Zeruel

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Zeruel
ゼルエル
Number	14th
Symbol	Strength
Appearance(s)	Episode 19 (Manga): Stages 42~47 (Rebuild): Evangelion 2.0
Defeated by	Evangelion Unit-01
Design	Yoshitoh Asari

Zeruel (katakana: ゼルエル; Hebrew: זוריאל) is the Fourteenth Angel, and one of the most powerful, the deadliest of the Angels that focus on direct, conventional combat. It is among the three to penetrate Nerv Headquarters, and the only one to do so through a direct assault. Zeruel bears the unique distinction of providing (however unwillingly) the S² Engine that elevates Eva-01 to "god" status.

Profile

Zeruel is a vaguely humanoid Angel slightly larger than an Evangelion, with a large, bulky body and prominent core.

Zeruel's arms being deployed (click for animation)

Zeruel's distinctive arms hang from its large, bony "shoulders", folding up when not used and reaching lengths at least three times the Angel's height when deployed, serving as deadly cutting weapons. Zeruel is shown to be capable of forming fists in production drawings, although the only time separate digits are seen in-show is when Zeruel lifts Eva-01 by the head.

The face is made capable of changing its consistency, from being hard enough to cast sparks on impact to rubbery enough to be lifted like a mask. It is attached to a sinewy "neck" normally kept inside the body and is capable of a limited degree of movement. Two eyes hidden inside the deep "sockets" are, as with Zeruel's kin Sachiel and Israfel, employed for both vision and energy projection.

Zeruel demonstrates an enhanced ability for firing the familiar cross-shaped energy blasts fired by Sachiel: a single shot breaches eighteen of the GeoFront's twenty-two protective armor layers and being capable of setting off four in rapid succession. It can also fire focused energy beams directly from its eyes, taking a few seconds to charge before releasing a powerful burst of energy.

Zeruel moves by A.T. Field-assisted levitation, although it is capable of quadrupedal locomotion as well. Its legs, although stubby and without feet, are not vestigial, and in combination with the folded arms allow the Angel to walk on all fours.

Zeruel's blood is colored red.

The core is rather large relative to Zeruel's body, and the S² Engine within may be, accordingly, "oversized", perhaps accounting in part for the discrepancy in power between Zeruel and other, similarly sized Angels. Zeruel possesses a protective lid-membrane capable of shielding the core when threatened, and it serves as a testament to Zeruel's incredibly tough constitution: even when an N² bomb is detonated in direct contact with the (protected) core, not only is the red sphere left completely unscathed, but the rest of the body is, as well.

Zeruel
Closeup of Zeruel's face.	A view of Zeruel's bony "shoulders".	Zeruel grabbing Eva-01 by the head.	Zeruel's arm in close detail.

Battle

Zeruel slicing off Eva-02's arms

Appearing soon after the fight against the 13th Angel, Bardiel, Zeruel attacked Nerv before it had time to fully recover from the previous Angel's attack. Zeruel breached the armor layers above the GeoFront at great speed, giving Nerv no time to try to engage it on the surface. Eva-02 was deployed inside of the GeoFront to engage it, but its pallet rifle and rocket fire proved ineffective. Zeruel used its arms to cut off Eva-02's arms, and soon after, its head, taking it out of battle. Soon after, Eva-00 emerged from underground, still missing an arm from the previous battle, and charged Zeruel with an N² bomb in its remaining arm. Despite shoving through the Angel's A.T. Field and the bomb making physical contact with the Angel, Zeruel emerged unharmed while Eva-00, having lost its other arm to the resultant explosion, was also incapacitated.

Zeruel breached Nerv headquarters and descended to Central Dogma, breaking through the wall into the command center's central display area. The Angel attempted to kill the personnel inside but was stopped by Eva-01, which fought it out of the room. Zeruel blasted off Eva-01's left arm but the Eva succeeded in forcing it onto an Evangelion launching catapult, taking the fight to the surface. Eva-01 battered Zeruel and was on the verge of ripping off the Angel's face before it ran out of power.

Zeruel destroyed the immobilized Eva's chest plate and struck repeatedly at the Eva's now-exposed core, the shocks threatening to crush the Entry Plug inside the Eva. However, Eva-01 then entered berserk mode, blocked the Angel's attacks, ripped off the Angel's arm to regenerate its own arm and then proceeded to inflict crippling gashes on Zeruel's body using an offensive A.T. Field attack. Zeruel's face was crushed as it attempted a last-ditch attack on Eva-01. The Eva proceeded to consume the Angel's body, absorbing Zeruel's S² Engine in the process.

Notes

• Due to the way Zeruel's arms are segmented into smaller sections, along with their appearance in general, they are often likened to toilet paper by fans.
• The black and white color pattern on Zeruel's front vaguely resembles a human face (seen from the left) with its core as the "eye".
• Zeruel, also called Cirviel, is the Angel "set over strength", and had been sent by God to help David slay Goliath. [1][2]The name Zeruel literally means "arm of God" -- probably no coincidence, all things considered.

In Other Media

Rebuild of Evangelion

SPOILER WARNING! This article or section contains spoiler information from Evangelion media that has been recently released and/or is of limited distribution. Do not read any further if you do not want to spoil your experience of said media.

Zeruel appears in Rebuild of Evangelion, with a slightly altered facial structure and a much-altered body. Zeruel's initial form is noticeably larger than its previous incarnation and of similar shape, albeit lacking the foil arms and vestigial legs. It retains its immense destructive power, laying waste to Tokyo-3's defenses in a short while. It unfolds a series of tentacles before it enters the Geofront.

Mari hijacks Eva-02 and confronts Zeruel within the Geofront, attacking first with rifle fire and then turning a "thunder spear" weapon on the Angel, neither of which are effective due to Zeruel's expansive A.T. Field. Eva-02 is driven into "beast" mode, but is severely damaged by Zeruel's limbs before it can break through its multi-layered A.T. Field. Eva-00 attacks with a large missile, and together with Eva-02, breaks through. The attack is again ineffectual, with Eva-00 sustaining severe damage due to the explosion. Zeruel eats Eva-00 and gains humanoid arms and legs.

The Angel demolishes the Nerv pyramid and invades the main shaft, confronting the bridge crew before being stopped by Eva-01 with Shinji. The fight between both proceeds in much the same manner as the original series until Eva-01 runs out of power and Zeruel spears it. The dead Eva revives and quickly reaches incredible levels of power, generating an A.T. Field "arm" to replace the one it lost in battle and with enough A.T. Field strength to completely block Zeruel's eye beams. Zeruel is soon ripped open by Eva-01's own eye beams, and its face crushed underfoot. Shinji recovers Rei from inside the Angel's body, with Zeruel's remains being assimilated into Eva-01 as it initiates Third Impact.

Angels

Angels (general)

First and Second Angels (Seeds of Life): Adam | Lilith

Third to Seventeenth Angels (Adam's Children):

Sachiel | Shamshel | Ramiel | Gaghiel | Israfel | Sandalphon | Matarael | Sahaquiel

Ireul | Leliel | Bardiel | Zeruel | Arael | Armisael | Tabris

Eighteenth Angel: Lilin

Rebuild of Evangelion: ?Adams? | Lilith | 3rd Angel | 4th Angel | 5th Angel | 6th Angel | 7th Angel | 8th Angel | 9th Angel | 10th Angel | 11th Angel | 12th Angel | 1st/13th Angel

Other: Extracanonical Angels