Seven Deadly Sins: Zeldris (ESTJ)

We see a lot of people typing him as an ENTJ, which we were suspecting at one point. However, after finishing the anime, and reading the remainder of the manga, ESTJ actually seems more likely.

Te:

“Listen. You better lay off the coddling.”

“I will not accept this!”

“Stop this futile resistance. You have no chance at winning!”

Zeldris is both serious and intense. Mael also refers to him as cold and stoic. Meliodas refers to him as serious and professional almost to a fault. He’s not one to show emotion beyond anger, which is fairly common for high Te users. He fills his role as the leader of the Ten Commandments easily. He’s commanding and driven. He tells those around him exactly what he wants, and demands results. Zeldris desires to physically gain power, and replace the Demon King some day. He seems confused after the defeat of the Demon King at Meliodas being willing to give up the all the power he has gained.

Zeldris feels the weight of responsibility to those around him. This is revealed by Meliodas when he is explaining to Elizabeth how he asked Zeldris to leave the Underworld with him. He explains that Zeldris felt weighed by down by responsibility “as Gelda’s beloved, as substitute leader of the Ten Commands, and as the Demon King’s son.” This demonstrates a group oriented mentality, common for healthy and high Te use.

Another thing that specifically suggests Te dominant over leading with an introverted function is his readiness to complain directly to the Demon King when he disagrees with his commands. He does this over and over again, especially in regards to the intention to still make Meliodas the next Demon King.

Si:

“I’m not familiar with the king’s name or face, therefore I can’t guarantee it.”

“I remember very clearly what happened on that day… And I can say for a fact that Meliodas’ words were coming from his heart. The only one whose words weren’t was me.”

There are a few indications of Si in Zeldris rather than Ni. One significant thing that helped us settle on ESTJ is his desire to work within the system to ultimately fix it. In spite of his disagreements with his father and desire for peace, he doesn’t leave with Meliodas or attempt a hostile takeover in order to fix things. Rather, he decides to work his way up the ranks and gain power, with his ultimate goal being to replace the Demon King and then bring about peace once he has the authority to do so. This would be more typical of Te-Si rather than Te-Ni. In addition, the struggle to break from any of his responsibilities (which was explained in the previous section) seems like a Te-Si combination. Te-Se can be much more prone to physical impulse and ignoring any and all rules.

Zeldris also seems to be fairly cautious, which can be typical of all the TJs, but an ESTJ is likely to be more cautious than an ENTJ, due to tertiary Ne feeding the ESTJ possible negative outcomes. It is explained that Zeldris uses his full power right from the start in a fight, which suggests a cautious mentality, not wanting to underestimate his opponent. Se in the tertiary position or higher is more prone to toying with their opponents due to getting a thrill out of battle.

He seems to be fairly observant, like when he cuts in mid-conversation to say that his former teacher has dropped his cane. He also states that he remembers “very clearly” the day that Meliodas came to him to leave. This could suggest an Si detailed memory. In addition, not wanting to give a guarantee to Merlin due to not being familiar with the king’s name or face could suggest a preference for known and concrete information, further supporting his cautious nature since he didn’t want to risk making a deal that involved any unknowns. He also tends to be fairly straightforward, less prone to masking information or failing to give context, which is suggested when he states his suspicions of her directly to her.

Ne:

One’s tertiary function tends to go hand-in-hand with their auxiliary, so some of this will be a bit repetitive, especially since Zeldris plays more of a side role. He’s not hugely focused on, and his underlying cognitive processes aren’t defined very well. His tendency to be cautious as relayed in the previous section can easily be the result his low Ne, since he would desire to account for potential negative outcomes rather than making too many assumptions as to how things will turn out. This can potentially be demonstrated in how he goes all out with every opponent right from the start.

It’s also possible that his dream of peace and harmony can be attributed to his Ne, as a possibility that he was hoping to make reality with his Te. Of course, as a lower Ne user, he wasn’t focusing heavily on possibilities or speculation, but rather what he knew could be accomplished.

Fi:

“You may acknowledge that filthy traitor, but I don’t and I never will.”

Zeldris’ Fi is largely suppressed, which is why he was willing to the lengths that he did in submission to the Demon King. While he didn’t kill his love, Gelda, as ordered, he instead seals her until he can bring about a time when they could be together. In addition, when Meliodas asks him to come with him, to leave the Underworld, Zeldris refuses to go with; he then subsequently proclaims Meliodas his enemy and no longer his brother. Zeldris later recounts his words had not been coming from his heart. He instead chooses to continue working within the system/hierarchy of the demon world, rather than follow his heart. As a whole, Zeldris does many evil things in an effort to gain the power he needs to bring about a more peaceful world, which can be seen as failure to define and stick to a solid set of values, indicative of inferior Fi. He’s essentially willing to cross any boundary necessary.