| “ | A heartbeat that lasts for eternity. Lives consumed in soundless balls of fire. No-one can tell when the world is displaced and the Flames of the Crimson World sweep over all. | „ |
| ~ Alastor's opening monologue in season 1 |
Alastor is one of the main protagonists of the light novel and anime series Shakugan no Shana. He is the God of the Crimson Realm to whom Shana is bound, as well as her father figure. His true name is "Flame of Heaven", but he is also referred to as the God of Retribution and is greatly feared by Denizens. Alastor is the strongest of all Lords and Denizens, a "God that can kill Gods who is considered the only being capable of destroying the "God of Creation", Snake of the Festival. Even so, he tries to keep the Denizens from consuming Power of Existence.
He is voiced by Masashi Ebara in the Japanese version of the anime, while in the English version he is voices by Paul Dobson in season 1 and Kent Williams in seasons 2 & 3.
Overview[]
Alastor is the Crimson Lord to whom Shana is bound. He expresses his will through a pendant as his divine vessel, called Cocytus. Alastor is considered to be one of the strongest of all Lords or Denizens; in fact, he is one of the true Godsof the Crimson Realm, the God of Atonement. But even so, he tries to keep the Denizens from consuming Power of Existence. Alastor is like a father-figure to Shana and cares for her, as he had watched over the future Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter as she grew up.
Appearance[]
In his sealed form, he expresses his will through a divine vessel called Cocytus, which takes the form of a pendant when he is under Shana's contract and a hand accessory in Mathilde's case, both forms sharing a pitch-black gem.
Alastor's true form is a massive creature with powerful limbs and horns that resembles a Minotaur. He has large wings with membranes the color of the night sky and burning eyes. He is completely covered in flames which are powerful enough to incinerate everything in his path. A black mass is hidden inside those flames. In the novel, he is described as having a voice resembling the roar of distant thunder.
Personality[]
Alastor has his short comings as a Crimson God. His emphasis on raising Shana to be the perfect Flame Haze meant that Shana was very ignorant of human interactions and relationships. The worst example of this was how Shana used to strip naked in front of others and let Alastor purify her instead of bathing, something Sophie Sawallisch managed to shame her out of (thankfully before she met Yuji). Although, he does his best to prevent the Crimson Denizens from devouring the power of existence, making him a clear-cut benevolent being.
Powers & Abilities[]
Divine Summonings[]
Tenpa Jōsai: Tenpa Jōsai is the summoning of Alastor himself, capable of burning everything to ashes. Unlike other lords that requires a lot of Power of Existence from human to manifest their forms, Alastor's contractor can perform a summoning ceremony of the God of Retribution that, instead uses Denizens around him as the source of the Power of Existence. This method is his Flame Haze's last resort; as no Flame Haze had survived after using it before. But Shana can endure it due to her power. In the novel, the only time Tenpa Jōsai is performed is in the final battle of the Great War. Mathilde summoned Alastor as the last resort the stop Asiz from succeeding his plan to create the entity from Tis (his beloved contractor) and his own existence aka the "Heir to Both Worlds".
Gallery[]
