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Eugard Vollachia

Eugard Vollachia (ユーガルド・ヴォラキア) was the sixty-first emperor of the Sacred Vollachia Empire and the former lover of Iris. He played both an antagonistic and supportive role in Arc 8, and he is one of the main characters of the Iris and the King of Thorns EX chapter.

Eugard was an emperor from 300 years before the main story who one day ruled with the village girl Iris by his side. However, after a “betrayal”, Iris was killed. In his grief, he cast the Soul Marriage Curse on Iris's soul, making it so that she would reincarnate with her memories over and over. Their story was later immortalized as the famed Vollachian story, Iris and the King of Thorns.

During the Great Disaster, he was revived as a zombie under Sphinx's influence. However, after being freed from the influence, assisting in ending the Great Disaster, and reuniting with Iris, he requested the end of his centuries old command for the mole and wolf people's deaths, and he returned to death in peace.

Appearance

Eugard was a short and thin man who had dark green hair that was nearly black and almost reached his shoulders, indigo eyes, and a handsome face. He had a vague resemblance to Vincent Vollachia. As a zombie, he possessed pale skin bereft of color, various cracks that run across his body, pitch-black sclera, and radiant golden irises. He returned to his original form upon being slashed by the Fiend Sword.

He has been shown to wear royal garments that were red and charcoal grey, as well as a red cloak with charcoal grey shoulders. He wore a thorny crown around his head, and he carried with him a scepter, of which the top bore resemblance to a flower, with a red "bud", four black "petals", and black thorns that wrapped around the upper handle.

Personality

Eugard is portrayed as having a cold, emotionless personality, stated to be split half-and-half between his natural personality and how it was shaped by his solitude due to his curse. He is stated as possessing congenital analgesia, a condition that makes one feel no pain. He was shocked with himself when he produced a roar upon striking Halibel with all of his might, claiming the battle with the aforementioned Admirer was the first time he felt a surge of emotion in his life.

Eugard is intensely vengeful towards those who steal the lives of those he cares about. Due to the conspiracy revolving around the death of Iris, Eugard held an immense hatred for the mole and wolf humans, and he personally killed the people responsible. His hatred was so intense that he became responsible for organizing their mass genocide and leaving the command for their demise active for the next three centuries. This hatred even affected how his Curse of Thorns worked on them: none of them were afflicted with it as the curse does not work on anyone he has no love for. However, after his battle with Halibel, where the Admirer became responsible for removing his curse from him, and his reuniting with Iris, who had been reincarnated as Yorna Mishigure, he was willing to ask the present-day emperor, Vincent, to revoke his command that sent the races into hiding.

It is said that amongst all of the emperors of Vollachia, he is the one who was least reserved about handing out compliments. Despite his demeanor and way of speaking, he often praises those he comes across, similar to the Admirer, though not to the same extent. Even after his death, this was true. During his battle with Groovy Gumlet, he complimented his strength as greater than the Nine Divine Generals of his time, and against Halibel, despite his hatred for the man's kind, he complimented him for his skill.

History

Born with congenital analgesia, Eugard Elcanti (ユーガルド・エルカンティ, Yūgarudo Erukanti), the future Emperor of the Briar, was cursed with the Curse of Thorns as an infant by an unknown curse arts user who was either sent to curse the boy or did so of their own volition as a result of envy directed at the Elcanti family of Special High Counts as part of sabotage for the Imperial Selection Ceremony.[1] Although his congenital analgesia prevented him from feeling the pain of the Curse of Thorns, the curse still affected those around him, forcing him to live a life of solitude while still experiencing a feeling of suffocation from the curse still eating into his body.[2][3] At some point, his body accustomed itself to the thorns, giving it a symbiotic relationship with the Curse of Thorns.[4] He began training himself in the sword and, with his talent and a body that could utilize that talent, increased his strength to bewildering heights.

Around 300 years before the present era, Eugard met a village girl named Iris, but had to part with her until he was betrayed and ousted from the throne. Thereafter, Iris began to shelter Eugard, supported his path to return to his position, and the two fell in love. However, when a betrayal from the mole human and wolf human races cost the life of his beloved, he descended into madness and abandoned the paradise he had once intended to build. In his madness, he chose to eradicate the races that betrayed him, and he brought his beloved back to life by casting a curse known as the Soul Marriage Curse on her, which forced Iris's soul to rise again while preventing it from ever returning to Od Lagna, causing her to endlessly reincarnate.

Abilities

Curse (呪い, Noroi): Eugard was afflicted by the Curse of Thorns, a curse cast onto him by an unknown yet talented curse arts user. While he was an undead, Halibel plundered the Fiend Sword Murasame from the King of Thorns and attacked him with it, removing the curse from him and transferring it to Groovy Gumlet, and it was destroyed by the Fiend Sword shortly after.

  • Curse of Thorns (茨の呪い, Ibara no Noroi): Eugard had the Curse of Thorns, a curse placed onto him that caused him to bind himself and the people around him with thorns. He had the capability to bind people with with sharp, ashen grey thorns that pierced the heart of their targets and had no tangible form, making them impossible to remove.[5][6] The effect of the thorns were dependent on the target's Od.[7] So long as a target met the conditions, the thorns indiscriminately applied themselves to anyone within who entered a given distance centered around Eugard and more intensely harmed them the closer they got to him.[8][9] The curse could not activate on a target unless the person with the curse loved them;[10] because Eugard directed his love to everyone in his life, the curse afflicted everyone he came into contact with, until Iris's death led to wolf humans and mole humans being excluded from the curse's effects.[11] These rules also applied to Eugard.[12] As a result of Eugard's congenital analgesia, he felt no pain from the thorns and was able to become accustomed to them when his body optimized itself because of their presence, thus allowing him to increase his power. Originally, the range of his Curse of Thorns was only one hundred meters, but when he was separated from Iris, its range increased to hundreds of meters and started piercing through those he had attempted to speak to through a Conversation Mirror.[13]

Considerable Power: Eugard's skill with the sword and strength was so great that, even if he lacked the Curse of Thorns, he would have been able to slay the Nine Divine Generals from his era regardless.[14] Unable to have any guards because of his Curse of Thorns, he learned and mastered an assortment of sword techniques to defend himself with. According to Groovy Gumlet, Eugard is a master martial artist, and his skill in combat improved during his fight with Halibel.

Equipment: In life, Eugard primarily wielded the Yang Sword as a member of the imperial family, using it with such effectiveness that his skill surpassed even the Nine Divine Generals. After being resurrected as a zombie during the Great Disaster, he temporarily acquired the Fiend Sword of Cecilus Segmunt that the Blue Lightning left behind after undergoing infantilization and skillfully brandished it in battle.

  • Family Sword: The sword Eugard originally used was a family heirloom that had been bestowed to them by a past emperor and had been almost exclusively displayed as a decoration. Because he was unable to have bodyguards with his Curse of Thorns, in case he ever needed to defend himself, Eugard mastered a number of sword techniques to such a great degree that he was able to become the most skilled combatant in Vollachia.
  • Yang Sword Vollachia (陽剣ヴォラキア, Youken Vorakia): As a member of the Imperial Family of Vollachia, Eugard was capable of summoning and using the Yang Sword Vollachia, otherwise known as the Yang Sword, an ornate crimson sword with light that shines like the sun. The sword appears out of thin air when the user wishes to use it and it cuts and burns whatever the user desires. Unlike other users, Eugard makes a habit of abusing its unique sheathing method to catch his opponents off guard, such as when he throws his blade or decides to switch which hand he wields the sword in.
  • Fiend Sword Murasame (邪剣ムラサメ, Jaken Murasame): The Fiend Sword Murasame is an Enchanted Sword belonging to Cecilus Segmunt that Eugard temporarily acquired and wielded. It has a cutting edge so mighty that crafting a sheath for it was riddled with complications.[15] Murasame has the ability to sever the perceived “point” that exists in everything, no matter the person, object, phenomenon, or concept.[16] This allows it to cut through things without a physical form, including curses and contracts.[17] The sword has a very long and storied history. Due to it being an Enchanted Sword, it requires sacrifice and blood in order to satisfy its hunger for violence.[18] In other words, the owner of the Fiend Sword must use it as a killing tool rather often. It also needs suitable compensation in order to be wielded, something that would cost an average wielder their very life.[19] According to Julius, even when sheathed, Murasame emits extreme cruelty and bloodlust.[20] Murasame was originally a sword with a different form that was reforged into a katana by Groovy Gumlet.[21]

Trivia

References

  1. ↑ ――Eugard Vollachia, the Emperor of the Briar, had received a curse as part of sabotage concerning the Imperial Selection Ceremony, a rite of succession for the imperial throne that had persisted for a long time within the Vollachia Empire. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 37, Chapter 2, Section 4.
  2. ↑ By birth, Eugard had “congenital analgesia”, the inability to feel pain. Therefore, the constantly active Curse of Thorns did not bestow pain upon Eugard himself, but instead only continued to grant pain to those around him; as a result, he was left completely alone. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 37, Chapter 2, Section 4.
  3. ↑ The curse had forced Eugard into solitude, but it had not fulfilled its goal of tormenting his congenitally analgesic self. But, he had only been divorced from the pain, the curse still continued to eat into Eugard's body. In truth, though the young Eugard had not felt pain either, he had experienced a suffocating sensation due to the oppressive nature of the curse. That was an inconvenient obstacle for Eugard, whose time left to live had already been decided. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 37, Chapter 2, Section 8.
  4. ↑ But, at some point, the effects of the Curse of Thorns had stopped having any disturbance whatsoever on Eugard’s body, and Eugard became fully capable of taking action for the sake of fulfilling his own objectives. That was to say, Eugard’s body had grown to be able to deal with the danger that constantly threatened his life. ――The details of how the strongest Emperor in the history of the Empire had been born lay within that irony. Having optimized itself in order to simply live, Eugard’s body worked incredibly as a foundation for nurturing his mechanical diligence. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 37, Chapter 2, Section 8.
  5. ↑ Grey thorns emerged just above the left side of his chest, and the moment his fingers, trying to pluck them, passed straight through, the sharp thorns pierced his heart, causing an intense pain that made Groovy’s fur stand on end. The sensation of having a sharp object thrust into the innermost parts of one’s body, especially a vital spot directly linked to life, was a pain so intense that even a seasoned warrior would not be able to help but writhe. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 36, Chapter 5, Section 3.
  6. ↑ Infuriatingly, the thorns had no tangible form. It made it impossible to shake them off. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 36, Chapter 5, Section 3.
  7. ↑ For example, these thorns were clearly more dependent on the target’s Od than the caster’s, a perfect example. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 36, Chapter 5, Section 3.
  8. ↑ The Curse of Thorns was, by how it had looked, a powerful curse that indiscriminately engulfed a wide area centered on the caster. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 37, Chapter 2, Section 1.
  9. ↑ The closer one would get to the user, the stronger the curse of thorns would act. Most people would probably be incapacitated by the pain before they could ever reach the user. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 36, Chapter 5, Section 3.
  10. ↑ That was to say, the Curse of Thorns would not be activated unless directed at something one loved. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 37, Chapter 2, Section 7.
  11. ↑ Thereupon, the Curse of Thorns was not present. Upon him, who ought to have been an abominable, detestable wolfman to Eugard, the curse was not being invoked. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 37, Chapter 2, Section 5.
  12. ↑ ――Just like Groovy, the Curse of Thorns had also been planted upon Eugard’s chest. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 37, Chapter 2, Section 1.
  13. ↑ Until now, Eugard's Curse of Thorns had impacted a range of around one hundred meters. This had some margin for error depending on the day, but it underwent a sudden change. The range of the curse had expanded to several hundreds of meters in an instant, and on top of that, it had also become capable of perforating the Conversation Mirrors, binding hearts on a basis unrelated to physical distance. Iris and the King of Thorns Part 2, Section 10.
  14. ↑ Since the Curse of Thorns had made Eugard stronger, this was a meaningless supposition, but his strength and ability with the sword were such that even if the Curse of Thorns had been absent, he still would have been able to wipe out the Nine Divine Generals of that era. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 37, Chapter 2, Section 8.
  15. ↑ Its cutting edge was so plainly absurd that even making a dedicated sheath for the blade had been rife with difficulties, such was the might of the blade known as the Fiend Sword Murasame. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 37, Chapter 3, Section 1.
  16. ↑ It meant to get down to the heart of a matter, but in all things there was an appropriate “point”. No matter the object or phenomenon, or even concept, there existed a “point” that signified its essence. The Fiend Sword Murasame, was an Enchanted Sword that severed that perceived “point”―― Murasame hated Groovy, who had melted it down and reforged it in the past, so to never again be hunted for, it cut the point of its “scent”. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 37, Chapter 3, Section 1.
  17. ↑ “I mean the Fiend Sword Murasame! That fucking sword’s the fastest way to cut through curses, contracts, and other things that don’t have any form!” Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 36, Chapter 5, Section 3.
  18. ↑ These two blades of his, Murasame and Masayume, needed even more attention than most, as befitted two of the greatest works of a master swordsmith's art. However, the most important thing for keeping enchanted swords in good fettle was not polishing or honing. What they sought, was respect for what they were. Enchanted Swords required blood and death. Re:Zero Ex Light Novel Volume 4, Royal Selection Prequel: The Silver Flower Dance of the Sword Saint and the Lightning, Section 7.
  19. ↑ This Fiend Sword, which manifested such impossible power, naturally required a suitable compensation in order to be wielded. If the wielder were an ordinary person, it would be an untread area which could cost them their very life――. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 37, Chapter 3, Section 1.
  20. ↑ It was in no small part because both of the blades seemed to radiate an immense cruelty and bloodlust that could still be detected even when they were completely sheathed. Re:Zero Ex Light Novel Volume 4, Royal Selection Prequel: The Silver Flower Dance of the Sword Saint and the Lightning, Section 5.
  21. ↑ Even if it were not for that, Murasame hated Groovy, who had melted the sword and reforged it into a katana; it would not even allow him to hold it in his hand. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 36, Chapter 5, Section 3.

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