Knight Leader

Knight Leader (騎士団長 (ナイトリーダー) ) is the title used to refer to the leader of the Knights of England, one of the three factions that maintain the balance of power in the United Kingdom along with the British Royal Family and the Anglican Church. It is also the title that is used to refer to a recurring character appearing in Toaru Majutsu no Index.

Noble and chivalrous, the Knight Leader is a friend of a William Orwell, who would later become Acqua of the Back. Later, he would carry his ideals with him when he and his knights ally themselves with Second Princess Carissa for the sake of his country during the troubling times that would later end in war, leading up to the British Halloween. After he is defeated, he is later sent to defend England during World War III, and later, in spite of wanting to go to prison for his betrayal, is later used by his country in operations in the aftermath of the war. Being a knight and having his own arms, he is a British noble whose real name hasn't been revealed so far.

Appearance
The Knight Leader is a tall blond man with blue eyes. He wears his hair short with fringes, and has it parted in the middle. He is always seen wearing suits with a wainscot and what appears to be a cravat or an ascot instead of a tie. In this regard, he is somewhat similar in appearance to Mark Space, another British magician.

Personality
He can be described as a gentleman, befitting his status as a noble and a knight. Indeed, he is referenced as "exuding elegance". He is shown courting Kanzaki Kaori and bringing a bouquet flowers for her in order to invite her to a ball. He is well-versed in British manners as well as being very chivalrous, teaching the former to Kaori after she asked and for the latter telling Kaori of high-class parties where Kaori won't be harassed by men. In spite of this, he can also indulge himself once in a while as well. He likes to drink, and has confessed to Kaori that as a British gentleman it would be a lie if he was to say he isn't interested in erotica and maids, though says he draws the line on fallen angels.

He takes his job seriously, though he also loves his country. It is shown that he would break the rules or even betray his duties if what he does is for the sake of his country. An example of this is him willing to follow William Orwell to fight the Spanish Astrological Sect during the Princess Villian hostage crisis, and break the deal between the French and England in handling the crisis. And this part of him is exemplified in his betrayal of the Queen Elizard for Carissa and his willingness to kill Princess Villian. Though there are limits even to this, as he has shown reluctance to Carissa killing civilians like the servants that let Villian go as well as the fact that he has one of them send for Acqua of the Back in order for someone to stop him and Carissa.

Background
Born into a noble family, Knight Leader carries with him the arms of his bloody in the form of a gold medal. He later becomes a knight and somehow manage to climb up to the ranks of Knight Leader. He later becomes good friends with William Orwell, a well-known mercenary, whose works always benefitted Great Britain, and often would go on drinks with him despite the difference in social standing. The narration refers to him as an "old friend" 10 years prior to the current year of the timeline, indicating that they may have known each other for much longer. Likely due to his work as a mercenary and ability as a magician, asked him many times to join the Knights of England.

Ten years prior to the start of the story timeline, apparently around his mid-20s, the Knight Leader and his knights are deployed for the Princess Villian hostage crisis, though they could only watch as the back dealings between the French and the British prevented them from doing their duty and had the French forces deal with the Spanish Astrological Sect and save Princess Villian. Despite this, the Knight Leader was willing to risk his position in order to carry out his duty in protecting the princess, wanting to aid William Orwell in crossing to French territory. With William being able to do so as he is a mercenary and not part of any faction within Great Britain. However, before he could do so, William temporarily stuns the Knight Leader, preventing him from aiding him as he singlehandedly ends the crisis. After Villian is rescued, Knight Leader punches William Orwell for his actions, and later have him join him in a drink. Here, William reveals his intentions of leaving England to protect it from the outside while the Knight Leader protects it from the inside. Despite this, Knight Leader feels that William's decision was wasteful, but is unable to stop him from leaving Britain. Because of the ambush he suffered at the hands of William, the Knight Leader develop ways to his strengthen himself as so that it will never happen again. He eventually devices magic culminating in his spiritual item Hrunting and his Thororm's Defense Formula.

He and his knights are later enticed by Princess Carissa to join her side when her plans to overthrow the current status quo of the United Kingdom and replace it with her own in order to protect it from its neighboring countries. Knight Leader later justifies this as being the most beneficial to the United Kingdom despite having to break his vows in protecting the other members of the royal family and having a dislike for Carissa's methods.

By the time he is introduced in the story, he starts courting Kaori and inviting her to social gatherings of high-society, and after she asked, teaches her about British manners.

Anglican Church–Russian Orthodox Church Prewar Conference
According to Orsola Aquinas, the Knight Leader went to the residence of the Amakusa Christians in Japantown in order to woo Kanzaki Kaori, but is shooed away by Tatemiya Saiji, who said that Kaori preferred younger men, and she has someone she loves in Academy City. Upon hearing this, Kaori denies the rumor that she likes younger men and has someone she loves in Academy City that has been spread by the Amakusa Christians.

British Royal Family Arc
On October 10, the Knight Leader is first seen outside of Buckingham Palace meeting Kanzaki Kaori there while she attempts to collect documents from the Ministry of Home Affairs. She notes that she has trouble dealing with him, as he notes of various parties that she can participate where she won't get harassed. As they discuss of her British manners for high-society and how a lady should act, the Knight Leader inquires about the Erotic Maid Fallen Angel incident, where she wore the costume for Kamijou Touma after the defeat of Acqua of the Back, much to her horror. With her expression, he notes that it is un-ladylike behavior. The Knight Leader confesses that as a British gentleman it would be a lie if he was to say he isn't interested in erotica and maids. He however says that fallen angels are unacceptable, noting on how a lady's beauty isn't measured based on a bewitching exterior but through her inner persona. Before he can finish Kaori tells him that the fallen angel inicident was a one time thing only and she isn't going to wear it again in the future. Two days later, the Eurotunnel bombing would occur, bringing the United Kingdom in crisis.

On October 17, Knight Leader is invited to St. George's Cathedral, in the hopes that the leaders of the three factions that control the United Kingdom during the Sky Bus 365 terrorist incident. However, only the Knight Leader was present for the meeting as the Queen was too busy. Using technology and magic, she had an illusion cast on the monitoring devices in Sky Bus 365's cockpit, wanting it to force the hijacker to land in a country highway out of the way of the city like London. Knight Leader throws doubt on the plan since an emergency landing would most likely be difficult in such a time, but Laura says that it is preferable to the plane exploding in the City. Laura then asks a nun passing by where the plane will most likely land, to which she says that it is in the area between Kendal and Carlisle in Cumbria on the highway leading to Scotland. Hearing this, Laura commands Knight Leader to handle the operation there, much to his annoyance. Laura Stuart says that they should be the one to handle it as the terrorist are not magicians and do not have bombs or guns with them, and that he should be thankful as she is handing out an easy job for them. The Knight Leader states that she can rush it if she wants but asks what she is to do if the plane comes apart in midair. Laura coldly replies that they will recover Index Librorum Prohibitorum from onboard with the spell they used on Lidvia, even if the plane were to explode in midair, they can still catch someone from the ground as long as its only one person. Hearing this, the Knight Leader can only wish an early death on her. Laura later notices the plane's rising altitude once again implying that the illusion applied on the plane's fuel gauge has been changed. Suddenly, a nun tells her that there has been a large scale interference coming from the direction of Scotland, and thus their illusion was sealed by a third party, making the fuel gauge back to normal. That night, Laura makes an expression of displeasure, while the Knight Leader has an expression of anger on him, asking if French magicians have gotten into the country, or if a magic cabal has betrayed them. Regardless, he tells Laura that it is her mistake, telling her that he thought that she was using the full power of the Anglican Church in order to avoid trouble before it happened. Hearing this, Laura snaps her fingers, saying that she knows and that there is more to the current situation than some delinquents who like flashy things. Stiyl Magnus appears next to her, stating that she wants him to make preparations regarding the Sky Bus 365 just in case, and asks what he needs. He says that he will need a means of transport, and asks the Knights of England to contact the Air Force since they have control over the military forces.

The Knight Leader later greets Touma, Index, and Kaori in Buckingham Palace, where he is thanked by Kaori for supplying them the helicopter. After being amused at Touma being Index's manager, he asks him if he can get Index some food, to which he has a maid come over and give them some scones. At which point, after discovering the scones are free, they gorge themselves with it. The Knight Leader, shocked at the display and the fact that are in a hurry, asks Kaori if he can draw his sword to persuade them, to which Kaori does something much quicker, punching Touma in the stomach and dragging Index by the hand. The Knight Leader reveals that Touma and Index will be meeting with the Royal Family, and though he hoped that Touma would dress more formally for the occassion, it cannot be helped now that he is wearing so casually. He then says that they are meeting because the Eurotunnel explosion is actually a magic bombing, an event that is of national imortance. He later overhears Elizard complaining about her dress and wanting to wear a tracksuit instead. With this, the Knight Leader scolds the Queen and has her meet Touma and Index already. From there, after Touma sees Curtana Second, he, the Queen, and Kaori later explain to Touma regarding the purpose and power of the sword and its connection to the history of the United Kingdom.

After Princess Riméa arrives, the Knight Leader that one of his knights or he himself could've escorted her to Buckingham Palace, to which she shows her distrustful nature to them. Carissa later arrives and sneers at her demeanor, telling her that she should get over it and die already. They are then joined by the Villian. As all of the girls have gathered, Elizard suggests they move to another room where their conversation isn't recorded and not wait for the other participants or "specialists" in order to allow them to talk without reservations, much to Kaori and the Knight Leader's chagrin, though Carissa agrees. With the representatives of the three factions that control the United Kingdom have gathered, Riméa says that in the end the country is a kingdom, and as such it is Elizard, the monarch, who has final say on matters. After Carissa discovers Touma's role in the meeting thanks to Elizard's persuasion, they later move to another to start the meeting proper. As the Eurotunnel bombing meeting in Buckingham Palace begins, he adds his opinion in the meeting when necessary. Earlier, he prevented the Queen from participating in a group photo with Touma and the princesses, much to her dismay. He later becomes annoyed at the discovery that not only will he be concerned with the enemies outside of the United Kingdom but of an enemy within the country's borders as well.

After arriving at Folkestone, Knight Leader notices the change of weight of his case and reports to Carissa that the Curtana Original has arrived. Talking to her discreetly, he reports that the Anglican Church mistakenly believes that New Light intended to assassinate a princess in order to use a large-scale European attack. Carissa mocks this and states that the spell doesn't exist. The Knight Leader notes that if it did the negotiations with their enemies would've been much easier and that they need only to ensure that people weren't killed so easily. With that, Carissa smiles and orders the invasion as she now has the Curtana Original she is now the rightful ruler of the United Kingdom. Thus begins the British Halloween.

British Halloween
As the British Halloween takes place, Index is accompanied by Carissa and Knight Leader in the Eurotunnel near the collapse portion of the tunnel. Here, Index determines that the magic used is of Roman Catholic origin and references French royalty's passing relation to it. Hearing Index's analysis that a spell related to the French royal family was used, Carissa now determines that the one at fault is a French Roman Catholic faction. Despite Index saying that the spell's used it doesn't necessarily mean that the current political power used it since the French monarchy has been ended, Carissa is adamant, pointing out that the brains behind the current political power in France have the knowledge of the historical kings of France and treasures from the royal palace. With a smile, Carissa congratulates Index for giving her the answer she wanted to hear, that France was at fault for the bombing, as otherwise she would have killed her, putting Index on guard. Knight Leader comes near and hands her the Curtana Original from the case.

Using Index's analysis as justification, now as the new sovereign of the country, Carissa orders the Knight Leader to have the Knights of England to force the military to send a destroyer to Dover Strait, and from there threaten Versailles, destroying it depending on France's answer. The Knight Leader asks if they should notify Academy City, their ally, to which Carissa's says to ignore them, threatening the connection that was established by Academy City and the Anglican Church. The Knight Leader asks if targeting Versailles is the best idea as the current political power of France is controlled in the shadows who have no permanent base, to which Carissa says that it is only because the greatest of them all is hiding in Versailles, and killing her would force the others out of hiding. Carissa orders the use of Bunker Cluster warheads. She says she will disregard the treaty that they signed to ban it with the nations of the EU as well as other unnecessary treaties. Carissa also states that she intends to cut America's economic backing to further her desire for the United Kingdom to become more independent from her neighbors. Knight Leader warns that isolating themselves after the Eurotunnel bombing and the hijacking straining the nation could make it worse. Carissa however says that all they need to do is remove the Roman Catholic Church's control from Europe, creating a structure that centered around England, solving the problems with the economy and resources, a society where England is needed by the rest of the world. Carissa comments that her mother's pacifism doesn't work in times of war and that they need to win the upcoming war without any cooperation and interference from others. Accepting, the Knight Leader begins preparations for the destroyer. Carissa comments on how she wishes that they have developed nuclear bombs, prompting the Knight Leader to say that they should use something that would not be harmful to people after the Palace of Versailles has been hit. Carissa laughs at this and says that they can send a warning beforehand as the woman they are after won't leave the palace even if they did. Carissa, still needing Index to legitimize their threat against France, then orders the Knight Leader to "put her to sleep". The Knight Leader then knocks Index out with a single punch.

As they exit the Eurotunnel, Carissa says that all it needs now to be done is to execute the rest of her family so that no one may contest her in using the Curtana Original. She is then informed that her mother has been captured in Windsor Castle, her elder sister is still missing, though likely in a nearby city or in London, and that Villian has escaped in her Travelling Fortress. Carissa doubts that her sister had the foresight in seeing the danger surrounding her, but then realizes that people who adore her for her benevolence may have helped her escape. Relieved that there aren't any Royal Maids or armed aides with Villian, Carissa is nevertheless annoyed that Villian got away. She approaches a group of servants huddled together and threatens to cut them down with the Curtana Original for letting her sister escape. At this moment, the Knight Leader intervenes advising her to lay down her arms, knowing that she won't kill him as he still is useful to her, which Carissa applauds. Carissa notes that she may not kill him but it will be different when it comes to her mother and sisters. The Knight Leader says he is only doing what he did because she shouldn't make any unnecessary judgments, otherwise he has no reason to stop her. Satisfied, Carissa sheathes the sword into the scabbard and leaves the servants alone. Then a servant comes to him begging him to save Princess Villian, but Knight Leader doesn't answer him directly. He instead tells him to get him, Acqua of the Back, if they want to kill him and stop what was going on in their country. The servant then flees as the Knight Leader is left alone. Investigating where Villian's carriage went to, the Knight Leader is able to determine that it is going to Canterbury where Canterbury Cathedral likely to find aid with the Anglican Church. The Knight Leader assures Carissa that the servants don't know how to use magic so it is likely that the carriage is not a dummy as it is being tracked by them. Hearing this, Carissa says she'll hold his words by his life. Just then, a sea plane flies low before them. Confused by this, they determine that it isn't of the knights nor from the military but a plane from Hyde Park's lake. As it passes, Kanzaki Kaori lands before them, determined to eliminate the center of the coup. Carissa sneers at this as she takes off on her horse to catch up to her sister. Kaori tries to stop her but Knight Leader intervenes before she can do so. Kaori asks the Knight Leader if he was insistent with his invitation 7 days ago as he knew they would be fighting, to which Knight Leader says that he truly wanted her to become a lady, but since she has become his enemy then he will show no mercy. Knight Leader later fights and easily defeats Kanzaki Kaori a Saint during the Battle of Folkestone, due to the empowerment given to him by the Curtana Original without even drawing his sword. Not caring whether Kaori is alive or dead, the Knight Leader orders his men to board the carriages or mount their horse in order to follow Carissa. Knight Leader does the same, mounting a horse and leaving Kaori behind.

The Knight Leader and his men later catch up to Carissa, who orders for him to execute Villian. Knight Leader then orders for an executioner's axe in order for him to cut off Villian's head. With a sigh, the Knight Leader raises the axe and promises to the teary-eyed Villian that he will take care of her head with the utmost respect. Suddenly, William Orwell returns, knocking out several knights, destroying the axe, and has princess Villian already in his arms. Everyone is shocked except the Knight Leader who has expected him to come as they face him, carrying his great sword Ascalon. Acqua of the Back promptly uses his sword in order to get away. As the dust settles, Carissa reprimands the Knight Leader for not wanting to attack as he may hurt Villian. Carissa then orders for the Knight Leader to take both of Villian's and Acqua of the Back's heads, which he obliges.

Acqua of the Back and the Knight Leader, to old friends on different sides, would later meet again in the forests of Folkestone and have a long battle there. Each seemingly an even match for one another until the Knight Leader show off the various effects of his sword Hrunting. This forces Acqua of the Back to use the various attributes of his Ascalon, countering each of their attacks, all the while questioning each other's motives. The Knight Leader would continue to justify himself to Acqua of the Back, while he just scoffs at justifications, saying that his reasons do not need words merely actions. In the end, Acqua of the Back is injured after his attacks prove to be not enough against the Knight Leader, who also has a spell that allows him to defend himself against anything he recognizes as a weapon, the same spell that neutralized Kanzaki Kaori's Yuisen a while ago. Acqua of the Back is forced to use his tricks as a mercenary, deception, something an honorable knight like the Knight Leader merely scoffs at to trick the Knight Leader, and eventually injuring him. The Knight Leader failed to recognize a small clasp on Acqua of the Back's sword used to hold the blade as a weapon, and as such loses against him, ending their long battle.

Still alive, the Knight Later notices that he has been depowered and realizes that something must've happened to the Curtana Original. He later contacts Acqua of the Back as he prepares for the upcoming battle, regarding the recent overloading of Curtana Original and the collapsing unity of the knights. Acqua of the Back says that it was the magic specialists of the country that have done the deed and asks why the Knight Leader hasn't returned to his knights yet, though he doesn't answer. Acqua of the Back says he knows that the Knight Leader isn't sure if he should, to which Acqua of the Back adds that he should watch first before acting rashly. The Knight Leader asks him what would happen if he chose the side where he will fight him again, to which Acqua of the Back says that it would change nothing as he will simply defeat him again. After checking his Ascalon, Acqua of the Back asks the Knight Leader if he could target the Curtana Original using his Thororm Spell that neutralizes everything that he deems as a weapon. The Knight Leader comments on how everything has an exception, as he made sure that the spell would not be used to harm a member of Royal Family under the fear of lèse majesté. Acqua of the Back references that Knight Leader shouldn't be the one to talk as he tries killing Villian earlier. The Knight Leader points out that he used a normal weapon instead of his own for Villian. The Knight Leader then gives Acqua of the Back advice on his upcoming battle, telling him not to underestimate Carissa by thinking there is a trick behind her strength or that you can turn around the situation by finding a weakness in her. Acqua of the Back replies on how what he must do hasn't change, and says that there may be an option of defeating Carissa by taking away Curtana instead of killing her. As the two old friends bid farewell to each other, Acqua of the Back notices that Villian has sensed his presence with the help of Oriana Thomson. Seeing as he has said embarrassing things to her to stabilize her mind after he rescued her, he is however unprepared dealing with her. He quickly packs up and leaves, ignoring the Knight Leader's comments.

He later arrives in London on his own at the height of the Battle of Buckingham Palace. He is behind princess uses a communication spell to contact not only the knights, who have now regained consciousness after being "punished" by Carissa, but those at Buckingham Palace as well to tell them of Carissa's true plans. She then pleads with them to take up arms to save Carissa not as the second princess but as a woman as she believes Carissa can be saved if there are people who are willing to fight for her. The Knight Leader is just behind Riméa during her announcement, deciding to take up his sword to save Carissa as well despite being depowered after the Overloading of the Curtana Original. The Knight Leader notes on how he probably doesn't need orders on his knights as they likely feel the same away. He then uses Acqua of the Back's words, that words are not needed as what they must do is clear, signifying his growth.

Knight Leader, and some of his knights, arrive just in time for him to negate a cruise missile equipped with a Buster Cluster warhead attack on Buckingham Palace. Seeing this, Carissa uses a dimensional debris to attack Villian but the Knight Leader just knocks it away with his fist, injuring him. He tells Villian that after the coup is over she can have him decapitated, but he would at least save Carissa so that the entire Royal Family can join forces to stop Rome and Russian Churches. Villian tells the Knight Leader that he should act according to his own will not something he is forced to do.

With that the Knight Leader orders his knights to split into two teams: one to heal and recover the collapsed Anglican Church forces members, and the others in assisting him attacking Carissa. Knight Leader comes upon Touma who is still trying to dodge Carissa's dimensional debris attacks. He apologizes to him leaving the fate of his country and the fate of the princesses to them, to which Touma accepts and says that they should all work together to stop Carissa. Working together, Touma is the one who attempts to negate Carissa's dimensional slices while Knight Leader works to restrict the movements of the Curtana Original. With only the spells and skills they have prior to their empowerment via Curtana Original, the Knight Leader and his knights engage Carissa and her Curtana Original. As they clashed weapons and try to prevent her from using her dimensional cutting, Carissa points out that Riméa's speech was given in a perfect timing to rouse both the Anglicans and the knights. She points out that her sister's speech made it so that it sounded like it was directed at him, and his decision to change views moved the other knights as well. She points out to the Knight Leader that her sister just manipulated him, though he replies that he doesn't mind as long as he can save her. Carissa points out that he is severely outmatched now as he no longer has any blessing from the Curtana Original, though he replies that it is trivial and the presence or absence of power will not make him waver.

The knights attack on Carissa become more intense while the Anglicans begin to recover from the previous Bunker Cluster attack. Finally pushed into a corner, Carissa tries to order the firing of all the cruise missiles equipped with Bunker Cluster warheads from the destroyers, Wimbledon, Henry VII, Sherwood, Hastings, and Shakespeare on Buckingham Palace, despite wanting to use them on her attack on France, knowing that the Knight Leader would not be able to use Thororm's Defense Spell on all of them in time. Touma and the Knight Leader try to rush her before she can make the orders, but they are spared their efforts however, as Acqua of the Back arrives and slams the antenna used for military transmissions on top of Carissa. Although, she dodges the attack, Acqua of the Back's actions ensures that Carissa could no longer carry out any of her orders to the armed forces.

After a bit of bantering, Acqua of the Back and the Knight Leader flank Carissa with their swords. Despite using the dimensional debris against them, Carissa is forced back for the first time. The battle however goes ill for Carissa further as Kanzaki Kaori, the first of the Anglican Church forces to stand up again after the Bunker Cluster attack, comes into the battle as well. With three swords against Carissa, and despite her use of the dimensional debris and her swordsmanship, the battle for her is to evade their attacks as much as she can. Carissa acknowledges her limit despite her sword, to which Kaori says that she believes that not everything can be accomplished with only those who are special. She tells Carissa that they were only able to go all out because there are people supporting them, as such, she tells Carissa, that since she is being aimed at by magicians from all directions she can only continue to focus on possible attacks from her blind spots which limit her options. Carissa agrees that the number of allies can determine the victor in a battle, but then says that it is the reason why she never once thought her victory would lie in that direction. At that moment, Carissa uses dimensional debris not on them but on the group of knights working to treat the Anglicans, knocking them into the air. Immediately afterwards, Carissa creates a dimensional to create another debris. The Knight Leader tries to use stop the debris but is instead hit by one of the Anglicans trying to Carissa in a misfire. As the Knight Leader could no longer hold it because of the attack, the debris still hurtles out of control.

Carissa points out that no matter how large a group is they are still a collection of individuals, and as such connections can be severed between these individuals when their weaknesses or openings can be exploited. Carissa continues to attack the group with her dimensional debris. Acqua of the Back tries clashing swords with Carissa alone without the back-up of either Knight Leader or Kaori that made their assault against her effective in the first place. After a clashing a bit, Acqua is later forced to retreat back as he was bleeding. Carissa once again proclaims her superiority in military affairs after regaining the momentum of the battle. Acqua of the Back and the Knight Leader continue to clash swords with Carissa until Queen Elizard arrives and cuts in between, fighting her daughter on her own. He likely witnesses Elizard using the Union Jack to distribute the power of the Curtana Original to the people of the United Kingdom as well at to ask for their help against Carissa if they wish. It is unknown if he is empowered by Curtana Original. Despite this, Acqua of the Back, the Knight Leader, and Kanzaki Kaori once again join the battle as the people of London arrive and fight Carissa in the battlefield. Carissa is later beaten with the combined efforts of the people in preventing her in focusing in retaining the power that is left in Curtana Original with their relentless assaults, Index's Spell Intercept, and Touma's actual destruction of the sword.

After the battle, the Knight Leader goes to Elizard and apologizes for his part of the coup and asks what they will do now. Elizard tells him not to worry about it his actions as he did what he must. Elizard tells him as well not to worry about the people discovering the truth behind the spell that empowered them, though says that even if they did discover that it was magic then they will just simply tell them that magic exists as there is no rule that says that magic should always be hidden. He later goes up to Villian's side, looking around for Acqua of the Back. He tells Villian that he left because the Russian Orthodox Church has made their move according to a comrade of his, and is planning to stop the conflict in a different direction than through the Anglican Church. Hearing of the word "comrade" Villian says that she feels that she alone is still the only one doing nothing when everyone has gained so much the past 10 years. Seeing that Villian is hurt by Acqua of the Back's lack of farewell, the Knight Leader becomes angry at him for leaving with him with a difficult job. Villian notices, to which the Knight Leader then tells Villian Acqua of the Back's parting words to her, with some modifications of his own. He tells her that when the war is over Acqua of the Back would be able to hang his escutcheon in Buckingham Palace, but adds a part where it seemed like Acqua of the Back is proposing to her, surprising Villian and giving the Knight Leader a smug sense of satisfaction.

Later, he likely witnesses the activation of Index's John's Pen mode by Fiamma of the Right's usage of its external controller from the ruins of Buckingham Palace.

Magic God Othinus Arc
Despite being one of the key players of the British Halloween, the Knight Leader was not sent in to prison or seem to be willing to go into one, like William Orwell and Carissa. Instead, he has his own circumstances to deal with, though they are unaddressed. During the conference of major powers in New York, he is dismayed that Queen Elizard didn't take him to the meeting as a bodyguard, and instead is stationed at the northernmost part of Scotland to being an Anti-GREMLIN Alliance operation.

As they prepared to leave to attack Sargasso from a naval port on the northernmost edge of Scotland, they had a brief discussion as to the readiness of the group before setting out in one of their Mobile Fortresses (the Queen Mermaid and the Hotel Ariel) for the alliance's operation. The Knight Leader then got the permission to leave and begin the assault.

On route Carissa receives word that America and Russia will be a little delayed, and though the other two can enter as the second wave of attack, they determined that they will take all glory for themselves. William asks when Touma will get there, to which Carissa states that he should arrive by the second wave, and notes that due to Academy City's Supersonic Passenger Plane he may arrive before the American and Russian forces. As the island became visible, it is bombed by several Grape Jelly bombs and the Mont Blanc bombs. As the attack took place, William notes on how Carissa's methods never change, and warn her that due to the incident she caused in England, the British Halloween, and GREMLIN may have analyzed her methods. Carissa replies that if one removes all the waste and search for the optimal usage of one's weapons, everyone will ultimately arrive at the same place. She states that a military run by a nation needs an attack method that is impossible to avoid even if one knows it is coming. As they begin to land on the island, Carissa isn't optimistic enough to think that the bombing was enough to kill all the members of GREMLIN, but believed that since they still have the physical body of a human, then they can be killed.

Landing on the island, they are informed that there is no need for gas masks for there were no toxic substances detected after the bombing. Thus, they and the British forces begin their search for GREMLIN. Then, they hear a voice up on a wrecked tanker in the island welcoming them and introducing himself as Loki. He comments that "Lady Othinus" gave him the task of protecting the Sargasso of the North Sea with his life. His explanation is cut short however, after he is shot through the throat with an arrow fired via the Robin Hood spell. Loki then fell from the tip of the tanker he was standing on and slammed to the ground. Carissa then ordered all of her men to continue moving forward. He then suddenly rises, explaining that he is just an illusion and the real Loki is nowhere near the area. He further explains that he was suspicious of his teammates and worried about a spy, so he created an artificial sky over the true Sargasso and altered Marian Slingeneyer's notes. Reports from the landed forces state that the teams have found no trace of the magic god or the production of the lance in the island: it is completely empty. Carissa and the others then realize they had indeed been led to a false Sargasso on the other side of the world. The illusion bids them farewell and disappears, just as the place is bombed.

VS The World
Surviving the explosion in Sargasso, Princess Carissa, Knight Leader, and William Orwell are mobilized on the Hotel Ariel to go to Denmark following the sudden changing of sides of Kamijou Touma with Magic God Othinus. They are later joined by Kanzaki Kaori. They later knock Touma after his fight with Vasilisa and Sasha Kreutzev, taking him into the mobile fortress. They later prepare to use the Curtana's shard to attack Othinus. As Touma comes to, William tells him not to get up, adding that they don't particularly care about him and that it would be best for him if he simply watched as they bring the situation to an end. Carissa also comments on Touma waking up, saying that letting him freeze on the deck would have been decent punishment for causing so much trouble around the world. The Knight Leader then asks why they had to abduct Touma as they have all that they needed to handle Othinus and that they don't have any real reason to bring Touma along. Kaori responds that they don't know what the other GREMLIN members are doing so doing so would prevent the possibility of them meeting with him. She then tells Touma where he is. After hearing of Carissa's intention to use the Curtana's shard against Othinus, Touma slams his fist into the floor, destroying it with the Imagine Breaker and causing them all to fall down to a lower level. Seeing this as a hostile action, the four move to attack him.

To their surprise, Touma moves himself into the path of Kaori's attack, such that it would kill him if it connected. Moving to avoid it, Kaori tries to incapacitate him without killing him, realizing that he was using her own trait of not killing against her. However Touma curls himself up, forcing her to jump over him and ends up colliding with the Knight Leader.

Touma once again slams his fist on the mobile fortress, causing them to all fall down again. As they land to safety on the lower levels of fortress, Carissa comments on the queerness of Touma's actions as he can't escape the fortress from 1500 meters. William comments on Touma's plan on using Kaori against them. Both Carissa and Knight Leader find out that Kaori is gone. Carissa comments that they could try searching every room in the fortress and that Touma will be cornered eventually. However, William says they don't have time for that as he already realized Touma's plan, though says that it relies on others too much to call it a proper plan. And that plan is for him to use Kaori's character and trait of saving people to help him survive and escape.

Carissa later uses her Curtana shard to attack them and Othinus from afar, though Kaori later manages to divert the power being relayed to the Curtana's shard and destroy Hotel Ariel. Touma's gamble continues even after Touma left Kaori's side, as she fights Carissa, William, and the Knight Leader on her own. They later listen to the speech by Roberto Katze and Queen Elizard regarding the need to not give in to fear and hatred against Othinus, while Kaori continues to fight the other while coughing up blood from the attacks she had received.

Abilities
As a knight, he is a skilled swordsman who fights wielding his sword. As he protects the Britsh Royal Family, it is likely that he is a very powerful combatant in spite any empowerment from the Curtana Original or Curtana Second. Indeed, during Villian's hostage crisis, he was willing to go with William Orwell to face off against the Spanish Astrological Sect beyond the shores of England where he is likely empowered by the Curtana Second. The Knight Leader also knows of a support spell for high-speed movement.

When empowered by the Curtana Original, he receives the blessing of the sword which represents that of Archangel Michael, giving him great durability, power, and speed. He easily defeated Kanzaki Kaori with absurd ease, not even needing to draw his own sword. He was capable of moving at speeds even the Saint can't match, managed to capture the "Nanasen" (Seven Flash) steel wires with one hand and scrunch it up into a steel ball then thrown it back as an attack against Kanzaki, and managed to stop Kaori's "Yuisen" (Single Flash) attack that was said to be capable of even harming Misha Kreutzev with only the other hand. He himself stated that, with the Archangel's blessing, the only one in England at that time that could have matched him was the leader of the other factions, such as the Archbishop Laura Stuart, and even though Queen Elizard has great skill, she doesn't possess the same destructive power as he does.

Spell of Thororm
The Spell of Thororm or Thororm's Defense Formula (ソーロルムの術式) is a defensive spell, which regardless it's magical or scientific as long as the caster can identify it then the offensive value of the weapon can be "Turn to zero". This effects lasts around 10 minutes. In the case of projectiles, like a bullet or arrow, they would lose all momentum and becomes useless. Explosives would need other interferences to explode after the effect expires. So great is the spell that he boasts that it theory it can even affect nuclear weapons. The bunker cluster missile launched against him during the coup basically ceased all functions and fell out of the sky after having been "Set to zero". One thing worth noting is that the missile bounced around on the pavement and caused no damage at all.

Weaknesses
One of the flaws of the spell is that if he can't identify something as a weapon that is being used against him then the spell will not have any affect. Moreover, the spell can only affect one type of weapon at a time, as shown when Carissa decided to launch several cruise missiles at the same time during the Battle of Buckingham Palace. Moreover, the spell can only affect weapons or anything that can be recognized as a weapon. As such, phenomena created from a spell such as that of the Curtana Original (even the sword itself cannot be sealed), won't be affected by it. In addition, he mentioned it cannot stop Misha Kreutzev's wings during World War III, stating they are more like an extension of its body than a weapon.

Finally, in order to avoid lèse majesté, Knight Leader intentionally made it so that the spell would not be used to kill any member of the royal family.

Equipment
The Hrunting (フルンティング) is a dark-red sword of about 3.9 meters and its weight is unknown, but it probably doesn't weighs much more than the longsword used at its base. The spiritual item holds the same name as the magical sword used in the legend of Beowulf. Apparently, the sword became tougher and sharper from the blood of slain enemies that blocked ones path, but Knight Leader had most likely had Telesma act as the blood so that the large amount could be compressed into it in order to give it a tremendous amount of destructive power. Already, the ordinary laws of physics did not apply to the steel of the sword. It felt lighter than its original mass should, it was tough enough to not have received a single scratch from the strikes it had received from Ascalon, and so sharp that it would kill William instantly were a single strike to hit him. Knight Leader had reanalyzed the laws behind the Norse Gungnir and, the Celtic and Brionac, and other weapons, combined them, and then condensed them. His evolution had constructed completely new spells much like a black hole being created from the death of a star that grew too large which it's simply called Pattern Magic (パターン魔術). During his fight against Acqua of the Back he showed the next patterns of his weapon, though only one precedence of them can be used at a time :


 * Attack Range (射程距離): Produces cutting attacks which can hit the enemy from any direction no matter where they are.
 * Slicing Power (切断威力): Allows the blade to cut through anything.
 * Weapon Weight (武具重量): Gives the sword tremendous destructive power.
 * Movement Speed (移動速度): Enhances the wielder's speed so no one can catch up with them.
 * Enduring Solidity (耐久硬度): Makes the sword indestructible.
 * Special Use (専門用途): A rare pattern meant to slay certain monsters.
 * Precise Accuracy (的確精度): Automatically guides attacks towards vital points.

The Knight Leader has stated himself that his pattern magic is largely unusable without the Telesma that he gets from the Curtana, to the point where by himself he can only do a support spell for high speed movement and his Hrunting sword becomes a common 80 centimeter longsword, his standard weapon as a knight. His Thororm's Formula, however, is not dependent of Curtana's influence.

Design evolution
Knight Leader's design remains static throughout the series, since his introduction in the SS volume.

Trivia

 * In mythology, the sword Hrunting was given to Beowulf in order to aid him in slaying Grendel's Mother. However, though the sword was said to never have failed anyone who previously used it, it proved ineffectual against Grendel's Mother and he was forced to discard it.
 * Thororm comes from the Icelandic, where the eponymous Gunnlaugr duels a named Thororm, whose eyes are able to dull any weapon they see. Gunnlaugr defeats him by killing him with another sword than the one he showed him before the battle began. The entire translated saga can be read here.

Quotes

 * (To Kaori, from Index Volume 17): "Well, as a British gentleman, it would be a lie if I were to say that I am not interested in erotica and maids... but a fallen angel is unacceptable. A lady’s beauty must not be measured based on the bewitching exterior. Rather, it is the inner persona which must be beautiful."
 * (To Carissa, ibid): "I advise that you restrain your sword here."
 * (To Kaori, ibid): "I wasn’t lying when I said that I wished for you to be a lady... However, it seems I was too late for that as well. Now that you stand before me as my enemy, I will show no mercy."
 * (To Villian as he is about to execute her, ibid): "“… Farewell. I’ll promise you one last thing. I will treat your head with the utmost honor. The flesh and skin will be preserved just as when you were alive… no, even more beautiful than you are now. That way, the citizens who see your severed head will definitely feel sympathy for you."
 * (To Carissa regarding Acqua of the Back, from Index Volume 18): "I cannot think of an enemy that I am acquainted with."
 * (To Acqua of the Back, ibid): "“…Here lies the 10 years since you left. I am no longer as I was when you knocked me out in Dover I will use my 10 years to test just how much you have gained from your 10 years."
 * (To Acqua of the Back, ibid): "I mastered the many paths of knighthood and thought I would compensate for each one’s weakness by unifying them, but it seems the more complicated the combination gets, you have to simplify it down to a single strike. I suppose it is similar to the demise of a star like the sun. When a star grows too large, it finally explodes and gives birth to a black hole. …It becomes a mere gravitational field. It becomes something that is theoretically simple but still produces a great power."
 * (To Acqua of the Back regarding his reasons for siding with Carissa, ibid): "To save this country, we must sheathe our weapons and construct a new order. The real problem is who will stand at the top. If that position goes back to her majesty the queen, we cannot escape this crisis. As such, someone else must take the throne. Between the intelligent first princess, the militaristic second princess, and the benevolent third princess, the answer is clear."
 * (To Acqua of the Back, ibid): "This power was lent to me to protect England through the Original Curtana. A mercenary who would throw the country into chaos for his own sentiments without any thoughts of consequences, will never be able to kill me."
 * (During Volume 20) : "Connect me to Queen Elizard! Hurry!! I need to get permission to spank Lady Carissa!!" -- As Carissa was using strange methods to motivate the troops.