Gallerian Marlon

"Money is the best lawyer in Hell."

- Gallerian Marlon

Gallerian Marlon is a Supreme Court Director and Chief Justice of the Union State of Evillious, infamous for his corruption in the Dark Star courtroom. Dubbed as the Master of the Court in life and known as the Collector by later generations, he was despised for his corrupt judgements and shady dealings. Believing he could still help his daughter, he made a contract and acted under the influence of the Demon of Greed.

Early Life
Exerting his talents at a young age, Gallerian became the youngest Chief Justice in the history of the Union State of Evillious' Dark Star Court. With his position as the "Master of the Court," he became successful and, at some point, married and had a single child, Michelle; he became acquainted with the playwright Ma around this time.

Sin Fragments
"Please forgive me. Although I love movies, I don't want to spend money on such excess entertainment." "You really are stingy. You only know how to save your money."

- Gallerian and Ma

In EC 978, Ma told Gallerian that she wanted to create a film adaptation of the "Daughter of Evil" written by Yukina Freesis and lent him the novel. While on holiday at home, his wife and daughter traveling abroad, the judge read the story in his study, hoping to return it before Ma grew impatient. Once he finished the book, he stretched and noticed it was sunset and that his family would return the next day. As he gazed at the novel and its author's signature, he heard two knocks at the door and was certain it was Rennert. The butler entered and stated that Ma had come to visit. After sending her in, Ma noticed he read the novel and the judge explained that he had just finished it. When asked, Gallerian commented how the story she lent him was very different from the story he knew.

After asking which tale was true, Ma insisted it was the book. The blue-haired judge doubted its validity despite her assurances, although expressing his satisfaction in learning about his ancestors. Gallerian returned the book and then inquired about her desired film adaptation. In response, the playwright grabbed his arm, saying she would need a sponsor. He declined due to the funding the endeavor required and shook her from his arm. Ma noted his wife's return the next day and, perceiving a threat, Gallerian warned her, but the playwright just laughed, admitting she did not intend to harm the judge's family.

After a long silence, Gallerian attempted to break the unpleasant atmosphere by asking if there was more about the characters. Saying she did have notes on them, Gallerian asked about Elluka and Gumillia's actions after the novel's conclusion, connecting them to the killers of Lemy the Ripper. As their discussion continued, he rhetorically asked why Abyss I.R. collected the vessels of sin. Ma responded that it was to grant a wish and Gallerian realized she wanted his help collecting the vessels. The judge thanked her but declined, happy with his position and family and unwilling to spend money hunting for them.

The playwright then began to leave and he told her to stop, reminding her to not cause his family trouble. At the door, she gave him another chance to change his mind. Certain she would leave, the judge ignored Ma, sat back down, and quickly fell asleep. He was later awakened by Rennert and received news that his wife and daughter were in an accident caused by the bizarre attack of a giant octopus. With his daughter disabled and without a cure, Ma approached Gallerian two years later and spoke to him about the vessels of sin again. Offered the chance to save his child, the judge decided to collect the vessels for himself.

Dark Star Scandal
"Be careful. If someone were to know about me bringing evidence out, my position would be compromised."

- Gallerian to Ma

While presiding over the Spoon Corruption Case, Gallerian confiscated the Marlon Spoon and made a contract with the Demon of Greed to help attain the wealth needed to heal his daughter. Using the vessel as a means to speak with the injured Michelle, Gallerian kept it in his breast pocket at all times. Afterwards, the Dark Star Court was privatized and lost government funding. Gallerian then accepted bribes from anyone willing to avoid execution, easily acquiring a fortune through the Spoon's powers. Those who had been unable or unwilling to pay were found guilty and sentenced to death while countless criminals were found innocent.

Sometime afterward, Gallerian presided over the trial of Second Lieutenant Nyoze Octo. Discovering he had the Venom Sword in his possession, the Chief Justice convicted Nyoze and confiscated the weapon as evidence to the murder charges, storing it in his warehouse. In the following days, Nyoze's brother, Sergeant Major Gammon, attempted to arrange a meeting with Gallerian but the judge continually refused to see him. Several days since ruling on Nyoze's trial, Gallerian hurried home and headed straight for his daughter's room. After closing the front door, Gallerian heard the bell ring. Perplexed, he opened the door and recognized it was Gammon.

Galleran bluntly told the soldier he didn't wish to speak with him but he kept the judge from the closing the door. As Gammon pleaded that the judge's judgment was a mistake and that Nyoze was innocent, Gallerian warned him of his words' implications, earning Gammon's silence. After the judge explained his reasoning, Gammon insisted that at least the Venom Sword be returned to him and Gallerian denied him, claiming it was murder weapon that was confiscated under the law. As Gammon attempted to retort, Gallerian warned him that any further pleas would be denounced as defying the law, and the soldier, dejected, left.

Once he closed the door, Gallerian headed to Michelle's room, only to find Ma there with her. The playwright offered him food and bath, to his surprise, and he responded that she didn't have to do that. At Ma's mention that Michelle had been hesitant, Gallerian glanced at his daughter, seeing her not react and carry a distant expression. Ma continued to say she couldn't allow that, as she was the child's "mother". Peeved, Gallerian told her he would become angry if she continued such jokes and ordered her to leave. Ma remarked she would once she took what she needed; the judge complied, leaving the room and reclaiming the sword from his warehouse.

After he returned to the room with the weapon, he asked if there was any doubt about its identity. Ma asserted it was indeed the Venom Sword. After the playwright assured him his daughter would be saved if he collected the vessels, Gallerian cautioned her that his position would be compromised if they discovered he removed evidence. When Ma suggested protecting the weapon at a place away from human eyes, the judge said he'd consider it. As she left,  Ma reminded him to not lose the spoon, being the means for him and Michelle to communicate. Gallerian assured her he always had it, removing it from his breast pocket to show her. Satisfied, Ma left. After that, Gallerian told Michelle that he was home, questioning if she was lonely in his absence. Gallerian continued, promising to keep searching for her "friends" as soon as possible.

Corrupt Dealings
"It ached my heart a bit, but I let the gavel hit cleanly because of money."

- Gallerian mocking Scherzer

At some point, Gallerian presided over a case regarding a celebrity assaulting a woman. Sometime before the trial, the defendant, Scherzer, approached Gallerian and offered him a bribe for exoneration. The judge accepted the offer and ruled him innocent on account of lacking substantial evidence, deeming the available evidence  too circumstantial.

He later returned home and heard the radio report on his ruling; hearing of Scherzer's growing popularity with women after the trial, Gallerian called it ridiculous. That night, the Chief Justice noticed Scherzer enter his study and the celebrity said he was saved thanks to him. The judge responded that people were only saved if thy had money. When Scherzer sarcastically praised him, the judge coldly brushed him off before warning him to be more careful around women. Told he'd keep it in mind, Gallerian watched the celebrity depart via the window he entered from.

Later on, the judge was visited by Ma while he was working in his study. When asked by the playwright if he knew about the rumors of several women's disappearances, the apparent whistleblower in the case, and Scherzer's suspected involvement, Gallerian asked if the information was true. She debated that it was possible though it seemed unlikely; cursing Scherzer's apparent indiscrection if it was indeed true, Gallerian stood from his chair and remarked that him being acquitted would be meaningless. Pointing out the damage it would do to his reputation, Gallerian grabbed his cloak and told Ma he was going out.

Once the judge made contact with the whistleblower, the judge was directed to a rundown bar. As he entered from the outside rain, Gallerian noted the nature of their meeting place and the contact said he felt it was the best place to meet. Recognizing him as Scherzer's subordinate, the man introduced himself as Bogaerts and Gallerian asked if is story was true. Bogaerts confirmed the rumors and explained that Scherzer was kidnapping several woman, including his niece, and imprisoning them in his suburban mansion's basement in an attempt to mimmick the Venomania Event. Bogaerts then revealed his place as Scherzer's financial manager and offered offered to give Gallerian all of Scherzer's wealth if the judge convicted him. Gallerian agreed and later sent the police to investigate Scherzer's home, finding the women and prompting them to search for the suspected criminal.

While working at his desk that night, Gallerian notice Scherzer enter from his study's window and petitioned him to be his savior again. Gallerian conceded to the offer if he was paid ten times the amount of the previous bribe and the celebrity reluctantly agreed to make the arrangements. The curious judge then inquired why Scherzer kidnapped women when he was already wealthy. Scherzer explained he had an irresistible desire to see women lose hope, exhilarated by it, and made money off it on the side, pointing out one could never have too much money. Gallerian sarcastically remarked about the height of his sleaziness but Scherzer countered that he was the same, acqutting anyone who bribed him. Gallerian smiled and agreed, stating that he would save anyone who paid him money.

The next day, Gallerian presided over Scherzer's trial. Following the criminal proceedings and Bogaert's testimony, Gallerian announced that he came to a decision, finding Scherzer guilty of all thirteen charges brought against him. As the shocked and infuriated criminal was gagged and dragged away, Gallerian commented that he was a nuisance.

Later, Gallerian, wearing a cloak, visited Scherzer's prison cell. After asking him how he was feeling, Gallerian removed his hood and stated that he came to explain his reasoning, worried the criminal would mistunderstand. Stating he didn't have a personal vendetta against him, the judge explained how Scherzer's foolish desires and carelessness did him in. Noting he didn't seem to know who one of the kidnapped girls actually was, he revealed her relation to Bogaerts, his financial manager. The judge put a hand to his forhead, smiling at the situation, and asked if he finally realized that he asked him to save him when he couldn't actually pay him.

Gallerian then reminded him that the only thing that mattered was that he got paid and maliciously revealed the plan to acquire Scherzer's entire fortune for convicting him instead. Gallerian mocked how, although his heart ached a little to do it, he ultimately struck the gavel cleanly for the sake of money. As he prepared to leave, the judge added that Scherzer would be executed the next day along with his subordinates, since what he just told him was potentially detrimental to Bogaerts. Telling Scherzer that, if possible, they'd meet again in Hell, Gallerian left the screaming criminal to his fate. Once he arrived home, Gallerian removed his cloak and approached his daughter. Looking down upon her while thinking that he just needed a little more time, he knelt before her chair and called her by name.

Evil's Theater
At some point, Gallerian collected at least two of the Four Mirrors of Lucifenia. After discovering the owner of the Glass of Conchita was working at the Graveyard resturaunt, the judge sent a team to arrest the vessel's holder and confiscated the Glass for himself. Placing it alongside one of the mirrors on a table, he began reading a book. In EC 982, Ma convinced him to build a small theater in the middle of Millennium Tree Forest to store the Venom Sword and Kayo's Scissors. Having a clock tower constructed at the cinema, Gallerian named it "Heartbeat Clocktower" like the one at Castle Hedgehog. At some point, Ma promised to continue his quest should he die before completing it, leading Gallerian to credit Ma as the inheritor of his remaining collection in the event of his death.

In August, EC 983, General Tony Ausdin, a war criminal and serial killer, was exonerated by Gallerian after accepting a bribe. During the event, his corruption came to light and the injustice spawned a growing rebellion Levianta. The event escalated into full civil war and Gallerian received the brunt of the revolters' wrath, his home burned while he and his daughter were inside. Remarking about the war in her room, Gallerian clutched tightly to Michelle as they both burned to death. In the afterlife, he awoke in the underworld and encountered its guardian, the Master of the Hellish Yard, who offered him a deal: give up all of his fortune in exchange for exemption from Hell. Greedily, he refused the deal, willingly walking then falling into the depths of Hell. There, he awaited the vessels of sin to be gathered and have Hell become a utopia for him and his daughter.

Legacy
After his death, Gallerian's vast inheritance went missing, with his collection of vessels of sin being inherited by Ma and stored in Evil's Theater. The Theater became forgotten by the masses until his "daughter" began singing while attached to the inner-workings of the theater's clocktower. Rumors afterward that Gallerian's inheritance was inside the theater and that those who entered "Evil's Forest" to seek it would never return. The awakened Clockworker's Doll's burns were later healed by Gear and succeed her "father" as the Master of the Court, looking to Gallerian for guidance as she continued his plan to gather the sins and create a utopia.

Gallerian's work in the Dark Star office was spoken about with disdain by later generations and his obsession with finding the vessels of sin earned him the name of the Collector. A film concerning the incident was created by Ma over a decade later and subsequently reviewed by the Master of the Court. While organizing the "court cases", Gammon Octo noted the judge's corrupt temperament and how it seemed to be inherited by the Judicial Doll instead of Gear.

Personality and Traits
"You're right. I'll save anyone who pays me money. Anyone."

- Gallerian to Scherzer

Gallerian was a possessive and materialistic man obsessed with saving his daughter. Normally, Gallerian presented himself in a very serious manner. Although having accumulated a great amount of wealth during his career, the young Chief Justice was uninterested in spending it on any whimsical endeavors and could be stingy. After the deaths of his wife and daughter, Gallerian became consumed with grief and grew obsessed with saving the injured "Michelle", regardless of the price, although unaware the Doll was not his child. After becoming possessed by the Demon of Greed, the judge's avarice was increased; even after death, Gallerian refused to give up his material wealth to the Master of the Hellish Yard in exchange for exoneration from Hell and willingly fell into its depths.

Because of his greed, Gallerian became completely mercenary in his desire to acquire money. By abusing his prestigious position, the judge collected kickbacks in exchange for pardoning or condemning defendants, more concerned about the wealth he collected than meting out justice. He was indiscriminate towards the defendant's appearance, race, age, or gender and only showed interest in their social status, where the rich were able to pay for exoneration. As a result, he was perfectly willing to convict innocents for not having the affluence or the will to pay him, although gladly sentencing criminals to death if it brought him more money. However, the judge also took a sadistic joy in his corruption; after condemning Scherzer, Gallerian reveled in revealing his motives to the criminal and his imminent execution, all while mocking him.

The judge also had a degree of arrogance, blatantly disregarding Ma's offer to collect the vessels of sin due to believing he already had all the he desired and openly toying with the convicted and soon to be executed Scherzer. However, he exercised a great deal of caution in hiding his corruption and took strides to remain discreet in his shady dealings, even constructing a theater to hide away his confiscated collection. Despite being initially indifferent towards the vessels of sin, Gallerian later dedicated himself to collecting them in the hopes of saving Michelle and arrested and convicted anyone he knew owned a vessel, confiscating them as evidence and secretly harboring the artifacts for himself.

Gallerian loved his family dearly, especially Michelle, and was protective of their well-being, acting aggressive towards Ma whenever she poked fun at them. When alone with the Clockworker's Doll, Gallerian coddled his "daughter" and treated the vessels of sin as her friends. Besides his family, Gallerian was close to Ma and considered her as a trusted friend and confidant in his quest to acquire the vessels. Despite this, he had issues with her smoking habit and often got in arguments with the playwright over little things. Gallerian had a love for movies, though unwilling to fund the creation of one. He was also interested in his lineage, glad to learn more of his ancestor Kyle Marlon and held no grudge towards his forerunner for giving up the throne, albeit because his family name still carried prestige.

Skills and Abilities
"I pass judgment."

- Chief Justice Gallerian

As a learned judge, Gallerian was well versed in law and had risen to become a powerful magistrate in the USE at a young age as a result. Because of his power and affluence as the Supreme Court Director, Gallerian was able to locate many of the vessels of sin within several years. He could also warrant anyone's arrest under the pretense of investigating a crime, using the opportunity to confiscate any vessel of sin he found for himself. As part of his position, Gallerian could act as the presiding judge of any trial within the Dark Star Court Buraeu's jurisdiction and had the sole power to save or condemn the defendant and select their sentence. Because he wielded the Marlon Spoon, wealth was naturally attracted to the judge and he was often presented with fortuitous opportunities to acquire wealth through his corrupt dealings.

Character Connections
Ma: Gallerian's friend. Gallerian saw Ma as a very beautiful and mysterious woman, although he was annoyed by her jabs at his family, particularly his "daughter," and her lackadaisical, cryptic nature. Initially he did not find Ma's goals worth the monetary investment, but after his family's accident he decided to aid her for his own reasons.

Michelle: Gallerian's real daughter. Gallerian had a loving relationship with her and was very considerate of her well-being, turning down Ma's offer of looking for the Sin fragments initially due to his concern for her. He was greatly shaken by her accident.

Clockworker's Doll: Gallerian's perceived daughter. Gallerian cares about "Michelle" very deeply, wishing to help her walk and ease her boredom by collecting the Seven Deadly Sins. He was very concerned for her safety, keeping her inside the house at all times to protect her from the outside world. Gallerian also derived comfort from her presence.

Master of the Hellish Yard: The one who condemns Gallerian to Hell. Gallerian held contempt of the Master of the Hellish Yard for trying to judge his actions, and became defiant before her when she asked him to give her his fortune.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Gallerian's name is derived from the Italian word galleria, meaning "gallery".
 * His surname Marlon is a reference to the demon of greed, Mammon.

Curiosities

 * In Deadly Sins of Evil: Evil Food Eater Conchita, the Demon of Gluttony refers to Gallerian as the "gear who fell into the trap", referencing a similar phrase used by Master of the Graveyard towards Gear.
 * It is unknown how Gallerian came to believe the Clockworker's Doll was his daughter.

Gallery
Concept Art=