Angel (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
In the
anime Neon Genesis Evangelion,
Angels are the beings which attack
Tokyo-3 over the course of the story. They take no common form, but their common origin seems to be that they are all progeny of Adam, though the nature of this relationship is left largely unexplained, as are many of the details surrounding the Angels. All of them have
AT Fields of varying strengths, all pattern type "blue." All Angels contain an
S² engine. The Angel's core, the red sphere in the Angel's torso, is sometimes mistaken to be the S² engine, but this is incorrect. Sufficient damage to the core will kill the Angel. The Angels are closely related to humans, having 99.89% of the same DNA as humans. It has been said that they represent other possible evolutionary paths that humanity could have taken.
The Japanese word used to refer to the Angels is
shito (使'), which means "apostle" or one who is dedicated to a holy cause. (The word most commonly used in Japanese for "angel" is
tenshi, 天使). The translation to "angel" was specified by Gainax. It is somewhat fitting, in that the English
angel is derived from the Greek for "messenger" (
angelos), which is also the source of the word "
evangelion". In the English translation, many of the Angels are named after certain angels in Judeo-Christian lore.
Sandalphon, Matariel, Iruel, and Leliel do not appear in the manga version of
Evangelion, and Gaghiel's appearance is limited to a few pages as well. It could be noted that excluding mankind, there are now 13 Angels on the list. In the Japanese context, this will then be the 13 Apostles (13 Shito), in reference to the 12 Apostles of Jesus. Also, Kaworu, as the 13th Apostle, can then be compared to Judas, who was one of the twelve disciples but betrayed Jesus to his death. As it is in the manga now, Kaworu has yet to show any disloyalty to SEELE. (In the manga, it's explicitly shown that he was created by SEELE to spy on NERV.)
Following is a list of Angels appearing in the series. Most of this list is universally accepted, but there is disagreement on some elements. Some reverse the first two Angels while some start the list with a
zeroth Angel or have other objections. Particularly controversial is the designation of
mankind as the "eighteenth Angel" (as mentioned by
Misato in
The End of Evangelion); nevertheless, it is included for the sake of completion.
The
characters of the series are not aware of the angel's names (Though
Adam is known by several characters) though
Kaworu (who is later revealed to be
Tabris) refers to
Lilith by name.
|
Adam, in his embryonic state. |
The first Angel is Adam, said to have the appearance of a giant being made of
light. He somewhat resembles the Evangelions that were spawned from him. The act of containing Adam turned him into an embryonic form and caused the
Second Impact, in turn killing half of humanity and significantly altering the global environment. Later,
Ryoji Kaji delivers the embryonic Adam, encased in
bakelite, to
NERV Commander
Gendo Ikari, who implants it into his right hand. He is the Angel of Life, from which the Fruit of Life is born.
Adam's name originates from the recount of the story of
Adam and Eve from
Genesis in the
Bible.
|
Lilith, the second Angel. |
The second Angel (in order of identification) is
Lilith. Lilith is the mother of mankind (which is why Kaworu refers to mankind as "Lilim"). She is secured to a giant cross in
Terminal Dogma by nails and by the
Lance of Longinus. Kaji and Misato mistake this figure for Adam, only to have Kaworu reveal her true identity in episode 24.
Rei and her clones are possibly made from the same matter as Lilith. Unit 01 is also said to have been born from Lilith instead of Adam (as opposed to the other Eva units); this explains the high regard held for Unit 01 by Gendo Ikari and NERV. The
LCL fluid used to oxygenate pilots while inside their
entry plugs is actually Lilith's blood, which flows from an unregenerable wound. Her legs are missing, though numerous human legs protrude from this location. In the Director's Cut of episode 22, Lilith's legs regrow (though still with human legs protruding from them) when the Lance is removed. Her face is concealed by an enormous mask depicting the seven eyes of God. The mask's design also serves as the logo of
SEELE.
She is sometimes known as the Angel of Knowledge, from which the Fruit of Knowledge is born. According to the series, in Hebrew mythology, Lilith was the first wife of Adam and the first vampire. This is referred to in the series when Gendo talks about the "forbidden joining of Adam and Lilith" and the fact that Lilith is kept in a lake of her own blood (LCL).
Note: A translation error in the North American release of
The End of Evangelion occurs with a statement by Misato in which she mentions Adam as being born from Lilith implying that she, not Adam, is the first Angel. What she is meant to say is that mankind was born from Lilith in the same way the Angels were born from Adam. Official sources classify Lilith as the second Angel identified by NERV.
|
Sachiel, the third Angel. |
Sachiel (pronounced sa-shell) is the third Angel and the first Angel to attack Tokyo-3. It is heavily damaged by the "berserk"
Unit 01 but attached itself to Unit 01, and self-destructs in a final attempt to kill its assailant. Sachiel is equipped with a powerful long-range energy blast, and was successful in penetrating the
GeoFront using this attack. It is also equipped with two energy-nails protruding through each of its hands which have a medium to short range and can be turned on and off at will. When retracted, the energy nails (otherwise known as "lances of light") make up the Angel's
ulna, a bone in the forearm. It is named after the angel of water,
Sachiel, meaning
Covering of God. Sachiel was also
Shinji Ikari's first angel battle.
Despite being a relatively weak Angel, Sachiel is arguably one of the most popular among fans, possibly because it is the most human-looking (excluding Tabris) or because it is also the most identifiable Angel. Its bird-like face (or mask) is frequently used as a symbol in Evangelion-related imagery, and has even been placed on t-shirts. At one time, Sachiel had a (now defunct)
Internet fanlisting. In addition, Sachiel was one of the Angels (along with Lilith, Zeruel, Armisael and Tabris) to be depicted as a
female in a series of tenth-anniversary action figures created by Gainax, designed by
Keroro Gunso artist
Mine Yoshizaki.
|
Shamshel, the fourth Angel. |
Shamshel is the fourth Angel and the second Angel to attack Tokyo-3. It remains horizontal during flight and during combat it raises itself upright by 90 degrees while the "head" remains perpendicular to the body. It possesses a pair of energy whips which are able to easily slice through objects, but can also act as tentacles and grab objects. Shamshel is defeated by a fatal wound to its core inflicted by Shinji using Unit 01's
progressive knife. During the battle, Unit 01's umbilical cable is severed by Shamshel's energy whip, and Shinji defeats the Angel with only seconds of active time to spare. Shinji also allows his classmates
Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida refuge inside the entry plug during the fight after discovering the two near the scene of the Eva's struggle. The minimal damage to Shamshel allows
NERV to obtain a complete Angel specimen, although no report is submitted or published.
Shamshel is named after
Shamsiel, the angel whom, according to the
Kabbalah, God ordered to guard the
Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were expelled. In addition, some fans of the show argue that this Angel's shape and design are
phallic in origin, reflecting some
Freudian references said to be found in the series, although Shamshel is said to be female.
The fifth Angel, Ramiel, is
octahedral. It is named after the
angel of thunder. It attempts to drill through the armor surrounding the GeoFront and is the first Angel to make a credible attempt to reach Terminal Dogma. Ramiel is a formidable Angel capable of defending itself with a proton beam that automatically targets any object within a certain radius. It also bears an AT Field so powerful that it visibly warps light passing through the area around it. For the above reasons, most fans consider Ramiel to be one of the strongest Angels to attack Tokyo-3 and the GeoFront. Eventually, it is defeated by Shinji in Unit 01 using a positron cannon borrowed from the JSDF that is charged with the electricity from Japan's entire national power grid. Rei is responsible for protecting Shinji and Unit 01 using a special shield constructed from the
heat shield of an
SSTO spacecraft. Ramiel notices their plan just before Shinji fires the first shot, and fires at the same time as Shinji. As a result, the path of each shot is warped and both miss. Before the positron cannon can recharge, Ramiel fires a second shot, which Rei blocks. Ramiel does not let up as the cannon recharges, melting through the shield. After the cannon finally recharges, Shinji fires and disables Ramiel. Heavy repairs are made to Unit 00 after this encounter and its armor color is changed from orange to blue. Shoulder "blades" are also added to the Unit's armor; though similar in appearance to the ones on Units 01 and 02, they are used to hold retro-rockets, as seen later in the fight with Matariel.
Ramiel literally means "Elevated of God," referring to its levitation.
|
Gaghiel, the sixth Angel. |
The sixth Angel, Gaghiel, named after the angel of fish, is the only Angel to be fought at sea. After damaging or destroying almost one-third of the UN combined fleet, it is killed by Unit 02 (piloted by both
Asuka and
Shinji), which pries open Gaghiel's mouth and allows a pair of evacuated
Iowa-class battleships (the
Illinois and
Kentucky) to lodge themselves in its mouth and fire at point-blank range, causing the Angel to explode. Gaghiel itself has the appearance of a prehistoric fishlike creature, and does not possess any armament other than a set of razor-sharp teeth. As a distinguishing feature, it also has a Sachiel-like face above and behind its mouth. Gaghiel attacked the UN Pacific fleet because Ryoji Kaji had brought along a fetus of the first Angel,
Adam, and it was searching for this minuscule object. NERV, however, officially claimed that the Angel was after Unit 02.
Gaghiel means "Roaring Beast of God," possibly due to its size, strength, and animal-like appearance. Also, Gaghiel can be thought of as Gainax's portrayal of the
Leviathan.
In the manga, Gaghiel is killed offscreen by Asuka with only brief flashbacks to the actual battle but the strategy used is the same. Gahgiel is one of a very limited number of angels not directly destroyed by an Evangelion.
|
Israfel, the seventh Angel, in one piece. |
|
Kou and Otsu, the two halves of Israfel. |
The seventh Angel is Israfel, named after the
angel of music. This Angel has the ability to split into two twins, each with its own core, that use synchronized attacks to overwhelm an opponent. When first attacked by Shinji and Asuka in Units 01 and 02, respectively, Asuka hastily cleaves Israfel through the center, prompting the Angel to split and quickly defeat the surprised pilots. At this, UN Secondary Command ordered a
N² Mine dropped on the Angel, destroying roughly 30 percent of the Angel at the cost of rearranging the landscape. Eventually, it is killed through a coordinated attack by Shinji and Asuka, concerted via a musical score and the memorization of numerous dance moves. It has a pair of razor sharp claws and a weak energy beam. Its AT Field appears to be weaker than that of a standard Angel, since it appears to be built for speed, and it was heavily damaged by the N² Mine. Like Sachiel, Israfel's face is a bony mask, though it resembles a
yin-yang. The two halves of the angel are referred to as Kou and Otsu, and each one's face is a bony circle with three holes laid out in a triangle.
Note: Though the music was said to be 62 seconds in the anime, the actual music piece is not the same length. The count down on screen is different from real time.
|
Sandalphon, in its embryonic state. |
|
Sandalphon, the eighth Angel. |
The eighth Angel, Sandalphon, named after the angel of unborn children, is found in an embryonic state deep inside a
volcano. Asuka is sent to capture it with a special electromagnetically-generated cage. For this mission, Unit 02 is specially equipped with the D-Type (high temperature and pressure resistant) equipment. Unfortunately, the Angel awakens and rapidly develops into a mature form. It features no special attack powers, but rather it is built for speed in magma. It is able to open its mouth in molten lava and seems to be unaffected by pressure. It is defeated by Asuka using coolant (inspired by an earlier conversation with Shinji regarding thermal expansion) and Unit 01's progressive knife (which Shinji hurls to Asuka after she drops her own knife).
Sandalphon, in theory, is named after the Angel whose duty is to deliver prayers to God. It might also be named as such after
flounder. Flounders were once referred to as "sandalfish."
According to the Platinum Edition DVD commentary[
1] for Episode 10, Sandalphon was modeled on the aquatic
Cambrian predator
Anomalocaris. |
Matariel, the ninth Angel. |
The ninth Angel, Matariel, named after the angel of rain, is a massive spider-like Angel with multiple "eyes" that attempts to burn a tunnel directly into the GeoFront with a strong solvent secretion. It appears during a near-total power failure in Tokyo-3, caused by an unnamed individual or party. It is defeated by the combined efforts of Units 00, 01, and 02, all of which are running on battery power. This is the first combat operation involving all three Units simultaneously.
Matariel means "Angel of Rain," a reference to the Acid rain it uses as a primary attack. It is also the only Angel to have been neutralized by regular Evangelion firearms.
It should also be noted that Matariel is named during episode 14 of the series using the "ie" spelling, rather than the Christian/Biblical "ae" spelling.
|
Sahaqiel, the tenth Angel. |
The tenth Angel, Sahaquiel, named after the angel of the skies, makes its appearance in a low-earth orbit. It drops pieces of itself down to earth, continuously refining its aim, and finally attempts a
kamikaze run utilizing its entire mass as a massive falling bomb on Tokyo-3. The blast would be so powerful that it would completely destroy NERV HQ and turn Tokyo-3 into an extension of the
Pacific Ocean. In addition, it has an ability to jam communications, much like an
EMP. During its kamikaze attempt, it is intercepted by a combined AT Field generated by all three Evas and is destroyed, its AT-field being physically pried from its body.
Sahaquiel means "Ingenuity of God," possibly referring to using its body parts as an alternative weapon.
|
Iruel, the eleventh Angel. |
The eleventh Angel, Iruel, named after the angel of terror, is a nano-scale entity. It initially appears in the
Pribnow box deep in the GeoFront and later spreads to where the pilots are taking part in tests on incomplete Eva models. It demonstrates an ability to rapidly adapt to new conditions (Ritsuko and Misato discovers that the virus is in fact, afraid of oxygen, and so pumps large amounts of ozone into the area of infection. The scheme seemed to work, as the virus faded. However, after only a few seconds, it adapts to oxygen, and even absorbs it to power itself up), and in a short period of time it evolves into a figure resembling electronic circuitry and uses its newfound knowledge to penetrate the
MAGI's defense systems. While inside, it reads many critical files and initiates a self-destruct sequence before being slowed down long enough to allow the computer technicians (including Ritsuko and Maya) to engineer a successful self-destruction of the Angel.
|
Leliel, the twelfth Angel. |
Possibly one of the most bizarre Angels to attack Tokyo-3, the twelfth Angel,
Leliel, named after the angel of the night, has a misleading appearance. Its form consists of a a floating black-and-white striped sphere which is actually its shadow, and a black circle on the ground which is mere nanometers thick but covers a wide area which is actually its body (the characters initially mistake its body for its shadow and vice versa.) In other words, it is a two-dimensional object with a three-dimensional shadow. It moves its body underneath Unit 01 after Shinji tries to attack its shadow, causing Unit 01 to sink into Leliel. Leliel's body is speculated to be a
Dirac sea and also linked to another universe. NERV scientists postulate that there is no possibility of escape for Unit 01 and Shinji. It is decided that the only valid strategy for defeating Leliel is to drop the remaining 992 N² Mines currently in existence on it – a plan which NERV believes would destroy the Angel along with Unit 01 and Shinji. Fortunately, just as Shinji's
oxygen is about to run out, Unit 01 goes berserk and violently bursts from inside Leliel's shadow, killing the Angel.
Leliel means "Jaws of God," possibly referring to its ability to consume anything.
|
Bardiel attacking Unit 01. |
The thirteenth Angel, Bardiel, named after Barachiel, the angel that governs lightning and hail, infects Unit 03 as it passes through a cloud formation during its flight from the
United States to
Japan. This infection first manifests itself during the initial activation test at Matsushiro Secondary Test Facility and the Angel soon seizes control of Unit 03, prompting NERV to designate Unit 03 itself as an Angel. Bardiel is armed with the strength, form, AT Field, and so on of Unit 03 (perhaps to enhanced degrees), but its most notable weapons are its extendable arms. The altered Unit 03's arms can rapidly extend themselves a large distance, almost like a rubber band (a distance equal to roughly twice Unit 03's own height). Misato is injured when Unit 03 goes berserk and escapes from the facility. Ejection of the Entry Plug is also impossible due to a weblike growth upon the Unit's back. During its rampage, Unit 03 disables Unit 02 and severely damages Unit 00 after unsuccessfully trying to infect it (Unit 00's arm was severed to prevent contamination). Shinji, piloting Unit 01, is reluctant to destroy it himself because it contains a human pilot, even though he is unaware of the pilot's identity. Frustrated by Shinji's hesitation and more concerned with the destruction of the Angel and the progression of his scenario than the pilot's life, Gendo Ikari orders the activation of Unit 01's
Dummy Plug system. The activation of the Dummy Plug causes Unit 01 to go berserk and tear Unit 03 apart piece by piece, which not only destroys the Angel but also nearly kills the pilot of Unit 03 by crushing his Entry Plug. Upon learning that the pilot of Unit 03 was his best friend, Toji Suzuhara, an emotional Shinji promptly resigns from NERV for the second time and begins to hate his father rather than harbor hopes of reconciliation with him.
Bardiel literally means "Humiliated Son of God," referring to being forced to possess an Eva instead of appearing in physical form. It may also be referring to the fact that some Angels bore the bodies of demons in order to pass through hell unscathed.
*
Note: The events of this battle differ slightly between the anime and the manga. In the anime, Shinji finds out that the pilot of the Eva is Toji only after he has crushed the Entry Plug, but in the manga, Shinji realizes this about half way through the fight. Also, the pilot only loses his left arm and left leg in the anime, but in the manga, he dies. In the anime, though, Toji wakes up in the hospital, with
Hikari by his side, and asks where Shinji is.
|
Zeruel, the fourteenth Angel. |
The fourteenth Angel, Zeruel, named after the angel that governs power, is one of the Angels best suited for combat. It causes considerable damage to Units 00 and 02 in very little time. It appears as a floating creature, as large as the Evas but lacking humanoid limbs, it uses its folding foil-like "arms" as extendable cutting weapons. It also uses a very powerful beam attack (which forms the image of a cross as displayed in Christianity, similar to Sachiel) to make its way to NERV. This Angel penetrates NERV headquarters and almost completely destroys the command center after defeating Unit 02, whose arms and head were sliced off after Asuka's useless attempt to destroy Zeruel with an artillery assault (on a side note, Asuka felt the pain of losing her arms after Unit 02's loss, but it could be assumed she missed feeling decapitation since NERV cut off her connection to her EVA before it occurred) and Unit 00, which attempted a kamikaze delivery of an N² Mine, but failed to destroy the Angel. Zeruel survived Unit 00's attack in part because it has an extendable membrane to protect its core. It is stopped by a berserk Unit 01, which attaches one of the angel's arms to replace its own arm, which was severed earlier in the battle. Zeruel then attacked Unit 01 with its other arm, which was ripped apart and sent back at the Angel, piercing through its AT Field and, in turn, mutilating its body. Unit 01 then proceeds to devour the fallen Angel's corpse, absorbing its S² (Super-Solenoid) engine, giving the Unit an independent power source. It is known as the Angel of the Moon and sometimes the Angel of Strength.
Like Sachiel and Israfel, Zeruel's "face" is a bone-like mask. Zeruel's resembles a malformed skull with an 'H' shaped "mouth". Like Sachiel, Zeruel is another popular Angel, due to its combat abilities, unusual appearance and the sheer amount of damage it caused during its attack.
Zeruel means "Arm of God," a name that can either refer to its exceptional ability in combat or Unit 01's use of its arm. Also: In Japanese, the words 'God' (神), 'Paper' (紙), and 'Hair' (髪) share the same reading (かみ
kami), which may explain its paper-like appendages.
|
Arael, the fifteenth Angel. |
The fifteenth Angel, Arael, named after the angel of birds, attacks from outer space and outside the range of conventional military weapons. It bears a glowing white form and appears to have wings that are very large compared to the body. It attacks Unit 02 with an energy wavelength similar to an AT Field that manifests itself as a beam of bright, white light. The beam directly affects Asuka's mind, causing her to experience a nightmare centered around the death of her mother as well as her own conceited and antisocial façade (while this is happening, the songs '
Hallelujah Chorus', and '
Worthy is the Lamb' is played for ironic effect). This throws Asuka into such mental distress that Unit 02 ceases to function. Rei then removes the
Lance of Longinus from Lilith's chest inside Terminal Dogma and, after returning to the surface, hurls it at Arael. The Lance does indeed destroy the Angel but also escapes Earth's orbit and eventually becomes stuck in a lunar orbit, where it remains until the events of
The End of Evangelion.
Arael means "Vision of God," possibly referring to its effects on Asuka.
*
Note: The Director's Cut version of episode 22, which features Arael, includes several new animation sequences, such as additional scenes in Asuka's nightmare (in which there are strong references to her concealed feelings for Shinji) and a shot in which the pole section of the Lance unravels into a spiral-like shape before piercing the Angel.
|
Armisael, the sixteenth Angel. |
The sixteenth Angel, Armisael, named after the angel of the womb, initially appears as a glowing floating
torus. It reveals a
double-helix structure before combat, but then returns to a single glowing thread and splits apart to form a snake-like line. It has no visible external features but appears to look at Unit 01 with the tail end when it is deployed. When the Angel attempts to physically merge with Unit 00, the pilot, Rei, is similarly affected as she is synchronized with the Eva (this is the second time an Angel has tried to merge its self with Unit 00, the first time being in the fight against Bardiel). The Angel also appears to telepathically communicate with Rei. Rei self-destructs her Eva to prevent the Angel from merging with Unit 01. Armisael's umbilical appearance, after penetrating Rei, can be seen as reference to Armisael, the angel of the womb.
*
Note: The Director's Cut version of episode 23, which features Armisael, includes several new animation sequences, such as Unit 00 shifting into the image of a giant nude Rei just before exploding. This extended footage is reflected in the manga version. While the end result is the same, the fighting is quite different due to the presence of Kaworu in Unit 02. The weapon used by Kaworu in the manga is a double bladed chain saw which first featured in
Evagelions (
Evagelion 2), the PS2 game.
|
Tabris, the seventeenth Angel. |
Tabris, the seventeenth Angel, named after the angel of free will, takes the form of a 14-year-old boy named
Kaworu Nagisa. He is said to have been born from Adam himself, and is sent by SEELE directly under the pretense of a replacement pilot for Unit 02 after Asuka's synch ratio drops below functional levels. During this time, Kaworu forms a friendship (and bond) between Shinji. He has the unique ability to set his synch ratio at any level he wishes, as long as his soul is more dominant than the Eva's. He is also shown to have powerful
psychokinetic abilities, allowing him to fly, among other things. Finally, he has the strongest AT Field of any of the Angels encountered by NERV. He activates Unit 02 externally, without a power source, and takes it with him as a guardian when he infiltrates Terminal Dogma in an attempt to reach Adam. However, upon discovering that Lilith, not Adam, is hanged there, he asks Shinji, who has pursued him in Unit 01, to destroy him, to keep Kaworu from creating the Third Impact. After a long hesitation (64 seconds in the anime to be exact), Shinji reluctantly agrees and crushes Kaworu, the only person besides his mother to ever tell Shinji he was loved.
*
Note: The Director's Cut version of episode 24 includes several new animation sequences, such as Kaworu conversing with the SEELE monoliths. This also brings up an interesting plot hole, in that SEELE reveals to him that Adam's body is inside Ikari. However, later in the episode, he is still surprised that the being on the cross is not Adam. He should know this already. There are also fifteen monoliths visible, the only time that more than twelve are shown.
*
Note: The Director's Cut of 'The Final Messenger' also includes a longer conversation between Kaworu and Rei in which he states that he is "the container of Adam's soul." And then he procedes to tell Rei that they are "the same." Just as Rei is an artificial body and contains the soul of Lilith, Kaworu is an artificial body and contains the soul of Adam.
*
Manga Changes: In the manga, Kaworu appears much earlier in the story. He is briefly seen in the end of volume 7 and appears in Tokyo-3 just before the battle with Arael. Sent to spy on NERV, he attempts to befriend Shinji though without much success as of the end of volume 9. His presence earlier in the series changes a number of scenes, notably Kaworu is a participant in the battle against Armisael.
*
Note: It also should be noted that the back of the DVD containing episode 24 (24-26) says his name is Kaoru. This is not a typo. The character in the Japanese spelling of his name can be interperated as either "wo" or "o". However in the End of Evangelion movie, we see the name written as "Kaworu" on the Mass-production dummy plugs.
|
Lilim, the eighteenth Angel. |
Mankind is referred to as
Lilim by Kaworu – i.e. they are beings born from Lilith rather than Adam. Since the Angels are humans who rejected the human form, or in other words are alternate incarnations of humanity, humankind can be considered the eighteenth Angel. This may conflict with the theory that the Angels were those that ate from the Tree of Life (thus their impressive physical abilities, such as rapid regeneration, incredible fortitude, and immortality) while the original human(s) ate from the Tree of Knowledge (thus their technological superiority). In
The End of Evangelion, Misato mentions that the other Angels were merely other directions that human evolution may have taken, and that humanity is the 18th Angel. It is uncertain if this is literally true, or if she was merely commenting on the destructive nature of Angels and humans. When all this is taken into account, the original ending of the series is that much more perplexing.
It is believed that the "Lilim" are the messengers of Deceit and Death, fitting for the human race. It should also be noted that eighteen is the numerical value of the Hebrew word "chai" which means "life".
