Eugard Vollachia

Eugard Vollachia (ユーガルド・ヴォラキア) was a previous Emperor of the Sacred Vollachia Empire and the former lover of Iris until the two of them were betrayed, leading to his beloved's death and causing him to descend into madness. At an unknown time during or after his reign, the story of his relationship was adapted into a famed tale called Iris and the King of Thorns.

In the events of Arc 8, Eugard appears as a zombie during the Great Disaster.

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 has a vague resemblance to Vincent Vollachia. As a zombie, he possesses pale skin bereft of color, various cracks that run across his body, pitch-black sclera, and radiant golden irises.

History
Eugard lived 300 years before the present era. He was ousted from his throne and fell in love with a village girl named Iris, who sheltered Eugard and supported his path to return to his position. 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 Binding of Thorns on her, which forced Iris's soul to rise again while preventing it from ever returning to Od Laguna, causing her to endlessly reincarnate.

During his reign, Eugard became a tyrant who used pain and fear to expand the Empire's territory. It is not clarified if he acted this way before he met Iris or only after he fell into madness.

Abilities
Thorn Curse: Eugard has the capability to curse people by binding them with sharp, ashen grey thorns of his creation. The curse of the thorns creates an indiscriminate ranged attack that applies itself to people within a given distance from Eugard and more intensely harms them as they get closer to him. The thorns are intangible, making them impossible for a target to physically remove them. They pierce a target's heart, creating immense pain within them. In life, he used them to bind and subjugate people.

Equipment:
 * 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.