Leon Belmont

"You have become a cursed being and I will never forgive you. This whip and my kinsmen will destroy you someday. From this day on, the Belmont Clan will hunt the night."

- Leon Belmont to Mathias Cronqvist through Death.

Leon Belmont was a hunter who founded the Belmont Clan and the first person known to have dealt with the Dark Lord Dracula.

Overview
Leon is the earliest named member of the Belmont Clan. He was the first to use the Vampire Killer and was responsible for swearing his clan to fight evil for eternity. He was the first of the Belmonts to come to Wallachia in order to fight Dracula. It is said that Leon rode into Wallachia with a Celt named Trefor, whom Trevor Belmont is named after. Despite founding the Belmont Clan and bringing forth a new generation of Belmonts, it's still unknown who Leon Belmont married after leaving France.

He lost both parents when he was young, and was knighted at 16. Leon was also a good friend of Mathias Cronqvist. When his dear lady Sara Trantoul was whisked away by the vampire Walter Bernhard, he entered the castle grounds unarmed, but was given a Whip of Alchemy, a whip that was blessed with the power of alchemy, by the old man Rinaldo Gandolfi, who lived on the grounds. Using his whip and magic gauntlet, he entered the castle in hopes to find and rescue his fiancée.

Personality
Despite being a famed knight with the title of Baron, Leon is extremely noble and humble. He gave up his title in order to save his betrothed Sara without a second thought, and requested Rinaldo not to call him "Lord", instead saying that they were equals. It's possible that his politeness comes from the fact that he is an orphan, and that growing up as a knight made him value courage and honor over everything else.

Rinaldo even describes some of his actions as being honest to a fault. He strongly cares for Sara and struggled with the idea of having to kill her in order to create the Vampire Killer whip. This, and his later actions of starting the Belmont Clan's vampire hunting destiny, show his immense courage and will to rid the world of Dracula, no matter how long it would take.

History
Leon Belmont was born in 11th century Europe, where knights not only protected their lords, but also protected the peace and fought heretics in God's name. Orphaned at a very young age, Leon became a knight when he was just 16 years old, and his skill in combat was second to none. He joined a company of knights with his close friend, Mathias Cronqvist, and they made the platoon invincible with their skills in combat and strategy. But Mathias was bedridden after losing his wife, Elisabetha. One year later, monsters began attacking Leon's domain, but the Church forbade him to fight them because they were focused only on heretics. He was then informed by Mathias that his betrothed, Sara Trantoul, was kidnapped by a vampire and brought her to a castle in the forest 'Eternal Night'. To save his beloved, Leon renounced his title as a baron and ventured into the forest alone.

On his journey, Leon encountered Rinaldo Gandolfi, an alchemist who lived by himself in the forest. From the old man, he learned that the vampire who kidnapped Sara was Walter Bernhard, who amused himself by playing 'cat-and-mouse' with powerful warriors before defeating them. Rinaldo offered his assistance by giving Leon the Whip of Alchemy, a weapon imbued with the powers of alchemy, and empowering his gauntlet with the ability to absorb magical attacks. The alchemist also warned him that Walter could only be reached after defeating the five guardians protecting the vampire's quarters.

Reaching the castle, Leon defeated the guardians one by one. They included Joachim Armster, a vampire imprisoned by Walter for his rebellion, the monster Medusa who turned victims into stone, and a succubus who tried to trick Leon by disguising herself as Sara. Whenever he returned to Rinaldo, he gained valuable information, which included the whip's incomplete state, the Ebony and Crimson stones, and how the alchemist lost his daughter, Justine, to vampirism.

Eventually, Leon entered Walter's chamber, where he discovered that the whip could not harm the vampire and Sara was in a strange trance. Walter left to return to his chambers, and Leon took Sara back to Rinaldo's house. But he and the alchemist soon discovered that his betrothed was bitten by Walter and was about to become a vampire. The only way to save her was to defeat Walter but the whip was not powerful enough. So Rinaldo told Leon that he needed to kill Sara and absorb her soul into the whip, which was something the young warrior was hesitant to do. Suddenly, they found Sara outside and learned that she had overheard everything, and she volunteered to sacrifice her life to empower the whip. Although he was hesitant at first, Leon complied with his lover's request and bound her soul to the whip, transforming it into the Vampire Killer. After burying Sara outside of Rinaldo's house, Leon ventured to defeat Walter once and for all.

Reaching the castle throne room, Leon confronted Walter for the last time. With the Vampire Killer, he destroyed the Ebony Stone protecting the vampire and soundly defeated him. Suddenly, Death appeared and reaped Walter's soul, transferring it to Crimson Stone. Upon the appearance of Mathias, who possessed the stone, Leon realized that his friend was behind everything, using everyone to obtain Walter's soul in order to empower the Crimson Stone. Mathias's motivation was vengeance upon God for taking his wife Elisabetha, and he abandoned humanity and defied mortal life. He offered Leon to join him, but the warrior refused, vowing to keep the promise that he made to Sara. Seeing that his friend could not be swayed, Mathias left Leon to Death. As the warrior prevailed, Leon told Death to give Mathias a message: that the Belmonts would destroy him someday.

Afterward, Leon escaped as the castle began to crumble, making it outside as the sun began to rise.

Quotes

 * "I'll kill you AND the Night!" - Leon Belmont to Walter Bernhard.


 * "I think it was a Leon Belmont who entered the region first. And he built this house and dug the foundations for everything under it." - Trevor Belmont talking about Leon.


 * "The hero that founded the Belmont Clan. He is a baron who is revered as the most powerful of the land's knights. Casting aside fame and fortune to save his abducted betrothed, he ventures into the vampire's castle alone." - Leon Belmont's bio.

Trivia

 * The background and Leon's pose taken on the painting resembles those of the Portrait of Louis XIV, although in reverse.
 * A guy named Stanley from Leon and Mathias' old knight company did something to have Leon royally pissed off at him.
 * What it was that angered Leon is unknown.

Image Sources

 * (Castlevania Lament of Innocence Leon Belmont.png) 魅惑の by ひより
 * (LeonDarkness.jpg) Leon Belmont Artwork by Ayami Kojima
 * (LeonFlames.jpg) Leon Belmont Artwork by Ayami Kojima
 * (LeonB.jpg) Leon's official artwork from Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
 * (Cloi-leon-belmont3.jpg) Leon's official portrait from Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
 * (Leon Knight.jpg) Leon's Knight artwork from Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
 * (Leon Belmont (animated series) - 01.png) Leon Belmont by Katie Silva