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Aldebaran (アルデバラン), commonly known as Al (アル), is a former member of the Priscilla Camp and played the role of Priscilla Barielle's knight. Though only having supporting roles in Arc 3 and Arc 5, he is a major character in Arc 7 and Arc 8, and he plays an antagonistic role in Arc 9.

Introduced in Arc 3 as Priscilla's constantly abused knight, it is quickly revealed that there might be more to him, following the revelation that, like Subaru, Al was summoned to the new world from Japan roughly 18 years prior. His air of mystery increases when he is revealed to be familiar with the Witch Cult, Witches of Sin, and even the secret of Subaru's Authority.

Appearance

Al stands at 172 centimeters tall, making him the same height as Natsuki Subaru. When meeting Subaru for the first time, Al was estimated to be around forty years of age.[1] His frame is stocky, and his body is covered in thick bulging muscles that give him an imposing impression. After an unfortunate incident in the Empire of Vollachia soon after his arrival about 18 years before the start of the main series, Al lost his left arm from his forearm down. Instead of resorting to a prosthetic limb, Al has the stub where his forearm used to be covered in bandages. There are various other scars scattered across his body, including a pair of claw-like marks on his right forearm and a vast assortment of scars on his face that left him disfigured.[2] His overall shabby look, including his clothes and unshaven legs, make him look like a bandit or some other kind of lowlife. It could be said that his appearance is the polar opposite of his mistress, Priscilla Barielle.

Every piece of clothing Al wears gives a slightly different impression. His ensemble consists of a pair of green split-toe sandals with yellow buckles, sand-colored linen trousers, a bandage around his right wrist that matched the one that goes around his missing limb, bandages of the same assortment that are wrapped around his feet like socks, an open green linen vest with yellow lining and a hem of white fur, and a shabby yellow mantle that reaches down to his hips. Additionally, he wears a brown belt with a golden buckle that has a collection of green pouches attached to it with his liuyedao usually sheathed nearby. His most defining physical quality is the jet-black helmet he uses to conceal his scarred face. The helmet in question, in contrast to the rest of his clothing, is very refined and features a plume of neat red hair as a crest. Contrary to how he seemingly presents himself, Subaru believes that the way Al chooses to dress serves as a means of "protection".[3]

Under his helmet, Al has long black hair wrapped in a ponytail, black eyes, and a stubble beard. He wears the same outfit as before even when regressed to his younger self during the events of Arc 7, but instead of his helmet, he uses torn-up wrappings to cover most of his face, similarly to how Vincent first appeared at the start of the arc. From the visible parts of his eyes, he appears to have sanpaku eyes, with small irises that make the whites of his eyes stand out. Additionally, he has long, black hair that appears to have purple strands and is tied up in a messy ponytail.

Personality

Al has a frivolous and goofy personality, and having spent more than eighteen years in a different world, he was easily able to get along with Subaru. Despite being Priscilla's knight, he doesn't recognize himself as one, seeing himself as her caretaker, while Priscilla herself sees him as a handyman and a jester to entertain her. He has no qualms about their relationship. He also brags that the only way he can fight is by outwitting people and catching them by surprise. Though he acts aloof, Al somewhat cares about his appearance, as he demonstrated insecurity regarding his disfigured face several times. He adores the helmet that he wears on his head, as he feels that he wouldn't be able to have face-to-face conversations without it. Because of his light-hearted tone and friendly disposition, Al is a man who is easy to get along with even when taking his eccentric behavior into consideration.

Although very skilled at fighting due to the time he spent in Vollachia, Al does not like to make enemies, as he considers that taking care of them when a problem occurs requires a lot of work, though Priscilla doesn't seem to care about this. When he does fight, Al is excessively calculative and patient, yet he additionally expresses frustration with his opponents on occasion.

Despite his easygoing attitude, Al has a dark air to him as noted by Rem. He holds immense rage towards those who wrong the people he cares about while not hesitating in bringing death to those who he fights. Though his off-putting behavior and tendency to keep secrets is noticed by Priscilla and Rem, his suspicious activities even caught attention from the Sin Archbishop of Lust, who pointed out Al's secretiveness and shadowy actions.[4][5]

Priscilla seemed to be his primary pillar of support, and by being with her, he was able to rid himself of the thought to accomplish the task given to him by his sensei. However, following her demise, that support was gone, and he reverted back to needing to accomplish his task. He completely disregarded his friendships to do so, even showing to be willing to fight Reinhard van Astrea, set a trap that could summon the Witch of Envy, and make an enemy of the world. Likewise, despite originally hating his name, following those events, he stopped calling himself Al and started referring to himself by his full name.

History

At an unknown point in time, Al was taught how to use his Authority, different types of magic, and forbidden arts such as Ol Shamak spell by Echidna, who he referred to as his sensei out of spite. Once before, he was tasked with a certain mission by Echidna, and when he failed, she claimed he betrayed her expectations. He has since been given a task that seems to be connected to Natsuki Subaru.

Al is apparently acquainted with a holder of a Witch Factor other than Capella, as he told her that she was considerably different from the sins he knew.[6] He also is in some way acquainted with the Witch Cult and the Witches of Sin,[7] as he knew that Typhon died in Priestella, where her remains resided, and he also knew about the Authority of Gluttony's effects.

Ex 5

Al was summoned to the different world roughly 18 years before Subaru. At some point in time, he was trapped on the Gladiator Island Ginunhive in the Vollachia Empire as a gladiator and received a sword to battle as a gladiator with. However, while being trapped there, he lost his left arm in an unknown battle.[8] He spent nearly a decade there as a gladiator fighting in the Colosseum until one day one of the gaolers let him escape because they could see that his eyes were full of purpose, unlike the other gladiators.[9] To help him fund his journey out of Vollachia the gaoler gifted him his trademark black helmet which was made in the image of the helmet worn by one of the Colosseum's heroes.[10]

Al states that silver hair brings him bad memories about how a "trash, stupid useless person he is" due to how he failed to be of any use and to protect the one he cherishes the most. He was saved on the verge of death by Arakiya, who was then later saved from The Gladiator Empress by Al in return. He stated how he changed Arakiya's fate by saving her and then reflected that the world may receive a big change if she were to get children in the future. As he thought this could be one of the marks he had left on the world, he then mentioned that he would get shouted by his "sensei" if he were to say it out loud.

Sometime later, Al joined Priscilla's knight tournament, an event with around fifty people participating, but failed to win. However, Priscilla decided to choose him as her knight instead of the top 4 contestants.

Lugunican Papers

In the year following the Subjugation of the White Whale, she was requested an interview by Shorty Megan and Lululala. Already having a meeting with Anastasia Hoshin, the interview was scheduled on the same day. There, they discussed their opinions on the Royal Selection and the other candidates. In particular, both Anastasia and Priscilla claimed that Emilia didn’t stand a chance, as public discrimination against her was heavy as she was a perfect resemblance and of the same race as the Witch of Envy. Even with the slaying of the White Whale and the Sin Archbishop of Sloth under her belt, they claimed that it was an achievement that reflected more on her knight than her, which even Anastasia’s knight Julius Juukulius agreed with, though Al argued that his achievements also reflect on her. Eventually, the interview came to a close.

Abilities

Unknown Authority (権能 Ken'nō): Al has been shown to possess a yet unnamed and unexplained ability which he himself calls an Authority.[11] In order to activate it, Al must meet unknown criteria. Once activated, whenever Al or the target dies within the created "range" around him while the Authority is active, time within the area will reset back to a point in the past. He describes it as a metaphorical coin flip which decides the "role" he plays while using his Authority, though he seemingly can not control which “role” he gets. The “role” Al receives only applies to him. He also suggests that the area of a location is important in activating it, as he needs to "wrap" it within a certain area.[12] Al refers to what seems to be the range of his ability as a domain (領域, ryōiki), and to a "checkpoint" he can only progress forwards in time as a matrix (マトリクス, matorikusu). Similarly, when he activates his domain, he initiates a “thought experiment”. What this means, however, is unknown. The frequency and scope of using his Authority can create a recoil in Al's mind, causing him to experience immense mental exhaustion.[13] By repeatedly killing himself to reexperience a fixed period of time, he can relieve his mental fatigue or take advantage of unlimited time to devise plans to use in battle for as long as he needs to.[14]

  • If Al is the “Victim” (被害者, Higaisha), he will be able to remember previous loops in his domain while an opponent will not. This ability functions as something eerily similar to Return by Death, with the two notable differences being that he has the advantage of him being able to choose a checkpoint and the disadvantage of it not being automatic. There doesn't seem to be a limit to how many times he can die like this, as he died to Priscilla a thousand times trying to convince her not to go to Vollachia. Like with Subaru, the most dangerous part of this mode of his Authority is his ability to recall the futures from each time he died. Each death allows him to prepare for every reset, and given enough tries, Al can usually come up with a way to defeat or at least incapacitate his foe.
  • If Al is the “Aggressor” (加害者, Kagaisha), his opponent will remember the previous loops while he will not. His opponent is then trapped in a never-ending loop of trying to kill Al, seemingly unable to escape until they lose their minds. This was demonstrated in The Day I Gave Up on Being a Following Star.
  • It should be noted that if the Authority is broken (how this can be done is unclear), if Al chooses to deactivate it, or if he leaves its range, he becomes vulnerable once again, as said in his fight against Capella Emerada Lugunica during Arc 5.

Magic (魔法, Mahō): Al often puts earth magic and yin magic into practice, although he only possesses a natural talent with the latter.[15] He primarily wields applications of earth magic, employing the common spell Dona, or applying less conventional applications, such as using earth to create a temporary prosthetic arm from stone, creating a stone weapon that he can rupture on command, releasing sharp fragments of debris at a target, and forging stone pillars to use as midair footholds. He often uses pebbles as catalysts to reduce the amount of mana required when forming weapons, and similarly, he can even mold a Dragon’s scales into weapons with this magic. Despite only using earth magic and yin magic, Al also has the knowledge to put powerful spells of other affinities into practice but lacks the capabilities to do so. By acquiring another body with more talent in magic that shared the same magical signature as him, he gained the freedom to cast said spells through the second vessel. He also has a habit of utilizing magic while combining it with the science taught in his own world, allowing to come up with dangerous uses of magic, such as creating a steaming explosion using light, ice, and water vapor.

  • Dona (ドーナ): Al can summon one earth wall, which is used as a defensive spell.
    • El Dona (エル・ドーナ): Al conjures a swarm of earth mana and pinpoints it at the body of a target, usually channeled through a medium, which then the affected area bursts into spikes from the inside out and expands outward. Al can also alter the application of the spell to surround his body in a makeshift armor made of earth.
  • Al Goa (アル・ゴーア): Al can unleash a massive inferno. However, he needed to use another body to cast it.
  • Al Karum (アル・クラム): Al creates a black hole of hyper-concentrated gravity that can crush anything that gets caught in it.
  • Ol Shamak (オル・シャマク): An anti-Witch spell that Al learned under mysterious circumstances, taught to him by Echidna. It is a forbidden art that immobilizes its target, preventing them from moving and ceasing the activity of their body's gate. When activated on a target without a Witch Factor, they are bound in a black light with a contradictory force. The spell can only be used to its full potential when cast on someone with a Witch Factor, encasing them in a completely black orb. It unusually uses an "Ol" prefix, making it unknown where the spell is ranked alongside the other forms of Shamak.
  • Al Shario (アル・シャリオ): Al was taught by Echidna a forbidden spell that can literally bring stardust down to earth, which is capable of massacring his enemies, and it was described to be almost impossible to evade. However, due to his own potential with magic, he was incapable of casting it via his own body, and he needed another body in order to truly use the spell.
  • Lightning Magic: By combining fire and water magic to create a thundercloud and combining earth and wind magic to create a lightning rod effect, Al is capable of casting lightning magic, the speed of which surpasses even Reinhard. This magic allows him to bring down bolts of lightning from the sky, cover his weapon in an electrical charge, turn his enemies' weapons into lightning rods, or even create magnetic fields to trap a target in one place.
  • Magia Railgun (マギア・レールガン): By working together with the controlled Volcanica, the two generate two vertical cylindrical formations coated in purple lightning, upon which they can fire a specialized bullet made of Volcanica’s scales molded into the shape of a liuyedao via earth magic. When fired, even Reinhard van Astrea cannot completely avoid damage from it. It is possible for them to fire multiple shots.

Vast Magical Knowledge: Despite not having the talent to perform most of the spells he was taught, having been taught by Echidna, Al has a great amount of knowledge on most forms of magic. It was because of this that when he took control of Volcanica's body, he was able to cast incredibly large and powerful spells that would otherwise be unavailable to them, and the scale at which said spells would be cast are incredibly large in scale. Likewise, this knowledge extends to forbidden spells created by the Witch, such as Al Shario and Ol Shamak, the former of which could cause destruction on an immeasurable scale and reduce a even large number of Dragons to dust, and the latter of which was made to combat Witch Factor bearers.

Keen Strategist: Even without his Authority, Al has been shown to create extensively numerous plans in order to get his way, even making use of his Authority repeatedly until things go the direction he wants. In Arc 8, he was quick to give orders to his allies after determining the traps laid out during the early stages of the Conquest of the Undead Capital. More so than that, however, Al was even able to separate the entire Emilia Camp, using the aftermath of the Great Disaster as a way to get into everyone's heads, in preparation for his scheme in Arc 9, as well as prepare for the eventual coming of the Sword Saint, taking even the Divine Dragon into his plot and using the mentality of the camp members to set a trap that could summon even the Witch of Envy.

Equipment:

  • Black Helm: Al wears a black helmet which he received when he was at Gladiator Island Ginunhive. His helmet is a replica of a helmet once associated with the Gladiator King.[16][17]
  • Liuyedao: Al previously owned a liuyedao, and he used it as his primary weapon. However, after tossing it to Cecilus Segmunt, who used the blade to deflect attacks from and attack Arakiya, the blade crumbled because it could not handle the Blue Lightning’s sheer power. That said, Al can create a new liuyedao via earth magic.
  • Poison Packet: As a way to trigger his Authority, Al keeps a poison packet in his mouth that he can smash at any time.
  • Al's Book of the Dead: After leaving the Pleiades Watchtower, Al kept the Book of the Dead on hand. Any time he is forced to use his Authority, he can use it on the controlled Volcanica to give it an update of his own memories after each death. He can also use it against his enemies in an attempt to mentally attack them.
  • Steel Wire: Temporarily, Al wielded Yae's steel wire ring, which allowed him to use the wires to strangle his target.

Trivia

  • According to the author, Al is involved with one of the three mysteries of Re:Zero, and revealing his circumstances would answer it.[18]
  • Al's full name, Aldebaran, is the same name as the brightest star in the Taurus constellation. It means "The Follower", as the star appears to "follow" the Pleiades, which is also located in Taurus.
  • The reason why Al denies being a knight is because he absolutely hates knights.
  • On April 12, 2020, Al's voice actor Keiji Fujiwara passed away due to cancer.
  • Al stated he is fond of silver haired girls, just like Subaru.
  • According to Garfiel, Al and Subaru have similar scents.
  • Aldebaran has a named chapter in Arc 8 of the Light Novels. However, it is not listed within the table of contents, as it is a hidden prologue.

References

  1. "Age: Estimated around 40." Narō Blog Post
  2. "the visible part of Al's face was blanketed with old scars from burns, cuts, and perhaps other sources still" Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 4: Chapter 4. Section 3.
  3. Till this moment, he had always dismissed Al’s outfit as nothing more than one of his eccentricities. But when confronting him, attempting to ascertain his true intentions, he became aware that it was a protection much more potent than expected. Arc 7, Chapter 31, Section 1.
  4. “Heh, playing dumb? No need to hold back with me. It can be our little secret.” Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 20, Chapter 2, Section 1.
  5. “Or is it that it would be inconvenient if they found out you’ve been running around in the shadows?” Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 20, Chapter 2, Section 1.
  6. “You are. You’re pretty different from the other sins I know.” Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 20, Chapter 2, Section 1.
  7. "Those kinds'a people, we refer to them as 'Witches'." Arc 5: Chapter 61. Section 2.
  8. "Al had lost his left arm and became a one-armed man due to the spectacle that went on in the Vollachian Empire’s Gladiator Island, Ginunhive, in the arena." Priscilla-sama's Cheers for Me! Declaration of War Part: Part Two.
  9. "However, his eyes were different from the other good for nothings. They were the eyes of a guy with purpose." Re:Zero Visual Complete.
  10. "Ain't that helmet a copy of the one statue of the hero of the Colosseum wears? Wasn't it meant to be expensive?" Re:Zero Visual Complete.
  11. "If you want time to run away, then I’ll make some. So give me my Authority back!" Arc 7, Chapter 57, Section 2.
  12. “Shit, I don’t know the width or the length of this place! I’m at a disadvantage, but can I wrap it in…!?” Re:Zero Tanpenshuu Volume 4, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Section 8.
  13. The recoil was far too great due to the frequency and scope, but at the very least, Al had decided to continue ignoring the consequences until he made it out of the Vollachia Empire. Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 36, Chapter 3, Section 4.
  14. Within the bounds of his established domain, he could swallow poison to repeat a fixed period of time as often as he wanted, generating the time needed to smoothen out his mind. For his battle against Reinhard, too, he had taken full advantage of this merit to fine tune the plans he had prepared in advance in order to draw him into them. Arc 9, Chapter 17, Section 2.
  15. “And, the talent you possess for the Yin attribute is planned to all be used for the acquisition and execution of the forbidden art you are to be taught.” No Stella No Life 1, Section 2.
  16. “It’s from the gladiators’ Colosseum that I was in a long time ago――! But, it’s not like I stole it! It’s just that when I was running away from that place, a kind hearted guy gave it to me. It was being displayed in the Colosseum, so I think it’s a pretty decently made helmet. Maybe.” Re:Zero Tanpenshuu Volume 3, Sunlight on the Water, Section 2.
  17. “You were one of the gladiators at Vollachia, indeed. If that is so, then you must be from somewhere on the Gladiator Island Ginunhive. That helmet would be an item associated with the Gladiator King, or more accurately, a replica.” Re:Zero Tanpenshuu Volume 3, Sunlight on the Water, Section 2.
  18. "When his circumstances are revealed, it reveals one of the greatest mysteries hidden in the story." Narō Blog Post

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