Melpha

"I cannot bear the thought of evil creatures defiling this capital. They must be stopped!"

"L, listen, Grandmother. Is this pose necessary no matter what?"

Unlimited: "P-Please, don't make me have to use... the power of my Holy Poses."

Melpha (メルファ) is a priestess who runs a church in Gainos, the Continent's capital city. Very devoted to her faith, she is considered amongst followers to be a holy woman. Despite her minimal fighting ability, she is capable of using white magic for healing and powerful offensive power in the form of divine punishment by using 'Holy Poses'. She is also greatly devoted to Nanael, whom she views as a great messenger from the Heavens.

Appearance
Melpha wears a blue cap on her head with a white, metal piece in the front, with her religious symbol stylishly engraved into it. Melpha wears a white, tight, bodysuit underneath her long blue dress, with a purple cloth wrap on the left side of her body and a long white ribbon with a yellow detailed design upon it. She also wears a beige corset around her waist, as well as brown calf high-heel boots.

Unlimited
Melpha now has an entirely new outfit, a blue open-sided dress with a white under-suit. She now has white gloves, a blue hat with the mark of the church upon it, and white garters with brown knee-length boots.

Personality
Melpha is shy and very dedicated to her religion. At times, she is impressionable, thinking that Nanael was an angel sent to help her be a better priestess. When she does her Holy Poses, she is seen to be very embarrassed, for the positions that they take carry a lot of lewdness to them. Because of this, it is thought that the poses are made that way to make the user understand humility.

Abilities
Despite Melpha having minimal fighting abilities, she is highly skilled in using white magic, her offensive powers using the "Holy Poses" is very powerful against the undead, on one occasion even wiping out all of the undead around the whole of Gainos instantly in a single burst of holy energy.

Parameters
Attack: 3

Defense: 5

Potential: 3

Technique: 3

Reach: 3

Agility: 3

Prior to QB
(From the Queen's Blade site)

A high priestess that serves God, she's a part of the fundamentalist sect that preaches to follow the doctrine of the holy scriptures written thousands of years ago. The fanatical leader, the cardinal Dantan, is her grandmother.

A virtuous person above reproach and full of kindness, the people call Melpha a "saint". But, with her calm personality, she can't speak her discontent out loud, and much to her chagrin, she was forced to participate in the Queen's Blade as a representative of her sect.

Compared to other warriors, Melpha doesn't specialize in battles, but she can heal her own wounds and can fight with "Divine Power" (powers that are a manifestation of God), a unique skill that makes her opponent receive heavenly punishment.

For the fundamentalists to manifest the Divine Power, it's necessary to faithfully execute the same holy poses described in the scriptures thousands of years ago. Besides the poses looking ridiculous in modern times, with the right training the priests may manage to manifest the Divine Power without the need to use them, though this is kept secret from other groups. Melpha is against using the anachronical holy poses in those battles to be broadcasted all over the country, but she has no choice but to fulfill the expectations of her grandmother and the believers that admire her.

Prologue
(From her backcover)

As per my Grandmother’s orders, I’m leaving to participate in Queen’s Blade as a representative of our religious sect. For someone like me who has spent most of my life in the church, it’s my first time traveling alone.

Eventually, I met a man sitting near a fountain in the town square.

“Great holy woman, I’m freezing to death. Please help me.”

“E, err, here, put this on.”

I took off the mantle I wore, and gave it to the man.

After walking for a while, this time I was surrounded by children at the market.

“We are hungry. Priestess sis, please, whatever you can give us!”

“Err, err. Here, eat something with this.”

I was trying to take out a coin from my purse string, and the children quickly took all of them.

After walking for a while once again, now there was a sick old man lying by the roadside.

“G, Great priestess, please, please save me with the power of God. Hurry up…”

I hesitated. But I should be ashamed of wanting to run away.

“…I understand.”

With my hands on the floor, I pushed out my rear towards the old man.

“G, great priestess, w, what...!?”

Yes, this is the Holy Pose written in the scriptures. In our sect, in order to carry out a miracle by the power of God, the rules state that we must perform this.

Oh, but when I do a Holy Pose in front of people, for some reason I feel the gaze of the gentlemen, I’m so ashamed.

Grandmother, surely this is a trial too…

Sure enough, can Melpha win the tournament with the Holy Poses?

They won’t know that unless they fight.

Trivia

 * She is voiced by Sayaka Ohara (Japanese) and Melissa Hope (English).
 * Despite Melpha being referred to as a priestess, many fans compare her appearance to that of a nun.
 * Her name and her grandmother's come from an anagram of "fundamental" (in other words, Melpha + Dantan = "Phandamental")

Gallery
For this character's gallery, visit: Melpha/Gallery