Granbell Rosso

""Kukukuku. You've acted in the service of a higher cause, Yuuki. Even my great self was insufficient to break the divine seal placed on the Holy Ark. And that's why I used you, you fool! Demon Lords, Sinners! We shall all perish here together!""

- Granbell's Resolution

Granbell Rosso (グランベル・ロッゾ) was the former head of the Rosso family, the true identity of "Luminary of Sun" Gran, and a Former Chosen Hero.

Appearance
Granbell was a withered old man with white hair and violet eyes. He had shining blond hair during his prime, and a sharp, eagle-like gaze.

Personality
Granbell was originally a selfless and noble person who cared only for the welfare and safety of humans. He was prejudiced in his beliefs and could not tolerate the thought of humanity being ruled over by anyone, but his experiences in the west have left him jaded, and his long-held values became distorted. His purpose changed from protecting humans to instead ruling over them.

He adopted the belief that absolute power was necessary to protect humanity, and for that reason, rarely pursued dialogue. In acting that policy out, he showed no hesitation in subjecting standout individuals with the potential to become Saints and Chosen Heroes, to severe and harrowing trials without warning; believing that if they could not overcome such trials, the protection of humanity would remain a far off thing. His stubbornness to not engage in dialogue was one of the contributing factors that led to his demise.

Background
In ancient times, Granbell trained under Emperor Rudra Nam Ul Nasca, and was for a time hailed as the Chosen Hero of Light. To manifest his, and his master's, lofty goal of protecting humanity from the numerous threats that plagued the world, he left Rudra's side and departed for the West, going on to face many powerful adversaries. Luminous Valentine was the most powerful among the opponents he faced; the two clashed on several occassions, their powers evenly matched, but eventually came to a mutual understanding when Granbell was convinced that she seeked coexistence with humans. He formed a working alliance with her and became her subordinate, cooperating with her to form the Western Holy Church, thus engineering a relationship where the Demon Lord Luminous and humanity coexisted. He established the Clerics of the Seven Luminaries, an organization intended to oversee the church's daily operations, and was given all manner of political authority.

The fruits of Granbell's labor slowly but steadily bore fruit in the thousand year period of peace brought about by his alliance with Luminous, during which he safeguarded the west from the Daemons of the north, employing the Majin Razul, an Insectar he befriended, in his service. The desperate that flocked to Luminous flourished, becoming small and eventually great nations. To strengthen the cooperation between each country, he appealed to them from behind the scenes and created the Council of the West. All was seemingly going well, but when his wife Maria Rosso, a great pillar of support in his life, was killed by an opposing human faction, he became consumed by grief and madness. He preserved her corpse and turned it into a Servant through the forbidden magic Raise Dead, storing in it the Love Energy supplied to him by Luminous over many years, and the energy extracted from countless Otherworlders.

Granbell underwent significant changes following Maria's death and became obsessed with pursuing a world where humanity was under the grip of the Rosso family. He became active for many years behind the scenes as the undisputed ruler of the economy and controlled all organized crime in the west. He also controlled the movements of the western council through the Five Elders, a group comprised of his descendants in positions of power in the various western countries that held their own seats on the council.

He one day crossed paths with Mariabell Rosso, his 3-year-old granddaughter whom he discovered had immense latent power. Seeing within her the hope of the Rosso family, he took her under his wing and groomed her to be his successor. Their time together, however, would not last for more than a decade due to her antagonizing Rimuru Tempest and Yuuki Kagurazaka. Mariabell's death drove Granbell to madness once more, but he quickly came full circle and regained his sanity and remembered his original purpose of protecting humanity. To fulfill that purpose, he carried out a last ditch effort, at the cost of his life, to facilitate the birth of an Awakened Chosen Hero who could protect humanity in his place.