The Imperial Guardians ｢帝国皇帝近衛騎士団, inperiaru gādian, lit. "Imperial Emperor's Royal Knights"｣ are a group of powerful individuals within the Eastern Empire's military. They serve dual roles as both the royal imperial guard for the Emperor as well as elite agents sent to deal with important tasks.
Background[]
The Guardians were originally founded as a way to sort out the best of the best that the empire's military had to offer, with each of its members being as strong as an Enlightened at the bare minimum. Its members were awarded the highest honors that the nation had to offer, even being given the official Title of Royal Knight ｢近衛騎士, roiyaru naito｣ and authority equivalent to at least a Colonel when interacting with the army as well as the authority to arrest nobles. Each and every one of its members was kitted out with Legend-Grade Gear, with God-Grade equipment being given out to the Marshal and the Three Great Generals. Each member of the Guardians competed against each other in duels on the regular, with its members being sorted in numerical order from strongest to weakest. The strongest among them were called Double 0 Numbers ｢ひとけた数字, daburu ō nanbā, lit. "Single Digit Numbers"｣ in reference to their numerical rankings being 001-009. To become a Double 0, one had to make a request directly to the emperor and a special duel would be conducted with him as the witness. Only awakened individuals with the strength to confront True demon lord-level threats had a chance to pass the test and become top-ranked Imperial Guards. Among the Guardians there were those assigned to special jobs depending on certain factors. The first in the sequence was said to automatically be chosen as the Marshal whenever a new version of the Emperor was coronated; number 001 was considered the acting commander of the guardians; number 002 was the vice-commander; numbers 003-006 were assigned to guard the emperor and were known as the Four Horsemen; and while traditionally the Three Great Generals were 007-009, in more recent times they have been chosen by a committee consisting of the Emperor, the Marshal, and Gadra from among lower ranks.
After the coronation of the latest Emperor, as well as the losses they suffered during their last war, major reform was given towards the guardians. Due to Guy Crimson winning the game set up between him and the Emperor, their strength became less important and the restrictions for becoming a member were somewhat loosened. The numerical ranking system and the hundred-member limit were similarly removed. Now they mainly serve as elite-forces stationed in each of the empire's cities, working in groups of three to protect the citizens from powerful threats.
Old Rankings[]
| Rank | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Marshal | Velgrynd | The highest ranking member of the Guardians and the military as a whole. |
| 001 | Tatsuya Kondou | Commander of the Imperial Guardians and leader of the Imperial Intelligence Bureau. |
| 002 | Damrada | Vice-Commander of the Imperial Guardians and one of the leaders of Cerberus. |
| 003 | Granit | A legendary hero known as the God of War who helped found the empire in its early days. Leader of the Four Horsemen. |
| 004 | Gardner | A member of the Four Horsemen. |
| 005 | Garcia | A member of the Four Horsemen. |
| 006 | Minaza | A member of the Four Horsemen and an aggressor that tried to build a paradise for Insectoids under the patronage of Emperor Rudra. |
| 007 | Bernie | Masayuki's adventurer group member sent by Damrada to infiltrate his ranks and protect him. |
| 008 | Marco | An intelligence officer that acts as a lackey to Kondou. |
| 009 | Jiwu | Masayuki's adventurer group member sent by Damrada to infiltrate his ranks and protect him. |
| 010 | Feldway | Permanently stationed within the Capital to function as a spare in the unlikely event that any Double 0 Numbers ever dropped out. |
| 011 | Davis | Served as an assistant to the Double 0 Numbers and also one of the three responsible for "sealing" Testarossa during the Lakeshore Dyed Scarlet incident. |
| 012-016 | - | Calgurio, Gradim, and Yuuki Kagurazaka most likely ranked here. |
| 017 | Krishna | |
| 035 | Bazan | |
| 038 | Balt | One of the three responsible for "sealing" Testarossa during the Lakeshore Dyed Scarlet incident. |
| 044 | Arios | |
| 064 | Gordon | One of the three responsible for "sealing" Testarossa during the Lakeshore Dyed Scarlet incident. |
| 094 | Reiha | |
| 097 | Unknown | Swiftly killed by Hakurou before even given a chance to utter their name. |