Dante Messalla

"No wonder Lucius-san left you fools. Such foolishness... you Shinigami make me wanna laugh. "Don't underestimate him." "Be weary of his power." "Watch yourself." You all sound like a child's fairy tale. Even if you take notice of the sky falling... or the ground tearing asunder. No matter even if you take every possible situation at every possible measure... you are all still beneath me. No hesitation... this is the end for you."

- Dante's declaration of superiority to the Shinigami Captains.


 * "Where even Darkness fears to tread..." - Seireitou-shishō

Dante (ダンテ, Dāntei) is a mysterious Shinigami that was once allied with Lucius Ichimaru. His role in the story is not quite clear, whether he is an enemy or ally. Along with Lucius, he remains one of the most active members of the Akirakyū. Following the Akirakyū's disbandment, and the end of the second Reikai war, Dante had requested membership in the Seijin Council due to wanting to remain Lucius's partner. Though there was great controversy regarding it, Kamui had allowed it.

Appearance
Dante appeared as a pale-skinned human with back-length black hair. He had striking green eyes with slits in his pupils and black markings around his eyes, making a strange snake-like reference. His normal attire consists of a black jacket with chains coming down from the pockets. Its collar is made of white tuffs, reminscent to the appearance of Zangetsu's inner spirit. Dante prefers to wear loose jeans to accompany this outfit, giving him an appearance similar to that of teenage humans. Around his neck, Dante wears a black collar with golden designs.

When shown as a member of the Akirakyū, Dante wears ornate clothing of black and red, with a crucifix pendant, which hides a little dagger, giving him the appearance of a Spanish swordsman. His attire consists of a wide-brimmed black hat decorated with a large plume, and a long, open black coat, with red, flower-patterned sleeves and collar. In addition, he wears white (purple in the anime) pants held up by a decorated belt and tucked inside overly large boots in comparison to his leg size. When he met up with Lucius, he had a plain dark cloak draped over his shoulders.

Personality
Above all else, Dante cared only for himself. He grew bored when there was no conflict or violence in the world, and immediately struck fear into others when they first met him. However, he held great respect for Lucius Ichimaru, even going as far as to label him his "official fate-chosen partner." Dante firmly believed that he was an ultimate being, and was above all others in power. However, despite this, Dante remained grounded and never revealed arrogance. Noticeably, he always remained apathetic, only showing signs of maniacal laugher when in Lucius's presence. Seireitou Kawahiru noted that Dante is very much similar to Echo Ichimaru, in regards to personality and traits. He always has a simple careless face at any moment, or even a simple smile when fighting an opponent he labels as "worth his time." Unlike many cliché apathetic characters, Dante understands many things about human nature; essentially, the human emotions, and their desire to never give up, even in illogical situations. He berates Ulquiorra Schiffer for failure of understanding, claiming that misunderstanding is the root of all weakness. Though he has obviously become jaded regarding the abilities of others, he's able to recognize talent. In fact, he has a desire to see Raian surpass him after having witnessed the latter's incredible determination and will-power after their battle. Dante also shows some curiosity for the people he decides to attack. He attempted to strike Kamui just to see how strong he is, and he attacked Koga Tensei just to see if fate was on Koga's side or not. It should be noted that earning his respect is no simple task, as nobody since Lucius has ever succeeded.

In spite of his amoral methods, Dante does have some sense of nobility and honor within him. He, after a long internal struggle, volunteered to buy time for his teammates to escape. He reprimanded Raian for his hatred and violence against the Soul Society, saying that it had wasted his friend's sacrifice to save it. Dante also has a deep loathing for Kamui since their first encounter, ironically due to their striking similarities.

History
Not much is known of Dante's past, though he seems to know Lucius Ichimaru very well, being one of the few people Dante respects and trusts.

Powers & Abilities
Massive Spiritual Power: Dante possesses terrifying spiritual power, which prompts him to call himself beyond all others in power. In fact, it is so immense that even the Seijin Masters retreated the battle, instead of going head-to-head with Dante; Ken'ichi stated that "his power makes retreat the only logical course of action when confronting him one-on-one." Even at less than half strength, his spiritual energy is still comparable to a Seijin Grandmaster-level fighter. His reiatsu is so intense and rough as well as thick and heavy that it can suffocate Shinigami just by being in the general vicinity. Dante is capable of releasing a massive burst of his green spiritual power from his blade, being able to carve a massive tunnel into Soul Society's outer gates.
 * Energy Wave: Dante can launch a massive slashing attack of spiritual energy that can reach at an extremely long distance. This is done by gathering spiritual energy in his Zanpakutō's blade and slashing down on his opponent or in their general direction. It is capable of immense damage, and was able to effortlessly beat down Seireitou's Shikon Hisakiten at only one-third of its true power. Dante claims that this attack has an incantation, implying that it may be Kidō.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Dante has repeatedly shown great agility and coordination in his attacks. In addition to having powerful kicks and punches, he has also shown proficiency in counterattacks, takedowns, and body locks. Dante, from his introduction into the series, has been able to catch an opponent's weapon strikes with a single hand, even someone of Kamui's caliber.

Immense Speed: While not using any known form of speed enhancement, Dante possesses incredible speed. His speed is so great, that his prowess allows him to create dozens of afterimages to confuse his opponent. During his first demonstration of this skill, he was able to quickly move to knock out four Captains and grab his sword before any of them even hit the ground.

Expert Swordsmanship Specialist: Dante is very gifted in the style of swordfighting, having received no proper training from an instructor. Despite this, he was able to match several Captains with his sealed Zanpakutō.

Enhanced Strength: His great strength is shown during his fights with Kamui holding off bladed attacks by force alone and even battling back the latter's Meidō Zangetsuha with his bare hand. He is strong enough to cut through Raian's mask-enhanced hierro with relative ease. Dante was capable of completely decimating an Adjuchas-level Hollow's head to pieces with a single, open-palmed thrust.

Zanpakutō
Shénqū (神曲 (敬虔な楽園), shēnkū; Chinese for "Divine Comedy", Japanese for "Godly Paradise"): Its appearance is that of a chokutō, with a green hilt. Down the handle, runs a black line that ends in a twin curve once it reaches the blade, circling around the handle-blade connection. Dante keeps his Zanpakutō in a black sheath, which is worn on the back of his hip.


 * Shikai: It is released by the command "Abandon all Hope" (すべての望みを捨てる, hōkisuru mina kōmyō). It becomes an ornately decorated and very long blade with a total length of at least seven feet, as it is seen to be slightly over a full head taller than Dante himself who is 6'2", or 188 centimeters. On the hilt of this blade, is a crossguard of which the bars between the blade and the hilt are much longer than average. The blade itself is pitch black with a very strong sheen, and its shape is similar to the German "Großes Messer", a single-edged long sword with a slight curve at the end of the blade. Upon its introduction, Dante is usually seen carrying the blade on his back, implying that he can choose to keep the Shénqū as a constant release Zanpakutō.
 * Shikai Special Abilities: Similar to Kamui's Shinbyeong, Dante's Shikai utilizes different stages of its power that are preformed in a specific order. Unlike Shinbyeong, however, Shénqū follows a numerical system in that it goes in order of numbered stages. These are labeled as circles, and are manifestations in which Shénqū releases its power in the form of various abilities.
 * Rengoku no En (煉獄丸, Circle of Purgatory): Shénqū is capable of melding together the imagination of the target(s) and Dante himself to create a single alternate world. Instead of sealing the mind in an hypnosis, it actually cages the opponent(s) spirit in Shénqū's spiritual power. While inside the alternate reality, any sort of experience that is physically and mentally felt, carries over to the physical body as well. Despite it being a world created by several perspectives, Dante's will controls time and space inside the reality. It appears that no matter how long one spends in this world, not even a second will pass in the real world.
 * Yokubō no En (欲望丸, Circle of Lust): While not revealed as of it, Dante hinted that this particular circle is activated by the command, "Abandon your Arrogance".


 * Bankai: Not Yet Revealed

Quotes

 * (To Raian Getsueikirite) "You may have the same eyes as your friend, but you misconstrue what is in front of you. You do not value your friend's sacrifice. Instead you just throw your anger at anything and everything, claiming that you were 'deprived' of your loved ones. You have wasted Kawahiru Seireitou's sacrifice."