Kureto Hīragi

Kureto Hīragi (柊 暮人 Hīragi Kureto) is a supporting character of Owari no Seraph. He is the Lieutenant General of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army and is expected to become the next leader of the Hīragi family as well as the Japanese Imperial Demon Army.

Appearance
Kureto has short black hair and red eyes. He stands tall and proud. He has thick eyebrows that zigzag up at the ends. He wears the standard JIDA uniform.

Personality
Proud and powerful, Kureto doesn't tolerate any disrespect from lower-rank families. He is also manipulative, ruthless and treacherous, and would not hesitate to abandon his comrades should he deem them useless in this collapsed world. He even sees the ability to betray one's friends as a strength. He expects everyone to submit to him with absolute loyalty, and as such, is very confident with himself, his plans and his actions.

Kureto has an ambition of wiping every last vampire and intends to rule the world, stating that he will turn it into a "vampire-free paradise." He plans to gather every surviving country and unite them as one, making Japan the center of all nations (i.e. world domination). Guren comments this as "something a kid would make up."

He also has some childish moments and is not above trading snide remarks with Guren, and can be rather stuck-up.

Despite his harsh personality, he has a sense of self-righteousness and values limited to his views only. He sees anyone who sacrifices others for pure greed and without a goal as evil. Even so, he remains cut-throat and merciless without any overt moral boundaries.

Second Shibuya High Arc
Lieutenant General Kureto Hīragi first appears in chapter 5 of the manga. Although he does not say anything, he is at a big meeting with the higher-ups, an Lieutenant Colonel Guren Ichinose is snoring during it. Guren leaves the meeting shortly afterward.

Shinjuku Arc
He reappears with Major General Shinya Hiragi with the Shibuya Main Army in chapter 14 at Shinjuku, effectively saving Guren and company from Ferid. He arrives too late to see Special Private Yūichirō Hyakuya's transformation and gives no sign later on of knowing that it even occurred.

He orders his troops to capture the vampire nobles alive. Although they successfully capture or kill many non-noble vampires, the nobles escape without any loss.

Post-Shinjuku Arc
In chapter 16, Kureto summons Special Private Yoichi Saotome, Special Private Shihō Kimizuki, Special Private Yūichirō Hyakuya, and Mitsuba Sangū to the Shinjuku Central Army Headquarters First Office. Yoichi and Kimizuki are taken first, and they are bound and interrogated. Mitsuba receives a promotion to Second Lieutenant because she is a member of the prestigious Sangū family, even though she was useless during the battle.

When Yu arrives, a starving unarmed vampire attacks, and Yu slays him. Kureto is waiting with Shinya and an aide. Kureto wants to investigate if Yu is a spy, what happened on the battlefield, and his connection with the Hyakuya Sect. All of Shinoa's squad members deny everything. Sergeant Shinoa Hīragi herself was not contacted.

Kureto challenges Yu to show him his swordsmanship without activating their gear, but Kureto quickly activates his gear anyway and gets his sword against Yu's neck without difficulty. Yu complains that that was not fair, but Kureto says that such complains will not keep Yu from dying. He approves of Yu's obeying his superior's orders without question and states that it is hard to believe Yu is a subordinate of Guren--until Yu attacks Kureto from behind while he is talking, and Kureto's aide interferes, saving Kureto. Kureto decides that Yu is definitely Guren's subordinate. Kureto then orders Shinya to attack Yu; since Yu knows nothing of manifestation-type demons, this ends quickly. When Shinya refuses to give Yu his name, Kureto gives it for him. Kureto then summons the bound Kimizuki and Yoichi and threatens to kill them. Every time Yu hesitates, he has them stabbed. Not that Yu has any idea what Kureto is talking about in the first place. Kureto tells Yu about the Hyakuya Sect, and this the first time Yu has heard about that. He claims "Hyakuya" was just the name of the orphanage he grew up in.

Kureto asks why Guren saved Yu. He tries to bring Yu to his side but then tells him he would have killed Yu if Yu agreed. Kureto lets Shinoa's squad leave.

Nagoya Arc
In chapter 23, Kureto has a group of five vampires outside in the sunlight, starving and bound by chains. He wants to see if he can force them into becoming demons, but the ones who do become demons are much weaker than the replicas of the stronger weapons. Guren says Kureto will not have him killed because he is useful. Kureto asks Guren about how he created so many successful candidates of the Black Demon Series, which Guren answers with luck. Kureto reveals that any person who bears a Black Demon was a human experiment at some point, but mastery is rare even with that. He requests that Guren share the fruits of his experiments with the Hiragi. He asks if Guren is planning a coup, which Guren denies.

Guren asks him what hostage Kureto has for him today, but Kureto says he has been too busy since the attack to kidnap any of Guren's aides.

Kureto reveals his dream to Guren. First, he wants to eradicate the vampires of Japan. Then, he will crush any surviving human organizations and unite the world under the JIDA. Kureto asks about Guren's ambition and asks him to join Kureto if its smaller than that. Guren says he is already following Kureto.

Kureto assigns Guren a suicide mission. Kureto gets his information from child spies he sends into vampire cities, which Seventh Progenitor Ferid Bathory seems a little too happy about. Guren will have a pre-emptive strike against the vampire nobles before the entire vampire army attacks Tokyo in one month. Kureto tells Guren to go to Nagoya with 100 soldiers and his Black Demon wielders. Guren will kill the nobles and take over their base. In the meantime, Kureto will lead the rest of the army elsewhere. He is using Guren as a distraction, although killing off nobles will help their cause as well.

Kureto reappears in chapter 33. The preparations for relocating angel numbers 6 and 7 are complete. On their father's orders, Major General Seishiro Hiragi arrives with some soldiers in order to assist Kureto. He informs Kureto that their father will not tolerate failure, but Kureto laughs and tells him their father can be angry in Hell. The two argue, and Kureto's aide and another soldiers wipe out the unit Seishiro brought with him before he notices. When Seishiro asks him about his actions and defiance, Kureto pulls out his sword. Seishiro begs for his life, and Kureto orders him to go to the brig. Their only status report from Guren states, "Everything's fine," so he proceeds with his plans.

Natural Abilities
He is very charismatic. He is also skilled at ticking others off. This is a dangerous combination.

Demon Weapon

 * Raimeiki: A possession-type demon weapon of the Black Demon Series, which appears with sparks of electricity. It is well-suited for melee combat. It resides inside Kureto's sword.

Trivia

 * Kureto means "Person of the Twilight."
 * Hīragi means "Holly."

Manga

 * "Well done, Lieutenant Colonel Ichinose. Good job for a piece of trash from an insignificant junior branch family."--Kureto to Guren, Kureto's first line in the manga, Chapter 14, "Everyone's a Sinner"
 * "Whoever defies humanity... defies the Japanese Imperial Demon Army... or dares defy us, the Hīragi family... must be taught a very thorough, painful lesson."--Kureto against the vampires, Chapter 14, "Everyone's a Sinner"
 * "He's Major General Shinya Hīragi. Like Guren, he's originally from a junior branch family, and is detested because of it. So if you want to kill him, go ahead. Nobody will care."--Kureto to Yūichirō when Shinya declines to give his name, Chapter 17, "Cursed Guinea Pig"
 * "Because you were stupid enough to be a vampire spy... I had your 'friends' knocked around a little."--Kureto to Yūichirō, Chapter 17, "Cursed Guinea Pig"
 * "This is the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. No one goes against the wishes of the Hīragi family."-- Kureto to Yūichirō, Chapter 17, "Cursed Guinea Pig' 
 * "When you were so honored as to be adopted into 'the Great Hīragi Family,' didn't it bring tears to your eyes? Isn't that right, Shinya Hīragi ?"--Kureto to Shinya, Chapter 17, "Cursed Guinea Pig"
 * "Yūichirō Hyakuya. Become my subordinate. I will guide you."--Kureto to Yūichirō, Chapter 17, "Cursed Guinea Pig"
 * "But what you did illustrated your weak point. No matter what happens... you cannot betray your friends. Family. Lovers. Romance. Friendship. You know those are all emotional attachments that must be cut... but you're incapable of severing them. That makes you weak. You are unworthy of being a leader. But... that is precisely why I trust you, Guren. You can't betray your friends. You will never be a threat to me."--Kureto to Guren, Chapter 23, "Ambition in the Demon Army"
 * "But if you have no vision, no end goal, then you're better off dead. Anyone who sacrifices others for simple greed, with no vision... They're evil."--Kureto to Guren, Chapter 23, "Ambition in the Demon Army"
 * "First, I'm going to eradicate all vampires in Japan. Then, I'm going to find all other surviving human organizations and crush them... uniting the entire world under the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. Japan will be the center of the world. I will build a vampire-free paradise."--Kureto to Guren, Chapter 23, "Ambition in the Demon Army"
 * "So shut up and follow your orders. If you do... I'll show you a world where humans make the vampires into cattle."--Kureto to Guren, Chapter 23, "Ambition in the Demon Army"
 * "If I fail now, all of humanity will die. Father can feel free to be as mad at me as he likes... in Hell."--Kureto to Seishiro Hīragi, Chapter 33, "Crowley in Control"
 * "You and the other incompetent pieces of trash who've never stood on the front lines can sit down, shut up, and watch."--Kureto to Seishiro Hīragi, Chapter 33, "Crowley in Control"
 * "After today, I'm going to be the hero who saved the world."--Kureto to Seishiro Hīragi, Chapter 33, "Crowley in Control"