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“ | I wish you wouldn't have done that. Why run me over when I'm not doing anything? That's not something any decent human being would try if you ask me. | „ |
~ Regulus telling Crusch Karsten his unjustifiable grievance with nearly being run over. |
Regulus Corneas, also known as the Sin Archbishop of Greed, simply Greed, and the Little King, is a major antagonist in the 2014 Japanese dark fantasy light novel series Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World and its 2014 manga & 2016 anime television series adaptations of the same name.
Regulus Corneas was a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult representing the sin of greed. His Authority allowed him to stop time in and around himself, granting him invincibility and terrifying control over physics. Highly arrogant, egotistical, and above all greedy, Corneas was one of the longest active Archbishops and easily the most powerful. He kept many wives, whom he considered members of his "little kingdom," and was obsessed with his own disturbing philosophies.
Corneas is voiced by Akira Ishida in Japanese and by Kyle McCarley in the second season in English and by Khoi Dao in subsequent appearances. Ishida has also voiced Zeref Dragneel in Fairy Tail, Akaza in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Gaara in Naruto, Kuja in Final Fantasy IX, Gabriel Miller in Sword Art Online, Ryuunosuke Uryuu in Fate/Zero, Hyoga in Dr. Stone, Hideo Shimada in Parasyte, and Cancer Cell in Cells at Work!. McCarley has also voiced Shigeo Kageyama in Mob Psycho 100, Narancia Ghirga in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Pariston Hill in Hunter x Hunter, Shinji Matou in Fate/stay night, Helbram in The Seven Deadly Sins, Satan in Devilman Crybaby, Simon Laurent in Infinity Train, and Silas Norman in The Asterisk War. Dao has also voiced Geten in My Hero Academia, Cancer Cell in Cells at Work!, and Subject Two in Genshin Impact.
Appearance[]
Despite his advanced age, Regulus Corneas outwardly appeared as a young man with pale light skin and an average build who stood at five feet and eight inches tall. He had medium-length white hair with bangs that covered his forehead, white eyebrows that slanted upwards, a wide mouth, and downward slanted golden eyes. Every aspect of his looks, aside from the unusual amount of white present in his appearance, was considered unremarkably average.
Despite his inflated opinion of himself, Regulus Corneas typically wore fairly modest clothing. His usual ensemble consisted of white pants, a long-sleeved deep blue dress shirt, a pair of white shoes, and a blue teardrop-shaped earring on his right ear. Over his outfit, he wore a white greca-style overcoat that had golden highlights and a set of five golden buttons running down the center of his torso that kept the coat closed above the hipline. The inside of the coat was black with vertical golden stripes travelling down its entire body. The coat also featured a striking gold and black high-neck collar that had the symbol for infinity inscribed on it, referencing the nature of Corneas's Authority.
On the day of his wedding to Emilia, Corneas wore a more ostentatious ensemble. His wedding suit consisted of white shoes, white pants, a long-sleeved deep blue dress shirt with a wing top collar and thin vertical white stripes, and a black bow with golden stripes tied around the collar. Over his outfit, he wore a white double-breasted jacket with notched lapels, coattails, golden highlights, and golden buttons. The jacket interior was black with vertical golden stripes travelling down its entire body.
Personality[]
Regulus Corneas claimed to detest fighting and other forms of violence, and was justifiably disgusted by Lye Batenkaitos' cannibalistic habits. Nevertheless, Corneas felt no remorse for the innocent lives he took, smirking as he destroyed the caravans ferrying Crusch Karsten's retainers. Furthermore, he was able to work in tandem with Batenkaitos amicably despite the distaste he felt for the Archbishop's methods. When Lye began rambling about his obsessive cravings, Regulus reassured Rem that the Archbishop of Gluttony didn't speak for the both of them, although he likely only did so to salvage his own reputation rather than to ease Rem's mind.
He seemingly understood the concepts of right and wrong and what usually constituted them, as he was able to identify that running someone over and cannibalising humans were inherently wrong actions. However, his judgement fell short when it came to himself, as he failed to see any actions against him as justified regardless of the context. For example, during his attack on Karsten's convoy, Regulus expressed irritation that Crusch had ordered her men to run him over when he was "not doing anything," going as far as to call her human decency into question; however, his grievances were completely unjustified as Karsten had been prompted to run him over because he'd just massacred several caravans full of wounded men. Regulus was also annoyed when Rem planned to attack him despite him telling her that he didn't enjoy fighting, failing to understand why she would want to fight him when he had specifically told her that he wouldn't enjoy it.
Powers & Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Authority of Greed: The sole source of Regulus Corneas's strength was his Authority of Greed, which he obtained after absorbing the Greed Witch Factor into his body. His Authority was by far the most powerful of the Authorities possessed by the Sin Archbishops, granting him with almost unrivalled battle strength. Only a handful of people in history were said to be more dangerous than him, and even then all of them would likely lose or be forced into a stalemate in a direct fight against him. Despite possessing the most powerful Authority, Greed's over reliance on the power meant that he was completely defenceless if he couldn't use it. Upon Corneas's demise, his Witch Factor was inherited by Subaru Natsuki.
- Chronostasis:
- Physics Manipulation: Because Regulus Corneas was physically separate from the standard flow of time, and therefore the world itself, he and anything imbued with his power weren't beholden to the laws of physics which usually dictated how matter should interact with its surroundings. An example would be water, which could be picked up by Corneas despite it being a liquid that would ordinary need a vessel to be moved. The reason why Corneas didn't simply fall through the floor whenever he activated Lion Heart was because he also imbued the floor beneath him with his power. For the same reason, he was also able to walk on unconventional surfaces like bodies of water. By negating an object's connection to reality, Corneas also removed its interaction with properties like air resistance that would normally define its terminal velocity. As a result, anything thrown by Greed would travel at impossibly fast speeds. Corneas could also make himself move at astonishing speeds in the same way, though the action of doing so was akin to being fired from a slingshot and as such it was difficult for Corneas to control his movements.
- Durability Negation: The true danger of Regulus Corneas's Authority of Greed stemmed from his ability to negate the rules of physics around him. Because everything imbued with Lion Heart was divorced from the space around it, anything under the affects of Greed's Authority didn't interact with its surroundings in any way. As such, anything imbued with his power would simply pass through whatever it came into contact with. Regardless of the durability of Corneas's target, matter affected by Lion Heart would effortlessly tear through it. When coupled with Corneas's ability to negate the usual restrictions on an object's speed of movement, even the most harmless objects became lethal weapons in the hands of Regulus Corneas capable of decimating even the strongest of targets. Dirt, sand, pebbles, water, and even the air surrounding Corneas could all be used as devastating, super-fast projectiles after being imbued with Lion Heart. The only object known to withstand a ranged bombardment from Regulus Corneas was the sheath of the legendary Dragon Sword Reid.
The principle application of Regulus Corneas's Authority of Greed was called "Lion Heart." It allowed him to stop and restart time for any object or individual he came into physical contact with, chiefly himself. Under the affects of frozen time, Regulus Corneas and anything he chose to use his power on essentially became completely separated from the world and thus immune to all forms of external influence. As a result, the Archbishop of Greed was completely impervious to all forms of harm and didn't age beyond the point he activated the Lion Heart on himself. Because his body functions were frozen in time as well, Corneas also didn't need to eat, drink, sleep, or even breathe. Despite his time being stopped, the Archbishop could still think and move while his Authority was active. Although Greed wasn't affected by any form of external force, he could, if he desired, make it so that the force of enemy attacks would still apply to him (meaning he could be blown back by an attack without actually being damaged). The only weakness to Corneas's Lion's Heart was that he could only use it on himself for a short while, because his heartbeat halted whenever time was stopped and he still needed that body function to survive regardless of whether time was stopped or not. Corneas could safely maintain Lion Heart for about five seconds before having to deactivate it again to remove the risk of heart failure.
- Physics Manipulation: Because Regulus Corneas was physically separate from the standard flow of time, and therefore the world itself, he and anything imbued with his power weren't beholden to the laws of physics which usually dictated how matter should interact with its surroundings. An example would be water, which could be picked up by Corneas despite it being a liquid that would ordinary need a vessel to be moved. The reason why Corneas didn't simply fall through the floor whenever he activated Lion Heart was because he also imbued the floor beneath him with his power. For the same reason, he was also able to walk on unconventional surfaces like bodies of water. By negating an object's connection to reality, Corneas also removed its interaction with properties like air resistance that would normally define its terminal velocity. As a result, anything thrown by Greed would travel at impossibly fast speeds. Corneas could also make himself move at astonishing speeds in the same way, though the action of doing so was akin to being fired from a slingshot and as such it was difficult for Corneas to control his movements.
- Heart Link: In addition to Lion Heart, there was a second ability of Regulus Corneas's Authority of Greed called "Little King." Little King allowed Greed to create a small, artificial heart in the body of whomever he considered to be a part of his "little kingdom." Corneas's little kingdom was a term used to refer to that which belonged to him. The only individuals considered to be among the possessions of Greed's little kingdom were his wives, and as such they were also the only people he could share an artificial heart with. By merging the artificial heart (which was directly tied to him) with the heart of one of his wives, Corneas was able to synthetically maintain his own heart by using his wife's heart in its place. Doing so allowed him to keep Lion Heart active permanently as its key weakness, the risk of heart failure, was negated. Bestowing a heart on a wife didn't have any adverse affect on her, due to its artificial nature. With Little King and Lion Heart combined, Regulus Corneas was practically invulnerable and immortal. He was also able to better control Lion Heart, as he struggled to manipulate things outside of his body using his Authority whenever Little King wasn't active. In the event that none of his wives were breathing or located nearby him, Corneas couldn't use Little King. As a result, Greed kept a large amount of wives in order to circumvent such a risk.
- Chronostasis:
Equipment[]
- Conversation Mirror: Regulus Corneas was in possession of a "Conversation Mirror," a relatively common type of metia. Metias were tools that, through various means, allowed their owner to use a specific magical function. Conversation Mirrors were compact mirrors that were able to record the visual and audio information around their owner and broadcast it to another Conversation Mirror. Essentially, a Conversation Mirror allowed its owner to communicate with another Conversation Mirror owner from far distances away akin to a mobile phone. It was a common tool among members of the Witch Cult.
- Witch Cult Gospel: As a member of the Witch Cult, Regulus was the owner of a copy of the Witch Cult Gospel. Each Witch Cult Gospel was a replica of the Tome of Wisdom, a book that had been in the possession of the Witch of Greed Echidna. The Tome of Wisdom would provide exact details of future events concerning the Witch of Greed, essentially bestowing Echidna with a form of precognition. Unlike the original Tome of Wisdom, the Gospels of the Witch Cult were imperfect replicas, meaning that, although they detailed the future of its owner, the events conveyed were subject to change and the information provided was often up for interpretation. The Gospels took the form of small black books that could only be read by their owners. Like every Witch Cultist, Regulus followed the details provided in his Gospel unquestionably.
Quotes[]
“ | Crusch: How dare you do such a brutal thing to those brave and loyal soldiers? Now tell me, just who are you anyway? Regulus: Ah, I see. Things are becoming much clearer, you have no idea who I am. On the other hand, I know exactly who you are. You're a candidate to be the next ruler of this fair nation. Crusch: Whoever you are, you talk too much. Answer my question! Next time, I will kill you! Regulus: Come on now, that's just mean. But I suppose one could never hope to properly rule a country without some degree of arrogance. I can't comprehend that sensibility myself but I recognise its— Crusch: I warned you, no second chances! |
„ |
~ Regulus conversing with Crusch Karsten. |
“ | Now, listen here! Who taught you that it was acceptable behaviour to swing a sword at someone while they're speaking? I do believe that's a violation of my right to freely express myself! | „ |
~ Corneas expressing irritation towards Karsten following her attack on him. |
“ | Rem: Who are you two? Tell me! Lye: A Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing Gluttony... my name is Lye Batenkaitos. Regulus: And the Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing Greed... Regulus Corneas. |
„ |
~ Regulus and Lye Batenkaitos introducing themselves to Rem. |
“ | Easy now, you can relax. I'm nothing like that guy over there. I absolutely despise fighting and such. All that "hunger" and "thirst" nonsense? Such petty self-indulgences are beneath me. | „ |
~ Corneas reassuring Rem that he didn't possess the same cravings as Lye. |
“ | Regulus: Did you listen to a word I said? I thought I already told you I absolutely despise fighting? Rem: Is that all you have to say for yourself, Witch Cultist? |
„ |
~ Regulus annoyed with Rem after she prepared to attack him. |
Light Novel Excerpts[]
Ex Volume 4[]
“ | "For an entire group of Divine Generals to be roundly defeated. If Eight-Arms were still alive, we would never have suffered such an affront." "That name's real nostalgic and all, but he's dead as dirt." Balleroy shrugged at the man's rueful tone. To hear the name of Volakia's old hero after this litany of complaints was enough to bring a tear to his eye. "Anyway, time to stop lookin' to the past. He ain't fit enough. And Eight-Arms, well, he didn't give himself the finest send-off. Am I wrong?" There was no response. "He was supposed to defend the capital, but instead, he betrayed the city to one of the Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins and then got himself killed in the fighting... As legendary heroes go, it wasn't much of an ending." |
„ |
~ Balleroy Temeglyph and Glamdart Holstoy talking about Kurgan's loss to Regulus. |
Volume 8[]
“ | "Among the Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins, the two most famous are probably Sloth and Greed." Julius spoke to Subaru while riding his land dragon alongside him. Even though they rode together, there was a world of difference in how the two sat astride their dragons. Subaru was desperately clinging to the black dragon he had named Patlash, while Julius rode elegantly. "And that's why I can't stand you..." "I shall let that slide and continue what we were discussing. Even among the famous Archbishops of the Seven Deadly Sins, two stand out. In terms of reliable records, information on Sloth is far more prevalent, but in terms of the scale of damage, the unforgiveable crimes of Greed are second to none." |
„ |
~ Julius Juukulius and Subaru Natsuki discussing Greed and Sloth. |
“ | "Unlike Sloth, Greed is a name associated with few calamites. But the content of those records is more than sufficient. The Empire incident in particular is widely known." "By that you mean the damage was especially huge?" When Subaru posed his question with a grimace, Julius indicated yes with a nod. "The Fortress City of Gacklar—located in the Empire of Volakia, found at the south of the world map. It was known as the most solidly defended city of that nation's border regions. It had a standard garrison of thousands of troops, while the settlement itself was enveloped by a complex set of defensive walls. It was a place worthy of the name Fortress City, but...Greed conquered it. Single-handedly, no less." "He took down a whole city?! By himself?!" This was no mere tale of one knight worth a thousand footmen. Subaru's voice cracked when he heard the shocking account. "'Soldiers must always be strong'—the common people consider this way of thinking to be 'the Imperial Way.' The Empire is a nation that lives and breathes that ideal, and even its basic infantry are fierce fighters. The Fortress City was manned by such soldiers, but it fell to a single Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins who called himself Greed. It is said that even 'Eight-Arms' Kulgan, hero of Volakia, was slain in that battle." |
„ |
~ Julius recounting Greed's attack on Gacklar. |
Volume 9[]
“ | At a glance, he was an utterly unremarkable individual. He was of medium height, with a medium build, and he had naturally white hair that was neither short nor long. The white suit that he wore to match the hair on his head was neither extravagant or shabby, nor did his face have any defining characteristics; he looked like a completely average man. Yet as a matter of fact, the land dragon coming into contact with him forcefully cried out as half of it was torn asunder; the knight on the driver's seat and the smashed dragon carriage were destroyed together to the point that it was impossible to tell them apart. And what shocked Rem the most was not the man's demeanour as he treated the awful spectacle like it was nothing, but the fact that the man who had assuredly destroyed the dragon carriage had simply stood there. The man had done nothing. Merely by standing, he had taken a head-on collision from a dragon carriage, and won. |
„ |
~ Rem's initial thoughts on Regulus during their meeting. |
“ | A chill raced up Rem's spine. The next moment the man moved. Without warning, he listlessly raised his dangling arms, and a faint vortex of wind erupted. Right after, in a line directly above the man's arms—the ground, the air, the world, broke. Around and around, around and around, Crusch's left arm, severed at the shoulder, danced in the air. The arm, still posed as if it were holding the invisible blade, flew, scattering blood droplets all around as it fell to the earth. The blow sent Crusch's body crumpling down; she began to convulse from the bleeding and intense pain. "Lady...Crusch—" After spending several seconds dumbfounded, Rem snapped back and leaped toward Crusch. Putting her hand against Crusch's bleeding wound, Rem wrung out the scant mana she had to stop the bleeding and treat it with all her strength. Crusch's arm had been cleanly severed—flesh, bone, and nerves sliced through. No matter how out of place, Rem couldn't help but admire the terrifyingly perfect cut. |
„ |
~ Regulus using his Authority on Crusch. |
“ | "You...are...?" Rem's lips quivered, for she was dumbfounded that she had not even sensed the combat taking place. Hemmed in by bizarre opponents to the front and the back, Rem picked Crusch up and slowly backed away. Blood flowing from Crusch's wound was staining the grassland red; the air felt chill, as if to mock Rem's fearful heart. Rem's trembling question prompted man and boy to glance at each other's faces. Then the pair nodded, as if giving each other a signal, whereupon devilish smiles came over both, as if such violent acts were deeply familiar to them; then they introduced themselves. "Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Witch Cult, Regulus Corneas, charged with greed." "Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins of the Witch Cult, Lye Batenkaitos, charged with gluttony." |
„ |
~ Regulus and Lye Batenkaitos make their introductions. |
Volume 10[]
“ | "It is not a topic I enjoy speaking of, but it concerns the traits of the Witch Cultists. As you already know, they are adherents of the Witch of Jealousy, but...they do not acknowledge the existence of other Witches. Even merely hearing the name of one is enough to drive them into terrible rampages." "That's awfully oversensitive..." "In the Volakia Empire to the south, rumors spread of the name of a Witch besides the Witch of Jealousy. A metia supposedly related to the Witch emerged, but there is no telling whether it was true or false." The empire to the south, and the Witch Cult—those two elements coalesced in Subaru's memory. He remembered a story Julius had relayed to him while they were travelling together at the height of the campaign to subdue Petelgeuse. "You mean the story that a single Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins wiped out a city?" "That is the one. Perhaps the rumor of a metia was fact, or perhaps it was merely a convenient scapegoat after the fact... Either way, the cost was the downfall of an entire city. Speaking about Witches has been strictly prohibited everywhere since." |
„ |
~ Otto Suwen and Subaru discussing Greed's attack on the Fortress City. |
List of Appearances[]
Anime Adaptation |
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Trivia[]
- Like other Witch Factor bearers and related figures, Regulus Corneas received his namesake from a celestial body. The name Regulus was derived from "Regulus," a star in the Leo constellation considered one of the brightest stars in the night sky. As "Rēgulus," its original Latin rendering, the star's name meant "prince" or "little king." The star was revered in many past cultures and ascribed many different names, including "Maghā" (meaning "the Mighty") by India, "Miyan" (meaning "the Centre") by Persia, and "Sharru" (meaning "the King") by Babylonia. The name "Cor Leōnis" was also used in Latin, translating to "heart of the lion." Regulus Corneas, with his egotistical personality and supreme combat power, could be considered a reflection of the majesty ascribed to the star.
- The author of the series, Tappei Nagatsuki, stated that the Master Swordsman Reinhard van Astrea would've been unable to overcome Regulus's powerful Authority if Subaru Natsuki hadn't been present. Despite his title as the strongest Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult and being the only person to have killed Reinhard, Regulus failed to kill Subaru even once.
- The author stated that if the Witches of Sin (minus Satella) and Sin Archbishops were to fight each other, Regulus would be the sole survivor.
- Regulus's first wife was the only spouse he ever made a grave for.
- According to the author, if every character in Re:Zero were a candidate in the Royal Selection, Regulus Corneas would be the least suited to rule Lugunica.
External Links[]
- Regulus Corneas on the Re:Zero Wiki
- Regulus Corneas on the VS Battles Wiki
[]
Villains |
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Witch Cult |
Capella Emerada Lugunica · Louis Arneb · Lye Batenkaitos · Pandora · Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti · Regulus Corneas · Roy Alphard · Sirius · Stride Volakia |
Witches of Sin |
Carmilla · Daphne · Echidna · Hector · Minerva · Pandora · Satella · Sekhmet · Typhon |
Mabeasts |
Black Serpent · Great Rabbit · White Whale |
Gusteko Assassin Organization |
Elsa Granhiert · Mama · Meili Portroute |
Others |
Balleroy Temeglyph · Bean Argyle · Eugard Volakia · Heinkel Astrea · Kurgan · Melaquera · Miles · Reid Astrea · Roswaal Mathers · Sphinx · Ton, Chin, and Kan · Todd Fang |