Name	Stride Vollachia
Alias	Destruction Wish / Destrudo
Nickname	Yang Sword's Blood
Age	Around 30
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Hair Color	Dark purple
Debut	Light Novel EX Volume 3

Stride Vollachia is tall, with glossy dark purple hair. Slender, handsome, and intelligent-looking. He has a sickly complexion. He wears nobility clothes.

Personality

Stride was vain and had a haughty demeanor fit for a king (1st p.pron. 余 yo, 2nd p.pron. mostly 貴様 kisama). He disliked being talked back to or ordered around. Insulted his (perceived) subordinates without restraint and with some creativity. Stride paid more attention to shape than essence.

All that said, he was quick of thought. Stride valued appearances less than his schemes, and praised what he was agreeable with. He would send a man to death without batting an eye. His strategizing mind always would have his own uses for the people around him that he could somehow control.

History

Stride was born in Vollachia around 40 years before Subaru's arrival, during the Emperor Selection Ceremony as a heir to the Emperor. He was a sick child since birth, and so the Emperor decided to send him off to the strongest warrior of Vollachia — Multi-armed swordsman Kurgan. The pretext to that decree had been that Stride would be training under him. In reality, the Emperor had simply expected Stride to break from Kurgan's harsh training and die. However, Kurgan actually decided to have Stride survive, and made the boy stronger. As adult, Stride won the next Imperial Selection and became the Emperor himself, with Kurgan in the station of his bodyguard.

He had been poisoned by his father as it turned out Stride could not have children, which would mean he was unable to fulfil the Emperor's duties properly. Stride had survived the poisoning, but the harrowing experience had changed him. He said that he had seen the truth, and believed there was an outside entity observing everyone's actions called Viewers that control destiny of the world. That may have been one reason why Stride had a considerable penchant for often being thespian, over-the-top, but that is mere conjecture.

After a while, Stride was initiated into Witch Cult by the Sin Archbishop of Sloth Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti. However, even having become the Sin Archbishop of Pride, he had no faith in the Witch of Envy, which is reason enough to believe even the cult was one of the steps to power for Stride.

Stride married the grey-haired Melinda, a survivor from the Evil Eye Tribe. He had his reasons for that that most likely were not love.

Years before Subaru's arrival, Stride had summoned the evil dragon Valgren and, also accompanied by Melinda, attacked Picoutatte, a regional capital in Lugnica; he also attacked the Astrea House multiple times, and had Melinda use her Evil Eye ability to mess with the minds of the citizens of Picoutatte, although his wife had hated her gift. Stride plotted without reservations against the well-protected Lugnica, earning his alias that way.

Relationships

Kurgan treated Stride as well as he would his own son. Stride had not shown any gratitude to Kurgan, however. On the contrary, he showed disrespect to his mentor, quite unlike a father figure.

Melinda loved Stride selflessly and died embracing him, although he obviously only had practical reasons, like her magic eyes, to have her around.

Shasuke and Raizo, the shinobi utterly loyal to Stride. Stride, in turn, saw them as pawns to control, and cursed them even into utter submission so they would serve him better. Shasuke even surprised Stride himself by resuming his duties after losing the curse.

Wilhelm van Astrea became Stride's enemy after defeating Kurgan. At the same time, Stride had an unsettling attitude towards Wilhelm, enjoying his and his close ones' suffering for comedic effect.

Roswall J Mathers was a named sworn enemy to Stride.

Powers

Stride wore five Metia rings that could apply curses, including the dreadful Scarlet Little Finger and will-crushing ones.

Having royal blood, Stride could summon the crimson Yang Sword Vollachia out of light, same as Vincent Vollachia.

As Stride was the Pride Sin Archbishop, he must have had the Authority of Pride to him, although him using it has not yet been mentioned.

Links

• Wilhelm van Astrea - Fan Wiki
• Stride Vollachia - Fan Wiki
• Stride Vollachia/Relationships - Fan Wiki
• Kurgan - Fan Wiki
• Melinda - Fan Wiki