Esmond

Esmond is Prince Lionell’s personal bodyguard and strongest enforcer. He kills Eiko and poisons Vera while helping the Prince abduct young women in the Hidden Domain, creating a grievance that Eiko personally settles more than a year later.

Biography

The Lionheart Tournament and the Hidden Domain

Esmond suppresses the Six Kingdoms’ teenagers so Prince Lionell can seize Iris and Henrietta, then fights Vera when she intervenes. Frustrated that her experience deflects his greater strength, he increases the force of his blows, kills Eiko with a poisoned spear, and leaves Vera with an otherwise incurable wound. Keoza’s appearance reverses the balance: Esmond spends a one-use defensive artifact to survive crystal breath, surrenders the group’s treasures, and escapes with his master. His quick thinking preserves their lives, but the attack brings Alexander and Maximilian down upon the Ashina capital and makes both Esmond and the Prince targets of Lux’s family. (Chapters 300–305)

Abyssal invasion and broken memories

More than a year later, Esmond has advanced from D-Ranker to A-Ranker but remains beside the exiled Lionell, sharing authority over a bandit force that kidnaps women. When Eiko arrives for revenge, he recognizes the Slime he once killed, rescues the Prince from the burning camp, and uses a flying treasure to flee while summoning two Saints. Eiko’s Supremes overwhelm them, and she breaks Esmond’s limbs, tortures him, and hangs him from Poseidon’s bow while destroying the Ashina royal line. His corpse remains aboard the ship after he dies, confirming biological death rather than escape, resurrection, or recruitment into Lux’s undead forces. (Chapters 1067–1071)

Appearance and personality

Esmond has auburn hair and appears to be in his early forties. Tall enough in presence to intimidate teenagers through aura alone, he presents himself with formal deference toward Prince Lionell but shares his master’s predatory cruelty. He is experienced, quick-witted, and strongly survival-oriented, using hostages, treasure, artifacts, and flight whenever direct strength fails. His later interest in selling transformed Eiko shows no remorse, and his loyalty to Lionell persists chiefly as service to power rather than moral conviction. (Chapters 300–303, 1067–1068)

Abilities and skills

Esmond is initially a D-Ranker whose full-powered blows surpass Vera’s Avatar in raw force, although her superior technique repeatedly deflects them. He fights with a poison-coated spear capable of exploding Eiko’s body and infecting a Ranker with a toxin normal healing cannot cure. A single-use defensive artifact absorbs most of Keoza’s crystal breath, while a flying treasure later carries Esmond and Lionell away at high speed. By the rematch he is an A-Ranker, but Eiko is already at least Empyrean Rank and easily overpowers him with Supreme-ranked support. The corpus names no personal spell or rank-up technique, and his artifacts cannot withstand opponents several tiers above him. (Chapters 300–303, 1067–1068)

Relationships

• Prince Lionell — Esmond’s master, whose abductions he enables and whose safety he repeatedly prioritizes. Their shared crimes lead to exile and eventual execution by Eiko. (Chapters 300–303, 1067–1069)
• Eiko — Esmond kills her when she protects Iris, but Eiko regenerates and later returns vastly stronger to torture and kill him. (Chapters 303–305, 1067–1069)
• Vera — Esmond’s more experienced opponent in the Hidden Domain. He cannot overcome her defenses cleanly, so his poisoned spear turns the fight into a near-fatal injury. (Chapters 301–303)
• Iris — One of Lionell’s intended captives and the person Eiko dies protecting from Esmond’s attack. (Chapters 300–305)
• Keoza — The Crystal Dragon who strips Esmond’s group of its leverage and possessions, forcing the bodyguard to retreat. (Chapter 303)

Items

No generated notable item is individually assigned to Esmond in the centralized inventory.