1. Reinhard vs. Witch of Envy (Satella)

- “His arms had been torn to shreds and into ribbons.”–––I really want to emphasize the gravity of his current physical condition, so I’ve been putting efforts into showing how fucked up his arms are.

- He has been swinging his sheathed sword to block off Satela’s attacks “10-20 times a second until his sweat and blood left his body as steam.”–––How tf can I draw this without making the art an absolute blur. I lack the skill to nail this bruh, but at least I wanna show how locked in bro is and how immeasurably overwhelming this situation is.

2. “A Sword Saint never loses.” –Young Heinkel

Y’know, I’ve always been wondering, why can Reinhard have such a sturdy, unwavering mentality in his role as a Sword Saint? And from the very latest chapter, it confirms something to me. Maybe aside from that he is feeling responsible for his grandma’s death; it’s because of this,

“Because the Sword Saint can’t lose. That’s what Father said.”

––Child!Reinhard to Wilhelm.

As far as I can gather, Reinhard did really respect and love Heinkel, so these words coming from his respected figure must have ingrained themselves in his brain so much to the point that they fueled his mentality to be as fixed as it is now. Emphasized, even to this day, Reinhard still seriously cares about Heinkel; that’s why I drew the panel getting brighter to the flashback image, as, in my opinion, Heinkel’s words are still as clear as the day to his current self.

An extra note from Tappei’s Q&A I found on his Twitter: Sensei said the times Reinhard spent with Heinkel when he was still a good dad were one of his happy moments from the past. That’s why the nuance has to be bright.

3. Reinhard drowning and chained down

Reinhard’s burden has always been heavy, but this time it’s extremely heavy. Though, it’s his duty as Sword Saint, and he has always been the type who is so resigned to fate. That’s why I drew him resigned, with no struggles whatsoever to even break free from the chains binding him. He kept sinking deeper because those chains are connected to these heavy burdens from the world that are not getting any lighter (they become worse instead). His arms are floating upward not because he is trying to reach out to Felt or anyone (emphasizing how he never asks for help), but simply because he doesn’t put any energy on them, so they naturally float due to the sea’s nature.

4. Felt reaching out to Reinhard

Heavily referenced from [Arc 9, Chapter 18 – “A Hundred Times More Troublesome”]

Felt has voluntarily offered the Sword Saint aid in facing Al in the ways she can. She is not helping him fight Al head-on, but she offers herself as his second backup, a safety net just in case Reinhard is taken care of and things are fucked (and they were!). Referencing that specific scene, I wrote, “––Those hands that tried to reach him.” and drew Felt stretching both of her palms because she did place both of her hands on his cheeks. Reinhard knew about this help, as it was offered before he went off to the battlefield. This is something he is aware of, which he appreciated (as he was amazed by Felt’s efforts); that’s why I drew him locking eyes with her, but at this point? He is basically occupied in a task of another realm nobody can step into; that’s why I drew his expression as a complete resignation with no hope placed on the other.

Felt, on the other hand, is as determined as ever (since, from what I’ve read, she hasn’t shown any sign of yielding). However, even her great efforts alone are far from enough. Even worse, she was held hostage as Al kept marching on with his plans. She, too, failed in stopping the bro with the cheat code. Thus, the white lines around her neck are Yae’s threads, the ones that kept her from escaping, and let’s just say that I think the close contact it has made with her skin has grazed it a bit; therefore, the faint smear of blood is especially noticeable since this is metaphorically underwater.

5. Flash image of the people that have bonds with Reinhard

I think it’s important to include them too because they are people who care for him to varying extents.

Honestly, I have only read EX 4 so I hesitated to put Ferris in … but he did look so happy when he chatted casually and had a drink with Ferris and Julius, and they seemed rather close in their times as royal guards, so yeah, I think bro deserved the ‘friend spot.’

I don’t think I need to explain his bond with Subaru. Y’all know that already.

JULIUS… DAMN IT… I totally forgor that he is STILL forgotten. Well … can’t defend my careless ass here… Let’s just say this is a little treat for bro who has gone through so much (Besides, Reinhard acknowledged, ‘Oh ya based on yall’s reactions, I believe this bro was supposed to be my bud!’) but I still think it’d be cooler if he were featured with his face glitched here (too late for me to fix rip). Anyways, I personally think Reinhard is closer to Julius than he is to Ferris. When I read them conversing, I feel like they share a similar wavelength too to some extent—maybe due to both of them having the same career and chivalry.

The people on the right—guess those who have never read the side stories won’t know. They are Carol and Grimm, the old couple who are friends with Wilhelm and Theresia and serve in House Astrea. They have been mentioned to love and care for Reinhard, and Reinhard, in return, also cares for them. They seem close, and Reinhard can act natural with them. I believe they are the ones who have been taking care of him in the absence of his family. (Maybe this kinda answers my other wonder: How can Reinhard grow to be a decent dude without anybody taking care of him? It is also mentioned in one of the side stories, ‘Reinhard has never felt abandonment’. Ah. So it might be thanks to this old couple, after all). So ofc a special spot is reserved for them!

The twins on the front are Flam and Grassis, Carol and Grimm’s granddaughters. They are also House Astrea’s servants, placed in the Astrea Family Main Residence. Reinhard had been taking care of them since they were babies, he mentioned in one of the side stories; they are already like his sisters to him; in return, these two also care greatly for their Young Master (though on usual occasions, it’s not expressed obviously).

6. Wilhelm come to rescue

Heavily referenced from [Arc 9, Chapter 28 – “A Passage of Legend”]

Wilhelm has once again made an epic comeback; ‘to turn the [Sword Saint] back into a human.’

Basically, from what I grasped, he is trying to do what he did to Theresia (taking off the Sword Saint burden) again, but this time, with Reinhard. And ho boy, he has been fighting like hell; that’s why I want to emphasize the thick blood smearing around him because he has been described as injured. Like a lot.

One of the many chains has been broken––that’s because at [Arc 9, Chapter 26–”Sword Demon vs Crimson Sakura], he has successfully defeated Yae, which naturally followed with securing Felt’s, Reinhard’s master’s safety. Yae herself is Al’s accomplice, so I depict it as one of his ways of severing one of the many problems burdening Reinhard.

But in general, I look at Wilhelm’s desire and good intent as something that’s worth the acknowledgement to break one of Reinhard’s chains, and of course it’s only one and far from significant. I also want to emphasize the huge distance between them, as he is still far from reaching Reinhard (because I don’t want to sugarcoat the little achievement compared to the grave situation), but still, the effort counts. And this is something Reinhard is unaware of, as he is too occupied dealing with what’s in front of him; that’s why I drew the previous panel of him casting his eyes down, almost completely closing them, as if resigning to the possibility that no one could have saved him and that is ‘fine’.