Duke Artorius

Duke Artorius (デューク・アルトリウス) is a recurring and the playable character in Kagihime Monogatari Eikyū Alice Musou and he is an original character created specifically for Eikyū Alice Musou. He is a swordsman prince with an affinity for his search for fifth and final weapon: Artorias’ Blade. He also serves as student councilor of the England school.

Aruto arc
In Chapter 4 in Story Mode, Duke was a swordsman of the Artorius to protect the innocent people from riots of jabbberwocky. He first appears as a frog 5 years ago since Duke defeats and kills Hans one-on-one sword fight and cast curse on Duke, his curse can only be broken by Arisu, as only Alice's kiss could break the spell (though she had to muster all her courage to do so, since she is afraid of frogs). He falls in love to Arisu who first kisses him and eventually comes to their aide whenever he is needed.

Appearance
Duke is a young teenage boy of 18 years old which has a short brown hair and blue eyes. He only wears a modified school uniform consists of dark green pants, white dress shirt, and a jacket. The jacket has brown and blue. Unlike Aruto, Duke wears a blue tie while keeping his jacket buttoned down the middle and also wears it underneath his belt. He is also seen wearing a pair of white gloves.

Personality
Duke is an exceptionally talented and skilled individual who was chosen for his incredible talents to become part of Aruto’s fairytales. Whereas Aruto was chosen by fate and had no previous Swordmaster experience prior to his training, Duke was trained since his earlier years to become a swordsman and exhibits excellence in physique, mentality, and skill. Above all, Duke placed priority into his sister's promise and strictly kept to himself to train and ever increase his already formidable skills in fighting. While this did not necessarily mean Duke was a student president, his determination for self-improvement left him with little to no friends.

When Duke did make social contact, it can be difficult to even think that he had very few acquaintances given his politeness. Duke values order and duty as he repeatedly turned down relaxing with the well trained fighters in favor of resting his body and exercising to keep him in top shape to wield his greatsword.

Quotes

 * "Nothing to fear. Student Councilor Duke is on the stage!" (selected in Character Select screen)
 * "I’m Duke Artorius and my greatsword shall cleave the riots of evil!"
 * "Taste the fear!"
 * "Light burn!"
 * "Go away!"
 * "Erupt!"
 * "There's more!"
 * "Crescent!"
 * "Come Closer!"
 * "I will slice and dice into bits!"
 * "It’s over!"
 * "This… is it!"
 * "Going up?"
 * "President shall push this limit!"
 * "Take This!"
 * "Sword, give me strength!"
 * "You're finished!"
 * "This is… the end!"
 * "I’ve defeated the enemy officer!"
 * "Enemy officer defeated!"
 * "I never had such an easy victory."
 * "Hmph. Not bad. If I do say so myself."
 * "Aruto, you never cease to amaze me."
 * "Arisu, I'm counting on you."
 * "Kiraha, you’re so cute while in battle."
 * "Pick up the pace, advance forward!"
 * "The enemy formation is weakening, advance!"
 * "Aruto is a True Warrior in the battlefield."
 * "Arisu is a True Alice in this battlefield."
 * "Kiraha is a True Alice in this battlefield."
 * "Yes, go and gain glory for the honor of the world!"
 * "The true Alice is the key to gain glory for the honor of the world!"
 * "Heroes shall never give up and die. But I have no choice to fall back!"
 * "My hero has fallen… but where is the miracle…?"

Gameplay
Stats (without accessories and/or armors and default weapon equipped)

Main Stat: STR (Physical ATK)

Movesets
Ground Moveset

, , , , , : Slash, second and third slash, a turning twirl, then a diagonal slashing attack and last diagonal upward slash. Launches the enemy at last hit.

undefined, (undefined): Duke back-turning wide-up slash to his right slash, then on the second input slash and shoots a light elemental crescent energy wave.

, undefined, (undefined): A upward swing knocking foes in air. Then follows up with a downward chasing vertical slash if undefined is tapped again. Also transitioning himself into the air for Air Combos.

, , undefined, (undefined): Duke juggles sword between slashes while advancing then slams sword on the ground with a shockwave.

Also Duke has a EX Attack 1; he does a powerful horizontal swing in front of him that sends out an unblockable light elemental fiery slash all around him. Inflict crashing knockback and causes Light Burn.

, , , undefined, (undefined): Duke swings 360 degrees knocking opponents back, can be repeated three additional times in a combo by tapping the undefined button repeatedly, then the last one sweeps his sword upwards to launch a ground wave forwards.

, , , , undefined: Duke does an uppercut slash upward with a small explosion upward taking opponents with it. Then followed by a downward chasing powerful downward vertical slash that creates Area-of-effect explosion in front when he slams the enemy to the ground and launches other enemies into the air. Also transitioning himself into the air for Air Combos.

, , , , , undefined: Duke leaps into the air and slashes down into the ground, creating an explosion. Launch all enemies in an 3 meter AoE. (This input requires Duke Artorious is Level 15)

Also Duke has a EX Attack 2; he twirls his sword around momentarily, then slams it into the ground.

Direction, undefined, (undefined): Duke charges with his shoulder and then dashes forward with a bold stab at said direction; Inflict damage and spiral knocks the enemies away backward when hit by a stabbing attack.

Dash Chop(,  during dash): Duke brake-sliding turning slash to his left, followed by a turning chop in the same direction upon stopping.

Aerial/Air Combo Moveset

, , , ,, , : Duke swings the blade to his left upper slash in mid-air and can be followed up by a basic air combo by doing upper slash left or right.

, undefined: Duke diving stab into the ground that creates an OTG-hitting quake.

, , undefined: Duke rolls and slash to send the airborne enemies to the ground which can cause a ground bounce.

, , , undefined: After two slash air combo, Duke does a midair version of C3, but now has auto combo. At last slash with three spins with an advancing weapon.

, , , , undefined: After three slash air combo, Duke does a midair version of C4, but now has auto combo.

, , , , , undefined: After four slash air combo, Duke does a whirling slash that send enemies flying across the area.

, , , , , , undefined: After five slash air combo, Duke does a midair version of C6. (This input requires Duke Artorious is Level 15)

Counterattacking Moveset

While blocking the attack with L1 Button, : Counter slash combo with the final one is three spins with an advancing weapon. Inflict damage and spiral launch the enemies away from him slightly on last hit. The two hit counterattack slash is instant if  is not tapped or the player can decide on third or fourth slash to counterattack.

While blocking the attack with L1 Button, undefined: Duke steps back and launches an upward arcing slash which hits the ground and create shockwaves to attack enemies nearby.

Skill Attacks
These skills can be follow up from normal, Charge attacks or from other active skills are performed.

Artorias Crescent: Duke swings his sword to fire a continuously shoot giant light elemental sword energies in a distance of 10 meters in front to pierce enemies and damage them. He will shoots 3 times. Also enemies are hit by this skill can cause Light Burn (This skill is learned from the start of Duke Artorious’s Level).


 * MP cost: 500
 * Cooldown: 10 seconds

Artorias Spiral: Duke spins his sword above him to pull enemies closer to him and inflict continuous damage to nearby enemies. Follow up a creating high-speed energy wave slash in front that explodes on impact. Grounded foes are knocked away from the hit of explosion via crashing knockback, while airborne foes are spiral-launched in place. Also enemies are hit by this skill can cause Light Burn (This skill requires Duke Artorious is Level 10).


 * MP cost: 500
 * Cooldown: 14 seconds

Artorias Stance: (Acts like the Storm Rush mechanics from Dynasty Warriors 8, execute this skill by pressing  and undefined at the same time) Duke stands a ready position then spins around with enough force to produce a whirlwind. Press and hold the button to expand the whirlwind to hit more enemies. The attack ends with Duke chopping his greatsword to the ground when undefined button is pressed or the stance is time out (This skill requires Duke Artorious is Level 20).

During Storm Rush stance, it can move forward via directional pad (not analog stick) during his Storm Rush ready position.

Storm Rush Stance effect last for 6 seconds.


 * MP cost: 500
 * Cooldown: 15 seconds

Artorias Great Cleaver: (chargeable) Duke spins his sword above him to charge and gathers a burst of light energy, and then slashes to unleash a large light elemental crescent wave at straight forward up to 20 meters. Pierce all enemies and inflict multiple hits and damage them. However, the longer he charged, the more powerful will be. Longer charged version can shoot up to 30m. Also enemies are hit by this skill can cause Light Burn (This skill requires Duke Artorious is Level 30).


 * MP cost: 500 (uncharged), 1000 (charged)
 * Cooldown: 20 seconds (uncharged), 40 seconds (charged)

Artorias Blade: Duke makes a light energy inside his greatsword and inserted into the ground to make the surrounding ground crumble of light and launch enemies up into the air. Also enemies are hit by this skill can cause Light Burn (This skill requires Duke Artorious is Level 30).


 * MP cost: 1000
 * Cooldown: 30 seconds

Musou Attacks
(Artorius Cross) (Requires 1 Musou bar): Duke swings his sword to unleash a mid-range powerful slash to form a large X-shaped slash with his sword and afterwards explodes which launches enemies away and causes Light Burn at certain probability. This Musou Attack is learned from the start of Duke Artorious’s Level.

, (Artorius Cleave) (Requires 1 Musou bar): Duke slams weapon into the earth to produce a shockwave traveling at a considerable distance. Also enemies are hit by this can causes Light Burn at certain probability. This Musou Attack is learned from the start of Duke Artorious’s Level and is usable in mid air.

Direction buttons (not Analog Stick), (Artorius Cutter) (Requires 1 Musou bar): Duke swings his sword between hands while advancing, he can swing up to 8 times, then throw out an upward slash, then slams down his blade to fire a large wave across the ground in front of him. Inflict spiral launch the enemies away slightly on last hit and damage them. Also enemies are hit by this can causes Light Burn at certain probability. This Musou Attack is requires to learn when Duke Artorious is Level 20.

Alternate Musou Attack - R1 +  (Artorius Contact) (Requires 1 Musou bar): Duke stabs the enemy in front of him and he spins around numerous times before throw his target away into the wall for wall knocks. His spinning slash will inflict damage to other enemies. The stabbed enemy will also take damage with each spin before being tossed away. This Musou Attack is requires to learn when Duke Artorious is Level 30 and is usable with the R1 button.

(Artorius Cyclone) (Requires 2 Musou bars and instead of Artorius Cross): Duke spins his sword above him to create a large light elemental tornado around him which pulls the enemies closer to him with the tornado and hit all enemies in entire area several times. At the final blow he spins around a circle and slashes a burst of wind slashes to spiraling launch and damage all enemies when hit. This Musou Attack is requires to learn when Duke Artorious is Level 40.

(Artorius Crash) (Requires all 3 Musou bars and instead of Artorius Cyclone): Duke jumps into the air and charging light energy in midair. Holding the button while he charge up to move huge AoE cursor using Analog Stick during a certain duration for 10 seconds. Then release the button to descends to the ground to create powerful shockwaves over 30 meter AoE mixed with huge explosion. Inflicts heavy damage and spiral launches all enemies into great heights in the sky as they hit. K.Oed enemies from Artorius Crash explosion will blast violently into low earth orbit and left out from the battlefield. Also enemies are hit by this can causes Light Burn at certain probability. This Musou Attack is requires to learn when Duke Artorious is Level 50 along with Artorius Continuum.

Burst Attack
(Artorius Continuum) (Burst Mode required and instead of Artorius Crash): Duke spins his sword above him to slash and stun all enemies upon startup. Duke charges the burst of light energy, and then does short vertical slices on the ground several times in a row. Follow up a long version of Artorius Cutter, he can slash up to 16 times, then follow up an instant cast Artorius Cyclone by spinning his sword above him to juggle enemies even longer. The attack ends with a final blow version of Artorius Crash by jumping, charging and rolling slash to the ground that causing a huge explosion violently in a huge Area-of-effect. Inflict massive damage and spiral launches the enemy into great heights in the sky. K.Oed enemies from Duke’s Burst Attack Artorius Continuum explosion will blast violently into low earth orbit and left out from the battlefield. This Burst Attack is requires to learn when Duke Artorious is Level 50 along with Artorius Crash.

Special Features
All characters use a Burst Mode.

Burst Mode: Temporally doubles the characters’ movement speed, stats and gain unlimited MP, also able to use Burst Attack.

Burst Mode last for 30 seconds.

All characters use can Dash skill.

Dash: This ability allows the characters to move with increased movement speed.

Fighting Style
Compared to Aruto Kirihara, Duke Artorious is a fairly versatile character, able to stand up well against enemy officers, bosses and large groups of enemies. Unless speed is a factor, he can usually approach large groups by shooting with his waves of light sword energies or spins his greatsword around to knock the enemies away. Once within a group, it is usually smarter to use his C4 shockwave circles to scatter the opponents, before going for a C5 on the enemy officers. If the opposing officer is much tougher (due to high morale), using his delayed C2 might be a problem of slashing speed thanks to superarmor and the launch can usually affect even opponents who can absorb a few hits.

Duke Artorious's main strength, however, can be his range capabilities with waves of sword energies. His entire C4 knocks enemies that take on the hits fly far backwards and should be the main crowd clearer attack string in his moveset. Also Duke Artorious has a highest Strength Rate among other characters and he is a considerably the Mighty Glacier. He has a average speed which the same speed as Arisu Arisugawa even dash and has a higher health and defense rate, allow him to survive more attacks especially overrun by crowds on higher difficulties when Duke equipped with armors with health rate increase.

To make him even deadlier especially on Hard and Chaos difficulties, the efficient way to play this character is to increasing the attack damage output via weapon attributes, accessories. As such, damage increasing elements such as Cyclone, Landscape, Slash are recommended to maximize damage output. Ability is used to increase damage for his skills and Air is can be used to increase damage usage of his Aerial Charge Combos, but it was optional since Duke has Aerial/Air Combo Movesets. Combining with these make him a quite useful as the player continues to play him and effectively.

On the down side, Duke has very low Intellect rating. Some of his highly costly Skill Attacks like Artorias Blade might have insufficiently MP cost required to perform Skill Attacks. To counter this low Intellect rating. The player must increase the MP rate by equipping Accessories with Wise attribute or any Accessories can cut the MP cost of the Skill Attack by half.

Fifth Weapon Acquisition
Available only in Black Market and it can be bought in Wonderland Market mode for cost of 3,000,000 gold to buy or clear any stages in Chaos difficulty or higher difficulty than normal in last four stages.

Unlock requirements
Active from beginning of the game in Free Mode (As the player plays Duke Artorius in Story Mode in Aruto Arc, the player must clear Stage 4 "President's Call of Duty").

Etymology
Duke: Stands for Duke which probably the historically of highest rank below the monarch.

Artorious: Stands for Artorias.

Together, Duke Artorious was probably a highest rank of the generals.

Trivia

 * Duke Artorious is the only character in Kagihime Monogatari: Eikyuu Alice Musou and while he is not appear in Kagihime Monogatari: Eikyuu Alice Rondo.
 * His frog form curse are based on The Frog Prince where Duke was cursed through the years and only be broken by Alice; this reference of Alice and the Frog.
 * Duke Artorious's personality and voice acting are based on Roselle Mateus from Galaxy Angel II series with the exception of being a student president nature.
 * Duke's movesets are mixed of Guan Ping from Dynasty Warriors series and Sakon Shima from Samurai Warriors series except his swing speed is little bit faster than Guan Ping and Sakon. Also he uses his Greatsword and his fighting stance is like Sakon.
 * Duke is only character has the Charge Drive move. For instance, C2 move is a normal launching attack move while C5 move is the Charge Drive; both of these can transitioning him to the air for air combos.
 * Duke's surname and his weapon are based on the roman family name and his Greatsword's name is straight from Dark Souls series.
 * Duke Artorious is the only character in the game has a signature Dynasty Warriors "Enemy Officer Defeated!" (敵将、討ち取ったりしまった！ Tekishō, uchitottari shimatta!) or (敵将、討ち取ったり！ Tekishō, uchitottari!) quote which Duke defeats every enemy officers even bosses and CPU controlled opponent characters.