High Shepherd

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Gide Vival
Alias(es)	High Shepherd (大牧首)
Species/Race	Human; later elevated to a divine creature
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Cleaning Association
Occupation/Role	Supreme leader of the Cleaning Association, acting in the president's stead
Status	Deceased; granted a divine office in the temple of the Lord of the Abyss 653 654
First Appearance	Chapter 176

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Divine creature	635	The headquarters' sacrificial array pours immense psychic power into Gide through his throne, completely awakening his psychic body and elevating it to the level of a divine creature.
Manifested divine form	637	He transforms into a hulking, horned form with a divine aura, revealing that he has gained divine power connected to the Lord of the Abyss.

Background / History

Rise within the Cleaning Association

Gide was once a student and loyal subordinate of Eisenke, the Cleaning Association's first president. As Eisenke increasingly disappeared from public view, he selected Gide to act as his representative; after Eisenke vanished and a new president took office, Gide became the Association's supreme operational leader. Until Gide's fall, the organization had only ever had one High Shepherd. 556 558

He consolidated his authority through trusted personnel, most notably Saint Nicholas, a former cardinal who became Gide's devoted subordinate and later Shepherd of the Hongdu Pastoral District, where the Association's headquarters is located. 558

Search for the Lord of the Abyss

Gide was fanatically devoted to the Lord of the Abyss and privately pursued a method of establishing contact with the deity. He oversaw a hidden laboratory combining anomalous items, circuitry, runes, and connected brains to localize the Lord's presence; its readings eventually reached 99.36%. 282 358

He gathered items tainted by the Lord of the Abyss's aura over decades, including items contributed by the Collector's pastoral district. These materials allowed him to locate the Lord and prepare a sacrificial array beneath headquarters. 597 634

Conflict with the Collector

Gide initially regarded the Collector's actions against the Gambler as a blessing to the Cleaning Association and considered expanding the Association's influence into East Asia. He later became suspicious of the Collector's identity and agreed to investigate claims that he was an impostor without involving headquarters or the Chairman. 176 282

As the Collector's influence grew, Gide transferred him away from headquarters under the pretext of the Cuckoo Project and attempted to contain him through pastoral assignments. When the Collector publicly presented Yuri's severed head—revealing the High Shepherd's informant—Gide suppressed his anger, accepted the evidence, and assigned the Collector to the lucrative Mo Country Pastoral District instead. 561 562

Gide intended to exploit the Collector as a weapon against the Phantom Spirit Party in Mo Country, while securing the strategically valuable Tuhorostan Pastoral District for headquarters. He also secretly prepared the God-Trapping Sacrifice, allowing apparent defections and factional conflict to expose disloyal members before trapping the Collector. 563 633 634

Purification Conference and downfall

Gide summoned the Purification Legion, the Black Mountain Guard Army, the Twelve Knights, district Shepherds, and department heads to headquarters for the Purification Conference. He planned to capture the Collector and sacrifice him to the Lord of the Abyss. 614 622

During the conference, Gide activated the God-Trapping Sacrifice and used the psychic array to imprison the Collector and other officials in mental-power cages. He revealed that he had knowingly used the Collector to eliminate dissidents and intended to sacrifice both the Collector and tainted anomalous items to the Lord of the Abyss. 633 634

The ritual elevated Gide to a divine creature, but the summoned power ultimately recognized the Collector as the Lord of the Abyss's incarnation. Gide continued operating the sacrificial formation in an attempt to protect and summon his god, but was left near death after the conflict. 635 637 640 650

After Gide's death, the Collector granted him a divine office as a servant in the Lord of the Abyss's temple. Li Fan then accepted the position of High Shepherd and took control of the Cleaning Association. 653 654

Appearance

Gide cultivated an imposing, monarch-like image at Cleaning Association headquarters, appearing in ceremonial regalia before a gemstone-encrusted throne. 560 624

• Purple robe embroidered with gold thread and studded with multicolored gemstones. 560
• Jeweled golden crown and gold-rimmed glasses. 560 622
• Golden scepter set with the diamond known as the Heart of Cleanliness. 560
• In his divine form, he becomes massively muscular, grows two black horns, and develops flame-like markings between his brows. 637

Personality

Gide was calculating, patient, and intensely concerned with preserving his authority. He could maintain a genial, compassionate expression even while maneuvering subordinates and enemies into lethal situations, using the Collector's rise to identify and eliminate those insufficiently loyal to him. 562 563 634

His devotion to the Lord of the Abyss was absolute. Rather than fearing the Collector's divine power, Gide saw it as an opportunity to offer a superior sacrifice and gain favor from the deity he believed he alone truly served. 622 634

He was also brutally intolerant of incompetence and dissent. When an administrative officer suggested mobilizing headquarters against the Collector, Gide ordered the officer to undertake the task himself, then killed him with his scepter after he admitted he lacked the ability. 563

Abilities & Skills

Heart Discernment

Gide possessed an ability that allowed him to determine whether another person's words were true or false. He used it when the Collector claimed to sincerely wish to resign and devote himself solely to the Lord of the Abyss. 561

• Detected that the Collector's statements carried no apparent insincerity. 561
• Served as one of Gide's personal trump cards in political exchanges. 561

Psychic Force

Gide could directly manipulate targets with psychic power.

• Pulled an administrative officer through the air and placed him before the throne without physical contact. 563
• Imprisoned and crushed Cleaners and Shepherds who questioned his sacrificial plans. 634

Divine Power Bestowal

Through headquarters' research into the Lord of the Abyss, Gide could grant a trace of divine power to selected subordinates. 564

• Bestowed divine power upon members of the Twelve Knights assigned to capture the Collector. 564
• The recipients gained enhanced mental power, a divine aura, and a direction for further evolution. 564

Sacrificial Formation Mastery

Gide spent his life studying the sacrificial formation beneath Cleaning Association headquarters and could operate it with great proficiency. 640

• Activated the God-Trapping Sacrifice to confine the Collector in a mental-power cage. 633
• Used tainted anomalous items and the headquarters array to establish contact with the Lord of the Abyss. 634 635
• Attempted to summon the Lord's abyssal demon army by driving his psychic energy directly into the formation. 640

Divine Transformation

The headquarters array elevated Gide's psychic body to the level of a divine creature. 635

• Manifested a horned, muscular divine form with a palpable divine aura. 637
• Drew immense psychic power from the activated throne and sacrificial array. 635

Equipment / Symbols

• Golden scepter — A reworked ancient imperial scepter set with the diamond called the Heart of Cleanliness; it symbolizes the High Shepherd's authority. 560
• Gemstone throne — A towering throne of crystals, furs, and gemstones that also served as a conduit for the headquarters' sacrificial array. 358 560 635
• Authority ring — The symbol of his office, used in formal gestures of allegiance. 622
• Ceremonial crown and robes — Royal-style regalia used to reinforce the High Shepherd's status during major headquarters events. 560 624

Relationships

• Eisenke — Former teacher and first president of the Cleaning Association; appointed Gide as his acting representative during his absences. 556 558
• The Lord of the Abyss — Object of Gide's lifelong devotion; he sought to establish contact with the deity and sacrifice the Collector in exchange for divine favor. 358 634
• Collector / Li Fan — Senior subordinate turned rival. Gide attempted to contain, exploit, trap, and sacrifice him; the Collector ultimately replaced Gide as High Shepherd. 562 634 653
• Saint Nicholas — Former subordinate and one of Gide's most devoted followers; remained close to headquarters specifically to serve him. 558
• Ailian — Internal investigator used by Gide to investigate the Collector. After she returned under the Collector's influence, Gide imprisoned her in his underground laboratory. 176 622
• Adrian — Shepherd of Western Europa and a committed supporter who offered Gide divine artifacts and publicly declared loyalty during the Purification Conference. 622 625
• The Twelve Knights — Elite Association members whom Gide used as enforcers; he bestowed divine power on several of them for the operation against the Collector. 564

Notable Quotes

“Deserving execution and being able to execute someone are two different matters.”

— High Shepherd 563

“I have found traces of the Lord of the Abyss. I only need one final step before I can speak with our great Lord.”

— High Shepherd 475