Leopold Ray

Leopold Ray is a veteran mercenary whose relaxed, dishevelled manner conceals a gifted field commander. Recruited from an underpaid training post, he becomes one of Caïssa's senior hands: he steadies inexperienced companions, directs formations from the rear, and eventually pairs that judgment with a dwarven firearm. His loyalty is expressed less through speeches than through work—guarding the group's specialists, covering allies under fire, and continuing to fight after catastrophic losses.

Biography

Leaving Moonlight for Caïssa

Leopold first appears as a D-ranked squad captain in the grade-IV Moonlight mercenary group. Although the organization keeps him at the bottom because of his age and rank, his dungeon parties return safely and its recruits respect the calm, practical instruction he gives them. His careful counting of a modest payment also establishes the pressure behind his position: he is competent, but materially undervalued. When Smallsnake approaches him for Caïssa, Leopold does not leap at the larger salary. He rejects the first offer because a grade-I group with no record looks unstable and he has a family to support, accepting only after Smallsnake presents a substantial advance and a formal contract (Chapters 115–116).

That decision gives the young Caïssa something it previously lacked—an experienced adult who knows how to keep less-seasoned people alive. By Chapter 132 he has joined, and he quickly becomes comfortable enough to greet Ren Dover as “boss” with his feet on the table. The comic informality does not erase the choice underneath it: Leopold has traded Moonlight's stagnant security for a risky organization willing to value his judgment, and Caïssa thereafter uses him as a watcher, escort, and field leader rather than only as a trainer (Chapters 132, 152, 187).

Expeditions beyond the human domain

Leopold's early Caïssa assignments place him beside Smallsnake in surveillance and recruitment work. The two monitor Matthew while Ren acts in Immorra, and later meet Ryan Polive while bringing the engineer into the group. During the expedition that follows, Leopold protects Ryan and Smallsnake while they operate drones and suppress enemy communications. That division of labour turns his command experience into a concrete safeguard for Caïssa's non-front-line specialists (Chapters 187–190, 232, 290–296).

The expedition also establishes Leopold as an informal mentor. Ryan initially mistakes him for a “deadbeat drunkard,” but comes to regard him as a master because Leopold helps the younger members adapt to a world full of unfamiliar dangers. At the dwarven tower, he is the one member who remains coolheaded when the others panic, and he converts that composure into orders—directing Ava Leafz to use her wolves against separate limbs rather than waste time locating a demon's core. He is not merely present in Ren's formation; he makes the formation function (Chapters 300, 304–306).

The dwarven war and a new combat role

Ren equips Leopold with a dwarven gun-like artifact because it lets him contribute from the rear while retaining enough attention to command. The weapon is mana-activated, fires loaded ammunition as destructive energy, and has punishing recoil: Leopold's first one-handed test throws him several steps backward and hurts his wrist. He accepts that he needs practice, then becomes an effective back-line shooter during the tower defence and dwarven war, where his group helps hold the second line and one of his blasts kills a duergar outright (Chapters 310, 313–318, 361).

Leopold's tactical restraint remains as important as the weapon. When a larger conflict breaks out, he tells Ava to wait instead of committing prematurely, carrying both sword and gun so he can change ranges without abandoning command. The war leaves a less constructive mark as well: his smoking becomes a serious addiction after Issanor, later producing withdrawal severe enough to leave his face sunken from sleeplessness. The same veteran who can remain calm amid demons therefore has an ordinary but persistent limitation that discipline alone does not immediately solve (Chapters 349, 397, 445, 464).

Family, displacement, and Smallsnake's loss

Back on Earth, Leopold is confirmed to have reached B- rank. Ren also discovers why he had emphasized supporting a family: Leopold's daughter Sophia Ray is a successful idol and Lock student whose tuition he paid before disappearing on a dangerous two-year journey. Leopold, normally unruffled in battle, becomes visibly nervous before their reunion; Sophia is angry at the unexplained absence but relieved that he survived. Their relationship explains both his original caution toward Caïssa and the cost of the long missions he accepts for it (Chapters 464, 470–472).

When Caïssa's members are scattered during the compressor crisis, Leopold stays with Ava and Hein Kraaijenschot, then joins them in forming an armed circle around Ryan while he works. Smallsnake's apparent death affects him more quietly but more durably than the fighting: after the funeral, Leopold gives Ren a crushed cigarette pack and says he will finally follow Smallsnake's repeated advice to quit. He subsequently replaces cigarettes with gum, making the habit a visible memorial rather than a sudden cure without cause (Chapters 570–587, 605–606, 673).

War, captivity, and the aftermath

In the later war Leopold continues to operate as a mobile rear-line guard. He saves Hein from a demon with a shot past his cheek, warns the group when a battlefield can no longer be treated casually, and supports Ryan from above until their transmission is cut. Outside battle, he keeps Sophia close during the Monolith crisis and supports preparing rather than waiting passively for another attack. These scenes preserve the same priorities established at Moonlight: assess danger early, protect people doing specialized work, and keep family within reach when possible (Chapters 629–651, 684, 692).

During the final displacement, Leopold and Ryan are stranded in the same pillar but separated and imprisoned. Ryan escapes his own cell, locates Leopold, and deliberately lets the demons recapture them before the pair exploit prepared explosions to break free; once armed, Leopold's faster use of the dwarven firearm lets him cover Ryan as they release prisoners. A demon later opens a grave wound in Leopold's chest, and he falls while Ryan watches. Ryan and Emma recover his body and secure help, allowing him to survive, but the epilogue reveals that he has lost his right hand. When Smallsnake is restored, Leopold resumes smoking on the deadpan logic that Smallsnake's death had been his reason to stop—an ending that restores their familiar banter without undoing the physical price Leopold paid (Chapters 829, 835–844, 859).

Appearance and personality

Leopold is introduced as a middle-aged man with black hair, an unkempt beard, deep black eyes, and a wild but commanding aura. A lazy smile and large cigar make him look casual, and later scenes emphasize his rough voice, semi-long hair, habitual cigarettes, and relaxed habit of putting his feet on tables. By the final epilogue his right hand is missing, a lasting injury from the escape during the final conflict (Chapters 115–116, 310, 788, 859).

His apparent laziness masks caution, resolve, and a strong sense of responsibility. He scrutinizes Caïssa's first offer because he will not gamble his family's livelihood on an unproven employer, yet commits once its legitimacy is demonstrated. In combat he listens before acting, remains calm when younger allies panic, and favors controlled positioning over impulsive charges. His weaknesses are equally consistent: he drinks, his smoking develops into a damaging addiction, and he can use humour or nonchalance to avoid emotional disclosure. Even so, his attempt to quit after Smallsnake's death and his anxiety around Sophia show how deeply both relationships affect him (Chapters 116, 300, 304, 349, 397, 471, 606).

Powers and abilities

Field command

Leopold's defining ability is tactical command rather than exceptional sword talent. He runs safe, efficient dungeon raids, gives instructions without rattling rookies, divides targets among Ava's beasts, and chooses when a group should hold position. This works best when he can observe the whole field from the rear. It does not make him omniscient or invulnerable: unfamiliar gravity slows him, overwhelming demon pressure can immobilize him, and the final escape leaves him critically wounded (Chapters 115, 304–306, 349, 615, 837, 840–842).

Dwarven firearm

The dwarven gun-like artifact complements that rear-line role. Mana activates the weapon, while loaded bullets—manufactured by dwarves from processed monster or demon cores—produce a concentrated energy shot. Its blast can kill a duergar or shatter a demon's core, and Leopold becomes fast enough with it to cover Ryan during the prison break. The weapon has meaningful constraints: ammunition is expensive and not human-made at the time Leopold receives it, recoil injures an untrained one-handed user, and a much weaker user such as Ryan must destroy a sizeable core to supplement the mana needed for each shot (Chapters 310, 361, 835, 837–839).

Swordsmanship and endurance

Leopold is competent with a sword and carries one as a close-range alternative, but Ren explicitly judges command—not swordsmanship—to be his true talent. His usual loadout therefore pairs a sword at his waist with the firearm in hand. He also has the stamina to help hold the tower's second defensive line through prolonged attacks, though the aftermath leaves him too exhausted to speak; his endurance is substantial, not limitless (Chapters 310, 315, 318, 349).

Power progression

Relationships

• Ren Dover: Ren recruits Leopold for the command experience Caïssa lacks, supplies his dwarven firearm, and repeatedly trusts him with rear-line coordination. Leopold calls him “boss” but is comfortable challenging unsafe plans or telling him when a situation looks bad (Chapters 84–116, 152, 310, 619, 629).
• Smallsnake: Smallsnake negotiates Leopold's recruitment and becomes a close colleague who repeatedly presses him to stop smoking. Leopold's decision to quit after Smallsnake's apparent death is his clearest expression of grief; their old argument resumes when Smallsnake returns (Chapters 115–116, 187, 445, 605–606, 859).
• Ryan Polive: Leopold protects Ryan during technical operations and becomes an informal mentor during the expedition. Ryan later risks entering demon custody to find him, while Leopold returns the loyalty by backing Ryan through the prison break (Chapters 232, 295, 300, 587, 835–840).
• Ava Leafz and Hein Kraaijenschot: They are Leopold's most regular field partners. He coordinates Ava's beasts, covers Hein with gunfire, and stays with both when Caïssa is scattered, forming a reliable three-person protective unit around Ryan (Chapters 306, 315, 570–587, 635).
• Sophia Ray: Sophia is Leopold's daughter and the family responsibility behind his cautious career decisions. He pays her Lock tuition, but his unexplained two-year absence strains their reunion; later he keeps her near Caïssa's headquarters and worries about finding her after the final displacement (Chapters 116, 470–472, 684, 829).

Items

• Dwarven gun-like artifact: Ren gives Leopold the D-ranked firearm during the tower campaign. It becomes his signature weapon, allowing him to fire mana-driven energy shots while commanding from the rear. Ryan later carries one of the same shotgun-like artifacts—described as belonging to Leopold, though Ryan notes that spare weapons exist—and requires supplemental cores to use it at his lower strength (Chapters 309–310, 313, 361, 635, 835–840).
• Sword: Leopold carries a sword as a secondary, close-range weapon alongside the gun. The narrative confirms that he is already skilled with it but gives it no individual name or special technique (Chapters 310, 349).