Vermouth Lionheart

Vermouth Lionheart, remembered as the Great Vermouth, is the leader who assembled the five heroes of the first war against the Demon Kings and founded the Lionheart clan. Born from the power of Destruction yet determined to live as a human, he builds a centuries-long plan around Hamel's reincarnation, imprisons Destruction within himself, and ultimately returns to the world after helping his companions destroy it.

Biography

The Hero's Pact and Hamel's Rebirth

Vermouth was born in Kazard from the wound that Agaroth had inflicted on the Demon King of Destruction in an earlier era. Although his body was an avatar of Destruction, the separate consciousness that emerged from the wound chose the name Vermouth Lionheart and wanted humanity to survive. He approached the Demon King of Incarceration for time to defeat the other Demon Kings, tore the destructive power from his own chest to form the Moonlight Sword, and declared that he would fight as a human rather than accept his origin as his identity. (Chapter 580)

After leaving Kazard, Vermouth killed slave traders, freed their captives, and met Molon Ruhr among the northern tribes. He then traveled toward the continent's center, where drawing Yuras's Holy Sword brought Anise Slywood into his company and his growing reputation attracted Sienna Merdein. His most deliberate choice was Hamel: despite the others' objections and four victories over Hamel in combat, Vermouth continued asking him to join because he recognized the reincarnated Agaroth as the person his plan required. The resulting party gave his private rebellion against Destruction the allies and human relationships it had previously lacked. (Chapters 71 and 580)

Hamel died before the party reached the summit of Babel, and the remaining companions confronted Incarceration without him. Vermouth revealed that he had gathered them intentionally, rejected the claim that their journey was simply over, and drove the Moonlight Sword into his own chest to release enough destructive power to hurt Incarceration and break his chains. His resistance forced a second pact: Incarceration preserved Hamel's soul, spared Sienna, Anise, and Molon, ended the war, and granted humanity a grace period while Vermouth returned to Destruction and held it in check from within. Victory therefore became an unfinished postponement that Vermouth paid for with his freedom. (Chapters 579–580)

During that grace period, Vermouth founded the Lionheart clan, became a Grand Duke of Kiehl, and expanded his bloodline so that a descendant could provide the compatible body Hamel's reincarnation needed. He hid Hamel's soul in the Lionheart treasure vault, left the Moonlight Sword's hilt at Hamel's grave, and arranged later trials and inheritances before disappearing from public history. Destruction's influence eventually seized his body and made him attack Sienna, but he recovered enough control to leave her alive; he also reached Molon through dreams and assigned him to guard the north against the Nur. These preparations protected the plan, but their secrecy forced each surviving companion into centuries of isolation. (Chapters 209, 312, 546, 599, and 614)

Captivity, Destruction, and Return

Vermouth spent three hundred years chained inside Destruction, suppressing its awakening while its will steadily eroded his own. The violence committed through his body—including the attack on Sienna—deepened his belief that his birth itself was a mistake. When Eugene Lionheart, Hamel's reincarnation, finally reached his consciousness, he found Vermouth haggard, frightened, and convinced that rescue was impossible. Vermouth nevertheless used his remaining control to warn Eugene that the seal had at most a year left and expelled him before Destruction could trap him, choosing continued torment to preserve the chance that Eugene could prepare. (Chapters 547–548 and 599)

When the seal failed, Destruction used Vermouth's body, memories, and combat experience against the companions who entered its core. A reopened wound briefly restored Vermouth's awareness, and he directed them to destroy his heart even though he expected to die with the enemy. He initially rejected their attempt to save him, arguing that he had never asked for rescue and that erasing the disaster born with him would give his existence value. Anise, Sienna, Molon, and Eugene instead insisted that the hope, friendship, and descendants he had created were also his responsibility, forcing him to confront a life that could not be reduced to guilt. (Chapters 602–604)

Vermouth then fought Destruction from inside the possessed body, physically restraining it when it attempted to escape and helping Eugene reach the final strike. Once Destruction was defeated, he admitted that he wanted to see the changed world, hear people call his name, travel with his friends, visit hot springs, and live rather than disappear as a completed sacrifice. A contract with Incarceration preserved his now-independent soul as his original avatar body disintegrated. Incarceration chose death after the final victory and left his powerless body as Vermouth's vessel; the body reshaped itself to Vermouth's appearance, and Vermouth explicitly chose to keep living under his own name. (Chapters 606 and 612–613)

Vermouth emerged with his companions before the armies that had continued invoking him as their Hero. He identified himself to the Lionheart descendants and thanked them for remembering him, recognizing that their voices had helped his identity survive Destruction's pressure. In the peace that followed, he remained with the reunited party and the clan instead of retreating into another secret duty. By the inauguration of the new Lionheart city and Dynas Academy, he could witness the descendants, institutions, and ordinary future his sacrifice had protected, while the familiar arguments and teasing of his companions placed him in daily life rather than in a monument. (Chapters 614–615 and 624–625)

Appearance and personality

Vermouth has ash-gray hair and bright golden eyes, features he possessed at his birth in Kazard and recovered when his soul entered Incarceration's former body. His preserved images present a handsome, imposing hero, while his original body possesses the trained build of a warrior capable of wielding many different weapons. Three centuries of captivity leave his conscious form gaunt and exhausted, but the vessel that receives his soul after Destruction's defeat reshapes itself until his companions immediately recognize his face, hair, eyes, and voice. (Chapters 2, 547, 580, and 613)

Reserved, disciplined, and unusually willing to bear pain, Vermouth often treats explanation as less important than protecting the outcome of his plans. He is compassionate toward slaves and strangers, patiently recruits difficult companions, and pursues humanity's survival without caring whether he receives the title of Hero. That same self-denial becomes his central flaw: he hides decisive truths, assigns burdens without consultation, and interprets his own death as proper payment for Destruction. His friends' refusal to accept that judgment finally lets him express fear, regret, affection, and a desire for ordinary happiness, though he remains quiet and easily overwhelmed by his descendants' more exuberant attention. (Chapters 47, 65, 71, 603–604, 612, 614, and 625)

Abilities and powers

Vermouth's historical power combines the inhuman nature of Destruction, mastery of weapons and magic, and the White Flame Formula he created for himself and his descendants. His strongest feats belong to the original avatar body and to the power he extracted from it as the Moonlight Sword. At the end of the corpus, that body and Destruction are gone; his soul survives in Incarceration's former body, which is explicitly devoid of dark power, and the extent to which his former martial and magical abilities carry into this vessel has not yet been demonstrated. (Chapters 12, 24, 580, 605, and 613)

Avatar of Destruction and the Moonlight Sword

Vermouth originated as an autonomous avatar formed from a fragment of Destruction's power. This gave his original body immense durability, unusual self-healing, and an affinity with demonic power that allowed him to handle weapons made by Demon Kings without suffering the reactions expected of a human wielder. He could draw on Destruction directly, but doing so contradicted his chosen humanity and risked reconnecting him to the greater entity. Long exposure proved the decisive limit: Destruction suppressed his consciousness, moved his body without consent, and used his skills against his allies. (Chapters 8, 68, 181, 580, and 599)

The Moonlight Sword was created when Vermouth tore destructive power from his chest and gave it the form of a weapon. Its pale attacks erase matter and magic across a broad path rather than merely cutting a target, making it effective against Demon Kings, their creations, and even Incarceration's chains. Its range also endangers allies; Hamel's ability to fight within the narrow openings beside Vermouth distinguished him from other companions, and the weapon's burden prevented even Vermouth from swinging it without restraint. During the final battle, Destruction reproduced its form and effects through Vermouth's body, but this was the possessing entity using his origin and experience, not proof that the rescued Vermouth retains the weapon's power. (Chapters 291, 372, 579–580, and 605)

White Flame Formula and magical engineering

Vermouth created the White Flame Formula, a mana-training method in which separated cores become Stars that resonate and amplify one another. His white mana manifested like a lion's mane, and he alone reached the Formula's Tenth Star during the period covered by historical accounts. The system supports both martial techniques and magic, but its progression depends on building and balancing the cores rather than gaining power without limit. Vermouth deliberately passed the method through the Lionheart bloodline, making it both a family inheritance and part of the compatible foundation prepared for Hamel's rebirth. (Chapters 23–24, 289, and 486)

Sienna recognized Vermouth as a magician of comparable ability whose specialty differed from her own, particularly in spatial magic. His constructions connect distant locations, isolate spaces, preserve memories, and establish controlled tests: Black Lion Castle, the Dark Room, the Lionheart Tomb, and the hidden side of Lehainjar all incorporate preparations attributed to him. The Dark Room can reproduce figures and experiences drawn from stored memories, while his barriers can prevent observation or escape. These works demonstrate sophisticated design and long-term planning, but the corpus does not provide a complete formula for their operation, and several function through prepared sites rather than spells he can reproduce anywhere without setup. (Chapters 209, 312, and 481)

Mastery of arms and coordinated combat

Vermouth is described as both a warrior and a wizard and is proficient with swords, spears, shields, and the other weapon classes represented in his collected arsenal. Rather than being defined by one fixed style, he selects weapons and powers for the opponent, uses magic alongside physical techniques, and coordinates their effects with the different specialties of his party. He drew and wielded the Holy Sword, but later evidence distinguishes that public feat from the sword's wholehearted recognition of Eugene; Vermouth could force out its Light rather than relying on the same chosen bond. His breadth made him the party's leader, while the final possession shows its danger when Destruction applies his accumulated combat experience without his restraint. (Chapters 3, 12, 71, 538, and 605–611)

Vermouth's original physique could continue fighting through injuries and exertion that would disable an ordinary combatant, and its self-healing sometimes repaired wounds without a healer. This recovery applied to himself rather than providing restorative power for others, and severe damage, sustained battle, or Destruction's control could still overcome him. His best combat also depended on companions who could exploit the space his attacks created and cover the openings he could not. In the final struggle, his most important application of strength is internal rather than offensive: he holds his own possessed body in place and supports Eugene's advance, demonstrating that control and cooperation remain necessary even at his highest scale. (Chapters 8, 181, 270, 372, 606, and 612)

Power progression

Relationships

• Eugene Lionheart: Vermouth sought out Eugene's former life, Hamel, because he recognized Agaroth's reincarnation as essential to defeating Destruction. Hamel became the companion able to fight closest to him, and Vermouth spent centuries securing his soul and a Lionheart body for rebirth. Eugene's eventual refusal to let Vermouth die turns that utilitarian beginning into the rescue of a friend whom Vermouth had never believed he deserved to become. (Chapters 71, 312, 546, 580, and 603–613)
• Sienna Merdein: Sienna is Vermouth's fellow magician and one of the companions gathered for the first war. Destruction later used his body to nearly kill her when he sought the necklace containing Hamel's soul, making her survival both evidence of his brief resistance and a source of lasting guilt. She enters Destruction determined to recover him and rejects his belief that dying is the only amends he can offer. (Chapters 71, 312, 481, 599, and 603–604)
• Anise Slywood: Vermouth's apparent qualification as the Holy Sword's wielder brought Anise out of Yuras and into his party. She saw his refusal to yield at Babel as genuine hope even after learning how much he had concealed, and in the final battle she answers his self-condemnation by insisting that the lives his actions saved are part of who he is. (Chapters 71, 579, and 603–604)
• Molon Ruhr: Molon was Vermouth's first companion after he left Kazard, joining him among the northern tribes and remaining beside him through Babel. Vermouth later entrusted Molon with guarding the north from the Nur but could not relieve or even fully explain the centuries of isolation that duty demanded. Their reunion restores a friendship preserved through obligation, grief, and Molon's unwavering recognition of him. (Chapters 71, 312, 580, and 603–614)
• Demon King of Incarceration: Vermouth made two bargains with Incarceration: the first gave him time to gather the heroes, and the second preserved Hamel's soul and delayed the world's destruction in exchange for Vermouth containing it. They remained enemies whose purposes temporarily aligned. After the final victory, Incarceration refused to enslave Vermouth's contracted soul, died willingly, and left his now-powerless body as the vessel in which Vermouth could live. (Chapters 579–580 and 612–613)
• Demon King of Destruction: Destruction is Vermouth's origin, captor, and greatest enemy. Its power made his original body and Moonlight Sword possible, but Vermouth spent his entire life rejecting its will, endured three centuries suppressing it, and finally opposed it from inside their shared body. Its death destroys his avatar body while freeing his independent soul from the identity he feared had defined him. (Chapters 547–548, 580, 599, and 602–613)

Items

• Holy Sword Altair: The sacred sword Vermouth drew in Yuras, establishing him publicly as a Hero and bringing Anise into his party. He wielded its Light, although later evidence shows that his relationship with it differed from Eugene's full recognition. (Chapters 3, 71, and 538)
• Moonlight Sword: Vermouth's signature weapon, formed by extracting Destruction's power from his own chest. Its erasing attacks were central to his battles against the Demon Kings, and its hilt later became part of the inheritance left for Hamel's reincarnation. (Chapters 209, 312, and 579–580)
• Storm Sword Wynnyd: A wind-aligned spirit sword in Vermouth's arsenal, later stored in the Lionheart treasure vault as one of the weapons available to Eugene. (Chapters 18 and 209)
• Devouring Sword Azphel: A demonic sword acquired and safely wielded by Vermouth because of his unusual affinity with the power of Demon Kings, then left among his Lionheart inheritances. (Chapters 68 and 209)
• Thunderbolt Pernoa: One of the magical weapons Vermouth collected and used during his journey before securing it in the Lionheart treasure vault; the corpus does not identify its prior owner as a Demon King. (Chapters 18, 89, and 180)
• Dragon Spear Kharbos: A spear from Vermouth's varied collection, reflecting his ability to fight with weapon types beyond the swords most closely associated with him. (Chapters 12, 18, and 209)
• Demon Spear Luentos: Vermouth takes the spear after defeating its Demon King and later leaves it among the weapons prepared for Hamel's reincarnation. (Chapters 19 and 75)
• Annihilation Hammer Jigollath: Vermouth acquires the hammer after defeating its Demon King and secures it with the inherited arsenal later opened to Eugene. (Chapters 19 and 75)
• Gedon's Shield: A shield owned by Vermouth and preserved with the weapons and equipment he prepared for the next stage of the conflict. (Chapters 18 and 209)
• Phantom Rain Sword Javel: A sword in Vermouth's collected arsenal, later kept in the Lionheart treasure vault with his other inherited weapons. (Chapters 18 and 209)