Sapientia, the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence
Sapientia, the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence and Controller of Seas, is an enemy boss in Bayonetta, one of the Auditio seeking to recover the Left Eye of the World and revive Jubileus. He is the last Auditio encountered.
Hierarchy of Laguna[]
Artists have often depicted the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence, Sapientia, as a marine animal roaming the depths of the seas. This is likely due to the human disposition to characterize the sea as the source of all life, a veritable fountain of prudence and wisdom. It is also thought that Sapientia is responsible for the rise and fall of the tides, and natural phenomena such as tsunamis. The grand idea that the living seas could be nothing other than the Divine will at work is actually evidence of Sapientia's narcissism, even amongst Cardinal Virtues.
When a man born as a slave led his people to freedom from ruling oppression, it is said that it was only Sapientia's favor that parted the seas and allowed for their escape.
History[]
Sapientia is first seen accompanying Jeanne in her confrontation with Bayonetta on a plane which had captured Cereza, but he is in fact the cause of the apparently mysterious blast that appears on the airport at the end of the previous chapter, where his model was left out by mistake. When Sapientia catches up with Valkyrie, the lack of control of Jeanne and constant reminding of their objective causes Jeanne to lash out at him, forcing him off the plane to confront Bayonetta personally. However, Sapienta (whether accidental or not is unknown) shot a fire ball at the ship, causing it to plummet into the ocean with him.
He is seen again after the plane crashes into the ocean, damaged beyond repair. A helicopter flown by Luka rescues Cereza, leaving Bayonetta behind. Moments later, Sapientia appears out of the water, challenging her to battle. Bayonetta proceeds to use a panel from the airplane as an impromptu surfboard to fight Sapientia. After wounding Sapientia, Bayonetta summons Phantasmaraneae. Sapientia notices his danger and attempts to flee, but is stopped by Bayonetta, who proceeds to force him toward Phantasmaraneae using Madame Butterfly. After repeated attacks from Phantasmaraneae, Sapientia creates a vortex in the ocean, leading to one last fight in the whirlpool. Upon his defeat, Bayonetta summons a giant Phantasmaraneae, which sucks Sapientia further down the vortex. Sapientia struggles to escape, but is drawn in by Phantasmaraneae's breath. He falls onto a spider web and proceeds to have his body ripped apart by Phantasmaraneae's children. In his last moments, he laughs at Bayonetta, considering her clueless. He is then taken into the depths of Inferno.