Arakiya (アラキア) is the Second ranking Divine General of the Sacred Vollachia Empire. She played a major antagonistic role in Arc 7, and a major supporting role in Arc 8. She also played a supporting role in The Tale of the Scarlet Princess.
Originally the aide and foster sister of Priscilla Barielle, she viewed her as her “sun”, which allowed her to maintain her sense of self as a Spirit Eater. Though she assisted her throughout the Imperial Selection, she was forced to help fake her death out of fear of her being killed. Once the newly crowned emperor, Vincent Vollachia, took the throne, he took her on as the Second of the Nine Divine Generals.
Appearance[]
Arakiya has red eyes, uneven dog ears, wears only the minimum clothing that allows her to keep her modesty so to help her attract micro-spirits, and has short silver hair with one of her bangs being red, and long, drooping silver ears that are black at their tips. She also wears an ornate eye patch on her left eye, which she cannot see out of, and a sash-like decoration on her right hip.
Following her defeat in Guaral’s city hall, Arakiya was cut down by Priscilla's Yang Sword, leaving a nastily deep and cauterized scar spanning across the entirety of her back.
Personality[]
As a spirit eater, Arakiya takes certain measures to maintain her sense of self, as the side effects of her being a spirit eater directly affect her personality. One of those measures, of course, is wearing the clothes that she does, but more importantly, Arakiya needs a sort of emotional anchor: her "pillar",[1] which in her case was Priscilla, an older sister figure, who she considered her "sun".[2]
Most of Arakiya's personality is defined by her fierce loyalty to Priscilla. Her loyalty leads her to acting solely for her and obeying her as her right hand. She is very protective of Priscilla as well, going as far as to attack Cecilus both on Priscilla's command and out of anger towards him. She was even willing to devour the likes of the Stone in order to fight and protect her, despite knowing that doing so could kill her; she did this on two occasions, the first time to fight for her and the second time in an effort to rescue her. Likewise, this loyalty and protectiveness makes her someone who is easy to use or deceive. Vincent once used this to have her fake Priscilla's death; Chisha Gold used the girl's wish to have Priscilla sitting on the Vollachian throne to have her assist in the Imperial Civil War on his side, even if it meant confronting Priscilla and injuring her to make her stay; Sphinx used her desperation to try and rescue Priscilla to make her devour the rest of the Stone to rescue her, despite it being part of Sphinx's schemes to have her die and end the country as a result.[3]
Outside of that, Arakiya also has a sense of attachment toward those who feel like they lost someone close and even wish for vengeance, something that others have also taken advantage of; Todd Fang used this as a way for her to protect him until they made it back to the Imperial Capital. Likewise, once she trusts someone, she is willing to listen to them, which Todd also used to make her fight smarter and more efficiently, and she would even take such a person as her own subordinate. She also has a temper, however. For various reasons, she carries a grudge against both Vincent and Cecilus. In the case of the former, she was willing to kill him when she had the chance for Priscilla to be put on the throne, though she was also willing to listen to him as the emperor before this since he also saved Priscilla from being killed during the Imperial Selection. On the other hand, she is constantly hostile towards Cecilus, leading her to attacking him on various occasions. This being said, it is thanks to Cecilus's behavior that her ego did not fully collapse after she was separated from Priscilla, as his presence stoked her inferiority and stimulated her individuality.[4]
Following Priscilla's demise, Arakiya was heavily affected, hiding herself away in a depression. Her sadness and rage culminated into yet another battle with Cecilus, and she even rejected people who showed her kindness like Spica. However, despite this, she did not completely reject Spica's kindness, and it was later noted by Medium O'Connell that her mood overall improved after traveling with Spica and Cecilus.
Despite having taken in the entirety of the Stone, she does not seem to have been affected personality-wise.
History[]
The Tale of the Scarlet Princess[]
Arakiya grew up with Prisca Benedict and was her sworn sword before and during the Imperial Selection Ceremony. She was given to Prisca by Emperor Drizen Vollachia for unknown reasons.[5]
During the Siege on the Abellux Castle, a fierce battle between Prisca Benedict, Lamia Godwin, and Vincent Abellux, Arakiya fought against Chisha Gold, swiftly defeating and almost killing him. As Lamia tried to exploit the fact Priscilla and Vincent would inevitably duel, she set up a bombardment of the forest Prisca was located in. Arakiya had no other choice but to eat a portion of the Stone, Muspel, to save everyone from certain death, though she almost died in the process.
In the months following the battle, Arakiya made a deal with Vincent, which gave her a chance to save Prisca from certain death by Vincent's hand. As Prisca received a bottle of sake mixed with poison, Arakiya drank half of it, which resulted in Prisca's life being saved, however, Arakiya herself lost vision in her left eye. Upon waking up in the Crystal Palace, she was greeted by Cecilus Segmunt and Chisha Gold, who explained her situation and notified her of Vincent's request for her to join his ranks.
One day, Vincent heard of a rebellion on the Gladiator Island Ginunhive, and he sent 2000 people to exterminate the perpetrator, two of them including Arakiya and Olbart Dunkelkenn. After arriving at the island, they discussed how to get the drawbridge down, to which Arakiya devoured a lesser water spirit in order to become water and bypass the witchbeasts infesting the water. On the way, she followed the scent of blood and discovered Al on an island-like pile of rocks in the lake. After giving him first aid, the two made their way to the island, where Al explained things about an enemy called Hornet and how somethings on the island worked. After having her burn the body of a poison-infested shinobi nearby, the two made their way to the control tower, where Hornet lay in wait. After Al mentioned that he could do nothing about Hornet, Arakiya, still invisible after devouring a lesser wind spirit, attempted to sneak by Hornet, but she was easily seen through and quickly cornered. Al, having seen this, stepped forward to defend her and fought Hornet in her place, surprising her with his "miracles" while fighting her. As she attempted to get up, she heard the voice Priscilla speaking to the gladiators, and Arakiya stood to fight against Hornet with Al. Eventually, the two led Hornet to the area with the poison, where Hornet ultimately died. Afterward, the two lowered the drawbridge, allowing the soldiers to reach the island. After a short conversation with Olbart and Al, she thanked Al and left the island with Olbart.
When Priscilla and her new husband Jorah Pendleton were accused of treason against the emperor, Goz Ralfon was sent to deal with them, and Arakiya joined them. Though Jorah was killed, Arakiya let Priscilla go, and she reported that she committed suicide, eventually becoming the Second of the Nine Divine Generals.
At some point, she and Cecilus fought in an area of the Imperial Capital. The aftermath of their battle left the entire area destroyed, leaving it to be later repurposed by Chisha to be a reservoir.
Sword Identity[]
After Madelyn's failure to quell the rebellion of Yorna Mishigure, Arakiya and Cecilus were sent to deal with the matter. During the fight, Arakiya razed a portion of Chaosflame to the ground, but she was unable to kill and of its residents or even Yorna herself. In the end, when Yorna's demands were met, Arakiya and Cecilus pulled back from Chaosflame, and the rebellion subsided.
Undead Busters[]
Following the events of the Great Disaster, Arakiya hid herself away in a shack-like building, depressed over losing the source of her light, Priscilla, while she survived. Having been tasked with guarding Spica and using her own power to sense the remaining zombies left in the country, Cecilus and Spica went to collect her, resulting in yet another fight between her and Cecilus. However, Spica ultimately put a stop to the fight by using Leaper on Arakiya, leaving her unable to keep fighting. Afterward, they reported back to Vincent. After a turbulent conversation caused by Cecilus's rambling and Arakiya's aggression, the group finally set off on their mission, with Spica being in charge of keeping Arakiya in check.
After setting forth, they encountered several undead, including Harlein, who the three dispatched with ease. After sitting down for food, they soon encountered the undead Volcas, who clashed with and was defeated by Cecilus. However, because he did not want to let Spica eat his name just yet, this led to an argument between him and Arakiya, while Spica attended to Volcas. Afterward, they returned to Garkla with Volcas, intent on letting Volcas speak with Vincent. Shortly after their arrival, however, Yorna took Volcas away, and the two engaged in combat, everyone else standing to bear witness. Eventually, the battle stopped, and Volcas mentioned that he recognized Yorna as Iris.
Abilities[]
Spirit Eating (精霊喰らい): Arakiya has the power to eat spirits, assimilate her body with them and use their powers as her own without needing to form a contract with them. By eating a Water micro-spirit, for example, she's described as almost becoming one with water, allowing her to swim past witchbeasts residing in the waters, undetected. Her power is so strong that it even allowed her to take in one of the Four Great Spirits' power without losing her sanity. Arakiya is able to use other spirits' powers until she completely digests them, and it is unknown what happens to spirits, after she eats them. Furthermore, the firmer one's sense of self is, the better they are with their power. This ability does have a downside, however. If exposed to larger quantities of mana, Arakiya will become confused and eventually sick, as she starts experiencing symptoms of mana poisoning. This trick was used against her at the Fall of Guaral, when Vincent flooded the entire room with mana, confusing her and allowing Al to hold his own against her. Also, if she devours a spirit that is too powerful, such as one of the Four Great Spirits, she risks her body self-destructing, and likewise, even if her body can contain such power without destroying itself, if she cannot acclimate to said power, it will cause her to temporarily lose control of her body and go berserk.[6] Furthermore, during the acclimation process, the immense power threatens to paint over her sense of self with much more fervor than other spirits.[7][8] This being said, while in this state under Muspel's influence, Arakiya is capable of withstanding strikes on the level of Cecilus's chops.[9] This ability was originally a secret technique wielded by unnamed tribes living on the frontier of the Empire but were wiped out due to the ability's potential. After devouring the entirety of Muspel, her power has increased severalfold; merely floating in the air, the space around her distorted,[10] and she was able to keep up with and counter a young Cecilus.[11] Arakiya’s spirit-eating gives her a plethora of abilities, including:
- Fire: Arakiya can launch fireballs which can destroy ranks of soldiers with ease. She can envelop her limbs as well as her whole body in fire. When doing so, she is often seen flying in midair, and when her whole body is fire, she becomes unable to be grabbed until she reverts to her normal state. The flames can also change color, becoming blue, and the flames are also intense enough that they can scorch the ground to naught and even paint the sky red.
- Wind: Arakiya can summon powerful gusts of wind to blow her enemies away. She also has the ability to assimilate into wind, making herself invisible.[12]
- Water: Arakiya can summon jets of water powerful enough to decapitate people. She can also fill people’s heads with water to make them burst from the inside. Additionally, she can turn her whole body into water to swim at high speeds.[13]
- Yang: She can turn her body into light to both phase through attacks and counterattack in all directions.[14] She can also unleash belts of light with enough power to evaporate anything they hit.
- Earth: Numerous magic crystals burst out of Arakiya’s body, some in scattered places across her body with other forming wings from her back.[15] The crystals are sharp enough that they can be used like blades and slash through her enemies.[16] However, this form was the effect of Muspel's great power attempting to devour through and spill out of her body,[17] so it is unlikely she is able to use this form at will. Regardless, she can fire off countless of these crystals, which Cecilus has compared to diamonds,[18] like missiles with intense speed and power,[19] create and manipulate crystal pillar from all directions,[20] and generate stone constructs to grab and crush her opponent,[21] which even Cecilus Segmunt struggled to avoid or fight against. The projectile crystals that she fires can act independently of each other, and attempting to defend by normal means aagainst them can be self-destructive.[22] Likewise, these crystals are capable of breaking down and reconstructing themselves,[23] which allows them to multiply into numbers unenumerable,[24] thus making them next to impossible to avoid.
Intangibility: Having taken in the power of Muspel, Arakiya can switch back and forth between a physical and mana-based body, allowing her to temporarily become intangible. Though this can be exhausted should she exhaust her Od, with Muspel’s immeasurable amount of mana, the chances of this are practically moot, effectively making Arakiya unkillable.
Massive Mana Pool: After devouring a portion of one of the Four Great Spirits, her mana pool expanded greatly, allowing her to generate all forms of magic. This pool increased later when she devoured and assimilated with the rest of the Stone.
Mana Sensing: Thanks to her connection to the Stone, she is able to sense the flow of mana that is connected to the Great Spirit. Using this, she can sense the zombies that were revived by its power and locate them. However, this ability seems to be exclusive to anything that is using its power.
Unknown Ability: Arakiya can mask her presence by diving into the shadows. The process which she does this by is unknown.
Equipment: Arakiya carries a tri-pronged wand with her to help channel her magic.
Trivia[]
- Arakiya owns a private plot of land somewhere near the Imperial Capital of Lupugana, where she currently resides. Furthermore, it's been stated that Cecilus Segmunt also resides on her land, though not in the same building as her; he lives close-by in a rundown shack.
- Arakiya's goal to become the First ranking Divine General results in her actively trying to attack and kill Cecilus, though it is to no avail as Cecilus always outmatches her.
- Arakiya has her own named chapter in the web novel of Arc 8. In the light novel, it was adapted as an interlude.
- According to the author, Arakiya's birthday is on November 11.[25]
References[]
- ↑ Her ego daringly diluted, Arakiya, who had clung only to the existence of the “pillar” that she deemed important to herself, had devoured Spirits, acted as a formidable being, and fulfilled her role. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 1.
- ↑ One was that the individual Arakiya had deemed as her pillar was like a dazzling sun, shining so brightly that, even when separated, she could not lose sight of them. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 1.
- ↑ It was tremendously colossal. Unbelievably heavy. Intolerably twisted. If left unchecked, it would destroy the Empire. If she could not keep it under control, her “pillar”―― Prisca, would not be protected. That was why Arakiya, without being told by anyone, swallowed it down. Into her own incomparably thin and small body, she took the Stone, Muspel. The Empire must not be destroyed by the monster who called herself a Witch, utilizing this Great Spirit. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 1.
- ↑ The other reason, and one that Arakiya would never want to admit―― in the days after being separated from her “pillar”, the Thunder that reminded Arakiya of the fact that she was herself shook her soul incessantly, evoking feelings of inferiority and stimulating her individuality. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 1.
- ↑ Therefore, the girl who had become the sole instance of completion, as an existence with invaluable abilities, was presented to the emperor of the time, Drizen Vollachia, and Drizen had bestowed her as a foster sister to one of the daughters that had inherited his own blood. It was unknown what impression Emperor Drizen Vollachia had harbored for the girl that had been presented to him, or for what reason he had bestowed her to his own daughter. Arc 7, Chapter 101, Section 1.
- ↑ Nevertheless, by taking in something that did not mesh with her own capacity, Arakiya’s own brilliance would instead turn against herself, her surroundings, and the things she wanted to cherish. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 2.
- ↑ Gradually feeling her existence, the whereabouts of her soul, being painted over, amidst the pain and anguish, Arakiya earnestly tried to recall the radiance of her Sun. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 3.
- ↑ She was detaining a being that would engulf her, and would fully overtake her presence. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 3.
- ↑ Unperturbed even when suffering the full strength of Cecilus’s karate chops, the heroine had many small Magic Crystals growing on her slender shoulders and arms, her appearance having turned into one that gave the fantastical illusion of being clad with sparkling wings. Arc 8, Chapter 57, Section 2.
- ↑ Looking for an opening to intervene, Al saw Arakiya floating in the air, distorting the space around her. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 2.
- ↑ Already a dozen or so times, Cecilus’s lightning-swift attacks had been countered, and continued to be shot down. As a result, the situation was rapidly becoming severely unfavorable. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 2.
- ↑ “As Al watched, Arakiya’s body began to transform into wind. Meaning she gradually turned invisible.” Re:Zero Ex Light Novel Volume 5, The Sword Wolf of the Scintillating Flame, Section 16.
- ↑ “That was how she had become like a lesser water spirit in order to safely cross the lake. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she had become water itself, swimming at a speed that far outstripped any normal person.” Re:Zero Ex Light Novel Volume 5, The Sword Wolf of the Scintillating Flame, Section 16.
- ↑ “Arakiya’s body scattered into rays of white light, dispersing with terrifying force spread in every direction like buckshot, hitting Yorna and Priscilla like a fountain of water.” Arc 7, Chapter 95, Section 2.
- ↑ Arakiya’s appearance, it was even more bizarre than it had been just a few moments earlier, with Magic Crystals growing out of the thin girl’s body as if piercing from within. From a distance, the growths on Arakiya’s arms and back resembled the wings of an angel. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 2.
- ↑ The girl’s slender arms were essentially blades due to the sharpness of the Magic Crystals that densely grew on them, and alas, Cecilus’s slim chest was mercilessly cut open, staining his favorite kimono with blood as he began to fall. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 4.
- ↑ However, in reality, Arakiya had absorbed an exceedingly large entity, and it was attempting to devour through and spill out from the body of the girl in which it had been trapped. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 2.
- ↑ Right after he uttered those words, belts of diamond were fired from the feathered robe of the heavenly maiden. Arc 8, Chapter 57, Section 2.
- ↑ What was particularly eye-catching about that figure, which could even be called beautiful, were the belts of light gently caressing the sky that floated around the heroine―― Magic Crystals of thin and flat construction. Due to some sort of principle, one of the belts of magical nature was illuminated in turn by the flaming cityscape, swimming through the sky on a silky trajectory that could sway with the wind; that instant, it was fired towards Cecilus, cutting through the world. Arc 8, Chapter 57, Section 2.
- ↑ A moment later, the area around Cecilus distorted, and twisted pillars of stone burst forth from all directions like giant serpents and attacked the boy. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 2.
- ↑ As he kicked the earth, the ground following Cecilus’s path swelled as he accelerated, creating a series of huge arms of stone and earth that grabbed at the boy as if to crush him. Arc 8, Chapter 56, Section 2.
- ↑ The twelve dancing light belts each acted independently with their own will, and drew irregular trajectories like living creatures differing from ordinary weapons. When he tried to knock one down with a karate chop, the part which made contact was gouged out entirely and became painful to look at. Arc 8, Chapter 57, Section 2.
- ↑ Thereupon, through the process of breaking down and reconstructing themselves, the twelve belts of adamantine light blocked the way again. Arc 8, Chapter 57, Section 2
- ↑ As the light belts branched to an extent that became too absurd to enumerate, they beautifully glistened in the sky as they came falling like a waterfall. Arc 8, Chapter 57, Section 2.
- ↑ Author's Comment
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