One Piece Introduces Two New Members of the Holy Knights

Pivoting from the exciting recent revelations, things are finally heating up on Elbaf, the land of mystery as One Piece introduces two all-new members of the elusive Holy Knights. First mentioned by Akainu back in Chapter 1054, the Elbaf arc, nearly a hundred chapters later, is finally introducing this mysterious elite guard that serves the World Nobles. As if Gunko and Shamrock weren’t exciting enough already, another two of the nine known members have joined the fray in the latest chapter of One Piece as the arc gears up towards another Egghead-style battle royale.

Following Loki’s refusal to join the Holy Knights, Chapter 1140 of One Piece sees Gunko summon two more members of the Holy Knights as per Shamrock’s orders. The chapter sees Gunko create an abyss pentagram that instantly teleports these reinforcements to Elbaf with the two new members revealed to be Saint Killingham of the Rimoshifu Family and Saint Sommers of the Shepherd Family. In true One Piece fashion, the two new Holy Knights also sport quirky character designs, with the latest chapter also giving fans a few hints about the nature of their powers and abilities.

One Piece‘s Elbaf Arc Debuts Two Quirky New Holy Knights

Considering Gunko and Shamrock were formally introduced not too long ago in chapters 1136 and 1137 respectively, it was quite a surprise to see One Piece expand on the Holy Knights’ roster again so soon. That said, compared to Gunko and Shamrock who were all business since arriving on Elbaf, St. Killingham and St. Sommers seem much quirkier and laid back by comparison, leaving fans waiting to see not only more of their powers and abilities but also their peculiar personalities.

St. Sommers, in particular, makes quite a memorable first impression with Gunko summoning him straight from his home in his deceptively cutesy heart-printed boxers with his stubbly legs on full display. Sommers is also revealed to be part of the same Shepherd Family as St. Sheperd Ju Peter and though their exact relationship is still unclear, Sommers does seem to bear quite a strong resemblance to Ju Peter except for his spectacles and longer hair. The chapter does not provide any hint as to what kind of devil fruit power Sommers could have though he is seen carrying a sword with a very peculiar spiky hilt. But Sommers isn’t the only one to stand out for his character design as a Holy Knight in One Piece, with St. Killingham drawing from some compelling influences.

[RELATED: One Piece Secretly Revealed a New Future Sight User on Elbaf]

Chinese Mythology and Clever Naming Help One New Holy Knight Stand Out in One Piece

St. Killingham is comparatively far more interesting in terms of his character design, which is indicated by his name inspired by the qilin. St. Killingham’s name in One Piece refers to a chimera-like creature that typically sports a Chinese dragon-like head with a singular horn and the body of a deer, horse, or goat. The qilin is also found in Japanese mythology where it is known as the kirin, a yokai that is regarded as highly sacred and powerful due to being associated with purity, goodness, and times of peace.

The kirin is also said to be gentle and supposedly does not attack others with its holy fire unless threatened. This could hint at St. Killingham possibly being a pacifist and his attacks being flame-based. Killingham also appears to have awakened his devil fruit judging by the smoke sash around his shoulders and seeing as he was introduced in his hybrid form, the coming chapters will likely reveal his regular human appearance.

As things stand, it is very likely that the Holy Knights will need to call in further reinforcements to successfully enact their evil plan to conquer Elbaf. This is especially true with the Straw Hats being present on the island and Luffy well on his way to freeing Loki from his chains. This means it might not be too long until One Piece introduces the rest of the Holy Knights as well. For now, it seems Eiichiro Oda could be setting the stage for an all-out battle against the entire might of the Holy Knights much like the battle against the Five Elders at Egghead. If so, chaos is about to rain down on Elbaf and the upcoming chapters are about to be a complete rollercoaster ride of action and excitement.

One Piece is available to read on Manga Plus and Viz Media.