Cecilus Segmunt

Cecilus Segmunt (セシルス・セグムント), also known as the Blue Lightning (青き雷光), is the current 1st ranking Divine General of the Sacred Vollachia Empire and used to act as the 77th Emperor Vincent Vollachia's sword until the latter was dethroned some time between Arcs 4 and 7. He is hailed as the indisputably strongest individual from the Empire and one of the strongest swordsmen in the world.

Cecilus played a pivotal role in Re:Zero Ex Light Novel Volume 4, especially in the Royal Selection Prequel: Reinhard vs Cecilus side story. He has also been mentioned in the main story by Ram and Julius Juukulius during the events of Arc 6 where he's noted as one of the only three individuals in the world who are about as strong as the current generation's Sword Saint. He made his debut in the main story in Arc 7, when the plot turns to the Gladiator Island Ginunhive.

Appearance
Cecilus is a youthful man with around 20 years of age, who usually stands out as an oddity to those who see him. His blue eyes, which give off a rather playful and relaxed aura, coupled with his long dark-blue hair which he has tied messily into a ponytail, make Cecilus give off a rather mysterious aura. To further exemplify his messy personality, various strands of long hair can be seen covering the right side of his face, although not to the extent that his right eye is obscured in any way. Completely opposite to his true nature, Cecilus' facial features are soft enough that, when coupled with his slender frame, he could be mistakenly identified as a woman if one were to quickly glance at him. On the left side of his face, just below his mouth, Cecilus has a noticeable mole. Despite the many hundreds of lives he has taken throughout the years, his face isn't burdened by a sense of guilt and his smile is usually described as surprisingly friendly, warm, and welcome.

Although he was the greatest warrior in Vollachia, the Blue Lightning wears clothing commonly found in the western Kararagi City States. During one of his rare visits to Kararagi, Cecilus fell in love with the clothing and had some custom-made for him to wear on daily basis. His outfit consists of a subdued peach-pink kimono with a purple mist-like pattern along its bottom, a bright-blue haori that rests over his kimono with a pair of white diamond-shaped patterns on its breasts, and a pair of hand-made wooden zori sandals on his feet that he takes off during more serious battles. A white sash can also be seen tied around his waist that keeps his blades attached to his side. As Cecilus has more than two blades, the katanas dangling from his waist often change. The coupling of his youthful appearance and odd dress-sense could at first glance portray an image of a boy playing dress-up, entirely disregarding his cruel and often-times brutal personality.

Personality
Although considered a rather charming and easy-going person, as the strongest member of the Nine Divine Generals, Cecilus is incredibly prideful of his position to the point he believes that he should be the center of the universe and therefore receive attention and praise, which in turn often results in him looking down of other people and treating them as inferior. He's shown to be extremely childish as well, overreacting to small and insignificant things which often ticked His Majesty Vincent off. Despite this, he was absolutely loyal to the Emperor, referring to himself as his sword, and is nigh impossible to bribe.

Although he rarely takes his opponents seriously, he is shown to be overly passionate about fighting, as he was elated seeing how skilled Julius Juukulius was when he attacked him. Following his initial loss against the Sword Saint Reinhard van Astrea, Cecilus went to great lengths in order to illegally trespass the closed borders with the Empire and fulfill his desired to fight the famed Sword Saint once more in order to finally defeat him and prove his superiority. Though, despite his arrogance and childishness, following his duel with Reinhard, he admitted that Reinhard was an incredibly tough opponent and rather than sulking in his failure, decided to strive and do his best to surpass the Sword Saint.

He is also implied to be somewhat of a flirt as he told the thugs that attacked him that he would be far happier to give them his signature if they were women. He is also shown to be generous, shown when he gave the owner of a restaurant too many holy coins and he mentioned that she deserved it.

His sole goal is to achieve the Heavenly Sword, a title that is made for the strongest swordsman existing. Contrary to common belief, if it means achieving the Heavenly Sword, he would easily go against the word of His Majesty Vincent.

History
Well over ten years ago, Vincent came into contact with young Cecilus and took him under his wing as he recognized his insane prowess with the blade. From there on out, Cecilus acted as Vincent's sworn sword.

Crimson Afterglow Side Story
Roughly 7 years before the start of the main story, Vincent and the rest of Drizen Vollachia's children entered a competition known as the Emperor Selection Ceremony in which they slaughtered each other with a sole goal of surviving and claiming the title of the 77th Vollachian Emperor. During those dangerous times, Vincent often employed Cecilus on different missions, most often on assassinations. One event in particular catapulted Cecilus' name amidst the ranks of the most feared and renowned swordsmen alive; Lamia Godwin and Prisca Benedict orchestrated the sieging of the Abellux Castle. Lamia commanded her army known as the Pruning Corpse to siege the manor's entrance. As a countermeasure, Vincent employed a single swordsman- Cecilus Segmunt. He single handedly slaughtered the entire army which numbered in hundreds. The word of a one-sided slaughter soon spread throughout the Empire and soon reached the ears of the neighboring countries and kingdoms as well, forever engraving the Blue Lightning's name in history.

Years during Vincent's rule
A couple of years before the main story, Cecilus was tasked with escorting a convoy in Vollachia and act as a bodyguard of an important person; the very same person Elsa Granhiert was sent to assassinate. Cecilus and Elsa proceeded to fight; Cecilus easily came out victorious but slipped up and gave Elsa an opportunity to kill the VIP–which she did.

Re:Zero Ex Light Novel Volume 4
Shortly after the death of the Lugnican Royal Family (roughly 4-5 months before the start of the main story), Reinhard van Astrea, Julius Juukulius and Ferris accompanied Miklotov McMahon and Bordeaux Zellgef, two members of the Sage Council, on a diplomatic mission to Vollachia in order to negotiate a pact of non-aggression between the Kingdom and the Empire. After an unprecedented turn of events which lead to the three Royal Guards and Vincent escaping to a nearby forest, Cecilus was dispatched and ordered to retrieve the Emperor and kill the "murderers". After locating the trio of Julius, Ferris and Vincent, Cecilus began his faceoff with the Spirit Knight. Seconds before finishing the fight by beheading the knight, Groovy Gumlet and Mogro Hagane arrived at the scene after retreating from the Sword Saint. Pursuing them, Reinhard came to the rescue and took the Blue Lightning's attention, swiftly defeating him with a single kick to his neck afterwards, rendering Cecilus unconscious. Upon waking up later, he resolved himself to eventually seize victory in a battle against Reinhard.

Roughly a month after the Imperial Incident, Cecilus was sent on a secret mission to assassinate or bring back the perpetrator who wanted to seize the Vollachian throne - Gramdart Holstoy. On his unannounced trip to the Kingdom, Cecilus encountered Julius and Ferris. After exchanging words over a nice cup of tea, Cecilus requested their help as he wanted an opportunity to fight the Sword Saint for real. After initially refusing to give him help, Julius and Ferris finally gave in as if they'd continue refusing, they'd lose their heads and risk further unnecessary bloodshed. They told the Blue Lightning about Reinhard's whereabouts and upon realizing there's no way to fight him, Cecilus decided to stay in the Capital and eagerly await the red haired Knight's return. He spent the next couple of days in the Juukulius Household where he spent his time talking with Joshua Juukulius and sharpening his sword skills. Not long after, Cecilus ran away in search of the Vollachian traitor; it took him no more than a couple of hours to locate him, slaughter his guards and behead him–or so he would have done if Chisha Gold, the Divine General sent to help Cecilus retrieve Gramdalt, wouldn't interrupt him. After their successful mission, they were preparing to return back to the Empire when news came of the Sword Saint's return and Cecilus was finally given an opportunity too face off against the most powerful opponent in the world. Reinhard van Astrea with his Dragon Sword Reid unsheathed and Cecilus Segmunt with his beloved Murasame and Masayume fought; both survived the battle which resulted in a draw, which was later confirmed in Sword Identity Part 2 side story by Cecilus himself.

Abilities
Extraordinary Speed: Cecilus is able to move as fast as lightning, surpassing human senses, being able to run right through checkpoints without being noticed. When serious, he removes his zori before running and is even able to surpass the speed of a lightning bolt.

Extraordinary Swordsmanship: Cecilus is extremely skilled with the sword. Utilizing his inhuman speed and reflexes, Cecilus can move at breakneck speeds, circle his enemies and strike them down with extremely precise and powerful slashes. It is noted that most opponents do not manage to block more than one of his half-serious attacks and when Julius was able to block all seven slashes, Cecilus was left genuinely impressed and decided to take him a bit more seriously. When serious, he can move at such speeds that his opponents think they're fighting hundreds of Cecilus clones at the same time. Thanks to the combination of his insane sword talent, inhuman speed and razor sharp katanas, Cecilus in his early teens, single handedly slaughtered an entire army that was sent to kill Vincent Vollachia, roughly seven years prior to the beginning of the main story. His swordsmanship is said to be on par with Wilhelm van Astrea in his prime, which is an astounding feat considering the fact that Wilhelm was widely recognised as the strongest swordsman of his era.

Extraordinary Intuition: Cecilus has an amazing intuition which allowed him to figure out Joshua's condition in just a few minutes by the way he walks.

Equipment: Cecilus wields two katana in a red and a blue scabbard respectively which he usually keeps at his waist. His main katana is called Murasame (ムラサメ) which is also known as the Fiend Sword (邪剣), and his second katana is named Masayume (マサユメ) which is also known as the Dream Sword (夢剣). Those are his best and second best swords, but he also possesses a variety of other swords, as collecting them is his hobby. His fifth best sword was broken by Julius.
 * The Fiend Sword (邪剣 Jaken) also known as Murasame (ムラサメ).Fiend Sword Murasame.jpg The sword is classified as an Enchanted sword and it has a very long and storied history. Due to it being a magic sword, it requires sacrifice and blood in order to satisfy its hunger for violence. In other words, the owner of the Fiend Sword must use it as a killing tool rather often. It is said that the sword is capable of killing even invisible things by simply touching them. According to Julius, even when sheathed, Murasame emits extreme cruelty and bloodlust.
 * The Dream Sword (夢剣 Yumeken) also known as Masayume (マサユメ).Dream Sword Masayume.jpg The sword is classified as an Enchanted Sword. Just like Murasame, it has a long and storied past. Due to it being a magic sword, it requires sacrifice and blood in order to satisfy its hunger for violence. In other words, just like with the aforementioned Fiend Sword, the owner of the Dream Sword must use it as a killing tool rather often. It is said that the sword eats away at its holder's soul. According to Julius, even when sheathed, Masayume, just like Murasame, emits extreme cruelty and bloodlust.

Immense Power: Cecilus is extremely powerful. He's well-known around the world as one of the most powerful swordsmen alive; as a mere teenager, he single handedly slaughtered an entire army. Cecilus is said to be capable of defeating the previous generation Sword Saint Theresia van Astrea with relative ease. Alongside Kararagi's Admirer and Gusteko's Mad Prince, he is one of three people that are around Reinhard's level of power and has caused the latter to draw the Dragon Sword Reid.

Trivia

 * Cecilus Segmunt is stated to likely be responsible for more deaths than any other single person in the world.
 * Both of Cecilus' katanas are categorized under the so-called Ten Swords of Power; a group of ten incredibly powerful swords scattered around the world. As mentioned above, he wields the Fiend Sword and the Dream Sword. Apart from the Dragon Sword Reid and Yang Sword Vollachia, they are the only Swords of Power with their whereabouts known.
 * Cecilus is said to be capable of defeating the previous generation Sword Saint Theresia van Astrea with relative ease.
 * He's stated to be so powerful that he'd easily be able to slaughter the whole country-worth of soldiers, if he was given the chance to.
 * Cecilus ordered his kimono to be custom-made for him after he fell in love with the special type of attire one could find in Kararagi.
 * As the strongest person in Vollachia, Cecilus has a considerable income. Sadly though, he spends most of it for his amusement and hobbies.
 * His biggest hobby is collecting swords from all around the world, both ancient or new. Naturally, Murasame and Masayume are his most prized swords, and he spends a great deal of his income on their maintenance.
 * Due to spending the entirety of his income on swords, Cecilus is forced to live in a run-down shack, situated on Arakiya's private plot of land. Furthermore, he's forced to stay there so Arakiya could fight him without causing too much damage.
 * Despite common misconceptions, the author stated that Cecilus survived the events of the Oboreru IF story. After Reinhard broke both of Cecilus' katanas, the Blue Lightning decided on escaping with his life, effectively making him one of the few survivors from the Pleiades faction.
 * He never received formal education and has no intention of learning things. This has made it so he's not confident in his thinking abilities.
 * Despite being the nation's strongest and the 1st ranking Divine General, Cecilus holds miniscule authority, compared to other Divine Generals. He is, very much an unstoppable warrior who achieved his rank by outmatching everyone and everything in combat, as opposed to others such as Chisha Gold.
 * Though not confirmed yet, The Land of the Wolves / Death unto the Weak, Mercy be None Zero Vincent side story heavily implies that Louann Segmunt was in fact the one who discovered and trained Cecilus.