Cancer Deathmask

Cancer Deathmask (蟹座のデスマスク, Kyansā no Desumasuku) is one of Gold Saints. He is the most vicious and cruel in comparison to all of them. His constellation is Cancer and initially was a guardian of Sanctuary alongside 11 other Gold Saints.

Personality and background
Deathmask was one of the first Gold Saints to be shown in both manga and the anime adaptation. Since his first appearance, he was depicted as a very sadistic and malevolent man who used his power as he wanted without bending to Athena's will. Deathmask covers his temple with the faces of his fallen victims - warriors and civilian men, women and even innocent children. Deathmask is one the few Saints who knows the truth about the Pope Arles] as the Gemini Saint, along with Pisces Aphrodite, but he continues obeying his orders. He believes that justice is not a real concept and is just a name given to the will of the stronger, since those with power can force their wills on the weak and call it fair. Even after joining sides with Hades, Deathmask remains a diabolic, sadistic person, facing Aries Mu and Pegasus Seiya without showing remorse and even attempting to kill the latter. In the US version his name was changed to Mephisto. It is unknown if Deathmask is his real name or a title since he collects the faces of his victims.

Saint Seiya Episode G
Deathmask first appears in the Khrysos Synagein with the other Gold Saints, where he starts a fight with Leo Aiolia, but they are stopped by the High Priest.

Later, when two of the Giants attack the Sanctuary, he fights the Giant Blue Flame and easily defeats him.

Soon after, Saga reveals his true identity and Deathmask decides to be loyal to him.

Saint Seiya (1985): The Sanctuary
Deathmask first appeared in Rozan. He was there to reclaim the Libra Gold cloth from Dohko and to kill him under the order of Pope Ares (or Gemini Saga). Shiryu stepped in and challenged him. Although Shiryu was a strong Saint, he was no match to a Gold Saint. The battle between Deathmask and Shiryu came to a halt when Mu, the Gold Saint of Aries, stepped in. Deathmask decided to retreat.

Shiryu faced Deathmask for the second time when he and Seiya reached his temple in the Sanctuary. When the two Bronze Saints arrived, they were surprised to see so many masks on the walls of the temple, even those of children. Suddenly, Deathmask appeared, and explained that these masks are the faces of the "enemies of justice" he has defeated as well as the innocent victims that were caught in the fire while he was "dealing justice". Shiryu told Seiya to go ahead to the Temple of Leo while he finishes the business between him and Deathmask. Using his technique, he sent Shiryu to the gate of hell. There, he tried to throw Shiryu into the death hole, a pit of hell. However, he was interrupted by the prayers of Shiryu's sworn friend, Shunrei. Annoyed, he used his telekinesis to throw Shunrei off the cliff in the Five Old Peaks. Angered for his friend's apparent death, Shiryu started to fight back. Then, piece by piece, Deathmask's entire cloth left his body. Obviously, the Gold Cloth of Cancer abandoned him due to his evil deeds and more importantly, because he completely forgot what true meaning of justice was. Shiryu took off his Bronze cloth. Using his seventh sense, he defeated the evil Gold Saint by throwing him into the pit of hell.

Saint Seiya: Legend of Crimson Youth

 * The events depicted in the movie are not canonical to Kurumada's original manga storyline.

In the 3rd Saint Seiya movie Deathmask returned from death to duel with Shiryu once more. Deathmask seemed to have the upper hand. However, Shiryu was only pretending in order to lure Deathmask into telling him the whereabouts of Athena. After he realises there's still a chance to save her life, Shiryu turns the tables on Deathmask and defeats him.

Saint Seiya (1985): Hades
Later in the Hades arc (both in the manga and the anime), Deathmask returned with Pisces Aphrodite and Aries Shion with one apparent intention: to kill Athena. In the showdown against Aries Mu and Pegasus Seiya, he was banished into Hades' Castle by Starlight Extinction. Then, he was thrown into Yomotsu due to his own Mekai Ha attack which was reflected during a fight with Wyvern Rhadamanthys.

Later on, Shion revealed his plan of awakening Athena's Cloth even at the cost of being called traitors by history, thereby revealing that Deathmask was not evil at all.

Near the end, Deathmask arrived with the Cancer Gold Cloth to break the Wailing Wall. Surprisingly, he showed that even in death he remained loyal to Athena. After this last action, Deathmask's soul leaves even the afterlife and apparently gets to the Nirvana.

Techniqes and abilities
As a Gold Saint, Deathmask mastered the 7th sense, hence he can move at the speed of the light. He has shown strong psychic powers, using his telekinetic abilities over a target in China while he was in the Yomotsu Hirasaka. He often uses this power to levitate in the air as well, as shown in his first fight against Dragon Shiryu and when he fought the Giant Kyanos Phlox. So far, he only showed a single special technique:


 * Sekishiki Meikai Ha (積尸気冥界波 Sekishiki Meikai Ha, literally means "Praesepe Underworld Waves"): With this technique, more spiritual than physical nature, Deathmask launches a barrage of white energy that is able to separate the soul from the opponent's body and send it through the Yomotsu Hirasaka considered in Japanese mythology as the limit of the physical world, the entrance to the world of the dead, the anteroom of the afterlife, while his plunder carnal remains in the world of alive. Deathmask concentrates its cosmo at the tip of the index finger of his right hand, which sprouts a white aura, to send then a spiral cosmic radiation or odd-shaped white rings, which expand and screwed into the body of the opponent to separate the soul from the body and suck into the realm of the dead. Deathmask can also use it for transportation, body and soul to that place, as he pleases. As the opponent stripped of his soul, his body in the physical world is completely incapacitated and become a virtual body in life.

Deathmask himself can freely travel from the living dimension to the Yomotsu Hirasaka without suffering any consequence. However, enemies sent there through Sekishiki Meikai Ha are heavily affected and their bodies lose almost all strength. Normally it is impossible for someone's soul to travel back from the Yomotsu Hirasaka.

It is implied that, like the other Gold Saints, Deathmask reached the 8th sense at the end of the Hades's saga to be able to regain his will on the underworld and help the other Gold Saints.

Cloth, constellation and Temple
Deathmask's guardian constellation is Cancer, and his Gold Cloth represents it and its associated myth : The crab that Hera sent to attack Heracles while he was battling the Lernaean Hydra.

The temple he guarded was known both in manga and the anime adaptation as Kyo Kai Kyuu (巨蟹宮), the "Temple of the Giant Crab".

Predecessor
Main Article:  Cancer Deathtoll

Successor
Main Article: Cancer Schiller