SIU likes to keep us in the dark. Honestly, it’s a miracle we know anything about Tower of God Enryu at all considering he’s only appeared in a flashback that lasted a handful of panels. Most of the lore surrounding the Red Tower comes from the blog posts SIU used to drop, which are basically the "Old Testament" for die-hard fans. If you’ve spent any time on the forums, you know the name Enryu carries more weight than almost any other character, including the King of the Tower himself.
He's a ghost. A legend. A literal god-slayer who walked onto the 43rd Floor and decided that a Guardian—beings we were told were immortal and omnipotent—wasn’t worth the air it breathed.
People always ask why Enryu is ranked #2 while Jahad sits at #3. It’s a valid question. Jahad built the empire. He conquered the Floors. He made the contracts. But ranking in the Tower isn't just about influence or your resume; it's about sheer, terrifying power. When Tower of God Enryu showed up, he didn't just win a fight. He broke the fundamental laws of the world. He turned the sky red. He made the Shinsu turn against its own master. You can't just ignore a guy who makes the impossible look like a Tuesday afternoon chore.
The Day the Red Rain Fell
The Floor of Death wasn't always a wasteland of souls and gore. It was once a lush, beautiful place. That changed the moment Enryu entered the chat. He didn't use the doors. He just... appeared.
The story goes that Enryu entered the 43rd Floor to deliver a message. He was the "Messenger of God," specifically an agent of the Outside God. His target? The administrator of the Floor. Why? Because the Floor had been "defiled" by Jahad’s presence. It’s hard to wrap your head around the scale of this. Up until that point, Rankers and Regulars believed Administrators were literal gods. They controlled the Shinsu. You couldn't even use Shinsu on a Floor without their permission.
Enryu didn't ask for permission.
He unleashed the "Red Rain." This wasn't some fancy metaphor. He literally manifested thousands—maybe millions—of Red Spears in the sky and rained them down. The Administrator, a creature the size of a continent, was slaughtered. This single act changed the power scaling of the series forever. It’s the reason why the 43rd Floor has no Administrator today and why Shinsu behaves so weirdly there.
Understanding the "Red Tower" Moniker
You’ve probably seen the fan art. Long red hair, red eyes, and a swarm of spears that look like blood falling from the sky. The nickname "Red Tower" (Aka-no-To) isn't just because he’s a redhead. It’s because during his fight, the very Shinsu on the floor turned red in his presence.
There is a mechanical nuance here that a lot of casual readers miss. In the Tower, Shinsu is everything. If you are an Irregular like Baam or Jahad, you can manipulate it without a contract, but you are still technically working within the system of the Floor. Enryu’s Shinsu control was different. It was described as "heretical." He didn't just use it; he dominated it to a degree that even the Administrator, who is the Shinsu of that floor, couldn't stop him.
SIU mentioned in a blog post that Enryu is a "spear bearer." But calling him a spear bearer is like calling a hurricane a "light breeze." He’s the most proficient spear bearer in the history of the Tower. He can handle over 9,000 "Baangs" of Shinsu at once. To put that in perspective, a high-level High Ranker might handle a few hundred. The gap is comical. It’s not even the same sport.
Why Tower of God Enryu Ranks Higher Than Jahad
This is the big debate. How does a guy who showed up once, killed a giant eel, and dipped out rank higher than the King?
The Ranking Office (led by Robert Aisand) uses a mix of power and influence. Jahad has the ultimate influence. He is the political and cultural center of the Tower. However, Enryu’s feat of killing an Administrator is considered an achievement beyond the reach of any other being. Not even Jahad can kill an Administrator. Jahad is bound by the contracts he made with them. He is their subject in a cosmic sense.
Enryu exists outside that hierarchy.
- Combat Prowess: Enryu is essentially a cheat code.
- The Outside Connection: He is a direct link to the power outside the Tower, which scares the hell out of the residents.
- The Thorn: He is the one who left the Thorn on the Floor of Death, the very weapon Baam is currently trying to complete.
Basically, Enryu is the plot device that proves Jahad isn't invincible. He is the proof that the "King" is just a big fish in a small pond. If Enryu wanted to, he could likely have wiped out Jahad’s entire army in a few minutes. But he didn't. He had one job: deliver the Thorn for the "child of prophecy."
The Mystery of the Thorn and the Outside God
Let’s talk about the Thorn. We know Baam is carrying it. We know it boosts his power to insane levels. But where did Enryu get it?
The lore suggests that Enryu is just a subordinate. If Enryu is this powerful, imagine the "God" he serves. This is where the story gets really deep into the "Axis" territory—a concept from SIU’s older TUS (Talse Uzer Story) universe. While SIU has backed away from mentioning Axis directly in the webtoon to avoid confusing people, Enryu’s behavior fits the profile of someone acting on behalf of an Axis.
An Axis is a "god" of a story, someone who can write the reality of a certain space. Enryu isn't an Axis himself (according to SIU), but he is the highest tier of non-Axis entity. He’s the janitor sent in to clean up a messy room.
Debunking the Myths: Can Enryu Return?
A lot of fans expect Tower of God Enryu to show up in the current war arc. Honestly? Probably not. Not yet.
If Enryu appears now, the stakes vanish. He’s too strong. He’s the "Saitama" of the Tower of God universe. If he walks onto the battlefield, the Po Bidau and Lo Po Bia family heads become irrelevant. The story would end.
However, we do know he’s still alive. He didn't die after the fight with the Administrator; he simply left. Some theories suggest he’s waiting on the higher floors, perhaps floors 135 and above, which Jahad has locked off. Others think he left the Tower entirely. But given that the Thorn is still a work in progress, Enryu remains the most significant "looming threat" in the background of Baam's journey.
Practical Insights for Tower of God Readers
If you're trying to keep up with the lore, don't just rely on the current chapters. The Enryu backstory is buried in Season 2, specifically around the "Floor of Death" arc (Chapters 240-250ish).
To truly understand the impact of Enryu, you need to look at how other High Rankers react to his name. Even Urek Mazino, who is arguably the strongest active person in the Tower, gets annoyed when people compare him to Enryu. Urek is powerful, but even he hasn't killed a Guardian.
What you should keep an eye on:
- The Red Thryssa: This is a small fragment of the Administrator Enryu killed. It currently lives inside Baam. It’s a literal piece of a dead god.
- Hwa Ryun and the Guides: There is a strong connection between the Red Witches and the Floor of Death. Some speculate their red hair is a tribute to Enryu or a result of the Shinsu change he caused.
- The 135th Floor: This is the next major hurdle. Since Enryu can bypass Jahad's locks, he might be the key to opening the way forward.
Enryu represents the ceiling of power in the Tower. He is the benchmark. Every time Baam gets a power-up, fans ask, "Is he Enryu level yet?" The answer, for now, is a resounding no. But the fact that a human (or human-ish) being can reach that level is what keeps the climb interesting.
The best way to stay updated is to follow SIU’s blog post translations on the Tower of God subreddit or dedicated fan wikis. Just be careful—the rabbit hole goes deep, and once you start reading about the Outside God, the "simple" story of a boy chasing a girl up a tower starts to look like a cosmic horror novel.
Focus on the Thorn fragments. As Baam collects more, we are inevitably going to get another flashback. That’s when we’ll finally see if the "Messenger of God" has more to say than just "move out of the way." Until then, he remains the most terrifying shadow in the history of the Manhwa.