#bardius

If you’re talking about the incomplete God Series, it’s possible the Conclave worked to further their research after those events, but they probably didn’t rely on Leon Mining to do so, as his results were deemed a failure.

Really, two things are going on during the events of GG VastEdge XT:

—-Baldias was responsible for putting a bounty on Sol’s head and even sending Gears to attack him and Sin.

—-Sol decides now is a good time to go visit the Conclave and retrieve the Senga “Flashing Fang” OutRage Jinki.

Keep in mind that the Conclave/Senato are a key component of the United Nations, so while they are a hidden organization, there’s parts of that organization that ‘hide in plain sight’ to the public.

While dealing with Bounty Hunters, Assassins, and anyone else who got in his way, Sol heads to a sub-headquarters of the Conclave to retrieve the Jinki and ends up confronting Baldias directly.

By all appearances Baldias seems to have copied some of Zato=ONE’s powers (which might have occurred when they retrieved his corpse… though it’s said Millia tried to retrieve the body earlier).

Sol deals with the drills and a Cerberus head that Baldias forms from his ‘shadow-like’ powers…

But ultimately, Sol overwhelms him and Baldias appears to melt and fade away (it’s still unclear if he died or if he merely escaped to parts unknown, theoretically Baldias could use Zato’s ‘Break the Law’ shadow puddle to escape… but that is still unclear… most likely Baldias was killed since the remaining members don’t mention him at this point in time).

He is part of a mysterious group of four individuals calling themselves the "Senato" who seem to answer to no one save the Pope at Rome.

Based on the story so far, they seem to have been the ones who placed Ky Kiske in the position of King of the United Kingdom of Illyria.

They also seem to be aware of Sol Badguy and Sin (and perhaps even Dizzy as well). Even so, their story has yet to be fully determined.

We’re still trying to piece together VastEdge’s story, since it’s rather disjointed as far as I’m aware.  There’s still no indication that Bardius is a Gear of any kind, yet, since what he summons appears to be Cerberus, rather than simply a Forbidden Beast.

(Reposted from here):

元老院とは（国際連合）元老院の略称でローマ教皇の（最高顧問）であり、世界の政治・（経済）に絶対的な発言権と（影響力）を持つ。現在は（四人の賢者）で構成されているが、マスクの下の（素顔）を知る者はいない。

Senato: The Senato [Senate] is an abbreviation of the International Federation Senate and they are the supreme advisers to the Pope of Rome, having the absolute word [right to speak] and influence in matters of international government and economics. It is currently comprised of four sages, but no one has ever seen their faces under their masks.

------------------------------

Let's be clear that one of these individuals is named Bardius (With the mask designation: III, as in the 3rd Sage) and has the appearance of a Gear that can summon something called "Cerberus". (As in, the Tri-Headed Dog of Hell, which could indicate that the other members have 1-Head, 2-Heads, and 4-Heads respectively).

I may have been incorrect in stating these individuals are part of the United Nations, though they wield substantial political power enough to have influence over the U.N., regardless, those are the facts so far.

So ends all the facts, thus far.

------------------------------ Personal speculation section. (Not confirming anything, do NOT take these as fact, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!) ------------------------------

Call it a crazy hunch, but based on this information there is reason to consider this "Pope of Rome" is actually in fact the Gearmaker ("That Man") himself!!!

---"That Man" has the appearance of a faceless hooded monastic saint. ---One of the Gearmaker's themes is atonement. ---Raven refers to him as "His Holiness" (which can also refer to the Pope). ---He refers to himself (towards Sol) as being 'Self Righteous' (a facet of the role of an incorruptable role model such as the Papacy). ---In the first Guilty Gear, prior to her death, Justice says to Ky Kiske: "You should meet the Man who created me...I wonder if your unwavering faith in justice would continue if you did..." (Which, based on Ky's belief in God, could very well overthrow his beliefs and views altogether if he knew someone like the Gearmaker was in a position of Religious standing).  ---"That Man's" 3rd Servant (minus the hat) bears resemblance to one of these 4 members of the Senato.

People are speculating again and spreading false unsubstantiated rumors.

That's probably the 'nickname' they gave to the recently introduced character Bardius in Guilty Gear VastEdge XT who is part of a group called Senato. Bardius' appearance bears resemblance to white snakes due to the Gear tentacles on his body. Otherwise he more closely represents Cerberus based on the leaked concept art of him.