Reinhard van Astrea

Reinhard van Astrea (ラインハルト・ヴァン・アストレア) is the current Sword Saint, the strongest being in the Kingdom of Lugunica, a member of the Royal Guard, and Felt's knight. Though absent for the majority of the main story, he played crucial roles in Arc 1, Arc 5, and Arc 9, and a lesser supporting role in Arc 3. He was also one of the main protagonists of The Travelogue of the Finest, and he played a lesser supporting role in The Dream the Lion King Saw.

Born to House Astrea, Reinhard mastered the sword at a young age following the untimely death of his grandmother and succeeded her as the next Sword Saint a few years later. However, due to his immense power and various problems in his own family, Reinhard lives a rough life estranged from his family. Despite this, he is a knight willing to use his power to protect the Kingdom of Lugunica. After fending off the Bowel Hunter during the Loot House Incident, he discovered the last of the Royal Selection Candidates, Felt, and he subsequently pledged his loyalty to her as her knight.

Appearance

Reinhard stands at exactly six feet tall, making him several inches taller than Natsuki Subaru. His most striking feature is his distinct flaming red hair that shines as brightly as Felt's crimson eyes. His sparkling blue eyes portray a sense of confidence and recklessness. His slender frame features an array of well-toned muscles, although they're usually hidden by his clothing. The Sword Saint exuded an aura of gallantry, and, at a first glance, he gave off an intimidating air that indicated him as someone who is above the norm. His extraordinarily handsome face, beyond average looks and his open, calming and approachable personality makes him very popular with people, which catches the eye of many women, further exemplifying his magnificence.

As a member of House Astrea, Reinhard's flaming red hair and sky-blue eyes were traits passed down from the first Sword Saint Reid Astrea, and, in Reinhard's case, inherited from his father Heinkel Astrea. However, the visual similarities between Reinhard and his father more-or-less ended there. Instead, many of Reinhard's features were taken from his mother, Louanna Astrea. The two of them share the same jawline, cheek bones, nose, and eye shape. Felt once commented on the striking visual similarities between Reinhard and the Sleeping Beauty.

Reinhard's casual attire is nearly as regal as the uniform he can be usually seen wearing as a member of the Kingdom's Royal Guard. It consists of a well-made black shirt that he also wears as part of his uniform, white trousers with lilac cuffs, black shoes, black gloves, and a double-breasted white long coat with a cutaway front, rolled cuffs, lapels, and lilac lining. The crest of the House Astrea can be seen proudly pictured on the upper part of Reinhard's left sleeve, and a black belt is fastened tightly around his waist. With it, Reinhard fastens his esteemed Dragon Sword Reid whenever he has to go out.

Personality

As the Sword Saint and the Knight of the Royal Guard, Reinhard acts with a high degree of chivalry and elegance, addressing everyone with an unnaturally high level of respect. He is fair, clean, brave, and willing to go out of his way in the name of justice no matter if he's in the line of duty or simply strolling through the Royal Capital. Of course, Reinhard does not believe himself worthy as the current Sword Saint, and often, rather than introducing himself as the Sword Saint, he will instead call himself a descendant of the line of Sword Saints. He is known as the Knight Amongst Knights and is widely trusted among the people of the Royal Capital of Lugunica. As a knight, Reinhard only uses his sword when necessary, since, in addition to being a rule, his iron-clad rule is to not inflict pain to others if not absolutely necessary, be it a normal thug or a member of the Witch Cult. Having said that, when Reinhard is truly needed, he swiftly deals with every threat in a matter of seconds. Most of the time, his presence and name alone are enough to send normal thugs running away.

He mentioned that his specialty is fighting monsters, but his power is so great that upon unleashing just one of his attacks, Subaru already considered him another monster. Reinhard considered this as an offensive comment, implying that he does not like being judged as someone dangerous even when he has good intentions. Despite not being fond of being referred to, with degrading titles and nicknames, Reinhard is a daily target of scorn and annoyance for his fellow members of the Felt Camp, including Felt, Ton, Chin, and Kan. Despite that, he always brushes it off with a gentle smile, which usually pisses off the group even more, subjecting the knight to even more scorn than before. Despite such unfriendly relationships, however, Reinhard is always prepared to go an extra mile and help them out when in trouble, even when they don't explicitly ask for it. As their mentor and knight, however, Reinhard can also be pretty stern. Chin, for example, will refrain from using his Fire Magic to call Reinhard as, if the Sword Saint doesn't deem the situation dire, he will not hesitate to scold him and apprehend him if necessary. This strict attitude is often aimed at his mistress as well. Reinhard expressed dissatisfaction and even anger, on multiple occasions, such as when Felt carelessly entered the room where Louanna Astrea sleeps, in the Astrea Manor located in the Royal Capital.

He is always looking for a way to solve things, even to the point of giving a Sin Archbishop the opportunity to surrender while hoping he will not have to take extreme measures, such as being forced to kill him. In his fight against Regulus Corneas, he even went as far as asking him to stop and leave the city, even after the Sin Archbishop had already killed him and decimated everything in their vicinity. He also respects the decision of his friends, despite the fact that sometimes they criticize him for engaging in matters that do not correspond to him. Due to his unparalleled strength, however, Reinhard is usually the one people turn to when trouble calls, no matter what their relationship with him is.

Although hesitant, Reinhard was willing to practice lethal force on his opponents in the event it was absolutely necessary. An example of this was when he killed the Imperial spy Miles for trying to escape the Kingdom atop a Flying Dragon after Reinhard had ordered him to disembark. On the other hand, however, he is heavily against tactics that revolve around suicidal attacks, and he will do what he can to prevent the assailants' deaths. Despite the role his paternal grandparents played in the Demi-Human War, as well as the general anti-demi-human policy employed by citizens of Lugunica, Reinhard held no discrimination against those of demi-human ancestry.

Reinhard respects the rules of duels and will usually accept them if offered, such as when Regulus offered to duel a "knight" while he was attempting to goad Subaru or when Cecilus Segmunt challenged him to a duel. However, he finds it disrespectful and insulting when such a duel is reneged upon, and in the case of criminals like Regulus, he will immediately attack in response.

As a five-year-old child, Reinhard was a very sweet and timid kid, stuttered a lot, and easily got shocked or surprised. As he deeply loved his father, he was willing to do everything in his power to help him, even going as far as obtaining a Divine Protection of Mind-Changing in order to help Heinkel convince Marcos Gildark to rejoin the Royal Knight Order; however, after the Astrea Manor was attacked by a group of men led by then-fourteen-year-old Russell Fellow, Heinkel pleaded to Reinhard to never use the Divine Protection again. Reinhard fell in a state of shock and immediately locked off and erased his newly gained Divine Protection. Considering his monstrous power, however, Reinhard, even as a child, was easily capable of sending shivers down grown and battle-hardened men's spines, by simply looking into their eyes and voicing a demand with a somewhat intimidating voice.

History

Reinhard was born the son of Heinkel Astrea and Louanna Astrea. He was loved by everyone. His grandmother's first thought upon seeing him was that he was "a child loved by the world". Two years after his birth, his mother fell into a Sleeping Beauty state, which shook the whole Astrea family to its core.

Once Upon a Time in Lugunica

Roughly 15 years before the events of the main story, Reinhard helped his father, who was trying to convince Marcos Gildark to re-join the Royal Knights. After the latter failed in verbally convincing him, Reinhard took it upon himself to help out his father through any means necessary. He immediately received the Divine Protection of Mind-Changing, which he used to change Marcos' mind, resulting in the latter to swiftly re-join the knights. However, by doing so, he proved to be a threat and alerted a third party to the use of the Divine Protection of Mind-Changing. That night, a group of disguised individuals entered the Astrea Manor located in the Noble District of the Royal Capital. Initially suspecting Heinkel for insurrection on the grounds that he had seemingly used the Divine Protection, after they explained why they came, Heinkel quickly realized it was Reinhard's doing, running to find his son in his room. Heinkel embraced his son and told him he not to use the power again, pleading to the intruders not to take his son away. Reinhard, now scared, immediately deactivated and removed his Divine Protection. After the masked men had already left the mansion, however, he saw a man through a window who mouthed to him a sentence that stuck with Reinhard ever since: “If you care about your family, do your best to serve the kingdom.".

Post-Great Conquest

One year later, at the age of five, while hoping to become the Sword Saint for his father's sake, he obtained the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint, and subsequently, the title, while his grandmother Theresia van Astrea lost the protection while she was fighting a fierce battle with the White Whale, leading to her demise. His grandfather, Wilhelm van Astrea, blamed Reinhard for her death after Reinhard told him that she did not lose as the Sword Saint since he was now the Sword Saint, causing their relationship to plummet, leaving only his father who still cared about him. Sadly, his relationship with his father gravely deteriorated as well. After he gained the aforementioned Divine Protection, his father became an alcoholic and supposedly gradually started to blame him for Theresia's death as well. At age 8, an incident occurred in which Reinhard prevented an invasion of Lugunica by the “villains” of the other three nations. As a result, he received his honorary title of “van”, and later that same year, the “Reinhard Law”, deeming him a national threat, was passed, effectively rendering the young boy unable to travel and move outside the Kingdom.^[1]

First Mission

When Reinhard was fourteen, a certain organization that produced and distributed the Hexcel drug ran rampant in the Royal Capital. Due to the suspicion that he was providing the organization information on the knights' activities, Heinkel was put under house arrest to be investigated, which resulted in Reinhard deciding to crossdress and go undercover to infiltrate the organization. Going by the name Adelheid, he successfully managed to infiltrate the organization, and with help from Julius Juukulius, Reiner Wahrheit and his accomplice were arrested, resulting in their organization being brought down. Afterward, Reinhard spoke to the Six Tongues to promote Heinkel to Deputy Commander of the Royal Knights. Later, after Heinkel was informed of his promotion, suspecting the Reinhard was the reason for it, he confronted him in a tavern and questioned his involvement. However, Reinhard denied his involvement and convinced Heinkel to take the promotion for Louanna. Deciding to take it, Heinkel said to Reinhard to join the knights when he became of age. One year later, Reinhard joined the knights as the official Sword Saint, becoming the strongest weapon in the Kingdom's possession.

The Dream the Lion King Saw

During a rescue mission involving Crusch Karsten and the House of Argyle, Marcos Gildark tasked Reinhard to keep an eye on Prince Fourier and the knights accompanying him. While Julius and the rest of the knights were disposing of the reanimated corpses, Miles, who was the culprit behind the incident, tried to make his escape, ignoring Reinhard's warnings, and refusing to surrender. After his attempt to get rid of Reinhard had failed, the latter was forced to incinerate him along with his Flying Dragon as he could not allow the valuable information to reach the Vollachian Emperor.

Months during the Royal Family’s plague

After the entire Royal Family fell victim to a mysterious disease which slowly killed them off one by one, Reinhard was tasked to reach the Sage in order to find a cure for the incurable illness. When approaching the Pleiades Watchtower, however, he was unable to pass through the Sand Time and was forced to retreat. Due to the mission's failure, every member of the Royal Family succumbed to the illness,^[2] subsequently resulting in Reinhard blaming himself for their deaths.^[3]

The Travelogue of the Finest

Roughly 4 to 5 months prior to the events of the series, a couple of months after the entire Lugunican royal family died, Emperor Vincent Vollachia invited Reinhard to the Sacred Vollachia Empire alongside two members of the Council of Wise Men in order to negotiate a non-aggression pact. In order to at least partially suppress Reinhard's power, he was forced to wear a so-called Collar of Submission, a meteor which suppresses its wearer's powers.^[4] The three of them would by accompanied by Julius and Ferris. After the initial negotiations ended on a rather negative note, Reinhard wad summoned to the Emperor's chambers, where he suddenly found himself surrounded by corpses of the guards and one of the Nine Divine Generals, Balleroy Temeglyph. Having been accused of attacking the guards, Reinhard had no other option but to take Vincent hostage and escape with Julius and Ferris. While they were running away from the whole Vollachian army, the Sixth and Eighth Divine Generals, Groovy Gumlet and Moguro Hagane, attacked the trio in an effort to retrieve the kidnapped Emperor. While Ferris and Julius were preoccupied with securing the Emperor's life, Reinhard fought the two Generals barehanded and defeated them without suffering any damage whatsoever. Not long after, Cecilus Segmunt himself made his debut and attacked Julius, almost managed to decapitate him when Reinhard returned, used Cecilus' broken katana to deflect all of Blue Lightning's strikes and delivered a devastating kick, knocking the famed Divine General out instantly. After the three Generals made their retreat, the three Royal Guards were attacked by 30 highly skilled and feared Vollachian assassins from the Insect Cage Clan; Reinhard made quick work of them as well, defeating all 30 of them without killing a single one or taking a hit. After Reinhard's awe-inspiring display of power, Vincent was able to safely return to the Crystal Palace where he apprehended the culprits and officially signed the non-aggression pact between the Kingdom of Lugunica and the Vollachia Empire.

Roughly one month after the Empire incident, Reinhard was sent off on an escort mission to the Kingdom's border with the Holy Kingdom of Gusteko. When he returned to the Royal Capital, Cecilus Segmunt was waiting for him, requesting a rematch, though, this time, he had his famed Dream and Fiend Swords with him, setting on showing him just how powerful he is. After captain Marcos Gildark himself arranged a proxy match between the Sword Saint and the Blue Lightning, Reinhard was finally able to fight the famed Vollachian General for real. Both with their swords unsheathed - Reinhard with the Dragon Sword Reid and Cecilus with Murasame and Masayume - the battle commenced. Both of them have survived the duel, Reinhard with next to no injuries and Cecilus with relatively notable gashes all over his body, and they resolved to claim the end of the fight as a draw.

Riot in Flanders

Following the events of Arc 3, Reinhard, alongside Felt, visited Flanders to meet with the heads of the city's Big Three. Finding Ezzo Cadner along the way and preventing a conflict between Camberley and the dwarf, they decided to allow him to go along with them as they went to greet the proprietress of the Flower Prison Garden, Toto. On one night a few days later, a lackey of a high-ranking member of The Balance murdered one of Ezzo's students, Mimosa, and set fire to the building they were in, framing Ezzo for arson. Investigating the incident, Reinhard and company obtained information that he was in an abandoned mansion that was provided to him by Helaine Gatness. After arriving there, the two confronted each other. Though Ezzo did succeed in bypassing Reinhard's unique constitution, he was unable to defeat him. Afterward, Ezzo informed them of the truth of the fire at the brothel and requested their help in his pursuit of revenge for Mimosa's death. When they were surrounded at the mansion, he made a mask and wove a Cognitive Disruption spell within it so Reinhard could fend off their attackers, while he, wearing a similar mask, accompanied Flam Remendis and Rachins to confront Helaine. In the end, they successfully took down the arson, indebted the leaders of the Big Three to the Felt Camp, and managed to get Ezzo to join the camp.

Lugunican Papers

In the year that followed the Subjugation of the White Whale, Felt was requested an interview by Shorty Megan and Lululala. Meeting at the Astrea Manor, Shorty witnessed the usual interaction between Felt and Reinhard, which he felt was peculiar. Likewise with the other candidates, Felt gave her opinion on the Royal Selection and the other candidates. Having both grown up in the slums of the Royal Capital, they both understood the plight of the people there and were able to agree on numerous things. In the end, Lululala drew an image of Felt and Reinhard, which Felt felt dismayed about.

The Lion’s Ferocity

Following the Battle for Priestella, Reinhard and Felt were tasked with escorting the Sin Archbishop of Wrath to the Royal Capital. Though the journey was to last no more than a month, due to Sirius’s abnormal attraction of trouble, their arrival was delayed by a month. Upon arriving, Reinhard took it upon himself to bring Wrath into the Prison Tower, asking Felt to remain behind due to the nature of what was within the tower being rather disturbing. After coming out, he and Felt attended dinner with Russell Fellow, where they showed the abnormal relationship. There, they also discussed the increasing heretic hunts of Gusteko, the actions of Kararagi’s mayors, and signs of a civil war in Vollachia.

Meili’s Witchbeast Observation Record

A short time after the successful Pleiades Watchtower Expedition, Reinhard appeared with Felt to take part in a meeting with the Council of Wise Men, Annerose Miload, and Meili Portroute. Naturally, his presence set Meili on edge, but he was able to move past it rather quickly. After hearing of the prospects of a second expedition with Meili’s guidance in exchange for being pardoned, Reinhard and several other members of the Felt Camp were tasked with reaching the Pleiades Watchtower and investigating it.

During their travels through the Augria Sand Dunes, the Divine Dragon attacked them to protect the tower, leaving Reinhard to defend the party. Fortunately, Meili presented Volcanica’s talon, and they were allowed passage into the tower. There, they came across the Books of the Dead, which Meili explained to them, much to the fascination of Ezzo. Understanding their importance, Felt suggested Reinhard find the book of his grandmother, and though he was hesitant to do so, when Felt persuaded him to find it at some point, he was grateful.

Shortly after, they noticed the same birds that Subaru and Eridna had witnessed before. With one captured for study, Ezzo quickly discovered its true nature, and the crimson scorpion killed it in his hands. Realizing the birds were being used to spy, Ezzo and Reinhard set to killing them all. Deciding to return to the capital, they left Ezzo and Flam at the tower.

Abilities

Divine Protection (加護, Kago): Reinhard has the ability to request any Divine Protection he feels like he needs in a specific situation and permanently keep them. This gives him access to a wide array of Divine Protections. His requests may be granted to him by Od Lagna, which is even capable of creating new Divine Protections that have never existed before, but sometimes there may be an error in conveying his intention, and Reinhard does not receive a proper Divine Protection. Furthermore, it should be noted that Reinhard has not been stated to receive any ability he wishes as a Divine Protection. He can also erase Divine Protections from his possession, as seen when he gained and erased his Divine Protection of Mind-Changing when he was a five-year-old child, before he even became the Sword Saint. However, while he is able to request a Divine Protection if only one of it can exist at a time and another individual is already in possession of it, as is the case with Meili Portroute and her Divine Protection of Demon Manipulation, he chooses not to request such a power after he accidentally took the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint from his grandmother, as taking it left her without it.

• Sword Saint (剣聖 Kensei): Reinhard is the current generation's Sword Saint and is the current possessor of the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint (剣聖の加護 Kensei no Kago), which he inherited when he was 5 years old, after the passing of his grandmother, the previous generation's Sword Saint Theresia van Astrea. This Divine Protection allowed Reinhard to instantly reach the very zenith of his swordsman potential. Immediately after receiving it, the five-year-old boy swiftly defeated the current Deputy-Commander of the Royal Knights and his father, Heinkel, in a duel. The Divine Protection also allows Reinhard to see the trajectories of incoming attacks in form of white rays, be it sword or axe slashes, or incoming arrows or knives; by simply following the optimal path showed to him by the Sword God, Reinhard will parry every single incoming attack, hit every weak spot of enemies and come out victorious. According to the author, even if he didn't have this Divine Protection, Reinhard's sword skills would be the same.^[5]

• Various other Divine Protections: Reinhard holds an insanely rich arsenal of Divine Protections. While he has numerous combat-oriented protections, he also has apparently useless or variably specific protections as well: being able to cook various things well, perform art perfectly, having lightning not strike him, having his view unobstructed by fog, revitalizing plant life around him, dress fashionably for any occasion, tell apart salt from sugar, etc. In total, Reinhard is said to possess at least 251 Divine Protections, as calculated by Al, and the amount of them will not stop growing as long as he feels like he needs them.
  • Revival: Due to having the Divine Protection of the Phoenix, Reinhard is capable of coming back to life even after he has been killed. With each revival, he obtains another version of this Divine Protection, essentially preventing him from dying at all.
  • Projectile Repulsion: Thanks to one of his Divine Protections, the majority of attacks that revolve around firing a projectile at Reinhard will curve around him as if a barrier were wrapped around him.
  • Excellent Teacher: Reinhard is shown to be an excellent teacher, and with the assistance of a teaching and training related Divine Protection, he can dramatically improve a person's fighting capabilities. His teaching has allowed someone such as Gaston to discover how to utilize the Flow Method, and in the non-canon Greed If, he was even responsible for training Garfiel Tinzel, who he had claimed was improving by the day.
  • Superhuman Stealth: All of Reinhard's movements are completely silent due to a Divine Protection he received at birth. The ability is passive, meaning Reinhard doesn't have to think about acting stealthily to do so. Individuals with an enhanced sense of hearing cannot detect Reinhard's approach, even if he isn't trying to be unnoticed. Felix Argyle, a demi-human with a greatly enhanced sense of hearing, noted that Reinhard was the only person who had ever successfully snuck up on him.
  • Powerful Resistances: Thanks to a few Divine Protections, he can reduce the effectiveness of every element of magic by 80%, and he can even resist the effects of explosions and natural (non-magical) fire or water damage. He is immune to magical buffs, debuffs, curse arts, diseases, toxins/poisons, drugs, alcohol, and becoming sick from other methods, he is heavily resistant to abilities that influence the mind or behaviors such as the Authority of Wrath or reading a Book of the Dead, and he can sense and resist miasma. However, while he can resist miasma, being within a place filled with miasma, such as the Augria Sand Dunes, puts him at his weakest. While this is negligible considering his own immense level of power, he will not receive the assistance of spirits in such an environment, and weathering attacks while in this environment means that he cannot rely on them coming to heal him.
  • Various Strengthening Methods: Several of his Divine Protections provide Reinhard with additional strength when certain criteria are reached: standing beneath blue skies, rainy skies, night skies, morning skies, when he bleeds, etc.
  • Instant Weapons/Item/Riding Mastery: Thanks to one of his Divine Protections, Reinhard can obtain mastery of any weapon that he gets ahold of, even if he has never seen or heard of the weapon before. However, aside from his hands or swords, Reinhard is uncommonly seen with any other weapon. This also applies to any item he comes across or how to ride vehicles and animals.
  • Anti-Ambushing: Thanks to some of his Divine Protections, he is unable to be ambushed. Likewise, he is unable to be hit by the first or following strikes at the start of combat unless either he allows it or is unable to avoid the attacks. In a similar manner, he is also able to instinctively know how to avoid taking damage from such attacks, even if he'd never seen them before.
  • Divine Protection Awareness: During the events of the Battle for Priestella, Reinhard obtained the Divine Protection of Judgment that allowed him to learn the Divine Protections that others hold.
  • Empathic Resonance/Telepathy: During the events of the Battle for Priestella, Reinhard obtained the Divine Protection of Telepathy. With this, he was able to share his thoughts with his friends or allies.
  • Hyper Precision: Thanks to one of his Divine Protections, any ranged attack that he unleashes will hit its target.
  • Air Dashing: One of his Divine Protections allows him to kick off of the air a dash through the skies, giving him pseudo-flight. He can move at intense speeds while in the air, as if he were running full speed on the ground.
  • Balancing: With assistance from his Divine Protections, Reinhard can maintain his balance in various environments, and they also help prevent him from sinking into terrains such as desert sands. He is even able to walk on clouds, and he can walk on water without sinking. He can also use these Divine Protections to walk or run on things that were not meant to be traversed on, such as one of the stars of the Al Shario spell.

Master Swordsman: Reinhard was born with an inhuman sword talent. He was 5 years old when he received the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint and immediately defeated his father Heinkel Astrea in a duel. At that age, Reinhard was already stronger than the average Royal Knight, only being bested by exceptional and renowned knights such as Julius Juukulius, Bordeaux Zergev, and Marcos Gildark.^[6] Although not as skilled as the legendary Reid Astrea, Reinhard's skill with the sword is undoubtedly among the most impressive in the current days, perhaps only being rivalled by Cecilus Segmunt. By the time Reinhard turned 8, he was already regarded as a potential national threat, requiring the so-called "Reinhard Law" to keep him within Lugunica. According to the author himself, by that age, Reinhard van Astrea already was among the strongest characters in the series.

• Mana-Draining Sword Slash: Reinhard unleashes a devastating attack that destroys everything around him and splits space in half. When Reinhard decides to perform the attack, the mana surrounding him is sucked from the atmosphere and the temperature of the air is noted to drastically drop. His blade begins to give off a brilliant white light and upon slashing down on the opponent, the area in front of him is blown apart, as seen when he blew up the Loot House in Arc 1 and the church in Arc 5. Coupled with his Divine Protection which allows him to always land his first attack, this attack is devastating for the opponent if used as an opening move. Reinhard usually uses it as his opening attack on extremely strong foes like Regulus Corneas. And though strong individuals like Elsa have been able to survive this attack, it is generally capable of vaporizing human beings as shown in the Oboreru IF. A downside to this technique is that Reinhard requires a weapon in order to perform it, but said weapon, even if of astounding craftsmanship, will be destroyed immediately thereafter. The sole exception appears to be the Dragon Sword Reid, which is said to be indestructible.

• A Slash of the Dragon Sword Reid: Reinhard unsheathes his blade whenever the sword deems Reinhard's opponent worthy of its divine power. Reinhard will take an offensive stance, usually lifting the blade far above his head, preparing himself to end it with a single strike. Similarly to his mana-sucking sword technique, the blade will slowly start to emit a dazzling white light which will soon enough engulf the entire battlefield, blinding the opponents and passers-by. If he's aiming to cleanly dispose of the unlucky foe, he'll swing the blade, cutting everything along its arc, as seen when he fought the previous Sword Saint's reanimated corpse. In his simulated battle against Puck, however, Reinhard used the Dragon Sword in combination with his aforementioned sword skill; with a single swing, the Sword Saint unleashed a destructive wave that incinerated everything in its path, including the Beast of the End. Along the blade's slash the sky split in half, leaving cracks running across it, the ground crumbled and the mana swirled in a vortex, completely destroying the world itself. In the next instant, the world was born anew without any consequences or anomalies left behind. Both attacks are the very peak of what Reinhard van Astrea is capable of doing and what he will do if the situation calls for it.

Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Due to the Dragon Sword being useless for most of the fights he has to take, Reinhard is most of the times forced to use his bare hands to fight. With his Divine Protection of Unarmed Combat, Reinhard mastered hand-to-hand combat at early age; his hand is more often than not more effective than a sword and can easily bisect a person in half with a single swing of his bare arm. Reinhard's natural strength was far above that exhibited by regular human beings. In his mighty grip, sturdy materials like steel would bend and shatter, and on his journey to the Vollachia Empire, he even cut Moguro Hagane's steel limb off with a single swing of his bare hand,^[7] whose body possessed the durability to endure attacks from Julius Juukulius's sword without suffering any kind of injury. He is also capable of delivering devastating kicks that shatter the floor on impact and are able to send even a stone golem that weighs a couple hundred kilograms flying without much resistance.

Defective Gate: According to Eridna, Reinhard's gate is unable to release the mana inside of his body back out into the atmosphere, though she mentions that he is able to absorb an incredible amount and that it doesn't cause any harm to his body as he uses all of his mana to boost his physical abilities, i.e. the Flow Method. Because of this, he can make others unable to use any magic or spiritual arts while he's absorbing mana. Also, Reinhard has no affinity with magic, making him unable to use it at all. Furthermore, according to the author, the exact state of Reinhard's Gate at birth is considered a spoiler.

• Superhuman Strength: Reinhard's physical strength is immense. He is capable of easily pushing back and defending against opponents as powerful as Elsa Granhiert or a partially transformed Garfiel with ease. He is even able to combat the Divine Dragon's abilities with his pure might. With the various enhancements provided by his Divine Protections, this strength can be enhanced further. Reinhard could also swing the sheathed Dragon Sword hard enough to create a torrent of wind that parted the air around it.
• Superhuman Durability: It is incredibly difficult to damage Reinhard, whether with one's physical or magical might, due to both his physical enhancements provided by his Flow Method and resistances provided by his Divine Protections. As of yet, the only times he has taken damage were via attacks provided by someone on a similar level to himself like Cecilus, an Authority that can ignore defenses, or extremely powerful magic such as Al Karum or Magia Railgun.
• Superhuman Speed: Reinhard is easily able to traverse long distances in mere seconds, navigating through the Watergate City of Priestella with ease and swiftness, responding to cries of help in mere 30 seconds, despite him being located on the other side of the city. This ability proves especially effective during fights, as he's easily able to reduce several tens of meters worth of distance between him and his enemies in the blink of an eye. One Divine Protection also boosts his speed, and another allows him to ignore air resistance, giving even greater speed.
• Superhuman Reflexes: Reinhard can respond to threats in less than a second by moving reflexively, and these reflexes are further improved by his Divine Protections. His reflexes are so great that he is able to dodge and counter the strikes from even the fastest man in the world, Cecilus Segmunt, and counter him. Shortly after escaping, he took on thirty highly skilled assassins from the Insect Cage Clan using sacred and unconventional weaponry and ways of attacking–once more, by simply relying on his reflexes, Reinhard skillfully deflected and parried all of them without fail.
• Superhuman Leaping: With the power of his leg muscles, Reinhard is easily able to leap incredible distances in a single bound. During the incident in the House Argyle, roughly a year before the events of the main story, the Sword Saint was able to effortlessly leap from the ground and reach the cloud line and land on top of a Flying Dragon, maintaining balance on the flying beast which was said to be borderline impossible by a human being.

Excess Mana Circulation Constitution (マナ過剰循環体質, Mana Kajō Junkan Taishitsu): Ever since birth, Reinhard's gate was defective, which means he is unable to use any kind of magic. That being said, he can still absorb mana from the atmosphere to bolster his own physical capabilities and nullify incoming magical attacks almost entirely, preventing him from suffering a blow from magic under normal circumstances unless a mage were to alter the composition of a spell mid-casting. He can also channel mana into a weapon, increasing its overall strength and durability. Whenever Reinhard absorbs mana, everyone within a certain vicinity of him is unable to use magic through the usage of external mana, as all mana from the atmosphere diverts to him. People aren't the only creatures affected by the diversion of mana Reinhard causes, as spirits are also unable to draw from it. Reinhard can also drain energy from people directly. After years of having to control his own power, Reinhard can control the amount of mana he drains from a person. By draining a small amount of it, Reinhard can induce a state of sleep in his target as shown when he easily put Felt to sleep. He can also potentially absorb enough energy from a person or a spirit to kill or permanently affect/harm them.

Pseudo Spirit Affinity: Lesser spirits are attracted to Reinhard and try to heal him whenever he is injured, however, he himself is unable to order or use these spirits. His attraction is on par with Julius's Divine Protection of Gathering Spirits and is so strong, that Beatrice, a great spirit, preferred avoiding him as much as possible, during the events of Arc 5.

Superhuman Intuition: Reinhard's intelligence is stated to be average, but his intuition is incredible, meaning he will always take the most optimal decisions, ensuring his victory in a fight. With just his intuition, he can instantly tell the physical condition of his opponents in battle, by how their bodies feel when he hits them with a weapon. His Divine Protections allow him to quickly learn things he was previously inexperienced in. By simply following his sixth sense, Reinhard easily traversed through an entire city in mere thirty seconds, when he was summoned by one of his comrades.

Equipment:

• Dragon Sword Reid (龍剣レイド, Ryūken Reido):
  • 
    Dragon Sword Reid with its sheath.
  • 
    Unsheathed Dragon Sword Reid.

  1/2
  As the current generation's Sword Saint, Reinhard wields the legendary Dragon Sword Reid, which has been passed down from one Sword Saint to another, ever since the era of Reid Astrea four centuries ago. The sword can only be drawn against opponents it deems worthy for it to be used against. Currently, Reinhard has only been confirmed to have drawn his sword on four different occasions: against the Blue Lightning 3–4 months before Subaru's arrival, against a deceased family member in Arc 5's climax, and on two other separate occasions against currently unknown individuals.^[8] He can also use the sword in its sheath as shown during his battle with the Sin Archbishop of Greed in the climax of Arc 5, and it is the only object in the series tough enough to withstand the latter's Authority of Greed. It is mentioned that the sword was created by an unnamed master swordsmith and was blessed by the Sword God (剣神, Kenshin), before it was given to Reid Astrea. The sword's sheath is called Dragon Claw (龍爪, Ryūsō), as the grooves on it are said to have been made by the Divine Dragon itself.

Trivia

• Reinhard's birthday is on the 1st of January, which also happens to be New Year's Day.
• According to the author, Reinhard is scheduled to have a named chapter in the future, though no accompanying arc was confirmed with it. At a talk show in 2023, he stated that he had at least 15 things he wished to depict in it.
• He and Felt are scheduled to be more active towards the latter arcs of the series.
• According to the author, Reinhard was named after Reinhard von Lohengramm from Legend of the Galactic Heroes.^[9]
• In Greek mythology, Astraea was a goddess representing the concepts of justice, innocence, purity, and precision. The author of the series likely garnered inspiration from Astraea when naming the House of Astrea, as the family exemplified many of the traits exhibited by the goddess. Reinhard in particular personified the traits of justice and purity almost perfectly.
• The author makes an effort to avoid writing text from Reinhard's point of view.^[10]
• The author stated that Reinhard van Astrea is the strongest character in the series^[11] and no stronger characters are scheduled to appear in the story.
  • He often compared his strength with Godzilla.^[12]
  • Despite him being the strongest, he still wouldn't be able to kill the Witch of Envy, due to their affinities. Reinhard would not be able to bypass her immortality and Satella would not be able to land a finishing hit.
  • He's fully aware of his own strength and is respectively aware of himself being the strongest person in the world.
• It was stated that Reinhard could easily destroy the world if he so wished.
  • When asked how much time it would take him to completely destroy it, the author replied that it would take him approximately the same amount of time as it would take Godzilla to destroy Eurasia.^[13]
• Reinhard is likely the 7th or 8th Sword Saint in his lineage.
• Even if he lost all of his Divine Protections, Reinhard would continue to win against opponents who play by normal rules, only being unable to defeat those who are basically cheating.^[14]
• If it were necessary, Reinhard could defeat Od Lagna if he fought it.^[15]
• Reinhard would be able to fight Volcanica one-on-one if he'd draw the Dragon Sword Reid.^[16]
  • When asked how Volcanica's strength would compare with Reinhard's, he stated it's like King Ghidorah (Volcanica) vs Godzilla (Reinhard).
• He is the most handsome male character in the series, according to the author.^[17]
• Reinhard's favorite color is, rather befittingly, red. He likes it because of how it sparkles and stands out from the rest.
• Reinhard with most of his Divine Protections disabled is still strong enough to defeat Cecilus Segmunt and kill both Puck and Halibel while being gravely wounded from his fight with the aforementioned Blue Lightning.^[18]
• The author stated he would be able to move through a rainstorm without getting a single drop of water on him.^[19]
• Reinhard is so powerful that even Subaru is unable to find a way to defeat him, despite having unlimited tries and unlimited ways of tackling the "Reinhard threat". In fact, no matter which character would decide to try and destroy the world, they wouldn't be able to, as Reinhard would always stand in their way, spoiling their plans.
• In Arc 1, during Elsa's attack, Felt ran for help and encountered Reinhard who she asked for assistance. The author later revealed that the place where the two encountered each other for the first time was the same place where Wilhelm Trias and Theresia van Astrea first met, 40 years before the start of the main story.^[20]
• It is not specified whether Reinhard is able to gain a Divine Protection just by wishing for one. All stated cases in which Reinhard has obtained a Divine Protection, even unintentionally, have been accompanied with him having a reasoning for wanting to obtain an ability, other than from whim alone.
• Reinhard is aware of Reid Astrea's vile personality, despite never meeting him in person.
• Despite his fight against Regulus where he was forced to rely on others rather than just on himself, Reinhard still does not feel like relying on others is something "worth doing".
• During his fight with Regulus in Arc 5, Reinhard was thrown to the very Moon. He survived and lunged himself back to Priestella.^[21]
• Reinhard is drawn with the wrong sword hilt, on the cover of Ex 4.
• In Isekai Quartet, Reinhard's strength is often played for laughs, as is the sheer quantity of Divine Protections he has. Among his gag Divine Protections were a Divine Protection that ensured him victory in any tug-of-war game, a Divine Protection that protected him against Kazuma Satou's Steal ability, and a Divine Protection that allowed him to shove his burdens onto other people.
• In the mobile game Re:Zero Lost in Memories, Reinhard is one of the only two units who intentionally don't have a death animation, with the other unit being Regulus Corneas. Upon being defeated, Reinhard will simply leap backwards off the field.
• According to the author, Reinhard's favorite food is chocolate.
• In the Re:Zero EX chapter commonly referred to as Mimagau IF, Reinhard makes an appearance as a red-haired swordswoman named Adelheid. In the main canon, Reinhard uses the Adelheid persona while crossdressing in the First Mission side story.
• Reinhard can sense miasma, although it is unknown if this is separate from being able to smell it.^[22]
• At a talk show with the author held on March 30, 2024, when someone asked who would make up the Nine Divine Generals of Lugunica if it existed, Reinhard was one of the six names he listed.
• The first Divine Protection that Reinhard consciously received was the Divine Protection of Salt Reasoning,^[23] which was bestowed to him while he was trying to make porridge for his father, Heinkel, who was feeling sick after a hangover.^[24]
• According to the author in a talk show held on April 6th, 2025, among the knights of the Royal Selection candidates, Reinhard is the most popular among them.

References

Navigation

Royal Selection Participants Emilia Camp Emilia • Natsuki Subaru • Puck • Roswaal L. Mathers • Ram • Rem • Beatrice • Otto Suwen • Frederica Baumann • Garfiel Tinzel • Petra Leyte • Annerose Miload • Clind • Ryuzu Meyer copies • Meili Portroute • Patrasche • Frufoo Crusch Camp Crusch Karsten • Ferris • Wilhelm van Astrea Priscilla Camp Priscilla Barielle • Al • Schult • Heinkel Astrea • Yae Tenzen Anastasia Camp Anastasia Hoshin • Julius Juukulius • Joshua Juukulius • Ricardo Welkin • Mimi Pearlbaton • Hetaro Pearlbaton • Tivey Pearlbaton • Eridna • Shaknar Felt Camp Felt • Reinhard van Astrea • Rom • Gaston • Rachins Hoffman • Camberley • Grassis Remendis • Flam Remendis • Ezzo Cadner • Romy

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