Zenon Griffey

"I’m Zenon Griffey, the next person who will fill the 12th seat of the Rounds. Taking your life will become my achievement for the Rounds."

- Zenon

Zenon Griffey (ゼノン・グリフィ) was a sword instructor at Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy and Alexia's fiancée. He was a Diablos Cult member in reality who aimed to be a Knight of Rounds by kidnapping Alexia for their experiments, only to be thwarted and killed by Shadow.

Appearance
Zenon appeared to be a blue eyed blonde man in his late twenties with a soldier's physique. He was described as handsome by female students and was admired by several of them. Befitting his occupation and rank, he dons a sword on his side.

After taking dozens of Diablos Tears, the wounds on his body instantly regenerated with his muscles tighten up, eyes becoming bloodshot, and his capillary vessels protrude to the point of bulging out as if he’s being crushed by a tremendous force.

In the Manga, his sclera eyes turn black and his pupils turn red. His veins were also visible all over his body. In the Anime, when Zenon mutated, his hair volume risen straight up with the sclera of his eyes turning black and his pupils turning red. His body mass increased into a monster like figure to the point where his clothes were ripped apart with his skin turning slightly dark. His veins on his body were also visible as a result of engulfing the pills.

Personality
"I’ll show you the power of the Rounds next generations."

- Zenon to Shadow

Several students at the Academy viewed Zenon as friendly and popular likely due to his prominence within the kingdom. However, all of it was a façade as the real Zenon was a egotistic self-entitled man. He was nothing more but delusional who constantly boasted about his accomplishments and believed he deserved fame and glory. He looked down on others like Alexia when he took the opportunity to belittle her mediocre skills and performance while also insincerely apologizing for comparing her to her sister, Iris Midgar.

However, his ego became his undoing as he severely underestimated his opponents when Shadow bested him numerous times and mocked his so-called superior swordsmanship. Being beaten by Shadow caused his ego become completely shattered when the dark figure enraged him, shouting constantly at him and further highlighting his bratty nature. His defeat revealed a pitiful side of him when he begged for mercy whilst disregarding his condescension towards others including Alexia.

Powers & Abilities
Zenon was a renowned swordsman in the Midgar Kingdom whose reputation held a lot of influence, even in their Knight Order. In fact, Zenon was stronger than an average Dark Knight because his magic that surrounded him qualitatively became sharper and denser in which his strength made him possibly above the "Second Children" of the Cult of Diablos. Even the Cult's leadership acknowledged his strength as a possible member into their ranks and wanted to make him as a prime candidate for occupy the 12th vacant seat position in the Knights of Rounds.

Swordsmanship
Zenon was a master swordsman skilled enough to create his own style of fighting and became an instructor at Midgar's Academy. Because of his experience and proficiency in the art, he was considered by many to be the best sword instructor in the Academy. In his fight against Alexia, he easily outmaneuvered her in both technique and strength but was caught off guard when she imitated Iris' swordsmanship. However despite his mastery of the art, he was no match for others who were more proficient in the field when he was outmaneuvered by Shadow.

Equipment

 * Sword (A standard equipment and weapon used by all Knights)
 * Tears of Diablos (An unfinished product thought to grant immortality. Zenon used a normal version that is distributed to all members of the Cult to become a Third Awakening)

Trivia

 * Zenon is voiced by Masaya Matsukaze who has also voiced Ryo Hazuki from Shenmue and played Shun Namiki from Denji Sentai Megaranger
 * After his death, Beta attempted to write a fantasied version of Zenon's confrontation where he made an overly elaborate description of Shadow when he confronted him to save her. She attempted to rewrite Alexia as herself out of jealously and spite towards the princess upon learning the thing she did with Cid.
 * Although Zenon's instructor was a Bushin festival champion and prominent figure in Volume 5, the identity of the Head Librarian is unknown due to his foregoing of it.