Caspond Bessarez

Caspond Bessarez (カスポンド・ベサーレス) was a royal prince of the Roble Holy Kingdom and the older brother of Calca Bessarez. The prince was the de facto leader of the Holy Kingdom Liberation Army after he was rescued from the internment camp.

After the war with the Demi-Human Alliance was settled, Caspond was later appointed as King of the Holy Kingdom.

Appearance
Caspond was a tall man with blue eyes and straight long blond hair who appeared to be in his late twenties or his early thirties. After his release from the prison camp, Caspond was described to be a skinny individual.

Personality
Caspond was a kind prince. He could be sociable and focused at the task at hand when the need arose. He was not interested in bloodline feuds, so he ceded the succession to his sister and does not regret his decisions.

Background
Originally, next in line for the throne of the Holy Kingdom, Caspond was passed over by his father, who gave the throne to his younger sister.

While an excellent individual in his own right, Caspond realized that his sister was even more capable than him and sought knowledge despite being born into noble society.

Although he did not regret his decision, Caspond worried about his sister's well-being. In truth, if he became the Holy King, Caspond would be much more willing to engage in underhanded activities than his sister. Hence, he would have been better suited for the throne over Calca.

When the Demi-Human Alliance invaded the Northern Holy Kingdom, Caspond was killed with instant death magic upon getting captured.

The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom Arc
and The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom II Arc Caspond was rescued by the Holy Liberation Army after the city of Loyts he was interned at was recaptured from Buser. He was later introduced to Ainz Ooal Gown and Neia Baraja by Gustav Montagnés and personally thanked the Sorcerer King for his efforts in helping to reclaim the stolen territories of the Holy Roble Kingdom. He discussed the next step with Ainz in retaking the Holy Kingdom, and the plan to retreat South to regroup with the main force.

Caspond later allowed Ainz and Neia to take their leave so that he may rest. After the two left, he spoke to Remedios and Gustav of the war effort. Rather than return to the South, Caspond stated that they would stand their ground in the city and draw Jaldabaoth to them. In order to get the demon's full attention, he intended to delay the evacuation to the South long enough for the demon's forces to arrive. He wanted to force a situation in which the Sorcerer King would have to fight against Jaldabaoth, and also decrease the amount of demi-humans in the area. He ordered several remaining demi-humans freed to spread the word of the city's liberation so that the plan would go accordingly.

Before the Demi-Human Alliance makes their attempt to retake Loyts from the Holy Kingdom, Caspond ends up becoming the nominal supreme commander of the human army. When the demi-humans conduct their invasion, he stays within the headquarters in the center of the city and did not venture out while his forces are tasked with repelling the enemies. After the Sorcerer King eliminated the demi-humans that enter the city, Caspond was visited by the former who asked him for some minor favors in the future. It was decided that the Sorcerer King had no issue with freely giving away Caspond's army the leftover rations and everything including arms and armors else except for the magic items the slain enemies have in their possession. However, he intends to return anything that originated from the Holy Kingdom. While so, Caspond notes how the Sorcerer King expects something in gratitude to be given to him such as the appropriate items from his nation. For instance, if the Holy Kingdom successfully defeat Jaldabaoth or take back the Royal Capital, Caspond planned to announce to the people that he would be handing the nation’s riches over to the Sorcerer Kingdom.

Caspond's meeting alongside his subordinates also details about the heavy casualties his army sustain including death tolls and survivors. At that time, he came to recognize the Sorcerer King's power of creating several undead creatures to wipe out the demi-human's forces but inquires whether it will still be enough to overcome their adversary which is Jaldabaoth. Caspond considers thinking of an alternative scenario in the event that if the Sorcerer King ends up losing to Jaldabaoth and ask for his subordinates' opinions over the matter. Along the way, he learned that half of the rations they have taken from an army of 40,000 demi-humans were comprised of purely meat, particularly some belonging to humans. Caspond concludes they are better off disposing of everything that looks unquestionably humane. Regarding the matter of armory that are no longer in the hands of demi-humans, Caspond made it one of his goals to get helpers from among his countrymen to sort the different items out. On the other hand, Caspond voiced a lot of praises about the Sorcerer King saving the lives of humans, triggering Remedios to negatively believe that maybe the undead and the demon were conspiring together to weaken their country. As the argument drags on, Caspond orders that it is best for Remedios to take a brief rest since she is currently not in her rational state of mind during their conversation. Not only that, but he also orders her to visit the wounded men as it is part of her duty while being the field commander.

Caspond would then talk with the rest of his subordinates about the southern nobles and the position of Holy King. He discusses that the southern nobles will most likely take advantage of the crisis occurring in the Northern Holy Kingdom and will act against the interest of the Holy Queen's faction. He has made it one of his objectives to find his missing sister who got captured by Jaldabaoth. Furthermore, he hopes to acquire an achievement that all the people of the Holy Kingdom will accept as having saved the nation. For instance, by either choosing to drive out the enemy without having to draw on the strength of the South or even damage the South as badly as the North. He figures if the North doesn't follow one of these choices, there won’t be any way to possibly stop the pressure from the South even if they were to win the war. Caspond hopes to maintain the balance of power equally between the North and South after their war with the demi-humans is over.

Additionally, Caspond decided to explain his strategy on how to deal with the demi-humans who are in control of the prison camps which was approved by his subordinates. He details the need to raid the demi-human's prison camps which can be served to not only destroy the latter's piecemeal but increase their own forces by rescuing the human captives. While carrying out the plan, Caspond was also convinced by the Sorcerer King that the hostages must be rescued without delay. Caspond learned from the undead that since the enemy is going to be short on manpower, the latter will start to result in executing the captives, judging that they lack the ability to manage the prison camps.

During a meeting to talk about the unknown power surrounding the city, Caspond and his subordinates were confronted by Jaldabaoth. While the Sorcerer King attempts to handle Jaldabaoth as planned, Caspond orders Remedios who was present with him to evacuate people in the meeting outside the city. After the battle between the Sorcerer King and Jaldabaoth was finished, Caspond arrived outside the city to stop the bickering of both Neia and Remedios while demanding the two to tell him what had happened. As a result, Caspond later had called for an emergency meeting to be held. During that meeting, everybody including Caspond accepted the fact that no one can triumph against Jaldabaoth. Caspond suggests that they could instead derail Jaldabaoth's plans in some other way and make him give up on trying to conquer the Holy Kingdom. In other words, Caspond is trying to drive the demon out indirectly rather than through a direct confrontation. What he plans to do is have his army slaughter all the demi-humans Jaldabaoth leads. Caspond deduced the idea that Jaldabaoth was likely using the demihuman army as meat shields to avoid being forced into a one-on-one battle with an equally powerful being.

At the same time, Caspond continues off from where he left on in his previous meeting, talking about how the South will attempt to sabotage their war effort, taking credit for ending the war. He wants to prevent that from happening by showing concrete evidence of their success in the war. This relates to his next plan of taking back a major city, which is Kalinsha. He hopes to secure that city as a military base for repelling the other demi-human forces led by Jaldabaoth. Everyone in the meeting agreed to that idea as long as Caspond considers minimizing the number of deaths on their side while following through with the plan. When Caspond finally approaches the subject about the death of the Sorcerer King, Neia denied that claim as she believed it was a lie said by a demon. She wants a messenger to be sent over to the Sorcerer Kingdom about the news of his supposed death and have Caspond create a dispatch party to search for the missing Sorcerer King. While he approved of dispatching an envoy to the Sorcerer Kingdom, he refuses the need to create a rescue team without fully knowing the Sorcerer King's whereabouts. Instead, he suggests an alternative to use one of the demi-humans they captured to guide them in the search for the Sorcerer King within a place such as the Abelion Hills. Furthermore, Caspond was provided information from one of his paladins who silently told him of the news that they have captured a demon maid controlled by Jaldabaoth. Learning of this information, Caspond ended the meeting abruptly due to an urgent matter he had to attend to alongside Remedios. However, this was not without leaving an order to everyone present in the room, telling them to work on ways in retaking back Kalinsha while he is away temporarily.

Still, Caspond has managed to give Neia permission anyways when it came down to searching for the Sorcerer King within the Holy Kingdom's borders. However, everyone she recruited in the rescue party barring herself are allowed to conduct the operation. During the meeting that had taken place afterward, Caspond negotiated with the Zern envoy who is planning to have its race rebel against Jaldabaoth under the condition of rescuing their Zern Prince. Caspond too plans to ally with the Zerns in combating against Jaldabaoth and the demon's demi-human forces. He made Neia work alongside the demon maid his forces manage to get a hold of in order to assist the squire to infiltrate the city of Kalinsha where the Prince is being held at and rescue it. Caspond informs Neia that after she successfully rescues the prince, the Zerns present in Kalinsha will begin their rebellion and help the Holy Kingdom Liberation Army retake the city. He convinced Neia to take part in such an operation since the Zerns are the guides she needs about locating the Sorcerer King in the Abelion Hills. He even says that these Zerns will ask around to see which prisoners have the knowledge Neia desire from them.

In a way, Caspond believes an alliance with some of the demi-humans will coincide well with his strategy in combating the demon. Rather than decreasing the demi-humans numbers with combat, Caspond considers the notion that his army can sustain fewer losses if they persuade the demi-humans from the Demi-Human Alliance to leave the demon's side. He also noted that he was provided with important credible information from the Zerns that was later reviewed by his subordinates and verify to be true. The same could also be said with the information provided by the demon maid concerning Jaldabaoth and his three strong demon generals as none of it was false. With that said, he lets the demon maid under the Sorcerer King's control to have the role of working with Neia during the infiltration operation of Kalinsha.

On the other hand, Caspond refutes Remedios's idea of killing the demon maid as it will go against their promise arranged with the Sorcerer King. Caspond justified that if they were to somehow end the demon's life, their nation will be regarded by the Sorcerer Kingdom as incapable of keeping its promises. When that happens, he states that no other neighboring countries out there will want to go out of their way in giving aid. Hence, this mission the demon maid was taking part in with Neia can help to test its loyalty to the operation. Caspond reasons that its fate will be decided upon depending on how successful the demon maid was able to follow through with the infiltration of the target city. Caspond assures Remedios that even if the demon maid was to betray them and leaks the information during the operation, only the Zern will be eliminated. Either way, he said that it can reduce the number of demi-humans on the enemy side without incurring heavy losses for their forces.

Caspond's workload had increased dramatically after the recapture of Kalinsha. This would include organizing the people who had been rescued, the resulting amount of information which needed to be processed, and both the verification and assignment work was very time-consuming. When working on clearing his documents, he was asked by his paladin bodyguard that Neia could possibly be creating influence of civil unrest in their nation the longer she make speeches about the Sorcerer King to the masses. Caspond told the guard that he has no intentions of trying to silence her voice and thinks everything she has said of what the Sorcerer Kingdom has done to save the nation was all in fact true. He considers Neia's relationship with the demon maid and that attempting to direct hostility towards the squire would backfired badly for the royal family. Later, Caspond was visited by Gustav who informed him of the news that his scouts have report a 50,000-strong army flying the flag of the Southern Nobles heading for Kalinsha. Caspond issued an order to be prepared with the Southern Nobles' forces in case they are controlled by Jaldabaoth while he commands his bodyguard to welcome his guests with food and wines.

During his meeting with the Southern Nobles, he informed them of the Holy Queen and Kelart Custodio dying by the hands of Jaldabaoth. He had his subordinates cremate their remains as both of them were in very poor conditions. Originally, he wanted them to use a [Preservation] spell on it and give her a state funeral after their matter with Jaldabaoth was settled. Along the way, Caspond outlined his plan to ruin Jaldabaoth’s scheme to the southern nobles that involves largely slaughtering demi-humans. Caspond inform them that he had the help of the ruler of the Sorcerer Kingdom and no one else but it to deal with Jaldabaoth. He considers sending Remedios to the Sorcerer Kingdom will be the best course of action to take if the Sorcerer King is truly confirmed dead. Caspond told them that he would like to retake the capital as soon as possible which every Southern Noble agreed, hoping that the former is the person to take on the position of Holy King after the death of his sister. Caspond received military aid from the nobles to help their future Holy King repel the invading demi-humans. On the other hand, Caspond gave an order to Neia and her followers to be in charge of protecting the detached unit of engineers who were setting up camp for their human army that was some distance away from the battlefield.

During their confrontation with the demi-humans, Caspond noted that their side have an overwhelming advantage in fighting strength compared to the weaken Demi-Human Alliance. Caspond had suggested they divide the battlefield into several sectors. However, he recognized the underlying problem stemmed from just Jaldabaoth alone who can overturn that advantage by himself as it instantly teleports to different sides of the battlefield. He inquired the nobles what can they do to achieve victory under these circumstances. He considers the idea of maybe having their forces flee from Jaldabaoth while attempting to assault the 10,000 demi-humans at the same time if approved by the nobles. Although its unclear whether he went through with this option, the meeting came to an end as they have to quickly prepared for the upcoming battle that awaits them ahead outside their tent. While readying to head out onto the battlefield, he learned that the demi-humans are advancing on their side from the east and will reach them within one hour from now. Left utterly shocked from this piece of information, he advised the informant to refrain from spreading the news in order to keep morale alive within their forces, hoping they could defeat the Demi-Human Alliance under that time limit before the enemy arrives. Also, he commands the person to prevent the scouts from investigating the east so they won't learn about it.

Once the war came to an end, it is revealed that Caspond is actually a doppelgänger under Demiurge's orders. Meanwhile, the real Caspond was long dead and his body was taken into Nazarick. His body was planned to be used later in the third phase of Demiurge's plan, which was estimated to take place in a couple of years. The first phase of the plan was to bring the Abelion Hills and the demi-humans under the sway of the Sorcerer Kingdom. After that, Doppel-Caspond would be in charge of the second phase, which was to bring the North and South of the Holy Kingdom into opposition and then start a conflict with each other in order to start a civil war.

Since Caspond has managed to survive until the end of the war, the position of the next Holy King was practically his now. Even the remaining Southern nobles with any power would not be able to complain about his new position as the ruler of the Holy Kingdom. With Marquis Bodipo’s own complete support, there would be no problems whatsoever to stop him from inheriting the role. According to the Marquis, if there were any uncertain elements left in this scenario, that would be the other surviving members of the royal family.

Nevertheless, it can be said that the third and final phase of Demiurge's scheme would be to have the Sorcerer Kingdom step in to take over everything.

Abilities and Powers
Caspond was the last known remaining member of the Royal Family and thus, he held the de facto position as regent and assumed command of the Holy Kingdom Liberation Army.

Known Classes

 * Cleric
 * Sage
 * High Noble

Calca Bessarez
Despite being passed over by her in the line of succession, Caspond harbored no ill feelings towards Calca. In fact, he often worried about her well being. Caspond was the only one elder brother among her relatives that she can trust.

Baron Bagnen
Bagnen was a fellow captive during Caspond's captivity by the demi-human army. The prince showed some concern over the baron's health and requested the status of his friend's condition.

Ainz Ooal Gown
Caspond was grateful to Ainz because he was rescued by him, and thus, acknowledged his power, even though he did not approve of his actions like sparing the demi-humans. Instead, he wanted to kill them, including the ones who were suffering with him. His resentment for them had gotten so strong that Caspond was even willing to trade Ainz for the holy sword belonging to Remedios so he could kill them.

Gustav Montagnés
Caspond apparently seems to be on good terms with Gustav. He understands the trouble Gustav always face while working under Remedios. He even goes out of his way to remind Gustav that there is no need for the said paladin to bow before him as along as they are the only ones around together in private.

Remedios Custodio
Caspond has a cordial relationship with Remedios as the latter follows his every order during the liberation of the Northern Holy Kingdom. He thinks she is prone to emotional outbursts and tantrums whenever it involves himself praising the Sorcerer King. As a result, he would offer the warrior to take a break and do other miscellaneous tasks outside fighting such as tending the wounded. He was known to reject Remedios's ideas which she suggested on the spot, reasoning that any hostile idea from her would have consequences for the nation politically. Normally, he would make Remedios his bodyguard but considering her current mental state, he decided to refrain from doing so. Instead, he would order her to conduct training alongside other paladins.

Kelart Custodio
Caspond was quite rare among the royal family since he did not bear any hatred toward Kelart.

CZ2128 Delta
According to Caspond, he finds it hard to develop a trusting relationship with this demon maid. He considers the reason why he distrusts the demon maid was due to the notion that the latter may likely be in cahoot with Jaldabaoth’s schemes. He thought that she might be a spy for Jaldabaoth sent out in case of someone as powerful like Momon appears, someone who can fight back against the said demon.

Trivia

 * The nobles of the Southern Holy Kingdom wanted him as the Holy King instead of Calca Bessarez.
 * As Caspond was the only known living heir to the Holy Kingdom's throne following Jaldabaoth siege, it can be postulated that the rest of the royal bloodline is now extinct.

Quotes
 
 * (To Ainz Ooal Gown): "Ohhh! Words cannot express my gratitude, Your Majesty. I am honored to meet you. As others have said, I am the brother who was eclipsed by my outstanding little sister."
 * (To Remedios Custodio): "Your heart would be as twisted as mine if you had tasted the same hell I did. I can't spout pretty words any more, huh. They make me sick… As for what did they do to us… I guess you haven't heard yet. In that case, go find someone and ask them. That way, you'll know exactly how evil and blasphemous demons are."
 * (To those present with him): "I want you to pretend that you did not hear what comes next. That is because I cannot guarantee you anything. However, the privileges of the Southern nobles will probably increase all of a sudden. That is why you must pick the best methods for post-war conditions."
 * (To a paladin and Ciriaco): "...Driving out the demihumans doesn't mean it's all over, you know? If the South takes all the advantages, then we'll have a hard time refusing the demands of the Southern nobles. And there's no guarantee that they won't impose heavy taxes on the exhausted people."
 * (To a paladin about Neia Baraja): "Now, let’s go back to the original question. If we try to silence her, how will the world view us? Do you not think they would see us as trying to shut a hero up because she’s saying something inconvenient for the royal family?"
 * (To a paladin about Neia and Shizu): "Hehe. The fact that she's protected by that maid demon means she's the strongest in this city, you know? Trying to directly silence her is extremely dangerous, so we'll have to leave things as they are. I understand your concerns, but every move available to us is a bad one."
 * (To the Southern Nobles about Remedios): "We are at war now. Her talents are still useful. Let us leave her disposition to the future Holy King."
 * (To the Southern Nobles): "It is. However, one of the envoys who requested the Sorcerer King to come was Remedios. I believe handing her over to gain the forgiveness of the other party will be a necessity, as are other diplomatic measures."
 * (To a messenger): "This news is very dangerous. If the army learns of it, they'll lose their will to fight and we'll lose a battle that we could have won. Also, a lot of people might end up dying. We must not tell anyone about this for the sake of unity."

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Caspond Bessarez