Vasco Strada, Violence of Heaven

Hello everyone, sorry for the long absences, I was in mental rehab these last 3 months, but now I'm back! And today's topic is a favourite character of mine, Vasco Strada, so without further ado, let's get started:

> Azazel-sensei continued

> "The Church group's rebels…in fact, most of them have already stopped. The ones who were provoking riots have already been suppressed. The cadre class leaders who were behind it have all been arrested. —But"

Sensei raised three fingers.

> "Three of the rebel leaders are on the run. Currently, there are many soldiers who are still following them."

> …The mastermind is leading the soldiers huh.

> Sona-zenkaichou then listed their names

> "The three of them are His Eminence Cardinal Bishop Teodoro Legrenzi, His Eminence Cardinal Priest Vasco Strada, and His Eminence Cardinal Deacon Ewald Cristaldi."[6]

> Hearing this, Rias said with a soft voice

> "…I've heard of these names."

> I then quietly asked Koneko-chan "…What are those positions?". Although I've just come to understand the situation of the Devils', I'm still unfamiliar with the Church. Koneko-chan sighed, then said

> "…A Cardinal Bishop is a high position within the Church, second only to the Pope. A Cardinal Priest is one rank lower, and a Cardinal Deacon is one rank lower than that. Although there are several people who hold the title of each position, the names mentioned are highly regarded."--Volume 19, Life 1, Part 1.

The first time we ever hear about Strada is when he and the other 2 are mentioned to be the leaders of the Church rebellion. Holding the 3rd highest rank in the entire Church, the Cardinal Priest was unique amongst even these guys. Continuing on, we have:

> "Of course. — His Eminence Strada is the previous user of Durandal."

> "—!"

> This honest declaration left me, and some of the other members here speechless! …It truly was too shocking! It was beyond our expectations that the previous wielder of that holy sword was actually one of the leaders behind the rebellion!

> Azazel-sensei said

> "This man is among the minority of Durandal wielders who is capable of rivalling Roland, and many people believe that he's even surpassed Roland[7]. He's also one of the few people who've successfully emerged from the war. He was a man who embodied strength and authority on the battlefield, and is also a leader."

> An extraordinary man who was originally a warrior! On top of that, he was also a wielder of Durandal…. Irina then said

> "His Eminence Strada is already eighty seven years old…"

> This guy's not like an old man! He's over eighty and yet he still has the energy to start a rebellion! Is he weak from old age then?

> But, Xenovia's eyes still conveyed seriousness.

> "…It would be best to forget about his age. This man…is a living legend. His body has barely aged."

> —! You've got to be joking. No matter what you say, being over eighty, that's an old man! Yet he's a human? Well, if he's already eighty years old then….

> Sensei's expression was just as serious as Xenovia's.

> "…Even if that guy looks older now, he's not weak, he's still just as strong. In World War II, he fought against Kokabiel from our side once, and in the end we were at a disadvantage. This guy has quite an interest in holy swords, and he also has many achievements."

> Kokabiel was at a disadvantage against a human?! --Volume 19, Life 1, Part 1

Vasco is the previous wielder of Durandal, Xenovia's sword. He is an extremely powerful human, focusing mainly on Swordmanship and Hand to Hand combat.

As written above he's 87 years old by the time canon starts, so that makes him around 22-23 around 1944, the year in which I presume he would have fought Kokabiel and wrecked the shit out of him and his fallen followers.

The man is so legendary that his informations are being taught to devil soldiers so that they know to not mess with him:

> And thus, Sairaorg-san and His Eminence Strada were seated together! Wow! Power sitting with power! While taking a sip of his black coffee, Sairaorg-san said,

> "I saw your tournament match. Also, I read the records that the Bael House has on you from your younger days. Especially the anecdotes on the time around the second world war, I can only describe them as awe inspiring."

> "Fufufu, you embarrass me too much. I had heard there were records of the time I was still refining myself written in the records of the House of the Great King."

> "Before the alliance, Bael's soldiers were taught that you were one of the opponents they should avoid if at all possible. That we can be here drinking coffee together…I just don't know what we can expect to happen next."--DxD Volume ?

You'll have to forgive me though, my memory is a bit wonky so I couldn't track down which volume this interaction was in. Anyways, continuing on, we have all of Vasco's titles:

> Vasco Strada, the man who was called [The Church's Device of Violence], [The Violence of Heaven], [Vatican's Evil Killer], and [Mister Durandal].--Volume Shin DxD 2, Power Within Force.

When Xenovia asked around if she could ever surpass him, this is what she got:

> "Is it possible for me to become the best Durandal user in history?"

> —That's what she had asked.

> The higher-ups then replied.

> —Listen, Xenovia. You are a warrior with an extraordinary talent. Of course, it's possible for you to be one of the best Durandal users in history.

> —But…it's impossible for you to be the greatest in history. You don't have anything that can make you surpass your predecessor, His Eminence Vasco Strada.

> —It's not that I look down upon you. There's no doubt that your talents are the best among the church's warriors. But, it's just different. His Eminence is just on a whole other level.

> Although he was a human, it's not like he was a Longinus user. In fact, he didn't even have a Sacred Gear. The only thing he had was…the Holy sword he had in his hand and — his built-up body. And just with those two things, he became the incarnation of power — and received the name [The Limits of Humanity]. --Shin DxD Volume 2, Power Within Force.

Now that we got all the pleasantries out of the way, let's get into the real stuff, his power. To make this more clear, I'll be especially high lighting when is it that he is nerfed( Using a Fake Durandal that's only 1/5th of the original, old age, holding back, etc...) and when he is using full power( In his prime, Holding Durandal II), so let's get started:

--Holy Punch: Vasco is able to gather enough holy power to use it regularly in battles, most commonly, he uses it to enchant his fists:

> His fist was — enveloped in a holy aura. —Holy fist. It was one of His Eminence's attacks. Just by endowing his trained fist with holy aura and throwing a punch, Devils and various other beings were knocked down. The Devil that destroyed the wall must've been turned to dust by His Eminence's holy punch.--Shin DxD Volume 1, Christianity's warrior.

I don't need to re-explain to you how effective Holy Energy is against creatures of Darkness, so whatever. Next we have:

> However, using only one hand, he caught the Holy Demonic Sword! Seeing his own weapon being blocked by someone's hand, Kiba had a surprised expression as he looked back and forth between his sword and Strada's face. He wanted to pull his sword away, but the sword remained motionless. The Holy Demonic Sword was being held with immense power. That jisan was nodding his head [MmHmm].

> "Your swordsmanship isn't bad. It's very accurate, and you don't hesitate against humans. But."

> A sharp metallic sound reverberated in all directions. Kiba's Holy Demonic Sword had been shattered by his bare hand.-Volume 19, Life 3, Part 3.

You know, I remember the days when this sword was considered hot shit, like how it was able to injure Kokabiel, how it is such an enigma, how it was used against all kind of enemies. And then you have Vasco just treating it like its a toothpick.

Seriously, this guy is not human, no other human can just catch a sword with bare hands like that and have no injury, like I remember Cao Cao getting his hand sliced by Ascalon, so clearly, Vasco is just built different.

Next we have:

> Exhaling with a breath full of vigour, his right fist moved straight forward! Gasper, who was charging straight towards him from the front, dodged just in the nick of time. The buildings behind him all collapsed from the impact of his punch against the air!

> "—This can't be real, right!? That's the aftermath of his punch alone!? That's on par with Sairaorg, isn't it!?"--Volume 19, Life 3, Part 3.

This here is still Old Vasco, he is being compared to Sairorg who not only is a devil who trains specifically in Physical power, but also has Touki. Vasco doesn't have Touki, and he is only a human( Tbh this can be argued), so yeah, this dude is again, a monster. Here's another example of him rolling on people:

> He had simply used his bare fist to send the attack of an ancient weapon hurtling backwards! It was extraordinary! It far surpassed the territory of what should have been capable for a human! After His Eminence dealt with Bikou and Gogmagog's attacks, he shook his left hand to alleviate the slight pain that he felt. All I could do was stand there and watch—.

> <<...What!>>

> <<...What!>>

> Both of the live commentators were also lost for words upon seeing His Eminence in battle. This was the first battle that His Eminence Vasco Strada had participated in since the beginning of the Tournament—. And then, a fiery voice thundered out across the entire field.

> <<WHAT AN UNBELIEVABLE START TO THE BATTLE! Vasco Strada-senshu! The Church's Device of Violence! The Vatican's Evil Killer! The Violence of Heaven! A mere human has been able to easily handle the joint attack of the ancient weapon as well as Sun Wukong!>>--Volyme 24, Life 4, Part 1.

This is still Old Vasco BTW. He's here overpowering both Bikou and Gogmagog in raw power. You know it's bad when a human out matches an ancient machine/weapon made by gods in raw power.

But enough about him boxing people, let's get into the real shit, his Swordmanship:

> Saji was wearing jet-black armour, ignited black flames, and then extended out numerous lines! Strada, who was hit by these lines simply swung Durandal with a light horizontal motion. Everyone present felt a momentary chill, and then ducked down! Something flew over our heads at high speed!

> I turned my head to look behind at the replica buildings in this artificial space. Perhaps the waves which he released were too sharp, thus the buildings didn't collapse at all, and there was only a horizontal line across the buildings. Even the glass windows had not been shattered from it… How sharp was the wave that he released to leave behind just a horizontal line…!?

> Saji's lines had also been cut cleanly in two, and even the black flames had vanished for now after the release of that holy wave!--Volume 19, Life 3, Part 3.

Remember in season 4, when Xenovia used that big blast to nuke the castle and did basically no damage? Yeah, I always thought that such approach seems so wasteful, why not concentrate that power more? Well, Ishibumi apparently had the same idea, as Vasco here clearly demonstrated.

This monster in human skin was able to compress the holy wave so much it pretty much became razor thin. Now that will hurt way worse than just a big splash. Also, for anyone wondering whats the range of Vasco's attacks:

> His Eminence enveloped Durandal in a tremendous amount of aura! The sheer amount was enough to make one shiver in fear! His Eminence slashed Durandal down towards Vali who was a fair distance away! The vast holy aura caused the road, parked cars, buildings, and everything in that singular direction to be annihilated as the wave approached Vali at high speed! Vali was able to dodge the wave of aura, but It continued to fly far into the distance, and everything left in its wake was eliminated! It eventually reached the end of the field and crashed into the barrier, causing an enormous tremor to rock the entire field. His Eminence said

> "My Durandal can cut a target that's even several kilometres away."--Volume 24, Life 4, Part1.

This is prime Vasco using Durandal II, an almost perfect replica of Durandal that's sadly only comparison the original in power output and not durability, as it gets broken eventually. But still, Vasco can nuke anything in any direction at pin point precision and high speed too.

This does remind me, for anyone wondering what is Vasco's peak or prime is, here you go:

> "—Allow me to make use of this special technique from the very beginning. After using this, I will return to being a warrior of my heyday."

> It was a concoction that came from the holy water that had been poured out of Valerie's Holy Grail, and then infused with Gasper's Balor powers and Koneko-chan's senjutsu touki. It took three days to make it, and it was a secret blend that only our team was capable of producing. His Eminence used his fingers to pop open the lid, and then he gulped it down in one go. His Eminence crushed the vial in his hand. And then his body began to change. White smoke dispersed from his entire body. After the smoke dissipated, the person standing there was — His Eminence Strada who had returned to the form that he had in his fifties. The aura that emanated from his body increased even further. His Eminence had used a secret technique to regain his youth, and this was what he looked like in his prime. His Eminence lifted Durandal up and said

> "My prime wasn't when I was in my teens or my twenties."

> Those words dispelled all of the doubts that everyone had in mind. In order to trial the effects before using it in a game in the Tournament, His Eminence had shown us the results of it during one of our training sessions. At the time, His Eminence had said

> [—The so-called spirit or psyche is influenced by physical appearance and physical condition to a great extent. This is the conclusion that I have reached after fighting against so many supernatural beings and special ability users. If I return to the physical body that I had in my teens or twenties, I will return to the state where I was youthful yet immature, and all of the discipline that I've accumulated since then will be lost. Can that truly be called my prime? If I return to that mentally immature time, is there still any meaning in returning to the battlefield?]

> His Eminence, whose body had returned to its condition as it was in his fifties said

> [If that's the case, I should return to the age at which the balance between my mind and body were honed to their limits. —To me, those days were in my fifties.]--Volume 24, Life 4, Part 1.

Yeah, his prime is in his fifties surprisingly enough, not twenties. This could explain why he didn't just trash Kokabiel in one hit, as he was in his early twenties at the time. But I digress, back to Mr.Durandal and Durandal itself, we actually do get an explanation on its main ability:

> As Strada adjusted his breathing, he said.

> "—Listen well. Durandal is able to cut [Everything]. Even if it's the Bael's Power of Destruction, that is no exception."

> He said to us as if giving Durandal an introduction.--Volume 19, Life 3, Part 3.

As said by the man himself, Durandal's core ability is the concept of [Cutting], its sharpness is on conceptual levels, so it can probably cut bullshit such as space, time and energy with enough power. Case in point:

> Well, well…this thing might be a bit difficult for my old bones. But."

> He raised Durandal's replica and pointed it towards the sky. A vast amount of holy aura began to cover the blade. Facing one side as it slowly absorbed the objects around it, the sphere of destruction was approaching. Then, the replica of Durandal was swung down! The light released was blindingly bright, and we could only close our eyes in the face of such intense light…! When we opened our eyes, the first thing which we saw was…the scene of Rias's Extinguished Star sliced apart!

> "—Ah."

> Rias was speechless at the sight of this. This was only to be expected. Even against an Evil Dragon, it was completely defenceless against this technique. Yet an old man, a human, was able to destroy it using the replica of a Holy Sword. We were also quite shocked by this.--Volume 19, Life 3, Part 3.

The shockwaves from the power of destruction alone caused the entire battlefield space to tremor, as everything around those two began to collapse! The replicated buildings began to collapse one after the other, and deep fissures also appeared on the surface of the ground! Even the top section of this space began to crack, and a kaleidoscopic pattern could be seen through the dimensional crack!--Volume 19, Life 3, Part 3.

So as you could read, Vasco was able to cut down Rias' extinguished star with a cheap copy of Durandal and his old body. Keep in mind this is the same attack that One Shotted a grail enchanted Grendel, an honest to God Maou class Evil Dragon that specialises in tankiness and defence, and all of his body was erased using this attack, leaving only his head, and even then he was still clinging to life.

For the second one, well it's a clash between the fake Durandal and the real Durandal causing nearby space to fracture, cool shit.

To give you a more in depth look on how absolutely bonkers this guy is, let me show you the strategy they had to use to try and defeat him:

> However, when Xenovia and the other offense member of the [Sekiryuutei of the Blazing Truth] team talked about dealing with Strada, there was one piece of advice. Xenovia would focus on her two swords and aim at a certain part of Strada's body. There, Irina and Nakiri would join and attack the target at the same time. The target was — Strada's finger. Because the three of them targeted the same thing, Strada's left finger was broken as it twisted in the wrong direction.

> As a warrior and a swordsman, both hands were the first and foremost weapons. After a discussion with each other, they came to the conclusion, 'even if we can't destroy the whole fist, it might be possible to destroy one finger at a time'. It was a pathetic strategy, targeting one finger at a time. However, with the opponent being Vasco Strada, taking one finger at a time worked—! Still, whenever Xenovia, Irina and Nakiri targeted Strada's second finger, they would be attacked by his holy fists and kicks, sending them hurtling back. --Shin DxD Volume 2, Power Within Force.

I'll be honest, when I first read this, I laughed so hard my stomach started hurting me. It just seemed so ridiculous yet so appropriate. And what made it funnier is that this is a legit strategy uses against beings such as giants or other mythological creatures that are far too durable. Which makes this whole thing all the more bizarre.

Humans, irl or in the novel, has never been known for their tough bodies. They're always depicted as squishy and easily getting hurt, this is why Vasco is so beyond the others. Sure, can Arthur or Tobio match Vasco in speed and strength? Probably. But can they tank as much damage as him? Hell no. They would die if they take so much as 10% of the damage he soaks up regularly. Not to mention that Vasco ain't no Sacred Gear user OR hero Descandent, he's worse, an abomination of a human being, a mutation really.

Also, I can't talk about Vasco without mentioning the beat down he gave to vali's team, but that fight is too long, so here, just a proof that it did happen and its conclusion:

> …Am I also seeing an illusion? After all, regardless of which faction they're compared to, the strength of Vali's team is undoubtable, but even after having the leader Vali, Bikou, Fenrir and Gogmagog as opponents, not only was he uninjured, he had repelled every single one of them. His strength could no longer be described by mere words alone, he was an embodiment of power—. The limits of humanity — Vasco Strada. …Is it truly possible for a human to be this strong!?--Volume 24, Life 4 Part 1.

Now, reading all this, you might be tricked into thinking that Vasco is just a classic Swordman/ Brawler, and that he only knows these 2 things. Well, if you really believe this to be the case then you're very wrong. Ladies and gentlemen, the hulk: Church edition that we know as Vasco is not only a Top-tier Swordman/Brawler, he's also an excellent Magician possessing impressive Analytic abilities:

> "We'll use magic then!"

> Rossweisse-san, who was in the rear guard, created numerous magic circles, which fired out projectile attacks of various attributes! That jisan didn't dodge it, and just when he was about to be hit by the magic attacks, he simply extended his finger and rapidly touched them all. The magic attacks which he touched lost their power and dissipated into the air. Seeing the result, Rossweisse-san was extremely surprised!

> "—Hm!? With that magic, you disassembled it!?"

> "This so-called magic is a calculation. So, using the theory behind its formula to oppose it, it's possible to cancel them out or destroy them. Especially the techniques of young Magicians, as they're unrefined and not concise. As long as a slight flaw is found, it'll be completely useless. As long as its structure is known, it can be disintegrated with power."

> Noooooo! I was shaking my head in utter disbelief at this phenomenon! My comrades seemed to be thinking the same thing and were just as astonished! After all, he only moved his finger around, yet he was able to decompose Rossweisse-san's magic spells! This jiji[9] is way too surprising! Even if he understood the structure of the spell, who could possibly decompose spells with a single finger!? From the perspective of other Magicians, Rossweisse-san's spells have been praised and admired! Yet he glosses over it just by calling her young!?--Volume 19, Life 3, Part 3.

You know, Vasco is a perfect example of a Heaven defying talent that worked as hard as any talentless scrub. This feat here demonstrates a level of magic knowledge and depth that borders on the divine. With this alone, he is probably one of the top 30 best Human Wizards, as far as Analysing is concerned. Other feats of magic include:

> Just when I rejoiced at the appearance of the next head of the Great King house, an incredibly and ridiculously strong swordsman also appeared; he effortlessly sliced apart the Evil Dragons like Ladon spread before us, along with the barriers that they formed. Looking closely — it was a man who floated in the air through the use of magic and could be described as an embodiment of muscles; he held a holy sword like Durandal in his hand as he slashed through the crowd of Evil Dragons. Even a simple kick of his was enough to send an Evil Dragon flying! My eyes met with that person's. His wrinkled face also had many firm muscles—.--Volume 21, Life 2, Part 3.

> His Eminence took out the holy sword with a blue blade from another dimension. — Durandal II--Volume 24, Life 4, Part 1.

We can see here that he uses Magic to fly and fight in areal combat, so he isn't just a sitting duck unlike most swordman. He can also use the classic pocket dimension spell used to store shit in DxD.

Now, looking at this, and looking after all his achievements, one might ask, how did he come oh so mighty, and he himself give an answer to a similar question:

> "What is with that old man!?"

> Exactly! What exactly is that old man!? This could be called unreasonable, or that it exceeded common sense, and against all reason, he suppressed them with just brute force! Strada shook his head as he said.

> "It's because you rely too much on these powers given by God, the Sacred Gears."

> He raised his fist, and declared.

> "There is no particular reason for my strength. But my own flesh and blood is the result of constant training and the experience of countless battles. As long as you always maintain your faith in God and do not forget to care about your body, power will be built in your soul. Children, is there any power within your soul?"--DxD Volume 19, Life3, Part 3.

It is as simple as that, I honestly didn't expect such as good dialogue to be thrown in the middle ass of nowhere in DxD.

And so, to finish it all off and sement Vasco Strada as one of the best characters to come out of the DxD light novel, we have a little fun fact:

> "Fufufu, the latest technology sure is valuable. Even with my smartphone, I'm starting to become fond of social network games."

> Gasper looked at His Eminence's phone screen and exclaimed in surprise

> "Amazing, you have so many 5-star characters!"

> ….His Eminence Strada sure did a great job of astonishing us.--DxD Volume 25, Life 2, Part 3.

Apparently, Vasco is a gacha player, suprising i know. It turns out he's a man of culture after all, truly best character ever.

Well then, that's it for this rant, see ya next time, I'm cooking up a Longinus rant and a Dragon rant, hopefully they won't take too long.