Kyou Rei | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chinese | Qiāng lǐ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kanji | 羌礼 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Romaji | Kyo Rei | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Epithet | Shiyuu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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“ | The one who wasn't ready...was me. I knew...I could...Never hurt you, Rei. That's why...I'm so sorry...But I'm happy you survived. I'm...maybe I'm just selfish, but...Rei...Outside...For my sake, too...LIVE AS STRONGLY AS YOU CAN! | ” |
—Shiki's last words to Rei. |
Kyou Rei is a soldier of the Kyou Kai Army, the personal military army of Kyou Kai, her older sister, that's bounded to the Hi Shin Unit and her defacto right-hand.[1] Like Kyou Kai, Rei is a former member of Clan Shiyuu's Kyou Tribe but left the clan after she became the Shiyuu, the strongest assassin within the clan.
Born into the Clan Shiyuu, a legendary clan of swordswoman infamous for their strength and powerful swordsmanship, she is a descendent of the clan's Kyou Tribe where she was raised and fostered from birth alongside her twin sister, Kyou Shiki and older adopted sisters, Kyou Shou and Kyou Kai. Talented like their sisters, Rei and Shiki supported Kyou Kai in her quest for revenge against the previous Shiyuu, Yuu Ren who had murdered Shou through underhanded tactics and won the title.
After Kyou Kai defeated Yuu Ren, Rei and Shiki were eventually chosen for the clan's selection ritual for the title of "Shiyuu". However, Shiki willingly gave her life in order for Rei to win but the act left her deeply traumatized and slowly drove her mad.
Shiki's death was the catalyst for Rei to track down Kyou Kai as she wanted to kill her, but Kyou Kai was able to save Rei from the Shiyuu's madness and helped her accept Shiki's death. Since then, Rei has become invaluable member of the Hi Shin Unit.
Appearance[]
Kyou Rei is a small and short young woman in her mid to late teens with black hair tied into a ponytail with a ribbon and cat-like eyes. For clothing she wears the Kyou tribe's style of the standard Shiyuu robes and a white headband with two markings.
Personality[]
Rei is a shamelessly confident woman and takes a great amount of pride in many things that she holds dear to her but is a cheerful person with somewhat of an immature mindset as she can be brutally honest, a trait she shares with both Kai and Shin.
She founds the outside world to be a strange place filled with unusual sights but shows an eagerness to learn about them with bright curiosity. Aside from that, she enjoys poking fun at others in a teasing manner having made fun of Kai when she returned to the village on matters of "romance" and typically trades jabs with Shin.
However, after surviving the Shiyuu succession ritual, Rei had become dark and twisted due to being heavily traumatized by the event and Shiki's death. She portrayed herself in greatly killing her enemies with sadistic glee and saw war as a nothing more than a "fun game". But in actuality Rei was suffering from her trauma and could barely stomach her own actions as she would throw up after her massacres, a clear indication of remorse about her actions. She also took on the facade of being cold which caused others to view her as insane and arrogant like when she ignored orders while looking down at the commanders and members of the Hi Shin Unit.
History[]
Rei and Shiki, her older twin sister, were born in the Kyou Tribe of Clan Shiyuu. From a young age, the sisters were trained by the Elder in Shiyuu martial arts, swordsmanship, and assassination techniques alongside their adopted older sisters, Kyou Shou and Kyou Kai as they were all raised together.
In one of Kyou Kai's memories, Rei is briefly seen together with Shiki, and Shou as they nag at Kai for only hunting and finding one frog despite it being her turn to find food for everyone. She gets annoyed at the fact that Kai is the one who always eats the most as she points out that, but she gets bop her in the head for the remark.[2]
Story[]
Sometime after Keiyou Campaign Arc and before Assassination Plot Arc[]
At some point after the Battle at Dakan Plains, Kyou Kai risked a trip back to her village in order to gather more information on Yuu Ren's whereabouts. But she is ambushed by Rei, who started wielding Shou's blade - Hakuhau, and Shiki. Rei makes a point to goad Kai to take back Shou's sword but they're both easily and soundly defeated in an instant with Rei crying at the thought of her getting cut down.[3]
Afterwards, Rei and Shiki catch up with Kai. While they scold Kai for her actions against the clan and the disgrace it brought for the Kyou Tribe, Rei asks Kai if she's done it with a man yet and teases her sister about it which earns her bop to the head before the Kyou Elder comes to greet Kai. The elder asks Kai if she could wait for three years before hunting down and killing Yuu Ren. Kai asks the reason and the elder tells her in the three years, Rei and Shiki will be the representatives for their tribe in the next ritual. Kai, worried, states that they should just discard the foolishness of the ritual, but Rei cuts in to tell her that her concern isn't necessary as they would welcome it even if it happened tomorrow. Rei also tells Kai that she isn't the only one angry about Shou's death, and that she should kill Yuu Ren as soon possible. After showing their resolve, Rei asks Kai what the outside world is like and she answers that it's not a bad place, probably, while Rei tease that she definitely has done it with a man. [4]
Kyou Kai's Revenge Arc[]
Rei was seen along with Shiki, to be the next contenders for the Shiyuu position should Yuu Ren's dead body were to be found.[5]
Sometime during the Western Zhao Invasion Arc and before the Shiyuu Conflict Arc[]
Years later, Rei is seen training with Shiki under the watchful eye of the Kyou Elder and both sisters are able to put their respective blades on each other's neck. Shiki says that if they didn't hold back one of them would end up dead while Rei says that should be Shiki. Rei then proposes to make a dinner and goes out to hunt a rabbit. Meanwhile Shiki and the elder talk about Yuu Ren's death and the next ritual.[6]
Before the ritual started the sisters promise to each other that they will try their best to kill each other. As the other candidates fell one after the other to their blades until there was only Rei and Shiki left amongst the dead. However, when they are about to strike each other, Shiki stops her blade and gets stabbed by Rei in the chest. Then it's revealed that Shiki had planned this from the start, because she didn't want to hurt Rei. In her dying words she tells Rei to live her life as strongly as she can for the both of them. With every other candidate being dead, Rei becomes the next Shiyuu.
Shiyuu Conflict Arc[]
After becoming the Shiyuu, Rei starts to slowly succumb to the "darkness" of the title and from her trauma regrading Shiki's death. During the ongoing skirmishing between the Qin Military and the Zhao Military, on the left wing of the Gaku Ka Army as the Gaku Ka soldiers were in the middle of retreating from a Zhao unit. Every soldier takes a pause as they start hearing an eerily familiar humming. A mysterious figure kills every single Zhao soldier in the vicinity as the Gaku Ka soldiers could only watch while believing that they just saw a "monster". In the following days, after cutting swathes of massacred Zhao soldiers all the way to the Hi Shin Unit's position. She saves Kou and the Bi Hei Unit from certain death, then told them to guide her towards Kai.
Afterwards, Rei meets Kyou Kai and grinned at the notion of her twin sister, she decided to join the unit voluntarily but earned the ire of the Hi Shin soldiers due to her attitude, disobeying orders, and later on, her actions against surrendered soldiers. In their offensive, she sprung the ambush, attacking and killing Zhao soldiers after channeling her bloodlust.
Rei's insubordination and reckless attitude would only further enrage the infantry, even her killing of Zhao prisoners was condemned. Rei and the gathered Hi Shin members almost get into a fight, but Kyou Kai intervenes before the fight began.
She demands a duel with Kai, which the latter accepted, and three days later with Kyou Kai recovered, they begin their duel. Kai says that they should finish this before more people arrive, but before asks her how Shiki died. It makes Rei angry, and she attacks her senior first. Kyou Kai however dodges all her attacks without even drawing a sword and punches her to the ground. Ten is surprised that Kyou Kai can overwhelm Rei so easily, but Kai responses that Rei is not serious yet either. No, that Kyou Kai recovered she can get serious for a while, and they can both fight "in the abyss". The sisters continue their duel as they both start using their respective Priestess Dances.
In a move that Kyou Kai barely dodges, Rei claims that Kai would’ve died had Shiki performed that move. But she then angrily remarks that Kai is alive while Shiki remains dead. While Kai acknowledges Shiki's skill, she retorts that she has not fought with all her power. Rei dismisses her by exclaiming she never underwent the ritual. In the midst of the emotional duel, Kyou Kai begins to ask her little sister about the circumstances of the former's twin's death, which she answered that Shiki was stronger than her. It is revealed that Shiki sacrificed herself, because she was unable to kill Rei. Remembering that her sister apologized up to her dying breath, this breaks Rei's berserk state and leaves her sobbing and promising to her dead sister that she will live to the fullest.
The next day, Rei apologizes to every member of the Hi Shin Unit for her actions with the final one being Shin as he bops her on the head. Shin tells her that next time he won't be so lenient next time, and should she break the rules of the unit again she's gone. Furthermore, he tells her that she needs to listen to her superiors while saying that she isn't the only one who has gone through a great loss which is why they need to rely on each other and from now on their comrades. Rei is then seen in Kai's tent where she helps Kyou Kai to reconnect her severed Chi vessels. When Shin visits them she listens to the conversation and afterwards Rei thanks Kai for bringing her back from the darkness of the Shiyuu. From then on, Kyou Rei officially joins the Hi Shin Unit and would come to save the unit from many crises for years in the near future.
Battle of Eikyuu Arc[]
When the remaining soldiers of the Gyoku Hou Army surrounded by Zhao forces, Rei is the one to save unconscious Ou Hon, Ban You, and the remaining Gyoku Hou from the attack. When Hi Shin Unit tries to take Eikyuu fortress, she is part of the climbing team. She tries to climb ahead of others she almost falls but is saved by Kou. After they reach the top, she kills multiple Zhao soldiers and later rides with Den Ei as they charge the HQ of Gaku Haku Kou but she then is thrown off and falls down the cliff with other soldiers after Gaku Haku Kou's attack. But she was later rescued by Kyou Kai.
Zhao's Retaliation Arc[]
Nature Of Humanity Arc[]
Hango Campaign Arc[]
TBA Arc[]
Abilities[]
STATS | |
---|---|
Strength | 93 + extra large α |
Leadership | 52 |
Intelligence | 70 |
Experience | D |
Healing the wounds in my heart |
Physical Abilities[]
Master Swordswoman: Kyou Rei is a ferocious warrior whose skills were compared to those of Kyou Kai. She is capable of easily cutting down masses of soldiers on the battlefield. During the ritual she could take down multiple other candidates and survive until the end. Later she was able of hold her own against Kyou Kai in a duel (although Kyou Kai didn't try to kill her).
- The Mist Technique: a special move taught in a Kyou Tribe where the user delivers a barrage of slashes from different angles to overwhelm her opponent.[7]
Immense Strength: Rei is strong enough to easily cut armored soldiers on the battlefield into pieces. She was also capable of cutting a large rock in half with a sword swing.[8]
Immense Speed: Rei is an agile fighter who can strike down her enemies before they can notice it. She is fast enough to keep up with the speed of Kyou Kai during their duel.
Chi Manipulation: As the Shiyuu, Rei is capable of manipulating her Chi in various ways.
- Chi Sense: just like other members from Clan Shiyuu Rei has a sixth sense that allows her to sense the presence of her enemies, even if they are hidden.[9]
- Priestess Dance: Rei is especially talented in using her priestess dance as demonstrated during the ritual when she took down and killed multiple other practitioners of the technique. When she dives deep into the trance her veins become dark red, and she starts bleeding from her body.
Master Assassin: Rei is an expert assassin having received strict training in the art of assassination since she could walk. She can hide her presence so well that she sneaked into the middle of an intense battle between the Hi Shin Unit and a Zhao army having rescued the Bi Hei Unit from near destruction [10] and appeared right next to the Ryuu Yuu Unit before they could even notice her. [11]
- Sound Muffling Technique: Rei can use a special technique based around one’s footwork that used to hide the sound of one's footsteps.
Duels[]
# | Against | Status | Start in chapter | End in chapter |
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1 | vs. Kyou Kai | Loss | Chapter 667 | Chapter 669 |
1 | vs. Fuuon (with Riku Sen) | Win | Chapter 723 | Chapter 723 |
Gallery[]
Shiyuu Conflict Arc[]
Battle of Eikyuu Arc[]
Chapters Covers[]
Black and White[]
Colored[]
Official Artwork[]
Volumes Covers[]
Fanbooks[]
Other Media[]
Young Jump[]
Etymology[]
- Kyou or Qiang refers to various groups of people at different periods in ancient China. One meaning is shepherds with 羌 being formed from the characters for "sheep" (羊) and "man" (人) and pronounced like "sheep" and another is they were descended from the Yan Emperor, the mythical "Flame Emperor" and his tribe.
Trivia[]
- Like her late older sister, Shou, Rei shows an interest in the sexual nature between a man and a woman.
[]
References[]
- ↑ Kingdom Manga: Vol.74 Chapter 812
- ↑ Kingdom Manga: Vol.25's Omake
- ↑ Kingdom Manga: Vol.15's Omake
- ↑ Kingdom Manga:Vol.16's Omake
- ↑ Kingdom Manga: Chapter 363 Page 11
- ↑ Kingdom Manga Vol.56's Omake
- ↑ Chapter 668, page 6-8
- ↑ Chapter 667, page 16
- ↑ Chapter 664, page 12
- ↑ Kingdom Manga: Vol.61 Chapter 663, pages 115-116
- ↑ Kingdom Manga: Vol.61 Chapter 664, page 131