Preface
If I had to pick the roughest area of Bloodborne‘s worldbuilding, it would have to be the Executioners. Now, there are many parts of the game which lack narrative polish, at least on the environmental side, and this covenant is hardly far below the standard. On the whole, they are fairly well-integrated into the setting as experienced in the final game; I would dare even say that their origins make for one of the game’s most engrossing stories. But certain elements, specifically pertaining to the central event justifying its existence, feel a bit more cobbled together. This has added some unnecessary speed bumps in comprehending their tale, but get past them, and it is a smooth drive along the highway.
A Shining Example
The Executioners are a bizarre covenant. Their emblem features the wheel associated with the group’s late leader and presumed founder Logarius. According to their emblem’s description, it represents righteous destiny in obvious reference to the Wheel of Fortune; the Tarot card’s Japanese translation is “ring of destiny”, (運命の輪) in fact. They see the wheels of fate turning in their favor, good fortune for equally good acts. This conviction of righteousness seems to stem from their chief symbol: Radiance. The Golden Ardeo is modeled on the rune’s glowing, triangular form, the Latin ardeo referring to a burning glow while the helmet itself is associated with both “radiance” and “aspirations”. (熱望) In other words, they strive to embody that Radiance rune, which will reflect their “golden intentions” among other things. If to be good is to be a radiant light for others, then that would make the Radiance that they try and imitate the supreme Good — in short, God. Fitting then that the rune takes the form of a shining pyramid with an eye in the center, an obvious reference to the all-seeing Eye of Providence.
Odd helmet of the Execution Unit which Martyr Logarius once led.
That golden triangle possessing a reputation of radiance and aspirations is the symbol of the Execution Unit, and it shows both the resolve of their determination to answer the corruption and their golden intentions.
Martyr Logarius said: “Right or wrong and wisdom or folly have nothing to do with each other. That is why we alone should simply be good.”
All of this demonstrates the mysticism saturating the secret workshop issuing the Wheel Hunter Badge. The Victorian era saw a surge in hermetic orders and other occult societies, and the Executioners fall in with that trend. Unsurprising, given that the covenant’s rune does relate to arcane divine mysteries. What distinguishes them from the Healing Church, however, is that they all genuinely believe in the bogus faith the latter propagates. Alfred invokes blood’s “divine protection” (加護) for all good things which come to pass. He likewise refers to the Church’s blood treatment as “aid”, (救い) which can have connotations of “salvation”, and hunting beasts as “noble” (貴い) work, which can double to denote sacrality. At times, he additionally alludes to the deceased Logarius watching over him and influencing his fate. The description to the covenant’s badge frames this zeal as fanatic, which also explains the obsession with niche symbology and penchant for violent justice.
Emblem that the workshop of the Execution Unit which Martyr Logarius led issued. The wheel is their righteous destiny.
It is a secret place filled with fanatic faith and mysticism, and became the power to support the Execution Unit’s justice.
May you have the blood’s divine protection.
If you seek blood aid and are permitted to, I think you should visit.
Beast hunting is noble work.
But for all their eccentricities, the Executioners are themselves part of the Healing Church. While Alfred admits to not being apprised to its internal affairs as a hunter, his back still hangs the cloth identifying Church affiliation. The name “Execution Unit” (処刑隊) also gives the impression of a specialized group of hunters among the larger Church forces. At the same time, they possess their own workshop like the rogue Powder Kegs. This makes the covenant function more as a religious order, subordinate to the Church yet technically still run independently. Indeed, Radiance was selected from among the “lost” runes according to its Japanese description, the Church otherwise only ever known to employ it in the cathedral’s star-viewing clocktower. Logarius evidently wanted to focus on an aspect of the arcane which the blood ministers had previously disregarded.
One of the Karel runes which phoneticize inhuman voices. That which was selected from one of the lost runes and given the meaning of “radiance” has been used in the Logarius-led Execution Unit covenant.
The Execution Unit’s enemy are the “corrupted bloodkin”. They are blood hunters who serve the Undead Queen Annalise, so you probably won’t be able to cooperate with them or the like, no matter the reason.
This sequence of events has led to some confusion among fans since the Executioner uniform serves as the basis for later church attire. How can this description from their equipment be accurate when the first church hunters were Ludwig and his Holy Blades? Moreover, church attire is supposed to be borrowing heavily from the Byrgenwerth uniform. But none of these statements are mutually exclusive. We do see a strong influence from the student uniform, with church attire using some combination of layered long clothing, thick capes, or waistcoats. This includes Executioner attire, whose descriptions only ever highlights the holy cloth as a specific element carried over to subsequent church apparel. And if this apparel was based on the uniform of a group which didn’t exist until later on, then there is but one conclusion: that uniform wasn’t always theirs.
Apparel of the Execution Unit which Martyr Logarius once led. It is the basis for later church apparel, so the holy cloth likewise hangs thick.
Martyr Logarius said: “Right or wrong and wisdom or folly have nothing to do with each other. That is why we alone should simply be good.”
Gloves of the Execution Unit which Martyr Logarius once led. Brass rivets are the unique design of they who like hand-to-hand combat.
Martyr Logarius said: “Right or wrong and wisdom or folly have nothing to do with each other. That is why we alone should simply be good.”
Put simply, Executioners adopted the clothes of the now defunct Holy Blades. The riveted gloves layered over the robes are the one “unique design” of the Executioners’ make. The robes themselves only bear the generic Hunter rune on the chest. If not for the additional Golden Ardeo, one could easily mistake an Executioner for any other high-ranking church hunter. However, the holy cloth is the exact same used for the tomb prospector uniform, which was originally utilized by Holy Blades. And upon closer inspection, Ludwig the beast is wearing the tattered remnants of the Executioners’ cloak. Logarius didn’t create his covenant’s uniform from scratch, he simply made slight modifications to the one other church uniforms already modeled themselves on. In fact, the Executioners’ emphasis on radiance and righteous justice is also shared with the first church hunters. In short, the Executioners most likely started out as a derivative of Ludwig’s hunters, founded by one of the Yharnamites whom the hero originally recruited.
Logarius’ reasoning is easy to surmise. Between the explosion in beasts and their leader’s prolonged absence, the Holy Blades were falling apart. The Healing Church needed to somehow turn things around, and Logarius the Holy Blade saw the wheel of fortune doing the turning. Much like how the Arcana foretells changing fate’s constant rotation back and forth toward good or ill, Logarius’ Wheel saw destiny turning back toward them if they again embraced righteousness. After all, in the eyes of a Yharnamite who fully bought into the Church’s holy mission, their current difficulties could only be the result of falling off from the path of radiance. But Ludwig alone knew the Guidance of the stars, so Logarius was forced to find the Holy Blades’ radiance in a lost rune, disregarded likely because the first church hunter discovered the source. Comporting with the stars’ radiance expressing arcane power that invigorates blood, this Caryll rune improves the potency of blood vials. And with that, Logarius had his answer: the problem lay in the blood.
Alfred’s knowledge of Byrgenwerth bringing labyrinth blood to Cainhurst comes from Logarius. As a Holy Blade under Ludwig, he would be close enough to the Church’s inner circle to feasibly know these details about its early history. At the same time, Alfred’s framing reveals how that “knight” viewed the clan’s blood: corrupted. One of Logarius’ sayings likewise notes that wisdom and foolery do not necessarily equate to good and evil respectively. In other words, Laurence and his fellow traitors may have been smart to ally with Cainhurst for their blood research, but it was still wrong. While saying this “sin” gave birth to the corruption wholesale isn’t strictly accurate, the original church leaders are certainly responsible for its current state. Even if it is logically stupid, Logarius insists they be morally good. And as the Golden Ardeo represents, this meant having the determination to excise — or rather, execute — all corruption plaguing the Church’s blood. And so, Logarius established Cainhurst as the enemy. Of course, this principled decision wasn’t without personal motivation.
Annalise now tasks her royal guard with collecting the corruption needed to produce her desired blood baby. Clearly, the queen was rather miffed at the Healing Church abandoning them after acquiring their own child from Kos. She decided that Cainhurst would continue their once shared goal on their own. To that end, they needed to find a new source for blood dregs. At first, they aimed to search beneath their feet, as the root chalice dungeons are where we come across the “wandering blood hunter, Leo”, (さまよえる血の狩人、レオー) dressed and armed as your typical queen’s guard in search for corruption. If the castle had access to the labyrinth from its mausoleum, then expeditions would be the natural choice. But the fact that Leo is meandering the ruins in so many instances speaks to this route’s ineffectiveness. Most knights of the clan hence hunt the blood from another source which compulsively amasses the wills needed to form corruption and is much closer by: other hunters, namely those nominally aligned with the church.
Emblem to be royal guard knights who protect Analise, Blood Queen of Cainhurst.
They are, first, blood hunters and hunt prey in search of “blood corruption”. Do you become one, or only borrow their power? That depends on the one possessing the emblem.
One of the secret runes, which were preserved by the copyist Karel, student of Byrgenwerth. There are some Karel runes that were given the meaning of “blood”. “Corruption” is one of them and possesses the meaning of a covenant in particular.
Those who are in this covenant are the bloodkin of Cainhurst, blood hunters, and discover “corruption” for the Queen in death-blood. Within the death-blood of hunters in particular.
But the “corruption” is also a taboo of the Treatment Church. Beware the Execution Unit.
Indeed, Annalise proudly pronounces herself the Healing Church’s enemy, and the chaos in Yharnam around that time provided the perfect opportunity to make that known. Put simply, the predators jumped at their prey’s weakness, exacerbating an already dire situation. Much like with the beasts, Logarius watched in horror as comrades were felled, sometimes at the hands of other comrades. His pious mind could only rationalize this hell on earth as an act of divine retribution. And as he connected the dots, the timeliness of Cainhurst’s attack made them the obvious devil responsible for the surge of beasts itself, not considering the possibility that they were simply paying back a betrayal in kind — remember, good and dumb. Combined with his investigation into Radiance, and Logarius could justify revenge as righteous indignation, and he found a fair number receptive to his mystic message. Together, they would right the wrongs of their sacred institution by eliminating the newly forbidden evil. And so, the execution unit was born.
A Miserable Fate
From there, Logarius established his own workshop to secretly outfit his Executioners with new equipment. Carrying on Ludwig’s holy mission, the heir took his Holy Blade uniform and added hard leather gloves with brass rivets for hand-to-hand combat. This is notable since nikudansen (肉弾戦) more literally means “flesh bullet battles” in reference to throwing oneself at the enemy in almost suicidal fashion. Instead of shooting guns, Logarius wanted his followers shooting themselves, human bullets packing a punch up close and personal. Even if their targets were men, not beasts, this was a dangerous tactic that only someone very brave, stupid, or crazy would do — and the fanatical Executioners were all three. However, the fact that the rivets are brass and not silver shows that pummeling with the fists wasn’t meant to be the killing blow. Rather, using their off hand in this way served to complement the master’s eccentric new invention.
Logarius’ Wheel employs silver in its hub band, spokes, and tire to make all relevant parts effective against corrupted blood. This on top of its large wooden frame demands more strength of the wielder compared to Ludwig’s Holy Sword, making it about as impractical as a Powder Keg weapon. And though it does gain arcane power by splitting into two parallel wheels with the mechanism, this is because of the curse of their later victims’ blood staining the inside. The weapon’s actual trick is the ability to spin the joint wheels, which agitates the grudges — providing more arcane power but eating away at the wielder’s life. This behavior, however, does clarify the Executioners’ fighting style. First, they bash with the front or side of the wheel to incapacitate the target or catch them in the spokes respectively, using the off-hand fist as support. Then they split open the wheel to further entanglement; once secure, let them rip. The spinning spokes drag in the human body and shred it with the momentum. A brutal method of execution, but the perfect symbol of righting the wheel of fortune, thus their emblem.
Weapon of the Execution Unit which Martyr Logarius once led.
It crushed the corrupted bloodkin of Cainhurst, was stained in copious blood, and is now clad in their grudges.
If you unleash the grudges by activating the wheel’s trick, its magnificent true nature will no doubt be revealed.
It may then come as a shock to discover that Logarius himself doesn’t employ any of this during his boss battle. Instead of Ludwig’s Holy Blade or his own eponymous Wheel, the hunter dual wields a crude scythe and kris dagger. Meanwhile, he dresses in heavy robes and ornate jewelry with no resemblance to any hunter attire, least of all his Executioners’. One might argue that these were all stolen along with the crown he now wears, especially since the Indonesian kris fits with other Eastern weapons which Cainhurst loved to collect. However, the weapons are cursed with vengeful spirits the same as the Logarius Wheel, their potential to manifest as swords betraying the Cainhurstian blood staining them. More likely, this dissimilar design is a result of development constraints. Internally, the boss is simply dubbed a “King Reaper” (王の死神) whereas cut content reveals several iterations on an ancient king enemy; one’s attire even matches a Cainhurst portrait. In other words, Martyr Logaris is probably a Cainhurst or Chalice Dungeon boss repurposed as is. We can therefore overlook these glaring oddities.
A Glorious Sacrifice
Finally comes the assault on Castle Cainhurst. By all appearances, the Executioners had no issues infiltrating the castle. Perhaps they were welcomed in under the guise of a truce and negotiations, only to rush in before they could set up the defenses. Regardless, they somehow managed to breach the main gate and make their way inside. From there, they exterminated whatever corruption they came across, passing over the servants to slaughter the nobles. The ghosts haunting the castle all look like one of the noblewomen depicted in their portraits, except their hands are bound while their heads are blindfolded and severed. This gives the impression that they were traditionally executed by the sword or, more likely, an axe. But given the Executioners’ use of a wheel and the ghosts’ use of daggers, this is probably not an accurate reflection of their final moments. Rather, it is a manifestation of the spirits’ psychosis: helpless as they were systematically killed for their crimes.
Indeed, we can only find a handful of corpses with items associating them with Executioners. Those able to fight didn’t have the strength or numbers to drive back the invaders, and once they were cut down, the rest were easy pickings. It didn’t matter whether the nobles hid outside along the walls and flying buttresses or inside behind tables and bookcases. In the end, they were all found and killed. One exception seems to be Arianna. The prostitute wears the fashion of nobles from the “end” of the Cainhurst bloodline, so the dress is unlikely to be a hand-me-down from a past generation who moved to Yharnam. If she is a noblewoman of Cainhurst, then she must have escaped during the chaos and fled the castle. But the fact that she is the only known survivor amongst the nobility speaks to how thoroughly the Executioners did their work. Even the mausoleum leading to the Pthumerian ruins was reduced to rubble, ensuring no one would make use of the entombed nobles’ blood; it also, perhaps unwittingly, blocked blood hunters in the labyrinth like Leo from finding their way back.
At last, Logarius and his unit reached the royal audience chamber. Ample blood stains the rug, including in front of the two thrones. Given that Logarius ends up acquiring the Crown of Illusions, it is very likely that a king was present to defend his wife along with the royal guard. However, the Executioners evidently dispensed with Annalise’s husband and saw through his trickery with their secret treasure. Deprived of all her bodyguards, the queen was at their mercy. Only one problem: she doesn’t die. From Alfred’s dialogue, Logarius and crew realized that Annalise’s flesh was immortal, meaning that they couldn’t simply bash or shred her as they had with her clansmen. Even if they destroyed the whole castle and razed the rubble, she would remain; her corrupted blood would always exist to contaminate holy radiance. Naturally, this put a huge damper on their whole operation. Nothing could be done about the undead queen, yet they couldn’t leave her alone either.
To solve this quandary, Logarius opted for imprisonment over execution. The queen is “prisoner” to a mask which prevents her from simply gulping down blood. Its similarity to the royal guard helm indicates Cainhurst’s design, likely for restraining their own kind — though it isn’t obvious what keeps either the helmet or the overlain blindfold secure from removal. The Executioners most likely repurposed one stumbled upon in their sweep of the castle. Logarius himself then donned the king’s crown to hide her chamber behind the illusions. She would be a secret forever sealed in Cainhurst. To maintain this illusion, the wearer apparently needs to remain in close proximity. Logarius had thus decided to stay behind as the eternal watchman over this seal. There he sat in his seat before the hidden chamber, ready to slay anyone who might dare uncover the truth and free the corruption. Like the forest gatekeeper, this will to keep his post has allowed his spirit to defy death, the Executioner’s body looking no more than a rotten corpse frozen in its seat until our approach springs it back to life. If the zombie still has consciousness of mind, he doesn’t express it. His will is purely to hunt.
Once, Master Logarius led the Execution Unit and cleansed the bloodkin at the castle of Cainhurst. But all didn’t come to bear, and thus he became a martyr as the stone weight of salvation… How deplorable. That the great Master has been imprisoned in the corrupted bloodkin’s cursed land. I want to free Master. I want to properly enshrine Master as a canonized martyr.
One of the hidden treasures owned by Cainhurst. The old king’s crown that was said to see illusions is also the key that dispels the illusion hiding a secret.
Thus, Logarius put this on himself. So that no one would touch the corrupted secret again. What did he really see from his wintry throne?
In resolving to make this sacrifice, Logarius spared the others from sharing in this eternal watch, his surviving comrades all escaping the island before the bridges to the mainland were destroyed. Considering how the mausoleum was totally flattened, the viaducts were probably another product of controlled demolition. This added another barrier of entry and left no chance for the covenant leader to change course. Some might find this an odd choice when the Executioners could have converted the castle into a fortress which they could all staff. However, this would have offended their religious sensibilities. If the noble clan was corrupted, then the land they dwelt in for eons could be considered corrupted ground too. Alfred does called it a “cursed land”, devoid of the “good” blood’s blessing. This explains why the servants and the bodies of fallen comrades were also left behind. As to Logarius taking on the task alone, he is by far the strongest and thereby best suited among his hunters, and the rest were needed elsewhere.
Unsurprisingly, not every blood hunter was at the castle during this assault, leaving members of the Cainhurst bloodline — born or adopted — still out in the world with their corruption flowing through their veins. This is the basis for us hunting down affiliates of Annalise should we join the covenant. The Executioners’ mission would remain so long as these survivors continued to plague the world, and there could always be more corruption cropping up at any moment. The covenant had its reason for being, and the Healing Church appreciated their work. Although the higher-ups almost certainly understood that Logarius’ Cain theory was unsound, the blood hunters were an unnecessary hindrance to their research. Having the Executioners deal with their remnants on their own thus saved the beast hunters both a major headache and another drain on resources. Even if this new covenant might not have been under their thumb as much as the Holy Blades, why wouldn’t they welcome the replacement?
It is for that reason then that Logarius was honored as a martyr. Adjoining the Lower Church memorializing Old Yharnam is a “holy mausoleum” (聖廟) dedicated to holy men according to a cut key’s description. It consists of a large monument incorporating three gravestones beneath a figure in the full Executioner set. Preceding it on either side are six smaller graves featuring wise men seemingly praising the larger figure. Add in Alfred praying before the monument, and this is undoubtedly a ceremonial tomb for Logarius and the apparent six executioners who also sacrificed their lives to destroy Cainhurst. The location reaffirms that this mausoleum was set up around the same time as the ceremonial grave to the old city, and its similar grandeur shows just how much effort the Church put into honoring the fallen. In all likelihood, the blood ministers heralded Logarius and his unit as heroes, allowing them to take credit for putting an end to this whole chaotic affair by scapegoating Cainhurst. This gave the Healing Church a much-needed PR win after losing so much else.
Key that locks the side street of the Lower Church in Church Town.
The Lower Church located on the outskirts of Church Town is a holy mausoleum where holy men of the Treatment Church rest; it is also a land of requiem for the Old City which was once burned and abandoned due to the spread of the beast disease, and of sealing.
And so, the Executioners have continued their hunt from their own secret workshop, striking at the corruption wherever it be found. We first find Alfred praying before a bloodied cloth laying upon Logarius’ grave, ornamented like an altar. This suggests that offerings — namely some part of their targets’ bodies — were made to their master as proof of their success. The mausoleum can also be considered a shrine by virtue of its holiness, and in the fanatics’ minds, the martyr is still able to interact with them, even through effigies; the holy man is closest to Radiance, after all. Cribbing ideas of “guidance” from Ludwig’s Holy Blades, Logarius’ Executioners see him guiding their sacred duty to fruition through divine providence. He is a cult figure, in ways that not even his old master became postmortem. But this veneration for the martyr is still limited to his followers, the Healing Church doing nothing to promote Logarius’ cult since the initial honor. In fact, the clerics haven’t hesitated to undermine the Executioners when the need arises.
… Ah, is this too Master’s will…? My thanks to the blood’s divine protection.
Despite their apparent success in rooting out the last of Cainhurst’s clan, Arianna has evaded their notice. A prostitute in the Cathedral Ward can’t simply be living in anonymity, the bigoted man living only a few houses down going so far as to say that she is shunned by “everyone”. Yet she herself readily jokes about how her work “corrupts” women when her “corrupt” blood is being hunted. She has no fear of the Executioners even as she lives in the district where the Healing Church has the closest watch and highest approval. Why? Perhaps because the Church is protecting her. Arianna mentions that she is used to having her blood extracted to share with others, which only makes sense if her clientele include clergy aware of its special properties — and if she isn’t a Blood Saint, then they know that it is their own taboo to keep out of the public eye. In other words, the Church has shielded her from the Executioners in exchange for continuing to study her blood off-the-record, providing nearby housing and permitting a “dirty” job for her to keep a low profile. If she fails to cooperate, they can always turn her in.
Let me tell you just one good thing. Beware of that prostitute. I know it. Damned wench is jealous of the great saintess. She would know best about her filthy, rotten self shunned by everyone. Ah, that’s exactly why a woman’s jealousy is so scary. Horrifying even. Damned crotch-opener, bitch oughta get out…
I close up shop on hunt night. Besides, this is a place men come to… Won’t you be corrupted if you get too close? Eheheh…
… I see. Good. Then come here. It will be fine, I am used to this…
“Donated blood” of Church Town harlot Arianna. Her blood is sweet and boosts stamina recovery speed for a fixed time, in addition to HP recovery.
Wouldn’t a human of the old Treatment Church possibly recognize it? It is close to the blood once considered taboo by the church.
The Fool’s Folly
Ultimately, the Healing Church views the Executioners as more expendable pawns, their fervor proving especially easy to manipulate. Alfred’s Japanese dialogue frames him as a beast hunter who more recently converted to the teachings of Logarius, still wielding the Kirkhammer and Ludwig’s Rifle from his time at the church workshop, but his case seems to be rare. Indeed, the covenant appears to only attract hunters of a certain mental imbalance, hence the mad zeal. We never visit this secretive institution, but we can see their fanaticism on full display in Alfred. Although still looking young — in his thirties according to internal documents — the old hunter has fully fallen down the Executioner rabbit hole. He loves to invoke the venerable martyr, adoration which proves to surpass that of his comrades. After all, Alfred isn’t satisfied with Logarius being honored for his sacrifice while the corrupted blood’s leader yet lives; Annalise must die so that his canonization won’t ring hollow. And that disconnect between what the martyr is and what Alfred thinks he should be has consumed his mind.
… Are you a beast hunter? Ah, you are. So was I once. Apologies for the delay, I am Alfred. Now one who hunts the corrupted bloodkin in accordance with the teachings of Master Logarius. How is it? The targets differ, but we are both hunters. How about we cooperate and exchange information from now on?
From the outset, the Executioner is perfectly amicable in cooperating with fellow hunters to exchange information on Cainhurst. A warrior of devout faith offering friendly cooperation and eventually wearing radiant headwear is an obvious reference to Dark Souls’ Solaire, the two even sharing the same voice actor. The way Alfred obsesses over Logarius almost as a surrogate father figure is also very reminiscent. But whereas Solaire saw the sun as a standard to emulate, Alfred perverts this sentiment. Logarius needs to meet his standards in order to justify the Excutioner’s adoration. The martyr can’t be this figure worthy of all this praise when he is merely containing the problem — they, his followers, have to first solve it. In short, Alfred doesn’t really love Logarius; he loves the idea of Logarius, his idea. Hunting mere beasts didn’t fit that conception of a divine mission, nonetheless he will happily help us do so if it will lead to him making his holy “father” that perfect witness of the faith. But behind the facade is a deeply disturbed mind.
… The bloodkin are unforgivable beings who corrupt and violate the Treatment Church’s blood aid. Those bloodkin, the bloodkin’s leader, still survives even now. That is why, for the sake of inheriting Master’s left will, I seek it. The path leading to Cainhurst…
If provided the invitation without a specific sender, Alfred rearms with Logarius’ Wheel and travels to Cainhurst to deal with its queen. His solution to Annalise’s undeath? Bash her to a literal pulp. Lathered in her blood like his newly-cursed wheel, the Executioner mocks the woman with psychotic glee, demeaning the utility of immortality when she can no longer do anything. He knows her flesh is still technically alive, making her corruption a force cursing the world yet in the Executioners’ view. He doesn’t even consider how others might make use of it, in our case offering up the queen at the Altar of Despair. By using Rom’s body as a catalyst to access the cosmic record and rollback her still-living flesh to its time and place before the incident, we effectively negate everything Alfred has been working toward. But he doesn’t care, because this is about him, not Logarius or their mission. Logic no longer has a place for this fanatic, only his own self-aggrandizement. As the Golden Ardeo worn at this point demonstrates, in uplifting Logarius, he thinks that he has made himself radiant good.
Master, look! I did it, I did it! I smashed, smashed, smashed this corrupted woman and turned her into a pink mass of flesh. How was it, you damned whore! In what way were you undead, nobody will be deceived if you live forever like this! That form laying bare all your insides as membrane is just right for a disgusting bitch. Hyah, hyah. Hyahahahahahahaaah.
After he has made Logarius a “proper” martyr, Alfred is next found dead before his master’s grave. His kneeling body is hunched over, with arms close to the chest almost in prayer. On the altar in front of him lies the Crown of Illusions. Since we must collect this secret treasure from Logarius in order to witness this event, this may simply be another such treasure kept by the royalty, or maybe it is supposed to have been discarded after we break the illusion — in which case, the developers allow us to keep the headpiece in our inventory merely for customization purposes. Whatever the truth, Alfred has made his tribute to the martyr and then apparently committed suicide. Even if there is more corruption to hunt, he believes his job is done. He has set Logarius on his proper pedestal, so surely his master will show his gratitude. Most likely, Alfred thinks his death now will bring him to “his side” as another higher being of shining radiance. In truth, he is just another madman, victim of Logarius’ twisted ideology and the Healing Church’s propaganda. His fanaticism was misplaced.
It is spiritually vulnerable people like Alfred whom the Executioners bring into the fold, men who would throw away morality on the promise of a moral mission. While Alfred arguably goes off the rails, he still has made his contribution, proving the covenant’s utility for the Church. And their terror has accomplished its objective. If we have visited Pthumeru Ihyll, Annalise happens to start demanding we return safely for fear that she will be left alone in her chamber again. But if we find a Pthumerian wedding ring in the Chalice Dungeon and propose to her with it, she is flattered but refuses on the basis of a “repulsive future” where she will lose us. In other words, becoming her new husband all but guarantees that we will die protecting her from the Church, especially Executioners like Alfred. She values our companionship too much to bind us to a duty with no opportunity to escape. In the end, she would rather suffer at the hands of Alfred than see us share the same fate as so many of her clan, all for her. On the psychological front, the Executioners have already won this holy war.
You, return safely… It is too spacious alone in the king’s chamber. For the honor of Cainhurst.
… Stop it. It is fine for now. But, if you want to become my partner… you will see a repulsive future. You are important to me. I already don’t want to lose you…
Lokey Lore 