Fea Kreuz Raggs

'''SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!''' Fea Kreuz Raggs is a minor protagonist and a post mortem character in the 07 Ghost anime and manga series. A blood descendant of the Raggs line, he is one of Teito Klein's paternal uncles. Although appearing in the series only in flashbacks and dreams, the manga shows he played a major part during the Raggs War; most notably the 'theft' of Pandora's Box- and he is known to Barsburg as the 'trigger that started the Raggs War'.

Kreuz was revealed to be the Ghost Vertrag, the Ghost who manipulates souls. It is later shown he fled with Pandora's Box to stop the Pope from using it to revive the Death God Verloren, and traveled the seven Districts with the intention of taking it to The Land of Seele. However, shortly before the fall of Raggs he was killed by Verloren's reincarnation- giving Ayanami his powers, but in the final chapter of the manga series, he escaped from Verloren and revived, though he became an ordinary human and no longer had Ghost powers.

Etymology
"Fea" is the name of a goddess in Irish mythology. "Kreuz" is the German word for cross/crucifix.

"Fea" is also present in the katakana form of "Vertrag", "Featoraaku".

Physical appearance
Kreuz was quite a tall man, being only slightly smaller than Ayanami. His height was similar to Castor's and Lance's, and his facial shape resembled Frau's, with a long face and nose and narrowed eyes. Like both of his brothers, he had a slender build. Kreuz looked quite different from his brother, Krom, in that Kreuz had much darker skin and white (or possibly white-blonde) hair. His eyes were narrow and a pale grey in colour (blue in the manga). It is hard to see his pupils. His hair was straight and he had a fringe that was parted to the left.

He bears a fairly strong resemblance to his father, Teito's paternal grandfather, who appeared in a family portrait in manga chapter 90. Kreuz also looks somewhat like Frau, something which Teito has noted.

As Vertrag
Being one of the Seven Ghosts, Kreuz appears as a skeleton when in his true form.

Clothing
Kreuz wore a light grey cassock with white trimming on the collar, under a long white outer cassock that hid his arms. The cassock was held together with a loose belt and a large, silver, rectangular brooch emblazoned with the carving of a cross.

Personality
Though he does not appear often, he has been shown to be very kind and caring to those around him. He can also be considered cheerful, as he was usually shown smiling, though he lost his temper whenever he felt Teito's safety was under threat, and was not above resorting to violence and shouting on the rare occasions that he was angry.

Kreuz demonstrated courage on more than one occasion, defying the orders of the Pope, going against him when Teito was in danger, and appearing unfazed when his guards were eliminated by Hyuuga. Kreuz was also selfless, protecting his nephew at the cost of his own life, and perceptive, as shown when he was able to sense Queen Vanessa's fear and guilt.

Kreuz was occasionally shown to have a somewhat eccentric side, e.g. when Teito was a child and refused to take a bath, Kreuz told him that horrible insects called 'kai-kai bugs' would attack him (Teito), and was also prone to making rash decisions when involved with those close to him. When this side of Kreuz is shown, sparkles are seen around him.

Teito Klein
Kreuz is Teito's uncle by blood and was shown to care about Teito very much, often being shown hugging and kissing him. Kreuz was so devoted to Teito that he was willing to eat the mushroom Teito brought him as food, despite it being poisonous, describing it as "the prince's goodwill" and urging the palace guards to also eat it.

He was also protective of Teito and concerned about Teito's safety, sometimes resorting to violence, elbowing Agas when the bodyguard was throwing Teito in the air. Kreuz tried his best to protect Teito from harm, defying the Pope to save his life and vowing to protect him at the cost of his own life.

Ten years after Kreuz's death, Teito keeps Kreuz in his thoughts, even drawing comparisons between Kreuz and Frau.

Weldeschtein Krom Raggs
Kreuz and his brother seemed to be close. Krom trusted his brother to ensure Teito's safety when he (Kreuz) and Teito had to flee the Raggs Castle during the Raggs War. Krom and Kreuz have also been seen together on more than one occasion in flashbacks of Teito's past, while taking care of Teito. Kreuz appeared to act as Krom's attendant, and was shown accompanying Krom to the International Peace Summit in manga chapter 86.

Kreuz was aware of Krom's painting hobby, and also knew that Krom once had a painting of his (Krom's) published, suggesting that Kreuz was familiar with Krom's character and that Krom trusted Kreuz with personal details about himself.

Krom knew that Kreuz was Vertrag.

Ayanami (Krowell Raggs)
Ayanami was born Krowell Raggs, and was the third and final child born to Teito's paternal grandparents. According to Millea Klein, Krowell was deeply loved by his siblings, but died during childhood.

During the Raggs War, Ayanami devoured Vertrag, thus killing Fea Kreuz in the process, ruthlessly. However, Ayanami seems to hold his brother's intelligence at a high regard, as he approves fully of and believes that Kreuz would not die without leaving something behind. Kreuz does not seem to hold resentment towards Krowell but Ayanami grew to resent him due to his protection of Teito's memories.

Vanessa Antwort
Kreuz did not interact much with his sister-in-law. He appeared to be respectful towards her, addressing her formally as 'Ouhi' (literally 'Queen'), but was not afraid to voice his suspicions towards her when he suspected she might be hiding something. When Teito was a child, before the Raggs War broke out, Kreuz helped to keep Teito safe and away from Vanessa, by giving Teito lessons in the Church.

Millea Klein
When Krom fell in love with Millea, Kreuz was shown confessing to Agas that, while he was happy to see Krom happy, he (Kreuz) was also worried. (Kapitel 86) Apart from that, not much is known about Kreuz's relationship with his other sister-in-law.

At first, Kreuz referred to Millea as 'that young woman', but during the Raggs War, he referred to her with the honorific suffix '-sama', suggesting that his respect for her had increased over the years.

Kreuz and Millea have a picnic together in the final manga chapter, and are clearly comfortable around each other.

Mikhail
Fea Kreuz was respectful towards Mikhail, addressing him as "Mikhail-sama''. Kreuz has also been shown teaching Teito how to use the Eye of Mikhail, in flashbacks and memories of Teito's childhood.

Once, when Mikhail was possessing Teito and used inappropriate words , Kreuz pleaded with him (Mikhail) not to make Teito say such things, but Mikhail ignored him.

Apart from their shared connection to Teito, Mikhail shows little interest in Kreuz, though the angel probably does respect Kreuz to some extent, since Kreuz is the beloved uncle of Teito, Mikhail's master.

Raphael
Being one of the Seven Ghosts and therefore an immortal being, Kreuz had known Raphael for a very long time. Apart from that, nothing else is known about their relationship.

The other Ghosts
Kreuz's relationships with the other six members of the previous generation of Seven Ghosts have not been shown in much detail, but he seemed to get along well and work well with them. He was aghast upon discovering Landkarte's betrayal, and angry at Landkarte's crimes.

As of manga chapter 99, Kreuz has met Lance, Frau, Castor and Labrador after escaping from Verloren. Kreuz and Frau also met during the Raggs war.

Former Assistant Archbishops
Kreuz may have known the two former assistant archbishops, as they were seen standing on either side of him at Teito's birth.

Agas, Mark and Karan
Kreuz seemed to get along well with all three of Krom's bodyguards. In manga chapter 86, Kreuz was shown sharing some personal concerns and feelings with Agas, hinting at a close personal relationship between Kreuz and Agas. When speaking to each other, Kreuz and Krom's bodyguards attached the honorific suffixes '-sama' and '-dono' to each other's names, indicating that they respected each other.

Despite his good relationship with them, Kreuz occasionally forced Krom's bodyguards to do things against their will for Teito's sake. For example, when Mark hesitated to eat some poisonous mushrooms Teito (who did not know the mushrooms were poisonous) had prepared, Kreuz smiled dangerously at Mark and told Mark to 'give up', saying it was 'the prince's goodwill'. Kreuz also once made Mark keep calling himself 'wild beast powder', to entertain Teito.

Once, when Agas was playing a game with Teito and throwing him in the air, Kreuz violently elbowed him (Agas), thinking he was putting Teito in danger. This shows that even Krom's bodyguards were not spared Kreuz's anger when it came to ensuring Teito's safety.

Ghost abilities
Kreuz was the last reincarnation of the Ghost Vertrag, and as a result of this, possessed Vertrag's Ghost ability of manipulating souls. Similar to the other Ghosts, Kreuz was able to erase people's memories (an ability that all of the Seven Ghosts possess). Vertrag is able to place seals on people's memories, so if anyone tries to read the protected memories, they will be injured. Vertrag can enter and take control from someone, that ability more or less being the same as when Ayanami took control of Mikage's body. but Ayanami could only take half control, while Vertrag can fully control the people's conciousness, according to Castor/Fest.

Being a Ghost vessel, Kreuz was presumably able to use Zaiphon, though he has not been shown using it.

Physical capability
Kreuz has been shown to be agile and physically strong. He could also move very quickly when required to. When confronting the Pope, he leapt down from a great height to get to where Teito was, moving so quickly that the Pope almost did not see him at first, and was able to land on both feet without sustaining any injuries. When the Raggs War broke out and Kreuz fled with Teito, he was able to run and maintain a fast pace while carrying Teito without getting winded.

Intelligence
Kreuz is known widely to be exceptionally clever, with even Ayanami, himself a genius, openly acknowledging his brother's intellect.

Childhood
Kreuz was born into the royal Raggs Family of District 1. As a royal, it is likely that he had a very privileged upbringing. Kreuz was the second son of Teito's unnamed paternal grandparents, and the middle child of the previous generation of Raggs princes. His older brother was Weldeschtein Krom Raggs, while Krowell Raggs (Ayanami) is his younger brother.

Adulthood
Kapitel 99 revealed that Kreuz was his older brother Krom's substitute, and was killed by an assassin. He reincarnated as Vertrag after his physical death and only Krom was aware of his death and reincarnation. Kreuz never married or had children, but instead devoted his free time to his nephew, Teito, whom he treated like his own son.

At some point, Kreuz took Teito into the church where he raised him, with the aim of keeping him safe and away from Teito's stepmother, Queen Vanessa, who disliked him. When Teito was a child, he taught him many things, including the majority of the church's writings.

Teito's disappearance
"I will respectfully eat the prince's goodwill!"

- Fea Kreuz

The night Teito Klein went missing, Kreuz had been in palace garden with him and the Black Beast Squadron, where Teito had prepared 'food' for them all that consisted of poisonous mushrooms. While the guards panic at the sight, Kreuz attempts to eat his as it will please Teito, leading to him being overpowered by Agas and Mark and the plate forcibly taken from him before he can poison himself. The ambassador from the Barsburg Empire then arrives, leading to Kreuz and the squadron leaving to meet him.

Teito is left in the company of a royal attendant, whereupon he is kidnapped by Vanessa Antwort.

Pre-Raggs War
Before the Raggs war, Kreuz thwarted the Pope's attempt to revive Verloren by using Teito, but was unable to stop him merging Teito's soul and Pandora's box. Not even Barsburg knows his true reasons for Pandora's Box's 'theft'.

The Raggs War
When war was declared, Kreuz agreed to escape to one of the God Houses with Teito where the Pope would not find him. He (Kreuz) was excommunicated from the Church shortly after Teito left, for escaping with Pandora's Box, and chased down by Hyuuga.

In a small chapel, Kreuz healed Teito, telling him to never let go of the baton of life. When the six other Ghosts came to take Teito away, Kruez protected Teito, saying that if they want to take him away, they'd have to go through him first. In reality, the six other Ghosts were testing Kreuz because they knew Teito was innocent and the Pope was guilty. Kreuz informed them of his plan to collect the seven cursed tickets to go to the Land of Seele, in order to finally eliminate Verloren.

He had gone to the Hausen House and received Fest's ticket.

Before Kreuz's death, he placed a seal on, and erased Teito Klein's memories, as he believed the military would search them in order to find information about the Eye of Mikhail and Pandora's Box. The seal would prevent people from knowing Teito was in possession of the Eye of Mikhail and would hide the location of Pandora's Box. Because of his seal, anyone who tries to look at Teito's memories will be badly harmed, as shown when Ayanami tried to read Teito's memories and was injured.

Fea Kreuz also gave Teito his Clergy Pass, which convinced Miroku Barsburg that Teito was hiding something.

It was revealed that Landkarte, who has betrayed his duties as a Ghost, may have brought about Kreuz's death at the hands of Ayanami, as Landkarte's current reincarnation is Katsuragi, a Black Hawk and, until Kapitel 89, a loyal subordinate of Ayanami.

Chapter 99 showed that Kreuz had been a substitute for his older brother Krom when they were princes, and this resulted in his death by assassination.

Synopsis
Kreuz mostly appears in Teito's flashbacks and dreams. Kreuz was also seen in Karu's flashback, in Kapitel 88, and briefly in Wolfram Eifeler Barsburg's flashbacks, in Kapitel 86. He is last seen in the final manga chapter.

Quotes

 * 'You seem quite troubled, Queen.' (to Vanessa Antwort, when he suspected that she might be hiding something, after she handed Teito over to the Pope).
 * 'Mikhail-sama, please don't make Teito say such things.' (to Mikhail, after Mikhail uses inappropriate words while possessing Teito through the Eye of Mikhail).
 * 'Teito, you are this kingdom's last hope. No matter what, you have to stay alive. I love you, Teito.' (to Teito, towards the end of the Raggs War).
 * 'Who could blame you, Your Majesty...no, older brother.' (to Krom, when Krom said he (Krom) was not fit to be king)

Trivia

 * Kreuz talks in his sleep.
 * Kreuz had once told Teito that if he did not bathe, then small insects called 'kai kai bugs' will crawl into his body.
 * He is one of two Ghost vessels whose parents have both been shown, the other being Castor.
 * Although he did not mind eating the poisonous mushrooms Tiashe served and encouraged the Black Beast Squadron to do the same, on the cover of Kapitel 77 he can be seen rushing to prevent Krom from eating a salad Tiashe had made.
 * Interestingly, his name is present in "Featoraaku", the romanji form of "Vertrag".