Ruben

Ruben is a crusader of Lairon who supports Duke Cornwall during the Soldun civil war. Divine power and relic equipment give him master-level combat strength, but his fanaticism and contempt for eastern martial artists drive him into a losing battle and, later, an uncompromising diplomatic demand.

Biography

Eastern Legacies, Quattro, and the Soldun Civil War

Ruben enters the civil war as Cornwall's religious champion and eagerly seeks a fight with Baek Jongmyung, whom he regards as a foreign heretic. His divine reinforcement, regeneration, sword, and shield let him continue after otherwise fatal wounds, but Orta disrupts his prayers and exhausts the reserve power in his relics while Baek presses him in close combat. Orta severs the nerves controlling his lower body and Baek pierces his heart, leaving Ruben alive only through divine regeneration and allowing the allies to capture him. Bound before Prince Elsid, Ruben relays Lairon's terms—submission and baptism, including the mutilation of Soldun's eastern ally—without compromise. Elsid rejects the ultimatum and orders Ruben killed by a blade through the back of his head. (Chapters 217–222, 224, 227, and 230)

Appearance and personality

Ruben wears silver armor and carries a longsword with a round golden shield. He is confident to the point of arrogance, openly contemptuous of eastern beliefs, and sincere in his conviction that Lairon's demands are sacred. Even as a prisoner facing death, he does not soften the church's terms. (Chapters 217–222 and 230)

Magic, abilities, and martial skills

Ruben channels divine power through his body and equipment, gaining extreme speed, strength, durability, and regeneration. His sword and shield are divine relics with stored reserves that can sustain him when his own power falters, and his healing allows him to survive a pierced heart. Gluttony nevertheless describes him as a “half” or false crusader compared with the demigod crusaders of legend. Orta proves the system's limits by interrupting Ruben's prayers, draining the relics, and spatially severing his spinal nerves. (Chapters 217–222 and 224)

Relationships

• Duke Cornwall: Ruben serves as the Lairon-aligned master supporting Cornwall's faction in the civil war. (Chapters 217–222)
• Baek Jongmyung: Ruben fixates on defeating Baek as an eastern heretic, but Baek's martial skill helps bring him down. (Chapters 217–224)
• Orta: Orta identifies the mechanics of Ruben's divine power, breaks the rhythm of his prayers, and disables him for capture. (Chapters 221–224)
• Prince Elsid: Ruben presents Lairon's coercive settlement to Elsid. Elsid refuses it and orders his execution. (Chapter 230)

Items

Ruben's longsword and golden shield are divine relics containing reserve power, but the corpus gives neither a proper name and neither has a planned item article. (Chapters 217–224)