restrictions. This remains his hypothesis 558.

Lion Swordsmanship

• Suited to maximizing Lion Pride’s charisma, producing an effect described as Kingly Presence 361.
• Rumored to have helped the young Old Lion turn the Musketeer Company; the precise contribution of swordsmanship versus family-funded enhancement is disputed 361.

Golden Lion Power

• A sleeping golden lion manifestation appears behind him when he asserts his resolve, causing the Lion Palace to tremble slightly 772.
• Creates a golden lion to answer the Countess’s lightning attack 975.
• Transforms into a golden lion and charges directly into descending lightning 976.

Space Talent and Distortion

• Possesses a space Talent 978.
• Uses Distortion, an inherited Mystic Art of the Theophat Psychic Order anchored in “life” and “death” 978.
• Pushes both powers beyond their limits during the battle involving the Countess and Blood Marquis 978.

Transfer

• Redirects the force of Arthur’s blows into the Blood Marquis’s body 979.
• Allows him to continue fighting despite being completely outmatched by Arthur in raw physical strength 979.
• His attached trump card makes the Blood Marquis an especially effective recipient for the transferred damage 979.

Intelligence and Political Control

• Commands hidden operatives, including the Seven Golden-Bearded Consultants 548 896.
• Conceals the family’s rich gold mine beneath the Lion Palace through repeated construction and misleading information 915.
• Uses his absence from the Inner Bay to encourage hidden enemies and unstable factions to expose themselves 912.

Equipment / Items

• Human Puppet double — Produced by tossing a small puppet onto his chair; the double becomes another Old Lion and covers his departure from the Lion Palace 772.
• Ritual power — Enables the principal impostor’s human transformation. Possessing a suitable heir is subsequently necessary for his completeness and further advancement 971 975.
• Deception Ritual relic and fragment — Central to the Deputy Marshal’s bargain for Arthur’s blood and an oath of liberation. Arthur identifies the deception and obtains the genuine item 972.
• Empire-derived parchment scroll — Used by the Deputy Marshal to isolate his meeting with Arthur, cutting off sound and images and excluding Malinda 971.

Relationships

Family and Successors

• Arthur Credos — Descendant of the original Severus through the maternal Golden Lion line. The principal impostor admires his ability but does not regard him as his own grandson; Arthur ultimately kills him 971 975 981.
• Aislan — Son of the original Severus. The Lady of Pain recounts his mother’s killing by Dorn, his own death in war, and the daughter and grandson he left behind 771.
• Dorn Hamlet — Severus’s younger brother. His death enabled Severus’s rise; rumors accused Severus of secretly murdering him 548.
• Barro Hamlet — Younger brother within the public Hamlet family structure and a rival for power. Suspected of spreading the accusations surrounding Dorn’s death and promoting Arthur to challenge the Old Lion’s control 548 845.
• Greisa Hamlet / Little Lion — Eldest son of the principal impostor; manages intelligence and considers the Inner Bay his inheritance. Killed by Count Bette 548 549 876 971.
• Diodone Hamlet — Second son of the principal impostor; handles internal affairs and Lion Palace construction 549 915 971.
• Pistrie Hamlet — Youngest son of the principal impostor; develops military accomplishments and later contracts an alliance with Arthur against Diodone and Barro 549 914 971.
• Robin — Creator of the two Marshal Puppets and eight General Puppets; called their “mother” by the Deputy Marshal 971.

Followers and Rivals

• Dill Buck — One of the Seven Golden-Bearded Consultants, operating as the Moon Newspaper editor. Ordered to protect Arthur even when other orders would endanger him; later doubts the identity of the current Old Lion 772 896 897.
• Construct Maker — Spiritual follower responsible for Truda’s modifications and one of the gold mine’s defenders. Arthur kills him and frames Count Bette 145 915 955.
• War Elephant — Personal bodyguard renowned for extraordinary physique, including catching a twelve-pound cannonball and lifting a carriage. Accompanies the South Los operation 145 975.
• Bloodshadow Thorn — Assassin Bloodline Secret Art inheritor and close follower; guards the hidden mine alongside the Construct Maker 145 915.
• Countess of South Los / Mother Tiger — Political and military rival. Earlier covert hostility escalates into the harbor confrontation; the impostor offers to make her the mother of his heir 112 975 978.
• Death Poetry Society — Maintains dealings with the Old Lion and guards the mine’s perimeter. Potteriman realizes the organization may have served as cover for his secrets 915.
• Isidore — Won over by the Old Lion during the covert struggle with the Countess 112.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Covert Struggle over South Los

The Old Lion’s title gives him grounds to intervene in South Los under the defense of South County’s noble honor, despite his wider authority having become nominal. Other nobles hope that he and the Countess will weaken each other 107.

Their rivalry initially proceeds through intermediaries: the Old Lion wins over Isidore, while the Countess cultivates Harris. Arthur recognizes himself as expendable within their larger struggle 112.

Arthur’s Lineage and the Succession Crisis

Arthur interprets the increased rewards for the South County Swordsmanship Tournament as an invitation designed to verify his ancestry. A genuine descendant could receive a title and territory without being welcomed into the ruling family; a fraud could be killed 517.

Dill Buck’s investigation takes a different turn when he sees Arthur walking through the air. He interprets the feat as fulfilling the Golden Lion Family’s tabooed prophecy and reports Arthur as a potential new king 548.

The Lady of Pain later contacts the Old Lion with revelations about Aislan’s descendants. Arthur deliberately provokes the call to establish his identity and prepare his entry into the Inner Bay 771.

South Los Expedition and Inner Bay Exposure

The Old Lion arrives in South Los, revealing strength far beyond what the Countess had inferred from his earlier retreats. Arthur seeks outside allies to prevent the confrontation from simply restoring Inner Bay dominance 850 853.

Arthur subsequently deduces that the departure is bait: the Old Lion intends to expose opposition in the Inner Bay while pursuing control of all South County. Declarations of war and the loss of the Construct Maker do not draw him back from South Los 912 918 955.

Hidden Mine and Puppet Revelation

Potteriman identifies the real gold mine beneath the Lion Palace. Arthur connects its concealment to six expansions over more than thirty years and interprets the killings of palace guards as the silencing of witnesses 915.

After Arthur takes control of the Inner Bay, the Deputy Marshal reveals Severus’s death and the puppets’ continued impersonation. He then attempts to exploit Arthur through a liberation bargain, only to be destroyed by Arthur’s counterplot 971 972.

Final Confrontation

The principal impostor battles the Countess, displays his golden lion transformation, and declares himself a god. When Arthur intervenes, his superior physical strength forces the Old Lion to rely on Transfer and the Blood Marquis 975 976 978 979.

Arthur kills the Old Lion. The subsequent XP notification confirms the defeated impostor’s rank as Marshal Puppet, Tier V, pinnacle 981.

Notable Quotes

“Will you fight for me?”
— The young Old Lion addressing the Musketeer Company, as recounted by Malinda 145.

“I’m looking forward to it!”
— Before leaving the Lion Palace despite his double’s warnings 772.

“Although I was a Human Puppet before, I am now a human in the truest sense... No, I should say a god.”
— The principal impostor during the South Los confrontation 978.

Trivia

• The family’s “flying lion” prophecy originated as Witch Kleibel’s curse that the Golden Lion Family could never produce a king unless a lion could fly 548.
• Inner Bay stories portray the Old Lion as getting lost during evening walks, eating forty kilograms of meat at a meal, and secretly roasting rabbits fattened on vegetables prescribed by his physician. The text explicitly treats these anecdotes as a mixture of truth and rumor 361.
• Another unverified story claims his hair and beard are false and that he once wore them the wrong way around during an audience 361.
• Arthur refuses to judge the ruler by these comic stories, recognizing that a mistaken assessment of such an opponent could be fatal 361.