It was actually Gladio who voluntold Ardyn they'd be partnered up together, in this particular instance. Less because it's anything Gladio wants, and more because Gladio doesn't really trust Ardyn around anyone else in an already dangerous situation. He, at least, can go into having Ardyn at his side with his eyes wide open - and there's no way in hell he'd let the other people who know Ardyn is like partner up with him. He's not risking any of them, not while he can stand between them and Ardyn.
He's made this all explicitly clear to Ardyn, of course. He never saw any reason to hide it. Ardyn both knows what he is and what he's done, and what Gladio's opinion of him is. There's no tact in denying obvious reality.
But whatever his opinion of Ardyn might be, Gladio at least is a reliable man to have at one's side. For the time being, they're working together - and that means when the intellect devourer Ardyn was baiting manages to actually get ahold of him, Gladio moves forward without hesitation to try and get it off him. The easiest - and most tempting - way to solve the problem would be to remove the intellect devourer, and Ardyn's head, with a swipe of his sword...but he's not looking to cause more problems for Charlie, and he doesn't betray people. It'd be one thing if he and Ardyn had just met in the street - and especially if Ardyn was back to causing problems - but for now, they're working together, and Ardyn is(for reasons Gladio can't guess at, but he's chalking it up to Ardyn being consistently unpredictable), at least for the moment, helping the town. And Gladio does what the situation calls for, not necessarily what his heart wants.
Which means that - since Gladio can't think of a better way to get the damn thing off Ardyn without hurting him - Gladio's actually got his hands on the thing, trying to twist those tentacles loose, when that sound like a rapidly deflating balloon goes off and the explosion follows far too fast for him to even react. Fortunately - if one can call something so messy 'fortunate' - the shrapnel of this particular explosion is largely soft meat. The blast knocks Gladio, big as he is, flat on his ass(possibly to Ardyn's private delight), but it doesn't do him any significant damage beyond a ringing in his ears that takes a full minute to abate.
Really, though, none of that is his immediate concern. The explosion hits him with a lot more than just concussive force.
He sees...well, what does he see? A power play. Politics. Murder. The crystal and the Astrals not giving a damn about humanity, casually demanding the highest sacrifices from those they deny everything, letting the worst assholes kill the best people and doing nothing, but admittedly none of that is actually news to Gladio.
And sure, it's an unpleasant eye-opener to see just what the Founder King of the nation he's served all his life was like - a petty, scheming, amoral, backbiting snake. He lacks full context for a lot of what he sees, but that much is clear almost from first blush. But for Gladio, what's almost even more enraging than that...is watching the First Shield, his predecessor(not by blood, but by title), lick the Founder's boots. Backing him in what is clearly a blatant usurpation attempt, followed by attempted fratricide, and then even continuing to back him after the man murders an innocent woman trying to protect - from what Gladio can tell - an equally innocent man. (Hard to believe, when he can see the shadows of Ardyn in that man's face, but Gladio had never really kidded himself that Ardyn was born an evil asshole. No, it takes considerable effort and dedication to make such a dick out of oneself; it doesn't just happen. So he supposes it must be so, however strange it seems.)
He doesn't know how long he lies on the ground, seeing countless years ago and worlds away, before his eyes start seeing the here and now again. But when he comes back to himself...the first thing out of him is a grunt that Ardyn will likely hear. There's a bit too much anger in it, too much emphasis, for it to be truly quiet, even though Gladio isn't actively speaking to him.
"First Shield my ass." He should have taken the bastard's other arm.
Patrolling
He's made this all explicitly clear to Ardyn, of course. He never saw any reason to hide it. Ardyn both knows what he is and what he's done, and what Gladio's opinion of him is. There's no tact in denying obvious reality.
But whatever his opinion of Ardyn might be, Gladio at least is a reliable man to have at one's side. For the time being, they're working together - and that means when the intellect devourer Ardyn was baiting manages to actually get ahold of him, Gladio moves forward without hesitation to try and get it off him. The easiest - and most tempting - way to solve the problem would be to remove the intellect devourer, and Ardyn's head, with a swipe of his sword...but he's not looking to cause more problems for Charlie, and he doesn't betray people. It'd be one thing if he and Ardyn had just met in the street - and especially if Ardyn was back to causing problems - but for now, they're working together, and Ardyn is(for reasons Gladio can't guess at, but he's chalking it up to Ardyn being consistently unpredictable), at least for the moment, helping the town. And Gladio does what the situation calls for, not necessarily what his heart wants.
Which means that - since Gladio can't think of a better way to get the damn thing off Ardyn without hurting him - Gladio's actually got his hands on the thing, trying to twist those tentacles loose, when that sound like a rapidly deflating balloon goes off and the explosion follows far too fast for him to even react. Fortunately - if one can call something so messy 'fortunate' - the shrapnel of this particular explosion is largely soft meat. The blast knocks Gladio, big as he is, flat on his ass(possibly to Ardyn's private delight), but it doesn't do him any significant damage beyond a ringing in his ears that takes a full minute to abate.
Really, though, none of that is his immediate concern. The explosion hits him with a lot more than just concussive force.
He sees...well, what does he see? A power play. Politics. Murder. The crystal and the Astrals not giving a damn about humanity, casually demanding the highest sacrifices from those they deny everything, letting the worst assholes kill the best people and doing nothing, but admittedly none of that is actually news to Gladio.
And sure, it's an unpleasant eye-opener to see just what the Founder King of the nation he's served all his life was like - a petty, scheming, amoral, backbiting snake. He lacks full context for a lot of what he sees, but that much is clear almost from first blush. But for Gladio, what's almost even more enraging than that...is watching the First Shield, his predecessor(not by blood, but by title), lick the Founder's boots. Backing him in what is clearly a blatant usurpation attempt, followed by attempted fratricide, and then even continuing to back him after the man murders an innocent woman trying to protect - from what Gladio can tell - an equally innocent man. (Hard to believe, when he can see the shadows of Ardyn in that man's face, but Gladio had never really kidded himself that Ardyn was born an evil asshole. No, it takes considerable effort and dedication to make such a dick out of oneself; it doesn't just happen. So he supposes it must be so, however strange it seems.)
He doesn't know how long he lies on the ground, seeing countless years ago and worlds away, before his eyes start seeing the here and now again. But when he comes back to himself...the first thing out of him is a grunt that Ardyn will likely hear. There's a bit too much anger in it, too much emphasis, for it to be truly quiet, even though Gladio isn't actively speaking to him.
"First Shield my ass." He should have taken the bastard's other arm.