Maro

Maro (マロ Maro) is a Taoist from the Forbidden Continent who is able to control Gravity. He was one of the earliest members of the Apostles of the Stars, but left after the grouped disbanded.

Appearance
Maro is a true Taoist from the Forbidden Continent. He is dressed in what appears to be a type of traditional clothing from Yamoto.

Personality
Maro measures above two meters in height and weighs more than three hundreds kilograms, he is apparently very proud of his body, which serves as a natural shield against bullets and attacks. He has known Shiki since he was born and as two of the few remaining Tao masters, they are very close friends. He is the only one who ever saw Shiki's face before she revealed it. Maro appears to follow Shiki but the two are seen discussing about their own goal. Maro also gets along well with the other Apostles, namely Charden Flamberg, Kyoko Kirisaki and Leon Elliot, with whom he is seen discussing (and sometimes berating when it comes to Kyoko). Like Shiki, Maro is extremely proud of his status of a Tao Master and he considers any other fighting style (and their users) as inferior to the Tao. But unlike Shiki, this pride often leads him to underestimate his opponents and to pay the price. Maro hates being mocked or underestimated and he is very prone to anger. Contrary to Shiki who is never ridiculed for his dwarfism, Maro is often called "fastso" or "sumo wrestler" by his foes, when they don't burst out laughing upon seeing his traditional clothes from Yamoto.

In spite of his arrogance and these comedic aspects, Maro is relatively clever and observant. He knows how to analyze a fight and he usually waits to know before judging anything, save from when he is fighting.

History
Maro was born in the "other continent" of Yamto, a faraway and mysterious island inhabited by Taoists, who mastered the mystical art of Tao, which consists in mastering the ki (life energy) to use special powers and spells. Maro along with Shiki were part of the main Taoist clan, which was somehow involved with Chronos, a powerful secret organization which controls one third of the word's economy and politic. The exact relationship between Chronos and the clan of Taoists are unknown but 25 years before the start of the series, a war broke out between the two factions. Apparently, the Tao Masters wanted to overthrow Chronos and rule the world with the power of Tao but this was never fully explained. Chronos sent out all their assassins in this war, including the thirteen Chrono Numbers, the world's strongest fighters. After an entire month of fighting, the Taoists were nearly wiped out and only three Chrono Numbers were left.

Maro and Shiki wandered around the world looking for a way to fulfil their goal until two years before the start of the series where they met Creed Diskenth, a renegade assassin from Chronos. Shiki revealed Creed's own power of Tao and they offered their support to the demented swordsman, helping him to create the Apostles of the Stars. Their ultimate goal was to destroy Chronos and to take over the world, so that they could reshape it following their ideals.

Lunafort Arc
Maro is guarding the entry of the Lunafort tower along with Charden Flamberg and Kyoko Kirisaki, while Creed Diskenth is having a meeting with his former partner, Train Heartnet. He wonders whether or not Train will agree to team up with Creed again, and later berates Kyoko for her laid-back attitude.

Revolution Arc
Maro is discussing with Shiki about the beginning of the revolution on Clarken Island, before the Apostles of the Stars' gathering. He later takes part in the terrorist attack on the World Conference, and the many other attacks on several Chronos bases. He then witnesses Durham Glaster's execution without objection and he is seen discussing with Charden in Stoke Town.

Cerberus Arc
Maro later "greets" the Chrono Numbers V, VII and XI when they invade the Apostles of the Stars' castle, along with Charden and Leon Elliot. Maro underestimates the Numbers and mocks their "primitive" weapons, only to be sent flying away. A short skirmish then begins but the Numbers manage to escape, much to Maro's anger. When Shiki asks Echidna Parass about Creed's experiments on Nanomachines, Maro seems even more enraged than Shiki by Creed's disrespect of the Tao. Maro later goes with Shiki and Echidna to where the Numbers are battling Creed and joins the fight, pushing the Chrono Number XI into a corner. However, the battle is ultimately interrupted by Train Heartnet and all the Apostles leave the castle before it's blown up.

Alliance Arc
When the Sweeper's Alliance invade Clarken Island, Shiki asks Maro to get rid of Train and he quickly finds him, alongside another powerful bounty-hunter named River Zastory. Upon seeing him, both sweepers burst out laughing because of his clothing. Angered, Maro attacks Train and starts the first fight of the final battle, while River is challenged by Preta Ghoul. Maro attacks Train and manages to wound him, but he shoots him in the leg with a bullet filled with a paralyzing product, ultimately winning the fight. Some time later, when Train is battling Shiki, Maro recovers from the paralysis and heads toward the manor to get his revenge. He is later seen with Shiki, as they witness the blast caused by Creed Diskenth and Train Heartnet's ultimate attacks colliding.

A Carefree Tomorrow
After Creed is defeated and the Apostles of the Stars are disbanded, Shiki and Maro depart to travel around the world.

Anime Plot
Maro participates in the Apostle's terrorist attack on the World Conference and, as with every other Apostle, he watches from the sidelines the confrontation between Creed Diskenth and Train Heartnet. Maro hinders Train at first, by increasing the weight of his Black Gun "Hades" to two hundreds kilograms, but Train still manages to wield it normally thanks to his unfathomable physical strength.

Maro also takes part in the showdown of the old castle and the war of Krarken Island. He engages in a battle against the Chrono Number IX, David Papper. Maro gains the upper hand at first, and hurls countless "Gravity Bombs" towards his foe, but David manages to push him to a corner. (Curiously,when Maro fires a Gravity Bomb, his body deflates.) Maro ultimately fires a huge "Gravity Bomb" in the sky and restrains David as the "Gravity Bomb" is falling on the both of them, killing them both.

Equipment and Abilities
Maro has extreme physical strength, being able to crush someone's head with his bare hands and to expel a bullet in his leg by contracting his muscles, and in spite of his weight he is very fast and agile. He can "turn" himself into a ball and perform a devastating, boulder-like rollout attack. He also use his massive size to overwhelm his enemies and harrass them with a barrages of swift and powerful blows. Maro can also use his ki to feel other's and locate people and use of Tao in a defined perimeter, or to increase his own physical abilities. He is also likely able to detect a power of Tao dormant in someone.

Maro's power of Tao is called "Gravity". He can disrupt the flow of ki that runs the ground to increase and manipulate the earth's gravity and by extension the weight of every object as he pleases. He mostly uses his power to increase his own weight and magnify the strength of his blows and his rollout attack. His signature technique is called "Gravity Harite" he concentrates gravity in his hands to increase tenfold the weight of his blows and delivers a barrage of attacks, that cause enough pressure to strike at distance. He can also vastly increase the earth's gravity in a defined perimeter around him, which he uses to crush everything around him (including tanks and armored vehicles), to make projectiles fall to the ground before they reach their targets (usually him) and to send continuous waves of gravity pressure around him. Maro's most powerful attack is called "Gravity Bomb:" He creates a gravity field in his hands and he compresses it into a huge ball that crushes everything on a large perimeter. He can fire several of these in rapid succession and he can even fire several at the same time or a barrage of smaller ones.

Maro is only seen increasing the gravity but he may be able to decrease it as well, for he is seen to stand on the very top of a tree with his three hundreds kilograms. Given Maro's overconfidence, one can think that he never uses his power to the maximum. Despite this, he is clearly above the other Tao-Wielders of the group (except Creed Diskenth, Shiki and Doctor) even if the gap of power isn't very large.

Being a Tao Master, Maro is very likely able to use the Fuda techniques and to brew potions but perhaps not with the same proficiency as Shiki. Given that he is never seen using it, no one can really know.

Trivia

 * Maro makes an appearance as a video game character in Mayoi Neko Overrun!, a manga written by Tomohiro Matsu and illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki.
 * At the end of Chapter 47, Maro's hair is shown to be long and straight.