Zeruel

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Zeruel
ゼルエル
Number	14th
Symbol	Strength
Appearance(s)	Episode 19
Defeated by	Eva-01

Zeruel (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.

Biology

Zeruel is a vaguely humanoid entity slightly larger than an Evangelion. Its undefined, slab-like body is adorned with an array of exoskeletal elements, with key points of reference being a face, a large core centered lees than halfway down, stumpy legs, and -- Zeruel's trademark feature -- ribbon-like cutting arms.

Zeruel's arms being deployed (click for animation)

The distinctive arms hang from the "shoulders" of Zeruel's bulky "exoscapulae". When not in use, they are folded up onto themselves into small packets. Upon employment, the heavily folded arms drop (visually evoking accordions) and are promptly straightened and extended, capable of reaching lengths at least three times Zeruel's height. They function like razor-sharp ribbons, able to effortlessly slice through an Eva (armor and all). Each of Zeruel's arms possesses a "thumb" at the tip, which sometimes lays flat to provide a seamless cutting edge. Four additional "digits" are briefly apparent (when Zeruel grasps Eva-01's head to throw her), although it's unclear if these are always present, held flush together and simply undetectable, or if they must be specially formed. Zeruel is also capable of forming fists with these digits, although this ability is only depicted in production drawings. Zeruel can also straighten and stiffen the ends of its ribbon-arms so that they effectively form spears for stabbing with, as seen when it attacked the depowered Eva-01's exposed core.

The face, which resembles a malformed skull, is situated at the top of the body at a slight upwards angle (when Zeruel is standing straight). The face is made out of hard bone-like material, notably making sparks when Shinji ground it into the side of an Eva launch tube as they were catapulted upwards. It appeared to be much more malleable and pliant after Eva-01 killed it, but this could just be because Eva-01 snapped its face backwards in the process of killing it, thus breaking the face-plate material. Zeruel's face is attached to a sinewy "neck" normally kept inside the body and possesses a cartilage-like consistency that gives it a limited range of movement. The two eyes hidden inside the deep "sockets" are, as with Zeruel's kin Sachiel and Israfel, employed for both vision and energy projection -- however, their capabilities in the latter area are considerably more potent.

Zeruel demonstrates an enhanced ability for firing the familiar crucifix-shaped energy-blasts fired by previous Angels: a single shot instantly penetrates 18 of the Geofront's 22 protective armor layers (achieving in an instant what Ramiel accomplished in hours), and, even more extraordinarily, it has the unique ability to project multiple blasts in rapid succession (at least up to four in a row). It can also fire focused energy beams directly from its eyes, a last-resort tactic saved for tight quarters, where the arms cannot be freely maneuvered. This weapon is disadvantageous, in that it takes seconds to charge and only provides a single quick burst of energy, albeit a rather powerful one.

Zeruel typically moves by (presumably A.T. Field-assisted) levitation, whether on a vertical course or, as an alternative to bipedal locomotion, slightly above ground level. The lower legs, while vestigial and lacking defined feet, do not go without use: the Angel briefly takes to all fours when it breaks into the Command Center.

The Angel also possesses what appear to be four orange-colored armored hard-points, evenly spaced with two in the "knee" area and two directly below the shoulder-bone plates. 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 -- the rest of the body is, as well.

Battle

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 slicing off Eva-02's arms

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 stabbed at the Eva's now-exposed core, the shocks threatening to damage 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 has a very powerful weapon in its eye sockets that sets off cross-shaped explosions, similar to that of Sachiel and capable of targeting four separate locations at once (How the Angel would use its eyes to set off multiple cruciform explosions is anyone's guess). Hyuga is notably aghast at how Zeruel was capable of breaching 18 out of 22 armor layers above Nerv HQ with a single shot.
  • Zeruel also uses its eye sockets for a separate charge-up energy attack powerful enough to blow off Eva-01's chest armor, although the entry plug underneath seems unaffected. Sachiel's cross-blast weapon is unable to seriously harm Eva-01 with a point-blank shot after she goes berserk, and Ramiel heavily melted all the frontal armor in a few seconds and almost boiled the pilot alive but did not have the time to destroy her entirely. This makes Zeruel's optical blast the most powerful directed energy weapon used by an Angel, although Ramiel's particle beam can be sustained for an indeterminate period of time.
• Zeruel was (along with Sachiel and Shamshel) designed by Yoshitoh Asari.
• 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.

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