Noblesse is an online manhwa written by Son Jae Ho and illustrated by Lee Gwang Su. Noblesse is about a powerful, noble vampire
- Cadis Etrama Di Raizel (also called Rai) - who has been asleep for
820 years with no knowledge of mankind's advancement and scientific
successes. He has recently woken up in an abandoned building in South Korea, and is starting to get used to the modern world.
He goes to a school where he meets his loyal servant Frankenstein. With
Frankenstein's help, Rai enrolls into Ye Ran high school, and
inadvertently befriended Shinwoo - an athletic teenager, Ik-Han - a
computer geek, Yuuna, Shinwoo's crush, and a few others. Noblesse
follows the group's often dangerous adventures against a secret
organization while uncovering Rai's past. This Webtoon Manhwa started on
the 30th December of 2007 and is still publishing.
Main Characters
Cadis Etrama Di Raizel (a.k.a Rai)
Rai is a very noble, elegant, and mysterious Noblesse. He has no
knowledge whatsoever of the 21st century, and will often become lost and
confused especially with regards to modern day technology (such as
using a cell phone). He is often used as the manhwa's comic relief with
his love of ramen and the errors he makes with technology. He has fallen
into a deep slumber for 820 years, and had woken up in an abandoned
building in South Korea. After seeing what most of the humans on the
streets were wearing, Rai took on the uniform of a student from Ye Ran
High School, which is under the administration of Frankenstein, and
inadvertently followed the students there.
He currently resides with Frankenstein. He is shown to be extremely
powerful with the ability of mind control, along with a technique called
"Blood Field". Although he seems cold and apathetic on the outside, Rai
has shown compassion towards human beings, though it is not known
whether this is due to actual compassion or out of pride (an explanation
of the past pointed towards pride for the Noblesse in general, but not
Rai specifically). Rai is extremely handsome who possesses a youthful
appearance, scarlet-red eyes (a common trait among pure-blooded
Noblesse), beautiful jet black hair and a quiet disposition and he is
usually seen wearing the Ye Ran High School uniform and a silver cross
earring on his left ear (later revealed to be a gift from the previous
Lord and an item that seals away the majority of his power). Right now
if Rai uses his powers extensively, he suffers of a form of uneasiness
because of his long sleep that caused the weakening of his body, as seen
after the battle with the D-5, and also if Rai says that it is nothing
to worry about, Frankenstein knows that his master needs time to fully
recover his old strength. However, as said by Regis, even in his current
state Rai possesses an enormous power comparable if not superior to
that of the current Lord. During the confrontation between him and the
Lady Lord Princess, Rai has shown superiority over the lord. Unleashing
blood field without any effort. As what Gejutel said, Rai does not
possess a soul weapon, his soul weapon does not materialize. It was
revealed that his blood and soul is his soul weapon. In recent chapters
it has been discovered that he is the "True Noblesse" Note:he is the
only noblesse and other are "Nobles". In their society there are two
beings who hold high esteem. One is the lord who rules with authority
and one is the noblesse who is the symbol of power. It was latter
revealed that the previous lord left his soul weapon in the shrine of
Raizel as a gift(although Rai cannot use ragnarok because he is not
blood related to the previous lord). Rai is shown to have relinquished
his ownership over the Ragnarok so that the current lord can complete
her soul weapon Ragnarok. It is recently implied by Frankenstein and
Gejutel that Rai's physical condition seems to be worsening due to his
clash with the Lord.
Frankenstein
Frankenstein is Rai's devoted servant. He supports Rai whole-heartedly and calls him "Master".
He had tried searching for his master after Rai disappeared and
eventually went into seclusion to search for Rai privately. Frankenstein
is the principal/director of Ye Ran High School. He was stunned to find
Rai in his school office after Rai had woken up and assumed the uniform
of the school's students. Frankenstein is also immensely powerful, When
he caused a disturbance in the world, the previous Lord sent two clan
leaders (the Kertia and Langdregre clan leaders) to capture him and it
is stated that he has power equal to that of a clan leader and is the
only human to be acknowledged by the previous Lord, later however his
powers had been sealed away by Rai. Frankenstein is a very cheerful
person, but becomes quite serious and calculating when the situation
calls for it, although during battles Frankenstein has shown somewhat of
a sadistic side. He is also extremely organized and loathes messiness
(especially in his house). Like Rai, he is also very compassionate
towards human beings, especially the students in his school.
Frankenstein was an impressive scientist, who had researched human
modification . All the research done was recorded down in his diaries,
however it is now in the possession of Dr. Crombel and the organization.
His research is responsible for the advances the humans made with
modification. He was also very familiar with the previous lord, whom he
calls "old bugger." In chapter 190 it is revealed that Frankenstein is
actually a human; most likely he experimented upon himself to attain the
strength that he has now, including the possession of the Dark Spear.
Han Shinwoo
Shinwoo is an energetic and athletic teenager with bright red hair. He
is always seen with a bandage over the bridge of his nose. He is
well-known within the city to be skilled in martial arts and feared by
gangs. Shinwoo is often shown sleeping (and drooling) in class and
slacking off. Though he is shown as a lazy student, he is also very
courageous and would protect his friends at all costs.
Woo Ik-Han
Ik-Han is Shinwoo and Yuna's childhood friend. He is extremely skilled
in technology, especially computers and games. He has been shown in the
series to be a highly skilled hacker. Ik-Han has short brown hair and
glasses and is 157 cm (5.15 ft) tall. He has revealed to feel a height
complex, being so short, but has found some comfort in meeting Regis,
who is about the same height.
Suh Yuna
Yuna is Shinwoo and Ik-Han's childhood friend. It was implied in the
beginning of the series that Yuna is the target of Shinwoo's crush and
was first targeted by the man M-24 infected. Yuna is a friendly,
ordinary and sensible young woman, demonstrably more level-headed than
her friends, who tends to sedately sit out, be amused by and often
remind them of the mundane reality behind their dramatics. When she and
Rai are introduced to video games, she apparently is quite competent
despite it being her first try. It has been hinted that she has a crush
on M-21 after he becomes a guard at her high school.
Yim Suyi
Suyi is a pretty popular pop idol whom is also studying at Ye Ran High
School. She first appeared in chapter 94 of the series; she returned to
school after doing her concert. Suyi is also Ik-Han,Shinwoo and Yuna's
friend and was always shown hanging out with the group. She later joined
Shinwoo and the others in visiting Frankenstein's house regularly.
Nobles
Nobles are a race of noble, elegant and powerful people that guard humans
against predators since the beginning of time, due to their inability
to ignore the slaughter of the weak, helpless humans. "Noblesse" was
given to only one person (Rai) but its meaning has now spread to include
other noble and powerful peoples that follow the same code of honor.
Nobles also all seem to share a common power of mind control
and crimson red eyes. Noblesse, in this series, came from these two
words called "Noblesse Oblige". People from Union have thought the
Noblesse to be beings at the top of the race of the vampires. It is
later known that vampires are created through Nobles consumption of
human blood.
Regis K. Landegre
Regis is a Noble, like Rai, Gejutel and Seira. Regis cares greatly about
elegance and judges everyone by their amount of elegance. He has
brushed back short silver hair with black stripes, and is often seen
with Seira J. Roiard. Regis has an extremely haughty attitude and
initially looked down on the modified humans allied with Frankenstein.
He follows the Noble's code of honor and does his best at all times to
protect the humans from harm. Is often shown that Regis truly respect
Rai, and finds him more elegant than anyone.It is mentioned that he is
199 years old.
Seira J. Loyard
Seira is a Noble, like Gejutel, Regis. She uses a "Death Scythe" as her
weapon and as Frankenstein notes, the myths of Death carrying a scythe
stems from this. This weapon also proves her position as the head of the
House of Roidard. Seira is rather quiet and shy, and blushes when
complimented. She has long silver hair and often accompanies Regis K.
Landegre. She learns to cook very rapidly and soon comes to make the
meals in Frankenstein's house, with the exception of ramen which is
Frankenstein's project for his Master. It is mentioned she is 217 years
old. It is also rumored that she might have a crush on Han Shinwoo.
Gejutel K. Landegre
Gejutel K. Landegre is a Noblesse who appeared shortly after the remaining members of DA-5 were placed under Rai's protection. He is known to have a tense relationship with Frankenstein. He was sent by the Lord to find out where Seira and Regis were staying. He is called Gaju-Nim by Regis and Seira.
He later tells Seira and Regis not to trust Frankestein, but they are
allowed to trust Rai. It is revealed that he knows who Rai is. After Rai
went into his sleep, Frankenstein went back into hiding, and talked to
Gejutel about this. In the latest arc Gejutel has lied to the Lord to
keep Rai and Frankenstein's identity hidden. However, Rael
lets it out that he has confronted unknown people with power. Gejutel
is then accused of treachery by the Lord for choosing to remain silent
in front of the Lord. Consequently the Lord has sentenced Gejutel to a
forced eternal sleep after stripping him of his title. Despite this, he
still receives the utmost respect from all the clan leaders, even Rajak,
though he doesn't show it much. After much resistence, Gejutel has told
the Lord that it is Rai who has returned. Also, he is the one who
reveals that Frankenstein is apparently human and Rai the "True Noblesse". However, it is shown that his execution is interrupted from the arrival of Rai so now his fate is uncertain.
The Lord
The Lord previously known as Raskreia (as once a Noble succeeds the
position of lord they lose their individuality) is a female "Noble" who
is the leader of the current "Noble" society. There appears to be
customs that bind The Lord's political power, but she seems powerful
enough to set new precedence if she desires it. Rai is at least
knowledgeable of this individual. She is apparently blood-related to the
previous Lord and loathes Rai, claiming that he was the one who led the
betrayal against the former Lord. She was prepared to sentence Gejutel
to eternal sleep under pretext of treason. However after facing Rai and
receiving "Ragnarok" from him (as the previous lord left him an
incomplete Ragnarok) discovered That Rai has been asleep for 820 years.
It is soon revealed by the previous Lord's message that the mass
betrayal was a cover up for the Elders and Previous Lord to undergo
eternal sleep and free the young generation of their duty as "Nobles".
The Lord felt great disappointment that all this time as she thought the
previous Lord did not acknowledge her rather waited for Rai though it
is revealed that the Previous Lord did not want his daughter to live the
life of a Lord as it is a huge burden for her. After deciding she is
not ready to complete Ragnarok revealed another message of the Previous
Lord containing advice for his daughter saying to be careful with boys
and that he believes she will be fine giving her feelings closure
towards the Previous Lord.
Rajak Kertia
Rajak Kertia is the present Kertia clan leader. He is also the older brother of Rael. It seemed that was unknown to Rajak that his younger brother was secretly given a soul weapon too. But on his way to capture the so called traitor
on the Lord's orders, he catches sight of Rael holding a soul weapon.
Later, it was revealed that Rajak knew about Grandia, Rael's soul
weapon.
Rael Kertia
Rael is the ambitious younger brother of Rajak Kertia. Rael and Rajak's
father allowed a portion of his soul weapon to be inherited by Rael
despite not being the head of House of Kertia. Rael can manifest this
imperfect soul weapon as a pair of daggers named "Grandia." Rael had
attempted to usurp House of Roiard in the past via a marriage proposal
to Seira. When rebuffed by Seira, Rael went into a destructive rage. He
was imprisoned for 10 years for this transgression. He fought against
Frankenstein with his Soul weapon because of Frankenstein's overwhelming
strength.
The Previous Lord
The previous Lord went to eternal sleep after Rai went missing. Gejutel
R. Landegre said to Rai that he had wished to see him one last time but
he was nowhere to be found. He gave Rai a gift, two silver crosses, one
of which Rai wears as an earring. Its twin is located in Rai's abandoned
mansion, which he eventually retrieves. He seemed quite keen on making
Rai the next Lord, which Rai would constantly decline. He hid his soul
weapon "Ragnarok" in a temple inside Rai's mansion (the temple's use is
for Rai's hibernation). Rai's said: "The Lord has left a troublesome
thing behind". The lord's soul weapon, in the shape of a beautiful
decorated sword, is supposed to be so powerful that humans see it as the
end of the world. From what little is shown of his personality, the
Lord seemed to have had an easy going personality, at least compared the
current Lord. It is revealed that the previous Lord along with the
previous clan leaders voluntarily entered Eternal sleep to free the next
generation of their duty as Nobles and live their lives as they wish.
The previous lord believed that it was the time the Nobles to change and
leave it to the next generation. It is shown that he cares a great deal
for his daughter (the current Lord) not wanting her to take the mantle
of Lord due to the heavy burden it carries and gave her a personal
message giving her typical fatherly advice on boys and acknowledging
that she will be fine as Lord. The previous Lord left an incomplete
Ragnarok to Rai simply because he wanted Rai to become the Lord rather
than carrying his role as Noblesse as the fate and burden of being the
Noblesse is much greater when compared to being the Lord.
Modified Humans/Experiments
Modified humans are humans who were experimented on by the Union in
order to gain more power, usually without their consent. Successful
experiments are usually much more powerful and stable than the failed
experiments; failed experiments are often disposed of. Failed
experiments are usually the first human beings that were tested on; thus
the technology used on them isn't as advanced as the type used on the
later, more successful experiments. These modified humans are shown to
be much more powerful than a normal human being. The successful
experiments, with the exception of M-21, have the ability to transform
their bodies, which increases their power even further.
M-21
M-21 is one of the first one hundred humans that was experimented on by
the Union. He is designated as the 21st human in that batch. He was
classified as a failed experiment, and took the lowest raking agent
position in the Union along with M-24. He is the last surviving early
experiment in the series. Early in the series, M-21 was shown to be a
cold-hearted, rebellious experiment that often looked for trouble to
ease his boredom. He began developing the ability to transform his
physical shape which he kept a secret from the Union, as they would
undoubtedly continue their experiments on him. His closest friend and
fellow lab rat, M-24, created the goal with him to try and discover the
identities of themselves and the other test subjects, as they have no
memories before the experiments. After M-24 died defending Shinwoo and
his friends from Jake, M-21 moved in with Frankenstein and Rai. Rai
assists M-21 by briefly allowing him to glimpse his own true powers,
telling M-21 that he must not underestimate the origin of his powers. He
then took up the position as a Special Security Guard in the school
that Frankenstein runs. Eventually, he makes peace with the death of
M-24, letting go of his goal to discover their true identities in favor
of protecting Shinwoo & co. from the Union. Thanks to Tao, M-21
discovers that his defection from the Union was never reported by
Crombel, and all the data regarding the test subject's identities had
been destroyed recently after being untouched for so long. This data
purge happens, most probably, when Crombel discovers that M-21 and M-24
may not have been complete failures as experiments. During a health
checkup, Frankenstein reveals that M-21 had been quite different from
his fellow "M" series subjects: M-21 had extensive gene modification and
had been implanted with the heart of a werewolf, a species nearly as
powerful but far more obscure than the Noblesse.
M-24
M-24 is a rather large and bulky guy that was also one of the first one
hundred humans that were experimented on by the organization, along with
M-21. He
is also considered to be a failed experiment, though he had developed
the unique ability of minor mind-control as a side-effect of the
experiment done on him. Though seen as a heartless and cruel person at
the beginning of the series, M-24 was shown to be compassionate and
caring towards humans, especially kids, later in the series. M-24 and
M-21 share a very close relationship as they were the only two remaining
from their group. They share the same dream of finding their comrades'
names. He is later killed by Jake, attempting to buy some time for the children to escape.
Mary
Mary was one of the first female experiments seen in the series. She is
one of the highest ranked and most powerful of the successful
experiments created by Dr. Crombel. She and Jake make up the
assassination unit of the Union. Mary is implied to be more powerful,
which means she held a higher rank and commanding power than Jake. She
has been shown to have the ability to transform her arms, which gives
her an immense amount of speed and strength. Mary is quiet and adheres
to the mission, declining to take any actions outside of her strict
orders. She reprimands Jake, who is afraid of her, when he is insolent
to Dr. Crombel. She is killed by Frankenstein in the battle to save
Shinwoo and his friends.
Jake
Jake is one of the most powerful successful experiments created by Dr.
Crombel. He is Mary's partner; the two of them make up the assassination
unit of the Union. Jake is usually egotistical and extremely
aggressive, which gets him scolded by Mary. Jake fears Mary only because
she seems to have more power than him. He loathes being experimented
on, unless he, himself, ordered it. Jake also swore to take revenge on
Mary and Dr. Crombel, who always looks down upon him. Jake has also been
shown to have the ability to transform, which gives him an even greater
amount of speed and strength. He thinks very little of failed
experiments such as M-21 and M-24, and makes it a personal goal to get
them trashed by the Union. After being severely injured by Frankenstein,
he forces Union scientists to experiment and thus heal him, without
Crombel's knowledge. He uses a final, massive transformation against
Rai, who still defeats him easily.
DA-5
The DA-5 were created by Dr. Arith. Their mission is to eliminate groups
opposing the Union. Unlike the assassin team which works silently, the
special forces team focus is massacring enemy forces completely and very
publicly to set examples of what happen to people if they oppose the
Union. They enhance themselves by the drug called "D", which unknown to
them, can eventually shave years off their life.
Krantz
Krantz is the leader of DA-5. Not much information has been given about
him except that he hates dealing with lower ranking experiments. Krantz
has been shown to stop the violent actions of Shark when Shark acts out
of control. Late in the fight of the members of DA-5, it is shown that
Krantz can absorb the powers of the other members of DA-5 and that the
gain to his powers are enhanced if the members take the pill "D". He
first drains the power of Shark when it appears that he cannot defeat
Rai alone. He then attempts to drain Tao's powers but Ik-Han begs Rai to
save Tao which Rai does. He is last shown being defeated by Rai.
Tao
Tao is a 24-year-old computer genius that excels in hacking. He has
admitted to being lonely due to no one else understanding him and his
love for anything computer-related. This is the reason why he has found
comfort in finding someone like Ik-Han, who is like very much like him.
He is frail in appearance and hasn't been shown to demonstrate any kind
of physical strength like the rest of the members did, although it was
known that Tao easily defeated Jake before. While Tao's strength does
not seem to be above normal human standards, he has been shown to have
quick reflexes and athletic ability and uses cables as his weapons.
Supposedly designed to maximize team efficiency, not to eliminate his
opponents. He is one of the less cold-hearted members of the DA-5 group.
After betraying the DA-5 unit, he is now living temporarily in
Frankenstein's house with Takeo and M-21.
Takeo
Takeo was once a member of the DA-5 created by Dr. Arith.
Believing that his sister was held captive by the Organization, he
participated in its experiments and followed orders in order to protect
her. In Chapter 151, however, it is revealed that this is a ruse concocted by Dr. Arith, who created the facade for the sake of her own entertainment. Takeo is later invited to live in Frankenstein's
house after betraying the organization and erasing all traces of his
and Tao's existence, which resulted in the Organization's belief of
their failure and death as experiments. Recently, both he and Tao have
asked Frankenstein to enhance their powers in order to increase their
capability to protect their comrades, especially M-21, with whom they have formed a strong bond of loyalty and friendship. He is a member of the RK-4 and his codename is 'Number Two'.
Shark
He is a brutal, cruel and heartless experiment. He loves to kill people
for his own amusement and takes any opportunity to do so. He is
extremely haughty in nature and also easily provoked. It is revealed
later in the fight with DA-5 members against the protagonists that he
killed all the people that Takeo made contact with in their prior
missions and that his actions were sanctioned by Krantz.
Hammer
A large, chubby member of DA-5 that always seems to be eating. Although
he has violent tendencies at a level near Shark's (although never
expressed facially), he is logical enough to avoid trouble and can use
situations to his advantage, no matter how cowardly it may be. He was
later defeated and killed by Seira J. Roiard.
The Organization/Union
The Organization/Union is a secret organization that studies, researches
and experiments with live humans in order to obtain more superhuman
powers. The process of each experiment has been shown to be
excruciatingly painful and torturous. The organization doesn't have a
name and is often called "The Organization" or "The Union"
interchangeably. The series, so far, has not revealed the top chairmen
and directors of the organization nor how it originated.
Dr. Crombel
Dr. Crombel is a cold, cruel, and mysterious scientist. He is one of the
top executive scientists in the Organization; thus, he is highly
respected and has a large amount of commanding power within the
Organization. He climbed up to be one of the top executives of the
organization through only his genius. Dr. Crombel has also been shown to
possess some form of supernatural power that levels with Frankenstein's
own power. He has a great interest in experimenting on humans to create
more and more powerful beings and would go to any length to progress in
his research. It is later found out that Dr. Crombel possess
Frankenstein's diary, which explains why he rose up as one of the top
executives due to his "Genius", although most of his knowledge came from
the Frankenstein's diary. It also seems that Dr. Crombel possesses a
similar diary as compared to the one which The Organisation has.
Dr. Arith
Dr. Arith is a red-haired woman who created DA-5, referring to them as
her children. She has a twisted personality. She initially presents
herself with an innocent, child-like demeanor, but is amoral when it
comes to experimenting on humans. For example, she tells her assistant,
Yuriy, to get "souvenirs". These "souvenirs" are humans that Dr. Arith
will experiment on. Dr. Arith is also very demanding and psychotic;
after the capture of Frankenstein, Frankenstein attempts to leave but is
threatened by Dr. Arith who demands that he withdraw his leg from the
door frame and attempts to pull said leg off when he refuses. She
becomes maddeningly angry when disobeyed and orders her human-machines
to eradicate the victim. She is also shown to have considerable power
and she even has a robot-like nano-suit that is quite powerful for
fighting. Dr. Arith is initially believed to be Takeo's sister, "Teira",
due to their similar hair color, and his reaction towards
Frankenstein's murderous intent toward her. As it turns out, Takeo is an
only child. Dr. Arith fabricated the identity of 'Teira' for her own
enjoyment simply because she was bored with just experimenting all day
(paraphrased). While attempting to drain Takeo to escape from
Frankenstein (as she is the other person besides Krantz who can absorb
the energies of DA-5), she took the strawberry-flavored pill from
Takeo's pocket which is formulated by Frankenstein. However, she
collapsed after taking the pill which supposedly should increase her
power 200% and shortly afterward was taken away by Yuriy. Her current
condition was near death, but she resides at one of the Organization's
base and has been noted that she would need a considerable amount of
time to recover, physically and mentally.
Yuriy
Yuriy is Dr. Arith's glasses-bearing personal assistant and is seen
accompanying her everywhere. He is also the one sent to retrieve
"souvenirs" e.g. human subjects for which Dr. Arith to experiment. He is
usually shown accompanied by two giant men in black coats who later
engage in the fight against Dr. Frankenstein and are shown to be
powerfully altered robotically-enhanced human beings with a short life
span and whose only capacities are as bodyguard functions. Dr. Arith
trusts Yuriy and it is shown that Yuriy usually deals with the
paperwork. Yuriy has fighting ability, demonstrated in use when
shielding Dr. Arith and himself from Frankenstein's attacks but
ultimately his shield failed under Frankenstein's power. However, in
recent chapters it is demonstrated that Yuriy's true alliance is to Dr.
Crombel, accompanying Dr. Arith only under Dr. Crombel's orders.
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