Kyouhukou

Level: Base Level 30 (Race Levels 12 + Job Levels 18)

Role: Area Guardian of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Second Floor (Black Capsule section)

Residence: Second Floor, “Black Capsule”

Alignment: Neutral (Karma Value: -10)

Race Levels: Insect Druid (“Insect Forest Priest”) 10 levels, plus other insect-related racial levels

Job Levels: High Druid 5 levels, Summoner 3 levels, Insect Tamer 2 levels, Minimum (Cash-Shop) 3 levels, and others

Title: One of Nazarick’s “Five Worst,” bearing the epithet “Worst Residence”

Creator: Unknown

Voice Actor (anime and related media): Hiroshi Kamiya

No official height, weight, birthday, blood type, or age are provided beyond his approximate body size of about 30 cm in height.

Kyouhukou is an NPC created by one of the Supreme Beings of Ainz Ooal Gown and placed in charge of the Second Floor section called the “Black Capsule,” which is part of the “Tomb” guarded overall by Shalltear Bloodfallen (Floors 1–3).

He first appears when invading workers are forcibly teleported into Nazarick (corresponding to Volume 7 in the light novel), where some are transferred to the Black Capsule and encounter him.

He is counted among the “Five Worst” of Nazarick, specifically as “Worst Residence,” because the environment and methods under his control are so psychologically devastating that they are infamous even among the denizens of the Tomb.

Despite this notoriety, his name and presence are often mentioned more than his actual on-page appearances, giving him a disproportionately strong shadow across the series.

Kyouhukou is notable in Nazarick for having a neutral alignment and, for an insect-type heteromorphic being, even a tendency toward goodness.

He is polite and temperate in demeanor, addressing even intruders with courtesy and a tolerant, mild attitude.

He speaks in a refined, aristocratic style and refers to himself as “I” in a lofty, noble manner, fitting his title of “Marquis.”

His manner of speech includes elegant, old-fashioned turns of phrase and a dignified tone, which gives the impression of a noble gentleman—at least until people fully register what he looks like.

He is one of Nazarick’s most cultured individuals in terms of etiquette and courtly knowledge.

In the fields of noble manners, protocol, social gatherings, and political theory or “imperial studies,” Kyouhukou is considered extremely knowledgeable, to the point that when Ainz Ooal Gown muses about wanting someone to teach him statecraft, Kyouhukou and the Gluttonous Fox King come to mind immediately.

The tragic punchline is that his impeccable courtesy and extensive education are constantly undermined by his overwhelmingly repellent appearance and the terror of his abilities.

Nonetheless, in terms of character, he is not evil by intent; even the author has explicitly commented that Kyouhukou himself is “not really an evil guy.”

Physically, Kyouhukou is “that thing” standing upright at about 30 cm tall—essentially a bipedal cockroach-like insect.

While the real-world creature he is based on has never evolved bipedal locomotion, Kyouhukou somehow stands on two legs.

In normal biology, this type of insect’s face would be oriented backward when standing upright, but Kyouhukou’s design circumvents this by tilting only the head forward so that his face looks ahead.

The result is a bizarre but strangely functional posture: a small, humanoid silhouette with the unmistakable front-facing face of a roach-like insect.

His overall body is insectoid and brown, with antennae extending from his head.

However, his equipment is regal: he wears a shining golden crown, a luxurious crimson cloak with ornate embroidery around the edges, and carries a scepter studded with pure white jewels.

Because of his insect anatomy, the “crown” is not actually on his head in a strict biological sense—it rests on the upper part of his torso, which functions as his head region in upright form.

Illustrator so-bin has joked that researching his design led to becoming uncomfortably knowledgeable about the differences between male and female cockroaches.

In the spin-off comic “Ple Ple Pleiades – Nazarick’s Daily Life” (also known as “Isekai Koro-koro” style gag works like “Fushisha no Oh!”), which uses a cute, deformed art style overall, Kyouhukou is so visually upsetting that he is depicted with a mosaic censor over him.

Even in a universe filled with undead, demons, and eldritch beings, his visual design is treated as something that must be “handled with care.”

In straightforward combat terms, Kyouhukou is not particularly strong compared to other Nazarick guardians.

His direct combat capability is low, and he is generally classified as weak among combat-oriented NPCs, with his specialties lying more in support magic and indirect methods than in frontline fighting.

He primarily uses support magic and has druidic abilities, plus summoning and insect-control skills that synergize with his theme.

He does not excel in physical melee or tanking roles and is not designed to duel powerful enemies head-on.

His truly terrifying power lies in his special ability to summon vast numbers of insect minions, especially cockroach-like creatures, through “Servant Summon” or similar insect-summoning abilities.

He can call forth these “offspring” or vassals in countless numbers, ranging from small to large, with some reportedly reaching up to about 1 meter in size.

This ability weaponizes sheer numbers and the primal disgust many people feel toward swarms of insects.

The attack is not just physically dangerous; it is a psychological and sensory assault, overwhelming targets with a living carpet of writhing, crawling, biting creatures that can easily torture, immobilize, and eventually kill through terror and agony.

Even in the game Yggdrasil, where sensory feedback was heavily limited by digital law and player protection, entering his chamber full of these creatures was enough to severely damage the guild’s reputation and generate infamy.

After Nazarick’s transfer to the new world, most NPCs in the Tomb try to minimize direct contact with his habitat, demonstrating that the discomfort he causes isn’t limited to humans alone.

To be fair to Kyouhukou, the truly monstrous aspects are the environment of the Black Capsule and the behavior of the insects, plus his own appearance—not his actual personality.

He remains a courteous gentleman while commanding an army of living nightmares.

Kyouhukou serves as the area guardian of the Black Capsule, a portion of the Second Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

This section is part of the larger complex of the “Tomb” overseen by Shalltear Bloodfallen, composed of the First, Second, and Third Floors.

His domain is effectively a “horror room,” designed to be a mental and emotional attack zone, especially targeting players with phobias or strong disgust toward insects.

The Black Capsule is filled with cockroach-like creatures packed so densely that they cover the entire area with a shifting, crawling mass.

Kyouhukou is also described as a close ally of Cocytus, the guardian of the Fifth Floor.

Though they differ greatly in form, they share mutual respect, and Kyouhukou’s measured, honorable demeanor fits well with Cocytus’s warrior’s code.

Within Nazarick, he is acknowledged as a specialist in etiquette and statecraft, occasionally considered as a potential tutor in imperial studies for Ainz Ooal Gown.

However, due to his appearance and the innate fear he evokes, many NPCs and beings prefer to respect him from a distance.

The Black Capsule is a Second Floor sector infamous even among Nazarick residents for being a psychological torture chamber.

It is essentially a sealed environment where the floor, walls, and ceiling can be completely covered in Kyouhukou’s summoned insects, leaving no empty gaps.

According to background information, the creator who designed Kyouhukou and the Black Capsule seems to have focused on “psychological attacks aimed primarily at female players,” who, stereotypically, might be more likely to fear insects.

A specific combo trap was designed: female players who bypassed random teleportation traps on the First to Third Floors would still be forcibly transferred to a chamber where the Black Capsule’s roach swarm awaited them.

The typical experience in this room is panic, terror, and chaos.

Many players, unable to bear the sensory horror, would either fight each other by accident in their confusion, suffer mental breakdowns, or voluntarily log out to escape, often before Kyouhukou himself had much chance to fight.

When the Black Capsule and Kyouhukou were first implemented in Yggdrasil, 28 out of the guild’s members reportedly had a strong negative reaction to the design.

If more than half of the guild had objected, a full remake might have been forced, but Kyouhukou and his realm narrowly avoided being scrapped.

In the new world, the Black Capsule retains its function as a fear-based deterrent and torture facility.

It is used strategically to break intruders’ spirits, to “baptize” captured enemies, and to serve as a psychological weapon that complements Nazarick’s more traditional traps and defenses.

The unknown Supreme Being who created Kyouhukou and the Black Capsule clearly had a very specific and sadistic design concept.

The goal was to pitch a trap less around raw damage numbers and more around primal disgust, fear, and psychological collapse—especially targeting players assumed to dislike roaches.

This creator linked the Black Capsule to the random teleportation traps on the upper floors so that unfortunate victims, particularly female players, would be forcibly transferred into a sealed roach-filled room if they triggered certain conditions.

Once there, they would be surrounded by a solid mass of crawling insects, which would climb over their bodies, into their clothes, and in some cases, into orifices.

Because most players simply panicked and either died in confusion or manually logged out due to sheer horror, Kyouhukou often had little to do beyond preside over the chaos.

Still, his existence and domain succeeded in making the guild Ainz Ooal Gown even more infamous within the game.

The creator’s approach turned Kyouhukou into a “high-concept” psychological horror NPC rather than a straightforward combat monster.

Kyouhukou’s gentlemanly personality paired with this horrific setup creates a surreal contrast that has made him memorable to fans.

When a group of workers invaded Nazarick, some of them were forcibly teleported into the Black Capsule.

Once there, Kyouhukou appeared and used his summoning abilities to turn the intruders into feed for his insect swarm, their remains and sanity both devoured in short order.

He is also known to be involved in the “baptism” or “washing” of certain enemies, such as members of the criminal organization “Eight Fingers.”

In one case, his methods were specifically used to break the spirit of Hilma Cygnaeus, reducing her to a terrified and utterly obedient subordinate through an intense and unforgettable “welcome.”

Kyouhukou’s abilities are often chosen when Ainz or other guardians need to crush a captive’s will without necessarily killing them outright.

His roaches function as a mobile torture instrument, capable of inflicting continuous, escalating horror that bends victims’ minds.

In spite of his frightening reputation, Kyouhukou behaves toward superiors and allies with unfailingly polite composure.

He introduces himself formally, for example, with lines such as, “My apologies. I am Kyouhukou, the one to whom Ainz-sama has entrusted this place. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

In other media, like radio dramas or drama CDs, he is mentioned as being called upon by Mare Bello Fiore to help break Hilma’s spirit.

Though he may not always appear directly, his name is associated wherever “maximum psychological impact” is required.

Kyouhukou’s core concept, appearance, and general setting are nearly identical between the original web novel and the published light novel.

He remains a 30 cm tall, bipedal cockroach-like noble with insect-summoning abilities and control over the Black Capsule in both versions.

However, there is one major difference: the existence of his exclusive mount in the web novel version, the “Silver Golem Cockroach.”

This special golem serves as a riding construct tailored to Kyouhukou, presumably giving him superior mobility, defense, or presence in battle.

In the light novel, this specific riding golem is either absent or not emphasized, making this unique mount a web-only or largely web-focused element.

Aside from this, his portrayal is remarkably consistent, which contributes to the sense that his character was “already complete” in the original draft.

Kyouhukou is described as a close ally of Cocytus, and their relationship is one based on mutual respect.

Cocytus’s loyalty and martial honor match well with Kyouhukou’s formal nobility and polite demeanor, forming an unusual but solid bond between a warrior insect and a noble roach.

Within Nazarick, many NPCs respect Kyouhukou’s knowledge and manners while simultaneously wanting to avoid direct contact with his domain.

His neutrality and relative kindness contrast with sadistic beings like Neuronist Painkill, but his environment is arguably as terrifying, just in a different flavor.

Ainz Ooal Gown occasionally considers Kyouhukou as a candidate to teach him imperial studies and the finer points of rulership.

However, whether Ainz actually takes personal lessons from him is unclear, possibly because spending extended time in the Black Capsule is unappealing even to the Sorcerer King.

In cross-media works, Kyouhukou’s presence is felt when characters like Hamsuke need to be escorted outside using his subordinate insects as guides.

This reinforces the idea that even outside direct torture, his roach network can be used for practical tasks like pathfinding and scouting.

Main Overlord Anime

In the main Overlord TV anime (seasons one and two), Kyouhukou does not physically appear on screen, though his name is mentioned frequently.

He is often referenced in dialogue, next episode previews, and background gags, giving the impression of a looming presence.

For example, in one next-episode preview, characters mention being hungry and casually suggest going to the Black Capsule, hinting at the “food” being available there.

Drama CDs connected to the anime also depict Kyouhukou ordering his subordinates to guide a lost Hamsuke to the outside world, using his insects as a living navigation system.

During the Kingdom arc, Mare Bello Fiore is shown relying on Kyouhukou to help break Hilma Cygnaeus’s psyche.

Again, Kyouhukou himself stays largely off-screen or in the background, but his influence is strongly felt wherever fear-based methods are needed.

In season three, his anime visual was finally teased.

A silhouette-like image shows a figure wearing a red mantle with golden trim, seen from behind, holding a scepter in one hand, with two antennae visible on the head.

The details remained deliberately obscured due to lighting and framing, preventing a full, clear look at his face and body.

A later TV commercial promoting the season three Blu-ray release briefly shows a “brown someone” in close-up at the end.

This “brown someone” appears in the first episode’s throne-room lineup of guardians, vassals, and servants, and speculation arose that it might be a toned-down, anime-safe version of Kyouhukou.

However, the figure is not wearing the characteristic mantle, and the identity is not definitively confirmed on-screen.

The full-body anime concept art was eventually revealed on the season three Blu-ray volume two’s limited first-production edition, in the monster-design artist Koji Sugiura’s newly drawn digipack illustration.

There, Kyouhukou is shown sitting on a chair under a spotlight, legs (or leg-equivalents) crossed, one arm resting on the armrest, calmly drinking from a cup—appearing slimmer than his manga depiction due to the pose and lighting.

Spin-Offs and Gag Works

In the comedic chibi-style series “Ple Ple Pleiades” and related gag works, Kyouhukou is present mainly via his summoned insects.

His roaches frequently appear, and in many episodes they are treated as snacks by Entoma Vasilissa Zeta, who casually eats them.

Because of the overall deformed, cute art style, Kyouhukou’s full design is considered so disturbing that he has been shown under mosaic censorship.

This meta joke emphasizes how visually extreme he is even compared to demi-humans, undead, and demons.

In the crossover gag anime “Isekai Quartet,” Kyouhukou debuts in season two, episode three.

In this series, he serves as the teacher in charge of discipline and student life guidance at the school where characters from multiple worlds (including Overlord, Konosuba, Re:Zero, and others) attend.

Isekai Quartet: Disciplinary Scene

In season two, episode three of Isekai Quartet, Kyouhukou is revealed as the staff member responsible for “lifestyle guidance.”

After Kazuma, Aqua, and three others (Grants, Neumann, and Koenig) are caught stealing red items, they are sent to receive guidance from him in the student discipline room.

There, “guidance” means being locked in a room filled with Kyouhukou’s summoned roaches, which crawl into their clothes and even into their bodies.

He performs the same kind of psychological and sensory assault as in Nazarick, only this time on comedy protagonists.

The aftermath shows all five students reduced to broken, near-catatonic wrecks.

Kazuma and Aqua are shown with insects visible in their mouths, and the others mutter incoherently, effectively turned into living corpses in terms of mental state.

Their classmates eventually intervene, and the punishment is waived due to the severity of what they endured.

The five students, terrified by the experience, swear never to repeat their foolish acts.

In this crossover setting, the Nazarick group is initially unaware that Kyouhukou has also been transported to this school.

However, when the five misbehaving students are sent to the discipline room, Shalltear Bloodfallen and Aura Bella Fiora both sense a bad premonition.

The faculty’s behavior reinforces how feared Kyouhukou is: the assistant homeroom teacher, Rerugen, shows an anxious expression, and when Roswaal is invited for afternoon tea during this time, he declines with a serious face, dropping his usual clownish tone.

This implies that teachers as well as students treat Kyouhukou as a terrifying entity best avoided.

In season three of Isekai Quartet, it is revealed that Kyouhukou is the homeroom teacher of Class 3.

This cements his role as a long-term authority figure in that universe, combining his noble demeanor and psychological horror with the absurdity of a school setting.

Other Media Mentions

A puzzle-solving escape game site titled “The Escape from Nazarick: The Great Tomb of Nazarick Escape Battle” was launched on August 17, 2018.

On the same day, a special version of the preview for Overlord III episode 7 (“Butterflies Entangled in a Spider’s Web”) aired, featuring Kyouhukou’s voice actor Hiroshi Kamiya and revealing a front-facing image of Kyouhukou in backlit silhouette.

The strong backlight hid most of his detailed features, but it confirmed the general outline: the crown-like headgear, antennae, regal cloak, and scepter.

As with other media, the emphasis was on teasing his existence while carefully controlling how much of his face and body were clearly shown, presumably to avoid alienating sensitive viewers.

Overall, across anime, spin-offs, and promotions, Kyouhukou has become a kind of “legendary off-screen presence.”

He is referenced frequently, hinted at visually, and deployed in comedic horror contexts, while his full, uncensored depiction remains something creators introduce cautiously due to just how unsettling he is.