Zed Loec

**Zed Loec** is a Pro Bounty Hunter and former Rookie Cheka soldier, and one of the protagonists of the Lord Eater series. Defeating Lord Nikolai in a prolonged duel is Zed's motivation in becoming a Bounty Hunter.

## Appearance

Zed is a teenager with black, mid-length hair and black eyes. His usual outfit is composed of a collared black jacket, cuffed black pants with a checkered belt, and white converse. Occasionally he will sport a white beanie. He has bags under his eyes, as do all his family members.

In the Barracks Zed wore the standard Cheka outfit, tying the headband around his right thigh. He also rolled his socks over his pants due to typically cold weather and eventually cut the sleeves off his windbreaker and sweater for better mobility.

During raids as a Bounty Hunter, Zed wears the outfit designed for his division, which consists of a collared white sweater with a baggy black hoodie over it, and black pants. Both his hoodie and pants have a single blue stripe running through the middle that represents his role in the division. He also wears a white beanie while wearing this outfit, with the hoodie pulled over his head. His face mask is white with a simple cartoon smile drawn over it.

## Personality

Zed is a rather phlegmatic person, the only emotion he ever really shows being annoyance. He is able to keep a level head and can pragmatically assess a situation without his emotions interfering, and is one of the more intelligent characters. Before his time in the Barracks, he was illiterate and knew next to nothing regarding studies and the likes, but was able to learn quickly and with ease.

Zed can be charismatic when he chooses to, and this friendliness has formed him many friendships; however, if a stranger doesn’t reciprocate the friendliness, Zed does the same. He is quick to be short to everyone he doesn't feel the need to be nice to, including his close friends. He has very little motivation to do most things, and oftentimes does things out of spite or hatred. He has no problem with lying if it means achieving his goals, and is very good at it, as well.

Because of his practical abandonment as a child, Zed rarely talks about his emotions to anyone. He finds it difficult to explain his feelings, even if he wants to, and often looks down on others for expressing theirs.

## Background

Raised in an abusive household, Zed was forced to learn how to get by alone. His parents both neglected him entirely, and because of this he matured extremely quickly as a kid. He was able to pick his own Keiyaku at the age of 12 thanks to his friends, which he chose to be a scythe stolen from a Cheka officer. Zed had no reason to pick this to be his Keiyaku other than that he didn’t really have anything else to pick and that it "looked cool".

After being pressured into participating in a Fight Club and being horrendously beat, Zed decided to work on his Keiyaku skills. For four years he participated in Fight Clubs around his region and became notorious for both his intelligence and agility with his Keiyaku.

At age 14 Zed was caught stealing rations from the Cheka police, and after having his Keiyaku identified, was sent to be executed. While on Death Row, Zed was able to overcome three soldiers and nearly escape his cell, and after this display of power the government decided to train him as a Cheka soldier.

As a Cheka officer, Zed developed his Kotsu type and became highly proficient, but never made it out the rank of Private as he quarreled with most other Cheka officers. Here he met Knox and Yuki and became good friends. Zed’s Barracks General, Zel, let them all depart from the Corps after two years, and as they didn’t have a home or any way to make money, they turned back to Fight Clubs.

## Equipment

Gym Bag: Except for his years as a Cheka soldier, Zed always carries a black gym bag on his back. He never tells anyone the entire contents of the bag, but his proclaimed “necessities” are a pocket knife, a water bottle and a brown bag with food in it. The bag does not have any kind of personal relation with Zed, as he often throws it around and forgets about it and in many situations has to buy a new one.

## Abilities & Powers

Zed has all the benefits granted by his status as both a retired Cheka soldier and as a Bounty Hunter. He achieved the rank of Notorious in the Fight Clubs at 14 years old without possessing any knowledge of Kotsu. During his training as a soldier, he was often praised for his powers of observation, agility, and deductive reasoning. In battle, he thinks quickly and always has alternate plans and strategies. His intellect and exceptional analytical skills are remarkable, and it is often through strategy that he can defeat opponents who are stronger or more experienced than him. Zed’s most remarkable quality, however, is his tendency to escape any situation thrown at him without suffering major injuries; many characters often state that he has been “gifted by God” to live until he feels he doesn’t want to.

### Keiyaku

Zed’s Keiyaku is a 100 cm black scythe that was previously owned by a Cheka officer. The scythe is able to withstand incredible amounts of damage, despite it not necessarily needing to, and is surprisingly lightweight, which comes as both an advantage and disadvantage. Zed has developed a unique fighting style with his scythe, and his attack patterns come off as bizarre and sporadic, making him a tough opponent to defend against. However, Zed is at a disadvantage with defense as the scythe is large and oddly shaped, and as such states that “the best defense is a good offense”.

### Kotsu

Zed is considered considerably above average with Kotsu, able to master the basics of Kangaeru strategies in less than a year; however this was mostly credited to his intellect, not his overall talent with Kotsu. Thanks to Zel's training, Zed was able to determine that he is around 65% of his max power with Kangaeru, 15% with Ryogae, 10% with Jotai, and 10% with Ugoku.

Zed consistently becomes angered at the fact that he is not as adept in Kotsu as other users, despite being within the top 1%. In his free time, he attempts to develop new unique abilities and often fails, resulting in disappointment. His allies often suggest that he should enhance his skills with Kotsu rather than create new abilities, which he ignores for a while until he finally accepts that others are simply born better than him.

**Ability: Scythestep - Kangaeru**

The first unique ability Zed developed, Scythestep is an ability derived from a Kangaeru technique called *Hobaringu*, which is when a user telepathically uses their Keiyaku to stand on and either run or hover on. When Zed first developed Scythestep, he was barely able to carry himself for 5 steps, inferring that the energy required to perform Hobaringu is tremendous, however after some months of training Zed was able to perform Scythestep with little to no difficulty.

**Ability: Double Fake - Ugoku/Kangaeru**

Because Zed has a maximum use of 10% with Ugoku, this ability uses an extremely high amount of energy to perform. He developed this ability in combat as a last resort, and passed out from exhaustion after performing it.

Zed appears to have a high percentage of his skill towards Kangaeru, wavering his opponent's questioning of his division. Because of this, Zed can perform a surprise attack from behind by teleporting his scythe behind the opponent, then telepathically swinging at them.

## Goals/Motivation

Zed’s primary motivation is becoming Lord of Bawskee City so he can reform its harsh government policies and take its welfare citizens out of poverty. The only way for a Lord to be replaced is if they state their successor before death, otherwise a vote is taken by the Bawskee Council. While Zed was in the Barracks, he tried to convince Lord Nikolai to make him his successor, however after many failed attempts he gave up and started to resent him. Lord Nikolai challenges Zed to a 1v1 to the death, and the 1v1 never ends as Zed escapes death against seemingly impossible odds; this makes Zed develop his skills in combat so he can return and kill Lord Nikolai.

## Quotes

"I don't have any emotions worth talking about. I'm here for the money, and that's it"