Kurgan

**Kurgan** (クルガン) was a hero of the Sacred Vollachia Empire who was regarded as its strongest warrior. Debuting in Arc 5, he played the role of a secondary antagonist, after the Witch Cult resurrected him as a corpse soldier and used him to wreak havoc in the Watergate City of Priestella. He was defeated by Garfiel Tinsel.

During Stride Vollachia's rampage across the Kingdom of Lugunica, in the years following the Demi-Human War, Kurgan acted as Stride's bodyguard, doing the dirty work for him. In that 1-year-span, he had two duels with Wilhelm van Astrea in a battle that would go down in history as **The Silver Flower Dance of Picoutatte**. Following Stride's and his own defeat, Kurgan returned to the Empire, where he remained until his death. Roughly 14 years before the event of the main story, Kurgan was slain by Regulus Corneas, who single handedly besieged an Imperial city known as Garkla.

## Appearance

Kurgan was a giant who stood around seven feet tall and towered above most other people. His huge body was armored by thick, twisting muscles and his fists were said to be as large as a child's head. The trait that distinguished Kurgan as a member of the Many-Armed Tribe and earned him the legendary appellation "Eight-Arms" was his eight powerful arms. His blue skin and black eyes gave the impression of a vengeful demon. The warrior's physical appearance and combat might bestowed Kurgan with a legendarily intimidating presence. Even the likes of the previous generation's Sword Saint failed to suppress a shudder upon gazing at Eight-Arms for the first time.

Reflecting his barbarism, Kurgan wore scant clothing. His ensemble consisted of a tattered black loincloth, black bracers on each forearm that had golden bracelets attached to their bottom hems, and black hosiery that covered his legs below the knees and had the same golden bracelets adorned at the bottom. Kurgan had various pieces of gold jewellery traipsing down his body, including his neck, face, and waist area. He has no shoes as he states that he prefers nature's ground.

## Personality

Kurgan had a rough and straightforward personality, but spoke in a surprisingly sophisticated manner. He was also highly perceptive and seemed to have above average intelligence despite his otherwise brutish appearance. However, he was ever eager to battle strong opponents in order test his strength and go beyond his limits, thus Kurgan was never one to turn down a fight. He deeply admired the peak of martial arts mastery, such as the one that Reid Astrea once achieved, holding deep admiration for the "Heavenly Sword".

## History

Kurgan was born in a rare tribe of multi-armed people. Their characteristic is having more arms than normal, but even in their tribe, having eight arms was rare. In his youth Kurgan managed to raise his clan's status and protect their land from a Vollachian lord who sought to claim it which started his world renowned exploits. He rose in strength to become the Vollachian Empire's strongest warrior, achieving legendary status tantamount to receiving an order of merit from the Vollachia Emperor himself.

Around 40 years ago, Kurgan took care of Stride and rescued him from almost dying due his sickness. Since then he started to act as his bodyguard. After this event, Wilhelm fought against Kurgan several times at Picoutatte and won, succeeding in cutting off two of his eight arms which were later likely reattached between their encounters. He was eventually defeated a final time by Wilhelm and lay dying on the streets of Picoutatte until Volcanica's miracle healed him. Having survived Kurgan was then extradited back to the Vollachian Empire.

Kurgan was later killed by Regulus Corneas when he attacked Garkla. However, after his death, he was revived as a corpse soldier to fight for the Witch Cult. During Arc 5, both him and Theresia van Astrea appeared at the battle for Priestella. Eventually, his corpse was defeated by Garfiel Tinsel.

## Abilities

**Master Swordsmanship**: As noted by Theresia, she saw Kurgan as an enemy that was far, far stronger than the usual crop with swordsmanship that rivalled Wilhelm's. His sword strikes can create a fierce gale, which rages at tremendous speeds.

**Equipment**: Kurgan wielded four pairs of **Demon Cleavers** (鬼包丁). They were his favorite weapons, but two of them were later destroyed by Wilhelm during their duel.

**Great Power**: By mastering and taking full advantage of his body unique features and developing techniques to suited it Kurgan became one of the strongest fighters of the Vollachia Empire. He was easily able to parry and/or deflect blows from a dragon. Despite being incredibly strong as a resurrected puppet, Kurgan was but a shadow of his former self, compared back to when he was still alive.

## References

1. ↑ *"However, his opponent was the Eight Arms Kurgan―― The War God who’d assumed the name of Strongest in the Vollachian Empire."* Sword Demon Battle Ballad: Act 7, Section 2.
2. ↑ *"Kurgan’s skills were less than they used to be, only a shadow of his true self."* Arc 5 Interlude 2