- For the manga series, see Four Knights of the Apocalypse
“ | Famine. Pestilence. War. Death. Four Holy Knights of four great disasters who will destroy the world. |
” |
— Lancelot explaining the Four Knights' prophecy to Percival and Donny.[1] |
The Four Knights of the Apocalypse「
They are the central, eponymous focus of the sequel manga to the Nanatsu no Taizai series.
Overview[]
The Four Knights of the Apocalypse, as their name indicates, are said to be an order of just four knights, who each hold unique powers and are foretold to emerge in the not-so-distant future.
It is prophesized that these "Knights of Prophecy" will destroy the world itself after they appear — by bringing upon four different calamities — and are destined to bring the King Arthur and the Kingdom of Camelot to their ruin. Hence, Camelot's Holy Knights have taken on the mission of locating and killing these four would-be knights in order to prevent the prophecy's fulfillment, while the Kingdom of Liones are said to similarly be in search of them.[2][3][4]
It has been discovered that, while real, the four "knights" have yet to form a group or even be Holy Knights proper. Supposedly, they are still young boys more likely to be knight apprentices, hence them being said to not yet "exist" in the present. Part of the prophesy is an abstract vision of the four[5]:
- One possessing "gold-colored magic" ;
- One having both holiness and evil in his eyes ;
- One being mysterious with no fixed appearance ;
- One with "verdant, wing-like hair".
Percival is the first Knight to be revealed. After Percival's group arrive at Liones, both Lancelot and Tristan are revealed to be Knights of the Apocalypse too.[6] Finally, the fourth Knight is revealed to be Gawain.
Is later revealed that their destiny of "destroying the world" indeed refers to putting an end to Camelot's dimension since its existence is endangering the world. In fact, the four are destined to save the true world.
When Percival "dies" by abandoning his human existence to return to being a Life Spirit, the prophecy of the Four Knights of the Apocalypse was thought to be broken. However, Percival was revived two years later, setting the prophecy back into motion.
Members[]
Four Knights of the Apocalypse | |||
---|---|---|---|
Gawain Famine |
Lancelot War |
Percival Death |
Tristan Liones Pestilence |
Calamities[]
The Four Knights of the Apocalypse are designated according to the Four Calamities「四つの厄災, Yottsu no Yakusai」 that they, respectively, are envisioned to bring with them as "world-destroying knights":[7]
- Death「死, Shi」
- War「戦争, Sensō」
- Pestilence「疫病, Ekibyō」
- Famine「飢餓, Kiga」
Trivia[]
- The Four Knights of the Apocalypse are based, in name and concept, on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from Christian Lore (referred to as "Four Knights" instead of "Horsemen" in Japanese Bible translations). They are four figures mentioned in the New Testament's Book of Revelation, which are to set a divine end time upon the world as harbingers of the Last Judgment. Due to repeated translation and interpretation of the Book of Revelation, the first Horseman is often said to represent Pestilence, particularly in pop culture, rather than Conquest as is most accurate.
- In a similar way to the Seven Deadly Sins, though the members of this group are the heroes, their epithets represent negative concepts.
References[]
- ↑ Chapter 5 (4KOA) , Page 22-23
- ↑ Chapter 1 (4KOA) , Page 54-55
- ↑ Chapter 5 (4KOA) , Page 20-24
- ↑ Chapter 6 (4KOA) , Page 12-14
- ↑ Chapter 6 (4KOA) , Page 6-7
- ↑ Chapter 56 (4KOA)
- ↑ Chapter 5 (4KOA) , Page 22-23