'Benedictine Pike' (ベネディクタイン・パイク Benedikutain Paiku) is the regent of the planet Pike in the Arms Alliance and a member of the Three Marquis.
Appearance[]
By appearance alone, Benedictine seems to be the senior member of the Three Marquis and has the most aged look with his grey hair and beard. He wears a bright red robe with gold and black trims and also a pair of glasses that obscure his eyes. He is joined by his pet snake that his constantly seen with him, coiled around his arms and shoulders.
History[]
Early History[]
Before the events of the Three Marquis' offensive on the main group of planets in NEUE, Benedictine along with the other two Marquis were contacted by Parfait who offered them highly advanced technology in exchange that they "proved" themselves worthy of it. The three accepted the deal and utilized their new fleet to work toward their prize.
Mugen Kairo no Kagi[]
While not properly introduced until Chapter 5, Benedictine along with his fellow Marquis revel in their exceedingly simple victory against the Seldar Alliance and soon received further instructions to combat the Luxiole to earn their reward.
After Calvados' defeat on Azeat, Benedictine immediately sent his message of challenge to the Luxiole where he chose his battleground near the planet of Pico. En route to their next opponent, Kazuya was able to befriend Natsume significantly better than the former's last attempt which ended with him being chased out of the room. With her help, Natsume's information on Benedictine's fleet formations around the area had them aware of Benedictine's plan to ambush the Luxiole's advance and the crew was able to bypass a majority of the smaller fleets stationed near the planet and enter his primary fleet's range. Benedictine had however noticed the Luxiole's maneuvers and recalled all his forces to congregate around his flagship. To break apart his compact formation, Kazuya, Nano, and Roselle are sent to sneak into the Femto facility to reactivate the previously disabled defensive satellites. With the satellites activated, Benedictine's fleet fall into disarray and in panic, he rallies the remaining ships to protect him. Benedictine and his fleet are defeated and the Luxiole's next challenge soon came from Genievres.
He makes his second stand against the Luxiole alongside his fellow Marquis at Seldar. The trio defeated once again but he and Calvados are convinced by Genievres to bombard Seldar to demoralize the Angel Wing and take to combat once more. Their attempts are foiled by Lily and the Elsior and they are forced to disengage from their space station after it is destroyed. Before they faced a counterattack, an Infinite Corridor forms behind them and pulls the flagships of the Three Marquis inside, granting them audience with Parfait.
When the Luxiole entered the Infinite Corridor and completed their first "test", Genievres contacted the Luxiole to inform them that he and his fellow Marquis have been robbed of their bodies and their consciousness merged with their ships to fight them for the last time. Whereas the Luxiole would be granted audience with Parfait in their victory, the Three Marquis' bodies would be given back to them and be allowed to return home should they be victorious. The Luxiole succeeds in the final battle and the Three Marquis are seemingly killed along with their ships.
Personality[]
Natsume described Benedictine as being "the farthest thing from a fair player" and Benedictine is noted for his overly cautious and scheming tendencies to win battles before they began. With seniority came contemplative skill and Benedictine always thought out his strategies to make sure that he kept the enemy as far away from him as possible. Understandably, when his plans didn't go as planned and his enemies closed in on him, he was prone to panic and lose his composure.
Benedictine speaks with a calm tone but raises his voice when his fellow Marquis, mostly Calvados, acts out of line. Along with Genievres, the two regulate Calvados' hasty attitude and constantly remind him that they were willing to cut off their alliances with him if he would impede on the rules set by Parfait. When referring to Calvados, he refers to him with "Shogun" while he refers to Genievres on a first name basis with honorifics.
Trivia[]
- Benedictine's name is derived from a French cognac or brandy based herbal liquid beverage called Bénédictine.