Leon Belmont

Leon Belmont is one of the main characters from the Castlevania games.

A near-invincible knight active during the medieval era, and along with Mathias Cronqvist, formed an invincible team. He abandoned his position when his betrothed Sara Trantoul was kidnapped (according to Mathias) by the vampire Walter Bernhard. Leon discards his sword and takes up the Whip of Alchemy from Rinaldo Gandolfi, and storms Walter's castle, only to find Sara in process of being vampirized. The only way to save her is to kill her. Leon does the job, changing the Whip of Alchemy into the legendary Vampire Killer.

Leon swears to kill Walter and the night. He almost succeeds, only to see Walter get backstabbed by Death, and Mathias reveal himself as the Magnificent Bastard behind the scenes. Leon refuses Mathias' offer to join him, survives a battle with Death, and swears that his family will always exist to oppose Mathias.

Personality
Leon was a baron who is revered as the most powerful of the land's knights. Casting aside fame and fortune to save his abducted betrothed, he ventures into the vampire's castle alone.

Abilities
The Whip of Alchemy gains these powers whenever Leon defeats the respective element bosses, and even retains them when it becomes the vampire killer. Oddly enough, these powers rarely show up again (or at least in their full capacity) throughout the series.

Trivia

 * So far, Leon has only starred in a single Castlevania game, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence; however, chronologically, he is the earliest known Belmont in the Belmont Clan, living in the late 11th Century. Lament of Innocence takes place in 1094 in particular. Despite founding the Belmont Clan and bringing forth a new generation of Belmonts, it's still unknown who Leon Belmont married after the events of Lament of Innocence.
 * Leon's adventures in Lament of Innocence have also been chronicled in the 2007 cell phone comic by the same name.