Velvet Barth

Velvet Barth was a loyalist of the Old Arcadia Empire and a former captain in the New Kingdom army. He was the main antagonist of the Fallen Prince Arc. He does not appear in the anime, with his role being taken over by Ragreed Forus. He is the one who tortured Lisesharte Atismata during her slavery.

Appearance
In the light novels, Velvet was simply described as a man in his prime. In the manga, he was portrayed as having dark slicked-back hair.

Personality
Velvet was a firm believer in the ideals of the Old Empire. For example, he had no hesitation in telling Lisha that she has no right to be a ruler because she is a woman. However, he was willing to hide this for self-preservation, acting as a soldier for the New Kingdom until he gained the power to incite a rebellion. In his view, he was always loyal to the Old Empire and so did not consider his actions to be a betrayal of the New Kingdom. He didn't hesitate of trying to kill Lux Arcadia as he deemed him as a traitor to empire unaware to him that Diseld Arcadia banished Lux and his mother and sister years ago.

He believed those with the brand of the Old Arcadia Empire are properties of slavery such as Lisha.

On the surface, Velvet was polite to others, even enemies, and remained calm and composed in battle. However, when assured of victory, this facade broke down and Velvet would not hesitate to insult his opponents. Conversely, when he appeared to be losing, he lost his composure.

Background
During the rebellion that would eventually end the Old Empire, Velvet was in charge of Lisesharte Atismata after she had been taken hostage. However, Lisha's family abandoned her, resulting in her having no value as a hostage. Velvet therefore branded her belly with the mark of the Empire, signifying that she was now their slave, and trained her in the use of a Drag-Ride so she could become an assassin for the Empire.

After the Old Empire fell, Velvet was among the survivors who chose to pledge allegiance to the New Kingdom to avoid imprisonment. Velvet became the leader of the Imperial Guardsman Knight Squadron. However, Velvet did not change his true loyalties. While pretending to be a loyal guard, he spent his time training to become stronger so he could eventually rebel. After five years, he learned how to use Quick Draw, one of the three Drag-Knight secret arts.

At some point prior to the start of the series, Velvet made contact with Hayes. Though he did not know her true identity, he bought a horn flute from her.

Fallen Prince Arc
Velvet controlled a massive Slime Abyss and directed it to attack Cross Field. After the Slime self-destructed and inflicted some damage on the Drag-Knights sent to intercept it, Velvet revealed himself and attacked Lisha, the leader of the intercepting force. Declaring his true allegiance, Velvet used his horn flute to hatch thirty or so Gargoyle eggs which had been hidden in the Slime's body. Lisha devoted her strength to hold the line, managing to defeat a majority of the Gargoyles and allowing her comrades to escape. Velvet then engaged Lisha in a one-on-one duel and, despite being surprised by Lisha throwing her Sword Device at him, defeated her using Quick Draw. He announced that he was going to take Lisha hostage to negotiate with the queen. Velvet's allies, a force of nearly 100 Drag-Knights, arrived and he decided to take the opportunity to reveal to Lisha that he was the one who branded her. He told her to kneel and admit she was a slave. However, Lisha refused and threw Tiamat's Sword Device at him, managing to cut him on the cheek. After she declared that Velvet would never succeed in his rebellion, Velvet decided to abandon his plan of taking her hostage and instead tried to kill her immediately.

However, Lux blocked Velvet's attack by moving in the way, then changed his Drag-Ride to Bahamut. Though initially unaware of Lux's identity, Velvet ordered his subordinates to kill him. Using Reload on Fire, Lux inflicted crippling damage on the Drag-Knights' Drag-Rides and killed the remaining Gargoyles. Velvet became flustered and demanded to know who Lux was. Upon learning the truth, he laughed and sarcastically apologised for not realising it earlier. He then demanded to know why Lux was fighting for the New Kingdom and, after hearing his response attacked him for the sake of the Old Empire. However, Lux defeated him using his superior Quick Draw Afterwards, Velvet and his subordinates were captured by the New Kingdom.

While in prison, Velvet gave testimony about receiving assistance from the mysterious Black Marketeer. However, he was killed by an Abyss controlled by Hayes when she snuck into the prison, presumably to prevent him leaking any more information.

Abilities
Velvet was a skilled Drag-Knight, able to pilot an Ex-Class Wyvern and rise to the rank of captain in the New Kingdom army.

Quick Draw: A high-speed slash that requires operating one's Drag-Ride using both the mind and body. Velvet was good enough at this technique to defeat Lisha despite the latter launching a surprise attack on him. However, his mastery of the technique paled in comparison to Lux, who invented it.

Horn Flute: Velvet received a horn flute from Hayes that allowed him to control Abyss.