Cancer Deathmask serves as the Gold Saint of Cancer under Athena, hailing from Sicily, Italy. His characterization presents moral ambiguity, initially depicted as a villain within the Sanctuary: sadistic, arrogant, and ruthless. He lives by the philosophy "justice belongs to the powerful," believing morality shifts with dominion. This belief leads him to knowingly serve the usurper Gemini Saga after Saga assassinates Pope Shion. Deathmask justifies collateral damage and innocent deaths as unavoidable wartime casualties. A macabre trait is his collection of victims' souls—combatants and non-combatants alike—displaying their tormented faces as death masks within his temple, trapping them from the afterlife as trophies. His combat prowess focuses on spiritual manipulation. His signature technique, Sekishiki Meikaiha (Praesepe Underworld Wave), severs an opponent's soul, banishing it to Yomotsu Hirasaka—the boundary to the underworld—where souls face eternal damnation without divine aid. Deathmask traverses this dimension at will to attack disembodied souls. He wields potent telekinesis and teleportation, striking targets across vast distances, exemplified by attacking Shunrei in China from the underworld during his battle with Dragon Shiryu. As a Gold Saint, he masters the Seventh Sense, enabling light-speed movement and attacks. His antagonism peaks in the Sanctuary arc. Tasked by the false Pope to eliminate Libra Dohko at Mount Lu, he encounters Dohko's pupil, Shiryu. An initial skirmish halts by Aries Mu. Later, confronting Shiryu in the Cancer Temple, Deathmask banishes Shiryu's soul twice; Shiryu escapes first via Athena's aid, then through willpower. Enraged by Shunrei's prayers, Deathmask telekinetically hurls her off a cliff. This act ignites Shiryu's fury, culminating in a battle where the Cancer Gold Cloth abandons Deathmask for his cruelty and deviation from a Saint's path. Defeated and stripped of divine protection, he falls into the Mouth of Hades. Significant development occurs in the Hades arc. Resurrected under Aries Shion's covert plan, he, Pisces Aphrodite, and Capricorn Shura infiltrate Hades' forces by feigning allegiance. Their true mission is sacrificing their reputations to deliver Athena's cloth to the underworld. While initially maintaining a cynical demeanor, Deathmask participates in assaulting Sanctuary, confronting Aries Mu and Pegasus Seiya. Defeated by Mu's Starlight Extinction, he is transported to Hades' castle. There, Specter Wyvern Rhadamanthys throws him into Yomotsu's abyss after he pleads for mercy, revealing lingering fear. Shion later exposes their deception: Deathmask and the others embraced infamy for Athena's victory. In redemption, his spirit joins the collective Gold Saint sacrifice at Elysium's Wailing Wall. Channeling their cosmos through the revived Cancer Gold Cloth, they destroy the barrier, enabling the Bronze Saints to reach Athena. This final act confirms his alignment; his spirit departs for Nirvana. Expanded media explore further facets. During the Titans' invasion in Episode G, he loyally serves Saga, effortlessly defeating Giant Phoinikeos Rhuax and later offering displaced Titans sanctuary under Sanctuary's control—a strategic move implying Saga's influence. The Gigantomachia novel reveals he trained the orphan Mei in Sicily, who sought the Berenice Corona Bronze Cloth. In Saintia Sho, he destroys a Saintia academy and confronts the Saintia Erda, demonstrating awareness of spectral threats that hints at pragmatic duty beneath his cruelty. Non-canonical appearances include Saint Seiya: The Legend of Crimson Youth, where the sun god Abel resurrects him only to be defeated again by Shiryu. His spirit also aids Athena across time in Next Dimension.