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. In actuality, he was a member of the Cult of Diablos who aimed to elevate himself to the 12th seat of the Round Knights by kidnapping Alexia for their experiments. After he tried to use Cid as a scapegoat, he was ultimately stopped 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 tighting, 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 and pupil turned black and red respectively. His body mass increased into a monster like figure to the point where his clothes were ripped apart with his skin turning dark. His veins on his body were also visible as a result of engulfing dozens of Diablos' Tears.

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

- Zenon to Shadow

While several students at the Academy regarded Zenon as friendly and popular in due to his prominence within the kingdom, all of it was a façade as the real Zenon was a egotistic self-entitled man. He was delusional to the point he 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 before he insincerely apologized 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.

Despite his prominence and popularity, he drew suspicion from Alexia who hated his façade. He was also noted to be a terrible student by his Instructor who was also a Bushin Festival Champion.

Powers & Abilities
Zenon was a renowned swordsman in the Midgar Kingdom whose reputation held a significant prominence, even in their Knight Order. In fact, he was stronger than an average Dark Knight due to his magic that surrounded him qualitatively became sharper and denser which made him stronger than the "Second Children" within the Cult. 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.

Within the Cult, some members had reservations about his promotion to 12th seat. Although he was noted to lack the achievements, he was given the opportunity to prove his legitimacy to which he failed. Lutheran took the opportunity in reclaiming the 12th seat when the instructor was killed. When the seat was left vacant, Doem tried taking it. Despite the disparity between him and the Chancellor, Doem had dubious means that ultimately backfired.

Swordsmanship
Zenon was a master swordsman skilled enough to create his own style of fighting and teach it. 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.

Mutation
After engulfing dozens of Diablos' Tears, Zenon's physical and magical abilities increased exponentially though at a steep cost. Due to the side effects of the pills distributed throughout the Cult, users of the pills would often suffer from the physical mutilation of their bodies. The most notable examples of the mutation would be the former himself and Lutheran when he consumed them in an attempt to down the mysterious figure. The reasoning behind this was explained by the Head Librarian was that they were meant to be compatible with females specifically, descendants of the Three Heroes.

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 distributed to all members of the Cult to become a Third Awakening)

Weakness
Although a very skilled Knight. Zenon's fatal weakness: He can be overlay confident. As he believed that he could defeat Shadow, even after he going through a mutation being the Third Awakened after taking the Tears of Diablos.

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 exaggerated description of Shadow when he confronted him to save Alexia. She attempted to rewrite the princess as herself out of jealously and spite towards the her upon learning the things 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 discard of it.