Nilokeras

Nilokeras (ニロケラス) is a heavyset Martian Kataphrakt that appears in the ALDNOAH.ZERO television series. It is piloted by Baron Trillram, an Orbital Knight.

Technology & Combat Characteristics
The Nilokeras is equipped with an Aldnoah Drive that allows for it to create a Dimensional Barrier. The Dimensional Barrier absorbs all forms of energy, making the Nilokeras a Defensive-minded Kataphrakt that is impossible to destroy using orthodox methods. Calm Craftman referred to it as a purple "pill-bug".

Special Equipment and Features

 * Aerial Cameras
 * The Nilokeras' barrier can absorb light, therefore the pilot requires external cameras in order to see his surroundings as long as the barrier is up. The Nilokeras controls eight cameras at any given time, which can fly anywhere within a limited range, allowing the pilot to get a bird's eye view of the whole battlefield. The cameras are small and may be barely detectable to the naked eye.
 * While the detached cameras are one of the Nilokeras' strengths, they are also its main weakness. As they are totally exposed, a savvy enemy can destroy them or cloud their field of vision with smoke, partially or fully blinding the Kataphrakt, which relies on them exclusively. In addition, the Nilokeras has a flaw in its barrier where the camera signal is received through.

Armaments

 * Dimensional Barrier
 * The main weapon of the Nilokeras is its barrier, which absorbs all forms of physical matter as well as any type of radiation, such as light and radio-waves, along with electricity, kinetic energy, "pure energy", and virtually anything else. The light that the Nilokeras absorbs, physically inhibits it from seeing what is in front of it. Therefore, the aerial cameras must be activated overhead to give the user vision. However, this means that there has to be at least one opening in the armor to allow a signal to be transmitted from the cameras to the Nilokeras. This receiver is located in a small area underneath the machine's armpit. This barrier does not protect the bottom of the Nilokeras' feet either, because otherwise it would sink into the ground. Though it is not justified why it has no effect on air surrounding it. However, since air is a gas it is freely moving around in the atmosphere therefore it has little contact time with solids. It can be speculated there is a very small time delay before the shield annihilates matter it comes into contact with.


 * This gap is easy to spot if the Nilokeras is closely observed upon activation of the barrier. If the spot with the antenna is damaged sufficiently, the barrier will automatically deactivate.


 * "Claws"
 * The Nilokeras does not physically carry any weaponry, but instead is equipped with huge claws that can cleave out several tons of concrete when combined with the dimensional barrier that covers most of the Nilokeras.

History
The Nilokeras is seen activating as Operation Earthfall began, starting the Second Earth-Mars War.

Sir Trillram in the Nilokeras was later airdropped by Slaine Troyard in a Sky Carrier to a specified location. Trillram's supposed mission was to plant the "VERS flag" where Princess Asseylum Vers Allusia died, but his true mission was to eliminate the conspirators who assassinated Princess Asseylum. He succeeded for the most part, though he failed to kill Rayet Areash. He chases after her, where he encounters a Kataphrakt platoon of KG-7 Areions and destroys most of them. Koichiro Marito in his heavily damaged Areion and Yuki Kaizuka in hers survive the encounter. Yuki having grabbed Rayet, trying to take her to safety, is chased by Trillram causing massive structural damage to buildings in Shin-awara, due to the Nilokeras' Dimensional Barrier.

Eventually, the Nilokeras was destroyed by Inaho Kaizuka in a KG-6 Sleipnir. He figured out its weaknesses, first blinding the machine through the use of smoke bombs, then luring it onto a bridge, and then collapsing the bridge underneath it. The flow of water around the unprotected spot revealed the flaw in the Nilokeras' barrier, which allowed Inaho's team to destroy it.

Notes & Trivia

 * "Nilokeras" means "Horn of the Nile" in Greek. The Nilokeras is named after Nilokeras Scopulus, a long escarpment in the northern hemisphere of the planet Mars. It is located along the southeastern boundary of the Tempe Terra plateau.