Lutheran Barnett

"You say you don’t fear opposing the entire world as your enemy? Mighty arrogant of you, Shadow!"

- Lutheran to Shadow

Lutheran Barnett (ルスラン・バーネット) was the Assistant Principal of Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy and Sherry's adoptive father. In actuality, however, he was a member of the Cult of Diablos, alias 'Sir Gaunt' (痩騎士), and the former 12th seat of the Knights of Rounds. Seeking to reclaim his position, he launched an attack on the Academy to acquire a cure for his terminal illness whilst framing Shadow Garden.

Appearance
Lutheran was a middle-aged man. He had black slicked-back hair with grey streaks. In the light novel, he has a beard.

In his guise as "Sir Gaunt", he hides his face with a mask and dressed jet-black cloaks on the novel and manga. While in the anime, he wears a full suit of menacing-looking dark plate armor with a red cape that conceals his identity and voice.

Personality
"That’s why I had to kill her. I started stabbing her from her extremities inward, until I impaled her heart and twisted my blade."

- Lutheran reveals his true nature when he explains how he kill Lukreia to Cid Kagenō

While Lutheran viewed as a being humble man in the public with a close relationship with his stepdaughter, Sherry who he always tried to support her in her activities and encourage her to interact with others, this was all a façade to cover up his true nature as the real Lutheran was a power-hungry yet also a pitiful person.

Having at one point been the 12th Seat Knight of Rounds before he was demoted due to his illness, he is completely obsessed with regaining his former glory. He is also highly manipulative as he using Sherry and her late mother as means to achieve his goals. He even expressed his pride in having killed Sherry's mother, making him a true psychopath which makes even Cid disgust him as he called his action "unpleasant".

Background
Lutheran Barnett used to be a person of both literary and military arts who once a knight which participated in the Bushin Festival tournament until he experienced victory and reached the top of the swordfighting world, However, in recent years, Lutheran is secretly joined the Cult of Diablos to further achieve his goals, which holding the position of the 12th seat in the Knights of Rounds.

But to his misfortune, he became seriously ill and his physical condition is not good until he relinquish his 12th Seat position and force to retire. With his strong desire to restore his glory position, he began to searching a way for curing his disease, even tries to use various illegal methods. During his search, he met Lukreia, Sherry's mother who was a brilliant scientist and a genius at deciphering ancient things and languages. Since then, he began to work with her under the guise of helping her work and funding her research, until he found an artifact called the "Eye of Avarice", which was an artifact capable of sucking and accumulating magic from its surroundings.

Upon learning the artifact used, Lutheran tried to use it. But Lukreia said that the artifact was too dangerous to use and that she wanted to give it to the Kingdom for confinement. Upon knowing this, he sadistically murdered her without Sherry knowing who killed her mother. After the funeral, he took Sherry in as her daughter to continue her mother's work without her knowing.

Midgar Academy Terrorist Attack
Lutheran and Sherry Barnett are visited by Princess Iris Midgar and Alexia Midgar. Iris gives Sherry an artifact belonging to the Cult of Diablos and asks her to decipher the text on it. Lutheran encourages her to do so, stating its a rare opportunity, which she accepts and Iris decides to assign the Crimson Order to keep watch on them. Lutheran hears that's the new knight order that Iris formed and she confirms that it's a small order, but it made by people she trusts and he went to question her about Iris distrust about the Knight Order, which she gave silent answer. Lutheran allowed it under the condition that he takes only two guards to secure Sherry in her lab, so Princess Iris chose her most trusted men: Glen and Marco Granger.

Later, he sees Sherry having a chocolate and she explains a boy gave it to her. He tells her that its hard to obtain such good chocolate, so the boy must really like her and she must consider well what she will reply. Next day, Lutheran notice the boy named Cid Kagenō after Sherry tell him that they are going to be friends and he joins them to do some small talk, even he advice Cid to take care of his injuries before he decide to leave.

For his ambitions to reinstated his position into the Knights of Rounds with knowing he doesn't have much time left because his illness is getting worse, Lutheran disguised himself under the identity of a "Sir Gaunt" and ordered his Cult's henchmen to commit misdeeds throughout the Midgar royal capital while claiming to be from the Shadow Garden, so that this organization would earn the contempt and enmity of the world. When he heard the lost contact report of his men, he states that its fine because he located the item he need which is his priority to retrieving the item.

The Cult forces under Lutheran took over Midgar Academy by creating the magic blocking field using the artifact, also rounded up all the students and killed anyone that opposed them, in order to frame and discredit Shadow Garden as a public enemy number 1. Then, he ordered Rex to go find the catalyst for the Eye of Avarice, but failed to retrieve it. After hearing this, he threatens Rex to go and find the artifact or he will kill him until he heard Rex's reports that some of their men had been taken out by someone skilled and guesses that they manage to get the Shadow Garden's attention before Rex and his men immediately went out to search for the artifact, unknowingly that Rex is already killed. When the magic blocking field around the Academy suddenly disables and the students start fighting back. As the fight starts, the Shadow Garden organizations arrives and engages the Cult forces.

Lutheran decides to flee the auditorium as he leaving his minions to their death, but activates a system that causes the auditorium and the rest of the school to burst into flames and sneaks into his room to burns some books to cover his track. He decides to leave, but unknowingly Cid appear at the room and tells him that he already knows who he is, which surprised Lutheran and praises Cid for his perception as he took off his disguise. Cid asks why he decided to abide by the academy and Lutheran replies that he did everything to reach the top he once was, confessing to Cid by describes in detail on all his misdeeds, as well as the murder of Sherry's mother and the manipulation of Sherry. Cid He tells him that despite all this, he didn't know how to answer him after hearing everything, but he tells him that even if it's a little bit, it bothers Cid, which causes Lutheran to strike him down with his sword.

When he decides to leave after killed Cid, Shadow appears before him. Lutheran knows that he is at disadvantage against Shadow because his experience with strong fighters and using the Eye of Avarice to its full potential, acquires an immense magical power and his disease has been cured. Lutheran then starts attacking Shadow, but seeing that even with all the magical power he has, he is not able to making a scratches on Shadow and still continues to attack him. Lutheran acknowledge Shadow's strength and explains to him that he will fail, because he already devised the plan so that the world will despises him and his organization, but Shadow tells him that doesn't matter to him, because they will continue on the same path they choose. Lutheran claims that Shadow isn't afraid of becoming the world enemy is an arrogance and prepares to kill him. But, Shadow then disarms Lutheran and proceeds stabbing his limbs. He then recalls how Lutheran stated he killed Sherry's mother and Shadow stabs him the same way he killed her and also discovers that Shadow identity is actually Cid before he dies.

Legacy
After his death, Lutheran succeeded in framing Shadow Garden for his crimes and be blamed for the attacks all over the kingdom which making Shadow Garden the world enemy and the Midgar Kingdom are already trying to hunting them down. What's worse is that he died a martyr to his stepdaughter, Sherry Barnett who wants to kill Shadow by her own hands.

Powers & Abilities
Being the former 12th Seat Round Knight, Lutheran was considered the strongest Cultist and also one of the Cult of Diablos executive leader before his demotion, but he still possessed an authority as a superior within the Cult. Lutheran was highly skilled in both swordsmanship and magic that despite his illness left him severely weakened, he is shown to have enough strength and ability to take on ordinary magical swordsmen and magical teachers. But, in a regulated way so that the disease does not do more damage, which is said that in his current state has the strength of a "Second Children" of the Cult of Diablos.

Having an experience with strong fighters, Lutheran knows that with his current state, he is at disadvantage against Shadow.

Equipment

 * Sword
 * Red Pills (in the novel, he uses the pills to make himself more powerful before activating the artifact)
 * Eye of Avarice (By combining the artifact with the control unit, he was able to cure his disease and regain his powers in a way that was too great to last for a short time, though Shadow made no effort in the fight they had. In the end, Lutheran dies at the hands of Shadow while he realizes who his true identity)

Trivia

 * Though only realizing it in his final moments, he is the only Cult member to have discovered Shadow's true identity and also the first person that make Cid, who is only interested in himself feel "uncomfortable" on his action.
 * It is unknown exactly what seat he previously occupied, but it has been speculated that the position he occupied was the 12th Seat considering that position currently is still vacant until now.
 * His first name was originally named as "Ruslan" in Japanese, but the official Yen Press translation renamed him as "Lutheran".
 * Lutheran shares a few characteristics with Darth Vader, being a menacing black knight with a cape as he using a deep voice and does not take failure well, suffering from an ailment that weakens him, and being the (step)father of the character.
 * Unlike Vader, though, Lutheran does not feel remorse for any of his misdeeds and holds no true love for his adoptive daughter.