Zeruel

'This article is about the character from Neon Genesis Evangelion. For the character from the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series, see Tenth Angel.''

Zeruel (ゼルエル) (Hebrew: זרועאל) is the 14th Angel. It is among the three to penetrate NERV Headquarters, and the only one to do so through a direct assault. Zeruel bears the unique distinction of providing (however unwillingly) the S² Engine that elevates Unit-01 to "god" status.

Profile
Zeruel is a vaguely humanoid Angel slightly larger than an Evangelion, with a large, bulky body and prominent core. The core is rather large relative to Zeruel's body, and the S² Engine within may be, accordingly, "oversized", perhaps accounting in part for the discrepancy in power between Zeruel and other, similarly sized Angels. Zeruel possesses a protective lid-membrane capable of shielding the core when threatened, and it serves as a testament to Zeruel's incredibly tough constitution: even when an N² bomb is detonated in direct contact with the (protected) core, not only is the red sphere left completely unscathed, but the rest of the body is, as well.

Zeruel's distinctive arms hang from its large, bony "shoulders", folding up when not used and reaching lengths at least three times the Angel's height when deployed, serving as deadly cutting weapons. Zeruel is shown to be capable of forming fists in production drawings, although the only time separate digits are seen in-show is when Zeruel lifts Unit-01 by the head. It's face is capable of changing its consistency, from becoming hard enough to cast sparks on impact to rubbery enough to be lifted like a mask. It is attached to a sinewy "neck" normally kept inside the body and is capable of a limited degree of movement. Two eyes hidden inside the deep "sockets" are, as with Zeruel's kin Sachiel and Israfel, employed for both vision and energy projection.

Zeruel demonstrates an enhanced ability for firing the familiar cross-shaped energy blasts fired by Sachiel: a single shot breaches eighteen of the GeoFront's twenty-two protective armor layers and is capable of setting off four in rapid succession. It can also fire focused energy beams directly from its eyes, taking a few seconds to charge before releasing a powerful burst of energy.

Zeruel moves by A.T. Field-assisted levitation, although it is capable of quadrupedal locomotion as well. Its legs, although stubby and without feet, are not vestigial, and in combination with the folded arms allow the Angel to walk on all fours.

History
Appearing soon after the fight against the 13th Angel, Bardiel, Zeruel attacked NERV before it had time to fully recover from the previous Angel's attack. Zeruel breached the armor layers above the GeoFront at great speed, giving NERV no time to try to engage it on the surface. Unit-02 was deployed inside of the GeoFront to engage it, but its pallet rifle and rocket fire proved ineffective. Zeruel used its arms to cut off Unit-02's arms, and soon after, its head, taking it out of battle. Soon after, Unit-00 emerged from underground, still missing an arm from the previous battle, and charged Zeruel with an N² bomb in its remaining arm. Despite shoving through the Angel's A.T. Field and the bomb making physical contact with the Angel, Zeruel emerged unharmed while Unit-00, having lost its other arm to the resultant explosion, was also incapacitated.

Zeruel breached NERV headquarters and descended to Central Dogma, breaking through the wall into the command center's central display area. The Angel attempted to kill the personnel inside but was stopped by Unit-01, which fought it out of the room. Zeruel blasted off Unit-01's left arm but the Eva succeeded in forcing it onto an Evangelion launching catapult, taking the fight to the surface. Unit-01 battered Zeruel and was on the verge of ripping off the Angel's face before it ran out of power.

Zeruel destroyed the immobilized Eva's chest plate and struck repeatedly at the Eva's now-exposed core, the shocks threatening to crush the Entry Plug inside the Eva. However, Unit-01 then entered berserk mode, blocked the Angel's attacks, ripped off the Angel's arm to regenerate its own arm and then proceeded to inflict crippling gashes on Zeruel's body using an offensive A.T. Field attack. Zeruel's face was crushed as it attempted a last-ditch attack on Unit-01. The Eva proceeded to consume the Angel's body, absorbing Zeruel's S² Engine in the process.

Angelic Days
Zeruel appears in the fourth volume as one of the Angels attacking Tokyo-03 along side Shamshel, Matarael, Ramiel, Israfel and Adam.

Trivia

 * Due to the way Zeruel's arms are segmented into smaller sections, along with their appearance in general, they are often likened to toilet paper by fans.
 * The black and white color pattern on Zeruel's front vaguely resembles a human face (seen from the left) with its core as the "eye".
 * Zeruel, also called Cirviel, is the Angel "set over strength", and had been sent by God to help David slay Goliath. The name Zeruel literally means "arm of God"—probably no coincidence, and is an intentional allusion to its strength and its ultimate fate of being used by Unit 01 to regrow a new arm.
 * Zeruel appears in the comic strip “Angel Kiss” supposedly, as a female.