Zel

Zel (ゼル) is one of the elders of Verbergen and is the leader of the tigerman tribe.

Appearance
Zel is a muscular man with striped fur across his body, as well as tiger ears and a tail.

Personality
Zel is short-tempered, and holds an extreme prejudice towards humans. After his nation restored thanks to Kaori Shirasaki, Zel becomes a devout follower of hers.

Biography
Zel and the other elders of Verbergen banished the Haulia Tribe for concealing the existence of the "cursed child" Shea due to her ability to manipulate mana.

When Verbergen's elder chief Ulfric Heipyst invited Hajime Nagumo, Yue and the Haulia Tribe in order to be allowed passage to the Great Labyrinth that resided in the Sea of Trees, Zel and the other elders immediately expressed his disapproval at allowing them to attend due to their prejudice against humans, as well as the Haulia Tribe having been exiled. After Hajime defeated the bearman elder Jin Vanton in combat, the other elders were convinced of claims of having conquered the Labyrinth that belonged to Oscar Orcus and earning their aid based on Verbergen's laws. Ultimately the elders agreed to aid him on the condition that Hajime not kill any Beastman that attack him, to which Hajime refused to accept. Zel responded by threatening to refuse aiding Hajime with his quest since weren't obligated to help him if they did not like him. In addition, Since Hajime had originally depended on the exiled Haulia Tribe to guide him, Zel told him that they would be of no help since they were criminals. Shea begged the elders to spare her family, but Zel argued that it was too ale to save them, and that they would be executed. Zel and others hoped that this would cause Hajime to accept their terms for aid, but Hajime responded by threatening to kill them all if the got in his since he originally made a deal with the Haulia Tribe to guide him. Ulfric decided to accept Hajime's wish by having the Haulia Tribe labeled has his slaves. Zel, however, protested at Ulfric's decision and demanded that the Haulia Tribe be punished for violating their laws. Hajime then interjected by demonstrated that he too, like Shea, could freely manipulate his mana. The elders reluctantly decided to banish Hajime and the Haulia Tribe from their nation as a compromise to satisfy him.

Months later, when Verbergen was attacked by demons, Zel and the other elders were discussing how the monsters they were using managed to find them in spite of the disorienting fog around the forest that protected them. Ulfric concluded that it was the result of someone else that managed to conquer a Labyrinth, much to their shock. Ulfric then ordered Zel and the other elders to prepare evacuating Verbergen in order to save the people. The other elders initially opposed Ulfric's plan, but the chief elder managed to convince them to focus on saving their people. When they learned that the demons were looking for the Labyrinth that resided within the forest, Ulfric attempted to bargain with the Demons by offering its location in exchange for sparing them, but the commander, Davros, rejected his offer and resumed the attack. As the Beastmen were about to lose to the demons, they were all saved when the Haulia Tribe managed to wipe out their enemies thanks to the gruelling combat training they had previously received from Hajime.

When the Haulia Tribe defeated the Hoelscher Empire and managed to free all of their Beastmen slaves, the leader of the tribe, Cam, returned to Verbergen about these events. Zel got heated up and accused Cam and the others of plotting rebellion. He then had unsheathed his weapon, but was stopped when other member of the Haulia Tribe had sprung up out of nowhere and pressed a short sword against his windpipe. It was only thanks to Ulfric stepping in and mediating that Zel hadn’t lost his life then and there. Later when Emperor Gahard D. Hoelscher met with the Beastmen elders to discuss negotiations, Zel expressed his hatred to him due to all the suffering the empire had previously caused the Beastmen and expressed his desire to kill him. Garhard remained unfazed by Zel's statements, and expressed his confidence at leaving alive since it would have been against their best interests to kill him and inferred they would be fools to consider doing so. Angered by those words, Zel was prepared to attack Gahard, but was stopped by Ulfric. The negotiations were going nowhere, and Hajime decided to teleport Gahard back to the empire before things took a turn for the worst.

As Verbergen was recovering from the aftermath of the demon invasion, Zel became a devout follower of Kaori Shirasaki due to her using her powers to restore the Beastman nation to its former glory. He would constantly follow her along with many other Beastman worshippers, and wished to erect statues in her name and establish her as an official state religion.

Powers & Abilities

 * Expert Combatant - Zel is one of Verbergen's most experienced warriors.

Relationships

 * Ulfric Heipyst - Like most Beastmen of Verbergen, Zel greatly respects Ulfric.
 * Kaori Shirasaki - Zel, like many other Beastmen, idolizes Kaori after she uses her magic to restore Verbergen after the demons invade it.
 * Guze - His fellow elder. Like him, Guze also worships Kaori. The two of them would argue over who Kaori likes more.

Trivia

 * In the Manga, Zel replaces Gil as the leader of a the squad of tigermen that was patrolling near Verbergen when they first encounter Hajime, Yue and the Haulia Tribe. While in the Anime, Gil, along with his tigerman squad, is instead replaced by Jin and a squad of bearmen.