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Barborossa (バルボロッサ Baruborossa?), the King of Deceit (欺瞞王 Giman ō?) is a Beyondian and one of the Thirteen Kings. He is primarily responsible for the illusion of normalcy that exists within Hellsalem's Lot.
Appearance[]
Barborossa's distinguishing feature is the mask that covers roughly two-thirds of his face, including his nose and mouth. The part of his face not covered by the mask is pure black, including his ear and neck. Only his right eye is visible.
Personality[]
Not much is known about Barborossa's motivations, although he agrees with Femt that letting things unfold naturally after the Great Collapse would have been much better. He seemingly has some empathy, as he acted against his own preferences in order to placate Amnes, who wished for the inhabitants of Hellsalem's Lot to get along.
Plot[]
Blood Blockaded Battlefront: Beat 3 Peat[]
Re: New York, New York[]
Nine days after the Great Collapse, Barborossa first appears nine days after the Great Collapse while holding Amnes, who is in the form of a baby wrapped in a cloth. He notices Zapp Renfro, who had just arrived in Hellsalem's Lot, complaining that the friendship between a Beyondian named Slensy and a human is too unnatural to make sense. After asking Zapp if it would be better if everyone tried to kill each other, Barborossa causes Slensy to split into two forms, one of which reveals his "true nature" as it grows in size and proceeds to attack all humans in the vicinity. Baroborossa then vanishes from the scene.[1]
He is later seen speaking with Femt, the King of Depravity. Femt confirms that Barborossa is the source of the "normalcy" in the city, which Barborossa explains was at the request of Amnes, who would not stop crying due to the suffering of the inhabitants. Barborossa questions when Amnes will recover, to which Femt replies that it could take three to five years or longer.[1]
Dianne's Diner Rhapsody[]
Four years later, Zapp becomes suspicious when he hears about why Vivian and her father are so attached to the diner, and asks her if she's sure that her memories of the Great Collapse are real. After being al but thrown out of the diner, Zapp reminisces about the day he saw Barbarossa and wonders how much of peoples' memories of that day are real.[2]
Powers and Abilities[]
Unique Abilities[]
- Illusion Manipulation: Barborossa is implied to have cast a spell or otherwise altered the minds of the majority of those residing in Hellsalem's Lot. The effect of this is that the inhabitants of the city, both humans and Beyondians, regard their coexistence as being more natural than it might otherwise be perceived. For example, most humans seemingly accept the fact that they may be killed by any number of disasters at any given moment of public life, and do not think to move out of Hellsalem's Lot. Likewise, Beyondians who might otherwise be aggressive toward humans befriend them and work alongside them. This illusion does seem to have its limits depending on the person, as Klaus, Steven, and Zapp -- all experienced Fang Hunters who were regularly exposed to the supernatural -- were not affected by it and actively questioned the sudden normalcy.
Relationships[]
Amnes[]

Barbarossa carrying Amnes
Barbarossa and Amnes seem to have been close, as Barbarossa created the city's illusion of normalcy in order to placate Amnes. He also appears to be caring for Amnes as the latter is no longer able to care for himself.[1]
Femt[]
Femt and Barbarossa are cordial with one another, and both show concern for Amnes and what happened to cause the Great Collapse.
Zapp Renfro[]
Aside from his illusory abilities, Zapp is also greatly intimidated by Barborossa's mere presence during their brief meeting, suggesting that he would be a powerful foe in direct combat.
Trivia[]
- Barbarossa means "red beard" in Italian.
- Barbarossa bears some physical similarities to Spike Spiegel from the popular anime Cowboy Bebop.
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