TV-Series
Description
Kei Sakurai is a central character and one of the main heroines of the visual novel Dies irae. She is a young woman of seventeen years, born on April 22nd, with a slim build, pale skin, and long black hair that reaches past her waist, contrasted with brown eyes. Her typical attire includes a military uniform or a sailor school uniform, often accessorized with a scarf, gloves, and knee-high boots. Kei holds the position of Seat V within the Longinus Dreizehn Orden, also known as the Obsidian Round Table, an organization of superhuman beings. Her assigned demonic name within the group is Leonhard August, meaning The Lion's Heart and Sword.
Kei is a descendant of a bloodline that forged an alliance with the Obsidian Round Table during World War II. She joined the organization to fill a vacancy left by a member who died eleven years prior to the story's present. Unlike many of her higher-ranking colleagues, her age genuinely matches her youthful appearance, making her far too young to have met the five most senior members of the Table. Her recruitment into this world of supernatural warfare was orchestrated by the priest Valeria Trifa, who approached her following the deaths of two people most dear to her.
In terms of personality, Kei is defined by a strict, reserved, and stubborn demeanor. She is prone to distrust and has a notably short temper, which often manifests as a prickly exterior that keeps others at a distance. This behavior masks deep-rooted, primal emotions stemming from significant personal loss. A reviewer notes that she has by far the most animosity with her own villainous group, which makes her motivations particularly compelling from the beginning of the narrative. Despite her harshness, she possesses an indomitable fighting spirit and adheres to a personal code of honor, believing that a knight's soul dwells within their blade. She despises war and the act of taking something precious from others, acknowledging the hypocrisy of her own role as a combatant.
Kei's primary motivation is rooted in the trauma of losing her older brother, Kai Sakurai, and her idol, Beatrice Kircheisen. She was raised by the two of them from a young age, but following their deaths, Valeria Trifa promised her that they could be revived if she joined the Obsidian Round Table and helped Reinhard Heydrich achieve the divine state of Atziluth. This promise set her on a path of training and conflict, making her a reluctant antagonist who is secretly seeking the truth and a way to reclaim what was lost. Her need to understand the circumstances of Kai and Beatrice's deaths is a driving force behind her actions throughout the story.
In her role within the story, Kei initially stands as an antagonist to the protagonist, Ren Fujii, but can later become a crucial ally and, depending on the narrative path, a romantic interest. She is considered one of the major characters whose presence is impactful across almost all routes of the story. Her confrontation with the Obsidian Round Table is personal, setting her apart from other characters who are more directly enmeshed in the organization's ideology. Her key relationships are intense and defining. Her brother Kai was her protector, and Beatrice was her idol. Their loss is the central wound of her life. Her dynamic with Ren Fujii is notable for how much the two have in common, both possessing prickly, tsundere-like personalities that eventually allow them to form a battle couple as they fight side-by-side.
Kei's development across the narrative sees her evolve from a rigid, isolated soldier bound by a promise to a more integrated individual willing to forge her own path. She undergoes significant trials, including a pivotal battle against the LDO member Eleonore von Wittenburg where she chooses to fully submit to the power of the Wewelsburg Longinus, an ancient sword of her clan, at great risk to herself. This act allows her to overwhelm her powerful opponent but leaves her severely injured. Her personal route in the visual novel is described as bittersweet, providing a conclusive arc for her character.
Kei is a formidable superhuman warrior who wields the power of Die Ewigkeit, a magical formula that grants its users immortality and supernatural abilities. Her holy relic, or Ahnenerbe, is named Scharlachrot. It takes the form of a double-edged sword forged from a mystical metal called hihiirokane, which is unique to her bloodline. The sword is perpetually engulfed in flames that defy normal physics, burning without the need for oxygen and generating enough heat to instantly vaporize water and melt steel. As a member of the Sakurai clan, she is also eligible to wield the Wewelsburg Longinus, a more powerful relic originally belonging to her ancestor, Musashi Sakurai, and previously used by her brother.
Her ultimate technique is her Briah, an ability that manifests her deepest craving. Named Man sollte nach den Gesetzen der Götter leben, or "One should live according to the laws of the gods," this power allows Kei to transform her very body and soul into living, everlasting flame. In this state, she becomes intangible to most physical attacks, can control fire with immense precision, and can alter her form to slip through impossibly small spaces. She becomes a genuine avatar of fire, extending her sword's reach into a pillar of flames to strike her enemies. This craving stems from her desire to never lose the burning passion and oath she carries in her chest.
Kei is a descendant of a bloodline that forged an alliance with the Obsidian Round Table during World War II. She joined the organization to fill a vacancy left by a member who died eleven years prior to the story's present. Unlike many of her higher-ranking colleagues, her age genuinely matches her youthful appearance, making her far too young to have met the five most senior members of the Table. Her recruitment into this world of supernatural warfare was orchestrated by the priest Valeria Trifa, who approached her following the deaths of two people most dear to her.
In terms of personality, Kei is defined by a strict, reserved, and stubborn demeanor. She is prone to distrust and has a notably short temper, which often manifests as a prickly exterior that keeps others at a distance. This behavior masks deep-rooted, primal emotions stemming from significant personal loss. A reviewer notes that she has by far the most animosity with her own villainous group, which makes her motivations particularly compelling from the beginning of the narrative. Despite her harshness, she possesses an indomitable fighting spirit and adheres to a personal code of honor, believing that a knight's soul dwells within their blade. She despises war and the act of taking something precious from others, acknowledging the hypocrisy of her own role as a combatant.
Kei's primary motivation is rooted in the trauma of losing her older brother, Kai Sakurai, and her idol, Beatrice Kircheisen. She was raised by the two of them from a young age, but following their deaths, Valeria Trifa promised her that they could be revived if she joined the Obsidian Round Table and helped Reinhard Heydrich achieve the divine state of Atziluth. This promise set her on a path of training and conflict, making her a reluctant antagonist who is secretly seeking the truth and a way to reclaim what was lost. Her need to understand the circumstances of Kai and Beatrice's deaths is a driving force behind her actions throughout the story.
In her role within the story, Kei initially stands as an antagonist to the protagonist, Ren Fujii, but can later become a crucial ally and, depending on the narrative path, a romantic interest. She is considered one of the major characters whose presence is impactful across almost all routes of the story. Her confrontation with the Obsidian Round Table is personal, setting her apart from other characters who are more directly enmeshed in the organization's ideology. Her key relationships are intense and defining. Her brother Kai was her protector, and Beatrice was her idol. Their loss is the central wound of her life. Her dynamic with Ren Fujii is notable for how much the two have in common, both possessing prickly, tsundere-like personalities that eventually allow them to form a battle couple as they fight side-by-side.
Kei's development across the narrative sees her evolve from a rigid, isolated soldier bound by a promise to a more integrated individual willing to forge her own path. She undergoes significant trials, including a pivotal battle against the LDO member Eleonore von Wittenburg where she chooses to fully submit to the power of the Wewelsburg Longinus, an ancient sword of her clan, at great risk to herself. This act allows her to overwhelm her powerful opponent but leaves her severely injured. Her personal route in the visual novel is described as bittersweet, providing a conclusive arc for her character.
Kei is a formidable superhuman warrior who wields the power of Die Ewigkeit, a magical formula that grants its users immortality and supernatural abilities. Her holy relic, or Ahnenerbe, is named Scharlachrot. It takes the form of a double-edged sword forged from a mystical metal called hihiirokane, which is unique to her bloodline. The sword is perpetually engulfed in flames that defy normal physics, burning without the need for oxygen and generating enough heat to instantly vaporize water and melt steel. As a member of the Sakurai clan, she is also eligible to wield the Wewelsburg Longinus, a more powerful relic originally belonging to her ancestor, Musashi Sakurai, and previously used by her brother.
Her ultimate technique is her Briah, an ability that manifests her deepest craving. Named Man sollte nach den Gesetzen der Götter leben, or "One should live according to the laws of the gods," this power allows Kei to transform her very body and soul into living, everlasting flame. In this state, she becomes intangible to most physical attacks, can control fire with immense precision, and can alter her form to slip through impossibly small spaces. She becomes a genuine avatar of fire, extending her sword's reach into a pillar of flames to strike her enemies. This craving stems from her desire to never lose the burning passion and oath she carries in her chest.