Nathan Mahler

The chiropteran known as Nathan Mahler serves as Diva's chevalier, although it is kept a mystery whose Chevalier he actually is. He debuts in Episode 20. In the anime Nathan is one of the two that serves Diva that does not wish for Saya's death.

Personality
Unlike the more dour characters of the series, Nathan is the friendliest and most colorful (literally and metaphorically) of all the chevaliers, fitting the stereotype of a flamboyant homosexual. Like Lewis of Red Shield, Nathan provides comic relief within the Cinq Flèches group, usually in the form of annoying James.

He seems to take a paternal attitude towards Diva and fusses over her appearance. Nathan appears to care a great deal about Diva, as he is willing to let Amshel take her children in exchange for her. He is visibly saddened by her death.

Nathan rarely participates in battle. He is more into living and enjoying his life as a drama. In the opening credits of the final season, Nathan is shown fighting with Saya though they never do in any episode. He stops some battles between Saya and his brothers, much to their annoyance. Nathan neither attacks Red Shield nor defends any of his fellow chevaliers from attack when involved in a battle.

He does show hints of compassion towards his fellow chevaliers, including Hagi. For example, although he and Karl have no direct contact with each other in any scenes they are shown in together, Nathan asks the other chevaliers "Are you sad that our brother is dead?" following Karl's death. The exception to this is Amshel but this is not seen until the very end of the series: Amshel tries subtly to provoke and antagonize Nathan while at the same time seeming wary of him. Nathan shows no emotion to Amshel's apparent demise and criticizes him for never having understood Diva.

Despite his bright and cheerful personality, Nathan can be deeply threatening when needs be. He rarely (if ever) gives orders, but none of the other chevaliers question him. Nathan quickly drops the flamboyant facade altogether when confronting Amshel. It's quite possible the flamboyancy is an act, or that the situation for him is a very serious affair.

Amshel
Nathan has a dislike of Amshel although his ever cheerful and carefree features do not express his emotion. He disagrees with the idea of Amshel using Diva as an experimental subject only.

Solomon
Nathan goes out of his way to help Solomon, such as checking up on him after he is rejected by Saya in New York and freeing him and giving him the rest of his clothes after Solomon is imprisoned for trying to kill Diva.

James
Nathan likes to annoy James and some of his homosexuality is shown whenever he is with James. He repeatedly rubs himself against James and teases him about his "Mama", even stealing James' pocketwatch (which contains a photo of Diva).

Diva
Although he is the last to meet her, Nathan is the only chevalier Diva does not lose interest in following her pregnancy. Out of all Diva's chevaliers, Nathan may have understood her the most.

Special Abilities
Power: Nathan's exact powers are unclear. Behind his seemingly effeminate and lackadaisical manners, Nathan may be the most powerful of the chevaliers and will assert his dominance over his younger "brothers" if he feels he needs to. He is the only one of Diva's chevaliers who can make Amshel back down if he chooses to, and the only one Amshel rarely attempts to manipulate. He also appears to be extremly strong physically- as a chirotpteran creeps behind him, he gently blackhand slaps it, sending it flying with seemingly no effort.

Speed: Nathan's speed surpasses that of all other chevaliers. He can either move so fast that he cannot be seen with the naked eye, or he can change his form to trick others into not being able to see him. He can take away James' locket without the owner even knowing. He goes to rescue James quite a while after Solomon leaves for Christina Island and manages to bring him before Solomon returns. However, it is suggestable that his true speed limit is never shown.

Telekinesis: He also appears to have a form of telekinesis stronger than the other chevaliers, seemingly able to shatter glass with his voice. His telekinesis also shows enough strength to shatter iron chains when he released Solomon with a mere eerie glance.

Blood Attribute: Presumably because he is the chevalier of either Saya and Diva's mother or their aunt, his blood is not affected by Saya's when she strikes him down nor does his affect Diva when she drinks it. It shows that he possesses some kind of immunity towards both Saya and Diva's blood, as when bitten by Diva and nearly drained of his blood and Saya's blood drenched fang slicing him; he remained well alive and seemingly unharmed.

Origin
As the audience is only shown some of the chevaliers' transformations into chiropterans, Nathan's true identity becomes more of a mystery near the end of the series; even Amshel does not know who he is or what his goals are. It's unclear how or when Nathan became Diva's chevalier or whether he is even her chevalier at all.

Fans theorize that Nathan is either the chevalier of Saya and Diva's mother or their aunt, and possibly even their biological father. However, the first theory is more popular for multiple reasons, such as the unlikelihood of someone with such blatant homosexual mannerisms fathering children and his immunity to Saya's blood (if one assumes that chevaliers of one queen are not affected by the blood of her offspring).

Since Nathan is far more interested in Diva than Saya, and speaks of "History repeating itself", it may be presumed that the queen he originally served was the blue-eyed twin.

In Paris
Nathan first appears in Paris on Episode 20 at Solomon's mansion where Diva is brought after awakening. He comes from New York and is shown to have planned for a few hundred years ahead. He says in his first appearance that he is the only one who has yet to meet her, meaning she had not yet woken from her hibernation cycle when he became her chevalier.

In New York
Diva is later taken to his house at New York when she becomes pregnant. The other chevaliers frequently visit there and James' body is brought over at his place for treatment. The news of Diva's children is delivered to Solomon by Nathan. After Diva injures Solomon and James' locks him up, Nathan frees his fellow chevalier to go and stage a drama to save Saya.

At Metropolitan Opera House
While watching Diva sing before her final fight with Saya, Nathan firmly tells Amshel that he can have her children, but that he is taking Diva himself. He punctuates this by cracking the glass Amshel is holding merely by looking at it. Amshel himself does not react. This is the second time Nathan threatened one of his fellow chevaliers. Nathan states that the world exists to showcase Diva's beauty, as was predestined before she was born.

As Diva and Saya fight, Nathan watches from the audience with interest, with Diva's children with him. When Hagi, seemingly having killed Amshel, appears to fight Nathan and aid Saya against Diva, Nathan persuades him not to act by saying that it is a fight between queens.

As Diva crystallizes from the effects of Saya's blood, Nathan brings her children to her so that she can see them one last time. He laments to Saya how Amshel always treated Diva as an experiment rather than a person and failed to understand that all she wanted was a family, then explains that Diva's blood had lost its poisonous potency against Saya following her pregnancy. He then asks Saya to kill him because he has no more reason to live. Reluctantly, she grants his request. He murmurs, "Good girl," just before she slices him in half, and thanks her while falling to his presumed death into the orchestra pit. He is not shown to be crystallizing.

After Duel Ends
However, despite having been fatally wounded with Saya's blood, Nathan briefly appears afterwards alive and well when several reporters are trying to get information from Van Argiano. He is seen in his human form amongst them.

Manga
Nathan is not hinted to have a connection to Saya and Diva's mother or aunt.

Diva tries to kill him without hesitation when they attack the Red Shield boat. While Solomon is able to save him, the damage has been done: her attempt on his life causes a rift between them and he begins to harbor bottled feelings of disdain, rage, and hatred towards Diva, which only increases when he sees her indifference over James' death.

During Saya and Diva's last battle, Nathan finally snaps in response to Hagi's taunts. When it seems that the sisters might reconcile, he stabs through Saya into Diva, causing Diva to crystallize and shatter. He is killed by an enraged Saya.

Novels
In the light novels, it is suggested that the real Nathan Mahler was tracked down and killed by the chevalier of Saya and Diva's mother, who then transformed himself to pose as Nathan and replace him as Diva's chevalier.

Trivia

 * Nathan is the last of Diva's chevaliers to be introduced.
 * Because of his grandiose nature and the fact that he is openly gay, the fans have playfully dubbed Nathan the "third queen."
 * Excluding a scene in the fourth opening, Nathan is the only chiropteran who never fights against Saya or Red Shield. On one occasion, he even actively defends Saya from attack by James.
 * Even though Saya was able to kill Nathan with her blood at the end.
 * In the original Japanese series, Nathan often speaks in a manner usually employed by the feminine gender, such as using kashira and wa.
 * In the Sony English dub, this is represented by Nathan speaking in the manner of a stereotypical homosexual character.

Quotes
In Episode 48, a conversation between Amshel and Nathan further suggests that Nathan is in fact the chevalier of Saya and Diva's mother:


 * Nathan: The world exists as a shining stage for Diva so she can be adored. It was proclaimed even before Diva was born.


 * Amshel: You talk like you've witnessed it.


 * Nathan: Actually, I did.


 * Amshel: Hmm?


 * Nathan: Years ago, there was Saya and Diva and the mummy that was their mother. What she had then was a faithful chevalier just like her daughter today.