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Description
Fafner de Nidhögg is a character from the anime Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold, serving as one of the seven new God Warriors who protect the land of Asgard under the command of Andreas, the representative of the god Odin. He is a tall, thin man with long grey hair, often wearing a sinister smile and adopting a posture that allows him to loom over others. His name is a reference to two distinct dragons from Norse mythology: Fafnir, the dragon slain by the hero Siegfried, and Níðhöggr, the dragon that gnaws at the roots of the world tree Yggdrasill, which fittingly reflects his actions within the story.
Described by the priestess Lyfia as the most malevolent and cruel of all the God Warriors, Fafner is a scientist who conducts horrific human experiments in his research on Yggdrasill. He preys on the innocent and the ill, offering false promises of free health treatment to lure victims, showing absolutely no remorse as he goes through countless people to find suitable subjects for his projects. His primary motivation is to serve Andreas by unlocking the secrets of the great tree Yggdrasill, and he is responsible for creating the new Odin Sapphires. To this end, he captures villagers and even kidnaps the young girl Helena, whom the Gold Saint Deathmask had befriended, using her and eventually her siblings as living materials to create these powerful gems. Fafner is a firm believer that the ends justify the means, claiming he seeks the well-being of Asgard even if it requires sacrificing its own inhabitants.
In the narrative, Fafner plays the role of a key antagonist and researcher for Andreas's forces, guarding the Chamber of Wisdom known as Svartalfheim within Yggdrasill. He debuts in the first episode and engages in several significant battles. He first confronts Aries Mu, whose strength he temporarily overwhelms using the power granted by the Yggdrasill tree, destroying Mu's Crystal Wall with a single blow. He later faces Pisces Aphrodite in his laboratory when the Gold Saint comes to rescue Helena, and is saved from defeat only by Andreas's intervention. His key relationships are primarily antagonistic, serving as a direct foil to several Gold Saints. However, his most pivotal confrontation is with Deathmask of Cancer, who seeks to avenge Helena. Deathmask, empowered by his God Cloth, transports Fafner to Yomotsu Hirasaka, the underworld passage.
Throughout the series, Fafner demonstrates notable development in his cruelty, escalating from using random villagers to specifically targeting a child Helena and her siblings to further his experiments. He is also shown to be arrogant and sadistic, taking pleasure in the suffering of others, yet he is also a coward who prefers to use tricks and stratagems rather than fight honorably, and he will use hostages to protect himself. His end comes when his cowardice is fully exposed; after being brought to Yomotsu Hirasaka, he threatens Deathmask by revealing that Helena's siblings are trapped in amethysts and will die if he is killed. In response, Deathmask does not kill him but instead uses his technique to bury Fafner alive in the ground of the underworld, where his face will be eternally trampled upon by the souls of the dead as they march toward the afterlife, an ironic and fitting punishment for someone who showed no respect for human life.
In terms of abilities, Fafner wears the Níðhöggr God Robe, which grants him powers comparable to a Gold Saint, allowing him to move and fight at speeds reaching the speed of light. His primary weapon is a whip-like sword called the Ridill, which is part of his God Robe and can also take the form of a lance. His signature technique is the Dragonewt Bullet, where he concentrates his cosmos and fires a barrage of spiritual energy blasts at his opponent. Furthermore, like all God Warriors serving Andreas, his power is significantly amplified by the immense cosmos of the sacred tree Yggdrasill and the land of Asgard itself, allowing him to overwhelm even powerful Gold Saints under normal circumstances.
Described by the priestess Lyfia as the most malevolent and cruel of all the God Warriors, Fafner is a scientist who conducts horrific human experiments in his research on Yggdrasill. He preys on the innocent and the ill, offering false promises of free health treatment to lure victims, showing absolutely no remorse as he goes through countless people to find suitable subjects for his projects. His primary motivation is to serve Andreas by unlocking the secrets of the great tree Yggdrasill, and he is responsible for creating the new Odin Sapphires. To this end, he captures villagers and even kidnaps the young girl Helena, whom the Gold Saint Deathmask had befriended, using her and eventually her siblings as living materials to create these powerful gems. Fafner is a firm believer that the ends justify the means, claiming he seeks the well-being of Asgard even if it requires sacrificing its own inhabitants.
In the narrative, Fafner plays the role of a key antagonist and researcher for Andreas's forces, guarding the Chamber of Wisdom known as Svartalfheim within Yggdrasill. He debuts in the first episode and engages in several significant battles. He first confronts Aries Mu, whose strength he temporarily overwhelms using the power granted by the Yggdrasill tree, destroying Mu's Crystal Wall with a single blow. He later faces Pisces Aphrodite in his laboratory when the Gold Saint comes to rescue Helena, and is saved from defeat only by Andreas's intervention. His key relationships are primarily antagonistic, serving as a direct foil to several Gold Saints. However, his most pivotal confrontation is with Deathmask of Cancer, who seeks to avenge Helena. Deathmask, empowered by his God Cloth, transports Fafner to Yomotsu Hirasaka, the underworld passage.
Throughout the series, Fafner demonstrates notable development in his cruelty, escalating from using random villagers to specifically targeting a child Helena and her siblings to further his experiments. He is also shown to be arrogant and sadistic, taking pleasure in the suffering of others, yet he is also a coward who prefers to use tricks and stratagems rather than fight honorably, and he will use hostages to protect himself. His end comes when his cowardice is fully exposed; after being brought to Yomotsu Hirasaka, he threatens Deathmask by revealing that Helena's siblings are trapped in amethysts and will die if he is killed. In response, Deathmask does not kill him but instead uses his technique to bury Fafner alive in the ground of the underworld, where his face will be eternally trampled upon by the souls of the dead as they march toward the afterlife, an ironic and fitting punishment for someone who showed no respect for human life.
In terms of abilities, Fafner wears the Níðhöggr God Robe, which grants him powers comparable to a Gold Saint, allowing him to move and fight at speeds reaching the speed of light. His primary weapon is a whip-like sword called the Ridill, which is part of his God Robe and can also take the form of a lance. His signature technique is the Dragonewt Bullet, where he concentrates his cosmos and fires a barrage of spiritual energy blasts at his opponent. Furthermore, like all God Warriors serving Andreas, his power is significantly amplified by the immense cosmos of the sacred tree Yggdrasill and the land of Asgard itself, allowing him to overwhelm even powerful Gold Saints under normal circumstances.