Kurgan (クルガン) was a hero of the Sacred Vollachia Empire who was regarded as its strongest warrior.[1] Debuting in Arc 5, he played the role of a secondary antagonist, after the Witch Cult resurrected him as a corpse soldier and he was used as a pawn of the Sin Archbishop of Lust to wreak havoc in the Watergate City of Priestella. He was defeated by Garfiel Tinzel.
During Stride Vollachia's rampage across the Kingdom of Lugunica, in the years following the Demi-Human War, Kurgan acted as Stride's bodyguard, doing the dirty work for him. In that 1-year-span, he had two duels with Wilhelm van Astrea in a battle that would go down in history as the Silver Flower Dance of Picoutatte. Following Stride's and his own defeat, Kurgan was extradited back to the Empire, where he remained as a slave in the Fortified City of Garkla until he died at the hands of Regulus Corneas while defending the city.
Contents
Appearance
Kurgan was a giant who stood around seven feet tall and towered above most other people. His huge body was armored by thick, twisting muscles and his fists were said to be as large as a child's head. The trait that distinguished Kurgan as a member of the Many-Armed Tribe and earned him the legendary appellation "Eight-Arms" was his eight powerful arms. His blue skin and black eyes gave the impression of a vengeful demon. The warrior's physical appearance and combat might bestowed Kurgan with a legendarily intimidating presence. Even the likes of the previous generation's Sword Saint failed to suppress a shudder upon gazing at Eight-Arms for the first time.
Reflecting his barbarism, Kurgan wore scant clothing. His ensemble consisted of a tattered black loincloth, black bracers on each forearm that had golden bracelets attached to their bottom hems, and black hosiery that covered his legs below the knees and had the same golden bracelets adorned at the bottom. Kurgan had various pieces of gold jewelry traipsing down his body, including his neck, face, and waist area. He has no shoes as he states that he prefers nature's ground.
Personality
Kurgan had a rough and straightforward personality but spoke in a surprisingly sophisticated manner. He was also highly perceptive and seemed to have above average intelligence despite his otherwise brutish appearance. However, he was ever eager to battle strong opponents in order test his strength and go beyond his limits, thus Kurgan was never one to turn down a fight. He deeply admired the peak of martial arts mastery, such as the one that Reid Astrea once achieved, holding deep admiration for the "Heavenly Sword".
He had a fascination with the darkness within Stride, this being the reason why Kurgan initially took an interest in him. Witnessing a dark emotion such as despair in an individual was enough to spur Kurgan to act in alignment with them. The emotions within Stride influenced Kurgan into taking on the role of his father, growing to unconditionally love and serve him in the wake of the devastation he brought with him. Despite the paternal care he bore for Stride, Kurgan possessed a corrupt, brutish mindset. He frequently taunted his enemies and was not above threatening their loved ones, at one point boasting to the Sword Demon during their first duel that he would kill him, abduct and impregnate his wife Theresia, and name his son with her after Wilhelm.
History
Kurgan was born to the Multi-Arm Clan. Despite their main characteristic of having more arms than normal, even in their tribe, having eight arms was unheard of. In his youth, Kurgan managed to raise his clan's status and protect their land from a Vollachian lord who sought to claim it, which marked the start of his world-renowned exploits. He rose in strength to become the Vollachia Empire's strongest warrior, achieving a legendary status tantamount to receiving an order of merit from the Vollachian emperor himself.
More than half a decade ago, Kurgan was given responsibility over Stride Vollachia, who was given up by his family due to his frail constitution. Kurgan felt jubilated at seeing the darkness within the boy's eyes, growing to care for him and eventually considering himself Stride's foster father. While attempting to participate in the Imperial Selection Ceremony, an unknown culprit poisoned Stride with a powerful poison, causing Stride to drift between life and death for three arduous and agonizing months. When Stride beat his illness, he awoke to tell Kurgan that he saw entities known as the Observers in the heavens, toying with people as if they were mere pieces on a board. At that moment, Kurgan determined that he would not obey the Vollachia Empire that sought Stride's death, choosing instead to prioritize the love that he, as a father, felt for his foolish son. From then on, Shasuke, Raizo, and Melinda, the other three who came to pledge themselves to Stride, all walked together to see where the Destruction Wish would arrive at.
Sword Demon Love Story
Approximately forty years prior to the start of the story, aiming for Sword Saint, Stride used the gift of Veltol Astrea as an excuse to meet with him in the Suwen Company in Picoutatte, where he openly insulted him and his daughter. With Veltol challenging him to a duel, he claimed to be unable to fight due to his illness, which Theresia had noticed, and he decided to have Kurgan act as his champion. Further antagonizing the two with insults to them and Theresia's husband, Veltol struck him, leading to his brutal beating by Kurgan and being cursed by Stride. Leaving Yaktol Suwen with a message that he would be waiting at a great bridge in the city's west district with the source of the curse, he left. The next morning, he met with Theresia and Wilhelm, who challenged him to a duel. Despite being irritated that the rumors he heard regarding her award ceremony were true and that Wilhelm had equivalent battle aura to Kurgan, the duel ensued. Despite this, both sides took great damage, and seeing that he was in danger of losing his pawn, he stopped the duel and claimed it their loss, tossing his ring to them, and using another to turn the bridge beneath them into sand, allowing him and Kurgan to escape. Sometime later, the two arms that were severed during this fight were reattached.
Sword Demon Battle Ballad
He was eventually defeated once more by Wilhelm in the city during the Subjugation of the Blight Dragon and lay dying on the streets of Picoutatte until Volcanica's miracle healed him. Having been the only survivor of the Stride Faction, Kurgan was then extradited back to the Vollachia Empire and reduced to a mere slave in the Fortified City of Garkla, willingly accepting this fate despite having the power to resist.
Finale of the Eight Arms
Decades later, Kurgan was involved in the defense against Regulus Corneas's rampage in Garkla. He was initially ordered along with his fellow laborers to attack the Sin Archbishop by an Imperial Soldier supervising them. Defeated with just a single attack and having no will to fight back, he was spurred to act by the voice of a young prince whose desperation reminded him of his foster son's. Gathering the motivation to prevent the prince from dying, he was granted his old arms of choice, Demon Cleavers, which happened to be in Garkla, and took up arms against the Sin Archbishop of Greed. Although the Fortified City fell in just a single hour, without the intervention of Kurgan, who singlehandedly impeded Regulus's path, allowing the city's survivors to be evacuated in time, it would have fell in half that time. His final word being the same commendation he had offered twice to the Sword Demon in Picoutatte, he met his end as Regulus delivered a speech that fell on deaf ears. In commemoration of Kurgan's achievement at Garkla, the prince exhausted all efforts to restore Kurgan's reputation, which ended successfully, with his Demon Cleavers being restored and put on display on the uppermost floor of Garkla's Great Fortress.
Abilities
Kurgan demonstrating his swordsmanship against Garfiel Tinzel.
Master Swordsmanship: As noted by Theresia, she saw Kurgan as an enemy that was far, far stronger than the usual crop with swordsmanship that rivalled Wilhelm's. His sword strikes can create a fierce gale, which raged at tremendous speeds.
Enhanced Physicality: Kurgan has a powerful body that is both incredibly strong and tough to damage. With just his physical strength as a corpse soldier, he was able to easily overwhelm Garfiel, and in life, by simply flexing his muscles, he was able to halt bleeding from missing limbs. A single one of his strikes, with or without his blades, is enough to deal massive damage to his opponents and cause severe internal injuries. Likewise, even in the face of losing his limbs, Kurgan is unflinching, acting essentially unbothered after losing two of his arms in combat.
Equipment: Kurgan wielded four large greatswords that required even Kurgan to use two hands to wield, and he called them his Demon Cleavers (鬼包丁). They were his favorite weapons, but two of them were later destroyed by Wilhelm during their duel. Despite this, all four weapons seemed to be in perfect condition by the time of the Battle for Priestella.
Great Power: By mastering and taking full advantage of his body's unique features and developing techniques to suited it, Kurgan became one of the strongest fighters of the Vollachia Empire. He was easily able to parry and deflect blows from a Dragon. As a corpse soldier, however, despite retaining incredible strength, it was but a shadow of his former self, compared back to when he was still alive,[2] to the point that Wilhelm gauged he would have easily killed Garfiel if he had been at his complete strength in life.[3]
References
- ↑ "However, his opponent was the Eight Arms Kurgan―― The War God who’d assumed the name of Strongest in the Vollachian Empire." Sword Demon Battle Ballad: Act 7, Section 2.
- ↑ “Before that moment, the skill of her sword was false… were it not, if I had truly fought my wife in her prime, there would be no way that I at my age would have returned alive. And I can say the same for Kurgan.” Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 21, Interlude, Section 4.
- ↑ “Neither you nor I. I would be a corpse, and you would be naught but hunks of flesh scattered about. That is the truth.” Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 21, Interlude, Section 4.
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